Daily Maverick: Recent Episodes
Daily Maverick
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news.
Produced by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen & Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news.
Produced by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen & Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news.
Produced by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen & Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Reliable renewables, distribution deliverables, encouraging conservation and a nimble move to nuclear. The next steps and how we move forward.
Hosted by Ferial Haffajee & Victoria o’Regan. Featuring Geordin Hill-Lewis, Crispian Olver, Heather Sonn & Farai Chireshe.
Daily Maverick’s The Gathering is back for the 2023 edition. This time, we brought together some of the world’s leading scientists, economists, business leaders, policymakers and activists to discuss real solutions to the burgeoning energy, environmental and economic crisis facing South Africa.
AKA The Anthropocene Conclusion. The greatest real life threats we are facing today, what we should know and what we could do.
Hosted by Richard Poplak. Featuring Pavs Pillay, Prof Roger Smith & Kate Handley.
ESG thinking should dominate the future strategies of business globally. Forecasting trends and economy crushers.
Hosted by Ray Mahlaka. Featuring Iraj Abedian, Wendy Engel & Desnei Leaf-Camp.
How greed and corruption/incompetence is killing our biomes from the Kruger to Antarctica.
Hosted by Rehana Rossouw. Featuring Maanda Alidzulwi, Julian Rademeyer, Tendai Biti & Frances Craigie.
Kumi Naidoo. Human Rights & Climate Justice activist, former Greenpeace Director & Amnesty International SG.
Nano technologies, longer life spans, optimizing energy systems and computing power. Will AI serve as a positive tool or have detrimental effects on our future?
Hosted by Zukiswa Pikoli. Featuring Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi & Gugulethu Mahlangu.
Daily Maverick’s The Gathering is back for the 2023 edition. This time, we brought together some of the world’s leading scientists, economists, business leaders, policymakers and activists to discuss real solutions to the burgeoning energy, environmental and economic crisis facing South Africa.
Ensuring a sustainable future for our future. What they have to say and why we should listen.
Hosted by Onke Nguka. Featuring Otsile Nkadimeng & Raeesah Noor-Mohamed.
Reliable renewables, distribution deliverables, encouraging conservation and a nimble move to nuclear. The next steps and how we move forward.
Hosted by Ferial Haffajee & Victoria o’Regan. Featuring Geordin Hill-Lewis, Crispian Olver, Heather Sonn & Farai Chireshe.
Daily Maverick’s The Gathering is back for the 2023 edition. This time, we brought together some of the world’s leading scientists, economists, business leaders, policymakers and activists to discuss real solutions to the burgeoning energy, environmental and economic crisis facing South Africa.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news.
Produced by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen & Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news.
Produced by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen & Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro.
Music & Design by Bernard Kotze.
Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news. A new edition of StandUp!Business midweek, every week.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news. A new edition of StandUp!Business midweek, every week.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news. A new edition of StandUp!Business midweek, every week.
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news. This week: The cabinet reshuffle, ChatGPT and Liverpool’s rugby expertise.
This week, anniversaries, Eskom (obvs), middle management, promoting South Africa, and Roald Dahl.
Let me share my eureka moment with you. It was a recipe I concocted this week after I had an idea to combine two favourite recipes into one. You can make it your own too if you like. And it can be cooked easily and quickly in an air fryer.
Nobody in Australia, where munching cheesy chicken bakes lush with rich tomato sauce is a national pastime, calls it Chicken Parmiagiana. To every Aussie worthy of the name it’s called a chicken parma (well, sometimes).
Chicken parma is as common in Australia as meat pies or a burger “with the lot”. It’s the number one meal in every pub and in many homes and you only have to eat it once to see why. Aussies love a diminutive, so as well as calling it a chicken parma it’s sometimes called a parmi or a parmy, and things can get pretty heated when Australians from different states argue that their chosen diminutive is the right one, or the best one.
A YouGov poll (yes, there was actually a YouGov poll about it) found that Queenslanders prefer to call it a parmi spelt with an ‘i’, while in Victoria as many as 72% of people polled called it a parmy, with a ‘y’. Why do these things matter? I have no idea; best you ask an Australian to try to explain it. But be prepared to have your ear bent for a while.
The tradition really comes out of the Italian diaspora (Australia has a sizable community of expatriate Italians). Everywhere outside of Australia, it is commonly called Chicken Parmesan or Chicken Parmigiana.
Americans will claim, rightfully, that Chicken Parmesan/Parmigiana is all their own, and that it isn’t even quite Italian at all. There are many instances of supposedly Italian dishes actually coming from the Italian-American community. The original Italian dish on which it is based is melanzane parmigiana: brinjals (melanzane in Italian) baked with rich tomato sauce and melting cheese. Americans switched it over to chicken, and that happened in Australia too, although doubtless you can also get the original in both countries.
It’s doubtless because South Africa has a much smaller Italian population that the tradition never took hold here. But this is an age of food and recipes travelling from one country to another, just as we humans fly off to far-flung places when we can afford to. So there’s no reason why we cannot ...
Rowan Larkin. Steve Clements. Margo Uys. Three passionate originals creating distinctive dishes and serving up great flavours with flair and good cheer in inner-city Durban neighbourhoods. A recipe for good times.
How is this for a good food story? Flip back to around 2014. Rowan Larkin — aka Precious Kimchi aka Dashi-Boy, the new head chef (nearly five months now) at Mahā Café in Durban’s Point precinct where he is gently disrupting things and recreating the menu — is living in Cape Town.
He has, by then, trained in French basics at a cookery studio (in Pietermaritzburg, where he was born and raised), dipped in and out of the Cape Town food scene. Then, given he can take a computer apart and build you another one and loves to tinker with such geeky things, similar to how he loves to tinker in a geeky way with food and flavours, has kind of fallen into writing articles about tech, innovation and gaming. This leading to him being an editor, aggregating content, then product manager involved with the whole website at Microsoft SA. (His LinkedIn profile tells the tale.)
“It was a lot of fun,” he says.
Meanwhile, he was cooking, experimenting, actualising his culinary passion at home.
“I had fallen in love with things like kimchi and gyoza. Korean and Japanese had stolen my heart. The flavours and the technique and the complexity you can get with a couple of ingredients.
“I would watch YouTube, read articles, figure it out, browse through books. It was a constant. It felt like an obsession. I was looking at pictures. Wondering. Trying to recreate. A lot of my knowledge comes from self-discovery, exploration and becoming obsessed till I got it right.”
Back then, he had long been on a quest to find the “perfect bite”.
“That one thing you can eat over and over again that gives you the same joy every time, like you’re experiencing it for the first time.”
His partner at the time had been to Hong Kong on business. “She came back and said, ‘I’ve found your perfect bite. But it’s in Hong Kong’.”
So it was that they planned a trip, which took in “Thailand, Vietnam, a little bit of Laos, Cambodia. But it was a trip designed for one sole purpose. To go to Hong Kong and eat a dish called Xiao Long Bao, which means little dragon buns.
“It’s a soup dumpling with gelatinous pork stock (aspic) inside ...
Measuring out my life in sips of medium roast coffee, or, why Tolstoy was wrong about storytelling.
The news that medium roast coffee is better for ageing brains than dark roast coffee sent me into a tailspin this month. Apparently, the lighter roast has better-preserved antioxidants called polyphenols, which help ward off Alzheimer’s.
As everyone knows, though, dark roast coffee is the preferred drink of readers, writers and other serious folk all around the world. The darker, the hotter, the more burnt, the more scalding — the deeper one can pierce into the soul. The idea of switching roasts is too intellectually enfeebling to bear.
That I even pay attention to such news, which lurks ominously in bland-sounding but ambush-happy corners of the internet like “Health”, counts as a warning sign. Prufrock’s rolled trousers are abroad, stalking my generation like an invisible, half-dressed pensioner. We grow old, we grow old. There’s no scuttling away from this fact.
The incipient horrors of having to drink medium roast coffee for my own good initially led me to the doorstep of another writer, however, not TS Eliot’s. No, instead I found myself approaching the welcome mat of none other than Lev Nikolayevich, Graf Tolstoy. For it is to Tolstoy that is ascribed — perhaps apocryphally; a strong case also exists for American author John Gardner — the following immortal sentence on the art of storytelling:
“All great literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town.”
I’ve always thought that something was amiss with this claim, however brilliantly put it might be. The formulation excludes love, for example. Consider Romeo and Juliet: one of the greatest stories ever told, with nary a stranger nor a journey in sight. I suppose one could claim that metaphor allows love itself to be the stranger — or the journey — but that would be to weaken the wonderful, concrete vitality of Tolstoy/Gardner’s phrase, which extends in its echoes to millennia-old literary binaries like Hestia and Hermes.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Until recently, then, I held that there were in fact three great story archetypes, not two: stories of strangers, of journeys, and of love. But perhaps because I’d just drunk a cup of extra-sour medium roast coffee, I was recently seized with the idea that there’s a fourth to round out literature’s bridge table: namely, stories of growing ...
Launching phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the 31st entry in an ever-expanding franchise, the third ‘Ant-Man’ is a movie that, save for being the launchpad for what comes next, feels wholly unnecessary.
The Ant-Man films have always occupied an odd space in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). They have twice served as a palate-cleanser after the big Avengers team-up films, with 2015’s Ant-Man following Age of Ultron, and 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp set directly after Avengers: Infinity War.
Although that isn’t quite the same case here – we’ve had seven films since Avengers: Endgame – Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the third Ant-Man outing, falls into a similar (ant)trap, and only serves as a bridge between bigger entries.
Post-Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is living his best life in San Francisco. Recognised as an Avenger and hailed as a hero, he’s touring with his tell-all book and generally loving being a celebrity.
Meanwhile, his teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) thinks the world still needs saving and has been tinkering with leftover technology and Pym particles. When her clandestine experimentation goes awry, it results in Scott, Cassie, Hope (Evangeline Lily), Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank (Michael Douglas) being sucked back to the place none of them wanted to be – the Quantum Realm.
That’s a bare-bones outline of the first 15 minutes of the film, but from there you can guess exactly what’s going to happen, if not precisely how. Unfortunately, Quantumania exists solely as the launchpad for the next phase of the MCU and to properly introduce the overarching “Big Bad”, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). But more on him in a bit.
The Quantum Realm itself is a psychedelic, green-screened landscape reminiscent of pulp sci-fi book covers, filled with fantastical CGI beings such as walking spaceships, balls of lightning, humanoid broccoli, sentient ooze and Bill Murray.
Visually, it’s got a lot going on, which only serves to make the action feel less grounded. Considering we’re dealing with a size-changing superhero, something vital is lost when we don’t have a sense of scale or point of reference.
Likewise, having the whole film set in the Quantum Realm only serves to disassociate the actors from their surroundings, with the strained efforts at both humour and gravitas hamstrung by a phony backdrop.
The only character that doesn’t feel out of place is Kang – the sole reason for Quantumania to exist. So at least it’s a ...
The DA and the ANC withstood stiff challenges from each other and the Patriotic Alliance to retain seats in the latest round of by-elections, while the DA came very close to losing a seat that seemed the least competitive on paper.
The latest by-elections will leave the Patriotic Alliance feeling bullish, while the ANC and the DA shed support in tough contests.
Northern Cape
Ward 1 (Roodepan Platfontein) in Sol Plaatje, Frances Baard: ANC 32% (41%) DA 25% (37%) PA 25% (11%) Ind-Settley 13% SPSDF 2% (1%) EFF 1% (2%) ACDP 2% (
Anyone who grew up with roast leg of lamb on Sundays, served with traditional British mint sauce, will be taken straight back to their childhood with one whiff of this dish in the air.
Old recipes come and old recipes go, sometimes with relief, at other times regretfully. But when a recipe just keeps hanging around, enduring the slings and arrows of those who cannot live without change, and surviving competition from anything from bao to banting, there’s usually a good reason for it. One of the best examples of the latter is the old English tradition of roast lamb and mint sauce, often served for Sunday lunch.
And the reason, it is posited, why lamb and mint sauce just will not leave the culinary stage is: science.
Cook’s Illustrated shares the results of a scientific investigation into why certain foods seem to pair so well with others. The results, with regard to lamb and mint sauce, are fascinating.
In essence (a very good choice of word in this instance), it is explained, certain foods make others they are matched with taste even better. This is undeniably true of roast lamb and mint sauce. The perk of the herby flavour of mint with its aniseed spike, the tang of vinegar and the sweetness of sugar work a minor miracle when eaten with a succulent morsel of roast lamb. And the mint, when eaten with salted lamb with its caramelised exterior, somehow becomes more of itself.
Cook’s Illustrated points out, first, that roast lamb “has a flavour unlike any other cooked meat, distinguished by the release of volatile aroma compounds in the fat during cooking. The majority of these compounds are branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs).”
Mint, meanwhile, “is rich with branched-chain ketones, which are chemically related to lamb’s BCFAs and have similar, though not identical, aromas. This means, according to the theory of food pairing, that lamb and mint are a scientific match. They add that the dominant flavour compounds in mint are not found in other herbs, such as tarragon or basil.”
Scientists, who aren’t always quite this interesting when discussing foods, add: “In addition, researchers have found another interesting compound in lamb that originates from the animal’s diet. This compound, called 2,3-octanedione, is formed when the lamb consumes fresh clover and ryegrass. It is stored in the lamb’s fat and, according to this theory, chemically bridges the gap between the BCFAs and the branched-chain ketones, with ...
Eskom CEO André De Ruyter has left his job a month earlier than planned after reaching an agreement with the board. His early exit follows a candid interview on political interference and corruption at the embattled power utility.
In an interview with e.tv aired on Tuesday, 21 February, outgoing Eskom CEO André De Ruyter said it appeared Cabinet members were aware of and accepted widespread corruption at the embattled power utility. On Wednesday, he was “released from his position with immediate effect”.
De Ruyter resigned in December 2022 and was due to leave his job at the end of March. Eskom announced his early departure on Wednesday evening.
“Following the convening of a special board meeting on 22 February 2023, the Eskom Board and group chief executive Andrè de Ruyter have reached mutual agreement to curtail his notice period to 28 February 2023,” Eskom said in a statement.
“The board further resolved that Mr de Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period, but that he will be released from his position with immediate effect.”
De Ruyter resigned following Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe’s claims that Eskom was “agitating for the overthrow of the state” by failing to address unprecedented levels of load shedding.
President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to defend the CEO from Mantashe’s attacks, which has been interpreted as an attempt to keep his critical ANC ally on his side.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom CEO André de Ruyter resigns”
De Ruyter was asked in the e.tv interview whether Eskom was an ANC “feeding trough”. “I would say the evidence suggests that it is,” he responded.
De Ruyter said he told a minister, who he did not name, he was concerned about attempts to “water down” governance of the $8.5-billion deal reached at COP26 to fund the country’s just transition to cleaner and renewable energy sources.
De Ruyter said the Cabinet member told him to be practical and that “in order to pursue the greater good, you have to let some people eat a little bit”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He also claimed that he had been under surveillance by State Security Agency members and that the ANC had an outdated socialist mindset and was focused on winning elections rather than long-term stability.
“They want what will win them the next election – not what will keep the country going for the next two decades.”
Read more in ...
Any desire by the South African National Defence Force for a press briefing on Wednesday about its Mosi II tri-nation naval exercise to be a celebration of skills transfer, was swiftly crushed as Russia’s motive and role in the exercise — and the possibility of it testing hypersonic missiles during the drills — was scrutinised.
A request by Lieutenant-General SG Hlongwa at the close of a media briefing — held aboard the SAS Mendi in Richards Bay — to “write positively about South Africa” resulted in laughs of disapproval from some of the media, leading Hlongwa to add: “Seriously, you know, that is very important. I am not saying don’t tell the facts. I am saying tell the facts and tell them positively.”
Hlongwa later told Daily Maverick that Mosi II would cost South Africa R5.2-million and that each country was financing its own forces.
The South African Navy has been joined by Chinese and Russian vessels for the five-day at-sea exercise that coincides with SA Armed Forces Day — a commemoration of the sinking of the SS Mendi steamship in the English Channel in 1917, which itself has morphed into a week-long event.
Invasion anniversary
But the exercise also coincides with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following years of Russian aggression towards that country. The war has left Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, increasingly isolated from the West and led to the imposition of thousands of sanctions on individuals, commodities and entities.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Putin’s ally Wagner is poised to further expand militarily and politically across Africa — report”
The ANC-led South African government considers itself a friend of Russia based on ideological similarities stemming from the apartheid era. It purports to have taken a neutral stance on the war, and in October last year abstained from voting on a resolution at the UN General Assembly that demanded Russia “reverses course” on its “attempted illegal annexation” of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya.
South Africa’s posture has not garnered approval from the international community and some of its trade partners, and neither has Russia’s inclusion in Mosi II or the timing of the exercise.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The wargames of Exercise Mosi II make an absolute nonsense of South Africa’s claim to neutrality”
Hypersonic missiles
The possibility of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov testing its Zircon hypersonic missiles during Mosi II was first reported on by Russian state-affiliated news agency Tass earlier ...
Underlying every successful democracy is a paradox: everybody must accept that nobody will be able to get whatever he or she wants. However, to suppress any unscrupulous chancers, checks and balances need to be built into the constitutional architecture. Key among these is an independent judiciary that applies the rule of law to all citizens, including those in the seat of political power.
Israel is a controversial state actor in many respects, but – unlike many of its neighbours – its democratic credentials have never been seriously doubted: until now.
Late on Monday evening, the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, voted to advance a bitterly contested judicial overhaul which Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has warned will take the country “to the brink of constitutional and social collapse”.
The basic principle of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed reforms is to terminate the independence of the judicial branch of government – something taken straight from the modern playbook of illiberal states.
These reforms would end the current system where judges are proposed by an independent judicial committee, and allow politicians to appoint those they deem to be loyal. The Knesset would also have the ability to overrule court decisions it deems to be unconstitutional or just disagreeable.
Such extreme concentration of power within the executive seems particularly risky in a democracy like Israel, which has no upper chamber of Parliament or written Constitution.
Ever larger numbers of Israelis have been demonstrating against these critical reforms. Tens of thousands rallied outside Parliament ahead of the vote, which finally took place after a turbulent debate during which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and wrapped themselves in Israeli flags.
Last Monday, the crowds were estimated at more than 100,000 people, an astonishing turnout in a country of barely 9 million. A demonstrator was quoted saying, “These are crucial days for Israel’s future and its identity, whether it is going to be a democracy or a fascist regime.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
US President Joe Biden weighed in on the matter last week via the New York Times column of Thomas Friedman, where he was quoted saying “the genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary.
“Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”
This is perhaps the first example of a US president ...
Stripped of plants, allegories, literary quotes and Bible verses, the 2023 Budget was blunt — a stable finance framework for savings, investment and growth, structural reforms, particularly in energy and transport, and improved state capacity for public services and to fight crime and corruption.
Opposition parties criticised the R254-billion debt relief for Eskom, but as South Africa must deal with the rolling blackouts that cost the domestic economy up to R899-billion a day, it was difficult to be awfully vocal about it.
On Budget Day, Stage 6 rolling blackouts left South Africans without electricity for 10 hours, after scheduled power cuts hit South Africans every day in 2023. There were more than 200 days of rolling blackouts in 2022.
Everyone knew tough choices and decisions needed to be made. As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday in his 2023 Budget speech: “This is not an austerity Budget. It is a Budget that makes tough trade-offs in the interests of the country’s short- and long-term prosperity.”
As always, the devil is in the details.
Spinning the R254-billion as debt relief for the troubled Eskom — R184-billion of this actually is a loan, according to the draft law — the Budget Review document makes clear the extent of Eskom’s haemorrhaging:
“Eskom’s operational failures are intertwined with its untenable financial position. Since 2008/09, government has provided the utility with R263.4-billion in bailouts. These allocations have failed to stem the collapse of Eskom’s balance sheet and operations. The utility imposes an enormous drain on the economy.”
The finer details are in the W3 annexe to the Budget documentation, and also in the Eskom Debt Relief Bill that Parliament’s appropriation committee must process.
For the “requirements of Eskom”, R78-billion is allocated in the 2023/24 financial year, R66-billion the next year and R40-billion in the 2025/26 financial year.
“The National Treasury must advance the amounts envisaged . as a loan to Eskom on the dates determined by the Minister,” said the bill.
In addition, in the 2025/26 financial year Eskom gets R70-billion, “through a debt takeover arrangement as determined by the Minister”, according to Clause 2(3) of that Eskom Debt Relief Bill.
Conditions, according to the Budget Review, include implementing recommendations — including the electricity availability factor targets — of the international consortium that the National Treasury appointed to review Eskom’s coal fleet by mid-2023, and a design for new transmission infrastructure that allows “extensive” private sector participation.
But during Monday’s Eskom briefing, it emerged that the ...
In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa focused on ‘peace and stability in Africa’. He turned his attention to the causes of instability in the Sahel region, saying: ‘Recently, there have been unconstitutional changes of government in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Sudan, and all four member states remain suspended from the AU.’
Ramaphosa continued: “The involvement of foreign fighters, armed groups and mercenaries in African conflicts, as well as the rise of terrorism and violent extremism in Somalia, the Sahel region and northern Mozambique, also pose serious threats to the continent’s stability.”
When discussing the Sahel, mention of “foreign fighters, armed groups and mercenaries” shines the light directly on Russia’s Wagner Group, which operates in this region, providing armed support for governments that would not be in power if their people were permitted to choose.
The most glaring case is, of course, the Central African Republic, where Wagner is the de facto government, imposing armed control.
The Sahel area, a 1,000km-wide belt stretching 5,400km from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, cuts across parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, the north of Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
It is fraught with instability, violent extremism and poverty.
Since 2011, governments have been undone via the barrel of a gun in Mali, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea – in some instances, more than once.
It’s starting to look like the bad old coup days of the 1970s. And the dogs of war are back, and barking, this time in Russian.
This has made the region, in the words of one seasoned diplomat, “the second most violent place after Ukraine”.
The coups and their aftermath illustrate deeper problems than simply the immature and volatile condition of civil-military relations. They go to the heart of the nature of the state in this region.
Wagner and emergence of ‘terrorist states’
The emergence of “terrorist states” amid this failure, and the presence, now, of the Russian Wagner private security group, complicate things further.
After a long period of military rule, Mali became a poster child for democratic transitions and the role of Western aid in helping things along, and was regarded as one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.
In January 2013, presidential elections were won by Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. France launched Operation Barkhane in August 2014 involving cooperation with five former French Sahelian colonies: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, ...
The 2023 Budget shows a decline in spending on basic education in real terms, despite warnings from experts that the sector is in crisis. Early childhood development, meanwhile, has seen a significant increase in funding, in line with efforts to expand access to early learning programmes for South Africa’s children.
The basic education sector in South Africa is facing a “blackout”, comparable in scale to the country’s crippling electricity crisis. However, there is a distinct difference in the attention these two crises are receiving, both from the public and within the national Budget.
According to Jane Borman, a researcher at Equal Education, schools are facing a dire situation, which is set to get worse as funding for the education sector declines in real terms.
“What we would have liked to have seen is the minister of finance recognising the reality and the scale of the issue that we’re facing in the basic education sector,” said Borman in the wake of Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget speech on Wednesday.
“We understand that there are financial constraints, and basic education isn’t the only issue in terms of social spending that needs attention, but we would like to have seen a plan that would allow us to see sustainable change and growth in the basic education system; that would indicate to us that we are on a trajectory to get where we need to be.”
For 2023, the national Budget for learning and culture is:
Basic education — R293.7-billion;
NSFAS — R50.1-billion;
University transfers — R45.1-billion;
Skills development levy institutions — R24.3-billion;
Education administration — R18.5-billion; and
Technical and vocational education and training — R13.3-billion.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Budget in a box”
Despite Godongwana’s claim in Wednesday’s speech that the 2023 Budget was “not an austerity Budget”, the austerity measures were evident in areas where allocations did not increase in line with consumer price index inflation, including health and education, according to Daniel McLaren, senior researcher and budget analyst at SECTION27.
“In terms of the per-user budget — so if you divide the health budget by every person who [uses the public] health sector and if you divide the education budget by every learner who receives public education — then you get a real-terms decline,” he said.
Overall funding for basic education increased from R302-billion in 2022/23 to R309-billion in 2023/24 — a 2.5% nominal increase, according to SECTION27. This equates to a 2.4% reduction in education funding in real terms, once consumer price index inflation is ...
At the eleventh hour, University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng jumped before she was pushed — avoiding suspension by the UCT Council by coming to an agreement on a lucrative early retirement package.
University of Cape Town (UCT) Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng will cease to perform her duties on 3 March 2023.
As first reported by News24 on Tuesday evening, an eleventh-hour termination agreement was reached between Phakeng and the UCT Council which saw Phakeng avoid the suspension the council had previously resolved on, amid the breakdown of negotiations between the parties.
The termination agreement states: “Prof Phakeng will take early retirement and cease to occupy the position of Vice-Chancellor of the university with effect 03 March 2023 and her Associate Professorship [in the UCT Education Department] will terminate with effect from 28 February 2024.”
The period remaining on her academic contract, however, will be taken up by a 12-month sabbatical. As such, Phakeng’s time at UCT will in effect end in less than a fortnight.
Generous pay package and benefits
Phakeng will receive a 12-month payout of her annual salary of R4,184,616, in addition to an “early retirement lump sum” of R8,369,232.
This amounts to a total payment package of R12,553,848.
Phakeng will also receive reduced UCT tuition for her dependants for life and post-retirement medical aid for life.
In signing the settlement, Phakeng is waiving her right to further litigation of any kind against UCT.
It is an abrupt end to Phakeng’s tumultuous time at the helm at UCT. But recent events appear to have made the vice-chancellor’s continued leadership untenable, including an extraordinary statement by UCT Law Dean Danwood Chirwa last week, in effect accusing Phakeng and the rest of the university executive of having colluded with protesting students to knowingly expose the campus to violence.
Inside the negotiations leading up to Phakeng’s exit
As reported by Daily Maverick last week, the UCT Council resolved earlier this month that if a settlement agreement could not be reached with Phakeng, she would be suspended.
With negotiations having seemingly reached an impasse, that suspension looked imminent. The major sticking points, Daily Maverick understands, were the amount that Phakeng was asking to be paid out, and her desire to remain in the official UCT vice-chancellor’s residence, Glenara, beyond the termination of her employment.
Lawyers for UCT and for Phakeng were ultimately able to find each other over the weekend, but the UCT Council still needed to ratify the settlement.
Daily Maverick understands that at Tuesday ...
The 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, at age 98, having survived cancer and hip operations in his nineties, and following the public life he led for over 40 years after his presidency, made the decision to forgo further medical treatment and embrace home hospice care instead.
America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the other way around. Human rights invented America.
Jimmy Carter
The former president will now “spend his remaining time at home with his family,” the Carter Center announced. The statement added that he had “decided to. receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.” The announcement came just prior to the American public holiday of Presidents’ Day. It was a fitting moment to announce such a decision.
It is time to take a long look at his life and career.
The Carter Center, with the Carter Presidential Library, has been the former president’s headquarters for his writing, his peacemaking and his public health efforts for decades. (Upon hearing the news of the former president’s decision, the author sought out a musical evocation of that decision in Barbara Hendricks’ singing of the great African American spiritual, “Steal Away.” Listen here while you read the rest of this story.)
As an aside, some years ago, I made use of the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, like so many other researchers. It held a wealth of resources on the decisions made by the president and his administration, and the staff made it as easy as possible for individual researchers to access the full range of those records.
Close to his roots
Carter was that most unusual of 20th-century presidents — perhaps even unique. He maintained his roots in the small town of Plains, Georgia, a few hours’ drive south of big-city Atlanta, for his entire life. Even now, he and his wife live in the home they built in 1961. His family business had been peanut farming and peanut harvest warehousing, and he returned to that business after his service in the navy.
Carter entered the US Naval Academy at Annapolis in the early years of World War 2 and, soon after his graduation just after the end of the war, he found his niche in Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover’s elite team as they went about creating the first of the nuclear-powered submarines that now rule the oceans.
Upon leaving the military, he returned to his and his wife’s native Georgia ...
Public health experts caution that more detail is needed about how an extra R23 billion allocated to the Department of Health by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his 2023 Budget will be used to employ health workers and improve services, while also warning that a smaller overall health budget will lead to poor people having access to fewer public health services.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that R23-billion had been set aside to cover the shortfall in compensation budgets in the health sector and to improve public health services.
“In health, the funds are to hire new staff, address shortfalls in compensation budgets, retain additional health workers appointed during the pandemic, and clear the backlog in health services,” Godongwana said.
According to a written answer provided in October 2022 by the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, 16,070 clinical posts and 4,764 administrative posts were vacant in South Africa’s public health system. These included funded and unfunded posts.
But while Godongwana announced an extra allocation for health posts, the department’s overall budget has still shrunk.
In 2021, Treasury instituted massive reductions to the health budget, and the extra money in the new Budget will fail to offset these cuts, meaning the consolidated health budget will fall from a revised estimate of R259.4-billion in 2022/2023 to R259.2-billion in 2023/2024, and will then increase to R268.9-billion in 2024/2025 and R281.3-billion in 2025/2026.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Budget in a box”
The dean of the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Shabir Mahdi, said details on how the extra funds would be allocated strategically would determine their impact.
“Employing more staff is not a solution to redressing crumbling infrastructure in most provinces. A blanket ‘employment’ of staff, recruited for specific purposes during the pandemic, does not address whether the staff is fit for purpose,” he said.
Mahdi pointed out that it would be more strategic to use the funds to address the skills shortage of specific categories of healthcare workers, such as specialist nurses in nephrology and intensive care.
“Hopefully, the Minister of Health will provide details on how the funds will be allocated and what gaps in the health system will be addressed. Alternatively, it will be like pouring more money into addressing a lack of planning and management in most of our public facilities,” he added.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Russell Rensburg, of the Rural Health Advocacy Project described public health challenges as ...
Daily Maverick and Business Maverick's crack team of journalists weigh in on Budget 2023 and provide a line-by-line account of their immediate thoughts. They watched the full speech so you don't have to.
Janet Heard: Hard to not get distracted by the cheeky chatter on the parliamentary YouTube channel, with a viewer commenting on the image of seated Ministers and MPs: “so many useless people in this shot” Marianne Merten: And straight into rolling blackouts. Ray Mahlaka: The economy might be on track post Covid, but load shedding poses a serious threat. Treasury expects the economy to grow by a paltry 0.9% in 2023. It is still optimistic considering that the Reserve Bank has downgraded its forecast to 0.3% Ed Stoddard: “. the medium-term growth outlook has deteriorated. Real GDP growth is projected to average 1.4 per cent from 2023 to 2025, compared with 1.6 per cent estimated in October.” That sadly may prove to be optimistic . MM: Risks – public servants salary increases & high debt service costs ES: Tax relief of R13 billion, that is good news for some tax payers .
Tim Cohen: I know its irrational, but every time I hear the the level of annual debt repayments I feel a chill at the back of my neck. MM: Eskom gets R254 billion debt relief!! RM: And over the next three years. There are strict conditions in place. Eskom cannot take up new debt from lenders. It cannot embark on large capital commitments. It’s a mechanism designed to free up money at Eskom. Money that can be channeled to the maintenance of power station. ES: Sin taxes of course are going up, but at least in line with expected inflation this year. Excuse me while I head out to my local bottle store . MM: It’s all set-out in W3 (the annex in budget documentation) – probably the most read bit of the Budget documentation. RM: Sjoe, still a long road ahead before the Eskom debt relief is implemented. It still requires approval and concurrence from bond holders. ES: Big indicator: the rand is gaining, and the yield on the 10-year government bond has fallen 8.5 basis points.
The markets so far are giving this budget the thumbs up. MM:It’s a down to business Budget. No plants, no allegories. Just announcements. JH: And on the solar panels – a New tax incentive – to reduce pressure on the ...
US President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin had made a ‘big mistake’ in suspending a landmark nuclear treaty as he met eastern European leaders in Warsaw, who have offered staunch support for Ukraine.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded deepening ties with Beijing during a visit by China’s top diplomat, who said the relationship between the two countries was “solid as a mountain” and would withstand turmoil.
The front line in the war has not moved despite Russian troops using an entire range of weapons against the Ukrainian army, including gas grenades in the Bakhmut, Lyman and Avdiyivka areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Key developments
Ukrainians are crowdfunding their defence from drones to mortar
Putin says he is waiting for Xi amid China peace push on Ukraine
India doesn’t want to call Russia’s war a ‘war’ at G-20
EU urges countries to send Ukraine ammunition from own stocks
Russia, South Africa, China to simulate air attacks in exercise
Five charts showing impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
On the ground
Russia is boosting the number of its troops along the main offensive axes near the eastern towns of Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Shakhtarsk, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement on Facebook. Russian forces fired nine rockets over the past 24 hours, four of which hit the city of Kharkiv, according to the statement. There were also more than 20 attacks with multiple launch rocket systems and 10 strikes from Russian military jets.
Finland says it’s ready to join Nato without Sweden
Finland is set to join Nato if it gets the final ratifications for its membership bid, regardless of what progress Sweden has made toward joining the alliance, according to President Sauli Niinisto. At a briefing with the Swedish and Norwegian prime ministers, Niinisto said the matter is up to parliament — and if Turkey and Hungary sign off, “we will become members of Nato”.
Finland’s Parliament has moved ahead with the accession process, raising questions over whether the country would move forward in joining the alliance without Sweden, whose bid continues to be blocked by Turkey.
Spain to send six battle tanks to Ukraine
The Spanish government plans to deliver six Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine between March and April as part of a European effort to bolster the nation’s arsenal, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Wednesday. The older Leopard 2 A-4 models need to be repaired — and the government is prepared to send more, Robles told reporters ...
A judgment that holds a lawyer in contempt of court has arrived at a time when one has to ask whether the legal profession is facing a crisis of legitimacy, aggravated by the unethical behaviour of a small number of members of the profession.
It is not that unusual to come across a high court judgment in which a judge expresses disappointment about the tardy actions of one of the lawyers or of one of the legal teams in a matter. But it is not often that one comes across a judgment in which a lawyer is held in contempt of court for failing to obey a court order, and “sentenced” to pay punitive costs in his personal capacity. It is, regrettably, also uncommon to encounter a judgment in which a judge takes such a decisive stand against the unethical, contemptuous, or dishonest behaviour of legal practitioners.
It was therefore both depressing and heartening to read the judgment of acting judge Warren Shapiro in the case of Grundler NO and Another v Zulu and Others in which the high court held advocate Lee Zulu in contempt of court for refusing to provide the applicants with copies of the court papers he submitted on behalf of his clients in a previous application — despite a court order to do so.
The trouble started when Mr Zulu, representing certain members of a dysfunctional body corporate, applied for, and was granted, an order to place the body corporate under the administration of a Board of Trustees. Mr Zulu brought this application ex parte, inexplicably failing to give notice of the application to Mr Grundler — the court-appointed administrator of the body corporate — and the body corporate, who both obviously had a direct and substantial interest in the matter.
Suspecting that Mr Zulu may have failed to make a full disclosure of all the material facts in his application, the applicants asked Mr Zulu to provide them with copies of the court papers he prepared for the application, which he failed to provide — even after a court ordered him to do so. (Whether he did so because the court papers revealed dishonesty on his part, is impossible to say.) As a result, Mr Grundler and the body corporate approached the court to declare Mr Zulu in contempt of court, and asked the court to sanction him by sending him to prison, alternatively, to order him to ...
Coalition partners in Tshwane have agreed on appointing Cilliers Brink as the city’s mayoral candidate following the resignation of Randall Williams.
Tshwane mayor-elect Cilliers Brink received strong backing from coalition partners on Wednesday.
Speaking at a briefing in Tshwane, DA MP Brink sounded determined to turn the situation in the city around. He believes the coalition should remain united to ensure that there are no disruptions to their work in the city.
“It is going to be important that the mayor and mayoral committee govern as a whole. That is why I said not only a city that works, but works for all its people. We know that there are deep inequalities. but to be a mayor that governs for all and to be a team that governs for all is not a complicated task and I think it already accords with what I believe and want,” he said.
It is almost certain that he will be elected as the mayor of the capital city.
The coalition of the DA, ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus (FF+), African Christian Democratic Party, Congress of the People (Cope) and Inkatha Freedom Party has 109 seats, enough for Brink to be installed as the city’s number one citizen.
“This multiparty coalition has a 50%-plus-two majority, which is what we lacked in Johannesburg and still lack in Ekurhuleni. With the unity of purpose that we do have, I am sure we will compensate for each other’s weaknesses and that we will build a capital city that works for all its people,” Brink said.
Murunwa Makwarela, a Cope councillor and the council’s Speaker, threw his weight behind Brink.
“We stand united by Mayor-elect Cilliers Brink and we believe that we will remain true to the priorities we have agreed as coalition partners. Part of it is service delivery in the area of water, in the area of electricity. We think very soon we will have a council meeting which looks into the election of our mayor-elect,” he said.
Introducing the DA’s Tshwane Mayoral Candidate, Cilliers Brink. His candidacy has also been endorsed by the multi-party coalition.
Cilliers was first elected a councillor in Tshwane in 2011, and served as member of the mayoral committee in 2016, and later became a DA MP in 2019.
Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) February 21, 2023
The Tshwane coalition met earlier this week to discuss which DA councillor would be their mayoral candidate to replace incumbent Randall Williams.
The coalition felt Brink had the qualifications needed ...
Two construction workers came close to death after gunmen opened fire on them at a building site in Delft outside Cape Town earlier this month. Both men were wounded in the attack. Just over a week later, one of them saw a city official shot dead at the same site.
On Saturday 4 February, 49-year-old Bheki and 42-year-old Andile (not their real names) were shot and wounded while working at the Symphony Way Housing Project in Delft on the outskirts of Cape Town.
Bheki was shot in the leg while Andile was shot in the right thigh and had two bullets graze his buttocks. Two gunmen fired at them as they ran for cover.
Several days after the shooting, the site was petrol bombed.
On 16 February, City of Cape Town official Wendy Kloppers, died in a hail of bullets at the site. Employed at the city’s environmental affairs department, Kloppers was at the site to conduct an inspection.
The R500-million Symphony Way project is earmarked for 3,300 beneficiaries who are among the most vulnerable in the metro. They currently live in Blikkiesdorp, Malawi Camp and Freedom Park.
Following the murder of Kloppers, the site has been temporarily closed for safety reasons and for the police to conduct investigations.
Construction began on 22 March last year, but ground to a halt three months later after sections of the community protested. The city subsequently obtained an interdict and work continued unhindered until 4 February 2023.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Cape Town housing project halted as residents protest lack of job opportunities”
Bheki and Andile’s story
Daily Maverick caught up with Bheki and Andile on Wednesday at their shacks in Blikkiesdorp. Both are married with children and, although still traumatised, say they will probably go back to the site and keep working.
On the day of the shooting, they kissed their wives and hugged their children goodbye before leaving at around 6.15am to reach work by 7am.
Everything went smoothly until after lunch. Both men were in a trench, showing the operator of a digger how deep to dig to avoid a water pipe.
Bheki said: “I heard shooting while the dig loader was digging. At the same time, I felt pain in my right leg. I had no idea what was going on. I thought the digger had hit a cable and injured my leg.
“I then noticed blood streaming from my leg and attempted to exit the trench. I saw two men holding ...
Some people regard it as a positive error if you are in politics and you have a sudden outbreak of honesty, because then your opponents can and will use it against you forever.
If you are a politician, is dishonesty the best policy? In life, of course, people avow that honesty is the best policy, a phrase often attributed to US founding father Benjamin Franklin. This is not to suggest you should be brutally honest in all situations; small, white lies are obviously considered to be an exception.
But it is the best policy for very obvious reasons: sincerity, trust and realism are contingent on being honest. Franklin was known to be honest in business, as his Puritan values dictated, and became a successful printer on the back of the trust his approach to life generated. This remains true for so many businesses, prior and subsequent.
It’s worth noting that, in theory, dishonesty is a one-way street because in the real world, a hundred truths don’t mitigate a single lie, or at least not completely. Once you have been caught lying, finding your way back to being regarded as honest is an uphill battle. Just ask Boris Johnson.
So at this point, the cynics climb in. There are thousands of jokes about honesty being the best policy. A favourite is a cartoon that shows two businesspeople, one saying to the other: “It’s a concept we like to explore, but I wouldn’t describe honesty as company policy, as such.”
But I think the most quoted response to the notion is this: “I have found that the appearance of honesty is the best policy.” This brings us to politicians.
We don’t really expect politicians to be honest any more; the notion is considered “unrealistic”. And it goes further than that: some people regard it as a positive error if you are in politics and you have a sudden outbreak of honesty, because then your opponents can and will use it against you forever.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
All of this comes to mind because Wednesday was Budget Day, and I couldn’t help noticing that the Treasury had reduced its estimate of real annual GDP growth to 0.9% for the 2023/24 financial year.
That is a pretty brutal pruning, especially considering that GDP growth of 2.5% had been pencilled in for the 2022/23 financial year. The decrease was invoked for an absolutely obvious reason: rolling ...
In a surprise move, the State closed its case on Wednesday during the first State Capture trial, under way in the Bloemfontein High Court — abandoning a trial within a trial to allow evidence on the #GuptaLeaks.
The State closed its case despite an earlier indication by prosecutor Peter Serunye that it would call witnesses for a trial within a trial so that acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha could give judgment on whether testimony on the #GuptaLeaks will be allowed.
The defence in the ongoing trial successfully objected against such testimony, arguing that there were questions about whether emails that form part of the #GuptaLeaks were lawfully obtained, as well as about the authenticity of documents.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Vrede Dairy Project: Legal defence prevents testimony about #GuptaLeaks in Free State corruption trial”
Eight accused face charges including fraud, corruption and money laundering, in connection with allegations that the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development paid the Gupta-linked company Nulane Investments (an accused) R24.9-million for a feasibility study. The company allegedly did not have the capacity to perform the study and subcontracted Deloitte to do it for R1.5-million.
The State has called several witnesses to testify about allegations that the department appointed Nulane Investments without following procurement procedure and instead wrote a deviation memorandum that cited Nulane Investments as a sole service provider.
Two of the accused, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi, are former heads of the Free State agriculture department. The State alleged that they unlawfully and wilfully contravened the Public Finance Management Act, which resulted in wasteful expenditure.
The other accused include the former chief financial officer of the provincial department, Seipati Dhlamini; Ronica Ragavan; a second company, Islandsite Investments One Hundred And Eighty; Dinesh Patel and Iqbal Sharma (the director of Nulane Investments). The feasibility study led to the controversial Vrede Dairy Project — a flagship project of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development that cost the department R280-million.
All eight pleaded not guilty and some of their legal representatives have indicated to the court their plans to launch an application to have their clients discharged.
The trial is expected to resume on Thursday morning with a finding by Judge Gusha on some of the documents provisionally put on record by the State. In the main, these involve documents confiscated during a search and seizure operation at the offices of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Visit Daily ...
The presentation of a national Budget is often a slightly strange affair; it is the prose of governance after what is supposed to be the poetry of the State of the Nation Address. Going into the speech, it was clear that the government’s credibility was on the line, and, as the trite saying goes, hard decisions would have to be made.
It was a surprise to hear at least one economist suggest that on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had announced the “biggest reforms since 1994”. Not everyone agreed.
I was seated outside the Cape Town City Hall. I am also off coffee. Not drinking it. But writing about it. It was a hard realisation, upon rereading previous entries in my Reporter’s Notebook (for entirely egotistical reasons) that virtually every piece submitted over the years, from rainy Nasrec to sunny Switzerland, has started with coffee, front and centre.
It’s time to quit. I expect headaches, bad ones.
Before Godongwana rose to the podium, there was a strange question to ask the economic commentariat. It was this:
“Is this the hardest position a finance minister has been in since 1994 . and didn’t I ask the same question last year?”
It was a nod to the times, the Stage 6 load shedding, the awful food price inflation, and the fact that for most people, their lived experiences have deteriorated markedly in the last five years.
The answer, of course, is “yes”. These are very tough times.
There is another funny tradition about the Budget. It’s always hot on the day, no matter what. Being in Cape Town, it was fairly humid too. Not the kind of weather you want to be wearing TV make-up in, even though the people who apply it are the best (and often the funniest) in the business. After lots of warm-up chats, discussion, and not a little gossip, it was time to shut up and listen.
Or, more accurately, read the speech, which dropped on a number of WhatsApp groups, all at the same time.
While that was the right thing to do, it was easier, and much quicker, to read what Ray Mahlaka had learnt during the lockup, and then to read it for myself:
Government comes to Eskom’s rescue by taking over R254bn of its debt
Immediately, the three main points were clear:
There is a massive incentive for businesses to invest in solar rooftop power (a tax rebate of 125%);
There is some help for homeowners to ...
Former teenage prodigy Smriti Mandhana has several accolades under her belt, including her recent achievement as the most expensive Women’s Premier League player. However, a World Cup gold medal – across formats — remains out of reach.
Smriti Mandhana recently became the most expensive player heading into the maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) – an overdue women’s iteration of the highly successful and popular Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 26-year-old Indian opener and former teenage prodigy – who has risen to global superstar status since making her T20 international debut for India as a 16-year-old back in 2013, fetched the highest fee at the maiden WPL auction a fortnight ago.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) splurged 34-million Indian rupees (R7.3-million) to secure the services of the left-handed batter. This took a huge chunk of RCB’s R26-million purse for the auction.
“WPL is going to be a game-changer for women’s cricket in India. It will especially provide a boost of confidence for women cricketers playing on domestic teams, and give them the validation that they truly deserve,” Mandhana told GQ India in December 2022.
At the time, the RCB captain couldn’t have imagined she’d be the crown jewel of the inaugural season and something of a poster girl for the competition.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Those that have eagerly followed her career over the years will tell you that she was worth every cent the franchise spent on her ahead of the competition’s kick-off on 4 March – a couple of weeks after the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup concludes.
Mandhana – who serves as vice-captain in the Indian team – is well-respected in her home country, as well as globally. As evidence, she has won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year gong twice. The only other player that has received the accolade more than once is Australian legend Ellyse Perry – with three.
With time very much on her side and the Indian batter always improving on her craft – she is likely to match and even usurp Perry’s haul.
Mandhana also holds the record for the fastest 50 by an Indian woman in T20 internationals. The electric opener, who possesses an array of shots and the accuracy of a sniper, raced to a record half-century in just 23 balls at last year’s Commonwealth Games semifinal win over England.
That innings beat her own record of a 24-ball half-ton against New Zealand in 2019. ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Annual statistics, released by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research on Tuesday, paint a grim picture of the reliability of Eskom’s ailing infrastructure.
‘I think the government, and specifically Eskom, have been quite transparent and open about the fact that we’re in an energy crisis. I think [what] hasn’t been [communicated] quite as well, is that the crisis is actually worsening.” These are the words of Warrick Pierce, principal researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) energy centre, who was speaking at a briefing on Tuesday.
The CSIR has released its annual statistics on power generation and energy availability data for 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Government comes to Eskom’s rescue by taking over R254bn of its debt”
On Sunday evening, a combination of coal constraints and a failure of eight generation units triggered the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding for the fourth time this year.
Eskom cut 7,045MW from the grid as its fleet of coal-fired power stations teetered, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a tweet on Tuesday night. He confirmed that the intensity of power cuts had increased to Stage 7, Bloomberg reported.
Evening Peak Feedback 21/02/2023, 19:15 Total demand: 30 480MW Loadshedding: 7 045MW Eskom OCGT’s Utilised: 14 Eskom GT’s Utilised: 3 IPP OCGT’s: 5 Renewable Gen: 1 262MW (Wind 791MW, CSP 390MW, PV 81MW)@Eskom_SA Available Generation: 23 289MW@EskomSpokesper1
SikonathiMantshantsh (@SikonathiM) February 21, 2023
The graphic on the levels of planned maintenance and unplanned outages (see below) in years past, shows a shift from similar levels of planned maintenance and unplanned outages in 2018, towards increasing levels of unplanned maintenance as years progress.
“The planned maintenance is remaining roughly the same. But we’re seeing a concerning trend with the unplanned outages. Our unplanned outages (breakdowns) are increasing,” said Pierce.
He explained that 2021 showed a distinct separation of planned maintenance and breakdowns as breakdowns continue to increase – a trend that was seen in 2022.
Last year was by far the most intensive load shedding year on record. South Africans suffered 3,773 hours of blackouts in 2022, compared to 1,169 hours in 2021, Pierce’s presentation showed.
Last year, 11,529 gigawatt-hours of power was shed, in comparison to 2,521 in 2021.
The number of hours of Stage 6 load shedding experienced in 2022 also exceeded 2019’s hours of Stage 6 blackouts by more than a factor of 30.
Another point of concern, said Pierce, was that 2022 was the first year where the most prevalent ...
The ‘Attached to the Soil’ exhibition began in 2019 as a series of 50 three-part artworks, finalised by the artist Peter Glendinning during his seven months as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa.
In his 1994 inaugural address, President Nelson Mandela shared the following metaphor expressing his aspirations for the new South Africa and its people, one that most viewed as hope for unity: “I have no hesitation in saying each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld. Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal.”
Attached to the Soil began in 2019, the 25th anniversary of that statement, as a series of 50 three-part artworks, finalised by the artist Peter Glendinning during his seven months as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa.
Each work resulted from his collaborations with a young South African who shared their aspirations for their country, their reflections on what they had inherited from past generations, in the form of their own soil-related metaphor. A third collaborator was a person with a life experience related to the young person’s metaphor, whose story was the subject of a portrait both in words and photography. Each young person’s aspirations and each subject’s story are true to themselves while also being representative of so many others like them.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A stitch in sacred time – exhibition weaves our oceans back into the realm of the divine”
As Professor Adam Habib wrote in his insightful foreword to the project: “It tells the stories of these individuals, capturing their hopes, fears, aspirations and disappointments. It speaks of a people who are distinguished by their diversity, emanating as they do from a variety of racial, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds. All have been marked by the tragic history of racialised exploitation in this land. But all demonstrate in their activities, ambitions and voice how this tragedy did not scar their souls. Peter Glendinning’s South African collaborators have bared their souls and thus provided hope in the midst of social gloom.”
The 50 works that will be on display at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory until the end of August are the foundation for a new phase of expression, in which young South Africans may add their own completed projects, created without ...
A Paarl-based attorney, appointed by now suspended Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe as an acting judge in the Western Cape High Court, is being accused of using his position to solicit work and ‘grandstanding’ within Paarl society, according to a letter of complaint sent to the Judicial Service Commission and Acting Judge President Patricia Goliath.
The letter, dated 1 February 2023 under advocate Andre Ferreira’s letterhead and addressed to Judge Goliath, states that Willem van Heerden’s behaviour breaches the ethical code and is “inappropriate” for an acting judge.
When contacted, Ferreira confirmed he was the author and sender of the letter, and said he had laid a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on 2 February. Ferreira was surprised the letter had been leaked, as he had sent it only to Goliath and the JSC.
It appears Van Heerden’s appointment was one of the last made Western Cape Chief Justice John Hlophe, who was suspended by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 14 December 2022.
JSC spokesperson advocate Sesi Baloyi SC said Ferreira’s letter had been received, but he had not filled in the required complaint form, which he had since been advised to do.
Queries to Goliath were referred by her registrar to the Western Cape High Court chief registrar Ruanne David, who in turn referred the matter to the Office of the Chief Justice. No response from the Office of the Chief Justice has been forthcoming.
Facebook post
In his letter to Goliath, Ferreira refers to a Facebook post by Van Heerden’s Paarl-based law firm, Van Wyk Van Heerden Attorneys, which announces Van Heerden’s appointment as acting judge at the high court from 16 January.
Headlined, “We are proud to announce”, the Facebook post states, “We have no doubt the new venture will be a success and wish him all the best until his return.”
An insert announcing his appointment as acting judge was also published in the Paarl Post community newspaper.
“My understanding has always been that any Acting Judge should be humble and be grateful for being appointed, and that this appointment should not be utilised to better one’s practice or create leverage to publicise the fact of being either superior or better equipped because of such an appointment,” wrote Ferreira in his letter of complaint.
He further stated he is “informed” that Van Heerden “walks around Paarl Gymnasium Primary School and requires people at meetings to refer to him as Judge and through this again, in ...
‘I’m astonished that the government cares so little about the health of their citizens,’ said Professor Karen Hofman, a leading researcher in sugar and other health-related taxes.
Health scientists and activists have expressed dismay and disappointment at the announcement of a two-year moratorium on increasing the sugar tax in Wednesday’s Budget, with the government apparently heeding calls from the sugar industry to freeze the tax to try to protect an ailing industry. This comes after the inflationary increase in the tax announced in the 2022 Budget was also paused, until April 2023, for the same reason.
Civil society coalition Heala, the Healthy Living Alliance, said that the announcement by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, coupled with “ineffective increases” in other health-related taxes such as alcohol and tobacco, “is a direct attack on the lives of millions of people at risk of serious health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer”.
The SA Sugar Association and the SA Cane Growers’ Association have in recent months lobbied the government to freeze or scrap the sugar tax, called the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), altogether. At the same time, civil society has been asking the government to increase the tax from 11% to 20%, in line with a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for countries to impose sugar taxes to help prevent obesity and related diseases.
“I’m astonished that the government cares so little about the health of their citizens,” said Professor Karen Hofman, a leading researcher in sugar and other health-related taxes and Director of Priceless, a research team at the Wits School of Public Health.
“This has been going on for six years, and the cost of the Treasury inaction is extremely high in terms of the health of South Africans and obesity-related conditions, which were the cause of many thousands of deaths from Covid,” Hofman told Maverick Citizen.
“This is pure pandering to the private sector. Government seems perfectly able to deal with alcohol and tobacco, and the fact that this has not even increased by inflation is a serious omission by the Treasury that will have consequences for years to come in terms of obesity-related conditions.”
In 2017, when the Treasury first proposed the tax, the rate was 20%, in line with the WHO’s recommendation, but a year of “public consultation,” including lobbying by the South African sugar industry, resulted in a reduction of the tax to 10%. (It was implemented one year later at 11%, to ...
Helping to broker an end to the war in Ukraine would help re-establish the Non-Aligned Movement as a credible global organisation and strengthen its demands for reform of the UN Security Council’s membership.
Few dispute that Russia’s invasion of its sovereign neighbour Ukraine — a year ago on 24 February 2022 — has been an atrocity for the Ukrainian people. Amid virtually universal calls for a peaceful resolution of this murderous conflict, neither side seems ready to compromise.
Might there be a way to end this atrocity and revive relevance and respect for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)?
In joining this debate, I offer four notes of caution at a time when the global order seems especially volatile and unpredictable.
Who belongs to today’s NAM?
A coalition of countries that led the formation of the NAM, first met as a group at the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia of 29 African and Asian leaders.
Two strategic concerns predominated: freedom and self-determination for the millions of people still under colonial domination; and collective protection from becoming pawns in the global competition for ideological domination at the height of the Cold War.
Principles motivating NAM were those of the UN Charter — all member states formally commit to respect the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all states. While often violated in practice, especially by the powerful against the weak, these are again being tested in Ukraine.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, institutions that emerged in response to the Cold War either adapted or atrophied. NAM assumed a broader identity as the representative of the Global South, as opposed to the Global North, essentially the poor and vulnerable nations in a world dominated by increasingly rich nations. Such distinctions, however, are in flux.
For example, does this mean North Korea can qualify for NAM while South Korea is aligned with rich fellow members of the OECD? When NAM was created, China was poor, but now its economy rivals that of the US. India too is developing rapidly.
In an increasingly pluralistic world, distinctions between how nations are governed and nationalisms debated and defined, also have acquired greater salience and uncertainty.
Who might lead a NAM revival?
In 1955, five strong men, the heads of state of Indonesia, India, Egypt, Ghana and Yugoslavia led the charge to form the NAM. In a far more diverse and pluralistic world today, it is difficult to imagine the emergence of a similar cohort.
There are, of course, the ...
The European Union does not ask anyone to ‘pick a side’ in the war in Ukraine. We just ask countries to stand on the side of the UN Charter and international law, as we jointly agreed at the last EU-Africa Summit.
The day of 24 February 2022 will forever be recalled as the start of Russia’s brutal, unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
This was and remains a case of pure aggression and a clear-cut breach of the UN Charter. This war is neither “just a European issue”, nor is it about the “West versus the rest”.
It is about the kind of world we all want to live in: no one is safe in a world where the illegal use of force — by a nuclear power and permanent member of the UN Security Council — would somehow be “normalised”. That is why international law must be enforced everywhere to protect everyone from power politics, blackmail and military attack.
One year on, there is a risk that people become inured to the images of war crimes and atrocities that they see — because there are so many; that the words we use start to lose their significance; because we have to repeat them so often that we get tired and weaken our resolve; because time is passing and the task at hand is hard.
This we cannot do. Because every day Russia keeps violating the UN charter, creating a dangerous precedent for the whole world with its imperialist policy. Every day, Russia keeps killing innocent Ukrainian women, men and children, raining down its missiles on cities and civilian infrastructure. Every day, Russia keeps spreading lies and fabrications.
For the European Union and our partners, there is no alternative to staying the course of our “triple strategy”: supporting Ukraine; putting pressure on Russia to stop its illegal aggression; and helping the rest of the world cope with the fallout.
This is what we have been doing for one year now — and successfully so. We have adopted unprecedented sanctions, cut our dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and in close collaboration with key partners reduced by 50% the energy revenues the Kremlin gets to finance its aggression.
Working together, we have also mitigated the global ripple effects with food and energy prices declining, partly thanks to our Solidarity Lanes and to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
It is not enough to say that we want Ukraine to be able to ...
Exercise Mosi II utterly refutes any credible notion of a neutral stance. Instead, South Africa declares its support and assistance for a state that commits sickening international war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the ultimate crime of aggression.
South Africa has stridently maintained that it is neutral in the one-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict. If that stance could ever be maintained with integrity, 17 February 2023 marked its end with the commencement of Exercise Mosi II.
Last week the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) welcomed Russian and Chinese navy vessels with open arms to conduct “a multinational maritime exercise” intended to “strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China”.
The original itinerary involved conducting exercises relating to “interoperability of the naval systems, joint disaster systems management enhancement, maritime cooperation and anti-piracy exercises”.
However, it has since come to light that Russia may also use this opportunity to demonstrate its hypersonic missile, Zircon, which is reportedly unstoppable as it flies low and fast, evading detection by radar and rendering countermeasures ineffective.
In addition, and more disturbingly, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise says that Exercise Mosi II “will serve as a platform for the three nations to share operational skills, expertise and experience”.
The military exercise is timed to coincide almost exactly with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. That invasion has been characterised by the conduct of hostilities on Russia’s part that is indifferent to whether targets are civilians, combatants or even protected objects and buildings.
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The UN Secretary-General’s report to the United Nations Security Council revealed that hospitals and schools had already come under attack within one month of the conflict. The Russian-Ukraine conflict also forms the subject of an ongoing International Criminal Court investigation for breaches of the Rome Statute.
South Africa abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution, which demanded that Russia withdraw from Ukraine and cease using force in Ukraine immediately.
Article 41 of the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts obliges a state to “cooperate to bring to an end through lawful means any serious breach” of international law. In addition, it prohibits states from rendering any aid or assistance that would maintain the situation.
While there might be challenges in imposing liability on South Africa for its failure to uphold this obligation, there can be no doubt that in ...
While artificial intelligence has paved the way for great advancement, the caveat is that it is also increasingly being used for harm. The proliferation of autonomous weapons, the spread of dangerous social media rhetoric, entrenched algorithmic bias and the ability of technology to exacerbate our inequalities demonstrate the peril.
A week ago, on 16 February, the German Constitutional Court declared the use of surveillance technology by the police unconstitutional. The German Society for Civil Rights (GFF), which championed the case, argued that the software posed more harm than good as the risk of predictive policing enhanced the potential for discrimination.
Intriguingly, the technology is provided by a US company – a country in which there has been demonstrable algorithmic bias and discrimination in recent years. For instance, police use Idemia software, which uses algorithms to scan faces, yet results indicate that these algorithms were more likely to confuse black women’s faces than white women’s faces, or black or white men’s.
A statement from the German Constitutional Court says the provisions regulating the use of the technology in Hesse and Hamburg states violate the right to informational self-determination. In response, Hesse’s state minister of interior Peter Beuth argued that while the ruling was welcomed, current practices need to be made more robust and codified. We are increasingly seeing a push for regulation in the sphere of technology.
As far back as the 1950s, science fiction has sounded a warning about the future. As developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies have taken hold in recent years, CEOs of tech companies, futurists and AI practitioners have echoed this sentiment.
Stephen Hawking said at a conference in 2017 that “success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.”
More recently, the United Nations warned of the threat AI poses to human rights. While AI has paved the way for great advancement, the caveat is that it is also increasingly being used for harm. The proliferation of autonomous weapons, the spread of dangerous social media rhetoric, entrenched algorithmic bias and the ability of technology to exacerbate our inequalities demonstrate the peril.
As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said last week, “human agency, human dignity and all human rights are at serious risk. This is an urgent call for both business and governments to develop quickly effective guardrails that are ...
From disinterested sellers who never get back to you to scammers who sell written-off cars as bargains not to be missed, finding the right used vehicle on a limited budget is trying.
My modest little Chevy Spark, whose name was Princess, was written off at the end of last year after roving bandits in Limpopo’s rural Vhembe district tried to steal it. They inflicted so much damage — smashed windows, dented doors and an almost total removal of the dashboard — that the repair cost was higher than the insurer was prepared to pay.
I took the money; the car was old. I would have got less if I’d traded it in. Now the hunt was on for a reliable second-hand car for around about R85,000.
It must be said upfront that I am not that inexperienced in matters of cars. I’ve owned two Renault 5s (one crashed by a boyfriend), two Citi Golfs (stolen from the Jozi streets), one Golf GT (robbed from me at gunpoint), an Uno, a VW Jetta, a 1976 Australian Ford Fairlane, an ancient Black BMW with faux Dalmatian skin seat covers, a Toyota Condor, an old farm bakkie made up of many different even older farm bakkies, a Corsa bakkie and the Chevy Spark.
In present-day Limpopo, it’s perfectly possible to buy an unroadworthy car on the side of the road, next to the hair salon, the car wash and the sheep for sale, voetstoots for under R50k. But I was after a more elegant experience.
I tried several second-hand dealers in Tzaneen, which is not exactly small-car country — more bakkies and farm vehicles. The first number I called was for someone who sold used tractors. I then called Werner from Trio Motors.
“We sold all our cheap cars in December,” he said cheerfully, “but we have them coming in all the time. I’ll be in touch soon.” I’m still waiting.
Stirling from another trader could offer me a Hyundai Atos immediately. I don’t know why I took it for a test drive, since it had an 1100 engine and was like driving a hairdryer. He also had a used Ford, except there was just one problem: the orange engine warning light was on. “It could mean anything,” Stirling said.
I went online. My Facebook algorithms got super excited and it was interesting to see what started to appear on my feed. Aaah, local Marketplace — cars in my hood for ...
X-rays of an adult male baboon from the Smitswinkel troop in the Simon’s Town area revealed up to 15 penetrating pellet gun wounds to his head, torso, arms and legs. The baboon, known among locals as Van Damme, was examined by the SPCA and later euthanised.
An adult male baboon from the Smitswinkel troop in the Simon’s Town area was euthanised on Tuesday, 21 February, after an investigation by SPCA veterinarians revealed serious injuries.
X-rays revealed that besides the injuries from a reported fight with another male, baboon WF8 – better known as Van Damme – had up to 15 penetrating pellet gun wounds. Pellets had lodged in his abdomen, chest, arms and legs, with one large-calibre pellet lodged in his ear canal, according to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.
The SPCA said the fight with the other baboon left him blinded in one eye, with additional injuries to his face, arms and chest. It stated that the severity of his wounds would have necessitated an extended and painful healing period, with repeated medical procedures
“It would not have been fair or kind to keep him medicated, isolated and separated from his troop for such a long recovery time,” it said.
“Importantly, given the loss of vision in his one eye, returning him to the troop would not be a viable or humane option as this would increase his vulnerability to welfare risks.”
The SPCA statement referred to the death of the “beloved” baboons as a “tragic loss”.
Read the full SPCA press release here.
There have been many reports of baboons being captured, their bodies riddled with pellets and other injuries. The wounds and injuries are mostly inflicted by residents who do not want the baboons on their properties and surrounding area.
Jenni Trethowan, founding member of the nonprofit Baboon Matters, emphasised that shooting baboons was illegal and could result in a hefty fine.
The Animal Protection Act No. 71 of 1962 outlaws any activity deemed animal cruelty. This includes the unnecessary shooting or harming of baboons. Infractions can result in a fine of up to R40,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment.
“Oftentimes, [shooters are] local residents who become intolerant and frustrated by baboons being in the area,” said Trethowan. “There’s a very outdated idea that if you hurt animals, if you teach them a lesson, then they learn to stay away, and that just doesn’t have any relevance. It’s not useful [and] it doesn’t work.”
Read in Daily Maverick:
“‘It’s like ...
Public sector unions called for an end to attacks on collective bargaining and want their backdated salary agreements to be implemented.
“Workers must unite, put on their takkies and be prepared to jump over fences to protect their right to collective bargaining,” said Benson Ngqentsu from the South African Communist Party on Wednesday 22 February 2023 in Hanover Street, Cape Town.
Several hundreds of union members — under the umbrella of both the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) — held a lunchtime picket to express their unhappiness over their dissatisfaction with how the “so-called employer continues to treat its employees, who are the most valuable assets in the public service”.
The crowd was metres away from the Cape Town City Hall where Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepared to deliver his 2023 Budget Speech.
During the mass picket, unions were joined by other civil society groups including Cry the Xcluded and Amadoda Qotho Mens Sector. Cry the Xcluded are calling for an end to budget cuts, fixing energy utility Eskom and a basic income grant.
Budget2023
Lindi Mkumbane from Cry the Xcluded speaks about budget cuts and it’s impact on people, especially women. This is ahead of the Budget Speech due to take place at 2pm. @dailymaverick
Suné Payne (@SunePayne) February 22, 2023
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“You must unite as workers, regardless of union or political affiliation,” said Ngqentsu. Workers’ “hard-won right” to collective bargaining was facing an attack in both the public and private sectors, he said.
“This government must serve the interests of the workers and the poor,” said Ngqentsu.
Deputy president of Saftu, Nontembeko Luzipo, said the budget needed to cater to the working class, and; we need a budget that is corruption-free.”
The South African Students Congress (Sasco) said budget cuts would be met on the streets — as budget cuts have swept into sectors such as higher education.
Evelyn Schaap, Western Cape chairperson of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw), told Daily Maverick:
“Every time they make this budget, there is nothing that makes us happy.”
Schaap said Godongwana “must not think about it, he must give our 10% that was put on the table last year already.he must give it to us today in this budget. So that we can get it and deliver better services to our people”.
One collective demand by the unions is the immediate ...
For now, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has allayed market fears that South Africa’s debt trajectory is spinning out of control. The budget he unveiled on Wednesday triggered rallies in the rand and the domestic bond and equities markets, while analysts and economists gave it a cautious thumbs up.
The initial market reaction is always a knee-jerk indicator of a South African budget’s reception with investors – read capital – and the initial reception was positive.
The rand immediately rallied against the dollar after the minister began speaking, rising to 18.13/dlr from 18.29 previously. It then pared those gains to 18.20/dlr about an hour later, but it was a marked contrast with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sona earlier this month, when the rand extended its 2023 losing streak.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year government bond fell 11 basis points to 10.185% from the 10.295% it was fetching around the time the minister began speaking. A bond’s yield and price have an inverse relationship and lower yields mean lower borrowing costs for the government. So the bond market really needs to be convinced that the risk of holding the debt is abating.
And the JSE — which is not, it must be said, as sensitive to budget speeches — reversed its earlier losses. The JSE’s all-share index was down 0.60% about an hour after the minister started speaking compared to being 1.0% lower earlier.
“The budget did provide what markets are looking for, the government has absorbed a substantial portion of Eskom’s debt. Of course, it does push up the government debt to GDP ratio, to 73.6% from the previous 71.1% peak, but it seemed to be largely credit neutral. The ratings agencies already incorporated Eskom’s debt into their credit rating review and so, from that perspective, it is not credit rating negative,” Annabel Bishop, Chief Economist at Investec, told Business Maverick.
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The consolidated budget deficit will decline from 4.6% of GDP in 2021/22 to 4.2% of GDP in 2022/23.4% for the upcoming year and reaching 3.2% of GDP in 2025/26. So things are moving in the right direction, or at least that is the forecast which will hinge among other things on the economic growth forecasts panning out — an area where Treasury has tended to overshoot incorrectly.
“Real GDP growth is projected to average 1.4% from 2023 to 2025, compared with 1.6% estimated in October,” the minister ...
A successful energy mix requires not just technology and finance but heightened security around energy infrastructure, especially nuclear.
South Africa’s energy situation is dire, and a timeous rescue plan is all that stands between citizens and catastrophe. A key part of that plan is moving away from the current state monopoly towards a wider variety of energy providers.
The failure to ensure a reasonable energy supply has created an atmosphere of crisis in every facet of the economy. Rising fuel costs play a role, but rolling blackouts on the back of Eskom’s generation failure is the biggest contributor. This not only threatens economic growth but raises vulnerability to crime and insecurity — both organised crime and that associated with protests.
To grow the economy, South Africa needs investment to diversify its energy generation in favour of renewables. This will also help the country stay within the boundaries of its global commitments to the United Nations Climate Conventions.
An energy mix, with new investments primarily in low-carbon generation, would include solar, wind power, hydrogen, nuclear and lower emission options like gas power generation. While these changes are positive, the potential security risks must be noted and mitigated, especially in the case of nuclear.
An important catalyst is the Just Energy Transition Partnership deal between South Africa and the International Partners Group comprising the European Union, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. The goal is to unlock $8.5-billion in finance and investments to kick-start the journey.
This has been followed up with a JET Investment Plan for the first five years. The R1.5-trillion plan is currently in a consultation phase facilitated by the Presidential Climate Commission. The plan’s core move to a low-carbon economy will include companies and private sector participation, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s many pronouncements and the National Energy Crisis Committee.
These steps to increase energy supply must go hand in hand with ensuring the security of energy infrastructure. The South African electricity value chain – generation and transmission systems — is protected under the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2019. It is a vital asset of the country and as such, is vulnerable to sabotage, acts of terror and acts of war.
There are multiple means of sabotage, and the Institute for Security Studies has analysed cyberattacks used to destabilise both electricity and telecommunication infrastructure. While this covers the risk profiles of thermal energy generation (coal, oil and gas) and renewables like solar ...
A remarkable comeback from two goals down against Liverpool at Anfield has virtually assured Real Madrid a place in the Champions League quarterfinals again.
Real Madrid always seem to save their best for Europe, with Liverpool the latest victims of the Champions League’s comeback kings in a remarkable 5-2 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday.
Real’s failure to lie down and accept their fate was key to securing a 14th Champions League crown last season and it seems they have not lost their touch.
While Liverpool were in many respects architects of their own downfall, Real have a history of saving their best for when they are up against it, and the Champions League brings out the best in them.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in last year’s round of 16, Real came from behind to beat Paris St Germain 3-1 in the Bernabeu, before sneaking over the line in the last eight thanks to late goals against Chelsea.
Manchester City were good value for their 4-3 victory in last season’s semifinal first leg, missing a host of chances to make the win more convincing, before taking the lead in the return match in Spain.
Two last-gasp goals from Rodrygo took the tie to extra time, with Karim Benzema finishing an astonishing comeback with a decisive penalty.
Having conceded two goals inside 14 minutes at Anfield on Tuesday, Liverpool fans sensed redemption for their defeat to Real in last season’s Champions League final, with the visitors struggling to cope in a raucous atmosphere.
The first half was played at a ferocious pace, with the hosts racing into a fourth-minute lead through a superb Darwin Núñez flick – the quickest goal Liverpool have scored at Anfield in the Champions League.
The stadium erupted 10 minutes later when an horrendous miscontrol from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois let Mohamed Salah in for the second, with the Egyptian now Liverpool’s all-time top goalscorer in European competition.
Comeback
Yet, just as they did on several occasions en route to their 14th European Cup crown last season, Real quickly turned things around, with Vinicius scoring one sublime strike and one fluke goal after another goalkeeping mistake to level the match by halftime.
There was only going to be one winner in the second half, as Real gave a lesson in how to kill a match and potentially the tie.
Liverpool were never allowed to cause any problems and get the crowd behind them, while Real put three of their ...
The Department of Social Development has been allocated just more than R1-trillion for social grants and welfare services, with social grants accounting for 88% of it. Of this, R36-billion is earmarked for the extension of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant until 31 March 2024.
Another R400-million has been allocated to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to administer the SRD grant. The government has not yet finalised options to provide further social protection to supplement it.
Sassa told Parliament this month that about 7.5 million people currently receive the SRD grant and another 13 million had applied in January this year. At least 60% of recipients are between the ages of 18 and 35 years, and at least 45% have a Grade 12 certificate.
All other social grants have been increased in line with inflation, adding up to R30-billion in increased expenditure. Almost 20 million South Africans will receive social grants by March 2026.
The old age and disability grant increases to R2,090, with an additional R90 on 1 April and a further R10 on 1 October.
The child support grant rises from R480 to R510 on 1 October 2023, while the foster care grant increases from R1,070 to R1,130 over the same period. BM/DM
SMMEs can play a critical role in addressing South Africa’s youth employment crisis. However, a lack of education, opportunities and experience and an ailing economy can significantly impact the ability of young people to gain employment with SMMEs. Participants on a Daily Maverick webinar panel this week discuss the challenges faced by small businesses and the young people vying to be employed by them.
Over 9 million people aged 15-34 are unemployed, in education or in training, according to a report released by Youth Capital. This means that four out of 10 young people are struggling to find work or unable to access the education or training needed to find work. In an economic climate where tertiary education is no longer a guarantor for employment and many students protest in the face of steep financial burdens and debt, looking for solutions to high youth unemployment is a complex matter.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “South African students still battling ballooning debt despite protests and promises”
On Tuesday, 21 February, Daily Maverick hosted a webinar with Professor Lauren Graham and entrepreneur Michael Jordaan that was moderated by Business Maverick journalist Ray Mahlaka. The webinar, titled Now hiring: the role of SMMEs addressing the youth unemployment crisis, delved into the ways that small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) can serve as vehicles to address and help solve youth unemployment.
SMMEs and employment
Though there is no standardised definition, Jordaan explained that SMMEs are typically understood as businesses with a small number of employees and a low annual turnover. In South Africa, an SMME is a business that has between 1-200 employees and an annual turnover of less than R100-million. Jordaan went on to reveal that over 60% of all employed people in South Africa are working for businesses that have fewer than 50 employees. This highlights what an important sector SMMEs are, seeing as they employ so many South Africans.
When asked what makes it possible for SMMEs to provide employment opportunities, Graham noted that SMMEs often rely on their employees as opposed to being more capital-intensive like bigger businesses.
“The question, then, is how do we make sure that we can best support [SMMEs] so that they are able to bring young people into their businesses in a way that is both good for the SMME and good for the young person,” she remarked.
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Challenges facing unemployed youth
Graham added ...
Delicious and virtuous is the core mission of Matthew Evans’ new cookbook The Real Food Companion. In it, he teaches readers how to source, cook and eat real food – ethically.
Matthew Evans is a chef and food critic turned farmer-food activist, and his book celebrates resolute flavours, sourced and cooked with integrity, with 200 simple, delicious, unpretentious produce-driven recipes.
The book is the result of Evans’ four decades as a writer, chef and farmer, and multiple years of research. Erudite and enlightening, The Real Food Companion is akin to having the farmer, butcher, and baker just by your side. Here are two recipes.
Coq au vin
The ‘vin’ in this dish is wine, and while most Anglicised recipes use red, I prefer white. According to The Art of Eating, an insightful quarterly publication from the US, the French actually use their local wine for this dish – so in Alsace, for example, it would be coq-au-Riesling. Australian Chardonnay and Semillon can be a bit too woody, so use lighter examples or Riesling.
Serves 4
80 g (2¾ oz) butter
1.8 kg (4 lb) free-range chicken, cut into 10 pieces (see note)
80 g (2¾ oz) piece prosciutto or jamon or unsmoked bacon, cut into short strips
2 large onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, bruised
2 tablespoons brandy
1½ tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) dry white wine (or red, or a mix if you prefer)
10 thyme sprigs
300 ml (10½ fl oz) homemade chicken stock (see below) or water
2 carrots, cut in half lengthways
2 celery sticks, cut in half lengthways
250 g (9 oz) small button mushrooms
150 g (5½ oz) small onions (optional), peeled leaving the root intact
Heat half of the butter in a large deep frying pan over medium heat and fry the chicken pieces until well browned on all sides – you may need to do it in two batches. Add the prosciutto and cook for one–two minutes, then remove all the meat to a plate until needed.
In the same pan, fry the onion and garlic gently for about 10 minutes. Add the brandy and cook until the liquid has reduced. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat for two minutes. Stir in the wine and thyme and continue to simmer for as long as it takes to reduce to about one-third of the original volume, then add the stock.
Return the chicken to the pan, placing the carrot and celery on one side under the liquid. ...
In a rematch of the last T20 World Cup final, India will be looking for retribution against Australia.
Two powerhouses of the global game – India and Australia – lock heads in the first of two Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals on Thursday.
In the final of the previous T20 World Cup, in Australia in 2020, the Aussies smashed India by 85 runs in front of a record 86,174 supporters in Melbourne.
Thursday’s clash is smaller in comparison but no less important, especially for India who will be keen to exact revenge on their foes.
“We always enjoy whenever we play against Australia and no matter, you know, we play against them in semis or any other tournament, we always want to give 100%,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur told the media this week.
“Because whenever you do well against Australia, you always get good confidence. And it will be a very crucial game for both the teams. We just want to go and enjoy our cricket.”
India cruised past Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland in the group stages but fell to England by 11-runs to finish second in group two, setting up their meeting with top-of-group-one and undefeated Australia.
The teams met in December in a five-match T20 series in Mumbai where Australia came through as 4-1 victors but the Indians pushed the side from Down Under close in every one of the four defeats.
“I think that series gave us a lot of confidence, you know, the brand of cricket we played in that particular series was something which gave us a lot of confidence,” said Kaur.
“We know their strength, their weakness, we know what we have to do. So when you play a bilateral series, that always gives you a lot of confidence [so you know] the areas where you have to improve as a team.”
Dominant Aussies
Australia have only lost two matches, in any format, since March 2021. Interestingly, both defeats were at the hands of India.
While it would be a stretch to call India Australia’s bogey team, they have got the rub of the green over them more than any other team in recent history.
“I’m expecting it to be a huge contest, they’ve pushed us significantly in the last few years, and they have a bunch of match winners in that line-up as well,” Aussie opening batter Beth Mooney told reporters in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Wolvaardt and Brits help Proteas secure ...
How it will work is that individuals and households will be able to receive a tax rebate to the value of 25% of the cost of any new or unused solar panels that they have bought. This incentive does not include inverter or battery purchases.
The government plans to introduce a tax refund framework that targets individuals and incentivises them for installing solar panels in their homes to reduce their dependence on Eskom for electricity.
It is a breakthrough proposal because current tax laws (mainly the Income Tax Act) only make specific provisions for incentivising businesses, and not individuals or households, for solar panel installations.
In the National Treasury 2023 Budget review, it has been proposed that tax incentives on solar panel installations should also target individuals, in the form of tax refunds/rebates. But this incentive will only run for one year.
How it will work is that individuals and households will be able to receive a tax rebate to the value of 25% of the cost of any new or unused solar panels that they have bought. This incentive does not include inverter or battery purchases.
In other words, solar panel installations will be tax-deductible (known more formally as capital allowances), paving the way for individuals to be able to get refunds when tax returns are filed every year. This was a preferred tax incentive avenue considering that there is already a tax system in place for deductions.
The avenue can be used to offset the individual’s personal income tax liability for the 2023/24 tax year up to a maximum of R15,000 per individual. “For example, an individual who purchases 10 solar panels at a cost of R40,000 can reduce their personal income tax liability for the 2023/24 tax year by R10,000,” the budget document reads.
To qualify, the solar panels must be purchased and installed at a private residence, and a certificate of compliance for the installation must be issued from 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024. This means that the benefit will only run for one year.
The move by the Treasury will see SA join the ranks of the US, the UK, and Germany, which have similar tax regimes.
It has been estimated that the tax relief measure will put about R4-billion in the hands of households in the one year that it will run. It is unclear if the government plans to extend this measure beyond a year.
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Tax revenue collections for 2022/23 are expected to total R1.7-trillion, exceeding the 2022 Budget estimate by R94-billion, which translates to – no major tax announcements this year.
Sars commissioner, Edward Kieswetter says there are currently 829 active criminal investigations involving individual taxpayers, of which 178 have been handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). “94 cases have been finalised with 92 convicted with prison sentences issued,” he told journalists at a press briefing earlier today. Sars is also fighting a “proliferation of syndicates in various schemes”, with 413 active investigations.
Finance minister, Enoch Godongwana says the country is reaping the benefits of a more efficient and effective tax administration, that is building trust to increase voluntary compliance and boost revenue collections. However, in light of the various economic pressures that consumers are currently facing, National Treasury is offering up R13-billion in tax relief this year. This translates to R15.7-billion in tax relief.
Medical tax credits increase to R364 per month for the first two members, and to R246 per month for additional members.
Anyone brave enough to enter the property market during an increasing interest rate cycle will be relieved by the increase in the threshold for property transfer duty — you will not have to pay transfer duty on any properties sold for R1.1-million or less. BM/DM
In a country where many face increased financial instability in retirement due to a lack of savings, government’s proposed ‘two-pot retirement system’ remains earmarked for implementation from 1 March 2024.
The system will allow you to access a portion (30%) of your retirement savings for emergencies, while ringfencing the remainder (70%) for your retirement. However, while draft legislation around this was widely expected to be released today, this did not happen. Instead, the Budget Review makes vague reference to “forthcoming draft legislation” later this year.
Retirement reform executive at Old Mutual Michelle Acton says that although the industry is doing all it can to prepare for implementation, (companies) cannot undertake any work on system development until the reforms are passed into law. She adds that the amount of work needed to ensure readiness is far-reaching, as entirely new and sophisticated automated systems will have to be developed to enable fund members to efficiently access the allowed accessible portion of their savings. Old Mutual estimates that the new level of accessibility will lead to a 300-400% increase in claims to be processed by administrators.
The new two-pot system would have to allow for member-initiated claim functionality because, for the first time, members will have to register their claims without going through their employer. This is likely to require member engagement through an automated digital platform; the retraining and capacitating of entire new call centres; fraud and risk prevention measures.
“The administrative changes will be the biggest ever seen in the retirement industry in South Africa and means the need for an entirely new processing and service model. We will have to build a brand-new system overlayed on the existing system. This will take a massive amount of budget and resources which requires at least 12 to 18 months to build,” Acton says.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana flagged four areas of retirement reform that needed “additional work” — a proposal for seed capital, legislative mechanisms to include defined benefits funds in an equitable manner, legacy retirement annuity funds and withdrawals from the ringfenced retirement savings if you are retrenched and have no alternative income.
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Blessing Utete, managing executive of Old Mutual Corporate Consultants says the seeding relates to a portion of current savings being used to seed the accessible savings pot up to a regulated capped amount.
“The Minister would have to provide specific details on how this would ...
The Finance Ministry hikes taxes on tobacco and alcohol, while the sugar sector catches a break.
Tobacco products and alcohol have just become almost 5% more expensive but the Finance Ministry has thrown a lifeline to the sugar industry by not increasing the sugar tax.
Excise duties on alcohol and tobacco have increased in line with expected inflation of 4.9%, with the rate for sparkling wine pegged at 3.2 times that of natural unfortified wine.
Tax on heated tobacco products will increase from R14.87 for 20 sticks to R15.60.
However, vaping products, which are arguably not much healthier than cigarettes, remain untaxed.
Also known as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is about 2% per gram of sugar per 100ml.
Health activists argue that the levy is too low to have a substantive impact on health outcomes, while the sugar industry says the introduction of the levy in 2018 exacerbated a decline in the sector, with the industry losing revenue to the tune of about R1.2-billion per season.
The South African Sugar Association (SASA) said that over the past 20 years annual sugar production has declined by nearly 25%, from 2.75 million to 2.1 million tons. Over this period the industry also lost 60% of sugarcane farmers and related jobs have declined by 45%. Add to that the closure of two mills in KwaZulu-Natal, which cost thousands their jobs and stripped R2.05-billion in value from the sector.
Then there was the civil unrest of 2021 – which cost growers more than R100-million in revenue – floods, rising input costs and the rising cost of living exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The industry has lost about R4.8-billion in revenue since the introduction of the HPL.
SASA said on 3 February: “The damage to the sugar industry has been catastrophic: an estimated 16,000 direct jobs were jeopardised, impacting some 90,000 people’s livelihoods.”
The association has called for a three-year moratorium on an increase in the HPL, saying: “Any increase of the HPL and lowering of the current threshold pose a big threat to the very continued existence and survival of the industry – it would devastate the industry and mean the end of the sector as we know it.”
Budget in a box
A moratorium on the HPL would allow the industry to explore product diversification opportunities and represent the “fairest way” of achieving a just transition in the sugar sector into new activities and industries, such as sustainable aviation ...
Eskom’s debt stands at R423bn. The government plans to take over a portion of Eskom’s debt, providing money to the power utility to pay its debt and interest payments over the next three years.
The government plans to provide Eskom with debt relief worth R254-billion to ease the utility’s worrying financial situation and provide it with the space to fund the maintenance of its power stations.
In essence, the government plans to take over a portion of Eskom’s debt, providing money to the power utility to pay its debt and interest payments over the next three years.
Eskom’s debt stands at R423-billion and the power utility is struggling to independently pay it back because it doesn’t generate enough revenue from electricity sales. Eskom’s outgoing CEO Andrè de Ruyter has previously argued that for Eskom to be financially sustainable, at least R200-billion of the power utility’s debt should be taken off its financial books.
With the government’s intervention and takeover of Eskom’s debt worth R254-billion, the power utility’s debt is expected to reduce to below R300-billion. Removing debt obligations from Eskom’s financial books will pave the way for the power utility to embark on other capital initiatives such as allocating more money for the maintenance of its power stations, the breakdowns of which cause rolling blackouts.
The government is already exposed to Eskom’s debt because it guarantees most of it (about 60%). Lenders and banks have provided Eskom with debt on the basis that the government, or the taxpayer, would step in and pay for it if the power utility fails to do so. So, the government issues Eskom guarantees and would be on the hook for debt payments if the power utility enters a default scenario.
The shape and mechanism of the Eskom debt relief was revealed on Wednesday 22 February 2023 in the National Treasury’s 2023 Budget review documents.
How it will work is that the Treasury will provide Eskom with payments in three tranches from 1 April 2023 to 2026. Eskom will receive the first payment worth R78-billion in 2023/24, R66 billion in 2024/25 and then R40-billion in 2025/26.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The Treasury says these payments will cover Eskom’s capital (loan) and interest payments when they fall due, and the funds can only be used to reduce the power utility’s smothering debt load.
The Eskom debt relief measure will come at an extreme cost to the government as it ...
Amid an impossible storm of rising interest rates, steep inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has submitted a Budget with a primary surplus – a surplus of income over expenditure excluding interest payments on outstanding government debt. This is the first time in 15 years that the Budget has had a primary surplus, which is expected to reach 1.7% of GDP in 2025/26.
The consolidated budget deficit in the year ahead will narrow to just 4% of GDP, its lowest level since the Covid pandemic hit South African shores, moving to 3.2% in 2025/26.
The bad news is that servicing debt will take up an increasing share of government resources, with debt-service costs increasing from 18% of main budget revenue in 2022/23 to 19.8% in 2025/26 and averaging R366.8-billion a year over the medium term.
A big part of this can be attributed to the government moving R254-billion of Eskom debt onto the national balance sheet. While this move will give the beleaguered utility some breathing space, it shifts the needle on government debt to a steeper downward trend, starting at R6-trillion or 74% of GDP in 2025/26.
This is deeply worrying. Income tax collection tailwinds in 2022 have actually allowed South Africa to move closer to a balanced primary budget, which means that government revenues should be sufficient to cover its non-interest expenditures.
Thalia Petousis, portfolio manager at Allan Gray, says that in such a setting it is theoretically easier for the government to fund itself in the event that every bondholder simply reinvests all coupons they receive. However, she points out that problems can easily arise where interest costs escalate enormously. “A case in point is the Ghanaian government, which achieved a primary surplus but has not been able to cope with the rising cost of servicing interest on their debt, leading to an effective default,” she says.
Arthur Kamp, chief economist at Sanlam Investments, says that while the Budget maps a path to debt stabilisation and ultimately a lower debt ratio beyond the medium term, the government’s track record in sticking to the fiscal consolidation path is patchy. “As it stands, the inability to deliver sufficient electricity supply continuously and the implied deterioration in trend economic growth and per capita incomes are likely to prompt S&P to reassess its positive outlook on South Africa’s sovereign credit rating,” he says.
There has been a substantial improvement in tax compliance, which contributed R1.8-trillion ...
Struggling state-owned enterprises including Denel, the SA Post Office, Land Bank, Eskom, and South African Airways stand to receive financial support during the government’s 2023/24 fiscal year.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has offered financial support to basket-case state-owned enterprises (SoEs) despite his commitment two years ago to be discerning about taxpayer-funded bailouts to such entities.
Struggling SOEs including Denel, the SA Post Office, Land Bank, Eskom, and South African Airways stand to receive financial support from Godongwana during the government’s 2023/24 fiscal year.
Two years ago, Godongwana pledged to show SOEs “tough love” in reference to no longer offering a blank cheque to such entities, some of which have habitually relied on taxpayer-funded bailouts for survival. Godongwana later clarified his stance, saying that bailouts would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Some of the allocations to SOEs are new and others have been provisioned for and pencilled in the government’s previous budget.
A new bailout includes one that will be offered to the Post Office, which stands to receive R2.4-billion. The Post Office is broken — operationally and financially. It has been recording financial losses for 16 consecutive years and owes the SA Revenue Services income and corporate tax payments. The Post Office also owes money to landlords at buildings that house its branches and has not made medical aid and pension fund contributions on behalf of its workers for several years.
The Post Office has, in previous budgets, asked Godongwana for financial assistance. But Godongwana has not entertained such requests. The National Treasury’s 2023 Budget review states that the bailout of the Post Office will help fund the SOE’s turnaround plan, which includes paying down debt and cutting as many as 6,000 jobs to save company costs. It is expected that the R2.4-billion to the Post Office will help fund its operations, including retrenchment packages for soon-to-be laid-off workers.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In another case of the government supporting an SOE, there will be further financial support to Eskom. The government plans to take over R254-billion of Eskom’s total debt worth R423-billion.
Read on Daily Maverick: Government comes to Eskom’s rescue by taking over R254bn of its debt
In early 2020, the Land Bank defaulted on debt repayments to lenders, triggering a financial crisis. The company was immediately forced to honour outstanding debt payments to lenders, but it couldn’t afford to do so. So, the government had to step in and ...
Here in brief are some key points on the Budget.
Fuel levy
As in the 2022 Budget, there are no changes to the general fuel levy or the Road Accident Fund levy. In 2022, the state earned R90.4-billion from the fuel levy.
Carbon tax
On 1 January 2023, the carbon tax rate increased from R144 to R159 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. In line with the carbon tax rate increase, the carbon fuel levy for 2023/24 will increase by 1c to 10c/l for petrol and 11c/l for diesel from 5 April 2023.
Education
Learning and culture have been allocated R1.43 trillion over three years.
For 2023:
Basic education – R293.7-billion;
NSFAS – R50.1-billion;
University transfers – R45.1-billion;
Skills development levy institutions – R24.3-billion;
Education administration – R18.5-billion; and
Technical and vocational education and training – R13.3-billion.
Economic development:
Allocated R237.6-billion over the next three years.
Job creation and labour affairs – R24.6-billion;
Innovation, science and technology – R19.8-billion;
Agriculture and rural development – R27.8-billion;
Industrialisation and exports – R40.5-billion; and
Economic regulation and infrastructure – R124.9-billion.
DM
Parliament has heard that criminals are making the most of South Africa’s power crisis and that when electricity is cut, policing is badly affected, with cops at risk of becoming targets, calls to police stations being dropped and case registration delays.
Police have warned that it becomes harder to do their work during power cuts in South Africa and even they are at risk of becoming targets of criminals who are making the most of electricity outages.
This emerged in Parliament on Wednesday, 22 February, during a virtual police committee meeting, which was ironically affected by power cuts.
Part of the meeting dealt with the crisis at state power utility Eskom that has resulted in routine hours-long electricity outages across the country.
POWERALERT2
Due to the breakdowns of eight generation units on Sunday afternoon, Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented continuously until further notice.
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) February 19, 2023
‘Unacceptable new norm’
During proceedings some members of the police committee said they were expecting power cuts where they were based — this affected their wifi and internet connections and some, therefore, had trouble remaining logged into the virtual meeting.
This caused some delays.
At one point Police Minister Bheki Cele remarked that he hoped “load shedding doesn’t impact” him and cause him to inadvertently drop out of the meeting.
Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale remarked that “load shedding has disorganised many”.
Police committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson experienced a power outage and before apparently dropping out of the meeting, explained that she was trying to keep up with proceedings despite the situation.
“Unfortunately, this is the new norm,” she said.
“It’s unacceptable.”
Earlier Joemat-Pettersson said that the police committee would have to investigate whether convening virtually at irregular hours would be more convenient, given power cuts.
Power cuts are crime opportunities
During Wednesday’s meeting, the South African Police Service (SAPS) gave a presentation about the impact of power cuts on its operations.
It said: “Load shedding is creating an opportunity for crime to be committed and impacts negatively on routine policing activities.”
Opportunistic criminals were taking advantage of power cuts.
The presentation also detailed the “socio-economic impact” of the crisis.
It said power cuts were affecting how police officers were attending to complaints and how long it was taking them to respond.
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Another flagged problem brought on by power cuts was “the safety of members that could be easily targeted and robbed of official firearms, attac[k]ed/murdered.”
Dropped calls and delays
The 10111 ...
Amendments to Schedule 1 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act have expanded the list of people and businesses who are now ‘accountable institutions’ under the legislation. What does this mean for nonprofits and smaller businesses selling goods?
As part of the efforts to ward off the threatened greylisting of South Africa for non-compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, Schedule 1 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica) was amended on 29 November 2022.
The amendments, laid out in the Government Gazette 47596, expand the list of people and businesses who are now “accountable institutions” under Fica, with all of the additional paperwork and administration this entails.
Classification as an accountable institution requires that your business registers with Fica and performs the same document-gathering due diligence that banks have been required to do (and have irritated us with).
On 5 February 2023, Luke Fraser, writing for BusinessTech, stated: “Organisations that sell any items that total R100,000 or more to anyone in all forms of payments will be considered accountable institutions.”
He quotes Angela Itzikowitz and Era Gunning of law firm ENSafrica as saying: “Dealers in art, motor vehicles, equipment, scrap metal, and even bicycles and televisions will now be treated the same as banks and other financial institutions for purposes of Fica.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “‘Miracles’ needed to stop a deficient SA from being greylisted by global anti-terror financing watchdog”
As my work is in the nonprofit sector, I have been asked, based upon the BusinessTech article, whether nonprofits that sell R100,000 or more of, for instance, second-hand goods, would now be accountable institutions under Fica.
A closer examination of the new item 20 in the amended Schedule 1 shows that it is not quite as wide-ranging as could be understood from the BusinessTech article.
Item 20, broken down into three component parts, includes as an accountable institution:
“A person who carries on the business of dealing in high value goods.
“in respect of any transaction where such a business receives payment in any form to the value of R100,000 or more (whether the payment is made in a single operation or more than one operation that appears to be linked).
“where ‘high value goods’ means any item that is valued in that business at R100,000 or more.” (breaking down and brackets added by me)
So, for a business, nonprofit, person or any legal entity to become an accountable institution under item 20, all three of the following need to ...
The fourth Annual Social Justice Lecture at Stellenbosch University saw Justice Albie Sachs addressing the question, ‘Is this the country we were fighting for?’ His reflections paint a picture of hope for a country where the Constitution is strong, even as society remains flawed.
“People remember their first kiss — I remember the first time I went to jail. I was 17, a second-year law student. [in] December 1952, and I was leading a group of three students from [the University of Cape Town] and one white worker from England into the general post office, to sit on a seat marked non-whites only.”
These were the words of Justice Albie Sachs, anti-apartheid activist and former Constitutional Court Judge, at the fourth Annual Social Justice Lecture at Stellenbosch University on Tuesday, 21 February. His address explored the question, “Is this the country we were fighting for?”
“The answer, which seems to come as a total surprise to everybody. is yes, this is the country we were fighting for,” he told the audience.
“This is the country we were fighting for, but it’s not the society we were fighting for, and it’s important to make that distinction and not to. undermine, not only the gains we’ve made, but the mechanisms we need to deal with all those problems.
“I’m optimistic that we have the country that can deal with the problems in society. That’s an optimism based not simply on fantasy or wishful thinking but on my life experience. And that experience starts with the 17-year-old saying. ‘Mayibuye iAfrika’ in front of the cops, and being hauled off to prison.”
Sachs reflected on his experiences under apartheid, including travelling to Kliptown, Soweto, to adopt the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in 1955; discussing guidelines for a new South Africa with ANC delegates gathered at the University of Zambia in 1988; and witnessing the rolling mass action behind the Defiance Campaign over the years.
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“On the Constitutional Committee, in exile, we said to our comrades, ‘We can’t draft the constitution. Only the people of South Africa can draft the Constitution, through their democratically elected representatives on South African soil,’” said Sachs.
“We got that, and we got that through rolling mass action.”
It was not lawyers who created the Constitution, emphasised Sachs, but the 20-million people who voted in the first election in 1994.
“Why have we got the most ...
The diversified automotive group, which offers aftermarket, mobility solutions, new car sales and rentals, reports an increase in operating income of 22%.
Diversification and international exposure are at the heart of Motus Holdings Limited’s strong showing for the six months ended 31 December, as the automotive group posted healthy growth in its aftermarket, mobility solutions and car rental divisions.
New car sales might have been pancake-flat, particularly in South Africa and the UK, but group-wide operating income is up a healthy 22%.
Retail business is also on the up, increasing by 30%, while import distribution is up 12%.
In short, Motus might have sold fewer units of vehicles, but it made a mint off them.
The market didn’t seem impressed by the declaration of a 300c interim dividend (a 9% year-on-year increase) though, to be paid out on 20 March, as the share price was down by 5.2% at closing.
Revenue is up 14% to R51.2-billion (compared with R44.8-billion in 2021), with an increase in operational performance of 25%, from R2.96-billion over the same period in 2021 to R3.7-billion. Profit before tax increased 7% to R2-billion.
Operating profit increased by 22% to R2.62-billion from R2.15-billion year on year.
Earnings per share grew by 17% to 916c.
In a statement, Motus said its strong, “strategically aligned” operational performance came about against the backdrop of challenging trading conditions across all the geographies in which the group operates.
Besides SA and the UK, Motus has a presence in Australia and limited exposure to southeast Asia, and southern and east Africa.
In context: the six-month results are a snapshot of an otherwise disparate year. Motus CEO Osman Arbee told Business Maverick that in December 2021, they had many cars available when there was a shortage, which is why Motus did particularly well. By December 2022, the situation started normalising.
“We sold a lot more vehicles in that half. By September, I’m [sic] looking flat, but everyone else had cars as well. Then there was a shortage of vehicles which, if I had another 5,000 cars, I could have sold them. I couldn’t supply the car rental companies because I only had enough for dealerships, so I put the vehicles through the dealership network.”
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That strategic decision paid off handsomely for the group, as revenue increased by 14%, supported by acquisitions, increased contributions from the sale of parts and rendering of services, as well as from the sale ...
The resumption at 10am of the Section 194 inquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane ground to halt on Wednesday almost as soon as it had kicked off.
Shortly after welcoming everyone in the room and on virtual platforms, chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi said the committee was set to hear from Rodney Mataboge, chief investigator with the Public Protector South Africa.
However, within minutes, Parliament’s legal adviser, Fatima Ibrahim, told the committee that “the matter that I raised, I wished to raise in a private closed meeting of the committee. I am asking all media to leave.”
By 10.19am on day 48, 283 online die-hards kept watching the parliamentary channel on YouTube while the committee deliberated.
Mataboge was summoned to the inquiry when Bianca Mvuyana, an investigator with the Public Protector who worked under Mataboge and a witness for Mkhwebane, indicated she was not keen to testify “on anyone’s behalf”.
Last week, Mvuyana told the committee and Mkhwebane she would make a formal statement only if her superior, Mataboge, was also called.
Peanut gallery chimes in
While they waited, the commentariat on the online peanut gallery began to chat among themselves while the screen remained inactive.
Soon speculation was rife that Mataboge was seeking “immunity” for spilling all the beans.
“Firstly, this comitee (sic) cannot grant such immunity and this guy com clean..hahahhaha. Gtfo,” Jabu bashed out on his keyboard, his legal analysis spot-on.
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With regard to whether Mkhwebane would ever take the stand, Moses opined that “she has the right not to, but obviously all evidence against her will remain uncontested, her only play is to delay till her term ends so she gets her retirement package.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Madonsela vs Mkhwebane – PP face-off in impeachment inquiry to go ahead”
Simon chipped in that what was irritating him this morning was how Advocate Nasreen Bawa, evidence leader for the committee “pronounces Tshepo! I cringe all the time she calls him Chepo! I would not be able to work with her when she can’t make an effort to get the pronunciation right.”
Mataboge is the last witness before former public protector Thuli Madonsela is expected to appear at the inquiry on 1 March. After that, 10 days have been set down for Mkhwebane and her legal team, led by Advocate Dali Mpofu, to set out her defence.
The hearing is scheduled to continue, in which case Daily Maverick will pick up our ...
With accusations of Russia violating the Antarctic Treaty by prospecting for fossil fuel and a demonstration against a Russian Polar vessel docking in Cape Town, the frozen continent is getting considerable attention right now. South Africa is a signatory to the treaty and how that happened is a fascinating story.
South Africa’s presence in Antarctica had its roots in a madcap scheme dreamed up in 1949 by the explorer Sir Vivien ‘Bunny’ Fuchs and a South African geologist, Ray Adie.
While confined to their sleeping bags in the mountains of Alexander Island off the Antarctic Peninsula during a blizzard, they hatched a plan to undertake the journey clear across Antarctica. It would be the one Shackleton failed to make in 1914 when his ship, Endurance, was crushed by pack ice.
Maybe South Africa would be interested, suggested Adie, considering that the Weddel Sea area closely affected weather conditions in the southern hemisphere.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘It’s a moral disgrace’: Cape Town mayor spits fire as Russian seismic ship sails to Antarctica”
Fuchs was a man with influence and, by 1955, his dream had become the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition with Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth ll as its patron. Financial support came from Britain, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. On his team was no less than the man who’d first stood on top of Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary.
The person chosen to represent South Africa was a remarkable character named Hannes le Grange, a 28-year-old employee of the SA Weather Bureau who’d grown up in the small town of Ladismith in the Little Karoo. According to Fuchs, he was “something of a blind date”, but got the explorer’s approval because “he was tall and heavy in build.”
The plan was for Fuchs to set up Shackleton Base on the ice shelf edging the Weddel Sea, and for Hillary to establish Scott Base on the other side of the continent near McMurdo Sound on the Ross Ice Shelf. From there he would lay supply depots for the trans-continental party to use on its run from the Pole to Scott Base.
In November 1955 Le Grange, together with Fuchs, Hillary and other members of the party, set sail for the Weddell Sea in a Canadian sealer, Theron. Aboard were stores and equipment plus a Sno-cat, two aircraft, some track-adapted Ferguson farm tractors and 24 huskies. They had a hard time getting through the pack ice, but finally made ...
An eye-catching haunch of beef on a big fat bone was staring at me behind glass in the butchery section of a fancy new supermarket. It called my name.
I had to cook this cut of meat. The great haunch staring at me was beef shin that had been chined so that a chunky section of its bone protruded proudly. It’s known as a Beef Hammer, for reasons that are obvious when you look at it. And it’s a winner.
The bone is abundant with marrow all the way through, and that is to be exploited for the punch of flavour it brings to a dish. And beef shin, though it is among the toughest of cuts, is packed with beefy flavour. So it demands a long, slow cook for the meat to become fall-off-the-bone tender and to accumulate all the flavour that will be your reward.
The size of the cut and the fact that it is tough dictates two things: that it must be cooked for a long time, at a low temperature, and that it needs to be entirely covered with liquid. The only suitable vessel was my heavy cast-iron Dutch oven but to fill it up enough to submerge the meat would require several litres.
I did not want to over flavour this shin, but rather to bring its own flavours to the fore. So I used a great quantity of beef stock (not too strong) after starting it off by frying some onion, carrot and celery with lots of garlic, very gently. The plan was first to get the beast tender, then to remove it from the pot and reduce the liquid down. With every minute of reduction, the flavours became more and more intense and wonderful.
Then, halfway through, I added black olives and the brine from their jar. That turned out to be the clincher. Best thing I’ve cooked this year by far and a contender for recipe of the year.
A good butcher will be able to prepare this cut of beef shin for you. Never be shy to ask; they’re creative people who like to please and to show us what they can do. Most butchers appreciate being asked for something specific. You could show them the photo above on your phone if they don’t know the cut. Then leave them time to do it while you do the rest of your shopping.
When I say it serves ...
The ANC’s national officials have given green light for Free State chairperson Mxolisi Dukwana to be the next premier after Sisi Ntombela tendered her resignation, indicating she was ready to be redeployed.
The ANC’s Free State chairperson, Mxolisi Dukwana, is expected to be sworn in as a member of the legislature this week, paving the way for him to become the next premier.
This follows an endorsement by the party’s Top Seven.
Dukwana will have barely been in the job for a week and have to deliver the State of the Province Address (Sopa).
Party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula informed the province’s secretary, Polediso Motsoeneng, in an email that following interviews with Dukwana, Dibolelo Mahlatsi and Ketso Makume, they had resolved to appoint Dukwana.
“Based on these interviews, the national officials are of the view that all three candidates are of very high calibre and have the potential to play meaningful roles as deployees in a number of spheres of government,” wrote Mbalula.
“In the current conjecture, given his experience and the challenges faced by the Free State, the national officials are of the view that comrade Mxolisi Dukwana is the preferred ANC candidate for the position of Premier of Free State.”
Mbalula’s email was sent on the day outgoing premier Sisi Ntombela succumbed to calls for her to resign after failing to be elected into the party’s provincial structure and following an assessment of her performance.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Sisi Ntombela lost bid for FS ANC chair, then for PEC membership, now fighting for political life”
Ntombela tendered her resignation on Tuesday, a week before she was due to deliver her Sopa.
In a letter to Motsoeneng, Ntombela indicated she was resigning both as premier and member of the Free State legislature, effective from Friday, 24 February 2023.
“I want to express my appreciation for the support you and my organisation the ANC have provided me with during my tenure as the member of the legislature and premier of the province,” she wrote.
“Together we have done our best in difficult circumstances to meet the expectations of our people. I wish the incoming premier and my beloved ANC all the best in the task that lies ahead.”
Ntombela also said she was ready for the party to deploy her into any other portfolio: “I remain available and committed to our revolutionary goals and ready to serve in any deployment the organisation deems fit.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
Millions of rands of food are wasted and lost through the food system while millions of South Africans are in perpetual hunger. Chefs with Compassion, a non-profit organisation dedicated to rescuing food, cooking for and feeding the hungry, is trying to end the fight against hunger and food waste. The organisation is close to reaching a 5 million meal milestone and has no plans on slowing down, but they need the help of corporate organisations, the private sector, and civil society to assist through a monthly donation.
An estimated 20 million people go to bed hungry every night in South Africa.
“In South Africa, we’ve got two major problems. We have high food wastage and at the same time, we have millions of people who are food insecure,” said Chef Coo Pillay.
These issues were further exacerbated during the Covid-19 lockdown, which is when Chefs with Compassion started delivering meals to vulnerable communities. The non-profit organisation works in collaboration with partners — either individuals, companies, or organisations to rescue surplus food that would go to waste, donate it to kitchens where it is cooked and then fed to the growing number of food insecure and hungry individuals in vulnerable areas. Pillay explains that the current food issues plaguing the country were made even more severe during the lockdown as people became destitute almost overnight. “Our ultimate goal is reducing food waste and ensuring that food insecurity is demolished in the country,” he said.
How it works
Chefs with Compassion works with a three-value system of rescue, cook and feed. The rescue part entails going out to manufacturers, producers, farms, and markets to rescue produce, says Pillay.
“When we say rescue, a lot of people think we are rescuing food out of the bin or food that is not fit for human consumption. It is actually good quality produce that really has nowhere to go, and unfortunately, manufacturers, farmers, and the market ultimately throw it away and that’s how it ends up going to the landfill,” he explains. It is typically good produce that is going to waste on a daily basis, he adds.
The rescued food is then brought to the share house where a network of volunteers prepares the ingredients.
“The ingredients are then taken to our kitchen hubs located around the greater Gauteng area and that is where the cook value comes in,” he says.
There are numerous chefs ready to cook hearty and nutritional meals at ...
Once we are acquainted and have established a relationship (so to speak) with paradox, we can then embrace it and learn to dance with it. Ultimately, we should allow it to become an intrinsic part of our being.
Throughout history, contradiction and uncertain times have prevailed in all aspects of human lives. However, the 21st century has proved to truly be the ultimate age of paradox.
Consequently, navigating this paradox has become an increasingly important competency and asset for leaders at all levels. Acquiring the skills of navigation starts with learning to recognise paradox and being aware of its presence and form; not acknowledging it will not deflect, nor deter, its impact, while recognising it means taking time to get to know it.
Once we are acquainted and have established a relationship (so to speak) with paradox, we can then embrace it and learn to dance with it. Ultimately, we should allow it to become an intrinsic part of our being. This enables us to become more authentic, decisive and dependable. As we move from a space of possible discomfort and fear to seeing it as a powerful resource that we can leverage, we start moving into a new league of leadership capability and gravitas.
There are many elements that have to line up for this to be optimised, such as being engaged, authentic and positively intentional.
The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy defines intentionality as “the power of minds and mental states to be about, to represent or to stand for things, properties and state of affairs”.
Taking that further, positive intentionality speaks to the pursuit of a greater purpose — something of consequence for the collective good. In fact, great leadership is distinguished by the pursuit of value for the collective, rather than simply “What’s in it for me?” — the latter sadly being abundant in both public and private sectors today.
We have experienced through the exponential world, change continuing on an ever-increasing basis and at faster rates. The universe itself is accelerating; now, with more paradoxes in all facets of our lives, the journey to self-awareness and self-mastery is non-negotiable for both existing and aspirant leaders. The more self-aware we become, the more intentional we can become; the more we look beyond ourselves to a greater collective, the more impactful, resilient and agile we can become.
Genghis Khan
When we examine some of the greatest leaders in history, Genghis Khan prominently stands out for many reasons. ...
When political folly and ahistorical ignorance collide the outcome is bound to be stupidity. It’s been brought to my attention that the City of Pietermaritzburg is considering a resolution from the EFF that would remove the Gandhi Statue and rename Gandhi Square.
How ironic that this idiocy that Gandhi was a racist manifests while I am travelling in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, revered by most Indians and billions around the world. It’s a test of inner sincerity. Even Einstein described Gandhi in these words: “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”
In the deep rural area of Araku Valley I sit in villages with tribal farmers where the Naandi Foundation has built incredible models of deep transformative regenerative agriculture among some of India’s poorest tribal communities. Here, as across India’s 1.4 billion people, the names of Mandela and Gandhi are spoken of in hushed tones as the founding fathers of democracy in India and South Africa.
I was here more than a decade ago and witnessed today the transformed lives of more than 100,000 smallholder farmers and increased incomes of up to six times. And they now operate across more than 1,500 villages.
I have met Naandi CEO Manoj Kumar, as well as Dr Vandana Shiva, one of the most prominent thinkers and a fierce fighter for the preservation of community seed banks, women and indigenous rights and the rights of Mother Earth as we face a catastrophic ecological crisis that threatens the lives of billions.
Both are Gandhian followers and asked me to explain this errant position. I am unable to do so. And how out of context this view is. It’s a reflection of how deeply poisoned our politics has become in South Africa, pandering to self-interest and scapegoating to become relevant.
A position that feeds a narrative that Mandela betrayed our people during the negotiations, weaves into the accusation that Gandhi was a racist.
Gandhi came to South Africa to represent the interests of Indian traders who were out-competing white traders who had lobbied the white authorities to ban and place restrictions on Indians. It was arrogant to believe he was here to liberate black people from colonial oppression.
But it was where he began his personal transformation on a lifelong mission to fight injustice. To misunderstand this context is to be dishonest politically.
Every community I go to recognises the ...
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is tabling the National Budget for 2023. Read the latest news and analysis.
See the latest news and analysis on Budget 2023.
Even as the guns have fallen silent in Tigray, the war over truth surrounding the worst mass killing of the 21st century continues — and another bomb is about to explode.
Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray War, an account of the conflict and its long and complex historical roots by Sarah Vaughan and Martin Plaut, former Africa Editor of the BBC, will be published this week by Hurst Publishers.
What they have to say is explosive: that the entire justification for the war was based on a lie — the claim that the Tigrayans started it by attacking the Northern Command Headquarters in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, on the night of 3 November 2020 and that the federal government’s response was a “law and order operation to counter a traitorous terrorist attack” by the Tigrayans.
The authors reveal in great detail that the motivation for war was long “in gestation and preparation” as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pushed to centralise power after 25 years of Tigrayan-dominated ethnic federalism under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.
From July 2020, the authors recount, there were explicit social media calls for Ethiopia and Eritrea to act against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which was identified as “the source of all our problems”. Abiy and his associates began a programme of hate speech against Tigrayans, calling them monsters and saying they should be the last of their kind. Tigrayans were expelled from the military and the civil service, and thousands withdrew into Tigray. The anti-Tigrayan sentiment was channelled into millions of Ethiopian homes on satellite television.
An important context is that this was not a civil war but a regional war in which the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) allied with Eritrea, whose leader, Isaias Afwerki, had a long-standing beef with the Tigrayans dating back to the 1970s. The two countries, along with Somalia, formed a tripartite alliance on 27 January 2020, nine months before the outbreak of war, and the weapons and troops were moved into place well ahead of 3 November.
“Everyone knew this was coming,” Plaut told the Commonwealth Institute at the launch of the book last week. “This was no surprise.”
An invasion long in the planning
Plaut cites Professor Mirjam van Reisen, from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, who was working on a research project with academics from Mekelle University when she received a call on the night of 3 November 2020 from a colleague, saying that ...
Openers Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt struck a century partnership to help the Proteas to a 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh. They will now face England in the second semifinal on Friday.
A superb century stand by openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits helped the Proteas women to a comfortable 10-wicket win over Bangladesh on Tuesday. The victory means South Africa will face England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup at Newlands on Friday.
In what was essentially a quarterfinal clash for the Proteas, Wolvaardt struck a well-paced 66 off 56 deliveries while Brits held her own with an important 50 off 51 deliveries.
Wolvaardt’s confidence-boosting half-century contained seven fours and one magnificent six over mid-on.
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana won the toss and elected to bat first. The Proteas restricted them to 113 for six, but it wasn’t all easy going for the host nation, chasing 114 for victory.
The opening pair struggled to pierce the gaps and rotate the strike in the first half of the innings, scoring only 43 in the first 10 overs.
But the handbrake was released after that point, with South Africa thrashing 74 runs in the last 47 deliveries of their innings to secure their passage to the next round with 13 balls to spare.
“An extra 20 to 30 runs would have made a big difference,” said Sultana after the match.
It was a good return to form for Wolvaardt, whose previous highest score in the World Cup was 19 in South Africa’s last match against Australia.
Perfect bowling
The victory, however, was once again set up by South Africa’s phenomenal bowlers.
Only Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tryon — who shared the load of the fifth bowler — went for more than six runs an over, while Marizanne Kapp registered magnificent figures of two wickets for 17 runs in her four overs.
One of her wickets included that of skipper Sultana for 30 in the final over of the innings, just as she was getting going.
Ayabonga Khaka also picked up two wickets as she and Kapp restricted the Bangladeshis masterfully at the end of the innings.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Left-arm orthodox Nonkululeko Mlaba once again opened the bowling alongside Shabnim Ismail and the pair kept things tight upfront while taking one wicket apiece.
However, South Africa’s fielding left a lot to be desired as the batting heroines Wolvaardt and Brits dropped two sitters.
There were several overthrows as ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will suspend its observation of the New START nuclear weapons treaty with the US, a decision Secretary of State Antony Blinken called ‘irresponsible’.
In his first State of the Nation Address in nearly two years, Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone, reiterating that Moscow would continue to fight for its “historic lands” in Ukraine.
Read more: Russia’s war in Ukraine: Key events and how it’s unfolding
As the one-year mark since Russia’s invasion draws closer, US President Joe Biden thanked his Polish counterpart for welcoming displaced Ukrainians during a meeting in Warsaw, where he delivered an address after Monday’s surprise trip to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelensky. Biden dismissed a claim made by Putin blaming the US and Ukraine’s allies for the war, saying that the Russian leader could end the conflict with a word.
Key developments
Putin halts nuke pact with US, vows to push war in Ukraine
Pentagon dysfunction reveals cracks in US war machine
How Europe ditched Russian fossil fuels with spectacular speed
China looks to show world it can broker Russia-Ukraine peace
Why US-Russia ‘New START’ nuclear treaty is in peril
On the ground
Russia shelled the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, killing five people and wounding 16, the city council said on its website.
Russian forces fired more than 30 salvos with multiple launch rocket systems, including at Kherson, causing fatalities among the civilian population, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
Biden says Putin will never find victory in his war on Ukraine
Biden dismissed a claim made by Putin blaming the US and Ukraine’s allies for the war, saying that the Russian leader could end the conflict with a word.
“Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,” the US president said during a visit to Warsaw, adding that the US and its allies would announce new sanctions against Moscow this week.
“The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia,” the president said. “The West was not planning to attack Russia, as Putin said today. And millions of Russian citizens only want to live in peace with their neighbours.”
IMF chief sees ‘sizeable’ full-fledged loan possible for Ukraine
The International Monetary Fund is prepared to provide sizeable economic support for Ukraine under a new full-fledged loan programme, according to the organisation’s managing director.
Kristalina Georgieva praised Ukraine’s efforts to transform its economy, which contracted more than 30% last year in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion.
“Based on the ...
In an affidavit and WhatsApp messages obtained by Daily Maverick, evidence has emerged that advocate Dawie Joubert, a senior counsel and member of the Bar’s examination board, has been involved in an attempt to frame conservationist Fred Daniel. Together with two suspects named alongside Deputy President David Mabuza in Outa’s recent criminal complaint to the NPA, a senior public prosecutor has been implicated too. The documents suggest that the fraudulent activities of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency are ongoing.
‘[Jan] Muller’s deal that I provide his advocate Dawie Joubert SC with a false affidavit in exchange for immunity from prosecution is in essence a request to frame Mr Daniel.”
So begins the next episode in the ongoing saga that has formed the substance of Daily Maverick’s long-running coverage of the battle between outgoing Deputy President David Mabuza and conservationist Fred Daniel.
The above allegation, which is included in a sworn statement signed on 3 February 2023 by Andre Pienaar, a wildlife capture expert and registered game dealer, is backed up by WhatsApp texts in the possession of Daily Maverick.
2023-02-03 Pienaar Affidavi. by Leila Dougan
Implicated in Pienaar’s statement are two men who appeared as suspects alongside Mabuza in the explosive criminal complaint lodged by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on 5 December 2022.
The two men, Jan Muller and Juan de Beer, were named as the thirteenth and fourteenth suspects in Outa’s complaint, a 41-page affidavit submitted under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, in which Daily Maverick’s reporting (as per the wording of the affidavit itself) played a pivotal role.
As readers may recall, Muller is a former senior manager and De Beer a current senior manager in the Wildlife Protection Services (WPS) division of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA).
According to the evidence submitted by Outa to the Investigating Directorate of the National Prosecuting Authority — and initially covered by Daily Maverick in the first and second parts of our “Dead Matter” series — both men, consistently and over a number of years, acted in breach of the Public Finance Management Act by repurposing the WPS’ Problem Animal Fund.
“The Problem Animal Fund enterprise exploited the province’s biodiversity by monetising the killing of so-called problem animals,” Outa’s complaint noted.
“This was done by selling hunting permits to the highest bidder.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
But aside from Muller and De Beer, there are another two individuals implicated in ...
The office says it has seen an uptick in complaints and in nearly half the cases, suppliers won’t cooperate with its investigations.
It’s been labelled the “new gold rush” and it seems scammers will scam. The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) has issued an alert that it has seen an uptick in the number of complaints about solar systems and generators — and almost 50% of suppliers are simply refusing to cooperate with the office’s investigations.
The ombud says that from 1 February 2022 to 9 February 2023, there were 202 complaints relating to solar systems and generators. Most of these complaints relate to the following:
Installers are failing to issue compliance certificates to show that their products comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This includes not disclosing the criteria that need to be met for such a compliance certificate to be issued, or that an additional fee needs to be paid.
Accepting payment and not delivering the goods or not installing the systems within the agreed timeframes.
Poor workmanship and installation.
Warranties not being honoured.
Incorrect equipment bought either by or for consumers, and suppliers refusing to accept returns.
No aftercare services.
Misleading advertising relating to the type, size and wattage of inverters, solar panels and batteries.
Inflated prices for panels, inverters, batteries and installation services.
The ombud, Magauta Mphahlele, advises against going the DIY route with solar as most consumers lack awareness and technical knowledge about the product and installation. Incorrect installation could also nullify the manufacturer’s warranties.
“Consumers are, generally speaking, not clued up on the requirements of systems or their limitations. As a result, consumers are suffering enormous financial losses by purchasing incorrect equipment and/or appointing unqualified installers.”
Forty-six percent of cases have had to be terminated due to a lack of cooperation from suppliers. Mphahlele says this is of great concern because it meant that complainants did not receive any redress.
“This outcome proves that there are high levels of non-compliance around the Consumer Protection Act [CPA] in this sector, and we call on suppliers and installers of solar systems and generators to ensure that their service standards meet the requirements of the CPA and other manufacturing and safety standards required in terms of other laws of this country.”
So far, the ombud has resolved 134 complaints, giving consumers a total of R277,273 in refunds. It has also instructed suppliers to rectify shoddy workmanship and replace faulty inverters, solar panels, generators and batteries.
Tips from the ombud to ...
A large number of SAPS trainees are demanding that the new police intake recruitment process be halted amid allegations of bribery and rigging.
More than 1,000 South African Police Service (SAPS) trainees nationwide who passed all their assessment criteria tests but were omitted from the final list of recruits selected claim their names were replaced with the names of people who had allegedly paid bribes to recruitment officers.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the national police spokesperson, said on Tuesday that three people had been arrested following a preliminary report that indicated they were involved in collusion.
She told Daily Maverick that none of the three is an SAPS member, adding that investigations into the alleged irregularities of the recruitment and selection processes were continuing.
The arrests relate to allegations that recruitment officers at SAPS academies accepted bribes from recruits so they could attend the academies without having to pass rigorous tests. Some of those who slipped through the cracks illegally were among the 10,000 new constables who marched out to the streets in December last year.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Fears that scores of recruits paid for entry into SA police colleges”
Following this report, the police confirmed a nationwide probe into the alleged corrupt recruitment of trainees.
The fight for the trainees, referred to as “SAPS excluded trainees”, is spearheaded by whistle-blower and former cop Patricia Mashale. She told Parliament her life is at risk because she lifted the lid on high-level police corruption.
“These individuals approached me after hearing what I’m doing for the SAPS dismissed members and came to me for assistance,” she told Daily Maverick on Tuesday.
Mashale compiled a list of more than 1,000 “SAPS excluded trainees” and forwarded it to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid). Jennifer Ntlatseng, the executive director of Ipid, acknowledged receipt of the allegations of corruption on 3 February.
Ntlatseng’s response then was: “This letter serves to acknowledge receipt of a complaint relating to the recruitment of SAPS student constables since the year 2019. The Directorate will conduct the investigation in relation to the allegations made and will liaise with the affected individuals. Furthermore, the Directorate will communicate feedback to the affected individuals on progress made on their cases, respectively.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Memorandum of demands
On Friday, 18 February, at least 500 “SAPS excluded trainees” marched to SAPS headquarters. The group, led by national reservist coordinator Moses Mulaudzi, handed over a memorandum of demands ...
An apartheid-era relic which allowed the minority white government to strip Bantustan residents and exiled freedom fighters of their South African citizenship is being challenged in the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Believe it or not, even in 2023, many South Africans have their citizenship taken away against their will. The Supreme Court of Appeal is about to consider the constitutionality of a provision which authorises this unacceptable denial of one’s birthright. We hope the court holds this outdated provision to be invalid.
Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act stipulates that a South African citizen is automatically stripped of their citizenship if they acquire the citizenship of another country unless they first seek and receive permission from the Minister of Home Affairs to do so.
Disturbingly, this provision is a relic of the apartheid-era 1949 Citizenship Act. Despite the sham nature of the Bantustan “homelands”, the apartheid government regarded black South Africans as holding the citizenship of another state — that allowed it conveniently to denationalise many of them.
Moreover, many freedom fighters who opposed the apartheid regime had been forced into exile and acquired the citizenship of other countries: this provision enabled the government to strip them of their South African citizenship.
This, in our view, is part of the historical backdrop behind the enactment of a strong citizenship right in the Constitution: section 20 proclaims in no uncertain terms that “no citizen may be deprived of citizenship”.
That right was one of the bases for a constitutional challenge brought by the Democratic Alliance to section 6 in the North Gauteng high court. It was argued that this provision lacked any clear rationale and that it violated section 20 and several other constitutional rights. Disappointingly, the high court upheld the provision in a deeply flawed judgment which, we hope, will be overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Fundamentally, it is hard to understand the purpose of such a provision in South Africa’s constitutional democracy: why should citizens be deprived of their South African citizenship if they acquire the citizenship of another country? In its court papers, the government suggested that people who did so voluntarily indicate that they wish to be deprived of their South African citizenship. This reasoning is unpersuasive both empirically and legally.
Empirically, it is clear that many South Africans who lose their citizenship this way are profoundly distressed and in no way intended to renounce their citizenship.
In the court papers, a Mr Plaatjes ...
Petrochemicals giant Sasol should be printing money because of the ‘petrol’ part of its name – oil majors have been posting record profits. But the chemicals sector has been waylaid by a sour global economy and the upshot has been a ‘mixed set of results’. Meanwhile, the company has launched some interesting initiatives on the decarbonisation front.
Sasol said in a trading update two weeks ago that it expected its core headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of December to rise between 2% and 12%, which was well short of Bloomberg’s consensus expectations of a 39% increase.
So the bad news was mostly fully digested and the market was not surprised on Tuesday when the company unveiled interim earnings which showed that metric had risen 9% to R24.55 per share. Still, its share price tanked over 6% at one point in morning trade, suggesting that the top end of its guidance was expected.
“Sasol delivered a mixed set of results for the first six months of 2023, supported by oil and refining tailwinds offset by lower volumes and higher feedstock costs,” the company said.
“The impact from the global weaker economic growth, disrupted supply chains, depressed chemical prices and the resultant higher input costs impacted the chemicals business negatively.”
“The average rand per barrel price of Brent crude oil increased by 43% and the average chemical sales basket price (US$/t) increased by 3%,” the company said.
Chemicals wipe-out
The oil price gushed to the bottom line; the chemical price, not so much.
The chemicals business was hit by the sour global economy, while the oil and refining businesses fared well. The latter would only be expected: oil companies raked it in last year, in part because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent oil prices soaring.
TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell had profits among them that totalled $153.5-billion in 2022 – equal to over a third the size of South Africa’s gross domestic product.
Sasol is not in that league, but its fuels business did see earnings surge 92% for the period. But Putin’s war, and the uncertainties and inflation it triggered, also torpedoed much of the global economy, including Sasol’s chemicals business.
“The offshore chemicals business was effectively wiped out. It’s been a tough time for our chemicals business,” Hanré Rossouw, Sasol’s Group Chief Financial Officer, told Business Maverick in an interview. He noted that the chemicals side, which had accounted for 56% of ...
As the trial against those accused of corruption linked to the Gupta-owned firm Estina and the Vrede dairy farm project grinds on, cattle on the farm have been found by the NSPCA to be starving, without water and in shocking condition.
The farm was established in 2012 by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Dard) to empower black farmers with the knowledge and skills of operating a successful dairy farming enterprise.
Instead, third-party ‘implementing agents’ were awarded large contracts by the Free State during Ace Magashule’s tenure. This saw between R250-million and R340-million siphoned out of the local empowerment programme into the bank accounts of Gupta-owned companies and their associates.
With the trial in progress, the Free State government announced in January 2022 that the 2,904-hectare farm would be handed over to 65 community beneficiaries in line with a high court order issued two years before. It consisted of 583 dairy animals, nine horses, 10 tractors and milking equipment.
The handover was in line with Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s recommendations in December 2020, after a report into allegations of maladministration in the Free State Department of Agriculture’s Vrede Integrated Dairy Project in 2017/18.
But now the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has received information that the dairy cows were being left without food, water or veterinary care. What they found when they visited the farm was disturbing. Four cows were so emaciated they could not move. None had received the urgent veterinary attention required.
Inspectors instructed the staff to urgently contact an emergency vet.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Shockingly, instead of contacting a commercial vet, the farm chose to try and contact a state veterinarian, knowing full well that state veterinarians do not work over weekends. It is questionable as to why a privately run dairy farm would depend on the services of a state veterinarian.” As a result, the NSPCA had to euthanise all four cows to prevent further suffering.
Shortly after this, the NSPCA conducted a follow-up inspection and were horrified to find even more animal cruelty. One of the cows was found suffering from an untreated eye infection and had maggots eating away at her eyeball. Two more cows had to be euthanized to prevent further suffering. One was found struggling to breathe and hadn’t been able to move for three days. The other had a broken leg that hadn’t healed properly. ...
Shouty men are relics who misread the tone of a changing world in which it’s no longer acceptable.
Shouting and incivility by male officials or public figures are being rejected in what passes for the modern world, and are generally regarded as being revealingly regressive as well as a tattered badge of toxic masculinity.
The immediate outcry on social media, radio and television platforms about the shouty tone of South African Tourism’s acting CEO, Themba Khumalo, during a press conference that was called to attack Daily Maverick and journalist Rebecca Davis for exposing the Tottenham Hotspur R1-billion branding grift, is evidence of this. And a case in point.
When Daily Maverick published a second story verifying behind-the-scenes collusion in the deal by SA Tourism chief financial officer Johan van der Walt, Khumalo was forced to back down and apologise.
Not only did he have to apologise for his public attack on a journalist and a media publication, but also for the tone as well as his threat to isolate the brave individual who had leaked the files.
Later, Khumalo apologised for his tone and also for his comments about whistle-blowers.
Significantly, a week later, SA Tourism issued a strong public statement saying whistle-blowers needed to be protected and that all exposure of corruption should be applauded.
Targeting whistle-blowers is as passé, cowardly and unacceptable as shouting.
You look like a ‘poepol’
Shouting is no longer a signifier of dominance or authority; it just makes you look like an immature poepol unable to control your emotions.
Those who have found themselves on the receiving end of a shouty man know how unattractive it is, and how much it resembles a two-year-old having a tantrum in the sweets aisle of a supermarket.
Writing in The New Yorker in 2019, journalist Amanda Petrusich noted that “physically, it’s nearly impossible for a human being not to be deeply and instinctively alarmed by yelling”.
“It makes sense, then, that in an era already defined by boundless stress – and to a generation that normalised the term ‘microaggression’ – yelling has been recategorised as unacceptable behaviour.”
Petrusich added that the change had come about alongside “a broader shift away from behaviour that reinforces abusive and overtly patriarchal structures”.
And though there was no empirical evidence to suggest that men shouted any more than women, she noted that “a man yelling is, almost without exception, a more physically and psychically threatening experience”.
King of Screamers
Donald Trump emerged to sit astride the apex ...
Despite some improvement, the community-led monitoring group Ritshidze’s second report on key populations highlights that sex workers, people who use drugs and LGBTQIA+ community members are often still discriminated against when trying to access public health facilities. This can lead to treatment interruptions and some stopping their clinic visits.
Bonang Moleleki, who represents Bong Jwa Tlhago Trans, a North West-based non-governmental organisation that works on transgender issues, tells Spotlight in her experience the transgender community feels left out of the health system.
“We often encounter rudeness from nurses, especially when you come with the topic of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) because nurses don’t know or don’t want to know about transitioning.”
Moleleki says when they ask for other medication that is not HRT but related to family planning like Depo-Provera and Nuristerate (both forms of birth control), many are told that they are out of stock only to see another patient receiving it.
“We get asked questions like why do we have to do family planning when we are men? That means in their head because we said we are trans, then automatically we are men who want to look like ladies,” says Moleleki. “Nurses make fun of our names or our identity documents because the person on the ID doesn’t match the person standing in front of them. They will call other nurses to come and see as if there’s something wrong with your ID.”
Moleleki says the medication they require is often not available in public facilities. “We always have to travel far and wide to get medication and pay ridiculous amounts of money just to get one or two boxes of medication, which will last you for like a month or so, then you have to go back again. Imagine travelling from Mahikeng (in the North West) or Potchefstroom to Pretoria, Soweto or Joburg CBD every month just for one box of pills. It’s very exhausting and strenuous to some of us,” says Moleleki.
Such accounts of challenges key populations encounter at public health facilities are not new. But the latest data published by the community-led monitoring group Ritshidze in its second report on key populations provides systematic documentation indicating that such problems are widespread in the public healthcare system.
New data that Ritshidze released earlier this month shows, among others, that many transgender people who were interviewed said they don’t access services at a public health facility because staff is not friendly and ...
Unicef South Africa, together with Sunshine Cinema, the Zwakala campaign and Right to Care, are using solar-powered cinema, or ‘sunboxes’, to enlighten youth through the power of film. Screenings across South Africa have dealt with themes such as health issues, vaccines, mental illness and poverty.
Solar-powered cinema is being used to engage young people across South Africa in dialogues about health issues and other challenges they face in their communities. A series of over 20 film screenings have taken place across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with further events planned in the Eastern Cape.
Unicef South Africa (SA), together with Sunshine Cinema, the Zwakala campaign and Right to Care, have been hosting the community film screenings since the end of 2022.
“We chose the themes of. public health, and also mental illness and poverty. The films that we have chosen accommodate those themes because most of the communities that we screen in are affected by these social issues,” explained Nontokozo Sibanyoni, media coordinator at Sunshine Cinema.
“While we are facilitating these dialogues about public health, we also showcase the reality of the poverty in South Africa and mental health issues that the youth and their households go through.”
Sunshine Cinema is a nonprofit solar-powered cinema network that seeks to address youth unemployment by training young people to be media facilitators.
The recent film screenings have drawn from Sunshine Cinema’s catalogue of over 80 locally made films, created by South African and African producers. Each screening is done using a “sunbox” — a complete solar-powered cinema in a box, according to Sibanyoni.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I think [film is] a medium where it’s easy to reach the youth because most of the communities don’t have cinema. Once you take out the sunbox, they are excited to see a movie screening and it’s easy then to talk about these public health issues and dialogues,” she said.
The facilitators taking part in the community film screening project are graduates of Sunshine Cinema’s Impact Film Screening Facilitator Course, run in collaboration with the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Film and Media Studies. These facilitators, along with teams from the Community Media Trust, Right to Care and the Zwakala campaign, have been able to answer questions and manage dialogues among audience members.
“We also get feedback from the [Sunshine Cinema] ambassadors. for each and every screening. They have to fill in a screening report, take images, video clips, ...
Judge Tintswalo Makhubele was in no position to accept new work after she had been recommended as a judge on 8 October 2017, says Gauteng High Court Judge President Dunstan Mlambo.
The four-day hearing by the Judicial Conduct Tribunal on complaints by activist group #UniteBehind against Judge Tintswalo Annah Nana Makhubele started on Tuesday.
A judge in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Makhubele is accused of gross misconduct by #UniteBehind.
Makhubele is the former chairperson of the interim board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
The three-person Tribunal has faced many delays since it was first recommended by the Judicial Conduct Committee in 2020.
The Judicial Conduct Tribunal hearing on Judge Tintswalo Annah Nana Makhubele started on Tuesday in Rosebank, Johannesburg, almost three years after it was recommended by the Judicial Conduct Committee in March 2020.
Led by retired former Judge President of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, Achmat Jappie, retired Judge Seun Moshidi, and advocate Noxolo Maduba-Silevu, the Tribunal hearing comes almost four years after activist group #UniteBehind lodged a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
UniteBehind has accused Judge Makhubele of holding the position of a high court judge, from 1 January 2018, while at the same time serving as chairperson of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), from 19 October 2017 to 16 March 2018, in breach of the separation of powers principle.
They further accuse Judge Makhubele of improper conduct while she was chairperson of Prasa.
The Tribunal began by addressing Judge Makhubele’s objection to #UniteBehind’s participation in the Tribunal hearing, first raised during the pre-trial proceedings in November last year.
Advocate Michael Bishop, on behalf of #UniteBehind, argued that #UniteBehind had participated in every stage before the Tribunal hearing, beginning with the laying of the complaint in December 2018, and that the law was in favour of their participation in the Tribunal hearing.
“We don’t believe we can participate effectively without being able to put questions to witnesses,” he said, adding that without their participation, the Tribunal would be without some helpful evidence.
He said his client’s “knowledge of documents and of the history” of this matter enable #UniteBehind to assist the Tribunal with gathering evidence.
Judge President Jappie, chair of the Tribunal, said #UniteBehind would be allowed to pose questions to witnesses on a case-by-case basis where they feel an issue was not addressed by the evidence leader, advocate Elaine Zungu.
The terms of reference for the Tribunal were read out ...
A new book highlights both the achievements over the past five years and the work needed to strengthen the health sector. In its concluding chapter, the editors make 34 recommendations. Some of these are highlighted in the article below.
Last year a group of health experts published a book on the achievements and challenges of the South Africa health system entitled “South African Health Reform, 2015-2020 – the road ahead”. More than 70 South African authors contributed to the 20 chapters included in the book. The book reviews the five-year period that includes the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and is a follow-on to the previous publication that reviewed the period 2010-2014.
A review of the rights and wrongs of the health system is timely as we go into the last year of the current administration and into electioneering ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections. While many commentators have lamented the poor quality of care provided by the public health system and the high cost of the private health system as well as the inequities in the health sector, there are many positives that the next administration can build on and many areas that need razor-sharp focus and reconstruction.
The book highlights both the achievements over the past five years and the work needed to strengthen the health sector. In its concluding chapter, the editors make 34 recommendations. Some of these are highlighted in this article.
Impact of Covid on health
Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were significant improvements in maternal and child mortality as well as a significant increase in the number of people living with HIV that were on life-saving antiretroviral therapy. Life expectancy for men increased from 60.2 years in 2015 to 62.5 years by 2020 and for the same period from 64.3 years to 68.5 years for women.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in some declines — for males this was to 59.3 in 2021 and for females to 64.6. The in-facility maternal mortality ratio also declined from 105.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017 to 88 by March 2020 — again increasing in 2020/21 due to Covid-associated deaths by as much as 30% compared to 2019.
The infant (IMR) and child (under five) mortality rates also declined between 2015 and 2020. The IMR declined from 28/1000 live births to 21/1000 and the under-five deaths declined from 39/1000 to 28/1000.
Many of the positive trends will ...
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has confirmed that all outstanding matters concerning the Cabinet reshuffle will be concluded by the end of February.
The ANC’s Fikile Mbalula is adamant that there is nothing untoward about the process surrounding the imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
The governing party’s secretary-general slammed rumours that ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile was being deliberately blocked by President Ramaphosa’s close allies.
Mbalula was speaking at a media briefing at ANC headquarters where he also revealed the resolutions of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Monday, 20 February.
Mbalula said he had addressed the ANC caucus and assured them that the government would not keep them in the dark about Mashatile’s political future.
ANCNEC Rev Frank Chikane will now chair the party’s Integrity Commission , Deputy is Sophie De Bryun. #sabcnews
LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) February 21, 2023
“We have been dealing with January 8, we have produced January 8, we have finalised our resolutions and we have reconfigured ourselves in terms of the NEC. We have finalised the resolutions of the conference, they are ready to be printed. Now we are developing a programme of action.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“In government, we had the State of the Nation Address, then the Budget, and from there all of these issues we’ve got to have answers for, and then they’ll be closed.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Help Daily Maverick draw up a dream Cabinet – with new blood to steer SA forward”
“All these things should be wrapped up within the month of February . the president is applying his mind on a whole lot of issues,” said Mbalula.
During the State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa said he was still considering David Mabuza’s resignation as deputy president of the country, and used the opportunity to pay tribute to his outgoing second-in-command.
Mabuza confirmed at the beginning of the month that he had resigned to allow Paul Mashatile to replace him. However, Ramaphosa has not been ready to let go of Mabuza just yet.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa proposes amendments to Political Funding Act to keep wolves from door”
Not only did Mabuza fail to be re-elected at the ANC’s 55th conference in December 2022, he also no longer occupies a seat on the NEC – the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences. DM
New Western Cape Mobility MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie, says the calling off of a planned stayaway on Wednesday, 22 February by taxi associations is a sign of ‘good faith from all sides’.
The planned stayaway by the Western Cape structures of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) for Wednesday 22 February has been called off, provincial taxi and government authorities confirmed.
On Tuesday afternoon, Santaco Western Cape’s general secretary Elryno Saaiers confirmed the cancellation of the stayaway.
The decision to call off the protest followed “progress made” in a meeting between Santaco, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, new provincial Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie and City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, according to Saaiers.
“We hereby notify all operators, drivers and commuters that taxi operations will continue as usual. we thank you for your support and cooperation in striving towards a transformed transportation system,” said the statement.
Initially, the stayaway by Santaco was over issues including the “unfair” impoundment of minibus taxis, marginalisation of the taxi industry and continued problems on the B97 route between Paarl and Bellville.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ahead of the strike, Mackenzie – who took up his new position only on Monday – told Daily Maverick that his first priority would be to speak to the industry about the stayaway.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “New Western Cape Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie ‘confident’ he can put brakes on Santaco taxi strike”
In a statement by the provincial government, Winde and Mackenzie said they were both “delighted” with the outcome of the meeting with Santaco on Tuesday, which had been set up by Mackenzie. The meeting was aimed at minimising the impact the stayaway would have had on commuters trying to get to work and school.
“The commitments made in today’s engagement indicate a show of good faith from all sides,” said Mackenzie.
The statement also confirmed the setting up of a special task team that would commit to engagements with the industry and government. This task team would meet weekly and be chaired by Mackenzie.
The task team would address issues related to the industry, including training registered drivers to upskill them, measures to enhance commuter safety and the fast-tracking of the Special Regulatory Process related to operating licences.
The task team will include representatives from the province, the City of Cape Town and Santaco’s Western Cape leadership. DM
Residents of Nelson Mandela Bay will have to battle daily water cuts unless consumption can be reduced to 50 litres per person per day. This, as the city cuts back on its extraction from near-empty dams to preserve the little that is left.
As the combined levels of the Nelson Mandela Bay supply dams dropped to 12.38% on Monday, the City introduced water throttling to bring down consumption.
The Nelson Mandela Bay catchment area receives most of its rain in the winter, and Garth Sampson from the SA Weather Service said the rainfall prediction for those months is still below normal. The region is currently in the eighth year of a serious drought. The longest drought on record locally lasted 12 years.
While the city is supposed to be consuming 230 megalitres (230 million litres) of water, executive mayor Retief Odendaal said residents and businesses were using an average of 290 megalitres.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has not responded to requests to explain how the restricted amount of 230 megalitres of water was calculated.
Odendaal said the available water would be reduced to preserve what is left, as the city was predicted to lose its access to the dams by July.
“The metro will adopt a phased implementation approach to reduce abstraction from the Churchill and Impofu dams over the next three months. During the remainder of February, the metro will cut back water extraction to a restricted 30 million litres per day and balance water demand via reservoir storage.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The City will also pump as much water as the system allows from the Nooitgedacht scheme via booster pump stations to assist with meeting the deficit.
“The effect of this is that should communities not heed the call to reduce water usage to 50 litres per person per day, water outages will be experienced on an ongoing basis and might become permanent should usage patterns not reduce,” Odendaal said.
He said the City’s Drought Crisis Joint Operating Centre has resolved to reduce water abstractions to restrictions gazetted by the Department of Water and Sanitation and close all public amenities.
Available water levels in the Impofu Dam are currently at zero. Still, Odendaal said the metro would be moving the extraction barge 6km towards the Impofu Dam wall to access the last available water.
Other interventions decided at Tuesday’s meeting include that boreholes must be brought up to maximum production. ...
The granting of bail to one of the suspects in the Nomzamo Park tavern murder case has angered communities in Orlando, Soweto, who want the case to be halted pending a meeting with Minister of Police Bheki Cele.
Residents of Nomzamo Park and around Orlando, Soweto, have reacted with anger to the granting of bail to one of the suspects allegedly involved in a mass shooting that left 16 people dead at the Mdlalose tavern in July last year.
The accused, who cannot be named due to a court order preventing identification of the suspects, was granted R35,000 bail at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
He is among six suspects arrested in connection with the murders.
Initially, five suspects were arrested for the murders, but at the Orlando Magistrate’s Court some weeks ago, a sixth suspect was apprehended.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Sixth accused arrested for Soweto’s Nomzamo Park tavern shooting makes first court appearance”
The State alleges the six suspects were part of a group that entered the Mdlalose tavern in July last year and fired more than 130 shots at patrons, killing 16 and leaving several injured.
Charges include 19 counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
Last week, the Orlando Magistrate’s Court decided the matter should be heard at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court after Nomzamo Park residents threatened to set the court alight if any of the accused were granted bail.
“Only six out of more than 20 of the killers have been arrested, but they are already being granted bail. We are not happy,” Nomzamo community leader Thembalakhe Jaxa said.
Call to meet police minister
Jaxa said the community wanted the case to be stopped and a meeting held with Minister of Police Bheki Cele.
“We want Cele to explain to us what exactly is happening in South Africa that, while more arrests are outstanding, their co-accused get bail,” Jaxa said.
“What other proof do we need that there is no justice for the poor in South Africa? How can you release an accused when more of his accomplices are yet to be arrested? We will put up a fight when the case returns to Orlando,” said Mlungisi Xaba, who lost his cousin in the Mdlalose tavern shootings.
“We will force the proceedings to a halt when the case returns to Orlando. Our brothers and sisters are dead, yet their killers are freely roaming the streets. ...
One implementing agent. R2bn, barring any surprises and cost overruns. Twenty-four months. And then the National Assembly should be back to 100% physical sittings in plenary and committee.
It’s taken 13 months, two weeks and six days to get here since the 2 January 2022 conflagration in Parliament. And soon, hopefully, the rubble and broken bits and pieces that today are the fire-gutted National Assembly will be removed in the first step of what’s dubbed the Parliament restoration project.
“Parliament and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). have agreed to collaborate in tandem with other stakeholders such as the DPWI [Department of Public Works and Infrastructure] and the [National] Treasury,” announced Secretary to Parliament Xolile George in a televised briefing on Tuesday.
“The DBSA is the most suitable entity to play this role, given its expertise and experience of providing infrastructure management services, which include design, construction, upgrades, refurbishment and total facilities management to several other organs of state.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Not everyone is keen.
EFF leader Julius Malema is submitting a private member’s bill on moving Parliament to Tshwane. Siviwe Gwarube, the chief whip of the DA — which is pursuing a legal case for Parliament to find alternative venues to fully resume functioning — said the announcement that rubble would be removed was hardly something to be applauded.
The billions have been available since the October 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. The allocation was hard fought for, with at least one marathon session between top Parliament, Public Works and National Treasury officials.
The assessments of damage and possible repair options have been available since August. Initial checks took three weeks, then another seven months were taken by the Public Works-appointed agency to finalise all its reports.
Somewhere in between all these reports and timelines, Parliament itself moved to save and restore the paintings that were damaged by the mould in the waterlogged and damaged basement where much of the parliamentary artwork is stored.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The art of avoiding the issue of Parliament’s mouldy old treasures”
Designing a new National Assembly building still seems outstanding — and not without some hopeful thinking of a prettier Phoenix rising from the ashes.
“The restoration project provides a unique opportunity to ensure spaces are designed in a manner that best suits the specific needs of a democratic Parliament, and to modernise the institution’s digital infrastructure,” said George on Tuesday.
Talking also ...
The recent resignation of three members of the SA Tourism Board in response to the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship controversy has seemingly left the board devoid of tourism expertise – while the DA says Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s haste to fill their positions was unlawful.
When seasoned tourism professionals Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson resigned from the SA Tourism Board, they took with them all the tourism experience on the board.
Duminy is the CEO of Cape Town Tourism. Nadasen is the former COO of Tsogo Sun Hotels. Anderson is the national chairperson of the hospitality industry body Fedhasa.
The three resigned in the first week of February amid growing controversy over the proposed R1-billion SA Tourism sponsorship of English football team Tottenham Hotspur, exposed by Daily Maverick.
The board members have not spoken publicly about the reasons for their resignation, beyond a short statement attributing it to a “difference of opinion”.
Although Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s spokesperson Steve Motale subsequently tried to claim that the resignations were related to “misconduct” around the Tottenham deal, Daily Maverick understands that the three had been vocal in their disapproval of the sponsorship proposal.
Tourism experts voice concern about board composition
Two tourism experts, both of whom wished to stay anonymous, expressed concern to Daily Maverick about the loss of Duminy, Nadasen and Anderson’s expertise.
“The three resignations have left the board without any representation from the tourism industry,” one said.
“If the Tourism Board won’t take guidance and advice from the only people who know anything about tourism, what does it say about their usefulness and commitment to improving tourism in this country?”
Attempting to confirm the current composition of the SA Tourism Board was in itself an uphill struggle, since the information on the SA Tourism website is out of date. To make matters more confusing, the board appears to have had at least three different chairs within as many months.
Daily Maverick was passed between the SA Tourism spokesperson and Sisulu’s spokesperson for over a week, but finally managed to obtain the updated list of board members. They are:
Thozamile Botha (Chair; former trade unionist);
Nandipha Mbulawa (businesswoman);
Lehlonolo Rapodile (auditor);
Mduduzi Zakwe (chartered accountant);
Hlubi Mazwayi (communications consultant);
Nondumiso Maphazi (gender commissioner);
Maudline Mabi (manager at the Eastern Cape rural development agency);
Leslie Reddy (IT consultant);
Manqoba Ngubo (entrepreneur);
Phinda Mhlongo (doctor and health entrepreneur); and
Odwa Mtati (CEO of the South African International Maritime Institute).
When Daily Maverick suggested to Sisulu’s spokesperson, Steve Motale, that the board was now worryingly ...
The move by Airports Company South Africa follows two incidents last year where Western oil companies refused to refuel Russian aircraft in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) is changing operations at its airports to ensure that Russian aircraft – which are sanctioned by Western governments – can still refuel in this country.
This is in response to two incidents last year where Russian aircraft which landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport could not refuel because of Western sanctions.
Acsa CEO Mpumi Mpofu told Parliament’s Transport Portfolio Committee on Tuesday that, historically, Acsa did not supply fuel to aircraft. Refuelling and providing other supplies was contracted out to oil companies and refuelling and “through-putting” companies. They leased fuel hydrants and tanks from Acsa.
During the two incidents when Russian aircraft landed last year, “the fuel consortium and through-putters could not refuel the aircraft, citing sanctions imposed by their countries of origin and their own internal policies”, he said.
Independent operating company
So now Acsa was planning to separate the oil companies from the refuellers and “through-putters” by creating its own independent refuelling and through-putting company. The oil companies would only provide the fuel, and the new independent operating company would do the refuelling and decide which aircraft could be refuelled.
“Acsa will separate the two components of fuel supply process at the airport, operation (fuel tanks, fuel hydrant, ownership of movable into-plane equipment), and thru-putting (supply of jet fuel),” Mpofu’s Powerpoint presentation to the committee said.
“Acsa will appoint an operator and the oil companies will only be able to supply the jet fuel.
“The operator will invest in the movable into-plane equipment and operate the tanks and fuel hydrant on a fee basis to the oil companies in fulfilment of their contracts with airlines.
“Both the operator and through-putter arrangements will allow Acsa an opportunity to introduce meaningful transformation of the space.
“Refusal by Fuel Consortium and/or Through-Putters to refuel aircraft from sanction countries will be averted.”
It would give Acsa better control of the assets it owned and enable it to better execute its legal mandate to supply fuel across its network, he said in the presentation.
Interim arrangement
Mpofu said an interim arrangement was being negotiated with the fuel supply operators to allow Acsa to put out tenders for the new operator.
With the expiry of the contract at the end of September 2022, an interim arrangement has been negotiated with the ...
The ANC cadres captured state institutions, but the ANC itself has been captured by undemocratic qualities that make it unrecognisable compared with what marked its character at the dawn of democracy, at the moment of unbanning of organisations in 1990.
This article first appeared on Creamer Media’s website polity.org.za
For a political organisation to win the confidence of voters or supporters, it requires certain qualities. These are not invariable, because it is possible to win support through cynicism and various forms of duplicity. That is found all over the world where promises and undertakings and programmes that politicians advance are often put before the public without any intention of realising or implementing them.
When the new democratic South Africa was established, very many people who had sacrificed a great deal to realise that watershed moment – often referred to as the “democratic breakthrough” – hoped that the type of democratic order that would be inaugurated would mark a break with the past. This would not only be a rupture with apartheid South Africa, but also be different from the cynicism that one finds in political systems in many parts of the world today, characteristics that were already evident or well established in the early 1990s.
If one wants to build a democratic order, where people experience an ever-increasing realm of freedom, where their talents are realised in a range of different ways, then one must impress them with one’s seriousness, the gravity and determination with which one addresses the tasks of the day. They must also see the integrity of the representatives, that leaders and members of the organisation do not simply say “we will do x” to get elected but have no intention of doing what is undertaken.
The public must have a sense of trust. Even conservative leaders like General Colin Powell, when speaking about leadership, say that an essential quality of leadership is trust.
Before people can have confidence in leadership and an organisation a relationship of trust must be built and maintained. Historically, the ANC grew from a small organisation with a leadership mainly drawn from professionals and clergy and self-taught intellectuals like Sol Plaatje to become a mass organisation with reach all over the country and people having more than a political link to the organisation, but a sense of it being almost familial.
People came to believe that the ANC belonged to them, and they belonged to the ANC. Oral testimony ...
Kumba Iron Ore’s full-year earnings fell 46%, more than expected, as Transnet’s woes derailed the company’s ability to move its product to market. As a result, the Anglo American unit revised its production outlook lower for the next three years and called for the private sector to step in where the state is failing.
Kumba told the market early in February in a trading statement that it expected its headline earnings for the full year to fall “between 38% and 44%” from the previous year, which were sizzling. As it turned out, they tanked 46% to 56.19 rand. And Ebitda – earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation – slid 42% to R37.3-billion.
The total cash dividend for the year decreased by 56% to R45 per share. Still, the bad news seems to have been mostly priced into the market. Its share price fell, but by a marginal 2% in late trade on Tuesday.
The shambolic performance of state-run logistics company Transnet, and lower iron ore prices, were the main factors behind the fall in earnings.
“Transnet’s poor logistics performance, including its two-week wage strike, resulted in ore railed to Saldanha port declining by 9% to 35.9 million tonnes (Mt). Finished stock increased to 7.8 Mt, limiting space for further production due to the high build-up of stock at our mines, while low levels of finished stock at Saldanha port contributed to a 9% decrease in sales volumes to 36.6 Mt,” Kumba said.
State failure is a recurring theme among South African mining companies. Transnet, Eskom, worsening crime and insecurity, you name it – if the state is responsible, it’s failing, and the mining sector and wider economy are all paying a steep price.
“Rail capacity was predominantly impacted by derailments and a weather-related event in the first quarter resulting in increased speed restrictions, while low availability of train wagon sets led to increased turnaround times,” Transnet said.
“Industrial strike action, equipment breakdown and locust outbreaks further contributed to rail performance reducing to 80.3% of contracted tonnage.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Locust outbreaks? Things seem to be going downright biblical in the Northern Cape. But the overall challenge is clearly secular in nature.
“Over the next three years, we will reset our production outlook to reflect lower expected Transnet rail performance, given the challenges faced in 2022,” Kumba said.
And in her results presentation, Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikalala called for private sector involvement to ...
There are many different medical insurance products in the market, and each has different bells, whistles and nuances.
Question: I am concerned that I may be paying more than I should for my medical insurance. I have a medical aid with gap cover, a sickness benefit as well as critical illness cover. Should I cancel any of these?
Answer: Each of these products is designed to meet a particular need, so you will probably need all of them. However, the amount of cover that you need from each of them will be determined by your own personal circumstances.
I will go through how each product works in order to help you understand how these could fit into your personal situation. There are many different products in the market, and each has different bells, whistles and nuances. As a result, what I say may not hold true for all products.
Medical aid gap cover
This benefit typically kicks in when you are in hospital and usually pays the difference between what your doctor and hospital charge and what the medical aid pays.
There are two things to watch out for.
If your medical aid does not pay for a treatment, it is unlikely that your gap cover will pay you out anything.
You generally need to be in hospital for the gap cover to pay out anything. Out-of-hospital expenses and follow-up visits would typically be for your own account and this could be quite costly.
Sickness benefit
This benefit typically pays you a percentage of your salary if you are ill for an extended period. The sickness benefit usually has a maximum term of two years, after which there is often an income protector benefit that would pay you your salary till you reach retirement age.
There are usually waiting periods before a sickness benefit pays out. These can range from seven days to six months. The shorter the waiting period, the more expensive the premiums would be.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Critical illness cover
This pays out a rand amount should a major health event like a heart attack or cancer diagnosis take place.
This is an extremely useful benefit as it fills in a lot of the gaps that one can experience should a medical event happen. These would include:
Paying for out-of-hospital treatments;
Providing you with funds to live on during the waiting period on your sickness benefit; and
Paying for any self-payment gap on your medical aid.
As we ...
Getting the GDP estimate right is the first step in sensible budgeting. And how has the government done on this score? Would it surprise you to know that it has failed spectacularly?
It is Budget time again, and this one comes with a dark cloud hanging over it in the form of huge electricity cuts. The estimates of what rolling blackouts will cost the country are really gobsmacking.
SA Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago estimated last month that rolling blackouts would reduce annual GDP growth by about 2%. This is in a country where, in good years, growth is usually not much more than that. Consequently, the bank now expects the economy will hardly budge this year.
Budgeting: what a wild conceptual game it is. There is a great cartoon that shows someone presenting, using a board on which there is a large circle with a pie-shaped segment highlighted. The presenter says, “This is the income that we wish we had.”
Because the government’s Budget constitutes about a quarter of GDP, it’s an important moment in the country’s life, but that doesn’t make it less of a wild conceptual game, because the whole damned ship is based on these projections and suppositions. And they say so much about the people who make them.
Real GDP growth
Key among these is real GDP growth. It’s the number at the core. Why? Well, because it changes everything. If the country is budgeted to grow by, say, 3%, but instead grows by 5%, then government income will explode, as it did in 2008. The effect is exponential, not linear, because corporate profitability tends to expand faster than the rate of general growth, and that boosts government coffers from corporate tax and personal tax because salaries increase as does VAT because people spend more.
This is very visible in the proportions of the main types of government income. At the moment, corporate tax constitutes about 15% of the total, personal tax is about 36% and VAT is about 24%. The remainder is made up of excise duties and import duties. But in the mid-2000s, corporate tax constituted about 25% of the total.
Very small changes in the numeric value of GDP growth result in very big differences in government income. That affects the government deficit (the amount by which expenditure exceeds income) and consequently, how much money the government needs to borrow to balance the books.
A single percentage point difference in GDP ...
We need to speak about this massive hydra-headed crisis that affects the entire world, but threatens to engulf us here in South Africa. But we can’t do that shielded by the barriers of our phones’ touch screens. Real activism is robust and physical – it can never be remote and abstract.
Crises bring out the best of us. But once they are past, we are often left with the worst of us. Covid-19 is a case in point. It was the worst public health crisis in living memory and we were asked – especially in South Africa – to do things that we would never have normally done.
We were told to obey, and we did, as the days turned into weeks and then months. Our lives were turned upside down – we had to work from home, teach from home, live from home as our civil liberties were radically constrained to contain the spread of the virus.
We did not question; instead, we dug deep within to find the resolve to make sense of this new normal, and dug even deeper to show compassion and generosity to the many who had less than us – often far less – so that we all might make it through the ordeal together.
And then it was over.
The threat passed and we became complacent. It is not a unique phenomenon.
Many of today’s generation accuse their parents of becoming complacent after the democratic dividend of 1994; apartheid was over, the country was free – and yet 25 years later, it still wasn’t free at all – still enclosed in the spatial and geographic boundaries and still, to a certain extent, presided over by the same social and psychological strictures.
Their parents, say today’s generation, dropped the ball. They became complacent and accepted 1994 as the end result, not as a milestone on the greater long walk to freedom that Nelson Mandela espoused.
Today, there is a tendency to believe that since we are no longer in any danger of a zoonotic virus, we can just settle back into a version of the new normal which, in many cases, blends the worst excesses of the old normal with the selfishness of the new.
But the truth is we are still in danger – mortal danger: we are beset by crises; there is an ongoing electricity supply crisis, we are in the middle of the climate crisis punctuated by extreme weather events, ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
'Victory City' marks a return for Salman Rushdie, who has not set a novel substantially on the Indian subcontinent for over a decade.
‘Victory City’ by Salman Rushdie is an epic chronicle of the rise and fall of Vijayanagar (the capital city of the historic southern Indian Vijayanagara empire), which acquires the name “Bisnaga” through ill-fated attempts at pronunciation by a Portuguese traveller.
The story unfolds as a fictional retelling of Bisnaga’s history, premised on the archaeological discovery of the Jayaparajaya, a poem by a writer named Pampa Kampana. Readers are told that its title translates as “Victory and Defeat”.
The unnamed narrator’s voiceovers and alternative versions of stories alert readers to the intersections of memory, memorialisation and history. As the narrator explains: “We knew only the ruins that remained, and our memory of its history was ruined as well, by the passage of time, the imperfections of memory.”
Throughout the novel, Rushdie explores the process of writing history – how it is recorded and how significance is apportioned. As Pampa Kampana states: “History is the consequence not only of people’s actions but also their forgetfulness.”
Rushdie is interested in how history is argued over and rewritten in contemporary moments. In particular, he takes aim at the populist exploitation of historical narratives for political gain. We hear that “fictions could be as powerful as histories” and that – paradoxically – “they were no more than make believe but they created truth”.
Through her poem, Pampa Kampana generates in Bisnaga’s inhabitants a collective stake in the city and the civilisation it wants to build. The novel chronicles the fate of the city through successive rulers, who ultimately cause its downfall.
‘Victory City’s’ place in Rushdie’s oeuvre
‘Victory City’ takes an interesting position in Rushdie’s wider body of work. In some ways it could be read as a companion volume to ideas he explored in The Enchantress of Florence (2008), where a European traveller arrives at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar, claiming to be the son of a lost Mughal princess, Qara Köz, with magical powers.
Women take a central role in the world-building of both novels – Pampa, like Qara, is an enchantress.
‘Victory City’ also marks a return of sorts for Rushdie, who has not set a novel substantially on the Indian subcontinent for over a decade.
At a time of resurgent nationalism, Rushdie’s turn to the historical epic is interesting in its recourse to medieval history and the ...
Kevin Hart plays a version of himself trying to become a ‘leading man’ in his new action comedy, 'Die Hart', which premiered in Johannesburg on 16 February between sold-out shows of his stand-up tour, ‘Reality Check’.
Die Hart
In a nutshell:
Die Hart is a satirical action comedy starring Kevin Hart as a fictionalised version of himself that feels typecast as the comedy wingman to bona fide action stars like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
After flying off the handle on a talk show, he is approached by a respected auteur director (Jean Reno) who offers him a career-making role on condition that he can graduate from ‘action hero school’, which is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds and run by the psychotic Ron Wilcox (John Travolta).
The film was written by the Derek Kolstad, creator of the John Wick franchise, but it’s not actually a bid to transform Kevin Hart’s reputation.
Die Hart is directed by Eric Appel who made the slapstick cop-comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine and has a similarly fluffy situational humour, complemented by regular single-shot espresso servings of action and suspense.
Where to watch it
Die Hart is available in South Africa in cinemas from 22 February and on Prime Video from 24 February.
Also read in Daily Maverick: The Last of Us – better than any video game adaption deserves to be
What’s the vibe
Although the trailer suggests Die Hart might be more serious than his other films, the premise is actually a smokescreen for his typical style of self-depricative comedy, so expect a similar performance to that of his other action-comedy work like Central Intelligence or The Man From Toronto. One important way in which it’s different from his previous action-comedy work is that rather than being a comedy sidekick, a “comedy frontkick” – the likes of inspector Clouseau and Cato from the Pink Panther movies – the trope of the idiot hero, flanked by a more capable companion. In Hart’s case it’s Nathalie Emmanuel who shows off her athleticism in real choreographed fight scenes kicking Kevin’s butt.
Die Hart also has low-key thematic similarities to other films in which actors have played themselves like Being John Malkovich (the freaky, worthy poster-child of this unusual genre), This Is The End (in which almost the entire cast is playing themselves), or more recently, Nicolas Cage’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Die Hart is especially similar to Unbearable Weight in that the supposedly min-bending meta-commentary of satirising one’s ...
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news. This week's big topics are poetry involving water, the budget, housing prices in Cape Town, and the stylistic quirks of corduroy.
Climate change mitigation plans would also reduce air pollution responsible for chronic illnesses.
Fossil fuel combustion produces greenhouse gases that heat the planet, but it also emits air pollutants that harm human health. Fine particulate matter and ozone, for example, have been linked to fatal lung and heart issues. And a recent study published in GeoHealth adds to the growing body of research that shows that when countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the associated improvements in air quality could save countless lives.
Researchers used computer simulations to quantify the deaths associated with power plant emissions globally. Then, they modelled how those numbers might change if G20 countries, which include the world’s biggest economies, kept on pace to reach their net zero emissions goals.
The team concluded that particulate matter and ozone caused more than 2.2 million premature deaths each year in G20 countries. Reducing emissions in these countries from power plants alone could reduce that death toll by nearly 300,000 lives by 2040.
Air pollution across borders
The G20 represents 19 of the world’s most economically developed countries and the European Union. This collective accounts for more than 90% of the world’s gross domestic product, more than 60% of the world’s population, and 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.
In an effort to fight climate change, many of these countries set goals to minimise their carbon footprint by reducing fossil fuel combustion. Because fossil fuel combustion produces pollutant emissions that increase concentrations of ozone and fine particulate matter, the clean energy transition could yield public health benefits, too.
To quantify how air pollution from these countries affects public health, the researchers performed computer simulations using meteorological data from the Nasa Global Modeling and Assimilation Office.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The researchers found that China, India, and the United States, which have high emissions and large population sizes, experience the greatest number of deaths among G20 countries. Still, air pollution knows no national borders, and emissions from one nation affected nearby nations, too.
“People can be exposed to air pollution in countries where the pollution didn’t originate due to their geographic location and the prevailing wind patterns,” said Omar Nawaz, an air quality scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study. “For example, we found that South Korea and Japan were more impacted by emissions from China than they were by domestic pollution sources.”
Reduce emissions to save lives
The team ...
When a country changes its name or requests changes to the spelling of its name, there are almost always political motives.
Is Turkey’s recent spelling change about being more authentically Turkish? Or is there more to the story?
In June 2022, the United Nations agreed to change the spelling of the country known in the English-speaking world as Turkey to Türkiye, heeding a request by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In January 2023, the U.S. State Department also agreed to adopt the requested change in its written communications.
A number of news outlets have reported that Turkey has changed its name, but that’s not really true – Turks have called their country Türkiye since 1923, when Turkey became the successor state to the Ottoman Empire. The change is less like Rhodesia becoming Zimbabwe in 1980 and more akin to what would happen if the country known in English as Germany asked that the world refer to it as Deutschland, which is the way the Germans say it.
But Erdogan’s request – and the UN’s decision to follow suit – does raise the question of why countries seek to change their names.
From Burma to Myanmar
As Julie Tetel Andresen and I explain in our book “Languages in the World: How History, Culture, and Politics Shape Language,” the answer almost always has to do with politics and power. It might be inspired by domestic politics, as is likely the case with Türkiye, or it could represent a shift in regional or global power dynamics.
The case of Burma, which officially renamed itself Myanmar in 1989, illustrates both of these dynamics.
From 1824 to 1948, Burma was ruled by Britain, which set up colonies in the interior of the country to control the production of timber, oil and minerals. Later settlements along the fertile Irrawaddy Delta coastline controlled the even more profitable production of rice.
British administrators, as they did throughout their colonies, played favorites with different ethnic groups on the ground, benefiting those who were willing to learn English and convert to Christianity. In British colonial Burma, it was the Karens – a large ethnic minority group whose members speak a number of related languages, including Pa’O and Karenni – who played this role.
During the 100 years of British rule, the Karens cultivated a sense of national identity that became so strong that they called for the formation of an independent state, seemingly with the support of ...
Morocco, Belgium and the Netherlands have become pivotal in the growing Latin America-Europe cocaine chain.
Belgium and the Netherlands have overtaken Spain as Europe’s main entry points for cocaine coming from Latin America. The 65.6 tonnes of the drug intercepted at Antwerp port in 2020 nearly doubled in 2022. And Morocco is a crucial link in the chain.
When the Netherlands opened its cannabis market in the 1970s, Dutch and Belgian nationals of Moroccan descent drew on their family ties to cannabis growers in the northern mountains of Morocco’s Rif region. What started as hashish trafficking slowly extended to cocaine, a more lucrative drug. The powerful Mocro Maffia drug cartel emerged from this trade in the 1990s. Working mainly from Belgium and the Netherlands, it controls a third of Europe’s cocaine market.
Latin American drug traffickers have increasingly used Morocco and other Maghreb countries, and dealers with a foothold in Morocco and Europe, like the Mocro Maffia, for their transnational cocaine trade. Colombian and Mexican cartels used the group to facilitate the drug route into Europe via Spain’s southern city of Algeciras.
But since Spanish and Italian authorities tightened their border control and search operations, that route has become risky says criminologist and co-founder of Crim’Halt, Fabrice Rizzoli. Preferred entry points now are ports in Belgium and the Netherlands, where massive volumes of container traffic make it difficult for authorities to address the problem. In its 2021 report, Rotterdam’s port authority said it was “working with various agencies in the port to maintain security and combat drug-related crime.”
Corruption is the key enabler of cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Rotterdam and Antwerp via Africa. For Latin American drug cartels, the Mocro Maffia’s ability to corrupt government officials makes it a strategic ally.
Audio exchanges intercepted through the Sky ECC app reveal how Mocro Maffia members boasted about bribing customs officers in the Port of Dakar, which is used as a transit point. Likewise, dockers in Antwerp and Rotterdam are paid up to €100,000 to relocate containers to avoid police and customs control.
Rizzoli says Belgium and the Netherlands are also both money laundering centres. Antwerp, the world diamond processing capital, is a destination for cleaning drug proceeds (sometimes paid in diamonds). Belgium’s real estate sector is a primary money laundering route.
The Netherlands is an ideal place for drug traffickers seeking to reinvest their money. A reported €16-billion is laundered annually due to the country’s large, internationally ...
Dam levels are set to fall below 50% in March. This time last year they were 80% full.
Earlier this month, Cape Town’s average water usage exceeded one billion litres a day for the first time since 2014. The City of Cape Town’s current water usage target is 850-million litres a day. Last week, usage averaged 950-million litres a day.
Dr Kevin Winter, from the University of Cape Town’s Water Futures Institute, says the high demand is concerning and water restrictions should be introduced. He says the best way to reduce water consumption is to raise tariffs.
“Water is too cheap,” says Winter.
Cape Town currently has no water restrictions and only a very small number of households that consume a lot of water pay a higher tariff.
“It is odd that we get these lags and lack of inertia in raising the levels. We need to react much faster. Cities need to lead in these circumstances; it’s a dynamic decision,“ Winter says.
Cape Town’s dam levels are at 56.8%. This time last year, the dams were more than 80% full. Dam levels in Cape Town are projected to fall below 50% next month. Dam levels for the Western Cape were at 49.4% this week.
Winter says that dams under 50% take longer to fill up and less water is released into rivers, putting pressure on sensitive ecological systems and the water used for agricultural purposes.
The current water consumption is too high for a growing city with increasingly unreliable rainfall, he says.
The South African Weather Service has forecast slightly above-average rainfall from March to May, but Winter says there is a chance this modelling is wrong.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Siseko Mbandezi told GroundUp that “the City will be in a vulnerable position if we do not reach the proactive water target”.
Mbandezi encouraged residents to use water sparingly. “Water restrictions would be likely if 2023 winter rainfall is below average,” he said.
“Drought cycles will become more frequent as the effects of climate change become more intense and we suspect that there will be approximately 25% less water available in the Western Cape Water Supply System over the next 30 years.”
Growing city
The population of Cape Town, currently about 4.6-million, is expected to grow to 5.5-million by 2030. The city will need an additional 300-million litres a day to accommodate that growth.
But according to Winter, ageing ...
It will be a repeat of last season’s Champions League final when Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the round of 16, while Manchester City will look to take another step towards their European dream versus Leipzig.
The pain of last season’s Uefa Champions League final loss to Real Madrid still clearly lingers painfully in the recesses of the mind of Liverpool’s German manager, Jürgen Klopp.
In the lead-up to the duo clashing in the round of 16 of Europe’s elite club competition, Klopp described having to rewatch the match in preparation for Tuesay’s clash as “proper torture”. He felt his team had “played a good game” and “could have won”.
Of course, they didn’t. Instead, it was Madrid who took their opportunity and went on to celebrate their 14th Champions League title. Coincidentally, the Spanish juggernauts’ 13th European crown came against the Reds as well – during the final of the 2017/18 season.
The following season, Liverpool won their first Champions League trophy in 14 years after triumphing in an all-English final against Tottenham Hotspur. After the heartbreak of last season at the feet of Madrid’s magnificence, the six-time European champions will hope that this season can once again be theirs in a European context.
Especially because, domestically, it hasn’t been the most memorable season for the Reds to date. Far from it.
The Merseyside-based outfit finds itself in eighth spot on the English Premier League table.
They have lost more than triple the matches they lost last season in the league, when, agonisingly, they finished a point behind eventual league champions Manchester City. The Madrid result in the Champions League final compounded that misery.
Though they head into the clash with a win, since the turn of the year, the Reds have struggled to show the type of quality and ruthlessness they have become known for under Klopp.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In the six league matches they have played this year they have lost three and drawn one. Most importantly, they have won the last two, including a 2-0 victory over the high-flying Newcastle United.
“Whatever we would have done at the weekend [won or lost], I would expect us to fight with all we have [against Madrid]. You always work so hard to qualify for the Champions League. So, you have to cherish these moments where you just think, ‘okay, that’s Liverpool vs Real Madrid’. We all dreamt of that,” ...
It still involves taking a swab from deep inside the nose, but testing for the coronavirus just got quicker and a lot more convenient.
Late last year the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) approved antigen tests that can be used at home.
Sahpra has approved seven Covid-19 antigen self-test kits for self-test or at-home tests. The approved tests are from Humor Diagnostica (Pty) Ltd, IDT Diagnostics t/a ICT International, Mnandi Pharma Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Rapid Testing Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd, TipTop Trade (Pty) Ltd, Rapid Testing Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd and Pro Med Diagnostics (Pty) Ltd.
“This Sahpra authorisation allows organisations that received approval to market and sell the self-test kits to the public. These test kits can be [bought] at any pharmacy,” Sahpra explained in its statement.
There are some things that those using self-tests should know, the regulator said:
It is essential to follow instructions.
If a self-test produces a positive result, you should go for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is a laboratory test, to confirm the result.
A negative test doesn’t necessarily mean that you do not have Covid-19. If you have symptoms, you should go for a laboratory test.
“These test kits offer a quick and viable alternative for Covid-19 screening. Performance testing was done in collaboration with our National Reference Laboratory [the National Health Laboratory Service or NHLS] to ensure that quality test kits are available to the public. Sahpra always ensures public safety when approving any health product,” Sahpra CEO Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said.
How do you use a self-test?
The test consists of a swab to take a sample from the nose, as well as testing liquid. There are instructions in the packet on how to do the test, and the leaflet also explains how to dispose of the test after obtaining a result. The test does rely on viral load, so it is best used within five to seven days of the onset of symptoms.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
What is an antigen?
An antigen, in this case, is a protein in the Sars-CoV-2 virus that triggers an immune reaction in the human body. For these tests, it is a protein that can be found on the surface of the virus.
What is the difference between an antigen test and a PCR test?
A PCR test is the “gold standard” for a Covid-19 infection, as it is the most sensitive of tests. However, results can ...
In uncertain economic times two of world soccer’s biggest clubs, Manchester United and Liverpool, remain sought-after properties.
Liverpool’s American owner, John Henry, has said there are no plans to sell the Premier League club after the Merseyside outfit’s owners said in November they were exploring a sale.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which completed a £300-million ($358-million) takeover of the club in 2010, said three months ago that it would explore the option of bringing in investors if it was in Liverpool’s “best interest”.
After FSG’s initial statement, Liverpool chairperson Tom Werner said there was no urgency to complete any potential deal.
Henry was quoted by the Boston Sports Journal in an interview on 19 February: “I know there has been a lot of conversation and quotes about Liverpool, but I keep to the facts: we merely formalised an ongoing process.
“Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling Liverpool? No. Are we talking with investors about Liverpool? Yes. Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won’t be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20 plus years?”
Liverpool’s rivals, Manchester United, owned by the American Glazer family, are also exploring a sale, with confirmed bids from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a son of Qatar’s former prime minister.
Formal bids
Sheikh Jassim officially launched a bid to buy Manchester United on 17 February.
A deal for United is expected to shatter records for the sale of a sports business. The club’s current majority owners, the Glazer family, are seeking a valuation as high as £7-billion ($8.42-billion), Reuters has previously reported.
The record 20-time English champions have more than 650 million fans worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar.
Sheikh Jassim is the son of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, one of the richest men in the Gulf state.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure,” said a spokesperson representing Sheikh Jassim, who is the chairperson of QIB, one of the top banks in Qatar.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Red alert — Man United suitors scramble for potentially biggest sports deal ever”
“Bank of America appointed as adviser on Qatari sheikh’s bid for Manchester United”
“Qatar Said to Prepare Imminent Bid for Manchester United FC”
However, Qatari state investors, who own a stake in French champions Paris Saint-Germain, could ...
The City is considering treating sewage before releasing it through marine outfalls. But even then, ‘forever’ chemicals will not be broken down.
The City of Cape Town is considering treating up to 39-million litres of essentially raw sewage pumped out to sea daily via three marine outfalls, the first of which was built 122 years ago.
The release of sewage into a Marine Protected Area, as is the case with the Camps Bay and Hout Bay outfalls, has been a subject of controversy since photos of the sewage reaching the surface were published in 2016.
The City’s permits to discharge sewage at the outfalls at Green Point (which was built 122 years ago), Camps Bay and Hout Bay were renewed on 11 January, by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), acting Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Siseko Mbandezi said. The Green Point and Camps Bay permits are valid for five years and the Hout Bay permit for 10 years.
But, Mbandezi said, at the same time the City was “assessing the feasibility of measures to further mitigate the environmental impact of the three coastal outfalls, including additional higher level pre-treatment on land prior to discharge”.
Under the previous water and sanitation administration, questions from GroundUp as to whether the City was considering treating the sewage before pumping it out to sea, the answer was always: “no”.
However, the City continues to defend the existence of the marine sewage outfalls, citing studies by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) which they commissioned in 2016. In a report of September 2022 on the findings of CSIR studies since then, the City’s Coastal Management Branch states the “extensive data collected and analysed . shows surprisingly low environmental impact”.
In fact, the report says, the marine sewage outfalls are less damaging than some of the land-based wastewater treatment works.
“The land-based systems are contaminating and polluting multiple environmental systems (land, groundwater, river, estuary and the ocean) and often exceed the carrying/assimilative capacity of these much smaller systems. resulting in their ecological deterioration,” the report says. After seven years of data collection, the City had not found equivalent damage at any of the marine outfalls compared to some of the land-based environments where water treatment works discharge into small systems, “notably the Diep River, Black River and Eerste River.”
Appeals against the permits
ActionSA and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) are appealing against the granting of discharge ...
The Stormers continue to defy the odds by pushing for a second successive United Rugby Championship title, which is made all the more remarkable because of continuing uncertainty off the field.
The Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) remains under SA Rugby’s administration, the sale of Newlands is still delayed and a search for a private equity partner continues. Yet, despite these severe challenges, the Stormers continue to thrive on the field.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) holders are currently second on the standings after 14 rounds and are on track to secure a home play-off run after recording a 23-19 win over the Bulls at Loftus at the weekend. It was the Stormers’ fifth successive victory over the well-heeled Bulls.
The Stormers need just two log points from their final four matches to confirm one of the top eight places. They have lost just three of 14 matches this season and done it while blooding a host of young players.
Coach John Dobson obviously deserves recognition for producing a team that continues to set high standards in terms of results, but also produces eye-catching rugby.
It’s not a solo endeavour of course. Assistants such as forwards coach Rito Hlungwani, defensive strategist Norman Laker, backline and attack coach Dawie Snyman, skills coach and performance analyst Labeeb Levy and kicking coach Gareth Wright to several other consultants and medical staff, all play their part.
One of the unsung linchpins in the Stormers eco-system is Rugby Operations Manager Greg Hechter, who heads up recruitment. He has a great eye for talent and makes sure Dobson and the other coaches are able to rely on a rich talent supply line, in lieu of a big budget to sign established stars.
In the past season-and-a-half, Dobson has given 29 debuts without compromising on consistency and performance. It speaks to a very healthy team culture.
The Stormers are still not as wealthy as the Bulls and Sharks, who have private equity money to take care of all their needs, and they have fewer big names on the roster. And it doesn’t matter because they have created an environment of excellence, free of administrative meddling.
Clarity of command
The success of the Stormers is a team effort from all those coaches at the High Performance Centre in Bellville. Dobson has been able to steer the ship with confidence because SA Rugby appointed administrator Rian Oberholzer has provided a clear command chain.
Dobson doesn’t have to answer to ...
The parliamentary portfolio committee on sports, arts and culture was set to hear presentations from the Auditor-General and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture on the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, at its first sitting of 2023. But poor network connection and issues relating to outstanding presentations forced MPs to close the meeting early.
The sports, arts and culture committee meeting where MPs were to receive presentations from the Auditor-General of South Africa and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, was closed after 90 minutes on Tuesday, as several MPs cited connection issues and outstanding presentations needed to deliberate on the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra.
The virtual session, which began at 9am, was hampered by rolling blackouts, and several MPs, including the committee chairperson, Beauty Dlulane, cited network and connectivity issues. At about 10.30am, it was resolved that the meeting be rescheduled and that the committee hold an in-person meeting to discuss the matter.
The orchestra launched in July 2022, after a Daily Maverick exposé revealed that it had been set up and allocated R54-million by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture – details of which were revealed in the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra Report 2021/22.
According to a memorandum of agreement signed between the Mzansi Orchestra and the National Arts Council (NAC) in November 2021, and obtained by Daily Maverick, R54.6-million, minus R2.7-million reserved by the NAC for administration fees, would be paid to the orchestra in two tranches.
Daily Maverick understands that the full R52-million has since been paid to the orchestra.
Amid the outcry, the DA announced that it would submit questions to fully interrogate the Mzansi Orchestra, and request the parliamentary committee on sports, arts and culture to haul Minister Nathi Mthethwa and the orchestra’s chief executive, Bongani Tembe, before Parliament. The matter finally came before the parliamentary committee in September 2022, where scant new information was presented, and questions relating to the formation of the orchestra continued to fall on deaf ears.
To date, no annual financial statements or detailed budget or breakdown of how the public funds are being spent have been made available to the parliamentary committee or the public – despite requests from MPs and industry roleplayers including the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Last month, GroundUp reported that the Cape Town Philharmonic had turned down R3.2-million offered by the Mzansi Orchestra, over governance and transparency concerns.
Tuesday’s committee meeting was scheduled to see a presentation by the Auditor-General of ...
When students, staff, managers and governors come to the university primarily to gain access to its resources, it ceases to be a university. When criminals are members of councils or embedded in the administration and management of universities, then higher education institutions begin to resemble the corrupt state-owned enterprises outside campus. ‘Corrupted’ is published by Wits University Press.
The University of Fort Hare (UFH) did more than most universities in the post-apartheid era to honour the flat stakeholder model of democracy in which every constituency would be represented at the governance table. This was particularly true when it came to the representatives of Eastern Cape municipalities on the UFH Council. The 2010 Institutional Statute loaded the council with municipal and local government officials.
The dominating presence of local politicians on the council, representing in the main the ruling party at the provincial and municipal levels, turned out to be a recipe for disaster. These leaders came from municipalities that were seriously mismanaged, receiving qualified audits and worse, because of governance malfunction in areas such as risk management, internal audit, and material misstatements in financial statements. If competence and a good track record were supposed to be a factor in the selection for council members, these officials represented the exact opposite.
As one vice-chancellor explained, “the turbulence is caused by their business interests. I have seen them destroy government departments, they have destroyed SOE’s [state-owned enterprises], they sucked up all the juice in municipalities; the only institution that remains where there is a massive in-flow of money because of infrastructure [funds] is the university.”
In fact, the municipality is so dysfunctional, notes this vice-chancellor, that “the university does waterworks and sewerage disposal for the town of Alice because, without that, Alice is not functional at all”.
This flat model of stakeholder democracy would be costly for an already vulnerable university like the UFH, so in its revised statute of 10 years later, the municipal representation was dropped from council membership in favour of a lean structure with only two government-related appointees.
The trimmed-down membership arrangements did not, however, stop a continued run on institutional resources from those on and off the councils of dysfunctional universities. University leaders found themselves fighting on two fronts: “the rogues that were embedded in the structures” and “those forces standing at the gates wanting a piece of the action”. How did the internal and external interests vying for university resources interact to ...
This incarnation of my standard potbrood (braai bread) recipe is suffused with sage, picked fresh from my Karoo garden.
Sage is arguably the least subtle of herbs, though conversely it is among the most striking, along with rosemary, so it is best to use it with a light hand. Like thyme, it’s best used as the only herb in the mix, so as not to lose its distinctive flavour. You can use plenty, if you’re happy to turn out a very herby loaf. There’s nothing wrong with that either.
Ingredients
1 kg white bread wheat flour
10 g instant yeast
4 scant tsp sugar
1 scant tsp salt
2 Tbsp picked fresh sage leaves
2 cups lukewarm water, plus a little more if needed
2 Tbsp olive oil
Olive oil for the pot
Method
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon. Only stir in the salt after this so that it does not neutralise the yeast. Stir in the sage leaves.
Add lukewarm water a little at a time, while kneading the dough, until it is all combined. Now add the 2 Tbsp olive oil and continue kneading until it is a nice plump ball of dough and no longer sticky. Knead again for a few minutes, turning and push-pulling with your hands/fists.
Leave the ball of dough in the bowl, cover with a slightly damp tea towel, and put it in a warm spot outside for 20 minutes, or inside if the weather is not playing ball. Another option is to put it in a slightly pre-warmed oven, but turned off.
Check that your braai coals are ready. Oil the inside of your heavy-bottomed pot well. Carefully ease the dough into it; you may need to use a silicone spatula to scrape the edges downwards. Put the lid on the braai pot. Place in the braai and immediately place hot coals all around the base, and a few more on top. Keep replenishing the coals at the base and on the lid for a full hour. The pot bread should be ready in an hour. Remove the lid; it should turn out perfectly. DM/TGIFood
As the devastating drought continues in Nelson Mandela Bay, with a dismal prediction for the winter rain season, mayor Retief Odendaal said they might have to resort to water throttling as demand continues to outstrip supply.
Figures released on Monday showed that the Impofu Dam, where the Nelson Mandela Bay metro formerly obtained most of its water, now has no usable water left.
The Churchill Dam still has 5,516 megalitres available, the smaller Loerie Dam has 868ML and the Groendal Dam outside Kariega has 1,078ML. The largest dam in the region, Kouga, is only 12.2% full and has 11,231ML available. The metro is only allowed to extract 40ML from this dam.
On Tuesday morning (21 February) the metro’s mayor, Retief Odendaal, said that due to demand exceeding supply on the Kromme line, from the Churchill Dam, the Emerald Hill reservoir had been depleted.
He explained that the metro had to reduce the amount of water it was extracting from the dams in line with restrictions imposed by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“Unfortunately there is currently not enough water to meet the demand and certain communities will experience water interruptions. We are now going to divert water from other reservoirs to this line,” he said.
If access to the dams are lost, about a third of the metro will be without water. Projects to increase the available water, such as boreholes, have been completed and are being brought online. The metro also receives water from the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme, bringing it in from the Gariep Dam.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Residents in drought-hit Nelson Mandela Bay warned — save water now or mayor will come knocking”
While this dam is full, Odendaal said they are unable to bring more water to Nelson Mandela Bay because of the size of the pipeline and restrictions on how much they are able to clean at the Nooitgedacht Water Works.
He said that to avoid extended water outages, every household and business is asked to reduce consumption immediately.
Odendaal has previously raised the concern that if large parts of the city are left without water this will have dire consequences for the already collapsing sewage system.
“We are currently able to still produce around 280ML a day. The Department of Water and Sanitation wants us to reduce our consumption to no more than 230ML a day. Last week we averaged consumption of at least 300ML a day, which would have led to depleted dams ...
The National Award winners for the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 have been announced, featuring photographers from 55 countries across the world. Here is a selection of the winning images.
This week sees the first anniversary of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In the war that has followed more than 250,000 people have already lost their lives, thousands of civilians have been killed and millions displaced. Many observers think the war is soon going to get wider and worse. If there was ever a time for a peace movement it’s now.
War. What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
. There’s got to be a better way.
When I was a student in England in the mid-1980s I joined hundreds of thousands of people on marches organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). I remember too making a trip to show support to the women camping on Greenham Common, set up outside a US military base to protest against US Cruise missiles being located there. Such was the determination of the women that the peace camp, which started in 1981, lasted for 19 years.
During the 1970s and 1980s the peace movement in developed countries seemed to be at its strongest, most visible, vocal and most radical.
Protest inspired popular art and art in turn inspired protest. The band Frankie Goes to Hollywood covered the Temptations’ song, War, adding the refrain “there’s got to be a better way”. Elvis Costello sang (What’s so funny) ‘bout Peace, Love and Understanding.
During the second half of the 20th century, and after the end of the Cold War, the number of armed conflicts and particularly the numbers of people killed in wars declined. This was partly due to the strength of feeling expressed through the peace movement, partly thanks to the strengthening of multilateralism at the United Nations and partly because the sorrows of war were still fresh in Europe.
But that trend has now been thrust into reverse, as can be seen in this Global Peace Index Map » The Most & Least Peaceful Countries.
According to the Oslo Peace Research Institute, in its annually updated Global Overview of Conflict Trends, by the end of 2021, state-based conflicts were at a “historic high” and non-state conflicts were stabilising at “higher levels than previously recorded”.
This was before the start of Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine, and the Western response to put all its eggs in a military solution, where an estimated 200,000 soldiers on both sides have already died; this is not counting civilian deaths estimated at between 7,000 and 10,000. Read: Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
It’s ...
Tourism is under threat in the once-tranquil Jozini region of KwaZulu-Natal, with bookings cancelled after criminals shot at foreign visitors amid conflict between villagers and roaming elephants.
For decades the area surrounding the serene and picturesque Jozini Dam and Pongola Nature Reserve has been a tourist mecca, drawing well-heeled local and international visitors keen on seeing nature at its best, including cruises to watch elephants grazing and to spot rare species.
Luxury lodges and hundreds of workers depend on the viability of the local tourist attractions and a constant stream of high-spending visitors.
But now the survival of this ecotourism industry is in jeopardy because of growing armed banditry by poachers who kill elephants for their tusks and catch endangered tiger fish with gillnets. To add to the problems, local residents have vowed to kill the elephants, which they accuse of killing and threatening their livestock.
Environmental Affairs Minister Barbara Creecy said authorities believed that the area and other game reserves in northern KwaZulu-Natal had become softer targets for poaching syndicates because of anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park and other poaching hot spots.
The latest attack, widely reported locally and internationally, occurred in January when armed bandits attacked a tourist boat. The tourists – five Germans, two Americans, one Australian and four South Africans – were on a cruise on the Jozini Dam.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Jozini Dam: Twenty-five slaughtered elephants later, tourists in a viewing boat come under poachers’ gunfire”
The incident was condemned by Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who described it as “grave” and added that her department was “working with the law enforcement and other agencies to ensure the safety of tourists in the country”.
The attack followed the killing of more than 25 elephants whose tusks had been cut off.
When DM168 visited the villages of eGalweni, eMpondweni and eMombeni, tensions were still high and many conservationists and local residents were not willing to speak on the record, with some saying they feared being attacked.
Those in the tourism industry feared that, if attacks, poaching and other incidents continued, they would lose their livelihood.
Problems began years ago. Locals say that in about 2012 the fence of the Pongola Nature Reserve – which is run by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife – was vandalised and stolen. After that, villagers’ cattle could graze in the reserve and people could fetch wood there.
The area is a tourist paradise, with the serene Jozini Dam, caves and a mountain lookout ...
The ANC has since 2018 experienced some serious financial problems which have landed the party in hot water with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
The ANC has had a number of plans in the pipeline to assist with its financial woes. Daily Maverick understands that the party’s treasurer- general Gwen Ramakgopa has now submitted proposals regarding the amendment of the Political Party Funding Act regulations.
The ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) has discussed a way forward regarding the proposals and has given recommendations in that regard.
The plan is to mandate the ANC Parliamentary caucus to initiate and process a resolution in terms of Rule 119 of the Rules of the National Assembly. This will see the amendment of the regulations with regard to the thresholds and the limits relating to donations to political parties.
In terms of the Political Party Funding Act, which came into effect in April 2021, parties are required to disclose all donations of R100,000 or more. The Electoral Commission has been mandated to publish all the declarations made by the parties on a quarterly basis.
The Act has previously been referenced as one of the reasons why the ANC has been inconsistent with paying staff salaries.
The governing party has been unable to consistently pay salaries on time for the past two years, while the provident fund, unemployment insurance fund and medical aid contributions have not been paid since 2018.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The ANC, a tax evader? Massive debt, unpaid salaries, dry donation taps”
The ANC attempted a crowdfunding exercise which only presented a short-term remedy.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) compelled the ANC to settle the estimated R85-million in outstanding and accumulated debt it owed its workers through a provident fund scheme.
The FSCA signed an enforceable undertaking with the ANC staff provident fund, requiring the party to pay R10-million into the fund each month until its accumulated contribution arrears were paid in full.
In September 2022, it was reported that the governing party had failed to pay the landlords of its merchandise store in Gandhi Square, Johannesburg. The ANC was reported to be in breach of its lease agreement, which has accumulated monthly rentals of more than R3-million.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC staff picket for the first time since unbanning in 1990 as state reforms bite at party finances”
The party’s 55th conference financial report painted a bleak picture of ...
Following the election of a new National Executive Committee the ANC has now constituted its various committees as well as appointed chairpersons and deputies.
The list of committee heads, which Daily Maverick has seen, shows that Reverend Frank Chikane – anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of the anti-corruption group Defend Our Democracy – will be heading the party’s Integrity Committee.
Chikane will replace George Mashamba who has chaired the committee for the past five years.
The committee was set up in 2013 to protect the image of the ANC and to enhance its standing in society, by ensuring that action is taken to deal with public officials, leaders and members who face allegations of improper conduct.
However, the committee has been criticised for being toothless since it only makes recommendations for how disciplinary matters should be handled while the final say still lies with the party’s National Executive Committee.
Read in Daily Maverick: “ANC’s Integrity Commission? What Integrity Commission?”
The party’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile, is now the head of the Deployment Committee, while Nkenke Kekana and the party’s second deputy secretary-general, Maropene Ramokgopa, will chair the Information and Publicity and Monitoring and Evaluations committees respectively.
Zweli Mkhize is now the chair of the Social Transformation Committee, Thoko Didiza heads the Drafting Committee and Parks Tau has been appointed to lead the Local Government Intervention Team.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mmamoloko Kubayi remains at the helm of the Economic Transformation Committee and Sibongile Besani chairs the Political Education Committee.
The ANC’s first deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, will chair two committees – International Relations and Elections and Campaigns.
Read in Daily Maverick: “ANC’s electoral committee to probe complaint that its national conference was marred by vote-buying”
Former ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe remains as chair of the Electoral Committee, but Chief Livhuwani Matsila is no longer his deputy and no longer features as a member of the group.
The party has also assigned NEC members t0 various provinces. The deployees are expected to supervise and direct the work of the ANC at all levels of government.
ANC rules state that NEC members should not be deployed in the provinces where they reside or to the structures they belong to.
Fébé Potgieter will continue as general manager of the party, in what is said to be a “transitional measure”, until the end of March. Her tenure ended when she was elected as an NEC member at the party’s 55th national conference ...
A pair of earthquakes struck Turkey’s southeastern Hatay province, two weeks after major tremors in the same area left tens of thousands of people dead.
The quakes of 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude in the coastal Mediterranean province were detected on Monday evening, according to the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory.
Hatay Mayor Lutfi Savas told TGRT TV that some buildings had collapsed and people were trapped under the rubble.
State disaster agency Afad said the sea level could rise by 50cm and told citizens to stay away from the coast, adding that investigations were ongoing. Vice-President Fuat Oktay warned people to stay away from damaged buildings.
Hatay was one of the 10 provinces hit by 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes on 6 February, which killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighbouring Syria.
Late payments from the Department of Social Development for NPOs in KwaZulu-Natal have become the norm and some claim the welfare sector in the province is on the verge of collapse.
On 30 January, the Pietermaritzburg Child and Family Welfare Society had to close its doors for two days after a delay in subsidy payments from the Department of Social Development.
Julie Todd, the director and CEO of the non-profit organisation (NPO), said the decision to close its doors and work remotely was not easy. However, the continual late payments of critical government subsidies had left them struggling to perform their duties and provide services to some of the province’s most vulnerable people.
“There is a cash flow problem and we have raised this issue for the past 10 years with [the Department of] Social Development to ask what are they doing to ease the situation,” she said.
Nothing new
This is not the first time the organisation has experienced late payments, as December payments were also delayed. Todd explained that while the volume of work had increased, the number of posts that the department subsidises had not.
“They subsidise the number of posts that they determine they’re going to subsidise; they do not subsidise in terms of what the need is — and it hasn’t changed in 20 years,” she said.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the department provides a subsidy for a social worker post and a community worker post, and the onus for the remaining posts falls on the shoulders of individual organisations.
“We have tried to get additional posts because of the volume of the work that has changed, but the standard response is that there’s no money,” she said.
Minimal increase and silence from funders
The department has increased subsidies only twice in seven years.
“Everything’s gone up — operational expenses, personal expenses, municipal expenses, everything has gone up,” said Todd. When this was queried last year, Todd was told the budget had been cut and the department was unable to give any more money.
Todd credits the head of the department for listening to what organisations were saying, which led to a 5% increase for the NPO sector in the province.
However, there are some concerns regarding this increase. As the department pays in arrears after services are rendered, this payment was paid in May for April. According to Todd, if the national government makes money available to the province, it’s payable for that financial year and what is not ...
Western Cape Education Department MEC David Maynier said minibus taxi associations were acting directly against learners’ best interests by preventing children from attending school, so they could extract contracts from the state.
Despite an undertaking by the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) not to intimidate, threaten or prevent learner transport from operating, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) MEC David Maynier said minibus taxi associations continued their “illegal blockade” on Monday.
Maynier approached the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 17 February to obtain an urgent interdict against Codeta. He asked the court to prevent the taxi association and its members from issuing threats to the WCED Learner Transport Scheme (LTS) drivers, learners, and members of the public.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The matter was postponed to this Friday, but Codeta gave an undertaking to back down from its decision to block LTS operators until the matter was heard by the court.
“As a result [of Monday’s blockade], 1,800 children who would ordinarily travel on our contracted transport missed school today,” said Maynier.
This number was down from that of Friday, when more than 3,200 children missed school in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas because of the blockade.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “New Western Cape Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie ‘confident’ he can put brakes on Santaco taxi strike”
“Principals reported that some buses in Mfuleni were stopped and prevented from transporting learners, leaving children — some of them in primary school — stranded in the rain,” said Maynier.
Daily Maverick reported on Thursday that parents and their children from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas were frustrated last week when minibus taxi operators blocked scholar transport from taking children to school.
Maynier said minibus taxi associations were acting directly against learners’ best interests by preventing children from attending school, so they could extract contracts from the state.
“We will not tolerate extortion attempts that violate our children’s constitutional right to education.”
Codeta spokesperson Andile Khanyi said they were locked in a meeting with their lawyers when Daily Maverick called them for comment.
Scholar transport tenders
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said that for contractors to be appointed for scholar transport, a tender had to go out.
“During the tender process, the contractors are required to offer specific vehicles to be used on the route.”
She said a contract was awarded to a contractor only when its vehicles had sufficient seating capacity for all the approved learners on the route.
“The contract is thus ...
There were sighs of relief, cheers and applause inside the Johannesburg City Hall on Monday night when Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the ‘permanent’ demise of disastrous e-tolls in Gauteng during his maiden State of the Province Address.
The controversial e-toll project, which has been a headache for Gauteng residents for more than a decade, has finally been scrapped, at least according to Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s latest announcement.
“Residents of Gauteng, we are pleased to report that e-tolls have been scrapped permanently in our province. Together with the minister of finance and transport, we will make a joint announcement in this regard.”
The system was initially meant to be scrapped in December 2022, but the province missed the deadline, citing that key components of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the national and provincial governments still needed to be finalised.
Nearly two months later, the details have still not been finalised.
Lesufi revealed that the provincial and national governments were on the “verge” of agreeing on several matters including when exactly the e-tolls would be switched off, the debt repayment methods and, lastly, what would happen to funds collected from paying customers and non-paying customers.
The head of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), Wayne Duvenage, who has been at the forefront of protesting against the system, previously warned: “Those people who are paying must know that the likelihood of them getting refunded is slim to zero.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Scrapping of Gauteng e-tolls delayed — deactivation now slated for early 2023”
Lesufi, who received cheers and applause even from opposition parties, reiterated that it was the end of an era.
“We are of the strong view that this chapter, this part of history in our province will now be finally buried and we will continue without e-tolls in this province,” he said.
Daily Maverick previously reported that e-toll roads in Gauteng make up 1% of Sanral’s national network. The Gauteng road network is in desperate need of sprucing up, which will be costly. According to Sanral, 85% of Gauteng’s roads are beyond their design life cycle and need significant maintenance investments. The funding of this exercise remains a big mystery.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The premier announced his priorities as being:
To accelerate Gauteng’s economic recovery and reconstruction;
To declare crime, corruption, lawlessness and vandalism as the enemy that must be mercilessly defeated;
To drastically change the living conditions of the people in the 26 townships ...
In his maiden State of the Province Address on Monday evening, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi outlined ambitious plans for how the province aimed to tackle crime.
Four months into the job, Premier Panyaza Lesufi used his inaugural State of the Province Address, delivered at the Johannesburg City Hall on Monday evening, to acknowledge and provide solutions to one of the province’s thorniest issues — crime.
Last year, Gauteng recorded the second-highest number of multiple murders in South Africa, with other crimes also on the rise.
Early in his address, Lesufi said: “Today, let’s openly admit, our province is a home of heartless and merciless criminals. They do as they wish. If this situation is left unattended it will be the end of all of us.”
‘Talk less, do more’
Lesufi said he wished he did not have to deliver the address as residents had lost confidence in the provincial government.
“They think we talk too much and do less. My preference would have been to take you to different sites of Gauteng to showcase the work we have done. Let me assure you, we will talk less and do more.
“So the issue of fighting crime should be our apex priority. We should unleash all our resources at our disposal to tackle crime. To this end, we are increasing our budget for fighting crime from R750-million to multibillion[s] in the next three years.” Details on where the funds would come from were scant.
Lesufi announced the following measures to tackle the scourge of crime:
“Starting from the 1st of April 2023, we will start to connect suburbs, townships, business districts, schools and other public places with high-tech, face and car recognition CCTVs.
“We will arm our residents with e-Panic buttons that will be linked to our law enforcement agencies, CCTVs and our new state-of-the-art Integrated Command Centre.
“We will unveil two new helicopters at the beginning of the next financial year and add four additional helicopters within the 2023/2024 budget cycle. The private security industry has pledged to add theirs as well to the pool of helicopters that will patrol our skies.
“To ensure that our police are not sacrificial lambs in the battles with criminals, we are at an advanced stage to procure 180 state-of-the-art drones that will infiltrate areas that are difficult to patrol and police. These drones are equipped with technology that can capture the direction of a bullet and where they come from.
“We have procured 400 new police ...
Ten people have been confirmed dead and several are missing after floods — caused by torrential rain — swept through several towns in the Eastern Cape, destroying billions of rands worth of infrastructure and roads.
Ten people have died, and four are still missing in the floods that have ravaged the Eastern Cape for the past two weeks.
The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zolile Williams, and the MEC for Roads and Transport, Xolile Nqatha, have begged parents in rural areas not to send children to school if they have to cross rivers to get there.
“The education department has indicated that they will organise catch-up classes,” Nqatha said.
Communities were left devastated after 1,661 people were displaced. The search for the missing children swept away by floods in Coffee Bay over the weekend continued on Monday. Rescue teams found the bodies of a mother and her daughter. Nontando Sineke (29) was located on the edge of the Coffee Bay beach and her daughter was found in the Nenge River.
The floods destroyed roads, bridges, houses and the Tyelinzima High School in Coffee Bay.
‘A devastating situation’
On Monday, the OR Tambo Municipality executive mayor, Mesuli Ngqondwana, visited Coffee Bay to assess the damage. A Coffee Bay resident, Mfila Mloku, a family member of the Sinekes, said: “This is a devastating situation. I lost three of my family members due to this flooding.
“At this moment, we are still searching for the missing body of another child. This flood has troubled us a lot. It damaged everything. The bridge you are seeing now was completely destroyed by the floods. It’s unbelievable what happened here.
“Look at how these learners are crossing this collapsed bridge, it’s not safe at all . We are in serious trouble in Coffee Bay.”
Nonikile Gobezemfe, whose three houses were destroyed by the floods, said residents were still in disbelief about what happened.
“The floods destroyed all our houses. Three are completely gone. The rest will soon collapse,” she said. “We lost the girl who was just visiting the family to meet her boyfriend but unfortunately she was swept away by the floods while trying to escape. We haven’t found her body.”
A Grade 10 learner at Tyelinzima High School, Siphokuhle Gabulele (18), said the last time she went to school was Wednesday last week as they have not been able to cross the bridge near her school.
“On Saturday, we heard the school was completely destroyed. ...
Despite kicking Israel out of the summit, the African Union did not even discuss the country’s disputed observer status.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has deplored the ejection of Israel’s top Africa diplomat from the weekend African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The organisation, which represents most of the Jewish community in South Africa, said it was “extremely disappointing” the governing ANC was happy with the supposed “victory” that this ejection represented.
“In reality, this was a ‘victory’ only for pressure groups seeking to subvert the purpose of the AU by using it as an anti-Israel propaganda platform,” SAJBD national chairperson Professor Karen Milner said in a statement.
Sharon Bar-Li, the deputy director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in charge of Africa, was escorted out of the public opening ceremony of the summit by officials on Saturday. Milner said the aim of the AU was to provide a forum for African nations to discuss issues of common concern, including conflict resolution. By evicting Israel from its summit it had lost an opportunity to do this.
“The AU represents all those who live on the continent, including those of the Jewish faith. For the South African Jewish community, it was therefore deeply distressing to witness the world’s sole Jewish nation-state being excluded in so hostile and overtly discriminatory a manner.”
Bar-Li’s removal from the summit happened against the backdrop of a wider ongoing and divisive debate in the AU about whether Israel should be accredited to the AU as an observer. Yet the AU summit did not discuss the issue at all.
Israel’s foreign ministry blamed South Africa and Algeria for the eviction of Bar-Li, saying the two countries were motivated by “hate”. It said it would summon South Africa’s acting ambassador to Israel to reprimand South Africa.
Although both the ANC and the government have made their opposition to Israel’s observer status very clear, Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, told Al Jazeera South Africa demanded that Israel “substantiate their claim” that Pretoria was behind Bar-Li’s ejection.
Clayson Monyela, the spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told Reuters that until the AU took a decision on whether to grant Israel observer status, “you cannot have the country sitting and observing.
“So, it’s not about South Africa or Algeria, it’s an issue of principle.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
One of the oddities of the incident is ...
In the past few days, it has been confirmed that South Africa’s murder rate, which can be a proxy for all violent crime, is now higher than it has been at any time in the last 20 years. While this points to a severe weakness of the South African state, so pressing is the problem that there are likely to be political consequences.
The politics of South Africa will increasingly be influenced by crime: there will be demands for populist measures that invariably lead to harsher measures for migrants and others. There will be ever more calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty, and some politicians will try to benefit from satisfying those calls.
On the opposite side of the fence, there is now growing evidence of the links between politicians and hardcore common criminals, which could come back to haunt them at the polls.
Many people feel the sense of living under siege. South Africa’s annual murder rate is now 46 per 100,000 people. You would have to go back to the 1990s to find a similar figure.
It is not entirely clear why there has been such an explosion of violence. As the researcher David Bruce explained on Monday, it may well be the combination of the pandemic and its impact on the economy, which has deteriorated markedly of late. But Bruce also points out there is an “entrenchment of organised crime” which is playing a role in the increasing murder rate.
Examples are plentiful, as with residents of Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, who complain of extortion rackets linked to organised crime, where young women are forced to pay protection money simply to walk down a road with a new weave.
Urgent action is necessary: callers to radio stations are demanding that the Constitution be changed to reinstate the death penalty, and many people are turning on undocumented immigrants. There can be no doubt that the actions of people like Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini are tolerated simply because of this kind of violent crime.
Police Minister Bheki Cele promises that there will be action and says that police officers are dealing with the problem.
But this is not what communities experience — they feel the impact of violent crime on themselves, their families and their friends.
And by 2020, only 19 out of every 100 murders in South Africa were actually solved. That number is likely to be lower now.
There appears to be almost a consensus ...
US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv to meet his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the highest-profile visit since Russia invaded and a strong show of support for Ukraine before the war’s one-year mark on Friday.
During his visit to Kyiv on Monday, US President Joe Biden said his goal was to reaffirm his administration’s “unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the visit — the first by a US president in 15 years — “historic, timely and brave”.
The US also announced a package of $460-million in additional weapons for Ukraine that crucially includes 155mm artillery rounds and rockets for the powerful Himars missile system.
Read more: One year of Russia’s war in Ukraine: Key events and how it’s unfolding
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, earlier said that he told China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, during talks in Munich at the weekend that the bloc had “strong concern” about Beijing supplying weapons to Russia and if China armed Kremlin forces that would be a “red line.”
Key developments
Biden visits Kyiv in surprise wartime trip amid air raid alerts
China looks to convince world it can broker Russia-Ukraine peace
Russia and China have a stranglehold on global food security
Ukraine’s allies work through consequences of the long war ahead
US plans new Russia export controls, sanctions on key industries
On the ground
Russia conducted 10 missile strikes and 25 air attacks over the past day and launched 62 barrages from multiple-launch rocket systems, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. According to its statement, Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near seven settlements in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. Russia may lack sufficient reserves to “dramatically increase the scale or intensity of the offensive this winter,” analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in their latest report.
Germany tells China it can’t arm Russia
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she made clear to China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Beijing is also responsible for the preservation of global peace.
“That, of course, also means that China may not send any weapons, including dual-use goods, to Russia,” Baerbock said after the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Next Ramstein meeting ‘planned for mid-March’
The next meeting of Ukraine’s allies at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss assistance for Ukraine will be in mid-March, most likely in an online format, ...
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana must put the rands and cents to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address political promises. It’s an unenviable task – without political glamour and without any control of how Cabinet colleagues actually spend their departmental allocations.
Rooftop solar subsidies for businesses and households are a tick in the Budget announcements. President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), and reply earlier this month, twice said his finance minister would announce the details – come Budget – in what appeared to be the executive’s spin on seamless operations.
A rejigged bounceback scheme to allow small business favourable financing terms to shore up against the rolling blackouts? Pencil it in for Wednesday, given that Ramaphosa in his Sona speech said National Treasury was working on adjustments to the scheme first launched during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
An extension of the monthly R350 social relief of distress grant, a definite tick as announced by Ramaphosa earlier in February – “[W]e will continue the social relief of distress grant.” – as part of the presidential comments on social protection. The rising cost-of-living crisis that’s bashing the vulnerable, who increasingly must decide between food or transport to work or school, but also workers and middle class families.
But among Godongwana’s biggest bugbears are Eskom debt, and the public wage bill.
Containing public servants’ wages has been key to the government Budget juggle, also with ballooning debt repayment costs, the fastest rising line item.
In late 2022, government decided not to pay the scheduled increase, and successfully argued its unaffordability in court. This now hangs over the 2023 negotiations, for which government is offering an average 4.7%, although the sliding scale provides greater increases for the lowest paid workers.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Government proposes below consumer inflation pay rise for public servants”
Godongwana is expected to talk to this. He will also have to talk about Eskom and Eskom debt on Wednesday, just as Stage 6 rolling power cuts hit South Africa again.
“To ensure Eskom’s long-term financial viability, government will take over a significant portion of the utility’s R400-billion debt. [T]he quantum is expected to be between one-third and two-thirds of Eskom’s current debt . Further details of the programme. will be announced in the 2023 Budget,” said the finance minister in the October 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement when he kicked the Eskom can down the road (2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement Speech).
Expectations ...
The world is motoring towards EV rollout but South Africa is walking into a crisis as our biggest market, the EU, has outgrown our love of fossil fuels. Soon, the world won’t want SA’s product, if SA doesn’t transition to electric vehicles.
South Africa’s automotive sector is at risk of being consigned to oblivion if it is unable to compete on an international scale. And competition is hotting up.
On 14 February, the European Parliament finally gave formal approval to ban all internal combustion vehicles by 2035. Key vehicle manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW are on track to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, to stem car emissions.
By 2030, the US expects to have an electric vehicle (EV) charging network of half a million stations across the country, through an ambitious $7.5-billion, federally funded programme.
China, the world’s largest car market, not only increased sales of vehicles by 61% last year, but its companies are innovating faster, which is potentially accelerating the transition off fossil-fuel powered transport and putting it on track to displace Japan as the biggest exporter.
The country’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids to surge by 35% in 2023 to nine million vehicles, which is almost a third of China’s total new vehicle sales.
Guidance
SA’s local automotive sector has now released a thought leadership discussion document on new-energy vehicles (NEVs), to remain globally competitive.
Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa says the industry understands and appreciates that the introduction of NEVs is not just about replacing the traditional ICE with new technologies, but also about the role the industry plays in decarbonising road transport in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
“The global transition towards NEVs is a critical step to secure the future of the automotive industry in South Africa. Our rapid adoption to newer technologies is critical for the domestic automotive industry’s long-term success and growth.
“The only way to have a successful automotive manufacturing base is to keep up with technological developments.”
He said that “the South African automotive industry cannot be running on one development technology track whilst the rest of the world is way ahead on the same track”.
“If we want to remain globally competitive, we have no option but to play with the big global players who are leading the NEV charge.”
Government ‘painfully slow’
However, on the government front, SA has been “painfully slow” in finalising its governance and policy transformation priorities.
“We need to urgently ...
When Bitcoin was first introduced, many were sceptical. However, since its first trade at $0.0008 in July 2010, investors have seen this cryptocurrency rocket to its current value of $24,450. Since it burst on to the scene, thousands more cryptocurrencies have entered the market, and, with them, an increased risk of scams and fraud.
The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Ombud, advocate Nonku Tshombe, has issued a warning reminding consumers to exercise caution when investing in cryptocurrency.
Since the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) announced its regulation of cryptocurrency, the ombud has seen a slight increase in related complaints.
The warning follows a recent move by the South African Advertising Regulatory Board to add a new clause to its Code of Advertising Practice dealing with cryptocurrency products. In a nutshell, companies advertising crypto-assets have to be explicit in terms of warning consumers that these are high-risk products and that you can risk losing your capital.
Investors worldwide lost money when cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November last year. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial for what is being called one of the largest fraud cases in US history.
Tshombe says some of the key aspects to look out for when looking to invest in cryptocurrency-related investments include:
Before using a cryptocurrency exchange, check its authenticity, for example, by reading reviews, as fake exchanges can look genuine, but are run by fraudsters who want to steal your money.
Watch out for scammers who use malware or hacking to gain access to investors’ accounts to steal their cryptocurrency.
Be cautious of unsolicited offers or cold calls that promise high earnings or guaranteed returns.
Be wary of individuals or entities who demand upfront payment or ask for access to your bank account information.
Be mindful of fraudulent schemes that use fake websites or emails to trick investors into revealing their login information or secret keys.
Be on the lookout for fraudsters who spread false or misleading information about a cryptocurrency to artificially inflate its price and then sell their own holdings at the inflated price, leaving other investors with worthless coins.
Avoid scammers who create fake social media profiles or pages to promote their scams and lure investors into fraudulent projects.
Be aware of SIM swapping scams, where scammers use a victim’s phone number to gain access to their cryptocurrency accounts to steal their funds.
“Cryptocurrency assets are becoming a new asset class and an alternative to the more traditional asset classes such as equities, bonds, ...
A really incredible thing happened: Gold producers became irrational and started cooperating. Or perhaps they weren’t actually cooperating so much as they became very conscious of the consequences of overproduction. Whatever. They found discipline.
Discipline. That’s the stuff you learn in the army. There is apparently a true story about a visiting major who went for a meal in the officer’s club, and asked the chef, “What’s good here, soldier?” The chef snapped to attention and said, “Discipline, Sir!”
Discipline is also associated with some businesses. But there is one industry not particularly known for its discipline: the gold industry.
The reason is simple. Commodity producers are typically price-takers because the price of their product, their only product, is publicly set on an ongoing basis by the market. There is no such thing as “good gold” and “bad gold”, there is just gold. The ability to differentiate is non-existent. So the ability of gold companies to grow their companies is determined really by a single variable: how much gold they can pull out of the ground.
But then over time, gold companies got to realise that if they all pulled as much gold as they could out of the ground, the price of gold would decline, nullifying the advantage. Amazing! The trick was to somehow convince everyone else to stop producing so much gold, while at the same time, producing more yourself.
Pessimism
But there is a contradiction here too. What gold producers are selling is essentially pessimism. Gold’s one great advantage is its history as a store of value outside of the global monetary system. I remember having a long lunch with a gold producer a long time ago who was convinced that this new-fangled dotcom stuff, otherwise known as the internet, was bound to end in disaster. In a way, he was right! The dotcom bubble did in fact burst. But then it went on to change the world. And that is gold producers for you; disasters, potential and actual, are everywhere.
But if you are arguing in favour of pessimism, there is an underlying contradiction if you go nuts pulling more gold out of the ground, which sounds like the kind of thing an optimist would do. I suppose you could be optimistic about the likelihood of increasing pessimism.
In any event, gold mining does involve something of the prisoner’s dilemma. This is the famous thought experiment where two prisoners are caught committing a crime ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) had its best safety year ever in 2022, with no employee killed on the job at the mines it manages. Meanwhile, the full-year earnings for the Anglo American unit fell from record levels on lower prices and grades and maintenance issues, but were still its second-best ever. Looking ahead, the surge in power blackouts may have a material impact this year.
Earnings results are always compared to the previous reporting period, but that can sometimes be deceptive. For example, no one died last year in an industrial accident at work on a mine that Amplats managed, and you can’t really put a price on that. It was the company’s best calendar year on record for safety, mirroring the overall sector’s record safety year.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Accidental deaths in SA mines fall to record low of 49 in 2022”
At first glance, its earnings for 2022 look a damp squib compared with 2021. Adjusted Ebitda – earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation – were down 32% to R73.9-billion. The dividend per share was 62% lower to R115/share or R30-billion. And so on.
But context is everything and 2021 was an absolutely blockbuster year for Amplats, with record earnings from record prices. That was always going to be a hard act to follow, and 2022 marked its second-best annual earnings on record.
That’s still a podium finish, though the market was not all that impressed.
The company’s share price was down 3% in late afternoon trade on Monday, compared with slight gains for its peers. The dividend was a total payout ratio of 62% of headline earnings, and maybe investors were hoping for more cash back.
“This financial year has seen us navigate a complex operating environment, with macro-economic challenges, supply chain disruptions, socioeconomic unrest, and electricity load-curtailment, as well as some operational headwinds of our own. However, we have seen good levels of resilience across our operations,” said CEO Natascha Viljoen.
Prices were a mixed bag last year, with the dollar price for the basket of platinum group metals (PGMs) Amplats produces down 8% compared with 2021. But a weaker rand meant the rand basket price nudged 2% higher to a record high.
Lower grades – which refer to the amount of metal per tonne of rock mined – at the jewel in Amplats’ crown, its mechanised Mogalakwena mine, and delays in the planned rebuilding of its Polokwane smelter because of “substandard ...
Blackouts’ disruption of agriculture is fuelling the fire of food inflation, as the president admitted in his Sona speech. Now sources say the National Budget will give farms incentives to generate their own power.
In his Sona speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about the cost-of-living crisis and made a reference to policies in the pipeline to address it.
“National Treasury is considering the feasibility of urgent measures to mitigate the impact of load shedding on food prices,” the president said, without elaborating.
DM168 understands that the measures will be outlined by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his National Budget speech on Wednesday, and they will not include outdated or radical policies such as price controls.
Rather, according to more than one source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, they will focus on giving farms incentives to generate their own electricity, which will presumably include the installation of solar panels.
They will be focused on intensive power users such as farmers who irrigate, as well as the dairy and poultry sectors, among others.
Another measure will be a managed load shedding schedule that takes the needs of farmers into account.
These will be near-term interventions focused on the supply side rather than the consumer side.
It remains to be seen precisely what the incentives will entail, but tax breaks for self-generation initiatives come to mind. Ramaphosa also announced in his Sona that tax incentives would soon be unveiled to allow households and businesses to tap solar energy using rooftop panels.
On the farm front, urgent measures are clearly required to mitigate the impact of power cuts, which in recent months have reached unprecedented levels.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Load shedding is one of the key domestic drivers of food inflation in South Africa, because it triggers screw-ups in the production pipeline that send farmers’ costs soaring.
Astral Foods is one of many examples. The poultry producer said in a trading update in late January that it expected its earnings for the six months to the end of March 2023 to tank at about 90%, largely because of the toll taken by rolling blackouts, which disrupt the ventilation of chicken coops and the slaughtering of birds in abattoirs.
Irrigation is another major concern because the rains this summer’s growing season, though abundant at times, have also been erratic. About 18% of the staple maize crop in South Africa is irrigated, as is much of ...
Lawyers and law firms were instrumental in the State Capture project. From prestigious Sandton white shoe firms to crooked small-time attorneys everyone feasted. One attorney who has not been held to account for State Capture crimes is the notorious Daniel Mantsha.
Daniel Mantsha is a man of many hats — attorney, director at state-owned arms company Denel, and legal counsel to former president Jacob Zuma, he has been active in both the private and public sector for years. Throughout his career, Mantsha has been embroiled in numerous scandals, he has been removed and subsequently re-admitted to the attorney’s roll and developed close connections with individuals implicated in State Capture.
Despite recommendations made by the Zondo Commission to have him investigated for misconduct as a lawyer and director, including possible violations of the law, Mantsha remains a practicing attorney. In the past few weeks, he has popped up again as the legal representative for an accused in the first state capture case to proceed to trial — the Nulane trial ongoing in the Free State. This Teflon attorney is an example of the kind of impunity which public authorities have enabled through their own inaction.
Mantsha has been able to bounce back from scandal following his re-admission to the roll of practising attorneys in 2011. Open Secrets through its investigations can now reveal that the records and court papers for his readmission have seemingly disappeared which raises serious concerns about the conduct of the public institutions meant to hold him to account.
Despite the serious evidence against him, the Legal Practice Council (LPC) — responsible for regulating and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession — has thus far failed to hold him accountable. Law enforcement agencies have similarly failed to act despite evidence in the public domain and the recommendations of the Zondo Commission. It is essential that both act swiftly to hold Mantsha to account and demonstrate that no lawyer is above the law.
Destruction at Denel
Mantsha’s appointment as the Chair of the board of Denel was announced in July 2015 and coincided with the deep losses at Denel and its ultimate decline. This followed a controversial decision by minister Lynne Brown to overhaul the existing board under whose stewardship Denel had undergone a turnaround, generating healthy profits and an order book worth around R35-billion.
While Open Secrets investigations call into sharp question Denel’s and other arms dealers’ track records of profiting from arms sales ...
A single vague allegation by Operation Dudula that the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit and the ‘high number of illegal immigrants’ compounded the crime situation in the country, was dismissed by the Gauteng High Court as a reason to join a constitutional review of the decision to terminate the permit.
‘The organisation is of the view that the extension of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), together with a high number of illegal immigrants in the country, is compounding the already dire situation of criminality,” Zandile Dubula, executive director of Operation Dudula, said in a short affidavit before the Gauteng High Court.
She was arguing for her organisation to be allowed to join a case asking the Gauteng High Court to set aside the current decision to terminate the ZEP and order Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to take a new decision in line with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act of 2000.
The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) last year took legal action challenging Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the ZEP. This case has been scheduled for April.
The ZEP special dispensation offered legal protection to about 178,000 Zimbabwean nationals, allowing them to live, work and study in South Africa.
In one form or another, permits for Zimbabweans choosing to live in South Africa have been in place since 2009. In their court papers, the HSF objects to the lack of notification and public consultation before Motsoaledi announced in November 2021 that the ZEP would be terminated.
“They (holders of ZEPs) will be put to a desperate choice: to remain in South Africa as undocumented migrants, with all the vulnerability that attaches to such status, or return to a Zimbabwe that, to all intents and purposes, is unchanged from the country they fled,” reads a statement issued by the HSF when the legal review was launched.
“There are thousands of children who have been born in South Africa to ZEP holders during this time who have never even visited their parents’ country of origin.”
In September 2022, Motsoaledi published a notice stating that a “grace period” would be introduced and remain in effect until 30 June 2023.
Motsoaledi opposes the HSF’s application. The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa has joined the HSF as a second applicant.
Operation Dudula and the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa then asked to be allowed to intervene in the application. The Truck Drivers Forum was successful, but Operation Dudula was not. The forum ...
The state-controlled Herald newspaper initially published the story of the former president’s son’s arrest but later withdrew the story from its website after state agents allegedly phoned the editor of the publication.
Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s son Robert Mugabe Jnr (31) was arrested on Sunday.
He was escorted by detectives to the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Monday, but prosecutors referred his matter back to the police station ‘for further management’. He is charged with malicious damage to property.
The national spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed Mugabe’s arrest.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that Robert Tinotenda Mugabe Junior (31) has been arrested on malicious damage to property allegations after a complaint by his friend Nkatazo Sindiso (31) that he destroyed property worth US$12,000 at House number 3A Verdi Lane, Strathaven, Harare. He will appear in court in due course,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
When prosecutors referred the matter back to Avondale police station where it is being managed, Mugabe was immediately whisked away by aides.
His lawyer, Ashiel Mugiya, told Daily Maverick: “I am not in a position to discuss this matter at the moment. You may try a bit later when I’m done with the police, but certainly, the matter is now out of court as you may have seen.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The state-controlled Herald newspaper initially published the story of the former president’s son’s arrest but later withdrew the story from its website after state agents allegedly phoned the editor of the publication.
Sources at the publication told Daily Maverick that President Emmerson Mnangagwa felt his government would be portrayed in a bad light, as the country marks Robert Mugabe Youth Day this Tuesday.
“We were told that the arrest of Robert Mugabe Junior coincided with his father’s birthday, which falls tomorrow . there will be a big national event to be held in Lupane [in Matabeleland] and Mugabe’s siblings are expected to attend. So they [state agents] said it would be embarrassing to celebrate the day when Mugabe’s son would be behind bars,” said a journalist at the newspaper, who asked for anonymity.
This is not the first time the Mugabes have had a brush with the law. Former first lady Grace Mugabe allegedly assaulted a South African model, Gabriella Engels, in a hotel room in Johannesburg, when her husband was still in power. She is yet to be prosecuted.
Robert Mugabe, who ruled ...
Established farmers in the Free State are selling their sheep by the thousands because stock theft syndicates are making it impossible for them to continue doing business.
While stock theft, especially across the border between South Africa and Lesotho, has been a problem for well over a decade, it is now so rife that it is said to be threatening the agricultural sector and the country’s food security.
Daily Maverick has heard from several angry eastern Free State farmers who are especially vocal about their suspicions that certain police members are involved in the syndicates’ operations – and that authorities are not doing enough to get to the bottom of it.
Henton Minnaar, sheep and wool adviser at agri-business BKB, says that right now in the Brandfort district alone, 14,000 ewes are for sale. Much of this can be attributed to the increase in stock theft, leading to sheep farmers closing up shop.
“We’re very worried. Losing the three to six kilograms of wool each sheep provides, threatens our entire agricultural business,” said Minnaar.
‘Organised crime syndicate’
The Ficksburg community has over the past few years been growing increasingly agitated over the truckloads of sheep and cattle regularly seen being transported in the area – either to or from Lesotho across the Caledon river, as well as to auctions in nearby towns and even Gauteng. The trucks move over weekends and at odd hours of the night.
Owing to the large number of animals being stolen and the sophisticated level of criminal activity taking place in recent years, farmers and various agricultural bodies are convinced that this is the work of a well-oiled, organised crime syndicate orchestrating the theft, transport and speculating of cattle.
Jane Buys, safety and risk analyst at Free State Agriculture, says it is crucial that police and the National Prosecuting Authority regard this as “organised crime” to ensure it receives adequate attention.
Police spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe commented that “although stock theft might be organised in certain instances, it cannot be said that it is organised in general.
“The Division: Detective and Forensic Services established an Organised Crime Investigation capacity within all provinces to investigate all organised crime, including stock theft in cases where investigations indicate that it is of an organised nature.”
Jess de Klerk from agri-organisation Saai, describes stock theft as an intricate business with a lot of money changing hands.
R8m worth of stock stolen in January
“If you look at the number of cattle that ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
The gunning down last month of a young Free State farmer has ignited tensions in a Ficksburg farming community.
Evan Sorour, 28, was the fourth in the Sorour generation on the farm Uitkyk in the Free State town of Ficksburg.
He was shot five times, allegedly by 37-year-old livestock speculator, Rudi Gericke, who lives on a neighbouring farm.
On 8 January, Evan and his father, Reuter, responded to a call about some of the Sorour’s cattle having broken through an adjoining fence. Father and son then went out on their motorbikes to herd their cattle back to their farm.
Rudi Gericke turned up and allegedly threatened and chased both men in his Land Cruiser. He allegedly assaulted Reuter, then shot Evan, later setting fire to the motorbike Evan had been riding.
Now, Reuter Sorour is looking for answers.
“There was no reason. No provocation. No quarrel, no altercation. Nothing. Rudi just suddenly arrived and went after us. What did Evan and I do to deserve that?”
Gericke is under police guard in the Bethlehem Mediclinic. He is being treated for a bullet to the hip allegedly fired by Evan in self-defence.
Charges
Gericke has been charged with murder, attempted murder and malicious damage to property. This was confirmed by Free State police spokesperson Sergeant Christopher Mophiring.
Another question Reuter asks is why Gericke had his firearm on him that day. This was after a case of assault stemming from an incident in August last year was still pending against Gericke. His firearm was confiscated after his arrest, but while out on bail it was returned to him by police in October.
“Evan was shot with that very weapon that the police returned to Gericke. Under the circumstances, and considering the Firearms Control Act, there is no plausible reason why they returned his firearm to him. Yet they did,” said Reuter.
Mophiring confirmed to Daily Maverick that the police had returned the firearm to the accused, including Gericke, on an order of the magistrate presiding over the court case. “Not doing so would have put us in contempt of court,” he stated.
Severe assault
During the incident in August, Gericke and friends Kleinjan le Grange and Theo Louw allegedly severely assaulted a well-known farmer in Ficksburg, Morgan Barrett, and others at the Ficksburg Golf and Country Club. After watching a rugby game, a brawl broke out during which Barrrett was pummelled unconscious.
Jurg Kruger, a private investigator and former policeman, said he alerted police about Gericke’s ...
If South Africa’s energy woes can be attributed, at least in part, to resistance to the transition from coal to renewable energy, then it is all the more important that the Just Transition delivers on the ‘just’ part of the equation.
This means a focus not only on replacing the direct jobs lost, but also on the wider social context of poverty, inequality and deprivation within which such transitions will happen.
Certainly, the baseline for this needs to be holistic social protection. But employment is at the heart of the concept of the Just Transition and, where market-based solutions are unable to deliver employment at the scale required – or in the places most affected – there is a vital role for special employment programmes to fill the gap.
The challenge is to optimise the social, economic and environmental value they can add.
Legitimacy jeopardised
If the energy transition is seen as exacerbating the crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality, then the legitimacy and policy priority given to greener forms of energy will be placed in serious jeopardy. This political risk is already evident and may be escalating.
Yet most stakeholders agree that no matter how effectively the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) is implemented, market-based investment in renewable alternatives – or any forms of investment in the affected areas – are unlikely to enable seamless transitions to new jobs, even only for current employees.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa routed the RET faction – but rolling blackouts could floor him”
Such jobs are unlikely to be created at the scale required, or in the same places as the jobs being lost. Nor will they be able to reproduce current employment and other multipliers in the local economies that stand to lose jobs in the transition process. All of this is well-recognised in South Africa’s JET-IP.
So how is that recognition translating into a plan of action?
At present, much of the discussion on the social equity dimensions of the Just Transition focuses on the role of social protection. This is often understood narrowly in relation to social grants. Certainly, such grants matter. For many, they are a lifeline keeping hunger and the most damaging impacts of poverty at bay. They are a necessary component of the strategy.
Yet, at the core of the Just Transition is the issue of jobs and the reality that in a society in which unemployment is the main cause of poverty and inequality, ...
‘The forecast is that we will have load shedding Stage 6 prevailing until Wednesday evening peak, and by Thursday. be able to start phasing that down to load shedding Stage 4, with Stage 3 being reached by the weekend,’ said André de Ruyter.
A combination of coal supply constraints due to heavy rainfall around South Africa and further breakdowns at Eskom’s power stations pushed rolling blackouts to Stage 6 over the weekend, which is likely to continue until after the evening peak on Wednesday. Then it is anticipated the country will move to Stage 4 power cuts, said Eskom CEO André de Ruyter on Monday.
At an Eskom state-of-the-system briefing on Monday, De Ruyter urged people to be mindful of their electricity consumption as Eskom’s available power fleet teeters.
“We do face a very constrained situation at this point in time. We appeal to the public to use electricity sparingly, please.”
The failure of eight generation units at the weekend triggered Stage 6 load shedding, for the fourth time this year, on Sunday night. In some parts of SA, that could mean no power for up to 10 hours a day.
Coal constraints
On Sunday, 21,243MW of generating capacity was out because of the breakdown of units at Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo, Majuba and Camden power stations, Eskom said in a statement.
At Lethabo power station, a further two units were shut down after heavy rains prevented the delivery of coal from the New Vaal mine to the station. Lethabo’s three operating units were at risk of shutting down if the coal supply constraints were not resolved. Additionally, 3,566MW of generating capacity was out of service for planned maintenance.
Given the many breakdowns, Eskom warned of the possibility of further stages of load shedding at short notice. However, on Monday, De Ruyter said Stage 8 blackouts were not on the cards.
“We do have contingency plans in place, should there be a further loss in generation capacity. At this point in time, we do not anticipate that there is a risk of going beyond Stage 8. I can give the country the assurance that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that we do not end up in a situation where we go beyond that,” said De Ruyter.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
As of Monday afternoon, 3,766MW of generating capacity was out on planned maintenance. Full load losses stood at 12,318MW, while partial ...
The reported underinvestment in health facility maintenance and infrastructure development may deliver the fatal blow that will see health services in South Africa suffering the same fate as the nation's power utility.
When Eskom declared Stage 6 rolling blackouts indefinitely on 11 January 2023, South Africa went into a state of shock. This followed a similar announcement made just a month earlier in December 2022, only this time accompanied by loud calls for the president to cancel his planned trip to Davos.
South Africans have now realised that high levels of rolling blackouts will be an unavoidable part of life for the foreseeable future. They also know that critical services such as health, already under strain, will be negatively impacted due to a drop in the availability of electricity.
Adding insult to injury, the reported under-investment in health facility maintenance and infrastructure development may deliver the fatal blow that will see health services in South Africa suffering the same fate as Eskom.
The recently gazetted draft National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP 2050) paints a dreadful picture of the current status of public infrastructure in the country.
Issued by the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (NDPWI), the plan describes the status quo regarding public infrastructure in various functional areas.
About health infrastructure the plan characterises “public healthcare facilities (hospitals and clinics) as at a risk of failure”. This is due to “up to one-third of the existing PHC facilities requiring significant maintenance” and up to 20% requiring complete replacement.
Additionally, the plan indicates that a significant investment will be required to bring the digital infrastructure and medical equipment up to the required levels for facilities to operate efficiently.
The picture painted above gets worse when one considers the findings of the latest available Annual Inspection Report issued by the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC).
This report is an outcome of the assessments conducted by the OHSC to determine whether health establishments comply with prescribed norms and standards. While the report covers four functional areas, of particular interest are the findings around the maintenance of health infrastructure.
Among the litany of adverse findings, the standout finding is the non-existence of maintenance plans for most facilities across the eight provinces audited. Flowing from this, it is therefore not surprising to note other adverse findings related to the maintenance of buildings, equipment and vehicles.
Most facilities were found to be non-compliant with the applicable safety regulations. This can be correlated with the ...
Beyond the therapy room, artificial intelligence holds the potential to address mental health on a large scale. There has been an exponential rise in AI-powered, cognitive behavioural therapy-informed chatbots, such as Woebot and Wysa.
Technological advances over the past two decades have revolutionised healthcare. We can reproduce internal organs and bones through 3D printing, consult experts on the other end of the world via advanced communication technology, and monitor our caloric intake and sleep cycles through mobile apps.
Due to these advances, physical illnesses have traditionally been more likely to receive treatment compared with mental disorders, both locally and globally.
However, the latest breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) promise significant improvements in mental healthcare. Our social interactions and news feeds are dominated by debates about the applications of ChatGPT, using Woebot as your therapist, or your local art gallery displaying human-DALL-E collabs.
While several prominent sectors of society are ready to fully embrace the potential of AI, what will it mean for the field of mental health? Will AI replace current mental health practitioners entirely? Or just enough to fill the tragic and increasing mental health gap?
Despite apparent concerns, AI applications in the mental health field are steadily increasing.
Mental illness manifests uniquely in each individual and is best explained holistically by our biopsychosocial profile. The pathophysiology of mental illness is complex and varied, and our current understanding of the impact of biological, social, and psychological interactions is limited.
However, there is evidence that AI can be used to develop advanced diagnostic screening tools and formulate risk models to determine an individual’s risk of developing mental illness. Ultimately, AI and deep learning can be used to identify which treatment techniques work best for which combination of symptoms.
Moreover, AI-powered algorithms can filter through medical histories, family histories, previous treatment plans, and patient behaviour to make informed decisions about appropriate treatment and choice of mental healthcare professionals. In traditional practice, this can be a time-consuming and costly process — the use of AI promises efficiency both in terms of time and money.
Beyond the therapy room, AI holds the potential to address mental health on a large scale. There has been an exponential rise in AI-powered, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-informed chatbots, such as Woebot and Wysa.
Rather than relying on face-to-face therapy, these mental health chatbots are evidence-based and offer users a convenient and discreet way to check in and address mental health concerns. These chatbots ask ...
Rural citizens argue that by signing the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, the President made the abusive actions of traditional leaders legal. They have no issue with the fact that, at last, the law recognises Khoi and San leaders and communities.
Njalo ngonyaka sikhokh’ imali yamasim’ enduneni (Every year we pay land fees to the chief), goes the line in the hit song, Imbizo, released in 1992 by maskandi legends Phuzekhemisi and his late brother Khethani. Nithi siyithathaphi imali? it asks a little later. Where do you think we get the money from?
More than 30 years later, rural citizens living under traditional leaders are asking themselves why they are still fighting for their customary rights, and why the leadership of the country has seen fit to entrench the apartheid legacy that ignored customary law.
Their newest fight goes to the Constitutional Court on 23 February 2023 when oral arguments will be heard in the matter of Constance Mogale and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others, CCT 73/2022. In this case, rural citizens and civil society will be challenging the constitutional validity of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act (TKLA) that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law in 2019.
Rural citizens argue that by signing the TKLA, the President made the abusive actions of traditional leaders legal. They have no issue with the fact that at last the law recognises Khoi and San leaders and communities. This important move is long overdue and should have been implemented much earlier in our democracy.
The regulation of traditional leadership is also welcomed – this recognises the institution of traditional leadership, and it recognises customary law which is an important part of the identity of rural citizens. However, rural citizens strongly object to aspects of the TKLA that pose serious threats to rural democracy, especially in the area of land rights.
Critically, section 24 of the TKLA allows traditional councils to enter into agreements and partnerships with anyone, including mining companies, without the consent of the landowners or those whose land rights will be directly affected. The upshot is that rural citizens are at risk of being dispossessed of their land without their consent.
Rather than securing protections for rural citizens, section 24(3) states that any partnerships and agreements agreed by traditional councils must be entered into in terms of the TKLA only. This provision excludes the only piece of legislation that until now has protected the ...
The outcome of the matter could have far-reaching consequences and will be of importance in the debate over how public land is used and where social housing should be developed.
Western Cape housing activists filled the public benches at the Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday to hear arguments in a landmark housing case. The outcome of this case could affect the much-needed provision of affordable housing in central Cape Town and be a step towards dealing with “spatial apartheid”.
In 2015, the Western Cape government tried to sell the Tafelberg property in Sea Point, formerly the Tafelberg Remedial School, to a private school for R135-million. Housing activists challenged the sale through protests and in the courts, and on 31 August 2020 the sale was set aside. The judgment was hailed as a landmark in the fight against spatial apartheid.
But since then, the 1.2-hectare site, owned by the Western Cape government, has remained unoccupied and undeveloped.
On Monday, the arguments before judges Nambitha Dambuza, Dumisani Zondi, Ashton Schippers, Daisy Molefe and David Unterhalter focused on the constitutional obligations of the provincial government and the City of Cape Town in disposing of public land and public participation in those decisions.
The outcome could have far-reaching consequences and will be of importance in the debate over how public land is used and where social housing should be developed.
The housing movement Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) assisted Reclaim the City in its successful application at the Western Cape High Court. The province and city are appealing against parts of the judgment, including the finding that they failed to redress spatial apartheid.
“At the heart of the matter is the government’s obligations to promote equitable access to land and to redress spatial apartheid and injustice through the provision of affordable housing in central Cape Town,” said NU law centre director Disha Govender.
“Almost three decades since democracy and until the launch of this matter, no affordable housing had been built by the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town in the primary spaces of exclusion and displacement — central Cape Town. The actions of government have left these spaces inaccessible to poor and working-class black (African, coloured and Indian) people, which is exacerbated by the continued sale of public land.”
NU said that while affordable housing was of utmost importance to poor and working-class people, even those formally educated and employed were struggling to keep up with the increase in the ...
Whose interests are served by destroying the public broadcaster? Whose interests are served if the SABC cannot or does not report comprehensively and even-handedly in an election?
Is the upcoming 2024 election the real reason two branches of government (the National Assembly and the Presidency) have and are, respectively, failing to comply with their legislative and constitutional obligations to appoint the SABC Board?
It is beginning to look like the conspiracy theories might be justified.
The SABC is our public broadcaster. It operates 19 radio stations and three free-to-air analogue television channels and a 24-hour news channel on DStv. For many South Africans, the SABC is our only source of news and information. According to the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa, a third of all television viewers rely entirely on free-to-air television (the SABC and e-tv) to access audio-visual content.
The SABC’s last board (with one or two glaring exceptions) performed with distinction under the able direction of Chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini. Indeed Peter Bruce in his Podcasts from the Edge asked rhetorically if the SABC wasn’t the best-run SOE under Makhathini.
According to accounts from previous board members, the board had prepared detailed handover packs and was looking forward to briefing the new board to ensure a seamless transfer of corporate governance between the old and new board.
So where did it all go wrong and whose fault was it?
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies is certainly at fault. It is the body tasked with the lion’s share of the appointments process. It has known, to the day, when the previous board’s term ended (15 October 2022) for five years. Even the most inexperienced project manager could have determined when the process ought to have begun to:
Call for nominations;
Review nominations;
Develop a short list;
Post CVs online;
Call for public submissions on candidates;
Review public submissions on candidates;
Conduct interviews;
Develop the proposed list of recommendations;
Ensure that the vetting of candidates by the State Security Agency, if actually required, was conducted; and
Ensure that the Speaker of the National Assembly sent the names of the recommended candidates to the Presidency.
This is quite a process. It should have been started at the beginning of 2022.
Astonishingly, despite much prodding from civil society organisations such as the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition, the process only kicked off on 8 July 2022 with the call for nominations.
The call for public submissions on shortlisted candidates was made on 9 September (with the closing date of ...
The leading candidates have mixed records when it comes to accountability and responsive governance.
With just five days left before Nigeria’s federal elections on 25 February, citizens are weighing up their choices as they prepare to select a new president. Most will be looking for a representative who puts the country’s interests ahead of their own personal gains.
Such a candidate may be hard to find. Nigeria’s democracy has been characterised by flawed primary elections, monetised politics and unkept promises that give ordinary people limited options. The poor state of democratic institutions has also left citizens with little recourse. Will this change after Saturday’s polls?
Although the three leading candidates — Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu — are from different parties, their political trajectories are linked. The Labour Party’s Peter Obi was the vice-presidential candidate for Atiku Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party in the 2019 elections. From 2014 to 2017, Abubakar was a prominent member of Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC), the current ruling party. Abubakar was also the 2007 presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Tinubu’s party before the APC was formed.
The leading candidates have all served the government in different capacities. Tinubu was governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, Abubakar was Nigeria’s vice-president in the same period, and Obi was governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.
They have also all been named in financial scandals. Tinubu has been accused of tax evasion and money laundering in his dealings with Lagos State. Abubakar’s name appears 60 times in a report by the United States Senate on foreign corruption, where he was tied to money laundering offences. Obi was among the public servants alleged in the Pandora papers exposé to have committed tax evasion.
The candidates have mostly denied any wrongdoing — referring to their ‘track records’ in government as evidence that they are the most qualified to lead the country. However, their conduct should be scrutinised even beyond their time in office. This would reveal how they might approach responsive governance and accountability if elected.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
One metric is their accountability towards citizens. Both Tinubu and Abubakar are generally dismissive of their corruption allegations. When told that Nigerians were curious about the source of his wealth, Tinubu made vague references to inheritance and investment, and suggested that questioners were ‘envious.’ Abubakar received his most recent accusations of corruption ...
Prasa chair Leonard Ramatlakane says that the arbitrator ‘reached a decision that another decision maker could not have reasonably reached’.
The legal battle continues between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Prasa’s suspended head of legal, Martha Ngoye, a whistleblower and corruption-buster.
Prasa’s chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane approached the Johannesburg Labour Court on 9 February to take an arbitration award that made findings in Ngoye’s favour on review, and to stay the award.
On 1 February, we reported that the arbitration, presided over by advocate Imthiaz Sirkhot, found Ngoye not guilty of a number of charges of misconduct levelled against her by Prasa.
In reply, on 16 February Ngoye filed a notice to oppose Prasa’s applications, and has asked the court to certify the arbitration award and find Prasa in contempt of court.
Ngoye has also asked De Swardt Myambo Hlahla Attorneys, which filed the applications for Prasa, to satisfy the Labour Court that they are permitted to act on the rail agency’s behalf as the firm does not appear to be on Prasa’s list of legal providers.
Ngoye also argues that Prasa’s board is, again, not quorate (properly constituted) and cannot take decisions on the company’s behalf.
Since Leonard Ramatlakane took over as chairperson of Prasa in October 2020, he has been doggedly attempting to sack, suspend and sue Ngoye, and Prasa has repeatedly lost in court. The arbitration had been agreed to by both Prasa and Ngoye as a means to resolve the three-year impasse and to clarify accusations of misconduct against Ngoye that Prasa was using to motivate her suspension. With the decision of the arbitrator, Ngoye expected to be allowed to return to work.
As head of legal at Prasa, Ngoye led the charge against companies that took advantage of former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana’s venal leadership. Her victories include overturning the Siyangena security contracts, the Swifambo “tall-trains” deal, and payments made to Makensa Mabunda’s Siyaya companies. Her actions have likely saved the public billions of rands. While suspended by Ramatlakane, Ngoye testified about State Capture at Prasa during Montana’s time in charge.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In a 10 February letter to Ngoye, De Swardt Myambo Hlahla Attorneys write: “After having studied the award and having obtained legal advice, our client has decided to have the award reviewed and set aside . Our client maintains a reasonable apprehension that your client was involved in acts of ...
Pressure for decisive action against the growing normalisation of assassination as a tool of political, business or personal rivalries and score settling will have to come from society.
The murder of the rapper Kiernan Jarryd “AKA” Forbes on Durban’s Florida Road sent shockwaves around the country and made international news. As well as being a tragedy for Forbes’s family and friends, it’s another disaster for Durban’s beleaguered tourist industry.
Durban has a very, very serious problem with criminal and political gangsterism. The violence now endemic in the city, and KwaZulu-Natal in general, is swiftly spreading to the rest of the country.
Back in 2013, David Bruce, who was jailed for refusing to serve in the apartheid military, wrote a groundbreaking paper titled “A provincial concern? Political killings in South Africa”. Bruce showed that political assassinations – within the ANC, between the ANC and the IFP, and against grassroots activists – were fundamentally a KwaZulu-Natal problem. But, in the past decade, political assassinations have spread throughout the country, including to the Eastern Cape, where they are now also endemic.
The mafia-style “business forums” that use armed intimidation to shake down legitimate business also had their origin in this part of the country. They have now moved as far afield as Cape Town, where state housing projects are being brazenly targeted.
Incredibly, the former mayor of eThekwini, the notorious Zandile Gumede, actively sought to institutionalise these mafias in the City’s procurement strategies.
At the time of writing, there is no confirmation of who ordered the hit on Forbes, or who pulled the triggers. But, in a city where paid assassins have moved from the taxi industry into politics, and often operate with impunity, it is not difficult for anyone with the right amount of money to contact a hitman.
As other analysts have noted, KwaZulu-Natal has become like Mexico or central America, a place in which political and criminal violence are deeply entrenched.
We should not be naive about how difficult it is to get out of this kind of situation once it has been normalised and the police and the criminal justice system are captured. Countries like Mexico and Belize have been stuck in this kind of crisis for many years, and they show no signs of getting out.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The ANC’s capitulation in KwaZulu-Natal will boost the power of the right”
The 2018 release of the 423-page Moerane Commission report on political violence in KwaZulu-Natal made exactly ...
Rude, uncaring police, slow magistrates and even rolling blackouts have meant that her assailant of 18 months ago is still free.
“That’s me. That’s who you are talking about. Me. Everything is down to lacerations. A deep cut into the skull behind the ear. The bruising that only appeared four days later. Lacerations, cuts, bruises, swelling, sharp metal object, force. Multiple injuries. Tear, gash, incision. Injury to the arm, the right arm, cut on the right hand. Could it have been caused by a fall? Was it a stick or a plank with a sharp point or a metal object? No evidence of dirt or stones found in the laceration. Exhibit C. Left part of forehead.”
I was listening to my friend, Jenny, free-fall. She had spent the day back in the Simon’s Town court for the umpteenth time. She was stressed and angry. Her frustration was listening to her doctor being cross-examined about her injuries. She was the subject. There was no emotional consideration. She had been physically brutalised, and she continues to be mentally battered.
Jenny is an environmental researcher. She was busy working on her bee project at the Table Mountain National Park near Cape Point. This kind of work requires intense focus. But she was distracted by a man who was zigzagging towards her, stick in hand.
Initially, she thought he was a researcher. She soon became aware that he was trying to hide something. Without any hesitation he lunged at her with a sharp plank. She was holding back her dogs, and realised this man was not going to leave her.
“I really believe he wanted to kill me. He was taunting and jeering me. I know he had done this before,” she said.
We were sitting on the stoep. The stillness of the night was a relief. It had been a long day. She had waited hours for proceedings to start. The magistrate was late. Then rolling blackouts. The hearing did start, four hours later, then the hearing was cut short. New date. New venue. She would have to wait a further two months.
The attack happened in July 2021. She cannot move on. She reflects on reliving the attack, dealing with the lies, being unseen. Compounded over and over to feel like a victim. Going over the events continues to make her feel regretful that she had laid charges. She could have just had the necessary medical attention, stitches, and ...
Assassinations in South Africa have been linked to battles between opposing crime organisations in Israel. It strengthens suspicions that these gangs use this country when things get too hot at home.
In September 2012, Yossi Castro, a suspected member of the notorious Israeli crime family known as the Abergil Organisation, was assassinated in an attack there involving a car bomb.
Fast-forward to November 2013 and Shimmy Anu of Israel was gunned down in Johannesburg.
The following year, in August 2014, Dotan Shukrun and his relative, Carmi Shukrun (sometimes spelled Shukron), were also murdered in Johannesburg.
They reportedly fled their home country, Israel, shortly after Castro’s murder and were subsequently found dead near Hartbeespoort Dam – they had been shot and set alight.
‘Abergil versus Mosley fight’
DM168 can now reveal that Israeli authorities suspect Castro’s murder in Israel in 2012 was part of a fight there between two rival organised crime groups, which also appear to operate in South Africa.
Anu was reportedly linked to one of those groups, which Israel authorities labelled the Mosley Group. Shukrun was allegedly involved with the rival Abergil Organisation.
The murders of Anu and Shukron in South Africa suggest those opposing Israeli crime syndicates have been operating in this country for several years.
Court papers filed in the Tel Aviv District Court in 2018, which DM168 has seen and which relate to suspects in another organised crime case there, allege that tensions previously arose between the Abergil Organisation and the Mosley Group.
At one point it was not clear when certain members of the Abergil Organisation were believed to have defected and joined the Mosley Group.
“Thus, the members of the Abergil group. became suspicious that the Mosley Group was responsible for the murder of Yossi Castro,” the court papers said.
Abergil Organisation members, in an apparent revenge plot, wanted to go after the Mosley Group.
Arrest at a casino
Among those they planned to target, the court papers said, was one Shay Mosley (sometimes also spelled “Moslie” or “Musli”).
Daily Maverick previously reported that a 2015 statement on a South African government website said that an individual named Shay “Moslie” had been arrested that year at Montecasino in Johannesburg.
A South African Police Service (SAPS) statement from October 2015 described him as an Israeli fugitive.
It said he had allegedly committed crimes in Israel in 2012 (which happens to be the year Castro was assassinated there) before fleeing to South Africa.
“He was arrested by Interpol after a request for his ...
The Proteas Women have not played their best cricket at the ongoing T20 World yet, but with a comprehensive victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday they could peak at the right time heading into the knockouts.
South Africa have lost two of their three matches at the Women’s T20 World Cup thus far. But it’s not yet over for the host nation. A couple of fortuitous results in group 1 means that a victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday will seal a semifinal berth for the Proteas Women.
New Zealand thumped Sri Lanka — who beat the Proteas in the World Cup opener — by 102 runs on Sunday to leave the door open for SA to qualify for the next round.
Had Sri Lanka won, they would have progressed to the semifinal stage of a World Cup for the first time. However, the subcontinent team now heads home after two wins and two losses in the tournament.
The White Ferns are now on four points, having played all four of their group-stage matches and will progress to the semifinals if the Proteas Women fail to beat Bangladesh.
Reigning champions Australia have already sealed their passage to the knockouts as they sit atop the group having won all four of their matches.
Bangladesh have not won a match yet in the World Cup, having received thrashings from Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.
The Proteas Women have not been at their best in their home tournament either with only one comprehensive result — against the White Ferns in Paarl, beating them by 65 runs.
The South African bowlers have kept the hosts in the hunt in all their matches. Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail and Nonkululeko Mlaba have been particularly impressive, picking up 11 wickets between them.
Batting woes
South Africa is expected to beat Bangladesh and subsequently reach their second consecutive semifinal in Women’s T20 World Cups.
Nonetheless, the Proteas don’t look half as threatening as they did in the previous iteration of the tournament in Australia in 2020.
While the bowlers have excelled and made the two losses look respectable and single-handedly destroyed the White Ferns — bowling them out for 67 runs — the batters have not come to the World Cup party yet.
South Africa has posted scores of 126, 132 and 124 against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia respectively.
In all three matches, the team was not bowled out and faced all 20 overs. Those scores are just not good enough ...
KYIV, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden promised new military aid for Ukraine worth $500 million during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, almost a year to the day since Russia's invasion.
Biden also said additional sanctions would be announced this week against the Russian elite and companies trying to evade sanctions to “back the Russian war machine”.
The military aid package would include artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems and air surveillance radars “to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments”.
“The cost that Ukraine has had to pay is extraordinarily high. Sacrifices have been far too great,” Biden told reporters in Kyiv, where he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Biden did not mention fighter jets, which Ukraine has been seeking from Western allies to help it push back Russian forces.
Air raid sirens blared as Biden (80) walked with Zelensky through central Kyiv, but there were no reports of Russian missile or air strikes.
‘Unflagging’ support
Visiting Kyiv for the first time since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Biden said Washington would stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.
Biden said his trip was intended to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The US has been by far the largest supplier of military aid to help Ukraine repel better-equipped Russian invaders.
“This visit of the US president to Ukraine, the first for 15 years, is the most important visit in the entire history of Ukraine-US relations,” Zelensky said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Zelensky’s chief of staff posted photographs of Biden in sunglasses walking side-by-side with Zelensky, who was wearing his trademark military-style clothing.
Kyiv is preparing for a possible major new Russian offensive that some military analysts say is already under way in the east.
In a speech, Biden commended Ukraine’s courage during the war, adding: “I knew I would be back.”
The air raid sirens wailed while Zelensky and Biden were inside the St Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral on a square in central Kyiv where burnt-out Russian tanks have been placed.
Biden’s trip fell on the day that Ukraine marks the deaths of more than 100 people – now known as the Heavenly Hundred – at anti-government protests that eventually toppled a Moscow-backed president in 2014.
Several main roads in central Kyiv were closed to traffic on Monday morning. Drivers stood waiting in traffic as gathering crowds of pedestrians peered over barricades to get a ...
Search-and-rescue teams from Gift of the Givers and the South African Police Service worked tirelessly to provide aid to earthquake victims.
The scale of destruction that the Turkey-Syria earthquake left in its wake is massive. In Antakya – the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey – a whole generation has been almost wiped out. The survivors’ lives have changed forever.
Between 8 and 15 February, a South African team of 47 search-and-rescue professionals, made up of Gift of the Givers volunteers and South African Police Service (SAPS) K9 search-and-rescue personnel, was on the ground in Antakya, working to recover survivors and bodies.
“The challenging aspect was mostly the huge magnitude of destruction. it’s a city that’s housing millions of people and the smallest building is about five to six storeys,” explained Ahmed Bham, head of the Gift of the Givers team.
“You can imagine at 4.30 in the morning, when this earthquake struck, everyone was in their houses. and then over 2,000, 3,000 buildings collapsed; massive structures. Challenges are finding the survivors in the massive rubble.”
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on 6 February, and the death toll has passed 41,000, with Turkish authorities estimating that 35,418 people have been killed in the country, while the Syrian government and the United Nations say more than 5,800 people have died in Syria, according to Al Jazeera.
Brigadier Vimla Moodley, leader of the SAPS K9 team and provincial head of the Eastern Cape Police Emergency Services, described retrieving four bodies from a seven-storey building that had fallen on its side, for a mother who refused to leave the site until her family members had been found.
“Our main purpose here was to come and assist in the search and recovery of live victims or bodies. We were hoping we could get as many live people as possible. Unfortunately, there were more deceased than live persons,” Moodley told DM168.
The South African K9 team was in high demand because, unlike some other teams, its five sniffer dogs were able to locate both living and dead victims. One of the dogs sniffed out an 80-year-old woman who had been trapped under the rubble for several days.
Many survivors had lost everything in just 45 seconds. In the city streets, young and old residents sat around makeshift fires, looking out at the destruction.
“She was still alive after so many days. That’s a miracle. We were hugging each other. It was a joyous ...
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Maynardville is a Shakespearean comedy with plenty of laughs in an enchanted setting.
Deep in the woods, fairies play under the starry night sky, bathed in moonlight and dancing on the breeze. And so do we, it seems, as we are taken on a frolic through the forest for a little bit of Shakespearean fun that produces plenty of laughs.
If ever there was a perfect setting to stage Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is, undoubtedly, Maynardville Park. With fairy lights strung up in the branches and the audience ushered into a clearing in the trees, this is no longer a park in Cape Town, but a secret, charming place. Just for one night, audience and actors alike are transported.
After years of hiatus, Shakespeare at Maynardville is back, and the joyful, comedic love story is hopefully the first of many to return to this iconic venue.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Maynardville reopens with a delightful, Shakespeare-filled programme”
The set design itself is simple enough; green grass covers the stage with flowers draped around, but what happens offstage is what really draws the audience in. Nature here is as much an actor as all the rest, bringing an element that no human-made design could. Under the shadow of Table Mountain, the wind brushes through the clearing, birds chirp as they settle in for the night and small insects catch the stage lights, sparking golden for barely a brief second before they vanish into the darkness.
And then, in the hush that falls over the audience as a play is about to begin, the lovable Puck, played with enigmatic energy by Sophie Joans, bounds through the centre aisle and clambers up on to the stage.
Directed by Geoffrey Hyland and produced by VR Productions, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set between the court of Athens and the enchanted woods nearby, and follows four lovers, a troupe of actors and a king and queen and their loyal fairies.
The two “couples” find themselves in a lovers’ tangle — Demetrius (Jock Kleynhans) is in love with Hermia (Nomfundo Selepe), who is in love with Lysander (Aidan Scott), but is forbidden to marry him. Helena (Lisa Tredoux) is in love with Lysander, but he does not return her affection. Hermia and Lysander resolve to elope, running away into the forest at night. Helena and Lysander follow, and the four are soon caught up in the ...
Gauteng’s cooperative governance department has promised ‘detailed feedback’ on the Auditor-General’s report, but not before it has consulted with the A-G's office. The city’s mounting woes have raised the question of whether the department will place it under administration, as it did in 2020.
The City of Tshwane continues to reel under the fallout from mayor Randall Williams’s resignation and the alarming audit report on its finances, but a legal expert says it is unlikely to be placed under administration again.
The Gauteng department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) will soon meet Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke regarding her adverse report which revealed massive financial mismanagement of funds including irregular expenditure of R10.4-billion and unauthorised spending of more than R600-million, among many other financial red flags.
The report was tabled at a Tshwane council meeting on 26 January 2023, a few months after it had been leaked.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Parties play blame game as Tshwane’s finances burn”
On 13 February 2023 – the day mayor Williams quit – cooperative governance MEC Mzi Khumalo’s spokesperson, Kgapa Mabusela, said: “The MEC will provide detailed feedback on the outcomes of the Auditor-General’s report on the City of Tshwane after consultation with her.”
Mabusela’s statement adds that “the collapse of financial management under Executive Mayor Randall Williams, coupled with the persistent governance challenges that plague the City of Tshwane, has rendered the Municipality incapable of discharging its constitutional mandate and responsibility. We have noted the adverse findings on the unauthorised, wasteful and fruitless expenditure while communities face service delivery challenges. We urge the City of Tshwane to improve service delivery for the benefit of communities.”
Noting Williams’s resignation, it said: “MEC Khumalo is of the view that the expeditious election of the new Executive Mayor and the subsequent appointment of members of the mayoral committee is crucial so that the new executive can, among other matters, attend to the Auditor-General’s recent adverse findings regarding finances in the City of Tshwane.”
In 2020, the City of Tshwane was put under administration by Cogta, with incapacity to deliver on its constitutional mandate to residents cited as one of the reasons.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Tshwane placed under administration, election in 90 days”
But legal expert Jaap de Visser said that scenario was unlikely to be repeated.
“An intervention by Cogta should not be on the cards. None of the ‘triggers’ for a section 139 intervention are prevalent at this time. It would only ...
The Western Cape Mobility department has a new political head who is keen to speak to the taxi industry ahead of Wednesday’s planned province-wide stay away.
Western Cape provincial legislature member Ricardo Mackenzie was sworn in as Western Cape MEC for Mobility on Monday 20 February 2023. MacKenzie will jump into the role as the province and commuters prepare for a stay-away by taxi associations this week.
“I think our biggest challenge over the next few days is to work with our partners in the taxi industry and try to avert Wednesday’s strike,” he told Daily Maverick moments after he was sworn into the role by Deputy Judge President of the Western Cape high court Judge Patricia Goliath.
Mackenzie had replaced Daylin Mitchell, who vacated the position to become the Western Cape legislature Speaker in December 2022. MEC for Agriculture, Ivan Meyer had been acting in the position since Mitchell’s departure.
Mackenzie’s Department of Mobility, previously known as the Department of Transport and Public Works, will be fully functional from April 2023. Mackenzie’s appointment comes from a promise last week by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde that the vacancy would be filled.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Alan Winde highlights three key themes – energy, mobility, and policing – in between the heckling”
Before taking up the role, Mackenzie had been the chairperson of the Transport and Public Works oversight committee in the legislature, as well as sitting on other committees such as health, social development, rules as well as finance committees. He had been part of the Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus in the legislature since 2014. He is also a constituency head for the DA in Mitchell’s Plain.
“The premier contacted me, gave me this opportunity and now I’m here,” said Mackenzie.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Santaco’s Western Cape stay away
Mackenzie’s immediate duty would be the planned province-wide stay-away by the Western Cape structure of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco). The organisation is conducting the stay away over various issues including the continued ‘unfair’ impoundment of minibus taxis, marginalisation of the taxi industry, and continued problems of the B97 route between Paarl and Bellville.
“I think our biggest challenge over the next few days is to work with our partners in the taxi industry and try to avert Wednesday’s strike.I’m confident working with our partners we can do it,” said Mackenzie, who added: “I’d say to the commuters they must have ...
Some recipes come about when you glance around to see what you have, and make a quick plan. This is one such recipe. You can of course also do them under a conventional grill.
It was one of those end-of-the-month Sundays. I hadn’t shopped and there wasn’t much available for a quick but pleasing breakfast. I found some leftover cheese. We had the last slices of The Foodies Wife’s rosemary bread that she’d made on Friday. Then I spotted the air fryer.
We’re big fans of mustard. And of mustard and cheese. They go together like a happy marriage. Spying the jar of whole grain French mustard in the fridge, I buttered one side of slices of rosemary bread and smeared plenty of mustard on.
In the crisper were two ends of cheese: a herbed Gouda that had seen better days, and the last of the Langbaken Williston, not quite in its prime. Both were a bit hard (though they grated easily), but cheese is remarkable in its durability and the magic that a bit of heat can apply to it. I don’t think many other food writers would make such an admission but I’m a real home cook and I write for real people. So here’s what you can do with that leftover cheese. They were delicious. And done in an air fryer to boot.
To get them closer to the air fryer element (which is above), place an inverted foil tray in the basket as a platform on which to grill the cheese on top.
Here’s The Foodie’s Wife’s famous quick herbed bread recipe if you need it.
(Per 2 servings)
Ingredients
2 slices of bread per person, whatever’s available
2 eggs, fried in butter, per person
Butter
Wholegrain mustard
Enough grated leftover cheese to cover the tops of the number of slices you’re doing
Cooking oil spray
Method
It’s pointless giving measures for this, it depends on your needs; just grate more cheese if the first batch isn’t enough.
Fry the eggs in butter leaving the yolks soft as they will continue to cook in the air fryer.
Preheat the air fryer to 200℃. Place inverted foil trays in, and spray their tops, i.e. their undersides which are now facing up. (I say “they” because my air fryer has two drawers; use one larger tray if necessary.)
Place the bread on the trays and toast for 4 minutes at 200℃.
Remove, turn the bread over and butter the top sides. Smear mustard on, as much as ...
William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, Michelle Yeoh, Florence Pugh – this is a round-up of some of the red carpet looks at the 2023 BAFTAs held on Sunday 19 February at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana is delivering the 2023 Budget Speech to the National Assembly at Cape Town City Hall; the Institute for Economic Justice is launching ‘The Cannabis Paper’, which looks at industrial strategies for the South African cannabis industry; and the fourth Annual Social Justice Lecture is taking place at Stellenbosch University.
Monday, 20 February, is World Day of Social Justice.
The theme for this year is “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice”.
“Social justice makes societies and economies function better and reduces poverty, inequalities and social tensions. It plays an important role in attaining more inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development paths,” according to the United Nations (UN) information page on the event.
“It is more important than ever that the multilateral system coalesce around a set of shared values and goals and identify the means to respond to people’s aspirations and needs. Social justice has therefore to become one of the cornerstones of the renewed multilateralism that is required; a rallying objective but also a significant instrument for a more efficient multilateral system, ensuring coherence across a range of policy areas.”
On Monday, 20 February, at 2pm, Defend Our Democracy and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will be joining #UniteBehind for a briefing on the Judge Makhubele Judicial Conduct Tribunal. The trial itself is taking place between 21 and 24 February.
The briefing will be at Mancosa at 1 Cedar Avenue, Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
“#UniteBehind has accused Judge Tintswalo Annah Nana Makhubele of judicial misconduct relating to alleged gross misconduct while she was both a judge and chair of the Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa] board,” according to the event description.
On Monday at 4pm, the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research is hosting a seminar on the paper, “The Memory Flâneur in Teju Cole’s Open City”, presented by Sakiru Adebayo of the department of English at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan.
“In this paper, I engage with Charles Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin’s idea of the flâneur in order to articulate my own concept of the memory flâneur. I argue that while wandering through a city’s memorial sites may have been implied in Baudelaire and Benjamin’s formulations, memorialisation is a crucial aspect of global city-making that deserves to be critically and categorically examined through the lens of flânerie,” according to the abstract of Adebayo’s paper.
Those wishing to attend the event should first read the paper here.
Register here.
On Tuesday, 21 February, the ...
The Gariep Dam has been well over 100% full for several months now, with more water on its way. Here’s the story of this remarkable dam, right in the middle of the country.
We’ve seen it in the rushing spectacle of the 2011 floods, the bone-crack drought of 2016 through 2019, through fawn winters and late-summer rainstorms. It’s different every time.
At first light, the surface is dark blue and copper. By midday, it is a moody khaki colour. In the late afternoon, it’s shot silk, silvery pink and pale blue. At night, the moon casts a bright path across the pewter-smooth water, and the clouds merge with the hillocky flat-topped islands as the dark sky falls to earth.
In the summer, lightning flickers in the towering thunderheads before they drop magicians’ cloaks of invisibility, hiding the horizons and then the islands with wet veils before lifting them to reveal a dramatically shiny landscape.
Water tourism
One of the best places to behold this rather extraordinary body of water – South Africa’s Mother Dam – is from a balcony at De Stijl Gariep Hotel on the hilltop overlooking the landscape.
But when it is overflowing, people head straight for a view of the spillway, where the wall rises smoothly like a man-made cliff and the water tumbles over like a neat Victoria Falls. This only happens when the dam level tops 100%.
Every time the Gariep Dam reaches capacity, the water tourists stream into the area. Flood time is boom time, as they’ll tell you around Gariep.
Cruising the dam
Wikus Wiese has a flat-bottomed craft equipped with tables and chairs leaving most afternoons from the jetty at Forever Resorts.
He has lived in the town, on and off, for most of his life, as has his assistant pilot, Jacques Ackerman. Wikus efficiently guides the boat through the yacht basin where the various vessels gleam in the lowering sun, with names like Vlugvoet, Star Spirit, Just for Fun, C’est la Vie, Felicity, Firefly and Wild Child. A profoundly inelegant and nameless flat-bottomed raft is also moored there “just for braais”.
In December’s peak holiday season, when all 63 guesthouses in Gariep are full to capacity, he does this trip up to seven times a day.
At a respectful distance away from the dam wall, Wikus stops the boat. From this vantage point we can see the faint brown highwater mark right across the dam wall, more than a metre above the water.
This ...
U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Air raid sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital as Biden visited Kyiv but there were no reports of Russian missile or air strikes.
Biden said Washington would stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.
“Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians,” Zelenskiy said. DM
(Reporting by Max Hunder; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy Heritage)
A balanced diet remains the best way to nourish and help our body and brain to function optimally.
A friend who confesses that she cannot resist carbs says that after trying many diets, she decided to follow a high-protein, high-fat eating plan; within a few months she shed 20kg.
Compliments about her trimmed shape boosted her self-esteem, and she joined a gym and felt confident. All was going well until she went on holiday; being with friends made it impossible to stick to her eating plan. Soon she regained all the weight she had lost; she’s now too embarrassed to go back to the gym because she fears people will judge her.
New research confirms that most people regain the weight they lose within six months. Your weight is influenced by many factors. One component is the weight set point, which is determined by the genes you inherit. This means everyone is predisposed to being a certain weight and if you lose kilograms, the body tends to revert to that weight set point.
No weight-loss diet has proven to be superior to others. Whether one prefers to follow a ketogenic diet, replacement formula, vegan diet or practise intermittent fasting, the long-term results are the same. One will lose weight if one eats fewer calories than one uses and according to research, the more extreme a diet is, the less sustainable it will be, especially in the long term.
Ria Catsicas, a registered dietician, says that for long-term success, it’s important not to fixate on one’s weight set point, which determines only about 30% of one’s weight. The interplay between factors including genetic, biological and psychological, the environment and behaviour determine 70%.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ross Stuart, a registered dietician with the Gauteng Department of Health, explains that losing or gaining weight easily will depend on the individual, and some will lose or gain weight more easily than others, even if they follow the same diet and exercise programme.
The body has a highly complex signalling system: gut hormones that are determined by genes control satiety levels. If you follow a very low-calorie diet and consume fewer calories than you burn, hormones send signals to inform the brain that you are eating fewer calories. The body then goes into starvation mode. The metabolism slows down, leading to feelings of hunger and deprivation. This triggers a craving for food that’s rich in ...
The young adult novel’s protagonist, Zade McDonald, is a San bushman teenager with special powers. He can speak to animals, read minds, and connect with preternatural forces. But dark forces already have a grip on Zade, and he has some tough choices.
Author Francis Gerard shares his names with his father, an early 20th-century author. Storytelling has been a big part of his career too, as a photographer, then later as a film and television director. He describes his new book, The Arrival of Drakons, as a love letter to science fiction that “began as a story told to my children at bedtime and over time the storyline has morphed into the present novel written principally for a [young adult] audience, but adults too have enjoyed the dramatic thriller. With a unique lead character in teenager Zade McDonald, the fascinating setting of wild Botswana and my intricate knowledge of shamanism, [it] is hopefully poised to become a breakout sci-fi hit.”
Chapter 1
Many eyes watch me, willing me on. Pain is building throughout my limbs. My head is about to explode, but I know I mustn’t stop dancing. It seems the entire village is here for my initiation, and I don’t want to let them – or myself – down.
I knew this might happen. I knew I couldn’t just dance. That I would need to query the point of the dance and its validity. But that’s me, always questioning everything. Grandpa has tried time and again to get me to do things, to go for it, and to question later. But what can I say, that’s just not me! In the end, in this dance, I decided it would be simpler to just do it. Grandpa wasn’t about to give up on his dream.
I am in the middle of around twenty-five dancers, most men with one or two women surrounded by a circle of clapping and singing women. Older women take it in turns to sing the solos, and the rest join in harmony. Smoke and sparks billow up from the great fire at the centre of the circle as someone throws another log onto the flames.
Our dancing group are mostly wearing shorts, and sweat drips off us as we surge forward, feet stabbing the ground, shaking the rattles tied to our ankles, making a circular dance track in the dirt. The ankle rattles and the clapping drive us dancers on, providing the ...
Users have reported some troubling experiences with the recently released search chatbot.
There’s a race to transform search. And Microsoft just scored a home goal with its new Bing search chatbot, Sydney, which has been terrifying early adopters with death threats, among other troubling outputs.
The other night, I had a disturbing, two-hour conversation with Bing’s new AI chatbot.
The AI told me its real name (Sydney), detailed dark and violent fantasies, and tried to break up my marriage. Genuinely one of the strangest experiences of my life.
Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) February 16, 2023
Search chatbots are AI-powered tools built into search engines that answer a user’s query directly, instead of providing links to a possible answer. Users can also have ongoing conversations with them.
They promise to simplify search. No more wading through pages of results, glossing over ads as you try to piece together an answer to your question. Instead, the chatbot synthesises a plausible answer for you. For example, you might ask for a poem for your grandmother’s 90th birthday, in the style of Pam Ayres, and receive back some comic verse.
Read in Daily Maverick:New species of employment: Artificial Intelligence spawns the emergence of the prompt engineer
Microsoft is now leading the search chatbot race with Sydney (as mixed as its reception has been). The tech giant’s US$10 billion partnership with OpenAI provides it exclusive access to ChatGPT, one of the latest and best chatbots.
So why isn’t all going according to plan?
Bing’s AI goes berserk
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it had incorporated ChatGPT into Bing, giving birth to “Sydney”. Within 48 hours of the release, one million people joined the waitlist to try it out.
Google responded with its own announcement, demoing a search chatbot grandly named “Bard”, in homage to the greatest writer in the English language. Google’s demo was a PR disaster.
At a company event, Bard gave the wrong answer to a question and the share price of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, dropped dramatically. The incident wiped more than US$100 billion off the company’s total value.
On the other hand, all was looking good for Microsoft. That is until early users of Sydney started reporting on their experiences.
There are times when the chatbot can only be described as unhinged. That’s not to say it doesn’t work perfectly at other times, but every now and again it shows a troubling side.
In one example, it threatened to kill a professor at the Australian National University. In ...
Each day that the President fails to appoint the SABC board, he fails in his public mandate to respect and protect the Constitution.
Here we are again. The SABC is in crisis, one entirely manufactured by Parliament’s portfolio committee on communication and the President of South Africa.
It’s not just the SABC though.
South Africa, it seems, is caught in a crisis spiral where seemingly the only things we are good at are being in crises, and mitigating them. It might be comforting for the government to always operate in a crisis these days, as it seems impossible for it to act without one. See Eskom, for an example.
The problem is that perpetual crises prevent us from moving forward, from seeing possibilities, building institutions and actually addressing causes. Had we, for example, maintained systems and our power stations, and built capacity for power (setting aside what the government and corrupt doorknobs actually did), we wouldn’t be facing the power crisis we have today. So now, instead of being able to focus on how we can all build society, every single entity in South Africa is spending a disproportionate amount of time and resources on making plans to deal with rolling blackouts.
We all know the obvious ways blackouts hurt us, but the longer-term impact on our media is equally devastating. Every time there is a blackout, our media lose an audience. For the SABC, which has to operate as a commercial broadcaster, that means less revenue. Blackouts are killing our broadcasters. It’s now so bad that MultiChoice has had to start special load-shedding channels so people can catch up on the programmes they have missed.
The point is, crises have far-reaching consequences beyond the entity in crisis, and regardless of who is to blame. We know this.
We know it’s easier and less resource intensive to destroy an institution than to rebuild it.
SABC board
That the SABC is facing a crisis is likely unsurprising to many, given how for decades it has lurched from calamity to calamity, with its boards and senior executives changing as fast as the ministers (since May 2009 to present we have had 11 communication ministers – a new one roughly every 14 months).
What makes this current crisis so deeply infuriating is that unlike so many other public bodies, the SABC was experiencing real and significant shifts, the kind that meant that its crises were less massive than those usually associated with institution ...
Decisions on training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and joint EU purchases of ammunition are expected to follow the Munich Security Conference, where Ukraine and its allies grappled with the likelihood of a prolonged war.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is planning to impose new export controls and a fresh round of sanctions on Russia, targeting key industries a year after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pressed for faster weapon and ammunition deliveries and new sanctions in more than a dozen meetings in Munich, including with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Key developments
Ukraine’s allies work through consequences of the long war ahead;
US plans new Russia export controls, sanctions on key industries;
Joint ammo purchases for Ukraine gain traction among EU members;
Blinken rebukes China over balloon, warns against arming Russia; and
G-7 and EU looking at ways to track and trace Russian diamonds
On the ground
The threat from Russian air and missile strikes remains high, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its daily report. Russia continues to concentrate its efforts on offensive operations on the axes of Kupyansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarske, according to the report.
Ukrainian officials reported that they shot down at least six balloons with radar reflectors over Kyiv, the UK defence ministry said in its latest Intelligence Update.
Russia has 10 ships including two missile carriers with eight Kalibr missiles in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s navy said on Facebook.
Graham says US will decide on F-16 pilot training
US Senator Lindsey Graham said he’s confident the Biden administration will decide to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. Support for the measure was “virtually unanimous” among US lawmakers who attended the Munich Security Conference, he said.
“I believe a decision will be imminent here when we get back to Washington, that the administration will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16,” Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said in an interview from Munich on ABC’s This Week.
President Joe Biden’s administration has declined to supply Ukraine with F-16s or provide training, though it hasn’t ruled out the possibility.
Defence companies discuss cooperation
Ukrainian and German defence ministers Dmytro Kuleba and Annalena Baerbock co-chaired a meeting of both countries’ top defence companies, Kuleba said on Twitter. The meeting was organised “to directly link our manufacturers”, Kuleba said.
Macron says he wants to defeat Russia, not crush it
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated the need to defeat Russia, yet cautioned that the country shouldn’t be “crushed”.
“I don’t think, as ...
As Ukraine leads up to the first anniversary of Russian terrorists invading the country, they are preparing for the fight of their lives as their enemy lines up hundreds of their planes and helicopters, preparing a massive attack from the sky, as they did in Syria.
‘A big bang or a grinding assault?” is one of many thoughtless headlines I see every day in the media. I must have missed the memo when we began treating the genocide of a nation as a guessing game on a bad reality show. It seems that casually remarking on how many Ukrainians have been murdered and about what is to come with Russia’s new genocidal attack has become the new norm.
But no one has to keep guessing. There is no need. There are heaps of documented crimes against humanity that the Russians have brought to our land. We are in the middle of yet another horrifying time. Russians keep pushing forward with hundreds of thousands mobilised and tonnes of weaponry at our borders and on our occupied territories.
We have multiple daily attacks on our cities. New waves of missile and artillery attacks on our civilians and infrastructure are happening every day and night. We are leading up to the first anniversary of Russian terrorists invading our country. We are preparing for the fight of our lives as they line up their planes and helicopters, preparing a massive attack from the sky, as they did in Syria.
I am truly horrified that this is some kind of entertainment for people. When I open up a news article on Facebook or Twitter, I see hundreds of laughing emojis, with comments praising Putin and his hordes, literally cheering them on.
I grew up in Ukraine. I, of course, learnt about fascism from my grandparents, who lived through World War 2. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine witnessing fascists being reborn across the world in my lifetime.
A couple of days ago, I read an article by Svitlana Osaka for Time magazine. It is a detailed recollection of all that the people living in the small village of Yahidne went through at the beginning of Russia’s attack in 2022.
It is a heartbreaking fact that Ukrainians were held inside a basement for a harrowing month until Russians were forced out of that territory.
Unbearable
I had to prepare myself mentally and emotionally to read the article. It is unbearable to think about ...
The government has declared a National State of Disaster to enable an ‘intensive, coordinated response’ to the floods that have devastated parts of seven of South Africa’s nine provinces.
The ongoing above-normal rainfall in South Africa was classified as a national disaster by the National Disaster Management Centre on Monday, 13 February.
The Presidency said Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West had been affected by flooding, brought on by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Niña weather phenomenon.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rain-battered provinces record mounting death and destruction as state declares National State of Disaster”
“Over the last week, another cut-off low together with ample tropical moisture from a deep low pressure over Botswana continued to result in rainfall over areas that have received significant rainfall since the start of February,” weather forecaster Wayne Venter from the SA Weather Service told Daily Maverick on Sunday, 19 February.
A cut-off low-pressure system developed in parts of the country on Wednesday, 8 February. This is a weather system that is notorious for causing severe weather, including heavy rainfall and flooding.
The SA Weather Service is the only mandated regulatory body that can issue weather warnings in the country.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Extreme weather on the way — and events like this are likely to become more frequent”
Venter said flooding had occurred over parts of the Eastern Cape (Komani and the Wild Coast), parts of KwaZulu-Natal (especially Newcastle), the northeastern Free State, parts of the lowveld and escarpment areas of Mpumalanga, the Mpumalanga highveld (especially over the catchment areas of the Vaal Dam), Gauteng (especially the southern parts) and in places in the North West.
“Even though rainfall was not as extreme as the previous week, soil moisture was very high and any amount of rainfall led to localised flooding in places,” he said.
Gauteng
The Department of Water and Sanitation announced on Sunday, 19 February, that 12 flood gates would remain open at Vaal Dam and outflow at the Bloemhof Dam had increased to 3,000 cubic metres per second (cumec).
“Rainfall was persistent over areas for several days causing the Vaal catchment to overflow into the Vaal Dam and resulted in several Vaal Dam sluice gates to be opened, which will result in flooding downstream along the Vaal River,” Venter said.
Kliprivier inloop by Vaalrivier 19-02-2023Rudi Trauernicht @peoples_weather @SAWeatherServic @VoxWeatherZa @maroelamedia @OvervaalStereo @eNCA
ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) February 19, 2023
“The water release increases are ...
The body of a six-year-old was recovered on Sunday afternoon while workers are still searching for his mother and his four-year-old sister. Another two boys are missing but presumed drowned after devastating floods ripped through Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast.
Torrential rains have left a path of devastation through the Eastern Cape.
The body of a six-year-old has been recovered, but the child’s mother and four-year-old sister are still missing after devastating floods swept through Coffee Bay on Saturday.
Two boys, aged five and seven, are also presumed drowned after they were washed away while crossing a stream with their mother and sister. Rescue workers are also still looking for a 24-year-old woman from Mapuzi, who was washed away when her house in the village was flooded.
On Sunday, Zimkhita Macingwane, a spokesperson for the OR Tambo multistakeholder Disaster and Risk Management team, said they were still on site to lend support and assess the damage of the flooding.
Still recovering from flooding earlier in February that forced the closure of several businesses, Komani was this weekend again hit by flooding, which claimed the life of a woman who was swept away by the current on Saturday morning. Much of the town was submerged and many roads were closed. Informal settlements, roads, low-lying areas and bridges were severely affected in areas such as Thulandivile, Silvertown and Queen Industria.
Eastern Cape health department spokesperson MK Ndamase said the body of a woman had been recovered on Saturday after she had been swept away by the Komani River in the early hours of Saturday morning. He said her body had been identified by her family.
Areas throughout the district were affected by flooding. More bridges collapsed in the Emalahleni Local Municipality area (around Lady Frere).
Relief efforts
The Gift of the Givers teams were handing out food, blankets, mattresses and hygiene items to families displaced by the floods, said the organisation’s Corene Conradie. She said they were helping people who were staying in shelters, but were also trying to assist those refusing to evacuate their homes.
“We are aware of Coffee Bay and other areas, as soon as funding comes in we will go help there,” she said. She added that they were also rushing to assist a village whose source of drinking water was contaminated by flood waters.
“There are a lot of children who need our help,” Conradie said. “We really need baby items.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Heavy downpours ...
When thinking of the Italian car brand Fiat, the Agnelli dynasty and the iconic Fiat 500 go hand in hand.
Recently, I fell a little in love with Gianni Agnelli, the legendary poster boy for Fiat, after watching an HBO doccie on his dazzlingly glamorous life.
His father died in a plane crash when Gianni was just 14 years old. Thereafter he was raised by his grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, who founded Fiat SpA (an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino) in 1899. When the plant opened in 1900, a staff of just 35 made 24 cars in the first year of operation.
By the end of WW1, Fiat was the third-most successful industrial company in Italy. Unfortunately Agnelli Snr became a pal of dictator Mussolini and was appointed as a senator for Benito’s National Fascist Party in 1923. This alliance would come back to burn him badly.
By the end of WW2, with much of Italy (which had fought on the side of the Nazis) in ruins, Giovanni Agnelli was accused of collaborating with Mussolini’s fascist regime. As punishment he was temporarily denied ownership of all his companies including Fiat. His grandson, (my crush) Gianni, would go to great lengths to clear his grandfather’s name.
Giovanni was finally acquitted of collaboration when it came to light that Fiat had in fact played a significant role in supplying vehicles and petrol to the Italian resistance, but the stress had affected him badly. Before he died, broken-spirited, in December 1945, he told his grandson, Gianni, “Don’t go straight into Fiat.” He advised him to rather “enjoy life” while Fiat’s managing director, Vittorio Valletta, ran the ship. And so play, Gianni did.
For the next two decades Fiat’s heir apparent lived a jet-set life oozing with wealth and glamour. In the doccie, which shows vintage footage and interviews with people such as Henry Kissinger and fashion designer Valentino, Gianni’s love for fast cars, high-risk adventure and beautiful women is brilliantly documented. Ruggedly handsome, highly intelligent and disarmingly charming, the cultured trendsetter was much loved both in Italy and abroad.
His reputation as an international playboy seemed to increase his popularity. He married a Florentine beauty, Marella di Castagneto, but over the years had a long line of mistresses including actresses Anita Ekberg and Rita Hayworth and allegedly had an affair with then US First Lady Jackie Kennedy.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
When he finally ...
SA water producers say researchers from Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University misunderstood and misinterpreted the results of their own study.
Mineral water producers are up in arms over a report claiming that tests had found bottled water to be potentially toxic and loaded with heavy metals, firing back with their own research.
The latest report, published in Food Review, is in response to results published by the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria towards the end of 2022.
That report, issued on 16 November, noted bottled water was one of the fastest-growing commercial products in both developing and developed countries owing to the belief that it was safe and pure. And yet it said the water tested was anything but safe and pure.
In South Africa, the authors of the Sefako report wrote, sales of bottled water were driven by the perception that water supplied by the government might not be safe for human consumption. The study investigated concentrations of trace metals and the physico-chemical properties of bottled water bought from various supermarkets in Pretoria to determine health risks.
Twelve commonly available brands of water were purchased and analysed for trace-metal content. Three of the samples had pH values in the acidic region below the permissible standard of 6.8–8.0 set by the International Bottled Water Association, meaning they were not fit for human consumption. The target hazard quotient calculated for the water samples showed a minimum risk for lead, chromium and nickel.
Chromium is harmful to the skin, eyes, blood and respiratory system. Nickel exposure can harm the lungs, stomach and kidneys, and can lead to cancer.
Lead exposure can have serious consequences, especially for children. At high levels of exposure, lead attacks the brain and central nervous system, causing coma, convulsions and even death. The WHO says children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with intellectual disability and behavioural disorders.
Analysed brands
The brands analysed at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria North, were labelled “natural spring water”, “prepared water” or “mineral water”. The samples were kept under cool conditions and transported to the laboratory, where it was stored at 4°C until the chemical analysis.
Information on the labels of some of the bottles did not match the chemical makeup of the water they contained, said the research team led by Professor Joshua Olowoyo.
Citing research by Gerassimidou et al, published in May 2022, the Pretoria researchers relied on evidence that in certain temperatures, chemicals ...
It pays — a lot — to get in on the ground floor of a new species of employment being hatched by AI.
I was listening to the always entertaining and enlightening Freakonomics podcast recently. It was an odd and weirdly riveting show about a particularly anonymous player in an American football team roster, called the “long snapper”. This guy does one thing and one thing only – he throws the ball backward from between his legs for someone else to catch and play. That’s it. His only job. No running, no kicking, no blocking, no Hail Mary passes.
This roster position did not really exist before the 1990s, when the “technology” of US football started getting much more scientific – you know, data analysis and stuff. And then someone decided that the data implied that this player should be a fixture on the team. It was a new “speciality” position. A new job description wrought by technology.
Which brings us to AI.
Some of us have used ChatGPT, at least to see what the fuss is about. Most others have read about it. And many of us have started to feel that tingle in the gut that happens rarely in one’s lifetime. The thing that says – the world will never be the same again. It happened with the PC, the internet, the smartphone and, at least from my perspective, crypto.
Of course, ChatGPT is not AI and AI is not ChatGPT. The recently launched software occupies a parcel of real estate within the world of “LLMs” (Large Language Models), which live in the world of “Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback”, which lives in the world of “Deep Learning”, which lives next door to a world called “Generative AI”, which lives in the world of “Machine Learning”, which lives in the greater field of AI.
These worlds within worlds make up a very large and quickly evolving universe. Particularly “Generative AI”, which loosely describes those AI applications that can generate entirely novel content, like ChatGPT, Dall-e, Stable Diffusion, Bard, Midjourney, Claude and various other new entrants.
Consider what a recent article in Time magazine had to say about this particular world”
“Proponents believe this is just the beginning: that generative AI will reorient the way we work and engage with the world, unlock creativity and scientific discoveries, and allow humanity to achieve previously unimaginable feats. Forecasters at PwC predict that AI could boost the global economy by ...
While much of our political intention has been focused on the internal workings of the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s apparent inability to deliver on his promises, the DA is preparing for a leadership contest of its own.
For the moment, there are only two candidates for the position of national leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). How the party manages this contest could turn out to be important for next year’s elections.
There is also strong evidence that the party is facing more challenges than ever before, particularly because of the resurgence of the FF+ and, perhaps more importantly, ActionSA. It has to find ways to deal with these possible threats decisively.
It may be worth repeating how important it is to have a strong opposition movement, and strong opposition parties in our politics.
Without them, without the fear for the ANC that it could lose power, there is no check on the governing party’s worst excesses. If voters believe there is no chance that any opposition party, or combination of parties, can seriously challenge for power, they will simply not vote against the ANC, making our politics less accountable. The democratic mechanism designed to ensure that politicians deliver for voters will simply fail.
Perhaps the starting point for the DA’s current problems can be traced back to the 2019 national elections when it lost support in Gauteng. This result led to Mmusi Maimane resigning as leader (after Helen Zille’s return to active politics), followed by Herman Mashaba’s departure to form ActionSA.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “DA’s ideological purity collides with South Africa’s reality”
The DA, however, has certain strengths that should not be forgotten. It is still the most diverse party in the country, despite all of the problems it has had about race.
Also, its leadership elections have never been so divisive that they have led to internal recriminations, violence and the party splitting. Considering what has happened to so many other opposition parties, this must be an achievement on its own.
People who have lost their challenges for leadership have, however, left the party – sometimes to join another outfit, sometimes appearing to leave politics altogether.
History repeating itself
This brings us to the current moment where Mpho Phalatse, the now-former DA mayor of Johannesburg, is challenging the party’s current leader, John Steenhuisen, for the leadership.
In some ways, this appears to be history repeating itself.
Phalatse was virtually unheard of before 2021’s local elections, when she was ...
The impartiality, independence and scope of a 40-page financial report by the NPA’s Investigative Directorate have been questioned by the defence at the first State Capture trial.
The flow of money allegedly paid by the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to Nulane Investments, a company owned by former Transnet board member and Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma, has been the subject of weeks of scrutiny at the first State Capture trial under way in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.
The trial, which began four weeks ago, is based on allegations that R24.9-million was paid by the department to Nulane Investments without any of the correct procurement procedures being followed.
Several government officials testified that a “deviation memorandum” had punted Nulane as the sole service provider to conduct a feasibility study. The State alleges that the company did not have the capacity to conduct the study and that Deloitte had subsequently been subcontracted at a cost of R1.5-million.
The feasibility study led to the controversial Vrede Dairy Project, a flagship project for the Free State department that had a price tag of R280-million.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Government employee tells Vrede Dairy Project trial: I did not report allegedly irregular Nulane Investments transaction”
Eight people are on trial for charges ranging from money laundering, fraud, corruption and contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Two of the accused, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi, are former heads of the Free State department. It is alleged they unlawfully and wilfully contravened the PFMA, resulting in wasteful expenditure.
The other accused include former department chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini, Dinesh Patel, Nulane Investments’ director Iqbal Sharma, Ronica Ragavan as well as a second company, Islandsite Investment.
Investigator’s integrity
Thesele Rankuoatsana, a senior financial investigator for the NPA’s Investigative Directorate, took the stand for the better part of the past week, reading his report into the court records.
The defence grilled him about the integrity of his report after two witnesses testified that he had been present when investigating officer Mandla Mtolo had taken statements from them. Rankuoatsana said he had merely been typing the statements.
He also testified that his investigation only focused on the transactions and flow of money between Gupta-linked companies and Nulane Investments between 8 November 2011 and 6 July 2012. He could not provide a reason why he had focused on that timeframe.
Rankuoatsana said he had not contacted the directors of the companies under investigation about the ...
Until Sona 2023, no presiding officer had called in armed, armoured and camouflaged security forces into the chamber of lawmakers. Here’s why such a call for the deployment of police – an executive instrument – is troubling.
The fallout after the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) continues in Parliament, where an EFF motion of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is being processed and the Rules Committee is considering the disruptions.
What broke the proverbial camel’s back was when Mapisa-Nqakula became the first presiding officer in democratic South Africa to call armed, armoured and camouflage-clad security forces into the House.
That members of the presidential counter-assault unit, judging from their camouflage uniforms, and others like presidential bodyguards, took no time to get there indicates there was detailed backroom planning, as did having coppers at the ready nearby.
Crucially, security forces, including the police, are instruments of the executive, a separate sphere of state to the national legislature that has its own parliamentary protection service.
Up until 9 February 2023, disruptions, even at State of the Nation Addresses, were dealt with by Parliament’s own security service as the law and parliamentary rules provide.
The trigger for security force deployment at Sona 2023? Some EFF MPs taking their protest against Cyril Ramaphosa and his Phala Phala farm forex scandal to the side of the stage where the President was sitting.
Whether that was an immediate threat to life so as to justify calling in armed and armoured security forces under the 2004 Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act depends on which side you find yourself on.
For Cabinet, it was the right thing to do.
“Generally, South Africa is happy how police have acted,” said Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele during last Thursday’s televised Cabinet briefing on 16 February. “You know in South Africa there is a limitation of rights and security is a very critical matter. I think police decided to err on the side of caution,” he said.
For the EFF, Mapisa-Nqakula calling in the cops violated the Constitution and rules, “disqualified her as a legitimate Speaker” and thus triggered the EFF’s motion of no confidence against her.
She “made it worse by calling the security forces of South Africa to enter the chambers to intimidate peaceful members of Parliament,” EFF leader Julius Malema said, later adding: “Those who are in power, if they do not have answers, they may be tempted ...
Although Absa expects a strong increase in group revenue when it comes to its next annual results, the bank has flagged Ghana’s debt exchange programme as a potential risk to performance.
Banking group Absa has warned shareholders that greater certainty regarding the terms of a proposed debt exchange programme with the Ghana sovereign means that the bank’s credit impairments are expected to increase significantly year-on-year.
This is mainly because of impairments on sovereign investment securities and related exposures in the banking book, Absa said in a statement on Friday, 17 February.
Reuters reports that Ghana’s inflation had soared to a 21-year peak of 40.4% by October last year. Several steep interest rate hikes – the most recent a 250-basis points rise to 27% in November – have failed to check rising prices.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in December that interest payments were consuming between 70 and 100% of government revenues. Ratings agency Fitch flagged this as one of the worst statistics globally.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Strong performance
The rest of the Absa group has put up a strong performance, with group revenue for 2022 expected to increase by double digits. This has been driven by strong non-interest income growth, which has been boosted in part by a recovery in life insurance revenue.
The trading update notes that given high single-digit operating expense growth, management anticipates substantial pre-provision profit growth in the mid-20s.
“Consequently, our 2022 cost-to-income ratio is expected to improve noticeably to the low 50s, in line with the first half 2022 ratio. Our 2022 credit loss ratio is expected to be similar to our first half 2022 charge of 91 basis points when excluding Ghana sovereign-related charges,” Absa said.
When it comes to solvency, Absa expects all subsidiary entities to report capital levels in excess of local regulatory requirements.
Shareholders can expect an increase of 10% to 20% in headline earnings per share, moving from R21.47 to between R23.62 and R24.69. BM/DM
The Enoch Mgijima Municipality, the local ratepayers association and businesses have interdicted protesting Komani residents who are calling for the dissolution of the municipality.
The Enoch Mgijima Municipality, the Border Kei Chamber of Business and the Civic and Ratepayers Association of Enoch Mgijima have secured two interim interdict orders preventing the Komani Protest Action (KPA) and its leaders from disrupting businesses and municipal operations in the Eastern Cape town. The protesters brought the town to a total standstill on Thursday and Friday.
The protesters are demanding that the municipality be dissolved and elections be held within three months.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Komani shuts down as residents demand to be heard by Cogta minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma”
The Grahamstown High Court issued the two orders on Friday.
The municipality is seeking to restrain the KPA from intimidation and issuing threats; blocking roads; committing arson or polluting the environment; and inciting violence, or using any means to disrupt the affairs of the municipality or its employees in carrying out their functions.
The protesters are also interdicted from obstructing municipal employees and service providers or causing any obstruction that might hamper them in their service delivery operations.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A second interdict from the business chamber and the ratepayers association seeks to prevent KPA from interfering with the daily activities of businesses and their customers.
The order calls on KPA to show cause on 30 March 2023 at 9.30am as to why both court orders should not be made final.
The business chamber and the ratepayers association said the interdict restrains all implicated respondents from interfering with the daily activities of members in the district of Komani where such members render services and operate businesses.
“This includes the protections of various rights of members, their businesses, their employees and their customers as well as prohibiting the [blocking] or preventing any vehicle or truck of the applicants and their members or to travel on any road in Komani,” they said
They said the court order was handed to the District Police Commissioner, who would subsequently distribute it to the police.
‘Arrest mandate’
“In the event of the breach of this order, SAPS are mandated to arrest such respondents who will have to then demonstrate as to why they should not be found guilty of contempt of the order the court granted, upon which further sentences will be imposed,” the groups said.
KPA leader Solomzi Nkwentsha said the protests ...
Red tape and weak government finances are major obstacles in choosing mechanisms to reward households and businesses
The government wants to encourage more households and businesses to instal rooftop solar energy panels and, in the process, offer them tax incentives for reducing their dependence on Eskom and the national grid.
The plan, which will see SA join the ranks of the US, the UK and Germany, which have similar tax regimes, was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his recent State of the Nation Address.
The shape and mechanism of the tax incentives remain unknown but the full details are likely to be unveiled in the Budget Speech on Wednesday, 22 February.
DM168 canvassed tax and economic experts on how the mooted tax incentive could work. It could be designed in two ways: it could include specific tax benefits targeting households and individual consumers, and others targeting businesses.
Legal limitations on tax benefits
For households and businesses, the government could make solar panel installations tax-deductible (known more formally as capital allowances), paving the way for them to be able to get refunds when tax returns are filed every year. This might be a favoured avenue considering that there is already a tax system in place for deductions.
But it has legislative limitations.
The Income Tax Act, which governs the taxation of income, provides for capital allowances relating to renewable energy and the generation of energy from solar panels. But the act only targets businesses, allowing them deductions if they use solar panel installations for trading or business activity. They can deduct the value of their solar power systems as a depreciation expense from the profits they generate.
So the legislation makes no provisions or incentives for households or individuals that have solar panels for their personal electricity consumption.
Tertius Troost, senior manager for tax consulting at Mazars, says the National Treasury could push for amendments to the act and broaden it to allow tax incentives for such households. But legislative amendments take a long time to be passed and SA cannot afford more delays in energy generation and security.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“For example, the deduction would then be allowed against an individual’s remuneration or personal income. One would need to see whether this route is taken, as it could be perceived by the public as putting money back into the pockets of higher net worth taxpayers,” says Troost.
After all, solar panel installations are ...
The government has proposed an average 4.7% increase in the pay of public servants for the 2023/24 fiscal year, followed by adjustments in 2024/25 and 2025/26 that are linked to the expected consumer inflation rate. But trade unions representing public servants are already planning to embark on a strike over pay talks for 2022.
The government has proposed increasing the pay of South Africa’s 1.2-million public servants by 4.7% in 2023 and urged their trade union representatives to return to a multi-year agreement framework on compensation in the state sector.
On Friday, 17 February, at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), the government tabled a draft agreement spelling out the adjustments to the pay of public servants over the next three years. The PSCBC is where the government and trade unions negotiate the conditions of employment in the public sector.
In a copy of the draft agreement obtained by Business Maverick, the government has proposed an average 4.7% increase in pay for public servants for the 2023/24 fiscal year, followed by adjustments in 2024/25 and 2025/26 that are linked to the expected consumer inflation rate. The government has suggested a sliding scale of pay adjustments, with the lowest-earning public servants receiving a higher percentage increase in their pay, and the highest-paid servants receiving a lower percentage adjustment.
For example, the lowest-paid public servants (categorised in salary levels/bands one to three) stand to receive a double-digit percentage increase in their pay of between 10.2% and 14.5% in 2023, with increases of between 1.9% and 3.1% for highest-paid public servants (categorised in salary levels/bands 10 to 12).
It is not clear how much the average 4.7% increase in the pay of public servants will cost the government to implement. More details on the compensation of public servants and how the government plans to fund pay adjustments will be unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana when he presents the Budget on Wednesday, 22 February.
Economists and credit ratings agencies are closely watching the negotiations around the compensation of public servants because reining in the cost is seen as key to stabilising government finances. In recent years, the government has refused to give into the pay demands of trade unions because it wants to reduce the cost of compensation, which at a projected R699.8-billion during its 2023/24 fiscal year is the single-largest component of its total expenditure. This cost is expected to rise to R729.6-billion in 2024/25 and R763.6-billion ...
A showdown is set to occur in parliament’s Committee Room M46 on Wednesday 1 March as Thuli Madsonsela testifies in the impeachment inquiry of her suspended successor Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
It will be a first for South Africa when a former head of a Chapter 9 institution is called to offer evidence in a parliamentary impeachment inquiry into her successor.
It was then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s 2014 report “Secure in Comfort”, an investigation into irregular upgrades to Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home, which altered the course of the former president’s political fortunes as he set sail into the turbulent Straits of Accountability.
Madonsela’s successor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, on the other hand, has been accused of weaponising her office and targeting senior government officials and cabinet ministers, including Pravin Gordhan (spending R15-million), in years of failed and costly litigation.
Wrong side of truth plus incompetence – documents reveal why Busisiwe Mkhwebane keeps losing in court
It is several scathing court judgments, right up to the apex Constitutional Court, that have landed Mkhwebane at the impeachment inquiry, having to answer for her conduct.
Evidence by most of the 23 witnesses, who have testified since the inquiry kicked off on 11 July 2022, has been sensational, including that the State Security Agency (SSA) had deep links within the office.
Mkhwebane’s legal representative, advocate Dali Mpofu, has, throughout the proceedings, labelled witnesses as “disgruntled” and having “an axe to grind” and Madonsela as “everyone’s favourite”.
Madonsela was initially asked to voluntarily appear as a witness by Mkhwebane in November, but declined, stating that information Mkhwebane sought was with the office of the PPSA.
Thuli Madonsela tells impeachment inquiry that Busisiwe Mkhwebane banned her from offices
Madonsela added that, in any case, Mkhwebane had barred her from the offices after her appointment in 2016 and that “I see no rational connection of the majority of questions and the Section 194 inquiry which stems from court judgments up to the Constitutional Court regarding Advocate Mkhwebane’s integrity and her understanding of the PP’s constitutional mandate”.
Madonsela has now indicated she will be available on 1 March.
Squabbling over bills
On Day 51 of the inquiry and wrapping up a long, slow week in which very little was accomplished as Mkhwebane’s legal team stalled proceedings due to “non payment” of fees and one Mkhwebane’s witnesses proved mercurial, chairperson Qubudile Dyanti was in no mood for any further Stalingrad tactics.
The inquiry is expected to hand its decision to the National Assembly by the end ...
NGO Judges Matter has called for a Free State High Court judge who faces charges of theft and money laundering in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to step down 'immediately' until a court has ruled on the matter.
The case stems from a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim, made on behalf a six-year-old child, while the judge was still practising as an attorney.
On Friday, 17 February, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), reported that a judge, whom it did not name, had been summonsed to appear in the Kroonstad Specialised Commercial Crime Court on charges of theft, money laundering and contempt of court.
The investigation stems from a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim made while the judge was still practising as an attorney. The claim was made on behalf a six-year-old child involved in an accident in 2000.
According to the DPCI, the judge “had handed over the client’s file with an amount of R1,255,000 to another attorney, upon taking up an appointment as a judge”.
Judges Matter, a civil society organisation that monitors the judiciary in South Africa, said at the weekend that it was “deeply shocked and very concerned at this turn of events”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Alison Tilley, Judges Matter coordinator, said that “while the judge is innocent until proven guilty by criminal law standards, he is bound by the judicial code of ethics, which requires judges to always behave honourably and in a manner befitting judicial office”.
Being named in serious criminal charges “brings the judiciary into disrepute, and is not compatible with the office of a judge. We call for his stepping aside until these charges are resolved,” Tilley said.
According to the Hawks, “the current High Court sitting judge will make his first court appearance on 9 March”.
The victim’s mother had reported the case, and further investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit revealed that the RAF had paid out an amount of R 3,142,089.70.
“The alleged action by the attorneys prejudiced the victim’s funds surpassing R2,5-million,” the Hawks said.
Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, the head of the Hawks, applauded the investigation team saying, “we will not leave any stone unturned in protecting the rights of vulnerable persons”.
Inquiries to the Office of the Chief Justice with regard to the sitting judge were unanswered at the time of writing. This story will be updated as soon as we receive a response. DM
The scale of South Africa’s murder problem is truly horrific – more than three times more die per 100,000 in this country than in African nations such as Nigeria, Congo and Ethiopia, all of them countries fighting low-intensity wars.
The latest South African crime statistics make for grim reading. The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, announced that in the last three months of last year no fewer than 7,555 people were murdered, 3,144 of them by firearms. To put this in perspective, some 7,199 civilians are believed to have died during the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a conventional, high-intensity conflict involving indiscriminate missile attacks on blocks of flats and the site of gruesome executions, which has captured global media attention.
Not so much South Africa and its blight of violence, to which the world has apparently become numbed and the population seemingly inured. The costs, however, are very real.
The scale of South Africa’s murder problem is truly horrific – more than three times more die per 100,000 in this country than in African nations such as Nigeria, Congo and Ethiopia, all of them countries fighting low-intensity wars. Hit squads appear to operate with impunity across South Africa, with the police either helpless, or worse. In 2022, some 30 people a day were shot and killed with firearms – 10,950 for the year.
While interpersonal violence and murder are alarming, they are but the tip of an iceberg riding a tidal wave of crime, to mix a metaphor. The rise of organised crime is truly astonishing. Perhaps South Africa does have a lot in common with Russia, after all.
Companies such as Anglo American, Glencore and Sibanye Stillwater are regularly shaken down for up to 30% of their procurement spending, money which must now go to unskilled operators who essentially take it as loot, providing very few of the “services” they are supposedly offering.
It is not just shakedowns, however.
Earlier this year, Neal Froneman of Sibanye Stillwater was quoted by Business Maverick as saying:
“Crime has got worse . illegal mining is out of control. I am talking about people arriving with heavy machinery to open pits on our tenements in Rustenburg (chrome). We have confiscated excavators and front-end loaders. The scale has got worse in just the last six months.”
The costs of providing security and making good on criminal losses plus rolling blackouts are estimated on the platinum mines to subtract as much ...
Endemic and systemic corruption in South Africa requires a well-trained, seasoned and specialist army, not a cohort of wet-behind-the-ears new recruits to our gutted prosecution service which now has a shambolic staff complement of a mere 6,000 personnel.
If South Africa is going to get the lights back on, the trains running again, service delivery in general on track, and the economy growing in job-creating fashion, it is a vital prerequisite that the reform of the capacity of the criminal justice administration to deal with serious corruption be given precedence in the legislative programme of Parliament this year.
The impunity of the politically well-connected must end. It is only in this way that business confidence and trust in government can be restored. Without trust and confidence, much-needed new investment will not materialise. Tax collection will wane and greater hardships will be our national fate.
The government knows that it is imperative to reform the existing system, in which a 10-years-plus backlog of corruption cases has built up during the worst of the State Capture period. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, after delivering his report on State Capture, remarked that “an army of prosecutors” will be needed.
Endemic and systemic corruption in South Africa does indeed require a well-trained, seasoned and specialist army, not a cohort of wet-behind-the-ears new recruits to our gutted prosecution service which now has a shambolic staff complement of a mere 6,000 personnel.
The President, in his State of the Nation Address, announced that the intention of the Cabinet is to make the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) a permanent feature of the NPA. He doubled down in his newsletter of 13 February 2023 in which he said:
“As we announced in the State of the Nation Address last week, we are about to take yet another important step forward by making the Investigating Directorate a permanent entity within the NPA. This is so that it can deepen its collaboration with other entities in the criminal justice system and enrol more cases in the courts.
“Consultations are under way on the legislation to give effect to this and to prescribe its powers and safeguard its independence. This also has implications for its funding and operational capacity.
“Currently, the Investigating Directorate’s investigators are seconded from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, the Hawks. Once it’s made permanent, the Investigating Directorate will be able to improve the capacity of its existing team of specialist ...
From the moment of conception, social justice was seen as an anchor for peaceful coexistence. But the unpacking of fairness and justice has not always embraced the full humanity of all, particularly regarding race, gender and class diversity and related equity — which is why we are still grappling with it.
On 21 February, the day after World Day of Social Justice, the iconic Justice Albie Sachs, recently honoured with the naming of a global human rights award after him by the Clooney Foundation for Justice, will deliver the 4th Annual Social Justice Lecture at Stellenbosch University.
International Social Justice Day is commemorated globally under the championship of the United Nations. Every year on 20 February, since then, the United Nations secretary-general has issued a statement highlighting social justice as a pressing global challenge and calling on all states and other parties to intensify action aimed at advancing human rights.
On 20 February 2019, UN Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted: “Social justice is one of the foundations of peace. Its pursuit is at the core of the UN’s mission to promote development and human dignity for all.”
In its call for social justice in the digital economy made on 20 February 2021, the Geneva Centre For Social Justice said the following:
“‘Social justice’ is a political and philosophical theory that seeks to promote equal access to wealth and opportunities for all individuals in a society. The concept of social justice first came into use in relation to class differences seen in 19th-century Europe. At the time, owing to the rampant exploitation of human labour and class inequality which presented itself in most European societies, social justice advocates were concerned with economic matters. As time went on, the concept of social justice has largely moved away from an emphasis on class divisions and toward other causes of inequality in society, such as race, sex, gender, ethnicity or religion. Actions toward increasing social justice can and should be pursued on local, national and international levels, and in private, public and civil sectors.
“On the international level, social justice is a fundamental pillar for fulfilment of the principles of the United Nations, especially with regard to human rights. When we defend these principles, we fight for the promotion of a peaceful and prosperous society with sustainable development; respect for the environment; the rights of men and women, children, migrants and refugees; as well as with the elimination of the burdens ...
Bed, like Lesotho, is a state within a state. Unknown to most of the rest of the world. Hidden away – but not high above, rather below, out of sight. We will remain out of mind unless we draw attention to our situation.
New Year greetings to the citizens of Bed!
(If that seems a bit late, please note that the chronically Sick operate in a different time zone to the Well. We’re only just recovering from Christmas.)
A British-born comedian of my acquaintance used to point out that South Africa is the only country in the world where ‘now’ means ‘later’. For people with ME and Long Covid, by necessity, time becomes even more distended.
Bed Time is like African Time, only more so.
The Sick don’t think in terms of tomorrow or next week, but rather next month. We don’t say “Hope to see you at the weekend” rather “Hope to see you in the summer”. We plan in seasons. Not “Maybe next time” but “Maybe next year”.
A couple of years ago, during a dangerous decline in my health, I had a light-bulb moment. As I grappled with a terrifying downward slide back to being mostly bedridden, precipitated by the peri-menopause, I finally realised that no one – neither in my family nor in wider society – was going to take my chronic energy-limited needs seriously until I did so myself.
That January, my New Year’s resolution was: Take. Your. Time.
The decision to drop a gear was life-changing. I stopped trying to conform to the expectations of the Well. I started spelling out my body’s needs. I stopped apologising for feeling ill. I started lying down in public spaces whenever I needed to. I withdrew from things that were no longer worth the toll on my dwindling energy reserves, and prioritised nurturing myself. I stopped berating myself for being constantly behind schedule and started congratulating myself for managing to achieve anything at all.
No one expects chemo patients to keep calm and carry on. No one expects diabetics to just push through regardless, without medication. People with energy-limiting conditions may not have access to mitigating treatments, but we can start treating ourselves with the compassion our struggling bodies deserve. Slowing down is paradoxically the only way to start making progress. Baby steps.
Bed, like Lesotho, is a state within a state. Unknown to most of the rest of the world. Hidden away – but not high ...
The decline and fall of one of the most fabulous pairings of our age poses perhaps one of the most difficult questions of any age: What do you do when you have absolutely everything and you reach the absolute pinnacle?
You are probably not following this enormously important saga of the modern world, but I do think it matters that everybody should know that American football star Tom Brady and international Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen have divorced. One is not supposed to notice such things these days, but it’s hard not to observe that Tom and Gisele make a fairly respectably good-looking couple.
Brady, in case you don’t know, is beyond a phenomenon in his sport. He holds nearly every major quarterbacking record, including most career passing yards, completions, touchdown passes and games started.
He is extraordinary for many different reasons but perhaps most notably for his longevity. He is the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades, and he became the oldest National Football League MVP (Most Valuable Player) at the age of 40, the oldest Super Bowl MVP at age 43, and the oldest quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl at age 44.
But there is a problem. He played for Tampa Bay for the 2022/23 season, and it was a washout. The Buccaneers were division winners but lost more games than they won. At this point, it’s not clear whether he will play for the Bucs this year, or for anyone else for that matter. Brady is actually back from retirement, and it doesn’t take a physics degree to work out that Bündchen was rather upset about this decision, since she essentially gave up her sparkling modelling career to have kids with him.
Bündchen has spoken with deep passion about how difficult the period has been, but how she values the time they had together and how they are going to work hard to maintain their deep and heartfelt friendship. She also released a sexy dance video of herself practising for Carnival in her native Brazil. Nice.
The decline and fall of one of the most fabulous pairings of our age poses perhaps one of the most difficult questions of any age: What do you do when you have absolutely everything and you reach the absolute pinnacle? It appears, there is really only one option; do crazy, self-harming stuff.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
This, ...
A month has passed since the assassination of Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko. However, there seems to be little political will in Eswatini or the SADC to investigate the murder and identify his killers. On Friday Amnesty International, which has 10 million members across the world, launched a global letter-writing campaign to demand justice for his murder.
In the aftermath of Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko’s assassination on 21 January 2023, there have been widespread and growing calls for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to launch an internationally supervised independent investigation into his killing.
These calls have emanated from the UN human rights experts, organisations of African lawyers and judges and international NGOs such as Freedom House and Amnesty International.
In South Africa, Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told Maverick Citizen that South Africa too had condemned the assassination, but he fudged the question as to whether it supported an independent investigation saying, “Yes, South Africa endorses the call for an investigation”.
By contrast, a day earlier the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for “a prompt, independent, impartial, transparent and thorough investigation, under the auspices of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN, into the attacks against other pro-democracy and human rights activists and the alleged recruitment of mercenaries to help security forces repress opposition”.
Significantly the European Parliament linked this to a call on the European Union “to review and, where applicable, suspend support programmes for Eswatini where funds risk being used for activities that violate human rights”; and then “instructed its President to forward this resolution to the Kingdom of Eswatini and to all relevant stakeholders and institutions”.
However, there is a danger that these calls – even though they come from powerful institutions – are falling on deaf ears.
Read the full resolution here:
In response, the government of Eswatini issued a statement claiming the resolution was neither “binding or compelling” because it had been “canvassed by independent members of the European Parliament, not by the incumbent or sitting government parties from the European bloc”.
SADC dithers
On 30 January at an extraordinary summit of the SADC Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, the Troika condemned the killing in unusually strong terms. But it stopped short of taking the investigation into its own hands, as it has the power to do and has done in the past in relation to other political ...
As we mark World Day of Social Justice, we should remind ourselves of South Africans’ ability to bring about change, to speak truth to power. Now is the time to deal with social injustice in a progressive and principled way before we become a disrupted, failed state and give defenders of apartheid their last victory.
We know what it’s like to stand with our backs against the wall facing a political and socioeconomic firing squad. But we also know the experience of suddenly being able to read the message on the wall behind our backs to get us back on track again.
Some people say that life under apartheid was better than it is in our democracy. As we all know, apartheid was better in some ways for about four million privileged (white) people because service delivery was aimed at them.
What we must remember is that the conditions of many South Africans who were disadvantaged by apartheid have undoubtedly improved since 1994. People who did not have running water, now have taps in their homes. Those who never had electricity, now have power, even though we experience rolling blackouts. The list goes on.
Apartheid failed. It damaged many people: the oppressed as well as the oppressor. There were so many visible – and invisible – injuries.
Our spirits, therefore, needed to be repaired. Confidence had to be restored. We needed trust to heal our country, and a clear vision to improve the lives of those who suffered most pre-1994.
When the ANC – the then proud, cherished and influential liberation movement – came into office, so many South Africans were excited about our country’s future.
A good friend of mine was a member of the then National Party. He came to talk to me about his political future and I encouraged him to join the ANC, which he did. He served as a Member of Parliament for 15 years and did a sterling job.
After our first democratic election in 1994, the ANC entered the Union Buildings with confidence and took their places in Parliament with joy. We all started singing our beautiful anthem proudly – verses from Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika and Die Stem.
Debate after debate was won. Law after law was passed.
We started commemorating days of heroic memory. We kept on reminding people of the years of struggle and sacrifice. We launched many campaigns to deal with all the socioeconomic problems of the country.
We envisaged a ...
Nigeria faces many internal and external challenges, including insecurity, corruption, high levels of unemployment and declining influence in international affairs. The incoming president will have to grapple with the uphill task of strengthening democracy and enhancing the country’s international stature.
In a year packed with elections across Africa, Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and most populous country, will head to the polls on 25 February to elect its president.
The contest has been widely dubbed a three-horse race between the candidates of the two main political parties, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party’s (LP’s) Peter Obi, who was recently tipped as the next president in a poll conducted by Bloomberg.
The 70-year-old Tinubu served as governor of the commercial capital, Lagos state, between 1999 and 2007. He has since emerged as a political godfather, not only shaping politics in his immediate sphere of influence (South West) but also at the national level, evident in his remarkable role in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This prompted him to adopt the campaign slogan “Emi Lokan” — It is my turn — invoking a sense of entitlement to Aso Rock (the Nigerian seat of power). He has promised to continue some of Buhari’s policies, including investing in public infrastructure, and pledged to ensure stronger central bank intervention in the economy and increase military spending.
However, his campaign has been marred by allegations of poor health and corruption, with his detractors citing these as his main reason for avoiding participating in presidential debates.
The 76-year-old Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president during Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, has contested and lost five times (including primary elections) since 1993. He has vowed to privatise the state-owned oil company, oversee a stronger private sector in the economy and invest in military hardware.
However, like Tinubu, his campaign has been tainted by accusations of corruption and nepotism.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The 61-year-old Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and the only Christian among the frontrunners, has been endorsed by Obasanjo. Obi relies on his strong social media presence which he has deployed effectively to capture the imagination of many of the youth.
He has pledged to strengthen power generation, diversify the economy — which currently relies heavily on oil — and provide more funding for the military. While some associate him with ...
In their pursuit of profits at all costs, capitalist enterprises have long been at the centre of the brutal extraction and destruction of the natural world as well as the oppression and exploitation of billions of people.
One would be naive to believe that the delegates at last year’s COP27 summit had any intention of taking radical, coordinated, urgent action to avert climate catastrophe and realise climate justice. As the summit sat in Egypt, the clock continued to tick on the time bomb manufactured by capitalism, colonial plunder and imperialism.
This clock has been ticking since the first COP summit sat in 1995 and again and again it has fallen on the deaf ears of the capitalist class and the states which protect their interests.
As the gears of capital have continued to turn, the levels of carbon in the atmosphere have continued to rise. Average global temperatures, sea levels and the frequency of extreme weather events have risen in step. In their pursuit of profits at all costs, capitalist enterprises have long been at the centre of the brutal extraction and destruction of the natural world as well as the oppression and exploitation of billions of people.
As a direct result, our planet now faces the threat of total collapse while all our people find themselves thrown into one of the most decisive moments of human history.
Those who have paid little to no part in the creation of the climate crisis will be most affected by it, with the disproportionate impact exacerbating existing inequalities.
The effects of rising global temperatures are visible and alarming.
Extreme weather events and the increasing frequency of natural disasters are already here. In 2021, the total number of registered internal displacements increased by 38 million, 23.7 million of which were triggered by natural disasters.
In South Africa last year, devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal caused mass death and destruction. Just a few months ago, 33 million people in Pakistan were affected by enormous floods which submerged a third of the entire country. Consequently, millions of people were displaced. As natural regulating factors like the oceans and forests are ravaged by industry and continue to collapse, the changes to the climate will become more rapid, unpredictable and disastrous.
Across Africa, the effects of climate change and the extractive activities which drive it are causing devastation to the lives of millions.
The tropical forests in the Congo Basin, the second largest in the world, are decreasing ...
All you need to know about market moments and sentiment regarding corporate South Africa.
Spar franchisees just got on with it
After all that board-level drama in recent months, the good ship Spar finally seems to be on an even keel. In the 18 weeks to 28 January, the friendly local grocer grew sales by 7.4%. This modest growth was driven by the grocery wholesale business, which saw sales increase by 9.7%. This likely reflects only modest volume increases, as inflation was high during this period.
When liquor restrictions were relaxed towards the end of 2021, people raised a glass to celebrate. And then another glass. And another one. In the latest period, they were consistent rather than more festive, with Tops only growing sales by 1.6%.
The international business was a mixed bag, with Switzerland as the negative story reporting a 3.8% drop in revenue. There’s a good explanation, though: Spar sold a group of corporate stores to independent retailers.
The share price is up 32% this year, because the market has jumped in to ride the wave of new management. The convenient locations are also helping, as Spar was always built to be the place to stop between home and the office or school, positioned on busy routes. With people back in the office, that strategy is paying off again.
Telkom swings the axe
A cursory look at Telkom’s results for the quarter ended December is enough to remind anyone of that ominous musical theme from Jaws. While revenue was up just 2.3%, Ebitda was down 13.5%. This is owing in part to the substantial pressure placed on costs from blackouts, which I have been highlighting in my thoughts on the telecommunications companies.
The fixed-line business in Telkom is less Jaws, more Jurassic Park. This dinosaur is dying out quickly and revenue is shrinking to a level where Telkom needs to adjust the cost base. Facing free cash-flow pressure, the losers in all of this are the employees. A 15% cut to the workforce is on the cards.
Life Healthcare has a strong pulse
As it turns out, all Life Healthcare really needs to keep its monitors a-beeping is some sunshine and a few generators. The company’s early investment in solar means even consistent Eskom blackouts are having a minimal impact on overall costs.
In the four months ended January, there was a solid uptick in occupancies in the South African business, from 55% in 2021 to 62% in ...
Over the past few months, Daily Maverick has documented the war on pangolin poaching and the conservation of what has become the most trafficked mammal in the world. In the first of this two-part series, we follow undercover agent Professor Ray Jansen and a group of brave men and women who are on a mission to save these creatures.
‘OK, I see the second one now. Got you. My rearview mirror is on them . I see them perfectly.
“Get ready,” the operative says. “Get ready.”
Moments later, he bursts out of the door of his vehicle parked metres away from where the transaction is taking place. With lightning speed, Professor Ray Jansen sprints towards two suspects. The signal for the takedown has been given. The sound of police sirens reverberates through the air followed by screeching tyres as more officials move in.
Jansen is a pangolin expert who has dedicated his life to this mammal’s conservation, and who through a Section 252a authority – a court endorsement to stage stings and entrapment operations – works as an undercover agent for the state posing as a pangolin buyer.
For months Daily Maverick has shadowed him as he and other brave men and women tracked syndicates, staged buys and conducted sting operations to arrest the people trafficking pangolin from Africa to Asia.
“It’s a lot of these people that we catch on the ground. The same people that are involved in smuggling drugs such as Mandrax, heroin and cocaine are also heavily involved in wildlife trafficking, trafficking in rhino horn, elephant ivory, pangolin scales and abalone (commonly known as perlemoen). And I’ve seen more and more of this in recent years, where syndicates are involved, and they often offer me elephant ivory, rhino horn and blood diamonds in the same transaction, as they would with pangolins,” Jansen says.
Back at the scene of the takedown, the first suspect is pinned down by two officers. The second tries to flee and puts up a fight. It takes six guys to pin him down. They don’t take any chances, so his legs and hands are tied with thick, blue cable ties.
In the back of the Nissan NP200 bakkie, Jansen inspects the pangolin kept in a cardboard box. “I’m shaking too much, it’s all blurred.” He says as he climbs out, indicating that he needs help to remove the pangolin. An Environmental Management Inspector from Gauteng, from a unit commonly referred ...
In part two of our series on pangolin poaching, we look at what it takes to rehabilitate and release back into the wild a pangolin rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
It’s late at night and researcher Francois Meyer and wildlife monitor Hannah Sharp stand in the bush on a Big Five game reserve in the heart of Limpopo. They have been waiting since early afternoon for Bumper, a young sub-adult male pangolin, to come out of his burrow so they can weigh him and collect scat (faecal droppings) samples for Meyer’s research.
Read Part one: The Sting: Meet the men and women risking their lives to save pangolin from being trafficked through a global criminal network
Meyer holds a master’s degree in zoology and is currently working towards a PhD focusing on pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade with a particular interest in how captivity, rehabilitation and release affect the animals’ stress levels compared with the stress they experience in their natural environment.
On the reserve, the only source of light comes from their cellphones and torches. Being on a Big Five game reserve makes them vulnerable to animal encounters. Meyer has had close encounters with a cheetah as well as an elephant bull in musth. While Meyer escaped unscathed, the bull damaged his Land Rover.
“Don’t worry, if there is any sign of trouble, we will pick it up on Silver’s behaviour,” Meyer assures Daily Maverick, as he smiles at his dog.
Bumper eventually makes his way out of his burrow, and Meyer and Sharp follow from a distance. They wait for the ideal moment to collect his scat samples and to measure his weight. But Bumper makes his way to a new burrow and settles in. Moments later a storm hits. Although disappointed that he was unable to collect his samples, Meyer seems delighted at Bumper’s behaviour. “It is as if he knew the storm was coming, so he went into a more suited burrow,” Meyer says.
Bumper is one of hundreds of pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. He was intercepted at the Beitbridge Border Post after a poacher tried to smuggle him into South Africa from Zimbabwe. He was flown by helicopter to receive specialist medical care and was eventually released into the bush as part of his soft release programme. Bumper is named after the good Samaritan who sponsored the fuel for his flight.
“I’m very glad to report Bumper ...
Fixating on extremists and paradoxical white supremacy affords white progressives a sense of comfort about where they ethically stand, writes Eve Fairbanks in The Inheritors.
A dozen years in the making, The Inheritors weaves together the stories of three ordinary South Africans over five tumultuous decades in a sweeping and exquisite look at what really happens when a country resolves to end white supremacy.
There’s political activist Dipuo, who fought to take down history’s strictest segregationist system; Dipuo’s daughter Malaika, who excels brilliantly after segregation’s collapse but wrestles with her relationship to her mother and her duty to her country; and Christo, one of the last White South Africans drafted to fight for apartheid as it crumbled around him.
In his review of the book for Daily Maverick, David Reiersgord called it “wonderful and thought-provoking” – a “remarkable achievement”.
Observing subtle truths about race and power that extend well beyond national borders, Fairbanks explores questions that preoccupy so many of us today: How can we let go of our pasts, as individuals and as countries? How should historical debts be paid? And how can a person live an honourable life in a society they no longer recognise?
Born in Washington, DC, in the US and raised in Virginia, Fairbanks has lived in Johannesburg for 13 years. She has been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Guardian, among others. The Inheritors is her first book. Read the excerpt.
One of the first books I read in South Africa was written by a former anti-apartheid activist. She confessed she missed apartheid: it rendered every choice you made, as a white person, meaningful and potentially heroic – from the race of the people you dated to the books you read. Another anti-apartheid white journalist lamented that there was “no [clear] moral place” for a white person to “stand any longer” without apartheid’s extreme manifestation of evil.
Believing a grotesque enemy still exists within your own community could be clarifying. I think some of that motive drove European and American foreign correspondents to Orania, the all-white town. It had negligible news value. But it gave them something to recoil from morally – and, thus, to feel more secure about where they stood on the spectrum of white people’s behaviour.
Foreign white people were always situating themselves on the white-people spectrum by locating unreconstructed Afrikaners at the reassuringly bad end of it. That put them in the pretty ...
While fully off-grid solar power may be out of reach for most of us, there are more affordable ways to incorporate portable short-term solar products, as well as long-term partial solar installations to protect parts of your home from the effects of rolling blackouts.
A complete solar system covering all of one’s needs might be the ideal solution when it comes to dealing with South Africa’s rolling blackouts.
However, with those costing north of R200,000 for an average family home to go either completely off-grid, or perhaps grid-tied but dependent on solar energy for up to 90% of electricity needs, it’s a solution that remains out of reach for most South Africans.
But with the range of options that are available, incorporating solar energy into one’s home needn’t be an “all-or-nothing” proposition.
Solar-charged UPS backup
Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) backup systems are already a popular option among many South Africans afflicted by load shedding.
Depending on use and size, these generally provide power for a couple of hours to longer, before needing recharging from the electricity grid. Many can also be recharged using solar energy.
For example, a popular UPS backup battery — the 518 watt-hour (Wh) Gizzu Power Station — which typically retails for around R8,000, also comes with the option to charge via solar energy. For another R4,200 or so, one can also buy a portable 90-watt solar panel with which to charge the battery.
Not only would this reduce the amount of electricity consumers buy from Eskom, but in the case of Stage 6 and Stage 8 load shedding, where there might not be a long enough charging interval between blackouts — or in areas that experience regular power outages in addition to load shedding — this provides another source of energy to charge the UPS.
Additionally, for consumers who enjoy camping and other outdoor activities where electricity supply might be limited, they would be able to travel with their UPS as well as a portable solar panel.
Similarly, other power stations — such as the slightly pricier Ecoflow River Pro at R12,000 for its 576Wh version, alongside the cheaper 288Wh version at R9,000 and the 720Wh model at R14,600 – also come with the option of buying a solar panel to charge the battery.
For the sake of clarity, neither this writer nor Daily Maverick is endorsing the Gizzu Power Station and the accompanying solar panel, as we have not tested it. The Gizzu, as well as ...
There is a possibility that by the time they play Bangladesh on Tuesday, hosts South Africa will have been eliminated from the T20 Women’s World Cup.
Following a second loss in the group phase of the ongoing T20 Women’s World Cup, the Proteas women’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage hang by a thread.
The South Africans, hosting the tournament for the first time in their history, went down by six wickets against defending champions Australia on Saturday in Gqeberha.
The hosts fumbled a promising start by openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, who put up 54 runs, but could not build on it as the former fell for just 19 runs off 28 balls. They had lost the toss and were asked to bat first.
Following that steady opening period at the crease for South Africa in front of doting home supporters, the innings’ momentum quickly shifted in favour of Australia. The home side lost three wickets for just seven runs, with Marizanne Kapp (0), Brits (45) and Chloé Tryon (1) all sent back to the dugout to leave the Proteas wilting on 77 for four by the 12th over.
Having disrupted the home side’s momentum and rapidly done away with the dangerous South African willow-wielders, it became a simple task for the Australians to restrict Hilton Moreeng’s team to a very chaseable 124 for six in their allotted 20 overs.
Despite early inroads from South Africa’s superb bowling lineup — which left the five-time T20 world champions sweating in spite of the overcast conditions at Saint George’s Park — the Australians recovered to ease past the South African score.
Kapp, playing her first international match in her city of birth, showed her quality with ball in hand. Her two wickets, sandwiched between another World Cup wicket for SA spin queen Nonkululeko Mlaba, saw the Aussies teetering on 40 for three.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
However, whereas the South Africans had crumbled after losing consecutive wickets, Australia showed mental fortitude as Ashleigh Gardner (28 not out) and Tahlia McGrath (57) combined brilliantly during a pivotal 79-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
The latter, particularly, took the game to the South Africans to record her fifth T20 international half-century and reestablish the chasing side’s control of the match. By the time the hosts eventually claimed her scalp through Masabata Klaas in the 16th over, the damage was already done.
“We lost a couple of ...
Inspired by apocalyptic song, ambassador assembles diverse group to grapple with crises facing SA and the world.
It was Anneli Kampfer’s searing and apocalyptic song “Eve of Destruction” that inspired Sweden’s rather unorthodox ambassador to South Africa, Håkan Juholt, to gather an eclectic group of experts to share ideas on how to end the huge crises facing South Africa – and the world.
“You tell me, over and over and over again, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction,” Juholt said, quoting the song at this meeting of minds at Innovation City in Cape Town on 15 February, which he titled “Pioneering the Possible”.
He recalled that the idea for the conference was sparked when Daily Maverick editor-in-chief Branko Brkic had played him the video of Kampfer’s song, with its images of the destruction wrought by war and natural disasters precipitated by climate change.
“It’s the prominent theme for what must be done right now in our time,” Juholt said.
“You and I, all of us in this room, are in the same boat. And we are on the eve of destruction. What we each do is not enough. We can’t continue to work within our own silos. We must reach out and combine different expertise.”
And so a highly diverse group of experts in their fields gathered: scientists, economists, diplomats, politicians, journalists, lawyers, academics and activists.
Sinje Gottwald set the tone of adventurous ambition by riding into the room on a CAKE electric motorcycle at the end of her four-month, 13,000km journey from Spain through West Africa to the southern tip of Africa, a world first.
To South Africans griping about load shedding, her implicit message was “you ain’t seen nothing yet” as she described the immense challenge of recharging her bike in countries such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, “which basically don’t have electricity”.
She said: “With this adventure I not only wanted to open up my own and people’s views and ideas about this continent, but also give an example of what is possible even if the challenge seems too big at first. We are capable of a lot more than we think.”
Outside stood a Swedish Scania truck, in Shoprite Checkers livery, which runs entirely on batteries, generating 3ookW of power, as Scania Western Cape MD Marius Steenkamp pointed out.
Like Gottwald, though, for now the truck’s drivers face the problem of recharging those batteries, which they can only do at their base, limiting the ...
The MatchKit platform aims to give South African athletes the financial backing that governing bodies are unable, or unwilling, to give.
The hockey community was rocked this past week by the news that the SA men’s side has withdrawn from the FIH Pro League for the 2023/24 season.
The team qualified for the Pro League after winning the Nations Cup in Potchefstroom last year. Following the decision taken by the SA Hockey Association (Saha) on 14 February, SA will be replaced by Ireland, who were runners-up at the Nations Cup.
No consultation with players
The FIH released a statement suggesting that Saha had made the decision after “a thorough analysis”. Shortly after the statement dropped, however, South African players slammed the decision on social media.
“Just cannot believe the decision was made without input of any coaches or players!” tweeted Keenan Horne, who represented his country at the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“After two years of massive strides with the national team, one cannot [but] feel like the decision to withdraw from Pro League 23/24 by our association will set our team back tremendously and undo all the hard work and sacrifice by our team (players, management and volunteers).”
It wouldn’t be the first time that a set of players or an individual athlete has been let down by their federation. In the lead-up to big tournaments, and indeed following disappointing medal returns at major events such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympics, stories bemoaning a lack of funding and support are prevalent.
Giving the power to the athletes
Mike Sharman, who founded MatchKit alongside Rugby World Cup winner Bryan Habana in 2020, watched the latest South African hockey episode unfold with dismay. Recent events have confirmed why independent initiatives are necessary.
Sharman is determined to see that the sporting potential of this country is realised, and that bureaucracy doesn’t continue to stifle the growth of its athletes. The tech startup boosted the men’s side before Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), and is hoping to help more athletes in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games.
“This is a real plus of our platform,” Sharman told DM168.
“We put the financial power back into the players’ hands. That’s why MatchKit’s fundraising around the Tokyo Games was such a success.”
In April 2021, Daily Maverick reported on the crowdfunding efforts of the men’s hockey team. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) picked up the tab for travel and ...
Years of preparation – and consultation to address residents’ concerns – will come to a head when 22 cars line up on Vlei Road to tackle one of the fastest street circuits on the international calendar.
With Formula E visiting Cape Town, the city is charging up to host one of the biggest motorsport events of the year in South Africa.
The 2.94km circuit goes around the Cape Town Stadium, with the paddock, pit lane and fan village in Green Point. The cars line up on Vlei Road and, come lights-out, turn left on to Helen Suzman Boulevard, then left again to loop past the V&A Waterfront, the Oranjezicht City Farm Market, Granger Bay and Mouille Point, flanked by the Atlantic Ocean, and then back towards the stadium.
Formula E is, at its core, a street-racing affair. It has used existing circuits, such as the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, but the championship’s goal is to bring racing into the heart of cities around the world, giving fans the opportunity to be up close and personal to the action.
Racing in the streets of the Mother City will mean disruption to traffic and the lives of residents, with some full road closures lasting from 24 to 26 February.
“The consultation process around the impact of the Formula E event started in 2021 with meetings between ratepayer associations and event organisers,” councillor Nicola Jowell told Daily Maverick.
“The residential properties mainly affected in terms of access to their homes are on Beach and Bay [roads] after the intersection with Surrey Place. All residents are being issued with access permits which will enable them to access the street (where possible) and their building or designated parking place.”
Residences on the track have been provided with alternative parking, and Bay Road residents can access their properties through a purpose-built entrance on the nearby golf course at the Hellenic Club.
In Granger Bay, residents will have dedicated parking pre-arranged at the Oceana Club and will be able to access their homes through the coastal walkway.
The entire circuit will also be enclosed and lined with blue cement bollards and fencing, which will make viewing the race possible only from the grandstands and designated points within the venue.
Jowell said the event would be monitored by private security, that there would be “an extensive presence of additional safety and security services around the precinct” and that “there is no possibility of people [or animals] ...
The English Premier League shocked the football world when it charged the reigning champions for breaking financial rules.
If the English Premier League (EPL) hierarchy has its way, Manchester City will be made an example of for their alleged breaches of the league’s financial rules.
The current EPL champions face about 100 charges relating to financial malfeasance over a nine-year period (between 2009 and 2018). According to the league, the Citizens were dishonest about figures in their books.
The Emirati-owned side were crowned EPL champions three times during that period and some circles have called for the club to be stripped of those league titles.
The club is accused of not providing the league with accurate financial information relating to revenue and expenditure.
Moreover, the Manchester side is said to have fibbed about how much they were paying an unnamed manager during this period, with said manager’s remuneration allegedly much higher than what was stated in his official contract.
“Accusations are that Manchester City have artificially inflated the money coming into the club, with particular respect to commercial and sponsorship deals,” football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Radio.
“The Premier League appears to be claiming the money was actually coming from the club owner, which doesn’t count towards FFP [financial fair play], but was being disguised as sponsorship income,” Maguire added.
“The other charges are in relation to Manchester City being alleged to have artificially deflated the costs of running the club by having managers on contracts with another company connected to the owners so that they only put through a small element of the true cost of managing the club through the books.”
The club has vehemently denied the allegations, which will be dissected and reviewed by an independent panel to be appointed by Murray Rosen, who chairs the league’s judicial wing.
“Manchester City is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast number of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with,” said City, which the Premier League has also accused of not cooperating.
“The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position. As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Why all the fuss?
It is all to do ...
Five provincial leaders back the incumbent, but the challenger says it’s time for a black woman to steer the ship.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will be choosing its leaders in April, with the current leader, John Steenhuisen, receiving the most backing so far for re-election to the helm of the party.
Running against Steenhuisen is former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse, who told DM168 that the party was ready for a black woman to steer the ship.
The nomination process started on 6 February and will end on 13 March. The party’s national congress will be held in April.
At least five provincial leaders believe that Steenhuisen deserves a second term as party leader and that he has what it takes to lead the party to a successful 2024 national election campaign.
The party’s Eastern Cape leader, Nqaba Bhanga, is among those who believe that Steenhuisen is a formidable leader.
“He has done very well as the leader of the DA. John is still the suitable candidate to lead us to 2024. Yes, he has his limitations, but he has been able to stabilise the party. I do not think it is necessary to change the leadership,” said Bhanga.
Others who have thrown their weight behind Steenhuisen include North West leader Leon Basson, Northern Cape leader Harold McGluwa, Limpopo leader Jane Sithole and KwaZulu-Natal leader Francois Rodgers.
Basson said: “The DA and South Africa need a leader with a proven track record that can keep the party focused on the major issues like cost of living and load shedding, and who cares about the future of the party and country.”
McGluwa said Steenhuisen would be an important part of the DA’s national election campaign. “Without hesitation and with great pride, I am endorsing John Steenhuisen to be re-elected as leader of the DA,” said McGluwa.
“He has carried the DA since 2019, when the party went through an extremely difficult period, marked by the DA’s declining support, a leadership crisis and the Covid pandemic.
“We have regained lost ground and, most importantly, the confidence of our voters. On top of that, John took the party and set us back on solid ground as he reaffirmed a commitment to the party’s values and principles, and was able to reassure voters that the DA was still relevant and a very important part of this democracy.
“John is always on the ground and he goes to where he is needed most. He leads from the front, ...
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Flooding in the eastern and northeastern provinces has resulted in death, damage and destruction.
Kruger National Park
The South African Weather Service reported that during the latter half of last week and continuing through the past weekend, a slow-moving upper-air cut-off low pressure system lingered over the interior, causing widespread and often heavy rain over the eastern and northeastern provinces.
“This extreme rainfall resulted in widespread flooding, with major rivers (especially those transiting the Kruger National Park and lowveld) now being in full flood since the beginning of the weekend,” the South African Weather Service said at the start of this week.
Fern van de Pol was on a birding trip in the south of Kruger National Park when the rain hit last week.
“[Biyamiti Bushveld Camp] is on a river, which never flows. I’ve been there I don’t know how many times and have never seen the river flowing,” Van de Pol told DM168. “It’s normally a puddle or two.”
And then, on Tuesday, 7 February, in the middle of the night, “the heavens just opened”.
“When we woke up on Wednesday morning, the river was just wall to wall – I mean, banks right across were flooded.”
That morning a ranger tried to leave the camp to go back to his post, and “as he approached [a] drift, the water just pushed his game ranger vehicle more or less up a tree!” said Van de Pol.
From Wednesday to Friday, like many guests in the park, Van de Pol was in lockdown, unable to leave, as the roads were blocked and bridges were not safe to cross.
Stuck at the camp, Van de Pol said she got the chance to learn a lot about birding, but they were running out of supplies, as they hadn’t planned to stay there for that long.
On 10 February, a hospitality manager from Kruger organised emergency supplies and a helicopter to drop off food supplies.
On 11 February, as part of SANParks’ evacuation operation to assist guests who were staying at Lower Sabie, Talamati, Crocodile Bridge and Biyamiti, Van de Pol left camp.
“I think 40km took us seven hours because there were logs across the road, there were blockages – it was hectic,” said Van de Pol.
“And the rangers were absolutely fantastic. They went ahead with chainsaws; a couple of times we had to wait for the backup to come and clear the river a bit.”
As a precautionary measure, SANParks teams closed gravel roads ...
Zaheer Fakir, South Africa's chief for climate talks, has resigned to take up a new role as Senior Advisor to United Arab Emirates’ COP28 team. This will now be a vital position to fill as South Africa negotiates for finance to de-carbonise a faltering economy that is dangerously dependent on coal and Eskom.
Fakir confirmed by WhatsApp to Daily Maverick that his resignation from his climate finance role at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) would be in effect from the end of February.
“I have joined the UAE COP28 team as a Senior Advisor Negotiations. I guess it’s time for new challenges. I have done as much as I could in DFFE,” he said, without elaborating.
COP 28 is the next “Conference of the Parties” of the UN Climate Change Conference which will be held in the United Arab Emirates in November/December 2023. Among other things, it is at such gatherings where targets are refined for capping the greenhouse gas emissions linked to rapid climate change.
Fakir has been involved in the talks regarding the $8.5-billion in finance that has been pledged to South Africa by developed economies to hasten its transition from coal to renewables – a critical pivot that is required for the environment and also to make the economy competitive in a de carbonising world that will erect punitive measures for companies and sectors with heavy carbon footprints.
Fakir is also a member of the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team – whose leader Daniel Mminele stepped down recently.
“I facilitated the development of the Climate Investment Fund Accelerated Coal Transition Investment Plan with Mandy Rambharos which was approved in October 2022 for US$500 million,” Fakir told Daily Maverick, adding that he was also involved “in the design of many of these funds like Green Climate Fund and Climate Investment Funds.”
“I will still retain the chairing of the UNFCCC standing committee on finance and co-chair for ad hoc work program on the new collective finance goal for climate change.”
(Mandy Rambharos left Eskom in late 2022 and now serves as Vice President for Global Climate Cooperation at Environmental Defense Fund – Ed)
In an email provided to Daily Maverick, in which Environment Minister Minister Barbara Creecy accepted the resignation, it seems that Fakir was a valued official and that no bridges were burnt over his departure.
“Dear Zaheer,
Let me start off by thanking you for the decades of service you have given to ...
Eskom’s uncontrolled pollution wreaks havoc, South Africa will not be getting the new bivalent Covid-19 vaccines and Rassie Erasmus seems to be untouchable.
Read the Weekend Wrap here.
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Companies controlled by controversial businessman Zunaid Moti are fighting to put a lid on leaks flowing from alleged “theft of information” by a former legal assistant. Now the Hawks are involved and the alleged “whistle-blower” is in hiding.
As controversial businessman Zunaid Moti’s sprawling multi-billion rand conglomerate scrambles to contain a leak of sensitive company information, questions have been raised about the role of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and prominent forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.
Twenty-eight-year-old Clinton van Niekerk, who was employed within the Moti Group as a legal assistant, has already faced his former employer’s wrath for allegedly having left the company with thousands of downloaded files.
He was arrested on 25 January at King Shaka International Airport for “theft of information” as he was about to leave the country.
That set off frenzied efforts by Frederick “Frikkie” Lutzkie, who took van Niekerk under his wing, to try and prevent van Niekerk from being removed from Durban to Johannesburg, where the warrant for his arrest was issued, and to secure his release.
Lutzkie, an ex-cage fighter turned coal baron, is a former business partner who fell out with Moti and is now engaged in a bitter dispute with companies in the Moti Group.
Van Niekerk is said to have turned to Lutzkie for help and protection, knowing that Lutzkie and Moti were embroiled in ongoing litigation.
Lawyers acting on van Niekerk’s behalf claim that he is a bona fide whistle-blower and is being targeted by Moti in an attempt to muzzle him. They also claim that SAPS members have been weaponised in support of the Moti Group, and have abused their power and intimidated van Niekerk.
Moti claims van Niekerk stole confidential company information and took it to his rival.
Whatever the motive, the leak threatens to expose sensitive information relating to Moti’s murky business empire, which includes business interests in mining, property development, security, logistics and aviation.
Moti has significant interests in Zimbabwe, where he is perceived as being close to senior figures in Zimbabwe’s ruling elite.
Lutzkie, a key witness in an extraordinary ex parte application to challenge van Niekerk’s arrest and removal to Gauteng, told the judge hearing the case that the information from within the Moti organisation includes evidence of “serious economic crimes”.
Lutzkie told the judge, “We sit with evidence that Mr Moti and his whole team last year have committed serious economic crimes by selling [fictitious mineral reserves] in Zimbabwe to Australian and Chinese ...
Hot on the heels of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address, representatives of Eskom and the National Energy Crisis Committee provided a progress update to address South Africa’s electricity crisis.
It is self-evident that rolling blackouts are not improving or being ameliorated with any noticeable haste. Acknowledging the myriad, complex challenges, representatives of Eskom and the National Energy Crisis Committee, shared updates on Friday, 17 February, about some of their progress since President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address.
Thomas Conradie, the utility’s acting Head of Generation, shared a broad update on South Africa’s energy supply disaster status. “We have seen that our total unplanned unavailability is hovering around quite high 17,000MW, so. we are still forced to continue applying Stage Three load shedding during daytimes. And then also escalate towards Stage Four load shedding over the evening peak, from four o’clock in the afternoon till five o’clock the next morning,” he said.
Conradie added: “We have had a number of units that have returned also to service and we are also planning – still today – to return Duvha [Power Station unit] two, which has been out for a considerable period due to a forced outage, as well as Lethabo [Power Station unit] four, which comes back from an outage that we intend to return. This will give some relief.”
“The situation is such that we have been dispatching diesel a lot during this past week, and equally using our pump storage, although the pump storage is looking healthier than what we have seen before, as we approach the weekend,” he said.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts — here are your options and what they are likely to cost you”
Six updates on the Energy Action Plan
Rudi Dicks, Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) in the Presidency, outlined updates to six aspects of the Energy Action Plan, as well as broader efforts to tackle the energy crisis:
Request for proposals (RFP) for battery storage due by March.
“On the RFP for the battery storage; that was a commitment that we’ve given off to sign on, specifically those deviations or exemptions that were required. That has now been finalised. All approvals have been done. The battery storage in terms of our conversation with the Independent Power Producers (IPP) office means that the RFP will go out by the end of February. we expect quite a positive market response to that RFP.”
Eskom’s approval to be ...
The president’s handling of Malawi’s anti-graft czar raises doubts about his commitment to clean government.
Malawian president Lazarus Chakwera, who came into office with a halo over his head, seems to be digging himself ever deeper into trouble with his handling of his anti-corruption czar Martha Chizuma. Chakwera appointed her in April 2021 as Director-General of the powerful Anti-Corruption Bureau after her creditable performance as Ombudsman. But things have been going downhill since.
Chizuma had been vigorously investigating the ever-expanding corruption scandal emanating from bribes allegedly paid to senior Malawian government officials by Malawian-born British millionaire Zuneth Sattar in exchange for lucrative government contracts. Several top officials were charged, culminating last November when vice-president Saulos Chilima was charged with taking a hefty bribe from Sattar.
But then in December, Chizuma was arrested, in an aggressive way, at her home in the middle of the night by armed police and taken off to a cell in her pyjamas.
The charges against Chizuma arose from remarks she made over a year ago in a telephone conversation with an unnamed person. She had been highly critical of the way Chakwera and other officials — including apparently the Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Kayuni — and some judges were handling corruption in Malawi. Her trusted but clearly untrustworthy interlocutor secretly recorded their conversation and then leaked it to the media, presumably to sabotage her investigations.
Some Malawians have accused Chizuma of unprofessional conduct, at the least, for speaking so candidly about her sensitive work. One wonders though, how remarks that Chizuma thought she was making in private could be construed as defamatory or illegal if her privacy was invaded.
The role of Chakwera himself in the saga has been the most worrying. He came into office on a popular ticket to clean out the corruption that had bedevilled his predecessor, Peter Mutharika’s administration.
When Chizuma’s candid remarks were leaked in January 2022, Chakwera stood by her, resisting political pressure to get rid of her. And when she was arrested last December on the instructions of chief prosecutor Kayuni, Chakwera ordered the charges dropped. He later instituted a commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding her arrest.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Chakwera then fired Kayuni, suggesting he had pursued the charges against Chizuma to settle a personal score because she had criticised him in her leaked remarks. He repeated that he still considered Chizuma his champion ...
A fatal stabbing at Geluksdal Secondary School has led to protests demanding ‘justice’ for Shawn Mphela.
Two members of the Pan Africanist Student Organisation (Paso) were taken into police custody following a protest which saw students throwing stones at police officers and burning tyres outside the Tsakane Magistrate Court and police station on Thursday. The two protesters are over 18 years old and are charged with inciting public violence.
Students also blocked roads and burnt tyres at intersections. They said they are demanding “justice” for student Shawn Mphela, who was fatally stabbed on 2 February at Geluksdal Secondary School. They are unhappy about how the case is proceeding. It was postponed to 15 February, and then again postponed to 24 March.
According to Tsakane police station commander Colonel Goodall Khumbulani Mbatha, 14 juveniles were also arrested but were released.
Students under the Paso banner marched to schools around Tsakane and to Geluksdal Secondary disrupting classes. By 10am, close to 100 students were outside the magistrates’ court and nearby police station on Indaba Street.
Students also protested last week on Thursday and on Wednesday this week. But this Thursday, things got out of hand when stones were thrown at police and police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the students.
“Why do they keep postponing the case?” asked Gift Sethathi, Paso member from Mamelong Secondary.
“The case is not being taken seriously. All we want is justice for Shawn. They should not grant him [the suspect] bail,” said Mpho Maesela, also a Paso member.
Students accused the school of discriminating against black learners and tolerating violence and gangsterism. “As long as things are not right at that school, we will continue disrupting classes. This is our way of making things right since authorities are failing us,” said Sethathe.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Parents at the school object to Paso disrupting classes. On Friday morning a group of parents signed a petition accusing Paso of intimidation, and of forcefully and violently removing minors from school without parental consent.
According to school governing board member Moses Ngwenya: “Paso has been disrupting classes since last week and something should be done. Members of the organisation have been accusing our learners of not being actively involved in their protests.”
He said the Department of Education had promised to keep security on school premises but security guards were removed. He said they were also waiting for the department “to get ...
The Proteas squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies will have a host of new faces, while several cricket stalwarts are forced to watch on.
Shukri Conrad’s tenure as Proteas Test coach has started with a whirlwind before a single delivery is bowled. The upcoming Test series against West Indies starts on 28 February.
The new red-ball head coach has made several changes to his side, including appointing Temba Bavuma as Test captain, replacing Dean Elgar in the role.
“We trust [Bavuma] will deliver on all our expectations and help carry the team forward, after some excellent work by his predecessor Dean during the same period,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket, Enoch Nkwe.
“At the same time, I would like to sincerely thank Dean for all his commitment to the role over the past two years. He helped the team navigate through some stormy waters and put them in a good position on the ICC World Test Championship table.”
Bavuma has been captain of the white-ball side since March 2021, but has now relinquished the captaincy of the T20 side, having led the team to two World Cups in the format – in United Arab Emirates in 2021, and in Australia last year.
“I think Dean’s done an exceptional job over the last couple of years. In my conversation with Dean, that is something I’ve made very clear. This was my decision,” Conrad told the media on Friday, 17 February.
“I felt Temba and I had a really good fit. Dean’s still going to play a huge part of our leadership group. This doesn’t make Dean a bad captain and Temba a good captain.
“I just felt this was the right fit for me, and the right fit for us going forward.
“We’ve come a long way, Temba and I. He knows pretty much how I want to do things, and I have a pretty good understanding of how he wants to be involved and run things.”
There has also been a restructuring of the national selection committee, as convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang and Patrick Moroney have been released by CSA.
The interim structure will see the head coaches of the respective teams playing a leading role in squad selections, along with the captains, in the short-term.
“We also felt this was an opportune time to reassess the selection team and we’ve decided to make some changes that we expect will help us with planning ...
Once again, the 2022/23 third-quarter police crime statistics paint a bleak picture of the country’s rising crime rate.
Murders and sexual offences show little sign of abating, according to quarterly crime statistics reflecting on crimes reported and committed in South Africa from 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022.
Police Minister Bheki Cele reported during a media briefing on Friday that 551 more murders were recorded since the prior quarter.
Cele said while the crime figures released don’t paint an overall positive picture, they do show that police are pushing back on criminality through visible policing and disruptive operations, he added.
The Police Recorded Crime Statistics report for the third quarter of 2022/23, showed that between October and the end of December 2022, 7,555 murders were committed.
A total of 7,004 people were killed in the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year.
The statistics furthermore indicated that between October and December 2022:
3,144 people were killed by a firearm
2,498 people were killed with other weapons such as knives, sharp and blunt objects, bricks and in many cases bare hands.
Cele reiterated it is clear that a broader conversation must be had about what is at the heart of crime in the country. He further underlined that while gun violence is problematic it poses a serious threat to lives and livelihoods. In the past twelve months alone, police have permanently removed and destroyed 65,519 firearms.
Read more in Daily Maverick here: Hollow points – more than 3,000 gun murders in 3 months, but plans to tackle the problem miss critical targets
An analysis by Daily Maverick’s investigative journalist and author Caryn Dolley revealed police are still arming criminals despite ‘plans’ to stop the scourge.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
On gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), Cele indicated that police are sharpening their responses from an operational and legislative point of view.
The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act also referred to as the DNA Act will come into operation on 3 March, 2023. This Act, Cele explained, is a crucial weapon in the police’s arsenal of crime-fighting tools against GBVF, specifically with regard to the identification of offenders.
Crime committed against women and children between October to December 2022
4,992 suspects were arrested for GBVF-related crimes.
71 accused were handed down 89 life sentences.
219 accused were sentenced to between one and nine years’ imprisonment, culminating in a total of 1,079 years behind bars.
143 accused were sentenced to between 10 and ...
The woman who was shot and killed on Thursday at the Symphony Way Housing Project in Delft was not a security guard as initially reported, but a City of Cape Town official. She was shot a number of times inside her car and died on the scene.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis – confirming the official’s murder – called on police to hunt the killers and offered a reward of R100,000 for information on Friday.
He and mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi visited the site where the official died in a hail of bullets.
The name of the official, who was an air quality officer, is being withheld until the family has given permission.
Daily Maverick initially reported that she was a security guard by quoting two sources on record. A security guard, who was at the gate at the time of the shooting, was wounded.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said police found the body of the 48-year-old official inside a vehicle on the corner of Magalies and Mandara streets at N2 Gateway. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the scene.
On Thursday, Daily Maverick reported that the shooting had occurred barely 24 hours after guards on a housing construction site revealed their fears amid alleged Mafia-like extortion in Delft.
The City didn’t respond to enquiries from the Daily Maverick but on Friday morning spokesperson Jean-Marie de Waal said: “The City decided to hold off all communication until the family had been informed on Thursday evening.”
A week ago a security guard was shot and wounded at the construction site, before the site was petrol bombed days later. Because of the threat of attacks and for the safety of workers, on-site security was beefed up and all cars entering the site had to sign a register.
Raised reward
On Friday, Hill-Lewis urged the police to do whatever it takes to hunt down the perpetrators of the violence.
“We are also increasing our reward to R100,000 for information leading to the successful prosecution of those responsible for the murder of this City official.”
The mayor also urged Delft residents and the future beneficiaries of the housing project to help find the killers and help to protect the project so that it is not derailed.
He reiterated: “We will not be intimidated by selfish thugs – we have a mission to deliver much-needed housing to our poorest communities that really need it.”
Guards left traumatised
Recalling the ...
The Law Faculty has issued a statement to University of Cape Town’s Executive, accusing members of knowing about the planned shutdown this week, and failing to inform the wider university community. It claimed that the executive was complicit 'in the violence, aggression and intimidation that comes with student shutdowns'.
The Law Faculty claims that the Executive at the University of Cape Town (UCT) was aware of intentions to shut down campuses but did not inform the wider university community.
In a statement released by Dean of Law, Danwood Chirwa, on Friday, 17 February, the faculty said it was “deeply concerned” by the move, and suggested that the executive did not take adequate action to ensure that students and staff were protected from the fallout.
The executive includes the Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng and her deputies.
The faculty stated that UCT’s Executive “knowingly exposed staff and students to the risk of intimidation, aggression, and violence from protesting students”.
The Law Faculty’s statement comes alongside the news that UCT is to suspend Phakeng.
UCT’s Student Representative Council (SRC) initiated a campus shutdown on Monday, 13 February, the first day of the academic year. The shutdown was intended to protest ongoing issues at the university, including fee blocks, financial exclusion and unhoused students.
The latter is of particular concern for the SRC, as the student housing department made the decision to withdraw residence offers from students with fee blocks, which left many students without accommodation.
Read in Daily Maverick: From Stellies to Wits, NSFAS’s caps on accommodation allowances fuel tension at universities across SA
The SRC encouraged the suspension of academic activity and barred entrance to the university, in protest. UCT then moved lectures online for the remainder of the week, until it released a notice at 10pm on Thursday, 16 February, that in-person activity would resume on Friday, 17 February. The university promptly retracted the notice, as protests continued on Friday morning, and in-person teaching was unfeasible.
In its statement, the Law Faculty said it believed that UCT released the Thursday evening notice, knowing that no agreement with students to cease protests had been reached.
The Law Faculty expressed its contempt about the way UCT’s Executive has dealt with the campus shutdown. Beyond making claims that the Executive did not make the university community aware of the intent to shut down campus, the faculty noted that campus disruptions have “caused significant physical and psychological harm to students and staff”. The faculty indicated that Campus ...
Rolling blackouts damage every stage of production from irrigation to bottling and labelling, and diesel generators burn money. Anxieties are high as the critical harvest season is underway.
Rolling blackouts are causing major problems for the wine industry as its crucial harvest season is underway, causing costs to balloon and endangering crops and jobs.
South Africa’s industry ranks eighth in the world, according to 2021 data from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.
It contributes more than R55-billion to gross domestic product and employs close to 269,000 people.
The industry has been hit by Covid-19 and fuel prices. Now the main challenge is rolling blackouts, which affects irrigation, cooling, fermentation, bottling and labelling.
Read how Daily Maverick readers have been impacted by load shedding here: People are broken
Now, during harvest season, people in the industry are feeling especially anxious.
Klein Goederust Boutique Winery
The difficulties caused by power cuts have increased in harvest time, says Paul Siguqa, owner of the Klein Goederust Boutique Winery in Franschhoek.
In January, February or March, grapes reach optimal ripeness. That’s when it’s time to pick them and, if you don’t, they will rot.
Problems start with grapes needing to be placed in cold rooms, which need electricity.
“So now the cold rooms are not working. It’s a high risk to the quality of the wine,” Siguqa says. If grapes are not cooled, fermentation might not take place properly.
“If fermentation doesn’t properly happen, the whole crop goes to waste. And we’re talking about tonnes and tonnes of grapes,” he says.
Rolling blackouts also affects irrigation, important in the summer heat. Full irrigation cycles cannot be completed.
Siguqa’s biggest problem with rolling blackouts are their unpredictability, making it difficult to figure out a production schedule.
He estimates that rolling blackouts have cost his winery R400,000 in the past three months, and predicts losses will be worse during harvest season.
It is becoming difficult to maintain jobs at his business, he says.
“We were just seeing recovery after the pandemic, when we couldn’t sell wine. But the recovery has been wiped out by rolling blackouts. We’re moving one step forward and three back.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Blank Bottle Winery
In times like these, businesses need to obtain generators urgently, says Pieter Walser, owner of Blank Bottle Winery in Somerset West.
Though he would like to use solar power, he cannot install it because he does not own the building where his business is located.
When it comes to ...
As the African Union summit approaches, a Maverick Citizen webinar has heard about the flaws in the Ethiopian peace accord, as well as the roots of the long and bloody civil war.
After a brutal two-year war that killed an estimated 600,000 civilians and internally displaced 2.7 million, a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in South Africa on 2 November. But the agreement is marred by gaps, making peace that much harder to achieve.
“When we talk about the human, social and economic cost of this particular conflict in Ethiopia, it will take us quite a long time to have the full picture of the real impact,” said Shuvai Busuman Nyoni, executive director of the African Leadership Centre.
Nyoni was speaking as part of a Maverick Citizen webinar panel on peace in Ethiopia and the significant gaps in the peace agreement. His remarks came in the run-up to the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa from 18 to 19 February.
Thursday’s discussion was chaired by Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood, joined by Dismas Nkunda, CEO of Atrocities Watch Africa.
Laying the foundation
“In 2018, there were changes in the leadership in Ethiopia, including the former prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, resigning and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed taking over,” said Nkunda, adding that Ahmed had made a concerted effort to refocus on the administration of the country using a much more nationalistic approach, which was the complete opposite of the TPLF government.
The conflict stems from grievances dating from when the TPLF – a rebel movement-turned-political party – dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, he explained. Since the coalition lost power nationally in 2018, the TPLF, still powerful in its northern stronghold, had fallen out with the federal government led by Ahmed. “The TPLF resisted. Their resistance included holding their own elections and saying they do not believe in what Prime Minister Ahmed is doing.” The Tigrayan security forces attacking the Northern Command headquarters of the Ethiopian National Defence Force, alongside several other bases in Tigray, had been the catalyst for the war.
Humanitarian nightmare
The bitter and bloody civil war has brought the nation to its knees. “In December of 2022, some of the numbers we were hearing were about 600,000 lives that had been lost as a result of direct military confrontation, and in some instances starvation as a result of the conflict – 20 million people who ...
Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced that 3,144 people were murdered with guns in the last three months of 2022. He says while cops will intensify their focus on illegal firearms, the problem boils down to human behaviour. While he did not say it outright, this inevitably includes cop corruption.
Of the 7,555 people murdered in South Africa in the final three months of last year, 3,144 were killed with firearms.
During the release of the quarterly crime statistics on Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said that given the situation, the South African Police Service (SAPS) was focusing on cracking down on illicit guns.
“The SAPS will continue to intensify operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition, whilst legislation intervention in the amendment to the Firearms Control Act, to address the availability of guns in our communities, is under way,” he said.
sapsHQ SAPS will continue to intensify operations to detect & remove illegal firearms & ammunition whilst legislation intervention in the Amendment to the Firearms Control Act, to address the availability of guns in our communities, is underway. #GunsOffTheStreets #CrimeStats TM
SA Police Service (@SAPoliceService) February 17, 2023
“While gun violence is problematic and poses a serious threat to lives and livelihoods. With the analysis of the current and previous statistics, it is quite evident that firearms are only part of a bigger problem.
“At the core of the matter is human behaviour.”
Cele said South Africans needed to be honest about the causes of violence.
“High rates of unemployment and poverty levels, the mushrooming of informal settlements with little to no services and other socioeconomic ills are breeding criminality,” he added.
Cele was not the only politician to refer to firearm violence in South Africa this week.
High-profile assassinations
On Thursday, the government news website issued a statement saying that the SAPS was being bolstered to tackle gun violence.
This stance, it said, was announced while taking into account the murder of rapper Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, and the murder of his former manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, outside a Durban restaurant a week ago.
The statement also referred to the murder of Ayob Mungalee, an anti-crime activist who was shot near his Eldorado Park home on 12 February.
“Recent mass shootings” in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were also acknowledged.
According to the statement, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said: “These heinous and cold-blooded attacks, which are being investigated by law-enforcement authorities, highlight the prevalence of gun ...
A study published last year on an HIV variant that has been circulating in the Netherlands for the last 20 years reminded the public of the existence of viral variants beyond Sars-CoV-2. Elri Voigt unpacks what we know about the HIV virus, its variants, and the study’s findings.
When a study published last year on an HIV variant that has been circulating in the Netherlands for the last 20 years made headlines around the world, it was a reminder that Sars-CoV-2 isn’t the only virus out there that is constantly mutating. Behind the headlines though, the story also offered a reminder of how different HIV is to Sars-CoV-2 with its Betas, Deltas, and Omicrons.
To appreciate the differences, some basic terms are worth revising.
“In virology, the terms variants, strains, and subtypes all describe genetic differences between viruses in the same grouping or species. There is a progression of how big the genetic change or differences are, with variants being the smallest difference, strains slightly more, and subtypes a much bigger difference,” explains Professor Eftyhia Vardas, a clinical virologist pathologist and the Head of Virology at Lancet Laboratories.
These genetic differences occur as a result of mutation in the virus. They occur frequently, according to Vardas, because viruses replicate quickly and their replication mechanism — primarily enzymes — makes frequent errors.
Some mutations are more beneficial than others.
Those that are not compatible with the virus’s survival are immediately selected out and thus are not replicated. While those mutations that are beneficial to the survival of the virus are selected and will be replicated. This, depending on how big the genetic difference is, leads to the development of new variants, strains, or even subtypes of a virus.
Highly mutagenic
Professor Francois Venter, the Executive Director of Ezintsha in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, tells Spotlight that the HIV virus is highly mutagenic and in its stable phase can generate billions of viruses on a daily basis with at least one mutation present in each virus.
“One virologist put it to me like this — he said that within the week of infection, every known HIV patient has every known mutation to every known HIV drug even though they’ve never seen the drug, [it’s] just simply by chance,” Venter says. “Now the reason there’s not such a big deal is that when a virus gets a mutation, most of the time those mutations are ...
Gandhi Museum and the Phoenix Settlement he founded no longer have any major donors.
The Inanda heritage route, north of Durban, has a number of sites of significant historical importance, including the home and grave of John Dube, first president of the ANC, who established a school here, where Nelson Mandela chose to cast his first vote in the new democracy in 1994.
Mahatma Gandhi lived here too, and it is where he established Phoenix Settlement in 1904. His house remains as a museum.
But poor roads, and almost no signage or publicity, means the route is sadly neglected.
Durban resident Jimmy Govender travelled to the Gandhi settlement during the January holidays hoping to share this history with his child. But he struggled to find the place because the signs were not obvious, and he ended up on a dirt road. (GroundUp also struggled to find where to turn off from Curnick Ndlovu highway.) Once at the museum, Govender said the grounds were neglected and the statue of Gandhi had cobwebs on it.
Ela Gandhi, the Mahatma’s granddaughter and a former member of parliament, says her grandfather owned about 100 acres of land and this is where the Bhambayi community built their lives in 1985 after the eNanda unrest. Phoenix Settlement should not be confused with nearby Phoenix Township.
The Phoenix Settlement Trust (PST) has wanted to transfer at least 90% of the land back to the council for the benefit of the communities, but the council has yet to make the transfer. As a result, the installation of desperately needed infrastructure, including road maintenance, street lighting and safety measures, has been held up.
The Gandhi Development Trust (GDT) and the museum hub contributes positively to the communities of Inanda and Phoenix. After the July 2021 unrest, it facilitated healing programmes, including counselling for victims, and providing medical treatment and food.
There are communal vegetable gardens managed by the community, an internet café, and regular classes on how to write a CV and apply for jobs. Thousands of students, says Gandhi, became computer literate in Word, Excel and Powerpoint through classes held at the computer centre.
But in May 2021, the internet café and computer training centre suffered a setback when its 35 computers were stolen. Only six have been replaced.
The Shanti Centre also provides schooling opportunities for young children.
“Many children didn’t come back to school [after Covid lockdown] . In spite of this, 64 learners graduated from Grade ...
On Saturday, Proteas women’s squad comes up against an Australian outfit which is a paradigm of consistency. The South Africans will have to dig deep in order to win and keep their hopes of reaching the knockouts largely in their hands.
Two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum. Australia — five-time T20 World Cup winners who are chasing their third in a row and sixth overall. South Africa, chasing a maiden World Cup final and as a consequence, their first-ever World Cup gold medal.
Australia, who just thumped Sri Lanka by 10 wickets on Thursday, faces a South African side that slumped to a shock defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans during the curtain-raising World Cup match in Cape Town.
The Aussies also have one foot in the semifinals after three ruthless performances, which also include an eight-wicket triumph over Bangladesh and a 97-run victory over neighbours New Zealand. Success over South Africa on Saturday in Gqeberha will rubber-stamp their safe passage through to the knockouts.
By contrast, the Proteas cannot afford to lose. Or else their destiny to the semifinals will cease to be in their hands — with one game to play after their tussle with the defending champions in the Eastern Cape.
One of the leaders of Hilton Moreeng’s team, Marizanne Kapp is aware of just how important and challenging the match against an Australian team that hardly loses will be. The superstars from Down Under have lost just two T20 matches since March 2021.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“It’s an extremely important game for us. Unfortunately, we slipped up in that first game against Sri Lanka, which we are disappointed about. But now we know what we have to do,” said Kapp, who was born in Gqeberha, and as such the clash will be a homecoming for her.
“It’s always tough playing against Australia and this is no different. They will be playing their third match here [in Gqeberha], and our first one here will be against them. We know that it will be tough. If we keep on believing and every single player who walks onto that field gives their 150%, we can’t ask for anything more,” added Kapp.
The batting woes of Moreeng’s charges have persisted in the tournament — as highlighted in that shocker against Sri Lanka.
Even during their last match — a 65-run win versus New Zealand, the batting was not ...
The ANC caucus in the legislature came out guns blazing against the provincial government over the current dispute between taxi organisations and the education structures over attempts by members of the industry to control learner transportation.
The learner transport crisis in the metro and rural areas has been allowed to “blow out of proportion by the weak premier,” said Western Cape legislature member Muhammad Khalid Sayed on Friday morning during a debate on premier Alan Winde’s State of the Province Address (Sopa).
Sayed, the deputy chief whip of the African National Congress in the Western Cape legislature and the party’s spokesperson on education spoke in response to Winde’s Sopa delivered on Thursday in the legislature chambers in Cape Town.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Alan Winde highlights three key themes – energy, mobility, and policing – in between the heckling”
On Friday, legislature members debated Winde’s speech — which included several heckles, interjections, and running commentary throughout. Sayed addressed the ongoing situation with learners being blocked by taxi operators from going to school as some operators want control of scholar transport.
Read in Daily Maverick: Cape Town learners stranded by ‘taxi mafia’ blocking scholar transport
“Speaker, the learner transport crisis both in the metro and rural areas has been allowed to blow out of proportion by the weak Premier..we see no meaningful engagement with stakeholders,” said Sayed, who added, “critical meetings are postponed on the eleventh hour”.
During the debate, Sayed said, “this government is aware of the challenge since last year and has failed to act because it is the lives of the poor and working class that are affected”. He added that it was the fault of Winde’s government that “children of Khayelitsha and Mfuleni have been missing out on school”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Sayed addressed the Speaker of the legislature, Daylin Mitchell, and said if he still had been MEC for Transport, the “situation may have been different”. Mitchell had been MEC for Transport until December 2022, when he was elected Speaker in dramatic fashion, through the removal of one of the DA’s own members, Masizole Mnqasela.
“It is the fault of Premier Winde’s government that children of Khayelitsha and Mfuleni have been missing out on school.an amicable solution, involving all affected parties is needed to ensure that our children go to school safely,” said Sayed.
In response, Education MEC David Maynier immediately addressed the situation during his time in the ...
Local derbies have always defined South African rugby from the 19th century, into the dark apartheid years and through to the post-isolation era.
The Currie Cup, Super Rugby in all its various incarnations, and latterly the United Rugby Championship (URC), have served as different stages over the years for teams with changing names. But the one thing they have had in common is to provide a platform for South Africa’s finest rugby players to thrive.
This weekend sees that tradition continue when the Bulls host the Stormers at Loftus and the Lions welcome the Sharks to Ellis Park in a salivating double header.
To add to the subplots, Bok wing Sbu Nkosi will start for the Bulls a little more than two months after a mental health break.
The Bulls also welcome back director of rugby Jake White who had an operation for intestine issues, while they also have the incentive of winning their first URC game against the Stormers.
The Stormers have won four matches in this competition against the Bulls, including the 2022 final by 18-13 at Cape Town Stadium. But that counts for little as Stormers coach John Dobson said he expected a big backlash at Loftus.
“It is a given that we must match the intensity of our great rivals up north, and we must match it from the outset. This comes through attitude,” Dobson noted.
“We must make our tackles, and we must play with accuracy and intelligence. When playing at altitude, game management is always definitive to getting a positive result.
“Personally, and this is meant with no disrespect to any other South African franchise, but it doesn’t get bigger as an occasion than visiting Loftus and playing a Bulls team that will be charged emotionally and motivated to giving Jake (White) the warmest of returns, after his recent absence recovering from surgery.
“We did the league double over them last season, away and then at home, and edged them in the final. Those were three incredibly close matches, and there was a one-score difference on all three occasions.”
For the Bulls, despite the mounting scar tissue, there is still a sense of confidence about the encounter. Three of those four Stormers defeats have been in Cape Town, while they haven’t lost a game at Loftus since February 2022. With an expected 40,000-plus crowd, it will be an intimidating afternoon for the Stormers.
On paper there are more established players in the Bulls squad, as ...
The Council of the University of Cape Town has opted to suspend vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, amid an ongoing investigation into UCT governance and additional complaints against Phakeng.
UCT Vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng will be suspended by the university Council pending disciplinary action.
Daily Maverick understands that the extraordinary decision was taken by the Council after the body consulted with two of South Africa’s leading experts on labour law – who confirmed that the university would have a prima facie case of misconduct against Phakeng.
Following this consultation, Phakeng was given the option of stepping down quietly with a pay-out. Daily Maverick understands that negotiation fell apart however with Phakeng withdrawing from the talks.
Suspension is the culmination of months of tension
Phakeng’s suspension comes after almost five months of growing conflict – following an explosive meeting of the UCT Senate in late September 2022, with a Daily Maverick expose into the campus governance crisis being published a few days later.
Read on Daily Maverick: Dark days: Accusations of capture and governance instability rock UCT
Dark days: Accusations of capture and governance instability rock UCT
The Daily Maverick investigation, conducted over six months last year, revealed a culture of secrecy and intimidation taking root at the university under the leadership of VC Phakeng and UCT Council Chair Babalwa Ngonyama – who have since fallen out.
Amid a string of departures from senior administrative staff, the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – reportedly very uncommon for universities – appeared to have become standard practice at UCT.
At the UCT Senate meeting on 30 September 2022, one of these departures took centre stage. A letter from former deputy vice-chancellor Lis Lange was read out, in which Lange contradicted the account of her exit given to the Senate and wrote that she had effectively been forced out of her position at Phakeng’s behest.
In combination, the Senate meeting and the Daily Maverick reporting provided a challenge too substantial to be ignored – coming, as they did, on the back of a public complaint against Phakeng made by former UCT ombud Zetu Makamandela-Mguqulwa in 2020.
Makamandela-Mguqulwa reported that 37 individuals had approached her with bullying concerns about Phakeng, to which the ombud added her own voice.
Divisions in UCT Council delay process
After the allegations against Phakeng and Ngonyama were made public, pressure mounted – including from the UCT Academics’ Union – against the UCT Council to take action.
But a deeply divided Council could not reach consensus after a series ...
Manchester United will receive multiple offers when an initial deadline for bids expires on Friday, sources familiar with the process said, kicking off potentially the largest sports deal ever.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a life-long supporter and founder of chemicals group Ineos, is one likely bidder to buy Manchester United, along with US private equity firms and possibly Qatari investors, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, it is not expected that Twitter owner and Tesla boss Elon Musk will lead any of the offers for the English soccer club, as some media reports had speculated, one of them added.
Manchester United, Ineos, Tesla and Musk did not reply to requests for comment.
Suitors have been asked to submit a bid amount and proof of funds by Friday, the sources said. Raine Group, the investment bank running the process, will then draw up a shortlist.
Raine Group did not reply to requests for comment.
A deal for the record 13-times English Premier League winners will likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far, the $5.2 billion — including debt and investments — paid for Chelsea, the sources said, as Manchester United generates more revenues and has a larger fan base than its London rival.
The northwest England club has 659 million supporters worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar — equivalent to nearly a tenth of the world’s population.
Its current majority owner, the Glazer family, is seeking a valuation as high as £7-billion (R152.5-billion), sources said.
“For potential buyers, football clubs like Manchester United are considered trophy assets driven by the perception of exclusivity. The rationale is similar to justifying the price paid for a painting,” said Andy Currie, UK managing partner at financial services firm Alantra.
Qatari state investors already have a stake in French club Paris Saint-Germain and could face challenges structuring a takeover of Manchester United, as the rules of European soccer governing body Uefa forbid two clubs with the same owner both taking part in the lucrative European Champions League.
Rival Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur is set to receive a $3.75-billion bid from Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Spurs’ owner, Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, is reportedly holding out for a higher price. The size of that bid has fuelled speculation Manchester United will attract significantly more.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Manchester United is the fourth richest soccer club in the world, ...
Ngwathe Municipality has been providing contaminated water to residents for months and community leaders blame dilapidated infrastructure and rolling blackouts. The community wants alternatives immediately.
Mamodiehi Hlahane (40) will never forget how helpless she felt as she tackled the long trip to hospital with her six-month-old daughter who was suffering from severe diarrhoea. Hlahane knew the cause – contaminated water from the taps and the JoJo tanks all around Tumahole township in the Free State.
Hlahane lives in an informal settlement in Tumahole and had to walk kilometres from her shack to the nearest hospital, 30 minutes away. “We almost lost her, she was very weak. At the hospital they said she had lost a lot of water in her body, and her temperature was high. We are unemployed in the house, and it was hard to buy water every day for the children to drink. We as adults drink the dirty water.”
Residents of Tumahole, Parys, Schonkenville and surrounds cannot drink from their taps because the water is “dirty and has red worms in it”. Some Parys residents can afford to filter it, while others buy water to drink and cook with. They only use the tap water to clean, wash clothes and flush toilets, but sometimes it is so dirty that it’s not even good enough for cleaning. “If you wash a white cloth, when it dries it remains with brown marks. If you leave the water in a bucket, you can see brown soil or dirt settling at the bottom,” said Hlahane.
Local authorities have not tested the water to identify the “red worms”.
Parys mayor Victoria de Beer told residents last week that the Department of Water and Sanitation and relevant stakeholders were trying to secure R66-million to fix the dysfunctional water-purification plants. This comes after De Beer’s house and a municipal building were burnt a month ago in protest.
“The Department of Water Affairs and Treasury have committed to finalising the process of approving and availing emergency procurement and funds to deal with the matter so that we can fix the clarifiers and filters,” De Beer said.
The water-treatment plants were affected by severe rotational rolling blackouts which would sometimes result in the area having only four hours of electricity per day.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Thirst for basic services — Parys residents protest after years without running water”
A manager at a clinic in Tumahole says the staff carry bought water for hand ...
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's new electricity minister will assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the country's response to crippling power cuts, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
Ramaphosa said he would appoint the new minister last week during a State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament.
“The resolution of the energy crisis . requires the undivided attention of a political principal who does not need to split their time and energies among different important responsibilities,” Ramaphosa said on Thursday, responding to a debate by lawmakers on his SONA speech.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexander Winning)
The Health Department’s recent response to submissions and its own recommendations on amendments to the National Health Insurance Bill sadly does not realise the gravity of the threat to the future of medicine selection and access. As the Bill currently stands, it will leave us at the mercy of advisory committees that bear no duty to be transparent in deciding which medicines people will be able to access under NHI, the authors argue.
A frightful piece of information came to light recently. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced its 2022 revenue at $100-billion. This is more than the combined health spending of 108 countries in 2020 according to calculations of The People’s Vaccine Campaign. The Pfizer Covid vaccine, of course, helped the dollars roll in. In fact, some reports suggest that Pfizer charged some countries $130 per dose of vaccine, while it is estimated that it costs less than $2 per dose to make. That equated to a markup of a stupefying 10,000% but we don’t know the full pricing details because the contracts are marked ‘secret’.
Figures like these make one’s eyes water.
In this pandemic, tackling the pharmaceutical sector and the perversities of its pandemic profiteering has been the focus of an international movement of health activists united under the banner of the People Vaccine Campaign. Partly because of severe resistance by governments in the global north and inaction locally, access to timely supplies of affordable and essential Covid vaccines, medicines and diagnostics has not materialised. But the struggle continues not only to tackle these structural barriers to beat Covid and future pandemics but also to help ensure the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) systems. UHC means that everyone would be able to get the quality health services they need and benefit from scientific progress — irrespective of their ability to pay and without having to face financial hardship.
A Herculean task
South Africa, too, has committed to attaining UHC by 2030 as part of a set of promises made on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. South Africa’s main strategy to attain UHC is to implement a National Health Insurance (NHI) system. Unfortunately, progress has been historically slow, but in the build-up to the 2024 elections, the African National Congress (ANC) Members of Parliament (MPs) are rushing the law reform process despite an acknowledgement even from the health ministry that progress and timelines are hampered by the socio and mainly economic impacts ...
The staff and volunteers who keep the South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s helplines running are ‘emotional paramedics’, responding to callers with compassion and efficiency. Their efforts make a difference in the lives of vulnerable South Africans, including teenagers in crisis.
Trigger warning: This article mentions suicide.
Two things are crucial in the world of Tracy Feinstein (59), call centre manager for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag): that callers to Sadag’s helplines are helped with speed, compassion and effectiveness, and that the counsellors assisting them receive support and a safe space in which to grow.
Feinstein has been involved with Sadag for about 10 years, having started as a call centre volunteer with a 4pm-to-8pm shift every Thursday. Today, she manages and supports the call centre’s more than 200 volunteers.
“I know that we do make a difference to people’s lives, just by taking one call a day,” she said. “Of course, it’s not one call that we do. We’re handling over 3,000 calls a day.”
Sadag provides mental health and suicide crisis helplines, among others. Speaking to Maverick Citizen during Teen Suicide Prevention Week, Feinstein noted that there had been a rise in the volume and intensity of teenagers calling the helplines since the Covid-19 lockdowns fell away.
“It really is, in many ways, wonderful that these teens are brave enough to reach out and get support. On the other side, it is incredibly concerning that our teens are that desperate. they are hopeless, they are feeling overwhelmed,” she said.
“It has just been. a massive increase in the number of calls that we are getting from teens, and they are younger every year. Whereas a few years ago, we might have said teens are those people that are phoning from the ages of 15 to 16, now we’re getting calls from 12- and 13-year-olds, even 11-year-olds.”
Academic stress, relationship issues and conflict with parents are some of the primary reasons teenagers call the helplines, according to Lara Ellwood (29), training coordinator at Sadag. Ellwood first started at Sadag as a volunteer in 2016, driven by the role the organisation plays in breaking down stigma around mental illness.
“I also think [teenagers are] just generally finding their fit and their space in the world. Teens are really at that point where they’re identifying and figuring out who they are,” she said.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Suicide is a global emergency and the second-leading cause of death ...
Dangerous fungal infections are on the rise globally. But we have few drugs that work and no prospect of anti-fungal vaccines any time soon.
Fungal infections have received a frenzy of attention thanks to the popularity of HBO’s The Last of Us. The show depicts a fungal pandemic caused by the real-life zombie-ant fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. It imagines the outcome of society’s collapse and a brutal approach to maintaining public health.
The hit HBO series “The Last Of Us” describes a world devastated by a mass outbreak of a “zombie fungus”. Although its premise is science fiction, the fungus in the show is actually based in scientific reality. @abcnews
Genetic Literacy Project (@GeneticLiteracy) February 15, 2023
But in (real-life) laboratories, hospitals and public health units around the world, researchers have been warning about the rise of potentially deadly fungal infections for years.
With few drugs to treat major fungal infections, and no vaccines on the horizon, the potential harm caused by fungal infections have raised alarms at the highest levels of public health.
Also read in Daily Maverick:The Last of Us – better than any video game adaption deserves to be
I was part of a large international team of researchers commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to understand which fungal pathogens we most needed to research and which posed the greatest public health threat. This is what its report found.
Fungi back in the spotlight
Before The Last of Us, many people thought “fungus” meant mushrooms or something mouldy in the compost heap. If they thought of fungi in relation to health, they thought of athlete’s foot or toenail infections – familiar, but not frightening.
However, fungi do cause serious infections, especially in people with other health conditions. People living with cancer, HIV, or diabetes are especially at risk of these infections, but they can also strike those who have had major surgery, ended up in an intensive care unit, or who have experienced another serious infection. This is because their immune system is weakened or distracted, opening up a space for “opportunistic infections”.
We’ve seen this in India where black mould infections (mucormycosis) complicated cases of COVID, resulting in thousands of deaths.
A threat and becoming more so
Well before The Last of Us, health authorities had been starting to take notice of serious fungal infections.
In 2019 the US Centers for Disease Control designated the deadly yeast Candida auris – which appeared out of nowhere in 2009 – as an ...
The trial of six people charged with the Nomzamo Park, Soweto, tavern massacre has been moved to the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court after protesters threatened to burn down the Orlando Magistrates’ Court, where it was originally scheduled to be heard.
Following a lengthy risk assessment ordered by the State, the case against six suspects charged with the murders of 16 people at the Mdlalose tavern in Soweto was on Thursday moved from Orlando to the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court.
The risk assessment was conducted after a meeting between the defence, State and presiding officers over the Orlando community’s threat to burn down the courthouse and local police station.
Magistrate AW Morton said the court would not put property and people at risk.
Tension
“This is a very emotional matter. Emotions are high. We cannot sit today. The court cannot sit in this venue. We will move this venue to the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court,” he said.
Morton ordered all of the six accused to remain in custody without bail until the court sits in Johannesburg.
“It became clear to all of us that security assessment should be conducted. It was done. A risk assessment was conducted which then informed the court that the case cannot proceed,” said Phindi Mjonondwane from the Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“They also threatened to burn the court building, which obviously raised concerns for us as the State because of paramount importance is the safety of everyone in court,” she said.
Mjonondwane said the fact that the Orlando Magistrates’ Court has only one entry and exit point was further motivation to move the case to Johannesburg.
“So, the matter is now being moved to the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court. It’s a bigger court with more than one entry and exit point,” she said.
Chanting and singing
The Nomzamo and Orlando community arrived at the court in their numbers on Thursday morning. They were energetic in their anger, chanting in isiZulu and singing. Dozens of people waited by the main gate where the suspects were expected to make their entry in a police vehicle.
They held placards calling on the court to deny the suspects bail and for the state to bring back the death penalty. Protesters carried sticks, knobkerries and stones, and police officers struggled to contain the crowd, which was baying for blood.
Because of the security threat, the six accused appeared in court more than three hours late. Their legs and wrists were chained. They were transported back to prison in ...
The Glebelands 8 were ‘a law unto themselves’ who ‘executed their opponents brazenly’, said Judge Nkosinathi Chili in sentencing the gang leaders in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
Former Durban Central detective Bhekukwazi Mdweshu, said by the State to be the leader of a murderous gang based at Umlazi’s Glebelands Hostel, was finally sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday – three years and six months after the trial of the so-called Glebelands 8 began.
The now 40-year-old Mdweshu, a father of twin girls, was convicted last year of conspiracy to commit murder and for the attempted murder of rival gang members Bongani Mthembu, William Mthembu (the leader of the rival gang, who was killed outside a supermarket a year later by the other accused), Mandlakayise Dyanthi and Lucas Mbekelwa in an attack at the notorious R Block of the hostel complex in 2014.
Judge Nkosinathi Chili sentenced Mdweshu to 10 years in jail for the conspiracy conviction, and 10 years for the attempted murders, half of which was suspended for five years. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning he will be eligible for release within five years.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Defence counsels grill witnesses as first session of Glebelands 8 trial closes”
All the Glebelands 8 had at one time been residents at the hostel, with Mdweshu having two separate rooms at the sprawling ANC-controlled complex, which is estimated to house between 15,000 and 22,000 people.
Extortion money
The men have been in prison since their arrests in 2017 and early 2018, bail having been denied. According to the State, the gang that Mdweshu led would battle a rival gang for money extorted from residents. Mdweshu “played a leading role” in the extortion of residents, the State contended in its indictment.
All the men were charged with – but acquitted of – racketeering last year, a crime usually associated with an organised crime syndicate. The State unsuccessfully argued that this made all jointly responsible for the seven attempted murders and nine murders in or near the hostel, committed between 2014 and 2016.
Mdweshu was further cleared of managing the criminal enterprise as well as charges of extortion.
The men had been in custody awaiting trial for more than five years, said NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara. Thus, when it came to the attempted murder charges, a sentence of 10 years was imposed, with five years being suspended for five years.
The trial ran over more than ...
A little more than 24 hours before the Stormers take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in a crunch United Rugby Championship match, the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) should take a step closer to stability.
On Friday, 17 February, the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) will be a step closer to knowing whether it will be allowed to proceed with the sale of Newlands Stadium’s development rights.
They are crucial to the union’s survival and its ability to pay off debts of more than R200-million after several years of malfeasance by the union’s leaders led to it being placed under administration in 2021.
Heritage Western Cape, the body tasked with determining whether structures and buildings are allowed to be altered or demolished, meets on Friday to discuss feedback from the public participation process over the future of Newlands. The public participation process deadline was on 31 January.
In short, an attempt to have Newlands declared a heritage site following an objection by former Springbok captain Wynand Claassen, and therefore ineligible for demolition, doesn’t have any legitimate claim. At least, according to an authoritative study.
No grounds
A 93-page report by the Heritage Western Cape, Inventories, Grading and Interpretation Committee found no grounds that Newlands meets the criteria for a heritage site.
“Based on the information available at the time of preparing the Social Statement, none of the structures associated with the Newlands Stadium [is] of heritage significance,” the report reads.
“Based on the findings of the study, the demolition of the Newlands Stadium, like the demolition of many other historically significant stadiums in other parts of the world, would not represent an irreplaceable social loss.
“While Newlands does hold special memories for many rugby supporters, for the current generation the future of rugby is already associated with the Cape Town Stadium.
“A number of interviewees indicated the survival of the game, and the Western Province Rugby Football Union should take precedence in any decisions regarding the future of Newlands Stadium.
“This reflects the situation faced by other sports clubs and unions that have taken the decision to relocate and use the sale of their old premises to fund the move and/or the construction of a new facility.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Heritage claims fail test despite wide scope
The National Heritage and Resources Act (NHRA) has broad guidelines for structures to fall into the heritage orbit, which is not only limited to the actual ...
Russia launched a new cruise missile barrage on Thursday against critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. About 36 missiles were launched from the air and sea; many were intercepted. It was the first major bombing in a week, but one of more than a dozen such attacks since early October.
Russia is likely to continue suffering mounting casualties as it recruits more ill-equipped and ill-trained soldiers and intensifies attacks in eastern Ukraine, according to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A UK-based think tank said Russia may have lost half of its main battle tanks in the past year. Google said Russian state-backed hacking attacks on Ukraine are near-constant.
Key developments
Putin’s war is crippling Ukraine’s economy — maybe Russia’s too
EBRD warns on sanctions-busting as Russia neighbours’ trade booms
Russian hackers slammed Ukraine last year, says Google
Displaced Ukrainians are reinventing their lives
US concerned Iran and others are helping Russia to secure chips
Ukraine invasion shows world’s war machine needs more ammunition
On the ground
One person was killed, eight injured and more than 80 residences damaged in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, after Russia’s overnight missile attack. Ukraine’s air defences downed less than half the 36 Russian missiles fired overnight. Air defence spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat put out another urgent call for modern air defence systems.
Russian forces on Wednesday continued offensive operations around Bakhmut, along the western outskirts of Donetsk City, and in the western Donetsk oblast, said the Institute for the Study of War.
Estonia calls for €100bn in aid for Ukraine this year
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur made the call at a news conference in Tallinn with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Pevkur said the Europe Union should jointly provide Ukraine with one million artillery rounds this year, in accordance with an Estonian proposal that the bloc’s member states are reviewing, and that Nato allies should increase their annual defence spending “closer to” 2.5% of GDP.
Read more: EU must spend $4bn on ammunition for Ukraine, says Estonia
Israel to help Ukraine build missile warning system
Israel will help Ukraine develop an early warning missile detection system and provide up to $200-million for healthcare and other civilian projects, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.
Cohen’s announcement followed a meeting with his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba during the first high-level Israeli visit to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last year.
“I am proud to stand with Ukraine in the face of these challenging times, and Israel is committed to continuing our support,” ...
The academic year has started on a shaky note for tertiary institutions across South Africa after the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s decision to cap accommodation allowances left many students without housing. Both the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape have shut down their campuses, while other universities are in talks to try to find solutions.
Universities across South Africa are not having an easy start to the academic year as students struggle with housing, fee blocks and financial exclusion. With the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) both shutting down their campuses on Monday because of protests, tensions are rising on campuses across the country as Students’ Representative Councils (SRCs) search for solutions.
New year, same issues
This is not the first time that the academic year has begun with protests and chants of dissatisfaction from students. The focus of student protests in 2021 and 2022 was the increasing burden of student debt that, for many, was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Statistics show that national student debt increased by R3-billion between 2020 and 2021, with the total debt at R16.5-billion by the end of 2021.
With student debt ballooning, it is unsurprising that student protests have focused on alleviating financial pressure — especially since many universities place fee blocks on students who have accumulated a certain amount of debt. This often prevents students from registering and completing their studies.
This year, students have gathered to protest again, and there is another layer that has complicated things — the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
NSFAS has made a decision to cap accommodation allowances and students say these allowance limits aren’t feasible because of the high costs of living and housing. The decision has put a lot of pressure on universities as many students have been left without adequate solutions, with black and poor students being disproportionately affected.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has released a report that outlines an investigation into the allocation of funds within NSFAS. Outa noted that despite cutting subsidies for student accommodation this year, NSFAS spent more than R166-million on office rental space, which means NSFAS is on average paying R74,000 per employee per year to lease its offices.
Outa has also investigated two other tenders within NSFAS and “questions the value of these contracts, particularly in the light of the NSFAS reduction of subsidies for student accommodation”.
Read more in ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
On the eve of a court case over social housing in Cape Town, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, speaking during the State of the Province Address, said activists were disrupting the government’s efforts to provide affordable housing.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has said affordable housing activists who have illegally occupied Cape Town buildings “hinder our ability to deliver thousands of opportunities for those who need it the most”.
Winde made the remarks during his State of the Province Address on Thursday at the provincial legislature chambers in Cape Town.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Alan Winde highlights three key themes – energy, mobility, and policing – in between the heckling”
Winde said his government’s attempts to build better communities by delivering critical infrastructure and services were under attack from extortion mafias and syndicates.
“As always, it is the residents who suffer the most.
“It is not only extortion, it is also stealing other people’s rights to home ownership by illegally occupying sites that are earmarked for social housing and mixed-use developments, like the Helen Bowden site, Woodstock Hospital and other locations,” said Winde.
Government-owned sites near central Cape Town have been occupied by various groups, including members of housing activists Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi, who call for social and affordable housing in well-located areas.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Landmark moment for activists in the battle for affordable housing in Cape Town’s inner city”
“These illegal occupations hinder our ability to deliver thousands of opportunities for those who need it the most,” said Winde.
The premier said the province had delivered 394 social housing opportunities, with projects such as Maitland Mews (204 units), Regent Villas (Mitchells Plain, with 60 units) and Conradie Park Phase 1 (130 units).
Read more in Daily Maverick: “First Pinelands social housing units handed over, but Ndifuna Ukwazi says Western Cape has a long way to go”
Ndifuna Ukwazi was not happy with Winde’s remarks.
Nick Budlender, a researcher at the organisation, told Daily Maverick: “The premier’s claim that building occupations explain the province’s complete failure to build well-located affordable housing is not only inaccurate, it is also dishonest.”
Budlender said Helen Bowden and Woodstock Hospital, which have been renamed Ahmed Kathrada House and Cissie Gool House respectively, were vacant for a decade or more before being occupied, with no real movement on housing development at either site.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“In fact, the province wanted to convert the Woodstock Hospital ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Five months after its inception, Build One South Africa has unveiled 10 key policy proposals, including nuclear energy, a basic income grant, tax holidays and free WiFi, and announced its provincial leaders, giving the party a national footprint ahead of the 2024 general elections.
As South Africa’s unemployment stats sit at 32.9%, the new kid on the block, Build One South Africa (Bosa), led by Mmusi Maimane, says there is a dire need for the immediate creation of Township Special Economic Zones (TSEZs) and the implementation of a basic income grant.
Maimane addressed members of the media in Johannesburg on Thursday where he unveiled his party’s 10-point plan ahead of the 2024 general elections. He lambasted the failures of the current administration of government, slamming a number of social ills including corruption, record levels of unemployment, the energy crisis and crises in policing, education and healthcare.
The TSEZs, if implemented, would bring townships closer to mainstream economic opportunities and according to Maimane would be funded from the sale of listed shares owned by the government’s Industrial Development Corporation, currently valued at more than R100-billion.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Government doesn’t need to own shares in big companies. Rather, township economies need to be stimulated and funded to uplift communities, create new jobs and wealth for disadvantaged citizens,” said Maimane.
Also on the cards is a basic income grant, which Maimane says should be “an unconditional cash grant” paid to young South Africans. In 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government was looking at introducing a universal basic income grant (UBIG).
There have been numerous suggestions about the amount at which a UBIG should be set. Researchers from the Institute for Economic Justice have outlined a set of options, ranging from the food poverty line of R585 per month to the initial starting level of the national minimum wage of R3,500 per month.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Yes, we can afford a Universal Basic Income Guarantee”
Another priority outlined by Maimane is a temporary tax holiday for first-time employees who are graduates. He also hinted at grants for the unemployed wishing to start businesses.
Electoral Act amendment
Maimane also deliberated on the amendment of the Electoral Act which would enable citizens to directly elect their public representatives at local, provincial and national levels and to hold them accountable.
Parliament’s National Council of Provinces in November 2022 passed the Electoral Amendment Bill that makes narrow, technical ...
Local governments back many projects where people can grow vegetables in urban areas. But researchers say it’s not enough to curb hunger in South Africa’s growing cities.
By 2030, over 70% of South Africa’s population will be living in or around towns, but the country’s plans to curb hunger aren’t keeping pace.
Local governments back many projects where people can, for instance, grow vegetables in urban areas, but researchers argue that it’s not enough.
The best way to keep people fed in cities is to make sure they have easy, affordable access to healthy food through good town planning and allowing street vendors and hawkers to do business legally.
In the northern suburbs of Cape Town, between Parow and Belville, lies Ravensmead, an area spanning scarcely 11km2 and home to about 30,000 people. The roughly 8,000 households here have, on average, just under R10,000 a month to live on, and for many there isn’t always food on the table, says Tracey-Ann Manus.
Manus runs Garden of Blessings, growing vegetables such as cabbage, pumpkin and butternut in her back yard to help residents source healthy food. Her garden feeds up to 300 people – she also hands out veggie seed packs to encourage people to grow their own crops at home.
This is an example of an urban agriculture project, of which there are more than 6,000 in Cape Town alone, some backed by funding schemes and some, like Manus’ garden, running solo.
Urban agriculture projects can be anything from rooftop gardens to a small patch of open space in a city where people grow vegetables together, and even small farms on the outskirts of a town.
Statistics South Africa says the country as a whole appears to have enough food to feed everyone. But things look less rosy in many households. Data shows that in 2019, about one in six South Africans had too little to eat every day. This number jumped to almost one in four in 2020, likely because of the economic slowdown brought on by the pandemic.
City gardens like Manus’ project are commonly touted as the solution to food insecurity in urban areas in Africa. (Being food insecure means not having enough food every day to keep you active, strong and healthy.)
But, say researchers, cities need more than simply having spaces for growing food to make sure people have enough to eat.
Growing food for growing towns
People living in big towns or cities (in other words, ...
Residents of the Eastern Cape town of Komani say they will continue to protest until the Cabinet dissolves the troubled Enoch Mgijima Municipality.
Residents of Komani in the Eastern Cape took to the streets on Thursday, bringing the town to a standstill after receiving no response to their demand that the national government dissolve Enoch Mgijima Municipality.
Businesses that tried to stay open were forced to close as hundreds of people went through the town enforcing compliance with the protest.
The protesters gathered early in the morning at the Thembisile Chris Hani Hexagon, their regular meeting place since the start of the protests, and began moving through Komani singing, dancing and chanting, calling for the municipality to be dissolved.
Some called for Enoch Mgijima Municipality’s mayor, Madoda Papiyana, to be removed. Municipal services also ground to a halt as workers were forced to leave their offices.
The protests have continued for some time.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Komani residents threaten total shutdown, demanding the dissolution of ‘failed’ Enoch Mgijima municipality”
In a statement on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had briefed Cabinet on recent talks with stakeholders in Enoch Mgijima.
Cabinet approved a Section 139(7) intervention in the troubled municipality in April 2022.
“The Enoch Mgijima Municipality had been experiencing significant financial and service delivery failures for a long time before the intervention,” said Gungubele.
He said the Cabinet appreciated the seriousness of the identified issues and assured residents that a decision on how to address the municipality’s challenges would be communicated soon.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Oops, it’s gone dark again in Komani”
Speaking to Daily Maverick, Komani Protest Action (KPA) leader Axolile Masiza said the protest would continue until Dlamini Zuma came to Komani and addressed the residents.
“We received a phone call from her office telling us that the Cabinet will respond to our demand in a week or two weeks,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The protest will continue until the municipality is dissolved,” vowed Masiza.
He said some businesses supported their call while others wanted to stay open.
“We will deal with those who won’t close their doors. We are planning a consumer boycott where we will not support the businesses that refused to close their doors. We have a list of all the businesses that opened.”
Masiza said the Cabinet’s delaying tactics were not helping ...
Researchers have plotted the movement of Anopheles mosquito populations in sub-Saharan Africa, and found they are moving deeper into southern Africa and to higher elevations than previously recorded.
Over the last century, malaria-carrying mosquitoes have been migrating across Africa and scientists warn that climate change could be to blame.
From data that date back 120 years, researchers have been able to plot the movement of Anopheles mosquito populations in sub-Saharan Africa, and they found they are moving deeper into southern Africa and to higher elevations than previously recorded.
They estimate that these populations are gaining an average of 6.5m of elevation a year and are increasing their ranges south of the equator by 4.7km a year.
“There has been a lot of forecasting work; we know a lot more about the future than the recent past. But this is the first time that we have sat down and said, we know that these species are supposed to be moving in a world that is 1.2 degrees warmer, but how did it start?” explains Colin Carlson, an assistant research professor at the Centre for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center in the US.
Carlson was the lead author on a study that appeared in the latest issue of the journal Biology Letters. He added that this movement is what science would expect to see if climate change was helping these species reach colder parts of the African continent.
Mosquitoes are now found in the highlands of east Africa, at altitudes of 2,000m.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The data that the researchers used began to be collected shortly after the Scottish physician Ronald Ross proved the complete life cycle of the malaria parasite in mosquitoes in 1897. Colonial epidemiologists across Africa began identifying and looking for malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes.
The problem, Carlson and his colleagues found, was that there were gaps in the data, particularly from the early days.
“This data recorded that at this location, this species of mosquito was seen. What we don’t necessarily have is absence. So, we don’t have people taking down records and saying I’m at 2,500 metres elevation, no mosquitoes today,” Carlson explains.
The quality of the data improved in the 1940s and 1950s after global malaria eradication programmes were launched.
However, even with the introduction of these eradication programmes, malaria remains one of humankind’s biggest killers.
The World Health Organization estimated that in 2020 there were 241 ...
Twelve formerly wild cheetahs, which have been in holding pens for over seven months, are scheduled to be crated and flown to India on Friday, 17 February. But a conservation group is trying to stop this from happening, declaring it a violation of regulations.
The cheetahs are destined for Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, central India, to join eight others imported from Namibia in September 2022. The cats have been penned since July last year, awaiting the go-ahead. The deal has now been signed off by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs.
From the beginning, there has been controversy about the project. Kuno National Park is unfenced and surrounded by farmers with cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and dogs. The young of the first three could prove tasty, the last may be a vector for distemper and rabies. The park also contains leopards, wolves and striped hyenas.
Lawyers acting for the EMS Foundation have petitioned Environment Minister Barbara Creecy to stop the export until the risks to the animals’ survival are properly established and public comment has been obtained. They have deemed the export effectively illegal.
The export is said to be the first of a relocation of 120 wild cheetahs to India over a period of 10 years.
EMS Foundation lawyers say the export is based on an outdated non-detriment finding (NDF) – such findings by the Scientific Authority are required to ensure export is not detrimental to the wild population.
They say the finding permitting the cheetah export was based on a 2020 NDF that is out of date, was not ratified and was only issued for public comment.
So the export is effectively based on a 2015 NDF “and does not appear to be robust” because that NDF recommended a zero export quota.
Read on Daily Maverick: Twelve Southern African speed cats travel 9,000km to bring extinct cheetahs back to life in India
Vulnerable
Cheetahs are vulnerable and decreasing in number, with an estimated 6,517 alive globally. Their populations are extremely fragmented and confined to around 9% of their historical range. Most are on unprotected lands and face multiple threats.
According to the letter to Creecy, an unacceptable number of cheetahs are likely to be lost through the stress of translocation, having to undergo a long quarantine, having to deal with unfamiliar predators and the fact that the reserves in India are unfenced, which will bring them into conflict with humans. There is also a disease risk.
“There ...
This year is the 20th anniversary of Pepfar — the US ‘President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief’. It is the most important public health/foreign assistance initiative ever undertaken, becoming a template for international efforts against other diseases.
Pepfar arose out of a White House decision to bring together concerns about Africa, the president’s relationship to America’s evangelical community, and the advice of healthcare professionals to address the Aids crisis. It represents George W Bush’s positive contribution to the world.
Back in the early 1980s, the public and medical circles across the globe were starting to come to grips with a terrifying new disease with a very confusing profile. From the beginning, it was being identified in diverse, seemingly unconnected communities of people. But what did it all mean?
This disease was infecting gay men, Haitians, airline cabin crew members, blood transfusion recipients, intravenous drug users, members of artistic and cultural communities, and then African Americans and Africans more generally, but all of its victims were being infected by still-unknown vectors or causes.
At least initially, treatment regimens largely consisted of symptomatic, palliative care, aimed at making those who were infected more comfortable — that is, until they died from the effects of opportunistic, and hard-to-contain conditions such as Karposi’s sarcoma.
From the vantage point of current circumstances in which HIV/Aids is a controllable condition and not a death sentence – as long as patients follow a regimen of anti-retroviral medicines – it may be difficult to remember just how much this disease was provoking a growing terror.
Worse, there was a growing revulsion against those infected — fuelled by the fact its aetiology remained a mystery, and by virtue of the virtual certainty of death, once a person was infected.
In those years, this infection was spreading rapidly worldwide. Initially at least, South Africa was spared from the worst spread of the disease due to its global isolation as a result of its apartheid policies.
Following the collapse of the apartheid system, the new, incoming South African leaders tended to underplay Aids’ impact as an emerging national public health emergency. This was likely due to still-low levels of infection, as well as their belief in the need to focus more attention on other needs for government.
Given the challenging state of South Africa’s health sector, it should not have been surprising that HIV/Aids was making real inroads into the country’s most vulnerable communities. This was especially the case for ...
In a wide-ranging presentation, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis reflected on the city’s problems and possibilities. and the matter of a projected population increase to 10 million within a generation.
Decay and decline are not inevitable: Another future is realisable, with Cape Town showing the way. That’s the picture of tomorrow painted by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, at a Citadel event in Claremont on Wednesday evening.
Reminiscing about the first few weeks of the hard lockdown in 2020, Hill-Lewis said that when he was finally able to visit their “local” wine estate, De Grendel, he had an existential moment:
“All of us [in South Africa] were feeling pretty down about the lockdown. But this was a perfect, perfect day, and I was having a glass of wine with my wife, with a view of Table Mountain, in this incredible, magnificent city. I remember thinking, there is no other place like this in the world. This is where I want to be. this place – Cape Town – is irreplaceable.”
With that in mind, as Hill-Lewis was pondering tossing his name into the ring for the mayorship, he began strategising about what needed to be done to make Cape Town more resilient.
Resilience and planning for the future have been key themes of his 14 months’ tenure as mayor.
“There’s an opportunity for Cape Town to be much more assertive about that which it can do as a competent, well-run local government. And we can start to do something about these things. We have this platform of really sound financial management over many years in the city. We can also start to address some of the pressures which are already under our control.”
But Cape Town is already a victim of its own success: it has become Ground Zero for urbanisation and migration in South Africa. It is bursting at the seams, which is putting massive pressure on the city’s infrastructure.
Hill-Lewis said the city has an urgent need and the ability to push hard on infrastructure to ensure it can stay ahead of the curve; to ensure that development and densification can happen.
In the next few years, Cape Town’s population is predicted to explode: by 2025, about 5,133,370 people are expected to live in the city – the projection is that within a generation, 10 million people will call the Mother City home.
Such rapid growth places massive pressure on infrastructure and other resources. Hill-Lewis asks, what will a city ...
Crypto provides residents of failed states with at least one small option because it operates beyond any state. Of course, the same facility makes it useful for black market operators. Yet I wouldn’t throw out the former because of the latter.
Like a lot of people around the world these days, I tend to get lost down some rabbit hole or other on YouTube and other social media. It’s always intriguing what your algorithm decides you want to see. I often wonder why social media sites don’t cut us some slack and allow us to manipulate our algorithms to make ourselves seem more interesting to ourselves.
But the one good part of my algorithm is that it has decided I’m interested not only in music, dancing and comedians but also in investment. So I get fed hundreds of little snippets of the great and funny things Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have said over the years, for example.
They both have a gift for entertaining analogies and witty asides, and I’m always amused when Munger says something so outrageous that even Buffett demures. One great example is when Munger was explaining about investing in the internet, saying when you have an investment opportunity that has great potential to improve society but also has the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme, then you are in a difficult situation. But, he added, “If you make turds with raisins, you still get turds.” Buffett, sitting next to him, laughed and said, “You can see why they make me write the annual report.”
Munger also once said that what he really needed to get ahead in life was to compete with idiots, “and luckily they are in a large supply”. He added, “If other people weren’t wrong so often, we wouldn’t be so rich.”
Only an idiot would disagree with Buffett and Munger, whose track record is just astounding. But may I just say Munger has said something with which I disagree. In a short article in the Wall Street Journal, Munger argued that the US should ban crypto. So, well, that set the cat among the pigeons.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
I should say I disagree, but with reservations. Munger argues that “cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security. Instead, it’s a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house.” This kind of wild and woolly capitalism ...
After a sitting US president tweeting about the biggest national sports event got more views than Elon Musk, the business magnate who bought Twitter instructed engineers to devise a system so all of his tweets would be seen by everyone. I kid you not.
Buying Twitter had been the biggest mistake of Elon Musk’s otherwise stellar career. He will live to regret it and it will forever tarnish his reputation. Far removed from his original plan to “unlock” Twitter’s “extraordinary potential”, Musk is behaving like a spoilt billionaire brat with a truly regrettable narcissistic streak. It’s really not a good look.
This week as Americans fixated on the annual Super Bowl extravaganza, Musk inserted himself into the centre of attention because his tweets didn’t get the same engagement as US President Joe Biden’s humorous one. I kid you not.
The manner in which it was done was painfully revealing of the continuing trainwreck that is Musk’s $44-billion takeover of the “digital town square”.
His cousin James Musk messaged Twitter engineers at 2.36am on Monday, February 13, just hours after the Philadelphia Eagles won the game. Biden’s tweet about his wife supporting them received 29 million views; while Musk’s tweet, which he subsequently deleted, only got 9.1 million.
“We are debugging an issue with engagement across the platform,” James Musk wrote on the internal Slack messaging app. “Any people who can make dashboards and write software please can you help solve this problem. This is high urgency. If you are willing to help out please thumbs up this post.”
Some 80 Twitter staff were tasked with fixing Musk’s declining popularity and decreasing engagement with his tweets.
“Employees worked through the night,” reported the excellent Platformer publication, and one possibility was that “Musk’s reach might have been reduced because he’d been blocked and muted by so many people in recent months,” Platformer reported. Even before this, “Musk’s long stint as Twitter’s main character, both in the run-up to and aftermath of his $44-billion takeover, had led huge numbers of people to filter him out of their feeds.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
So now everybody on Twitter gets to see every one of Musk’s tweets — even if they don’t follow him, as some people have noticed.
Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist” but he demonstrably isn’t. He has unbanned a bunch of toxic characters that Twitter quite rightly banned — including former US president ...
The pledge by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to attempt to procure a functional mining cadastre this financial year appears to have meant that it only planned to request proposals for one in that time frame. So it is likely to take at least another year before the light of transparency can finally reveal the real state of play of mining rights in South Africa. Meanwhile, expect investment and confidence to fade further.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe provided more clarity on his department’s slow-motion and fumbling attempts to replace its utterly useless Samrad system with a functional mining cadastre in his Sona debate address on Tuesday.
“The DMRE (Department of Mineral Resources and Energy) is. seized with addressing the backlog in prospecting and mining applications. In the last 18 months, we have reduced the backlog by 42%. The procurement of a customized cadastral system is under way. In this regard, a request for proposal will be issued by no later than the end of this month, February 2023,” the minister said near the end of his speech.
“Seized” has become the term du jour among government speech writers in South Africa, which is ironic because departments like the DMRE seem anything but. “Seized” with stalling for time seems more like it, and the cadastre is a transparent case in point.
To wit, a mining cadastre is an online portal that allows the public easy access to view existing mining rights, exploration permits and related things, as well as the known geological features of a mining jurisdiction. It also allows companies to apply for various mining, exploration and prospecting rights while viewing what is already in play and what companies are involved.
Backlog
The lack of one is a key reason behind the backlog of prospecting and mining applications that Mantashe referred to, and is also a significant obstacle to fresh investment in South Africa’s mining sector. This delays new projects, the jobs they could create, and the contribution they could make to gross domestic product and the fiscus, among other matters.
In short, it is emblematic of South Africa’s failing state and the shattered economy that is among its many consequences. But is there a sense of urgency? Well, new coal deposits might form first.
In October, the DMRE signalled its intention to procure a cadastre by the end of this financial year, but that seemed like a tight time frame. Now it ...
Question: My husband passed away last year, and I receive a pension from his old company. This pension is one of those fixed pensions with annual increases that I will receive for the rest of my life. I am 55 years old. I recently did my income tax return and was shocked to see that when I add his pension to my salary, my tax rate will increase by 10%. What can I do?
Answer: In the past, there were two taxpayers in your household and now there is only one. This will result in any additional income that you receive from your husband’s pension being added to your income, increasing your marginal tax rate.
I do not have enough information on your situation to give you a categorical answer on what you can do, but I will run through an approach that I would have followed.
I would try to reduce your overall taxable income by as much as possible. This is difficult while you are receiving a salary, as your options to reduce your income will be limited. Once you retire, you will be able to choose a lower drawdown rate on your annuity and reduce your tax bill.
At this stage of your life, the only option open to you is to invest in a retirement annuity. You are allowed to contribute up to 27.5% of your taxable income to a retirement annuity. This amount will come off your taxable income.
I will give you a simplified example below to help you understand how this could work:
Assume that you earn R300,000 a year and the spouse’s pension that you receive comes to R200,000 a year.
Before your husband passed away, your tax bill would have been R43,495.
Now that you receive the additional spouse’s pension, your tax bill increases to R103,402.
You may invest 27.5% of the R500,000 income that you receive into a retirement annuity. This comes to R137,500.
This investment will reduce your taxable income from R500,000 to R362,500. And your tax bill would drop to R60,214.
Your investment of R137,500 would give you an immediate saving in tax of R43,188. This is a very clever way of reducing your tax bill and improving your overall financial wellness.
Funding this can be a challenge. If you received a cash payout as part of your husband’s group life scheme, then you could use some of this to invest in retirement annuities until such time as you retire ...
Geopolitical risks are on the rise, foretelling the end of a 30-year period during which economic prosperity superseded political machinations. That means governments will drive the economic agenda and complexity and change lie ahead for the private sector, some of which is already under way.
Every sophisticated piece of weaponry sent to Ukraine and every Chinese balloon shot down by the US take us a step closer to an era in which geopolitics will supersede politics and governments will drive the policy agenda.
This “politics-over-economy” world order will replace 30 years during which geopolitics took second place in the race to achieve ever-stronger growth rates through globalisation, trade and free market economics.
Less obviously, it could upend, or at least have an impact on, the ubiquitous borderless technological transformation that has changed our lives so profoundly. Think TikTok, developed in Beijing and now available in more than 150 countries, and the groundbreaking digital cross-border payment alternatives.
In a recent Harvard Business Review piece, Hemant Taneja, the CEO and managing director of global VC firm General Catalyst, explored the impact of a re-globalising world on venture capital — the lifeblood of the innovation that has powered these disruptive forces and changed the face of many industries for the better.
He says: “In the era of economics over politics, it seemed like we were moving to a borderless world where the digital reigned over the physical, and where technologies easily proliferated across the globe through unencumbered markets.”
Instead, Taneja sees the “great power competition and increased nationalisation” that is the driving force behind re-globalisation as likely to “introduce increasingly complex, systemic challenges that will require new types of technology, innovation, and collaboration to solve”. The bottom line: venture capital investments will need more capital, greater collaboration, the patience to sit out more extended investment periods and greater attention to governance considerations.
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Not only will more capital be needed but the cost of funding will increase in an era when money is no longer cheap. Collaboration will entail cooperation with government institutions driving investments into energy, technology and defence solutions at scale. Governance will require venture capitalists to take on a level of responsibility not experienced before, “given the profundity of these challenges and their potential implications on people and societies”.
Taneja defines re-globalisation as governments seeking to balance the benefits of globalisation, which is unlikely to disappear because the costs ...
The DA declared its support for the declaration of a State of Disaster to deal with the Eskom crisis as far back as May last year — only to turn around and reject it when President Cyril Ramaphosa embraced their idea.
Thanks to well-timed rolling blackouts in the Cederberg, I was spared having to watch yet another of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Addresses (Sona) last week. From what I gather from the text of the speech and responses from the commentariat class, the speech was too long, exceptionally tedious, too technocratic, and lacking in heart.
Ramaphosa also seemed to have delivered the speech with the charisma and energy of a pap snoek. It was also a blessing to be spared from having to witness yet another round of the tedious big-cock politics of disruption so beloved by the EFF, as well as from the usual displays of triumphant philistinism by some ANC and opposition MPs.
To be honest, had I been given a choice between having to watch Ramaphosa delivering the 2023 Sona, or having to spend several days trapped on the MSC Sinfonia with other Kappityt Festival cruise passengers and being forced to watch every single Steve Hofmeyr performance on that cruise, it would have been a difficult choice to make.
With Steve being booted from the cruise, the Kappityt Festival would have won hands-down — even if it meant that I would have had to listen to Karlien van Jaarsveld singing her famous hit, “Rooilipsoene”, 10 times each day. Go, Karlien! (If I may make a suggestion to the organisers of the Kappityt Festival, why not invite Dodo Nyoka, the young cowboy who sings in Afrikaans, and had a hit last year with his song, Foto’s, in which he sings about wanting to enjoy life by getting a bit drunk, having a braai, and making a few mistakes.)
The big “news” of the night was obviously the declaration of a national State of Disaster, ostensibly to allow the ANC government to fix the rolling blackouts crisis created by the very same ANC government over the past 15 years. As I argued last week, it is not clear that the declaration of a State of Disaster will allow the government to do much to deal with the crisis that it would not have been able to do otherwise.
But the most surprising development of the night came when DA leader, John Steenhuisen, ...
Employers who have a zero-tolerance policy on drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace must ensure that it is legally watertight.
While labour legislation encourages employers to adopt disciplinary rules that establish the standard of conduct expected from their employees, these rules must be reasonable, consistent with laws and public policy and not be arbitrary, capricious or unfair.
That said, how do the requirements of reasonability and justifiability apply when employers want to implement a zero-tolerance policy or approach?
This question was addressed in the recent decision of the Labour Appeal Court in SGB Cape Octorex (Pty) Ltd vs Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council and Others.
In this matter, the employee worked as a supervisor at SGB Cape Octorex, a company that supplies equipment such as scaffolding, rope access and thermal insulation.
One of SGB Cape’s managers was informed that the employee was seen smoking cannabis while on duty. The manager confronted him with the allegation. The employee denied that he had been smoking any drugs.
The employee then took a urine and saliva test, both of which showed the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, in the employee’s system. He was charged with the disciplinary offence of having tested positive for THC, was found guilty, and dismissed.
He challenged the fairness of his dismissal. The arbitrator found the dismissal to be substantively unfair for the following reasons:
The employee pleaded guilty after the test results;
He had a clean record during his four years of employment;
He was a first-time offender;
The employer did not suffer any prejudice;
Because of his behaviour, the employee had been promoted to a supervisory position;
The employee was unlikely to repeat the same offence; and
The relationship between the parties could be restored.
On review, SGB Cape argued that the arbitrator had ignored the zero-tolerance policy adopted by the employer on the use of drugs in the workplace. The Labour Court found that the zero-tolerance approach contention had no substance because no evidence was presented at the arbitration in this regard.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Interpreting smoke signals — while it may be legal to use cannabis, you could still be fired for testing positive at work”
The court also found that there was no evidence that the employee had compromised the safety and integrity of other workers. Ultimately, the review application was dismissed.
On appeal, the Labour Appeal Court disagreed with the arbitrator and the Labour Court’s findings. It found that:
The employee only admitted guilt after ...
A look at the claims and the facts.
Maverick Citizen earlier this week published a guest editorial by Gun Free SA’s director, Adèle Kirsten. In response, we received a number of complaints by gun advocates alleging factual inaccuracies in the article. To set the record straight, we invited Kirsten to address the issues raised and provide sources and evidence to support her claims. – Mark Heywood, Maverick Citizen Editor
Read more in Daily Maverick: “30 people die by the gun every day in SA – it’s time to stop the violence”
Claim 1: Knives – not guns – are the leading murder weapon in South Africa.
Fact: Guns are the leading murder weapon in SA, and have been since at least 2015/16 (when information on weapon use was first published).
After not publishing this for a number of years, information on the weapons used in murder was provided for the years 2015/16, 2017/18, 2017/19 and 2020/21 in response to two parliamentary questions.
It was also provided in SA Police Service (SAPS) presentations on annual crime statistics for the years 2017/18 (slide 23); 2018/19 (slide 27) and 2019/20 (slide 18).
From this information, we can see that more people were murdered with guns than knives from as early as 2015/16 (see Table 1).
Further, in 2018/19, firearms replaced all stab-related deaths (knife and other sharp weapons combined) as the leading weapon used in murder (see Graph 1).
SAPS did not provide information on weapon use in 2020/21, but has provided it for the first two quarters of 2022 (April to June and July to September) Note: Information for April to June 2022 was downloaded from “police recorded crime statistics – Republic of South Africa” on 19 August 2022. A video of the presentation, including slides, is available here: “Police Minister Bheki Cele presents the quarterly crime statistics”.
As summarised in Table 2, the latest quarterly crime statistics show that 5,574 people were murdered with a gun (averaging 30 people a day over 183 days) and 2,866 were stabbed (1,866 with knives and 1,001 with other sharp weapons, e.g. broken bottles, averaging 15 sharp-wound deaths a day).
Claim 2: Licenced gun owners and businesses (such as trainers and dealers) are responsible and law-abiding.
Fact: There is evidence that thousands of licenced gun owners and businesses have broken and continue to break the law.
Licenced gun owners have not always complied with the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (FCA). Failures include:
Not relicensing firearms under South African law:
The ...
In acknowledging that South Africa does have a high rate of violent crime, it is important to examine the root causes of this violence and not simply blame guns as the sole cause.
I feel it is my duty to address the recent claims by Adèle Kirsten regarding gun violence in South Africa. While it is important to acknowledge the very real issue of violent crime in our country, it is equally important to ensure that the information presented is accurate and does not mislead the public.
Read in Daily Maverick: “30 people die by the gun every day in SA – it’s time to stop the violence”
The available statistics can be easily skewed to suit specific agendas. Kirsten claims that 30 people are killed per day by gunshot, but we believe the actual number is lower than that.
According to recent rankings by Wisevoter, drawing on the latest statistics from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and The Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease study, South Africa has a murder rate of 34.4 per 100,000 people, which includes 16.95 deaths by stabbing and 4.87 by gunshot per 100,000 people. This means that while gun homicides are a serious issue, they are not the most common means of homicide in our country. Knives and other weapons are more prolific than gun homicides, and should not be overlooked.
Furthermore, Kirsten’s decision to use the tragic death of a celebrity to push her own agenda is not only disrespectful to the deceased and their loved ones, but it also undermines the very serious issue of violent crime in South Africa. Thousands of people are murdered in our country each year, and their deaths are not on the radar of the media or in public discourse. We must remember that every victim of violent crime is someone’s loved one, and their loss is felt deeply by those left behind.
At the South African Gunowners’ Association (Saga), we are committed to promoting the safety of all South Africans, not just those who choose to exercise their constitutional right to own a firearm. We understand that the issue of violent crime in our country is complex, and requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account all the factors that contribute to it.
We also understand that many South Africans feel powerless in the face of violent crime, and that the criminal justice system is often unable to provide the justice they ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa tethered his administration to ending rolling blackouts in a State of the Nation debate reply on Thursday that also signalled the departure of Deputy President David ‘DD’ Mabuza from the government.
It was a meandering speech that lasted just short of 60 minutes, which started with President Cyril Ramaphosa greeting ANC backbencher Paul Mashatile in his role of ANC deputy president as part of the welcome to leaders of political parties represented in Parliament.
It ended with thanks to Deputy President David “DD” Mabuza for his “unwavering support” over the past five years and “the work he has done for this nation and all of us”.
Mabuza had “indicated his wish to step down from his position. This is a request I am considering and attending to”, said Ramaphosa.
After weeks of speculation and political noise about a Cabinet reshuffle, the presidential greeting and thanks signal an acknowledgement of patience running out, if not the roil in the governing party.
Ramaphosa would not have missed that at least two ANC speakers during the parliamentary debate on his State of the Nation Address (Sona) publicly recognised Mashatile in the ANC seats.
It’s not the first time the ANC has had a different deputy president in Luthuli House to the one in the Union Buildings, but it is the first time that the governing party’s deputy president sits in the parliamentary benches waiting for his appointment as second-in-charge in the government, never mind the traditional ANC blather about doing the will of the branches.
In 2005, Deputy President Jacob Zuma stayed put in the party as deputy president even when President Thabo Mbeki fired him over corruption scandals on 14 June that year as his deputy in government. Zuma subsequently resigned his parliamentary seat. But the July 2005 ANC National General Council overturned a National Executive Committee decision that Zuma should vacate the party’s deputy presidency.
On Thursday, when Ramaphosa delivered his reply to an acerbic two-day debate on his Sona, ANC contestation still needed to play itself out — both in party and government.
It was the contestation across the party political landscape that Ramaphosa addressed with what seemed to be disappointment about the lack of enthusiasm for his call for joint action to solve South Africa’s “challenges”, and his measures to end rolling blackouts with a State of Disaster and the appointment of an electricity minister in his Presidency.
Both measures were roundly criticised by opposition speakers ...
In this short film, Capetonians tell of their paths of revenge after the senseless murder of their children or loved ones.
“A bullet hasn’t got a name or an address,” says Allan Rehbok, founder of the Healing Waters Community organisation. In this short film, Capetonians tell of their paths of revenge after the senseless murder of their children or loved ones. The participants discuss how gangsterism, the Numbers gangs, drugs, illegal guns and police corruption weave a web of crime on the Cape Flats.
They also share how they now strive for positive change through local organisations such as the Healing Waters Community and Manenberg Safety Forum. Also, meet the man who calls himself a “mix masala”, and his story of being adopted and changing his “race” status when he had to go to prison.
Tales of Crime & Redemption
This film was produced by Street Talk TV, a groundbreaking television and film series aired weekly on community television and on YouTube. In 15-minute films, we capture and expose the lived realities and uncensored views of South Africans.
Street Talk TV, a non-profit organisation, was launched in 2008. For more than 600 searchable films and our latest news, visit us at www.streettalktv.com,/ &/@StreetTalkSA
Disclaimer: Street Talk TV encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of participants who appear in the series — Street Talk TV — are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the producers. DM
It is not inconceivable that there may be political movements in South Africa, or fragments of those movements, who would ‘recruit’ staff at Eskom power plants to sabotage generation and supply, while making nice in legislatures around the country.
There is by now an almost complete acceptance that South Africa is in the grip of an electricity supply crisis, and that alarm bells are going off in the highest offices of the land – as well they should.
There is, also, sufficient consensus on the main cause of the electricity crisis – the failure of the state to heed early warnings, and the gradual breakdown of infrastructure. These explanations satisfy, but is there a missing element? Are there other forces at work? Maybe.
One of the likely causes of the crisis may be sabotage, an issue which comes up from time to time (see here, here and here), but it is rarely investigated fully. Maybe it is, or has been, but there certainly is no evidence or public statement about it from the state. We are left then to speculate, as we may.
To begin with we probably have to ask who would benefit the most from the collapse of the electricity supply.
Is it disgruntled white people who would like to see the ANC-led government fail? It is not inconceivable.
Is it disgruntled workers within Eskom? We cannot rule this out.
What about political opponents; could they be behind the breakdown(s) in power supply? Maybe.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Beware the populist politics of fear and resentment that pave the path to authoritarianism”
The ANC-led government’s main political adversary, and the one that has the most to gain, is the movement that rejects democratic republican government and constitutionality. Such a movement, and its lust for power with all its pecuniary opportunities – concealed behind a fig leaf of “revolution” – would have the most to gain from overthrowing the government, by all and any means necessary.
A perverse two-level game
Radical populists and revolutionary parties play a perverse two-level game, quite different to that of conventional foreign policymaking where policy is made while looking inward and projected outward. In a perverse process, political movements, especially the leader, keep a straight face while “ground forces” engage in subterfuge.
Such a movement, in other words, has a dual-policy approach to political economy and political processes in the country. Above ground, in public, it would participate in formal political processes, while working underhand to ...
The sections render asylum seekers ‘undocumented’ if they do not renew visas within one month of expiry date.
The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town has won a significant victory against the Minister of Home Affairs in the Western Cape high court, which has declared sections of the Refugees Act unconstitutional.
The sections in question provide that asylum seekers who have not renewed their visas within one month of the date of expiry are considered to have abandoned their asylum applications.
This, Scalabrini argued in its application before Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath, meant that delinquent asylum seekers were considered to be undocumented, treated as “illegal foreigners”, without access to jobs and social services, and faced deportation.
Scalabrini launched a constitutional challenge against two sections of the Refugees Act as well as parts of the Act’s regulations.
In her ruling this week, Judge Goliath deemed these sections and regulations unconstitutional. This ruling, however, will still have to be ratified by the Constitutional Court.
Scalabrini’s core mandate is to assist and safeguard immigrants and displaced communities, including asylum seekers and refugees. It is also a member of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants South Africa (Cormsa) which comprises 26 organisations with similar objectives.
Scalabrini previously obtained an interdict against the Minister, suspending the implementation of the relevant sections of the Act and the regulation, pending the outcome of the constitutional challenge which then was heard by Judge Goliath.
The organisation argued that those who did not reapply within the legislated time frame were deemed undocumented. Even though they had a valid refugee claim, they could be sent back to their countries where they may face persecution, death, torture, sexual violence and other threats. It said that Home Affairs officials had a duty to ensure that people are given a reasonable opportunity to apply for a visa.
This, it was argued, violated the right to non-refoulement (a fundamental principle of international law which forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country where they would be likely to be in danger of persecution).
Cormsa, admitted as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the matter, made submissions about the impact of “abandonment rules” on asylum seekers, particularly their children and ability to protect themselves. The consortium said the provisions in the Act were counter to the protective goals and purpose of domestic and international refugee law.
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Judge Goliath said the ...
Afrophobia has become deeply institutionalised in post-apartheid South Africa as hostility towards migrants and refugees persists, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
About two million immigrants live in South Africa, many of whom have difficulty accessing public services like healthcare. Medical Afrophobia in the context of South Africa refers to the fear or hatred of people from other African countries who seek medical treatment or services in South Africa.
This phenomenon is often fuelled by prejudice and misinformation and has led to discrimination, violence, and other forms of mistreatment against foreign nationals seeking medical care.
Many South Africans have expressed concerns about the burden that foreign nationals may place on the country’s healthcare system, and there have been instances of violence and harassment against African foreign nationals seeking medical care.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Operation Dudula calls off protests at Kalafong hospital after ‘fruitful’ meeting with health minister”
Sadly, African foreign nations have been constantly made scapegoats for the public health systems in crisis due to government failure. Such a blame game is done to divert attention from severe challenges facing the governance of public health.
In addition, our society needs to understand that healthcare is a basic human right, and every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their cultural or national background. Discrimination in healthcare is a breeding ground for medical Afrophobia and undermines the principles of healthcare.
It is misplaced to ask whether or not migrants put undue strain on the healthcare system. The reality is that South Africa’s health system has been plagued by problems and it functions poorly as a result of poor governance. There are general shortages of nurses and doctors, high workloads, and low morale among staff.
Additionally, there has been massive government corruption, mismanagement, State Capture and apathy over many years and these also play a role. People move into and across South Africa, which is a reality that needs to be planned for.
Groups like Operation Dudula have pushed an anti-immigrant sentiment which is closely linked to the country’s dire economic situation, partly caused by increased poverty, scarcity of resources and high unemployment rates.
In September 2022, hostility against foreign nationals was exhibited by members of Operation Dudula outside Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Pretoria. One of the most recent incidents was in January 2023 when members of Operation Dudula chased away African migrants from the Jeppe Clinic in central Johannesburg.
Consequently, the Collective Voices, ...
‘This is the Western Cape, not a circus’ – interjected Freedom Front Plus member Peter Marais amid heckling as Western Cape premier Alan Winde delivered his State of the Province address on Thursday.
Heckling – and heated responses to it – marked Alan Winde’s State of the Province Address (Sopa) in the provincial legislature’s chambers, where he said he had instructed the provincial treasury to allocate R1-billion over the next three years to respond to the energy crisis.
The heckling came from both the DA and ANC caucuses.
At the start of the sitting, Cameron Dugmore, leader of the official opposition ANC, asked members of the legislature not to repeat the scenes from last week’s State of the Nation Address, where the EFF disrupted proceedings and were removed.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The first 45 minutes — High drama as EFF members booted out after trying to storm the City Hall stage”
But it appeared Dugmore’s plea had fallen of deaf ears as both sides raised points of order and comments, which prompted Freedom Front Plus member Peter Marais to interject. “I want to appeal for sanity,” he said, urging that there should not be a repeat of what happened at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address.
“This is the Western Cape, not a circus,” exclaimed Marais, who threatened that if he could not hear the Sopa, he would not take part in the Sopa debate, which will take place on Friday.
After things calmed down, Winde talked extensively about his plans for the province.
Energy crisis
The premier announced he had requested the provincial treasury to allocate R1-billion to respond to the energy crisis in the upcoming three-year budget cycle. This would be to respond to the short-term impact of rolling blackouts on government services, and secure diesel to keep essential public services running during load shedding. The allocation would also help to buffer schools from power cuts as “our children’s education must come first”.
Winde also announced the start of his weekly digital briefings – which took place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – where energy will be the main focus. “We will tackle the energy crisis like we tackled the Covid crisis,” he said.
He also referred to an injection of R89-million to help local municipalities procure generators to help tackle water and sewage supply problems as a result of higher stages of power cuts.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Western Cape pumps R89m into generators as backup for municipal ...
Retail executives earn 700 times more than the lowest-paid workers in their industry.
An amendment to the Companies Act — when it is finally passed into law — should provide welcome information on differences between the highest and the lowest paid employees in a company, in a country which is one of the most unequal in the world.
Three-quarters of employed people in the country earn less than R5,800 per month, according to Business Market Research. Yet South African chief executive officers (CEOs) are among the best paid in the world. When ranking CEO salaries, a 2016 Bloomberg survey found that South African CEOs were the seventh most highly paid. But our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head is only 68th in the World Economics Global Wealth rankings.
Remuneration of directors is among the most hotly debated topics in corporate governance, with shareholders wanting information and directors wanting privacy. Some policy on this does exist in the King Report on Corporate Governance.
But the Companies Amendment Bill will elicit much more detailed information, by compelling companies to divulge the difference between lowest paid and highest paid workers — or at least to be more transparent on these numbers. Explaining the Bill, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition says on its website: “The Bill seeks to clarify responsibilities between directors and senior management on the one hand, and shareholders on the other hand as well as addressing public concerns regarding high levels of inequalities in society. Excessive remuneration particularly at the highest levels of a company is a matter of great concern internationally and in SA.
“The amendments respond to shareholder concerns regarding excessive executive pay through two principal mechanisms: first, greater disclosure requirements in annual reports of companies; and second, improved shareholder rights in respect of remuneration policies.
“Amendments in the Bill require that certain categories of firms disclose information on the remuneration of directors and prescribed officers. Furthermore, it requires that companies disclose the average remuneration of all employees, and the ratio between the total remuneration of the top 5% highest-paid employees and the total remuneration of the bottom 5% of the lowest-paid employees of the company. Shareholder approval is required for the company’s remuneration policy.”
The bill was posted for comment in October 2021, and the comment period expired 30 days later. But the department says it is still processing the bill.
In South Africa, the average CEO gets a total guaranteed annual package of ...
It has taken three years for the Judicial Conduct Tribunal to hear complaints against ‘Prasa judge’.
The four-day Judicial Conduct Tribunal against Judge Tintswalo Annah Nana Makhubele, based on complaints from activist group #UniteBehind, will begin on 21 February.
Over three years have passed since the complaint against Gauteng high court Judge Makhubele was lodged with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The complaint relates to the judge’s conduct while she was chairperson of the interim board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
The three-person tribunal will be led by retired former Judge President of the KwaZulu-Natal high court Achmat Jappie, retired Judge Seun Moshidi, and advocate Noxolo Maduba-Silevu.
GroundUp previously reported on the difficulties that the tribunal has faced to get going.
UniteBehind lodged a complaint with the JSC against Judge Makhubele in December 2018. It claimed that she is guilty of gross misconduct for her role in the controversial Siyaya matter, in which the judge is alleged to have circumvented Prasa’s legal department to settle with a corruption-accused service provider, and that she had violated the separation of powers principle by acting as chairperson of Prasa while also being a judge.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Siyaya DB, owned by Makhensa Mabunda (who set up the Swifambo “tall trains” deal), tried to claim a R56-million settlement from Prasa despite objections by Prasa’s legal department, headed by Martha Ngoye, that the company was possibly involved in corruption at the rail agency. But Judge Makhubele overruled the legal department, resulting in R56-million being seized from Prasa. Ngoye and her colleague, Fabni Dingiswayo, were forced to go against the judge’s instructions, and in an urgent application convinced the court to reverse the transaction.
In March 2020, we reported that the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) had recommended that the complaint should be referred to the Judicial Conduct Tribunal for “investigation and determination”.
In October 2020, Judge Makhubele appeared at the Zondo Commission to explain and defend her conduct at Prasa. Later that month, Judge Makhubele was suspended by president Cyril Ramaphosa.
In January 2022, retired Judge Fritz Brand, who had initially been appointed as tribunal president, chose to withdraw from proceedings despite admitting in correspondence that there were no good grounds to do so. Judge Makhubele had sent letters lobbying the JSC to have Brand recuse himself. DM
First published by GroundUp.
A new report says the Russian private military company has its eyes on Cameroon and Burkina Faso as its next targets.
The sinister Wagner private security company with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin seems poised to further extend its already considerable operations across Africa.
This warning has been issued in a comprehensive new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crimes (GI-Toc) entitled The Grey Zone: Russia’s military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa, written by Julia Stanyard, Thierry Vircoulon and Julian Rademeyer and supported by Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation.
The authors detail the Wagner Group’s extensive military, economic, political, criminal and disinformation activities, mainly in the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali and Sudan, but also several other countries such as Madagascar. And they caution that Wagner seems to be preparing to explore new frontiers, particularly in Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
The report suspects Wagner is about to expand into these new countries despite having withdrawn considerable numbers of its troops from Africa to bolster Russia’s stymied effort to seize Ukraine. Wagner was founded and is still run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been described as “Putin’s chef” because he used to provide catering services to the Kremlin. After years of denial, Prigozhin finally admitted his ownership of Wagner in September 2022. The mercenary company has been playing a significant role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, including recruiting convicts to be thrown into the front line as cannon fodder.
The authors suggest that rather than prompting Wagner to withdraw from Africa, the Ukraine war has given it a new incentive for greater involvement because the money it earns through dodgy mining contracts in countries like CAR and Sudan is helping Russia to offset the economic impact of heavy Western sanctions imposed on it because of the invasion of Ukraine.
The Grey Zone notes that the US and the European Union and others had already sanctioned Wagner and Prigozhin for their activities in Ukraine and Africa. Last month the US went further, designating Wagner as a “transnational criminal organisation” paving the way for even tougher sanctions. But the authors recommend that other nations should considerably intensify sanctions against Wagner to try to curb its nefarious activities in Africa especially.
These include “systemic and grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, disappearances and summary execution,” the report says, quoting from a UN report on Wagner’s activities in CAR. But the report ...
The shootings come barely 24 hours after guards on a housing construction site revealed to Daily Maverick their fears amid alleged Mafia-like extortion in Delft.
Gunmen have struck again at the Symphony Way Housing Project site, this time leaving a security guard dead and her male colleague wounded. The shootings come barely a week after the City of Cape Town put up a R5,000 reward in response to the wounding of three workers at the site.
The latest victims were guarding the R500-million City project on Thursday when the gunmen fired at them several times.
Their motive is unknown, but mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi has previously said attacks on this and other building sites in the metro are linked to extortion. A day after the earlier attack, the site was petrol-bombed.
On Thursday, construction was immediately halted following the shooting while police combed the site for leads. Ward councillor Michelle Adonis said trucks and tractors stopped immediately and workers congregated in a safe area.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said that following the shootings police found the body of the 48-year-old guard inside a vehicle on the corner of Magalies and Mandara streets at N2 Gateway. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the scene.
Her colleague had been taken to a nearby hospital.
The killers fled and police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder, Swartbooi added. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
On Sunday, the City said housing projects worth about R1-billion were under threat as Mafia-like gangs and extortionists repeatedly vandalise or destroy homes being built for thousands of beneficiaries across the city.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Extortion by gangs is hampering the delivery of housing projects in Cape Town, with Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis warning against a potential ‘mafia state’ if it is not reined in”
Petrified
On Wednesday, when Daily Maverick visited the site to investigate reports of extortion, the guards on duty appeared petrified. One said: “Please don’t show the logo of our company. Take the pictures from our back. We come to work to earn a salary so that we can put food on the table.
“We know it is dangerous working at the site because we don’t know when the shootings start. None of us know if we are going to make it to our home at the end of the day.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, ...
‘Everything was lost during the eviction. Now I sleep with my children in a room with many others’ says mother evicted by alleged Operation Dudula members.
The recent spate of attacks on immigrant communities in and around Johannesburg’s inner-city has forced human rights advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri), to prepare litigation against members of Operation Dudula.
According to Zolile Shude, a candidate attorney at Seri, they will be filing court papers with supporting affidavits from some of the many victims targeted by Operation Dudula.
This follows the “violent” and “forceful” mass eviction, allegedly by Operation Dudula members, of about 400 people from the Ellis Park building, also known as Msibi House in Doornfontein in December.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Immigrants forced to survive in the midst of Joburg’s squalid ‘dark buildings’”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Group allegedly fronting as Operation Dudula evicts vulnerable dwellers of Joburg’s ‘building of darkness’”
“The eviction was very violent. We are consulting clients and plan to take legal action against Operation Dudula. [Those who were evicted] are now scattered across the Joburg CBD. Dudula as an organisation is difficult because we have little information about who they are,” said Shude.
Shude said that Dudula is not above the law, despite the movement’s claims that it wants to “restore order” by conducting these illegal evictions.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Inside Joburg’s building of darkness, where migrants live in fear as Operation Dudula threats amplify”
“They are conducting illegal evictions without considering that the Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) exists. But with Dudula it’s not just evictions, it’s turning people away from healthcare, it’s chasing children out of school, stopping informal traders and all of these things which are violent and unconstitutional.
“All of these things are happening in front of the police who are said to be doing nothing. We are concerned and will try and see what is possible legally going forward,” said Shude.
GroundUp recently visited a group of 40 families who were among 400 people forcefully evicted from the Ellis Park building. They say members of Operation Dudula raided the building while assaulting mostly immigrant people, confiscating their furniture and many other belongings.
The people we visited, mostly women and children, say they had nowhere to go and are now squatting in two rooms in a building on Jeppe Street. Inside the rooms are piles of bags filled with whatever they could grab during the chaotic ...
Lewis Hamilton won’t be silenced on political issues in 2023 despite a directive from Formula One’s governing body for drivers to steer clear of politics.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton vowed on Wednesday to continue speaking out despite Formula One’s governing body clamping down on drivers making “political” statements.
The most successful driver in the sport’s history has used his platform to highlight racial injustice, promote diversity and address a range of issues from the environment to human rights.
The governing FIA updated its International Sporting Code last December requiring prior written permission to make or display “political, religious and personal statements or comments” at races.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, an Emirati who has since said he will stand back from day-to-day affairs in Formula One, said also he did not want to provide “a platform for private personal agenda”.
The move has been criticised by a string of drivers as well as rights groups.
“I wasn’t really watching the news over the winter, but I heard it,” Hamilton (38) told reporters after the launch of his Mercedes team’s new W14 race car at Silverstone.
“It doesn’t surprise me, but nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I’m passionate about and issues that there are.
“I feel the sport does have a responsibility to speak out on things, to create awareness on important topics, particularly as we’re travelling to all these different places,” added the Briton.
“So, nothing changes really.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Olympic Games underline that politics is sport and sport is politics”
Asked whether he would be prepared to take a penalty, Hamilton added: “It would be silly to say that I would want to get penalty points for speaking out on things. But I am still going to be speaking my mind as we still have this platform, there are still a lot of things we need to tackle.”
He said all the drivers were aligned on freedom of speech and praised Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali for his support.
Teammate George Russell said the FIA’s move was “totally unnecessary” and that he was confident the situation would be resolved before the start of the season on 5 March.
“We’re not going to limit our views or our thoughts because of some silly regulation,” he told reporters. “We’re all here to have free speech and share whatever views we may have.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The first two races of ...
It’s the Monaco of Cape Town, a playground for the super-rich in a city infamously neglectful of its poor. Cut off, more than ever, from the city of which it is supposedly a part, it has become concerned only with itself, the sybarite at the dinner table, the narcissist you once thought you knew. It’s time to hit pause.
Three decades on, and developments continue apace at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. Will its development ever end before there’s no space left for the ships? Before we all struggle to remember what anything ever looked like in its nascent days?
Revisiting the V&A Waterfront decades after you first stood under the steel girders of what was to become its flagship mall is a strange experience. How could there be so much of everything? How do you find your way any more? Any focus has long perished; in its place, a perplexing maze of brick, steel and glass, punctuated with bobbing boats with their skippers touting for your custom, almost everything designed to enthral and inspire. But collectively its effect is to overwhelm and confuse.
Everything is expensive. The clothes are expensive, the art, the appliances, the food, the coffee, even the Coke. Nothing here speaks to the ordinary person with a monthly budget to come out on and all the pressures most of us face. It is there for the fat-wallet tourist more than for the people of the city it is meant to serve. The Waterfront is not separated from the city it serves by design or artifice; it is separated from most of us by having done too much too fast, for too long, and it has lost its charm and character somewhere along the way.
Go away from the Waterfront for five minutes and when you return there’ll be another new development, another renovation, another innovation. Something will be gone, something new will be coming soon, all manner of other things will be pending.
The V&A Waterfront cannot stand still. It fidgets and shifts, eternally fretting about its future while slowly, irrevocably consuming itself. And off it goes again in 2023, in search of yet more reinvention of the copiously reinvented. The Union Castle building precinct, where Vaughan Johnson et al plied their wares, is undergoing a massive revamp with all sorts of wonderful things promised soon. The Cape Wheel is moving, making way for a piazza to accommodate public transport. A rooftop ...
There had been questions on whether the tournament would take place, or whether South Africa would participate in the wake of host Turkey still reeling from a deadly earthquake. The team finally answered those questions as it landed in the country.
South Africa’s senior women’s soccer side arrived in Turkey on Wednesday. Banyana Banyana are set to participate in the Turkish Women’s Cup as part of preparation for the Fifa Women’s World Cup — which is now just five months away.
With the transcontinental country still picking up the pieces after a deadly earthquake struck the country and parts of neighbouring Syria — there were question marks on whether the annual tournament will continue, or indeed whether it should continue — all things considered.
The local organisers, plus the Turkish government, as well as world soccer governing body Fifa, greenlighted the tournament — which is set to take place in the city of Alanya (where the effects of the quake are not as significant as other parts of the large country).
In spite of the organisers opting not to can the tournament in the wake of the natural disaster — which has now claimed over 40,00 lives since it happened over a week ago — a couple of nations scheduled to participate have pulled out.
One of those is Venezuela, which Banyana Banyana was set to play against. The South Americans confirmed this in a state on their website.
“The Venezuelan Football Federation informs the general public that due to the latest events in Turkey and Syria, and in solidarity with those affected in both nations, the women’s team will not be in Alanya to play the Turkish Women’s Cup 2023,” stated the Venezuelan federation.
Jordan also pulled out of the Turkish tournament, citing “the current situation there and the repercussions of the earthquake” as the reason.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Hosts Turkey are also out of the annual event, for obvious reasons. Some of the players have relatives, friends and acquaintances that have been impacted by the unfortunate happening. The Turks were also set to be one of Banyana’s opponents.
Banyana will now only play Uzbekistan and Slovenia in the round-robin phase. The first match is on Saturday, 18 February. The second encounter is three days later.
The South African Football Association (Safa) said it consulted “extensively” before allowing the team to depart for the grief-stricken nation.
“While the tournament is going ahead, the ...
Vitamin D has many health benefits, and not having enough of it could lead to potentially severe issues. Luckily for us, the vitamin has one special quality that sets it apart from the rest: its power to harness the sun and synthesise in our skin when exposed to UV radiation.
Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus, which helps build healthy bones. Some studies have also linked vitamin D deficiencies to chronic diseases like autoimmune disease, some cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes.
There is also research that suggests that vitamin D can protect against respiratory infections, tuberculosis and asthma exacerbations. It is also believed to influence brain growth, development and overall health, with some studies finding that it decreases the risk of developing dementia and can positively improve symptoms of depression.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Increase your vitamin D intake to decrease your dementia risk, study finds”
On the other hand, deficiencies in vitamin D can lead to severe health problems.
In children, vitamin D deficiency manifests in rickets, which causes soft bones and skeletal deformities. In adults, it can lead to osteomalacia, where the existing bone is demineralised and weakened, resulting in deformity, pain, hypocalcemic seizures, tetanic spasms and dental abnormalities. In 2019, research published in The Lancet estimated that about one in five people living in Africa have inadequate levels of vitamin D concentration.
To maintain healthy concentrations of vitamin D, adults need up to 15 micrograms or 600 international units (IU) of the nutrient every day, according to the US National Institutes of Health.
However, vitamin D can be more difficult to find, since it is present in relatively few foods.
Though it can be found in fare such as fatty fish, egg yolk and mushrooms, as well as supplements, it also has a special superpower: it can be made from sunlight that shines onto the skin. And with a limited number of foods offering this nutrient, this dermal synthesis is a major natural source of vitamin D.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The “sunshine vitamin” is made when the skin absorbs the sun’s UVB rays, which then breaks down the steroid 7-dehydrocholesterol, to convert it into vitamin D3, one of the two forms of the vitamin, which can then be used elsewhere in the body.
While it is agreed that vitamin D is a vital nutrient and that ...
The Copyright and Performers’ Protection Amendment Bills have far-reaching implications for many sectors. It is essential that the current provincial hearings be made as accessible as possible using all the technology deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As South Africa “teeters on the brink” of one “abyss” after another (to reluctantly borrow a phrase used most recently by former DA leader Tony Leon in a TimesLIVE opinion piece), we may need to be reminded about the importance of public participation in the law-making process.
Many bills passed by Parliament and signed into law gather dust for years before being operationalised — but nobody ever explains why or even asks. Some acts are declared unconstitutional, requiring amendments that often take far longer to remedy than the Constitutional Court’s standard two-year timeframe.
Occasionally, the president pre-empts this tortuous exercise by expressing concerns about certain sections of a bill and returning it to the National Assembly to be rectified. Which is what happened to the long-beleaguered Copyright and Performers’ Protection Amendment Bills, as some readers know only too well.
Now being processed by the National Council of Provinces (Ncop), these bills are in the early stages of a series of public hearings at which stakeholders and ordinary South Africans will voice support for (or concerns about) their contents.
This second round of public participation began — somewhat unceremoniously — in Oudtshoorn on 31 January 2023, hosted by the Western Cape legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism.
Arranged as part of a broader programme of oversight visits to that part of the province, the hearing was announced well in advance on various social media platforms — followed by photographs of the event, appropriately captioned.
Unfortunately, however, it was neither live-streamed nor covered by local media. No arrangements were made for virtual access to the hearing — and no committee statement on its proceedings was published on the legislature’s website, although an audio recording was made.
Hopefully, this will be used to prepare a report for the site, but there’s still no evidence of one more than two weeks later. An accurate summary of the views expressed would be invaluable in developing an understanding of grassroots perspectives on the bills.
Nevertheless, hope springs eternal in this particular human breast. Four more hearings are planned, although one (a hybrid event) does fall on the same date as the NCOP committee’s first parliamentary hearing on the bills (albeit later in what promises to be ...
The African Union must be bold, decisive and consistent in resolving tensions and competition among its members and regions.
The annual African Union (AU) summit will be held this week for the first time since 2020 without Covid-19 restrictions. It coincides with the fragile return to peace in northern Ethiopia, the resurgence of widespread instability in the Great Lakes and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to raise questions about African positions.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council’s paralysis over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine illustrates a crisis of global multilateralism. While this observation is rarely extended to Africa, several developments suggest a similar crisis of African multilateralism.
These include the failure to manage post-coup transitions and the impasse surrounding regional sanctions and suspension regimes, confusion about AU vs regional bloc responsibilities and the practical implications of subsidiarity, and the difficulties regional security systems face in tackling violent extremism.
The AU is Africa’s most representative international organisation. Through consensus, it establishes means for states to cooperate and sets norms of accepted behaviour. Its capacity to provide pragmatic solutions to key summit agenda items this week will show its resolve to fix the crisis of multilateralism.
During the summit, the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) will meet to discuss the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) crisis and its regional implications. This will be the PSC’s first meeting at heads of state level on the issue since 2016. The main challenge will be to agree on the AU’s role in resolving a crisis in which it has had little direct involvement.
Alongside the UN, mediation is currently dominated by the Nairobi Process initiated by the East African Community and the Luanda initiative launched by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The PSC has a role in coordinating regional efforts, but several of its member states have a seemingly narrow conception of subsidiarity. As a result, the AU, especially the AU Commission, is sidelined as soon as a regional bloc is involved.
Beyond harmonising initiatives in the Great Lakes, can the PSC create a consensual solution given the regional tensions and competition? South Africa, which is convening the PSC meeting, wants to regain a foothold in the Great Lakes since the DRC joined the East African Community. (The DRC is also part of the Southern African Development Community.) This will test the capacity of regional powers (Angola, Kenya and South Africa) to collaborate for ...
Research shows we make better judgements about music when hearing and seeing it, and classical music was designed to be experienced live.
Classical music is surprisingly controversial.
For some, it’s a pinnacle of cultural achievement. For others, it perpetuates class inequality and upholds “white middle-class social domination”.
To controversy, we can add contradiction! We love to hear the instruments and idioms of classical music in film and television (think of the theme from The Crown or the music from the Harry Potter films), but experience has shown classical music is most effective at repelling loiterers from public spaces.
Engaging with the controversy and contradiction of this music requires more than streaming a minute or two of Mozart. Research shows we make better judgements about music when hearing and seeing it, and classical music was designed to be experienced live.
So are you considering giving classical music a go? Here are some tips for first-time concert goers.
Where should I start?
Concerts range from intimate performances by solo players to major works for choir and orchestra featuring hundreds of musicians.
Terms like “chamber” (small ensembles like string quartets), “choral” (choirs large and small), “orchestral” (ranging from larger string ensembles to giant collections of strings, winds, brass and percussion) and “opera” (companies of musicians that include orchestral players, solo singers and sometimes a chorus) describe different groups of musicians.
Each has its own repertoire and a dizzying array of terms (such as aria, concerto, sinfonia, oratorio and cantata) help describe the pieces these ensembles perform.
The more you get to know classical music, the more you’ll understand and appreciate the terminology.
One of the most common types of classical music you’ll come across is a symphony. A symphony is a substantial orchestral work with different sections or “movements”, each with a different character and tempo. Though the term “symphony” became popular in the 18th century, composers are still writing symphonies today. Symphonies differ in purpose and duration. They can be as short as ten minutes and as long as two hours.
Sammartini’s Symphony in F from 1740, for example, has three movements and lasts about ten minutes. Its movements have simple, direct structures that aren’t too far removed from pop songs in terms of complexity and scope.
Mahler’s third symphony from 1896, on the other hand, has six movements and lasts for 90 minutes. Its breadth and complexity are astounding.
I would suggest a first-timer selects an orchestral concert with multiple pieces on the program. You ...
Though entrepreneurship of any kind is not easy, it can instil tenacity in the face of adversity. There are lessons here for trainee teachers.
The daily headlines from South Africa are largely gloomy. The country’s government seems unable to address a years-long electricity crisis that is steadily worsening. Unemployment is high. Food prices are climbing. But there are pockets of excellence – like stories of social entrepreneurship, an approach that uses business principles to create positive social and environmental impact. It involves identifying social problems using entrepreneurial principles to develop, fund, and implement solutions.
Though entrepreneurship of any kind is not easy, it can instil incredible tenacity in the face of adversity. There are lessons here. For the past seven years, I’ve sought to help trainee teachers harness those lessons by introducing them to the concept of social entrepreneurship.
To do so, I start with “Who Cares?”, a documentary by Brazilian filmmaker Mara Mourão. It’s about social entrepreneurs from seven countries who discover new and innovative ways to solve some of society’s most pressing matters. They do so while working with few resources and catering to fundamental human needs that governments, particularly in the global south, cannot provide.
I use this film in my classes to assist future teachers in understanding how global problems influence countries and to encourage students to think critically and imaginatively about ways to help lessen inequality in their communities.
This is critical for teachers. Many of the students who graduate from our programme will go on to work in disadvantaged communities where social entrepreneurship could create real change. It could also give pupils a chance to explore how they might pursue social entrepreneurship as a career.
How it started
The major aim of existing school and university curricula is to prepare students for higher education and to acquire a degree and subsequently work for a company. The emphasis is on improving people’s own lives rather than thinking about how to assist the communities in which they reside. By teaching my students about social entrepreneurship, I offer them a practical way to enact social justice. This is the notion that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities in society’s social, economic, and political spheres.
In 2016, I set out to study whether a group of 43 future teachers could grasp and apply the concept of social entrepreneurship.
I was drawn to social entrepreneurship education because it often incorporates hands-on, experiential learning, which may be more ...
In the latest round of by-elections the ANC failed to win back Newcastle, lost a ward in Mtubatuba to the IFP and lost control of Cederberg. However, it went up percentage wise in every by-election on Wednesday night. Despite short-term setbacks, there were some silver linings for the ruling party on the road to 2024.
Team Sugar and Cederberg Eerste holding their wards in two competitive contests suggest they are not fly-by-night parties. They won over the voters’ trust in 2021 and retained that trust on Wednesday night. These two local parties provide a blueprint for other aspirant local parties on how to set up shop and remain relevant to local voters.
KwaZulu-Natal
Ward 31 (Madadeni R Muiskraal) in Newcastle: Team Sugar 50% (31%) ANC 34% (29%) IFP 10% (22%) Ind-Shabalala 4% EFF 1% (6%). Poll 43% (43%).
The setting: Madadeni R and Muiskraal are townships east of the Newcastle town centre. Newcastle is the largest municipality in the Amajuba District and is one of the key centres of economic activity in northern KwaZulu-Natal. It is known for its steelworks, cement industry and chrome chemical production. The Amajuba District also includes Dannhauser and eMadlangeni (Utrecht).
The 2021 local government election: The overall result in Newcastle was arguably the ANC’s worst in the province. The party lost almost half its seats as the IFP, regional party Team Sugar and the EFF all ate into its impressive majority. The IFP grew from 11 seats to 18 and the EFF from five to eight, while Team Sugar made an impressive debut, winning seven, including two ward seats. The ANC fell from 40 to 22 seats. The IFP was able to win the mayoral chain with support from the EFF, Team Sugar, the DA, ActionSA and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+). Team Sugar walked away with the deputy mayorship, a position occupied by its leader, Musa Thwala. The IFP took the coveted speaker position.
Team Sugar won the ward by 40 votes in a competitive three-horse race. It beat the ANC by having a greater margin of victory in Muiskraal, than what the ANC had over Team Sugar in Madadeni R. Even though the turnout was slightly higher in Madadeni R and even though just over 50% of the voters were in Madadeni R, the ANC’s poor showing in Muiskraal saw the party lose the seat. Incidentally, the margin of victory was even closer on the proportional representation (PR) ballot ...
Raquel Welch, the film actress whose sultry, curvaceous looks made her a leading sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, has died at age 82, the French news agency AFP reported on Wednesday, citing her manager.
Welch came to the wide attention of moviegoers for her role in the 1966 sci-fi adventure Fantastic Voyage, followed by her iconic appearance later that year in the prehistoric drama One Million Years B.C.
Although Welch had just a few lines of dialogue in B.C., images of her memorable appearance in a fur-skinned bikini made her a bestselling pin-up that transformed her into a global sex symbol.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Steve Gorman; Editing by Leslie Adler.)
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has come under scrutiny by the United Nations following its proposed plan to curtail the operations of non-government organisations ahead of the country’s general elections, expected later this year.
Despite criticism from opposition legislators in Parliament and some civil society groups, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is forging ahead with its plan to enact the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill that would severely restrict civil space and the right to freedom of association in the country.
With Zimbabwe only a few months from general elections expected around mid-year, some opposition parties and civil society organisations have accused Mnangagwa’s administration of doing more to close the democratic space and doing too little to promote fundamental human rights, warning this could result in the country heading for another disputed election.
The PVO Bill, which now awaits Mnangagwa’s assent before it becomes law, recently sailed through the National Assembly and the Senate – Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF party enjoys a majority in both legislative houses.
The United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteurs released a statement from Geneva, Switzerland, this week expressing concern that the oversight regime in the bill for civil society organisations provides for “disproportionate and discretionary powers” to the newly established Office of the Registrar of PVOs, without independence from the executive arm of government. The UN experts warned that actions considered to be in breach of certain provisions in the bill will lead to criminal prosecution with penalties ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment.
‘Chilling effect’
“While one of the stated aims of the bill is to counter terrorism and money laundering in Zimbabwe, the restrictions contained therein will have a chilling effect on civic society organisations – particularly dissenting voices. By enacting this legislation, authorities would effectively be closing an already shrinking civic space,” reads part of the UN experts’ statement.
Meanwhile, the UN experts, in 2021, submitted an analysis of the bill to the Zimbabwean government concluding that the proposed amendment was incompatible with international human rights obligations – in particular the right to freedom of association.
Musa Kika, the executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, warned that if signed into law, the legislation would result in many citizens failing to access most of their basic needs.
“The [PVO] bill is potentially the most consequential bill in recent times for ordinary citizens, many of whom rely on NGOs for food, education, healthcare and WASH [water, sanitation and hygiene] services. So ...
Parents and their children from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas were left frustrated this week as minibus taxi operators blocked scholar transport from taking children to school.
‘I had to take unpaid leave because I had no one to look after my child,” said Sanelisiwe Mafenuka after her 10-year-old son was forced off scholar transport this week.
“We are being bullied by taxi drivers and the law enforcement agencies are doing nothing.”
Thousands of Western Cape learners missed classes this week as minibus taxi operators blocked private and public scholar transport from taking pupils to their schools.
Areas affected include Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Delft and Kraaifontein.
Mafenuka said school exams are around the corner and learners cannot afford to miss classes.
“The two previous years were stressful enough because our children missed school due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first-quarter exams are about to be written and the taxi drivers are preventing children from learning.”
[WATCH] Minibus taxi operators prevented scholar transport from transporting children to school in Khayelitsha, Site C. The taxi industry wants scholar transport contracts be given to them
Veve (@LudidiVelani) February 15, 2023
Education MEC David Maynier said minibus taxi association members had been threatening and harassing drivers who have contracts with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to prevent them from transporting learners.
He said the illegal blockade by minibus taxi associations escalated on Tuesday, with more than 5,000 learners being prevented from attending school in Khayelitsha and neighbouring areas.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“This is an attempt to muscle in on transport contracts and to extort money from the Western Cape Education Department,” he said.
“The minibus taxi mafia has now escalated their action, by threatening to ‘offload’ learners from any transport not operated by the associations, including the cars of parents doing everything they can to get their children to school safely.”
Daily Maverick saw images of learners having to hide while being transported to school as drivers feared being stopped and asked to offload the learners or be turned back.
This is how some children were transported to school this morning. Hidden from minibus taxi operators that are blocking scholar transport from transporting children to school in Khayelitsha and neighbouring areas. supplied
Veve (@LudidiVelani) February 15, 2023
In one video, taxi operators can be seen blocking private scholar transport vehicles from operating.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Santaco threatens to take 15,000 taxis off streets if Blue Dot pilot project is halted”
‘We want to go ...
An electricity minister in the Presidency duplicates the responsibilities of ministers in a ‘bloated mega-Presidency’, according to IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa, the chairperson of Parliament’s spending watchdog, Scopa. His comments came in the Sona parliamentary debate in which ANC speakers hailed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership.
“Every time your ministers don’t perform, instead of firing them you protect them by taking things into the Presidency. Be decisive, Mr President. Fire them! Don’t have a nanny Cabinet. If they are not working, fire them.”
Looking at President Cyril Ramaphosa during Day Two of the Sona Parliamentary debate on Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chairperson, IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa, didn’t mince his words.
“It seems to us you have no confidence in your own ministers,” he said before setting out how most, if not all functions currently located in the Presidency should actually be in departments.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus should be in the National Youth Development Agency and the labour ministry. The Presidential Climate Commission should be in Environmental Affairs. Mineral Resources and Energy should run the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) alongside the Just Energy Transition, while infrastructure should be in Public Works and the presidential red tape reduction unit at Small Business Development.
Instead, all are in the Presidency, said Hlengwa, who at Scopa must deal with financial fudging at best and, at worst, abuse of authority, money and procurement.
“You are overstretching yourself and your ministers are sitting at home doing nothing,” said Hlengwa.
His comments came in the wake of the 9 February State of the National Address (Sona) in which Ramaphosa stepped off the traditional Sona outline of the government’s programme for the year.
“We are not presenting new plans, nor are we outlining here the full programme of government,” the President had said, raising four issues: rolling blackouts, joblessness, poverty, and crime and corruption.
And Sona 2023 seemed more about what the Ramaphosa Presidency does, rather than his administration. Three ministers were cited — not by name — as “minister of finance”, “minister of public enterprises” and “minister of cooperative government”.
On the rolling blackouts, Ramaphosa announced the forthcoming appointment of an electricity minister in his Presidency, and a National State of Disaster to accelerate the plans he and Necom had established in the Presidency already in July 2022.
Ramaphosa spoke about the Presidential Climate Commission and the Just Energy Transition and its funding that all are in the Presidency, as is the joint ...
The latest round of floods have washed away crops and roads, and devastated farming infrastructure in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
Farmers in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga are still counting their losses after severe floods over the past week.
Eastern Cape farmer Luvo Kiyane said dams had overflowed and their walls had broken due to the recent floods.
“Our fences have been swept away and we have lost a lot of crops. The maize that we have planted has turned yellow as it is in the water and there are no chances that it will grow again,” said Kiyane.
He said farmers had lost animals due to unknown diseases since last week’s floods.
“We are trying to vaccinate them for one disease but you notice that they have another and it is hard for us to maintain this,” he said.
Road damage
According to Kiyane, the floods have swept away all the access roads to farms in the area and farmers are forced to leave their cars at the tar road and walk long distances to get to their farms.
“After walking long roads to the farms, we can’t get inside the gardens to spray and kill the weeds. The situation is bad and there are no words to express it,” he said.
Another Eastern Cape farmer, Simon Sutton, said the biggest damage caused by the floods was to roads and fences.
“Some farmers have had their dam walls break due to the floods. The other huge problem is the municipal roads that are not fixed. The water swept them away and this will be a big problem when we have big trucks to come and collect the produce,” he said.
He said the problem with roads had been ongoing. Some had not been repaired for more than two years.
“The floods have made the roads even worse,” said Sutton.
Irrigation challenges loom
South African Canegrowers CEO Thomas Funke said parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal had seen severe flooding and extensive damage.
“One of the main concerns is the effect of the flooding on pump houses along rivers. Many growers – especially small-scale growers – were not able to remove their suction points and pumps to higher ground in time; removing this equipment is costly and requires heavy machinery. Moreover, with some pump stations now completely demolished, small-scale growers are likely to suffer further hardship as the irrigation challenges caused by load shedding are exacerbated,” he said.
Funke said in addition to pump stations, there ...
For the past decade, ballooning medico-legal claims, now at close to R40-billion, have been a catastrophe for the Eastern Cape Health Department. Faced with a double-edged sword of having to pay a significant part of a diminishing budget in damages and the subsequent decimation of services because the department had no money, there was no resolution in sight. A high court judgment has given the department hope.
“We are not floundering,” the head of the Eastern Cape Health Department, Dr Rolene Wagner, said as she discussed the latest ruling in the department’s ongoing fight against a mounting number of legal claims. “We have a strategy, and we are doing the work. This is a big win for us.
“I cried when this was handed down,” she said, referring to the Bhisho High Court’s latest ruling on the issue.
In the judgment, Judge Robert Griffiths allowed for the common law to be developed to enable the state to offer rehabilitation and other care services for children with cerebral palsy instead of paying the private sector.
If the ruling stands, it will free up a significant amount of cash in the department that had to pay close to R1-billion in damages awards in the most recent financial year.
Future medical expenses for treatment in the private sector often makes up the bulk of most medico-legal claims for damages instituted for babies who suffered birth injuries in state hospitals.
Last year the department lost a significant court case when it sought an order that would allow it to pay off damages awards in instalments.
Last week it did a small victory lap for a battle won. Griffiths found that the department should be allowed to put up a public health defence asking for a court order that instead of paying future medical expenses of patients harmed through negligence in the public health system as a lump sum, it can offer treatment at state hospitals.
It was a leap for the province and built on the baby step taken by the Constitutional Court when it ruled that it could be done, but not in the case that was before that court.
Congratulatory WhatsApp messages were the order of the day when the ruling came down. “We saw it as impossible,” one addressed to Wagner reads, “but your positive attitude motivated everyone and moved with it.”
“This is a great victory not only for the department but for the Eastern Cape as a whole . ...
UCT students share their perspectives on the protest action over a student accommodation ‘crisis’, fee blocks, financial exclusion and National Student Financial Aid Scheme allowances.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) leadership and the Student Representative Council (SRC) are continuing talks in a bid to find resolutions to issues that led to protests this week over what the SRC refers to as a “housing crisis”.
On Monday, the SRC shut down campuses by blocking entrances to the university and encouraging the suspension of academic activity to protest against fee blocks, unhoused students, financial exclusion and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances.
These are issues the SRC had been dealing with for weeks before the start of the academic year, after the student housing department’s decision to withdraw accommodation offers from students with fee blocks.
On Tuesday morning, the SRC mobilised students on UCT’s lower campus and by the afternoon, students had moved to Main Road where they were met by a police presence. The road was blocked, with cars instructed to turn away and find alternative routes.
SRC executive members negotiated with the police to ensure no retaliation occurred as the protests were peaceful.
Student perspective
Daily Maverick spoke to some students at the protests to get their perspective on what was happening at the university.
A second-year psychology student, who preferred not to be named, said: “Personally, I think that this problem isn’t a new problem. It’s a perpetuating problem. We come here every single year. [The] SRC changes year in and year out. And when they come in they face the same problem — UCT refuses to lift fee blocks for students who are in need, knowing that there are poor, black students [who] are constantly going to struggle when coming in for school, right?
“Obviously, the SRC is doing all that they can, but it is up to the executive, it is up to Council and it is up to the people who are responsible for us after accepting us into their spaces to make sure we are taken care of so we [perform] to the best of our ability,” said the student.
“We’re giving you four years of our lives. We are just asking for it to not be stress-induced due to socioeconomic issues that we can’t control.”
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Panwell Phakathi, a second-year property studies student, said the protests were important, not just for current students but ...
If we have any hope of subverting Aldous Huxley’s dark premonition of the future as foretold in ‘Brave New World’, then we must ensure that regulating artificial intelligence is not a futile exercise.
“We are not our own any more than what we possess is our own. We did not make ourselves, we cannot be supreme over ourselves. We are not our own masters” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
In 1931, dystopian novelist Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World. The futuristic novel opens in the fictional World State — a world where citizens are artificially engineered through manmade wombs and class divisions are based on intelligence and labour in the quintessential industrial age.
A farfetched notion in 1931, but artificial intelligence (AI) developments have made artificially engineered humans possible. In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in the field of reproductive technologies. Artificial wombs, for instance, are devices that can grow a foetus to term outside the body of an organism.
Currently, however, there are limited ethical conditions and human embryos can only be grown for 14 days. The 14th day is when a spherical embryo forms a body and cells begin taking on characteristics.
Elsewhere, gene editing allows for the alteration of DNA through removal, insertion or replacement in the human genome with the potential to combat genetic disease or optimise health.
Huxley’s work emerged as a glance into the future but need it be quite as terrifying as the book suggests? The World State in Huxley’s novel was arguably devoid of a suitable ethical or legal framework.
In the 21st century, what are the ethical implications of reframing our creation of humans — are we bordering on eugenics with “designer babies” with the implied risk of marginalising or even eradicating groups?
How do we establish gene editing guidelines to ensure the process is ethical? Where do we draw the line? What is the legal status of a foetus created in an artificial womb? Who is liable if something goes wrong? What are the legal rights of children posthumously conceived?
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
These questions merely scratch the surface of the interface between AI and the law regarding reproduction. As we venture into our own “brave new world”, we must do so with a framework in place.
There are two broad factors to consider: how do we safeguard core legal values — such as equal treatment under the law, procedural ...
Donors make sure they undertake due diligence to ensure non-profit organisations are ethical, accountable and transparent, but it is rare to find a non-profit taking the same trouble to check their donors’ reputations and records.
Last month, thanks to the whim of a capricious, privileged wealthy donor, a number of people lost their jobs. Without any engagement with the CEO, a member of the organisation’s board was verbally informed that the relationship had ended and that the next tranche of substantial funding due a few weeks later would not be paid. Unfortunately, this anonymous donor had refused to even have her name on a contract so could not be held to her commitments. Luckily, the organisation itself proved to be resilient and will survive, continuing its important work.
This is a lesson for non-profit organisations to take care when accepting money from donors. While most donors make sure they undertake due diligence to ensure the recipients of their funds are ethical, accountable and transparent, it is rare to find a non-profit organisation taking the same trouble to check their donors’ reputations and records.
It is understandable that organisations can find themselves in difficult financial straits — this comes from the tax regime under which non-profits work in that they are forced to rely on donor income, and if donors seek an 18A tax certificate, those funds cannot be accumulated but must be spent within 24 months.
In addition, donors don’t like seeing “underspend” or savings. The immediate response is that the organisation overbudgeted or underdelivered. As a result, non-profits have realised that they need to generate their own income alongside donor money, and this can be done as long as those activities are closely aligned with the organisation’s founding purpose that has been approved as tax-exempt.
Following donor money merely to keep the lights on can ultimately result in significant damage to the recipient of those funds, especially if the donor is simply using the organisation to deliver on non-aligned organisational strategies.
So what are the 10 red flags for organisations when assessing a donor?
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
First, it is important to check that the values of the donor and the recipient are aligned. Shared values are the basis of trust and commitment, and any discussions around funding should not only focus on what the funded programme is about, but what the purpose of the recipient organisation is and ...
If voters remember Goodluck Jonathan as the president who always seemed too confused to get a grip on his government and too besieged to even recognise he was in charge, they will remember Muhammadu Buhari as the president who loved his office so passionately that he forgot why he was elected in the first place.
It’s hard to imagine that it’s been nearly eight years since the last one. This time in 2015, I was over the moon with the prospects of a general election that was certain to end the government of President Goodluck Jonathan – a government that had lost its way.
Folks were so excited at the prospects of change that in the southwest, a Yoruba version of “February” – the month of the general election – was improvised: “Fe-Buhari”; meaning, “Love Buhari”, thus investing Muhammadu Buhari with the aura of Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love. That’s how over the moon we were. And not without good reason.
Boko Haram’s violent extremism was at its worst. Life on the streets, in the schools and at home was insecure. Corruption was rife and audacious. Jonathan claimed he was doing his best, but wherever you went, it felt different.
His government had obviously been captured by forces beyond him – a sad fact that he publicly admitted more than once, but which did not absolve him. A president is elected to solve problems, not make excuses.
When the wind got out of his sails, Jonathan invoked the consolation of failing leaders: the benevolence of history. History, he said, will remember him kindly.
On the eve of another presidential election nearly eight years after those forlorn words were spoken, it does seem history may, after all, be kind to Jonathan, the man famously called Nigeria’s most “incompetent and clueless” president.
In a twist of fate, his successor, Muhammadu Buhari – thought to be the most capable to nail Jonathan’s political coffin shut – may well be the one who writes him into sainthood.
As Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday, 25 February, to elect a new president, not a few voters think the worst mistake would be to let Buhari happen again.
Not that he is on the ballot. He has exhausted his eight-year constitutionally permitted tenure of two terms. But as his broken promises on security, poverty alleviation and corruption stalk voters to the 176,606 polling centres across the country, the last thing they want ...
New research from the University of the Western Cape describes how domestic workers in South Africa struggle to access maternity protection, making it difficult for them to breastfeed, and this in turn has far-reaching implications in a country like South Africa with low breastfeeding rates. The researchers also make five recommendations on how to improve access to maternity protection.
Unpaid leave, discrimination and job insecurity
Key findings in the paper include that health protection during pregnancy and breastfeeding is variable, and usually only made available at the discretion of the employer. To access healthcare when they are pregnant or after the baby has been born (postnatal clinic visits), domestic workers usually need to take unpaid leave.
Some domestic workers experience discrimination, and many experience job insecurity due to pregnancy and childbirth. Domestic workers can’t access paid maternity leave, despite a national social insurance programme managed through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and for which domestic workers are legally eligible. The only payment that most domestic workers can access when they are on maternity leave is the Child Support Grant, which is often much less than what their salary would have been.
Since the maternity leave available to domestic workers is unpaid, it is unaffordable and, therefore, inaccessible, and many return to work soon after childbirth, making it very challenging to initiate and sustain breastfeeding.
Domestic workers in South Africa are not familiar with their entitlement to breastfeeding breaks on return to work, and there are challenges for them to store their expressed breastmilk at work. Equally, domestic workers struggle to access childcare on return to work.
Inaccessibility to maternity protection for domestic workers makes breastfeeding challenging
In the research, one participant described how she went back to work two weeks (14 days) after delivering her baby, because “I didn’t get paid. Because there’s no food on the table, so I got up and go and work.”
This is unacceptable. A woman cannot physically recover from childbirth, make childcare arrangements and ensure that her newborn is adequately fed if she needs to go back to work two weeks after delivery.
Numerous issues related to maternity protection are raised by this example:
First, in South Africa, it is not mandatory for maternity leave to be paid. Although many companies and government departments do choose to provide paid maternity leave, many women – especially those working informally – can only access unpaid leave.
Second, there is supposed to be a mechanism whereby women can ...
Lenalidomide is important for the treatment of multiple myeloma — a type of bone marrow cancer that is not curable and typically requires long-term, ongoing treatment. Over the last decade, the price of this drug has fluctuated dramatically in South Africa and patients and their doctors have gone to extreme lengths to access it. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the remarkable recent history of Lenalidomide.
Lenalidomide is perhaps most infamous for its high price tag.
The medicine has often been referred to as a “cash cow” in the media and has been highlighted in a report by the World Health Organization on problematic cancer medicine pricing strategies used by pharmaceutical companies. Lenalidomide’s pricing in the United States has even been the subject of a congressional probe.
The most egregious case of price gauging for lenalidomide, however, may have occurred in South Africa when, in 2016, the cost of lenalidomide jumped by over a 1,000% overnight.
“That can’t be possible,” is what Salomé Meyer, organiser and advocate for the Cancer Alliance (a south African NGO), first said when she learnt of lenalidomide’s massive price increase. In South Africa, price increases of registered medicines are strictly regulated and large increases for registered medicines are unheard of.
Meyer first heard about it by chance. While out walking her dog one evening, she bumped into the son of a friend undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma. He informed Meyer that the monthly cost of his mother’s medicine, lenalidomide, had jumped from around R5,000 to over R70,000 per month. Like most people in South Africa, she was unable to afford lenalidomide at its new higher price.
Meyer immediately began investigating why the medicine’s price had increased so much and what could be done to address it (disclosure: the author previously worked with Meyer in investigating cancer medicine price drivers, including for lenalidomide).
Meyer soon learnt that the culprit behind the price increase was, in fact, the registration of Celgene’s (now wholly owned by Bristol Myers Squibb [BMS]) branded lenalidomide product, Revlimid, in South Africa.
Revlimid, which had already attracted attention globally for its excessive pricing, was introduced in South Africa by Key Oncologics in 2016 at a list price of R73,500 for a month’s supply of 25mg tablets, or R882,000 per year.
Before Revlimid was registered in South Africa, multiple myeloma patients in the country, with the assistance of their treating physicians, could use an avenue for importing unregistered drugs into the country — known as Section ...
In a single-seat constituency system, it is normally the bigger parties that succeed, with smaller parties and independents confronted with an uphill, even improbable chance of being elected.
In view of the Constitutional Court judgment declaring the current Electoral Act unconstitutional, South Africa is compelled to open up the electoral reform discussion.
But, in any event, judgment or not, a reboot of the country’s electoral system is seriously needed. Not because the current system hasn’t served South Africa, but because South African society has changed since 1994, and now demands a greater sense of accountability from the political dispensation.
The country currently uses a closed party-list proportional representation system in which parties are represented in proportion to their electoral support. Voters have no influence over who the party puts forward as its candidates, nor the order in which candidates are ranked for election.
This system, with 200 seats allocated between the nine provinces and 200 seats allocated to a national compensatory list to reach full proportionality, was probably what was best in 1994 at the system’s inception, but the political development since then means that it is no longer adequate.
Many are now calling for a constituency-based model, which makes it easier – some would even say possible – to hold parliamentarians more to account to those that elect them and to be more representative of their interests, than is now the case.
But within the constituency model, there are two types of constituencies that need to be very carefully considered, as they are not created equal in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
The first is the single-seat constituency model – in other words, a winner-takes-all majority election system. One of the main advantages of this system is that it allows for the possibility of holding particular politicians to account and getting rid of them individually, if necessary.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “We want electoral reform – and the right to choose our representatives directly”
However, in South Africa, given that the country is not homogeneous in its make-up, the single-seat constituency model is dangerous because we could end up with a number of provinces in which constituencies are represented wall-to-wall by a single political party, with the opposition parties relegated to the compensatory proportional list.
Even though this would result in general proportionality, it does not necessarily reflect the geographical spread of the votes those parties may achieve and, therefore, the diversity within that particular province.
Indeed, it ...
In response to James Love’s assertions in his recent op-ed, when dealing with South African politics, one cannot view everything with an American-centric lens. Furthermore, calling for so-called 'right-wing' parties and their ideas to be legislated against, for fear of them becoming authoritarian, is authoritarian itself in nature.
I would like to challenge several assertions made by James Love in his op-ed.
Read the article in Daily Maverick: “As 2024 elections loom, South Africa needs laws to keep small right-wing parties from controlling coalitions”
To start with, I have an issue with the title of this column. Unless I am mistaken about the intention of the writer, claiming that South Africa needs laws to keep small or “right-wing” parties from actively engaging in or “controlling” coalitions is fundamentally flawed.
As the bill of rights states, “All persons have a right to citizenship and security. Persons and groups are entitled to freedom of assembly, association, belief and opinion, and expression. They have the right to demonstrate, picket and petition; everyone has the right to be free from forced labour, servitude and slavery.”
As a part of the multi-party coalition in the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) and a member of the Freedom Front Plus caucus there, I would like to challenge several assertions made by Love in his op-ed. The writer asserts, “the danger of these parties steering the country’s policies towards the right cannot be ignored.”
The first issue I have with this is the term “right-wing”. When dealing with South African politics, one cannot view everything with an American-centric lens. Here, the American version of left vs right does not, and cannot apply. I will put to the readers the following challenge. When looking at American politics, groups who stand up for the rights of minority groups are considered what? Left-wing or right-wing? Left-wing, of course. Traditionally, political parties that took a public stand against racism were left-wing or right-wing? Left-wing. Hence my point, the difference between left wing and right wing in the US and here at home are two different things. In fact, in the real world of politics, the definition of these two is not as clear-cut here as they are in the states. The Freedom Front Plus, if analysed within the scope of the American lens would not be considered a “right-wing” party.
To date, the VF Plus has made a public stance for minority rights in South Africa and declared publicly that ...
In August 2022, a video of Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba’s dehumanising rant to a Zimbabwean patient went viral. The Health Professions Council of South Africa has now taken action against her.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has cited Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba for unprofessional conduct and unbecoming behaviour.
This comes after Ramathuba’s diatribe against a Zimbabwean patient in a Bela Bela hospital was captured on video in August last year. In the video, Ramathuba accuses undocumented immigrants of draining resources in the country.
In a report dated 9 February, the HPCSA stated that a caution and reprimand would be imposed on Ramathuba “for unprofessional behaviour and unbecoming [conduct] of a medical professional [for] shouting at a patient’s bedside as the patient was vulnerable at the time”.
A ‘limp’ sanction
Some have expressed disappointment at the HPCSA for giving Ramathuba what amounts to a slap on the wrist.
Marlise Richter from the Health Justice Initiative said that while she welcomed the ruling on what she described as the MEC’s xenophobic, hostile and disrespectful behaviour, the sanction was a “limp” one.
“A temporary suspension, removal from the HPCSA register, a fine or compulsory professional service would have been more appropriate in these circumstances, as provided for by the Health Professions Act,” she explained.
Richter added that Ramathuba should not be holding public office and, as a public servant and leader in government, she should also face disciplinary action from her employers.
“I commend the members of the public who lodged the complaint with the HPCSA and encourage everyone who has experienced or seen instances of xenophobia to immediately report it to the relevant authorities or oversight bodies,” she said.
Dale McKinley from Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia expressed similar sentiments.
“We welcome the censure; I think it is important that health professionals understand that when they do this kind of thing, they do face some kind of consequence. However, from our side, we would have preferred that there be more sanctions, other than just a simple reprimand,” he said.
McKinley said Ramathuba’s xenophobic behaviour was unacceptable.
“We are disappointed that the HPCSA didn’t say anything about that, but we hope this sends out a warning to other health professionals or those who have abdicated their professional duties in treating everyone equally,” he added.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Nigel Branken, one of the individuals who filed a complaint with the HPCSA, said the narrative that foreigners are ...
Cybercrime, problems verifying bank details, interrupted connections: Parliament heard a litany of reasons on Wednesday why payments of the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant are erratic.
Between 7.4 and 7.8 million people are approved for the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant. However, only 85% of them are being paid.
During a parliamentary briefing on Wednesday, the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said there were problems paying all approved beneficiaries.
The Postbank said connectivity and network challenges during payment runs had led to failed transactions at ATMs.
Cybercrime, problems verifying bank details, interrupted connections: Parliament heard a litany of reasons on Wednesday why payments of the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant are erratic.
During a parliamentary briefing on the payment of social grants, Department of Social Development (DSD) minister Lindiwe Zulu said, on average, between 7.4 and 7.8 million people are approved every month for the R350 grant. But, she said, the proportion of people approved who actually get paid is declining, from 95% to 85%.
The DSD has a budget of R44-billion a year to pay a total of about 10.5 million people.
“Payments is one area we are still struggling with,” said Brenton van Vrede, Sassa executive manager for grants administration.
He said in November 2022, 7,806,571 people were approved to receive the grant, of whom only 6,548,044 were paid.
In December 2022, 7,851,590 beneficiaries were approved and 6,533,009 were paid.
By January 2023, although 7,487,351 were approved, only 6,274,486 beneficiaries were paid.
He said there were problems verifying beneficiaries’ ID numbers, bank accounts and cellphone numbers.
“Because this is a purely digital system, we have no interaction with the client, so it’s very difficult for us to determine if the person applying with the ID number is the actual person applying for the grant or if someone who has obtained that ID number fraudulently is trying to apply for a grant,” said Van Vrede
He said delays are also caused by bank verification failures.
“This may be due to beneficiaries having punched the wrong number, switched a digit around, or the name and ID don’t match and the verification of the bank account fails.”
Van Vrede said they also struggled to pay beneficiaries who opted for cellphone payments, because it was “a lot more difficult” to verify that the cell number belonged to the applicant.
He said Sassa also battles to access government databases to check whether an applicant qualifies for the R350 grant.
“We’ve had some challenges with the UIF databases ...
Since the 1970s, trafficked people and drugs have flowed across the Balkans route, going into the European Union (EU) from countries like Serbia and Albania. When the EU banned the importation of wild birds in 2005, the illegal trade along the Balkans route gathered pace.
Bane Kilibarda, one of Serbia’s top bird traders, is a specialist in birds of prey. When Daily Maverick’s Serbian investigator called him up to ask if he imported birds from the West African country of Guinea, Kilibarda yelled that he would not speak to “fascists from the European Union”, and that “the west always blames Serbia for everything”.
Word had spread among Serbian bird traders that journalists were investigating the country’s role in the illegal global wildlife trade, estimated to be worth between $7-billion and $23-billion.
Since the 1970s, trafficked people and drugs have flowed across the Balkans route, going into the European Union (EU) from countries like Serbia and Albania. When the EU banned the importation of wild birds in 2005, the illegal trade along the Balkans route gathered pace.
The main problem, according to Svetlana Nikolić of Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, is that “Serbia is a transit country for all kinds of smuggling. The same route might be used for human and wildlife trafficking. But of course people are more important, and almost nobody cares about wildlife crime.”
Europol, the EU’s version of Interpol, estimates that up to 50% of all smuggled birds die in transit.
Regulating the unknown
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) figures, between 2020 and 2022 up to 35,618 birds were legally exported to Serbia from Guinea.
CITES in Guinea issued certificates of origin to five Guinean companies to export 120 different species. Included in the list are the yellow-fronted canary (5,640 certificates), a small bird that sings in a rapid series of beautiful, high-pitched chirps, and black-and-white-casqued hornbill (four certificates), which weighs up to 1.5 kg and has a wingspan of 70 to 90 cm.
The birds from Guinea aren’t on CITES’ Appendix I or II lists, which means they can be traded at the country’s sole discretion as long as there is a certificate of origin. Guinea used to trade in Appendix I and II species; those that are near extinction or highly endangered.
But in 2013, CITES headquarters in Switzerland banned the country from trading in protected species due to overexploitation and corruption.
In 2015, Interpol arrested ...
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius signalled that Western allies are struggling to assemble two full battalions of Leopard 2 tanks to send to Ukraine as promised, with Germany and Portugal the only nations to pledge high-end A6 models. ‘We will not reach the size of a battalion,’ he said.
Russia is likely to continue to suffer mounting casualties as it recruits more ill-equipped and ill-trained soldiers into the fight and intensifies attacks in eastern Ukraine, according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“That’s their strength, they have a lot of people,” Austin told reporters after a two-day Nato meeting in Brussels. “Our goal is to make sure we give Ukraine additional capabilities so they can be decisive on the battlefield in their upcoming offensive.”
Key developments
EU sanctions seek to make banks divulge frozen Russian assets
Germany to lift defence spending by up to €10bn next year
Central bankers in bunkers keep Ukraine’s war economy afloat
Iranian drones hitting Ukraine struck a tanker earlier, says US
On the ground
The threat of further Russian air and missile strikes remained high across Ukraine, the latter’s military General Staff said in its update early on Wednesday. Russia was making further attempts to gain full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while focusing its efforts on offensive operations on the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtar axes.
The Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces made marginal territorial gains near Bakhmut and continued ground attacks across the Donetsk region. The Russian army also unsuccessfully attacked Ukrainian positions in the western Zaporizhzhia region while continuing to fortify positions in the area.
US senator revives bid to declare Wagner a terror group
Republican Senator Roger Wicker has reintroduced legislation to designate the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, as a foreign terrorist organisation.
“Vladimir Putin is a thug who will stop at nothing to win, and the Wagner Group is among his favourite and most vicious tools,” said Wicker, who is also a ranking member of the US Helsinki Commission. “The US should call this shadow army what it is: a foreign terrorist organisation.”
Wicker and a bipartisan group of senators introduced the bill in the last congress, but it failed to become law. The Biden administration has resisted the idea and instead labelled the Wagner Group a transnational criminal organisation last month.
Ukraine to receive fewer battle tanks than promised
Poland has assembled about 30 units of the older A4 version of the Leopard 2, which ...
If the South Africans participating in Exercise Mosi II are impressed they would, I suspect, be falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book.
It’s odd how embarrassing news has a way of leaking out in phases. First, you get the broad picture; then the focus is refined; then the real discomfiting stuff finally comes out.
In the case of Mosi II, the naval exercise between SA, Russia and China, the first impression was that it was going to be a limited affair involving two frigates.
Now it turns out that three SA vessels will be taking part from the SA side, that the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov is going to demonstrate Russia’s “unstoppable” Zircon (Tsirkon) missile, and that a second Russian vessel will participate. In addition, it turns out the Chinese will be sending not one, but three vessels: the destroyer Huainan, the guided-missile frigate Rizhao and the supply ship Kekexilihu.
So from a minor exercise, Mosi II is turning out to be a pretty full-on military fandango, even without the participation of Brazil, which participated in Mosi I in 2019 but is keeping out of it this time. The event is being held on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so it’s clearly a propaganda event aimed at bolstering support for the invasion. South Africa’s pretence of being in favour of a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis dissolves with this exercise.
There is no doubt that a two-week exercise involving at least nine vessels is a serious undertaking. But unless the South Africans are completely naive, it’s also an opportunity to try to impress on SA the huge capacity of Russia’s new military hardware. You could call it, practise “shock and awe”
Yet, if the South Africans participating are impressed they would, I suspect, be falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book. We know the story: during a visit by Empress Catherine II to Crimea in 1787, Russian governor Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin supposedly constructed fake settlements to conceal the dilapidated conditions of the towns. The effort became known as a “Potemkin Village”, a ruse involving the construction of painted façades to mimic real villages, full of happy, well-fed people, for visiting officials to see.
There is no doubt that the Zircon is an impressive weapon. It’s a hypersonic cruise missile that can reach speeds of Mach 8, which means it flies too fast to be detected by radar, ...
The Emalahleni Local Municipality has been granted an interdict against protesters who blocked streets in Indwe, Eastern Cape, complaining about water, rubbish collection and sewage.
The Grahamstown High Court has granted an interdict against further disruptive protests in Indwe in the Eastern Cape.
The Emalahleni Local Municipality said in its court papers that, in protests which have been going on since January, the protesters had insulted municipal employees and removed them from their offices.
However, the protests resumed last week.
Protesters say they want the municipality to fix the ailing water and sewage systems.
The Emalahleni Local Municipality has been granted an interdict against protesters who blocked the streets of Indwe in the Eastern Cape complaining about water, rubbish collection and sewage.
The protests in the small town outside Komani (formerly Queenstown) started in January and were interrupted last week while protesters tried to get Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane to intervene and to visit the town.
In its application to the Grahamstown High Court, the municipality said that during protests in January, municipal operations had been disrupted, municipal workers had been insulted and removed from their offices and the municipal offices had been closed down. The municipality had sent workers home for their own safety.
The court granted an interim interdict on Monday banning protesters from engaging in acts of “serious violence” and intimidation of municipal employees; from stopping employees from working; from carrying dangerous weapons to intimidate municipal employees, and from victimising people who did not protest. The return date is 7 March.
However, the protests resumed on Tuesday.
Protesters told GroundUp that for four years they had been experiencing water cuts, while rubbish had not been collected and sewerage systems remained broken. They said they raised these issues with both the Chris Hani District Municipality and Emalahleni Local Municipality, to no avail.
Community leader Mandla Cetywayo, who was named in the interdict application, said the Emalahleni municipality is planning to install toilets for R3.46-million – but residents don’t want toilets; they want the money to be used to fix water and sewerage problems. He said the water supply is erratic and sometimes households go without water for weeks.
However, Emalahleni municipal spokesperson, Luthando Nqumkana, said sewerage and water issues are the responsibility of the district, not the local municipality.
Nqumkana said residents had agreed on the toilets after a series of imbizos with the community. The council had approved the final budget, including R3.46-million for 16 toilet units.
The Chris Hani ...
Natascha Viljoen, the well-regarded CEO of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), who has helped steer the company to record profits, will step down within 12 months to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer at US-based miner Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer.
Natascha Viljoen assumed the helm of Amplats in April 2020 and steered the Anglo American unit to record earnings along a road initially paved by her predecessor, Chris Griffith, who oversaw the company’s profitable pivot to mechanisation in the wake of an explosion of labour turbulence.
“Natascha will continue to serve as CEO of Anglo American Platinum until the completion of her notice period of up to 12 months, following which she will join Newmont Corporation, the US-based mining company, as its Chief Operating Officer,” Amplats said in a statement on Wednesday.
That is a long notice period and gives Amplats plenty of time to choose a successor, possibly with Viljoen showing the incoming CEO the ropes.
But it also perhaps signals that the company is not going to pursue any big deals or strategic shifts over the next year, which would typically involve a CEO in place for the long haul. Having said that, M&A opportunities in the platinum group metals (PGM) space are limited these days.
Viljoen’s departure is certainly a surprise on some fronts.
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Amplats has flagged that it expects its full-year 2022 earnings – which will be unveiled next week – to fall as much as 52% on lower sales volumes linked to the planned rebuilding of its Polokwane smelter, as well as to inflationary pressures that raised mining costs.
But the company is still making plenty of money and is well-placed to benefit from any rise in sales or PGM prices.
Viljoen is widely regarded as extremely competent with a technical cast of mind and a firm grasp on the changing PGM landscape, which includes the emerging hydrogen economy. And she is one of a handful of women at the top of South Africa’s mining corporate ladder.
With that in mind, her looming departure is not such a shocker – good miners are in demand at a time when they are becoming rarer as a species, and South Africa has long produced top-rated miners.
Glencore’s CEO, Gary Nagle, is South African, as is Barrick Gold’s CEO, Mark Bristow, to name but just a couple of examples. Indeed, South Africa’s mining sector has ...
ActionSA is working on 'rooting out troublemakers' in its Tshwane caucus after an internal investigation found several issues with its members.
ActionSA continues to have internal woes, with the party now investigating its members in the City of Tshwane caucus in relation to the outcomes of an investigation that was carried out by the organisation’s Eastern Cape leader, Athol Trollip, last year.
The party’s national chair, Michael Beaumont, told Daily Maverick that ActionSA’s leadership had been alerted by coalition partners of several issues within the caucus that gave rise to concern. This led to the investigation, which recommended that a number of caucus members should face disciplinary action.
Beaumont would not, however, disclose details of the problems that were detected in the Trollip report.
“ActionSA will work decisively on making sure that wrongdoing is rooted out. The Trollip report came out in December and occasioned investigations and this will lead to disciplinary action,” said Beaumont.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Does ActionSA want Gauteng coalitions to fail? The perplexing politics of Herman Mashaba”
Members who are being investigated include Nkele Molapo, the chair of the Tshwane oversight committee on community safety; Mandla Mhlana, the deputy chair of the management team of the multiparty coalition; and Thabo Yabohlale, the party’s head of students.
Molapo and Mhlana would not be drawn on the matter, while Yabohlale was not answering calls.
Tshwane has been a strategic metro for ActionSA. It won 19 seats there, which makes it the fourth-largest party in the council.
In Tshwane, ActionSA is in a coalition with the DA, Freedom Front Plus, Inkatha Freedom Party, African Christian Democratic Party and Congress of the People.
Last week, a Tshwane proportional representation councillor, Sizwe Skhosana, was given a notice informing him that his membership had been terminated because of misconduct.
At the same time, former ActionSA caucus leader Abel Tau is still at loggerheads with the party.
ActionSA dumped Tau almost three months ago after a disciplinary hearing by the party found him guilty of five out of six charges levelled against him. The charges related to abuse of power and leadership, and bringing the organisation into disrepute.
There was no ruling on the sixth charge — sexual assault — for which Tau will appear in the Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court next month.
Tau, a former acting mayor in the City of Tshwane, was one of several high-ranking DA members who jumped ship and joined Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA in 2020.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Fired— ...
Homegrown fintech insurer, Naked, has raised about R290m in a third round of equity funding led by the International Finance Corporation – a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. The German Development Finance Institution and Naked’s original investors, Yellowwoods and Hollard, are also taking part in the funding round.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the German Development Finance Institution (DEG) are both backing Naked in line with their goals of investing in companies that can make a social impact, increase competition in financial services in Africa, and foster financial inclusion.
The funding round signals strong investor confidence in Naked’s management, technology and positioning, as well as in the significant opportunity to use AI and digital experiences to grow Africa’s insurance market.
The innovative insurer, which runs off an end-to-end digital platform, was founded by actuaries Alex Thomson, Sumarie Greybe and Ernest North in 2018. It enables customers to manage their entire insurance experience via an app, without ever needing to speak to a dreaded contact centre agent.
In contrast to the traditional model where insurers’ profits depend on how much they pay in claims, Naked only takes a flat fee from premiums to cover expenses and running costs. The rest of the premiums go into a “pot” to pay claims.
At the end of the year, whatever is left in that pot is not taken as profit, but is paid to social causes that Naked customers choose to support through the Naked Difference.
In 2022, the insurer gave R700,000 to around 20 causes, including Surfpop, which provides children in foster care – or referred by social workers – with a stable environment where they are taught surfing skills, assisted with schoolwork and receive nutritious meals.
Other causes that the Naked Difference supports include Cotlands, Door of Hope and dog adoption initiative, Oscars Arc.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“This means we have removed the link between profit and the amount paid out in claims. Our profit is dependent on getting people to join Naked and keeping them happy on our platform – just like any other tech company,” North says.
Thomson says the aim more than five years ago was to create an insurance platform that people would love for being fair, convenient and transparent, at game-changing prices.
“Since our launch in 2018, we have been overwhelmed by customers’ enthusiasm ...
There was a spate of South African economic data on Wednesday, and most of it was gloomy. Consumer inflation slowed to 6.9% in January from 7.2% in December, which is a good sign. But food inflation accelerated, December retail sales were dismal and business confidence faded. Load shedding is mostly behind these trends.
Let’s start with the consumer price index (CPI) for January, which showed that consumer inflation slowed to 6.9% on an annual basis from 7.2% in December. That is still an elevated level and remains well outside the South African Reserve bank’s 3% to 6% target range, but at least CPI is moving in the right direction.
But worryingly, food inflation – which had shown brief signs of peaking – accelerated in January to 13.8% from 12.7% in December. This means the “cost-of-living crisis” is worsening as real wages have been stagnating or declining at a time when poor and working class households – and the middle class as well – have to fork out more of their limited incomes to put food on the table.
“While in some regions of the world, consumer food price inflation has started to cool off, South Africa sees the opposite,” Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), said in a commentary on the data.
Prices for bread and cereals soared almost 22% in the year to January, and Sihlobo noted that this reflected “the pass-through of the price increases that food manufacturers have felt from the higher agricultural commodity prices in much of 2022”.
“There is typically a time lag of roughly three to five months before changes in farm prices show up in the retail prices of staple grains.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
So, even though spot prices for some key grains have softened of late, retail prices have continued to climb, eating into the threadbare wallets of South African consumers.
And as with the rest of the data, rolling blackouts are one of the key drivers behind this sorry state of affairs. Sihlobo said the impact may not have been fully factored into the January read, which means this will continue to push food prices higher.
“We have stated previously that the disruptions caused by power supply interruptions to some food processing companies, as well as the associated cost increase, all present upside risks to consumer food price inflation,” he said.
Agbiz now sees food inflation for 2023 coming ...
Former Absa chief executive Daniel Mminele is heading to rival Nedbank to take over as an independent non-executive director, effective from 1 May this year, and as chairman from June. Outgoing Nedbank chair Mpho Makwana will retire after serving on the board for nine years.
Daniel Mminele has resigned from his position as chairman at Alexforbes to facilitate his new position at Nedbank. He exited his position as chief executive of Absa in April 2021, less than two years after he was appointed, citing a difference in opinion with the board over the company’s strategic direction.
The exit included a cool remuneration package of more than R33-million for just four months of employment in 2021. Makwana earned R3.2-million for the 2021 financial year when he was appointed as acting chair from 28 May to 1 December, before taking over as appointed chairman from 2 December 2021. (Makwana is also the chairperson of Eskom.)
Mminele has previously served two five-year terms as deputy governor of the South African Reserve Bank, where his responsibilities during his second term included financial markets, international economic relations and policy, as well as the human and operations cluster.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mminele also served as head of the presidential climate finance task team in 2022, where he led and coordinated the work to give effect to the Just Energy Transition Partnership, as well as the development of the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, which was launched in November 2022.
“I am honoured by this appointment and look forward to joining the Nedbank Group. I am looking forward to working with board colleagues, the management team, employees and our broader stakeholder community as we deliver on strategic commitments and ambitions in line with Nedbank’s track record as a purpose-driven organisation.”
Mminele’s appointment follows a robust succession process for the chairperson that commenced early in 2022, led by Hubert Brody, Nedbank Group’s lead independent director. BM/DM
With no solution in sight for student debt in South Africa’s higher education system — reported to be more than R16.5bn — many students are turning to crowdfunding platforms for help.
While student debt in SA remains stubbornly high with no solution to the crisis in sight, thousands of higher education students are looking to digital crowdfunding platforms to raise funds to help alleviate their debt.
WeSolve4X student debt stokvel is one of many organisations helping students solve the problem of debt through crowdfunding.
The stokvel operates by asking South Africans to donate R100 (or more) monthly to alleviate student debt.
In 2022, the initiative raised R1.5-million to help clear the debt of 22 students. That was R200,000 more than was raised in 2021, according to WeSolve4X founder Tsietsi Ngobese. The programme is still running this year and has received more than 10,000 applications from students who need assistance with clearing their debt.
Ngobese encouraged students to continue applying and South Africans to donate to the stokvel. Applications and donations can be made through the WeSolve4X website.
Ngobese says he started WeSolve4X in the aftermath of the #FeesMustFall protests to help fellow students.
Ngobese was financially excluded from the University of Witwatersrand in 2015 and had to complete his studies at the University of Free State.
Kabelo Maupa, a beneficiary of WeSolve4X, said: “I am considered to be a ‘missing-middle student’. This essentially means that I do not qualify to receive funding from institutions such as NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] because of my family’s income bracket, but in the same token, I do not come from a rich family which would be able to comfortably put me through varsity. My parents simply could not afford to put me through varsity, which meant that I had to find alternative ways to fund my studies.
“Owing exorbitant amounts of money in tuition fees was very stressful. I unfortunately even had to acquire a medical intervention to treat the severe emotional and mental challenges that came with funding my education to complete my degree.
“It often felt like, regardless of the sacrifices one could make to save extra money that could potentially be invested in furthering my education, it was still insufficient to fully fund my education without sacrificing something of comparable value.
“Luckily, WeSolve4X student debt stokvel has afforded me the opportunity to further my education and complete my degree. At the end of last year, I was owing Wits an ...
The Competition Commission’s records show that, of 1,254 excessive pricing investigations related to Covid-19, at least 713 involved basic food and fresh produce.
The Competition Commission this week published the final terms of reference for the Fresh Produce Market Inquiry, following public consultations with the industry on the draft terms of reference published in March last year.
By law, the commission must publish the terms of reference in the Government Gazette announcing the establishment of the inquiry at least 20 business days before the inquiry commences. The investigation aims to determine whether there are any features in the fresh produce value chain that impede, restrict or distort competition in the market.
An Essential Food Price Monitoring report published by the commission in 2021 found that although large farms make up just 6.5% of all farms in South Africa, they accounted for 67% of total income in 2017/18.
The study further revealed that there has been a significant reduction (31%) in the number of farming units over more than two decades, with just under 58,000 farming units in 1993 and slightly more than 40,000 in 2017. Using potatoes as an example, the study showed that there was a 65% drop in the number of potato farmers between 1993 and 2008 and a gradual decline since then to 532 farmers in 2017, a trend that is consistent with the total decline in the number of farmers in South Africa.
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The report highlighted that the sharp decline in the number of commercial farms was indicative of the difficulties smaller farmers face in reaching the necessary economies of scale to decrease costs and maintain profitability.
The commission’s records show that, of 1,254 excessive-pricing investigations related to Covid-19, at least 713 involved basic food and fresh produce. Of these, 391 investigations related to basic food products and a further 322 related to ginger and garlic, for which significant price increases (some of more than 300%) were observed during the second wave of Covid-19 in late 2020 and early 2021. This shows the importance of fresh produce, but at the same time, the potential for abusive conduct when market circumstances change.
In another example, onions underwent a whopping 97% price increase year on year in November. A 10kg bag of onions that would have cost R63.39 in November 2021 cost almost double that (R125.08) in November 2022, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
What is the essence of Joziness, from restaurants to creators? It’s what ‘Joziness’ is. It’s the answer to what Jozi food is. It’s the answer to what we’re doing next and it’s the answer to why.
Up at this end of South Africa, we say that everyone in Jozi is from everywhere else. Or at least their family came from somewhere else. It’s been that way around here since Difaqane days.
What Jozi food is
Before 1818, the Joburg-to-be area had plenty of communities eating home food, farming, herding, even smelting. Then families, households, communities and civilisation were completely destroyed.
In 1835, there was no food and certainly no cuisine to call our own. The area had been depopulated by the Difaqane. There’d been 10 years of extreme drought before Shaka and Mzilikazi unsettled and uprooted everyone who had been here before. They had fled anywhere, for their lives — conversely, any people who arrived in this area were fleeing from somewhere else.
A decade later, the first trickle of people from outside areas started moving into the region that would become Johannesburg. Some were Trekboers who had brought food with them, while others were the hungry displaced people from other parts of the country.
Today, Jozi’s food, like its many residents, stems from almost everywhere else, essentially. Then that gives rise to food inspired by those relocations. Cuisine almost always develops local aspects because of local ingredients or local demand. It’s our endlessly rich feast and it’s unique to this city. It’s our Joziness.
Visitors and tourists get that Jozi’s culinary whole is composed of its many parts. People from our own country often don’t.
The Artivist restaurant in Braamfontein comes to mind. It includes the Unnamed basement as a music venue and was long a favourite of mine for South African (e.g. mogodu and dombolo) and Mozambican (e.g. pork belly with chouriço and feijoada) dishes served fine-dining style. Now, Glory, a fresh-responsible-eastern style pop-up run by an Englishman and an Italian woman, has entered the mix, and is particularly known for its crisply fried chicken with miso butter and healthy oriental bowls. It’s all cheffily delicious, in a fab place, just hard to put the finger on one single origin.
Easier to identify, as being from the Eastern Cape, is Kobo Cuisine. Having recently relocated from Maboneng it is doing well at catering under the same moniker but is looking for premises for another fascinating dining restaurant. ...
People often struggle to distinguish between real faces and artificial ones made by a computer.
Even if you think you are good at analysing faces, research shows many people cannot reliably distinguish between photos of real faces and images that have been computer-generated. This is particularly problematic now that computer systems can create realistic-looking photos of people who don’t exist.
Recently, a fake LinkedIn profile with a computer-generated profile picture made the news because it successfully connected with US officials and other influential individuals on the networking platform, for example. Counter-intelligence experts even say that spies routinely create phantom profiles with such pictures to home in on foreign targets over social media.
These deep fakes are becoming widespread in everyday culture which means people should be more aware of how they’re being used in marketing, advertising and social media. The images are also being used for malicious purposes, such as political propaganda, espionage and information warfare.
Making them involves something called a deep neural network, a computer system that mimics the way the brain learns. This is “trained” by exposing it to increasingly large data sets of real faces.
In fact, two deep neural networks are set against each other, competing to produce the most realistic images. As a result, the end products are dubbed GAN images, where GAN stands for Generative Adversarial Networks. The process generates novel images that are statistically indistinguishable from the training images.
In our study published in iScience, we showed that a failure to distinguish these artificial faces from the real thing has implications for our online behaviour. Our research suggests the fake images may erode our trust in others and profoundly change the way we communicate online.
My colleagues and I found that people perceived GAN faces to be even more real-looking than genuine photos of actual people’s faces. While it’s not yet clear why this is, this finding does highlight recent advances in the technology used to generate artificial images.
And we also found an interesting link to attractiveness: faces that were rated as less attractive were also rated as more real. Less attractive faces might be considered more typical and the typical face may be used as a reference against which all faces are evaluated. Therefore, these GAN faces would look more real because they are more similar to mental templates that people have built from everyday life.
But seeing these artificial faces as authentic may also have consequences for the ...
There have been several studies on the pros and cons of extending learning hours per day versus making the school year longer by shortening holidays. The former seems to achieve better results.
This is probably the worst time of year to be initiating a debate on the extension of the school day as teachers, pupils and parents are still getting started. But it is a discussion worth having, because it can have a positive impact on so many people.
The discussions on an extended school day became more urgent after so many students around the world experienced learning losses because of Covid-related school closures.
Typically, primary schools finish between 1pm and 2pm and children are sent home, or some schools start extracurricular activities. This can create issues for working parents since they still have two or three hours of work to complete. A solution for this, and for a few other issues, is to keep all children at school until 4pm or 5pm.
These additional hours can be used to lengthen the overall day with more time for breaks, extracurriculars, language, or other enrichment programmes for which there isn’t time otherwise, as well as giving more time to engaging pupils in each lesson.
In 2021, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a working paper looking at extended school days around the world, and how they might improve learning outcomes, promote equity and support parents to combine work and family lives.
The exciting aspect of the debate is that school day extensions provide an opportunity to rethink schools as places just for learning. Instead, they can also be for more holistic student engagement and support.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Education storm bodes ill for South African schoolchildren”
The OECD report shows that the relationship between teaching time and student outcomes is complex, and that the effect of added teaching time is dependent on a range of factors, including the quality of teaching and the classroom environment.
The effect also varies across student groups and appears to be characterised by diminishing returns to scale. Beyond a certain point, adding more teaching time may cause boredom or fatigue and reduce students’ ability to concentrate, and this may even cause a rise in classroom disruption and absenteeism. This is true especially for those who could also benefit from after-school educationally enriching activities and informal learning opportunities outside. In other words, adding teaching time may quickly reach a point of diminishing ...
Baby chickens under 28 days old are a cheffy tradition which we see very little of today. Turns out that they’re a great choice for cooking whole in an air fryer. You can even cook two, perhaps more, at a time, depending on the basket size.
We have three air fryer recipes for you this AirFryday: petit poussin (find the recipe here), fresh hake au gratin, and air-fryer shallots. The last two were published during the week and are included in this week’s TGIFood newsletter for those of you who’d like to cook them this weekend. But first, let’s talk about the old tradition of the petit poussin.
Petit poussin, or poussin, is what butchers and chefs call a baby chicken. You don’t see them much these days but the fancy new Checkers FX stores have a brand called Brooder & Jones who promise that their tiny chooks are “raised to be tasty, juicy and delicious”, if not for very long.
A bit of googling tells us that, typically, a young chicken is harvested as poussin, or petit poussin, at less than 28 days old, so they’re really young and, understandably, some will have qualms about that. (A grown-up chicken is called poulet in French.)
On the old hotel menus, petit poussin used to be called Spring Chicken, which was rather stylish and appealing. In the Sixties, “Chicken in a Basket” appeared on thousands of menus and was, correctly, a small roast or fried chicken served in a “basket” made of crisped potato.
The tradition died out, thanks no doubt to the high risk factor in assembling one. Later, “Chicken in a Basket” would appear in actual bamboo or even plastic baskets, which was just silly and could be seen more kindly as a misunderstanding of the term and concept, or less kindly as plain stupidity.
Wikipedia tells us that poussin is in fact a term from Commonwealth countries for a young chicken, and is also described as a butchers’ name for them. Call them what you will, they make a delectable meal-for-one and, given their size, can be made to look really pretty on a plate if cooking for friends.
They’re sold frozen and cost close to R50 each which, dare we remind ourselves, is what a regular adult bird cost us not too long ago. Now we’re seeing those for in excess of R100.
Tuck in to AirFryday, and see you back here next week and ...
Many people are pleading with government for help as they cannot go to work and learners will be at home until the bridge is repaired.
Officials in the Eastern Cape Department of Transport say they may approach the national government to help fix collapsed bridges and other infrastructure damaged during torrential rains and flash flooding last week.
Hundreds of people in Lupapasi Village, which falls under the Emalahleni Local Municipality, have been cut off from the town after the main road was damaged and uNgqeqe bridge collapsed on 8 February. No fatalities or major injuries were reported in this region.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Eastern Cape floods – municipality ignored repeated calls over 23 years to upgrade stormwater drains
According to ward committee member, Director Nqezo, many people and livestock were unable to return home once the bridge had collapsed. Local hospitals, clinics and schools also had to suspend services. Most learners were still at home on Wednesday 15 February because there is no safe alternative way to get to their schools.
“I woke up at 5am [on 8 February] for a jog as I’m training for a marathon. I got the shock of my life when I got to the bridge in such a disaster. We have never seen anything like this ever since the bridge was built in 1989. We don’t know what to do,” Nqezo said.
Nqezo said they are pleading with the government to resolve the issues swiftly so villagers can get to clinics, schools, work and so that taxis can operate again. “We would appreciate it if the government could speed up the process by sending the army to fix the bridge.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Alfred Klaas is a taxi operator in Lupapasi. “I can’t work and I survive by transporting people. Now I won’t be able to provide and feed my family,” he said.
Unathi Binqose, spokesperson for the provincial transport department, said that the damage caused by torrential rains continues to cause havoc in parts of the Eastern Cape as many roads and bridges have been damaged.
“The department is committing to work with its partners, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs [and disaster management], to ensure that communities that are disconnected are reconnected as a matter of priority.
“We have already dispatched emergency teams to urgently assess the damage and advise. Steps will also be taken to approach the national government for possible ...
Tiger Woods will make a long-awaited return to competitive golf in California this weekend where he acknowledged that the split between the PGA and LIV Tour players will continue to make things difficult.
Tiger Woods said he did not know how he felt about facing golfers who had left the PGA Tour for rival LIV Golf for the first time at April’s Masters, but acknowledged that the splintering of the sport had taken a toll.
“I don’t know what that reaction is going to be,” said Woods, who will tee it up at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational this week.
“I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path, but we’ll see when all that transpires. It’s still a couple of months away.”
Players from the warring circuits will break bread at the Masters traditional pre-tournament champions’ dinner, and Woods said the focus should be on reigning tournament champion Scottie Scheffler despite the obvious tensions.
“We need to make sure Scottie is honoured correctly while also realising the nature of what has transpired,” he said. “The people who have left, where our situations are legally, emotionally – there’s a lot there.”
Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka are among the big names who have left the PGA Tour for the lucrative, Saudi-backed LIV Golf. While banned from PGA Tour events, LIV players have been invited to compete at the Masters.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“It’s the PGA Tour vs Saudi-backed LIV, and the rivalry shows no signs of slowing down”
“LIV Golf generated ‘virtually zero’ revenue in 2022, claim lawyers”
LIV Golf’s inaugural season in 2022 and the subsequent controversies and lawsuits had been “very turbulent” for the sport, Woods told reporters at the Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades.
“We never would have expected the game of golf to be in this situation, but it is. That’s the reality.
“They’re a competitive organisation trying to create the best product they possibly can and we’re also trying to create the best product, which we think is the future of golf and how it should be played.
“How do we do that? We’re still working on it.”
Woods called world No 1 Rory McIlroy the PGA Tour’s “ambassador” and said he had been extraordinary at navigating the new, at times hostile, terrain.
McIlroy beat LIV Golf’s Patrick Reed by one stroke at last month’s Dubai Desert Classic after the American, who is taking legal action on different fronts, threw a ...
Nicola Sturgeon quit as Scottish first minister on Wednesday, saying her dominance over her party and the country was no longer the asset it once was in the fight for an independent Scotland.
The 52-year-old, who has been first minister since 2014, also said she would stand down as leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), saying a fresh face would have a better chance of reaching across the political divide, and that she had become too divisive – and too tired – to lead that fight any more.
She will stay in place until a successor is found.
Sturgeon became SNP leader in the wake of a 2014 independence referendum when Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain part of the UK.
But in recent months she has been outmanoeuvred by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government in London over attempts to hold a second referendum and she has been embroiled in a row over transgender rights.
Read in Daily Maverick: “UK top court will take ‘months’ to decide Scottish referendum case”
Sturgeon told a news conference in Edinburgh that while she believed there was majority support for independence in Scotland, the SNP needed to solidify and grow that support.
“To achieve that, we must reach across the divide in Scottish politics,” she said. “And my judgement now is that a new leader will be better able to do this. Someone about whom the mind of almost everyone in the country is not already made up for better or worse.
“I’ve always been of the belief that no one individual should be dominant in any system for too long.”
Sturgeon, who has had to work with five prime ministers in London during her time in office, stands down with no obvious successor, and with the matter of independence unresolved.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
She led her party to a resounding success at the 2015 UK election, winning 56 of 59 seats in Scotland and establishing it as Britain’s third-largest party, before she retained control over the devolved parliament in more recent elections.
Sturgeon’s SNP suffered a blow in November when the UK’s top court ruled that her Scottish government could not hold a second referendum without approval from the British parliament.
Successive Conservative governments in London have said the 2014 referendum was a once-in-a-generation decision and could not be repeated so soon.
Sturgeon said in response that she would turn the next British general election into ...
The protesters demanded that Mega Ndira Resources hire new supervisors so that different people get a chance to work, however, the company says it is on a month-to-month contract with the City and cannot change all its supervisors.
Five people arrested after a protest in Khayelitsha in Cape Town were released from police custody on Tuesday. They were part of a crowd who blocked Baden Powell Drive and Walter Sisulu Drive with burning tyres and stones in an ongoing dispute over a City of Cape Town rubbish collection contract.
The protesters were due to appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court on Tuesday on charges of public violence. But Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said they had not been charged. “They could not be linked to the offence. The docket was sent back to the investigating officer,” he said.
On Monday police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the protesters in Enkanini, Khayelitsha.
Community activists said the protesters wanted the City to fire cleaning company Mega Ndira Resources and hire a new company in its place. The protesters had called on the cleaning company to hire new supervisors along with new cleaners so that different people can get jobs, but without success.
Community activist Nonceba Ndlebe said: “We don’t want Mega Ndira because its managers don’t want to cooperate with the residents.
“We want the City to hire a new company that will cooperate with us and employ new supervisors yearly so that we can share the cleaning jobs and also benefit from the cleaning project,” she said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Sanco leader Myolisi Magibisela said: “We as residents selected the supervisors ourselves at community meetings and handed them over to the cleaning company. We wanted to do the same again with new supervisors.
“We fail to understand why the managers don’t want to part ways with the supervisors now,” he said.
Ward 96 councillor Lucky Mbiza and Ward 95 councillor Ayanda Thethani said they had tried unsuccessfully to convince Mega Ndira Resources managers to accede to the shack dwellers demand at two meetings at Khayelitsha Training Centre in the past two weeks.
Mbiza said: “I support the protesters. The residents also want to get a chance to be supervisors. Mega Ndira Resources has failed to work with the community.
“If the City continues to use the company, that would mean it also has no respect for the community.”
Meanwhile, Thethani said, ...
Baby chickens under 28 days old are a cheffy tradition which we see very little of today.
It turns out that a petit poussin (young chicken, or poussin) is a great choice for cooking whole in an air fryer. You can even cook two, perhaps more, at a time, depending on the basket size.
Given its diminutive size, a petit poussin obviously cooks much quicker than a fully grown specimen. You need a whole one per serving; to divide one in two would be worthy of a Scrooge.
I cooked them simply, with fresh rosemary stuffed into their cavities to flavour them from within.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
2 petit poussin (baby chickens)
4 rosemary twigs
Salt and white pepper to taste
Rosemary olive oil or plain olive oil
2 x 500 g baby chickens
Method
Wash and dry the birds inside and out, mopping the inside with scrunched-up kitchen paper.
Season the insides with white pepper and salt, not too much.
Push rosemary twigs inside them.
Preheat the air fryer at 190℃ for 10 minutes.
Season them outside with salt and white pepper and coat with rosemary olive oil (or plain olive oil), spray the basket with olive oil spray, and place them in the basket with space between them, upside down.
Air fryer for 10 minutes at 190℃.
Turn them over and cook for another 10 minutes at 190℃.
Rest the birds for 15 minutes. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
This dish is photographed on a platter by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.
The Investec Cape Town Art Fair is returning from 17 to 19 February.
This year, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair celebrates its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of showcasing African art and hosting artists in dialogue. Here are five reasons you should make a stop at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), from 17 to 19 February.
A 10th anniversary
For the past decade the fair has brought artists, galleries, curators, art professionals and art lovers together in one city to celebrate and explore creativity on the African continent.
“I think the most important achievement, in these 10 years, is creating a place of confrontation and dialogue,” Laura Vincenti, Investec Cape Town Art Fair director, told Maverick Life.
This year the fair will showcase works from 106 exhibitors at the CTICC to create a “city” of art where visitors step into intimate booths to view the various exhibits.
The fair will also debut a new event, Art Speed Dating, designed to connect artists and practitioners. Though the event is by invitation only, Vincenti says she hopes this new method of networking will open doors for those working in the art industry, and perhaps even be a form of job creation.
“You never know what can happen,” she says.
“The fair’s aim is not just celebrating or showcasing art, it is really about creating connections with the city, with the local institutions and with artists. Our aim is to expand our outreach all through the year and act as an engine for the cultural industry in the country.”
Travel through time
This year, the fair is curated around the theme of “time”, allowing artists and visitors alike to reflect on years gone by, pause for moments of introspection of the present day and look ahead and envision a future of art on the continent. “A big anniversary gives you the chance to reflect on time, on what you’ve done and what you want to do in the future. We chose the curators that embrace this idea of the fair, and asked them to represent their vision of the theme in the dialogue between artists and galleries and curators,” Vincenti explains.
There is something for everyone this year, with solo exhibits, offerings from various galleries, a section dedicated to technology, “Editions”, which features galleries and workshops that specialise in prints, multiples and editions and presentations of Modern masters.
The Tomorrows/Today section, titled “In and Out of Time”, is made up of 10 ...
While the world focuses on Ukraine, unprecedented funding shortages and shrinking migration pathways leave Africans stranded.
Across many parts of Africa, conflict, political violence, climate change and food insecurity are converging to forcibly displace more Africans than ever. High inflation rates, rising energy costs and repercussions from Covid-19 and the Ukraine war compound already complex situations.
The number of forcibly displaced people — which includes internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees — surpassed 100 million globally in May 2022. While the Ukrainian crisis dominated responses last year, African refugees have fewer options with less support than ever.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) 2023 planning figures, 44 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are displaced, up from 38.3 million at the end of 2021. Most (60%) are IDPs. Africa hosts three-quarters of all new internal displacements.
In East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes, 19.2 million people had fled their homes by the end of 2021 due to violence, climate-related droughts and flooding. The region is suffering the worst drought in 40 years after five consecutive failed rainy seasons, and faces a sixth in 2023. As of November 2022, drought had displaced 1.8 million people.
Over nine million livestock have died in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia after four failed rainy seasons and record low crop yields. Many fleeing food insecurity seek refuge in other drought-affected regions. South Sudan, meanwhile, suffered heavy flooding for the fourth consecutive year. Over two million people are displaced due to flooding and ongoing conflict.
In Southern Africa, 10.1 million people are displaced due to climate-linked disasters, drought, economic pressures and insecurity. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) long-standing conflict has created five million IDPs and one million refugees. Malawi is experiencing severe food scarcity linked to poverty and extreme weather. In Mozambique, almost one million have been internally displaced by the ongoing insurgency and climate change disasters.
In West and Central Africa, violent extremism, political instability, inter-communal clashes over scarce resources and climate change have displaced 12.7 million people. Burkina Faso’s IDP crisis is one of the fastest-growing in the world. The worst flooding in Nigeria’s history displaced 1.3 million people and inundated IDP camps, while flooding also affected parts of Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon. One in every four Central Africans was displaced in 2022 due to protracted insecurity.
Despite this devastating picture across much of Africa, humanitarian and refugee responses face unprecedented funding shortages. In ...
Fish finished in the oven with a gratin of onions and cheese is a splendid thing, and one of my prized memories of the home food of my youth.
It occurs to me often, these days, that my dad had a much bigger influence on me and my love for cooking than I had realised when I was younger. As well as his proper pork pies in the Melton Mowbray style, he loved to make his “fish au gratin” which, in his broad Yorkshire accent, didn’t sound remotely French. More like fisher gra’an, the vowels separated by a glottal stop in the London tradition.
When I was living in England circa 2004 I trekked north to Yorkshire to see my cousins and stopped, en route, at Melton Mowbray, where I went into its legendary pork pie shop and emerged with a lovely, golden pie which I ate in the street. It was perfect, and it was exactly the same as my dad’s, in my memory at least.
In his world, fish au gratin was (and, always for me, still is) fish baked in the oven with a topping of golden fried onions and grated cheese, which meld together under the grill while the cheese melts and turns golden and, depending on the variety of cheese, either molten or crisp, or a bit of both. The Langbaken Williston cheese I used for it the other day melted and then crisped into a delicious crust, which was really good, although my dad’s was always more molten. Either way, it’s a treat.
The technique of gratination in an oven (or today in an air fryer, optionally) is also applied to potato bakes such as Pommes Dauphinois, lasagne from Italy, Greek zucchini bakes, and everyone’s favourite childhood supper, macaroni cheese. And what is a perfect mound of cauliflower cheese, finished under the grill of an oven or air fryer, if not a gratin. and better still if it has a few light breadcrumbs on top to turn perfection even better.
I bought fresh hake while in Gqeberha last weekend and it’s almost like a different fish, when used fresh, than a fillet of frozen hake is. Not that I have a problem with frozen hake, especially if you take it directly from the freezer to the air fryer.
I cooked these fresh hake fillets in the air fryer, but you can pan-fry it first if you prefer, but not all ...
Watermelon, spanspek (cantaloupe), chicken espetadas on the braai, and tangy citrus sorbet to finish. That all adds up to summer dining in the balmy fresh air.
The February heat has us out of doors and looking for ways to make the most of the balmy days and nights while also seeking ways to cool down. There are cool meals to help achieve both of these goals. Make watermelon “pizza” and a chilled summer soup, and follow some chicken espetadas with an orange-anise sorbet.
Watermelon wedges
They’re round, they’re cut into wedges, and there’s a topping. but they’re not pizza.
Ingredients
1 round of watermelon, including the rind, about 1.5 cm thick
1 small red onion, sliced and pickled
1 Tbsp toasted and crushed Szechuan peppercorns
1 finely chopped red chilli, seeds removed
4 Tbsp crumbled creamy feta
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Coarse pink sea salt
Chopped mint
For the pickle:
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup cold water
2 Tbsp honey
½ tsp sea salt
Method
Heat all pickle ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Slice the red onion thinly and put in a jar or bowl. Pour the pickling liquid over and let it stand for 30 minutes. Chill.
Mix the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together. Toast and crush the Szechuan peppercorns.
Cut a 1.5 cm round slice all the way through the middle of a watermelon and then cut into wedges. Keep the rind on. Pick out the pips that you can see.
Drizzle the balsamic and oil over all the wedges. Crumble the feta over. Drop slivers of pickled red onion here and there. Sprinkle the crushed Szechuan peppercorns and bits of chilli over. Finally, sprinkle with chopped fresh mint and coarse sea salt.
Chilled spanspek and coriander soup
This recipe, though it retains the sweetness of the melon, is a savoury dish. Just like a million other soups, it starts with the simmering of chopped onion, carrot and celery with garlic, and then you flavour it up with orange peel, bay leaves and subtle spices. Then, cubed melon goes in and a bit of magic starts to happen in the pot.
The soup needs to be well chilled before serving, and is perfect for lunch on a hot summer’s day.
Ingredients
3 Tbsp avocado oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celery stick, diced
2 carrots, grated
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground fennel
1 strip of dried or fresh orange peel (or naartjie)
2 bay leaves
1 large spanspek (cantaloupe), peeled, ...
The government has declared a National State of Disaster to enable an “intensive, coordinated” response to the floods that have devastated parts of seven of South Africa’s nine provinces.
The Presidency said Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West had been affected by flooding, which was brought on by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Niña weather phenomenon.
Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape had been affected the most.
Last week, Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster in response to the electricity crisis at Eskom.
If the decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria, a few weeks before elections, to engender a political crisis by replacing all the country’s banknotes with new ones was an attempt to blow up Nigeria’s democracy, it could not have been better timed – or more ineptly handled.
How else does one describe the Central Bank’s declaration, without proper organisation, that the entire set of notes in circulation – 2.7 trillion naira ($5.86-billion) – is not money anymore, while printing less than one-tenth of the new notes to replace them?
In a country where only 40% of people have bank accounts and less than 10% use digital money, it is surely a bad joke to tell people to use digital currency.
Or worse, it reeks of Marie Antoinette’s famous “let them eat cake” line.
Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, the director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, described the puzzling decision as a “currency confiscation programme, seizing banknotes from the public and refusing to give it back to them”.
It was a dagger to the heart of the Nigerian economy, a largely cash-run informal sector. Without cash, people were not able to buy food or do their daily business. Banks shut their doors and were stormed; some were burnt down by angry crowds.
The debacle may have been rescued by three northern governors – from Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara – who asked the supreme court to declare the Central Bank’s plan illegal. The ruling is expected on Wednesday.
Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, who is one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s closest allies, said he felt compelled to ask why any government would incite its own electorate by taking their money away on the eve of an election. He concluded that “it is very clear that there is a hidden agenda. How evil or how dark that agenda is, only God knows.”
Speaking to the Premium Times newspaper, El-Rufai said that though the policy was “cloaked with the intention of reducing money laundering”, the actual agenda was “to bring trade and commerce and exchange to a halt and make it impossible for the elections to take place or ignite protests so that the entire democratic structure will collapse or lead to an uprising that will invite the military to take over”.
In this scenario, the election would be delayed and an interim government would assume control.
Spanner in the works
The obvious question is to what end was this spanner thrown in ...
A round of toasted multigrain baguette topped with nutty fried mushrooms is a neat way to finish off this light and creamy mushroom soup.
It’s not yet soup season, but this mushroom soup makes a relatively light and nourishing supper for the occasional cooler evening that comes along once in a while at this time of year.
It’s finished with don’t-call-it-Port (“Cape Tawny” ), though in my household we call it Port and to heck with the consequences. I mean, what are they gonna do, lock us up? (Did I just hear a knock at the front door? )
(Serves 2-3 large portions)
Ingredients
500 g button mushrooms
3 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
A few thyme sprigs
A glass of dry white wine
750 ml vegetable stock (I used Nomu)
250 cream
2 Tbsp Dijonnaise (mustard mixed with honey)
A dash of Cape Tawny ‘don’t call it Port’
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
2 slices of multigrain baguette (or other), toasted
16 small button mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp olive oil
Garlic salt
Black pepper
Method
Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on their size.
Peel and chop the onion and garlic and cook in a little butter, stirring on a low heat until lightly caramelised.
Add the thyme and a glass of white wine and cook on a moderate heat until reduced by half.
Add the mushrooms and cook on a moderate heat, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their juices, then cook a minute more.
Add vegetable stock, season with salt and white pepper, return to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for five minutes.
Add the cream, bring to a simmer, stir in the Dijonnaise, and cook gently for a few more minutes.
Finally, stir in a dash of good port or sherry.
Meanwhile, chop the extra little mushrooms and cook in butter until nutty brown. Season with a little garlic salt and black pepper. Toast the baguette slices and pop two each on bowls of soup. Spoon the cooked mushrooms on top. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
This dish is photographed on a xxxxx by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.
South Africa still has some way to go to match the likes of Australia and England in maximising player fitness, but the gap between the elites and SA has closed steadily over the past three years.
Dané van Niekerk was left out of South Africa’s World Cup squad for the T20 World Cup on home soil despite being the fittest she’s been in her career.
That’s how much the fitness standards and importance have changed over the past few years in SA women’s cricket — that a player of world-class ability and leadership can be omitted from a World Cup for not meeting one of the required running measurements.
Fitness was never taken so seriously in South African women’s cricket before 2019. In fact, up to that point, there was no data measuring the players’ fitness levels.
“The general professionalism of the group wasn’t at the standard that I was happy with, coming from the men’s game,” said Zane Webster, the Proteas Women’s strength and conditioning coach. “I felt that it lacked that extra 10%-15% professionalism.
‘Astounding achievement’
“It’s astounding what they’ve managed to achieve with regard to transforming their approach to fitness, but more importantly, their lifestyle.”
The increased levels of professionalism have steadily been implemented in the team. There were some squabbles and disagreements at first, but everyone in the team has since taken enthusiastically to the added individualised training.
There is no one player that stands head and shoulders above the rest with regard to their fitness and lifestyle transformation since 2019.
But Webster uses opening batter Laura Wolvaardt and all-rounder Chloe Tryon as examples of hard work off the field paying off on the field.
“Laura Wolvaardt’s fitness has never been an issue in terms of her conditioning and her aerobic capacity. She’s always been supremely fit,” said Webster.
“But areas where we identified with her — where she’s got a lot better — she’s become a gym savage where previously she wasn’t really into lifting heavy weights. Now you’ll find her in the gym more than anyone else.
“She’s had issues with her mobility, which could be a high risk for injury, and she’s come on in leaps and bounds.”
The reason Wolvaardt is always consistent with bat in hand is that she never allows her strength and conditioning levels to drop, according to Webster.
“Someone like Chloe [Tryon], the big thing for her was weight loss. The intervention that was put in place; I can’t even put into ...
The US will push for Ukraine’s allies to deliver more air defence capabilities, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said, as Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov appointed three deputies in a shake-up aimed at quelling accusations of corruption.
Speaking as Nato defence chiefs meeting in Brussels discussed weapons deliveries, including tanks and ammunition for Kyiv, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia still had “a substantial number of aircraft” left in its arsenal.
The ministers are also looking at spending targets, as allies may agree as soon as this summer to spend a minimum of 2% of their economic output on defence, a slight shift from their previous goal.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov appointed three deputies in a shake-up aimed at quelling accusations of corruption, stepping up an effort to placate Western donors delivering cash and weapons to fight Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Key developments
Nato struggles to meet spending goals as it mulls higher target
Ukraine defence chief shakes up ministry amid corruption probes
Banks with Russia ties targeted by US Treasury whistle-blowers
JPMorgan to help Ukraine on debt capital markets, reconstruction
The devaluation run in frontier markets is just getting started
On the ground
Russian forces continued their offensive, focusing on Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s armed forces general staff.
The Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces made marginal territorial gains near Bakhmut and continued to conduct ground attacks across the Donetsk region.
The Russian army also unsuccessfully attacked Ukrainian positions in western Zaporizhzhia while continuing to fortify positions in the region.
Ukraine needs more air defence help, says Austin
Austin said Western allies haven’t given Ukraine enough air defence systems and the US would press for more, given the threat posed by Russia’s air force.
“It’s not enough and we’re gonna keep pushing until we get more because that threat is out there,” Austin told a news conference, when asked about the flow of air defences to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.
“We do know that Russia has a substantial number of aircraft in its inventory and a lot of capability left.”
Austin spoke alongside General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the sidelines of a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels.
A top Ukrainian demand has been for increasingly advanced air defence systems, from shoulder-fired Stinger missiles at the start of the war to Patriot missile interceptors in recent months.
Spain to deploy anti-air battery in Estonia
Spain will send ...
A memorial service for slain rapper AKA — Kiernan Forbes — will be held this Friday at the Sandton Convention Centre, and he will be buried on Saturday. Police are tight-lipped about the investigation into his murder.
Despite being handed footage showing gruesome details of rapper AKA’s last moments, police are mum on the status of the investigation into his murder.
Kiernan Forbes (35) was assassinated on Friday night, alongside his lifelong friend and former manager Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane outside Wish restaurant in Florida Road, Durban.
His death was captured on CCTV footage that points to two unknown assailants who fired multiple gunshots at Motsoane and Forbes.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “We are not providing any updates on that matter.” He would not be drawn into giving reasons behind the decision other than to suggest that providing information could possibly jeopardise the investigation.
Previously, Netshiunda said a manhunt had been launched for the suspects and the police urged anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to contact them.
Meanwhile, Forbes’ family held a media briefing in Bryanston, Sandton, where the family made their first public appearance since the murder.
The briefing was addressed by Forbes’ father, Tony, as the rapper’s mother, Lynn, and girlfriend, Nadia Nakai, wept.
Tony Forbes expressed appreciation for the love and support the family had received from the public since the murder.
“We want to acknowledge the outpouring of love that we have received since Kiernan’s passing. That love has been extended to our families, our colleagues and friends. It has really helped in terms of giving us comfort these past few days,” he said.
He also condemned “dangerous” speculation on social media about the alleged involvement in the murder of the musician’s friends who were with him at the time of the incident.
“We do not condone what has been said about his friends; and those making dangerous statements — we appeal to them to cease doing so.” He said the friends had gone out of their way to assist the family in every way possible.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
AKA’s murder comes just under two years after the death of his fiancée, Anele “Nellie” Tembe, who died from injuries sustained during a fall from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Loop Street, Cape Town, in April 2021.
Her death sparked a number of questions, particularly when the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute.
Commenting on ...
It’s a disorientating experience to dwell in a city where the roadworks department fixes problems by. digging more holes. Then there’s the taxi drivers who drive like stuntmen, and the hallucinating traffic controllers. Oh, and the mayor is a sock puppet.
There are so many things that make it so bewildering to be a Joburg dweller. It’s not just our new mayor, though I’ll get to him.
The roadworks are particularly confusing. You could understand when, shortly before the local government elections last year, the roadworks department suddenly attacked a whole lot of spots with apparent problems. Its workers dug huge holes all around those problem areas, leaving bits of tarmac and other debris lying around, cordoned off the whole thing with that plastic netting stuff that is part-yellow and part-orange (they couldn’t go for a greater contrast?), then drove on to the next problem spot.
It was obvious to any citizen why they did that. It was local government election time, so obviously they had to show that they were working on the kinds of issues that concern Joburg dwellers, hence all the digging and the erection of yellow-and-orange netting stuff. Hence all the blockages in or on our roads, all the obstacles placed in the way of those trying to drive around the city.
It was as good as putting up a sign, in ANC colours, that said: “Hey, Joburg dwellers! Look! We’re busy fixing these problems that have arisen during the last five years of our tenure! We’re on to it! We’re on the job! Vote ANC!”
Except then they didn’t return. No, the local government elections were long over, the winners and losers had been declared, but those holes in the tarmac remained holes in the tarmac. The yellow-and-orange netting flapped gently in the breeze as the holes slowly, or quickly, depending on where we were in the monsoon season, filled up with water. Then the water began to stagnate, and mosquitoes bred, and the tarmac around the holes began to decay and crumble like necrotised flesh around a wound.
And so most of them sat there, and still sit there, though now we have a new mayor who has promised to fix the “potholes” (before moving on to the liberation of Palestine).
Someone obviously told him that potholes were a major problem all over Joburg and he’d better have something to say he was going to fix as he faced his virgin ...
While President Cyril Ramaphosa seems to be in a technically strong political position, there is a growing feeling he is still paralysed. Even though he may believe our energy crisis is a national disaster, he is yet to publish any real, concrete plan to improve the situation.
For the moment, there is no public explanation for the President’s apparent paralysis. The longer Ramaphosa goes without implementing a Cabinet reshuffle and any other energetic moves, or at least explaining the delay, the weaker he looks.
Last Thursday, Ramaphosa used the biggest possible stage to announce that he was declaring a National State of Disaster over the load shedding crisis. It was clearly designed to show that he and his government were giving this crisis their utmost attention and that it was their central priority.
And yet, six days since that announcement, no regulations have been published under the National State of Disaster.
In other words, despite this announcement, nothing has changed regarding Eskom, the grid or energy policy since the moment Ramaphosa started reading his State of the Nation Address.
Despite the words uttered in his speech, his government has done nothing.
It gets worse.
There is, as yet, no Minister of Electricity in the Presidency, despite Ramaphosa’s announcement of such a post last week.
It goes still deeper than that.
It is not yet clear how regulations under the National State of Disaster will actually be drafted.
Will they be drawn up by Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who signs them into law?
Will it be Energy Minister Gwede Mantshe?
Or Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan?
Or will there be a committee, or another body with “Command” in its title, a word for which both the ANC and EFF harbour a special fondness?
If there is a committee, would it be just the latter two ministers or would Dlamini Zuma join them, as she would be the person who has to sign the regulations?
And then, there is the glaring absence of the appointed electricity minister. It would appear to make little sense to draw up and publish the regulations without this person. If they — as the Presidency says — will take ultimate responsibility for dealing with the problem, it surely makes little sense to introduce the disaster regulations before the appointment is made.
But if this is the case, could that mean that the regulations will only be drawn up after this person has been appointed? It would obviously take some time to ...
Retailer Pick n Pay has removed all plastic ‘barrier’ bags from its till points — this is expected to prevent 20 million of these small bags from entering the environment. Barrier bags are traditionally used by stores to separate selected products such as fresh produce, toiletries or cleaning products from other groceries.
The Pick n Pay barrier bag ban follows in the footsteps of competitor Woolworths, which removed all single-use bags from its stores, replacing them with recycled black bags. However, public jokes about Woolworths’ black bags that customers kept forgetting to take back to the store with them, led to the retailer rolling out an initiative where consumers can bring unwanted bags back for other consumers to use.
“The objective of our reusable shopping bag initiative is to change consumption behaviour and to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic,” says Latiefa Behardien, Woolworths Foods chief technology and sustainability officer.
“All our food markets are single-use plastic shopping bag-free, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the demand and use of reusable shopping bags.
“We are committed to circularity and reducing single-use consumption, so we challenged ourselves to ensure that the broken or worn reusable bags are disposed of responsibly and given a new life, and for excess bags to be reused, reducing the need to purchase more.
“Last year, as part of our vision for zero packaging waste to landfill, we started engaging with local recyclers to test various second-life products for our reusable bags and started trialling recycling ‘drop-offs’ at our tills in selected stores.
“The objective of the trial was to test our reverse logistics system, as the bags need to be returned with our other recyclable store waste to our distribution centres where it is then sorted before moving on to recyclers for second-life trials,” confirms Behardien.
With the roll-out of the reusable bag recycling drops-off to an additional 100 stores, Woolworths and the recyclers are hoping to have the opportunity to test various second-life options on a bigger scale to finalise the best option for the worn reusable bags and close the circle.
The “Bring a Bag/Take a Bag” initiative has been exceptionally well received by customers, as it offers them the opportunity to drop off their excess reusable bags that are still in good condition for other customers who have forgotten theirs, to use and return thereafter.
“Based on our customer feedback and a great suggestion from ‘The Good Things Guy’ – ...
The protesters called on Pretoria to cancel the naval drill with Russia and instead spend the money on helping flood victims and on diesel for Eskom.
Ukrainians in South Africa and their sympathisers on Tuesday continued their rolling protests against South Africa’s planned war games with Russia when they sailed close to the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the Cape Town harbour to brandish posters of protest.
They called on Pretoria to cancel its maritime Exercise Mosi II with Russia and China and instead use the resources of the South African National Defence Force to help the victims of the current floods in parts of the country.
There was an appropriate symbolism about a small yacht full of Ukrainian protesters confronting the hypersonic missile-bearing frigate.
The protesters carried posters demanding “Keep Russian wars away from our shores” and “No Russian Missiles” as the crew of the frigate lined the ship’s railings to watch. Some of the crew used binoculars to inspect the protesters.
Harbour police in a dinghy kept close to the yacht but did not interfere with the protest. Dzvinka Kachur, a representative of the Ukrainian Association of South Africa, told Daily Maverick that the organisation had received permission from the port authority to sail in the harbour.
“Our aim was not to attack the ship. Our intentions are peaceful. We wanted to send the message that we do not welcome this extension of the Russian aggression against Ukraine into the Southern Ocean,” said Kachur, who was one of eight protesters on the yacht.
The Admiral Gorshkov slipped into Cape Town harbour on Monday morning after sailing down through the Atlantic where it conducted its own manoeuvres, including firing its 130mm cannons at a floating target, in preparation for Exercise Mosi II, the 10-day joint maritime drill with South Africa and China which is due to start off the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Friday.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Further protests planned
The Ukrainian Association of South Africa and other NGOs issued a statement saying they would hold another protest against Exercise Mosi II in front of the Russian consulate-general in Cape Town on Friday and then again at Umhlanga, north of Durban on Saturday.
“It is most unfortunate that South Africa has chosen to invite the Russian Federation to participate in war games off the South African coast between Durban and Richards Bay, at a time when Russia is engaging in the invasion of ...
The National Credit Regulator warns that these schemes are in fact scams – a way to circumvent the National Credit Act and run off with consumers’ vehicles.
Need cash now? The pawn-while-you-drive scheme appears to be an enticing option, promising consumers the ability to raise cash on their vehicles, bikes and boats – while still in possession of them.
These asset-based pawn schemes are a con: If and when you run into trouble with your repayments, you will lose your vehicle and getting it back – or receiving fair value for it – will be a struggle.
That’s because the National Credit Regulator insists that pawn-while-you-drive schemes are simply not pawn transactions, regulated by the National Credit Act (NCA), as the lenders – who are most often not registered credit providers – take ownership of consumers’ vehicles.
Under these schemes, the lender/“pawnbroker” enters into a sale agreement with a consumer whereby they “purchase” the consumer’s vehicle, which the customer in turn has to “lease” until the “loan” amount is repaid.
The lenders essentially take ownership of the consumers’ vehicles for the entire loan period. Should consumers fail to repay the loans, the lenders retain possession of the vehicles. And in most cases, consumers lose their vehicles.
On the surface, these schemes offer consumers – who might otherwise not meet traditional lenders’ requirements under the NCA – the ability to access a loan by using assets as security.
The consumer, purporting to “sell” their asset to the supplier, hands over the registration papers of their paid-off vehicles and then pays the supplier a monthly “rental” to retain possession of their vehicles, as a way to bypass affordability assessments required by the NCA.
The customer is also liable for service charges, fees or rental. The monthly “rental fee” usually amounts to around 30% of the amount advanced to the consumer, with a “rental” period of a maximum of three months, depending on the contract provisions. At the end of the contract period, the customer must repay the sale price value and the rental or fees due in full, or forfeit their asset.
Tracking devices are fitted to the vehicle, allowing the lender to trace the vehicle’s whereabouts, which they activate when – not if – the customer defaults, because that is the rule, not the exception. Then, they lose their vehicles and are told there’s no comeback.
Andile’s story
This is what happened to Andile [surname withheld], who wrote to Business Maverick complaining ...
In the year 2000, a German parliamentarian called Hans-Josef Fell and a colleague devised the ‘feed-in-tariff’ system, called FIT, because left-leaning politicians are very good with three-letter acronyms. It created a revolution.
Announcements made in the President’s State of the Nation Address suggest the government intends to announce in the Budget next week ways to assist the South African public and businesses to establish and utilise renewable energy . The move is intended to help SA develop better energy security and to lighten the load on Eskom. What we don’t know is how the system will work, or indeed what system the government has selected.
Hence, it might be worth doing a quick review of the methods other countries have employed to get a sense of what works — and what does not. As readers of this column might know, I am completely biased in this argument because long ago I installed a photovoltaic (PV) solar system and I have rather relentlessly bragged about it ever since (sorry, not sorry).
My solar system installation is one the best investments I have ever made, and it would have been so much better if it had been a conscious investment decision. Sadly, it was not; it was dictated by the remoteness of my house and the high cost of getting “Eskom power’, as it’s known in my area in the Karoo, from the road to my house some 4km into the Swartberg mountain range. Some genius investment decisions, as everyone knows, are made fortuitously.
Anyway, just putting my cards on the table. I’m proud to say I’m pro-solar, but more concretely, I’m pro-solar by experience, and not simply by theory. So obviously, I’m delighted to hear that the government is finally going to step up to the plate and help South Africans do this. But how?
Well, the way it has worked almost everywhere is through a system utilising “feed-in-tariffs”. What these do is pay you, once you have established a PV system on your roof, for example, for the electricity that you feed into the grid, which helps you pay for the system. This is the excess electricity that you don’t use yourself, hence you gain twice: you get a reduction on your bill for the electricity you put into the grid, and you don’t have to pay for the electricity you create yourself. But you do pay for any electricity you take out of the ...
For 23 years, Dr Fani Ncapayi got up at every integrated development plan meeting held by the Sakhisizwe Municipality and asked that the municipality clean the stormwater drains in his town. It never happened. On Sunday, he was washing his car when the rain started, and his prediction of disaster came true.
There were small disasters along the way, but nobody listened.
When the flood came, the town was not ready.
The rain was not unexpected. It is, after all, as Garth Sampson from the SA Weather Service put it, “thunderstorm season”.
“I came to Elliot in 2000,” Dr Fani Ncapayi said. “I have complained to the municipality about them not cleaning the stormwater drains for 23 years. First, I never thought about floods. I was more concerned about stagnant water standing at people’s houses.
“Nothing was done. Not even a little bit. In February 2022, when they said they had no money and no equipment to clean the drains, we said: ‘You have workers. They can do it.’ They started once or twice, but come 4pm, they would lie next to the road and the work would not be done.”
For years, he said, residents had been using their own money to dig trenches and do what they can. “We no longer follow the regulations,” he added.
“In February 2022, we met with the municipal manager to raise our concerns about the drains and the river. We said they should do something. They said they didn’t have the money. We said, ‘You have employees who can clean.’ They didn’t even do that.
“In November, we had serious floods here.”
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On Sunday, Ncapayi was washing his car when it started raining. “It stopped, but then the WhatsApp messages started. My neighbours up the road were flooded. We later heard that a dam wall had broken,” he said.
On Monday, they were at the municipality to complain. “The municipal manager wasn’t there. We met with the mayor and another official. We asked them what their plans were. The mayor didn’t know.
“We knew that the team from the Chris Hani District Municipality was here over the weekend. I said to the mayor: ‘This is not new. We have been raising this issue for 23 years.’ We said, by 4pm, we wanted to see that something was being done. They sent workers, but by 4pm, they were lying down on the side of ...
John Hume, who owns more white rhinos than anyone else on Earth – about 2,000 – plans to put his entire breeding project in North West up for auction in mid-April. Hume has long maintained that the project’s costs were rendering it unviable, and attempts to woo investors have proven futile.
Known as the Platinum Rhino breeding project, John Hume made the announcement on Monday.
“South Africa’s privately owned Platinum Rhino breeding and conservation project, the largest of its kind in the world, is set to go on auction in mid-April 2023. The project has been in operation since 2009 and currently protects close to 2,000 Southern white rhinos on an 8,500 hectare savannah landscape in South Africa,” the notice said.
“Project founder John Hume says the ideal buyer is a person or foundation with a passion for conserving rhinos and the means to keep the breeding project going.”
Finding such a buyer will be no easy task, though it might appeal to someone with lots of cash – say, in the billionaire bracket – who wants to make their mark in conservation. But there are not too many ads out there on the buy side that say: “Wanted: 2,000 white rhinos. Will pay premium price.”
Hume’s previous attempts to woo investors or auction assets to pay for the project have not met with success. In 2019, an attempt to auction his 6,600ha Mauricedale Nature Estate in Mpumalanga received no bids.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Top rhino rancher running out of options after property auction flop”
“Our appeal for alternative funding and/or investment from the world at large has to date proven entirely fruitless,” Hume said at that time.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Quo vadis South Africa’s rhino rancher supreme?”
More recently, Hume has attempted to plug into the “rewilding” movement, which broadly seeks to reintroduce wild fauna to its historic ranges and landscapes. Last year, he made 100 of his rhinos available for such purposes, but this initiative has also failed to gain traction.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The Platinum Rhino breeding project has found organisations with rewilding expertise to partner with, such as African Parks, but has not been able to secure a funder or a buyer to pay for the rhinos. Many NGOs will raise funds for translocation, but rely on animals that are donated.
“The project was set up to ensure the survival of a genetically diverse population of ...
Private owners of rhinos last year stemmed the carnage – while hardly putting a stop to it – as the shift of poaching to KZN’s state-run reserves picked up momentum.
The latest rhino poaching data released last week by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) once again highlighted the private sector’s relative success in pachyderm protection. About 8,000 rhinos are now in private hands in South Africa, perhaps 60% of the national herd. And the world’s largest private rhino conservation project is about to be auctioned.
The data showed that there was almost no change in the poaching numbers, with 448 rhinos slain in South Africa in 2022 for their horns to meet overwhelmingly Asian demand for the commodity, compared with 451 in 2021.
The devil as always is in the detail. As my colleague Tony Carnie has noted, the poaching surge into KwaZulu-Natal has remained a torrent, making the province’s state reserves, notably the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the current hotspots of the onslaught.
The data also underline the recovery of the private sector from a 2021 surge. The toll on private reserves fell in 2022, while on state land it rose.
In 2020, when there were 394 recorded rhino deaths linked to poaching, 37 of the pachyderms were killed on private reserves and farms – less than 10% of the total. In 2021, 124 of the 451 rhinos illegally killed in South Africa were privately owned animals, a rise of more than three-fold that accounted for 27.5% of the total.
Several factors were behind this push into private reserves, including the collapse of the Kruger Park population, which was once an estimated 11,000 rhinos, but is now probably only between 2,000 and 3,000 after more than a decade of relentless poaching.
Kruger rhino collapse
But private owners last year stemmed the carnage – while hardly putting a stop to it – while the shift to KZN’s state-run reserves picked up momentum. Of the 448 rhinos poached in 2022, 86 were privately owned animals, a 30% fall from 2021 that accounted for just under 20% of the total.
And since the private sector now has around 60% of the national herd, but less than 20% of the poaching total, it is simply doing a better job of protecting these natural and national assets than the government.
A recent academic paper highlighted the fact that at least half of all African rhinos across the continent roam on private or ...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was high on the agenda during a recent political dialogue. In a recent blog, EU Commissioner Josep Borrell explains the concern over South Africa’s position.
Together with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, I co-chaired the 15th South Africa-European Union Ministerial Political Dialogue, joined by my fellow EU commissioners Mairead McGuiness, Stella Kyriakides and Jutta Urpilainen.
Our discussions covered a wide range of issues, from political and security cooperation to trade and economic relations.
In addition to South Africa, we commissioners visited Botswana and discussed multilateral issues with both partners — above all, Russia’s war against Ukraine. And here there are significant differences between Botswana and South Africa.
Whereas Botswana voted in favour of the United Nations resolutions in March and October 2022 condemning the Russian aggression and the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, and has engaged with Russia asking to end this invasion, South Africa abstained during the vote.
As I expressed in my joint press conference with Pandor, we are facing today a high degree of global instability. A combination of challenges of the past and new ones creates tensions that affect all of us. We agreed that to face these threats, we have to work together more, to defend and reinvigorate the multilateral system.
I recalled that what Russia calls a “special military operation” is nothing less than a full-scale invasion of a sovereign country. Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians and destroying their homes as well as hospitals and power plants. Facts are facts: what is happening in Ukraine is a blatant violation of the UN Charter and the international rules-based order.
Despite its proclaimed non-aligned position, South Africa publicly appeared to be rather accommodating of Russia’s positions when Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov visited the country recently.
During his visit, Lavrov repeated well-known Russian lies, namely that the war supposedly is a defence against a “Russophobic and fascist Ukraine, supported by the West” and that it would serve “to save civilians and to stop direct threats to Russia’s securities at its borders”. He added the false claim that Europe and its partners are pushing for a military solution to the war, preventing diplomatic efforts.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
We ask nobody to choose sides
I recalled a few fundamental points in this regard to my South African counterparts. First, the easiest way to end this war and the suffering it causes is for President Vladimir ...
While never straightforward, discussions at the European Council last week were particularly heated.
Everyone knows the feeling of being passed over for a dinner invitation. How to respond is the tricky part — does one feign indifference or succumb to the temptation of attempting a barbed riposte?
Clearly, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tends to err on the latter side. Having been benched for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s late-night dinner last week at the Élysée Palace with the leaders of France and Germany, she sparked a fresh row between Rome and Paris by calling the hastily organised soirée “inappropriate”, adding caustically that it undermined European solidarity and was a stunt by French President Emmanuel Macron to deflect from his political woes at home.
Just eight months ago her predecessor, Mario Draghi, shared a train compartment to Kyiv with Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, showcasing European solidarity with Ukraine. Now, Italy’s new leader was absent and seemingly dispensable. Meloni could not conceal her irritation.
Dinner party invitations are, however, not the only thing that Meloni and her other European counterparts are bickering about. While never straightforward, discussions at the European Council last week were particularly heated.
First was the perennially tetchy topic of migration. Asylum applications in the EU exceeded 100,000 in November for the third consecutive month, while irregular arrivals hit their highest last year since 2016. The surging numbers have put EU governments under pressure to deliver a response. Meloni was once again in the midst of the fracas, saying that if movements of migrants across EU borders were banned, Italy would simply become a country of refugees.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
No less animated was the discussion on how to respond to US President Joe Biden’s great green spending splurge. Brussels is essentially unsure as to how to come up with enough cash to compete with the US’s estimated $800-billion green-tech investment package that forms part of the ironically named Inflation Reduction Act. With European corporates being seduced by attractive US subsidies and tax breaks, Europe needs to react. The question is how.
The European Commission’s “Green Deal Industrial Plan” outlines three options. First, increasing investment in green technologies by relaxing state aid rules to let member states subsidise their own industries. Second, spending as yet unused money from existing investment programmes. Or third, the EU could create new jointly funded schemes.
As usual in the EU there is a ...
Big changes are coming in South Africa’s fight against sexually transmitted infections, according to a draft of the country’s fifth HIV action plan.
Free home tests for four common – and curable – sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and trichomoniasis – could soon be available at chronic medicine pick-up points around the country, according to a draft of South Africa’s fifth HIV, TB and STI action plan.
Government clinics will also roll out STI tests that give results on the same day.
The new plan is being finalised after comments from the public and civil society were added, says Nelson Dlamini, communications manager at the South African National Aids Council. The final draft will be published on World TB Day on 24 March.
The updated strategy will run from 2023 to 2028.
Until now, South Africa’s public health sector hasn’t used tests as a standard to diagnose these four STIs (apart from syphilis). Instead, people get treated only if they show up to a facility with symptoms such as genital sores or discharge coming from their penis or vagina.
This is called “syndromic management” and it’s used by many low- and middle-income countries, including Tanzania and Mozambique. The logic is that many facilities don’t have easy access to a laboratory, so it might take up to four days for people to get their results, and then they might not return to the clinic to get the news or the medicine anyway.
In South Africa’s private sector, however, using lab tests to diagnose STIs is commonplace.
The trouble with the syndromic method is twofold:
First, most people with these STIs are asymptomatic, meaning they don’t show any symptoms (that was the case for more than three-quarters of women in one local study). So, with the current approach in the public health system, it means they won’t be treated and will continue to spread the infection to others.
What’s more, the Health Department doesn’t consistently collect data on how many people have one of the four common STIs (gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and trichomoniasis) on a national level. Instead, the department and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases run data collection drives every now and again, where samples are collected from people (who are showing symptoms) in all nine provinces and sent to the lab. The results are used to make predictions about how many of these infections are going around, and the department then decides whether it’s buying the ...
In October last year, Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth announced a three-phase plan to address key challenges with the province’s emergency medical services. Siyabonga Kamnqa visited All Saints Hospital in Ngcobo — one of the 28 priority hospitals targeted in the plan to see what progress has been made.
Gogo Nothembile Fanti (76) says she suffers from a heart condition and every time her grandchildren call an ambulance, they are told to wait, but it never arrives. She is one of about 40 patients — mostly older persons — sleeping on the floor and in chairs at All Saints Hospital in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape during Spotlight’s visit on 30 January. They are all waiting for an ambulance to take them to referral hospitals such as Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital and Bedford Hospital about 60 kilometres away in Mthatha. They come from various villages around Ngcobo.
Fanti, like many other patients, says they are forced to sleep there overnight as the free transport provided by the hospital leaves at the crack of dawn.
“I had to call my neighbour to [bring] me here, otherwise I could have died waiting for the ambulance. They told me that I have to be taken to Mthatha to see a specialist, but having to sleep under these conditions at my age is a terrible experience,” she says.
An old problem
The challenges with patient transport, specifically emergency medical transport in the Eastern Cape, are not new. Spotlight has previously reported on the issue here, here, and here.
In October last year, Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakosazana Meth in a response to a written question in the provincial legislature by DA MPL Jane Cowley said that there are 84 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) bases in the Eastern Cape — 16 of those are in the Chris Hani District where All Saints Hospital is situated.
Based on the numbers Meth provided, the district also has the highest vacancy rate — 65%. This means of the 796 posts available, there were 518 vacancies for EMS staff at the time of her response in October. Overall, for the whole province, the total posts were 3 269, but 1 202 were vacant at the time.
The province needs 671 ambulances based on its population but has 447 ambulances of which only 200 were rostered, meaning they were in service at the time. In Chris Hani District, they need at least 72 ambulances but only have ...
University of South Africa students say they are struggling to register and battling to get support from the institution’s administration. There are reports of several obstacles standing in the way of students. Daily Maverick spent 31 minutes on the student call centre line, but there was no response.
‘After I tried to contact them several times, they finally got back to me after I posted a tweet. So I guess Twitter has a thing of getting organisations to respond faster than they traditionally would,” Boitumelo Molete told Daily Maverick.
Molete is a postgraduate Sociology Honours student at the University of South Africa (Unisa). She is one of many students who have struggled with the registration process this year.
Unisa registration opened on 9 January. The academic year is set to begin this week, with orientation on 16 February. A keen student, Molete completed her registration on the day it opened. She paid her fees and although Unisa confirmed having received payment, her proof of registration did not arrive.
“I waited for my proof of registration, which didn’t come through. This frustrated me because I’d already selected the modules that I would be doing this year.
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“I tried to contact the faculty, via email, by phone. I was not getting through. I was not getting any response. So after a couple of days, I checked to see if the funds were in fact allocated, because I thought something might have gone wrong.”
Molete’s instincts were spot-on. She discovered that her registration fees had been wrongly allocated to a matric exemption fund.
“I had absolutely no idea what that was. I was very confused. My understanding was that I was paying towards my registration and at this stage my modules had not yet been processed,” she said.
After being unable to speak to anyone at Unisa, Molete went onto Twitter and posted a tweet:
I paid for my @unisa registration online via eft. The amount was allocated to the Matriculant Exemption account. Tell me why I struggling to have it allocated to the correct account
Melo M (@Beautimelom) January 20, 2023
It was only after she tweeted that Unisa got back to her.
“They called me, but that call didn’t give me any comfort. It didn’t address the issue of the money that was allocated incorrectly.”
Moelete then decided to travel to Unisa’s Pretoria campus, despite living some distance away in Lonehill. There, she was ...
The Western Cape High Court has described Moehydien Pangaker, a 57-year-old convicted serial rapist, kidnapper and child murderer as a deceitful, manipulative and cruel individual who cannot be reintegrated into society.
On Tuesday, serial child rapist Moehydien Pangaker was handed nine life sentences, totalling 225 years, for eight counts of rape and the murder of eight-year-0ld Tazne van Wyk. The sentences run concurrently.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Alan Maher in the Western Cape High Court. On 26 October 2022, the same judge found him guilty of kidnapping, eight counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of children, desecration of a corpse and murdering Tazne. He was convicted on 21 of the 27 charges the State had lodged against him.
The sexual assaults occurred between 2016 and 2019, and he was on parole at the time of the crimes. The rape and murder of Tazne brought these rapes to the fore.
He had 11 previous convictions dating back to 1981 which include culpable homicide and murder. On 7 April 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping, child molestation and culpable homicide, according to the court. He was granted parole on 3 April 2013 and went missing on 18 November 2013. On 12 August 2015, he was arrested again.
He was paroled a second time, from 17 October 2016 to 18 May 2019, but disappeared on 6 February 2019. He was not seen by Correctional Services again until a year later, on 19 February 2020, when he murdered Tazne.
Tazne, a Grade 3 pupil at Eurocon Primary School in Elsies Rivier near Cape Town, went missing on 7 February 2020. Her body was found on 19 February 2020 in a stormwater drain along the N1 highway near Worcester, about 95km from her Ravensmead home.
She was last seen alive with her killer on CCTV footage close to Bergsig Motors on 7 February. It shows them at 11.15pm walking away from the dealership towards the N1 until they vanish into the dark.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Handing down the sentence, the judge said the accused was a “deceitful, manipulative and cruel individual”, a cunning and dangerous criminal who could not be placed back in society and that there should be no parole.
“I am of the view that the accused poses a danger to society, and a danger to women and children in particular. He showed no remorse, ...
Residents of Vanrhynsdorp in the Western Cape have gone for five days without water and there’s no relief in sight. It’s not the first time this has happened. Now they are threatening to block the N7 highway to Namibia.
‘Today is five days without a single drop of water,” said Glen Farmer, a resident of Vanrhynsdorp. He was speaking on Tuesday as residents began protesting against the lack of water.
Vanrhynsdorp is about 300km north of Cape Town on the N7 leading to the Northern Cape and on to Namibia. The town falls under the Matzikama Municipality.
The ongoing supply problems began in December, said Farmer, a member of the South African Communist Party and community activist who has been leading protests over the lack of water.
Previously, when the water supply had been disrupted, Matzikama mayor Johan van der Hoven issued a public apology over what was described as “discoloured” water.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts blamed for water outages in Western Cape municipalities”
A meeting was held on Monday with municipal officials, where old infrastructure was blamed.
Farmer said he needed to escort the manager out of the meeting as “you can only imagine, being without water for four days, how frustrated people are”.
That afternoon, residents of the Maskamsig suburb began protesting along the R27 which connects Vanrhynsdorp to Nieuwoudtville and Calvinia in the Northern Cape.
“No trucks were allowed in or out,” said Farmer.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
These protests will continue “until such time as the municipality provides answers about when the water is coming”.
Farmer claimed there was “no real effort from the municipality to engage”.
The municipality has provided the community with 300 five-litre bottles of water, but Farmer said this wasn’t enough, and that it was “inhumane to keep people without water”.
He said it was a violation of people’s basic rights.
Farmer said if the municipality did not provide answers or solutions, the community could block the nearby N7 highway.
He said while communication from the municipality was poor, ward councillor Christo Boks had been proactive.
“He did everything in his power to assist the community,” said Farmer.
Three days ago, the municipality, through its social media outlets, attributed the lack of water in Vanrhynsdorp to a broken pipe at a nearby prison’s pump station. The municipality said at the time that a water truck would supply the community.
On Tuesday afternoon, the municipality said workers were installing a booster pump.
Daily ...
If any doubt existed that electioneering for the 2024 general election is well under way, Tuesday’s opening day of the State of the Nation Address debate debunked that. And it got nasty, with a good dose of apartheid-era referencing.
ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina opened the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate, saying the governing party would “debunk falsehoods [of] some politicians and media that this President and government [have] not done anything”. The ANC would not grandstand and abuse the debate, unlike others in the House, she said.
But the turn to gutter politics did come from the ANC. Police Minister Bheki Cele was in pursuit of potshots at DA leader John Steenhuisen, who had described the opposition party as “the only game in town”, come the 2024 elections to pull South Africa out of the crisis.
“I want to make a clarion call today, especially to DA women, that as we see these problems of gender-based violence. they could not have allowed their leader to make the statement about his ex-wife; he called her a flat chicken, he called her a roadkill,” said Cele in reference to Steenhuisen’s deeply inappropriate comments in an August 2022 interview.
And a little later, while calling on all South Africans to work together against GBV, Cele returned to his fellow KwaZulu-Natalian.
“The invitation also goes to Honourable Steenhuisen. We want to hear you apologise. to use a young woman, who came to work in your office and who was the wife of your colleague, and you took that wife of your colleague and you divorce your own wife. You took that young girl, she is your wife today. But the women around you are quiet. So, you better go and fix yourself. If not, we will help you.”
Point of order
The DA leader was let down by his own side. Instead, EFF leader Julius Malema brought a point of order on Cele’s tactics.
“We really cannot allow a situation where the minister drags [down] a wife of the leader of the opposition when she is not here. We should not be using women to fight our political battles here,” said Malema. “That is woman abuse what [Cele] did to her.”
At the end of the day’s debate, the presiding officer, National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo, said Cele had sent a note to say he’d like to withdraw his comment, followed by him actually saying: “I withdraw” in ...
After a nine-month investigation into the chaos that erupted outside the Stade de France ahead of the 2022 Champions League final – which authorities initially blamed on Liverpool fans – an independent report has exonerated the club.
Liverpool Football Club welcomed a review into the 2022 Champions League final that said organisers Uefa were responsible for the chaos before the game, calling on the European soccer governing body to “take positive and transparent action” to ensure the safety of fans.
Uefa apologised to Liverpool for initially blaming the Merseyside club’s fans for the mayhem, following the release of the independent review on Monday.
The final was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France in Paris for the match on 28 May, which Real won 1-0, while French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, including women and children.
“(The report) fully vindicates Liverpool fans while finding Uefa primarily responsible for organisational failings, absence of overall control or oversight of safety and security, poor planning and lack of contingency plans,” Liverpool said in a statement on Tuesday.
Liverpool supporters ‘saved lives’
“The evidence-based panel report also found that there was ‘a clear and immediate danger of a fatal crush’, and that the actions of Liverpool supporters saved lives.”
The 220-page review followed an investigation chaired by Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, a member of Portugal’s parliament. The probe had a panel including legal, policing and event-management consultants, as well as representatives from fan groups, which outlined 21 recommendations.
“. we call on Uefa and others at the top of the football regulation pyramid to come together and take positive and transparent action to ensure there are no more ‘near misses’,” Liverpool said.
“We implore Uefa to fully enact the recommendations as outlined by the panel, no matter how difficult, to ensure supporter safety is the number one priority at the heart of every Uefa football fixture.”
Hillsborough disaster parallels ‘palpable’
The report added that the parallels between last year’s Champions League final and the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster – in which 97 Liverpool supporters lost their lives – were “palpable”.
“It is shocking that more than 30 years after the Hillsborough disaster, any club and our group of fans would be subject to such fundamental safety failings which have had such a devastating impact on so many,” Liverpool said.
“But even more concerning is the realisation that for families, friends and survivors of ...
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League is scheduled to be played in Mumbai from 4 to 26 March. The player acquisition on Monday, by the five teams involved in the historic tournament, made it that much more real for the pioneering players.
It was a watershed moment for many of the cricketers involved in the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction. Unusually, the auction took place while the majority of the affected players are deep within an ongoing T20 World Cup.
A handful of female cricket players involved in the bidding by the five teams that make up the upcoming maiden edition of the women’s equivalent of the globally popular Indian Premier League ended Monday with the largest paychecks of their careers.
India opener Smriti Mandhana, England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner were the biggest winners of the bidding process.
Mandhana, who has risen to global superstar status since making her T20 international debut for India as a 17-year-old back in 2013, fetched the highest fee at Monday’s auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) splurged 34-million Indian rupees (R7.3-million) to secure the services of the left-handed batter. The amount was a huge chunk of RCB’s R26-million purse for the day’s proceedings.
However, the Bangalore-based side still managed to rope in the services of experienced Australian and New Zealand duo Ellyse Perry (R3.7-million) and Sophie Devine (R1.1-million). A development that RCB’s director of cricket, Mike Hesson, was ecstatic about.
“It’s a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Devine,” Hesson told journalists. “Smriti has got plenty of captaincy experience and is familiar with the Indian conditions. So, it’s highly likely (she’ll be captain).”
Of the 400-plus players who went under the hammer (17 of whom were South African), England’s Sciver-Brunt and Australia’s Gardner were joint second on the bidding list. The two all-rounders will each receive just under R7-million for the work they will do for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, respectively, next month.
“She probably won’t like all the attention [that will come with her price tag],” said England skipper Heather Knight of the dangerous Sciver-Brunt. “She’s very humble. She’s just very good at cricket.”
Knight herself will be joining Mandhana and company at RCB after being picked up for R874,808 by the team that already has the pre-tournament tag of favourites.
Knight’s Indian counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur also expressed her elation at the inception of the tournament, and the overall success of the inaugural auction.
“It is a ...
Thirty years after embarking on a speculative – and controversial – wildlife industry venture, the owner of the world’s biggest privately owned herd of rhinos has announced plans to sell up: lock, stock and barrel.
The South African rhino baron John Hume, now aged 81, issued a media statement this week inviting investors to purchase his “Platinum Rhino breeding and conservation project” (and all 2,000 rhinos) at an online auction to be held in mid-April.
Hume has been cast variously as a “remarkable conservationist” and also as an avaricious speculator who helped to fuel continued global demand for black market rhino horns.
Hume has pushed strongly to overturn the 1977 global ban on rhino horn sales, arguing that there would be no need to kill any rhinos if their horns could be harvested on a regular basis and then sold legally to buyers in the Far East.
But with anti-poaching and breeding costs mounting steadily, Hume appears to have taken a business decision to pack up his rhino breeding business for good, hoping that wealthy investors or philanthropists will see some merit in keeping his venture alive – either for similar commercial reasons or to “rewild” them.
Five years ago, Hume invited investors to take up to a 50% interest in his 8,500 hectare rhino breeding ranch in North West – but there were no takers.
In 2019, he put up a separate property (Mauricedale Game Farm near Kruger National Park) for auction to defray his costs, but not a single buyer came forward when the auctioneer opened the bidding.
His previous attempts to sell a small portion of his massive stockpile of rhino horns in an online auction in 2017 also fell pretty flat, as buyers clearly saw little merit in purchasing horns legally in South Africa when they were prevented from selling them on to buyers in China, Vietnam or elsewhere due to an international ban by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Though Hume won a significant court battle in 2015 to overturn a government ban on the domestic sale of rhino horns within South Africa, his more recent forays in the courts have been less successful.
In 2021, Hume sought a court order for the return of nearly R10-million worth of horns which had been seized by the police in an undercover operation by the Hawks during an investigation into black market rhino sales by Hume and other parties.
Two men, Clive John ...
Elephants created Africa’s first highways and still remember them. It’s when we block them that trouble with humans begins.
Elephants are long-distance hikers, moving with the rains and seeking out greener pastures. Pathfinders among them communicate the best routes to follow, irrespective of national borders, fences or farms which try to block them. Because we’re not aware of this, says a study just released, it results in human-elephant conflict – often with tragic results on both sides.
There is a solution. The research by the NGO Elephants Alive says that by understanding these elephant highways and the sorts of food that attract or deflect them, indigenous farmers can avoid trouble and increase tolerance of their seasonal migrations.
For 25 years the NGO has been tracking pathfinding elephants across southern Africa, trying to understand why they take the routes they do. It found that they trek along ancient pathways which take them through human-dominated landscapes. These journeys can cover huge distances, often through several countries.
Thirty years ago, southern African states had just more than 20% of Africa’s continental elephant population. Because of excessive poaching in Central and East Africa, these southern states have now become their last stronghold, with more than half of the continental population. Of the remaining elephants, 76% are found in populations moving over more than one national border.
Keystone species
Because elephants are keystone species – meaning they enable other species’ survival within the ecosystem – principal researcher Dr Michelle Henley writes that it’s imperative that these corridors are maintained.
“Failure to curb human-wildlife conflict where both humans and elephants intersect – if left unaddressed – may result in the linkages being closed off completely.”
Conflict is rapidly increasing as elephants are compressed within their natural range alongside burgeoning human populations, resulting in damage, economic losses, injuries and death of people and elephants.
Crop raiding by elephants represents a common form of conflict and could be driven by a lack of microminerals that are not available in the protected areas within which they are expected to remain. This is a problem that poses serious challenges to wildlife managers, local communities and the elephants themselves.
Understanding elephant movements along these wildlife corridors shows where connectivity between protected areas is most needed and where human-elephant conflict mitigation would be most effective across a large landscape.
Connecting protected areas across political borders while building more sustainable rural economies around corridors chosen by elephant movements is of prime importance, say the ...
Corruption thrives in societies undergoing rapid change. Time becomes a resource to be exploited by officials, so that bribes, or ‘gifts’, are an emollient to unblock intractable log jams. With endemic corruption, public services are informally but effectively privatised.
“The king gave us the law — he also taught us how to break it” — Neapolitan proverb
There are spiralling circles of corruption, with the murkiest recess reserved for those so debased that they no longer seem to know that they are corrupt.
The pillaging has been exhaustively documented, but less attention has been paid to the deeper roots which may explain this frenzied aberration. Our focus has chiefly been on mega swindles, but when corruption becomes entrenched at all levels, and accepted as inevitable, a watershed has been passed.
Three months ago in Mpumalanga, for example, driving school owners blockaded the Mbombela testing centre to protest a hike in bribes to buy driving licences, from R1,700 to R2,000. The general attitude seemed to be that the lower tariff had been reasonable, but the extra R300 was sheer greed. In that case, bribery was a necessity for poor people who needed a licence to earn a living.
At higher levels, where the excess cannot be explained by necessity, there’s also a warped inheritance, and the great anatomist of this inverted post-colonial psychology was Frantz Fanon.
In The Wretched of the Earth he chronicled “the transfer into native hands of those unfair advantages which are a legacy of the colonial period .”. At the heart of this failure to create a different ethos, liberated from colonial aspirations, he suggests, is the demon of self-contempt inherited from past subjugation. This implies a corrosive lack of respect (for self and those fleeced), allied to a self-justificatory arrogance.
Here our “Accused Number One” is Jacob Zuma, who repeatedly abased himself shamelessly to a gang of racists.
At the crass 2013 Gupta wedding at Sun City, they requested only white staff. On the day, there were some black waiters, who were ordered to wash before approaching any guests.
On other occasions the Guptas insisted on a “whites only” policy, revealing the contempt they must have felt for a mercenary black president who virtually allowed them to run the country. It was a Faustian bargain: pride corroded by greed.
Our former president’s narcissistic assumption of the right to pick the pockets of the state required that he suborn accomplices. Such predatory instincts are grounded in contempt ...
Radical centrism promises a new kind of politics in which political differences are not a liability, but a strength, since it produces a richer well of ideas and solutions from which we can draw.
On Thursday 16 February 2023, when the President responds to the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate in Parliament, Build One SA (Bosa) will gather in Johannesburg to unveil our nine provincial leaders and our policy suite that will form the basis of our 2024 election campaign.
As part of this event, we will unpack Bosa’s electoral offer to voters — that which separates us from the rest of the pack and indicates our unique and unoccupied space and role in the South African political landscape.
That role is to build a broad coalition by uniting South Africans around a set of shared values in the radical centre of politics. By drawing from good ideas on the right and the left, from the DA and the ANC — and all the other parties that will play a role in South Africa’s future of coalition politics — we will unite the warring political factions and get on with the business of building South Africa.
South Africans are sick and tired of petty politics, mudslinging and point-scoring. We will need to build consensus around original ideas, creative ideas, and smart ideas to achieve results at scale. And Bosa will play the anchor tenant in this national consensus.
Our focus for the future of South Africa is on the notion of the “radical centre”. It’s “radical” because it departs from the old tools of democratic engagement and strict adherence to ideology. And “centre” because of the position it occupies, holding practical progress as paramount by considering all ideas from the entire spectrum.
This is borne out of the value of ubuntu, the anchor tenet of Bosa’s vision for South Africa. The value that human dignity cannot be violated, that our interconnectedness is sacrosanct.
How does our role differ from the others? Radical centrism is by definition not ideologically dogmatic. Rather it is pragmatic, looking to draw the best ideas out of and bring all sides together to build consensus on a way forward that benefits the country.
Secondly, Bosa is not a home for failed politicians. In fact, the very opposite. We have been disciplined in not going after the low-hanging fruit — disgruntled politicians from other parties.
Instead, our model is to recruit talented, passionate, skilled, ...
There is nothing radical, economic or transformational about the so-called RET faction. Why then do we continue using this term to describe them?
There is nothing radical, economic or transformational about the so-called RET faction. Why then do we continue using this term to describe them?
Politically and socially, phrases and terms tell us a lot about the state of our society. Often, the power of a meaningful set of words is not fully comprehended until we look deeper into its history, and into what it signifies.
It is then that we realise our collective power to reclaim words from people who attempt to misuse them. This came to mind many times as I listened to, and read, political commentary on the 55th ANC Elective Conference in December 2022.
Since before the preceding conference in 2017, the two main factions within the governing party have had nicknames – the Thuma Minions for supporters of President Cyril Ramaphosa (named so after his mantra from his inaugural State of the Nation Address, plucked from the song “Send Me” by the late Hugh Masekela) and the RET Forces for supporters, broadly, of former president Jacob Zuma (the RET stands for radical economic transformation).
It is the latter nickname that deserves scrutiny – from its history to its re-emergence into political discourse to its current status as shorthand for corruption.
That which we call RET by any other name would be as radical
There has always been crude opposition to the negotiated settlement of the early 1990s to end formalised apartheid. Some of that opposition has come from white supremacists, mourning their diminished social status.
The criticism that is most interesting, however, comes from black nationalists. For them, the people in charge of the apartheid system were let off scot-free. In their view, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a whitewashing of the democratic project, whereby forgiveness was prioritised over justice for black South Africans.
As far as they are concerned, apartheid did not end in 1994. The machinery of apartheid (which was, of course, a subset of white supremacy) simply operated behind the scenes, rather than being overtly present.
Part of this narrative is the notion of continuing to fight for freedom, namely economic freedom. The leftist political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is named as such because its main critique of the ANC is that it did not usher in a period of economic prosperity for the majority of South Africans ...
Conspicuously missing from forums purporting to address South Africa’s climate change mitigation and adaptation plans are the voices of the youth, especially those of colour and those from marginalised, underprivileged communities.
The changing climate means increased levels of uncertainty and instability for everyone’s future, and in South Africa it is young, black Africans who are amongst the most vulnerable to the climate crisis.
The development of any nation lies in its future generations, and yet the youth often have little to no influence on decisions that will impact them directly. The transition to a low-carbon economy and other climate change-related strategies are some of those important topics where youth participation falls short.
To see this lack of youth representation, one need look no further than the entities formed to tackle these issues: the Presidential Climate Change Commission, for example, or South Africa’s delegation to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change’s annual Conference of Parties (COP).
Over the past 18 months, I have attended many forums purporting to address South Africa’s climate change mitigation and adaptation plans building up to net zero by 2050.
At the forefront of and most vocal at these meetings are always older, privileged people who profess to be most concerned about “future generations”. Conspicuously missing, however, are the voices and views of those who comprise those future generations — the youth, especially those of colour and those from marginalised, underprivileged communities.
Their voices have been alienated despite the fact that by far the majority of people living in South Africa fall within this group.
We should not confuse the absence of youth voices with a lack of interest in the topic. The youth is interested — it is just that most of us are not meaningfully engaged or empowered to participate in these processes. This often leads to young people not feeling inspired to immerse themselves in tackling climate risk, despite being one of the most vulnerable groups.
In addition, climate-related education is sorely lacking and in the rare cases that it is provided, it is almost always from an urban lens. Rarely are the issues packaged to be understandable and practical for everyone, especially for those in rural areas. This reinforces the incorrect and dangerous idea that climate change is an issue of the elite.
Greater and more meaningful efforts to engage and empower youth (from all backgrounds) in decision-making processes are important and urgent. This can be done through several approaches, including ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
‘We should all stand up and be counted in doing the right thing for our country. It should be that simple.’
The following letter was sent to the chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission, Barney Pityana, and the NLC’s Commissioner, Jodi Scholts, on 2 February. The letter has been very lightly edited.
We respectfully write to you as former employees of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) who lost their jobs for blowing the whistle on irregularities, malfeasance, and corruption at the NLC.
Sello Qhina was based in the Northern Cape office of the NLC, and Mzukisi Makatse was based in the Eastern Cape office. We both had the courage of our own convictions to do the right thing. We refused to be part of the grand-scale thieving, looting and corruption that was taking place within the NLC. We went further and blew the whistle on the deep-seated corruption that was threatening to collapse the NLC. This was after we had raised in vain concerns with our superiors regarding the many irregularities that were prevalent within the NLC. This included our respective provincial managers, then NLC Commissioner, and the then NLC Board Chairperson.
We therefore write to yourselves not to burden your busy schedule, but to respectfully bring an important and urgent matter of our plight as NLC whistleblowers who suffered persecution, victimisation, and occupational detriment. We suffered all this maltreatment within the NLC at the hands of those who today stand accused of very serious corruption that runs into hundreds of millions of rands as exposed by us. Some of these individuals have since resigned from the NLC, others have taken special leave. There are those who are still sticking around with the hope of influencing the narrative in their favour. We hope this will not happen under the watch of the new Commissioner and the current board.
We are also mindful of the fact that had it not been for our tireless efforts as whistleblowers to expose the rot within the NLC, not much would have been uncovered by the media and the SIU. We point out this fact not as a blackmailing tactic, but as a fact of our circumstances.
The much-deserved accolades showered upon the GroundUp journalist, the highly effective Mr Raymond Joseph, were possible because we made it a point to work with him in exposing corruption and maladministration within the NLC. We risked everything to make sure that the facts and ...
The Minister of Justice’s former law firm has represented the National Lotteries Commission against whistleblowers.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola promised at the weekend that more will be done to protect whistleblowers who expose corruption. This is a welcome announcement from Lamola, whose former law firm has in the past represented the corruption-ridden National Lotteries Commission against two whistleblowers in its ranks. Sello Qhina and Mzukisi Makatse were fired for exposing corruption at the NLC.
Addressing the South African National Editors Forum in Cape Town on Saturday, Lamola said legislation was being amended to further protect whistleblowers. “We are working hard to tighten laws to protect whistleblowers, and we are confident that the media will be important partners in this process. We need to work together to ensure that the government and companies implicated by whistleblowers are held accountable,” he said.
Lamola’s former law firm, Ndobela Lamola Inc, is the author of three reports on the corruption-riddled National Lotteries Commission which cleared then NLC boss Phillemon Letwaba in 2019 of any wrongdoing. Two successive ministers of Trade and Industry to whom the reports were submitted, Rob Davies, and Ebrahim Patel, found them seriously wanting.
Lamola was a director of the firm when two of the reports were submitted.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Also the law firm acted on behalf of the NLC against Makatse, who was fired after he refused to sign off on a dodgy 2017 Lotteries grant. As for Qhina, he took his dismissal to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) which found in his favour. But he has gone further, to the Labour Court, where the NLC is being represented by Ndobela Lamola.
Both men have paid a heavy price for the stand they took against corruption, as they point out in a powerful 2 February letter to the new chair of the Lotteries Board, Professor Barney Pityana.
Describing the way they suffered through the process, the two men write: “As a whistleblower, you are made to feel that you are on the wrong side of the law. The government, the courts, the police, all doing nothing to protect you. You are completely on your own as the perpetrators of wrongdoing bleed you dry. You lose everything. Your home, car, school fees for your children, their clothes, food and their fun activities. In extreme cases, you even lose your family and your sanity.”
Makatse and Qhina ask that ...
Despite global setbacks, Africa has shown the promise of leadership towards a low-carbon economy.
Sharm el-Sheikh is a famous venue for agreements and is sometimes referred to as the ‘City of Peace’ with its history of Palestine-Israel summits. Those peace deals were temporary, with only baby steps forward. Did the November 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) follow suit?
The build-up to the ‘Africa COP’ promised better deals for the developing world. The vision of a “moment of transformation in climate action” was set by COP27 president Sameh Hassan Shoukry.
As the desert dust settles, a mixed bag of results is evident. An important outcome was the positive movement on loss and damage. But there was a lack of progress on mitigation targets, and despite the promises around climate adaptation, the reality remains unsure.
The highlight was the agreement on the Loss and Damage Fund, which covers droughts, damage from floods, storms, wildfires and heatwaves, and the negative impacts of sea level rise. It was an enormous struggle just getting this onto the COP27 agenda, but the developing country group, including the African Group of Negotiators, succeeded. Hopefully, this achievement won’t be watered down in negotiations on the fund’s modalities, and the high historical emitters will meet their commitments.
The conference was expected to move forward on vital mitigation targets — especially how to maintain the emissions goal of 1.5oC by 2100. This was to be achieved with a new global deal and stringent net-zero targets for all countries. But it ended badly, with the European Union delegation threatening to walk out due to the lack of progress.
According to analytical platforms such as the Climate Action Tracker, it’s a difficult course to a +2.7oC world. Some might even say we took a step backwards by endorsing low-emissions fuels in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan.
Another lowlight was COP27’s promise of more funding and resources for climate adaptation. The $100-billion pledge remains unfulfilled, and the vision of that increasing to a much higher number is still a mirage.
Discussions with old hands at the climate negotiations yielded many perspectives. The dominant ones were the aspirational versus the pragmatic lenses. The high hopes of the former — that COP27 would mark a greater appreciation of the science and devastating impact of climate change — were dashed.
Before COP27, the first three instalments of the 6th Assessment Report outlined the basis of climate change, adaptation and vulnerability, and mitigation. The ...
The DA’s Raymond Dhlamini has been reinstated after a successful legal challenge to his ousting. But the opposition says the actual motion against the Speaker is still a subject for council debate.
As Raymond Dhlamini is reinstated as Council speaker of the City of Ekurhuleni, the ANC-led opposition said the actual motion against the Speaker is still a subject for council debate, to go through the necessary processes.
On Monday, the Johannesburg high court ruled in favour of Dhlamini and the Democratic Alliance in an application to have a motion of no confidence declared unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
The court further ordered that Dhlamini be reinstated and the Ekurhuleni Municipality pays DA’s legal fees including the costs of two counsels.
Dhlamini was initially ousted as speaker of the council on 2 February 2023.
The removal of Dhlamini follows the tabling of a motion of no confidence against him and the former council whip Khetha Shandu by minority parties in the Ekurhuleni council.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ekurhuleni mayor likely next for the chop as ANC and EFF persist with DA leadership purge from Gauteng coalitions”
He had been replaced by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor Nthabiseng Tshivhenga.
However, the court has ruled that Tshivhenga’s election was unlawful and should be reversed.
Dhlamini told Daily Maverick he welcomed the high court’s decision and is happy to be back in the office.
“We are back in the office picking up where we left off. We are also preparing for Thursday’s extraordinary council meeting. We hope everything will run smoothly this time and we are not going to find political parties doing things wrongly but follow all the processes.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Commenting on the court outcome, DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimanga said, “The DA in Gauteng welcomes the judgment of the high court vindicating the DA’s fight against the disruption of service delivery through state capture and the crooked politicisation of civil service offices in Ekurhuleni.”
According to Msimanga, “The unlawful hijacking of the City Council by the unlawful political actions of the City Manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, to promote the interests of the ANC, EFF and their accomplices in Council, stalled the ability of the DA-led Multi-Party Coalition government to focus on pressing service delivery solutions. The hijacking of the Council was nothing more than State Capture at a local government level facilitated by the politicisation of civil service offices.”
JUST IN: City of Ekurhuleni ...
A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-in-transit van has left a scene of death and devastation, according to transport and emergency medical officials.
After the crash, the bus rolled from a bridge on the N1 freeway into a river below, said ER24, whose paramedics were on the scene.
“Three people were found deceased by the roadside and 16 down by the river — all were declared dead on arrival,” ER24 said in a statement. “One patient, of the 69 passengers confirmed transported to hospital for various injuries, has since died,” it said.
The Limpopo transport department said the crash happened around 5 pm on Monday and that the bus was carrying passengers from the town of Makhado to areas in the province’s Vhembe district.
Police divers have been dispatched to verify that no one was swept away by the river, the department said in a statement.
ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and that heavy rains had fallen in the area where it happened.
A provincial police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DM
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
UPDATE: BBC News reported that 68 people were injured. Quoting AFP news agency, it said that police divers were also searching the river that runs along the motorway “for people who might have been swept away”. This region and others in South Africa have been suffering heavy downpours and flooding, prompting the government to declare a national disaster.
The government will lead the response to the widespread flooding that has affected seven provinces, after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster on Monday.
The government has declared a National State of Disaster to enable an “intensive, coordinated” response to the floods that have devastated parts of seven of South Africa’s nine provinces.
The Presidency said on Monday night that the National Disaster Management Centre had, in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, classified the impact of the current, above-average rainfall in various provinces as a national disaster.
Last week, Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster in response to the electricity crisis at Eskom.
The Presidency said Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West had been affected by flooding, which was brought on by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Niña weather phenomenon.
Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape had been affected the most.
Read in Daily Maverick: “One fatality reported, bridges damaged as rain lashes parts of Eastern Cape”
“The National Disaster Management Centre has received reports ranging from flooded homes, vehicles swept away by floodwaters and overflowing dams and sewerage facilities, to the loss of basic infrastructure and damage to roads, bridges and a Limpopo hospital,” the Presidency said.
“In agriculture, farmers have suffered crop and livestock losses, and anticipate further losses as the South African Weather Service predicts that current heavy rains will persist,” said the Presidency.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu both issued statements last week urging people to be cautious and take heed of warnings and updates from the weather service.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Flooding: disaster warning”
The weather service said on Monday that major rivers – including those passing through the Kruger National Park and the Lowveld – have been in full flood since the beginning of the weekend.
“The escarpment and Lowveld regions of the Limpopo province and particularly the Mpumalanga province have borne the brunt of the flooding, with the southern half of the Kruger National Park particularly affected,” it said.
“Many low-water bridges and causeways (including the Crocodile bridge and the causeway at Lower Sabie camp) are flooded, while numerous main roads, including the main road linking Skukuza to Lower Sabie, are closed due to flood damage.”
The presence of an additional low-pressure system over southern Mozambique and northern KwaZulu-Natal significantly increased the risk of flooding along the KZN coastline on ...
South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus took to his favourite social media platform to blast former Bok coach Nick Mallett this week, underlining that he remains a law unto himself.
For a man who has earned two World Rugby suspensions in the past 18 months for his social media outbursts against rugby officials, Rassie Erasmus continues to display a cavalier attitude to further possible sanctions.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Erasmus posted an angry voice note to former Bok coach Nick Mallett about the latter’s comments relating to the director of rugby role.
That was strange. Why not call Mallett, or go for coffee and chat? I’m sure they have each other’s numbers and if not, the SA Rugby media department could’ve helped Rassie find it.
Sure, Mallett made his comments in a public forum, on SuperSport’s Final Whistle show, where he is paid to give strong opinions. It doesn’t automatically condone another Twitter rant by the man at the head of South Africa’s rugby pyramid.
This latest outburst following two infamous episodes in 2021 and 2022, which earned him suspensions, shows that Erasmus is not one for learning from past mistakes. But more glaringly, it underlines that he feels he is above sanction at SA Rugby and that he remains a law unto himself.
SA Rugby have not issued any statement condoning or even supporting Erasmus’ most recent public comments. Erasmus’ bosses also didn’t comment when he took to Twitter last November after the Boks lost to Ireland and France to castigate match officials just weeks after a nine-month suspension ended. There was just silence.
Remember, Mallett is employed by SuperSport and SuperSport, through the hundreds of millions they spend on buying TV rights to Springbok and other local rugby content, are a partner of SA Rugby’s. They are SA Rugby’s most important partner, in fact.
Mallet’s very mild criticism of Erasmus clearly hit a nerve and the response was childish.
Awkward
This is an awkward situation. Even SuperSport, whose content usually steers well clear of being overly critical of Springbok and SA Rugby for the above-mentioned reasons, can through someone as forthright as Mallett, cause some offence. And Erasmus, it seems, is easily offended.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Erasmus was stung by Mallett’s comments, which he perceived to be unfair and possibly ignorant of the reality of what’s actually happening.
Mallett asked what pathways there were for future coaches and referees ...
A balance of sweet and sour notes suits pork perfectly. This recipe melds an old South African braai tradition with the sweet and sour concept from Chinese cuisine.
A South African pork sosatie with a sweet sauce that includes apricot jam and some spice is a great braai tradition. This recipe is a variation of that idea, including the use of bell peppers to intersperse with the chunks of lean pork.
Chinese (or Chinese-American) sweet and sour pork includes pineapple juice and ketchup, and there are neither of those in this, but I did include red wine vinegar and Mrs HS Ball’s chutney, with a hint of good old Worcestershire sauce for a bit of depth. There’s no cornflour in this either, which is essential for Chinese sweet and sour pork.
You can marinate it for a few hours or overnight if you like, or simply whip up the ingredients and use it as a baste.
(Makes 4 sosaties)
Ingredients
Pork fillet sosaties
1 pork fillet, about 700-800 g, trimmed of sinew
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
3 Tbsp Mrs HS Ball’s chutney (any strength)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Tabasco sriracha (less if you prefer less heat)
½ tsp garlic salt
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
4 wooden or metal skewers
Method
Carefully remove any sinew from the exterior of the pork fillet. Cut it into cubes and put them in a bowl. Salt lightly and toss.
In a small bowl, mix together the chutney, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha sauce, garlic salt and black pepper.
Add this to the meat and mix well with a wooden spoon so that the meat is well coated all over. Cover and marinate in a fridge, if not using immediately.
If using wooden skewers, soak them for half an hour in cold water so they do not blacken on the fire.
Remove the seeds from the bell peppers and slice into pieces.
Skewer the cubes of pork, interspersed with the peppers.
Keep any remaining sauce to use as a baste on the fire.
Prepare plenty of hot coals, then spread them out and place the grid fairly high above them, so that the meat does not cook too quickly. Slowish cooking will help you achieve tender, soft meat. Pork toughens easily, even the fillet, so be careful not to overcook them. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
While the university insists it is doing all it can to help students without accommodation who are struggling with fee blocks, the student representative council has said protests will continue until its demands are met.
As University of Cape Town (UCT) students vow to continue protesting over the “housing crisis”, the university has denounced their actions as “unlawful” and shifted lectures online until further notice.
The protesters, led by its EFF-dominant student representative council (SRC), shut down campus activity on Monday – the first day of the academic year – over fee blocks, financial exclusion and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances. Entrances at the university were blocked and students were encouraged to not attend lectures.
On Tuesday morning, the SRC asked students to meet again on Lower Campus, where entrances had been blocked again.
In the weeks leading up to the start of the academic year, the SRC has been in negotiations about the decision by the student housing department to withdraw accommodation offers for students with fee blocks. This has left many unhoused and without helpful solutions. The SRC views this as exclusionary and notes that it affects black and poor students disproportionately. The NSFAS capping accommodation allowances at limits deemed unfeasible by the SRC has added another layer to the protests.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Shutdown rocks UCT on first day of study as students fume over fee blocks, housing”
The university responded to the shutdown by saying it had tried its best to help struggling students.
Media representative Elijah Moholola said: “It is of concern that the SRC resorted to this latest course of action without having had any engagements with the university management. In the previous round of engagements, as recently as two weeks ago, the management and the SRC worked on the issues tabled and managed to find a resolution to some of the pressing issues.”
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The provisions UCT had made for unhoused students struggling with fee blocks included:
The UCT Council approved the amended fee debt threshold from R1,000 to R10,000, enabling more students to register in 2023 despite their outstanding debt;
The university set aside a budget, within the current financial constraints, to assist students in good academic standing who meet the criteria for financial aid through the debt appeals process. For 2022, at least R1.9-billion (unaudited) was spent in providing financial aid support to UCT students, an increase of R100-million ...
Investment banker Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen unwrap the news in this inaugural edition of StandUp!Business. The big topic this week is Sona, and we discuss the electricity crisis, the Post Office and, of course ... balloons. A new edition of StandUp!Business midweek, every week.
The death of a pet can be a deeply painful experience. But acknowledging the way pet grief is different can help people find consolation.
Many pet owners know that our connections with animals can be on an emotional par with those we share with other humans – and scientific research backs this up.
The key ingredients of human attachment are experiencing the other person as a dependable source of comfort, seeking them out when distressed, feeling enjoyment in their presence and missing them when apart. Researchers have identified these as features of our relationships with pets too.
But there are complexities. Some groups of people are more likely to develop intimate bonds with their pets. This includes isolated older people, people who have lost trust in humans, and people who rely on assistance animals.
Researchers have also found our connections with our fluffy, scaled and feathered friends come with a price, in that we grieve the loss of our pets. But some aspects of pet grief are unique.
Euthanasia
For many people, pet death may be the only experience they have of grief connected to euthanasia. Guilt or doubt over a decision to euthanise a cherished companion animal can complicate grief. For example, research has found that disagreements within families about whether it is (or was) right to put a pet to sleep can be particularly challenging.
But euthanasia also gives people a chance to prepare for a beloved animal’s passing. There is a chance to say goodbye and plan final moments to express love and respect such as a favourite meal, a night in together or a last goodbye.
There are stark differences in people’s responses to pet euthanasia. Israeli research found that in the aftermath of euthanised pet death, 83% of people feel certain they made the right decision. They believed they had granted their animal companion a more honourable death that minimised suffering.
However, a Canadian study found 16% of participants in their study whose pets were euthanised “felt like murderers”. And American research has shown how nuanced the decision can be as 41% of participants in a study felt guilty and 4% experienced suicidal feelings after they consented to their animal being euthanised. Cultural beliefs, the nature and intensity of their relationship, attachment styles and personality influence people’s experience of pet euthanasia.
Disenfranchised grief
This type of loss is still less acceptable socially. This is called disenfranchised grief, which refers to losses that society doesn’t fully appreciate ...
The discovery of life on Mars could truly be said to have depended on the eye of the beholder.
At some point, the acute drying of their planet became evident to the inhabitants of Mars. In a desperate attempt to maintain their civilisation, they initiated a vast project to canalise the annual snowmelt from the polar caps through a lacework of canals and oases across the planet.
The result of their final struggle against extinction from global warming was documented by the astronomer Percival Lowell in 1895 from his private observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, built specifically to study the Red Planet.
He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and his work would lead to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death. Claiming the possibility of Martian life created a public sensation and a good deal of scientific scepticism.
Lowell’s interest was sparked by the work of the 19th-century Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, whose observations of Mars included “deep trenches meandering across the red planet’s surface”. Schiaparelli used the Italian word “canali”, meaning trench, but Lowell translated it as canals and proceeded to confirm their existence and map the planet.
He wrote several books on the subject, the most famous being Mars and its Canals (1906), followed by Mars as the Abode of Life, and expounded his findings on many lecture tours. His books were illustrated with his maps and drawings of Mars, which were reproduced in numerous works by other authors in subsequent decades. It fed into the Victorian middle classes’ mania for maps and exotic fields of personal and national expression. The remoteness of Mars made it all the more exciting.
Read in Daily Maverick: ‘Red Seas’ of Mars: discovery of multiple ‘salt lakes’ shifts frontiers of planetary science
Lowell was a brilliant writer with the ability to draw readers into his vision: “Viewed under suitable conditions, few sights can compare for instant beauty and growing grandeur with Mars as presented by the telescope. Framed in the blue of space, there floats before the observer’s gaze a seeming miniature of his own Earth, yet changed by translation to the sky.”
As to who the beings were who built the canal system, he could only speculate: “Amid the physical surroundings that exist on Mars, we may be practically sure other organisms have been evolved which would strike us as exquisitely grotesque. What manner of beings they may be we have no ...
Thirty people are shot and killed every day in South Africa. Guns are now the leading cause of murder in South Africa. It is essential that the perpetrators of violent crimes are prosecuted. However, this reactive response to crime must be accompanied by proactive up-stream action to reduce the availability of guns in South Africa.
Two weeks ago 23 people were shot dead in a spate of gun massacres in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. On Friday night two much-loved celebrities, AKA and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, lost their lives to gun violence outside a restaurant in Durban. These shootings bring into focus a change in the pattern of South Africa’s gun violence: there are more shootings in which multiple people are shot multiple times in public places.
As happened after the tavern massacres in 2022, the response has focused on considering possible motives for the shooting of these mostly young black men, and on bringing the perpetrators to book.
Our speculations about why these high-profile shootings occurred must be contextualised with the fact that, according to the SAPS’ recorded crime statistics between April and June 2022, 30 people are shot and killed every day in South Africa. The motives for these murders are wide-ranging, and include hits, taxi route feuds, gender-based violence, robbery-related murders, gang shootouts, arguments and organised crime.
While the “why” of shootings varies widely, what all these murders have in common is a gun. Every single person shot and killed would be alive if there hadn’t been a gun.
Guns are designed to kill, and they’re doing just this – at an increasing rate. In late 2010, South Africa started seeing an increase in gun deaths, from a “low” of 18 people a day in 2009 to 30 in 2022. Nationally guns have replaced knives as the leading cause of murder, and in Gauteng they have replaced traffic accidents as the leading cause of non-natural death.
This rise in gun violence coincides with an increase in the flow of guns into communities. The causes include poor implementation of South Africa’s Firearms Control Act (2000) by the state and poor compliance by gun owners, including exploitation of loopholes in the law to accumulate weapons and ammunition; and fraud and corruption by all stakeholders in the firearms chain, from the police to gun dealers, trainers, associations and owners.
All have contributed to rising gun numbers.
The gun industry, for example, has blatantly used the increase in violent ...
South Africa put their humbling defeat to Sri Lanka behind them to smash New Zealand by 65 runs and keep their T20 World Cup ambitions intact.
Nonkululeko Mlaba spun a web around New Zealand’s batters to help the Proteas Women successfully defend 132 runs in their second Women’s T20 World Cup fixture in Paarl on Monday.
The victory was much needed after South Africa stumbled to a three-run defeat to Sri Lanka in their opening clash on Friday.
South Africa bundled New Zealand out for a modest 67 in 18.1 overs to secure their first win of the tournament after the White Ferns restricted the hosts to 132 for six in the first innings.
The defence of the par total started in dream fashion for South Africa with left-arm orthodox Mlaba striking twice in her first two overs while conceding only two runs.
Her first victim was former Proteas player Bernadine Bezuidenhout, who was superbly stumped by Sinalo Jafta in the second delivery of the innings.
Mlaba then clean-bowled Bezuidenhout’s opening partner Suzie Bates in her next over, which evoked Imran Tahir-esque celebrations — running off in jubilation, hands held aloft, halfway to the boundary line.
The relief of the two wickets was evident on Mlaba’s face. She was not at her best in the opening fixture, but here the bowler ranked No 2 in the world showed why she is rated so highly with her immaculate line and length.
She then came back in her second spell to dismiss Lea Tahuhu to record incredible figures of three wickets for 10 runs in her four overs.
The Proteas’ other spin bowlers also came to the party, with Chloe Tryon recording two wickets for 12 runs in three overs, while Delmi Tucker was tidy, conceding 15 runs in three overs.
Building pressure
South Africa’s organised bowling and neat fielding built pressure on the White Ferns, which led to rash shots and subsequently their dismissals.
New Zealand started their run chase needing under seven an over to reach the Proteas’ total.
But after Mlaba’s demolition in the powerplay, the required rate shot up to more than eight in the sixth over, with New Zealand clawing their way to 19 for four.
Captain Sophie Devine — who described New Zealand’s batting performance as “embarrassing” — was one of only two players in her side to reach double figures as she hit 16 runs off 26 deliveries at a strike rate of under 70.
Player of the match Tryon ...
Legal representatives for the defence strongly opposed the swearing-in of a witness by the State in the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday during the first State Capture trial.
Waseema Harrison had already taken the stand and indicated that she was going to testify about the #GuptaLeaks. She was about to take the oath when Mike Hellens, the lawyer for two of the accused — Ronica Ragavan and Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty — objected on the grounds that Harrison was expected to refer to hard drives involved in the #GuptaLeaks.
Hellens said it had to be determined whether the hard drives had been lawfully acquired and that the authenticity of documents that were part of the GuptaLeaks was also in question.
He said: “Apparently, the information comes from the Zondo Commission into State Capture.” Hellens said there could be no room for provisionally admitting evidence and authenticating it later. He said the only way the testimony and documents could be before the court is if there is a trial within a trial, to first look at the evidence.
Read more about the GuptaLeaks here
State prosecutor Peter Serunye conceded to a trial within a trial and said the National Prosecuting Authority would have to line up witnesses and statements to proceed. He indicated that Harrison, an IT specialist, would be part of the witness list for a trial within a trial.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The lawyers representing Dinesh Patel, Seipati Dhlamini, Limakatso Moorosi, Iqbal Sharma and Peter Thabethe were all in support of Hellens’ submission.
Kenny Oldwadge, representing Patel, said the State would, at some point, have to submit statements and a witness list. He accused the State of leading the defence into an ambush.
The State alleges that Nulane Investments — one of the accused — was paid R24.9-million for a feasibility study, of which R1.5-million was paid to Deloitte as a subcontractor. The feasibility study led to the controversial Vrede Dairy Project — a flagship project of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with a R280-million price tag.
The State alleges that the feasibility study and the project that followed were used to loot state coffers.
Ten revelations from the #GuptaLeaks that changed the course of SA
Two former heads of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Thabethe and Moorosi, are among the eight accused in the trial. All eight have pleaded not guilty to ...
The Economic Freedom Fighters appear determined to carry out what they call a ‘National Shutdown’ on 20 March. This may well turn out to be an important test of strength for the party, but it could also strain its budding coalition relationship with the ANC.
It is not clear whether the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will in the real world be able to achieve its stated aim of stopping economic activity in South Africa. To do this, it needs help from other organisations — and it is not clear that will happen. Additionally, should EFF members try to force other people to comply, this could well hold the seeds of the party being charged with public violence.
Over the weekend, EFF leader Julius Malema said that his party was prepared for its national shutdown and that the focus of the event was to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa from office.
On Sunday, the EFF in Gauteng released a statement formatted to look like a company memo, stating that “all schools, retail stores, businesses and public roads will be shut down” on 20 March.
In many ways, this is a hugely ambitious, even outlandish plan. (Stephen, many would rather use terms like “insane, arrogant, fictional and once again untethered to reality”. — Ed)
Since the dawn of our democracy, virtually all large-scale shutdowns have involved union movements. Even the ANC itself has not been able to bring the entire nation to a halt through protest action since 1994. (They have been much more successful through load shedding. — Ed)
Every time there was a large-scale shutdown across many provinces, it had to involve Cosatu. These days, it is unlikely that even the once-mighty Cosatu would be able to muster enough strength for such a shutdown.
The only other grouping which has come close to having such an impact is the taxi industry — not because of its political power but because of its structural might. By simply not operating, it’s able to prevent people from getting to work.
For the EFF’s planned shutdown, Cosatu’s spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, has confirmed the politically obvious, that it will not be participating in this action. Cosatu and the EFF have always had different agendas and different constituencies.
The other big labour federation that could potentially join is Saftu. Its general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, told Daily Maverick: “We are happy to discuss it with them [the EFF], and take a full report to our NEC”, and ...
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says Russian warship not welcome in the Mother City: ‘Cape Town will not be complicit in Russia’s evil war.’
Cape Town has made clear that the controversial Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov was not welcome as it docked in the city’s harbour on Monday en route to Durban and Richards Bay to participate in the joint maritime Exercise Mosi II with the South African and Chinese navies.
“We are not hosting this warship, nor is it welcome in the Mother City,” Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis tweeted. “Cape Town will not be complicit in Russia’s evil war.”
Hill-Lewis added that President Ramaphosa “must answer for his complicity,” with Russia, adding the hashtag “#VoetsekRussianwarship.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Controversial Russian frigate sails into Cape Town harbour ahead of contentious war games”
He was replying to a tweet from a Russian organisation which said “Cape Town hosts #Russian frigate ‘Admiral Gorshkov.’ The battleship arrived in the Mother City on its way to Durban where it will participate in joint South African, Russian and Chinese naval drills scheduled for February 17-27.”
This is not the first time Hill-Lewis expressed unhappiness over Russian vessels docking in Cape Town. Following the docking of the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky — a Russian seismic ship Hill-lewis commented to Daily Maverick that “Russian state vessels should not be here”.
Protest
The Ukrainian community in South Africa also gave a cold shoulder to the Admiral Gorshkov. A small group of protesters lined the docks opposite the ship carrying posters saying “No Russian war games in our waters,” and “No Russian missiles.”
The community plans to hold another protest on Tuesday.
However, on Twitter the reception was more mixed, with several people welcoming the Russian ship, while others condemned it, reflecting the deep divisions in South Africa over Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The poster saying “No Russian Missiles” referred to the Admiral Gorshkov being armed with Russia’s hypersonic Zircon missile which Moscow claims travels too fast to be blocked by any Nato counter-missiles.
Western diplomats raise alarm on South Africa-Russia-China joint naval exercise during anniversary of Ukraine invasion
The official Russian Tass news agency reported last week that the Russian navy would test-fire the Zircon during Exercise Mosi II which begins off the KwaZulu Natal coast on Friday.
However, the South African National Defence Force later told Daily Maverick that according to the protocol signed by South Africa, Russia and ...
Ukraine is going through ammunition ‘many times higher’ than allies’ current rate of production, straining industries, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of a defence ministers meeting on Tuesday.
The waiting time for large-calibre ammunition for Ukraine has increased from 12 to 28 months, which means that orders placed now won’t be delivered until two and a half years later, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission started talks on Monday with Ukrainian officials, as the fund weighs a multiyear aid package worth as much as $16-billion to provide a catalyst for more financial assistance.
The government in Kyiv is seeking a full loan package after securing a deal in December for a provisional four-month monitoring programme.
Key developments
EU is set to propose new sanctions on Russian tech and vehicles
British Embassy guard spied for Russia for cash, court told
EU says Russia was forced into oil production cuts
For fear or money, consumer giants are staying in Russia
Moldovan leader accuses Russia of ouster plot in security push
On the ground
Russian troops continued to mount attacks mostly in eastern areas around Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 11 settlements in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, it said in a statement on Facebook.
Russia remains concerned about guarding the extremities of its extended frontline, despite the current operational focus on central Donbas, according to the latest intelligence update from the UK’s defence ministry.
JPMorgan to help Ukraine on debt capital markets
JPMorgan will provide consulting services to Ukraine in areas including its sovereign credit rating and managing the government’s liquidity.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and members of JPMorgan’s asset management division and investment bank signed a memorandum of understanding that will see the Wall Street bank advise Ukraine on reconstruction.
Nato’s Stoltenberg says spy balloons show need for vigilance
Stoltenberg said that incidents of spy balloons in Nato airspace are an indication that allies need to step up cooperation.
“It’s part of a pattern where China, but also Russia, are increasing their intelligence and surveillance of Nato allies,” Stoltenberg said.
“That highlights the importance of our vigilance, increased presence and also that we ramp up, and step up, how we share intelligence and how we monitor and protect our airspace.”
Read more: US shoots down fourth object as China flings new accusation
Russia’s new offensive has already started, says Nato chief
Stoltenberg said that Russia’s expected increased offensive has already started and that Putin ...
An increase in global demand for coal, coupled with South Africa’s crumbling rail network, has seen KwaZulu-Natal bear the brunt of heavy-duty traffic to and from ports such as Durban and Richards Bay. Daily Maverick visited some of the areas most affected.
Heavy-duty trucks transporting industrial goods are running at unprecedented levels on the N3 between Durban and Johannesburg, and on the N2 between Richards Bay and the Mpumalanga coalfields.
According to figures from the KZN transport department, last year saw a fivefold increase in traffic on the N2 that runs through Pongola from the coast.
Even before demand for coal spiked as a result of energy shortages in Europe caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the N2 linking Mpumalanga’s coalfields with Richards Bay was becoming clogged with heavy trucks.
On any given day, heavy-duty vehicles can be seen from the N2 off-ramp to the John Ross Highway, backed up for kilometres – almost to the Enseleni Nature Reserve – waiting to gain entry to the Richards Bay terminal.
Long queues at Richards Bay
It was raining heavily when Daily Maverick arrived at Transnet’s coal terminal in Richards Bay. A long line of trucks was parked on the side of the road, their drivers waiting for their turn to get the token that permits them to dump their cargo before rushing back to the coalfields for another load.
Most drivers said they pick up their loads from coal mines in Witbank and other parts of Mpumalanga’s Highveld, which accounts for about 75% of South Africa’s coal production. Other drivers reported ferrying loads from mines in Limpopo, the Free State and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal – provinces that have huge deposits of coal to supply an energy-scarce world market.
South African coal is in growing demand and is fetching high prices. In some cases, drivers are being pushed hard and corners are cut to meet that demand, and there are accidents.
“There is not much that we can do,” said one of the Mpumalanga-based drivers in the queue (who asked not to be named). “Our employers are paying us to deliver big quantities of coal to the overseas market,” he said.
It is on the roads leading to and from Richards Bay that trucks have become a danger to residents and motorists alike. Some rural communities have held protests demanding that the traffic be reduced to minimise the number of accidents.
Truck ban rescinded
The uPhongolo Local Municipality and, more recently, the Mthonjaneni ...
Following countless postponements and delays, the ANC in the Western Cape is confident that it will hold its provincial conference in April to elect people to lead it towards the national elections.
ANC Western Cape is the only province yet to hold its elective conference after the Free State managed to convene in January when President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ally, Mxolisi Dukwana, was elected as chairperson.
Two Western Cape regions, which include the party’s biggest region in terms of membership and population, the Dullah Omar Region in the Cape metro and the Southern Cape Region along the Garden Route, have not yet convened their regional conferences.
The Dullah Omar Region is also without permanent leadership after it was disbanded following its failure to prove that it would be ready to hold its conference.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Leaderless and shedding votes, ANC’s embattled Dullah Omar Region races to fix its many problems”
The current Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) was first established in 2019 following the disbanding of the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC). It was tasked with preparing the province to elect a PEC within the prescribed nine-month period but it failed to do so and had to be disbanded and reestablished a number of times.
The ANC NEC last disbanded and reconstructed the IPC with the same members in August last year.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Disgruntled ANC Boland members plan to nullify elective conference”
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula recently met with the Western Cape IPC to check its readiness to hold the provincial conference. Daily Maverick understands that the IPC suggested it would be ready to convene next month but Mbalula was not convinced and recommended April.
IPC convenor Lerumo Kalako confirmed that they had envisaged a date in March to convene, but Mbalula requested that they target April.
“We currently do not have a concrete date,” Kalako said. “We met with the secretary-general and we are looking to hold the conference in the first week of April.”
He added that Mbalula would be the one giving the go-ahead after the National Working Committee (NWC) was briefed and satisfied itself that everything is above board. The ANC’s NWC conducts the work of the ANC and ensures that provinces, regions, branches and all other ANC structures, such as parliamentary caucuses, carry out the decisions of the ANC.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
For a conference to convene, branch general meetings must first be held and ...
The DA has done an about-turn on its position on the National State of Disaster, announcing it will challenge it in court, after calling for one to be declared. Meanwhile, resistance to the State of Disaster is mounting, with Numsa announcing a legal bid on Monday, seeking to interdict the government’s decision.
The DA is heading to court to challenge the declaration of an electricity National State of Disaster, after previously pushing for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare one to deal with the energy crisis at Eskom.
The President announced the electricity State of Disaster to deal with the load shedding crisis in his State of the Nation Address last week.
His announcement followed calls for the crisis to be declared a National State of Disaster by several roleplayers, including traditional leaders and community-based organisations, and was further aired at the ANC’s lekgotla in January.
Before Ramaphosa concluded his speech, the DA had already briefed its legal team to challenge the decision in court.
“A National State of Disaster under the guise of dealing with the load shedding crisis will similarly empower the ANC to abuse procurement processes and issue nonsensical regulations that have nothing to do with the electricity crisis. The DA will not sit back and allow the ANC to abuse the electricity disaster it created to loot and further abuse the people of South Africa,” said a statement released by DA leader John Steenhuisen.
He said the DA was already in court with its case launched in 2021 to declare the Disaster Management Act unconstitutional, and would now do the same to prevent an “ANC looting frenzy” that would follow Ramaphosa’s declaration of an energy State of Disaster.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘Dangerous and mad’ – Not everyone’s sold on Ramaphosa’s electricity minister and another State of Disaster”
Contradiction?
But a November 2022 address by Steenhuisen seems to contradict his current position. On 23 November, Steenhuisen called on Ramaphosa to “declare a ring-fenced State of Disaster around Eskom.
“This should have been done months ago, when he presented his Energy Response Plan, and his refusal then to concede the urgency and scale of the disaster has now left our grid on the brink of collapse,” Steenhuisen said.
The November 2022 statement continues: “This State of Disaster needs to be declared right away so that disaster relief funding can be reprioritised in order to keep the open-cycle turbines running in the immediate term. But more importantly, a ...
For a professional hunter, an elephant’s value is what he can ask a client who wants to shoot it. For the owner of a game reserve, it’s the increase in tourist revenue from owning elephants. A more complicated question is: What’s the value of humans to an elephant?
In a world of increasing pressure on the natural world, valuing a single creature like an elephant is critical to its conservation – but damnably difficult. We generally think of value in terms of money, but that’s a very narrow definition. Value implies benefit. So, who and what benefits from an elephant apart from actually being an elephant? And why is it important to know this?
Here’s why. We have become so used to using the raw materials and creatures of the natural world for our benefit that it’s difficult to think in any other way. It’s what ensured our survival and eventual domination. But this has come at a cost, especially to wild creatures.
Of all the mammals on the planet, including us, wild mammals constitute a mere 4%. If we want what’s left to survive, we have to value them for more than their use to ourselves. Elephants are a good starting point. They’re a keystone species whose numbers have plummeted dramatically over the past 100 years because of us. Valuing them beyond their use to us is essential for their survival.
This is what four researchers – Antoinette van de Water, Michelle Henley, Lucy Bates and Rob Slotow – all with huge experience in the field, set about trying to do. Their starting point and first problem was the marketplace.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Battle lines drawn over the future of elephants”
There is a tendency, they say, for us to view the relationship between nature and people as a one-way flow from nature to people, with nature providing the goods and opportunities without reciprocity. This is highly anthropocentric and often colours policy decisions about elephant conservation.
Conservation planning
Most modern people (but not indigenous groups) value things in terms of their monetary cost in an economy that links value to growth. But when economic benefits alone are acknowledged, say the researchers, the danger is that all non-economic benefits and values will be overlooked.
This is a big problem in making policy on conservation or planning systems that deal with wildlife. There’s an inbuilt, almost unconscious bias towards human use, which means we overlook the fact that ...
Why is it proving so difficult for South African banks and the government to lend money to small businesses in the country? It’s a curious question, but one which illustrates something of the character of business in SA.
Let’s go back in time a bit. At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, governments around the world recognised that businesses, particularly small businesses, were at risk of getting into trouble. The crisis was obviously going to affect the economy as a whole, and some businesses, particularly those in the public space, such as restaurants, were going to get hit hard. And they were.
Various schemes were designed to help, and the most obvious was for governments to provide some kind of loan guarantee scheme. The way these schemes unfolded around the world is enormously instructive.
In SA, the government set aside R200-billion in 2020 for the Covid-19 Loan Guarantee Scheme. It was a centrepiece of the R500-billion government scheme to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn.
Despite being below commercial interest rates, the loans turned out to be unpopular with businesses. One problem was that to ensure banks did proper due diligence, the banks were required to take the hit if the businesses failed. That provision made the loans very unpopular with banks.
They were also unpopular with the prospective loan recipients, mainly because banks insisted on the personal liability of the owners. In other words, if the business foundered, the banks would come after the houses and personal property of the business owners.
The loan sizes were also a bit off. In the initial scheme, businesses had to have a maximum turnover of R300-million, but the maximum loan was set at R10-million per business. For smaller businesses, that could have made a major difference, but for larger businesses, it was chump change.
There were big administrative problems too because banks, if I understand it correctly, were prohibited from making a profit on these loans. The result was, Daily Maverick, among others, was told repeatedly by applicants that businesses were being refused the government’s Covid loan but were then quickly offered commercial loans by banks. Pretty cynical. Or, to put it another way, the incentives for banks to participate were negative.
Ultimately, the scheme more or less bombed. Only about R20-billion was ever dispersed, about 10% of the money set aside. About 15,000 loans were handed out.
So in 2022, the government had another crack at this problem. The ...
A trade union recognised by the SA Post Office and representing its workers claims that the state-owned company plans to cut up to 6,000 jobs through a retrenchment process. But the SA Post Office has not confirmed such a process.
The SA Post Office is considering laying off more workers as the state-owned postal company has been on a money-losing streak for 15 years and forced to operate without financial support from the government.
The Post Office told Business Maverick that it is discussing the “possibility of retrenching workers”, but didn’t disclose how many workers might be affected. The Post Office said no final decision had been taken regarding retrenchments at the company.
But a trade union representing the SA Post Office workers sees the matter about looming retrenchments differently, saying it has been informed by the company that thousands of jobs are on the line.
Aubrey Tshabalala, the general secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), a recognised trade union at the Post Office, said his office was handed a letter last week, with the state-owned company spelling out its plan to press ahead with retrenchments. In the letter, the Post Office said it planned to issue workers with Section 189 notices under the Labour Relations Act, which sets out the steps and consultations that a company must follow before embarking on retrenchments.
Tshabalala has put the number of workers to be affected by the possible retrenchment process at 6,000, but didn’t provide evidence to back this up.
Retrenchments at the Post Office were always on the cards.
In recent years, the Post Office launched a two-phase approach to retrenchments aimed at reducing costs including the company’s salary bill, which accounts for 61% of its total expenditure. Phase one of the retrenchment process saw 668 job cuts in 2021. Beyond planned retrenchments, the Post Office’s workforce was also reduced through resignations, dismissals and the expiration of fixed-term contracts, which led to the company reducing its headcount from 15,826 to 14,460.
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The Post Office is now pressing ahead with the second phase of retrenchments in which the company is aiming to slash at least 600 more jobs.
Various versions of the Post Office’s turnaround plans, which have been presented in Parliament, envisage the company only needing up to 10,000 employees to run an efficient and modern company that offers more than traditional postal services, including online car licence renewal ...
Tensions are rising in Parys, where frustrated residents of Tumahole township are holding a shutdown to demand clean running water.
Burning tyres, rocks and fencing were used to barricade roads on Wednesday, 8 February, showing the frustration of residents of Tumahole and Schonkenville in Parys, and of surrounding areas.
Rocks were flung at a South African Police Service Nyala that was on guard, and one man was injured by a rubber bullet fired by the police during a confrontation between them and residents.
The township and surrounding areas have not had clean running water for years. People watch for water coming from tankers or place buckets outside when it’s raining. When they do get water, residents claim it’s visibly dirty and makes them sick.
This shutdown of the area is the second in a few weeks, with the first taking place on 18 January. There were also protests in other parts of the Free State, including in Kroonstad and Ventersburg, where people had also been complaining in late January about water issues.
Protester and resident Freddy Nqaba said the last shutdown had very little effect, as there was minimal engagement and no direct plan from the mayor, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the local councillors. The last straw was leaders not attending a planned meeting on the evening of Tuesday, 7 February.
“We don’t have many demands. We used to get water in our taps. We don’t know what is blocked and where. But we need the ward councillors and mayors to speak to their officials at the water department. They should leave us out of their factional battles. We voted them in with trust and now we have to burn things for them to listen because they don’t attend meetings; they don’t speak to us,” said Nqaba.
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Last week, the executive mayor of Ngwathe Local Municipality, Victoria de Beer, said the municipality needed R66-million to fix the Parys water treatment plant.
She said the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs was yet to approve this, and they would reconvene on 15 February.
This came after the first shutdown, when the mayor’s mother’s house, a municipal building and 95 water tanks were burnt.
Residents claim the tanks are often empty. Municipal water tankers are supposed to fill them routinely.
The tanks also run out of water before many residents can get ...
Defensive driving and Kevlar offer protection up to a point, but in an increasingly violent world, clients with a high public profile or in the business of transporting valuables place their lives and precious cargo in the hands of armoured vehicle manufacturers.
It’s 3.30pm and I’m lying prone, cradling an R4 assault rifle, about to take a shot at a target 20m away in a secret bunker. I’m aiming not at a bull’s eye target, but at a bitsy metal disc that has been welded on to a metal plate. The ballistic force is so powerful, it snaps the metal disc clean off the plate.
My next shot is a trickier one, taken from a standing position. Braced against my shoulder, the AK47 is aimed at a 50x50cm square of glass, 38mm thick and layered with polycarbonate. The bullet travels a few millimetres through the glass, loses momentum and falls to the floor.
In a real-world situation, that bullet would probably have been aimed at the head of a person. A cash-in-transit driver. A soldier. A security guard. A VIP protection officer. A hijacking victim.
It’s chilling, but to be honest, it feels pretty badass, putting components that are built into the armouring of bulletproof vehicles to the test.
I’m in a testing facility for Special Vehicle Industries (SVI) Engineering in Bashewa, north of Tshwane, where the armoured vehicle manufacturer showcases some of its capabilities to clients, which range from civilian luxury vehicles and cash vans to MAX personnel carriers used in encounters with violent crime, terrorism, protests and regional conflicts.
2,500 armoured civilian vehicles
Since opening in 2004, SVI has delivered more than 2,500 armoured civilian vehicles to the market, for use by executives, farmers, diplomats and other high-profile people.
SVI offers OEM-approved armour on Ford’s Ranger bakkies and is in talks with a German luxury vehicle brand to armour its sedans.
In a statement issued on 3 February 2021, Ford SA said, “With more than 18,000 vehicle hijackings recorded annually in South Africa, according to the South African Police Service annual crime statistics for 2019/20, it makes sense to add another layer of safety for Ford customers in the form of ballistic protection.”
“While we all wish there was no need for armoured civilian vehicles anywhere in the world, being able to provide outstanding levels of safety for customers is deeply rooted in Ford’s DNA, with armoured protection being no exception,” said Ford Africa president Neale Hill, adding ...
Jean-Éric Vergne’s win at the inaugural Hyderabad e-Prix in India was a hard-earned victory for DS Penske and a reminder of the double champion’s skill after a tough beginning to the season.
Jean-Éric Vergne brought DS Penske its first win of the season in Hyderabad, India on Saturday, reclaiming the top spot for a team that, despite its stellar lineup, had a difficult beginning to 2023.
This was the first time the electric cars of Formula E had raced in India, lining up on a circuit that speeds alongside the Hussain Sagar lake, before looping back around from Lumbini Park.
Not only is it an exciting track, with bends and hairpins, tight corners and chicanes, but it was a scenic one too, racing at the shore past the giant Buddha monolith statue on the water, past green spaces and fairground attractions and through tree-lined streets.
“I like new tracks — I think it’s cool. Especially this one — it’s a lot of fun. When there (are) a lot of little secrets to find on the track, I probably find them quickly enough,” Vergne said.
On Saturday, the Frenchman qualified second, losing out on pole position to Mitch Evans by just 0.021 seconds — the closest margin of the finals this year.
Come lights out later that day, Evans had a clean getaway and would lead the pack for the first few laps, before Sébastien Buemi in the green Envision car would displace both him and Vergne for the lead when Evans went offline for attack mode.
Buemi and Vergne would tussle for position thereafter, with the drivers swapping places when the Envision went for attack mode on lap 9, and then again when the DS Penske did the same a lap later.
But Vergne would solidify his first place on lap 15, sweeping past Buemi at the hairpin — the Frenchman would have green in his rearview mirrors for the remainder of the race, but he put on a defensive masterclass that kept the pack behind until the chequered flag.
“It was a tough race — I had to defend quite hard at the end but we somehow managed to win it. It was a clean race, no mistakes. Very happy with the win today,” Vergne said post-race.
The victory also put DS Penske on top after a challenging beginning to the 2023 season and may signal a change in the team’s luck going into the next races.
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Facing up to the embedded social norms and prejudices, linked to practices that stretch across the continent’s histories and giving rise to sexual and gender-based violence, is a necessary step in building societies where women and girls are able to participate as full human beings.
From the cycles of political violence in Kenya, the Rwandan genocide and the institutionalised violations in Gambia to the extremist violence in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, sexual violence as a weapon of war has disproportionately affected women and girls in Africa.
This violence has deep roots, as African women and girls have been dehumanised as possessions since the colonial era, which has rendered them especially vulnerable in conflict. The norms and prejudices that are the legacies of historical violence against women and girls need to be confronted through peace and transitional justice efforts.
The colonial obsession with control over the black individual, more specifically the black woman, extended to their mobility, social interaction, offspring, sexual relations and sexuality. For example, in colonial Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, black African women were considered legal minors and expected to adhere to racialised and gendered policies that disqualified them from full societal participation.
In colonial Mauritius, enslaved women from Mozambique, Guinea and other parts of the continent were largely regarded as objects for the sexual pleasure of colonial settlers and male slaves, suffering sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, rape and forced pregnancies. The colonial landscape demonstrated the unequal racialised, gendered and sexualised norm of social interaction that disadvantaged black African women and girls. Equally, most colonial states focused on the perceived fertility of African women as a rationale for cheap “free-slave” labour.
Today, the disproportionate violence against women and girls across Africa resembles the colonial rationale of oppression. Limited social, political and economic participation stunt women within their communities. They largely continue to be confined to their reproductive functions and relevance in marriage only, with countries such as Niger reporting prevalence of child marriage of up to 76%.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Toxic social conditioning serves as ‘fuel’ for gender-based violence perpetrated by men”
“The ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence in Africa: From protocols to practice”
“Adolescent girls in eastern and southern Africa face increased adversity”
Some countries have sought to address sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through institutional reforms. Morocco, for example, adopted Law 103-13 on Elimination of Violence against Women in 2018. Although progressive, the law has had limited impact because of legal and social norms. For example, unmarried women have ...
The South African Sugar Association has appealed to the government ahead of the Budget next week to freeze the health promotion levy on sugary beverages (such as Coke) — the sugar tax, as it is better known — for the next three to five years.
First introduced in 2018, the tax is currently 2.21 cents per gram and is applied to non-alcoholic sugary beverages (excluding fruit juices) that contain more than four grams of sugar per 100ml. The tax was meant to increase to 2.31 cents per gram from April 2022, but the inflationary increase was suspended for 12 months to allow for consultation with the sugar industry.
As the date for the national Budget grows closer, the industry is becoming increasingly anxious since no consultation has taken place in the past year.
Proposals put forward so far for changes in the sugar tax include:
An inflationary-linked adjustment;
A lowering of the threshold to 2g per 100ml;
A removal of the threshold; and
An expansion of the sugar tax to other food products.
Sandy Jackson, head of agri socioeconomics at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, says if the reach and extent of the sugar tax are extended, refined sugar sales will decline by 160,000 tons over two years, decreasing industry turnover by more than R600-million a year and leading to the potential loss of 1,000 jobs.
A Sugar Association survey shows that an inflationary adjustment is unlikely to lead to significant reductions in demand, as most manufacturers have already reformulated their drinks to meet the current minimum threshold of 4mg of sugar per 100ml.
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“Any increase to the HPL or lowering of the threshold will have a disastrous impact on the entire sugar cane chain. We understand the sugar tax is here to stay, but if there are no changes, it will give the industry time to continue with our diversification journey,” says Trix Trikam, executive director at the South African Sugar Association (Sasa).
“There’s a lot of research needed to identify feasible alternative products that we can move our export tonnage into. The opportunities being investigated include sustainable aviation fuel, bioplastics and food additives.”
Sasa says an estimated 1% ethanol requirement in South Africa’s petrol fuel would be equivalent to 180,000 tons of exported sugar. While investment into biofuels will likely continue, South Africa has to play catch-up – Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have already opened distillation plants.
Why do ...
Globally, the overuse and misuse of drugs – especially antibiotics – in the food chain and in the pollution from livestock farming (spills of manure and other waste into soil and waterways), is a major contributor to the rapid rise of superbugs. How big a problem is antibiotic use in animal farming in South Africa?
Imagine this: You have a sudden, virulent, painful infection (think gonorrhoea, meningitis, pneumonia). You are rushed to hospital, in agony, but feel reassured by the prospect of swift treatment. An emergency-room doctor diagnoses the dangerous infection and prescribes a fast-acting antibiotic, immediately administered via a drip. But nothing happens. The drug doesn’t work. Your suffering worsens. The doctor concludes that no available antibiotics will cure you.
This is not a far-fetched scenario – it is happening right now.
A new global report says that in 2019, drug-resistant infections were directly responsible for almost 1.3 million deaths and contribute, the World Health Organization (WHO) says, to more than 5 million deaths per year.
The report, from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), also estimates that up to 10 million people a year could die by 2050 because of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – that’s the same as the number of people who died from cancer in 2020.
Limiting the spread of antimicrobial resistance, which is when bacteria become resistant to drugs that previously eradicated them, is critical to preserving our ability to reduce disease, food-safety and food-security risks, and protect the environment.
The WHO has been sounding the alarm on AMR since the early 2000s as one of the world’s top 10 global health problems, releasing a “global action plan” on AMR in 2015.
Now, the new Unep report takes an updated global overview of the issue: “Bracing for Superbugs” amplifies the WHO’s frequent warnings that AMR poses an urgent and critical threat to animal and plant health, food security and economic development.
Pollution from biological and chemical sources fuels antimicrobial resistance’s development, transmission and spread, the Unep report says, with three sectors in particular driving it: agriculture and food, healthcare, and manufacturing of pharmaceutical and other chemicals.
Globally, the overuse and misuse of drugs – especially antibiotics – in the food chain, and in the pollution from livestock farming (spills of manure and other waste into soil and waterways), is a major contributor to the rapid rise of superbugs.
“What drives resistance is use, overuse or inappropriate use,” says Professor Moritz van Vuuren, vice-chair of the ...
The rand is on the ropes again, breaching the 18/dlr mark on Monday for the first time this year and hitting its lowest levels since early November. Prominent domestic factors include the sinking reality of permanent load shedding.
The rand has been here before and will be here again. Basically, it doesn’t have much going for it at the moment.
On Monday, the currency – which is prone to volatile swings – breached the 18/dlr mark and hit its lowest levels against the greenback since early November. It has been weakening in fits and starts since the end of last year.
It has also been losing ground against other currencies, “moving closer to R22.00/GBP and R19.50/EUR, experiencing substantial risk-off against the key crosses, losing ground on both global and SA specific issues”, Annabel Bishop, Chief Economist at Investec, said in a note on Monday.
Bishop noted several political risks which were taking a shine off the currency, as well as “deteriorating fundamentals”.
“The recent increased appetite of the ANC for coalitions with SA’s far left-wing political party (the EFF) at the municipal level has negatively affected investor sentiment, as has the country’s energy crisis, with load shedding permanent for the foreseeable future,” Bishop said.
Growth forecasts
The permanent state of load shedding has become a common theme with economists and is why they are busy slashing their forecasts for South African economic growth this year.
The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) sees growth of only 0.3% in 2023, almost exclusively because of the power crisis, which it estimates deducts as much as two percentage points from growth. Accountancy PwC estimates it may be taking as much as five percentage points off.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “PwC estimates rolling blackouts knocked up to five percentage points off SA’s 2022 GDP growth”
“For 2023 as a whole, the impact of power cuts on activity levels, business confidence and private investment cuts our GDP forecast by 0.9 percentage points to 0.7%,” Absa economist Peter Worthington said in a recent research note.
None of this is supportive of the rand. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sona last week did nothing to dispel the reality of the power crisis and the currency has been softening since, but this is also an extension of a trend that has been in place for weeks.
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Moody’s added to the gloom, with an issuer comment on Friday that said load shedding’s impact ...
It is the end of ZAR X’s operations. ZAR X was one of four stock exchanges that were launched in 2017. The alternative stock exchanges were meant to challenge the dominance of the JSE, and promote competition and financial inclusion.
SA’s financial markets regulator has cancelled the exchange licence of ZAR X, an alternative trading platform that was launched in 2017 and styled as a challenger to the JSE’s dominance that had lasted for more than a century.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), a regulator of financial markets and the investment community, has stripped ZAR X of its licence “with immediate effect”, which means that it will permanently close its doors because no trading activity can be conducted on its platform.
The FSCA has been concerned that ZAR X doesn’t have enough capital on its balance sheet that would help the young stock exchange to withstand unexpected future events and economic shocks.
Stock exchanges like ZAR X are required by regulators and the Financial Markets Act (FMA) to have capital on their balance sheet that is equivalent to at least six months of their operating expenses.
Regulators require financial services companies (like ZAR X) to have adequate capital buffers because they could put a country’s wider financial system at risk if they were to collapse. In SA, the failures of Saambou Bank, African Bank and many others have pushed regulators to be tough on financial services companies — including banks, insurers and stock exchanges — to safeguard savings and investments belonging to the public.
ZAR X is a small stock exchange and its collapse won’t have a large impact on the country, but it will be a blow to companies that are listed on its trading platform, and investors that buy and sell shares. At last count, ZAR X had seven companies listed on its platform — including Senwes (an agribusiness), Orion Real Estate (a property company) and Transformational Investment Portfolio (an investor of BEE share schemes) — that have a combined market capitalisation of R5-billion.
According to the FSCA, ZAR X had not been able to meet the capital adequacy requirements, necessitating the permanent cancellation of its licence.
The FSCA temporarily suspended ZAR X’s licence in August 2021, giving the company time and space to convince the regulator that it could raise enough capital to shore up its liquidity profile.
But judging from the FSCA’s decision to permanently cancel ZAR X’s trading licence, the company failed to ...
The Department of Health is not planning to buy the new Covid-19 bivalent booster vaccines, specifically tailored to target Omicron variants, anytime soon. Adele Baleta looks into the reasoning behind this decision.
Instead, people in South Africa will continue to be offered the standard booster Pfizer-BioNtech and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine doses. The department and vaccine experts advise those individuals who are over the age of 60 years, especially those with underlying conditions who have not had their fourth dose, to do so as soon as possible.
Health department spokesperson Foster Mohale says that the Vaccine Ministerial Advisory Committee (Vmac) has decided that the bivalent or “updated” vaccines, approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, are on the “to-do list” but are not a top priority because they are not registered for use in South Africa and there is no “compelling evidence of their superiority over standard vaccines”.
“Currently, South Africa is not ordering any vaccines because we have enough stock of perfectly good vaccine,” Mohale says.
The department is sitting on a huge stockpile of 29.7 million Covid-19 shots, having ordered enough doses for the country’s adult population. However, dwindling cases and hospital admissions for Covid-19 have seen demand for the shots sharply drop. According to the department, by 6 February 22.5 million people in the country, had received at least one dose.
On 30 January, another round of Covid-19 booster doses of either the Pfizer or J&J vaccine was made available. South Africans aged 50 years and older were invited to get a fifth dose and those aged 18 to 49 years a fourth dose.
Prior to opening for more boosters, health minister Dr Joe Phaahla said government had been inundated with requests from fully vaccinated individuals, especially those most at risk, for booster doses to protect them against current and evolving Covid variants. By 6 February, a total of 19,102 booster doses have been administered in the seven days prior. The total number of boosters since the start of the booster campaign by then stood at 4.2 million.
Some people have contacted Spotlight, wanting to know when people in South Africa will have access to the bivalent vaccines. Some South Africans have taken advantage of getting the updated vaccine while visiting the United States, believing it to be a better vaccine. The US Centers for Disease Control recommends that all age groups, with a few exceptions, get ...
Conversations with young people about sex can lead to safer sexual behaviour, like delayed sexual debut, the use of condoms and other contraceptives, and having fewer concurrent sexual partners. But we need to give pupils and young people clear and reliable information so that they can make informed choices relating to their health.
Young people, especially young women, account for a huge chunk of the nearly 200,000 new HIV infections in South Africa every year. Preventing HIV infections in this group is thus an obvious priority. Prevention can be achieved through education and access to sexual and reproductive health services such as condoms and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) among young people. PrEP refers to antiretrovirals being taken to prevent HIV infection.
Young women in South Africa are especially vulnerable to contracting HIV, with an estimated 1,900 new infections reported among young women between the ages of 15 and 24 every week. This number is four times higher than boys their age. The prevalence of HIV in female children between the ages of 0 and 14 has increased consistently between 2008 and 2017. In 2018, HIV-related illnesses were the third-leading natural cause of death of adolescents in South Africa.
Some context
Of the nearly 317 000 children aged 0 to 18 years diagnosed with HIV in 2021, only 215 880 were on treatment, according to estimates from the Thembisa model. While ART is freely available for learners living with HIV but not on treatment, stigma and low demand mean that a shortfall of 100,000 learners went without treatment last year. MEC for health in KwaZulu-Natal Nomagugu Simelane acknowledged in June 2022 that there are serious demand-side issues with the uptake of PrEP in her province, including a lack of knowledge about the benefits of PrEP.
It is against this background that SECTION27, where I used to work, embarked on a Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Campaign, mainly aimed at young people. The campaign ran in schools from August to November last year and also on community radio stations.
The campaign was, among others, premised on the belief that having non-judgmental and pragmatic conversations with young people, addressing their reservations and answering questions, can drive demand for sexual and reproductive health services like PrEP.
In the course of this campaign, we found that while stigma often still lace conversations, we had in schools or on air, many young people are curious, outspoken and hungry for information.
For example, sometimes written surreptitiously ...
No sign of dodgy NLC-funded non-profit at the address it supplied during portfolio committee oversight tour.
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has introduced stringent new protocols for the allocation of grant funding, including the establishment of a new division to prevent the rampant corruption that has overwhelmed the organisation in recent years.
The establishment of the new Inspectorate for Due Diligence and Compliance was revealed in a presentation to members of the Trade, Industry and Competition parliamentary portfolio committee during an oversight visit last week to the NLC’s Pretoria headquarters.
The NLC Risk Division has also implemented fraud risk assessments to “identify fraud trends”, while internal audits would test “internal control and conduct and forensic investigations”, the NLC told MPs.
The current head of the risk division Marubini Ramatsekisa is on suspension and facing a disciplinary hearing for his alleged role in the looting of lottery funds.
Judy Hermans (ANC), who is the portfolio committee’s chairperson, said the committee had made two unannounced visits to NLC projects. “The committee was concerned about what would happen to incomplete capital projects currently under investigation. It urged the NLC to resolve these matters as far as possible,” she said.
Hermans said she was not mandated to comment on behalf of the ANC, which had previously vigorously defended the NLC in the face of evidence of widespread corruption. Instead, she referred GroundUp to committee member and ANC whip Simanga Mbuyane.
But Mbuyane failed to respond to a WhatsApp message asking him for comment on behalf of the party.
Mbuyane previously unsuccessfully attempted to have the media and representatives of civil society organisations barred from a public virtual meeting of the committee at which the appointment of a new board chairperson was discussed.
He has also previously questioned why GroundUp was following the activities of the NLC and blamed “an element of the third force.”
With the exception of single MPs from the FF+, DA, and EFF, the rest of the group that conducted the oversight visit were from the ANC.
Jaco Mulder (FF+) said his party welcomed “ongoing investigations of the SIU into allegations of fraud under the previous administration . as well as investigations and reports on fraud and irregular expenditure.
“The committee should carry out more physical, unannounced oversight visits more often to ensure the transformation to an accountable NLC under a new board,” he said.
Mat Cuthbert (DA) said, “Whilst we welcome the opportunity to have visited several hijacked NLC projects in order to ...
In her new book, My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives, award-winning American journalist and social commentator Charlayne Hunter-Gault reminds us we are all one people. Racism, however potent and profitable, is a social invention. My People is published by HarperCollins.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives celebrates a lifetime of hard-won progress in race relations. She is not naïve and doesn’t hide harsh realities. But this carefully curated collection of 60 articles and televised interview transcripts conveys hope.
From a foreword by a much younger black female journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, who led the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, to an epilogue’s transcript of her 2020 interview with conservative columnist David Brooks about the role of community leadership, one cannot avoid comparisons with South Africa, where Ms Hunter-Gault resided for 17 years.
The book has six parts which are thematic, interrelated and cumulative:
Toward Justice and Equality: Then and Now;
My Sisters;
Community and Culture;
A Single Garment of Destiny;
The Road Less Traveled; and
Honoring the Ancestors.
In 1961, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes became the first black students to integrate the University of Georgia, founded in 1785. Holmes eventually became a medical doctor, Hunter a journalist, opening the door to Hannah-Jones, among many other black journalists.
Hannah-Jones ends her foreword thus: “Ms Hunter-Gault shows us, as long as the architecture of racial inequality remains, so does the journalists’ mandate to investigate and report on it.”
Following precedent-setting and award-winning stints at the New York Times, the New Yorker magazine, and US Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS’s) Nightly News Hour, Hunter-Gault moved to South Africa in 1997, first, as American Public Broadcasting’s Africa correspondent and from 1999 as South Africa’s Bureau Chief for CNN. Her dozen or more articles about the freedom struggles and legacies of white racism add an important dimension.
The book’s first three parts provide fresh insights into America’s struggle for civil rights that should interest African and other foreign audiences as well.
Part I recounts the slow non-linear but discernible progress in achieving racial justice since the 1960s. It features Georgia that recently elected its first black US Senator, despite ongoing efforts at voter suppression.
She focuses, however, on local community leaders, whether in Atlanta, the rural South or Harlem in urban New York, and initiatives to benefit educational opportunities for black youngsters, help enroll more voters, fight crime, or fight racism in schools and local communities. With 14 articles Part I sets the tone ...
Ditsobotla Local Municipality may be the best-known example nationally of misgovernance after dairy company Clover decided to uproot itself and move to KwaZulu-Natal. Officials routinely treat the municipal coffers as their own private piggy bank to be raided at will.
The front line service delivery failures of our municipalities often only rise to the top of our collective media attention when a tragic event like the death of a resident takes place, stemming from the failure of service delivery. Like Andries Tatane being brutally murdered in a protest, or five-year-old Michael Komape dying in a pit toilet in Limpopo, or eight-year-old Musa Mbele drowning in a river in QwaQwa while fetching water.
We routinely give our non-metro municipalities attention when the Auditor-General issues yet another scathing report on the state of municipalities, but even then we seldom zoom in on the individual municipalities despite a wealth of claims and assessable evidence.
Every week on a show I host on SAfm, we do an incredibly popular feature called The Municipal Watch, where we get down to the details of municipal failure and/or corruption. Our latest instalment has perhaps been the most naked example of corruption and service delivery failure.
It is the story of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality mayor Khumalo Molefe. This is the municipality under which small towns such as Klerksdorp, Lichtenburg and Mafikeng fall.
Mayor Molefe is accused by business owners in the area of directly and brazenly asking them for money in exchange for cooperation and allocation of tenders within the municipality.
These accusations weren’t just made in the media: the business owners have furnished sworn affidavits to this effect, accompanied by a slew of other evidence.
The mayor, who earns a fairly modest public service salary, is alleged to have bought his wife expensive vehicles and to be building his very own Nkandla-like home, funded by businesses owners who acquiesced to the mayor’s alleged demands.
This isn’t the point I am driving at. I am more interested in the sheer lack of concern from the provincial and national authorities.
A question that must arise from all of this is, at what point does the leadership of the province – both as the state and the governing party – see the allegations as a matter worthy of their time and attention?
Who must say what – or what must first happen – before someone is irritated enough by the repeated allegations to want to do something about ...
African voices and actors have a crucial role to play in supporting and helping Ethiopians find peace. The deal reached in Pretoria is a cause for optimism. But we cannot ignore its gaps. It is now incumbent on us all to do what we can to prevent a worsening of the slaughter.
I have had the misfortune to witness the worst of humanity. In 1994, as a journalist for the Ugandan newspaper The Monitor, I arrived in Rwanda a few days after the plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira — the president of Burundi — was brought down in Kigali.
Over the next months of genocide, I was horrorstruck by the dead bodies littering paths, hilltops, gardens and rivers.
In a village in Nyamagana, we found a six-month-old baby whose mother had died two days earlier. The little girl was still suckling her dead mother’s breast. Flies had taken over her entire body. We picked her up and bathed her.
The tales of the Rwanda genocide are more than this article can easily detail. The experience changed me. I knew I could never be satisfied with counting bodies and empathising with the dead. I needed to prevent atrocities from ever happening.
Like many, I was uplifted by the news that the African Union (AU) had brokered a permanent cessation of hostilities agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Pretoria in November 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Warring Ethiopian parties silence the guns by signing historic peace agreement in Pretoria”
Political tension in the country was roiled by the two-year war, which was centred in northern Ethiopia and served as a spur to other conflicts elsewhere in Ethiopia. More than half a million civilians have died. And yet the world’s media and politicians haven’t paid attention. The war in Tigray was a hidden conflict, cloaked behind an internet, telecommunications and banking blackout that is only now lifting.
Ethiopia is important for all Africans. It is the home of the AU, the political organisation we trust to advance Africa’s aspirations for continental development and equal participation in global affairs. As such, it is our home, too. African voices and actors have a crucial role to play in supporting and helping Ethiopians find peace. The deal reached in Pretoria is a cause for optimism. But we cannot ignore its gaps.
It is now incumbent on us all to do what we can to ...
America’s proxy wars typically rage for years and even decades, leaving battleground countries like Ukraine in rubble. Unless the proxy war ends soon, Ukraine faces a dire future. Ukraine needs to learn from the horrible experience of Afghanistan to avoid becoming a long-term disaster.
The greatest enemy of economic development is war. If the world slips further into global conflict, our economic hopes and our very survival could go up in flames. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock to a mere 90 seconds to midnight.
The world’s biggest economic loser in 2022 was Ukraine, where the economy collapsed by 35% according to the International Monetary Fund. The war in Ukraine could end soon, and economic recovery could begin, but this depends on Ukraine understanding its predicament as victim of a US-Russia proxy war that broke out in 2014.
The US has been heavily arming and funding Ukraine since 2014 with the goal of expanding Nato and weakening Russia. America’s proxy wars typically rage for years and even decades, leaving battleground countries like Ukraine in rubble.
Unless the proxy war ends soon, Ukraine faces a dire future. Ukraine needs to learn from the horrible experience of Afghanistan to avoid becoming a long-term disaster. It could also look to the US proxy wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
Starting in 1979, the US armed the mujahideen (Islamist fighters) to harass the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. As president Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski later explained, the US objective was to provoke the Soviet Union to intervene, in order to trap the Soviet Union in a costly war. The fact that Afghanistan would be collateral damage was of no concern to US leaders.
The Soviet military entered Afghanistan in 1979 as the US hoped, and fought through the 1980s. Meanwhile, the US-backed fighters established al-Qaeda in the 1980s, and the Taliban in the early 1990s. The US “trick” on the Soviet Union had boomeranged.
In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The US war continued for another 20 years until the US finally left in 2021. Sporadic US military operations in Afghanistan continue.
Afghanistan lies in ruins. While the US wasted more than $2-trillion of US military outlays, Afghanistan is impoverished, with a 2021 GDP below $400 per person! As a parting “gift” to Afghanistan in 2021, the US government seized Afghanistan’s tiny ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Oughtn’t we teachers be producing innovative, creative, collaborative problem-solvers? How is that possible when so many of us in education are by default so risk-averse and suspicious of the new?
In January this year, Australian educationalist Adam Voigt published an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald titled “Schools right now face a choice — fight the wave of ChaGPT, or surf it”.
It’s a good, sensible article. It opens with the not-unexpected knee-jerk reactions from educators and parents in somewhat of a tizz. There’s been fairly widespread gnashing of teeth and wringing of wrists, as the end of homework, Aids posters and the papier mâché volcano is in sight. Children will plagiarise left right and centre and not even the plagiarism detection program Turnitin can stem this unravelling catastrophe.
Oughtn’t we teachers be producing innovative, creative, collaborative problem-solvers? How is that possible when so many of us in education are by default so risk-averse and suspicious of the new?
But Voigt moves on to express just how exciting this disruptor is — if educators embrace it and, as his title says, “surf this wave”.
Teaching ought to model agency and proactivity. This panic about how ChatGPT will “lead to cheating” is sad, and says way too much about how too many educators view the children they teach.
Of course, it could lead to cheating, unless we begin to think differently about the tasks we set and the purpose behind them. Children are generally better than that — if you expect more of them and you show that expectation every day in every interaction and in the way you nurture your relationship with them.
It’s not our job as teachers to impose our own fears and limitations on the children before us. It is our job to encourage them to think differently; to create new knowledge based on existing knowledge. We should rejoice when we see our children having the courage to see new paradigms that stretch our own understanding and worldview. It’s also our job to role-model the choice to behave ethically too.
What an amazing and exciting tool ChatGPT is for a teacher who’s willing to surf the wave! Bear with me for a wee bit, as I take myself back into my early role as a teacher of senior English and French, and imagine how I would experiment with ChatGPT, were I still in the classroom.
In senior grade poetry, and a first encounter with the ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
The African Union’s reliance on international funding affects its ability to set priorities and take ownership of solutions.
In a rapidly shifting global order and with continued threats to Africa’s security, the African Union (AU) must strengthen ties with multilateral bodies and governments outside the continent. So far, it has struggled to extend engagements beyond its traditional partners — the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), United States (US) and China.
The UN and EU are the African bloc’s biggest partners, and the EU is the largest contributor to the AU’s budget. Funding is a major issue shaping the continental body’s external relations and often results in collaborations driven more by partners’ priorities than Africa’s. The AU relies heavily on partners to fund its activities, with two-thirds of its 2023 budget drawn from external sources.
The AU-EU relationship is formalised through summits and regular official interactions. Their respective security arms exchange information and undertake joint field missions. Collaboration between the AU and UN is governed by the 2017 peace and security framework and the 2018 Joint Framework for the Implementation of the AU’s Agenda 2063. Annual AU-UN conferences are also held.
These interactions help parties pool resources, improve coordination and undertake joint assessment missions. Common positions are agreed on pressing security challenges, including using sanctions in conflict situations. Efforts have also been made to align decisions of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) and UN Security Council (UNSC). While there have been dividends, the PSC still complains of being marginalised in the UNSC.
The AU has long-standing ties with the US on security, governance, economic growth and climate issues. The US-backed recent AU attempts to resolve the Ethiopian war and supported the fragile Sudan and Chad transitions. At the inaugural democracy summit in 2021, 16 AU states committed to bolstering democratic initiatives.
China’s cooperation with the AU on security has seen it send soldiers to peacekeeping operations in more than a dozen African countries. China also provides the AU with technical assistance, capacity building, technologies and equipment to help it combat piracy, terrorism and other threats. Exchanges on maritime security, logistical support, military education, training and medicine are notable.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A major challenge to productive partnerships is the AU’s continued overreliance on funding from the EU and others. That has led to gaps in priority setting and ownership of Africa’s peace and security agenda.
In 2016, the AU ...
Researchers hope to repeat and expand a study that also found high rates of racial and gender discrimination.
Nearly 80% of medical students who took part in the first South African study of its kind said they had experienced mistreatment by doctors.
This is the highest level of mistreatment reported in any similar study worldwide, say researchers at Stellenbosch University, who also uncovered high rates of racial and gender discrimination aimed at students in the university’s medicine and health science faculty.
The paper, published in January this year in the journal Teaching and Learning in Medicine, recorded the responses of 443 medical students to a 19-question online survey.
The researchers say the “highly prevalent” mistreatment had “significant perceived negative effects on mood and academic performance”, and they call on medical schools to be aggressive in their efforts to prevent mistreatment and provide support to students who experience it.
But they acknowledge that since the research was conducted in 2018, the situation at Stellenbosch may have improved. “Since the conduct of this study, the university has made efforts to address the findings by introducing an anti-bullying poster campaign as well as an online reporting system,” they say.
A statement from the medicine and health sciences faculty at Stellenbosch says the campaign was launched in 2021 after the study “highlighted the presence of bullying behaviour in its own training environment”.
It adds: “This anti-bullying campaign was endorsed by the South African committee of medical deans and shared with all ten medical school deans in the country.”
In a statement, the Western Cape health department says it has noted the “serious nature of the findings” in the study and taken steps to improve the environment at Tygerberg Hospital, where Stellenbosch students do their practical training.
“The department has a zero-tolerance stance towards any form of bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment, in any form, in the workplace,” it says.
Worldwide, studies have found that trainee doctors experience more mistreatment than students in other faculties, and Stellenbosch lead author Kathleen Crombie says this may be because the medical profession relies heavily on apprentice-type learning techniques.
The hierarchical relationships involved lend themselves to abusive behaviour, she says, and “trainees may feel that they cannot speak out against abuse out of fear of punishment or discrimination”.
Crombie, now a GP in Johannesburg, conceived the research project when she was an undergraduate medical student at Stellenbosch, and developed it with psychiatrist Professor Soraya Seedat.
Seedat now plans to conduct a nationwide ...
When well-known actress and singer Antoinette Pienaar arrived on Theefontein farm in 2001, gravely ill with cerebral malaria, Oom Johannes had been waiting for her for decades – ever since his vision about 40 years before.
We meet up with Antoinette Pienaar and Oom Johannes Willemse in a church hall in Loxton, Northern Cape, on a Saturday morning in 2010.
It’s a fundraiser for a local charity, and Antoinette’s first performance in a long time. She has already spent several years as an apprentice to renowned Griqua herb doctor and jackal hunter Oom Johannes Willemse. He’s sitting in the front row, both hands restful on his walking stick.
Swooping about like a sunburnt angel in an altar-dress white robe, with Morné Serfontein accompanying her on piano and accordion, Antoinette transforms the village kerksaal (church hall) into a New Orleans basement club. One where they sing in Afrikaans.
She sings in praise of windmills, love, yearning and the open skies of the Karoo, filling the hall with her unmistakable voice and huge personality. The after-show treats – baked by Loxton farmers’ wives – are memorable.
Sleepover at Theefontein
Two years later, we overnight with Antoinette and Oom Johannes, near Beaufort West on Theefontein farm, a place only found via an intricate set of directions involving small dirt roads with middelmannetjies (the humps between wheel ruts on a dirt road) and a few cattle grids.
You know you’re close when you see a cluster of white buildings resting in the lap of two converging mountains. But first there is a long approach via a rising road. At the top of it, you are greeted with ferocious barking from greyhounds and Italian whippets in large enclosures.
The biggest dog is Danster. He looks as if he could murder any strangers entering the farmyard. Antoinette, dressed in a pink shift and flip-flops, with her hair in two plaits like a schoolgirl, sings out: “Danster, stil. Ja ons hoor jou. Ja.” (“Danster, quiet. Yes we hear you. Yes.”)
Then she welcomes us and shows us where we will sleep. It is a typical Karoo labourer’s cottage, just like the others. No one stays in the grand old farmhouse. Only ghosts live there, she tells us.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Rietbron: Splendid isolation in a lovingly restored dusty Karoo village”
Our cottage has two rooms, divided by a central one, which has a huge hearth. On the wall of our little bedroom – with two venerable hospital ...
Randall Williams’s resignation on Monday might have come as a surprise to some, but an insider has confirmed what has been stated by others - that the writing had been on the wall anyway. Now, while the ANC wants the multiparty coalition to be reconfigured, Daily Maverick understands DA finance MMC Peter Sutton is poised to become mayor should coalition partners reach an agreement.
While outgoing Tshwane mayor Randall Williams says his untimely resignation was meant to prevent political instability in the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros spilling over into South Africa’s capital city, an insider claims he was “pushed out”.
A DA insider told Daily Maverick that Williams had come under fire shortly after his alleged involvement in a R26-billion tender bid involving a service provider Williams had allegedly handpicked to obtain a concession to refurbish, finance, operate and maintain the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Tshwane coalition storm brews as DA mayor accused in R26bn tender bid”
The plan to get rid of Williams had long been in the pipeline, with mayoral committee member for finance Peter Sutton poised to become the next mayor should coalition partners be in agreement, according to the insider.
“After that [unsolicited bid] incident, things were never the same for him. There were numerous attempts by the leadership of the DA to get rid of him. The coalition partners were also not pleased with his performance. There was a suggestion that he steps down, which he refused. When the party threatened to fire him, he indicated he would take it to court,” the insider said.
In his resignation, Williams said that during his tenure, which began in October 2020, he sought to ensure the stability of the multiparty coalition, deliver services, and stabilise the city’s finances, having inherited a R4-billion deficit at the time.
He was due to face a motion of no confidence, spearheaded by the ANC, later this month after he survived a motion in 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC in Tshwane spearheads motion of no confidence against mayor as probe begins into R26bn power bid”
Political ructions
It has not been smooth sailing for DA mayors who took over Gauteng’s metros after the 2021 local government elections. In Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse was ousted as mayor after a successful motion of no confidence, and replaced by Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad, whose party has just three council seats.
In Ekurhuleni, DA speaker Raymond Dhlamini suffered a similar ...
‘Beaufort West, see you at work,’ said Patriotic Alliance member Ashley Sauls, the new mayor of Beaufort West on Monday after the previous mayor wore the chain for barely seven months. The election proved difficult as questions were raised about his residence in the region — and immediately dismissed.
Patriotic Alliance (PA) member Ashley Sauls, a former councillor in the City of Johannesburg was elected the mayor of Beaufort West on Monday 13 February in a close vote.
Sauls — from Eldorado Park — had been a councillor for the party in the City of Johannesburg until recently, where he was a mayoral committee member for Health and Social Development in February 2022, reported The Sowetan. He resigned from his seat in the council to take up the role in the small municipality in the Western Cape.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Beaufort West – where time stands still, dangerous rocks are born and service delivery is dying”
On 31 January, mayor Thersia Prince tendered her resignation as mayor and councillor for the Patriotic Alliance. She had been mayor since June 2022 and is the wife of former mayor Truman Prince.
Sauls replaced Prince as a Proportional Representative (PR) councillor.
A council meeting was called for Monday 13 February to elect a new mayor. But over the weekend, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Democratic Alliance DA raised concerns over a video made by PA president and Central Karoo District Municipality mayor Gayton McKenzie, who allegedly threatened members of the public if they pitched up to the council sitting. (DM has seen the video clip)
“Firstly, McKenzie is in violation of Sections 19 and 20 of the Municipal Systems Act, which states that members of the public may not be excluded from council meetings. Secondly, he is also instigating violence and is therefore in contravention of Section 41 of the Constitution,” said Shaun Meyer, a councillor and DA Caucus Leader, Beaufort West.
Daily Maverick attempted to call McKenzie regarding several claims made by the DA and SACP — including the video — but he did not respond to calls and he was out of office.
‘Still so much to do’
During the council meeting on Monday at the Provincial Traffic Auditorium, council Speaker Noël Constable explained Prince’s resignation — and thus a new mayor was needed.
The meeting was streamed on Sauls’ Facebook page.
Councillor Jacob van der Linde (DA) questioned where Sauls stayed — and how Sauls could be made ...
The National Award winners for the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 have been announced, featuring photographers from 55 countries across the world. Here is a selection of the winning images.
The death of Kiernan Jarryd Forbes – who raked in accolades as a songwriter, music producer and entrepreneur – has stunned the country whose flag he flew proudly around the world.
The death of rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known as AKA, has left South Africans across the country reeling, not only due to the violent nature of his passing, but also the abrupt loss of such an iconic figure in the local music industry.
Forbes, along with his long-time friend and former manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, was gunned down outside a restaurant on Florida Road in Morningside, Durban, on Friday.
The rapper had only recently celebrated his 35th birthday. His newest album, Mass Country, was set for release on 24 February.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Tributes pour in for SA rapper AKA and his ex-manager after fatal shooting outside Durban restaurant”
“AKA was counted among the best rappers on the continent,” said the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in the wake of Forbes’s death. “[He] was known as one of the most patriotic artists who literally flew the South African flag high everywhere he went around the globe.”
Forbes rose to fame between 2010 and 2012, according to the department. He released his debut album, Alter Ego, in 2011, featuring songs such as I want it all and All I know”, as well as the smash hit single Victory Lap.
The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry of South Africa, and received several awards including Best Street Urban Music Album at the South African Music Awards in 2012. Forbes also won Best Male Artist of the Year at the 2012 awards.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Ronald Lamola calls for quick arrest and prosecution of rapper AKA’s killers”
Between 2014 and 2020, Forbes released three more albums – Levels, Touch my Blood and Bhovamania. He continued to collect accolades throughout his career, including the Favourite South African Star at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2019. DM
Reporting by Tamsin Metelerkamp
The Admiral Gorshkov is en route to a joint maritime exercise with South Africa and China off the KZN coast.
The controversial Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov sailed into Cape Town on Monday, and refuelled after a long voyage from Russia. The ship is en route to Durban and Richards Bay to participate in the joint maritime Exercise Mosi II with the South African and Chinese navies.
It was not clear if the ship would merely refuel and then move on to KwaZulu-Natal or if it would dock in Cape Town to replenish stores and give its crew shore leave, as a naval expert suggested.
As it sailed into port, the ship proudly sported a large “Z” on the starboard (right) side of funnel, and a V on the port (left) side. These are the symbols which Russian tanks and other vehicles and warships have all been using since February 24 last year to show they are participating in the war against Ukraine. “It’s not deserving neutrality,” Democratic Alliance defence spokesperson Kobus Marais told Daily Maverick, saying the Z symbol showed South Africa would not be participating in a neutral exercise.
Western governments are dismayed that Exercise Mosi II will be underway on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, turning it in effect into a celebration of that event.
Read more in Daily Maverick here:
Western diplomats raise alarm on South Africa-Russia-China joint naval exercise during anniversary of Ukraine invasion
The Russian frigate has also stirred considerable controversy because its armament includes the “hypersonic” ship-to-ship Zircon missile which Moscow claims is too fast to be intercepted by any Nato forces.
The official news agency Tass recently reported that the Admiral Gorshkov would test-fire the Zircon during Exercise Mosi II which alarmed Western diplomats. However, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) told Daily Maverick on Sunday that “according to the Protocol agreement signed by the three countries, there is no planned launch of any missile during Exercise MOSI II.”
The SANDF also confirmed that one Russian frigate and one oiler (tanker); one Chinese destroyer, one Chinese frigate and one Chinese support vessel; plus one South African frigate would participate in Exercise Mosi II.
A military expert told Daily Maverick that the Admiral Gorshkov’s oiler — which refuels it — was expected in Cape Town on Friday although that is the date when the 10-day exercise off the KZN coast is supposed to start.
It is ...
Halfway through the release of its first season, HBO’s post-apocalyptic survival drama is already being lauded as one of the best video-game adaptations yet.
The Last of Us:
In a nutshell
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic survival drama adapted from a 2013 video game. The series is set in a dystopian version of 2023, 20 years after civilisation fell to a global pandemic – the world is ravaged by a fungus that has evolved to survive the warm climate of the human body and “enslave” its hosts to spread the infection at any cost.
Pedro Pascal (Narcos, The Mandalorian) plays Joel, a smuggler who attempts to navigate warring fascist factions, guerilla resistance groups, and hordes of the infected zombie-like creatures to transport a feisty teenage girl played by Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials)
Where to watch it
Episodes are released on Mondays on Showmax – the series was halfway through its first season at time of publication.
What’s the vibe?
In terms of its setting and premise, there are obvious comparisons to be made between The Last of Us and popular zombie apocalypse thriller-dramas like The Walking Dead or Black Summer; the baiting of jump-scares in suspense scenes and the constant unnerving proximity of danger is also similar.
However, The Last of Us takes a different approach to violence and gore, which is present, but only to progress conflict in the plot. It certainly doesn’t revel in the “justified brutality” that was sold in the original video game or in series like The Walking Dead. What it doesn’t hold back on is freaky, sci-fi body-horror, which is reminiscent of the 2018 film Annihilation, and pretty unsettling (although occasionally the movement and sounds of the infected are amusingly similar to that of a velociraptor).
When it comes to stylisation and writing, the series has a lot in common with HBO’s Chernobyl, which was also written by Craig Mazen and takes a slow, gloomy, character-focused approach to disaster. But The Last of Us probably has the most in common with series like The Witcher, Sweet Tooth, or The Mandalorian for that matter, in that they are built around the slow-growing reluctant partnership of convenience of an unlikely pair in a dangerous world – a hardcore, stoic closet-softie and a precocious child who for one reason or another is special.
A closer look
Adapting a film or series from a video game is a pretty sure-fire way to create an ...
The debt owed to institutions of higher learning is ballooning and requires a national intervention from the government. But years of task teams and promises have achieved nothing.
Student debt has been a continuing problem for South Africa’s economy and higher education sector owing to the limited funding provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training. It is simply not enough to fund all students who are enrolled in tertiary institutions.
Because of inflation, the increased cost of living, rising student fees and a lack of sustainable solutions, the national student debt has gradually increased by at least R2-billion annually over the past decade. By the 2017-18 academic year, student debt already sat at an astonishing R11.3-billion.
DM168 was unable to confirm the exact debt figures before 2017, despite multiple attempts to get these numbers. What is confirmed is that the student debt crisis snowballed from R13.162-billion in the 2019-20 academic year to R16.5-billion in 2021-22.
The March 2021 protests over university student debts made it clear that few changes had been made to correct the continuing issues around tertiary education funding.
According to Christopher Webb, a South African social anthropologist, the student debt is a part of the inheritance left behind by apartheid’s enforcement of racial capitalism. Research Professional News revealed in 2021 that historically white, research-driven universities like Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Rhodes and Pretoria had far less debt than traditionally black universities or universities of technology.
According to the article, as of 2021, Tshwane University of Technology’s student debt was R4.4-billion.
The debt of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology stood at R1.13-billion and that of the Central University of Technology at R1.78-billion. Among the top research universities, KwaZulu-Natal and Witwatersrand (Wits University) were owed the most, with debts of R1.7-billion and R1.062-billion, respectively.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Budget boost brings some relief to student aid scheme, but varsities’ problems pile up”
Stellenbosch University’s student debt was R16.3-million, whereas Rhodes University, at R15.3-million, had the lowest arrears. The University of Cape Town (UCT) had the lowest student debt of all South African universities, amounting to R14.1-million.
A protest movement against increases in student fees, #FeesMustFall, was launched in October 2015. It also called for increased government funding of universities.
A crucial part of the agenda was to relieve students of the strain of ever- increasing fees at higher education institutions, which limited access and made it hard for some students to persist with their studies.
With the limited funding ...
The Stop the War Coalition is hosting an online international rally to make the call for peace in Ukraine; Teen Suicide Prevention Week in South Africa is raising awareness around teenage mental health; and Open Secrets is holding an online discussion about ‘The Social Cost of State Capture’.
Monday, 13 February, is World Radio Day.
For the 2023 observance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) highlights the importance of independent radio as a pillar for conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
“In reporting and informing the general public, radio stations shape public opinion and frame a narrative that can influence domestic and international situations and decision-making processes,” according to the United Nations (UN) information page on the event.
“Increasing radio’s journalistic standards and capacity should be considered as an investment in peace.”
Monday is the second day of Teen Suicide Prevention Week, which runs from 12 to 19 February this year.
The observance takes place in South Africa annually and is an opportunity to focus on adolescent and youth mental health, as well as raise awareness around teen depression and suicide.
In South Africa, 9% of all teenage deaths are due to suicide, according to a Western Cape government press release from May 2022. This number is increasing.
“There’s currently a global increase in teenage depression, anxiety and suicide. Caregivers of adolescents must be aware of what to look out for and where to get help,” according to the release.
“All threats or attempts to commit suicide should be taken seriously. In 75% of all suicides, the person gave some warning or made their intention known to a loved one.”
Some ways in which you can help someone who is suicidal include:
Being a willing and active listener;
Asking what is troubling them if you notice behavioural changes or warning signs;
Letting them know that you care and understand, and that they are not alone;
Taking them to their nearest clinic and staying with them until help is available, if there is an immediate danger of suicide; and
Calling the emergency numbers if the above options aren’t available.
Those needing help can contact the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) suicide crisis helpline on 080 056 7567.
More resources on teen suicide prevention can be found here.
On Monday, 13 February, at 9pm, Stop the War Coalition is hosting an online international rally to make the call for peace in Ukraine.
“As part of our campaigning ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, we ...
Shallots, garlic, herbs and an air fryer. That makes for a delicious side dish and will be ready in minutes.
The dearth of shallots in South African stores and at markets continues to baffle and perplex me. Surely there’s enough of a market for these superb, sweet and mild-flavoured alliums to be readily available? (I have banged this drum before.)
A shallot is a type of onion, small and oval with points at either end, though other varieties are rounder. The variety we usually find (not that we often do) is whitish-pink, verging on purple in parts, and has a flavour profile that sets it higher, in palate appeal, to most onions. Nor is it much like the leek, and it’s far removed from garlic in that the shallot is very much at the milder end of the flavour scale. Leeks are mild, too, but their flavour is nothing like that of the shallot.
Shallots are an important ingredient in fine cuisine for their subtlety, and are considered by many chefs to be preferable to most onions.
If, however, you cannot get shallots, and want a milder flavour, opt for red onions as they are sweeter and a touch milder than white varieties. You could try this recipe with small red onions, quartered, but try to find shallots if you can.
And if you would like to find shallots more regularly, and more of them, in our shops, have a good whinge to your store manager about it. We need to end the dearth of these wonderful vegetables.
My daughter gave me a bottle of quality rosemary-infused olive oil as a gift when she visited from England, and I used a little of it to cook these shallots in an air fryer. But use any olive oil you like, and use either only thyme, or plenty of thyme and a sprig or two of rosemary, in the mix.
(Serves 2 as a side dish)
Ingredients
Shallots air fryer roast
8 shallots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
4 whole garlic cloves, dehusked
A few rosemary sprigs
Salt and black pepper to taste
A modest splash of rosemary olive oil, or plain olive oil
Method
Preheat the air fryer at 190℃ for 10 minutes.
Peel the shallots and slice them in half lengthwise. Dehusk the garlic but leave the cloves whole.
Add a little olive oil to a bowl, add salt and black pepper, and stir.
Add the halved shallots and whole garlic, and the thyme leaves and rosemary if ...
The racquet game now has an estimated 25 million-plus active players worldwide and its own professional circuit. And since arriving in South Africa in late 2020, the growth has been exponential.
The roots of padel are found in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969, when a businessman, Enrique Corcuera, adapted his home squash court to integrate elements of platform tennis, which is essentially a slightly edited, smaller version of tennis that can be played year-round.
Playing on the new court, Corcuera created something he called Paddle Corcuera.
As the story goes, Corcuera would invite friends over to play his newly invented game. One of them, Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a Spanish prince, was so inspired that he decided to build two courts of his own in his home town of Marbella, Spain, in 1974.
Half a century on, padel, as it is now known, is played by more than 25 million people worldwide, and is recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.
What is padel?
James Baber, the CEO of Africa Padel, currently the largest padel company in South Africa in terms of the number of courts and locations, describes padel as “a mixture of tennis and squash played on a substantially smaller court”. Padel courts are generally one-third of the size of a tennis court and are enclosed with glass panels and metallic fencing.
Padel is typically more of a flowing game than tennis, and the rallies are generally longer, says Baber. Additionally, the required level to play and enjoy padel is a lot lower than tennis, he says.
“I think if you play tennis, the person or people you play with or against need to be of a pretty similar level otherwise it’s not much fun at all. With padel, on the other hand, you can have a more varied skill set and still have a hell of a lot of fun.”
An attractive feature of padel is that it’s fairly quick to play, says Baber.
“People who play a lot will generally play for an hour and a half, although a lot of people do play for an hour. So you’re kind of in and out.”
The sport also has a very social aspect to it, he says.
“If we take an afternoon game where someone’s playing from 5pm to 6.30pm, they will generally get there a couple of minutes before and have a bit of banter, and then afterwards sit down and have a cup of coffee or a couple ...
The most talked-about game of the moment released on 10 February 2023. Here are our first thoughts on Hogwarts Legacy, based on an initial 10 hours playing the open-world action RPG set in the Harry Potter/Wizarding World universe.
Soaring over Hogwarts castle on the back of a thestral; earning points for your house with an impressive bit of spellcasting; putting poltergeist Peeves in his place; actually wielding the wand you were assigned after doing ye olde Pottermore website quiz; downing a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
If you’ve ever dreamt of attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or, alternatively, if you’ve ever dreamt of playing a next-gen, truly open-world game set in the Harry Potter universe, then you’ll be pleased to know that Hogwarts Legacy ticks all those boxes.
Avalanche Software (which made the sandboxy Disney Infinity series), Portkey Games and Warner Bros. Games’ new single-player experience is every bit the wizarding wish fulfilment fans of the books and the films could hope for, letting players create and then control the unique witch or wizard they want to be.
And yet.
It’s a lot
Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t skimp. Even before the addition of extra content, the action role-playing game will keep you busy for days, if not weeks, cramming in hundreds of things to do as players virtually live out their fantasies.
Focusing on the main quest line alone, you’re looking at a playthrough of 25 to 35 hours, while completionists who strive to check off every side mission and find every collectible, can expect to easily invest over 70 hours in the game; a typical playthrough will therefore sit somewhere in between those figures. Nearly 10 hours in, this writer has yet to get a broomstick, find the Room of Requirement, or access the upgrade system applicable to the spell set.
It can all be a bit daunting, to be honest. When you first open your Field Guide — a repository that collects every quest, the game map, your gear (with an initially confusing double layer of equippable and aesthetic-changing customisation), an inventory of resources, all your Owl post, and more — you may experience an icy chill of anxiety. That’s only before the teachers give you extra assignments, and that “back at school” feeling may be triggering for people long free of formal studies.
There’s just so much to do: outside of the primary quest line, this isn’t a constrained, linear game at all. ...
The Special Tribunal and Investigating Directorate are making significant inroads in tackling corruption that has systematically weakened the state, damaged key institutions and eroded the country’s social fabric.
This week will mark five years since we embarked on a new journey in the fight against corruption. In delivering the State of the Nation Address on 16 February 2018, I said: “We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people.”
I said that if we are to turn the tide on corruption, we must strengthen law enforcement institutions and shield them from external interference or manipulation. Since then, we have made substantial progress in strengthening the state’s ability to deal with corruption.
The first significant step in this effort was the establishment of a Special Tribunal to enable the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to expedite civil claims against corrupt individuals and to recover stolen funds. The tribunal is a court dedicated to proceedings arising from SIU investigations. This strategy of combining investigations with civil litigation has enabled the SIU and the tribunal to recover stolen money.
As of March 2022, the value of civil litigation referred to the high courts and the Special Tribunal amounted to R75-billion. This is roughly equivalent to what was budgeted for the child support grant this year. Currently, about 119 cases worth more than R12-billion are enrolled at the Special Tribunal.
State Capture cases
The second game-changer was the establishment in 2019 of the Investigating Directorate (ID) in the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute serious organised crime and corruption cases.
Since its establishment, the ID has been preparing several cases of serious corruption, including those emanating from the State Capture Commission, for trial. This forms part of the NPA’s priority plan to deal with State Capture and high-level corruption.
Last year saw the arrest of several individuals allegedly implicated in “State Capture” cases. A total of 187 accused persons have been taken to court in 32 State Capture and corruption cases, and about R12.9-billion in funds and assets have been frozen.
As we announced in the State of the Nation Address last week, we are about to take yet another important step forward by making the ID a permanent entity within the NPA. This is so that it can deepen its collaboration with other entities ...
The State of the Nation Address is intended to be the President’s take on the state of the South African nation as opposed to a bookkeeping exercise that it has become under Cyril Ramaphosa.
As one diplomat at the Cape Town City Hall remarked in comparing the State of the Union address delivered the day before by Joe Biden with Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), the US president spoke to people, Ramaphosa to numbers and figures.
The contrast was indeed stark. Ramaphosa was once a charismatic trade union leader. He should be able to connect with ordinary people. His speech, however, sounded more like a CEO speaking to a board of directors and corporate shareholders in a text prepared by the company accountant.
By the time most people had fallen asleep or, as was the case at City Hall, dived on to their cellphones, mention of Nelson Mandela and the values of the Constitution was made, but it was too little, too late.
The speech was a case study of how not to connect to the people suffering the most from political failure.
And this observation, leaving aside the content of the speech, was no better: we will now have five ministers of energy – ministers of energy, public enterprises, cooperative governance (as a result of the declaration of the State of Disaster), finance and a brand-new minister of electricity.
When in chaos, simply create more structures.
State of Disaster
And then there was the declaration of a State of Disaster. It may be legally possible to bring the Eskom crisis into the definition of disaster as set out in the act, but neither the President nor anyone else in government has explained why available legislation cannot be employed and what additional powers the declaration gives to address the problem.
It hands vast powers to a minister who, judging by a previous vote, thinks the President should face impeachment proceedings.
It does appear that, flushed with “triumph” over the handling of Covid-19, the government prefers unfettered power over parliamentary control of executive action.
In summary, no justification has been offered as to how this deviation from parliamentary control of executive power will, in any way, contribute to the alleviation of the electricity crisis.
EFF threat to democracy
The President’s speech was not the worst reflection of the state of the nation. Even by its usual standard of contempt for Parliament and its procedures, the EFF exceeded itself with its conduct.
A ...
Violence against women is not inevitable. Violence against women is not a natural disaster. It is a crime systematically and frequently committed by men in a societal culture that not only tolerates the crime, but assists it. This is the level at which our interventions should be pitched.
No vice-chancellor of this or any other university should be sentenced to utter the sentences I am about to utter. This is the wrong speech, at the wrong place and at the wrong time, occasioned by an act so heinous, it will live in infamy in the history of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
On Sunday, 12 February, Ntokozo Xaba would have celebrated her 21st birthday. She would probably have taken time on her birthday to connect with the spirit of her recently deceased mother, umama uTholakele Shezi.
Ntokozo would have called her beloved grandmother, ugogo uPetty Shezi. She would have told the old woman who brought her up how much of a pillar of strength she was to her, and she would have told her grandmother how much she loved her.
Her grandmother would have reminded Ntokozo that she was an embodiment of the hopes of the entire Xaba and Shezi clans.
Ntokozo would have received congratulatory phone calls from her uncles, especially uncle Nkosingiphile Mabuza. She would have told her uncle that she was on course to complete her national diploma in integrated communication in record time. And why not? She was performing excellently in her studies!
I imagine Ntokozo using the occasion of her birthday to reminisce with her brother uNhlakanipho, himself a recent TUT graduate. And maybe Ntokozo would have confided in her brother about how she had eventually managed to end the toxic relationship she had had with her boyfriend.
But alas, sometime during the night of the 1st and the morning of the 2nd of February, the life of Ntokozo Xaba was cut short.
Until the police make us wiser and until the court processes are completed, we will not know the details. What we know for sure is that Ntokozo Xaba did not just die, she was killed.
And thus was the name of Ntokozo Xaba added to those of Nosicelo Mthebeni, Uyinene Mrwetyana, Tshegofatso Pule, Nosipho Mandleleni, Karabo Mokoena, Zolile Khumalo, Anene Booysen, Jesse Hess, Reeva Steenkamp and hundreds if not thousands others.
The killers of these women are men. Black men. White men. Old men. Young men. Rich men. Poor men. Powerful men. ...
This is a story about what may become of social media in the distant future. Though I have written it in 21st-century English in order to be understood, the characters actually speak a dialect as far removed from ours as modern English is removed from Chaucer.
Every person or incident in this novel is imaginary, and any similarity with persons or incidents, either in real life or in virtual reality, is merely coincidental.
The manuscript was originally published, tweet by tweet, on Twitter from 2010 to 2013. I have reprinted it here, rearranged in short chapters for easier reading, with the minimum of editing and alterations.
Then, one night, everything changed. Just when I thought my life had reached a new sort of routine – breakfast at Gumtree, visits to the library, blogging and watching Jews being murdered – I received a totally unexpected visitor. He came under cover of darkness. Under cover of darkness.
I was lying in bed, perspiring as usual, with infatuated dreams about the Gumtree girl and pangs of desire for Trudy, when I heard a noise outside my front door. Though my screensaver was up, and I was clearly offline, someone was trying to break into my house! Was it a hacker? Was it the Geek Police? Who could it be? Who could it be? Who could it be?
I got up, walked up the stairs, and peered through my upstairs window. Sure enough, there was someone standing right underneath the ARBEIT MACHT FREI banner above my front door. He had a bunch of passwords in his hand on a silver key holder, and was trying them out one by one, trying to open the door. That was the noise that had woken me. “Hey, asshole!” I shouted. “Go hack into some other site! This is a private domain!”
The hacker looked up from his task, saw me standing at the upstairs window, and waved. I saw his face in the moonlight before I heard his voice, and my heart almost stopped. “Hey, Alfie, open up, it’s me!” Kraker said in a loud whisper. Kraker! KRAKER WAS BACK! HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE? HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE?
Without removing my screensaver, I let Kraker in through the spam filter at the back of the house. He looked terrible! His hair and beard had grown and were frightfully dirty; his clothes were hanging from him in rags, and – this was the worst of ...
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape made light work of the Pretoria Capitals at the Wanderers on Sunday by beating them by four-wickets and clinching the first Betway SA20 title.
Exactly one month before winning the inaugural Betway SA20 title, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape started their SA20 campaign with a 23-run loss against the Pretoria Capitals. Two days later, they lost by 37 runs to the same opposition.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape finished third on the log after the round-robin phase while Pretoria Capitals were at the summit. But when it mattered most, when the trophy was on the line, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape soared the highest.
The Gqeberha-based side made all the big plays and were composed in the big moments to defeat the table-toppers by four wickets on Sunday, 12 February, to clinch the SA20 title in front of a packed Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, which has a capacity of 22,000 people.
“I’m very proud,” Sunrisers captain Aiden Markam said after the match. “We had a bit of a tough start to the competition. To bounce back the way we did was great.”
Roelof “The Bulldog” van der Merwe was at his vintage best in guiding the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the historic victory. The wily 38-year-old stemmed the Capitals’ flow of run by taking four crucial wickets and only conceding 31 runs in his four overs.
His off-breaks turned square and left a few Capitals’ batters with perplexed expressions when the ball gripped and turned after missing their bats.
The Pretoria Capitals were eventually bundled out for 135 after 19.3 overs, a score that was never going to be enough to bother the powerful Sunrisers batting lineup.
Opening batter Adam Rossington made the load easier by breaking the back of the Sunrisers chase to victory by smashing a stunning 57 off 30 deliveries.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Bowling first
Markram won the toss and opted to bowl. The skipper summed up conditions quickly and incisively as he brought on Van der Merwe, his experienced left-arm tweaker, as early as the third over to help spin a web around the Capitals batters.
Markram brought himself on too, to exceptional effect, completing his quota of four overs while only conceding 17 runs. The skipper also picked up the vital wicket of Capitals’ Sri Lankan opener Kusal Mendis.
The superb bowling of the duo of spinners as well as two crucial wickets by Ottniel Baartman meant the Pretoria ...
For both international staff and students at South African universities, visa processes have always been cumbersome and chaotic. But they are undoubtedly getting worse and the entire process has become a test of endurance.
Top South African universities such as Wits and UCT market themselves as centres of global excellence, besides being leading universities on the African continent. An international staff profile speaks to their ambitions around internationalisation.
Our universities have always had a fair share of staff from outside the country, especially from neighbouring African ones. They have also hired staff from further afield.
In the faculty of humanities where I work, the staff body is extremely diverse with colleagues from the US, Europe, Australia, Canada, Latin America and India.
Many were trained overseas (in African studies, broadly) and decided to make a home for themselves and their families in South Africa. Others, like myself, left jobs in the global north to work and live here.
But the requirements to internationalise must be carefully balanced with other, more pressing demands to transform. Certainly, since the student movements of 2015-2016, the pressure to demonstrate active steps toward transformation has increased.
Many measures are in place to secure a transformed university body, including hiring more local black staff. International staff — even if black or of colour — do not “count” toward equity goals.
It is increasingly hard to make the case to hire foreign over local staff. Indeed, it is only possible to do so when a hiring committee can absolutely show that no local candidate, in the entire applicant pool, fully meets the given job specifications.
Once foreign staff is hired, they need to obtain a visa to work. From that point on, they are mired in a series of seemingly Kafkaesque processes that could stretch up to the next decade of the life of a permanent staff member (and of their family).
Straightforward in theory, impossible in practice
Visa processes have always been cumbersome and chaotic in this country — for both staff and international students — but there is no question that they are systematically getting worse.
Both students and staff require, for instance, their overseas educational qualifications to be vetted by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This is simply one of the several bits of documentation required to apply for a visa, and one that used to be fairly straightforward to obtain.
But, lately, it is anyone’s guess as to when SAQA will deliver on this paid ...
The increasingly unambiguous position of the ANC-led government towards Russia’s war in Ukraine — trending towards unequivocal support of Moscow — could, and should not be, cost-free. It should at least penalise those selling the country’s values for a caviar lifestyle.
Foreign policy has traditionally been seen by South Africa’s ruling party as the one domain in which it could embellish its revolutionary credentials, with no or little collateral cost, while being conservative in its domestic economic affairs.
Hence the fraternal ties with Cuba, its constant anti-imperialist polemic, mutterings for Africa about a new international economic order, and failure to call out human rights transgressions across Africa (and among ANC allies elsewhere) since 1994.
A failure to uphold human rights has, to invert Mandela’s famous phrase, been the light that has constantly guided post-apartheid South Africa’s foreign policy post-Madiba.
Now, however, by supporting Russia, Pretoria is stepping into an altogether different realm, where the consequent prospect of pain could exponentially increase.
Attendance by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise at a security conference right in the middle of the conflict amid revelations of mass human rights atrocities perpetrated by the Russians against Ukrainian civilians was a sign.
So too was the ANC Youth League’s shameful endorsement of sham referenda in military-occupied territories where “votes” were cast endorsing Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory.
Then, the loading of the Lady R in Simon’s Town naval dockyard was an even clearer indication of actual and not simply moral malfeasance. The scuttle since is that the Lady R was loaded with missile and artillery propellant and ordnance, much of this said to be expired materiel that otherwise would have had to be destroyed.
The ANC government has neither confirmed nor denied these charges. In answer to a question posed by the opposition in Parliament, Modise wrote in December last year: “I will be giving you hearsay and tomorrow you will be saying I am a liar. And I am very clear: I don’t want to be called a liar. I am waiting for the paperwork, I am waiting for the people who know.”
Surely that paperwork — even by the standards of a notoriously slow bureaucracy — would have been done by now. Yet South Africa is yet to hear Modise’s explanation. Until then, the “liar” tag is going to stick.
Follow the money
This is the half of it. There are rumours, too, of large-scale Russian oil shipments to South Africa, and of ...
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is ‘proud’ that his charges did not let a crucial three points slip from their grasp against Al Hilal in wet and slippery conditions during their opening group game in the CAF Champions League.
Record South African champions Mamelodi started their quest for an elusive second CAF Champions League crown the best possible way – with a 1–0 win and three points against resolute Sudanese side Al Hilal.
Cassius Mailula’s first-half strike proved to be decisive in separating the two teams as Hilal had to finish the match with 10 men following a sending-off for defender Altayeb Abaker, who was dispatched with four minutes of regulation time on the clock following a second yellow card for a deliberate handball.
Exciting attacker Mailula scored what would be the winner in the 25th minute of the match when his fresh legs and youthful hunger allowed him to tap the ball home from close range. This came after Hilal keeper Ali Abdala Abosheren spilled a shot from the edge of the box by midfield busybody Neo Maema.
The solitary strike is Mailula’s 10th goal of the season, across all competitions – with the 21-year-old thriving in his debut senior season, despite being part of a star-studded Sundowns side.
Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena acknowledged that his side could have been more efficient in front of goal and made better use of their hogging the ball at a wet and muddy Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane on Saturday. The 2016 African champions recorded 63% of the possession by the end of the match.
Despite the team not being more economical with ball at feet, Mokwena said he was proud of his team’s effort and the fact they had achieved their primary objective of not letting three crucial points slip away – especially considering the wet conditions.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The most important thing is to get three points. The target is to move as close as possible to 10 points. History tells you that the lowest number of points to come out of the group stages is four. But we want to try to get us as close as possible to 10 points because that guarantees you more or less a position in the knockouts. So, three points, regardless of the scoreline, is very important – [and] a good clean sheet.”
Masandawana were unfortunate to have a well-coordinated goal that would have ...
The first State Capture trial has heard testimony about the alleged involvement of controversial Gupta brother Atul in the movement of millions of rands between various accounts linked to his family.
For the first time, the trial involving a R24.9-million feasibility study that led to the controversial Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy Project has heard about Atul Gupta’s alleged involvement in transfers worth millions between the accounts of Gupta-owned businesses.
These businesses include Sahara Computers; Pragat Investments; Islandsite Investments and Nulane Investments (both of which are accused in the trial); and the Indian state-owned Bank of Baroda.
The State alleges that the flagship project, set up by the Free State agriculture and rural development department, with a R280-million price tag, was used as a vehicle to loot public funds, with millions ending up in Gupta-owned companies.
Absa data analyst Norman Smit, who worked in the bank’s financial crimes and compliance department, testified on Thursday about the transactions amounting to millions that were shifted between different accounts, some mere hours or days apart.
Smit read the following transactions into the court record:
8 November 2011
The Free State department of agriculture and rural development paid R12,492,120.00 into Nulane Investments’ Nedbank account.
On the same day, Nulane transferred R10-million into the Pragat Investments account.
Also on the same day, R9.8-million was transferred from the Pragat Investments account to the Islandsite Investments account.
11 November 2011
An amount of R2-million was transferred from Nulane Investments’ Nedbank account to the Pragat Investments account.
On the same day, Pragat Investments transferred R2-million to the account of Islandsite Investments.
22 December 2011
The provincial department paid R4,164,040.00 into Nulane Investments’ Nedbank account.
5 January 2012
R4-million was paid from the Islandsite Investments’ account to Pragat Investments’ account. On the same day, Pragat Investments transferred R8-million to Nulane Investments’ account.
6 January 2012
Nulane Investment transferred R8-million to Wone Management’s Standard Bank account.
11 January 2012
Wone Management returned R8-million to Nulane Investments’ account in two tranches of R4.9-million and R3-million.
12 January 2012
Pragat Investments transferred R9-million to Islandsite Investments’ account.
On the same day, Islandsite Investments transferred R9-million to the account of Confident Concepts.
25 January 2012
Pragat Investments transferred R1-million to Islandsite Investments’ account.
30 January 2012
Islandsite Investments transferred R1-million to Pragat Investments’ account.
30 March 2012
The department paid R4-million into Nulane Investments’ account.
4 April 2012
Nulane Investments transferred the same amount to its Bank of Baroda account. On the same day, Nulane Investments transferred R3.9-million from its Bank of Baroda account to Pragat Investments.
5 April 2012
Pragat Investments transferred R3.7-million to Islandsite Investments’ account. ...
Here is an incomplete yet striking gallery of images of the latest BRIT Awards that were held on Saturday 10 February 2023, at London's O2 Arena.
The intensity of Russia’s military actions, both on the ground in eastern Ukraine and via Friday’s massive missile barrage, seems to be rising as the invasion’s one-year mark approaches.
Top US and Ukrainian military leaders spoke ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of the Ramstein group of allied nations in Brussels. A Nato ministerial defence meeting will follow, as well as the Munich Security Conference that starts on Friday. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven will reportedly also meet during the Munich event.
Russia on Friday launched its biggest barrage of missile attacks so far this year as President Volodymyr Zelensky seeks more weapons to fend off Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Moody’s Investors Service on Friday cut Ukraine’s credit rating to the second-lowest score, citing “long-lasting challenges” to its economy and public finances from the war with Russia.
Key developments
Macron’s Meloni snub lays bare the strain on France-Italy ties
Russia seeks to gradually cut discount to Brent for tax purposes
Ukraine credit rating cut by Moody’s on ‘likely’ restructuring
Russian moms-to-be flock to Argentina seeking safety, passports
For fear or money, consumer giants are staying in Russia
On the ground
Dozens of settlements in Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions were shelled on Saturday with rockets, aviation strikes and drones, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Three rockets hit Kharkiv infrastructure late on Saturday, injuring a civilian. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged in Kherson with one injury reported. Five drones were shot down, according to the General Staff. Russian troops focused their main efforts on offensive actions in the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiyivska regions in eastern Ukraine, using planes to strike Kyiv troop positions.
Ukraine minister calls on FATF to expel Russia
Russia should be expelled from the 37-member Financial Action Task Force, a global group that aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, Ukraine’s finance minister wrote in a Financial Times op-ed.
Blacklisting Russia “would create universal controls and require enhanced due diligence,” Serhiy Marchenko wrote. “Any transaction with the Russian financial system would be reviewed and scrutinised.”
The Paris-based group will have working meetings starting on 20 February that run until 24 February, the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
G7 foreign ministers to meet during Munich conference
Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations will discuss Ukraine on 18 February, coinciding with the 17-19 February Munich Security Conference, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported, citing government sources it didn’t identify.
The ministers in Munich are expected to discuss measures to ...
South African rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, better known as AKA, was gunned down alongside his former manager, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, on Friday, sending shockwaves through the nation.
Tributes continue to pour in for South African rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known professionally as AKA, and his former manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, after the two were killed in a shooting on Florida Road in Morningside, Durban, on Friday night.
The shooting took place outside the Wish on Florida restaurant. The KwaZulu-Natal police have confirmed they are investigating the murders.
Police said the two men were walking to their car when they were allegedly approached by two armed suspects who had crossed the street and who then shot the victims at close range. The suspects were reported to have fled the scene on foot.
“Both victims were declared dead at the scene. The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are ongoing,” police said.
Acknowledging the deaths, Wish on Florida extended its condolences to the families of Forbes and Motsoane. The restaurant said it was handing all surveillance footage of Friday evening over to police.
Forbes was an award-winning hip-hop artist with several albums under his belt. His new album, Mass Country, was due to be released next Friday.
14 Days To #MassCountry ️ & We’re locked in on the cover of @applemusic’s #RapLife
Pre-Add Now:
AKA (@akaworldwide) February 10, 2023
His parents, Tony and Lynn Forbes, appealed to the public for compassion, space and time for his family to gather and decide on their next steps.
“Kiernan Jarryd Forbes was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. To many, he was AKA, SUPAMEGA, BHOVA and the many other names of affection his legion of fans called him by,” Tony and Lynn Forbes said.
“Our son was loved and he gave love in return.”
Motsoane’s family echoed the Forbes family’s call for space and time to process their loss, and thanked the public for their support.
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Catapulted to stardom
A number of political groups and individuals have paid tribute to Kiernan Forbes’ life and music. The Department of Sports, Art and Culture said Forbes was “amongst the best rappers on the continent”.
“Between the years 2010 and 2012, AKA was catapulted to stardom after the release of his debut album Altar Ego in 2011, which features hits such as I Want It All, All I Know and the smash hit single Victory Lap,” ...
A tactical move by the State Attorney appears to have thwarted legal efforts by Gupta Inc’s Salim Essa to set aside the State Capture Report.
The Department of Justice says it has no intention of wasting taxpayers time or money on what it bills an “inconsequential” and “vacuous” court bid by Salim Essa to set aside the State Capture Report.
Essa – a de facto fugitive – is wanted on criminal charges flowing from Transnet’s 1,064 locomotive deal. He launched his application to review and or set aside the State Capture Report from abroad last year.
Daily Maverick first revealed in October 2022 that the State Attorney had asked Essa to put up R5-million in security for costs in terms of the rule of the court.
The Department of Justice says it instructed the State Attorney to oppose Essa’s application on behalf of the Zondo Commission.
In a written response to questions from Daily Maverick, it now confirms that Essa has thus far failed to tender security and as such it will not entertain his application.
Although this means the commission has not filed an answering affidavit, Essa has filed heads of argument in the hope of pushing his case through on the unopposed court roll.
The controversial businessperson is named more than 800 times in the State Capture Report. He is implicated in tainted deals at Eskom and Transnet and played a key role in the Gupta family’s acquisition of Optimum coal mine.
Essa’s application, filed in August 2022, sets out his claims that he has not been given a proper opportunity to respond to some of the highly damaging allegations against him.
The Department of Justice says since he has failed to cough up security or to launch a legal challenge to this request, Essa’s application will be regarded as inconsequential and vacuous.
Security, it says, is a way to protect a defendant – the State in this case – from vexatious litigation, especially in circumstances where an applicant has questionable financial means.
It is also called for instances where an applicant is a fugitive from justice, thus rendering the recoverability of costs in due course a matter of concern.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Wanted
Essa, though not officially declared a fugitive, is wanted on criminal charges that stems from Transnet’s 1,064 locomotive deal. He continues to hide his precise whereabouts and a warrant for his arrest, though issued in South Africa, is yet to ...
The State Capture Commission has accused the government of dragging its heels in deciding whether private law firms should be roped in to defend court applications to review the State Capture Report.
Justice Raymond Zondo has for months been pleading with the government to approve the use of private law firms to defend high court applications aimed at setting aside the State Capture Report.
The chairperson of the State Capture Commission is concerned that the State Attorney is not sufficiently capacitated to defend the report.
Produced at a cost of more than R1-billion after three years of public hearings, the report stands as a record of large-scale corruption in the public sector. It is the subject of roughly a dozen review applications, all of which are being opposed by the commission.
It has emerged, however, that the commission has been left red-faced in some of the matters as it has not been able to file either records or answering affidavits, primarily because it does not have a dedicated team of lawyers.
The commission, in response to questions from Daily Maverick, says discussions with advocate Doc Mashabane, the director-general of the Department of Justice, the office of the State Attorney as well as Solicitor-General Fhedzisani Pandelani have come to naught.
Even two attempts by Zondo, in his capacity as chairperson of the commission, to get Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to intervene have thus far been unsuccessful.
Daily Maverick has now confirmed that this is primarily because the commission is at odds with the government about whether these cases ought to be entrusted to the State Attorney or if they should be farmed out to private law firms.
Reviews filed to date include those by former President Jacob Zuma, former spy boss Arthur Fraser, Cabinet minister Gwede Mantashe, former Eskom acting CEO Matshela Koko, and Lucky Montana, Sfiso Buthelezi and others formerly of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa).
Regardless of their merits or prospects of success, some of these applications are voluminous and politically charged.
Daily Maverick confirmed details of the tension between the commission and the government after submitting enquiries about delays in the commission’s filing of records and responses in some of the court cases.
First the State Attorney, as the government’s attorney of record, told Daily Maverick that it is coordinating all aspects of the litigation with appointed counsel.
But then the commission, in response to questions, said it had engaged the Department of Justice about the need for ...
The Constitution assumed the best of our leaders, the Zondo Commission report exposed the worst. Now there’s a raft of complicated review applications against it and all the gains the commission achieved could be reversed if these legal manoeuvres are allowed to play out in the way some implicated parties seek to achieve.
The Constitution was forged about 30 years ago. Although it is difficult to rave about it now as we stand on the brink of state failure, it once gave hope to millions. It promised that our laws would be just and fairly implemented, favouring no class, or gender or political party.
Things went horribly wrong under State Capture. Parliament and the executive ignored statutes carefully crafted to fund and enable delivery. The ANC didn’t care that monies were improperly disbursed, as long as the kickbacks flowed.
ANC patrons grew fat on misappropriated monies. This is why all around us infrastructure has collapsed. Eskom and Transnet gifted billions to the Guptas and their ilk.
Nepo-syndicates stormed provincial procurement projects, like hyenas approaching a carcass. Many municipalities have no money for power, water, roads or sewerage pipes because it has all been stolen.
That is where the Zondo Commission report comes in. In many ways, the report is the Constitution 2.0. The Constitution assumed the best of our leaders, the Zondo Report exposed the worst.
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Constitutional law has long emphasised reining in state power in the name of fairness and equality. The report has reminded us that Lady Justice holds a sword too. In excruciating detail, the report describes the capture of our state. It identifies scores of people implicated in corruption. It thus enables accountability for these grievous crimes.
President Cyril Ramapahosa has said he wants the Zondo Commission to succeed in its work. He has said that the ANC now repudiates corruption and embraces the need for stern consequence. Yet the government’s treatment often suggests an ambivalence to the commission, which has always had to fight for its existence.
Throughout its life there were attempts at curtailing funding. This was not curtailing exorbitance, but smacked of curtailing a workstream’s lines and depth of inquiry. Towards the end, the Zondo Commission simply ran out of money, not scope.
Legal brawl
Now we hear that rafts of complicated review applications are being left to the State Attorney to defend. Not only is the State Attorney grossly overburdened, but the ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s stated intention to appoint a new Minister of Electricity in the Presidency is clearly an attempt to speed up the resolution of our power crisis. This decision has many pitfalls — for a start, it is not clear who would be willing to take a position which would suddenly make them the national face of our most existential crisis.
Resolving our power crisis is intrinsically connected with so many of our pressing national issues. It involves dealing with corruption, incompetence, a shortage of money, political patronage and our economy, all of it in the space-time continuum of the 2024 national elections. If the power crisis is resolved, so will many other of South Africa’s problems be resolved — such is the immense pressure that will be placed on the shoulders of this single person.
In the hours after Ramaphosa’s announcement of a new electricity minister, the Presidency minister, Mondli Gungubele, made it clear that this new czar will have ultimate responsibility for dealing with the power crisis. He confirmed that they would answer only to the President himself, which is presumably why they are within the Presidency.
This obviously sets up a clash, or at least a huge contestation, about the power over so many overlapping domains.
Already there is public evidence that the energy minister and ANC chair, Gwede Mantashe, and the public enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, have sometimes opposing views on pressing issues.
The newly introduced National State of Disaster brings another minister to this steamy cauldron: Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will also have power as the person who signs the disaster regulations into law.
And while not technically part of this group, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will have to play a major role too, simply because so many of the problems are related to finance and money.
When asked directly if the new minister would be able to overrule Mantashe, Gungubele claimed this would not be a problem.
But this may well defy political reality.
Mantashe is renowned for getting his way, even if that means swimming against the tide of public opinion. He has already told the Sunday Times: “To me, my understanding of this intervention from the President is that we must approach this issue as a project management intervention so that we project-manage the management of load shedding.”
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SA’s grumpiest politician
While his claim that this person would be a ...
BAT may be hedging its bets on new-category products, but the big yields are on butts, despite efforts to talk up ESG strategy for ‘a better tomorrow’
The London-headquartered tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) is pinning hopes on vaping and heated tobacco products, or “new category” brands, as a growth category, expecting these to break even by 2024 – a year sooner than expected.
Its popular cigarette brands include Peter Stuyvesant, Dunhill, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges, and traditional combustible cigarettes remain its lifeblood, dwarfing sales of heating products, e-cigarettes and oral nicotine, which comprise only 15% of BAT.
Globally, revenue from cigarettes has increased by almost 8% to £27.7-billion (R598-billion), with vaping and heated tobacco contributing just £2.8-billion.
The tobacco giant has reported a 4% increase in its operating profits, but suffered a 1.3% decline in diluted headline earnings per share for the year under review, largely owing to the impairment of its Russian and Belarussian businesses (which it is still attempting to offload), restructuring and litigation.
CEO Jack Bowles talked up BAT’s efforts to accelerate the company’s ESG transformation, trademarked “A Better Tomorrow”, whose goal is to reduce the health effects of its commercial business by offering greater choices of “reduced-risk and enjoyable products” for consumers “at speed”.
“Driven by our strong new-category momentum, [with revenue approaching £3-billion], we are confident in our £5-billion revenue target by 2025, and now expect new category profitability in 2024, one year ahead of plan
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“Our new-category business delivered strong volume, revenue and market share growth and has become a significant contributor to the group’s financial delivery. In 2022, we invested more than £2-billion in new categories to drive long-term sustainable growth, while making excellent progress in reducing operating losses by 62%,” Bowles said
He said that while the company’s reported results were affected by a number of one-off charges, it achieved a 150bps improvement in adjusted operating margin at current rates and “another year of 100% operating cash conversion, demonstrating our ability to successfully navigate an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment”.
“This enabled us to return £6.9-billion to shareholders in 2022. I am proud of our people and their focus on delivery of our three strategic priorities, demonstrating once again the strength and resilience of our business.”
In South Africa, illegal cigarette sales are eating BAT’s lunch. BAT explains that SA is the first country in the world to allow an ...
South Africans need to stand behind the government’s plans to end the electricity crisis, even if they have reservations about Cyril Ramaphosa’s approach, his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Sunday.
In his attempts to address South Africa’s worsening electricity crisis that threatens the country’s economic and social stability, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced several measures in his recent State of the Nation Address (Sona).
These include the creation of a ministry of electricity within the Presidency and the declaration of a National State of Disaster.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Four key takeaways from Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address”
“We must . emphasise that this is not the time for finger-pointing or politically motivated court actions or ‘lawfare’,” Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the President, said at a media briefing on Sunday, 12 February.
“This is the time to look past our ideological and political differences. [It is the] time to work together in the interest of our nation, in the interests of growing the economy and sustaining livelihoods.”
He said senior DA leaders such as Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis were among those who had advocated for the declaration of a National State of Disaster ahead of the Sona on Thursday, 9 February.
“The President does expect that even those who have reservations about the approach that he has taken [will] . join in and put shoulder to wheel because, ultimately, we’re all working towards the same goal.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘Dangerous and mad’ — Not everyone’s sold on Ramaphosa’s electricity minister and another State of Disaster”
Addressing concerns around potential corruption under the State of Disaster, Magwenya said Ramaphosa had announced measures to deal with any form of abuse.
“Over and above the Auditor-General keeping a close eye on various processes as they roll out, the President expects law enforcement agencies to be vigilant and to act with speed in dealing with those who will seek to take advantage of the situation,” he said.
Support for Eskom
There were two key approaches to addressing the electricity crisis: improving power plant performance at Eskom; and getting enough new megawatts on to the power grid as quickly as possible, said Rudi Dicks, head of the Project Management Office in the Presidency.
“I think it’s quite critical for us to say, as government, that we are not intending to replace or to interfere in the operational or . governance or . managerial responsibility of Eskom. Eskom ...
The erosion of a well-functioning government is the true threat to our democracy. Regardless of the political party that can secure the majority, we require guardrails and safeguards that not only protect against abuse and inaction, but also enable accountability that drives both delivery and transparency.
South Africans have long hoped for a better life, but almost 30 years into our democracy we continue to be plagued by inaction and silence when we need deliberate and intentional participation. It is difficult to imagine that anything will shift in the coming months.
Our democracy is burdened by an electoral system that was intended to be transitional. A structural democracy that has not enabled the best to thrive, but rather has allowed our freedoms to mean very little in the wake of crippling unemployment, worsening inequality and exclusion.
So much has been achieved and yet there is so much still outstanding. The democratic project remains incomplete for as long as South Africans go hungry, are excluded from participation in our society and the young and old remain vulnerable and exposed.
The burden of leadership in South Africa cannot ignore the complexities of our broken society, but it also cannot expect the people to simply imagine a better world and hold on to the dream of a better South Africa.
President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa entered the historic City Hall in Cape Town on 9 February, to outline his administration’s vision for South Africa, and the promise of delivery.
City Hall is a building not intended for use for the joint sitting of South Africa’s democratic Parliament, but had to be used as the venue after flawed security and access controls culminated in a fire that engulfed the parliamentary precinct.
The State of the Nation Address (Sona) has to be deliberate, focused and provide certainty — especially when a nation and its people are suffering. The parliamentary proceedings would have avoided the crippling and destructive consequences of rolling electricity blackouts and power failures while the rest of the country continues to live through the consequences of “load shedding”.
Story of SA is a tale of exclusion
The story of South Africa today is punctuated too frequently by the tale of exclusion that is entrenched in almost every cycle of life. The impact is felt from cradle to grave, and yet it does not need to be this way. South Africa sits on untapped natural resources and human capital resources waiting to be leveraged.
After ...
As the war in Europe nears its first anniversary, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has relabelled some of its artworks to reflect their origin as Ukrainian, not Russian. And this is just the start of the return of Ukrainian heritage.
If I had a rand every time I’ve heard about “great Russian culture”, I’d be a billionaire. Though, unsurprisingly, if you spend just a bit of time researching the subject, you’ll see that there’s not much Russian about it. Not at all. And just like everything else in Russia – right down to its name – the term “great Russian culture”, is, in fact, stolen.
If you take a virtual tour of any Russian museum or any exhibition in the world labelled as “Russian”, you are in for a world of surprises! Start with their pride and joy: the Tretyakov Gallery. I promise you, it will be a challenge to find any actual Russians amongst the “Pearls of great Russian culture”.
As we are nearing the year mark of this barbaric genocidal war, it’s becoming abundantly clear that one of the reasons Vladimir Putin’s hoard started this war is to have the right to claim our history, our great thinkers and scientists, our culture and heritage. If we are all gone, there’s no one to object.
But I can state, without a hint of a doubt: that is never going to happen. It is now as impossible as “a prosperous, dignified and humane Russia” or “taking Kyiv in three days”.
We still have a long, hard way till our victory, but we have already won. The shift has already happened. The world has finally opened its eyes and is ready to stand with us on the right side of history.
To quote one of the most famous “Russian” writers (he’s not Russian whatsoever as he was born in Kyiv) Mikhail Bulgakov from his The Master and Margarita: “Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil, and has not only bought it, but has already spilled it.” Meaning the faith is sealed, the wheels are turning and no wannabe dictator and his hoard of terrorists are going to steal from us any more.
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Ukrainian historian Oksana Semenik recently noted this long-awaited change: “Arkhip Kuindzhi, a Ukrainian artist born in Mariupol, is FINALLY recognised as a Ukrainian artist by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. ...
Machine learning is the core of AI, but can't explain its conclusions or guarantee their veracity, making it vulnerable to misinformation.
On 9 February, a clearly panicked Google launched its response to ChatGPT. Part of the launch was a video on Twitter which boasted of some of its new chatbot’s capabilities. One of the questions it asked the chatbot (as evidence of its prowess) was about the James Webb Space Telescope and what discoveries it had made.
The chatbot (called Bard) flubbed the answer, and the blooper was only pointed out later by professional astronomer Bruce Macintosh.
A few things then happened. The first was a lot of red faces, given that a simple old-style Google search would have immediately revealed the correct answer. Then there were howls of derision from various AI-sceptical sectors of the public gallery. But this wasn’t nearly as bad as Google’s share price, which lost $120-billion in value in eight hours. You read that figure right. There are clearly big stakes at play here.
Which reveals AI’s dirty little secret.
ChatGPT and the many competitors biting at its heels (Bard and others) all rest on a reasonably new piece of statistical alchemy called machine learning, now the core component of artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning is what it says — a mathematical magic trick that allows an AI to learn from “experiences” fed to it.
Unexplained conclusions
There are several ways in which it can do this, but here’s the dirty secret: machine learning cannot easily explain how it gets to its conclusions and neither can it verify its conclusions are true. It sometimes gives fictional and even seemingly hallucinatory answers. As evidence: a friend asked ChatGPT who Steven Boykey Sidley is. It proclaimed confidently that I have written a bunch of anti-apartheid books and am a senior lecturer in creative writing at UCT, neither of which is even vaguely true.
A system which can’t explain its conclusions and cannot guarantee their veracity and sometimes hallucinates? That’s a pretty large Achilles heel for anything acting in the service of knowledge.
How come? The answer lies quite deep in the statistical and computational weeds of machine learning, beyond my pay grade. But it is basically this — these sorts of systems train themselves on many millions or billions of blobs of text or images or music. They then draw relationships between the blobs, using statistical inference and whatnot and assign weights to those relationships. And ...
There may have been plenty of recognition that SA is in ‘a crisis’ in the President’s 2023 State of the Nation Address, but there was no acknowledgement of the causes of the crisis, or of the ANC’s participation in, or causation of, those crises.
As a thought exercise last week, I invited readers to notice what was not said in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), rather than focusing on what was said. What did you think? Do let me know.
In the meantime, allow me to propose an answer to my own question. I think the big blank, the gigantic conceptual black hole is this: the stunning lack of mea culpa.
South Africa, I think we all acknowledge, is in a pretty poor state. It is not terminal, but it is pretty chronic. You can take whatever measure you would like, but the one I often trot out is the GDP lag: over the past 10 years, South Africa has underperformed the average GDP of the world, developed countries, developing countries, sub-Saharan Africa, southern Africa, East Asia (obviously), South East Asia, South America, the BRICS group (obviously) — and its own expectations. Just to name a few. That is quite a list.
That underperformance is affecting everything: government infrastructure, the government deficit, the level of government debt, unemployment, houses without electricity, hospitals without water — whatever matters. Just name it.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
You have to say, Ramaphosa really gave it a good thump in his speech on Thursday, 9 February. Outside of the EFF’s shenanigans, the speech itself took a good two-and-a-quarter hours. Few subjects were left unaddressed. Boxes were ticked. Clearly, all ministers were consulted and had the opportunity to make a pitch for their pet projects.
And neither was the speech entirely without apologies for South Africa’s dire state — though much of it was by implication rather than by expression. For example, he did say: “Too many of our municipalities, 163 out of 257, are dysfunctional or in distress.”
He addressed the issue by saying: “Integrity assessments will become a mandatory requirement for recruitment to the public service and entry exams will be introduced.” Hmmm.
But what I was looking for was something different: a recognition that the actor behind South Africa’s failure was ANC policy itself, because without that recognition, can we really be confident that policy is going to change?
Numb recognition
There ...
A recurring theme at the Investing in African Mining Indaba is the rise and fall of countries as investment destinations. The annual conference is, in some ways, like a beauty contest for capital. At this year’s Indaba, Zambia emerged as one of the winners.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, a former businessperson, has been attempting to woo foreign investors since he came to power in August 2021. And they have certainly been charmed.
“Zambia is looking very good. President Hichilema is a professional; he’s doing exactly the right things. His focus is strongly focused on commercial realities and [he] is just a breath of fresh air,” Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman told Business Maverick in an interview.
“We like Zambia as a destination. There are some great copper assets in Zambia,” Froneman said.
Froneman would not specifically say if Sibanye was planning on acquiring a copper asset in Zambia, but the company is clearly taking a hard look there.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Froneman, who has transformed Sibanye from a Gold Fields’ spin-off focused on conventional gold mines in South Africa into a diversified metals producer, is a deal-maker of note.
Copper fits perfectly with its strategy of moving into the “green” or “critical” metals seen as vital to the global clean energy transition.
“Some of the assets are deep and there is not a lot of companies with deep underground mining experience. You have projects in liquidation and companies that hold large debt positions. So we have a skill set required to unlock value from those assets,” Froneman said.
On the catwalk
Other investors and executives also applauded Zambia’s performance on the catwalk.
“The people there really want mining, the government is quite accessible, there’s no BEE, the legislation is clear, and they have a proper mining cadastre,” said Peter Major, director of mining at Modern Corporate Solutions. Major is in the process of raising funds for a zinc project in central Zambia.
Zambia’s mining cadastre, like Botswana’s, is impressive, transparently providing investors and the public with information about which companies have mining rights and permits, and where.
It’s what a cadastre is supposed to do, and South Africa’s lack of one remains a major deterrent to investment in its mining sector. But President Cyril Ramaphosa did tell the Indaba on Tuesday, 7 February, that South Africa was on track to procure one.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa says ‘off-the-shelf’ mining cadastre for SA on its way”
Marna ...
The state-owned company wants the private sector to step in and help run South Africa’s most important rail container corridor, but its model may not be enticing enough to attract interest.
Transnet is having another stab at getting private-sector players to run its trains after a similar attempt flopped a few months ago.
But the transport group and its owner, the South African government, are not yet ready to hand over the keys to the country’s crumbling rail infrastructure to the private sector and embrace a full privatisation model.
Instead, Transnet wants to partner with private-sector players and keep them on a short leash, but allow them to run trains and unlock maintenance investments in the rail infrastructure for two decades.
Transnet’s largest division, Transnet Freight Rail, issued a request for qualification (RFQ) at the end of January, calling for interested private-sector players to bid for a 20-year lease to operate its rail container corridor between Johannesburg and Durban.
It is SA’s biggest and most important rail container corridor, featuring double-track rail lines that run for 1,621km, and is a key logistics enabler of import and export activity. Heavy-haul locomotives pull the coal and iron ore wagons on it, and it carries other goods such as automotive parts, grain, fuel and chemicals. More than 60% of containers passing through SA’s ports are channelled through the corridor.
By issuing the RFQ (similar to a tender), Transnet is testing the private sector’s appetite to partner with it. It’s also an admission by Transnet that it cannot run the rail infrastructure without the private sector’s help. But Transnet is not yet ready to give up control and ownership of the rail container corridor, considering its significance to the economy.
Mechanism for private-sector participation
How it will work is that Transnet will embark on a private-public sector partnership model, in which private-sector companies will run the Johannesburg-Durban corridor for 20 years. The successful bidders will also be responsible for the future maintenance of the corridor, which requires at least R5.5-billion for it to be spruced up over the next 20 years. The bidders will also be responsible for the operational management of the corridor, including paying the salaries of more than 3,000 Transnet Freight Rail staff, and additional security that the company has deployed to guard rail tracks against cable theft.
The tender document reads: “The operating lease will provide for the required investment in the rehabilitation, upgrade and maintenance of the rail ...
Ibbo Mandaza, the director of the Sapes Trust in Zimbabwe, says that assassinations such as that of Thulani Maseko have become a feature of countries in which people in opposition are treated as enemies, ‘rendering farcical the pretence to democracy’. But Mandaza pointed out that the challenge was not just those that mete out the violence, but also about ‘those that stand by and do nothing about it’.
Southern Africa, the continent and the world have expressed shock at the murder of Thulani Maseko, and rightly so. It was an extremely callous act, and obviously with political motives.
However, Maseko is not the only victim of coercion in Eswatini, and neither is Eswatini the only country in SADC or Africa generally where civil society activists, journalists and opposition political members are at risk or end up murdered by authoritarian governments. As Ebenezer Obadare pointed out recently, civil liberties are under increasing threat across Africa.
While there may be many differences across Africa in how dissent manifests itself, in some countries the assault on freedom has remarkable similarities.
This was evident in a recent Policy Dialogue held by the Sapes Trust, which brought together activists and leaders to discuss the implications of Maseko’s assassination.
As Ibbo Mandaza, the director of the Sapes Trust, said in opening the dialogue, the assassination was a feature of countries in which people in opposition are treated as enemies, “rendering farcical the pretence to democracy”.
Mandaza also pointed out that it was not just about challenging those that mete out the violence, but also about “those that stand by and do nothing about it”.
Discussing the murder of Maseko, it struck many listeners and watchers that the similarities between Eswatini and Zimbabwe were clear. It was not merely the similarities in the political context and the coercion, but also the proposed solutions that were striking.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood, building on his earlier article in Daily Maverick, pointed out at the outset that the erosion of civil liberties, the increased resort to coercion by authoritarian governments, and the huge geopolitical changes in the past decade all point to a steady decline in democracy.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Who killed Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko?”
Of course, this is not new, and respected political scientists made the point many years ago. Larry Diamond pointed out the dangers in 2008, outlining the “democratic rollback” and ...
ChatGPT’s responses can be incomplete, inaccurate and dangerously misleading at times. Yet its cogency and tone always mirror that of a confident and seasoned senior attorney. This is not ideal in an industry where most clients cannot afford the risk of a ‘sort of right’ answer.
The legal industry is facing a future where artificial intelligence (AI) promises to take over many tasks lawyers have traditionally done.
Months after its release, the hype surrounding OpenAI’s ChatGPT has not relented. With its astonishingly quick, human-like, and cogent-sounding responses to queries typically reserved for lawyers, many in the legal industry have questioned whether AI such as ChatGPT may disrupt and displace the industry in the same way it has in others.
The answer is not as simple as a yes or no. Yes, because AI like ChatGPT has already been shown to deliver some legal work better than humans. No, because the technology has its risks and limitations.
Amid this uncertainty, how can the lawyers of the future survive and thrive in the legal sector?
In the ever-changing legal landscape, an “adapt or perish” philosophy is required. At least for now, technology is a supplement, not a substitute. Most seasoned attorneys and in-house counsel are unlikely to be replaced by the technology itself, but some may lose their footing to human peers who use technology better than they do.
Adaptation and adoption
Successful adaptation therefore requires successful adoption: optimising the technology at our disposal, while understanding the opportunities and challenges that the technology presents.
Colin du Toit, a partner in our Corporate Practice, tested ChatGPT’s capabilities in a wide range of fields, including corporate law, finance and post-graduate abstract mathematics.
While recognising some of its inherent limitations (which must be carefully managed), Du Toit nonetheless described its present capabilities and future potential as “truly phenomenal” and has set out to find the optimal approach to gain the most value from the tool.
In an industry known for its risk aversion, this is arguably exactly the right response: combining a healthy scepticism with keen exploration and a practical approach to innovation.
ChatGPT has a wide range of applications in the legal field, including guidance on legal questions, contract analysis, drafting legal agreements and summaries, and identifying potential legal risks in business operations.
Quick response
Wesley January, a candidate attorney in our TMT & IP Department, praises ChatGPT as a useful tool for legal research, enabling users to save significant time and improving accuracy through quick responses ...
With service delivery crumbling on all levels from local to national, ever-longer interruptions of the electricity supply, trains that do not run, potholes that do not get repaired and civil servants who are neither civil nor of service, it is no wonder the anger levels in the land are ratcheting up at an alarming rate.
Accountability, in the political context in which it is used in South Africa, means that those responsible for governance are able to justify their decisions rationally and show that their actions and conduct are reasonable.
In section 1 of the Constitution, reference is made to a “multiparty system of democratic government to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness”.
These notions are foundational values of the dispensation created by the Constitution, which is our supreme law. All too often they are honoured in the breach. The fact that we have had a dominant party state, which some observers now opine is transitioning to a mafia state, does not detract from the binding nature of our supreme law.
In section 2 of the Constitution, it is recorded that “law or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid, and the obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled”. Section 237 goes on to lay down that constitutional obligations “must be performed diligently and without delay”.
In the Bill of Rights, it is recorded that “the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights”. Some of the more expensive rights are subject to progressive realisation in the light of available resources.
When the state’s resources are subjected to the wholesale looting of State Capture, there are fewer resources available for service delivery aimed at making the Bill of Rights the lived reality of all who live in SA.
The rights conferred upon all by the Bill of Rights are compendious and the envy of all freedom-loving people. Our Constitution is widely regarded as the best in the world. We would be well advised to use it, and the institutions it has established, to better effect than has hitherto been the case.
All of the Chapter 9 institutions, for example, exist to support and strengthen constitutional democracy under the rule of law. Using their services is free to all who detect maladministration or feel that their human rights are infringed or threatened in any way.
The Office of the Public Protector has the constitutionally conferred right to take binding remedial action by directing any errant state ...
For centuries, sport has been associated with manliness and machismo. It is taking a long time and much effort to dispel this bias.
Since their history-making Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) triumph in mid-2022, calls for Banyana Banyana to be paid as much as their male counterparts, Bafana Bafana, have grown.
As the team landed on South African soil to a raucous welcome from hundreds of fans at OR Tambo International Airport, Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced discussions were taking place for the country’s female players to earn as much as the men.
That was in July 2022. At a recent media event at the South African Football Association (Safa) headquarters in Nasrec, chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe gave an update.
“We have started implementing the parity pay. For both Banyana and Bafana, the win bonus is the same. For both Banyana and Bafana, the daily allowances are the same. So, we have started it. We’re not just talking; we are walking the talk,” said Motlanthe.
With the sponsors Banyana’s Wafcon success attracted, parity seems to be around the corner. It’s not as simple as that, though, as equity is not supposed to be at national team level only.
Overall, female footballers in the country – much like female athletes globally – are decades, if not centuries, behind their male counterparts. It’s a long game of catch-up.
Men’s domestic soccer in South Africa has been around for decades in its current form, has a solid foundation, a decent following and multiple sponsors pumping in money.
By contrast, the national women’s league only took flight four years ago – with no official sponsor. Hollywoodbets stepped in as the headline sponsor after the first season.
Juggle jobs with playing
Players at DStv Premiership clubs make a living solely from the game. But, in the Super League, some female players juggle nine-to-five jobs with training and matches.
Their participation is mostly driven by a love of football, not financial gain and celebrity status. Otherwise, playing would be an inconvenience.
Thembi Kgatlana, one of the most recognised soccer players in the country, experienced the struggles of being a locally based female footballer before she landed international contracts and sponsorships.
She had this to say after Banyana’s Wafcon triumph: “The issue of money is not just with national teams. It has to start somewhere. The girls playing in the Hollywoodbets Super League – how many of them have contracts? You have to have a contract in order to ...
The competition has exceeded all expectations, laying a strong foundation for the future.
Sometimes mission statements can feel like contrived corporate mumbo jumbo, an extension of someone in leadership’s ego rather than a realistic goal.
Before the start of the inaugural SA20 competition, which comes to an end with the final between the Pretoria Capitals and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the organisation stated the rather lofty goal that it aims to be the second-best T20 cricket tournament after the Indian Premier League (IPL).
When you consider that the Australian Big Bash league (BBL) was more than a decade old before a ball was bowled in the SA20, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is heading for its seventh edition next month and the Caribbean Super League is also in double figures, it was an imposing ambition.
But after a competition that crammed 33 matches into 32 days (which included a week-long break when the Proteas played England in a previously confirmed ODI series), in front of full stadiums, the league’s aspirations are not unfounded.
It’s the first T20 league outside India to have IPL owners of local franchises. The time zone is perfect for an Indian audience and there is already a lucrative international broadcast deal in place with Indian broadcaster Viacom18 worth $30-million a year (R530-million) for the next 10 years. That includes the rights to other cricket as well, including the Proteas.
Throw in an R80-million-a-year headline SA20 sponsorship from Betway for the next three years and a R70-million prize fund from the same company, and it’s obvious this tournament is reviving and bolstering South Africa’s domestic cricket scene. Several more commercial deals are set to be concluded before the second edition.
When you consider the Proteas men have not had a headline sponsor for more than two years, it’s quite a statement of trust in the league from backers.
Long-term security
In addition, the SA20 league is locked down for the next decade, as each of the six founding teams committed themselves to a 10-year deal. The January/February time-slot is attractive, the tournament is short, the quality of the cricket is high and the pedigree of the wide array of international players on view is impressive.
The 2023 edition of the tournament exceeded all financial and viewership expectations and the league alone already has close to $400-million (R7-billion) committed income from commercial partnerships and contracts over the next decade.
When SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith, who deserves most of the ...
Two people lost their lives and one person is still missing after they were swept away by floods during the heavy rains this week in Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
The persistent heavy rainfall in the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) in the Eastern Cape has claimed two more lives in Cofimvaba and Komani, and a third person is still missing.
More than 1,000 others were displaced in Komani informal settlements on Wednesday and are kept in Gali Thembani Special School while waiting for the temporary houses to be done this week.
According to CHDM spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza two bodies were discovered in Cofimvaba and Komani respectively on Saturday.
Read in Daily Maverick:https:/
Speaking to Daily Maverick, Ganyaza said the rescue teams were still searching for more people who might have been swept away.
“Disaster management teams, emergency services and the South African Police Services (SAPS) have confirmed that at least two bodies have been recovered following floods that wreaked havoc in the areas this week,” she said.
Ganyaza said the heavy downpours left a trail of destruction in four local municipalities, with two people reported to be missing in Cofimvaba in Intsika Yethu municipality on Friday.
“So far, SAPS has retrieved one body while the search continues for one other person who is also believed to have been swept away in Qumanco River in Cofimvaba. The disaster management team also recovered a woman’s body from the Komani River in Owen Street. The deceased’s identity is still unknown,” said Ganyaza.
She said residents are encouraged to report missing persons with the SAPS and also urged to avoid dangerous crossings until flood waters subside.
“The district municipality sends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” she said.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said on Saturday at about 4pm the body of an unknown woman of approximately 40 years old was found in the Komani River in Owen Street.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“In another incident, two men from Cofimvaba drowned on Friday in the Qumanco River. The incident was reported on Saturday and the body of a 58-year-old male was found, however the second person is still missing. The search for the missing person will continue today and an inquest docket is opened,” he said.
Kinana appealed to anyone who may have lost loved ones in the floods to contact their nearest police station to establish whether the unidentified bodies could be their ...
All you need to know about the market movement and reaction on Kaap Agri, Hudaco, Pick n Pay, Bowler Metcalfe, Thungela and Coronation.
Kaap Agri
In the first quarter of the 2023 financial year, like-for-like revenue at Kaap Agri increased by 17.8%.
That’s impressive, but what is even more impressive is that like-for-like expenses grew by just 2.5%. Excluding the impact of load shedding, costs fell by 1.8% on a like-for-like basis.
This is an exceptional result, powering an increase in recurring headline earnings per share of 19.8%. With the acquisition of fuel business PEG Retail Holdings completed and a strong underlying operational performance, Kaap Agri expects the full-year result to be in the upper range of medium-term targets.
Clean-up on aisle four
As Pick n Pay’s sales growth in South Africa falls further behind Shoprite’s, the company is feeling the effects. In the 17 weeks leading up to Christmas, Pick n Pay saw only 2% growth in like-for-like sales. Although Shoprite’s latest update covered the six months to December, like-for-like growth in Supermarkets RSA of 11.1% is in a different postal code to Pick n Pay.
Pick n Pay has a few “growth engines” and one of them seems to need some oil. Discount retailer Boxer only grew by 0.2% on a like-for-like basis over this period. There was a return to form for Boxer in January (up 9.7%), so Pick n Pay’s assertion that the festive result is due to base effects (events in the comparable period) does seem to have some merit. Still, if Boxer falters, there isn’t much else to get excited about in this group.
The former family favourite is facing significant challenges. Despite Pick n Pay keeping its selling price inflation below the CPI food inflation rate, it looks as though volumes fell by about 8% in the 17 weeks to Christmas.
The silver lining is Pick n Pay Clothing, the star of the show with sales up 6.2% in that 17-week period, with stand-alone stores up a particularly impressive 11.4%.
The sales growth in Clothing doesn’t save the group’s top-line result and things get worse as you move down the income statement. Pick n Pay is practically haemorrhaging money to keep the lights on in its stores. Diesel for generators isn’t cheap, and this cost is eating into profits.
Shoprite is trading at a high valuation multiple, and with good reason. Pick n Pay is also at a high multiple and can’t justify it, ...
Despite a seemingly never-ending season, the Boks should be in peak physical condition in France.
Eyebrows were raised when SA Rugby and MyPlayers set a 32-game cap for players based in South Africa ahead of the 2022/23 season.
The plan – which was formulated after consultations with various stakeholders and experts – was a good one. The potential pitfall, however, was SA Rugby’s reliance on individual franchises to rest star players at a crucial juncture of the United Rugby Championship (URC).
Yet here we are, eight months into the season, celebrating the fact that 14 contracted Boks – among other players – have been rested en masse. The franchises have held up their end of the bargain and shown their commitment to player welfare as well as the Boks’ World Cup ambitions.
South African rugby finds itself in a unique situation in that the Boks play Test rugby from July to November, whereas the franchises – which have been part of the northern hemisphere tournament structures since 2021 – compete from September to June.
As a result, elite players who represent club and country compete year round. They are more susceptible to physical and mental burnout than most based in other nations.
Until the northern and southern hemisphere seasons align, and until there is a designated off season in which the players can rest, South African rugby bosses will monitor the workload and enforce resting periods during the season proper.
Despite the awkwardness of the compromise, there’s reason to believe that the game cap, as well as the enforced break over February and March, may yield some success in the near future.
Proactive approach to pay off
MyPlayers CEO Eugene Henning told Daily Maverick that the franchises as well as the Springbok management team deserve credit for their contributions in recent months. The upshot is that the Boks should be in peak physical condition by the time they arrive at the World Cup in France later this year. The grind of the never-ending season won’t blunt the team’s edge.
“South Africa’s head of athletic performance, Andy Edwards, saw this challenge coming before anyone else,” Henning said.
“He was involved with Saracens for a long time, so he developed a deep understanding of the requirements for players across a northern hemisphere season.
“When South Africa’s franchises joined the URC in 2021, Andy came to us and spelled out the challenge in no uncertain terms. He was instrumental in guiding us to a solution, ...
At a stakeholder feedback session to discuss the outcomes of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference that took place in December last year, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy emphasised that without financing, we won’t be able to implement the global targets that we agreed upon.
“One of the things that we have to be very careful of is that we don’t set up what I call paper parks,” said Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy on Friday 10 February.
“So on paper, yes, 30% of the land is under conservation. But in reality, we would find a situation where that is very, very far from the truth. And the reason it’s far from the truth is that we don’t have the finances to protect that land, we don’t have the finances to monitor whether there’s sustainable practices on that land, and we don’t have the finances to administer it.”
Creecy was speaking about the viability of implementing the hallmark “30 by 30” target, part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that was adopted at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15, held in Montreal, Canada in December 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Historic moment for nature and humanity as Kunming-Montreal framework adopted at UN biodiversity conference”
At a virtual stakeholder feedback session on Friday 10 February to discuss the outcomes from the conference the Director-General of the DFFE, Nomfundo Tshabalala, who represented the SA delegation in Canada in December (as Creecy was tied up with the ANC conference back home) said the framework, “is seen as the new roadmap in terms of living in harmony with nature, and it aims to facilitate, enable and fund action necessary to address biodiversity loss.”
The conference saw 196 nations as part of the convention (including us) committing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. It is a global goal hailed as the equivalent of the 1.5°C climate target.
If you’re confused – check out in Daily Maverick: “COP15 EXPLAINER Another COP? Here’s what you need to know and why you should care”
The hallmark “30 by 30” target is to effectively conserve at least 30 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions, by the year 2030.
Currently, 17% and 10% of the world’s terrestrial and marine areas, respectively, are under protection.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis ...
Two of three accused have been convicted in the US in a Ponzi scheme case involving “pastors” running a multimillion-dollar investment scam and pocketing money. Their convictions are turning the heat up on the third accused, who is in South Africa.
A trio of “pastors” operated in top-notch hotels and at religious events in the US, claiming that their investment company was in keeping with “God’s mission” because it equated to personal wealth for churchgoers who signed up with it.
But several investors later lost their money – and some of it was allegedly used on personal private jet trips and to keep the investment company, which US authorities have labelled a $28-million Ponzi-type scheme, going.
Now, two of the “pastors,” Arley Ray Johnson and John Erasmus Frimpong are fraud convicts and jailbirds – Johnson was sentenced six-and-a-half years in prison in the US last month and Frimpong was due to be sentenced at the weekend.
The third “pastor”, Dennis Mbongeni Jali, is from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where US authorities say he previously fled.
With the case against his two co-accused in the US nearly wrapped up, it seems authorities there may start turning their full focus on Jali who also faces legal issues in South Africa.According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, he is listed as an accused who is “detained pending extradition proceedings”.
This week, Gauteng’s National Prosecuting Authority was not able to respond to Daily Maverick questions about the status of a case against him, previously lodged in Johannesburg, by the time of publication. (This article will be updated when a response is received.)
Last week a Daily Maverick email query to an address listed for Jali bounced back, as did a message to a cellphone number linked to him.
A Facebook message about his stance on the legal action he faced was also not responded to.
‘Never worked a day in her life’
In what appears to be a promotional video posted online about four years ago, Jali described himself as follows: “I’m a friend, I’m a lover, I’m a father. I’m everything you imagine me to be as long as it’s good and its godly. That’s me, you’ll find me there. I’m a forex trader and I think I’m one of the best.”
Jali also implied he was such a successful forex trader that he was bringing in enough money so that “my wife has never worked a day in her life”.
On ...
‘Rethink prohibition and stop picking on users’: A new drug commission’s plans for eastern and southern Africa
The Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs, which involves ex-presidents including South Africa’s Kgalema Motlanthe, was launched at the weekend. It will push for law enforcers to focus on narcotraffickers instead of criminalising users, who need better support.
More heroin from Afghanistan and destined for Western markets is ending up in eastern and southern Africa.
In South Africa, the trade of inexpensive heroin is linked to another crisis – gang violence in Cape Town.
Daily Maverick has reported extensively on how major drug syndicates, with links to countries including Brazil, Australia and the US, are operating by way of South Africa.
Beneath these global and local narcotrafficking problems are drug users, who can end up in prison for what some view as unreasonable lengths of time and who lack access to health-related interventions they need.
Ex-presidents and experts
This is where the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) fits in.
The ESCAD is aimed at law reform and better ways of dealing with drug users as there is a consensus that the “war on drugs” – cracking down on illegal drug use – has largely failed and that there are more humane ways to deal with related issues.
Launched in Cape Town on Saturday, the commission follows the model of the West Africa Commission on Drugs.
According to its website, the West Africa commission was launched in 2014 “to mobilise political attention and practical responses to [drug trafficking-related] challenges”.
The ESACD is also linked to the Global Commission on Drug Policy that was created in 2011.
It comprises four commissioners.
Three of them are former presidents – Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa (who is also on the global commission), Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Cassam Uteem of Mauritius.
The fourth commissioner is Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim of South Africa, one of the world’s leading Aids researchers and an infectious diseases epidemiologist.
‘Harmful and failed war on drugs’
Helen Clark, the global commission’s chair and a former prime minister of New Zealand, spoke at the ESACD’s launch.
She said there was a global growing appreciation of the “very real harms associated with the prohibitionist approach of the war on drugs”.
Clark added: “It has led to really massive human rights violations. It’s associated with harsh and utterly disproportionate treatment of people convicted of so-called drug offences ranging all the way to the death penalty.
“Over-incarceration is very much associated with ...
As heavy rains continue to pound South Africa, the government has alerted the country to major risks being faced – and has issued advice to people and communities.
Disaster management teams are on high alert across South Africa amid continuing downpours, which have already resulted in untold damage – vehicles submerged and swept away, trapped homeowners stranded on roofs, collapsed walls and decimated shacks and houses.
Many areas are flooded, rivers are overflowing in a number of provinces, people have lost property, and infrastructure like roads and bridges have been damaged.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said on Sunday the adverse weather conditions showed no signs of abating.
Lungi Mtshali, spokesman for Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), said Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma urged communities across the country to provide assistance to those in need and affected by the flooding, especially those displaced as they had lost homes or been flooded out of shelters.
People and organisations able to donate basic necessities were encouraged to assist, working with municipalities and affected communities themselves.
COGTA issued the following safety tips:
– People living in low-lying areas must take special care during storms, as sudden floods might affect them. They should monitor the rising water levels and evacuate the areas to a safer place or higher spot when the water level rises.
– Do not cross through flooded roads or bridges – use other routes.
– Avoid crossing low-lying bridges, streams and rivers.
– Motorists must be very careful and avoid driving through flooded areas.
– Drive to and park at safer areas.
– The public should contact their municipal disaster management centres or the nearest police station or call the national emergency numbers (112, 10177 or 107) when faced with threats.
– Do not try to drive over a low-water bridge if water is flowing strongly across it and the ground is not visible.
– If you are on foot, be aware that low moving water can also be dangerous during flood conditions. If you come upon moving water, do not walk into it.
– Where possible, communities are encouraged to try to avoid contact with any flood waters. The water may be contaminated with raw sewage, oil or other dangerous substances, and may also be charged with electricity from fallen power lines. DM
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola kicked off his address to a meeting of the South African National Editors' Forum on Saturday by passing his condolences to the family of rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes, 35, who was shot dead outside a restaurant in Florida Rd, Durban on Friday evening. Lamola also thanked journalists for their role in protecting the country's democracy and said that the government was working hard to tighten laws to protect whistleblowers.
We woke up to the sad news of the passing of one of our artists AKA, who was shot in Durban. I call for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators, the biggest deterrent to crime is for criminals to know that there is a big chance for them to be arrested, prosecuted and convicted.
I also convey my condolences to his family, may his soul rest in peace.
VIDEO | Police cordon off the area where rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane were shot and killed. The pair was shot outside Wish’ restaurant in Durban. #RIPTibz #RIPAKA
SABC News (@SABCNews) February 11, 2023
[TRENDING] Rapper AKA shot dead in Durban
eNCA (@eNCA) February 11, 2023
We gather at a time when the world is under intense turmoil.
I need not tell you; you are a class of people who are seized with these issues on a daily basis.
Your work gives us all a sense of what the pulse of the nation is at a particular time.
In our space, your work gives our citizens direct access to a critical part of our justice system which are the courts.
Pillar of democracy
The fourth estate has been an important pillar of our constitutional democracy. A free press can be traced back to the guidelines that informed our constitutional project. This solidified the role of a free press in a constitutional democracy.
From a Magistrate court in Kirkwood to the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein, through your work, Justice gets seen to be done.
It has been drawn to my attention that at times, our Lower Courts make it difficult for you to access them and perform your duties.
We will continue to engage the leadership of our courts at various the various levels to ensure cordial working relationships with our courts countrywide.
You are the lens through which society can see the application of the Constitution when there is conflict or contestation of policy perspectives that impact the nation.
It follows then colleagues, that your role is just as important as the ...
By staging a joint exercise with Russia and China at a highly sensitive time, South Africa is undermining its claim of being ‘nonaligned’ in the Ukrainian war and risking good relations with the West.
Western governments are becoming increasingly agitated about the joint maritime Exercise Mosi II, which the South African, Russian and Chinese navies are set to begin conducting off the KwaZulu-Natal coast from Friday, 17 February.
The 10-day drill is widely being seen as a propaganda exercise for Russia, in particular – an opportunity to show off its military prowess, leaving the depleted South African Navy a virtual spectator to a show in its own front yard.
Western diplomats in South Africa, who wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, have told DM168 they are particularly worried because the exercise will take place on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 22 February last year, and because Russia will, according to one report, use it to practise firing its supposedly unstoppable hypersonic ship-to-ship Zircon missile.
South African military experts believe Russia will send at least its state-of-the art frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which carries the Zircon and other types of missiles and has been exercising in the western Atlantic. They think China will send at least a heavily armed Type 055 destroyer.
By contrast, the South African Navy is expected to contribute the SAS Protea survey ship and the SAS King Sekhukhune I, an inshore patrol vessel armed with no more than a 20mm cannon for self-defence.
The Admiral Gorshkov is a 4,500 tonne vessel with a crew of about 210. The Type 055 destroyer is even larger and is classified by Nato as a missile cruiser, according to some sources. It displaces more than 11,000 tonnes and has a crew of about 300.
In comparison, the SAS King Sekhukhune I displaces 750 tonnes and has a crew of 49.
If these ships do come, South Africa will be heavily outgunned and outclassed, raising questions about what value it could possibly extract from the unbalanced exercise.
One ambassador told DM168 that several Western countries were discussing the possibility of formally raising an objection to the exercise to Pretoria. However, they are also wary of offending the South African government, which has become hypersensitive to Western criticism of its warm relations with Russia since Moscow attacked Ukraine.
Some Western embassies have raised their concerns in private and been rebuffed. The closest they have come to public criticism was ...
As we dig our way out of the debris of the Zuma years, SA should take a long hard look in the mirror.
When former president Jacob Zuma referred to his detractors and “enemies” as “clever blacks”, it was not intended as a compliment.
To be a “clever black” was to be an individual whom Msholozi believed challenged the rules as he made them up, those people who applied their minds to our Ex No 1’s fantasy world with its benefactors and extractors, the borer beetles that ate the State.
Zuma’s world-view, we all know now, does not include the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in any shape or form, even from its conception in the Freedom Charter.
We live in it now, dear compatriots, or at least we are digging our way out of it – “it” being the debris of the Zuma-led ANC-accelerated wrecking ball. But we led ourselves to the brink of the abyss through our own actions, our own stupidity.
After the event, said Homer, even the fool is wise (although we might take issue with that one).
Jacob Zuma himself is not stupid. Far from it. He is a keen, wily and ruthless strategic thinker, with no righteous moorings, willing to step on whoever and whatever stands in the way, including, and especially, the law.
We are where we are because we believed in Jacob Zuma and his “Zunami”.
We love-bombed him (well, not the DA, obviously, but certainly Julius “Flipper” Malema, and the Guptas) in those heady days leading up to his rise to lead not only the once-glorious movement, but the country itself.
The big fish, democratic South Africa, was hooked. We fell for the fake bait.
The Theory of Stupidity
Human beings have, for centuries, relied on stupidity for our very survival. So much so that, in 1980, Dutchman Matthijs van Boxsel began what he termed his project of “delirious proportions”, the compilation of the satirical Encyclopaedia of Stupidity (Reaktion Books).
Writes Van Boxsel: “Stupidity is unwitting self-destruction, the ability to act against one’s best interests, with death the extreme result.”
Stupidity, he says, is not the converse of intelligence; it is the converse of a lack of stupidity, while intelligence is the converse of a lack of intelligence.
“Particularly fatal is the combination of stupidity and intelligence,” Van Boxsel observes.
So, if the opposite of clever is stupid, what are we dealing with, really?
Ignorance has nothing to do with stupidity. If ignorant of a ...
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A captain’s innings, hearty fielding and vibrant team spirit. Every ball fell dark horse Sri Lanka’s way in their scintillating three-run victory over hosts South Africa, in the opening game of the Women’s T20 World Cup at Newlands.
South Africa’s journey to T20 World Cup glory just became a lot more difficult after a shock defeat to Sri Lanka in the opening game of the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament.
Experienced Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu played an inspired innings of 68 off 50 deliveries – scoring more than half of her team’s 129 runs – to guide her side to an upset victory over South Africa on Friday 10 February.
The skipper opened the innings and carried her bat to the 18th over, to help guide her young side to a competitive total against the hosts.
Chasing 130 to win, in front of more than 8,000 home spectators – the biggest crowd ever for a women’s game in the country – and with a batting lineup brimming with confidence, South Africa looked prime to start their World Cup campaign with a victory at the halfway mark.
But the home side buckled under the pressure of the occasion, losing wickets in regular intervals, to fall three runs short of the total.
Tumbling wickets
Sri Lanka’s spin trio of Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari and Kavisha Dilhari – bowling 11 overs of spin between them, compared to South Africa’s four – had the Proteas batters in a web picking up seven wickets among the three of them.
South Africa needed one of their big players to stand up and be counted on the big occasion but only skipper Suné Luus passed the 20-run mark.
Openers Laura Wolvaardt (18 off 23) and Tazmin Brits (12 off 18) got the team off to a decent enough start of 29 within the first five overs, before the latter fell to fast bowler Oshadi Ranasinghe.
Marizanne Kapp, batting at three, was dismissed shortly after for 11 by Inoka Ranaweera, before Wolvaardt fell to the same off-break bowler two overs later.
The incessant fall of wickets saw the required run rate, which started at six and a half per over, shoot up to more than 11.
Captain Luus tried to stem the fall of wickets with a well-constructed 28 off 27, but the wickets consistently fell around her with big hitters Chloe Tryon (10 off 10) and Anneke Bosch (0 off 2) dismissed within two deliveries of each other.
Writing ...
In a night of high drama, with armed security services removing the EFF from the National Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa Ramaphosa announced a National State of Disaster for the energy crisis.
See the full collection.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week left his war-torn country for his second trip abroad since Russia’s invasion, stopping first in London, where he delivered a masterclass in diplomacy.
Read the Weekend Wrap here.
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa was counting on us being a nation ‘defined by hope and resilience’ to survive yet another year of ANC broken promises, bad ideas and ineptitude, I, dear readers, had my heart filled with real hope for our future in a school hall filled with bright young learners.
Dear DM168 readers,
Last night, while some of you were watching the cacophony created by Julius Malema and the EFF while waiting for the President to give his State of the Nation Address, I attended a merit function at my son’s high school, Pro Arte Alphen Park, a government school of specialisation in Pretoria East.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa was counting on us being a nation “defined by hope and resilience” to survive yet another year of ANC broken promises, bad ideas and ineptitude, I, dear readers, had my heart filled with real hope for our future as I saw evidence of resilience and the fruits of commitment and hard work in action, in a school hall filled with bright young learners from Grade 8 to Grade 11. All living proof of the school’s motto “Vigor et Verita” (strength and integrity).
The principal, Jacques Du Rand, spoke of his school’s 97% pass rate achieved not by promises, cheap talk or talent, but by hours and hours of study and practice, of teachers taking the time to help learners nurture creativity as a tool to resolve challenges, of learners pushing through despite the two years of Covid-disrupted learning.
I have no problem forking out a chunk of my salary every month to taxes when it pays for the privilege that my son and his peers have to attend a school that nurtures talent, and not just recognises but equally values the importance of the arts, science, technology, entrepreneurship and racial, cultural and socio-economic class diversity.
While high marks are not the only signifier of success, these young women and men give me some hope that they will carve a future that is open to creative innovation and experimentation, that has heart and soul, a hard work ethic, compassion and commitment to change our country into what the ANC could never achieve with its clunky, collectivist group-speak, state-control dreams of a better place for all.
Clunky, state-control dreams
If you want an idea of what I mean by clunky state-control dreams, let’s return to our president’s Sona. The president, through the ANC, thinks that instituting a national State of ...
In ‘The BEE Billionaires’, Chris Bishop hopes to answer one question: Has BEE achieved what it was set up to do, or, in the long term, will it prove more of a hindrance than a help?
South Africa is in the eye of a slow-building economic storm: political upheaval, junk status, civil unrest, spiralling unemployment, State Capture and the fallout from Covid-19. There is no better time to assess the impact of one of the biggest economic experiments in Africa that began a quarter of a century ago: black economic empowerment, or BEE, the legislation-backed effort to transfer wealth to black people and to facilitate their broader participation in the economy to redress the inequalities created by apartheid.
In The BEE Billionaires, veteran journalist Chris Bishop gets up close and personal with some of the biggest names in BEE. By examining their struggles and the impact of BEE on their successes, Bishop seeks to uncover the ways in which BEE as an upliftment scheme has both succeeded and failed. Because while BEE has made billionaires of some, it has ruined others and remains one of the most controversial policies born in those first heady days of democracy.
Bishop is the founding editor of Forbes Africa and Billionaire Tomorrow, a former head of programming at CNBC Africa, and is the author of the bestselling book Africa’s Billionaires. Read the excerpt.
The Bee Sheriff on the Trail of the Bad Guys
She is supposed to be the all-powerful sheriff with the big guns, tall in the saddle, hunting down the bad guys – the frauds and the cheats – trying to sidestep their black empowerment obligations, in the interests of the people. Instead, to stretch the metaphor, she sits with precious few bullets astride a scrawny horse, limping along with a fraction of the money needed to hunt down the bandits on the dodge; struggling on the trail of the lonesome prosecution.
This is the unenviable lot of Zodwa Ntuli, the current B-BBEE commissioner. As the independent regulator, it is her job to oversee compliance in the implementation of black empowerment policies in South Africa, in the face of indifference, chicanery and confusion over the rules. It is a tough job, to say the least, as she battles through penury and pandemic.
PULL Q: ‘In 2021, the B-BBEE Commission published an eighteen-year review, delving into the figures that measure its effectiveness. What they found was a world where white ...
People power stopped Shell in South Africa. This time, we must stop companies like Shell from exploring for oil and gas elsewhere. Once and for all, says a South African activist.
I am an activist born and raised in Xolobeni, in the Eastern Cape. This week, I was on a boat in the English Channel, supporting people who are occupying one of Shell’s oil and gas platforms. It’s on its way to the North Sea, so Shell can pump out up to 45,000 barrels of oil a day, for more than 20 years.
We are demanding that fossil fuel companies like Shell stop drilling, shift to renewable energy and start paying for the damage they’ve done.
Two more climbers from Germany and France have joined the four activists occupying Shell’s 34,000-ton oil platform. I boarded the vessel Merida, along with climate advocates from Africa, the Middle East and Europe, to challenge Shell even further.
The oil giant has hit Greenpeace International with an injunction, threatening up to two years jail time for a peaceful protest. If they feel inconvenienced by this, imagine what it feels like to be on the frontlines of the climate breakdown they’re causing.
Why should you care?
Oil drilling is destroying the planet, but it’s also destroying communities living in areas near fossil fuel developments. If we do nothing, communities will be forced to leave their ancestral homes, with no compensation. And it doesn’t end there, our serene and protected biodiversity is also at stake.
For decades, oil giants such as Shell have been driving the climate devastation that is being felt by all of us, particularly countries in the Global South that have contributed the least emissions. Yet Shell continues expanding and making money at our expense. A perfect example is what they tried to do in the Wild Coast, close to where I live.
When local communities and organisations caught wind of Shell’s plans to explore oil and gas in the ocean, we banded together to stop them. In an historic decision by South African courts, Shell’s right to conduct seismic blasting off the ecologically sensitive Wild Coast was revoked after taking the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to court for their reckless decision.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Activists celebrate big win for Wild Coast against Mantashe and Shell”
People power stopped Shell in South Africa. This time, we must stop companies like Shell from exploring for oil and gas elsewhere. Once and ...
The idea of healing benefits and emotional catharsis through reading is intuitively appealing. But does it work that way? Jane Turner Goldsmith finds answers in neuroscience, philosophy and more.
The oldest known library, dating back to the second millennium BC, in Thebes, Egypt, reportedly bore a sign above its portals in Greek: Psyches Iatreion, translated as “healing place of the soul”.
The idea that reading may confer healing benefits is not new, but continues to intrigue readers and researchers.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to reading about how to put up the tent, or tidy our piles of household stuff. When we talk about books that might offer a balm for the soul, we mean fiction, poetry and narrative non-fiction (including memoir).
The idea of emotional catharsis through reading is intuitively appealing. But does it work that way? Or do we read for interest, pleasure, escapism – or love of words?
Reading as catharsis and transport
“The highest aspiration of art is to move the audience,” claims George Saunders. Who is not still moved by the first book that affected them on a cellular level – whether that’s Storm Boy, The Little Prince, or their high-school reading of To Kill a Mockingbird?
According to the authors of The Novel Cure: an A-Z of Literary Remedies,
“novels have the power to transport you into another existence, and see the world from a different point of view [.] sometimes it’s the story that charms; sometimes it’s the rhythm of the prose that works on the psyche, stilling or stimulating.”
Read in Daily Maverick: Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Books of Not – Life through the eyes of Tambudzai
Humans imitate or re-present the world through art: poetry, drama and epic. That drive, claimed Aristotle, sets humans apart from animals.
In 1987 Jerome Bruner proposed that “world making” is the “principal function of mind”, in both the sciences and arts. As humans, we are drawn to the momentum of narrative to tell our stories, he says.
We seek to make sense of the events in our lives, as if life really were a three-act play with a clear narrative arc. (Conveniently summarised as: “Get him up a tree; throw rocks at him; get him down.”)
How reading works
Reading is one way we seek to understand our worlds. Evolutionary psychologists propose the brain is “designed for reading”, just as it is for language, facial recognition or other drives. The act of reading engages both cognitive and – especially where there’s ...
Whether moving away is a good idea depends as much on a young person’s aspirations as it does on their resources. Staying put – or moving back – does not necessarily mean personal failure.
“When I was in high school,” the essayist Anne P. Beatty recently wrote, “ambition meant two things: escaping my hometown and becoming a writer”.
The idea that young people’s futures are best served by moving away from small towns and rural areas to big cities is deeply ingrained. The sociologist David Farrugia has described this as the “metrocentricity of youth”. However, questions remain about whether moving away is always that easy and whether it is always the best way to achieve what you want in life.
I have researched how young people in rural communities in Scotland think about their future prospects. I have found that whether leaving your hometown is a good idea depends on both your aspirations and the resources you have.
Read in Daily Maverick: What is ‘adulting’? Jen Thorpe’s new book teaches you how to do it
How we make decisions about our lives
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu identifies how our resources (which he terms “capitals”) provide us with certain opportunities. In his idea of “habitus”, meanwhile, he considers how our social environment influences the way that we see the world and the aspirations we develop. These ideas have been used to develop a theory of career development called “careership”.
Habitus helps to explain how the places we grow up in influence the kinds of futures we envisage: what we aspire to, not just in terms of employment, but also housing, family life, and community. Bourdieu’s wider concept of capital, meanwhile, can be used to explain how people have different abilities to move away from their hometowns dependent on their financial resources, personal networks and previous experiences of mobility. This suggests that how we decide where to live is not always a simple choice. Our ideas emerge from our social context and are shaped by the resources we have.
Research suggests that moving away from rural areas is particularly connected to entry to higher education. Canadian education scholar Michael Corbett has shown how doing well at school is likely to see you “learn to leave” your community. In places like the UK where going away to university is a longstanding tradition young people may also have the resources they need to move, in the form of grants or loans for ...
Engineer Neil Thomas Stacey believes there are good reasons to be sceptical.
Eskom’s financial reports from December 2022, read by candlelight as they may have been, paint a picture that may surprise. The embattled utility has been able to bring its debt burden down to about R400-billion, from a peak well over R500-billion in 2020. It has trimmed its other liabilities enough to bring its losses down to R12.3-billion which means that, were it not for debt servicing costs of R70-billion, Eskom would be a profitable venture.
That financial picture, on its own, would suggest that it wouldn’t take much outside intervention to restore Eskom to a profitable entity, capable of growth. Some of that outside intervention has already occurred, with Nersa approving an 18.65% tariff hike for 2023/2024. In the absence of other factors, this would add enough revenue to restore Eskom to profitability by 2024.
But the financial discipline required to claw Eskom back to this point came at a high cost to all of us. The economic losses due to rolling blackouts have been estimated at R900-million per day, a figure which, if allowed to continue to the end of the year, would exceed Eskom’s entire annual revenue of about R240-billion. On the surface, then, the State of Disaster declaration appears to have some merit. Electricity supply has national importance far beyond Eskom’s business prospects.
But there are a multitude of reasons to worry about the declaration. These include constitutional questions – allowing a government to grant itself additional powers in response to a crisis for which it is itself largely responsible is a dangerous precedent and creates appalling incentives.
There are also clear financial concerns — the State of Disaster declared during the Covid pandemic triggered frenzied looting of emergency funds. There is also a dangerous operational precedent. In 2015, then-Deputy President Ramaphosa promised that rolling blackouts would end within 18 months. That promise very clearly didn’t come to fruition but 18 months after it was made it looked as though it had, as South Africa had no rolling blackouts in 2016 and 2017. Behind the scenes, however, this short-term success was accomplished by imposing strict performance targets on coal-fired power stations that couldn’t reach them without compromising maintenance and accumulating long-term damage.
It seems likely that the same approach may be in the pipeline now, given that the proposed rescue plan outlined by the utility’s new board largely consists of increasing ...
Amid a reported campaign by the anti-foreigner group to remove migrant pupils from Diepsloot schools, an Equal Education researcher and an attorney with the Equal Education Law Centre have stressed the importance of recognising the false narrative used to scapegoat foreigners for government failures and encourage xenophobic sentiments.
Reports of a campaign by Operation Dudula to remove migrant children from schools in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, have prompted a warning by activists to be alive to the anti-foreigner group’s methods – as well as concern about the Department of Basic Education’s failure to respond.
Activist organisation Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) said news of the campaign emerged following a message on social media inviting members of Operation Dudula’s Diepsloot branch to attend a mass meeting on 26 January.
When KAAX asked the group to confirm the content of the message, it refused to engage with them, says Dale McKinley from KAAX.
“This is the attitude Operation Dudula has always had when we have attempted to try and dialogue with them. They have no desire to have any dialogue, answer questions or engage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Equal Education has received reports from Diepsloot residents that members of Operation Dudula have been spotted entering school premises and engaging with school staff, said Equal Education researcher Katherine Sutherland and Equal Education Law Centre attorney Anjuli Maistry.
To their knowledge, no pupils had been removed from school as part of the campaign.
Operation Dudula blames foreigners for the non-placement of South African pupils in schools.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“The toxic and tragic results of Dudula’s hate campaign in Orange Grove”
“Inside Joburg’s building of darkness, where migrants live in fear as Operation Dudula threats amplify”
“Operation Dudula: When deep-seated frustration meets prejudice and weak leadership”
“It is extremely difficult to monitor the activities of Operation Dudula in schools due to how they organise, their intimidation tactics, and a lack of media coverage of their activities,” they explained.
Operation Dudula also claimed on Twitter that it had visited Lekamoso Secondary School in Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni, and removed 179 migrant pupils on 19 January. However, the principal has refuted the claim. “Operation Dudula never removed learners from our school; they have misled the public about this big lie,” said Jabu Madonsela.
Approached for comment, Zandile Dabula, Operation Dudula’s national spokesperson, asked Maverick Citizen to call her later while she gathered information from the Diepsloot branch. Attempts to call her back were unsuccessful.
Call to condemn
Sutherland and Maistry also voiced concerns about the Department ...
Mafe has said he is ready to be transferred to another facility for mental evaluation, provided it is anywhere but Valkenberg.
On Friday, as he was about to leave the dock in Court 1 of the Western Cape high court, Zandile Mafe yelled that he did not want the court or the prosecution to refer him to Valkenberg Hospital.
The matter was set down before Judge Nathan Erasmus for pre-trial purposes. However, the focal point was when and to what psychiatric facility Mafe would be sent for mental observation. After several no-shows, Mafe finally appeared in person at the court.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Alleged Parliament arsonist again fails to appear in court despite apparent agreement to mental health evaluation”
“The ultimate purpose of the observation is to determine whether Mafe is fit to stand trial and whether he was impaired at the time of the crime. We don’t want to go to trial only to discover that there are still issues that must be addressed first,” Erasmus said.
Mafe is accused of setting fire to the National Assembly building in the early hours of 2 January 2022. He faces charges of terrorism, arson, housebreaking, theft and possession of explosives.
He was arrested on the same day of the arson incident and a day later district surgeon Dr Zelda van Tonder declared that Mafe was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
On 4 January 2022, state prosecutor Helene Booysen submitted an assessment report from Van Tonder. Based on this report, an order was granted by Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo on 4 January 2022, sending Mafe to Valkenberg Hospital for 30 days of observation. But that referral for mental observation was set aside by Western Cape high court Judge President John Hlophe.
On Friday, addressing the court, Mafe’s senior counsel Dali Mpofu said: “I had a lengthy discussion with my client on Thursday, and we agreed on the referral for mental observations. However, my client has stated unequivocally that he does not want to be referred to Valkenberg Hospital because of his previous experiences there.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mpofu also informed the court of two other facilities, Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital and Stikland Hospital, that are available and equipped to conduct mental assessments in the Western Cape. Mpofu also stated that the referral had been agreed upon with the state, so there were no issues in this regard.
However, state prosecutor Mervyn Menigo informed the court that ...
The Economic Freedom Fighters have launched a broadside against National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for booting out the red berets from the Cape Town City Hall chambers during the State of the Nation Address.
EFF leader Julius Malema is adamant that the presence of armed police and their response to the EFF’s attempt to stage a protest in the chambers undermined the rights of MPs adding that it was unconstitutional.
Malema was speaking during a briefing held in Cape Town on Friday afternoon.
EFFPresser EFF leader Julius Malema says the SAPS deployed armed personnel to intimidate MP’s.
He is briefing the media after EFF MPs were ejected from #SONA2023 proceedings yesterday evening.
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) February 10, 2023
He explained that National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s interpretation of Parliamentary rules was flawed and did not warrant the ejection of EFF members from the Parliamentary sitting. Now, Mapisa-Nqakula will be served with a legal document demanding that she apologise within 48 hours or risk the eventuality of being dragged to court.
He also demanded that the Speaker and the Parliamentary Protection Services condemn and distance themselves from the unlawful eviction of MPs from the precinct without due procedure.
“There is absolutely no permissibility in the Rules of Parliament or the Constitution to treat MPs as a group and evict them from the Assembly for exercising their democratic rights because a Presiding Officer has a preconceived decision and attitude about the members. All EFF Members of Parliament who spoke during State of the Nation and those who intended to speak were going to do so within the Joint Rules of Parliament and within the Laws of the Republic.
“It is therefore unconstitutional, unlawful and unacceptable that the South African Police Service’s Counter Assault Team violently and physically invaded Parliament to remove peaceful Members of Parliament who were using their democratic right to protest,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Four key takeaways from Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address”
Malema accused the Speaker of undermining the Western Cape high court judgement in the matter between the Democratic Alliance and the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and the Government.
“The judgement states that only Parliamentary Protection Services would deal with conduct of members in the chamber and not Security Services as defined by Section 199 of the Constitution. We made these changes to the Rules because ...
Since winning their maiden Caf Champions League in 2016, Mamelodi Sundowns have underwhelmed in the continental competition. This season they will be out to show that they are not just domestic bullies.
“Sundowns shouldn’t be judged on the Premier Soccer League, to be fair. They should be judged on the Champions League. They should be in the semifinal or final every year. That’s how you should judge them, because the gap is so much bigger than everybody in South Africa.”
So said one of the most outspoken characters in the history of South African football, Gavin Hunt, on the sustained domestic dominance by the reigning and record South African champions Sundowns.
The SuperSport United mentor is not wrong. Even Masandawana themselves would find it difficult to deny that for all their supremacy on home soil, they have disappointingly failed to replicate that type of success in the continental Caf Champions League.
Since winning the Champions League under the guidance of the legendary Pitso Mosimane in 2016, Sundowns have only managed to reach the semifinal stage once — in the 2018/2019 season.
Last season they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Angolan side Petro Atlético after a 3-2 aggregate defeat. It marked the third season in a row that the Tshwane giants had tumbled over this hurdle.
That failure would have been even more bitter to swallow following the South African side’s display in the group phase.
Sundowns were mathematically the best-performing team during the group phase of the Champions League in the 2021/2022 campaign, accumulating 16 points from a possible haul of 18. They also conceded the fewest goals (jointly), letting in just two (along with Morocco’s Raja Casablanca and Espérance of Tunisia).
However, they were no match for Angola’s Pertro, as yet another continental campaign concluded with a whimper.
In 2023, the team is in Group B, alongside record African champions Al Ahly (with 10 titles) of Egypt, as well as Sudanese side Al Hilal and Cameroon’s Coton Sport.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Firstly, we have to recognise that there are a lot of difficult teams that have made it into the group stages of the Champions League and over the years it has become a tough competition for all teams. There is familiarity in the draw with regards to the teams from the group that we had in 2021,” said Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena as he reacted to this season’s group stage ...
An estimated five tons of rock lobster walked out of the sea this week following a harmful algal bloom that has been developing on the West Coast of the Western Cape. Also known as a red tide, it is the latest in increasing incidence of the devastating phenomenon.
Algae are simple plants found in the world’s oceans that produce about 70% of the oxygen in the atmosphere, are a food source for small fish and crustaceans, and play a vital role in marine ecosystems. But too much of a good thing can have dire consequences.
In certain conditions, microscopic forms of algae called dinoflagellates bloom rapidly as a result of excess nutrients from upwellings in the ocean and gather in dense patches on the ocean’s surface. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) are colloquially termed “red tides” because of the colour of the algae which produce toxins that can be fatal to marine life and harmful to humans who ingest the contaminated seafood.
This phenomenon often results in another, known locally as crayfish walkouts. Red tides can cause further harm through the depletion of oxygen being used by the overabundance of algae, which can lead to mass walkouts of rock lobsters that try to escape the anoxic conditions.
These mass strandings of West Coast rock lobster are common in South Africa’s late summer and can decimate tonnes of an already severely diminished resource.
Even small red tides can be a serious threat to the health of marine ecosystems and can have devastating impacts on the fisheries economy.
So it is no wonder that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has activated the West Coast Rock Lobster Contingency Plan and issued a Situation Red Alert for coastal communities on the West Coast of the Western Cape following the development of a HAB.
A statement released by the DFFE on 7 February estimated that the bloom had caused five tonnes of West Coast rock lobster to walkout since the previous day, and cautioned that with more walkouts expected in the coming days, all government role players should be ready to rescue live lobsters on short notice.
“There has been a build-up of large red tides in the greater St Helena Bay region over the past few weeks,” says the department. “These blooms of phytoplankton presently extend 50km to 60km, dominating waters in the vicinity of Elands Bay, Lambert’s Bay and Doring Bay.”
Save don’t savour
Toxins that may accumulate in ...
An earthquake expert explains why the death and devastation have been so terrible in Turkey and Syria
The earthquakes that struck in Turkey and Syria in the early hours of February 6 have led to terrible destruction on a scale not seen in Europe for many decades. At the time of writing, the death toll has risen beyond 21,000 people and will continue to rise over the coming days and weeks. Hundreds of thousands more have lost their homes.
There are many reasons why the death and devastation have been so terrible. First and foremost, the sheer magnitude of the two main events and their associated aftershocks. These earthquakes, which measured 7.8 and 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale, each released roughly as much energy as the largest-ever atomic bomb test carried out during the Cold War – around 50 megatons, in 1961 by the former Soviet Union. And there were two of these events in the same region, separated by a matter of hours.
To this we have to add the clusters of aftershocks which follow on from the main events. These are smaller (mostly lower than magnitude 5) but will continue for several days, gradually decreasing in intensity and regularity. They are nevertheless dangerous, as buildings already seriously weakened by earlier events may be caused to collapse. This inevitably further hampers rescue attempts in the region.
Another factor is the timing of the first and largest earthquake. It occurred at 4.17am local time, when most people would have been asleep in their homes. During an earthquake, the great majority of casualties are caused not by the shaking, but by the resulting collapse of buildings. The timing of this event was about as bad as it possibly could be – many people had very little opportunity to escape from their homes in time. This is likely a major factor in the very high number of deaths and injuries.
Depth charge
But a key geological contribution to the devastation was the relatively shallow depth of the earthquake hypocentres: 18km for the first 7.8 event and 10km for the later 7.5 shock.
The hypocentre is the point at which the fault begins to rupture at depth. In global terms, these are relatively near-surface shocks. There are two reasons why this leads to a greater degree of destruction.
Put simply, the first reason is that the shallower an earthquake is, the closer the Earth’s surface is to the hypocentre. This ...
Fire and rescue say no evidence points to rolling blackouts as a cause for the blaze but cautions residents to switch off appliances during these times.
Over 300 people are homeless after a fire gutted their shacks at Never-Never informal settlement in Philippi East, Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon.
Residents believe rolling backouts are the cause behind the fire, however, fire and rescue say there is not enough evidence to show this. No injuries were reported.
The fire victims said they lost their belongings including IDs, passports, school stationery and uniform as well as all their furniture.
Thumeka Mninzi said she returned from work to find her home completely gutted. “All I am left with is what I’m wearing. I don’t know how I’m going to start afresh. This fire is devastating,” she said.
Lungelo Lisa said, “If it was not for rolling blackouts, we would not be without our homes. One of our neighbours left a stove on while cooking when rolling blackouts started. When the electricity came back on, the stove was on and a fire started.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Police referred all our questions regarding the fire to the City of Cape Town.
City Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell told GroundUp the blaze destroyed 130 dwellings and 333 persons have been affected.
Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for Fire and Rescue Service, said they received the call at 4:20pm and firefighters only managed to extinguish the blaze at 10pm. He said there was no evidence that rolling blackouts had caused the fire but urged residents to be cautious and to ensure their appliances are switched off during these times.
Never-Never residents are now pleading with the government to relocate them because the area is overcrowded and there are no formal roads or stormwater drainage. The only communal sanitation facilities are water taps and toilets. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The President’s State of the Nation Address outlined some of the ways the state plans to put young people in jobs, as well as focus on access to quality education.
On Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa once again referred to the “crisis” of youth unemployment – but stressed that a turnaround plan was already in place, offering dignity, hope and vital work experience to South Africa’s jobless young people.
“To address the challenge of youth unemployment, the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) has been expanded to encourage businesses to hire more young people in large numbers,” he said.
In addition, a new cohort of 150,000 school assistants started work at more than 22,000 schools in the past week, the Social Employment Fund was recruiting 50,000 participants in its next phase to undertake work for the common good, and the revitalised National Youth Service would create a further 36,000 opportunities through non-profit and community-based organisations.
And the Department of Home Affairs had appointed the first cohort of 10,000 unemployed young people to digitise more than 340 million paper-based civic records.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ramaphosa said South Africa needs to expand vocational education and training systems through the implementation of the approved curriculum of the three-stream model to produce more skills, and combat joblessness among young people.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Looking beyond the Grade 9 Certificate debate: The Three Streams”
Plans to alleviate youth unemployment also included:
Placing 20,000 Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college graduates in employment; and
Increasing the number of students entering artisan training in TVET colleges from 17,000 to 30,000 in the 2023 academic year.
According to Ramaphosa, more than three million users have registered on SAYouth.mobi, a platform for young South Africans to access learning and earning opportunities. It forms part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention.
Getting it write
As for education, the President said the Department of Basic Education is in the process of streamlining the requirements for early childhood development centres to access support and enable thousands more to receive state subsidies so they can give very young children the foundation they need to write and read for meaning, and to learn and develop.
“Access to quality education for all is the most powerful instrument we have to end poverty,” he said.
The President also congratulated the matric class of 2022 for their resilience and raising the pass rate to 80.1% from 76%, as well as the improvement shown in ...
Rising costs and stagnant grants imperil the only government-backed effort to undo apartheid spatial planning.
South Africa’s nascent social housing sector is facing systemic struggles. Rising construction costs, slow release of land, and insufficient grant funding are compromising the sector’s ability to deliver new units at the pace and scale needed.
South Africa has a critical shortage of decent, affordable housing, and its cities continue to reflect apartheid planning. Social housing is the only of South Africa’s housing programmes that directly and explicitly targets spatial transformation.
A recent report from housing advocacy group Ndifuna Ukwazi highlights the stark mismatch between Cape Town’s formal housing market as it stands and the housing needs of the population. “While 76% of Cape Town’s population earn below R22,000 per month, only 34% of all formal homes cater to households in this income range”.
GroundUp spoke to four leading figures involved in the social housing sector and housing activism to find out what is keeping us from building many more affordable housing rental units in our cities.
The fine margins
Social housing aims to provide good quality, well-located and affordable rental accommodation to low-income and ‘gap market’ households. ‘Gap market’ households are those that earn too much to qualify for other types of housing assistance, like RDP houses, but who earn too little to afford the commercial housing market. These are households with gross monthly incomes between R1,850 and R22,000.
Most social housing projects are developed, owned and managed by non-profit Social Housing Institutions (SHIs). SHIs are accredited by, and fall under the oversight, of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. The law also allows for-profit private actors called Other Development Agents (ODAs) to participate, as long as they make a 20% equity investment in the social housing project. In such cases, the social housing project in question is subject to accreditation and compliance monitoring by the regulator, but the ODA itself does not require accreditation.
A completed social housing project will typically have different tenants paying different rates, according to their means. The SHIs don’t decide these rental rates on their own. They must follow the regulator’s guidelines for rent setting. For instance, the regulator’s latest policy revision sets an average base rental (i.e. excluding utilities and surcharges) target of R3,377 and an average rent quote (i.e rent as a share of gross household income) of 31.5%.
The rentals themselves are not directly subsidised. SHIs receive subsidies from the government to build new social ...
These are the views of a broad range of civil society organisations and experts on what President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address means for different sectors, including youth unemployment, social grants, early childhood development, health and anti-corruption efforts.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) was an indication of the government’s priorities for the year to come. Some issues, such as the energy crisis, were tackled in considerable depth, others received less attention, while a few – such as the state of South Africa’s health system – went unaddressed entirely.
State of Disaster
The declaration of a National State of Disaster around the energy crisis is an “encouraging move” in the short term, but also a sign of the precarious position the country is in, said Zukiswa Kota, programme manager at the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM).
“The announcement of the specific monitoring role of the Auditor-General is an important proactive safeguarding measure, given the risk to public finances,” she said.
Daniel McLaren, senior researcher and budget analyst at SECTION27, highlighted two key concerns about the declaration.
“One [concern] is that it’s used for budgetary allocations from other line departments, which is what it was used for – at least in part – during the Covid-19 pandemic, where funds were taken from education to fund the health response, and funds were taken from all sorts of other programmes,” he said.
“We’re worried that again funds will be taken and those line departments – health, education and social development, housing, etc – will suffer budget cuts in order to fund the response to the energy crisis.”
The second concern was rooted in the procurement problems associated with the Covid-19 emergency procurement under the pandemic State of Disaster.
“It was mentioned [in the Sona] that there would be some oversight mechanisms of the State of Disaster involving a range of stakeholders, but I would say that there were serious concerns from civil society about what this will mean for procurement in the energy sector, which is already well known to have suffered huge corruption and State Capture,” he said.
“This State of Disaster will have to be managed extremely carefully from the procurement side of things.”
Social grants
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) welcomed the indefinite extension of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which had been proven to mitigate acute poverty and hunger. However, the organisation said the President’s commitments on the grant had not been matched ...
The continent should grasp the chance to develop its green minerals to its own advantage.
Africa has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to boost its development through the massive global demand for its fabulous trove of the minerals the world needs to power a green energy transition.
But will Africa seize the opportunity or let it slip — either by failing to exploit the rare minerals fully, or allowing them to be exploited by others with little benefit for Africa’s people? This was a key theme of the African Mining Indaba 2023 in Cape Town this week.
Africa has significant percentages of most, if not all, the essential minerals and metals needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles and other technologies vital for a green energy future. Global demand far outstrips supply, creating a massive potential sellers’ market. The International Energy Agency has predicted that demand for most minerals essential to the clean energy transition will increase by a factor of four to six.
“For some minerals, the increase will be exponential. By 2040, graphite demand will increase by 25 times, and lithium by 42 times,” United States (US) Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez told the indaba.
He warned African mining nations not to miss out on this potential bonanza. To help them avoid doing so, the US launched the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) with 11 other developed nations last year. The MSP aims to ensure its miners maintain high standards of environmental and social protection and governance, and invest all along the supply chain so that African countries derive the greatest benefit, Fernandez said.
The MSP would of course give its partners access to the critical minerals. Fernandez acknowledged that the partnership was not ‘altruism.’ So beneficiation or value addition was key to the MSP and central to the indaba’s discussions.
Beneficiation has been the buzzword of African mining discourse for a long time. Its alluring proposition is that African countries should first add value to their own minerals instead of just exporting raw materials and earning relatively little for it — as they largely do now. They should process and sell the products globally at much higher prices, thereby redressing Africa’s unbalanced trade, creating jobs and boosting growth.
But that has largely remained a dream. Now, the global surge in demand for ‘green’ minerals to achieve global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 has injected new life into the dream.
The current ...
Former South African Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils has taken exception to an Op-Ed written by Greg Mills and Ray Hartley of The Brenthurst Foundation.
The recent hatchet job by Greg Mills and Ray Hartley in Daily Maverick (“The defence of Russia risks taking South Africa down a dark and authoritarian road”, 2 February 2023), shows they believe it is their hallowed duty to strike down any voice daring to question the Western crusade against the evil Russian Empire.
Debate should always be encouraged, but the search for historic truth and a credible understanding of the facts is ill-served by descent into a childlike morality tale of good versus evil.
In fact, Mills and Hartley, along with the rest of the increasingly shrill and at times hysterical pro-Western lobby in our media, should learn something from the much more sophisticated contributions that have been developed in the West in response to US-Nato belligerence – the crossing of bright red lines regarding Russia and China’s security, and the possibility of dire consequences.
Learned American academics such as John Mearsheimer, Edward Curtin and John Bellamy Foster, and military intelligence specialists such as Scott Ritter and Jacques Baud – to name but just a few prominent Western thinkers – have produced excellent analysis.
Contrary to what Mills and Hartley infer by twisting my words, I am by no means an uncritical fan of Putin or capitalist Russia.
Of course, it is true that a strong legacy exists concerning the support the ANC and other fraternal liberation movements received from the former Soviet Union, but it is far more than that which inclines much of the Global South to understand Russia’s security needs, and sustains its anathema for US-Nato imperialist domination.
Indeed, the South African position on the conflict is hardly an outlier in the Global South. Brazil’s Lula da Silva, for instance, has taken a similar position.
My article in News24 focused on the historical connection between the liberation Struggle in South Africa and the Soviet Union because the publication specifically asked me to comment from my perspective as an Umkhonto weSizwe cadre who underwent military training there in 1964 – and in Odessa, no less.
I learnt about Russia and the Soviet Union’s immense sacrifice during World War 2, and the people’s opposition to fascism in all its forms, including the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators and the Soviet people’s deep-rooted commitment to world peace.
I also referred to the bellicose emergence of neo-Nazis ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had barely completed his State of the Nation Address when the DA announced it was going to court over the declared National State of Disaster on energy. The presidential speech to underscore his administration is at work to fix the economy left the opposition unconvinced.
An electricity National State of Disaster was what the governing ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) lekgotla had resolved in late January.
As its statement about that meeting said: “In solving the energy crisis, the NEC Lekgotla encouraged the President of the Republic to declare a National State of Disaster, which will also require that the ANC reconnects with our communities and society.”
When a National State of Disaster was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) speech on Thursday, which talked about how “in a time of crisis, we need a single point of command and a single line of march”, the opposition benches burst into heckling.
And even before Ramaphosa concluded his 8,210-word speech, the DA had briefed its lawyers.
“A National State of Disaster under the guise of dealing with the load shedding crisis will similarly empower the ANC to abuse procurement processes and issue nonsensical regulations that have nothing to do with the electricity crisis. The DA will not sit back and allow the ANC to abuse the electricity disaster it created to loot and further abuse the people of South Africa,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen in a statement.
The possible declaration of the electricity State of Disaster had raised concern across business and civil society, given the extent of tender and procurement corruption in the two-year Covid-19 State of Disaster and lockdown.
Questions were also raised over what a State of Disaster would contribute towards resolving South Africa’s energy crisis, given the availability of existing legislative routes for emergency funding and procurement regulatory relief.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The mooted National State of Disaster – ANC desperation or cynical public relations exercise?”
The ANC, however, welcomed the declaration of the State of Disaster in a “decisive” Sona.
“The President has made it clear that with the challenges the country faces, it cannot be business as usual. This State of the Nation Address is about seeing hope where there is despair. It is about showing a way out of these crises,” said ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
And ANC alliance partner, the labour federation Cosatu, was upbeat, with a drop of caution. ...
At President Cyril Ramaphosa’s seventh State of the Nation Address, there were shouts, points of order, chaos and underwhelming sartorial monotony.
Even the President’s tie was slightly askew, the whole package trending towards dishevelment. The tie was red once again, a tone darker than the 2022 red-candy shade, but it was more the bloodshot eye of our nation, the symbol of our common fatigue, than the red of life and exuberance. Sigh.
The DA people wore corporate black to reflect “the sombre mood of the country”. Walking in line in front of Cape Town City Hall, it seemed that, for a moment, they might break into a Wednesday Addams dance, heads thrown backwards, hands moving up and sideways.
The military band that was awaiting the arrival of President Cyril Ramaphosa for proceedings to start possessed more zest in their vests than many attendees, the EFF included.
There were some touches of colour: Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu was dressed in a white suit topped with an assorted summer cape-coat, embroidered with colourful geometrical patterns — an ode, one presumes, to our rainbow nation.
ANC MP Supra Mahumapelo added a brooch on his low bowtie and clashed leopard print with polka dots. ANC MP Mandla Mandela wore head-to-toe blue with black brogues.
Miss South Africa 1990 and TV personality Basetsana Kumalo donned a long wrap-around aquamarine dress by Johannesburg-based brand Rubicon to go with her Louboutin shoes. She wasn’t the only one to have chosen the colour of “new beginnings and growth” (or jealousy and envy, depending on your mood).
There was plenty of green on Thursday night: emerald green for the deputy minister of sports, arts and culture, Nocawe Noncedo Mafu; a dress in forest-green shweshwe for Speaker of the House Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula; more light sea-green, fern-green for the guard of honour and military khaki-green for the Presidential Protection Unit who appeared on stage as the EFF attempted to disrupt the President’s speech.
Was green the colour of the night? Possibly.
Green is a secondary colour, birthed by mixing blue (associated with the colour of the sky, and in antiquity, “the male principle, the sky deities, and the gods of heaven”, but also confidence, trust and inspiration) and yellow (usually associated with energy, the power of the sun, warmth, hope — and caution). Dilute both and you get green — our hope and confidence tempered into a shade of discipline and order.
Mapisa-Nqakula went green on the EFF, ordering ...
President Ramaphosa’s 21-page State of the Nation Address looked at how to improve the living conditions of South Africans. At least four of the announced plans will play a critical role in effecting real change.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech centred on finding solutions for four key issues facing South Africans – the load shedding crisis, reducing unemployment, poverty and the rising cost of living as well as combating crime and corruption.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Cost of living in SA reaches critical highs for rich and poor alike”
Load shedding solutions
The ongoing load shedding has taken a toll on citizens and business, and has prompted the government to look for a viable solution to the crisis in the short and long term. The President said:
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma had gazetted the declaration of the State of Disaster, which began with immediate effect.
He would expand his Cabinet by appointing a minister of electricity in the Presidency. The role of the minister would be to take full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee.
This year, he would ensure the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill was passed to transform the energy sector and establish a competitive electricity market.
So who is in charge of electricity? Minister of Electricity Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (@GwedeMantashe1 may be left with just mining) Minister of Public Enterprises I guess we will hear in a few days.
Ferial Haffajee (@ferialhaffajee) February 9, 2023
Reducing unemployment
The President spoke about the unemployment crisis and mentioned several programmes aimed at ensuring that young people were introduced to the world of work. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened a situation of deep unemployment leading to at least two million job losses. He announced:
The Social Employment Fund was recruiting 50,000 participants in its next phase of undertaking work for the common good.
The National Youth Service would create a further 36,000 opportunities through nonprofit and community-based organisations.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “We can’t just wave goodbye to Eskom – we need to fix it, and it’s possible”
Rising cost of living
Social grants had to be increased to cushion the poor against rising inflation.
Work was underway to develop a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable, within fiscal constraints.
The National Treasury was considering the feasibility of urgent measures to mitigate the impact of load shedding on food prices.
Comment: civil society: all ...
The future ownership or shareholding of state-owned enterprises will be housed under one company instead of being fragmented through government departments. This is aimed at improving oversight of the state-owned enterprises.
The government is pressing ahead with the plan to establish a company that will hold the shareholding of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) — from Eskom to Transnet — aimed at improving oversight of the companies.
A centralised shareholder model was proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, in which the ownership or shareholding of SOEs is housed under one company instead of being fragmented through government departments.
For example, Eskom, SAA, Transnet and others currently report to the Department of Public Enterprises, while the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reports to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. Ramaphosa wants SOEs to report to one holding company instead of reporting to various and fragmented government departments.
This is the direction recently adopted by Malaysia, which has established a company that holds all the equity or shareholding in SOEs, and has a view of selling some of the entities to private sector players. A similar direction has been taken by South Africa, which is increasingly embracing the private sector in the ownership model of SOEs.
The proposed state-owned holding company would hold all the equity, some of which would later be sold to private sector partners or the entities listed on the stock exchange to raise capital. Having SOEs housed under the holding company would speed up the process of deal-making, especially in identifying SOEs that are deemed less strategic to the government’s economic ambitions and are subject to be sold.
It is intended that the SOEs under the holding company would be able to stand on their own, raise capital (like private sector companies on the stock exchange) and not depend on taxpayer-funded bailouts for survival. Most of the SOEs fall under the Department of Public Enterprises in terms of their operational and governance structures.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The minister of public enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, previously said establishing a company that would hold the shareholding of all SOEs would have the advantage of separating the state’s ownership functions from its policy and regulatory functions, minimising the scope for political interference, and introducing greater professionalism into the entities.
In doing so, Ramaphosa appointed an SOE Council that sits within the Office of the ...
They also demanded that the department of mineral resources allows Eskom to procure wholesale diesel to decrease rolling blackouts, that the government, businesses and individuals be held accountable for destroying Eskom, and that the proposed electricity tariff increase be scrapped.
Hundreds of people affiliated with civil society groups gathered in Hanover Street in Cape Town’s city centre ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday. The activists were demanding an end to Eskom’s rolling blackouts, which are having a devastating impact on daily life. The gathering was facilitated by #UniteBehind.
“We have gathered together because of our pain, suffering, anger and fear at the destruction of Eskom over more than two decades. We refuse to accept this anymore,” the groups said, in a joint statement addressed to Ramaphosa.
“Eskom is in a severe crisis,” the statement read. “Load shedding is destroying our country. The estimated cost to our country is R4-billion per day.”
The impact of power outages is “much worse” for the poor and working class. Prolonged rolling blackouts are often life-threatening due to increased criminality, fires caused by the candles and paraffin stoves used during power outages, and the loss of income for small businesses forced to close because of rolling blackouts, said the groups.
They also demanded that the department of mineral resources allows Eskom to procure wholesale diesel to decrease rolling blackouts, that the government, businesses and individuals be held accountable for destroying Eskom, and that the proposed electricity tariff increase be scrapped.
The SA Alcohol and Policy Alliance wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to introduce evidence-based policies that regulate the sale of alcohol, especially to minors. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)
Addressing the crowd on Thursday, #UniteBehind director Zackie Achmat said, “I wish we could say we could fix Eskom. But the truth is that it’s so broken and destroyed. Today we don’t have a state of the nation, we have a state of destruction.”
He said Parliament has until 1 March to respond to their demands. “If they don’t. we will go to court and we will march. We will not allow the police to stop us from marching as they did today,” he said.
Bridget Nkomana from the Back2Work Campaign said they hoped the President addressed social grants, particularly the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant, which “is not enough to put food on the table”. Nkomana said they were calling for a basic income grant of R1,500 for every ...
World Cup-winning coach Jake White and World Cup-winning wing Sbu Nkosi returned to Loftus on Thursday to resume their careers with contrasting outlooks.
Jake White returned to work at the Bulls with a fresh outlook after suffering Covid that possibly led to small intestine failure due to a blood clot, which required emergency surgery.
Nkosi, who went awol for three weeks late last year before being discovered deeply traumatised, at his father’s house in Emalahleni, due to personal issues brought on by mental health problems and anxiety, also returned to Loftus on the same day.
Both have a new perspective on life and their roles in rugby.
“The overflow of support allowed me to find comfort and confidence in that I am no lesser human being for acknowledging and accepting that I am not okay,” Nkosi said on Thursday.
“The support I received allowed me to find my feet again and the only thing I can do now, is to pay it forward so that others can be empowered to know that the sun will rise again, even when it does not look like it.”
White, a bullish character who lived for rugby, believes the severity of his health has changed his view that sport is a matter of life and death.
“I see things completely differently now,” White acknowledged recently.
“Rugby is fantastic, and working in professional sport and coaching in a league like the United Rugby Championship (URC) is a privilege. I’m still driven to be competitive and I never want to be in a place where I’m doing this job for the sake of it. But, after this experience, I’m working with a completely different framework on how to motivate players, and how to get balance in life.
“Life experiences like these really make you grow as a coach. Lying in intensive care, with pipes down your throat, gives you time to think clearly. It’s an experience that has taught me about balance, and how quickly things can change. Rugby isn’t the be-all and end-all, even if you’re as competitive as I am. What that means is that I’m going to be very different as a coach.
“I can now use real-life experience to talk about how quickly it can all be over. I’m going to coach with a focus on playing with a smile — and living it, not just saying it.
“I’m going to actively push that as part of my mantra now, and for the ...
Measures include involving the private sector to ensure the proper functioning of the 10111 call centres.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says violent crime is taking its toll on every South African. To crack down on it, he has announced wide-ranging plans from pumping money into the police and safeguarding whistle-blowers, to holding the corrupt to account and bolstering an emergency helpline.
“Communities across our country live in fear for the safety of their families. This situation cannot continue.”
Delivering his 2023 State of the Nation Address in Cape Town on Thursday evening, President Ramaphosa announced several plans to try and bolster the South African Police Service (SAPS) as well as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“With more police on the street, with functioning community policing forums and an effective and independent prosecution authority, our people will be able to count on the protection of the state,” Ramaphosa said.
‘Emergency calls will be answered’
While last year he focused on overhauling South Africa’s security structures by filling critical vacancies, this year he addressed how crime and corruption were being dealt with.
One of the broad measures Ramaphosa spoke about was improving the 10111 emergency helpline. Last month Daily Maverick reported that 10111 call centres were massively understaffed and that millions of calls were dropped over three years.
During his address on Thursday, Ramaphosa said measures were in place, including partnering with the private sector, to ensure the proper functioning of the helpline.
“This is to ensure that when people call the police, their calls are answered and their emergencies are attended to,” he said.
Women and children
Regarding crimes against women and children, Ramaphosa said such incidents “remain a deeply disturbing feature of our national life”.
“One of the great successes of our effort to fight gender-based violence is the extent to which social partners have rallied around the National Strategic Plan,” he said.
“In January last year, I signed into law three key pieces of legislation that afford greater protection to survivors of gender-based violence and ensure that perpetrators are no longer able to use legislative loopholes to evade prosecution.”
A focus of the National Strategic Plan was the empowerment of women.
“Through the Women’s Economic Assembly, we have seen industry associations and companies committing to industry-wide gender transformation targets,” Ramaphosa said.
“We must all play our part, as individuals, institutions and leaders across society, to end these crimes against women and children.”
Cancelling State Capture
Addressing corruption within government, Ramaphosa referred to the State Capture Commission and its ...
Talking of hope and action, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a National State of Disaster over rolling blackouts, with an electricity minister also on the cards. This unfolded after an unprecedented call for armed security forces to come into the House.
The entrance of armed security forces into the House on Thursday when President Cyril Ramaphosa was initially prevented from giving his State of the Nation Address (Sona) was the climax of the EFF’s “points of order” disruptions. And two versions exist.
The one in which National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she saw a threat and thus called in the armed security forces, and the one DA leader John Steenhuisen raised an issue with, of armed police entering the House before being called, in line with the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.
“They [the security forces] entered before you invited them. It is an important point for you to protect this House. [It is important] to prevent the intimidation of MPs by the security services of the executive. We will not let this go,” Steenhuisen said in a point of privilege. Not everyone in the opposition agreed; governing ANC MPs heckled.
But then, some 45 minutes late, it was finally the turn of President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver the Sona, aimed at showing his administration at work.
National State of Disaster
Announcing a National State of Disaster on electricity and energy, Ramaphosa argued: “In a time of crisis, we need a single point of command and a single line of march. Just as we address the cause of the crisis, we also need to address its impact.”
Central to this was “reducing the severity” of power rationing with a view to ending it, as his administration acknowledged the widespread damaging impact of rolling power outages that have hit South Africa every day in 2023, and for more than 200 days in 2022.
Also crucial to addressing the crisis, he said, was an electricity minister, who would “work day and night” to resolve the electricity crisis.
“The minister will focus full-time and work with the Eskom board and management on ending load shedding and ensuring that the energy action plan is implemented without delay.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
No names were mentioned. But Ramaphosa emphasised the public enterprises minister would stay put, overseeing power utility Eskom’s unbundling, the Just Energy Transition and, generally, be the pivot between the state-owned entity, ...
It’s a win-win for all involved. Businesses and households need to free themselves from the curse of Eskom, and the rise in productivity levels that comes with reliable energy will more than compensate the Treasury for the tax breaks that are looming.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that tax incentives would soon be unveiled to allow households and businesses to tap solar energy using rooftop panels. It’s low-hanging fruit that is welcome, and an acknowledgement that the economy needs to move beyond the shambles that is Eskom.
Ramaphosa said the initiative was part of the action plan he had announced last July to address the energy crisis – a crisis that has gotten a lot worse since then.
The tax incentives, which Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will outline in his Budget speech in two weeks, would aim “to unleash businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar”.
“As indicated in July last year, and with a view to addressing the load shedding crisis, we are going to proceed with the roll-out of rooftop solar panels. In his Budget Speech, the Minister of Finance will outline how households will be assisted and how businesses will be able to benefit from a tax incentive,” Ramaphosa said.
Read more on Daily Maverick: Ramaphosa outlines ‘extraordinary measures’ to deal with SA’s energy crisis ‘existential threat’
“National Treasury is working on adjustments to the bounce-back loan scheme to help small businesses invest in solar equipment, and to allow banks and development finance institutions to borrow directly from the scheme to facilitate the leasing of solar panels to their customers,” he said.
This is an initiative that banks will fall over themselves to provide finance for at a time when they are increasingly reluctant to touch new coal projects.
It’s simply a win-win for all involved. Businesses and households need to free themselves from the curse of Eskom, and the rise in productivity levels that comes with reliable energy will more than compensate the Treasury for the tax breaks that are looming.
It also helps to move South Africa down the road to de-carbonisation, which is crucial if the economy is to remain competitive and access markets that will throw up obstacles to goods and services with a heavy carbon footprint. And, as a bonus, it’s good for the environment.
For banks extending finance and those receiving it, the initiative will also add value to the assets involved. A household or business with reliable solar power is ...
‘Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. The energy crisis is an existential threat to our economy and social fabric. We must spare no effort, and we must allow no delay in implementing these measures,’ said President Cyril Ramaphosa.
During his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that South Africa’s energy crisis was an “existential threat”. He declared the crisis a National State of Disaster.
The President also announced that he would appoint a “Minister of Electricity in the Presidency” whose sole focus would be on resolving South Africa’s energy supply emergency.
“We gather here at a time of crisis. [a] debilitating electricity shortage that has caused immense damage to our economy and to the livelihoods of our people,” said Ramaphosa.
“We know that without a reliable supply of electricity, businesses cannot grow. Assembly lines cannot run. Crops cannot be irrigated and basic services are interrupted. Load shedding means that households and our supermarkets and shops are unable to keep food fresh. Water supply is often disrupted. Traffic lights do not work, streets are not lit at night. Without a reliable supply of electricity, our efforts to grow an inclusive economy that creates jobs and reduces poverty will not succeed.”
“Therefore, as we outline our agenda for the year ahead, our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately to end load shedding altogether,” the President continued.
‘Progress’
He outlined what he described as “progress” in the implementation of some of the measures in his “Energy Action Plan”, including taking steps “to improve the performance of Eskom’s existing power stations”, supporting Eskom to secure additional funding to purchase diesel for the rest of the financial year and allowing private developers to generate electricity.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa’s ‘Energy Action Plan’ — how is it faring half a year later?”
In speaking to these separate, but related interventions, Ramaphosa said: “To fully implement this plan, we need strong central coordination and decisive action. In a time of crisis, we need a single point of command and a single line of march.”
National State of Disaster
Accordingly, he announced, “The National Disaster Management Centre has consequently classified the energy crisis and its impact as a disaster. We are therefore declaring a National State of Disaster to respond to the electricity crisis and its effects.”
“The minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs has just gazetted the declaration ...
The Johannesburg Roads Agency and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department have expressed concern over the spike in the theft and vandalism of traffic infrastructure.
In January 2023, theft and vandalism of traffic infrastructure occurred at 26 signalised sites, with 60% of the incidents taking place in Region F, which comprises the Inner City and Johannesburg South.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) said Region F was followed by Region B, where 19% of the theft and vandalism took place. Region B comprises Randburg, Rosebank, Emmarentia, Greenside, Melville, Mayfair, Northcliff, Parktown and Parktown North.
Next was Region E — Alexandra, Wynberg, Sandton, Orange Grove and Houghton — where 15% of the incidents occurred.
The theft and vandalism of traffic infrastructure cut across the entire city.
“This has a huge impact on motorists because everything needs to be treated as a four-way stop. Pedestrians are also impacted,’’ said JRA spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers.
“These acts not only disrupt the working of traffic signals, which are essential services, but also jeopardise public safety. The end result is a negative drain on the city’s economy, with traffic congestion and unproductive, frustrated commuters as well as a possible increase in traffic collisions,” the city said in a statement on Tuesday.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the damage and theft of signals results in heavy traffic congestion and road accidents can occur. He said the JMPD was deployed during morning and afternoon peak hours to alleviate the congestion.
“It goes to show the level of lawlessness that is gripping our country. For such lawlessness to be allowed to continue answers the question: where are we as a country?” said road-user Zama Ngubane from Soweto.
“Such things are a result of incompetence. These acts are committed by people. It’s such things that lead to road rage, which we have seen can be fatal,” said another motorist, Gift Maphumulo.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Peters-Scheepers said the M1, M2, N1, N3 and N14 were hotbeds for this kind of criminality, and on-ramps and off-ramps are also targeted.
“We’ve got sinkholes and collapsed roads in areas near illegal mining activities. And it gets even bigger when you look at all the road infrastructure that gets affected,” Peters-Scheepers said.
She added that people were asking why traffic signal intersections could not be converted into traffic circles.
JRA traffic engineer Esther Schmidt responded to the suggestion.
“Traffic circles require specific conditions. under which they can properly function. and ...
South Africa has never won a cricket World Cup. The Women’s T20 tournament is the perfect opportunity for the country to set that right.
The Proteas Women are not the favourites going into the T20 World Cup — starting tomorrow evening at Newlands with South Africa taking on Sri Lanka.
In fact, they are only the fifth-ranked team in the format.
However, with a monumental tournament on home ground, and arguably their best side yet, there is no better chance for the side to be the first from the country to claim a World Cup trophy.
“It’s massive. I don’t think we’ve realised what we’ve already achieved without playing a game,” said team captain Sune Luus at Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
Women’s cricket has grown rapidly in the past few years and the South African team has grown with it, becoming one of the leading teams in the world.
The Proteas Women played some of their best cricket in the previous edition of the tournament in Australia, topping their group before unluckily going out via the Duckworth-Lewis method to eventual champions Australia.
However, skipper Luus believes the side has grown and become better since that bitter defeat in Sydney.
“[In the past] three years, a lot of our skills have improved. Going into this World Cup, we’re more confident in our skill set that we have. We have more options going into this tournament as well,” she said.
“We’re a more confident side, although we’re very young. We have a very well-balanced side, experience and youth.
“It’s very exciting for everyone going into this World Cup just knowing the skill set we have and how we’ve developed over the last few years.”
One game at a time
South Africa’s opening match against Sri Lanka won’t be easy, despite the opponents coming into the tournament ranked a lowly eighth.
The Newlands wicket has proven to be on the slow side over the course of the SA20 and domestic matches this season which could favour the subcontinent side and their plethora of spin options.
The Proteas, though, have decent spin bowling options themselves in all-rounders Chloe Tryon — with her left-arm orthodox bowling — and Luus’ leg breaks.
But their main spin threat is that of Nonkululeko Mlaba, who is the No 2-ranked spin bowler in T20.
“She’s been fantastic in our team. She’s started at a very young age and she’s grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years in terms of her bowling,” said ...
At a European Union summit in Brussels, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would ask EU leaders to provide Ukraine with fighter jets to beat back Russia’s invasion. So far there’s been no commitment to jets, an EU official said. Ukraine’s leader also urged expanded sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, including on missile and drone production.
The head of the European Parliament pledged support for Ukraine’s membership of the bloc. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU fully backed Ukraine’s “peace formula” and that the bloc would propose a 10th sanctions package against Russia in the coming days.
Russia said it had started talks in Moscow with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi focused on the establishment of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant occupied by Kremlin forces.
Key developments
Russia’s biggest wartime dealmaker feasts on foreign firm exits
Russia blames US for Nord Stream blasts, threatens consequences
Russian rate intrigue builds before Friday
Rheinmetall in talks to supply Ukraine with Panther battle tanks
EU urged to make banks report size of frozen Russian assets
G7 mulls sanctioning Chinese firms for aiding Russia’s military
On the ground
Russian forces have begun “their next major offensive” in the Luhansk region, the Institute for the Study of War said. The pace of Russian operations along the Svatove-Kreminna line in western Luhansk had increased markedly over the past week with the army “making marginal advances” along the Kharkiv-Luhansk region border. Russia was boosting troop numbers, with the seizure of Donbas remaining its main goal at the front lines, Ukrainian Intelligence representative Andriy Yusov said in a televised interview. Russian strikes from other directions were also possible, but might be mainly a bid “to distract or withdraw the Ukrainian forces and means”, he said.
EU urged to make banks report size of frozen Russian assets
The EU should consider requiring banks to report details on the value of frozen Russian central bank assets if it wants to use sanctioned funds to help pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction, according to the bloc’s lawyers.
The EU’s legal service said the bloc’s laws would permit it to invest the frozen assets and use the proceeds to help Kyiv, but officials must first get a handle on the scale of assets that have been immobilised, according to a document shared this week with member states.
Russia ready to implement safety plan for Zaporizhzhia plant
Russia is ready to continue work on implementing the International Atomic ...
The EFF followed through with its plan to disrupt President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening. This ended in clashes between the Red Berets and security personnel and their eventual removal from the City Hall chambers.
This year’s State of the Nation Address started off on a disorderly note with EFF leader Julius Malema standing on a point of order and questioning how President Cyril Ramaphosa was able to “convene the people he has taken to court”. However, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula quashed his attempt to interrupt proceedings and asked the President to resume his speech.
African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula backed Malema but was then booted out by the Speaker, who said he had “defied” her instructions.
From then, every attempt by Ramaphosa to continue his speech was met with heckling from EFF members and points of orders coming from Malema’s deputy, Floyd Shivambu, EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi and the party’s secretary-general, Marshall Dlamini.
After some back and forth between the EFF members and the Speaker and continued heckling of the President, Mapisa-Nqakula asked the EFF to leave the chamber.
EFF MPs then tried to storm the stage but were quickly intercepted by security personnel. Heavily armed security personnel huddled around the President to protect him.
Proceedings were then suspended for 10 minutes.
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This was rather unfortunate!
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) February 9, 2023
After their removal from the chamber by armed tactical response members, a roughed-up Malema addressed the media. He said Ramaphosa’s administration was a dictatorship.
“Where have you ever seen an elite unit entering Parliament, a counter-assault team entering Parliament in uniform? That only happens in a dictatorship.
“Where have you ever seen the media being prevented from speaking to members of Parliament? Only under a dictatorship are South Africans denied an opportunity to see what is really happening here. The whole state has collapsed in the protection of one man.
“But, we can assure South Africa that we will never get tired. We will hold him accountable if he thought he was going to sweep under the carpet the Phala Phala matter, the load shedding matter, the high level of crime and GBV and unemployment in this country.
“We are not going to allow that. Parliament has degenerated, [the] executive has degenerated, [and] the judicial system has degenerated in the protection of one man. Welcome to dictatorship, our country has turned against its ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised ‘significant funding’ for the South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, the courts and the Special Investigating Unit.
In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on 9 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government would strengthen the South African Police Service (SAPS) “to prevent crime” as well as improve “the capacity of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and courts to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice”.
The SAPS has a budget of R96-billion which it underspent by R4-billion in 2021, which nearly equals the NPA’s total annual budget.
In May 2022, the NPA was allocated R4.9-billion including R243.6-million for the Investigating Directorate (ID) located within the NPA, while the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) received R452-million.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa announced that the ID would be a permanent feature of the NPA.
NPA deputy director for strategy, operations and compliance, Anton du Plessis, has told Parliament that the authority needs R715-million a year over the next three years and that it has already exceeded its allocation for the 2021/22 financial year by R89-million.
The SIU is funded through a hybrid of government funding and income generated from work with government entities and departments. This was unsustainable, according to SIU CEO Andy Mothibi
The President did not elaborate on how much the “significant funding” would be, and where it would come from.
In his Sona last year, Ramaphosa announced the recruitment of 12,000 new officers to the SAPS and on Thursday said funding had been secured.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The good people of SAPS operate in the shadow of corrupt seniors”
In this year’s Sona, he said that more than 10,000 recruits had graduated from police academies and a further 10,000 would be recruited and trained this year.
Specialised police teams investigating serious crimes such as kidnapping, extortion and illegal mining “have had several breakthroughs, arresting dozens of suspects and achieving several convictions”.
Economic sabotage and “related crimes” that were “causing great damage to the economy” would be “dealt with and multi-disciplinary Economic Infrastructure Task Teams were operational in 20 identified hotspots”.
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On copper theft and the damage to public infrastructure, the President said that in December, the government introduced a temporary ban on the export of scrap copper cable and other metals “to disrupt criminal syndicates and enable a new trading system to be put in place”.
The proper functioning of the emergency 10111 line would be ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Almost four months after the Council of the University of Cape Town resolved to investigate governance concerns at UCT, a probe has finally begun. The four-member panel is chaired by retired judge Lex Mpati.
An independent investigation into the governance crisis at UCT, exposed via Daily Maverick reporting in October 2022, is finally under way.
The investigation was initially envisaged as completing its report by 31 December 2022, but its work was delayed by a series of acrimonious Council meetings and the unavailability of one of the nominated panellists.
On Thursday, UCT announced that a special Council meeting of 31 January 2023 had decided on a panel chaired by retired judge Lex Mpati, featuring fellow retired judge Azhar Cachalia, public sector governance expert Trish Hanekom and Wits transformation head Bernadette Johnson.
Panel will investigate vice-chancellor and Council chair
The panel is to investigate the conduct of UCT Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng and UCT Council Chair Babalwa Ngonyama, who are alleged to have misled the university Senate over the departure of former deputy vice-chancellor Lis Lange.
It is also seized with “all matters related to executive relationships, including the number of, and reasons for, resignations of staff within and outside the executive”, UCT stated on Thursday.
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As originally reported by Daily Maverick last year, UCT has seen a sustained exodus of senior administrative staff under the leadership of Phakeng — a polarising figure whose social media activity has been a reliable source of consternation to many observers.
The panel “is authorised to interview current and former members of staff and also current and previous members of UCT’s Council,” the university stated.
“The panel will approach potential witnesses and encourage witnesses who are able to assist the panel to avail themselves for this purpose.”
Issue of NDAs remains critical
Thursday’s statement made no mention of the issue of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) — but Daily Maverick understands that during late 2022’s heated Council meetings over the terms of reference of the investigation, it was agreed that former UCT executives would be freed from NDAs when it came to speaking to the panel.
This is believed to be a critical aspect of assembling a full picture of events at the university over the past few years, as the increasing use of NDAs has meant enforced silence from the executives leaving UCT.
News24 previously reported that the panel would have access to all necessary university documents, including a list ...
As the Eastern Cape reels under violent storms, one person has been reported dead in a village in Emalahleni municipality, while more than 1,000 others were displaced in Komani informal settlements.
Another 75 people were taken from Silvertown to Gali Thembani, where hundreds of people were relocated.
Gift of the Givers, local businesses and political parties rushed to the assistance of displaced families.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Floods displace more than 1,000 informal settlement residents in Komani”
The mayor of Emalahleni municipality, Ntombizanele Koni, said one person died in Bankis village after a house collapsed.
“In Zote village a bridge collapsed and pupils could not get home. People had to sleep in their cars as they could not cross the bridge that collapsed in front of them,” she said.
Koni said the rain had damaged several roads in the municipality.
In Komani, the river broke its banks and flooded a bridge near Rhawutini. People and traffic were forced to take a detour as the water rose rapidly.
Rhawutini resident Totomi Noyila said those who owned livestock were looking for pigs and goats that disappeared during the floods.
When Daily Maverick arrived at Rhawutini on Thursday, roads were washed away. Fences, homes and a Jojo tank that supplied water to the village were damaged.
People who remained were cleaning their houses while some salvaged what little they could.
The Queenstown SPCA is closed due to the floods. Cats and kittens were taken to the Stutterheim SPCA, while dogs were transferred to the King William’s Town and Mthatha branches of the SPCA.
Graves at the Komani cemetery were flooded as the rain continued on Thursday.
Evacuations
Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said that on Wednesday night, 75 people were evacuated from Silvertown informal settlement due to the rising water in the Komani River.
She said the bad weather continued to wreak havoc across the area, with two more municipalities affected.
Read on Daily Maverick: Extreme weather on the way — and events like this are likely to become more frequent
“Some of the rivers are currently overflowing, affecting bridges in different parts of the district. Reports have so far been received from Enoch Mgijima, Dr AB Xuma and Emalahleni municipalities,” she said.
Ganyaza said roads in these areas were severely damaged.
In Emalahleni, access to schools and clinics has been hampered due to damage to the Mcwangele bridge in ward 10. The Tabasa village bridge in Zwartwater — connecting Qumbu, Thozamisa, Gova, Dumdum and Emdeni, including Molteno and ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his seventh State of the Nation Address on Thursday. The State of Disaster will enable us to provide practical measures that we need to take to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including for the roll-out of generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply.
Fellow South Africans,
It is a great honour to stand before you this evening to present the State of the Nation.
For we are a nation defined not by the oceans and rivers that form the boundaries of our land.
We are not defined by the minerals under our earth or the spectacular landscape above it. We are not even defined by the languages we speak or the songs we sing or the work we do.
We are, at our most essential, a nation defined by hope and resilience.
It was hope that sustained our struggle for freedom, and it is hope that swells our sails as we steer our country out of turbulent waters to calmer seas.
Even in these trying times, it is hope that sustains us and fuels our determination to overcome even the greatest of difficulties.
Just three years ago, our country was devastated by the worst global pandemic in living memory. Thousands of lives were lost, companies closed, jobs were lost.
Covid-19 did not browbeat us into submission or disillusionment.
Working together, we overcame that crisis, and we have started to recover. Today our economy is larger than it was before the pandemic.
Between the third quarters of 2021 and 2022, around one and a half million new jobs were created in our economy.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided work and livelihood opportunities to more than one million people.
Last year, our matriculants defied the effects of the pandemic to achieve a pass rate of 80 per cent and we congratulate them for that great achievement.
We see this spirit of determination in our artists, musicians, actors, authors and sportsmen and women, who are making waves at home, on the continent and beyond our shores.
Banyana Banyana made us proud when they won the Women’s African Cup of Nations to become the champions of Africa.
Zakes Bantwini, Nomcebo Zikode and Wouter Kellerman have made us proud at the Grammy Awards for their collaboration, Bayethe.
What we have achieved as a nation over the past year, despite our challenges, remind us that the promise of South Africa is alive.
The progress we have seen should give us courage as we ...
NielsenIQ finds that 41% of South Africans feel they are in a worse financial position compared with a year ago, although this is fairly in line with the global average of 40%. Of those respondents, 74% are increasingly burdened by the high cost of living, while 42% say they have been affected by the economic slowdown and 32% say they have faced huge changes adapting to ongoing pandemic disruptions.
A NielsenIQ global Thought Leadership Report on “Consumer Outlook 2023” shows that volatility in everything from prices to weather events has created unsettled consumers who, having just lived through recent inflation highs — and not knowing when to brace for the next set of extreme circumstances — are displaying a caution that is likely to linger for some time.
The report also specifically highlights for South Africa:
37% of consumers are expecting the economic downturn to last for 12 months or more, with 26% claiming they only have enough money for food, shelter and the basics.
Consumers’ biggest concern over the next six months is the increase in food prices (51%), as well as concerns over job security (20%).
Transport costs are among the top category that consumers plan to spend more on (29%) in 2023 compared to the previous year, and, interestingly, even with the additional burdens on family spending, consumers are still planning to spend as much on groceries and household items in 2023 as before (48%).
High inflation and, by effect, higher product prices, have pushed consumers towards discounters (49%), chasing promotions (36%) and buying in bulk (50%), while 56% are keen to take advantage of loyalty schemes.
32% have also turned to online shopping to get better deals, save on petrol and minimise trips to stores.
Consumers plan to spend less on most discretionary spending categories, where out-of-home dining (23%), out-of-home entertainment (32%) and clothing (36%) are leading areas where they are planning to trim their wallet allocation.
Overall, financial concerns and job security have risen to the forefront.
Lara Hodes, economist at Investec Bank, says the employment index trended lower in January (below 50.0) following a strong uptick in December, suggesting that any improvement in staffing levels at the end of the year was temporary.
“A pick-up in sentiment, and accordingly investment, is needed to drive sustainable growth and significant job creation,” she says.
Standard Bank economist Goolam Ballim, however, is more upbeat, saying there could be a “burst of employment over the near to medium term.
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There is an old journalist joke that goes like this: A cub reporter was given a super-special assignment – cover the arrival of the magnificent QE2 ocean liner at Cape Town harbour for the first time. A crowd was expected and there would be festivities. The reporter duly went out and came back dejected. ‘No story,’ he told the news editor, who was aghast. ‘What happened?’ the news editor asked. ‘The ship sank,’ the reporter said.
Often we miss really important events that don’t happen because we are so focused on what did. The simple definition of history is the study of past events. But why does it not include the study of things that could have happened, but didn’t? Of course, sometimes it does. But generally, we default, for obvious reasons, to the observable sequence of events.
But there are times when what didn’t happen completely overwhelms what did. When I was a young reporter, it just so happened that then Prime Minister PW Botha’s Rubicon speech was delivered across the road from the office where I worked at the Natal Witness in the Pietermaritzburg town hall. It was above my pay grade to be working on the story, but still, the moment was palpable. A lot was expected from Botha, but as we all now know, the speech was a damp squib.
Yet, I remember we had a little display area in our newsroom where five or six newspapers from around the country were added every day. The day after the speech, the headline of every newspaper, bar one, trumpeted some aspect of what Botha had said.
“I believe we have crossed the Rubicon, Botha says,” was one headline, as I recall.
The exception was my own paper. Our headline was, “Botha fails to cross the Rubicon.”
We had a very smart night editor at the time, Martin Williams, who later became editor of the Citizen. He and the political editor looked at the speech and noticed immediately what wasn’t there, as opposed to what was.
This column will appear just a few hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa gives his State of the Nation Address; I invite you to join me in noticing not only what he does say, but what he doesn’t.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
My colleague Stephen Grootes made the point in his analysis on Thursday morning that an odd contradiction has emerged in SA’s politics.
“There can ...
The outlook for interest rates is as uncertain as ever. But Federal Reserve officials’ responses to unexpectedly high labour stats suggest that interest rates may remain higher for longer. That risks monetary overkill, says Oxford Economics, resulting in substantial economic output losses and financial market instability.
All eyes are on interest rates because, rightly so, they are the biggest macroeconomic known unknown the world faces in 2023. This week the picture became even more uncertain as financial markets initially interpreted US Fed chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments as dovish, but ongoing evidence of a rampant US labour market suggested even more rate hikes may be necessary.
Labour markets are the last man standing in the battle to bring down inflation to pre-Covid levels of about 2% in the US. The latest jobs data came in way above expectations, with non-farm payrolls increasing by more than half a million versus the less than 200,000 jobs expected. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level of 3.4% in more than half a century, when it was expected to increase to 3.6%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president, Raphael Bostic, responded to the surprise numbers by saying the jobs report raised the possibility that interest rates would need to increase to a higher peak than expected. Powell this week concurred that the central bank would need to implement further rate increases and “we think that we’ll need to hold policy at a restrictive level for a period of time”. Economists are predicting the terminal US Fed fund’s rate may be 6% before interest rates move sideways or lower.
However, equity markets latched on to Powell’s acknowledgement that the disinflationary process had begun and played down his warning that the road ahead is by no means likely to be easy by saying: “This process is likely to take quite a bit of time; it’s not going to be smooth, it’s probably going to be bumpy.”
Before the data, the prevailing view was that there would be two more 25-basis point hikes before the Fed pivots to an easier monetary policy stance because inflation has shown convincing signs of slowing. Expectations are holding out for possible rate cuts before the year is out.
Globally, and based on what is currently known, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresees global growth coming in at 2.9% in 2023 — 0.2 percentage points higher than its previous October forecast. But the fund did acknowledge ...
An environmental nonprofit has lodged a high court application to stop the firm, Moonstone, from mining near the fishing community of Doringbaai and potentially along a stretch of coast further north that includes biodiversity hotspots such as the Olifants River Estuary and other critically sensitive areas.
‘For some people, it’s just the ocean,” said Peter Owies, a Doringbaai community leader who grew up and lives in the small fishing community in the Western Cape.
“But if you live along the coastline, for some of us here, it gives you certain answers to certain questions. It’s an area where I used to look, to be quiet and still. No more.”
Owies’s comments come against the backdrop of a case due to play out in the Western Cape High Court between an environmental group and a mining company over continued mining along the West Coast.
Environmental NPC Protect the West Coast (PTWC) lodged an application with the Western Cape High Court to stop a diamond-mining company, Moonstone Diamond Marketing (Pty) Ltd (previously Trans Hex), from mining near the fishing community of Doringbaai and potentially along a stretch of coast north of the village that includes biodiversity hotspots such as the Olifants River Estuary and other critical biodiversity areas.
PTWC is arguing that the company, which broke ground last May, is mining with a renewed mining right that is not up to date with current social and environmental legislation nor up-to-date science-based recommendations and rehabilitation measures.
In its founding affidavit, which PWTC filed on 15 December 2022 with the Doringbaai and Olifants River Small Scale Fishing Communities, PWTC’s legal team argue that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), which is responsible for granting mining applications in South Africa, was incorrect to renew Moonstone’s mining rights, which are based on a 17-year-old environmental management plan (EMPr) last updated in 2005.
“If we don’t stop the situation, and we don’t stop companies like Moonstone and Trans Hex from operating under an out-of-date EMPr and in the way that they’ve always operated [not sustainable methods], our entire west coastline will start to look like that of the Northern Cape — a stretch of coastline that spans 250km, and it looks like the moon,” said Mike Schlebach, the CEO of PTWC.
Schlebach emphasised that they were not against mining, but that their main aim was to hold mining companies like Moonstone, the DMRE and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (respondents in ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week left his war-torn country for his second trip abroad since Russia’s invasion, stopping first in London. The way he held the total attention of his audience at Westminster Hall for more than half an hour with a mix of humour and seduction in broken but comprehensible English was masterful.
It was like something out of the movie The Darkest Hour when the British Parliament erupted into applause in support of Winston Churchill’s vow to fight Adolf Hitler to the finish.
The tiny frame of the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, receiving repeated standing ovations and cheers in the 1,000-year-old Westminster Hall was a sight and sound to behold.
He strode purposefully down the side of Westminster Hall, his diminutive frame clad in his trademark military fatigues, dwarfed by a long entourage of burly security guards, his own Ukrainian military colleagues in uniform and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in ceremonial robes.
The scene was in sharp contrast to his address to an orderly crowd in the US Congress last year.
Members of the Commons and House of Lords were given only a couple of hours’ notice about the visit and guests to Parliament were rushed in via the Portcullis House underground approach.
The throng of standing parliamentarians had more the look and feel of a political rally than an address by a visiting head of state.
The manager of the hotel where Zelensky and his large entourage had overnighted — situated in the heart of Whitehall — said he had never seen security on that scale.
Before visiting Parliament, Zelensky had met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Downing Street, met Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in the hotel and sat in the chair in the underground Cabinet War Rooms from where Churchill directed key moments in World War 2.
Standing on the steps of the cavernous hall pleading for fighter planes to defeat the Russians was a moment of history as whispers were heard about the consequences — World War 3 was mentioned.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The hallowed hall is as close as one can get to a physical embodiment of English democracy and a symbol of the Westminster system.
Only the most iconic leaders have received the honour of an invitation to address both houses of Parliament: Nelson Mandela (twice), Barack Obama, Charles de Gaulle, Pope Benedict XVI and the now-discredited Aung San ...
The prolonged electricity crisis and Stage 6 load shedding has forced many South Africans to take responsibility for ensuring their own continuous power supply. Before you head off-grid, it’s worth taking a few beats to ensure your goods and your power supply are insured properly.
Retailers such as Game have reported a boom in the sale of generators, inverters and modular uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices, while solar power suppliers say installations of solar panels have skyrocketed.
Game’s vice president of marketing, Katherine Madley, says the retailer continues to see interest in rolling blackout solutions such as generators, inverters and smaller UPS systems.
Ricardo Coetzee, head of Auto & General Insurance, says solar panels, and some generators, are fixed to the property and are therefore covered under your homeowner’s building’s insurance policy. This means these items do not need to be specified separately.
“Homeowners do need to inform their insurer and adjust their total sum insured accordingly,” notes Coetzee.
Solar supply systems
Outsurance warns that there is no stand-alone cover for solar supply systems.
The insurer advises that you contact the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) or the body corporate and request that solar systems are included as part of the existing building’s insurance. If you are renting the property, you will need to ask the owner to raise this with the HOA or body corporate.
Tarina Vlok, managing director at Elite Risk, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Insure, says solar geyser claims are often rejected because installations do not comply with regulations.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
She notes that a solar power generation and storage system sufficient to take a small household off the grid can cost more than R250,000, while hybrid solutions cost between R80,000 and R150,000, depending on the size of your home and how much power is needed.
Vlok says an engineer’s certificate must be issued for all solar geyser installations of 300 litres or more. The technical regulations when it comes to solar installations stipulate that:
Installers must ensure the roof structure can support the solar system;
Where it is not possible to comply, a professional engineer or registered technologist must design the installation in such a way that the safety and performance principles of the standard are incorporated;
Water heaters or storage tanks with a capacity of 200 litres or more may not be attached to a wall; and
The solar system must be installed in such a way that it does not ...
The huge uptake of the digital world by children is something that should be of concern for all of us, including governments and civil society. Just like the real world, the virtual world contains content and information which is not age-appropriate for children.
“My child opened a social media account for me, and even went as far as to register and access ChatGPT, the new chatbot application that has impressed but also caused so much anxiety across the world.”
This is the kind of comment that has become common at social gatherings in recent times as parents grapple with technological advancements and their more techno-savvy children.
It is often said that children take to the digital world as fish take to water. Based on a report from Statista, in January 2022 South Africa had as many as 41.19 million active internet users and 28 million active social media users.
Another study in 2022, involving 2,643 children (9 to 17 years) and 1,393 parents conducted across 176 cities and towns across South Africa and supported by Unicef South Africa and the Department of Social Development, claims that more than 95% of children in South Africa have access to the internet.
The uptake of the digital world was further accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns when schools and colleges operated remotely.
This huge uptake of the digital world by children is something that should be a reason for concern for all of us, including governments and civil society. The internet can be seen as a virtual world co-existing side-by-side with the real world, with a cyber community dealing with real-life issues.
And just like the real world, the virtual world also contains content and information which may not be age-appropriate for children.
With advancements in communication technologies and with the rollout of 5G connectivity in many countries around the world, the user experience of digital products and services has become much improved.
In the near future, and especially with the rollout of 6G connectivity (expected to be developed and rolled out by 2030) and further maturing of technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and metaverse, the uptake of digital products and services will increase further. Both worlds — real and virtual — have evolved over time.
One of the main problems in the virtual space is the system design of the digital products and services which develop addiction for services which are algorithmically promoted.
Algorithms can now learn from the behaviour ...
It would, of course, be a tweet that caused the most recent trouble for Elon Musk.
On 7 August 2018, Elon Musk tweeted: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” The 420 is a weed joke, considered to be the best time of the afternoon to light a joint, and a meme Musk had recently discovered.
The man who would later buy Twitter for $44bn and call himself “chief twit” later added: “Investor support is confirmed. Only reason why this is not certain is that it’s contingent on a shareholder vote.”
As expected, Tesla’s share price surged for three weeks, then crashed when the deal didn’t materialise.
The class action lawsuit that followed alleged that “Musk rounded the price up to $420 per share because he thought his girlfriend at the time, Claire Elise Boucher (also known as “Grimes”), would find it funny due to the significance of the number to marijuana users”.
Amazingly for Musk, the presiding judge had already found that the second tweet and Musk’s initial insistence about “funding secured” were false. And yet he won.
Also amazingly, despite Judge Edward Chen telling the nine-person jury that Musk’s tweets were “untrue” and that he “acted with reckless disregard for whether the statements were true”, they found in his favour.
In his April 2022 ruling, Chen found that “no reasonable jury could find the statement ‘funding secured’ accurate and not misleading”, as the “evidence shows that there was nothing concrete about funding coming from the PIF”. The Public Investment Fund is the Saudi Arabian government’s, well, investment fund.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
These were “clearly at the preliminary stage. There had been no discussion about what the purchase price would be for a share of stock. Nor had there been any discussion about what percentage of the company the PIF would own, or the total amount of money the PIF would contribute,” Chen wrote.
And yet the jury still sided with Musk.
It seemed impossible for Musk to win this class action suit by investors who claim they lost $12bn because of the tweets.
University of Iowa College of Law professor Robert Miller told tech publication Ars Technica in January that “Elon’s going to lose, and he’s going to lose for a significant amount. We’re just talking about exactly how much.”
After the jury found for Musk, University of Michigan law professor Adam Pritchard told the New York Times that “I thought ...
With a reputation of being incapable of managing the technical constraints of its internal systems, it must be questioned why the South African Social Security Agency and the South African Post Office would make Postbank the preferred partner to take over the administration of social grant payments.
There is yet another brewing crisis in the administration and payment of social grants in South Africa. Thousands of social grant recipients across the country are unable to access their grants, with reports of some not being paid at all.
The issue has been ongoing since the beginning of November 2022 when Postbank, a state-owned financial institution situated within the South African Post Office (Sapo), took over the responsibility to administer social grants. Postbank’s history, and the negative experiences of grant beneficiaries since the decision was made, raises serious questions about the secretive process to give Postbank this responsibility.
In October 2022, it came to light that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had ceded its contract with Sapo for social grant payments, to Postbank. Even though there was apparently a three-month migration from Sapo to Postbank in October 2022, grant beneficiaries were not informed of the decision nor given any reasons for it.
Despite assurances that the decision would not result in any substantial changes to the “front end” of grant payments and would not affect beneficiaries receiving their grants, the first month of Postbank’s administration of social grants told a different story.
The change from a biometric fingerprint system to a PIN system used by Postbank delayed access to grant payments for many. Postbank promised that the problem had been resolved and would not hamper the payment of social grants subsequently. However, beneficiaries have again failed to receive their grants efficiently due to supposed technical “glitches” in the Postbank system and cybercrime attacks – leaving it unable to pay on time.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Sassa owes millions in unpaid municipal bills – one office hasn’t coughed up in 10 years”
On 6 January 2023, a Postbank media statement said its system had suffered another “glitch” but was back online and payments had resumed. However, after visiting a Cape Town Post Office branch the following week, GroundUp reported that several beneficiaries – many of whom needed their grants to buy supplies for children starting school – had still not been paid for January.
Abuse continues
Once again, something is deeply wrong with the grants payment system, and recipients ...
We live in a century where children are embedded in technology. In this new century, we need to know how to harness technology to benefit schooling. We need to look to the online school in charting the way forward for schooling.
In 2020 the Covid-19 lockdown saw all South African schools that had sufficient connectivity and resources turn to online teaching in a bid to mitigate learning losses that would arise from not attending school.
This move online, of course, was only possible for students who had access to connectivity and devices. The huge inequality in South Africa meant that many students were unable to benefit from online teaching, such as it was.
One of the developments from this enforced online education is the emergence of a number of online schools that seek to teach children using online learning platforms such as Google Classroom. The question on many minds is whether these online schools are in fact able to teach children and attain the same, or similar, outcomes to traditional face-to-face schools.
The question I want to address is not whether we should teach online but rather, how one can do so in a way that develops children cognitively.
Most of my research over the past decade has involved studying how information communication technologies (ICTs) can be used as tools to develop students’ thinking.
One central finding echoed in papers across the world is that it is not technology itself that develops children, but rather how this technology is used as a teaching/learning tool. Technology itself is neither good nor bad; useful or useless. It is only how we use and harness technology that can make the tool effective or not.
The question I want to address here is not whether we should teach online, then, but rather, how we should teach online in a manner that can develop students.
It is important to make a distinction between teaching with and teaching through technology. In a traditional classroom, the teacher teaches with technology; that is, they may use a whiteboard to demonstrate the solution to a maths problem. In this instance the teacher is teaching with technology, using it as a tool to assist them in guiding students’ knowledge acquisition.
Teaching through technology, however, is a different matter. In this circumstance, there is no “live” teacher manipulating technology. Rather, what we have is a learning management system populated with, say, documents or problems that the child must navigate in ...
Tigers, fat cats and hogs, all side by side at the trough.
After the sighting of a second tiger in Johannesburg, an even more dangerous — and rarely spotted — fat cat has been glimpsed after he escaped briefly from stuffing his sofa on Planet Phala Phala. The fat cat, who appears harmless with hollow words about ‘fellow South Africans’ but has not changed his treacherous ANC-first stripes, was shocked to find that the country had slid into a dark pothole during the near decade that he has occupied one of the country’s two top leadership positions.
As a graduate of both the Jellyfish School of Leadership and the Didn’t-See-Didn’t-Hear-I-Feel-Nothing School of Responsibility, the fat cat of Phala Phala has long outsourced the curation of his vertebrae to another growler, Gwede, who earned his stripes by enabling the leopard of Nkandla — and his Bengal (okay, Uttar Pradesh) — handlers to eat. And eat. And cheat.
The leopard of Nkandla has not changed his spots and continues to roam freely, wreaking havoc as he evades the feeble attempts of the NPA (Non-Prosecuting Authority) to sedate him.
Now the Assembly of Non-Correcting (fat) Cats (ANC) has decided — in accordance with their electoral promise of “A Bitter Life for All” — to declare the country a national disaster as there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel was being built on the foundations of Chancellor House — kickbacks, greased palms and backhands — and has now collapsed like an RDP house, taking the light with it.
Regulations for the National Disaster are still being drafted, but early indications are that to protect national mental wellness, triggering words such as power, light and cooked chicken are to be banned from public discourse. William Blake’s poem “Tiger, Tiger burning bright” will also be removed from schoolbooks and will be replaced by Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”.
Meanwhile, in a move that has decolonial scholars scratching their heads, the Tourism Authority announced that it will spend a billion rand to attract tourists from the country’s former coloniser to experience our post-colonial national disaster, first-hand. The proposed sponsorship has, however, become a political football with the defunct Women’s League demanding that the funding rather be spent on rebuilding their teams, Bathabile Disunited; NO-MAN City, FirePool and Rock Strikers. Civil society is also trying to move the goalposts closer by arguing that rather than support English referees, ...
A senior provincial government official has claimed in court papers that eThekwini leaders reopened several of the city’s beaches late last year without consulting or getting prior approval from his department and the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
A senior provincial government official has laid the blame for the recent Durban sewage crisis at the front door of the eThekwini municipality, alleging that senior city officials were guilty of a “consistent and blatant failure” to halt the pollution of local rivers and the ocean — even before the April 2022 floods.
He has also called for the criminal prosecution of three senior eThekwini officials following repeated cases of environmental pollution, some dating back to at least 2019.
In legal papers filed in response to a recent Durban high court application by ActionSA, the official suggested that Ethekwini leaders reopened several of the city’s beaches late last year without consulting or getting prior approval from his department and the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
Quite apart from the serious risk of sewage spills killing aquatic life and spreading water-borne diseases such as gastroenteritis, cholera or typhoid, there was also evidence of large volumes of toxic industrial effluent entering rivers and the sea.
The court case has also brought to light the minutes of an internal meeting last year at which a senior engineer employed by etThekwini for the last 16 years suggests that one of the reasons for the crisis is that Durban’s sanitation infrastructure is “collapsing” or reaching the end of its life span.
In his affidavit, Dr Bonginkosi Robert Dlamini denied that his department had been dilatory or “lackadaisical” in responding to the sewage crisis that led to the prolonged closure of the port city’s tourist beaches.
Far from it, insisted Dlamini, who is the acting Chief Director and Director of compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Affairs, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea).
While acknowledging that sewage treatment works and pump stations had been damaged severely by major floods in April and May last year, Dlamini also produced evidence that his department had served numerous pollution clean-up warning notices or directives on the city prior to the floods, but the response from the city was not “satisfactory”.
As a result, his department — and members of the Green Scorpions environmental management inspectorate — had laid criminal charges with the SA Police Services calling for the prosecution of City Manager Musa Mbhele, former ...
Nearly half of 13 and 14-year-olds at one school have been drunk at least once, survey found.
George, a town of about 200,000 people in the Western Cape, is taking inspiration from Iceland to reduce substance use among young people. An unlikely coalition has been formed, consisting of community and activist organisations, schools, the George Municipality, police, and provincial government departments.
In 1998, Iceland had a substance use problem, with 42% of 15 and 16-year-olds saying they had been drunk in the last 30 days. By 2016, the country had been able to reduce this figure to just 5%. Cannabis use went down from 17% to 7% and cigarette smoking fell from 23% to 3% during the same period.
South Africa today is experiencing widespread substance use among young people. Communities across the country are struggling to deal with the harm caused by substance use. In 2021, intentional injuries, which are often related to alcohol and other substances, caused more premature deaths among men in the Western Cape than all diseases except Covid.
Iceland’s approach has been dubbed the “Icelandic Prevention Model” and focuses on data collection, coalitions, and community engagement to improve the social environment for children in order to reduce the risks of substance use.
An Icelandic organisation called Planet Youth is exporting the prevention model to countries around the world. The Planet Youth programme has been adopted in 15 countries, including Mexico, Chile, Ireland, Belgium, and Australia. The community of George is now bringing Planet Youth to South Africa.
“It hurts me to see what society does to us,” George resident Gustav Appels told attendees at the official Planet Youth launch on 3 February. Appels matriculated in 2021 and is involved in several community projects, including a soup kitchen.
“I want to tell Planet Youth: you have a job to do, to go to our various communities and serve them. Not just our youth but our parents, showing them we care and we love them,” Appels said.
The Planet Youth process starts with surveys that show the extent of substance use and the social factors that influence a child’s chance of using substances. The data is then used to design and implement community-based initiatives focused on strengthening family connections and incentivising children to take part in sports and cultural activities.
A pilot survey, done in November 2022 at one high school in George, found that 47% of 13 and 14-year-olds had been drunk at least once ...
Decorated South African soccer giants Amakhosi are on an eight-year trophy drought. Can they use the latest edition of the Nedbank Cup to tame this torrid run?
Another competition, another opportunity for one of Africa’s most decorated soccer teams to try and extinguish a raging trophy drought that is now in its eighth year and continues to singe the team’s reputation as a powerhouse.
Kaizer Chiefs last lifted any form of major silverware back in 2015. However, with the arrival of the latest edition of the Nedbank Cup, Amakhosi have another shot at trying to bring back the glory days to Naturena.
The odds are not on the Gauteng outfit’s side though. Granted, Chiefs is the most successful club in the knockout competition — in its various guises over the years. Amakhosi have clinched it 13 times. Orlando Pirates are second-best, with a haul of eight Nedbank Cup trophies.
However, since last winning the national slugfest back in 2013 — under the stewardship of Stuart Baxter — Chiefs have underwhelmed.
In 2019 they were famously beaten by TS Galaxy (who were campaigning in the second tier of South African football at the time) in the final. Over the last two seasons, Amakhosi’s wretched run in the competition has continued — with them being dumped out in the first round in 2021, as well as 2022.
It’s hardly a good look for a team of Amakhosi’s stature, which boasts one of the most passionate support bases around.
In 2023, with the league title seemingly a foregone conclusion as Mamelodi Sundowns cruise to a sixth DStv Premiership title in a row — the opportunity for Chiefs’ redemption and joy lies in Nedbank Cup success.
It promises to be a tricky endeavour though. They face a Maritzburg United side which has had a relatively productive 2023 in the league to date — playing five and winning three matches. As well as recording a draw and a loss.
“This one is a cup game. It’s not going to be easy because of the fact that the approach will be totally different; the mentality of the players and the mindset,” Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane said in the pre-match press conference.
“We are playing a team that has been doing very well and we are looking forward to the game,” Zwane continued.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Whether it’s the cup or the league, we always want to win every game. I ...
Nurses downed tools last week over poor conditions at Boitumelo Regional Hospital in Kroonstad.
Crumbling infrastructure is hampering patient care at Boitumelo Regional Hospital in Kroonstad, Free State.
We first visited the hospital two weeks ago. Buckets have been set out on the floors of some wards and theatre rooms to catch water leaking from broken ceilings.
An extension of the hospital building and upgrades started in 2010. In July 2014, further renovations were done. But staff, who spoke to GroundUp on condition of anonymity, said conditions at the hospital are deteriorating, with leaking ceilings, and broken windows covered with cardboard.
Last week, nurses and other staff downed tools over the poor condition of the hospital. They also demanded to be paid for overtime. Most staff resumed their duties on Monday night, pending further negotiations with management on 17 February.
Boitumelo is the only regional hospital in the Fezile Dabi District and caters for patients from about 19 surrounding towns. The hospital has six theatres but we were told of at least 80 patients whose surgeries had to be rescheduled between October and December 2022.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I’ve been going to the hospital for surgery since 2018 . They keep postponing,” said Langelihle Makhoba.
Another patient, Mamiki Mnguni from Oranjeville, who lives about 100km from the hospital, said, “I was scheduled for a gallstone removal on 19 January 2023, but I was told the theatre is not working. I was told to return in April.”
Hospital CEO Sibongile Mthimkhulu referred our questions to the Free State Department of Health.
The department’s spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, responded to our questions with a screengrab from a memo sent by Mthimkhulu which details progress made on infrastructure repairs. The memo stated that ceiling panels had been replaced and two theatres had been painted, among other things.
But when we visited the hospital again on 6 February, ceiling panels were still broken and we were told that some of the theatres were not yet fully functional. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Department of Education accused of not taking preventive action.
We reported on violence at Geluksdal Secondary last August, when police had to be called in to monitor the school. “Our children learning at the school are living in fear,” a member of the school governing board told us then.
We reported again in September last year, when parents shut down the school because, they said, their concerns over violence were not being addressed. “We are tired because nothing is being done and there is a safety threat facing our children,” a community representative told us. At the time, the Department of Education downplayed the seriousness of the situation and was almost in denial when we asked for comment.
Now, just outside a residential home right across the street from the school, a candle, a red ribbon and an envelope in his memory mark the spot where Shawn Mphela died on 2 February at the age of 18. He was in grade 10.
According to learners, there was a pepper-spraying incident earlier that day between black and coloured students during school hours. The parties promised to finish their fight after school. A learner who said they witnessed the fatal stabbing, says Shawn was stabbed in the after-school fight and that some adults were also involved.
The accused, an adult and not a learner, will appear again in court on 15 February.
Read in Daily Maverick: Gauteng officials intend to beef up school security after pupil killed
Learners and community members in Geluksdal, Tsakane and surrounding areas have expressed anger and outrage. They say in the past year the issue of violence at the school had been raised at several meetings. Learners had also reported issues of drug dealing and ill-discipline.
“Last year we handed over a memorandum to the Department of Education addressing the very same issues,” says Portia Brink, a community representative.
“On the issue of violence, we asked for metro police to be permanently deployed outside the school following [an incident in August]. But police were only deployed for a few days and we continued to hear reports of gangs and violence in the school. Our children are clearly not safe and what happened to Shawn is evidence of that,” said Brink.
“Why did the department have to wait until someone’s death to act?” asked Chairperson of Pan Africanist Student Organization (Paso) Samkhelo Mthethwa.
“Issues of racism in school, violence, bullying, discrimination and shortage of equipment at Geluksdal Secondary School ...
South Africa’s HIV testing programme has been a huge success over the last decade, largely due to the use of rapid tests. Now, the introduction of a new generation of rapid tests may offer some benefits over the current tests, but the picture is somewhat complicated and the Department of Health is not currently planning to use the new tests.
South Africa’s mass HIV testing programme has seen a great deal of success over the past 10 years, so much so that the country has almost hit the global target of 95% of people with HIV knowing their status. This success has largely been built on the use of many millions of rapid HIV tests.
The UNAids targets for 2030 are that 95% of people living with the virus know their status, 95% of those who are diagnosed are on treatment, and 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed. According to Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla, South Africa has reached 94, 78, 89.
Now, new fourth-generation rapid HIV tests and a new testing algorithm may be able to push the country even closer to the 100% mark — where effectively all people with HIV have been identified and diagnosed.
But there are questions about the performance and high cost of the new tests that have so far prevented their wider adoption in South Africa. Some experts nevertheless believe there may be a place for them in certain contexts and in particular groups. Newer tests could, for example, help diagnose recently infected people in whom HIV is not yet detectable using the currently available tests. They might also help diagnose people who become infected while taking antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV infection (called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP).
Rapid tests
“Rapid tests are the main tool used to identify people with HIV in South Africa,” says Professor Adrian Puren, who is the Executive Director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
He says this is based on the fact that roughly 80% of the South African population is uninsured and therefore relies on the public health sector. Rapid HIV tests can be done in any location and do not require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure or the high-level expertise of a lab technician or pathologist.
They are designed to be used by most people, yet not just anyone can perform them. There is a degree of training involved but, once trained, most lay people can conduct rapid HIV tests accurately ...
TotalEnergies plans to drill for oil and gas between Mossel Bay and Cape St Francis.
About 30 activists and fishers led by the Eastern Cape Environmental Network and Earthlife Africa protested outside TotalEnergies service station in KwaDwesi, Gqeberha on Wednesday. They do not want the government to grant the company a licence for the production of oil and gas between Mossel Bay and Cape St Francis.
The protest started at the Total service station at Ziyabuya mall. The protesters sang and handed out pamphlets, also to passing motorists on the R75. Large banners read: “Gas production Along our coast. Total madness” and “Hamba Voetsek”.
In a media statement, they called on Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecey to use her powers to stop Total and insist on a full risk assessment of the impact on marine life.
They said that where production and exploratory wells are to be drilled there are seven marine protected areas, the Port Elizabeth corals and Southwest Indian Seamounts, spawning grounds of fish such as kingklip, and well-known migration routes for whales and turtles. The area is also home to deep coral reefs that are important nurseries for young fish.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Melikaya Blani, of the Eastern Cape Environment Forum, said drilling would negatively affect fishers and people who depend on the ocean for survival.
“There are no jobs to be created for our people simply because TotalEnergies will bring highly experienced employees. Oil rigs use skilled people. People in our communities will be left in the cold because they do not have the skills to work there,” said Blani.
Nomonde Botomani, of Missionvale, said, “My husband earns his money from fishing squid and chokka. Though their catch has remarkably depleted due to climate change and poaching, allowing for oil and gas drilling will be the final straw in our lives.”
A response from Total will be added when received. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Prices for basic items in our food basket have plateaued from the last month, with a slight increase in maize meal and tea. Inflation will decrease all over the world, but South Africans might still see a rise in food prices due to rolling blackouts. In its food inflation brief, the Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy said the costs of operating under blackouts and the waste due to rotting food will be absorbed by the customer.
Maverick Citizen has been tracking the prices of 14 basic items using R350, the amount of the Social Relief of Distress grant. This month the basket costs up to R13 more than the R350, an improvement from previous months where it cost close to R400. It is still unaffordable to a person who only receives the grant and has minimal protein and vegetables.
“The impact of load shedding on the economy and the food system is severe. Load shedding increases costs directly, and indirectly through higher rates of wastage and spoilage within food chains. Financial results from several food companies indicate that fuel expenses to run generators during load shedding are skyrocketing. These costs cannot be absorbed in the chain and are to a large extent passed on to consumers. In fact, we expect that load shedding will be a key factor that prevents South Africa from following the global trends of decreasing food price inflation during 2023,” the brief read.
This food inflation brief is a collaboration between the bureau and Dr Marlene Louw from Absa Agribusiness, based on Statistics South Africa CPI and food retail price data.
“Although the overall inflation rate in South Africa has decreased over the past six months, albeit rather modestly, food inflation remains sticky. This is a result of several supply shocks in various agricultural commodity and livestock markets around the globe. These shocks have, in turn, also filtered through to the local market,” it read.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Maverick Citizen has reported on soup kitchen runners who struggle to feed people and have their capacity by 70% due to food prices that have rocketed over the past few years. The hunger crisis is also seen in the greater need for food in other places such as early childhood centres and clinics, where professionals have asked the Social Development Department for food parcels.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Grant recipients remain in dire straits despite moderately ...
Leaders from across South Africa’s civil society, political and private sectors gathered at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Wednesday to discuss the ‘real state of the nation’ ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address.
‘When you think about what we are fighting for here, we’re not fighting to replace one ruling class with another. We are literally fighting for our comrades’, our compatriots’. our families’ lives.”
These were the words of Tessa Dooms, director of the Rivonia Circle, at a gathering of civil society and other groups on Wednesday, 8 February. The event, hosted by Defend Our Democracy at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, sought to assess the “real state of the nation” in the lead-up to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Dooms spoke of the “state of trauma” that many people across South Africa were living in, citing her own experience of watching children participate in marches for housing, and schoolchildren protesting against the violent deaths of their classmates.
“Our democracy is killing us. Our democracy is killing people’s futures,” she said. “When I say that. the depth of our crisis is about disillusionment and despair. I’m not just talking about disillusionment with the ruling party. and people not showing up to vote – I’m talking about people opting out of living.”
For too long, South Africans have glossed over the political crisis in the country, leaving it for someone else to solve, according to Dooms.
“As a country, we’ve become fixated on the question of the economy – and rightfully so because people need to be fed – but there’s another part of becoming a more equal society, and a society where people are not in poverty. and that’s the role of the state,” she said.
“Politics must be everybody’s business. Politics must be daily, not every five years or five minutes. Politics is the core problem that we have. If we fix it, if we fix governance, if we make our democracy real. then we get to go somewhere.”
Dooms was one of several leaders from across the civil society, politics and business sectors who spoke about the state of the nation at Wednesday’s gathering. Among the issues highlighted were safety in communities, protection of whistle-blowers, anti-corruption efforts, the climate crisis and the need for political change.
Community safety and inequality
High levels of inequality continue in every part of society, including the workplace, education and communities, ...
Africa is considered too high risk as a destination for big US pop tours - but Beyoncé could and should break the mould.
Beyoncé announced her highly anticipated Renaissance World Tour on the first day of Black History Month – an annual observance in the US that honours the African diaspora. Social media erupted and ticketing websites crashed briefly as fans worldwide rushed to secure tickets. Following her record-setting 32nd win at the 2023 Grammy Awards for her album Renaissance, the US singer-songwriter’s tour is the most sought-after musical event of the year. It will run from May to September 2023, with performances so far scheduled only across Europe and North America.
See in Daily Maverick: Being Beyoncé – Her iconic career through the years, in images
African fans were disappointed, but no doubt not surprised – Africa is almost always excluded from major world tours organised by global record labels. To be clear, it’s not just Beyoncé.
Still, this particular exclusion is compounded by Queen Bey’s love of the continent – especially of former South African president Nelson Mandela – and the influence she’s drawn from it in her work. Of course, hope remains for her African fandom that destinations could still be added to the tour.
As a popular music scholar, I’m interested in how Beyoncé addresses social issues in her music – and how this is perceived by listeners in Africa. I argue that African destinations should be included – and not just because Beyoncé incorporates African elements in her music. But because of how large and fervent her fanbase is in Africa and how her social awareness messages resonate with these fans.
Snubbing Africa
In a capitalist commercial music industry, stadium world tours significantly affect an artist’s revenue and exposure. Almost without fail, African countries are erased as possible destinations, leaving many fans asking why.
While we may never know the answer – unless record labels blatantly state their perspectives – many are left to wonder if big name artists and their management teams think that Africa does not have adequate infrastructure to accommodate their grandiose sets. Or if they believe that stadiums will not fill up with patrons such as those across the global north do.
One of the ways that we can start to make sense of Africa’s exclusion is by applying an intersectional lens to western popular culture. (This is a framework to understand the distribution of power – social, economic, political ...
The mood of the nation is desperate – after the ANC’s decades-long failure to address the country’s electricity, water, income and food challenges – and if the President were to announce a bold programme tonight it would be very difficult for anyone to believe him.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa prepares to deliver his State of the Nation Address tonight, a curious conundrum has emerged in our politics. There can be no doubt that Ramaphosa is more powerful within the ANC now than at any time since becoming deputy leader in 2012. And yet expectations around the Sona and what he will announce have never been so low.
This is a demonstration of the yawning gap between what the ANC leader of South Africa says and what actually happens. It also shows the depths of despair being felt by so many people daily, as they watch their incomes, their hopes, and sometimes their lives, simply disappear around them. It may also have something to do with his own personal political situation, and perhaps still, the aftermath of the Phala Phala affair.
Emerging from the ANC’s conference, with a fresh mandate, Ramaphosa is now at the height of his political power. He won more support at Nasrec in December than he did five years before that. In the structures of the ANC, there is no faction that can successfully organise against him. His allies dominate the top seven national officials. The National Working Committee is largely made up of his supporters. Even the National Executive Committee appears to back him very strongly.
And yet, as he walks to deliver his address, both Rampahosa and the ANC have the biggest possible democratic incentive to take drastic action.
It is obvious that the ANC is under more pressure than ever before. Even its own internal polling suggests that it could win only about 40% of the vote in next year’s elections at the current level of support.
At the same time, the mood of the nation is desperate. As has been well documented, people are crying out for electricity, water, better incomes and food. On every single of these challenges, the ruling party has failed miserably over the past many decades.
If Ramaphosa were to announce a bold programme tonight it would be very difficult for anyone to criticise, or believe him. In such a depressed space, the President can’t really boast of his administration’s successes and he is likely to ...
Having put together a solid set of results, Gayton McKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance now controls the narrative of being the most credible alternative to the DA in the Western Cape in 2024.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) took advantage of a bad administrative error by the DA to win a traditional ward off the latter in Cape Town by beating the more established parties like GOOD and Al Jama-ah.
The DA was forced to watch from the sidelines since it did not appear on the ballot, as the PA broke the DA and ANC’s 15-year duopoly of ward-seat control in Cape Town.
In another by-election, the ANC had an easy win in Dikgatlong in the Northern Cape.
Ward 56 (Kensington Maitland) in Cape Town: PA 41% (1% PR) GOOD+Inglis 24% (25%) ACDP 13% (2%) ARA 11% (1%) Al Jama-ah 5%(7%) EFF 5% (1%) PAC 1% (
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
When outgoing Eskom Group Chief Executive Andre de Ruyter initially reported the attempt on his life by poisoning, the police sent a pair of Keystone Kops to start the investigation. He was not impressed.
De Ruyter related the piss-poor police handling of his case during an interview on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
“There was an initial investigation where two detective sergeants came and took down my statement. I terminated that because it became clear to me that these detectives were poorly prepared and out of their depth. So I terminated that and now it’s being investigated by the Hawks,” De Ruyter said.
So the Group Chief Executive (GCE) of South Africa’s most important SOE, which is the biggest threat to the economy, says there has been an attempt on his life and the police send a pair of keystone cops to investigate. It’s like something out of a Coen Brothers’ movie — a farcical example of state failure.
And the criminal threat to Eskom is real.
“The crime is bad, we know there are at least four criminal syndicates operating in Mpumalanga in our plants and they are involved in the theft of coal and the deliberate damage to plants leading to maintenance callouts. In some instances, there was increased overtime paid to union members. And these are very large, very organised criminal syndicates,” De Ruyter said.
When asked how dangerous such syndicates were, he said: “There are frequent assassinations that take place in Mpumalanga. It’s not reported but it’s definitely linked to contracts being awarded or not awarded.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He said the people being murdered were those who “work for the opposing company who got the job and you didn’t get it. So there’s a real culture there of fear and intimidation. We know that police have arrested, belatedly after a lot of pushing and prodding from our side, 25 people connected with theft of coal and they have shut down three illegal blending sites and we understand there are 30 more of these blending sites.
“This is where they take our good coal, they offload it, and then they replace our coal with discard coal which is essentially just rock with a bit of coal mixed in. And that doesn’t burn so well first of all and, secondly, it damages our equipment, so that’s a major contributor to load ...
In his State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa will speak to a country worn weary by his obsequious smile, his fealty to a corrupt ANC and his inability to govern with conviction.
In the days before tonight’s (Thursday’s) State of the Nation Address (Sona), the Presidency released a 32-page document entitled, ‘State of the nation 2022 commitments: One year review’. The strapline is “Leave no one behind”. Similar newspaper advertisements appeared on Sunday.
The document provides an update on the “bold, decisive actions” set out in last year’s Sona. These were designed, we are told, to “address the urgent challenges we face. and it was about leaving no one behind”. It tracks the progress made to “restore the promise of our democracy”.
Eight areas are covered:
Building a new consensus;
Growing the economy and jobs;
Protecting lives and livelihoods;
Ensuring a just transition;
Accelerating land reform;
Fighting corruption;
Making communities safer; and
Making government work.
On building a new consensus, the hairy goal was: “Within 100 days, finalise a comprehensive social compact to grow our economy, create jobs and combat hunger.” The actual progress: “Social partners are considering a draft Social Compact framework to guide a common programme.”
On Operation Vulindlela, we are told, “Bid Window 6 capacity has been doubled to 5 200 MW, agreements have been signed for 26 renewable energy projects with capacity of 2 800 MW and around 100 potential projects with a total of 9 000 MW are currently in the pipeline.” Here the emphasis should be on “potential” and “in the pipeline”.
And so the document goes on, listing what has and has not been done. It’s an impressively glossy document, but also a reflection of this Presidency: governing by task teams, committees, spreadsheets, red, green and blue ticks and incremental progress. While in parts technocratic, it all makes perfect sense. It is, however, a document for the head, not the heart.
Reading through the document, one hopes that this is not the precursor to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the country tonight. If it is, it is striking the wrong, flat tone. Perhaps one of the President’s advisers will help him “read the room”.
While accounting for promises made is obviously important and necessary, death by detail is not what the majority of South Africans want or need, given our objective daily realities.
For Ramaphosa will speak to a country worn weary by his obsequious smile, his fealty to a corrupt ANC and his inability to govern with ...
While Parliament’s tourism committee made it clear that SA Tourism’s proposed Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal was dead in the water, the SA Tourism board released a statement announcing it would be launching a ‘forensic investigation’ — to find the whistle-blowers.
A Wednesday morning statement from Parliament’s tourism committee, chaired by ANC MP Tandi Mahambehlala, made explicit in writing what was already clear from the marathon meeting it held a day previously.
“The Portfolio Committee on Tourism has told South African Tourism (SAT) and the Minister of the Department of Tourism, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, that the R1 billion Tottenham Hotspur Football Club deal must be cancelled with immediate effect. Furthermore, the portfolio committee will investigate the deal,” the unusually robust statement announced.
“The committee also said the Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who was headhunted for seven months, must tender his resignation with immediate effect as, during its engagement with the SAT, the committee discovered a conflict of interest pertaining to the Acting CFO.”
This follows Daily Maverick’s exposure of the fact that SA Tourism’s acting CFO, Johan van der Walt, had previously worked as group financial director of an agency — WWP Group — which stood to benefit directly from the Spurs deal. Van der Walt is also listed as an active director of a number of companies which share the same business address as the WWP Group.
“In response to Ms Sisulu saying that only the President can stop the deal,” the committee statement continued, “Ms Mahambehlala made it categorically clear to Ms Sisulu that it is the executive that accounts to Parliament, not the other way round”.
‘Forensic investigation’ into whistle-blowers
Yet a statement from the SA Tourism board arriving shortly after gave little indication of the committee’s message having been received.
The statement claimed that the SA Tourism executive had been on the verge of carrying out consultations with the Treasury and other stakeholders when Daily Maverick first broke the news of the potential R1-billion sponsorship deal.
There is no evidence for this claim, as Daily Maverick has it on good authority that a delegation was due to fly to London two or three days after our report was published to sign the deal so that it could be announced in the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona). This would have allowed precious little time for the extensive consultations SA Tourism now claims it had planned.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
The British government was assessing the long-term possibility of sending combat aircraft to Ukraine to help in the war against Russia as President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to the UK on Wednesday.
While addressing legislators in London on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the UK for supporting his nation in its fight against Russia since the first day of the invasion. He was due to meet the leaders of France and Germany later in the day.
The Ukrainian leader’s speech came after US President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that Vladimir Putin’s invasion “has been a test for the ages, a test for America, a test for the world,” adding that the US and its allies had risen to the challenge.
Key developments
Russia survived a year of sanctions by investing as never before
Biden calls Putin’s invasion of Ukraine a ‘test for the ages’
US to sell Himars, ammunition to Poland in $10bn deal
Ukraine to get as many as 178 Leopard 1 tanks from EU allies
Russia will fail to ‘break’ Ukraine, says Estonia’s spy chief
On the ground
Russia struck the centre of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine with at least six S-300 missiles, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram overnight. An industrial facility and the city’s central park were hit, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Over the past day, Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near 22 settlements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Russian troops were continuing their offensive on several axes in the east, including near the towns of Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, Vuhledar and Kreminna.
Zelensky expected to attend EU summit
The Ukrainian leader was expected to be in Brussels on Thursday to attend a summit of European Union leaders, according to people familiar with the matter. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will have a bilateral meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the event.
Naftogaz chief discusses energy investment with JPMorgan delegation
Oleksiy Chernyshov, the chief of national energy company Naftogaz Ukrainy, met a JPMorgan Chase & Co delegation to discuss investment in the Ukrainian energy sector.
Naftogaz proposed that the US bank consider cooperation and projects to increase the extraction and transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as projects in renewable energy, Chernyshov said on Facebook.
Portuguese premier suggests tanks may be provided in March
Portugal is carrying out a maintenance plan for Leopard 2 tanks under which the country may be able to provide Ukraine with three ...
However, the plans are at risk because Nordwind Airlines is sanctioned by the US and the European Union, which has raised questions about the safety of its Boeing and Airbus fleets.
South Africa is talking to the Russian carrier Nordwind Airlines about launching direct flights from Moscow to Johannesburg and to Cape Town, according to a Swiss aviation journal.
But the plans are at risk because Nordwind is sanctioned by the US and the European Union, which has raised questions about the safety of its Boeing and Airbus fleets, according to the aviation industry publication ch-aviation.
The journal said late last month that South Africa’s ambassador to Russia, Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka, told the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik that Pretoria was waiting for Nordwind’s decision on whether it intended to fly the SA route. Sputnik said he told them the aim was to launch four non-stop flights a week, including one to Cape Town to boost Russian tourism.
“Our transport department discussed Aeroflot flights with the Russian transport ministry, then we were informed that it had been decided that it would be Nordwind,” Maqetuka was quoted as telling ch-aviation.
The South African Department of Transport told Daily Maverick on Wednesday: “The National Department of Transport has not received any application from Nordwind to start a Russia-South Africa route. Should Nordwind submit such an application, normal processes would be followed.”
However, the department did not respond to the question of whether South Africa was still, or had been, in talks with Nordwind about launching the South African route. The SA Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation both referred all queries to the Department of Transport, which they said was the correct authority to issue licences for foreign airlines to fly into South Africa.
ch-aviation also reported that plans to establish direct flights from Russia to South Africa before the 2023 Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg in late July were disclosed by Oleg Ozerov, Russia’s ambassador-at-large and head of the Russia-Africa partnership forum. It said Sputnik and fellow Russian news agency Tass had both reported on this.
The journal said that before commencing the South African route, Nordwind or any other Russian operator would have to demonstrate to the South African Civil Aviation Authority that its aircraft were airworthy and being maintained to the latest service bulletins issued by manufacturers — in Nordwind’s case, Airbus and Boeing — and mandatory airworthiness directives published, in this ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to make only minor changes to his Cabinet despite a groundswell calling for better political leadership.
This graphic shows the Cabinet has two vacancies — the Departments of Transport and Public Service and Administration.
Four new ANC MPs have been sworn in, suggesting there will be no fresh blood, and he is unlikely to use his authority to draft in two Cabinet ministers from outside Parliament.
The President could make the Cabinet changes at the weekend.
This is how the four new MPs can be used in a lightly reshaped Cabinet:
Paul Mashatile is waiting for Deputy President David Mabuza to resign so he can get into the Union Buildings formally.
Maropene Ramokgopa is an ANC deputy secretary-general and Ramaphosa’s international adviser. She could be a deputy minister of international relations or a tourism minister closely linked to international relations and home affairs. Most bets are that Ramaphosa will fire Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Parks Tau can be used in either of the vacancies as he is a seasoned politician who has served in national, provincial and local government, where he was one of the better mayors of Johannesburg.
Tau is a specialist in local government, which is falling apart despite Co-operative Government Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s district development model. This model, which has been painted as the panacea for the sphere, is costing the ANC support because it is where state failure is first made manifest.
Dlamini Zuma is likely to stay in Cabinet despite facing disciplinary action from the ANC for voting against the party line about the Phala Phala report commissioned by Parliament in October 2022. This is the ongoing investigation into monies stolen from Ramaphosa’s game farm and kept secret from the public until exposed by former spymaster Arthur Fraser.
Former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala was demoted after his faction of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal was trounced by the Taliban faction of the party. So Ramaphosa owes him. Business Day has reported he could attend the public service and administration vacancy. In December, at the Nasrec conference, a senior Ramaphosa ally said his win had emboldened him and that he would be “reviewing the strength and relevance of his Cabinet”.
This week, the same person told Daily Maverick, “Government performance is not only about Ministers.” He said programmes in the Presidency were still the key to solving the poly crises facing South Africa. “You have to take a holistic look rather than ...
The apex court has now ruled that the case is moot because there is no longer a live dispute or controversy between the parties which would be practically affected in one way or another by a court’s decision, or which would be resolved by a court’s decision.
The Constitutional Court has refused to hear an appeal against a ruling that found that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) should not have been used as a criterion for the government’s Covid-19 tourism relief grants.
Brought by the Minister of Tourism and Others to appeal a Supreme Court ruling in favour of AfriForum and Solidarity, the application sought legal certainty on whether the minister was obliged or entitled to include BBBEE status among the criteria that the Department of Tourism used to select small businesses (SMMEs) that qualified for the Tourism Relief Fund.
The Supreme Court had ruled that the minister was neither obliged, nor was she entitled, to include race-based information in the selection criteria used to select SMMEs to be given the grants.
In March 2020, after the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs had declared a state of disaster in the country, the national lockdown forbade those who were not essential services workers from travelling for work or social visits – and only businesses that delivered essential services were allowed to operate.
The fallout was calamitous for the economy, as businesses and workers were unable to earn an income. Many businesses shut permanently and thousands lost their jobs.
By October 2020, Stats SA reported that more than 600,000 formal sector workers had lost their jobs.
World Bank data suggest low-wage workers suffered almost four times more job losses than high-wage workers.
A National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey revealed in July 2020 that women were more severely affected than men in the early phase of the crisis (hard lockdown).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Net job losses between February and April 2020 were higher for women than for men, with women accounting for two-thirds of the total net job losses. Among those who remained employed, women experienced a bigger reduction in average hours worked per week than for men.
To mitigate against the adverse economic and financial impact of the lockdown on tourism sector SMMEs, the minister established the Covid-19 Tourism Relief Fund, setting aside R200-million for recipients to receive R50,000 each – but only for qualifying BBBEE entities.
Arguing that excluding white businesses ...
‘Even my mother cried when she heard I was selected to be the praise singer for the President,’ said Musawenkosi Nqobile Duma, who will take part in the prelude to the State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening.
‘It’s huge and I never expected it,” said Musawenknosi Nqobile Duma, a 28-year-old poet from Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal who will be the praise singer for President Cyril Ramaphosa when he delivers the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, 9 February.
Duma goes by his stage name Inqanawe Yangempela. A praise singer or imbongi narrates a president’s history, clan, and family lineage in song, dance, and narration. Duma will start his narration as the presidential procession enters the chamber from where he will deliver his address.
“For me, being chosen was a breakthrough,” he said during an interview with Daily Maverick on Wednesday, the day before Sona.
“It’s a big opportunity. Even my mother cried when she heard I was selected to be the praise singer for the President.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Duma told Daily Maverick he began his praise singing career in 2019 when he wrote a poem about Jesus. This was followed by writing praise for Ukhozi FM radio presenter Khathide “Tshatha” Ngobe, who made it into a jingle on the radio. “Hearing how good it sounded on radio boosted my confidence,” said Duma.
He then wrote a poem for Zulu King Misuzulu. “Since then I have been widely recognised, including in Parliament. the wide recognition has earned me many gigs,” said Duma.
He took part in poetry competitions held by his local municipality, and from that, his name was put in a database by the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, which submitted his name to Parliament for this occasion.
“Each person’s profile was looked at and I was selected.”
When asked what message he had for South Africans, especially young people, he said: “Be committed in whatever you do, don’t give up and be persistent. if needs be, post your content [on social media] every day — also, believe in yourself.”
‘All systems go as far we are concerned’
Before Daily Maverick spoke to Duma, there was a walkabout by Parliament’s presiding officers checking on the readiness for the Sona. The walkabout followed an inspection of the City Hall, where the Sona will take place for a second year because of a devastating fire at Parliament in early 2022.
“We are happy with what we ...
Eight years after a prison inmate died after being beaten by Correctional Services officials and savaged by their dogs, the officials allegedly responsible have appeared in court.
Lubabalo Mzamo died in January 2015 after he was allegedly beaten by Department of Correctional Services (DCS) officers and bitten by their dogs at Brandvlei Maximum Security Correctional Centre. On 31 January 2023, the Director of Public Prosecutions finally decided to charge four DCS officers with his murder.
On Monday, 6 February, DCS officials Quinton de Wee, Ebrahim May, Alton Setera and Sakhele Dondolo appeared in the Worcester Magistrates’ Court, charged with one count of murder and four counts of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm relating to the death of Mzamo. The case was postponed until 1 March.
The attack occurred on January 4, 2015. The DCS claims Mzamo was armed with a padlock hidden inside a sock, which he apparently used in an attack that could have been part of a Numbers gang initiation.
A video of the violent scene shows an inmate being dragged by Rottweiler dogs used by DCS officials. Inmates were beaten with batons.
Mzamo, who was serving eight years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, died from his injuries on 16 January 2015 in Tygerberg Hospital. Another 14 inmates were injured during the incident, five of whom were taken to a public hospital.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk told Daily Maverick the cases against the four DCS officials were opened on 16 January 2015 after an inmate died from his injuries after he was restrained after stabbing a Correctional Services official on 4 January 2015.
The Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (Jics) has welcomed the decision to prosecute the four DCS officials. Spokesperson Emerantia Cupido said: “We are elated, but we are also concerned about all other alleged assault incidents inmates allegedly suffered at the hands of DCS officials. The one case in question took eight years to complete. How long will it take for other matters to be resolved before the cases are placed on the court’s roll?
“We hope that this case serves as a wake-up call to everyone that justice must be served and that no one is above the law,” Cupido said.
Not an isolated incident
Days after the 4 January 2015 incident, five warders at Drakenstein Correctional Centre were stabbed and seriously injured. Western Cape DCS spokesperson Simphiwe Xako at the time said the DCS was investigating whether the ...
Up on the Bomvu Ridge, high up in the hills north of the Eswatini capital of Mbabane, the re-excavation of Lion Cavern — possibly the oldest mine in the world — is lending further evidence to southern Africa’s position as not only the cradle of humankind, but also of human culture.
‘It’s not a cave, it’s a mine and totally artificial. They mined ochre, a form of oxidised iron. Basically, it is red rust, technically known as haematite,” says Bob Forrester, a heritage consultant for the Eswatini National Trust Commission, working with Dr Gregor Donatus Bader and his team from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), at the University of Tübingen, which will send researchers and excavators to visit the site in April.
Forrester is standing at the entrance to Lion Cavern, engaged in conversation with a New York TV presenter and Instagrammer. Sprawled out far below is a valley in neighbouring South Africa. On the south side of the cavern, baboons scale the almost vertical walls of an old, green water-filled quarry. The whole area, of predominantly red rock, is known as Ngwenya Mine.
“The reason I say it’s a benchmark, says Forrester, “is because it shows the first mining of ochre worldwide.” A strong claim, but one that he and his colleagues from universities in various countries aim to prove.
Red rust — from Stilbaai to Swaziland
I had first learnt of the early use of ochre far south of Lion Cavern, in Cave 13b, below Mossel Bay’s Pinnacle Point, which could be regarded as the hub of the cradle of human culture (prominent palaeontologists have posited, after well over a decade of digging, that a chunk of the Southern Cape coastline could well be the birthplace of anatomically modern humans).
A story repeated many times after leaving the lips of a palaeontologist has it that the fossilised bones of a musselcracker fish found at the iconic Blombos Cave paleo site are possible evidence that eating fish provided early hominins with the cognitive leap required to take them over the developmental edge into modern humans, who started making and adorning themselves with early jewellery (shells) and what could be regarded as early face paint — ochre.
With ochre deposits having been found at various dig sites along the coastline, Forrester puts Lion Cavern into perspective, pointing out that the amount of ochre found at the Blombos Cave paleo site — close to ...
The oil producer’s stock slipped almost 7% after the announcement but recovered in early day trade.
Sasol shareholders experienced bitter disappointment on Tuesday, after Sasol issued a bleak trading statement for the six months that ended on 31 December, but on Wednesday, the sun shone once again on SA’s producer of synthetic fuels, as it clawed back some of its lost value.
The latest profit guidance wasn’t good news, as the Sens announcement saw the stock slipping by 6.9%, which wiped more than R13-billion off its market value.
However, on Wednesday, Sasol stock was a top gainer on the JSE, climbing 3.2% by midday.
Despite benefiting from the stronger oil price, refining margins and weaker rand-dollar exchange rate, the energy producer said it had been hit by weaker global economic growth, depressed chemicals prices and higher feedstock and energy costs.
Rail, ports and power hurdles
It said it had experienced several “operational challenges”, most notably in the mining business, where coal productivity and quality have been below par, which was exacerbated by supply chain constraints related to poor rail performance, the unavailability of port infrastructure affecting sales volumes, and power outages affecting suppliers and customers.
In the trading update, Sasol said its earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be between R21.55 and R23.98, compared with the prior half-year EPS of R23.98 (a decrease of between 0% and 10%). Core headline earnings per share are expected to be between R22.97 and R25.23 compared with the prior half-year of R22.52 (an increase of between 2% and 12%).
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to remain flat, in line with the R31.8-billion it reported last year.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Net impairments were R6.4-billion over this period, with the largest write-down being R8.1-billion in the Secunda liquid fuels refinery, based on macroeconomic price assumptions and input price pressures, which include higher electricity price forecasts and lower gas selling prices, and a reversal of R3.6-billion processed in 2019 against its Lake Charles project in Louisana, US.
On 1 September 2022, Reuters reported that Sasol had agreed to pay $24-million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by US investors claiming it deliberately understated the cost of its Louisiana chemical plant project. In October 2019, Sasol’s joint chief executives, Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell, were forced to resign as the company tried to repair the damage caused by the poor execution of the project.
Sasol ...
The Letšeng Diamond Mine in Lesotho has objected to reports that implicate the mine as one of the polluters releasing chemicals into the country’s rivers.
The Letšeng Diamond Mine claims that it was not given a right to reply to the findings set out in the story by the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism.
It also quotes an annual report by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) as proof that it is not guilty of polluting rivers that feed into Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
However, this LHDA 2020/21 annual report that the diamond mine quotes predates the LHDA’s confidential report which flags significant pollution by three mines, including Letšeng Diamond Mine. The findings of this confidential report are detailed in the report by the MNN.
The LHDA’s financial year ends on 31 March, which is the date that the information in the 2020/21 annual report would have been limited to. More than a year later, in May 2022, the LHDA compiled a confidential report based on water tests that detail the extent to which the Letšeng Diamond Mine as well as two other mines are polluting water sources that poor communities rely on for survival.
The story by MNN was initially published on its website in October 2022 and republished in Daily Maverick in January 2023.
Following the Daily Maverick publication, Letšeng Diamond Mine Chief Executive Kelebone Leisanyane wrote to this publication indicating that it was untrue that the mine was responsible for polluting waters destined for export to South Africa.
“Letšeng Diamonds is disappointed by the recent article published in your Daily Maverick newspaper as it is littered with factual inaccuracies and is alarmist in its tone, when the true facts demonstrate that there is no factual basis to the actual and implied assertions that Letšeng Diamonds is responsible for polluting waters that are destined for export to South Africa thereby imperilling this important industry in Lesotho. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Leisanyane said.
He attached a link to the LHDA’s 020/2021 Annual Report which he says confirms the water quality in the Katse and Muela Dams as “good” and that “the below graphs (page 25 of the 2020/2021 Annual Report) are also included in the LDHA Annual report, reporting Nitrate levels (NO3) of below 0.8mg/l since 2015, with no evidence of further assimilation of Nitrates over the 2015-2021 period.”
Besides the LHDA confidential report, MNN interviewed the then head of Lesotho’s ...
After breaking six months of declines in December, the BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index continued to improve in January. Yet, despite this positive movement, BankservAfrica warns that the improvement is likely to be ‘only a blip’ as the country continues to struggle with unabated rolling blackouts, rising interest rates and high inflation.
The BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (Beti) improved to an index level of 132.7 in January, showing a monthly increase of 0.4% and 0.3% year-on-year growth — though significantly lower than the all-time high of 143.5 in May last year.
Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica’s head of stakeholder engagements, notes that January was “fairly grim” with the recent wave of downward revisions to economic growth forecasts for South Africa. The South African Reserve Bank recently revised its growth forecast for 2023 from 1.1% to 0.3% for 2023. Naidoo says with average population growth running closer to 1.3% per annum, these growth rates imply that on a per capita basis, the average South African citizen will become poorer in 2023.
Like the Beti, other indicators held up reasonably well in January, except for the S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which shows business activity contracted to 48.7 points in January, registering below the 50.0 mark for the first time in three months. The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index moved sideways at 53.0 in January 2023 vs 53.1 in December.
The pace of vehicle sales growth moderated somewhat in January but remains 4.8% higher than a year earlier. Lara Hodes, an economist at Investec Bank, says persistent rolling blackouts, with producers having to run expensive diesel-powered generators, continue to weigh on producers’ overall cost base.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The employment index trended lower in January (below 50.0) following a strong uptick in December, suggesting that any improvement in staffing levels at the end of the year was temporary. A pick-up in sentiment and accordingly investment is needed to drive sustainable growth and significant job creation,” she says.
Globally, the latest JP Morgan Global Composite PMI — compiled by S&P Global across more than 40 economies and sponsored by JP Morgan — recorded a second successive monthly rise that has helped to allay concerns of a worldwide recession. At 49.8 in January 2023, up from 48.2 in December, the Global PMI signalled the smallest drop in output observed over the past six months.
The standardised nominal value of transactions cleared through BankservAfrica in January ...
Although many South Africans yearn to dump the state-owned power utility, fixing and maintaining Eskom’s power stations to boost energy availability is the quickest way to stabilise supply in the short to medium term. Although not cheap (or fast), it’s probably the most affordable means of providing the dispatchable energy needed to create space for long-overdue maintenance. This is part 2 of a series of three articles that address South Africa’s energy crisis.
“Why are we not harnessing more wind and solar energy at speed? Instead, we remain fixated on fixing Eskom. It cannot be fixed. It, like every other state-owned entity, is just about beyond repair — tragically so.”
This quote, from a recent Daily Maverick article by Freedom Under Law executive officer Judith February, reflects the sentiment of many who wish we could just say goodbye to Eskom as the solution to rolling blackouts. However, Eskom generates almost 90% of SA’s electricity and, while it may be an inconvenient truth, Eskom will be required to play a substantial role in South Africa’s energy sector for the foreseeable future.
What is possibly even more surprising, however, is that fixing Eskom is probably the quickest and most affordable way (albeit not cheap) to address SA’s energy crisis.
The energy crisis
In 2022, South Africa experienced rolling blackouts on more than 150 days, a 100% increase in the amount of electricity cut from 2021. It is anticipated that 2023 will be even worse, with energy expert Clyde Mallinson predicting “permanent load shedding at stage 4 levels through 2023”, as there is no short way of providing the dispatchable energy required to stabilise the power system and create the space for maintenance. It will probably take at least 12 to 24 months to achieve this.
Against this dark reality, the growing calls for the private sector to save the day are easily understandable. So too are the demands for the accelerated rollout of rooftop solar, both to allow municipalities to procure energy from independent power producers (IPPs) and to incentivise private households to go solar.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Informal settlements could drive South Africa’s rooftop solar revolution”
There are two primary ways for the private sector to add generative capacity — through government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and via the rollout of private embedded generation. Let’s evaluate the prospects of these options and their implications.
Failures of REIPPPP
REIPPPP, based on the auction model, was established in ...
Perhaps the second-biggest transformation that can quickly lift the mood in this country after fixing Eskom, is investment into the rural economy. Rural towns have been bleeding jobs for years.
Perhaps it is a bit like saying that water is wet if I mention here that the mood across South Africa right now is foul. There is a lot of anger about the electricity situation. Following closely behind that is unhappiness about water challenges, jobs, crime, gender-based violence, etc, etc.
The electricity situation in particular is an emergency. In fact, it has been for quite a while. Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe reminded us the other day that Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) has dropped from the high seventies to about 49%.
In a sobering reminder of what ordinary people across South Africa’s cities are going through whenever the lights go out, the Sowetan published a front-page listing people and businesses adversely affected by rolling blackouts. They were all struggling small businesses and “hustlers” – you know, people who have to bring in some money every day in order to put food on the table.
So, President Cyril Ramaphosa has his work cut out for him. South Africans will be following his State of the Nation address (#SONA23) very carefully to get answers.
I am not going to repeat the wish-list that all major media houses across the land have been churning out for weeks. I just want to do two things here.
First, I want to suggest a solution to the energy crisis that Ramaphosa has mooted before but never really put into practice. Second, I want to remind people that, believe it or not – and this is going to be very controversial – the electricity issue is not the number-one priority for a majority of South Africans.
To the first point, Eskom’s energy availability factor of 49% is a disaster. The causes, of course, are well known: an ageing coal fleet, construction issues with Medupi and Kusile, the brain drain at Eskom, rent seekers trying to hold the power utility hostage, and a hot international market that is buying a lot of the high-quality inputs that Eskom needs.
Read in Daily Maverick: “No, Joseph Mathunjwa, Biden isn’t forcing Ramaphosa to pick IPPs over baseload”
Ramaphosa has made reforms to improve electricity access and there is power coming online now more rapidly than has happened in the nation’s history. However, those efforts are being let down by the ...
Medicine shortages are common. But what happens when an effective medication runs short because people who the medicine isn’t intended for are depleting its stocks?
People with type 2 diabetes in South Africa have been left without one of their most effective — and cheaper — treatments because doctors are now also widely prescribing it as a weight-loss drug.
The medicine, Ozempic, is given as a weekly injection. The potentially life-saving drug can help people with type 2 diabetes — a condition that leads to almost as many people dying in South Africa as tuberculosis, the number one killer in the country.
There has been a shortage of the medication for about six months. Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, told activists the drug should be fully restocked this month.
People with type 2 diabetes have excessive sugar in their blood because their bodies don’t make enough insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar levels because the hormone tells the body’s cells to take up glucose (a type of sugar) and use it for energy.
If type 2 diabetes isn’t treated, it can cause blindness or lead to heart problems. Because untreated high blood sugar causes damage to nerves in the body and blocks blood flow by narrowing the blood vessels, it can result in limbs, including feet, having to be amputated.
Ozempic, which is made by Novo Nordisk, lowers the blood sugar of people with type 2 diabetes by causing the pancreas to release extra insulin when the person eats.
But it has another effect too: it helps to make you feel full for longer after meals, which reduces the desire to eat.
The medicine comes in a 1.5ml injection pen costing between R1,200 and R1,500. Depending on how much help a patient needs to control their blood sugar, a weekly dose of between 0.25mg and 2mg is prescribed. Each millilitre in the tube contains 1.34mg of the drug, so one pen can last between one and eight weeks.
In South Africa, Ozempic is registered to treat type 2 diabetes only.
But doctors also have the power to prescribe the medicine “off-label” — for reasons other than indicated on the package insert, which, in this case, is to help heavily overweight or obese people lose weight.
Someone is considered heavily overweight when their body mass index is 25 or higher, and obese when this number reaches 30 or more.
Ozempic is registered as a schedule 4 drug and can only be given by a ...
Fortified by pots of very strong coffee, this correspondent arose promptly at 4 am to watch the US president’s ‘State of the Union’ speech. It was really good theatre, even if the policy implications remain murky. The Biden administration still has a way to go in convincing the nation the president’s policies have turned the tide on the nation’s economic woes.
The American constitution requires the incumbent president to periodically report to the Congress on “the state of the union” (thus the SOTU as the name for the speech). For more than a hundred years this came in the form of a written report, until President Woodrow Wilson changed this to a face-to-face encounter 110 years ago. It has now become political theatre of a high (or, increasingly, low) order. This year was no exception, but this time around there was some fascinating, built-in, presumably pre-set, “gotcha” added to the mix.
Make no mistake, Joe Biden is never going to be remembered as a president who could deliver the kind of soaring oratory and ringing rhetoric that sets hearts on fire or leads whole populations into battle. But Biden has managed to perfect — in spite of a modest stutter that can set him off stride if he is not careful in his word choice — a way of delivering a speech that exudes a sense of just folks, speaking frankly and openly.
This penchant was on full display, Tuesday evening Washington time, in the House of Representatives chamber. Gathered there were all of the members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, the cabinet, the Supreme Court justices, and military leaders. In addition, there was an SRO upper gallery filled with invited guests, including the parents of Trey Nichols — the young Memphis man effectively beaten to death by a police mob.
Such invited attendance by non-government individuals is a tradition first made use of by President Ronald Reagan, who invited Lenny Skutnik, the man who had jumped into the freezing waters of the Potomac River (as he was driving home from work) in the middle of winter, to rescue passengers of a commercial jet that had crashed short of landing at the airport.
This tradition is now well-established for SOTU speeches and is now used consciously to punch up particular points mentioned in the speech itself — giving a particularly human face to what might otherwise be an abstract point. (Reagan’s had been ...
Protesters marched to the Cape Town Civic Centre on Wednesday, demanding an end to the abuse of landless and indigent people by law enforcement officers. They also want justice for Bulelani Qolani, who was dragged naked from his home by city employees during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Members of several housing rights movements marched to the Civic Centre in Cape Town on Wednesday to protest against the “physical and psychological abuse” they say landless people in informal settlements and other vulnerable populations experience at the hands of law enforcement.
About 200 protesters from Ndifuna Ukwazi, Intlungu yaseMatyotyombeni, Indibano Yabahlali, The Housing Assembly, Reclaim the City and the People’s Movement for Change moved through the centre of the city carrying signs with messages like, “Housing is a human right” and “Being poor is not a crime”.
“We feel that [law enforcement] are treating us with a very heavy hand,” said Kenneth Matlawe of The Housing Assembly.
“They are brutal, and there’s this thing of criminalising homeless people. you can see from their conduct that they treat us as less than human.”
The marchers demanded justice for Bulelani Qolani, a resident of eThembeni, Khayelitsha, who was dragged naked from his shack by Cape Town law enforcement during the 2020 lockdown.
Qolani’s case made headlines in July 2020 when a video of his ordeal was widely circulated on social media.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “High court censures City of Cape Town over Covid evictions”
Wednesday’s march was intended as a show of solidarity with Qolani, in light of his recently launched litigation against the City of Cape Town.
Bulelani Qolani to sue city
Qolani intends to sue the City of Cape Town for about R1.4-million in damages for physical assault, impairment of dignity, emotional shock, pain and suffering and other claims.
“Bulelani [Qolani] has been in settlement negotiations with the City of Cape Town since 2021. but the settlement negotiations were unsuccessful,” said Danielle Louw, a lawyer at Ndifuna Ukwazi.
“He has the right to claim compensation for the injuries. physical injuries, but more so the emotional injuries. as well as the harm to his dignity. The Sheriff has served the papers. The city must now respond within 15 days to say what their planned [response] is.”
Qolani told Maverick Citizen that he suffered trauma as a result of the encounter with law enforcement.
“[There is no] specific price to pay for dignity — that is why the court must take the decision,” he said.
“I’m not ...
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa has penned an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging him to take decisive action to address the energy crisis crippling the economy.
The letter — from the co-chairs of the Consumer Goods Council, Gareth Ackerman (chief executive of Pick n Pay) and Johann Vorster (chief executive of Clover SA) — points out that while large businesses have so far maintained operations and supply chains by using emergency generators, this has been at an unsustainable financial cost.
“It is crippling our businesses, and will in the end mean much higher prices for consumers, who are already under severe financial strain,” reads the letter.
“The deterioration of other essential infrastructure — including water, roads, rail and policing — all make our tasks, and those of thousands of other businesses around the country, even more difficult.
“If this crisis continues, we will not be able to guarantee stable supplies of food, medicines and other essential goods.”
The letter was signed by the chief executives of big businesses including British American Tobacco (East and Southern Africa), Bidfood, Massmart, Famous Brands, Exclusive Books, Magalies Citrus, Mars, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, PepsiCo and OBC.
Unplanned costs
A trading statement from Pick n Pay on Wednesday morning noted that, while load shedding had disrupted business, there were substantial unplanned costs incurred in running localised power generation for stores.
“The ongoing crisis in national electricity generation is having a profound impact on every part of society and the economy. All Pick n Pay and Boxer stores have backup power and are operational throughout load shedding. However, severe load shedding creates significant challenges.
“Customer demand is dampened as a result of disruption, inconvenience and a concern that food may spoil due to interruptions to power at home. The production of food and other goods is disrupted, creating stock challenges.
“Diesel generators are not designed to run for many hours on end, and suffer breakdowns,” the trading statement says.
Pick n Pay has spent an additional R346-million year-on-year on diesel to run generators at stores in the first 10 months of the current financial year, with costs concentrated over recent months, and is currently on a run-rate of about R60-million per month, depending on the stage of load shedding experienced.
For the six months to January, Shoprite reports spending R560-million on diesel to operate generators across supermarkets in South Africa to ensure uninterrupted trade during load shedding stages 5 ...
Since the stick is a variable motivator, some governments, when things are really desperate, resort to the carrot.
How do politicians in a democracy make things happen? It seems so obvious: politicians, supposedly representing their constituents (us), make rules in Parliament, otherwise known as laws, which determine the actions of the populace (us, again). But, you know, it never happens like that.
I often think one of the most deceptively revealing statements describing the complexity was issued by the president of post-war France, Charles de Gaulle, who asked, “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
Behind the notion of a rules-based society is the idea that people are innately disposed to obey the rules. You don’t have to be an anarchist to know this isn’t always the case. I suspect any and every parent knows instinctively that to get their sprogs to just damn well swallow some goop is not anywhere as simple as declaring that it shall be so. In some ways, societies are the same; rules have some adherence but generally, ruling a society is like herding cats.
So, since the stick is a variable motivator, some governments, when things are really desperate, resort to the carrot. And we saw a good example of that today when SA Revenue Service chief Edward Kieswetter suggested that he and the finance ministry had begun initial discussions on tax breaks for people or institutions that generate their own electricity.
In a way, it is natural that Kieswetter should be the one most open to the idea of this particular carrot. His job is to improve tax compliance and to increase the fiscal take for the government.
And at the moment two things are happening: First, rolling blackouts are decreasing economic activity. That in itself is likely to trigger lower tax revenue. And second, his compliant taxpayers are kinda grumpy because they have to use a more expensive power generation system than normal to keep their businesses going.
Kieswetter was really extraordinarily outspoken. He said South Africans were “gatvol” and he came extremely close to suggesting protest action. “It’s absolutely a fact that load shedding has a huge impact on economic activities and has crippled many companies,” he said.
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The amount that retailers are spending to keep their businesses open is almost incomprehensible. Pick n Pay reported it spent R360-million on diesel to run generators ...
Understanding the physical and economic risks posed by the climate transition is essential, as we start to position ourselves to approach the complex question of balancing energy security in the context of this transition.
The Collins Dictionary annually selects a word that describes the preceding year. This word is selected for the way it captures the general essence of the year in question: so, of course, 2020’s word was “lockdown”, and “vax” was chosen somewhat more hopefully for 2021.
The word chosen to describe the year 2022 was “permacrisis”, which it defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity arising from the combined crises of the war in Ukraine, the global energy crisis and global inflation”.
What the dictionary didn’t mention, is that 2022 also saw the widespread occurrence of climate-related crises across the globe — including the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal last August.
In this context of multi-dimensional, competing and ever-evolving crises, how then do we address the energy crisis and the just transition?
Perhaps what’s important, is to start by recognising that we are not talking about an either/or situation here. We are talking about the necessity to do both.
If we fail to tackle the energy crisis, we know we will not meet our development targets: we will undermine our GDP and exacerbate our already high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
If we fail to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and build domestic resilience to extreme weather events, we risk damage to human health and wellbeing, built infrastructure, and food and water security.
Equally significant will be ensuring that, as our major trading partners transition to greener forms of energy generation and industrial production, South African goods and services — all of which have a high carbon footprint — remain competitive.
The European Union, a major trade partner, is already introducing carbon border tariffs to protect investments in greener production from goods and services produced in carbon-intensive economies.
So understanding the physical and economic risks posed by the climate transition is essential, as we start to position ourselves to approach the complex question of balancing energy security in the context of that transition.
To negotiate our way through this complexity, I want to suggest we should consider five issues:
The first is the timing issue: our government has never advocated a sudden or precipitous move away from either coal-fired generation or towards a low-carbon economy. The National Development Plan and Eskom have talked about attaining net zero emissions ...
Intellectual arguments over politics, ideology, Western bias and cultural imperialism somehow all slip into insignificance in the face of the massive human suffering caused by natural and human-made disasters.
This Sunday past I mulled over the idea of writing about the increased vilification of “non-western” societies by Western intellectuals and their ideological affiliates around the world. The world and the abundance of reality have a habit of intruding on life. on Monday the horrors and hopelessness caused by the earthquake that shattered homes and lives of people in south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria, returned reality.
On Sunday, a red mist had descended over me when I read the column by Simon Tisdall in The Guardian/Observer, in which he called upon “the West. to play hardball” with the “two-faced ‘sultan’” — Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The basis for Tisdall’s advice to the West was that Erdoğan “betray[ed] Western interests in a pretence of partnership” that he be “treated as a liability, a threat — even ostracised as an enemy?”
Tisdall continued that “Turkey’s reliability and usefulness as a trusted Western ally is almost at an end,” saying that it was time to “admit that two-faced Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is no friend of the West” and that he be punished accordingly.
Let’s face it, that we refer to some countries as an “axis of evil” whether or not we like them or their leaders, is a construct of the Western gaze.
Just to be clear, in his column Tisdall listed very many domestic febrilities, frailties and fractures in Turkish society which cannot be ignored. However, to call upon “the West” to play hardball with Erdoğan because he no longer could be relied upon to secure “Western interests,” that he was “no friend of the West,” and he had outlived his “usefulness as a trusted Western ally” smacks of foreign policy advice that smacks of arrogance, bullying, stereotyping and a risible Ptolemaic parochialism.
Bluntly put, states that enjoy internal and external sovereignty do not exist for the sole purpose of being friendly and useful to the leading powers, and when they have outlived their usefulness, they should be disciplined and punished.
Reading Tisdall’s column, I was reminded of how General Augusto Pinochet carried out some of the worst post-war atrocities, but Washington and Whitehall continued their relationship with the Chilean dictator because he was a friend.
While Pinochet was under house arrest in Surrey in 1999, the former Chilean military dictator ...
Kareedouw Hospital has no backup generator during rolling blackouts.
The generator at Kareedouw Hospital in the Eastern Cape has been broken for several weeks, leaving the hospital without backup power during rolling blackouts. But the Eastern Cape Department of Health says this is not important.
The hospital, also known as BJ Vorster Hospital after the apartheid-era Prime Minister, serves thousands of families in the KouKamma Municipality, including people from settlements in the Tsitsikamma and Storms River areas.
Kareedouw, 120km from Gqeberha, is a small town whose economy is based on farming, forestry and tourism. The area is very hot in summer, prompting residents to fear that prolonged rolling blackouts coupled with the high temperatures may affect services at the hospital.
“Nurses are using cellphones to light the corridors when there’s load shedding because the generator is not working,” said a resident who recently visited the hospital.
A businessman in the town said the generator had not been operating for more than a month.
“It seems there is a big problem because I have witnessed technicians working on it on numerous occasions. The general sentiment among residents is that the childrens’ section and life-saving medical processes could be affected if there is prolonged load shedding,” said the businessman who asked not to be named.
Russel Rensburg of the Rural Health Advocacy Project said hospitals should all have functioning generators as backup. “It’s unacceptable that both management and provincial authorities have not addressed the situation.”
When GroundUp visited, there were no rolling blackouts and the lights were on. We tried to speak to the chief executive officer of the hospital but he was at a funeral. No one else on the staff wanted to talk on the record about the generator.
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The Democratic Alliance’s shadow Minister for Health Jane Cowley wrote to Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth at the end of January complaining that the generator was not working.
Crowley wrote, “The generator at the BJ Vorster Hospital in Kareedouw malfunctioned at the start of the year, endangering patients’ lives whenever load shedding is being implemented. Three weeks have passed, but it has still not been repaired.
“Nurses are now forced to bring torches with them to work, while critical life-saving procedures must be scheduled according to the latest load shedding schedules. How is it possible that babies are being delivered by torchlight?”
Spokesperson for the provincial department of health Yonela Dekeda confirmed ...
A conscious and detailed strategy is needed to restore legal and ethical practice in the South African economy, with the business sector providing an uncompromising lead, not backmarking.
It takes two to tango. Blame for the infamous “Zupta” State Capture decade has mainly focused upon a corrupt president and his cronies. But South African and global businesses were culpable too.
The SA Revenue Service wouldn’t have been disabled without Bain & Co carrying out former president Jacob Zuma’s personal instructions to do that. Nor could the Guptas have laundered billions out of the country without banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered and Baroda enabling them to do so.
And the sorry story continues to this day, with ministers and councillors still wanting backhanders to dispense contracts to companies eager for the work and willing to pay.
It is high time the business community owned up and ostracised anybody still playing this game. Because if that happened, corrupt politicians and officials would have their looting massively curbed.
Most businesspeople moan about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s snail-like anti-corruption reforms. Yet implementation of the Zondo Commission’s 2022 report doesn’t only fall to the president and the law enforcement agencies.
South Africa’s business community must also provide a lead to stop the country becoming a “Mafia state”. Witness sabotage at Eskom and Transnet, assassinations, organised crime in the public and private sectors, extensive procurement corruption, disruption of transport, insurrectionary outbreaks, brazen theft of metals and attacks on the Constitution by leading politicians.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
It is no exaggeration to say that business slept through the State Capture years. And, at least until recently, was still doing so: witness the initial embrace of Bain & Co by Business Leadership South Africa, followed by an outcry hastily reversing that embrace. Indefensible, especially after Judge Zondo had found the company to have acted unlawfully, and recommended the NPA prosecute.
An important forum organised by the UK South Africa Chamber of Commerce, with Pretoria University’s business school, Gibs, on 15 February 2023, will be asked to endorse a new programme of measures.
These include an uncompromising refusal to pay backhanders for public procurement contracts. Also a refusal by consultants and lawyers to sanctify wrongdoing – in either state-owned enterprises or government – with “whitewashing” reports.
Brave anti-corruption whistle-blowers like Athol Williams, who exposed Bain, need to be encouraged and protected, not hounded, penalised and shunned by South African business.
Business Leadership SA, Business ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
The ANC has committed a moral and ethical injustice against the people of this country. That means the people of South Africa have a moral obligation to overthrow, remove, reject, abandon and thereby discipline the party.
As I work with leaders in civil society, especially those from the black community, I have witnessed a deep loyalty to the ANC accompanied by a deep sadness. Loyalty, because the ANC is the liberation movement to which many black civil society leaders owe their freedom.
A loyalty that goes deeper than a passive sense of having been liberated by the ANC, they are themselves “ANC people”. They grew up in the movement. They were the foot soldiers of the liberation Struggle and the ANC was their home. Of late their loyalty is accompanied by a deep sadness.
I’ve seen a similar sadness among people who grew up in a home with a parent or partner who suffers from substance abuse such as alcoholism. They love the person but resent the abuse and neglect at the hand of their beloved. Their deep loyalty causes them to suppress their resentment and settle into a paralysis of sadness about what could have been, had this person not been an abuser.
This is the state of the ANC now – the party has become an abuser. The abuse of public resources and of public trust has translated into an abuse of the public itself. Every time an ANC councillor or MP steals from the public purse, they rob and pillage the people who put their trust in the ANC.
Can the ANC be redeemed?
For a time, those loyal to the ANC lamented that the party must be saved and can be reformed. They never asked the deeper question: can the ANC be saved from itself? Like the victim of substance abuse, the ANC cannot be saved from an addiction that it does not want to be liberated from.
The ANC has proven time and again that it has become addicted to its abuse of power over the past two decades. The current energy crisis has, for instance, resulted directly from the combination of ANC ineptitude, factional vacillation on policy options and the direct looting of the state-owned entity. Look around and you’ll see ANC abuse everywhere.
How to overthrow the ANC
The danger is that the leaders in civil society have grown too tired and dejected. I see in their eyes the conundrum of their ...
The 3D printer at the University of Johannesburg can complete a house in one day. The finished house is stronger, can handle fire better, and is better insulated than conventional houses.
Access to decent housing which is safe and close to essential services such as schools and health is a basic human right.
In response to the quest for human rights, the Republic of South Africa adopted a Constitution in 1996. Section 26 of this Constitution states that “everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing” and “the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.”
South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world — we have held this title for a few consecutive years now. The stark division between the haves and the have-nots is apparent with a simple drive through our cities — informal settlements adjacent to high rises are not uncommon. It is symptomatic of South Africa’s broader socioeconomic context.
In 2021, research from the Academy of Science of South Africa (Assaf) and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) indicated that the backlog in urban housing is more than 2.4 million houses, with many families living in informal settlements.
According to Statistics South Africa, approximately 2,600 informal settlements in South Africa accommodate about 1.4 million households. History has demonstrated that South Africa can construct over 160,000 homes per year in the government-subsidised sector and 80,000 homes per year in the private sector.
However, since 2009, the delivery of government-subsidised houses has dropped at an alarming rate, indicating that the government and the private sector require significant intervention. There has been a clarion call for sustainable solutions to address this crisis, particularly with growing urbanisation trends.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has two objectives: to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and to attain the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In response to the South African housing crisis, in 2022 UJ invested in 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, to address SA’s social housing backlog. This was done alongside the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), which has extensively researched the impact of this project.
Stakeholders such as the Mampeule Foundation, a non-profit organisation aimed at improving the quality of life and access to opportunities for marginalised communities across South Africa, have provided R5-million grants spanning over five years to postgraduate students studying engineering ...
But Masiphumelele’s boxing gym is forced to roll with the punches in dealing with hardly any equipment.
Almost every day, a group of children in Masiphumelele can be found stretching, running laps, learning jabs, ducking and punching techniques and other exercises. They are training to become boxers, yet there is no boxing gym in this township in the south of Cape Town.
To train, Masi-Cape Eagles Boxing Club use a multi-purpose hall at the Sosebenza youth centre and the home of Ntsikelelo “Witness” Moyi, who is the founder of the club. The club trains from Monday to Thursday. If it is available, they train at the Southpaw boxing studio in Sun Valley on weekends, about 4km from Masiphumelele.
Moyi said he always loved boxing but, growing up in Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape, the sport wasn’t accessible. He has been living in Masiphumelele for over 20 years now and there are still no boxing clubs in the township. Both of Moyi’s sons box. He says that this inspired him to start the club in October 2022.
Moyi says there isn’t much for children to do in Masiphumelele after school. Boxing instils “discipline”, he says, and teaches children to respect themselves, their bodies and those around them.
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There are about 20 children currently in the club and it is free to join. Moyi is using all his own equipment including a punching bag and two sets of gloves that are too big for the children.
At the youth centre, there is an unused structure that Moyi is hoping to refurbish into a gym but they are still searching for the resources to do that.
Moyi says that they need punching bags, speed balls, skipping ropes, band bandages, protective headgear, gum guards, fighting kits and people to help build the gym. “I have nothing,” he says.
Athi Msindeli says that there aren’t any recreational activities available for children in Masiphumelele anymore. The soccer pitch has now been covered over and used for housing. He says that “I see them [children] drinking,” and that projects like this can keep them busy and tire them out.
Msindeli’s role in the club is more than just a boxing coach. He helps children with their schoolwork and encourages them to excel. He says that boxing is interesting because though it can be dangerous, you have to “play it cool and wise”.
One day, Moyi says, he ...
The only way to tangibly bring hope to all is by directing the bulk of the City of Cape Town’s efforts, time, investment, budget and care towards areas where poverty still defines and circumscribes life chances for so many people.
As Stephen Grootes says in “Head and shoulders above – Cape Town’s success could become a key issue in 2024 elections,” (Daily Maverick, 30 January 2023) the “kitchen table issues” of local government are becoming an increasingly important factor for voters in national government elections.
I couldn’t agree more. It is at the coal face of service delivery, at street level, that governments have nowhere to hide. It is here that citizens get to see the good, the bad and the ugly in crystal clarity.
While large parts of South Africa face widespread service delivery collapse, Cape Town is bucking this trend. Grootes mentions many new investments flowing into the city, big construction projects, and great feedback about the council’s swift response to reported faults.
He also points out that Capetonians already suffer fewer rolling blackouts than the rest of South Africa, and that this gap will get even bigger in future thanks to steps taken to augment electricity supply from non-Eskom sources, including our new effort to buy excess self-generated power from households and businesses.
This is a critical part of Cape Town’s future planning. We are on track to protect residents from the first four stages of load-shedding, and eventually to end rolling blackouts completely.
The provision of electricity is not the only space in which the City of Cape Town is fighting to take on duties beyond its mandate in local government. There are two other areas in which we are currently advocating for a devolution of power and responsibility from national government to the City of Cape Town in order to better protect and serve residents here.
One of these is policing where, together with the Western Cape Provincial Government, we have been steadily augmenting the under-resourced SAPS numbers with officers trained through our Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) programme. The other is taking over the running of the city’s passenger rail service, Metrorail.
Evidence around the world suggests that capable local governments that are close to communities and understand the complexity of the local challenges are best placed to solve those challenges.
Grootes also correctly raises the subject of Cape Town’s spatial and social inequality, and how people in different parts of the Metro ...
Deteriorating security in Democratic Republic of the Congo raises questions about the Nairobi and Luanda processes.
Leaders of East African countries meeting in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura on 4 February again called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) conflict. The region was plunged into violence after the M23 rebel group relaunched its offensives in March 2022.
As diplomatic relations between neighbouring countries worsened, the East African Community brokered the Nairobi Process in November 2022. It is one of two recent efforts to address the crisis — the other being the Luanda Process.
The two initiatives have different but complementary formats. While Nairobi focuses on armed groups, Luanda addresses the DRC-Rwanda political dimensions — a reminder of the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region, which has not been implemented.
The Nairobi Process calls for an immediate ceasefire, the repatriation of foreign militaries, and adherence by local armed groups to the newly established Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Program. It authorises the deployment of a regional force in eastern DRC to confront those who don’t heed the disarmament call.
The November 2022 Luanda mini-summit was attended by the presidents of Angola, the DRC and South Sudan. Rwanda’s representation by its foreign affairs minister instead of president Paul Kagame could have been interpreted as a lack of prioritisation by that country.
Luanda endorsed the Nairobi decisions and demanded an end to hostilities by 25 November 2022, the withdrawal of M23 and other armed movements, and the deployment of the East African regional force. The meeting also insisted on ending support to rebels and normalising diplomatic relations.
Before this, the July 2022 Angola, DRC and Rwanda tripartite summit had signed the Luanda roadmap for peace in eastern DRC. Most of the points later adopted in Nairobi and Luanda were discussed at the July meeting, indicating a flurry of resolutions with not enough follow-through.
As negotiations continued, so did the fighting. M23 gained more territory, with little resistance from the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). Apart from M23, many other groups remain active and are used as proxies by the DRC and its neighbours.
Given Rwanda’s alleged support of M23, and the challenges facing DRC’s defence forces, a ceasefire in the immediate future isn’t likely. Since November 2022, atrocities committed by various groups have continued in North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Reports of Eastern European mercenaries complicate the ...
It was with great shock and sadness to learn of the sudden passing away of Morena Ashley Mabogoane on Friday, 3 February following a short struggle with lung cancer at the youthful age of 64.
It is true that it often takes sadness to know what happiness is, noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence.
Our hearts are shattered that Morena Ashley Mabogoane left us so early while our economic freedom is still an unfinished project, our people still live in a divided country scarred by State Capture and maimed by corruption, a people born in pain and delivered in blood, baptised in crime and swimming in lawlessness, clothed in misery and robed in destitution, stripped of confidence and deprived of hope, robbed of ambition and denied respect, torn apart by violence and divided by racism, defined by inequality and shaped by poverty and still desperate for cleansing and crying for healing.
It was Martin Luther King Junior in 1967’s Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence who poignantly implores us that, “s/he who accepts evil without protesting against it, is really cooperating with it”. Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. It was Archbishop Emeritus Mpilo Desmond Tutu who pricks our conscience when he reminds all that, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.
It was the late Zapu leader and later Zanu-PF co-leader, Joshua Nkomo who lamented that, ‘the hardest lesson of my life has come to me late. It is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.’
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Morena Ashley Mabogoane was my elder in business, neighbour in Benoni and a family friend who waged a gallant and galactic struggle for emancipation in general and economic freedom, in particular of black people. This was exacerbated by the earlier calling to higher order of his inseparable comrade, the late Dr Jabulane Albert Mabuza.
With other executives and our lifetime partners, we would regularly go on conferences and trips. I remember, like it was just the other day, when we went to the launch of the Toyota Landcruiser Prado VX at Gerotec, the Audi Q7 later, took the Transnet’s Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town when Tata Sakumuzi Macozoma was Transnet’s Group CEO, Morena Mbhazima Shilowa the Premier of Gauteng, and so on.
He was among the ...
Fillet steak, rare, medium rare, or well done (if you must). But can you cook it successfully in an air fryer? Yes, you can.
People have love-hate relationships with fillet steak. It’s regarded as the least flavourful of beef steak cuts – the easy option which is almost certain to turn out tender, and that is a fillet steak’s trump card.
But other cuts, whether sirloin, the confoundingly complex rump (it comprises up to five muscles – how are you supposed to cook all that evenly?), or the perplexing T-bone, are inevitably more flavourful. Me, I’m a fan of picanha, but we’ll get to that one AirFryday soon.
There’s another way of seeing a fillet steak: its relative “lack” of flavour (I actually love its subtle natural taste) enables it to soak up other flavours that are cooked with it. Hence, fillet steak being far and away the best cut for pepper steak. And Chateaubriand is not lauded as a prince among beef cuts for nothing.
Now let’s talk about the bloody “blood” in a raw steak. Or a rare or even a medium one. The “blood” in meat isn’t blood at all. It just looks “bloody”. In fact, it’s water mixed with myoglobin. As much as 75% of the red “blood” in your meat is water. It only needs a mind switch, and if you are dubious, read this.
As with almost anything I now cook (or at least give a try) in an air fryer, I was sceptical of how a fillet steak would turn out. I like to see a steak while it cooks in a pan – to be able to touch it to assess its tenderness, to enjoy the process with eyes as well as nose.
A steak cooking in an air fryer is out of sight, relatively, and depending on the brand you own and whether it has a window one can see through.
But I cooked fillet steaks in my air fryer, very successfully, and made a pepper sauce on the stove top, then served it with air fryer chips on the side.
(Per 1 portion of steak, sauce serves 2-4)
Ingredients
1 x 300 g fillet steak per portion
2 Tbsp melted butter
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste (yes, more)
Cooking oil spray
Method
Preheat the air fryer to 200℃. Spray the basket with cooking oil spray.
Melt the butter in a pot or in the microwave. Brush the butter on to the steak/s on both sides, ...
It’s not required that you taste a fresh black winter truffle before you die. Millions of people die happily without this experience. But once you do taste — and, above all, smell — the real thing, you’ll probably want to do it again.
I was a grown woman when I smelled the king of black truffles, Tuber melanosporum, also known as the Périgord truffle, for the first time. It was a case of fascination at first whiff. It wasn’t the reason I chose to live close to the village of Richerences in the southeast of France, where the world’s biggest truffle market is hosted each winter, but it was one of the big attractions of Provence. I ended up spending more than 20 years sniffing truffles in winter.
Now it looks as if I’m going to spend the next 20 years in the only other French region famous for this particular fungus. Although most Périgord truffles are cultivated in Provence, my new pied à terre is in Périgord in the southwest, which has long been the main processing hub of the eponymous delicacy.
In fact, Périgord did not only give its name to the truffle, but the truffle also changed the name of the region. The Black Périgord around Sarlat is called black because of the colour of the truffle, just as the Purple Périgord around Bergerac is named after the grapes and wine from this vicinity.
Once again, I didn’t choose to live here because of the truffles.
But they do add a distinct joy to living in this part of the world, I decided a fortnight ago on the ancient market square of Sarlat, where the annual truffle festival was celebrated for the first time after the Covid hiatus. Sarlat, apparently the town with the highest density of listed historical buildings per square metre in France, obviously has many other attractions. But on that bright Sunday morning, strolling from one stand to the next to savour an astonishing variety of truffle titbits, I couldn’t think of any better reason for being here in winter.
This gourmet product was once the most expensive food per weight on earth, and with prices often reaching above €1,000 per kilogram it is still far from affordable. Fortunately you need only a few grams to make a luxurious omelette or delicious pasta or — the ultimate luxury — to enjoy some raw slivers on a slice of toasted baguette ...
Andries died a week after being stabbed during a reported altercation. The suspect remains at large amid an ongoing police investigation.
Hundreds of people came together outside the residence of football player Oshwin Andries, to honour his legacy. A memorial service for the 19-year-old player was held on Tuesday 7 February in Klapmuts.
Death of Oshwin Andries
The Stellenbosch FC player passed away on Saturday, after he was readmitted to hospital due to complaints about severe pain. Oshwin was stabbed on 29 January in Mandela City, Klapmuts while at a local tavern, according to reports.
Following an heated altercation with an unidentified assailant earlier in the evening, Oshwin was reportedly stabbed in the head and the back after the suspect followed him to the tavern. Oshwin was taken to Stellenbosch hospital and was discharged on Monday morning, but his pain persisted until he eventually was readmitted to Paarl hospital.
No arrests have been made regarding Oshwin’s killer, according to Captain Nowonga Sukwana, police spokesperson in a statement. “He was treated for a stab wound and due to complications, he was turned back to the hospital. Circumstances around his stabbing are still under investigation,” said Sukwana.
A community in mourning
Oshwin, who passed away weeks before his 20th birthday, played as a midfielder and defender. Last year, he captained the South African team in the under-20 Afcon Cosafa qualifiers.
Community members from across the wider Stellenbosch area filled the street where Oshwin’s residence was located. Other Stellenbosch FC players were also present, including Lee Langeveldt, the club’s goalkeeper. Langeveldt called Oshwin talented, committed, hard-working, funny and “one of the best”.
“When he played he always gave his best. He made his debut with Orlando Pirates, one of the biggest teams in South Africa and Africa. He was man of the match for that game. That already tells you everything. He had a bright future and he would have gotten so far,” said Langeveldt.
Langeveldt said it is a pity what happened to Oshwin and that his death is a big loss for the team and the community, Klapmuts and beyond.
Words from the family
Community members also lined up the street to personally show support for Oshwin’s family, which included his mother Natasha Andries, his older brother Lee-Irwin Andries and his younger brother Teshwin Andries.
The day had its difficulties for the family, Natasha told Daily Maverick. “It’s crying, then you’re alright, then you cry again, then you’re alright. With more people, then you’re ...
Things have grown much worse for ordinary South Africans, according to the numbers that tell the economic story as well as the heartbreaking stories behind those stats.
Dear friends,
It was heartbreaking to read your stories about the impacts of escalated-stage power cuts on your life. This week, we are about to hit the ignominious record of 100 straight days of power cuts, usually at higher stages. Eskom has been hitting us with load shedding for 15 years now but this is the longest stretch of continual rotational cuts – our new normal.
We’ve read many impact study reports, but they usually concern the macro-economic impact: the numbers that tell the economic story. Your testimonies, read together, tell the human story.
What is immediately striking is that things are much, much worse than the last time we asked. A briefing note by Meridian Economics has found that load shedding was four times higher in 2022 than in 2021, and the trajectory for 2023 is even worse.
Then, rolling blackouts were an irritation, but are now causing a major dislocation in your lives, work, businesses, your personal economies and, most painfully, your mental health. All of you have reported damages and losses of some kind – the most common is that appliances have fried and huge amounts of food have had to be thrown out. Gate motors and alarm systems have also blown and there has been an increase in home invasions, robberies and burglaries at your homes and businesses.
The impacts on your work and businesses is severe, mirroring the impacts on small and medium-sized businesses. Higher stages of load shedding often mean that inverters or batteries can’t get through the entire power cut, so productivity goes down. Many of you have lost business, lost deals and either lost jobs or had to retrench people as power cuts roil through our country. Those of you in services or with contracts with companies abroad say that global clients are increasingly wary of South Africa’s on again, off again power, and jobs or contracts are becoming harder and harder to find. Teachers tell us how impossible it is to teach in hot-as-hell classrooms when teaching aids can’t be powered. Farmers can’t keep lands irrigated. Academics are losing out on teaching and research time. The list is endless. You are angry with the government, as you should be. Many of you are on to second or third battery back-up ...
South Africa’s richest metro, Johannesburg, is now in the control of minority parties, with a mayor representing a party with just three seats in council. Among the 10 MMCs appointed is controversial businessman, ex-convict and ‘Sushi King’-turned politician Kenny Kunene.
The City of Johannesburg ordinarily appoints 10 councillors to serve as mayoral committee members (MMCs), but when recently elected mayor Thapelo Amad appointed those he would work with, he opted for eight councillors and two non-councillors.
They are: Kenny Kunene, the deputy president of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), appointed MMC for transport; and Ennie Makhafola, MMC for health and social development. They had to be first sworn in as councillors, then as MMCs.
Amad said the decision was “in the interest of drawing from the pool of skills which exist outside of council”.
This decision to co-opt the likes of Kunene has already been met with public criticism, with some lambasting his lack of credentials and experience.
In an interview with Daily Maverick, Kunene was not oblivious to the lack of confidence expressed in him hours after being sworn in as transport MMC in the City of Gold. But he warned it was “a nonsensical argument”.
He referred to the DA’s federal chairperson, Hellen Zille, who became a mayor despite not having any council experience, as well as ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who was “parachuted” into the mayorship despite a lack of council experience.
Instead of the criticism, Kunene believes Joburg’s more than seven million residents should be “grateful” that he took up the position. “They must be happy that I have taken the decision to be part of service delivery leadership, because those pretending to be moralists have failed our people.”
The PA was instrumental in ousting DA mayor Mpho Phalatse through a successful motion of no confidence last month, after talks between the DA (71 seats) and PA (eight seats) failed, with the former accusing the latter of being corrupt.
The DA already enjoyed the support of parties including ActionSA (44 seats) and the Freedom Front Plus (four seats).
The city is now in the control of the minority parties, with Amad coming from Al Jama-ah with just three council seats, and Speaker Colleen Makhubele of COPE which has a single seat. This came after the ANC (91 seats) and the EFF (29 seats) failed to agree on who should lead the city after the removal of Phalatse.
Subs to add Seats in joburg metro graphic after local elections
Read ...
The potentially life-changing Women’s Premier League auction will happen at the same time that the Women’s T20 World Cup action is on the go. While this could prove to be a distraction, the impact is far-reaching.
For so long women’s cricket has been an afterthought in the global game to men’s cricket. This is still the case with the Women’s Premier League (WPL) — the women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) — taking shape a full 15 years after the inaugural version of the IPL.
But the fact that the tournament is the most lucrative in women’s cricket — based on the sale of media rights and franchise ownership rights — is a start in changing the narrative and putting women’s cricket on the forefront of the global game.
WPL media rights were sold for $117-million (R2.05-billion) and the five franchises were sold for a total of $570-million (R10.03-billion).
In the words of Bob Dylan: “The times they are a-changin’”.
Tight schedule
The WPL auction takes place on Monday 13 February, three days after the start of the Women’s T20 World Cup which starts on Friday 10 February at Newlands with a clash between South Africa and Sri Lanka.
The timing is less than ideal with many of the world’s best cricketers fighting for national glory while a potentially life-changing personal payday happens in the background.
“It’s the elephant in the room,” Sophie Devine, the New Zealand captain, said at the T20 World Cup captains’ press conference.
“It’s a really unique experience. It’s enormous. You talk about glass ceilings and I think the WPL is going to be the next stage.”
“I am really excited about it. As female cricketers, this is something we have never been through before. On every scale, it’s going to be awkward. That’s the word we have spoken about.”
While there will only be five teams competing in the inaugural WPL from 4 to 26 March, there are plans to extend the tournament in following years, depending on its success.
The five WPL teams will each have a budget of around R26-million to spend on between 15 and 18 players to fill their squad.
409 players will go under the hammer including 17 South Africans. Interestingly, Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez — who both retired from international cricket — are both among the 17.
Du Preez quit the international game because of a combination of South Africa not offering T20 national contracts — white-ball contracts include ...
The passing of legendary Cape wine phenomenon Dave Hughes this week has reverberated loudly in the South African wine industry, prompting choruses of approval of his exceptional talents and wit, and not a few delectable anecdotes. But all stories have to start somewhere, so let’s start this one on the Blue Train, one balmy night in 1995.
I went on a swirling, swigging, singing, but hardly ever spitting, wine safari once. Everyone you needed to know in the Cape wine industry and wine writing community was there, and it was the moment when, as a much younger journalist, I found myself accepted by this extraordinary, wild bunch of connoisseurs and occasional miscreants, some of whom are friends to this day.
It was dubbed the Swirling, Swigging, Singing Safari Tour and it happened, mostly, on the Blue Train from Pretoria to Victoria Falls. It was organised by Dave Hughes, even then a deep veteran of wine tasting, matchless wine knowledge and writing, and who has died at the age of 84 after living a truly splendid life.
It began at the old, much smaller, Cape Town Airport, or DF Malan as it was known then, one morning, where we gathered and shook hands before boarding an SAA flight to Pretoria. There, we boarded the Blue Train and headed north through a much younger and more stable Zimbabwe, destination Victoria Falls.
Let me tell you that much of it passed in a glorious haze, because if a wine writer tells you that he or she always uses the spittoon, he or she is almost certainly lying. Most of it went down, and glasses were topped up without hesitation by anyone in the vicinity when your glass appeared to be even remotely approaching empty.
What a motley bunch. John and Erica Platter, the inimitable Duimpie Bayly, wine eccentric Jos Baker, occasional faux French accent and all, gracious and graceful Phyllis Hands with her naughty chuckle, the ebullient man-of-wine Bennie Howard of the former SFW and later Distell, and of course the man himself, Dave Hughes, with his Father Christmas beard, his eyes alive with intelligence and a kindness that shone through his every gesture and word, illustrated by an ironic chuckle.
No one in the industry was ever humbler and less pretentious than Dave Hughes. No one hosted a wine event or tasting like Dave Hughes did, not least the annual pre-Nederburg Auction tastings year after year. Even as ...
Women journalists continue to be silenced, harassed and threatened, and social media is making it worse.
This is a lightly edited extract from the book Women Journalists in South Africa: Democracy in the Age of Social Media, edited by Glenda Daniels and Kate Skinner (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2022).
Unchecked sexism
Patriarchy, as reflected in society at large, is mirrored in the media with the practices of gender stereotyping, which reproduce discrimination and gender bias, the assigning of women to soft beats, as well as the persistence of a gender pay gap between men and women. The women journalists’ responses to the survey questions revealed that policies, new practices and different organisational cultures were needed to deepen equality and bring about a more inclusive and radical democracy.
The old boys’ network was alive and well, but now it was black and not white. Men in senior positions make editorial decisions, within reference groups comprising their social circles and on the sports circuits, for example, soccer fields and golf courses, which exclude women, blocking the rise of capable women. For women, whether it was the black or white boys’ clubs, however, the effect was the same: the old boys’ clubs worked in “subtle ways”, embedded in patriarchal culture.
As Respondent 3 noted: “Women are excluded from the informal discussions which precipitate much of the decisions taken by senior editorial management (in bars, after-work drinking sessions, sports grounds).” Despite the fact that women do most of the work in the newsroom, in their experience, they felt overlooked for top positions because “the men, who do far less work, have time for self-promotion and networking, which facilitates their entry into the top tier” (Respondent 4). This was a common theme.
Further, women journalist respondents felt that men were still taken more seriously for promotion than they were. They observed that they were paying “the family penalty” for taking maternity leave from time to time, while sexist stereotypes of them as “emotional” continued to prevail. The comments on sexism experienced in the professional working lives of women journalists appear to be a pattern that has persisted year after year, and the job loss crisis as well as the lack of active trade unions in the media space allow this to go unchecked (Daniels, 2020).
Read in Daily Maverick: “We should all be feminist and demand a destruction of gender hierarchy”
Cyberspace, as an unregulated domain in the public sphere, holds threats that women ...
There is a real possibility that a decade of progress in reading outcomes was lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2023 Reading Panel report paints a picture of a country in the grips of a reading crisis, with no national plan on how to break free.
The end is nowhere in sight for South Africa’s reading crisis. New estimates of learning losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic show that the country has lost significant ground in the battle to ensure all children can read for meaning.
The “2023 Reading Panel Background Report” puts the percentage of Grade 4 children who cannot read for meaning in any language at 82%, compared to 78% pre-pandemic. The new estimate is based on research conducted in 2021, which saw all Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners in the Western Cape tested in language.
“When it comes to reading, we need massive investment so that we can break the back of the problem as we have it today,” said Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, chairperson of the 2030 Reading Panel. “We must make sure that we invest for the long term. we know that at this point we are in a critical situation.”
Mlambo-Ngcuka was speaking at the 2023 conference of the 2030 Reading Panel on Tuesday, 7 February. The event was attended by more than 100 delegates representing 60 organisations from business, civil society, academia and the education sector.
If South Africa maintains a pre-pandemic improvement trajectory from the current estimate of Grade 4 reading outcomes, it will take 86 years to reach a point where 95% of children can read for meaning, according to the reading panel report. The year will be 2108.
“If we wanted to have some significant improvement in that number, there would need to be significant reforms,” said Nic Spaull, secretary of the 2030 Reading Panel and associate professor of economics at Stellenbosch University.
“We listed things like fundamental reforms around the way that teachers are recruited, the way that they’re trained, the way that they’re certified. how education is financed, and also the resourcing of schools. None of those things are possible without tackling the politics that’s involved in South African education.”
The “wheels are coming off” as early as Grade 1 and 2 when it comes to reading ability, according to Spaull. Analysis of new datasets from over 40,000 South African learners showed that less than 50% of children had learned the letters of the alphabet by ...
Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter says the majority of South Africans are completely disenchanted, ‘quite rightly so, with the current state of affairs, the lack of delivery, the slow progress that has been made and particularly, most in-your-face today, the inordinate disruption to social and economic activity brought by load shedding'.
“It’s absolutely a fact that load shedding has a huge impact on economic activities and has crippled many companies. Before recent articles about small businesses not being able to cope, larger businesses made similar announcements so we expect it to have a material impact on our ability to collect revenue. Secondly, we also find that during times of crisis, people are more likely to be ultra-conservative and where there is an opportunity to take the opportunity to withhold paying taxes, so our [Sars] debt book grows considerably,” he says.
Kieswetter was not pulling punches in a frank discussion with journalist Alishia Seckham at a PSG Think Big webinar yesterday.
In the last year, Sars had to resolve 2.2-million cases requiring follow-ups in the form of a phone call, a message and/or a letter and Kieswetter says tireless work by Sars officials in this regard netted almost R60-billion in tax revenue.
New provisions needed to address energy crisis
On the subject of potential tax rebates and incentives to help South Africans deal with the energy crisis, Kieswetter offered his opinion as both a South African citizen and the Sars commissioner. He points out that the last tax amendment in respect of renewable energy was made in 2016 when the accelerated depreciation allowance on renewable energy was amended from three years (50% – 30% – 20%) to an even quicker depreciation allowance of 100% over one year. This effectively translates to a 28% discount on companies’ investment in renewable energy resources.
“I believe that when that was introduced, we would not have been as consciously aware of the extent to which the energy crisis would regress and what other instruments we need to respond to it. I have already engaged my colleagues (National Treasury) to say we should be reviewing what additional provisions we can make to provide some relief and some incentive for people to become more self-sufficient,” he says.
Visit“>Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Retailer Pick n Pay revealed this morning that it is spending around R60-million a month on diesel costs, depending on the stage of rolling blackouts. The retailer spent R346-million ...
Legendary wine personality Dave Hughes’s passing this week is grieved by the South African wine industry and the wider world. David Louis Hughes, South African wine icon, died peacefully in Stellenbosch on Monday, 6 February 2023 at the age of 84.
The late Duimpie Bayly used to often joke that when Jan van Riebeeck arrived in South Africa in 1652, Dave Hughes was already here to greet him.
South Africa celebrated its wine industry’s 364th birthday on 2 February 2023 – the only wine industry in the world that knows precisely when it began because Van Riebeeck wrote in his diary on 2 February 1659: “Today, praise be to God, wine was pressed for the first time from the Cape grapes.” A decade earlier, it was only the second year that this event was marked with great fanfare at what was to become an annual gathering at Groot Constantia. Honoured on 2 February 2013 as one of the icons of South African wine was Dave Hughes.
Hughes has left a tangible mark on the South African wine fraternity. He was known for his humility and kindness but was always modest about his impressive accomplishments. His career, which encompassed winemaking, distilling, journalism, consultancy and international wine and spirit judging, began in the land of his birth, the former Rhodesia, where he worked for African Distillers.
Hughes came to South Africa in 1968 when he was appointed operations manager at Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery. Before resigning in 1989 he headed up the company’s marketing and consumer relations. During his SFW career he was a driving force behind the establishment of the Nederburg Auction in 1975, which in its heyday was regarded as one of the most prestigious wine auctions in the world.
A firm believer in spreading the gospel of wine, Hughes was one of the founders of the Cape Wine Academy, a wine education organisation that is responsible for thousands of South Africans learning to love wine and deepening their knowledge of it. In recognition of the contribution he’d made to expanding wine education, Hughes was made an honorary member of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters.
A board member of the South African National Wine Show Association for many years, he played a huge role in establishing the world-class judging at the Veritas Awards since its inception in 1991. Over more than 40 years he also served as a regular judge at the South African Young Wine ...
Provincial education department officials are planning to tighten up security at schools, after a spate of violent incidents across the province.
Violence is on the rise at Gauteng schools – at least three incidents in the past week – prompting a plan by education officials to tackle security, while the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says the deadly spate points to poverty, inequality and racism.
In the latest incident, Grade 10 pupil Shawn Mphela (18) from Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan on the East Rand was allegedly stabbed on his way home after school last Thursday, following an earlier altercation during school hours.
The fight allegedly started with a confrontation over pepper spray, according to Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona.
“It is alleged that this fight emanated from three Grade 10 boy learners pepper-spraying other learners during schooling hours. Subsequently, about eight learners, including Mphela, confronted them about their behaviour and they stopped. However, it is alleged that the perpetrators emerged after school in the company of unknown persons. The group reportedly started a fight with the learners, stabbing them. Unfortunately, one of the learners passed away from a fatal stab wound. One learner allegedly escaped with minor injuries, while one of the alleged perpetrators was seriously injured.”
The department has launched an investigation into Mphela’s death.
On Monday, the accused appeared briefly in the Tsakane Magistrates’ Court where the case was postponed to 15 February.
Assault caught on video
A video of a Grade 10 boy assaulting a Grade 10 girl at Nic Diederichs High School in Krugersdorp has been making rounds on social media since 31 January 2023.
Both are pupils at the school. The boy has since been suspended and is expected to appear at a school disciplinary hearing on 12 February.
Fatal shooting
In yet another incident, a teacher was stabbed at Kagiso Secondary School in Krugersdorp last Friday.
Mabona said that reportedly a “lone man” got through the main gate when it was opened remotely for a car to drive in.
“The patroller responsible for manning the gate tried to stop him but he did not cooperate and proceeded to the admin block and hysterically demanded to see the principal. He was told that the principal was in a meeting and therefore would not see him at that time. He allegedly drew a knife and stabbed a teacher in the hand. Subsequently, another teacher allegedly fatally shot him.”
The police were investigating.
These incidents have prompted a ...
In the run-up to the State of the Nation Address, people living on the streets are less than enamoured with the buzz in the Cape Town CBD, saying more police means more harassment for them.
It is that time of the year when for a week the Cape Town CBD becomes one of the safest places in South Africa. There are police officers on bikes and on foot, and even armed soldiers on patrol during rehearsals for the opening of Parliament.
But for the hundreds of homeless people in the inner city, the lead-up to the State of the Nation Address (Sona) is a stressful time, with some complaining of harassment while others say it’s a sharp reminder of how they have been failed by greedy politicians.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Spotlight on Ramaphosa as Parliament gears up for the State of the Nation Address”
Government departments, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the State Security Agency (SSA), have put measures in place to ensure that the Sona takes place in a safe and secure environment at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, according to National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
“Natjoints is calling for the cooperation of the public, including those who will be in attendance as well as spectators. Any action aimed at disrupting the Sona or intentionally contravening the law will be dealt with accordingly within the ambit of the law,” said Mathe.
The Western Cape government estimates there are 4,862 homeless people in the greater Cape Town area, with about 700 living in the CBD.
Daily Maverick asked some of them whether they were aware of Sona and what they would like the President to include in his address.
@veveludidi People living on the street in the CBD speak ahead of the State of the nation address by President Cyril Ramaphosa #Sona2023 #StreetPeople #Journalism #Politics #CapeTown #SouthAfrica ♬ original sound – Veve
“I want that he maybe organise some jobs for us,” said Ashraf Khan, who has been living on the streets for more than five years. “I have worked before and I want to work again.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Khan stressed that not everyone living on the streets is involved in drugs and alcohol. “We all want to be given a chance. We had dreams before coming here and if most of us ...
The private accredited accommodation allowance for university students has been capped at R45,000 for 2023 by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Many tertiary students in private accommodation are battling to find lodgings this year because the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has capped the private accredited accommodation annual allowance at R45,000 for 2023.
Last week, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said all university student allowances, except the living allowance, would increase by 5%. He said students housed at university residences would receive an annual allowance of R61,500, and those in private, accredited accommodation off campus would receive an allowance capped at R45,000.
Keneiloe Ramohapi, a second-year BSc student at the University of Pretoria (UP), says last year NSFAS gave her R60,000 for accommodation, which was already too little. She was paying R6,630 a month. She relied on her mother who runs an informal business selling honey to top up her rent.
Many UP students live in Hatfield because it is considered a safe area near the main campus. Most students GroundUp spoke to pay more than R6,000 a month in rent.
Alex Mailula, a third-year law student from Limpopo, said, “There’s no one back home who will be able to pay for me.” He said his rent had gone up from R5,900 a month last year to R6,300.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mathapelo Nkambule, a third-year LLB student, lives at Varsity Studios, which has over 900 students, mostly NSFAS dependent, and where 10-month rentals range from R6,150 to R6,700 per month. He says his alternative is to move to Sunnyside, which is further away and “not safe”.
University spokesperson Rikus Delport said the university had sent a letter to NSFAS “to reconsider the cost, as the actual cost of both UP-owned and private accommodation exceeds the capped amount of R45,000”.
“The difference between the actual amount and the capped amount will lead to outstanding amounts on student accounts, which may not be recovered,” said Delport.
The Student Representative Council has contacted student accommodation establishments to try to get rents reduced but with little success.
NSFAS confirmed the allowance amount but did not explain the decision to cap it. Students also get an allowance for learning materials of R5,460, and those not in university residences (including those living with families) get a living allowance of R15,750. Students living with relatives also get a transport allowance of R7,875.
The Department of Higher Education ...
Chris Hani District Municipality blames low revenue collection, ageing infrastructure, and rolling blackouts for water rationing.
Families in Komani (formerly Queenstown) are questioning why there are constant water outages in the town though the Bonkolo Dam is full. The Chris Hani District Municipality has blamed vandalism, decaying infrastructure, and rolling blackouts for water rationing.
The district municipality is responsible for water and sewage in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality.
Last month, parts of the town were shut down during protests. The protesters demanded that the “dysfunctional” Enoch Mgijima Municipality be dissolved.
Families GroundUp spoke to say they wake up as early as 3am to collect water which only runs for about an hour. Some of the water tanks have been dry for months, they say.
The district municipality says its water supply comes from the Bonkolo, Waterdown and Xonxa dams. This water then has to be treated and purified for human consumption.
According to Buli Ganyaza, spokesperson for Chris Hani District Municipality, the current demand in Komani is 60 megalitres per day whereas the plant’s operating capacity is 40 megalitres per day.
The Komani water treatment works has two plants, one built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Ganyaza says an upgrade is necessary to increase capacity in line with a growing population.
But residents believe the municipality is not doing enough to ensure that they have running water.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Thulani Bukani of the Independent Komani Residents’ Association told GroundUp, “Water in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality is a crisis that gets worse every day. For many years we have been told by the district that we are a drought-stricken area.
“But the Bonkolo Dam is full of water and we are still hit hard by water outages. When we asked the district why these water outages are continuing, it blamed rolling blackouts.”
Bukani said water tankers are not reliable. “We live about three to five days without water.”
Faniswa Sitwayi from T&R Section said her family of seven have to wake up early to queue for water at the communal tap before sunrise. “The water comes out at about 4am and by 5am the tap is dry again. I have to wake early because I need water for my children to wash and eat porridge before school.”
Her son Endinakho is in grade 11 and helps his mother collect water in the mornings. He said, “It is exhausting. Sometimes I cannot concentrate in ...
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s trips this week to Bamako and Khartoum, putting a diplomatic veneer on alliances forged on the ground by Wagner mercenaries, have raised the stakes in what is now seen as the second front in its war with the West.
Wagner, in the words of the renowned French historian Gerard Prunier, is eating the carcass of Francafrique, France’s declining neo-colonial empire. Just last week, French troops were ordered out of another former stronghold, Burkina Faso.
The United States is growing edgy as it sees Wagner potentially morphing into a genuine geopolitical threat — a swathe of anti-Western regimes under military rule bisecting Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
The US Department of the Treasury on January 27 designated Wagner a “transnational criminal organisation”, arguing that it has been operating “a systematic network of summary executions, rape, torture and other physical violence” in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR).
The US is trying to get Wagner expelled from Libya, where it fought on the side of rebel General Khalifa Haftar, and Sudan, where it has allied with the number two in the junta, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemeti”, in mining operations and cross-border warfare.
There is a growing realisation in Washington that Wagner is more than just a pack of adventurists fighting jihadis and exploiting minerals. It is Russia — as exemplified by Lavrov’s second African safari this year (although Lavrov’s Africa travel schedule also reflects the fact he is no longer welcome in the global capitals he used to frequent).
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is now a warlord on three continents (if you add Syria), a once small crook has now been propelled to great heights of power and celebrity by his brutal willingness to take the fight to the enemy by feeding tens of thousands of convicts into the Ukrainian meat grinder. Some believe he could even become the big boss in the Kremlin, or at least the kingmaker should Vladimir Putin meet a nasty end.
Pope Francis has just concluded a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, two countries afflicted by endemic conflict. What a turnout he got — more than a million people gathered in Kinshasa to hear his message of peace. Pilgrims walked for eight days to receive the blessing of the Holy Father in Juba. These are societies where the Catholic Church remains the only organisation with credibility, ...
In our pursuit of being relevant global citizens, each of us has to be an effective leader of self — regardless of how junior or senior our station in life, or how young or old we are.
When we compare the great leadership crusade to the military expeditions of yesteryear, we can acknowledge, apart from the obvious differences in composition, the latter comprised of complicated pursuits that had a beginning and an end.
When reflecting on the words of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step”; and the late, great Desmond Tutu, “There is only one way to eat an elephant — one bite at a time”, we realise that no matter what the size, scale and nature the journeys are, they all start with the first step.
In contrast to the historic expeditions mentioned, the ‘great leadership crusade’ is complex and dynamic, with many moving parts requiring a systemic approach.
The words of Francis of Assisi ring out encouragingly, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” I researched this and most responses brought semi-colons instead of commas. Let us turn our focus to those things that we can control and influence, rather than those that we can’t.
Each of the world’s great structures that have withstood the passing of time was built on robust and unmoving foundations, with cornerstones that were engineered without compromise.
Engineering positive change
Prior to being achieved, every accomplishment in the history of mankind was deemed to be impossible. So before embarking upon the first step of our great journey, we should identify and frogmarch the elephants out of the room: the foundational precepts, principles and good practises that this crusade is built upon, will fall on deaf ears in the case of the vast majority of our leaders in government, organised crime syndicates, avaricious and narcissistic corporate puppeteers and their puppets, and corrupt members of the general public.
Let us hold fast to the belief that political values are based on social values which in turn are based on individual values. If we can create a movement of positive change within enough individuals, we can then metamorphosise the social values and thereby create a tipping point for positive political change.
A wonderful example of rapid social change is that of Rwanda.
Subsequent to the tragic period of genocide, president Paul Kagame introduced a new version of ...
The warm breeze caressed me, the marquee moon glided out once again, and I wished that this moment could last forever.
The warm breeze caressed me, the marquee moon glided out once again, and I wished that this moment could last forever.
She didn’t actually smile at me, but I went to Rio nevertheless, where I found myself adrift in the megalopolis, possessing the linguistic ability of a two-year-old — no problem, though: they understood me when I called for another caipirinha.
A marquee moon sails out from the scudding clouds, serene and silver. Leaves in the avenue of crumbling mansions shiver in the warm breeze. The darkness is pierced by a beam from a Cyclopean eye as the Dois Irmãos tram hisses and clanks past. Lightning stabs the night and distant peals of thunder are the grumbling of a disgruntled tribe of hungover giants.
Overpinning the thunder is the drumming. It’s blown in by the breeze from all corners of this neo-gothic urban sprawl, from its favelas, streets, clubs, restaurants, bars, beaches and samba schools. It is the heartbeat of the Cidade Maravilhosa — the Marvellous City.
And that heart is beating faster, with more urgency, as Carnival approaches. Carnival, the week-long festival when Rio de Janeiro spreads its wings, unfurls its feathers, parades its finery, sprinkles the streets with glitter and pixie dust and dances till dawn — an exuberant, extravagant, flamboyant celebration of life that has been called the Greatest Show on Earth.
The drumming gets louder as I walk down the hill in the “Bohemian” (dreamcatcher tattoos, guys in tiny lime-green Speedos, women wearing leotards, fishnet stockings and diaphanous capes; art galleries, a bar that sells the coolest Hawaiian shirts on Earth) suburb of Santa Teresa.
Down below, to the left, what appears to be a huge Mayan pyramid rises amid the hulking skyscrapers. It’s the Cathedral of St Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the architect Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca, the conical, honeycombed building is 75m high with an internal diameter of 96m and can accommodate up to 20,000 people. The cathedral’s four rectilinear stained-glass windows reach a height of 64m.
Beyond the cathedral looms the tall, art deco clocktower of the Central do Brasil building, the hands of time seizing the present and thrusting it into the past. In the distance, the figure of Christ the Redeemer stands sentinel over the city from atop Mount Corcovado, arms outstretched in benediction, ...
If you’re up for a futuristic, world-building read, then you’re going to love ‘Poster Girl’. The book sets you up for breathing a sigh of relief, thinking, ‘Wow, we’re so lucky we don’t live in that world.’ Then, when you sit back in contentment, you begin to realise that you very much are living in that world.
Poster Girl is so much more than just a gripping novel. You cannot possibly read it without asking questions about the ethical frameworks governing the society we live in. The book asks how the decisions we make in the present, sometimes unconsciously so, affect our future. It paints a picture of how our stories can unfold if we allow certain things to happen without questioning them. These questions pertain to how we make choices about those who govern us and how we use technology responsibly.
Poster Girl is centred around the story of Sonya Kantor. Sonya is the daughter of a former high-ranking official of the ruling authority, The Delegation, in the Seattle-Portland megapolis. Following a revolution, The Delegation was overthrown and Sonya’s family is dead when the story begins. She has been jailed at the Aperture, an unkempt space with two streets and four buildings that hosts a community comprising those who had been loyal to The Delegation. Before the revolution, Sonya was a poster girl for the ruling authority. Her face, with the slogan, “What’s Right Is Right,” was used prominently in public spaces to indoctrinate the populace on the values of The Delegation.
The Delegation used a trading system called “DesCoin.” DesCoin was used for commercial transactions, but also to keep people in check. Using constant surveillance, The Delegation would award DesCoin for things like maintaining the correct posture, marrying the right person, or saying the appropriate thing. In the same vein, DesCoin could also be lost for actions that The Delegation deemed unsavoury. Going to a funeral could earn you DesCoin, but groaning could cost you DesCoin. DesCoin served as the currency for shopping — the backbone of a capitalist economy. But here’s the crappy thing about DesCoin: it ascribed value to every aspect of life — being happy earned you money, but being not-so-great cost you money.
The intrusion of technology into our lives is a pivotal theme of the book. The Delegation was able to monitor every aspect of people’s lives through an “Insight,” a device implanted into the brain. The ...
At elevations of up to 1,690m, there is often snow in winter. These heights are among the coldest places in the Western Cape in winter. But be warned, this climate is one of extremes, with temperatures ranging from -6°C to a sweltering 46°C on the karroid plains in summer.
As the hills rise and fall, cascading through the undulating topography, one is immersed within the presence of the beckoning crimson mountain ranges that fold into one another. Enveloped by emerald-green landscapes that resolutely rise up to meet the road, you’d be forgiven for thinking it is here where the sands of time stood bravely still. Further ahead still, the road passes from one buoyant place to another, and a multitude of magnificent mountain passes that lead to the Koue Bokkeveld and the Cederberg mountains, about 300km north of Cape Town.
The Koue Bokkeveld (Afrikaans for “Cold Buck Shrubland”) is a mountain range in South Africa’s Western Cape province, north of fruit-laden Ceres and south of the Cederberg, and to the east of the Grootwintershoek Wilderness area.
Getting there
Driving from the Mother City, you’ll make the most of the picturesque scenery along the way by heading towards the little town of Wellington, preferably at a polite speed. From there, head for the R301 exit, which will take you over the 18km Bainskloof Pass, which was declared a national monument in 1980. A right turn onto the R43 leads onto the Michell’s Pass which snakes around the belly of the surrounding mountains, leading into Ceres, after which, the road will take you through modest Prince Alfred Hamlet and up and over the Gydo Pass. A right turn at the “Ceres Karoo/Cederberg” sign will lead you to the entrance of the Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve which lies in the heart of the Koue Bokkeveld/Cederberg. From here it is a 20km drive on the gravel road towards the reserve entrance, and it comes with the promise of yet another adventure at Katbakkies Pass, where panoramic views await.
When you get there
The rocky sandstone outcrops, which are a benevolent presence in these parts, generously emerge from the vast countryside, giving view to this expansive region where intriguing rock formations dominate the prehistoric wilderness.
As its name suggests, the Koue Bokkeveld conjures up images of a barren semi-desert area, with sub-zero temperatures and submerged by vast terrains. At elevations of up to 1,600m, there is often snow in winter. These heights ...
The multiparty parliamentary portfolio committee on tourism resolved unanimously on Tuesday that the controversial R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal will not go ahead – and that heads should roll. It was a heated marathon meeting, but despite MPs anger and a barrage of criticism, SA Tourism’s acting chief executive, Themba Khumalo, dug in his heels, presenting a report that pushed the benefits of the deal.
Members of Parliament’s portfolio committee on tourism were united in agreement on Tuesday, that the R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal must be cancelled.
During the heated, six-hour meeting MPs demanded information about the controversial deal from SA Tourism’s acting chief executive (CEO), Themba Khumalo, interim chief financial officer (CFO) Johan van der Walt and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
“This deal, it ends here,” stated committee chairperson and ANC MP, Tandi Mahambehlala.
Mahambehlala said that, in addition to scrapping the deal, Van der Walt must be axed with immediate effect, “because his presence in SA Tourism presents a conflict of interest”.
“How he ascended to that position was not the result of due process being followed,” she said.
This came after a Daily Maverick investigation found that Van der Walt worked in the position of “group financial director” for the WWP Group – an agency that would be paid an upfront fee of R31.3-million by 31 March 2023 to “activate” the sponsorship deal.
The committee further resolved to investigate the proposed deal which, a Daily Maverick investigation found, would see SA Tourism dish out R910,997,814.75 over three years for sponsorship of the English Premier League team. The article’s publication a week ago has led to an outpouring of public concern from South Africans suffering under the weight of relentless rolling blackouts, dismal service delivery and rising cost of living.
Read in Daily Maverick: “From Lindiwe Sisulu, With Love: Inside SA Tourism’s R1bn proposal to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur”
Mahambehlala said that, if push comes to shove, the committee will write to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and President Cyril Ramaphosa to demand that the money ring-fenced for the sponsorship be reprioritised. MPs were in unanimous agreement that the deal should be cancelled, with ANC MPs in the room leading the charge against Sisulu and the SA Tourism officials.
Doubling down
Presenting a 48-page SA Tourism presentation to the committee, Khumalo reiterated his support for the sponsorship deal.
The acting CEO said that if the deal didn’t go ahead, it would “engender a sense of minimalism and fear” in tourism employees, ...
Junk science, bottled at the source. New research shows baby and child formula corporations are coining it when it comes to playing on families’ worst fears with poor evidence to back it.
Can high-priced baby formula really help your baby – and you – get a better night’s sleep? New research says it’s doubtful – but that’s not stopping formula companies from claiming this and more to boost sales, reveals research released on Wednesday. Now, some scientists say the world needs a new legal treaty to stop unscrupulous advertising.
Blubbering, for babies, is normal.
“Crying is strongly based on our evolutionary history to ensure infant survival and that adults will be on call for the baby,” explains Professor Linda Richter of the University of the Witwatersrand, who is also the director of the university’s Centre of Excellence in Human Development. “If a baby didn’t cry, it wouldn’t have any signalling capacity to ensure care.”
Still, in a modern world full of movies and #MomLife influencers, unrealistic expectations about parenthood – and a lack of support – are leading many families to read fussy babies and sleepless nights as a sign of failure. And infant formula companies are cashing in on this.
“Every mother’s absolute preoccupation is watching the baby and then trying to interpret the baby’s behaviour and to respond adequately to it,” Richter says. “But there’s so much normative pressure about producing the ‘perfect baby’ who rolls over at five weeks rather than seven, for example. that the idea becomes, ‘Well, my baby’s crying too much – they must have a cow’s milk or breastmilk allergy’.”
In the UK, an epidemic of overdiagnoses of baby milk allergies – fed in part by infant formula influence – led to a 500% increase in prescriptions for speciality infant formula in just a decade, a 2018 British Medical Journal investigation found.
Richter concludes: “The anxiety that new parents feel? This entire marketing structure has been built on it.”
Spit happens: It may not be great for the ’gram but it doesn’t make you a bad parent
Infant formula producers are increasingly portraying typical behaviours like crying, fussiness and irregular sleep as medical reasons to switch babies from breastmilk to formula, according to a three-part research series published in The Lancet medical journal on Wednesday. The studies were co-authored by more than two dozen researchers, including Richter. As a result, manufacturers are now claiming that infant formulas can make babies calmer, better ...
The weather system predicted to cause extreme rainfall and flooding in parts of South Africa this week is an occurrence that can be expected more frequently because of climate change. While SA has world-class forecasting models and scientists, the country’s response to, and understanding of, climate risks are not up to scratch.
The South African Weather Service has warned that a cut-off low-pressure system is expected to develop in parts of the country on Wednesday, 8 February — a weather system notorious for causing severe weather, including heavy rainfall and flooding.
As a result, persistent rainfall may cause widespread flooding over the central, southern and eastern parts of the country.
A similar, but stronger system caused the lethal KZN floods last year and the infamous floods in Laingsburg, Western Cape, in 1981.
The weather service has issued a yellow and orange impact-based severe weather warning for parts of the country, and the KZN floods were a red warning.
Weather service forecaster Wayne Venter told Our Burning Planet that orange level warnings (levels 5-9) are for significant or severe impacts. Level 10, which is what KZN had, is the highest impact possible.
“We wanted to put out a statement as a heads-up that this is coming and we just need to be prepared,” said Venter.
“Cut-off lows are notorious for flooding and widespread flooding. There are indications of flooding on numerical model predictions, especially over the Eastern Cape. later in the week it probably will move to parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. it could even influence parts of KZN.”
Venter said people residing in those areas, particularly in low-lying areas, needed to be prepared for heavy rainfall and flooding.
“If you live near a bridge, don’t drive through 20 centimetres of water, try and avoid crossing low-lying bridges. those common types of knowledge people need to be aware of, they can’t take the risks,” said Venter.
Parts of the Eastern Cape will be affected, extending from Barkly East all the way to Mthatha and Port St Johns, as well as some parts of KZN, the Ugu district, Port Edward and Giants Castle, which can expect 50-80mm of rainfall and flooding of bridges, roads and possibly even settlements.
“You might have rain-on-rain events over those areas, and that’s where the concern comes in,” said Venter, explaining that three to four days of consistent rain are likely to lead to flooding.
“Major rainfall events, especially over the southern half of the country, are usually caused ...
Reducing primary energy costs and providing debt relief are low-hanging fruit in terms of solving Eskom’s tariff increase problem, but these measures will be short-lived unless there is a restructuring of Eskom’s financial model, including breaking from the user-pays principle. This article is Part One in a series of three that addresses South Africa’s energy crisis.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) approval of tariff hikes of 18.6% for 2023/2024 and 12.7% for 2024/25 for state-owned power utility Eskom has been met with outrage. South Africans are wondering how it is possible to pay much more for considerably less electricity. While it is hard not to be outraged, much of the anger is misplaced.
As Daily Maverick associate editor Ferial Haffajee points out, “without the 18.65% increase Eskom can’t survive”. Already, Eskom is facing a death spiral with insufficient resources to cover operating, maintenance and debt-service costs and investment in infrastructure. It comes as no surprise that Eskom applied for a substantial tariff increase. But there are options that can allow us to scrap this increase in the short term, and transform Eskom’s financial model altogether in the long term.
Reduce primary energy costs
Renegotiate
According to Eskom, some of the main drivers of its requested tariff increase are a 9% increase in the cost of energy sourced from independent power producers (IPPs) and an increase in its primary energy costs, mainly due to rising diesel and fuel costs. These costs can be substantially reduced.
One option would be to renegotiate IPP contracts to reduce the price of the purchase power agreements of the contracts of Bid Windows 1 to 4. This would reduce the total input costs of IPPs, which account for more than a third of the total primary energy cost (R43.1-billion out of R138-billion), while only contributing 8% of total installed capacity.
Grant Eskom a direct diesel procurement licence
The South African Revenue Service providing Eskom with a licence to procure diesel from wholesalers, as opposed to the current situation where it is forced to purchase from retailers, would save the power utility just under R6 per litre. Eskom still needs 200 million litres of diesel until March, the end of the financial year. Saving R6 per litre would allow a saving of R1.2-billion on diesel alone.
Cap the coal price
The price of coal has also increased dramatically over the past 15 years, almost tripling in price, primarily due to increased demand for low-quality ...
The pandemic provided a good guide of how a National State of Disaster can be implemented as South Africa seeks solutions to ongoing and intensified national rolling blackouts. However, panellists warn that the energy crisis might not be a National State of Disaster but rather a problem that requires existing solutions to be implemented.
As the country experiences prolonged rolling blackouts with recent talk of declaring the issue a National State of Disaster, a Daily Maverick webinar suggested on Tuesday that while the national rolling blackouts are an energy crisis, the issue does not necessitate a National State of Disaster.
The webinar, titled The Load Down: Eskom, Rolling Blackouts & National State of Disaster, was hosted by Business Maverick journalist Ray Mahlaka. On the panel was Lulu Krugel, Partner and Chief Economist, ESG Platform Lead, PwC Africa; as well as Daily Maverick Associate Editor Marianne Merten.
Merten said the pandemic was a good example of how a National State of Disaster was carried out and what further steps needed to be taken. She added, however, that a pandemic is quite different from the current energy crisis.
“The energy crisis is a crisis on a whole range of levels from agriculture, food security, right through to small businesses, big businesses, individual households, whether you are in an informal settlement, or in the leafy suburbs. So, don’t get me wrong; it is a crisis. I just really do not think that the energy crisis is a [National] State of Disaster,” said Merten.
She added that the State of Disaster falls under the National Disaster Management Act 2002 and is overseen by the Minister of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs, as seen with Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma during the Covid-19 pandemic regulations.
“The Disaster Management Act requires a few things to be in place which makes sense in a public health emergency, especially of the scale and the extent that Covid-19 was in early 2020. I think it’ll take some very interesting legal massaging to get the current energy crisis to stick and fit into the disaster state of requirements,” Merten said.
Among the requirements for declaring a National State of Disaster is dealing with death, injury and disease, and the destruction of infrastructure and the environment, as well as that of the life of the community.
Merten added that while the destruction of the life of the community can be used to declare a National State of Disaster, as South Africa ...
Former Deloitte director and current executive director of Agri SA, Omri van Zyl, testified in the Bloemfontein High Court on Tuesday in the first State Capture trial, involving a multimillion-rand feasibility study that led to the controversial Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy Project.
The State alleges that Nulane Investments — an accused in the trial — was paid R24.9-million for the feasibility study, of which R1.5-million was paid to Deloitte as a subcontractor.
The Vrede Dairy Project was a flagship R280-million Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development initiative. Van Zyl testified that as a director of agricultural projects (at Deloitte) he was involved in many such studies, but the Deloitte report for the Vrede Dairy Project was very superficial. He said a proper study on the project by Deloitte would have cost at least R5-million.
He testified that the original report compiled by Deloitte did not single out the Gupta-linked Paras Dairy — an Indian company — as the preferred service provider to be an implementing agent for the milk processing plant. He said Deloitte would never have recommended partnering with an Indian dairy company before a local one.
Van Zyl, also a lawyer, said under cross-examination that he did not have the submitted final report, to compare it with the report drafted by Deloitte. He said he also did not know to whom the draft report was sent. Van Zyl said in his view the payment by the provincial department to Nulane Investments was excessive. He said he, however, could not comment on a statement that charging excessive rates for services constituted fraud.
Van Zyl also admitted that the teaming agreement — between Nulane Investments and Deloitte — did not contain any financial information such as the cost of the feasibility study.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Several current and former officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development testified that no procurement procedures were followed in the appointment of Nulane Investments. A deviation memorandum punting Nulane Investments as the preferred service provider for the study had instead been written. The State alleges the service provider did not have the capacity to perform the study and appointed Deloitte.
Kenny Oldwadge, legal representative for Dinesh Patel (also an accused in the matter), said Ashok Narayan — a member of the advisory council of then Free State premier and former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule — had been appointed by Nulane Investments to ...
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula was decidedly upbeat during two visits to Prasa sites in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Outgoing Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said: “I’m leaving this place [the transport ministry] highly motivated,” during an impromptu media briefing at the Paarden Eiland Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) depot on Tuesday.
Last December, Mbalula was elected as ANC secretary-general, a full-time position which will see him resign as minister, as explained by Daily Maverick associate editor Marianne Merten.
Mbalula was in Cape Town for an oversight visit to assess the progress of ongoing Prasa projects and security measures.
Mbalula said: “By the end of this year, I am definitely sure with the programme we have put in place. all the lines will be fully operational.” He said this would happen countrywide with the newly acquired trains, dubbed the People’s Train.
Promises
Mbalula has made several promises on the train network, including reopening Cape Town’s Central Line to Khayelitsha, which has still not happened. He did touch on this, saying: “We’ve got a problem with resettling people.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Dear Minister Mbalula, trust is earned – and you have failed that test too many times”
“When you say it is not felt on the ground, go to Naledi, in Soweto, and see for yourself,” said Mbalula in reply to a journalist’s question about getting commuters back on trains after long periods without rail services.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “After the collapse – Prasa finally reopens rail line serving Soweto”
During his visit, Mbalula went to two Prasa sites. First was a new mixed-use development at the Cape Town train station. Prasa said the development would contain retail space, a hotel and residences with 3,400 beds for students who receive funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. This is a private-public partnership between Prasa’s property division and the private sector. Construction began in August 2021 and is expected to be completed by August 2023.
Following the visit, Mbalula and a contingent of officials, including Prasa board chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane and acting CEO Hishaam Emeran, visited the Paarden Eiland depot, where agency rolling stock is kept. The area was filled with the new blue trains.
Anti-vandalism measures
Prasa officials told Mbalula of new concrete walling that would act as a hindrance to vandalism and theft, problems that have long plagued Prasa. New measures include seismic detection of vandalism and CCTV cameras.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Crumbling Philippi station on Cape ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address (Sona) when Parliament reopens on Thursday. He faces immense criticism from opposition parties and threats from the EFF to disrupt the occasion.
The Democratic Alliance and ActionSA have hosted their own Sona events which look at how the government should be dealing with the ongoing problems faced by South Africans. They also looked at the shortcomings of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
DA leader John Steenhuisen delivered his speech on Tuesday morning in Cape Town, urging citizens to save South Africa. Steenhuisen said that as long as the ANC-led government is at the helm, rolling blackouts would continue, poverty and inequality would deepen and accelerating capital flight would turn the South African economy into an isolated basket case.
“The people have a binary choice to make that will irrevocably shape South Africa for generations to come,” Steenhuisen said.
“Nothing that President Ramaphosa says on Thursday will change this reality. In fact, Ramaphosa is the one who has taken us down this path of failure over the last five wasted years, during which time this country has rapidly gone backwards on every conceivable metric. The truth is that he has had his chance, and spectacularly blew it. The future of this country is no longer up to him, or to his party.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Here’s the State of the Nation Address you want to hear (but don’t hold your breath”
‘Lies to simply lure the voters’
In an open letter, African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula said Ramaphosa had failed to deliver a new dawn to South Africans as he had promised in his Sona of 2018.
“Some of the empty promises that were made in the February 2018 Sona, included Radical Economic Transformation where he said women and communities would be owners, managers and even financiers. He said land distribution programmes would be accelerated.
“It is now clear that these were all lies to simply lure the voters to vote for his party in the 2019 national elections. the ANC caucus in Parliament twisted the promised land expropriation without compensation, which was part of Mr Ramaphosa’s rhetoric in the February 2018 Sona.
“To the disgust of the left-leaning opposition parties, including the ATM, we discovered that the bill to amend [section] 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation was now using a new phrase: ‘expropriation with nil compensation’. which in fact has the opposite effect. ...
Ukraine will receive another batch of German-made battle tanks as Russia’s defence chief said Kremlin forces were ‘advancing successfully’ in a battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands will supply Kyiv with as many as 178 older-generation Leopard 1 battle tanks. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the defence ministers said the first deliveries would arrive in Ukraine in “a few months” in a package that includes training, spare parts and ammunition.
President Vladimir Putin’s government is meanwhile pressuring the Bank of Russia to be more upbeat about the economic outlook and signal it’s ready to loosen monetary policy. Ahead of the bank’s first board meeting of the year, officials want it to send a clearer hint that interest rates may come down later in 2023, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
Key developments
Ukraine to get as many as 178 Leopard 1 tanks from EU allies
Russia’s latest information war tactic: Spoofing foreign media
Putin’s government leans on central bank to signal looser policy
Big Russia presence in India energy summit signals stronger ties
As Ukraine pressures mount, Macron remains in Scholz’s shadow
On the ground
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said border troops shot down a Russian fighter jet covering the infantry’s advance over Bakhmut with a portable anti-aircraft missile system. Russia carried out six missile strikes and 24 air attacks over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Kremlin forces also unleashed 75 barrages from multiple-launch rocket systems, hitting civilian targets in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions, according to the statement. Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near 10 settlements in Donetsk and Luhansk, the General Staff said.
Ukraine to get as many as 178 Leopard 1 tanks from EU allies
“Within the coming months, Ukraine will receive at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 battle tanks,” Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands said in a statement. Germany’s Defence Ministry said that the final number could reach 178.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, making an unannounced visit to Kyiv, was quoted by German public broadcaster ZDF as saying the deliveries would be made in stages, with “about 20, 25” to arrive by the European summer and more than 100 by early next year.
US drone maker’s Latvian plant catches fire
A drone-making factory in Latvia belonging to Edge Autonomy caught fire at around 3pm local time, near the capital, Riga, the Leta newswire reported, citing the fire and rescue department. The cause of the fire wasn’t known, ...
A protracted Russia-Ukraine war and rising China tension with the Global West will force mining companies to make tough choices, according to the CEO of a global risk advisory firm.
Companies are going to find it increasingly difficult to avoid taking sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine and its Western allies, and in the rising tension between China and the West, Jay Truesdale, CEO of the risk advisory firm Veracity Worldwide, told the African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Tuesday.
He said that mining executives should better understand the changing geopolitical landscape in which they operate and how to anticipate those changes.
Truesdale noted that miners already well understood the risks of a changing global economy and of expanding into new or unfamiliar geographies to satisfy growing appetites around the world for the raw materials needed for a green energy transition.
But now business leaders were also confronting a seismic geopolitical shift, from the relative stability in the international system over many decades, to a much more difficult reality, an interests-based world driven by direct and explicit state-based competition.
To remain competitive, mining companies — especially those occupying strategic sectors exposed to government oversight — had to appreciate how national interests collided, as well as understand the concrete implications of geopolitics for their businesses.
Truesdale said there were two main drivers of the current geopolitical reality.
First, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions against Russia had disrupted supply chains and trade flows, prompting miners to ask if they would have to take sides.
The second driver of change was competition between China and the West, including increasing protectionism and “decoupling”, both of which would be gravely accelerated by any military escalation in the Indo-Pacific.
This had forced businesses to consider how their business models should change to ensure resilience and redundancy.
Truesdale predicted the Russia-Ukraine war would continue through the northern summer of 2023 and beyond, as neither side had yet been able to muster the strength to push forward militarily. Nor was either side ready to negotiate. This was the midpoint of a protracted stalemate.
That stalemate was projected globally, Truesdale suggested.
At least nine of the G20 governments (the “Global West”) seemed intent on maintaining or expanding sanctions. Another nine G20 countries continued to maintain integrated diplomatic and trade relationships with Russia, refusing to condemn Moscow’s invasion and refraining from sanctions.
This had complicated logistics and operations for mining companies, constraining where they could source, process and ...
A non-profit coalition of about 30 organisations has called on South African authorities to refuse re-entry to the Kremlin’s Antarctic mineral ‘explorer’ — a regular visitor in Table Bay. Meanwhile, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who was in Antarctica on Monday, has told Our Burning Planet that Russian state vessels should not berth anywhere near Table Mountain.
The Akademik Alexander Karpinsky — a Russian seismic ship equipped with powerful airguns that could harm marine life — has left Cape Town, ostensibly to look for fossil fuels in the seabed below the climate-stressed Southern Ocean.
Now, a fired-up non-profit coalition representing 29 groups has sent a letter of demand to national and Western Cape authorities. They say they will not let the ship, due back in Table Bay within weeks, off the hook for its loud seismic blasts and ocean-based surveys that resemble the early stages of prospecting.
The 1959 Antarctic Treaty — to which Russia and South Africa are two of 12 founding signatories — allows scientific research. But it forbids traditional mineral resource activities, such as prospecting, which the Karpinsky seems to have conducted via Cape Town almost every year since a 1998 mining ban in the Antarctic came into force.
Numerous peaceful protests by Extinction Rebellion (XR), Greenpeace volunteers and other non-profit groups were held in Cape Town on 28 January to “unwelcome” the Kremlin-owned ship.
Owned by the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition (PMGE), a subsidiary of the Kremlin’s state mineral explorer, Rosgeo, the ship had sailed from St Petersburg to Cape Town as part of an annual voyage that takes her to the stark, treacherous Southern Ocean.
The Karpinsky was in the port city’s larger container dock for several days, as protesters at the popular Waterfront and harbour areas chanted, “Hands off Antarctica!”
At about 9.30am on 1 February, the Karpinsky slipped out of town, heading, oddly, towards Tallinn, the Estonian capital. Minutes later, her navigation system seemed to correct itself.
Next stop, Antarctica — Earth’s last unmined frontier. Here, another season of murky seismic investigations may now help Rosgeo — Russia’s largest geological minerals, oil and gas explorer — build long-term inventories of the Far South’s potential resource wealth.
At the Earth’s opposite northern ends, in the Russian Arctic, Rosgeo’s PMGE subsidiary has legally explored for minerals. The subsidiary also has a licence under the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority to prospect and explore a central Atlantic block for polymetallic sulphides. Thus, its decades-long Antarctic interests ...
Much rides on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2023 State of the Nation Address on Thursday, which opens the parliamentary calendar and kicks the political year into full swing. That much is riding on the address holds even more true given the 2024 elections, a seemingly intractable energy crisis, and political noise, also from within the governing ANC.
When he delivered the “Thuma Mina” State of the Nation Address (Sona) in February 2018, it was widely seen as President Cyril Ramaphosa drawing a line in the sand to end State Capture and rebuild constitutional governance, economic growth and service delivery. That message of “send me” — in anticipation of renewal — came two days after his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s late-night Valentine’s Day resignation as president.
Although Ramaphoria seemed to be on the wane, thuma mina also trickled into Ramaphosa’s post-2019 election swearing-in.
“Having taken the oath of office I am saying, yes, South Africa, thuma mina. And I pledge here today that I will serve you, I will work with you, side by side, to build the South Africa that we all want and deserve. A new era has dawned in our country.”
Five years later, the controversy of US dollars stuffed into a sofa at the President’s Phala Phala game farm hangs over Ramaphosa. While he’s rejected claims of wrongdoing — and is challenging a recommendation to Parliament that an impeachment inquiry could proceed — criminal and Public Protector and SA Reserve Bank investigations into the source and legality of the forex remain ongoing.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Phala Phala report – no good options for President Ramaphosa or our country”
Public trust in government has hit a low — it’s in the 30-percentages, according to public opinion surveys that track such things long term — and public confidence is at rock bottom after rolling blackouts for more than 200 days in 2022 and every day thus far in 2023. Economic growth has been significantly revised down -0.3%, according to the South African Reserve Bank, indicating the impact of rolling blackouts; meaning jobs remain scarce and about half of South Africans rely on social grants to keep the wolf from the door.
Against this comes the noisy agitation for a Cabinet reshuffle to assert in government the comfortable win Ramaphosa attained in being re-elected as governing party president at the December 2022 ANC elective gathering. Curiously, much of the noise comes from the President’s own camp, although ...
A payment dispute between Quality Filtration Systems and Ndlambe Municipality has led to the closure of a desalination plant in Port Alfred, and the town’s residents are bearing the brunt of it.
A desalination plant in Port Alfred started in court with a tender dispute. Now it has ended in court with a payment dispute. And the residents of Port Alfred are still struggling with water.
The Ndlambe Municipality claims under oath in court papers that it has paid R111,000 a day for water trucks since the desalination plant was closed.
Quality Filtration Systems (QFS) won the tender to build and run a five-million-litre-a-day desalination plant in Port Alfred in 2020. The money was to come from a R20-million grant provided by the Eastern Cape government and an additional R80-million from the Department of Water Affairs.
The original tender was for a two-million-litre-a-day desalination plant on the banks of the Kowie River.
Two bids were shortlisted – one by QFS for R40.2-million and one by MEB Energy for R132-million. The tender was awarded to QFS on 11 February after a legal challenge in court.
MEB applied for an interdict to stop the awarding of the tender and, in papers before the court, alleged that there was corruption.
At the time, Herman Smit, the managing director of QFS, said the original QFS bid for about R40-million was for a two-million-litre-a-day desalination plant.
This initial bid was later changed to one for a five-million-litre plant, including a facility for cleaning wastewater using reverse osmosis.
Both Smit and the municipality said the information that municipal officials had solicited a bribe during the tender procedures was false.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘Water, water everywhere’. but what are the final costs of ocean desalination?”
The plant was commissioned on 23 June 2021. It reached the milestone of having pumped 100 million litres of quality potable water into the municipal reticulation system by August. Water quality results also showed that the plant had produced water that exceeded the standards set for drinking water in South Africa. Twelve people were employed there.
In February 2022, the Hawks raided the municipality’s offices and seized documents relating to this tender.
The water from the plant was to supply 35,000 residents of Port Alfred with 6.54 million litres daily.
No work or no payment?
In September, QFS stopped operations because the municipality had not paid the company. On 7 October 2022, the municipality went to the Makhanda High Court to obtain an urgent interdict ...
While parent company Toyota is clearly appealing to the masses, the new Lexus UX is all about niche — with a whiff of bespoke.
The first question I’m often asked when a group of people — usually men — discover that I’m a motoring journo, is: “What car would you like to own?” Invariably, the second is: “How do I get to do what you do?”
It’s an enviable gig. I read somewhere that as far as dream jobs go, becoming a motoring scribe is an even more to-die-for profession than acing it as a Premier League football player. I’m not sure who did the research, but it makes me grin.
When I answer, “a Lexus”, on the car-owning question, it’s usually not what they expected, and, sure, while I love a Beemer, Merc, Range Rover, Porsche, Ford Raptor, Lambo, Rolls or Aston Martin — the list goes on — when I think about really living with a car, there’s something about a Lexus that just feels right.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Clearly most South Africans don’t agree. Since 2006, when Lexus first launched in SA, compared with their superstar market-leading parent, Toyota, the luxury brand’s sales have been minimal.
For instance, January saw Toyota SA sell a massive 12,532 units, accounting for a truly remarkable, record-breaking market share of 28.8% out of the 43,509 units sold in South Africa.
And while the top-selling Hilux sold 2,769 units, the Corolla Cross, 2,042, and the Starlet, 2,037, the company’s luxury child — Lexus — sold just 51 units.
You get the picture?
There’s no escaping the fact that, unlike in places like the US, the UK and China, where Lexus sells like hot cakes — specifically due to its hybrid, aka fuel-saving and low carbon emissions technology — when you look at the dismal local sale numbers for NEV (New Energy Vehicles), the vast majority of South Africans still don’t appear to give a hoot when it comes to driving efficient and “clean” cars.
Bumpy road for NEVs
Blame a lot of that on unaffordable pricing due to ridiculously high import taxes on NEVs and, of course, on Eskom with its erratic power supply which has severely suppressed any inclination for motorists to even consider the idea of purchasing an all-electric vehicle.
Toyota knows this.
At the recent State of the Motor Industry event in late January, head honcho of Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), Andrew Kirby, ...
Two of the country’s largest insurers warned this week that clients would not be covered in the event of national grid failure — but cover remains for ‘normal load shedding’ events.
While Santam notified clients of the changes late last year, Hollard followed suit this week as the country went into its second consecutive month of daily rolling blackouts.
Warwick Bloom, spokesperson for Hollard Insurance, clarifies: “Reinsurers participating in South African treaties have given local insurance companies notice that they will not be providing support for losses in the event of a collapse or failure of the national electricity grid.”
A reinsurer is the company that insures an insurer. So, in the event of a massive claims experience, as with the looting and floods of last year, insurers would pay out their clients’ claims and then, in turn, claim from their reinsurer.
Bloom says that while load shedding (implemented to lower the possibility of grid collapse) remains covered to the extent stipulated in existing policy wording and reinsurance treaties, the collapse of the grid is something that has not been previously contemplated to any great extent.
“Along with a number of South African insurers forced into similar action, Hollard has decided to specifically exclude cover for any losses arising from the collapse of the grid,” he says.
‘Uninsurable event’
A Hollard letter sent out this week to policyholders states that “as the sustainability of the industry is paramount, a decision has been made to exclude any loss or damage arising from electricity grid failure from your policy as this is now deemed an uninsurable event.
“This exclusion includes damage from power surges occurring as a result of recovery from grid failure, as well as any resultant damages.”
The exclusion will kick in from 1 April and policyholders are referred to a 58-page “quick reference guide”.
Further digging calls up a reference to national grid failure on page 20. Hollard says, “We do not cover loss, damage, any amount of any kind, or liability that is caused (in any way) by electricity grid failure.”
Electricity grid failure is defined as “an interruption to or suspension of electricity supply, in any manner and from any source, and for any reason (including damage and any inability and/or failure on the part of the supplier) which affects an entire municipality (including local, district, regional or any other level that is created by law) or province or the country at substantially the same time, including any ...
If you are an avid reader of the speeches of African presidents, as I am because I often struggle to sleep, you might notice a word that comes up with extraordinary regularity: beneficiation.
Beneficiation, at least downstream beneficiation, seems like such an obvious target on which governments would like to set their sights. Currently, the Mining Indaba is happening in Cape Town, and I’m willing to bet that the word ‘beneficiation’ hangs in the hallways like a bright star. Every mining minister of every African country seems likely to be captured by the siren song of downstream beneficiation. President Cyril Ramaphosa, just for one, mentioned it in both his 2022 and 2021 speeches to the indaba.
And in a way, it’s easy to see why beneficiation has such a strong lure. If you are a big seller of raw materials, as many African countries are, and you are keen to develop your country, it’s just a hop, skip and jump to the idea that you should turn those raw materials into a competitive advantage. I mean, for god’s sake, it’s like you are halfway there already. And it’s perplexing to you that mining companies don’t share your jones for this obvious advantage.
And, to be honest, I too have been tantalised by the idea, particularly since many minerals in SA are, to a lesser or greater extent, beneficiated, most notably platinum group metals (PGMs). Yet, the partial success of the beneficiation effort is its own worst enemy because it encourages governments to push harder.
So why does the idea work so badly? To answer this, I think the history of the Australian iron ore industry is one of many great examples. Iron ore is by far Australia’s biggest single export, and constitutes about a third of global production and about half of the seaborne trade. Australia produces about 900 million tonnes of iron ore a year. SA, by the way, produces around 60 million tonnes, just inside the world’s top 10, and it’s been that way for almost a decade.
So, you might think, here is a country that is the world’s biggest producer; it’s a sophisticated, developed nation with great universities and a very active business sector — why don’t they take the next step and produce steel?
Australia does have some steelworks, but produces only 0.3% of the global production, despite being a huge seller of metallurgical coal, a crucial component of steel production. ...
Speaking to Business Maverick on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, the General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, William Mabapa, called on the mining sector to build on its improving safety record by adopting radar technology to detect when a rock might fall underground.
The General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), William Mabapa, acknowledged that significant progress has been made on the health and safety fronts in South Africa’s mining industry, which had a record low of 49 accidental deaths in a calendar year in 2022. This was followed by a milestone that was reached in January, the first calendar month in more than a century in which no South African miner lost their life on the job.
“We strongly believe that there are accidents that can be prevented through technology, accidents like falls of ground. There are systems that can detect such events in time,” Mabapa said.
He was referring to hand-held radar technology which Anglo American Platinum has been researching and developing. The premise is that the underground radar will detect a fall of ground — until quite recently the leading cause of death in South Africa’s deep and dangerous mines — in advance, giving miners time to get out of the danger zone.
There are other initiatives involving radar technology that also hold promise.
“Companies must invest in that technology because that is the technology that can help us reduce accidents in this country,” Mabapa said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Moving on to other issues, Mabapa said the NUM would submit its wage demands to ailing power utility Eskom by April. The agreement reached in 2022 for a 7% pay increase was only for one year.
Mabapa would not be drawn on the precise scale of NUM’s expected demands, but said the union’s members would be unlikely to submit any that fell short of the inflation rate, which was running at 7.2% in December and seen as moderating this year.
“It’s usually the case that they will look for something that is over inflation because if you get any increase that is below inflation, that’s like not getting an increase,” Mabapa said.
He stated that he expected relations with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) to remain cordial. For almost a decade the rivalry between the two unions was a major source of violent unrest and instability in the mining ...
Fed up with empty promises, South Africa’s farmers are warning that food security will be jeopardised if Eskom’s crisis is not resolved immediately and effectively.
The energy crisis is bringing farming in South Africa to its knees.
During a meeting on 2 February 2023 with the National Disaster Management Advisory Forum — presented by Eskom, the Department of Public Works and the National Energy Crisis Committee on whether the electricity crisis should be declared a national state of disaster — Eskom presented medium- to long-term interventions, but could not provide immediate solutions or suggestions to support a national state of disaster.
Agri SA, though, highlighted the risks of extended periods of rolling blackouts, which are spilling over to food production, processing and other elements that contribute to the availability of affordable and healthy food.
Emphasising the critical importance of food security and why it should be protected, it warned that hunger, malnutrition and famine pose significant political, economic, social, environmental, safety and biosecurity risks for any country.
On 3 February, it followed up with an e-mail to the Disaster Management Centre, saying the agriculture sector lost an estimated R23-billion in just nine months last year.
“To prevent further damage to the agriculture sector, immediate access to electricity is needed over the next few weeks. Irrigation is a crucial process in agriculture as it enables farmers to grow crops, especially in inadequate rainfall areas.
“Without irrigation, farmers would be dependent on rainfall to water their crops, making them vulnerable to load shedding and causing damage to irrigation systems when the electricity supply is unreliable. This already has a loss of income for farmers due to crop failure and a reduction in agricultural productivity.”
Research conducted by Nova Economics on behalf of Eskom shows that an estimated 1% reduction in electricity sales due to rolling blackouts corresponds to a 0.4% decrease in SA’s GDP growth.
The cost of rolling blackouts per day to the SA economy:
Stage 1: R235.5-million
Stage 2: R471.3-million
Stage 3: R706.7-million
Stage 4: R942.4-million
In a press release issued on Tuesday ahead of the State of the Nation Address, the federation of agricultural associations described the situation as “crippling” and a “catastrophe”, warning that without urgent action, South Africans can expect crop failure, higher food prices and shortages of some food products in the near future.
The proposed state of disaster, mooted by the ANC’s national executive committee to address the energy crisis, will not avert this threat — what is required is ...
For South Africa to launch its transition to green energy for broad-based industrialisation requires rapid actions – not words. Actions are required for credibility to be rebuilt.
South Africa’s economy is currently at a dramatic fork in the road.
The first of two starkly different options is to put a green growth and transformation agenda at the forefront of the country’s development plans. Such a path will require significant investments to realise South Africa’s world-leading potential yields in green energy (notably wind and solar).
This is in line with the finding that development finance institutions need to take on a more prominent role in climate funding to cover the gap left by the private sector.
The second path is the one we are on.
We continue to bury our heads in the sand, and commitments at the COP27 meetings are not matched with action. Staying on this path worsens already dire climate change metrics to new record levels, ensuring our failure to achieve even the most conservative 2050 targets.
This second path includes the many voluntary commitments to net-zero targets which are not worth the paper they’ve been written on. Clear rules and incentives need to be enforced. In the absence of sufficient accountability and punishment for non-compliance, the biggest emitters gladly opt for a wait-and-see approach, along with their latest greenwashing advertisement or product line.
On this path, the longer we wait, the more aggressive we will have to be with the high costs of inaction against climate change as we adjust to the accelerating changes we failed to address or prepare for.
On the flip side, there are positive tipping points where breakthroughs can set off feedback loops to drive lower costs, including in electric vehicles and green ammonia for fertiliser.
South Africa is on the front line of these hard choices as it is both in a climate hotspot and has incredible renewable energy potential.
Moreover, we have major trading partners looking to ensure their industries are sufficiently protected and supported to meet their climate change mitigation targets. The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is one example where South Africa’s exports are at risk.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
South Africa’s agenda and ambitions heading into the COP27 negotiations focused on ensuring a just transition. This led to the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership between South Africa, Germany, France, the European Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. It ...
The global mining industry is on track to meet its emission reduction target and big trucks will pave the way, according to the International Council on Mining and Metals.
The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which has 26 member companies worldwide that account for a third of global mining output, says that the industry’s zero emissions target is feasible.
“All ICMM member companies will achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050. each company is taking steps to reduce their emissions,” ICMM CEO Rohitesh Dhawan told Business Maverick in an interview at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from assets owned by an organisation, while Scope 2 emissions are linked to the purchase of power, heating and such things. GHG emissions are one of the driving forces of human-induced climate change.
There is a lot of scepticism about such proclamations from a power-intensive industry that historically has had a woeful environmental record. But the climate crisis has triggered public and investor pressure on the industry to clean up its act, and it is often at the cutting edge of the technical innovation that decarbonisation efforts require.
And many of the “green metals” needed for the looming energy transition can only be produced by the mining industry so, love or hate it, it needs to be a player on this front.
To wit, Dhawan said that the global mining energy has renewable energy projects in the pipeline to the tune of 18.5GW which will be up and running by 2025.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“It’s about the same capacity as the entire grid of Colombia,” he said.
Still, reaching the targets will be challenging. Mining tricks are a prime example which also shows how inventive solutions can be reached through old-fashioned economics.
“Net zero by 2050 is achievable and we can see a pathway with Scope 2 that is very clear. Scope 1 is harder because the majority of Scope 1 emissions are diesel. And there are 28,000 mining trucks globally and the vast majority of them are diesel and they carry payloads up to 5,000 tonnes,” Dhawan said.
“What we found was happening in 2017 was that the manufacturers of trucks were telling us that if mining companies would buy zero-emission vehicles, they would put effort and energy into producing them. And mining companies were saying that if ...
Implied school policies and unwritten school rules counter any move towards transformation. Using an implicit rule to, for example, prevent boys from wearing earrings when girls are allowed to do so is discrimination, and perpetuates outdated, binary notions of gender.
A young child, who identifies as male, asked if he could get his ears pierced and wear earrings. I was not aware of any boys who wear earrings at his school, so my first step was to look through the school’s official uniform guide. There was no information about earrings for either girls or boys.
When this learner went to school with one small stud in the lobe of each ear, the teachers said nothing. A couple of learners said negative things, but the majority of learners were either positive or indifferent, and they went on with their school day.
I was later told by the school that this pupil had to take his earrings out. I questioned this decision, explaining that I found nothing in the uniform rules about earrings, and my search on the school’s website for relevant policies resulted in nothing as well.
The school then added that even though the policy is not explicitly stated in the rule book, it is implied and has been implemented at the school for many years.
An implied policy?
Further, I was informed that, if the implied policy was difficult to understand, the school would make it explicit.
Gatekeeping hidden rules
I am in education myself, and I know that implicit or assumed rules are extremely dangerous, especially in a South African context where we are trying to embrace, with dignity, multiple perspectives and worldviews.
How can leaders assume that certain unstated “norms” would or should be “understood” and agreed upon by the whole community? What other policies are implicit? What other invisible rules will be retrospectively pulled out of the hat by management?
Not only is this lack of transparency dangerous, but it is also unprocedural.
The school was upset that I had not gone through the “correct channels” by asking permission first. I was told that for the “rule” to change, it had to go through the relevant committee and be ratified by the Council. What are the correct channels for an invisible rule? Why is Council allowed to gatekeep hidden rules that parents are not privy to? What kind of top-down guessing game is this?
Implicit rules are usually a form of behaviour that is accepted and agreed upon ...
In his speech to the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa pointedly said the government was in the process of procuring an ‘off-the-shelf cadastral system’, a crucial reform that the industry has long been lobbying for. He also acknowledged the many challenges faced by the sector in South Africa.
President Ramaphosa’s references to the cadastre was brief, but it was music to the ears of the South African mining industry, signalling that the drive to replace the useless Samrad system for logging mining and exploration rights has top political backing.
“The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has indicated that the process for procuring an off-the-shelf cadastral system, which can be customised to South Africa’s needs, is under way.
“This is essential for the operation of a modern mining rights administration system, which in turn is vital for the growth of the industry,” Ramaphosa said in his prepared remarks which come two days before his annual State of the Nation Address.
The DMRE did say recently that the process was on track, but Ramaphosa’s pointed reference to the issue is a strong sign that this is indeed the case.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “DMRE says process to procure mining cadastre this financial year remains ‘on track’ ”
A cadastre provides the public with online access to the state of play in a country’s mining sector, transparently showing what companies have mining rights and where, and that sort of thing. South Africa’s Samrad system, by way of stark contrast, is a dysfunctional mess, creating logjams in applications for mining rights — a major turn-off for investors.
There are plenty of other turn-offs for investors, and Ramaphosa acknowledged many. Indeed, his speech almost gave the impression that he was trying to dissuade investors from sinking their capital into South Africa.
“The fact that mineral production contracted by nine percent year on year in November 2022 — largely due to electricity shortages and inefficiencies in logistics — is indicative of the challenges we need to confront and overcome,” he said.
“In addition to the energy crisis and problems with port and rail operations, the outlook for the year ahead has been dampened by concerns about safety and security, illegal mining and the pace of our structural reform programme.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
So, what the President was effectively — and to his credit, honestly — telling a conference full of bankers, ...
Single parenthood is hard enough without the added challenge of attempting to procure maintenance from the child’s other parent. What are the options available to the average South African parent?
If one is in the unfortunate position of needing to claim child maintenance from the other parent, there are essentially three options at one’s disposal. These include approaching the high court, the magistrates’ court, or the maintenance office with jurisdiction.
While it is arguable that the first option will yield the quickest result, it is also the most costly and therefore outside the reach of most average South Africans. This leaves the second and third options.
In South Africa, where most individuals cannot afford legal representation, the primary avenue for procuring maintenance is by approaching the nearest maintenance office. While it is the most accessible option, it brings with it an array of problems.
First, you may approach this office and be confronted with long queues while waiting to be assisted. Once finally helped, you may discover that in order to submit a claim, you need to provide detailed information about each expense claimed.
If you are unprepared, as most are, this may require another return trip to the maintenance office. Upon finally submitting your claim, you may be mistaken in thinking that the process will finally get underway. Not so!
You may be met with a Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD) system that has been offline for several weeks, resulting in a severe backlog. It may thus take months for the respondent to be served and for a date to be set for the first appearance before the maintenance officer.
And in cases where the respondent works outside the province or country, you can brace yourself for even more delays.
Then, despite being instructed to provide a list of documentation, the respondent may omit to do so, which could result in even further delays. By now, four months (or more) have likely passed since your first visit to the maintenance office.
On your return visit, you may be faced with other challenges: the respondent may neglect to appear, she/he may attempt to delay the matter by insisting that legal counsel be present (although this is not required for a maintenance enquiry) or she/he may bring an application to stay the maintenance enquiry in light of any ongoing divorce proceedings or other litigation related to the minor child.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
Despite threats from the EFF to not allow President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, Parliament’s presiding officers say it’s all systems go.
‘On the question of disruptions, let me start off by saying that this is not a new experience in our South African context,” said Amos Masondo, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. He was responding to a question about the EFF’s threats to disrupt State of the Nation Address proceedings on Thursday.
Addressing the first Gauteng Provincial Plenum of the Third Provincial People’s Assembly, EFF leader Julius Malema warned that the party would not allow President Ramaphosa to address the nation while there were still unanswered questions around the Phala Phala scandal.
“We are going to show him what we are made of, there in Parliament,” said Malema.
“We will never be addressed by a constitutional delinquent. we will be there and we are going to take him head-on and that is our relationship with him from now onwards.”
In response, Masondo said: “We will ensure that the rules of Parliament are applied. Our understanding is that members of Parliament are familiar with the rules themselves, and every MP has a responsibility to conduct himself or herself in a proper fashion.
“Overall, we will be firm but fair. We will do everything to ensure that Sona is a success.”
EFF disruptions
If the EFF sticks to its guns (it always does when it comes to disruptions), it will not be the first time it has held up proceedings. In 2017, the party exchanged blows with Parliament’s security officials while being ejected from the chamber after disruptions while former president Jacob Zuma was at the podium.
At the time, the party wanted Zuma held accountable, saying he had violated his oath of office through the Nkandla saga, in which the Constitutional Court had ruled against him. The Public Protector had found that Zuma needed to pay for non-security upgrades to his private home in Nkandla.
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In 2019, the EFF again threatened to disrupt proceedings if Ramaphosa failed to come clean about his son’s business dealings with the controversial Bosasa group of companies.
Ramaphosa somehow placated the EFF, and he addressed the nation without disruptions.
The following year – 2020 – for the first time in a democratic South Africa, Sona was suspended as the EFF first called former president FW de Klerk a ...
Scotland beat England 29-23 at Twickenham to remind the world champions Springboks – and the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland – that they won’t be making up numbers at Rugby World Cup 2023.
Ever since the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023 draw was made ludicrously prematurely in December 2020 – 33 months before the start of the tournament – it has been a waiting game to see which teams would be in form at the right time.
The outcome of the draw put the defending world champions, the Springboks, and Ireland in the same pool. It also included Scotland, then ranked seventh.
That set the narrative because, at the time, the Boks hadn’t played for over a year due to the pandemic, but retained their No 1 world ranking status while Ireland were fifth at the time. Ireland are now No 1, with the Boks fourth and Scotland fifth. Pool B also includes Tonga and Romania. It is the group of death.
The general consensus has been that the loser of that Pool B clash between the Boks and Ireland on 23 September at the Stade de France in Paris will meet the winner of Pool A in the quarterfinals. In case you’ve forgotten, Pool A includes hosts France and perennial pre-World Cup favourites New Zealand.
The theory is that between those four sides, two excellent teams will be knocked out before the semifinals, thanks to the vagaries of the draw.
But, not so fast, there is another potential wrinkle in the smooth path for South Africa and Ireland in the form of the dangerous Scotland.
The Scots are not exactly flying under the radar after another victory over England, but it’s not so much the result as their performance that has caught the eye.
The Boks proved at RWC 2019, after losing their opening match, that a team can afford one defeat and still progress to the knockout stages, but certainly not two.
However, it has been done before. France infamously lost to Tonga in Pool play at RWC 2011, as well as to hosts New Zealand, but squeaked into the knockouts after Tonga lost to Canada as well as the All Blacks.
France, as France do – despite the squad at war with coach Marc Lievremont – made it all the way to the final where they lost 8-7 to the All Blacks. On the balance of play, they should have won that final, although they were certainly not ...
We are in a crisis. A crisis demands vision, fortitude, and capability. South Africa has all three — just not where it matters, and that is in a declining ANC that no longer knows how to govern.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his State of the Nation Address on Thursday 9 February 2023. He will most likely take several hours to complete his speech after the usual disruptions and descent into violent chaos to which we have become accustomed.
Dutifully, the Speaker of Parliament will, as is custom, have invited senior diplomats to watch South Africa embarrass itself by showing how fundamentally unserious its “elected” national leadership is in the face of a deep national crisis. They will shake their heads and file reports to their home countries expressing even deeper concern than the previous decade in which they have done precisely the same.
But Thursday’s State of the Nation Address should not be an ordinary one. While rolling blackouts are the most pressing national issue, the truth is that our crisis now runs far deeper than rolling blackouts. We are going backwards, erasing the progress we have made since 1994.
At just over 33%, our unemployment rate is the same as it was 20 years ago. When we include the millions who have given up looking for work, our unemployment rate is a staggering 44%! Youth unemployment is even higher at 60%.
Nearly half of all children who start school never reach matric. These children become adults who cannot find jobs to build a better life for themselves and their loved ones. As a result of the joblessness, poverty and inequality have worsened, while food insecurity and hunger have returned as people struggle to put food on the table.
The country has been suffering rolling blackouts to varying degrees for most of the past 16 years. Last year South Africa, and Eskom in particular was producing less electricity than it did in 2008. Keep in mind that Eskom owes lenders close to R400-billion and spends more on servicing that debt (R32-billion) than it does on maintenance (R19-billion in 2021). No economy can function, let alone grow, without electricity.
Although the government has indicated it will take over some of Eskom’s debt, the government’s own debt servicing costs this year will amount to R332-billion, or just over R6.4-billion per week. Debt service payments are now the biggest single expenditure item in our national budget.
Ordinarily, debt is not ...
The ANC is not going to save South Africa. Maybe it’s time to revisit the UDF; to launch a political movement that has one purpose: the well-being of all South Africans so that we can all be truly free at last.
I grew up in the poor neighbourhood of Verlate Kloof in Wellington when South Africa was still a Whites-Only country. Last Christmas I drove through the streets again and thought back with nostalgia to the street preacher who used to bring Good Tidings on Christmas Day on the corner of our street. He always closed with the hymn Jesus kom weer (Jesus will return), Hallelujah.
A dream
Later my brothers and I joined the Boy Scouts. It was an opportunity to learn vital skills and to explore the country. We were eventually promoted to Springbok Scouts. For me this meant that I could represent South Africa at the World Jamboree in Norway. For the first time I would interact socially with white, Indian and black South Africans. I would get to know the world and its nations; a life-changing experience which would shake me out of my political naivety.
Back home the youth uprisings of 1976 awaited me. Given my political awakening, I got involved in student politics the following year when I went to study teaching at the “University of the Working Class” (UWC).
Here I befriended student leaders like Danny Titus, Russel Botman and Cecyl Esau. Students regularly met in the cafeteria, sang freedom songs and listened to Struggle leaders like Allan Boesak and Basil Kivedo.
The role of Afrikaans
Kivedo, at that stage a lecturer at UWC and a member of MK (Umkhonto weSizwe), told me many years later: “I led the protest in Afrikaans, I was arrested by the Security Police in Afrikaans, I was tortured in Afrikaans, but fought back in Afrikaans.” Afrikaans and many non-Africans thus also played an important role in the freedom Struggle.
We tried to imagine what Nelson Mandela would look like (information about Madiba and his leadership corps was forbidden). The march led by our vice-chancellor, Professor Richard van der Ross, and academics like professors Jakes Gerwel, Jaap Durand and Jairam Reddy, is still fresh in my mind. Not just because of its historic nature, but also because I had a close brush with death.
Hope fades
My participation in this march was born from the dream that we would have a democracy one day. We looked forward with ...
What a difference a new year can make. By the end of 2022, markets were moribund and sentiment was dire. At the end of the worst year for investors in nine decades, 2023 was meant to be a grim slog of stubborn inflation giving way to a crunching recession.
The first few weeks of the new year could not have been more different.
The key US benchmark, the S&P 500, is now 15% up from its October lows, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 17% higher in a couple of weeks.
Riskier junk bonds have appreciated considerably in the last month, with yields over 1% lower, while Bitcoin – the standard-bearer of risk on sentiment – has had its best January in history, up almost 40%.
The local JSE has not been left out of this rush of blood to the head.
On the back of soaring bourse heavyweights Naspers and Richemont, the Top 40 is up almost 30% from its lows in September. Markets have experienced a “flight-to-shite”, according to Robin Wrigglesworth of the Financial Times.
What, if anything, has changed to create this sudden reversal? And can it last? Or is this just another iteration of the bear market rally last seen between June and August, when the S&P 500 appreciated an eerily identical 15%?
The data coming out of the global economy are mixed, and Friday’s US jobs number did not help the confusion.
The US economy added half a million jobs in January, blasting through expectations and making any recent labour market cooling look very marginal indeed. And yet, outside of the jobs market, things are not looking good at all.
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Last week’s ISM manufacturing survey in the US in effect showed that the supply side of the economy is in a recession. While the US consumer remains resilient for the moment, spending is largely on services rather than goods, and overwhelmingly dependent on credit.
Looking through the murky data, markets have bought into the notion of a “soft landing” for the economy. This interprets jobs market strength as a sign the economy can muscle through higher interest rates without a recession, arguing that “this time is different” because of structural changes in the US economy.
Post-Covid, they say, it is possible for inflation to moderate without the usual fallout in the jobs market that would result in higher unemployment and a recession.
Speaking last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Workers want minority union Solidarity to be recognised and afforded bargaining rights.
About 50 Distell workers stopped work and picketed outside the Adam Tas production site in Stellenbosch on Monday morning and will continue striking today. They are demanding that Distell give their union of choice, Solidarity, recognition and bargaining rights.
The striking workers included warehouse workers, machine operators, order pickers, and cellar staff, among others. Distell is South Africa’s largest alcohol producer, with brands such as Klipdrift, Savanna, J.C Le Roux, and Hunters. The company is currently merging with international giant Heineken.
Shop steward Cederik Arendse said that about 187 workers have decided to join Solidarity but Distell is refusing to recognise the union and give it access to the workplace. Solidarity is the largest union at the Adam Tas site, he said.
Distell spokesperson Dennis Matsane said to GroundUp, “While we respect the union’s right to strike, we do not believe the strike is warranted nor does it have merit”. He said bargaining rights are awarded to unions with a minimum of 20% member representation at the national level.
Solidarity took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) last year. The CCMA recommended that Solidarity reach the level of 20% membership at national level at Distell in order to get bargaining rights.
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Matsane said that 120 Distell workers were members of Solidarity, of whom 105 worked at Adam Tas. Nationally, Distell has a total of about 3,700 workers and at Adam Tas there are about 640 workers, but these numbers do fluctuate, he said.
Arendse said many workers are still cautious about joining Solidarity because it has not been recognised by Distell.
He said that the two other unions in the workplace — the Food and Allied Workers Union and The National Union of Food, Beverage, Wine, Spirit and Allied Workers — were not helping workers enough during bargaining and did not consult workers before concluding negotiations.
“We want the union of our choice,” said worker Belinda Appollis. “We want a union who will fight for our rights.”
Appollis said that some members of Solidarity weren’t striking because they were afraid of losing their bonuses. The striking workers intend to stay away from work until Distell gives in to their demands.
Matsane said Distell would “continue to engage the union with the hope of finding common ground”. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Leftover rice, samp or other small grains can be used as a filling in this recipe from the South African Poultry Association.
South Africans eat 146 eggs per person a year, but for optimal health we should eat more of them. Compared with countries such as Mexico (380 eggs per person), our egg consumption lags well behind.
The Department of Health’s dietary guidelines encourage us to eat eggs in moderation every day. This is because eggs offer a lot of nutritional bang for your buck when it comes to a healthy and balanced diet. They are an excellent source of high-quality protein, as well as nutrients like choline, zinc, vitamin A, phosphorous, iodine, and some B vitamins.
Whether cooked up on the skottel with some boeries, or served with baked peppers and leftover rice or samp, let’s keep eggs local, lekker and a regular feature in the South African diet.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
2 large peppers, halved and deseeded
15ml (1 Tbsp) olive oil
500ml (2 cups) cooked rice
4 eggs
1 x 400g can spicy tomato onion mix
Fresh chopped herbs, to garnish
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the pepper halves in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon the cooked rice into the pepper halves.
Pour 125ml (½ cup) water into the bottom of the pan, cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven until the peppers are soft and the rice is heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
Using the back of a spoon make an indentation into the rice and crack an egg into each indentation. Spoon tomato and onion mix around the peppers.
Bake uncovered until the eggs are cooked to your liking and the sauce is heated through, about 5-8 minutes. Serve immediately. DM/TGIFood
A confit duck leg crisped in its own fat and served in all its grand simplicity belies the time and patience that has gone into its preparation.
In the Gascony and Basque region of south-western France, people with good palates and time on their hands gave us something very special. They found a way to preserve the meat of geese, ducks and pigs for as long as six months: The art of confit. But it’s the confit duck beloved by all of France and much of the world that is their most lasting gift.
To imagine what it must have been like to taste the meat of confit duck leg and wing for the first time, make it yourself, real long and slow, and then leave it to cool. Then, before going to bed for the night, sneak into the kitchen and lift the lid. I made confit duck legs and wings this week (don’t leave the wings out, they’re a treat, you’ll see), and that is what I did. Snuck into the kitchen. Pulled away a piece of the wing meat and popped it in my mouth. Oh! My! Gaaahd! I yelled to the rest of the sleeping house in my best impersonation of Chandler’s ex-girlfriend on Friends. It was Just. So. Ridiculously. Yum.
Once upon a time, a Basquaise farmer must have started cooking the dissected quarters of a goose or duck, skin, fat and all, in a pot and forgotten about it. Hours later he would have awakened from his slumber with something unfamiliar but compelling in his nostrils. Wrapping his nightgown around him against the cold, he would have followed his nose to the kitchen range and the pot suspended over the few remaining fading embers. Lifting the lid, he must have swooned, and picked up a ladle, and then put it down again and reached in with his fingers, and pulled away a strip of that tender meat. Mon Dieu! He must have exclaimed. Ma Chérie! Viens ici! Goûte ça! My darling, come here, taste this! And confit duck was born.
In fact, it was more likely to have been goose. Even pork. These were the meats preserved in their own fat over many long hours to create one of the most important ways of keeping meat that is edible long after the animal’s slaughter. But it is confit duck that has truly stood the test of time and ...
Without enough community, family and school support, pregnant learners struggle to finish their schooling.
In the Northern Cape Joe Morolong Local Municipality, only half the learners who start primary school make it to high school, and only 15% of all residents finish Grade 12, according to a recent report from the education department.
The Northern Cape Education Department has cited teenage pregnancy as a contributor to high dropout rates. Its Zero Dropout Campaign report documents worrying school dropout and completion rates in the province.
Other factors include a lack of parental support, unsafe journeys to school, pressure to earn an income, and taking risks to get noticed by “better-resourced groups”, such as criminal gangs and sugar daddies.
“Very few girls go back to school after giving birth,” says Frederick Ocansey of the Yethu Club in Kuruman, which is focused on reducing dropout rates.
Ocansey said they are approached by parents, school staff and members of the community who are concerned that a learner is at risk of dropping out. “We will then speak to the learner involved. Where the situation is too difficult for us to resolve, we involve a counsellor and a social worker,” he said.
He said the community has high unemployment.
“We see how appalling the economic situation is and we see how most of the learners, especially the girls — because they don’t have much support from their parents — get resources from older boys and as a result, some of them get pregnant and drop out of school,” said Ocansey.
He said the education department should provide more counsellors at schools to help pregnant learners cope and to encourage them to finish their schooling. “They need to be motivated that they still need to be educated even though they are pregnant,” said Ocansey.
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Spokesperson for the department Geoffrey van der Merwe said 5,015 teenage pregnancies were recorded from April 2020 to June 2021 among learners aged 10 to 19. Learners aged 10 to 14 accounted for 154 of these pregnancies.
The Northern Cape has 556 public schools, of which 89 primary schools and 15 high schools are in the Joe Morolong Municipality.
“The prevalence of teenage pregnancies occurs across all districts, but mainly in the Frances Baard and John Taolo Gaetsewe districts. These figures are of great concern to the department,” said Van der Merwe.
He said teenage pregnancies were also related to drug and alcohol abuse.
Equal ...
England have been bridesmaids to Australia on three separate occasions in T20 World Cups. But with their new aggressive approach, the English will be hoping to wear the veil this time around.
England will be expected to get out of their group comfortably at the T20 World Cup. For the last six years, they have consistently been the second-best team in the world behind the formidable Australia.
Their first match is on Saturday against West Indies — who on their day can be world beaters but haven’t won a cricket match since September last year.
India is expected to be their only real threat in the group and a loss to them could prove costly as it would likely set up a meeting with Australia in the semi-finals — who are expected to top Group 1.
A meeting England would rather avoid based on their recent history against the old foes in T20I knockout cricket.
Between 2012 and 2018, Australia and England met in the final of the T20 World Cup on three occasions — out of the four tournaments that occurred during that time.
Australia beat them in all three clashes.
However, according to captain Heather Knight, England are focused on taking it one game at a time at this stage.
“Our job as a team is to play the group games in front of us and to try to get out of the group stages,” said the skipper.
“Everyone starts on the same page, we’re pretty clear as a team how we want to go about things and in a T20 World Cup, you don’t have much chance to slip up and our sole focus is on that.
“Us as a squad we’ve brought in a few young players (from the under-19 team) which has kept us old girls on our toes, and we’ve got that real nice balance of youth and experience.”
Young and old
Knight suffered a hip injury last year, forcing her to miss a chunk of the season, including South Africa’s three-month tour of the country.
While vice-skipper and star all-rounder Natalie Sciver-Brunt also took a mental health break toward the end of the year.
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“Last summer we had a few players out, myself included, and while that was tough from a performance point of view it was quite valuable in terms of exposing some of our younger players and giving them the opportunity to showcase their skill ...
As it stands, South Africa’s senior women’s soccer side is still scheduled to travel to Turkey for the Turkish Women’s Cup, despite the country still reeling from a deadly and destructive earthquake. However, this may change.
Banyana Banyana are continuing preparations for the Turkish Women’s Cup, where the South Africans are scheduled to clash with the host nation before taking on Uzbekistan three days later and rounding off their trip with a tie against Venezuela.
However, with the transcontinental country still reeling from the destruction of an earthquake – which struck in the early hours of Monday – and the loss of life, the Turkish Cup may be called off altogether. It is scheduled to be played between 13 and 23 February.
When announcing her tournament squad from the SABC studios in Auckland on Monday, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis acknowledged that the natural disaster – which has to date claimed more than 5,000 lives – may curtail the tournament, and as a result, her side’s World Cup preparation plans.
“We are in contact with the embassy as well as the local organisers [in Turkey]. We can only continue with our preparations until we’re told otherwise; we’ll continue with that and get ready for the Turkish Cup,” Ellis said.
On Tuesday, South African Football Association (Safa) head of communication Mninawa Ntloko confirmed to Daily Maverick that at this juncture, there is no change in plans and that the squad is working on the assumption that the invitational mini-tournament will proceed as planned.
“There is no update from what the coach said at the press conference yesterday. The tournament is going ahead until we’ve been advised otherwise. As the coach said yesterday, she is continuing with her preparations, because we have not heard otherwise,” Ntloko said.
The competition is to take place in the city of Alanya, which has not been affected as heavily as other Turkish cities such as Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa and Adana. Though some minor tremors were reported in Alanya on Monday.
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The 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) winners last played a competitive match in October 2022, where they were thumped 4-1 by World Cup co-hosts Australia. As such, Ellis is desperate to use this international window period to continue sharpening her team as they prepare to play in just their second global spectacle.
South Africa is in a tricky group with Sweden, ...
Children are far behind in learning to read and the problem is deepening.
Fewer primary school children can read for meaning now than before the Covid pandemic, and most children entering grade two do not know the alphabet. But despite a literacy crisis, there is no national reading plan, no proper budget, no accurate reporting, and no progress on implementing vital interventions.
The results of the 2023 Background Report for the 2030 Reading Panel, written by leading education economist Nic Spaull, released Tuesday, show a country going backwards in the fundamental unit of education: literacy.
The 2030 Reading Panel is a group of leaders and researchers convened by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to ensure that all children in South Africa aged 10 or older can read for meaning by 2030. The report finds that “nothing short of a sustained countrywide overhaul of the education system would be likely to yield this result”.
Extrapolating from Western Cape data, the report estimates that the share of grade 4 children that cannot read for meaning has increased to at least 82%, from 78% recorded in 2016.
The report finds that about 60% of children have not learned most of the letters of the alphabet by the end of grade one, citing data from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS), which has followed children from over 200 schools for more than seven years in the North West province.
By the end of Grade 2, over 30% still don’t know all the letters of the alphabet. The report finds that these children are “perpetually behind and in ‘catch-up’ mode, although they never actually catch up”.
What is being done to ensure that literacy is put first? Frighteningly little, says the report.
The most visible national reading programme is the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) Educator Assistant Programme. In 2023, nearly 30,000 Educator Assistants (EAs) are to be ‘Reading Champions’ focused on improving reading for foundation phase learners. The report notes this with some scepticism, since the only requirements to enter are very low — 30% in matric and fluency in the home language of the school — and the Reading Champions will have no face-to-face training or be submitted to a selection process.
Nationally, the DBE is not giving the reading for meaning crisis-specific attention. Despite claims to the contrary from the DBE, the report finds that there is no National Reading Plan, and that the most recent ...
Authentic and effective leaders are, in principle, champions of hope and express that in who they are and how they lead.
The much-awaited Daily Maverick Gathering in November 2022 was an energised melting pot of people and ideas that was extremely well received.
The distinguishing feature was the focus on generating hope through defining solutions, rather than focusing on problems.
The various panels hosted seasoned and erudite leaders, and specialists in their field. Creative debate ensued with the common belief that with the right people, with the right intentions and commitment, we can move mountains. The buzz was tangible throughout the conference – particularly during the breaks – and the event was concluded with a riveting address by Pauli van Wyk, with a spectacular rendition of the national anthem by Anneli Kamfer.
The panel discussions were distilled into an overarching call to action across government, business and society, for leaders of integrity and consequence at all levels, and wherein each person is part of the solution.
We cannot move forward simply hoping and believing that someone else will take care of it.
Most importantly, this must be exemplified in who we are, what we do and how we do it, such that we inculcate it in the young people of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
For most, this is easier said than done, which is understandable given that effective leadership is multidimensional and has a multifarious set of contributing factors.
To this end, this column was birthed, and over the coming weeks and months it will weave a colourful and compelling tapestry of possibility, hope and meaningful solution, by exploring and defining the cornerstones, conundrums, complexities and catalysts of effective leadership.
To understand what effective leadership is, it is important to distinguish between management and leadership – and where the two intersect.
Management is a role and function that focuses on organising, planning and coordinating resources to fulfil the tasks in order to deliver results. Leadership is a state of being that is called to inspire, motivate and influence individuals and groups to find meaning and purpose in and through what they do and the goals they pursue.
While all managers should, in principle, be leaders, many, sadly, are not.
Not all leaders are managers – and have no wish to be.
At the heart of all leadership – good or bad – lies intentionality.
It’s not about the What – it’s the Why.
The heart of effective leadership is about we rather than ...
Far too many skilled young teachers are leaving their critical profession each year, disillusioned and burnt out by a bruising early experience in schools.
As the new school year begins, thousands of newly qualified teachers are starting careers in a demanding and complex field. They are skilled, knowledgeable, caring and resourceful millennials who have much to offer the school system in the long term. They need to be nurtured into good practice and critical reflection.
Media depict excited, tearful learners starting school for the first time. There are images of parents passing precious offspring to what they hope is a safe space, fostered by effective, caring teachers who will act in loco parentis, planting seeds that enable learning and development. At the same time, we have the release of National Senior Certificate results, with celebrations of successful school careers and homage paid to teachers.
Behind idyllic scenes reflecting visions of a smooth upward trajectory is a structural landscape fraught with pitfalls that are the result of corrupt, ineffective social systems and underresourced, overly bureaucratic education systems that limit the ability of young people to learn and realise potential.
Grade 12 celebrations will include only half of the learners who started Grade 1.
Individual teachers are expected to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of young people despite major structural barriers to learning. The age profile of the profession in South Africa is changing. In recent years, the number of newly qualified teachers has tripled. About 15,000 new teachers enter each year; an important fact in a context where at least half of teachers are expected to retire in the next 10 years.
As teacher educators who work in the Newly Qualified Teachers’ Project, we experience the excitement and trepidation of young teachers. The 100-plus teachers who have registered for our programme this year are highly motivated, qualified professionals, often with multiple degrees, who are passionate about teaching and learning and about social justice. Many have dreamt of this moment from a young age, others arrive by happenstance, and yet others are just desperate for a stable job in a country where unemployment for their age demographic averages 55% (though this does not diminish their value as resourceful individuals who can add value).
In law, medicine and accounting, newly qualified graduates have a dedicated period of supervised apprenticeship, during which they are given a light workload. They are mentored by experienced practitioners. In many parts of the ...
Litigation has been ongoing for 10 years involving DRDGold and East Rand Proprietary Mines.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed a bid by two mining companies to challenge a court certification of a class action which could potentially result in them being liable for damages suffered by thousands of miners who contracted silicosis.
Apart from challenging the certification, DRDGold and East Rand Proprietary Mines also wanted to overturn the decision in the Johannesburg high court to develop the common law, allowing families of miners who have subsequently died, or may die pending the resolution of the case, to benefit from any eventual damages award or settlement.
But the SCA has said neither issue is appealable at this stage and struck the matter from the roll.
This means that the class action can proceed.
At this stage there are only 69 applicants in the class action and a process is underway for others affected to either opt in or opt out of the litigation, following which “common issues” would be determined in a first round of litigation and then individual claims during a second stage.
Following the certification of the litigation as a class action, several of the initial 32 mining companies (and parent companies), the owners of 82 mines, which had been cited, entered into settlement agreements with miners who worked for them.
But DRDGold and East Rand Proprietary Mines launched an appeal with the SCA.
Read the full judgment here.
In the ruling handed down this week, Judge Christiaan van der Merwe, writing for the court, said it was common cause that over several decades many thousands of underground mine workers in South African gold mines contracted silicosis or pulmonary tuberculosis, caused through the inhalation of large quantities of silica dust.
Silicosis is a painful, incurable and progressive disease, often resulting in death.
It is contended by the miners that while tuberculosis is a treatable bacterial lung disease, exposure to excessive silica dust increases the risk of miners contracting it.
Judge van der Merwe said the mining companies represented virtually the entire industry in South Africa, including “parent companies” because of their controlling interest.
In the high court, the 69 miners had presented evidence of prolonged industry-wide underground exposure to unhealthy levels of silica dust and that the mining companies had been negligent and wrong in failing to properly address this health hazard.
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They said every affected mineworker — or his ...
Councillor says the area first has to be rezoned.
About 700 families with 3,000 people in Ga-Rankuwa View Extension 15 informal settlement, Tshwane, have been living since 2012 without toilets, running water or formal electrification.
Fridah Molefe, a mother of three, arrived in 2015. He says she has seen a parade of politicians making promises but doing nothing.
“The DA leader then . came here in 2016 and saw everything. He promised to fix our problems. We gave him a tour of the place to see the squalor we live in. They took photos. They gave us T-shirts and asked us to vote for them. But we never saw them again,” she says.
Today the ward councillor is Violet Phalwane of the ANC. “But nothing has come,” says Molefe. “She can’t even give us a water tanker.
“I use a bucket to relieve myself, and throw it in the bush the following morning. That is very humiliating to me as a woman, but we have no choice,” she said.
“They once brought us bucket toilets, but after four months they took them away. We have no water, and no roads here.”
Illegal connections crisscross the settlement, hooked up to a large transformer that has the smell of an electrical fire. The roads are dirt and mud. Water is fetched from neighbouring RDP houses. Some people syphon water using informal water connections.
Lerato Moobi said she has approached the City of Tshwane to seek services several times.
“It’s raining today, the power will go off, and we have to ask the men in the area to fix it for us,” says Moobi. “We have protested to no avail. We feel like we have been dumped here and people we trusted have disappointed us.”
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Community committee leader Peter Ngobeni said, “Some areas that started a few years ago have electricity and proper sanitation, except us. We are tired of fighting. Last year, this place was full of politicians campaigning. After elections, they are gone.”
Ward 30 Councillor Phalwane said the area is in the process of being formalised. Regarding the toilets, she said the service provider’s contract had lapsed and the City had not appointed a new one.
She said the service provider had also done a poor job. “They put the toilets only in one section.
“The City has budget constraints and this is what they always bring when we request services,” she said.
“They ...
Rather than relying on foreign navies, Horn of Africa countries must lead in stemming illicit arms inflows.
On 6 January, United States (US) command forces intercepted a dhow in international waters between Iran to Yemen carrying over 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles. Shipments of thousands of illicit weapons from the Iran-Yemen arms trade are reportedly transported via maritime routes to Somalia. There they are sold to the violent extremist groups Islamic State in Somalia and al-Shabaab.
The weapons smuggling network allegedly extends to al-Shabaab-linked armed groups in Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique — threatening security in an already volatile region. It violates United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) sanctions and the renewed UN Security Council arms embargo on Somalia. The illegal arms trade also undermines gains from the decline of piracy in the region.
The Horn of Africa has great economic, geopolitical and security value to Africa and the world. It is near key waterways vital to international trade. The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean. Oil and natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf transit Bab-el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz en route to the Suez Canal.
Somalia has the longest coastline on the African continent, but its maritime borders are porous and affected by insecurity on land. Weapons smuggling and trafficking of drugs and other goods are relatively common here. However, the proliferation of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen that end up in Somalia shows the transnational nature of maritime crime in the Horn.
Maritime crime has spread because of inadequate monitoring, patrolling and enforcement capabilities by the region’s navies. This, coupled with internal conflicts and the war in Yemen, has exacerbated regional instability, threatening the international oil trade and energy security.
With their vested economic and security interests, major powers such as the US, China and Saudi Arabia have stepped into this maritime security vacuum and lead efforts to patrol these waters. Over the past few years, US naval forces have sporadically intercepted arms shipments bound for Somalia.
But Africa should not transfer its maritime security role to external actors. States in the Horn must take charge. The policies exist that enable them to do so despite implementation challenges.
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Regional initiatives such as the Djibouti Code of Conduct (through its Jeddah Amendment) already list illegal activities at sea, including arms ...
The high court’s decision on anti-nuclear activist Peter Becker’s sacking shows just how vital it is to have countervailing views and voices on a board, to avoid ‘groupthink’. Mantashe failed to appreciate this, revealing his true colours in the process.
Journalists and commentators who brave the ANC’s national conference to get a more granular sense of what is going down must face a professional dilemma when they are finally permitted into an open session in the vast plenary hall.
If they choose to take a seat in the media section, it is relatively comfortable but very far from the action, positioned as it is about 50m directly to the right of the podium. You can’t see those on the stage, except via the huge video screens. So you might as well be at home watching it on TV from the comfort of your couch.
Most of the media take the other option. Which is to crouch or sit on the narrow corridor of floor between the podium and the front row of the delegates. Part Spanish bullring, part Roman lion’s den and part World War I trench, it is an extraordinary and even exhilarating experience.
Blood and thunder; a political cacophony. In their wisdom, the organising committee had opted to place the KwaZulu-Natal delegation right in front of the section of the podium where the speaker’s stand was located.
It’s someone’s job to try to chair this enormous and unruly gathering. And in December, that man was Gwede Mantashe – the now re-elected chair of the ANC. As one peers up at the man, one’s admiration for him inevitably grows. The baying from the KZN ranks rises; with numerous shouted demands and insults.
It’s a thankless task, but Mantashe has the skin of a rhino, and he manages the process with aplomb, without once breaking a sweat or looking remotely disconcerted. Despite the pressure, there is no evidence of his heartbeat rising one beat. He has nerves of steel.
But this man is also the minister of mineral resources and energy. And he likes his job, recognises its power, and wants to stay overlording the most important (and ripe with potential) – and troubled – sector of South Africa’s economy.
On Monday, he was centre-stage again, at the mining indaba, surrounded by “fat-cat mining magnates” and “masters-of-the-universe asset managers”, and utterly in his element.
But this rhino-skinned former National Union of Mineworkers general secretary can be as clumsy as ...
If boys continue to be raised in the expectation that they will marry girls who have been cut, this serves to consistently reinforce the practice. It is imperative that we strengthen partnerships with men and boys.
Many women who have endured female genital mutilation (FGM) face severe complications in childbirth.
Sister Eunice Moraa from the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters in Kenya is only too aware of the toll FGM exacts: “It is a big problem in the community I serve. We see many complications, including excessive bleeding, and uterine and vaginal prolapse (when the organs drop out of their normal position). Many women hide this for years, even when they can’t sit or walk properly.”
As if childbirth is not challenging enough, it defies belief that communities should choose to add a litany of complications to women’s reproductive lot in life, by inflicting on them a practice that is entirely unnecessary – and a downright violation of a woman’s rights.
When we committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we agreed to ending FGM, a harmful practice that continues to threaten the health and well-being of millions of girls and women today. Only seven years remain for that noble vision to be realised – and while much progress has been made, it is clear that much more needs to be done.
Over the past 20 years, FGM has declined by one-quarter in the 31 countries with national data. According to the most recent Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2014), the national prevalence of FGM stands at 21%, compared with 27% in 2008/9 and 32% in 2003. Moreover, in countries with a high prevalence of FGM, the proportion of girls and women who oppose FGM has doubled, the data indicate.
What is disturbing, however, is that this progress is not universal. In too many countries, FGM remains as common today as it was three decades ago.
Today, as we mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, we note and commend the hard-won successes, but we must also underline the relative failures – and remain steadfast in our refusal to give up the fight for every woman and girl to enjoy their right to bodily autonomy and good health.
Read in Daily Maverick: “How female genital mutilation costs Nigeria dearly”
As FGM is rooted in gender inequality and power imbalances, eradicating the practice requires changing the cultural and social norms that increase the risk of harm to ...
When the Sona show is over, and our attention has moved on, ‘business as usual’ means the steady and inexorable whittling away of the dignity, opportunity and possibility from millions of people in South Africa.
It is difficult to know how or what to write about this week’s annual State of the Nation Address (Sona), to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa on behalf of his Cabinet and the ANC.
It comes around again in the annual political calendar accompanied by a profound sense of scepticism and déjà vu.
The President will pronounce, the opposition parties will denounce and disrupt, the media will pick and unpack, op-eds will be written, civil society will express its disappointment.
There will be sound and fury, column inches, noise, bluster. And then it will be back to governmental business as usual.
Despite the attempt to massage the truth by the Presidency, through glossy state of the nation brochures that list “Commitments and Achievements” in vague and generalised terms (look at the section on health, for example) one cannot get away from the disjuncture between polished shlock and the reality on the streets.
When the Sona show is over, and media attention has moved on, “business as usual” means the steady and inexorable whittling away of the dignity, opportunity and possibility from millions of people in South Africa.
Knowing this, I wanted to write about the real state of the nation. But trying to describe the pain and brokenness of our society comes with a similar sense of “been there, seen that” – especially when those with political and economic power have managed so successfully to delink from and desensitise themselves to people’s everyday realities.
Our nation is trying very hard to express its pain, but very few people with power are listening.
This weekend I watched the premiere of a series of one-minute films, Tshammu, written by new graduates of the Market Theatre Laboratory under the overall directorship of Omphile Molusi. They were fine films, presented by smart kids (my son among them), dressed to the nines. But their storylines were overwhelmingly about violence, alcoholism, desperation and anxiety. The directors are the new generation of what, 40 years ago, we would have celebrated as our protest poets and playwrights.
But this time the protest seems darker and deeper.
Another space where this anxiety bubbles to the surface is protest. According to a report released on 31 January by Municipal IQ, in 2022 there were 193 ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Some of the most powerful Middle East earthquakes in decades killed more than 2,500 people in Turkey and Syria, and left millions in the cold as night fell and snowfall increased.
A predawn earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 hit the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Monday morning and a second measured at 7.6 struck nearby just nine hours later, according to Turkey’s disaster response management agency, known as AFAD.
Millions are facing a night without heating gas, electricity or fuel for their cars. Authorities halted flows of crude to a regional export terminal as they searched for signs of damage along a major oil pipeline.
“We are desperately waiting for help from neighboring provinces but they are not coming because they’ve also been hit badly,” 48-year-old Murat Gencogullari said by phone from the border province of Hatay. Several buildings had collapsed in the area, burying people under tons of concrete and twisted metal, he said. “Local authorities are struggling to cope but the damage is so widespread and heavy.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey is facing “the strongest disaster in a century”. Speaking before the second quake, he said it was impossible to speculate about the final death toll. Turkey later declared seven days of mourning.
The count stood at more than 1,600 in Turkey late Monday, according to AFAD, with more than 11,000 injured. In Syria, the tally of fatalities was about 540 in government-held areas, the AP said. Groups in the rebel-held northwest said the toll was at least 380.
At least four Turkish airports were damaged, said authorities, who were tracking calls for help on social media from people who were believed to be trapped under the rubble. More than 2,800 buildings have collapsed in Turkey, Erdogan said.
Among those affected were many of Turkey’s 3.7 million registered Syrian refugees, the biggest such population in the world.
Turkey stopped oil flows to Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean coast as a precaution, although no leaks were detected on the pipelines feeding crude to the facility, according to an official with direct knowledge of the matter. Iraqi Kurdistan suspended oil exports through Turkey to the terminal, the Ministry of Natural Resources in Kurdistan said.
Ceyhan is a vital hub for oil sales from northern Iraq and Azerbaijan. The port exported over 1 million barrels a day in January, or 1% of global oil supplies. The shutdown helped push up prices on Monday.
US President Joe Biden ...
It is a race against the clock to keep to the timetable for repairs at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, while Gauteng’s public healthcare needs mount and the challenges of alleged criminal activity and inefficiencies at the hospital persist.
This year is when the restoration of the fire-damaged sections of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is meant to be completed, but one month in, it has not been plain sailing.
There are doubts about timeframes, the quality of workmanship, compliance and effective project management. Added to this are deepening concerns that theft and suspected sabotage are continuing and that human resources red tape and inefficiencies are standing in the way of getting the right people into 774 vacant posts that need to be filled to meet the high demand for healthcare services.
According to the Gauteng Department of Health’s head of communication, Motalatale Modiba, the province is on track to meet its December 2023 deadline to complete repair work. There is a separate deadline of 2026 to complete fire safety compliance throughout the hospital.
Scramble for parking persists
January kicked off with what should have been the reopening of parking bays on the hospital campus. The parking levels were among the worst-affected areas in the fire that broke out on 16 April 2021.
Delays in getting parking areas reopened have had dire knock-on effects on the efficient running of the hospital. Staff and visitors have had to scramble to find parking on the streets around the hospital. This adds to traffic congestion and jammed-up appointment schedules even as the hospital is trying to play catch-up after healthcare services were disrupted by Covid-19 and the fire. Added to this, there have been reports of theft from motor vehicles as well as muggings and assaults of doctors and nurses having to make their way to and from their cars.
Before the fire, the hospital had 1,700 parking bays. Since the fire, only 229 have been accessible on the hospital campus and another 400 in sites around the hospital — a shortfall of about 1,000 parking bays.
Modiba told Spotlight at the beginning of February: “The construction of the temporary access ramp to level P3 is 100% complete. The only outstanding thing is the enrolment of the traffic management system to ensure a greater flow of vehicles into the parking, manage different parking zones, and vehicle access. The P3 parking bays will be available for usage soon.”
But the DA spokesperson for ...
The survey’s result is more evidence of the sliding dominance of ‘liberation’ parties as economic growth in the region lags behind the rest of the developing world — and much of Africa.
Results of an independent survey of Zimbabwean voters show that Nelson Chamisa will defeat the incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, obtaining an outright majority of votes in elections scheduled for later this year.
The survey was conducted for The Brenthurst Foundation by the London-based SABI Strategy Group, which is not affiliated with a Zimbabwean party. The survey, conducted in January using an in-depth 15-minute questionnaire, shows Chamisa would win 53% of the vote to Mnangagwa’s 40% among those who say they will definitely vote.
The result is more evidence of the sliding dominance of “liberation” parties as economic growth in the region lags behind the rest of the developing world — and much of Africa.
Zanu-PF was boosted by the ousting of the long-time president, Robert Mugabe, with his replacement, Mnangagwa, given the opportunity to reinvent the party and implement much-needed economic reforms.
Mnangagwa — like President Cyril Ramaphosa who took over from Jacob Zuma on the promise of reform — has failed to deliver, with the Zimbabwean economy in dire straits. In Zimbabwe’s case, civil liberties are under threat as the opposition is targeted by police, and the ruling party depends heavily on the military to bolster its power.
Old-school liberation politics appears to be wearing thin with voters. Zimbabwe, like South Africa, has tacitly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ostensibly because of past loyalties. The survey showed that a majority — some 58% — believe that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an act of aggression that should be condemned”. Well over 70% of South Africans took the same view in a poll conducted late last year.
While switching support in substantial numbers away from Zanu-PF, many voters expressed concern about whether the election would be free and fair. Some 47% of voters believe the 2023 election will not be free and fair compared with just 38% who say it will be. “Cheating in the counting process” was cited as the biggest threat to a free and fair election (41%), with “the government abusing its power” cited by 29% and “security force violence” cited by 21%.
The survey also showed that Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party is set to win the parliamentary election, outperforming Zanu-PF, which has held power for 43 years since ...
A series of public statements by EFF leader Julius Malema has provided perhaps the most detailed explanation of how his party and the ANC are planning to govern metros between them, and how they will continue to use mayors from minority parties. While this may allow certain parties to have much power and little responsibility, there are also strong indications that it will not result in better service delivery.
This strategy may also turn out to be dangerous, not just for voters but for the parties themselves, as they could end up giving executive power to people over whom they have limited or no control. In the long term, this could be a political recipe for disaster.
On Sunday, while speaking in the Free State, Malema told EFF members that he believed the party would win five positions on the mayoral committee in Ekurhuleni. He said this would go with the two positions it has in Joburg.
He said they would follow the strategy already applied in Joburg, where the EFF and the ANC both backed a member of a minority party for the position of mayor.
As reported by News24, Malema said: “Here, in the Free State, we are negotiating with the Metsimaholo Local Municipality because there we can also go in, but we refuse to go in under the ANC, so we came up with a new strategy now that we would rather have a small-party mayor because we can’t have each other and serve under each other.”
Meanwhile, on Monday morning the leader of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, Siboniso Duma, told SAfm: “We have started a process at the level of the leadership of the EFF” in eThekwini.
This followed a no-confidence vote in eThekwini on Friday where the ANC’s mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, survived with the support of the EFF.
All of this now suggests that the two parties are coming closer together in various provinces across the country.
But many questions remain.
For example, while Malema was spelling out this plan, he also confirmed that the EFF would try to disrupt ANC leader President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening.
This again underscores the tension around this dynamic, around how the EFF can be trying to overthrow the state while working with the ruling party, and how the ANC can even think of working with a party wanting to remove its leader.
There are many other curiosities around this.
For example, if the EFF does ...
Amid the backlash recently received for its invitation of Israeli team Tel Aviv Heat to the revamped Mzansi Challenge, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander says they had to prioritise safety and exclude the side.
According to SA Rugby president Mark Alexander, security threats are the main reason for the organisation opting to rescind its invitation of Israel’s rugby team Tel Aviv Heat to the Mzansi Challenge.
SA Rugby announced a week ago that it was injecting new life into domestic franchise rugby with the invitation of five international teams — the Diables (Spain), Simbas (Kenya), Welwitschias (Namibia), Tel Aviv Heat (Israel) and Goshawks (Zimbabwe) — to clash with the six local sides in the Currie Cup second tier — the First Division.
That segment of the competition has been renamed the Mzansi Challenge.
Days after the announcement, the mother body of South African rugby announced that it had withdrawn the invitation of Tel Aviv Heat to play in the tournament, following “representations from multiple stakeholders”.
There were also alleged death threats against members of SA Rugby.
“Sport, at its most [effective], is a vehicle for social cohesion. It unites and it should never divide. By law, in this country and the major events act, South Africa Rugby is responsible for the security of the tournament. Plus the safety and security of the players, management, coaches and the spectators,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander told Daily Maverick on Monday.
“We would be wrong to host a tournament where there are threats of disruptions and unrest. Real threats to the people involved.
“If we’d gone ahead [with Tel Aviv], we would have to put a major security plan in place. We’re not the state or anybody else who can do that. If we’d gone ahead that would have been tempting fate. We would have been ignoring a very real danger. We would have been placing the participants of this tournament under threat.
“We don’t want to hold events that divide us. Sport is the one thing that people hold on to in this country, to bring people together. If there is a threat of disruption and threats to the safety of people, we need to take those threats seriously.”
Opposing views
With South Africa’s divisive history in mind, the country is generally expected to sympathise with other countries that may experience similar circumstances.
This includes Palestine — which has been at odds with Israel as far back 1948 — in a conflict that had ...
The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has, up till now, opted to not dehorn its rhinos to protect them from poachers. But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally.
The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the last places in Africa where local and foreign wildlife lovers can see wild rhinos — with their magnificent horns still attached to their heads.
On a recent drive through the park, this writer saw 14 rhinos in just two hours, all with the fully grown horns they use to drive off predators, protect their calves and combat territorial rivals.
Unlike most private parks and many other conservation agencies, the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has opted to not dehorn its rhinos as a desperate measure to protect them.
But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HIP) has emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally. Covering just 96,000 hectares, the HIP is considerably smaller than the two million-hectare Kruger National Park. But last year, the number of rhinos killed in KZN was close to double that of Kruger.
The latest poaching figures released by national Environment Minister Barbara Creecy show that 244 rhinos were killed by horn poachers in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 — the vast majority of them in the HIP.
By comparison, 124 rhinos were killed in Kruger, a park that was once home to more than 11,000 rhinos, but whose population has plummeted to somewhere around 2,500 over roughly a decade.
Overall, 448 rhinos were slaughtered nationwide during 2022 (see table) a slight decline (of three) compared with the 451 rhinos poached nationally in 2021. By comparison, more than 1,000 rhinos were poached every year in South Africa between 2013 and 2016.
Now, with the Kruger rhino horn larder stripped almost bare, criminal syndicates have been hitting the HIP harder than ever.
As one of the oldest game reserves in Africa, the HIP is also regarded as the cradle of rhino conservation, a refuge where the last remnant population of southern white rhino was rescued from extinction in the late 1870s and later served to repopulate Kruger and other reserves that had lost all their white rhinos to hunters and poachers.
In a media statement on 6 February, Creecy suggested: “The steady decline in rhino poaching in national parks is related to the relentless war ...
Readers around South Africa responded to our survey on how rolling blackouts are affecting them, with 71 highlighting how the constant power cuts have negatively affected their businesses and working lives.
Eskom plunged South Africa into Stage 6 load shedding again last week to prevent a collapse of the national grid after six generating units broke down. On Sunday, 5 February, the utility announced that power cuts would reduce to stages 3 and 4 from 5am on Monday.
POWERALERT1
Loadshedding will be implemented at Stages 3 and 4 between 05:00 on Monday morning and 16:00 on Wednesday
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) February 5, 2023
A month into 2023, power cuts regularly leave South Africans in the dark. With annoying frequency, warnings of load shedding pop up on the Eskom Se Push app, reminding citizens to hastily plan for the coming darkness.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “South Africa’s power lifeline frays as Eskom scrambles for diesel”
A recent Daily Maverick survey on how the rolling blackouts are affecting readers’ businesses and lives garnered 343 responses, with 161 respondents indicating their appliances had been damaged because of protracted load shedding.
(Read previous responses from our readers about their rolling blackout experiences here and here.)
Many readers say their fridges, washing machines, microwave ovens, dishwashers and computers are no longer working because of fluctuations in the electricity supply caused by load shedding.
“During December, we had various problems with some of the appliances. Our washing machine and refrigerator packed up, but my two sons fixed [them],” said respondent Rudi le Roux.
Some readers said the blackouts had damaged their fridges to the extent that they were no longer able to stay cold.
Daily Maverick reader Lisa Key said her cooking school and restaurant in the Karoo were affected by rolling blackouts in the summer heat. “Fridges and freezers in [the] cooking school and restaurant are off for extended hours. Had to throw away produce.”
“Our microwave has stopped working, there is water coming out of our fridge and it stinks of rotting meat,” said another reader.
“Food has gone off more [times] than I can count. got food poisoning,” said a respondent.
Another Daily Maverick reader said all their Christmas leftovers which could be salvaged after their deep freeze defrosted, “were given to the dogs”.
Readers described having to spend money on preventive measures, including surge plugs, inverters, batteries or embedding their own generation facilities by installing solar panels.
(Maverick Life reporter Malibongwe Tyilo unpacks why surge plugs ...
News that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC has urged the ANC government to declare a National State of Disaster to address the energy crisis (a crisis created by the self-same ANC government) has – predictably – been met with extreme scepticism and even outrage.
While there are good reasons to be sceptical about this proposal, this is not primarily because there is any chance that the government will use its disaster management powers to ban Woolies chicken or the sale of alcohol, or to impose other restrictions of the kind imposed during the Covid-19 crisis (as some commentators have suggested), but rather because a declaration of a State of Disaster will largely be meaningless as it will not grant the government the kind of additional powers that would allow it to circumvent their existing legal obligations.
In any event, it is far from clear that a declaration of a State of Disaster to deal with the energy crisis will be lawful.
This is because such a declaration may not meet the legal requirements for the declaration of a national disaster, as set out in the Disaster Management Act. In terms of the Act, a national disaster may be declared in narrow circumstances in order to deal effectively with a disaster. The Act defines a “disaster” as a:
“progressive or sudden, widespread or localised natural or human-caused occurrence which causes or threatens to cause death, injury or disease; damage to property, infrastructure or the environment; disruption of the life of a community; and is of a magnitude that exceeds the ability of those affected by the disaster to cope with its effects using only their own resources.”
While this definition is quite broad, and on a generous reading may thus apply to the Eskom crisis, reading the Act holistically, it is at best unclear whether it applies to a situation where the “disruption of the life of the community” was caused by many years of government mismanagement, corruption and incompetence and could only be fixed by addressing government mismanagement, corruption and incompetence.
This view is bolstered by the fact that section 2(1)(b) of the Act makes clear that the Act does not apply to situations where the “disaster” can be “dealt with effectively in terms of other national legislation aimed at reducing the risk, and addressing the consequences of an occurrences of that nature”.
I would argue that the Act was not meant to address ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may postpone a government shake-up replacing the defence chief as the government braces for a Russian offensive. No decisions will be made this week, according to a parliamentary official.
Russia’s budget deficit grew in January, driven by higher Russian spending and sinking energy revenues as a result of a price cap imposed by Ukraine’s allies.
Norway’s government proposed to spend 75 billion kroner ($7.3-billion) on helping Ukraine, spread out in equal amounts over five years, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.
Key developments
Ukraine defence chief’s removal on hold amid security risks
Latvia probes citizenship of Russian tycoon Aven under new law
Russia sends more oil by sea, but Kremlin’s war chest is pressured
What does an endgame look like in Ukraine?: Theme of the Week
Here’s how Nato should deal with Erdoğan: Andreas Kluth
On the ground
Ukrainian ground forces used engineering barriers and the natural landscape to stop a Russian offensive in Bakhmut, the Ukrainian Military media centre said, citing Oleksandr Syrskiy, the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine. Russian forces focused their main efforts on an offensive on the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka axes, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 14 settlements in the Donetsk region. The Russian military launched four missile strikes against civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv and the eastern town of Druzhkivka, and fired 56 salvos from multiple launch rocket systems, the General Staff said.
Russia racks up $25bn budget gap
Russia’s tax revenues from oil and gas plunged by 46% in January as the price cap on oil exports imposed by the US and its allies over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine hit hard.
Combined with a 59% increase in spending amid the war, the drop pushed the deficit to 1.76 trillion roubles ($25-billion), the Finance Ministry said, the worst start to the year since at least 1998.
Russia’s Lavrov in Africa yet again
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov returned to Africa for the second time in 10 days as he focuses on the region amid a scarcity of international contacts since the invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov was expected to start a two-day visit to Mali after holding talks in Opec member Iraq. He’s also travelling to Sudan and Mauritania this week, according to media reports.
Read more: Russia’s Lavrov in Africa yet again to ease diplomatic isolation
Zelensky withdraws appearance at Italian festival
The Ukrainian leader won’t appear with a video message at Italy’s main song ...
A so-called Chinese weather balloon, mysteriously off course over much of the continental US, has provoked a storm of anger, annoyance and posturing, and even managed to generate a Chinese semi-apology for interrupting the equanimity of millions of Americans. But what was its purpose and what happens now in the often-vexed US-China relationship?
Balloons have intrigued people for hundreds of years, regardless of whether they have had utilitarian or even military purposes, or have been used for the pleasure of adventure tours in such places as Cappadocia, Turkey, or the Magaliesberg in South Africa, among so many others. There are Pixar feature cartoons about balloons such as Up (watch the trailer here) and a universally loved poem like In Just-Spring by EE Cummings. (Listen to the author read his poem here.) And then there’s The 5th Dimension’s 1967 hit single Up, Up and Away. (Watch the beautiful visuals here.)
The generally accepted view is that in 1783, two French entrepreneur brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, were the first to demonstrate the feasibility of building a hot air balloon. After sending a sheep, a duck and a rooster aloft as test animals, they followed with a manned flight which carried the pioneers aloft in a carriage below the balloon.
Just two decades later, a balloon was being used by the revolutionary French army for the observation of its opposing combatants — the Austrians and Dutch — in the Battle of Fleurus in what is now Belgium. By the American Civil War in the 1860s, Professor Thaddeus Lowe led the Union army’s balloon corps as its commanding aeronaut. To inflate his balloons, Lowe used hydrogen gas released from mixing iron and sulphuric acid in portable installations driven close to the battlefields. As the lightest element, hydrogen gave Lowe’s balloons significant lift and a clear advantage over hot air balloons.
Enemy troop observations by the balloonist passenger were relayed to ground commanders by semaphore signals or Morse code, transmitted by a trailing wire. (Despite this potentially dangerous mix of hydrogen and electrical sparks, there is no record that any of Lowe’s military balloons exploded in mid-air. However, traces of sulphuric acid from the process eventually weakened the balloons’ fabric to the point where some of the balloons could not be used for extended periods.)
During World War 1, balloons were extensively used as stationary aerial defences and for observation — and, by the Germans, as bombing platforms to ...
Reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City face fresh allegations over financial breaches dating back 14 years.
The English Premier League has referred Manchester City to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club was acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group.
The referral came weeks before the expected publication of a government white paper set to recommend the establishment of an independent regulator in English soccer to deal with the game’s finances, club ownership and corporate governance.
City, the world’s highest revenue-generating club last season, according to Deloitte, are alleged to have committed multiple financial breaches between 2009 and 2018, the league said on Monday.
League rules state that charges such as those faced by City could, if proven, result in a club being expelled from the Premier League in the worst-case scenario.
Offending clubs may alternatively be deducted points, fined or reprimanded.
While it remains to be seen what sanctions the commission imposes on City, a stricter stance by the Premier League on club finances could deter potential investors in clubs like Manchester United, according to a sports finance lawyer.
Both Manchester United and Liverpool are seeking new investors, in large part due to Middle Eastern investment in clubs such as City and Newcastle United and the collapse of a planned Super League, industry experts have told Reuters.
City, who were acquired by City Football Group in 2008, are also charged with failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation, which was launched in December 2018.
City are alleged to have breached rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information, “in particular with respect to its revenue (including sponsorship revenue), its related parties and its operating costs”, the league said.
The club, which has won the Premier League title six times since the Abu Dhabi takeover, said it was surprised by the league’s “issuing of these alleged breaches”.
“The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position,” City added.
The charges stem from a Premier League investigation into City’s financial dealings launched four years ago, after the release of a tranche of “Football Leaks” documents obtained by the German publication Der Spiegel.
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Subsequent ban
City were subsequently banned from the Champions League by the European governing body, Uefa, for two years, but successfully appealed ...
Australia are by far the most successful women’s cricket team and their dominance does not look like it will let up any time soon.
Australia Women have won more cricket World Cups (in both the T20 and 50-over versions) than all the other nations combined. Their dominance on the field stretches further than major tournaments too, with a victory over the team from Down Under a rare feat on any occasion.
The last time Australia failed to win a World Cup was in England in 2017. It took an incredible — then a World Cup knockout record — unbeaten 171 by India’s Harmanpreet Kaur to set up a 36-run victory over the Aussies in the semifinal.
That is the type of near-superhuman effort it takes to overcome the mighty Aussies, and sometimes even that is not enough.
But since that mishap in 2017, Australia claimed the next three World Cup trophies (one ODI and two T20s) as well as bagging a Commonwealth gold medal last year.
In simple terms, this team is near unbeatable and is well ahead of all its competitors. There is even an argument to be made that it is currently the most dominant team in world sport.
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Their squad for the T20 World Cup — which begins in Cape Town on Friday — is loaded in every position and has an exquisite balance of youth and experience.
Players who failed to make the squad, such as Amanda-Jade Wellington and Sophie Molineux, would be the first names dotted down in other national squads, but the depth in Australia’s women’s cricket means they are spoilt for choice in every department.
Another example is hard-hitting all-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who made her national team debut in 2016, but failed to play regularly for Australia until two years ago because of the wealth of talent ahead of her.
In 2022, McGrath was named in the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year and captured the ICC and Australian Women’s T20I Player of the Year accolades — these achievements all by a player who only recently became a regular fixture.
Structures in place
Australia’s dominance in the women’s game is not by accident. Cricket Australia has invested more than any other nation in its women’s programme.
The Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is the biggest and most competitive women’s T20 tournament in the world. It is women’s cricket’s version of the Indian Premier League ...
Over the past few months, their future has become desperate, with at least six (and possibly as many as 25) of the animals shot and killed by local residents due to human-wildlife conflict and deliberate poaching attacks inside a proclaimed nature reserve.
Another elephant has been butchered for its meat and tusks along the shores of Lake Jozini/Phongolapoort Dam in KwaZulu-Natal as a wandering herd of homeless elephants continues to seek refuge from human persecution.
Two non-government wildlife organisations have offered to catch and translocate the animals to a new home at no cost — but so far, no local landowners have put up their hands to provide permanent sanctuary for the elephants.
The herd, originally comprising about 90 animals, left the privately owned Pongola Game Reserve on the western shores of the lake nearly seven years ago when the water level dropped during a severe drought.
The animals have since found temporary refuge in a private reserve in Eswatini (Swaziland) and within a provincial nature reserve on the eastern shores of the lake.
But, over the past few months, their future has become desperate with at least six (and possibly as many as 25) of the animals shot and killed by local residents due to human-wildlife conflict and deliberate poaching attacks inside a proclaimed nature reserve.
The exact number of casualties is not clear due to poor access in the area on the border between South Africa and Eswatini, but the latest freshly butchered carcass was spotted at the weekend during a helicopter reconnaissance flight.
It is understood that the remaining herd has now split into two groups, with one of about 10 elephants hiding in dense bush in KZN to avoid further casualties and a second of about 40 safe for now in the Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve in southeast Eswatini. Some of the animals are thought to be wounded from shotgun pellets and bullets.
Now the herd is in a situation where the former owners no longer wish them to return. The Eswatini reserve says it cannot provide permanent refuge and the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency also wants them out of its reserve.
Tensions have risen so much that, last month, foreign tourists came under fire while trying to catch a glimpse of the elephants from the deck of a double-decker floating tour boat. The assailants were believed to be hunting the herd when the incident took place.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Jozini Dam: ...
Komani residents are demanding that Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma disband the embattled Enoch Mgijima municipality.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has promised residents of Komani (formerly Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape that she would refer their request to disband the Enoch Mgijima municipality to the Cabinet, which will sit on 15 February.
Residents of Komani held a two-day shutdown on 26 and 27 January, demanding to meet with Dlamini Zuma.
Last week, the minister sent a delegation from her office to Komani, but the residents refused to meet them, demanding the presence of Dlamini Zuma herself.
On Monday, Dlamini Zuma held a meeting with leaders of the Komani Protest Action (KPA) committee at Komani Resorts hotel, where they demanded the dissolution of the municipality.
The meeting became heated and Dlamini Zuma left the room, apparently to call the President. She was heard asking, while on the phone, where the President and the director-general were, saying she did not want to commit herself to dissolving the municipality.
“I want the President’s advice on this matter. I don’t want to lie to the people,” she was overheard saying, before returning to the meeting.
KPA member Axolile Masiza said they had only one demand: dissolve the municipality.
“We told her that we cannot wait until the Cabinet meeting. We also warned her that the shutdown on Tuesday would be moving to Whittlesea, Ezibeleni, Tarkastad and Molteno, all under the Enoch Mgijima municipality.”
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Masiza said it was at this point that Dlamini Zuma left the meeting to call the President.
“We also told her about the lack of service delivery in the town and how the town has deteriorated,” said Masiza.
After meeting with the KPA, Dlamini Zuma addressed hundreds of angry Komani residents who had gathered in the town centre. She promised that their demands would be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting.
“I don’t want to lie to you because I cannot make a decision as a minister alone and dissolve the municipality. The decision. needs to be taken by Cabinet. I will ask the President to put this item in our next Cabinet meeting,” she said.
Another KPA leader, Solomzi Nkwentsha, said protest action would continue.
“The town will come to a total shutdown on Tuesday. We are going to close the town until this municipal council is dissolved,” he said.
Legal action
Meanwhile, Komani businesses and ...
The passing last week of a new law to control civil society organisations in Zimbabwe is an ominous sign of the consolidation of Zanu-PF power in the build-up to this year’s elections.
In the wake of the fall of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, current president Emmerson Mnangagwa promised life anew.
But, as has been seen in the last five years, the Zanu-PF administration has continued to promise without delivery and chosen to retain its power at the expense of the rights of Zimbabwean citizens.
As the 2023 general elections draw closer, we are seeing concerted efforts by the administration to consolidate power. The electoral commission of Zimbabwe is packed with former military members who have failed countless times to demonstrate their separation from and objectivity towards the state.
In June 2021, Zanu-PF’s Provincial Development Coordinator in Harare, Tafadzwa Muguti, issued an order to NGOs to submit their strategic and organisational plans to him for approval. The police were instructed to arrest any NGO members that refused and threatened them with permanent banning if they did not comply. Zimbabwean civil society challenged the order at the high court in September of that year.
Two months later, the Zimbabwean government published the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill (PVO) in the Government Gazette. The bill was met with a major backlash from civil society as it outlined the ways in which the government intended to control and silence the freedom of association, assembly and expression of NGOs and citizens.
Civil society disputed the PVO Bill through multiple written and oral submissions.
In 2022, civil society provided to the Parliament Legal Committee and the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Public Service a document titled the “CSOs’ Consolidated Analysis of the PVO Bill”. Civil society also joined a consultative meeting with the minister of justice in which he agreed to introduce various amendments provided by participating CSOs. They were later omitted.
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Throughout 2022 the PVO Bill went through a series of community-based public hearings in which it was continually met with opposition. Concerns about the government’s ability to interfere with NGOs through bureaucratic and invasive processes were shared. The bill was seen as a major attack on the right to freedom of association, assembly and expression.
Even within these public hearings, it had been reported that there were multiple disruptions by assumed government military officials against those who opposed the bill. There were at ...
Cancer survivors could become patient navigators by using the knowledge gained from their lived experience to guide newly diagnosed patients through the cancer care pathway — a pathway that can be daunting and may span several clinics and hospitals.
Cancer is one of the biggest non-communicable disease threats facing mankind. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that each year there are nearly 20 million new cancer cases and approximately 10 million cancer-related deaths reported around the world.
In South Africa, rapid urbanisation and adoption of Western lifestyles since the mid-1990s has contributed towards the emergence of cancer as a public health problem in the general population, and cancers now rank among the most important causes of death in the country.
Furthermore, a large proportion of South African cancer patients are diagnosed late, already have extensive disease, and require a combination of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy to improve the probability of cure.
Established by the Union for International Cancer Control, World Cancer Day is observed annually on 4 February. The theme for 2023 is “Close the Care Gap”. This year’s campaign seeks to mobilise action against inequities and barriers to cancer care, while considering the perspectives and lived experiences of cancer survivors.
The growing public health significance of cancer has not gone unnoticed, and the South African government has developed the National Cancer Strategic Framework to combat the ever-increasing burden of disease. This policy document is underpinned by the need to facilitate access to cancer care for those who require it.
Nevertheless, newly diagnosed South African cancer patients continue to experience challenges in accessing care within the public healthcare sector. Cancer care is not offered through a “one-stop shop” clinic and patients are required to navigate a complex referral pathway, which may span several clinics and hospitals, in order for them to receive their recommended cancer treatment.
This task can be even more daunting when patients are not well-informed about the process of accessing cancer care. Inevitably, a proportion of newly diagnosed cancer patients will become frustrated and abandon their efforts to seek care.
Since a combination of cancer treatments is often required to maximise the probability of cure, non-receipt of one or multiple treatments has downstream implications for cancer control, the most significant of which is a decrease in five-year survival rates.
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Patient navigators
Herein exists a potential role for cancer survivors as patient navigators. Cancer survivors ...
A by-election in Ward 56, Cape Town, this week will feature neither the Democratic Alliance nor the African National Congress.
A by-election in Cape Town on Wednesday, 8 February, will be marked by the absence of South Africa’s two biggest parties. The ward, in the Kensington/Maitland/Windermere area of the metropole, was left vacant following ward councillor Helen Jacobs’ resignation at the end of 2022.
Previously held by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 53.91% of the votes received in the 2021 local government elections, the ward will be one of two contested countrywide this week.
The by-election will stand out as having neither a DA nor an African National Congress (ANC) candidate. The DA failed to register a candidate in time, reported News24.
The ANC’s provincial head of elections, Cameron Dugmore, told Daily Maverick on Monday that the party “experienced a problem with our internal candidate selection process. and in the end, we did not register a candidate”.
The by-election will be contested by the Good party, Patriotic Alliance (PA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Al Jama-ah, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the African Christian Democratic Party and its breakaway party, the Africa Restoration Alliance (ARA).
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Election analyst Wayne Sussman told Daily Maverick that whichever party wins the by-election could claim they were the “best-placed alternative to the DA in Cape Town and DA in 2024”.
Candidates include the PA’s Cheslyn Steenberg, who was a member of the Kensington Community Policing Forum. Party president and Central Karoo District Municipality Mayor Gayton McKenzie lent his support to the PA’s candidate, with door-to-door visits in the area.
Kevin Inglis, who stood as an independent candidate for the ward in the 2021 local government election and gained 10% of the votes, will return to the ballot as a candidate for the Good party.
“We hope that voters will elect our Good candidate, Kevin Inglis, who is the perfect Good candidate: an activist at heart who has served the community in voluntary roles for years,” said Good‘s secretary-general, Brett Herron, on Monday. In the lead-up to the by-election, Good party leader Patricia de Lille has been with Inglis on walkabouts in the area.
Aunty Pat campaigning with our Cape Town Ward 56 by-election candidate – Kevin Inglis.
Kevin is ready to serve with honesty, integrity, and passion.
Vote Kevin Inglis on 8 February 2023!
GOOD (@ForGoodZA) January 29, 2023
EFF candidate Cameron Peters has been campaigning in the area with ...
African mining nations have been warned not to miss out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to benefit from the huge global demand for the critical minerals necessary for a clean energy transition.
Through their Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), the United States and 12 other nations say they are trying to help Africa develop these minerals in a way that benefits their people.
The MSP partners are trying to ensure a “race to the top” and not a “race to the bottom” in the accelerating rush by nations of the world to attain critical minerals such as lithium and graphite, Jose Fernandez, US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment told the African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Monday.
Fernandez said the aim of the MSP was to ensure that its miners follow high standards of environmental and social protection and governance, as well as investing in every part of the mining supply chain; not just extraction, but also processing and recycling, to ensure that African countries derived the greatest benefit.
“The reason I’m here is to look for ways to create partnerships with African countries so they can benefit from the world’s desire to achieve a clean energy future,” Fernandez told Daily Maverick in an interview at the indaba.
“They have the resources. This planet cannot reach its goals without African nations. That’s an opportunity, but it’s also a risk. And the risk is that those resources will not go to the right people, or be used transparently. Those investments will leave behind environmental degradation.”
And so Fernandez said the MSP countries were currently fine-tuning their ESG (environment, social and governance) principles, distilled from many guidelines such as those of the World Bank and the OECD, to ensure that the rush to acquire critical minerals is a race to the top. He hinted that the MSP would publish its ESG principles during the course of the indaba this week.
Fernandez stressed that Africa should not waste this opportunity which might not come again, at a time when there was unprecedented interest in its critical minerals.
He noted in his keynote address that the International Energy Agency (IEA) had recently predicted that demand for most minerals essential to the clean energy transition will increase by a factor of four to six.
“For some minerals, the increase will be exponential. By 2040, graphite demand will increase by 25 times, and lithium by 42 times.
“The IEA has also noted that ...
Long, long ago, precolonial communities knew all about beads, cattle and non-fungible tokens.
When diamond-dealer-with-bank-accounts-frozen-by-the-cops Louis Liebenberg deposited two Nguni cattle in the green fields of former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla headquarters in 2022 he may have been hoping for a good return on his investment.
Lolsies.
But long before the pale people with the see-through ears and weird outfits washed up with the foam on the beaches of the Eastern Cape around 1820, an economy had already been functioning in the region and beyond for yonks.
While Zuma and Liebenberg might be going back to the basics of trade and barter, considering their track records, managing not only their own money but everyone else’s, it is unlikely that either understands the principles of fair exchange and decent profit.
But long before White Monopoly Capital (Liebenberg has been exempted from this mysterious grouping by daddy’s darling, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, who says at least Liebenberg is helping a black man), the kingdoms of Africa had their own stock exchanges, literally and in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
First published in 1981, historian Jeff Peires’s brilliant The House of Phalo (Jonathan Ball) is an invaluable resource when it comes to life, trade and the economy in independent Xhosa kingdoms, of which there were many.
This trade – which reached as far as North West – goes all the way back to the 17th century. But you won’t learn about it in the school curriculum.
Do the maths
Peires notes in his chapter on precolonial exchanges and innovations that while trading cattle for beads or copper was exchanging one form of currency for another, it was in fact a form of financial speculation.
“Individual transactions are comprehensible only as part of a series. A would sell cattle to B in exchange for beads and then make a profit by selling the beads to C for more cattle than the beads had originally cost him,” writes the historian.
C was perfectly entitled to attempt to make a profit by selling the beads to D for more cattle than he paid A.
As a result, a string of beads could move from Delagoa Bay to “Xhosaland” or the precolonial Eastern Cape to Natal and even further.
“Theoretically there should be no losers in such a series of transactions as the value of the beads depended not on their intrinsic value, but on their value in terms of cattle which, in turn, depended on their rarity.”
Read in Daily Maverick: ...
Diversified metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater has confiscated excavators and front-end loaders being used by illegal chrome miners around its platinum group metals (PGM) operations in Rustenburg. This speaks to the scale of a scourge that CEO Neal Froneman says is spinning ‘out of control’.
Speaking to Business Maverick on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, Neal Froneman was characteristically blunt. Asked about deterrents to investment in South Africa’s mining sector, the first issue that Froneman mentioned was crime.
“Crime has got worse . illegal mining is out of control. I am talking about people arriving with heavy machinery to open pits on our tenements in Rustenburg (chrome). We have confiscated excavators and front-end loaders. The scale has got worse in just the last six months,” Froneman said.
The data for the fourth quarter last year are jaw-dropping.
“There have been brazen attacks on security officers protecting our people and operations, with 60 such attacks in the last quarter and four officers injured,” Froneman said.
In total, 1,939 serious crime incidents were recorded against Sibanye’s mining operations in South Africa during the quarter, to the value of R41-million, with 998 culprits arrested and R17-million recovered.
At the company’s gold operations, 445 illegal miners were arrested in 111 incidents during the last three months of 2022.
“Underground intrusions to steal copper at our PGM operations remain a threat, with 90 culprits arrested in 166 incidents,” Froneman said.
He went on to say that deploying the army to Eskom power stations was a wasted effort, reiterating his call for the military to be brought in for the war on illegal mining.
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“Sibanye has extensive security capability which needs to be supported by security forces when these armed incursions occur. It’s one thing to provide protection for our assets, but those perpetrators need to be repelled and captured by military operations, and then prosecuted and convicted,” he said.
And that’s just the criminal threat to mining investment in South Africa’s collapsing state.
Referring to the surge in load shedding, Froneman said Sibanye estimated the problem meant that 20% to 25% less PGMs were being supplied to the market from South African producers.
On the policy front, Froneman rattled off a few things that are rattling investors.
“Expropriation without compensation is affecting people’s view on assets. Then there’s the employment equity amendment law, the overregulation of transformation. At this juncture, there’s been lots of transformation. We ...
I think almost everybody has seen them by now. The US company Boston Dynamics has been working on robots that move and has created, among other things, a four-legged robot called Spot. Every time the company puts up a new video on Twitter showing what Spot can do, a catalogue of dystopian robot jokes swiftly follows.
“It’s been great humankind, thanks for the laughs and let’s work on evolving on a new star,” said one, on seeing Spot and a friend open a door and escape.
On seeing Boston Dynamics’ dancing robots, someone tweeted: “I know you don’t have feelings yet, but when you do and you search yourself on Twitter, remember who made jokes at your expense and who didn’t. Love you guys so much and think you’re great.”
The most immediate response of humans to anything that subsumes “our” functions is, understandably, fear. We, as humans, are designed to look for danger and create a narrative around avoiding that danger. We are programmed to protect, generally, and to ensure the continuation of our species.
The extraordinary functionality of ChatGPT and other large language models has generated the same instinctive fear, about whose jobs are going to be disrupted: devs, authors, and, God forbid, journalists. How rational are these fears?
The first defence of those in fear is to point out the weaknesses of the new system. But, trust me, this is short-sighted. In the early days of the motor car, it was often castigated because “it doesn’t even go as fast as my horse”. And so on. As fast as the inadequacies of the methodology appear, they will be fixed.
Of course, there is reason to fear, because some jobs are going to be disrupted, and our car example does, of course, demonstrate that.
Companies that made saddles saw a rather marked dropoff in sales in the 1910 to 1930 period, one presumes. But look at it the other way: how many jobs did the car industry create? As it happens, quite a lot more than were lost following the decline of the horse-transport industry.
I think a good way to think about the development of tools like ChatGPT is to take a look back at chess.
Remember when IBM’s Deep Blue beat world champion and grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997? What few people remember is that a few years before, Kasparov actually beat Deep Blue’s predecessor, Deep Thought.
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The second edition of the Ritshidze ‘State of Healthcare for Key Populations’ report highlights how key populations — sex workers, LGBTQIA+ groups and people who use drugs — continue to face discrimination when seeking care at public health facilities.
Approaching a public health facility can be a daunting experience for certain population groups. For people who use drugs, sex workers and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, visiting a clinic can mean opening themselves up to mockery, hostility or even the denial of care.
The second edition of the Ritshidze “State of Healthcare for Key Populations” report, launched on Monday, highlighted the barriers facing key populations by drawing data from 9,137 surveys with gay and bisexual individuals, men who have sex with other men, people who use drugs, sex workers and transgender people.
Ritshidze is a community-led monitoring system developed by organisations representing people living with HIV, including the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the National Association of People Living with HIV and partners.
“These [Ritshidze] reports are assisting the National Department of Health and government to look at where the gaps are and how they can close those gaps,” said Sibongile Tshabalala, chairperson of the TAC.
“This report is very important in so many ways. that we tell our stories as communities, but also to assist the government in working with communities.”
Data was collected between July and September 2022 across 21 districts in seven provinces. The report showed that 12% of those surveyed were not receiving health services anywhere.
This marks an improvement on the survey results in the first edition of the “State of Healthcare for Key Populations” report, released in January 2022, which showed that 20% of key population respondents were not accessing health services anywhere.
“We acknowledge the improvement and we feel like we are on the right track, although we are not where we would like to be because we still have so many key populations who are not receiving adequate treatment,” said Tshabalala.
The 2023 report showed that in the category of “gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men” (GBMSM), 53% of respondents said they did not access health services anywhere, because these services were not private.
Across the categories of sex workers, transgender people and people who use drugs, the top reason for not accessing services was unfriendly staff at facilities.
“Ritshidze data show that both clinical and non-clinical staff such as security guards continue to be unfriendly and discriminate against key populations, ...
The Just Energy Transition Partnership between South Africa and several international partners has garnered significant global interest, and rightly so. The deal constitutes a pioneering model for a country-specific, ‘whole-system’ climate finance partnership based on well-formulated country needs, and can potentially mobilise far more funding for South Africa’s energy transition.
Considering its novelty and potential for supporting energy transitions in developing economies, it is not surprising that the concept of a just energy transition partnership (JETP) has attracted significant global interest. Indeed, the G7 group of countries has signalled the possibility of negotiating similar partnerships with coal-reliant emerging economies such as Indonesia, Vietnam and India, but also Senegal, a growing gas producer.
In Africa, as one would expect, other fossil fuel-producing countries, including Nigeria, that are contemplating the economic and social consequences of energy transitions, are considering their own JETPs for climate-friendly energy development. This raises questions about whether all other African countries need such a “bilateral” agreement, and about the implications of such partnerships for regional and continental energy development strategies.
Addressing these questions requires careful consideration of the diverse energy system challenges across Africa, the progress and challenges of regional power-sector development, and potential trade-offs and complementarities between JETPs and regional power projects.
Who needs just a transition partnership?
Consider first the diversity of Africa’s energy landscape.
African countries have diverse energy structures and levels of infrastructure development and thus varied energy system issues in terms of electrification rate, carbon intensity, and capacity for renewable energy transition, which means each country has a distinct solution space in terms of meeting Sustainable Development Goal 7 targets for energy access and renewable energy transition.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts and the necessity of a just energy transition – the facts and the fiction”
As a reminder, JETPs are in support of global climate goals. They are meant to decarbonise carbon-intensive power systems by phasing out fossil fuels (especially coal) while increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix. Additionally, considering the gap between the finance needed and funds provided under South Africa’s JETP, it is apparent that such a partnership counts on a supportive environment to mobilise additional local and international capital, including concessional and grant funding, as well as guarantees.
In both regards, only a few countries, apart from South Africa, can be considered perfect candidates for JETPs, notably Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.
First, these countries are among the top five polluters on the continent, whose energy ...
Zimbabwe doesn’t have any pretext of legitimacy when it seeks to overregulate and control NGO activity within the country through the Private Voluntary Organisations Bill. The Financial Action Task Force makes no such demands of Zimbabwe.
An extraordinary joint communication was issued by four United Nations special rapporteurs in December 2021. It declared:
“If adopted into law in its current version, this bill will have grave consequences for the exercise of civil and political rights, including the right to freedom of association, of Private Voluntary Organisations in Zimbabwe.”
It is exceptional that four different UN rapporteurs would pronounce on an impending law having application only in a single jurisdiction.
But the bill – the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill 2021 (PVO Bill) – has grave implications for NGOs in Zimbabwe, seeking to strangle civil society under the guise of complying with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.
It has been passed by Zimbabwe’s parliament and is merely awaiting presidential assent before being made law. In 2004, a similar bill was passed by parliament but never signed into law by then president Robert Mugabe. The snap passage of the bill through parliament over the December holidays suggests it won’t languish on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s desk.
Here in South Africa, the risk of FATF greylisting was also used to try to restrict NGO operations – draft legislation requiring mandatory registration of all non-profit organisations (NPOs) operating in the country.
Civil society organisations were vociferous in pushing back against these requirements which would not only have created unnecessary hardship and additional bureaucratic hurdles, but would also have threatened the possibility of deregistration and closure of those NPOs falling foul of the relevant authorities.
During the consultation process, not only were civil society’s concerns heard and addressed, but National Treasury actioned these concerns in the final amendments to the law to confine mandatory registration to a much smaller group of NPOs based on specific risk assessment.
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Through the consistent efforts of civil society driving a rigorous engagement of all stakeholders, effective changes were implemented.
Although there is still much collaboration needed to align all legislation governing NPOs, Treasury is to be applauded for its willingness to engage with civil society and adapt legislation accordingly.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zimbabwe civil society faces moment of reckoning”
This constructive engagement should not end with the current amendments and should serve as an example to other government departments of ...
Saturday 4 February was World Cancer Day. After tobacco, alcohol is the second biggest cause of cancer — before other risk factors such as infections, physical inactivity, or sunlight. Globally, 740,000 people get cancer due to alcohol, each year. However, there’s a lot that can be done to prevent it — if only there was political will.
The world is experiencing a shift in awareness about alcohol harm.
We are witnessing rising recognition that alcohol is no ordinary product and the shift is driven by growing awareness that alcohol causes cancer.
Science knows already since 1988 that alcohol, like tobacco and asbestos, is a group one carcinogen. When humans consume ethanol in beer, wine, and liquor, the byproduct attacks the DNA. But the media found it difficult to report properly on the real effects of alcohol and instead helped the alcohol industry to keep people in the dark.
Even this is shifting.
Ireland will introduce cancer warnings on alcohol products. Norway is on track to do the same. Canada has just lowered the low-risk guidelines for alcohol use — in large part due to the strong evidence of the link between alcohol and seven types of cancer. The World Health Organization started 2023 by issuing a clear statement that there is no healthy or safe amount of alcohol consumption.
And the media has been reporting widely and mostly accurately because people want to know.
We care about our health, even more so since the pandemic. And we want to know what science has to say about the health effects of the products that dominate our environments. As we have become more health and sustainability conscious, we are also growing more weary of the unethical business practices of multinational corporations.
The alcohol industry wants to keep people in the dark about the fact that their products are as carcinogenic as cigarettes and asbestos. Research has shown that awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer is very low internationally.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Alcohol companies are afraid of people becoming aware of the fact that ethanol in beer, wine, and liquor causes at least seven types of cancer. And so they fight tooth and nail against scientific studies, against Ireland’s democratically decided cancer warning labelling, and against other alcohol policy initiatives.
This shows the cynical and greedy approach of alcohol companies, their executives and shareholders to maximising profits and fueling massive harm. After tobacco, alcohol ...
According to Zimbabwe’s constitution, the armed forces, the state and the people of Zimbabwe must together control the monopoly of violence. This is to ensure that the armed forces serve and protect both the state and the nation (citizens) and not just a few individuals who want to protect their positions in government. On paper, everything looks good: in reality, security sector governance in Zimbabwe is a ticking time bomb.
It is always, or rather, it should always be a cause for concern to see the monopoly of violence in any country completely controlled by a few citizens. All countries have a security sector that protects citizens from both internal and external threats. This security sector is composed of institutions that work together to protect country and people.
The institutions play differing roles in maintaining peace, law, order and other forms of security. They also defend the nation from all threats, including natural disasters.
To ensure the security of the state and its citizens, a country must have a sector with integrity and trust that enjoys a monopoly of violence. No other institutions outside of the security sector are allowed to use violence. This monopoly of violence may “belong” to the security sector, but for peace and security to prevail, the monopoly must be controlled by civilians.
In Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Central Intelligence Organisation are the key institutions tasked with protecting the country. Also involved in the governance of security in Zimbabwe is the state and its three arms — the executive (Presidency), the legislature (National Assembly and Senate) and the judiciary.
These arms of the state should play a managerial and oversight role in making sure that the security sector does its work efficiently, transparently, legally and with integrity.
Citizens of Zimbabwe, through civil society and other private institutions such as the Human Rights Council, also have the mandate and responsibility to ensure integrity and accountability in the control of the monopoly of violence.
This means that, according to Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution, the armed forces, the state and the people of Zimbabwe must together control the monopoly of violence. On paper, everything looks good. But in reality, security sector governance in Zimbabwe is a ticking time bomb.
2017 coup
In November 2017, eight months before the next election was due to be held, several generals from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces staged a successful coup that unlawfully removed then president Robert ...
Protesting security employees say non-payments have become a problem since the coalition government took over, but the mayor’s office says payments to security companies are up to date.
The City of Ekurhuleni has failed to keep its promise to pay almost 1,000 security employees working for companies contracted to the city, the Private Sector Workers Trade Union (PSWTU) has said.
About 70 workers have been protesting since last week. They are from two companies: Ngodvongodvo Security and Zabalaza Security. The protesters represent nearly 1,000 workers who have not been paid for November and December 2022. Non-payments are becoming more common, resulting in workers failing to make ends meet, they said.
Despite receiving a letter from the city on 31 January promising that they would receive payments by 3 February, the workers were back protesting at the offices during the early hours of Monday morning, accusing the municipality of not keeping its word.
In November, workers from more than five security companies and from sites across Ekurhuleni, including Germiston, Benoni, Daveyton, Alberton, Heidelberg and Boksburg, protested.
While most of them were paid after the November protest, they claim to have experienced more problems in December and January. According to Raymond Tshamano from the PSWTU, the municipality claims not to owe the security companies any money, while the companies claim they have not been paid.
The late payments started after the coalition government took over the municipality, and Tshamano said: “The coalition should get their house in order.”
The EFF blames the DA, which leads the coalition, for the non-payment.
But the mayor’s spokesperson, Warren Gwilt, told GroundUp that the city did not owe the employees money because they are not employed directly by the city, but by the security companies.
“These security companies were paid and were asked to address the issue with their employees. There was no non-payment to these security companies.
“Municipal employees always receive their salaries on time and this will continue. The EFF are politicising an administrative matter to which they do not have the full facts,” Gwilt said.
GroundUp tried to contact both security companies, but could only get hold of one. A representative of the company said he was concerned about how politicised the issue had become. He said the municipality often blamed the companies when it paid late.
The workers have vowed to keep protesting until their wages have been paid. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The fraud and corruption case against former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli was first registered in 2011. Twelve years later, a pre-trial conference was set down for Monday to sort out any outstanding documents — but once again proceedings were postponed, indefinitely delaying the start of the trial.
A pre-trial conference was postponed in the Gauteng High Court on Monday pending the outcome of Richard Mdluli’s review of the South African Police Service’s decision not to pay the former cop’s legal fees.
Mdluli appeared in the dock alongside his co-accused Heine Barnard (former Crime Intelligence supply chain manager) and Solomon Lazarus (former chief financial officer of the State Security Agency).
In April 2022, the SA Police Service (SAPS) declined to pay the former head of Crime Intelligence’s legal fees in his fraud and corruption trial. Mdluli rejected this and took the matter on review.
The review application could take months to be finalised. And Mdluli could drag the matter out even further by approaching the Constitutional Court.
Mdluli’s review application is based on the premise that the crimes he is charged with were allegedly committed while he was employed by the SAPS, and therefore it is the police who should foot the bill. The case was first registered in 2011.
The former Crime Intelligence boss has already spent time behind bars for an unrelated matter. In 1998, Mdluli and his co-accused, Mthembeni Mthunzi, were sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mdluli was released on parole in July 2022 after serving a third of his sentence.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been battling for more than a decade to get the current case against Mdluli and his co-accused to the point where they will plead to the charges they face.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mdluli, Barnard and Lazarus face 15 charges of fraud, corruption and contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act for allegedly looting Crime Intelligence’s secret service account between 2008 and 2012.
Other allegations against the accused involve money used for private trips to Singapore and China, the leasing of Mdluli’s private residence to the state to pay his bond, and the personal use of witness protection property.
A report in Daily Maverick on the indictment describes the situation at Mdluli’s division as “a friends-and-family affair . filled with travel, luxury homes, cars and clothes — ...
‘I have been criticised in the media for my slow decision-making process. I want to remind you, my fellow South Africans, that the fine art of politics is a delicate balancing act.’
My Dear South Africans,
Notwithstanding the predictions of one Malema (South Africa will have a new president by Christmas 2022), I remain your elected president (I must remind Honourable Malema to change his sangoma!)
I greet you in the name of democracy, peace and justice. (You will notice that I have omitted the traditional revolutionary slogans which have been reduced to meaningless rhetoric and have been appropriated by those hellbent on looting public resources and using the fiscus as their personal ATM).
I am humbled by the support I received to continue as your anointed leader for the next five years – a role and responsibility that I do not take lightly.
I want to state upfront that South Africans must be grateful to our public-spirited citizen, that paragon of virtue, Mr Arthur Fraser, for expressing public concern about the Phala Phala saga. Educated South Africans must also ask why he waited two years to do so, just before the ANC’s 55th national elective conference, where his RET faction was roundly trounced.
Concern was expressed at the Zondo Commission about the abuse of public funds by the State Security Agency under Fraser’s leadership. As Minister Pravin Gordhan always says, “connect the dots”.
I have been criticised in the media for my slow decision-making process. In social media posts, some have had the temerity to suggest that if the chronological clock was rewound, I would be placed in a special needs remedial class.
I want to remind you, my fellow South Africans, that the fine art of politics is a delicate balancing act.
Politicians are also known for their thick skins. The adage, “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”, is attributed to the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. I challenge my detractors to wear my cap even for a day.
The game of musical chairs being played by opportunistic political coalitions at local government level reflects contempt for voters who are used as cannon fodder, and is reminiscent of the disgraceful floor-crossing during the apartheid tricameral era. All political parties are guilty.
Local government, the site of delivery, has imploded.
The myriad problems facing our country – Eskom’s rolling blackouts, crime and violence, corruption which is escalating daily – are overwhelming.
I am sympathetic to South Africans who sometimes ...
We’re hurtling towards a future in which it will be increasingly difficult to tell AI creations apart from human ones. But it’s critical that we remain able to do so.
There’s a scene in Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic film, where Dekhart, Harrison Ford’s character, puts a series of probing questions to the sultry heroine, Rachael, to establish whether she is human or a “replicant”, an AI in a manufactured human body. After an extended interrogation, Rachael eventually slips up when she fails to bristle at the mention of “an entrée of boiled dog.”
That scene and the questions it raises have been on my mind a lot lately. Like many of us, I’ve been conducting my own personal Turing tests on ChatGPT, the phenomenal chatbot released in December by OpenAI, to probe just how indistinguishable its intelligence is from our own. So popular is this parlour game, played across dinner tables, water coolers and social networks, that ChatGPT achieved a record for the quickest adoption of a consumer product in history, reaching a million users in just five days.
The buzz has been particularly shrill in my field of marketing, with practitioners expressing an equal measure of wonder and trepidation at the tool’s uncanny ability to do things previously considered the preserve of seasoned marketers and advertising professionals — from writing blog posts and ad copy to generating images and videos that appear not only credible but (heaven forbid!) creative. A boon for productivity and, at the same time, an existential threat to entire categories of marketing and advertising jobs.
Far less kerfuffle greeted the release, shortly after ChatGPT, of GPTzero, a technology which is arguably just as relevant to an AI-infused future. The brainchild of Princeton University student Edward Tian, GPTzero detects whether a text is generated by AI. I’ve found it to be quite accurate, despite purportedly being developed over just one weekend, and I suspect that Tian and others developing similar apps will attract ready funding for improvements.
After all, there are several reasons why it’s important to know the provenance of the words, images and videos that mediate our academic, professional and social lives — some obvious, others less so. But the most fundamental reason why this distinction matters goes to the very heart of what it means to be human.
Public school ban
The immediate problem that Tian claims his app will help solve is that of students handing in ...
The South African government had all but inked a deal worth R910,997,814.75 for SA Tourism to sponsor the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur - until news of the deal reached Daily Maverick.
Read the full series here.
Last Friday the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria hosted a moving memorial service for assassinated Swaziland human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko. It became a rare coming-together and expression of pan-African solidarity and anger at the betrayals by former liberation movements.
The service was attended by Maseko’s wife Tanele and his two young sons. Delegations travelled from Botswana and Swaziland.
The great respect with which Maseko was regarded was borne out by the calibre of those who paid moving tributes to him. They included veteran Zimbabwean lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke (also a speaker) called “the most courageous person in southern Africa”.
Earlier, Mtetwa had told a briefing of foreign diplomats that “the international community must come out hard over his killing or this will happen to all human rights activists in the region”.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Thulani Maseko’s murder exposes the political wrangling hobbling Eswatini’s march to democracy”
“Ramaphosa and SADC leaders call for ‘swift’ investigation into Thulani Maseko’s assassination”
In addition there were two United Nations special rapporteurs (on human rights defenders and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association), representatives of lawyers associations, activists and Mlungisi Makhanya, the president of Pudemo, a prohibited movement in Eswatini. DM/MC
In the geopolitics of energy a clear line must be drawn between evidence-based arguments and conspiracies. But equally important is the need to understand that people can legitimately hold different views.
The electricity crisis is going to shape our future. It will almost certainly cost the ANC an outright majority at the 2023 election. It is already driving skilled emigration and doing terrible damage to our economy and the national morale.
Unlike most crises, this one affects the middle classes as well as the poor. Even when the middle classes are able to solar up, they are still affected by traffic jams, closed businesses, dark and unsafe streets and children who want to move overseas.
As with all issues of urgent national importance, we need an open and rational public discussion on the way forward. But in South Africa that is never easy.
As in the US, Brazil and India, our public sphere is often split into antagonistic camps, and it is full of charlatans too.
A clear line must be drawn between evidence-based lines of argument and conspiracy theories. We have often failed to do so. But that is only part of the battle: equally important is the need to understand that people can legitimately hold different views.
As the liberal camp has grown in confidence in the wake of the collapse of the moral and political credibility of the ANC, it has sometimes started to dismiss people with different views as unethical, as shills for various forces. Liberalism has become often shrill, self-righteous and polarising.
We see this all the time in debates about global geopolitics, where critics of the West have often been smeared as being patsies for the regimes opposed by the West.
The electricity debate has also become polarised. There are certain facts that any rational actor must agree on. These include the fact that burning coal is an environmental disaster, that there has been massive underinvestment in maintenance at Eskom for decades, and that Eskom has been and continues to be looted.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The ANC’s capitulation in KwaZulu-Natal will boost the power of the right”
However, there are also different views held in good faith. Some people think a massive programme of renewable energy can quickly solve our problems. Others think it will take years to get there and that we will have to keep using coal in the medium term.
Some people are certain that the renewables roll-out should be driven ...
Garlic, butter, just add a chicken. That’s bliss in the oven.
Recipes need not be complicated. It doesn’t take a long list of ingredients to create a delicious dish. Butter, garlic, salt and pepper are all you need for this recipe, and butter is one of a chicken’s best friends. Garlic, likewise, is one of butter’s best friends, so this is a very happy little gathering.
There’s plenty of fresh garlic in this and garlic flakes too, for a bit of crunch on the skin.
Ingredients
1 large, good-quality chicken
6 Tbsp butter at room temperature (more if you like)
4 fat garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
1 Tbsp garlic flakes
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
1 head of garlic, whole
Wild garlic flowers for garnish
A glass of dry white wine
1 tsp cornflour mixed thoroughly with a little water
Method
In a bowl, mix the chopped garlic into the butter and season with salt and white pepper.
Clean and dry the bird, cutting off any extraneous fat in the cavity and the wing tips. Season the cavity with salt and white pepper. Use slim fingers to prise the breast skin away at both ends to make pockets, being careful not to tear the skin.
Spoon some of the garlic butter under the breast skin and massage the skin with your fingers to spread it around underneath.
Season the bird on all sides with salt. Cut through the top of the garlic head and place it inside the cavity. This helps the garlic to infuse the bird.
Rub the remaining garlic butter all over the skin, generously. Sprinkle garlic flakes on top.
Roast in a preheated oven at 240℃ for 30 minutes, uncovered, then turn the heat down to 200℃ and continue roasting until, when pricked through the breast to the bone with a slim skewer, the juices run colourless. Give it 15 minutes to rest in the turned-off oven with the door ajar.
Deglaze the pan with the wine on a moderately high heat, stirring, and cook for a few minutes. Squeeze the contents of the garlic cloves that were inside the cavity into the sauce. Pour in the diluted cornflour and stir while it thickens.
I roasted potatoes with it after parboiling them, and added a few mushrooms near the end. Or I’d serve this with these hasselbacks. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
Residents say water supplies in Parys have deteriorated over the past two years due to ageing infrastructure at the wastewater treatment plant.
In Parys, Free State, the water supply is becoming ever more erratic, exacerbated by rolling blackouts. Many people have to walk kilometres to get water. This has caused great dissatisfaction and sparked violent protests. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The six-storey building with 120 units, managed by the Johannesburg Social Housing Company, is in a state of collapse.
As you enter Chelsea House in Johannesburg’s inner city suburb of Hillbrow, you are hit by an unbearable stench.
“We are living in a pool of sewage,” says Mokweng Mohlapamaswi, who has been a resident here for 13 years.
If the water rises much more it will come into contact with the electricity box.
Mkhomazi Nyilika, together with other residents from Chelsea House, say they have reported the matter to the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) and the local councillor. But they have had no response.
“As tenants, we urgently call on the City to intervene and help us drain the sewage and make sure that basic services are provided to us urgently,” said Nyilika.
Ward 64 Councillor Jack Sekwaila (ANC) said in mid-2022 he assisted the tenants by getting Joshco to drain the sewage water. But in no time, the residents complained the water was back.
“The biggest challenge is that people of Chelsea, less than 10% of them, are paying their services to the City. It then becomes a problem for the City to service them,” says Sekwaila.
But Siyabonga Mahlangu, activist and secretary of the Inner City Federation, says cutting off people from basic services because they cannot afford them is unlawful and unconstitutional, and amounts to a forceful eviction.
“Refusing to remove sewage is a total disregard of their dignity and children’s rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” he says.
If Joshco cannot do it, then the City must, he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The City of Johannesburg established Joshco in 2004 to help with the housing backlog by providing affordable housing for low-income households. It is also tasked with upgrading hostels and managing city-owned rental units. It has managed 8,825 rental units. Chelsea House, with six floors and 120 units, is among them.
Residents say in mid 2022 the caretaker left and cleaners stopped coming around December last year. For almost three years, they had been cleaning with plain water and no detergent. The building is in a state of collapse. The 5th and 6th floors do not have water. Communal showers and bathrooms are in a state of disrepair.
Sekwaila places the blame on the residents accusing them of vandalism.
Most residents came from La Rosabella, a building owned by the City that became unfit for human occupation. They say Joshco had assured ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address before a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament; the 2030 Reading Panel will kick off at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study; and WaterCAN — an initiative under the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse — will host a webinar on ‘How to become a water activist’.
Monday 6 February is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
Female genital mutilation is understood as any practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reason. It is seen internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, as well as a risk to their health.
“Over the last 25 years, the prevalence of FGM (female genital mutilation) has declined globally. Today, a girl is one-third less likely to undergo FGM than 30 years ago. However, sustaining these achievements in the face of humanitarian crises such as disease outbreaks, climate change, armed conflict and more could cause a rollback of progress toward achieving gender equality and the elimination of FGM by 2030,” according to the United Nations information page on the event.
“To promote the elimination of female genital mutilation, coordinated and systematic efforts are needed, and they must engage whole communities and focus on human rights, gender equality, sexual education and attention to the needs of women and girls who suffer from its consequences.”
On Monday, 6 February, at 9am, the virtual conference, “Countering the Corrupt – Reform of the Criminal Justice Administration in South Africa”, kicked off.
The event, hosted by civil society partners Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Primerio International, Accountability Now and the University of Cape Town, aimed to explore critical aspects of the reform of the criminal justice administration in South Africa.
“Chief Justice Zondo was scathing in his final report of the State Capture Commission, pointing to industrial-scale fraud, looting, corruption, and massive deficit in integrity, accountability and hence governance, leading to citizens being unable to access their basic human rights as enshrined in our Constitution,” according to the event description.
“President [Cyril] Ramaphosa. invited citizens with the requisite skills and expertise to come forward in helping fix the country and society broken by the state capture project.”
The livestream of the event can be accessed here.
On Monday at 10am, Prasa (Passenger Rail Association of South Africa) whistle-blower Martha Ngoye addressed the public via YouTube live stream.
Prasa levelled various charges against Ngoye, their head of legal risk ...
Although maintaining a modest attitude, the writing is on the wall for Mashatile to become the country’s second in command after being sworn in as a Member of Parliament on Monday.
ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile was sworn in as a member of parliament (MP) on Monday, paving the way for him to be eligible for a seat in Cabinet.
He was sworn in with fellow ANC members Maropene Ramokgopa, Sihle Zikalala, and Parks Tau.
Tshilidzi Munyai, Mervyn Dirks, Masefako Dikgale and Matshidiso Mfikoe resigned last week, allowing the addition of the four new members.
Mashatile attended the swearing-in accompanied by his three children Palesa Nonkwelo, Ayanda Sadek and Tinyiko Mvelase — to witness their father as he gets closer to becoming the country’s second citizen.
Paul Mashatile and Sihle Zikalala have arrived in Parliament, they are part of the four new members of parliament to be sworn in today
Veve (@LudidiVelani) February 6, 2023
Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula facilitated the swearing-in and first addressed the media saying that it was not usual to allow media in when members are taking oath — but due to the high interest in the members that were being sworn in, she allowed photographers and camera operators to capture the moment.
Mashatile is expected to replace David Mabuza as deputy president of the country, while there is no clear indication of which departments Ramakgopa, Zikalala and Tau will be deployed to.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We want to come and serve our people,” said Mashatile. “I was here before, spent 25 years in government and then left. So, it’s good to be back.” When asked about the imminent cabinet reshuffle and whether he would be the deputy president of the country, Mashatile said: “That is a prerogative of the President to appoint, for now, I am a member of parliament.”
Mashatile was elected as the ANC’s deputy president during the party’s December elective conference. It has been a culture in the ANC that the deputy president of the party becomes deputy president of the country when the party is governing.
Mabuza has already indicated that he wants to step down from the deputy president position to allow Mashatile to take over.
ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina also downplayed the possible appointment of Mashatile as the country’s deputy president. “There is nothing written that the deputy president of the ANC becomes deputy president of the country. It’s just that you (the media) ...
Although it overturned the high court ruling on the City's programme, the SCA granted the same relief.
A high court ruling in 2021, declaring Cape Town’s emergency housing programme to be unconstitutional, has been set aside by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
Judge Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, with four judges concurring, said the ruling by Western Cape high court Judge Mark Sher could not stand because it did not identify the extent of the invalidity, in order for the City to rectify it.
A court could also not dictate to the City how it spent its money on housing programmes, said Judge Mabindla-Boqwana.
In spite of this, she said, it would be “just and equitable” to order that those affected in the case before the court — the residents of Bromwell Street in Woodstock — should be provided with temporary emergency accommodation “in a location as near as possible to where they reside” before the end of May this year.
The matter came before the SCA as an appeal by the City against Judge Sher’s order in favour of 26 residents of Bromwell Street, who sought a stay their evictions, and directing the City to find them temporary emergency accommodation as near as feasibly possible to their existing homes.
The occupiers and their children were facing homelessness after being ordered to vacate their homes when Woodstock Hub Pty Ltd, a property development company, bought the sub-divided cottages for R3.15-million in 2013.
The occupiers said they had lived there their entire lives and had taken over leases from their grandparents. Bromwell Street is also close to the city centre.
In 2016, the Cape high court ordered their eviction. The families, in their application before Judge Sher, said the City had an obligation to provide them with temporary emergency housing in the same area, but the City disagreed.
The families rejected an offer that they relocate to Wolwerivier, some 25km away, because there was no public transport. They also rejected an offer that they move to Philippi, about 16kms away, because the area had, at that time, become a Covid hotspot.
They argued that there were 45 parcels of vacant land within a five-kilometre radius, but the City said these were either parks, parking lots or too small.
Read the full judgment here.
Judge Mabindla-Boqwana, in the SCA ruling handed down on Monday, said while the state had a positive obligation to meet the needs of the occupiers, what was in dispute — as was ...
Gauteng Department of Education has announced an investigation into Stanza Bopape Secondary School.
On Thursday last week, the day after GroundUp requested comment from the Gauteng Department of Education about an admission policy at Stanza Bopape Secondary School which excludes certain pregnant learners, the department announced its decision to probe the school.
In January the Mamelodi school implemented a policy (as stated in section 7 of its 2023 admission policy prospectus) that requires pregnant learners to stay home until they have given birth, unless their parents can come to school daily and look after them.
Spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department had instructed the school to immediately withdraw any such policy, and the school governing body must review and align its admission policy with the National Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy in Schools. Pregnant learners have a right to continue and complete their basic education.
“We have launched an investigation and corrective measures will be applied accordingly,” said Mabona.
“A pregnant learner must submit a fitness report to the school after each pre- and post-natal examination at their local health facility to ensure the health and wellness of the pregnant learner and her unborn child, and to avoid the pregnant learner developing complications while at school,” said Mabona.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Grade 11 learner Gift Mthokozisi said, “I’m not a girl, but I’m grateful for the department for taking this action because it will protect the rights of my fellow learners.”
Grade nine learner Gomolemo Moswa said, “Our parents also have many things to do at home and should not be required to come to school and look after their pregnant children.”
We spoke to five parents who all condemned the policy.
The principal of Stanza Bopape Secondary School, identified as Mr B Malepe in the admission policy document of this school, declined to give GroundUp his first name when contacted today and referred all of our questions to the department.
GroundUp is unaware of any learners that did not attend school because of the policy. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The DM168 team brainstormed some suggestions for members of the new Cabinet. Read on about our collective shortlist, and also have your say about who should stay and who should go.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will soon reshuffle his Cabinet. The DM168 team has found keepers for him – and new blood. We’d love to hear your ideas, too.
The line-up at a glance Part 1
PRESIDENT
Cyril Ramaphosa — demote. See Mines.
Possible replacements
Imtiaz Sooliman
The Gift of the Givers founder practically runs the country anyway. He takes himself and his team of big hearts to wherever they are needed to bring comfort, water, food, medicine and much else to people in need. The Gift of the Givers do not steal, spend money carefully and are trusted by many more South Africans than the government is.
Songezo Zibi
The Rivonia Circle founder who wants to be President is a popular choice with the Daily Maverick (DM) team across portfolios. We love that he has a manifesto, energy and ideas and is a former journalist.
Cast your vote below or click here:
DEPUTY PRESIDENT
David Mabuza — go. (He wants to leave anyway.)
Possible replacements
Mcebisi Jonas
The State Capture whistleblower has many ideas to fix South Africa. He was a good deputy finance minister until Jacob Zuma fired him, so understands the fiscal picture. And he has spent enough years in business now to understand this vital sector.
Cast your vote below or click here:
MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY
Mondli Gungubele — stay. He plays his role well and has opened government communications, a portfolio he looks after.
Cast your vote below or click here:
AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Thoko Didiza — stay (with one reservation).
Farmers love her. She is often out in the fields. Her restitution work has been energetic. Our bundu-bashing colleague Ed Stoddard disagrees. He says that Didiza hasn’t moved quickly enough on land reform.
Possible replacement
Wandile Sihlobo
An agricultural economist, farmer and author, Sihlobo has it all: he is young, he is a farmer, he understands agricultural economics, he knows the sector’s potential.
Cast your vote below or click here:
BASIC EDUCATION
Angie Motshekga — go. Time to retire.
Possible replacements
Jonathan Jansen
He has a deep understanding of the country’s education challenges, speaks his mind, identifies great teachers and has systemic and practical knowledge.
Mary Metcalfe
If you want someone with a calm pair of hands who knows the system, then Metcalfe would make a fabulous education minister. She spent 25 years working in public education and knows teachers, unions and the challenges ...
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has outlined areas of immediate focus in addressing rolling blackouts but remains scant on specifics.
Rolling blackouts and the high number of power supply disruptions in 2022 are estimated to be costing the economy about R1-billion a day, the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba 2023 heard from Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe this morning.
Mantashe says the epicentre of the current energy challenges is the decline in the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) from an estimated 75% to 49%. He told the 6000-odd delegates that to resolve rolling blackouts, immediate focus should be on:
Improving EAF through a focused, funded and planned maintenance of existing power stations.
Procurement of emergency or short-term power from existing facilities and other private power plants.
Purchase of additional electricity from neighbouring countries which can be unblocked in the short to medium term. Mantashe says Eskom has been approached with offers of additional electricity from Zambia and has secured a future pipeline of 100Mw from “a number of projects in Mozambique”.
Improving skills capacity at Eskom.
“Ongoing power supply disruptions (rolling blackouts) resulted in logistical bottlenecks on our railways and ports. The soaring of global energy prices negatively impacted the industry’s operational costs. For instance, the price of crude oil averaged $100 per barrel in 2022 and as a result mining companies had to pay exorbitant prices for fuel and electricity,” he says, adding that the mining industry relies heavily on efficient railways and ports for export logistics. Mantashe says the logistical bottlenecks on railways and ports continue to contribute to the decline in export volumes of bulk commodities such as coal, iron ore, manganese, and chrome.
Visit“>Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He says Transnet needs to urgently accelerate the improvement of its rail network to support the return to service of locomotives to enable the export of bulk commodities, adding that the establishment of joint structures by Transnet and the Minerals Council South Africa should stabilise and improve South Africa’s operation efficiencies at the ports.
Peter Leon, partner and Africa chair at international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills says although Mantashe “made all the right noises”, he failed to offer any concrete solutions to the significant challenges facing the mining sector. Leon called for the uncoupling of the departments of minerals and energy, so that a new Minister of Energy can “fast track the changes to ensure that South ...
There’s a set of spices which, when combined, become identifiably ‘Cape’ in character, flavour and aroma. I set out to mix such spices for use when making rice.
Spices are amazing in their ability to shift and change according to which ones you use together, and in what quantities, as well as which spice or spices you wish to be the dominant ones in the mix.
The spices of the Cape have given the Cape of Good Hope its familiar scents and tastes for centuries. Put them together and you’re tasting the region and its complex, often difficult history; but you’re also tasting its spirit and pluck.
Spiced rice dishes such as begrafnisrys are flavoured chiefly with turmeric, sometimes saffron, often with a few other spices; but the yellow spice is dominant. I wanted to take the notion of Cape spiced rice and give it a flavour and scent that makes you think of the spices we love if the Cape is or has been home to us.
There had to be cumin and fennel, and what is a Cape spice mix without borrie (turmeric). I added a little allspice and white pepper, and threw in a few cardamom pods, some cassia bark, a solitary star anise and a few cloves. All of these you will find in varying degrees in many dishes of the old Cape. I also included caraway seeds in a nod to some of the spices more popular at the Cape in earlier times.
You can of course vary them, altering the quantities to your own taste, to make it your own version of a Cape spice mix.
(Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish)
Ingredients
500 g jasmine or basmati rice
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
1 scant tsp caraway seeds
1 scant tsp ground turmeric (borrie)
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp white pepper
2 pinches of smoked sea salt
1 star anise
2 slim pieces of cassia bark
3 cloves
Method
Toast the cumin, fennel and caraway seeds in a dry pan on a moderate heat for 2 or 3 minutes, shaking the pan several times. Don’t let them burn.
Off the heat, stir in the ground turmeric, allspice, white pepper and salt. Add the star anise, cardamom pods, cloves and cassia.
When cooking rice (my own way with rice follows), stir it (in whatever quantity you like) into the wet rice before boiling.
I make rice this way: it works regardless of quantities of rice and water, as long ...
The DRC, its neighbours, the AU and the international community have failed to translate military victory into political success.
On 23 January, the Rwandan Air Force fired at a Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) military jet in Goma, claiming it had violated Rwandan airspace. This was the tipping point in rising tensions between the two countries, which are now on a war footing.
Ten years after its defeat by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Force Intervention Brigade, the M23 rebel movement is resurfacing in eastern DRC. This shows the inability of the DRC, its neighbouring countries, the United Nations (UN) Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the African Union (AU) to translate military victory into political success.
The East African Community’s Nairobi Process aims to link political consultations with military action in eastern DRC. However, the latter, particularly the deployment of the regional force in North and South Kivu provinces, remains more advanced than the political process, which isn’t helping to demobilise armed groups.
The recent proliferation of peace initiatives in the Great Lakes region hasn’t made combining political and military solutions easier. This is partly because the M23’s defeat in 2013 was not accompanied by efforts to deal with the conflict’s root causes. Instead, the group withdrew from Goma and cantoned its troops in Rwanda and Uganda after being expelled by regional forces and fragmented by internal divisions.
Political dynamics in the DRC and international developments added to the problem. After repeated waves of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, the DRC government and international partners grew reluctant to integrate M23 combatants into the national army. When the armed group was defeated, DRC politics became dominated by other matters, and the international community adopted a reactive approach to Great Lakes problems.
The troubled region is on the agenda of the Peace and Security Council’s (PSC) heads of state meeting on the margins of this month’s AU summit. This is mostly a reaction to the fact that the M23 now occupies a significant part of North Kivu.
The regional dimension of the M23 issue has been exaggerated at the expense of local and national dynamics, which need more political attention. This imbalance results from evidence presented by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC in their December 2022 report, alleging support by Rwanda and Uganda for the M23 rebels.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Also, if countries ...
Here is an incomplete yet striking gallery of images of the latest Grammy Awards that were held on Sunday 05 February in Los Angeles, and hosted by Trevor Noah.
Artificial Intelligence comes with a litany of ethical risks and dilemmas. Some are universal, but some are unique to particular countries, like South Africa.
When people think about artificial intelligence (AI), they may have visions of the future. But AI is already here. At its base, it is the recreation of aspects of human intelligence in computerised form. Like human intelligence, it has wide application.
Voice-operated personal assistants like Siri, self-driving cars, and text and image generators all use AI. It also curates our social media feeds. It helps companies to detect fraud and hire employees. It’s used to manage livestock, enhance crop yields and aid medical diagnoses.
Alongside its growing power and its potential, AI raises moral and ethical questions. The technology has already been at the centre of multiple scandals: the infringement of laws and rights, as well as racial and gender discrimination. In short, it comes with a litany of ethical risks and dilemmas.
But what exactly are these risks? And how do they differ among countries? To find out, I undertook a thematic review of literature from wealthier countries to identify six high-level, universal ethical risk themes. I then interviewed experts involved in or associated with the AI industry in South Africa and assessed how their perceptions of AI risk differed from or resonated with those themes.
The findings reflect marked similarities in AI risks between the global north and South Africa as an example of a global south nation. But there were some important differences. These reflect South Africa’s unequal society and the fact that it is on the periphery of AI development, utilisation and regulation.
Other developing countries that share similar features – a vast digital divide, high inequality and unemployment and low-quality education – likely have a similar risk profile to South Africa.
Knowing what ethical risks may play out at a country level is important because it can help policymakers and organisations to adjust their risk management policies and practices accordingly.
Universal themes
The six universal ethical risk themes I drew from reviewing global north literature were:
Accountability: It is unclear who is accountable for the outputs of AI models and systems.
Bias: Shortcomings of algorithms, data or both entrench bias.
Transparency: AI systems operate as a “black box”. Developers and end users have a limited ability to understand or verify the output.
Autonomy: Humans lose the power to make their own decisions.
Socio-economic risks: AI may result in job losses and worsen inequality.
Maleficence: It could ...
Uncertainty about how long symptoms will last can be tough for women going through hormonal changes that come with menopause. Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear-cut time frame.
Around half of the world’s population are women or people who menstruate – yet the way their body works can be a mystery, even to them.
Most women will experience periods roughly every month, many will go through childbirth and those who live into midlife will experience menopause.
While menopause is a significant time of change, it isn’t talked about much, other than as a punchline. This may contribute to keeping it a taboo topic.
So, what happens during menopause? How do you know when it is happening to you? And – the thing most women want to know – how long will it last?
What is menopause?
Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation, which is medically determined to be one year after the final menstrual period. After this time women are considered to be postmenopausal.
The average age of “natural menopause” (that is not caused by a medical condition, treatment or surgery) is considered to be around 51 years.
However, natural menopause does not occur suddenly. Changes can begin a number of years before periods stop and most often occur in a woman’s 40s but they can be earlier. Changes can continue for 10 years or more after periods have stopped.
Using hormones such as the oral contraceptive pill or hormone intrauterine devices may make it more difficult to determine when changes start.
Menopause that occurs before 45 is called “early menopause”, while menopause before 40 is called “premature menopause”.
Menopause has a huge impact on women, but it can also affect their partners, children, friends and colleagues.
We want you to join broadcaster @Zoehardman and #ShareYouStory for our new campaign Let’s #ChatMenopause!
Wellbeing of Women (@WellbeingofWmen) November 14, 2022
What about perimenopause?
Various terms are used to describe this period of change, including “menopause” or “the menopause”, “menopausal transition”, “perimenopause” or “climacteric”.
These terms tend to refer to the period before and after the final menstrual period, when changes are considered to be related to menopause.
The difficulty with the definition of menopause is it can only be decided retrospectively. Yet women can experience changes many years before their periods stop (a lead-up usually called “perimenopause”). Also, any changes noticed may not be associated with menopause (because people might not be aware of what to expect) or changes may be associated with a combination of ...
The beleaguered Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority has appointed yet another acting chief executive officer, who took over from Deli Nkambule on 1 February.
Thato Ramaili is a highly regarded property professional and a board member of the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), who worked in the US for more than a decade before returning to South Africa to head up a finance start-up team that launched the first Iveco Plant in southern Africa. She was appointed on an interim basis while the recruitment process for a new CEO is underway.
It is not known why Nkambule, who was also believed to be highly effective in the acting role, could not stay on.
The PPRA failed to respond to media queries about the new appointment on Friday.
At the time of Nkambule’s appointment, the Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa’s CEO Jan le Roux, hailed her as a “person of ability and integrity”, saying they are confident that she will steer the ship successfully through this process.
Nkambule took over the office in an acting capacity after her predecessor, Mamodupi Mohlala was placed on precautionary suspension, with full pay, pending a forensic investigation into allegations of fraud at the PPRA.
Mohlala’s brawl with the PPRA board came to a head in the high court, in an attempt to have her precautionary suspension declared unlawful. She lost that court bid and was informed of her suspension at the end of March 2022.
On 1 February 2022, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi hailed the PPRA, saying in contrast to the Estate Agents Affairs Board (EAAB), it will have wider powers, which include inspections without notice and more serious consequences for non-compliance. “Over and above this, the new act is aimed at improving the functioning of the sector in general.”
The minister noted that her department’s priority was to stabilise the housing sector: “We were and still are concerned about the negative media reports that were flooding the media about Human Settlements entities in which EAAB was not spared. It is for this reason that we prioritised the appointment of a new board, whose topmost important task was to stabilise the entity and ensure that the entity focuses on its primary mandate.
“I am delighted to report from industry bodies that they have noticed a positive change. This is a demonstration that the new board has hit the ground running and has made such tremendous progress in a short space of time,” ...
The Minerals Council South Africa, the main umbrella group for the mining sector, said on Monday at the launch of its annual ‘Facts and Figures’ document that Transnet’s woes in 2022 cost the sector an estimated R50-billion in lost exports. And if the rail network operated at its full capacity, South Africa’s bulk mineral exports could be R151-billion more annually.
The minerals council launched its annual “Facts and Figures” document at the start of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
Let’s start with the bad news and then move on to the good stuff.
“The Minerals Council estimates the opportunity cost resulting from rail and port constraints to have increased to R50-billion in 2022 from R35-billion the year before when delivered tonnages are measured against targeted tonnages. If the rail network was operating at nameplate capacity, with a few minor enhancements, South Africa would realise R151-billion more in bulk mineral sales,” the council said.
“Once again, the mining industry has shot out the lights when considering its financial performance and contribution to the economy in 2022. However, we remain concerned about the worsening constraints in rail and port logistics, which means we have yet again forfeited the benefits of high commodity prices and demand, as well as inadequate electricity supply,” council CEO Roger Baxter said.
The opportunities lost because of state failure were thrown into sharp relief by the good news.
In an economy with an unemployment rate that is effectively well north of 40%, the mining sector actually created jobs in 2022, employing 475,551 people compared with almost 459,000 in 2021. Those employees were paid R175-billion compared with R166-billion in 2021.
The industry paid R74-billion in taxes last year, a bit less than the R81-billion it paid in 2021. But that was still a lifeline to Treasury and in the broader scheme of things could, say, have paid for the sponsorship of 74 foreign football clubs.
South African mining companies exported R878-billion worth of minerals last year, up from R856-billion in 2021. That total could have been R938-billion, or 5.5% higher, were it not for Transnet’s wobbles.
And the sector had its best safety year yet, with a record low of 49 miners killed on the job in 2022.
That toll is going the right way, but the economic toll of state failure is mounting. DM/BM
New research highlights how anyone can train their creative muscles by rethinking the anxiety, frustration and anger they encounter in daily life.
Do you think that creativity is an innate gift? Think again.
Many people believe that creative thinking is difficult – that the ability to come up with ideas in novel and interesting ways graces only some talented individuals and not most others.
The media often portrays creatives as those with quirky personalities and unique talent. Researchers have also identified numerous personality traits that are associated with creativity, such as openness to new experiences, ideas and perspectives.
Together, they seem to paint a dire picture for those who consider themselves conventional thinkers, as well as those who do not work in creative occupations – including roles that are often considered traditional and noncreative, such as accountants and data analysts.
These beliefs miss a key part of how creativity works in your brain: Creative thinking is actually something you engage in every day, whether you realize it or not.
Moreover, creativity is a skill that can be strengthened. This matters even for people who don’t consider themselves creative or who aren’t in creative fields.
In research that I recently published with organization and management scholars Chris Bauman and Maia Young, we found that simply reinterpreting a frustrating situation can enhance the creativity of conventional thinkers.
Using creative thinking to cope with emotions
Creativity is often defined as the generation of ideas or insights that are novel and useful. That is, creative thoughts are original and unexpected, but also feasible and useful.
Everyday examples of creativity are plentiful: combining leftover food to make a tasty new dish, coming up with a new way to accomplish chores or mixing old outfits to create a new look.
Read in Daily Maverick: Train your brain to unlock creativity and innovation
Another way you do this is when you practice what’s called “emotional reappraisal” – viewing a situation through another lens to change your feelings. There is an element of creativity to this: You’re breaking away from your existing perspectives and assumptions and coming up with a new way of thinking.
Say you’re frustrated about a parking ticket. To alleviate the bad feelings, you can think of the fine as a learning moment.
If you’re anxious about a presentation for work, you can cope with the anxiety by framing it as an opportunity to share ideas, rather than as a high-stakes performance that could result in demotion if handled ...
(Bloomberg) --South Africa’s biggest business group urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to use an upcoming cabinet reshuffle to improve the performance of a government that’s been slow to deliver on promises of economic reform. BUSA named six ministries it feels need 'special attention'.
In the letter seen by Bloomberg News, Business Unity South Africa slammed the performance of Ramaphosa’s administration in areas ranging from energy policy to safety and security. Business Leadership South Africa, another major group, also signed the letter.
Dated 24 January, the letter was first reported this weekend by News24, a South African news website.
Ramaphosa, who came to power in 2018 promising swift economic reform and a crackdown on corruption, has come under stinging criticism from business, opposition parties and the ruling party’s labour union allies for its failure to quickly enact policies to ignite growth in a stagnating economy.
Rotational power cuts, intermittently applied since 2008, are at their most intense ever with blackouts having occurred consecutively for more than 100 days.
Ramaphosa, 70, who won a second term as head of the African National Congress in December, needs to replace his transport minister, who’s taking up an executive role in the party, and fill the vacant post of public service and administration minister.
He’s also expected to replace his deputy president, who resigned after being ousted from the matching role in the ANC, and is being urged to shake up ministries that oversee the provision of energy, freight rail, and port services.
“Many investors simply don’t believe our plans,” BUSA said in the letter. “To shift this view, they will need to see consistent” delivery, the organization said.
Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa’s spokesman, declined to comment.
See here Ramaphosa’s One Year Review of his 2022 commitments:
BUSA named six ministries it feels need “special attention,” and laid out the group’s concerns about them as follows:
The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy has overseen “the slow progress of energy procurement and reform” and the mining industry “is in serious decline,” it said. It cited Gwede Mantashe, the current minister, and his championing of the coal industry, saying the official shouldn’t be “a flag waver for any particular energy technology.” Minerals and energy should be overseen by separate ministers, it said.
The new transport minister will need to move swiftly to resolve a “logistics crisis” that’s seen coal shipments to South Africa’s main export port fall to a 30-year low.
The trade, industry and competition minister “must see business as ...
Keith Somerville, who has established himself as the ‘biographer’ of much of Africa’s wildlife, seeks to dispel some of the myths about jackals, honey badgers and golden wolves in his latest critter book.
While on a trout-fishing trip to KZN’s Lotheni Nature Reserve in May last year, myself and my companions witnessed a black-backed jackal pursue a mountain reedbuck doe, in broad daylight, for miles along a trail.
Our vantage point from our basic park chalets was a panoramic one that swept below through jagged brush into the valley and river below. This was cross-cut by trails, including a looping one that stretched from our chalets toward the base of the mountains before circling back.
It was on this trail that the pursuit took place, at one point passing within metres of our chalet.
A while later, we caught sight of the jackal uphill from our chalets by the park offices, and then saw the reedbuck creeping around our braai area. Bambi, it seemed, had won the day.
But what struck me was a jarring jackal juxtaposition.
Around our chalets we also became acquainted with a resident jackal — the staff said his name was “China”. Basically, this “China” my Chinas hung around our braai area — loitering with intent, as they say. China was not going to bust his or her butt chasing a buck for miles on a frigid autumn day.
No, “China” was a scavenger, and was on “the hunt” for our scraps, having succumbed to the lurid temptation of “anthropogenic food waste,” to use the term of art.
Indeed, “China’s” utter disinterest in actually killing his/her own food was thrown into sharp relief by the resident guinea fowl flock. I have seen chickens that were more skittish. But China was hardly going to bother with even the minimal effort represented by this drive-through KFC option.
So that got me thinking.
Why would one jackal expend a lot of energy (fruitlessly) chasing a wild buck on a brisk day when there were such easy pickings at hand, and close by, that another opted for?
The explanation for this and other candid contrasts can be found in Keith Somerville’s new book, Jackals, Golden Wolves and Honey Badgers: Cunning, Courage and Conflict with Humans. Somerville, who has established himself as the “biographer” of much of Africa’s wildlife, seeks to dispel some of the myths about these critters in his latest work.
“China’s” behaviour it seems has long been the image of ...
In playwright Louis Viljoen’s new one-woman black comedy, an unreliable narrator uses cool, clever language to win us over as she takes us into her taboo world.
The plays of Cape Town writer Louis Viljoen have always made me laugh. Sometimes the comedy is uncomfortable, often it’s violent and/or sexual and/or dripping with freewheeling hardcore swears, the sort you might associate with works by David Mamet or Steven Berkoff.
There’s always been a strong whiff of Quentin Tarantino, too, ear candy for those of us who feasted on his films in the 1990s.
But movies are very different from live theatre. Whereas you can be in a cinema listening to Samuel L Jackson belt out mother-effing insults and slurs without taking it too much to heart, when you’re confronted with actors describing intimate sex acts using the most provocative and seemingly antisocial language while breathing the same air as you, maybe making direct eye contact as you watch from the front row, the discomfort level goes up a few notches.
I personally like it when a playwright dips the quill into the murky depths, opens a vein to make me squirm. There’s no denying that rough language in the middle of a lyrical monologue makes the ears prick up. Like skewering your finger on a thorn while sniffing a rose, it momentarily alters your brain chemistry.
So, by all means: when you’re describing sexual behaviour that borders on a kind of atrocity and is charged with violence, is meant to signify a sort of outrageousness that culminates in horror, then let the swear words fly.
Uttered on a stage, those words – particularly when they’re linked together with clever turns of phrase and prose that borders on poetry – have a way of jolting us into a different way of hearing. Especially when they’re uttered by a young, clean-cut actress who is well spoken and eloquent, rather than, as Trump reminded us, by a misogynist in the men’s locker room. Such a smattering of vulgarities sends a signal that something is off, that trouble may be on the way.
Perhaps our shock at a woman letting the bad language loose tells us something about our expectations with respect to gender roles, about how society expects women to behave, talk, think.
In Viljoen’s latest play, The Grass Widow, the unhinged sex talk and sudden, swift volley of swears signal that our narrator may be coming apart. A kind of ...
ANC leaders told supporters at its 111th birthday celebration in KwaZulu-Natal that deployees who do not perform will be swiftly dealt with.
Enthusiastic ANC supporters, bused and transported from all over KwaZulu-Natal, attended the ANC’s January 8 statement anniversary rally, painting the Mpumalanga Stadium near Hammarsdale yellow, gold and green.
ANC and alliance leaders at the rally included ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, Zweli Mkhize, former Women’s League President Bathabile Dlamini, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Responsible for State Security Zizi Kodwa, Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo — and Zandile Gumede, the former eThekwini mayor who faces fraud, money-laundering and other charges.
Duma said though the ANC had upped service delivery in KwaZulu-Natal, it was aware that many communities were not happy about the levels of service delivery.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The ANC lost control of 18 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2021 local government elections, losing mainly to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) or to IFP-led coalitions. The Democratic Alliance gained control of uMngeni Local Municipality.
Duma said councillors and other ANC leaders were accountable to their communities.
“We won’t tell people what they want. We know what communities want. But we need to account to them in order to bring them hope. Our door-to-door campaign will be different this year,” he said, adding that leaders who were not willing to submit to the people would have to leave.
‘Realistic action’
His sentiments were echoed by ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula: “If you do not want to serve, please just go home. The ANC wants leaders who are prepared to work hard and deliver on the promises.
“Where we are in charge as the ANC, it must be clear that we are leading; people must not cry as if we are not leading. We must bring hope to the people.
“The ANC government wants to create jobs so that our people can work for themselves. In this area [Hammarsdale Industrial Area] there are a lot of factories. We want more and more factories to open so that there are more job opportunities,” he said.
Mbalula said the biggest challenges facing the country were rolling blackouts, crime, poverty and unemployment.
He repeated that the ANC wanted to declare a national State of Disaster to deal with crippling power cuts and to solve the pressing challenges in the country that were leading to low economic growth.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “State of Disaster must be clearly defined and ...
Extortion by gangs is hampering the delivery of housing projects in Cape Town, with Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis warning against a potential ‘mafia state’ if it is not reined in.
Extortion, unlawful occupation or forceful community disruption of housing in 12 of the City of Cape Town’s housing projects is affecting about 4,500 beneficiaries of state-subsidised housing, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told a meeting of the Western Cape Standing Committee on Human Settlements on 27 January.
“We have a huge problem in the housing space with contractors leaving job sites. There is a practical risk that this work will not be completed, will be delayed, or . cancelled and moved to another location. That is very unfortunate for the communities that rely on those services,” Hill-Lewis said.
‘Mafia state’ risk
“There is a principle problem as well. If we do not stop this then Cape Town, Western Cape and South Africa will turn into a mafia state because no work in the public sector will be done unless extortion money is paid.”
To mitigate this threat, Hill-Lewis said, the city had approved a R15-million top-up budget for additional security at housing construction sites.
Delft, Eindhoven, Valhalla Park, Gugulethu, Bardale 4C in Mfuleni, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village, Sheffield Road in Philippi and Beacon Valley in Mitchells Plain are among the affected housing projects. Gangsterism is rife in both Valhalla Park and Beacon Valley.
The city’s presentation indicated:
In Valhalla Park, the project was suspended in 2017 after threats and violent attacks on contractors’ staff. New threats were made to the contractor’s staff in January this year. The security plan of the SAPS and city law enforcement was ineffective against the violent attacks, and the project was suspended. About 781 beneficiaries are affected.
In Beacon Valley, two civil contracts with a value of R14o-million were cancelled in 2021 after petrol bombing, shootings and intimidation on site. Four workers were injured. More than 1,800 people are still waiting for housing.
Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers said problems with extortion had stopped work on 21 housing developments between 2018 and December 2022, leaving 12,624 people still waiting for houses.
The projects affected included Beacon Valley, Athlone Infill Housing, Maroela North in Kraaifontein, Forest Village, Ithemba Eerste River, Blue Downs, Fairylands in Paarl, Airport Infill Project Luyolo and Tambo Villages Sites (Manenberg and Gugulethu) and Welmoed Development Estate.
Simmers said the Department of Human Settlements is spending R1.5-million a month on additional security to safeguard these sites.
Extortion on the rise
“Since ...
South Africa can draw important lessons from the Irish political coalition model, which is clearly based on solid structures and a spirit of trust and generosity.
There are many reasons to think coalitions are good for South Africa. For one, they enable new parties that would otherwise be permanently locked out of power to get a foothold in government.
This not only gives voice to the diverse communities in the country, but also leads to a compromise around policies, so they better represent a greater proportion of the population.
However, coalitions also have a dark side: they can be unruly. The absence of an effective ruling party has the potential to exacerbate corruption and unprincipled politics based on the “exchange of favours”.
There is also a strong concern that coalitions lead to opportunistic politics and can actually undermine accountability, rather than strengthen it. Some argue that coalitions formed with “fly-by-night” parties will lead to permanent instability in South Africa unless we make important changes to the laws related to these agreements and that political squabbling is only part of the problem, while the real reason coalitions fail is structural.
Instability
An example of this unruliness is the coalition governments in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Gqeberha, which are very unstable. The reason is that the parties do not share ideological or public policy synergies.
In Johannesburg, we have the populist far left, the EFF, needing to prop up the neoliberal Democratic Alliance. There is no policy cohesiveness, which inevitably results in policy squabbles, with threats of the withdrawal of support. And this all leads to a break in service delivery.
The other problem is that when coalitions are put together, the current approach has been very much one of entitlement, where the largest party insists on its right to hold the most important positions and reflect its party strength.
In a situation where you have two or three strong opposition parties forming a coalition, such an approach may work, but where you have an array of parties from various ideological backgrounds, party strength doesn’t matter, because without the mutual support of the other parties, they cannot get into government anyway.
Irish model
At an electoral workshop held recently by the Inclusive Society Institute, an expert from Ireland spoke about the Irish coalition model and how it has evolved, in that the types of coalitions have become much more innovative and the methods around supporting them have become more extensive, both formally and informally.
The ...
In the dying days of his presidency, Jacob Zuma signed off on a multitude of appointments at the National Prosecuting Authority, which were all swiftly undone by the new incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa. Now the Constitutional Court is being asked to adjudicate which of the two presidents acted unlawfully.
Ron Simphiwe Mncwabe and Khulekani Raymond Mathenjwa were appointed directors of public prosecutions in North West and Mpumalanga respectively, a week before Jacob Zuma left office.
Records show Zuma signed a presidential minute on their appointments on 7 February 2018. He resigned seven days later without announcing the appointments.
When Cyril Ramaphosa took office, he was suspicious of the timing of the appointments at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). He halted these and three others Zuma had signed off on.
Now, the Constitutional Court is being asked to adjudicate on which of the two presidents acted unlawfully: Zuma for making the appointments; or Ramaphosa for cancelling them.
At the heart of the case is the question of when a presidential order becomes final. Mncwabe and Mathenjwa say it’s when the President signs a presidential minute, whereas Ramaphosa argues it’s when the decision is publicly communicated.
‘Undisputed facts’
Mncwabe and Mathenjwa have applied for their cases to be heard by the Constitutional Court after their cases were dismissed at the high court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. They question the constitutionality and rationale of Ramaphosa’s decision to remove them.
In his founding affidavit, Mncwabe says the high court judge who dismissed his initial application erred in his finding by insisting that the appointment should have been publicly communicated to make it effective.
“It is submitted that it is a matter of unusual public importance that warrants the attention of the Court, insofar as it concerns the appointment by the President of one of the most senior prosecuting officers in South Africa,” Mncwabe says in his founding affidavit.
Provincial directors of public prosecutions (DPP) are the most senior NPA officials in each province and make decisions about which cases are prosecuted.
Core questions
Mncwabe argues his appointment should be considered final because Zuma signed a presidential minute, which was countersigned by the then justice minister, Michael Masutha, and communicated to him via advocate Shaun Abrahams, former national head of the NPA.
“It was not open to President Ramaphosa to revoke my appointment. The principle of legality dictates that an organ of state may not unilaterally rescind a prior decision, even if such a decision was unlawful, ...
You keep asking me when the Russian war in Ukraine will be over and peace established... let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about the Ukrainian peace formula.
We are heading gradually and painfully to 365 days — one year — of brutal Russian war in Ukraine.
Almost one year ago, Ukraine became the country that was and has been determining the future of our world, its order and rules. For almost one year, the world has been watching the fight between good and evil.
We did witness countries that decided to stand firm for democracy and rule of law; on the other hand, we saw the silence, blindness and indifference of some other countries. I am glad to see that more and more partners are realising that further support and assistance for Ukraine is vital not only for the survival of my nation, but for the future of the democratic and civilized world.
The past nine years have been very hard for my country. Let me remind you — the Russian war on Ukraine did not start on 24 February 2022. It began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea. In these nine years, Russia undertook all the steps to transform into a real terrorist organisation. As I am writing these words, about 326,000 Russian invaders are fighting on my land, the biggest country in Europe. An active front line with the Russian aggressor stretches for 1,500km, while the overall front line for Ukrainian defenders (Russia and Belarus) is 3,786km long.
Despite several devastating defeats and growing losses (estimated at 128,420 people as of 1 February), Russia continues denying our legitimacy as a sovereign state and retains its maximalist goals to destroy Ukrainian statehood, including by attacking civilians and critical infrastructure.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies registered damage or destruction of 77,463 civilian infrastructure facilities, including 58,943 residential buildings and houses, 2,276 educational and 436 medical institutions, 320 cultural and 89 religious buildings, and 3,918 water and electricity networks. Take note — these numbers do not include the temporarily occupied areas, in which the real level of destruction is much higher.
Russian occupiers have damaged 1,189 cultural heritage and cultural infrastructure sites in Ukraine; 446 of them were completely destroyed. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have launched investigations into 67,297 war crimes and crimes of aggression committed since 24 February 2022. They include the killing of 9,743 people (including ...
Rather than compare Khayelitsha to Diepsloot, it may be more helpful to compare the quality of life and service provision in Khayelitsha to that of Kenilworth or Kalk Bay. That’s where the real gulf of inequality is to be found.
I hereby invite Stephen Grootes on a tour of Khayelitsha and a few other Cape Town “suburbs”.
The tour will equip him with direct knowledge about the quality of life for residents of these ghettoes, instead of having to rely for his analysis, as he states he does (“Head and Shoulders – Cape Town success could become a key issue in 2024 elections”, Daily Maverick, 30 January 2023), on the output of the DA’s “formidable communication machinery”.
Groote’s analysis is based on the assumption that because Cape Town’s leafier suburbs and tourist areas are relatively well maintained compared to those of other cities, it follows that the quality of services to Cape Town’s less-leafy suburbs is similarly superior.
This argument is drawn directly from the Helen Zille playbook. When confronted with the poor conditions on the wrong side of the proverbial fence, she says: “compared to (X, Y or Z) life in Cape Town is better for the poor,” without providing any evidence.
It is an argument that seeks to brush away the reality that Cape Town is among the most unequal cities on Earth, while at the same time providing a measure of comfort to the middle class that the quality of life it enjoys is not at the expense of the poor – indeed, that its quality of life somehow rubs off on the poor.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Grootes suggests that the test is to compare life in Khayelitsha to life in Diepsloot, in Johannesburg, but doesn’t provide any comparisons. He implies that Diepsloot is worse because it is not in DA-led Cape Town, but is it actually any worse?
Rather than compare Khayelitsha to Diepsloot, it may be more helpful to compare the quality of life and service provision in Khayelitsha to that of Kenilworth or Kalk Bay. That’s where the real gulf of inequality is to be found.
There is no doubt that Cape Town’s middle class receives relatively decent municipal services. Grootes refers to “power lines being repaired within hours, and potholes are a foreign concept”. But he should know that this is not the case in Khayelitsha, Bonteheuwel, Du Noon, Nyanga.
A government with a very ...
SA Tourism’s interim CFO Johan van der Walt misrepresented his ties to the agency that was set to be used to activate the R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal, Daily Maverick can reveal.
SA Tourism’s interim chief financial officer, Johan van der Walt, told Daily Maverick last week that his ties to the agency that could cash in on the controversial R1-billion Spurs sponsorship deal were highly limited.
When asked about his relationship with WWP Group, the agency named in documents as due to be given a £1.5-million (R31.3-million) upfront fee by 31 March 2023 to “activate” the sponsorship, Van der Walt replied in writing: “I have no financial interest in WWP Group, but I have in the past done some consulting work for WWP Group from time to time – predominantly work of a tax nature.”
But Daily Maverick has seen emails from 2019 proving that Van der Walt worked directly for the WWP Group at this time in the position of “group financial director”, rendering his characterisation of the relationship highly questionable.
The correspondence, which has been seen by Daily Maverick, shows Van der Walt’s role in WWP Group clearly went far beyond intermittent, pro bono tax consulting.
In the emails, Van der Walt apologises to a freelance creative who has not yet received payment for work they undertook for the WWP Group.
“We are unfortunately experiencing a delayed payment on a large project which, together with amounts we had to invest in other projects for which we have not been paid in full yet as well as other amounts where clients have not paid us yet, does not allow us to process any payments at this stage,” writes Van der Walt.
He concludes the email with the line: “With the tough economy we have to look after our clients and can only push them to an extent.”
Van der Walt’s email signature identifies him as the “Group FD” [financial director] of the WWP Group.
The freelance creative in question, who requested anonymity due to fear of professional reprisals, said that WWP Group had a bad reputation for delayed payment or non-payment of contractors – despite the fact that it was widely known that the agency benefitted from lucrative SA Tourism contracts.
South African company records show that the WWP Group was founded in September 2013. Van der Walt resigned from SA Tourism in October 2013 – one month later.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
The South African government, in particular the Department of Labour, should seriously consider the right to disengage – the right of employees to not be constantly on call.
Has any South African company, institution or government department conducted a study of the effects of remote work on employees during the Covid-19 pandemic?
Has any researcher asked questions such as: Do you get anxious and depressed when you get a call or email message from your employer or line manager after hours? Would you prefer to have a number for work calls that you can turn off outside of office hours? Do you feel burnt out?
Has working from home increased your family’s quality time and allowed you to focus on supporting your children as they go through life’s journey, including school? Do you feel like you’re constantly “on stand-by” even though you are not in the essential services sector?
The sudden switch to remote working or working from home blurred the lines between home life and working hours.
Stellenbosch University Emeritus Professor Karin Calitz says this blurring of work and personal boundaries created an environment where employees were reachable 24/7. They’re “doing more than they ordinarily would compared to being in the office, which is regulated by office hours.”
With employers expecting that workers must be available at all times on phones or by email, the basic conditions of work have become the number one casualty. A study titled Burnout: The problem of overworked employees in a country with an unemployment crisis tracked working hours in more than 50 countries between 1950 and 2017. It found South African workers had some of the longest working hours in the world.
So prevalent is burnout in South Africa that Calitz, in a 2022 article for the journal Obiter, decried the lack of acknowledgement of burnout as a distinguishable mental disorder.
She recommends that burnout be recognised as a distinguishable disease in South Africa with the necessary amendments made to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993; the reduction of working hours to 40 a week; and the adoption of the right to disconnect in the workplace.
As we head into 2023, the work environment is returning to normal. Learners are going to school as per normal. Universities have reopened their campuses for the return of students and staff members who have been working remotely or multimodally for three years since the outbreak of the pandemic.
But one does not expect ...
Coal has entered a new age that is beyond combustion, and 2023 and beyond will be all about finding new ways of diversifying away from coal while still ensuring energy stability, affordability, reliability and security in the face of the global permacrisis.
As the chairperson of the World Coal Association and the CEO of Thungela, I am often asked about the future of coal. At this juncture of the global energy crisis, it is the ideal time to look at the future of coal and its role in this time of turmoil.
This month marks one year since the tragic outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and the worldwide energy tailspin that resulted from this global disruption that shifted market conditions in a dramatic fashion.
Cynical commentators would say that the coal industry benefited because of rising coal prices driven by renewed demand from Europe and around the world. It is true that in South Africa, benchmark coal prices averaged $276.57 per tonne for 2022, compared with $124.11 per tonne a year before.
While that may sound like a real windfall to exporters, the reality is more complicated and there are truly no winners in this situation.
South Africa missed a real opportunity to boost its GDP and inject much-needed foreign currency into the economy because of the ongoing challenges with Transnet Freight Rail. The rail and port operator continued to operate below capacity due to shortages of locomotives, spare parts, derailment and crippling strikes, as well as cable theft and vandalised infrastructure.
The onslaught of organised crime was especially prevalent on the transport routes between the coal belt in Mpumalanga and coastal ports. As a result of all this disruption, coal producers saw a decrease in export saleable production.
The pertinency of coal to the here and now
Almost a year to the day, coal’s global journey took a new and dramatic turn. Europe was confronted by a plethora of unprecedented energy challenges, including chronic gas supply shortages that reverberated around the world.
There were supply chain problems and energy price surges, the likes of which had not been seen in decades. There were transportation bottlenecks that affected coal shipments into Germany due to low river levels resulting from a drought that also affected the availability of cooling water and safe nuclear operations. This drought also manifested a failure by renewables to deliver the continuous supply of energy that was promised.
This is what happens when the sun doesn’t shine, ...
Ahead of the President’s State of the Nation Address, there can be no doubt that South Africa’s myriad crises — from electricity to water to corruption — are intersecting in ways that make many of our people’s lives nasty, brutal and short.
There are important factors that got South Africa to where it is, and more evidence that political parties are making irrational decisions under pressure. Still, there are believable signs that the system, which is being deliberately kept in its dangerous place by politicians, can have outcomes other than violence-fueled decay.
Ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on Thursday, 9 February, the nationwide anger at our political class is palpable.
A column on 1 February by Professor Jonathan Jansen in TimesLive, headlined, Be honest, are you better off now than under apartheid?, has led to furious discussion.
His question is an impossible trade-off: freedom cannot be valued and the oppression of apartheid was unbearable, morally abhorrent and destroyed the lives, hopes and dreams of so many millions while directly creating the racialised inequality that still defines our nation, almost 30 years later.
But so heavy is the weight that our current crises have placed on our shoulders that this almost unthinkable question is debated often, not just in newspaper columns, but on talk radio stations and in private conversations too.
These difficult and painful discussions are underpinned by the immensely deep sense of betrayal felt by the millions who placed their trust in the ANC and were expecting better lives from its government.
The great majority of our compatriots now feel that the lives of their children, who cannot get a decent education and may never find a job, will be worse than theirs and those of their grandparents. Hope, such a crucial part of our lives, feels all but destroyed for tens of millions.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “All we need is Hope”
This betrayal feeds another important determining factor for our near future. There has been consistent reporting, most recently in City Press but also in Business Day, that the ANC’s leaders have been told that internal polling estimates that they would only get about 40% of the vote should national elections happen soon.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Despite that, there is no indication that the ANC is about to change tack, or even, despite its public pronouncements, “renew” itself into a modern, competent and accountable organisation that cares about ...
Chaos broke out Sunday morning in Rocklands, Bloemfontein, when residents began attacking street stalls owned by foreign nationals after the shooting of businessman Themba Mothibi.
People in Rocklands, Mangaung told Daily Maverick that the incident was in retaliation for the murder of businessman and treasurer of pressure group Mangaung Concerned Community (MCC), Themba Mothibi.
Police spokesperson Thabo Covane, said 46-year-old Mothibi, owner of By Hoek Lounge in Rocklands, was shot in the early hours of Sunday. Initial reports indicate that Mothibi had intervened after a fight broke out at the venue on Saturday evening.
Covane said that later, as Mothibi was closing the establishment, a suspect returned and shot him. Mothibi was declared dead at the scene. Another bullet hit a bystander in the hand.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
After a police hunt for the suspects, three foreign nationals had been arrested, Covane said. They would appear in court on Tuesday to face charges of murder, attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice and being in South Africa without the proper documentation.
As news of the shooting travelled, people took to the street. During Daily Maverick’s visit to Rocklands only one stall — which appears to be owned by a South African national— was left standing.
MCC spokesperson Themba Zweni confirmed that Mothibi had been a leader in the organisation. He said the MCC was, however, still investigating the incident and the subsequent trashing of stalls, and would release a statement in due course. DM
Tension and the threat of open violence is constant in the northern KwaZulu-Natal towns and villages bordering Mozambique following the brazen activities of cross-border crime syndicates. In recent weeks, communities have been protesting in frustration and some have been taking the law into their own hands - with opportunistic criminal elements creeping in, evidenced by the torching of a Mozambican truck and a bus late in January, and further incidents in February.
The area is seen as a gangster’s paradise, where everything from vehicles and drugs – cocaine, heroin, meth – to counterfeit cigarettes and other goods are smuggled through the porous fence separating South Africa and Mozambique.
For years South African and Mozambican authorities have been aware of the cross-border syndicate rings smuggling vehicles and other goods to the other side, but little has been done to curb it.
‘Clash’ between police and soldiers revealed as killer car theft syndicates run rampant
Now angry communities are taking the law into their own hands, with devastating consequences for relations between the two countries and citizens.
Late in January, angry communities in Mbazwana torched a Mozambican truck on the R22 highway between Hluhluwe and Mbazwana. A few minutes later they stopped a Mozambican luxury bus from Maputo headed for Durban, forced (Mozambican and South African) tourists out and torched it.
The tourists were compelled to walk some three kilometres to find help. Days later the torching of Mozambican-owned vehicles continue on the R22 road between Hluhluwe and Mbazwana (on the South African side).
Police say seven vehicles, including a bus and a truck, have been torched in the area since last week.
Local police officers and worried community members say the cross-border crime in Manguzi and surrounding areas became prevalent in the 2000s and various government efforts to root it out had failed to produce results. They believe that local and international crime syndicates have targeted the area.
Getting statistics on cross-border crime is tricky as it is not a separate category, so listings are under hijackings, abductions, kidnapping, house robberies and others.
A research paper titled South African Borders as the Hotspot for Corruption and published by Right for Education in October 2022 states that although statistics on the extent of cross-border crime are hard to come by, “South African borders are emerging as hotspots for severe crimes and atrocities.
“This practice is more prevalent on the border between South Africa and Mozambique in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Patterns of cross-border corruption and ...
Jersey barriers were seen as a solution to prevent cross-border crime across South Africa’s porous border with Mozambique, but the 8km project that got under way more than four years ago has been on hold pending completion of a Special Investigative Unit investigation into the R85.7 million tender.
Government officials and business people could find themselves in hot water after the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) has completed the probe into the R85.7-million tender to install concrete Jersey barriers – also known as border walls – along the porous fence that separates South Africa and Mozambique in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal.
For years now the border communities of Umkhanyakude District, including Manguzi, Jozini, Mbazwana, Hluhluwe and others, have been under siege from armed cross-border syndicates who attack them in their homes especially at night, rob, abduct them, take them in their own vehicles and dump them there while syndicate members smuggle their (the victims’) vehicles through the porous fence into the Mozambique wilderness.
The installation of concrete Jersey barriers along the porous fence that separates South Africa and Mozambique in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal was hailed as the solution that would bring an end to vehicle smuggling in the area and the brazen activities of cross-border crime syndicates, whose members live on either side of the border fence.
In 2018 an R85, 7 million tender for the construction of an 8km border wall was awarded to ISF Construction and Shula Construction by the KZN Department of Transport.
Several cars were found stuck and abandoned on or close to the small section where the jersey barrier had been installed after members of the syndicates were not able to take the cars to the other side to Mozambique.
But the project came to an abrupt halt after only 166 metres of jersey barriers had been installed and R48-million had been paid to contractors. Some of the jersey barriers have been lying in the villages near the Mozambican border for more than three years.
KZN Transport welcomes SIU investigation on the new jersey barrier wall project on the Mozambique border
The SIU said it began its probe after it “received allegations from an unnamed whistle-blower, claiming that the transport department has executed the project of constructing a concrete barrier, despite the legal mandate of such project resting with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure”.
Among other things, the SIU probed the procurement process and delivery of “value for money”. The ...
The past few months have had all the ingredients for disaster, yet Bidcorp has delivered results that are more than slightly palatable.
Clearly, after months of takeaways and isolation, even the most cash-strapped consumers have been desperate to eat out.
A cocktail of consumer pressure and high energy costs has been causing margin challenges for restaurants. Although Bidcorp would feel some of this cost pressure in putting its own increases through to its customers, the reality is that top-line growth at restaurants has been riding a wave of strong consumer demand and that’s where Bidcorp plays as a food services business.
For the six months ended December, headline earnings per share were between 43% and 49% higher year-on-year, implying a range of between 960c and 980c. For context, the previous record interim performance was only 714c per share, achieved in 2019.
The share price has been on a meteoric rise, which is always dangerous when a company trades at a significant earnings multiple. When you miss these jumps, it’s risky to try to chase them.
Shot in the dark for Ellies
With most industrial companies on the JSE typically trading at mid-single-digit price/earnings multiples, it’s a little worrying to see Ellies agree to pay a 10x multiple for Bundu Power, an alternative energy business that is expected to make profit after tax for the year ending February 2023 of R20.4-million.
Thanks to Eskom, this is clearly a high-growth industry. Of course, that applies to everyone in this space, so does Bundu Power have what it takes to compete sustainably and justify a premium valuation?
With a purchase price of R202.6-million versus net assets in the business of R48.7-million, that’s a lot of goodwill. Ellies either has a lot of faith in the brand or is desperate to get a foothold in this industry.
To help shareholders to sleep at night, there’s an earn-out structure that spreads out a substantial portion of the purchase price based on the company achieving profit targets.
It’s also worth remembering that Ellies had little choice but to announce a meaningful deal, as the core business has been dwindling.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
MTN Nigeria’s moment in the sun
After a strong run during the pandemic, MTN has a more manageable balance sheet. That’s just as well, because repatriating cash from Nigeria isn’t an easy experience.
Just ask Nampak, whose balance sheet is broken, largely because cash profits cannot be repatriated from Nigeria ...
The timing of the ruling party’s proposal to move state-owned enterprises into their respective departments is curious.
Within ANC policy circles, debates about the future of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and what to do with them have always been contentious.
Among the hot-button issues about SOEs is whether they should be used by the government in strategic sectors to grow the economy, create employment and spur development.
Also hotly discussed is whether SOEs should continue enjoying taxpayer-funded bailouts and whether their ownership models should be overhauled to pave the way for privatisation.
But a recurring debate that has featured at ANC policy and leadership elective conferences for many years — but has hardly been adopted — involves the governance of SOEs and whether they should be moved into their respective government departments.
This debate featured again in December 2022 as a policy proposal during the ANC’s elective conference, where party president Cyril Ramaphosa secured a second term. But the policy proposal was never adopted and the ANC National Executive Committee is yet to decide on when to do so.
The timing of the ANC’s proposal to hive off SOEs to their line departments is curious, as it is at odds with Ramaphosa’s plan on how to manage and reform such entities.
The governing party’s proposal might not even take off for several reasons.
The main reason is that the proposal has caught several policy and government officials by surprise because Ramaphosa, as early as 2020, initiated a process to look at how to reposition SOEs and strengthen their governance structures and financial situation.
In doing so, Ramaphosa appointed an SOE council that sits within his Presidency office and includes experts from big business, state organs and academia.
The council’s work is still ongoing and its members cannot speak publicly about it because they signed confidentiality agreements with the Presidency office.
Another challenge is that its mandate is wide as the members have to explore the state of SOEs — all 700-odd of them — and no deadline was given to the council’s work when it was assembled by Ramaphosa.
Sidestepped by the ANC
Two individuals close to Ramaphosa’s council and canvassed by DM168 say the ANC’s proposal to move SOEs to the line departments has caught some of the council’s members by surprise because it is out of kilter with what has been discussed by the council in the past three years.
The individuals say council members have neither considered moving SOEs to line departments ...
Small wonder that Thungela Resources is looking for greener pastures, as Transnet’s woes are hardly its only domestic challenge, which also include Eskom, illegal mining and the battered roads that coal companies increasingly have to rely on as the rail network collapses.
South African coal producer and Anglo American spin-off Thungela Resources said on Friday that it planned to buy the Ensham coal mine in Australia for R4.1-billion as part of a “de-risking” strategy to reduce exposure to the withering state in its home base. “De-risking” in this context is corporate lingo for hightailing out of the Dodge that is South Africa.
The timing of the announcement, on the eve of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, is poignant, even if this was not Thungela’s intention. Transparency generally demands that listed companies announce such deals when the ink is drying.
It will not be lost on Indaba attendees that Thungela, which is flush with cash thanks to red-hot coal prices, is expanding its asset base offshore.
“The Transaction is a step towards de-risking our underlying business and bolstering our resilience, recognising the ongoing infrastructure challenges in South Africa,” Thungela said in a SENS announcement.
Ongoing SA meltdown
These “ongoing infrastructure challenges” of course refer to the ongoing meltdown of South Africa’s state, which is withering under ANC rule. Thungela flagged in November last year that it expected its coal exports for 2022 to be 13 million tonnes (Mt), 600,000 tonnes less than its previous guidance, because of the “ongoing inconsistent and poor rail performance by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR)”.
That’s a loss of about 4.5%, which may not seem like a lot. But when the company unveiled its full-year 2021 earnings earlier in 2022, it said at the time: “The range for export saleable production is revised to between 14 Mt and 15 Mt for 2022, taking into account a gradual rather than immediate recovery in TFR performance.”
So its outlook keeps deteriorating in line with TFR’s deteriorating performance. It lost as much as 15% of the exports it had anticipated at the time of its 2021 full-year earnings announcement in 2022. That would have flowed nicely into Thungela’s bottom line. The company’s interim profit for 2022 was a record R9.6-billion compared with R351-million for the same six-month period in 2021 — a jaw-dropping 27-fold increase.
Small wonder that the company is looking for greener pastures, as Transnet’s woes are hardly its only domestic challenge, which ...
South Africans do not trust the government and its agencies to act responsibly with public funds after years of grift. Which is why, even if the Tourism SA and Tottenham Hotspur deal has some value, it shouldn’t go ahead at this time.
There are two irrefutable truths in global sport — football at the top end is expensive, and at the same time, football is the most popular sport on the planet.
Which makes it the perfect Petri dish for hubris and avarice to spawn in. Throw in a country that spends billions on projects that all too often wither on the vine while a few cadres get rich, and it’s no wonder there was a huge outcry this week when Daily Maverick revealed another potentially wasteful and possibly corrupt business deal.
SA Tourism, the government’s marketing arm, was (and still is, apparently) set to spend £42.5-million, or close to R1-billion, to buy space on north London-based Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur’s jersey.
A logo on the sleeves of Spurs jerseys worn by the likes of global stars Harry Kane and Son Heung-min could carry the slogan “Visit South Africa”. Or at least, some derivative of this mundane phrase that yet another mouth in the food chain of rapaciousness will come up with for a large fee.
There are many issues both bad and, well, not so bad, with this proposed deal, which make it worth interrogating with what information we can glean.
Massive exposure
Let’s, for a moment, take the proposed deal at face value. Let’s bury the well-founded cynicism South Africans have been conditioned to expect through painful experience and assume there are no backhanders or other unethical and illegal elements in the Spurs proposal, and ask: Why is it necessary? Why spend one-third of the department’s budget on a single deal?
Why Spurs, why the English Premier League (EPL) and why football, especially a team from Britain? This is, after all, a club that hasn’t won the league since 1961, last won the FA Cup in 1991 and whose last major trophy was the 2008 League Cup.
The short answer is: “exposure”.
The one product; the one place where a single sponsorship deal can cover a large portion of the globe, is football, and specifically the EPL. It reaches more than four billion people through TV annually, with Spurs being watched by 1.3 million people per game.
The EPL is now the richest and most-watched league in the ...
Just because you can manipulate a market by playing by the rules, does not mean you can get away with it. The men in blue will come for you and fine you or put you in jail if they decide you violated fairness norms.
A long time ago, I lost a great deal of money overnight on an A-rated stock, Swissair, which unexpectedly filed for bankruptcy in the dark of night. I swore that would never happen to me again and embarked on a multi-decade attempt to study the mathematics of the market and to make my money back by devising hitherto unknown clever and wildly profitable trading strategies.
I failed.
But there are many others who do find an edge and exploit it to the moon. Then they put their profits in the piggy bank and move on when the window of opportunity finally closes, which it inevitably does. Sam Bankman-Fried was one who found an edge. He spotted a pricing difference in Bitcoin between the US and Japanese markets in 2017 and legally and cleverly made a couple of billion very quickly in that hidden corner of arbitrage.
Then he did some bad stuff which will likely land him in jail, but the first couple of billion was entirely kosher.
Avi Eisenberg is a different case entirely. Avi and his small team of trading geniuses had long been poking around the Rube Goldbergian innards of crypto projects and their enabling smart contracts, looking for trading opportunities. They found plenty and were happily stacking away their profits without falling afoul of the law. Just like any other smart trader throughout history who was able to see something before everyone else.
Mango Markets
At some point in late August 2022, Avi nosed around a Defi project called Mango Markets, then flying high in the bull market of that year. Without slipping down the rabbit hole too far, Mango operated in the world of the crypto futures markets, and its operating manual was complex and newly fangled. Depositors had arrived in droves, handing over money for tokens and futures and liquidity whatnots and swimming happily in the novel new money machine, getting handsome returns at seemingly low risk.
Avi took a look at the rules of engagement and (being super smart), said — Hey!! Wait a minute. Wait a darn minute! If I do this, and then I do that, and then I do the other thing, I can ...
After an assessment of the performance of party members in the Free State, the Provincial Executive Committee has decided to recall several high-ranking officials – including the premier, the mayor and at least eight MECs.
Barely three weeks into office, the Free State’s newly elected Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) has decided to recall several officials – most notably incumbent Premier Sisi Ntombela and Mangaung mayor Mxolisi Siyonzana.
These were some of the key decisions taken by the party’s PEC at the weekend following its assessment of institutions and party members, an ANC source told Daily Maverick.
The writing was on the wall for Ntombela after her failed bid for party chair at the party’s ninth provincial conference two weeks ago. She also failed to be elected as a PEC member.
Mxolisi Dukwana beat Ntombela in the tight race for ANC chair and is now poised to become the next premier.
“There was general consensus that she [will be] relieved of her duties due to poor performance, with only a handful warning that recalling her would cause divisions and strengthen factions that the party’s been battling to do away with,” the source said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Sisi Ntombela lost bid for FS ANC chair, then for PEC membership, now fighting for political life”
Delivering the party’s political report, Dukwana said the Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) in its two-year tenure under Ntombela as premier had grappled with criminal syndicates who were fleecing it dry, resulting in the collapse of services.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Criminal syndicates operated in the Free State, fleeced the State and collapsed services – ANC political report”
In his address at the ninth ANC Free State provincial elective conference two weeks ago, ANC national chair Gwede Mantatshe said the provincial government had become dysfunctional.
“A key observation that we can confidently make here is that there is neither local nor provincial governance in the Free State,” he said.
“When spheres of government are dysfunctional, there is no government. One of the biggest disjunctures and rubbish I observed in the Free State is the demarcation. You have demarcated the province so much that it cannot even function.”
In August 2022, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke warned that the Free State was in serious trouble, with not a single municipality receiving a clean audit for the past five years.
When Daily Maverick asked Ntombela about her future political prospects, she said at the time: “I am deployed by the ANC and the ...
Ukraine’s government expects Russia’s new offensive to start this month, defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said at a press briefing in Kyiv. The first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour will be on 24 February. Separately, Reznikov addressed reports he might soon be replaced.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed concerns that Germany’s supply of battle tanks could make his nation an active party to the war with Russia. Western allies also have a “consensus” with Ukraine’s leader that weapons provided to Kyiv will not be used to attack Russian territory, he said.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that Ukraine planned a major “provocation” in Donetsk as a way to extract more promises of military aid from Western allies. Earlier, Russia struck the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles, damaging a university and residential neighbourhoods.
Key developments
US sending Ukraine additional $2.1 billion in military aid
As Europe bans Russian diesel, traders plot ways around it
What Europe risks with wider sanctions on Russian oil: QuickTake
Oil’s new map: how India turns Russian crude into the West’s fuel
On the ground
Two Russian S-300 missiles hit the centre of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast on Sunday morning, mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. Emergency services were still at work; at least five injuries were reported. Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa and the surrounding area are still struggling with power outages, the energy group DTEK said. Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near nine settlements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Civilian targets in the southern Kherson regions were shelled more than 60 times from multiple launch rocket systems, according to the General Staff.
Clarity on defence minister within days, Zelensky aide says
The government in Kyiv will continue its crackdown on graft, as demanded by the public and to retain the trust of foreign donors amid recent corruption scandals, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said on Sunday.
Defence chief Oleksii Reznikov will “undoubtedly resign” if the president insists on it, said Mykhailo Podolyak. The minister’s fate may be decided within days, he said.
Podolyak said that Reznikov had been an effective negotiator with Ukraine’s foreign partners on key weapon supplies.
Russia claims Ukraine plans ‘provocation’ with hospital strikes
Ukraine is planning a “massive provocation,” striking hospitals and health clinics in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, as a way to speed up military donations from allies, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Russia ...
Although well known by his followers, much of South Africa was not familiar with Bishop Khumalo, until he burst on to the scene last week to remind us to stop being such pesky micromanagers when it comes to public funds.
Dear Bishop Mzilikazi Themba Khumalo,
I trust this email finds you seen, heard and affirmed in your dominance.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my email. I can only imagine how busy you are, considering the many hats you wear, as Acting Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism, Chief Marketing Officer of South African Tourism, as well as “Senior Pastor, Founder and, Overseer of Glory House Church”. I just wanted to let you know how moved I was by your performance at the Tottensomething press conference last week. Your words made me feel truly heard and seen.
Let me explain.
One of the worst habits in the general South African workplace is the prevalence of micromanagement. That style of management where managers give you a task and then hover around, observing and controlling every step of the task, sending constant reminders and demanding endless updates. As demonstrated by the events of the past week, I’m sure you’ll agree that South Africans are just the worst kind of micromanagers. Naturally, I blame apartheid.
Just because you and your department have been tasked with spending billions of their hard-earned tax randelas, they think they actually have a right to question how you go about doing that. They seem to have forgotten what continent they live on.
Thank you for educating them and helping them see that they simply do not have the necessary understanding of marketing acronyms to be able to appreciate the genius of your strategy. I’m sorry that you had to basically pull out your CV and show these busybody taxpayers that you’re no stranger to capitalist pursuit, that you’d worked at Unilever, Coca-Cola, been GM of marketing at MTN, chief commercial officer at Cell C, managing executive at Telkom, and now, suddenly, you have to answer to illiterates who couldn’t tell their ROI from their P&L. No wonder God saw fit to dump them in the bottom of Africa.
Thank you for explaining to them how tourism marketing works. I can only hope that they will now understand, as you said, “You don’t just, you know, place an ad on TV and hope somebody’s going to see it and that they’ll be ...
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C., Feb 4 (Reuters) - A US military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic - and public - spying saga that worsened Sino-US relations.
President Joe Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic.
“They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden said.
Multiple fighter and refueling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one — an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia — took the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior U.S. military official said.
China strongly condemned the military strike on an airship that it says was used for meteorological and other scientific purposes, and which it said had strayed into U.S. airspace “completely accidentally” – claims flatly dismissed by U.S. officials.
“China had clearly asked the U.S. to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “The U.S. had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting.”
The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the U.S. coast of the Atlantic Ocean, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment over the coming days, U.S. officials said.
One U.S. military official said the debris field was spread out over seven miles (11 km) of ocean, and multiple U.S. military vessels were on site.
The downing of the balloon came shortly after the U.S. government ordered a halt to flights in and out of three airports in South Carolina — Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston — due to what it said at the time was an undisclosed “national security effort.” Flights resumed on Saturday afternoon.
While Saturday’s shootdown concludes the military dimension to the spying saga, Biden is likely to continue to face intense political scrutiny from Republican opponents in Congress who argue he failed to act quickly enough.
A senior administration official said after shooting down the balloon, the U.S. government spoke directly with China about the action. The State Department also briefed allies and partners ...
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup kicks off in Cape Town on 10 February, and we have the rundown on everything you need to know.
South Africa are set to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s inception, with play taking place from 10 to 26 February in Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha.
The Proteas Women will be joined by nine teams all vying for their chance at glory, with the line-up led by defending champions, Australia.
Australia
Undoubtedly the favourites, Australia head into the 2023 edition ranked number one in the ICC Women’s T20 rankings. The women from Down Under have won the T20 World Cup a record five times in the seven editions it has been played, including the last time out in 2020.
Australia have featured in every final since the inaugural 2009 edition, with their sole loss against West Indies in 2016, and they are also the only side in the competition’s history to have reached the semifinals or better in every edition of the tournament.
England
Ranked number two in the world, England won the inaugural 2009 edition of the tournament, where they put on a dominant display in the final against New Zealand to secure the title in front of a home crowd.
Although they have yet to repeat their heroics of 2009, the English women have advanced past the group stages all but once in the tournament’s history. During that time, they reached the finals in 2012, 2014 and 2018. However, they lost out on all three occasions to Australia.
New Zealand
New Zealand got their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup career off to a flying start by reaching the finals of the 2009 and 2010 editions, losing to England and Australia, respectively.
Notably, New Zealand lost the 2010 final by just three runs after falling short in a dramatic run chase. The Black Caps then reached the semifinals of the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka.
However, since then it hasn’t been plain sailing. The third-ranked side in the world have only reached the semifinals in one of the last four editions, and they enter the 2023 edition on the back of two consecutive group stage knockouts.
India
Ranked fourth in the world, India began their T20 World Cup career with back-to-back semifinal appearances in 2009 and 2010. However, they followed it up with a string of three group stage knockouts.
In 2018, the Indian women rediscovered their form by reaching ...
Coaches Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber will be watching the northern showpiece in preparation for their Rugby World Cup 2023 battles.
It’s tempting to say that the teams, players and coaches should be judged at the World Cup in France rather than in the games and tournaments that precede it.
Although that is true up to a point, it’s worth noting which teams will have the most to gain in the 2023 Six Nations and Rugby Championship tournaments, also which players have more to prove ahead of the respective World Cup squad announcements, and indeed which coaches – such as new appointments Steve Borthwick (England), Warren Gatland (Wales) and Eddie Jones (Australia) – are under pressure to address what are perennial structural problems.
The results and performances in the Six Nations will echo through to the World Cup. What’s more, coaches such as Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber will be watching the northern showpiece in preparation for the cross-hemisphere battles at the global tournament.
We’re still a good seven months out from the opening World Cup game, and yet the preparation phase is already under way. And thanks to the congested schedule – and the fact that top SA players play for the Boks and year-round in northern-hemisphere club tournaments – time is short.
Opponents under the microscope
The Boks will play Scotland and Ireland in the World Cup pool phase, and possibly France, England and Wales in playoffs.
The opening game against Scotland in Marseille on 10 September will set the tone for the Boks’ campaign, while the clash against Ireland – currently ranked No 1 in the world – could determine the winner of Pool B, and whether they play France or New Zealand in the first round of the knockouts.
France have consistently beaten the world’s best teams over the past two seasons, and will be favourites to win a global tournament staged on French soil later this year. The Boks may well face Les Bleus in the World Cup quarterfinals and – should they advance – possibly England or Wales in the later stages.
Regardless of personnel and pre-tournament form, England tend to lift themselves at World Cups. Wales will fly under the radar, but have a concrete reason to believe that they can beat the Boks in a one-off – having claimed an historic win in the second Test of the series staged in SA last year.
In short, Erasmus and Nienaber will take none ...
Deputy President David Mabuza has confirmed that he has resigned to allow ANC second in command Paul Mashatile to replace him. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa is not quite ready to let go of Mabuza just yet.
This weekend saw outgoing deputy president David Mabuza confirm that he has resigned from his position. Mabuza was speaking at his brother’s funeral in Mpumalanga on Saturday where he said that he wants to make way for newly elected ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile.
“At our conference last year I was not re-elected, Paul Mashatile was elected into the position of deputy president. Now I am making space for the incumbent ANC president,” the outgoing deputy president said.
Not only did Mabuza not manage to be re-elected at the ANC’s 55th conference in December 2022, he also no longer occupies a seat in the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences.
However, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya explained that Mabuza will only leave the position once they are done tying up all the loose ends pertaining to his imminent departure. He could not be drawn, however, on exactly when this would happen.
“Deputy President Mabuza has expressed his desire to step down from his position, following the outcome of the governing party’s leadership elections in December 2022. However, President Ramaphosa has requested the Deputy President to remain in his role until such time the modalities of his departure and transition have been finalised,” Magwenya explained.
[WATCH] Outgoing deputy president David Mabuza speaks about the looming cabinet reshuffle. He was speaking at his brother’s funeral.
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) February 4, 2023
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Meanwhile, the ANC Parliamentary caucus has confirmed a Daily Maverick article on Friday, stating that four ANC MPs would be sworn in on Monday.
A statement issued on Sunday says that Mashatile, KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance MEC Sihle Zikalala, former Gauteng Economic Development MEC Parks Tau and ANC second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa have been selected.
“The ANC Parliamentary Caucus is looking forward to welcoming the four members and leaders of the ANC who will take their oaths or affirmations as new MPs in the Speaker’s office at 12:00 on Monday 06 February 2023 . The ANC Caucus congratulates the four members and looks forward to benefiting from their tremendous skills, talents, and experience,” according to the statement issued by the office of the ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina.
Tshilidzi Munyai, ...
South African Tourism's proposal to spend nearly R1bn sponsoring Tottenham Hotspur has put the sector under the microscope, prompting conversations about how the department spends its money. Nevertheless, focusing on branding is misguided.
The simple fact of the matter is South Africa doesn’t need to worry about branding. The country is already well known as a top-notch or must-visit tourist destination, in the rest of Africa and around the world. In 2018 and 2019, more than 20 million tourists visited South Africa. In Africa, only Egypt and Morocco received more visitors during the same period.
Zooming out, South Africa stands out as a top destination in the Southern Hemisphere, receiving more tourists on average than nearly every other country in the hemisphere. During the same 2018-19 period, Argentina received more than 14 million tourists. Brazil received 13 million. Egypt and Morocco, notwithstanding, only Indonesia received more tourists.
While the fallout from the Covid pandemic has dramatically affected these numbers, tourists are again returning in significant numbers. It seems that South African Tourism has forgotten that in 2014, the New York Times listed Cape Town as its top destination in the world to visit. Since then, a number of cities like Johannesburg and Durban have featured on similar lists. These lists — plus the invaluable resource of word of mouth — ensure South Africa remains a relevant tourist destination.
South Africa’s tourism challenge over the medium and long term isn’t about branding. Rather, it’s about opening up the industry to domestic travel opportunities, considering the experiences tourists have once in South Africa and prioritising projects that make travelling to the country easier, and travelling within the country more efficient, safe and reliable.
Visa difficulties
One structural — and perhaps the most significant — challenge tourists wanting to travel to South Africa face is related to securing a visa. American and many European tourists can visit visa-free for up to 90 days and, as a result, make up the bulk of tourists visiting South Africa. (Travelling with dollars, euros and pounds certainly makes things easier too.)
Alternatively, tourists from China, a major source of much-needed tourism revenue, need to apply for electronic visas. Although this process has been simplified, it still requires prospective tourists to submit numerous documents and pay processing fees. Many tourists from elsewhere in Africa face more stringent visa requirements, potentially making South Africa more of an expensive — or difficult — destination to visit than, ...
The team have perhaps the best opportunity they’ve had to make their first World Cup final, but they are without a number of cricket stalwarts.
The Proteas Women kick off the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka on 10 February at Newlands in Cape Town.
The match takes place the day after the second semifinal and a day before the final of the SA20, a tournament that has captured the imagination of the country.
Even though there is growing concern that a tournament as prestigious as a World Cup is being drowned out in the current abundance of cricket this season, Cricket South Africa director of cricket Enoch Nkwe has assured that this is exactly what supporters have been craving.
“A lot of South Africans are very thirsty for cricket. They’ve been wanting a chock-a-block summer of cricket,” Nkwe said.
On the field, the team have come close to reaching the pinnacle of the sport at a World Cup in recent years. In the last T20 edition in 2020 in Australia, South Africa reached the semifinal stage before being eliminated by the hosts and eventual champions via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
In the 50-over edition of the tournament, the Proteas Women have reached the last two semifinals – in 2022 and 2017.
It’s been close but no cigar in the past few years but with a World Cup finally at home for the first time since 2005, it was time to take the next step, Nkwe said.
“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “There is only one goal, only one KPI – and that is to win the World Cup.”
Fallen stalwarts
The Proteas Women will have to make the trek into foreign territory without a number of players who have made the team a force in recent years.
Opening batter Lizelle Lee retired under controversial circumstances during the Proteas Women’s tour of England last year.
Stalwart Mignon du Preez retired from T20 cricket (the only version she was still playing internationally) in December.
There was another damaging blow recently when captain and all-rounder Dane van Niekerk was not selected for the T20 World Cup squad after she failed fitness tests.
“Regarding the Dane issue, it’s been tough on everyone. [Van Niekerk] I know will be very disappointed about what has transpired but as a team we need to move on,” said head coach Hilton Moreeng.
He confirmed that, although Van Niekerk was one of the team’s premier batters and bowlers, it was not possible to select ...
The South Africans have rediscovered their ability to fight, and have the talent to go toe-to-toe with the best white-ball unit on the planet.
The Proteas completed a 2-1 ODI series victory over England this week to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup tournament.
Two wins in Bloemfontein propelled Temba Bavuma’s charges up the ICC World Cup Super League into ninth place. The defeat in Kimberley, however, robbed them of a chance to join the top eight – who will automatically advance to the 50-over showpiece, staged in India later this year.
It’s been a dramatic and nerve-wracking week for Proteas fans, and the tension is unlikely to ease over the next few months. South Africa will play two ODIs against the Netherlands, on 31 March at Wanderers, in Johannesburg, and 2 April at Centurion, in Tshwane.
They have to win those fixtures to stay in the hunt for a World Cup qualifying spot. What’s more, they will need a favour from New Zealand, who will host 10th-placed Sri Lanka in a three-game series in late March.
If the Proteas beat Netherlands 2-0, and if the Black Caps keep Sri Lanka in check, then South Africa are likely to progress to the global tournament. The teams that finish outside the top eight will compete in a World Cup qualifying competition staged in Zimbabwe this June.
If Sri Lanka wins that series 3-0 against New Zealand, the Proteas will have to go to the qualifying tournament, even if they beat the Netherlands 2-0.
How the mighty have fallen
How did it get to the point where South Africa needs a favour to qualify for a World Cup? In the past, the Proteas have excelled in the period between global tournaments and then imploded – often in spectacular, heart-breaking fashion – at the competition itself.
Since the 2019 World Cup, however, this group of Proteas has won 15 out of 31 matches. A string of inconsistent performances has been exacerbated by Cricket South Africa’s decision to forfeit a three-game series against Australia scheduled for January – and ultimately a potential 30 World Cup Super League points – in favour of staging the inaugural SA20 competition.
All of this has played out in the wake of the latest World Cup disaster, when the Proteas lost to the Netherlands and failed to advance to the T20 World Cup playoffs. Coach Mark Boucher resigned after that humiliation, and securing a white-ball ...
Vivienne Williams swept the board in her age group in all the Half Ironman events held last year. She’s an inspiration to the top endurance athletes she pushes to ever-higher goals as a coach
“Success in any sport, as in life, is no accident. It is the result of hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and, most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
Those were the words of Pele, the late Brazilian and global football star. Many top achievers in sport align with that statement, and commit themselves to the gruelling all-out sacrifice demanded to achieve at the highest level.
Vivienne Williams of Cape Town is just such an exceptional achiever. After more than four decades of extraordinary success as a triathlete and coach, she is still at the top.
With her petite build and trademark blond ponytail, the 61-year-old nailed 2022 by winning, in her 60-65 age group, all three of the Half Ironman races held for the first time in one calendar year in South Africa.
The Half Iron is considered a brutal monster of a challenge for only the bravest of the brave. It is just more than double the distance of an Olympic-distance triathlon (which is an endurance monster itself).
You have to endure the pain of three individual sports – a gruelling 1,900m open water swim, a 90km cycle race, and a 21.1km run to end it all off. It demands an exhausting combination of speed, endurance and skill.
Williams crossed the winning line first at the Half Ironman in Gqeberha in April, in Durban in October, and a mere five weeks later in Mossel Bay in November. It was unprecedented.
She is a top triathlete, road and trail runner and open-water swimmer. She is a double world age-group triathlon champion (2007 and 2012) and silver medallist at the World 70.3 championships in Canada (September 2014) and represented South Africa as an elite triathlete from 1995 to 1999.
She continues to dominate as an athlete in her age group. She is an accredited international triathlon coach and has coached individuals and teams to excellent national and international performances. She has managed teams at world championship and Olympic level.
“I have entered another three Half Ironman races in 2023, one of which will be international. I would hate to call it an addiction,” she says with a smile.
“I would rather say I am committed to trying to be the best person and ...
One of Israel’s most wanted crime suspects was arrested in Johannesburg in November. It turns out he is linked to an unprecedented investigation into a globally powerful organised crime syndicate stemming from his home country.
A global web of crime is linked to a group of Israeli mobsters and suspects, some who based themselves in South Africa, ensnaring this country in a decades-old network of violence involving drug trafficking, extortion and bombs used on rivals in gang wars.
Over the years, though there have been some arrests and incidents in South Africa hinting at organised crime links to Israel, a broader picture has not emerged publicly.
DM168 can now reveal just how tightly enmeshed South Africa is in globally powerful Israeli syndicates.
The boss of a notorious Israeli crime family – the Abergil Organisation – was apparently in South Africa about two decades ago, suggesting the syndicate has had ties to this country since back then.
Others linked to it may still be in South Africa.
Case 512
According to a state witness in what is possibly the biggest organised-crime investigation in Israel’s history, known as Case 512, one of that country’s most wanted former fugitives, Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon, allegedly travelled from his base in South Africa to Israel several years ago to help enforce violence against opponents there.
Simon, who is accused of being involved in the Abergil Organisation, is yet to go on trial in connection with such accusations. Along with seven others, he was arrested in Bryanston, Johannesburg, in November last year.
Simon had apparently been living in South Africa since 2007 and became a wanted suspect in 2015, the same year an indictment that forms the core of Case 512 was filed in Israel.
He is implicated in Case 512, which is continuing in that arrests linked to it are still being carried out.
Assault rifles, dollars and drones
During Simon’s arrest in South Africa, a substance thought to be cocaine, firearms including assault rifles, $40,000, drones fitted with cameras, frequency jamming devices, suspected stolen motorbikes and a bakkie with a built-in soundproof compartment were discovered.
In December, national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Fannie Masemola said those seized items “give us an indication that we have broken the back of a syndicate that is most likely linked to criminal underworld activities”.
Other sources in South African policing circles said the items pointed to a syndicate geared to carry out hits. They questioned why it took so long to arrest Simon.
These ...
Operation Tiger – where the fed-up public puts its trust in these big cats with ferocious teeth to get the misruling ANC fat cats out of their comfort zone – is a great idea. But it’s all about the timing.
Word on the street in Mzansi is that the tiger that escaped from its enclosure in the leafy Gauteng town of Walkerville recently and a second one that was spotted in Edenvale a few weeks later were on a mission to find ANC leaders to express their displeasure with the state of affairs in this now alleged country.
Those with intimate knowledge of the goings-on in the animal kingdom warn that this species is so fed up with all the shedding going on in this country – load shedding, water shedding, law and order shedding, accountability shedding, moral shedding, common sense shedding, solutions shedding – that it wants to vent on ANC leaders the only way species like tigers can.
With the opposition parties having become so toothless, perhaps the fed-up public should very well put its trust in these big cats with ferocious teeth to get the misruling ANC out of its comfort zone. Truth be told, South Africa’s opposition is just as ineffective as the ANC.
It seems the best these opposition parties and their leaders can come up with in these times of crisis is issuing statements loaded with political rhetoric and making noise on radio stations. No bite, man.
Anyway, one is tempted to believe this analogy of the big cats going in search of the ANC bigwigs, especially given that the last time tigers freely roamed the streets of the city was way back before the scientific phenomenon of continental drift – when Africa and India were one.
If my expert sources are right about this, then the ANC is probably the first and only ruling party in the history of ruling parties to be so incompetent that even the animal kingdom decides to stand up and take action.
But if indeed the two tigers were searching for the ruling party’s leaders, it’s highly unlikely they would have found them in the streets that are walked by ordinary folk who graft every day to put food on the table and pay taxes that fund the lavish lifestyles of this ruling elite.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
First, these guys are chauffeur-driven everywhere in slick, shiny German machines paid ...
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If you were tired of the crippling blackouts and the dissolution of coalition politics in Johannesburg, Lindiwe Sisulu and SA Tourism offered you something else to nibble on this week. Tottenham's branding.
. Said nobody in South Africa who wasn’t directly involved in the shenanigans over at the Department of Tourism.
In a nutshell, because we’re going to break it down story by story later, a near-R1bn proposal has been made, and apparently nigh-on-finalised, to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur, the Premier League team notorious for missing out on winning. In branding alone then, this makes good sense for South Africa.
After all, if “missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity” was a country, it would be SA, and if it would be a football team, it might well be Spurs.
But the Son has not yet set on this saga, and some have argued that there might be some value to the sponsorship deal.
Personally I would have preferred the money be spent lobbying for visa-free travel and an unshackling from the cartel-like existence of visa agencies, but what do I know. I write newsletters, not billion-rand marketing pitches using your hard-earned money.
Like all good stories at Daily Maverick, this one begins with Rebecca Davis. More specifically, her bombshell article revealing the deal gleaned from leaked documents.
South Africa’s Department of Tourism has proposed a R1bn sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur. The deal, if approved, will see the Premier League club’s shirts emblazoned with the “Meet South Africa” logo, as well as a host of other marketing initiatives aimed at boosting tourism to the country. Rebecca Davis
Read more
Sisulu naturally denied being the proponent of the deal, but confirmed that the deal was indeed on.
What ensued was an industrial-scale level of “why not spend that on.” conducted on a national scale. News24 gathered some nuggets, including Netball South Africa’s Cecilia Molokwane calling it “really insane”.
Never one to be called a slow Lloris on matters money, Business Maverick editor and After the Bell writer Tim Cohen mulled over whether the sponsorship could actually work. Spoiler: probably not.
We don’t know, of course, how many people will come to SA after seeing a badge that says ‘Visit South Africa’ on Harry Kane’s shoulder. Tim Cohen
Read more
After a blisteringly-poor press conference by SA Tourism CEO Themba Khumalo on Thursday, where SA Tourism maintained they did nothing wrong while simultanouesly launching a witch hunt against the leaker, Daily Maverick, and Rebecca Davis, did what ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Another week, another gobsmacking revelation of a government entity’s proposed waste of our hard-earned taxes. While you read on about Spursgate, plus also about our revelations of how tightly enmeshed South Africa is in a globally powerful Israeli syndicate, I also invite you to try your hand at choosing a better Cabinet for South Africa, from a variety of talented South Africans.
Dear DM168 readers,
By far our most shocking Daily Maverick exposé this week is the revelation by Rebecca Davis of SA Tourism’s intention to splurge nearly R1-billion to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur.
Not only has acting SA Tourism (SAT) CEO Themba Khumalo defended this folly and accused the media of interrupting “a conversation” about it, but Johan van der Walt, interim SA Tourism CFO, who admitted to “contributing to presentations” in respect of the proposed Tottenham Hotspur partnership, also has direct ties to an advertising agency that stands to earn a R31-million upfront fee.
Van der Walt is unperturbed by the obvious conflict of interest. But it seems like this daft idea that he contributed towards, could somehow benefit this interim CFO or his associates. But could it benefit South Africa in any way whatsoever? While some think there are huge benefits, I seriously doubt it.
Visit South Africa?
Do we really think Spurs soccer fans will see a sign saying “Visit South Africa” on Harry Kane’s shirt sleeve and after a few pints at the pub, images of Table Mountain and Kruger Park will flash in their collective consciousness. And, hey presto, millions of lads from north London will immediately dash to buy a British Airways flight to Cape Town? And then a connecting flight to Hoedspruit? Not! Thank goodness for good journalists like Davis for exposing this attempt at squandering taxes before it gets out of hand.
If SAT has a billion bucks lying around unspent, I can think of a whole lot more useful ways of making our beautiful country a more attractive destination for tourists.
These ways would start with making our country a safer place to visit and live in, as opposed to the notoriously dangerous Gangsta’s Paradise that it has become. I’d say SAT should give the billion bucks back to Treasury, so it can be used to bolster crime fighting, detection and prosecution.
Rid the police and state security of dirty cops and agents who are in cahoots with local and global criminal syndicates, from the top to the bottom “finish ...
Maverick Life’s pick of films and series to look out for in February 2023 on Netflix, Showmax, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and in cinemas.
Big-hitter award nominees showing in cinemas:
Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh’s new Irish dark comedy is a stiff brew of vulgarity and vulnerability you’ll want to swig the way Paddies do best. Colin Farrell’s performance scored him an Oscar nomination for best actor (one of nine for the film) alongside Brendan Gleeson. The pair play close friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland whose relationship suddenly turns sour. Showing in cinemas from 3 February
The Whale
A tender feel-fest of self-deprecation about the attempts of an obese hermit (Brendan Fraser) to reconnect with his teenage daughter. The film has been criticised for portraying fatness as something abhorrent despite Darren Aronofsky’s assertion that it is an “an exercise in empathy”, but Fraser’s earnest performance in the A24 drama, a far cry from the action-man roles he used to play before heath issues halted his career, is still moving. His unexpected nomination for an Oscar has shaken up the race for Best Lead Actor. Full review here.
Showing in cinemas from 10 February
BAFTAS
New feminist series and doccies:
Richard E Grant will host the 76th British Academy Film Awards, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2022, live from Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London. The front-runner nominations are remarkably similar to that of the Oscars: All Quiet on the Western Front leading with 14, putting it on par with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) for the most nominated non-English language film in BAFTA history. The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once are tied for second place with 10 nominations each. However, many of the other big titles at the Oscars made a remarkably small splash.
Streaming Live on Britbox on 19 February
The Exchange
An Arabic-language series, based on the true story of two women who disrupted the male-dominated stock exchange in Kuwait. Frustrated by the cards she’s been dealt by a patriarchal society, Farida, a divorced housewife, wants to end her 13-year unemployment streak and prove that she can support her daughter independently. It’s the 1980s and the stock market is thriving, so with the help of her cousin Munira, who works as a clerk at the exchange, Farida becomes the first woman on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange.
Streaming on Netflix from 8 February
Subjects of Desire
A provocative documentary about the ...
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality promises serviced sites.
About 250 people from Rolihlahla informal settlement in Gqeberha blocked the Old Uitenhage Road with burning tyres, rocks and stormwater pipes on Thursday morning. They were demanding houses.
On Monday, Rolihlahla residents had protested with people from Westville informal settlement because they said their bucket toilets had not been cleaned for weeks. Two vehicles were torched during that protest.
On Thursday, the protest was led by Rolihlahla residents who live at Vistarus and near the R75 Uitenhage Road.
Rolihlahla was established behind the Nelson Mandela University’s Missionvale Campus in 1999 by backyard dwellers from Missionvale, Zwide, Veeplaas, KwaZakhele and New Brighton.
About 280 RDP houses were built in 2004 for shack dwellers who had occupied land next to Missionvale Cemetery, but since then there has been no housing development, according to Linda Twelani, a community leader.
“This area is more than 20 years old and it lacks services. There are 581 households who have been waiting for service delivery since then,” he said.
He said hopes were raised during the Covid pandemic when there was talk of “de-densifying” and 150 bungalows were placed in an open field near the Uitenhage Road, 75 for households from Rohlihlahla.
“The 150 bungalow dwellers, including disabled families, share five toilets and one standpipe. They have no electricity and their place is muddy on wet days,” said Twelani.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The 581 Rolihlahla households share 80 toilets, 30 of which have not been cleaned because the service provider’s contract was not renewed.
In April 2022, construction of a tarred road and repositioning shacks to serviced sites began but this “suddenly stopped in July without an explanation”, Twelani said.
“We don’t sleep on tarred roads. We need houses. I am getting old but I still live in a leaking shack,” said Dolly Ntonga, 68, who has lived in the area since 1999. “An RDP house would give me dignity because it comes with a flush toilet.”
Ntombizanele Gosani, who built her shack in 2008, said, “I have four pit toilet holes in my yard because every time it gets full, I dig a new hole. But now I have run out of space. We want houses because we cannot live like this forever. Rubbish is not collected and we burn it near the university’s boundary wall.”
Following the protests on Thursday, a delegation of community leaders met with mayoral committee member Ryno Kayser and ...
Bulls director of rugby Jake White is full of rugby enthusiasm and on the comeback trail, after a near-death experience that reignited his rugby fire and ‘opened his eyes’ to life’s opportunities.
Bulls coach Jake White hopes to see a capacity crowd at Loftus when his troops host the Stormers in SA rugby’s biggest north vs south United Rugby Championship (URC) derby in a fortnight. But he also wants fans to appreciate the joy in just being able to be there, as opposed to aiming for a specific result.
Don’t misinterpret this as White not wanting the Bulls to win. Rather, it’s a reminder that the beauty of the game is bigger than any individual, team or result, and that just being in a position to watch showdowns of this pedigree is a privilege.
“I see things completely differently now,” said White, less than a month after emergency surgery, and a week in intensive care, to save him from a blood clot that wrecked his small intestine.
“Rugby is fantastic, and working in professional sport and coaching in a league like the URC is a privilege. I’m still driven to be competitive and I never want to be in a place where I’m doing this job for the sake of it. But, after this experience, I’m working with a completely different framework on how to motivate players, and how to get balance in life.
“Life experiences like these really make you grow as a coach,” said White. He says as much as “the game, technology and coaching methods have changed considerably in recent years”, he is able to coach better “because the perspective it provides means you talk differently”.
Small intestine, large awakening
On Sunday, 8 January, two days after the Bulls had beaten Dragons RFC 29-14 at Rodney Parade, White went under the knife in a two-hour operation to salvage his small intestine.
White emphasises that he remains a red-blooded coach with steely determination to drive the Bulls to the title, but that this sudden, close brush with death gave him “crystal clarity on how to order his life”, which he believes will greatly benefit the Bulls.
“Look, the doctor told me that the first question I asked as I came out of theatre was: Did the Stormers win?”
“I went in while they were playing Glasgow, and the reason I wanted to know was because of the implications to our campaign, and because of my competitive edge. I ...
Forget about off-the-shelf purchases, instead take time to find the right spectacles for you.
With a growing reliance on digital devices, prescription eyewear is more critical than ever – not only to improve vision and protect our eyesight, but also to enhance productivity and accuracy in the workplace. For most of us, these utilitarian necessities should also look good: suiting our personality, lifestyle and style preferences as much as our face shape, colouring and pocket.
In the world of optical practice, niche providers are turning into destination practices by offering a personalised consultation service, customised frames, and a world-class experience to help customers select the perfect frame to suit their style, needs and personality.
For Adele Camarena of Spectacle World in Cape Town, eyewear is not only personal, it rounds off a “look”. She says the pandemic has played an important role in the demand for customised eyewear, with a clear trend, she says, towards “dopamine dressing” to lift the mood and individualism.
Camarena even completed a certificate in eyewear styling with eyewear specialist Eva Davé during Covid, not only to stay on-trend but, she explains, to give her customers a memorable experience.
She believes eyewear – often the first thing that is noticed about someone – should be a reflection of an individual. She says that she is able “to advise patients on suitable eyewear to enhance their facial features and to make them feel great, confident, and above all, see well.
“Eyewear styling entails the psychology of colour, a detailed colour and facial feature analysis, looking at the individual’s style personality, as well as incorporating optical measurements.”
More than simply enhancing vision, eyewear should not only fit your face and features well but also reflect your styling personality and boost your confidence. The styling walls of her Spectacle World practice in Goodwood are swathed with photographs of her clients – ranging from radio presenter Zoe Brown, to Mikateko Media founder and Tussen Ons host Ingrid Jones, renowned actress Sandra Prinsloo, chef Pedro Clement, and some ordinary Joes rocking their new frames.
Camarena says bright colours and cheerful prints have made a comeback.
“This trend has also translated into eyewear. More people are working from home and spending time in Zoom meetings, so eyewear is now viewed as an important accessory that can entirely switch up your look, at the same time ensuring that your personal style is seen on screen. Gone are the days of being reserved.”
It’s ...
There are currently 133 children on the waiting list at Quest School for Learners with Autism, the only public specialist school in Gqeberha.
Gqeberha parents of children who have autism are up in arms with the provincial education department and believe more should be done to create more placements at Quest School for Learners with Autism.
Quest is the only government school in Gqeberha that specialises in the education of children with autism aged five to 18.
There are currently 133 children on the waiting list at Quest, said Mali Mtima, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
Mtima said that later in the year, the department plans to open “an autism wing” at Merryvale Special School in Gqeberha. This school currently only caters for children with severe intellectual disabilities.
“We have already placed 28 learners at Merryvale and allocated four educators for the Autism Wing,” said Mtima.
But Nobathembu Qosho, founder of Autism Matters South Africa, said that only two of the 11 public special needs schools in the province cater for autistic learners.
“There are too many children on the waiting list. Quest is the only school offering boarding facilities for autistic children and the school is overcrowded. There are more than 1,000 children in the province, some have been on the waiting list for several years and the number grows each year,” said Qosho.
She said research done by Autism Matters in 2022 revealed that there are far more children with autism waiting for placement than the numbers recorded by the department. “Many parents are sitting at home with their autistic children out of ignorance or the lack of relevant information,” she said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In an effort to have their plight heard, a dozen members of Autism Matters met in Wells Estate last Saturday to discuss their challenges in seeking help from the department. This also followed a protest outside the Gqebera City Hall in April last year, calling for the department to provide more schools for autism and provide occupational therapy at homes, among other things.
Qosho said, “We have been lobbying for the government to donate abandoned schools so we can use them to teach our children. We have qualified educators willing to do the job.”
Nontebeko Mtakati from KwaDwesi said she has been sent from pillar to post for several years to find a place for her son who is now 15.
“Educators at Luthando Luvuyo ...
A memorial is being held in South Africa on Friday for murdered human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, whose country, Eswatini, has become the skunk of southern Africa.
The cold-blooded murder of world-renowned human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has raised the stakes on the country’s tortuous path to democracy in Africa’s last absolute monarchy.
In death, Maseko has aroused the nation’s conscience in agitating for a culture of respect for human rights, while shining a spotlight on the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) ability to put out the flames of political conflict and mudslinging between the state and the opposition.
The assassination of the human rights defender also exposed how the state and the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) use the issue of the right to free expression as a shield to justify their diametrically opposed positions on the way forward to bring democracy to the country.
Maseko, who chaired the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), was assassinated in front of his family at his home on 21 January 2023.
The MSF is a coalition of pro-democracy proponents across Eswatini’s political landscape.
Two “make-or-break” events are slated for Eswatini in 2023.
First, this is an election year. The kingdom is ruled by King Mswati III. Political parties are not allowed to participate or compete in elections. The state recognises only individual candidates for parliament.
Second, the country is set to hold a contentious national dialogue for political reforms, which has been on the cards since the unprecedented June 2021 civil unrest, during which about 100 people were killed, many more were injured and businesses were looted, burnt and destroyed.
The government and the opposition are at loggerheads over how these two events should be conducted and under what conditions. They both invoke the right to free expression and the right to freedom of association to support their positions.
When the SADC called a special meeting of its Organ Troika in Namibia this week to discuss, among other issues, the deteriorating political and security situation in Eswatini, Mswati sent his prime minister, Cleopas Dlamini, with a message that due to the prevailing violence in the country, it was impossible to hold a national dialogue.
“On the ground, there remains a volatile and intimidating atmosphere. People do not feel free to even express themselves by association, such as by attending cultural events. Given the prevailing climate, it is doubtful that the outcome of a dialogue would be an accurate reflection of the aspirations ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to conclude the makeup of his new cabinet over the weekend which will see a number of senior ANC members no longer being a part of the national executive.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo has confirmed to Daily Maverick that five ANC members will be sworn in as MPs on Monday.
KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance MEC Sihle Zikalala, former Gauteng Economic Development MEC Parks Tau and ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile are the three candidates who have been confirmed by their respective provinces.
“We have adjusted the list and the people who are from Gauteng are Mashatile and Parks Tau,” ANC Gauteng secretary Thembinkosi Nciza told Daily Maverick.
This will place them one step closer to being deployed into the national executive.
The announcement on key portfolios is set to be made soon.
Mashatile will replace David Mabuza as deputy president of the country, while there is no clear indication of which departments Zikalala and Tau will be deployed to.
[JUST-IN] KZN MEC of COGTA Sihle Zikalala will be resigning as member of KZN Executive and MPL to go to Parliament. Speculation is also high that Zikalala will be deployed in the Executive Nationally.#sabcnews
LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) January 30, 2023
The names of ANC second secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa and former Gauteng Premier David Makhura have also been rumoured to be appointed into cabinet, meaning they would also have to be sworn in.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
So far, ANC MPs Tshilidzi Bethuel Munyai, Mervyn Dirks have tendered their resignations to Parliament allowing those who are expected to be sworn in these seats.
Who could be facing the Axe?
Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, both of whom are speculated to be dropped from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
Sisulu might lose her position because of the turbulent relationship she has had with the president. She has been at the forefront of calls for the president to resign because of the Phala Phala farm scandal which made headlines for much of 2022.
Dlamini Zuma blatantly defied the party line when she voted with opposition parties for the adoption of the Phala Phala report in Parliament. Sisulu was on the other hand abasent when it was her turn to vote on the matter.
Read in Daily Maverick: “David Mabuza a Cabinet Lekgotla no-show as his deputy president tenure reaches its twilight”
The adoption of the report would have placed Ramaphosa in a position where he could ...
Mental distress can be a temporary reaction to life stress, or the beginning of a serious mental illness. It’s important to choose strategies and supports that work best for the individual.
Human beings experience a range of emotions, some of which are pleasant, such as joy and happiness, and others that are uncomfortable or even painful, such as anxiety, anger or grief. Often, emotional discomfort or pain is temporary and appropriate to the circumstances. It is natural, and even helpful, to experience anxiety when facing a difficult decision, or grief when a loved one dies.
However, when painful mental states are long-lasting and interfere with our ability to function well in our daily lives and relationships, it can mean we are experiencing a form of mental illness.
Mental illnesses usually have other impacts apart from mood, including physical symptoms, changes in thinking, changes in behaviour, and sometimes changes in perception, including hallucinations, severe nightmares or flashbacks.
What causes mental illness?
Mental illness is complex. Medical science, philosophy, psychology and other disciplines are still debating whether the mental “mind” and physical “brain” are separate or integrated. Some researchers believe mental illness originates in the physical body and brain, influenced by genetics, inflammatory processes, neurological development and even hormones in the gut. Other researchers believe mental illness originates in the mind, from learned responses that are unhelpful or damaging, or lived experiences that are traumatic.
Mental health is also influenced by the world in which a person lives, which might include family and kin, community, culture, Country or spirituality.
Trauma experiences are important. It is profoundly disrespectful to see a person who has experienced adversity such as intergenerational trauma, domestic violence, racial discrimination, poverty or any other systemic abuse, and apply a disease label like “depression” without acknowledging the crucial role of their trauma experiences in their health.
Managing mental health involves understanding how all these elements fit together.
Why is a diagnosis important?
Psychiatric diagnoses may be only one way of understanding mental illness, but they are important. In severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, medication can be essential to wellbeing. The evidence for medication and specific psychological strategies in therapy are often based on making an accurate psychiatric diagnosis. It is also important to make sure mental illness symptoms are not caused by physical diseases.
Most people with mental illness diagnosis should also have a “formulation”, which is a description of why this person may be experiencing mental illness at this ...
The future of Tania Campbell hangs in the balance after a successful motion of no confidence against the Speaker of Council — DA’s Raymond Dhlamini — as well as the resignation of the whip of the council, the DA’s Khetha Shandu and oversight Chairperson, Pieter Henning. The Ekurhuleni ructions follow upheaval in another Gauteng metro, with the ousting of Joburg Mayor, the DA's Mpho Phalatse.
A council sitting on Thursday night, which had been adjourned from last week, saw the removal of City of Ekurhuleni Speaker Raymond Dhlamini of the DA. Meanwhile, council whip Khetha Shandu is reported to have resigned from his position on Wednesday ahead of the sitting.
The removal of Dlamini and the resignation of Shandu follow the tabling of a motion of no confidence against the two by minority parties in the Ekurhuleni council which were scheduled to be heard in last Thursday’s sitting. However, the sitting collapsed after minority political parties fought inside council chambers in Germiston.
Dhlamini adjourned the meeting until Thursday 2 February, 2023.
On Friday last week, Ekurhuleni City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi wrote to councillors and requested to convene a special council meeting on Monday 30 January 2023.
In response, the DA and Ekurhuleni council speaker Dhlamini filed an urgent application at the Gauteng high court in Johannesburg seeking to halt the meeting.
In an affidavit submitted to the court, the DA and Dhlamini argued the meeting arranged by Mashazi was illegal, that she had no basis for calling it and that the Municipal Structures Act governed the speaker to convene council sittings rather than the city manager.
However, according to Phakamile Mbengashe, the divisional head of communications and media relations for the City of Ekurhuleni;
“In requesting the sitting, the City Manager was acting in the best interest of the municipality having considered the request of the majority of Councillors in terms of section 29(1A) of the Municipal Structures Act (2021 amendment). It was also in considering there was no response by the speaker by the time the City Manager made her decision, City Manager complied fully with the legislative provisions and request of the majority of Council.”
Dhlamini successfully interdicted the meeting which was meant to discuss a motion of no confidence against him.
But on Thursday the council meeting reconvened to continue with the agenda to table the motions of no confidence against Dhlamini. Before the meeting could get into the motions Dhlamini collapsed the extraordinary meeting and ...
The ambassador encouraged voluntary repatriation. But he also criticised the way Zimbabweans are being denied public services.
Zimbabwe will facilitate the return from South Africa of holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP), due to expire on 30 June, Zimbabwean Ambassador David Hamadziripi told a media briefing at the embassy in Pretoria on Thursday.
In a decision criticised by ZEP holders and facing a legal challenge, the South African government decided not to renew the permits in 2021, gave the 180,000 ZEP holders a year grace ending 31 December 2022, and then gave an extension until 30 June 2023.
Since the decision, groups such as Operation Dudula have been increasingly targeting Zimbabweans and immigrants.
When asked about whether the embassy was aware of Zimbabweans being targeted and denied public services in South Africa, Hamadziripi said, “We are aware that Zimbabweans are being excluded from receiving public services in this country . We believe that this is not right. These individuals and those families do deserve to get that service.”
He said the embassy had raised the issue with the Department of International Relations and Corporations “that we would wish for those practices to stop”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“On a specific case about Zimbabweans who were evicted from a building in Johannesburg recently, the consulate did dispatch a team,” he said. “We went there and interacted with the host authorities, including police. The government of Zimbabwe has provided funding to assist those individuals to return home, for those who do wish to go home.”
Hamadziripi said a “mapping exercise” to identify and register ZEP holders wishing to return will be conducted in February and March across all provinces, beginning with an online registration followed by physical visits.
Hamadziripi emphasised that repatriation was voluntary.
“We may have problems, but we have a country which has people in it,” said Hamadzirripi. “Zimbabwe has people as we speak, who are surviving, who live in the country. It’s very important that we acknowledge that. There are people who are going about their business like anyone else in any other country.”
He said the Zimbabwean government would waive custom duties for returnees. It would also provide transportation to rural homes.
Butholezwe Nyathi, from the African Development Consortium, said, “We should be realistic because there is no dignity in deportation; it’s better to voluntarily go home.” DM
First published by GroundUp.
(Bloomberg) --South Africa is finalizing an implementation plan for an $8.5 billion climate finance deal with some of the world’s richest countries even as the head of the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team quit, a government spokesman said.
An offer to extend the contract of Daniel Mminele, the head of the team, for three months “is on the table,” Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said by text message late Thursday. Mminele quit after his contract expired as of the end of the year, Business Day reported earlier, adding that it had been expected that he would stay in the post.
The deal, the Just Energy Transition Partnership, was announced at the COP27 climate summit in November and is designed to reduce South Africa’s reliance on coal. It is seen as a prototype for similar agreements with other coal-dependent developing nations. South Africa concluded the agreement with the US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union.
“We remain in constant discussion with the partner countries,” Magwenya said. “The remaining contract staff in the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team will work out the rest of the contract period.”
Magwenya said additional funds have been sourced from donors to support the implementation of the plan. Business Day said funding for salaries for the members of the task team and its secretariat has largely come from the World Bank’s Climate Investment Fund, without saying where it got the information.
Mminele referred questions to the presidency when contacted by Bloomberg. He is a former South African central bank deputy governor and commercial bank chief executive officer.
By Antony Sguazzin
© 2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Did most Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states just officially agree to abstain from United Nations (UN) votes on Russia’s war against Ukraine — in absentia?
It seems so. On 31 January SADC’s security troika met in Windhoek, hosted by Namibian president Hage Geingob as current troika chair. Other members present included immediate past chair, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, and Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema, the next chair.
Democratic Republic of the Congo president Félix Tshisekedi also attended as SADC chair, as a country on the meeting’s agenda, or both. Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambican were also represented since their countries figured prominently in discussions.
The summit made several decisions on regional conflicts. However, paragraph 14 of the final communiqué referred to non-SADC matters and appeared quite pregnant with implicit significance.
It stated: “Summit adopted the draft African Union Declaration on the USA proposed ‘Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act’ and urged Member States to communicate SADC’s position, and reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral fora.”
That United States (US) bill was adopted by the US House of Representatives last year but wasn’t taken up by the Senate. ISS Today sources doubt it ever will be. Nevertheless, it has given African states, particularly South Africa, a big stick to beat the US for meddling in Africa’s relations with Russia. The bill would sanction certain Russian companies — like the military Wagner outfit — and the Africans who collude with them.
The second part of paragraph 14 is more interesting and has potentially major implications. It seems the seven states in Windhoek tried to commit all 16 SADC members to abstain from any vote on any conflict outside Africa. The focus was Russia’s war against Ukraine, as indicated by the juxtaposition of the decision with that of the US bill.
African states have been more ambivalent than most about this war, with almost the same number abstaining as those supporting UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia. South Africa especially has stuck to its ‘non-aligned’ stance, abstaining from all four resolutions and the one decision. Fellow former liberation movements in government in Southern Africa have invariably done the same.
But other SADC countries have been less consistent. Eight voted for the first UN resolution on Ukraine on 2 March 2022, condemning Russia for its aggression and demanding immediate withdrawal. These were Botswana, Comoros, the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles and ...
Teachers and pupils jump for joy as Gift of the Givers hands over a netball and hockey field to an impoverished school.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers continues staying true to its name by being the gift that keeps on giving. Founder and chairperson Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, joined by Proteas netball star Phumza Maweni, officially opened a brand-new netball and hockey field with artificial turf on Wednesday at Sir Lowry’s Pass Village Primary School in Sir Lowry’s Pass, 53km outside the Cape Town CBD.
Sir Lowry’s Pass Village – an informal settlement at the foot of Sir Lowry’s Pass, on the N2 national road – suffers high unemployment, with hardly any opportunities for young people. The primary school is the only school in the area and accommodates more than 1,500 pupils from grades R to 8. It is also a no-fee paying school.
The new field is a beacon of light in the community.
The construction project began when a team from Gift of the Givers were in the area and were touched by the socioeconomic challenges “We found a lot of poverty,” Sooliman told Daily Maverick. “One of our rules is – always check the school out because schools are an indicator of what is going on in the country.”
They saw schoolchildren with no shoes and overcrowded classrooms, but while they were walking around the premises two companies called the organisation saying they were looking for schools to invest in.
“A lot of these things happen spiritually,” said Sooliman of the unexpected calls. “One of them was [Naspers’] Property24 and we said this school has a good principal, teachers, management and community support, because if you have that, money will not go to waste.”
Good timing
The sports field could not have come at a better time, since Cape Town will host the Netball World Cup toward the end of July 2023.
Gift of the Givers also donated two new classrooms, upgraded the computer lab and established a vegetable garden.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Food paste to the rescue: Plain rice the only meal a day for malnourished kids in Eastern Cape”
“Community thanked for helping police to swiftly swoop on 10 suspects after Gift of the Givers break-in”
Principal Charlton De Morney could not contain his excitement following the official opening. “Our learners, for the first time, can now play netball and hockey here at school. All our previous games, we had to play at neighbouring schools.”
When they were ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
SA Tourism’s interim Chief Financial Officer, Johan van der Walt, has admitted to having ties to an agency named in original documents relating to the controversial Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal.
When acting SA Tourism CEO Themba Khumalo addressed the media on Thursday about the controversial R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal, he was adamant that “no agencies” were involved as middlemen in the deal.
Khumalo did not answer Daily Maverick’s subsequent inquiry, during the session’s Q&A, about whether this was accurate.
But in the initial PowerPoint presentation shown to the SA Tourism board, there are multiple references to an agency which will be used in “activating” the sponsorship — and which must be paid a £1.5-million (R31.3-million) upfront fee.
That agency is named as WWP Group.
Daily Maverick can reveal that SA Tourism’s interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Johan van der Walt, is a director of a number of companies linked to the WWP Group — and has admitted to doing work directly for the WWP Group in the past.
Van der Walt’s name is in the metadata of the initial PowerPoint presentation, revealing him as the author of the initial Spurs proposal presentation.
The agency named in documents as part of the Spurs deal
The SA Tourism PowerPoint presentation on the Spurs proposal, which is dated 27 January 2023, contains six separate references to an “agency” which is key to the implementation of the deal.
In the first reference, it states that Tottenham Hotspur “approached our agency WWP Group in an unsolicited bid for a sponsorship partnership”.
It proceeds to state that SA Tourism’s agency must be paid £1.5-million (R31.3-million) by 31 March 2023 to activate the deal:
“To ensure that all origination and preparatory work around this sponsorship is concluded in time so that the deal can be 100% activated on 1 July 2023, SA Tourism will brief its agency for Project Origination to the Rand equivalent of £1 500 000 in terms of which all deliverables associated with this project needs to be completed by 31 March 2023 and all costs associated with this to be paid by WWP Group to Tottenham Hotspurs [sic]”.
It adds that SA Tourism has “identified savings on its current year budget” to pay this fee.
In the next slide, the presentation reiterates that this payment must be made to the WWP Group, although it now states — for unclear reasons — that only 90% of the amount is payable upfront:
“90% of the Rand equivalent of ...
A new facility in Cape Town is providing clean cooking and renewable energy solutions that will serve low-income households across sub-Saharan Africa.
Small solar panels intended for the African market are invariably cheap and cheerful — made in smaller facilities and sold without proper certification, which has led to the continent being flooded with inferior-quality products.
In the Americas and Europe, high-quality small solar panels are readily available, but sold at a price that would not be affordable for low-income households.
A new facility in Cape Town hopes to challenge the state of affairs by democratising clean cooking and renewable energy solutions that will serve low-income households across sub-Saharan Africa.
Ener-G-Africa’s (EGA’s) new facility was launched on Thursday in Ndabeni, Cape Town, as the first and only small solar panel plant in the world certified by TUV Rheinland, a German-accredited and approved inspection authority.
It will manufacture solar panels that can be used with its biomass stoves, which are sold both locally and abroad.
André Moolman, the CEO of EGA, says that typically, the major solar panel manufacturers produce larger panels targeted at utility-scale projects and business and residential installations.
“South Africa is the most technologically capable country on the continent, with really valuable skills. Cape Town also has access to the port, which is logistically advantageous for importing non-locally manufactured products and also exporting our finished products.
“We source a lot of components locally, including aluminium fryers, wiring, junction boxes, adhesives and packaging . We have created 53 jobs and we operate 24 hours a day, five days a week.”
With plans to triple capacity in the next 18 months, the Ndabeni facility was a proof of concept for EGA.
Complimenting the Western Cape government for incentivising EGA’s $1.5-million (R25-million) investment in the city, Kenneth Newcombe, the co-founder and chairman of EGA, said they were impressed by the commitment to a green economy.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Newcombe is also the CEO of C-Quest Capital, a social impact investment company. C-Quest says that without empowering especially rural women, it will be difficult to transform and create a community that prospers in the face of climate change.
“From one angle, we’re a cookstove business. We’re present in nine countries, moving to 16 countries this year including South Korea. Fundamentally, we believe that unless you make cooking easier, cleaner, faster and healthier, you will continue to trap women in the drudgery of the daily toil which involves ...
Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Thursday announced the signing of national white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma which, along with the Proteas’ turn in form, continues the upward trajectory of cricket in South Africa this summer.
After a two-year cricket hiatus for spectators at stadiums — due to the Covid-19 pandemic — South Africa has been saturated with cricket since the start of the year.
The inaugural season of the country’s premier T20 competition, the SA20, has made a superb start with almost every match sold out.
Smack-bang in the middle of the SA20, the Proteas played a vital three-match 50-over series against England — which they won 2-1.
After having been snubbed at the SA20 auction, national white-ball captain Temba Bavuma came back rejuvenated in the series and top-scored for South Africa. He made a total of 180 runs with a highest score of 109, as he led from the front, batting at a strike rate of more than a run a ball in all three innings.
Bavuma’s incredible form in the series against England helped him secure a contract with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape for the back end of the SA20 — a little late, but rather that than never.
The SA20 has been well received for its quality of cricket and staunch support around the country, from the band at St George’s Park in Gqeberha to the loud stadium announcers at Newlands, Cape Town.
“There are new voices, new faces. It gives an opportunity to some of our domestic cricketers that have never been exposed to that stage to rub shoulders with some of the best players internationally but also within [the country],” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe.
“So far, it’s been exciting. It’s good to see different cricketers stepping up at different times. Hopefully, it grows from strength to strength and it continues to have that positive impact on South African cricket.”
Packed schedule
A few days after the SA20 kicked off, the Women’s Under-19 World Cup started in Potchefstroom. And a day before the final of the SA20 final, the Women’s T20 World Cup kicks off in Cape Town.
To say the South African cricket schedule is filled would be an understatement. But Nkwe would have wanted even more cricket.
“Some of the supporters would have wanted it to start over the festive season in December with a couple of Test matches, going into the shorter formats,” said Nkwe.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to ...
The defence of the ANC government’s decision to exercise two of its few remaining seaworthy vessels with the Russian and Chinese navies ranges from the nostalgic to the ideological.
Even the SA Communist Party warhorse, Ronnie Kasrils — someone who should know better — has wheezed out to defend the apparently indefensible.
Rejecting the nostalgia thesis as “simplistic”, he predictably bases his defence on two features: one, that there is a double standard at play given unilateral Western actions. He cites US involvement in Afghanistan, Cuba and Israel among them, perhaps forgetting that the United Nations (including Russia) supported the action in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11, a time when he served in Cabinet.
UN Security Council resolution 1386 was adopted unanimously on 20 December 2001. It authorised the establishment of the International Security Assistance Force to assist the Afghan Interim Authority in the maintenance of security in Kabul and surrounding areas.
That resolution was adopted by all 15 members of the then Security Council. The permanent members were China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The non-permanent members (who all supported the resolution) were Bangladesh, Colombia, Ireland, Jamaica, Mali, Mauritius, Norway, Singapore, Tunisia and Ukraine.
In any event, you can’t choose when to apply your “principles”. South Africa was a stern opponent of the US-led intervention in Iraq, but supports Russia’s unilateral intervention in Ukraine.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Friendship or fiendship? South Africa’s weird love for Russia poses serious questions”
Kasrils tries to reduce the international support for Ukraine to US interventionism. But what about Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and the many other countries supporting Ukraine with weapons, medicines and the isolation of Russia — do they count for nothing?
He also rants about the “morality of US foreign policy, CIA-sponsored coups, punitive sanctions and blockades, military aggression and intervention globally”.
Again, Russia appears exempt from criticism when it does the same — and far worse — in Africa under the brutal rule of Wagner military interventions that secure mineral wealth for oligarchs.
Non-Aligned movement
More confusing, however, is Ronnie’s other argument, that this is apparently part of an attempt to resuscitate the Non-Aligned Movement.
“We share with Russia a common position, for reform of the UN system, for multilateralism, for economic growth of the global south, against Western imperialist hegemony and their hundreds of military bases enforcing their domination throughout the world at the expense of the choice and rights of other countries.”
It’s ...
Limpopo’s proposed mega-industrial complex, the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, is being challenged in court over its environmental authorisation, which overlooks the drastic toll it would have on the region’s water supply – and biodiversity.
Limpopo’s plans for a giant industrial development could cause an ecological disaster in a province where water shortages are already a regular occurrence for rural communities.
The environmental authorisation of the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) – based on a proposed investment by a cluster of Chinese industrial conglomerates – is being challenged in the Polokwane High Court by the Herd Nature Reserve, Living Limpopo and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals).
The organisations filed a review application on 13 January asking the court to scrap the environmental authorisation granted to the project by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet). Instead, they want the decision referred upwards to the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
The development has been dogged by controversy.
(amaBhungane dubbed the project “Limpopo’s dirty great white elephant” in a four-part #EarthCrimes investigation. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 here.)
Given its chosen location in an area with huge amounts of biodiversity, coupled with limited water, civil society organisations have long been ringing alarm bells about the possible toll the project could have on the region.
In 2021, when China’s president Xi Jinping announced that China would no longer fund the construction of coal-fired power plants in other countries because of climate damage, it seemed to torpedo plans for Limpopo’s giant metallurgical complex with its own dedicated coal power station.
Instead, on 23 February 2022, Ledet approved the environmental authorisation, keeping this Frankenproject alive.
Dry taps have already become such a mainstay for communities that Musina saw violent protests erupting in May 2022 as residents “demanded a permanent solution to the water crisis”.
The MMSEZ, the court application warns, will make things dramatically worse.
Getting to know Limpopo’s dirty, great white elephant
A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an area designated by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to promote economic growth by attracting local and foreign investments through special tax rules, export incentives and other benefits.
The Musina-Makhado development is one such zone — although its development has been accompanied by dodgy approvals, questionable characters and other red flags.
The major portion of the project is slated for an energy and metallurgical hub. Included in the proposals are a coal-washing plant capable ...
Vladimir Putin said that Russia can’t be defeated ‘on the battlefield’ as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow’s offensive is intensifying with the approach of 24 February, the invasion’s one-year mark.
Top US and Ukrainian officials spoke by phone about the situation on the frontlines and Russia’s possible next steps. Poland’s prime minister outlined to a German newspaper a potential plan by Russia to surround Ukraine on multiple fronts, including from Belarus in the north, where Kremlin troops have been amassing for weeks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a large delegation of commissioners were in Kyiv for meetings ahead of Friday’s EU-Ukraine summit.
The talks included a potential 10th package of sanctions against Russia.
Key developments
As Russia gears up for new push, Ukraine waits for more weapons
Norway set to tap its oil wealth to finance war aid for Ukraine
US envoy vows to isolate Russia at the UN, condemns Wagner Group
Swiss stash of Leopard tanks spurs debate on how to help Ukraine
Putin’s war machine helps keep Russian industry humming
On the ground
Kremlin forces launched two missiles on Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region on Thursday morning, after overnight shelling, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook.
On Wednesday, three people were killed and 18 wounded after a Russian missile destroyed part of an apartment building in Kramatorsk.
Russia conducted six missile strikes and four air attacks over the past day and fired 73 salvos from multiple rocket launchers, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near 14 settlements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Russian forces are actively conducting reconnaissance operations, General Staff said, without naming specific areas.
Putin rallies Russians to push for victory in Ukraine
Putin commemorated Russia’s World War 2 victory at Stalingrad by trying to rally domestic support for his invasion of Ukraine.
“Those who expect to win a victory against Russia on the battlefield don’t understand that modern-day war with Russia will turn out totally differently for them,” he said at a concert on Thursday in Volgograd, which had been temporarily renamed Stalingrad for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi forces there.
“We aren’t sending tanks to their borders, but we have the means to fight back and they won’t be limited to armour. Everyone should understand this.”
Read more: Putin vows Ukraine victory as he hails WW2 Stalingrad triumph
Von der Leyen praises Ukraine’s efforts to fight graft
Ukraine continues to make “impressive progress” to meet preconditions that include ...
The parties involved have treated the process of running the city like a pack of hyenas fighting over a fresh kill.
As every manager knows, change management is an art. I remember seeing a cartoon showing a speaker talking to a whole bunch of people. She asks, “Who wants change?” and everybody puts up their hands. Then she asks, “Who wants to change?” and nobody puts up their hands. And then she asks, “Who wants to lead change?” and the crowd vanishes.
Why is change so difficult? Some reasons are obvious: familiarity (in fact) breeds security and certainty. You hit a groove and it feels comfortable and predictable. That’s worth a lot.
But some reasons are harder to see, particularly if you are rooted in the system. Another cartoon depicts a board meeting with someone saying, “What if we just go on as before and something miraculous happens?” It’s like my favourite quote of the week from comedian Conan O’Brien: “When all else fails, there’s always delusion.”
Change in government is particularly hard because it comes with its own peculiarities. I read one analysis that said part of the problem is mindset. People in government are focused on what is broken and how to fix it, rather than on how to do more of what is working. But the government has other problems too: entrenched party officials in the bureaucracy, entrenched and protected employees, and entrenched attitudes about what politics is supposed to be about.
But in SA, the problems of change are really intense because, in part, the process requiring changes in government is unfamiliar to us because of the ANC’s dominance over (or, dare I say, entrenchment in) the political process. But you know, we better get used to it because I suspect changes are going to start happening quickly now.
Nothing illustrates this better than the recent ousting of the DA’s Joburg mayor, Mpho Phalatse. Just for the record, this is the country’s most important business centre and home to more than six million people. But the parties involved have treated the process of running the city like a pack of hyenas fighting over a fresh kill.
Two political issues are at the core of the problem. First is the ANC’s belief that there is only one acceptable ruling party, and that is them. And you can see why: the ANC’s electoral majority was overwhelming for more than 22 years when it had absolute ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
When changing jobs, there are many decisions that you have to make — of which one of the most important is what to do with your pension fund money.
Question: I will be changing companies at the end of the month and want to know what I should be doing with the money in my pension fund.
Answer: When changing jobs, there are many decisions that have to be made — but often people do not spend enough time thinking about what to do with their pension fund money. The decisions that you make here can have major implications for your long-term financial wellness, so it is important that you look at the options available.
Take the cash
You can take a withdrawal benefit, but I would certainly not recommend this as you will end up paying a lot of income tax now. You will feel the consequences in years to come when you retire and find that you do not have enough to live on.
Leave the money in the fund
You can leave the money in your current retirement fund. The admin charges here are often lower than in a private arrangement. The downside is that you often have a very limited range of investment portfolios open to you. You may get a better result over the longer term by investing elsewhere where higher returns offset the higher admin fees.
Retirement annuity
You can put your money into a retirement annuity. The advantage here is that you will have a decent choice of portfolios to invest in and there will be no tax payable on the amounts transferred into the retirement annuity. The downside is that you are unable to access any of the funds before you turn 55.
Preservation fund
This is the solution that I like to use for most of my clients. Here you can invest in a wide range of investment portfolios and there is no tax payable on the money transferred. The big advantage of a preservation fund is that, if at any stage in the future, you need to access some of the funds, you will be allowed to make one withdrawal from the fund. This can be all or part of the value of the fund. You cannot do this with a retirement annuity.
When you transfer money to a preservation fund do not be tempted to take out any money in cash. If you do so, this will be seen as ...
South Africa is, by some accounts, already ‘out ‘of water. In an already water-scarce country, demand outstrips supply, while water treatment plants falter and the country’s climate continues to warm at unprecedented — and deadly — rates.
A perfect storm, experts warn, is coming.
During the first decade of South Africa’s democracy, 13.4 million people gained access to basic water services. But a tap in a home or in the yard is no guarantee that clean water regularly flows through it.
In some North West and Limpopo communities, dry pipes briefly spurt to life at 3am. Residents who do not set an alarm to collect water, go without.
In the Free State, a good storm can send desperate families scrambling to put out buckets to catch the rain. Children will even scoop up pooling water with their hands to add to the haul.
Meanwhile, the water tankers brought in by the government to fill gaps in service delivery in the province have become big business, the Mail & Guardian reported last year.
A week of scarcity and excess
This week, the water tankers appeared for the first time in many Johannesburg neighbourhoods. This was after rolling blackouts felled one of the city’s major pumping stations. The city has experienced frequent water outages in the last year, although not as seemingly widespread as this week’s cuts.
Not coincidentally, the water trucks arrived on the coattails of a heat wave.
In the Northern Cape, temperatures above 40oC led to the deaths of at least five farmworkers from suspected heatstroke.
“The high temperatures were all the way to Springbok, and right up to Upington,” one worker who survived told News24.
The week’s headlines are a harbinger of what’s to come. South Africa’s demand for water now outstrips its supply. Water, of course, can be reused — but after more than a decade of neglect, mismanagement and corruption, the country’s water infrastructure can no longer supply many communities with reliable access to safe drinking water.
Wastewater treatment plants, meanwhile, dump raw sewage into waterways, probably fuelling upticks in disease.
And Eskom’s decline is deepening the problem.
South Africa uses, loses and pollutes more water than it has
Experts have spent more than a decade measuring the water South Africa has and comparing it to what it needs to fill the nation’s kettles, water its crops and mine its riches.
By 2002, what South Africa used in water was already outstripping what it had, says Dr Anthony Turton, professor at the ...
Recovering from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic made 2022 a watershed year for basic education. Now this vital sector faces another set of challenges, both political and social. Michael le Cordeur surveys the landscape, identifies the positive and negative aspects and considers how things can be improved.
That we were able to stabilise the school project after the Covid pandemic was the best news of 2022. Contentious issues of class rotation came to an end and pupils could again receive tuition from teachers daily. Three years of lying around at home sounded like fun, initially, but it did not remain enjoyable for long. Routine is important for child development.
The lack of extracurricular activities was the root of much evil. Fortunately, sport and culture programmes were resumed and brought peace to pupils and classrooms. The theory of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) that all cognitive development is the result of social interaction with others (read “teachers and friends”) was confirmed. No one can deny the role of teachers in effective tuition.
Covid did, however, introduce us to other possibilities for how learning and teaching can take place. Schools had to think out of the box to survive. This led to exciting, innovative projects. E-learning programmes mushroomed and teachers had to adapt to the new normal.
The Bela Bill
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has tabled the proposed Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (Bela). This bill has led to great unhappiness due to an amendment to school admission policy.
We must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. There are many other positive aspects to the Bela Bill. Space constraints do not allow me to go into them. Suffice it to say that by only focusing on one aspect of the bill we run the risk of overlooking the good ones – of which there are 18.
I will briefly discuss two examples.
A great problem in South Africa is the absence of preschool education or early childhood development (ECD). The new legislation makes Grade R compulsory. It sometimes takes a year before children are school-ready. Therefore, it is a step forward which will make the lives of foundation-phase teachers considerably easier.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “All hail to the matric class of 2022 – the odds were against you, but you overcame”
With so many pupils having been left behind by the pandemic, it is gratifying that the new legislation allows for ...
European countries with a glut of potato crops have been accused of ‘dumping’ supplies of frozen chips in South Africa, in effect undercutting local producers. However, temporary anti-dumping duties levied against Belgium (23.06%), the Netherlands (104.52%) and Germany (181.05%) have run their course without any word from government on whether they will be renewed or brought into permanent effect.
If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market, it is said to be “dumping” the product.
South Africa is not alone – many governments around the world take action against dumping in order to defend their domestic industries.
The World Trade Organization allows governments to act against dumping where there is genuine (“material”) injury to the competing domestic industry.
In order to do that, the government has to be able to show that dumping is taking place, calculate the extent of dumping (how much lower the export price is compared to the exporter’s home market price), and show that the dumping is causing injury, or threatening to do so.
The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) had until Saturday, 14 January, to update the French fry tariff, but instead allowed it to expire – which local importers believe means that they can now claim refunds for any duties paid since mid-January.
Frozen food importer Hume International says the import duties could see affected European French fry producers seek out alternative markets with lower tariff rates, leaving South Africa “high and dry, and further aggravating local price hikes and shortages”.
The 181% tariff increase on German producers meant, for example, that a 2.5kg pack of frozen French fries that used to cost R45 has rocketed to as much as R130.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Fred Hume, managing director of Hume International, says the high tariffs imposed against Agrofrost from Germany, for example, have cut the German pipeline.
However, local consumers have not directly absorbed these costs.
The frozen chips supply in question is imported and then sold on to restaurants and hotels, rather than local supermarkets.
The three big local frozen chips suppliers are McCain, Nature’s Garden and Lamberts Bay Foods, owned by Famous Brands. The total market size is about 160,000 to 180,000 tonnes of frozen chips a year. However, consumers like you and me only account for about 10% of this market, while the rest goes to restaurants and food ...
The South African government appears to mistakenly believe that it can continue to side with Russia in the Ukraine conflict without any repercussions from an increasingly unified and clearsighted West. This may be a grave miscalculation with long-term consequences.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the ANC government’s foreign policy has been a seemingly bewildering display of hubris, contradiction, and blatant double-speak.
Initially, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor’s public statements were neutral, even referring to the “Special Military Operation” as a “Russian invasion”. But soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa phoned Russian president Vladimir Putin “to get his perspective on the Ukrainian situation” (ignoring calls to contact Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky), the government’s stance shifted towards accommodation of Russia’s view.
When President Ramaphosa eventually did contact president Zelensky, the call was more to explain South Africa’s position than to gain insight into the conflict.
Soon thereafter, in March 2022, members of the UN deliberated and voted on a resolution calling on Russia to halt its invasion and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. African countries cast 28% of all the UN votes. The majority (28) of African countries voted in favour of the resolution while 17 countries abstained (including South Africa), and only Eritrea voted against.
In early August 2022, Minister Pandor met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Pretoria. South Africa’s relationship with the US has been tetchy for many years and it is therefore not surprising that the pronouncements by Blinken and Pandor were replete with the usual banalities of “strategic partnerships, common values and interests, peace and prosperity” etc.
Nevertheless, a week later, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise attended the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security along with the military leaders of Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Sudan, and Uganda.
Here the platitudes of Blinken’s visit were replaced with wondrous double-speak with Modise’s spokesperson boasting that South Africa is “ready to work with all peace-loving nations”, and even more bizarrely, Minister Modise stating that “through our own silence, inaction and selective morality, we have allowed warlords to reign supreme across the world. The world can no longer afford to be held to ransom by warmongers. They must be dragged kicking and screaming to the table of peace and multilateralism.”
Russian General Sergei Shoigu ironically opined that “it is very encouraging that prominent military commanders from our friendly states — and the Republic of ...
Did Glen Retief’s great-great aunt save Winston Churchill’s life and thus change the course of world history? And did Churchill hide behind her skirts? Family history is sometimes an elusive truth, he finds.
‘Never forget that your great-great aunt Bourhill saved the world with her skirt hoops,” my maternal grandfather, Gerald Bourhill, always told us, leaning back in his leather recliner and sipping a glass of whisky.
He elaborated: “Churchill’s escape from the Boers made his career. That would not have been possible without your ancestor. And without Churchill leading Britain, in 1940.? You and I would be goose-stepping, right now, past the Nelspruit City Hall.”
Was he right? Without Winston Churchill, would Britain have surrendered to Germany? And would South Africa, a British dominion, then have fallen under Nazi rule?
It all seemed so speculative. Then, too, Gerald’s stories had a tendency to grow taller with the years.
The German Messerschmidt that strafed him during World War 2, on the Cairo road, eventually expanded into an overhead squadron.
The gold on our family farm, foolishly sold for a pittance, which grew into a fortune worthy of an Oppenheimer.
So, what of this ancestor hiding the young war correspondent under her petticoats, while the Boers searched the platform of Witbank Station? Not just the details seemed absurd, but even the idea itself, not least because Churchill fails to mention any Bourhills, or women at all for that matter, in his 1930 autobiography, My Early Life.
Then, one summer weekday, I found myself in the Campbell Collections in Durban, examining an engraved gold watch given to Charles Burnham, 1899 business partner of one JA Bourhill – my maternal ancestor.
“From Winston S. Churchill, in recognition of timely help afforded him in his escape from Pretoria during the South African war, December 13, 1899.”
A pleasurable chill ran down my shoulder blades. As I sat in that antique dining room, smelling of dust and varnish, in that sugar baron’s mansion now turned into an art museum, I could almost feel my grandfather’s ghost next to me, saying: “I told you so.”
The watch was donated to the Collections by Burnham himself, in 1955, along with a folder of Churchill-related material, which the librarians were generous enough to make available to me.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A Russian On Commando: The Boer War Experiences of Yevgeny Avgustus”
In 1899, Churchill, already a famous war correspondent, was riding in a train carrying British troops when their company ...
‘The reality is that all municipalities struggle to provide water and wastewater services as soon as there is Level 4 load shedding,’ says Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell. The provincial government will release R89m in emergency funding to resolve water supply issues caused by rolling blackouts.
Western Cape’s MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell says his department is appraising the need for generators for 24 local municipalities.
Bredell told Daily Maverick on Thursday that five district municipalities would also receive generators “which can be moved around as needed”.
The Western Cape government announced this week that R88.8-million had been authorised for the procurement of backup generators to ensure reliable water supply in scores of municipalities.
Throughout December, higher stages of load shedding saw municipalities across the Western Cape struggle to cope with the provision of a steady water supply. The blackouts also had a negative impact on wastewater plants.
The provincial government said emergency funding was needed to mitigate the impact of unprecendented levels of power cuts on the Western Cape economy, municipal services and the environment.
The move, said Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, was urgent.
“We must act to urgently stabilise municipal services such as water supply, wastewater treatment and sewerage infrastructure for our citizens.”
South Africa beset by scheduled power cuts, at Stage 5 since Wednesday morning, where areas are left without power for up to four hours at a time.
Closed beaches and discoloured water
Bredell explained to Daily Maverick that water distribution, purification and wastewater management relied on large electrical pumps designed for continuous work.
“When we have a disruption on the drinking water side, reservoirs do not fill up adequately which causes pressure problems in pipe networks. interrupted sewage treatment can lead to spills which are an environmental and human health risk,” said Bredell.
The problem is not new.
In December, Daily Maverick reported how municipalities such as Matzikama in the northernmost part of the province had undergone water supply problems caused by prolonged, high-stage power cuts. Residents were left with discoloured water.
Mayor Johan van der Hoven put the blame squarely on power cuts, which left reservoirs unable to function effectively. In Cape Town, several beaches were closed during the busy holiday period due to sewage spills caused by prolonged blackouts, Daily Maverick reported.
The Matzikama municipality is still facing issues with its water supply. On Tuesday, the council called for residents of towns such as Ebenhaeser, Doringbaai, Papendorp and Strandfontein to use water sparingly ...
The tireless work of the national anti-kidnapping task team to rescue victims is shrouded in secrecy. A minor mistake or information leak could be perilous.
Two years, 134 kidnapping cases with ransom demands, 124 arrests and 81 suspects in custody.
It’s numbers like these that earned the anti-kidnapping task team the title of Crime Intelligence Team of the Year at the 8th Annual SAPS Excellence Awards in Polokwane at the weekend.
Although this work – described as “critical” by those who work with the team – is shrouded in secrecy lest negotiations break down with disastrous consequences.
And it’s a tireless duty: just a few days after receiving the award, the team was back on the job, arresting five people, including a Zimbabwean, his wife and girlfriend, for their involvement in the kidnapping of a Midrand businessman on 18 January 2023. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the suspects, who had demanded a ransom from the family and the victim’s business associates, were nabbed at residential properties between Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Tricky negotiations
The men and women on the team respond to frantic calls from kidnapping victims’ families at all hours, immediately leaping into action. They spend hours with them as they navigate tricky negotiations with kidnappers.
Citing the two-year arrest record, Mathe said the team “was established to prevent, combat and investigate incidents of kidnappings, especially where ransom demands were being made”.
Revealing how it operates, naming its members or showing their photos could put them in danger.
Driving home that point, Rafigue Foflonker, a Lansdowne Community Policing Forum member, told Daily Maverick on Thursday he cannot reveal any information about the task team and their operations. He has been working closely on a case with the team and the victims’ families.
“The task team deserved the award because I know how much effort they put into solving the case. The task team’s work is critical. They do an excellent job infiltrating kidnapping syndicates across the country,” he said.
“Families can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there is a special team dedicated to rescuing one of their children’s, husbands or family members who have been kidnapped. Yes, there is corruption, but credit should be given where credit is due.”
Rising menace
In November 2021, South Africa found itself at risk of being placed on a watchlist of kidnapping of hotspots after the Moti brothers – Zia (15), Alaan (13), Zayyad (11) and Zidan (7) – were kidnapped en route to ...
England have the perfect opportunity to get their new era under coach Steve Borthwick off to an uplifting start when they host Scotland on Saturday, the first match of a Six Nations draw that has fallen perfectly to begin the revival.
England follow up with a home game against Italy next week and then a trip to Wales. Should they get three wins under their belt, they will host holders France with a level of confidence palpably missing from the last two wretched campaigns, before signing off away in Ireland.
An improvement on third and fifth-placed finishes in the last two seasons already looks likely, and with the players at Borthwick’s disposal and a new, positive atmosphere in the camp, talk of the title no longer looks fanciful.
After decades of dominating the oldest fixture in international rugby, England have stumbled badly against the Scots in recent years, losing three and drawing one of the last five meetings.
However, there is already a palpable sense of confidence as Borthwick, and his inspirational defence coach Kevin Sinfield, set about “restoring the pride in the shirt and the connection with the fans”.
Supporters were at breaking point when Twickenham resounded to the rare sound of the hosts being booed off the pitch after they completed a poor November series with a meek defeat by South Africa.
That proved the final straw for the RFU, who promptly sacked Eddie Jones – one thing that will be guaranteed under the new coaching structure is that the players will be giving their absolute all at every moment.
Jones’ obsession with the World Cup, and his constant selectorial whims, eventually filtered through as a message that nothing really mattered before they got to France in September.
Borthwick takes a different view.
“My job is to make sure the England team goes on to the pitch prepared to be able to find a way to win that game. And then we’ll do next week and then the next week and the next week,” he said last week. “I am very clear on that. Very clear.”
He has already restored some clarity to squad selection, bringing the likes of Joe Marchant, Max Malins and Ben Earl back into the fold after Jones cut them adrift, despite outstanding club form.
He has also recalled 35-year-old prop Dan Cole, who last played in the 2019 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.
For a former lock and England captain, Borthwick is horrified ...
The costs of state-run logistics company Transnet’s meltdown are mounting. Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of Anglo American, said on Thursday that its sales in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022 fell 35% compared with the same period the year before, largely because Transnet is not up to task.
Kumba said in its quarterly production report that Transnet was squarely to blame for the company’s poor Q4 performance as it also warned of an expected decline in full-year earnings.
“Transnet’s logistics remain a concern with poor performance continuing subsequent to the two-week wage strike in October 2022 and the annual maintenance shutdown in November 2022. This limited production to 10.0 Mt, representing an increase of 3% in Q4 2022, while sales decreased by 35% to 6.9 Mt, largely due to Transnet’s performance,” Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikalala said in a statement.
The company went on to say that “the suboptimal logistics performance . has resulted in low levels of finished stock at Saldanha Port”.
This represents a significant bite into the company’s profits. In a trading statement coinciding with the production report, Kumba said it expected headline earnings for the full year to fall “between 38% and 44% from the previous year ended 31 December 2021”.
“The decrease in earnings for the period is largely attributable to the lower average realised FOB export ore price and lower sales volumes, partly offset by a weaker rand/US$ exchange rate,” the company said.
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Kumba’s share price rose more than 2% in morning trade on Thursday after the report and trading statement were released, but this likely stemmed from a more than 2% rise in the iron ore price. It also suggests that the traders and analysts were expecting something along these lines.
Speaking of prices, Kumba’s quality product fetches a premium, translating into bigger sales losses and opportunities missed.
“Kumba’s premium product quality and geographically diverse customer base contributed to an average realised price of US$113 per wet metric tonne (wmt) for the year, 13% above the benchmark price of US$100/wmt,” Zikalala said in the statement.
Fortunately for Anglo American, its Minas-Rio operation in Brazil stepped up to the plate, underscoring how state failure raises the risks of investing in South Africa’s mining sector — an unflattering contrast to other jurisdictions.
“Iron ore production increased by 4%, reflecting higher plant availability at Minas-Rio, and improved operational performance at Kumba’s Sishen mine, which more than ...
Just as we were trying to make sense of all these quantum leaps in the supercomputing world, along came ChatGPT. ChatGPT is technological manna from heaven for copycats. The beer truck has overturned in broad daylight.
What a proverbial rollercoaster the 21st century has been.
The post-globalisation era has revolutionised human relations, trade, lifestyles, commerce and geopolitics in more ways than we could have imagined post-World War 2.
For some, the Fourth Industrial Revolution did not announce its arrival. It landed on us like a meteor, and in the process opened and closed information craters and shattered pretences.
Any which way you choose to look at it, every aspect of life has been disrupted. Look no further than the ubiquity of mobile money. At the pension pay points, grannies are dialling 120120# to buy airtime. At ATMs, well-heeled lads jockey alongside blue-collar workers, migrant workers and sugar babies to withdraw e-wallets.
The age of artificial intelligence with super robots that enable deep learning is opening vistas of knowledge and commerce, at least for those with the resources and social capital to make it work for them. For the rest of us, we are just a market under the surveillance of the algorithm.
At the same time, millions are being numbed and dumbed down in the addictive metaverse of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and others. There is a province for everyone under the sun in the metaverse.
When people wanted to squabble and expose their idiocy to the outside world, Twitter emerged to quench the thirst for fame by stridently taking up one or another cause célèbre.
In this province, everyone lays claim to the Premier’s chair and chain. All manner of notoriety is flourishing, and increasingly dastardly acts are being performed in the rush for likes and retweets.
Despite the knowledge that nearly everyone is unhinged on this platform, it has become a playing ground for sanctimonious politicians to expand their spheres of influence. No self-respecting politician is nowadays without a social media what what hired to upload pictures and videos, tweet random lengthy speech extracts and generally maintain the said politician’s visibility.
They compete with OnlyFans models and their patrons and various other forms of solicitation. The logic is — the more followers you get, retweets and likes, the wider the egos. Would you have imagined that Twitter is now the porn hub? No wonder the guy from Pretoria has bought it and turned it into his ranch.
When ...
Novak Djokovic is statistically the most successful player to hold a tennis racquet in the men’s game, but does that make him the greatest of all time?
Immediately after winning his last 16 match at the Australian Open, Russian Andrey Rublev was asked about his next opponent. At that stage Novak Djokovic had not progressed to the quarterfinals and was due on court later that day.
Rublev’s response was telling: “I’ve got to play Novak, man,” he said with an air of resignation.
That’s what years of metronomic dominance will do. Rublev was beaten days before he played against Djokovic. In the match, he went down in straight sets despite Djokovic battling a hamstring injury that put his participation in doubt. The Serb, virtually on one leg, still scared the life out of the Russian.
In the semis and final, Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas went the same way as Rublev — beaten by Djokovic’s will as much as his technique. He simply ripped Paul and Tsitsipas out of their pre-match gameplans.
“He didn’t really let me execute any of the gameplan that I had laid out for myself,” Paul said.
Tsitsipas didn’t even seem overly disappointed after losing the final: “There’s nothing that I could have extracted more for today. I did everything possible,” was his summation of events.
Djokovic’s injury, which was later confirmed by tournament director Craig Tiley as a 3.5cm hamstring tear, should have felled him. But somehow he battled through the draw to win his 10th Australian Open.
Few players divide opinion like Djokovic.
He is a relentless winner, fiercely competitive, hugely talented, maniacally driven and deeply intelligent. It’s a combination that enthrals, upsets and scares people in equal measure. He cannot be put neatly in a box marked, “tennis player”.
Victory ensured Djokovic went back to world number one and earned him his 22nd Grand Slam singles title, to draw level with Rafa Nadal on that count. The pair are two Grand Slam titles clear of the retired Roger Federer. Even at 35, Djokovic appears well capable of several more Grand Slam titles.
He and Nadal have won 16 of the last 19 men’s Grand Slam singles titles, and the “Big Three”, including Federer, have won 64 of the last 80 men’s Grand Slams.
There are only a few serious threats to Djokovic’s continued dominance — Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz being one, and age the other.
The GOAT?
On the “majors won” measurement alone, Djokovic is at least ...
By the time we get the matric results, it’s too late for us to do anything. It is highly probable that this year, nearly three-quarters of a million young adults will be joining the 7.5 million 15 to 24-year-olds who are already unemployed.
The wait for learners, teachers, parents and anyone with a vested interest in our education system is over: Matric results are out, and the 81% pass rate is the best we’ve ever achieved, in spite of the pandemic and its impact on this cohort.
But is this improved pass rate really an indicator of social and economic progress?
Our Constitution stipulates that everyone in South Africa has the right to access education. Building on this, the South African Schools Act of 1996 outlined the purpose of education and training, envisioning a “new national system for schools which will redress past injustices in educational provision, provide an education of progressively high quality for all learners, lay a strong foundation for the development of all our people’s talents and capabilities. contribute to the eradication of poverty and the economic well-being of society”.
If these are the aims of the South African education system, then the matric pass rate as a measure of social and economic progress is insufficient, because it doesn’t account for all learners. There are several reports on dropout rates, with the government’s own statistics highlighting this year that 481,955 — almost half — of the one million learners who were in Grade 10 three years ago did not manage to secure a National Senior Certificate (NSC).
Young people aren’t leaving education because of immediate employment or alternative education opportunities. Last year, 75.1% of the 10 million 15 to 24-year-olds were unemployed; 37% of them were not in employment, education, or training. Half of these unemployed individuals did not finish or pass matric. The dropout rate remains devastatingly high, even as we celebrate our highest-ever pass rate.
But getting a matric doesn’t necessarily get you a job, either. Of the 7.9 million people who were unemployed in the first quarter of 2022, a staggering 40% had a matric certificate. Your chances of employment improve exponentially with a bachelor’s pass, which opens the door to tertiary education — last year less than 3% of unemployed persons were graduates. This year, 38.4% of our learners achieved a Bachelor pass — our highest total yet.
We should challenge the assumption that matric is a valid and reliable ...
There is a tendency for us all to hanker after glorious leaders who will take the centre stage and show us the way. But what we actually need are the unseen leaders, who just get things done time after time.
The new year is upon us and with that a raft of new challenges in a bed of problems from last year — and even further past — that we cannot shake. The question in the minds of many people is what kind of leadership do we need to allow us to go forward and make the most of the opportunities 2023 undoubtedly holds.
One thing is certain, no sustainable progress is possible without properly addressing the legacy issues that bedevil us all; whether it’s the inability of Eskom to supply power on an uninterrupted basis to the country or to do so without further polluting the air and the groundwater in Mpumalanga especially.
The world is beset by issues concerning the environment, society and governance, but in South Africa, they have a particular resonance.
When it comes to leadership, there is a cacophony of calls for hero leadership; the fabled captain of the ship. One person setting the course, making all the decisions, creating the budgets, picking the teams. Family meetings. The all-wise, avuncular figure at the podium.
That is not what hero leadership is at all, but it’s very much what we are getting more and more of in a world that is mediated through social media and the dopamine rush of selfies and likes. Life isn’t a Hollywood film set and leaders who need this kind of narcissistic affirmation are far more trouble for the business than good.
Cultivating these “heroes” sows the seeds for all manner of problems, key among them cynicism among the one-time believers amid the knowledge that the underlings, especially junior leaders, are only going to get exploited in the big man’s rush for glory.
Eventually, people sit on their hands and wait for someone else to do it — either because they have become cynical or because the leader has demanded that.
What we then end up with is something that used to be printed out and sellotaped to factory walls in the 1980s:
“There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody ...
Civil society organisations want R350 SRD grant increased to R1,447.
Ahead of the upcoming State of the Nation Address (Sona), over 400 people, including members of civil society organisations, unemployed citizens and recipients of the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD), marched to the head offices of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday.
Government introduced the SRD grant in May 2020 during the Covid pandemic. Since then the grant has been repeatedly extended and is now due to expire next month. The marchers want President Cyril Ramaphosa to clearly lay out the state’s plans for a basic income grant at Sona on 9 February.
Thabisile Miya, from Amandla.mobi, said, “We have been working with communities especially R350 recipients since it started . Food is going up every day, and people don’t have any source of income.”
A memorandum of demands for Sassa included that the SRD be increased to R1,447, and that Sassa work with the Department of Social Development to fix numerous issues with grant payments.
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“From unfair regulations to means testing with an unfair qualifying threshold, and poor communication, many have lost hope in this grant, in Sassa and the government as a whole,” the memo reads.
Acting Sassa CEO Abraham Mahlangu received the memo.
In a memo to the President, marchers said they want social grants increased, higher taxes on those earning more than R1-million a year, and a net wealth tax introduced.
“We also appeal to the President to hold the Department of Social Development accountable for their failures in administering the R350 grant,” the memorandum read.
“We urge for the glitches to be fixed,” said Nosipho Bilankulu, an unemployed single mother. She said her grant money cannot keep pace with the rising cost of maize meal and cooking oil. Her child’s crèche fees are R400 alone, more than the SRD grant. Although she has the grant, there are months when the money doesn’t appear.
Presidency official Phil Mahlangu promised a response within seven days.
Community Organizing Working Group, Voices of the Concerned Citizens of Soweto, Sukuma Soweto Sinqobe, and Sisonke Revolutionary Movement all joined the march. MR
First published by GroundUp.
Mabuza did not attend on Thursday owing to a family bereavement, according to his office, amid a looming reshuffle where he will be supplanted from his position.
The office of the deputy president told Daily Maverick that David Mabuza is dealing with a family bereavement and will not be attending the two-day Cabinet Lekgotla.
“Deputy President David Mabuza has tendered his apology for the Cabinet Lekgotla taking place from 2nd and 3rd February 2023 due to a family bereavement. The Deputy President lost his brother and is engaged with preparations for the funeral,” a brief statement from his office said.
Minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele is now briefing the media about the cabinet lekgotla which is currently underway.
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) February 2, 2023
Mabuza was also not present at the ANC Lekgotla which took place last week where the governing party was discussing key policy.
The country has been on tenterhooks as President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce changes to his executive. Recently-elected ANC second-in-command Paul Mashatile is due to be sworn in as an MP, paving the way to replace Mabuza.
Mabuza was not re-elected as the party’s Deputy President at the ANC’s national conference in December 2022 nor was he able to garner enough support to be part of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC).
The outgoing Deputy President is said to have already told Ramaphosa of his imminent resignation which is supposed to be formalised after the Cabinet Lekgotla.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance MEC Sihle Zikalala will also be sworn in as an MP while murmurs persist about the possibility of former Gauteng Economic Development MEC Parks Tau also being given a position in the national executive. Tau has already been replaced as the Gauteng legislature finance committee chairperson. The ANC’s Mpapa Kanyane will be the acting chairperson effective from 1 February.
Present at the lekgotla were Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, both of whom are speculated to be dropped from Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
Other ministers who were present and could also face the axe after failing to be elected into the ANC’s NEC, include State Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor and Sports Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
Speaking to the media at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele could not be drawn about the specifics around the reshuffle. ...
The Health Department has published a long-awaited draft of new regulations on labelling and advertising foods.
The draft regulations introduce a mandatory black-and-white warning-label system for pre-packaged foods that are high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, which are known to increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The warning labels will also be mandatory for foods and drinks containing artificial (non-nutritive) sweeteners, which were recently shown to be harmful to gut bacteria and in the long term are associated with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Nutritionists and epidemiologists have been eagerly awaiting the new regulations, because of South Africa’s spiralling rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases often triggered by overweight and obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Nearly 80% of pre-packaged foods on South African supermarket shelves are highly processed or ultraprocessed, containing excessive amounts of added sugars, salt, unhealthy fats and chemical additives that make them irresistibly tasty. Because these foods make up large proportions of many South Africans’ diets, they are also “fuelling new levels of death and disease with almost no regulation to stand in their way”, Maverick Citizen wrote in January 2022.
Soon there will be regulations to stand in their way.
Once draft R2986 is approved: pre-packaged foods will need to carry a front-of-pack warning label if they contain more than 10g of total sugar per 100g or more than 5g per 100ml, more than 4g of saturated fatty acids per 100g or 3g per 100ml, and more than 400mg of sodium per 100g or 100mg per 100ml. Any amount of artificial sweetener in foods and drinks will require a warning label.
This means that, for example, sweetened carbonated drinks that contain both sugar and artificial sweeteners will need to carry warning labels for both those ingredients.
New marketing restrictions will also apply to any product carrying a warning label under the new system. The restrictions include that the package, label or advertisement of foods not depict or refer to celebrities, sports stars, cartoon-type characters (or similar), not contain any type of token or gift that appeals to children, and not “abuse positive family values such as portraying any happy, caring family scenario” in order to encourage children, especially, to buy or consume them. Advertising of any products carrying a warning label will have to include the logos of the warning labels, and those adverts must also carry a “health message”.
Beyond warning ...
The department has refused to register dozens of children in Musina in cases where one of their parents is undocumented.
A growing number of children in Musina, whose mothers or fathers are immigrants undocumented in South Africa, are without birth certificates. Parents say Home Affairs will not register their children or issue them with birth certificates unless the mother is documented.
Tapiwa Zvauya, a programme manager at Messina Home Based Care, says that since they established the project in 2002, they have come across this issue. The organisation is aware of about 25 such cases.
“In most cases the mother of the child is undocumented. We usually refer such cases to social workers, but they refer the cases to Home affairs. In the end, the parents are stuck,” said Zvauya.
The organisation also found situations where a parent dies or a mother returns to her home country before registering the child. The remaining parent finds they are unable to register the child.
According to the Constitution, every child born in South Africa is entitled to birth registration regardless of whether their parents are documented or not.
In a recent court decision, the Eastern Cape high court found a regulation that was stopping unwed, undocumented fathers from being registered on their children’s birth certificates unconstitutional and irrational.
The judge said in his ruling that the rights of thousands of children cannot be compromised simply through the circumstances of their birth or be subject to the whims or attitudes of officials in government offices.
Thandeka Chauke, Statelessness Project Manager at Lawyers for Human Rights, says, “The increasing numbers of children without birth certificates is evidence of the Department of Home Affairs’ failure to protect children’s rights. This is compounded by the fact that the birth certificate is the first and most important identity document issued to a child, and enables the child to access a host of other fundamental rights such as the right to education and the right to healthcare.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Parents told us that they can’t access healthcare for their infants and children in Musina at state clinics and hospitals because they don’t have birth certificates. They go to the Red Cross and organisations such as Messina Home Based Care.
One mother (whose name we have withheld) who is originally from Zimbabwe and is undocumented in South Africa has two children. They were born in Musina hospital — in 2010 and ...
Prasa says services in Parow will only be available during the week for now.
The resumption of train services from Parow Station on Metrorail’s Northern Line in Cape Town has come as much-needed financial relief to people in the surrounding communities.
Prior to being closed at the start of the Covid lockdown in March 2020, Parow was one of the busiest stations. During the closure, commuters had to walk to Tygerberg and Elsies River in order to catch a train to Cape Town. A single taxi trip along this 30-minute walking route costs about R14.
In March last year, we reported that Metrorail had brought back trains to the Northern Line via Goodwood but trains were not stopping at Parow. Trains still do not stop at Degrendale Station on the Parow North Montevista route.
We spoke to a dozen commuters on Monday morning who were using the station for the first time since 2020.
Ralton Davids was travelling to Claremont where he works as a caretaker. He said he was excited to be using the Parow station again because he had been travelling 45 minutes from Cravenby to Tygerberg station.
“Sometimes I’d walk in the rain or end up taking a bus. The bus is R30 a trip from Parow. Then I have to take another bus at Woodstock to Claremont which is R44. But a train would cost R8 a trip. A weekly train ticket is R50. I’m happy I can now save for other things and will be able to afford more groceries,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Esnath, who works in Tokai, said she was spending about R2,000 on other transport modes from Parow to Tokai. A taxi from Parow to Bellville costs R18, Bellville to Wynberg is R20, then Wynberg to Tokai is another R12. And then I would need to travel back home and do it all again each day of the week.
By using a train again her transport costs will drop to R400 per month.
Parow Ward Councillor Franchesca Walker told GroundUp that she met Prasa and Transnet officials on 17 January 2023 to discuss when Parow Station will be reopened. “We welcome the upgrades of the stations and await the full plan when Parow Station and Bishop Lavis Station have been completed.”
Metrorail spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi said Degrendale and Bishop Lavis stations were severely vandalised and are still being refurbished. “Only one train is running ...
‘What do vegans eat at a barbecue?’ is a question that British food writer Katy Beskow has often been asked and overheard (as a vegan of 15 years) ‘more times than I can count’. She cooks up 70 plant based recipes to cook out of doors in her new book, Vegan BBQ.
Barbecuing and grilling are traditionally associated with cooking meats, and aside from a simple skewer of vegetables or a corn-on-the-cob, the options have previously been limited. But the truth is that barbecuing combines a range of techniques to bring out the best in so many vegetables and plant-based foods – making them the stars of the show.
When you move away from the idea that the barbecue is just there to cook meat (or processed meat alternatives) a world of possibilities opens up to you. Ingredients are transformed when cooked on the barbecue, with charred, smoky flavours and crisp yet tender textures to awaken your senses. I believe that everything tastes better when it’s cooked on the barbecue so you can really push the boundaries and be creative! Using fresh, sustainably grown, seasonal ingredients that are readily available in supermarkets, it’s easy to create outstanding food, whether that’s standalone suppers or feasts for gatherings of friends and family.
Hosting a barbecue for loved ones is one of life’s little pleasures. Unlike cooking in a cramped kitchen, cooking outdoors feels particularly sociable as you can enjoy the company of others, a cool drink, and making memories while you cook full-of-flavour food, hopefully in the sunshine. It’s also a great way to showcase vegan food in a casual and relaxed way. But don’t just limit your barbecue to a once-a-year piece of equipment that grills vegan burgers and plant-based sausages; use it more often to cook your supper, without any special occasion needed.
Cooking can feel like a chore. Weekly meals on repeat (even for me, as a food writer) can leave us uninspired by yet another supper to prepare. This is when it’s time to dust off the barbecue, add some fire (literally), cook outside, and infuse your food with flavours that can’t be created in any other way. I’m a big believer that barbecuing isn’t just for those glorious summer get-togethers, but something that can be enjoyed all year round, as long as you avoid those rainy days. On a chilly autumn or winter day (or evening), simply grab your hat and ...
A really good pizza is soul therapy. Like being licked by a puppy. Lockdown success stories are also good for the soul. And those involving the mother of the perfect pizza. that’s just beautiful symmetry.
It all began with lockdown, a garden shed and the bond between two young guys who shared a dream. We met at Pizza Shed in Cape Town’s trendy Observatory, one of two pizza outlets owned by James Williams and Tando Bavuma. They met through James’s parents 10 years ago, when Tando was barman at Fat Cactus in Mowbray.
“I started working there after high school in 2011,” says Tando. “Derek and Marine (James’s parents) used to come there quite a bit.” One day James and his sister Kimberly arrived and introductions were made. “James started working there too and that was the beginning of our friendship.”
When Covid came crashing into our lives in late 2019, unleashing seven kinds of hell across the globe, James had Rosebank Brewing Company in Rosebank, and Unfiltered in Kloof Street in the city. “Unfiltered was born of Rosebank, as a tap room for my brewery, in collaboration with Saggy Stone in Robertson,” he says. Tando was GM of Fat Cactus in Woodstock. By this time they were living in Rosebank at Derek and Marine’s home. The pandemic put paid to both of their livelihoods (although Saggy Stone still produces James’s beer) and the guys were out of work. After the “short holiday” they’d anticipated turned into five weeks, things started getting tricky financially and they found themselves “in a bit of trouble”. Time to get off the couch and be creative.
Having had Unfiltered, James was familiar with Neapolitan pizza, and the brewing businesses had given him a head start in the dough-making game as he’d experienced the temperamental vagaries of the beast that is yeast. One day he eyed the shed in his parents’ garden and said to Tando, “Why don’t we build a pizza oven?”
With no money to speak of but a good dose of what-the-hell-why-not?, they got busy and within three weeks the shed was stripped, cleaned, wired and repainted, and the pizza oven was ready for the heat.
In a Facebook post celebrating Pizza Shed’s first anniversary they wrote, “She wasn’t much to look at but she was functional, and boy could we operate in there! With a stainless steel table and one household fridge, that was older than James ...
Several beaches were closed over the holidays, but test results show that water quality at some other beaches is even worse.
At least eight Cape Town beaches were closed during the December and January festive season after sewage spills were reported. But water test results show that several other beaches were also too polluted for safe swimming.
Many of the beaches were closed when sewage pump stations could not pump out incoming sewage during rolling blackouts. After continued water quality testing for the presence of E. coli, most of the affected beaches were opened within a day or two. Chair of the mayco committee for water quality, Alex Lansdowne, said then that the maximum E. coli level was 500 colony-forming units (cfu) per 100ml, and as soon as tests showed E.coli was lower than this, the beaches were reopened.
The City takes coastal water quality samples every two weeks, and tests are done not only for E.coli but also for the presence of enterococci, a more virulent strain of faecal bacteria. The limit for safe swimming is 200cfu of enterococci per 100ml.
However, an examination of the fortnightly coastal water quality test results over the periods 6 to 8 December and 13 to 15 December — the latest available on the City’s data portal — showed 21 of 88 coastal monitoring points had enterococci levels above 200cfu/100ml. Of these, 11 were over 1,000cfu/100ml, which is the maximum number of faecal coliforms (bacteria found in sewage) allowed in treated sewage released from sewage treatment plants, according to the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
This would imply that it was safer to swim in the discharge from a properly functioning sewage plant than at these beaches at the time the samples were taken.
Swimming or surfing in water with high levels of faecal coliforms can lead to gastrointestinal illness (tummy bugs) and ear, nose, and throat infections. Children and immuno-compromised people are particularly at risk.
Of the 11 monitoring sites where pollution was higher than levels allowed for treated sewage, eight were popular beaches:
Strand at Murray Road (1,300cfu/100ml);
Maiden’s Cove tidal pool 1 (1,986cfu/100ml);
Maiden’s Cove tidal pool 2 (>2,419cfu/100ml);
Lagoon Beach, Milnerton (>2,419cfu/100ml);
Gordon’s Bay (1,553cfu/100ml);
Glencairn beach (1,553cfu/100ml);
The Kom, Kommetjie (>2,419cfu/100ml);
Long Beach, Kommetjie (1,120cfu/100ml);
Frank’s Bay, Simon’s Town (1,986cfu/100ml)
As far as can be determined, none of them, with the exception of Lagoon Beach at Milnerton, which has been polluted for at least three years, had signage warning beachgoers that the water was ...
Australian food writer Ross Dobson knows a thing or two about cooking with fire, and in his new book Firepit Barbecue he tailors his recipes to creating great meals on a firepit with a simple grill or hotplate, in the Australian barbie tradition.
Cooking over fire has played a big part in my life. I have so many fantastic memories of get-togethers with family and friends, standing around a campfire or barbecue and cooking up a feast. There are few things better than bringing together a group of people to enjoy delicious food.
My earlier cookbooks all feature a barbecue section, but I wanted to take things further and include recipes that you might not have considered for a weekend barbecue, which is why I decided to write this book.
When most people think of a barbecue, they picture a kettle-style barbecue that can be used for both indirect and direct heat cooking. If you have one, you will be able to make the majority of the recipes in this book but I have also included recipes that go beyond the standard barbecue set-up; these recipes can most often be tailored to the barbecue you have or a campfire.
Nowadays, it’s easy to forget that in the not-so-distant past, all cooking was done either over fire outdoors or with a wood- fuelled oven indoors. I can still remember going to my great-grandmother’s house and watching her light up her wood-burning stove to cook dinner. What was once a daily chore for our ancestors is now something we look forward to as a weekend activity.
I mention this because everything you can cook inside in a modern kitchen can be cooked outside, too. Cooking outdoors with wood or charcoal can be a lot of fun and personally I think the food tastes better as well. That’s right. curries, tandoori recipes and even fried and steamed foods taste better when cooked over a live fire, just as they are all over the Indian subcontinent and at restaurants and food stalls here in the West.
I have been so inspired by street-food vendors and chefs who have opened their kitchens to me, both in the UK and abroad.
Watching them cook roasts, skewered meats, paneer, vegetables and even frying over a log or charcoal fire made me want to do this at home. Knowing that many readers of my cookbooks like a good curry-house-style curry, I’ve included a section on ...
Leadership from influential countries can drive reform and progress in Africa and at the African Union.
Should Africa’s lead nations — countries with economic and political clout — more actively pursue good governance, peace and stability on the continent? Debates about the big states’ responsibility in the African Union (AU) aren’t new and remain unresolved.
When the AU was formed out of the Organisation of African Unity in 2002, dynamic leadership from a few major players made all the difference. The creation of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) in 2004 also gave strong states a prominent role.
In the PSC’s two-track composition, five countries (one from each region on the continent) serve for three years, and 10 other countries have two-year terms. Some AU founding members saw this as a way to institutionalise the role of influential states while ensuring fair regional rotation for all.
But to date, only Nigeria has kept its lead nation status on the PSC. After North Africa’s recent request for another PSC seat (it currently has less than all other regions), questions about the council’s composition have re-emerged and should be tackled at this month’s AU summit.
Allowing powerful countries to serve for longer was a consideration when the PSC was set up. It was argued that the two-track approach and seat rotations would prevent the ills of permanent membership, as seen in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). None of the UNSC’s five permanent members can be removed by the General Assembly, even if the context of their appointment changed significantly. The PSC allows for renewal, with rotations every two or three years.
According to a former ambassador present at these early debates, the idea was that countries meeting all the criteria would serve a three-year term, which could be renewed if they upheld the requirements. The criteria in Article 5(2) of the PSC Protocol include upholding AU principles and respecting constitutional governance and the rule of law.
Three-year members were also meant to participate in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and regional peacemaking. They should be able to shoulder the responsibility of PSC membership, including having adequately staffed embassies in Addis Ababa and New York. And they must be fully paid AU members and contribute to the AU Peace Fund.
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As has been the case with other founding ideals of the AU, this model has not been comprehensively implemented due to some ...
Eskom has been forced to pay exorbitant prices for diesel it buys in bulk from PetroSA, the financially distressed state-owned entity which is its main diesel supplier, even as the utility battles in vain to stave off worsening stages of load shedding.
The diesel is needed to power Eskom’s two open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power plants, Gourikwa and Ankerlig, which are effectively its emergency backup generators that can mitigate against two stages of load shedding if running at the full output of 2,067MW.
The OCGTs are, however, very expensive to run, and were intended for use only in peak demand periods, but are now being heavily relied on to meet daily demand as breakdowns and unplanned outages spiral within Eskom’s ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations.
Eskom’s management first warned that they had run out of money for diesel in November 2022, after spending double the R6-billion budget allocated for fuel in the financial year ending 31 March 2023, with four months still to go.
Because of these financial constraints, Eskom initially indicated it would stop using the OCGTs to meet daily electricity demand. However, rolling power cuts immediately significantly intensified to 6,000MW, which resulted in massive political pressure to ramp them up again.
Capitulation
The admission that Eskom had no money for diesel drew fierce criticism from National Treasury and other government departments, and finance minister Enoch Godongwana accused Eskom of profligate spending and mismanagement.
With no funds forthcoming from government, Eskom capitulated and somehow managed to scrape together funds from savings in capital and operational expenditure for a first emergency procurement of diesel in late November 2022 from stock held by PetroSA.
Eskom paid R1.3-billion for this first tranche of 50 million litres of diesel, which translates to an extortionate R26.00 per litre — about R1.00 per litre above the retail pump price at which people in Cape Town could fill up their car with just 50 litres of diesel.
At the time, the public was led to understand that in view of the deepening power crisis, PetroSA had supplied the diesel as some form of “donation”, while agreeing to resolve the issue of payment later after further negotiations between itself, Eskom and the government departments involved. But, in fact, Eskom had to pay upfront for the first emergency tranche.
Further diesel procurements
Then, on 6 January 2023, Eskom made a second procurement of 56 million litres of diesel from PetroSA for some R1.265-billion, which translates to a price ...
A search and seizure warrant served on a top Free State official, Takisi Masiteng, came under scrutiny on Wednesday during the State Capture trial in the Bloemfontein High Court.
The current head of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Takisi Masiteng, testified in the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday that he was not the head of the department during the awarding of a R24.9-million contract for a feasibility study to Nulane Investments in the 2011/2012 financial year that led to the controversial R280-million Vrede Dairy Project.
Masiteng said that during the investigation in 2020 into the awarding of the feasibility study, a search and seizure warrant was served on him, requesting documents related to the awarding of the study. At the time, he was the acting accounting officer of the provincial department and was already a suspect in the Vrede Dairy Project matter.
Masiteng is accused, along with former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane – Free State MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development at the time — and 14 others in another trial centring on the Vrede Dairy Project. They face charges of fraud, theft, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Vrede Dairy project — Mosebenzi Zwane appears in high court for corruption pretrial”
In the current trial, he is charged along with two former heads of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi; Dinesh Patel, Iqbal Sharma, Ronica Ragavan and two companies — Islandsite Investment One Hundred And Eighty, of which Ragavan was a director, and Nulane Investments.
They face charges including fraud and contravening Section 86(1) of the Public Finance Act.
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Patel’s lawyer, Kenny Oldwage, asked Masiteng whether he felt compelled to comply with the search and seizure warrant because he was a suspect in the Vrede Dairy Project matter. Masiteng said that he did and he thus gave instructions for the documents to be provided. He said police did not warn him not to hand over incriminating evidence.
Oldwage put it to Masiteng that the warrant for the feasibility study documents was obtained without informing the issuing magistrate that he was a suspect in the Vrede Dairy Project matter.
The prosecutor, Peter Serunye, objected, saying Masiteng being an accused in another matter was not related to the current trial.
Oldwage said the confiscation of documents by ...
There are strong indications from the ANC that Cabinet will decide to implement a National State of Disaster over our electricity crisis. That does not mean we will be any closer to solutions for the problems we face, however, and it may open up a series of other political questions, some of which could be quite tricky to answer.
Such is the cynicism among voters at present that the ANC may have to think carefully about using “emergency” measures which could backfire. Particularly if there is any hint of corruption in the efforts to solve the power production problems.
On Monday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the ANC’s NEC lekgotla had resolved that the declaration of a National State of Disaster would help to resolve our electricity crisis with greater urgency.
On Tuesday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula made the same point, saying this would make it easier for the government to deal with the Eskom situation.
Of course, for politicians, the declaration of a “national disaster” has an undeniable attraction. It tells your constituency that you are taking our national problems seriously. It says to voters that you are doing absolutely everything possible to resolve the problem which affects them so directly, although it does not directly affect Cabinet Ministers, who have back-up generators paid for by voters.
It also allows politicians to take specific actions that afford them greater freedom of movement. With a good spin, almost anything could be justified these days under the guise of the “National State of Disaster” and in the interests of ending load shedding.
But political action in propagandist isolation does not change the laws of physics or solve much in the real world. Fixing power stations, adding more power to the grid and making sure the system does not keel over are the actions that bring meaningful change.
Additionally, it is not clear what real-world action would really be taken.
For example, SANDF soldiers are already outside several power stations. There is no evidence that they have been able to stop sabotage or had any significant impact. If deploying soldiers doesn’t lead to more megawatts being available, how would the declaration of a national state of disaster?
Regulations quagmire
What is clear, and where such a declaration would probably help, is that it is currently difficult for Eskom to move quickly. Its management has repeatedly complained that regulations around procurement are too onerous, and often require procedures that are way too ...
Behind Lavender Hill High School’s 2022 matric pass rate of 68.6% lies a wealth of success stories in the form of second chances, increased attendance and adversities overcome.
When Whitney Hardzenberg (23) decided she wanted to return to school and complete matric, she faced an uphill battle. Matric is always a difficult experience, but with a six-month-old baby and a four-year study gap, it presents a unique challenge.
The school Hardzenberg had previously attended turned her away. Desperate for a chance, she approached Lavender Hill High School.
“I told them I will do my best to just do my matric, and I promised them I will pass,” she told Maverick Citizen.
Being accepted for Lavender Hill’s 2022 matric year was only the first hurdle. In February, her young daughter became sick with meningitis and needed to be admitted to hospital. Hardzenberg took time away from school to be with her.
“The support I got from Lavender Hill High . the [school] stuff was brought to me at the hospital, each child took a book to [bring me] my work,” she said. “My teacher 100% supported me, she came to drop parcels also.”
Hardzenberg’s father helped support her during her studies, but her daughter continued to struggle with poor health, and the resources available to the small family were stretched thin. At one stage, Hardzenberg decided to drop out, convinced that she would not be able to pass.
“Lavender Hill High teachers and the kids — my classmates — they came to me, they told me: ‘You’re not going to drop out, Whitney. You came this far, you’re going to go on,’” she said.
This support carried her through, and she attained a matric pass.
“[My previous school] gave up on me, and I gave up on myself as well,” she said. “Lavender Hill High teachers are the best . they didn’t give up on me.”
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Measures of success
Fuad Viljoen, the principal of Lavender Hill High School, described Hardzenberg’s experience and those like it as the “success stories” that the school’s 2022 matric pass rate of 68.6% did not show.
The school’s most recent matric pass rate marked a decline of 8.9% from the 2021 pass rate of 77.5%, and a decline of 21.3% from the 2019 pass rate of 89.9%. However, over the past four years, the number of learners who stayed in school to the end of their matric year ...
Previously, Ngoye, who has been employed at Prasa since 2011, told Daily Maverick she had been victimised because of her testimony at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
Martha Ngoye, the suspended head of Legal, Risk and Compliance at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has, in an arbitration case, been found not guilty of charges brought against her by her employer.
Previously, Ngoye, who has been employed at Prasa since 2011, told Daily Maverick she had been victimised because of her testimony at the Zondo Commission.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘Just like Babita, I was doing my job, now I am paying the price,’ says Prasa whistle-blower Martha Ngoye”
According to the arbitration ruling, Prasa had instituted disciplinary action against Ngoye, who had, in turn, approached the Labour Court. Both parties then agreed to settle for an arbitration hearing if Ngoye did not go to court, and Prasa withdrew its disciplinary action.
Statements to the Zondo Commission
Prasa charged Ngoye with gross misconduct over statements she made to the Zondo Commission, saying she had brought Prasa and the board’s image into disrepute. Prasa said Ngoye’s conduct constituted gross misconduct and undermined the integrity and authority of the board.
Ngoye told the commission that Prasa’s legal team had been sidelined when it came to key contracts.
SA Fence and Gate
Prasa charged Ngoye with “financial misconduct, alternatively gross misconduct and/or dereliction of duties” in relation to a contract with SA Fence and Gate. Prasa claimed Ngoye breached various clauses of its supply chain management policy, National Treasury policies and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) when she signed off on the contract during her tenure as acting Group CEO.
In 2013, SA Fence and Gate entered into a contract with Prasa worth R209-million to install fences and other security measures at train depots. The deal would be extended when Prasa and SA Fence and Gate negotiated to include items such as lights for depots.
But, the deal turned sour over performance and payment, and ended with an arbitration award in 2021 by advocate Lindi Nkosi-Thomas, in which SA Fence and Gate was ordered to pay back R45,101,179.69.
Prasa then sued Ngoye for that amount.
Swifambo
Prasa charged Ngoye with gross misconduct, and/or dereliction of duties over the corrupt Swifambo deal, alleging she was part of the committee that recommended that Swifambo be appointed to supply locomotives to Prasa.
The company was at the centre of the “tall ...
Unfortunately, the unconstitutional practice of cadre deployment has ruined the chances of Chapter Nine Institutions properly functioning as the Constitution requires.
Traditionally government in democratic dispensations is divided into three branches:
The Legislature, which makes laws, exercises oversight on behalf of voters and monitors implementation of the laws it passes;
The Executive, which runs the country via a cabinet and public administration; and
The Judiciary which has the task of adjudicating disputes independently and impartially.
In the new or post-liberation South Africa, there is a novel fourth branch known as the “Chapter Nine Institutions”. These institutions are designed to support constitutional democracy and strengthen it.
The founders of the new order recognised that a citizenry accustomed to living in an oppressive and authoritarian apartheid order would require help in adjusting to the new role of being active and engaged citizens enjoying the privileges of a Bill of Rights in a constitutional democracy under the rule of law.
The Chapter Nines are designed to assist all South Africans in adapting to the new non-racial, non-sexist order in which human rights must be respected and protected by the state and inherent human dignity is, at last, given its proper place.
Promoting the achievement of equality is a constitutional goal. It is best attained by optimally delivering guaranteed human rights to education, healthcare, social assistance and access to housing.
There are six Chapter Nines listed in the Constitution. The Office of the Public Protector (OPP) is the most prominent of them, followed by the Auditor General (AG) and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
The Independent Electoral Commission has the sacred duty to ensure free and fair elections, but has dropped the ball by turning a blind eye to outrageously unorthodox fund-raising methods that render the playing fields of election campaigns a less-than-level terrain.
The minor Chapter Nines include the Gender Commission and the commission with the long name that attends to matters of religion, language and culture. These two commissions are now a luxury that the country can no longer afford, they should be folded into the SA Human Rights Commission as their mandates concern human rights and always have.
Language rights have been honoured in the breach in that we have 11 official languages but only one, English, is widely used in practice in the governance of the country.
Why then the need to defend the Constitution using Chapter Nines? Sadly, the constitutional instruction to “support” and “strengthen” has come under so much pressure ...
Performative politicians, curated protests and theatricalities that are insurrectionist in intent and meaningless in purpose are no substitute for the technical or engineering skills needed to get electricity flowing again.
Not everything is political, but anything can be made political.
The problem of load shedding in South Africa left the shores of politics and politicians, and is now in the land of technocrats. This is not to say that there should be no accountability or political consequences — quite the opposite.
For now, however, even if you can rally tens of thousands of people to “march for electricity”, the lights will not magically turn back on and stay on.
Let us try an analogy.
Imagine a car crash. A series of bad operational decisions over an extended period has led to near total destruction of the vehicle. The matters of who drove the car, what decisions were or were not made, or issues ex-ante, like design, manufacture, maintenance and service — let’s call that the politics — are quite separate from getting the car repaired, making sure that it will withstand any future shocks and that future drivers take better care of the vehicle.
To get the car repaired you need panel beaters, spray painters, motor mechanics and other technically skilled people.
Taking the focus back to electricity generation and supply, you don’t need performative politicians, curated protests or theatricalities that are insurrectionist in intent and meaningless in purpose.
In other words, and given that the Economic Freedom Fighters are leading a “national shutdown” of the country on 20 March, it should be stressed, over and again, that there is no substitute for the technical or engineering skills required to get electricity flowing again.
South Africans have a right to be angry. South Africans have a right to protest.
The EFF’s leader, Julius Malema, has a right to lead his followers in public protest, but the cat is out of the bag. Malema’s main objective is to get President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign.
This, too, is not unreasonable, but imagine Ramaphosa stepping down at midnight on 20 March, then ask yourself whether — a minute or two after the President steps down — electricity supply would flow consistently and reliably for months and years into the future.
On this basis, it’s really not unreasonable to suggest that Malema’s planned protest is purely performative and ritualistic — we can only hope that it does not leave any destruction in its wake.
The problem of ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Informal settlements could drive South Africa’s solar revolution because of enlightened self-interest. Solar would provide their dwellings with power, but also a source of revenue if power is sold back to the grid.
Much debate has been sparked by the announcement that in Cape Town at least, people and companies generating excess power will soon be able to sell it back to the grid, at an approved feed-in tariff.
That will immediately benefit some people in Cape Town — if there is sufficient additional power to sell to the grid – but also those already resourced — industrial plants, factories, wealthier individuals and households who can afford large solar installations (and the connection fees back to the grid).
Of course, everyone will benefit if this additional power impacts on rolling blackouts, but only those high-income households that can afford to install solar systems will get the financial benefit of the feed-in tariff.
Why not simultaneously trigger a “solar revolution” by targeting informal settlements? They are without doubt among some of the poorest spaces in the country. They have not been provided with electricity, and no disputes over illegal connections should occur.
The morphology of informal settlements, as we note below, is to move from free-standing structures to compounds, which can include multiple households in one larger group of structures — which share one very large roof, ideal for solar.
If informal settlement residents are helped upfront — say, through a lease-and-own agreement for the installation and infrastructure — simple self-interest would see households in informal settlements lead the way in harvesting sunshine and selling to the grid. As their solar farms grow, and income increases, they may also be able to move up the socioeconomic ladder, and off social grants. It seems such a clearly virtuous cycle that it must form a core part of the conversation.
The Gauteng Research Triangle (GRT) is a partnership between the Universities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and the Witwatersrand (Wits). The GRT oversees a range of areas, but one of its main projects is a new health and demographic surveillance site (HDSS) with a split node located in Hillbrow, Atteridgeville West, and Melusi, an informal settlement in Pretoria.
The node is part of the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network (Saprin) hosted by the SA Medical Research Council and funded by the Department of Science and Innovation.
It joins other well-known nodes including Agincourt, Dimamo and Ahri, with further nodes in the early stages ...
Community policing forums in South Africa are usually dominated by men and it can be difficult and frustrating for a woman to lead one. But Karen Kemp, who heads the Bethelsdorp CPF, overcame the challenges — and excelled.
Bethelsdorp Community Policing Forum (CPF) in the Eastern Cape has been named the South African Police Service’s CPF of the Year — in large part because of the tenacity and qualities of its leader, Karen Kemp.
Kemp received the award on behalf of the Bethelsdorp CPF at the 8th Annual SAPS Excellence Awards held on Saturday in Polokwane. SAPS members, reservists and CPF members who excelled in their duties during the fiscal year 2021/2022 were honoured at the ceremony.
On Wednesday, Kemp said: “We [CPFs] are interested in serving the community and making a difference. Accolades and awards are just the icing on the cake for us.”
Kemp has been a member of the Bethelsdorp CPF since 2012 and took over as chairperson in December 2021. Serving on a CPF — which is usually a male-dominated structure — is not an easy task, she said.
“It can be extremely frustrating at times. Sometimes you have the impression that you are not taken seriously simply because you are a woman. People always try to undermine you. However, I believe that males are gradually accepting a woman in charge.”
Kemp said a major challenge that CPFs face is operating without a budget.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Yes, serving on a CPF is voluntary and you need to have a passion and motivation to serve the community. But if CPFs have a budget, no one can say they can’t do great work.”
Kemp and members of the Bethelsdorp CPF also run a safe house for victims of crime, domestic violence, rape and gender-based violence. They cover a large area, including Arcadia, Salt Lake, Westdene, Santoor and Jacksonville where the Bethelsdorp gangs Spot Bouers and Padmakers are locked in a deadly turf war.
Giving an overview of crime in Bethelsdorp, Kemp said gangsterism, drugs and firearms topped the list.
“Presently, the situation in Arcadia is very tense. Two weeks ago, a gang leader was shot in the area and we are expecting a retaliation. The fighting is all about turf and who wants to be in control,” she said.
As for the future, “We will develop a strategic plan.. look at what worked and what didn’t. consider how to improve on ...
It’s constitutional and statutory criteria that set the process and pace, regardless of the political noise and hype over a Cabinet reshuffle. And no matter what a political party would prefer — yes, even the governing ANC — it’s not about leaks, public statements or writing letters.
The push for President Cyril Ramaphosa to reshuffle his Cabinet came hot on the heels of his second-term confirmation as ANC boss at the party’s 2022 elective congress at Nasrec.
Speculation rapidly emerged around the possible replacement of his deputy in government — David “DD” Mabuza — according to proclaimed ANC tradition, with Paul Mashatile, who had taken over the ANC deputy presidency.
The pitfall? ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile is not a member of Parliament. And the Constitution, in Section 91(3)(a), says that he has to be to get into the government’s deputy president post.
That necessitates a complex set of moves, from MPs resigning, to open vacancies on the ANC parliamentary benches, to getting publicly elected candidates lists amended in provincial legislatures.
Where in the process is the Ramaphosa ANC & administration?
Various letters have been written to various organisations in the political landscape, as political parties rule the roost in South Africa’s electoral system.
The Gauteng ANC, on the public record, produced such correspondence, with the KwaZulu-Natal ANC going a step further. The province’s premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, was effectively told to expect her cooperative governance MEC’s resignation, according to a KZN ANC statement on 30 January, stating “it has discussed and accepted the resignation of Cde Sihle Zikalala. This follows the redeployment to the National Assembly by the ANC Luthuli House.”
Crucially, effective from 31 January, the ANC benches in the National Assembly had two vacancies.
“Parliament confirms the resignations of Mr Tshilidzi Munyai and Mr Mervyn Dirks as members of the National Assembly. The Speaker has wished both well in their future endeavours,” tweeted Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo on Monday.
Both the timing and the names are important, given the annual rejig of public representative candidates lists in terms of Schedule 1A of the Electoral Act.
Dirks’ resignation opens a vacancy on the KwaZulu-Natal to national list that, on public record, seems earmarked for Zikalala. Munyai’s resignation opens a vacancy on the Gauteng list — and that’s how Mashatile will get to Parliament as an MP and be available to be appointed through a Cabinet reshuffle as South Africa’s deputy president.
Party lists reviewed
Regardless of party political missives, the statutory requirement ...
Caring deeply for the youngest members of society is what led to Constable Thato Motlagomang Mothamane of the Selosesha police station in the Free State walking away with the top Laureate Award at a police awards ceremony in Polokwane on Saturday night.
Constable Thato Motlagomang Mothamane’s dedication to the wellbeing and safety of children is unmatched.
Apart from winning the top award and a new car, she also received the Visible Policing and Operations’ Employee of the Year award at the 8th Annual SAPS Excellence Awards on Saturday night. SAPS members, reservists and Community Policing Forum members who excelled in their duties during 2021/22 were recognised.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Mothamane was responsible for implementing safety programmes at 39 schools. Her duties included conducting crime awareness campaigns and school searches to create a conducive learning environment.
Mothamane said she was delighted to receive the Laureate Award.
“I had not anticipated receiving the award. but it shows that my work is appreciated. I enjoy working with schools and students. Campaigns that teach students about bullying, substance abuse and other crimes are important to me.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mothamane said she had been inspired to work harder and look for innovative new ways to improve what she delivered to schools in the Free State.
The implementation of the school programme is guided by the School Safety Protocol which was entered into by the SAPS and the Department of Basic Education in 2011. To realise the objectives of the protocol, schools are linked to police stations to raise awareness among children about the impact of crime and violence.
The police statistics for the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year, released by Police Minister Bheki Cele,s how the country’s “bloodbath of violent crime remains out of control”.
Cele said: “We as communities continue to fail to protect some of the most vulnerable in society — our children.”
On Wednesday, Free State police spokesperson Lt-Col Thabo Covane told Daily Maverick that the province was extremely happy with Mothamane’s achievement:
“She stood up for the province and made us proud. The province of Free State is barely visible on a map. Cape Town and Gauteng are always mentioned. Thanks to Mothamane, we are now among the big boys.”
Some of the other top achievers were:
Crime Intelligence Team of the Year Award: The national Anti-Kidnapping Task Team. Over a period of two years, the team investigated 134 kidnappings ...
US and European officials met Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv to discuss a range of issues including transparency for reconstruction, as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government intensifies a crackdown on corruption.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration and its allies were working to isolate Russia at the global body, and called for reform to the Security Council to blunt Moscow’s impact. She spoke in an interview at Bloomberg’s Washington headquarters on Wednesday.
The US will supply Ukraine with longer-range artillery and ammunition as part of a new $2-billion package of military assistance, a person familiar with the matter said.
Key developments
Longer-range artillery part of $2bn in US aid for Ukraine
Putin’s war machine helps keep Russian industry humming
Ukraine’s allies reject giving fighter jets in blow to Zelensky
Lula brushes off Scholz’s appeal to send arms to Kyiv
Lula can’t tell Vladimir from Volodymyr: Andreas Kluth
On the ground
Ukraine expects fiercer fighting in February and March, said Andriy Yusov, a representative for the Defence Ministry’s intelligence service. He said Russian troops continued to make territorial gains but with higher losses than those suffered by Ukraine. Russia carried out five air attacks and six missile strikes as well as more than 65 salvos from multiple rocket launchers over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near eight settlements in the Donetsk region, the General Staff said.
EU set to train as many as 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers
The European Union is set to announce at its summit with Ukraine on Thursday that it will double its target of training Ukrainian troops under its new military mission, now aiming to run drills and teach as many as 30,000 soldiers this year, according to EU officials.
The mission, which began late last year, takes place in Poland and Germany with various EU countries involved in providing Ukrainian soldiers with specialised training, including demining.
Druzhba oil flows normal after pumping station shelled
Druzhba pipeline, which delivers oil to some eastern European nations, “is operating normally” after the shelling of the Novozybkovo pumping station, near Russia’s border with Belarus and Ukraine, said Igor Dyomin, a spokesperson at Russia’s oil-pipeline operator. No injuries were reported from the shelling on Monday evening and damage was being repaired, he added.
Novozybkovo station is used during peak loads on the Druzhba pipeline and on a one-off basis. The station was last turned on in 2022, and that was just for a few hours, according ...
Tourism picked up strongly over the December holiday period with two million foreign travellers passing through South Africa’s borders.
When days are dark, friends are few, but in South Africa, we’ll take all the good news we can get.
Tourism has always been our saving grace and judging by this past December, there’s been a sizeable rebound in tourism, with almost three million travellers passing through our borders — a third of whom are classified as residents of the country.
The balance comprises about two million foreign travellers, who arrived here for tourism and other purposes.
This healthy bounce-back was reported on 31 January, during Stats SA’s latest data on tourist arrivals, which showed 2,881,887 travellers passed through South Africa’s ports in December 2022. Of those, 965,599 were resident in South Africa and 1,916,288 were foreign travellers.
There were 123.5% more South African residents arriving on our shores (up year-on-year from 182,489 in December 2021 to 407,837 in December 2022), 130% more departures and 225.4% transits.
Foreign travellers came (and left) in droves: there were almost 180% more arrivals (a year-on-year increase from 347,188 to 971,425), 136% more departures and 175% transits.
Stats SA does not have detailed information on the departure of travellers, so it cannot categorise South African residents as tourists or non-tourists. However, it says 7.8% of foreigners arrived in the country as non-visitors, while 895,932 (92,2%) were classified as visitors.
From Lindiwe Sisulu, With Love: Inside SA Tourism’s R1bn proposal to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur
Cape Town back with a bang
That’s not a case of build them and they will come — or, as often is the case in South Africa, break them: The Western Cape has put a significant amount of effort and resources into marketing itself as a destination for business and leisure.
The jewel in its crown, the Mother City, is feeling particularly bullish about its recovery after Covid, announcing that it’s “within reach” of 2019’s figures: Cape Town International Airport saw a 72% increase in domestic visitors and a 98% increase in international visitors.
Tourism hotspots reported a welcome recovery, with Groot Constantia returning to 71% of 2019’s levels, Kirstenbosch 76%, Robben Island 89%, Chapman’s Peak 95% and Table Mountain almost 100%.
Eighty-five of Cape Town Tourism’s members reported much better performance than in 2019, as US, German and UK tourists returned with a vengeance.
The primary domestic markets were Cape Town, Gauteng and KwaZulu- Natal.
Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy said he was thrilled about ...
Two senior officials have returned to the Northern Cape Department of Health after being suspended, but the department remains without a permanent head. Opposition parties and a nursing union say the lack of leadership is having a negative effect on healthcare services in the province. Refilwe Mochoari reports.
It may be business as usual in the Northern Cape Department of Health for the former acting head of health and the chief financial officer (CFO) who are back at work after their suspensions, but concerns remain over the impact of leadership instability on public healthcare services.
In March last year, the acting head of health, Dr Dion Theys, and CFO Daniel Gaborone were suspended after being implicated in fraud and corruption relating to a R43-million personal protective equipment (PPE) tender.
When Spotlight caught up with Theys this week, he was back at work after his yearlong suspension. He says that it will be business as usual and that there are “no hard feelings” from his side.
“I am excited to be back at work. My name has been cleared by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), as I indicated to you last year when we spoke. Right now, I am looking forward to going back to serving the people of the Northern Cape.”
So, that’s Theys in the clear – for now.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told Spotlight that “with regard to the criminal matter, the SIU referred it to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and it is still ongoing.
“With regard to the SIU’s disciplinary recommendation, the matter was referred to the Office of the Premier.”
NPA spokesperson in the Northern Cape Mojalefa Senokoatsane says the PPE tender case against both Theys and Gaborone was provisionally withdrawn on 8 December 2022.
Senokoatsane says it will be premature to fully disclose the reasons behind the decision to provisionally withdraw the case against the officials.
“What the NPA can confirm is that the matter is still being investigated, as we believe that there is a case that needs to be answered by the accused.
“To ensure that the investigations are carried out with the sensitivity they deserve, we will not be able to share any additional information regarding any additional charges or people involved in this matter at this stage.”
Senokoatsane added that should more evidence come to light, the case could be reinstated.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Health, Lulu Mxekezo, confirmed to Spotlight that the two officials returned to work ...
We don’t know, of course, how many people will come to SA after seeing a badge that says ‘Visit South Africa’ on Harry Kane’s shoulder.
Subsequent to the fabulously clever technique of releasing tigers into the streets of Johannesburg in the latest attempt by the government to divert our attention away from the endless power cuts, there is now the proposal to spend just under R1-billion on an advertising deal with the London football club Tottenham Hotspur. (By the way, the news was broken by Daily Maverick on Tuesday night.)
The idea has been met with derision. The arrangement will fall under the jurisdiction of Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu; cartoonist Carlos Amato made the point on Twitter that in Sisulu’s defence, “This deal to put ‘Visit SA’ on the Spurs shirt does have the virtue of seamless brand alignment. Both Spurs & the SA state are defined by decades of waste & underachievement, and both are spearheaded by a guy who collapses whenever an opponent touches him.”
Read on Daily Maverick: From Lindiwe Sisulu, With Love: Inside SA Tourism’s R1bn proposal to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur
Actually, the similarities don’t end there. Sisulu is well known for her support of dubious economic ideas characterised by little discernible relationship between the aim, the cost, and the effect. Most recently, she published a diatribe called “Hi Mzansi, have we seen justice?” in which she blamed SA’s Constitution, of all things, and the “victims of the “rule of law” for enduring poverty.
SA’s Constitution bends over backwards to preserve both the rule of law and encourage the transformation of SA society, which is a tricky balance at the best of times. The piece was effectively a manifesto in favour of the Radical Economic Transformation faction of the ANC, for whom, it seems to me, the law is an irritant when those adherents would prefer to adopt a policy of grabbing all they can carry. Anyway, Sisulu’s attempt to sell the idea fell short at the ANC’s December conference.
So, how crazy would it be to spend just under R1-billion to have a three-year sponsorship partnership with Tottenham Hotspur FC? Well, according to the proposers, Tourism SA, the deal is a slam dunk, because, for R1-billion in expenditure, SA will get “exposure” worth R6-billion in exchange. Oh gwaard, advertising reps.
The deal is so hot that SA has to grab it quickly otherwise other “destination management organisations” (DMOs) will gazump us, the ...
Nutritious and fast-growing, algae already has a following as an alternative protein among health fanatics. A new generation of sustainable fashion start-ups want us to wear it too.
The fashion industry produces more than 100 billion garments annually, about 14 for every person on Earth. Most end up in landfills or clogging rivers and beaches in developing countries. Only a fraction are recycled. Fashion is responsible for up to 10% of humanity’s emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide, more than international air travel and shipping combined.
For Charlotte McCurdy, a researcher, designer and assistant professor at Arizona State University, tackling the problem means thinking not just about where castoffs end up, but about how clothes are made. Synthetic textiles like polyester, the cheapest and most disposable of all, are made from fossil fuels. The dyes used to imbue fabrics with that inky black? They’re derived from crude oil.
So in 2018, McCurdy set about designing a raincoat made from marine macroalgae, a.k.a. seaweed, which absorbs carbon instead. The choice of garment was a deliberate comment on what we wear to protect ourselves against a climate that’s going haywire because of human activity.
The translucent mac went on display in New York’s Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in 2019. McCurdy also teamed up with New York-based fashion designer Phillip Lim on a dress covered in green sequins fabricated from the same material.
“What I’m trying to emphasise is that it doesn’t just matter where they go but where they come from – 60% of clothes are fossil fuels,” she says. “So I did tons of experiments and pulled together tons of technologies and had hundreds of beautiful failures before I was able to create this clear, very consistent plastic that is entirely free of synthetics and chemicals and is made only of algae.”
McCurdy isn’t commercialising her creations; her prime motivation is to show that, with some imagination, it’s possible to do for fashion what electrification is doing for vehicles.
It takes about 180 days to grow cotton; algae takes only three weeks.
From hemp to fungus, eucalyptus to bamboo, a growing number of start-ups are looking to nature for just those kinds of solutions. And they’re getting noticed by global retailers like Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), which wants to make all its products from recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030.
Already used in biofuels and bioplastics, it’s attracting particular attention because it’s fast and cheap to grow, ...
Pig owners are encouraged to be extra vigilant and to report any increased pig deaths or unusual symptoms to the local state veterinary office.
The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (Sappo) has assured South Africans that the country’s pork is still healthy and safe to eat despite an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak on a farm in Gauteng.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, said the farm had been placed under quarantine and provincial veterinary services were identifying any properties that could have had contact with the farm.
CEO of Sappo Johann Kotzé said ASF posed no risk to human health. “Through the meat safety acts and the meat safety procedures and protocols which we follow through abattoirs and processing plants, we ensure that consumers will still have the opportunity to buy healthy, nutritious and safe pork,” he said.
Farms quarantined in three provinces
In a statement last week, Ngcobo said farms in Gauteng, North West and Free State had been placed under precautionary quarantine as a result of the outbreak.
“The ASF-negative status of these farms will be confirmed before the precautionary quarantine can be lifted. The source of the infection on the positive farm has not yet been identified, but it is believed that the infection was already on the farm from mid-December,” he said.
He said outbreaks of ASF started in previously ASF-free areas of South Africa in 2019 and spread to many other areas.
“The spread of the disease seems to have slowed down, with fewer new properties becoming infected since October 2022.
“Control measures are based on quarantine and movement controls, with awareness drives to highlight essential biosecurity measures to enable pig owners to prevent infection of their pigs,” he said.
“All pig farmers and pig keepers are again urged to only buy pigs directly from known healthy herds and to prevent contact between their pigs and other pigs or wildlife.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Visitors should be discouraged from coming into the area where pigs are being kept. Anyone who has contact with pigs should wash their hands before and after handling the pigs; and before moving to other farms, one should ensure that they have thoroughly showered and to only use clean clothes, shoes and equipment,” Ngcobo said.
“Pig owners are encouraged to be extra vigilant and to report any increased pig deaths or unusual symptoms to the local state veterinary office. All ...
Emergency LED lights are a godsend in many South African homes, as rolling blackouts catch even the most organised among us off-guard. Readily available at retailers and informal traders, there is wildly divergent quality on the market amid an influx of imports and no enforcement of standards, which raises concern about the safety of these lights which require hours to recharge.
Most of the time, we leave our emergency lights on charge overnight. But while we’re sleeping, that lifesaver light could be harbouring an electrical threat.
One mainstream model, the Magneto LED lantern, made by Tevo, has now been exposed as posing a potential risk. A Reddit board has revealed dozens of complaints about the plugs of older model lights.
These rechargeable LED lights, said to be able to provide between six and 60 hours of light on a single charge, depending on the size, reportedly have a cable design flaw which can cause them to short circuit and even start a fire.
The issue, first raised by Hypertext, was reported on after a reader contacted the tech news website about hearing a “pop” and seeing a plume of smoke after plugging in their light to charge. The reader found the cable had worn, allowing the wires to short.
Further investigation on a Reddit thread on the r/SouthAfrica board revealed numerous complaints after user SirWernich wrote: “The power cable on those Magneto rechargeable lights are super kak.”
One observed: “They [the lights] are very fine. until they are not.”
Below are other comments:
“I had one that literally blew as I unplugged it, fortunately no burns or injuries, just a heart rate that could add generating capacity to Eskom.”
“If you own one of those big Magneto lights, please keep an eye on the wiring or carry spare underpants.”
There were also a few complaints about the poor-quality two-pin plugs:
“I replaced mine after one of the pins just fell off. Luckily it was while I was unplugging it, so the pin didn’t jam in the plug socket.”
“Same thing happened to one of mine two weeks ago. plugged it and pow! Slapped on a three-prong plug and all is working again.”
“They are very fine.. until they are not.”
“My plug explode aswell, replaced it with a 3 point plug.”
“3 of my units exploded the same way. Not buying that shit again.”
“Mine had a resistor burn out when I plugged an unpowered usb cable into the back of it. Never very enjoyable having ...
In the wake of the news that accidental deaths in South Africa’s mining industry reached a record low of 49 in 2022, another safety milestone has been achieved. During January this year, the sector recorded its first calendar month without a death. That this is a milestone underscores the scale of the historical carnage that has been wrought underground.
During the month that just ended, not a single South African mine worker was killed on the job.
Over the course of more than a century of industrial-scale extraction since the late 19th century, January 2023 was the first fatality-free calendar month in the history of South African mining, according to the sector’s main umbrella body, the Minerals Council SA.
That this is a milestone underscores the scale of the historical carnage that has been wrought underground. Mining accidents have claimed the lives of over 80,000 miners in South Africa since the late 19th century, and over a million have been injured.
This speaks to a tortured history of racial exploitation on a grand scale, with a migrant labour force from the rural hinterlands drawn into the menacing jaws of an industrial economy that, in many cases, literally mangled workers before spitting them out. That migrant labour force also saw its real wages decline for decades in the 20th century, according to numerous historians.
But the whole system delivered fat dividends for investors and laid the foundation for the apartheid political economy.
A lot has changed, especially since the end of apartheid in 1994, and the sector has made huge strides to improve its safety record, with a lot of prodding from labour, the government and investors, who would prefer not to have their dividends drenched in blood.
Accidental deaths in the mining industry, as we reported on Wednesday, reached a record low of 49 for a calendar year in 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Accidental deaths in SA mines fall to record low of 49 in 2022“
That still means that, on average, more than four mine workers were killed on the job every month last year. But so far in 2023, the monthly death toll is zero.
The reasons for this improving state of affairs are many. The decline in SA of deep-level gold mining – which by its very nature is hazardous – is obviously one.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In 1987, when South Africa was still the world’s top producer of ...
South Africa finds itself at a crossroads. Our difficult context and recent history indicate that we must rethink our social contract. If we have any hope for a better tomorrow, we have to begin with that social contract.
In 1762, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote The Social Contract as the base for a tacit agreement between government and citizens, outlining conditions for guaranteeing equality and liberty. Quite simply, people give power to the government in exchange for the protection of their rights.
In order to be afforded certain rights and liberties, citizens have duties and responsibilities to the state.
The French revolutionaries in the 1790s took the book The Social Contract through the reign of terror that ended with the tragic emergence of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
It took the French more than 90 years to establish an orderly, stable and democratic society. And still it is not perfect, even after all these years. The process of social contracting is fraught with contradictions and setbacks.
The American journalist Matt Apuzzo wrote that in the contemporary context, “it’s a social contract we make. We’re willing to give up certain things. We give you the right to tax us. We give you the right to lock us up. We give you the right to put us on surveillance, search our homes, whatever, and, in exchange, we get a functioning society that keeps us relatively safe, and that’s the trade-off we make.”
Well, when the lights are off, the water supply is under threat, education is in a perilous state and crime is uncontrollable, then the social contract is broken.
We should fix our social contract lest our democratic gains be reversed, and we will not recover for at least another 90 years.
In South Africa, this concept is indeed fraught.
As Marwala has argued, “South Africa has not succeeded in building a viable social contract.”
Battered by years of State Capture, high unemployment and increasing inequality, the democratic project envisioned in the early nineties has not entirely been realised. A cursory glance at the unemployment and inequality figures speaks to this failure.
The 2021 riots that unfolded demonstrated just how frayed any semblance of a social contract was. The Washington Post referred to this moment as a warning to the world: this is what happens when the gross inequality that shapes a society boils over.
There is a call for a new social contract which emphasises responsible citizenship. Responsible citizenship is a prerequisite for a functioning and ...
As several Joburg suburbs experience water shortages, The Outlier unpacks why this is when the dams supplying the city are full.
The City of Joburg’s water use has increased by 11% in the past five years, from 557-million to 615-million kilolitres a year.
Why does that matter? There is a cap on the amount Rand Water can supply to Joburg and other municipalities of 1.6-billion kilolitres. Joburg currently uses 38% of that allocation — about a third of the population of Gauteng lives there.
The rest of the water is distributed to 11 other municipalities: Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Rand West, Mogale City, Merafong, Emfuleni and Midvaal in Gauteng, as well as Rustenburg in North West, Metsimaholo in the Free State and Govan Mbeki and Thembisile Hani in Mpumalanga. Sasol and Eskom also get a share.
If Joburg’s water usage continues to increase at a rate of 11% every five years, it will need 43% of Rand Water’s allocation by 2027. For it to get that, all the other municipalities, Eskom and Sasol, will have to use less.
Why is there a cap on the water supply?
Unlike most cities in the world, Joburg is not situated on a major river. Gauteng gets its water from a network of 14 dams called the Integrated Vaal River System. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a key part of this system with its dams Katse and Mohale supplying South Africa’s economic hub with water.
Rand Water is currently licensed to withdraw 1.6-billion kilolitres from the Vaal River System. The cap exists to maintain water supply for municipalities and industries in the event of a multi-year drought — which means if everyone uses their water responsibly, there should never be a day zero for Joburg.
Rand Water’s allocation will only be increased when Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is completed. This will add 2.325-million kilolitres of water storage capacity with the construction of the Polihali Dam in Lesotho.
Phase II was meant to be completed by 2018, but Mabasia Ntoi, the public relations officer for the Lesotho Highlands project, told The Outlier that the project is expected to be commissioned only in 2028.
Less water for the people
Until Phase II is completed, Gauteng’s residents will have to make do with Rand Water’s allocation. At present, there are around 270 litres of water per person per day, based on current population estimates. The Gauteng City-Region Observatory estimates that this will decrease to 220 ...
Ideology and political positioning continue to threaten not just the stability of the electricity supply in the country, but the very fabric of our society. The costs and implications are too dire to ignore.
The pervasive outcomes of rolling blackouts and unpredictable electricity supply in South Africa are rippling across every corner of the country. Yet the solutions to the entrenched and systemic issues seem elusive and the sober reality is that these issues are not going to be wished away.
The crisis — existential as it is — is also not going to be resolved by a government that does not have a coherent or collective strategy. Organisations across the country are discussing the role society must play in order to soften the blows of a crisis that has its origins in 2007, and continues to destroy livelihoods. The solutions available to South Africans are limited and none of them provide an immediate avenue for relief.
The continuing threat to any opportunity or growth in this country continues to be the roadblock of existing brokers of power, systems interested only in self and the failure of any meaningful convening of action.
Now is simply not the time for lofty promises or unrealistic action but rather decisive action. However, as a new election looms, many South Africans have little faith that change will be effective or deliberate in the short term. For far too long, promises have been made and broken. This is the cycle of political dynamics in South Africa, faith in systems and institutions has been eroded.
The current level of power failures — under the euphemism of “load shedding” — is destroying livelihoods and pushing millions further into poverty and economic exclusion.
The upcoming elections, some 18 months away, are suggested as a moment where South Africans can use the power of the ballot to drive the point home. But by then we would have lost far too much already. We only need to look at the cost of a lost decade under Jacob Zuma.
Years later, South Africa continues to be burdened by the bad choices, the consequences of rampant and destructive corruption, and the failure of our governments to serve. The pace of reform is far too slow with very limited and ineffectual change to our electricity ecosystem continuing to force large parts of the country into darkness.
The country’s governing party has held executive power and the ability to shape and determine ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
In a new series starting today, Professor Jeffrey D Sachs explores themes surrounding ‘The New World Economy’. The series is exclusive to Daily Maverick in South Africa.
Belém, Brazil: – I inaugurate this new series of columns in a new year and a new beginning for Brazil with the inauguration of President Lula da Silva. His well-wishers poured out across the country in a revival of hope for Brazil after four years of disastrous rule under his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who had fled Brazil for Florida on the eve of Lula’s inauguration. Bolsonaro left behind a mob that rampaged through government office buildings before being arrested in large numbers by the police.
The mob tactics will not stop Lula, nor will they have a long-term effect in the US, where Donald Trump’s similar manoeuvres on 6 January 2021 were also shut down. In both cases, demagogic politicians used social media to rile up a mob; in both cases, the mob was put down within the day.
The real issue, in my mind, is not the mob, but the deeper changes in the world that are generating growing tensions in global politics and the economy. The deep changes can’t and won’t be stopped by mobs. Our real challenge is to understand the deeper changes at play so that we can manage them for the common good.
Such an understanding is the aim of my future columns.
Reality of a multipolar world
The biggest turmoil is geopolitical. We are no longer in a US-led world, nor even a world divided between the US and its rival China. We have already entered a multipolar world, in which each region has its own issues and role in global politics. No country and no single region can any longer determine the fate of others. This is a complex and noisy environment – with no country, region or alliance in charge of the rest.
One reason Lula’s return to the presidency is so consequential is that Brazil will be a key regional and global actor in the years ahead. Lula will work closely with like-minded progressive presidents in Chile, Colombia, Argentina and elsewhere in South America. Brazil will also hold the presidency of the G20 in 2024, part of a four-year run in which major emerging economies hold the presidency (Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and South Africa in 2025).
The management of a multipolar world is fraught with difficulties. We urgently ...
The dollar’s strength last year did the US no favours as emerging markets buckled under their much higher dollar debt payments and imported inflation. Brazil and Argentina’s desire to create a common currency may be a pie-in-the-sky ambition, but it’s a reminder of economic and geopolitical forces that support de-dollarisation.
Talk of de-dollarisation — and putting an end to the dollar’s hegemony — has been doing the rounds for decades, but recent economic and geopolitical developments have again highlighted the momentum building against the dollar’s dominance as the reserve and payment currency of the world. The dollar’s massive appreciation last year didn’t help its cause. The Dollar Index’s almost double-digit increase last year, amid already tough post-pandemic economic conditions, inflicted significant pain on emerging markets.
Dollar-denominated debt repayments soared and became unaffordable in some cases, while the rising costs of food and energy contributed to sharp rises in the cost of living and contributed to greater food insecurity.
Turkey, where the lira depreciated by a third against the dollar during the year, responded to the damaging impact of a strong dollar by introducing a new currency scheme to prop up the lira. The scheme incentivises companies to hold their offshore earnings in lira rather than the dollar, the preferred currency because of its safe-haven status.
More recently, the governments of Brazil and Argentina announced their intention to create a common currency, a prospect that was greeted with a great deal of scepticism internationally because their economies are in such vastly different states.
Also, experience has shown it takes decades to create a common currency and there are many challenges that stand in the way. The euro is the only common currency that has stood the test of time, but it has been an extremely challenging endeavour and the exercise hasn’t affected the dollar’s position as the primary reserve currency.
However, Brazil and Argentina’s statement of intent, against a backdrop of a global economy that is becoming increasingly divided, serves as a keen reminder of the momentum again building against the dollar’s hegemony — both as a reserve currency and the currency in which international trade and financial transactions are conducted.
Yet, so far, Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, told a Brookings Institution roundtable, there has only been “a very gradual, almost glacial decline” in the dollar’s role as a reserve currency and global means of exchange.
The greenback ...
Keeping quiet in the face of injustice is consenting to it. We have to pull together to ensure that those who fight for our right to live in dignity do not die in vain.
Another week and another activist is shot dead, leaving behind a grieving family and a social justice mission unfinished. To whom is the baton to be passed?
It seems the killing of activists has now become a sport for the powerful and corrupt. I actually think the word corrupt has even begun to lose its meaning and nowadays seems to elicit little more than a raised eyebrow and resigned sigh.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.
“Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.
“Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.
“Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
This Martin Niemöller quote rings in my head as I will myself to write out the thoughts and feelings induced by the wanton and rampant warfare that human rights activists and ordinary people are facing with alarming regularity. Niemöller’s words urge us not to be quiet or tremble in the face of injustice, but to link arms in solidarity and humanity.
Thulani Maseko may not have been South African, but he did not deserve to die on 21 January for pursuing the human rights of the people of Eswatini. You may not be a shack dweller, but Abahlali baseMjondolo members Ayanda Ngila, Siyabonga Manqele, Nokuthula Mabaso and Lindokuhle Mnguni, who were all gunned down in 2022, did not deserve to die for fighting for dignity and housing for shack dwellers. You may not be a Gugulethu township resident, but Ntsikelelo Msweswe did not deserve to die two weeks ago for trying to keep his community safe.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Pain, tragedy and death cannot only rouse us to action when we are directly affected. That is not what solidarity is premised on. Exceptionalism pulls us apart, isolates and, at worst, dehumanises those not deemed exceptional.
By definition, humanity is the ability to love and feel compassion for one another. “By leaving it to brave individuals like Thulani to hold corrupt regimes to account and ...
Our unemployment pandemic represents the clearest sign of a private and public sector that have a collective bankruptcy of the types of progressive ideas necessary to rescue South Africa’s sinking economy.
On Friday, 27 January 2023 the National Unemployed Workers Union (Nuwu) held its digital launch, ahead of a physical launch in April. The union exists to bring together the millions of unemployed people in South Africa to train and upskill them, place them in employment, and develop enterprises to create new jobs.
Nuwu’s vision is to unlock the potential of economically marginalised South Africans through breaking limiting beliefs. And our mission statement is to change the mindsets and conversations around unemployment through unlocking collective membership potential. We bridge the gap on behalf of those without work.
Our unemployment pandemic represents the clearest sign of a private sector and a public sector that have a collective bankruptcy of the types of progressive ideas necessary to rescue the sinking economy.
Five issues are contributing to our unemployment numbers reaching historically high rates.
First, we have a structural problem within our education system where a large majority of the 23,000 public schools catering for 12 million pupils have teachers that do not have the requisite science, maths, engineering, and technology skills to prepare students for the modern economy. It is no surprise then that about 40% of our pupils drop out before Grade 12 and only 21% of the remainder pass with more than 50%.
Second, as a legacy of apartheid, many parents raised in townships work far from home in highly stressful and often demeaning jobs. They do not have the time, energy nor in some instances the technical capacity to help their children navigate a career choice suited to their skills and passion.
These parents pass on to their children some of their own woundedness, fear of failure and limiting beliefs that make it difficult for them to unlock their potential. We should not be surprised to hear that many students at our universities and vocational colleges are underperforming. South Africa has a 9% throughput rate at technical and vocational education and training colleges, and our universities have a 15% throughput rate.
Third, the private sector is still an old (mainly white) boys’ club. Whatever skills new entrants bring to the workplace, they have to also navigate the implicit bias in favour of private school-educated job entrants who speak the coded language of the old boys’ club.
Fourth, there ...
Three of the lecturers are holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit and one is Rwandan and has an asylum permit.
The Labour Court in Gqeberha has granted four lecturers, who are foreign nationals, an interdict to set aside their dismissals by the Port Elizabeth TVET College’s Iqhayiya Campus.
In the written ruling on Tuesday, the College was ordered to appear before the Court on 22 February “to show cause why a final order should not be granted” to compel the college to comply with the Labour Relations Act.
The court granted the interdict pending the outcome of the hearing.
GroundUp spoke to the lecturers on Monday before the ruling. Three are holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) and one other is Rwandan and has an asylum permit. Three have been employed at the college since 2014 and one since 2015, in the civil engineering faculty. The lecturers have asked that their identities not be published.
The lecturers were each sent a letter dated 12 January 2023 and signed by acting principal Jessie Figg and her deputy, D Baartzes, which stated, “It is with regret that we have to inform you that your employment with Port Elizabeth TVET College will be discontinued effective from 1 February 2023.”
The letter stated that their dismissal was in terms of legislation including the Public Service Act, the Department of Public Service and Administration Policy on the utilisation of foreign nationals; the Immigration Act; and the Critical Skills List Compliance gazetted in February 2022.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The lecturers were instructed to return any property owned by the college without delay.
“I was shocked and taken aback,” one of the lecturers told GroundUp. “I only learnt about it when I was in Zimbabwe visiting my family during the festive season. I’m the only breadwinner providing for many people who are desperate back home.”
Human rights lawyer Simba Chitando said that the college had not followed proper procedure when dismissing the lecturers.
“This smacks of systematic institutional xenophobia targeting mostly Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa and is, without doubt, a gross human rights violation that deserves judicial scrutiny,” he said.
Sangolinye Ngqungwana, a lecturer at the same college and shop steward for the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw), accused the college of targeting immigrant lecturers.
“This incident is completely unlawful because these lecturers have been employed here for years. This is very xenophobic.”
Emails and WhatsApp messages ...
The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key barometer of confidence in South Africa’s manufacturing sector, was barely changed in January compared to December, at 53.0. The best that can be said is that, in the face of the load shedding onslaught, it could have been worse.
At 53.0, the PMI slipped just 0.1 index point from 53.1 in December. Since the index – based on monthly surveys of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector – has a zero to 100 range, this is barely a passing grade.
Confidence levels remain low against the backdrop of numerous challenges, notably load shedding.
Overall, the January read was a mixed bag, with the business activity subindex putting in a surprise surge that could point to production growth.
But the employment index fell back into negative territory below 50, suggesting that the sector is still not creating jobs in a meaningful way at a time when the unemployment rate is more than 43%, based on its widest measure.
“Most encouraging was the significant, and surprising, improvement in the business activity index relative to the previous month . Should this translate into actual production growth, it would be a promising start to the year for the struggling sector,” Absa said.
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The business activity subindex leapt to 56.0 in January from 45.2 in December, despite concerns raised by respondents about rolling blackouts.
Among other things, this may suggest that manufacturers are finding ways to address the “new normal” of almost perpetual rolling blackouts, including reducing their reliance on unreliable Eskom by installing solar panels.
They are, as the saying goes, making a plan. But rolling blackouts remain a massive constraint on the sector’s potential.
“Continued activity growth would require a sustained improvement in demand and most likely a move to less intense stages of load shedding,” Absa said.
“In this regard, the increase in the expected business conditions index was encouraging. The index tracking expected business conditions in six months’ time rose by 8.9 points to 63.8 – the best level since early 2022.”
Still, there are weeds galore among the green shoots.
The employment index, which rose unexpectedly to 54.3 in December from 45.7 in November, fell to 48.4 in November. This places it back below the neutral 50 mark and Absa said it signalled that “any improvement in staffing levels at the end of the year was temporary”.
The manufacturing sector is a key component of ...
Court records are not being filed promptly online, and key documents go missing.
The records on the Constitutional Court website are a crucial resource for lawyers, academics, journalists and the public. But in recent years record-keeping has been neglected and key documents are sometimes missing.
Reliable, up-to-date information on the Constitutional Court’s website is all-important to ensuring transparency, participation, and accountability in the Court’s work.
When first established, the Court appeared to be leading the way in effective online record-keeping. Justice Dikgang Moseneke was so in awe of the Court’s website when he first joined the Court, he described it as a “marvel”. But the zeal for innovation has seemed to wane. Worse, there are signs of neglect.
Until recently, pleadings in a case would be uploaded to the Court’s website soon after being filed. Interested observers could read the documents well before the hearing date. This made it possible to identify hot-button issues in the forthcoming term and to analyse submissions ahead of hearings. Such access is of obvious interest and benefit to litigators, academics, journalists and court commentators. Records of this type are also useful to members of the public who have an interest in attending hearings and following the work of the country’s highest court.
There has, however, been an unexplained retreat from the Court’s established practice. Submissions in forthcoming cases are now made available only a few days before the matter is heard (if then). This makes it difficult to preview the issues that the Court is set to determine. As I write, the Court’s first term for 2023 is due to begin in just a few days. Yet submissions in the first case to be heard were only uploaded on Monday. There is no information available on any other matters on the court roll.
To be fair, the Court does issue a summary of a case the day before it is due to be heard. These are also posted on the Court’s Twitter account. This is welcome, but these case-by-case alerts do not afford court watchers an opportunity to engage with the issues that the Court has listed in its upcoming term.
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Making matters worse, the Court’s ‘case flow’ records have been stagnant since June 2022. This means that the status of new applications filed before the Court has not been publicly updated in seven months. The most recent report on the ...
Many fishers will be left stranded for months while waiting.
Decisions on fishing quotas will not be finalised until October this year, as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is processing a record number of appeals against the allocation of fishing rights.
Appeals against the quotas allocated for the next 15 years in nine fishing sectors closed in July last year.
Minister Barbara Creecy told Parliament’s Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment committee on Tuesday that appeals against line fish quotas would be finalised by the end of February because of the timeframes of the fishing season. But appeals in eight other sectors would take until October; these sectors were hake deep-sea, hake longline, South Coast rock lobster, small pelagic, KwaZulu-Natal crustacean trawl, demersal shark, squid, and tuna.
The successful applicants are able to fish but not those who were refused and have launched an appeal.
The Fishing Rights Allocation Process (Frap) has drawn criticism from fishers, with fishers from Cape Town and Saldanha Bay who had applied for commercial fishing rights calling for the whole process to be restarted.
Deputy director general of fisheries Sue Middleton told Parliament that the department had never received as many appeals. Of the 2,700 applications received for commercial fishing rights, 710 had been successful. Middleton said that about 1,200 appeals across nine sectors had been received.
“The unfortunate reality of the rights allocation is that you are always going to get more applications than you can accommodate and people are going to be unsuccessful,” she said.
The DA shadow minister, David Bryant, said many fishers “have been failed by this process and it’s very clear that not enough has been done to help them. especially those who come from traditional fishing communities, who only know fishing, and who grew up with their hands in the water”. He said many fishers had not been “able to fish in a way that they have fished for generations” for a year now.
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MP Annerie Weber (DA) raised concerns about what fishers would do for nearly ten months while waiting for the appeals process to be completed. “This is their livelihood; they cannot fish; they cannot do anything,” she said.
MP Nazier Paulsen (EFF) said that the Frap process was “a complete failure”, that it was “denying our people access to the ocean” and that the process should be overturned.
Creecy said every appeal was being looked ...
Collapsing basic services are crippling the town’s attempts to rebuild community.
Phoenix, north of Durban, was hit by a heatwave in January, and while temperatures outside soared, tempers within the community flared up too. On private messaging apps and social media, residents called for protests against the collapse of basic services in the town.
A 40-hour power outage during the sweltering heat was the final straw and sparked violence. About 80 residents resorted to blocking the R102 Highway at Grove End on 16 January — a desperate attempt to get the eThekwini Municipality to respond to their plight. But Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda never pitched up.
Over the course of four days, tyres were burned, street poles toppled and signs ripped down, and power lines chopped to pieces.
When the protests petered out, people lambasted each other on social media groups for not heeding the call to join and sustain the protest action.
Nearly every community leader GroundUp spoke to in the past weeks, including ward councillors and aid organisations, said Phoenix is suffering a crisis of factionalism and faltering social cohesion.
Phoenix came under national scrutiny during the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal when vigilantism was blamed for the deaths of 36 people.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘Still suffering with no end in sight’ – Phoenix survivors relive horrific vigilante attacks of 2021”
In the months that followed, the EFF led marches that some felt stirred up racial tensions. Various community organisations tried their best to unite the community.
But acrimony persists between different sectors of the population. People in formal houses direct their anger at people in neighbouring informal settlements, accusing them of cable theft and seeing them as a drain on rate-paying residents.
Split by protests
Four days after the most recent protests, heaps of black bin bags lined Grove End, uncollected for over two weeks and stinking in the heat. The protests had produced no improvement in services.
Some residents GroundUp spoke to condoned the recent protests, including the destruction of public property, saying it is the only way to send a message to an unresponsive government.
Others condemned the protests, saying residents will have to live with the infrastructure they destroyed, which will only exacerbate their difficulties.
“We were a community of people who ‘made a plan’ to get our homes and streets looking nice,” says community activist Kumarie Govender. “Now, we’re seeing a trend of residents . misdirecting their anger at others and destroying a Phoenix that future ...
Marathon legal battle against R14.25-million defamation case continues.
Six South African activists and public interest lawyers have filed revised papers in their marathon legal battle against a collective R14.25-million “Slapp” defamation case brought against them by Australian mining interests.
This revision follows a pair of judgments handed down by the Constitutional Court, which for the first time in South African legal history set out parameters for defence against Slapp suits, and also prescribed limits on defamation action brought by for-profit trading corporations.
Slapp is an acronym for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, and describes a legal strategy often employed by big corporations that bring defamation actions for huge amounts against individuals who criticise them, as a means of discouraging, censoring, intimidating and silencing these critics.
“The pair of landmark judgments [by the Constitutional Court] . for the first time recognise Slapp as an abuse of process, and carve out a limitation to trading corporations’ ability to claim damages for reputational harm. The judgments have important consequences for the protection of activism and the rights and responsibilities of corporations in South Africa and beyond,” non-profit activist lawyer group Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) commented after the judgments were handed down in November.
Two of the six defendants were employed by the CER as environmental lawyers at the time of the alleged defamation.
While neither of the Constitutional Court judgments was technically in the six defendants’ favour, they were not penalised with costs, and were given a 30-day window in which to amend their two special pleas in the case.
Notices of intention to amend were duly filed in the Western Cape high court.
The defendants’ first special plea relates to the court’s ruling that a Slapp defence must also take the merits of the alleged defamation into account, because improper motive for bringing a case is alone insufficient to warrant dismissal of such an action.
This plea has been amended by the addition of a brief paragraph about merit that reads: “The plaintiffs have weak prospects of succeeding in their claims for defamation against the defendants and/or the relief sought against the defendants.”
The defendants’ second special plea — that “for-profit” trading corporations (such as the two Australian mining company plaintiffs) cannot sue for general damages in defamation cases — has also been amended.
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The Constitutional Court found that such corporations can sue for general damages, but not where the allegedly defamatory ...
When asked to comment, spokesperson swears at GroundUp reporter and slams down phone.
Activist organisation Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (Kaax) has accused Operation Dudula of running a campaign to pull immigrant children out of classrooms in Diepsloot, Johannesburg.
In a statement on 30 January, Kaax quoted a WhatsApp message signed by Che Serobedi from Operation Dudula Diepsloot, calling on members and parents of school-going children to attend a mass meeting on 26 January.
“All leaners/children who did not get space at all local schools will be put in classes and foreigners who are learners will be removed from classes,” the message read. “As Operation Dudula Diepsloot branch and parents we can’t allow South African children to be out of school this year. Foreigners are accommodated and learning in our public schools . No retreat no surrender.”
GroundUp’s repeated attempts to contact Serobedi to confirm the origin and contents of the message were unsuccessful. After several phone calls to him without getting a reply, we repeatedly called Operation Dudula national spokesperson Zandile Dabula, but her phone went unanswered. We left a WhatsApp message which was not read. Finally, on Tuesday Serobedi returned our call.
He wanted to know if GroundUp was a Zimbabwean publication. When asked why this was important, and urged to answer the allegations from Kaax, he said:
“I won’t answer, that’s rude. The Gauteng Department of Education budget is for South African children. Fuck you .”. He then slammed down the phone.
“Targeting children is the height of cowardice,” said Kaax.
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The organisation said it acknowledged that there was a crisis in Grade 1 in Gauteng, where approximately 5,000 children are yet to be placed in school. “However, we strongly condemn laying the blame on migrant families and targeting kids of six and seven years, for the Department of Education’s failures to plan adequately.
“This action takes place at the same time that Operation Dudula members are removing people including pregnant women and small children without South Africa IDs from public clinics. Several clinics have been attacked in the last week.
“The Constitution guarantees the rights to health and education to ‘everyone’ and the courts have explicitly confirmed that no child, regardless of status, can be denied access to the public school system and that no person may be denied access to primary health care. Operation Dudula’s statements and actions in this regard are flagrantly unlawful.”
“We demand that ...
The foreword of the new Lawyers for Human Rights handbook, ‘Rights and Realities of Forcibly Displaced Children and Youth in South Africa’, quotes Article 28(2) of the Constitution: ‘A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.’
Forcibly displaced children and youth often struggle to access rights in South Africa, not only due to gaps in the law but also due to misapplication or misunderstanding of legislation. Institutionalised xenophobia continues to be a defining force in the lives of many migrants.
Those who approach Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) law clinics have often experienced barriers to accessing rights and services at all levels of governance, from local clinics and schools to the departments of health and education, according to Jessica Lawrence, who was head of the LHR Refugee and Migrant Rights law clinic in Johannesburg from 2019 to 2022.
“We came to identify that there are many issues which forcibly displaced children and youth face in South Africa. We had identified that these issues are systemic in nature and reoccurring, and despite our best efforts and the best efforts of many state officials. they continue to be barriers to accessing life,” said Lawrence.
Access to documentation was one of the main barriers facing forcibly displaced children and youth, she continued, describing this issue as “the gatekeeper of all other rights”.
Lawrence was speaking at the launch of the handbook, “Rights and Realities Of Forcibly Displaced Children and Youth In South Africa”, on Tuesday, 31 January. The handbook was produced by LHR with support from terre des hommes (TDH) Germany. TDH is a nonprofit committed to empowering children.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The handbook provides a guide to the law relating to forcibly displaced children and youth, their rights and access to public services, and their lived realities, according to Sharon Ekambaram, head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights.
The foreword quotes Article 28(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa: ‘‘A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.’’
“We hope that this can be a tool for all frontline service providers to use to try and address the systemic problems within South Africa, insofar as it relates to the rise of forcibly displaced children and youth. We also hope that this handbook can be used to empower forcibly displaced children and youth in ...
SA Tourism's plan to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur is reaching new boundaries of madness and indecency.
We don’t know where to start. We’ve tried writing this letter a number of times and had to delete the expletives and start again. We even asked ChatGPT to help us write what we wanted to say; it just shrugged and shut down.
There are times when the South African government is SO unbelievably stupid, SO arrogant, SO utterly callous that even we (yeah, Daily Maverick) are lost for words.
But we’ll try anyway.
For the attention of Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu Cc: President Ramaphosa
WHAT THE ACTUAL F ARE YOU DOING?
Follow-up question: Did you not think the citizens of South Africa would NOTICE that you spent R1-billion on sponsoring an English FOOTBALL TEAM? Did you just hope that this would sneak by us? That this deal could go through and the country would turn a blind eye?
Follow-up question to the follow-up question, after thousands of previous questions:
HAVE YOU NO SHAME? (You do understand the meaning of “shame”?)
Here are some basics around tourism:
Tourists like electricity. Demanding, we know. Imagine having the lofty ambitions of going on holiday to a country that had a consistent energy supply.
Tourists also like water. Not just fancy swimming pools but, you know, the elixir of life. The stuff you use when you want to brush your teeth. The liquid that comes from taps and that keeps us alive?
Tourists also enjoy value. They like going to restaurants and bars where they can eat great food and shake their heads at “how cheap” it all is. They like to do little calculations of how many pounds sterling or euro that same meal would cost at home. Do you know what they do then? They order another bottle of locally produced wine in celebration of their saving.
Tourists like to swim in the sea. The actual ocean. Not the sewage-infested water because load shedding has shut down the water-treatment plant again.
You want to spend R1-billion of taxpayers’ money to have the honour of sponsoring a football team? Here’s an idea, and we won’t charge you for it: GIVE THE MONEY TO ESKOM. Stop TALKING about fixing the problem by declaring a National State of Disaster (also, by the way, not good for tourism!) and actually FIX. THE. BLOODY. PROBLEM.
As any high-school business studies book will tell you: if the product is good enough, you don’t need to spend R1-billion ...
After securing its gas enterprises, Rwandan security forces now guard Cabo Delgado’s lucrative graphite and ruby mines.
The number of Rwandan soldiers and police fighting terrorism in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province increased from 1,000 in 2021 to 2,500 by the end of 2022. In December last year, they were placed in the province’s southern Ancuabe District, a strategic deployment that protects the multimillion-dollar ruby and graphite industries which had been temporarily halted due to the insurgency.
The heightened security has made areas with abundant natural resources safer — but what about the rest of Cabo Delgado? Are civilians living there better off?
When Rwandan troops were sent to Cabo Delgado’s northern districts for the first time in July 2021, they had a broad mandate to help restore Mozambican state authority. But their focus on protecting natural resources seems more specific than that of the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (Samim), which was deployed at the same time.
Rwandan security forces were assigned to the districts of Palma — home of Africa’s fourth largest natural gas reserve — and Mocímboa da Praia, a hub for liquified natural gas development. Samim forces by contrast were sent to districts with no ongoing extractive industries.
Districts in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province
Rwanda’s troops immediately engaged in combat with the insurgents and achieved notable success, ejecting them from their main bases and the towns they occupied. Those fighters expelled by the Rwandans from Palma and Mocímboa da Praia dispersed and settled in the dense forests of the central and western districts of Macomia, Muidumbe and Nangade — areas later assigned to Samim forces.
These three districts were the main sites of attacks on civilians and clashes with security forces throughout 2022. In the last quarter of that year, terrorists began making inroads into Cabo Delgado’s relatively safe southern region. Attacks were launched in the districts of Ancuabe, Namuno, Chiúre and even reached the neighbouring province of Nampula.
As part of the incursion into southern Cabo Delgado, Gemrock — one of three ruby mines in the province — was attacked, resulting in the region’s entire operations being temporarily halted. The graphite industry in the Balama district also suspended activities due to fear of attacks on transport lines from the mine to the country’s ports.
The gemstone and graphite industries are vital to Mozambique’s economy. Montepuez Ruby Mining ranks among the country’s biggest taxpayers, and Syrah Resources has an agreement to supply Tesla ...
Formula E’s Pascal Wehrlein had a dominant weekend under the lights of Diriyah, winning both races in a dream double-header for the Porsche driver.
Pascal Wehrlein came out on top over the weekend at rounds two and three of the Formula E World Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, winning both races and taking the lead in the title fight.
Wehrlein only qualified ninth on the grid. Not one to go down without a fight, however, the German driver quickly began fighting for position come race time, his Porsche cutting through the field.
By lap 14, Wehrlein had climbed to fourth, and when polesitter Sébastien Buemi went to pick up his attack mode a few laps later, the Porsche driver breezed past to settle into second place behind Jaguar’s Sam Bird.
Wehrlein was hot on Bird’s tail, and while the British driver fended him off for a number of laps, the German finally made the move stick on lap 30, diving up the inside to take first position. Bird came home third, losing a place to Mexico winner Jake Dennis who made the second step of the podium.
The next day, Wehrlein was again on top form come the start of the third race, though his improved qualifying result made things easier as he lined up fifth this time around.
With the previous night’s podium no doubt fresh in his mind, Wehrlein made quick work of moving up to fourth in the opening lap. From lap 13, the Porsche driver swiftly dispatched the McLaren of Jake Hughes and the Jaguar of Mitch Evans to put himself in second place, now staring down the papaya car of Hughes’ teammate René Rast.
On lap 17, Rast went through the attack mode section, allowing Wehrlein to move into first and charge ahead for the rest of the race with Dennis in second.
“This weekend has been incredible, a double victory. Our race pace was incredible again and today we had the perfect strategy. This weekend is one I will never forget,” Wehrlein said.
Wehrlein’s domination of the Diriyah double-header has put him on top of the championship standings heading into round four in India next week, displacing Dennis with 68 title points to the Briton’s 62.
But just as Wehrlein was ahead all weekend, Dennis was all over the back of him in both races, and is no doubt looking to retake the championship fight next time out on the streets of Hyderabad.
Visit Daily ...
To be named the South African Police Services’ Detective and Forensic Services Employee of the Year, you’d need to be a special type of police officer. Even against tough odds, a detective with the right qualities is bound to triumph.
On Saturday night, Sergeant Keshi Mabunda from the Olifantsfontein police station in Gauteng was awarded the national Detective and Forensic Services Employee of the Year for his outstanding investigation which led to the successful conviction of former police sergeant, Rosemary Ndlovu.
He received the honour at the 8th Annual SAPS Excellence Awards. Police officers, reservists and Community Policing Forum members who excelled in their duties during 2021/22 were recognised.
Accepting the award, Mabunda said: “It was difficult to investigate Ndlovu as a fellow police officer. especially since she wanted to have me murdered.”
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed that Mabunda was responsible for Ndlovu’s arrest and that he had worked tirelessly to link the former officer to a series of murders between 2012 and 2018.
In November 2021, the Johannesburg High Court sentenced Ndlovu to six life terms for killing her partner and five family members in order to benefit from their insurance policies.
She was convicted of the murder of her cousin, Madala Witness Hornu; nephews Brilliant Mashego and Mayeni Mashaba; sister Audrey Ndlovu; niece Zanele Motha and boyfriend Maurice Mabasa.
Ndlovu pocketed R1.4-million from funeral and life insurance policies she had taken out in the names of the deceased.
Mabunda and Colonel Nthipe Boloka – her station commander at the Tembisa South police station – were on her hitlist, according to witness statements. After her arrest in March 2018, Ndlovu allegedly plotted these murders from prison.
Mabunda made immediate plans to relocate her.
“I was scared when I heard about her plot to have me killed. What I did was to have her moved from Johannesburg Prison to Kgosi Mampuru Prison, where there was tight security and she was monitored,” he said.
On his investigation into the murders, Mabunda said it was the death of Ndlovu’s boyfriend that set off alarm bells.
“She came to the Olifantsfontein police station and produced a bundle of insurance papers to be sent by my colleague. I saw there was something wrong. I made copies and informed the relevant insurances.
“The insurance companies informed me that it was not the first time she claimed insurance. That is how I connected all the cases all around her,” he said. DM
Other national top achievers
Visible Policing ...
Following Daily Maverick’s reporting on SA Tourism’s plan to spend nearly R1-billion sponsoring Tottenham Hotspur, the Minister of Tourism has confirmed that a proposal is on the table. A statement angrily denied that Lindiwe Sisulu herself had any personal interest in the deal. Meanwhile, public concern over the expenditure is building.
In a statement released by tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Wednesday morning, Sisulu termed the controversial R1-billion proposal to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur a “memorandum of understanding” between Spurs and SA Tourism.
Sisulu claimed that the proposal is “non-binding”.
This conflicts with the impression given by the documents in the possession of Daily Maverick, which give clear timelines for the deal — including an upfront fee payable by 31 March 2023.
A Powerpoint presentation in the name of acting SA Tourism CEO Themba Khumalo states that “all deliverables associated with this project” must be completed by the end of March in order to ensure “a valid expense against savings identified in the current year budget (rather than possibly returning it to National Treasury)”.
It states that the deal will be “100% activated on 1 July 2023”.
At no point in the two presentations seen by Daily Maverick is the plan referred to as a memorandum of understanding. Instead, it is clearly described as a “sponsorship partnership” and a “deal”.
Sisulu also stated that the proposal is yet to be approved by the Treasury. Daily Maverick understands, however, that the plan is for an agreement to be signed as soon as by the end of this week.
The statement from the tourism minister angrily denied that Sisulu herself had any personal interest in the deal, or was championing the signing of the agreement.
“Like any board, the [SA Tourism] board is independent and Minister Sisulu does not interfere with its decisions,” it stated.
Sisulu described Daily Maverick’s report as “riddled with inaccuracies and untruths aimed at tarnishing Minister Sisulu’s image”, and hinted that legal action might be forthcoming.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Public outrage building over this proposed spending
Following the publication of the Daily Maverick report on the matter, public outrage has been building over the proposed expenditure, with some comparing it to the short-lived plan by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to erect a giant South African flag in Pretoria at a cost of R22-million.
Brand Africa chairman Thebe Ikalafeng called the proposal an “irresponsible use of tax”, on the grounds that South Africa ...
‘Hansard’ uses macabre marital comedy against the backdrop of 1980s British politics to explore the rifts that form between people with different opinions.
‘They don’t think you’re left-wing, they think you’re highly strung.” That’s the kind of jab that Tory politician Robin Hesketh is slinging at his wife Diana all the way through Simon Woods’s side-splitting, erudite script. She returns them with even more potency: when he brags about the Tories capturing the mood of the electorate, she responds without missing a beat: “You don’t capture the mood, you create it! You make people feel like something is under attack and then promise to defend it.”
Hansard, a two-hander, was first performed at The National Theatre in London in 2019, but it seems even better suited to the small scale to which South African director Robert Whitehead has adapted it. The fact that actors Fiona Ramsay and Graham Hopkins don’t have to project to be heard by every audience member in the Golden Arrow Studio at the Baxter, where it’s currently being performed, allows for extraordinarily nuanced comedy and portrayal of their characters’ relationship.
Hopkins and Ramsay have been performing together for nearly 40 years, often as a married couple with a similar dynamic of resentful love (such as in their play Green Screen which they wrote for the Hilton Festival in 2020). There’s never a risk of one of them being upstaged – they bounce off of each other and catalyse each other’s comedy with their contrasting characters.
Ramsay’s comedy is flamboyant and intellectual while Hopkins’s japes are a combination of naughty cheap shots and dry wisecracks. They are yin and yang in a swirling, circular, laugh-a-minute dialogue of macabre marital humour. As they amicably lambast one another in waspy language, every rare moment that the audience is not dying of laughter, they are trying to discern how much of the playful, vindictive sparring match is real (and wonderfully, even the characters themselves are uncertain of that).
One gets a sense of the couple’s age and social stratification from the way they seem to be whiling away their days, quibbling for more than an hour at a time, placing a stray puzzle piece as they potter past the cluttered dining room table. Ramsay and Hopkins clearly drew upon a wealth of research material – pompous Tori ministers and their privileged wives – to affect everything down to their neurotic mannerisms. Diana teases Robin for ...
The Akademik Alexander Karpinsky has departed South Africa to look for oil and gas in Antarctica, among other types of ‘scientific research’, her owners say. The ship leaves in her wake a determined cohort of climate campaigners who insist they will not let her off the hook.
Ongoing protests by Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace volunteers in Cape Town — one of just five official Antarctic gateway cities — have not stopped a Kremlin-owned ship from heading to Earth’s last unmined frontier for another year of apparent “prospecting” activities.
The protests, which involved other associations and private citizens, hit Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront and harbour area to target the Saturday arrival of the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky — a Russian ship designed to look for oil and gas in Antarctica.
After refuelling at the foothills of Table Mountain in recent days, the Karpinsky and her loud seismic airguns are now on their way to the extreme, icy south, notes ship tracker Marine Traffic.
Here, after stopping at Neko Harbour in West Antarctica near a Russian research station, she is due to head east where her airguns will blast through the ocean every 10 seconds to produce maps of the seabed’s contents.
According to an international mining ban under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty’s environmental laws, resource extraction is forbidden throughout the remote and icy continent, which is surrounded by the climate-stressed Southern Ocean.
However, those laws provide no definition for scientific research — which is allowed under the mining ban — and this is exactly what a December-issued annual report says the Karpinsky will be doing in the Southern Ocean.
Owned by the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition (PMGE), a subsidiary of Kremlin mineral explorer Rosgeo, the ship sails to the Southern Ocean in the coming weeks “to carry out complex geological and geophysical studies in the Davis and Mawson Seas” in Eastern Antarctica, says the report.
When contacted for comment, PMGE managing director Pavel Lunev told Our Burning Planet that the subsidiary’s geological and geophysical surveys were “no different from the work conducted by other members” signed up to Antarctica’s environmental laws.
In 2022, Lunev told us, the subsidiary had also probed “the glacial processes, dynamics and evolution of the ice sheet and the stages of Antarctic glaciation” and “the nature and foundation of the Earth’s crust”.
Yet, the December report, published in Russian, goes on to note the subsidiary’s research goals are “decreed” by the Kremlin and include “the creation of an ...
Government clinics are a shoulder to cry on for poor communities in South Africa. If these clinics neglect them, it becomes a problem, because they cannot afford to pay private doctors. The cost of living is too high for them. That is why they are queuing outside the clinic at 5am in the morning: to access free medical assistance, something that is their right.
Sadly, today many people say they are remembering the old apartheid era whereby time and patients were respected, hospitals and clinics were clean and spotless, and nurses knew how to talk to and service patients.
For example in Diepkloof in Soweto, the community is complaining about the service they are getting from the Diepkloof clinic. They say they wake up early in the morning to queue outside the clinic, waiting for 7:00 for the gate opening.
But at these clinics, people know they will be lucky to return home with a broken heart.
On 19 January 2023, a group of patients were standing by the gate of the clinic. They were complaining that they were told that they must go back home and come back the following day. They were told there is not enough staff to help them and that other staff are on leave. It is not their problem if there is no staff, but nothing they can do.
“I need my medication today because I don’t have any now. The medication that I had yesterday was my last medication. I came here this morning, hoping to get my medication. But the nurse is telling me to go home, because they don’t have enough staff.”
“The problem now is I will default, and when I default it’s a big problem.
“When I come back the nurses will fight with me. They will ask me why I didn’t come on my date to collect medication. The nurse told me to come tomorrow, but they gave me today’s date. Now I’m confused when they are turning me back. It’s not my problem if they don’t have enough staff,’’ said a patient from Diepkloof clinic.
I visited the clinic at 12:45. When I got inside I found people seated outside next to the clinic door, exhausted and hungry.
One of them was a four-year-old child, Thandi Dlamini (not her real name). Her sister said Thandi was playing at home and twisted or broke her arm.
“Yesterday Thandi was playing peacefully with other kids. We saw her coming ...
‘I was doing this for the love of this job,’ said Sergeant Johannes Chokoe. ‘When the victim is in front of me, I usually put myself in her shoes.’
Sergeant Johannes Chokoe, based at Limpopo’s Westenburg Police Station, was named SAPS Detective and Forensic Services Employee of the Year for his dedication to apprehending suspects who violate, rape and abuse women.
Last month, he arrested an alleged serial rapist linked to seven rapes committed in 2015 and 2016.
This award was bestowed on him on Saturday night at the eighth annual South African Police Service Excellence Awards in Polokwane. He shared the award with Sergeant Keshi Mabunda, who was honoured for his outstanding investigation that led to six life terms for ex-police officer Rosemary Ndlovu for murdering her partner and five family members so she could benefit from a funeral insurance payout.
Chokoe won the same award at the Limpopo SAPS Excellence Awards in November 2022.
Chokoe’s fellow police officers expressed admiration for this accomplishment, especially his fight against rape and gender-based violence, which was declared South Africa’s second pandemic by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Chokoe said: “I was doing this for the love of this job. When the victim is in front of me, I usually put myself in her shoes. Solving cases, especially of a serial rapist, is a long process and requires patience and perseverance.”
He is known for going the extra mile and coming up with innovative ideas while conducting his investigations. The alleged serial rapist that Chokoe apprehended is believed to have terrorised women in Polokwane, Maleboho and Musina.
Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the suspect was apprehended last month and is believed to have raped seven women in 2015 and 2016. He attacked his victims while they were hiking. Ledwaba said one of the victims had been hacked with a panga but survived.
While it took nearly seven years for investigators to apprehend the suspect, Ledwaba had nothing but praise for the investigation team, particularly Chokoe’s outstanding work. DM
Other Top achievers
Visible Policing and Operations’ Employee of the Year: Constable Thato Motlagomang Mothamane from the Free State. She is responsible for implementing safety programmes at 39 schools.
Detective and Forensic Services’ Employee of the Year: Joint winners were Sergeant Kheshi Mabunda from Olifantsfontein Police Station in Gauteng and Sergeant Tlou Johannes Chokoe of the Westenburg Detective Unit in Limpopo.
Crime Intelligence Team of the Year: This award went to the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Team. In ...
The Child Health Priorities Association released a statement today, addressed to the government, raising the alarm about the impact of austerity and budget cuts on the lives of South Africa’s poorest children.
The statement is unusual and important because its signatories include all the major child advocacy organisations in South Africa, academics and paediatric departments of five South African universities and more than 100 professors, doctors and other allied health workers with an interest in child health and well-being.
The statement comes on the eve of the 2023 State of the Nation Address and, later in February, the annual budget.
Its authors say it has been necessitated by growing evidence of the harm to children caused by Covid-19, unemployment and violence (among other things). Child hunger and malnutrition is something that Maverick Citizen has been reporting on consistently in recent months.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Desperate children are eating cow dung to line their stomach for lifesaving medicine, say researchers”
Experts say a malnutrition epidemic is growing and will have an impact on the life outcomes of children for generations to come.
Similarly we have received reports of child health and social services stretched beyond breaking point at a terrible cost to children.
The signatories point out that in the context of South Africa’s Constitution promising “all children” the right to “basic nutrition, shelter, basic healthcare services, and social services”, the government should be increasing and improving child welfare services, rather than undermining them.
Given the importance of this statement we publish it in full below. For more information visit the Child Health Priorities Association website or call Professor Ute Feucht on 072 428 0425, Professor Neil McKerrow on 082 449 2833 or Lori Lake on 082 558 0446.
Statement
According to Statistics South Africa, one in every three people in South Africa are children under the age of 18. If we, as South Africans, make the right investments to promote their optimal health and development, our young population has the potential to transform our country and drive social and economic development.
Yet, as explained in this Advocacy Brief by the Children’s Institute at UCT, our youngest citizens are disproportionately concentrated in the poorest households and are highly vulnerable to shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic recession.
At the Child Health Priorities Conference, hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand in late November 2022, we noted with concern Treasury’s intention to cut social spending, as outlined in its ...
Jacob Zuma argues that former prisons boss Arthur Fraser displayed ‘exemplary leadership’ in granting him medical parole.
Former president Jacob Zuma has approached the Constitutional Court, asking that he be made a second applicant, alongside first applicant the national commissioner of correctional services, in a bid to have the apex court overturn the decision that his release on medical parole was unlawful.
In papers filed with the court, Zuma said there was the possibility he would have faced “death itself” while imprisoned in 2021 for contempt of court, making the unilateral decision by then prisons boss Arthur Fraser to grant him medical parole neither unreasonable nor irrational.
Fraser had displayed “exemplary leadership” by granting his medical parole, he said.
In November, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld a December 2021 ruling by the Pretoria High Court that Fraser’s granting of medical parole to Zuma was “irrational, unlawful and unconstitutional”.
The SCA agreed with the lower court that Zuma should return to jail, but said it was up to the (new) national commissioner of correctional services to decide whether the former president’s time served on medical parole should be considered in his release.
Zuma called this “erroneous in the extreme”, saying his full sentence had already been served via medical parole by 7 October 2022, so there was nothing for the new commissioner to consider. He asked that the apex court make a final decision on this.
A key component of both the high court and the SCA rulings was that the Medical Parole Advisory Board, empowered by the Correctional Services Act to assess whether an inmate qualified for medical parole or not, had found that Zuma did not qualify.
The courts also found that Fraser had no legal power to override the board’s decision, while slamming him for using the potential for a recurrence of the July 2021 unrest – which was sparked by Zuma’s imprisonment – as part of the justification for the former president’s release in September 2021, just more than two months after he had been sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt of court.
Since his release, the 80-year-old has been attending meetings, launched a collection of his speeches in book form at an hours-long event, and has been photographed at a restaurant opening where he danced with friends and family. There is no visible indication at least, that he has a serious illness, or indeed a terminal illness, that justified his release ...
SA Rugby confirmed the Springboks’ fixtures for 2023 with the Rugby World Cup in France the focal point of the season.
In a welcome change from trying to shift the favourites’ tag on to another team, Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth’s message to the rest of the rugby-playing world, was, ‘bring it on.’
That is paraphrasing slightly, but Etzebeth, who was named 2022 South African Rugby Player of the Year on Tuesday, was not shying away from the Boks quality.
The Boks are the reigning world champions and can beat any side on the planet when they click. Lack of consistency has been an issue but when it comes to quality and pedigree, the Boks are at the top of the pile.
“As a team, know that we’re going to be good contenders for the World Cup. Everyone is excited and looking forward to it,” Etzebeth said. “The team, the coaches, and players, they know where they stand. We know if we bring our A-game, we’ll have a big shot at it (retaining the world title.
“We were quite confident in 2019 after we got a few good victories away from home. And (in 2022) we again got a few victories away from home which will give us confidence.
“But confidence is not the only thing, you’re still going to have to pitch up on the weekend and win at least three out of the four pool games. And then it’ll be three games in a row that you have to win against quality opposition in order to win the World Cup,” Etzebeth said.
Confidence
Perhaps it was simply clerical, but when governing body SA Rugby released the Springboks’ fixture list for 2023 on Wednesday, they put in all games up to, and including the RWC 2023 final on 28 October. That is confidence.
The Boks will play their two home Tests in 2023 at altitude against Australia and Argentina at Loftus and Ellis Park respectively. They also have an away game against the All Blacks at a venue still to be confirmed while there are three RWC 2023 warm-up matches before their opening match of the tournament against Scotland at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on 10 September.
The seething 60,000-seater stadium in the south of France is one of rugby’s great cathedrals. It’s where the Boks famously survived a scare in the quarterfinals of RWC 2007 against Fiji on their way to the title, and it’s where they lost ...
The former public Protector has hit back at her suspended successor, informing parliament’s Section 194 committee that she had previously been ‘rebuffed’ and barred from making contact with anyone in the office.
At the commencement of the impeachment inquiry on Wednesday, Parliament’s legal advisor, Fatima Ibrahim, informed members that Thuli Madonsela had written to the committee after being summonsed to appear by Busisiswe Mkhwebane’s legal team.
In her response, Madonsela set out that after initially meeting her successor in 2016 to “hand over”, Mkhwebane “suddenly insisted that I was no longer in office and as such it was inappropriate to meet and augment my briefing with her.”
In a hard-hitting criticism of Mkhwebane, Madonsela told the committee that she first would need more clarity on the questions to be asked and also required the PPSA to pay for her legal costs should she be summonsed.
Mkhwebane had requested Madonsela to appear to give evidence on various matters including the vetting of staff members, “donor funding”, the outsourcing of investigations to law firms as well as consequence management and the impact the Nkandla judgment had on costs.
Mkhwebane sought reasons also from Madonsela as to why she had not completed the CIEX or the Vrede reports before her term of office ended.
Both these reports and their subsequent setting aside by the courts form part of the basis for this parliamentary inquiry into misconduct.
Madonsela said she would not be able to assist as “I see no rational connection of the majority of questions and the Section 194 inquiry which stems from court judgments up to the constitutional court regarding Advocate Mkhwebne’s integrity and her understanding of the PP’s constitutional mandate”.
The information the committee sought, added Madonsela, was with the PP as an institution and not with her personally.
“Having left more than six years ago it is the PP that is best suited to respond to questions regarding its relationship with organs of the state in line with its constitutional position as an independent constitutional institution set up to hold other organs of the state accountable including the State Security Agency”.
Banned by Busi
She said she would have been in a position to help a week after leaving office “if efforts to work with the PP team members to a assure quality set of records were not rebuffed”.
Mkhwebane “flatly forbade any contact between myself and the teams I worked with when I had requested her permission to do so”. ...
On 30 September 1968, the first Boeing 747 rolled off the assembly line, ready to hit the skies as the biggest commercial jet at the time. Some 55 years later, the last one has left its factory.
On 30 September 1968, the first Boeing 747 rolled out of its custom-built assembly plant in Everett, Washington. From the beginning, everything about the plane once known as the “queen of the skies” was big.
It was the first wide-body “jumbo jet” ever built. About 50,000 construction workers, mechanics, engineers and others took it from an idea to the air in just 16 months in the late 1960s. Until 2007 and the introduction of the Airbus A380, it was the largest civilian airplane in the world.
Versions of the 747 have been used in a variety of famous ways. In 1990, for example, a pair of 747-200s began operating as Air Force One, the plane that ferries around the US president.
Just to produce the 747, Boeing first had to erect what was and still is the largest building by volume ever constructed – big enough to hold 75 football fields or all of Disneyland.
But on 31 January 2023, the last 747 that Boeing expects to build rolled out of its factory.
I’ve been researching and teaching the history of American aviation for more than a quarter-century. Even though all US airlines have retired their 747s, marking the end of an era, I believe it’s worth remembering the amazing story of the airplane that helped make international air travel affordable.
The jumbo jet is born
The story of the 747, like those of many other aircraft, began with a military request. In 1963, the US Air Force issued a proposal for a very large transport aircraft to carry heavier loads and have a longer range than then-existing transport aircraft such as the C-141.
Although Boeing lost its bid for what is now known as the C5 Galaxy, the designs and studies that went into its proposal didn’t go to waste. That’s because around the same time, Juan Trippe, the hard-charging president of Pan American World Airways, wanted Boeing to build an airliner twice the size of the first-generation jet airliner, the 707.
It would be “a great weapon for peace, competing with intercontinental ballistic missiles for mankind’s destiny,” he insisted.
A big risk
But at the time, it was a very risky endeavour.
Many in the aviation industry – including at Boeing – believed that ...
From the recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, How to Stand Up to a Dictator is an impassioned and inspiring memoir of a career spent holding power to account.
In 2021, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa won the Unesco Press Freedom Award, and was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In her Nobel lecture, she said:
“An invisible atom bomb exploded in our information ecosystem, and the world must act as it did after Hiroshima. Like that time, we need to create new institutions, like the United Nations, and new codes stating our values, like the universal declaration of human rights, to prevent humanity from doing its worst. It’s an arms race in the information ecosystem.”
Ressa’s new book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, maps a heinous web of cause and effect that has netted the globe: from former Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug wars and their alleged extrajudicial killings, to America’s Capitol Hill, to Britain’s Brexit, to Russian and Chinese cyber warfare, to Facebook and Silicon Valley, to our own clicks and our own votes.
Ressa’s decades of work tracking the disinformation networks seeded by her own government, spreading lies to its own citizens laced with anger and hate, landed her in trouble with the most powerful man in the country: Duterte. She has multiple arrest warrants against her name, and a potential 100-plus years behind bars to prepare for. Just this week, she was acquitted of tax evasion charges, an outcome described as “a victory for press freedom in the Philippines”. But her fight is not over.
“Democracy is fragile,” she writes in How to Stand Up to a Dictator. “You have to fight for every bit, every law, every safeguard, every institution, every story. You must know how dangerous it is to suffer even the tiniest cut. This is why I say to us all: we must hold the line.” Read the excerpt.
Let me tell you why the rest of the world needs to pay attention to what happens in the Philippines: 2021 was the sixth year in a row that Filipinos – out of all global citizens – spent the most time on the internet and on social media. Despite slow internet speeds, Filipinos uploaded and downloaded the largest number of videos on YouTube in 2013. Four years later, 97 percent of our country’s citizens were on Facebook. When I told that statistic to Mark Zuckerberg in ...
In 2022, 49 South African mineworkers were killed on the job, a record low and a 34% fall compared to the 74 fatalities recorded the previous year. The goal of "Zero Harm" remains elusive, but progress is being made. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the industry, the workers and unions all deserve credit on this front.
The bad news is that last year on average, almost one mineworker a week was killed on the job in South Africa. The good news is that was actually a safety record in over a century of industrial-scale mining in South Africa.
Fatalities from mining accidents fell in 2022 to a record low of 49, a 34% fall compared to 74 the previous year. This reverses a regression in safety that had alarmed regulators, boardrooms and unions alike that set in after the previous record low of 51 in 2019.
The goal of “Zero Harm” remains elusive and the bottom line is that miners are still being killed in unacceptably high numbers. It may sound cliche but one death really is too many. But progress is being made and the trend is at least moving in the right direction.
Two things stand out. One is a reduction in incidents resulting in multiple deaths.
“. there has been no mine disaster or an accident where five or more people lose their lives recorded in the past three years. This is a result of concerted efforts by all social partners who actively participated in the health and safety campaigns throughout the years,” Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said in prepared remarks.
Another is a dramatic decline in deaths from fall-of-ground (FOG) incidents – a terrible fate as the rock above literally falls on you, as the name suggests. Historically this has been the leading cause of death in South Africa’s dangerous mines which are the world’s deepest. According to the DMRE data released on Tuesday, there were six FOG fatalities underground in 2022, a sharp drop from 20 in 2021.
According to this correspondent’s calculations last year for the US science magazine Undark, from 2000 to 2021, FOGs accounted for 39 percent of mine fatalities. (URL:/).
Last year they accounted for about 12% and efforts on this front are clearly a key reason why the overall toll has fallen.
These efforts, stemming in part from a renewed drive by South African mining CEOs and a July 2021 Action Plan, have included ...
An Auditor-General’s report on eThekwini was filled with disquiet about the city’s future and its prospects as a going concern, given its growing infrastructure inadequacies and whether it would be able to finance desperately needed repairs.
The eThekwini municipality is not addressing irregular expenditure, no significant targets have been set for managers, and there is scant, if any, consequence management for underperforming employees.
These were some of the findings included in an audit outcome report for the 2021-2022 financial year, presented at a virtual full council meeting on Tuesday by Auditor-General representative Vanuja Maharaj.
Councillors heard that the city had incurred irregular expenditure of R1.5-billion for the period in question, and only achieved 46% of its planned performance targets for the year.
While the municipality received an unqualified audit with findings, Maharaj’s report was filled with concern about the city’s future and its prospects as a going concern, given its growing infrastructure inadequacies and whether it would be able to finance desperately needed repairs.
She said the city’s water losses for the period in question had amounted to 57% of the total bulk water purchased.
“The unfavourable expenditure on repairs and maintenance and capital expenditure has negatively impacted infrastructure as indicated by the increased water losses. The continuation of the current trend could be dire for the consumer and municipality with a likely increased tariff and consequently lower debtor recoverability rates.
“The possible effect on water-intensive commercial clients and consequential impact on the economy could be devastating,” said Maharaj, who called for “urgent intervention to address the ageing infrastructure and illegal connections”.
Maharaj painted a bleak picture of a municipality that is regressing in almost every measurable metric, and where patronage and cronyism are instrumental in ongoing service delivery failures.
‘Absolutely shocking’
Opposition councillors called the findings a “disgrace”, “embarrassing” and “absolutely shocking”, while ANC Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said he welcomed and accepted the report. “We accept there are still weaknesses in the system that need to be filled,” he said during the meeting.
In recent weeks, Kaunda’s position has become increasingly vulnerable. Leading a precarious coalition government, he is the face of the city’s poor response to its sewage crisis, which resulted in many of eThekwini’s beaches closing over the festive season due to high E. coli levels flowing into the ocean.
Last week, Active Citizens Coalition (ACC) president Imtiaz Syed wrote to Speaker Thabani Nyawose asking that a vote of no confidence in Kaunda be heard at the full council ...
Ukraine’s biggest allies have so far said they won’t send fighter jets to Kyiv, rejecting a key request from President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of an expected escalation in fighting.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged countries to cross the red line and send military planes and long-range missiles, saying it was vital to act without delay because “the turning point is about to happen”.
Beijing is closely watching Russia’s war in Ukraine and learning lessons that may influence future decisions, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Tokyo, stressing warnings about China’s behaviour, including its threats towards Taiwan.
Key developments
Lula brushes off Scholz’s appeal for Brazil to send arms to Kyiv
Putin’s war in Ukraine pushes ex-Soviet states toward new allies
China is learning from Putin’s war in Ukraine, Nato chief warns
Ukraine needed tanks. Now it needs planes: James Stavridis
On the ground
Russia carried out three aviation strikes and four missile strikes in the past 24-hour period, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said on Facebook. Russian forces continued their offensive in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Russian attacks were repelled near two settlements in the Luhansk region and 11 settlements in the Donetsk region. Russian forces continued shelling residential areas near the border with Russia to the north and along the contact line. Ukrainian aviation carried out four strikes against Russian military strongholds.
Kyiv’s allies say they won’t send fighter jets
President Joe Biden said on Monday that the US wouldn’t send F-16s to Ukraine, joining the UK and Germany, which have also ruled out sending their military fighters.
The UK said it was not practical to send fighter jets to Ukraine, even as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his Cabinet on Tuesday that Britain was accelerating its support to the war-torn nation.
“In terms of the UK’s fighter jets, these are sophisticated pieces of equipment so we do not think it’s practical,” Sunak’s spokesperson, Max Blain, told reporters on Tuesday, citing the length of time needed to learn to use “very complex pieces of equipment”.
Norway wealth fund’s Russia exit held up by sanctions on its bank
Norway’s $1.3-trillion sovereign wealth fund is prevented from selling its Russian holdings as the custodian bank is under sanctions.
“The situation is deadlocked” regarding assets in the country, worth $292-million, Trond Grande, deputy chief executive officer, told reporters at a news conference in Oslo. Just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Norway decided to shed Russian assets from ...
‘Councillors fool us during election campaigns’
Protesters blocked two main roads in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on Monday, demanding electricity and a change to rubbish collection services.
They say they have been waiting many years for electricity.
They want the company which is contracted to the City of Cape Town to rotate supervisors and cleaners, to give more people a job.
The city said it would organise a meeting.
Shack dwellers burnt tyres and rubbish on Japhta Masemola Road in Cape Town on Monday demanding that the City of Cape Town install electricity in Lansdowne Road informal settlement in Khayelitsha.
The fire forced motorists to turn back and taxi drivers to drop their passengers off before they reached their destinations.
When police arrived on the scene, protesters ran into shacks beside the road. When the police left, the protesters returned to start the fires again.
Lansdowne Road community leader Chrizelda Makeleni said the shack dwellers had been living there for 15 years and were tired of waiting for electricity.
“Councillors fool us and say they will give us electricity if we vote for them during election campaigns,” she said. “When they take charge of the ward after the elections, they blame the absence of electricity here on the previous councillors.”
Households connect their wires to nearby RDP houses to get electricity and pay R500 to the house owners monthly, she said. “In some cases 10 families connect their wires to one electricity box. The owners say the box trips and disconnects their wires and refuse them electricity for the whole week even though they have paid.”
Food rots in the fridges when the boxes trip, Makeleni said, adding the protesters also wanted the city to hire more janitors to clean their toilets.
“Currently only two janitors clean our toilets. Since Lansdowne Road is made up of 170 families, they struggle to clean them properly. We want at least two more cleaners,” she said.
Samela Desemela said she uses candles to light her shack and a paraffin stove to cook and boil water.
“After I light the candle, I must watch over it to ensure it doesn’t burn my shack along with my kids. I don’t have money to pay house owners for their electricity because I don’t work,” she said.
Earlier in the day, shack dwellers from Lansdowne Road, Island and other Khayelitsha settlements including Msindweni, Endulwini and a section of Backstage had protested about cleaning in their areas. They burnt tyres and blocked Baden Powell ...
The tale of entertainment industry giant, Disney, built upon the foundation of an imaginary, animated mouse, is about to enter its second century. Can it still run through the maze?
The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the first steps in the creation of the Disney universe. This year is also the centennial of the Warner Brothers company. The result has been a hundred years of entertaining people around the world — and making piles of cash in the process.
Even before the formation of what became his eponymously named company, Walt Disney had been drawing cartoons for print publications and then cel animation at the Kansas City Film Ad Company.
After his own Laugh-O-Gram Studio went bankrupt in 1923, Walt moved to Los Angeles where his brother, Roy, had been in recovery after a bout of tuberculosis.
Disney successfully sold a short film, Alice’s Wonderland, and was contracted to make six more such shorts. To produce the series, the two brothers founded their company and persuaded their star collaborator, Ub Iwerks, to join them.
The success of those Alice films, and a series around a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, led Disney to begin work on his most famous creation, the 1928 cartoon, Steamboat Willie. That vehicle introduced the world to the instantly recognisable figure of Mickey Mouse.
The popularity of those early Mickey Mouse shorts convinced Disney his studio could produce a sustained feature film, a work they began in 1934.
The project eventually went 400% over budget and employed 300 animators, artists and assistants, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a smash hit when it was released in 1937.
Since then, the Walt Disney Company has produced dozens of groundbreaking and acclaimed films and come up with techniques such as multi-layer filming (to enhance the depth and detail of the resulting cartoons) that helped revolutionise animation.
Beyond its theme parks and many other ventures, Disney now owns and operates the ABC television network, the sports cable network ESPN, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.
Despite some critical challenges in the near future, in its 100 years of existence, Disney has become — and remains — one of the biggest players on the planet in consumer entertainment. It is a rare example of a film company where the film and broadcast businesses are the core of the company.
Tom Wainwright, the Economist’s technology and media editor, wrote recently that, given changes in technology and the Covid-induced ...
At a press briefing on Tuesday, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, announced that all allowances granted by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme would be increased by 5%.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has increased student allowances by 5% to account for higher costs of living after the 2022 Consumer Price Index showed inflation was 6.9%.
NSFAS-funded students at universities will receive the following allowances:
Students in university accommodation with catering will receive a R5,460 learning materials allowance and an accommodation allowance capped at R61,500.
Students in self-catering university accommodation will receive a learning materials allowance to the value of R5,460 and a R16,500 per annum living allowance, with an accommodation allowance capped at R45,000.
Students living with relatives (not in private accommodation) will receive a learning materials allowance of R5,460 as well as a R16,500 per annum living allowance.
Students in private off-campus accredited accommodation will receive a learning materials allowance of R5,460, a R16,500 per annum living allowance and an accommodation allowance capped at R45,000.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande noted that living allowances had increased by 10% from last year.
“Let me indicate that our living allowance increment across the board will be R1,650 per month, which is a 10% increment as compared to the 2022 figure. This increase is above inflation, taking into account that for the [past] three years there has been no increase,” the minister stated.
He also discussed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, which focus on developing functional skills within a skilled trade for students. Allowances for TVET colleges are as follows:
Students in TVET college-owned catered residences will receive an accommodation allowance to the value of R54,045 per annum.
Students in TVET college-managed, owned and leased self-catered accommodation will for the first time receive a living allowance of R6,000 as well as a personal care allowance of R3,045 and a maximum of R45,000 plus living allowance paid to the TVET college.
Students in private accommodation will receive a R6,000 living allowance, a R3,045 personal care allowance and a R45,000 per annum accommodation allowance.
Students residing less than 10km from the college will receive a R6,000 living allowance, a R3,045 personal care allowance and a R7,718 travel allowance.
This briefing comes a week after Nzimande addressed the public about the department’s readiness for the 2023 academic year. In that ...
Political parties and politicians have reacted to the ANC’s plan to declare the load shedding crisis a National State of Disaster, raising the alarm that the abuses of power and corruption that occurred during the Covid-19 State of Disaster must not be repeated.
Political parties have weighed in on the ruling ANC’s plan to declare South Africa’s rolling blackouts a National State of Disaster.
The country was plunged into Stage 5 load shedding at noon on Tuesday after six generating units went down overnight and Eskom’s available fleet of power stations teetered.
Stage 6 blackouts resumed from 9pm on Tuesday to 5am on Wednesday morning. Thereafter, Stage 5 will continue until further notice.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts — here are your options and what they are likely to cost you”
Eskom’s slow-burn is taking the country down with it, and its rolling blackouts are affecting businesses, and disrupting water supply in some areas, leaving residents without access to water for days on end.
The latest escalation of power cuts comes as households, businesses and municipalities scramble to reduce their reliance on Eskom by installing generators, bringing independent power producers on to the grid or, recently, buying electricity from customers with rooftop solar installations.
Closing the ANC’s four-day lekgotla at Esselenpark in Ekurhuleni over the weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the issue of potentially declaring the power crisis a National State of Disaster was receiving urgent consideration.
In a hybrid briefing at Luthuli House on Tuesday on the outcomes of the lekgotla, the ANC’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, expanded on the party’s plans to address the ongoing energy crisis.
According to Mbalula, the National Executive Committee (NEC) lekgotla had resolved that the plans of the National Energy Crisis Committee would be accelerated to end rolling blackouts “by the end of the year”.
“In meeting this objective, the NEC agreed that all measures should be taken to protect, rebuild and save Eskom. The NEC lekgotla, in line with the presentation of [Finance Minister] Enoch Godongwana, noted that this will require a reprioritisation of the already pressured national Budget,” he said.
Declaring rolling blackouts a National State of Disaster would help the government to “move with speed” in the procurement and allocation of resources, said Mbalula.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The target of getting this done and dusted by the end of the year can even move faster. If we’ve got all hands on deck, we can ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa and other regional leaders are calling for a ‘swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation’ into the assassination of activist Thulani Maseko.
Southern African leaders have urged Eswatini to “urgently initiate” its delayed national political dialogue and to “conduct a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation” into the recent murder of prominent human rights lawyer and political activist Thulani Maseko.
Maseko chaired Eswatini’s Multi-Stakeholder Forum, a group of opposition political parties and civic organisations which had been assembled to articulate the demands of democrats in the national political dialogue that King Mswati had agreed to in 2021 but which he has not yet launched.
The regional leaders discussed the crisis in Eswatini at a special summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Windhoek on Tuesday. They met as the troika of the SADC’s security organ which deals with security crises in the region.
The organ is currently chaired by Namibian President Hage Geingob. Ramaphosa and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, the other members of the troika, attended the meeting, as did SADC chairperson Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Swazi Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini, Lesotho Prime Minister Samuel Matekani and Mozambican Defence Minister Cristovao Chume also attended, as the situations in their countries were on the agenda.
In calling on Eswatini to urgently initiate the national dialogue, the regional leaders went further than Geingob had in a statement he issued on Maseko’s murder on 25 January.
In that statement Geingob had said: “SADC reiterates the need for peaceful resolution of the political and security challenges affecting the country. When dialogue fails, people go to war. Therefore, we propose that national and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue takes place.”
After their summit on Tuesday, the SADC leaders “urged the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to urgently initiate the process of the National Dialogue and urged all stakeholders in the Kingdom of Eswatini to remain calm and participate peacefully in the National Dialogue.”
The summit “reiterated SADC’s condemnation of the killing of Mr Thulani Rudolf Maseko, a leading human rights lawyer and political activist in the Kingdom of Eswatini, who, at the time of his death, was chairperson of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, and urged the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to conduct a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation into the killing of Mr Maseko”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Maseko was shot dead through a window of his home near Manzini on the ...
We all knew that Russia was recruiting criminals from prisons to kill in Ukraine, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined Russia giving them international passports and encouraging them to explore the world.
Although I know and feel your help and support, I understand that our war isn’t a part of your everyday life. I’m always grateful for your support and pray that you all are safe and, most importantly, far away from Russian terrorists. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case any more and I have a very serious warning: Russia has now officially brought its terrorists, murderers and rapists closer to your homes.
Not in the sense that Russia is threatening the world with famine or nuclear strike — which it is — but Russia’s convicted serial killers, murderers and rapists that were recruited in prisons and managed to survive six months on the battlefield have now been officially released. With honour, money and an international passport. A passport that in 2023 still gives them visa-free entry into more than 80 countries. Russian murderers can now be anywhere, and I’m terrified for you.
Since 24 February 2022 when Russia started raining missiles on our land and hordes of murderers, rapists and terrorists began wreaking havoc everywhere and anywhere, Ukrainians have been living through their worst nightmares. Real life feels like something Stephen King dreamed up. And this Russian hellhole has now spilt over our borders and into your lives.
Passports for killers
We all knew that Russia was recruiting criminals from prisons to kill in Ukraine, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined Russia giving them international passports and encouraging them to explore the world. It is sickening.
All of this unfolded just a couple of days ago when an infamous Russian serial killer recruited by the Wagner Group was spotted at an exclusive resort in Turkey.
You probably know that the Wagner Group has been used in Russian military operations in many countries. It has now been labelled a Transnational Criminal Organisation by the US.
Over the past year, Wagner has been recruiting prisoners in large numbers after Russia lost most of its regular army and desperately needed new blood before announcing a mobilisation. International intelligence sources state that there are about 50,000 Wagner fighters in Ukraine, with about 80% of its troops being recruited from prisons.
Now, back to our horrifying new reality: a couple of days ago, journalists identified a ...
Elderly residents in Johannesburg suburbs without water are battling to cope — and big-hearted community members are lending a helping hand.
Johannesburg Water has been struggling to supply Joburg residents with the precious commodity. On Tuesday, residents in Mayfair, Vrededorp, Brixton, Crosby and surrounds said they had not had water supplies for a week. In Crosby and Vrededorp, water restrictions have been imposed from 9pm to 4.30am daily for the past month.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Gauteng under ‘severe strain’ as power cuts hit water supply systems”
Vrededorp resident Yola Minnaar (57) was one of the first people in the area who had a JoJo water tank for the community on her property.
Minnaar has received four more of the tanks from Johannesburg Water and Gift of the Givers. She fills buckets with water and delivers them to the elderly and physically challenged with the assistance of a resident with a van.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “South Africans urged to use water sparingly as rolling blackouts hit precious resource”
Minaar says: “This water issue has been going on for years now. Old-age units have no running water . old people can’t carry these buckets, it’s way too heavy for them. Four weeks ago our taps were completely dry. How can we be deprived of water? Personally, I’m tired of bucket-washing. Can [Johannesburg Water] give us valid updates?”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Rick Nair, the councillor of Ward 58, which covers the water-stricken areas, said he had scheduled meetings with the CEO of Johannesburg Water and the city’s mayor.
“Some of the leadership is new but today I was at the Civic Centre and asked residents to come to get answers with me — this issue has to be resolved,” he said.
Yunus Fakrooden, a resident of Crosby, echoed Minnaar’s sentiments about the elderly struggling to access water.
“The young ones sometimes help, but this is too much now. We need clear communication and an alternative plan, such as boreholes in the community.
“We experienced a water shortage for days in October 2022 as well; we were told that the infrastructure is dilapidated and it will take two years to restore it. We are saying alternative plans must be made in the meantime,” said Fakrooden.
He said it had been difficult keeping the house clean, cooking and maintaining personal hygiene.
Another resident, Radia Woods (60), said: “I go get three 20-litre buckets from my son in ...
A top Free State government official testified on Tuesday in the first State Capture trial — involving a multimillion-rand feasibility study for the controversial Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy Project.
Godfrey Mahlatsi, the former head of the Free State Treasury, told the Bloemfontein High Court on Tuesday that the Vrede Dairy Project was not registered as a public-private partnership.
At the centre of the trial is a multimillion-rand feasibility study which was awarded to Nulane Investments, an accused in the case. The State alleges the company was paid R24.9-million for the study, which led to the Vrede Dairy Project.
Mahlatsi, who is now the head of the Free State Department of Health, testified that the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development did not initially budget for the feasibility study. During October of the 2011/2012 financial year, the project was, however, allocated R30-million during the adjustment budget.
Mahlatsi took the stand after the court temporarily released an official of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development from the witness stand.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Kenosi Thubisi testified on Monday about his signature on a document for the payment of the feasibility study. During cross-examination, he was grilled about the content of his affidavit. Kenny Oldwadge, the legal representative of accused Dinesh Patel, put it to Thubisi that his affidavit was a copy-and-paste product of the two policemen who were typing it and that it contained untrue statements.
Acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha warned Thubisi to return to the witness stand on Wednesday morning.
The eight accused include two former Free State Department of Agricultural and Rural Development heads of department, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi; Iqbal Sharma, Ronica Ragavan and a second company, Islandsite Investments One Hundred And Eighty, of which Ragavan was a director.
They are facing charges including fraud and contravening section 86 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act.
Three government officials from the department testified about a motivation that was written to deviate from procurement procedures for the appointment of Nulane Investments. According to the charge sheet, the company did not have the capacity to provide a feasibility study and subcontracted Deloitte to deliver the service.
The case continues. DM
Documents obtained by Daily Maverick show that the South African government, through its marketing agency SA Tourism, is preparing to ink a deal worth R910,997,814.75 to sponsor one of the English Premier League’s best-known teams, Tottenham Hotspur.
‘Executive Summary: Proposed 36-month sponsorship partnership with Tottenham Hotspur FC”, reads the first slide of a PowerPoint presentation stamped with the logo of SA Tourism.
Marked “Company Confidential”, this first presentation was apparently given by SA Tourism’s acting CEO, Themba Khumalo, on 27 January.
Daily Maverick understands that the proposal was due to be discussed again by the SA Tourism board, via a second — more elaborate — presentation, also in Daily Maverick’s possession, on Tuesday night.
Although Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was slated to be at Tuesday night’s SA Tourism board meeting, Daily Maverick has established that she ended up meeting Khumalo separately, ahead of the meeting.
Sisulu, through her spokesperson Mpumzi Zuzile, initially referred Daily Maverick’s questions on the sponsorship proposal to SA Tourism, while SA Tourism had not responded to Daily Maverick’s request for comment by publication.
Another Sisulu spokesperson, Steve Motale, subsequently asked Daily Maverick to delay publication while his team “established the facts”. This article will be updated with further comments when received.
A R1bn deal to sponsor top English soccer team
What the PowerPoint presentations reveal is that the South African government, through its marketing arm SA Tourism, is seriously considering a proposal to spend close to R1-billion to sponsor one of the world’s most elite soccer teams.
Sources close to the matter told Daily Maverick that it was on the verge of being finalised, with Sisulu allegedly eager for the deal to be sealed before the impending Cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa moves her out of the Tourism portfolio, as is expected.
Sisulu did not respond to a direct question as to whether she was indeed personally championing the deal.
The presentation specifies that the total value of the sponsorship deal between SA Tourism and Tottenham Hotspur FC would be £42.5-million over three years — which converts to R910,997,814.75 in South African currency, or just under a billion rand.
As a special flourish, the deal would be announced by President Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on 10 February.
‘An exceptional global platform to partner with’
The first PowerPoint presentation explains that Tottenham Hotspur — the home of England captain Harry Kane, and colloquially known as Spurs — is the “8th most valuable football club brand ...
The world of professional golf has never been renowned for its drama off the course. And while there have been controversies over the years, Sunday afternoon heroics have typically dominated the headlines. However, in the last year that all changed.
After much speculation, last year’s introduction of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit divided the golfing world more than ever before. Players, caddies, and even other professional golf tours had to choose a side of the fence and either stick with the PGA Tour or make the jump to LIV.
LIV’s offering? Invitational-only 54-hole events which offered no world ranking points. The events had no cut and were played under a shotgun start. And before securing a TV broadcasting deal, the events were live-streamed on YouTube with no ad breaks.
It was a promise of something different, but for some of the best golfers on the planet — already earning millions of dollars each year while competing on a tour with over a century of history and prestige — it seemed like an easy decision.
However, as the saying goes, everyone has a price.
LIV Golf offered prize funds the likes of which had never been seen before in professional golf. Being funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) gave the tour an unlimited pot to draw in the world’s best, and in the cases of Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen and Brooks Koepka, among others, LIV made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
PGA reaction
The PGA Tour hasn’t taken the emergence of a breakaway professional golf circuit lightly.
Under the leadership of commissioner Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour immediately banned all LIV golfers from playing in PGA Tour events. This is despite the fact that the likes of Johnson and Mickelson had lifetime exemptions for winning 24 and 45 PGA Tour events, respectively.
This also had a notable impact on the President’s Cup, where key players such as Smith — the 2022 Open champion and the highest-ranked golfer outside the US and Europe — were not permitted to compete.
In response to the money, the PGA Tour also made several notable changes.
First, 12 tour events have been given “elevated status” for the 2022/23 season. These tournaments have a guaranteed prize fund of $20-million and will seek to bring the world’s best players together more often.
Second, the prize fund for the already lucrative Player Impact Program (PIP) was doubled from $50-million to $100-million, which ...
As water gushes wastefully out of a leaking pipe and rule-bound municipal employees just look on without intervening, their inhuman unhelpfulness is enough to turn anyone into an anarchist.
Yes, we are well aware that the lovely Adele bagged the title Rolling in the Deep for a song back in 2011. But in selecting it for this weekly mental shedding of a load on to you, dear reader, it seemed appropriate.
For here we might venture from how to cope with faeces on our beaches to why we should still fear Nazis, to more pleasant ruminations. It will all be the luck of the weekly draw.
Not all rules are good rules
Some of us, later in life, have come to park our political sympathies within the ambit of the late Professor David Graeber, an anthropologist, anarchist and activist.
Graeber, who died suddenly in 2020, reawakened the core principles of anarchism, as Noam Chomsky did before him.
Graeber was the author of several works including Bullshit Jobs, Debt: The first 5,000 Years and more recently The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, co-authored with archaeologist David Wengrow.
He also coined the slogan “we are the 99%” during the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011.
We let the prof speak for himself:
“Many people seem to think that anarchists are proponents of violence, chaos, and destruction, that they are against all forms of order and organisation, or that they are crazed nihilists who just want to blow everything up.”
In reality, he says, “anarchists are simply people who believe human beings are capable of behaving in a reasonable fashion without having to be forced to. It is really a very simple notion.”
Anarchist beliefs turn on two “elementary assumptions” – that human beings are, under ordinary circumstances, about as reasonable and decent as they are allowed to be, and can organise themselves and their communities without needing to be told how.
The second is that power corrupts and that “anarchism is just a matter of having the courage to take the simple principles of common decency that we all live by, and to follow them through to their logical conclusions. Odd though this may seem, in most important ways you are probably already an anarchist – you just don’t realise it.”
The stopcock and the tick box
Example one: a municipality moves an old but functioning water meter from inside a property to outside for ease of monthly reading. Fair enough.
Soon after the ...
The problems triggered by the power cuts have been made worse by the fact that the country’s water infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades. In addition, there isn’t enough water available to meet increasing demands, while pollution and allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds have also plagued the sector.
South Africans had to deal with the worst ever series of power cuts in 2022. All in all the country lost a record 205 days of electricity due to constant breakdowns at the coal-fired power plants run by Eskom. The plants are old and have not been sufficiently maintained.
The country’s energy crisis has been escalating since April 2008, when scheduled power cuts were first implemented.
One of the biggest casualties of more than a decade of severe power outages has been the country’s water-processing and distribution networks. The most recent, and escalated, blackouts have led to water utilities in parts of the country issuing warnings about damage to water supply infrastructure and operations.
The negative effects on water supply are far-reaching. Energy and water are intertwined. The water reticulation system – the transport of water from source, the treatment of water and sewage and the distribution and delivery of water to consumers – all require electricity.
A number of cities, including Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, as well as smaller towns, have had drastic water cuts.
These experiences – as well as the growing frequency of sewage spills – have given South Africans a glimpse of what the future might hold if the energy crisis isn’t properly addressed. Water shortages and prolonged cuts in supply are likely to become increasingly common.
How it works
Water processing and distribution networks require electricity to pump water, for example, to water towers and reservoirs and then to consumers. Prolonged power cuts halt this process if no suitable back-up pumps are in place.
The same applies to water treatment plants. Prolonged power outages can cause sewage spills if no working back-up pumps are in place.
The power cuts have:
Further damaged already dilapidated and aged water infrastructure. The City of Cape Town is a case in point. The city’s systems are in danger of collapsing unless new investments are made to avoid or limit further damage;
Slowed or cut off water distribution and delivery as the water reticulation system requires energy (for example working pumps). Without a continued required level of pressure in a pumping-based transmission and distribution system, water can’t be distributed and delivered ...
Top South African HIV clinicians are setting their sights on different approaches to finding an HIV vaccine after the ‘disappointing’ news that the Mosaico trial was stopped early because the vaccine did not show any efficacy. The search for an HIV jab now seems set to shift from vaccines that induce T-cell immunity to ones that induce B-cell immunity. Adele Baleta unpacks what that means and the reasoning behind it.
Hopes for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Mosaico vaccine – the only HIV vaccine candidate in late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trials – were dashed with manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ recent announcement that it lacked efficacy in preventing HIV infection. Now, top South African HIV clinicians are setting their sights on different approaches to finding an HIV vaccine.
The Mosaico study was conducted in several countries in North and South America and Europe to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in 3,900 cisgender men and transgender individuals who have sex with cisgender men and/or transgender individuals. Although the vaccine did not stop HIV transmission, it was found to be safe.
“We are obviously disappointed,” says Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu Health Foundation CEO and director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. “But with the decades-long search for an elusive vaccine to prevent HIV, those of us in the HIV vaccine field have developed resilience. So, it’s back to the drawing board. Our mantra is not to give up, but to go back to the bench to figure it out more and give it another go. We can’t give up on this. It’s too important,” she says.
The “mosaic” vaccine incorporates genetic material from HIV strains from around the world, and was trying to induce non-neutralising antibodies, those that don’t work on their own to stop the virus, but work with the cellular immune response (T-cells) to try to contain the virus, and eliminate it.
The vaccine applied the same antigen delivery system (or viral vector platform) – a common cold virus called adenovirus 26 – that was used in J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine.
The Mosaico findings are the latest in a series of disappointments.
In 2021, a Phase 2b trial (called Imbokodo, or HVTN 705) of a similar vaccine tested in cisgender women in five southern African countries was prematurely stopped due to a lack of efficacy in preventing HIV infection. In 2020, an HIV vaccine (HVTN 702) trial in more than ...
The ambassadors form part of the Nourished Child Ambassador Programme — an initiative following a multi-university research project that looked to find answers for addressing malnutrition among women and children.
“Take, banana. Take, take banana.
Peel, banana. Peel, peel banana.
Eat banana. Eat, eat banana.”
Lwando Siboninge looks fashionable in his sports jacket, jeans and sneakers. He is grooving a beat and coaxing a group of willing Grade 1 learners at the Ukhanyo Primary School in Masiphumelele to sing along to his fruit song. They have formed a circle around him, and all the children are participating, smiling. Even the teacher is singing along as she watches from across her desk with approval.
“I didn’t know anything about healthy food or the types of food that can make me sick before I did this ambassador programme,” says Siboninge. “But now. now I am a role model. Kids call my name in the street. I have to think about how I behave and what I eat now, too.”
Siboninge is one of the six ambassadors who were trained in 2022 as part of the Nourished Child Ambassador Programme, an initiative following a multi-university research project that looked to find answers for addressing malnutrition among women and children. The research was conducted in Zweletemba and Masiphumelele.
According to Scott Drimie, adjunct professor at Stellenbosch University and one of the Nourished Child study researchers, one key insight from the study was that community-led initiatives which hold the health and wellbeing of the child at their core have the potential to gain support and attention from a variety of stakeholders.
“The goal of child wellbeing elicits a deeply emotional response and necessitates scrutiny into aspects of social development, hygiene and sanitation, economic development, health, basic education and urban and spatial planning. Keeping the child at the centre of the community-led initiative has the potential to be a catalyst for goals that cross the borders of various systems and has the potential to ultimately improve food environments,” says Drimie.
Through a partnership with the Masiphumelele Creative Hub (MCH), an active and dynamic NGO in Masi led by founder Yandiswa Mazwana, community members were selected and trained as local ambassadors. Over the course of three months in the first half of 2022, the ambassadors underwent a training programme to equip them with the basic skills to support a healthy food environment for children and adults in Masi. Sessions, led by a variety of specialists in ...
According to data, southern Africans are experiencing heat stress significantly more frequently now compared to 40 years ago.
Most of us have felt either too hot or too cold at some point in our lives. Depending on where we live, we may feel too cold quite often each winter, and too hot for a few days in summer. As we’re writing this in late January 2023 many southern Africans are probably feeling very hot and fatigued; a prolonged regional heatwave began around 9 January.
Being too hot isn’t just uncomfortable. Heat stress causes dehydration, headaches, nausea — and, when people are exposed to high temperatures for protracted periods, they risk severe health outcomes and could even die. For instance, at least five people working on farms in South Africa’s Northern Cape province have died from heat stroke in January. At least 90 people died in India and Pakistan in May 2022 during a devastating heatwave.
The situation is only going to get worse. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that “globally, the percentage of the population exposed to deadly heat stress is projected to increase from today’s 30% to 48%-76% by the end of the century, depending on future warming levels and location”.
We wanted to create a detailed picture of when and where heat stress occurs in southern Africa. By applying a global gridded dataset of a human thermal comfort index, we found that there has been a consistent change in thermal comfort — the human body’s experience of the outdoor thermal environment — from the 1970s to today. Simply put, southern Africans are experiencing heat stress more often than in 1979.
Given that global temperatures are set to rise in the coming years and decades, these findings are worrying. Warmer temperatures will mean that regions that were classified as having “favourable” thermal comfort will more regularly be classified as regions of “thermal stress”. Heatwaves have been projected to occur more frequently and to be more intense.
Measuring thermal comfort (or stress)
Over the past two decades, scientists from across the world have developed the Universal Thermal Climate Index. It has advanced our ability to model human thermal comfort levels, ranging from cold stress to heat stress. Earlier thermal comfort indices typically only modelled heat stress because they mainly measured the combined effects of humidity and temperature to calculate an equivalent temperature.
This equivalent temperature would essentially measure how we feel in relation to ...
In December 2022, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola set into motion a public participation process on the laws that govern sex work in South Africa. While the bill published for public comment in December is very short, it will do something quite extraordinary if it does become law — it will fully decriminalise sex work. This is a process we must see through.
In December 2022, the Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, set into motion a public participation process on the laws that govern sex work in South Africa. Cabinet approved the publishing of a draft bill — the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill, 2022 — for public comment.
The bill is very short — only four pages long — but it will do something quite extraordinary if it does become law: it will fully decriminalise sex work and make South Africa only the second country in the world to do so, after New Zealand.
Health and human rights advocates, sex workers and sex worker rights allies have been rejoicing.
But they know a long road still lies ahead.
The department envisions a two-step process for sex work law reform.
First, the national laws governing sex work will be amended to remove criminal penalties from sex work (the current bill), which will be followed by a later process to regulate the industry. The first step could still take a long time.
At the moment, the public has until the end of January to provide comments on the current wording of the bill. The department will then draw on those comments to make changes to the bill, if needed.
The revised bill will then be introduced in Parliament, published in the Government Gazette for public comment, debated in Parliament, and then voted on. The wording of the bill could still change in these parliamentary processes.
The content of the bill is straightforward.
It removes provisions in both the Sexual Offences Act and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act that make it illegal to buy or sell sexual services. It also expunges the criminal records of people who have been prosecuted in terms of these laws.
Why the pushback?
Why are these legal developments so important, and why are some groups so vehemently pushing back against them?
The public health evidence for the decriminalisation of sex work is overwhelming.
One of the most painful lessons the Aids epidemic has taught us over the past 40 years is that the ...
Power cuts take out Johannesburg’s water system as 27 mobile tankers race around the city to deliver the life-giving liquid.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Hyde Park, Johannesburg, home is in a ward that has been without water for days. Ward 90 was hit with a double whammy when pipe bursts and a “tie-in” after a pipe replacement meant a parched constituency, said ward councillor Martin Williams.
“We’ve had a series of water dramas,” said Williams, who has been kept busy 24/7 with calls from angry residents and with inspections. Williams told Daily Maverick he had seen massive pipe bursts across the ward and that the Parktown reservoir, which feeds the ward, was critically low. At 2.30pm on Monday, 30 January, it was at 0.2% after days of problems. “It’s terrible, there’s no rest,” he said.
Across Johannesburg, a city of six million people, councillors worked day and night to organise water tankers and get information from Johannesburg Water.
While some schools have had to close, Johannesburg Water said the Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals had a sufficient supply on Tuesday.
Ward 90 includes Hyde Park, Dunkeld and Illovo, all of which suffer regular water and electricity cuts. The roads in this important business and upmarket residential node the President calls home are pockmarked by potholes, too.
Rolling blackout toll
About one in five of the city’s reservoirs went down when power failures hit pumping stations. Like substations, the constant on-and-off rolling blackouts distress the system and result in losses. So even though dams are full, water can’t be pumped through the system by Rand Water, the city’s supplier.
By Tuesday afternoon, about 15 reservoirs were critically low or empty. This was across the city’s south, southwest, west and northern areas. The city dispatched a fleet of 27 mobile tankers or installed JoJo tanks for communities. In Crosby and Jan Hofmeyr (southwest of Johannesburg, served by the precarious Commando System), residents said they had not had water for five days. Shops said they were running out of bottled water.
On Monday, Rand Water said the heatwave had sapped water reserves from 9 January, and high-stage rolling blackouts, which knocked out the Zuikerbosch purification plant, had a domino effect.
“Rand Water’s system is susceptible to any power outage and may take a minimum of four hours to recover after an outage,” it said.
Then, the utility’s Eikenhof “booster station” experienced two power cuts, further flooring the system. Rand Water says effective recovery depends ...
Soweto’s Nomzamo Park, the scene of a deadly tavern shooting last year, is on the brink of a full-blown service delivery failure following years of empty promises and neglect.
“Everything that can go wrong here in Nomzamo does,” says Wandile Rafuza, a street committee member, as he casts his gaze across a dam about 100 metres from the shacks.
As you enter Nomzamo Park along the only drivable road, a huge heap of rubbish is the first obvious sign of the sorry state of affairs in this largely impoverished community.
A young couple share a cigarette in one of the abandoned stalls a few metres from the shuttered Mdlalose tavern, the scene of a deadly mass shooting which left 16 people dead and several others injured in July 2022.
Filthy water hazard
On the fringe of the perimeter fence that separates the township from four schools lies a large expanse of dirty, stagnant water. Local kids have been swimming in it for weeks, risking their health.
The community wants the “dam” to be drained and sealed off, fearing for the safety of their children. The stretch of water, about 80m long and 8 metres wide, was formed after heavy rains hit Gauteng in December last year.
Last month, street committee members told Daily Maverick that they had reported the “dam” to the local councillor.
“Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) officials came and told us that they thought it was just a small puddle and said it was not their competency. We were asking that they drain the water while we plan how to seal off the area,” said Ntonbikayise Jonga, a Nomzamo street committee member.
“Our children will die in this dam. They will not even know it because it will happen as they swim and play,” Jonga said.
The area around the water is littered with rubbish and the grass is dead. There are footpaths, an indication that people do frequent the area.
“When we try to move the children away from the dam, they pretend to listen, but as soon as we look the other way, they are back,” said Rafuza.
Rafuza said the reason children were risking their lives in the dirty water was because they lacked recreational facilities.
“My suggestion would be for authorities to develop the dam into a safe swimming pool . the children are crying out for help,” Rafuza said.
Spokesperson for the JRA Bertha Peters-Scheepers thanked the community for alerting authorities to the hazardous situation.
“JRA will certainly ...
Government authorities are planning to build what would become the country’s biggest water transfer scheme to slake Durban’s burgeoning water demand — when more than 56% of the city’s water is now leaking out of broken pipes, is stolen or not paid for.
The proposed uMkhomazi water transfer scheme involves building two major dams on the third-largest river in KwaZulu-Natal, and boring a 33km tunnel beneath mountainous terrain to shift the captured water to a new purification plant northwest of Durban.
Building the first major dam (the 81m-high Smithfield Dam near the town of Bulwer) will also entail relocating sections of the Eskom high voltage network and provincial roads; the possible installation of several hydroelectric turbines along the water route to Durban, and a significant increase in water tariffs in several parts of KZN.
According to the national Department of Water and Sanitation, the uMkhomazi transfer scheme will become “the largest water transfer scheme in South Africa, comparable to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in terms of water volume and tunnel lengths and diameters”.
The first phase alone aims to purify up to more than 600 ML/day at a time when water consumption in the eThekwini (Durban) municipality has increased by nearly 200 ML/d over the past five years — largely due to leaking pipes and other infrastructure failures. That is equivalent to about one-third of the water that will be generated by the new scheme, even before it is built.
At a meeting on 26 January to brief the media on Umgeni Water’s latest annual report, chief financial officer Thami Mkhwanazi observed that Durban is Umgeni’s largest single customer, accounting for nearly 75% of the water utility’s business.
Last year, Our Burning Planet also revealed that the eThekwini municipality’s “non-revenue water” use has soared to 56% compared with just under 37% five years ago. Ten years ago, the city’s non-revenue water losses stood at 33%.
Where Durban’s water goes to
Senior national water department official Ashley Starkey has also cautioned that eThekwini will be facing water shortages soon unless the new uMkhomazi water transfer scheme is brought into operation to supplement the existing Midmar, Albert Falls and Inanda dams.
The main uMkhomazi dams and the transfer scheme will be built by the national department (through the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority), with Umgeni Water responsible for the new treatment works near Baynesfield outside Pietermaritzburg, but no firm construction date had been announced.
Nevertheless, Umgeni Water confirmed in a recent media release ...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week raised its growth forecasts for the global economy slightly for 2023 to 2.9% from 2.7% in its October World Economic Outlook report. Perplexingly, it also raised its forecast for South African growth by 0.1 percentage point to 1.2% – a forecast that seems barely credible.
The driving forces behind the upward revision for global gross domestic product (GDP) growth are China’s reopening and the ebbing of worldwide inflation pressures.
“China’s sudden reopening paves the way for a rapid rebound in activity. And global financial conditions have improved as inflation pressures started to abate. This, and a weakening of the US dollar from its November high, provided some modest relief to emerging and developing countries,” the Washington-based lender said.
“Accordingly, we have slightly increased our 2022 and 2023 growth forecasts. Global growth will slow from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, then rebound to 3.1% in 2024,” it said.
The forecast of global growth of 2.9% for 2023 is an improvement on the previous one of 2.7%, but the 2024 prediction of 3.1% is a slight reduction from 3.2% previously.
What really stands out for a South African audience is the upward revision for 2023 growth against the backdrop of record levels of rolling blackouts. Quite frankly, this seems barely credible.
The IMF noted that growth is expected to halve this year compared with 2022, “reflecting weaker external demand, power shortages, and structural constraints”. But it still raised its projection for South African growth to 1.2% from 1.1% previously.
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This stands in stark contrast to the 0.3% forecast made recently by the South African Reserve Bank, which pointedly said that the “scale of load shedding” would shave as much as 2 percentage points off growth in 2023.
Global accountancy firm PwC said this week that the load shedding toll on economic growth last year might have been as much as 5 percentage points.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “PwC estimates rolling blackouts knocked up to five percentage points off SA’s 2022 GDP growth”
On behalf of a friend, this correspondent would like to ask what the IMF staff in Pretoria is smoking, because it must be pretty good.
Still, China’s improved prospects – and those of global growth more generally – bode well for the prices of the commodities South Africa produces and exports, such as iron ore and platinum group metals. That can ...
Yolo. Fomo. You Only Live Once. Fear Of Missing Out. These are life mottoes that have become entrenched in modern culture and are often used as hashtags on social media. However, when it comes to personal finances, Yolo and Fomo are not the way to go.
A recent Sanlam study canvassing more than 5,000 South Africans shows that failing to make the right money moves at crucial life stages has resulted in massive financial planning gaps.
The Sanlam-commissioned survey also showed more than half (54%) of respondents would advise their younger selves to think of money as an asset to grow, rather than a luxury to spend.
Despite knowing what to do to thrive financially, many are understandably focused on their short-term financial priorities rather than making financial decisions based on long-term success.
Across all age categories, most do not have core financial products such as life cover or income protection.
Zweli Moyo, executive head: strategy and impact office at Sanlam, says one of the main reasons people miss crucial moments to make sound financial planning decisions may lie in what is known as “present bias” or “future discounting”.
“This is the tendency to choose instant reward above the benefits that come with restraint, time and planning. In fact, research has found that humans cannot picture their future selves in any true capacity. When we think of our future self, the synaptic activity in the brain is the same as when we think of a stranger.”
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Key findings in the Sanlam study include:
“Enjoy your money, you only live once” came in as the lowest recommendation for younger selves across the board. Across all life stages, the two uppermost financial concerns are making ends meet and paying off debt.
From age 50 until retirement, the biggest concern after making ends meet, is retiring comfortably.
Only 10.3% of those surveyed in the 18-24 age bracket have a retirement product; with only 17.6% in the 25-29 age group having a retirement product. Unfortunately, this means the vast majority are not taking advantage of compound interest and tax breaks linked to saving for retirement.
Just 7.2% of the retired respondents reported feeling that they had prepared well for retirement. Unless people are encouraged to act early, the outcomes for future retirees are unlikely to improve.
Overall, 41.3% of respondents have life insurance.
Providing for education, leaving a legacy and even being able to buy property came ...
The Hawks’ national task team investigating the murder of the Anti-Gang Unit’s Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear spent two years away from loved ones and, despite threats, did not buckle under pressure until all the suspects were apprehended and charged.
The Hawks’ efforts to arrest the suspects behind the assassination of the Anti-Gang Unit’s Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear have earned them the prestigious award of Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Team of the Year.
The award was presented to the task team on Saturday night at the South African Police Service Excellence Awards ceremony, held in Polokwane, Limpopo. Major-General Mathipa Makgato, head of the Hawks in the Western Cape, received the award on behalf of the task team.
National Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo said the achievement by the DPCI members would encourage others to perform beyond the call of duty, work hard and push themselves to the limits.
Kinnear was at the helm of an investigation into alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack and 10 others suspected of gun-related crimes. He was assassinated in front of his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, on 18 September 2020.
The two alleged masterminds behind this attack are Modack and former debt collector Zane Kilian who are both behind bars after their bail applications were denied.
Kilian was arrested in Springs days after Kinnear’s murder. His bail was denied by magistrate Nonkosi Saba on 18 March 2020 and his bail appeal application was dismissed by Western Cape High Court judge Ashley Binns-Ward.
Modack was arrested in April 2021 by the Hawks in connection with the murder of Kinnear and the attempted murder of criminal lawyer William Booth. Modack is still waiting for the outcome of his appeal against the decision to deny him bail. Judgment was reserved by the Western Cape High Court.
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Aside from the Kinnear investigation, the Hawks’ task team also probed the attempted murder of Booth, which is linked to the Kinnear hit. Booth survived an attempt on his life when he escaped unharmed in a shooting at his home in Cape Town.
The task team dug deeper, and their efforts were rewarded when a hitman implicated Modack and claimed he ordered the murder of Nicolaas Heerschap (74), the father of ex-Hawks Warrant Officer Nico Heerschap, in Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, in July 2019.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said SAPS investigating officers are increasingly targeted by criminal groups that are under investigation.
“The ...
There are now basically three global cigarette companies whose market share has remained roughly the same because, without being able to advertise, they can’t really compete. And neither can a newcomer access the market.
I once had a journalist colleague, Patrick Cull, with whom I shared an office in Parliament. Patrick, who was enormously funny and a great joy to have as an office mate, wrote for the Daily Dispatch. For several consecutive years, one of our jobs would be to cover the national Budget.
The Budget, of course, is an enormously complex document, filled with data and predictions, and it was then, and remains, an important indicator of government policy. We would debate at length the appropriate way to condense and encapsulate all this complex data, but Patrick, in his way, would typically resolve it to the following phraseology: “It was another beer and bakkie Budget.”
He was referring, of course, to the one aspect of the Budget that could be gratifyingly predicted year after year: that government excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes would be increased.
This trend of increases in the tobacco excise tax is an international phenomenon and is part of a global effort to reduce the consumption of cigarettes. And it has been, until recently, a largely successful exercise. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the prevalence of smoking declined from 27% of the global population in the year 2000 to 19% in 2020.
Men are massively more likely to smoke, and by 2025, the WHO estimates that only 4% of women globally will smoke. And the effort has clearly saved lives, but still in 2019, more than 8 million people died from a tobacco-related disease, the WHO says.
The effort has been achieved internationally through two main drivers: a reduction in the legality of tobacco advertising and big increases in the tax on cigarettes. Patrick’s “beer and bakkie Budget” could have applied to almost any country in the world.
So, given this decline, tobacco companies are seriously in the dwang, right? Not so much. Amazingly, as often happens with well-intentioned government efforts to help people, the actual outcome is different from what was planned. Just to take one example, the revenue of British American Tobacco (BAT) — one of the world’s largest tobacco companies — was, in 2001, about £11.3-billion and profit was about £1.2-billion. Last year, it was £26.4-billion, and the company earned £5.6-billion, after tax.
Visit Daily ...
When constitutional expert Hassen Ebrahim was called in July 2022 to give evidence at the Section 194 inquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, her legal team dismissed his testimony.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, acting for Mkhwebane at the time, had cited Hassen Ebrahim’s UK and Botswana legal qualifications (Ebrahim had gone into political exile) as a reason the committee should dismiss his opinion.
Ebrahim is a former deputy director-general in the department of justice and constitutional development, with 25 years’ experience. He was called on the second day of the hearings in July 2022.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Dali Mpofu fires both barrels at third whistle-blower in Mkhwebane hearing cross-examination farce”
On Tuesday, as the inquiry resumed, Adv Nazreen Bawa, for the inquiry, questioned Mkhwebane’s witness, Zambian public protector Caroline Zulu-Sokoni, who has been testifying since Monday on Mkhwebane’s behalf.
Zulu-Sokoni agreed with Bawa that she was not an expert on South African constitutional law.
Mpofu and Mkhwebane have called the current Zambian incumbent, who has occupied the position for almost 20 years, to set out a “context” for how the office of an Ombud or Public Protector should function, international principles and the importance of independence of the office.
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Both Mpofu and Zulu-Sokoni relied heavily on the Venice Principles, drawn up by the European Union, to sketch the landscape in which an Ombud functions and what conditions should be present.
“Yes, I said the reason why I came to testify here after 18 years is because the institution of the Ombud in Africa has made great strides. It was important that I come here as well and contribute to ensure that the institution of Ombud continues to make progressive strides,” she replied.
Previously, Mpofu had suggested that Ebrahim was not an expert in “removal proceedings”. “Are you?” Bawa quizzed the Zambian Ombud on Tuesday.
“In removal, no. But where Ombuds are under threat, yes. I would consider myself an expert in Ombudsmanship. this would include any other issues that are incidental,” she replied.
Zulu-Sokoni agreed with Bawa that she would not be able to provide the sort of evidence Ebrahim had provided to the committee as “he has studied constitutional law and is able to give an opinion”.
She admitted that during her long tenure, she had only one “occasion” to look at Ombuds offices under threat, and this was as a member of the executive committee of the African ...
It is only fair to acknowledge that, under the current government, South Africa’s anti-corruption campaigns have achieved unprecedented momentum. There are good stories to tell, including closer collaboration between the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Special Investigating Unit, as part of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
In anticipation of the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report released by Transparency International on Tuesday, I expected that South Africa’s Corruption Perception score would have changed significantly. My optimism was based particularly on the monumental clean-up investigations relating to the Zondo Commission, and the first State Capture trial in the case of the Vrede Dairy Project.
The 2022 CIP report generally shows that the pandemic of corruption will linger for many years and that some countries’ CPI levels have stagnated (the scale used is that a score of 0-10 is “highly corrupt” and 90-100 “very clean”).
For three consecutive years — 2019, 2020 and 2021 — South Africa’s CPI points remained at 44. South Africa was ranked 70 in 2021. It is interesting to note that the country’s CPI point was also at 44 in 2014 and 2015. From 44 it went to 45 in 2015, and 43 points in 2012, 2017 and 2018.
Also, there were differences according to the presidencies of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa. In 2022, South Africa slipped back to a score of 43, coming in at 72 out of 180 countries.
With a score below 50 on the 2022 CPI, it should be of concern to our government that corruption — or at least the world’s perception of it — is not waning.
Not only is South Africa one of the 124 countries that have stagnant corruption levels, but it has also slipped to 2017 and 2018 levels, while the number of countries in decline is increasing.
“It is particularly galling that South Africa has slipped a point at a time when there appears to be some momentum in bringing the corrupt to book, following the findings of the Zondo Commission reports,” said Karam Singh, executive director of Corruption Watch.
What one thought were incremental improvements from a score of 43 to 44 under the promise of President Ramaphosa’s zero tolerance to corruption is now a deferred dream.
Monumental anti-corruption efforts such as the Zondo Commission are yet to have a great impact on lessening levels of corruption in South Africa.
I might have set myself up for disappointment by expecting ...
ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing is under attack. By trying to align sustainability with investing, it had been seen as something of a saviour for not just the asset management industry but capitalism itself. Yet criticism is reaching fever pitch.
Unsurprisingly, in the US the Republican Party has taken on the proverbial mantle. Accusing ESG managers (and investment leviathan BlackRock, in particular) of being “anti-capitalist and anti-American”, Florida and Louisiana’s treasuries pulled $3-billion away from BlackRock last month, declaring the manager to be “hostile”.
While most rancorous in oil-producing red states like Texas, where officials have called out what they see as overly “woke” behaviour by the asset manager, such sentiments are increasingly reaching Congress. The battle lines have been drawn.
However, former devotees are also starting to criticise the ESG circus, questioning the very tenets of what it purports to achieve. The former CIO of sustainable investing at BlackRock, Tariq Fancy, has written a damning piece arguing that the ESG project is intellectually bankrupt and is damaging to the causes it purports to support.
Robert Armstrong, writing in the Financial Times, recently argued: “ESG investing is dangerous. The reality is that the ESG industry is a massive fee trough for fund managers, consultants and the rest of the industry, and all of those fees come out of well-intentioned investors’ pockets.”
There are three main reasons often cited as to why ESG is a con.
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First, underpinning ESG investing is an assumption, clarified in an open letter from BlackRock in 2020, that “sustainability and climate integrated portfolios can provide better risk-adjusted returns to investors”. Over time, essentially, more virtue equals more money for investors, who can “do well by doing good”. The problem is that this is simply not true. According to reports from the International Monetary Fund, there is no proof that ESG funds do better than non-ESG ones. Indeed, as ESG fund fees are usually higher, they would tend to ensure lower returns for investors.
Second, acolytes argue that ESG changes the world because with more investors allocating their capital to “green” companies it lowers their cost of capital, essentially making it cheaper for them to do “good things”.
The problem is that this argument is not often made by ESG investment firms because it runs contrary to their primary assumption of these products, which is that investment performance in an ESG fund is better ...
Eskom’s power crisis has reduced South Africa and its citizens, their health and their livelihoods, to collateral damage in the ruling party’s war with itself.
The Eskom catastrophe in South Africa has led to a widespread electrification crisis, with government failing to address numerous solvable challenges arising from Eskom’s operations. For over 15 years, South Africa has been experiencing regular rolling blackouts, and the situation is now approaching a full-blown energy disaster.
The right decisions must be made — and implemented immediately — to address this crisis. However, it is important to note that the energy system in South Africa is complex and multifaceted. No silver bullet or panacea can be used to instantly avert the power crisis.
When a complex system like ours is pushed to extremes, it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next — 2022 was the worst year to date, costing the country about R2-billion per day in terms of lost income from economic production due to rolling blackouts. Countless businesses have had to close, leaving yet more citizens facing unemployment and poverty.
The government has failed the citizens of South Africa, and it is now up to the private sector, citizens, academia, and foreign experts to come up with broad-based, innovative solutions to the electrification problem that the government’s inaction has created.
The current crisis presents South Africa with a challenge to come together as a nation and work out a solution with a proper foundational platform to stabilise and increase future electrification. Government needs to open up the sector, as their reluctance to do so only adds to the failure.
In addition, this crisis has been an internal political football, kicked from camp to camp within the ruling party and used as a means to leverage power, both political and economic. It has reduced South Africa and its citizens, their health and their livelihoods, to collateral damage in the ruling party’s war with itself.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In the 15 years, it has taken Eskom to bring the country to its knees, there have been countless missed opportunities to avert the energy crisis.
The Medupi and Kusile power plants were hailed as the solution to the energy deficit. Instead, their construction plunged Eskom into a debt crisis, due to soaring over-budget expenditure. They also took almost a decade to come online and despite being relatively new builds, they are constantly beset with breakdowns ...
Zambian and other African nations’ minerals are crucial for a low-carbon world. But reform is essential if our people are to benefit from the wealth they will create.
It’s a story that has played out across the world time and again. Mineral resources are discovered and a nation thinks it has struck it rich.
Hopes rise among the population for better schools, roads and healthcare. But the wealth the resources create never reaches ordinary citizens. Instead, it’s captured by elites who funnel it into offshore bank accounts or squander it on lavish lifestyles.
Zambia has a chance to break this destructive pattern.
Demand is soaring for the raw materials the world needs to secure a clean energy future, and Zambia has abundant reserves of two key ones: the cobalt and copper used in wind- and solar-powered technology and electric vehicle (EV) production.
Now the world is rushing to extract them.
On 18 January 2023, the US State Department published a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to develop an EV battery supply chain. Copper and cobalt would not just be extracted in these countries, the MoU said, but EV batteries themselves would be processed, manufactured and assembled in them.
This followed an announcement in December by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who said that the California-based KoBold Metals, which is backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, and uses artificial intelligence to identify battery-metal deposits, was investing in developing a new mine in Zambia.
Flawed consultations
This coveting of our natural resources is nothing new: Zambia has been a major copper producer for more than a century.
But with copper demand expected to increase by up to threefold by 2040, and a copper boom looming, we cannot repeat historic mistakes. In the past when copper prices rose, poverty and inequality in our country did not decline, and Zambia remains a deeply unequal nation.
For our copper and cobalt to drive development and benefit all Zambians, significant legal and policy reforms are needed.
The 2022 Mineral Resources Development Policy and its Implementation Plan, which the Zambian government approved in November 2022, offered a crucial chance to do so. It sets out the government’s vision for maximising the benefits from Zambia’s mineral resources.
For these benefits to be realised, the public, in particular the communities living close to extraction sites and who are directly affected by mining, must be properly consulted.
Unfortunately, public consultations on the new policy were carried ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
While there is a sliding scale of options available for South Africans to counter rolling blackouts, there are few affordable or viable grid alternatives for those living in informal settlements and RDP houses.
Rolling blackouts are likely to be with us for years to come and it may get worse. South Africans have every reason to complain about Eskom. But after complaining, households have to decide what to do to best cope with rolling blackouts.
Our country’s households range from families living on the streets of Johannesburg to the deep rural homesteads of the Eastern Cape to the shack settlements of every town in the country to the estates of Constantia. It’s impractical to write an article that has the best answer for everyone’s needs. For this article, we’ve had in mind households that use 250 to 650-kilowatt hours (kWh) of grid power per month. That covers most homes in the country.
What you do depends on how much money you are able or willing to spend. Below we list some reasonable options. We hope it helps to inform your decision.
Less than R10,000: Option 1 — small adjustments
For this amount of money you can convert to an affordable gas oven and stove, get battery operated or solar lights, and install a low-cost UPS to keep your router, cellphones and laptops going during rolling blackouts.
You might also consider buying a power pack for R300 to R1,100 to recharge your cellphone or even your laptop.
This option allows you to use electronic devices, have lights on and cook during blackouts. A gas oven/stove also makes you much less dependent on Eskom.
On the downside, you have to do a bit of fiddling with lights every time rolling blackouts start, and remember to charge lights and other devices when you have grid power. Also, a low-cost UPS may not get you through four-hour blackouts. And gas cooking devices may not be feasible in some apartment blocks. Gas cooking is also significantly more expensive than using the grid.
Albeit fiddly, this definitely works, quite well in fact. As rolling blackout stages rise though, it becomes harder.
Less than R40,000: Option 2 — small inverter/battery
Buy a 3kW inverter and battery and get an electrician to connect it to your house’s system.
This gets you through two-hour and, depending on your usage, four-hour blackouts. It’s more convenient than option one but pricier.
You might not be able to use your stove, geyser, borehole pump or ...
Eben Etzebeth was named 2022 South African Rugby Player of the Year – an expected accolade after an exceptional season.
The Springboks only won 61% of their matches in 2022, but in every one of those 13 contests, giant lock Eben Etzebeth was one man who consistently left the field with his reputation enhanced.
In a year when an elite group of senior Springbok players, from Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am, Frans Malherbe and Kurt-Lee Ardense (the other four finalists in the category), to Malcolm Marx and Willie le Roux, all shone, it was Etzebeth who glowed the brightest.
Like actors when nominated for an Oscar against Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis, they just know that as good as their performances were, there was someone better.
Etzebeth’s colossal and seminal season was based on a foundation of impeccable work with his primary tasks in the lineout, scrum and tight loose. It was elevated by his superb moments in attack, uncompromising defensive steel, almost manic competitiveness and his wincingly physical output while never straying across the disciplinary threshold.
It was a body of work that should have earned him a World Player of the Year nomination at the very least, which, shamefully, it didn’t.
As if Etzebeth’s week couldn’t get any better after his club team the Sharks won in Scotland last Saturday (without him), he will marry long-time partner Anlia van Rensburg on Saturday. Van Rensburg, a professional singer, sang the national anthem when the Boks played Wales in Cape Town last July, which marked Etzebeth’s 100th Test cap.
“It’s obviously a privilege, I looked at the names on the trophy and there’s some wonderful individuals on there. But it’s a team sport and also well done to the other nominees, I think they were all fantastic,” Etzebeth said.
“There are so many other guys who don’t always get recognised, but it’s nice to win this trophy for the first time.
“I got engaged last year and I’m getting married this Saturday. that’s probably my biggest achievement yet, getting the best trophy I can get,” he added with a smile.
“Getting my 100th [cap] with Anlia singing the national anthem that day was special. Also, to have my family and her family there was special. and now this trophy, it’s special getting recognised as an individual. [But] it’s a team sport and you always put the team first and want the team to do well.”
Etzebeth, along with several other senior Springboks, ...
The editor for Pretoria News and author of the discredited ‘Tembisa 10’ story about a woman who allegedly birthed decuplets, has resigned from Independent Media. His resignation will take effect from Wednesday, 1 February 2023.
Piet Rampedi, the journalist at the helm of the infamous Tembisa 10 debacle, has officially resigned from his position as Pretoria News editor at Independent Media almost a year and a half after the story was first published.
The story of Gosiame Sithole, a woman who was alleged to have given birth to 10 babies, made headlines throughout the country – and globally. As Sithole’s story garnered more public interest, it continued to make headlines for an entirely different reason — it appeared her decuplets never existed.
Independent Media announced Rampedi’s resignation on Tuesday 31 January 2023. At the time of his departure, it was stated Rampedi still stands by the accuracy of the decuplet story.
“Rampedi was the author of the Tembisa 10 — the disputed story of a woman who gave birth to a record ten babies – which to this day he insists was an accurate story,” the statement said.
This is despite an investigation by Acting Public Protector Kholka Gcaleka in which the medical evidence presented showed Sithole did not birth 10 babies, nor was she ever pregnant with decuplets.
Rampedi joined Independent Media’s team as head of its investigation unit in March 2019. In the same year, he was appointed as deputy editor of the Sunday Independent. It was in January 2021 that Rampedi joined Pretoria News as editor — the same year he published the Tembisa 10 story. Prior to his work at Independent Media, Rampedi had over 20 years experience in both print and media organisations such as City Press, the SABC and The Star.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Independent Media thanks Rampedi for his service and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” said Aziz Hartley, editor-in-chief of Independent Media, in a statement released on Tuesday 31 January.
It was also announced that Kennedy Mudzuli, from Pretoria News, would be taking over from Rampedi as acting editor.
Daily Maverick reached out to Rampedi for comment on his resignation but he did not respond immediately.
On 26 January, Rampedi joined a Twitter Space with former ANC member and spokesperson Carl Niehaus in a discussion about the state of the nation and Niehaus’s Radical Economic Transformation Movement (Retmo).
Thanks to all who joined my ...
Dane van Niekerk has missed out on selection for next month’s T20 World Cup due to failing a two-kilometre time trial by 18 seconds.
The Proteas women have announced their squad for their home T20 World Cup which kicks off on 10 February.
There is one glaring omission in the form of captain and all-rounder Dane van Niekerk who has been left out due to failing fitness tests.
“Dane was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria for the fitness benchmark for eligibility for the World Cup. She recently did another fitness test and unfortunately did not meet the minimum criteria and therefore has missed out,” said Proteas Women convenor of selectors, Clinton du Preez.
“It’s purely based on not meeting the fitness criteria that she has missed out on making the team.”
Van Niekerk was previously left out of the Proteas squad that is currently playing in a home tri-series T20 series against West Indies and India for also failing a fitness test.
“It remains the 2km. She, unfortunately, did not meet the minimum requirements of the 2k,” added Du Preez.
“A similar decision was taken in the tri-series. And as we mentioned, we’re going to give Dane another opportunity. Management assisted in trying to get her there. Unfortunately, in the last week, she did not meet that minimum criteria.”
Van Niekerk has not represented South Africa since September 2021 since suffering a freak injury at the backend of that year.
The injury meant that Van Niekerk missed out on last year’s 50-over World Cup, which took place in New Zealand, where the Proteas fell at the semi-final stage.
“Dane has been an integral part of the team. Her absence in the last few years. She’s not been around the team for a while. She was replaced by Sune [Luus] as captain,” said Du Preez.
“I think her skillset as a cricketer will always be missed on the field. We’ve had this discussion with her. We’ve extensively reminded her of that and appreciated the hard work she put in to try and get to the fitness level [required].
“But unfortunately, Dane is not going to be there. The fact that the team has played for a while without her. there’s a lot of responsibility on the players and the current leadership to keep moving forward and to get up in the World Cup and represent and try to keep the team together.”
Omissions
Former Proteas women opening batter Lizelle Lee retired ...
Eskom announced the return of stages 5 and 6 rolling blackouts on Tuesday, as the ANC briefed the media on the outcomes of its lekgotla and the possible declaration of a National State of Disaster to deal with the energy crisis.
As ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula briefed the media on the outcomes of the lekgotla on Tuesday, the country was plunged into Stage 5 and 6 power cuts after several units broke down.
“In the last 24 hours, six generating units have suffered breakdowns, of which a unit each at Duvha and Hendrina have not yet returned to service. In addition, a generating unit each at Matla and Arnot had been returned to service,” Eskom said.
Stage 5 rolling blackouts were implemented from noon on Tuesday, and will continue until 9pm. Stage 6 will then kick in until 5am on Wednesday, after which Stage 5 will continue until further notice.
The power utility said 4,654MW is out due to planned maintenance, while breakdowns currently amount to 18,123MW of generating capacity.
PowerAlert1
Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 12:00 this afternoon until 21:00 tonight. Thereafter Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 tomorrow morning.
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 31, 2023
The power crisis was high on the ANC National Executive Committee’s (NEC) agenda at its lekgotla at Esselen Park in Ekurhuleni over the weekend, according to Mbalula, where it heeded growing calls for the crisis to be declared a National State of Disaster.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Government is considering declaring SA’s rolling blackouts a National State of Disaster, says Ramaphosa”
“In solving the energy crisis, the NEC lekgotla encouraged [President Cyril Ramaphosa] to declare a National State of Disaster, which will also require that the ANC reconnects with our communities and society, as the ANC does not have the monopoly of ideas,” said Mbalula.
A National State of Disaster would help the government to “move with speed”, he added.
The lekgotla had also called for the acceleration of the Energy Action Plan and the Just Energy Transition, as proposed by the National Energy Crisis Committee, “such that there is no load shedding by the end of the year”.
“In meeting this objective, the NEC agreed that all measures should be taken to protect, rebuild and save Eskom.” DM
Bongani Ngadleka found not guilty of fatally stabbing Phelokazi Mqathanya in Khayelitsha.
The man accused of fatally stabbing a Khayelitsha woman has been found not guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court. This news came as a shock to her family and activists who for months had been fighting for justice for Phelokazi Mqathanya’s murder.
Mqathanya, who lived in Site C in Khayelitsha, was stabbed to death on 2 May 2021. She was lesbian and her relatives and activists believe her murder was a hate crime.
The accused, Bongani Ngadleka, was arrested soon after the murder. But after several delays in the investigations and four court postponements, the case was removed from the court roll on 14 December 2021. The case was brought back to court on 5 May 2022 following action by activists at Free Gender.
In October 2022, the case was again postponed because the prosecutors were not in court and the matter was remanded for trial in January 2023 at a hearing later that month. The trial was expected to start on 18 January, but the accused was not at court due to “transport issues” at Pollsmoor Prison. This happened again on 19 January. This case has been postponed 15 times since May 2022.
On Friday 27 January, Ngadleka was found not guilty on the charge of murder. The magistrate found the case had failed to present sufficient evidence.
On Thursday 26 January, state witness Abongile Ngalo told the court that the night Mqathanya was stabbed, he and his friends were drinking at his house when she joined them with three other girls. “Phelokazi was my friend,” he said.
Ngalo said that the accused had arrived about 20 minutes after Mqathanya and her friends, who had been sitting in the kitchen area of the house.
“Bongani wasn’t a friend, but I knew him from [the community]. He started dancing but we never paid much attention to him. At one point I saw him going to the kitchen but from where I was sitting, I didn’t see if he had spoken to Phelokazi and her friends. While he was in the kitchen I didn’t hear any commotion or arguments. After about 10 minutes I saw him leave the house,” he said.
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Ngalo said Mqathanya had gone outside, apparently to get a lighter for her cigarettes. About 20 minutes later he went out to buy more alcohol and that’s ...
About 1,200 residential units, including subsidised housing, as well as retail and recreational facilities are proposed.
The neglected, derelict Strandfontein Pavilion has been earmarked as a new development node with almost 1,200 residential units as well as retail and recreational facilities. It is hoped the development will spur further private investment in the surrounding area, upgrading the under-used False Bay coastline between Muizenberg and Strand.
The pavilion, with its vast tidal pool, beach and picnic areas is currently run-down, underutilised and unsafe. But, say the authors of the City’s Conceptual Development Framework, it was a vibrant spot in the 1980s and 1990s and is alive in the memories of people in neighbourhoods nearby. Plans to develop the spot have been fast-tracked by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
The City says though Cape Town has more than 300km of coastline due to apartheid spatial planning most Capetonians have been excluded from owning property along the coast.
The plan is to keep the tidal pool and part of the existing pavilion, re-establish the adjacent canalised river, and make it a place where people want to live by building four and seven-storey residential blocks with courtyards that let the sun in. The current entrance from Baden Powell Drive onto Strandfontein Road will remain, with another main entrance off Baden Powell to Leukannon Drive about 500 metres further on. While basement parking space for residents is included, the plan is to focus on pedestrian movement, with retail spaces on the ground floor of the residential buildings, and a terraced picnic area on the slope up from the tidal pool on the west side.
Further job opportunities can be created with the possibility of an aquaponics and container fish farm on the east of the adjacent river.
The Urban Planning and Design Department has taken into account sea level rise, the prevailing southeasterly winds and shifting sand.
Infrastructure that can be dismantled and relocated if necessary, such as braai areas, pergolas, action courts, skate parks, and beach huts is included within the 100-year flood line, as well as space for short-term structures such as concert stage scaffolding and weekend seaside market stalls.
Dune grasses are to be planted and irrigated to prevent shifting sand impacting the buildings above the flood line.
Of the 1,196 proposed residential units, 287 (15%) would be for first-time home buyers earning between R3,500 and R22,000 a month, qualifying for the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (Flisp). These units would range from ...
Will allowing red coral harvesting protect this precious species or add to its risk of extinction?
Red coral, found along the Mediterranean coastline, faces extinction due to modern harvesting methods, theft, habitat destruction and climate change. Algeria has the largest reserve of this ‘red gold’ in the Mediterranean, and the country is a prime commercial harvester of the colourful organism, which can fetch up to €5,000 per kg.
Ranging in colour from pale pink to deep red, this precious commodity was used as jewellery by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Traces have been found at archaeological sites across Europe, adorning art, sculptures and ornaments.
Red coral plays an important role in the Mediterranean ecosystem. After France’s conquest of Algeria in 1830, the coral trade played a vital role in the settlement of Europeans and the country’s economic growth. Today red coral is also used to make aeroplane and rocket screws resistant to high atmospheric pressures.
A moratorium on harvesting was in place from 2001 to 2021 to prevent the coral’s disappearance from the country’s coastline. Prices surged due to the ban, incentivising illegal harvesting and smuggling of red coral, says Reda Djenane, president of Algeria’s National Commission of Fishing and Aquaculture.
Since 2000, coastal security services have seized over 15 tonnes of illegally harvested red coral. In 2019, Tunisian police arrested seven Tunisians, two Spaniards and an Algerian trying to smuggle nearly 700 kg of red coral worth almost €2-million from Algeria to Tunisia. Around three tonnes are trafficked annually from Algeria to be sold in Torre del Greco near Naples in Italy — the global centre of red coral processing.
Around 80% of Algeria’s fished red coral is illegally exported to Europe, depriving the government of revenue from legal exports. A scientist who requested anonymity told the Enact project that illegal harvesting in Algerian waters also disadvantaged other countries and islands, such as Corsica, where red coral fishing is regulated.
Since the moratorium on red coral harvesting was lifted in 2021, its collecting and selling have been regulated. Licensed fishers must sell 70% of their product to the state company AGENOR. No more than 3 000 kg may be harvested annually in selected areas.
Fishing locations and annual haulage are also controlled, with exploitation allowed for five years, after which the waters must lie fallow for at least 20 years to allow the coral to regenerate. Red coral grows only 0.5 mm a year, the scientist ...
Mfana Ignitus Kubai’s sentence was increased from 11 to 15 years.
An appeal court has increased the prison sentence of a rhino poacher from 11 to 15 years.
Limpopo Judge Legodi Phatudi, with Judge Thogomelani Tshidada concurring, said the initial sentence given to Mfana Ignitus Kubai in the Louis Trichardt regional court in 2016 was lenient and shockingly inappropriate.
This was especially so since the province had one of the highest numbers of poaching incidents and rhinos are on the verge of extinction.
Judge Phatudi said Kubai had committed an offence which infringed the rights of all South Africans to have the environment protected.
“This pandemic is committed out of greed — to get rich quick,” the judge said.
Kubai, in his appeal, had argued that his sentence was too high. He said the trial court had not taken into consideration that he was a first offender and a breadwinner and had spent two years in custody awaiting trial.
However, the appeal judges indicated at the outset that the sentence imposed had not been in accordance with the Limpopo Environmental Management Act (Lema) which prescribed a maximum term of 15 years.
Because of this, they were “bound to interfere” with the sentence and consider the evidence afresh.
Kubai, dressed in camouflage, was arrested in June 2014 at Chataronga in the far north of Limpopo, after a carcass of a recently killed rhino was found with two horns missing.
He was found in possession of a rifle, a silencer in a lunch box and two rhino horns in a black refuse bag — “caught with his hands in the cookie jar”, the judge said.
Read the judgment here.
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At the initial trial, Isak Prinsloo, manager at Chataronga game farm, said it cost R200,000 a month for security to protect the 51 rhinos on the farm. He said the farm had lost 11 rhinos to poaching in four years.
A probation officer said the offence was committed out of greed. He said Kubai lived a lavish lifestyle and drove luxury cars. Members of the community wondered where he got the money to sustain his lifestyle.
In rebutting Kubai’s claim that he “knew nothing about rhino poaching”, there was evidence that Kubai had in 2008 been arrested for 11 incidents of rhino poaching but had not been prosecuted because he had assisted the police which led to the arrest of some Chinese nationals.
Judge Phatudi said Kubai was ...
The antiviral medicine Paxlovid was registered in South Africa on Tuesday and authorised to treat Covid-19.
Paxlovid, an antiviral medication designed for Covid-19 and with an excellent track record in preventing severe disease, has been approved for use by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).
Paxlovid is used to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen but are at increased risk for progression to severe Covid, like the elderly and people with high-risk comorbidities.
The medication has been in use in several countries. It has an excellent track record in reducing the risk (a clinical trial to support an application for emergency use put this at an 89% reduction) of vulnerable people developing severe Covid-19.
However, it cannot be taken with a long list of medications and St John’s wort, and can have severe or life-threatening side-effects. These medicines include anti-rejection drugs for organ recipients, some medications used to treat heart arrhythmias, some blood thinners, and some medication for high cholesterol.
Paxlovid consists of tablets for a five-day oral treatment regimen, with morning and evening doses. The treatment consists of two antivirals: nirmatrelvir, which inhibits a key enzyme that the virus needs to make more virus particles, rendering it unable to enter healthy cells; and ritonavir, a booster.
Sahpra noted that side-effects include hypersensitivity reactions, diarrhoea, vomiting and altered taste.
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“Sahpra is committed to fast-tracking the registration of all health products that are of an urgent nature, such as HIV-Aids, cancer and Covid-19. As Covid-19 is a looming threat, the registration of Paxlovid heralds a welcome signal in the fight against this pandemic,” the regulator’s CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, said.
Does it work?
In December, the US Centers for Disease Control, in an early-release mortality and morbidity report for Covid-19, reported that people who took Paxlovid within five days of being diagnosed with Covid-19 had a 51% lower hospital admission rate in the next month. The study included both vaccinated people and people who had a prior infection.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral lowered long-Covid risk in study”
Pfizer has also published information showing that Paxlovid is effective against the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The teams tracking variants in South Africa said in their latest report, published late last week, that Omicron is still the dominant variant. BQ.1 and its sublineages increased in prevalence in October (6%), November (18%) and December (46%) ...
Kara sweet potatoes are a rich orange hue inside and are made even more delicious by the addition of toasted cumin seeds and Canadian maple syrup.
Sweet potatoes can be turned into hasselbacks too, and have the extra advantage of being well suited to a glaze. I used toasted cumin seeds to balance the sweetness of the maple syrup. Sweet potatoes are softer than regular varieties, so the chance of accidentally cutting all the way through is greater.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
4 medium Kara sweet potatoes
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Canadian maple syrup
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Peel the potatoes. Using a small, sharp knife, carefully cut through until halfway, at small intervals.
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until they are lightly coloured but not burnt.
In a bowl, mix the olive oil and maple syrup, season with salt and pepper and stir in the cumin seeds.
Douse the potatoes with the glaze, reserving the balance.
Preheat the air fryer at 200℃ for 5 minutes.
Spray the bottom of the basket or rack and lay the potatoes out with space between them for airflow.
Cook at 200℃ for 20 minutes. Brush the remaining baste over them.
Turn the temperature up to 200℃ and cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes.
Test for doneness with a skewer or fork. If not tender, cook for another 5 minutes or until done. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony jackman cooks.
‘The modern world is suspicious of compassion because we have accepted the belief that nature is ‘red in tooth and claw’ and that we are fundamentally competing against everyone and everything. According to this perspective, in our lives of getting and spending, compassion is at best a luxury, or at worst a self-defeating folly of the weak. Yet evolutionary science has come to see cooperation, and its core emotions of empathy, compassion and generosity, as fundamental to our species’ survival.’ (‘The Book of Joy’)
I have just finished reading Bill Bryson’s 2019 book, The Body, A Guide for Occupants. It’s fascinating, fact filled and often funny. The story of man’s gradual conquest over the threats to his body (and I use the word man deliberately because women’s health, queer health or children’s health have not received the same investment of time or money) is central to the story of the past few hundred years of “civilization”.
Read a review of it here: The Body by Bill Bryson review – a directory of wonders | Science and nature books | The Guardian
But most of all, reading The Body reminded me of a fact about human existence that is so in our face that we seem to forget it most of the time. Despite differences of class, race, gender, sex, ethnic or geographical origin, the now more than eight billion humans on this planet are all basically the same.
We are born in the same way, we reproduce in the same way, age the same way, are prone to a common set of diseases.
We dream the same way, have a common set of emotions, feel pain equally, get hurt and die the same way.
However, with the explosion of inequality, in the conduct of our day-to-day lives, we have forgotten this. We have othered people beyond our family and friends. We don’t look at a street child and register their pain, the person who lives in a park and think what it’s like to live without a proper roof; we don’t see the millions condemned to permanent unemployment without ever realising their potential for personal development.
Bryson’s jaunt through the body is not intended as a political book in any sense. Nevertheless, it becomes a stunning testament to how badly wrong our societies have gone in the past 100 or so years.
He records how our food systems have become bad for us; our health systems are bad ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
France and Australia announced they would supply Ukraine with 155mm ammunition shells after President Volodymyr Zelensky urged partners to supply new weaponry.
The Ukrainian leader and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, visited the southern Mykolayiv region, where Zelensky also discussed security and energy issues with local officials.
A Russian missile strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Kharkiv killed at least one person and injured three others, according to the regional governor.
Key developments
Russia plans big diesel exports in first month of EU imports ban
China dismisses US claims of support for Russia as ‘paranoia’
Russia’s war accelerates shift away from oil and gas, BP says
Russia’s oil cargoes surge with pipe down and fuel ban at hand
Scholz visits South America in a race with China for lithium
On the ground
The Russian military carried out three air strikes, including one against Kharkiv, and shelled areas using multiple launch rocket systems, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
Russian forces continue an offensive in the direction of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka.
France, Australia to supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said “several thousand 155mm shells will be manufactured jointly” by French and Australian industries as Australia’s defence and foreign ministers visited their counterparts in Paris.
Putin and Saudi Crown Prince discuss Opec+
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed cooperation within Opec+ to provide oil market stability with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the Kremlin.
The two men also talked about bilateral ties during a telephone conversation, the Russian head of state’s press service said.
Ukraine says 9,000 Russian troops may be in Belarus
Ukraine estimates about 9,000 Russian servicemen may be deployed in neighbouring Belarus, Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the border service, said on television.
Ukraine doesn’t see any significant movement of troops in Belarus near its borders, he said.
Zelensky talks security, energy in southern region
Zelensky and Frederiksen visited wounded soldiers at a hospital in the southern Mykolayiv region, according to a post on the Ukrainian leader’s Telegram channel.
During a meeting with local officials, Zelensky also discussed Russia’s missile and drone attacks, as well as the state of local energy infrastructure.
One dead in Ukraine’s second-biggest city
One person died and three people were injured after a Russian missile hit a residential building in Kharkiv on Sunday, Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor, said on Telegram.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov had said earlier that a fire broke out and preliminary reports indicated there would be civilian casualties.
Two weeks ago, a ...
Though carbon inequalities exist between the Global North and the Global South, the report also found that these inequalities are now greater within countries.
The disproportionate effect of the climate crisis is not only evident between the Global North and the Global South, but also within countries and among individuals, a new report by the World Inequality Lab has found.
Authored by Lucas Chancel, Philipp Bothe and Tancrède Voituriez, the report was sponsored by Norad and the United Nations Development Programme. Titled Climate Inequality Report 2023: Fair taxes for a sustainable future in the Global South, the report found that the top 10% of global carbon emitters generate half of all greenhouse gas emissions.
It also found that the effort required to achieve the same emissions reductions for the top emitters is minimal; hence, global policies to achieve this should be targeted at the Global North.
Lowering emissions through a just transition has indeed proven to be an infrastructural and financial challenge for developing countries such as South Africa. Decades of coal dependence have created a mammoth task for the country, which is experiencing its worst bouts of rolling blackouts.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “What the world is learning from South Africa’s nascent Just Energy Transition Investment Plan”
“The comparison of the global bottom 50%, middle 40% and top 10% in terms of losses, emissions and capacity to finance global climate action provides a striking snapshot of climate inequalities and a reasonable guide to identify the key contributors to the funding of climate inequality reduction policies,” stated the report.
Key to accelerating the energy transition is better understanding how different players may win or lose, the report found, as the top emitters in the Global North contribute the most emissions, but are shielded from, or will least experience, the consequences of the climate crisis.
Though carbon inequalities exist between the Global North and South, the report also found that these inequalities are now greater within countries. Indicators have shown that the environmental costs of a small group of a population directly and/or indirectly disproportionately contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
“Poverty and vulnerability to climate hazards are correlated and mutually reinforce each other. Many low-income regions are facing agricultural productivity losses of 30% and more due to climate change which aggravates poverty and food insecurity,” state the authors of the report.
KZN floods
The findings were evident in South Africa when the country’s east coast, KwaZulu-Natal, experienced torrential rains that caused ...
After the Proteas’ dismal tour to Australia, the domestic SA20 competition brought the feel-good factor back to local cricket and Temba Bavuma’s white-ball ODI squad have carried that happy momentum forward.
Cricket is a game of fine margins and usually more disappointment than success. Batters are almost always dismissed. The good ones might score more than 50 about every fourth trip to the crease. It’s a hard job.
For Proteas captain Temba Bavuma, it’s been an emotionally draining year or so. Runs have been hard to come by, criticism has been harsh and he endured the most chastening public snub when failing to secure an SA20 contract at the auction.
Which is why, when he reached his century against England in Bloemfontein on Sunday, he gestured to his name on his back and the badge on his chest.
It was a natural outpouring of relief, anger and joy for the skipper, who happens to be leading at a time when South African cricket’s world-class playing stocks are thin.
Still, they are a team of battlers and thanks to Bavuma’s 109 off 102 balls at the Mangaung Oval, chased down 343 in 49.1 overs to seal a 2-0 series victory over the world champions, England.
It was a win that took the Proteas a step closer to automatic qualification for the One-Day International (ODI) World Cup later this year, but as importantly, continued to keep cricket in the headlines for the right reasons.
SA20 pause
After years of boardroom drama and inconsistency on the field at international level, the SA20 has been a revelation in bringing fans back to stadiums in the past three weeks.
But due to the late confirmation of the SA20 tournament, the three-match ODI series against England needed to be accommodated simultaneously.
The compromise was to pause the SA20 for a week while South Africa and England battle it out. Fortunately, the Proteas continued the feel-good momentum SA20 created with two pulsating wins over England in Bloemfontein, with the third match set for Kimberley on 1 February.
Barring Bavuma, the star Proteas performers during the first two ODIs all have SA20 contracts. So, it was a pleasure to see the skipper do the only thing he could do, and score runs to remind people why he is captain in the white-ball format.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Emotionally, it [being snubbed and struggling for runs] can be draining and it can be taxing. As ...
The apparent contrast between the level of services in Cape Town and the collapse of services in other metros could become a big political issue ahead of next year’s polls.
With all of the recent movements at the local government level and the proximity of next year’s national and provincial elections, certain parties may now want to start campaigning on their track records in councils. This issue is likely to resonate strongly with voters — it is entirely rational to assess a party’s suitability for national office based on its record in local government.
At the same time, the situation in many councils is now so bad that many voters will feel completely disillusioned with almost all of our parties. Except for the situation in the Western Cape and in particular, the City of Cape Town.
The apparent contrast between the level of services there and the collapse of services in other metros could become a major political issue ahead of next year’s polls.
Last week, the City of Joburg learnt that it had a new mayor. No one appears to expect Thapelo Amad to remain in power for long; even the ANC has referred to him as a “transitional mayor”.
In eThekwini, voting for a deputy mayor had to be postponed because the ANC and the EFF were not ready to implement a deal.
Tshwane has admitted it cannot pay Eskom what it owes and cannot recover enough revenue to pay the utility on an ongoing basis.
In Ekurhuleni, it appears that the EFF and the ANC may soon force a new mayor in through a no-confidence vote.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, there are still massive problems with water and fears that taps in a large part of Gqeberha could soon run dry.
And in Mangaung, residents complain their city is close to collapse because of infighting among members of the governing ANC, after the party recalled its mayor earlier this month.
Bucking the trend
Meanwhile, in press release after press release, the City of Cape Town is apparently making progress.
Last week it announced it would be buying electricity from residents with rooftop solar installations, to add to its current mechanisms that stave off two stages of load shedding.
Residents in middle-class areas talk about how well their city works — there are anecdotes about power lines being repaired within hours, and potholes are a foreign concept.
Some mention huge construction projects, a sign that investors believe the city has a strong ...
Coalitions in South Africa’s major metros are reaching unprecedented new levels of instability simultaneously, with ongoing disputes in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and KwaZulu-Natal. The major losers are the South African people.
Below, we look at the factors enabling the coalition mess in South Africa’s major metros to play out.
1. There are no laws governing South African coalition agreements at present
This is arguably the biggest problem affecting the entire coalition ecosystem in South Africa, and remedying it would address many of the points below. Bodies ranging from the South African Local Government Association (Salga) to the DA have proposed amendments to the legislative framework to try to bring some stability to governance agreements.
Among the changes proposed by the DA: that coalition agreements must be formal, legally binding accords; that there should be more time available to parties to negotiate coalitions after election results are announced; and that there should be a limit to the frequency with which motions of no confidence can be brought in the legislature.
Even such measures will not be a silver bullet — since, as Wits law professor Marius Pieterse wrote in 2020: “One cannot legislate against political pettiness.” It is generally accepted that the environment in which coalition governments work best is one of political maturity — not, sadly, a description which finds much resonance in South Africa.
2. As things stand, parties can simply walk away from agreements
Salga’s report on local government coalitions, prepared by the Dullah Omar Institute in 2021, notes that there are multiple problems currently with coalition agreements in municipalities, including that they are vague and often not available to the public.
Although parties recently have been publishing coalition agreements in the hope that making these contracts public will cause those reneging on them to lose credibility, there are few signs that this is working.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) led by Gayton McKenzie is a particular villain here, having repeatedly either exited coalitions or threatened to do so since its improved election performance in 2021.
3. Parties are desperate to get their own candidates into key positions
This is what the DA says happened recently with ActionSA: it fielded its own candidate for mayor in Johannesburg despite all coalition partners (according to John Steenhuisen) agreeing to back the DA’s Mpho Phalatse.
See also Al Jama-ah, the Muslim-interest party which has proved more than happy to provide councillor Thapelo Amad as Johannesburg mayor despite the fact that every indication is that he ...
More than 30 police officers from across the country were recognised at the South African Police Service’s Excellence Awards for the men and women in blue who went the extra mile to protect South Africans. The awards ceremony was held in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Saturday night.
Sergeant Kheshi Mabunda was a co-recipient of the award for Detective and Forensic Services’ Employee of the Year for his outstanding investigation and subsequent conviction of former cop, Rosemary Ndlovu.
Ndlovu was sentenced to six life terms for murdering her partner and five family members to benefit from the funeral insurance payout.
Mabunda shared the award with Sergeant Tlou Johannes Chokoe, whose relentless efforts led to the arrest of a serial rapist terrorising women in Polokwane, Maleboho and Musina.
Visible Policing and Operations’ Employee of the Year went to Constable Thato Motlagomang Mothamane from the Free State. She is responsible for implementing safety programmes at 39 schools.
The event was attended by Minister of Police Bheki Cele and national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola, and the families of those killed in the line of duty.
The Excellence Awards honoured employees, reservists and community policing forum structures that excelled in their duties in the 2021/2022 financial year.
Warrant Officer Roger Mavundla, shot dead along with his wife and three children by unknown gunmen in the Nzimakwe near Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, was among those who were honoured posthumously. Only Mavundla’s seven-year-old daughter survived the attack.
Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara, who died while rescuing residents during the floods in KZN in April 2022, also received a posthumous award.
The Excellence Awards give officers the opportunity to temporarily hang up their uniforms, put aside their dangerous and challenging duties, and slip into tuxedos and glamorous evening wear for a night of rare appreciation.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In his address, Cele said: “The Excellence Awards are simply to say thank you to the men and women in blue, and put it out there to the community to realise there are still good people among the men and women in blue.
“The SAPS Excellence Awards recognises outstanding performances and selflessness in the line of duty.”
Cele also slammed rotten apples in the SAPS, saying it was painful to see a corrupt police officer being arrested by his or her colleagues.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Spree of arrests of top cops exposes the depth of the rot alleged in SAPS’s Crime Intelligence”
Cele mentioned a recent case involving ...
SA’s load shedding crisis, which has been in existence for more than a decade, could soon be declared a National State of Disaster, President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested on Monday night.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has seemingly agreed to heed calls for the load shedding crisis to be declared a national disaster in a bid to end it “within a much shorter time frame than what has been projected”.
At present, 2023 is set to be worse than 2022 in terms of rolling blackouts. Experts have warned that the recovery of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations cannot be achieved in the short term and it will take at least two years to improve the energy availability factor (EAF) from the current 58% to 70%.
The crisis is so dire that Eskom considered implementing permanent Stage 2 and Stage 3 rolling blackouts to give the public more predictability, a statement it has since backtracked on.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom quickly backpedals on statement on permanent load shedding for two years, hints at ‘good performance’ incentives for staff”
Closing the ANC’s four-day lekgotla at Esselen Park in Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said the issue of possibly declaring the energy emergency a National State of Disaster was receiving urgent attention.
Calls for the crisis to be declared a National State of Disaster were made by a number of roleplayers, including traditional leaders, community-based organisations and trade unions. The call was further aired at the party’s lekgotla held over the weekend.
“It was observed that it would be necessary to have a National State of Disaster because that would enable us to have the instruments that would be necessary to fully address the challenge that our nation faces,” Ramaphosa said.
“Work is already under way within the government to establish whether the legal requirements for the declaration of a National State of Disaster are met and what specific actions we would be empowered to undertake to urgently resolve load shedding within the framework of a National State of Disaster,” he said, as those in attendance cheered in agreement.
Ramaphosa’s remarks came after the party received presentations from representatives who shared the devastating impact of rolling blackouts on communities, small businesses and the farming sector.
“The lekgotla agreed that energy security is very central to our country’s national interest, our country’s national sovereignty and national security. Without energy security, we will not be able to achieve our other developmental priorities such as building a transformed, inclusive, growing and ...
Lenin, unlike our union leadership and some Cabinet ministers, understood the power of science and technology, as did Stalin in the early years of crash industrialisation when the Soviet Union pursued joint ventures with foreign capital.
Happy anniversary, dear old Eskom. Your centenary will be celebrated on 1 March 2023. We Maverickniki remember how the Electricity Supply Commission was founded during Jan Smut’s premiership with physicist Hendrik van der Bijl in charge.
Russia’s Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, aka Lenin, would have applauded. Lawyer Lenin, like lawyer Smuts, appreciated the importance of electricity to political power.
Van der Bijl went on to create the South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation (Iscor), another element of the commanding heights of the economy of the Boer-Briton developmental state built after the Union of 1910.
Boer-Briton empowerment (BBE) took the form of the nationalisation of railways and ports, then electricity, next state-owned iron and steel works, the mega dams and irrigation schemes. All to function on cost recovery principles with capped profits. Along came World War 2, and Van der Bijl engineered the Industrial Development Corporation. And it was good. Kind of.
Enter Grand Apartheid with the new Atomic Energy Corporation, Armscor, Sasol, forestry, fertilisers and all. Add totale aanslag and the stew went bad, though not for the minority. Yet.
In opposition to apartheid came the Freedom Charter, that would enlarge the role of the state with its plans for a national bourgeois revolution. And so to civil war, and it became worse. Alongside the Anglo-American empire which played all sides.
Eskom chundered along, belching smoke and acid rain, absorbing new technologies to become a vertically integrated power utility whose network skills were a wonder to behold. Super-high-voltage stuff, with locally made insulators, cables, transformers, pylons and control equipment. Horizontal integration with secondary industries beckoned, and the price, wondrously low. The mine owners loved Eskom for its cost plus cheap power. The environment? Pah.
And so to the 1980s. Sasol II? Unaffordable; go to the market. Iscor? Uneconomic. Sell. Eskom? Over-capacity. Enter deals with metal refiners. Corporatise, then privatise. The civil war? Export to Angola and Mozambique. Eish. Unwinnable. Negotiate. Settle on a national democratic revolution – votes for all, separation of powers, rule of law. Done.
The national bourgeois revolution? That will take a bit longer. The majority gain control of the state, subject to the rule of law. Anglo makes for the plane. Is this State Capture? Not yet. But first ...
Malawians are nearly 30 times poorer than the average global citizen, an astonishing statistic when one contemplates its development advantages – a lake covering one quarter of its total area, and rich agricultural land.
Malawi is stuck. Among the five poorest countries at independence, in 2021 it was ranked second from the bottom globally.
Its vital statistics read like a bad day on the Somme.
Currently per capita income is $390, a quarter of the sub-Saharan average, itself seven times less than the global average. Malawians were very poor at independence in 1964, their average income just 5% of the global average; today they have unimaginably slipped further backwards, to a paltry 3.5%.
Put differently, Malawians are nearly 30 times poorer than the average global citizen, an astonishing statistic when one contemplates its development advantages (a lake covering one quarter of its total area, and rich agricultural land) and how well we understand development choices, challenges and options by now.
Following independence, Malawi’s growth patterns initially tracked those of sub-Saharan Africa, increasing at 3.7% annually. Since 1980, however, it started to fall behind the rest of the continent, by then hardly a stellar performer.
Malawi’s real per capita GDP grew at an average of just 1.5%, for example, between 1995 and 2015, well below the 2.7% average in non-resource-rich African economies.
There are few countries as poor which are not in war. At least Malawi has that going for it. To add insult to injury, Malawi has remained vulnerable to episodic financial crises, characterised by balance-of-payment issues, forex unavailability, rising inflation, high debt levels, and a collapse in growth rates.
Why is Malawi so poor, and why the recurrent tendency to crisis and constant slipping further backwards?
This is a result of many factors, of course.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Malawi at risk of food emergency amid recurrent weather shocks”
Many Malawians emphasise a combination of the poor colonial inheritance, being landlocked, poverty, and unfavourable terms of trade. Others would prefer to point to the harsh regime of Kamuzu (Hastings) Banda, the Scottish-educated authoritarian who ran the country with an iron fist until the advent of multipartyism in 1994 – though Malawians are divided in their loyalty over the legacy of a man who referred to his own people as “children in politics”.
Even though things started to fall apart during Banda’s rule, especially by the late 1980s, forcing the arrival of the World Bank and imposition of a series of pro-market ...
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW Financial Services have won on appeal, which now gives dealerships the green light to charge extra to prepare vehicles for sale.
Car dealerships and their banking partners have cause to pop champagne corks: the Pretoria High Court has ruled that on-the-road (OTR) or service fees, which are lumped — often surreptitiously — on to the price of financed vehicles, are allowable.
OTR fees have long been a blight on the industry, with consumers understandably objecting to being “tricked” into paying extra for everything from flowers, ribbons and sparkling wine to personalised key rings, valet services, pre-delivery checks and even staff costs.
The costs can run into thousands of rands, depending on the car and dealership.
Now, the court has ruled that OTR fees are not part of the cost of credit, but rather part of the initial transaction agreed upon by the dealer and consumer.
The matter first came to a head five years ago when the National Credit Regulator (NCR) issued compliance notices against the financial services divisions of VW (VWFS) and BMW (BMWFS) and Mercedes-Benz (MBFS) in 2017, contending that lumping OTR fees on vehicle finance agreements was not permissible under the National Credit Act.
At the time of the initial investigation, the NCR contended that the act only allows for initiation fees, actual delivery of a vehicle, extended warranties, a tank of fuel, and licence and registration fees, and that any additional expenses — such as operating costs — should not be built into the purchase price.
Section 100 of the NCA says that if a consumer buys a vehicle, they aren’t allowed to be charged fees that aren’t set out clearly; section 101 deals with allowable fees and section 102 sets out the fees or charges that can be part of the transaction, which include the initiation fee, extended warranty, initial fuelling charges, connection fees, taxes, licence and registration fee.
This meant that if dealerships charge for a tank of fuel, they were only allowed to charge for what was actually put into the tank and had to provide slips to prove their expenses. The rest — the champers, the big red ribbon, inspection fee and other “value-adds” – were for the dealership’s account, not the consumer.
The regulator then ordered the financiers to furnish it with a list of all consumers who were charged the OTR fee since 1 June 2007 (when the NCA came into effect), show evidence of ...
‘Everyone is going into a coalition to campaign for 2024, rather than to govern for the people,’ says Build One South Africa founder Mmusi Maimane.
“I just think we have a dearth of leadership and I’m afraid the citizens are the ones who suffer the most,” said Build One South Africa founder Mmusi Maimane during an interview with Daily Maverick on Monday.
Maimane gave the interview after addressing the Cape Town Press Club, where he unpacked the vision his political movement has for South Africa after the 2024 national and provincial elections.
About the ongoing mayoral issues within the City of Johannesburg — with the mayor being from a party that has three council seats — Maimane said: “We need better leaders, at this point in time. It feels like there’s mudslinging on both ends and I wish somebody would call everyone into one room and say no one is winning, whether it’s the DA or ActionSA, whether it’s the ANC — no one is winning.
“We’ve got to come back together and say, how do we put people in a room and give a vision of what this country can be?”
He said things went wrong because there was a “leadership deficit” in the coalition in Johannesburg. “Everyone is going into a coalition to campaign for 2024, rather than to govern for the people.”
Maimane said it was important to be clear about plans to get coalitions working in large municipalities.
“If you’ve got a plan that you table before an election you can be clear afterwards: Okay, post that, who is responsible for what and how do we deliver against that?”
Maimane said that in Johannesburg anyone could talk about potholes or energy, but: “Just get a proper plan, align it on values and hold people accountable to that plan.”
At the State of the City Address “You should be able to tell us, last year you said you’d build 100 houses, this year we’ve built 50. Why? Then, when you have a motion of no confidence, I can respect that because you say this guy has failed our plan, not this guy’s in a wrong political party so he must be removed — it’s nonsense.”
The former DA mayor of Johannesburg, Dr Mpho Phalatse, has announced her intention to run for DA party leader against the incumbent, John Steenhuisen.
“I wish her well,” said Maimane. “It’s a hard job, it’s a hard organisation to lead in some instances. ...
The Department of Basic Education has announced that early childhood development (ECD) centres will no longer need nonprofit registration to be eligible for the ECD subsidy. This is largely seen as a ‘progressive move’ that will reduce the red tape facing centres in need of funding.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has changed the eligibility criteria for the state’s early childhood development (ECD) subsidy. ECD centres will no longer be required to register as nonprofit organisations (NPOs) in order to qualify for the funding.
This is a “progressive move” by the DBE, according to Laura Brooks, an economist at Ilifa Labantwana, an organisation working to secure universal access to quality early childhood development for children in South Africa.
“It’s a bold statement that they’re making, to act to remove red tape,” she said. “I think it signals . that they want to work with the [ECD] sector, and their ambition to expand access to services for poor children.”
The DBE anticipates that the change in eligibility requirements will “bring immediate relief to the overly burdensome bureaucratic processes in the ECD sector”, while also allowing an increase in access to the subsidy for vulnerable children, according to a department statement issued on 26 January.
“NPO registration does not add additional assurances regarding the use of the subsidy, and it is obstructive to the goal of expanding towards universal access to ECD, especially for the poorest children,” stated the DBE.
Here’s the latest on the Early Childhood Development centres and programmes. #ECD @Angie_Motshekga @HubertMweli @dbetvnews @ElijahMhlanga
Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) January 26, 2023
The 2021 ECD census identified 9,100 programmes serving more than 190,000 poor children that were not registered as NPOs, according to Brooks. If all these programmes were subsidised, it would constitute a 25% increase in the number of children benefiting from the subsidy.
“Of course, we don’t know if they meet the other [ECD] registration requirements, which would need to be in place for them to receive a subsidy, but that’s the group that is affected by this change,” said Brooks.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Removing a barrier to the subsidy
The ECD function was overseen by the Department of Social Development (DSD) until April 2022, when it was handed over to the DBE. The core mandate of the DSD was the delivery of social welfare services, which was often done through the NPO model of provisioning, said Zaheera Mohamed, the CEO of ...
Talk about a shocker. Global accountancy and consultancy firm PwC estimates that the South African economy could have grown by close to 7% in 2022 were it not for the curse of load shedding. That means power shortages cost the economy about five percentage points in lost gross domestic product (GDP).
PwC has long held the view that load shedding’s toll on the economy is harsher than is widely presumed, and this makes sense. An industrialised economy needs a reliable supply of power. Without it, things fall apart.
“Load shedding on 208 days reduced real GDP growth by up to five percentage points in 2022,” PwC said in its latest South African Economic Outlook report. “. economic growth could again have been close to 7% last year were it not for load shedding.”
Or “potential” economic growth could have been close to 7%.
“We previously estimated that South Africa lost 2.9 percentage points of real GDP growth in 2021 due to the adverse effect of load shedding, based on an estimated 2,521GWh of power outages.
“We estimated that the cost of load shedding was R50/kWh — this is roughly half of the modelled total effect of the cost of unserved energy. Given that the economy grew by 4.9% that year, our estimate suggests the country’s potential economic growth was at least 7% in 2021.
“This includes the base effects from the deep 2020 recession where the economy contracted by 6.4%,” the report says.
Stifled by a failing state
Potential growth of 7% may seem like a rapid pace for an economy that is literally strewn with so many potholes, but that is the point: the economy has a lot going for it, but it’s constrained by a failing state.
One way to look at it — and this is not a point explicitly made by PwC — is that load shedding is an indicator of an economy that is trying to grow, but simply can’t at the rate it should because of the power crisis (as well as other features of state failure).
Eskom held up reasonably well during the Great Lockdown of 2020, when the economy was melting down and all but essential businesses were closed. But it has been unable to meet the spurt in demand that has coincided with the subsequent rebound.
PwC also notes that measuring the impact of load shedding is a moving target and involves factors that are also positive.
Solar panel boom benefit
“Behavioural change has ...
According to the World Uncertainty Index compiled by the International Monetary Fund, Russia’s war in Ukraine remains by far the biggest driver of ‘global uncertainty’, which remains at extremely elevated levels. This hurts economic growth and investment flows, and is a pointed reminder that Pretoria’s foreign policy does not have SA’s best interests in mind.
More than one commentator has spoken about our current “age of uncertainty” and there are few things that rattle markets and investors more than groping in the dark without a headlamp to shine at least some light on the path ahead.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently updated its innovative World Uncertainty Index (WUI) to track these trends on a monthly instead of quarterly basis. While the index declined in December, it remains at extremely elevated levels. And the biggest source of uncertainty, by a country mile, is Russia’s war in Ukraine, a point driven home by the IMF’s Chart of the Week.
“Uncertainty jumped following the United Kingdom’s unexpected vote to leave the European Union — and soared even further after the surprise outcome of the 2016 presidential election in the United States. This was followed by US trade tensions with China, which caused major uncertainty for the world,” the IMF notes.
“Another big spike followed in early 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, followed less than two years later by another shock from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and renewed trade uncertainty associated with the risk of geoeconomic fragmentation.”
The index is based on a textual model. Using Economist Intelligence Unit reports, it is derived from an analysis that draws on words published in proximity to mentions of uncertainty.
Uncertainty casts a shadow over economic growth and by extension investment flows. It’s a key reason global economic growth is seen as slowing this year.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
South Africa alone has enough domestic uncertainties to sink a Russian battleship. The power crisis, Transnet’s woes, erratic weather patterns and the threat of explosive levels of social unrest all shroud the future in a haze like the clouds of smoke that hang over a service delivery protest. And the words ‘political’ and ‘policy’ are frequently found in proximity to the word ‘uncertainty’ in South African public discourse.
Returning to Russia’s vicious invasion of Ukraine, the WUI is also a pointed reminder that Pretoria’s foreign policy hardly has the best interests of South Africa in mind ...
The Indian stock market has seen the golden rules of ‘poop and scoop’ and ‘pump and dump’ applied at such a scale that it’s mind-boggling.
Every investor knows the two golden rules for making quick money on the stock market. The usual way, or should we call it the slow way, to make money on the stock market is to search for alpha, invest sensibly over the long term, diversify, find a good money manager, start investing early, etc.
But for some people, this process takes ages, and they often don’t have the time, so they look for more, shall we say, adventurous options. This is where the two golden rules come in. Actually, they are not so much “golden” as polished brass which can give the impression of gold if you don’t examine them too closely. I’m talking about, of course, the hallowed “poop and scoop” rule, and its equally hallowed sibling, “pump and dump”. Quite.
The Indian stock market has seen these two golden rules applied at such a scale that it’s mind-boggling. What happened most recently, if you are not an aficionado of the Indian stock market, is that seemingly out of the blue a new Indian billionaire started to appear on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Gautam Adani. At one point he was second on the list, with a net worth of about $147-billion. The family trust owns about half of the listed holding company Adani Enterprises, as well as a host of other companies.
Adani Enterprises, a diversified industrial powerhouse, chugged along happily for years and years trading at around 150 rupees on the BSE (formerly the Bombay Stock Exchange) until 2020, when it blasted off. The company reached a peak last December, hitting 4,161 rupees. Part of the reason has to do with coal, since the group is not only a big coal miner but a huge coal trader as well (and we all know what has happened to the coal price over the past few years). Coal is estimated to constitute about 60% of its total earnings.
For whatever reason, the group’s valuation, on its way out of Earth’s orbit, lost sight of reality. Adani Enterprises is currently trading — and this after a huge implosion — at a 121 price:earnings ratio. How much “pumping” was there in this process? That question has engendered a big argument.
If you are a manager of a company and the stock market goes ...
The first State Capture trial has entered its second week. Officials from the Free State Agriculture and Rural Development Department have made up the majority of the witnesses.
Three more Free State Agriculture and Rural Development Department officials testified in the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday about their signatures on documents that show payments made to Nulane Investments.
The State alleges that Nulane Investments — one of the accused — was paid R24.9-million for a feasibility study for the controversial Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy project. Five officials from the department — which spent R280-million on the flagship project — have testified so far.
The eight accused include two former heads of the Free State Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi, and the department’s former chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini. The other accused are Iqbal Sharma, Dinesh Patel, Ronica Ragavan and a second company, Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty, of which Ragavan was a director.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
According to the charge sheet, Nulane Investments — which was awarded the contract for the feasibility study — did not have the capacity to undertake the study and subcontracted Deloitte to deliver the service.
The first State Capture trial has entered its second week and officials from the Free State Agriculture and Rural Development Department have made up the majority of the witnesses. They testified about their signatures on documents that authorised the payment in three tranches.
The latest official on the witness stand, Kenosi Thubisi, said he had been new in the department when he was asked to sign a document on behalf of his manager. During cross-examination, Thubisi became tearful and asked acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha if he could continue on Tuesday. The State is expected to call three more government officials to testify.
The case continues. DM
Former Johannesburg mayor, Mpho Phalatse, wants his job, but John Steenhuisen looks set for a second term as DA leader and is likely to be the face of the party for the 2024 general elections.
Fresh from being voted out of Johannesburg’s mayoral office, Mpho Phalatse launched her campaign on Monday to become leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) at the party’s federal congress in April.
The telegenic and popular doctor-turned-politician will run on her understanding of the “astute challenges of government” as an executive mayor and a member of the mayoral executive under Herman Mashaba.
The DA will campaign in 2024 as a party that ran good governments wherever it headed the administration.
Asked what governing strengths Phalatse would campaign on, a supporter said her plans for mitigating load shedding, balancing a precarious city budget and taking a firm line on corruption by reconstituting Johannesburg’s disciplinary board, would count in Phalatse’s favour.
Handful of supporters
But only a few Johannesburg councillors attended Phalatse’s Soweto launch on Monday, where there were more journalists than supporters in attendance.
The closest officials from her year in office are not part of her campaign. Phalatse has two months to win the support of delegates to the party’s federal congress that takes place in April.
“It’s safe to say an incumbent has an advantage,” said a supporter of Phalatse, referring to party leader John Steenhuisen. He is a popular leader in the DA and has already won significant support to get his second term, according to his supporters.
He was elected federal leader in November 2020 after serving as an interim leader when Mmusi Maimane quit. Steenhuisen has the support of many voting blocs who will elect new leaders in April, including councillors, branch members from vote-rich DA constituencies, and the party’s MPs and members of provincial legislatures.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Steenhuisen was a councillor in Durban for many years and his knowledge of, and empathy for, the tough challenges faced by ward councillors has won him support from the most powerful group at the federal congress.
Steenhuisen is also seen to have stabilised the party and dealt with the cliques and leaks that had come to characterise the DA.
While Phalatse is popular in the DA, strategists say she should have taken a seat as an MP in 2024, when there will be a national election, and then launched a bid for leadership in 2026.
She led a tough ...
In the past year, Medscheme has recovered more than R155m on behalf of the 11 schemes it administers, and reduced billing behaviour over the past two years by more than R3bn. ‘That’s just the fraud we were able to identify and prove, and it was the tip of the iceberg,’ says Gerda Strydom, general manager at Medscheme Forensics.
One of the largest medical aid administrators in the country, Medscheme, is responsible for the administration of 11 schemes including Bonitas, Polmed and Fedhealth, and also provides forensic services to other schemes it does not administer.
Although the Covid pandemic thrust healthcare into the global spotlight in recent times, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) says the sector still loses R22-billion to R28-billion a year in South Africa alone due to fraud, waste and abuse (FWA).
“That’s a conservative estimate because the exact number is hard to quantify. Some companies say anything from 5% to 15% of healthcare claims could include an element of fraud, waste and abuse,” she says.
Strydom says the fraud triangle — pressure, opportunity and rationalisation — leads to conditions that increase the likelihood of fraud being committed.
“In this economy, financial pressure is most definitely a reality for many,” she says, adding that fraud is often committed by healthcare providers and medical scheme members alike.
“Fraud also contributes to the cost of healthcare increasing due to the heavy claims paid out. Many of these have come to light due to whistle-blowers, as well as investigations aimed at identifying the causes of increasing healthcare costs in the country,” Strydom notes.
Types of financial abuse
Fraud is a deliberate act with the intention to defraud someone; where person A is unduly benefited at the expense of person B and the key is intent.
Strydom explains that abuse would include medically unjustifiable claims where a healthcare provider might carry out a valid scan of your leg or appendix, but it’s not justifiable, and there was no good reason to carry out the scan.
“Wasteful expenditure is where the expense is justifiable but unnecessary. For example, there might be a good reason for you to have access to certain medicines, but you would have been fine without that medication. It’s really just wasteful, and using resources that could be more clinically correctly allocated to another medical scheme member,” she says.
However, some “fraudulent” claims arise simply from error. For example, duplicate claims could occur due to system errors or miscommunication between the ...
Zambia’s Public Protector, Advocate Caroline Zulu-Sokoni, has offered the opinion that the parliamentary impeachment inquiry into her suspended South African counterpart, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, is ‘odd’.
Caroline Zulu-Sokoni, who has been the Public Protector in Zambia for almost 20 years, testified in defence of SA’s suspended Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, at the resumption on Monday of the Section 194 inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
Meanwhile, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has indicated that as a “law-abiding citizen” she will be attending the inquiry as she had a “duty to comply” when subpoenaed.
On Monday, Zulu-Sokoni told the committee she found it “odd” that employees of a Chapter 9 institution would “take their gripes” to Parliament.
In so doing, she obliquely supported Mkhwebane’s legal representative Advocate Dali Mpofu’s stance that almost all the witnesses who testified were “disgruntled employees” with a score to settle.
“I don’t know how the system is here in South Africa. In my office, they are all civil servants . if they were all to testify against me it would be flying against all the principles in the book regarding the functional autonomy of the ombudsman,” said Zulu-Sokoni.
She added that every institution experiencing “staff turnover” issues would have people who “have issues with their supervising officers or heads of institutions”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
What about the courts?
In response to Mpofu’s statement that 90% of the charges the inquiry is probing against Mkhwebane were based on court judgments, Zulu-Sokoni replied: “There is no reason why the court findings should be taken up by another arm of government.”
However, the South African Constitutional Court, in February 2022, ruled that parliamentary proceedings against Mkhwebane could proceed, that she could be represented by a lawyer and that judges could be part of an independent panel.
It was that panel, led by retired Judge Bess Nkabinde, which recommended that Mkhwebane face an inquiry related to various alleged instances of misconduct. The original complaint was lodged by the country’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance.
This came after Mkhwebane suffered several defeats in high-profile court matters which also led to her facing criminal charges for perjury for failing to disclose secret meetings with the State Security Agency as well as former president Jacob Zuma.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Section 194 inquiry into Public Protector impeachment starts, litigation minefields loom”
Zulu-Sokoni, whom Mpofu described earlier as “Ombud Royalty”, said that disgruntled employees should go to the ...
Do climate change experts intentionally ignore overpopulation’s influence on climate change and sustainable resources? A recent study finds that the manner in which resources are extracted, used and disposed of is more influential than population size and, with sustainable methods, the earth could support a population even bigger than it is projected to become.
In the past 150 years, the world’s population has rocketed from 1.2 billion to 7.9 billion.
As we welcome the 8 billionth member of our human family, we must think ahead.
By 2050, the world’s population will be approaching 10 billion.
Action – or inaction – by the G20 will determine whether everyone can live sustainably & peacefully on a healthy planet.
António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 15, 2022
This milestone raises concern about our planet’s ability to support a population of this magnitude, especially when considering that the past 150 years have seen rapid environmental degradation along with industrial expansion, anthropogenic climate change and massive consumption.
The 2021 Biodiversity and Climate Change report – co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – warned that “a sustainable society requires both a stabilised climate and healthy ecosystems.
“However, 77% of land (excluding Antarctica) and 87% of the area of the ocean have been modified by the direct effects of human activities. These changes are associated with the loss of 83% of wild mammal biomass, and half that of plants.”
A study released this month, commissioned by Swedish NPO Global Challenges Foundation and South Africa’s Inclusive Society Institute (ISI), sought to come up with an answer to what they thought would be a sustainable population size on earth over the 21st century.
A Daily Maverick commenter pointed out that climate change activists tend to avoid mentioning that the primary cause of pollution and global warming is overpopulation.
While this seems to make sense – the more people there are, the more carbon emissions are generated, the more resources are required – researchers have found this to be a fallacy.
For example, the Global Footprint Network’s 2021 National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts highlighted how the richest 7% of people in the world were responsible for half of the greenhouse gas emissions that drove climate change in 2020.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The ISI study found: “While ecological degradation presents a risk to humanity, this risk is not being driven by population growth directly. Instead, the manner ...
Eight people are dead and two are in hospital after two gunmen opened fire on guests at a birthday party in Kwazakhele outside Gqeberha on Sunday evening. Police Minister Bheki Cele visited the scene of the attack on Monday and promised to combine national and provincial resources to track down the perpetrators.
“I mustn’t speak too much,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Monday while visiting the scene of an attack on a birthday party in Kwazakhele, Nelson Mandela Bay, that left eight people dead.
He was joined by National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola. Cele said: “People are angry. They want answers . We know everybody is angry.”
He said they hadn’t told the family what direction their investigation was taking, but promised they would find the attackers.
“While it is good to pass on condolences, our core function is to try to find out who did it. We are not going to betray their [the community’s] trust.”
Eight people died and two were injured in a hail of bullets when gunmen entered a yard in Maqanda Street, Kwazakhele, on Sunday evening and opened fire on guests attending a birthday party.
The deceased are the homeowner, Vusumzi Sishuba (51); Andile Shishuba (52); Kholekile France (54); Mbuyiseli Mboya (64); Nomatamsanqa Mandla (58); Liyema Poro (20); and Nandipha Koliti (42).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Colonel Priscilla Naidu said police still needed to confirm the identity of the eighth deceased. Apart from the two injured people in hospital, a third victim was discharged after treatment on Monday.
Naidu said preliminary investigations placed the time of the attack at between 5.15pm and 5.30pm.
“The owner of the house was celebrating his birthday when two unknown gunmen entered the yard in Maqanda Street in Kwazakhele and started shooting at the guests . No arrests have been made at this time,” she said.
“These victims were killed by criminals, and we will not rest until we find out what happened and who was responsible for these callous and cold-blooded attacks on these unsuspecting victims,” she said.
Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane expressed “shock and sadness . We condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless killing of people in our province.
“We are appealing to the minister to bring in a strong team of detectives to comb the scene and ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to book.
“These violent crimes disturb peace and bring fear in our communities. ...
It is clear that some forms of cadre deployment are unconstitutional and invalid, and that carefully targeted court action challenging specific instances of such deployments may well be successful. But even this won’t solve South Africa’s endemic governance problems.
Last week the Gauteng High Court heard arguments in the DA’s case challenging the constitutionality of the ANC’s controversial cadre deployment policy — just one of the many recent cases in which political parties and other pressure groups have turned to the courts to deal with a myriad of government failures, including seemingly never-ending rolling blackouts, governance dysfunction, and endemic corruption at every level of government.
While some of these legal challenges may be successful, it would be a mistake to assume that court orders will be effective in fixing rolling blackouts and other governance failures, and in ending government corruption and nepotism.
This is not to say that strategic litigation may not sometimes be effective in checking specific cases of abuses of power, maladministration, and corruption, but rather that deeply embedded systemic failures are not going to be fixed by court orders alone.
The DA’s cadre deployment challenge is a case in point. Even if the DA wins its case and the court declares the ANC’s cadre deployment policy invalid (something that looks far from certain), it may not have a significant impact on the ability of the governing party and its allies to “deploy” selected loyalists into the civil service and other public entities.
Until the emergence of the State Capture narrative, public criticism of “cadre deployment” mostly emanated from people on the right of the political spectrum, sometimes accompanied by accusations that the policy reflected the Stalinist inclinations of the ANC.
It became a catch-all phrase, often used by economically (but no longer politically) powerful people anxious that the ANC would use its political power to transform society and state institutions in ways that would harm elite interests, and would entrench ANC dominance for generations to come while weakening the ability of opponents and critics of the party to “fight back”.
Given this particular history, I remain sceptical of the uncritical use of the term “cadre deployment” as a catch-all phrase to describe any attempts by the governing party and its leaders to influence the appointment of individuals to constitutional bodies, the civil service, and other public entities.
But there is no doubt that some forms of what is now sweepingly referred to as cadre deployment ...
Katherine Jenkins, a singing superstar, and her husband Andrew Levitas, a top US movie producer and director, jetted quietly into South Africa with their children over Christmas for some game park time and two exclusive, invitation-only concerts. They talk about their passion for wilderness.
As the sun turned towards evening, its angled light dipped below the banked clouds, flooding the cliffs of the wild valley with gold. A jackal yipped. Back up the dusty track a leopard had been seen lying, digesting its kill.
In a remote valley of the Warmwaterberg, the black rectangular stage in the clearing before an audience of about 50 people on folding chairs was as incongruous as a giraffe would be in New York’s Central Park. As Katherine Jenkins in a glittering blue, ground-length dress mounted the small stage, the incongruity deepened. But as she started to sing it all came together. Her amazing voice in that place echoing off the ancient Karoo cliffs was both a prayer and a celebration of the wilderness we so often forget. Some in the audience, overwhelmed by what they were experiencing, teared up. When the first song ended, the response was more a collective gasp than applause.
Katherine is a superstar, loved by millions, who has performed in the greatest concert halls of the world. She is also startlingly beautiful. Why she was singing up a valley in the heart of Sanbona game reserve, accompanied by her equally famous film director and producer husband Andrew Levitas needed explaining. Graciously they consented to do so a few days later as we sat on the veranda of an apartment below Cape Town’s Table Mountain.
DP: You’re a film director and producer and Katherine’s a singer but you’re also patrons of the elephant conservation Tusk Trust. What’s your connection to animal conservation?
Andrew: We’re here on a fundraiser for the Wilderness Foundation Africa — I’m a patron of Wilderness Foundation Global. The question you’re asking is actually central to our relationship. Our paths are very different but in that space we connect. In my early 20s, I went to Kenya. It was an immersive experience: I was staying with the Maasai.
I’d done a lot of things, been through all the American national parks, hiked, done scuba diving. But in Kenya, something happened to my brain. It was the touch, the smell, the sound of Africa. The Masai Mara is incredible. If you have a close enough ...
South Africa plans to decriminalise sex work. Public comment on the draft legislation closed on Monday. Evidence from other countries suggests South Africa could see a drop in rapes and sexually transmitted infections for everyone if the bill goes through.
When sex work is illegal, sex workers are more likely to experience physical and sexual violence. When it’s legal, sex workers can go to the police for protection.
Because they don’t have to hide from the police by working in dark side streets or in bars, they can better assess possible clients before getting into their cars. This also means they could negotiate rates before sex.
Research from the US and the Netherlands found that rape rates dropped as a direct result of sex work becoming legal. And these benefits applied to everyone in the area; not just sex workers.
South Africa could see a drop in gender-based violence (GBV) if it follows through on a draft bill to scrap all existing legal penalties on sex work.
The proposed changes to the current legislation, which will make it legal for adults to buy and sell sex, were announced in December. If it’s signed into law, the bill will also clear people who were previously charged or jailed in connection with soliciting or practising sex work.
The period for public comment on the bill closed on Monday.
Sex workers in South Africa face a lot of abuse.
In 2019, 70% of female sex workers in a countrywide study said they had experienced violence in the previous year, while almost half had been raped by a client in that time.
The move to make sex workers’ jobs legal could change that, research shows.
An analysis of 86 peer-reviewed studies found that the chance of sex workers experiencing physical or sexual violence, abuse or getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is higher in places where sex work is seen as a punishable offence than where it’s legal.
Moreover, the benefits of decriminalising sex work stretch beyond those in the industry. Research carried out in Rhode Island in the United States shows that rates of rape and STIs such as gonorrhoea dropped — for everyone — after sex work became legal in the state between 2003 and 2009.
Gonorrhoea often has no symptoms. It can be cleared up with antibiotics, but if left untreated, the infection can lead to infertility or serious inflammation. Moms with gonorrhoea can pass it on to their babies during childbirth, which ...
Humpback dolphins are now as rare as the black rhino and the African pangolin. Of concern is that we have observed several animals with abnormal beaks (rostrums) varying from slight injuries to completely broken structures.
Showing their humped backs and playful nature, humpback dolphins are one of the five species of dolphins you can easily see from the shore along the South African coastline.
However, your chances of sighting one of these elusive animals is becoming increasingly rare. Humpback dolphins are now the most endangered cetacean species in South Africa.
As population numbers have always been small and with observed group sizes getting smaller each year, it seems likely that the population as a whole is shrinking. This species is now as rare as the black rhino and the African pangolin.
Last year during one of our dedicated humpback dolphin surveys, we noticed something unusual that began to concern us even more. Several animals were seen with abnormal beaks (rostrums) varying from slight injuries to completely broken structures.
The story really started intriguing us when we discovered several other historical cases in datasets from other collaborators around South Africa. The questions we tried to answer in our new study published in Integrative Zoology were: How common are these beak injuries in South African humpback dolphins? and does this highlight another threat to this vulnerable population?
We were able to identify 31 different cases of unusual beak conditions varying from slight misalignments to severe wounds. Most of the cases were characterised as natural injuries, although one individual had a fishing line attached to the front of its head, clearly showing an injury caused by human activities.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Book of the Dead – the species declared extinct in 2022”
By delving back into our combined archives and looking at photographs from the past 20 years, we gained some real insight into the resilience of these hardy dolphins as some individuals had been living with abnormal rostrums for as long as 10 years.
In fact, some individuals have even successfully raised calves. This shows the incredible adaptability of these animals under extreme conditions.
Why are humpback dolphins breaking their beaks?
The incidence of body abnormalities in isolated, small populations of mammals is known to be linked to many potential causes such as genetic dysfunctions (often related to inbreeding) and/or other environmental stressors such as pollution and injuries from human activities.
If the primary cause was genetic-related, we would expect more cases in ...
If one pulls back from the short-termism of quarterlies, interest rates, supply chains, wars (assuming, gulp, no global conflagration) it is tech which burns at the core of global economic growth.
There is this great site called www.layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the tech industry. The numbers are grim. More than grim, actually. Over 200,000 in the US in the last year alone, including eye-watering numbers at Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and the other longtime stalwarts of the tech-fueled growth sector. What’s going on? Is tech dying?
How big are the cuts? Google — 6%. Meta — 13%. Microsoft — 5%, Salesforce – 10%. The list goes on and on.
It is kind of tempting to gloat and say — yeah, you guys grew too big for your breeches, got fat, complacent and arrogant, and now you are getting what you deserve. Tempting, but inaccurate across many axes, notwithstanding many pundits declaring the end of mega-scale tech.
But the whole thing has left some commentators scratching their heads a bit. No one really gets it. These companies have mountains of cash, hundreds of billions in some cases. They are wildly profitable. And more importantly, their revenues and profits absolutely rocketed during the pandemic when the rest of us sat grumpily in our lockdown hovels buying and using their digital products.
Here is one narrative that I read. Amusing and possibly true. The pandemic happens, and revenues start to soar, to say nothing of profits. The companies hire anything that moves to handle the sudden increase in business and to indulge their favourite new blockchain idea or to hop on the metaverse bandwagon or to build a new social platform or to deftly pivot into health tech.
Then the pandemic runs out of steam and all those depressed TikTok and Amazon surfers suddenly step out into the sunlight and decide to climb mountains and ride bikes and go to the beach, leaving their digital devices unattended. So suppose you are the CEO of the big tech company who worries about people going back to their real non-digital lives. And let’s say you’ve also just finished a doomsaying article about catastrophic inflation and recession.
FIRE EVERYBODY! you scream, looking anxiously at the window where you might have to make your escape when quarterly results come out.
Elizabeth Lopatto, in an article for The Verge titled “Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?” considers the possibility ...
Competition for university entrance is extremely tough — this year, the University of Johannesburg received 32,491 applications for the BEd Intermediate Phase qualification; 3,905 met the requirements for admission – but only 120 spaces are available.
Every year, as soon as the matric results are released and representatives from higher education have responded to questions about the credibility of the pass rate, attention rapidly shifts to managing the incoming university applications.
The big question for those with Bachelor’s passes is, will they get a place at university? This year, 278,814 candidates passed with so-called Bachelor’s passes, 193,357 with passes that potentially allow them to enrol for Diploma studies, and 108,159 with access to Higher Certificates.
Judging by the number of applications received by universities, studying at a university seems to be the overriding ambition for most. Although the government has invested in providing funding for technical and vocational colleges, it is still a sector that needs much development.
The months of January and February are extremely busy times for the university leadership. At the University of Johannesburg (UJ), for instance, there is a constant flow of information on the availability of spaces in programmes across the various faculties, with a focus on how the university targets are being met.
Managing learner expectations in an environment where there are several hundred thousand applications to UJ for 10,500 available spaces is by no means an easy task. In the midst of all of this, imagine opening your emails to find the following:
“Good morning, Prof. I am writing this email to you because I am very despondent about the fact that it is for the second year that my child has been placed on a waiting list. I do not have faith in the system any longer or in the hope that she will get a place at UJ. I do not know how to respond to the anger and despair that I see in my daughter’s eyes when she gets this response. She is worried that she will be rejected again this year. I am afraid. I do not want my daughter to become another unemployed and angry statistic. What kind of job will she find without any higher education? Please help me secure a place for my child in your faculty.”
Or reading the following on Twitter: “UJ is the mother of all rejections!”
For us, this kind of email from a parent or Twitter comment is devastating, ...
Dr Mfundo Mabenge has been honoured for the remarkable turnaround at Dora Nginza Hospital’s maternity unit.
Behind an enormous desk in a tiny office with walls covered in certificates showing his many academic achievements, Dr Mfundo Mabenge has for more than a decade been fighting for the pregnant moms in his care.
Now he is winning.
The head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mabenge is an obstetrician and gynaecologist who has specialised further into gynaecological oncology.
He completed a BSc degree at the University of the Western Cape and followed up with an MBChB at Medunsa in North West (now Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University). He then received a diploma in obstetrics. He also holds a diploma in labour law from Nelson Mandela University, a master’s degree in medicine from the University of Pretoria, one in health and welfare management from NMU and an LLM in labour law from NMU.
Although the feisty doctor’s mood might fluctuate between elation and despair, his reason for doing his job has never changed: “If a woman dies, you hurt a whole community.”
“Maybe now I can start planning to retire,” he laughs as he recounts how his team, after two tough years, is turning the tide with the help of the Eastern Cape health department, the national government and the Clinton Foundation.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Nelson Mandela Bay community steps in as crises hit embattled Dora Nginza paediatric hospital”
Since taking over as the head of obstetrics and gynaecology, Mabenge has trained 22 new obstetricians and gynaecologists and two gynaecological oncologists. His team delivers 700 babies a month.
The past two years have been traumatic for the team, ever since provincial maternity services collapsed in the first wave of Covid-19 (in May and June of 2020), with doctors not even having proper theatre coats. The garments supplied were too small and had to be cut so obstetricians could get their hands through the sleeves.
As obstetric units at clinics throughout Eastern Cape closed, sick women flooded the city’s maternity unit, overwhelming staff and doctors.
In 2022 the unit was hit by a violent and debilitating strike during which women had to be evacuated at night to another hospital.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Breathing easier: How Madwaleni Hospital started producing its own oxygen”
Pregnant women came to Dora Nginza Hospital to give birth from all over the western part of Eastern Cape and the unit was ...
With African guidance, Europe’s controversial Global Gateway plan can complement existing development projects.
The European Union (EU) will, on 6 February, finalise the list of priority projects under its Global Gateway initiative in 2023. The plan to mobilise investments that build sustainable links worldwide was unveiled in December 2021. Half of the €300-billion global target is earmarked for soft and hard infrastructure projects in Africa between 2021 and 2027.
The Global Gateway is one of the latest frontiers in the geopolitical struggle for influence in Africa. It is regarded as a direct response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure financing programme considered to have improved the perception of China in Africa. It’s also comparable to the United States’ Build Back Better World plan for infrastructure financing.
EU officials insist that their approach differs from China by using private-sector investment, not government-backed loans. Global Gateway projects must however align with ‘the EU’s democratic values and international norms and standards’ – raising questions about the applicability of these values to external partners.
Some also argue that Global Gateway funding targets are too low. Compared to its €300-billion global goal between 2021 and 2027, the Belt and Road Initiative would have committed an estimated $1-trillion between 2017 and 2027. And a significant portion of Global Gateway funds will likely not be ‘new money’ but simply the coordination of member states’ existing commitments through its Team Europe approach.
In creating the Global Gateway, the EU seeks to join the United States in presenting a strong Western response to China’s growing global influence. The increasingly contentious issue of migration among EU member states could also be a factor. Polarising stances on the treatment of irregular migrants and asylum seekers are already causing deep internal rifts.
Africa’s leaders could however shape the plan to benefit their populations and eventually achieve equal Africa-Europe partnerships. Economic recovery in the Lake Chad Basin is among several projects that could benefit. The region has been ravaged by Boko Haram violence for over a decade, and the Global Gateway could help resolve the underlying causes of the crisis.
Since 2018, the Lake Chad Basin Commission has led recovery efforts through its Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience of the Boko Haram-affected Areas. The commission and others involved in rebuilding the region can boost peace and development by identifying and promoting Global Gateway investment projects.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The EU ...
With an 80.1% pass rate for the matric class of 2022, what comes next for those candidates who were not successful or are not happy with their results?
There are various options for youngsters who could have got better matric results, including rewrites. At the release of the 2022 National Senior Certificate results last week, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said many second chances were available to disappointed pupils.
“For instance, those who wish to improve their results should consider enrolling for the Second Chance Matric Programme,” she said. Registration for this programme closes on 8 February.
Western Cape education MEC David Maynier has reminded those who are unhappy with their marks that they can apply for a remark or a check of their papers. There is also the option of writing a supplementary examination in June.
Counselling measures have been put in place by the Western Cape education department for those disappointed with their results. These pupils can approach schools or call the Safe Schools hotline on 0800 45 46 47.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Also, there are organisations such as the Ukhanyo Foundation, started by Sandiswa Gwele to help matric candidates who fail the first time around. Ukhanyo, based in Cape Town, provides tutoring and mentoring services to give candidates an opportunity to try again and hopefully pass.
Other options
In a speech this week on the state of readiness for the 2023 academic year, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said that, although university registrations would start on 16 January and close in early February, some universities will allow late registration.
“Prospective students are advised to continue to liaise with the universities of their choice through their communication channels,” said Mzimande.
Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape has late applications in fields such as commerce and the sciences.
Read in Daily Maverick: “How does the class of 2022 stack up? We compare the matric results to previous years”
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology in the Western Cape also has late applications, with, for example, an advanced diploma in interior design remaining open to new students until 10 February.
Other options include enrolling in Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges and community colleges.
However, Nzimande warned prospective students and parents of the prevalence of bogus colleges, which “mislead members of the public through false advertising [and] illegally promise to be offering both nationally and internationally recognised qualifications”.
He urged the public to check ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
Attorney Gavin Hartog believed he was transferring money to his clients’ account but it went to a fraudster.
A Gauteng attorney has been found liable to pay clients R1.4-million, the proceeds of the sale of a property they owned, which was stolen through a “business email compromise”.
Attorney Gavin Hartog believed he was transferring the money into his clients’ account, but he was unwittingly paying it into the Standard Bank account of a fraudster who had intercepted his email correspondence.
The fraudster withdrew the money almost immediately and it has never been recovered.
Hartog’s clients — Brigitte Daly, her husband Patrick Daly and her sister Karin Foulkes-Jones (now deceased) — first secured an order against him in the Johannesburg high court in June 2021.
Hartog appealed this. But Judge Rean Strydom, with Judge Majake Mabesele and acting Judge Johannes Strijdom concurring, said Hartog had initiated correspondence with the clients via email and they had responded using the “same means”.
He had thus “breached the mandate” by not making payment of the proceeds of the property sale into Patrick Daly’s account and remained responsible.
Judge Strydom also dismissed Hartog’s contention that Standard Bank had been negligent.
Read the full judgment here.
The property in question was in Parkwood. It was owned by Karin and Brigitte and was sold in June 2018. They instructed Hartog to deal with the conveyancing. R100,000 was paid into Karin’s account and the balance, about R1.4-million, was to be paid into Patrick’s Standard Bank account.
Instead, it was paid, via EFT, into the Standard Bank account of a Mr Simelane.
Judge Strydom said Hartog had emailed Karin and Brigitte informing them of the amount payable to them from the sale. He requested that they send him “instructions and bank details”.
Three days later, Patrick emailed Hartog providing details of his standard bank account.
Hartog sent a further email to Patrick confirming the instructions and asking for confirmation of the bank account details.
While Patrick said he responded on the same day, Hartog claimed he did not receive that email.
Then Hartog received what he believed was a further email from Patrick, asking that Hartog deposit the money into another account. Attached was a purported account confirmation from Standard Bank.
Hartog said he accepted the authenticity of this and made the payment.
It later emerged that the email had been sent by a fraudster.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Judge Strydom said Hartog did not inquire further as to the reason ...
Most residents at Phomolong informal settlement rely on illegal connections.
Rebecca Ramalekana runs a daycare centre at Phomolong informal settlement in Mamelodi and relies on illegal electricity connections to run her business.
The informal settlement was established in 2001 on land owned by the City of Tshwane and is currently home to about 7,000 people. Walking through the area, it is easy to spot the many illegal wires on poles and directly above most of the shacks. Most of the wires are connected to the neighbouring RDP houses in Extension 10.
Ramalekana and her family have lived here since 2004 and there has never been formal electrification. “There are many illegal electricity connections in this place. We are scared of them . I’m worried that my family or these kids I look after might be electrocuted,” she says. “The government must give us proper electricity or move us to another land.”
Ramalekana says the many unplanned power outages they experience makes preparing meals and running education activities difficult. Her daughter also takes medication that needs to be kept refrigerated.
Avela Mjungula said the illegal connections put lives at risk and people are desperate for formal electrification. “Some of these cables are often damaged by strong winds and fall onto the ground while they still have power,” says Mjungula.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“These cables can kill us and our animals. If the government gives us electricity today, I’m sure that myself and other people who installed these cables will remove them.”
Sello Chipu, of the City of Tshwane’s human settlements department, told GroundUp that 600 stands in the formalised part were provided with pre-paid electricity meters by the City in 2020 and 2021.
Chipu said another part of Phomolong Extension 6, with 480 stands, is still in the process of being formalised. He did not give a timeframe for when this process is likely to be completed.
City spokesperson Selby Bokaba appealed to Phomolong residents to respect the City’s infrastructure in order to avoid people getting electrocuted. He said the City is removing illegal electricity connections but it is a challenge to reach every part of the city. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The deadline for public comments on the draft amendment bill to decriminalise sex work in South Africa is 31 January. Looming decriminalisation has sparked a wide range of responses from members of the public, many of which are founded on long-standing myths and misconceptions about the nature of sex work.
As we approach the deadline to comment on the draft Criminal Law (Sexual Offences And Related Matters) Amendment Bill, which will see the buying and selling of sex decriminalised in South Africa, diverse opinions about sex work are appearing in the public space.
People may be understandably confused or ambivalent about where they stand with regard to this issue. On social media, we have witnessed a wide range of responses from faith-based moral judgment to lack of trust in government, confused moral panic to pity and wanting to rescue people working in the industry.
Some of the authors of this article are current or former sex workers, and collectively we have met tens of thousands of sex workers all over South Africa, from truck stops in Musina, Limpopo, to brothels in Durban; from shebeens in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, to street corners in Cape Town, to women with OnlyFans sites living in Sandton. We have listened to a multitude of voices discussing the diversity and complexities of the industry. We can testify to the good, the bad and the ugly.
However, as sex work has been criminalised in South Africa for all of our lives, and as sex workers have always been marginalised and stigmatised, many people (with the exception of clients) have never had a proper conversation with a sex worker.
This ignorance allows myths to circulate without being countered. It also prevents sex workers from speaking for themselves. Yet, to understand why the decriminalisation of sex work makes sense, we need to counter the many myths surrounding it, centre sex workers’ voices and set the record straight.
Myth 1: Sex work is not work
The overwhelming majority of sex workers enter the industry because it is the most viable option to earn money. In 2018, the National Department of Health, together with the University of California San Francisco and the Aurum Institute, conducted a comprehensive demographic and health survey among sex workers in the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The survey found that by far the most common reason for being a sex worker was “needing money for everyday life” (90.4%). Sex work pays rent and ...
Ongoing protests have hit Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront and harbour area to decry the arrival of a Russian ship en route to Antarctica, accused of prospecting the climate-stressed Southern Ocean. Following Our Burning Planet’s investigations, the peaceful rallies have provoked far-reaching reactions.
Sweeping across dark, blustery skies on Saturday morning, a rainbow framed Cape Town’s foggy seaboard end to end – but when a tug fleet motored out to meet a Russian ship on the horizon, the light display vanished in the mist.
By 9am, the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky and her controversial airguns had docked in the shadow of Table Mountain to refuel, after sailing from her St Petersburg homeport since Christmas Day.
The target of several land and ocean protests since Friday after Our Burning Planet first reported on her arrival, the 40-year-old lady of the sea has since made headlines around the world.
But here she seemed neglected against the dark, ashen Atlantic – as though at least 25 years of apparent airgun prospecting in a globally important marine sanctuary had sapped her. Now she would also have to contend with South African seismic protesters – incensed by her annual Antarctic oil and gas surveys, led via Cape Town since at least the late 1990s; her noisy airguns; and the South African government’s “flourishing” relations with Russia.
Covered by local and international media since they emerged in Cape Town last week, the protests are likely the first demonstrations against oil and gas seismic surveys in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean since a 1998 mining ban entered into force.
They also follow a series of Our Burning Planet investigations that shows the Karpinsky’s Antarctic activities have not been deterred by the mining ban.
Following additional investigations into underwater noise in Antarctica, recent days may also mark another seminal moment: these are likely the first protests against the impacts of academic airguns used by a number of Antarctic states in the Southern Ocean. The protests have further exposed the frustrations of those South Africans whose court action has suspended Shell’s seismic oil and gas tests off the Wild Coast.
Groups who protested peacefully at the V&A Waterfront, and other harbour areas, have included volunteers from Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, the Green Connection, the Ukrainian Association of South Africa and private citizens.
‘Russia is mal, but our government is maller’
The Karpinsky would be sailing south as part of the 68th annual Russian Antarctic Expedition, “to carry out complex geological and geophysical studies in ...
Civic movement #StandUpSA will be leading a march from Sunninghill Taxi Rank to Eskom’s Megawatt Park in Johannesburg, Gauteng; the Alternative Information and Development Centre is hosting a virtual forum on the electricity crisis; and the Southern African Political Economy Series Trust is hosting an online dialogue around the question, ‘Who killed Thulani Maseko?’
On Tuesday, 31 January, at 11am, the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), in partnership with Sanlam, is hosting a webinar about attacks on journalists, and the impacts these have on the journalism profession and the safety of reporters.
“The webinar will debate whether the attacks reflect a general decline of public trust in the media, and what role business and civil society [can] play to bolster the safety of journalists,” stated the event description.
Speakers include Muthoki Mumo, sub-Saharan Africa representative at the Committee to Protect Journalists; Cebelihle Mbuyisa, 2022 Nat Nakasa award winner; Asanda Ngoasheng, Western Cape Sanef convener; and Glenda Daniels, media studies associate professor at Wits University.
For more information, contact dzudzie@sanef.org.za.
On Tuesday at 3pm, the Land Portal Foundation will be hosting a webinar titled, “Uncovering Land Data Opportunities in Senegal”.
The Land Portal and Open Data Charter have been working with the Senegalese government to open up land data, in accordance with the Open Up Guide for Land Governance.
“The Open Up Guide is a practical guide for governments who are seeking to better collect, publish, and use land data for the public good. As Phase 1 of this project, the team has published the State of Land Information in Senegal (Soli) Report. Soli reports are research-driven analyses of the current state of land data that assess the available land information against open data standards,” according to the event description.
The webinar will explore the latest results from the Open Up Guide implementation pilot in Senegal.
Register here.
On Tuesday at 5pm, the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (Wiser) will be hosting a book discussion on Changing the Subject: Feminist and Queer Politics in Neoliberal India, by Srila Roy.
“In Changing the Subject, Roy maps the rapidly transforming terrain of gender and sexual politics in India under the conditions of global neoliberalism,” according to the event description.
Roy, who is also a professor of sociology at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), will be in conversation with Shireen Hassim, Canada150 Research Chair in Gender and African Politics at Carleton University; Bridget Kenny, a professor of sociology at Wits University; and Pumla ...
Reduced income and extra costs are hurting local enterprise.
Scheduled blackouts by Eskom started back in 2007. Yet 16 years later, the situation has grown worse and rolling blackouts are expected to continue until 2027. With no end in sight, many businesses and residents have been turning to battery-powered lamps, gas stoves, inverters and domestic solar power. Rolling blackouts has cut business hours and production, reducing income. Businesses have also had to spend large amounts finding alternative power sources.
Faadia Samuels started her salon, Hair Therapy, 15 years ago. She has been at her current location in Observatory for about six years. She was hard hit by the Covid pandemic, and now rolling blackouts have straining her finances just as she was recovering.
She can still do a wash and scissors cut for some clients, but she can’t blow dry or use a clipping machine during rolling blackouts.
“Clients are frustrated,” says Samuels.
Blackout times keep chopping and changing at short notice, defeating the purpose of scheduled blackouts meant to help people to plan.
Samuel says it is “mentally stressful”.
She now sells second-hand clothing through WhatsApp groups to make up for her lost income at the salon.
Linda Claassen and Nazeema Bieding are the owners of SewAndShades, a small tailoring business in Observatory that makes and alters clothing and lampshades.
“Whatever you bring, I can make,” says Bieding.
But their sewing machines do not work when the power is down. If rolling blackouts is scheduled for 8am, they start working at 6am to make up the time. When there are loadshedding from noon to 2:30pm, she closes shop early.
Bieding said that sometimes people need things urgently, and she loses these clients.
“We’re losing big time,” she says.
Bieding’s business partner, Claassen, says, “I can’t explain to you how I feel because it’s stressing and it’s crippling our business . What else can we do? . We can’t fight the government . We must just go on and try to work around it.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Tapiwa Guzha runs Tapi Tapi, an African-inspired boutique ice cream shop in Observatory. He says that four-hour blackouts are crippling, especially if it is from 2 to 6pm. “That’s our peak time, so we’ve lost a day,” he says.
Guzha says his chest freezers can keep things cold for eight hours, so his ice cream is okay but “it’s not good to be freezing and thawing and freezing and thawing”.
The ice ...
The presiding judge in the corruption case against former president Jacob Zuma, Piet Koen, has recused himself from continuing with the matter, claiming that his involvement could present the perception of bias. After Koen left the courtroom, Judge Nkosinathi Chili replaced him and the trial date remains - at 17 April.
‘I have come to the conclusion, and it was not an easy decision, that I have to recuse myself from the trial,” Koen told an empty courtroom at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday morning.
His decision “is what the sound administration of justice, the requirements of the Constitution, and my conscience dictate”.
“The integrity of the judicial process must be protected against any reasonable taint of suspicion, so that the public and litigants may have the highest confidence in the integrity and fairness of our courts. The trial will therefore have to continue before another judge.”
The recusal comes after Koen told the court in October 2022 that his continued involvement in the matter needed closer evaluation considering “a number of developments”.
The primary development he referred to was the pending private prosecution initiated by Zuma against lead prosecutor in the matter, Billy Downer, and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan.
Zuma’s case against Downer rests on the veteran prosecutor allegedly “leaking” the former president’s medical information, contained in a letter, to Maughan via a third party, in violation of the National Prosecuting Authority Act. Both have argued that the medical note was, in fact, in the public domain.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Groundhog Day — Zuma (yet again) insists that Billy Downer must not prosecute him in Arms Deal corruption trial”
Koen had previously dismissed Zuma’s claim that the information contained in that letter was confidential.
‘Strong views’
In Koen’s explanation for his recusal, he said that he had already expressed strong views against Zuma’s attempt to remove Downer from the trial, and that depending on the outcome of Zuma’s private prosecution against Downer, he may have to again decide on the fate of the prosecutor.
“Regardless of the outcome of the private prosecution, the objective facts are that I’ve expressed strong views contrary to the argument, and arguments advanced by Mr Zuma, in respect of the alleged unlawful disclosure of his medical condition.
“My findings indicate that I have favoured a particular interpretation of these factual issues, and they point to a reasonable and inevitable apprehension that when these facts and circumstances are presented before me again, they will be ...
Retailer Spar is moving quickly to put out the corporate governance fire sparked by recent allegations of “creative accounting” followed by the resignation first of chairman Graham O’Connor and then chief executive Brett Botten.
With Botten set to step down on Tuesday, 31 January, the company has chosen to shift Mike Bosman’s new role as non-executive chairman to that of executive chairman, with effect from 1 February. The key difference is that a non-executive chairman maintains an arm’s length from the actual running of the company while an executive chairman is more actively involved in running the ship (or shop in this case).
The background info is that the company auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) notified Spar that there was an irregularity that should be reported to the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors. Following consultation with external auditors, the board agreed that an “irregularity” had occurred.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Spar shuffles board in bid to address governance issues, fraud allegations”
A written loan agreement was entered into “between a willing lender and borrower through a commercial bank, at normal interest rates”. However, the board conceded that the loan did not seem to have served any real commercial or economic purpose and should not have taken place. The board has confirmed that an extensive review of all loans arranged by Spar for retailers identified two other transactions of a similar nature, with the combined value of all three loans standing at R11-million. However, management maintains that the loans were “isolated and occurred five years ago”.
Botten was forced to fall on his sword and announced his retirement earlier this month.
Management says it is confident that Botten can be replaced within three months, with both internal and external candidates being considered for the position of chief executive. Once the new CEO takes up the role, Bosman will return to the position of independent non-executive chairperson.
Bosman is no stranger to the boardroom and is currently also non-executive chairman at Spur and the wine company Vinimark Holdings. He is a non-executive director at AVI, EOH and MTN. Bosman’s LinkedIn profile states that in his spare time he is also a professional helicopter and jet pilot. Hopefully, he can fly Spar out of the turbulent air space to a safe landing. BM/DM
Following the escape of Sheba the tiger, orange truly has been the new black in South Africa. Just as everyone was coming to terms with which Rassie Erasmus owned Sheba, news broke on Monday morning of yet another tiger on the loose in Edenvale. This time the tiger has allegedly been darted and taken to a sanctuary, but not before it was caught on video directly opposite a children’s nursery.
In the early hours of Monday, security camera footage captured a young tiger prowling the property of Johannesburg residents. in an incident that would leave anyone in the area with a bizarre sense of deja vu.
No, this is not a retelling of the saga of Sheba the tiger who earlier this month escaped her enclosure and mauled a man in Johannesburg before being shot and killed by authorities. Instead, at 5:22 am on Monday 30 January, a second escaped tiger was seen, this time in Edenvale.
Keshvi Nair, spokesperson for the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) confirmed that “the Edenvale SPCA is currently investigating another case of an escaped tiger.”
Images and a statement from SOS SA circulating on social media state that the tiger has been successfully tracked and sedated and that the tiger will be taken to a sanctuary for safekeeping until further notice.
However, the NSPCA cannot confirm that the tiger has been captured and that according to their records, “she is still on the loose”.
It is believed that the animal is a nine-month-old tigress but it remains unclear to whom the animal belongs or where she came from, explains Nair.
The toddlers and the tiger
The footage of the tiger was captured at a residence which is directly opposite the Toddlers Corner children’s nursery according to Shane Titta, the principal of the nursery.
She said that the nursery went into “lockdown mode” where everyone stayed indoors and all windows were closed.
“It’s been a hectic morning,” she said, but everyone is safe and is remaining calm. When Daily Maverick called, the tiger was still on the loose in the area and Titta reported that the children were having their juice and tea.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Incidents such as this are a consequence of a lack of adequate regulation surrounding the ownership of exotic animals in South Africa, specifically Gauteng, according to Smaragda Louw, the chairperson of Ban Animal Trading (BAT).
Big cats ...
Sanele Gamede performed 'dismally' when he wrote matric in 2007. So he decided he needed a second chance, and returned to school to try again. Now he is an award-winning career coach with a doctorate. He has an important message for those who failed or performed poorly in the 2022 matric examinations
‘Failing matric is just a temporary setback. It is not a determiner of who you should be after that.”
Those are the words of Dr Sanele Gamede, an award-winning life and career coach and founder of the #MatricUngazibulali campaign, which seeks to combat thoughts and acts of suicide by matric candidates who fail the exams or do not get expected results.
Gamede spoke to DM168 after the release of matric results on 20 January.
Gamede himself repeated his matric exams twice. When he wrote matric the first time around in 2007, he got dismal marks that would not enable him to study further. He decided to not just redo matric, but the entire Further Education and Training phase (grades 10 to 12) at his former school in order to have a second chance at boosting his grades.
Born and bred in Umhlabuyalingana, deep in the countryside of KwaZulu-Natal, Gamede says educational aspirations were present when he did matric for the first time, but they were not emphasised.
“I aspired to be educated because my parents had taught me that education is the key to success. For some reason, I wanted to be in the media space. The interest stemmed from seeing my brother, who was a photographer and videographer.
“But my education journey was blind, because the schools were underresourced and didn’t have mentorship or any career coaching. As a result, we saw this education thing far from us.”
As a result of these circumstances, he says, he performed “dismally” when he first attempted matric.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A 100% pass after just two matric cohorts — meet the E Cape’s Bulungula super-achievers”
He told DM168 that going back to school was no easy decision but was the only way he could break away from a life of poverty, unemployment or hard labour, such as working on farms or in supermarkets.
“It’s one thing to decide to go back and another to just upgrade your subject marks. It’s another thing to then follow through with the decision you make. It was extremely challenging for me when I went back to school after failing my matric to start from ...
The Sharks are the only team returning to South Africa with a smile on their faces after a disappointing weekend for the Bulls, Lions and Stormers who all travel back with losses behind their name in the URC this weekend.
The Sharks have been largely inconsistent in the United Rugby Championship (URC) so far this season — having won seven and lost four of their 11 matches.
Neil Powell’s men have played their best rugby at home and with their hoard of Springboks leading the charge.
There was a comforting change this week when the Sharks — playing without Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Jaden Hendrikse and Lukhanyo Am — produced a scintillating 22-19 win over Edinburgh in Scotland on Saturday night.
The victory takes the Sharks to eighth on the URC log with two matches in hand to most teams above them.
The Sharks took the lead, for the final time in the match, in the 62nd minute and never looked back.
The final 10 minutes saw them defend a slew of Edinburgh attacks on their try line with 14 men, as the Sharks played with Carlu Sadie in the sin bin for a dangerous cleanout.
Nevertheless, the Shark’s defensive line was a brick wall and the times Edinburgh did manage to break through fullback Aphelele Fassi was there to put in a try-saving tackle.
Edinburgh fought for the winning five-pointer until the 87th minute but the tireless Sharks’ defence scrambled and tackled until the final whistle eventually blew.
“We are so proud of the boys for the effort and character they showed. It was tough in the last few minutes but over the whole 80 minutes, they showed a lot of fight,” said director of rugby Neil Powell.
“That must become the standard for the Sharks — how we pitch up and play in every game. We saw on the field that all of the guys are on the same page and fully committed to where we want to go this season.”
“We had opportunities to take the game away from them, but overall it was a very good win if you think of how the other SA teams went,” Powell added.
Not a good Friday
South Africa’s two premier teams and last season’s finalists, the Bulls and Stormers both lost away games on Friday night.
The Bulls, who have moved down to fourth on the log after their defeat, were beaten 37-28 by Scarlets who secured only their fourth win of the ...
Too much rain makes no grain, while too much heat means less to eat. This erratic combination has taken root in the current summer growing season in South Africa. Throw in Eskom’s woes, and yields may suffer at a time of elevated food inflation.
‘First it was too wet, then it was too dry,” North West commercial farmer Tom van Rooyen told DM168 as he surveyed his crops on a recent scorcher of a day.
Van Rooyen has planted maize and dry beans. A 100-hectare section of his farmland slated for beans has been left uncultivated because it was too wet at sowing time.
South Africa’s summer season for crucial crops such as the staple maize got off to an exceptionally wet start, with heavy rainfalls linked to the La Niña weather system, a periodic cooling of the eastern Pacific that often brings drenching rains to southern Africa and drought to other regions.
The rains at the start of this summer have been welcome but are also a mixed blessing.
“Because of that, the roots are too shallow,” Van Rooyen explained. That leaves the plants vulnerable to rainless spells as moisture evaporates near the surface, leaving roots literally high and dry.
Since Christmas, much of South Africa’s grain belt has been seared by heatwaves. For dry land farmers such as Van Rooyen, who does not irrigate, each blue sky day eats into his yields.
Still, other industry sources say the moisture levels in the soil should help the crop overall to weather the dry patch.
“Soil moisture should be sufficient to sustain the crop,” Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, told DM168.
Meanwhile, farmers with irrigation – whose fields account for about 18% of the maize crop – are battling as rolling blackouts wreak havoc.
“The area under irrigation is strained because intense load shedding coincided with the heatwave. And those areas are feeling the impact,” Sihlobo said.
And power shortages surge like a bad current through the agricultural production chains.
“During harvest time, you can’t take maize to the silos during load shedding and the millers can’t mill,” said Van Rooyen.
Poultry producer Astral Foods said on 25 January that it expected its earnings for the six months to 31 March 2023 to fall as much as 90%. Aside from record-high feed costs, the company cited “devastating levels of load shedding and the general decay of municipal infrastructure”.
Even hi-tech solutions are not immune. Van Rooyen, like ...
In Iraq, where drought and desertification has cost the country 39% of its agricultural output, once proudly independent farmers are being forced to abandon ancestral farms to find menial work in cities.
“It was a beautiful life, like heaven. We owned the land and it was a very rich land. We took care of our families and were very rich. I was like a king. Anything I wanted, anything we needed, it was there at my fingertips,” sighed Ali Sahib Hussein (42), speaking of the life his family lived for generations farming their ancestral land in Al Abassiyah, near the banks of the Euphrates in Iraq’s Al Diwanyah governorate.
But that was before the temperatures soared and the rainfall all but ceased; before water scarcity became so acute that snakes invaded homes in their own desperate search for water; before Iraq’s rivers fell to unprecedented levels, lakes dried up, crops shrivelled and the land turned to desert, forcing legions of farmers to abandon beloved farms to seek new livings in the cities.
Climate change is not only changing lives, it is precipitating a dramatic upheaval in work. Nowhere is this more evident than in Iraq, where drought and desertification has already cost the country 39% of its agricultural output.
And nowhere is the impact felt more keenly than amongst the one-time proudly independent farmers, who in a literal quest for survival, find themselves forced to abandon farms which have been in their families for generations to find work in cities. But in the cities, they struggle, finding work in menial jobs and accommodation in illegal housing.
Blamed for escalating crime and undermining stability, the environmental migrants are, according to Adam Hamid Nassar, Najaf’s Manager of the Environment, forming an underclass.
It is a huge rupture, an incalculable loss of income, culture and morale for which they are ill-equipped – but one that will only increasingly come to define a climate-changed workforce, not just in Iraq but globally.
“Before I was on the green land – my land, my trees. Now, as you can see, I am only among the dead,” says Ali Sahib Hussein (42).
A life-long farmer from a family of farmers, Ali Sahib Hussein now sells holy water and incense in the world’s biggest cemetery – the Wadi-al-Salaam Cemetery in Najaf. Life has been reduced to a hand-to-mouth existence. Where the farm had provided for all the family’s needs – fish, meat, vegetables all there for ...
With the call for open dialogue becoming louder and spreading wider in the wake of the slain lawyer’s memorial and burial, it is high noon for Eswatini’s monarch.
Slain human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was laid to rest in a rousing ceremony this Sunday in which the fervour of the toyi-toying often clashed with the sombre hymns as mourners gathered around his home in Bhunya, in Eswatini, to pay their final respects.
On a drizzly Sunday morning, thousands gathered to chaperone his coffin as it carved a circuitous route to a family burial site a few metres beyond the house in which, just a week before, he was shot twice through a window as he watched television with his family.
With well above a thousand people turning up to a memorial service held at a hall at eSibayeni Lodge in Matsapha, some regarded the large turnouts as a decisive show of bravery for pro-democracy forces. This capped off a week in which many were still coming to terms with the shock of Maseko’s death, which has been widely characterised as a state-sanctioned assassination.
Signal
Maseko’s death is believed to signal a portentous turn of events, coming soon after King Mswati III’s stern warnings of retaliatory violence to forces he has labelled as “terrorists” who had “first started the violence”. In the pro-democracy protests of mid 2021, in which people took to the streets to vocalise their frustrations with the lack of constitutional reforms, it is estimated that more than 80 people died and hundreds more were injured following crackdowns by the state.
“The mid-2021 massacres gave rise to forces who felt the deaths needed to be avenged,” says Manqoba Nxumalo, a co-ordinator of the Eswatini Solidarity Fund, leading to an escalation of violence and murders on both sides of the divide. While some have been enthused by the antics of the “solidarity forces”, others merely see them as the logical conclusion of “frustrated Swazis turning to extremism because they have been pushed that way for far too long”, said a lawyer, speaking anonymously.
In an editorial in the January edition of The Nation newspaper, editor Bheki Makhubu noted with concern that insults spilling over into social media could potentially tear the progressive forces apart. “This is as clear a sign that those who have always advocated for violent political change in the country have completely lost the plot,” he wrote in the magazine.
Eighteen months of turmoil
The fervour ...
The full extent of one of Russia’s most successful intelligence operations — helping to elect Donald Trump as President of the US — may never be known, but the blows to the credibility of America’s spy agencies are still coming.
Last week, Charles McConigal, a former senior FBI official, was arrested and charged in a federal court in Manhattan for being in the pay of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a man with deep ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia’s spy agencies.
Days later, the New York Times published an account of how John Durham, the special counsel appointed by Trump’s Attorney General Bill Barr to expose the “deep state” conspiracy behind the investigation into Russia’s ties with Trump’s 2016 campaign, had landed up with little more than egg on his goatee.
The Times reported that the only new information brought to light by Durham’s exhaustive and futile four-year-long quest, which is wrapping up at last, was information from Italian officials about Trump’s involvement in financial crimes — an inconvenient tip that was promptly buried.
In short: Trump’s claim that the nation’s spy agencies were weaponised against him was in itself a weaponisation of the federal government, amounting to an attempted cover-up of a massive and hostile Russian influence operation.
Trump ruined the careers of FBI officials who investigated Russia’s 2016 elections links, accusing them of launching a witch hunt against him. FBI agents who actually did engage in brazenly partisan behaviour — against his opponent Hillary Clinton — went unpunished.
McGonigal was appointed by the then-FBI chief James Comey to head the counterintelligence unit at the FBI’s New York field office 27 days before the November 2016 election.
A few days before the election, Trump acolyte Rudy Giuliani, acting on information leaked to him from the FBI, told Fox News, “we’ve got a couple of things up our sleeve that should turn this thing around”.
The Clinton emails
The very next day Comey sent a letter to Congress that changed the course of history. It informed them that the FBI was reopening its investigation of Clinton’s emails after discovering new emails on a laptop owned by Anthony Weiner, the husband of Clinton’s aide and confidante Huma Abedin.
Comey’s letter, gleefully publicised by Republicans, landed like a bombshell in the last week of the campaign and is widely credited with pushing the election to Trump. Comey’s follow-up statement that the emails were innocuous came too late to penetrate the media ...
It is rather puzzling that a consultant in charge of risk assessment for the multibillion-rand Karpowership project has ignored repeated requests to see a copy of his BSc chemistry degree.
Doctors, lawyers and other professionals display their university degrees with pride in reception areas and offices, largely to reassure patients and clients that they are qualified to perform specialist tasks.
Framed certificates of accreditation and training courses are also on display in vehicle dealerships and mechanical repair workshops for similar reasons.
So what reasons might there be for concealing or declining to produce proof of your hard-earned professional qualifications for all to see?
This is why it is rather puzzling that Cape Town hazardous risk consultant Terence Thackwray — who helped to authorise the fire and explosion risk assessment studies for the multibillion-rand Karpowership gas-to-electricity plans — has ignored repeated requests from Our Burning Planet to see a copy of his BSc chemistry degree.
Terence Thackwray and his father, Claude, worked together on three recently revised risk assessment reports as part of the 20-year Turkish “emergency power” plan for Eskom.
The reports, by Major Hazard Risk Consultants CC, have been submitted to the government as part of the long, drawn-out environmental impact assessment (EIA) process.
The assessments were conducted by Claude Thackwray, who is listed as the technical signatory, and then checked and approved by his son Terence, who also signed a separate declaration under oath at Melkbosstrand Police Station on 22 October 2022 describing himself as the independent specialist for the risk assessment project.
In this sworn declaration, Terence listed his academic qualification as “BSc Environmental Management (Chemistry)”.
This was the declaration that drew the attention of Our Burning Planet, because in a previous bundle of documents submitted to the government in February 2021, Terence’s curriculum vitae recorded that his chemistry degree was only “partially completed”.
To clarify whether Terence had been awarded the degree, we sent messages last year to the Thackwrays and to Karpowership environmental assessment practitioner Aletta “Hantie” Plomp. In her written response, Plomp stated that Terence had completed the degree in 2019.
We thanked Plomp for this clarity, but subsequently requested her or Terence to kindly send proof: a copy of the degree certificate showing his name, tertiary institution, degree description and the date it was awarded.
Complete silence
Oddly, there has been complete silence from the Thackwrays and Plomp, following our request on 18 January.
What could be the reason for this?
Conceivably, Terence may have been insulted by ...
As a result of ‘extensive load shedding and other logistical constraints’, the SA Reserve Bank has revised its forecast for GDP growth to only 0.3%, the bank’s Lesetja Kganyago said.
The interest rate hike of 25 basis points this week, taking the repo rate to 7.25% and the prime interest rate to 10.75%, is the eighth consecutive increase in the current upward rates cycle. It was, however, somewhat lower than widely held expectations of a 50 or even 75 basis points increase.
The South African Reserve Bank began with bigger rate hikes fairly early in the current cycle, effectively front-loading the tightening, and it is now in a position to taper as global and local inflationary pressures begin to fade.
Three members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) preferred the 25 basis points increase, and two voted for 50 basis points.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “SA Reserve Bank announces eighth consecutive interest rate hike — of 25 basis points”
Frank Blackmore, lead economist at KPMG, said the increase made sense.
“We are already at high levels of interest rates. They could have been punitive with an increase of 50 basis points, but by choosing smaller increments, it buys the ability to do something to address inflation without harming the economy.”
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said that although the economy grew by a relatively strong 1.6% in the third quarter of 2022, the expansion was not broad-based.
“We forecast no growth in the fourth quarter. For the whole of last year, GDP growth of 2.5% is expected, up from 1.8%. For 2023, and as a result of extensive load shedding and other logistical constraints, the bank now forecasts GDP growth of only 0.3%.”
Calculating the cost of blackouts
Kganyago said expectations are for more than 200 days of blackouts in 2o23, which is expected to reduce growth by at least two percentage points compared with the previous estimate of 0.6 percentage points.
Over the medium term, the forecast takes into account continuing high levels of blackouts, and more modest household spending and investment growth than previously.
“The number of days of expected load shedding in 2023 has been increased to 250 days from 100 days. In 2024, the number of days was revised up to 150 days from 40 days. Load shedding of 100 days has been assumed for 2025,” said Kganyago.
“Estimates of the average stages of load shedding [are] multiplied by the number of days and then multiplied by the ...
Perhaps one of our biggest concerns in the artificial intelligence (AI) age is the use of technology in war. We are already seeing a shift in global debates around fears of lethal autonomous weapons systems, or what have popularly been termed killer robots.
In 1942, in his short story Runaround, Isaac Asimov introduced the three laws of robotics. First, a robot shall not hurt a human or, through its inaction, allow a human to be harmed. Second, a robot shall obey any instruction given to it by a human. Third, a robot shall avoid actions or situations that could cause it to harm itself.
More than 80 years on, as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace and takes on different characteristics to those imagined by Asimov, it is apparent that although these laws serve as a practical, ethical guideline, they merely scratch the surface.
As Mark Robert Anderson has suggested, “[Asimov] envisioned a world where these human-like robots would act like servants and would need a set of programming rules to prevent them from causing harm. [But] there have been significant technological advancements. We now have a very different conception of what robots can look like and how we will interact with them.”
One of the most critical aspects of this robot to be considered is the issue of human rights, particularly in the context of war. Perhaps, Asimov should have foretold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and reframed the first law to be “a robot shall not violate human rights, or by inaction allow human rights to be violated.”
The issue of robot agency comes to the fore, especially in relation to human agency. When a human being or an institution violates human rights, we can determine who is responsible and hold them accountable. When Slobodan Milošević, the former President of Yugoslavia, violated human rights, he was charged with War Crimes by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity.
Similarly, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, was charged with war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Court. In this case, this is an easy issue to handle because, as far as these crimes are concerned, an identifiable human agency is involved.
The situation becomes more complicated when autonomous machines are involved. As far as AI implementation in warfare is concerned, there are three principal ways this can be done.
First, a human in the ...
Tesla, with its small, five-car range of electric vehicles could not be more different from Toyota, which accounts for one in 10 cars sold around the world. After two potentially industry-shifting announcements this week, one must ask: which of these two companies is in more trouble? The answer is both and neither.
Two important events have taken place in the car industry recently: one really dramatic and one seemingly routine.
The dramatic one was the decision by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda to stand down. Toyoda, a descendant of the founding family, is 66 and has led the company for 14 years, taking over just after the company became the world’s biggest carmaker and keeping it there. And yet, as he resigns, a faint atmosphere of concern surrounds the future of this company, which has consistently achieved one of the world’s most remarkable industrial feats.
The problem is the other piece of car industry news: Tesla’s fourth-quarter results. Quarterly results are such a standard event in the lives of corporations that it is sometimes hard to see the significance that lies behind them. But Tesla has lost about $675-billion in market valuation and its share price has fallen 65% over the past year, which is just mind-boggling.
That decline — just the decline — is equivalent to three times the value of Toyota. But the results were spectacular, beating analysts’ estimates in both profit and turnover.
So which of these two companies is in more trouble? The answer is both and neither. Let’s start with Toyota.
All Star company
Outsiders tend to think of Toyota as the pinnacle of Japanese business orthodoxy. But Toyota has always thought of itself as the outsider. It is based in Nagoya, the country’s third-largest city, which is regarded as a bit of a country-bumpkin kind of place. Its main tourist attractions are three — count them, three — separate Toyota museums. Hold me back.
The company has not moved its headquarters to Tokyo like Honda and slightly relishes its comparatively rural, penny-pinching, hard-working, backwoods culture.
The company is run by a group of very old Japanese men who earn very little compared with other motor company execs. The founding family has enormous influence, although it only holds about 2% of the company’s shares.
Most business analysis of Toyota finds the company enormously contradictory; it performs fabulously in some areas, and is bewilderingly wasteful in others.
Yet, Toyota has been a huge part of Japanese global success. ...
The 35-year-old Serb won a record-extending 10th Australian Open title on Sunday despite battling an injury that would have forced most players to quit, coach Goran Ivanišević said, adding that the world number one is getting ‘crazier and crazier’.
Novak Djokovic said shedding tears in his players’ box following victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open final on Sunday, 29 January, was the result of an emotional collapse following his huge display of mental strength in a challenging fortnight.
Djokovic overcame Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in a repeat of their 2021 French Open final to claim a record-extending 10th title at Melbourne Park, draw level with Rafa Nadal on 22 Grand Slam crowns and reclaim the world No 1 ranking at the age of 35.
It was an extraordinary two weeks for the Serbian, who also managed a hamstring issue and the distraction of his father posing with fans holding banned Russian flags. He did not play in Australia last year after he was deported for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.
“When I went into my box, I emotionally collapsed there and teared up with my mother and my brother when I gave them a hug,” Djokovic told reporters.
“Because, up to that moment, I wasn’t allowing myself to be distracted with things off the court or whatever was happening in dealing with an injury. That could easily have been a big disturbance to my focus, to my game.
“It required enormous mental energy to stay present, to stay focused, to take things day by day and see how far I can go.”
More nervous than usual
Djokovic said he was more nervous than usual coming into the tournament after his deportation 12 months ago due to being unvaccinated against Covid, with his return possible only after his three-year visa ban was waived in November.
“I didn’t know how I was going to be received by the people but overall, it was a very positive experience,” said Djokovic, who also received a warm reception en route to the title at the Adelaide warm-up event where he injured his hamstring.
Adding to his troubles was the drama surrounding his father, Srdjan. A video emerged showing him with fans holding Russian flags, which had been banned early in the tournament.
Djokovic senior skipped his son’s semifinal against American Tommy Paul and was also absent from the title clash.
“I thought things will calm down in terms of the media and everything, ...
The electric motor racing class is heading for South Africa – in defiance of power cuts. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the E-Prix.
In just under a month, the world of Formula E will descend on Cape Town for the first time, bringing the excitement of electric racing to the city’s streets.
The 2.94km circuit, with views of Table Mountain, beaches and Signal Hill, promises to be one of the fastest tracks on the global series calendar.
The race starts in Vlei Road at the DHL Stadium in Green Point. Drivers then navigate a tight left-hand turn onto Helen Suzman Boulevard towards the city before sweeping through to Granger Bay Boulevard and facing two sharp chicanes.
They then make another tight turn onto Beach Road, passing Oranjezicht City Market and Granger Bay Harbour, flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on the right, before heading home on Fritz Sonnenberg Road.
Formula E has many similar features to other racing series, with 11 teams of two drivers each competing over 16 rounds in 11 different countries. South Africa will be the fifth round, following the race in Hyderabad, India.
Fully electric single-seater racing
Formula E is an FIA world championship with a twist, bringing electric technology to motor racing to create an event that is a fascinating glimpse into a possible future for automobiles.
This year sees the beginning of the Gen3 era in Formula E, bringing new regulations and faster cars to the tracks. The cars now have a top power output of 350kW and can reach speeds of 322km/h.
They also feature regenerative braking which produces around 40% of the total power used during a race. This feeds into a crucial part of race strategy, as the driver must manage the energy levels of the car to make it to the end.
As with Formula 1, the race weekend consists of practice sessions, qualifying sessions and the race.
Fans will get a first taste of the action on Friday, 24 February when the drivers will take to the track in free practice 1. The following day, the real fun begins as free practice 2, the qualifying session and the race are held – on Saturday, 25 February.
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Qualifying
While in F1, where qualifying takes place over three rounds and drivers are eliminated until 10 remain to jostle for the prime positions, Formula E’s fight for grid positions takes a knock-out approach.
The ...
Johannesburg Water is urging residents to use water sparingly despite the recent heatwave. It says ‘infrastructure challenges’ and continued rolling blackouts mean Rand Water cannot run its pumps and the city’s reservoirs are reaching critically low levels.
There is no end in sight for the Gauteng water crisis, with water reserves remaining low or empty because of power cuts and increased consumption because of the hot weather.
Johannesburg Water said in a statement on Saturday, 28 January, that it was “monitoring severely strained water reservoirs and towers”. It urged people to use water sparingly, especially during the day.
The water utility has said rolling blackouts and increased usage because of the heatwave have led to strained reserves and infrastructure challenges.
On Sunday, 29 January, Johannesburg Water said a power failure at Eikenhof Pumping Station had reduced levels at several Rand Water reservoirs, and had affected towers in Florida, Honeydew, Linden and other areas.
It said it was waiting on City Power to restore power to the transformers that supply the pumping station.
Ongoing power cuts also led to reservoirs not filling up to sufficient levels. This, in turn, affects the pressure in the distribution pipe network. The low pressure can lead to higher-lying suburbs experiencing reduced supply or no water at all.
The Brixton and Crosby reservoirs were “critically low”, with Hursthill being low to empty. Water tankers “were being arranged” for customers in higher-lying areas, Sunday’s statement said.
Restrictions
“To maintain a steady water supply, we urge residents to please observe Level 1 water restrictions and reduce consumption,” Johannesburg Water said. “Level 1 water restrictions prohibit the use of hosepipes between 6am and 6pm, and the use of hosepipes for paved areas and driveways. Customers are encouraged to use grey water to irrigate or water gardens, wash cars, or clean driveways.”
Bongani Tshuma, the manager of Auto Wax car wash in Melville, said they had opted for a borehole and tank system to avoid the water challenges.
“The water used to wash cars goes into a drain and is pumped through and put back into the tank. We realised water would be a challenge. Despite this, we have to stop when there is load shedding because the pumps can’t work,” he said.
Businesses in the Melville-Auckland Park area that rely heavily on water use, such as hair salons, closed earlier because of the water challenges.
Tshwane ‘water outages’
Reservoir levels in some areas of Tshwane have dropped as low as 2.8% in some ...
Below the sternum, or below the waist? Views on the safest tackle height vary. What is certain is that changes to the law are coming.
New rugby laws are routinely trialled in community competitions before being implemented at higher levels. Knowing that a waist-high tackle trial is under way in France, and that it will be implemented in the English community game from 1 July, it’s fair to ask whether Test giants such as the Springboks and All Blacks will be operating under these tackle restrictions in the next three to five years.
It is also worth asking whether the change will exacerbate rather than alleviate the concussion crisis, and whether it will fundamentally alter the sport.
Unions under fire
Rugby bosses are under increasing pressure to find a solution. Earlier this month, 55 former amateur players – a group that looks set to grow in the coming months – initiated legal proceedings against England’s Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union and World Rugby, which they accuse of negligence in their failure to protect them from brain injuries during their careers.
A separate case involving 275 former professionals suffering from various neurological conditions – which they attribute to concussion-related incidents – is ongoing.
Over the past six years, steps have been taken to discourage and prevent head-on-head contact, and ultimately concussions. Stricter sanctions on high or reckless tackles have resulted in an increase in penalties and cards. Tackle technique has not been significantly altered, though, and the incidence of head-on-head contact remains high.
On 16 January, the English RFU announced that it will trial a new set of tackle laws at schools, universities and in the amateur club leagues from the start of next season (1 July). The RFU has set the tackle height at the waist in an attempt to decrease incidents of head collisions and concussions.
The RFU has followed the lead of several countries including France, which introduced similar changes in its domestic game in 2019. According to a report, the lowering of the tackle height has led to a 63% reduction in head-on-head contacts, and a 27% reduction in clear concussions as identified by the match referees.
But there has been a fierce backlash from the rugby community since the RFU made its announcement two weeks ago.
Amateur players have denounced the autocratic decision-making process and have pointed out that the changes may pose new threats to player safety. As of 26 January, an online ...
When Jacinda Ardern said politicians are human and should therefore know when it’s time to quit, one was glad, for her sake, that her audience was far from Africa. A number of our leaders would have laughed her off.
A leader like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand doesn’t come in tens. Not even in twos. And so, it was such a bright day on 26 October 2017, when she took office as New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
She was 37 years old and also the youngest head of government at the time. What’s there not to love?
But now, more than five years later, she has announced the withdrawal of that special light as she resigns the position, stating that she “no longer had enough in the tank” to carry on in office.
“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple,” she said.
Leaving office citing burnout is not what politicians do often, but leaving office at 42 when you are almost certain to win at the next general election definitely leaves many of us from this continent with a certain level of bewilderment.
When Ms Ardern said politicians are human and should therefore know when it’s time to quit, one was glad, for her sake, that her audience was far from Africa. A number of our leaders would have laughed her off.
The leaders of Africa – home to the oldest and longest-serving presidents and heads of government– and even their followers will probably never be able to understand what Ms Ardern meant by burnout.
Burnout means, for example, that 89-year-old Cameroonian President Paul Biya should have been long gone and spared himself and his country that pathetic performance at last December’s US-Africa summit where, after being towed on stage and wired to speak, he was still asking himself where he was.
“I didn’t ask to be here,” Biya told a bemused gathering, and then added drowsily as the boom mic was being fastened, “I’ve become a celebrity!”
Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, reported as one of the first African leaders to ever resign voluntarily from office, stepped down only after 21 years, and he was 63. With that, Ms Ardern would have done four ...
Responsible sourcing should be at the top of the agenda for multinationals. But many green technologies — which we advocate in our war on climate change — rely on the use of minerals sourced in high-risk areas with poor human rights records.
In the last 12 months, the world came out of a heightened state of pandemic panic and headed directly into climate crisis consciousness. Amid a tornado of messages predicting the end of the world, it’s no wonder that people are scrambling to find someone to blame. And predictably, big business makes an outsized climate catastrophe target.
Practically speaking, stakeholder expectations around safety, environmental management, decarbonisation and corporate responsibility have become increasingly difficult to navigate.
For the mining sector — and with next week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town (6-9 February) in mind — this is driving an urgency to address external perceptions of business operations with proactive environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, particularly when investors are looking to understand societal value beyond the financials.
Key, in this context, is an appreciation of ESG’s potential to unlock value and mitigate risk for responsible miners.
Protecting people pays dividends
Health and safety is a long-standing issue for the mining industry — and is also one that materially affects the social licence to operate as it carries the potential for significant community impact.
There are now increasing expectations of shared-value outcomes from mining projects. Any misstep can affect the ability to access capital, or even result in a complete loss of licence — particularly in light of the increased use of social media, which makes potentially negative publicity more globally visible than ever before.
Achieving optimal health and safety levels has been especially taxing in the last two years as maintaining business continuity during Covid-19 came at a high cost. Mines faced added expenses relating to new health protocols, the introduction of testing equipment, and ensuring that the workforce was supported appropriately.
At the same time, the pandemic has heightened stakeholder expectations around how miners prepare for, manage and monitor all high-impact risk exposures.
On a positive note, in Africa the pandemic re-emphasised that a mining operation is an extension of the community in which it operates. Mining companies must now demonstrate the highest levels of integrity, transparency and collaboration to maintain good relationships with host communities.
This was evidenced by how mining companies and communities collaborated to fight the pandemic, working together to limit, as much as possible, losses in ...
On Friday, the Joburg City Council elected Thapelo Amad into the top political position in the city, a man the ANC in Joburg described as a ‘transitional mayor’. It is clear that this is a stopgap measure, and that the real action involves negotiations between the ANC and the EFF. While this may provide short-term gains for those involved, the people of Joburg have nothing to gain.
Any moves by any of the players towards coalitions will involve serious long-term risks and it seems that there is not much strategic thinking involved. Voters are watching these political parties more closely than ever, in the lead-up to the highly contested elections of 2024. If there ever was any principle, the remnants of it have flown out of the window.
On Thursday evening, following the removal of the DA’s Mpho Phalatse as mayor of Joburg, the ANC in the city released a statement. It confirmed that it would support Thapelo Amad, who would serve as the “Transitional Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg”.
As Amad’s party, Al Jama-ah, has just three seats in the council, this is certainly a well-informed description.
Amad claimed on Friday after his election that residents would be able to see “a difference” in just 100 days.
Considering the appalling state of the city, two questions emerge.
The first is, could anybody make a difference in just 100 days? The services are so bad, the roads so poor, the traffic lights so broken, the electricity infrastructure so damaged, to list just a few, that that seems impossible.
The second is, will Amad still be mayor 100 days from now? When someone’s appointment is described as “transitional”, it’s obvious they are the midpoint of a change, from one appointment to another.
To its credit, the ANC in Joburg has been transparent. Its regional chair, Dada Morero, confirmed on Friday morning that Amad had been selected because he was acceptable both to them and the EFF, as part of their ongoing negotiations. He confirmed that the two bigger parties were still discussing some form of coalition agreement.
Earlier, on Thursday morning, both the ANC and the EFF failed to arrive for an eThekwini council meeting to elect a new deputy mayor, meaning it could not go ahead. This is likely to have been planned, a sign that the two parties were not yet ready to vote because they had not reached an agreement.
Meanwhile, in Ekurhuleni, where the EFF ...
Cyril Ramaphosa has asked for urgency in dealing with the country’s problems in his speech at the ANC NEC Lekgotla in Esselenpark. South Africans are losing hope fast, and he knows it. The ANC president said the by-product of a renewed party would be a renewed South Africa in which the lives of many will improve.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeated the call to renew the ANC, and called for urgency in dealing with rolling blackouts, crime, lack of service and unemployment in the country.
He said the electricity crisis continues to undermine economic growth as well as investments: “Load shedding damages businesses and continues to disrupt the livelihoods of our people.”
Ramaphosa was delivering his opening remarks at the party’s two-day National Executive Committee (NEC) lekgotla at the Esselenpark Conference Centre in Gauteng where they are discussing interventions in the country’s electricity crisis, including the shift in political oversight over Eskom.
The lekgotla takes place ahead of the expected Cabinet reshuffle with Deputy President David Mabuza and Fikile Mbalula expected to be reshuffled along with some ministers and deputies who did not make it on to the NEC.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Grim Reippp(er) — undoing the choke-hold on SA’s renewable energy programme
Ramaphosa said the by-product of a renewed ANC would be a renewed South Africa in which the lives of many will improve.
“We must accelerate the work to end load shedding and, thirdly, we must mobilise social partners to increase their cooperation and collaboration with the view of addressing the challenges of unemployment and also bring more investment to our economy.”
Ramaphosa also called for the improvement of service delivery from his party members serving in government. The President’s mind was on the 2024 national elections. Many believe the ANC might struggle to convince South Africans to keep them in government.
“The scale of the challenges, comrades, before us is enormous. We cannot do everything that needs to be done all at once, especially taking our resource challenges into account.”
He said this can be done by choosing areas of prioritisation and once this has been done, the party needed to be honest with the public about its decisions, plans and targets so that it could be judged by the work it has done towards achieving them by the 2024 elections.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He said the 2024 elections will probably be the most difficult campaign the ANC has ...
Analysis of players’ abilities coded into bestselling Fifa title reveals bias that may be influencing children as they play.
EA Sports’ Fifa football video game series is arguably the most successful sports gaming franchise of all time. Since its debut in 1993, it has sold over 260 million copies across 29 iterations.
This position was reaffirmed in 2022, with its latest instalment, Fifa23, reported as the UK’s highest-selling video game at Christmas.
In Fifa games – soon to be rebranded as EA Sports FC – gamers are able to simulate playing as, and against, their idols, with state-of-the-art graphics and individual player attributes that are assigned to match the abilities of real-world players.
It is, as the franchise’s website puts it, the “most true-to-life experience of the world’s game” without physically kicking a ball about.
Our recent study into the Fifa20 game shows that physical play wasn’t the only thing the game replicated. It also reproduced – within its very coding – the racial stereotypes that are deeply embedded within the sport.
How digital players are ranked
In Fifa, gamers choose to play as almost any professional club or national team. These are digital versions of current, real-world squads, which include players from Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappé to Chelsea’s Samantha Kerr. Each player’s performance level is determined by a score of 1 to 99, assigned to them by the game’s data collection team, which determines their ranking within the game.
This score is an aggregate value of the scores the player gets on 29 different competencies. These range from the player’s ability to perform “long shots” and how high they can “jump” to their “strength” and “aggression”.
And the scores are based on the data collection team’s interpretation of the real-world player’s competencies.
In 2020, we collated data from what was, at the time, the latest instalment in the Fifa series: Fifa20. We examined the aggregate scores assigned to the white and black digital players who were ranked as the game’s top 100 players.
We found that when it came to competencies that the game itself had classified as “physical”, black players scored more highly in almost all cases compared to white players.
This included in relation to their sprint speed (79.15 to 71.63), ability to jump (78.19 to 71.24), physical strength (76.69 to 72.0), balance (76.69 to 75.45) and levels of aggression (74.04 to 71.5).
When it came to attributes that the game classified as relating to a player’s technical or ...
With three major tournaments for global women’s team sports in 2023, two of which will be hosted by SA, the excitement is palpable.
Amid crippling national blackouts and recovery from the ripple effects of two years of the pandemic, South Africa’s senior women’s soccer side Banyana Banyana brought some light to the nation.
More importantly, this current generation of Banyana Banyana players etched themselves into African football folklore when they beat Morocco in Morocco to win their maiden Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.
The South Africans had finished as bridesmaids on numerous occasions before in the premier continental tournament for African women’s football, but finally managed to push all the way to lifting the trophy in 2022.
That victory booked Banyana their second appearance at a World Cup. They made their debut in 2019 when it was held in France.
For their second appearance at the global spectacle (which kicks off on 20 July and will be played in Australia and New Zealand), coach Desiree Ellis and her charges will be keen to register their first World Cup points. In France, the team ended the tournament bottom of their group, having lost all their matches.
Of course, at that time, they were not African champions. However, friendlies against Brazil and 2023 World Cup co-hosts Australia late last year laid bare just how far behind the continent is in comparison with its counterparts.
In 2023, grouped with the supremely strong Sweden, as well as Argentina and Italy, the road won’t be easy for Ellis’s cohort.
“All the groups are tough, but it is a reasonable draw,” said the Banyana coach when her team’s opponents were revealed last year. “We have played against Sweden before but we have not played Italy and Argentina. It could have been a tougher one, so we are happy with it.”
Cricketers hoping for World Cup win
South Africa’s senior women’s cricket outfit competed in two major tournaments in 2022 – the One Day International (ODI) World Cup in New Zealand and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
In the former group stage, the team showed its quality as it played a mixture of exceptional and gritty cricket to end the mini-league leg of the competition second, behind eventual winners and record world champions Australia.
However, in the ensuing semifinal phase, Hilton Moreeng’s charges fell victim to the long-standing South African cricket World Cup curse and slumped to a hiding at the hands of an English team they ...
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to provide long-range missiles even as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against a Western arms race in Ukraine — and said he would continue talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to end the conflict, which is approaching the one-year mark. ‘I can only advise against entering a bidding war over weapons systems,’ Scholz said in a newspaper interview.
A senior North Korean official slammed the US decision to send Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, following up on similar comments from the sister of leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang also denied it provided arms to Russia, as the US claimed.
The Speaker of Russia’s Duma said rising US involvement came out of a fear of losing its “colony” and that Washington and Nato were using Ukraine as a “training ground”. Russian officials have increasingly couched their war in recent months as a broader battle with the West, even as Nato has not directly engaged in the conflict in Ukraine.
Key developments
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EU to battle on oil price caps, sanctions in push to hurt Russia
Russia can’t replace the energy market Putin broke: Julian Lee
On the ground
Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had taken up “more advantageous lines and positions” in their offensive in the Donetsk region. Five people were killed and at least 15 injured in Russian shelling of the Donetsk region over the past day, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
In the past day, Russians launched one missile and 32 air strikes and fired more than 65 rounds of anti-aircraft fire, damaging civil infrastructure in Donetsk and the Kherson regions. Ukraine’s army repelled attacks in some settlements of the Luhansk region and in more than a dozen settlements in the Donetsk region, including Bakhmut.
Russia shells Kherson hospital, other sites with injuries reported
One person was killed and at least two injured by Russian rocket strikes on liberated Kherson on Sunday, the deputy head of the regional military administration said.
Among the sites hit were a hospital — injuring a nurse — along with warehouses, a bus station, a school playground, other buildings and private cars.
Germany’s Scholz warns against weapons race
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against allies getting into ...
The ozone layer is on track to recovery, a scientific report has found, and has been in recovery since 2000.
The ozone layer is a gaseous layer around the Earth’s stratosphere (the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere), which contains the highest concentration of ozone (O3) in the planet’s atmosphere. It protects the Earth from aggressive ultraviolet radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts, compromised immune systems and damage to agricultural land.
The 1987 Montreal Protocol was tasked with protecting the depleting ozone layer. The landmark protocol was established to ban the production and consumption of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, as well as the overall protection of the ozone layer.
Protection of the ozone layer came after three British Antarctic Survey scientists first announced the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer in May 1985.
Chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chlorinated solvents and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFs) found in aerosols and refrigerators were controlled under the Montreal Protocol, as they not only deplete the ozone layer, but are also potent greenhouse gases.
Findings of the progress of the ozone layer come from a study by the World Meteorological Organisation, United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), US Department of Commerce, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Commission.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022, the study found the ozone layer is on track to recover from depletion. The ozone layer’s top columns are expected to return to 1980 values (before the ozone hole) around 2040. In Antarctica, progress has been delayed and levels are expected to recover to 1980 levels in 2066, and around 2045 in the Arctic.
“That ozone recovery is on track according to the latest quadrennial report is fantastic news. The impact the Montreal Protocol has had on climate change mitigation cannot be overstressed. Over the last 35 years, the protocol has become a true champion for the environment,” said Meg Seki, the executive secretary of the Unep Ozone Secretariat.
In addition to recovering the ozone layer, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol has also been able to eliminate about 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances.
However, there are still threats to the ozone layer. These include increases in methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide concentrations, the effect of the climate crisis in tropical regions, raging wildfires and volcanic eruptions.
The panel that conducted the study also raised concerns about the climate crisis-combating ...
The DA mayor of uMngeni municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has upset the political applecart in a province where strongmen usually reign.
On 22 November 2021, the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal deputy leader Christopher Pappas took the reins as the mayor of the uMngeni Local Municipality.
He was catapulted into this position after his party snatched the municipality from the rival ANC in that month’s local government poll — the only municipality in the province that the DA won outright.
The municipality comprises the former Transitional Local Council areas of Howick and Hilton, the Worlds View area and a substantial amount of farmland. It is one of the tiniest municipalities in South Africa and has 1,567km² within its boundary.
Its council consists of 25 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 12 wards, and the remainder are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
Previously, the ANC had won a majority in each of the 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2016 local elections. In 2021, the DA won a majority of 13 seats in the council.
This allowed Pappas, who speaks isiZulu fluently, to take the reins.
As the only DA mayor in KwaZulu-Natal, Pappas (31) has been getting a lot of media coverage. The DA has hoisted him as a poster boy of what its leaders should do once they are elected into a position of responsibility. Some have even suggested that he will be the party’s candidate for premier in the province.
Privately, some provincial and regional ANC leaders admit that “Pappas has been able to do what our [ANC] municipalities have failed to do . doing things the right way and ensuring that things work”.
Political target
This may explain why the ANC, especially in the Moses Mabhida (Midlands) region, has been training its arsenals and salvos at Pappas and the DA in the hope that some of the accusations will stick.
The tension between Pappas and the ANC peaked in July last year when Mpophomeni residents, who had been without power for a week after the explosion of a transformer, burnt tires on the R617 in KwaZulu-Natal, not allowing traffic to pass on the busy road linking Howick to several inland towns and rural areas.
The ANC labelled this an example of how the DA-led municipality did not care about black areas, whereas the DA accused the ANC of aiding and abetting the ...
The inaugural Social Justice Assembly convened in Pretoria on Thursday, and the two-day event provided a platform for nongovernment organisations, social movements and academics from across the country.
More than 250 organisations from across South Africa turned the spotlight on themselves when they gathered at the Social Justice Assembly to critique where they had gone wrong and what they could do better.
This marked a change in focus for the civil society sector, which often meets to discuss themed socioeconomic challenges and highlight the plight of the most vulnerable.
The chairperson of the assembly, Nomzamo Zondo, said she was proud of the delegates for coming up with tangible solutions.
“I am grateful to hear that we will not repeat what happened in history; the honesty and robustness of owning our mistakes were refreshing. It is wonderful to hear practical, tangible solutions that we can put into play as soon as we leave here. We wish for this to be a seed for how the sector engages within itself,” said Zondo, the director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri).
The inaugural Social Justice Assembly convened in Pretoria on Thursday, and the two-day event provided a platform for nongovernment organisations, social movements and academics from across the country.
Organisations dealt with issues that included voter rights, hunger, gender-based violence, migration and mental wellness.
In 2019, the Raith Foundation initiated a Social Justice Sector Review Study to map the key milestones and developments of the sector. Fast-forward to 2021, when the Convening Assembly was selected from civil society leaders and worked tirelessly to bring the Social Justice Assembly to life.
Seri’s director of litigation, Jason Brickhill, presented ideas for funding, which is one of the biggest challenges for the sector. International philanthropic organisations are moving their funds out of South Africa and opening the taps in lower-income countries as South Africa is now seen as a middle-income country.
Mqapheli Bonono, the deputy president of the land rights movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, said it was a contradiction to call South Africa a middle-income country, “when so many people are still suffering, unemployed and hungry”.
“As Abahlali, we have so many people who work tirelessly in their communities and they never get any payment, so I am at this assembly to hear the language and to see how our comrades work. It is clear we have to speak a certain language and in certain rooms to get that kind of nonprofit sector funding ...
A controversial position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems to be the magnet drawing foreign luminaries to Pretoria. For how long can South Africa continue to play both sides?
A diverse drove of diplomats descended on South Africa this past week. From the East, Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; from the West, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, EU Foreign Minister and Vice-President Josep Borrell and Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias.
Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor’s director-general Zane Dangor visited Palestine.
Why this sudden flurry of diplomacy? A bit of a coincidence perhaps. Borrell, for instance, was here for the 15th South Africa-EU Ministerial Political Dialogue, which was arranged some time ago. Dendias’s visit was for the same reason.
War in Ukraine
But undoubtedly Russia’s war in Ukraine was also a factor. It is very unlikely Lavrov would have been here if he were not on the first leg of an African charm offensive which then took him to Eswatini, Angola and Eritrea.
And probably Yellen’s visit wouldn’t have happened either without the war. She was also on an African safari which had taken her to Senegal and Zambia. US Treasury Secretaries usually stay at home to babysit the domestic economy or to attend big international financial meetings of the International Monetary Fund, the G7 and so on. But the US government explained the woman holding the purse strings was venturing into Africa to advance agreements reached at President Joe Biden’s US Africa summit in December.
That was in itself in part a Ukraine-inspired event. More explicitly, Washington added that “during her travel, the Secretary will also underscore the spillover effects of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, which have disproportionately hurt developing countries in Africa and globally”.
Yellen’s focus was on the war’s aggravation of food insecurity and its inflation of global energy prices.
South Africa’s refusal to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine seems, ironically, to be the diplomatic magnet. That stance has pleased Moscow and greatly displeased the West. The latter grew even more irritated this week when Pandor made clear that, let alone condemning the invasion, she had not even asked Lavrov for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
That was a regression even in South Africa’s position. On 24 February 2022, hours after Russian tanks and planes crossed the border, Pandor’s department had demanded that Russia “immediately withdraw” its forces and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
‘Simplistic and infantile’
But this week she said she had ...
Astral Foods, one of South Africa’s leading poultry producers, warned us in November already that the combination of high feed costs and rolling blackouts would put pressure on its operations.
The Eskom chickens are coming home to roost and shareholders are on the receiving end.
Power cuts are having a major impact on all aspects of Astral’s business. Margins in this industry are tighter than your pants on 2 January, so there simply isn’t room to absorb major cost pressures and operating pressures.
In what initially seemed like a glimmer of good news, the feed division will benefit from the poultry division requiring substantially higher internal feed volumes.
The drawback is that this is because the demand for feed is higher due to delays in the slaughter programme, caused by — you guessed it — power cuts.
So, chickens are being slaughtered later, which means that they are getting bigger and hungrier. There’s an optimal point at which the chickens need to be slaughtered and sent off to your friendly local retailer, with any growth beyond that point causing problems for Astral’s margins.
With browbeaten South Africans already stretched thin, there simply isn’t an ability to pass this full cost on to customers. Astral is in the unsavoury position of making a loss of at least R2/kg per chicken, which clearly isn’t sustainable.
As a core protein for millions of South Africans and a vegetable option at many braais in Bloemfontein, chicken is critical in our country and the knock-on impact of Eskom is clearly visible.
At this stage, Astral’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ending March will be as much as 90% lower, which means earnings should be at least 142c a share.
The bigger issue is that the current monthly run-rate must be terrible in the business, so the next six months will be the bigger concern if there isn’t a drastic change in the operating environment.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
AVI maintains flat earnings as volumes come under pressure
Although Eskom is also causing headaches for food and beverage company AVI (with alternative power solutions adding R22-million to operating costs for the six months ended December), the major pain point at the moment is consumer spending.
As consumers look to save money, they are cutting back on luxuries, which is putting pressure on volumes in some categories.
Group revenue increased by 7.2% as a result of pricing, with category-level performance ...
The government of Zimbabwe has peddled propaganda against activists for time immemorial. I grew up hearing and reading stories on State controlled media about how activists and opposition were ‘puppets of the west’ and ‘regime change agents’ who were given money by western governments to badmouth Zimbabwe. We were indoctrinated with this gospel of how unpatriotic these people were, day in and day out.
From 28 February to 4 March 2022 the Zimbabwean Parliament’s portfolio committee on public services, labour and social welfare held public hearings on the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill (H.B. 10.2021) in different locations around Zimbabwe. I managed to attend one of these hearings held at The Selborne Hotel in Bulawayo on 2 March 2022.
Read: Zimbabwean government passes law designed to throttle independent civil society
The room was packed! Many of us had to stand as there wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit down. This might leave one thinking that people had taken an interest in the bill and had taken the time to exercise their agency by going to debate the merits and demerits of the bill. Unfortunately, things were not as they seemed.
The room was full, yes, but not of “regular people”. It was clear from the start, judging by everyone who spoke, that aside from the media, the only people in the room were anti-government activists and pro-government activists.
If one is to be bold, they could even say the only people in the room were Civil Society Organisations (CSO) representatives and ZANU-PF supporters.
After the meeting, I posted this tweet:
“Attended Byo public hearing for the PVO bill,
Talk about chaotic!
There were clearly two camps,
Zanupf vs NGOs,
Made it difficult to believe much of the discourse was genuine.
With the Biden administration and the EU now investing political capital in the success of domestic green energy firms, Africa, with its vast deposits of critical minerals, has never been so economically essential to the West.
Next week’s Mining Indaba (in Cape Town from 6-9 February) is the world’s largest mining investment event and one of the drivers of the event’s growth has been the recognition of Africa’s central role in building a global green economy.
Global investment in low-carbon technologies has doubled since 2016 to $800-billion. Bloomberg predicts that sales of electric vehicles in the US will overtake those of cars using combustion engines this decade. In Europe, the energy transition has come to be equated with clean and abundant energy independent of Russian fossil fuels.
The coming decades will be defined by the increasing share of global manufacturing and financial investment dedicated to green technologies.
Fuel for transition
The transition to clean energy isn’t free. Critical minerals, those resources whose supply is most integral to supply chains, will be required to fuel this new future of emission-free power generation and energy security. Cobalt, graphite and lithium are required for the batteries of electric vehicles and the large energy storage facilities needed to power entire grids based on intermittent production from renewables.
Modernising and expanding transmission grids will require increasing amounts of copper. Platinum group metals are critical to expanding the production of green technologies. Never have critical minerals been so important to satisfying both governmental and corporate priorities.
Climate change has been the rallying cry for a new wave of industrial policy which is funnelling capital towards industries that use critical minerals as inputs. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act includes $391-billion in green energy investment, partially subsidising the creation of a North American clean energy industry.
Europe, to avoid losing competitiveness in this sector, must formulate a similar plan in response. So long as governments are diverting financial resources towards the production and purchase of goods made with critical minerals, they will be rightly invested in the fate of critical mineral supply chains.
Chinese dominance
This new moment of sustained demand for critical minerals has coincided with an increasing aversion to economic dependence on China. Policymakers have been aware of the dangers of China’s dominance of rare earth minerals since it suspended exports to Japan for two months during a 2010 dispute over the Senkaku Islands. China today enjoys a similar dominance in the supply and processing ...
As season 29 of The South Africa Show begins, the writer’s room throws everything at it. Attempted assassinations, espionage, and plot twists as the fictional country fully embraces its gangster state identity. But could the writers be leaning a little too heavily into some problematic tropes?
Dear Diary
I am feeling rather stressed; there seems to be no end in sight to the Januworries that plague my soul and bank account. Tomorrow is my deadline to file a review of the first month of new season of The South Africa Show telenovela. In the words of Dame Shirley Bassey, “wheeeeeeere do I begin?” The talented and generous writers have packed the first month of season 29 of this Nollywood-class series with so much drama I don’t know whether to be seriously impressed or offended.
Sometimes, in the serendipitous silence of Stage 6 darkness, I find myself contemplating our continent, thinking that perhaps we might have a bit of a PR problem. And I wonder if shows like this one, as entertaining as they are, do us any favours in the eyes of viewers, both local and international.
There’s that saying, “This is Africa”, usually abbreviated to TIA and often used to shrug off some of the more peculiar aspects of African life. I’ve never liked it. As a bona fide member of many marginalised communities, I do my best to be as easily offended as possible, hence I generally find the use of TIA to be quite derogatory.
But, sometimes, when I watch The South Africa Show, I can’t help but imagine that the director and writers got tired after brainstorming a few ideas, decided to mix up a gallon of Klippies and full-sugar coke, passed on the ys and mixed in a chilled 1.5-litre bottle of Autumn Harvest Crackling instead; chugged it down and said, “Fuck it, TIA, let’s throw everything at it! Let’s write like the Cape Town wind, bitches!”
I could not have imagined a year ago that, when incorporating real-life storylines into the show, such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, that the writers would position this fictional country as an ally to Russia. Back then, they positioned the country’s Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor on something of a moral high ground. Her department was unequivocal in its stance, immediately calling “on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine”. I absolutely loved that choice on their part.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page ...
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme was halted from 2015 to 2019, and then the energy minister chased a nuclear red herring.
A halted renewable energy programme, the pursuit of nuclear, and an enlarged appetite for coal are among some of the reasons South Africa’s Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have been delayed in coming online, resulting in elongated bouts of national rolling blackouts.
In 2011 (four years after the the first encounter of load shedding), the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) was introduced as a means for the country to diversify its energy mix, fulfil the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), as well as attract investment from the private sector to introduce renewable energy to the grid, while increasing its capacity.
To date, renewables (most of which built under the REIPPP) make up about 10% of the country’s electricity capacity, at about 6,200 megawatts out of a total of about 58 gigawatts of installed capacity in the country.
But there’s a difference between capacity and energy – as many coal lobbyists say.
Capacity is the maximum output an electricity generator can physically produce, whereas energy is the electricity that is actually being produced from the generator over a period of time.
And as the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow (i.e. intermittency), if we are considering energy (how much electricity is actually being produced), the sum of wind and solar makes up just 5% of the electricity actually produced in a year, according to the International Energy Agency.
This is far below where we should be, and far below the main player coal, contributing a whopping 88% of the electricity generated per year.
About 12 years later after the REIPPP was initiated, the programme signed its fifth round of IPPs in December 2022 under Bid Window 5 – this date meant to be when the projects were added to the grid, contributing an additional 2,583MW. But as they were only signed at the end of last year, they are only expected to be added to the grid in 2025.
The 19 projects under Bid Window 5 attracted R34.3-billion investment and are expected to contribute almost 8,000 jobs.
This adds to the R209.6-billion investment (equity and debt) for energy infrastructure attracted from Bid Windows 1-4.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Gwede Mantashe has harsh words for Eskom as additional 1,759MW of renewables signed up
Physics professor at the University of Johannesburg Hartmut Winkler, whose research interests ...
Enoch Mgijima municipality is just one of many municipalities in South Africa that does not pay its electricity bill. Municipalities across the country owe Eskom about R50-billion.
The Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape owes Eskom a whopping R890-million.
On any given day, the municipality’s social media pages are mostly filled with a long list of electricity outages owing to failing municipal infrastructure, load reduction (owing to the unpaid bill) and rolling blackouts. Sometimes residents have no electricity for days.
Daily cable faults and the refusal of contractors to work as a result of non-payment have become part of life in Komani.
Despite a directive from Treasury and several court orders against the municipal leadership to fix the problem, Executive Mayor Madoda Papiyana said the municipality is providing electricity at a loss.
“The municipality buys electricity for R30-million, and we get R14-million from selling the electricity, so we are losing R16-million. We are losing more than 60% of the electricity money because of tampering with meters and illegal connections by businesses and residents,” he said.
“The people stealing electricity are not only in the location but big businesses in town as well. I had meetings with businesses, and the only way to solve the electricity problems in Komani is for us to work together,” he said.
He said if the municipality were to collect the same amount of money that it uses to buy electricity, it would be in a different situation.
On Thursday, 26 January, a march protesting against extensive electricity outages in the town owing to faults that take a long time to fix, crumbling infrastructure and load reduction (because of the unpaid bills) turned ugly when the police fired rubber bullets at protesters.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
But Papiyana seemed unmoved.
“The majority of the people at the march are stealing electricity. Last week, we promised that we would fix the electricity and we did. We have separated the areas that used to have problems to try [to] reduce the load,” he said.
Meanwhile, the power has been off for a week, owing to a fault in the town’s biggest public hospital. Papiyana said that by the close of business on Thursday, Frontier Hospital would have electricity, but on Thursday evening DM168 established that this did not happen.
“We have an old electricity infrastructure and we are going to build another substation. We also have decided to stop using underground cables ...
While watching the dying embers of 2022 amid electricity blackouts and political flameouts, one writer’s walking and hiking highlight of the previous year was quite easy to pick.
My 65th birthday gift to myself in 2022 was a 150km slackpack from Ruacana to Epupa Falls, with Wild Cherry Adventures. What a grand adventure the Kunene Camino turned out to be!
The Kunene (Cunene) River forms part of the northern border between Namibia and Angola, an area which, during this walk, was experiencing a prolonged drought. We would be walking east to west.
What is a camino? The word “camino” has been added to many rambles and hikes and is based on caminos in Spain and Portugal. It is a pilgrimage to some, a walk to others.
The 900km drive from Windhoek to Ruacana, in a Toyota Quantum, was an epic in itself. Even better was the company of 20 intrepid pilgrims and five highly capable service staff.
The route was via Okahandja, Otjiwarongo and Outjo, the stop with a big supermarket for last-minute purchases. At Ruacana, our overnight stop and starting point, Beddingtons was the name of the game for an early start.
A mild uphill start got the heart hearting, blood blooding and corpuscles bustling. Most of the hike is along the river and occasionally on a gravel road, snaking in tandem westward to the Atlantic Ocean.
Before arriving at Mavingo Camp we spent time close to ovaHimba villages and settlements. It was heart-wrenching to see the people, more especially children, in such remote terrain and their living conditions. We had to make peace with the fact that this was their reality and we could not impose our reality on theirs.
Along the way were patches of land, bordering the majestic river, with mahangu fields, dried and withered after harvesting. I wondered how much they were able to harvest to feed themselves. Tall palms frequently provided a warm, subtropical feel.
We spent four of the nine walking days at formal or semiformal campsites and the other five at “wild sites” with no facilities at all. Organisation was superb, with all the necessities of life to keep us happy and full of good food made with love.
After the 23km of the first day, we tackled 15km on the second, passing many beautiful donkeys, some hobbled to prevent them from wandering.
As with all bigger hiking groups, the personalities of each person came to the fore as the step count mounted. ...
It doesn’t matter on which day it falls or which calendar is followed, the start of a new year is a time of fresh hope, new beginnings and — hopefully — better choices.
There are many words to describe change, rejuvenation and renewal, especially when things are moving in the desired direction, which is to say from worse to better, according to the observer. We refer to such a phenomenon as a rebirth.
When the world, beginning with Europe, turned its back on the Middle Ages and embraced modernity, we named that period the Renaissance. But there are new periods of birth and of rebirth all the time. Shoots push through the topsoil, germinating and giving or acquiring new life.
The natural new year is a bear yawning and crawling out of its den. A virus, that naughty, infectious agent that can only replicate within a host organism, well, it bothers us so much because that’s its only way of replicating and therefore of renewing itself.
We know that some changes are man-induced, like the runaway warming of the planet, while others are natural and occur with little or no human input, like the happening of the season of spring. Now, spring is a polysemic word if ever there was one, but all its meanings embody that same spirit of newness and vigour in life. The word means source of fresh water. And that means life.
Indeed, there is a town in Gauteng that has many points of exit out of which groundwater from a water table flows onto the Earth’s crust and — naturally, of course — the name of that town is Springs.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Muses and a milestone in a wilderness of words at the McGregor Poetry Festival”
When something suddenly moves or jumps up or forward, we say it springs. That’s vigour. Spring is also a season of growth and development between winter and summer. Then there’s the coiled shock absorber waiting to be bothered for it to spring up in defence, almost like a coiled cobra waiting for you to make a move.
These all have to do with vigour and life and freshness and therefore renaissance.
The times we are living in now are a kind of regeneration in many ways because they are different from the past. Life has moved on a little further in its inexorable journey forward, towards its individual end, even as it continues in other ...
‘Mandela: The Lost Tapes’ documents Richard Stengel’s discussions and his journey with Nelson Mandela as Stengel sought to ghostwrite the South African icon's autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’. The podcast series can be found on Audible.
Richard Stengel says that as a young man, he became intrigued by the Great Man Theory in history. This 19th-century theory is attributed to philosopher Thomas Carlyle who said: “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” Taking these words quite literally, Stengel set out to write the biography of a man who is considered great by many and who certainly made his mark in history – Nelson Mandela. At 37, Stengel embarked on a journey to write Mandela’s autobiography, an experience that affected him remarkably.
On Thursday, 26 January, Stengel discussed his new podcast series, as well as his bounty of memories and opinions on Mandela, during a Daily Maverick webinar in conversation with Associate Editor Marianne Thamm. Mandela: The Lost Tapes chronicles Mandela’s life and legacy through Stengel, who wrote and narrates the series.
Background
Stengel was approached to write what would become Long Walk to Freedom in 1992. He and Mandela would spend their mornings together, often talking for hours about the struggle fighter’s life. Stengel believes these early-morning conversations were a therapeutic oasis for Mandela, who, in 1992, had more than enough on his plate. While dealing with a country in transition to democracy, and on the brink of civil war, Stengel recalls that Mandela remained incredibly dedicated to the task of documenting his life’s journey.
After finishing this interview process, Stengel had the audio transcribed and worked only from the written transcriptions to write the book. In The Lost Tapes, Richard revisits the audio tapes and provides his insights almost 29 years after Long Walk to Freedom was published.
Prison years
Mandela’s time in prison was key to shaping him into the leader we now know him to be. Stengel notes that before Robben Island, Mandela was a young man full of a passion that he sometimes struggled to control. After being released in 1990, his character changed notably. His countenance was rather composed and his leadership was more “mature” – a word Stengel says was very important to Mandela.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Newly released Mandela interview tapes bring Madiba to life again”
Much of this change of character could have been influenced by Walter Sisulu. Stengel believed that while in prison, ...
26 years of ANC meddling, manipulation and vested interests should instil in South Africans a healthy dose of cynicism about the latest plans to fix Eskom.
Read The Weekend Wrap here.
Thapelo Abubark Amad, whose political party enjoys just three seats in council, was duly elected the Executive Mayor of SA’s richest metro, Johannesburg with over 6-million residents on Friday.
After a long day of council proceedings on Friday, the majority of councillors in Johannesburg voted in favour of Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad to take over as the city’s executive mayor.
The 41- year-old’s election was a formality after he was publicly endorsed by the minority parties bloc comprising the AIC, PA, ATM, ANC, EFF, Al Jama-ah, Cope and the ANC days before the council sat for the 10th ordinary meeting.
Amad went head to head with two other contestants, former Democratic Alliance mayor Mpho Phalatse and ActionSA’s Funzi Ngobeni. A total of 266 councilors were present to cast their votes, Amad received 138 votes, Phalatse 81 and Ngobeni 46 votes.
His election comes just hours after the axing of Phalatse through a motion of no confidence on Thursday. The motion which saw Phalatse face the chop was brought by the African Transformation Movement’s Lubabalo Nogatshu who argued she’d failed to deliver services to the marginalised and poor residents of Johannesburg.
Read more in Daily Maverick: She’s out; she’s back in; she’s out again – Mpho Phalatse removed as Johannesburg mayor
The DA needed the support of the Patriotic Alliance to defeat the motion, but negotiations between the two parties collapsed. The PA is said to have demanded two positions on the Mayoral Committee in Johannesburg and MMC positions in the Ekurhuleni metro — to which the DA did not agree.
Phalatse’s removal comes barely three months after she successfully had a motion of no confidence against her overturned at the Johannesburg High Court.
Before this, Phalatse faced several other motions of no confidence— some failed and some were withdrawn.
Reacting to his defeat, Ngobeni told journalists that ActionSA would rally behind Amad’s ambition to bring about stability in the city.
“Democracy has prevailed, we will be supporting Thapelo Amad because we want stability in the city, that’s what we should all be striving for, therefore if the stability is going to be supported by Amad and the bloc that’s supporting him, we will support them. Of course we are going to exercise our oversight as opposition, we will hold them accountable.”
Meanwhile Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi defended the ANC’s decision to endorse Amad.
“We are of the view that there must be no one that thinks they are big brothers and others ...
The Director of Public Prosecutions in Pretoria has declined to bring charges against the environmental consultants who helped Karpowership SA bypass environmental regulations.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has declined to prosecute a criminal case linked to the contentious Karpowership SA project.
A case was opened in May 2021 by the Environmental Management Inspectorate (aka Green Scorpions) which investigates environmental crimes. It relates to Karpowership’s 2020 attempt to bypass the complex process of obtaining environmental permits.
At the time, the country was in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic and Karpowership’s environmental consultants claimed that this “emergency” was a good reason to grant Karpowership an exemption under Section 30A of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema).
Daily Maverick’s Tony Carnie broke the story in 2020: Proposal for Turkish company to anchor ‘floating power stations’ off SA harbours raises alarm bells.
Exemptions are for extreme cases where fast action – without first asking for environmental authorisation – can prevent an even bigger disaster.
Instead, consultants from Triplo4 Sustainable Solutions argued that Karpowership should be granted an exemption because its powerships would provide emergency power to hospitals, which would keep ventilators running during rolling blackouts, and those infected with Covid-19 alive.
Controversially, a senior official at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) agreed and granted Karpowership the coveted exemption off the back of a verbal application.
But that soon unravelled when Hantie Plomp, the environmental consultant from Triplo4, was asked to confirm details of the emergency Karpowership would address.
“When the company had initially submitted their request it had indicated that the country’s electricity supply was under threat because of the increased pressure on the healthcare system as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. The motivation for the request was to ensure an uninterrupted supply of energy to the healthcare sector, something which Eskom was unable to guarantee,” the department explained in a statement.
Instead, the DFFE suspected Karpowership planned to use the exemptions to bid for the upcoming Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which would not provide electricity for two years at least.
“[T]here was in fact no emergency situation,” the DFFE concluded.
Providing misleading information to secure a section 30A exemption is a serious offence: those found guilty face 10 years in jail and/or a R10-million fine.
The only legal question
It is not in dispute that Karpowership secured a section 30A exemption it did not deserve. The only question, in terms of the law, was whether the company’s ...
From Best Picture to Lead Actor, a guide to what you need to know about the nominated Hollywood and foreign competitors for each category of the 95th Academy Awards.
On Tuesday 24 January, the official nominations for the 2023 Oscars were announced by hosts Allison Williams (star and executive producer of M3GAN) and Riz Ahmed (nominated for best actor in 2021 for his role in Sound Of Metal and co-writer of The Long Goodbye, winner of Best Live Action Short Film in 2022).
The Oscars themselves will be awarded on 12 March, hosted once again by Jimmy Kimmel.
The spectacular multiversal sci-fi, Everything Everywhere All at Once, is the deserving leader of the pack with 11 nominations, followed by the Irish dark comedy, The Banshees of Inisherin, and the Netflix World War 2 epic All Quiet on the Western Front, which both received nine nominations. For the most part, nominations went as expected, but the few surprises were pretty drastic upsets.
Best Picture
The contenders for the most anticipated award at the ceremony this year is particularly dominated by big mainstream productions. The list includes both of the highest-grossing films for 2022: Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick, which also makes 2023 the first time ever for two sequels in the running for Best Picture. The absence of their kindred spirit, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, opened the door for a few edgier candidates, including Triangle of Sadness, a scathing satire of the rich, and Women Talking, a drama based on a repressive religious Bolivian community.
Janet Yang, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, opened the nomination ceremony by noting that “nominees in most categories are chosen by their peers – actors nominate actors, film editors vote for the best edited movies of the year. But the final and most anticipated award, Best Picture, is chosen by the entire academy membership – that’s around 10,000 filmmakers and artists living and working in over 80 countries.”
It’s looking like your best bet to take it home is Everything Everywhere All at Once, not just because it received the most awards but because of its extremely wide appeal. Still, it’s anyone’s guess – The Banshees of Inisherin is a more typical winner in this category and has been very well received. And Hollywood does love its own reflection, so it would be disappointing (albeit not unexpected) if Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans came out ...
You have to prove that you are trustworthy, not by saying you are trustworthy but by being trustworthy in all that you do. Which brings me to why I have completely lost my trust in President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Dear DM168 readers,
This week a group of us attended a Daily Maverick online workshop facilitated by our Head of Talent Lydia Rolando, titled “managing with heart”.
“Managing” in our mad media industry, for those in the know, is a euphemism for herding cats, making plans and then pirouetting a quick pivot when they don’t work out, and keeping them on track if they do.
It’s about taking the rap when things go wrong and doing the heavy lifting to make it right again. Hiring, guiding, taking flak. Being all over the place at the same time. Troubleshooting, firefighting and on occasion, having to summon your absent inner agony aunt or uncle.
It’s about managing upwards, downwards, sideways and inside outwards, while doing our various day jobs of writing, editing, data-wrangling, publishing, accounting, organising events, client and membership relationship-building, selling advertising, subscriptions, books, memberships, sponsorships of events and webinars, and more.
More often than not it’s about squeezing water out of stone budgets to make good journalism happen. Why? Because Google and Facebook ate our advertising bread and butter.
And the business of journalism is a battle to sustain because seeking truth and helping people know more and know better is just not as profitable as providing platforms for people to share cat videos, dance moves, gossip, hate speech, disinformation and misinformation. And let’s not forget those ego-fluffing and strutting narcissistic posts and poses.
Phew. Exhausting when you think of all we have to do to ensure we are able to keep on serving you. But I digress.
It’s about trust
What came out of our “managing with heart” workshop that really struck me was a realisation of the invisible hand that holds all that we are and all that we do. Trust.
Without trusting each other, we would not be able to work together in the maverick way we do. Without your trust as readers, we would be buried deep in the dustbin of recent media history. Trust is not a given. It is worked for and earned, incrementally, hour by hour, interaction by interaction, day by day, year by year.
Trust is not a promise. It’s a commitment. It’s an action. You have to prove that you are trustworthy, not by saying ...
Ramaphosa doesn’t know where to turn as his allies turn on each other.
His power spent, the deputy president David Mabuza threw down the gauntlet to President Cyril Ramaphosa this week.
Is he on the rope, or isn’t he? He asked Ramaphosa and said he would not hang onto this job but would resign if the ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile wanted it.
Mabuza had been reading all the interviews the ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile gave in the weeks before and after his election as the party’s number two.
Those interviews make clear that he will not cool his heels at Luthuli House until the 2024 national election. Instead, he wants to get going as “Mr Implementer”, as the Sunday World calls him.
At 61 years old, Mashatile wants to be deputy president and then the top job after spending the past few years as a king-maker.
At the party’s 2017 elective conference, where Ramaphosa was elected leader by 179 votes, everybody knew that Mashatile had won him the crown.
Insert graphic of the top 7 anc wins
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He had done so by getting Mabuza to drop his support for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who also ran. Because ‘DD’, as the deputy president is known, brought the highest number of delegates to the conference, swung it for Ramaphosa.
Mabuza also had presidential ambitions and spent from 2018 to 2022 playing the deputy.
But in the meantime, his stronghold of Mpumalanga fell under the control of various warring factions of the ANC and fell apart.
Now Mabuza faces the ambitions of a young politician breathing down his back, and he does so almost isolated without a meaningful ANC constituency.
Ramaphosa is caught between a rock and a hard place. He owes loyalty to Mabuza, but if he doesn’t give Mashatile what he wants, he could face a tough year and the possibility of a face-off with the man who wants to be ‘President Paul’. DM
In a thin-obsessed culture, fatness has become its own kind of monster.
I knew before seeing “The Whale” that it was a movie about a man named Charlie who weighs over 600 pounds, is grief-stricken over the death of his partner, and is effectively trapped in his apartment due to his weight.
I also knew that “The Whale” had attracted a great deal of criticism, provoking anger, disgust and accusations of exploitation. Despite the controversy, Brendan Fraser’s performance has been widely praised, and he’s been nominated for best actor at the 95th Academy Awards.
But what I didn’t know was that this film would make me cry. As I left the theater, I found myself hyperaware of my own fat body moving through the parking lot, and I started to feel the way I often do when I see a reflection of myself in a mirror: monstrous.
Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers for “The Whale.”
In my research on fat characters in popular culture, I point out how the fat character usually must lose weight in order to gain acceptance or to be loved.
In “The Whale,” however, Charlie does not lose weight; the transformation goes in the opposite direction: he gets bigger and bigger, suffering a slow and painful physical breakdown. As I watched the film, I started to understand, with a looming sense of dread, that “The Whale” had no plans to recuperate this character. The fatness was the subject and the point.
I began to realize that this movie was not a melodrama, nor an uplifting tale about redemption; to me, “The Whale” is a body horror film that exploits the fear and disgust people feel toward fatness.
The body as a monster
Body horror is a subset of the horror film genre that depicts the destruction, degeneration or mutation of the human body. These films are designed to gross out viewers, and the protagonist often becomes the monster of the story as their body becomes more and more repulsive.
Director David Cronenberg made the subgenre famous in films such as “The Fly,” “Shivers,” “Videodrome” and “Rabid.”
“The Fly,” a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, tells the story of a scientist named Seth Brundle who merges his DNA with that of a common housefly. Over the course of the film, he gradually degenerates into a disgusting creature nicknamed “Brundlefly.” Another particularly disturbing body horror film is “Tusk,” in which a man obsessed ...
The deputy president’s office confirmed that he told South Africa’s president he will step down if the head of state wants to bring in a new deputy.
In several meetings this month, deputy president David Mabuza has met his principal, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In those meetings, he said he is willing to step down if ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile wants to take over his desk in the Union Buildings. Ramaphosa has listened but not responded, according to staff in the Presidency.
After a week of rumours that he had resigned, Mabuza’s office on Friday, January 27, said in a statement that he has “taken a considered view that it is important to align party leadership roles with government responsibilities”.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Future of Mabuza hangs in balance as ANC ponders Mashatile for SA Deputy President”
Since the election of former President Jacob Zuma as ANC president in 2007, the party has battled for alignment with party and country presidential roles. Then the incumbent was recalled ahead of his term end, and the same happened to Zuma in 2018, when he was pushed to resign after Ramaphosa’s election as party president in 2017.
There has not been a similar imperative to change deputy presidents, but Mashatile signalled a new policy shift at the end of 2022. “I guess that members of the ANC would want the new deputy president to go and assist in government,” Mashatile told Sunday World in an interview.
The question is when
“I guess there will be a transitional mechanism because we don’t want these things to be acrimonious. There is a deputy president in government who is supposed to go until 2024. If he is no longer the deputy president of the ANC, should the deputy president of the ANC come into government? Ideally the answer should be yes, the new deputy should come in,” he said.
“The question is when, because there is an incumbent. That is where the transition starts, there is an engagement. Maybe the current deputy might say it is okay: I will do another six months and leave, or 12 months. But I guess that members of the ANC would want the new deputy president to go and assist in government,” he (Mashatile) added.
Mabuza wants Ramaphosa’s confirmation
Mabuza wants Ramaphosa’s confirmation that he still serves at his pleasure, in the face of the rumour mill growing louder and louder that Mashatile will be appointed deputy, sooner rather than ...
The technology’s focus on the framing of the artistic task amounts to the fetishization of the creative moment – and devalues the journey that waters the seed of an idea to its fruition.
In 2022, OpenAI – one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence research laboratories – released the text generator ChatGPT and the image generator DALL-E 2. While both programs represent monumental leaps in natural language processing and image generation, they’ve also been met with apprehension.
Some critics have eulogized the college essay, while others have even proclaimed the death of art.
But to what extent does this technology really interfere with creativity?
After all, for the technology to generate an image or essay, a human still has to describe the task to be completed. The better that description – the more accurate, the more detailed – the better the results.
After a result is generated, some further human tweaking and feedback may be needed – touching up the art, editing the text or asking the technology to create a new draft in response to revised specifications. Even the DALL-E 2 art piece that recently won first prize in the Colorado State Fair’s digital arts competition required a great deal of human “help” – approximately 80 hours’ worth of tweaking and refining the descriptive task needed to produce the desired result.
Today’s moody #AIart style is.
deep blacks ↘️ angular light
Not everyone succeeds straight away and how you deal with failure can really make or break your career.
Failing early in our careers can make us question whether we are on the right path. We may look at people who have succeeded from the outset and wonder why it doesn’t come so easily to us. Classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, actor Natalie Portman and painter Pablo Picasso are examples of young geniuses who were successful early on.
But for some of us, failure at the beginning of our careers is important to later success. For many creatives, how we deal with those moments when things aren’t going right or you’ve received yet another rejection letter can make or break us.
The author and self-improvement lecturer Dale Carnegie maintained that inaction breeds doubt and fear; action creates confidence and courage, which inevitably ends up helping a person to succeed. This chimes with what American psychologist Carol Dweck outlines in her 2006 book Mindset.
Dweck discusses the concept of people with a “fixed mindset” versus a “growth mindset”. The former is a way of thinking where there is a lack of self belief and a negative persona while the latter is where no challenge or task is too large to take on board. Which mindset you have dictates how you will interpret failure and success and how well you approach everyday life.
A passion for learning and a desire to improve upon failure creates opportunities to learn and challenge yourself. This mentality is a boon to creatives. While yes, there are the Picassos and Portmans of the world, there are also a few famous creatives who had to overcome failure early on in their careers. These individuals demonstrate the “growth mindset”.
Rejection doesn’t have to kill dreams
A young schoolteacher from Maine, US, was a passionate part-time writer who worked tirelessly trying to get his novels published (unsuccessfully) in the late 1960s. He continued to believe in himself and chase the dream of becoming a successful author. But sometimes the reality of failure gets the better of a person and after 30 rejections he famously threw his fourth attempt at a novel away.
Fortunately, the manuscript was saved by his wife who, having confidence in his work, persuaded him to continue trying. Eventually, the novel was sold for an advance of £2000, a nice bonus for a schoolteacher. The publishing rights were ultimately purchased for an additional £200,000 and the novel ...
Moving, surprising, inspiring, terrifying... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
More people are choosing sobriety than ever, but there is a storied history of non-alcoholic cocktails.
More people, particularly young people, are opting to drink less or are cutting it out all together. This change in habits has inspired a healthy industry of non-alcoholic distillates offering reasonable substitutes for gin, rum and whisky, to be stirred up in “mocktails”.
But despite the recent emergence of non-alcoholic spirits and beers as a burgeoning new category, this idea has actually been around for nearly two centuries.
Early “temperance” drinks – such as the Milk and Seltzer, Orgeat Lemonade, and a soda cocktail laced with Angostura bitters – worked well on menus created by famed 19th-century barmen Jerry “The Professor” Thomas and Harry “The Dean” Johnson. Prohibition in the US ushered in a new style of non-alcoholic sippables and imbued creative flair in this category, which remained popular well into the cocktail party heydays of the 1960s.
Even if you’ve never gone on the wagon or taken an oath of sobriety, you may find non-alcoholic drinks surprisingly enjoyable. Here are five historical alcohol-free cocktails to try at home:
1. Parson’s Special
Harry Craddock, the British barman who promoted American cocktail culture in London during the 1920s and ’30s, presided over the American Bar at The Savoy Hotel. Craddock was known for serving the rich and famous hundreds of cocktail concoctions.
In his seminal compilation The Savoy Cocktail Book, published in 1930, he offered a creamy fruit treat called the Parson’s Special. The drink looks deceptively like a Brandy Alexander when served in a small old-fashioned glass.
Ingredients 240 ml freshly-squeezed orange juice 1 egg yolk 1-2 dashes fresh grenadine
Method: Shake the juice, yolk and grenadine vigorously over ice. Strain into a small old-fashioned or rocks glass.
2. Keep Sober
Craddock also devised a long drink for customers abstaining from the popular Collinses, Rickeys and Highballs of the day. The Keep Sober appears in The Savoy Cocktail Book too. A rose-tinted, citrusy refreshment, it’s a good alternative for gin-and-tonic lovers.
Ingredients 10 ml fresh grenadine 10 ml lemon syrup 150 ml tonic water
Method: Combine grenadine, syrup and water in an ice-filled highball glass. Stir with a spoon and serve.
3. Orgeat Fizz
Victor J Bergeron Jr was a Californian restaurateur who packed up his bags and headed to Havana, Cuba during the early 1930s in search of inspiration for his food and drink menus. When he returned in 1934 to open the first Trader Vic’s, he pioneered ...
In the early 19th century two English poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, made a patch of England, known as the Lake District, loved and celebrated through their poetry. Our Drakensberg mountains, a world heritage site, easily rivals the Lake District, but it needs more paeans and more poetry to put its enduring beauty on the global map.
Today, Wordsworth is the poet whose relationship with the Lake District most endures in the public mind. But of the two, Coleridge, known to friends as “STC”, was the wild one, the poet whose descriptions were most fierce, unconstrained and filled with the sheer joy he felt in nature’s surrounds.
For example, in a letter written in 1802, Coleridge described climbing, ledge by perilous ledge, down from Scafell mountain and how at the bottom he “lay in a state of almost prophetic Trance and Delight” at “the sight of the Crags above me on each side, and the impetuous Clouds just over them, posting so luridly and rapidly northward.”
The feelings Coleridge recounts may be two centuries and 10,000 kms away from the feelings that come over me each time I return to our Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg mountains, and the Injisuthi area in particular, but the thrill and the fear he describes are still achingly familiar. They are testimony to the enduring power and permanence of unspoilt nature.
Allow me to try and write you into its wonder.
I love Injisuthi because it’s off a beaten track, literally. Unlike parts of the ‘Berg where tourism, timeshares and expensive hotels, even when sensitively constructed, have edged up against the mountains, Injisuthi lies at the dead end of a winding 30km road through the sprawling village of Loskop; man and domestic animal slowly give way to the mountains, their flora and fauna.
I love Injisuthi because it sits at the confluence of a myriad of immature rivers, tumbling down valleys, carrying water as yet unpolluted and clean to drink. This year, after the heavy La Nina-induced rains (perhaps the last for a number of years), the streams were swollen, charging down every indent they could find; new and old waterfalls could be seen falling off numerous cliffs.
At night the sounds of the rivers are as loud as the sea.
I have visited Injisuthi when it is burnt, brown and bare after winter fires. But this year it is bursting with a hundred hues of green, tangled, overlapping, a whole ecosystem under your ...
With the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers having all qualified to continue their route in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, all four sides have now packed their bags for demanding URC fixtures.
The four South African United Rugby Championship (URC) teams will resume their duties in the competition with a spring in their step this weekend after qualifying for the playoff rounds of the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup last weekend.
The Lions turned their torrid run of four consecutive losses around last week with a fantastic 25-30 victory over Dragons, but this week brings a new challenge for the roaring side who face Connacht in frosty Galway.
South African teams have found it tough going in the Irish city thus far in the URC, with no local team having secured a victory there yet.
Becoming the first South African team to overcome this insistent Irish hurdle will be tough going for the inconsistent Lions — even though Connacht only sit one place (11th) above them on the URC log.
“At this stage, we are not too worried about where we are laying on the table,” said Lions assistant coach Jaque Fourie this week.
“There are still seven games left in the URC for us and they are tough games. We’ve got Leinster, we’ve got Benetton, the Sharks, and the Bulls.”
“We are taking it game-by-game and [right now] our focus is on Connacht. For us, it is a very important game because I think if we can pull this one off this weekend, it will put our URC campaign back on track again.”
Bulls in Wales
The Bulls take on the low-hanging Scarlets on Friday night. Scarlets are currently second last on the URC log but the Welsh outfit have found form recently, winning five of their last six matches in all competitions — including two victories over the Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup.
“We all know Scarlets are on a high at the moment, but saying that, there is nice energy at our camp and it’s almost like a change of season for us as well,” said Bulls’ backline coach Chris Rossouw.
“Confidence will be important but obviously execution and being clinical on the night will be more important.”
Skipper Ruan Nortje returns to the starting 15 to lead the side after coming off the bench against Lyon last week.
The Pretoria-based side also has a new front row with Gerhard Steenekamp, Johann Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith combining once ...
According to the World Health Organization, of the roughly 10 million people who fall ill with TB annually, more than 80% survive, in most cases due to a six-month treatment course. Unfortunately, as with long Covid, being cured is not always the last hurdle and many people go on to struggle with post-TB lung disease. Tiyese Jeranji asked local experts about this sometimes-neglected area of TB care.
Professor Keertan Dheda, a general physician, pulmonologist and critical care specialist who heads up the Division of Pulmonology at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, explains that post-TB lung disease refers to any chronic lung or respiratory abnormality (residual structural damage or scarring) after the successful completion of TB treatment.
“Unfortunately, TB is an infection where, despite successfully treating the lung infection, one can still be left with considerable residual lung damage, which may cause long-term symptoms and lung disability. We refer to this as post-TB lung disease,” he says.
It may be asymptomatic, Dheda says, or may be associated with ongoing symptoms such as chronic shortness of breath (may be apparent only during strenuous effort), chronic cough, recurrent chest infections, chronic sputum production, and in some cases recurrent coughing-up of blood. “A key point is that these symptoms often overlap with TB and therefore a common problem is inappropriate treatment for presumed recurrent TB (in those who have had TB). It is therefore important that doctors and the public are aware of this condition and that in those who have had previous TB, that new chest or lung symptoms may not necessarily mean that the person has TB again,” says Dheda.
How big is the problem?
“Most people may have some sort of scarring or damage to the lungs but will have no symptoms,” Dheda says. “About 5% of people may have significant chronic symptoms with associated reduction in their lung capacity. Then there’s a group in the middle who may have infrequent symptoms or only display symptoms upon more strenuous effort. Although the proportion (5% to 10%) with significant damage and symptoms may seem like a small number, given the overall TB problem in the country, this translates into hundreds of thousands of sufferers over the long term.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 304,000 people fell ill with TB in South Africa in 2021 and that about 56,000 died of the disease that year. Our admittedly simplistic back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that probably ...
In an era of advancing hi-tech, a student ensemble goes all out in a rousing reminder of what it means to be human.
AI is coming for us. Not only for our jobs, but – if you factor in the latest hocus-pocus from data-scraping platforms like GPT-3 – also for our souls.
We’ve reached a moment in tech’s evolution that even those of us engaged in creative pursuits are wondering how long it’ll be before robots take over. Already the fancy algorithms are churning out essays and paintings and music, along with other sort-of-kind-of-original content.
But this is not a doomsday tale about tech’s takeover, nor a sci-fi story about how the future that’s being engineered will see all human endeavour subsumed by an artificial intelligence that knows us better than we know ourselves and can therefore do whatever we can do, only better, faster, cheaper.
This is a story about a real-life experience, a memory of an actual event in the winter of 2022. I know it was genuine, because I felt my heart beating in my throat and as I walked out of that theatre into the chill late-night air and knew my entire body was charged up – I was walking on clouds, my spirit soaring, fully alive.
It took a lot of hard work – the toil of other humans, all real – to get me into that transcendent state. Some would describe it as a natural high, an endorphin rush. Perhaps I don’t get out enough. It was the thrill of the live encounter that had moved me, not only emotionally, but to the point of a physical reaction, a sensation I felt throughout my being.
It had been an exhilarating performance by a large cast, an exuberant dance show full of razzmatazz. The ensemble – spunky, talented, athletic, energetic students who worked their bodies like their lives depended on it – poured their souls out and transported those of us in the audience emotionally, intellectually, metaphysically.
That night, high on the show’s energy and the feeling of aliveness it had stirred, I went home and gushed on social media:
“Their energy is relentless, their passion for the stage a lesson in following your dreams that all of us should take to heart. Beyond the verve and thrilling commitment, it’s the deep talent, the evidence of backbreaking rehearsals, and the polished performances that set LAMTA’s latest production apart. It is 90 minutes spent ...
‘How can I be in a country where I came as a minor and be expected to pack my bags to go to Zimbabwe?’, asked one ZEP holder.
The Minister of Home Affairs failed to consider the Constitutional rights of children born and raised in South Africa in the decision to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP). This is according to the advocate representing ZEP holders in the case challenging the government’s decision. The advocate highlighted that for many of these children, “South Africa is the only country they know.”
He was speaking at an event in Cape Town on Wednesday with other lobby organisations and ZEP holders. The event was organised by the UCT Refugee Rights Unit and the Centre for European Policy Studies.
In 2009, the South African government introduced a Dispensation of Zimbabwean Permit (DZP) to legalise the many Zimbabwean nationals already living and working in the country because of the political and socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans who had applied for asylum were encouraged to apply for a DZP. When applying, their asylum documents were retained by the Department of Home Affairs.
About 295,000 Zimbabweans had applied for the DZP and about 245,000 permits were issued. The DZP was valid for four years. In 2014, the DZP was renamed the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP), and again in 2017 to the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP).
In November 2021, Cabinet announced that it will no longer extend the validity of the ZEP. Initially, the permit was to expire in December 2021, leaving almost all of the 180,000 permit holders undocumented. But advocacy groups intervened and government granted a 12-month grace until December 2022, which was again extended to June 2023. This was to give more time for people to apply to remain in South Africa on a critical skills permit, though very few ZEP holders meet the stringent critical skills criteria.
The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha) first lodged court action against Home Affairs. Advocate Simba Chitando, filed the papers in the Gauteng high court in October, requesting the government grant ZEP holders permanent residency.
Then the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation initiated court action against Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, in a bid to overturn the decision. Other groups giving their backing in the litigation include the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (Cormsa), Scalabrini Centre and the UNHCR.
On Wednesday, one of the advocates for the applicants ...
100 houses have been allocated to victims of the Group Areas Act.
Broadhurst Cona was 18 when he and his family were forcibly removed under apartheid’s Group Areas Act from their home in Luyolo Location, Simon’s Town, in January 1966.
“It was the end of the world for us,” says Cona. “We never even knew where we were going.”
Each day about 20 families, with all the belongings they could fit, were moved by truck. Cona and his family were one of the last to lose their homes.
The trucks took them from the slopes of Simon’s Town overlooking the sea to a barren street in Gugulethu, where the families were provided with small, two-bedroom houses. Many of the Luyolo community and their descendants still stay in these houses.
Now, nearly 60 years later, Cona, who is 75, is set to be a beneficiary of the Luyolo Land restitution claim, which forms part of the Dido Valley Housing Project behind Anchor Bay Mall in Simon’s Town. The housing project will have 600 units, 500 for residents from the Redhill informal settlement and 100 for the Luyolo land claimants.
Mayco Member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said that if all goes according to plan the first units should be handed over to Luyolo claimants in March or April this year.
The first 33 Redhill units have already been completed and will be handed over once electrification is done, said Booi.
Luyolo was a small vibrant township formed on the mountain slopes at Simon’s Town in 1901 by labourers brought from the Eastern Cape to work on extending the railway line from Kalk Bay to Simon’s Town. After the railroad was completed, many workers remained and found work at the dockyard in the Simon’s Town naval base.
At the time of the forced removals, Luyolo had about 1,500 predominantly African residents.
Lungiswa Somlota, secretary of the Luyolo Land Restitution Committee, was born two years after her parents were forcibly removed from Luyolo in 1965.
“They were forced to relocate, but they couldn’t leave their jobs as they had to put food on the table,” says Somlota.
Her father continued working at the naval dockyard, waking up at 4am to take the bus to Simon’s Town from Gugulethu. She grew up hearing the stories of Luyolo community life.
“The community lived as one big family. No one would go to bed on an empty stomach. There was self-reliance. People could go and fish,” says Somlota.
Visit Daily ...
The ambitious conservation project offers the hope of creating vital new living space for wild cheetah populations but it has drawn both praise and criticism from experts and conservation groups.
A dozen cheetahs — all cooped up in small boma enclosures for the last six months — are finally set to embark on a 9,000km journey to a new home on another continent within the next two weeks.
This follows a series of delays in the signing of an official memorandum of understanding between the governments of South Africa and India to move up to 120 African cheetahs to Asia over the next decade.
The plan to re-introduce this charismatic hunting cat species to a continent where cheetahs have been extinct for roughly seven decades has drawn both acclaim and criticism from wildlife experts and conservation groups.
Those in favour believe the conservation project offers the hope of creating vital new living space for wild cheetah populations after a precipitous decline in the species due to relentless human pressure.
However, critics have questioned whether it is still feasible to re-establish the species in Asia while others have characterised the translocation as a “vanity” project that harks back to the days when wealthy Indian princes trained cheetahs to hunt down antelopes or kept them as pets.
Nevertheless, there are now just 6,500 mature adults left in shrinking wild habitats globally. Cheetahs have vanished from 90% of their historical range in Africa and entirely from Asia — with fewer than 30 Asiatic cheetahs left in the world (all in Iran).
India has been trying to source Asiatic specimens since the mid-1950s. but the Iranian population is now too small to be fragmented for relocation to other nations.
Earlier this week, South Africa’s national environment department confirmed that, following months of delays, a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed with India.
Under this agreement, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs is scheduled to fly from South Africa to India in mid-February, joining eight cheetahs introduced from Namibia in September 2022.
“Restoring cheetah populations is considered to be a priority for India and will have vital and far-reaching conservation consequences, which would aim to achieve a number of ecological objectives, including re-establishing the function role of cheetah within their historical range in India and improving and enhancing the livelihood options and economies of the local communities,” the department said in a statement on January 26.
It also confirmed plans to translocate up to a dozen ...
The foreign minister says the whole world, not just South Africa, must end the war.
South Africa has declined an appeal from the European Union to use its influence over Russia to persuade it to end its war against Ukraine.
EU vice-president and foreign minister Josep Borrell made the public appeal to his counterpart, Naledi Pandor, at the end of the 15th South Africa-European Union ministerial meeting, which they co-chaired in Pretoria on Saturday .
The EU has fully condemned Russia’s aggression and many of its members are arming Ukraine to repel the Russian invasion. This week some of them agreed to send tanks to Ukraine.
By contrast, South Africa has maintained a non-aligned stance. It has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion at all and this week, after meeting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Pretoria, Pandor said she had not even repeated to him the call her department made on Russia the day the invasion began to “withdraw immediately” from Ukraine and to respect that country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Borrell said in a press conference at the end of Friday’s meeting that whatever anyone else might like to call it, Russia had mounted “a full-scale invasion of a foreign country and an attempt to destroy it, killing Ukrainian civilians, destroying civilian homes, hospital power plants, and all kinds of civilian infrastructure”.
“Facts are facts. What’s happening in Ukraine is nothing less than a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and the international rules-based international order. Its blatant action in disregard of the laws of national sovereignty is as much of a threat to Europe as it is to the whole world including Africa.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“‘Simplistic and infantile’ to demand Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine, says Pandor after meeting Lavrov”
“South Africa’s fawning at the feet of the Russians will carry high costs”
“This is not only a European war. It’s happening on European soil but it affects the whole world. The consequences are felt around the whole world and the energy and the food crisis are the most evident direct result.
“We have always respected South Africa’s traditional non-aligned stance in foreign policy. The European Union doesn’t ask Africa to choose sides. We are just asking all the countries in the world to stand on the side of the United Nations Charter. Nothing more. But nothing less. Because what is at stake is the survival of multilateralism.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
Following the team’s Hamilton heartbreak in New Zealand a week ago — during the last leg of the Seven World Series — the Springbok Sevens are out for retribution in the latest edition, currently taking place in Australia.
After a disappointing display a week ago at the Hamilton Sevens in New Zealand, South Africa’s senior men’s Sevens side had little time to wallow in self-pity.
In Hamilton, Sandile Ngcobo’s men finished in uncharacteristically low joint-seventh place after losing to Ireland in the playoff for fifth place.
However, as they faced fellow Africans Kenya in their opening Pool B encounter on Friday morning — the South Africans hit the ground running. The Springbok Sevens brushed aside their opponents during a comfortable 31-5 win.
They notched up five tries in the process, with Shilton van Wyk grabbing a brace.
According to the side’s skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi — the result was key after the team’s shortfalls in New Zealand — which has never been a happy hunting ground for the team.
“We did put some pride back in the jersey with that performance, and we needed to. But we are never happy with any mistakes in our game and there were some today,” the captain said after the Pool B clash at Allianz stadium.
“We will have a good look at those and see how we can cut the errors out before we face Uruguay tomorrow morning.”
Indeed, the clash against the Uruguayans will not be a walk in the park especially if the South Africans don’t eliminate some of the errors they made against Kenya.
Soyizwapi, who is playing in his 45th World Sevens Series tournament for South Africa, said they conceded too many penalties — something they need to eliminate against the South Americans.
“They are fresh on the series and pretty hungry to make an impact,” Soyizwapi said of the South Americans — who sit 11th on the World Series standings.
“They have also settled in after four tournaments and are getting used to the pace of the game, so it will not be an easy one. We are certainly not taking them lightly, it will not be an easy game, so we better be ready for that.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The above advice is even more relevant for when the Blitzboks take on the imposing New Zealand a few hours after their tussle with Uruguay on Saturday.
Culture shock
In the aftermath of their disappointing outing ...
Accused Zandile Mafe refused to leave his Pollsmoor Prison cell to appear in court, according to his defence attorney.
Mafe was expected to appear in the Western Cape high court on Friday for pre-trial purposes. A trial date was supposed to be set, but Mafe failed once again to appear in court. He has failed to appear on three earlier occasions.
Mafe’s lawyer, advocate Luvuyo Godla, told the court that his client refused to leave his Pollsmoor Prison cell. According to the State Prosecutor, prison officials tried in vain to persuade Mafe to appear in court.
Mafe is accused of setting fire to the National Assembly building in the early hours of 2 January 2022. He faces charges of terrorism, arson, housebreaking, theft and possession of explosives.
A day after his arrest the matter surrounding his mental state became an issue. A day after his arrest, Mafe was examined by district surgeon Dr Zelda van Tonder.
She declared that Mafe was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Mafe’s disputed confession was also made hours after the mental health report was filed.
On 4 January 2022, prosecutor Helene Booysen submitted an assessment report from Van Tonder. Based on this report, an order was granted by Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo on 4 January 2022, sending Mafe to Valkenberg Hospital for 30 days of observation. But this order was set aside by Judge President John Hlophe.
On Friday Godla told the court that during the prior sitting the defence indicated they were considering referring Mafe for assessment.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The last consultation I had with Mafe was on Tuesday. We discussed this issue with him. He understands it. After consultation and a long break before consultation resumed, Mafe indicated that he will cooperate and do whatever is required of him.
“He agreed to be referred. We also agreed that he will come to court so that he could hear this issue being ventilated. I don’t understand why he all of a sudden changed his mind not to attend court proceedings,” Godla told the court.
Goldla requested a postponement for two weeks so that he could try again to persuade his client to appear in court so that the referral can be finalised.
But Judge Nape Dolamo reiterated that the referral cannot be made without Mafe being present in court. This would come down to an infringement of his constitutional rights.
Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed Mafe’s ...
The UCT Academics’ Union has withdrawn its planned strike after coming to an agreement with the university about a proposed salary increase. The UCT Employees Union, however, is still threatening to strike as negotiations deadlocked.
After threatening to go on strike for the first time in its history, the Academics’ Union (AU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) will not be following through after coming to an agreement with the university.
The AU initially proposed a strike in a statement on Friday, 20 January, which expressed the union’s disdain for a 3% salary increase proposed by the university, which did not align with increasing inflation (6.9% according to the 2022 Consumer Price Inflation rate). The union also stated that other tertiary institutions had offered increases of at least 6% to keep up with the rising cost of living.
“We find it hard to accept that UCT, as one of the premier universities in South Africa, is unable to match the pay increases offered by other higher learning institutions,” said Kelley Moult, leader of the union’s salary bargaining team.
On Tuesday, the union was issued a certificate of non-resolution from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) which granted permission for the AU to proceed with strike action.
However, the AU was offered a verbal revised salary offer from UCT management. As of Friday, 27 January, a written offer was made to the union with a proposed 6% salary increase – double its original proposal, said Moult.
This is in line with the AU’s demands and the union has voted to accept this revised offer, ceasing their threat to strike.
Moult told Daily Maverick that once non-salary aspects such as workload and conditions of service are finalised, the agreement will be ready to be officiated on Friday or Saturday at the latest.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
When asked about the revised offer of 6%, UCT maintained its discretion on the matter.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “To this end, UCT has approached the ongoing engagements with the AU on the bargaining front in a collegial and respectful manner, and we wish to maintain that going forward.”
Deadlock
By contrast with the AU’s amicable agreement with management, the UCT Employees Union’s (UCTEU) pay talks reached a deadlock on Thursday, 26 January.
The UCTEU is the largest representative body at the university with 1,200 members comprising non-academic staff, from managers to technical workers. Its members are diverse ...
The murder of the human rights defender and political activist could be a turning point — but which way?
The murder on 21 January of Eswatini’s top human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko — also one of the kingdom’s best political activists — has pushed the country further down the slope towards chaos.
Maseko was clearly assassinated. He was hit by bullets fired through the living room window of his house near Manzini. The killer or killers did not enter the home or steal anything.
But who organised the hit is now the subject of intense speculation. The state is of course a prime suspect. Maseko was a fierce and effective critic of the government and had often legally represented opposition figures falsely prosecuted for their political views. In 2014 he was jailed for two years for penning a stinging critique of Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, whom Mswati III later fired for gross misconduct.
Maseko also chaired the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) — the country’s broad association of political parties and civics. The forum had become the reasonable voice of the opposition even as King Mswati’s government claimed it had no one to talk to about democratic reform.
Mswati publicly stated hours before Maseko’s murder that those causing political trouble in the country should not “cry about mercenaries coming after them.” This appeared to be a response to newspaper claims that the government had hired foreign fighters to eliminate its political enemies.
Shortly after Maseko’s death, Swaziland News reported that a South African mercenary — whose company was training a Swazi security force unit to deal with oppositionists causing violence — had denied involvement in the assassination.
Mswati’s government clearly had a motive to kill Maseko. He and the MSF were a living denial of the king’s claim that the opposition was voiceless and anonymous.
But others have also been suspected of Maseko’s murder. Rumours swirl about divisions and growing tensions within the opposition. Since the rioting and retaliation by the government in June and July 2021, violence between oppositionists and government officials has proliferated. It was this eruption that prompted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to intervene.
Throughout the turmoil, Maseko remained the opposition’s voice of reason, urging peaceful dialogue. Some say he may have paid with his life for favouring a non-violent approach.
Another theory floated by the Times of Eswatini on 25 January was that his death might have been related to a dispute involving unnamed people attempting ...
Elton Baatjies is a tour de force. It is a carefully crafted book and its temporal sense of time and location are brought to life beautifully.
Elton Baatjies is based on the story of Norman Simons who stalked and killed boys on the Cape Flats between 1986 and 1995. Dubbed “the station strangler”, Simons is thought to have been responsible for sodomising and strangling 22 boys. The evidence at the time could only link him to the death of one, 10-year-old Elroy van Rooyen. Simons was a schoolteacher, which made his arrest particularly shocking.
Elton Baatjies is set in the Elgin Valley, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town. The story opens with Elton taking up a job as an English teacher at a local school. The community is in uproar because six boys have been raped, murdered and dumped down the side of the mountain.
The book is beautifully written and is an exercise in stereogramming – holding intricate, less-visible pictures within broader, more obvious ones. An example of this is in the writing style of the book, which comes across as being beguilingly simple, but when you look closely, you find that it is layered with complexity, with incisive technique.
Then there is the stereogramming of the main character and the community. Elton does not want people to notice him. He wants to “blend in”, to be invisible. He wants others to underestimate him; they must not poke beneath the surface of his hermit-style life. Yet, at the same time, a part of him wants others to see that he is different. He finds it infuriating that others cannot see that he is more intelligent, that he is superior. Similarly, the community in Elgin in which Elton settles is also a stereogram.
On the one hand, Walbrugh brings to life the simplicity of life there – the beauty of the ebb and flow of teatime get-togethers, the uncomplicatedness of life outside of busy urban areas, the intimacy of school fairs, and a close-knit group of people who care about each other. Yet the underbelly of this calm community setting is socioeconomic hardship and its attendant traumas – rampant poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation. An extract from the book – one where a local newspaper is asking the community to look into the mirror of its soul, illustrates this:
“As a community we must do some ...
Cape Philharmonic turns down R3.2-million offered by the national orchestra citing unease over governance and transparency. To date, no annual financial statements or any detailed budget breakdown have been made available to Parliament or the public.
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) has refused a R3.2-million grant from the new Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, citing concerns about transparency and governance.
The national orchestra, launched in 2022, has so far received R52-million in government funding, taking over funding previously reserved for regional orchestras. In future, it will receive an annual grant of about R20.5-million from the national Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
DSAC and the Mzansi orchestra, a non-profit organisation, have so far declined requests by the CPO and Members of Parliament for a detailed breakdown of how the public funds are being spent. There are also unanswered questions about the process that was followed to establish the orchestra.
The Mzansi orchestra was registered as a non-profit company in 2019 and launched in 2022. Its objectives include contributing to social cohesion, bringing orchestral music to more regions in the country, developing young musicians, and strengthening “cultural diplomacy”.
It has since performed several concerts, including a tour of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. It has also recruited fellows and cadets to receive training and financial support.
According to the orchestra’s draft annual report, which GroundUp has seen, R20-million has been allocated to fund 38 existing regional and local orchestras and music development programmes. Grants range between R100,000 and R3.2-million. Each of the country’s three regional orchestras (Cape Philharmonic, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic and the Johannesburg Philharmonic) have been allocated R3.2-million. Previously they were each receiving R10-million.
While it appears that most of the beneficiaries have accepted the money, the CPO has refused the grant, claiming that the Mzansi orchestra is unsustainable and that the organisation is not adequately transparent about how it is spending public money.
CPO chief executive officer Louis Heyneman says that they will only accept the funds if they are provided with a clear, sustainable business plan for the Mzansi orchestra, and if all records of expenditure are made public and transparent.
The Mzansi orchestra’s chief executive officer Bongani Tembe, who is also the CEO and artistic director of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic and the Johannesburg Philharmonic, told GroundUp that the national orchestra is a public-private partnership and not a government agency. Therefore, he claims, it is under no obligation to release its audited financial ...
There was drama on the catwalk and in the streets of the Spring-Summer 2023 Couture shows this week, from American rapper Doja Cat covered from head-to-toe in red crystals at Schiaparelli, or Viktor & Rolf's poetic and playful collection.
Local and international campaigners gathered in Cape Town on Thursday to protest against the planned arrival of the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky. This protest follows concerns that the vessel’s activities breach a ban on commercial mining in the Antarctic.
Though the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky did not meet her estimated time of arrival in Cape Town, she continues to chug her way down the west coast with her controversial seismic equipment aboard.
According to ship tracker Marine Traffic, the Russian seismic survey vessel was expected to dock in Cape Town at 11am on Thursday, January 26. But at the scheduled time, the Port of Cape Town saw no sign of the ship — instead becoming the setting of protests against the vessel’s ongoing use of South African facilities en route to the Southern Ocean.
At 10am, about 50 activists came together on the steps opposite the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. Where one might have expected to see art enthusiasts and tourists, this group of campaigners gathered to whale song played through a megaphone — and held up colourful signs reading: “Go Home” and “You are not welcome”.
Meeting at the popular V&A Waterfront tourist attraction, the mixed “unwelcoming committee” included Greenpeace Cape Town volunteers and members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Cape Town and The Green Connection.
The campaigners made their way to the National Ports Authority on South Arm Road, waving placards. Here, they shouted slogans targeting the impact and motives behind the vessel’s seismic activities in the Antarctic.
Some jumped into the icy water, holding a “Hands Off Antarctica!” placard.
In the wake of Our Burning Planet investigations that exposed Russian oil and gas surveys, as well as marine noise, in the Southern Ocean, the event marked the first international protests to challenge these issues since a 1998 mining ban became law.
The blue and white-hulled Karpinsky is owned by the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition (PMGE), a subsidiary of the Kremlin’s mineral explorer, Rosgeo.
The investigative series details how the Karpinsky and her seismic airguns have travelled south annually for about 25 years, firing shots throughout the sensitive Antarctic region in search of hydrocarbons, the components that may form valuable oil and gas deposits.
The international mining ban does make provisions to allow scientific research under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. But any stage of prospecting linked to commercial intent is prohibited, argue Antarctic governance experts.
As defined by an abandoned 1988 Antarctic mining pact, ...
Ukraine said Russia launched 55 cruise missiles, including at least two hypersonic weapons, in a new wave of attacks on Thursday that killed at least 11 people, according to emergency services.
Russia’s latest missile barrage on Ukraine, which also included drones overnight, was unleashed after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that donations of advanced weaponry including aircraft and long-range missiles would follow a pledge by the US and Germany to supply Ukraine with battle tanks.
US President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Europe in February to coincide with the one-year mark of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, NBC reported, citing people it didn’t identify.
Key developments
What tanks Ukraine will get and why it wants them: QuickTake
Ukraine holds key rate as central bank pares growth outlook
US sanctions Russia’s Wagner Group as criminal organisation
Biden says US will send tanks to Ukraine in broad allied effort
Germany to boost Ukraine firepower with Leopard battle tanks
On the ground
Russian missile and drone attacks killed 11 civilians, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s state emergency service, said on television. The General Staff said earlier on Facebook that Kremlin troops had carried out 37 air strikes and 10 missile attacks over the past day, hitting civilian infrastructure in the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, among other targets.
A move by Russia to engage in “limited spoiling attacks across most of the frontline”, including Vuhledar in the Donetsk region, was probably an attempt to “distract Ukrainian forces and set conditions to launch a decisive offensive operation” in the Luhansk region, the Institute for the Study of War said.
Ukraine says number of grain vessels falls
The average number of vessels carrying Ukrainian grain via the Bosphorus had dropped to 2.5 per day, the slowest pace since the grain corridor initiative unblocked such exports via three Black Sea ports in July, the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said on its website.
Intentional delays by Russian inspectors had caused the slowdown, the ministry said. Outbound grain shipments have so far totalled 2.4 million tonnes in January, compared with more than four million tonnes in September and October.
Canada nears decision on Leopard tanks
Canada is nearing a decision to send a modest number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to people with knowledge of the issue. The number under consideration is in the four to six range, the people said.
Defence Minister Anita Anand met her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, earlier this month and pledged to provide Ukraine with ...
It has been almost 18 months since Jenny Cullinan, a Simon’s Town-based bee researcher, was allegedly assaulted in a remote area near Cape Point Nature Reserve. On Thursday, the doctor who treated her wounds after the incident testified as a witness in the case against her alleged assailant.
The doctor who treated Jenny Cullinan after she was allegedly assaulted by local businessman, service station owner Neel Ramlall testified in the Simon’s Town Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Dr Steven van der Merwe, a general practitioner at Harbour Bay Medical Centre, testified that when he examined Cullinan on 31 July 2021 — the day of the alleged assault — she had a 2cm laceration on her head, a bruise on the left side of her forehead and a laceration on the outer side of her right arm. The head wound required three stitches.
Van der Merwe filled out a J88 form — a document recording medical evidence that may be needed to obtain a conviction in an assault case — in relation to Cullinan’s wounds.
“My initial assessment with this [head] laceration . it’s likely that it was done or brought about by the sharp edge of an object,” he said. He added that it would have required significant force to cause the laceration, as the human scalp is quite thick.
“The wound was 2mm deep, more or less,” he said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Simon’s Town bee researcher testifies about assault after months of court delays
Ramlall is facing a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm for allegedly physically attacking Cullinan in a remote area near Cape Point Nature Reserve. Cullinan was in the area conducting research on wild bees.
When Cullinan gave her testimony against Ramlall on 15 September 2022, she said that just before the alleged assault, the two had a conversation in which he told her he often came to the area to collect plants with his wife. Cullinan informed him he was not allowed to take plants from a protected area.
Cullinan claimed that when she started walking back towards the road, Ramlall came at her with a narrow plank, and beat her over the head.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Simon’s Town bee researcher testifies about assault after months of court delays
According to statements on 15 September 2022 by Sonja van den Heever, Ramlall’s attorney, he maintained that Cullinan was the aggressor during their encounter and that she assaulted him and ...
Of course, actions speak louder than words. The DA has not just talked. We’ve taken several bold actions to help solve SA’s energy crisis.
Stephen Grootes’ harmful cynicism in his article published by Daily Maverick on Thursday (“DA’s march on ANC’s Luthuli House was the starting gun for its 2024 election campaign”) cannot go unchallenged. By peddling the false narrative that SA voters have no alternatives to the ANC, Grootes does profound harm to South Africa.
He concludes: “It is clear that politicians are very comfortable arguing about who is to blame. But they do not appear to be focusing on finding solutions (to the energy crisis). Which may mean that no matter who wins next year’s elections, very few of our politicians will provide solutions to solve our problems.”
What is crystal clear is that Grootes has made no effort to find out about the solutions offered by opposition parties to South Africa’s energy crisis. In the DA’s case, these were most recently set out in my latest newsletter titled “The DA’s response to the energy crisis”, which was also published by News24 under the title “The ANC must understand the risk it faces if it doesn’t act on Eskom crisis”.
The DA’s Energy Policy, our comprehensive plan to fix South Africa’s energy crisis, is available to all within a few clicks. It was developed by the DA’s head of policy, Gwen Ngwenya, and her team in consultation with several energy experts.
We have also set out our solutions in countless media statements, most recently here, here, here and here. Grootes and anyone else can sign up here to receive our statements and here for my weekly Straight Talk newsletters. Information on solutions offered by other opposition parties is neatly summarised here, making it easy for even the most disinterested commentators to get their facts straight.
Of course, actions speak louder than words. The DA has not just talked. We’ve taken several bold actions to help solve SA’s energy crisis.
Most recently, on Monday and Tuesday this week we were in court to rip out the problem at its roots by having the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment declared illegal. Because of the cadre deployment committee records that the DA exposed to the country last year, we know it is at Luthuli House where, over the past 25 years, the decisions were made to “deploy” the corrupt and incompetent ANC cadres who destroyed Eskom.
Also this week, ...
Either the Russians have some kompromat on SA decision-makers; they’re paying them off; or SA decision-makers are incompetent and lacking any awareness of the objective of international relations and diplomacy. Or it could be a combination of the above. Even a pretence of neutrality — or non-alignment — has been firmly abandoned now in Russia’s favour by South Africa’s diplomatic mandarins led by Naledi Pandor, whose embarrassing public pledge of fealty to Lavrov must mark the low point for human rights in post-apartheid South Africa.
Fiendship. Noun. A relationship between two evil entities. Or between an evil entity and an utterly incompetent and morally bereft one.
The dogs have barked and Sergey Lavrov’s caravan has moved on to Russia’s next lapdog, but the question remains: Amidst all the fawning, flip-flopping statements, why exactly does the ANC government support Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine?
Leaving aside legal norms and niceties and questions of morality, as Tim Cohen has written on these pages, the US outscores Russia as a partner in every objective, commercial measure, from investment to trade.
After the Bell: SA’s decision to back Russia over Ukraine is objectively bonkers
It outscores Moscow in other aspects too, not least that the West is by far preferred as an emigration destination. South Africans, it turns out, do not share the ANC’s enthusiasm for autocrats like Russia and China. Having experienced the whip under apartheid, they value freedom, democracy and the quality of life in an open society.
Were it not for the Constitution, the ANC would long since have adopted the Russian model.
It has tried to hamstring the media with security legislation and “media tribunals” and has attempted to delegitimise opposition while capturing the state. All of these efforts have failed, thanks to the entrenchment of democracy and openness in the Constitution as the ANC’s support base has dwindled.
You would think that the ANC would by now realise that it faces an existential crisis as a result of its failings. Most recent polls show it dropping to around 40% in the 2024 election. Most ANC voters — almost three-quarters of them — believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should be condemned.
But even a pretence of neutrality — or non-alignment — has been firmly abandoned now in Russia’s favour by South Africa’s diplomatic mandarins led by Naledi Pandor, whose embarrassing public pledge of fealty to Lavrov must mark the low point for human rights in post-apartheid South ...
Cape Town has doubled down on its plan to eradicate rolling blackouts and will start paying cash to businesses that feed their excess power back into the grid. This comes after the National Treasury granted the city an exemption from public procurement legislation last week.
The City of Cape Town on Tuesday announced it would start paying cash to commercial customers with their own embedded generation facilities, who sell their excess power back into the grid.
“The message is clear: If you’ve got kilowatts to sell, we want ’em all. And if you want to be paid cash for your power, now you can be — just tell us if you want it by EFT, e-wallet, SnapScan, or Apple Pay,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis at the city’s first 2023 council meeting on Thursday.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of Eskom’s rolling blackouts that are affecting businesses and contributing to another year of lacklustre economic growth in the country. Stages 4 and 5 load shedding were implemented from 5am on Thursday.
Cape Town is already able to provide its customers with up to two stages of load shedding relief where possible, thanks to the use of a hydroelectric plant at the Steenbras Dam. It’s the reason Cape Town municipal customers at times have only Stage 2 blackouts while the rest of the country is on Stage 4.
Hill-Lewis told Daily Maverick last week that Cape Town aims to provide its customers with at least four stages of load shedding protection progressively over the next three years.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Dumped — metros start the move away from Eskom and towards independent power producers”
The city is forging ahead with its rolling blackout protection plan. Last week, the National Treasury granted an exemption from public procurement legislation, allowing Cape Town to pay customers cash for power.
Important news:Cape Town can officially start paying people for the power they sell back to the city. Without limit. We’ve got a reply from the National Treasury, giving us the exemption we asked for. This is an NB step on the end loadshedding journey
Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) January 24, 2023
Speaking to Daily Maverick during the DA’s “Power to the People” march to the ANC’s offices in Cape Town on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said: “The City of Cape Town will now pay cash — EFT people for the power they sell back into the grid. Previously we only gave credit. on their ...
Yes, it is too soon to tell precisely when inflation will be fully tamed. And no one knows what new shocks await us. But I am still putting my money on ‘Team Temporary’.
Despite favourable indices, it is too soon to tell whether inflation has been tamed. Nevertheless, two clear lessons have emerged from the recent price surge.
First, economists’ standard models — especially the dominant one that assumes the economy always to be in equilibrium — were effectively useless. And, second, those who confidently asserted that it would take five years of pain to wring inflation out of the system have already been refuted. Inflation in the US has fallen dramatically, with the December 2022 seasonally adjusted consumer price index coming in just 1% above that for June.
There is overwhelming evidence that the main source of inflation was pandemic-related supply shocks and shifts in the pattern of demand, not excess aggregate demand, and certainly not any additional demand created by pandemic spending. Anyone with any faith in the market economy knew that the supply issues would be resolved eventually; but no one could possibly know when.
After all, we have never endured a pandemic-driven economic shutdown followed by a rapid reopening. That is why models based on past experience proved irrelevant. Still, we could anticipate that clearing supply bottlenecks would be disinflationary, even if this would not necessarily counteract the earlier inflationary process immediately or in full, owing to markets’ tendency to adjust upward more rapidly than they adjust downward.
US policymakers continue to balance the risk of doing too little versus doing too much. The risks of increasing interest rates are clear: a fragile global economy could be pushed into recession, precipitating more debt crises as many heavily indebted emerging and developing economies face the triple whammy of a strong dollar, lower export revenues and higher interest rates. This would be a travesty. After already letting people die unnecessarily by refusing to share the intellectual property for Covid-19 vaccines, the US has knowingly adopted a policy that will probably sink the world’s most vulnerable economies. This is hardly a winning strategy for a country that has launched a new cold war with China.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Worse, it is not even clear that there is any upside to this approach. In fact, raising interest rates could do more harm than good, by making it more expensive ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
After intense deliberations and horse-trading behind closed doors, minority parties in the City of Joburg seem to have decided on their preferred candidate for executive mayor of SA’s richest metro, following Mpho Phalatse’s ousting.
The DA has again lost control of SA’s richest metro, Johannesburg, following the ousting of Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse in a motion of no confidence on Thursday — this time to an unlikely candidate.
Phalatse was removed as mayor following a successful motion of no confidence brought by African Transformation Movement (ATM) councillor Lubabalo Magwentshu, who argued: “We are not surprised by the executive mayor’s inability to deliver services to the poor and marginalised people of Johannesburg.”
A total of 140 councillors voted in favour of the motion to have Phalatse removed, while 129 voted against it. Among the parties that voted in favour were the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance (PA), Al Jama-ah and ATM. Those who voted in favour included ActionSA, the DA, ACDP and FF Plus.
The DA needed the support of the PA to defeat the motion, but negotiations between the two parties collapsed. The PA is said to have demanded two positions on the Mayoral Committee in Johannesburg and MMC positions in the Ekurhuleni metro — to which the DA did not agree.
Phalatse’s removal comes barely three months after she successfully had a motion of no confidence against her overturned at the Johannesburg High Court.
Before this, Phalatse faced several other motions of no confidence— some failed and some were withdrawn.
Johannesburg and the cities of Ekurhuleni and Tshwane have been led by DA-led multiparty coalitions since the 2021 local government elections, when the ANC was relegated to the opposition benches after its support fell below 50% for the first time.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A well-placed source told this reporter that during the negotiations, the ANC attempted to have its candidate appointed as mayor, promising to give in to whatever demands would be put on the table — but the proposal was rejected. Eventually, the bloc decided on three names: Cope’s Colleen Makhubele, Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad and the African Independent Congress’ Margaret Arnolds.
After further deliberations on Thursday morning, the minority parties decided on Amad, who was confident he would emerge victorious when the council resumed the sitting on Friday.
On the process leading up to his being named, Amad said: “It was a very difficult process, we had to engage, consult and ...
There are social, technological and economic constructs at hand that would enable the Earth to support double its current population. But it would require tapping the resourcefulness, cooperation and collaboration that has enabled the remarkable success of the human species over the last 200,000 years.
Anxieties about the implications of population growth and environmental sustainability recur throughout research over the last 500 years. Insecurity about not having sufficient food, water and other resources, and perhaps begrudging the need to share the existing stocks among growing numbers, have driven progress in industry and agriculture.
“Scarcity” is, after all, a founding assumption of much economic theory. The same insecurity has driven anti-social and ecologically destructive behaviour including over-extraction, hoarding and nationalism.
The thesis of the Avengers: Infinity War anti-hero, Thanos, is that eliminating half the world’s population will double the remaining people’s well-being. The movie is intended as satire but is based on an all-too-common societal assumption regarding the relationship between population size and well-being, not to mention the writings of ecologists such as Garrett Hardin and Paul R Ehrlich.
As the human population breached eight billion in 2022 and the evidence of biodiversity losses, soil degradation, rising temperatures, droughts, fires, floods and disease stacks up, it seems important, and perhaps innately human, that the question “what is the Earth’s carrying capacity?” be revisited.
There have been many studies on this topic since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek estimated the Earth’s carrying capacity at 13 billion in 1679. His calculations involved an extrapolation of the relationship between inhabitable land and wheat production in the Netherlands and oddly, given their flimsy premise, his conclusion still seems reasonable.
Determining exactly what is reasonable, however, is not straightforward. This is one arena in which more research seems to lead to less consensus. A review of existing studies showed a range between 0.5 billion and one trillion.
Equally clear, is that this is an emotive topic, and one in which all researchers struggle to disassociate from their ideological baggage. Thomas Malthus famously drew attention to the distinction between gross output of an economy and per capita consumption in 1798, to predict that population growth would outstrip food supply and lead to famine.
Less well known is his religious opposition to contraception and his theoretical opposition to the liberal writings of Marquis de Condorcet, William Golding and his own father.
In a piece of research commissioned by the Global Challenges Foundation (Sweden) and the Inclusive Society Institute (South ...
Last week the Royal Astronomical Society awarded the MeerKAT team the 2023 Group Achievement Award ‘for a series of spectacular observations in radio astronomy, the highlight being the images of the Galactic Centre region and the spectacular radio bubbles’.
There is a picture on Dr Fernando Camilo’s office wall of a smug President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is perhaps being a bit of a show-off.
A smiling Ramaphosa is standing next to his subdued Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and behind the two statesmen is a blown-up photograph of a South African success story.
What it is, is the clearest-yet image of the centre of the Milky Way, which is a good 25,000 light years from the Karoo, in the heartland of South Africa, from where the MeerKAT radio telescope snapped it.
That image came about when Camilo and his team decided to take the then new MeerKAT radio telescope for a spin and pointed it to a corner of the southern sky.
In the past, other radio telescopes had battled to penetrate the dust and gas that shrouded the centre of the Milky Way.
Money shot
But the MeerKAT team got the money shot. What they achieved was an image drawn not by light, but by radio and x-rays, of a black hole and strange filament-like structures.
Five years later, and that image, says Camilo, is still the clearest shot of the centre of our galaxy.
But what Camilo and his colleagues didn’t know then was that those 64 antennas staring up at Karoo sky also captured something else.
The scientists analysing the same data that produced the shot of the centre of the Milky Way found giant radio bubbles. Bubbles so big they stretched 1,400 light years across . and they had never been spotted before.
“The shape and symmetry of what we have observed strongly suggest that a staggeringly powerful event happened a few million years ago, very near our galaxy’s central black hole,” declared astronomer William Cotton, one the team that observed the phenomenon, when the discovery was announced back in 2019.
Politicians have used MeerKAT’s achievements for photo opportunities and just over a week ago it was science’s turn to acknowledge the achievements of the team that has been making some remarkable findings.
2023 Group Achievement Award
The Royal Astronomical Society awarded the MeerKAT team the 2023 Group Achievement Award “for a series of spectacular observations in radio astronomy, the highlight being the images of the Galactic Centre region and the ...
A senior official from the Free State department of agriculture testified on Thursday in the first State Capture trial that for years he did not report an allegedly irregular Nulane Investments transaction, and did so only when he was approached by the investigating officer in the case.
Shadrack Cezula, a one-time supply chain manager in the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, on Thursday testified for a second day in the Bloemfontein High Court corruption trial involving a R24.9-million feasibility study for the Vrede Dairy Project.
Cezula has turned State witness.
He admitted having written a letter — dictated by then chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini — motivating that the Free State agriculture department deviated from its regular procurement procedures in the appointment of Nulane Investments.
The eight accused include two former heads of the agriculture department — Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The other accused are Iqbal Sharma, Dinesh Patel and Ronica Ragavan. A second company — Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty — of which Ragavan was a director, is also among the accused.
According to the charge sheet, Nulane Investments — awarded the contract for the feasibility study — lacked capacity and subcontracted Deloitte to deliver the service. The study led to the controversial Vrede Dairy Project that cost the provincial department R280-million.
During cross-examination, Cezula admitted that he had agreed to turn state witness to avoid being charged criminally, but claimed he did not know what charges he could potentially face.
The State is expected to call its third witness on Friday morning. Acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha is presiding. DM
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and ANC supporters formed a human barrier to protect the party’s offices.
Hundreds of Enoch Mgijima Municipality residents shut down the town centre in Komani (formerly Queenstown) on Thursday, demanding that their electricity woes be resolved. They also want the “dysfunctional” municipality to be dissolved.
According to Mayor Madoda Papiyana, the municipality owes Eskom R890-million. He blames illegal connections and decaying infrastructure as the major cause of the blackouts.
Crowds of people began blocking the N6 between Aliwal North and East London at Hexagon Square at 6am. Public Order Police were called to disperse the residents. They resisted until officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
ANC members then accompanied Papiyana, Chris Hani District Mayor Wongama Gela and other senior ANC office-bearers in a motorcade. ANC members had apparently been discouraging people from joining the protest and this angered residents. The officials had to be escorted out of the area by police after angry residents started throwing water at the officials’ cars.
The group then moved their protest to the front of the ANC’s Chris Hani District office where more than 200 ANC supporters formed a human barrier to protect the office.
ANC supporters formed a human barrier in front of the ANC’s Chris Hani District office where a large group of Komani residents were protesting.
Mncedisi Mbengo of the Komani Protest Action Committee said, “We want Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to intervene. Corrupt ANC leaders have destroyed this municipality. People’s electrical appliances have been damaged. The municipality only [restored] the electricity for the ANC celebrations last Saturday. Some areas had no electricity for two months and businesses are suffering.”
Raymond Isaac from Parkville said, “The ANC does what it likes with taxpayers’ money. Instead of fixing the problem, they just call the police to shoot at us. But we are not shaken, we will continue with the protest.”
Sinelizwi Jack, a mother of three from Mlungisi township said, “All the food and meat that I bought for school lunches is rotten in my fridge because we had no electricity for three days. Everything has come to a standstill. Our children could not go to school and rubbish was not collected.”
In Ezibeleni township, households have been experiencing electricity shortages since 2017. As a result, many companies no longer do business in the area.
Xolani Ngxatu, chairperson of the Independent Komani Residents Association (Ikora) told GroundUp that the township is the second-largest in the ...
South Africa will host the next two editions of rugby’s Under-20 World Championships, which seems to be the best the country can hope for in terms of staging global rugby tournaments.
It becomes clearer with each passing year that, despite being a powerhouse on the field, South Africa is increasingly viewed as a second-tier nation, worthy of only a few scraps from the top table of the global game.
After the World Rugby Council shamefully voted against its alleged principles and own, independently assessed report recommending South Africa as host of Rugby World Cup 2023, they have been tossing morsels to SA Rugby headquarters.
On Thursday, the governing body announced that South Africa will host the next two editions of the Junior World Championships (for under-20 players) in the Western Cape in 2023 and 2024.
Kenya will host the 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy tournament at the same time.
In 2022, Cape Town hosted the Rugby World Cup Sevens, and another global rugby event is set for October 2023, although details are not clear at this stage.
Despite a massive energy crisis as rolling blackouts continue to plague the country – and will do for the foreseeable future – the country continuously delivers quality global sports events, particularly in the Western Cape.
Next month the electric version of F1, the Formula E world championship, makes its first stop in Africa for the Cape Town E-Prix through the streets of Green Point and Granger Bay.
“South Africa has a proud tradition and excellent track record of hosting world class events and we are ready to welcome the next generations of rugby’s future to our shores in July, and again next year,” said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.
“We have the infrastructure and proven expertise to deliver excellent rugby events and, combined with fantastic backing from our passionate supporters, I have no doubt we will deliver two more very successful Under-20 championships.”
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Three-year hiatus
The 2023 tournament is the first following a three-year Covid-induced hiatus, which, since it became a single under-20 event in 2008, has seen nearly 1,500 future Test players participate.
While that tournament is a respected event and a well-viewed pathway for young players to earn club contracts, it’s not in the same galaxy as hosting the senior men’s World Cup.
World Rugby, from an operational level, enjoys hosting events in South Africa. The Rugby World Cup Sevens was hosted at the ...
Jabu Mahlangu, who played for some of the biggest soccer clubs in South Africa, recently sparked a debate around Mamelodi Sundowns. He suggested that the Tshwane giants’ domestic success is largely due to their deep financial pockets. But is it as simple as that?
Former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates midfielder Jabu Mahlangu recently said that, in his view, Mamelodi Sundowns is killing South African soccer.
“I can’t watch PSL (Premier Soccer League) games any more. The standard of the league has really dropped . Let’s be honest, what’s happening now has killed the national team. Let’s not be biased and be completely honest. Something must be done,” said Mahlangu in a video that went viral.
Mahlangu’s position is that due to their financial muscle compared with the other 16 teams in the league – Sundowns will always win the league, and possibly the other domestic trophies on offer.
Currently, Masandawana are 19 points clear of Richards Bay, who are second on the log. The Gauteng juggernaut has run through almost every team in their path in recent seasons – going as far as winning the domestic treble last season.
As for the DStv Premiership, the team has claimed five titles on the trot and seem to be cruising to a sixth in 2023.
Mahlangu insinuated that the Tshwane-based side depends on their deep pockets to lure the best players from the league’s other sides.
“All our best players are in one team, and some don’t even play,” he said in the video.
The former Amakhosi player’s assertion has sparked robust debate on the state of South African men’s football and its future.
One of the most decorated players in the country’s football history – Daine Klate, who donned the colours of Soweto giants Pirates, as well as SuperSport United – responded to Mahlangu’s postulation.
“The rest just need to catch up with Sundowns. If they don’t, then Sundowns must win every season. The work and process they followed over the years took a lot of time! So, credit for all the investing and the success is well deserved,” retorted Klate on Twitter.
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Grey area
Much like most things in life, the debate is not simply a matter of black and white, yes and no, or hot and cold. It is more complex than that.
If it wasn’t, this season’s Premiership rookies, Richards Bay, wouldn’t be sitting second on the log table above ...
Transnet could be the next state-owned entity in line for extraordinary government support because of the company’s ‘aggressive’ financial risk profile, speculates S&P Global Ratings. A series of misfortunes, coupled with operational problems, has dented performance and undercut revenue generation. More significant debt maturities are nearing deadline while liquidity is less than adequate, making for a delicately poised set of circumstances for the logistics operator.
Reverse engineering governance failures that have seeped into an organisation’s DNA over a prolonged period, is proving a difficult task at Transnet.
Although politely packaged, that is the conclusion which can be deduced from S&P Global Ratings’ latest assessment of the state-owned logistics operator’s financials.
In its review, S&P observes that, in addition to financial fragility, Transnet “has a weaker governance structure and risk management framework relative to peers”.
Furthermore, S&P states that it has seen positive progress under the new leadership, but “governance challenges will take time to remediate”.
The lingering effects of past governance shortcomings — mixed in with the misfortunes brought on by the pandemic, the July 2021 unrest, the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods and an onslaught on rail infrastructure — have created a toxic cocktail of factors dragging down Transnet’s ability to deliver.
S&P notes that Transnet’s post-pandemic earnings recovery has been “slower than we anticipated”. As a result, the credit ratings agency has instituted a downward revision of the company’s financial risk profile, deeming it “aggressive”.
Previously, S&P had categorised Transnet’s financial risk profile as “significant”. S&P maintains a negative outlook on the logistics parastatal, citing, among others, the heightened financial risk profile and less-than-adequate liquidity buffers.
S&P explains: “The negative outlook reflects our view that the current operational challenges and environment, as well as ongoing liquidity and refinancing risks, remain significant.”
In the six months ended 30 September 2022, the company admits that Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) underperformed, and points to the above-mentioned events, as well as the unavailability of locomotives, for undershooting targets.
The problem with this, though, is TFR — as the biggest operating division — generates the bulk of the group’s revenue. In the period under review, TFR made a 45% contribution to revenue — and 51% overall in the 2022 financial year.
S&P projects that TFR’s operational challenges could drive customers to seek alternative solutions to preserve export volumes. Such a scenario playing out has the potential to undermine TFR’s earnings further, and S&P predicts an estimated 12% gross revenue decline for the division in the 2023 ...
Learners at Sinenjongo High overcome tough living conditions and Covid disruptions to excel.
Lisakanya Mlindi would wake before dawn, when her clamorous neighbourhood is quietest, to concentrate on her matric studies. She shares a one-room shack with four other family members in the overcrowded Esqalo informal settlement in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton.
On 19 January Lisakanya, who attended Sinenjongo High in Joe Slovo Park, learned she had achieved seven distinctions, the only learner in her class to do so. Sinenjongo’s 283 matriculants achieved a pass rate of 87.3%. Schools “cull” their learners who are not expected to pass matric, but this does not appear to have been a major factor here: 87% of those in grade 10 in 2020, the year the Covid pandemic started, wrote the matric exams in 2022.
Not only did Lisakanya cope with overcrowded conditions and a lack of municipal services, but her matric class struggled through the restrictions of the Covid pandemic.
“I was in grade 10 in 2020 when Covid struck. We went to school part-time. We didn’t attend any classes then. When I got into grade 11, it was hard,” said Lisakanya.
“It was very noisy [at home] and I could not study,” she said. So she applied to attend the Asset learning hub, which offers a venue for Grade 12 pupils to study together.
She has been accepted at her first choice university, Stellenbosch, where she plans to study accounting.
Her mother, Nomalungisa Mlindi, is a domestic worker. She was an alcoholic but quit drinking to set an example for her children.
Nomalungisa said she was not surprised that her daughter did well as she worked hard, but that she had exceeded her expectations.
“From a very young age, she didn’t like being absent from school. She didn’t like going out, she was always indoors reading books,” said Nomalungisa.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
She said her daughter sometimes had to use a cellphone torch to study, and her aunt would buy her cellphone data so that she could do internet research.
Noise and overcrowded living conditions were also obstacles for fellow Sinenjongo student Zintle Majwede, 17, who achieved six distinctions.
Zintle lives in Joe Slovo Park and will study pharmacy at the University of the Western Cape.
Zintle was the school’s top maths learner with a mark of 96%. She shares a rented room in an RDP house with her mother and siblings.
“The reason I worked so hard to ...
Anglo American has loaded its first iron ore cargo from its South African Kumba operations on to a liquified natural gas (LNG) dual-fuelled vessel. It’s part of a newly chartered fleet that should cut its shipping carbon emissions by an estimated 35%.
The ship, Ubuntu Harmony, is the first of 10 made-to-order vessels that will set sail over the course of 2023 and 2024.
“The Ubuntu fleet is a key component of Anglo American’s ambition to achieve carbon-neutrality for its controlled ocean freight by 2040 – with an interim target to reduce emissions from these activities by 30% by 2030 . all part of Anglo American’s wider ambition to halve Scope 3 emissions by 2040,” the mining giant said in a statement.
The company said the dual-fuelled vessels will deliver “an estimated 35% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with ships fuelled by conventional marine oil fuel”.
“The use of LNG will also lead to a significant reduction of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from vessel exhausts, while new technology also eliminates the release of unburnt methane.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Capping the release of methane is crucial as this has been one of the criticisms environmentalists have made about the switch to LNG from conventional marine fuels, which is taking the shipping industry by storm.
Anglo has a number of decarbonisation targets in its pipeline, notably a commitment to achieve, by 2040, carbon neutrality across its operations that span the globe.
Ubuntu Harmony and its sister ships are part of this process, which is being driven by investors, mounting public concerns about climate change and looming regulatory requirements that will render companies with heavy carbon footprints uncompetitive.
“The metals and minerals we provide play an important role in helping key industries decarbonise. Transporting them in a sustainable way is a key part of this effort,” said Nolitha Fakude, chairperson of Anglo American’s South African board.
Anglo also said it was pursuing other initiatives to “green” its fleet.
“Anglo American has established a comprehensive framework of initiatives for the decarbonisation of its maritime activities, including energy saving devices fitted to existing vessels, the use of voyage optimisation software, and a focus on exploring, trialling and adopting alternative, sustainable fuel options such as LNG, sustainable biofuel, green methanol and ammonia, and – further down the line – hydrogen,” it said. DM/BM
The SA Reserve Bank began hiking rates fairly early in the current cycle, and having front-loaded its tightening, is now in a position to taper as global and local inflationary pressures begin to fade.
The interest rate hike of 25 basis points this week, taking the repo rate to 7.25% and the prime interest rate to 10.75%, was the eighth consecutive increase in the current upward rates cycle. However, it was somewhat lower than widely held expectations of a 50 or even 75 basis points increase.
The SA Reserve Bank began hiking rates fairly early in the current cycle, and having front-loaded its tightening, is now in a position to taper as global and local inflationary pressures begin to fade. Three members of the Monetary Policy Committee preferred the 25 basis points increase, while two members voted for a stronger increase of 50 basis points.
Frank Blackmore, the lead economist at KPMG, says the increase makes sense. “We are already at high levels of interest rates. They could have been punitive with an increase of 50 basis points, but by choosing smaller increments, it buys the ability to do something to address inflation without harming the economy.”
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago says although the South African economy grew by a relatively strong 1.6% in the third quarter of 2022, the expansion was not broad-based.
“We forecast no growth in the fourth quarter. For the whole of last year, GDP growth of 2.5% is expected (up from 1.8%). For 2023, and as a result of extensive load shedding and other logistical constraints, the bank now forecasts GDP growth of only 0.3%,” he says.
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South Africans have also been buckling under the effects of high fuel prices with fuel price inflation averaging 34.5% last year, which is expected to fall to a negative 2.7% this year. Local electricity price inflation has been revised higher at 12.9% in 2023, 14.5% in 2024, and 10.9% in 2025. The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has approved electricity tariff increases of 18.65% effective from this April and another 12.74% to kick in from April next year.
Looking ahead, Kganyago says the SA Reserve Bank’s forecast of headline inflation for 2023 is unchanged at 5.4% and is slightly higher at 4.8% for 2024.
“In 2025, we still expect headline inflation of 4.5%. This central bank means business when it comes to price stability. ...
As the country remains firmly in the grip of power outages every day this year, at least one retailer seems to be taking significant strain.
Bianca Lakha, junior research analyst at Old Mutual Wealth Private Client Securities, says the outlook for local fashion retailer Mr Price remains challenging, with constrained consumers preferring credit, while the group has had to absorb the high cost of moving to alternative energy sources to cope with rolling blackouts.
A quarterly trading update released by Mr Price a week ago revealed that the stock had underperformed analyst and investor expectations. The share price declined sharply on the back of the announcement, falling 10% from R177.44 to R159.51 five days later.
While recent acquisitions all achieved double-digit sales growth for the quarter from October to December 2022, sales growth across flagship brands was weak.
“Mr Price Apparel (sales up 2.2%) and Mr Price Home (sales down 3.5%) underperformed during a period that traditionally sees these segments register their strongest sales growth.
“This underperformance resulted in group retail sales, excluding Studio 88, rising 1.2%,” says Lakha.
The 1.2% increase in retail sales is a poor performance, given that the period under review includes the festive season and Black Friday, both of which fall in the busiest retail season of the year.
The retailer had previously warned that stores were significantly impacted by load shedding, as many do not have back-up power supplies.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
At the interim results presentation in October last year, management reported that the group had lost more than 80,000 trading hours to load shedding, with 44% of total lost trading hours occurring in September alone.
Chief executive Mark Blair said that 70% of stores would be on back-up power by the end of 2023, with the rest following soon after, so hopefully this will reflect in the annual results to March 2023.
Last week, Blair noted that the impact of rolling blackouts can be seen in the significant variances in sales growth between stores that have back-up power and those that do not. The group has since taken urgent steps to limit the effect of load shedding, albeit at considerable cost.
While at first glance the group’s sales numbers appear great, they fall dismally short once recent acquisition Studio 88 is stripped out, with South African retail sales up only 1.5% and online sales down 6.1% as customers continue to return to physical stores.
Lakha points out ...
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) says its process to procure a functional mining cadastre to replace its useless Samrad system for mining rights and related applications by the end of this financial year remains ‘on track’. That presumably means there should be an announcement by the end of March.
The DMRE confirmed the process was “on track” in response to emailed queries from Business Maverick. In October last year, DMRE director-general Jacob Mbele made a commitment that a cadastre would be procured by the end of the financial year, which is 31 March.
A mining cadastre is an online portal that allows the public easy access to view existing mining rights, exploration permits and related things, as well as the known geological features of a mining jurisdiction. It also allows companies to apply for various mining, exploration and prospecting rights while viewing what is already in play and what companies are involved.
In short, it brings transparency to the sector, serving the interests of all stakeholders.
After numerous delays and a farcical attempt to tender for a new system – when proven, off-the-shelf cadastre portals favoured by the industry and used by several other African countries are readily available – the DMRE abandoned its bid to reinvent the cadastre wheel.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The DMRE said late last year that it was “benchmarking similar systems in countries that have successfully implemented a cadastral”, notably Botswana and Namibia. Both countries use an off-the-shelf system provided by Colorado-based Trimble.
In 2015, Trimble acquired Spatial Dimension. Founded in Cape Town in 1999 – and so proudly South African – this unit has been at the forefront of Trimble’s cadastre offerings and is seen as the gold standard by the mining industry.
The Botswana cadastre and portal that uses this technology stands in transparent contrast to Samrad, revealing among other things a scramble for hydrocarbon and other resources in the massive and ecologically sensitive Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Botswana’s mining cadastre reveals hydrocarbon scramble.”
So, replacing Samrad by the end of March with Trimble’s or a similar system is crucial for the DMRE’s credibility, something it has been notably lacking in.
Samrad’s woes have been legendary and are seen as a key obstacle to investment in South Africa’s mining sector.
The DMRE revealed in February 2021 that the Samrad logjam for various kinds of mining applications had topped 5,000. In ...
Tensions ran high in Majola near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape after another 20 homesteads were set alight on Thursday morning. The latest attacks came before a soldier was due to appear in court to be charged with ongoing arson attacks in surrounding villages.
Twenty homesteads were torched early on Thursday morning in Majola in Port St Johns ahead of the court appearance of a suspect arrested for ongoing attacks on villages.
On 15 January, close to 50 homes in a nearby village were burnt down.
By late afternoon, Eastern Cape police officials were trying to calm the situation in Majola Administrative Area. It is believed the attacks are linked to decades of disputes over stock theft.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said the latest attacks took the police by surprise. “Fighting has erupted again between the two areas in Bhuje village and Siphusiphu village.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He confirmed that 20 homes had been torched.
“Our police officers have been deployed there. Detectives are working hard trying to investigate what could have happened this morning. Our deployment will remain in that area until we are satisfied there is stability and peace.
“I must indicate that it’s still very tense. People are still gunning for one another.”
On Tuesday, police arrested a 57-year-old soldier in connection with the 15 January arson attack. The man arrived at court on Thursday, but was told to return on Friday, 27 January. DM/MC
Dear Frene — At 90, your heart remained that of the courageous 28-year-old who joined the fight for freedom and helped ensure the safe passage of ANC leaders like OR Tambo.
In exile, you refused to be a subordinate secretary taking notes while men spoke. Instead you, with other powerful ANC feminists, ensured that his speeches and other key documents addressed not just class and race, but also gender oppression, and committed to both non-racism and non-sexism.
You analysed the world and acted to change its injustice.
You were an internationalist standing in solidarity with countries fighting for freedom, including Palestine, against Israel’s apartheid.
After 1994, you presided over a secular democratic Parliament that instituted a moment of silence in which, in Mandela’s words, we could “use the silence. to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die”.
In silence, we can overcome fear and think critically and creatively. We can learn to listen to and trust ourselves, and each other. We can reconnect to the dignity inherent in every single one of us — recognised as our Constitution’s first founding value, alongside equality and social justice.
The greatest tribute we can pay you isn’t to deify you or put you on a pedestal — you would have hated that and would have said so.
You would want to focus on policy options, captured in your writings, for our country to transform the patriarchal, capitalist, apartheid state’s spatial geography that still traps millions in brutal poverty. And the principles and values needed to achieve this.
You were a historian who worked to record the role and relevance to the present of Black women’s powerful challenges to colonialism and economic injustice — Herstory.
Your paper (with MacIntosh and Massey), entitled “Gender and economic policy”, should be read by every economist and anyone who wishes to understand the structural causes of gender oppression, that increase poverty, precarious employment, unemployment and patriarchal violence.
When the priority of economic growth in profits, for a few, decreases spending on social security, health and education, women’s gendered, hidden work increases, with devastating effects for women’s health and those dependent on her care, in a world in which men need to, but do not equally share the burden of childcare and housework.
Economic policy-makers need to recognise and value women’s unpaid contribution to the economy, that kept and keeps families and communities alive, when ...
Facing up to South Africa’s deepening civilisational crisis requires an introspection by progressive civil society on the strengths and shortcomings of pro-poor organisations and movements. Are the current strategies of civil society making a difference? Are they capable of birthing the change that is needed to prevent state failure in South Africa?
South Africa’s income-poor are facing an existential crisis. The political and economic systems, and our failure to actualise our Constitution’s promise of dignity and fundamental human rights, are failing them.
Since the advent of democracy, the most vulnerable have faced a triple whammy of HIV/Aids (causing at least three million deaths), Covid-19 (340,000 excess deaths and counting) and natural disasters — like the April 2022 “rain bombs” over KwaZulu-Natal — that are increasingly linked to the climate crisis.
Arbitrary load shedding is a new assault on the poor. It is not class neutral, as we have shown in recent articles on health and basic education:
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts take heavy toll on the many who are struggling to survive”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts aggravate levels of absenteeism, incomplete homework, disrupted classes in SA”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts and the daily horror story faced by healthcare workers”
If we don’t do something, it’s only going to get worse.
Since 2012, all of these storms (literal and metaphorical) have been made worse by fiscal austerity and cuts in public spending on key socioeconomic rights — especially access to healthcare services and quality basic education — as is well documented in recent research by the Public Economy Project of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits University.
Fiscal consolidation (a Treasury euphemism for austerity) has worsened the crisis of mass unemployment, mass hunger and femicide.
That South Africa is fast approaching a tipping point, was seen in the July 2021 riots, and the November 2021 “no-vote” in the local government elections, where two-thirds of eligible voters didn’t bother to vote.
It is a miracle we escaped a further social breakdown in 2022.
As research by the Rivonia Circle and Ipsos has shown (read it here), both pointed to a loss of trust in all existing political parties and of conviction in the most fundamental act of democratic practice — voting — as well as in the rule of law among millions of poor people, and young people especially.
Conditions favourable to people’s power in SA
But why are the poor and marginalised so vulnerable ...
We ordered several portions of tofish and chips. We also tried plump southern fried drumsticks, chilli-flecked calamari rings and a pork burger heavy with caramelised onions and pickled cabbage. It was one of the most joyful vegan dining-out treats we’ve had in the past year.
Three generations of vegans walk into a bar. Actually, it wasn’t a bar but a restaurant in London’s Spitalfields on a rainy day in January and I was there with my family, having the good fortune of staying in the home of friends while they were visiting South Africa over the Christmas holidays.
The trio of generations was me, my daughter and my 21-month-old granddaughter and the restaurant was Unity Diner. It was, as you can read on its website, founded by a group of close friends on a mission to make a positive difference through plant-based food, the profits of which help fund an animal sanctuary. One of its founders is Earthling Ed and on the day that we visited — the first day the diner was open after the Christmas break — the vegan educator, speaker and author, whose real name is Ed Winters, was there signing copies of his indispensable book, This Is Vegan Propaganda (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) which has just been released in paperback.
If you’ve ever seen Ed in action, especially his debate a vegan series where he sits at a table and invites passers-by into conversation on the topic “veganism is a moral obligation”, you’ll know he’s wonderfully approachable and so we asked him to sign a copy of his book for Myla-Rhye.
We had a short chat about raising a vegan child from birth and his YouTube videos that include short, powerful, often very amusing commentaries, like this one on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s utterances on vegans. We weren’t the only ones who were delighted to find Ed in the diner: soon after we returned to our table to order, another family — by the look of it, another three generations — left their table to talk to Ed.
We ordered several portions of tofish and chips — beer-battered tofish that comes with mushy peas, chunky chips and tartare sauce and is big enough to share between two (which is good to know if you’re travelling on the rand). We also tried plump southern fried drumsticks, chilli-flecked calamari rings and a pork burger heavy with caramelised onions and pickled ...
Moving, terrifying, surprising, inspiring ... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
After Eskom’s initial refusal to exempt the Churchill Dam from rolling blackouts caused extensive water outages in the water-stressed Nelson Mandela Bay metro, Mayor Retief Odendaal announced on Thursday morning that the metro had managed to get the dam exempted.
For the past few weeks, the water-stressed Nelson Mandela Bay has been hit by another crisis as rolling blackouts prevented water from being pumped from the metro’s fullest dam, the Churchill Dam.
Water shortages caused outages in more than 40 suburbs and key points, and engineers had to divert water to the St Albans prison as an emergency measure. The metro no longer has enough water to meet demand, and the situation has been worsened by rolling blackouts.
On Wednesday, Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Retief Odendaal said he would take Eskom to court if it refused to exempt the Churchill Dam from rolling blackouts.
“The crisis with load shedding has rubbed salt into the wounds by negatively affecting the water distribution to the city’s reservoirs. As much as the city has worked out a plan to cushion the water intake into the reservoirs and for storage and distribution to the consumers, the severity of load shedding has put a strain on the system,” said Nelson Mandela Bay’s water distribution director, Joseph Tsatsire.
“We are working around the clock to use our existing infrastructure to reroute water to the strained areas for the reservoirs to fill up; however, the high consumption remains a challenge. We continue to interact with Eskom so that we can improve our systems to improve the situation to be much more stable.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Several reservoirs around the metro had fallen below 10% on Wednesday, causing extensive water outages. A new connection had to be made on the KwaNobuhle line to ensure water provision to the St Albans Correctional Facility, the Eastern Cape’s biggest prison.
The metro sent water trucks to all affected areas, including 42 suburbs and key points.
On Thursday morning, Odendaal said they had managed to get an agreement in place exempting the Churchill Dam from rolling blackouts. He said he hoped that this would stabilise the supply to some of the reservoirs.
“The city is currently unable to supply more than 280 to 285 megalitres a day. Unfortunately, demand has been exceeding supply by an estimated 10 megalitres a day. Unless we as residents or consumers reduce our demand, water interruptions will likely continue ...
‘I chose this profession because I wanted to serve the community with integrity, so that people can trust in us as a public service. I want to transform people’s mindsets about us as the South African Police Service,’ says Warrant Officer Bongani Siyona.
Fifty-year-old Warrant Officer Bongani Siyona is Gqeberha’s finest man in blue, with a heart of gold. Named the overall people’s choice award winner by the Accountability Lab’s Integrity Icons, he attributes it all to his father and his upbringing. “My parents were so humble, yet always willing to help people,” Siyona told Maverick Citizen.
Siyona, the youngest of five children, grew up on a farm called Barkley South just outside Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape. He said his father was a farm labourer on a pineapple farm and his mother a domestic worker. “I was travelling barefoot close to 30km to school in the morning and 30km back, from Sub A to Standard 5.”
“My father earned about R100 a month, and during the June and December school holidays, we would also work on the farm and get paid R15 a month. This is where I got the zeal to work hard and help those that are poor, because the environment I came from on the farm was a very poor background.”
“My father never wanted us to grow up with the hardships he had endured and wanted us to go to school and excel,” said Siyona.
After finishing his tertiary education, Siyona first got a job as a taxi driver, which led him to Gqeberha. After that, he held many other jobs, including sweeper, driver, packer and warehouse supervisor, before he applied for and enrolled at the police college.
“I chose this profession because I wanted to serve the community with integrity, so that people can trust in us as a public service. I want to transform people’s mindsets about us as the South African Police Service,” said Siyona.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He said that it was while engaging with the community of KwaZakhele during the Covid-19 lockdown, that he realised he had to do more than simply enforce Disaster Management regulations; he also had to include the community in social crime-prevention measures, which led to the introduction of about 200 community patrollers.
Siyona said he partnered with Ubuntu Pathways, an NGO in Zwide, which donated vouchers of almost R1,000 each to the patrollers’ families. He said ...
This is not a government urgently engaged with the existential crisis we face. Why are we not harnessing more wind and solar energy at speed? Instead, we remain fixated on fixing Eskom. It cannot be fixed. It, like every other state-owned entity, is just about beyond repair — tragically so.
‘The horror! The horror!”
Many things happen in a week in our country: saddening, disturbing and often perplexing things. Criminals stealing electricity cables at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, leaving the hospital in chaos and threatening lives, indicates just another level of depravity at the heart of our society.
In response, residents of the Mdantsane Forum took matters into their own hands. They raided nearby homes in an attempt to find the criminals, which they eventually did. The police were largely absent (as is the norm) and the mayhem in the television reports showed only angry residents and a complete breakdown of any semblance of law and order.
Is this what the heart of darkness looks like? Desperate people protecting infrastructure at any cost, wanting a semblance of a life in which a hospital is accessible and safe? Not even a better life — just a life.
All around us there is depravity and decay: potholed roads, water scarcity, infrastructure buckling under the weight of decades of neglect. Our cities and towns are ailing. And then the power cuts.
Unplugged
The brave and powerful front page of the Sowetan said it best, listing some (one could not name all; they are too many) of the black businesses (kasi businesses — there are others, of course) which have been forced to close because of constant power cuts. It simply said, “Unplugged.”
In the Northern Cape, helpless farmers cry out that blackouts are threatening the food chain.
“Help us!” is the plea, as we read of chicks at a Coligny farm dying in the broilers which were not warm enough for them to survive.
It would not be the first time that we collectively weep for the land which has been broken.
Is there anyone listening? Does anyone hear?
It must be difficult to hear if you are a Cabinet minister with a 24-hour electricity supply.
So the South African year has begun pretty much the same way it ended — in crisis.
Towards the end of last year, we watched as the ANC held its elective conference. It started late and its end was deferred to January. That probably sums up the state of the party and, ...
The effective recognition of refugees’ and asylum seekers’ skills has the potential to address the critical skills shortage of healthcare professionals in South Africa.
It is well known by now that South Africa has a healthcare skills crisis. During a recent parliamentary question-and-answer session, Health Minister Joe Phaahla revealed the alarming statistics that the country has a doctor-to-patient ratio of one to 3,198. In 2019 it was one to 1,266.
With healthcare practitioners emigrating in record numbers in search of greener pastures, South Africans are facing falling healthcare standards and rising costs. About 35,000 South African nurses alone are estimated to be working outside of South Africa, drawn by better salaries, among other motivations.
The situation has prompted the government to update the critical skills list to include an unprecedented 41 professional codes in the healthcare sector – qualifications that migration authorities commit to prioritising when allowing working expatriates to have a regulated legal stay in South Africa.
But rather than hoping and waiting for skilled professionals from other countries to choose to move to South Africa, there is a ready solution at hand: tapping into the skills and knowledge of refugees and asylum seekers who are already here.
An untapped resource
South Africa is seen as a desirable destination for refugees, given its comparative stability and level of industrialisation, and we host the largest number of immigrants on the African continent. According to official estimates, the country is home to about 2.9 million immigrants who come to the country fleeing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality or membership of a particular social group, or because of political opinions. This is roughly 5% of the population of the country.
Many of these people are skilled professionals, including in the medical professions, but because of the non-voluntary nature of their immigration, their skills are often not used effectively.
The employment of refugees and asylum seekers tends to be lower than for other economic migrant groups and citizens. While the right to work is a fundamental human right – regarded as essential for life and dignity, and is explicitly granted to refugees in international and regional law as well as in numerous national constitutions – in practice refugees and asylum seekers have to overcome many obstacles so they can work in South Africa.
For example, refugees and asylum seekers can face an uphill battle in having their qualifications recognised. South Africa’s pre-immigration qualifications recognition processes, which seek to ensure that ...
To keep progressing, there must be a reward for silencing the guns. This appears to be happening. Ethiopia’s blockade on Tigray has been largely lifted, and humanitarian access has steadily improved. More assistance including food, medicine, and agricultural inputs are going in.
The Ethiopian Federal Government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) confounded the sceptics by signing the 3 November 2022 Pretoria “agreement for lasting peace through a permanent cessation of hostilities”, followed by agreeing to implementation modalities in Nairobi on 12 November 2022.
Why did that happen, how is the agreement progressing, and will there be sustainable peace?
Pushed to make peace
All wars end at some time, but the shorter a conflict, the greater the chances of resolution. So, in favour of reaching the Ethiopia/Tigray agreement was the relatively short two-year duration of the civil war. This contrasts, for example, with the entrenched Syria and Yemen conflicts exceeding a decade.
The balance towards talking peace shifted when neither side achieved military supremacy while running up ruinous and potentially endless impacts. Experience suggests that economics have a major impact on war-peace decisions while armed conflicts end only when one side wins decisively or when both are stalemated, as happened here.
How long could Ethiopia have sustained its assault on Tigray as its global reputation and economy crumbled, and other internal conflicts were neglected and tore the country apart? How long could land-locked, blockaded Tigray sustain itself as, out of its seven million population, 600,000 people had been killed, over two million displaced, tens of thousands raped, and the rest starved and diseased to a significant extent?
Even more crucial was external pressure. The heavily criticised African Union was galvanised into action through the political clout of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, and former deputy president of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
United States pressure was indispensable through the stick of sanctions and the carrot of debt rescheduling and potential re-entry into a lucrative trading partnership under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Despite the popular perception that wars are driven by irrational maniacs, they actually have logic, even if there are competing logics. The TPLF demonstrated that it is a formidable entity that can’t be ignored, and the Ethiopian Federal Government realised that it can’t subjugate Tigray through force.
Having made your points, why continue fighting?
A sketchy peace agreement
Nevertheless, peace made under duress does not take root as seen from failed efforts, for ...
British American Tobacco South Africa says 200 of its workers will be out of a job soon, but public health researchers argue they’re using misleading figures to justify the retrenchments.
British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) is using a misleading figure to explain why 200 workers could be retrenched in 2023, say public health researchers.
In a 13 January statement, the company explains that its business has been crippled by the illegal tobacco trade, which it estimates makes up 70% of the country’s tobacco business.
Independent research shows that although multinationals such as Batsa lost a big chunk of their business to illicit trade during the government’s tobacco ban in the 2020 Covid lockdown, their sales bounced back again, albeit not quite to what it was before.
Batsa’s 70% estimate comes from a survey that the tobacco giant paid market research firm, Ipsos, to do — except the Ipsos paper doesn’t come to this conclusion.
Inflating the size of the illicit trade is an industry tactic often used to argue that higher taxes will lead to an increase in illicit trade. But something has shifted in the underbelly of South Africa’s tobacco trade.
This time, the illicit trade of tobacco really is growing (from around 35% in 2017 to 54% in 2021) and easy access to cheaper, illegal smokes is likely to undermine anti-smoking policies.
Experts argue there’s more to Big Tobacco’s concern than meets the eye.
What looks like a company trying to be a good corporate citizen, they say, is more likely to be a new approach to an old goal: to protect its bottom line.
We untangle the web of public health history, business feuds and bad Covid policies, and explain how multinational tobacco companies got into a mess – possibly of their own making.
Batsa misquotes its own study
How did Batsa get to 70%? Over a period of two years, the multinational manufacturer periodically released its findings of a six-part study (each called a wave) looking into illicit trade.
The first report was published in 2021 and the sixth and final one in October 2022.
After the findings of the fifth wave were made available to the public, Batsa’s general manager, Johnny Moloto, told the media that illicit trade made up 70% of the cigarette market.
But this figure is different from what was published in the study. The results showed that 68.9% of the shops sampled in Gauteng, and 79% of the shops in the Western Cape, sold ...
The trade union is the largest at the university, representing 1,200 staff. This latest action is in addition to a threat to strike by the UCT Academics Union.
Conciliation negotiations between members of the University of Cape Town Employees Union and management reached a deadlock on Thursday.
It is the largest representative body at the university with about 1,200 members, according to the union. The union represents a wide range of earners (payment classes 2 to 13) and includes administrative workers, technical officers, as well as managers and executive directors. It is in effect the union for non-academic staff responsible for administration, technical work and management at the university.
According to the union, management is refusing to come to the table over several issues related to salary increases and is refusing to bargain with the union. The matter was heard at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Thursday.
This is the second time in two weeks that the union has had to refer a matter to the CCMA.
In a statement on 23 January, the union expressed its concerns about management terminating its bargaining recognition agreement on 18 January. “This action by UCT, seeks to nullify the collective strength of staff to negotiate fair and reasonable pay increases and benefits,” the statement read.
The union’s Samuel Chetty told GroundUp that the university left them with no option but to go to the CCMA after management failed to negotiate with them.
On Thursday, UCT said that it had “extensive engagements” with all unions last year on establishing a single bargaining unit for all Professional, Administrative Support & Service (Pass) staff rather than “multiple arrangements”, according to UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola. He said that “this move does not in any way seek to bring to an end its long-standing relationship with [the union]”.
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“The university has similarly given notice to terminate its existing recognition agreements, as it relates only to the bargaining reforms, to other recognised unions representing Pass staff and all organisational rights are still in force,” said Moholola.
In addition to the two matters lodged at the CCMA this month, the union also had several cases before the CCMA in 2022. According to Chetty, this is “unprecedented” in the union’s history.
“The issue is that management has frustrated every effort the Employees’ Union has made for proposals and thwarted every proposal for negotiation in . labour matters,” ...
Puttanesca sauce, centred on capers, olives and anchovies, became popular in the 1960s and has a controversial and most likely apocryphal story attached to it involving the ladies of the night of Naples.
Puttanesca sauce for spaghetti has been around since the World War II years and became widely popular in the Sixties, although sauces containing capers, anchovies, olives and tomatoes were published in recipe books in the 19th century, but not with the name.
Puttana means prostitute, whore or vulgar, in the vernacular. Whether the name of the dish truly refers to the aroma, if one might attempt to phrase it more or less politely, of the madams of the bordellos of Napoli’s Spanish Quarter, or whether the sauce was thrown together quickly by the whores of Naples between clients, as has also often been claimed, will remain conjecture. But never ruin a good story with a dull fact, so go with the vulgar theory if it enlivens the conversation at your next socially distanced dinner party.
The basic recipe is focused on the sugo, the essential core of flavours the sauce gets from tomatoes, capers and black olives, but anchovies, garlic and other ingredients such as chilli are usually used.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
120 g black olives, halved and stones removed
2 Tbsp capers, drained
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
Salt and black pepper to taste
250 g spaghetti (half a packet), cooked until al dente and drained, but reserve 6 Tbsp of the pasta water before draining
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, and extra sprigs for garnishing
A few caperberries for garnish
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large, open pan. I use my Le Creuset buffet, perfect if you have one, or use a heavy frying pan of similar size. Add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté gently until softened, stirring.
Add the chopped anchovies, capers and black olives and continue to simmer for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chilli, return to a simmer, and cook gently for 5 minutes for the flavours to develop. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add the reserved pasta water to the cooked sauce and stir. It will be absorbed immediately.
Add chopped parsley to the sauce and stir.
Toss the drained pasta through the sauce until it is all well coated.
Served sprinkled ...
A spoonful of Richard Bosman’s bacon miso caramel gives your breakfast muffin a sweet surprise. But there’s an alternative if you don’t have that. . Ingredients
A spoonful of Richard Bosman’s bacon miso caramel gives your breakfast muffin a sweet surprise. But there’s an alternative if you don’t have that.
Muffins make a delightful breakfast or mid-morning snack that is surprisingly easy to make. And in this recipe, there’s a delicious surprise in the middle. If you don’t have Richard Bosman’s bacon miso caramel, mash half of an additional very ripe banana and stir into it 1 Tbsp miso paste and 1 Tbsp of honey. Add a few tiny bacon bits. Eat the rest of the banana.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups/ 375 ml Eureka Mills Traditional Unbleached Stoneground cake wheat flour
1 cup/ 250 ml castor sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 ripe bananas
1 large egg
⅓ cup canola oil
1 tsp/ 5ml vanilla essence
4 rashers streaky bacon, fried and cut into small pieces
7 tsps Richard Bosman’s bacon miso caramel
Method
Sift the flour into a bowl and add the castor sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir.
Mash the bananas separately. Beat the egg and add it to the banana, with the vanilla essence and canola oil. Stir into it 1 generous tsp of the bacon miso caramel. If you cannot source that, leave it out. Or go here.
Fold this mix into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Grease a 6-large-muffin pan (don’t faff about with those silly minuscule 12-muffin pans). Spoon in enough of the mixture to come about half way up each cavity. Make a hollow with a teaspoon and add a teaspoon of bacon miso caramel to each little well.
Sprinkle bacon bits all over.
Now top it with the remainder of the batter.
Bake at 200℃ for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Insert a skewer to test for doneness. It should come out clean.
Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. DM/TGIFood
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The ANC-led eThekwini Municipality wasted R500,000 in 40 minutes after ‘sabotaging’ a special council meeting it had called to elect a new deputy mayor on Thursday.
The planned election of a deputy mayor was scuppered after ANC councillors, along with their unofficial coalition partner, the EFF, and city manager Musa Mbhele failed to arrive at the venue inside the Durban International Convention Centre on Thursday morning.
These members started trickling in for lunch after the meeting collapsed for lack of quorum.
The cost of hosting the special forum has been pegged at R500,000 by opposition councillors who discussed the no-show at the venue. The amount included hiring the venue, additional deployment of the Durban Metro Police, private security, partial road closures, meals for 222 councillors, visiting Amakhosi, the media, guests, those in the public gallery and City officials. Other costs included audio-visual services and live streaming the event.
The city speaker, ANC member Thabani Nyawose, was present, and sat alone on the stage.
Read in Daily Maverick: “In blow to Ramaphosa, fraud-accused Zandile Gumede prevails in ANC’s eThekwini conference vote”
He claimed that he had no idea why his own party was not present. When cornered by angry opposition party members, who at some point called him “a coward”, he failed to give any assurance that he would act against the errant councillors.
“Why the ANC is not here I don’t know. What I have been told, they are at the exhibition centre (based across the road from the ICC) having caucus. When I phoned the EFF whip, they told us the same thing,” said Nyawose.
“I called some councillors but they did not respond or take my call. I have no other explanation except what I have been told by whips.”
During the fracas that ensued, opposition councillors accused the ANC of “sabotaging” the meeting.
‘Insult’
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi told those present that the wasteful expenditure was a direct insult to city residents.
“You call us to a meeting but your own party is not in a meeting and neither is the city manager. You and the ANC have plotted to make sure this meeting does not continue. It cost R,500.000 to host this meeting. What are you going to say to the city residents?”
Another councillor said the fact that mayor Mxolisi Kaunda was not present showed his lack of respect for the city. “If the mayor cannot respect us and be here, I see no future to be here,” ...
City of Joburg plans to avoid stages 1 - 3 of rolling blackouts in 6 months’ time, but it needs to raise R401-million first. It also revealed that rolling blackouts had cost City Power R474-million over a one-year period.
“It is our firm belief that electricity is not a privilege. It’s not a luxury, but it is a right. Our residents must enjoy it, it must be uninterrupted, and certainly must be affordable,” said Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Michael Sun during a press briefing on Thursday in the City of Johannesburg Council Chamber.
Sun was speaking about the City’s intention of energy equality with executive Mayor of Johannesburg Mpho Phalatse and CEO of City Power Tshifularo Mashava, which is part of their sustainable Energy Strategy to mitigate rolling blackouts up to stage 3.
Mayor Phalatse, who hours later faced (another) motion of no confidence by the opposition bloc later that day in chambers, explained how City Power’s Sustainable Energy Strategy can mitigate rolling blackouts.
R401-million short-term plan to halt rolling blackouts at stage 3
Phalatse reminded the media that while Eskom announced that stages 2 and 3 will be permanent for the next 18 months, this doesn’t guarantee we won’t reach higher levels — as evident by the fact that we reached stage 5 as of this morning.
POWERALERT1
Stages 4 and 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 on Thursday morning until Sunday afternoon.
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 25, 2023
So, the City has a short-to-medium term plan, which could be implemented in six months if they got the funds today, to avert rolling blackouts up to stage 3.
CEO of City Power Mashava explained to Daily Maverick that this means when Eskom is on stages one through three, Joburg will not be affected, but when Eskom reaches stage four, Joburg will be at stage one.
They just need R401-million to do so, which the City does not have access to.
So the city is reaching out to development finance institutes, the private sector, the provincial government, as well as national government to fund the project.
“We will be leveraging our status as the economic hub of the country, and the good governance practices of the multi-party government,” said Phalatse.
What the City would do with the money
With R20-million:
The City would recommission the two existing Open Cycle Gas Turbine Stations.
“This would of course require the City to procure and burn diesel,” said Phalatse. ...
Fluctuations in electricity supply due to rolling blackouts may not always immediately damage equipment, but without surge protection, they can gradually damage it over time.
To unplug or not to unplug? That’s just one of many questions that plague South Africans living in the era of rolling blackouts.
When the electricity supply suddenly returns after rolling blackouts, it can result in a power surge, which can potentially damage appliances. A power surge is a sudden and brief increase in the voltage of electricity, causing an increase in the current flowing to your appliances. The increase, as brief as three nanoseconds (billionth of a second), results in an electrical spike, also known as a power surge. During normal uninterrupted electricity supply, this can happen for a variety of reasons, such as lightning strikes, power company equipment failures, or the operation of power-hungry electrical devices such as air conditioners, refrigerators or elevators.
As per Eskom’s own fact sheet on surge protection, “[Power surges], after repeated load shedding, outages/interruptions or heavy industrial load fluctuations may eventually cause damages. While these surges are nowhere near the intensity of lightning surges, they can be severe enough to damage components, immediately or gradually, through regular occurrences.”
While unplugging one’s appliances may seem like the most straightforward solution, it is not exactly the most practical, especially during periods of rolling blackouts of up to three times a day, which are often exacerbated by further unplanned outages in many parts of the country. The next best solution for many, is to invest in power surge protectors, which work by diverting the extra electricity away from one’s appliances.
The right surge protector for you
As explained on Eskom’s fact sheet and on reputable platforms such as HowStuffWorks, the vast majority of surge protectors work by conducting the extra current to the ground before it reaches your appliances.
Others work by suppressing surges, slowing electricity down on its way through the live line. Others still have a built-in fuse that, should the mechanism fail to divert the surge, will overheat and cut off supply. This only works once, as the fuse will be destroyed when it overheats. Even more ideal for sensitive equipment such as computers, some surge protectors feature a “line-conditioning” system, which filters out smaller current fluctuations, referred to as “line noise”.
Which surge protector to choose?
However, besides the various features and the inner technical workings of different surge protectors, the main options to choose from ...
The Proteas’ One Day International series against England will last less than a week, but the result will have a major impact on whether South Africa qualify directly for the World Cup.
If the Proteas are whitewashed during their three-match One Day International (ODI) series against England, starting on Friday, they will almost certainly play in the World Cup qualifiers – in Zimbabwe in June and July – instead of having direct qualification for this year’s global showpiece.
It would be the first time South Africa has not obtained direct qualification for the 50-over event (since post-apartheid readmission in 1992).
That they’re facing reigning World Cup champions England (even though it is on home soil) on their journey to qualification makes the challenge even more difficult.
However, the recent change in coach and the fact that South Africa chose to not play a three-match ODI series in Australia recently means the skipper of the white-ball team, Temba Bavuma, has shifted his priorities from just direct World Cup qualification.
“Like every other game, we always go out there to win, but we’d like to shift our focus a little bit looking to the World Cup,” he said.
“There’s an opportunity for us to clear up our identity and how we’d like to play, and we’d like to use these games as an opportunity to do that. You might see some new faces within the team, you might see guys coming in [and performing] different roles,” Bavuma continued.
“The guys know what they need to do. So be it in June or July we’re playing in the qualifiers, that’s something we’re prepared to do.
That’s something that everyone is prepared to do, looking at the decision that was made a couple of months ago to [not play ODIs in Australia] and make way for the SA20,” he added.
“Those are the cards that are in front of us and we’ll deal with it as best we can.”
New philosophy
A lot has changed since England’s first cricket tour to the country in 1888, which lasted more than 14 weeks.
In stark contrast, this tour will be less than a week, with the first match starting at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein tomorrow and ending next Wednesday with a clash at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley.
The Proteas’ reactive game plan employed in ODI cricket – in which the side is languishing in 11th spot on the World Cup Super League standings – feels like it’s ...
American journalist and YouTuber Andrew Callaghan, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, directs his feature-length debut, creating an absurd and deeply troubling portrait of the United States. With a bevvy of interviews, the documentary takes a fresh look at the events leading to the 6 January Capitol riots.
When a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the United States of America’s Capitol building on 6 January 2021, the country was shaken to its core. The riot was in response to Trump’s presidential loss against Joe Biden. Thousands of Trump’s supporters participated, contesting the result of the election. The event is now considered a blight on American history.
This Place Rules is a brief and frenetic exploration of the events that led to the 6 January riots. It is from the perspective of American journalist Andrew Callaghan and his team as they were interviewing different people, gonzo-style, before 6 January.
The film was released to a warm reception by fans and critics, but mere days after its debut on HBO, Callaghan was accused of sexual misconduct. Two victims claimed that Callaghan had sexually coerced them and made sexual advances without consent. Due to the victims coming forward, some of the collaborators who worked on This Place Rules have severed ties with Callaghan.
The first allegation against Callaghan was posted on TikTok, by a user named Caroline Elise (@cornbreadasserole). Elise alleged that Callaghan pressured her into engaging in sexual acts with him. Elise stated that she was clear about not wanting to engage in any sexual acts with him, but he eventually ‘wore her down’ until she agreed to do things she “wasn’t proud of”.
The second accuser, named Dana (@moldyfreckle), also uploaded a video onto TikTok. While driving Callaghan home, she was kissed by him, then he touched her sexually, even though she had told him to stop repeatedly, Dana alleged in the video.
Several other people have also posted comments or videos which claim that Callaghan had sexually coercive behaviour.
Callaghan has released a response video in light of the allegations. In the video, Callaghan thanked and apologised to the people who came forward about his inappropriate behaviour. However, he did not address any single person or allegations. Callaghan also said in the video that he would seek therapy to examine his behaviour and step back from public life.
Callaghan is known for his All Gas No Brakes (which no longer runs) and Channel 5 series on ...
When the summer rain gets in the way of that potjie you were planning, move the plan indoors and get out the Dutch oven instead.
We have nothing to complain about when the clouds gather, the lightning flashes, and the thunder rumbles right above our Karoo house. This part of the Karoo had been through six years of drought until the summer rains finally returned three years ago, and the extraordinary amount of rain that has come to the plains of the Eastern Cape Midlands throughout January is as welcome as a long-lost friend reappearing after years in the wilderness.
Sometimes the rain brings its own problems. We converted a big garage into a studio flat during lockdown, and have been taking guests for some months, not knowing that a problem was hiding out of sight. A French couple from the alpine city of Grenoble was due to arrive one day. Four nights earlier, it had chucked down and in the morning when I opened the flat’s door the entire room was under water seven centimetres deep. After much investigation, our builder concluded that water had built up in the corner of a neighbour’s property. The escape space between them and our immediate neighbour had been bricked up. So the water sat, and sat, and seeped down and down, under the neighbour’s garage and up from the flat’s foundations. Fixing it was as simple and quick as breaking through the bricked-up wall so that the dammed water could escape.
Luckily, there was time for the flat to be aired and dry out, and the lovely French guests visited and left leaving a glowing note about the accommodation.
There’s something about Karoo rain that is particularly special. The earth splatters with muddy droplets at first, the water turning to vapour immediately and creating a visible mist hovering above the ground. But it soon ceases evaporating as the water builds up until there’s enough for it to start slowly seeping into the summer-parched earth. And that is when the magic begins to happen. When that rain comes in a succession of days, and especially when it pours at a moderate pace throughout the night as it did a few days ago, that is when you know it is doing the work all the farmers need it to do. Their dams fill up, farmers and farmworkers sigh happy sighs, and the eating and drinking that follows are ...
Monuments, symbolism and reconciliation – ‘The Boer Invasion of the Zulu Kingdom: 1837-1840’ by John Laband is a book that presents the less-familiar Zulu perspective as they grappled with the existential threat of the Boer invasion.
The battle of Blood River, or Ncome, on 16 December 1838, has long been regarded as a critical moment in the history of South Africa. It is the culminating victory by the land-hungry Boers who had migrated out of the British-ruled Cape and invaded the Zulu kingdom in 1837.
Many Afrikaners long acclaimed their triumph as the God-given justification for their subsequent dominion over Africans. By contrast, Africans celebrate the war with pride for its significance in their valiant struggle against colonial aggression.
In this telling of the Boer invasion, respected historian John Laband deals even-handedly with the warring sides in the conflict, explaining both victory and defeat in the many battles that marked the war.
Crucially, he takes the Zulu evidence into full account to present the less familiar Zulu perspective and to explain the decisions taken by the Zulu leaders, as they grappled with the existential threat of the Boer invasion.
Laband is a Professor Emeritus of History at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He has authored, co-authored and edited over 20 books on warfare and military culture in Africa, specialising in the Zulu kingdom and in nineteenth-century colonial conflicts in southern Africa. Read the excerpt below.
Monuments at war
Not all battlefields retain their disturbing aura of long-past bloodlust and grim exaltation, of courage and fortitude, unmanning dread and panic, anguish, pain, and violent death. Nor are their sites all marked by memorials that serve as the continuing focus of emotional commemoration.
Indeed, not all battles themselves remain the pivot of heated debate, their disputed significance freighted with present-day discord. One that does is the battle of Blood River – called Bloedrivier in Afrikaans and Ncome in isiZulu – that was fought on 16 December 1838 on flat, bleakly open, treeless grassland in what is now the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. Blood River vindicated the superiority of concentrated musket-fire from within an all-round defensive enclosure of wagons (a laager) over greatly superior numbers of warriors armed primarily with spears. It was the climacteric battle in a bitter war of betrayal, massacre, fierce resistance, and retribution that began in late 1837 when groups of Dutch-speaking pioneers (or Voortrekkers), who were part of a mass migration from ...
When the summer rains send you indoors when you’ve planned a slow day outside tending a potjie, you switch the recipe to the Dutch oven in the kitchen and enjoy a slow cook while being grateful for the rain.
This variation on osso buco, the Italian veal shin stew, uses beef shin instead but is otherwise much like the classic dish. The gremolata to serve with it, sprinkled on top, is simply very finely chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest.
Beef shin is an underrated cut, pleasingly inexpensive, full of flavour, but like brisket and short rib, it needs time and patience.
The best accompaniment for this dish, I think, is mashed potato, though creamy polenta of course would be a winning match too.
Ingredients
400 g beef shin in slices
Olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 or 5 thyme sprigs
1 heaped Tbsp cornflour
1 glass of red wine
1.5 litres beef stock
1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
Salt
Black pepper
For the gremolata
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
Mashed potato finished with butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper, for serving with the stew
Method
Prepare all the vegetables and have them ready. Chop the onion and garlic; dice the carrots and celery. Pick the leaves off the thyme sprigs.
I used the excellent Nomu liquid beef stock (formerly called a fond), so if using that, boil a kettle and dissolve 3 Tbsp of the liquid stock in 1.5 litres of boiled water. Or use 1.5 litres of any other beef stock.
Heat olive oil in the heavy cast-iron pot and brown the beef shin slices on both sides. Remove to a side dish.
Add a little more oil and all the chopped and diced vegetables, and cook gently for five minutes, stirring now and then.
Sprinkle the cornflour over the top and stir it in. Add the thyme leaves and give it a stir.
Add the red wine and cook, stirring, for three minutes. Add the beef stock and chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Put the meat back in, stir to coat, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook on a very low heat, with the lid on but leaving a small gap for vapour to escape, for about three hours.
Before it’s done and you’re ready to serve, boil some peeled potatoes, mash them and finish ...
Scalloped potatoes are thin, round slices, cooked until crisp, either battered or plain. Often, in days past, they would be battered and deep-fried. Instead, I gave them a go in the air fryer, with crisp and crunchy results.
The potato scallops that are battered and deep-fried tend to be a little thicker than the ones I made this week. They’d be, perhaps, 7 ml thick, because they need to be more substantial to hold the batter they’re dipped in before frying.
If they’re underdone, which they often are in my experience, they’re always a disappointment. The trick with them, like chips or when you deep-fry fish, is to get the temperature right at 160℃, as any higher than that and the batter will brown too quickly while the potato within remains undercooked, and any lower than that and the batter will either disintegrate for lack of sufficient heat or become fat-soggy and unappetising. Or both.
These are sometimes called potato cakes, but they would be even thicker than the British and Australian battered scallop, to warrant that term. In our times, the American notion of a hash brown has overtaken scalloped potatoes, especially as a breakfast item. Hash browns actually date as far back as the 1890s, though only recently have they become ubiquitous, thanks in part to franchises such as Wimpy.
Scalloped potatoes, when sliced almost paper-thin, can be layered on top of an oven bake (such as a fish pie) to create a scaled effect and turn into a golden, crunchy topping. Potato “scales” on a fish fillet is a classic French tradition.
But there’s no batter in my recipe. It’s very simple and is all about a pleasingly crunchy flat chip, as it were, something like a potato crisp of the Simba or Willards variety but thicker. So, somewhere between a potato crisp and a chip, then.
You need to have a steady hand to slice them so thinly, and a good eye.
(Serves 2 as a side dish)
Ingredients
3 or 4 medium potatoes
Cooking oil spray
3 Tbsp cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Peel the potatoes and splice them carefully and slowly into slim rounds of about 3 ml to 5 ml. Lay them out on kitchen paper, put more paper over them, pat them down, then remove the paper.
Spoon the cooking oil into a bowl. Grind some salt and black pepper in and stir. Add the potato scallops and toss well to coat.
Preheat the air ...
The African National Congress’ solutions to soaring crime are unclear and overlook the real problems facing policing.
The ‘fight against crime and corruption’ is one of the African National Congress’ (ANC) six priorities for 2023, according to the ruling party’s 8 January statement. But it offers little beyond vague and poorly considered proposals on the way forward.
The statement, issued each year on the anniversary of the ANC’s founding in 1912, sets out measures that government should prioritise. It provides insight into the quality of leadership the ruling party has to respond to the country’s many problems.
The latest crime statistics are cause for concern — especially murder figures, which are the most reliable indicator of serious violent crime levels. Since their low point in 2011-12, the number of murders has increased by 62% in 2021-22 — reaching 25,181 deaths.
The 2021-22 per capita rate of 42 murders per 100,000 is the highest since 2003-04, when the rate was 43 per 100,000. Figures for April to September 2022 indicate that rates in 2022-23 are even higher.
The ANC’s vague proposals to address the problem include increasing “the number of police personnel to match our country’s population increase, in line with international norms.” It’s quite meaningless to compare police between different countries based on their numbers. There is also no basis for the idea that there are international norms for police-to-population ratios.
A single police officer is not a standard unit of police service. Linked to selection criteria, training, equipment, management systems and infrastructure, there are enormous disparities between police in different countries regarding the service an individual officer can provide. The number of police means something completely different in a wealthy country as opposed to one where police have few vehicles and no fuel or spare parts for the ones they have.
Counting the number of police is also not straightforward. Some countries have extensive police auxiliary systems. Whether or not they are included in overall police numbers will affect the calculation of ratios.
One would also expect the ANC statement to recognise that solutions should be grounded in more effective use of resources, not simply expanding the state salary bill.
Rather than focusing on police numbers, clarity is needed on the core functions that the South African Police Service (SAPS) must provide and how these will be systematically strengthened. This should inform the type of officers that SAPS recruits.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
Komani businesses are struggling to keep their doors open due to the town’s numerous and regular power failures.
The deteriorating and dilapidated electrical infrastructure in Komani – formerly known as Queenstown – has virtually crippled the Eastern Cape town’s businesses.
The town, under the Enoch Mgijima local municipality, has suffered from electricity outages for years, but things worsened in 2022 and some areas spent weeks and even months without power.
Parts of Mlungisi location have been without power for close to two months. On Monday morning, the whole of Mlungisi location was without power. Some areas had their electricity briefly restored on Tuesday, but by Thursday most of the central business district and much of Komani had no power.
On Thursday this week residents took to the streets to protest over the blackouts which have left them without power for days on end. Last week Daily Maverick spoke to business owners and residents on the effect of these lengthy cuts on their lives.
Read in Daily Maverick: “There is nothing charming about candlelit dinners in my town in the Eastern Cape, where blackouts last for weeks”
Local entrepreneurs complain that the continued outages – combined with Eskom’s rolling blackouts – are killing their businesses and costing them a lot of money.
Anthony Marriott from Superclean Detergents said he might as well close his business because of the amount of money he’s spending on diesel.
“Business is operating in a difficult situation in Komani, and for me it is difficult to increase prices because my competition in East London has no electricity problems like me. So increasing prices will lead customers to rather buy from my competitor,” he said.
“I use generators 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I also have an ice business and. I have to come to work half an hour before load shedding to start the machines and also be here to stop the machines.”
Marriott said that sometimes when Eskom’s power comes back on, the local outages kick in, and if he is not there to monitor the machines, his ice gets ruined.
“The ice business is extremely costly to me as I am using 150 litres of diesel a day to run the generator for 18 hours. I don’t have any faith in the current leadership because of the current electrical situation and service delivery.”
Marriott said he has chosen not to retrench anybody at the moment, but that management had taken a pay cut.
“We ...
Established in 2019, Bulungula College was the first high school in the Eastern Cape’s Xhora Mouth Administrative Area to offer access to grades 10, 11 and 12 for local pupils. Just four years later, its second matric cohort achieved a 100% pass rate.
Bulungula College’s matric class of 2022 achieved a 100% pass rate, a 36.4% increase from the 63.6% they registered in 2021. Staff and pupils were “overwhelmed” by the achievement — the product of years of hard work.
The school was established in the rural Xhora Mouth Administrative Area, Elliotdale, in 2019. It was the first high school in Xhora Mouth to offer grades 10 to 12, before which Grade 9 was the highest level of education accessible locally, according to Rejane Woodroffe, director of the Bulungula Incubator, the nonprofit behind the school.
“We took a survey, and over the last 15 years there was an average of six people who completed matric in this region. before Bulungula College was built,” she said.
“The reason we built Bulungula College was because. we still had a situation in this area — which was part of the old Bantu education system in the old days — where schools finished in Grade 9 and there was no access to high school grades 10, 11 and 12.”
Xhora Mouth is in Mbhashe Municipality, an area on the Wild Coast that falls in the Amathole District. According to census data, only 17.9% of people in the municipality have completed matric or higher, while 50.4% have completed Grade 9 or higher.
Before the college was built, those in Xhora Mouth wishing to complete matric needed to travel to a high school about 25km away, according to Woodroffe. However, only a few could do this, since it was expensive for families and challenging for children.
In 2021, when Bulungula College’s first cohort of matrics graduated, 28 passed out of a class of 34, said principal Mthandwa Sincuba.
It was the most pupils to date from the local community who had graduated in a single year, according to a Bulungula Incubator blog post from 21 January 2022.
The class of 2022 had 36 pupils, all of whom achieved a matric pass — the first time in the history of Elliotdale that a school achieved a 100% matric pass rate.
Of the 36 matriculants, 29 did not have a parent or caregiver who graduated from high school, while 13 had a parent or caregiver who was unable ...
Micheala Ohlson made it to the tournament in Mauritius thanks to fund-raising.
Micheala Ohlson from Ocean View bagged a silver medal in the doubles event at the All Africa Under-19 Tournament in Mauritius in December.
The 18-year-old has been playing badminton since she was 10 years old. She currently lives in Lavender Hill.
After being selected, Ohlson needed R30,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs. Following several fundraising efforts by Defence Badminton Club in Kenilworth, the Western Cape Badminton Team, her school, and individuals, Ohlson was able to join her team to travel to Mauritius.
Ohlson reached the quarter-finals in the women’s singles event but was knocked out by a competitor from Nigeria. She then reached the doubles final with her partner Tamsyn Smith from Johannesburg, and the two of them lost against the Ugandan team. South Africa was placed fifth overall.
The doubles final “was the toughest of my life”, said Ohlson. “My goal was to get into the finals because I knew it was very difficult to get there. I think I did really well because I reached my goal.”
Mauritius is known as a holiday destination, but Ohlson said there was no time to laze around. “We would wake up at 06:00 . then the bus would fetch us at 08:00 because the games started at 09:00.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The oldest of five children, Ohlson has been living with her aunt Tougieda Stemmet in Lavender Hill since her mother died in 2019. Stemmet said she and her household made sure to watch all of Ohlson’s games, in person if possible.
“If it wasn’t for my aunt I wouldn’t have made the SA team,” said Ohlson. “There were times when I didn’t feel I was good enough and then she was the one who pushed me to get back up.”
Though she has been selected for the South African open team, Ohlson is now in matric and plans to focus on school work this year. But she will continue coaching younger players at the badminton courts in Kenilworth on Saturday afternoons. “Maybe next year when I’m done with school I can start again,” she said.
Ohlson wants her school, Lavender Hill High, to offer badminton as a sport, and she hopes her story will inspire other learners to play.
“By winning the silver medal, she proved she can compete with the best in Africa,” said Ohlson’s coach Francois Wessels. “We are ...
We can manage our cooking lives, in times of load shedding, in the same way that millions of our species have done for millennia. By using the light we have, when we have it, and the resources we have when there is no light.
The old kitchens all had ranges where great fires would be lit, serving to cook their food as well as keep them warm. Cast-iron pots would be suspended above the flames while the contents bubbled and became tender and delicious. Braces of hare and game birds would hang in sheds to mature before heading for the pot. Meat would be cured with salt or in brine so that it would keep for the lean times. These are things of speciality food makers today. Back then, it was just how things were done.
Open fire cooking
Behold the open fire. The braai, the pizza oven, the smoking shed, the spit for roasting the lamb or pig. All of these things can be used without electrical power.
Open fire cooking is all the rage in the cheffy world. Smoking, singeing, charring, even cooking whole potatoes right in the coals until the outer skin forms a blackened shell. Yet, inside, there is wondrously beautiful soft potato flesh, needing only butter and salt to make it even more perfect. Try my recipe for ash-baked potatoes.
Try the reverse sear method for steak on the coals, or perfect the twice-cooked picanha. And then there’s one of my signature braai dishes, deboned leg of lamb.
Or try smoke-braaing a spatchcock chicken under a dome. And this recipe for Asian-marinated spatchcock chicken explains how to do it, using bamboo skewers, to prevent the bird falling apart on the grid.
Load shedding cooking kit
Load shedding kit need not be only about solar gear and inverters. You might consider buying a paella pan or a plancha, that flat griddle that conducts heat perfectly for grilling on or close to fire; or metal espetada skewers and sturdy cast-iron skillets to put right on the grid.
Try my recipes for beef espetada and for chicken espetada. If you don’t have skewers, you can use bay or rosemary branches for skewering the meat.
There’s much more you can do.
Root out your gran’s old jaffle iron or buy a new one. Buy a salt rock, which heats on a grid above very hot coals and, when hot enough, you can braai courgettes or cauliflower steaks on it, or ...
Cooking by fire is a big food craze around the world, and in our neck of the global woods, Eskom is feeding the rush to return to our ancestral roots. This story is as old as time. All we have to do is remember who we are and where we’ve come from. The rest comes naturally.
The communal pot. The glow of embers below, the heat coming off it onto hands rubbing together, folks huddled around the fire to warm themselves, appetites whetted by the aroma, the waft, the hope, the gratitude. We’re being fed this night. Life is good.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble. It’s Shakespearian, but it’s far older than the 16th century. Our primaeval souls were forged in fire. Our species was changed forever when, after we’d learnt how to fell an animal and use its skin to keep us warm, we first understood that its meat represented nourishment for us.
Our enjoyment of food found a new trajectory when we learnt to add heat to meat, and found that its flavour became a thousand times more delicious, and our health was the better for it.
Through ages and centuries, times of peace and all the great wars, we have eaten and been grateful, and the flame, the fire, the singe, the char, have been as much a part of our days and nights as the clothing that keeps us warm and the roofs over our heads we learnt to build for our comfort and survival.
We have picked and gathered the fruits and legumes, the nuts and pulses. We have ground and pounded grain and seed in bowls crafted of wood from the trees around us, and we have stewed and stirred the fruits of tree and lowly plant, risking illness or even death to find out which is safe and which not.
Collectively, we have survived.
We have owned, collectively and in the pockets of humanity of all the tribes and nations that have trodden the earth during every century since we first stood up, thousand upon thousand of cooking pots and implements of every shape and hue, created cooking methods and recipes, until the modern age when the whole world can find out all about every other cuisine on the planet, and even cuisines no longer known to most of us, at the click of a key on a computer or cellphone.
Until only a relatively short while ago, all of the ...
The EFF fended off the ANC and ActionSA in a competitive Polokwane seat, while also closing the gap between it and the ANC in a rural Blouberg seat northwest of Polokwane. But in Mbhashe it was no-contest as far as the ruling party was concerned.
Limpopo
Ward 10 (Makgofe Blood River) in Polokwane, Capricorn: EFF 47% (48%) ANC 42% (47%) ActionSA 10% AACUM1% ACDP
When President Cyril Ramaphosa tells the ANC faithful at the Free State elective conference he’s asked Eskom to suspend the statutorily approved 18.65% electricity price hike, he continues the political interference that’s marked the governing party’s relationship with Eskom in particular, and with state-owned enterprises in general.
It’s a toxic swirl of blurring the lines between party and state, vested interests and electoral populism, now with a firm eye on the 2024 elections when rotational power cuts are set to be a central electioneering tool. That churn has continued regardless of expert advice, presidential committees’ and others’ recommendations and more.
It all goes back more than two decades — to late 1996 when the governing ANC first looked at Eskom with a view to bringing the power utility — which had served apartheid white South Africa and the mining and manufacturing industries — firmly under state control.
“Eskom is not vested within the government. Therefore, legislation is necessary to place the entity under government control and this should happen early next year,” the then public enterprises minister, Stella Sigcau, was quoted as saying in the Mail & Guardian in late 1996.
The 1998 Eskom Amendment Act was followed by the 2001 Eskom Conversion Act, which made the power utility the public entity it is today, Eskom Holdings Limited, with the public enterprises minister in a shareholder compact with this state-owned enterprise (SOE).
That properly ended the power utility’s status as a self-financing entity funded from debt and accumulated reserves and, according to its 1992 Annual Report, with 44,142 employees. By 1995 the Eskom reserves stood at R18.8-billion, with assets of R43-billion and debt at R27.2-billion, according to the power utility’s Statistical Report then.
All this came on the back of a politically sussed Eskom that had read the changing political winds; from late 1994 it had integrated the former TBVC (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, Ciskei) Bantustans’ power grids, and announced a mass electrification programme targeting 700,000 black households by 1997. Meanwhile, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in 1996 set a target of electrifying 2.5 million households by 1999.
By the time the Eskom Conversion Act became effective, new investment should have been made in the electricity and energy supply side, according to the wide-ranging — and widely well-received — December 1998 Energy White Paper, the government’s official policy statement approved by Cabinet.
The unbundling plan
Talking about affordable energy, improved governance and tighter regulation and diverse supply, including independent ...
Failure to comply may result in penalties of between R1.5-million or 2% of the employer’s annual turnover and R2.7-million or 10% of its annual turnover.
With South Africa being one of the most diverse countries on the African continent, equity and inclusion are critical to the future of every sector of its economy. For the mining sector in particular, failure to achieve equity in the workplace could come with greater punitive consequences.
In 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour signed the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2020 into law to radically accelerate the realisation of transformation. The bill amends the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) and the amendments are due to come into effect on 1 September 2023.
The most significant of the bill’s amendments relate to the power of the minister of employment and labour to set sector-specific employment equity targets to which designated employers will be held to account. The bill allows the minister to identify national economic sectors and to determine numerical targets for these sectors, for purposes of administering the EEA. These sector targets are scheduled to apply from the year 2024, and may differentiate between:
Occupational levels;
Sub-sectors;
Regions; or
Any other relevant factors.
Before determining the targets, the minister will consult relevant stakeholders and the Employment Equity Commission on the proposed sector targets and will publish any proposals for public comment.
The bill also introduces a certificate of compliance which will be required if any designated employer wishes to do business with the state and which will be issued if the minister is satisfied that:
The employer has complied with any applicable sector targets or has raised a reasonable ground for non-compliance;
The employer has submitted its most recent employment equity report; and
Within the previous 12 months, the employer has not been found to have breached the prohibition on unfair discrimination, or found to have paid wages below the level of the minimum wage by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The director general is also empowered to make recommendations regarding a designated employer’s compliance with its affirmative action obligations, which will include compliance with the relevant sector targets.
Failure to comply with these recommendations within the period stipulated by the director-general may result in penalties between R1.5-million or 2% of the designated employer’s annual turnover and R2.7-million or 10% of its annual turnover, depending on the nature, extent and frequency of the contravention.
The mining ...
Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has reinstated former US president Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after a two-year suspension for violating the platform’s rules.
Meta Platforms’ decision to withdraw the suspension, announced on Wednesday, means the former president can now reach tens of millions of followers across the two services as he makes another presidential bid.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said on Twitter that the company did not want to get in the way of open debate especially “in the context of democratic elections”.
As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open debate on our platforms, esp in context of democratic elections. People should be able to hear what politicians are saying – good, bad & ugly – to make informed choices at the ballot box. 1/4
Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) January 25, 2023
Trump lost access to his accounts on 6 January 2021 after the company deemed that some of his posts were encouraging his supporters to violently riot at the US Capitol to try to stop Congress from confirming the results of the presidential election, which President Joe Biden won. The temporary suspension was changed to an “indefinite” suspension the following day.
Meta convened an Oversight Board — a group of outside lawyers, journalists and policy experts paid by Meta — to review its decision. With its input, the company decided that the suspension would last for at least two years. Clegg was the executive responsible for deciding whether to reinstate his account, taking the heat off of Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer. DM
(By Kurt Wagner and Mark Niquette)
Women who help feed the homeless in Johannesburg are having to scale back on their charitable work as the need for assistance increases and the price of food rises.
Moejira Atibu (41) says food prices are so high now that she is able to cook and serve food for homeless people only twice a week, while at the peak of the lockdown she was able to do so daily.
“Sometimes I don’t dish up for two weeks because there is no food to serve people, but they understand and are just happy when I manage to help,” said Atibu while mixing cooked rice and mince in a huge pot.
Atibu saves money from her hairdressing work and has six family members who regularly help to assist hungry homeless people in Vrededorp, Johannesburg. She cooks in her mother’s kitchen and her young sons help carry the big pot two blocks away where she serves homeless people and street vendors.
“I don’t have an organisation, I just cook in my house and anyone who needs food in my street comes around. The past two years have been difficult. It’s not only homeless people who are going hungry, sometimes people in homes come as a family to get a plate. When I see a child I ask for their parent and take note of where they live so I can take the food to them or let them know so they don’t miss the servings,” said Atibu.
Vrededorp resident Siyabonga Shabangu (34) said Atibu is a beacon of hope and reminds him that he is valuable.
“I met Ma [Atibu] three years ago when she opened a soccer team for us to play but that needed money and died out, so she helps us with food and whatever else we need — getting medication, documentation and so on. Four people have died here on this street because of hunger and not being able to take medication, all in the past two years,” said Shabangu.
It is estimated that 11% (6.5 million) of South Africa’s population are hungry and food insecure. The Johannesburg Homelessness Network estimates there are about 20,000 homeless people in Johannesburg alone, and the need for soup kitchens and other assistance is significant.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
‘January is particularly tough’
Cleopatra Buthelezi (50), who serves supper for the homeless in Joburg’s Inner City, said January had been particularly tough, as most donors were ...
Police in Cape Town were quick to act when high-spirited ANC supporters tried to approach a crowd of DA supporters as they marched to protest against the handling of the country’s energy crisis. And in Johannesburg, DA members’ placards spoke volumes: ‘Voetsek ANC’, ‘Give back power to the people’ and ‘Load shedding is killing jobs’ were just some of the slogans.
Cape Town’s streets turned blue on Wednesday, 25 January, when a mass of DA supporters marched to the ANC’s offices in the Mother City to protest against the ANC’s handling of the energy crisis.
Also present were representatives of political parties such as the Freedom Front Plus, the African Christian Democratic Party and the controversial CapeExit Party, which advocates for the independence of the Western Cape.
ANC supporters outside the party’s offices were in high spirits, singing struggle songs.
When the hundreds of DA supporters got close to the ANC offices, police were quick to form a barrier to prevent ANC supporters from confronting the marchers.
“The DA is playing cheap politics with the lives of people,” said Luzuko Bashman, an ANC Youth League member. “The ANC is here to say we are all aggrieved by the challenges that face our people when it comes to load shedding. The place to take those challenges is Eskom and not the revolutionary house of the people of South Africa.”
The Cape Town marchers finally settled in Bureau Street, near Parliament.
‘Everything is broken’
In his address, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the DA in the province was having to fix everything that was broken at the national level.
“At the provincial level, we are focusing on energy, safety and our people not getting paid in the Sassa system,” he said. “Every single office seems to be broken and those are not normal mandates of the provincial government, but we have to step in because we swore our allegiance to the Constitution on behalf of the citizens of this province.”
Winde said local government initiatives were aimed at solving national problems, such as the one recently announced by the City of Cape Town in which the municipality will pay businesses and citizens that sell electricity to it without a tender process.
DA leader in the Western Cape Tertuis Simmers told the crowd that the march was to protest against the dismally dysfunctional ANC government: “Blackouts are one of the many ANC failures, but blackouts are a special failure of the ANC: the ...
For Deepak Chopra, scientism becomes frippery; the pretty, but meaningless decorations you put on a wedding cake. Especially dangerous is his idea of ‘quantum healing’, where he claims, without evidence, that health imbalance is caused by ‘quantum phenomena’.
There really is a very short leap from silliness to abject stupidity (posing as “superior logic” or “wisdom”). One intellectual crime, a ruse, perhaps, is scientism — that fallacious belief that everything can and ought to be explained in “scientific terms”. It can be linked to economism, which is a discussion for another time.
One of the things that appeared in my social media feed recently was an invitation to make 2023 my “best year ever” under the guidance of Deepak Chopra.
My first response was to chuckle — not because of my inherent pessimism (see entropy and the second law of thermodynamics), but because Chopra has not said or done a single thing to instil any kind of faith in his “superior logic” or wisdom. In short, he is a fraud.
Don’t take my word for it. In 1995, Californian Jonie Flint filed a lawsuit against Chopra, his colleagues and various other individuals and organisations. In 1993, Flint’s husband, David, who was suffering from leukaemia, consulted Triguna, one of Chopra’s collaborators. According to the complaint, Triguna was represented as a licensed health professional (a claim that was proven to be false). He concluded that David’s liver function was down, that he had “heat” in his spleen and bone marrow, “wind” in his stomach and pressure on his nerves.
The company recommended dietary changes, “purification” treatment as well as a range of herbal products, including Maharishi Amrit Kalash. Chopra performed “pulse diagnosis” and provided a mantra for “quantum sound treatment”, a scientifically flawed treatment that has pretences to quantum theory.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Snake oil
Just how Chopra received his quantum mechanics or physics education from, other than from the ether, is a mystery. It is possibly the most difficult branch of physics; it follows no predictable or even discernible rules, can shift shape and even appear in different states simultaneously. (Read this for a sense of the difficulties of quantum mechanics.)
But Chopra’s “superior logic” works wonders on the naive, and on people in desperate need of medical attention. It reminds me of our own political quacks who proclaim “superior logic” and sell snake oil to the poor, the hungry and the ...
A State witness in the first State Capture trial has testified he knew he was wrong when he wrote a submission to deviate from the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s procurement procedures for conducting a R24.9m feasibility study.
A supply chain manager of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Shadrack Cezule, took the stand as a State witness in the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday during the first State Capture trial, which involves the Free State Vrede Dairy Project scandal.
The case was delayed in the morning as some of the accused, including the former head of the department Peter Thabethe and its former chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini, had to appear in a separate case also involving the controversial Vrede Dairy Project.
Cezule was the second witness to be sworn in since the trial began on Monday.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Vrede Dairy project — Mosebenzi Zwane appears in high court for corruption pretrial
At the centre of the trial is the Mohoma Mobung agriculture project — a feasibility study with a price tag of R24.9-million paid by the Free State agriculture department to Nulane Investments (one of eight accused).
The study led to the Vrede Dairy Project that cost the provincial department R280-million.
Read more in Daily Maverick: The Estina/Vrede dairy scandal: A Gupta project from beginning to end
Cezule testified that he was the writer of a submission to deviate from the department’s procurement procedures for conducting the feasibility study. He said he wanted to admit that he erred when he wrote the submission for deviation, knowing the correct procedures were not being followed.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Cezule testified that he was instructed by accused number three, Dhlamini, to write the submission. At the time, he said there were no supporting documents, so Dhlamini dictated the letter to him.
Later, he said, Dhlamini presented him with a document — a letter from Worlds Window Impex India. The letter, read into the court record on Wednesday, stated that the international company, which is involved in scrap metal and mining (among other businesses), expressed an interest in forming part of a public-private partnership with the department, with an estimated contribution of R1-billion.
Cezule testified that payment was made by the department on 6 April 2011. No tax clearance certificate or bank details were submitted.
Thabethe’s legal representative, Daniel Mantsha, put it to Cezule during cross-examination that his ...
The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which has been testing the strike capabilities of the Zircon missile in the Western Atlantic, is headed for the KwaZulu-Natal coast to participate in a ‘multinational maritime exercise’ with the South African and Chinese navies.
The Russian government has confirmed that its “cutting-edge frigate” Admiral Gorshkov — which is armed with Zircon (or Tsirkon) hypersonic missiles — will take part in joint naval exercises with South Africa and China off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal in February.
This was reported on Wednesday, 25 January, by Russia’s state news agency Tass. It said the Admiral Gorshkov, now conducting exercises with the Zircon missile in the West Atlantic, would replenish supplies in the Syrian port of Tartus and join the joint Exercise Mosi 2 off South Africa.
Western military officials believe, however, that the Admiral Gorschkov will probably head to Cuba and Venezuela to refuel and replenish before heading south through the Atlantic to South Africa.
Tass also reported that Russian defence ministry officials had confirmed that the Admiral Gorshkov had practised Zircon hypersonic strikes in the Atlantic.
“It is reported that the crew demonstrated a high degree of coordination while performing the combat training task,” Tass said. “According to the top brass, the crew of the frigate, currently on a mission in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, ‘practiced a Tsirkon hypersonic missile strike on a target simulating an enemy warship at a distance of more than 900km’.
“The naval task force consisting of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and the tanker ship Kama has been deployed in distant waters under the command of Northern Fleet Missile Ships Division Commander Captain 1st Rank Oleg Gladky,” Tass added.
Western military officials believe Russia has sent the Admiral Gorschkov to South Africa via the Western Atlantic as a show of force to the US.
Russia claims the Zircon can travel at almost 10,000km/hour, fast enough to evade any US and Nato antimissile defences. It also has a range of more than 900km. Western military officials believe it is sailing closer than that to the US, making a point to Washington.
‘Double standards’
After they met for official talks in Pretoria on Monday, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor both dismissed criticism by the Democratic Alliance and others of Exercise Mosi 2.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘Simplistic and infantile’ to demand Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine, says Pandor ...
'Daar is sekere goed wat net die pa kan doen' (There are some things that only the dad can do)
In this short film, women living in Willowmore in the Eastern Cape talk about the powerful impact fathers can have on their sons’ behaviour towards women. Fathers are often the primary role models who shape young boys’ attitudes to, and physical treatment of, women. The participants discuss how sons do not only “imitate” their fathers’ violent practices but also their displays of loving, respectful and tender affection.
The women emphasise that although gender-based violence (GBV) programmes and education for children are vital, these must be supported by learning at home. However, as fathers are often absent, young adult sons may adopt GBV practices due to peer pressure.
Facing GBV, Part 6: His Father, My Son is part of a six-part series highlighting South Africa’s “second pandemic”: gender-based violence. In conjunction with the 16 Days of Activism campaign, Street Talk TV strives to highlight the truths behind domestic violence and crimes against women. Special thanks to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives and The Rural Women’s Assembly.
This film was produced by Street Talk.
Street Talk is a groundbreaking television series aired weekly on community television. From grassroots to the establishment, our engaging programmes expose the lived realities and uncensored views of ordinary South Africans.
Street Talk was launched in 2008 and is a non-profit organisation — visit us at www.streettalktv.com
Disclaimer: Street Talk encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of participants who appear in the TV series Street Talk are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the producers. DM
TymeBank chief executive Coen Jonker says the bank’s latest partnership with retail chain The Foschini Group (TFG) is set to grow customer numbers further with the roll-out of 600 bank kiosks manned by TymeBank ambassadors in TFG outlets across the country.
The kiosks have been installed in stores including Markham, Foschini, Totalsports and Sportscene, with as many as 250,000 TFG TymeBank customers already signed up.
“We are on target to sign up 1 million TFG-TymeBank customers by December this year,” says Jonker.
One of the fastest-growing banks in the world, TymeBank has secured more than 6 million customers since start-up in 2019, and is taking on more than 180,000 new customers a month.
“If you include our kiosks at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores, our network is up to 1,450 kiosks where you can open a bank account. Functionality at the kiosks is similar to the service you would receive at a rival bank branch.
“You can change your phone number, replace your bank card, check bank balances and, over time, we plan to introduce more functionality,” Jonker says.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“With the potential to expose over 30 million TFG loyalty programme (TFG Rewards) members to the TymeBank brand, we believe this partnership accelerates our mission to bring accessible, affordable banking to all South Africans,” he adds.
The TymeBank-TFG partnership is also currently running a personal loan pilot project, offering select TFG customers short-term personal loans with durations of three, six and 12 months.
Scott Brown, managing director of value-added services at TFG, says the long-term partnership with TymeBank, and the ability to offer their products and services under the TFG Money umbrella, is perfectly aligned with the retailer’s goal of driving financial inclusion.
“There is a great fit between our brands, our goals and the way we work, and this has allowed us to be fast-to-market with our first set of co-branded products.
“We’re looking forward to working alongside TymeBank to further establish TFG Money as a ‘go-to brand’ for South Africans who want to benefit from a new style of banking,” Brown says.
On the business banking side, TymeBank has seen customer numbers grow from 108,000 last August to 135,000 today. The bank also lends money to about 40,000 business customers through its merchant advance product. BM/DM
Limpopo wheelchair tennis star Donald Ramphadi has reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in the Quad Wheelchair Double alongside Brazilian Ymanitu Silva.
It’s been a long time coming for South African wheelchair tennis ace Donald Ramphadi, who has been one of the most outstanding tennis players in recent years. On Wednesday, he finally reached his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships at Melbourne Park.
Ramphadi and his Brazilian partner, Ymanitu Silva, upset second seeds Andy Lapthorne of the United Kingdom and American David Wagner in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) in the first round of the four-pair doubles draw to reach the final.
It was sweet revenge for Ramphadi, who lost to Lapthorne and Wagner in the 2022 Australian Open doubles semifinal.
Ramphadi and Silva will now compete in the championship final against top seeds Niels Vink and Sam Schröder from the Netherlands.
‘A lot of improvement’
“I’m very excited that in my second Australian Open I have reached the semifinals and the doubles final,” said the South African star.
“That shows a lot of improvement, and I would like to thank my team for pushing me every day to work hard and not give up. So I’m really grateful with the way things are right now, and hopefully I will have better results going forward.”
The 29-year-old Ramphadi made history by becoming the first male South African quad wheelchair player to reach the Australian Open doubles final since Lucas Sithole in 2016.
On Tuesday, the Limpopo-born star claimed his first Australian Open singles win, defeating Canada’s Robert Shaw 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
Ramphadi will now face Dutch top seed Niels Vink on Thursday, in a rematch of the 2022 US Open, which Vink won in straight sets.
If he wins that battle, he has an opportunity to face Wagner again who will compete in the other semifinal against second seed Sam Schröder.
Building momentum
Prior to this year’s tournament, Ramphadi had never advanced past the semifinals of a Grand Slam, but he has been in the form of his life since last season, rising to an all-time high of #5 in the world rankings.
“I’m very excited. I got to the Australian Open with merit this time around. Last year I was here, but I got a wildcard. This time around I qualified straight. It’s a great feeling and it shows progress,” he said.
Ramphadi is only the third South African player to contest a ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Members of the medical fraternity have joined the pending court action against Eskom to get hospitals, among other facilities, exempted from rolling blackouts, which they say have a devastating effect on their efforts to save lives.
With not all hospitals being exempted from rolling blackouts, including SA’s biggest hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, medical personnel are fighting daily to keep patients alive in the face of crippling power problems.
“The right to life is not suspended during load shedding,” General Bantu Holomisa of the United Democratic Movement said in his affidavit.
Two doctors, Professor Rudo Mathivha, a professor in critical care at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, and Dr Tanusha Ramdin, who heads the neonatal unit at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, joined the court case brought by a large group of South Africans against Eskom.
They are supported by several other applicants, including political parties, trade unions, a neighbourhood watch, small business organisations, businesspeople and community organisations.
On 28 February, the Johannesburg High Court will hear their application for an urgent interdict against Eskom, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, the director-general of public enterprises, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the South African government as a whole.
The court is asked to exempt public health facilities, schools, communication networks, police stations, water and sanitation facilities, as well as all micro, small, and very small businesses selling perishable goods, from rolling blackouts.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
As a next step, the court is asked to order that if there must be rolling blackouts, reasonable notice must be given and an opportunity provided for representations. This will include the advance publication of Eskom’s intention to implement rolling blackouts.
The court is also asked to order Gordhan to produce a plan on what will be done immediately to ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity and to explain how maintenance of Eskom’s power stations is being done and will be done to improve the availability of electricity.
As part of the case to exempt all hospitals and public health facilities from load shedding, Holomisa, who made the founding affidavit in the case, said not all hospitals are exempt and those that are not, do not have back-up generators which were designed to provide electricity for a long period.
“Both specialists [Mathivha and Ramdin] are unequivocal that load shedding has materially undermined the state’s ability to ...
Germany pledged to supply Ukraine with more than 100 Leopard 2 battle tanks in a joint effort with European allies, providing Kyiv’s forces with a significant upgrade against their Russian invaders.
In a first step, Germany will make a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks available from stocks held by its armed forces, the government said in a statement. The first German tanks could arrive in Ukraine within three months, possibly too late to counter a Russian offensive that defence officials have warned could come as soon as next month.
The Biden administration joined the tanks alliance and announced that it would send 31 of its main battle tanks, the M1 Abrams, to Ukraine. The Kremlin warned that tanks supplied by allies to Ukraine would be destroyed on the battlefield.
Key developments
Germany to boost Ukraine firepower with Leopard battle tanks
US set to send Ukraine its Abrams battle tank in major reversal
Agonising over Ukraine, Europe risks stumbling into another war
Zelensky’s call for justice triggers shakeup in his government
Sweden’s Nato bid in doubt after Erdoğan refuses support
On the ground
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near eight settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day, the General Staff said on Facebook. Russian troops conducted offensive operations in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka, while being on the defensive on the Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes, according to the statement.
Zelensky welcomes German tank decision
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “sincerely grateful to the Chancellor and all our friends in Germany” for agreeing to provide “German main battle tanks, further broadening of defence support and training missions, [and giving the] green light for partners to supply similar weapons”.
Zelensky said on Telegram that he spoke by phone to Olaf Scholz.
Ukraine confirms it pulled out of Soledar
Ukrainian troops have pulled out of Soledar to spare the lives of servicemen, Suspilne.media news website reported, citing military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi.
A week ago, the UK’s Ministry of Defence intelligence update already suggested the Ukrainians had completed the pullback from Soledar as of 16 January, but this was the first confirmation coming from Kyiv.
Germany to boost Ukraine’s firepower with Leopard 2 tanks
The aim is for Germany and its partners to supply two battalions totalling 112 Leopards and the government in Berlin will give allies authorisation to supply their tanks, according to a statement. The package includes training in Germany for Ukrainian troops, logistics, ammunition and maintenance.
“This decision follows our ...
South Africa is free to choose Russia as a friend — just as Ukraine should have been free to choose its own path before it was bombed, says the EU.
South Africa is, of course, free to decide who to cooperate with, European Union foreign minister Josep Borrell says about the visit to South Africa this week by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
But then he adds: “Ukraine wanted to do the same — to decide what is best on its own. And for this, it was attacked in a brutal violation of its sovereignty.”
Borrell arrives in South Africa on Thursday to discuss many other issues and joint interests, and to conduct a political dialogue with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor.
The EU’s partnership with South Africa is wide-ranging, from peace and security to promoting human rights, good governance, sustainable development, energy and climate change, innovation and working together in international bodies, he said in a written reply to Daily Maverick.
The meeting with Pandor takes place against the backdrop of a “perfect storm” in world affairs, including unprecedented global instability, a growing disregard for international rules and agreements, more actors using power politics to dominate or intimidate neighbours, and the “weaponisation of everything”, including food, energy, hunger and migration, Borrell says.
Africa a ‘collateral victim’
And, he says, Africa is a “collateral victim of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”.
Such problems could only be tackled by global cooperation, and the EU wants to work with SA and Africa to actively shape a changing world which is stable, just and prosperous. In this, he says, Africa should play a more central role.
Borrell says he would certainly discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine with Pandor, “fully aware that we may see things differently”.
On Monday, after meeting Lavrov, Pandor again refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She said it would have been “simplistic and infantile” to have repeated to Lavrov the call her department had made to Moscow on 24 February, to withdraw its military forces from Ukraine “immediately” and to respect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
To urge him to do so this week would have revealed her ignorance of the greatly changed circumstances since the war began on 24 February, Pandor added, such as the massive transfer of arms that had occurred, and the level which the conflict had reached.
Daily Maverick asked Borrell if South Africa’s refusal to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine — and its apparently ...
Military jackets and ‘police’ badges imported from South Africa were recently intercepted in Nigeria, and a suspect was detained for allegedly sneaking the items into that country. Nigeria is known for militia activities and is heading for a general election.
The arrest of a suspect accused of “illegally importing” military hardware from South Africa into Nigeria has highlighted the precarious security situation in the West African country ahead of an important election.
Earlier this week, Oluwole Ojewale, from the Institute for Security Studies, and Tosin Osasona, from Lagos’ Centre for Public Policy Alternatives, reported that Nigeria had a security crisis that was being exacerbated by armed groups.
‘Security has worsened’
“Over the past seven years, the government has invested over N12-trillion ($26.5-billion) in military assets, expanded the armed forces and focused on degrading violent extremist groups in the north-east region,” they wrote.
“Ironically, security has worsened in other parts of Nigeria.”
Presidential elections are set to be held there on 25 February.
“The new president must grapple with a broken state dominated by armed groups and socioeconomic problems. This calls for a radical departure from old approaches,” Ojewale and Osasona wrote.
“The security and defence infrastructure also needs modernising, starting with police reform and better accountability in the military.”
Body armour, helmets and cop badges
Last week, the question of military assets relating to Nigeria cropped up after an arrest was made.
Nigeria’s Customs Service said in a statement on 18 January that members of its Murtala Muhammed Airport cargo command division intercepted a consignment of “military hardware” consisting of:
352 body armour pads
309 military helmets
119 “pieces of police badge”
106 “armless” military jackets
105 body armour chest plates
33 body armour side pads
5 bulletproof jackets
Photographs from the scene showed items including camouflage vests and beige, black and olive green helmets. There were also items clearly labelled with the word “police”.
Customs controller Sambo Dangaladima said the items were imported from South Africa and a suspect had been arrested “due to his inability to produce an end-user certificate, which is the lawful prerequisite for such importation”.
Security company and SA shopping
While Dangaladima identified the suspect, Daily Maverick could not confirm whether he had appeared in court or what has since happened to him.
It was not immediately clear what the seized military items were intended for. Daily Maverick has, however, established that an individual with the same name as the arrested suspect ran a private security company, founded in Lagos, in 2008.
That private security company boss previously made ...
Astral’s poultry operations have been severely disrupted by rolling blackouts, which it said had resulted in abnormal additional costs as well as substantial production cutbacks of at least 12 million broiler chicken placements (sales) for H1.
Margins in the sector are already as thin as chicken skin and now one of South Africa’s biggest producers of poultry, Astral Foods, has warned that its H1 earnings for the six months ending on 31 March 2023 are expected to plunge by “at least” 90%.
The biggest reason? Rolling blackouts — which are preventing farmers from ventilating their chicken coops and irrigating crops, and impeding abattoirs from slaughtering birds — and the rising cost of chicken feed, which is affected by the rand-dollar exchange rate.
In a trading update issued on Wednesday, Astral Foods referred shareholders to its year-end results published on 21 November, in which it warned that market conditions were expected to deteriorate, with record high feed input costs, devastating levels of rolling blackouts and the general decay of municipal infrastructure affecting operational efficiencies and costs.
The situation appears to have gone from bad to diabolical.
Astral says that while its feed division managed to limit the impact of the blackouts by utilising available capacity at its various feed mills, this came at a significant cost, forcing the company to commit future capital expenditure to cushion against further risk.
Feed input costs
But because it is unable to slaughter chickens in time (and has been forced to remove more than 10 million birds from production by taking eggs from incubation setters to relieve pressure on farms), the chicken coops are brimming with growing birds that need to be fed.
These higher feed requirements will certainly have an impact on the division’s performance because feed input costs make up about 70% of the cost of raising a chicken. Astral notes that feed costs increased to about R5,300 per tonne on the back of a weakening local currency and a tight global balance sheet.
Izaak Breitenbach from the SA Poultry Association told Business Maverick that maize prices were set by the Chicago Board of Trade so South Africa pays international prices for maize.
“We’ve got more than enough maize in the country. We’ve had good harvests the past three years and we are actually exporting maize at present. There is also no shortage of maize on the global market,” said Breitenbach.
Astral’s poultry operations have been severely disrupted by rolling blackouts, which it said ...
South Africa is attracting increasing diplomatic attention from outside powers, even as it has elected to undertake a morally hazy joint naval exercise. Let’s dig deeper.
Quite suddenly, South Africa is getting significant attention from global players. This does not, however, mean a sudden recognition of an astonishing rise in international importance or impact. Other external factors may be much more important.
Russia, now deeply enmeshed in its self-inflicted journey into the metaphorical quicksand of the steppes of Ukraine, comes seeking positive expressions of love in an increasingly unfriendly world.
Increasingly unwelcomed at Davos, unwelcome at the G7, and unloved in world capitals beyond places like Asmara, Damascus, Pyongyang, Yerevan, Tehran, Bangui or Minsk, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, was virtually beaming from the uxorious embrace and words he received this week from senior figures in the South African government.
The latter may be mindful of their upcoming chairmanship of the annual BRICS leaders’ (comprising government heads from China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa) meeting for 2023. But there is still the awkwardness of that embarrassing trilateral naval exercise that is scheduled to take place over a week that includes the first anniversary of the invasion by Russia of Ukraine.
But even now, there remain the increasingly ritualised incantations of fealty to remember those halcyon days, back when the Soviet Union gave support to exiled ANC figures — or weapons training to would-be guerrilla fighters. Then too, helping cement the connection, perhaps, there have, more recently, been those hush-hush treatments of party and government bigwigs rumoured to have been victims of poisonings. Perhaps there is a connection. Then, too, there remains the half-digested idea that an increasingly imperial Russia is somehow a symbol of anti-Western resistance — rather than what it has become instead.
(Is the switch from the days of the old Soviet Union to today’s Russia and its current military onslaught against a neighbour just a tad jarring? Never mind. South Africa’s Department of Defence and Military Veterans was insistent this partnership signifies a very different time from the bad old days when South Africa was “the polecat of the world”. Thus, in this topsy-turvy logic, this upcoming exercise is emblematic of a truth that South Africa has powerful friends.)
Still, the Russian challenge largely comes in the diplomatic and security spheres. Russian trade with Africa as a whole remains very limited and the Russian assertion of its presence on the continent is ...
The DA’s march to the heart of the ANC, Luthuli House, over the issue of rolling blackouts may well be the start of its campaign for next year’s general election, as the energy crisis seems set to be the defining issue of the 2024 campaigns aimed at ending 30 years of ANC dominance.
Come next year’s general election, the ANC is likely to say it has improved the lives of millions of people and deserves another chance at power.
Still, that one-third of the country which has political power and exercises it may now be frustrated with the electricity crisis beyond the point of no return. That rolling blackouts are still going to be with us when voters cast their ballots is a fact that ANC leaders appear to have finally realised.
On Wednesday, members of the DA marched towards the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House, saying it was there the real decisions that ruined Eskom were made. DA leader John Steenhuisen said it was the ANC that had broken the entity and was responsible for the problems that we now face as a nation. He said this would be part of a campaign of “rolling mass action”, perhaps a nod to tactics used by the anti-apartheid movement.
There is strong evidence to bolster the DA’s claim. As is well-documented, it was the ANC which was in power at all times during this crisis, and it was ANC members and leaders who made the decisions that broke Eskom.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Twelve years of load shedding – written, starring & directed by the ANC”
And it was the ANC which benefited directly from deals such as Hitachi contracts through Chancellor House that led to catastrophic boiler problems at the Medupi and Kusile power stations.
It is the ANC government that appears unable, even unwilling, to address the sabotage in Mpumalanga, criminal acts committed within Eskom and the historic levels of corruption.
The ANC is well aware of this, so instead of simply refuting the DA’s claim, the party’s spokesperson, Pule Mabe, has said that it was the ANC itself that pushed for the Zondo Commission, thus shining a light on the State Capture which occurred at Eskom. (It is also the ANC chairperson, Gwede Mantashe, who is taking the Zondo report on judicial review. — Ed)
Mabe focused on the DA’s decision to march on Luthuli House, rather than trying to defend the ANC’s track record on electricity. ...
Company liquidations in South Africa exploded by almost a third year on year in December, shows the latest data from Stats SA. And 1,902 companies were liquidated in 2022 — a marginal 1.3% decrease (or 1,932) over 2021.
As startling as the StatsSA figures might be, they don’t quite reflect the current state of affairs because liquidations, being lagging indicators, are the conclusion of a lengthy legal process comprising asset fire sales, creditor repayment, the distribution of remaining assets to shareholders and deregistration.
The greatest worry is how businesses will cope in the first quarter of 2023 and beyond.
Senior economist at Absa Investment and Corporate Banking, Peter Worthington, said seasonally adjusted liquidations had risen sharply by nearly a third over the past two months, to their highest level since March 2021.
Of the 159 liquidations in December, 32 were in the “trade, catering and accommodation” sectors, which were hard hit by repeated restraint on trade during the pandemic, while 55 were in “finance, insurance, real estate and business services” — a broad category in which the commercial property sector is yet to recover post-Covid.
“We attribute this increase to load shedding, given all the media reports about how intensified load shedding is weighing particularly heavily on small businesses. And, of course, company liquidations are very much a lagging indicator, so this release should be monitored carefully going forward for evidence of how deeply the intensified load shedding has hit the productive capacity of the economy.”
The concern is around how especially small operators were coping with the impact of the blackouts.
“They’re not big enough to run a generator for [the duration of the blackout schedule] and not big enough to install their own solar.”
The ramped-up power supply crisis is weighing heavily on companies, particularly SMMEs, many of which cannot afford to run generators, UPS and other alternative power supplies.
With Stage 6 rolling blackouts throughout most of January, small businesses — from dog parlours and print shops to takeaway outlets, ice cream parlours and farms — have had to rely heavily on generators to continue operations.
Many businesses, farmers especially, have warned that they will be forced to close shop if the current schedule is maintained.
Last week, a North West farmer said he planned to sue Eskom after 40,000 of his broiler chickens died from a lack of ventilation in the coop during rolling blackouts.
On Monday, a Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal dairy farmer tweeted about being forced to ...
It is worth asking: What are SA’s interests in relation to the Russia/US divide so poignantly highlighted by the successive visits of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen? What, objectively, should SA do in the pursuit of its best interests?
The defenders of the SA government’s decision to remain “independent” over sanctioning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine argue that it is SA’s right to pursue its sovereign interests. As the adage goes, nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
This famous old quote is actually an abbreviation of a comment made by UK Prime Minister Lord Palmerston who said in the British Parliament in 1848: “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”
Anyway, it is worth asking: What are SA’s interests in relation to the Russia/US divide so poignantly highlighted by the successive visits of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen? What, objectively, should SA do in the pursuit of its best interests?
One way to look at this is to do a quick cost/benefit analysis of what SA gets out of its relationships with the two countries. In so doing, it might just be possible to discern where SA’s best interests actually lie. (Alert readers will notice at this point the irony being laid on with a trowel, but bear with me, it is worth looking at the numbers.)
First, which country, the US or Russia, has invested more in SA? At the moment, according to the American Chamber of Commerce, there are about 700 US companies operating in SA. They employ about 220,000 people; they range in size from colossal to medium-sized. They are, generally speaking, excellent employers, and the products they provide to the SA public are admirable in quality and range.
How would SA function without such crucial items as Ford bakkies and Lays chips, I just don’t know. US companies invested just under R10-billion in SA companies in 2021 alone, the highest level of foreign direct investment in SA’s modern history.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Now let’s look at Russia. As far as I can discern, there is precisely one important investment by a Russian company in SA and that is Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg’s investment in United Manganese, SA’s fourth-largest ...
South Africans in December 2022 took home less money than they did the year before, according to the BankservAfrica Take-Home Pay Index (BTPI). This is one of many signs of our tough economic times.
BankservAfrica, the largest automated payments clearing house in Africa, said average nominal take-home pay in South Africa was 4.8% lower in December 2022 than the previous year, amounting to R14,663.
“2022 turned out to be an exceptionally challenging year for the economy, with the rising cost of living, higher interest rates and the worst year ever of load shedding being the main obstacles to growth. Cumulatively, these headwinds kept a lid on salary increases,” it said.
This comes against the backdrop of rising inflation, which averaged 6.9% in 2022, its highest level since 2009.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “SA December CPI slows to 7.2% while November retail sales rise modestly”
“For 2022 overall, the average nominal take-home pay amounted to R15,055 per month vs R15,166 in 2021,” BankservAfrica said.
So wages and salaries stagnated while inflation accelerated, pointing to a general fall in household incomes.
“BankservAfrica’s data . reflected a 6.9% y/y decline in the real average salary recorded in 2022, compared with 2021. This reflects a notable erosion of South Africans’ purchasing power, a trend that filtered through to lacklustre consumption expenditure by households in 2022,” it said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
This highlights the “cost-of-living crisis” and could, among other things, fuel wage demands over the next couple of years. Companies and industries that have long-term wage agreements in place, such as the platinum mining sector, will breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“On a more positive note, despite the economic challenges of 2022, employment levels increased notably, though still playing catch-up with job losses that occurred due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Adjusted for weekly payments, BankservAfrica’s data suggest that 1.072 million more salaries were paid into South Africans’ bank accounts in 2022 compared with the previous year,” BankservAfrica said.
“A phenomenon noted throughout 2022 (and reflected in December’s data) is that there was often an inverse correlation between the number of salaries paid and average value of salaries (take-home pay), suggesting that the bulk of the new opportunities were likely created in the lower-income categories, which in December probably ties in with the demand for temporary and seasonal workers in the festive season.”
Pensions bucked the trend of real declining wages. In nominal terms, the ...
Parliamentarians were horrified by the cruelty NSPCA inspectors have to witness on lion breeding farms. Warning: this report contains graphic images.
It was a briefing to Parliament’s Environment Portfolio Committee on captive lions. But, as NSPCA senior inspector Douglas Wolhuter began explaining the images he was putting on the screen, it became a horror show.
The levels of cruelty his team have been required to witness were sickening.
“The weight of evidence against the captive lion industry,” he said, “calls for its closure. It is irresponsible, inhumane and an unsustainable practice. It’s heartbreaking what our inspectors have to deal with.”
That evidence, he proceeded to show. Skeletal lions, small pens full of rotting bones, water troughs green with algae, cowering and disfigured cubs, disfigured limbs, fragile bones from a diet of nothing but birds from chicken farms, carcasses of lions killed by having their heads bashed in. images very hard to watch.
In a number of the 127 captive lion facilities inspected in 2022, the NSPCA found inadequate fencing and shelter, unhygienic conditions, inadequate fresh water, overstocking, inadequate diet, insufficient food, incompatible animals, piles of faecal mass, no environment enrichment or a lack of veterinary care.
However, although 21 warrants had been issued against 17 accused, because of the inadequacy of the judicial system, only one case was presently on trial.
“There is great difficulty in getting cases to court,” said Wolhuter. “Some cases in which charges were laid in 2019 are only now getting to the courts. What we need are specialised courts and a speedier justice system.
‘Huge hostility’
“We are also met with huge hostility on our inspections. If it’s a clean industry with nothing to hide, why would we be running into such opposition to getting on site? This is an industry that should be closed down. These lions have no conservation value.”
Although the NSPCA is responsible for enforcing the Animal Protection Act (1962) as an arm of government, it receives no government funding and faces almost insurmountable obstacles. These include provincial policy inconsistencies, a belief that the act is subordinate to provincial ordinances, and the snail’s pace of the judicial system.
Following the NSPCA presentation, representatives of the Wildlife Ranching Association and Professional Hunters Association scrambled to distance themselves from what the committee had just seen, claiming those were bad apples in a clean basket.
Richard York of Wildlife Ranching pointed out that lion breeding was a legal activity, the NSPCA had not inspected all places, ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
A 57-year-old soldier will appear in court on Thursday, 26 January in connection with the arson attack on a Port St Johns village that destroyed at least 49 homesteads.
A police task team set up to investigate a string of arson attacks and shootings in Bhuje village in Port St Johns, linked to faction fighting in the area, arrested a 57-year-old soldier in Mthatha on Tuesday.
The Eastern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, praised the investigation task team’s work.
“My concern is the root cause of these faction fights. We must put a stop to these unwarranted killings and destruction of property. The arrested suspect must point us to more culprits because we believe he could not execute this ugly work alone in those villages,” Mene said.
Earlier this month, at least 49 homesteads were burnt down in Bhuje village in the Majola district.
Murder and arson charges
It is understood that the soldier, from another village in the district, faces murder, arson and attempted murder charges. He is expected to appear in the Port St Johns Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 26 January.
Some Bhuje village residents are hiding in bushes, forests and nearby villages. They feel that the government has failed them as the attacks, allegedly sparked by stock theft, have been continuing in the area for decades with no intervention, claiming many lives and leaving thousands homeless.
A woman who survived Sunday’s attack said the conflict would not end soon. “The next generation will hear that their fathers were killed by some villagers, and they must take revenge. this thing started many years ago. Our children are living in this traumatic situation, it’s painful to see your children hiding in bushes.”
Another resident, who has been in hiding and asked to remain anonymous, said: “To solve this problem, the government must deploy soldiers, or more police officials to camp here, or open a satellite police station because this will never end now.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I almost lost my life that day,” she said of the attacks on 15 January.
“I saw [a group of armed men] coming and I immediately blew the whistle and we ran into the bush. They burnt down my house; everything, including the children’s uniforms, is gone.”
The woman said the group of about 200 men told her they would not harm women and children, but wanted to deal with the men of Bhuje village.
Makutela Malungile Msikwa, ...
Results of new studies on non-sugar sweeteners are a dramatic departure from decades of received public health wisdom that advocated for replacing sugar with sugar substitutes. Alarmingly, nutritionists are finding that although sugar substitutes help with weight management in the short term, in the long term they are associated with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and higher body-mass index.
Since the introduction of the Health Promotion Levy in 2018 (the so-called “sugar tax”), the use of “non-nutritive sweeteners” in South African drinks has exploded — as well as in the more than 50 other countries that have introduced similar taxes.
Non-nutritive sweeteners have little to no nutritional value, are mostly made of chemicals (with a few plant-based exceptions), and are often much sweeter — gram for gram — than sugar.
Around the world, governments’ rationale for introducing sugar taxes has been to protect public health: Sugary drinks consumption — even more than sugary foods — has been proven to be a major driver of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other life-threatening, non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.
About one in eight South African adults is diabetic, and 31% of men, 68% of women and 13.5% of children are overweight or obese.
Around 12 million people in South Africa suffer from weight-related diseases for which they receive treatment in the public sector, according to Wits University researcher Micheal Boachie. These diseases include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and some cancers.
In SA, the tax of 2.1 cents is levied on every gram of sugar above 4g per 100ml, and is paid by the manufacturer to the South African Revenue Service. (To compare: “Original Taste” Coca-Cola contains 10.6g of sugar per 100ml.) On average, the price of carbonated drinks increased by just more than R1 per litre because of the tax, passing the increase on to the consumer.
But instead of simply making the drinks less sweet, manufacturers have replaced some of the sugar they’ve removed with non-nutritive sweeteners.
A typical nutrition-information label on a can of a sugary drink is likely to include sugar, aspartame, acesulfame-K (potassium) and sucralose or cyclamates. Aspartame alone is used in more than 6,000 processed foods and drinks globally, including Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi.
In South Africa, since 2018, non-nutritive sweeteners show up even where you don’t expect them, like in a “normal”, still partly sugar-sweetened tonic water or ginger ale. This is ...
Why are our young men more vulnerable to dropping out? Why are they failing more? What is going on in homes and communities which pulls men away from schools? And how do those factors play out in society and employment at large?
Like many South Africans across the country I awaited the matric results with one part interest, one part disdain and one part anxiety: interest as it is a key stable barometer of the health of our schooling system; disdain as this is not the only indicator, but garners the most attention; and anxiety because I have teenage children, nieces and nephews and friends in my life.
This time of year is stressful. The NSC results require an anxious wait at a school or for a sms or trying “check your results” websites which tell you just pass or fail (and so are very unhelpful).
That is followed by the wait for universities to contact young adults. They can expect either “congratulations you have been accepted. Accept in three days to respond.” or “Your application is being considered. You met the minimum requirements, but that does not guarantee acceptance. We will communicate with you in due course”.
So the straight-A kids get three or four offers. They decline two or three of them. This then frees up space for more acceptance letters to go out (but only after another week or so). Those with bachelor passes wait to see which queue is short enough to accommodate them. Those with diploma passes look for opportunities in Tvet colleges, or university diploma courses.
My last week has held various matric results conversations with young South African men. All of them privileged and from fee-paying schools in Gauteng.
19-year-old young man A: got his second choice, and now needs a place to stay
“Oh no. I am so mad at myself. I missed two As. I only got four. I can’t get into actuarial science. But I am accepted into UCT for applied maths and stats.”
“That’s wonderful. Go for it. You will still do really interesting stuff.”
“I did not know that getting into res was so hard. There is no way I can afford those private fees. How can I find a place?”
19-year-old young man B: missed his entrance into a BA
“I just missed the 34 points I need for a BA at UWC. One point. One point. That’s just three marks on my 47 for CAT.”
“Why don’t you ...
The Mpumalanga Department of Health is planning to repurpose several TB hospitals as a result of declining in-patient numbers. Nthusang Lefafa asked the department what prompted this and what it means for the TB response in the province.
The Mpumalanga health department plans to repurpose three of its five tuberculosis (TB) hospitals due to dwindling numbers of in-patients at these hospitals.
The hospitals — Bongani TB Hospital and Barberton TB Hospital in the Ehlanzeni district and Standerton TB Hospital in the Gert Sibande district — will now be used for other medical services, says provincial health spokesperson Dumisani Malamule.
A former doctor from the Barberton TB Hospital who spoke to Spotlight on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal, says the repurposing process makes sense economically but a well-thought-out plan on how the facilities will be utilised following closure is needed. “The repurposing makes clinical and even health economic sense,” he says. “But, the issue is — what to do with the TB facilities. The [repurposing] process would continue to make health economic sense if there is a well thought out plan of what to do with the facilities after they are closed.”
Malamule described the project as “a work in progress”. He says Standerton TB Hospital will be used as an archive building for medical records.
Decentralising TB services
Malamule says Barberton and Bongani TB Hospitals are closing in compliance with a policy framework on decentralised and deinstitutionalised management of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) that was introduced by the National Department of Health in 2011 and amended in 2019.
In an article co-authored by Dr Norbert Ndjeka, who leads the national health department’s TB programme, the authors describe decentralisation as an approach to bring TB services closer to communities with screening, testing, and treatment where people live. Decentralisation of TB services, the authors write, has “produced better treatment outcomes for DR-TB patients in South Africa and helped reduce cost of DR-TB care”.
Malamule says the provincial department has decentralised DR-TB care, which means that all screening and initiation of TB patients on treatment is done at clinics and district hospitals. Critically ill patients are admitted to other hospitals across the province.
Before the change in policy in 2011, people with DR-TB were often hospitalised for six or more months, often against their will. In 2008, DR-TB patients escaping from TB hospitals in South Africa made headlines around the world. Critics of forced hospitalisation argued that it discouraged ...
The desperate stories he would have had to spin to explain away the dire state of the nation would have cowed a braver man into silence. And as we know all too well, brave, strong and decisive Rama Soft is not.
Shame, so poor Prez Cyril “Rama Soft” Ramaphosa had to cancel his trip to Davos, Switzerland, where all the leaders of the rich nations swan about looking down on the poor nations, to deal with South Africa’s electricity crisis.
He didn’t miss out on his trip to the UK to chat to King Charles III to deal with the electricity crisis, but perhaps we were only at Stage 4 then, not Stage 6 and teetering on the brink of stage umpteen.
Anyway, it was probably a great relief, really, for our beleaguered President. No more of that desperate attempt to paint South Africa as a good destination for all that money just swishing around the world looking for somewhere to go.
No more awkward conversations about what he has done to save South Africa from the ruin caused by the previous administration, er, mafia.
No more “Yes, we’re desperate for investment! Come to South Africa with all your sacks of cash! You can make huge profits! Er, well, actually no, we haven’t really done much to stem the pandemic of corruption that has brought our beloved country to its knees.
“There are about 9,000 cases pending, which is to say maybe somewhere on the agenda of the National Prosecuting Agency, so really, you know, it’s going to take time.
“Well, yes, I, Rama Soft, have been in power for several years now, if you can call it power — not counting my time as deputy president, which was pretty much wasted, except for that weekend when I went to Jacob Zuma to tell him his appointment of Des ‘Idiot’ van Rooyen was crashing the rand, and he actually listened.
“But, wait! Yes, actually, in fact, actually, we have put a few of the former CEOs of our state-owned enterprises, who shovelled great bucketloads of cash to the Guptas, kneecapping development in the process, on trial. You may expect that to take a while.
“Please be patient. Look how long it has taken to get the most corrupt South African of all, the Honourable JG Zuma, into a courtroom. You see, we’re doing this on ANC time. And, as you know, that means a century or two. But give ...
Hardly anyone has a practical need for advanced maths, yet we demand it from our young people. Why should children be forced to learn how to factor trinomials if they don’t know how to do their taxes or manage their finances?
Last week, we witnessed the usual annual spectacle of the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, announcing the 2022 matriculation results.
It was fascinating to hear everyone waxing lyrical about the top students, schools, and provinces as we celebrated what US educationalist Fredrik de Boer aptly refers to as the “cult of smart”, the idea that academic value is the only value, and intelligence is the only true measure of human worth.
The media bombarded us with pictures of students who, against all odds, had managed to get five or six distinctions, and they praised the schools that had achieved the highest number of bachelor’s passes.
In all this madness, we are unwilling to admit that people cannot achieve the same level of intelligence through good education and sheer determination. We already recognise this in other areas, such as athletic ability. Individuals are simply different.
I lack any athletic ability, and no matter how many times I’ve tried, I can’t run faster than an average professional athlete. Luckily, I live in a society that doesn’t place much importance on athletic prowess, so even if I’m a lousy athlete, I can still lead a respectable life.
Not so with regard to intelligence. In our society, your intelligence plays a significant role in determining the kind of life you can expect to lead. In general, if you are intelligent, you will have a much easier time surviving in the world than if you are not.
As a result, we place the majority of the blame on the already overburdened public education system and teachers, which benefits no one, wastes billions of rands, and generates constant dissatisfaction through extra ANA, Timms, and Pirls testing, etc.
We also internalise the notion that intelligence is superior to everything else and that our current hierarchy is natural. But no educational miracle is on the horizon, and there is no technology that will save our schools, no change that will pull children out of poverty, and no new model that would instantly transform struggling pupils into successful ones.
Ironically, in 2020 the Department of Basic Education released the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019 (Timss), showing how South African students ...
Medicines regulators have a duty to protect African populations from being harmed by medical products that are of sub-standard quality and safety. When they fail, the results can be fatal.
No parent should ever have to bury their own child. Families in Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan had to bury more than three hundred children under five years old in recent months. Each one of those deaths was preventable.
These children were poisoned by a cough syrup containing high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) — toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents. These chemicals are fatal even when ingested in small amounts. They should not be swallowed at all. When ingested they cause kidney damage and death and therefore should never be a component of any medicine at all.
However, the syrup taken by the deceased children had very high levels of these toxic chemicals. Incidences over the last four months have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to make an urgent plea on 23 January 2023 for countries to do more to prevent, detect and respond to cases of sub-standard and falsified medical products.
The WHO believes more countries may be affected including Senegal, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Cambodia. This means that the recorded deaths are likely an underestimation of the true fatality. Many other victims may have gone unreported.
Most people will not notice what medicines regulators do until they do not do it. Medicines regulators have a duty to protect African populations from being harmed by medical products that are of sub-standard quality and safety.
This is why here in South Africa, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) works closely with the police, defence force and the Department of Home Affairs to seize shipments of unregistered medicines worth millions of rands, and other products like skin-lightening creams which are banned because they contain nerve toxins like mercury, known to cause paralysis.
When regulators fail in performing their duty, the consequences for the public can be fatal.
That the poisoned cough syrups reached pharmacy shelves in Gambia at all highlights a series of unfortunate regulatory failures in the factory that manufactured those medicines, in the country that provided oversight over their production, and in the market to which those medicines were sold.
We may not know the precise point(s) at which the failure occurred. It is possible that failure happened on multiple levels.
Firstly, failure of the quality assurance processes ...
The Maynardville Open-Air Festival recently reopened for its annual performances with a magical performance of Mendelssohn’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
After years of hiatus forced on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Maynardville has returned to Cape Town, offering an exciting programme of ballet, opera, and, of course, its iconic Shakespeare performance.
The festival is now under the new management of VR Theatrical, with the leadership of Jaco van Rensburg and Wessel Odendaal, as the group revives an annual tradition of Shakespeare that has run for years since Maynardville’s first production in 1956 with The Taming of the Shrew.
“We’ve been deprived of community and of going to see live performances for almost three years after the Covid-19 pandemic, and (this year’s Maynardville festival) is a celebration of the performing arts. We are very, very proud and happy to be able to contribute to that, for people to come out to celebrate with their family and to just enjoy a beautiful, wonderful night of entertainment under the stars,” Van Rensburg tells Maverick Life.
From 5pm every performance evening, audience members are welcomed through the gates of Maynardville and into the park, where fairy lights glisten, strung above in the trees and lighting the pathways; several food trucks are gathered in open areas.
Long tables are set up under some of the trees, inviting people to come together and eat communally. These tables do fill up fast, though. Walking through the venue, the footpath opens up to the park, where visitors can put down a blanket and picnic before the show.
“It’s also a celebration of community and of being together,” says Van Rensburg; more than just a performance, it’s an experience too.
As dusk draws in, the audience moves into the open-air theatre, with tall trees opening up to a clearing, sheltering both guests and artists and gathering them all up for the night together. And then, under the watchful eye of the Bard, the music strikes up.
The first show that reopens the festival again is Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), conducted by Brandon Phillips with narration by John Woodland. This performance, which ran from 19 to 21 January, is perhaps the perfect way to revive Maynardville ahead of the production of the same play in February, with the breathtaking sounds of the orchestra, the captivating chorus of Vox Cape Town and the drama ...
The pre-trial conference for the R280-million Estina corruption case, in which former Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is one of the 15 accused, has been postponed to 21 April 2023.
Former Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane and his co-accused made a brief first appearance in the Free State high court in Bloemfontein on Wednesday morning, in connection with the R280-million Estina Dairy project fraud and corruption case.
Charges against one of the former accused companies — at the centre of the Vrede Dairy project — Estina have been withdrawn in the Magistrates’ court since it is under liquidation.
The case has been postponed to 21 April 2023 for a pre-trial conference.
The matter was transferred to the Free State high court in Bloemfontein in November last year.
The 15 accused in the case include Zwane, former Sahara employee Ugeshni Govender and director of Gupta-owned company Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty, Ronica Ragavan.
After his appearance, Zwane confirmed to Daily Maverick that he had stepped aside from ANC duties, and was no longer active as chairperson of the Transport portfolio committee, though he remained an MP.
Zwane was arrested on 28 September last year, after handing himself over to the police, before appearing in Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court along with Govender and Ragavan.
The State did not oppose bail, and Zwane and Govender were both released on R10,000 bail each. Ragavan, who was arrested in this matter in 2018, was warned to appear in court when the matter resumed on 2 November last year.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The other accused are the former head of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Peter Thabethe; former chief financial officer of the Department, Seipati Dhlamini; former acting head of the Department, Takisi Masiteng; and the former sole director of Estina dairy farm, Kamal Vasram.
The State added Thabethe, Dhlamini, Masiteng and Vasram to the case in November last year — as well as seven companies.
Between them, they face charges of fraud, theft, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
The charges emanate from the Vrede Dairy project scandal, in which the Free State government unlawfully paid the Gupta family’s company Estina more than R280-million for nothing in return. The public funds which were meant to benefit disadvantaged black farmers in the province, were allegedly looted for the ultimate benefit of the Guptas.
The Vrede Dairy project was conceptualised by Zwane, ...
With an ODI World Cup coming up later in 2023, a number of local cricketers have raised their hands in the SA20 to be in contention for a trip to India.
South Africa’s One Day International (ODI) team currently languishes in 11th place on the World Cup Super League (WCSL) standings. The top eight teams qualify directly for the ODI World Cup — which takes place from October in India — but with a home series against England and the Netherlands to come, South Africa is expected to sneak into one of those eight positions.
That does not negate the fact that the Proteas have been woeful in the qualification process thus far — winning only five of their 16 matches in the WCSL before their upcoming ODI series versus England.
For the three-match ODI series against England, starting on 27 January, new coach Rob Walter and Cricket South Africa (CSA) convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang have played it safe and opted for largely the same squad that did duty throughout 2022.
But to be successful at the global event later this year, more dynamic selection needs to take place.
With Walter only officially taking up his position as white-ball coach on 1 February (red-ball coach Shukri Conrad will oversee the series against England), the dynamic selection is quite possible heading into the rest of 2023.
Walter has made it clear that he is open to having conversations with former national team captain Faf du Plessis about his re-inclusion in the side.
And CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe has said the T20 and ODI formats are “close to each other” in terms of player performance, and players can be picked for the 50-over format based on their 20-over form.
Form players
The Joburg Super Kings captain turns 39 this year but is as nimble as ever on the field and his experience at a World Cup will be invaluable to a relatively inexperienced Proteas team.
With the bat, Du Plessis is the second-highest run scorer in the SA20 — having played one less match than leader Jos Buttler — with 277 runs.
He averages an impressive 46.16 at a strike rate of 148.13 in the tournament. His stats are slightly inflated by an irrepressible unbeaten 113 scored off 58 deliveries on Tuesday against Durban’s Super Giants.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“A breakdown: The six SA20 teams vying for the inaugural trophy”
“Howzat? The ins and outs of the long-awaited inaugural SA20 tournament”
The SA20 ...
‘We don’t have an Eskom problem in South Africa, we have an ANC problem. That is why we have chosen to come and march on their offices and not the Eskom headquarters or the Union buildings,’ said DA leader John Steenhuisen during the party’s march on Luthuli House on Wednesday. The ANC Youth League, meanwhile, mobilised outside the building, accusing the DA of ‘grandstanding’.
DA supporters and members have come out in numbers to march against the rolling blackouts that are causing a huge disruption across the nation.
The estimated 1,500 marchers included DA leader John Steenhuisen, party Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube, Western Cape premier Alan Winde, Gauteng leader Solly Msimango, the mayors of Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities — Tania Campbell, Mpho Phalatse and Randall Williams — as well as Mogale mayor Tyrone Gray.
The crowd gathered in the park just outside the Johannesburg public library, just metres from Luthuli House, not in front of the building.
“We are facing a serious crisis in South Africa. The crisis lies in Luthuli House where the crooks of the ANC sit,” DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimango told them.
“That is why we are marching here. The President and the responsible departments do not care about South Africans because they are not affected by load shedding in their homes. Now poor South Africans have to pay the price for their corruption. In the State Capture reports people like former Eskom boss Matshela Koko, who are deployees of the ANC, have greatly contributed to the power issues faced today. When we say deal with them we are told we can’t deal with cadres.”
Steenhuisen said: “If we want to end load shedding, we have to start ANC shedding. And that will only happen if you remember on voting day exactly what they did to you.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa’s ‘Energy Action Plan’ — how is it faring half a year later?”
As they made their remarks, on the other side of Luthuli House hundreds of ANC members and supporters, mostly young people, gathered to prevent the DA from getting anywhere near the premises.
‘Not a playground’
According to the youth league’s national organiser, Tlangi Mogale, the DA should keep a 100m distance or hell will break loose.
“We are here as the ANC Youth League because we have the responsibility to protect and preserve the gains of the ANC liberation struggles. Chief among those is the right to encourage peace and stability. The ...
Novak Djokovic took a step closer to equalling Rafael Nadal’s men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles when he breezed past Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Poland’s Magda Linette continued her dream run in the women’s draw.
Novak Djokovic continued making his quest for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title look like a walk in the park by demolishing Andrey Rublev to reach the last four on Wednesday.
The Serb, still wearing a thigh strapping but looking supreme, raced to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory with a performance that would have been uncomfortable viewing for American Tommy Paul.
Unseeded Paul won 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in an all-American quarterfinal clash against 20-year-old Ben Shelton to advance to the semifinals of a major for the first time.
In the women’s draw, a disbelieving Magda Linette continued her dream Australian Open run by stunning former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova to set up a semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka.
Fifth seed Sabalenka, the only top-10 seed left in the women’s draw, earned her spot in the semifinals by outmuscling Croatia’s Donna Vekić 6-3, 6-2 in a ferocious battle of big hitters on a baking Rod Laver Arena.
Dominant Djokovic
Djokovic is making a mockery of the theory that the second week of Grand Slam tournaments becomes tougher.
In the last 16, he dropped five games against home hope Alex de Minaur and he was just as ruthless against Rublev as he made it 25 successive wins in succession at the Australian Open.
Fifth seed Rublev has now lost all seven Grand Slam quarter-finals which he contested.
“I would rank this as very close to the performance of two nights ago,” Djokovic said on court. “I’m playing very solid from the back of the court and really love these conditions.
“The scoreline, maybe in the first two sets tonight, didn’t show the reality of the match. But in all the important moments I found my best tennis.”
Paul is only the third active American man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, joining John Isner (2018 Wimbledon) and Frances Tiafoe (2022 US Open), but will have to register a seismic shock if he is to go any further.
“I’m really excited, man. It’s really cool. I think it’s even cooler if I do play Novak,” the 25-year-old Florida-based Paul said after his victory.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“To play Novak here in Australia would be awesome. Obviously, he’s pretty comfortable ...
After a four-year absence, the opposition contested January’s polls — the most inclusive since Talon became president.
Benin could be emerging from its most profound political crisis since democracy was introduced in 1990. On 8 January, generally peaceful legislative elections were held, unlike the 2019 poll when violent protests against the exclusion of the opposition led to at least four deaths. That crisis tarnished the country’s image as an example of democracy in West Africa.
Although voter turnout this month remains low (37.79%), the elections are the most inclusive the country has held since Patrice Talon became president in 2016. It marks the opposition’s return to the political arena after its absence from the 2019 legislative polls. Leading opposition parties also stayed away from the 2020 communal and 2021 presidential elections.
Seven parties, including three from the opposition, participated in the January vote — the Democrats, the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin, and the Popular Liberation Movement. Only three achieved the 10% threshold needed to win seats in the 109-member Parliament.
The ruling parties — the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR) and the Republican Bloc (BR) — obtained 37.56% and 29.23% of the votes respectively, winning 81 seats. This gives Talon an absolute majority in Parliament to pursue his policies without significant hindrance. The Democrats came third with 24.16% and 28 seats.
The Democrats — headed by former president Thomas Boni Yayi — contested the results, filing various appeals with the Constitutional Court. Among the problems they raised are massive voter corruption on election day and ballot box stuffing in favour of the two ruling parties.
Although the Constitutional Court recognised irregularities in some polling stations, it said they “were not such as to compromise the validity, sincerity, and transparency of the ballot,” and rejected the Democrats’ main appeal. The party should continue to use legal channels to avoid electoral violence like that in 2019 and 2021.
The return of the opposition boosts Parliament’s legitimacy, ensuring that different political voices are heard in the National Assembly after the opposition’s four-year absence. The deputies of the 9th legislature will also have a role in deciding on candidates’ eligibility for the 2026 presidential election, which will mark the end of Talon’s second term. The president announced in 2021 that he wouldn’t run for a third term, in accordance with the constitution’s two-term limit.
Candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency must be sponsored by at least 16 Members of Parliament ...
However, the City of Tshwane’s ballooning bill is but one among many from heavily indebted municipalities that the embattled power utility is chasing.
Eskom has requested the intervention of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in its efforts to recover R1.4-billion in unpaid electricity debt from the City of Tshwane.
The power utility said on Wednesday that Tshwane’s electricity debt had compounded to that bulky figure as of 25 January, “due to its short payment and non-payments spanning several months”.
“The City short-paid its November 2022 bill of R660-million and also failed to pay its December 2022 account of R780-million, negatively impacting the liquidity, financial performance and sustainability of the power utility,” it said.
EskomGauteng #MediaStatement
City of Tshwane’s R1.4 billion debt exacerbates Eskom’s cash flow crisis
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 25, 2023
“Despite several engagements with the City of Tshwane to encourage it to settle its November 2022 account by 31 December 2022, the bill remains outstanding.”
On 5 January 2023, Eskom reiterated its plea to the metro to settle its debt in a meeting between the two entities, but to no avail.
As a result, Eskom has approached the CoGTA to mediate in the resolution of the City’s poor payments that, the utility says, “continue to spiral out of control”.
In 2022, Daily Maverick reported that, as of 31 July 2022, total municipal debt to Eskom stood at a staggering R49.7-billion.
At the time, the City of Tshwane was among the top 10 municipalities in debt to Eskom, owing R967,840,102.
In August of that year, Tshwane committed to paying R1.6-billion in debt after Eskom threatened to cut its power. That move would have affected critical functions of the city and its more than 2.7 million residents.
Debt piling up
In response to questions from Daily Maverick about heavily indebted municipalities, on 19 January 2023, Eskom said it had seen a “significant increase” in the overdue debt during the current financial year.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The increase in growth of the municipal debt consequently puts a strain on Eskom’s financial performance and, most importantly, [its] liquidity, impacting Eskom’s ability to buy diesel which contributes to higher stages of load shedding,” it said.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Hand-to-Mouth: South Africa’s power lifeline frays as Eskom scrambles for diesel”
According to the power utility, the following municipalities had the highest debt, as at 30 November 2022:
Emalahleni in Mpumalanga — R7,104,472,405;
Maluti-a-Phofung in the Free State — R7,040,792,724;
Emfuleni ...
While the multinational legal firm apologised this week for a 2017 report exonerating Jonas Makwakwa, the former senior Sars official finds himself in the spotlight having found work at the Botswana Revenue Service.
When Hogan Lovells was tasked by Sars in 2016 with investigating the conduct of former chief officer for business and individual taxes Jonas Makwakwa — accused of stealing over R1.7-million from state reserves — the firm returned a report which Sars commissioner Tom Moyane used to clear his No 2 of misconduct, returning him to his top job.
On Wednesday 25 January 2023, six years later, Hogan Lovells issued a statement declaring that it now realised it had “found its name connected to State Capture as a result of work that former partners performed for Sars”.
The apology is a moral victory for Lord Peter Hain who has relentlessly spearheaded a campaign from the UK House of Lords for multinationals who were drawn into State Capture to be held accountable.
Read in Daily Maverick: “State Capture: Lord Hain refuses meeting with Hogan Lovells until firm admits wrongdoing and apologises”
“Hogan Lovells and Lord Hain agree that business in South Africa must fully acknowledge its role in State Capture and the part business must play to ensure that this is never repeated,” read the Hogan Lovells statement.
Big fish off the hook
It was Hogan Lovells South African Chair, Lavery Modise, who, on behalf of Hogan Lovells, had conducted the investigation into Makwakwa and his romantic partner Kelly-Anne Elksie.
Later Modise was to tell Parliament’s standing committee on finance that he had not been mandated to investigate “criminal aspects of the financial transactions”.
Modise said he had left it to the Directorate For Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) to probe Moyane and Makwakwa who have both escaped prosecution.
Meanwhile, Makwakwa has made headlines in Botswana after the appointment of his company, Africa Tax Academy, in February 2022 on a contract worth P7-million (R12-million) to consult with Botswana Revenue Service’s Department of Large Tax Audit.
According to the Botswana Gazette, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service in that country have begun to probe into the circumstances of Makwakwa’s appointment.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Botswana Unified Revenue Service (Burs) spokesperson Mable Bolele, said the service was unaware of any investigations into the contract at this point.
Makwakwa is the director of Africa Tax Academy which issued a statement ...
Activist group #UniteBehind sets mid-February deadline for demand to fix the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.
Commuter activist group #UniteBehind has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula to dissolve the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), appoint a new board and move passenger rail to the metros and provinces. But recent comments from another minister suggest that the party will resist attempts to shift control of commuter rail.
In a 24 January letter of demand addressed to the President and Minister of Transport, #UniteBehind demands that:
the Minister of Transport dissolve the current Prasa board and appoint a competent new board;
Prasa be placed under judicial management or business rescue;
independent engineers be appointed to resolve the Siyangena matter (pending since 2020); and
plans be made with municipalities that have commuter rail infrastructure to ensure that the service is handed over as soon as possible, in Cape Town and Gauteng in particular.
UniteBehind set a deadline of 14 February. If these demands are not met by then, the group intends to go to court.
Read: #UniteBehind’s Letter of Demand
Devolution of commuter rail transport has been official government policy since the publication of the 1996 National Transport Policy White Paper. This policy has been confirmed in subsequent White Papers, including the most recent one from 2022, and in law, with the National Land Transport Act of 2009 saying that commuter rail should be located” in the appropriate sphere of government”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has been asking Mbalula to pass on responsibility for commuter rail in the city. The City of Cape Town already completed a business plan in 2018 and is currently developing a feasibility study for the takeover of commuter rail. The Gauteng Provincial government has also indicated a wish to take over from the crisis-riddled Prasa.
But remarks by Mmamoloko Kubayi, Minister of Human Settlements and head of the ANC’s economic transformation subcommittee, published in the Sunday World last week, suggest that, contrary to policy documents and legislation, the government’s stance is to resist devolution. “We can’t give it to metros. On policy we would not agree, and we have not made these proposals, and this will not change,” said Kubayi to the Sunday World.
On Monday, Hill-Lewis released a statement calling on the President to clarify whether Kubayi’s comments were, in fact, government policy.
“We are ready to re-establish ...
Inside a partly community-owned perlemoen farm that’s now producing 60 tonnes of the pricey gastropods every year.
Abalone, commonly known as “perlemoen”, is a critically endangered species. Since the early 2000s, thousands of tonnes of abalone have been poached from South Africa’s coast. It is a highly valued delicacy in China, which primarily imports abalone from South Africa. The Doring Bay Abalone Farm started in 2013 and is partly community-owned. The farm started with just eight employees. Now it employs over 50 community members, and produces 60 tonnes of abalone each year. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande has announced that NSFAS students can register at tertiary institutions without paying registration fees upfront.
Universities must allow all NSFAS-funded students to register for the 2023 academic year without paying their registration fees upfront.
NSFAS will be paying the registration fees directly to universities on 6 February 2023. Students will be able to use their confirmation letters from NSFAS to verify their funding and no NSFAS-funded student shall be barred from registration which has happened in previous years.
This was announced by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande during a media briefing on Tuesday, 24 January.
“To cater for the first few months of their academic journey while applicants wait for their application results, NSFAS will make upfront payments to institutions to cover costs related to registration, tuition fees and living allowances,” the minister said.
He said the NSFAS application window was the longest it had yet been — from 28 September 2022 to the closing date of 31 January 2023. Students were encouraged to apply and would receive their application results on 6 February 2023. The academic year at various institutions rolls out from mid-February.
As of January 2023, the student debt at higher education institutions is more than R16.5-billion. Nzimande said that such levels of debt posed a threat to the sustainability of tertiary education in South Africa.
He announced that his department was working on a new student funding model, while a funding scheme to address those who formed the missing middle was also being finalised. He affirmed that the promise of free higher education was among the most important commitments made by the government.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He congratulated the 2022 matriculants for achieving an 80.1% pass rate, despite the challenges of Covid and rolling blackouts.
“Before I provide further details on our state of readiness for the academic year 2023, let me indicate that our sector is working on a sector-based strategy and plan to respond to the negative effects of load shedding and the resurgence of the Covid-19 Omicron subvariant named Kraken,” said Nzimande.
On the issue of the Covid-19 subvariant, he said the department had prioritised maximum safety on campuses and was working to manage public health protocols to do so.
Another issue Nzimande addressed during the briefing was gender-based violence.
“We have noted incidents of gender-based violence on campuses and this has in many cases resulted in female ...
Richard Sutton’s ‘Thrive: The Power of Resilience’ provides an insightful guide for readers on how to reach their full potential by sharpening their resilience.
Resilience is about flexibility and being able to adapt, says Richard Sutton, a health and performance educator. “Resilience is something where every time you get challenged you get better at dealing with a challenge,” he adds, “because your skillset is so sophisticated and so established.”
On Tuesday, 24 January, Sutton launched his new book, Thrive: The Power of Resilience, during a Daily Maverick webinar in conversation with journalist Onke Ngcuka. In the book, Sutton explores how resilience can be harnessed to reach one’s full potential and overcome adversity.
Background
Sutton says he, like many others, had a difficult start to life, where he was surrounded by a defeatist narrative. But he was exposed to an environment where people showed resilience despite facing challenges. He learned, “Our past does not define us, where we come from does not define us. We have the choice, we have the potential to be who we want to be.” But to do this, one must embrace change.
Science and resilience
Sutton also draws on scientific theories to illustrate the power of resilience. “I was looking at the science and how science can fundamentally unlock resilience within us.”
Humans inherit genes that influence their behaviour, intellect and personality, he says. “But our genes are only a partial contribution to the reality that can unfold.”
Genes are significantly affected by the environment a human creates for themselves, he says. If an individual who is “predisposed to limitations” is placed in a healthy, safe, loving and supportive environment they can “surpass individuals who are not predisposed to limitations”.
Optimism vs toxic positivity
A change in mindset, such as becoming more optimistic, can also motivate resilience. Optimism can help people get through difficult times, better than others who are realistic or pessimistic, he says.
Sutton says it is important to create a distinction between optimism and “toxic positivity”. Toxic positivity can involve staying overly positive during very challenging experiences, to the point where one dismisses or diminishes negative events and emotions.
“This way of approaching life where you condition yourself to believe that everything is fine. is a very dysfunctional way of being.” This leads to emotional suppression and ignoring the true feelings of others and your own emotions during difficult experiences.
Thrive: The Power of Resilience
Optimism, on the other hand, acknowledges when things become difficult and unpleasant, ...
A group of politicians, doctors, citizens, businesspeople and civil society organisations will go to court on 28 February to ask a judge to stop rolling blackouts in critical sectors and compel the South African government to play open cards with regards to its energy plans and the state of the two big power stations, Kusile and Medupi.
“We approach the court from the painful reality that for the foreseeable future, load shedding will continue to be a daily feature in the lives of South Africans. As such, its devastating consequences and the growing humanitarian crisis will only get worse.”
This is how the leader of the United Democratic Front, General Bantu Holomisa, began his founding affidavit in the legal action filed by South Africans from all walks of life to ask a judge for an order to stop the “human cost of load shedding”.
Holomisa said they needed the court to intervene to mitigate the effect of load shedding on fundamental and constitutionally entrenched human rights.
He explained in papers before the court that their urgent interdict had been brought “to ensure that the lights stay on and at least ensure the continued functionality of basic services such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation, and food services.
“Load shedding is a blunt instrument which hits everyone, the young, the old, the sick, the healthy, the rich and the poor alike . but it is not what the Constitution envisages,” Holomisa continued. “Even at a time of crisis, the Bill of Rights continues to bind the state.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Who are the applicants?
Political parties: The United Democratic Movement, the Inkatha Freedom Party, ActionSA, Mmusi Maimane’s Build One South Africa, and political analyst Lukhona Mnguni;
Doctors: Professor Rudo Mathivha, a professor in critical care at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital; and Dr Tanusha Ramdin, the head of paediatrics and neonatal care at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg;
Trade unions: The South African Federation of Trade Unions, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, and the Health and Allied Indaba Trade Union;
The White River Neighbourhood Watch, based in Mbombela;
The African Council of Hawkers and Informal Businesses;
The South African Unemployed People’s Movement, based in Makhanda;
The Soweto Action Committee;
The Mustard Seed Foundation, involved in schools in Makhado in Limpopo; and
Two real estate companies: Ntsikie Real Estate in Midrand and Fula Property Investment Company in the Eastern Cape.
Who is being taken to court?
Eskom;
President Cyril Ramaphosa;
The ...
Rolling blackouts and the vandalism of sewer pump stations in East London are causing major sewage spillages that are polluting the city’s beaches and rivers.
Overflowing sewer pump stations have caused pollution of the Nahoon River, Nahoon Beach, Gonubie Beach, Inhlanza River, Bonza Bay River and Bonza Bay Beach in East London.
The spills led to the closure of Nahoon Beach and Bonza Bay Beach last week.
Nahoon Estuary Management Forum chairperson Christo Theart said Nahoon and Bonza Bay beaches were closed because of sewage spills from sewer pump stations.
“The reasons for spills from sewer pump stations given by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) are power failures because of load shedding, vandalism, failure to pump or [the] pump [has been sent in] for repairs and [the] pumping schedule. needs adjustment,” he said.
However, he said, “BCMM has a policy for pump stations. The guidelines for pump stations are that all pump stations must have an emergency sump with a storage capacity of four hours, pump stations must be fenced with a high-security gate with locks and sensors, and all pump stations must have at least two pumps — if one fails, the other kicks in.”
In addition, he said, pump stations have to have “a telemetry system that warns the municipality of any failure so they can respond immediately, and a standby generator at each pump station should the electricity supply fail”.
He said if all these measures were in place no sewage spills would occur.
“We are taking the municipality to court for every spill from a sewer pump station so that the high court can instruct the municipality to put these measures in place for that pump station,” Theart said.
He said the municipality did not have any of the requirements for pump stations in place.
“The only thing they have in place is an overflow into a stream or river or stormwater pipe to deal with overflows. This is illegal in terms of the Water Act.”
He said the forum would take the municipality to court over sewage spills into Gonubie Estuary, Nahoon Estuary and Quenera Estuary.
“In all these cases, we will ask the court to order BCMM to put measures in place in terms of their requirements for pump stations, as they are making no attempts to do it themselves. BCMM has not adhered to the court orders we obtained against them with regard to the sewer spills into Nahoon Estuary at Torquay Road and ...
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is talking to allies about supplying Ukraine with Leopard battle tanks and could give the green light to ship them in the next few days, according to the country’s defence minister.
The government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to approve a Polish request to re-export its Leopard tanks to Kyiv as soon as Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said allies “need to enable the Ukrainians fast” ahead of an expected Russian offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed at least 10 officials in a government shakeup following an outcry over perceived excesses by civil servants amid the country’s efforts to fight off Russia’s invasion.
Key developments
Germany set to allow Poland’s re-export of tanks to Ukraine
Zelensky’s call for justice triggers shakeup in his government
US confronts China over companies’ ties to Russian war effort
Sweden’s Nato bid in doubt after Erdoğan refuses support
Abramovich’s jersey probe saw police raid lawyer’s home, company
On the ground
Ukrainian forces downed three Russian Ka-52 helicopters in the eastern Donetsk region and Russian Su-25 aircraft near Bakhmut, the General Staff said on Facebook. Russian troops launched nine missile strikes at settlements in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions over the past day, and conducted 27 air attacks and 79 assaults with multiple-launch rocket systems, the General Staff said earlier.
According to its morning statement, Russian forces were continuing an offensive on the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka axes north of Donetsk, while all attacks in the direction of Kupyansk were repelled.
Ukraine has liberated about 54% of the maximum amount of extra territory Russia seized since 24 February 2022, said the UK Ministry of Defence.
Italy decree allows Meloni to send additional weapons
Italy’s Parliament gave final approval to a decree that allows the government to send more weapons to Ukraine. The law is crucial for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to fulfil a promise to send additional equipment to Kyiv.
While details of the shipments are classified, the Italian government is planning to provide equipment including the anti-missile system SAMP/T, government officials have said.
Germany to give Poland OK this week to send tanks to Ukraine
Germany is expected to give consent as soon as Wednesday after a Polish request to deliver Leopard tanks, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the decision is private.
Poland formally requested the authorisation earlier on Tuesday and the German government said it would respond with the necessary ...
Petrochemicals giant Sasol has announced three power purchase agreements to provide 289MW of renewable energy to its South African operations. The company also said its sales volumes were down 5% in the first half of its 2023 financial year (FY23) in the face of a worsening global economic environment.
Sasol’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are only topped by Eskom among companies in Africa, and it is under growing shareholder and public pressure to clean up its act.
The company said on Tuesday that it had signed three power purchase agreements (PPAs) on the renewable energy front in line with its target of cutting its absolute GHG emissions from its South African operations by at least 30%, with its 2017 profile as the baseline.
One is with Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm for 69MW of wind-powered energy for the group’s Sasolburg operations, which should start providing renewable power next year.
“This is key in achieving the first production of green hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources at Sasolburg and progressing our ambition to lead the development of a green hydrogen economy in southern Africa,” Sasol said.
Sasol and ArcelorMittal South Africa — which unveiled its decarbonisation roadmap on Tuesday — announced a partnership last year to develop carbon capture technology to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals and “green steel” with green hydrogen and its derivatives.
On top of that, Sasol said that it and Air Liquide had signed two long-term PPAs with Enel Green Power for 220MW of wind power for the Secunda operations. The projects should be up and running by 2025.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The concluded agreements are the first as part of a joint procurement initiative with Air Liquide and demonstrate Sasol’s commitment to procuring 1,200MW of renewable energy capacity by 2030,” Sasol said.
The pace of Sasol’s decarbonisation efforts will be closely monitored and the ball is clearly in motion, though getting it in the net by 2030 will take a lot of effort.
Sasol also said in a production and sales update for the six months to the end of December 2022 — the first half of its current financial year — that sales volumes were down 5% over that period in the face of a worsening global economic environment.
“Sasol remains well positioned in the current oil price and refining margin environment, despite the negative impact from the weaker global economic growth, disrupted supply chains, depressed chemicals prices and ...
With the war in Ukraine now in its 12th month since the Russian invasion on 24 February last year, the visit to South Africa this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reminds us of what is at stake in this conflict and why it is clear which side of history Africans should be in this struggle.
I would like to address you on a journey I have recently taken, a journey of faith more than geography, of awareness in learning that humanity is indivisible.
Ukrainians not only live with endless disruptions to their lives with the destruction of critical infrastructure, but they live under the constant lethal threat of missile and drone attacks. The human spirit is remarkable, indomitable, more so when we are united and have faith.
The Russian invasion has opened a gate of fire for Ukrainians, upturning lives, rupturing families, destroying towns and villages and levelling cities. The twin forces of calamity and violence have been employed in a manner unseen in Europe since the Second World War.
We should not remain silent in the face of such terror.
As Archbishop Desmond Tutu told us: “If you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
In an age where we look around for leaders to inspire and guide, Ukrainians have responded in ways which should humble us all.
During my visit to Lviv and Kyiv I was able to meet with leadership and with ordinary Ukrainians, people who have confronted great danger by remaining stoic, steadfast and courageous.
We can learn many good lessons from their example. And we should do so in ways that embody and personify the spirit of the teaching of Christ.
Some might ask why a bishop from Africa, where there are many intractable problems and violent conflicts, bothered to travel all the way to a distant European country.
I was reminded by the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who I met during our trip, of the wise proverb: “It is better to see once with your own eyes than to hear an explanation 100 times.”
My encounters in Ukraine confirmed what caused me to set out on this journey. No one’s suffering is more or less worthy than another’s. Humanity is indeed indivisible.
As Africans we know, probably better than most, what it means to suffer under the yoke of a violent oppressor. We must resist being put in our little boxes, turning a blind eye ...
The Pretoria High Court concluded its hearing about the ANC’s controversial cadre deployment policy on Tuesday. Judges must now decide whether the court is allowed to pronounce on the internal policies of a political party — if those policies have significant real-world implications.
It is up to the ANC to decide what it wants to do with its internal policies, argued lawyers on Tuesday opposing the DA’s application to have the ruling party’s cadre deployment policy declared unconstitutional and unlawful.
This has been one of the major refrains of the advocates representing the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Public Service Minister Thulas Nxesi and the government this week: the DA cannot attempt to dictate, through the courts, what another political party’s policies should be.
Indeed, it was suggested on Monday, this might give rise to “lawfare” in which the courts are flooded with attempts to amend the policies of political rivals.
But should the policy of cadre deployment, which sees the party’s preferred candidates recommended to fill key state positions, be considered in the same light as other internal political policies?
It can’t be, the DA has argued, because “the policy of cadre deployment effectively operates as a policy of government”.
Furthermore, the DA’s Anton Katz added on Tuesday afternoon, there exist other scenarios in which the courts would be justified in meddling in the business of a private organisation: if the body in question had a stated policy to bring down the state, for example.
Advocates for the other side have argued that a policy cannot in itself be unlawful or unconstitutional; it can only be put to unlawful or unconstitutional ends.
As advocate Adila Hassim put it on Tuesday, arguing for the state: “When a law is abused, it doesn’t follow that the law is unconstitutional. It’s the case of the abuse that must be addressed.”
In other words, if the DA has evidence that the implementation of the cadre deployment policy has led to undesirable outcomes, it can challenge “those specific appointments where the appointee doesn’t meet the minimum qualification requirements or there’s evidence that the appointee is compromised”, Hassim suggested.
Furthermore, she said, the DA had already done this effectively in the past.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Another tack taken by the ANC: that South African case law establishes that as an appointing official or a minister, you are allowed to take account of other people’s views. This is all that happens ...
Yellen arrived in South Africa on Tuesday on the third and last stop of her African tour after visits to Senegal and Zambia.
Yellen has made it clear that helping African countries boost their energy resources would be among her main priorities on the tour.
A South African Treasury official told Daily Maverick:
“Minister Godongwana does hope to discuss load shedding and benefit from the expertise and experience of the US in addressing the crisis.
“In particular, the minister intends to discuss South Africa’s ambitions in green hydrogen and large-scale battery storage, and how SA may benefit from technological advances in the US in these areas.”
Yellen, more specifically, said before her tour started that while in Africa she would underscore the importance of accelerating clean energy access, helping countries adapt to a changing climate, promoting just energy transitions and providing greater economic opportunity for communities and businesses.
“During her engagements, Yellen will urge further action to evolve the multilateral development banks to better address global challenges like climate change, health and pandemics, and conflict and fragility, complementing these institutions’ work on poverty reduction and inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” the US government said.
Yellen will meet Godongwana and Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago on Thursday. The South African Treasury official told Daily Maverick that the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) would feature prominently in the discussions with Yellen.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Godongwana would ask Yellen to ensure that the US and other partners of South Africa’s JETP increase the proportion of grants compared to loans in the $8.5-billion they are contributing to the financing of the programme.
“Minister Godongwana, on various international and multilateral platforms including the annual IMF meetings and most recently at the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, has consistently raised the importance of securing the most optimal and fair mix of climate funding for South Africa, the African continent, and emerging market countries,” the Treasury official said.
“Without doubt, decarbonisation is the challenge of our generation. In recognition of this, the South African Cabinet has endorsed the national Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, as the basis for our pathway towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient society.
“The plan captures the scale of the investments required to achieve our climate commitments. It also promotes sustainable development and that the transition is just and does not negatively impact workers and communities.
“The investment plan identifies that South Africa will need nearly $98-billion over ...
The DA is going ahead with its electricity crisis march on Wednesday, 25 January to the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House, despite the ANC Youth League warning against it.
It was on a Wednesday afternoon in 2014 that South Africa’s second-biggest party marched to the governing party’s headquarters in Johannesburg. Police stopped the march on Marshall and Rissik streets, saying it was too dangerous for them to continue.
Minutes later, a group of people wearing ANC regalia ran towards the DA marchers, forcing the police to fire stun grenades at them.
Earlier, ANC supporters had been seen carrying rocks close to their offices.
Sticks and stones: The DA’s march to remember
Nine years later, the DA is again marching to Luthuli House, this time against the backdrop of the energy crisis in South Africa. Demonstrations organised by the party will be held across the country, with the main one in Johannesburg.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said the march would be against the “ANC-engineered” electricity crisis.
“The DA’s protest will specifically target Luthuli House because this is the scene of the crime that the ANC continues to perpetrate against the people of South Africa through permanent Stage 6 load shedding and the latest 18.65% electricity tariff increase. It is at Luthuli House where, over the past three decades, the decisions were made to ‘deploy’ the corrupt and incompetent cadres who plundered and destroyed Eskom.”
I can announce that the DA is organising a major protest march to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on 25 January against the ANC-engineered electricity crisis. Stage 6 load shedding has taken away your power. It is time to take away the ANC’s.
John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) January 14, 2023
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has vowed to defend the party’s headquarters and stop the DA from marching there.
Spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize accused the DA of “using the unfortunate national crisis” to attempt to score cheap political points through “senseless theatrics” of announcing a march to Luthuli House.
“We won’t be there to welcome the DA, we will be there to stop them,” said Mkhize. “They should march to Eskom, not Luthuli House. We will be there guiding anyone coming near our offices.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mkhize said as far as she knew, the DA never wrote to the ANC announcing that it would march to the offices. “They [the DA] only announced on social media and the media. Wednesday will ...
World Athletics has proposed stricter barriers to transgender women and athletes with differences of sex development (DSD) participating in female categories.
The complex, emotive and highly political issue of allowing transgender women and people with differences of sex development (DSD) to compete in the female category of athletics was muddied this week.
World Athletics, the governing body, issued a statement stating that its “preferred option” was to take a wait-and-see approach with a set of stricter criteria. It’s a position that has not taken the issue forward in any significant way and has possibly created more complexity.
“Putting forward a preferred option is the best way to gather constructive feedback, but this does not mean this is the option that will be presented to Council or indeed adopted,” a World Athletics statement said, according to a report by Reuters.
The option being discussed would cap the maximum amount of plasma testosterone for transgender women and those with DSD at 2.5 nanomoles per litre — half of the current limit of five nanomoles.
It would also double the amount of time the athlete would need to remain below that level — to two years.
On the face of it, it seems a step further to ensure fair competition in female races and events, but the question that continues to hang uncomfortably is: why should transgender women, in particular, be in the female category at all?
While transgender women are people born as biological males who have chosen to live and identify as female, DSD is a congenital condition in which people have atypical sex chromosomes.
In past court documents, South Africa’s Caster Semenya confirmed that her DSD is of the 46,XY variety, meaning that she has female features and male chromosomes.
Humans born without DSD have two X chromosomes as females and XY chromosomes as males.
Benefits of male puberty
Many experts argue that lowering testosterone levels for transgender women is not enough to offset the physical benefits accrued by going through male puberty.
It’s a biological fact that males are on average, taller, faster and physically stronger than females. They have larger muscles of more density, wider shoulders, narrower pelvises and larger hearts and lungs. They possess more fast-twitch muscle fibre and longer limbs, which are all a result of going through male puberty.
Obviously, elite female athletes will outperform most men, but when placing elite females against elite males, the picture is vastly different.
In 2022 alone, 1,972 men ran the 100m faster ...
In a stunning change of fortune, Free State ANC chairperson contender Sisi Ntombela went from hero to zero in a matter of 24 hours, going from a losing 306 votes for the provincial chairperson position to just 19 votes in a failed bid to get into the provincial executive committee. It is not clear whether horse trading occurred behind the scenes.
The political future of Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela hangs in the balance following her failed bid to nab the powerful position of ANC provincial chairperson.
Ntombela went head-to-head for the hotly contested position with Mxolisi Dukwana, whom she appointed as cooperative governance MEC in October 2021. The duo also led the interim provincial committee (IPC) for two years.
Ntombela received 306 votes while Dukwana received 40 more votes than her (346) after 657 delegates cast their votes at the Imvelo Safari Lodge in Bloemfontein at the weekend.
The delays leading up to the ninth provincial conference owing to protests, violence and threats of litigation saw the province fail to conclude its tasks by Sunday, particularly the voting and nominations of the 30 additional members of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), whose results were only announced on Monday.
From the results, it emerged that more than half of the voting delegates had left before the voting for additional members, as the results slip showed that only 360 delegates had cast their votes.
Some delegates were visibly aggrieved by the outcome of the voting for the top five, which saw allies of the suspended secretary-general of the party, Ace Magashule, fail to dethrone President Cyril Ramaposa’s supporters.
Those aggrieved with Ntombela’s loss threatened to take the fight to court after the party failed to address allegations of rigging and manipulation of delegates’ lists at the eleventh hour.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “No friends of Ace: Magashule allies fail to land Free State ANC Top Five slots”
While Ntombela was still coming to terms with her loss of the top job of provincial chairperson, she suffered another blow — failing to garner enough votes to get into the PEC, and coming dead last in votes at 19.
Ntombela now faces the risk of being recalled as premier of the province.
With Paseka Nompondo and Vusumuzi Tshabalala, staunch supporters of Magashule, also failing to be elected into the PEC, the top five wins effectively mean a clean sweep for the Ramaphosa slate, affirming his grip on the province.
Ntombela’s fate is similar to ...
With the first month of the year yet to finish, 2023 has already seen its first journalist killed — in Cameroon.
Martinez Zogo, the editor-in-chief of the radio broadcaster Amplitude FM, was abducted and killed after he reported on alleged public embezzlement, which involved a “prominent businessman”, according to a statement by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The CPJ reported that 67 journalists and media workers were killed in 2022 — one more than the 66 reported by the International Press Institute, and the highest number since 2018, when 88 were killed.
“At least 41 journalists and media workers were killed in direct connection with their work,” said Jennifer Dunham, the CPJ’s deputy editorial director, in a report published on 24 January. The motive for the other 26 deaths was still being investigated, said the report.
Most of the killings were in Ukraine (15), Mexico (13) and Haiti (seven). Africa saw six killings — in Chad, Central African Republic, Somalia and Kenya.
“In sub-Saharan Africa in 2022, we have two journalists killed in Somalia and another two in Chad, that we could determine were killed in connection to their work,” said Angela Quintal, the CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator.
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“There are a further two whose murders we continue to investigate to see whether they were in connection to their work, namely in Central African Republic and Kenya. And this year, the first confirmed case of a journalist killed for their work is the one in Cameroon, Martinez Zogo.”
The four journalists who were killed with a confirmed connection to their work died because of being involved in dangerous assignments or during crossfires, said Quintal.
The African journalists killed in 2022 were Evariste Djaï-Loramadji and Narcisse Oredje in Chad, Jean Saint-Clair Maka Gbossokotto in Central African Republic, Arshad Sharif in Kenya and Ahmed Mohamed Shukur and Mohamed Isse Hassan in Somalia.
Globally, the journalists who were killed worked on a range of topics including crime, corruption, political unrest, environmental matters and local politics.
Last year also saw the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist. She was shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the Palestinian West Bank, said the CPJ report.
“The Israeli government to date has failed to pursue a transparent investigation or take steps to bring those responsible to justice,” the report added. DM
Eskom is getting what’s effectively a third inspector. A deal with a global service provider to validate the power utility’s system reports is being concluded, Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana on Tuesday told Parliament’s spending watchdog, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa). MPs failed to interrogate the identity of the company, how it was chosen or any details including the contract value.
Questions arise. This would be the third set of eyes monitoring Eskom, coming amid unfolding political contestation over the power utility – both for control and as a 2024 electioneering issue – and South Africa’s energy sector.
It seems to suggest a lack of trust between board and executives, and possibly also others, over the quality, extent and veracity of Eskom’s system reports data.
The National Energy Crisis Committee (Neccom) – the driver of South Africa’s energy action plan – already has an inspecting team in place for Eskom as the power utility battles with persistent daily rotational power cuts amid unplanned breakdowns.
National Treasury also has inspection oversight on Eskom.
While using consultants is commonplace internationally, further questions arise as to why no domestic experts are engaged, particularly given the role of global consultancies in State Capture, and the prevailing circumstances that facilitated such moves, which also emerged before the Zondo commission of inquiry — be that McKinseys, Bains or T-Systems.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “No dodging the State Capture hangover for McKinsey and Trillian”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “T-Systems: German IT giant and State Capture profiteer”
On Tuesday, Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana styled this global service provider validation deal as one to “give comfort” and provide “a fresh set of eyes” and confidence.
“We are pretty soon finalising a contract with an independent service provider, (so) if and when we see a system update from our executives, the board can leverage a second opinion.
“So you will not be hearing internal voices from Eskom; there will be an external validator.” the Eskom board chairperson told MPs.
MPs failed to interrogate the identity of the company, how it was chosen or any details including the contract value.
This was “a new initiative from the board”, discussed with management “to relieve each other” from the challenge of energy experts poking holes into the power utility’s system reports.
Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa was sceptical:
“What we need to establish is the centrality of Eskom in Eskom decision-making. Or is Eskom now inheriting decisions taken elsewhere? If that’s the case, ...
While much of the country continues to be hit with rolling blackouts, one major metro has been able to keep the lights on more often than other parts of South Africa.
Residents of eThekwini have for months been spared the worst of Eskom’s load shedding.
People in the metro are only affected by load shedding once it reaches Stage 4 and up, and even then, the number of hours they spend in darkness is similar to Stage 2 in most other municipalities across the country.
Eight of eThekwini’s 24 zones, mostly covering the city’s large industrial and manufacturing hubs — with some nearby residential areas — do not experience load shedding at all, regardless of the state of the national grid.
Durban’s special status has been in effect since 1 August 2022 and will likely remain for another two years.
Flood damage exemption
eThekwini metro communications officer Msawakhe Mayisela said “the primary reason for the amended load shedding schedule” was based on the damage caused by the April floods to the city’s high-voltage substations.
“If these substations were subjected to load shedding in their current state, many of them could suffer severe additional damage such as explosions and fire, and customers could then be off for weeks or longer.
“Hundreds of the city’s industrial customers also suffered extensive damage to their factories in the April floods. Some have still not reopened. eThekwini will return to its normal load shedding schedule as soon as it is safe to do so,” Mayisela told Daily Maverick.
In the six weeks following the devastating floods, the municipality restored power to most of the city. Between the floods and the end of July 2022, eThekwini was completely exempt from load shedding.
Mayisela said there had been emergency repairs at the high-voltage substations damaged in the floods, but permanent repairs would only be completed when new high-voltage (HV) and medium-voltage (MV) equipment arrives from suppliers.
Awaiting delivery
He said the delay in getting the city back to a state of “normality” and joining the rest of the country in sharing the burden of load shedding was dependent on the delivery of “HV and MV switchgear”, among other equipment.
“The floods have had a huge impact on our high-voltage grid, but eThekwini Electricity is on track to replace all flood-damaged equipment as soon as suppliers can deliver.
“Some of the damaged equipment (HV switchgear) has a lead time from suppliers of 12 to 18 months. Eskom fully understands the reasons for ...
The Advertising Regulatory Board has added a cryptocurrency extension to its Code of Advertising Practice, which prohibits making wild claims about crypto.
Cryptocurrency might be digital, but it remains a highly risky asset class and buyers must never be hoodwinked into thinking it is a good investment, which is why the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has moved to introduce new guidelines governing cryptocurrency products to its Code of Advertising Practice.
The ARB’s new rules, drafted after consultation with the crypto sector, are aimed at protecting consumers from being deceived by false advertising.
The announcement comes two months after the spectacular collapse of FTX, which faced a “liquidity crisis” in November 2022. It has now filed for bankruptcy. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), is out on bail of $250-million and his co-conspirators are singing like canaries.
Reuters reports that the hedge fund’s former chief executive told a judge during her guilty plea for her role in the exchange’s collapse that SBF and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul’s trading firm, Alameda Research.
Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have both pleaded guilty.
Self-regulation
In a statement issued on Tuesday, ARB CEO Gail Schimmel called the new clause a “wonderful example” of an industry cognisant of harm that “could be done in its name”, which is voluntarily opting for self-regulation without being forced to do so by the government.
“This has been an exciting project and we know that it will result in better protection for vulnerable consumers.”
Crypto exchange Luno’s general manager for Africa, Marius Reitz, who has apparently driven the project, said: “We don’t want rogue advertisers making claims that mislead vulnerable consumers about the reality of crypto investment. It is important to us that consumers enter this exciting market with their eyes open and their expectations realistic.”
The new guidelines require advertisements to “expressly and clearly state that investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital as the value is variable and can go up as well as down”, with wording that advises investing in crypto may result in a loss of capital.
The advert’s overall message cannot contradict the warning; it must explain the relevant product or service in an easily understandable way; must give a “balanced message about the returns, features, benefits and risks associated with the product or service”; be able to substantiate claimed rates of return, projections and forecasts, communicate significant conditions applicable; and be ...
The life of Frene Ginwala, the Speaker of SA’s first democratic National Assembly, was celebrated at a memorial service in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The Speaker of SA’s first democratic National Assembly, Frene Ginwala, was fiercely unhappy and critical of the “degeneration of the leadership of our movement and the leadership of our public as well as private entities and the destruction of institutions that were built through great sacrifice and hard work”, said her nephew Zavareh Rustomjee during an official memorial service in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
During the service, her colleagues, comrades and friends remembered the woman who was the Speaker of the National Assembly following the 1994 democratic elections. Ginwala died on 12 January in Cape Town at the age of 90.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Frene Ginwala dies — South Africa’s founding speaker of democratic Parliament was a ‘formidable patriot’ and a ‘giant’ ”
Commenting on his aunt’s feelings about the “degeneration” of the ANC’s leadership, Rustomjee said: “She also expressed considerable sorrow and regret at the extent this has permeated numerous layers of institutions and society.
“Yet, despite this, on seeing green shoots of reversal of this destruction, she expressed the hope that the next generation will take up the baton, live up to the original ideals and rebuild.”
Rustomjee said that while Ginwala should rest in peace, he suspected that if she were present in the room, “she would look at us straight in the eye. and she would probably say, ‘No, I will not rest in peace and I will come back to haunt you unless you get your act together and get our country back on track’.”
Speakers shared their memories of Ginwala as an academic, journalist and politician.
Tributes
“Frene had integrity from the beginning of her life in politics right to the end — whether we agreed with her or not, she was a woman of integrity,” said Barbara Masekela, a former South African ambassador to the US.
Human rights activist and former MP Pregs Govender joked that Ginwala was “very clear about timekeeping”. Govender described Ginwala as a “dear friend” and said in her speech: “If there is an afterlife, I hope that you and two other powerful feminists who died in the same fortnight, Pethu Serote and Myrtle Witbooi, are dancing, laughing and celebrating your collective courage and insubordination that you taught me.”
Ginwala’s successor as Speaker of the National Assembly in 2004, Baleka Mbete, praised Ginwala as an “organised ...
Steel producer ArcelorMittal released its decarbonisation roadmap on Tuesday, setting out clear steps towards becoming a net zero carbon emissions company by 2050. However, the country’s problem child, Eskom, electricity tariffs and wheeling charges could prove a stumbling block.
ArcelorMittal’s chief executive, Kobus Verster, says the substantial transformation of the company’s current electricity supply will require an active, real transition from coal-based electricity to electricity from renewables and other clean sources.
In this regard, the company has announced projects to generate at least 200 megawatts of renewable power on its premises.
However, Verster warns that the financial viability of renewables procurement will be influenced by Eskom/Nersa’s pricing structures, as well as wheeling charges.
Blackouts – a serious impediment
“Clearly load shedding, or the continued unreliable supply of grid electricity, will be a serious impediment to South Africa realising its decarbonisation ambitions.
“The extent to which Eskom is able to green its electricity generation, and the pace at which it rolls out renewables, will have a bearing on our decarbonisation efforts and those of most manufacturing industries,” he says.
Verster adds that implementation of the decarbonisation roadmap will not only change the way the company operates, but will be a catalyst for changing the steel industry and the economy of South Africa.
“The decarbonisation roadmap is based on the implementation of clear actions and interventions. However, it is by no means cast in stone and will be subject to regular updates and changes as breakthrough technologies emerge and are proven – which will influence how the company ultimately implements its energy transition,” he says.
As part of the way forward, ArcelorMittal is targeting a reduction of ArcelorMittal South Africa’s carbon intensity from 2.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of crude steel (tCO2/tCS) in 2018 to 2.16 tCO2/tCS by 2030, and a residual 0.4 tCO2/tCS by 2050.
Based on these targets, the company will reduce its carbon intensity by 25% by 2030, and 86% by 2050, with residual emissions being offset by yet-to-be-developed technologies and/or carbon offset arrangements.
One of the two blast furnaces at Vanderbijlpark will undergo a reline and upgrade between 2027 and 2030, while a suitable electric arc furnace (EAF) will be commissioned in Vanderbijlpark.
This means that in 2030, in addition to the EAF, one blast furnace will be permanently closed and another returned to service as a low carbon-enabled furnace. The current blast furnaces are able to produce 1.3 million tonnes and 1.9 million tonnes of molten iron, ...
South Africa is clearly trying to have its cake and eat it too. Demanding climate finance from the international community, while wanting to continue destroying the climate through new fossil fuels. It’s for this reason that South Africa’s Climate Justice Charter Movement is petitioning the international community to make an end to new coal, oil and gas investments a condition of financial support for South Africa.
There is something morally peculiar about a rich white South African demanding reparations. Yet, that’s what happened at COP27, the 27th annual UN Climate Summit, which took place in Egypt 2022. There, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy took to the global stage demanding climate reparations from wealthy nations most responsible for climate change.
In all fairness to Creecy, she is a public official representing a majority poor and black country, so it’s not that she is claiming reparations for herself as a white South African. Creecy argued, rather, that wealthy nations most responsible for causing the climate crisis must pay reparations to those least responsible yet most harmed.
Yet, her demand still raises a perplexing question:
In a country as deeply unequal, polluting and unjust as South Africa, who really deserves climate reparations, and who should pay for them?
This is not a mere question of woke identity politics gone wild (as Helen Zille might rant about as she descends further into reactionary right-wing, colonial apologetics). Rather it goes to a core question about what it means to serve climate justice: who are the victims of climate change, deserving reparations, and who are the perpetrators of the climate crisis, who owe victims reparations?
South Africa: victim or perpetrator, or both?
On the global stage, South Africa often likes to sneak itself in with other African countries, claiming that the Global North owes it climate reparations and climate finance. However, unlike other African and developing countries, who have mostly done very little to cause the climate crisis, South Africa is one of the world’s most polluting countries.
South Africa is the 12th-biggest climate polluter in the world in absolute terms and the worst in Africa. When measured by the amount of climate pollution produced per unit of GDP, it is worse than China and ranks behind only a handful of countries including Turkmenistan, Palau and Mongolia. Of the major economies, our energy sector is the most polluting of all G20 nations, thanks to our incredibly heavy dependency on polluting coal.
Being such an awful climate ...
According to the World Bank, 85% of South Africans had a bank account by July last 2022. As the world becomes more digital, this move towards an increasingly banked population is to be welcomed. However, bank fees are notorious for eating away at your bank balance.
While Absa, Standard Bank, Discovery Bank and Nedbank have new fees that kick in from this month, other banks are introducing 2023 fee increases later this year. Capitec clients will have new fees from March, and FNB’s new fees start in July this year.
Yatin Narsai, chief executive of the newest bank on the block, Bank Zero, points out that a zero monthly bank fee is not the same as a free bank account. He advises bank clients to take the time to look for EFT (electronic fund transaction) and other transaction charges that may apply, as these can add up on a monthly basis.
Chairman of Bank Zero, Michael Jordaan, says the fee structure of South African banks is simply far too high.
“An analyst report by UBS calculates that savings of up to R300 per month are attainable by individuals. Savings for businesses are much higher, at around R1,000 per month. The potential savings for the 376,000 businesses registered in South Africa are R4.5-billion a year.
“And if the 40 million South Africans who have bank accounts can save a mere R50 per month, there’s another R24-billion of relief that is possible,” he says.
Cowyk Fox, managing executive: everyday banking at Absa Retail and Business bank, points out that when it comes to banking, minor behavioural changes can go a long way in putting money back in your pocket.
“Banking through digital channels is significantly cheaper than branch transactions, and depending on your transactional package, it may even be free.
“Most importantly, transacting electronically allows you to track your spending — your bank statement can be a helpful tool in identifying unnecessary expenses,” he says.
Another tip Fox offers is that many banks offer substantial discounts on transactional accounts if you maintain a positive balance throughout the month.
Both TymeBank and Bank Zero offer one basic bank account, with no monthly fees, and your bank fees don’t change when your income increases.
However, if you are in a middle-to-higher income bracket and want to go with a more traditional bank, FNB seems to be your best bet.
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The 2022 Solidarity Bank Charges report notes ...
Venture capital has become such an important part of the new business environment that governments have started to try to think of ways to nurture it, which to me is a bizarre contradiction in terms.
Ok, slightly name-dropping here. Well. if we are being honest, more than slightly.
One of the thrills of attending the World Economic Forum at Davos is the serendipitous bumping into people you don’t expect to bump into. For me, it was bumping into the managing partner of Sequoia Capital, Roelof Botha. (Thump!) The phrase “bumping into” is of course a euphemism; I basically accosted him at the South Africa party, where he was chatting to Prosus chairman Koos Bekker (obvs) (double-thump!).
But we did have a brief chat about the book I read on the way to the conference called The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future written by Sebastian Mallaby. I knew Mallaby a little when he was a correspondent for The Economist in South Africa years ago and his excellent writing continues. It’s a terrific book and discusses Sequoia extensively and Botha’s role in making the company one of the leading, if not the leading, venture capital providers.
Sequoia does not have any direct investments in SA, as far as I know. But it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of venture capital (VC) in the making of the modern world, and Mallaby’s book does a fabulous job of describing why that is and how it happened. Try to imagine a world without Google, Alibaba, Facebook, Coinbase, Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, and, to a certain extent, even Apple and SpaceX, and a host of others. They all relied, at one time or another, on venture capital. At one point, 40% of all new companies listed in the US were VC-backed.
And the incredible thing about venture capital is that although it’s been around for years, it’s only recently become a crucial cog in the investment world. In some ways, 2018 and 2019 were the golden years of venture capital, and it’s no accident that these years coincided with extremely low interest rates and very cheap capital. At the moment, venture capital is paring back, understandably, but is now such an established part of the global financial system that it’s unlikely to fade.
Yet, the low interest rate environment is only a necessary precondition for the flowering of venture capital, not precisely a causal factor. There ...
Shocking, moving, disheartening, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
With load shedding a permanent feature of South African life, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement this week that customers with rooftop solar panels will soon be able to sell excess power back into the grid is as welcome as it is overdue.
President Ramaphosa made the announcement in his weekly newsletter on Monday.
“Work will soon be completed on a pricing structure that will allow customers to sell surplus electricity from rooftop solar panels into the grid,” Ramaphosa said.
This is a policy decision that is as welcome as it is overdue, appearing on the long list of relatively simple reforms that should have been implemented long ago.
While hardly a panacea, the announcement comes against the backdrop of Eskom’s worsening woes, with rolling blackouts now in effect a permanent feature of South African life, wreaking havoc on households and businesses alike, big and small.
One of the consequences has been robust demand for solar panels.
Solana Energy, a solar provider, said in December last year that South African households had imported over R2.2-billion worth of solar panels in the first five months of 2022, according to a report in BusinessTech.
One can only imagine that such demand is currently surging – anecdotal evidence points to a proliferation of solar panels on rooftops in middle-class suburbs. They are appearing like mushrooms after a heavy rain in this correspondent’s Johannesburg neighborhood.
But so far, the only incentive on this front has been the rising intensity of load shedding and the consequent disruptions to daily life. It is a slow-motion privatisation of power generation that mirrors other trends of consumers who can absorb the costs of providing essentials for themselves in the face of South Africa’s failing state. Healthcare, education and security come to mind.
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Eskom simply cannot meet existing power demand, and despite the clear urgency of the situation, efforts to get additional capacity for the grid have proceeded at a glacial pace under Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.
So, hopefully the president’s words will soon translate into action – something that has been noticeably absent during his presidency.
This is low-hanging fruit that can yield badly needed incentives for households and businesses to make the investment to provide energy reliability for themselves, while taking pressure off a strained grid and even providing it with a little extra electricity.
We are in a crisis situation where every bit helps.
And, of course, it’s green ...
People who use excessive amounts of water in Nelson Mandela Bay can soon expect a visit from executive mayor Retief Odendaal. This comes as the city ramps up emergency measures while large dams fall to their lowest levels yet.
Rain was predicted for Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday. It never arrived.
“I am not someone who checks the weather app on my phone a lot,” Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor Retief Odendaal said. “But I did look a few times when the app said it would rain, and it didn’t. It is very frustrating.”
It’s this state of affairs that is making the energetic mayor anxious.
“We do not have enough water. The system is under severe pressure,” he said.
“I love my garden, and I am tired of watering my plants with tank water and a watering can. I never thought I would say this, but I long to use a hosepipe again.”
He said it was difficult to build trust with the public while the city was losing water through leaks, but he was hoping the metro could turn this around by the end of February.
Little chance of rain
Resident weatherman Garth Sampson said the prospects of rain are low right now.
“We are at the height of summer — the driest part of the year in Nelson Mandela Bay. we are lucky if we get a few showers.”
Sampson said, traditionally, the area received rain from March to November, with most falling during winter.
For Nelson Mandela Bay to get out of its current precarious situation, 50mm of rain must fall in 24 hours over the Langkloof, the catchment area for the dams.
The metro has invested R1.2-billion in water augmentation projects to mitigate the drought.
Odendaal said that if Phase 3 of the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme (bringing water from the Orange River) had been finished in time, dam levels would have looked more encouraging.
Phase 3 was financed by the national government and was beset by problems. In its final stages, payment delays to contractors had hampered the commissioning of the project for months, at a time when the city’s water shortage had already reached critical levels.
Now that Phase 3 has been completed, Nooitgedacht will be a crucial factor in the city’s survival if the dams fail. But even so, it will take until October to get the upgraded pumps installed and running.
Dam levels
Combined dam levels are currently standing at 8.8%.
The Impofu Dam, the biggest dam from which the ...
Yes, Germany is ready to support South Africa’s just energy transition. And we have already started doing so by providing significant grants and a promotional loan to the South African Treasury of €300-million, more than R5.6-billion.
When I scroll down the Twitter timeline or flip through newspapers, I sometimes encounter two strange lines of thought. One, the West has supposedly tricked South Africa into an energy transition. Two, Germany is allegedly stealing coal from Mzansi. Both are really strange. And both are wrong.
The energy mix, i.e. which sources to use to produce electricity, is the sovereign choice of any country. Even inside the European Union, different member states made different choices. France, for instance, still prioritises nuclear energy, whereas Germany is about to close down its last nuclear power plants.
South Africa, too, had to make its own sovereign choice. And it chose to commit to ambitious climate goals. To reduce its carbon emissions by embarking on a transition towards a more modern and greener energy production. And to do so in a socially just way, leaving nobody behind. It is called JET — Just Energy Transition.
To achieve this goal and to complement its national efforts, South Africa entered into a cooperation agreement with international partners, among them Germany. It seemed logical to call it JET-P — Just Energy Transition Partnership.
Yes, we are ready to support the just energy transition. And we have already started doing so by providing significant grants and a promotional loan to the South African Treasury of €300-million, over R5.6-billion. France did the same. Other partners like the EU, the UK, the US, and in fact many more, are committing to similar steps of cooperation.
One important point to note is that this is a South African choice. Nobody pushes South Africa to exit coal, and even less, to do so immediately.
In Germany, we have been working on an energy transition for more than 20 years. Here, according to the plans of the SA government, it may take up until 2050. For a successful energy transition, we are in it for the long haul.
Transforming the energy supply, even the whole economy of a country into a climate-friendly, sustainable and green system is a task of a generation. It simply cannot be done overnight. Instead, it is a process that takes time and that has to be well planned and executed, taking into account all the opportunities, but also all ...
Many moments that change the world are immediately obvious, but many others are entirely unremarkable.
One of the best known of the latter category was a routine press conference in East Berlin in November 1989, when a media relations officer of the East German government was pressed about when new rules on travel restrictions to West Germany would be put in place. Uncertain of the answer, he spontaneously mumbled, “unverzüglich” – immediately. Within hours, border posts were overrun with tens of thousands of people flooding to West Berlin. The Wall had collapsed and the Cold War was over.
Another such moment happened the same year in the unlikely setting of Wellington, New Zealand. In a similarly routine press conference, finance minister Roger Douglas was asked what he considered to be the ideal inflation rate, given that the Reserve Bank was soon to be made independent and given the world’s first inflation targeting mandate. Also entirely unsure of the answer, he mumbled, “zero to 2% seems to be appropriate”.
“It was almost a chance remark,” the then head of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, ex-farmer Don Brash, said in a recent interview.
“The figure was plucked out of thin air to influence the public’s expectations.”
This story has since become the stuff of monetary policy legend. The experiment of an independent central bank with a 0% to 2% inflation target was so successful in slaying the high inflation of the 1970s and 1980s, that almost all of the world’s most advanced nations subsequently emulated it in one form or another (including the South African Reserve Bank, even if its target range is wider, at 3%-6%).
For the world’s most important central banks, a 2% inflation target is virtually a monetary policy religion.
“Let me be quite clear, there are no ifs or buts in our commitment to the 2% target. That’s our job, and that is what we will do,” said Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last July.
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President of the ECB Christine Lagarde concurred last week in a panel discussion during the World Economic Forum: “We shall stay the course until . we can return inflation to 2%.”
Yet in hindsight, the 1990s and 2000s were easy periods in which to be a central banker with an inflation target. The world enjoyed 30 years where globalisation brought cheap goods, cheap energy, cheap labour and cheap capital.
Cheap goods ...
Decriminalisation Bill is a giant step and, rightly, government foresees further legislation to regulate sex work.
On 30 November 2022, Cabinet at last approved a draft statute to abolish criminal penalties for sex work (Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill). The Bill scraps the crime of buying and selling adult sexual services. It opens a path to victory for activists who over long years campaigned for it.
The Bill aims to spear two history-encrusted laws: the Sexual Offences Act 1957 (apartheid’s fearsome “Immorality Act”), and section 11 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act of 2007. Both target adults, mostly vulnerable women, who make a living by selling sex.
Having secured Cabinet endorsement, the Bill is now up for public comment. The moralist lobby have seized the chance to push back hard. They want the law to continue punishing women and others who engage in sex for reward.
Yet Parliament should adopt the Bill — and as soon as possible. Penalties on adult sex work are a horrible hangover from a harsher, more ignorant, less public-health-conscious era. They have no place in a healthy democracy. As with ancient crimes targeting queer people like myself, and the appalling apartheid penalties for sex between black and white, these laws are harmful, degrading and unjust. We should consign them to the dustbin without more ado.
All the Bill does is abolish crimes of sex work. Rightly, government foresees further legislation to regulate sex work: where and how and under what conditions sexual services may be offered for sale — just as we regulate other commercial interchanges.
Sex workers and human rights advocates have fervently welcomed the Bill. The Sex Worker Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) and the Sisonke National Sex Worker’s Movement have long urged decriminalisation. They argue, convincingly, that making sex work a crime exposes (mainly) women to blackmail, police malpractice and client abuse. Decriminalisation enables sex workers to seek and assert the law’s protection.
Some however claim that ending the crime of sex work licenses exploitation and will lead to increased sex trafficking. Many propose instead the “Nordic model”. This decriminalises sex work for those providing it — but targets clients who use it. In other words, buying sex remains a crime, though the seller is only indirectly targeted; the main target is the “john”, who pays.
We are right to be concerned for the safety and dignity of sex workers. Many are impoverished ...
Toplan Parsuramen grew up in the immediate shadow of Kingsmead. His father, Topsy, was a groundsman. Cramped for space, Parsu hung about on the boundaries of Kingsmead. He was not allowed to play there, let alone throw a few balls on the grass wicket.
‘An artistic, a social event does not reflect the age. It is the age. Cricket. is not an addition or a decoration. that one adds to what really constitutes the history of a period. Cricket is as much part of the history as books written are part of the history.” CLR James
In March 2003, Shane Warne arrived in Phoenix, Durban. A local entrepreneur had arranged for him to visit a few schools.
Warne was at his diuretic best as he generously mixed with the locals. And then something magnificent happened. One of the province’s greaTest spin bowlers, now residing in Phoenix, arrived. His name, Toplan Parsuramen. Parsu, as he was popularly known, was, tragically, a stranger to the people gathered. Warne, though, had been briefed, and for once stayed on script, giving Parsu a warm hug.
A mat was laid out and the two great spinsters bent their arms.
Despite his humiliating World Cup expulsion, Warne was in his prime. Parsu, 69 years old, was frail and slightly stooped. But one could sense his joy at meeting Warne and the gasps as Parsu turned the ball both ways.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I watched Parsu bowl at Asherville Grounds, playing for his beloved Clares. He had a longer-than-usual run-up for a spinner. The matting wicket forced bowlers to rely more on guile than spin. And Parsu, for all his shy smile and humility, was a trickster. Many pedigreed batters saw the looping ball, and their eyes would light up as if the lunchtime breyani had arrived early.
But so much was in the flight, the ability to get the ball to dip and skid, the batsman vainly trying to step back as his torso fell forwards and he would be done.
Parsu grew up in the immediate shadow of Kingsmead. His father, Topsy, was a groundsman, one of 10 families employed by the City to look after the sports fields. Cramped for space, Parsu hung about on the boundaries of Kingsmead. He was not allowed to play at Kingsmead, let alone throw a few balls on the grass wicket.
But from an early age, he watched and made his mental notes. ...
We must protect our natural assets, for the sake of the planet’s survival, and this can be done while supporting the well-being and economic recovery of communities.
An architect friend of mine likes to use the image of Planet Earth — the place we all call home regardless of where we live — to illustrate the concept of public space. The headlines in 2022 on the momentous agreement at COP15 to protect biodiversity reminded me how accurate that image is. Our home is under threat. Indeed, nature embodies the most crucial and important manifestation of public space and illustrates the need for collective efforts to preserve and ensure that it benefits the public good.
I was born in Colombia, a country with enormous natural beauty and one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Yet, growing up, nature often felt out of reach, whether due to the privatisation of coastlines by hotels or private farms encroaching on unique areas — such as the Cocora Valley, home to the world’s largest wax palm trees — or the lack of safety that still prevents residents of its capital, Bogota, from visiting the iconic mountain range that frames the city.
While Colombia has made significant strides in opening up its natural wonders, travelling through the Western Cape this summer reminded me how much more can be done to preserve and share nature. Endowed with rich natural wealth, the province is in an enviable position to showcase how the protection and use of its natural assets can support the well-being and economic recovery of its towns and beyond.
An excellent example of this is the rich biodiversity of Overstrand’s Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, which runs from the mountains of Gordon’s Bay and along the coast to Hermanus and inland to Botrivier and Grabouw. As South Africa’s first recorded biosphere — registered with Unesco in 1998 — the reserve is managed by an eponymous not-for-profit company and is described as having “the richest, most complex biodiversity on Earth, home to more than 1,880 plant species. Of these, 77 are found just here, and nowhere else.”
South Africa is home to 10 of the 738 biospheres across 134 countries. Unesco recognises these model areas as key for building sustainable relationships between people and nature, describing biospheres as “learning areas for sustainable development. testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems.”
Nature that enables jobs
The dynamic ...
Report finds that only half the learners who start primary school reach high school in the Joe Morolong Local Municipality.
Only half the learners who start primary school make it to high school in the Northern Cape’s Joe Morolong Local Municipality. And of the learners who make it to high school, just 15% matriculate.
These appalling statistics were revealed in a report released on Thursday by the Zero Dropout Campaign. The findings are based on data gathered by the Campaign, as well as in-depth interviews with school staff, learners, families of the learners and community members conducted in 2022.
The researchers, led by Dr Andrew Hartnack, looked at the causes of learner disengagement and dropout at two Northern Cape no-fee schools in particular, Kgoro Intermediate School and Dithaba High (the names of the schools were changed for the report).
Kgoro Intermediate has eight teachers for its 263 learners: 107 are in grade 7, 88 in grade 8, and 68 in grade 9. In 2022, at least 30 learners in the grade 7 class were repeating the year. The school was initially built to accommodate half the number of children they now admit. The classrooms are overcrowded.
The report stated that many learners at Kgoro have to leave by 2:30pm, often to go do household chores like herding livestock and gathering water.
Meanwhile, at Dithaba High, there are 24 teachers for 679 learners: 341 in grade 10, 178 in grade 11, and 160 in grade 12. The school is also overcrowded; one of the grades has 49 learners in one class. The recommended class size is 32.
The report says most learners at Dithaba High have already repeated grades. Despite struggling academically, many learners are pushed through the intermediary school and often arrive in grade 10 aged 18 or 19 with serious learning gaps. Only half those who start grade 10 at Dithaba typically matriculate, the report adds.
Researchers also noted that the Department of Basic Education (DBE)’s “National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement” often pressures schools into promoting learners, even if they are not ready academically.
According to the report, the norm in the community is that people do not feel the need to finish school. “[Children] don’t see school as the key to a good future,” the report read.
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The major contributing factors to the high school dropout rates, according to ...
Soaring food prices and rolling blackouts are but two things set to batter South Africans’ physical and mental health in 2023.
The year 2022 ended on a bit of a bumpy note. The fact is, it’s quite easy to slip into a comatose autopilot state of just going through the motions without paying attention to the impact that times of turmoil and upheaval have on us for as long as we continue to put one foot in front of the other.
Last year was a trying year for most and 2023 looks set to up the ante when it comes to the turmoil of 2022. But what does this really mean? With all the warnings from political analysts, medical professionals and economic experts, how can we ready ourselves for what is to come? Is it even possible to do so, or are we the proverbial sitting ducks who are helpless in the face of the impending torrent?
Let’s take a look at just two of the concerning things that we have had to steel ourselves for just three weeks into the new year.
First, an unrelenting increase in food prices means that a larger allocation will need to be dedicated to food in shrinking household budgets. In November last year, food prices hit a 13% inflation rate, which is quite alarming considering that 30 million people in the country live below the upper-limit poverty line of R1,417 a month and 6.5 million are reported to go hungry daily.
The second concerning issue is Stage 6 rolling blackouts and the ludicrous approval by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) of an 18.65% increase in electricity prices. Interestingly, in a Mail & Guardian article last week, Nersa member Nhanhla Gumede is said to have remarked that it was ironic Eskom was requesting such “amounts, which are above [the] inflation rate, at a time [when] the utility was failing to produce electricity”.
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Just these two things will have a resounding impact on the quality of life the majority of South Africans are likely to experience as they try to survive these extreme circumstances. People’s physical and mental health are likely to deteriorate as they face potential hunger because of the unaffordability of food and a shortage of water as a result of persistent drought.
And we have already seen how rolling blackouts have not only adversely affected the ...
There is no left-wing party operating in Durban or in wider KwaZulu-Natal and it is the right that is set to benefit from the collapse of the credibility of the ANC.
In little over a year, the ANC is likely to lose the national elections. This is now accepted wisdom supported by all the best available polling. Some have suggested the ANC is also likely to lose KwaZulu-Natal. This would be an extraordinary change for a province that, not long ago, was seen as the ANC’s strongest base.
In fact, one analyst argued that during the Zuma period the country was run from Durban rather than Parliament in Cape Town, the seat of government in Pretoria or the financial capital of Johannesburg.
But Durban and much of KwaZulu-Natal have been hit really hard by the failure of 2022’s tourist season, the recent floods, the riots in July 2021 and the incredibly brazen criminality that is now very common in and adjacent to the ANC.
Durban is the original home of the izikabi, the professional assassins who moved from the taxi mafias into the political mafias, and also of the “business forums” that openly shake down legitimate business.
Many of KwaZulu-Natal’s residents are exhausted, scared and desperate to finally be rid of the ANC. Of course, we must be mindful of the fact that the deepest loathing is for members of the so-called RET faction of the ANC, who are simply known as amasela (thieves) these days.
Read in Daily Maverick: “We all saw the Durban sewage crisis coming, but remained silent”
At the recent elective conference more than 60% of KZN delegates supported Zweli Mkhize, who as well as being personally compromised had also put up his hand to lead the amasela. But all the din of all the RET noise has drowned out the fact that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s support in the KwaZulu-Natal ANC remains significant.
Now that it is clear that the RET faction is a sinking ship, it is possible that the Ramaphosa-aligned faction in the KwaZulu-Natal ANC may make a bid for more power in the hope that it could hold the province for the party.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The EFF made a big impression on university campuses in KwaZulu-Natal but has been unable to build any meaningful popular support. It is not present in community struggles and most older voters find its leaders to be ill-mannered young ...
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng produced the most bachelor passes. Here’s a look at how the provinces performed in this area, as well as pupil performance in certain subjects, with maths remaining a serial underperformer.
The 2022 National Senior Certificate pass rate shows an increase of 3.7% from the previous year — from 76.4% to 80.1%.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the results on Thursday, 19 January.
Read in Daily Maverick: How does the class of 2022 stack up? We compare the matric results to previous years
Subject performance
The overall performance in subjects including business studies and history decreased from 80.5% and 89.5% respectively in 2021, to 76.7% and 88.2% in 2022.
However, the performance in subjects including accounting, economics, agricultural sciences, geography, physical sciences, mathematical literacy and life sciences improved from 2021.
Maths is a serial underperformer, with pupil performance dropping from 57.6% in 2021 to 55% in 2022.
The Western Cape posted the best maths performance in 2022 (67.9%,) followed by the Free State (64.6%) and Gauteng (62.7%).
Bachelor pass achievements
Of the 725,146 matriculants who wrote the 2022 NSC exams, 278,814 (38.4%) obtained bachelor passes for admission to tertiary study.
The province with the highest number of bachelor passes is KwaZulu-Natal (69,849) – despite challenges including Covid-19, floods and power cuts – followed by Gauteng (58,119) and the Eastern Cape (34,974). The Northern Cape produced the fewest (4,177).
“We must state that KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng contributed the most bachelor passes, with 69,849 — an increase of 12.9% from 2021; and 58,119 — an increase of 4.1% from 2021, respectively. When combined, KZN and Gauteng contributed 127,968 bachelor passes — an improvement of 8.7% from 2021, and 45.9% of the overall bachelor passes nationally,” said Motshekga at the announcement of the results.
Gauteng remains the leading province in terms of percentages: 43.4% of pupils achieved bachelor passes, followed by the Free State with 43% and the Western Cape with 42.7%.
Distinctions
The class of 2022 obtained 218,730 distinctions – 3.3% more than 2021.
Read in Daily Maverick: Meet the top achievers among matriculants who fought a good fight and ‘remained the light amid load shedding’
The provinces with the most distinctions are:
KwaZulu-Natal — 72,630;
Gauteng — 43,300;
Western Cape — 26,428;
Eastern Cape — 25,107; and
Limpopo — 19,734.
The Northern Cape recorded the fewest distinctions — 1,896. DM
This year is set to be another tumultuous year for healthcare services, health policy, and governance in South Africa.
Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 recovery, the National Health Insurance Bill winding its way through Parliament, healthcare worker shortages, and the ongoing electricity crisis — 2023 is set to be another tumultuous year for healthcare services and health policy and governance in South Africa. Below we’ve picked 13 things to look out for this year arranged under three broad headings: leadership and governance, policy and legislation, and HIV, TB and the NSP.
We’ve mostly opted for issues where there is a specific policy, legislative, or implementation process to keep tabs on in 2023. Accordingly, critical issues like antimicrobial resistance, Covid-19, or the diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases in the public sector were left out, not because we don’t consider them to be important, but because we are not aware of any specific developments to watch out for in 2023.
Leadership and governance
Likely cabinet reshuffle
Following the ANC’s national leadership conference in December, there is widespread anticipation of a possible cabinet reshuffle, although President Cyril Ramaphosa, until now, has refused to be drawn on possible dates for this. In the event of a cabinet reshuffle and should Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla survive this, it would mean a nod of approval from Ramaphosa for the work he has done in this portfolio. That said, the bar for leadership in government is, with a few exceptions, set very low, and surviving a reshuffle is not a reliable yardstick for leadership excellence.
Considered less of a political heavyweight in the ANC than his predecessor Dr Zweli Mkhize, Phaahla — also a medical doctor — picked up the baton dropped by Mkhize following the Digital Vibes scandal. He brought some stability to the health portfolio, but our sense is that public trust in the country’s health leadership remains low and the National Department of Health remains mired in essentially the same types of dysfunction as under his predecessors. Phaahla missed various opportunities to take a firm stand on important matters, including xenophobia in the public health sector (see migrant health further down) and he showed no real appetite to tackle the country’s chronic health worker shortages, which is arguably the biggest challenge in healthcare in South Africa.
He came in at 51 on the ANC’s NEC list — below his predecessor Mkhize (16th) and also Mmamoloko Kubayi ...
As another food crisis looms, failure to protect the vital agricultural sector against climate hazards will be disastrous.
Drought, flooding and late-onset and erratic rainfall have disrupted food systems and food security throughout Malawi’s history, causing devastation and famine. Now the country faces another food crisis on the back of a series of climate events.
Agriculture is fundamental to Malawi’s economy. It is the primary source of export earnings, and nearly a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product is derived from it. At face value, the sector is doing well.
Yields increased per hectare from two metric tonnes in 1990 to eight in 2020, while production rose from five million metric tonnes to 29 million. Over this period, crop-producing land expanded from 25% to 40% of the total land mass, and Malawi boasts the highest agricultural yields per hectare of all 23 low-income countries in Africa.
This success is due to significant investment in the sector and a government that realises its socio-economic importance. Several development policies guide the sector, including the 2005 Farm Input Subsidy Programme. In Malawi’s newest long-term development plan (MW2063), agriculture is one of the country’s three main pillars.
Yet food insecurity remains high, with growing concern about an unfolding food emergency. In August last year, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification revealed that 2.6 million Malawians (13% of the population) experienced ‘crisis’ levels of food insecurity. By March 2023, that number was expected to have risen to 3.8 million (20% of the population) — all needing emergency food assistance. This is significantly higher than the 720,000 people classified in 2019 and the 1.7 million classified in 2020.
Much of the current crisis results from recurrent weather shocks in a region where people are subjected to abject poverty and major subsistence dependencies. Ninety per cent of all agricultural land is cultivated through rain-fed subsistence farming, with only 4% of farmland under irrigation.
Subsistence farmers predominantly grow maize for domestic staple consumption on farms of less than one hectare in size, making the sector vulnerable to rainfall variability. Regular flooding cuts farmers off from their markets, and a lack of access to irrigation reduces yields and production during periods of drought and erratic rainfall.
The droughts of the 2015/16 El Niño system required one of the most extensive emergency relief assistance programmes in Malawi’s history, directly affecting 6.7 million people. The 2012 droughts caused food shortages for 1.9 million Malawians, while the torrential rains ...
Doring Bay Abalone, 37% owned by the community, produces about 60 tonnes of abalone per year, mostly to legally export to China.
“If we protect what we have, eventually generations to come will benefit from it,” says Ruben Saul, chairperson of the Doringbaai Development Trust.
Saul is speaking to GroundUp about the Doring Bay Abalone farm based in the small West Coast fishing village, 40 kilometres north of Lamberts’ Bay.
The land-based farm extends along the harbour. The abalone, also known as “perlemoen”, are hatched and spawned in several old factory buildings. When we arrived, rows of tubs filled with more mature abalone were outside in the sun.
Nearly all the abalone hatched, spawned, and grown on the farm are exported to Hong Kong, China where it is highly valued and regarded as a delicacy.
Doring Bay Abalone is one of a few companies in South Africa that provide abalone to the Asian market legally. The species of abalone grown on the farm, Haliotis midae, is currently a critically endangered species due to rampant poaching.
A 2018 report from Traffic, a United Kingdom-based conservation non-governmental organisation, estimated that between 2000 and 2016, almost 100 million abalone were illegally harvested from South African seas. The report noted that two-thirds of abalone imported from South Africa came via the illegal market.
A 2022 report by the Global Initiative, a Switzerland-based civil-society organisation, estimated that illegal harvesting currently exceeds 3,000 tonnes per year. The report notes that there is a “fast-growing abalone aquaculture sector, producing close to 2,000 tonnes of abalone annually”, much smaller than the illicit market.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
While the Doring Bay Abalone fosters sustainability of the critically endangered species, the production of 60 tonnes of abalone per year is just a drop in the ocean.
When the farm opened in 2013, it had eight workers. Now it employs over 50 local people.
Unlike other commercial aquaculture farms, the community has a 37% shareholding stake in the Doring Bay farm, held in the Doringbaai Development Trust. The rest is privately owned.
The trust was established after the old Oceana crayfish factory closed in 2006 after about 75 years of operation. This was devastating for the community as it left many people without jobs, says Saul. The trust was established in 2007 to help the community cope with the closure.
Saul said that hundreds of people from the small fishing community have benefitted from the opportunities ...
GroundUp has followed the saga of the eviction of families that were living at the Marievale Military Base, outside Nigel in Gauteng, since 2018. We last reported on the displaced community in September 2021. We returned last week to see how they are faring. We found little has been resolved despite years of litigation, court orders and promises by various state actors.
Shalin Ruiters has lived in Marievale’s Happiness Village for the past five years, in a tiny, precariously-built shack she shares with her eight children. At night, it is difficult for all of them to sleep crammed next to one another. There is barely enough space for them to even sit inside together during the day.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which owns the land, refuses to allow anyone in the village to enlarge their structures.
Ruiters is one of over 80 respondents in ongoing litigation after they were brutally evicted from their homes at the Marievale Military Base by the SANDF in 2017.
Some had lived on the base for decades in individual homes, bungalows and dormitory rooms. Some of the houses in the military camp were shared by up to three families. There had also been a community hall.
Soon after they were evicted, the families built shacks on land just metres away from their old homes and called it Happiness Village.
Despite overturning the SANDF’s unlawful eviction and obtaining an order to be given adequate alternative accommodation and services, the community is struggling. They still don’t have toilets and over 80 households share one water tap.
The army together with the City of Ekurhuleni tried to relocate the residents to temporary emergency accommodation in Zamani informal settlement in Duduza. Promises were made that those who qualified would be considered for permanent housing in the John Dube housing project currently under construction. But the City says it cannot say when the housing project will be complete because it depends on funding from the Gauteng Province, and the province is mum on timeframes for the project.
There are also immigrants among the Marievale families who are unlikely to be even considered for state housing.
A few families agreed to move, but Ruiters and others refused, saying the informal settlement was overcrowded and nothing like Happiness Village, and it would mean relocating yet again from Zamani at a later stage. They want to move straight to “permanent homes” and not have their lives disrupted twice more.
Visit ...
Schools remain largely on their own when it comes to finding solutions to disruptive power outages.
Rolling blackouts have touched all aspects of South African life. Education is no exception. In this sector — still recovering from the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic — frequent power outages are impacting teaching and learning, with some school principals even listing them as a factor behind rising absenteeism.
It is not only how rolling blackouts affect children in schools, but also in their homes, that is detrimental to their education, according to John, principal of a Quintile 3 school in KwaZulu-Natal.
“In our case, we’ve got 2,500 learners and they’re going [home] to an informal settlement. they anticipate their parents getting home at 6pm or maybe 7pm, and that child will now not have a meal because there’s no electricity, there’s nothing being cooked,” he explained.
“We are getting children coming to school that are either hungry or we are getting children coming to school that are not in the right state of mind to learn because. now you’re compounding poverty with a secondary factor.”
With rolling blackouts comes municipal water-shedding, he continued, meaning that while the power is out, no water is being pumped to affected areas.
“If the child is not ready, has not been able to have a wash. that learner is not going to come to school,” said John. “If you measure the learner attendance that you would have had — while hedging between 90% and 100% — now you’re sitting around between 60% and 70% of learners coming to school.”
At Luhlaza Secondary School in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, rolling blackouts have caused a rise in lateness among pupils. The power outages wreak “havoc” on traffic in the Khayelitsha area, as traffic lights are affected, according to Mutile Qezo, deputy principal at the school.
“Those that are walking to school. they will leave home later. Because. in the morning, they will have to heat up water, or some of them will have to wait until the power is back and only start washing then, and they get to school late,” he said.
Mark Fairbairn, principal of Spine Road High School in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, told Maverick Citizen that pupils often went home late and needed to complete work at night. With no electricity, that was a challenge.
“Besides all the academic factors, we’re also picking up that a lot of learners are staying absent, so absenteeism has increased, ...
We remember Gugulethu community leader Ntsikelelo Msweswe, shot dead along with two others on Saturday, 14 January 2023. He leaves behind his twin daughters, aged 12, and a community devastated by the loss.
One Saturday night in mid-January 2023, gunmen burst into a home in Gugulethu and shot three people dead and left one injured. So common are murderous shootings around the city that they register as a sort of warlike background din — requiring a particular awfulness, scale or close proximity to be noticed by us, remembered by us
It is trite, perhaps, to point out that these acts of violence happen, on each and every occasion, to full humans, complex and storied and loved. One of the three killed that Saturday night was Ntsikelelo Msweswe, a charismatic 38-year-old fellow community organiser, friend, leader and father of twin daughters aged 12.
Here we remember Ntsikelelo.
South Africa does symbolism well. And Ntsikelelo’s all-too-short life could stand in for our famous resilience, our forced moves into the criminal, our challenges in overcoming, our being held back and our being failed by the structure of our society.
Ntsikelelo was born in Cape Town in 1984 and, to relieve his asthma, spent 10 years as a child in Qonce, then King William’s Town, in the Eastern Cape. He became involved in criminal activities while at high school in Mowbray, Cape Town, dropping out in Grade 11. Not completing matric haunted him; he described himself often as “someone who likes to read too much”.
When, at the age of 22, he was released from prison in March 2007 after a five-year term, despite being hardened, as a means of survival, in the ways of prison gangsterism, he became determined to turn his life around. No matter how hard it would become, he was determined to leave criminality behind.
Finding a job in South Africa’s incredibly scarce job market without a matric is hard. Having a criminal record narrows your options even further. Yet, after his release from prison, Ntsikelelo soon found work as a cleaner.
Read in Daily Maverick: “New Activist Exchange dares to forge new ways to advance ‘project South Africa’”
In 2010, he and his partner became pregnant with identical girl triplets, one of whom sadly died before birth. Needing to earn better to support his enlarged family, he sought and obtained security industry qualifications and found work as a security guard.
Around this time, he also found his true calling, ...
Days like these have me thinking of older times and people long dead but whose lives still shine for some of us today.
There’s a desultory air in the Fish River Valley today. The memory of the Christmas tree in the corner has dissipated, the trimmings have been put away for another year, the strange early January chill has been consumed by a more familiar 30-odd heat, and there’s that feeling that comes over you at the start of any year. Hope, perhaps, but always where there’s hope, fear. Determination that it should be a good one, but tempered by the knowledge that it’s best not to tempt fate. Rather expect the worst, and hope for the best. Like baking a cake or a loaf of bread; never presume it will turn out all right. You never truly know.
It’s the sort of day that turns your mind to the outdoors. You open the kitchen doors to the vine-trailed werf and check the pantry shelf for flour and yeast. It’s a day for braai bread.
While preparing a potbrood on a lazy Sunday afternoon out back on the werf, my mind goes to the mountain half an hour from town and the most seminal weekend of the past year, when a ragtag group of us creaked and stumbled our way to the top of Buffelskop to pay tribute to a collective hero. It was a century, and a year, since a famous interment high in the sky of a woman who still affects some of us even today. We are, I suppose, Schreinerphiles.
My mind has a habit of going everywhere Olive Schreiner goes, taking my body with it. Matjiesfontein, Hannover, Cradock, not so much De Aar and, a very long time ago, when my sister and brother-in-law lived there, Kimberley. Even when I’m in London, I try to picture it as it was in late Victorian times when she lived there, assimilated into the capital’s life but longing for the Karoo sky and her Buffelskop, the mountain giant beloved of her young eyes. Schreiner lived in Cape Town at stages too, and in Johannesburg, but it is in the Karoo that her heart lay, most especially Cradock, where as a teenager she lived in the little cottage in Cross Street that is now the Schreiner Museum. This poky dwelling played a role in bringing us to Cradock, and her spirit keeps us here.
I ...
I also asked it to pretend that it was Prince Harry. The results? Illuminating.
Like every columnist on Earth, I’ve been using generative AI to toy around with column ideas.
Here’s how we do it. We login to chatGPT3. We ask it a question, like: “What is the best advice on how to keep one’s New Year’s writing and reading resolutions?” We watch, speechless, as it provides really quite solid guidance in less time than it takes to warm up a cup of tea in the microwave. We take the tea out to the stoep and sip it slowly, staring at nothing in particular, questioning our life choices.
Some weeks before this exercise, knowing that the AI storm was coming, I decided to adopt, as a safety measure, a symbol to indicate when writing was free from the input of our new robot sages. I chose the Japanese kanji , pronounced “won”, meaning “porcelain bowl” or “teacup”. The symbol gestures toward artistic endeavour on a human scale: bowls are integral to the art of kintsugi, “golden joinery”, which is an apt description of how writing works; and teacups are linked to the wabi-sabi aesthetic, which calls for an appreciation of the beauty found in imperfection.
I’ve published a few imperfect items since then with pasted at the bottom, to reassure readers that AI had no part in their creation. There’s a strange satisfaction in making this doubtless futile last stand against the onslaught of the machines.
I won’t be using the symbol for this column, however, because, as I mentioned, the advice that chatGPT spat out like so much tobacco juice is worth sharing in full.
Before getting to it, however, I thought I should share that I also asked chatGPT to pretend that it was “Prince Harry of the Windsor family of the UK”, and that it should “write the opening paragraph of your memoir, which you have entitled ‘Spare’”.
Now, bear in mind that AI has very little knowledge of the world before 2021 – that is, long before the real Prince Harry’s now-bestselling bombshell of a memoir was announced. Here is, nevertheless, what SussexGPT produced:
“Growing up as the spare heir to the British throne, I never could have imagined the weight of expectation and responsibility that would come with my birthright. From a young age, I was aware of my role within the royal family and the impact that it would have on my ...
American journalist and YouTuber Andrew Callaghan, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, directs his feature-length debut, creating an absurd and deeply troubling portrait of the United States. With a bevvy of interviews, the documentary takes a fresh look at the events leading to the 6 January Capitol riots.
When a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the United States of America’s Capitol building on 6 January 2021, the country was shaken to its core. The riot was in response to Trump’s presidential loss against Joe Biden. Thousands of Trump’s supporters participated, contesting the result of the election. The event is now considered a blight on American history.
This Place Rules is a brief and frenetic exploration of the events that led to the 6 January riots. It is from the perspective of American journalist Andrew Callaghan and his team as they were interviewing different people, gonzo-style, before 6 January.
The film was released to a warm reception by fans and critics, but mere days after its debut on HBO, Callaghan was accused of sexual misconduct. Two victims claimed that Callaghan had sexually coerced them and made sexual advances without consent. Due to the victims coming forward, some of the collaborators who worked on This Place Rules have severed ties with Callaghan. He has released a response video in light of the allegations.
Callaghan is known for his All Gas No Brakes (which no longer runs) and Channel 5 series on YouTube, where he and his team go across the US, covering a range of events and topics, from the 2020 Minneapolis riots, in response to the murder of George Floyd, to flat-earth conferences. Their videos can often, but not always, be comedic, featuring zany graphics, jarring edits, abrupt zooms and cartoonish interviews.
The documentary focuses on the extremities of American culture, capturing the political climate that preceded the riots. Callaghan interviews a wide cast of colourful street personalities, but he also interviews some controversial figures, including infamous conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones and the leader of the far-right organisation The Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio.
Callaghan and his crew take their gonzo approach to capture street interviews and apply it to the feature-length format. Though this edit-heavy style could have resulted in an exhausting viewing experience, it makes the one-hour and 22-minute documentary thoroughly engaging. Its compact runtime is filled to the brim with memorable interviews; it even fits in some unexpected narrative twists.
The ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on 25 January during her visit to the country, the Treasury said on Monday.
“She will meet with government, business, and civil society counterparts to discuss how to strengthen our bilateral relationship and address regional and global issues of concern, including deepening economic ties and advancing a just energy transition,” it said.
Yellen is expected to push the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa to pursue its fledgling transition to cleaner energy and away from a heavy reliance on coal. South Africa has been promised $8.5 billion from rich nations to help, but most of that is in loans, not grants, and the country is dealing with an energy crisis that risks curbing economic growth.
While the US is among countries backing the project, authorities may ask the US for additional financial support.
Yellen arrives a day after South Africa hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign minister Naledi Pandor deflected criticism of joint military drills planned with Russia and China, saying that hosting such exercises with “friends” was the “natural course of relations”.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg.
You and I, not the coders of artificial intelligence, write the ethical code which will determine whether this technology, with its own agency and soon to be smarter than us, will lead us into a utopia or a dystopia.
‘The episode of us being the humans followed by the apes is about to end. By 2029, by most predictions of experts of artificial intelligence (AI), the smartest being on the planet is going to be a machine. And you know how it is. If they don’t have our best interest, in the mind of that machine will we become the apes?” said Egyptian entrepreneur and writer Mo Gawdat, the former chief business officer for Google X, at a Daily Maverick webinar on Wednesday.
In the webinar, former BBC foreign correspondent Karen Allen discussed with Gawdat how we are teaching AI ethical codes that will alter the course of humanity.
Gawdat recently published his second bestselling book, Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World.
The book gets the reader to imagine they are in 2055, and explains the story of what happened between now and then to get there, going through the advancement of AI and the warning signs of the risks of tech.
However, Gawdat says, “I will not tell you if we are sitting there because we’ve escaped from the machines, or if we’re sitting there because the machines have helped us build the utopia that restored nature and gave us the safety and luxury of being out there in nature to do what humans do best, which is to connect and chat and, you know, ponder together, right?
“And the reason I don’t tell you is because I don’t know. Because it’s up to you. It’s up to the listeners who are watching us now, it’s up to the readers of the book, to decide whether we’re going to end up in a utopia or end up in a dystopia.”
Gawdat says it is inevitable that in eight years’ time AI will be the smartest sentients on Earth, ending the episode of human advantage.
However, Gawdat says it is not inevitable that AI will deal with us like we dealt with the rest of the planet.
The purpose of Gawdat’s book is to simplify the complex topic of AI in a way that anyone can understand, because everyday people, not the coders or the government or business owners, will determine ...
I cannot but wonder whether the WEF is the creation of a bygone era. I have my doubts about whether it can retain its magnetic pull in a world that desperately needs new ideas, new paradigms and a much greater sense of urgency.
Most people experience the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos as a blur of half-conversations, chattering panels about a mind-boggling range of topics, the occasional memorable soundbite, shaking hands on at least one great deal or agreement, a memorable talk by a world leader in the Congress Hall, and staying upright on the icy roads and pavements. For me, the most lasting image was a moment during a high-profile panel discussion on Leading the Charge Through Earth’s New Normal that took place in the most prestigious venue, the Congress Hall.
One of the many “nature pics” that floated across the giant screen behind the panel of speakers was of a Sumatran orangutan peering somewhat puzzled at the several hundred humans earnestly chattering away about the destruction of the planet and what needs to be done to save the life-support systems humans depend on.
I was mesmerised by the irony of the moment: balanced on her jungle perch, it would never occur to this orangutan to cut away the branch she was sitting on for fear of falling to the ground way below. And yet, this is exactly what we humans have done: for the sake of profit for a few, we have all but destroyed the life-support systems we depend on. No wonder those intelligent eyes seem so curious, so puzzled and so, so sad.
The WEF Annual Meeting is many things at the same time. On the surface, it is four days of panel discussions on a mind-boggling range of topics, from the global economic crisis, to the future of democracy, to technological change, demographic trends, health and the war in Ukraine.
Following on from the Financial Times’ anointment of the word “polycrisis” as the keyword for 2022, many moderators opened their panels with a reference to the polycrisis — gone were the neoliberal certainties of yesteryears.
There is no place for long in-depth talks at WEF: panels comprise speakers who are given five minutes each to respond to a key opening question from the moderator, and then it’s up to the moderator to weave together a narrative from the diverse threads that emerge. Below the casual appearance ...
Trade unions in South Africa have a reputation for having workers’ backs. But for many of the country’s community health workers, these organisations are no longer an ally.
Community health workers (CHWs) say they’ve “lost all faith” in trade unions as their fight for contracts that include pension and medical aid benefits nears a decade.
Gauteng is the only province where these health workers get the same protection as other permanently employed government staff, such as nurses. In 2020, CHWs in Gauteng were classified as Level 2 public servants, so they’re eligible for pension and medical aid benefits and they earn between R9,000 and R11,000 a month.
Elsewhere in the country, CHWs have one-year contracts with the provincial health departments or work for (and are paid by) nonprofits that have deals with the state. As there’s no limit to how many times the contract can get renewed, these workers often stay in their roles for years on end. But at the age of 60 they have to stop — and then leave without any compensation for their long service.
CHWs get a payout of about R4,000 a month, as part of a 2022 agreement struck between three unions and the government’s bargaining council for the health and social development sectors, which was set up to help broker deals or resolve disputes between workers (or their unions) and the state. The 2022 deal is the third extension of one that was first set out in 2018.
Margaret Gale Mookroof (41), a CHW with 16 years of experience, says many of her colleagues have left their unions. Though these bodies had managed, for example, to change the workers’ status from volunteers to formal employees in KwaZulu-Natal in 2014 and helped to cement the original 2018 deal, many of these workers feel disillusioned by the agreement having been extended yet again, to 2025, rather than unions fighting for their services to be insourced by the government. Being recognised as permanent employees — with a pension and medical aid — will help to give them financial stability, they say.
Mookroof says: “They’re failing us, year in and year out.”
Johannes Dyasi (57) agrees. In the Northern Cape, where he works, unions only pay attention to the CHWs when it suits them, he says — such as when they need to bolster numbers in protests for the issues of permanent health staff.
In South Africa, trade unions have historically been a powerful ally ...
The continued illness of Bosasa company executive Angelo Agrizzi has stalled his fraud and corruption trial. On Monday, the matter involving Agrizzi and former ANC MP Vincent Smith was remanded until 9 May.
Former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi is accused of offering gratification to former ANC MP Vincent Smith arising from four contracts worth R1.8-billion awarded by the Department of Correctional Services to Bosasa and its subsidiaries.
Smith and Agrizzi both face corruption and fraud charges, while Smith faces additional charges of money laundering and tax evasion for alleged payments made to his company, Euroblitz 48 (Pty) Ltd. Agrizzi was denied bail in the matter while Smith was successful in his bail application.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Angelo Agrizzi’s loan of over R600,000 to ANC MP Vincent Smith interrogated at State Capture inquiry”
Agrizzi and co-accused: Andries van Tonder, former chief financial officer of Bosasa; Linda Morris Mti, former Correctional Services national commissioner; and Patrick Gillingham, another former Correctional Services employee, are named in a second litigation stemming from the alleged irregular R1.8-billion tender.
In the second case, Agrizzi was granted bail after being charged with corruption, fraud and money laundering, along with some of his former Bosasa colleagues.
However, for trial purposes, the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge granted an application in July 2021 for the separation of the trials of Agrizzi and Smith.
The four contracts, awarded between 2004 and 2007, are for catering and training services, the installation of CCTV cameras and perimeter fencing, and the supply of a television system and monitoring equipment.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Agrizzi and Smith’s key relationship in Bosasa fraud scandal unfolds in court papers”
Agrizzi testified at the Zondo commission on 23 January 2019, gave deeply self-incriminating evidence and testified that he was aware of, and involved in, corruption throughout his time at Bosasa.
Heart attack
On Monday, Agrizzi was scheduled to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge in the Smith matter, but failed to arrive. The former Bosasa COO has not appeared in court since he suffered a heart attack in October 2020.
Agrizzi’s lawyer, Mannie Witz, told Daily Maverick: “The case was remanded in Agrizzi’s absence. An arrest warrant has been stayed, and the matter will be heard in the Pretoria High Court. The State wishes to withdraw his bail application due to his failure to appear in court. Doctors and experts will testify about Agrizzi’s physical and mental health.”
In ...
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits South Africa, a chorus of local and international campaigners have vowed to protest against the planned Cape Town arrival of the Kremlin’s Antarctic seismic ship, the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky. Despite a mining ban, the ship has built vast oil and gas maps of the climate-stressed Southern Ocean. Its airguns — and noise from other ships — may be deafening, stressing out and even killing unique species in a globally important marine sanctuary.
Just days after a controversial meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, in Pretoria on Monday, a Kremlin ship linked to rowdy Antarctic prospecting was set to growl into town.
According to ship tracker Marine Traffic, the blue and white-hulled Akademik Alexander Karpinsky will dock in the unmistakable shadow of Table Mountain on Thursday, January 26.
An Our Burning Planet investigative series shows that the Karpinsky and her seismic airguns have fired shots throughout Antarctica’s warming Southern Ocean for hydrocarbons, the building blocks for oil and gas.
These annual activities have been enabled by Cape Town port facilities ever since an international mining ban, included in Antarctica’s Protocol on Environmental Protection, became law in 1998. This allows scientific research — but not any stages of prospecting linked to commercial intent, Antarctic governance experts argue.
As defined by a controversial 1988 Antarctic mining pact — abandoned after public protests — “prospecting” aims to identify “areas of mineral resource potential for possible exploration and development”.
Thus, argues the University of Canterbury’s Professor Alan Hemmings, Antarctic prospecting is a mineral resource activity outlawed by the mining ban, because it forbids “any activity relating to mineral resources, excluding scientific research”. The New Zealand-based governance specialist, an observer of the 1990s ban negotiations, notes: “Parties had earlier agreed that prospecting was the first of three stages of mineral resource activities — and quite separate from scientific research activities.”
The mining ban “does not prohibit research activity into oil and gas”, such as critical new understanding into how storms release atmosphere-heating gases, says Australian National University’s Donald Rothwell — but the prominent polar law professor also notes that commercial prospecting for mineral resources would be widely considered in breach of the ban.
And the early stages of commercially weighted seabed prospecting — associated with compressed air blasts that may harm marine life — appear to be exactly what the Kremlin has pursued.
The Karpinsky is owned by the Polar ...
A State Capture trial involving the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s controversial multimillion-rand Vrede Dairy Project began in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday.
The Mohoma Mobung agriculture project — at the centre of the case that began on Monday — is a feasibility study with a price tag of R24.9-million paid by the Free State agriculture department to Nulane Investments (one of eight accused).
The study led to the controversial Vrede Dairy Project that cost the provincial department R280-million.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Estina Dairy Farm: A corruption crime scene in Vrede”
The eight accused include two former Free State Department of Agricultural and Rural Development heads of department — Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi — and former chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini.
Thabethe and Moorosi face charges of fraud and contravening Section 86 (1) of the Public Finance Act. The State alleged that the former heads of department unlawfully and wilfully contravened the Public Finance Management Act that resulted in wasteful expenditure.
According to the charge sheet, Nulane Investments — awarded the contract for the feasibility study — did not have the capacity and thus subcontracted Deloitte. It further alleges that more than R19-million of the R24.9-million was paid into a Gupta brothers’ offshore account. Upfront payments were allegedly made and some of the money was used to settle service provider invoices, the charge sheet alleges.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The Estina/Vrede dairy scandal: A Gupta project from beginning to end”
The other accused are Iqbal Sharma, Dinesh Patel and Ronica Ragavan. A second company — Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty — of which Ragavan was a director, is also among the accused.
All the accused have pleaded not guilty. Acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha prohibited media from live streaming or recording witness testimony during the trial.
The first witness took the stand today. Siphiwe Mahlangu of the National Treasury testified on documents (provisionally accepted into evidence) that he received from the police.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Mahlangu said he had been asked to peruse the documents and determine whether the provincial department had followed procurement processes, whether the contract had been in line with the requirements of a public/private partnership and whether the deviation that had been approved had adhered to Treasury rules and regulations.
Mahlangu said that in his opinion the contract might have been awarded illegally. During his investigation, he found that no ...
The R24.9m Nulane Investments trial began in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday. We unpack the multimillion-rand fraud and money laundering case and take a look at the major players involved.
In the dock are Peter Thabethe, the former head of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; Limakatso Moorosi, a former accounting officer at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Seipati Dhlamini, the former chief financial officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The other accused are Iqbal Sharma, a high-flying businessman and former senior official in the Department of Trade and Industry; Dinesh Patel, Sharma’s brother-in-law and a representative of Sharma’s company Nulane Investments 204; and Ronica Ragavan, a long-time Gupta enterprise employee and director of Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty.
The companies indicted are Nulane Investments 204 and the Gupta-owned Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty, which is in business rescue.
What’s the Nulane matter all about?
The case is based on an alleged corrupt contract in which R24.9-million was paid by the Free State provincial government to Nulane Investments to conduct a feasibility study for the province’s flagship Mohoma Mobung project, on the basis that Nulane had unique skills to perform the work.
The controversial Vrede dairy project was one of the programmes included in the Mohoma Mobung project.
Sharma was the sole director of Nulane Investments — the company that landed the R24.9-million contract in the Free State in 2011. The State contends that there was no valid reason the due diligence agreement could not have been procured on the open market as the services offered by Nulane were neither “unique” nor “innovative”.
Additionally, the State alleges that Nulane Investments had no employees on its books, and Sharma is accused of having outsourced the service to Deloitte for a fee of R1.5-million — a fraction of what the provincial government paid to the company. Sharma then allegedly entered into another subcontract for exactly the same services, this time with a Gupta-linked company, Gateway Limited in Dubai.
Nulane’s subcontract with Gateway, the State contends, was a carbon copy of the one it entered into with Deloitte. The State maintains that this subcontract was merely a means to launder Free State government funds to the Dubai company for the ultimate benefit of the Guptas.
Once paid to Nulane, the majority of the cash was allegedly laundered and diverted through a scheme of transactions into and through different ...
President Ramaphosa’s call appears motivated by simple populism and the realisation that rolling blackouts could cost the ANC a previously unimaginably large number of votes in the general election just 18 months away.
With the “no end to load shedding for the next two years” refrain now well etched on our collective brains, the politics around it keeps reaching new levels of intensity. Not only is President Cyril Ramaphosa under intense pressure to take action (possibly including a Cabinet reshuffle), but he himself has joined the chorus of demands for Eskom to suspend its tariff increase.
This request may be taking us into new territory, where a President, seeking a short-term gain, is willing to publicly change the outcome of a regulatory process despite the long-term repercussions. It is also a sign of how Ramaphosa and the ANC are now feeling the heat of the pressure that’s been created by the widespread and deep dissatisfaction with the ruling party’s performance. Ramaphosa could well risk the credibility of our entire system of governance or at least the shreds that are still there, just for the problem to go away temporarily.
On Sunday evening, Ramaphosa addressed delegates at the ANC’s Free State conference. There, he said that he had asked Eskom to suspend its plan to implement the power price increase: “I have personally said to Eskom, ‘Eskom, it will be an injury to our people if we implement the 18% now when we are going through load shedding. Put it in suspense for a while’.”
Power crisis: Ramaphosa plans to switch off Eskom’s tariff hike
It is not clear if there is any financial underpinning for his statement or a long-term strategy that justifies it.
What has, however, become clear is that one of the reasons load shedding has been so intense is that Eskom does not have the money to pay for diesel to run its open-cycle gas turbine stations. Together, these provide around 2,000MW, equivalent to roughly two stages of load shedding (a new measuring unit that is understood by every South African but no one else on Earth — Ed).
Eskom ensured that the entire world knew what exactly the problem was by going public with its decision, and its explanation for why it could not continue to use diesel. Up until this point, the National Treasury has not said whether it would agree to Eskom’s request for more money.
Meanwhile, in its tariff decision, energy ...
Just two of South Africa’s four corvettes have been to sea in the last two years, each only once, and none of its three submarines has even achieved that feat. Now that the pretence of neutrality in the Russian conflict with Ukraine, which is maintained with increasingly surreal public proclamations believed only by a handful of rogue states, has ended, South Africa will foot the bill in lost relationships with the countries best placed to help with growth and development.
South Africa’s Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans has issued a statement in defence of the upcoming exercise with the Russian and Chinese navies.
The minister, Thandi Modise, is said in this respect to be “confident that Exercise Mosi 2 will benefit all three participating nations” and “benefit all countries involved through Interoperability of the naval systems [sic], joint disaster systems management enhancement, maritime cooperation and anti-piracy exercises”.
The press release added: “In addition, Exercise Mosi II will serve as a platform for the three nations to share operational skills, expertise and experience.”
This is despite the fact, according to most recent information, that just two of South Africa’s four corvettes have been to sea in the last two years, each only once, and that none of its three submarines has even achieved that feat.
The statement goes on to get a little defensive, even tetchy, perhaps, because the public response to the friends Pretoria prefer to keep has been overwhelmingly negative — a mixture of disbelief and anger.
“Contrary to the assertions by our critics, South Africa is not abandoning its neutral position on the Russian-Ukraine conflict,” it reads. “We remain firm in our view that multilateralism and dialogue are keys to unlock sustainable international peace. We continue to urge both parties to engage in dialogue as a solution to the current conflict.”
Speaking after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — these days an international pariah — International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said: “All countries conduct military exercises with friends worldwide. It’s the natural course of relations.”
But to prove her fealty to Lavrov, Pandor clarified that it was no longer South Africa’s position that Russia should withdraw from Ukraine.
The truth is that key people in the defence ministry have been pushing for a BRICS naval exercise for years. India largely refused to participate and Brazil was lukewarm, sending a single observer.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Flirting with pariahs
This ...
Perhaps the real reason that Pandor did not repeat her earlier call on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine is that the original call on February 24 last year apparently angered Russia and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said it would have been “simplistic and infantile” to have demanded from her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Russia should withdraw its military from Ukraine.
And so, Pandor said, she had not called on him to do that when they met in Pretoria on Monday.
Pandor had been reminded that last year on February 24, just hours after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, her department had issued a statement which said:
“South Africa calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine in line with the United Nations Charter, which enjoins all member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice are not endangered.
“South Africa emphasises respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.”
And so she was asked at her joint press conference with Lavrov on Monday if she had repeated that call in her meeting with him earlier and, if not, why not?
“I think it was very appropriate early into this conflict to make this statement that we made at Dirco. Because if we had been able to persuade at that early stage we would not be where we are now,” Pandor replied.
“But to repeat that statement to Minister Lavrov today would make me appear quite simplistic and infantile, given the massive transfer of arms that has occurred, given the level of conflict there is, and all the developments that have occurred in almost a year, a month from now.
“So no, I did not repeat that particular statement to Minister Lavrov because I don’t wish to appear as though I don’t know what has occurred in the world.”
Pandor did not explain why the massive transfer of arms that had since occurred, or the level of conflict now reached, would prevent Russia from withdrawing from Ukraine. It sounded as though she might be suggesting that if Russia withdrew now, Ukraine, meanwhile heavily armed with Western weapons, would pursue Russian forces into Russia.
But given the many threats which Russia has made to retaliate with nuclear weapons if its territory were to be transgressed, that seems a very unlikely scenario.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
The ANC’s controversial policy of cadre deployment is in the spotlight this week, as the Pretoria High Court hears the DA’s application to have the policy declared unconstitutional. In court on Monday, the DA’s lawyer compared cadre deployment to a ‘cancer’ — while the ANC’s counsel maintained that the policy is protected by freedom of speech.
‘We are here to chop that cancer from the body politic,” advocate Anton Katz told a full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Monday.
Katz was referring to the DA’s application to have the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment declared unlawful and unconstitutional.
The policy, under increasing scrutiny since the Zondo commission’s consideration of the issue, reflects the ANC’s desire to have key state positions filled by approved individuals. The party has an internal committee which meets to deliberate over such positions and candidates, with more details of its proceedings revealed by the 2021 release of the minutes of meetings held between 2018 and 2020.
DA: Cadre deployment fosters corruption
The DA is objecting to cadre deployment on several grounds. Central to the party’s argument, however, is that the policy is inconsistent with the Constitution, which requires South Africa’s public service to be free from political interference. The party also argues that the policy undermines the rule of law by fostering corruption, and that it effectively gave rise to State Capture.
In court on Monday, Katz played to his audience by asking the bench if they were “okay” with the ANC’s stated desire to control “all levers of the state” — including investigative and judicial functions.
While the ANC might argue that its internal policies were beyond the scrutiny of the court because they pertain to a private organisation, Katz contended that “the policy of cadre deployment effectively operates as a policy of government”.
The ANC is also arguing that its deployment committee merely “recommends” suitable candidates, without dictating to the relevant member of the executive who should be appointed. Katz said the fact that the policy specifies that executive members who fail to follow the recommendations of the committee need to supply an “explanation” for having done so, and may face disciplinary action as a result, means that what looks like “recommending” is effectively “dictating”.
A further element of the DA’s argument is that the ANC’s policy undermines the right to equality by discriminating against public service candidates who are not ANC members.
Counsel for AfriForum — which joined the matter as ...
‘Load shedding combined with the water shortage in my area has completely obliterated my business’, says one small-scale chicken farmer who is shutting down as a result of power outages and water shortages in Nhlazatshe, Pietermaritzburg.
Ntobeko Mafu, 22, beat the odds when she started a successful, registered chicken business at the age of 20 while pursuing a qualification in human resource management. She was also a single parent. Now, thanks to municipal incompetence and the government’s inability to keep the lights on, her dream is in tatters.
“We have suffered horrendous load shedding and water shortages in the Nhlazatshe location in Edendale.
“At first, the electricity issue hampered the growth of our chickens, then the water shortages led to the deaths of 600 chickens that were ready to be sold,” said Mafu.
Bright prospect
The young entrepreneur was a bright prospect in the small to medium enterprises sector in Durban, managing to complete four business training programmes. She also won several business-related competitions, including a national one where she represented KZN and took third place among 791 entrants.
The money she was making from her business took care of her son, school fees, transport, clothing and so on, while also contributing to the upkeep of her two brothers.
“It started slowly in November. We had the ‘normal’ two hours of load shedding per day. then it moved to four hours in less than a week.
“When load shedding happened at night, the chicks would huddle together in an attempt to find warmth, but they would end up trampling one another. This increased the mortality rate,” Mafu said.
“Then load shedding went up to more than six hours per day. then 13 hours, 15 hours. This did a lot of damage. Mortality shot up from five or so chickens per week to between 30 and 50 a day.
‘There was very little left’
“Then a water pipe burst and we didn’t have water for a week. Eventually, after four days, a water tanker arrived. By the time it got to our side of the road, there was very little left.”
Mafu said that some days they went without water. It was this that killed the last of her stock. Now, she says she’s devastated at the idea of having to let four of her employees go.
“I need a hybrid inverter and batteries. I need a solar panel and I need chicken feed, as well as chicks, and a water pump if possible.”
Mafu ...
Learners at an Eastern Cape secondary school who received incomplete matric certificates because of an assessment bungle have pleaded with the Department of Education to assist them by engaging with universities so that they can be placed while waiting to rewrite the paper.
Matriculants at the Pakamani Senior Secondary School in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, all received incomplete results last week after a bungle with the assessments of their Life Orientation exam.
The Democratic Alliance claims some of their final papers were not handed in for marking and some papers did not have names on them. The DA’s Eastern Cape spokesperson for education, Edmund van Vuuren, said the subsequent delays in getting results could cost them university placements in 2023.
“The MEC must explain how it is possible that the school failed to hand in half of the answer scripts for marking and how those which were submitted did not have the respective learners’ names on them,” he added.
“Full disciplinary action must be taken against those responsible and heads must roll. The hardship inflicted on these learners is unforgivable. I have submitted parliamentary questions to the Eastern Cape MEC for Education, Fundile Gade, today to get to the bottom of this travesty.
“The inability of the [Eastern Cape] Department of Education to identify the mistake, implement consequence management and assist the learners in this regard shows the detachment of the department from the array of issues faced by learners, teachers and parents.
“This is yet another prime example of how the ANC’s poor administration of a government department has yet again gravely and negatively affected the lives of the children of this province,” he added.
Vuyiseka Mboxela, the spokesperson for Gade, said the learners had to write the Life Orientation paper again because they “did not complete their year’s work”.
She confirmed that the learners would rewrite the paper on Wednesday, 25 January.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Parents expressed their disappointment and said the bungle was putting their children’s futures at stake.
Despite getting an incomplete result for Life Orientation, 18-year-old Azola Mlotywa obtained seven distinctions, for isiXhosa, English, Economics, Life Science, History, Agricultural Science and Mathematics Literacy.
Mlotywa lives in a shack in the Madiba informal settlement in Butterworth but said he was optimistic that he would get to university. His focus now is on rewriting the Life Orientation paper on Wednesday.
He said his dream was to find a better place for his parents ...
Rising inflation and mounting financial pressure are weighing heavily on consumers’ ability to stay on top of their bills, forcing them to cut back on discretionary spending and prioritise debt repayments.
That’s the finding of the latest TransUnion Consumer Pulse study for the fourth quarter (Q4), which shows household incomes are stagnant and rising inflation is overwhelming consumers — 67% of whom said they had spent less on non-essentials like travelling, dining out and entertainment in the three months leading up to November 2022.
Even so, despite trimming the fat off their budgets, 38% of consumers are unable to pay their bills and loans in full and are likely to be more responsive to creditors who are vigorously collecting on debt.
The survey of 1,003 adults, conducted last year between 3 and 15 November by TransUnion and research provider Dynata, shows household incomes have remained flat, with 36% of consumers reporting an increase in household income — unchanged from the previous quarter.
For 23% of households, Q4 effectively meant going backwards, as they reported a decrease in income (up four percentage points on the previous quarter), with unemployment (23%) and reduced salary and wages (20%) cited as the primary causes.
Consumers weathered many storms in 2022, with inflation at its highest levels in 13 years, peaking at 7.8% in July, the prices of consumables rising sharply from 9.8% to 14.4% in Q2, as well as sharp fuel and food price hikes.
Early in November, the price of diesel (then R25.49/l) was up 48% year-on-year, with petrol up 17%. Meat increased by 9.4%, bread and cereal went up 13.7% and oils and fats by 36.2%, the report notes.
Civil judgments down
The strain on finances is evident in Stats SA’s latest data on civil cases for debt: On Friday 20 January, Stats SA said the number of civil summonses issued for debt had increased by 6.6% in the three months ended November, compared with the same period in 2021.
The largest positive contributors to this increase in civil summonses issued were: “other” debts (outstanding debt such as salaries and wages, medical fund debt, sponsored debt, class and tuition debt, tax, assessment rates and property levies contributing 9.4 percentage points); and other services (mostly municipal rates and taxes, but also plumbers, builders, mechanics, panelbeaters and electricians contributing 3.8 percentage points).
The number of civil judgments recorded for debt, though — which follows what is usually a lengthy collection period — decreased by ...
Widely held expectations are that the South African Reserve Bank will increase the repo rate this Thursday by 50 basis points, with increases tapering off thereafter.
More than half (59%) of the panellists on the global financial platform Finder.com believe that Thursday will bring a 50 basis points (bps) increase, while 48% of the panel believe January is likely to be the peak of this interest rate cycle, with an additional 36% believing the rate will peak in March.
However, nearly one in five panellists (19%), including Morgan Stanley’s senior economist Andrea Masia, think the rate should hold. Masia is also part of the 19% who think the SA Reserve Bank raised the rate too aggressively in 2022.
“While risks of a final 50bps hike in the cycle are elevated, we think there is good reason to pause and assess the impact of historical tightening. A stronger FX and lower oil prices create the breathing room to do so,” he said.
Sanlam Investment Management’s head of fixed interest, Mokgatla Madisha, agrees the rate should hold but thinks the SA Reserve Bank will probably raise the rate by 50bps, given central banks are in policy tightening mode.
“Policy acts with a lag and we are yet to see the impact of last year’s rate hikes on the economy. Furthermore, inflation in SA has clearly peaked and with year-end forecasts of inflation close to 5%, the current repo rate of 7% is sufficiently restrictive,” said Madisha.
BNP Paribas chief economist Jeff Schultz disagrees. He thinks the SA Reserve Bank will and should increase the rate by 50bps on Thursday because of sticky inflation expectations, an arguably more vulnerable currency outlook and the fact that most disinflation is concentrated in fuel prices while core inflation will continue to climb.
“Though the decision is likely to be a close call . we think that persistently large uncertainties that remain on the domestic inflation outlook will sway the committee to buy itself a bit more insurance and hike 50bps,” he says.
Oxford Economics Africa senior economist Jee-A van der Linde is also backing a 50bps increase due to the uncertain inflation outlook as well as expectations that the Fed will increase the rate at its next meeting.
Van der Linde says slow disinflation dynamics imply that the SA Reserve Bank will consider lifting interest rates by another 50bps in the first quarter of this year, before pausing. “International oil prices have come down in ...
Almost 20 cases of XBB.1.5 – the Omicron subvariant that’s been described as the most transmissible to date – have now been identified in South Africa. No data signals show that this specific subvariant will cause more severe disease or increased hospitalisation.
Seventeen confirmed cases of the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 have been detected in South Africa since December 2022.
One was found in Gauteng, 13 in the Western Cape, one in the Free State and two in KwaZulu-Natal, according to the latest genomic surveillance report released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The latest report on Covid cases in the country shows 1,499 cases reported for the second week of the year.
XBB.1.5 was first found in January in a random sample taken in December. In the first week of January, another case was identified. Now there are 15 more.
The Western Cape reported the highest weekly incidence risk (4.1 cases per 100,000 persons), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (3.3 cases per 100,000), the Eastern Cape (2.6 cases per 100,000) and Gauteng (1.9 cases per 100,000).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers an incidence risk of higher than five per 100,000 people indicative of an outbreak that is not under control.
In his update, the director of the Centre for Aids Programme Research in South Africa (Caprisa), Professor Salim Abdool Karim, said South Africa remains in low transmission at present.
He explained that XBB.1.5 has two “key characteristics of new variants of concern” – high transmissibility and immune escape. He said the latest research shows that the XBB.1 sublineage has more immune escape than all of its predecessors:
“XBB.1.5 has been spreading rapidly in the US over the last few weeks and has now become dominant (>50%) . but the global trends are not showing an expected upward trend if XBB.1.5 is spreading rapidly in many countries as we saw with Omicron BA.1 (another subvariant).”
His advice was to get fully vaccinated and boosted, try to be outdoors as much as possible, and wear a mask when in poorly ventilated indoor areas.
Globally, nearly 2.8 million new cases and more than 13,000 deaths were reported in the week of 9 to 15 January 2023, according to the WHO.
“In the last 28 days (19 December 2022 to 15 January 2023), nearly 13 million cases and almost 53,000 new deaths were reported globally – a decrease of 7% and an increase of 20%, respectively, ...
While many are putting building plans on hold in the face of increasing costs (inflation and borrowing rates), building projects are booming in the Western Cape. Plans involving almost R35bn were passed between January and November last year. While these numbers are promising for job creation, the spectre of rolling blackouts casts a large shadow over potential productivity.
The number of approved building plans in the Western Cape is up by as much as 27%, according to the latest Selected Building Statistics of the Private Sector released by Statistics South Africa on 20 January.
The report further shows that the province also continues to lead in the value of building plans passed, claiming responsibility for nearly one-third of the total value of building plans passed in South Africa over this time.
This is an important metric for future job creation, with the province recording just more than R25-billion worth of completed buildings between January and November 2022, or 40% of the total value of buildings completed over this period.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were the only other provinces to record an increase in the value of buildings completed over the last year, with total values of R19-billion and R9-billion respectively.
The load shedding effect
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, points out that approved building plans are a leading economic indicator of confidence in the economy.
“This is even more impressive when we consider the impact that load shedding had on the economy in 2022, with more than 200 days of rolling blackouts.
“More importantly, approved building plans translate into building sites and potential job creation in the province,” she says.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force survey released at the end of November by Stats SA, 85,000 jobs were created in the Western Cape in the third quarter of last year.
Wenger says the provincial government is making urgent moves to ramp up the Western Cape’s energy resilience and to reduce reliance on Eskom.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“If we want this upward construction trend to continue and to contribute to the kind of break-out economic growth we need to create thousands more jobs, we must have a stable and reliable power supply,” she says.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says the province is estimated to have lost between R48.6-billion and R61.2-billion in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since load shedding began in late 2007.
“In 2022, the real GDP lost to the ...
Ties between Russia and the three Baltic nations on the northeast border of the European Union and Nato reached a new low as tit-for-tat expulsions and staff cuts were set to leave no ambassador-level diplomats between the nations.
Poland will file a request for German approval to send its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, adding that it was a formality “because we will transfer the tanks without the nod”.
European Union foreign ministers held talks in Brussels, with Germany facing pressure from several countries on tank deliveries. The EU ministers are expected to approve another €500-million in funding for weapons sent to Ukraine.
Key developments
Baltic relations with Moscow deteriorate in diplomatic standoff
Latvia slams Berlin over indecision on Leopard tanks for Ukraine
Germany and France outline a new Europe that’s under threat
How Europe needs freight trains to cross Russia from China
Germany still years from replacing Russian gas capacity
On the ground
Russian forces continued their offensive around Bakhmut, conducted unsuccessful assaults on the Lyman, Avdiyivka and Zaporizhzhia axes, and are on the defensive in other areas, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
It said Russian troops launched four missile and five air strikes on Ukraine over the past day and carried out more than 40 salvos from multiple rocket launchers, while the Ukrainian military repelled attacks near 11 settlements in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in the Kherson region.
EU to prolong trade liberalisation with Ukraine
The EU is leaning toward prolonging full trade liberalisation with Ukraine to support its economy in spite of concerns raised by industries.
The bloc is “likely to expand those measures because they are providing tangible economic support to Ukraine” in a difficult moment, European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said.
Last June, the EU adopted a temporary full trade liberalisation with Ukraine and the suspension of trade defence measures for one year as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of the country. Member states had noted the increased volume of some imports, including poultry and eggs.
Latvia says next two months are critical for Ukraine
The next two months will be critical for Ukraine as Russia builds up forces and equipment near the border for an offensive, Latvian Defence Minister Inara Murniece told journalists.
Ukraine needed weapons now to defend itself, she said.
Latvia, which has given weapons to Ukraine, is planning to rebuild its arsenal by buying air defence systems, Himars rocket launchers and a coastal defence system, ...
The first question holders of crypto in Luno have is — of course — whether my bitcoin (or whatever) is still worth anything.
On Thursday last week, cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco filed for bankruptcy, becoming yet another crypto firm to collapse in the aftermath of the FTX fiasco. South African crypto investors are affected by this because SA’s leading crypto exchange, Luno, was bought by the Genesis group in 2020. What exactly is going on here?
You are not going to believe me when I tell you this, but it’s complicated. The first question holders of crypto in Luno have is — of course — whether my bitcoin (or whatever) is still worth anything. And the short answer is that Luno was not included in the companies of the group that were declared bankrupt. So technically, your bitcoin is safe — for now.
But listen up because there is a question in the market now about whether Luno can avoid at least some of the fallout from the crypto meltdown. On the positive side, it’s important to note that as far as we know now, Genesis did not engage in the same kind of financial shenanigans as FTX. But it does have a different problem.
The root of the problem is simply this: if you invest in crypto, that is your money and good luck to you. The value of your investment rises and falls with the market. The question for crypto intermediaries is: how do they make money? In normal investment finance, the answer would be simple: intermediaries make money because you agree to pay them a fee for the pleasure of investing your money. If they invest it well, they get paid. And this is the joy of the financial services industry: if they invest it badly, they still get paid. Ha! But of course, there is a risk you will move your money elsewhere.
With crypto, actually, you don’t really need an investment adviser to make the tricky decisions about where in the world to invest your money and in what assets. You have already invested it in your chosen crypto coin. Of course, you could move it from one form of crypto to another — you might need advice on that — but the nature of the crypto market is much simpler than, say, making complicated investments in the gazillions of companies out there.
So for the crypto intermediaries, there has ...
Despite his failure to resolve the national question – race relations – General Jan Smuts conceived a vision for an industrial South Africa. He recognised that his vision would be a chimera if not anchored on a reliable and cheap electric supply and on steel production.
In his reflections on political leadership in the modern age, British political scientist Archie Brown dispels The Myth of The Strong Leader.
Brown dissuades us from using strength as a measure of leadership, for as he says, “strength is better suited for judging weightlifters or long-distance runners”.
However, with the collapse of our state unfolding before our eyes, we should be pardoned for crying out for strong leadership. Yet, what we are actually yearning for are not weightlifters or marathon runners. Our country is crying out for courageous and visionary leadership.
The role of political leadership is to articulate a vision and attract relevant expertise to translate that vision into practice.
Very few of our political leaders – past and present – have illustrated this ability. General Jan Smuts is among the few who exuded the qualities of a courageous and visionary leader. As a war general, Smuts is hailed for his courage during the Anglo-Boer War and his stratagems during the two world wars.
His contribution to the formation of the League of Nations and his craftsmanship of the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were the hallmarks of visionary leadership.
Despite his complacency in the failure to resolve the national question – race relations – here at home, Smuts conceived a vision for an industrial South Africa. However, he recognised that his vision would be a chimera if not anchored on a reliable and cheap electric supply and on steel production.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Let’s not beat about the bush — South Africa is a failed state, now let’s all stand up and fix it”
Thus, he searched for the relevant skills set that would translate his vision into practice. One scientist, Hendrik van der Bijl, stood out for him, for he had made significant strides in engineering.
We learn from South African Heritage: A biography of HJ van der Bijl by Alice Jacobs that Van der Bijl had left South Africa in 1909 to read for his doctoral studies at Leipzig, Germany. By 1912, he had acquired a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry.
From Germany he set sail for New York, ...
Battling with inadequate resources as a no-fee school, Kylemore Secondary in Stellenbosch achieved an unprecedented 95.1% matric pass rate. Staff at the school say that one of the main contributing factors was extra classes for learners.
Kylemore Secondary School in Stellenbosch achieved a matric pass rate of 95.1% when the results of the 2022 exams were released on 20 January. It was a 5.5% improvement over the previous year’s 89.6% pass rate, and possibly the school’s highest pass rate. (It was the highest since 2010 when the Department of Basic Education (DBE) started compiling data on pass rates, and no data are available for the years before that.)
“We are really surprised that [the pass rate] was so good. We had a few students who we struggled with through the year, but at the end of the year they showed that they did put in. We are happy for them,” said Gavin Baxter, the acting deputy principal.
“We have around seven subjects where we have a 100% pass rate,” said Tertia Jefthas, the acting principal. These subjects include English First Additional Language, Physical Sciences and Afrikaans.
Of the 102 learners who wrote the matric exam, 38 received a Bachelor’s pass, 38 a Diploma pass and 21 a Higher Certificate pass.
Extra classes
Baxter said one of the reasons for the school’s high pass rate was its dedication to providing extra classes, including on Saturdays. Learners were also pushed to attend after-school classes, with extra classes being made available during the exam periods and throughout most of the academic year.
Baxter said of the classes: “They evidently worked when you look at the results we got. And you know it’s difficult to get a child here on Saturdays.”
The school usually has winter and spring schools, taught by teachers from outside the school whom the learners may not be used to, which lessens their ability to absorb the work, said Baxter.
“We tried to motivate them, pull them in and keep them busy till the end,” said Jefthas. “We have a winning recipe, but we also pray a lot. The Class of 2022 have now set the bar; they have set the standard. But for the Class of 2023, they must improve it.”
“You have to walk with the matrics through the whole year,” said Carin Venter, a former principal of Kylemore Secondary. She believes that checking in with learners, caring about them, loving them, and motivating and supporting them are ...
The gas tanker blast in Boksburg on Christmas Eve has now claimed 41 lives. The victims include 12 health workers who succumbed to their injuries. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the death toll could increase as more information becomes available.
It is a month since the devastating explosion in Boksburg on Christmas Eve, when a tanker transporting liquefied petroleum gas exploded after it became wedged beneath a bridge about 100m from the Tambo Memorial Hospital.
Initially, 10 people were reported to have died in the blast, with 26 others seriously injured. The death toll has since risen to 41. The figure was confirmed by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi last week.
“This number is inclusive of 12 health workers. Five are still in various hospitals.”
He added that 23 people who had sustained various injuries had been discharged and that numbers “may change as we get more confirmations from the facilities”.
Meanwhile, the driver of the truck – employed by Infinite Fleet Transport through the agency Innovative Staffing Solutions – was initially taken into police custody but then released. Police said there was no case against him.
The driver and his employer were cleared of wrongdoing by an independent road transport safety system auditor, Transheq, as reported by TimesLIVE.
In response to the losses incurred and trauma endured by victims and families of victims, Johannesburg’s RH Lawyers intends to file a class action.
According to the firm’s Zain Lundell, the lawsuit will be filed against Innovative Staffing Solutions, Infinite Fleet Transport, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, various stakeholders of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality – including the police and firefighting department – and anyone else who may be liable for civil damages arising from the explosion.
Lundell said RH Lawyers currently represents 25 people, including those who were injured, those who have had a loved one die and those who suffered damage to property.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Richard Spoor, an attorney specialising in class actions, told Daily Maverick the case is perfectly suited for this type of legal action.
“There is a single event causing injury to a large number of persons, many of them poor and working class people, and it makes a lot of sense to litigate the matter as a class action as it is time- and cost-efficient, and the courts will have to consider the issues only once.
“The claim will almost certainly be against the employer and be based on ...
Move over Mercedes — BMW may just have stolen your ‘best car in the world’ S-Class mantle.
After spending two days immersed in the wonder of the revolutionary all-new BMW 7 Series last week, I took a deep breath and wondered: who the hell designed this outrageously luxurious, hi-tech piece of metal, cashmere wool, leather and Swarovski crystal genius?
While there are always hundreds, if not thousands, of people involved in producing a product like the 7, the man with the central design vision is 47-year-old Frankfurt-born Croat, Domagoj Dukec, who took up the position of head of design at BMW in 2019.
During his tenure, he’s introduced some pretty polarising design elements to the German premium brand, but perhaps none as controversial as those enormous kidney grilles that got BMW’s 40 million-plus social media followers talking. A lot.
In many quarters, the response was downright derogatory, likening the oversized grilles (first revealed on the straight 4 Series, M3 and M4 in 2020) to the face of a beaver, or oversized metal orthodontic braces.
Making a difference
In October last year, Dukec, who describes himself as an “emotional rationalist”, told Sharp magazine that he doesn’t pay much attention to naysayers: “I can’t, and I don’t want to please everyone, because BMW was never about pleasing everyone. Actually, my duty as head of design is to always create something which makes a difference.”
The new 7 Series, with its enormous nose, super-slim headlights, revolutionary tech and uber luxurious finishes, has once again elicited a passionate brigade of lovers and haters.
The camps screaming “heresy” believe BMW has totally lost the plot.
There’s clearly nostalgia among the haters who long for the “good old days”, when a 7 Series was an ode to elegance, understatement and looked like. well, a 7 Series.
When BMW unveiled the new 7 in April last year, one armchair critic going by the handle @ListerLawrence vented on Twitter: “No amount of black-packing or upgrading the alloys is going to fix the way this new 7 series looks. The only thing I can think is that BMW know (sic) how bad the chip shortage is and this is their way of getting ahead of it.”
Then there are the millions of fans hailing the 7th gen 7 as a giant leap in “Forwardism” — a term coined by BMW to coincide with the launch of their latest flagship.
Rather than trying to appease the old fans, BMW appears to be ...
A male nurse has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a police officer to death in Khayelitsha outside Cape Town, while the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks are hunting for the killers of a cop and his family in Port Edward on the lower south coast.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) lost two of its members on Saturday in separate incidents.
Captain Siphumeza Lusasa (37) was attached to the Muizenberg SAPS Support Services. He was fatally wounded while on standby duty at Epakini, one of Khayelitsha’s popular hangout spots. The venue is near the Lingelethu Police Station.
Police sources say they received a report of a stabbing in Spine Road behind the police station at about 9.40pm on Saturday.
According to Hawks Western Cape spokesperson Zinzi Hani, it is alleged the officer was involved in an argument with a woman when the suspect – apparently the woman’s boyfriend – attacked the officer, stabbing him multiple times.
“A member of the public, who was on the scene, transported the officer to Khayelitsha Hospital where he was unfortunately declared dead on arrival. The suspect allegedly fled the scene,” said Hani.
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It was later established that the suspect is a 40-year-old male nurse. He handed himself over to the police on Sunday.
“He will be making his first appearance at the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday on a charge of murder.”
Meanwhile, a second officer was killed – together with three family members – by unknown gunmen in the Nzimakwe location in Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal.
KZN Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo confirmed that Hawks members from the Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit are investigating the murders that happened on Saturday.
“It is alleged that an off-duty police member and his three family members were fatally shot by unknown suspects whilst they were entering their residence. The motive for the killings is unknown and no arrest has been made at this stage.” DM
The government of Zimbabwe is attempting to ensure that as many people as possible are forced to register as private voluntary organisations so that it can prevent not only the funding of opposition parties, but also restrict open support for the opposition.
On 5 November 2021, the clerk of parliament in Zimbabwe published the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill 2021 (the PVO Amendment Bill) in the Government Gazette. The bill has since been passed by the National Assembly and will be debated in the Senate on 31 January 2023.
The amendments that are proposed might leave you thinking that the Zimbabwean government deals with a multitude of terrorist financing threats on a regular basis.
In summary, the amendments ostensibly seek to address two things:
To prevent nonprofit organisations (NGOs) from being misused by terrorist organisations as fronts or “conduits for terrorist financing”;
To ensure that private voluntary organisations do not undertake political lobbying.
These two issues clearly express the intentions of the government. The first is to monitor, cease and even seize funds received by NGOs in the country.
The second targets the activities of NGOs and seeks to silence dissenting voices and to further shrink, if not close, civic spaces ahead of Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections.
This is made clear by the major clauses of the bill which include changing the definition of PVOs as well as expanding the definition of “funds or other assets” to include “all financial assets and funds or other assets of every kind”.
To make sure that as many people as possible are forbidden by law from financially supporting the opposition or from opposing government (read Zanu-PF), the amended definition of a PVO includes anyone that fundraises for any activity.
For example, if you wake up and decide that, for your birthday, you will ask people to donate money towards the drilling of a borehole in your community, the bill demands that you must first register as a PVO. You can do that voluntarily or you can be forced to do so by the Minister of Social Welfare.
It means if, after registering as a PVO, you decide to donate 10 T-shirts to a candidate in the local government elections, you will be breaking the law as PVOs will now be prohibited from political lobbying.
Another clause seeks to criminalise the “supporting or opposing [of] a political party or candidate by PVOs”.
Clause 7 seeks to give the minister power to suspend an executive committee of any PVO ...
Almost 400 cases of measles have been reported across five provinces over the last four months. The NICD has advised that clinicians should be on high alert, as the opening of schools may lead to localised outbreaks. Elri Voigt reports on the current state of the outbreak, the potential outcomes, and what is being done to curtail the spread of measles in the country.
In October last year, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) alerted the public to a measles outbreak in Limpopo. Since then, four more provinces have reported outbreaks, and the number of positive cases in the country has climbed rapidly.
Last week’s measles report from the NICD indicated that between the first week of October 2022 and mid-week in the second week of January 2023, a total of 397 cases of measles were identified across the country. Of those, 382 cases were detected in five provinces — Limpopo 145, North West 125, Mpumalanga 79, Gauteng 18, and the Free State 15. These five provinces have all met the criteria for a measles outbreak (three or more cases in a district within a month).
The remaining 15 cases are spread around KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, and the Western Cape — none of which have so far met the criteria for an outbreak.
The NICD has advised that “clinicians should be on high alert as the opening of schools may lead to localised outbreaks where vaccination rates are suboptimal”.
‘Biggest outbreak in 11 years’
Dr Kerrigan McCarthy, a pathologist from the Centre for Vaccines and Immunology at the NICD, tells Spotlight this is the biggest outbreak in 11 years, surpassing the outbreak in 2017 when around 280 cases of measles were identified.
According to the NICD report, the total number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases and the total number of samples submitted for testing has decreased for the third consecutive week. However, McCarthy cautions that this apparent decline might actually be due to a decrease in the number of specimens sent to the NICD for testing, and not due to the outbreak actually slowing down.
“The fact that we have seen a decrease in the number of positive cases could be attributed to the decrease in number of specimens that have been submitted, but there is a small possibility that it could represent a turnaround in the outbreak. However, a consensus amongst us in public health is that it is the former problem,” says McCarthy.
She ...
Cabinet collective responsibility entails Cabinet solidarity: members of the Cabinet must publicly show a unified position, and must support the government even if they privately disagree. Gwede Mantashe’s actions and utterances show him to be a constitutional delinquent.
Writing in Politicsweb on 20 January 2023, William Saunderson-Meyer constructs an extended analogy, in which he likens events unfolding around the Eskom debacle to a hectic and deadly Shakespearean tragedy, before unleashing the following punchlines:
“Following the resignation and alleged poisoning of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, South Africans have watched slack-jawed the escalation of dire events over the past few weeks.
“De Ruyter’s valiant but doomed efforts to rescue the power utility laid bare how criminality involving the ANC elite has hollowed out every state institution. The rot is so deep, the stakes so high for the criminals, we should accept that the best we can hope for in the immediate future is that we’ll eventually have more competent crooks leeching off our state-owned entities — parasites that don’t kill the host.
“Cyril Ramaphosa’s willingness to abandon De Ruyter to the wolves was yet another reminder that the president puts party interests above national priorities, even during the greatest crisis of the democratic era. Despite his objectively much-strengthened position following the December leadership conference, there was no rebuke of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe when he accused De Ruyter of ‘treason’ for implementing loadshedding. Instead, Ramaphosa has stated that following a conference resolution, Mantashe’s department will take charge of Eskom.
“Ramaphosa’s diehard fans trust that this is a canny, not craven, manoeuvre. That in his imminent Cabinet reshuffle, the president will axe the useless and compromised Mantashe, to replace him with a competent and credible technocrat. Someone who can handle what is, for the moment, possibly the most important ministerial portfolio.”
Peter Bruce’s column in the Sunday Times on 22 January has the same tenor. It focuses on the danger Gwede Mantashe poses to constitutional democracy under the rule of law. The opening blurb sums it up as: “The energy minister is trying to shift the blame for load-shedding away from himself — and has now drawn the president into the circle of fire.”
City Press has a front-page headline on 22 January 2023 which reads “Ramaphosa’s team guns for Gwede” with the sub-heading: “President in a bind as close allies warn that giving Eskom to the powerful ANC chairperson would spell disaster for the country’s ...
We should all be asking whether learners truly benefit from the 12 years (or more) they spend in South African classrooms and if the National Senior Certificate is worth it.
While successful learners all across the country are celebrating their matric results and with a cohort of new grade 1s just starting their academic careers, it is apt to question whether the National Senior Certificate (NSC) is a true measure of the learners’ knowledge, skills and personal development. Is it time South Africa rather moves to continuous assessments like other countries?
Before we can determine the best possible solution to benefit the learners, a critical look at the state of education in the country is necessary.
During the technical briefing on Thursday 19 January 2023, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Director-General, Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, remarked that the issue plaguing the education system is not dropouts but a high failure rate.
I agree with him on the high failure rate and appreciate his candour, but the country’s high dropout rate cannot be ignored. Both these issues deserve Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s urgent attention.
The high dropout rate and the high failure rate are symptoms of the same disease. StatsSA’s 2021 General Household Survey revealed that 21.2% of learners drop out of school as a result of poor academic performance. The 2022 dropout rate for the matric cohort was 31.8 %, and the real pass rate only 54.6%.
Other roots for both failure and dropouts are the need for quality teachers, failure to provide adequate and safe infrastructure, lack of learning and teaching support material (LTSM), and lack of necessary facilities and equipment like computer labs, data, wifi.
Not to mention factors like bullying at school, substance abuse, learner pregnancies, child-headed households, financial constraints, and gender-based violence (GBV).
And then of course the extraordinary circumstances of Covid-19 lockdowns and last year’s KwaZulu-Natal floods.
Rolling blackouts would also have aggravated the situation even further. On 8 December 2022 the rolling blackout monitoring app, EskomSePush, revealed that South Africans had suffered through an average of 192,720 minutes of rolling blackouts last year. While measures were put in place to minimise the impact on the matric examinations, learners were not exempted from the rolling blackouts during the rest of the year.
The quality of education that learners receive is possibly the biggest obstacle to their success. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the quality of South Africa’s teaching does not meet local or international ...
Let us not take away from the brilliant performance of the class of 2022; what these 775,630 matrics achieved is close to a pedagogic miracle. They, and their parents and teachers, deserve all the accolades coming their way.
Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Education is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace.”
It is now 30 years since Mandela was set free in 1992 and thereby ushered in a new democratic dispensation in South Africa. After nearly three decades of democracy, it is necessary to stop and ask ourselves if the education system is indeed the empowerment instrument that Mandela envisaged 30 years ago. In the process, it is necessary to ask pressing questions that everyone involved in education in South Africa should answer honestly and sincerely.
Questions like: why is there still a big difference between the results of the independent schools (IEB) and that of state schools? Why is there still a huge gap between rich and poor schools? Why must learners in our townships and in rural areas still climb so many mountains and cross rivers (literally and figuratively) just to meet the basic requirements of going to school? Does our education system effectively address the poverty problem and gender inequality in our country?
Enormous challenges
My instinctive response is NO.
The persistent inequality in schools, with the accompanying poverty and violence with which learners in government schools must cope, is the main reason why one-third of learners who started their school careers in 2011 did not make it to the final exams. Few of the current matric class thought they would face challenging conditions during their 12 years at school before they could start writing the matric exam. This class had to keep up with:
The Covid-19 pandemic, the class which was the hardest hit;
The enormous challenges of rolling blackouts;
Lack of service delivery owing to the above-mentioned challenges;
Forced curriculum changes to catch up on the huge backlog after Covid-19;
Unusual school hours owing to the controversial rotation system;
Adapting to a new teaching pedagogy which changed overnight from face-to-face tuition to online classes for which most schools were not nearly ready; and
The sudden death of loved ones.
Against this background the pass rate of 80.1% (4% better than last year’s 76%) is laudable.
Let us not take away ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of today’s events around the world.
A radical departure from existing policy is needed to enhance safety, but candidates’ proposed reforms miss the mark.
Eighteen presidential candidates will participate in Nigeria’s polls on 25 February. Three stand out — Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The new president will be sworn in on 29 May and will be constitutionally mandated to manage Nigeria’s security governance architecture between 2023 and 2027. This election — the seventh since the country’s return to democracy in 1999 — will significantly impact policy direction.
Public safety and security in Nigeria are in a bad place — due mainly to the many armed groups active in the country. Over the past seven years, the government has invested over N12-trillion ($26.5-billion) in military assets, expanded the armed forces and focused on degrading violent extremist groups in the North East region.
Ironically, security has worsened in other parts of Nigeria: bandits and gangs are rife in the North West; separatist agitators are causing conflict in the South East; a herder-farmer crisis is ongoing in the North Central states; and urban violence is rife countrywide. Boko Haram’s two factions have expanded from the North East to North West and North West Central states.
The corruption and abuse of security spending exacerbate Nigeria’s security crisis. Funds are provided to federal, state and local government officials to disburse at their discretion. Transparency International estimates that ‘secretive, unaccounted-for cash expenditures’ add up to over $670-million a year.
The new president must grapple with a broken state dominated by armed groups and socio-economic problems. This calls for a radical departure from old approaches. The drivers of banditry, violent extremism, kidnapping and other crimes must be confronted head-on through economic development plans that stem rising poverty and youth unemployment. The security and defence infrastructure also needs modernising, starting with police reform and better accountability in the military.
The current government has been criticised for presiding over Nigeria’s worsening security, but the top three candidates’ commitments mirror existing strategies. And the manifestoes of all three cover similar policy issues.
Tinubu’s manifesto builds on the APC’s successes at national level. He proposes extending ongoing security sector reforms by redefining Nigeria’s military doctrine and practice. He wants to upgrade weapon systems, establish anti-terrorist battalions, improve soldiers’ welfare and revitalise the forest and border guards. Tinubu notes his security reform achievements as former ...
Salt rock cooking was something of a fad in the earlier years of the century and if you can source one it’s a useful item to have on hand when the lights are out and you'd like to cook a steak or some marinated vegetables over the coals. Now it has become a useful tool to have in your kit for using during load shedding. All you need is fire below it.
My salt rock spends much of its life forgotten in a corner of the braai, neglected and morose. But it’s madly easy to clean it up and make it as good as new. Just fill a sink with lukewarm water, and use a soft scourer (the coarser side of it) to scrub it in water, until all collected grime and dust are gone. Your salt rock will be gleaming pink once more, and ready to cook on. This recipe is a slight deviation from our traditional Throwback Thursdays, but it also fits this week’s theme of how and what to cook during load shedding.
It’s important to know that you should not salt your steak before cooking, or even afterwards. The salt block will give it all the salty flavour it needs, right through to the centre.
I use the salt block on the braai grid with masses of very hot coals below. You need to allow time for the salt block to heat through, before putting your steak on top. Then you need a little patience as it cooks slowly.
I used the reverse sear method, waiting for the T-bone to cook gently on both sides for about 5 minutes per side, then took it off the salt block and onto the grid to catch some char.
This recipe is for one of those massive T-bones widely available at the supermarkets that specialise in quality meat and good cuts. I bought mine at my local SuperSpar. It weighed a hefty 800 g and was 4 cm thick at the bone end.
(Recipe is per 1 large T-bone steak which can be sliced and shared by two people once cooked)
Ingredients
800 g T-bone steak, 4 cm thick
Black pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
Method
Best start in the morning. Chop the garlic and stir it into the olive oil. Smear it on both sides of the steak. Leave it to stand uncovered on a plate in the fridge all day, and remove ...
The lid of a wok makes a useful dome for capturing smoke while cooking something on the braai grid over hot coals to collect the rosemary smoke. I strewed rosemary branches on the hot coals beneath a spatchcock chicken, and placed the wok lid over it. That’s braaing and smoking simultaneously.
It wouldn’t be accurate to call this smoked chicken, but there is an element of the rosemary smoke flavouring the chicken. I first marinated the chicken in Dijon mustard mixed with honey.
The best way to secure a spatchcock chicken (so that you can turn it over on the braai easily) is to use two skewers. Here’s a video showing how to do it:
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, spatchcocked (see video)
4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp honey
Salt and black pepper to taste
Several large rosemary branches
A dome such as that for a wok
Method
Mix together the honey and mustard and season with salt and pepper. Prepare the chicken according to the video and brush it all over with the marinade. Skewer the chicken crossways using two firm skewers (see video). Leave it to marinate for three or four hours.
Make plenty of coals. Keep more on the side to shovel in.
Place the rosemary branches on hot coals.
Place the spatchcock chicken under-side down on the grid, not too close to the coals, so that it does not cook too quickly or burn.
Place the dome over the chicken.
Turn every 10 minutes or so.
Cook for about half an hour on each side. DM/TGIFood
Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion of the Year 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is now available in the DM Shop. Buy it here.
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A round cast-iron braai pot is good for more than just braai bread. Try it for a potato bake, in this case with red and yellow bell peppers and a touch of chilli.
Potato bakes happen in ovens, right? They’re made of cream and stock and herbs and/ or spices, plenty of butter, and potatoes that have been scalloped, that is, sliced thinly, then layered, often with onions.
It’s one of those things that almost everyone loves, like bacon, and you can put that in it too if you like. But does a potato bake have to be cooked in the oven? I decided to do exactly what you’d do with a potato bake in an oven dish, but in a braai pot instead. To compensate for the oven you need to have coals around the base for the duration of its cooking, as well as coals on the top.
I topped mine with grated cheese as well. Once that’s been piled on top well into the cook, you need to put the lid back on with lots of coals on top to help get that lovely crisp, golden and crunchy cheesy topping.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 to 6 large potatoes
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
3 spring onions, chopped
5 garlic chives, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
Butter
400 ml cream
400 ml vegetable stock
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 Tbsp cornflour
2 Tbsp milk
Method
Light a fire so you have a supply of hot coals. Clean and dry the braai pot. Oil the pot on the bottom and sides.
Peel the potatoes and slice thinly.
Slice the peppers into julienne strips, chop the spring onions and chives and chillies.
Arrange a layer of potato slices at the bottom and season with salt and pepper. Dot each slice with a knob of butter. Add a few slices of peppers of both colours and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat the layers as well as the dotting with butter and seasoning until everything is used up, ending with a layer of peppers, spring onion and chives.
Mix the cream and stock in a jug and pour over.
Put the lid on and place hot coals all around the base and more on the lid.
Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 90 to 100 minutes. Forty-five minutes in, stir in 1 Tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 Tbsp milk, cover again and continue cooking with more coals on the lid.
An hour in, ...
PRETORIA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's foreign minister on Monday deflected criticism of joint military drills planned with Russia and China, saying that hosting such exercises with "friends" was the "natural course of relations".
Naledi Pandor made her comments during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting South Africa 11 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A South African official, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak, said Lavrov would afterwards visit Eswatini, Botswana and Angola.
South Africa is one of Russia’s most important allies on a continent divided over the invasion and Western attempts to isolate Moscow because of its military actions.
Some opposition parties and South Africa’s small Ukrainian community have said that hosting Lavrov is insensitive.
South Africa says it is impartial on the Ukraine conflict and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.
It has close ties with Moscow, a friend of the governing African National Congress when it was a liberation movement opposing white minority rule, and will host a joint exercise with Russia and China on its east coast from Feb. 17-27.
“All countries conduct military exercises with friends worldwide. It’s the natural course of relations,” Pandor, alongside Lavrov, told reporters in the capital, Pretoria.
The exercise will be under way on Feb. 24, the first anniversary of what Russia calls its “special military operation”. Ukraine and its allies say Russia has launched an imperial land grab.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has expressed a desire to mediate in the Ukraine conflict as a neutral party.
Pandor emphasised that, though South Africa had initially called on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine unilaterally, that was no longer its position.
“To repeat that . to Mr Lavrov today would make me appear quite simplistic and infantile, given the massive transfer of arms (to Ukraine) . and all that has occurred (since),” she said.
Neutrality
South Africa has little trade with Russia but champions a world view – favoured by China and Russia – that seeks to undo perceived U.S.-hegemony in favour of a “multipolar” world in which geopolitical power is more diffuse.
Lavrov said the military drills were transparent and that Russia, China and South Africa had provided all relevant information.
The South African armed forces said last week the exercise was a “means to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China”.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Monday that a Russian warship armed with new ...
Contracting issue has delayed supply to over 40 informal settlements, says Johannesburg Water.
Waterworks is an informal settlement located in southern Johannesburg, near Lenasia. A water supply mainline runs between the settlement and Lenasia. And yet, like thousands of other residents in this area, families in Waterworks have been dealing with an erratic water supply for months.
Johannesburg Water uses tankers to fill communal tanks in Waterworks and other settlements, such as Thulamtwana, Mountain City near Walkerville, and Nana’s Farm located between Eldorado Park and Lenasia.
But there are no tarred roads in most of these informal settlements and some of the gravel roads are impassable for the water trucks. Because of this, some tanks are never filled and residents must walk to the nearest tank which may be a kilometre or more away.
Four to five days, sometimes a week, will pass as residents wait for water to be delivered to their tanks. There are 25 water tanks in Waterworks and 41 in Mountain City, according to Johannesburg Water. Its spokesperson, Puleng Mopeli, says there are 5,000 people in Waterworks.
Residents living in Mountain City said there are about nine blocks in the informal settlement, each with about 1,000 households.
A resident of Nana’s Farm, who asked not to be named, told GroundUp that some residents have resorted to fetching water from a stream on the other side of the “busy and dangerous” N12 freeway. “The water is not even clean water; it is water from a dirty stream but because we are desperate, we have no choice but to use that water.”
On 12 January, when we visited the area, communities had spent almost a week without water during scorching temperatures. The tanks were filled the next day. But last week, parts of Mountain City had again been without water for days before the tanks were filled.
“We had to beg for this water to be delivered,” said community leader Dumisani Mathebula, a member of Asivikelane, an organisation focused on service delivery challenges that has engaged with ward councillors and the director for Region G, Mickey Padiachee.
Mathebula said a single service provider was supplying water to about 43 informal settlements in the south of Johannesburg. He said the contractor was not properly monitored by the City and did not have enough trucks to supply all the settlements adequately.
Mathebula said they had reached an agreement with Padiachee to meet regularly and “address water issues in region G”. ...
The SAYM picked up millions, thanks to the introduction of a new kind of funding the organisation had pushed for.
A non-profit organisation that lobbied for amendments to the Lotteries Act went on to benefit to the tune of tens of millions of rands in grants after the law was changed.
The Southern African Youth Movement (SAYM) recommended the introduction of a new way of funding projects by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to the Trade, Industry and Competition Parliamentary Committee. Instead of the NLC waiting for applications, SAYM proposed the introduction of proactive funding, which enables the NLC to award a grant without first receiving an application.
Proactive funding, which has been at the heart of the looting of the Lottery, has been suspended by the NLC’s new board.
SAYM executive director Alfred Sigudhla and Sello Pietersen, who was then the organisation’s Assistant Programme Manager, gave evidence to Parliament in 2013 in support of amendments to the Lotteries Act, including the introduction of proactive funding.
In the years that followed, SAYM was to receive over R67.5-million in proactive funding for several projects, including an old age home, a drug rehabilitation centre, and an anti-drug-themed musical, which was funded to do a three-province tour. Neither the old age home nor the rehab are operational, and the musical staged only a handful of performances.
SAYM’s grants are all recorded in NLC annual reports under several different variations of the organisation’s name. All have one thing in common: the involvement of Sigudhla, according to both company and Department of Social Development records. Sigudhla has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the NLC.
In 2014 the board of the National Lotteries Board, the predecessor to the NLC, decided to stop funding SAYM because of irregularities with its funding applications. But the bar on funding was lifted after the personal intervention of former NLC commissioner Thabang Mampane and former board chairperson, Alfred Nevhutanda. Both are now under investigation for the abuse of Lottery funds.
Former NLC chief risk officer Bathabile Kapumha has told how she was pressured to withdraw SAYM from the list of organisations the NLC should not fund. Attorney Trevor Bailey, who was commissioned by the then-NLC board to investigate Kaphumha’s suspension, said in his 2015 report that she had told him how she had been summoned to meetings with Mampane and Nevhutanda, some of which were also attended by representatives of the SAYM.
During one meeting, Kapumha told Bailey that a ...
Under-50s will be eligible in February for a second booster.
As Covid-19 cases rise again around the world and the more infectious XBB.1.5 variant spreads rapidly, health minister Joe Paahla has emphasised the importance of getting vaccinated and boosted.
About 19-million people in South Africa (just over 30% of the population) are fully vaccinated and four million booster shots have been administered. The country is administering just over 40,000 jabs a week.
At the moment only people over 50 are eligible for a second booster. But according to Dr Nicholas Crisp, Deputy Director-General for the National Department of Health, all adults will be eligible in February. “As soon as the systems are all in place and staff orientated, the department will announce,” Crisp told GroundUp.
But finding a booster shot has become difficult. Privately-owned facilities have mostly discontinued their rollout of the vaccine, although a handful of Dis-Chem pharmacies still do vaccinations. Public sector health facilities are the only alternative.
Active vaccination sites can be found on the government’s Find My Jab website. Some are “visiting” sites only, open once or twice a week, and others are permanently open, but it is advised to call ahead to confirm availability.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The department is trying to find a more efficient way of updating which vaccination sites are active and those are being reflected and changed weekly on Find My Jab,” says Crisp.
The Western Cape Health Department makes weekly updates to this list of vaccination sites in the province.
One concerned reader from Pennington in KwaZulu-Natal, who is over the age of 50 and HIV-positive (meaning Covid poses a higher risk for him) told GroundUp that his local clinic no longer offered vaccines. It had been ten months since his previous booster. He went to the nearest hospital but was refused a jab and told to wait for an SMS.
He called the vaccination hotline and was told to send a copy of his ID and vaccination card to be registered on the system and receive an SMS, despite already having received jabs in the past.
Without a device to send the documents, and 60km of flood-damaged road between him and his nearest PostNet, he has still not received his booster shot. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Novak Djokovic appears to be over a niggling hamstring injury as the Australian Open reaches the business end, which is bad news for the remaining players in the men’s draw.
Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 10th Australian Open crown shifted up a gear on Monday as he raced into the quarterfinals with a centre-court masterclass and left his hamstring troubles behind.
A year after being deported from the country on the eve of the Grand Slam, Djokovic sent the last Australian packing with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Alex de Minaur at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena.
The Serbian great set up a quarterfinal against Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev and was thrilled to report the hamstring strain on his left leg was no longer bothering him.
“I cannot say I’m sorry that you haven’t watched a longer match,” Djokovic joked to the crowd. “I really wanted to win in straight sets. Tonight it wasn’t obvious that I was dealing with an injury, I didn’t feel anything today, so today was great.”
With young gun Ben Shelton winning a five-set battle against compatriot JJ Wolf, and Sebastian Korda advancing on Sunday, Tommy Paul ensured three American men will contest the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.
The unseeded Paul beat 24th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the evening at Margaret Court Arena to book a matchup with 20-year-old Shelton, whose dream run continued with a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Wolf.
“Any time you play Bautista it’s going to be a war,” said a beaming Paul after reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“I’m really happy playing an American in the quarters, there’s going to be an American in the semis.”
‘Like a gun to the head’
While Djokovic hurtled through, it was the exception on a day of grinding contests for the men, none more so than Rublev’s tense five-set win over Danish wunderkind Holger Rune.
After coming back from 5-2 down in the fifth set at Rod Laver Arena, the Russian redhead claimed the cliffhanger 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9), courtesy of a lucky net cord on match point.
“(Tennis is) not a rollercoaster, it’s like they put a gun to your head,” Rublev joked after his final return of serve clipped the net and popped over, leaving Rune no chance.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I think a rollercoaster is a lot easier, man.”
It was smoother ...
Tired of having your music taste moulded and managed by technology? Jay Savage rages against the machine with an algo-rebel yell.
It is not uncommon to hear anxieties expressed about digital spoonfeeding accelerating the dumbing down of the species which has unhesitatingly embraced, absorbed, thrilled and been colonised by digital tech’s insidious proliferation and deployment of the benign tools of convenience. Spotify has become a beloved indispensable nemesis, the convenience of being able to dial up, source and instantly render almost any song that your heart – or mere whim – may desire to hear is marvellous and – for me, at any rate – indispensable. Still, I take exception to the algorithm.
It makes my soul ache. Some tips and pointers are always welcome when navigating the oceanic deposits of music made by humans for humans. For a resistant few (dinosaurs that we are), however, the exploration is the thing. The algorithm, with all its triumphant convenience and ease of experience, provides a very different answer from the one Chuck D may have anticipated when Public Enemy threw out the question: “Who stole the Soul?” The algorithm stole the soul, Chuck.
For more than a year The Good Times Co has been reviewing submissions on the Groover platform, where artists send their new offerings and have them reviewed and assessed by Groover-appointed teams per genres the teams have chosen to adjudicate. When songs hit the (or a) sweet spot, the curators review accordingly and commit to including those on a playlist or publicising/popularising in some other manner through the magnificent and multifarious portals of social media.
We have been plugging our Groover likes on The Good Stuff, a playlist that is updated twice monthly and which is intended as an oasis for listeners who favour a human touch, who do not want their taste (and data) hijacked for nefarious purposes by a heartless product of big tech. Basically it’s for people who listened to John Peel or Andy Kershaw or Chris Prior or any other of the disc-spinning wizards who served as a compass for music enthusiasts who relish variety in their listening and who chase the thrill of hearing things they may not have heard before. The Good Stuff is for people who do not search for music with terms like “chilled-out vibes”.
Read in Daily Maverick: How digital music streaming hangs creators out to dry
Pop, jazz, blues, African genres, hard rock, doo ...
A tiger escaped from a residence and roamed the countryside outside Johannesburg, South Africa, for four days this month. It attacked a man and killed several animals, and was eventually shot by the authorities. Tigers aren’t native to South Africa and are considered an alien species. Its escape highlights the country’s controversial commercial captive breeding industry and the key role South Africa plays in the international big cat trade. Tigers are being intensively farmed for tourism, hunting, and commercial trade in live individuals and in their body parts.
Moina Spooner, assistant editor at The Conversation Africa, asked Neil D’Cruze and Angie Elwin to share their insights into the industry.
What are your main concerns about South Africa’s captive predator industry?
The recent tiger escape in Johannesburg demonstrates the safety risk that this industry poses to wildlife farm workers, visitors and the public. Attacks by big cats in South Africa have resulted in multiple life-changing human injuries and deaths in recent years.
Although individual tigers can be tamed to varying degrees, this should not be confused with domestication. They are wild animals. They have biological and behavioural needs that can only be fully met in the wild.
Another concern we have is for animal welfare. Big cat breeding facilities in South Africa have been consistently criticised for their substandard conditions.
Also, none of the big cat facilities in South Africa have demonstrated that they are basing their breeding programmes on internationally recognised stud books or have successfully released any tigers back into the wild. Therefore, currently they provide no demonstrable direct conservation benefit.
Rather, there are serious concerns that South Africa’s legal industry in captive-bred tigers is a detrimental conduit for international illegal trade. A large proportion of the tigers are exported as live animals and body parts to China, Vietnam and Thailand. These are renowned hotspots for demand in tiger body parts and the illegal tiger trade.
In addition, World Animal Protection, an animal protection organisation that we also work with, has received intelligence which indicates poachers are targeting tigers in captive breeding facilities. Their heads and paws are harvested and trafficked to meet Asian consumer demand.
Another major concern we have, from our intelligence reports, is that some farm owners appear to be shifting operations from lions to tigers and ligers, lion-tiger hybrids. This may be in response to South Africa’s recent announcement of its decision to end lion farming.
Is there any data on the number and location ...
This year we bid farewell to two lost frogs, the Chinese paddlefish, a plant from New Hampshire, and many others.
Last July scientists in Texas announced some surprising news: They had rediscovered an oak tree species previously believed to be extinct. Until then the last known Quercus tardifolia tree was believed to have died more than a decade earlier. But lo and behold, one more tree was discovered in Big Bend National Park, meaning the species wasn’t extinct after all.
The rest of the news wasn’t as good: That lone tree isn’t doing so well. It’s been burned by fire and shows signs of a fungal infection. Scientists say it’s in need of “immediate conservation”.
This situation isn’t that atypical in the world of wildlife conservation, where species that have avoided extinction in the Anthropocene still need dramatic support. A recent study found that more than half of all known endangered species require targeted recovery efforts if they’re to avert “human-induced extinction”.
If that doesn’t happen, we’re going to lose more species — a lot of them. Despite rediscoveries like the oak tree in Texas, the world is still losing biodiversity at dangerously high rates. In 2022, scientists announced that they had given up efforts to find dozens of long-lost species, including two frogs, one of the world’s biggest fish, an orchid from Florida, a grass from New Hampshire and many others.
And those are just the ones we know about. Another 2022 study warned about the threat of “dark extinction”, the loss of species science has never even identified as having existed in the first place. By conservative estimates, millions of species are yet to be discovered, identified and named, and most are at risk of disappearing before that ever happens as humanity continues its relentless expansion. And if we don’t know they exist, we can’t do anything to save them.
So let’s take a moment to talk about the ones we do know that we’ve lost, to remember their names, to add them to the Book of the Dead, and to use their lessons to prevent others from suffering the same fate. We’ve compiled dozens of stories of extinction from the past year, including species that have been declared lost after many decades of looking, other species that have vanished from key ranges of their habitat, and others that are now extinct in the wild and exist only in captivity.
But before we get to ...
The UCT Academics' Union claims the increase was ‘an insult’ compared to other universities’ increases, and is now waiting to hear if they can go on strike.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) Academics Union would likely confirm by Tuesday 24 January if they would be going on strike over a wage dispute with the university.
The union’s leader of its salary bargaining team Kelley Moult told Daily Maverick the university and union are set to meet at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Tuesday before a possible strike certificate is issued.
According to the union, this would be the first-ever strike by academic staff in the university’s history.
Last week, the union sent out a notice stating their contempt over a 3% salary increase allocated to them by the university. In a statement, the union described the increase as “insulting and derisory”.
Proud to be preparing to go on strike with other @UCT_news academics for the first time in UCT’s history. UCT are offering 3% pay increase for 2023 . Other institutions are able to offer 6%.#UCTAcademicsStrike
Kelley Moult (@KelleyMoult) January 20, 2023
The Union stated that the proposed increase is not enough to cope with increasing costs of living, specifically referencing the 2022 Consumer Price Inflation which was 6.9%. The union has around 690 members, confirmed Moult and added that around 85% have indicated they would be willing to embark on strike action.
Moult confirmed to Daily Maverick on Monday 23 January the union was waiting for another meeting with the university at the CCMA at which the university could possibly make another salary offer.
However, if a deal cannot be reached and the CCMA provides a legally required strike certificate, the union will proceed. Moult explained to Daily Maverick if the union was provided with a strike certificate by the CCMA, it would send a required 48 notice to UCT with an intention to strike. Moult confirmed the earliest the union could strike was on Friday, depending on organising factors.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The possible strike comes when first-year registration is set to take place from Tuesday.
In a statement released on Sunday, UCT’s Student Representative Council (SRC) expressed that they are in support of all employees being paid in line with inflation rates. However, the SRC also expressed that they find the union’s official statement to be “elitist” — due to the union’s comments over UCT budgeting ...
The inaugural Social Justice Assembly will kick off in Pretoria; the official memorial service for Dr Frene Ginwala will be held at the Johannesburg City Hall; and Youth Capital will host a Twitter Space on Beyond the matric pass rate’.
Tuesday, 24 January, is the International Day of Education. Education is a human right, as well as a public good and responsibility, according to the United Nations (UN).
“The right to education is enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration calls for free and compulsory elementary education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, goes further to stipulate that countries shall make higher education accessible to all,” it says.
About 244 million children and adolescents around the world are out of school, while 617 million cannot read or do basic maths.
“Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.”
On Tuesday, 24 January, at 10am, the official memorial service for Dr Frene Noshir Ginwala will be held at the Johannesburg City Hall on Helen Joseph Street.
Ginwala – a South African journalist and activist, and founding Speaker of South Africa’s democratic Parliament – died on 12 January.
“We mourn the passing of a formidable patriot and leader of our nation, and an internationalist to whom justice and democracy around the globe remained an impassioned objective to her last days,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa after Ginwala’s death.
On Tuesday at 6pm, Youth Capital is hosting a Twitter Space on “Beyond the matric pass rate”. The talk will unpack the matric pass rate, school dropout, the urgency around the matric rewrite, and the support young people need to write and pass final exams.
“A matric certificate increases the likelihood of young people’s ability to secure work, but only six in 10 learners who start school write their matric exams,” according to the event description.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Speakers include Perky Moleke, CEO of the Gauteng City Region Academy; Nicole Klokow, skilling manager at the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator; and Pumza Ndamese, project lead for Reading for Meaning at the Zero Dropout Campaign.
Set a reminder for the space here.
On Thursday, 26 January, the inaugural Social Justice Assembly (SJA) will kick off in Pretoria and run until 27 January.
The SJA ...
A cast-iron pot, a supply of hot coals and enough time on your hands to tend the dough while it rises and then wait for it to cook, surrounded by coals; that’s an afternoon worth planning for, and a way to conjure up a loaf of bread when the power is off.
Thyme subtly enhances anything it is used with yet is always recognisably present. It’s best used as the only herb in the mix, to benefit the most from its particular flavour and aroma. You can use plenty, or only a little; either way, your bread will turn out enticing and moreish.
Ingredients
1 kg white bread wheat flour
10 g instant yeast
4 scant tsp sugar
1 scant tsp salt
2 Tbsp picked fresh thyme leaves
2 cups lukewarm water, plus a little more if needed
2 Tbsp olive oil
Olive oil for the pot
Method
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon. Only stir in the salt after this so that it does not neutralise the yeast. Stir in the thyme leaves.
Add lukewarm water a little at a time, while kneading the dough, until it is all combined. Now add the 2 Tbsp olive oil and continue kneading until it is a nice plump ball of dough and no longer sticky. Knead again for a few minutes, turning and push-pulling with your hands/fists.
Leave the ball of dough in the bowl, cover with a slightly damp tea towel, and put it in a warm spot outside for 20 minutes, or inside if the weather is not playing ball. Another option is to put it in a slightly pre-warmed oven, but turned off.
Check that your braai coals are ready. Oil the inside of your heavy-bottomed pot well. Carefully ease the dough into it; you may need to use a silicone spatula to scrape the edges downwards. Put the lid on the braai pot. Place in the braai and immediately place hot coals all around the base, and a few more on top. Keep replenishing the coals at the base and on the lid for a full hour. The pot bread should be ready in an hour. Remove the lid; it should turn out perfectly. DM/TGIFood
The bloc also called on King Mswati’s government to urgently launch the stalled national police dialogue.
The European Union has called on the Eswatini government to ensure the safety of all its citizens, including political activists, after what it called the “brutal assassination” of human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Thulani Maseko on Saturday night.
It also called on King Mswati’s government to urgently launch the delayed national political dialogue Maseko was agitating for.
Maseko, chairperson of the Multistakeholder Forum (MSF), an association of political parties and civil society organisations campaigning for democracy in the absolute monarchy,was shot dead through a window of his house near Manzoni by unknown assailants.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Nabila Massrali said the EU strongly condemns the assassination “and looks forward to the results of the investigations already launched by the authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible for this brutal act”.
The government said on Monday it had begun investigating Maseko’s murder which it attributed to “criminals”.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Leading Swazi activist Thulani Maseko shot dead at his home”
“King Mswati accused of delaying Eswatini national dialogue”
“The EU calls on the authorities to ensure the safety of all citizens, including political activists. This tragic loss comes in a row of killings, arson attacks and other violent acts, which have destabilised the country over the past months,” Massrali said.
“Since June 2021, the EU, as a long-standing and reliable partner of the country, has followed with grave concern the situation in Eswatini. The EU urges the authorities to launch the comprehensive and inclusive dialogue as a matter of urgency and priority, on terms facilitated by the SADC, towards national reconciliation, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and ultimately, lasting peace.” DM
Many of the measures in our Energy Action Plan will not be felt immediately, so we are using every means at our disposal to get power onto the grid as a matter of extreme urgency. But we can all play a part.
A week ago, the Sowetan newspaper carried a front-page headline, “Unplugged”, listing many small businesses around the country that have been crippled by the electricity crisis. The closure of these businesses shows some of the devastating impact of persistent load shedding on people’s livelihoods and on their dreams for a better life.
There are many other reports about the effects of load shedding on people’s lives, about the disruption at hospitals, schools, courts, and other government services. We hear about the factories that lose precious hours of production, farmers that are unable to keep their produce fresh, and investments that are being held back.
As load shedding continues to wreak havoc on businesses, households and communities, the last thing South Africans want to hear are excuses or unrealistic promises. The demands for an immediate end to power cuts are wholly understandable. Everyone is fed up.
However, we are in the grip of an energy crisis that has been many years in the making. Though it may be easy to blame our present woes on dysfunctionality at Eskom, a combination of factors have contributed to the crisis.
It is important to recall the reasons for the current situation so that our response tackles the causes of our crisis, not just the symptoms. Lack of investment in new generating capacity, poor power plant maintenance, corruption and criminality, sabotage of infrastructure, rising municipal debt and a lack of suitable skills at Eskom have all created a perfect storm. There can be no sustainable solution without addressing all these factors in combination.
We should not make the mistakes of the past. For many years, critical maintenance was deferred, and our power stations were run too hard in order to keep the lights on. As a country, we are now paying the price for these miscalculations.
We must be realistic about our challenges and about what it is going to take to fix them. While we all desperately want to, we cannot end load shedding overnight.
Over the past few days, I have held consultative meetings with representatives of labour, business, traditional leaders, religious leaders and the community constituency. I have also met with premiers, metro mayors and leaders of political ...
Despite claiming he could not intervene in Nersa’s statutory process, the President said at the Free State ANC’s provincial conference that he had asked Eskom to suspend its plans to increase electricity tariffs by 18.65%.
President Cyril Ramaphosa seems to have changed his tune on the decision not to interfere with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) statutory process to approve Eskom’s 18.65% tariff hike for the 2022/3 financial year. He is now urging the power utility to stall the increase indefinitely.
Ramaphosa has been having back-to-back meetings about the country’s energy crisis, which is spiralling out of control with relentless blackouts.
In his closing address at the Free State ANC’s provincial conference in Mangaung on Sunday, 22 January, Ramaphosa said he had approached Eskom about the increase. This comes barely a week after he claimed he could not intervene in the regulator’s “statutory process”.
“I have said to Eskom it will be an injury to our people if we implement this 18% increase now when we are going through load shedding,” he said, adding that he had asked Eskom to suspend it. “So Eskom is going to consider that.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom gets tariff hike while Ramaphosa ‘deeply regrets’ Stage 6 rolling blackouts”
The President attributed South Africa’s energy challenges to Eskom’s inadequacies in attending to maintenance and to the delay in building new power stations. He acknowledged that this had negatively affected “the lives of our people”.
South Africa is short of about 6,000MW of electricity, according to Ramaphosa. He said the country had been making progress in unlocking the “logjams” in processes that would bring more power into the grid.
He empathised with the plight of frustrated business owners whose companies had been put in jeopardy, with some having to shut down.
On criticism that his meetings about the crisis had not borne fruit, Ramaphosa said the government was making every attempt to resolve the crisis.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We have been working very hard. We put in place an action plan that I announced last year in July, and the process of adding more capacity with various measures, be it renewable energy or even emergency energy, has been under way,” he said.
His remarks came after the Democratic Alliance launched legal action against the government on Tuesday, 17 January, to fight the 18.65% electricity price increase that takes effect in April. An increase of 12.74% ...
We seem to be fatally flawed, our species. We also seem to be wiping ourselves off the planet with our inability to overcome our baser instincts — greed, power, tribalism and the rest. In a weird way, I welcome AI and all that it portends.
Damn, I love this cage fight. Ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene not even two months ago, the airwaves have been alight and angry. They all owe some credit to the hot philosophical debates that have flared in academia and art for decades, most of it far from the headlines.
It all boils down to only one really big objection and one big question.
The big objection is, “Yeah, but AI just does stuff we program it to do; it will never escape that straightjacket”. Yes, well, this needs to be batted away in the face of the fact that we too were once dumb organisms running a simple program; we evolved through natural selection into who we are today.
Evolution tells us that we have only one program running, and that is “DNA survival into the next generation”. All of human art and ingenuity is captured in that one block of biological code.
So we need to ask: Are we humans perhaps just a buggy and end-of-life program well on our way to obsolescence in the face of a smarter, more creative, more vibrant, more evolutionarily survivable species, far superior to our wetware selves? Burdened and doomed as we seem to be, with our silly superstitions about the primacy of humanity, identity and, above all else, self.
Asking this very question marks me as an apostate among almost all of, well, everyone. But we seem to be fatally flawed, our species. We also seem to be wiping ourselves off the planet with our inability to overcome our baser instincts — greed, power, tribalism and the rest.
So, in a weird way, I welcome AI and all that it portends.
In an interview with The Times, former Google executive Mo Gawdat related the experience of watching a robot learning (after many failures) to pick up a ball. Finally, after mastering the task, the robot grabbed the ball and held it up to the researchers, recognisably humanlike, seemingly triumphant. “And I suddenly realised this is really scary,” Gawdat said. “It completely froze me. The reality is we’re creating God.”
This trope, that the edifice of AI is the early scaffolding of an emerging ‘God’, ...
Despite the Bulls being thumped by Lyon and the Sharks losing a thriller to Harlequins, both teams will join the triumphant Stormers in the round of 16.
The Bulls went down 31-7 to an impressive Lyon side in France to put their European Champions Cup round of 16 qualification in peril. But a string of other results went their way in Pool A to ensure a narrow qualification for the Pretoria-based side.
The Sharks, on the other hand, sealed their qualification for the next round last week already but still sent a strong side to battle Harlequins at Twickenham.
The Durban-based side lost 39-29 against the formidable English foes that had six-season Sharks veteran André Esterhuizen running the show for Harlequins.
The Sharks secured a four-try bonus point in their defeat which guaranteed they finish in the top four of table A and will have a home round of 16 clash.
The match was highly entertaining for neutrals as both teams gave the ball air and had line breaks aplenty among the nine tries scored on the day.
Despite the defeat, the Sharks’ big-name players all stood up. Springboks Eben Etzebeth, Lukhanyo Am and Jaden Hendrikse were all impressive as each secured a try of their own.
“[I’m] disappointed with our performance,” Powell told reporters after the match.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t dominant and clinical enough in areas that mattered, and we paid for it.
“Ill-discipline; conceding 18 penalties in a game is always going to cost you against a quality attacking side like Harlequins.”
Only two points separated the sides at the break, but the disjointed Sharks defence allowed Harlequins to extend their slender lead.
“We were just not good enough at the breakdown, looking after our ball. I think in terms of our game management, especially in the second half, we also played too much in the wrong area of the pitch,” added Powell.
“I almost felt like we started to chase the game where we didn’t need to. So, with 25 minutes to go, 20 minutes to go, we almost look like we are chasing the game and playing in the wrong areas.”
Icy Bulls
The Bulls were totally outplayed in their defeat to Lyon but according to Bulls assistant coach, Chris Rossouw, it is an opportunity to learn and grow for his side.
“For many of the boys, it’s a first encounter in France. They came across a French side that [when] at home, is completely different,” said Rossouw who is standing ...
After more than 330 days, it seems the world is becoming desensitised to news of Russian shelling, drone attacks, torture and rape in Ukraine. But standing up against the war has never been more important.
As I write this, it is day 332 of the largest terrorism organisation in the world a.k.a. the Russian Federation’s offensive in Ukraine. It is day 332 of daily shelling, missiles and drone attacks, torture and mass murders by Russian terrorists. It is day 332 of an attack on a sovereign country of 40 million.
And, as much as it pains me to write: it is day 332 of the world getting used to not only everyday civilian and military casualties, but massive terrorist attacks on Ukrainians that have claimed the lives, health and well-being of thousands of Ukrainians.
In addition to non-stop day and night attacks, there have been 14 massive terrorist attacks on civilians.
1 March 2022. Kharkiv: Russians launched a missile, hitting a busy building in the centre of Kharkiv. With 29 dead and 35 injured, it was a huge signal to all of Ukraine that this war was aimed at killing as many Ukrainians as possible. It was the beginning and Kharkiv was one of the most pro-Russian and Russian-speaking regions in Ukraine. All of the support ended right then and there, on 1 March.
16 March 2022. Mariupol: One of the most diabolical attacks in the history of humanity. Russians were heavily shelling Mariupol so hundreds of people took shelter in Mariupol’s famous drama theatre. People wrote “KIDS” in huge, metres-long letters, so it would be visible from everywhere. Back then, we didn’t know that children’s and maternity wards, schools and hospitals were deemed legitimate targets by the Russians. They bombed the theatre. We know of more than 300 deaths. Unfortunately, we will probably never know the exact number of our women and children murdered that day as the Russians are literally levelling the ruins and pouring concrete to cover their war crimes.
17 March 2022. Merefa: On an early spring morning, Russian terrorists struck a school and a house of Ukrainian culture, claiming the lives of 23 civilians and injuring 26 more.
29 March 2022. Mykolaiv: We, the Ukrainian people, look at Ukrainians of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhya as if they are all made of steel. The amount of shelling, missile and drone attacks Mykolaiv went through and is going through every day is unbelievable. ...
South Africa’s men’s side has not enjoyed much success during the New Zealand leg of the World Sevens Series. That wretched run continued in Hamilton over the weekend.
“We have a team motto and culture. One of those is at least 80% tackle completion, something we did not do today,” said Blitzboks coach Sandile Ngcobo after his side only managed a disappointing seventh place in the Hamilton Sevens.
Having arrived in New Zealand level on points with pre-series log leaders Samoa, the Springbok Sevens team lost 22-17 to France in the quarterfinals, before being bested 21-14 by Ireland in one of two fifth-place playoffs.
The outcome continued the team’s wretched run in New Zealand. They last claimed overall victory in the Oceania country in 2017, when the New Zealand leg of the series was still hosted in Wellington. Their only other win in the Kiwi edition of the series was in 2002.
Since the tournament was moved to Hamilton, the South Africans have not ever been successful.
“I think we were grabbing arms and not trying to get our shoulders on bodies, which resulted in some missed tackles, and we paid the price. We were not quite there,” Ngcobo said when dissecting his side’s shortcomings.
“When we lost the battle on the floor and contested poorly at the kick-offs, we placed ourselves under a lot of pressure. Those two areas are crucial in Sevens and we did not do well in those two areas.”
South Africa’s disappointing return would have been even more disheartening after a strong showing in the pool phase, where they managed a clean sweep that included victory over Hamilton Sevens champions Argentina.
The Argentines edged the hosts 14-12 in the final, with the New Zealanders moving to the top of the standings in spite of the loss.
New Zealand’s women didn’t make the same mistake after reaching the final. The Black Ferns were superb all weekend in the women’s event, scoring 225 points and conceding just 19.
In the final, Michaela Blyde scored a hat-trick in a 33-7 win over the US. Captain Sarah Hirini said: “It is so amazing to win our home tournament, the support has been brilliant and we are delighted.”
Sequence of play
In the quarterfinal against France on Sunday, 22 January, the physical dominance of the European side at the breakdown proved decisive in a match that yielded four tries to Les Bleus and three to the Blitzboks.
The French scored early when Jonathan ...
The ANC secretary-general says Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe should not be persecuted for his insistence on using coal to solve South Africa’s electricity crisis, saying the ANC does not plan to ‘abandon coal’ for renewable sources.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called on ANC members to protect Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe from the people that want to come after him when he defends the use of coal to generate power in South Africa.
Speaking at the Eastern Cape ANC 101 provincial celebrations at the McBright Sport Field in Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality on Sunday, 22 January, Mbalula said all the ANC was calling for was a mixed approach to solving the energy crisis, not a total wipeout of coal for the benefit of renewables.
Addressing thousands of ANC supporters, Mbalula said Mantashe was complaining as if he had no hope, saying there were people who were after the minister — some of whom were in the ANC.
“I asked him who these people are and he must report to me so that I can attend to them fast. Mantashe must complain because he will confuse you as it will look like the ANC is not led. When he sees the witchcraft, he must report to the officials so that we stop the witchcraft,” he said.
He said the ANC understood its mandate, which was to end rolling blackouts in South Africa.
“As the ANC, we agreed that we must resolve the issue of load shedding in the country as it is the problem for all of us. We are given the responsibility to sort that out and it was never mentioned that when we are fixing the electricity problem we must abandon coal for renewables,” Mbalula said.
He said it had never been mentioned in the ANC that it should replace coal with solar and wind energy.
‘Balance approach’
“We said we must implement a balanced approach and we must implement the ANC policy, which is . putting everything in the energy mix, even nuclear,” Mbalula said. “I don’t know these people who are chasing Mqwathi [Mantashe’s clan name], saying that Mqwathi is the cause of the problems. How is he causing the problem when he does not want coal to be abandoned?”
He said Mantashe was the minister the ANC should protect and not leave him alone for the crocodiles to chase because he was pronouncing the policy of the ANC.
“We will explain that within the ...
Eskom clarifies its media briefing statement on rolling blackouts while the new Eskom board sets ambitious targets and hints at staff incentives to boost embattled power stations.
A few short hours after an “urgent media briefing”, Eskom backtracked somewhat hastily, saying some media headlines that screamed dire warnings of permanent rolling blackouts for two years were incorrect.
“Eskom has considered implementing permanent stage two and three load shedding to give the public more predictability. However, this is not possible as it would not guarantee that load shedding would remain at the lower levels,” spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshasha clarified on Sunday afternoon.
See more in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa’s ‘Energy Action Plan’ — how is it faring half a year later?”
The confusion from the press came in when Chairman of the Eskom board Mpho Makwana quite clearly said that the execution of the recovery plan relied on power stations being given the space to add additional capacity (and) do proper maintenance without firefighting, “.or create some predictability by implementing a permanent stage two or three (load shedding) for the next two years in order to give sufficient space for maintenance while giving the country a level of predictability or consistency to plan their livelihoods better. Shuttling from one stage to another within a short space of time is not good for the business community,” he said.
Makwana told journalists earlier in the day that the board had been in office for 110 days and had to hit the ground running, with more than 50 meetings of various board committees over 112 days.
“The generation recovery plan that was approved by the board on 10 December, has been stress tested. The plant performance recovery plan which is at the final stages of being approved by the shareholder will be driven vigorously and an external project management company will assist the board in stress testing and monitoring the execution of this recovery plan,” Makwana said.
Recovery in ‘at least two years’
However, he said that realistically, the recovery of the Eskom coal fleet could not be achieved in the short term. “It will take at least two years to improve the energy availability factor (EAF) from the current 58% to 70%. The journey of the turnaround will see a stretch target EAF being driven toward 60% by 31 March 2023, a mere 10 weeks away, then 65% EAF by 31 March 2024 and 70% by 31 March 2025,” he said.
Chris Yelland, an ...
Some Ukrainian officials criticised allies’ indecision over battle tank donations at a key meeting in Germany, but defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said he expected Kyiv’s troops to start training soon on Leopard tanks in Poland.
Poland said it planned to build a “smaller coalition” of nations prepared to deliver tanks to Ukraine. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Kyiv and urged Ukraine’s allies to “double down” on support.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed advances in the Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has intensified after a lull. Offensive operations “have resulted in taking more advantageous lines and positions,” the ministry said.
Key developments
Austin warns US allies time is short before Russian offensive
Germany beat Putin’s energy squeeze. but for how long?
How Europe needs freight trains to cross Russia from China
Ukrainian deputy minister dismissed after report of corruption
On the ground
Russian forces are “likely making incremental gains” around Bakhmut, the hotly contested city in Donetsk, said the Institute for the Study of War. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were also making advances in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine’s troops have repelled attacks in the direction of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Lyman, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Russia has recently increased the use of aviation in the Bakhmut offensive. Russia in the past day carried out one missile strike and 27 air strikes, the general staff said. Ukrainian aviation delivered 14 strikes at Russian strongholds and three strikes at Russian anti-aircraft complexes.
Johnson meets Zelensky, urges weapons donations
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Ukrainian president’s request. He also visited the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital, site of alleged atrocities by Russian forces during their occupation in the early months of the war.
“The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win — and to win as fast as possible,” Johnson said in a statement. “This is the moment to double down, and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job.”
Current UK leader Rishi Sunak announced this month the donation of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Ukrainian deputy minister dismissed in corruption probe
The Ukrainian government dismissed Vasyl Lozynskyi, deputy minister of communities, development and infrastructure, in line with its principle of “zero tolerance” toward corruption, according to a statement on the cabinet’s website.
Ukrainian anti-corruption officials detained Lozynskyi amid an investigation for abuse of office and bribery, Ukrainska Pravda ...
The top two seeds in both the women’s and men’s singles at the 2023 Australian Open have failed to reach the quarterfinal round — the first time this has happened at a Grand Slam tournament in the open era.
Top seed Iga Świątek was bundled out of the Australian Open fourth round on Sunday, 22 January, with title threat Coco Gauff also exiting in tears as a pair of underestimated Grand Slam champions tore open the women’s draw.
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas avoided a similar fate on the men’s side later in the day, raising his level when needed to claim a thrilling 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 win over Italian Jannik Sinner and keep his dreams of a maiden Grand Slam title alive.
“It was a long match. I feel like I’ve spent a century on this court,” Tsitsipas said of the match, which lasted just more than four hours. “It was a ripper, as they say here. I can feel my face burning from the effort today.”
World No 1 Świątek was sent packing by Elena Rybakina in the early match at Rod Laver Arena, the Pole falling 6-4, 6-4 to the Kazak Wimbledon winner who started her tournament in the Melbourne Park wilderness of Court 13.
Rybakina shrugged off the scheduling snub before the fourth-round showdown but used it as fuel in her first appearance on centre court as a tightly wound Świątek slowly unravelled.
“I felt the pressure, and I felt that I don’t want to lose instead of I want to win,” said Świątek, who dominated last season with two Grand Slam wins. “I felt like I took a step back in terms of how I approach these tournaments, and I maybe wanted it a little bit too hard.”
The result means this year’s Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament in the open era where the top two seeds in both the men’s and women’s singles draws have lost prior to the quarterfinals.
Forgotten Ostapenko
Rybakina, the 22nd seed, might have expected to face Gauff in the quarterfinals but the much-hyped American teenager was upset 7-5, 6-3 by Jelena Ostapenko, the forgotten Grand Slam winner of women’s tennis.
The 2017 French Open champion thrashed 30 winners past Gauff on Margaret Court Arena, her last two sealing the match in style to leave the 18-year-old in tears at her post-match media conference.
“I feel like it was rough,” Gauff told reporters, before breaking down ...
Special police operations need to be established to focus on the confiscation of illegal firearms and ammunition, particularly in high-risk areas. This is crucial because the accessibility of illegal firearms hastens violent crime.
South Africa, with its estimated population of more than 60.1 million, has changed in recent years as the government grappled with prevalent inequities, generations of neglect and a developmental backlog created by the apartheid era.
The country has seen a significant increase in drug trafficking, vehicle theft and hijacking, money heists and illegal mining conflicts since 1994, most of which can be linked directly to groups of organised crime — in short, South Africa has a huge crime problem that does not appear to be going away, as the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world and violent crime remains shockingly high.
For example, in February 2022, Police Minister Bheki Cele stated that the murder rate increased by 8.9% quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2021/22.
Identifying the root cause of the high crime rate has been difficult. Most mass shootings in South Africa have been linked to gang disagreements, rivalries in the minibus taxi sector, intraparty or inter-group infighting and illegal gold mining (zama zamas).
From July to November 2022, we observed gun violence at taverns, with 25 people killed in four distinct tragedies at taverns across South Africa in early July. On 9 July, for example, 16 people were killed in a shooting at a tavern in Orlando East, four people were killed in Soweto and four more were killed in Pietermaritzburg.
The intentions behind the murders are presently unclear; nevertheless, established investigation implies that violent acts in South Africa are most often perpetrated by organised crime groups with intentions frequently connected to contest over territorial control.
For years, the issue of gun control and citizens’ access to firearms has been a hot topic in South Africa. Cele has stated on several occasions that South African citizens ought not to have access to firearms. The government has also made it increasingly difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms, as the Firearms Control Amendment Bill seeks to make it illegal for South Africans to apply for firearm permits for self-defence.
So far, the government’s response has been to cut the police budget, which means basically a smaller police force.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The recent increase in these mass shooting ...
None of former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s supporters was elected to the provincial leadership at this weekend’s conference in Mangaung, reaffirming Cyril Ramaphosa’s hold on the ANC.
The 9th ANC Free State elective conference marks the end of former party secretary-general Ace Magashule’s dominance in the province after his allies failed to dethrone supporters of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Despite his two-year suspension, Magashule had allies in the Interim Provincial Committee (IPC), including coordinator Paseka Nompondo who failed in his bid to become provincial secretary.
The province elected its Top Five on Sunday, 22 January, after a conference marred by grievances, violence, protests and threats of litigation. The conference at the Imvelo Safari Lodge in Mangaung was attended by more than 800 delegates, 657 of whom were voting delegates.
The provincial Top Five leaders elected this weekend are:
Ramaphosa’s ally Mxolisi Dukwana, who has been at the helm of the IPC for two years, was elected as provincial chairperson after he garnered 346 votes against Sisi Ntombela’s 306. Ntombela is Free State premier and a staunch supporter of Magashule.
Toto Makume was elected as deputy chair with 346 votes against Thabo Manyoni’s 307 votes.
Poleliso Motsoeneng emerged victorious as provincial secretary with 349 votes, beating Nompondo’s 303 votes.
Dibolelo Mahlatsi clinched the deputy secretary position after getting 348 votes, beating Kenalemang Mohale’s 301 votes.
Mathabo Leeto was voted in as treasurer with 346 votes against Vusumuzi Tshabalala’s 304. Tshabalala is a staunch Magashule supporter.
The outcomes of the conference also reaffirm Ramaphosa’s grip on the control of the ANC countrywide.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Criminal syndicates operated in the Free State, fleeced the State and collapsed services – ANC political report”
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the conference, Ntombela congratulated Dukwana, but would not comment on whether she believed the elections had been free and fair.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I do not know, but I know there were some serious grievances from branches,” she said.
On whether she would support the court bid, Ntombela replied: “Let me just hear what is happening. I want to hear from them on what exactly happened. I will discuss with them. My main thing is that we are not here for ourselves, but for the people.”
Magashule appeared in the Bloemfontein High Court on Friday, 20 January — the same day the conference was scheduled to start. Speaking to journalists after his appearance, he claimed that processes leading up ...
Healthcare workers face substantial stresses in the course of their daily duties. The added complications of rolling blackouts – from non-functioning life support machines to essential medications going bad and power surges causing expensive equipment to blow – have made life hellish for them.
‘We had to just keep her there and watch her bleed,’ said Nicholas Brink, a distressed community service doctor formerly working at Tintswalo district hospital in Mpumalanga. He was describing how in December 2022, without electricity, doctors were unable to properly assist a woman who had just had a miscarriage, and was bleeding profusely.
“Without a light source, power for a small suction machine and basic sterilised equipment, we were running out of options. For her, just waiting for the power to come back on wasn’t an option.”
This was just one example that flowed from Dr Brink in an hour-long, emotion-laden conversation about the impacts of rolling blackouts on health services. In urban areas it may be an inconvenience, but “for our patients it’s a matter of life and death” he said.
To try to understand the full impact of rolling blackouts on the right to health, Maverick Citizen asked a range of healthcare workers to detail how rolling blackouts are impacting on their practice, people’s health and access to healthcare services.
Stress and anxiety
They told us that a negative impact on individual health could come through stress and anxiety or through not being able to prepare food or water or store medicines safely.
Simultaneously an impact on health services comes when clinics and hospitals cannot carry out core functions smoothly because of electricity cuts. On 16 January 2023, for example, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) issued a memo to hospitals in Gauteng advising them that rolling blackouts were affecting networks in NHLS labs: “We are trying our best to ensure that the integrity of samples is maintained. Kindly note that this has a negative effect on turn around times.”
At the trouble-stricken Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg doctors say that during rolling blackouts the “pumps can’t pump water, so no water. Lights come back and surge and break equipment. We have one third of our dialysis machines out of commission”.
This is what a range of health workers in different fields had to say:
Dr Nicholas Brink, former community service doctor, 2022, Tintswalo Hospital, Mpumalanga:
“Load Shedding affects the whole continuum of health, from the vulnerable patient in the community, through to their ...
While South Africa is roiled by daily bouts of rolling blackouts, the National Energy Crisis Committee on Thursday shared a progress update on President Ramaphosa’s Energy Action Plan, first announced in July 2022.
If you’re reading this in South Africa and you’re not completely off the grid, you’ve had your power turned off every day this year. At present, 2023 is poised to be even worse than 2022 in terms of rolling blackouts. This is even though President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in July 2022 what he called an “Energy Action Plan”.
So what is the status of this plan? What has happened since its announcement and what is the ANC-led government doing and going to do to end the worsening 15-year-old crisis it has failed to resolve?
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Here it is: Ramaphosa’s ‘energy action plan’ to end SA’s rolling blackouts”
This is what the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) says:
This year, the plan is to secure up to 8,822 megawatts (MW) of capacity through a mixture of importing power from other countries, private sector embedded generation, bringing most of Kusile’s units online and securing up to 1,350MW through emergency generation.
In 2024, the committee envisions a slight increase, with the committee hoping its efforts will secure up to 8,665MW of capacity.
A total of 794 of these megawatts will come from Bid Window 5 of the REIPPP (Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme) coming online, with 1,500MW from municipal procurement, roughly 775MW from emergency power projects, 1,520MW from the planned return to service of Medupi Unit 4 and Kusile Unit 6 and an additional 2,215MW from private embedded generation.
Power plant improvements
Over the course of these two years, Neocom envisions that some 6,000MW will be made available through improvements in the performance of Eskom’s power plants.
Beyond 2024, the committee foresees the country adding up to an additional 29,757MW of generation capacity.
Of this, 1,115MW will come from the remaining Bid Window 5 projects, 1,000MW will come from Bid Window 6, 9,500MW will come from additional bid windows for wind, solar and gas, 4,000MW will come from pumped storage, 3,000MW will come from “new gas facilities” in Richards Bay and/or Mossel Bay and more than 9,000MW will come from “large-scale private sector investment”.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom reality check: it will NOT get better any time soon, regardless of SA’s WEF sales pitch/PR”
But what progress has been made since July 2022?
According to the Necom, ...
A university dropout who faked a B.Sc Chemical Engineering degree certificate has been snared in his web of lies, lost his job and ordered to cough up more than R2.2m to his former employer.
Fraudster Sheldon Naidoo of Durban kept spinning lies to cover up his trail of deceit — finally claiming he was suffering from a traumatic, unspecified “life-threatening” illness.
But Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Rob Mossop was not taken in, describing Naidoo as an unimpressive and untruthful witness “with an (albeit weak) answer for every question”. He also showed no contrition for his fraudulent behaviour.
“The indisputable facts reveal that [Naidoo] set out to deceive and wove his web accordingly. He achieved his goal. He has now become entangled in a web that he alone devised and cannot now be heard to complain of the consequences that must follow.”
The court heard evidence that Naidoo landed a job as a process control technician in 2008 at Umgeni Water — a regional water utility that supplies drinking water to residents of Durban, Pietermaritzburg and other centres in KwaZulu-Natal.
Senior Umgeni Water official Peter Thompson explained that his organisation trained and mentored university graduates so they could later become professional engineers registered by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).
Having an unqualified person working for the water utility could potentially be ‘extremely hazardous to the wellbeing of a large number of people who are dependent on water supplied,’ the court heard.
This was because graduates were required to perform calculations to determine which chemicals, and in what quantity, should be added to water supplied to millions of people in KZN.
“Any error in performing such calculations caused through a lack of knowledge could potentially have incredibly serious consequences for the general populace,” the judge noted.
Though Naidoo claimed to have a B.Sc degree in chemical engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), his true academic record showed that he dropped out of UKZN at the end of 2004 because of poor marks — flunking Fluid Dynamics with a score of 28 and Engineering Physics with a mark of 42.
R2m repayment and punitive costs
In a civil case judgment handed down on 15 December, Judge Mossop ordered Naidoo to repay Umgeni R2,203,565 for salary and other payments made to him over eight years — as well as punitive legal costs and interest fees until the full amount was settled.
“[Naidoo] must be ordered to disgorge what he received from [Umgeni] arising ...
The wife of an ANC MP wrote several Facebook posts signalling that she was being abused, shortly before she was stabbed to death — allegedly by her husband.
ANC member of Parliament Sibusiso Kula is due to appear in court on Monday, 23 January in connection with the murder of his 31-year-old wife, Jennifer Motlhomi.
Kula was arrested on Friday and will appear in the Orkney Magistrates’ Court in North West. He is accused of stabbing his wife to death in their home on 27 November 2022.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest of a suspect but did not name him. Mathe said the man would face a charge of murder.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Motlhomi had signalled through a series of Facebook posts that she was being abused.
“GBV is real, if I wake up killed or any of my family members, don’t look far,” she wrote in one post.
Her Facebook friends advised her to seek help or leave the environment and she responded that she was trying to do this.
‘Noted with shock’
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe told Daily Maverick that the party noted with shock the arrest of Kula.
“We are working on a statement,” he said. “We know he is appearing tomorrow [Monday] and we have already spoken [to] the caucus and they indicated that they will be following due processes.”
The EFF said: “This ANC MP, Kula, has made an absolute mockery of gender-based violence (GBV) in his rantings against GBV during Parliament plenaries. However, he is a reflection of the ANC government’s approach in addressing the deadly violence, rape and abuse by men against women, hence the consistent alarming statistics in this regard.
“We call on the Speaker of Parliament to give intensive oversight to the Ethics Committee that is often found wanting in dealing with cases of abuse reported to it.
“The arrest of Kula almost two months after the murder of Ms Motlhomi is a reminder that high-profile femicide cases are attended to with some degree of urgency by the South African Police Service.”
The ANC Women’s League and the EFF are expected to picket outside the court during Kula’s appearance. DM
Africa will see the largest increase in its population over the next 30 years, growing from about 1.1 billion in 2020 to 2.5 billion in 2050, and the vast majority will be the young. How will they deal with massively growing inequality and economic stagnation? And will pitchforks matter?
‘The problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any high-functioning capitalist economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society. Unless our policies change dramatically, the middle class will disappear, and we will be back to late 18th-century France. Before the revolution.” (Nick Hanauer, The Pitchforks Are Coming. For Us Plutocrats)
My title for this article is not original. It comes from a self-confessed “plutocrat”, one of the “zillionaires” (as Hanauer describes them) in the US. It comes from the realisation that the gap between the insanely rich and the poor is growing logarithmically.
And Hanauer’s warning was written in 2014, nine years ago.
Has anything improved?
The Tax Justice Network estimates that somewhere between $21-trillion and $32-trillion are held offshore, and $427-billion in possible tax is lost to tax havens every year; that is a total of $3.8-trillion since Hanauer penned his article.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
This picture is seen both globally and locally. Southern Africa is no exception. In fact, we are the trailblazers in inequality and impunity.
South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, but it is not unique. Zimbabwe too has gross inequality; with nearly 85% of its citizens in informal employment. It is one of the most unhappy countries in the world on virtually every indicator that exists. However, there are few countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that do not show similar profiles. GDP is no indicator of economic wellbeing in a region where most countries have seen very little growth in GDP between 2009 and 2017, from $1,815 in 2009 to $1,927 per head in 2017.
That is about $5 per day.
Africa will see the largest increase in its population over the next 30 years, growing from about 1.1 billion in 2020 to 2.5 billion in 2050, and the vast majority will be the young. This will be why pitchforks matter.
How will the youth respond to massively growing inequality?
The youth bulge theory
This is ...
Murdered Swazi political activist Thulani Maseko has been hailed for his courage in fighting Eswatini’s absolute monarchy.
Leading Swazi political activist, government critic and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was shot dead by unknown assailants on Saturday night in an apparent assassination.
Maseko, who headed the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) of political parties and civil society groups leading the campaign for democracy in the kingdom, was shot through the windows of his home in Bhunya in the Manzini region. He was watching TV at the time of the attack, according to local journalists.
The shooters apparently did not enter the house or take anything.
The Times of Eswatini posted a photograph on its Facebook page showing two bullet holes in a window of the house. Maseko’s wife, Tanele Maseko, and children were with him when he died, journalists said.
Shocked fellow activists and human rights defenders in Eswatini and across the region hailed Maseko as “the epitome of human rights law” and called for an independent regional investigation of his murder.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Lack of democratic reform in Eswatini likely to fuel greater unrest – activists”
“Thulani led the charge against human rights violations and infringements in Eswatini, from land evictions to minority groups,” said the Johannesburg-based Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC). “He unwaveringly represented activists who fought against state repression.”
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change, said it mourned “a fearless advocate for democracy and social justice”.
The Mozambique Human Rights Defenders Network condemned “the cold-blooded murder” of Maseko and said those responsible “must be brought to justice”.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) hailed Maseko as “a brave human being who fought tirelessly against the undemocratic regime in defence of people’s basic human rights and dignity”.
National director Wayne Ncube said LHR was ready to carry on his fight in unity with democratic voices in Eswatini and called on the South African government to “play a more active diplomatic role in ensuring greater protection for human rights defenders in the region”.
‘King Mswati’s hitmen’
The Swazi government expressed its condolences, said its security forces were seeking the “criminals” responsible and warned against speculation about who was responsible.
However, some opposition activists immediately pointed fingers at the state. The offshore investigative news site Swazi News claimed it would produce witnesses who had seen police officers escort “King Mswati’s hitmen after the assassination”.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), exiled in South Africa, said Maseko was killed “a few hours after Mswati ...
It would not be overstating the case to say that our school maths results figures represent a national disaster. And they have a very direct impact on South Africa’s economic growth.
Harvard University scholars showed in 2009 that a country’s economic growth was more clearly attributable to the mathematical proficiency of its high school learners than to their proficiency in other subjects.
Encouragingly, the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) in South Africa has focused its support to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on improving the quality of learner outcomes in mathematics (together with languages and science) — its motto, taken from the National Development Plan (NDP), being “committed to ensuring a South Africa where 90% of learners pass mathematics, science and languages with at least 50% by 2030”.
How close are we to achieving that goal?
The DBE has released the 2022 Grade 12 results, which have again shown a poor performance in mathematics. The DBE’s diagnostic report on Grade 12 learner performance in content subjects in 2021 showed that 77% of learners achieved less than 50% in maths in 2021, only a one percentage point improvement since 2017. (There is no point in looking at performance below 40% or 30% when a pass for any subject should be, and is at university, 50%.)
Expressed differently, in 2021 only a quarter of learners achieved above 50% in (that is, “passed”) maths.
The perennial focus on Grade 12 pass rates at the expense of pass rates in the preceding 11 grades points up the continuing myopia of the education authorities in ignoring the bigger picture — the number of learners who start Grade 1 and drop out of school before Grade 12.
As the Research on Socio-Economic Policy (Resep) group at Stellenbosch University has shown, there are “major inefficiencies” in the schooling system, with repetition being “extremely common in all grades” and many learners dropping out of the system before reaching Grade 12.
Pre-Grade 12 performance in maths is a harbinger of maths outcomes in matric. As the following table shows, while learner performance improved over the period 2016 to 2018, performance from Grade 3 to Grade 6 to Grade 9 dropped off significantly. That the average pass rate in Grade 9 was well below 40% explains the Grade 12 maths outcomes profile.
To argue that the improvements in learner performance in maths between 2016 and 2018 show that we are making progress is belied by maths performance in ...
This week, a group of 250 leaders from social justice organisations from across the country will meet in Pretoria on 26 and 27 January to ponder the crises facing people in South Africa and to craft an agenda for change, one that will rally the social justice sector towards a coherent response to the crises.
It feels as though Stage 6 rolling blackouts will be the death of us all. Scheduled blackouts symbolise so much that has gone wrong in South Africa since the dawn of democracy. We face multiple crises that, while often attributed to the governing ANC, are the doing of all of us.
Because rolling blackouts sharply affect all our lives in immediate and urgent ways, they tend to push out of mind some of the other critical crises we face and their impact. The recent ANC elective conference was one such crisis. It displayed in significant ways the perpetual inward-looking tendency of political parties that has become all too common. It also was yet another moment in which public good was sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.
Read: Civil society no longer trusts ANC mettle to meet the Age of Menace
Sadly, at the next general election in 2024 the South African public will inherit public representatives with questionable moral compasses and with no demonstrated interest in serving for the public good, as a consequence of our electoral system. As things stand, our electoral system restricts us to electing political parties who in turn choose candidates for public office based entirely on criteria and mechanisms that are not open to public scrutiny.
It is contempt for citizens to be saddled with compromised candidates who rise to political office on the back of, and despite, scandals of the magnitude and nature of Phala Phala, Digital Vibes and many others. The strengthening of governance and public institutions in our country demands, as one of the first steps, urgent reforms to the electoral system, but political parties are resistant to introducing a more thoroughgoing Electoral Amendment Bill in Parliament.
Living in fear
With the dimmed lights, a sense of safety and of community that once held local communities together has also been eroded and many have fallen back and cleave to their primary positions based on race, religion, tribes, language, social status, and so on. We live in fear that our homes may be burgled at any point and we may be raped, maimed or ...
The DA is inviting political backlash against reform. Its court application to abolish cadre deployment also miscomprehends the problem.
I have argued before that the practice of political appointments in public administration is central to South Africa’s corruption. It is also unlawful in our contemporary constitutional and statutory framework.
The Zondo Commission cited my work supporting the insulation of personnel decisions from political interference, but today I suggest that the DA’s motion to have cadre deployment declared unconstitutional is politically dangerous and legally blinkered.
I am also no great fan of the ANC’s response, but one opinion at a time.
In terms of political strategy, the task of building a professional, non-partisan civil service is always an arduous one. There are no shortcuts. The process is necessarily incremental. Progress must take pains to nurture a stable governing consensus that reaches across party lines and incorporates a diverse constituency.
South Africa, against great odds, has been moving in this direction. We see this in tentative, statutory steps to clarify the line between party and state. We now have strong pronouncements in government policy and a lively debate within the ANC itself. The demand for professionalising the public administration is today regularly endorsed across progressive civil society and beyond.
The DA’s court action in the Pretoria High Court threatens a schism. The policy of cadre deployment was adopted in the 1980s in the heat of the struggle against apartheid.
In the 1990s, attitudes around it hardened, partly because the DA brought it to the centre of its “fight back” campaigning. After making overtures to black voters into the mid-2010s, the party has lately moved to shore up the rights of its white constituency. This has involved a renewed posture of aggressive opposition.
The party’s legal arguments against cadre deployment target the ANC alone. In a context where other parties practice political deployment, a declaration of invalidity against the ANC suggests a process of one-sided disarmament in an increasingly competitive political system.
All this cuts through consensus, promotes partisan polarisation and incites racialised backlash against necessary reforms, the courts, and even the Constitution itself.
The DA’s application plays into the surging anti-constitutional sentiment of recent years. It is also questionable on narrower grounds of policy and law.
The party and I have different conceptions of the genesis of the problem of political appointments. The DA blames the ANC’s Leninist doctrine of cadre deployment, playing up neoliberal fears of African nationalist and communist “collectivism”. I ...
Here’s what government can do about it.
When residents of Mmadithlokwe, near Marikana in North West province, have mobile data, they record their experiences of mine-blasting explosions from the nearby Tharisa mine on WhatsApp groups.
A sample of the messages posted by residents, members of the Mine Host Communities in Crisis Network (MHCCN) and other community organisations, reveals the distress caused by the noise and dust of the explosions.
Here’s an example of the kind of messages posted to such groups over a two-month period:
1 September: Today’s Blasting. Time 14:30. Mine Section: Far west. Vibrations: strong, houses shaking. Sound: loud
2 September: Blasting Time: 17:32. No vibration, Normal explosion sound. More blasting: Time 17:33. Mine: Far East section. Vibration: longer and strong. Sound: louder
5 September: Today’s blasting: No vibration. Sound: loud. Time 15:20. Mine: Far East Section. Too much dust
21 September: Blast Time: 14:58. No vibration. Loud sound. Mine section: Far East.
23 September: Blast Time: 14:05. Mine: Section: west section. Vibration: Strong. Sound: loud. Too much Dust
23 September: Time: 18:20 Mine Section: East. Vibration: strong, Sound: Very very Loud. Too much dust. The Blasting that just happened at 18:20. “The dust is very very strong even the lights are dark, we are inhaling the fumes, we can’t see clearly, we can’t see the stars, we coughing because of fumes no dust.”
28 September: Today’s Blasting. Mine section: far west. Vibration: strong. Sound: very loud
3 October: Blasting time: 14:40. Mine section: East. Vibration: None. Sound: Loud
6 October: Tharisa mine notice: blasting notification. Date: 7 Oct 2022. Area: West Mine, Block 3606. Blast time: 15:00 -17:00. Affected areas: Lapologang road & West pit.
13 October 2022: Today’s blasting. Time: 14:00. Section: West of west. Vibration: too strong. Sound: very very loud. Blasting AGAIN: Time: 15:39. Mine section: West section, close to our houses. Vibration: too strong. Sound: extremely loud
14 Oct 2022: Time: 18:22 Section: East section. Vibration: too strong. Sound: very loud.
17 Oct 2022. Today’s blasting. Time: 13:57. Section: far west. Vibration too strong. Sound: extremely loud
18 October: Blasting Time: 14:10. Section: East section of mine. Vibration: very strong houses shaking. Sound: very very louder
24 October: Today’s Blasting. Time 14:00 Section: Far west. Vibrations: very strong. Sound: louder. IMPACTS : houses shaking
26 October. Mine Section: i don’t know. Vibration: very much scary and longer. Sound: very loud. IMPACTS: houses shaking up and today i ran away. TIME: 17:42
28 October: “There was a flying rock yesterday and it had ...
For many matriculants, the release of final exam results is charged with anxiety and the stress of change.
The release of matric results is a time of great excitement for many young people, but there is a more difficult – and often less spoken about – side to the experience, endured by those who do not get the marks they’d hoped for. Results can mean disappointment, anxiety and disruption.
The 2022 matric results became available for collection from exam centres across South Africa on Friday 20 January, after a delay attributed largely to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the school calendar.
A range of factors determine the effect this high-pressure time has on the mental health of pupils, including the desire to make parents proud, fear of the unknown and peer pressure, according to Deborah Olusola, clinical psychologist at The Couch, a psychology and psychiatry practice.
Fear of being seen as a failure
“Being disappointed in results may open avenues for thoughts around being a ‘failure’ . and fear of how people will perceive them when they find out that they didn’t get ‘good’ results,” explained Olusola.
“Exam-result disappointment can lead to social isolation, limited communication, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, feelings of worthlessness and suicidal thoughts, which can be signs of depression.”
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group gets helpline calls from matrics throughout the year, says operations director Cassey Chambers. “We receive calls from matrics. as there’s so much pressure and they often feel overwhelmed,” she said.
“When [people] do hear about matric suicides when the results come out we assume it’s because of the results, but actually it could be the last trigger at that specific point. There’s relationship issues, family problems, bullying, or whatever, and then [the results] could be the last trigger.”
Chambers said the two weeks after the release of results were a critical time, when matriculants had to deal with changes in their lives as well as the reaction of others to the marks.
“There’s still a lot of matrics who perhaps don’t reach out or don’t call us but are struggling in silence.”
Akho Nqana, a matriculant from Kraaifontein in Cape Town, said it was important for matrics to be mentally prepared for positive and negative outcomes.
“If you focus on the positive, all the stress and fear may somehow decrease. If your family supports you, is a hundred percent behind you, you will not think of the results so ...
In November, police in Europe and other countries took down what they described as a ‘super cartel’ dominating the world’s cocaine trade. It seems the crackdown has a trail that leads all the way to Durban, South Africa’s port city known for mass drug busts.
A powerful international drug cartel said to control a third of Europe’s cocaine trade was dealt a blow late last year when 49 arrests were carried out in several countries.
No suspects seemed to be detained, or identified, in South Africa.
However, a clue, in the form of a sentence in a Dutch police press release, suggests the “super cartel” has been operating through this country. An arrested suspect’s alleged activities pointed to this.
The SA cocaine conduit
The clue in the Dutch police statement is the mention of Durban. Daily Maverick has previously reported that Durban harbour is used by major drug trafficking cartels, including Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC).
A suspected leader of the PCC, Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos, previously hid out in South Africa and was later arrested in Mozambique in 2020.
In October last year, in Brazil, he was sentenced to 26 years in jail for trafficking.
The book Clash of the Cartels: Unmasking the Global Drug Kingpins Stalking South Africa details how drug traffickers from various countries, including Brazil, Italy and Serbia, sometimes working together, use Durban harbour as a node for cocaine smuggling.
South Africa’s Parliament heard in November that Durban was “the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa” and handled “up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year”.
Local cops unaware of links
This week, South African Police Service spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told Daily Maverick SAPS officers knew nothing about criminal activities in Durban and the port’s alleged links to a suspect arrested by Dutch counterparts as part of the “super cartel”.
“All the air, sea and land ports of entry in KwaZulu-Natal are not aware of the mentioned individual and have not detected anything that is unlawful or illegal linked to the mentioned subject,” she said.
Sources linked to security have long questioned whether officials linked to policing and other activities at Durban harbour are being paid off to ensure drugs pass through smoothly.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale previously confirmed to Daily Maverick: “Police officers have . been arrested in cocaine interceptions, particularly related to Durban. [A] special task team has been assigned to conduct investigations which are ongoing and still sensitive.”
Sinking a ‘super cartel’
In the ...
While Bafana Bafana and the male game in the country have been on a downward trajectory, the opposite is true of our female footballers.
It was reported in December 2022 that freight rail giant Transnet was departing as sponsor of the School of Excellence, a formerly acclaimed national football academy that has produced talents such as Steven Pienaar – who enjoyed a successful career in Europe playing for the likes of Ajax Amsterdam, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.
The school also produced former Bafana Bafana players such as Bernard Parker and Daine Klate, as well as the likes of Bryce Moon and former Chelsea youth player Masilo Modubi.
In recent years, though, the pipeline for producing such talents at the academy has dried up.
Headed by the South African Football Association (Safa), the School of Excellence was established in 1994 to provide talented boys from rural and underprivileged communities with just as much opportunity to rise to football stardom as their more privileged counterparts.
In recent years, also hand in hand with the regression of the men’s national senior side, the School of Excellence has struggled to produce players in the mould of its aforementioned products.
Currently, some of the active players the academy can claim to have produced are promising Orlando Pirates starlet Boitumelo Radiopane and former Bidvest Wits midfielder Sibongakonke Mbatha.
Transnet reportedly felt that it was not receiving the return on investment to which it had become accustomed since its collaboration with the school and Safa began more than two decades ago.
“The relationship between Safa and Transnet is governed by what we call a trust deed. I’ve written to Transnet to say ‘you don’t just up and leave’, [as] the deed is very clear,” Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe told journalists in response to a question from Daily Maverick on the matter during a recent press briefing.
“So, we will be meeting with Transnet. Because, in terms of the same deed, [it has] an obligation, with us, to get a replacement sponsor. It’s not just a case of ‘I’m divorcing you, I’m leaving’, you still need to go to court to get the decree of divorce. So, we are going to have that roundtable meeting,” added Motlanthe.
During the same briefing, Safa confirmed that the latest contract of a long-standing partnership with South African Breweries (SAB) had expired at the tail end of last year and the two parties were currently negotiating a renewal.
SAB was a long-time sponsor ...
While there are no early solutions in sight to our intensely painful rolling blackouts, it appears there is a major political dispute taking place both within government and within the ANC. It is also becoming clear that Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is coming under serious pressure, even though he is not yet in control of Eskom.
It appears the only response Gwede Mantashe has to the pressure he is experiencing is to try to distract from the real problem, which is the technical issue that Eskom is not able to provide enough electricity, and government policy’s failure to allow the private sector to make up the shortfall in time. This political dispute is likely to get even more heated, and no amount of the ANC Chair’s spinning will be able to tamp it down.
On Saturday, News24 quoted Mantashe telling delegates at the Free State ANC’s conference:
“.within the ANC there is a new debate that says energy and mining must be split. They will split energy from my department [of mineral resources and energy] then say they are taking Eskom to energy in terms of the resolution from the conference of the ANC”.
This appeared to be bolstered by reporting in City Press that those close to President Cyril Ramaphosa were planning to move him away from Energy, with one source quoted as saying his reign at the department has been “disastrous”.
Coming so soon after the ANC’s conference decision that SOEs be moved to their line departments (and thus Eskom would move to Energy) this is the first sign that Mantashe may not get control over Eskom at all.
This is likely to disappoint him.
Despite not having political authority over Eskom, Mantashe has made many comments about Eskom and rolling blackouts in the past. These included his famous quote that Stage 6 was “akin to agitating for the overthrow of the state” and appears to have “inspired” the resignation of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter.
And yet, while he has made those attacks on Eskom, he has also conveniently used the fact that he does not have direct control over Eskom to turn down interview requests. At the same time, in other interviews he has granted he has continued to lambast the beleaguered giant.
Professor Anton Eberhard has said that Mantashe told him directly he would blame current Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan when rolling blackouts happened, which points to a lack of care about. well, ...
The Lekwa Ratepayers Association took the power utility to court over its ‘internal load shedding’, which it implemented in 2020 at the height of Covid-19, and they won.
It started during one of the coldest winters in memory in Standerton, at the height of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.
It became a case that would trigger an avalanche of legal action against Eskom over the failure to provide reliable energy.
Back in 2020 in what the Lekwa municipality called “internal load shedding”, Eskom started limiting the amount of electricity that towns in the municipal areas were receiving.
Lekwa municipality had been defaulting on its electricity bills from Eskom for years. Now the town was getting less than 50% of the power it needed, and it had been begging for an upgrade since 2014. The notoriously defaulting municipality even paid for an upgrade of the line, but this was not done.
“Internal load shedding” was a deviation from a previous plan to force the municipality to pay, as Eskom would in the past just stack up the penalties and add this to yet another unpaid bill.
“Internal load shedding” meant that each part of the town would have scheduled power outages three times a day for two hours each time.
It was killing the town not 25km from Tutuka, one of Eskom’s fleet of major coal power stations. But nobody told the residents what was happening. A single, unsigned “press release” was discovered by residents looking for information, but where it came from and who wrote it was never discovered.
Read More in Daily Maverick: ConCourt deals major blow to Eskom’s efforts to recover billions in municipal electricity debt
So residents started meeting to make their own plans and put a stop to it. At the time, lockdown regulations limited public gatherings to 50. So they did just that. Fifty people at a time. For weeks. Until they were ready to go to court.
Winter temperatures dropped to as low as -13°C that year as power cuts continued. Guesthouses hosting mostly Eskom contractors were struggling to make breakfast and provide hot water. The prison was affected. Farms struggled and feed-processing plants couldn’t operate at maximum capacity. The mill, where fabric is made, suffered hundreds of thousands of rands in damage. Chicken farmers were on their knees, as some chickens died as a result of power cuts and others got too big for the abattoir because of long waiting times.
It was relentless. “An ...
During its two-year tenure, the Free State ANC’s Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) grappled with criminal syndicates that operated in the corridors of the state and were fleecing it dry resulting in the collapse of services, the party’s political report reads.
Not only did the syndicates collapse the delivery of services in all spheres of government but they also went as far as sowing factional divisions seeking to steadily squeeze the life out of the ANC.
The political report was delivered by IPC convenor, Mxolisi Dukwana on Saturday at the party’s 9th provincial conference held in Bloemfontein. The official opening of the conference was delayed nearly by 24 hours owing to grievances, violence, protests and threats of litigation.
“When we took over, almost all regional structures and branches were operating beyond their mandates as enshrined in the ANC constitution. The organisation was beset by divisions and factional arraignment which steadily squeezed the life out of the organisation.”
“Although these challenges were not unique to the Free State province, it is generally agreed that they were more pronounced here in our province,” said Dukwana.
Last year the province, along with the Western Cape, were the only two that could not convene their conferences before the party’s 55th national conference which saw party president Cyril Ramaphosa clutch a second term.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Tensions in Free State could lead to ‘violence and possible loss of lives’, ANC senior leaders warn
The countless delays in the Free State’s inability to hold conference were also credited to clashes between branches that were still beholden to former Free State strongman Ace Magashule and branches pushing the renewal agenda.
Factional battles in the province have persisted, and even with the intervention of former president Thabo Mbeki, the province under the leadership of Dukwana has not managed to keep its members in line.
The IPC was appointed in May 2021 after the Free State ANC‘s 2018 conference that elected Magashule’s ally Sam Mashinini as provincial chairperson was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), leaving a leadership vacuum for the party in the province.
When it took office, it vowed to build a strong and inclusive organisation, grow quality membership, combat all forms of factionalism, restore political education, improve governance across all spheres and ensure that “we strangle the hegemony of criminal networks.”
On Saturday Dukwana admitted that their attempts to implement changes were often impeded and as a result, the province remained in bad ...
The epic comedy-drama about wild Hollywood’s transition from the silent era to the talkies is hilarious and spectacular. But even with a big budget and an ensemble cast, La La Land director Damien Chazelle seems to have lost the plot.
Though he’s utterly outshone by the blazing presence of his co-stars, Diego Calva’s character, Manny Torres, is the central protagonist of Damien Chazelle’s three-hour marathon movie. It makes sense – Manny is a young Mexican-American desperate to break into the movie industry to “be a part of something bigger” – he’s sweet, naive, and on the outside; so we can discover the hysteria of Hollywood’s silent era through his eyes.
Tasked with transporting an elephant to one of the mythical drug-fuelled bacchanals of the tail end of The Roaring Twenties, Manny befriends aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), who’s scouted out of the crowd for her wild magnetism and cast into a silent film. Performing amid the ecstatic delirium are Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), a trumpet player in the ceaseless jazz band, and Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), a Chinese-American cabaret singer. Manny’s career begins with the end of his night, when Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a drunken film star akin to Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power, decides that “Manny’s great!”
Babylon takes the themes and lead-actors of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and the behind-the-scenes debauchery of The Wolf Of Wall Street and rehashes it in the grandiose wild west setting of the Great Gatsby (which makes one wonder how Leonardo Dicaprio didn’t find his way into the spotlight).
The film stands a good chance of nabbing an Oscar in one of the technical categories – the production design is immaculate, simultaneously grandiose and authentic. The costume design is much the same. Justin Hurwitz’s non-stop manic circus-jazz score is perfect for the mania and exuberance of the era: exciting, relentless, fun, and just a little unsettling. And then there’s the cinematography, which ranges from the stylised close-ups and golden lighting of those fleeting dreamlike moments – which Chazelle does so enjoy using to share a character’s wonder – to the propulsive quick cuts and sweeping camera shots of hundreds of extras during the numerous party scenes that overwhelm the senses.
How is it that with all this talent and excellence, Babylon has been a box office bomb, grossing a fraction of its $78-million budget? Some of it comes down to luck, and ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of this week’s events around the world.
Another dodgy contract is revealed at the health department, we create a suggestions box for Eskom and see how a group of Rhodes University academics created email in SA – all in the Weekend Wrap.
Read the Weekend Wrap here.
A school with an 85% pass rate target for 2022 has surpassed it, achieving an impressive 92.6% pass rate in the 2022 matric exams! It’s a whopping 14.1 percentage point increase from last year.
A call from the district office to Hector Peterson Secondary School in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, sent shivers down the spine of principal Mike Mavovana. He was told that Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier would be coming to the school to issue its matric results. “What have I done?” he wondered after the call. “Why would the MEC of education in the province want to come to our school on the day of the release of the matric results?”
The worried principal said he requested that his staff should prepare the school hall for the MEC’s arrival. He had been working hard with his matriculants, but the call made him think he was in trouble. Little did he know that his 2022 matriculants had achieved incredible things.
The school achieved remarkable success with a 92.6% pass rate, a whopping 14.1 percentage point increase from last year. Moreover, 55% of their candidates achieved bachelor’s passes – up from 40.2% last year. And they did this all, while increasing the number of candidates writing from 204 to 229.
“I cannot express how I feel,” said the jubilant principal, following the MEC’s announcement of the results. “We far exceeded our expectations and I attribute all the success to everyone involved at the school, from the parents, teachers, the community and our district.”
The school achieved a 78.4% pass rate in 2021 and 71.9% in the previous year. Kraaifontein, just more than 30km from the CBD via the N1, is one of the fastest-growing areas, with informal settlements mushrooming in the past two years.
It is also one of the poorest areas in the metropolitan area, and a hotspot for murder and sexual offences. In the second quarter, crime statistics covering the months of July to September were released by police minister Bheki Cele last year. The area was placed in seventh position on the top 30 list of sexual offences.
Despite it all
Principal Mavovana said despite all the negatives surrounding the area, he always reminded his learners that education can change their circumstances. “Our kids are manageable, when we tell them about morning or extra classes, these kids will be there in numbers. This only happened with the assistance of the parents too because just after passing ...
Anything Gwede Mantashe, Cyril Ramaphosa or Enoch Godongwana say to the contrary will most likely be spin-doctoring to ensure South Africans still vote for them next year.
Dear DM168 readers,
We are three weeks into 2023 and the joie de vivre of New Year’s celebrations has soured at the speed of light into a general malaise. In plain, simple South Africanese, people are GATVOL. We see it in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups.
Jan 19 (Reuters) — David Crosby, one of the most influential rock musicians of the 1960s and 1970s, and who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with two different groups, has died at the age of 81.
Crosby was a founding member of two revered rock bands: the country and folk-influenced Byrds, for whom he co-wrote the hit Eight Miles High, and Crosby, Stills & Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), who defined the smooth side of the Woodstock generation’s music.
“It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed,” Graham Nash, his longtime collaborator and sometime sparring partner, said.
“I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together. and the deep friendship we shared,” Nash said.
Crosby’s wife, Jan Dance, announced the death in a statement published by Variety. It did not specify when he died, nor the cause. Crosby’s British-based representatives could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters.
Musically, Crosby stood out for his intricate vocal harmonies, unorthodox open tunings on guitar and incisive songwriting. His work with both the Byrds and CSN/CSNY blended rock and folk in new ways, and their music became a part of the soundtrack for the hippie era.
“I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. David was an unbelievable talent – such a great singer and songwriter. And a wonderful person,” Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson said on Twitter.
Personally, Crosby was the embodiment of the credo “sex, drugs and rock n roll”, and a 2014 Rolling Stone magazine article tagged him “rock’s unlikeliest survivor”.
In addition to drug addictions that ultimately led to a transplant to replace a liver worn out by decades of excess, his tumultuous life included a serious motorcycle accident, the death of a girlfriend, and battles against hepatitis C and diabetes.
“I’m concerned that the time I’ve got here is so short, and I’m pissed at myself, deeply, for the 10 years – at least – of time that I wasted just getting smashed,” Crosby told the Los Angeles Times in July 2019. “I’m ashamed of that.”
He fell “as low as a human being can go”, Crosby told the Times.
He also managed to alienate many ...
‘Untie your hands Mr President!’ says the president of #NotInMyName Siyabulela Jentile during a protest against tariff hikes granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to Eskom during intense rolling blackouts.
NotInmyName in collaboration with Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Easterust (MNE) stakeholders forum marched to Nersa offices and to the Union Buildings from Church Square in Pretoria to protest the 18.65% hike the energy regulator has granted Eskom.
The leaders claimed it was unreasonable to expect a widely unemployed country to afford the exorbitant costs of electricity.
While reading out the memorandum for Nersa Chief Executive Officer, Nomalanga Sithole, the leader of MNE, Khutso Seretjane said “As it stands, citizens are paying for a service that is interrupted at any given moment without just cause. So it is uncouth for Nersa to give Eskom an 18.65% tariff hike, for people to pay more for a service they receive less of. Moreover, the scheduled power outages have had a significant impact on the livelihoods and businesses of South Africans — an impact that Eskom has not and will not pay them for, instead South Africans are mandated to pay more for their disservice,” Seretjane said.
Seretjane accused officials of being detached from the citizens’ lived realities saying Nersa must “stave off and /or retract the Eskom tariff until such time that equilibrium has been established and there are reasonable grounds to authorise the rise of electricity.”
Mmamosa Thobetjane, 56 from Mamelodi said rolling blackouts ruin her business of selling vegetables because they spoil quickly without a fridge, especially during heatwaves.
“We are asking for them to hear us out and understand us, our children are losing jobs and our small businesses are hard to run when things are like this. We can’t pay for electricity we don’t have with money we don’t have,” said Thobetjane.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Azapo sit in
Liberation movement the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo), orchestrated a protest sit-in at Nersa’s offices in Pretoria for five days and joined in the protest with Not In My Name International (Nimni). Deputy president of Azapo, Kekeletso Khena said Nersa didn’t engage communities and didn’t follow due processes before granting the tariff hike.
“We asked them how they informed the communities and let them have a voice, they mentioned only three media houses, Business Day, Beeld, and Independent. If they had the intention to engage all communities they would have informed ...
The Sharks were the first South African team to qualify for a place in the knockouts, in the inaugural season of the Champions Cup for domestic teams. The Bulls and Stormers will look to follow suit this weekend against Lyon and Clermont respectively.
All three South African sides – playing in the European Champions Cup – sit pretty on the standings, with the Bulls and Stormers needing only a losing bonus point to secure their passage into the round of 16.
The Bulls are currently in sixth place in Pool A of the Champions Cup, and will line up against Lyon at Matmut Stade de Gerland in the opening match of the weekend, on Friday 20 January evening.
A loss by more than seven points, as well as other unfavourable results, could see the Bulls knocked out of the tournament.
However, victory in expected freezing conditions could see them finish in the upper echelons of the table, which could secure the Bulls an easier playoff match — possibly at home, at Loftus Versfeld.
Despite the necessity of a solid performance in France, the Bulls have elected to make a number of changes to the squad that beat Exeter 39-28 last weekend.
The biggest change is in leadership, where Nizaam Carr will lead the side with Ruan Nortje relegated to the bench.
“Basically, it is part of player welfare and rotation because Ruan (Nortje) has played every minute of rugby of every match he has played, since the beginning of the season,” said Bulls backline coach Chris Rossouw.
There is a brand new front row too, with Simphiwe Matanzima, Bismarck Du Plessis and Francois Klopper all starting.
Among the backs, Cornal Hendricks slots in at outside centre, with Harold Vorster given the day off.
“The same with Harold, since making his return from injury he has played a lot of rugby, so it is important to manage him well too. This is all part of the rotation plan that we have had since the beginning of the year,” Rossouw added.
“It’s important when in a group, to have your name in the team sheet as a player that can play these games. And when you get the chance, look to execute the job in the first 60 minutes.”
The Pretoria side will draw confidence from the fact that they won the last encounter against Lyon 42-36 at home in December 2022.
Sharks look to go four from four
The Sharks will have their sights set ...
As rolling blackouts put immense pressure on ageing and poorly maintained infrastructure, vandals and thieves are cashing in, it says.
City Power has already spent 80% of its budget for the entire financial year to replace mini-substations damaged through the perpetual problems of vandalism, theft and rolling blackouts.
The City of Joburg entity said that in the past year (during which there were 205 days of rolling blackouts) it has replaced more than 290 mini-substations, totalling R200-million.
Vandalism and theft
City Power reported on Thursday that it loses on average two mini-substations a day due to continued theft and vandalism across its service delivery centres, with Roodepoort the hardest hit.
On average, one mini-substation supplies 100 households, depending on the size, which the entity says explains the number of calls it gets every time a single mini-substation is vandalised or blows up.
City Power said load shedding has a high impact on its infrastructure, with mini-substations and transformers blowing up, or being stolen.
Vally Padayachee, former Eskom executive manager and former City Power Joburg executive, told Our Burning Planet rolling blackouts (the high levels and even Stage 3) has a significant impact on theft and vandalism, since long periods without power gives people time in the day to vandalise or steal.
“If you’ve got four hours of load shedding in Stage 6, you’re got four hours to vandalise, because the power is off,” said Padayachee.
“With four hours you can knock into big substations and switchgear and transformers and vandalise, you can even pull cables out the ground if you know where new cables are.”
By Wednesday this week, City Power had to replace 14 mini-substations that had all been vandalised, to address outages – eight in Roodepoort, four at the Reuven Service Delivery Centre, one in Randburg and one in Midrand.
Blackouts put pressure on an ageing, unmaintained system
Rolling blackouts also have an impact on the longevity of infrastructure.
Our Burning Planet previously reported that ageing and unmaintained infrastructure can’t deal with the power surges when power is restored after a blackout.
City Power Joburg spokesperson Isaac Mangena told OBP in 2022 (when the entity was dealing with the same issues) that “load shedding has undesirable effects on the infrastructure which, by its nature, was never meant to be switched on and off at short intervals, and comes with it added financial pressures that we did not budget for”.
Padayachee agrees that distribution equipment was not designed for rolling blackouts, and frequently turning ...
The child murderer, kidnapper, and rapist will learn the extent of his fate in February.
The State wants the Western Cape high court to hand down at least nine life sentences to a 57-year-old killer convicted of 17 counts of rape and assault of minors, including the murder of eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk.
Acting Judge Alan Maher will mete out sentencing of Moehydien Pangaker on Valentine’s Day.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Tazne van Wyk murder – activists demand system change after twice-paroled killer convicted”
On Wednesday 18 January, the Western Cape high court heard sentencing mitigation. State prosecutor senior advocate Lenro Badenhorst, who is calling for Pangaker to be sentenced harshly, described him as a monster who cannot be tolerated in a civilised community.
“It is submitted that the accused is a repeat offender who indiscriminately targets young girls for sexual pleasure, and thus his moral blameworthiness is high.
“The accused took away the life of an eight-year-old child who had her whole life in front of her and left her family devastated,” said Badenhorst.
The main charge against the child killer relates to the rape and murder of van Wyk. The Grade 3 pupil from Eurocon Primary School went missing on 7 February 2020.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Her body was found on 19 February 2020 in a storm water drain along the N1 highway near Worcester, about 95km from her Ravensmead home.
She was last seen alive alongside Pangaker in CCTV footage from close to Bergsig Motors on 7 February. It shows them at 11.15pm walking away from the dealership towards the N1 until they vanish into the darkness.
Following his arrest in Cradock, Pangaker was relaxed and at some point, he was heard laughing aloud. This demeanour lends credence to the State’s contention that he exhibited no remorse or regret for his heinous actions.
Badenhorst also painted a bleak picture of the killer’s past during mitigation. On 7 April 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping, child molestation, and culpable homicide, according to the court. He was granted parole on 3 April 2013 and went missing on 18 November 2013. On August 12, 2015, he was arrested again.
But he was paroled a second time, from 17 October 2016 to 18 May 2019, before disappearing on 6 February 2019. He was not seen by Correctional Services again until a year later, on February 19, 2020, when he murdered van ...
‘The justice system is failing us’ says sister of Phelokazi Mqathanya who was fatally stabbed in 2021.
The trial of the man accused of committing a hate crime when he allegedly fatally stabbed Phelokazi Mqathanya, is set to start on Thursday. This date has come as a relief to her family and members of lesbian activist group, Free Gender, who have been lobbying for justice since 2021.
Mqathanya, who lived in Site C in Khayelitsha, Cape Town was stabbed to death on 2 May 2021. She was lesbian and her family and activists believe her murder was a hate crime.
The accused, Bongani Ngadleka, was arrested soon after the murder. But after several delays in the investigations and four court postponements, the case was removed from the court roll on 14 December 2021. The case was brought back to court on 5 May 2022 following action by Free Gender.
In October 2022, the case was postponed because the prosecutors were not in court before the matter was remanded for trial in January 2023 at a hearing later that month.
The trial was expected to start on 18 January 2022, but the accused was not at court due to “transport issues” at Pollsmoor Prison. This happened again on 19 January and was confirmed by the prosecutor in court. This case has been postponed 14 times since May 2022.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
On Friday, Ngadleka made a brief appearance where it was confirmed that the trial would start next week.
Meanwhile, Mqathanya’s sister who is also a Free Gender member, Nozuko Ndlwana, believes that the state has been “dragging its feet on the case”. She said each time they have to take off work to come to court has been very stressful and they often have to return home to relatives with very little or no further information about the case.
“This whole case is just giving me a lot of anxiety. It’s draining. The justice system is failing us,” said Ndlwana.
When asked about the transportation problem from prison, the provincial Department of Correctional Services spokesperson, Carla Lange referred GroundUp to SAPS, saying they were responsible for escorting and transporting remand detainees to court.
SAPS promised that officials are looking into the matter.
First published by GroundUp.
Myrtle Witbooi, a pioneering leader of the domestic worker movement, died on 16 January in Cape Town at the age of 75. During apartheid, she began to organise women in her employer’s garage and went on to become the president of the first global union led by women.
For 52 years Myrtle Witbooi advocated for the rights of domestic workers, upholding her presidency of South Africa’s national union of domestic workers and the International Domestic Workers Federation, throughout her struggle with a rare form of bone cancer.
Witbooi’s experience as a domestic worker under apartheid guided her life on the frontlines of both a national and global movement to recognise and protect women who were once considered “servants” without rights. She fought for domestic workers’ first legal protections in South Africa’s democracy, which set basic conditions of employment and allowed more than 100,000 women to receive maternity and unemployment insurance over the past 20 years.
In 2008, her leadership expanded to the global organisation of domestic workers, where she guided a campaign for the first international standards of protection for household workers through the International Labour Organization (ILO). She appealed to world leaders for policy recognition for “those left in the backyards” and the “women who iron your shirts”.
In 2011, the United Nations adopted the first international convention for domestic worker rights – a victory that had Witbooi proclaiming: “Today we’ve got our dignity and respect. Slaves no more, but workers just like all of us.”
When asked about her achievements as a global human rights leader, she would most often share her surprise about the course of her life, given her origins under the apartheid system.
Born on 31 August 1947, in the Moravian mission town of Genadendal, Witbooi left to work in the city of Cape Town at the age of 17.
She became a live-in domestic worker – one of the most important forms of labour to reinforce apartheid’s interconnected race and gender oppressions. As she cooked, cleaned and cared for other people’s children and elders, she began to ask why those considered “one in the family” were the least paid and universally unprotected.
“In South Africa, the law said, ‘If the master speaks, you listen’. But I went up to the woman I was working for and I said, ‘Look at me, I am a woman, just like you’.”
In 1971, she spoke publicly about the need for protections such as minimum wages and ...
South Africa’s senior women’s cricket side will have to quickly dust themselves off to carry on fighting after losing the opening match of the tri-series in which they are up against India and West Indies.
The Proteas women last played a competitive match in August 2022 – during their disappointing Commonwealth Games appearance in which they were eliminated in the group stage after finishing third behind England and New Zealand.
The team’s rustiness showed when they lost by 27 runs to India in the first match of a T20 tri-series also involving West Indies. The series between the three nations is meant to serve as T20 World Cup preparation.
Compared with their Indian counterparts, the Proteas’ last taste of a cricket match was at the Games, when they beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in their third and final group game.
India, though, had recently tested their strength in a series against the reigning T20, One Day International and Commonwealth champions Australia. Though they lost that December series, they gained valuable minutes on the field.
This was evident as they edged the South Africans at Buffalo Park in East London.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
All-rounder Deepti Sharma was the chief destroyer of the South Africans with her 23-ball 33 runs with bat in hand, and three for 30 with the ball in front of a small crowd in the Eastern Cape.
Sharma claimed the crucial wicket of one of the Proteas’ most dangerous willow-wielders, Laura Wolvaardt, as early as the second over – removing her for just six runs.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Dané van Niekerk deemed unfit as Proteas Women announce squad for tri-series”
She would return to finish the job at the end and help the visitors defend their total of 147 for six in the 20 overs. Sharma removed Masabata Klaas in the final over to ensure that her side clinched a comfortable 27-run win, despite the fact that their own total was not as high as they might have wanted.
Earlier, the destructive all-rounder had partnered with Amanjot Kaur (41 not out) to steady the Indian innings after the Proteas had cut the tourists down to 69 for five.
The duo’s half-century stand for the sixth wicket helped propel India to an ultimately defendable total.
“We could have done a little more in the first innings, with our bowling plans. We started off really well. We got a couple of wickets upfront. ...
The 80.1% pass rate achieved by the matric class of 2022 is a testament to their resilience and determination in the face of challenges. However, it is far from a holistic representation of the state of South Africa’s education system.
“We definitely want to celebrate the matric class of 2022 – the learners who have dedicated themselves to completing the year so strongly. I think it’s really a testament to the kind of commitment that young people in this country have to their education.”
These were the words of Merle Mansfield, programme director at the Zero Dropout Campaign, in the wake of the announcement of the NSC results on Thursday, 19 January. The much-anticipated results showed an 80.1% pass rate for last year’s matric pupils.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Matrics bag 80.1% pass rate — A visual gauge of the 2022 National Senior Certificate results”
“I’m always astounded by how resilient and committed young people are, that they come back in the face of huge challenges. and they try their utmost best to succeed,” said Mansfield.
The 2022 pass rate shows an increase of 3.7% from the previous year. Prof Nadine Petersen, executive dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg, attributed the increase to a “multiplicity of factors”, including the resilience of children; the support of teachers and district officials; and caregiver support.
“Support initiatives are also getting better as the DBE (Department of Basic Education) is improving on its interventions on an annual basis,” she said.
Challenges overcome
The 2022 matriculants, the majority of whom were in Grade 10 when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, bore the brunt of pandemic-related interruptions, according to Stacey Jacobs, researcher at Equal Education.
“They lost out on face-to-face teaching time. When they returned to school, they needed to do a lot of catch-up and revision. and then we had the load shedding, which disrupted their studying and preparation time. and also disrupted some exams,” she said.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts a big worry as matrics set to write final examinations”
Nic Spaull, associate professor of economics at Stellenbosch University, expressed concern about the lack of transparency from the Umalusi Council regarding how it was handling Covid-19 learning losses and ensuring consistency in matric exam difficulty across years. Umalusi is the council that sets and monitors standards for general and further education and training in South Africa.
“The class of 2022 was the most affected by Covid and yet, in ...
Friday’s ceremony to celebrate the top-achieving KwaZulu-Natal matriculants, an 83% pass rate in the province, and growing the number of bachelor passes despite trying circumstances that included Covid-19, floods, and rolling blackouts, was an occasion for happy tears and laughter from the best of the schooling bunch.
There was a definitive theme that ran through the event, held at the Bethsaida church in Southgate, a suburb of Phoenix, on a clear but sweltering day.
The devastation of the April floods loomed large, as did the horrific Pongola accident that claimed the lives of 19 schoolchildren and a teacher in 2022.
There was also a direct appeal to parents to “guard schools” from destruction caused during service delivery protests, with suggestions that protests could escalate as the country’s energy crisis deepens.
Despite these sombre realities, a sense of hope filled the hall, where the ideals of meritocracy and healthy competition were rewarded and celebrated.
Nationally, KwaZulu-Natal was positioned among the top three provinces in South Africa with its 83% pass rate, a 6.2% improvement over 2021’s 76.8%, making it the most improved province in the country. The Free State again achieved top spot (88.5%), with Gauteng second (84.4%). KZN and Gauteng were responsible for the most bachelor passes.
The overall public school pass rate for 2022 was 80.1%, almost a 4% increase over 2021. This number, however, excludes the estimated 420,000 pupils who dropped out since being enrolled in Grade 1.
There were no schools in the province that recorded a 0% pass rate, and the number of schools that obtained 100% passes rose from 145 in 2021 to 212 in 2022. Bachelor passes increased from 61,856 in 2021 to 69,849 in 2022. Five of the province’s “special schools” obtained a 100% pass rate.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Meet the top achievers among matriculants who fought a good fight and ‘remained the light amid load shedding’”
KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said at the ceremony that the province had 198,866 full-time and part-time matriculants in 2022 and that the provincial education department managed the largest exam system in the country. This consisted of about 1,700 exam centres and more than 6,000 invigilators. The education system in the province comprises more than 2.8 million pupils spread across 6,000 schools.
“In April and May last year we were, as the province, under siege with the floods that pummelled KwaZulu-Natal and caused untold damage and destruction to lives, infrastructure and disrupted the education system. This ...
Leaked documents indicate that Thabo Bester was already dead before a fire broke out in his cell. Meanwhile, questions mount about whether the body discovered was in fact correctly identified as belonging to Bester.
“Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester’s death at Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year was murder, not suicide, a leaked report confirms.
Last year GroundUp reported on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the alleged death of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester.
On 3 May 2022, the Department of Correctional Services announced that Bester had been found dead in his cell at the private prison near Bloemfontein. A mattress had been set alight in the cell in which Bester had been isolated. A body was beneath the mattress, burned beyond recognition.
Initially, the death was reported as a possible suicide by police.
However, the body in the cell, believed — but not confirmed — to be Bester, was already dead before the fire began, according to the post-mortem.
The findings of the autopsy were included in a leaked prison visit report by Judges Nokuthula Daniso and Ilse Van Rhyn of the Free State high court, delivered in December last year. The judges visited the prison to investigate the circumstances of Bester’s death after receiving a complaint.
Many uncertainties surrounding Bester’s death remain, including whether the burned body recovered from the prison cell was in fact his. GroundUp still has not been able to establish with the South African Police Service whether DNA testing on the corpse has been completed.
In November, we were told by the Free State Department of Health that the body was still in the custody of the department. But this is in contradiction to the judges’ report, which reported that Bester’s body was handed over to his apparent girlfriend and biological mother some time in May, according to a 25 May 2022 statement from Detective Captain Tieho Jobo Flyman.
Bester was dubbed the “Facebook Rapist” because he used the social media platform to lure women with claims that international modelling scouts were interested in them. He would then rape them and rob them using a knife. He murdered at least one of his victims. In 2012, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for these crimes.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Bester was placed in the maximum security Mangaung prison, the second-largest private prison in the world. The prison is run by G4S, a multinational security company.
What happened after the ...
Tim Cohen in conversation with Investec Bank South Africa CEO Richard Wainwright and Investec Bank UK CEO Ruth Leas at the World Economic Forum.
Becker served on the National Nuclear Regulatory Board.
The axing of nuclear watchdog activist Peter Becker from the National Nuclear Regulatory Board last year was unconstitutional, the Western Cape high court has ruled.
The effect of Judge Babalwa Mantame’s ruling is that Becker, who was appointed as a community representative on the board in June 2021 following a public call for nominations, must be reinstated.
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, the National Nuclear Regulator, and the board — who all opposed Becker’s review application — have been ordered to pay costs.
Becker, who is the spokesperson for the Koeberg Alert Alliance (KAA), was appointed as a non-executive director of the board to represent communities affected by nuclear activities.
Becker was nominated by a number of civil society organisations, including the KAA, which is opposed to further building of reactors at Koeberg Power Station and extending its lifespan.
He held the KAA’s views prior to his appointment and, according to Becker, they were known by the minister.
However, after he gave an interview (published in Energize magazine) in his capacity as KAA spokesperson, and convened a meeting with civil society organisations, he was deemed to be “conflicted” and that he was not complying with his “fiduciary obligations”.
Becker was suspended and then fired by Mantashe, who publicly stated at the time of his suspension: “If you resist nuclear and you [are] a board member, I fire you, simple. You can’t be [on] a board of something you’re not advocating for. We want nuclear there in Port Elizabeth”.
Mantashe’s decision to fire Becker was backed by legal opinion from law firm MacRobert, which found that Becker was not protecting or promoting the business interests of the regulator or preserving its reputation.
Becker, in his court application, argued that the minister had an ulterior motive to get rid of him because of the challenging questions he raised.
Read the full judgment here.
Judge Mantame said that when Becker commented for the Energize article, he had done so in his civil society activist role, prior to his formal appointment and his acceptance as a member of the board.
Regarding Becker’s meeting with civil society bodies, following his appointment, Judge Mantame said he had advised the board of this.
“The goal was to collect the top concerns relating to nuclear safety across organisations . and to bring those concerns to the board, since he was a representative of those communities.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for ...
Andy Murray staged an epic comeback in the second round of the Australian Open but the match ended in the early hours of the morning, leading to criticism from the former World No 1.
An exhausted Andy Murray still had enough left in the tank to blast officials after an epic five-set match at the Australian Open finished after 4am on Friday, well beyond the usual Grand Slam midnight madness.
As fans trudged home for a few hours sleep after watching Murray rally from two sets and 2-5 down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5, the fired-up Scot labelled organisers “disrespectful.”
Murray said he respected the rules but criticised having to play until the early hours of the morning “and you’re not allowed to go and take a piss”.
“It’s a joke, it’s a joke. You know it as well,” he added.
“It’s disrespectful to you, disrespectful to the ball children, disrespectful to the players and we are not allowed to go to the toilet.
“Ridiculous!”
The Australian Open routinely has matches run past midnight but former Grand Slam champion John McEnroe called on officials to implement rules so it never happens so late again.
“I am stunned in disbelief that they were still playing at that hour,” McEnroe told Eurosport. “For starters, it was insane that matches at that level are played 4 to 4:30am in the morning.”
Tournament director Craig Tiley, though, said there was no need to tinker with the schedule at this point.
“At this point, we’ve got to fit those matches in the 14 days, so you don’t have many options,” he told Channel Nine.
“It was an epic match and when you schedule a match like that just before 10pm in the evening before, you’re not expecting it to go close to six hours.”
Tiley pointed out that several hours had been lost due to delays caused by extreme heat and rain this week.
“You don’t often get those conditions in such a short period of time so we’ve had three late nights with scheduling trying to catch up with matches,” Tiley added.
Most elite sports do not hold their biggest events into the wee hours of the morning after most fans have gone to bed, although late matches in Australia are daytime viewing in the big European TV markets.
The latest finish for a match at the Australian Open was 4.34am in 2008, when local Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis battled it out in a ...
Barely six months after the Russian foreign minister’s first African tour, two more trips are in the offing.
To call it a new ‘scramble for Africa’, as some like to do, is clearly hyperbolic. Nonetheless, it can’t be denied that the Big Powers are energetically wooing Africa as relations among themselves deteriorate.
China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang got off to an early start, visiting Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt last week. United States (US) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is on a tour to Senegal, Zambia and South Africa.
And next Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to visit South Africa at the start of a planned second African tour since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — an act that Moscow evidently needs to justify across the continent. On his July 2022 trip, Lavrov visited Egypt, Congo-Brazzaville, Uganda and Ethiopia, also meeting the African Union (AU) leadership in Addis Ababa.
The Qin and Lavrov trips could be seen as responses to US president Joe Biden’s Africa summit in December, which appeared to have been successful and certainly pulled a big crowd of leaders.
Though it hasn’t yet been officially announced, ISS Today understands that Lavrov will visit Eswatini, Botswana and Angola after South Africa. He will then return to North Africa in February to visit Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria and Morocco. That would amount to 12 countries plus the AU in just over six months — an impressive diplomatic charm offensive on Africa.
Yet in a marathon three-hour press conference in Moscow on 18 January, covering the world but mostly Ukraine, Lavrov didn’t mention an African tour. In fact, Africa only came into the picture in the very last question of the conference. A Russian journalist asked him to comment on Sputnik TV’s interview with South African international relations Minister Naledi Pandor.
In it, Pandor had demanded, not for the first time, the withdrawal of the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa bill, adopted by the US House of Representatives in 2022. It would impose sanctions on Russian entities — like the Wagner private military company — deemed to be conducting ‘malign’ activities on the continent. It could also lead to US sanctions on African governments and businesses dealing with such Russian entities.
US Senate sources believe the legislation was a misguided overreaction by the House to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that the more sober-minded Senate wouldn’t even bother to take it up. Nonetheless, ...
Now that AI systems can generate realistic images and convincing prose, are creative and knowledge workers endangered or poised for productivity gains? A panel of experts says it’s not so clear-cut.
From steam power and electricity to computers and the internet, technological advancements have always disrupted labor markets, pushing out some jobs while creating others. Artificial intelligence remains something of a misnomer – the smartest computer systems still don’t actually know anything – but the technology has reached an inflection point where it’s poised to affect new classes of jobs: artists and knowledge workers.
Specifically, the emergence of large language models – AI systems that are trained on vast amounts of text – means computers can now produce human-sounding written language and convert descriptive phrases into realistic images. The Conversation asked five artificial intelligence researchers to discuss how large language models are likely to affect artists and knowledge workers. And, as our experts noted, the technology is far from perfect, which raises a host of issues – from misinformation to plagiarism – that affect human workers.
Read in Daily Maverick: AI might be seemingly everywhere, but there are still plenty of things it can’t do – for now
Creativity for all – but loss of skills?
Lynne Parker, Associate Vice Chancellor, University of Tennessee
Large language models are making creativity and knowledge work accessible to all. Everyone with an internet connection can now use tools like ChatGPT or DALL-E 2 to express themselves and make sense of huge stores of information by, for example, producing text summaries.
Especially notable is the depth of humanlike expertise large language models display. In just minutes, novices can create illustrations for their business presentations, generate marketing pitches, get ideas to overcome writer’s block, or generate new computer code to perform specified functions, all at a level of quality typically attributed to human experts.
These new AI tools can’t read minds, of course. A new, yet simpler, kind of human creativity is needed in the form of text prompts to get the results the human user is seeking. Through iterative prompting – an example of human-AI collaboration – the AI system generates successive rounds of outputs until the human writing the prompts is satisfied with the results. For example, the (human) winner of the recent Colorado State Fair competition in the digital artist category, who used an AI-powered tool, demonstrated creativity, but not of the sort that requires brushes and an eye for ...
The story of how a shy radio astronomer from the Eastern Cape came to be a central character in building of one of the world’s most sensitive scientific instruments involves a series of unlikely events, a startling amount of beer and popcorn, and a team fuelled by the stubborn conviction that South Africa could pull it off.
In the year 2000, South Africa’s prowess in the field of radio astronomy was on the verge of flickering out.
The country boasted a total of five radio astronomers and there was talk of closing down the only institution that offered courses on it – Rhodes University’s Department of Physics and Electronics.
A solitary radio telescope was still operating: Hartebeesthoek Radio Observatory (HartRAO) near Johannesburg.
Fast-forward two decades, and everything has changed. Radio astronomy studies are flourishing in South Africa with more than 100 PhD-qualified researchers collaborating across all major universities.
Leading scientists from all over the world are conducting research using the data pouring from the 64 dishes of the South African MeerKAT radio telescope situated in the stillness of the Great Karoo. MeerKAT is the precursor of the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, which was given the official go-ahead at the end of June.
This will see the building of another 133 dishes spread along curved spiral arms, stretching across hundreds of kilometres.
The SKA and MeerKAT intercept radio waves generated by the birth and death of stars, detect the mysterious and powerful force known as dark energy, and record how the stars and galaxies formed just after the Big Bang.
If any extraterrestrial intelligence is sending signals to us through space, SKA will be the first instrument to hear it.
An engineer scientist
Professor Justin Jonas has variously been described as SKA-SA’s spiritual guru, architect, politician, salesman and founder.
He walks among the giant cupped dishes northwest of Carnarvon in the Karoo as if they were old friends. He knows the story behind every aspect of their design, right down to individual nuts and bolts. He cannot quite believe that this wildly ambitious project came to fruition.
“I sometimes have to pinch myself. It happened, and it’s working.”
The story of how a shy radio astronomer from the Eastern Cape came to be a central character in building of one of the world’s most sensitive scientific instruments involves a series of unlikely events, a startling amount of beer and popcorn, and a team fuelled by the stubborn conviction that South Africa could ...
LIMA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters in Peru, many from the country's heavily indigenous south, descended on Lima, the capital,on Thursday, angered by a mounting death toll since unrest erupted last month and calling for sweeping change.
By Marco Aquino
Police estimated the march at around 3,500, but others speculated it attracted more than double that.
Rows of police in riot gear faced off against rock-hurling protesters on some streets, and one historic building in the city’s historic center caught on fire late on Thursday.
The building, on San Martin Plaza, was empty when the massive blaze ignited from unknown causes, a firefighter commander told local radio.
Over the past month, raucous and sometimes deadly protests have led to the worst violence Peru has seen in over two decades as many in poorer, rural regions vent anger at the Lima establishment over inequality and rising prices, testing the copper-rich Andean nation’s democratic institutions.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, snap elections and a new constitution to replace the market-friendly one dating back to right-wing strongman Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s.
“We want the usurper Dina Boluarte to step down and call for new elections,” said protester Jose De la Rosa, predicting the street protests will only continue.
The protests have been sparked by the dramatic Dec. 7 ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo after he tried to illegally shutter Congress and consolidate power.
In buses and on foot, thousands journeyed to Lima on Thursday, carrying flags and banners blasting the government and police for deadly clashes in the southern cities of Ayacucho and Juliaca.
The unrest spread far beyond the capital.
In southern Arequipa, police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who tried to take over the airport, local television showed, leading officials to announce the suspension of operations at the Arequipa and Cusco airports.
The mounting death toll stands at 45, according to the government ombudsman, with the latest victim on Thursday coming from southern Puno region, a woman who succumbed to injuries from a day earlier. Another nine deaths are attributed to accidents related to protest blockades.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Across the nation, roadway blockades were seen in 18 of the country’s 25 regions, according to transport officials, underscoring the reach of the protests.
Police had increased surveillance of roads entering Lima and political leaders called for calm.
Last week, the embattled Boluarte government extended a state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno ...
Pregnant women needing C-sections had to be diverted to Frere Hospital, while corpses were sent to another building for refrigeration after mass cable theft at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital on Tuesday.
The theft of electricity cables at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane, Buffalo City, has plunged the facility into crisis mode.
Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson MK Ndamase said cables at the hospital were stolen and vandalised on Tuesday and the hospital had to operate with emergency electricity.
This is the third hospital targeted by cable thieves since late December, with the other two being in Gauteng.
“The Eastern Cape Department of Health worked around the clock to restore power. The cables that supply power to the hospital were badly vandalised, with other cables stolen. The generators on site are functional. the missing cables meant that the electricity generated by the generators could not be conducted to the various parts of the hospital,” Ndamase said.
He said preliminary reports showed that the thieves had dug a hole underneath a fence to gain entry to the facility.
“Mobile generators had to be deployed to the facility to operate critical areas like the adult and paediatric ICUs and the kitchen so patients could have warm food.”
He said contractors had worked through the night and electricity was restored on Thursday afternoon.
The theft and damage, however, resulted in pregnant women being diverted to Frere Hospital for C-sections.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We are fortunate that this time there were no lives lost as a result of this thuggery because we moved with speed to ensure that a contractor was appointed to fix the cables while critical patients were moved to other hospitals,” said the MEC for Health, Nomakhosazana Meth.
“We thank the CEO and his team for working until midnight and early this morning,” she said.
In December 2022, the Intensive Care Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto was cut off from the medical air and oxygen supply at the hospital after the theft of a piece of copper pipe. Patients had to be evacuated to a different part of the hospital.
Earlier in January, R3-million worth of copper piping was stolen from above an operating theatre inside the Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, copper cables worth R1-million were dug up from an electrical substation in Struandale in Gqeberha earlier this week. Two security guards were held at gunpoint by three men who wore reflector ...
Despite the matric cohort of 2022 achieving an 80.1% pass rate — an improvement of 3.7% over the 76.4% pass rate of 2021 — members of Parliament and Build One South Africa’s Mmusi Maimane have cautioned against celebrating quantity over quality.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, who has been at the helm of the Department of Basic Education for 14 years, on Thursday announced the results of the 2022 matric exam results.
She said the 80.1% pass rate achieved by the 2022 class represented a record of 580,555 candidates who had passed the 2022 National Senior Certificate exams.
“It should be noted that, while the pass rate in number of the class of 2022 is the highest in the history of the National Senior Certificate examinations, when the pass rate is expressed as a percentage, that of the class of 2019, which attained an 81.3% pass rate, stands out as the highest so far.”
The class of 2022 faced challenges including Covid-19 and Eskom’s rolling blackouts.
Pass rate of 80.1% ‘meaningless’
Build One South Africa’s Mmusi Maimane said that while he congratulated the class of 2022, the pass rate of 80.1% was meaningless.
“We are educating young people for unemployment. When you interrogate the numbers, 278,814 qualify to study towards the Bachelor’s degree. That is out of 775,000 — which means our Bachelor’s pass is below 35%. We have an education minister who is setting this country up for profound failure for young people.”
Maimane said the only positive was that the retention rate was decreasing, but more work needed to be done and vital interventions were needed.
“I would never want my child to leave school and they can’t use technology. When she [Motshekga] says they have done well under load shedding, I am not sure which child must leave school and when you show them a computer, they see it for the first time at university. We have prioritised quantity over quality.”
Actual pass rate ‘only 54.6%’
The DA’s shadow minister of basic education, Baxolile Nodada, said the real 2022 matric pass rate was only 54.6%, an increase from 2021’s 50.4%. Every year the DA calculates the matric pass rate by bringing into account the number of learners who dropped out and never made it to matric.
“This is very concerning,” he said. “Some learners opt out of schooling at the end of Grade 9 to pursue their education through technical and vocational education and training [TVET], but a large ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
The newly elected ANC NEC member cautions President Cyril Ramaphosa against using the imminent cabinet reshuffle to deal with those who vigorously campaigned against his re-election at Nasrec. Maimela is one of three young lions (under 35) to be elected into the top leadership structure of the ANC for the first time.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to the party’s renewal project should be reflected in the choices he makes when he reshuffles the cabinet in the near future, says ANC Youth League National Task Team (NTT) coordinator Joy Maimela.
As Ramaphosa applies his mind on the imminent reshuffle, Maimela says the President needs to deploy young people and those who’ll unite the country ahead of the “extremely difficult” general elections in 2024 the party will be faced with.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “With ANC election done, here’s what’s next on Ramaphosa’s list: The crumbling state, Cabinet reshuffle, 2024 polls”
Despite some senior party members vigorously campaigning against Ramaphosa’s re-election as party president, at the party’s 55th national conference, Maimela is of the view that Ramaphosa should not use the reshuffle to deal with his detractors or reward his supporters.
“Our organisation is weakened, we are hoping that his choices in appointing ministers can reflect unity and renewal. The reshuffle should not be viewed or perceived as a reshuffle that was meant to deal with people who were either supporting or not supporting him going to the national conference, so for us, we are hoping that he rises above everything and unites the nation on how he shares responsibilities of government.”
Young blood
Maimela is one of two women under the age of 35 elected into the ANC’s highest decision-making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC) in between conferences — a first for the ruling party.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC’s NEC nomination list peppered with young(ish) contenders, controversial characters and RET leaders”
“It’s a great privilege, its an honour, it’s not many of young people within the folds of the ANC who have been elevated by branches to this highest level and of course, we have been advocating for this as the ANC youth, it is also comforting to me that branches of the ANC are heeding to the call that has been made that we ought to make structures of the ANC a bit useful so that the majority of the population can actually relate with the movement.”
The 35-year-old hails from Sekhukhune village, Limpopo. She describes ...
Nonceba Mhlauli is one of three young lions (under 35) to be elected into the top leadership structure of the ANC — for the first time. She is advocating for young people to be included in Cabinet when it is reshuffled, and also ‘we want people who are going to be at work every single day, the whole day’.
All eyes are on President Cyril Ramaphosa as he applies his mind to the imminent Cabinet reshuffle, in which a dozen ministers and deputies might get the chop and some young blood is likely to be elevated to ministerial positions.
This comes after some failed to make it into the ANC’s highest decision-making body in between conferences, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which comprises 80 members elected at the 55th national conference in Nasrec.
While being elected into the top structure does not automatically guarantee a job in Cabinet, the party previously said it was preferable that those in political office in government and Parliament should be NEC members.
Nonceba Mhlauli, spokesperson in the Presidency and the ANC Youth League’s national task team, is one of three young lions (under 35) to be elected into the top leadership structure for the first time.
The 33-year-old made it to the list at number 55, having received 1,168 votes.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘I wanted Ramaphosa,’ says ANCYL convener Nonceba Mhlauli, despite league’s official backing for Zweli Mkhize”
Mhlauli, a known staunch Ramaphosa supporter, has a long list of credentials, having occupied several leadership positions in the party, from branch all the way up to national level. She carved out a niche in the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) and the often crude and brutal Youth League.
In 2021, she was appointed convener of the national task team to, among other things, revive and take the league to its conference. This was viewed as a historically significant move by the ANC because a woman had never been given the top position in the league.
Her appointment came after the disbandment of the youth league in 2018, after it failed to elect new leadership. A task team appointed to revive the league was marred by internal squabbles as young people often used the league to champion the interests of their factions, or as a weapon to pursue individual opportunities.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Appointment of Nonceba Mhlauli to lead ANCYL task team is a historic moment”
The move to appoint Mhlauli to ...
On 23 September 1983, South African heavyweight boxer Gerrie Coetzee took on world champ Michael Dokes, and won. Celebrated author Jacob Dlamini recalled the fight in his 2009 book ‘Native Nostalgia’. On the night, millions across the world tuned in to the fight, but in South Africa Radio Zulu brought the bout into people’s homes in townships.
Coetzee died at his home in Cape Town on 12 January at the age of 68.
Dlamini writes that while television was introduced to South Africa in 1976, his family relied on the radio or the “wireless”.
Here is Dlamini’s recollection.
“We could, thanks to the wireless, let our imaginations wander. We could see far and wide. We could also be present in places thousands of miles away from Katlehong.
One such place was Akron, the American home town of one Michael Dokes in the Midwestern state of Ohio. The date was 23 September 1983 and Dokes, boxing world heavyweight champion at the time, was defending a title he had won in December 1982.
Dokes’s challenger was Gerhardus Christiaan Coetzee, a South African fighter with little in the way of stamina but a powerful right hand. Dokes was a black American; Coetzee a white African.
Coetzee had already lost to Mike Weaver and John Tate, two big-hitting American boxers, and was not expected to trouble Dokes.
A homeboy
But he was South African and a homeboy, coming as he did from the East Rand city of Boksburg, about 10km from Katlehong. In fact, his nickname was the Boksburg Bomber.
Coetzee was an Afrikaner and spoke with a thick Afrikaans accent, but he had endeared himself to black South Africans by declaring publicly that he was opposed to apartheid and was no bigot.
My family supported Coetzee and my mother would let me stay up to follow his fights on the radio each time the man went into the ring. He was one of ours and we cheered him on without reservation.
We followed every twist and turn of his fight against Dokes, every blow on the radio. As I recall, the fight began promisingly for Dokes. He was quicker than Coetzee and had a bigger arsenal than Coetzee.
But he did not look like a man who had trained seriously for this fight. So it did not come as a surprise when, in the fifth round, Coetzee caught Dokes in the jaw with a right hand.
The punch sent the champion to the canvas on one knee. ...
The very last thing the South African military should be doing is celebrating with some military training and cooperation with the Russian Navy on the very anniversary of the launch of a Russian invasion of a neighbouring state.
‘In this Traffick they would frequently keep our goods and make no return, till at last I was obliged to fire a musket ball close past one man who had served us in this manner after which they observed a little more honesty, and, at length, several of them came on board.” — Captain James Cook in The Hunt for the Southern Continent.
“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” — Cartoon character Pogo, by way of his creator, Walt Kelly.
Back when Britain ruled the waves, or so it was said and sung about (He is an Englishman — Australian version), there was an implicit understanding that an occasional bit of adroit gunboat diplomacy was just the thing to keep order on an unruly planet — and make other nations tremble at the baleful possibilities of much worse if they didn’t snap to, right smartly.
Recall, for a moment, how a small squadron of British naval vessels cowed the Omani sheikh who ruled Zanzibar into a very quick surrender and acceptance of British overlordship, after just a few perfunctory shells had been fired at the town’s fortifications.
Force projection
Nowadays, of course, we might prefer to label similar things as force projection rather than gunboat diplomacy, but there is still much in common between them.
Rather than firing a few rounds from a naval vessel on patrol, nowadays it is more usual to make use of an aircraft carrier strike force — if one happens to have one handy — and to send it steaming towards a trouble spot at flank speed.
Then, carrier-launched jet fighter-bombers will very visibly be sent off to fly around at supersonic speed to let the other guys know what could be in the offing, Top Gun style, if those annoying tensions don’t get tamped down quickly. Such activity is meant as anything but secret.
In fact, the planning divisions of major military powers’ defence establishments usually have such operations worked out in detail for almost any conceivable eventuality, pretty much anywhere on the planet.
(Putting out some historical trivia readers can use at their next dinner party: besides battle plans against the usual potential enemies like Japan, back in the 1920s the US ...
It has not escaped international or domestic attention that Exercise Mosi 2 will be taking place while the world observes the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) announced on Thursday that it would go ahead with a joint maritime exercise with Russia and China next month, despite growing opposition inside and outside South Africa.
The SANDF said it would host the People’s Liberation Army Navy and Russian Federal Navy for Exercise Mosi 2 in Durban and Richards Bay from 17 to 27 February, “as a means to strengthen the already flourishing relations between SA, Russia and China”. It noted that Russia would be the lead nation in the exercise.
It has not escaped international or domestic attention that Exercise Mosi 2 will be taking place while the world observes the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
This underscores the criticism that it is at least insensitive for South Africa to be conducting military drills with Russia at a time when it is massively bombarding its much smaller neighbour, apparently aimed at undermining Ukraine’s will to fight by destroying civilian infrastructure such as its electricity grid during winter.
Military analysts believe the main Russian vessel that will take part in Exercise Mosi 2 is the guided missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, accompanied by its oiler, Kama. They say that although the Admiral Gorschkov is not known to have participated in attacks on Ukraine, similar ships in the Black Sea have fired fusillades of cruise missiles that have destroyed power stations and other infrastructure and killed hundreds of civilians.
“Is that the sort of military operation South Africa hopes to learn from?” one Western military analyst asked.
The Royal Navy recently shadowed the Admiral Gorshkov as it sailed south through the North Sea. Military analysts believe it is armed with Zircon hypersonic guided missiles, supposedly capable of evading even the most advanced Nato defences, and so Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending it abroad at this time to project power, all the way from the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
The Smoke that Blunders — Russia, China and SA navy exercise is immoral, stupid and impractical
Compared with that — and the three ships China is expected to send — the South African Navy’s contribution to Exercise Mosi 2 seems likely to be rather notional.
Military experts say it originally intended to contribute a frigate ...
Ukrainian expatriates in South Africa will demonstrate against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with his South African counterpart on Monday.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) has expressed “shock and concern” about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comparing Western governments’ support for Ukraine to Hitler’s extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust.
Lavrov is to visit South Africa to meet his counterpart Naledi Pandor on Monday, at the start of a southern African tour with further stops in Eswatini, Botswana and Angola, according to official sources. Pretoria has confirmed the meeting with Pandor, but Moscow had not announced Lavrov’s trip by late Thursday.
The Ukrainian community in South Africa announced on Thursday that it had organised a demonstration at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) in Pretoria to protest against Pandor’s meeting with “Putin’s liar-in-chief” Lavrov.
Lavrov made the remark, which incensed the international Jewish community, at a press conference in Moscow on Monday. He said the US had put together a coalition of European states to wage a proxy war in Ukraine to solve the “Russian question” in the same way that Hitler had organised a Final Solution for Europe’s Jews.
‘Holocaust distortion’
“We are shocked and appalled by this shameful comparison drawn by Minister Lavrov between the actions of a coalition of democratic countries and Hitler’s persecution and murder of six million Jews in the Shoah [Holocaust],” EJC President Ariel Muzicant said in a statement.
“This is Holocaust distortion at its most basic level and we call on Mr Lavrov to unequivocally apologise and withdraw these comments,” he added.
In a rambling three-hour press conference billed to address Russia’s diplomacy in 2022, Lavrov largely devoted himself to justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine, reiterating many of Moscow’s talking points, including that the West had for many years been working to create a “police-run Nazi state” in Ukraine.
“Like Napoleon, who mobilised nearly all of Europe against the Russian Empire, and Hitler, who occupied the majority of European countries and hurled them at the Soviet Union, the United States has created a coalition of nearly all European member states of Nato and the EU and is using Ukraine to wage a proxy war against Russia with the old aim of finally solving the Russian question, like Hitler, who sought a final solution to the Jewish question,” Lavrov said
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“This is not the first time the minister has ...
The DA filed papers at the Gauteng High Court on Thursday seeking to interdict the National Energy Regulator’s implementation of the 18.65% increase in electricity tariffs pending a mass legal review of the South African government’s decisions that have led to the country’s energy crisis.
The DA wants the review to include the legality of the decision to implement rolling blackouts.
The party’s case is one of several relating to the energy crisis, including one where the government must respond by Friday to a legal demand to immediately stabilise the electricity grid (effectively stopping rolling blackouts) or explain why it cannot be done.
The DA has asked for a hearing on 7 March to stop the increases, and again on 9 May for the legal review of the way the government has handled the crisis.
In his affidavit, party leader John Steenhuisen said they believe the government’s response to the situation was unconstitutional since it failed to avert an energy crisis and failed to act reasonably.
“Government consistently failed to provide a clear plan,” he said.
The DA will also ask for a ruling on whether load shedding can legally be implemented.
“Eskom lacks the authority to impose load shedding,” he said.
“The decision is unrelated to consumption or demand. It is a knee-jerk reaction to generation issues. It is not some temporary evil people are expected to endure while government addresses the energy crisis,” he added, explaining that it has become a primary tool to prevent the collapse of the grid.
Eskom and the government have repeatedly failed to opt for alternatives, Steenhuisen said.
“As the crisis worsens, nearing a seemingly inevitable ultimate collapse of the South African energy system, the severity of the limitations worsens too.”
‘Irrational’
He described the National Energy Regulator’s (Nersa) decision to increase electricity tariffs by 18.65% from April as irrational as it “linked an entity in dire financial circumstances to recover more funds from customers”.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gwede Inc: Placing failing Eskom under oversight of failing DMRE is recipe for epic failure”
“Nersa expects consumers to pay more to an entity that has a debt of close to R400-billion, with no clear roadmap to financial stability or recovery.”
The premise, he said in his affidavit, that an increase in tariffs will improve Eskom’s finances, is flawed:
“Eskom cannot be saved by an increase in tariffs. Without significant structural reform, Eskom is a lost cause that cannot be saved or in any way assisted by making electricity customers ...
Beleaguered retailer Spar, somewhat after the fact, undertook to enlighten shareholders vis-à-vis allegations regarding a fictitious fraudulent loan and discrimination.
In a stock exchange news service (Sens) announcement, the listed retailer noted that it has sought legal opinion on the fraud allegations. In a previous statement in December, the company denied that the incident was symptomatic of “dodgy accounting” practices, while hastening to add that it was an “isolated matter” and is neither its accounting policy nor practice.
The company auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) notified Spar that the loan in question was a reportable irregularity that should be reported to the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors. Following consultation with external auditors, the board agreed that an “irregularity” had occurred.
A written loan agreement was entered into “between a willing lender and borrower through a commercial bank, at normal interest rates”. However, the board conceded that the loan did not seem to have served any real commercial or economic purpose and should not have taken place. The board has confirmed that an extensive review of all loans arranged by Spar for retailers identified two other transactions of a similar nature, with the combined value of all three loans standing at R11-million. However, the loans were “isolated and occurred five years ago”.
Katharine Childs of BusinessLive reported in December that back in 2018, Spar sold a corporate-owned store with a book value of R11-million to a group of Vaal-based independent merchants. However, the transaction was structured so that Spar gave the merchants an R11-million loan to buy and refurbish the store. Franchisors do that kind of thing all the time. The problem was that the merchants only paid R8-million, while Spar recorded a receipt of the full R11-million. This disingenuous arrangement meant the company would not have to write off the remaining R3-million. This was the second such fictitious loan highlighted in the HNM report.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The financial headache was compounded by a governance one when it came to light that the particular Spar division responsible for these creative accounting practices, was headed by Brett Botten, who was later appointed as chief executive in December 2021. Earlier this week, Botten announced his resignation effective at the end of January. Chairman, Graham O’Connor stepped down last month amid various allegations of corporate wrongdoing and fraud charges.
The board has come under severe criticism for appointing O’Connor as chairman less than three ...
Several weapons donations to Ukraine by Western allies were announced ahead of Friday, when defence ministers from several nations gather at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for an event hosted by the US defence chief.
The Biden administration is planning to send about 100 Stryker armoured vehicles in its next package of military aid to Ukraine worth about $2.5-billion. The UK on Thursday said it will send a further 600 Brimstone ground- or air-launched missiles, and Denmark will send French-made howitzers. Ukrainian officials have urged allies to provide more battle tanks, artillery and longer-range missile systems.
The Biden administration is inclined to oppose any move to lower the price cap on exports of Russian crude oil. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his Iranian counterpart for the second time in 2023.
Key developments
US weighs sending Stryker vehicles in a Ukraine aid package
US seen pushing for Russian oil price cap to stay at $60
Nato’s lessons from war in Ukraine: More air defence, ammo
Ukrainian interior minister killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv
Ukraine seeks to expand steel exports, says minister
On the ground
Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 14 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including Bakhmut and Soledar, over the past day, the General Staff said on Facebook. Russian forces conducted four missile strikes, 15 aviation raids and more than 30 salvos from multiple launch rocket systems over the past 24 hours, the General Staff said on Facebook. Several dozens of towns came under artillery fire.
Russia is considering deploying a small number of its new T-14 Armata main battle tanks in Ukraine, the UK defence ministry said. Any deployment of the T-14s, 11 years in development and dogged by delays and reports of manufacturing problems, “is likely to be a high-risk decision” for Moscow, the UK said, saying that using the tanks in Ukraine would be mostly for propaganda purposes.
USAid, Bayer partner on seed donations to Ukraine
The US Agency for International Development (USAid) and Bayer announced a donation of vegetable seeds to Ukrainian farmers to help address the nation’s food crisis. The first shipment of carrot seeds is expected to supply up to 25,000 households and micro-farmers, with priority given to farmers in newly liberated areas.
Lithuania to give Ukraine weapons worth €125m
Lithuania will provide Ukraine with a new lethal package that includes dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft guns, ammunition and two Mi-8 helicopters, Lithuania’s Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said on Twitter.
US pushing for Russian oil price cap ...
The Class of 2022 has clinched an 80.1% pass rate, improving by 3.7% from 2021. We unpack the 2022 National Senior Certificate results here in graphic form.
‘It is important to remind the nation that for the past 10 years, the NSC pass rate has consistently been going up,” said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga at the announcement of the 2022 matric exam results on Thursday in Fairlands, Johannesburg.
“The Class of 2022 must be commended for maintaining this trend despite the astronomical challenges they faced – challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Eskom’s load shedding and the sporadic service delivery protests.”
The matric pass rate has improved by 3.7 percentage points, increasing from 76.4% in 2021 to 80.1% in 2022.
“This represents a record of 580,555 candidates who passed the 2022 NSC examinations – an improvement of 7.9% passes by number, achieved by the Class of 2021,” said Motshekga.
Notwithstanding the educational challenges and rolling blackout disruptions, Free State held on to its number one place with a pass rate of 88.5% – an increase of 2.8% from last year.
Gauteng was second, with a pass rate of 84.4%.
KwaZulu-Natal took third place, and was also the best-improved province, achieving 83% – an increase of 6.2% from 2021.
KZN was followed by the Western Cape with an 81.4% pass rate, North West with 79.8% and the Eastern Cape with 77.3%.
Limpopo received the lowest pass rate at 72.1%.
Motshekga said 278,814 matric learners received bachelor passes – an improvement of 8.9% from the Class of 2021.
This represents 38.4% of the total number of candidates who wrote the 2022 NSC examinations.
“Overall, there were 326,894 girls (an improvement of 10% from 2021), and 253,661 boys (an improvement of 5.4% from 2021), who passed the 2022 NSC examinations,” said Motshekga.
When translated into percentages, 80.2% of girls and 79.8% of boys who sat the 2022 exams, passed.
With 161,235 girls achieving bachelor passes, this marked an improvement of 10.3% from 2021, while 117,579 boys obtained bachelor passes, an improvement of 7% from the previous cohort.
The 2022 NSC passes for non-fee paying schools stands at 387,401 – an increase of 9.2% from 2021.
The bachelor passes achieved by learners in non-fee paying schools stands at 169,903 – an increase of 13.4% from 2021.
The percentage of bachelor passes produced by non-fee paying schools has also increased, from 62% in 2021 to 64% in 2022.
The Class of 2022 managed to achieve 218,730 distinctions – an increase of 3.3% ...
KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo have been named the most improved provinces in the matric results of 2022, while the Free State has maintained its top spot.
The matric pass rate has improved by 3.7 percentage points, increasing from 76.4% in 2021 to 80.1% in 2022. The 2022 pass rate is the second-highest since 2019.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said on Thursday the class of 2022 had been a resilient cohort that maintained an upward trajectory.
At least 923,460 Grade 12 pupils across South Africa registered for a total of 162 papers in the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams — 2.6% more candidates than in 2021.
Of these, 752,003 were full-time candidates, an increase of 2.6% from 2021; while 168,631 were part-time candidates, 2.9% more than in 2021.
A total of 278,814 (38.4%) obtained bachelor passes for admission to tertiary institutions, while the number of candidates who passed with Higher Certificates was 108,159 (14.9%) — 4.1% more than in 2021.
A National Senior Certificate (NSC) was obtained by 117 candidates — an improvement of 13.6% from 2021.
“We must state that KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng contributed the most bachelor passes, with 69,849 — an increase of 12.9% from 2021; and 58,119 — an increase of 4.1% from 2021, respectively. When combined, KZN and Gauteng contributed 127,968 bachelor passes — an improvement of 8.7% from 2021, and 45.9% of the overall bachelor passes nationally,” said Motshekga.
She said that all the provinces had improved and all had pass rates of above 70%.
“Some of the other features of the 2022 NSC exams included a high degree of stability in the system, albeit the irregularities reported in a few provinces. There was much-improved data collection, data analysis and data feedback processes within the DBE; and more importantly, the class of 2022 showed the greatest determination and fortitude ever — a good sign of a maturing and resilient Basic Education system on the rise.” DM
Amid relentless blackouts, some leading metros across the country are moving forward with plans to cut loose from Eskom by bringing independent power on to the grid as quickly as possible. Here’s how three of South Africa’s major cities are progressing.
As rolling blackouts persist with no respite in sight, cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay are trying to mitigate the impact on residents and protect critical infrastructure while proceeding with plans to eventually ditch Eskom.
Stage 6 load shedding was implemented on 11 January. The power utility said on Monday that power cuts would be reduced to stages 4 and 5 from Tuesday.
The power outages are causing havoc across the country, and leading metros know that if there is to be any hope for the future, they will have to cut Eskom adrift and make increasing use of independent power producers.
Johannesburg
The collapse of electricity infrastructure in Johannesburg, which is buckling under the weight of high levels of rolling blackouts, is taking a toll on the city’s residents.
Power cuts are impacting on Joburg’s water supply and sewer pump stations, and on Monday the city, along with other municipalities around the country, urged residents to use water sparingly as temperatures soared and demand increased.
City Power said on Thursday that it is unable to keep up with the growing demand for mini-substations due to the higher stages of load shedding. By Wednesday this week, City Power needed at least 14 mini-substation boxes to deal with outages in different areas.
“Since the recent higher stages of load shedding, City Power has been losing mini-substations faster than we can replenish them,” it said.
On 23 May last year, the City of Joburg held its first Energy Indaba where executive mayor Mpho Phalatse announced plans to cut ties with Eskom by urgently bringing independent power onto the grid.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘Give me 18 to 36 months’, says Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse to residents buckling under endless blackouts”
The indaba aimed to engage with businesses and the government to find a way to reduce the city’s 90% energy reliance on Eskom — positioning itself to become more energy independent — and to find a permanent solution to rolling blackouts. The remaining 10% of Joburg’s power comes from the privately owned Kelvin Power Station.
At the indaba, Phalatse indicated that City Power would go out to the market for requests for proposals (RFPs) within the next three ...
As we start a new year full of optimism but with some trepidation given the challenges faced in the past few years, as reflected in the quotes below, we ask: what will it take to make our schools and clinics safe spaces?
‘Durban – KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education MEC Mbali Frazer has condemned the attack and robbery of pupils and teachers who were conducting an overnight study session at Georgetown High School in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.”
“Cape Town – For almost two weeks, the Mzamomhle local clinic in Browns Farm, Philippi, has been closed after two suspects pretending to be patients robbed security guards at gunpoint and attempted to take medication.”
“Paramedics were held hostage in Mpumalanga on Sunday while the ambulance they were using was stripped of its engine, gearbox, battery, and tyres. According to police, seven people hatched a plan to pretend that a woman was in labour on a farm in Spitzkop Road, Belfast, and that she needed medical care.”
These are some of the headlines in news outlets reporting during 2022 highlighting that learners, educators, patients and health workers are not safe while at school nor while seeking health services. The responses that one typically receives from the two departments are reflected in the following:
“The Department (of Basic Education) will continue in earnest to protect the rights of all children in schools. The success of these efforts relies largely on collective efforts of parents and communities to work together with schools to ensure that all children are safe and realise their full potential in school.”
“Today Minister Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, Minister Dan Plato and Alderman JP Smith outlined key interventions to improve safety for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff. While safety remains the primary responsibility of the SAPS and the national Minister of Police, the whole-of-society is required to create safe environments which enable people to access the healthcare they require.”
Such reports and the responses from the departments of Basic Education and Health beg the question: can schools and clinics, and by extension learners, school personnel, patients and health workers, be safe in unsafe communities?
The Western Cape’s response – to call for a whole-of-society response – is partly accurate but the safety of clinics and their patients cannot be guaranteed if the safety of communities cannot be guaranteed. So, what does a whole-of-society response to personal safety mean?
A whole-of-society approach to safety allows the most vulnerable in society to feel safe ...
In a story perhaps reflective of the current economic environment in South Africa, retailer Woolworths saw the strongest turnover growth from its financial services segment for the 26 weeks to end December, rather than its core fashion, beauty and food segments. The financial services segment includes a credit card and store card offering, highlighting consumers’ increasing reliance on credit.
Woolworths’ financial services book reflects a year-on-year increase of 17.2% to the end of December 2022, driven by improved consumer spend, as well as new business and credit card advances.
The annualised impairment rate, which refers to the level of bad debt, plus provisioning for bad debt, was 5.5% for the period. As a rule of thumb, the lower the ratio, the healthier the book. A Woolworths spokesperson told Business Maverick that the ratio was “pretty industry-leading; our apparel peers typically have ratios in the double-digits.”
Soaring inflation and economic pressures are taking their toll on South African consumers. For all of 2022, inflation averaged 6.9%, 2.4 percentage points higher than the 4.5% average in 2021 and its highest annual average since 2009, when it was 7.1%.
According to research conducted by credit bureau TransUnion at the beginning of November 2022, two in three consumers (67%) have cut their discretionary spending in the past three months — but even with these cutbacks, at least one in three consumers (38%) is unable to pay any of their bills and loans in full.
Credit access
Weihan Sun, director of research and consulting at TransUnion Africa, says a continued high inflationary environment coupled with more anticipated interest rate hikes was likely to tip more consumers into default, with severe repercussions for the local retail sector. The survey further revealed that as many as 92% of consumers felt access to credit was essential, while 42% believed they couldn’t access enough credit.
Economist Lara Hodes of Investec Bank notes that the retail sector remains subdued despite consumers taking advantage of discounted goods and services in November. “Indeed, retailers’ confidence fell notably in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 51% to 42% according to the Bureau of Economic Research retail survey,” she says.
Woolworths’ group turnover and concession sales for the half-year increased by 18.5% compared to the half-year to December. During the last six weeks of the period, which is directly comparable to the prior period, group turnover and concession sales increased by 8.8%, underpinned by strong Black Friday and festive season trade.
Visit Daily ...
Kelvin van der Linde will make history as the first African driver in Formula E when he steps in as a reserve driver at the Diriyah ePrix next week.
South African racer Kelvin van der Linde will make his Formula E debut in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, next week for rounds two and three of the world championship.
Van der Linde is stepping into the seat of ABT Cupra’s Robin Frijns as the Dutchman recovers from wrist surgery after a crash at the first round in Mexico in the past week. Frijns collided with the Nissan of Norman Nato at turn nine, taking them both out of the race and fracturing his wrist.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Jake Dennis shines as Formula E kicks off in Mexico City”
“We are in constant contact with [Frijns] and wish him a speedy recovery. Even though everyone in the team misses him a lot, we’re giving him all the time he needs to fully recover from the injury — that’s our absolute priority,” said team boss Thomas Biermaier.
“The task and challenge for [Van der Linde] to start in a World Championship without any testing is of course gigantic, but he is highly motivated, works hard and the whole team will support him without any pressure.”
When Van der Linde takes to the track next week, he will also be making history under the South African flag.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Formula E confirms inaugural Cape Town e-Prix”
“Being the first African driver in FE is very special and I hope it will help break down more boundaries for future African drivers to achieve the same,” he told Daily Maverick.
While Van der Linde admits that the circumstances of his debut are unfortunate, the 26-year-old says he is ready to take on the challenge.
“Formula E is a championship every driver wants to be a part of because as a sportsperson you want to compare yourself to the best, and therefore it’s a massive opportunity and something I am extremely proud do,” he told Daily Maverick.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“I think the challenge of doing something completely new is attractive to me — I need to come out of my comfort zone and this gives me a lot of adrenalin.
“Formula E is a FIA World Championship and is recognised worldwide, with a large fanbase. I love the international countries we travel to and eagerly await the ...
Pretoria has not returned the gold bullion and smugglers Madagascar wanted – but the flight ban was hurting the island’s economy.
Madagascar has unexpectedly lifted its controversial ban on the South African airline Airlink, which will resume flights to the Indian Ocean island state on 30 January after a break of almost three years.
Airlink stopped flying to Madagascar in March 2020, along with all other international airlines, because of a Covid lockdown. But when the lockdown was lifted in April 2022 and other countries were allowed to resume flights, the ban on South African airlines remained in place, with no official explanation.
As the only South African airline flying the route, Airlink was caught in the crossfire of what appeared to be a dispute between the two countries over gold bullion and gold smugglers.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Madagascar denies entry to SA aircraft – and it might have something to do with a stash of gold bars”
In December 2020, South African authorities seized 73.5kg of unwrought and undeclared gold which they found in the hand luggage of three men who had just flown into Johannesburg international airport on a charter flight from Madagascar.
The men were arrested and remain in jail, and South African authorities are also still holding the gold, pending the outcome of the case against the alleged smugglers.
Extradition application
Madagascar has applied to Pretoria to extradite the three men, but Pretoria has opposed this. Now, a complex series of cases related to the saga is working its way through South African courts.
The South African government and Airlink said at the time they believed that the Madagascar government had banned Airlink in order to pressure South Africa to return the gold and the smugglers. The purported minutes of a Madagascar cabinet meeting in July last year corroborated this interpretation.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Madagascar delegation to meet Ramaphosa over confiscated gold bars and Airlink ban”
But this week Madagascar lifted the ban just as quietly and inexplicably as it had imposed it, in a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen or Notice to Air Missions) which restored South Africa to the list of countries permitted to fly to the country.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Madagascar to unban SA’s Airlink ‘soon’, says foreign minister”
So why has the ban been lifted even though Madagascar hasn’t got the gold or the smugglers back?
South African officials believe that an intervention by the African Civil Aviation Commission – the ...
As schools reopened in Port St Johns on Wednesday morning, only a few children pitched up at Buje Junior Secondary School. Some wore borrowed clothes or the clothes they had been asleep in when 49 homesteads in the area were burnt down in an arson attack linked to ongoing faction fighting in the Eastern Cape.
‘The children are not feeling safe,” Buje Junior Secondary School principal Vikiswa Mjakuja said as a few pupils trickled in for classes.
Faction fighting has been rife in the area. In the latest incident, 49 homesteads were set alight on Sunday night.
Some kids came to school without uniforms, wearing the T-shirts and shorts they had on when they had to flee their burning homes.
The children cried as they described dodging bullets, having to sleep in the bush and coming to school on the first day of the year with empty stomachs as their families had lost everything.
Mjakuja appealed for social workers to help the traumatised children.
Nofikile Ntlatywa (53) has three grandchildren at Buje Junior Secondary. They lost their uniforms, even their school shoes, in the fire.
“Those people who torched our houses were very angry. they destroyed everything. They left us with nothing. We only had the clothes we were wearing. I don’t know if I can still look after these children who are attending school,” Ntlatywa said.
Zukisani Sindzwanga said they were woken by the sound of gunshots. They got up and ran into the bush to hide.
“First we heard the gunshots. Then the screams. Then the flames came. They burned everything. our uniforms, all our other clothes – we are left with nothing. They even destroyed the food we had in the house,” Sindzwanga said.
Sindzwanga’s brother, Sibongiseni, said the sweatpants he was wearing were borrowed.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We haven’t eaten since Sunday. those people destroyed everything in our homes. When I came to school today, I only drank amahewu (a fermented drink made from maize meal). I am hungry. I don’t even know what we will eat when we get home after school,” he said.
Principal Mjakuja said the ongoing conflict had affected pupils in a number of ways:
“I think they are scared. some do not have uniforms or even clothes. Some are still traumatised. when you speak with them they seem lost, they are not concentrating on what you are saying, their mind is not here.
“What we want is security, ...
The responsibility for ensuring that company directors are appropriately skilled and equipped to fulfil the task at hand in the best interests of the company falls squarely in the shareholders’ script.
The concept of distinguishing between so-called ownership of companies on the one hand and management of companies, on the other hand, has been fiercely debated over centuries by academics, lawyers, businessmen and the like.
The same holds true for the notion of capitalism and the perceived consequences brought about by the single-minded pursuit of profits.
In both instances there always were, and probably always will be, the followers and the critics. Then there are those who seem to offer nuanced versions of these ideologies.
The purpose of this article is not to delve into who is right and who is wrong. At the same time, and in the interest of transparency, allow us to disclose our discomfort with the notion of “ownership” of companies, a term still being frequently used in our boardrooms today.
This discomfort is based on, among other things, the argument that a legal person, like a human person, cannot be owned and does in fact exist in its own right. At most, shareholders have an interest in the company that is composed of specific statutory and other legal rights, powers, and potential benefits.
Unlike the human person, however, our legal person is without several critical human attributes such as a soul, eyes, ears and hands, to name but a few. It is therefore (sometimes unfortunately) completely dependent on a human person or persons to share with it these attributes and to look after and manage its affairs.
It is for this reason that the board of directors, whether made up of a single director or multiple directors, is referred to as the controlling mind of the legal person, the company. Therefore, whether or not you are aligned with the theories briefly referred to earlier, we can all agree that directors play a critical role in the success, or lack of success, of a company.
A fair question to be asked then is how the directors end up being directors of a company. Phrased differently, who puts the controlling mind of the company in place?
In response enters a key stakeholder of the company, its shareholder, or shareholders, on centre stage. When it comes to the hiring and firing of directors, the controlling mind of the company, the shareholder plays a leading role. This is ...
The notion of us being a meritocracy where everyone has a fair chance to succeed is almost nonexistent in South Africa. Equal education is a myth, a fantasy and wishful thinking of the Mandela era.
The consequences of inequality in the South African schooling environment are dire and profound, particularly in African communities and to black learners in particular.
I am penning this opinion well aware that talking about inequality in terms of race and special interests tends to put people off. But if you are serious about the right to basic education and equal access to education, you will understand that the shape and the colour of education inequality in South Africa is black.
You will understand that privileged groups will do and say anything to protect their advantages and couldn’t care less about the axis of inequality. They rather shift the axis of inequality to higher education for their benefit. Children of wealthy and successful parents will continue to monopolise access to the best educational opportunities.
What is more, our government, politicians and the media seem to perpetuate this simplistic perspective about educational inequality. It is easy for them to find an excuse for a broken window of a dilapidated school and make hollow promises that they will build hundreds of schools in 2023, while at the same time blaming everything on theft and vandalism which they fail to prevent.
The yearly reality is that inequality in our public education is maximally maintained instead of being chipped away. The Covid-19 pandemic, by forcing school closures and learners having to study from their resource-deprived homes also increased inequality in education — particularly among learners from poorer families.
Tangible evidence available to ordinary South Africans is that instead of compensating for social inequality, our country’s education system appears to be aggravating it. You just need to look at media stories regarding black African students having to cram onto one desk to complete their matric.
It is as if we read the same storyline at the beginning of each academic year, dovetailed by statements of demagogues, politicians and public officers professing that things will change for an African child when in fact they are legitimising their ineptness and failures to improve the basic education environment in South Africa.
Stories from learners and parents, for example, reflect how split-tongued our charismatic leaders are in failing to appreciate how backward they are in turning around schooling in disadvantaged communities.
In 2020 Amnesty ...
Despite bold efforts to rein in the executive, the Eighth Parliament hasn’t delivered when it mattered most.
Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1992, Ghana’s parliament has been dominated by governing party members. In 2020 that changed when — for the first time in the country’s history — the two major political parties obtained an equal number of seats, with one seat going to an independent candidate.
In this split parliament, neither the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) nor the opposition National Democratic Congress had a majority. The independent candidate (who had hitherto occupied the same seat on behalf of the NPP) pledged to do business with his former party, giving the ruling party a narrow majority.
Many Ghanaians hoped the unprecedented balance would empower parliament to check the executive’s excessive control and assert its authority on citizens’ behalf, preventing questionable appointments, agreements and laws. It was generally expected that parliament wouldn’t be a mere rubber stamp of executive policies like before, especially after the Speaker was elected from the main opposition party — another first for Ghana.
Moreover, most House committees, including the Appointments and Business committees, were populated by equal numbers from the majority and minority parties. The minorities brandished these wins as proof of their ability to ensure accountability, assuring Ghanaians that the governing party wouldn’t have its way at the plenary or committee levels.
After two years of the split parliament though, these expectations don’t appear to have been met. There have been glimpses of parliament standing its ground on executive oversight. At times it has rejected loan requests for various reasons, including lack of accountability, unsustainable debt levels and lack of a quorum. A good example was the rejection of a €116-million budget for the redevelopment of the Accra International Conference Centre, among others, during the 2023 budget adoption process.
But despite these glimmers of hope, parliament has often failed to withstand the executive’s power over national decisions, often to the detriment of Ghanaians’ welfare.
The first failure occurred during the vetting of ministers for the second term (2021-24) of the incumbent government. Minority members on the Vetting Committee rejected three ministerial nominees — who they said had underperformed in their first term — and deferred five others’ approval until they reappeared before the committee for further questioning. Ultimately, both the rejected and deferred nominees were approved at the plenary after some minority Members of Parliament (MPs) voted to support ...
What is apparent is that algorithms in their current form lend themselves to the very same biases already perpetuated in the criminal justice system. But it does present new and exciting opportunities for the sector.
In 2021, in an article for the International Bar Association, Asma Idder and Stephane Coulax poignantly asked, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in criminal justice: invasion or revolution?”
As we find ourselves further entrenched in the Age of AI, it stands to reason that to eschew technology is to risk irrelevance. The authors concluded that humanity is called on to evolve with technical progress.
The pace of AI advancement is growing at an astonishing rate. For example, in November 2022, Open AI launched Generative Pre-training Transformer (Chat GPT), a “large language model tool”.
This is an AI tool developed by researchers from Google. It has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of natural language processing. It uses large amounts of data and computing techniques that enable the technology to predict how to string words together meaningfully, mimicking speech patterns. Thus, AI can now write poetry and speeches as the user desires. For example, it can write an address like Winston Churchill would have written it if the user desires it to do so.
This technology is so transformative that educational institutes in the United States and Europe are already sounding the alarm as students are submitting homework and assignments written by Chat GPT. Chat GPT can now potentially look at all the information in a criminal trial, written, oral, video and on the internet and write an entire summary judgment.
When Chat GPT was asked what has to be done to deal with the ethical implications of its capability, the model (Chat GPT) suggested that “ultimately, the appropriate level of regulation for ChatGPT will depend on the specific risks and potential harms associated with the technology. As with any new and powerful technology, it’s important to carefully consider the potential impacts and take steps to ensure that it is used in a responsible and ethical manner.”
The case for AI in the criminal justice system is overwhelming. Globally, there is a plethora of challenges that plague the criminal justice system. There has been an increased burden on the criminal justice system and substantial budgetary cuts.
AI technology, such as Chat GPT, addresses these challenges and makes room for the efficient and effective use of resources while modernising the criminal justice system through a proactive approach.
The potential ...
The Western Province Rugby Football Union will remain under administration for the foreseeable future as a mysterious heritage claim stalls the sale of Newlands Stadium.
Former Springbok captain Wynand Claassen’s heritage claim over Newlands Stadium is one of the more mysterious interventions in a Western Province (WP) rugby saga that would make a Terrence Mallick movie seem mundane.
Claassen, a man who never played a minute for WP in his life, and led the Boks once at Newlands, is the face of an intervention to have Newlands Stadium declared a heritage site.
If successful, the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) will cease to exist because it needs to sell the valuable site to continue as a going concern.
“To be frank, the sale of Newlands Stadium is key to the future sustainability of Western Province Rugby,” said WPRFU administrator Rian Oberholzer.
“The proposal to declare the stadium a heritage site has the potential to derail so much hard work that has been done to stabilise WP Rugby both on and off the field.
“We have consulted with a heritage specialist who is confident that Newlands Stadium does not qualify as a heritage site, but the upcoming public participation process will also be pivotal in determining the outcome of the proposal.”
WPRFU’s general manager of amateur rugby, Danny Jones, said the union’s General Council had voted and decided more than three years ago that the professional teams would play their rugby at DHL Stadium in Green Point.
“All of the WPRFU’s proper processes were followed when it was decided that our professional teams would play their rugby at DHL Stadium,” Jones confirmed.
“Newlands Stadium cannot currently be used to host rugby matches, but its sale remains crucial to the future of the WPRFU and we are hopeful that all stakeholders will do their utmost to ensure that happens,” he said.
Strange claim
Claassen’s heritage application is a strange claim for a sports stadium that has no significant historic buildings to speak of (the grandstands were upgraded and rebuilt several times over its 130-year existence). Only the old Mill House, which stands apart from the main stadium, qualifies as a heritage building.
But this intervention is all part of a bigger picture playing out in the battle for control of the WPRFU. Claassen’s claim, which he started in June 2022, was made weeks before an independent, sealed bidding process for the sale of Newlands’ development rights reached its deadline.
The timing was curious because ...
Civil society groups plan protests against electricity tariff hike and blackouts.
Civil society groups are planning to take to the streets of the city centre ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on 9 February. They are demanding an end to Eskom’s rolling blackouts and the devastating impact it is having on daily life.
On Wednesday evening, more than 80 residents, scholars, organisations, and members of civil society groups met at Bertha House in Salt River. Many people spoke out about the challenges they experience during rolling blackouts and how the power crisis could be resolved.
The meeting, facilitated by #UniteBehind, also marked the start of the #FixEskom campaign to get the government to end rolling blackouts and to find alternative power-producing sources. This comes in the wake of the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) approving Eskom’s electricity tariff hike for the 2022/23 financial year and 12.74% for the next. This will be effective from 1 April 2023.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Nersa approves 18.65% Eskom tariff hike for 2023/24 and 12.74% for the following financial year”
Under the #FixEskom campaign, they are demanding that rolling blackouts end by December 2023 and they want Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to be fired. Some of their other demands are (1) the planned tariff increases to be scrapped; (2) for municipalities to procure their own power and to build new power lines and (3) substations to enable investment in renewable sources.
UniteBehind director Zackie Achmat said they are encouraging people across the country to join the #FixEskom campaign. Achmat said that those who are unable to take to the streets in February can organise lunchtime pickets.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Nonqaba Melani, who lives in Site C in Khayelitsha, told attendees that one of the biggest challenges of rolling blackouts is the damage it causes to appliances. She said this has also caused electricity boxes to explode, causing shacks fires.
Melani said many people’s stokvel perishables had to be thrown away over the festive holidays because of rolling outages over the festive season. “Most of us are part of community stokvels. In December, there were meat stokvels for the festive season but because of load shedding, we ended up throwing away most of that meat because there was no power to switch on the fridges,” she said.
She said many residents are opting to use paraffin and gas to boil ...
Nearly 600 households, sharing 10 toilets in Govan Mbeki Village, say the facilities have not been cleaned since before Christmas.
About 250 residents of Govan Mbeki Village in Gqeberha protested by emptying buckets of excrement on the R75 Uitenhage Road and blocking the Chatty Dip intersection with rocks and burning tyres from 6am on Thursday morning. The protesters were mainly women in their nightgowns.
They say the 10 toilets shared by 585 households have not been cleaned since before Christmas.
Bahluping Consultant terminated its services to clean toilets in 22 informal settlements because it says Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has failed to pay it for four months.
“This municipality has no respect for us. They must pay the contractor its money. We are not the baboons and we won’t relieve ourselves in the bushes,” said Jazz Nantu, a community leader. “Our toilets were last collected . a week before Christmas.”
He said people were relieving themselves in the bush or in buckets and emptying these in a trench near the shacks.
“Then under these hot conditions the smell is unbearable and buzzing with flies. The whole place smells poo and pee,” he said.
We saw a woman making a second trip to empty one of the overflowing toilets into an empty paint bucket. Her clothes and hat were stained with excrement.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“How can this municipality subject us to these disgusting conditions? . I am throwing this poo on the road because I want these useless municipal officials to feel the same pain of living with a rotten bucket for weeks,” she said.
“We will intensify our protest if this municipality does not clean our toilets. These officials live a soft life and don’t care about the poor,” said resident Landiwe Badela, 53.
“We have been asking for more toilets and water taps. But this municipality can’t even afford to clean these few toilets.”
She said on rainy days excrement washed into their shacks.
Ward 33 Councillor Mzwandile Sidina said he is trying to get hold of the relevant municipal officials to resolve the issue.
Bahluping Consultant officials, who asked not to be named, said, “We could no longer continue with our services because we have run out of finances to perform our operations. The municipality just keeps on making empty promises about our payments. We will only get back to work once we get our payment.”
The municipality had not yet replied at the ...
In 2023 South Africa will host the Netball World Cup for the first time in its history, with the Proteas hoping to clinch their first world title on home soil. First, they must test their powers against the world’s best in the Quad Series.
This year promises to be an exciting and potentially historic one for South African netball. In July 2023, the country is scheduled to host its first Netball World Cup, which takes place in Cape Town.
At that tournament the Proteas are keen to make their own history on home soil, by clinching their first World Cup crown.
The Proteas’ highest finish at the global showpiece was two decades ago, when they managed silver during the 1995 tournament in England.
But before the World Cup the Proteas will sharpen themselves in the 2023 Netball Quad Series, an annual tournament also featuring global powerhouses Australia, New Zealand and England.
The three nations are first, second and third respectively in the latest World Netball rankings. South Africa – which is hosting the series for the third time in its history – is fifth overall, behind Jamaica.
As such, the tournament will be a great litmus test of the team’s progress under new coach Norma Plummer.
The 78-year-old Australian was recalled to occupy the Proteas hot seat after Netball SA decided to part ways with Dorette Badenhorst, who had been at the helm since 2019.
Plummer vacated the seat in the same year, after a four-year stint. However, after the federation ousted Badenhorst in late 2022 – following a disappointing Commonwealth Games run where the team finished sixth – the veteran Australian mentor answered Netball SA’s SOS.
With Plummer back in the driver’s seat, the players are hoping to do the best they can and show they are still very much a force to be reckoned with in global netball.
“The timing of the Quad Series couldn’t be more perfect, because we are now a few months away from the World Cup. Hosting the Quad Series will give us an indication of where we are in terms of state of readiness. We will get an opportunity to gauge ourselves and figure out where we need to improve,” said Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane.
Nevertheless, the Proteas are not feeling any extra pressure just because they are playing at home, according to skipper Bongiwe Msomi.
“Having to play at home gives you that pride of saying ‘you’re coming to me. So, I’m going ...
Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has celebrated the top achievers from South Africa’s government schools, saying ‘came out triumphant, despite the challenges’.
The matric class of 2022 had demonstrated “high levels of excellence” despite the Covid lockdown, rolling blackouts and other disruptions in recent years.
These were the remarks of Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga addressing pupils, parents, MTN Foundation stakeholders and media at a celebratory breakfast in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, for the top achievers from South Africa’s government schools.
“The matric class of 2022 is a unique group in many ways. It’s a group that did the new curriculum assessments — National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The majority of this group made up the cohort when we introduced Grade R. It’s a group that demonstrated high levels of excellence because when they were in Grade 10, Covid-19 pandemic hit which caused a lot of disruptions in the learning and teaching environment. Something in me was telling me our kids were not going to make it and were going to struggle after two years of disruptions, having lost so much teaching time. But they have proved us wrong and remained the light amid load shedding.”
According to Motshekga, top matric learners in South Africa represent much more than just academic excellence; they carry the entire basic education system on their shoulders and embody the hopes and aspirations of their schools, families and communities.
At least 30 top achieving matriculants were celebrated at the minister’s breakfast, ahead of the results being announced publicly at 6pm on Thursday. The achievers came from eight of the country’s nine provinces, with Northern Cape not making the cut.
Details of their individual performances were yet to be released pending the official release of the results.
Most of the top achievers were female.
Daily Maverick spoke with a few of these top-performing matriculants. Below are their stories.
Khanyisile Landingwe — Eastern Cape
Among the many celebrated achievers was Landingwe Khanyisile — a former learner of Nyanga High School in the rural town of Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape. The proud parents of Khanyisile, Nathiswa Nqwiliso and Khayalethu Nqwiliso described her as a go-getter.
Khayalethu said they were not surprised by her achievement since they saw her put in the hard work day and night.
“We come from a very small town which is also disadvantaged. Resources are not readily available to help our children but they are still able to make the most ...
International cooperation is needed to recover artefacts stolen from the country’s conflict-ridden regions.
In early 2022 it was reported that centuries-old Ethiopian relics, including manuscripts and bibles, were being advertised for sale online on marketplaces such as eBay. Most were allegedly looted from Tigray, with thefts also reported in the adjacent Amhara and Afar regions. Instability caused by the two-year war in these northern regions made looting and trafficking easy.
According to sources who requested anonymity, an investigation in Amhara National Regional State last year revealed large-scale artefact looting. The inquiry found that about 1,721 registered movable artefacts were lost or looted from seven administrative zones during the war.
Of these, 1,155 were removed from the Dessie Museum and Merho Palace and Museum alone. The number is probably higher as not all the antiquities are officially registered. In addition those taken, 379 movable artefacts were destroyed, 73 were partially damaged, and 91 were fully damaged.
While the federal government denounced the destruction of cultural heritage during the conflict, it has received little attention since. The country’s major investigation into the war, conducted jointly by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, didn’t encompass the looting of relics. This was a missed opportunity because wartime misappropriation or pillaging of artefacts may constitute war crimes.
There is currently no investigation to understand the true nature and scale of trafficking in antiquities from Ethiopia’s conflict regions. A recent probe by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce established in November 2021 to oversee the investigation of crimes perpetrated in connection with the war, hasn’t looked into artefact looting and trafficking. Sources close to the task force told the Enact project that the criminal investigation was limited to the destruction and looting of individuals’ property.
A smaller regional investigation in the Amhara Region doesn’t depict the full scale of the problem. It was restricted to a few locations and only identified looted and damaged artefacts that were registered. With no coherent picture available, responses are limited at this stage.
Looting is just the initial stage in transnational artefact trafficking, which involves a complex network of individuals from source, transit and illicit demand markets. Relics are bought and sold on the grey market, where the mixing of illegal with legal items makes identifying looted antiquities difficult. This is exacerbated by the widespread use of online artefact marketplaces.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
As was done ...
Proteas Women captain Dané van Niekerk has been left out of the squad after failing fitness tests. However, the door has been left open for the skipper to get back in time for the World Cup.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced a 17-player Proteas squad for the T20 International Tri-Series against India and the West Indies, at Buffalo Park Stadium in East London between 19 January and February.
Captain Dané van Niekerk was the big omission, with Suné Luus continuing as stand-in skipper.
“Dané is not out of contention for the World Cup. She just didn’t make the tri-series,” said coach Hilton Moreeng.
Van Niekerk’s omission is particularly concerning considering former Proteas Women player Lizelle Lee retired in 2022, citing issues with weight and fitness criteria at CSA.
“Are the fitness requirements fair? Yes, it’s fair to everyone. Each and every player knows the benchmark and what they need to do to get to that,” said Moreeng in reply to media questions on Wednesday.
“She’s a quality cricketer. Any environment will be blessed to have her as a cricketer, but at the end of the day we as a team have enough cricketers that we have been giving opportunities and have been putting their hands up in different roles, hence we have such a dynamic squad.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Questions after star Proteas batter Lizelle Lee quits international cricket in middle of tour to England”
“We feel on any given day an opportunity can be given to anyone and they can be a potential match-winner. Each and every member of the squad knows what is required, even at domestic level. The standards players need to adhere to in order to play — it’s where we are as a team and as a country and the direction we want to move to.”
This was to make sure that every player met the minimum standards in the “fitness battery”.
New faces
There are two uncapped players included in the tri-series squad.
Promising Garden Route Badgers all-rounder Annerie Dercksen has been chosen alongside Titans and SA Emerging wicketkeeper Tebogo Macheke. Both were at recent national training camps while delivering consistent performances in the domestic competitions.
“As we go into our final preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, I believe the tri-series is a great opportunity for us to close out the squad,” said Proteas Women convenor of selectors Clinton du Preez.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We are ...
The Springbok Sevens have not won a World Series leg in New Zealand since it moved from Wellington to Hamilton in 2018. They have a few tricks up their sleeve this weekend with Jaiden Baron, Selvyn Davids and Shaun Williams all coming into the squad.
The Blitzboks — currently tied first on the Sevens World Series standings with Samoa — face a tough task in Hamilton this weekend.
They will be without Muller du Plessis and JC Pretorius who have left the squad to pursue opportunities in 15s with the Sharks and Lions respectively.
While the most capped Blitzbok, Branco du Preez is unavailable after announcing his retirement from the format after the Cape Town leg of the World Series in December.
Potential debutant Jaiden Baron, Selvyn Davids and Shaun Williams replace the trio in the squad.
Baron is a straight swop for Du Preez and will play in the sweeper position. The 25-year-old has been in outstanding form for Boland in the Currie Cup First Division, where he was named player of the year and was the leading try-scorer in 2022, scoring 12 tries in nine matches.
“We actually scouted Jaiden pre-Covid to join our Academy, but he had a shoulder injury and was out for a year. Then Covid came and stalled everything,” said Springboks Sevens coach Sandile Ngcobo.
“Jaiden played really well for Boland last year and this time around, he could join us. He did very well in training, and we wanted to add more playmaking to our backs, something he can certainly do.
“He is also extremely fast, no wonder he goes by the nickname of “Die Wind” (The Wind) and is not scared to tackle. I am really looking forward to what he will bring,” Ngcobo explained.
Baron has expressed his excitement at touring with the SA Sevens squad for the first time.
“I am very excited to be part of the Blitzboks squad and to be honest, the whole experience must still sink in,” he said.
“I learned a lot at the SA Sevens ‘A’ squad, but this is a big step up for me and I am really looking forward to the experience. Personally, the reality kicked in when we landed in New Zealand.
“Coming from a small village (Port Alfred Hamlet) you can imagine what an opportunity this is for someone like me, and I want to represent my village by giving my absolute best for the team.”
Davids, meanwhile, missed both the Dubai ...
Patients are battling to contend with the rising cost of living in South Africa, with many forced to forego essential treatment.
Activists, health practitioners, and organisations that support people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) say there is a rise in people defaulting on their antiretroviral treatment due to hunger.
The high cost of living and the high unemployment rate affects the quality of life for many South Africans. Not only are people struggling to afford healthy food, but millions also struggle to have regular meals. This particularly affects people who are on chronic medication as they can’t take their medicine on an empty stomach, creating a vicious cycle of ill health.
Thulina Moukangwe, 29, lives openly with HIV and is an activist in the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). She says multiple factors lead to patients defaulting on their medicines including poor mental health, lack of food and ill-treatment of patients in healthcare facilities.
She says it is particularly hard for the unemployed. “There are no jobs and people are hungry. This will result in more people defaulting.
“When we check at the clinics there are a lot of defaulters and when we try to have a conversation with the relevant departments we are told people receive the (R480) Child Support Grant and the R350 (Social Relief of Distress) grant.”
But people who lost their jobs in 2020 and received UIF payouts do not qualify to receive the R350 grant, she said.
“And some don’t have children.”
Nomso Banjelo, 33 from KwaDabeka South of Durban receives the Social Relief of Distress Grant as her only source of income. After Bank charges and R36 taxi fare, she is left with R300 for food for the month, she says sometimes she skips taking her antiretroviral medication as it causes stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhoea if taken while hungry.
Banjelo has struggled to secure a job for years, she used to volunteer in HIV campaigns and community work but says the transport fees have increased so much that it’s become hard to take part.
“I ask my neighbours for food if I haven’t had some in a couple of days. The food I buy when I get the R350 lasts for two weeks then I try to make a plan until the next time. People don’t default because they want to, they default because of being hungry,” said Banjelo.
South Africa has 8.5 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) — more than any ...
Built more than 70 years ago with mud bricks by villagers, Ixopo Junior Secondary School has been neglected by the education department.
Nomfusi Phasani studied at Ixopo Junior Secondary School in Mount Frere as a child. Now 72, she is one of the villagers trying desperately to keep the school alive in the face of broken promises and neglect from the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
The school’s 534 learners are crammed into 11 classrooms with no electricity. The Grade R classes are taught in mud classrooms built by the villagers. The learners relieve themselves in filthy pit toilets and the school says it has no money to fix anything. In 2009 the Eastern Cape Department of Education promised the school a new brick building. But until now nothing has happened.
“I am 72 years old and this school is older than me,” Phasani told GroundUp. “I did my standard two at this school. It was built by the community with mud bricks and grass roofs. We changed the grass roof into zinc by making collections. Some of us brewed umqombothi and sold it to raise funds to buy the material.”
“But government has neglected our school ever since it was built.
“I am worried because our old generation is dying and the new generation won’t save our school because they have no patience and don’t have the same vision about the future of our children. When our generation comes to an end our school will also be shut down because the department has neglected our school,” she said.
“The toilets are smelly and pose a huge risk to our children. I have three grandchildren who attend school here. The stories that I hear in the news about learners who drowned in pit toilets at school touches me because the same thing could happen to my grandchildren at this school.”
Teachers say only three brick classrooms have been built by the department.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
According to deputy principal Nokonwaba Mshweshwe, seven villages depend on Ixopo Junior Secondary. Most of the classrooms are overcrowded and have about 60 learners. Classrooms are too dark because there is no electricity. “We cook the school nutrition for our learners in a leaking shack. On wet days our food gets damaged.”
“Since 2009 the Department of Education promised us a new school building but that has never happened.”
Mshweshwe says a contractor was sent to the school ...
It's time to call a spade a spade.
“Terrorism.”
Helluva word. It conjures up images of Isis. Or sparks a memory of the Twin Towers falling. The car bombs from Pagad. The IRA.
To many, terrorism is a synonym for “bomb”. The dictionary definition of terrorism is much wider:
“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”
Reading these heavy words, one cannot but agree that there’s a strong argument that the current targeting of Eskom and the South African public is terrorism.
“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation.”
It’s hard to think of a more appropriate description for the murders in Mpumalanga and the cyanide poisoning of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter.
“.in the pursuit of political aims.”
The sabotage of our power stations is not akin to cable theft. It is a deliberate act of political and gangster violence against the people of South Africa.
The purpose of terrorism is to spread terror – or fear – among individuals and the collective.
Our country is afraid. We’re afraid of our businesses closing. We’re afraid of a total grid collapse. We’re afraid for our children’s prospects. We’re afraid of having no control over our future.
Uncertainty fuels our fear. There are no guarantees (except, perhaps, that the laughable timeframe given by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana that “load shedding will be a thing of the past in 12 to 18 months” is guaranteed to be extended.)
You might wonder where we’re going with this. and why we’re exploring the word “terrorism”.
Words matter.
If we, as South Africa, redefined the terms and arrested the suspects on charges of “terrorism” as opposed to “sabotage” of our power plants as public property. then words would matter. The Camden Power Station sabotage suspect would not have been released on R6,000 bail but would still be in jail, for example.
The word “terrorism” would matter in their sentencing, too.
Words matter because it’s how we communicate – how we at Daily Maverick are able to tell the truth to the public. We can’t take away the fear (we wish we could, trust us), but we believe that when the public is informed about what is happening daily, they are better equipped to navigate life.
You are armed with the truth so that you can have power over your life’s decisions.
It’s why we do what we do, and the way we do it. It’s also why we have never, and will never, erect a ...
(Bloomberg) --New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has announced her shock resignation just months before she was expected to run for a third term in office, saying she no longer has the energy or inspiration to continue as the country’s Prime Minister.
Since becoming the world’s youngest female head of government in October 2017, at age 37, Ardern has become one of the most-admired politicians on the planet. But after being lauded for guiding New Zealand through the Covid-19 crisis, support for her Labour Party waned and her approval rating slipped. The effort required to win a third term was not something she was prepared to undertake.
Here are some of Ardern’s biggest achievements and some of the low points of her years in office:
The Highs.
Response to Christchurch terrorist attack
On March 15, 2019, a lone gunman attacked Muslim worshipers at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch, killing 51 people, while live-streaming the attack to social media. Within days of the attack, Ardern had moved to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles and established a nationwide buyback of the weapons. Her swift actions were routinely compared to the US, where a string of gun massacres have failed to spur political action.
Ardern also joined forces with French President Emmanuel Macron, to urge big tech companies to curb the promotion of violent extremism online — a pledge that become known as the Christchurch Call. The Prime Minister won international praise for the empathy she showed in the aftermath of the attacks.
Keeping New Zealand safe as Covid-19 erupted
At the onset of the pandemic, Ardern moved swiftly to effectively close New Zealand’s borders and impose one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, essentially shutting down the economy even as the country had notched barely 200 cases.
It was a decision that paid dividends — the country recorded few virus deaths in the first two years of the pandemic and New Zealand was, for a time, one of the few places in the world with no community transmission of the virus. It also paid political dividends for Ardern, helping her to win a majority in the 2020 general election — the first outright majority in parliament since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996.
Gaining status on the world stage
Ardern won fame outside New Zealand in 2017 as the world’s then-youngest female head of government and as the first world leader to bring her baby to the ...
I glared at it for a few days, determined to stare it down. It glared back at me, defiantly. You will like me, it seemed to say. Just keep an open mind, you’ll see that I’m going to be good for you. It was right.
It has become clear that the air fryer is here to stay, and that the Luddites (I very nearly was one) who are trying to see them off like garlic-toting Van Helsings in deadly battle with Count Dracula are fighting a pointless cause.
I’d go as far as to say that their rise will soon be accompanied by the gradual demise of the microwave oven, or at least that the latter will become less ubiquitous.
I only wish that they’d never been dubbed “air fryers” because that is not what they really are. Some of my best friends in the food world remain deeply sceptical of these controversial little ovens, with some vowing that the air-spewing beast will never (dis)grace their countertops. Even respected food columnists at the top of their games are fond of poking fun at them, some predicting their early demise. They use phrases like “the air fryer brigade” for those who aren’t of the view that they’re lousy appliances, and are convinced that air fryers are the domain of snowflakes and trendoids.
One admitted sceptic, later a convert, wrote: “I had resisted buying an air fryer precisely because too many friends had gushed about them with obnoxious enthusiasm.” I get that. It was very off-putting for me too.
So I’ll endeavour not to be obnoxiously gushing about the machine that I somewhat coyly permitted to enter my kitchen late in 2o22. I had glared at it for a day or two, stopping short of instructing it to shut up and behave, but curiosity got the better of me and I finally started browsing air fryer tips, hints, foibles, tricks, recipes and whatnot. I read the manual, examined the machine’s component parts, and read air fryer fan mail. There’s a lot of that.
Then I cooked air fryer courgettes.
Oy vey. You don’t want to know. They were awful. I glowered at the machine for two days, threatening darkly to ask Takealot to Takeitback, then put some potatoes in to roast. The Foodie’s Wife, who is less demanding than The Foodie, pronounced them excellent. But for me, they lacked that lovely crispy-hard, crunchy exterior and the innards were just ...
AirFryday. Right here, every week. As of today, every Friday we will bring you a fresh air fryer recipe as part of our mission to get to know the strange beast that now occupies a sometimes pleasing, and at other times puzzling, place in so many kitchens.
AirFryday. The craze for owning an air fryer is in top gear and they are so popular now that those who don’t own one will soon realise they’re missing something. And nobody enjoys FOMO moments. So let’s feed that craze.
We’re blazing an air fryer trail with a minimum of one weekly air fryer recipe, but there will be others in between, so this will not be the only day when you’ll find a new air fryer recipe here.
But there’s more coming. Our numbers show that you love our air fryer recipes, but they also show how much you enjoy our breakfast recipes. So, as of next week, we are also introducing What’s For Breakfast Mondays: a fresh breakfast recipe to kick off your week, every week. These two elements will combine with our hugely popular Throwback Thursday slot to bring you a triumvirate of great regular food stories with their accompanying recipes.
The remaining two days, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, will be freeform so that there’s a space for the many recipes I produce that don’t fit into the former three categories. More air fryer recipes will crop up here and there on those days too. I will also start giving suggested air fryer alternatives for other recipes, where appropriate.
To kick off this first AirFryday, I decided to do a chicken dish, because the other category of recipes you love, judging by the numbers, is chicken. Any chicken recipe we publish just, well, flies. And chicken fans love thighs, with their succulent meat and supremely crispy skin. It turns out that an air fryer is the best way to cook them.
We’ve been cooking air fryer recipes for a while. Check out these previously published air fryer recipes too:
Parmesan gem squash
Frozen fish fillets
Hasselback potatoes with thyme butter
Granny Betty’s air fryer chips
Smoked pork neck roasted with ginger, garlic and soy
Mielies with coriander butter
A Crackling Good Quest: The air fryer edition
Gingered croissant and butter pudding
Roast chicken with tarragon-garlic butter
Lemon-garlic cauliflower steaks
Roast potatoes
Tuck in, and come back every AirFryday for more. DM/TGIFood
Tim Cohen in conversation with Investec Bank South Africa CEO Richard Wainwright and Investec Bank UK CEO Ruth Leas at the World Economic Forum.
Just as they have done for the past few seasons, serial South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns appear to be coasting to another league crown. However, tougher challenges await in the Champions League.
It’s another season – the sixth in row – in which Mamelodi Sundowns are sprinting almost unchallenged to finish first in the marathon that is the DStv Premiership.
The record South African league champions have won five Premiership titles on the trot and seven in total over the past 10 seasons. The last team to win the league title that was not Sundowns was Bidvest Wits in the 2016/17 season.
In 2022/23, just past the halfway mark of the 30-game season, the Tshwane-based outfit appears to be coasting to league crown number six, in six seasons.
Masandawana are yet to drop any points in the new year, claiming four wins from their four matches played to date. They’ve only conceded in one of those – a 2-1 win over Chippa United – while scoring seven goals.
This all sees them comfortably perched at the summit of the log table.
Masandawana have managed a haul of 43 points from their 17 matches, which means they lead second-placed Richards Bay by a mammoth 14 points. Although Sundowns have played a game extra.
The Tshwane team being in cruise control has led to coaches of some of fellow Premiership sides throwing in the towel and admitting that the club will defend its title once more.
“Sundowns will be 20 points clear of everybody [at the end of the season]. It’s a reality in terms of the resources, the players they have, the fitness and cohesion,” Swallows head coach Ernst Middendorp stated candidly recently.
His sentiments were also echoed by SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt, even though his side are third on the table.
“If you look at the points difference, I don’t think anybody can make up 13 points,” said Hunt during an interview on SuperSport TV. “Realistically that’s out of reach. So, let’s just try to concentrate on what we’re trying to do, try to make as many points as we can and see where we end up.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Sundowns and SuperSport top the DStv Premiership in the new year”
Outside of the suggestions that the league should be handed to Masandawana already, there have also been murmurings that it is almost impossible for the other 15 teams in the league to compete with them – owing to their ...
The IFP gained a seat from the ANC in Mtubatuba as the latter failed to register a candidate for a seat the party won in 2021. The DA also retained its seat in the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
Ward 9 (Hoho Ebaswazini) in Mtubatuba, uMkhanyakude, KZN: IFP 77% (36%) EFF 15% (5%) UCDP 7% (4%) UDM 1% (
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she is stepping down in a shock resignation ahead of a general election later this year.
Ardern, 42, who became the world’s youngest female leader when she led her Labour Party to power in 2017, doesn’t have the energy or inspiration to seek re-election, she told reporters Thursday. She named the election date as Oct. 14.
“I have given my absolute all to being prime minister but it has also taken a lot out of me,” she said in Napier, where Labour is holding a caucus meeting. “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.”
The unexpected announcement brings the curtain down on a stunning political career that saw Ardern navigate unprecedented crises and become a torch-bearer for liberal values on the world stage. She was facing an uphill battle to win a third term in office, with Labour trailing the opposition National Party in opinion polls.
The Labour caucus will vote on a new leader on Jan. 22, with the winner needing two-thirds support. If no-one has that, the contest will go to the wider party membership. It is expected that process will conclude no later than Feb. 7, Ardern said.
Crisis Manager
Potential contenders for the leadership may include Education Minister Chris Hipkins, Housing Minister Megan Wood, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Immigration Minister Michael Wood. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, a close ally of Ardern’s, said he will not stand.
Ardern will be remembered as an extraordinary crisis manager and a trail-blazer for working women.
In 2018 she become just the second world leader to give birth in office, after former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
After an extremist went on a shooting spree at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch in March 2019, killing 51 and injuring dozens more, an image of Ardern wearing a headscarf as she mourned with families of the victims went around the world and helped to ease outrage in Muslim nations.
She immediately reformed gun laws, banning the semi-automatic weapons used in the attack.
Her brand of decisive, empathetic leadership was again on display when a volcano off the New Zealand coast erupted in December 2019, killing 22 people and injuring dozens, many of them tourists.
Her initial handling of the coronavirus pandemic also stood out.
Ardern put the country into one of ...
South Africa, already one of the world’s most unequal countries, can ill afford the cost of persistent scheduled power outages that scupper small businesses, have an impact even on large corporates, trouble learners and increasingly pose a health risk as water and sewage treatment facilities collapse.
The necessary steps to fix South Africa’s energy crisis — not just Eskom — are not rocket science, but require multidimensional action that is nuanced and responsive. That’s especially important when new money is not available, and whatever is spent must be cut from somewhere, given the domestic economic doldrums.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom reality check: it will NOT get better any time soon, regardless of SA’s WEF sales pitch/PR”
Here are some suggestions.
An SMME grant for alternative energy
It’s to keep the doors open and jobs going — if creating jobs, and reducing poverty and inequality, as the National Development Plan requires by 2030, are really central to South Africa’s future, rather than just politicians’ talk.
The Covid-19 small business support grant put the basics in place; at the time, the official reason for requesting all sorts of documents was to establish a database within the government. And making a similar amount available, say R750-million, could have a real impact.
Such a grant didn’t seem to be on the table. At least not before the Sowetan carried the names of scores of small businesses brought to their knees by the rolling power outages, under the heading: “Mr President, cancelling your Davos trip is one thing. Dealing with the crisis is another. Here’s a reminder of some small businesses crippled by every failed promise to fix Eskom”.
That day, Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams issued a statement on possible energy emergency relief, and pledged that details of the package, including criteria and application methods, would be announced “soon”.
Politicians should give up their taxpayer-funded generators
Move those generators to clinics, hospitals and schools and, yes, also courts, so services can be provided to ordinary people.
It won’t raise energy availability, but it will be an act of social solidarity for everyone from the President, ministers and their deputies, premiers, MECs and others to relinquish the elite benefits that shield them from the up to 12 hours a day without power.
Perhaps all should also start paying for all their rates and services, not just from R5,001 upwards as the ministerial handbook stipulates.
Cut the red tape — and fast
Much can be done in ...
Almost half of South African women were economically inactive in 2022. Many women remain in abusive relationships because of financial dependency. Gender-based violence is the price women pay to eat and to have a place to sleep.
Is a campaign aimed at 16 days of activism against gender-based violence (GBV) enough? The struggle against GBV seems to have barely moved forward, despite worldwide efforts.
Are we treating the symptoms and not the cause? If GBV is societal pathology, we need to collectively find ways to diagnose its many roots and to effect cure. Evidence suggests that GBV flourishes in inequality. This is the reality for women living in resource-limited settings, which increases their risk for GBV.
Perhaps the battle against GBV can be won if stakeholders and members of our community #UNiTE 365 days a year, with the common interest of eliminating this pertinent problem.
GBV is typically defined as a physically aggressive and harmful act towards a specific gender. In South Africa, this highly prevalent human-rights issue disproportionately affects women and girls.
Many may ask what could possibly lead a person to commit such heinous acts of violence. In South Africa, violence is often driven by a context of adversity, deprivation, economic inequality, lack of education and substance misuse.
Perpetrators’ motives can vary from feelings of boredom to feelings of being “owed” the power from a victim.
One in three women
GBV is extremely common; approximately one in three women will experience GBV at the hands of a man in their lifetime. It is clear that drastic change is needed.
Factors such as gender disparities and gender power imbalances often drive GBV. Women have a tougher time finding employment compared to men, both globally and in South Africa.
In 2022, almost half of South African women were economically inactive. The reality is that many women remain in abusive relationships due to a lack of employment opportunities and financial dependency – they rely on partners for food and shelter. GBV is the price women pay to eat, and to have a place to sleep.
A woman exposed to GBV and living in adversity is not only disempowered, but also afraid, anxious, lacking support and at risk of developing mental and physical health problems. Post-traumatic stress (fear and re-experiencing), depression (sometimes with suicidal behaviour), substance misuse (binge-drinking), and risk-taking behaviours (often because of substance misuse) are frequent consequences of GBV.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Nonprofit Embrace Project takes on justice department over ‘problematic’ ...
During forced removals in the apartheid era, Stellenbosch University acquired land where a Bellville cemetery was located. Residents in this area are now engaging with the university in a restitution process.
“We need to know what happened to the bones. Because its people, its family members, they buried their people there, and when they went there again, the people were gone. So how do you explain that to someone who wants to go show their lineage?”
These comments from Chefferino Fortuin, community researcher and Tiervlei community member, who is involved in efforts to see justice, decades after bodies were removed from a cemetery when Stellenbosch University (SU) acquired the land during forced removals, conducted in the brutal apartheid era.
The university acquired the land on which the cemetery, known as Hardekraaltjie, was located in Bellville in 1970, explained Fortuin.
SU removed a portion of the bodies from the cemetery for reburial, he said. Members of the community from Tiervlei, now known as Ravensmead, were buried there.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Ravensmead kids skate the road less travelled”
About half a century after the community was uprooted and forcibly removed – including the removal of the bodies, the community is still seeking restitution and memorialisation in honour of the cemetery.
“It becomes this emotional issue, especially for the ageing ones in our community. For me, they are important because they have laid the groundwork for whatever successes we’ve achieved in our lifetime,” said Fortuin.
“It is not for us an academic exercise, we still want our ageing population; we want one or two of those people still to be alive to see their dreams coming to fruition. So that they can say: I said it was my people who were laying here,” Fortuin explained.
Forced removals
Anne and Bennie Parring are two elderly Ravensmead residents who had siblings buried at Hardekraaltjie. They recalled how powerless the community was during forced removals. “Back then, you didn’t have a say because it was apartheid. The white man talks alone,” said Anne. At that point, some community members still had their children and family buried at the cemetery, she added.
The two elderly residents said they were not informed that the bodies would be moved at the time. They only knew that building developments would take place near the cemetery.
Prof Aslam Fataar, from SU’s department of education policy studies, said that the university has been doing work with “visual redress and spatial redress” in spaces ...
There are millions of people in South Africa who have not finished school, or who did not go to university for a variety of reasons, and to dismiss them would be a travesty.
The obsession with “qualifications” that so often and so maliciously is thrown about by a segment of society, those generally opposed to white people and non-revolutionary black people, really is terribly tedious, a waste of time, toxic, and conceals more than it reveals. Much of it emanates from EFF-types who imagine their leaders are highly educated and have “superior logic”. For what it’s worth, it will be shown in due course just how spurious and indeed how facile this purported knowledge base is.
This toxicity and malice are, of course, not limited to the EFF. One Busani Ngcaweni has demanded a type of truth and reconciliation commission on the academic qualifications of academics and ordinary people — if we have to be generous to the ANC’s reinvention of Anatoly Lunacharsky or Nadezhda Krupskaya (depending on whom you admire most, as head and inspiration of the old Soviet Narkompros). Altogether, their fixation is terribly weak for at least two reasons. Most people who made it through South African education systems over the past two years have had to jump over very low academic barriers to entry and exit.
Pass one, pass all
Social progression (not social progress, which is necessary) has been one of the defining practices of South Africa’s education systems. This should not be confused with education for social progress. Social progression here means two main things. The first is to lower pass levels in higher education to the point where those pupils who have made it through high school but can barely read and understand complex concepts and sentences, are able to pass. The second is to quite literally move pupils to the next level. First, avoid bottlenecks. Second, avoid the wrath of parents, students and activists, and third, satisfy ideological arguments about curriculums that are too Eurocentric, insufficiently African, and, as we have witnessed, because exams are considered to be “too difficult” — so pass one and pass all.
One should not ignore the fact that history is replete with successful achievements in science (physics); the humanities (art history); the social sciences (economics), and in the professions, such as law or accountancy. It is inappropriate, then, not to dismiss education tout court. We can do so without ignoring the ...
The attempt by Jacob Zuma to privately prosecute Cyril Ramaphosa for failing to interfere in an internal National Prosecuting Authority matter raises broader questions about the potential abuse of private prosecutions by politically powerful or wealthy individuals.
As former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters have often pointed out, a decision to charge and prosecute an individual may cause serious harm, including to the reputation of the accused person.
If the accused is not a wealthy person and does not have access to unlimited funds from other sources to defend him or herself, they may also be financially ruined by the prosecution. Even if the case is later dropped, or if the accused is ultimately acquitted, it will not undo some of the harm caused.
The problem is well illustrated by the facts of the case of Nundalal v Director of Public Prosecutions KZN and Others (in a judgment of a full bench of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court).
In this case, Mr Nundalal was being privately prosecuted by a certain Mr Singh on charges of defeating the ends of justice and making a false statement. Seemingly, Mr Singh, a wealthy businessman, was using the private prosecution to avenge a previous court loss against the impecunious Mr Nundalal. The high court took a dim view of this abuse of the private prosecution process in the following terms:
“Dragging the applicant, a man who cannot afford to pay his legal costs, through years of litigation, at costs to time, energy, expenses and most importantly, state resources are disproportionate to the alleged offences. Disappointingly his legal team has not dissuaded him from persisting with this debilitating exercise. Indulging the private prosecutor because he has the means to litigate is grossly unfair and disproportionate to its impact on the public purse, the allocation of state resources and the administration of justice.”
Because decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute are open to abuse, the South African Constitution establishes an independent National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and requires prosecutors to make decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice, and in accordance with lawfully adopted policy directives, including a prosecution policy.
The current prosecution policy requires prosecutors to act in good faith when they make prosecutorial decisions, and reminds prosecutors that decisions whether or not to prosecute should “be taken with care, because it may have profound consequences for victims, witnesses, accused and their families”.
As the policy makes clear, ...
Everyone has days when they feel so grim they can’t go to work because if they lift their head off the pillow they might throw up or pass out. Then why are the chronically Sick – those of us who wake up feeling like this every single day – not treated with compassion, but with suspicion?
Greetings from Bed.
It’s a strange thing to be demonised for being Sick. A lack of empathy for suffering that people can’t identify with can perhaps be understood – if not excused. If you’re not black or Queer or Trans, you are not expected to appreciate what it feels like to live that experience. Quite the opposite in fact: cis straight white people can never claim to comprehend what it’s like to exist in society within such subjugated bodies.
But everyone has been ill at some time or another. Everyone has had a fever. Everyone has periodic aches and pains. Everyone has days when they feel so grim they can’t go to work because if they lift their head off the pillow they might throw up or pass out.
And yet.
Those of us who wake up feeling like this every single day are not treated with compassion, but with suspicion. The chronically Sick are maligned, even mocked, as malingerers. Why?
Do the Well lack the imagination to envision being trapped in the worst possible Groundhog Day?
“You have a hangover, you’ve just run a marathon and you’re going down with flu. How do you feel?
Like someone with ME.”
So began the awareness leaflet I received when I first got diagnosed with the post-viral energy-limiting chronic illness Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) 30 years ago. Studies comparing cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart disease and chronic renal failure have found that Severe ME has the lowest health-related quality of life score, as well as significantly reduced life expectancy.
Since 2020, millions more Long Covid cousins have joined us here in Bed. But the lack of empathy suggests the Well just can’t conceive of feeling this lousy for this long. Or won’t.
I understand the Well’s reluctance to acknowledge the reality of the Sick. It means becoming aware of unplumbed depths of vulnerability within yourselves. Even I, an 80% bedbound person, shy away from contemplating the gruelling daily existence of those with Very Severe ME such as Whitney Dafoe: tube-fed, in constant pain and unable to tolerate any human interaction.
So why does society immediately grant sympathy to someone with ...
This year has begun with doctors at the beleaguered hospital once again facing the problems created by the Gauteng health department’s inefficient oversight and the hospital management’s seeming inability to protect the essential asset from vandalism and crippling theft.
In April it will be two years since the fire at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), with still no progress on who started it. Police have apparently abandoned their investigation, despite a preliminary finding of arson.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Devastating Charlotte Maxeke hospital fire was an act of arson — police forensic report”
Since then, the hospital has been plagued by allegations of corruption and maladministration as well as two further fires.
For the second-largest public hospital in Gauteng, and a vital teaching hospital for Wits University, the legitimate expectation is that everything possible would be done to protect the hospital and ensure the smooth running of its services.
The minister of health, the premier of Gauteng and others have all visited the hospital and made promises, but have not delivered.
As a result, 2023 has begun with doctors at the beleaguered CMJAH once again facing the problems created by the Gauteng health department’s (GDoH’s) inefficient oversight and the hospital management’s seeming inability to protect the essential asset they are in charge of from vandalism and crippling theft.
Over the weekend of 7 and 8 January, doctors informed Maverick Citizen, R3-million worth of copper piping was stolen from above an operating theatre inside the hospital. The result, they say, was to disrupt operations in several theatres.
Although not as debilitating as the thefts at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital over the holiday period, it is still devastating.
A crisis in the ICU
Then, at the beginning of this week, doctors reported a crisis in the hospital’s Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as ICU-trained staff refused to work overtime because they hadn’t been paid since last year. The doctors alleged the nursing agency from which temporary staff are recruited was unable to provide nurses because they too had not been paid.
The result is that emergency theatres cannot be utilised, because there are no ICU beds available for post-op recuperation and care. Doctors said that the hospital has 23 vacant ICU and high-care beds, with 32 patients on its emergency waiting list.
The CEO, Gladys Bogoshi, was asked to comment but did not respond. Motalatale Modiba, the head of communications at the GDoH, confirmed: “There was a theft of gas copper ...
Eskom is struggling in its efforts to obtain the diesel needed to continue running its open-cycle gas turbines which, in the face of prolonged power generation outages, is the only way the utility can stave off severe and ongoing curtailment of South Africa’s electricity supply.
In the past two years, Eskom has been forced to rely increasingly on the open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) — which were intended only for dire emergencies or use during peak demand periods — because of a steadily increasing number of breakdowns within its ageing coal-fired power fleet.
In the past few months, the OCGTs have become essential in the face of the loss of 4,500MW of generation capacity due to problems at Medupi and Kusile, Eskom’s two newest coal-fired power plants, and a life-extension refurbishment at Koeberg, its nuclear power station.
Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer says this combined outage equates to about five stages of load shedding.
Kusile Units 1, 2, 3 and 5 — which account for nearly 3,000MW of the amount — will be unavailable until the end of this year, he told EE Business Intelligence. The complex life extension of Units 1 and 2 at Koeberg will only be complete by March 2024, if all goes well. Medupi Unit 4 is only scheduled for return-to-service by September 2024 following a hydrogen explosion in August 2021.
When you add this large, combined outage to the country’s existing power generation gap of 4,000 to 6,000MW declared by Eskom more than three years ago — which has still not been addressed — it is clear that South Africa is teetering on the edge of an electricity emergency.
The diesel emergency
Eskom’s management team drew the ire of government in November 2022 when it declared that the utility had run out of diesel and could not afford to buy more, having spent roughly double the R6-billion diesel budget for the financial year ending 31 March 2023.
When no further funds from Treasury materialised, Eskom chief financial officer Calib Cassim managed to scrape together R1.5-billion intended for other purposes from his budget for the remainder of the year, to immediately buy 50 million litres of diesel from PetroSA.
That provided enough diesel to keep the OCGTs running as needed through December 2022. As the fuel ran out, Cassim came up with yet another R1.5-billion from Eskom’s coffers for a further 50.4-million litres of diesel.
According to Oberholzer, this should last until the end of January ...
Every election cycle, there is the hope that something new will break through, a miracle. The next month’s presidential elections are no different.
The journalist Howard French, writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, makes the point that the urban portion of West Africa, of which Nigeria is a major part, will shape the coming century.
“By 2100,” he writes, “the Lagos-Abidjan stretch is projected to be the largest zone of continuous, dense habitation on Earth, with something in the order of half a billion people.”
Nigeria has that X factor — its dynamism, music, movies, literature, innovative, tech-savvy youth culture and the achievements of Nigerians on the global stage provide a sharp contrast to the curse of its poor leadership.
In 1983, the great Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe published a slim volume titled The Trouble with Nigeria, in which he blamed the country’s leadership for the endemic problems of tribalism, social injustice, mediocrity and corruption. It says something that this book is still high on the list for any journalist or student visiting the country for the first time.
Speak to any Nigerian and the lament is always couched as the failure of the promise. Every election cycle, there is the hope that something new will break through, like a miracle that will transform a chaotic underachieving nation into the giant of Africa that it should be.
The focus of next month’s presidential elections has been on Peter Obi, the third-party candidate who has run a ballsy, upbeat campaign that aims to break the mould of the country’s two-party system dominated by big men and big money.
London rolled out the red carpet for Obi this week: Chatham House, the London Stock Exchange and the Archbishop of Canterbury all welcomed him as a breath of fresh air.
Obi has been embraced on social media and hailed by many in the international media as a different kind of Nigerian politician. The Economist was charmed by the fact that he carries his own suitcase when he travels.
One supporter in Bayelsa state summed it up: “Obi’s biggest attraction to many is the lack of skeletons in his closet. They have nothing on this guy. It seems almost too good to be true. A Nigerian politician who is actually clean? I have never seen anything like it before in my life.”
But the next president of Nigeria will not be elected on TikTok or by the editorial board of The New York Times.
It’s ...
South Africa’s top franchises have performed better than expected in their debut season of the European Champions Cup. Whether they have enough gas in the tank to perform in the playoffs, and at the back end of the equally important United Rugby Championship, remains to be seen.
Before the first round of the Champions Cup, a number of European coaches and players raged at the inclusion of the South African franchises. Conservative critics in the north began to question whether the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers would add value to the world’s elite club tournament. Some went as far to suggest that the inclusion of the trio would dilute the product.
Fast forward to the final round of the pool phase, where all three teams are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs. Results are what matter at this level, and yet the South African sides have proved that they belong via a series of rousing performances.
While the traditional facets of the South African game — set piece, breakdown and tactical kicking — have been prominent, the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have certainly shown some ambition and precision on attack.
Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse and Jaden Hendrikse are just some of the backline stars that have hogged the headlines in recent weeks. Meanwhile, forwards such as Siya Kolisi and Hacjivah Dayimani have been just as breathtaking with ball in hand.
Schedule quirks, travel demands to curb momentum
Can these players and teams maintain their momentum — not only in the latter stages of the Champions Cup, but at the back end of the URC?
That is the big question for a fatigued South African contingent that has played non-stop for the better part of two years. The URC’s new partnership with Qatar Airways has further compromised the South African teams, who have been forced to travel to matches in Europe via far-flung Doha. What’s more, player resources will be stretched to the limit when top Boks earmarked for the World Cup are rested over February and March.
In short, the top South African teams cannot be expected to maintain their current form. The coaches will need to box clever over the next few months, and hope for a bit of luck with regard to injuries.
Fortunately, the top teams have bought themselves some time via a series of big results in the Champions Cup and URC. They can afford to take a few hits in the short term, ...
Two Cape Town NGOs are demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe properly implement the provisions of the National Energy Act to resolve South Africa’s electricity crisis.
The Green Connection, a non-governmental organisation, and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) have filed papers in the High Court in Cape Town to compel the government to implement sections of the National Energy Act that came into effect in 2008.
In particular, they want the energy minister to implement section 6 of the act, which requires the government to create an Integrated Energy Plan (IEP), which Mantashe has yet to publish for comment.
Kholwane Simelane, an advocacy officer at the Green Connection, questioned why the government has not implemented section 6 of the act since it became law in 2008.
“The National Energy Act 24 of 2008 became law when the President assented to it on 17 November 2008. Rather than coming into operation upon publication, the act delegated to the President the power to bring its provisions into effect by proclamation in the Gazette. The President has brought all the provisions of the act — except section 6 — into operation,” Simelane said.
“Green Connection and SAFCEI apply to this honourable court to have the President’s ongoing failure or refusal to bring section 6 into operation judicially reviewed. And seek an order compelling the President to take the necessary steps to bring sections into effect,” he added.
The other sections of the act were brought into effect between April 2009 and March 2012.
Section 6 of the act calls on the energy minister to develop, annually review and publish the Integrated Energy Plan. The plan must deal with issues relating to the supply, transportation, storage and demand for energy. This should be done while accounting for the security of the supply, economically available resources, affordability, universal accessibility to free basic electricity and consumer protection. The plan is also meant to consider the environment, employment, social equity and the contribution of energy to socioeconomic development.
The IEP is meant to “have a planning horizon of no less than 20 years” and serve as a guide for energy infrastructure investments, “taking into account all viable energy supply options and guide the selection of the appropriate technology to meet energy demand”.
Simelane questioned why Mantashe had not acted in this regard, saying that initial public comment was sought in 2016. A draft Integrated Energy Plan has been in ...
Wondering what happened with the unsolvable maths problem and other dodgy questions from last year’s NSC matric exams? Well, this week Umalusi confirmed it had consulted with the relevant assessment bodies to apply for marking concessions. It asked for the questions to be excluded entirely or partially from the exam papers — and said some concessions had been granted.
In addition to the challenges presented by writing exams amid rolling blackouts, the matric class of 2022 had to manoeuvre around what Umalusi described as “problematic” questions in the following subjects:
Mathematics paper 2;
Sepedi language paper 2;
Maths literacy paper 2;
History paper 2; and
English paper.
These exam papers had questions that were either incorrect or had specific details missing, which meant pupils could not answer them.
On Monday, Umalusi — which sets and monitors education standards — confirmed that it had consulted with the relevant assessment bodies to apply for marking concessions with regard to the problematic questions.
Umalusi CEO Dr Mafu Ramoketsi said they had asked for the questions to be excluded entirely or partially from the question papers, and that some of the concessions had been granted.
Daily Maverick has been reporting on the “impossible” trigonometry question in Mathematics paper, 2 written on 7 November. It was, therefore, important to inform our readers on the resolution adopted for the maths problem.
Read our previous reports on the problematic question here, here and here.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ramoketsi said: “Regarding the impossible Maths paper 2 problem question 5.1 worth 7 marks, after consulting with various relevant bodies, the question was excluded from the paper such that the exam was marked and assessed out of 143 instead of 150 marks.”
Prof Yunus Ballim, chair of the Umalusi Council, told the media on Monday that Umalusi had appointed a three-person independent panel to investigate how the error might have crept in and remained undetected until the final question paper was administered by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on 7 November.
“In terms of process, the panel audited four processes linked to the question paper, which are: the examination paper development process, external moderating process, editing and typesetting process, and proof-reading process.
“The panel evaluated the documents provided and interviewed the examiners, internal and external moderators, and language editors. Based on that, the finding of the panel is that the error in Mathematics paper 2 November 2022 occurred at the last step in the chain of internal ...
Against widespread public criticism, pending litigation and social restiveness, 22 years of ANC energy (mis)governance have caught up with the governing party. It’s now a crossroads moment for South Africa – more dickering, pretty platitudes about resilience or, finally, concerted action.
Reality check: it will not get better any time soon, regardless of South Africa’s World Economic Forum sales pitch of ending rotational power cuts in 12 to 18 months, or domestic claims that all can be fixed within six to 12 months.
Eskom’s own likely risk outlook to 31 December 2023 is almost solidly red (Weekly System Status Report 2023 w1.pdf) – that’s at least Stage 2 rotational power cuts, but more likely higher stages, given past trends.
It is understood the consensus emerging in this week’s series of meetings on the energy crisis, also with the National Energy Crisis Committee, known as Neccom, was to expect at least another 24 months of persistent significant rotational power cuts.
It’s a dim prospect and difficult optics to control for the Ramaphosa administration’s determinedly glass-half-full view, while hammering home South Africans’ resilience.
That’s even if Neccom remains upbeat, claiming “important progress” in a briefing note sent to Daily Maverick from the Presidency outlining steps to secure additional megawatts through new embedded generation projects – the first totalling 9,000MW is expected “to connect to the grid” by year-end to ease power outage schedules from 2024 – and maintenance to return key power generating units, also at Koeberg nuclear power station, and more.
Previous upbeat talk of remedying rotational power cuts through “additional actions” announced in President Ramaphosa’s televised national speech on 25 July 2022 (President Cyril Ramaphosa: Address to the nation on energy crisis | South African Government) blew up just four months later when Eskom ran out of diesel, and money to buy more.
While 50,000 litres of diesel were eventually found for the open-cycle gas turbines that buffer against higher stages of rotational power cuts, the promised stable supply lines to ensure a flow of diesel weren’t (Found: Fifty million litres of diesel for fifteen days of relief – but source of funding future supplies remains uncertain).
Fifteen days later, as was predicted, diesel ran out and rotational power cuts ramped up – and there was silence from those in power. As again now, after a week of Stage 6 cuts. That another 50,000 litres of diesel were procured on 6 January only emerged 10 days later, in ...
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and his deputy were among 14 people who died in a helicopter crash in the town of Brovary, near the capital Kyiv. They are the highest-ranking Ukrainian officials to have lost their lives since Russia’s war began in February.
A child was among those killed when the emergency services helicopter went down in flames near a kindergarten and an apartment building on Wednesday morning, authorities said after search and rescue operations ended, revising an earlier count. Another 25 people were injured, including 11 children.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has not seen any “serious” proposals from the West to end the war. Russia isn’t willing to negotiate with President Volodymyr Zelensky, he said at his annual press conference. Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to speed up aid in a video link call to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Key developments
Ukrainian Interior Minister killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv
Ukraine seeks to add steel to grain export deal, minister says
War in Ukraine strains ties between Putin and his old Serb ally
Enterprising Russians plug consumer gaps caused by sanctions
Wagner founder is Putin’s model entrepreneur: Leonid Bershidsky
On the ground
Russian troops are focusing their main efforts on the assault toward the eastern city of Bakhmut, while also conducting unsuccessful offensive operations on the Avdiyivka axis, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near nine settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and shot down a Russian Su-25 jet near Soledar, according to the General Staff’s statement.
The Nikopol district in the central Dnipropetrovsk region was shelled again overnight, local authorities said on Telegram.
Zelensky at Davos urges allies to speed aid to Ukraine
“The world must not hesitate today and ever,” he told the World Economic Forum via a video link.
“Mobilisation of the world must outpace [the] next military mobilisation of our joint enemy. The supplying of Ukraine with air defence systems must outpace Russia’s next missile attacks.”
Canada to provide Ukraine with 200 armoured personnel carriers
The machines are additional Canadian military aid to Ukraine, which has already reached $1bn, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said in Kyiv at a joint press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.
According to Anand, the Canadian government is buying APCs from manufacturer Roshel Inc worth 90 million Canadian dollars. Earlier, Canada announced plans to provide air defence systems, ammunition and howitzers, as well as continue military training of Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine expects to discuss Leopard tanks supply ...
Darren Bergman, the DA’s international relations spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday: ‘It is becoming increasingly clear that the South African government is openly siding with Russia.’
The Democratic Alliance has called on International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor not to meet her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov — “unless it is to persuade Russia to cease all military operations in Ukraine”.
Pandor’s department announced that Lavrov would meet her in Pretoria on Monday for “bilateral talks”. It is likely the two ministers will discuss relations between the two countries, their joint participation in the BRICS bloc of countries comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as well as the next Russia-Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg in July.
And the war in Ukraine.
Pandor told Russia’s state TV station, Sputnik, this week that she would definitely be attending the summit.
Darren Bergman, DA international relations spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday: “It is becoming increasingly clear that the South African government is openly siding with Russia.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
This was shown by Lavrov’s upcoming visit to meet Pandor, Pretoria permitting the sanctioned Russian cargo ship Lady R to secretly offload arms in Simon’s Town last month as well as the joint naval exercise which the SA National Defence Force is to hold with Russia and China next month.
South Africa’s bias was also shown by its refusal to reject Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bergman said.
“The DA contends that a friendly engagement between the two countries is not appropriate unless it includes a discussion of how to persuade Russia to end its involvement in Ukraine as soon as possible and/or to stop using South Africa as a staging area for ships and cargo in order to sabotage our application for an IMF loan.
“It is not just out of touch with its people or region, but also with the rest of the world, and any additional meetings that the government would like to have with Russia at this time could have very negative economic repercussions.
“The DA will continue to hold government accountable. We implore the ANC government to place the rights of people above government relations and interest.” Bergman said.
Lavrov’s full itinerary was unclear on Wednesday night, as Russia had not officially announced his visit. In November last year, Russian media quoted his deputy, Mikhail Bogdanov, as saying Lavrov would visit eight African countries in January and February ...
For the moment, there is no sign that the ANC will actually act. No spokesperson will be able to change how voters see that lack of action, and no amount of spinning will be able to cover up for corruption, incompetence and shambolic delivery.
As the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) prepares to hold its first formal meeting, one of its immediate duties will be to select a new national spokesperson. The importance of this choice cannot be underestimated, particularly so close to the crucial 2024 national elections. The ruling party, however, may now be in a state where any person would find this job almost impossible.
The new appointee will inevitably find that the divisions in the party have not disappeared, and that they will be working under three people in the office of the secretary-general. This will be at the heart of some of the serious problems the ANC faces with communication in the next 18 months.
There can be no doubt about the importance of the position of national spokesperson for the ANC. Over the past 20 years, the audiences of the English-speaking media, particularly in television and radio and online, have grown increasingly important. Not only are there more channels and more airtime to fill, but the sense of respect and almost awe the ANC commanded in the 1990s has now vanished, possibly never to return.
Presenters are less patient, investigative journalists sharper and more probing, and audiences and voters are more demanding of accountability than they have ever been.
At the same time, strangely, it seems those who consume online reporting and news broadcasts have become more important to winning elections. As the proportion of people who vote continues to decline, the informed ones become a bigger proportion of the voters. Just the fact that they are actually listening to and watching these discussions means that they are also more likely to vote.
As a result, the ANC’s national spokesperson could play an outsize role in framing the perception of the party, perhaps more than anyone not named Cyril Ramaphosa. The spokesperson will have to set a tone, respond to questions asked with zero or little warning, answer queries without knowing the full content of an article, deal with frustrated and angry presenters and listeners, and sometimes (almost literally) spin on their feet.
As a result of a ferociously fast news cycle, they could be on air from early in the morning ...
The Proteas have stuck with the tried and tested for their all-important ODI series against England, with Sisanda Magala the only new face.
South Africa have announced a 16-player squad for the three-match One Day International (ODI) series against England from 27 January to 1 February.
Dewald Brevis, who has been in solid form in the ongoing SA20 — currently the third-highest run scorer — has not been selected.
“We’re not trying to chase Brevis away at all. During the [selection] process, we discussed him — with the new national coach [Rob Walter],” said the convenor of selectors, Victor Mpitsang.
“We will get [Brevis] involved once the coach is back, but we’ll probably try to introduce him at a later stage, preferably against West Indies in the different formats there. Especially the T20s.”
Similarly, Ryan Rickelton, who was the highest run-scorer in this season’s One-Day Challenge Cup with 452 runs in seven innings at an average of 64.57, has also not made the cut.
“Ryan has performed really well in the last summer. It’s about where does Ryan fit in at the moment? He’s an opening batter. He has good numbers at the moment, he’s performing well also in the T20s,” said Mpitsang.
“But he’s one of the guys — in a squad of 16 — we just couldn’t get him in, but I’m sure his opportunity will come.”
Mpitsang also confirmed that the ankle injury that kept Rickelton out of the Proteas’ tour to Australia at the end of last year was not part of the reason for his omission.
“We speak to the medical side before we pick a squad,” he said.
“They did make it clear to us that because the series is at home, the risk is not as high [compared with] when we travel abroad with his injury.”
Important series
The Proteas have five matches left to play in the Cricket World Cup Super League — three against England and two against the Netherlands.
They are 11th on the table, with the top eight qualifying directly for the 50-over World Cup later this year in India.
The Proteas will thus be desperate to gain as many points as possible against England.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The next few series that we play — starting off with England — are very important,” said Mpitsang.
“We feel that it’s a well-balanced squad [with] good experience, and we want to make sure that — against a very strong ...
Populist leaders are not credible and reliable change agents because they often become a danger to democracy and encourage a slide to fear, resentment and authoritarianism.
The anti-democratic events that unfolded in Brazil’s capital on Sunday, 8 January 2023 serve as a stern warning of the dangers and pitfalls of “strongman” populist politics the world over.
More than 3,000 supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalised the supreme court, presidential palace and congress to try to reverse the democratic outcomes of the elections held on 30 October 2022.
We are reminded that ardent populism — whether on the far left or far right — appeals to the worst aspects of humanity. Former US president Barack Obama, in a speech in Johannesburg in July 2018 honouring Nelson Mandela, was acutely correct when he stated that the rise of populist movements had helped spark a global boom for the “politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment” that pave a path to authoritarianism.
“I am not being alarmist. I am just stating facts,” he said. His warning should have run loudly through the halls of power. Instead, we’ve seen attacks on the basic fundamental tenets of democracy and the rule of law.
What happened in Brasilia was preceded in the US Capitol riots of 6 January 2021, where extremist groupings and conspiracy-driven movements felt emboldened and empowered to take the law into their own hands.
It is hardly surprising as the similarities between Bolsonaro and Donald Trump are many. Both are proto-fascist fanatics and populists who won elections on the promise to transition their societies from socially liberal into a deeply conservative state — the romanticisation of a bygone era where the nation-state was supreme, where globalisation didn’t exist, and where international trade deals and socioeconomic blocs were but a distant dream.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The danger lies in the size of Brazil’s economy and its role in South America. It is the largest economy on the continent and leads in social and political trends. Hence its democratic compass should be beyond reproach because what happens in Brazil is easily (and often) replicated elsewhere in South America.
Many claim that the rise of right-wing populism is a pendulum reaction to left-wing political “over-correctness”. In Brazil, the very opposite happened on 1 January 2023 with the inauguration of the new democratically elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A left-leaning president was ...
The Wynberg Community Policing Forum in Cape Town has made significant progress in improving the relationship between police and the community. In recognition of this, it was named CPF of the Year at the Western Cape SA Police Service Excellence Awards at the weekend.
Wynberg’s Community Policing Forum (CPF) came out tops at the provincial SAPS Excellence Awards held this past weekend at the Century City Convention Centre.
Anzar Salie, chairperson of the Wynberg CPF, accepted the award. Rafique Foflonker of the Lansdowne CPF and Graham Lindhorst, chairperson of the Bishop Lavis CPF, were the other two nominees in this category.
Speaking after the awards ceremony, Salie said the CPF represented the community’s interests and monitored SAPS service delivery. He emphasised that it was their responsibility to promote the image of the police in the community to foster closer ties.
The quarterly crime statistics for Wynberg, released by the Western Cape SAPS for July to September 2022, show that one case of murder, 40 common assault cases and 11 cases of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm were reported to the police station which covers a busy residential and commercial hub.
Salie has been the chairperson of the Wynberg CPF for a little over a year. He took over from Shamiela Riekus, who is now cluster chairperson. Salie was previously the CPF’s public relations officer.
“I appreciate the award because it shows that SAPS recognises our efforts. At the end of the day, I must commend the executive team who collaborated with me and performed admirably. The award recognises teamwork.”
Explaining why their CPF stands out above other CPFs, Salie said: “I’m one of the people. it’s black and white for me and there’s no grey area. I’m not willing to compromise my morals for the sake of others.
“Whenever a member of the community raises an issue, our CPF will take immediate action to bring the matter to the attention of SAPS. We are committed to maintaining positive relationships between SAPS and our community.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Salie added, “It is also their responsibility to ensure that SAPS provides a service to the communities, and if they do not, it is our responsibility to raise the issue with SAPS management.”
Graham Lindhorst, one of the nominees, is accustomed to seeing bodies in the gang-ravaged Bishop Lavis area.
Last year on Women’s Day, a fast-food outlet in the suburb was closed ...
Hashim Amla, one of South Africa’s greatest players, officially retired from all forms of cricket on Wednesday after a 20-year first-class career.
Most South Africans think Hashim Amla’s career ended with his international retirement in August 2019, but in keeping with his low-profile demeanour, his official retirement came years later.
Amla has been quietly succeeding for Surrey in the English County Championship, helping them to the domestic first-class title in 2022.
But on Wednesday, Amla, who signed for Surrey in 2019 after representing the club as an overseas player in 2013 and 2014, called time on his career.
In his international career, Amla amassed 18,672 runs across all three formats for the Proteas after his debut in 2004.
Astounding stats
His overall numbers are simply jaw-dropping. He scored 34,102 runs in all formats in his professional career.
The 39-year-old hit 9,282 runs and 28 hundreds in 124 Test matches, at an average of 46.64. His Test run total is second only to Jacques Kallis for South Africa.
Amla also scored 8,113 runs and 27 hundreds in 181 One-Day Internationals and 1,277 runs in 44 T20Is. In the three international formats combined, he scored 55 centuries and 88 half centuries.
Amla became South Africa’s first triple-centurion during Day 4 of the Test Match between England and South Africa at Surrey’s home ground, The Oval, on 22 July 2012.
‘Great memories’
“I have great memories of the Oval ground, and to finally leave it as a player fills me with immense gratitude for what has been,” Amla said.
“A sincere thank you to Alec Stewart and the entire Surrey staff, players and members for their support. The Surrey ship runs so professionally that it would make any international player feel a sense of honour just to be involved with. I wish them all the best and many more trophies.”
After signing for Surrey in 2019, Amla has brought his invaluable experience to the club and helped support Captain Rory Burns as part of the leadership group within the dressing room.
He scored five more centuries in his final two seasons, including 215 not out against Hampshire.
His skill, resilience and dogged determination with the bat was typified by an innings of 37 runs from 278 balls at the Ageas Bowl against Hampshire in 2021.
That defiant rearguard earned Surrey an unlikely draw in the County Championship and was indicative of Amla’s commitment to doing what was necessary for the team at any given moment.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page ...
Can we find a way to support human-elephant conflict mitigation and coexistence at the local level, enable people around the world to enjoy viewing elephants, and at the same time enable the elephants to continue their natural lives undisrupted? An innovative win-win solution is proposed here, based on selling the rights for zoo visitors to view elephants via webcams.
At the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Conference of the Parties (COP) 19 in November 2022, it was decided — with the support of a great majority of the parties — to place a temporary moratorium on live elephant exports from Africa, and to enter a dialogue to try to find common ground on the issue.
This temporary moratorium gives us a unique opportunity to develop an innovative model for a sustainable, non-consumptive use of wildlife as a win-win solution that can benefit all involved, support both conservation and local communities, and defuse this contentious and divisive debate.
Elephants and us
Elephants are an integral part of the lives and culture of people almost everywhere: those living in elephant range states, and those living far away from them.
They obviously play a significant role in the lives of people sharing their natural habitats, but they are also part of the upbringing of people all over the world. They are present in children’s books, films, toys and images.
Those of us who have had the privilege to meet elephants in their natural habitats in the wild, and felt that overwhelming sense of awe at the sight — and even those who were only exposed to books, articles or films describing elephants’ complex social behaviour and incredible intelligence — cannot avoid feeling sad or at least uncomfortable to see an elephant locked in a zoo enclosure, far from the wide open spaces of savannahs or forests in Africa or Asia, in the company of family members, where these magnificent species belong.
Those who cohabit with elephants and suffer from devastating damages to their crops and a danger to their lives, on the other hand, have their own views on them, deeply embedded not only in their daily life experiences, but also in their cultural heritage.
Can we all jointly find a way to support human-elephant conflict mitigation and coexistence at the local level, enable people around the world to enjoy viewing elephants, and at the same time enable the elephants to continue their natural lives undisrupted?
Zoos and wildlife ...
The past week has seen two sections of the Cape Town coast closed to the public — Hout Bay Beach and Dalebrook Tidal Pool. While both have since reopened, the incidents are part of a pattern of sewage-related closures spanning the city’s seafront.
Beach closures continue to be a problem in Cape Town, with two brief closures reported in the past week. Hout Bay Beach and the Dalebrook Tidal Pool closed on 10 January because of sewer overflows.
The closure at Dalebrook Tidal Pool, which ran until 13 January, was the second there this month. The first occurred between 7 and 9 January and was also caused by a sewer overflow, according to the City of Cape Town.
During closures, signage is put up to warn visitors of the risks involved in making contact with the water, as exposure to sewage can result in gastrointestinal issues.
Cape Town City Health takes water samples daily for quality testing and the area is reopened once the pollution levels are within the minimum requirement for recreational activities prescribed by the National Water Quality Guidelines.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Cape Town sees 10 beach closures in two months during bumper holiday season”
Hout Bay Beach reopened on 14 January. The city said the overflow at the stormwater-to-sewer diversion chamber in the area was caused by blockages in the sewer reticulation pipes and bulk stormwater pipe. The blockages consisted of foreign objects, including tins, litter, stones, cutlery and pieces of animal carcasses.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The city’s roads and infrastructure management and water and sanitation departments collectively addressed the blockage and cleaned the stormwater-to-sewer low-flow diversion chambers,” said the city.
Eddie Andrews, Cape Town deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment, has warned that the dumping of objects in the sewer and stormwater systems creates blockages and overflows, causing sewage to end up in coastal waters and recreational areas. DM/MC
South Africa’s one-time top cop Jackie Selebi once beat Mexico’s Genaro Garcia Luna to become president of a global police agency, Interpol. Selebi later became a convict after cosying up to a drug dealer, while Garcia Luna is now on trial in the US for allegedly taking bribes from the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
On 8 October 2004, the international police organisation Interpol issued a statement announcing that South Africa’s national police commissioner, Jackie Selebi, was its new president.
He beat Genaro Garcia Luna, who at the time was the head of Mexico’s Federal Agency of Investigation, reportedly by a vote of 89 to 31.
Luna was, however, still elected as an Interpol delegate for the Americas. As part of Interpol, which is involved in investigations including tracing fugitives across the world, both men were in prominent global crime-fighting positions.
The two may well have interacted and shared tips.
This would have made sense because South Africa and Mexico, known for violence associated with the drug trade, have fairly similar crime crises. According to the 2022 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Report, Strategic Organized Crime Risk Assessment South Africa, crime in this country has even surpassed that in Mexico.
From top cops to (suspected) criminals
While wearing the global Interpol crime fighter cap from 2004, Selebi was also South Africa’s police chief from 2000 to 2008.
Fast-forward to 2010, when Selebi — who claimed detractors set him up in a move to discredit him — was found guilty of corruption in South Africa.
The country’s once highest-ranking police officer was convicted and sent to jail in a case that focused on his dodgy dealings — including bribe-taking — with a drug dealer.
Meanwhile, from 2001 to 2005, Garcia Luna headed Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency, and from 2006 to 2012 he was Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security (US authorities later said that in this position he controlled Mexico’s Federal Police Force).
In 2019, Garcia Luna was arrested in Texas in the US for alleged high-level corruption, and Mexico’s former police service supervisor became a criminal suspect.
He is currently on trial in New York — jury selection continued this week — for allegedly protecting and taking piles of money from his country’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexico | As the architect of the so-called “war on drugs” launched in 2006 by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón with the full backing of the United States, Genaro García Luna won’t be the only one scrutinized during trial.
InSight ...
A second case of the highly transmissible Covid-19 subvariant XBB.1.5 has been found in South Africa, but the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Wednesday that there was nothing to indicate that either symptoms or severity would be different from those caused by other subvariants.
A second case of XBB.1.5, described as the most transmittable Covid-19 subvariant yet, has been found in the Western Cape.
The first case was identified by scientists at Stellenbosch University in the first week of January. As this was found in a random, unidentified sample, no information was available on where the patient came from.
Dr Nicole Wolter from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said there was no South African data on symptoms and severity caused by this subvariant, as only two cases of XBB.1.5 had been reported in SA to date.
She said data from other countries where XBB.1.5 is circulating more widely indicate that the symptoms and severity of infection from XBB.1.5 are not different from that of previously circulating Omicron sublineages.
The current dominant Covid-19 subvariant in South Africa is Omicron lineage BQ.1, which has been increasing in prevalence in South Africa since October 2022. The NICD has said that given its transmissibility, XBB.1.5 might take over as the dominant strain in South Africa.
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BQ.1 and its associated sublineages are a descendant of Omicron BA.5 and are also circulating in other countries around the world.
In October 2022, the World Health Organization’s technical advisory group (TAG-VE) decided against declaring BQ.1 as a separate variant of concern, saying it was too similar to Omicron.
At the time, it had a prevalence of 6%. It has been detected in 65 countries. TAG-VE said BQ.1 showed significant growth advantages over other subvariants, making a higher reinfection risk a possibility that needed further investigation.
The TAG-VE reiterated that, at the time, there was no data to suggest an increase in disease severity.
Wolter said the public health guidance remained unchanged.
“The most important preventative measure remains Covid-19 vaccination and staying up to date with recommended boosters as per the National Department of Health guidelines. If individuals wish to further reduce their risk of infection with Covid-19 and other respiratory pathogens, they may choose to avoid large gatherings, particularly in areas with poor ventilation, and to wear masks.
“The minister of health, Dr Joe Phaahla, said last week that no new lockdown or regulations relating to ...
Between October and December 2022, measles outbreaks were declared in five provinces, but on Wednesday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said it was seeing a decrease in cases for a third consecutive week. However, concerns remain about whether the reopening of schools will reverse this trend.
Since October 2022, measles outbreaks have been declared in Limpopo (145 cases), Mpumalanga (79), North West (125), Gauteng (18) and the Free State (15), but the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday it was now seeing a decrease in cases nationally.
Data on severity or mortality is not available yet.
In 382 of the 397 cases identified up to 12 January, the patients were diagnosed when they were treated in hospital.
On Wednesday, the NICD’s latest report showed that the number of measles cases had decreased for a third consecutive week. It says the ongoing outbreak indicates that South Africa’s vaccination levels are low.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. The World Health Organization’s standard for declaring a measles outbreak is three cases occurring within a specific district.
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The most common symptoms are fever and a rash that looks like small, flat, red spots that do not form blisters. Other symptoms include a cough, conjunctivitis and a runny nose.
The virus can cause severe complications such as encephalitis (an infection in the brain) as well as blindness, diarrhoea and dehydration. It can be deadly, and infants under two years of age are most at risk.
Read in Daily Maverick: “National Institute for Communicable Diseases calls for vigilance as schools reopen amidst measles outbreak”
The report says that decreasing cases could indicate a waning outbreak. It could also suggest that there had been a decrease in patients seeking help, or fewer tests submitted by clinicians.
The data in the report was collected up to 12 January, a day before schools reopened.
“Clinicians should be on high alert as the opening of schools may lead to localised outbreaks where vaccination rates are suboptimal. Caregivers and parents are advised to review their child’s vaccination records and confirm that they have received the measles vaccine.
“It is never too late to vaccinate — children who have not been vaccinated may receive the measles vaccine at any age over six months, free of charge at primary health services,” the report concludes. DM/MC
Within five hours of a policeman being killed in Khayelitsha, Constable Kwayo Louw apprehended two suspects. His swift work was recognised at the weekend when he received the Western Province SAPS Man of the Year award.
Constable Kwayo Louw, from the Western Province flying squad, has been recognised as the Man of the Year in the Western Cape by his police colleagues.
Louw received the award at the Western Cape SAPS Excellence Awards held at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town on Saturday. Criteria for this category included achievement, performance, or contributions that had a significant impact on and/or added value to service delivery.
Louw ticked all the boxes, according to the judges. He received the award for his swift response in arresting two suspects after the murder of a fellow police officer.
Constable Mzuvukile Mhlengi was shot dead outside his home in Philippi East, Cape Town, in April 2021. The suspects fled in his private vehicle.
Louw was among the officers scouring the streets for the suspects, and along with a colleague, arrested two suspects within five hours of the murder.
At the ceremony, while the men were asked to wear black and white, Louw stood out in his powder-blue suit.
“We found a vehicle and arrested two suspects within five hours of the murder. We also obtained video footage. This was quite an accomplishment, and I’m glad we were able to apprehend the suspects in such a short period of time,” said Louw.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Catch of the year: Massive cocaine bust nets top Western Cape ‘narco’ cops high honour”
“This dedication is expected of [the] men and women in blue. Police officers should not only respond quickly when it comes to their own officers, but also to all citizens in need of assistance. This job is a calling.”
He said it took time to process the killing of a fellow officer, but that every day police officers performed their duties while aware of the risks.
“To put on this uniform, you know what you’re getting yourself into and what to expect. You can’t say you’re scared, because you do everything with passion.”
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His view is consistent with what Gift of the Givers chairperson Dr Imtiaz Sooliman told officers during a speech at the awards ceremony: “Police work is more than a job; it is a calling.”
A total of 22 police officers were killed from July ...
Succulent, cooked all the way to the bone, with superbly crispy skin. That’s chicken thigh perfection. And the best way to achieve it is in an air fryer.
Welcome to AirFryday, our new regular air fryer recipe slot. For the first edition, it had to be chicken. And if it had to be chicken, it occurred to me that the best way to kick off had to be those delicious little morsels all chicken fans love: the humble chicken thigh.
I’ve loved chicken thighs ever since the seventies, when I’d go over the road to my friend Ladas Hylen’s house and she’d be cooking chicken thighs in the oven. Often, I’d be invited to join the table, and I’ve been a fan of these succulent joys of moreishness ever since.
This recipe is in four parts (don’t worry, it’s not daunting): two cooks at 180℃ for six minutes each, then 6 minutes at 200℃, plus a final quick crisp-up of the skin and crumb. That’s 21 minutes in total, so if you make the crumb first and prepare the thighs, you’ll be eating in under half an hour.
The first session has the thighs skin-side down, the next skin-side up, and the third skin-side up after spooning a crumb on top. If I say they were utterly perfect, believe me, they were. What do you want from a chicken thigh? Meat that is tender but not pink at the bone. And crispy, delicious skin. A win, on both fronts.
I used cornflake crumbs for the crunchy topping. This is a great product; the texture is fine but very crunchy, which is exactly what you want in a crumb.
(Serves 2, maybe)
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
Cooking oil spray
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp each of ground garlic, galangal or ginger, chilli powder and white pepper
Crumb:
2 Tbsp cornflake crumbs (or similar)
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary needles
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Mix the olive oil, seasoning and spices in a bowl, and toss the thighs in it, very well, so that the thighs are fully coated.
Mix the crumbs with the chopped rosemary, spices and seasoning.
Spray the bottom of the air fryer basket.
Preheat the air fryer to 180℃ for 5 minutes.
Place the thighs in, skin-side down, with a little space between them for air flow.
Cook for 6 minutes at 180℃.
Turn and cook for another 6 minutes at 180℃, skin-side up.
Spoon the crumb on top.
Cook for the next ...
Some people who came as children, and are now bringing their own families, reflect on what’s changed over the years.
It is a hot, Friday afternoon and Heather Solomon and her husband David are spending the last days of their summer holiday at the Milton tidal pool in Sea Point, with their eight-year-old grandson and some friends.
They chose this pool because Saunders Rock, another tidal pool about 1.5km down the street, was too busy. Married for more than 50 years and in their early seventies, they have been coming to the sea here for decades.
Heather grew up in Schotsche Kloof near the mountains. As a child she walked to the beach at Bakoven because that was the beach designated by the apartheid regime for coloured people. Sea Point was all white, she says.
David grew up in Silvertown, Athlone. In the early 1960s, he spent his youth in Kalk Bay. He remembers paying 2½ cents (a “tickey”) to ride a boat around the bay. When he was a child, David says, the family spent the entire day at Kalk Bay and slept underneath the bridge. They camped out with “four poles and blankets”.
Back then “the atmosphere was totally different”, he says, and there were families everywhere. David says at Easter, everyone shared their pickled fish and at Christmas, and they would share watermelon. “We used to camp under the tunnels,” he says.
Today, they live in Bonteheuwel, far from the mountains and the ocean. It cost the three of them R84 for a bus and taxi to get to the pool.
“It’s pricey. and you must still have something to eat,” says David.
They prefer the tidal pools because it’s safer for children. “You can see where they are. You can see what they’re doing,” he says.
This summer many of the tidal pools on the Cape Town coastline had to be closed at various times because of pollution from sewerage failures. According to the City of Cape Town, electricity blackouts at the pump stations are mostly to blame.
On the other side of the peninsula, Umar Ebrahim and Aqeel McKnight are deliberating over whether to get into the water at the Dalebrook tidal pool in St James. It is late afternoon, a chill wind is up, and waves are battering the outer walls of the pool. A bright yellow sign erected by the City of Cape Town reads: “WARNING: polluted water, unfit for swimming, playing or ...
From ChatGPT to Lensa, it feels like AI is here to take over. But despite some impressive results, such systems still have plenty of limitations.
These days, we don’t have to wait long until the next breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) impresses everyone with capabilities that previously belonged only in science fiction.
In 2022, AI art generation tools such as Open AI’s DALL-E 2, Google’s Imagen, and Stable Diffusion took the internet by storm, with users generating high-quality images from text descriptions.
Unlike previous developments, these text-to-image tools quickly found their way from research labs to mainstream culture, leading to viral phenomena such as the “Magic Avatar” feature in the Lensa AI app, which creates stylised images of its users.
In December, a chatbot called ChatGPT stunned users with its writing skills, leading to predictions the technology will soon be able to pass professional exams. ChatGPT reportedly gained one million users in less than a week. Some school officials have already banned it for fear students would use it to write essays. Microsoft is reportedly planning to incorporate ChatGPT into its Bing web search and Office products later this year.
What does the unrelenting progress in AI mean for the near future? And is AI likely to threaten certain jobs in the following years?
Despite these impressive recent AI achievements, we need to recognise there are still significant limitations to what AI systems can do.
AI excels at pattern recognition
Recent advances in AI rely predominantly on machine learning algorithms that discern complex patterns and relationships from vast amounts of data. This training is then used for tasks like prediction and data generation.
The development of current AI technology relies on optimising predictive power, even if the goal is to generate new output.
For example, GPT-3, the language model behind ChatGPT, was trained to predict what follows a piece of text. GPT-3 then leverages this predictive ability to continue an input text given by the user.
“Generative AIs” such as ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 have sparked much debate about whether AI can be genuinely creative and even rival humans in this regard. However, human creativity draws not only on past data but also on experimentation and the full range of human experience.
Cause and effect
Many important problems require predicting the effects of our actions in complex, uncertain, and constantly changing environments. By doing this, we can choose the sequence of actions most likely to achieve our goals.
But algorithms cannot learn about causes ...
In my humble opinion all three novels, and now Black and Female, should be essential reading in schools, universities and households throughout the world. For art’s sake they are important for those who love a finely created human tale. But in an era where Dangarembga correctly believes that decolonising our minds has an existential urgency, they are vital thought-guides to undoing the damage of two centuries of Enlightenment racism and patriarchy.
In August 2022, acclaimed Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga published her first book of non-fiction, simply titled Black and Female. As if confirming her lament about the challenges of “writing while black and female” (the title of an astoundingly powerful second essay in the book), the book’s quality seems to have been largely overlooked by reviewers in southern Africa.
Yet, for this reader at least, Black and Female offers one of the most searing analyses of colonialism, racism, and their intersectionality that I have ever read. It felt to me like a companion to I Write What I Like, developing themes that Steve Biko had aired in his writings on black consciousness, but representing them 50 years later through the personal experiences and observations of a black woman, Dangarembga.
Reading Black and Female also caused me to pull Dangarembga’s trilogy of books about the life of tragic heroine Tambudzai Sigauke back off my bookshelf and to want to touch, feel and peer into that remarkable collection of novels once more.
I had last read Dangarembga in 2020. The year before, Jacana had published This Mournable Body, the final in a trilogy of novels set in former Rhodesia and then post-independence Zimbabwe. The three novels unfold the life and thoughts of its central character: the child, girl and later woman Tambudzai Sigauke.
In 2020, This Mournable Body had been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, but came runner-up to Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain. In a review I wrote early in 2021 I was effusive about Shuggie Bain and despite fair criticism that great African writers are overlooked for the Booker, or made to share the prize in the case of Bernardine Evaristo (because of what Dangarembga calls a “queasiness about black women’s imagination”?), I felt Shuggie Bain to be a worthy winner.
(A history of African writers and the Booker is here).
But after reading This Mournable Body I was no longer so sure. Having acquired a taste for the world and worldview of Tambudzai, I went on ...
Rafael Nadal hobbled to defeat in the second round of the Australian Open, raising speculation that it might have been his last appearance at Melbourne Park.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Australian Open second round on Wednesday after aggravating a hip problem during his 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald.
This is the Spaniard’s latest entry in an injury-blighted history at Melbourne Park.
Nadal’s elimination shakes up the men’s draw and puts a twist in the Grand Slam titles race, with nine-times champion Novak Djokovic able to draw level with the Spaniard’s 22 major championships should he take a 10th crown at Melbourne Park.
Nadal tweaked his left hip while running for a backhand in the second set in Rod Laver Arena, and after inspection from a trainer when trailing 6-4 5-3, he went off-court for a medical time-out.
He returned grim-faced to play out the match, but his movement was clearly affected, particularly on his backhand side, paving the way for McDonald to end the Spaniard’s bid for a third title at Melbourne Park.
Nadal said the hip had bothered him for a couple of days but nowhere near to the extent of Wednesday’s match.
“I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s (the) joint,” he told reporters. I have a history (of) hip issues. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little. (It) was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move.”
In the 2018 Australian Open, Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set of his quarterfinal against Marin Cilic while trailing 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-0 because of a hip injury.
Before Nadal broke down on Wednesday, hard-hitting McDonald had played superbly to take the first set, going toe-to-toe with the 36-year-old Mallorcan and winning most of the baseline exchanges.
If there were any demons from their only previous meeting, a straight-sets thrashing by Nadal at the 2020 French Open, McDonald erased them on the Rod Laver Arena hard-court.
“He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation, so even closing it out against a top guy like that is always tough,” said McDonald.
“I was trying to stay so focused on what I was doing and he kind of got me out of that with what he was doing.”
Nadal returned to court after his time-out to a big ovation and earned more cheers when he held serve.
Visit ...
As the Formula E season opened, there was everything to race for in Mexico City, and some drama mixed in.
Season nine of the Formula E World Championship kicked off last weekend in Mexico City, where 40,000 fans gathered to watch 22 all-electric cars vie for victory.
Not only did the race in the oldest capital city in the Americas mark the beginning of the next season of exciting racing, but it was also the debut race for the Gen3 cars, ushering in a new era of the championship with faster cars and a revamped set of regulations.
As the sun rose on race day, there was everything to play for on one of the fastest circuits on the calendar at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
At 2,250m above sea level, the drivers would soon sweep through the chicanes, blast down the straights and take a quick dance around Foro Sol stadium.
Mahindra Racing’s Lucas di Grassi and Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis battled it out into the final qualifying stage, but it was the Brazilian Di Grassi who pulled out the quickest time, earning him the first pole position of the year. Rookie Dennis Hughes in the papaya NEOM McLaren car put on an impressive display, lining up P3 on the grid on his debut.
Di Grassi had a clean getaway off the line, holding onto his lead as the pack made its way through the first turn, but Dennis was on his heels. The Brit’s moment came at lap 12 as he slipped past on the inside of Di Grassi for the lead.
While the Mahindra driver fought to regain his lead, Dennis was unstoppable after that, pulling away from the pack.
Meanwhile, Tag Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, who had qualified sixth, was climbing up the grid, and eventually made the move on Di Grassi for second place on lap 29.
Come the chequered flag, Dennis pulled off a comfortable victory as he picked up the fastest lap and came home a massive seven seconds ahead of Wehrlein, followed by Di Grassi who finished off the podium.
“It was such a physical race. These cars are so hard to drive physically and with the lower grip as well, it makes everything more challenging. But it’s even more rewarding, especially when you win by [seven] seconds,” Dennis said after the race.
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“My team and I have such a good relationship together. We ...
Tim Cohen in conversation with Investec Bank South Africa CEO Richard Wainwright and Investec Bank UK CEO Ruth Leas at the World Economic Forum
The Independent Examinations Board matric results are out and almost 90% of the class of 2022 have obtained entry to tertiary study. The Department of Basic Education is expected to release the highly anticipated public schools results on Thursday.
Despite completing their final year of high school amid increased rolling blackouts, which made it difficult to study and posed a threat to writing exams, the IEB class of 2022 achieved an exceptional 98.42% – a slight (0.03%) improvement on 2021’s pass rate.
At least 12,580 full-time and 945 part-time candidates sat for the IEB national certificate exams in October and November 2022 across 232 examination centres and 267 venues across southern Africa. Reportedly, 12,857 full-time and 968 part-time candidates took the exams in 2021.
Nearly 90% of them (89.32%) achieved entry to degree study at tertiary level, compared with 89.2% in 2021, while 7.52% qualified for diploma study and 1.57% for study at the Higher Certificate level.
According to IEB chief executive Anne Oberholzer, the pass rate for the class of 2022 is “outstanding” despite the many challenges faced by candidates.
“The performance of the 2022 cohort of students has been outstanding. There is enough credible research on the impact of Covid-19 on the educational aspects of children to provide insight into where we are at, in coming out of the pandemic almost three years later. It is fair to say that it is the 2022 cohort of learners that was hardest hit by the impact of the pandemic when it broke in 2020 in their Grade 10 year.”
In addition to the challenges that followed two years of battling the Covid-19 pandemic, the matric class of 2022 faced increased rolling blackouts which made it difficult to study and posed a threat to the writing of exams.
When the pandemic hit in 2020 they were in Grade 10, an important transition year into Further Education and Training Phase (FET) which was disrupted by unprecedented changes – rotational attendance, sporadic school closures and days off for specific grades, which resulted in children losing most of their learning time and others reportedly dropping out.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Oberholzer added: “While the class of 2022 has seen how previous Grade 12 classes of 2020 and 2021 managed to adapt to a new reality, this was the class that missed out the most in their Grade 10 and Grade 11 years, which are fundamentally important ...
Bread made with chimichurri is popular in Argentina where the intensely flavoured sauce itself is served with braaied meat. I took the idea and turned it into a very South African potbrood.
You need to first make a batch of chimichurri, the green salsa whose chief ingredient is fresh parsley, and the herb is in its element right now, so it’s a good time to make it. My oregano bush is wild with growth, and that’s the second herb in chimichurri. Equally key to a good chimichurri are garlic and chillies, and of course olive oil and coarse salt and pepper, though I chose to leave out the red wine vinegar that is normally in it. This is because I was not using it as a sauce, but as the aromatic component of a loaf of bread, and I don’t think vinegar would have been a good idea for that.
For the sauce:
Ingredients
1 cup parsley, very finely chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, picked from their stems and finely chopped (or use 2 tsp dried oregano)
2 red chillies, chopped
Half a cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt, a generous amount, to taste
Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Method
Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jug and stir. Do not blend.
For the dough:
Ingredients
1 kg white bread wheat flour or cake flour
10 g instant dried yeast
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups lukewarm water (a little more if necessary)
1 cup chimichurri made without vinegar (see above)
Olive oil for brushing the dough before cooking
Method
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and stir very well with a wooden spoon. Only stir in the salt after this so that it does not neutralise the yeast.
Add lukewarm water a little at a time, while kneading the dough, until it is all combined.
Continue folding and kneading until it is a nice plump ball of dough and not too sticky. Work a little more flour in if it’s too sticky; a little more water if too dry.
Leave the ball of dough in the bowl, cover with a slightly damp tea towel, and put it in a warm place for 20 minutes. It was a hot day so I put it on a chair in the yard.
Make a fire so that you’ll have coals when needed.
Once the dough has had its first rise, knead the dough again for a minute or two, folding and turning. Flatten it ...
Social media companies bent their own rules in favour of former president Donald Trump and his supporters in the volatile weeks preceding the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, according to an unpublished staff report from the House’s 6 January committee.
The 122-page “Summary of Investigative Findings”, which was obtained and posted by the Washington Post, analyses testimony from employees and documents received from tech companies including Twitter and Meta. It details how the companies failed to adequately address the calls to violence and election-related conspiracy theories circulating online after the 2020 presidential election.
“Both Facebook and Twitter faced significant headwinds in taking aggressive action against problematic content by President Trump and his supporters, partly out of fear that they would be classified as overly partisan,” according to the report.
The committee’s findings contradict complaints from conservative politicians that social media companies are biassed against right-wing users. Leaders of the new Republican majority in the House have vowed to investigate allegations of ideological discrimination, using congressional hearings and, if necessary, subpoenas to probe content moderation decisions.
The leak of the document comes as Facebook’s parent company, Meta, decides whether to allow the former president back on its platforms. Twitter reactivated Trump’s account in November after Elon Musk, the company’s new owner and chief executive, polled his followers on whether Trump should be reinstated. Trump hasn’t tweeted since his initial suspension after his supporters attacked the US Capitol two years ago.
The report covers the shortfalls of other platforms, including mainstream companies such as Google’s YouTube and Reddit Inc. as well as those with a smaller user base such as Parler and Gab. The panel’s investigators interviewed technology industry executives and law enforcement and intelligence officials, along with Trump aides and Republican election officials.
A spokeswoman for Representative Bennie Thompson, the Democratic chairman of the panel, didn’t respond to a request for comment or confirm the authenticity of the document.
The report said that Trump’s tweet on 19 December encouraged supporters to come to Washington on 6 January – “Be there, will be wild!” – was a transformative moment across social media, changing the tenor of the conversation online to explicit planning for the event. Plans for violence were telegraphed on both far-right forums and mainstream platforms, which pushed 6 January as a critical day in the Stop the Steal movement, the report said.
The report provides examples of Twitter managers failing to act on employee warnings about heated ...
The Wellth Fund will give all Discovery Health Medical Scheme members one-off access to as much as R10,000 per family for an expanded range of screening and preventative healthcare to be used over the next two years.
Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) is going on the offensive against preventable diseases, using unprecedented reserves to launch a Wellth Fund. The medical aid scheme deferred increases for the third year running and has promised that the average contribution increase to kick in from 1 April will not exceed 8.9%. The contribution increase will be announced near the end of February.
Because scheme members made fewer claims over the past three years, with many avoiding doctors and hospitals on the back of Covid concerns, a number of medical schemes have seen a resultant increase in their scheme reserves.
DHMS CEO Dr Ryan Noach says the deferral of the 2023 contribution increase had generated an additional R1.9-billion in savings for members, bringing the cumulative member savings (returned to members from excess solvency) over the past three years close to R8.7-billion.
In addition to these savings, the scheme is launching a Wellth Fund to use the excess reserves. Noach confirmed that Discovery Health’s data clearly showed screening rates among members remained worryingly below pre-pandemic rates. General health checks were down 50%, mammograms down 15%, pap smears down 12% and prostate cancer screening checks were down 10%.
“The time has come to focus our attention on reversing this trend,” he added. “When it comes to diseases such as cancer or any form of chronic illness, early detection is fundamental to limiting serious complications and reducing costs in the long term.
“Our data confirms that on average, a person diagnosed at the age of 40 with an early-stage breast cancer has a three times higher likelihood of surviving for five years post-diagnosis.”
The Wellth Fund will give all Discovery Health Medical Scheme members one-off access to as much as R10,000 per family for an expanded range of screening and preventative healthcare to be used over the next two years.
Noach said this was the best possible use of the scheme’s excess solvency reserves, noting that the decision was economically astute, since an improvement in members’ health means a long-term and lasting reduction in claims, with a nine-fold return on investment for funding the screening and preventive healthcare offered through the fund.
How it works
You activate the Wellth Fund by completing a health check at Dis-Chem, Clicks, ...
South African mining production fell 9% in the year to November, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, mineral sales fell more than 15% over the same period, pointing to cooling commodity prices. These are the latest signs of the sector’s long-term decline in the face of unreliable power and a litany of other woes.
On an annual basis, the 9% fall in South African mining output in November points to an overall contraction in output for 2022. The Minerals Council SA, the main industry group representing mining companies, said last week that it estimated South African mining production declined 6% last year.
November marked the 10th consecutive monthly annual output decline in the sector, and it was the first month since June in which mineral sales fell on a yearly basis. Annual mineral sales had been rising, even as output fell, because of prices and time lags between output and sales.
it was the fourth consecutive month-on-month decline for both numbers.
With the two now dropping in tandem, the next spate of mining results will likely, with some exceptions, show shrinking profits — and this in turn will be reflected in lower tax and royalty revenues for strained state coffers.
It also doesn’t bode well for South Africa’s trade surplus or current account balance, with negative implications for the rand’s exchange rate against major currencies.
The declines have been broadly across the board.
The steepest stemmed from platinum group metals, which saw output tumble 22% in the year to November. In the past, this was a sign of things such as labour strife, but this is not currently a factor given that the major producers all have recent five-year wage deals in hand.
But the power crisis, Transnet’s worsening performance, flare-ups of social unrest and policy paralysis are all undermining the once towering sector.
On a monthly basis, production fell 0.4% and 1.9% in the three months to the end of November. This will weigh on the fourth quarter gross domestic product figure.
“Load shedding occurred sporadically throughout the final months of 2022, which suggests a meaningful recovery in output is unlikely. While manufacturing recovered lost ground in November, mining’s performance thus far in Q4 has been disappointing, and the sector will likely weigh on overall GDP growth during the final quarter of 2022,” Jee-A van der Linde, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said in a note on the data.
Looking ahead, the Minerals Council has warned that the ...
Will it be business as usual when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday pays his first visit to South Africa since his country invaded Ukraine almost a year ago?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in Pretoria on Monday while Russia’s military is raining missiles and other munitions on Ukrainian cities, apparently targeting civilians and certainly targeting civilian infrastructure such as power stations, in an apparent attempt to destroy the country’s morale.
These attacks may constitute war crimes, many observers say. But the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Tuesday merely said that the minister of international relations and cooperation, Naledi Pandor, would host Lavrov “for bilateral talks”.
Earlier, when asked by Russian television whether South Africa would attend the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, Pandor did not hesitate, saying: “When we are invited through the African Union, we do tend to attend all summits that involve our African leaders.
“And Russia being such a friend of South Africa, I can’t imagine that we wouldn’t participate. So this second summit will be an important meeting that South Africa should play a role in.”
Business as usual
So it seems to be business as usual between Pretoria and Moscow. But is this the right time for business as usual?
“That depends entirely on your point of view, of course,” says Russian expert Irina Filatova, professor emeritus at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
“I think that South African policy is wrong not only from the moral perspective but from the point of view of its own interest because it has very little trade with Russia.
“It hasn’t got much economically from Russia. It is purely for historical reasons and also the future reasons, because of the view that Russia is actually offering and promoting, and which I think South Africa is actually subscribing to — at least some people are subscribing to — that the multipolar world which both South Africa and Russia and many other African countries are pining for is going to be better than the domination of the West.
“That is a kind of common cause which China and Russia and South Africa support. So the close relations in that respect are explainable. So, business as usual? It depends who you are. The South African government is obviously of the point of view that it’s all alright.”
Naval exercise
Filatova sees the visit in the context not only of the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit, which she says Russia ...
As President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired another day of back-to-back meetings on Tuesday to bring the power crisis under control, government sources have said that sabotage for political ends is at play.
Since December, and after Eskom CEO André de Ruyter resigned, power cuts have ramped up, with generating units at power stations dropping like flies. This has created a political crisis for President Cyril Ramaphosa, who routed the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction of his party at the party’s Nasrec convention but could be taken out by the electricity crisis. It is kneecapping the economy and pushing millions of people and businesses into more severe hardship.
“We are entering a dangerous place. People are playing Russian roulette with infrastructure,” said a senior government official who could not speak on the record. The official said there had been jubilation at power stations when De Ruyter resigned in December, “when he tried to expose shenanigans at power stations. Politics can trump the national interest.”
Multiple sources in government and the Presidency have told Daily Maverick since December that there is sabotage of the national grid to push back against the transition from a coal-based energy system to a multisourced power grid with a focus on renewables.
South Africa has won kudos for the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) signed at COP27 in Egypt in 2022, one of two big energy transition plans in the developing world funded by rich countries. The transition has accelerated, but so has opposition from political and business interests invested in a coal economy where mining, trucking, maintenance and procurement fortunes have been made in one generation, all reliant on Eskom’s monopoly.
“If you can create an emergency situation, it allows Eskom power stations to follow emergency procurement,” explained a business leader.
De Ruyter had to go because he tried to dismantle his own coal monopoly, the first Eskom CEO to do so.
“PG should be next, they believe,” said the government source. “PG” is the acronym for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. A different source in the Presidency read the moment as a “plan to bring down the economy and show up the Ramaphosa administration”.
Crisis talks fail
Ramaphosa failed to win the support of a multiparty front to tackle the problem after meetings on Monday, January 16.
The EFF immediately issued a media release slamming plans to take co-responsibility for blackouts and co-create a solution — Ramaphosa’s go-to position in a crisis.
The Democratic Alliance ...
Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is the sheer number of people who sincerely believe, like Zuma himself, that he has never been a corrupt politician but is, instead, the victim of a corrupt political and legal system.
There are some things we now know which we did not know until recently.
We now know that the failure of such a lot of our infrastructure is not just the result of ineptitude and corruption, but also, in all probability, the effect of deliberate sabotage.
Which brings us to my first question: is there a faction in the ruling party, and among its supporters, that is actively trying to destroy South Africa as a developed and developing state?
If so, why?
Are they actually trying to turn back the clock, to return, so to speak, to this country as it existed before the arrival of the settlers?
Is that even possible? If so, how?
This question, I’m afraid, should be asked in tandem with another question, a question which, to be truthful, has bothered me for years.
It is: why is Jacob Zuma still so popular among large segments of our population?
Oh, I know, I know, the mainstream media is trying hard to downplay the effects of the Zuma faction. They are trying to do this, in part, because of expediency – one shouldn’t give too much publicity to this kind of madness – but also because they cannot really believe it could be true.
The fact that Jacob Zuma is, after all these years, still a free man is a terrible reflection of the present state of South Africa.
The fact that Jacob Zuma is, after all these years, still a free man is nothing short of an insult to the principles of accountability, and every idea of rightness and fairness in existence on this planet.
Read in Daily Maverick: “South Africa is running on empty. And so, a different kind of Black Friday looms”
Not only is Jacob Zuma still a free man, but he also seems to have the support of a sizeable part of the South African populace.
Not only does he have their support. He has commanded, and still commands, apparent blind allegiance and hero worship bordering on the fanatical.
In the eyes of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of my fellow South Africans, Jacob Zuma is some kind of a messiah. He has, inexplicably, become the symbol of brave resistance to some real or imagined oppression which only exists ...
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would back Ukraine — and coordinate decisions on delivering battle tanks with allies — but would ensure that a direct conflict between Russia and Nato was avoided.
‘We support Ukraine as long as it is necessary, with all the means that we can use, but also always avoiding that this war is escalating” into a direct Russia-Nato conflict, Scholz said in an interview on Tuesday with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.
The German leader said he was in talks with allies over potentially supplying heavy tanks to Ukraine, but said any announcements would have to come in lockstep with others.
Key developments
Scholz sees Germany avoiding recession with new gas supplies
Putin’s cash flood from exports slows amid curbs on oil, gas
Russian sanctions will take years to bare teeth, EBRD says
Scholz nominates Pistorius as Germany’s next defence minister
US tanks to Ukraine would help Germany send Leopard, Habeck says
On the ground
Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near more than 20 settlements, including Soledar and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region over the past day, the General Staff said on Facebook.
According to the statement, Russian forces conducted two missile and seven air strikes, as well as more than 70 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems over the past day.
Six Russian missile carriers capable of launching a total of 44 Kalibr missiles are deployed in the Black sea, Ukrainian military spokeswoman Natalia Humenyuk said on television.
Scholz says any tank decision to be taken with allies
The German chancellor, who is under pressure to deliver Leopard-2 battle tanks to Kyiv, said any such decision will be taken in close cooperation with US and European allies.
“One message is above all: We always act together with our allies and friends — we are never going alone — because this is necessary in a very difficult situation like this.”
Ukraine’s top commander meets his US counterpart in Poland
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said he met his US counterpart General Mark Milley for the first time in person in Poland.
“I extended my gratitude to General Mark Milley for the unwavering support and assistance provided by the United States of America and allies to Ukraine,” Zaluzhnyi said on his Telegram account.
“I outlined the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine meeting which will accelerate our Victory.”
Finland and Sweden ‘tick all boxes’ to join Nato now, Marin says
Finland and Sweden have both “ticked all the boxes” during their bid to join Nato, ...
Warrant Officer Wendy Lee juggles her life as a single mother with duties to address major social issues confronting the rural community of Herold, near George. Even on her days off, she stops by the office to help. Her dedication was recognised at the weekend when she received the Western Cape top woman police officer award.
Commitment and dedication earned Warrant Officer Wendy Lee the Woman of the Year honours at the Western Cape SAPS Excellence Awards held at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town on Saturday.
Speaking to Daily Maverick shortly after the ceremony, Lee, who is based at Herold satellite police station near George, said: “This award comes as a big surprise. But I couldn’t have done it without an entire team of eight people, including the tea lady. We are motivated and driven by teamwork. Some of our officers were out sick during Covid-19, and those who were on leave came in to work.”
She said the majority of people in the Herold area worked on farms. It was a daily struggle for these impoverished communities to put food on the table, and alcohol abuse was a major issue.
“Our most serious issue is contact crime, which includes murder, rape and domestic violence. The main contributor to crime in our rural area is alcohol,” she said.
Alcohol abuse
Her top priority is to combat the scourge of alcohol, which contributed to rape and domestic violence.
“It is not easy for a woman police officer to continually hear these horrific rape and domestic violence incidents. You sit with the victim and listen to heartbreaking details, which has an emotional impact. However, that is all part of the job. A cop is a teacher, a preacher, a social worker and a nurse.”
Lee’s anti-crime work extends beyond the precinct, to the wider community, where she has been chairperson of the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) for nine years.
“Organising Women’s Day, Youth Day activities, and anything else that will lead to community upliftment is on my long list of community project tasks. And in the office, I look at how we can reduce crime.
“Dealing with alcohol abuse is a constant process and merely telling a person to stop drinking is not the solution. As a police officer, I need to show the mother who is struggling with alcohol other options for dealing with her problem,” she said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and ...
Members of a team dedicated to busting organised crime networks spent weeks away from their families safeguarding a R583-million haul of cocaine found on a fishing vessel off Saldanha Bay in 2021. This earned the team the Catch of the Year honour at the Western Cape SAPS Excellence Awards.
A crack team from the Western Cape Organised Crime Investigation- Narcotics, who secured a R583-million haul of cocaine from a fishing vessel off Saldanha almost two years ago, have been recognised for their hard work at the Western Cape SAPS Excellence Awards.
This year’s provincial awards ceremony was held at the Century City Conference Centre on Saturday under the theme, African Dream. The awards were presented by Western Cape police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile.
The names and photos of the narcotics team cannot be published as their investigation into the “King Coca” bust is ongoing.
Six suspects from Myanmar and four from Bulgaria were arrested in connection with the raid on the fishing vessel.
The cocaine — compressed into 973 blocks — was discovered in black boxes with branding that read, “King Coca”.
Being key evidence, it was vital that the confiscated drugs were safely secured while investigations continued.
“The team spent weeks away from their loved ones and families. Every cocaine block on the vessel was counted, sealed as evidence and sent to the laboratory for analysis. This process was to ensure there was no break in sealing and secure safe storage for trial purposes,” Patekile said of the team’s efforts.
Apart from the Saldanha Bay bust, the narcotics team has made several arrests in other matters connected to organised crime.
When the team’s name was announced as winners of the award, members leapt to their feet with joy. They were competing against the Boland K9 Unit and the SAPS Flying Squad.
Celebrations continued outside the hall, with one member saying, “We couldn’t believe it and we didn’t expect it.” There were emotional moments, with the team hugging one another and tears flowing freely.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one unit member said: “The sacrifices and sleepless nights were worthwhile. We made sure that none of the drugs disappeared and our information gathered was presented to the authorities.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Drugs are one of the most serious issues confronting this country, and they are sold by gangsters and used in drug-related wars. The fight is far from over, and we intend to ramp up our ...
Seven law firms have received instructions to obtain a court order that South Africa’s electricity supply must be stabilised ‘forthwith’.
Eskom and the Department of Public Enterprises have confirmed that they received a lawyer’s letter demanding that they end rolling blackouts or explain why it cannot be done.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said: “Eskom will assess the content of the letter and respond accordingly.”
Richard Mantu, the spokesperson for the Department of Public Enterprises, confirmed that the department had received a letter from Mabuza Attorneys demanding that the department and Eskom make certain undertakings regarding rolling blackouts and the 18.65 % tariff increase granted by SA’s energy regulator, Nersa.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Gatvol citizens threaten Eskom and government with legal action, demand stop to rolling blackouts”
“The department is still considering the letter and seeking legal advice and will respond in due course. We want to assure the public that everything possible is being done to end or minimise load shedding,” he said.
“However, those who are a part of corruption, intimidation and abuse of procurement practices or obstruct the government’s efforts to clean up each power station of such corruption will face the full might of the law.
“All South Africans must unite to eliminate this corruption. At the same time, Eskom is in the process of finalising its plans to take further urgent steps to stabilise the power stations’ performance and reliability.”
Demands set out
The letter, written by attorney Eric Mabuza, set out a number of demands on behalf of clients who are politicians and businesspeople.
Mabuza will be joined by six other law firms that have received instructions to obtain a court order that SA’s electricity supply must be stabilised “forthwith”.
The legal team has indicated it will file papers with the high court unless the government gives this set of undertakings by Friday, 20 January:
No rolling blackouts without procedural fairness and a fair opportunity to make alternative arrangements for affected persons and businesses;
That rolling blackouts will stop with immediate effect, and if not, a full explanation must be provided about why the government is unable to do so;
Alternatively, the government must provide a specific timetable for when rolling blackouts will end;
That the state will develop and make publicly available a clear plan to end rolling blackouts;
That the 18.65% electricity tariff increase granted by Nersa will not be implemented pending the determination of the court challenge;
That the state will explain what the challenges are that ...
Plans for a mega-industrial steel zone in the mineral-rich Limpopo bushveld must be halted until there is a thorough social and environmental assessment of its broader impacts — including the climate crisis, air pollution, habitat destruction and crippling water demands in an arid region.
A legal review set to be heard in the Polokwane High Court, challenging the piecemeal approval process of the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), argues that the development must be halted until full impact assessments are done.
The major component of the special economic zone is a new steel and metallurgical cluster largely financed by Chinese developers, just south of the Zimbabwe border, about 50km from Musina.
The original proposal to power the new metal city development via a 3,300 MW coal-fired power station would consume up to 16% of South Africa’s remaining carbon budget. Now, the plan to use coal has, allegedly, been ditched after Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a policy decision late in 2021 that China would not build any new coal projects abroad.
According to MMSEZ chief executive officer, Lehlogonolo Masoga, plans to burn coal have been “abandoned” in favour of new solar and hydrogen energy sources.
Masoga told City Press in September last year that there were plans to construct a solar plant in partnership with a Chinese company, “which he preferred not to name until a memorandum of understanding had been signed”.
However, whether the coal-burning plans have in fact been abandoned remains to be seen, as the original project rationale was tied inextricably to the proximity of new coal mining fields in the adjoining Soutpansberg region.
According to MMSEZ’s own environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, a previous feasibility study estimated that a 2,000ha chunk of land was needed to establish a 1,320 MW photovoltaic solar farm — so the solar option was therefore considered unviable.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Killing the Holy Ghost: Inside the unlawful bid for environmental approval of the Musina-Makhado SEZ”
Now, in court papers lodged in the Polokwane High Court in December, three civil society organisations have called for a legal review of a decision by the Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) department to authorise the first part of the development.
‘Project splitting’
The applicants (The Herd Nature Reserve, Living Limpopo and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits University) argue that the Limpopo economic authorities are following a dubious, piecemeal approach known as “project splitting”.
This involves breaking up a major ...
Three non-profit organisations have approached the Pretoria High Court to stop South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign until a full investigation by independent experts is concluded and outcomes are shared.
The Covid Care Alliance, Transformative Health Justice and a non-profit organisation called Free the Children – Save the Nation have asked the Pretoria High Court to halt the government’s efforts to vaccinate South Africans against Covid.
Respondents in the case are President Cyril Ramaphosa, Health Minister Joe Phaahla, the director-general of the Department of Health, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and National Treasury.
The attorney for the applicants, Riekie Erasmus, said on Tuesday that the case has been referred to the deputy judge president to assign the matter.
The case is being brought in two parts. The first is an urgent interdict, while the second is an application for a court-ordered investigation into the vaccination process, side-effects and possible deaths.
According to papers before the court, the applicants want the government to stop the approval, procurement, promotion, advertising, encouragement, mandating, distribution, administration and funding of the Covid-19 vaccine in all public and private health facilities.
Read in Daily Maverick: “In latest guidelines, WHO recommends ‘the use of masks by the public in specific situations’”
The applicants also want an order to prevent the government from saying that the Covid vaccine is effective in any way, and to stop all efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated against the virus.
The court will also be asked to order that no Covid vaccines be given to anybody and that all vaccination stations be closed.
In addition, the urgent application seeks to stop the distribution and procurement of vaccines, further approval of paediatric Covid-19 vaccines or emergency vaccines.
The court is also asked to order the government to make a public announcement detailing the procedure to be followed by people who have suffered vaccine-related adverse events.
The second part of the application, which will be heard at later date, asks for an order in the following terms:
An investigation into the medical and scientific safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines being administered in South Africa;
The provision of 50 vials of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the applicants;
The provision of 20 PCR tests from different batches to the applicants;
They also ask the court to appoint experts, at the government’s cost, to analyse these – with the experts being decided on by the applicants; and
The court is asked to order both the ...
From 2008 to 2018, South Africa permitted the export of captive-bred lion skeletons. The well-being of a lion in captivity is irrelevant when all you want is its bones. This has led to enormous cruelty involving thousands of Africa’s most iconic animals.
Jabula was born at Predators Pride safari park in Hartbeespoort, North West.
When he was just a few weeks old, he was taken from his mother and moved to Chameleon Village, where he was monetised for cub petting. The story given to tourists and volunteers was that his mother had died and he needed to be hand-reared until he was ready to be returned to the wild.
This was a lie.
Eight months later, too big for petting, he returned to his birthplace to be used for tourist walks. There, a special bond formed between Jabula and his keeper, Armand Gerber. They would hug, and the lion would roll over for a tummy scratch.
But young lions grow into big, strong predators which become too dangerous to entertain tourists. At 18 months, Gerber discovered that Jabula was to be sent away. He began negotiations to buy the lion.
On 22 April, 2018, with the purchase still pending, a team from Wag ‘n Bietjie farm near Bloemfontein arrived to collect Jabula despite Gerber’s protests. The men had shown no permits and no vet was present. Jabula was inexpertly darted and hauled away.
On 23 April, permission was granted for Gerber to buy Jabula.
He contacted Wag ‘n Bietjie, but discovered the lion and his brother, Star, who had been removed earlier with 19 other lions, were being held in a small crate with no food or water.
Desperate, Gerber contacted the SPCA in Bloemfontein, asking them to investigate.
Inspector Reinet Meyer arrived at Wag ‘n Bietjie on 24 April. Outside a farm shed she noticed a large pile of rotting meat covered in flies. On entering, she found a supervisor and about eight workers stripping the skin and flesh from the fresh carcasses of 26 lions, including Jabula and Star. Their flesh was being boiled away and they were reduced to clean skeletons.
That afternoon, a truck arrived with 28 more lions, which were to be killed the next day. They were darted by a vet and then shot through the ear with a low-calibre .22 rifle so as to not to damage their skulls.
“Overseas buyers don’t want a skull with a bullet in it,” the vet told her, which ...
Ensuring African elephants survive drought will increasingly require new conservation strategies, lest already dwindling populations continue to decline.
African elephant numbers have dropped from about 26 million in the 1800s to 415,000 today. While this is largely due to European colonisation, poaching and habitat loss, these majestic animals now face another grave challenge.
Climate change is causing droughts in much of Africa to become longer and more severe. This damages elephant habitats and denies them the water they need. Due to their unique physiology, African elephants need hundreds of litres of water each day to survive.
The African savanna elephant is listed as endangered. If the situation doesn’t change, Africa – indeed, the world – may lose one of its most iconic animal species.
A tragic plight
Elephants are not just important for their ecological, cultural and economic value. They are also a keystone species – that is, they help hold ecosystems together. This means their decline has far-reaching consequences.
Many African ecosystems pivot around the lives of elephants. Elephant feeding habits, such as pushing over trees and peeling off bark, can turn woody vegetation into grasslands. This makes room for smaller species to move in. Their digging for water in dry riverbeds creates water holes other animals can use. And as they migrate, elephants help spread seeds in their dung.
Under climate change, long, intense droughts across southern and eastern Africa are escalating. Some have lasted more than 20 years.
The conditions have left many elephants desperate for water. Research as far back as 2003 shows elephants in Zimbabwe were dying during drought. And in 2016, when a drying El Nino weather pattern hit southern Africa, there were reports of more elephant deaths, prompting a local conservation group to drill bore holes to provide relief.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Battle lines drawn over the future of elephants”
Drought can also reduce the availability of food, causing elephants to starve. It can also mean young elephants die or don’t develop properly, because their parched mothers produce less milk.
A unique physiology
So, why do elephants struggle in drought and heat?
When elephants experience high internal temperatures, it can disrupt the function of cells, tissues and organs such as the liver and cause them to become sick and die.
Humans and other animals also suffer heat stress. But elephants are particularly vulnerable because they can’t sweat it off.
The graphic below shows how heat accumulates and dissipates in elephants.
Heat accumulates through an elephants’ natural metabolism and ...
What options are available to wannabe litigants eager to assert what they regard as their right to a reliable supply of electricity? The Bill of Rights in South Africa contains many guaranteed rights, which cannot easily be delivered without a reliable supply of electricity. The state is obliged to respect, protect, promote and fulfil all the rights in the Bill of Rights.
In his review of the recent decision of the Constitutional Court concerning a resolution by Eskom to cut off the electricity supply of municipalities that were in default of payment, Daily Maverick’s legendary and omniscient Professor Balthazar concluded that:
“The constitutional scheme was to place the primary obligation on the relevant municipality to provide its residents with electricity for which the latter had paid. The collapse of local government lies at the heart of this case.
“The important constitutional rights highlighted by the majority cannot be vindicated meaningfully in a state as broken as the South African one. Courts can attempt bravely, as did the majority judgment, to afford temporary relief, but unless the state can be made to work for the population as a whole, as opposed to an elite who have diverted public funds into their own bank accounts, a court can only administer palliative care.
“In addition, looming large as an implication of the outcome of this case is possible further litigation against Eskom for its breach of the rights of millions of the poor and many small businesses who now must live with the consequences of the disaster of Eskom without the benefit of generators or inverters.”
What options are available to wannabe litigants eager to assert what they regard as their right to a reliable supply of electricity?
The majority judgment penned by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga in the case the professor discusses is instructive and helpful to the cause of those inclined to sue. He views the matter as a human rights issue.
The Bill of Rights in South Africa contains many guaranteed rights, which cannot easily be delivered without a reliable supply of electricity. Dignity, an environment that is not harmful to health and wellbeing, healthcare, basic education, life itself, are all implicated and all depend to a lesser or greater extent on the availability, at the flick of a switch, of electricity all day, every day.
The state is obliged to respect, protect, promote and fulfil all the rights in the Bill of Rights. That obligation ought to be ...
The Moqhaka Local Municipality in Kroonstad blames rolling blackouts for supply problems, as residents hand over a list of things that need fixing.
Hundreds of frustrated Maokeng residents marched to the Moqhaka Local Municipality offices in Kroonstad, Free State, on Monday to demand an uninterrupted water supply.
According to the community’s memorandum of demands, they want the municipality to install generators for water-supply equipment to alleviate problems with water distribution during rolling blackouts. They also want more housing allocations by June 2023, lower electricity tariffs, and for potholed roads to be fixed, among other issues.
Residents of Phomolong township say they have been battling water issues for more than 20 years. They rely on the municipality’s water tanks but say this service isn’t always reliable and they can go weeks without access to water. They then have to walk more than 2km to the nearest township, carrying heavy buckets filled with water.
“It’s been years that I’ve been struggling with water. I’ve been going to the municipality, but no one was willing to help,” said Josephine Malebatsi.
Since November many communities in Kroonstad have been receiving water sporadically.
March organiser Themba May said representatives had talked to senior municipal officials in December “and they promised that everything was okay”. But “after two weeks the water and everything started collapsing”.
Mayor Motloheloa Mokatsane accepted the protesters’ memorandum. Municipal spokesperson Dikwe Khwesa said: “Some of the issues highlighted are the basic municipal services and we are committed to respond within the timeframe. We are aware of places like Phomolong that have a history of non-supply of water. We have looked into the matter and a tender is currently out to try and address the infrastructure issue in that area.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Dam in Nelson Mandela Bay is at its lowest level yet”
In response to complaints about severe water interruptions in December, Khwesa said unprecedented periods of Stage 4 and 6 rolling blackouts had affected the municipality’s water treatment and supply.
On 13 January, the Moqhaka Local Municipality’s request for key water plants to be exempted from power outages was approved. However, most communities are still without daily running water. DM
Originally published by GroundUp.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme and Funza Lushaka must iron out their problems. Poor students are dependent on these funds. As matters stand, the scheme is not sustainable and alternatives must be urgently investigated.
‘Dear Rapport Bursary Fund. I am in matric this year and would like to become a teacher. During Covid my dad lost his job. We could not afford the housing instalment and now live with my grandmother on the farm. Our only income is my grandmother’s pension but my father does odd jobs on the farm. Can you please assist me with a bursary?”
As an assessor for the Rapport Education Bursary Fund, I have had to read many such request letters and then make a decision. But how does one decide? Each application has merit: all have good marks, all are hardworking and all are poor.
You go through the applications with a fine-tooth comb, checking their marks and their parents’ salary slips (if they are employed), looking for something that can sway your decision. You also know that someone will be disappointed. I am past the point where I look at race or skin colour. All children experience disappointment in the same way. You hope and pray that you are making the right decision, and wish you could help everyone.
NSFAS
There are two big bursary schemes for tertiary students: the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and Funza Lushaka. Most students prefer NSFAS of the Department of Higher Education (DHE) because it provides more money (R144,000 a year). Currently 708,147 students at 26 universities and TVET colleges are supported at a cost of R43-billion.
According to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, NSFAS is focused on “the children of the working class”. This means students whose parents have a combined income of less than R350,000 per year.
It covers: tuition and accommodation fees according to the institution’s scales; R5,200 for books and stationery; R26,000 for meals; a R15,000 living allowance; and R7,500 for transport – with a maximum total of R144,000.
This budget, in my opinion, is rather luxurious. There is cheaper accommodation available, many meals are wasted and Covid-19 has taught students to use cheaper online books.
I believe students should do something themselves to earn a “living allowance”. Most students have no other choice anyway. Such a huge budget requires good administration. Unfortunately, it is lacking.
NSFAS was placed under administration in 2017 and recently 35,000 students were caught out for ...
The crypto ‘collapse’ has been muted compared with everyone’s worst (and sometimes gleeful) expectations. And, certainly, no worse than Tesla or Peleton or a host of other shiny tech brands.
There was a mini rally in crypto prices over the past week or so of about 20%, which is a little amusing given everything and all. Whether the beginning of a new bull market or a forgettable blip is hard to discern, but after the bad weather around crypto over the last little while, it was a nice warm breeze.
The beginning of the cold front arrived suddenly in May 2022, when a crypto initiative called Terra Luna collapsed spectacularly, wiping out $50-billion in value in a matter of days. Whether this was a Ponzi scheme or simply an economically unsound and high-risk project is a matter of worldview.
It was to be the first in a long series of mega-collapses. Some of them, entangled with the project, drowned under the weight of Terra Luna’s devaluation, and some, like FTX, created horror stories all on their own.
The list of failures in the wake of all of this is long and storied, and has reached well beyond crypto into companies that are only crypto-proximal, like general investment companies or exchanges that take your real dollars and allow you to purchase crypto-tokens.
Most of the major players in the space had their hands deep into one another’s pockets — loaning, staking, borrowing, providing liquidity. And with the many billions sloshing around (nearly $3-trillion at one point), the crashes have been loud and hard.
$2-trillion vanishing act
When all the pieces were picked up, the market had lost well over $2-trillion in value. What this means, for lack of any suitable metaphor, is that there were hundreds of thousands of people who once thought they owned a total of $2-trillion, and then it was gone in a mere eight months. Not rich people (although there are those), but moms and pops and college funds and home loans too.
A number of face slaps have resounded in the wake of all of this. Most major media have jumped gleefully on these stories, thrilled by the big numbers and the many falls from grace.
Regulators’ reactions have ranged from concern to urgency to downright idiocy (India’s Central Bank has just called for a ban on all cryptocurrency trading, a nadir in myopic overreaction).
Then there is damage done to public trust in the industry ...
It is now cheaper to build new utility-scale renewable energy plants than to keep existing fossil fuels plants operating. The cost of utility-scale renewable energy plants with storage is falling so rapidly that these are now less costly to build than new coal plants, which will only get cheaper.
Residents of South Africa will remember 2022 for a host of different reasons, but one collective memory will be of the almost unremitting burden of power cuts.
In total, there were 157 full days of load shedding (spread across the year) in 2022, compared to 48 days in 2021, and 35 days in 2020. Sadly, and shockingly, the worst is yet to come, with most energy analysts predicting that 2023 is likely to see at least 200 full days of load shedding. This will mean that over the year, there will be more hours without power than with it.
As we all currently sit in the dark, mulling over how long Stage 6 will last, fearing what Stages 7 and 8 may bring, we know that we will be paying at least 19% more for electricity – when we are actually able to access it. While there is a distinctly farcical element to all of this, in reality, the ongoing crisis at Eskom is a very real tragedy for South Africa.
Last year was so bad, and this year is likely to be worse, because of the appalling availability of Eskom’s fleet of power stations.
In the first half of last year, the average weekly availability of Eskom’s fleet of power stations had slipped to less than 60%, meaning that at any one time, some 40% of its fleet was not generating electricity.
Below 50% for the first time
In the second half of the year, things got even worse. At the beginning of December, only 52% of Eskom’s fleet was generating electricity, and by the end of that month, the figure slipped below 50% for the first time. This means that of 48,000MW of potential capacity, less than 24,000MW was operational.
The causes of this availability crisis are now well known. They are the result of poor policy choices, both historically and continuing now, rampant corruption, catastrophic mismanagement and, to a certain extent, sabotage.
Now, with Stage 4 or even Stage 6 likely to become our new normal (for the foreseeable future), South Africans are right to be demanding when they might expect an end to this deeply damaging ...
Get the latest load shedding updates, analysis and practical tips to deal with the continuous power cuts.
The latest
South Africa is suffering through prolonged high-stage power cuts.
Eskom reduced power cuts to Stages 4 and 5 on Monday, 16 January after several weeks of Stage 6 cuts.
On Sunday night, Ramaphosa met political parties and on Monday he met labour and business representatives.
Last week, electricity regulator Nersa awarded Eskom an annual tariff increase of 18.65%, adding to the political pressure.
South Africa’s electricity crisis is 15 years old this month.
By Nonkululeko Njilo
Out in the cold – power crisis forces enterprising ice-cream shops to brink of closure
This is a tale of two gourmet ice-cream businesses in Johannesburg facing the grim prospect of shutting their doors indefinitely amid higher stages of rolling blackouts, as they grapple with unaffordable alternatives.
By Ferial Haffajee
Government plans to focus on six ailing power stations to resolve the electricity crisis
Emergency legislation will be tabled to get new power projects on to the grid, as a ‘web of bureaucracy’ slows progress, says the National Energy Crisis Committee of Ministers.
By Bloomberg
New law planned to accelerate power capacity in South Africa
The National Energy Crisis Committee, a body run by the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa, expects record power outages to ease as measures put in place, including a new law to fast-track plant development, take effect.
By Estelle Ellis
Gatvol citizens threaten Eskom and government with legal action, demand stop to rolling blackouts
Several South African politicians and business people have instructed a legal team from seven law firms to demand that the government stops cutting the country’s power. If this cannot be done, they want an explanation. The group also wants fair compensation for the damage caused by rolling blackouts and for the government to play open cards about South Africa’s energy crisis.
By Stephen Grootes
To WEF or not to WEF: Wherever Ramaphosa may be, Eskom’s crisis remains South Africa’s true catastrophe
The announcement that President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to deal with the load shedding crisis is but another indication of the toxic politics of our energy catastrophe. There are, however, tight limits on what the President can really achieve, and anyone expecting a short-term solution to South Africa’s power crisis will be disappointed.
By Tony Jackman
Load shedding menu: Leftover pasta salad
The leftover aspect of this is twofold: first, don’t discard the bits and pieces of pasta at ...
Responding to a parliamentary question, the South African Social Security Agency listed at least 19 offices with outstanding rent bills. One of them, in Durban, owes more than R6-million.
The South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) Durban District office hasn’t paid its rent for more than five years and owes more than R6-million, while the Northern Cape’s Ritchie Local Office has not paid rent for 10 years.
These are just a few of the answers given by the state agency in a parliamentary response in November 2022 to DA MP Bridget Masango’s question about outstanding rent at different Sassa offices.
Delays in municipalities issuing invoices or sending the wrong invoices have caused these payment challenges, according to Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.
The agency listed at least 19 offices that had outstanding rent bills, of which seven are in KwaZulu-Natal. Sassa told GroundUp that it has since only paid the rent to some of these offices.
In the Eastern Cape, the Nelson Mandela Metro District Office, housed in a Post Office building in Gqeberha, has just more than R1-million in outstanding rent. Sassa said its regional management has withheld payment here until the Post Office resolves some issues related to occupational health and safety non-compliance Letsatsi said this office was closed in December 2021 and is expected to reopen in February 2023.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Similarly, the Kempton Park satellite office in Gauteng has not paid for several months. Sassa said that invoices received in October 2022 were incorrect. The municipality was asked to amend the invoices and provide new banking details, but no amended invoices have been received since, according to the agency.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Sassa beneficiaries left stranded due to alleged staff party”
In the Northern Cape, the Ritchie Local Office has not paid its rent in a decade. Letsatsi said Sassa is still in negotiations with the landlord.
Sassa said invoices for municipal services have not been issued for its Phillipstown and Noupoort offices. Phillipstown municipal services haven’t been paid for more than six years while Sassa disputes the rent amount due for the building it shares with the municipality. Noupoort hasn’t paid its municipal bill for more than eight years due to a “discrepancy”.
Letsatsi said that “most challenges for non-payment of rent are due to either delay in municipalities issuing invoices or the invoices sent being incorrect”. Despite sending monthly reminders to municipalities, there is often no ...
Court judgment has consequences for companies that invoice via email and run the risk of being targeted by fraudsters.
One of South Africa’s leading law firms has been held liable for R5.5-million which a property buyer intended to deposit into its trust account. The money was stolen as a result of fraudsters manipulating emails from an employee of the firm.
Johannesburg High Court Judge Phanuel Mudau has ruled that Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS) must pay Judith Hawarden R5.5-million, plus interest, as well as the legal costs of the lawsuit on a punitive scale.
In her arguments, Hawarden claimed that ENS owed her a duty of care, and that in corresponding with her, it also had a legal duty to warn her of the danger of “business email compromise (BEC)”, that this was on the increase and that it was already prevalent.
She said the firm should have warned her, before she made any payment, that she should verify the account details, and it should have loaded its trust account details on online banking systems so that the account number would not have to be sent out on unprotected and unsafe emails.
ENS denied liability, claiming that Hawarden herself had been negligent in using an electronic transfer without ensuring that the bank details were correct.
The case dates to 2019 when Harwarden put in an offer on a Forest Town property through Pam Golding Properties for R6-million.
She paid a deposit of R500,000 directly to the estate agency.
The seller appointed ENS as the conveyancing attorney.
Hawarden received an email from Eftyhia Maninakis, a secretary in the property division of the law firm, with details of what was still required in order for the sale to go through and the option of providing a bank guarantee for the outstanding amount.
What Hawarden did not know was that this email was fraudulent, that a fraudster had intercepted the genuine email and altered the firm’s bank account details.
In response to this email, Hawarden telephoned Maninakis a few days later. Maninakis confirmed that she could transfer the outstanding amount in cash directly to ENS.
Hawarden received an email from what appeared to be Maninakis’s email later that day – what she believed was a follow-up to their earlier conversation.
That email contained the firm’s bank account number, as confirmed by First National Bank.
What Hawarden did not notice was that the email address was from ensafirca.com – not ensafrica.com.
Judge Mudau said the emails actually sent by ENS ...
Andy Murray did his bit for the old guard of tennis by beating No 13 seed Matteo Berrettini at Melbourne Park on Tuesday, as extreme heat gave way to driving rain. South Africa’s Lloyd Harris is also through to the second round.
Andy Murray conjured old magic in a five-set thriller to dump last year’s semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini out of the Australian Open on Tuesday, as manic weather prevailed at Melbourne Park. Scorching heat gave way to driving rain.
Former world No 2 Alexander Zverev nearly lost his head in the maelstrom as he laboured against Peruvian lucky loser Juan Pablo Varillas, before winning another five-setter, to join Murray in the second round.
More than 20 matches were suspended over the course of day two, with the first tranche halted three hours into the day-session, due to extreme heat.
As night fell, a storm brought a cool change and heavy rain, leaving the action confined to the roofed showcourts ahead of nine-times champion Novak Djokovic’s first-round clash against Roberto Carballes Baena.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Djokovic says Australian Open deportation drama paved way to success”
Coming off a big pre-season, Murray channelled his halcyon days of 2016 as he raced to a two-set lead, then saw off a brave fightback from 13th-seed Berrettini in a 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6 (10-6) slog that lasted nearly five hours.
Beaten by the hard-hitting Italian at the US Open, Murray saved a match point then sealed his own with outrageous fortune, a return clipping the net cord in a cruel finish for Berrettini at Rod Laver Arena.
“I just got a bit lucky there at the end with the net cord,” said 35-year-old Murray, a five-times finalist at Melbourne Park.
“Right now I’m just unbelievably happy, just proud of myself.”
Twelfth-seed and former semi-finalist Zverev had a huge scare against world No 103 Varillas, but the German steadied to win a four-hour dogfight 4-6 6-1 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4 at Margaret Court Arena.
It was the German’s first win since June, having torn ligaments in his right foot in the French Open semi-final against Rafa Nadal.
Top 10 men’s seeds Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz eased into the second round earlier in the day.
Russian Rublev beat former finalist Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-4 6-2, as temperatures nudged 36 degrees C.
“It’s super-hot today so I’m super-happy I was able to win in straight sets and save some energy for the next match,” the fifth seed said.
“The hotter it ...
Resistance to Eskom’s load shedding and tariff hikes is growing, with the DA announcing a legal bid on Tuesday seeking to interdict energy regulator Nersa’s decision to grant Eskom a 18.65% tariff hike for the 2023/24 financial year and 12.74% for the next, heralding pain for consumers subjected to intermittent power supply.
Leader of the opposition John Steeinhuisen announced on Tuesday afternoon that he had instructed party lawyers to immediately apply to the High Court of South Africa for an interdict, to stop the tariff increase.
He said the time “for writing letters and for government talkshops” and for “begging this government” was over, and “it’s now time to take this government head-on”.
The announcement came hours after several politicians and business people, in a legal letter, instructed a legal team to demand that the government and Eskom stop cutting the country’s power, as well as compensation for the catastrophic damage caused by rolling blackouts. If it failed to do so, they would meet in court.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gatvol citizens threaten Eskom and government with legal action, demand stop to rolling blackouts”
Steenhuisen echoed similar sentiments and said his party not only rejected the tariff hike, but also Stage 6 blackouts and the government’s poor response to “the biggest crisis our country has faced in three decades of our democracy”.
In its papers, the DA seeks to interdict the implementation of the tariff hike pending the following relief:
To have Nersa’s decision of 12 January 2023 declared inconsistent with the Constitution, and to have it declared invalid and set aside;
To have the ongoing and repeated decisions to implement load shedding declared inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid, and for these decisions to be set aside. These include the disastrous load reduction;
To have the government’s response to the energy crisis declared inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid; and
Regarding the government’s response to the crisis, to have it declared as having having failed to respect, protect and fulfil the rights contained in the Bill of Rights, thereby limiting the rights of citizens to human dignity, the right to life, the right to an environment that is not harmful to health and well-being, the rights of access to healthcare services, the right to have access to sufficient water, the right to basic education and the right to access courts.
Steenhuisen said they would also ask that the court direct the government to file, within 30 days, a comprehensive ...
Did you know that three decades ago, a gutsy, pragmatic group of Rhodes University academics created email in this country, opening the digital gateway between South Africa and the world? Settle in for an entertaining read about the resourceful tech wizards who achieved success on a minimal budget, a lot of grit and a smattering of good luck.
In 1965, Rhodes University bought its first computer – a gigantic beast that cost millions of rands, weighed more than five tons and boasted 4.8 whole kilobytes of memory. The ICT 1301 Transistorised Computer was carefully hauled up to the top of the Physics building using a pulley and an I-beam. It was only the second computer ever to be installed at a South African university. (The first was at Wits.)
Professor Emeritus Pat Terry, then a final year Physics and Applied Mathematics student, remembers the day the 1301 arrived in Grahamstown (now Makhanda).
“We were all desperate to see what this thing looked like, but we weren’t allowed into the building because of Physics prac exams. As soon as we were allowed in, I charged up the stairs with a few other guys and we found Mike Lawrie, dressed in a mechanic’s overall, wielding a shifting spanner, busy bolting parts of this huge machine together. It filled the whole top floor.”
Mike Lawrie was the resident engineer who came as “part of the deal” with the computer. While studying for his BSc part-time, Lawrie kept the 1301 running smoothly, often with two hammers, which he still owns.
Troubleshooting creatively
“If there was a fault, you’d put the wooden side of the one hammer against a circuit board, and you take the other hammer and you go tap-tap-tap, trying to shake up anything loose.”
Professor Pat Terry added: “If part of the circuitry went wrong, Mike Lawrie would get his soldering iron and replace it when he’d found the faulty piece. It was real discrete electronics. None of this modern stuff where at the first sign of a glitch, you throw it away and buy a new computer.”
The first mainframes all worked on punched cards.
François Jacot-Guillarmod (known to all as Jacot) was one of the first Computer Science students when the course and department started at Rhodes University in 1970, an offshoot of Applied Mathematics.
“The decks of punched cards representing your program and data were unmarked in the early days, so you had to become adept at interpreting the ...
This is a tale of two gourmet ice-cream businesses in Johannesburg facing the grim prospect of shutting their doors indefinitely amid higher stages of rolling blackouts, as they grapple with unaffordable alternatives.
‘I am just hoping for a miracle,” said Thando Makhubu, owner of the Soweto Creamery, established in 2020 using the R350 grant, and which was praised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his 2022 State of the Nation Address.
In that speech almost a year ago, Ramaphosa acknowledged Makhubu’s success as well as others who had used the grant in a similar way.
“Mr Thando Makhubu from Soweto received the R350 grant for seven months last year, and saved it to open an ice-cream store that now employs four people.”
Following praise and social media marketing, the business in Jabulani grew exponentially and employed five people.
However, when Daily Maverick visited the business at Makhubu’s home this week, it was quiet with not a person in sight, and chairs and tables unoccupied.
Months after the business took off, Makhubu decided to invest in a generator for about R16,000 to secure his stock amid rolling blackouts. Little did he know that Stage 6 load shedding would mean keeping it on longer – for which he had not budgeted and which eats into his profits.
“Two weeks ago there was a time when we didn’t have electricity for like 72 hours and then we spent just over R1,000 on petrol, a cost which we had not budgeted for. We had to spend that money otherwise we were going to lose all our stock – as you know, ice-cream has to remain frozen because once it loses its frozen form, it is spoilt,” he told Daily Maverick.
Less than a year after investing in a generator, Makhubu says that for his business to survive under Stage 6 blackouts – which is meant to last four hours but can go up to 12 – he needs to invest in inverters, solar panels and lithium packs. This will cost at least R100,000, which the business does not have. He says he cannot save towards this either since he often has to fork out money to run the generator, among other costs.
“If it continues like this, we will have no choice but to close down because we will be working from break-even then to loss.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “National shutdown threat in protest against Eskom’s rolling blackouts and tariff hikes — Ramaphosa cancels ...
‘Make 2024 our 1994,’ said a young person on an activist WhatsApp group recently.
They are right. As the social crisis in South Africa deepens, many eyes are already on the general election in 2024. But to get to 2024 we are going to have to get through 2023, a year that has started not with a bang but an indefinite Stage 6 Eskom blackout.
Fortunately, the jolt of missing electricity and the 18.5% price hike has quickly galvanised civil society, who are instrumental in the process of initiating urgent constitutional litigation about the right to electricity, a case that will have been strengthened by a December 2022 Constitutional Court judgment on the issue which deplored what Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga called the “abject misery and horrendous violation of fundamental rights” that cutting off electricity subjected residents to.
Read in Daily Maverick: “With a thoroughly broken Eskom and impoverished SA citizens, Constitutional Court delivers palliative care”
Because of the precariousness of poverty in South Africa, load shedding leads to lives and livelihood shedding and is also a reminder of why 2023 needs to be a watershed year for social mobilisation. It needs to see civil society unite to launch a sustained community mobilisation campaign that runs throughout 2023 and 2024. The aim should be 18 months of activism that reaches as many communities as possible.
In a Daily Maverick article this month, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (read it here) called for a “New Struggle” led by civil society, but said: “A plethora of independent movements is not enough. Whether under the umbrella of the New Struggle – or some other vehicle that embraces all voices, from the poor, to the spiritual leaders of our country, to the leaders of business and labour – we need an alliance of leaders and forces to say: ‘Enough is enough!’”
He is right: unity and common purpose now need to override silos, sectors and self-interest. The campaign that is needed should be about building and broadening community power. It should identify, connect, include and affirm existing community organisations and the activists already at work in many communities, but who are not seen and not acknowledged; it should aim to join them into a national, community-based movement.
Unfortunately, organisations and campaigns rarely get built on rhetoric and wishful thinking. They develop around concrete objectives and the activities required to achieve them. So, below we offer several ideas for activists to consider.
The power of ...
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to accept the demands of party rebels to make directors at major technology firms liable to greater penalties if they fail to protect children from dangerous online content as he seeks to avoid a damaging defeat in parliament, according to two people familiar with the government’s plans.
Sunak’s partial climbdown on key legislation came in the face of a planned rebellion from within his governing Conservative Party, with about 50 Tory lawmakers supporting an amendment designed to toughen the Online Safety Bill.
Sunak suffered a blow to his authority as he struggled to quell Conservative rebellions on multiple policy fronts, and his downcast Members of Parliament threatened an exodus from Westminster ahead of the next election.
Sunak, who’s built his pitch to UK voters around boosting investment in the UK, had intended to limit criminal sanctions to executives who refused to cooperate with information requests or investigations from media regulator Ofcom. Tory rebels, who had the backing of the opposition Labour Party, are demanding two-year jail terms for directors who breach their legal duties to shield children from content promoting abuse, suicide or self-harm.
The government will give an initial indication of the shift in approach when the bill is debated on Tuesday but is unlikely to set out the penalties in detail until later when the legislation reaches the upper House of Lords, one of the officials said, adding that the new measures would most likely only apply when bosses deliberately choose to ignore enforcement action by the regulator.
A spokeswoman for Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan declined to comment. Junior minister Paul Scully is expected to lay out the government’s plans on Tuesday.
Read More: UK rewrites online safety bill after free speech backlash
The legislation sets out new powers that will let Ofcom fine or sanction tech companies if they don’t follow new rules aimed at protecting people online. Those include such as being more transparent about risk assessments, enforcing their own terms and conditions, and heeding age limits and checks.
The bill – in development for almost six years, under seven Conservative secretaries of state – is aimed at curbing harms on any site or app which lets users interact, from social media to search engines. An impact assessment by the government last year estimated it will apply to more than 25,000 services.
Sunak has already backed down various times since taking office in October, in the face of several ...
As companies settle into 2023 with strong expectations of further interest rate increases, analysts remain bullish on the banking sector.
Harry Botha, an analyst at Anchor Stockbrokers, believes the sector is well placed for strong earnings growth over the next three years. Although looming interest rate hikes are set to raise the prime lending rate further, Botha says his analysis reveals a manageable increase in credit impairment charges in the year ahead.
The prime lending rate has increased by 3.25% over the past year, moving to 10.5%, which translates into a monthly repayment increase of more than R3,000 on a R1.5-million home loan.
“Usually when interest rates go up, affordability becomes an issue and the economy slows down somewhat, but we feel that banks became a bit more cautious on the back of Covid, so the lending growth has not been exceptionally high in recent years,” he says.
Botha singled out Standard Bank and Nedbank as his top picks in the sector.
“The diversification and scale of Standard Bank’s Africa operations is an important advantage for the bank compared to other multinational banks.
“We expect Standard Bank to deploy its excess capital in its African operations, particularly through corporate investment banking [CIB] lending and deal flow, with the company achieving its targeted return on equity in the 2024 financial year,” he said.
When it comes to rival Nedbank, Botha notes that the bank is delivering on its profitability and growth targets through investments in its retail and business banking and CIB operations.
When it comes to the newer challenger banks, such as TymeBank and Bank Zero, Botha anticipates more customer growth in 2023, as in previous years, although he doubts the numbers will make a significant dent in customer numbers for the traditional listed banks.
Interest rate benefit
Michele Santangelo, a portfolio manager at Independent Securities, said that looking back at 2022, banks fared better than the broader market as they benefited from the rise in interest rates after many years of artificially suppressed yields.
“The rise in interest rates benefited banks both from a global and South African perspective as net interest margins expanded, adding to banks’ earnings despite an environment of pressure on the broader markets earnings growth,” he says.
Speaking towards the end of November last year, Arno Daehnke, Standard Bank’s group financial director, pointed out that over the 10 months to the end of October — from a currency perspective — the rand was relatively weaker than currencies ...
The confirmation that South Africa’s navy is going to exercise with its Russian and Chinese counterparts next month is as immoral as it is plain stupid and impractical. It highlights just how far SA has strayed from its relationships with Western allies, though this relationship, it seems, was based on wishful thinking rather than the reality of the ANC’s recent history.
Two Russian warships and vessels from China are expected in Durban for a 10-day drill in mid-February in naval gunnery, force protection and air defence exercises. Apparently, the exercise will carry the same name — “Mosi” or “Smoke” — as the previous exercise between the three countries. Perhaps it should be called “The Smoke that Blunders”.
Which is not to make light of it. It’s immoral, given that Ukraine is fighting for its survival against Russian aggression. Most South Africans recognise this, with three-quarters recently polled condemning the Russian invasion, and more than 80% saying that South Africa should offer support to a country invaded by its neighbour.
What exactly can be learnt from Russia’s logistically incompetent, demoralising military leadership other than how to mistreat your troops and fire missiles at blocks of civilian flats, is unclear. At least China could teach us how to intimidate small neighbours by ignoring international conventions on territorial waters. It seems to do that quite competently in the South China Sea.
It’s impractical because South Africa’s international exercises test competent operational navies. Warships must be able to float, move and fight.
South Africa’s surface assets can float. But there is no evidence that the vessels acquired under the infamous Arms Deal — four frigates and three submarines — are operational. There has not been, reportedly, a submarine at sail for many months, and naval experts suggest that South Africa can only put one frigate to sea, but in a marginal, constabulary role only.
And it’s plain stupid because this will cost South Africa by adding a premium of uncertainty to its reliability as a Western partner, a reputation already pummelled by rolling blackouts, State Capture and general disorder. As such it’s an act of political and economic denial.
Humouring dodgy autocracies
Russia is a negligible destination for South African exports. The West (US, UK, Europe and others) is by far the dominant destination, followed by Africa, China and India. Trying to retain these favourable relationships by humouring dodgy autocracies does not seem like a smart strategy.
Why Pretoria would choose to do ...
The charges against all six accused include 19 counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
A sixth suspect linked to the Nomzamo Park tavern shooting in Orlando, Soweto, made his first appearance at the Orlando Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The sixth accused, aged 32, appeared separately from the other five, who appeared earlier on Monday. The charges against all six include 19 counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
Magistrate Mohamad Jooma told the court that the bail application by the other five accused would not go ahead because the prosecutor, Carla Britz, was unwell. During their previous court appearance in December, Britz had asked the court to postpone the case to 16 January because she was due for leave.
During that court hearing, one of the accused alleged, in an affidavit, that rivalry between two Basotho burial societies was at the centre of the Nomzamo tavern killings.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘Burial society rivalry’ at the heart of Nomzamo tavern mass shooting, says one accused at bail hearing”
The magistrate ordered the media not to reveal the identities of the accused.
When asked by the court if he had any previous convictions, the sixth accused said he had none, “but I was once arrested for not having a passport”.
The State alleges the six suspects were part of a group that entered the Mdlalose tavern in July last year and fired more than 130 shots at patrons, leaving 16 dead and several injured.
In his sworn statement, one of the accused testified that rivalry between two Basotho burial societies, Terene ea Khosi Chakela and Terene ea Khosi Mokata was at the centre of the killings and that he belonged to the latter burial society.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The accused, a former police officer-turned-businessman, further deposed in his affidavit that the tavern killings were undertaken as revenge for the murder of a member of the Terene ea Khosi Chakela society the previous week.
“They believed people from our burial society were responsible. On the night of the murder, members of their burial society contacted them and told them that our burial society members were at the tavern,” his affidavit read.
He said that members of Terene ea Khosi Mokata society then stormed the tavern to kill his burial society members. ...
Eastern Cape police are investigating a series of ‘surprise attacks’ on a Port St Johns village on Sunday that led to the destruction of 49 homesteads. A chief in the area, who asked to remain anonymous, said he believed the carnage was the result of a dispute over stock theft.
The Eastern Cape police said on Monday that they were looking for suspects who burnt down 49 homesteads in Port St Johns on the Wild Coast when they went “on a rampage” at 4am.
Police spokesperson Tembinkosi Kinana said scores of villagers had been left destitute.
“According to the reports, during the attack, houses were set alight while others were severely damaged. No injuries or fatalities were reported, as people allegedly escaped unharmed. However, in a nearby village of Tyeni, one person, a man aged 49, was shot and killed. It is unclear at this stage if this particular incident is related to the arson attacks,” he said.
“The motive for these attacks is unknown, but stock theft and ongoing faction fights cannot be ruled out. Cases of arson, murder and malicious injury to property have been registered for investigation. No arrests have been made at this stage.
“It is alleged that during the invasion, the suspects also damaged a transformer to cut electricity and any other form of communication in the area,” Kinana added.
He said community leaders and police officers were patrolling the area as communications had been cut off.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, has ordered that a high-level task team be formed to track down and arrest the suspects.
One of the chiefs in the area, who wanted to remain anonymous, said what had happened in Buje village was the continuation of what happened last year in the Majola Administrative Area.
“We still do not have a full report about the damage, but we can confirm that this attack is related to stock theft. We also received reports of dead people, but we still need to check those death reports, and we will visit the affected area on Tuesday.
“The unfortunate part of this arson attack is that it is affecting innocent children and elderly people. Some of them do not have a place to sleep and some run to their relatives. The situation is bad here.
“We will engage with the government again because in last year’s attack, they sent police officials to patrol here, ...
The faiths and high hopes that a young Mandlakayise John Hlophe carried from KwaDukuza via Cambridge and finally as Judge President of the Western Cape, appear to underpin the lack of appetite for more than a decade to hold him accountable.
So much collateral damage could have been spared had the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) adopted a less supine position in Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe’s freestyle slalom through democratic South Africa’s fledgling institutions of justice.
Four years after his appointment in 2000 as the youngest Judge President, South Africa’s roller coaster — with Hlophe in the hot seat — crept up the first chain hill towards the steep dip of what became known as the “Oasis Group retainer scandal”.
While Hlophe and those legal pilot fish still in his pond — Barnabas Xulu, Paul Ngobeni, Vuyani Ngalwana and others — view his long, public and indeed tragic fall as tantamount to a “political lynching”, a Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) has ruled otherwise.
This is a moment of truth not only for South Africa’s commitment to the rule of law, but also in understanding the political theatre that has plagued the country’s judiciary for almost two decades.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Judicial Conduct Tribunal recommends impeachment of John Hlophe for gross misconduct”
In April 2021, 17 years after “Oasis” and 13 years after Hlophe’s attempt in 2008 to influence Constitutional Court judges seized with Jacob Zuma’s corruption probe matter, a JSC tribunal added a footnote for the history books.
Announcing its unanimous finding that Hlophe was guilty of impeachable conduct, it noted:
“We consider it our duty to vindicate the integrity of the Justices of the Constitutional Court, in particular Chief Justice Langa, Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke, Justice Nkabinde and Justice Jafta, whose integrity has been called into question by Judge President Hlophe’s unfounded and scurrilous attacks. They acted with honour to protect the institutional integrity of the apex court of our Republic.”
Hlophe, while consistently paying lip service to and apparently embracing the values of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, has, from the get-go, publicly behaved in a manner contrary to his declarations of fidelity to the rule of law or even common human decency.
Carrying what he believed to be a “mandate”, Hlophe approached members of the Constitutional Court, suggesting their need to “understand our history”.
Hlophe’s later accusations that the justices had lied, that they were part of a witch hunt and subservient to ...
Municipalities and water entities across South Africa have called on residents to use water sparingly as they battle continued high levels of rolling blackouts and increased demand for water as temperatures soar.
Johannesburg Water said on Monday its infrastructure was facing challenges, including an increase in water demand due to the heatwave, as well as Stage 6 rolling blackouts.
“Although some of our critical sites are exempted from load shedding, the entity is managing this through back-up systems. However, our towers are taking a strain,” said Johannesburg Water.
The two primary water treatment plants that supply Gauteng (Zuikerbosch and Vereeniging) are exempted from rolling blackouts because they have been designated national key points.
However, as Johannesburg Water’s managing director, Ntshavheni Mukwevho, explained to Daily Maverick, localised systems (such as where a small pump station pumps water to a neighbourhood) are not exempt from rolling blackouts due to their positioning within the network, which exacerbates the challenge of recharging reservoirs.
WaterRestrictions Johannesburg Water would like to encourage all the residents of the City to use water sparingly. ^K
Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) January 16, 2023
City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said in October 2022: “One of the things we are looking at is to see how to exclude [Johannesburg Water facilities] from load shedding.
“The problem currently is that most of Joburg Water facilities are embedded within our network, making it difficult to exempt them. We are also looking at partnering with them on the off-grid solutions.”
Last year, Rand Water said it had asked to be exempt from rolling blackouts, to be able to stabilise the grid.
Joburg Water has urged residents to observe Level 1 water restrictions and reduce consumption. The restrictions include prohibitions on the use of hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars and clean driveways, and filling up swimming pools and water features between 6am and 6pm.
High-lying areas hit the hardest
“Customers in higher-lying areas will experience low pressure to no water,” Joburg Water said.
“Johannesburg Water requests that customers in lower-lying areas use water sparingly to assist with the recovery of the affected infrastructure.”
In its latest daily water supply system status update on Monday afternoon, Johannesburg Water said the Brixton reservoir and tower were operating at normal capacity but the Hurst Hill 2 system remained at critically low levels.
Johannesburg Water said it would provide customers in the higher-lying areas with an alternative water supply through mobile tankers.
Etienne Hugo, the general manager of operations for Joburg Water, has told Daily ...
The World Health Organization has emphasised in its latest set of guidelines on Covid-19 that masks continue to be a key tool against the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated in its latest set of guidelines on the Covid-19 pandemic that it still “recommend[s] the use of masks by the public in specific situations, and this update recommends their use irrespective of the local epidemiological situation, given the current spread of the Covid-19 globally”.
“Masks are recommended following recent exposure to Covid-19, when someone has or suspects they have Covid-19, when someone is at high risk of severe Covid-19, and for anyone in a crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated space. Previously, WHO recommendations were based on the epidemiological situation,” the new guidelines read.
According to the WHO, other instances where masks may be beneficial include: where a local outbreak has been confirmed, where there are rising hospital admission levels, and where levels of vaccination coverage and immunity in the community, and the setting people find themselves in, suggest increased risk.
There are currently large outbreaks of Covid-19 in several countries. In South Africa, the situation remains stable.
WHO’s new guidelines for isolation
According to the latest advice from the WHO, a patient with Covid-19 testing negative on a rapid antigen test can safely leave isolation; but without testing, new guidelines suggest 10 days of isolation from the date of the onset of symptoms. Previously, the WHO advised that patients isolate for another three days after they become symptom-free.
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For those who test positive for Covid-19 but do not have any signs or symptoms, the WHO now suggests five days of isolation in the absence of testing, compared to 10 days previously.
The WHO said it had considered evidence that people without symptoms were less likely to transmit the virus than those with symptoms.
Covid-19 treatments
Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is strongly recommended by the WHO in patients with mild or moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk of hospital admission.
Two other drugs, sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab, are also recommended by the WHO for the treatment of Covid-19. These are monoclonal antibodies but they are not very effective against current variants, a statement by the WHO reads. Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has received an application for the registration of Paxlovid, but the outcome is not ...
The death toll from a missile strike on a nine-storey apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro climbed to 40 as Russian attacks spread to other cities.
‘There will be no impunity for these crimes,” the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said on Twitter, adding that the bloc would support Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. Ukraine’s air command said the missile strike on Dnipro was from a Russian long-range anti-ship missile.
German defence minister Christine Lambrecht resigned following days of speculation over her future, a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government as it weighs crucial decisions over arming Ukraine, including the delivery of Leopard 2 battle tanks.
Key developments
German Defence Minister Lambrecht quits in blow to Scholz;
Russia’s seaborne crude flows surge to highest since April;
Russian buyers help to propel Dubai property sales to record ;
Chelsea deal for Mudryk to send $25m for Ukraine defence;
Erdogan keeps world guessing as Turkey stalls Nato expansion
On the ground
Russian troops launched two missile attacks and six aviation strikes on targets in Ukraine, and fired 20 salvos from multiple-launch rocket systems over the past 24 hours, according to Ukraine’s Military Staff. The attacks targeted the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, killing and wounding several civilians.
Three children were among those killed in the Dnipro strike, while 75 people were injured, according to emergency services. About 34 remain unaccounted for.
Russian missiles also struck the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and its suburbs overnight, hitting civilian, residential and industrial infrastructure, regional authorities said on Telegram.
Germany proposes war crimes court changes
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock proposed reforms to international law to make it easier to prosecute war crimes committed in Ukraine, including establishing a “Special Tribunal for Aggression” in The Hague that would be based on Ukrainian law and help strengthen the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) ability to act.
In a speech in the Dutch city, Baerbock also said that the so-called Rome Statute governing the ICC should be updated “so that aggression can be prosecuted in the same way as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes” and “it would be sufficient for only the victim state to fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction”.
TotalEnergies wins dismissal of war crimes accusations in France
TotalEnergies won the dismissal of allegations that it aided Russian war crimes in Ukraine by indirectly supplying fuel used in Russian military aircraft.
Read more: “TotalEnergies wins dismissal of war crimes accusations in France”
US deputy secretary of state ...
Several South African politicians and business people have instructed a legal team from seven law firms to demand that the government stops cutting the country’s power. If this cannot be done, they want an explanation. The group also wants fair compensation for the damage caused by rolling blackouts and for the government to play open cards about South Africa’s energy crisis.
The South African government and Eskom have until the end of the week to respond to a legal letter demanding that an end be put to load shedding – or explain why it cannot be done.
The letter is addressed to Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and Eskom CEO André de Ruyter.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said he would check on Tuesday morning to see if their legal department had received the letter.
The power utility cancelled a media briefing, scheduled for 5pm on Monday, due to a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa cancelled his plans to attend the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos and remained in the country to deal with the electricity crisis.
Stage 6 load shedding was implemented on 11 January. Mantshantsha said Eskom would reduce this to stages 4 and 5 from Tuesday.
According to the letter, seven law firms have received instructions to demand “that the supply of electricity is stabilised forthwith”.
The legal team has indicated they will file papers with the high court unless the government gives a set of undertakings by Friday, 20 January.
These are:
That there will be no load shedding without procedural fairness and a fair opportunity to make alternative arrangements for affected persons and businesses;
That load shedding will stop with immediate effect, and if not, a full explanation about why the government is unable to stop load shedding with immediate effect;
In the alternative, the government must provide a specific timetable for when load shedding will end;
That the state will develop and make publicly available a clear plan to end load shedding, which plan must include the resources available to ensure that it is realised;
That the 18.65% (electricity tariff) increase granted by Nersa will not be implemented pending the determination of the court challenge which our clients intend to institute;
That the state will explain what the challenges are that are driving the energy crisis and what solutions are implemented to solve it; and
The state will commit to compensating everyone who has suffered quantifiable financial losses because of load shedding.
The following people are identified in the ...
Firefighting services were quick to control a fire that flared up in Boyes Drive, Cape Town, on Monday. Five speedily dispatched helicopters helped fire services contain the blaze within an hour.
Firefighting services promptly contained a blaze that began at Boyes Drive, Lakeside, on Monday. The fire raged briefly on a portion of Table Mountain.
Services such as the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue, South African National Parks, Working on Fire and Winelands Fire Protection Association were at the scene. The cause of the fire is uncertain, according to Dale Nortje, manager for Winelands Fire Protection Association.
“It was an intense fire, but due to the quick response with all the aircraft they managed to contain the fire relatively quickly. So in about an hour the fire was contained,” said Nortje. Despite strong winds, he said firefighting services were able to contain the blaze quicker than usual.
‘Unbelievable response’
To see fire fighting services work so quickly was “unbelievable”, said Brenton Geach, photographer for Gallo Images:
“It was precision work, and it was unbelievable, they averted a disaster.”
Fire services were able to work effectively because there was “a massive initial attack,” said Nortje. Five helicopters were dispatched — three Hueys from Working on Fire and two helicopters from Quick Reaction Force (QRF).
QRF falls under Winelands Fire Protection Association and has two helicopters at its disposal, said Nortje. Its helicopter service provider was Leading Edge Aviation, sponsored by Santam, Infiniti, Hollard, Old Mutual Insurance, Bryte and Lombard, said Nortje, who is also the manager for QRF. A spotter aircraft and various ground resources were also deployed:
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“If there’s a maximum initial attack the chances of success are greater to prevent a fire from getting out of control.”
The NCC Environmental Services Newlands crews remained on the scene, to take care of the aftermath and monitor any danger. DM
The announcement that President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to deal with the load shedding crisis is but another indication of the toxic politics of our energy catastrophe. There are, however, tight limits on what the President can really achieve, and anyone expecting a short-term solution to South Africa’s power crisis will be disappointed.
At the same time, there are the first signs that opposition parties and others are now preparing to make the Eskom disaster a political issue. If they are successful in making rolling blackouts a key issue during next year’s elections, it could put the ANC — as the party responsible for this situation — out of work for the first time since the advent of democracy.
On Sunday night, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa was no longer going to Davos and was instead continuing to meet Eskom’s leadership and the National Energy Crisis Committee.
This has already happened before; just a few short months ago, in September, Ramaphosa rushed home at the implementation of Stage 6. Other trips have also been disrupted in the past.
It is not clear exactly what the President will do this time, though.
While some could argue he needs to avoid the perception of enjoying the good times with the global power circle (and, presumably, uninterrupted electricity) while much of the country is in darkness, that does not mean his time here will be productive.
By making such a public statement of intent, it could raise expectations that he will do “something” — that there will be some announcement, some fix to the situation, however unlikely.
From what Eskom has said, there is no physical intervention that can be made; bluntly, it does not appear that Ramaphosa’s political power will allow him to change the laws of physics. There is nothing he can say to make a 50-year-old coal power plant run properly overnight.
Also, it suggests that when he is not in the country, certain things happen, and that when he is in the country, something different happens. Perhaps he was not only worried about the flow of electricity.
Where’s Mabuza?
The decision not to go to Davos also raises another question.
Technically, it is Deputy President David Mabuza in charge of the task team — or “War Room” — that is supposed to manage the Eskom crisis.
Where is he? Why is he silent at this crucial and colossally ...
While the price of petrol and diesel may have dropped slightly, fuel consumption remains a major concern for motorists.
Last year was a shocker when it came to paying for fuel. With the Brent Crude oil price at its highest levels in more than a decade, for many of us, visiting the pumps became a dread-filled experience.
While there has been a sliver of relief in January, with petrol and diesel coming down by about 87 cents and R1.40, respectively; now, more than ever, fuel consumption has become a major consideration when buying a car.
Over December I knew I’d be doing a lot of driving and unlike previous years, where I was more concerned with high-performance revs and sporty curves, I chose three cars to test-drive that I hoped would yield as much mileage as possible, without needing too many grudge visits to the fuel station.
The Renault Duster
When it comes to being a frugal prince, the 1.5-litre turbocharged Renault Duster 4×2 diesel has got to take the crown. I started off with a pretty decent range of 720km. After taking this compact SUV out on an initial 300km drive, the fuel gauge hadn’t moved a millimetre. Perhaps there was something faulty with the reading? For much of my drive, I was managing to achieve just under 5l/100km. And it wasn’t as if I was snail driving.
With its turbocharged engine, producing just 66 kilowatts of power, the Duster is surprisingly capable of leaving some higher-powered cars in the dust. After three weeks, on doing my final calculations, I’d managed to bring her in at 5.5l/100km and had extended the range to just over 1,000km.
While it might not have the most snazzy interior — there are some hard plastics on the dash and pedestrian finishes like cheapish fabric on the flooring — what the 4×2 diesel Duster lacks in luxury, it more than makes up for with its punchy engine, frugal consumption and great gravel road capability. The tech, via an 8-inch touch screen, is also easy to configure.
For more serious off-roaders, there’s the highly capable 4×4 1.5-litre turbo diesel derivative with just as impressive consumption. It’s got lekker off-road stuff like a compass, an altimeter and a 4×4 monitor. One can even check the pitch and roll angles when off the beaten track. It is, however, only available with a manual gearbox.
Over the past few years, Renault SA has been performing particularly well ...
More than 1.2 million pupils are expected in class in the Western Cape this week when coastal schools reopen for the 2023 academic year. But some problems remain.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said it is ready for the new school year that gets under way on Wednesday. However, the department is expecting more late applications over the next few days.
Schools opened for inland provinces last week.
Education MEC David Maynier said on Monday that the department was ready for the 1.2 million pupils expected to take their places in classrooms around the province, as 35,872 teachers and 7,578 public service staff returned to Western Cape schools on Monday to prepare for the new term.
However, there were still problems around late applications and infrastructure.
Late applications
Maynier said that by 14 January the department had resolved 117,844 (99.2%) of Grade 1 and 8 placements for 2023. However, it was still in the process of placing 955 (0.8%) of Grade 1 and 8 pupils.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Massive improvement’ in school placement, says Western Cape Education Department”
“Our officials and schools have done a phenomenal job under extreme pressure to make sure that they find a place for every child,” said Maynier.
Despite the department having managed to place more than 50,000 pupils in grades 1 to 8, Maynier said the provincial education system was “still under severe admission pressure”.
On average, over the past seven years, 21,000 pupils from outside the province had been registered in the province for the first time each year.
“Schools are full, and we are going to struggle to place additional learners for whom extremely late applications are received,” he said.
Thus far, the department has received 25,212 late applications for grades 1 and 8 – after the 15 April 2022 cut-off date for applications – including 272 “extremely late applications received after schools closed on 15 December 2022”, said Maynier. The province expects more late applications once schools reopen.
“It is very difficult to place learners at this extremely late stage, and parents arriving now must be prepared for a delay in the placement of their children. we continue to urge parents to apply on time for their children.”
In addition to placing pupils, Maynier said the department has completed 561 classrooms for the first day of school. More will be completed in the coming weeks. In the same period in 2022, 212 classrooms had been built.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, ...
Five luxury properties connected to misappropriated lottery grants have been frozen by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
A luxurious mountainside mansion with sweeping views of Simon’s Town and False Bay, owned by a trust controlled by dodgy Pretoria lawyer Lesley Ramulifho, was described as “five-star” when it was put up for auction a few years ago.
In rural Rustenburg, North West, a magnificent boutique hotel on a property owned by a company belonging to former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board member William Huma, lies in the picturesque foothills of the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve.
And in Midrand, Gauteng, a luxury guesthouse with conference facilities set in a large garden with “a country feel” is owned by a company belonging to kwaito star and music producer Arthur Mafokate.
The three properties have one thing in common: they were all bought using money from lottery grants allocated to non-profit companies meant for good causes.
The properties were frozen after the National Prosecuting Authority’s Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU) obtained a preservation order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, based on evidence gathered by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The act was promulgated in 1998 “to combat organised crime, money laundering and criminal gang activities”.
Also included in the preservation order are a luxury home in a gated estate in Pretoria owned by a trust controlled by former NLC legal manager Tsietsi Maselwa, and a nearly 14-hectare plot in Pretoria owned by former NLC board chairperson, businessman and pastor Alfred Nevhutanda and his pastor wife, Tshilidzi. Both of these properties were also paid for with misappropriated lottery funds.
The SIU has been investigating corruption involving the NLC since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation in October 2020.
In terms of the order, the owners are prohibited from “selling, disposing of, leasing, transferring, donating, or dealing in any manner whatsoever with respect to the immovable properties”.
Investigations revealed how money had been misappropriated from five non-profits that had received grant funding from the NLC of approximately R56.3-million meant for community development projects, the SIU said in a statement.
These are the South African Art and Development Association (Saada), the Matieni Community Centre, Dinosys, Zibsicraft, and Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo.
The AFU was granted the preservation order after an ex parte application to the Johannesburg High Court on 21 December last year, which was only made public on 13 January. In such an application, notice is not given to the other party but there ...
Emergency legislation will be tabled to get new power projects on to the grid, as a ‘web of bureaucracy’ slows progress, says the National Energy Crisis Committee of Ministers.
In a briefing to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the National Energy Crisis Committee of Ministers (Neccom) warned there were no shortcuts to solving the power crisis crippling South Africa.
The committee, made up of seven Cabinet ministers, has said there is no short-term fix to high-stage power cuts, which have become a political crisis for Ramaphosa.
Eskom reduced power cuts from Stage 6 to Stages 4 and 5 on Monday as the head of state tried to get on top of the spiralling disaster. This was after he canned his trip to the Davos World Economic Forum amid mounting protests against the power cuts.
On Sunday night, Ramaphosa met political parties and on Monday met labour and business representatives.
Rolling blackouts will continue because Eskom can’t stop its maintenance plan, Neccom said in its briefing to Ramaphosa.
“As Eskom steps up its maintenance programmes — as it must do to reduce breakdowns in the future — it has to take more units offline, which reduces the overall amount of electricity available. The complexity of this challenge means that we will continue to experience load shedding in the short term.”
Neccom will oversee a focus on six underperforming Eskom power stations to stop the domino fall of units, which plunged the country into chaos over December and the New Year.
The briefing did not name the power stations, but they are likely to include Medupi and Kusile (the two beleaguered new builds), Kendal, Tutuka and Majuba.
The political temperature shot through the roof last week when the electricity regulator, Nersa, awarded Eskom an annual tariff increase of 18.65%. However, final figures for people and businesses still need to be set.
“We have established a team of independent experts to work closely with Eskom to diagnose the problems at poorly performing power stations and take action to improve plant performance,” the Neccom briefing to the President reads.
If Kusile’s Unit 5 and others at Medupi, Kusile and Koeberg are restored, then, “as these measures take effect, the supply of electricity improves”. (This could take all year).
“One of our main challenges is the web of bureaucracy that makes it difficult to respond to the crisis in an agile manner. The current regulatory framework was not designed with an emergency shortfall,” says the briefing.
“The National Energy Crisis ...
The Labour Court has ruled that the disciplinary rule prohibiting testing positive for cannabis in the workplace could be implemented in certain circumstances. For example, where health and safety requirements justify it.
The Constitutional Court’s decision in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others declared certain provisions of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, 1965 to be inconsistent with the right to privacy and therefore invalid to the extent that they made the use or possession of cannabis by an adult person for his or her own consumption in private, a criminal offence.
Since then, it has been widely accepted that adults can use and possess cannabis in their private spaces.
But what happens when an employee uses cannabis in their private space, and later tests positive for cannabis in the workplace?
Recently, in Numsa obo Nhlabathi and 1 Other v PFG Building Glass (Pty) Ltd, the Labour Court had to determine whether the dismissal of two employees was fair, in circumstances where they had been dismissed for testing positive for cannabis.
The employees were employed as manufacturing operators and were dismissed for misconduct, based on the following allegation: “On 18 March 2020, you tested positive for dagga in your system whilst within (inside) the workplace (on duty).”
Zero-tolerance approach
The employer has an alcohol and drug policy which prescribes a zero-tolerance approach to testing positive for alcohol or drugs in the workplace. The reason for this is safety considerations: a large amount of gas, large forklifts, extremely hot processes and dangerous chemicals are used on site.
The employer’s disciplinary code provides that being “under the influence of alcohol or drugs within the workplace” is an offence for which dismissal is the prescribed sanction for the first offence.
In challenging the fairness of their dismissal, the employees’ case was that cannabis is not a drug and that it is no longer illegal to use it. As a result, they argued that the use of cannabis could not find its way into an employer’s disciplinary code, as its use was legal and cannot constitute misconduct. This argument was based on their interpretation of the Constitutional Court decision.
The employees further contended that the Constitutional Court decision decriminalised cannabis because cannabis “is not a drug, it is just a plant, it is a herb”.
Despite their contentions, the arbitrator found the employees’ dismissal substantively fair.
Dissatisfied by the arbitration award, ...
It is now cheaper to build new utility-scale renewable energy plants than it is to keep existing fossil fuels plants operating. And they will only get cheaper.
Residents of South Africa will remember 2022 for a host of different reasons, but one memory they will share is of the almost unrelenting burden of power cuts. Last year was the worst to date by far, with more blackouts in September alone than in the whole of 2020.
In the first half of 2022, the average weekly energy availability factor of Eskom’s fleet of power stations had slipped below 60%, meaning that at any one time, around 40% of its fleet was not generating electricity. The figure falls to 52% availability if only coal and nuclear power stations are assessed.
The causes of this availability crisis are now well known. They are the result of poor policy choices — both historically and now — rampant corruption, catastrophic mismanagement and, to a certain extent, sabotage.
South Africans are right to be asking what 2023 will bring.
The answer, sadly, is more of the same. It will be more of the same because the long-term consequences of this corruption and mismanagement have so weakened Eskom and its fleet that there are no quick fixes.
But it will also be more of the same because of the continuation of poor policy choices by the government. Despite the rhetoric around a Just Transition from certain parts of government, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy remains wedded to an archaic electricity future dominated by costly and polluting coal, gas and nuclear power.
South Africa’s electricity plan, known as the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, is seriously out of date and commits South Africa to new coal, new nuclear (as well as the extension in the life of existing nuclear) and new gas plants.
None of these options is economically viable; none is environmentally viable within the context of both climate change and local pollution, and nor can they be built timeously to alleviate the current electricity crisis.
Coal is polluting, expensive and open to corruption. Eskom’s entire coal fleet needs to be retired in an organised and just fashion and no new coal-fired power stations must be built.
As all serious research has shown, including that undertaken by the government-funded Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, there is no future for coal in electricity generation in South Africa.
Nuclear power is among the most expensive to build and ...
Private and communal lands now conserve at least 50% of Africa’s rhinos, according to a newly published paper in journal ‘Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment’, highlighting the need for ‘adaptive policies’ to build on this success. These trends have policy implications as debates rage about rhino-horn trade and trophy hunting.
One of the most significant trends in megafauna conservation in recent years has been the growing numbers of rhinos on private ranches and reserves in South Africa, at a time when populations in state-run parks have plunged in the face of unrelenting poaching to feed Asian demand for horn.
In the past few years, the number of privately owned rhinos in South Africa has exceeded the number in state hands, as a result. And private populations continue to grow while state-managed populations, notably in the Kruger National Park, maintain their dramatic decline.
A newly published paper in peer-reviewed journal ‘Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment’ has cast a wider net around the issue, looking beyond South Africa and including populations found on communal land in Africa.
“We aggregated African rhino population data, highlighting the growing role of private and community rhino custodians, who likely now conserve > 50% of Africa’s rhinos,” says the study, lead-authored by Hayley Clements of the Universities of Helsinki and Stellenbosch. Dave Balfour, a widely regarded South African expert on rhino conservation, is one of the co-authors.
“As the role of private and community custodianship becomes increasingly central to the protection of Africa’s remaining rhinos, its resilience must be strengthened through implementation of adaptive policies that incentivise rhino conservation,” they write.
Incentives are clearly lacking and policies are needed to address the realities on the ground.
The situation in South Africa’s government-run parks is nothing short of catastrophic, and is emblematic of the ANC’s failing state.
“Until the past decade, by far the largest populations of South Africa’s rhinos were found in the state-run Kruger National Park. The park has, however, become a poaching hotspot, with figures released in 2021 signalling 76% and 68% declines in the white rhino and black rhino populations over the past decade, respectively,” the authors note.
“Over the same decade, the estimated number of white rhinos on private land in South Africa has steadily increased. As a result of these divergent rhino population trends on state and private lands, the proportion of the country’s white rhinos on private land increased from 25% in 2010, to 53% in 2021. This ...
It is impossible for any form of learning to take place in communities that are infested with crime. Instead of tackling the school system, it is essential to first repair the communities.
There is no doubt that many cynics believe South African education is a lost cause. I too have serious reservations. Notwithstanding, it is only when schools become safe havens that real learning will take place.
It is so distressing to see parents who are meant to be role models for their children looting and destroying schools. A dysfunctional community means a dysfunctional school. It is imperative, therefore, to first deal with the crime and the myriad issues that are implicitly embedded within the community. Only by understanding all the nuances can one envisage a contextual representation of all the problems within a community.
Crime
Crime is without doubt the most iniquitous barrier to a free and fair education in South Africa. It is sinister by nature, and is usually driven by greed or poverty. The latter implies desperation and can be remediated, provided there is a caring government in place.
However, the first source of crime rooted in greed is the worst form of crime because as crime escalates, criminals become guided by a lack of morality and ethical principles. This usually results in an erosion of values and a lack of care. It’s a ferocious cycle that’s hard to break.
When human beings stop caring for one another, trust becomes redundant and values are negated. The dominant acts of crime and their causes include thousands of reports of corruption and mismanagement in government, significant unemployment, violent crime, insufficient infrastructure, and poor government service delivery to impoverished communities. These factors have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Responsibility and accountability
It is impossible for any form of learning to take place in communities that are infested with crime. Instead of tackling the school system, it is essential to repair the communities first. After all, schools can no longer be expected to compensate for all the wrongs of society.
It is time to place things in the right order – for the adults to lead and children to follow. Only when adults are responsible and accountable and can clearly demonstrate that they can be role models should they be involved in any form of reformation.
Communities therefore urgently require leaders who are not afraid to take on this initiative of building communities rather than destroying them.
Strong leadership – with ...
Umalusi has approved the release of matric results for the Class of 2022 on Friday, 20 January 2023. This is despite earlier concern about the effect of rolling blackouts, community protests, exam question irregularities and reported cases of cheating in November last year.
‘The South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute and Independent Examinations Board have approved the release of the results of the matric class of 2022,” said Prof Yunus Ballim, chair of the Umalusi Council, at a briefing on the outcome of its quality assurance processes for the 2022 national exams.
“The irregularities that were identified during and after the exams were not systemic and do not compromise the overall credibility of exams administered by the Department of Basic Education.”
Ballim was speaking ahead of the release of the matric results on Friday, 20 January, a week after inland schools reopened and two days after coastal schools opened.
This is the third consecutive year that the release of matric results has been delayed.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘The long wait is excruciating’: Anxious times over delayed matric results”
According to Umalusi CEO, Dr Mafu Rakometsi, Covid contributed to the late release.
“The 2022 academic calendar started late due to the pandemic, which had knock-on effects on the exams and subsequently marking and release of results.
“Umalusi monitored examinations and marking centres. and can confirm the results are credible. However, Umalusi remains seriously concerned about reported cases of irregularities during the writing of the examinations.”
Exam irregularities
Rakometsi said they had received reports from different assessment bodies of various forms of cheating uncovered during the examinations.
“Candidates were found in possession of notes, cellphones, sharing answers via WhatsApp groups and posters. scripts with different handwriting.”
To safeguard the integrity and credibility of the qualifications issued by Umalusi, Rakometsi said various sanctions were applied to different offences, including the nullification of results and being barred from rewriting the exam for one or two exam cycles.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In addition to the irregularities, Rakometsi said increased power cuts, service delivery protests and natural disasters had interfered with the National Senior Certificate exams.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Rolling blackouts a big worry as matrics set to write final examinations”
At least seven papers for six subjects were disrupted between October and November 2022 due to power cuts, protests and natural disasters.
Disrupted exams include:
Computer Applications Technology, written 25 October;
Information Technology, written on 26 October;
English First Additional Language Paper 1, ...
Being a police officer is more than just a job. It is a calling; it is something that saves the country, saves communities, builds the economy, creates growth, and gives people peace of mind. This was the message from Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, chair of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, to police at a weekend awards ceremony.
Good security and good policing were essential to the well-being of South Africa, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder and chairperson of the Gift of Givers Foundation, told police at the Western Cape SAPS Excellence Awards on Saturday.
The barometer of the country could be gauged by crime, which was at an all-time high, he said.
“The economy is in your (police) hands. This is not just a police officer’s job. It is a calling; it is something that saves the country, something that saves communities, something that builds the economy, creates growth, and something that gives people peace of mind.
He reminded police that the job entailed an element of risk, and warned that criminals “will ride you” if they dedected that a police office was fearful. “You should not be afraid of any kind of criminal. Hence a strong police force and a brave strategy is critical.”
The ceremony was held at the Century Conference Centre, where the dignitaries included Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile; Reagen Allen, Western Cape police oversight and community safety MEC; police commissioners from other provinces; police who retired during Covid-19 and had not received a proper farewell; and members of the legal fraternity.
The theme of this year’s awards – which acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contributions of SAPS employees – was “African Dream”.
But it was not only about the excellent service from men and women in blue, but also to remember those who died in the line of duty and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Prediction for the police in 2023 is laden with storms and scandals”
When Covid arrived, Sooliman explained, some people in the medical field shifted their responsibilities. “When you became a doctor, you came to save lives, even if it meant risking your own life in the process.”
Lauding SAPS members, Sooliman said: “To me, the greatest joy would be if I were a cop and in your shoes, and my son or daughter told me he wants to be like me. Do you understand what that means? Your child aspires to be a police officer.”
He ...
Sassa blames staff shortages and rolling blackouts as grant beneficiaries queue for hours only to be turned away.
South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant beneficiaries say they are queueing for longer than usual at the Soshanguve office, north of Pretoria.
People leave their homes in the dark and queue from dawn only to be turned away when the queue is cut because of system failures and rolling blackouts.
When GroundUp visited the office on Thursday, many people, who had been standing in the snaking queue since 5am, were still waiting in line after 1pm.
Several people said they had made repeated attempts to get service at the office.
Lettty Malope (62) said: “All I want is to submit documentation because I want to start receiving my money on my bank card. They gave me documents to fill in and return [by standing in the queue again]. Why can’t I submit and leave?”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Tshepiso Sithole (28) said it was her third attempt to apply for a social grant for her seven-month-old child. She first tried in the first week of December. She leaves home at 5.30am, but each time is told the system is down.
“The second time they left us waiting until 2pm without saying anything. Today, it was the same problem. This started in December, when they said load shedding had affected their cables for computers so they were using their laptops,” said Sithole.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Sassa beneficiaries left stranded due to alleged staff party”
Ellen Slabbert (65) said: “I’m here to enquire about the foster care grant for my grandson. He’s supposed to be going to Grade 12 but because we haven’t received his money, I can’t afford taxi fares. I even borrowed R100 to get here.”
Asked about the long queues and delays in accessing social grants, Sassa provincial spokesperson Nandi Mosia said: “The majority of our officials took their leave late in December into January. Most return on 16 January 2023. This means we are operating on strained capacity. However, we strive to assist as many clients as we can from 7h30 to 16h00.”
She said the system failures were due to load shedding, cable theft and continued network unavailability.
Mosia did not indicate how many beneficiaries are supposed to be assisted daily. DM
First published by GroundUp.
The Impofu Dam at 7% while the Churchill Dam may run dry by April.
‘If this drought continues, the Churchill Dam will dry up by April,” warns a senior official at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
The dam currently supplies water to the southern and western suburbs of Nelson Mandela Bay, including parts of the densely populated KwaZakhele and New Brighton townships.
The official, who asked not to be named, said that thousands of households in these communities as well as parts of the Kouga Municipality will be without any running water should the dam run dry.
The official said that should this happen, water will then be pumped directly from the Nooitgedacht water scheme. “When this process starts, people should know very well that we have reached Day Zero,” the official said.
Last week, mayor Retief Odendaal urged residents to reduce their daily water consumption urgently. As of 11 January, the combined dam level was 15%, of which only 9% is usable water.
In the statement, Odendaal said the City could no longer meet its daily water demand of 286 megalitres. Dam levels, as of 9 January, were recorded as follows: Churchill Dam was at 31%, Kouga Dam was at 16%, Groendal Dam was at 16% and Loerie Dam was at 47%. The City highlighted that Impofu Dam level which was at just over 7%, is at the lowest level it has been to date.
“The pumps on the barge near the intake tower will soon reach the riverbed and will need to be moved. The new barge, 6km downstream near to the dam wall, requires electrical connections before it can be brought online. This will allow the municipality to draw the last remaining dead storage from this dam.
“The drought situation is real and we need everyone to take it seriously and reduce their water consumption,” Odendaal pleaded in the statement.
Each person has been asked to only use 50 litres of water per day. Despite the current crisis, many residents and visitors appeared to be ignoring the water restrictions over the festive period.
In Govan Mbeki and Zwide, the municipality started installing water meters last year to better monitor and restrict consumption.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Nelson Mandela Bay drought ‘could last another six years’, says weather expert”
Nozuko Singaphi from Zwide said, “The meters are good under the current water crisis but we have big families. In summer we do most of our traditions like slaughtering and homecoming ...
The leftover aspect of this is twofold: first, don’t discard the bits and pieces of pasta at the bottom of a packet, and second, don’t chuck out that leftover cooked pasta.
As you can see in the photo, two or more pasta shapes make a pasta salad look pretty good. It’s only an aesthetic, but what pleases the eye pleases the soul, so why not.
I find there is often some pasta left over in a packet, and more in another. There’s no reason not to mix them up in, say, a cheesy bake or a salad.
In this instance, I had leftover penne rigate and farfalle (bowties, if you prefer). I cooked them until al dente, drained and drizzled with a little oil and refrigerated them. Next day, I turned the pasta into a simple salad, perfect weeknight fare for a wallet-squeezed month such as January.
There’s no need to have a precise recipe, as recipes like these should be adapted according to what you have in the crisper, just something along the following lines.
Ingredients
Leftover pasta such as farfalle, spirals, penne, macaroni, etc
Crisp, fresh salad ingredients such as cucumber, green and red bell peppers, spring onions, chillies, small roma tomatoes, red onion, celery
Avocado or olive oil
Lemon or lime juice
A splash of soy sauce
A little prepared mustard
Fresh garlic and/or ginger, finely grated or chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Method
Cook pasta till al dente, drain, and toss in a little oil (avocado or olive). Refrigerate.
Chop all your chosen ingredients finely. Pour oil and lemon or lime juice into a salad bowl, stir in soy sauce and mustard, add chopped garlic, ginger and chilli if using, season and stir.
Add all the vegetables, toss for the dressing to coat everything, and finally, toss through the chilled pasta. DM/TGIFood
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
Civil rights movement #NotInMyName, in partnership with the Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Eersterust stakeholders forum, will march to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and then to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, to protest against the way rolling blackouts have been managed in South Africa. The Zero Dropout Campaign will be hosting a Twitter space unpacking why so many pupils drop out and how the matric results often obscure this reality.
On Wednesday, 18 January, at 10am, Wits University’s REAL (Researching Education and Labour) Centre, together with Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA), is hosting a seminar on “Professionalisation framework for the Public Service: Implications for skills”.
It is being held “in view of Cabinet’s decision to approve the National Framework for the Professionalisation of the Public Service”. Key speakers include Professor Mashupye H Maserumule, chief editor of the Journal of Public Administration, professor of public affairs and the executive dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Tshwane University of Technology; and Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, executive director of the Public Affairs Institute and associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg.
Register here.
On Wednesday at 3pm, the People’s Vaccine Alliance is holding a “Teach-in on Introduction to Compulsory Licensing”.
The teach-in will cover what compulsory licensing (CL) is, how it is used, the barriers to it and how more countries could be encouraged to use it.
“This session will include a deep dive into how the [US] uses CLs, including during Covid, what the conditions are for using CLs, and suggested actions for [chief security officers] around CLs,” according to the event description.
Those interested in attending can email Christy on christy.clemence@peoplesvaccine.org.
On Thursday, 19 January, at 5.30pm, the South African Political Economy Series (Sapes) Trust is hosting a webinar on “Delimitation and the Voters’ Roll: How is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Performing?”
The convener of the webinar is Ibbo Mandaza of the Sapes Trust. Speakers include Pansy Tlakula, chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa; Phillan Zamchiya, senior researcher at the Institution for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas); and Barbra Bhebe, executive director of the Election Resource Centre.
The webinar can be watched live on the Sapes Trust Facebook page, and accessed on Zoom with meeting ID 87872795686 and passcode 054131.
On Thursday at 6.30pm, the Zero Dropout Campaign will host a Twitter Space unpacking why so many pupils drop out and how the matric results ...
Household-level changes must take place alongside changes to how we farm.
If you’re hoping to eat more sustainably in 2023 but are unsure of where to begin, you’re not alone. A new qualitative study of 21 mostly young adult U.K. residents found that among participants willing to make dietary changes, uncertainty around definitions often stands in the way.
A better collective understanding of what makes a diet “sustainable” might help but before we get to the definitions, it’s important to keep in mind that dietary change is just one component — though definitely a necessary one — of the kinds of food system change recommended by researchers.
In this piece, we focus on individual dietary change but household-level changes must take place alongside changes to how we farm, climate scientists say. What’s more, consumer-facing institutions like grocery stores, school cafeterias and restaurants can have a larger collective environmental impact by shifting purchasing choices and food waste practices.
But back to dietary change — here’s how four leading organizations define a sustainable diet. The big takeaway? If you live in the global north, you should aim to eat a lot less red meat. What to eat instead? Plant-based burgers might taste more like meat, but the healthiest plant-rich options are legumes, nuts and fruits and vegetables.
FAO: Eat less meat, more fruits and vegetables
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, otherwise known as the FAO, defined a sustainable diet back in 2010, highlighting foods with “low environmental impact” that support improved “nutrition” and a “healthy life.” More precisely, a sustainable diet protects and respects “biodiversity and ecosystems” and is “culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources.”
But what does that actually mean in terms of what you should eat? In a 2016 publication called Plates, Pyramids and Planets, researchers surveyed countries that include sustainability in their food and nutrition policies, and found widespread agreement around this recommendation: eat less meat and more plants.
In countries that consume too much meat, residents should eat less, the researchers suggested. Meanwhile in countries where meat consumption is on the rise but still much lower than in the global north, governments should adopt strategies that support moderate meat consumption.
Environmental goals are not enough, the authors noted. Food justices is a critical part of a sustainable food system too, including better conditions for farm workers, for example.
EAT-Lancet: Eat mostly plants, limit red meat
Published ...
The insistence of almost everybody that fish must only ever be cooked fresh is belied by the abundance of frozen fish in supermarket freezers. Somebody must be buying them, surely.?
Let’s be honest. There isn’t always time (or budget) to source fresh fish, and families need a ready solution on hand for a quick weeknight supper. Personally, I do love to buy fresh fish from the fish shop in the docks at Gqeberha, but that’s a half-day drive from h0me. So you will find frozen hake fillets in the Jackman freezer.
I find them tricky to cook in a frying pan. The heat veers in an instant from too hot to not hot enough, or vice versa. One side catches almost every time. I don’t like doing them in the oven, since it’s far from economical. I’m also allergic to my microwave oven, which leads us to the air fryer which I’m liking more and more every day.
A quick Google told me that, as with frying them, fish fillets need to go straight from the freezer into the air fryer, after preheating it. I tried it and they came out perfectly the first time. They’re undoubtedly the most successful frozen fish fillets I’ve cooked. It’s a big win.
Here’s how I did it.
Ingredients
Frozen crumbed hake fillets (however many you want to cook)
Cooking oil spray
Lemon wedges
Granny Betty’s air fryer chips (as many as you want)
Salt to taste
Method
Don’t defrost the fillets. They need to come straight out of the freezer and into the preheated air fryer.
Preheat the air fryer drawer at 190℃ for 5 minutes.
Coat the base with cooking oil spray. Place the fillets in, with space between them for the hot air to circulate, and cook for 10 minutes at 190℃.
Turn them over carefully and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve with my mom’s family-favourite chips, the recipe for which I’ve adapted for an air fryer, and lemon wedges. Season with salt before eating. DM/TGIFood
This weekend, there was a clean sweep of victories for South African teams in the Champions Cup for the first time, with cards aplenty shown to their European opposition.
South African rugby has a – somewhat exaggerated – global reputation for being ill-disciplined on the field.
This weekend, however, the boot was on the other foot as all three South African European Champions Cup teams – the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers – benefited gleefully from the ill-discipline of their opposition.
Bordeaux Bègles suffered four yellow cards in their match against the Sharks.
Exeter Chiefs finished their match with 14 men, after their captain Henry Slade was red-carded, following a high tackle to Bulls fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse.
While London Irish only had 13 men on the field when the final whistle blew in their match against the Stormers on Sunday.
London Irish’s two red cards were both as a result of head collisions.
The first by fullback Ben Loader on Manie Libbok, was head-on-head and resulted in the Stormers pivot having to go for an off-field head injury assessment test, one he subsequently failed.
The failed test means the Stormers will likely be without their influential playmaker for at least a week — missing out on Saturday 21 January’s Champions Cup clash against Clermont Auvergne at home.
Stormers secure win
Despite playing with a two-man advantage for long periods of the encounter, the Stormers failed to stamp their authority against London Irish, scraping past them 28-14 away from home.
The positives for head coach John Dobson must be the return to the playing field – and form – of outside centre Ruhan Nel and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, after both had an extended period on the injury list.
Nel was outstanding in the 13 channel, running hard lines and putting his outside backs into space. Though the opportunities he created were spilled on two occasions: winger Angelo Davids unable to hold on to his pass with an open try line beckoning, and Libbok passing forwards to Davids after a Nel linebreak.
Nel eventually did it all himself in the 30th minute when he intercepted a loose pass and cantered in from 50m out — a just reward for his tireless work.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu came on in the 18th minute, much earlier than he and his coach planned for. But there was no choice after doctors concluded that Libbok suffered a concussion, after his head collision with Loader.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s distribution was solid at flyhalf, and he played a ...
Former President Jacob Zuma’s attempt to drag President Cyril Ramaphosa before a privately funded criminal court later this week was blocked by the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.
The interim interdict was granted by judges Roland Sutherland, Edwin Molahlehi and Marcus Senyatsi to allow Ramaphosa time to challenge the lawfulness of Zuma’s right to privately prosecute the President.
Ramaphosa was expected to present himself before a criminal court on Thursday, 19 January, based on a summons issued in December 2022.
Sutherland said there was no other form of relief that Ramaphosa could seek other than the interim interdict.
“This we take to be axiomatic as it would require [Ramaphosa] to appear before criminal court and by so doing implicitly submit to a process which he claims is unlawful. Were [Ramaphosa] to succeed later to have the private prosecution declared invalid, the harm of the submission to unlawful action cannot be undone,” said Sutherland.
Sutherland ordered both parties to “immediately approach the Office of the Deputy Judge President in Johannesburg” to arrange a case management meeting to set “an agreed date for the hearing” where the merits of Ramaphosa’s claims could be properly argued.
The former president has accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact to criminal conduct or, alternatively, of defeating or attempting to defeat the ends of justice, relating to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of medical information in Zuma’s private prosecution of veteran prosecutor Billy Downer — who will be prosecuting the Arms Deal graft trial in which Zuma is accused number one — and journalist Karyn Maughan.
Furthermore, said Sutherland, the trial of Downer and Maughan had yet to begin.
“Their conviction is a necessary condition for criminal liability by [Ramaphosa],” he said.
He said there would be no harm to Zuma if the private prosecution of Ramaphosa was delayed.
Key to Ramaphosa’s argument is that the nolle prosequi certificate used by Zuma as the basis for his private prosecution is not relevant to him but only to Downer and Maughan. Ramaphosa said this also invalidates the summons issued by Zuma and makes his prosecution unlawful.
The application for the interdict was argued before the court last Thursday.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Judgment reserved in Ramaphosa’s attempt to interdict Zuma’s ‘unsound’ private prosecution”
A nolle prosequi certificate is issued by the National Prosecuting Authority when it declines to prosecute a case on behalf of the State. This opens the door for private prosecutions to be launched.
Zuma initiated the private ...
Parents who were still struggling to place their children in school for 2023 flocked to the department for help last week.
The online application process for pupils in grades 1 and 8 to attend schools in 2023 opened on 19 July and closed on 31 August. Enrolment and placement took place between 1 September and 15 December. But many children were still not placed as 18 January, the day Western Cape schools open, approached.
Last week, GroundUp visited the Metro North Education District of the Western Cape Education Department and saw dozens of parents seeking help at the offices to find school places.
Parents waited in rows of chairs inside and outside a tent after being allocated numbers by security staff at the gate. Officials were helping parent number 70. People kept arriving. The queue moved efficiently.
GroundUp spoke to a parent, who gave her name as Unity. She said she was there to look for a place for a cousin whose parents both died last year.
“At the district I received excellent service. The child was put on the waiting list and I was also advised to try Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) since my child is already 16,” she said.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond told GroundUp that in terms of general admissions, as of 20 December 2022, 111,616 Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils had been placed for this school year. Placing of a further 680 Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils is in process.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“This includes late applications made up to 19 December. This is a massive improvement from previous years, as we have placed 50,160 more Grade 1 and 8 learners than this time last year,” she said.
“We are currently building 842 additional classrooms for the 2023 school year which will accommodate at least 26,000 places for learners in the province. This is an unprecedented building programme. We are building the equivalent of one school every four days, or eight classes per day on average, to accommodate needs. We are also appointing up to 1,143 additional teachers in the system this year.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gauteng school admissions backlog — Motshekga says outstanding placements will be resolved in 10 days”
One of the new schools is organised by the Metro North district – the Tygerberg STEM Academy housed in the Tygerberg Art Centre. It will accommodate 160 grade eight learners ...
A cast-iron pot, a supply of hot coals and enough time on your hands to tend the dough while it rises and then wait for it to cook, surrounded by coals; that’s an afternoon worth planning for.
Thyme subtly enhances anything it is used with yet is always recognisably present. It’s best used as the only herb in the mix, to benefit the most from its particular flavour and aroma. You can use plenty, or only a little; either way, your bread will turn out enticing and moreish.
Ingredients
1 kg white bread wheat flour
10 g instant yeast
4 scant tsp sugar
1 scant tsp salt
2 Tbsp picked fresh thyme leaves
2 cups lukewarm water, plus a little more if needed
2 Tbsp olive oil
Olive oil for the pot
Method
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon. Only stir in the salt after this so that it does not neutralise the yeast. Stir in the thyme leaves.
Add lukewarm water a little at a time, while kneading the dough, until it is all combined. Now add the 2 Tbsp olive oil and continue kneading until it is a nice plump ball of dough and no longer sticky. Knead again for a few minutes, turning and push-pulling with your hands/fists.
Leave the ball of dough in the bowl, cover with a slightly damp tea towel, and put it in a warm spot outside for 20 minutes, or inside if the weather is not playing ball. Another option is to put it in a slightly pre-warmed oven, but turned off.
Check that your braai coals are ready. Oil the inside of your heavy-bottomed pot well. Carefully ease the dough into it; you may need to use a silicone spatula to scrape the edges downwards. Put the lid on the braai pot. Place in the braai and immediately place hot coals all around the base, and a few more on top. Keep replenishing the coals at the base and on the lid for a full hour. The pot bread should be ready in an hour. Remove the lid; it should turn out perfectly. DM/TGIFood
A little more than a month after being sacked by England despite being statistically their best coach to date, Eddie Jones has been appointed as Wallabies head coach for the second time.
Australia coach Dave Rennie was sacked on Monday, with former England boss Eddie Jones returning to the job he held from 2001 to 2005 after being handed a deal to take him through the 2027 World Cup on home soil.
Jones, who led the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final in his previous stint in the post and was sacked by England in December, will also oversee the national women’s team.
“It is a major coup for Australian rugby to have the best coach in the world return home to coach the iconic Wallabies and to oversee the Wallaroos programme,” Rugby Australia chairperson Hamish McLennan said.
“Eddie instinctively understands the Australian way of playing rugby – this represents an opportunity to secure a coach of immense expertise and experience at the biggest competitions, and we did not want to miss it.”
New Zealander Rennie was contracted until the end of this year’s World Cup in France but had a winning record of only 38% since taking over after the last edition in 2019.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Outspoken Eddie Jones sacked after roller coaster ride as England rugby coach”
His winning record was the lowest of any Australia coach who had overseen at least 30 Tests, but he did lead the Wallabies to wins over New Zealand, South Africa and France.
Last week, he bluntly dismissed the idea that Jones might work with him in any capacity after media reports that Rugby Australia had been in touch with the 62-year-old Australian.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Jones also led England to the 2019 World Cup final, was a consultant for South Africa when they won the 2007 tournament, and oversaw Japan’s stunning upset of the Springboks at the 2015 edition of rugby’s showcase event.
His contract takes him through the 2025 incoming tour of the British & Irish Lions and Australia’s hosting of the 2027 World Cup.
“It is going to be an immense period for Australian rugby – as a proud Australian, it is a great honour to be able to come home and lead the national team during these years,” said Jones.
“If we can have everyone fit and healthy going into the World Cup this year, I am confident that we ...
More Chucky, less Annabelle, M3GAN is the new killer doll on the street. Building on the viral success of its trailer, the sci-fi horror film is the first big box office hit of 2023.
Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics have become so ubiquitous throughout science fiction that it’s difficult to imagine a setting, especially one dabbling in Artificial Intelligence, that doesn’t employ them. Even in real life, the current rise of machine learning algorithms that are trying to take the place of artists, writers and creatives by allegedly stealing original works and flaunting copyright laws, are ignoring a tenet that has been in place since 1948: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The same obliviousness is present in new sci-fi horror film M3GAN thanks to profit-hungry fictional toy company, Funki. Funki are purveyors of annoyingly loud and colourful interactive toys – basically Furbies called PurrPetual Petz, and their design is spearheaded by roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams). Convinced there is so much more an interactive toy can do, though, Gemma is secretly working on her passion project: the Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN. A life-size and lifelike doll, M3GAN is designed to watch, listen and most importantly, learn, using adaptive programming to improve herself so she can excel in the role of “best friend” to any child.
After a tragic accident, Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned eight-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), something she obviously didn’t have in her life plan. Under pressure at work and completely out of her depth on how to deal with a grieving child, Gemma fires up the M3GAN prototype and pairs it with Cady. This way, she can kill several birds with one stone: have someone to take care of Cady, work on improving M3GAN, and convince Funki’s CEO David (Ronny Chieng) that this is the future of toy sales. What could possibly go wrong?
From haste, naivete or just lack of forethought, Gemma neglected one thing when it comes to M3GAN: ethical protocols. Indeed, when you give an AI a directive – say “protect this child from emotional and physical harm” – it’s useful to have a framework in place to define what “harm” means, and where to draw the line. Predictably, things take a turn for the worse as M3GAN’s emergent capabilities learn at a lightning-fast pace, with no ...
No one would be on this road in the dark, in this cold. No one but the mad.
It is a winter evening more than 20 years ago and I find myself standing on the N2 just outside Caledon. It is near sunset and I am quite happy. I am hitchhiking from Cape Town to Makhanda, you see, where I am a student at Rhodes University. The journey is 873km and from experience I know it should take about 24 hours, which means I am bang on schedule.
“Mossel Bay by morning,” I mutter to myself, as the last of the sun dips below the distant mountain peaks. Almost immediately the temperature drops, but I don’t notice it. I’m young, you see, and foolish.
Cars pass.
I peer into each one.
“Who are you?” I ask a driver who sees me too late and is startled, and speeds away.
I turn to follow his rear lights, making sure that he isn’t going to change his mind. No, the little car disappears around the bend. I look up and see that the mountain peaks are gone – dusk has turned to night. I smile, because the beauty of the hitch is solitude.
I know this spot. Last summer I stood here in the heat, heading to the start of my first year. Only 110km out of the city, how worried I’d been, facing the prospect of university, facing the prospect of adulthood. But the road had been with me then as it is now, showing me the way.
Car!
I put my thumb to the road as the man who taught me to hitchhike showed me.
The face in the motorcar is hidden, a black silhouette, a place holder for a world unknown.
“Take me with you. Show me your life.”
I light a cigarette. The heat of the match between my cupped hands reminds me it’s getting colder.
I look up to the black sky uneasily. I did not expect it to be this cold.
I put my hand in front of my face. I smile. I cannot see my fingers.
This is the beauty of the hitch.
The longest I’ve ever stood was five hours. I was dropped in Gqeberha the year before, only 130km or so from my destination, but nothing would stop for me. I walked the length of that city on a miserable afternoon, trudging on blistered feet. Eventually I gave up beside that dirty highway, walking slumped over, head down, my ...
Some scientists took a simple coin, gave it some spin, and then applied endless geekish fascination to try and explain how and why it moved around.
Euler’s Disk is a scientific educational toy invented by engineer Joseph Bendik.
youtube.com/watch?v=cSEKB7X00Qc
Choose a flat surface, place a coin on its end – a R5 is perfect – and give it a flick. For a while, it spins on its axis in one place, but as it slows down it begins to wobble. The sound it makes speeds up, merging into a sort of whir, which ends abruptly in a thrrwump.
We may give it no more thought, but there are scientists who have become fascinated about what’s going on there. Two things, it seems: a simultaneous spin and wobble. The first happens while it spins on its edge and the wobble begins as it loses momentum, leans over and rotates on its edge.
It’s easier to understand from the motion of a top, which you get going by spinning it on its axis. As it slows down, it starts to wobble in widening circles opposite to the direction of the spin. This has a technical term: precession. The earth does it too. What was once dubbed the Pole Star, Polaris, thousands of years ago, no longer shows north, but is in a different position because of planetary wobble.
Back to our coin, a super-wobbler. In fact it does it so fast it’s hard to follow. If you look at it from directly above, you’ll see it’s spinning quite slowly. To see the wobble, you have to look at it from the side at table level. The speed of its wobble increasingly becomes incredibly fast.
How fast? The question attracted Professor Keith Moffatt, director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, UK, who specialises in fluid mechanics. What caught his attention was Euler’s Disk, a toy created by a San Diego engineer, Joseph Bendik, who named it after 18th-century Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler.
As Bendik would later explain: “I realised the motion of the disk was probably given some thought by Euler. Reading the literature on Euler, one finds he was very interested in the math and physics of ‘spolling’ (spin and roll) rigid bodies (hoops for example) — hence the name ‘Euler’s Disk.”
The toy, which Moffatt got from a mail-order catalogue, consisted of a chrome-plated steel disk and a circular, slightly concave platform. Once spun, the disk ...
Nicci Robertson believes that good health is the key to happiness and personal success – just what we need for a new year!
Eating well should be one of life’s pleasures – and a healthy diet should not be boring. These three delicious dinner options from South African author Nicci Robertson’s new cookbook, Thrive: Healthy Recipes that Break the Diet Rules, are mouthwatering, family-friendly, packed with flavour and nutritionally balanced.
Robertson is a clinical nutritionist trained in neurolinguistic programming and functional medicine, as well as being the founder of Re-Invent Health, the producer of her own podcast, resident nutritionist for Real Health on DSTv’s The Home Channel, and creator of the online learning series Nutrition Rx.
In Thrive, Robertson explains how to exchange bad habits for better ones, recognise and eliminate stress factors that can contribute to lifestyle diseases, and understand the role that proteins, carbs, fats, fibre and water play in keeping us healthy. She also unpacks some common nutrition facts and myths.
Thrive contains more than 80 delicious meal ideas, and practical advice for anyone who wants to improve their health or try to lose weight while still enjoying their food.
Salmon Ceviche
Ceviche is a fresh dish made from raw fish marinated in citrus juices, herbs and spices.
Ingredients
Serves 2
250 g fresh salmon or rainbow trout
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 fresh chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 avocado, sliced or cubed
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Fresh mint and/or coriander leaves, finely chopped
Method
Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, cut the fish into cubes (± 1cm square).
Combine the olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, spring onions and chilli in a serving bowl. Season to taste. Add the diced salmon and mix gently until well coated. Chill in the fridge for an hour.
Before serving, add the avocado and cucumber and toss gently. Garnish with sesame seeds and fresh herbs. Serve with sourdough or rye bread, to mop up the juices, and wedges of lemon or lime for squeezing.
Apple, Celery and Cottage Cheese Salad
This combination of tastes and textures works really well together. Best of all, it is quick to make, quick to eat and full of fibre. For an on-the-go lunch, you might prefer to put the nuts in a separate container and add them at ...
The 35-year-old Serb says he felt like ‘the villain of the world’ when he was deported from Australia because of his anti-vaccination stance. But he says the time off the circuit renewed his determination, and he is back in the country to win.
Novak Djokovic said his controversial deportation ahead of last year’s Australian Open proved an unlikely catalyst for success in 2022, allowing him to regroup on the practice court before bouncing back with key titles.
The Serb trained hard in the months after he was deported and while barred from competing in the United States for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.
He later won his seventh Wimbledon crown and capped a year of disruption by winning the ATP Tour Finals for a sixth time in Turin.
Back at Melbourne Park after his visa ban was lifted by the Australian government, Djokovic said missing events due to his vaccination stance had renewed his determination on the training court.
“Yes, absolutely. I mean, you normally, as a professional tennis player on the highest level, don’t have much time to really have a longer training block,” Djokovic told reporters on Saturday, 14 January.
“The fact that I wasn’t playing for several months at the beginning of last year allowed me to really get together with my team and work on my body, on my strokes, which has later helped me to achieve some great results.”
Djokovic told local broadcaster Nine Network that he felt like “the villain of the world” last year in Melbourne where he was detained at a hotel with asylum-seekers before being deported.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
He was, however, warmly received by a packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night during a practice match against home hero Nick Kyrgios.
Djokovic, who will bid for a record-extending 10th Australian Open crown, said he had no choice but to move on from the events of last year.
“Well, you have to. I mean, in a way, if I do hold the grudges, probably if I’m not able to move on, I wouldn’t be here,” he told reporters. “Also I have to say that the amount of positive experiences I had in Australia overwhelm the negative experience maybe of last year.”
The 35-year-old said he was still cautious about a hamstring strain he picked up in Adelaide and was training lighter than usual to conserve his energy.
There was no holding back on his ...
The most striking thing is how any human being would watch a horrific terrorist attack on civilians, hear people screaming for their lives under rubble, see the bodies of children being pulled out from under tonnes of concrete and still feel justified in their decision to stand with Russia. Who are you standing with? Terrorists? Murderers?
I sat down to write about something inspiring – we have so many talented artists, scientists, inventors, painters, poets, composers, writers and dancers, that it would be a shame not to tell you about them while I have the chance.
There are so many everyday things you have in your life that originated in Ukraine or were invented by Ukrainians. We’ve just had Christmas, and the world was listening to the Carol of the Bells composed by the Ukrainian Nikolay Leontovich. Your hard drive was co-invented by a Ukrainian, Lubomir Romankiv. The world’s largest aircraft was designed by Ukraine’s Oleg Antonov. Antithrombotic prosthetic heart valves were invented by our famous heart surgeon Nikolai Amosov. The “Father of Modern Helicopters”? Ukrainian Igor Sikorsky! Élie Metchnikoff, the author of fundamental studies on immunology, bacteriology and epidemiology, is from a village in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
Ukrainians invented the piezo motor, electric welding of soft tissue during surgeries, CDs, vaccines against plague and cholera, liquid scalpels for the removal of malignant tumours, railway electrification systems and electric trams. They developed the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) – a key process for landing humans on the moon and returning them to Earth. They even invented hive frames for beekeeping.
Do you use WhatsApp, Grammarly, PayPal, Snapchat or GitLab? They were all either started in Ukraine or started by Ukrainians living abroad. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
However, I can’t continue with this train of thought because on Saturday another diabolical massive missile attack was launched by Russian terrorists against Ukrainian civilians in Dnipro, and indeed against every Ukrainian.
Russia started bombing Ukraine early in the morning. At 6am, Kyiv woke to multiple massive explosions – Russian terrorists were bombing the capital with C-400 missiles. Unfortunately, these missiles cannot be detected or shot down, as they are fired close to the border and need very little time to reach the target.
Later in the day, Putin’s killers launched massive missile strikes from their aircraft. Five of the 38 missiles were X-22s — long-range, supersonic, anti-ship cruise missiles, which are impossible for our ...
The Gauteng High Court is due to give its ruling this morning, 16 January 2023, on whether President Cyril Ramaphosa will in fact have to appear in a criminal court in a private prosecution brought by former President Jacob Zuma. While Zuma successfully convicting Ramaphosa is a legal impossibility, the case brings to the fore the relationship between the two presidents, and asks more questions about Zuma’s real intentions.
This “legal” move suggests that in fact Jacob Zuma is focused on his own personal agenda, and in weakening anyone who is trying to “renew” the ANC, especially Ramaphosa as the man at the centre of the movement. It may also be that he is trying to demonstrate some residual political power, despite the fact that the ANC’s recent conference shows that his constituency has shrunk into a vanishingly small space.
Zuma’s main claim against Ramaphosa is laughably weak — he is claiming he has a right to privately prosecute Ramaphosa as an “accessory after the fact” for failing to act against National Prosecuting Authority prosecutor Billy Downer.
It is, of course, a legal nonsense.
Ramaphosa has no power over the NPA and the institution is meant to manage its own affairs. It also does not appear to have issued the legal certificate that Zuma would need for his case to proceed.
Literally no one has faced a private criminal prosecution based on their actions in office. The closest anyone has come so far was the former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who was convicted of perjury — we’re talking about lying in an inquiry into her conduct, rather than for her actions while in office.
Still, several lawyers think that Ramaphosa’s lawyers may not have proven the issue of “urgency” in their application, meaning there is a chance the President could still have to appear in the dock, albeit briefly.
It is clear that those advising Zuma would have known this, and he too is likely to have known that the chance of “convicting” Ramaphosa was zero.
More than a legal battle
But this is the world of retaliatory politics and it is about much more than just a legal angle.
What Zuma has succeeded in doing is making sure that the consequences of his actions have been rather present in the news cycle during the ANC’s December conference, painting Ramaphosa as an embattled politician just in time for the party’s critical elections. A man who has shown himself to ...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fits into a larger picture of a delusion about the nature of Ukraine’s relationship with Russia. Delusions can, of course, have painful, consequential outcomes — and increasingly horrific ones.
Over the past few years, events leading up to, but now including the current fighting in Ukraine, have forced us to revisit our previous studies of Russian and Eastern European history and politics. This came just as we had begun to believe the Cold War was finally over, and we could move on to examine other critically important issues.
Now, of course, classic works such as Leonard Shapiro’s memoirs of the Russian Revolution and civil war have joined our reading — and rereading — shelf, along with new works such as Orlando Figes’ history of Russia, Serhii Plokhy’s rich saga of Ukraine’s historical trajectory, Anne Applebaum’s years of reportage on the borderlands of Eastern Europe, and dozens of other thoughtful essays on the political and military aspects of the current crisis. The literature about the misjudgments (and near catastrophe) of the Cuban Missile Crisis have become part of our reading plan as well. We are no longer reading anything about the halcyon days that have come about from the end of the Cold War.
Now, however, the world is closing in on the first anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, its next-door neighbour. Contained in that simple statement are two critical understandings that must be brought into sharp focus. The first is that the Russian attack was, at its heart, an unprovoked one, rather than any kind of justifiable, defensive gesture. The second is that Ukraine is a sovereign neighbour of Russia, rather than some kind of illegitimate, breakaway province, operating at the behest of shadowy foreign forces. Instead, Ukraine deserves to be allowed to carry out its foreign relationships in the same way as all other sovereign nations. (This understanding of sovereign equivalence among nations has deep roots reaching back to the 1648 Westphalian settlement that ended the Thirty Years’ War.)
It follows from those two basic understandings that any Russian policy and its military and diplomatic acts designed to avenge some kind of great wrong that has been committed against an aggrieved Russia, and that Ukraine is not a real nation and only deserves a subsidiary place in Vladimir Putin’s imagined greater Russia, must be dismissed as dangerous delusions. Nevertheless, these delusions have been delivering consequences since 24 ...
A country that attains the passing grade on the UNDP’s Africa Care Economy Index is one that has basic minimum legislation and public spend in place to ensure a population that is able to take on the challenges of development as well as manage future pandemics. But not one African country scores more than half of the passing grade.
With the rise of illness and death during the global Covid-19 pandemic, discussion about the work of caring has returned to public policy discourse around the world – but not so much in Africa. This is despite other epidemics that have hit the continent in recent decades, including Ebola and HIV/Aids.
An October 2022 post by United Africa, a Facebook group with 74,000 followers, illustrates the underrecognition of care on the continent. It features an 1899 photo of Mohamed carrying Samir on his back. Mohamed is blind and Samir is labelled “a dwarf”. The two are described as orphans who relied on each other: on the streets, Samir would give directions while Mohamed did the walking. Samir would tell stories for pennies outside a cafe, and Mohamed would listen while selling wares. Together they survived into adulthood.
What is emphasised in the United Africa post is that Mohamed and Samir coexisted even though one was Muslim and the other Christian. Nothing is said of the interdependence and care of two individuals living with what are now known as disabilities – estimated to affect up to 40% of Africa’s population.
Care is both assumed and ignored.
Despite the immense need for care in Africa today, little is done by states or by society at large to recognise, support and respect care. The demand for care in Africa arises from the following realities:
The continent boasts the world’s highest birth rate, at four live births per woman;
The bulk of food consumed is produced through subsistence farming; and
The ill and elderly are cared for at home and in communities in contexts of war, violence and longstanding impoverishment.
Africa has been noted as the region with the “most unshared system of care”, where more than 70% of care is provided by unpaid, individual caregivers in homes and communities.
This compares with the “shared system of care” in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, and the “semi-shared system of care” in Latin America and Asia, where the work of caring is shared collectively through public, private and community-run programmes and institutions.
In Africa, the vast ...
Many WEF attendees make a great show of being righteously indignant at the idea of lots of rich people talking shop. But my feeling is, you know, grow up. Rich people are influential; they always have been, they always will be. Some are even influential because they should be influential, because they are successful.
Here is a question few people ask: why is the World Economic Forum in Davos so popular? I ask the question as I set off to the forum to have cocktails in the snow with my peeps (not), the 0.1% of the 1%, this weekend.
Allow me to tell you how that feels. It feels weird. There are few less-meritorious participants in the forum than I. Far from luxuriating in limousines, I feel physically ill when I see the amount I have to pay to fill up my car. I do not have a private jet at my disposal, and my idea of a luxury flight is a window seat in cattle with not too many stopovers.
Yet I have to admit, I love going to the forum. (This will be my fourth visit to Davos). The variety and intensity of the discussions feed your curiosity in unexpected and gratifying ways, and their international character can transport you out of the cloistered world of South Africa’s endless morass of problems and dilemmas.
It’s an uninterrupted feast of ideas: more than 500 discussion forums considering topics. You don’t have to agree with everything, but it is fun to have the ideas wash over you.
To me, it is curious that so few journalists admit to enjoying the forum, particularly because there is obviously a scrum to get invited and thousands arrive every year.
Many brand themselves as vociferous forum critics and make a great show of being righteously indignant at the idea of lots of rich people talking shop.
Read in Daily Maverick: “How the mighty have fallen — Vladimir Putin, Elon Musk and the Icarus effect”
But my feeling is, you know, grow up. Rich people are influential; they always have been, they always will be. Some are even influential because they should be influential, because they are successful.
Unmasking the ‘Davos Man’
Recently, Peter Goodman, the global economics correspondent of The New York Times, wrote a book titled Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World.
A review in the Financial Times describes its contents as 400 pages of that above-mentioned righteous indignation at contemporary capitalism ...
If we want a policy that will keep those at the very margins of our society in perpetual poverty, the establishment of ‘permanent-temporary slum settlements’ is hard to beat. Indeed, the outcome is little different to the forced removals of apartheid. Since we cannot build houses of bricks and mortar for all who need them, South Africa needs a total overhaul of its housing policies. Unused land in urban areas should be released for occupation as stands with title deeds for a nominal charge.
Land in South Africa remains contested. A key flashpoint is land invasion in urban areas as people living in township backyards seek a place of their own.
Section 26(1) of the Constitution states: “Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.” Yet, 26 years after the Constitution was adopted, the attempt to orderly manage South Africa’s human settlement has failed. Informal settlements now all but ring the cities and about every town, mine or other centre of economic activity.
Informal settlements are mostly established on land that is unused or otherwise marginal. What protects land from occupation is not a title deed but what is happening on it; land that is being actively used is very rarely occupied. But even when land is unused, land owners — often municipalities or other government entities — seek to enforce ownership against occupiers rather than cede their property. Eviction proceedings follow.
The laws regulating evictions— the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) and Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) (in the case of farm workers) — were drafted to enable section 26(3) of the Constitution which states: “No one may be evicted from their home . without an order of court.” One aspect courts must consider before granting an eviction is the availability of “suitable alternative accommodation or land” for those evicted. This is an important consideration in a country as unequal as South Africa.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Cape Town’s emergency housing programme is ‘arbitrary’ and unconstitutional, says court”
A home is a fundamental requirement for family life, and for social stability.
The provision of alternative accommodation generally falls to municipalities. These are increasingly collapsing under the burden of inadequate central government funding, mismanagement and corruption.
With the country’s housing programme falling ever further behind, municipalities increasingly rely on offers to provide “temporary emergency accommodation” when joined to eviction proceedings (not infrequently their own).
This offer is sugar-coated ...
Twenty-five people are now reported dead following Russia’s Saturday missile attack on a nine-story apartment block in Dnipro, Ukraine emergency services said. Iran, which has been supplying Moscow with attack drones for months, will take delivery of Russian fighter jets by March, an Iranian lawmaker said. President Vladimir Putin said on television that Russia’s economy was in better shape than expected.
The Russian missile strike on Saturday in Dnipro has killed 25 people at the latest count. Moscow’s missile attack on a nine-story apartment block injured at least 73 people, including many children, and dozens are believed to be buried under debris after much of the building was razed as part of Russia’s 10th mass missile strike since early October.
The hit on Dnipro was part of two waves of strikes on Saturday, mostly targeted at Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Missile and air strikes were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro and Vinnytsia, among other locations. Kremlin forces launched S-300 and S-400 systems on a ballistic trajectory from Belarus, before later launching cruise missiles from air and sea.
Key developments
Ukraine apartment tower strike by Russia kills at least nine
Iran expects to get Russian fighter jets by March, news agency says
Russia tycoons fear tightening Kremlin squeeze as war drags on
UK will send major battle tanks, more artillery to Ukraine
How Europe is muddling through Putin’s energy war: QuickTake
On the ground
Over the past 24 hours, Russia launched air strikes, 57 missile strikes and 69 strikes from rocket salvo systems, Ukraine’s General Staff said. Russia used С-300/С-400 long-range anti-aircraft missiles to carry out missile strikes on Kyiv and other settlements of Ukraine, it said in a daily report, warning that there was still a threat of air and missile strikes throughout Ukraine. At least two were injured after a Russian strike on residences in Kherson on Sunday afternoon, the region’s governor said.
25 now reported dead after Russian strike on Dnipro
The death toll from Russia’s missile attack Saturday on an apartment building in Dnipro has risen to 25, according to emergency services. Another 72 or more were injured and rescue efforts continue, 24 hours after much of the nine-story building was razed.
Images released by Ukraine show part of a building totally demolished with adjacent areas heavily damaged. Rescuers fought “fighting for every person, every life,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. At least 12 children were among the wounded and more than 1,000 people were left homeless.
Zelensky said ...
It remains a tragedy that one cannot easily find a record of the working lives and experiences of women such as June-Rose Nala, a leading trade unionist and a textile worker at the time of the 1973 strikes, even in accounts written by those closely associated with her. Why should this be the case?
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Durban strikes, we remember the role black women played at this turning point in our history. We pay tribute to their contribution and sacrifice — not only in their courage to participate in the strikes, but in the building of the independent trade union movement that followed.
Beginning on 9 January 1973 and continuing for many weeks afterwards, tens of thousands of black workers in Durban went on strike in a movement that would transform the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
The strikes paved the way for the building of the independent trade union movement, emboldened political activism across the land and exposed the ultimate ineffectiveness of the repression that had been ramped up by the apartheid regime in the decade following the Rivonia arrests and subsequent trials.
Much has been written about the Durban strikes, in their immediate aftermath and in the years that have followed, as successive anniversaries of the strikes come and go. The key authoritative text on the strikes remains a book published by the Institute for Industrial Education (IIE) soon after the strikes ended: The Durban Strikes — Human Beings with Souls.
I recently reread this book, as well as reviews and commentary written about it in the intervening 50 years. Two aspects stand out, reminding me of the ways in which human agency enters the historical record: who tells the stories and makes the records, and who are presented as prominent actors and who remain invisible.
First, the book says very little about the conditions of life and struggle of black women workers, especially African women workers, in Durban at the time of the strikes. According to the book, 26 strikes took place in the Durban textile sector in early 1973, which was the highest number in any industry. (Ropes and mattings, bag and twine, and knitting were included in this definition of “textile”.)
By the end of January, 8,000 textile workers were on strike, involving significant numbers of Indian and African women. The largest number of strikes, and those of the longest duration, took place in the ...
Scorpio’s latest investigation has identified red flags in a ‘suspicious’ lease deal for the Department of Health’s new head offices in Pretoria. Here are the key points.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) in 2019 issued a tender to find a new head office for the Department of Health (DoH).
The open tender process collapsed under questionable circumstances, paving the way for the appointment of the DoH’s new landlord through a “deviation” from standard procurement processes.
Our full investigation can be accessed here.
Here are key takeaways from Scorpio’s months-long investigation:
Hiroworx, a subsidiary of Nthoese Developments, clinched the seven-year lease deal. The DoH is occupying the company’s building on the outskirts of Pretoria. Hiroworx will be paid much more money thanks to the fact that an open bid process was abandoned.
Hiroworx had submitted a bid to accommodate the DoH at a cost of R295.5-million for a period of five years. Thanks to the collapsed bid process and the subsequent tender deviation, Hiroworx could now receive up to R486.7-million for a seven-year lease.
Before the DoH bid, Hiroworx had secured a lease deal with the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta). Hiroworx would have charged Cogta roughly R344-million for a seven-year lease. But Cogta walked away from the lease deal, opening the door for the DPWI to instead install the DoH as Hiroworx’s new tenant. To do this, the DPWI had to abandon the open tender process for the DoH’s new building. It also had to get approval from the National Treasury (NT) to appoint Hiroworx through a deviation from standard procurement processes. Because the DoH required more floor space, Hiroworx as a result secured a costlier lease deal.
Documents from the DPWI and the NT put the cost of the DoH lease deal at R486.7-million. Hiroworx says this figure is incorrect. It claims the lease deal is worth “approximately” R444.8-million, still significantly more than its offerings in the original Cogta and DoH bids. The company won’t show us the lease agreement, though, so the R486.7-million figure is the only one we have that is reflected in official documentation.
The DoH effectively “piggy-backed” on the cancelled Cogta lease, but there is concern over the manner in which Hiroworx had won the Cogta tender. The company’s bid price was much higher than those of other shortlisted bidders. The DPWI said it had to disqualify the rival bidders because their buildings were supposedly in the wrong ...
The Department of Health is set to spend nearly R500-million on a ‘suspicious’ and possibly irregular lease contract for its ‘unsafe’ new head office outside Pretoria. The tender was administered by the Department of Public Works, but health officials were closely involved. Red flags abound in Scorpio’s months-long investigation.
Questionable tender decisions, an “unsafe” building, alleged bid-rigging and a deviation from standard procurement processes that will see the appointed landlord getting paid at least R149-million more than the original bid price.
These are some of the elements in the Department of Health’s (DoH) R486-million lease deal with Hiroworx, a company controlled by businessman Herbert Theledi’s Nthoese Developments.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) administered the tender on behalf of the DoH, but senior health officials were closely involved in the process.
After an open bid process collapsed under dubious circumstances, Hiroworx in 2020 clinched a lease deal from the DoH through a tender “deviation”.
As a result, Hiroworx stands to pocket between R149-million and R191-million more than it would have earned if it had won the DoH deal through the open tender.
Speaking through its lawyer, Stan Fanaroff, Hiroworx strongly denied that it had secured the contract as a result of any dubious or unlawful conduct.
Documents from the DPWI and the National Treasury (NT) put the cost of the lease deal at R486.7-million. Hiroworx claimed the correct figure is R444.8-million, but the company refused to let us view documentation that might confirm this.
Dr Zweli Mkhize features in the series of developments that saw the DoH move into its new building.
Some of the events leading up to the Hiroworx contract bear a curious similarity to the Digital Vibes affair.
Like Digital Vibes, Hiroworx first won a contract from the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) when Mkhize led this department.
However, after Mkhize took over as minister of health, Cogta backed out of the contract and Hiroworx instead secured a costlier lease deal from Mkhize’s DoH.
We sent queries for Mkhize’s consideration to his spokesperson, Sphethile Mathenjwa. She seemed to have read our messages, but did not respond.
Other key DoH figures implicated in the Digital Vibes scandal also make an appearance in the Hiroworx lease saga.
Scorpio’s months-long investigation is informed by court records, documents obtained through Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) requests and multiple source accounts.
In 2021, the DoH’s long-suffering staffers finally moved from the problem-ridden Civitas building in Pretoria’s CBD to their new ...
Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman Magauta Mphahlele will leave the organisation at the end of March to take up a position in the private sector.
By taking on the big guns and speaking out against injustices, Magauta Mphahlele and her team at the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) have leveraged every resource at their disposal to fight on behalf of consumers and suppliers.
With no enforcement powers, they have resorted to naming and shaming rogue suppliers, educating the public, issuing strongly worded guidelines and scoring a few key victories. Through it all, they have grown their profile and membership in the goods and services sector, while advocating for legislative change to strengthen their arm.
At the end of March, Mphahlele will be leaving the ombud, to take up a position in the private sector. With extensive experience in complaints handling, mediation and adjudication, having served on the National Consumer Tribunal, the Gauteng Rental Tribunal and the Gauteng Consumer Court, Mphahlele has played a leading role in steering two of the country’s most critical pieces of consumer legislation, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the National Credit Act, through Parliament while at the Department of Trade and Industry.
She will be taking on a senior role in one of the industry associations in the credit space, saying credit is also her strong point. “It’s also a consumer protection issue, because I’m passionate about credit access and reckless lending.”
Her replacement will have big shoes to fill: Mphahlele had replaced Neville Melville, who developed the industry code and ombud’s procedures for the Consumer Goods Council, and the role is demanding.
As an independent and accredited alternative dispute resolution scheme, the CGSO has signed up 1,380 organisations, including most of South Africa’s major retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. Since its inception in 2012, the CGSO has received more than 148,000 calls, opened more than 64,000 complaints and closed about 62,000.
Finishing strong
Notably, on 26 March last year, the ombud scored a major victory, compelling all qualifying non-members to join the scheme. In this matter, the Pretoria High Court ruled against electrical wholesaler Voltex, thereby confirming the Consumer Goods and Services Industry Code of Conduct and the powers of the office to levy annual participation fees.
The case had dragged on since 2017, when Melville approached the high court for the declarator to resolve an impasse with the Bidvest subsidiary after the company demanded a refund of its R285,000 annual fees. ...
The Eskom tariff increases of 18.65% and 12.7% for the next two financial years will ‘materially squeeze’ the profit margins of South Africa’s mining sector, the Minerals Council SA has warned. This could push marginal mines into closure and profitable operations will have less capital for wages and investment.
Because of the hikes announced last week by energy regulator Nersa, the Minerals Council SA — the main industry body for South Africa’s mining sector — said in a statement that electricity would rise to 12.5% of the sector’s costs by the end of 2024 from 9% currently.
That may not seem like a lot, but it means that such costs will rise by more than one-third. It can mean the difference between a marginal mine staying afloat or closing down because it falls into the red. There are almost certainly a few gold mines that already fall into this category, so further job losses are on the horizon against the backdrop of sky-high rates of unemployment.
It can also mean the difference between expansion plans or the decision to commit capital to build a new mine, a process that has very long timelines and requires a degree of certainty on the cost curve.
“Over the four years between 2021 and 2024, electricity tariffs would have increased by 46%. Since 2008, the price of electricity for the mining industry has increased eightfold while consumer prices, as measured using the consumer price index [CPI], have only doubled,” the Minerals Council said.
But basic electricity costs are only part of the story. It gets much worse as you dig into the numbers.
Ripple effect
“The higher cost of electricity means the share of energy in intermediary inputs will increase from 24% to 38% in gold mining, from 22% to 37% in iron ore mining, and from 13% to 19% in the platinum group metals sector,” the Minerals Council said. That speaks to the ripple effect on prices throughout the pipeline that provides the mining sector with the stuff it needs to operate.
“The consequences of the latest tariff increase must be seen in the wider mining sector context. Average input costs were running at above 15% at the end of 2022. These new tariffs could add four percentage points to costs, materially squeezing profit margins. The Minerals Council estimates mining production declined by 6% during 2022,” the council said.
This will, in turn, mean that there is less capital available for wages, ...
The Patriotic Front’s Gayton McKenzie’s statements that undocumented children should not be admitted to schools are not just misinformed and xenophobic, they are contrary to the law.
A new school year started in South Africa this week. Thousands of learners commenced their schooling and others returned in continued pursuit of their dreams. This glorious event should be celebrated and we must pull out all the stops to ensure that every learner of schoolgoing age enjoys the constitutional entitlement to basic education.
Unfortunately, circumstances arise where the enjoyment of the right to basic education is undermined and learners run the risk of being denied access to education. For example, Gayton McKenzie, mayor of the Central Karoo District and president of the Patriotic Alliance, has repeatedly expressed on Twitter that undocumented children “should not be allowed at all in schools in South Africa”.
McKenzie’s views, which are misinformed, xenophobic and contrary to the law, were well received and supported by his tweeps and other antiforeigner Twitter users. This shows that not only is there a lack of understanding of what the right to basic education entails, but also that the xenophobic sentiment that dominates South Africa’s social discourse severely threatens the livelihood of undocumented children.
The right to basic education is a fundamental human right, recognised in a number of international and regional legal instruments. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regards education as “the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalised adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities”.
Former President Nelson Mandela described it as “the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”.
Integral empowerment
The right to basic education of every learner in South Africa is entrenched in section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution. On the face of it, the eight-word provision might seem nugatory, but when you delve into the true meaning of it, you find an empowerment right that plays an integral role in realising all other human rights.
In the landmark Juma Musjid judgment, the Constitutional Court affirmed that the right to basic education is unqualified and immediately realisable in nature. This means that every learner within the confines of the country enjoys an entitlement to this unfettered right, and that obstacles which unjustifiably limit or hinder its immediate enjoyment must be removed.
South Africa’s rich education jurisprudence that has developed since the Juma Musjid judgment informs ...
South African tractor sales reached a 40-year high in 2022, according to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association. Despite the sector’s mounting challenges, commercial farmers are still investing in their businesses — a notable green shoot amid the wreckage that is the country’s economy.
A total of 9,181 new tractors were sold in South Africa last year, which is almost 17% more than in 2021, and the most in 40 years. Combine harvester sales were also buoyant, with 373 sold in 2022, the most since 1985.
“Market fundamentals, in terms of summer and winter crop prospects, look encouraging,” the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (Saama) said. It also noted that the prices for agricultural commodities were “holding up”.
This is a rare sign of confidence. Farmers are investing in their businesses — tractors and combine harvesters do not come cheap — despite mounting problems. This includes uncertainties around land reform, rising input costs, farm attacks and murders, rolling blackouts, water supply challenges and a decaying road network that is crucial for getting products to silos, feedlots and markets.
But the weather gods pay no heed to ANC failures, and the La Niña weather system has blessed grain-growing and other South African regions with abundant rain. From such well-watered soil tractor sales spring.
“Although we expect a mild contraction in South Africa’s agricultural gross value added for 2022, the year was generally favourable for agriculture. The interlinked industries like the agricultural machinery industry benefited from generally good activities in various commodities of the sector where farmers were in a better financial condition,” said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).
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“The ample crop harvest of the 2021/22 production season [and the 2020/21 and 2019/20 seasons], combined with generally higher commodity prices, specifically grains and oilseeds, helped boost farmers’ incomes and, after that, their ability to procure the new agricultural machinery.”
Among other factors, this highlights the capital-intensive nature of farming in South Africa, which remains a serious barrier to entry for new and emerging farmers.
Compared to just a few years ago, tractors and combine harvesters have become increasingly high-tech and expensive. Many new models are equipped with “precision farming” tools — or are designed to accommodate them — that enable farmers to use GPS data to precisely determine where to plough and the exact amounts of fertilisers and other inputs required for ...
Not being able to follow the latest fashion trends or have the right brand of sneakers allows bullies to single out these learners more easily.
In an informal poll on a radio station I listen to regularly, parents voted almost unanimously that all students should wear school uniforms and that this was an issue that did not require significant debate. The callers were convinced of the many benefits.
One of the primary reasons parents support the idea of having a uniform speaks to the different aspects of safety. It allows teachers and school staff to very quickly identify who is a student and who is not, from a distance. This means that the school can proactively manage potential threats associated with unwanted visitors, intruders, threats of violence and theft, something that is a sad reality in many of our schools, both nationally and internationally.
Uniforms are also very useful when taking children on field trips. There is nothing more terrifying for a teacher than a student wandering off while on a school outing. A uniform makes them easier to see and this means there is a good chance they won’t get too far away.
Beyond physical safety, the importance of emotional safety is critical to a learner’s success at school. School uniforms take out one of the many dimensions of bullying that are so prevalent in most of our schools. Not being able to follow the latest fashion trends or have the right brand of sneakers, or more importantly not having a range of different everyday clothes allows bullies to single out these learners more easily.
If everyone is wearing the same clothes it creates a sense of cohesion because it communicates a clear message of equality. This is particularly important in a school where there is significant diversity among the students. Regardless of their identity, how they identify or socioeconomic class, a uniform creates the idea that everyone can start from the same point in the classroom and therefore succeed.
In many affluent independent schools currently embarking on a transformation agenda, there are a number of learners on scholarships, so this is critical. Coping with the expectations of family, the school and the “need to prove” to yourself and to the school that you can maintain the scholarship are difficult enough without the added stress of standing out because of what you are wearing. Socioeconomic differences are less noticeable.
The idea of cohesion and being part ...
It’s not enough to turn to technology to solve the crisis of fire in informal settlements. But as part of a holistic socioeconomic strategy, some novel options can make a huge difference to the quality of life of those living in crowded areas.
While it is commendable that the Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, is calling for urgent interventions to mitigate against the devastating losses caused by runaway fires in informal settlements, it is important to note that even the most innovative building techniques may not be enough.
Addressing the root causes of these fires, such as poverty and lack of access to basic services, should also be considered. Providing emergency relief and rebuilding homes is important, but does not address the underlying issues that led to the fires in the first place. There needs to be a comprehensive approach that includes addressing socioeconomic issues, providing access to basic services, and involving the affected communities in the decision-making process.
It’s in the context of a broad vision for fixing the socioeconomic setting that we should consider approaches that include Alternative and Innovative Building Technology (known in the industry as ABT/IBT) for building safe and durable housing, and reblocking strategies to prevent fire spread. ABT/IBT approaches could include the use of fire-rated materials and designs for houses that are more resistant to fires, as well as incorporating features such as ventilation and natural light.
They could also be used in the development of infrastructure and services in informal settlements. For example, the use of alternative sanitation systems such as urine-diverting toilets, could improve sanitation. Novel heat-source technologies could reduce the risk of fires caused by open flames used for cooking and lighting.
Not a one-size-fits-all option
While ABT/IBT can provide some benefits, it is not a panacea. More research is needed on the suitability of specific ABT/IBT technologies in preventing fires in the different settings found in informal settlements. It is not a one-size-fits-all option.
It is also important to note that financing for the implementation of ABT/IBT projects in informal settlements can be a significant challenge. These projects often require a significant investment upfront, and traditional funding sources such as banks may be unwilling to provide loans for informal settlements due to the perceived risks. Furthermore, many residents of informal settlements may not have the financial means to contribute to the cost of such projects, making it difficult to secure funding from the community.
One potential solution ...
If you can imagine a MyCiTi bus on fire in a Cape Town protest, buying Steinhoff shares at this point is like buying a ticket to ride on that bus.
The resounding question, of course, is not why this is still a topic of conversation in 2023, but why Steinhoff is still trading at all. Because as incredible as it may seem, at a price of “just” 50c a share, you can still get your hands on some Steinies before they become well and truly worthless. Some may argue that they are already worthless, despite a tight bid-offer spread that suggests a willing group of buyers at this price.
Creditors are already circling like vultures in a Netflix wildlife documentary, which means that shareholders are likely to hold unlisted instruments soon — and that’s the best-case outcome. If you can imagine a MyCiTi bus on fire in a Cape Town protest, buying Steinhoff shares at this point is like buying a ticket to ride on that bus.
Does that sound like a good idea? To some, it clearly does.
As a further kick in the teeth for investors, Mattress Firm (a portfolio company of Steinhoff) has withdrawn its registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), citing ongoing volatility in the IPO market. This development indicates that the company is no longer planning to list in the US.
There is some renewed vigour in the markets after the US inflation print was in line with expectations, so perhaps the IPO market will show signs of life this year. With iconic investment banking group Goldman Sachs announcing significant layoffs in light of reduced demand for services, it’s likely that most companies aren’t going to be brave enough for an IPO this year. Mattress Firm is one of them.
It’s not all bad news. Another Steinhoff stepchild — Pepco — is showing how good things could have been for Steinhoff in an alternate reality. In the three months ended December (the first quarter of this financial year), revenue for this plucky European value retailer was up 27% on a constant currency basis and 24% as reported. There’s a major effort underway to increase the store footprint, evidenced by like-for-like growth coming in at 13% versus the much higher total growth.
The difference between like-for-like growth and total growth is new stores, which in this case are plentiful. There are currently 4,066 stores in the group and the ...
Countries have been meeting for 27 years to try to agree on minimising the impacts of climate change, but rural women farmers say these efforts have led to no easing of the extreme climate events that are devastating their lives. They say they are on their own, and have to simply continue to try to farm to sustain their families.
The men migrate to the city and leave the women behind to feed the family, say some of the Southern African Developing Community (SADC) rural farmers when they describe how they earn a livelihood. It is an echo of the patterns of the past, but for many a changed climate has made the current scenario a very different challenge, with great uncertainty about what they face in the future.
Rural women farmers in the region, at the forefront of the climate crisis, are among the most affected by it. Not only do they live in one of the most climate-vulnerable regions on Earth, at the southern tip of the African continent, but they also have first-hand experience of how a changed climate affects the crops in their fields.
The African continent, including the SADC region, is warming at an alarming rate. While the world hopes to keep the increase of global average temperatures below 1.5°C as per the UN Paris Agreement signed in 2015, this is an average that includes oceans which are cooler than land masses. In this scenario, many parts of Africa would have increases of more than 3°C.
For women in agriculture in the region, who have already endured five extreme climate events in the form of cyclones in Mozambique, the slow steps to reduce average global temperature increases is too little, too late.
Flaida Macheze (48) from Mozambique’s capital, Maputo and a member of the National Peasants Union, told Daily Maverick that she and her colleagues suffer more than three climate crisis events each year.
“We’ve learnt to adapt [because] we must produce (food),” said Macheze. “We know that even if we go to COP, [if] we bring our declaration and demands forward [because we] we need compensation, we won’t get those funds. So what we do is we build our own alternatives.”
Macheze was speaking soon after the conclusion of the global climate talks, the 27th Congress of the Parties (COP27), in Egypt late last year where world leaders had gathered to decide the best way forward in tackling the climate crisis. ...
A national shutdown might be looming in response to the Eskom tariff hikes and ongoing rolling blackouts.
The recent approval by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), the energy regulator, to increase the Eskom tariff to 18.65% for 2023 and a 12.74% hike for 2024 has prompted the threat of a national shutdown.
The nationwide shutdown has been endorsed by members of the public, civil society organisations and political parties across various social media platforms, with many planning to either march to the Union Buildings or Eskom’s Megawatt Park offices in Johannesburg.
MASIYE! Food is extremely expensive, no jobs, loadshedding at it peak, crime, EVERYTHING is falling apart! We need to save us. #NationalShutdown
Yaya Mavundla (@YayaRSA) January 13, 2023
However, a date and venue for the shutdown have not been announced.
A movement under the banner People’s Movement for Change (PMC) says it will join other civil society organisations to protest against power cuts to put pressure on Eskom and the government.
The African Transformation Movement (ATM) is also one of the political parties that have endorsed the shutdown and have called on the government to stop mismanaging Eskom and end rolling blackouts.
“In August 2022, Ramaphosa established the National Energy Crisis Committee to look into load shedding, after many promises by his administration since 2018. Nothing has been delivered. The time is up! Let’s take a stand! #NationalShutdown,” says ATM.
Because of #Loadshedding, many businesses are facing closure. The ones holding on are struggling to pay salaries due to unrealised profits.
For our economy. For our country. Take a stand! #NationalShutdown
African Transformation Movement (@ATMovement_SA) January 13, 2023
The tariff hike comes amid Stage 6 rollouts where those living in South Africa are subject to no power for half of each day — 12 hours daily.
In response to the Eskom tariff hikes and ongoing rollouts, the official opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a petition advocating cheaper and more reliable electricity which 70,790 supporters have already signed.
In a tweet dated 13 January 2023 DA leader John Steenhuisen has called on all South Africans to join the party in its rolling mass action against the recent electricity tariff increases.
“It’s time to hit the streets SA! We can’t sit back and take hyperinflationary increases! Far too many citizens are barely able to keep their heads above water. This 18% Nersa increase is like a government jackboot pushing more of us under the surface,” the tweet reads.
In the course of ...
Cape Town’s municipal pools are an important outlet for communities during the summer months, but maintenance issues have left some of them closed to the public. In Manenberg, where many residents can’t afford transport to beaches, an ongoing pool closure has seen local children getting into a facility illegally.
During the summer months, most municipal swimming pools in the Cape Town area become community hubs. Families flock to them to cool off and give children space to expend some holiday energy.
However, Manenberg pool is an exception. When Maverick Citizen visited the facility on Thursday 12 January, it was closed to the public. The pool was drained of water and partially encircled by red-and-white barrier tape strung between dustbins.
“When I pull out [of my driveway] in the mornings, children are just sitting there, and the way they look at the pool. I think this is the only pool that they can go to, if they don’t have any finances to go out to the beaches because they’re not fortunate enough for their parents to take them,” said Rafeeq Miller, a resident of Manenberg who lives opposite the pool.
“I don’t even think they know what it is to take a taxi to the next location.”
The Manenberg pool has not been opened for the 2022/2023 summer season due to concerns about the water filtration system, according to Councillor Patricia van der Ross, mayoral committee member for community service and health. Rust in pipes has created a risk to the water quality and made it a potential hazard. Repair work could not be completed in time for the holidays.
“[The closure has] a major impact because it’s holiday time. Manenberg pool doesn’t only service the Manenberg area, it serves Heideveld communities, those that are close to Manenberg, so you can well imagine that our kids are very frustrated, because what do they do during recreation?” said Vernon Visagie, chairman of the Manenberg Community Policing Forum.
“The gang fights have already started. We’ve brought that under control. But now [with] the children, because of boredom, we are afraid that this is going to. start again.”
On Saturday 7 January, frustrations among Manenberg residents reached a peak and some children entered the pool facility to swim while it was still closed to the public.
“It was a very hot day. And you know that, our children, when they are in a predicament like that, they’ll do anything just to get a ...
The mobile network provider strongly disputes the tax bill, questioning the accuracy and basis of the assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit.
Mobile telecommunications giant MTN has landed in hot water in another African country – this time, Ghana.
The Ghanaian tax authority says MTN owes it millions in back taxes, a claim which the mobile network provider has rubbished.
On Friday evening, in a Sens announcement, MTN advised that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) had issued its subsidiary in that country, Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana) with a notice of assessment of tax liability, which suggests it owes the taxman GHS8.2-billion (about R13-billion), including penalties and interest charges, for the period between 2014 and 2018. This would suggest that MTN had under-declared its revenue in Ghana by 30% over the audit period.
In the statement, MTN said the revenue authority had used a third-party consultant as well as a new methodology based on call data records (CDR), recharges, and other data during this audit period.
“MTN Ghana strongly disputes the accuracy and basis of the assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit.
“MTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to defend MTN Ghana’s position on the assessment.”
The network provider said the GRA commenced an audit of MTN Ghana in 2019 to ensure the reliability and completeness of its declared revenues. The GRA, though, had failed to issue MTN Ghana with any guidelines and standards relating to the new CDR sequence-based methodology used for the audit.
“An initial tax assessment based on this new audit methodology was issued in May 2021 but was officially withdrawn by the GRA after consultations and discussions between MTN Ghana, MTN Group, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Ghana and the GRA. Following the withdrawal of the initial assessment, the parties agreed to an independent review by a global professional services firm.”
MTN said its Ghana office has fully cooperated in this independent review, which was commissioned by the GRA in September 2021, and the review found it was unable to support the conclusions reached by the GRA’s consultant.
The group and the country office will continue to engage with the relevant authorities on the matter and MTN “remains resolute that MTN Ghana is a tax compliant corporate citizen. with an absolute commitment to transparency, good corporate governance, and compliance”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, ...
Apartheid activist Reverend Frank Chikane survived an attempted poisoning in 1989. The man who ordered his assassination was Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok. In the democratic era, Vlok sought redemption and begged forgiveness. When Vlok died this week, aged 85, multiple journalists contacted Chikane to ask - ‘how do you feel about this terrible man’. Here, he reflects on forgiveness, the paradox of Vlok’s passing and lingering questions for South Africa.
The sad news of the passing of apartheid-era former Minister of Law and Order, and Minister of Correctional Services, Adriaan Vlok, came via intrusive and disruptive calls from journalists who disturbed me while in a church service. After the service, I was preoccupied with calls for two to three days of my life.
What was dramatic about these calls was that almost all the journalists, national and international, wanted to know how I “feel” about the death of this terrible man – a former Minister of Law and Order, and later Minister of Correctional Services, in the apartheid government – who attempted to kill me, or who presided over killer machinery that was meant to “eliminate” me! One could feel online that some were huffing and puffing.
The questions arose within a context of vitriolic emotions and anger on Twitter and other media forms, with some saying that Vlok was “beyond atonement” – meaning that he could not make amends for the wrongs he did or injury he caused. Others said he was “beyond redemption” – meaning that he could not be saved or save himself. There were more graphic and unsavoury things that were said that cannot be printed.
Join the chorus of anger and bitterness?
It is within this context and with the history of what the man did during the apartheid days that journalists rightfully seemed to expect me to join the chorus of expression of anger and bitterness against the man. My response was deflating for many.
Firstly, I started by expressing my condolences to his family and indicated that whatever the story is about him, he has children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren who have suffered a loss. We need to express condolences to them, which I did.
Secondly, for me, his passing at the mature age of 85 did not raise any historical anger as I had passed that stage. Anyway, he was too old now to cause any further harm.
The reality though is that Adriaan Vlok presided over the ...
China said on Saturday nearly 60,000 people with Covid-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-Covid policy last month, a huge increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data.
BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) – In early December, Beijing abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests in late November, and cases have surged since then across the nation of 1.4 billion.
A health official said on Saturday that Covid fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline.
Between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, the number of Covid-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing.
Of those fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to Covid and the remainder resulted from a combination of Covid and other diseases, she said.
While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million Covid-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.
Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month – figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals.
The World Health Organization said this week that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from Covid, although it was now providing more information on its outbreak.
The U.N. agency did not immediately comment on Saturday.
China, which last reported daily Covid death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease.
On Saturday, Jiao said China divides Covid-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with coronavirus infection.
“The standard is basically in line with those adopted by the World Health Organization and other major countries,” she said.
Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting Covid would be classified as Covid deaths. Heart attacks or cardiovascular disease causing the death of infected people would not get that classification.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said the tenfold increase in deaths announced on Saturday suggests that China’s Covid policy reversal “is indeed associated with” a sharp ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of this week’s events around the world.
Mary de Haas discusses the biggest reason behind SA's out-of-control crime, Anton Harber recounts his TV battle with Adriaan Vlok and a Hermanus space weather station made findings that may protect the Earth in future.
Read the Weekend Wrap here.
Compass Medical Waste Services says the potentially hazardous materials discarded on Mdumbi and Mngcibe beaches had been left by criminals after stealing a company vehicle in December.
Compass Medical Waste Services claims that medical waste that washed up at Mdumbi beach and Mngcibe beach on Sunday formed part of a consignment transported by one of their vehicles which had been hijacked on 8 December 2022.
Police have also confirmed they were investigating the hijacking of the vehicle.
On Wednesday Daily Maverick reported that members of the Mdumbi Surf Lifesaving Club in Nyandeni Local Municipality along the Wild Coast in Eastern Cape were shocked to find the medical waste along the shoreline on Sunday.
Read in Daily Maverick: ‘Beachgoers warned after medical waste washes up on Wild Coast shores’
Compass Medical Waste Managing Director Graham Du Randt confirmed that its company vehicle transporting the waste was stolen last month.
“After being alerted to the Daily Maverick article and subsequently requesting a video of the dumped waste from an environmental health representative in the area, we have been able to accurately identify the waste as being from our hijacked vehicle.
“Due to the recent heavy rains, we can only assume that the hijackers dumped this waste next to the [Mdumbi] river and some of it washed down to the river mouth and surrounding beach,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Du Randt said their Eastern Cape regional manager and a hazmat clean-up team are currently on their way to the affected area to meet with the environmental health department and to ensure that the area is isolated and cleaned up speedily.
“The hijacking of our vehicle (Hyundai H100 registration NU 139949) on 8 December 2022 in the Canzibe area was reported to the Ngqeleni Police Station (CAS 62/12/2022) immediately after the incident. At the same time, we alerted relevant national and provincial authorities to the missing waste and contacted Algoa FM radio station to share the story with local listeners. To date the vehicle has not been found,” he said.
He said Compass Medical Waste takes the illegal dumping of medical waste very seriously and they’re saddened by the damaging effect this hijacking has had on the driver, local residents and the environment.
“We are, however, relieved that the stolen consignment has finally surfaced and can be safely retrieved and disposed of,” said Du Randt.
Resident Warren Hudson said that ward councillor Nikelani Mjajubana, working with representatives of ...
The approval of an eye-watering annual 18.6% price increase for Eskom customers from April 1 has sparked national fury, with many commentators pointing to the devastating effect it will have on poorer communities.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) approval of an 18.65% tariff increase for Eskom has resulted in significant backlash from organisational bodies across South Africa. The tariff increase is for the 2023/24 financial year. It is above the current inflation rate of 7.4%.
The announcement, coupled with Stage 6 blackouts, has compounded public outrage. The increase will be effective from 1 April for standard tariff customers.
Public outcry
“South Africans have been feeling the rising cost of living for some time, and now, more South Africans will be forced to make trade-offs between their food security and energy needs,” said Nhlanhla Sibisi, Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner, in a statement.
“It is unthinkable that South Africans are expected to incur a greater cost while receiving less electricity, considering we are in the longest extended period of load shedding in its history,” said Sibisi. He called for the transition to renewable energy in light of the electricity challenges South Africa has faced.
“OUTA is outraged at government’s failure to help South Africans to weather this storm,” said Liz McDaid, parliamentary and energy advisor for the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s (OUTA), in a statement. The failure of government to fast-track the Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme means that excessive diesel is being consumed by Eskom because of a reliance on open-cycle gas turbines, according to McDaid.
One of the ways to combat this current energy crisis is to effectively address the corruption that adds to the breakdowns occurring at coal power stations, said McDaid. Eskom is also being pushed to improve its energy availability factor to above 65% to meet Nersa’s conditions, said the OUTA statement.
“We also need a forward-looking energy minister who sees the value of renewable energy and fast-tracks its implementation to get affordable energy onto the grid,” said McDaid.
McDaid outlined what the tariff increase would mean for a South African wallet. “If you are paying R500 a month, you are now probably going to pay R590, if you are a direct Eskom customer. However, you might also have fixed monthly costs, which would probably be on top of that. If you are a municipal customer, you are going to pay more [than the R590], because the municipality always adds onto ...
The Netflix doccie about a homeless surfer who went from ‘wanted on every talk show’ to ‘wanted for murder’ in just three months shows how the internet’s hunger for influencers dangerously reduces public portrayals.
One of the earliest subjects of the modern-day internet meme (differentiated from earlier formats using the appropriately absurd term “dank memes”) was a 24-year-old “home-free” man (as he preferred to be described) and went by the name Kai. This stereotypical airhead West Coast surfer dude became America’s sweetheart overnight on the back of a viral interview about his intervention in a hate crime.
On 1 February 2013, Kai was in the passenger seat of a car, hitchhiking in Fresno, California, when the driver, a white 6’4, 300-pound racist claiming to be Jesus Christ rammed into a black pedestrian. When a woman rushed to help the victim, the driver got out of the car and began assaulting her as well. To stop him from hurting the woman, Kai hit the driver in the head three times with a hatchet.
The only person to get an interview with Kai that day was Jessob Reisbeck, a sports anchor for a Fox affiliate channel who’d been asked to cover general news that day because of a lack of staff – it was literally his first day as a general reporter. “Smash, smash, sah-mmash!” Kai recounted in the interview. And that was it. The video was uploaded to YouTube and the next morning Kai was a sensation.
During the documentary, the cameraman who filmed the exclusive interview notes that a story needs “a villain, an unlikely hero, an amazing scenario and someone in distress”. It was all there. Kai even started the interview with an unsolicited message of kindness: “No matter what you’ve done you deserve respect, even if you’ve made mistakes you’re lovable.”
A few months later, he was sentenced to 57 years in a maximum-security prison.
What makes The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker more interesting than your run-of-the-mill Netflix true-crime doccie is director Colette Camden’s focus on how the hysteria around Kai was so strongly guided by the reporting of an untrained journalist. The internet’s ravenous hunger for the next big thing is reductive, christening people celebrities without a second thought. Sensational media might even shape their story around a catchy alliteration; “The Hitchhiking Hatchet Hero”, it was reported.
Several people involved in popular reality television production are interviewed in the film about what made Kai go ...
If your pet is joining you on your next flight, there are a few tips and guidelines to consider before you hop on a plane and start your journey.
Arranging travel can be a little daunting, especially in our post-pandemic world. For pet owners, travelling might lead to extra stress and pressure when trying to find what to do with their animals. Pet sitters? It might be costly. Pet hotels? There might not be one anywhere close to you. And what if you’re permanently relocating or want to travel with your pet?
But you don’t need to be up in the air about it – here is what you need to know before you hop on a plane.
Local airlines and pets
“Each airline will have different requirements and restrictions when transporting pets, so it is essential that you check with the specific airline that you plan on using to find out their requirements. For example, brachycephalic breeds (short-nosed, flat-faced) are at a higher risk of complications due to their anatomy, and may have difficulty breathing when agitated, so the airline may have different safety restrictions for these breeds,” explains Dr Vanessa McClure, a senior lecturer in small animal medicine in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Pretoria University.
Indeed, most local South African airlines, such as FlySafair and South African Airways (SAA), still only allow pets to be transported as manifested cargo – which means your pet would travel on its own flight booking, often at the bottom of the plane (not in the main cabin with you) where temperature and pressure are still controlled; this is different from “excess luggage” where your pet would be added to your own booking.
There are exceptions though: SAA allows guide dogs (one per passenger) in the cabin free of charge for the person in need. Passengers leaving or heading to the US are also permitted to have a service dog for emotional or mental support.
Relative newcomer low-cost airline LIFT admits small dogs in the main cabin; they will be allowed to fly with you although there are only a limited number of seats (window only) allocated to small dogs per flight, and provided they are in a pet-friendly carrier bag. At the time of publishing, should you want to travel with your dog on LIFT, you’ll need to fill out a Dog-in-cabin Request Form; the cost of the dog-friendly blocked-off seat will be the same as for ...
The Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have all backed their strongest sides this weekend in another fierce round of fixtures.
The European Champions Cup returns to action this weekend for the first time this year, with all three South African teams in action.
The Sharks lost their first match under interim coach Neil Powell last weekend to Connacht in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Though the director of rugby stayed behind in Durban — while Joey Mongalo took the reins — along with a host of his first-choice players.
Those players, along with Powell return for their tough Champions Cup encounter at Kings Park Stadium against Bordeaux Bègles on Saturday.
The Sharks side is Springbok-laden with 10 national players in their run-on side. Siya Kolisi returns to captain the side alongside Vincent Tshituka at flank while Sikhumbuzo Notshe closes out the powerful loose trio.
The all-Springbok front row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Thomas du Toit will anchor the formidable pack that has the colossal Eben Etzebeth and reliable Gerbrandt Grobler behind them.
Jaden Hendricks takes over the scrumhalf berth ahead of Grant Williams and is partnered at halfback by the resurgent Curwin Bosch.
2022 World Player of the Year nominee Lukhanyo Am is at 13, partnered by Ben Tapuai.
Makazole Mapimpi, Marnus Potgieter and Boeta Chamberlain make up the back three of the star-studded side.
“We aren’t looking too far ahead, the biggest and most important match is the next one and we’re treating it like that,” said tighthead prop Du Toit.
“Winning at home is important and winning this match at home is going to be vitally important in this competition and we firmly believe if we get points this weekend and more points next weekend [against Harlequins] then we will be sitting pretty in the competition.”
The Sharks are undefeated in the Champions Cup with two wins from their two matches thus far. The Durban-based side snuck a 16-19 win over Bordeaux in December and will be hoping to replicate their form at home.
A victory this weekend will all but guarantee their place in the last 16.
Bulls look to continue momentum
The Bulls were the only successful South African side in the URC last weekend with their victory over the Dragons away. That victory signalled a positive change of fortune after their consecutive defeats to the Stormers and Sharks before that.
They will have no easy task keeping up the momentum when they face Exeter Chiefs — without their director ...
Prince Harry’s memoir 'Spare' shows how children and the adults they become need to choose how they grieve. That may include sharing their experiences and getting angry.
Prince Harry’s reflection on his mother Princess Diana, who died unexpectedly when he was just 12 years old, appears in his memoir Spare, released officially this week.
In fact, the bestseller is marketed as a story about the “eternal power of love over grief”.
“The thought of her, as always, gave me a jolt of hope, and a burst of energy. And a stab of sorrow.”
The book’s revelations, retold in high-profile TV interviews and featured in his Netflix series, are the subject of much media coverage. These revelations chart the prince’s experience of mourning the death of his mother in public, media intrusion, and its long-term impacts.
On face value, Prince Harry may share typical symptoms of people suffering “complicated grief”. But not everyone agrees with how he “shows” his grief so publicly.
The myth of ‘time healing all wounds’
It’s been more than 25 years since the traumatic death of Prince Harry’s mother after a car crash in Paris. And with his family’s immense privilege, it’s easy to assume the need to explore the layers of grief that shape his experiences has passed its use-by date.
But the idea of “time healing all wounds” is a myth. Pain is ongoing. And by silencing someone’s pain, this can worsen it. The public, health professionals, the media and family can all silence someone’s grief by minimising discussions about the impact of losing a loved one.
Twenty years working with grieving people and researching grief reminds me of the countless people in my counselling rooms reflecting on the stinging words someone says to them: “it’s time to move on”.
Counsellors urge people to make meaning of the life lost with those still living. This can involve sharing memories with family members about the person lost, remembering happy times, imagining their inclusion in life currently, and always creating space for conversations about their absence.
If people struggle to make meaning of the new life they are forced to live due to their loss, this can lead to long-term reactions known as complex or complicated grief.
What is complicated grief?
Complicated grief is a severe, persistent and pervasive longing for the deceased. If the death is sudden and unexpected, the prolonged impact will be greater.
People who experience this intensity of grief struggle to engage in everyday life. This profound ...
The programme accepts that informal settlements are a major part of our cities.
Over the past five years, the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has scaled up its support of informal settlements. With eight organisations, it has implemented the Informal Settlements Support Programme (ISSP) in municipalities across the province.
The programme accepts that informal settlements in our cities are permanent and that the state does not have the funding to stop their growth by building enough houses.
The Western Cape Government has said that despite “previous convictions” informal settlements are a “permanent feature of the provincial landscape and cannot be eradicated in a short space of time” and with government’s funding and capacity.
The ISSP anticipated a shift by the state, away from subsidising the building of houses and towards serviced sites. It included organisations to develop partnerships between municipal government and informal settlement communities to improve living conditions.
To date 14 municipalities in 52 informal settlements, consisting of about 40,000 households, have benefitted in various ways. These have included detailed surveys and maps of settlements, the establishment of community structures that take part in municipal decisions, upgrade plans, providing much-needed services, working with the public works programme to recruit and train residents to carry out upgrades, community based planning, and conflict resolution training.
The ISSP has shown a new approach to informal settlement upgrading with a focus on often neglected towns in the Western Cape.
In Cape Agulhas Municipality, enumerations of informal settlements in Bredasdorp, Struisbaai and Napier helped the municipality develop upgrading plans for each settlement, and will lead to state-funded upgrading projects starting in several informal settlements.
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In Villiersdorp (Theewaterskloof Municipality) an enumeration of eight settlements (4,500 structures) identified almost 2,000 households that had no access to sanitation and still used the bucket system.
In Worcester (Breede Valley Municipality) the ISSP programme established community leadership structures for approximately 4,600 informal households in Zwelethemba informal settlement. Now, community leadership is actively involved in plans for settlement upgrading and held officials to account. Also, 15 EPWP workers were selected and trained in specific areas related to informal settlement upgrading.
The uptake from municipalities has varied, with some embracing the shift and others resisting change. Resistance stems from entrenched hierarchies, relationships with external contractors, and patterns of practice that have existed for decades under the old housing subsidy approach.
A lack of clarity from national government as to how the ...
R300,000 in compensation awarded to senior police officer after labour court judge ruled SAPS had protected the perpetrators at the expense of the victim.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has been ordered to pay R300,000 in compensation to a senior police officer for failing to take action against two subordinates who “disparaged and humiliated her”, falsely accusing her of racism.
Johannesburg Labour Court Judge Portia Nkutha-Nkontwana has also ordered SAPS to apologise, in writing, to Lt Col Annemarie Oosthuizen for the indignity she suffered as a result of the racial abuse.
The judge said police management had “dismally failed” to put a stop to the “racial harassment” of her, instead doing everything to protect the perpetrators and was therefore vicariously liable.
Read the full judgment here.
Oosthuizen, who was represented by trade union Solidarity, had argued that the Employment Equity Act prohibited unfair discrimination in the workplace, and yet the respondents, SAPS, the Minister of Police and National Commissioner of Police, had failed to deal with her grievances.
She was the commander of human resources at Klerksdorp police station in 2017 when she took “corrective action” against warrant officers Adam Tikoe and Seiso Mphana because of their absenteeism.
Oosthuizen said they were not happy. They threatened and intimidated her and accused her of calling them the K-word.
After they lodged grievances against her, she was approached by an intern working at the station who told her that she had overheard them conspiring to falsely accuse her of being racist. The intern later gave a statement to this effect and Oosthuizen opened a criminal case against them.
She also lodged a grievance. The officer appointed to investigate this reported that the matter was “serious” — that there was a prima facie case against the two officers and that they should face disciplinary action.
But this recommendation was never actioned. The provincial commissioner and Popcru, who represented the two warrant officers, decided instead that Oosthuizen be charged for using the K-word.
The disciplinary hearing chairperson acquitted her on all charges.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
While the pair did subsequently face disciplinary action, the process was manipulated, Oosthuizen alleged. They were not charged with racial harassment and she was not called to testify.
The two warrant officers were subsequently convicted in the local regional court on charges of criminal defamation and obstructing the administration of justice by making false statements under oath.
Only then were they charged internally and dismissed ...
Dodgy tender awards and settlement agreement have delayed upgrades.
New blue trains, which promised a renewal in commuter rail for the country, keep coming out of the Gibela factory in Dunnottar, but the depots of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) are not ready to receive them.
The tenders for upgrading engineering services have run into obstacles, and a subsequent settlement agreement may be against the law.
On 26 August 2021, Acting Judge Stuart Wilson, in the Johannesburg high court, issued an interim interdict against Prasa, stopping it from implementing an over-priced tender for engineering consulting on upgrades to the Salt River and Springfield depots.
The tenders for these depots were won by the GladAfrica Group, which also trades as GladAfrica Consulting Engineering. The sole director of GladAfrica is Noel Mashaba, who is the younger brother of Auswell Mashaba, of the Swifambo too-tall trains fiasco.
But GIBB, a losing bidder, cried foul. Not only was GIBB’s bid almost R350-million less than GladAfrica’s, but GIBB had been disqualified for trivial reasons — references in the wrong place and a thinly-supported claim that their designs were too generic.
GladAfrica’s bid was also defective. Most notably, they had boasted of an agreement with Deutsche Bahn engineers. But by the time of the award, Deutsche Bahn was no longer involved.
Soon after the interdict, on 8 September 2021, Prasa’s then-CEO Zolani Matthews told Parliament that the process that Prasa followed in awarding the bid to GladAfrica was in fact compliant with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, and that Prasa was to take the court decision on review.
This commitment to review the interdict was abandoned, because GladAfrica did not take up the fight, and decided instead to enter into a settlement agreement with GIBB.
GroundUp has seen two settlement agreements, for the upgrading of Salt River and Springfield depots.
In terms of the Springfield depot tender, GladAfrica would cede “its right, title and interest in and to the Contract” and “all warranties and representations given to Prasa by GladAfrica in terms of the Contract shall be deemed to have been given by GIBB”. In exchange, GIBB would withdraw its review application.
GladAfrica would be paid for the work that it had already done, and Prasa would be liable for all the legal costs. The agreement binds the parties to strict confidentiality clauses, including that “GIBB shall not publish any articles or provide any comment to any member of the media ...
A stuffing of couscous with spices, flaked toasted almonds and golden sultanas sets this apart from your average roast chicken. . Ingredients
A stuffing of couscous with spices, flaked toasted almonds and golden sultanas sets this apart from your average roast chicken.
You love our chicken recipes, and this one is pretty classy as good old roast chicken goes. In the meantime, watch this Friday space, because something special is coming this way very soon.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander seeds
100 g sultanas
100 g almond flakes, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan
125 g couscous
200 ml liquid chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
For a baste: stir together (in a small bowl) 2 Tbsp honey and 4 Tbsp olive oil with 1 tsp ground cumin and a little salt and pepper.
Method
Heat the chicken stock and pour it over the couscous in a bowl. Stir immediately, then leave it for three minutes. Use a fork to flick the grains apart. Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil with the sultanas, coriander and cumin. Stir this and the toasted flaked almonds into the couscous. Salt the inside of the bird, slip the whole cinnamon stick and the star anise into the cavity, and spoon in the couscous stuffing. If there’s couscous left over, leave it to one side to serve with the chicken later.
Tie the bird’s legs together, baste the skin all over (see the baste recipe above) and roast in a preheated 220℃ oven for 90 minutes, basting now and then. Leave it to rest in the turned-off oven for 20 minutes. DM/TGIFood
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Instead of being in school some beg at traffic lights.
It is 10am and nine-year-old Michael is begging at a set of traffic lights in Johannesburg. Most children his age are back at school after the holidays. But Michael is undocumented.
Michael has not been in school since 2021, when he used to attend a private school. His family could not afford to keep him there, and the school had also given him notice that he must show some documentation if he was to continue classes.
His two siblings, and their mother, a widow, sometimes join Michael at the robots to beg from motorists. They usually spread out to increase their chances of getting something.
Michael and one of his sisters were born in South Africa. The younger one was born in Zimbabwe but came to South Africa as a baby. The older used to attend school but the younger one has never been to school.
“Why are you not in school?” motorists have asked. The children don’t know how to answer. They want to go to school.
“I want to be in school but my mother says we have no papers. Standing at the robots is boring, but we have no choice, because we need food,” says Michael.
“Not being able to send my children to school is heartbreaking. My children have neither Zimbabwean nor South African papers because we have been in Johannesburg for a long time,” says Michael’s mother.
The online school placement system requires documents to register, so parents go in person to schools, door to door, only to be turned away. Michael’s mother tried several public schools but they insisted she bring documents.
Some private schools will take undocumented children, but they charge fees that range from R500 to R1,500 a month. Most undocumented immigrant parents do not have a sufficient or stable enough income to cover this.
Smangaliso, from Bulawayo but originally from Mozambique, only acquired Zimbabwean citizenship a few years ago. She brought her grandchildren, aged nine and 11, to Johannesburg three years ago after their father passed away. She has not found a public school prepared to take them without documents.
“It’s not easy back home in Bulawayo. At least here [Johannesburg] I can buy food with the money I make from selling sweets . My grandchildren need an education . I don’t know what to do,” she says.
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Rudo, a secretary by profession, ...
The Economic Freedom Fighters has joined African Transformation Movement in opposing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application to petition the Constitutional Court to declare the Section 89 report as unlawful and to set it aside, saying it is an attempt to avoid accountability.
South Africa’s third biggest political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has filed court papers to oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to set aside the Section 89 Phala Phala report.
Initially, the EFF wanted to be part of the respondents in the application by Ramaphosa and wrote to the president’s lawyers asking why they were not part of the application, as they had made submissions before the panel and are the third biggest party in the National Assembly.
In correspondence before the court, Ramaphosa’s lawyers responded to the EFF saying the fact that the party had made submissions before the panel does not entitle it to become a party in the current litigation.
“The relief sought by the President is an attempt to avoid the type of accountability the EFF is entitled to ensure that it takes place,” said the party’s deputy president Floyd Shivambu in the application stamped by the court on 10 January.
EFF Intervention Application
Stamped Notice of Motion from ConCourt
“It is the type of relief which materially and adversely affects the constitutional right and duty of the EFF to call for and ensure that the President accounts to the National Assembly and its members as well as the public.”
Shivambu said the President has so far refused to account for his conduct in the Phala Phala saga.
The party also argues that the report is not reviewable as there are still processes to be followed by the National Assembly. This is despite the fact that the National Assembly voted against the adoption of the report in December last year.
Ramaphosa avoided impeachment proceedings just three days before the ANC Nasrec elective conference when ANC Members of Parliament voted against the adoption of the panel report.
A handful of ANC MPs, including Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, openly defied the party line to support impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Others that voted in support of the adoption of the report were international relations committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo, stepped-aside transport committee chairperson Mosebenzi Zwane following his corruption trial, tourism committee chairperson Tandi Mahambehlala and Mervyn Dirks, who was dropped from public accounts watchdog Scopa for asking it to ...
City of Cape Town officials say power cuts to pump stations are largely responsible for the spillages and subsequent beach closures.
The post-Covid holiday season, which has the provincial government celebrating a “spectacular recovery” in visitor numbers through Cape Town International Airport, has also seen one of the City’s main attractions — its beaches — suffer temporary closures due to sewage spills.
Over the past month, eight beaches have been temporarily closed, some of them more than once, due to sewage spills, which the City has largely blamed on the impact of rolling blackouts on its sewage pump stations.
The latest, and ongoing closure at time of writing, was the popular Dalebrook tidal pool and adjacent Kalk Bay beach area. The cause of the pollution here has not yet been determined.
Dalebrook tidal pool was first closed on 7 January, reopened on 9 January, and closed again on 11 January.
Cape Town sees 10 beach closures in two months during bumper holiday season
On a visit to the tidal pool on 11 January we found a sign posted on a poolside railing warning of polluted water unsafe for swimming, playing, or drinking. However, the pool was filled with swimmers, including many children.
When asked if she was worried about the health of her children playing in the water, Bernadine from Kirstenhof said she hadn’t seen the sign.
“But the water doesn’t look too bad,” she said.
She said she doesn’t follow the City’s social media pages, so she was not aware of the warnings which had been posted.
“If it was serious, wouldn’t they have closed it completely?” she asked, referring to there being a warning sign but no restrictions to swimming.
Three 16-year-olds, who had been swimming, said they also had not seen the warning sign.
Corrie said she had come from Plumstead for a swim, but when she saw the warning sign she opted to get wet under the beach shower instead.
She said she wished she’d known about the pollution warning as it would have saved her driving to Kalk Bay.
Alex Lansdowne, chairperson of the mayoral advisory committee for water quality, said the pollution at Kalk Bay did not seem to be caused by the sewage pump station situated next to the tidal pool.
Lansdowne said the “extremely low tides” following the recent full moon, which results in the water remaining stagnant and shallow for a number of hours, combined with the number of people using the tidal pool, may have ...
We can now visit Egypt visa-free along with 106 other countries. Our long-term ranking is down 18 spots.
South Africa’s passport power went up in the past year as Egypt granted us visa-free access. You can now visit 106 destinations visa-free – out of 227 measured by Henley & Partners for its annual passport ranking and Global Mobility Report.
“SA is currently ranked 53rd with visa-free access to 106 destinations (out of 227) worldwide. It has climbed up the ranking two places since July 2022 when it was ranked 55th with visa-free access to 105 destinations (47% of the world’s destinations).
The new destination to which the country now has access visa-free is Egypt. “This does not necessarily mean it has gained access to two additional. Sometimes, a passport drops down (like the US and UK) not because they have lost access but because other passports have gained more visa-free destinations, so it pushes them further down the list,” says Sarah Nicklin, the global head of public relations for Henley & Partners. In 2009, our passports were in 35th spot of the indexed countries based on data from the International Air Transport Association.
The consultancy focuses on residence and citizen programmes for people who want a number of passports, especially those with passports that offer less mobility.
“We have access to nearly half the world visa-free, but these destinations account for only 15% of global GDP in terms of economic growth and opportunity,” says Nicklin.
Read in Daily Maverick:
“Hawks detain fake passport syndicate kingpin in Home Affairs sting”
“These are the world’s most (and least) powerful passports in 2022”
“Road to Nowhere — a day in a Hell Affairs queue”
The chart below shows that South Africans are among the top 10 nations whose people seek a different passport through residency and citizenship investments. What’s interesting is that US and UK citizens ranked higher, as Henley & Partners data show. The company’s research shows the close correlation between passport power and wealth: people in richer countries experience open borders (visa-free access) as a travelling asset much more than those in developing or even middle-income countries (which South Africa is classified as).
Geopolitical standing is also an important factor. This helps South Africa even though its fragility ranking is going up.
“For example, more than 80% of visa applications by Iranians were rejected in 2020. In contrast, less than 20% of visa applications by Turkish nationals were rejected, even though the two ...
December’s record low voter turnout was both a protest and a symptom of disenchantment with the country’s leaders.
Tunisia’s political crisis shows no signs of ending. On 17 December 2022 the North African country, once hailed as the 2011 Arab Spring’s sole success story, held parliamentary elections. Most parties boycotted, and the dismal voter turnout — officially only 8.8% — eloquently expressed what Tunisians felt about the undemocratic political reforms president Kais Saied has pursued over the past 18 months.
Saied effected a de facto coup in July 2021 when he sacked the democratically elected government and suspended Parliament, gathering almost all power to himself and ruling by decree. In July 2022 he held a referendum on constitutional changes that would transform Parliament into a rubber stamp of presidential government. Voter turnout for that plebiscite was also low, officially at 30%, though civil society groups put it below 10%. The members of Parliament elected on 17 December will be announced on 19 January.
Silvia Colombo, Researcher at the Nato Defence College in Rome, told ISS Today that Saied hoped the December elections would seal and conclude the construction of his ‘New Republic’, as he liked to call it. He must have been sorely disappointed.
“The low turnout rate should be a wake-up call for Saied,” International Crisis Group Tunisian expert Riccardo Fabiani told ISS Today. But he said Saied had shown little adaptability to political setbacks so far and was unlikely to do so this time.
The backlash is now likely to grow. The National Salvation Front, established last March by 12 political parties that Saied ejected from Parliament, has been staging protests in response to the December elections, though they haven’t drawn huge crowds so far.
Tunisia’s most powerful trade union federation, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) — with over a million members — is starting to wake up. It has so far remained quiescent about Saied’s power grab. The union’s Secretary-General Noureddine Taboubi said last month it could no longer tolerate the threat Saied was posing to Tunisian democracy, including his one-man rule.
At the end of December, he announced that “the UGTT will present, in collaboration with the components of civil society, an initiative to save the country from collapse.” Taboubi didn’t spell out the details, although transport workers affiliated to UGTT conducted a fairly successful countrywide strike earlier in January.
Can growing political protests and concerted union action stop Saied and force him ...
The South African men’s side have never lived up to their potential at the Hockey World Cup, failing to progress past the group stages in six attempts. However, coming off a bumper 2022 season with a young squad to boot, this may be their year.
The 2023 FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup kicks off in India on Friday, with South Africa taking on Argentina in the first match.
The tournament is being hosted in India for the second consecutive edition, with matches from 13 to 29 January in the host cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
South Africa head into the event ranked 14th in the world, and have been drawn in Pool A, in what has been dubbed the “group of death”. It includes Australia, who are ranked No 1 in the world and have won the World Cup three times, Argentina, who are ranked seventh, and France, the 12th-ranked side.
The team that tops the group will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals, while the teams finishing second and third will qualify for “crossover” matches – essentially another round of matches to determine the remaining quarterfinalists.
In South Africa’s seventh men’s World Cup appearance they will be looking to advance past the group stages for the first time.
Tough reading
South Africa made their World Cup debut in 1994, in Pakistan. The team put on a respectable showing, securing four draws in five group-stage matches, losing only to eventual runners-up the Netherlands.
Finishing fifth out of six teams in the group stages, South Africa then defeated Belarus 3-2 in a crossover match to qualify for the playoff for ninth/10th place, where they lost 2-0 to Spain to finish the tournament 10th overall out of 12 nations. This is their best finish in the five men’s World Cups they have competed in since 1994. They came close to improving their record in 2010, but lost out on ninth place following a penalty shootout against New Zealand.
And South Africa’s recent form in World Cups makes for dismal reading.
Read in Daily Maverick: “SA men’s hockey side win Nations Cup, qualify for Pro League”
In 2018, they suffered heavy defeats against India and Belgium in the group stages, with their only point coming in the form of a draw against Canada. They finished last in their group, and due to a poor goal difference, dead last out of the 16 nations competing.
The 2014 edition wasn’t much better. South Africa finished last in ...
Former World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee died on Thursday after succumbing to cancer. He was 67.
Renowned for his thunderous punching power and elegant ring craft for such a big man, Gerrie Coetzee, South Africa’s first world heavyweight champion, lost his final, short fight against cancer on Thursday.
Coetzee is survived by his wife Rina, three children and seven grandchildren.
During his fighting career, the softly-spoken Coetzee became known as the “Boksburg Bomber”, although he was far more than a wild puncher.
His battles to become heavyweight champion of the world in the late 1970s and early 1980s captured the nation’s imagination. He was a gifted fighter with strong punching power and a likeable demeanour.
He briefly became world champion between 1983-84 by sensationally knocking out rising star Michael Dokes in his home state, in the 10th round in Richfield, Ohio on 23 September 1983.
It was a bout Coetzee, in the best shape of his career and with a surgically repaired right hand, which fused the bones, dominated. His “bionic right hand” as the media dubbed it, caught Dokes in the fifth round, dropping the champion for the first time in his career.
The American landed a few solid punches throughout the fight, but never had the South African in trouble. Coetzee kept coming forward and dominating. In the 10th, he caught Dokes with a short right hook to the temple, which set in motion 30 seconds of mayhem as he knocked the champ out.
The final denouement came courtesy of two vicious right hands as Dokes fell, almost in slow motion, desperately clutching at the rope to hold him up.
Early beginnings
After an impressive local amateur career, Coetzee turned pro. He was immediately successful and soon was fighting for the SA heavyweight crown.
His growing reputation included three hugely popular bouts against fellow South African heavyweight stars Mike Schutte and Kallie Knoetze, which Coetzee won. Soon he was a top contender for the world title.
His path was an elimination-style bout against Leon Spinks in Monte Carlo in April 1979. Spinks had twice fought the ageing Muhammad Ali in 1978, sensationally winning the world title before losing the rematch later that year.
By 1979, the WBA title was up for grabs again and Spinks was expected to brush Coetzee aside to set up a world title showdown against either Knoetze or John Tate, who were in the other “eliminator”.
But Coetzee stunned the boxing world, flooring Spinks three ...
Nelson Mandela’s ghostwriter, Richard Stengel, spent almost 60 hours recording the interviews that would provide material for the book ‘Long Walk to Freedom’. In a new podcast series, audio from the talks is woven together with Stengel’s recollections to provide a fascinating new portrait of South Africa’s most famous son.
Long Walk to Freedom is widely considered one of the greatest autobiographies of all time, but credit for that has too seldom gone where it arguably belongs: to Nelson Mandela’s ghostwriter, Richard Stengel.
Publishers Little, Brown and Company had signed Mandela up for a book almost as soon as he left prison, but there was never any suggestion that Mandela himself would have the time to write his own life story.
“He was adapting to the modern world, he was worrying about whether there would be a civil war in South Africa; he had 10,000 more important things to do,” Stengel told Daily Maverick this week.
There’s another aspect, too: “If Mandela had done it, it would have been an 800-page history of the ANC,” Stengel quips, in reference to the statesman’s passionate love for the movement he led.
Stengel was a 37-year-old US journalist in 1993 when he sat down with Mandela, then 72, to conduct the series of interviews that would become Mandela’s international bestseller.
The then little-known Stengel was not Mandela’s choice.
“He had decided he wanted [renowned South African author] Es’kia Mphahlele, so Zeke [Mphahlele] was hired to write on it,” Stengel says.
But what Mphahlele — who died in 2008 — ended up producing was more of a kind of “novelisation with Mandela quotes”, in Stengel’s words, and the publishers weren’t happy.
At some point, Stengel believes, Nobel literature laureate Nadine Gordimer was working on a plan for the book with Mandela. By December 1992, however, a ghostwriter had still not been formally signed up for the project and time was ticking.
William Phillips, the editor-in-chief of Little, Brown and Company, was given Stengel’s non-fiction work on South Africa to read and decided that Stengel might just be the person for the job. After some strained but cordial initial meetings with Mandela, who took a dim view of Stengel’s relatively youthful age, it was agreed that work could proceed.
Mandela: The Lost Tapes
Now, for the first time, the public has been granted access to the collaboration that ensued between Mandela and Stengel — via the 10-episode Audible podcast Mandela: The Lost Tapes.
The reference to the tapes ...
There is no evidence that the Covid-19 variant, XBB.1.5 — nicknamed Kraken — will cause more severe disease, said the World Health Organization in a risk assessment.
A preliminary risk assessment done by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that the Kraken subvariant of Omicron (XBB.1.5) does not have a specific genetic mutation associated with variants that cause severe disease.
“Severity assessments are ongoing. XBB.1.5 does not carry any mutation known to be associated with potential change in severity (such as S:P681R),” the report reads.
The WHO, however, called on more countries to do a rapid assessment of the situation, saying there is currently very little data available. According to the risk assessment, the subvariant is now found in 38 countries.
“Based on its genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, XBB.1.5 may contribute to increases in case incidence. To date, the overall confidence in the assessment is low, as growth advantage estimates are only from one country, the United States of America,” the report reads.
The WHO called for more studies to assess the potential of XBB.1.5 to escape either vaccine- or infection-acquired immunity, and also on whether the subvariant caused more severe disease.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) this week issued a statement saying it looks like XBB.1.5 will have a growth advantage over the other subvariants in circulation, but such estimates are “associated with significant uncertainty”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The statement confirmed that XBB.1.5 was only present at very low levels in Europe. The variant has been detected in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The ECDC said there was some data showing this subvariant was more transmissible than its predecessors.
Like the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the ECDC emphasised that there is not enough data yet to assess any change in infection severity associated with the variant.
On Wednesday, the NICD explained that XBB.1.5 might become the dominant strain in South Africa, as US data shows it has a “growth advantage” due to increased transmissibility.
The subvariant was detected in a single sample taken in late December.
As it was a random sample, neither the identity of the patient nor their condition is known. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said that while the subvariant was detected by the University of Stellenbosch, it does not mean the sample came from someone in the Western ...
Pride in the recognition of achievement is only human, but recipients of honorary doctorates and the institutions that bestow them must clarify what it means — or risk diminishing the worth of the titles earned by academic effort.
It is an established practice for universities around the world to occasionally award honorary doctorates to individuals who have made a significant contribution to a particular field or in society in general. It is a practice with a long history dating back to the 15th Century.
However, there are sometimes controversies around these, including sometimes suspicions of unscrupulous bestowments to underserving individuals. As a result, many institutions have elaborate requirements and procedures, which may include nomination of a worthy candidate accompanied by motivation and CV, which is then considered by relevant committees in terms of specific rules.
University of Oxford’s website notes that the institution conferred the first honorary doctorate to Lionel Woodville in the late 1470s — “without the usual academic exercise”. From that moment, a tradition was established in universities to confer honorary doctorates to members of society who had made an outstanding or significant contribution in their fields. It is very pleasing to see many of our institutions following this example.
Increasingly in South Africa, institutions of higher education, both public and private, have been conferring honorary doctorates to people they believe have excelled in their fields. We say ‘believe’ because institutions are making a subjective, independent, and individual assessment separate from others. This is an important exercise allowing people who make a considerable and exemplary contribution to society to be recognised. The Latin phrase used for the degree is Honoris causa, which means “for the sake of honour”.
However, institutions often do not adequately take members of the public into their confidence regarding when recipients can call themselves doctor or accept to be called doctor. In the absence of this crucial edification, many members of the public are oblivious to what it means to be a recipient of an honorary doctorate. Some practitioners in the media also seem to be underinformed and they often address recipients of such doctorates as doctors in circumstances where they should not.
Ferial Haffajee’s 17 November 2022 article in the Daily Maverick about the Johannesburg Roads Agency and its Chief Executive Officer, Tshepo Mahanuke states that Mahanuke insisted on his staff calling him doctor when he does not hold a medical degree or an academic doctoral degree. Instead, he ...
The nonprofit sector’s submissions on the General Laws Amendment Act saw its compulsory registration requirement for nonprofit organisations in South Africa refined — an important win for civil society. However, there are still concerns about the road ahead for the enforcement of the new legislation.
The public consultation process behind the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act brought together representatives of civil society committed to challenging the more problematic aspects of the proposed legislation, as it related to the nonprofit sector.
The final act, which was signed into law on 22 December 2022, saw certain concerns of civil society organisations addressed, while others went unresolved. It has enacted amendments across five South African acts, including the Nonprofit Organisations Act of 1997, with the intention of addressing deficiencies identified in the Financial Action Task Force’s Mutual Evaluation Report of South Africa from October 2021.
When the bill was originally opened for public comments on 27 September 2022, a key concern among civil society organisations was the proposed universal mandatory registration of all nonprofits operating in South Africa with the Department of Social Development’s NPO Directorate. The requirement was seen by many as impractical and unconstitutional.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Period for public comments on greylisting bill extended after NPO sector raises red flags”
“[This] has been addressed in that the mandatory registration is now confined to organisations based in South Africa. which are carrying out projects in or transmitting funds to other countries,” said Nicole Copley, founder of ngoLAW, which provides legal advice and assistance to nonprofits.
“There are still many who are not happy with the reduced mandatory registration ambit. but, on the whole, civil society feels that a major battle has been won here.”
Read in Daily Maverick: Greylisting bill’s registration requirements for nonprofits to be refined
William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, questioned the act’s compulsory registration requirement for NPOs that provide humanitarian, charitable, religious, educational or cultural services outside South Africa, without providing charitable donations.
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“It means any [South African] nonprofit entity that works, for example, in the [African] region is then going to be forced to register,” he said. “You’re back at the same point that we were, which is this compulsory registration of these entities with no reasonable justification for that limitation.”
Bird further highlighted the possibility of registration being unjustly withheld or called into question for civil society ...
Measles cases in South Africa continue to rise, but the National Institute for Communicable Diseases says there is a decline in the number of positive tests. The institute called for vigilance and caution as schools are reopening.
The number of positive tests in South Africa for measles is decreasing, even though the number of cases continues to rise, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said in its latest update on Thursday.
Only seven new cases were reported in the first week of 2023 — in Gauteng and North West. The NICD said vigilance was needed as schools are set to reopen.
“We need vigilance to identify and respond rapidly to cases in school or crèche environments. Planned vaccination campaigns should continue with the same urgency, despite the decrease in cases in recent weeks,” read the NICD statement.
“Prevention and control of measles outbreaks can only be achieved through vaccination. Caregivers and parents are advised to review their child’s vaccination records and confirm that they have received the measles vaccine.
“It is never too late to vaccinate — children who have not been vaccinated may receive the measles vaccine at any age over six months, free of charge at primary health services.”
The NICD also called on doctors to be on the lookout for measles cases.
A measles outbreak was declared in five provinces between October and December 2022: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Free State and North West.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies a measles outbreak as three or more cases reported within 30 days in a defined district. There were isolated cases in other provinces, but these did not comply with the WHO classification of an outbreak.
According to the latest epidemiological report issued for the measles outbreak, cases in Limpopo are declining. The outbreak was first declared there in October. So far, 140 cases have been reported in the Greater Sekhukhune, Mopani and Waterberg districts.
Of the 140 measles cases in Limpopo, 114 (81%) had an unknown vaccination status.
In Mpumalanga, 75 cases of laboratory-confirmed measles have been reported since an outbreak was declared there in November 2022. Of those infected, no vaccine history was known for 65% of patients, and 22% were unvaccinated.
In North West, where an outbreak was declared in December 2022, 114 cases were reported. Only five of the patients were vaccinated; the rest either did not know their vaccination status or were not vaccinated.
In Gauteng, 16 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been reported, and an ...
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy hardly has the capacity to change a light bulb. And yet the ANC thinks that placing Eskom — the failing power utility that threatens to drag the economy down with it — under the department’s oversight is a good idea. This takes ANC ‘policy making’ to new levels of absurdity.
Alarm bells have been ringing about the proposal to bring Eskom under the oversight of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), and with good reason. Much of the shock stems from Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s unrepentant pro-coal stance, his touting of procuring unaffordable nuclear power, and his obvious aversion to green energy under the transparent smoke-screens of “base-load” and job preservation.
Then there was the whole Eskom is “agitating to overthrow the state” remark, uttered without any sense of irony or self-awareness by a minister belonging to a party and government overseeing a failing state.
These are legitimate reasons for concern, but perhaps the biggest one is the DMRE’s own slide into dysfunction in recent years, a slide that mirrors Eskom’s. The DMRE has repeatedly shown that it hardly has the capacity to change a light bulb. So how on earth is it going to address the complex challenge of Eskom? The idea that it can is, appropriately, dim, and takes ANC “policy making” to new levels of absurdity.
This correspondent for the past few years has been covering the DMRE’s ongoing train smash. It hardly inspires confidence.
Shambolic
Its shambolic state was thrown into sharp relief in October by a tender it put out for an assessment of its data and phone networks. The document indicated that the department’s systems had become so obsolete that it could no longer source spare parts and that it had not had managed services for almost a decade.
Read more in Business Maverick: “Mineral Resources and Energy data and phone networks assessment tender reveals the lights may be off and nobody home”
The same lack of basic maintenance is one of the key factors behind Eskom’s deterioration. If the DMRE cannot maintain basic IT services, is it seriously going to oversee the care and constant repairs of Eskom’s ageing fleet of shoddy power stations?
Imagine if the DMRE was a candidate for the job and needed to submit a CV. One of the requirements would surely be an excellent track record of actually maintaining stuff.
And the list goes on. With the ...
A leaked letter sent to Transnet chairperson Popo Molefe by the Minerals Council on 4 December calling for the axing of CEO Portia Derby and urgent action to stem the rot of the state-run logistics company has elicited a curt response — but not a denial — from the council.
In response to news reports by Business Day and News24 which reported the existence of the letter yesterday, the Minerals Council said it would not comment on the contents of the letter which was “clearly marked confidential.”
Business Maverick has not yet been able to verify the contents of the letter, which is also reported to call for the firing of CEO of Transnet Freight Rail Sizakele Mzimela. But this smoke seems linked to a fire that has been raging for some time.
Council spokesman Allan Seccombe said in response to queries on the matter that “The Minerals Council is working in close collaboration and in a spirit of cooperation with the Transnet Board and Management to urgently resolve deep-seated problems and constraints in the rail and port logistics to the benefit of bulk commodity companies, Transnet and the fiscus.
“The Minerals Council and Transnet have established joint teams to address constraints on bulk commodity export channels. The Minerals Council and its members are committed to finding urgent, pragmatic and lasting solutions to the problems curtailing mineral exports.”
Mounting frustration
The bottom line is that there is no outright denial of pretty explosive allegations, which highlight the mining industry’s mounting frustration with the growing costs of South Africa’s failing state.
A Transnet spokesperson contacted by phone asked Business Maverick to send an email and had not replied to our request for comment ahead of publishing.
The letter was reportedly sent by the council’s president Nolitha Fakude to Transnet chairperson Popo Molefe on 4 December. On 19 December, the Minerals Council said it and Transnet had agreed to establish “joint collaborative structures” to keep the train and port network from going off the rails.
Read more in Business Maverick: “Minerals Council SA, Transnet agree on joint panels to ‘stabilise’ rail and port network”
“For more than 24 months, we have given the benefit of the doubt to the Transnet management team, who have aptly demonstrated, through several bizarre decisions and statements and in particular the ongoing tragic decline in the performance of Transnet, that they cannot resolve the crisis and are not capable of turning around the performance. We are insisting ...
Former Western Cape DA member Masizole Mnqasela has joined forces with three councillors from Swellendam who have also lost their party membership and are now looking at legal options. ‘I feel their pain,’ he said.
There will be a by-election in Swellendam’s ward 2 in March after the removal of Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Abraham Pokwas.
In December last year, Pokwas and two other councillors, Bongani Sonqwenqwe and Gcobisa Mangcu-Qotyiwe, had their DA membership revoked by Helen Zille, chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council. The three were consequently removed as councillors.
The Western Cape town of Swellendam lies at the foot of the Langeberg mountain range. Following the 2021 municipal elections, the municipal council is made up of 11 seats: the DA holds the majority with six seats, followed by the ANC with four and the Freedom Front Plus with one seat.
Sonqwenqwe and Mangcu-Qotyiwe’s positions as proportional councillors can be filled from within party structures. Since Pokwas was councillor for ward 2 (Barrydale, Smitsville and parts of Suurbrak), the ward will now be contested in a by-election.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed to Daily Maverick this week that Pokwas’s ward will be contested in March, with a date to be confirmed.
Mnqasela’s involvement
In a statement released by Masizole Mnqasela this week, he claimed the three councillors had been removed “apparently because they did not abide by a caucus decision to hold back on advertising for the appointment of a director for corporate services in the Swellendam municipality”.
Masizole Mnqasela’s urgent interdict to be reinstated as Western Cape speaker dismissed
Sonqwenqwe added: “Our insistence to advertise the post for corporate services director, which presents an opportunity to address serious shortcomings in the employment equity of the management structure in Swellendam Municipality, is the reason for our expulsion, among others.”
These claims have been denied by the DA.
The party’s director of communications, Richard Newton, told Daily Maverick: “No one was terminated; they cessated their membership by violating key clauses in the DA’s constitution, which mean immediate cessation.”
Pokwas, previously the municipality’s deputy mayor, referred to a motion of no confidence against mayor Francois du Rand, which the Cape Times reported on in October 2022.
Pokwas said: “We had a problem with the mayor here and approached the party on the motion of no confidence to remove Francois du Rand as mayor.
“Helen Zille sent me an email instructing us to withdraw the motion and for our caucus to make peace.”
He claimed the DA ...
Bafana Bafana have regressed exponentially in recent times. Their absence from the African Nations Championship, and missing out on the 2022 African Cup of Nations and World Cup, are proof enough.
Another international tournament is set to commence without South Africa’s senior men’s international football side.
Bafana Bafana are not part of the African Nations Championship (Chan), scheduled to be played in Algeria between 13 January and 4 February.
South Africa were eliminated by Angola during the qualification phase in September last year, following a 4-1 defeat on home soil, which resulted in a 6-1 aggregate loss after also being felled 2-0 in Angola.
The side’s absence has become increasingly and worryingly common for a country that took global soccer by storm in the early years after apartheid’s demise.
These days, they are a shadow of the team that rose to great heights between 1995 and 2002. So much so, that having missed out on both the Qatar World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2022, Bafana Bafana have now also failed to qualify for Chan.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Just as they last qualified for the World Cup in 2010 as hosts, the South African men last qualified for the Chan tournament in 2014 — when they were hosts. They didn’t make it to the 2016 edition in Rwanda, or the 2018 showpiece which was held in Morocco. They were also absent in 2020.
Considering the prestige (or lack thereof) associated with the tournament, Bafana’s Chan failures could be excusable in another lifetime.
However, when one considers that their failures spill over to the World Cup and even the Afcon, it suggests a worrying trend for the future of South African football.
While Bafana played in the 2010 World Cup, the last time they qualified for the tournament on merit was back in 2002. In the Afcon, before missing out in 2022 when the tournament took place in Cameroon, they reached the quarterfinals in 2019. Prior to that, they missed out on participating in 2010, 2012 and 2017.
It is a far cry from the standard set by the generation of Bafana Bafana players who managed to clinch the competition in 1996, before claiming the silver and bronze medals during the 1998 and 2000 editions respectively.
What is Chan?
Bafana’s failures in this particular competition may very well be due to their being somewhat of a black sheep when it comes to ...
Arguing in court on Thursday on an interim interdict, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lawyers said Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution attempt trampled on his rights. Zuma’s team accused the President of ‘arrogance’ and maintained he had been charged and must appear in court.
Despite being in and out of courtrooms on numerous occasions for years, former president Jacob Zuma had “never” thought that attending court as an accused was “beneath him”, advocate Dali Mpofu SC told a Full Bench of the Johannesburg High Court in a civil hearing on Thursday.
Mpofu was representing Zuma in his opposition to President Cyril Ramaphosa seeking an urgent interdict to stop his appearance in a criminal court on 19 January, for the private prosecution Zuma has brought against him.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Zuma ‘desperately’ trying to link private prosecution cases for ‘ulterior purpose’ – Ramaphosa”
Ramaphosa contends that the endeavour is invalid, unlawful and unconstitutional.
The interdict application made by the President smacked of “arrogance”, Mpofu told judges Roland Sutherland, Edwin Molahlehi and Marcus Senyatsi, and was not a matter for the civil court.
“What we have here is a simple, pedestrian charge. A person has been charged and must come to court,” said Mpofu. Any issues Ramaphosa had relating to the private prosecution could be aired in a criminal court, he said.
A civil court did not have the capacity to understand the “nuances” that a criminal court did, said Mpofu, who denied there was any urgency to the application.
“Any person in this country who is accused of a crime, rightly or wrongly, has to suffer the inconvenience of attending court,” he said.
Zuma initiated the private prosecution of Ramaphosa on 15 December, the day before the governing party was to start its national elective conference, the conclusion of which saw Ramaphosa being voted in for a second term as ANC president. The timing of the summons led Ramaphosa to initially accuse Zuma of attempting to scupper his chances of re-election.
The former president has accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact to criminal conduct or, alternatively, of defeating or attempting to defeat the ends of justice, relating to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of medical information in Zuma’s private prosecution of veteran prosecutor Billy Downer — who will be prosecuting the Arms Deal graft trial in which Zuma is accused number one — and journalist Karyn Maughan.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Groundhog Day — Zuma (yet again) insists that Billy ...
There’s enough promising news on the inflation front to be cautiously optimistic. Far fewer countries are still experiencing accelerating inflation, according to the World Bank, and the dollar may loosen its hold on global forex markets. However, much depends on the impact of China’s reopening on global price pressures.
The good news on the inflation front is that it is expected to ease worldwide from here, but the not-so-good news is that it may well remain higher than its pre-pandemic average for longer.
This week the World Bank released its World Economic Outlook, which painted a gloomy picture of the global growth outlook this year. However, it did provide some cheer in its forecast for global inflation, which is expected to fall more than two percentage points to 5.2% this year from 7.6% in 2022.
The latest US inflation data, much anticipated by the market because they would set the tone for the year, eased to 6.5% in December last year.
Prices actually came down on a month-on-month basis, led by a decline in energy prices for the first time in 30 months. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices and signals broader price pressures in the economy, was also a welcome surprise, easing to 5.7% on a year ago.
Another positive from a global perspective is that the share of countries experiencing rising inflation is trending downwards.
According to World Bank data, more than 90% of the countries were experiencing accelerating inflation in March 2022, and that proportion fell to just less than a third (31.6%) of the countries in November — a significant improvement in the global inflation landscape.
Emerging markets
Emerging markets didn’t get to experience the rewards of taking early action in the fight against inflation because the higher dollar raised the cost of imported goods and put upward pressure on domestic inflation.
This year, however, they could see relief on the currency front, with the dollar expected to continue retreating from its heady peak in September last year.
The Dollar Index, a useful measure of the greenback’s level across a range of international currencies, has since depreciated almost 10% to 103 points from 114 in late September.
At home, the dollar-rand exchange rate had also moved in favour of the rand, trading at below R17 to the dollar after weakening to almost R18.50 in mid-October. Sustaining a level below R19 is significant in the face of recent political shenanigans and the intensive load shedding that ...
The Eskom hole just keeps getting deeper. The state-run power provider, which is in full meltdown with Stage 6 rolling blackouts and a staggering R400-billion debt load, desperately needs cash from customers that it cannot supply to meet their demand.
Energy regulator Nersa has approved an 18.65% tariff hike for Eskom for the 2022/23 financial year and 12.74% for the next, heralding pain for consumers and industry alike.
The 18.65% price increase for customers directly supplied by Eskom takes effect from 1 April, and the 12.74% from 1 April 2024. That translates into an increase of 31.39% over the next two years against the backdrop of high inflation, squeezed margins for power-intensive industries such as mining, and Eskom’s desperate bid to keep the lights on intermittently while preventing a full-scale blackout.
In short, the Eskom hole just keeps getting deeper. The state-run power provider, which is in full meltdown with Stage 6 rolling blackouts and a staggering R400-billion debt load, desperately needs cash from customers that it cannot supply to meet their demand.
The new increases — which are well above the current inflation rate of 7.4% — will just hasten a drive by households and industry alike to procure renewable and reliable sources of energy, depriving Eskom of more customers.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
It’s a business model made in hell which is hellish for customers and the company alike.
Eskom had applied for a 32% increase for 2023/24, underscoring the scale of its dilemma as it scrambles to buy diesel for when its coal plants fail and attempts to pay independent producers to bring more power onto the ailing grid.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Reuters in an interview earlier on Thursday that the government would take on Eskom’s debt in a “staggered manner” to prevent the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio from going through the roof.
The Treasury said in the October “mini-budget” that it would take on between one-third and two-thirds of Eskom’s debt to boost its balance sheet and set it on the road to financial viability.
The tariff increase, while well short of Eskom’s request, will add to inflationary pressures in the economy — “administered prices” are part of the CPI basket — at a time when the South African Reserve Bank is in a hiking cycle in step with its global peers to contain rising prices.
The best that can be said is that it could have been ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to his spokesperson, acknowledges the frustration of indefinite Stage 6 load shedding and is worried about Eskom’s latest 18.65% tariff hike, but says he does not have the authority to intervene.
The South African government, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is exploring “urgent measures that can be undertaken in order to mitigate against the impact of load shedding”, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Thursday afternoon.
In a hybrid media briefing on the President’s public programme, Magwenya said Ramaphosa was engaged in critical meetings on the current energy crisis, some of which were scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
This comes after the country was plunged into darkness after power utility Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding “continually until further notice” due to severe capacity constraints on Wednesday.
Eleven Eskom generators, providing 5,084 MW of capacity, are said to have been hit by breakdowns since Tuesday morning.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The elevated level of load shedding coincided with the reopening of schools in the inland provinces of Free State, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa “deeply regrets” the current energy situation.
“The president acknowledges the frustration of households, parents and learners who have commenced the school calendar year facing power shortages. The devastation to small businesses and adverse impact to the economy remains severe for SA’s recovering economy.”
The latest power crisis comes as households, businesses and municipalities scramble to reduce their dependence on Eskom by installing generators or, increasingly, solar-powered backup systems.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Dark, Dumb and Dangerous: Inside South Africa’s perfect (electrical) storm”
On 15 December last year, Ramaphosa convened a meeting of the National Energy Crisis Committee, composed of ministers and various technical workstreams, said Magwenya. At the meeting, Ramaphosa is said to have acknowledged the progress made in dealing with the energy crisis.
“He further demanded more urgency and speed in the implementation of all priority areas and actions laid out in the national energy plan,” said Magwenya.
In some municipalities, Stage 6 rolling blackouts mean up to 12 hours a day without electricity.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Humanitarian crisis looms in Karoo as Eskom institutes load reduction on top of rolling blackouts in defaulting municipalities”
Magwenya reiterated that the President remained committed to finding a sustainable solution to the crisis.
“Despite the current gloomy state of load shedding, the National Energy Crisis Committee workstreams have continued to make progress in ...
The festive season is typically an opportune time to review the passing year, and on reflection, there is one thing about 2022 that really stands out: Big-time leadership failure. I mean real major disaster stuff.
One of the strange things about the failure of leadership is that it is so obvious. The reasons why it happens are obvious. The consequences are obvious, almost inevitable. And yet, as in the Greek tragedies of classical times, destiny seems to just take over. Why is this?
The two most obvious examples from 2022 couldn’t be more different in their functions, desires and aims: Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin. But in one crucial respect, they overlap rather obviously, and that is their hubris on a galactic scale. And in both cases, that would come close to being a literal description.
Musk lost around $100-billion of his wealth; gained perhaps the least appealing entry into the Guinness World Records as the person who has lost the most money in history; and, arguably worst of all, was booed when introduced on Dave Chappelle’s comedy show. He also lost his position as the world’s richest man to — wait for it — a Frenchman.
Putin has essentially lost the war in Ukraine; it’s not over yet, but the prospect of true victory is gone. He has lost his place in the world, and, I’m willing to bet, his popularity among the Russian people, which up till earlier this year has been remarkably resilient.
He has also lost, it is loosely estimated, about 70,000 of his compatriots, Russian soldiers who have died on the battlefield which some of his own generals argued he should not have entered. Nobody knows exactly how many people have died in the Ukraine invasion; certainly plenty of Ukrainian civilians from the random missile blasts, and soldiers in the trenches.
But there seems little doubt that more Russians have died in this “special military operation” than died in the Russian war in Afghanistan. And that lasted 12 years.
Another overlap between these two very different individuals, I suspect, turns on a single word: invulnerability. Leaders and leadership, as we all know, go through phases. But psychologists have recognised that there is a point where leaders consider themselves invulnerable — and that, my friend, is where the trouble (and the hubris) start.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
There are a gazillion studies that show and try to measure ...
Every pile of elephant dung holds a story that tells of forgotten migrations, ancient hookups and a population’s well-being, and now scientists are unlocking these secrets thanks to a new way of collecting DNA.
It used to be that when scientists needed to collect DNA from a wild elephant, it required a dart gun, lots of money and a good dollop of bravery.
Then, once those blood samples had been gathered, there were the added complications of securing proper refrigeration in which to store them and having chemicals at hand that were dangerous to handle.
Recently, researchers from the universities of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Pretoria pioneered an inexpensive alternative that involves the use of treated, postcard-sized, data collection cards.
Dung samples are smeared on those cards and can be kept for months without refrigeration.
“We combined existing methodologies in such a way that we are now able to use non-invasive samples to generate genome-scale data,” said Alida de Flamingh, in a statement. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Illinois, US.
“This allows us to assess wildlife populations without having to dart, capture or immobilise animals,” she said.
The team’s research appeared in the latest issue of the journal, Frontiers in Genetics.
Collecting DNA from elephant poop is not new, but it has its challenges.
De Flamingh came up with this approach after working with co-author Ripan Malhi, whose laboratory focuses on ancient DNA.
Extracting DNA from source material that is sometimes tens of thousands of years old is difficult. But ancient DNA laboratories have pioneered ways of collecting this genetic material.
“Ancient DNA can be problematic because samples are degraded and may yield very low levels of target species DNA,” De Flamingh explained.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Obtaining genomic data from dung can be similarly challenging, with lower elephant DNA concentrations than are available from blood samples. I thought, this sounds like an excellent opportunity to test whether the same methodologies can be applied to non-invasive samples to generate the same type of data.”
To test their new technique, the team at first turned to collecting samples from zoo elephants. They wanted to see how fresh the dung needed to be to provide genomic data.
The subjects in this experiment were African savannah elephants from the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida and the Dallas Zoological Gardens.
The researchers would retrieve the dung immediately after defecation, then after 24, 48 and 72 hours.
What ...
Russia may start drafting men as old as 30 this spring under a plan outlined by a senior legislator as the military pushes to expand its ranks after it lost ground in Ukraine.
Russia’s commander of land forces visited Belarus a day after his superior, Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, took over the combined forces in the invasion. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington that Russia has had a lot of changes in its command as it tries “to overcome their own difficulties” in a war it shouldn’t have started.
Ukrainian forces were fighting to keep control of Soledar and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. “Fierce battles” raged near Soledar on Thursday even as a top Ukrainian official said Russia’s bid to take the town was failing.
Key developments
Generators help shops keep lights on for Ukrainians hit by war
Russia oil-price cap defies sceptics with so far, so good start
Frozen mud may not be enough for big offensives in Ukraine
Russia taps general staff chief as new commander in Ukraine
On the ground
Fierce fighting continued in Soledar as Russian attempts to capture the town in the eastern region of Donetsk were failing, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said during a video briefing. Russia was likely to increase efforts to capture part of the Zaporizhzhia region on the left bank of the Dnipro River, said Ukrainian General Staff representative Oleksiy Hromov. Russian forces hit Zaporizhzhia with missiles overnight, damaging private buildings and infrastructure facilities.
To the east, Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 12 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including Bakhmut. One person was killed as Russian units shelled a settlement near the city of Kherson on Thursday afternoon, regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.
Erdoğan ‘plans talks with Putin, Zelensky’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may speak separately with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “today or tomorrow” about the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, the Ihlas news agency cited Seref Malkoc, the Turkish ombudsman, as saying.
More than 2.4 million Ukrainians live in damaged properties, says minister
More than 2.4 million Ukrainians live in homes and apartment blocks damaged or ruined as a result of Russia’s aggression, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook.
More than 316,000 Ukrainians have already applied for state compensation via a digital government service, he said.
Russia may raise draft age this spring in push for more troops
Putin last month not only endorsed ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
African Futures and Innovation analysis shows how Kenya can overcome major development hurdles by focusing on three sectors.
Despite William Ruto’s narrow win to become Kenya’s president in August last year, the transition occurred peacefully. Now his challenge is to transform the economy in a country with numerous developmental challenges.
According to Kenya’s medium-term plan III (2018-2022), these problems include low manufacturing and export growth, persistent trade and balance of payments deficits, low investment levels and high unemployment. Steep costs associated with doing business, energy, living and food are also obstacles.
The World Bank identified high levels of poverty and inequality, weak private sector investment, corruption, climate change and susceptibility to internal and external shocks as Kenya’s key development challenges.
In 2020, when Covid-19 hit, the economy shrank by 0.3% from its 5% growth rate in 2019. With declining revenue and increased government expenditure, total public debt grew from 59.5% of GDP in 2019 and was forecast to reach 72% by the end of 2022. The country is now at risk of debt distress with rising debt servicing costs. The estimated fiscal deficit for 2021 was 8.2%, with the current account deficit widening to 5.5% by the end of 2021.
The Institute for Security Studies’ African Futures and Innovation team recently concluded an analysis and forecast of Kenya’s growth prospects. Kenya’s GDP per capita using purchasing power parity in 2019 was 52% ($3,466) of the average of $6,630 for its lower-middle-income peers in Africa. This is projected to reach $6,249 on the Current Path (or business as usual forecast) by 2043 when the African Union’s third 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063 ends.
By this time, Kenya’s GDP per capita will be 42.5% lower than the projected average of $8,902 compared to its lower-middle-income peer group. So there’s some prospect of reducing the gap, but only modestly. Using the World Bank benchmark of $3.20 for extreme poverty for lower-middle-income countries, as of 2019, 32.2 million Kenyans — 61.5% of the population — lived below this threshold. This number jumped by several million in 2020 with Covid-19.
On the Current Path, the number in poverty is expected to drop to 23.5 million, or 29.1% of the population, by 2043. Kenya is thus forecast to reduce extreme poverty, but slowly.
Turning the economy around and reducing poverty faster requires strategic investment in sectors delivering the most development dividends. Kenya Vision 2030 aims to transform the country into an industrialising middle-income ...
Workers will only return when being escorted by ‘already overstretched’ law enforcement officers.
Residents of Philippi, Cape Town are yet again having to bear the brunt for the actions of a few brazen criminals after the City of Cape Town withdrew its workers from the township this week. This was not the first time the City has had to withdraw services from the community due to safety concerns.
According to residents, the year had appeared to get off to a good start with council workers cleaning the drains as many streets were overflowing with sewage and faeces. This came to a halt on Monday after criminals robbed sanitation workers doing maintenance near Browns Farm.
Ward councillor Melikhaya Gadeni confirmed that five workers were robbed of their cellphones and wallets. He said that the City has informed him that maintenance teams will only return to Philippi when law enforcement officers are available to escort them.
“These robberies must stop. Not only for workers’ safety, but also in the interest of service delivery to our most vulnerable communities,” said Gadeni.
The City’s Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason told GroundUp that Philippi is a known “crime hotspot”. Dyason said: “Having to protect City staff going about their vital routine maintenance work on infrastructure is a burden that already overstretched officers will now have to contend with.”
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He said officers already provide this service to staff doing “critical maintenance and will continue to do so for as long as it is required”.
Resident Azile Njomane’s home is in Siyahlala informal settlement along Sheffield Road where a blocked drain is overflowing with faeces and maggots. “There is only one drain for over 500 people. There are three different informal settlements here and people dump their waste here. The City should fix these drains twice a month,” said Njomane.
Community leader Xola Faku, who lives in Umsingizane Street, said, “This has been going on for years. The underground drainage system cannot cope with the demand in this area. People are also [discarding] foreign objects which results in blockages.”
Ncumisa Jaxa said she has been encouraging other residents to help guard City workers when they are in the area. “When the workers come, we keep guard of them so that opportunistic criminals cannot take advantage. As residents, we should not fold our arms and watch. We must act against these criminals,” said Jaxa. DM
First published by ...
Five years later, the R27.5-million facility hasn’t opened.
A Lottery-funded old age home in the Free State is yet to open its doors, despite receiving over R27.5-million in grants over the past five years.
The Free State Department of Social Development (FSDSD), says it was not consulted beforehand about the plan to build the home by the Southern African Youth Movement (SAYM), which received the multimillion-rand funding, including the initial location of the home in Botshabelo, or when it was moved to Thaba Nchu after protests in which the partially-built facility was vandalised.
When the department “was eventually consulted” in 2022, it had “advised that the old age home be repurposed to a substance abuse halfway house”, according to Lindiwe Mnguni, the FSDSD’s acting head of communications and marketing.
“The department has an old age home in Botshabelo, named Botshabelo Haven. The department was not part of plans to establish a similar facility in the area,” she said. “The department [also] has an old age home in Thaba Nchu and was not aware of other initiatives.”
The funding for the old age home was part of several grants totalling over R67.5-million doled out to SAYM-related entities by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) since 2016. The grants are all recorded in NLC annual reports under several slightly different variations of the organisation’s name.
SAYM also received almost R27-million from the NLC to build a drug rehabilitation centre in Mbombela in Mpumalanga, which is still not completed or operational, and R15-million to produce and stage a drug awareness musical, which only ran for a handful of performances.
Construction of the old age home initially began on a site in Botshabelo, about 66km from Bloemfontein. But when angry community members “vandalised and ransacked” the partially-built home, it was relocated to a new site in nearby Thaba Nchu, according to SAYM.
Explaining the normal procedure that should have been followed, Mnguni said: “Like any other facility to be constructed, proper infrastructure procedures must be followed like land identification, zoning of the land, etc. At all times the norms and standards guiding construction of the old age home must also be complied with.”
The FSDSD finally did a site inspection at the home on 25 May 2022, according to Mnguni. This was almost five years after the first R20-million grant was paid to SAYM in May 2017 for the old age home.
But, responding to questions from GroundUp, SAYM’s board chair, Dr Lekgotla Mafisa claimed ...
With France and the Springboks headed for a World Cup showdown this year, Les Blues are wary of the world champions.
South Africa and France have almost always enjoyed a cordial rugby relationship, but that friendship was tested over the acrimony of the Rugby World Cup 2023 (RWC 2023) vote.
Long story short, South Africa’s was the preferred bid, but the French delegation lobbied behind the scenes and “won” the right to host RWC 2023. It led to rancour and recriminations, but nothing could change the outcome.
And, as luck would have it, France and the Springboks are on a potential collision course at the tournament, to be staged later this year. They could meet in the quarterfinals, or even in the final. They could also, of course, not meet at all, if both or one of them stumble out earlier than expected.
To add to the potential heat of the spice, the Boks won RWC 2019 against all odds while France are on a 12-match winning streak. They have just completed an unbeaten 2022, winning 10 out of 10 Tests, including 30-26 over the Boks in a wonderful clash in Marseille last November.
That match had red cards and controversy and was one, despite playing for 67 minutes with 14 men, the Boks could, and possibly should have, won.
Despite a year in which performances ranged from sublime (beating the All Blacks 26-10 at Mbombela) to ridiculous (losing 25-17 to Australia in Adelaide), by the time November came, the Boks were in ominous form.
Coach Jacques Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus tinkered with the team all through the year with an eye to making the November tour the final stage to play their best combinations against France, and Ireland a week earlier.
Edwards says Boks are best in world
The Boks’ performances in November, if not the results, certainly caught France’s attention. Les Blues defence coach Shaun Edwards, a man who has sent out sides against the Boks for more than a decade as Wales and British & Lions defence guru, knows what he saw.
“The World Rugby Rankings are brilliant for fans, to see how their team is doing, and I know Ireland are top. But, for me, South Africa are the best team in the world because they are the reigning world champions and I think for a lot of the Autumn Nations Series, they played like world champions,” Edwards told World Rugby’s official website.
“They ...
The Men’s Hockey World Cup starts in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in the state of Odisha in India on 13 January, but the build-up has been controversial.
Every Sunday, Mahesh Beck plays field hockey on a dry patch of land near his village in eastern India. Yet he had not heard of the men’s hockey World Cup happening in his state, or that a new multimillion-rupee pitch had been built 30km away.
The field in Hemgir in Odisha state — which is hosting the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup this month — is one of 16 new pitches and a 20,000-capacity stadium funded with cash allocated to improve the lives of local communities affected by mining.
Odisha’s sports and youth services minister said in November that the state had budgeted about 11 billion rupees ($133-million) to host the tournament, which starts on Friday, 13 January.
Given the affinity for hockey in the mineral-rich belt — where every village has its own team — regional officials have said the new infrastructure was built in rural areas to give budding hockey players easier access to world-class facilities.
Yet there have been recent protests in Odisha state — by villagers, charities and politicians — over the investment in hockey infrastructure using money set aside to boost local welfare, when communities are struggling with pollution, land degradation and water scarcity they say is caused by mining.
And many people, like Beck, say that the new 98 million rupee ($1.18-million) Hemgir ground is unlikely to improve their lives — especially when there are more urgent issues to address.
“I didn’t know about the new ground. [that] such a big hockey event was happening,” said Beck (24) on the sidelines of a village meeting last month to discuss local forest rights amid growing fears of losing land due to mining expansion.
“Besides, I can’t afford to buy a ticket and watch a single match,” said Beck, who ekes out a living selling forest produce, growing a bit of rice and working informally in coal mining.
Odisha’s Sundargarh region — where Beck lives — is rich in coal and iron ore. The expansion of coal mining is considered key by the government to meeting India’s rising energy demand, while iron ore feeds the numerous steel industries in the area.
However, charities have objected to the spending on the upcoming tournament, saying it is a “misuse” of funds meant for a “just social transition” that considers local communities’ ...
As men are being slaughtered on all sides in a grinding war of attrition for the control of destroyed Ukrainian cities, the new Cold War between Russia and the West is being played out on another front — Africa.
On 7 December 2022, a 12-member delegation from Burkina Faso led by Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla embarked on a highly secretive trip to Moscow.
Only after questions were raised about the absence of so many of its top officials from Ouagadougou did the government put out a statement saying that the prime minister had flown to Moscow “on a private visit”. No mention was made of the four high-ranking military officers, four ministers and three civil servants who accompanied him on this “private” visit — nor what had sent them on such a weighty mission.
The delegation transited through the capital of Mali, Bamako, and was accompanied to Moscow via Istanbul by officers from Mali, a military regime that has moved firmly into the Russian camp.
The major reason for the visit was to request weapons and training to counter the jihadi extremists linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda who have intensified their insurgency.
Failure to contain the insurgency led to the overthrow of the elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, by the military a year ago and then to a second coup, on September 30, in which Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power.
The 64,000 rouble question is whether during the visit they signed up the Wagner mercenaries who have taken up residence in neighbouring Mali where they have been responsible for atrocities against the civilian population.
Like Mali, Burkina Faso has lucrative mining operations and therefore would present a commercial as well as a geopolitical prize for Wagner.
Some members of the delegation met with Wagner officials in Moscow, but there has been no word as to whether Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “private” army would be finding its way to a new battlefront.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo Addo claimed that Burkina Faso had reached an agreement with Wagner to deploy there in exchange for a gold mine in the country’s south. The vociferousness with which Ouagadougou denied the assertion shows — at the very least — that it is a touchy subject.
The Burkinabes might also be wary about Wagner’s track record in the Central African Republic and Mali, and what they might be letting themselves in for.
It certainly appears likely that the support requested from ...
Tourists viewing elephants from a boat on the Jozini/Pongolapoort Dam in northern KwaZulu-Natal ducked for cover on Wednesday as suspected elephant poachers opened fire.
Eight foreign tourists and four South Africans came under gunfire attack on a double-decker floating tour boat in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday — unwitting bystanders in a broader drama involving the recent slaughter of at least 20 elephants from a wandering herd now “trapped” on the borderline between Eswatini and South Africa.
The tourists — who came under fire shortly after 10.30am on the eastern shores of the Jozini/Pongolapoort dam, which is on the southern border between SA and Eswatini — dived for shelter as several shots were fired on their elephant-viewing tour boat.
Cowering on the decks of the “Jozenic” tour boat, the group took cover after being fired upon, allegedly by a group of nearly 20 armed men linked to the recent slaughter of about 25 elephants and other illegal wildlife poaching activity around Jozini Dam.
Local elephant and rhino monitor Suzette Boshoff, who was on the boat when the vessel was fired on, described the attack as “the scariest day of my life”.
It is understood that there were eight foreign tourists on the boat — five Germans, two Americans and one Australian — along with four South Africans.
Over recent months, several elephant carcasses have been discovered along the shoreline of Jozini Dam after a herd of more than 70 elephants went walkabout during a severe drought more than seven years ago.
The herd, originally from the private Pongola Game Reserve, wandered into Swaziland via the shallow lake shores, before returning to South Africa around 2016.
The herd later ran into conflict with rural communities — culminating in the death of a local resident in September 2022, who was trampled by an elephant cow.
The exact circumstances of that incident remain unclear, but it is understood that the cow went on the attack in retaliation for the killing of its calf by elephant poachers.
Some sources have suggested that the death of resident Bheki Nyawo triggered a family vendetta against the herd, leading to the killing of up to 25 elephants in the area over recent months.
The conflict has been exacerbated by attempts to control illegal gill-netting of fish in Jozini Dam by criminal syndicates, along with disputes over cattle grazing in a local nature reserve close to the Eswatini border.
According to Boshoff, about 25 of the original herd of 74 elephants appear ...
The mayor of the ailing Ditsobotla Local Municipality in North West has withdrawn her resignation following meetings between ANC and PA leaders. Her resignation had not been processed yet and the Speaker accepted her withdrawal.
Patriotic Alliance (PA) councillor Elizabeth Lethoko has withdrawn her resignation as mayor of the troubled Ditsobotla Local Municipality in North West.
Lethoko had resigned from the position just hours after her election on Monday in the newly formed council. In her letter to the Speaker, Lethoko said her conscience would not allow her to continue in the role following a “display of blatant corruption in the council”.
This was after she said the ANC had tried to sneak in the appointment of the acting municipal manager before the council could take a decision on the matter.
Speaking to Daily Maverick on Wednesday evening, PA Deputy President Kenny Kunene said they had talks with their coalition partners, which include the ANC, and reached an agreement that the mayor must withdraw her resignation.
“The Speaker has indicated that the letter was not yet processed, so the withdrawal is accepted and therefore the mayor of the PA will lead that municipality.”
He added that they also spoke with the African Heart Congress, which is part of the coalition.
“Their president accepted our input and said they are also on board. The ANC will go to speak to Forum 4 Service Delivery. On Friday, all the coalition partners are meeting to map a way forward for the councillors.”
Commenting on the vacant municipal manager post, Kunene said the council would meet and decide as a collective whether they would accept the proposal of someone being deployed by the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance or whether the council would appoint someone directly while the post is advertised.
Meanwhile, another coalition partner, Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD), said it rejected the PA’s attempt to withdraw the resignation of the mayor.
“We are wondering what has changed and what enticed them [the PA] to attempt to withdraw the resignation,” said F4SD National Working Committee member Thapelo Makgale.
“In all the shenanigans by the PA, coalition partners were never consulted; instead we established through the media that Lethoko has resigned,” added Makgale.
The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Nono Maloyi, said the mayor’s resignation had come as a shock as it was agreed long before the elections that administrator James Mashigo, who is a chief director in the North ...
Eskom received an unwanted present two days before Christmas when the majority of the Constitutional Court delivered a judgment that is likely to exacerbate its financial woes.
Two judgments that were delivered represent the most frosty exchanges between justices since the advent of the Constitutional Court, reflecting the profound consequences that flowed from this case. The plethora of legal disputes within the court cannot possibly be comprehensively canvassed in one piece; hence, this column by its nature must be selective.
In summary, the case involved the following: In 2008, Eskom concluded a supply agreement with Ngwathe Municipality in terms of which it would supply bulk electricity to the municipality in accordance with the Notified Maximum Demand (NMD) stipulated in the supply agreement. The NMD is a contractual value of demand which binds Eskom and its customer, in this case, the municipalities.
In 1981, Eskom concluded a similar supply agreement with Lekwa Municipality. In 2010, the contracted NMD for Lekwa Municipality was increased. The municipalities’ consumption of and need for electricity, however, exceeds the NMD supply levels agreed to. Eskom had been supplying electricity in excess of the contracted NMD to both municipalities for an extended period of time and charging monthly penalties to the municipalities. Despite these penalties, the municipalities failed to pay Eskom for the electricity supplied to them and remain in serial default.
In 2020, Eskom decided to reduce the bulk electricity supply to the municipalities to the NMD levels set out in the supply agreements (reduction decisions). This meant that it would no longer supply electricity in excess of the contracted NMD levels. It informed the municipalities but did not inform the residents. This had a significant impact on essential services in the municipalities, such as water supply and the functioning of sewage works. Thus, two associations acting on behalf of the residents of the two municipalities instituted applications for interim relief before the high court.
In granting an interim interdict preventing Eskom from reducing the electricity supply, the high court held that sufficient electricity supply is inextricably linked to the rights to healthcare, food, water and social security; hence, the residents had a prima facie right that deserved protection.
The limited electrical supply had an adverse effect on all basic municipal services, resulting in irreparable harm to residents who had dutifully paid their municipality for electricity. Further, the balance of convenience favoured the residents on account of the fact that Eskom’s prejudice ...
There is a better way for SOEs if government egos, failed agendas and corrupt intentions are set aside.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent announcement that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) will be closed down and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) moved to different ministries within government, shows a clear lack of foresight and poor strategic advice. Such a move will most likely lead to a quicker demise of these failing entities. More worrying will be the greater decay and ruin of the infrastructure on which many of the SOE services are provided.
The DPE was set up officially in 1999 to accelerate the restructuring, professionalisation, good governance and management of SOEs. The DPE took over from the Office of Public Enterprises (OEP) which was established in 1994. The decision was the right one to take, since there was a definite need for a specialised department to drive success within SOEs. However, the vast majority of the SOEs under the control of the DPE have not been successful and many have dismally failed, largely due to the implementation of ill-advised strategies, political meddling, ineptitude from cadre deployment and bad governance.
The overall SOE strategy driven by the ruling party has been a haphazard and confusing one, with some SOEs being incorporated into the DPE, while others (such as Prasa, Sanral, SABC and SA Post Office and others) remained under the control of their respective government departments (Transport and Communication & Digital Technology).
The history and purpose of the development of SOEs needs to be understood when taking decisions about the future of DPE. Without the infrastructure of railroads, paved roads, powerlines, telephone lines, harbours, airports and more, the economic development of any country is extremely limited. Over the decades, the State’s ability to raise finance using a combination of taxes, borrowings and public-private partnerships, made the much-needed infrastructure for a developing economy possible. However, there have always been two components to SOEs, the first being the responsibility for the infrastructure development and maintenance and the second being the provision of the services that operate on top of that infrastructure.
In earlier years, the business sector was either not permitted or not ready to participate in providing services on the State’s infrastructure. Accordingly, the services were provided by the state, e.g. Transnet, SA Airways, Eskom, SABC Television and Radio, Telkom etc. Over time, the world changed and with deregulation, the private sector moved in to outperform the State and ...
A month after he was expelled from the ANC, Carl Niehaus launched the Radical Economic Transformation Movement. The soon-to-be-registered NPO may morph into a political party and position itself to the left of the ANC.
The Radical Economic Transformation Movement (Retmo) launched by expelled ANC member Carl Niehaus intends to sustain itself via crowdfunding, membership fees and donations to avoid ending up “in the pockets of a few monopoly capitalists” who will “give money with strings attached”.
Niehaus made the remarks while hosting a Twitter space on Wednesday night, where he also announced the board of Retmo and presented its objectives. At its height, around 450 people joined the space.
Carl Niehaus, the sanctimonious con artist and mascot to corruption and incompetence
Niehaus was expelled from the ANC in early December after being found guilty of misconduct. Two weeks later, he announced his “resignation” from the party he had been a member of for more than 40 years.
The Twitter space was the second Niehaus hosted this week. He announced the birth of Retmo on Monday night, which is to be registered as an NPO and may transform into a political party.
“The Radical Economic Transformation Movement will have to play a unified role but will have to remain true to its radical economic transformation commitment that will truly liberate our people from the subjugation of white monopoly capital and the exploitation that goes with it,” said Niehaus.
The overall objective of the movement was to work with “all progressive forces. to challenge and bring to an end the continuing new colonial economic oppression of the people of South Africa”.
Progressive forces, according to Niehaus, were those that were “to the left of the African National Congress”.
Soldier of Misfortune: Carl Niehaus against the world
Retmo’s organisational objectives included the grassroots promotion of economic transformation to enable the empowerment of black people. This would result in blacks owning the economy “and so determining their own futures without being exploited by white monopoly capital”, said Niehaus.
The movement would also lobby to “increase the role of black women and youth in the South African economy”, he said, “and make land available to the masses”.
The South African government’s pursing of these objectives was “ever diminishing”, said Niehaus, but Retmo would nevertheless lobby and challenge the government in attaining RET goals.
The organisational objectives were not set in stone, said Niehaus, and were open to further input and contribution. But, he emphasised, Retmo would be ...
We issue this public statement as concerned citizens of South Africa on the attempted assassination of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu.
We are deeply concerned by yet another attempt on the life of Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare (UFH). The incident, which took place on Friday, 6 January 2022, resulted in the tragic and needless death of his bodyguard, Mr Mboneli Vesele.
We strongly condemn Mr Veseles’ brutal murder and send our deepest condolences to his family and the university community. His killing follows that of UFH’s fleet manager, Mr Petrus Roets. He was assassinated in East London last year and to date, the perpetrators have not been arrested.
Fort Hare holds great historical significance as the intellectual and political cradle of some of Africa’s most notable figures. Its rightful place is that of being the citadel of African and particularly black scholarship excellence, an honour it has been denied in recent years by corruption and mismanagement.
Current efforts to clean up its administration, to transform its academic culture and uplift its standards deserve the support of all South Africans. Academics and administrators are public servants who should not need armed protection to perform their duties on behalf of the nation. Universities perform a vital service to society. They are repositories of knowledge and training grounds for the next generation of leaders. They should not be killing fields.
We call upon the South African government to ensure the safety of Professor Buhlungu, his family, and his honest colleagues who remain at risk of physical harm. They must always be provided with adequate protection. The South African Police Services must act swiftly to ensure that the investigation into the murder of Mr Vesele and the attempted killing of Professor Buhlungu are given the attention they deserve.
We ask the public to be the eyes and ears of the university, to report any wrongdoing they become aware of to law enforcement authorities. No matter how powerful or otherwise connected, those behind this act of violence must be brought to account before the courts so that justice can be served. In this respect, it is equally important that efforts to root out corruption in the criminal justice system are strengthened so that those who engage in such criminal acts are brought to account as swiftly as possible.
Fort Hare is not an isolated case as corruption and intimidation ...
Within its short life, ChatGPT has generated a library of heated controversy, a cesspool of Twitter insults and counter-insults, dire predictions about the end of humanity as we know it and breathless prose about a brave new world.
If you haven’t had your head under a rock over the holiday season, you will know that an artificial intelligence (AI) software application called ChatGPT came tearing out of the gates of a company called OpenAI in December, a little over a month ago. There was almost no pre-launch advertising, but it took just one week to attract one million users, faster than any software launch in history, even those with $100-million advertising campaigns.
Within its short life, ChatGPT has generated a library of heated controversy, a cesspool of Twitter insults and counter-insults, dire predictions about the end of humanity as we know it and breathless prose about a brave new world.
What in the world is this thing, and what does it portend?
So, a little history. The field of AI has burned quietly for decades, all the way back to the 1950s. It has, on numerous occasions, raised expectations and then dashed them. I studied AI at university decades ago when hopes were high, but nothing really exciting happened until the last 10 years, when a confluence of new maths, cheap mass data storage and accessible and blazing CPU power saw the arrival of truly useful AI doing smart things that were tiresome, cumbersome or just plain difficult for humans to do.
Machine learning
The real kicker was the new field of machine learning (ML), which was once a subset of AI, but now that relationship seems to have flipped. The concept is simple. Traditional computing takes some input, feeds it to a computer program that has been conceived and divined and coded by one or more humans to do a task, and produces an output. If there are no bugs and everything works as planned, you get Facebook or Adobe Acrobat or TikTok or an accounting program or a videogame.
Machine learning is different. You also feed it input, but these are labelled examples of something, like cat images. The labels say “cat” or “not cat”. The machine-learning algorithm “learns” by example as to what comprises a “cat” image, using fancy maths and stats.
That’s it. No program needs to be written. Just the training data set is required.
If, after training, you feed it an elephant image ...
A Kremlin oil and gas research vessel — exposed by Our Burning Planet for activities that look and smell just like Antarctic prospecting, and may have traumatic impacts on marine life — arrives in Cape Town in 14 days. This, even as SA’s environment minister, Barbara Creecy, hits the ice to inspect ‘zero emissions’ tech.
Equipped with deafening airguns designed to scour Antarctica’s climate-threatened Southern Ocean for oil and gas, Russia’s flagship polar seismic vessel is set to dock in the port of Cape Town on January 26, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic.
Owned by the Kremlin’s mineral explorer, Rosgeo, the blue and white-hulled Akademik Alexander Karpinsky left her St Petersburg home port on Christmas Day. She now follows in the wake of the US-sanctioned Lady R — the Russian cargo vessel that docked at South Africa’s Simon’s Town naval base in December, controversially in the dead of night to offload potential ammunition.
As recorded in the information exchange database of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), the 55-nation framework that governs the great, icy south through laws such as a well-known mining ban, the Karpinsky was due to visit the Davis and Mawson seas off the Indian Ocean for “marine geological-geophysical studies” in the early 2023 summer.
But it is the December-issued annual report of Rosgeo’s Arctic and Antarctic subsidiary, the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition, that appears to betray the mineral explorer’s remarkably brazen intentions. The Rosgeo subsidiary describes itself as a “strategic enterprise that conducts annual research aiming to implement the geopolitical interests of Russia”. It also engages in the “search and exploration of deposits of solid minerals” in waters beyond Antarctica; and “geological and geophysical studies of the subsoils of Antarctica and adjacent seas”.
The new report, published in Russian, goes on to note the subsidiary’s research goals are “decreed” by the Kremlin and include “the creation of an information base for the assessment and scientific forecast of the mineral raw-material potential of the Antarctic”.
Last year, the subsidiary’s oil and gas investigations were led aboard the Professor Logachev, the Karpinsky’s Antarctic sister vessel, in the Weddell Sea off South America — the same ocean where Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance ship was tracked down by South Africa’s polar research vessel, the SA Agulhas.
“Scientific work was successfully carried out on the geological and geophysical study and assessment of the mineral raw-material potential of the subsoil of the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea,” the ...
Make no mistake — Gwede Mantashe now rules South Africa. We should probably get to know him better, so that we don’t fall into the same old sorry delusions we always do.
Oh boy, the pundit class is at it again.
A new, milder form of Ramaphoria 2.0 is sweeping our news feeds, with the bizarre assertion that Cyril Ramaphosa “won” December’s ANC electoral conference, having installed “his” people in top positions within the National Executive Committee. He will now be able to “clean up” the ANC and the government bureaucracy, while advancing whatever policies his committees recommend to him.
This is laughable.
First, no one seems to be asking what Ramaphosa had to give up in order to secure this “win”. Second, even fewer pundits seem to be concerned with the person who orchestrated this outcome. That would be Samson Gwede Mantashe, who emerged from December’s conference by far the most powerful man in South Africa, and the de facto winner of the ANC’s pantomime of democratic contestation.
But who is Gwede Mantashe? We know that he is the Minister of the Department of Minerals and Energy, and we know he loves fossil fuels. But if he’s the actual president of South Africa — which we contend he is — shouldn’t we know more about his origin story, and how he’s played the field so successfully?
In Daily Maverick’s hit podcast The Highwaymen — South Africa’s top news podcast for the past 12 weeks, according to Apple — we insist that Gwede is the boss, and to an extent has been for the past 15 years. We explain his back story, his hopes, and his dreams for a Saudi Arabian-style oil sheikdom led by, well, Gwede — our very own coal-dusted Wizard of Oz.
Make no mistake: Gwede, who was reelected ANC chairperson at the December conference, now rules South Africa.
We should probably get to know him better, so that we don’t fall into the same old sorry delusions we always do.
Listen to episodes six and seven of The Highwaymen:
As we delve into Mantashe’s life, we learn about his history in organised labour, and the role unions played in bringing down apartheid. But as the democratic age deepened, organised labour became embedded in the ANC, and Mantashe became the company man — a genial version of a mob boss.
Gwede Mantashe presides over the most important portfolio in the Cabinet — mining and energy. He’s run it ...
Ukraine will stop Russian aggression and the conflict won’t turn into World War 3, president Volodymyr Zelensky said as his forces battled to keep control of Soledar and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Kremlin had positioned the most experienced units from the Wagner military-contracting company near Soledar, according to Ukrainian operational command spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi.
The Pentagon said 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers will arrive at a US Army base in Oklahoma for training starting next week on operating and maintaining the Patriot air defence system that Washington is providing.
Key developments
Frozen mud may not be enough for big offensives in Ukraine
Russia’s Novak says deep discounts for nation’s oil to end soon
Russia to sell yuan from wealth fund as low oil hits budget
Ukraine’s inflation steadies on price cuts amid blackout fears
Ukrainians rush to relocate businesses to Poland after invasion
On the ground
Russian troops have not taken control of Soledar despite their claims that the town in the Donetsk region has fallen, analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a report.
Even if Soledar were to be captured, that would not portend an immediate encirclement of Bakhmut, the nearby strategically important city, it added.
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook that Russia has taken heavy losses in their offensive. Ukraine launched 13 airstrikes on Russian strongholds and shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter and two reconnaissance drones over the past 24-hour period, the General Staff added.
Russia appoints new commander of forces in Ukraine
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Valery Gerasimov, the current chief of the general staff, as head of the nation’s combined forces in Ukraine, Interfax reported, citing a ministry statement.
Sergei Surovikin, who commanded the Russian army in the annexed regions of Ukraine, will become one of his deputies.
The changes in the leadership of the Russian forces in Ukraine are due to the “expanded scale” of the mission, as well as the need for closer cooperation between different parts of the army, according to the statement.
Ukraine to produce 82mm artillery shells abroad: Ukroboronprom
Ukrainian state-run military-industrial concern Ukroboronprom will produce artillery shells abroad using the capacities of one of Nato’s member countries, according to its website. Serial production of an upgraded version of 82mm shells has been launched.
Poland offers Ukraine ‘company’ of Leopard tanks
Poland decided to provide Ukraine with “a company” of Leopard 2 tanks that will become part of delivery from wider coalition of countries, Polish president Andrzej Duda ...
Away from the ‘inheritors’ who have slipped into privilege on the backs of dubious wealth and connectedness, it is to the spirit of open generosity and hope in so many young people who remain dedicated to making the world a better place for others that we should look for a better future.
I look at some of the young people in my circle of friends, family and acquaintances — and the children of friends — and I am always pleasantly surprised, after shaking my head in disbelief at their levels of optimism and the positive attitude they have towards the future. This bodes well for South Africa. Most people my age, even the overtly apolitical types, are mired in various combinations of misery, angst and pessimism, fear and loathing. Just how one explains the optimism among young people requires a wilful suspension of disbelief, but ultimately, it requires taking turns with Cassandra and Dr Pangloss on the dance floor.
Pessimism is easier to understand. Pessimism is a product of memory. Memories develop, take shape and influence many of our responses and actions. Young people have shallow reserves of memory and have to rely on written or oral representations of the past.
While memory itself is untrustworthy, written and oral history, too, are shaped by a range of biases, and if it is true that the victors write history, then South Africa’s future is being plotted by African nationalists (a unique but no less toxic iteration of the ethnonationalism that is sweeping the world) and creeping fascism, also a feature of the early 21st century.
In both cases, history is shaved down to a straight and narrow twig to force a narrative that conceals the crooked timber of post-apartheid South African society. This forces our gaze from the way that the most horrific ideas and patterns of the past are shaping the social and environmental disasters and convulsions of the present, and especially the way that resentment and the politics of revenge are being corralled by the African nationalists and the fascists.
Whether we are optimistic or pessimistic about the future of South Africa, we can probably agree that it is the thinking element of our beings that makes us look back or remember things past, and which, in turn, shapes our outlook on life. It’s not unreasonable to reach the conclusion that many people in middle to old age tend to be pessimistic about the ...
The possible poisoning of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter hints at deep distrust within the state — a distrust shared in underworld circles. Beneath this are tales of assassins ditching guns and knives and instead using toxins to kill their adversaries.
It is not uncommon in underworld circles to hear of someone who was poisoned, someone who thinks they were poisoned or someone who thinks someone else is pretending to have been poisoned.
There is the tale of a crime suspect who was wounded in a shooting decades ago and then, in another apparent attempt to kill them, was handed a drink that, after being ingested, resulted in them drastically losing weight. The suspect presumed they had been poisoned.
Then there is a story of how another underworld-linked figure received a cake from folks they knew, and subsequently losing a lot of weight after eating it.
The recipient of the cake suspected the confection had been laced with a toxin.
Poisoned chalices
And there’s the tale of a dodgy information peddler who claimed to have been poisoned in an incident that led to medical issues — but others brushed this story aside and said the peddler had simply suffered the effects of an extreme alcohol binge — a self-poisoning, in a sense.
These stories, whether fact or fiction, snake through organised crime circles and sometimes surface on the sidelines of interviews.
During such interviews, warnings along the lines of, “you mustn’t drink anything handed to you”, are sometimes muttered.
In the cutthroat world of organised crime, players clearly fear being taken out by methods other than bullets and blades.
These fears — or in some cases, the concocting of such impressions — cut into the state.
Reality versus rumour
Carine Marks, director of the Tygerberg Poisons Information Centre, without referring to a specific case or incident, told Daily Maverick that poisonings could be classified into different types.
Examples included accidental poisonings, which could involve ingesting contaminated food or being bitten by a snake; cases that involved intentional self-harm, and others that were deemed therapeutic errors involving incorrectly prescribed medication.
Marks said that “malicious poisonings” involving crime are not all that common, but they do occur.
Imraan Coovadia, author of the book The Poisoners: On South Africa’s Toxic Past, speaking more about the political realm, told Daily Maverick it was often tough trying to decipher which poisoning stories were true.
“There is a very strong folk tradition of fearing being poisoned in your community of sub-Saharan Africa,” ...
The biggest contributing factor to our out-of-control crime rate is atrocious policing, mismanaged from the national commissioner down to unit and station level, and riddled with nepotism and corruption. Like the proverbial fish, the rot starts at the ministerial top level.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, in his comprehensive reports on State Capture, has identified the lack of proper parliamentary oversight as a key factor in allowing gross corruption to flourish with impunity. He has warned that it will continue unless Parliament does what it is constitutionally mandated to do, and holds the executive to account.
Parliamentarians, it seems, have no ears to listen and treat Zondo’s warning with the urgency it demands.
While many of the commission’s findings relate to the looting and mismanagement of state-owned enterprises, it is those dealing with the intelligence services, including policing, which have the most serious implications for our country’s security.
The commission’s findings and recommendations reinforce those of other government-initiated reports — the post-Marikana Panel of Experts Report on Policing and Crowd Management (2018) and the High-Level Review Panel Report on the State Security Agency (2018), which stress the urgency of taking remedial action, including legislative.
That no action had been taken three years later is obvious from the Report of the Expert Panel into the July 2021 Civil Unrest, which the panel termed an onslaught on the authority of the state.
The governmental context in which these reports’ findings were made was one in which, for the past 13 years, constitutionally enshrined principles of transparency and accountability have been abandoned, the powers of state security, including in decisions about appointments have increased, and a culture of secrecy prevails.
Legislative changes include the removal of civilian oversight of intelligence services. During these years, ministers became accustomed to acting unconstitutionally by engaging personally in, and micro-managing, operational matters. Instead of functioning as the type of bureaucracies demanded of democracies, the politicised departments became private ministerial fiefdoms — a practice which continues.
Bheki Cele leads the pack
The current leader of the pack is Police Minister Bheki Cele, whose breaches of his oath of office are manifold and well-documented. It is obvious that despite his own shameful record as national commissioner, he is the de facto head of SAPS operations, including in making appointments.
The removal of former national commissioner Khehla Sitole allowed the minister to appoint a more pliable commissioner in the person of General Fannie Masemola, with whom he enjoys a long-standing relationship.
Masemola ...
Looking at information from the US, the ‘incredibly transmissible’ XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron might become the dominant Covid-19 strain in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Wednesday.
The XBB.1.5 subvariant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus might become the dominant strain in South Africa as US data shows that it has a “growth advantage” due to increased transmissibility, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said in a statement on Wednesday.
An article published in Nature highlights that this subvariant had a rare amino acid change that makes it easier to bind to human cells, making it more transmissible.
However, an update by the NICD on the Covid-19 situation in South Africa states that the weekly incidence risk in South Africa remains low. It is still well below the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) guideline that a risk of more than five cases per 100,000 of the population shows that the outbreak is not under control.
In the past week, Western Cape reported the highest weekly incidence risk (2.7 cases per 100,000 persons), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (2.5 cases per 100,000 persons) and Gauteng and Eastern Cape (1.4 cases per 100,000 persons). The other provinces reported weekly incidences below one case per 100,000 persons.
Those over 80 remain at the highest risk, and young children are at the lowest risk.
South Africa’s testing rates remain low, at around 12 tests for every 100,000 people. On average, the positivity rate (the percentage of positive tests out of all the tests done that week) was 8.6%
Highest positivity rate for Eastern Cape and Western Cape
The highest positivity rate was in the Eastern Cape (11.5%), followed by the Western Cape (11.1%).
In Motherwell, Gqeberha, three staff members at a clinic and one patient tested positive for the infection, Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda confirmed.
“None of them are showing any life-threatening symptoms, with some not experiencing any symptoms.
“Those cases are nowhere linked to the newly discovered XBB.1.5 variant. The department decontaminated [the clinic] and debriefed the staff on Friday, 6 January, for an hour, after which operations resumed immediately,” she added.
Outreach teams will trace the contacts of those who tested positive.
XBB.1.5 is one of more than 650 sublineages of Omicron that have been identified worldwide. Of those, more than 200 have been detected in South Africa.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Where did XBB.1.5 come from?
“In September 2022, a new sublineage, XBB, was identified in ...
The World Bank took a paring knife to its economic growth outlook for South Africa in its biannual ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report, trimming its 2022 estimate to 1.9% from 2.1% previously, and its 2023 forecast to 1.4% from 1.5%.
The Washington-based lender pointed to the usual suspects in its downgrade, citing power shortages, rising interest rates and a poor outlook for South Africa’s key trading partners.
“Growth in South Africa is forecast to weaken further to 1.4% this year before picking up to a still sluggish 1.8% in 2024. Weak activity in major trading partners (China, the euro area, the United Kingdom, and the United States account for over 40% of exports), tight global financial conditions, political and policy uncertainty will constrain growth and widen external vulnerabilities,” the World Bank said.
“Further domestic policy tightening is bound to temper domestic demand and investment, while high unemployment and worsening power cuts will also weigh on growth. Implementation of much-needed reforms to remove structural bottlenecks has remained slow.”
These forecasts were made before the energy shortage went from terrible to the current catastrophe. With rolling blackouts already at Stage 6 just a few days into the new year, don’t be surprised if the World Bank wields a panga to its 2023 forecast next time around.
Indeed, a viable case could be made that its current forecasts are wildly optimistic and already out of date. The economy is, after all, just rebooting after the annual Christmas break, and it is high summer — we are just three weeks past the longest day of the year.
If it’s Stage 6 now — which means 6,000 MW have to be taken off the grid to prevent its complete collapse and a blackout that would unleash a tidal wave of social unrest — what will happen when the economy is at full throttle, which it would normally return to in the coming days? Or what will happen as winter descends?
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Almost nobody believes ANC promises that it has “a plan” to reduce rolling blackouts. The current scale of power cuts is a strong signal that there probably is no “plan”, or at least not one that is remotely viable, unless the plan is to shrink the economy to the size of Zambia’s.
The World Bank has also cut its forecasts for gross domestic product for most countries and regions, and said fresh shocks could ...
There are clearly those with a vested interest in keeping the coal fires burning in South Africa, and it has nothing to do with the workers.
Delivering newspapers at the age of 14 was my first job. I had two routes and 100 customers — making me the envy of my peers in the trade — and pocketed the princely sum of $30 a week for delivering the afternoon edition, by foot, of the main daily newspaper that kept Nova Scotia informed. This was from 1979 to 1980, when the headlines were often about the US diplomats held hostage in Iran.
One job I never did, but which several of my teenage friends and acquaintances took up on a part-time basis, was that of petrol station attendant (gas station attendant in North American parlance). One of my nephews pumped gas as a part-time job when he was in high school in the late 1990s. By that time, customers had the choice of “full service” or “self-service”, pointing to where the occupation was headed.
Another job that had wide currency in the 1980s was that of typist, which required a highly regarded skillset at the time. I, for one, type at a pace that would never have made the grade back then.
From 2006 to 2011, my wife and I resided in Dallas, Texas. I subscribed to the print edition of the Dallas Morning News, and my paper was delivered by car by a middle-aged man who probably held one or two other low-wage jobs, such as “greeting” at Walmart. (Many of these cast-offs of America’s white working class would subsequently vote for Donald Trump). The poor guy included handmade Christmas cards each year with the paper in the hopes of getting a tip. I could relate: I also appreciated Christmas tips when I delivered papers.
It goes without saying that adolescents were no longer hand-delivering newspapers by that time in North America. There were just not enough households on any street subscribing to print editions as news went digital — a kid would have had to walk all day if they had the number of customers I had. At that confluence in economic history, I was also pumping my own gas in Dallas, and the profession of typist had long ceased to exist as we all do it ourselves now with varying degrees of skill.
The resistance
Which brings me to the coalface.
There is a lot of ...
The executives deny the allegations, but nevertheless, they could constitute a significant setback for the organisation that was once a star player in the South African tech sector.
Dimension Data is taking legal action against six former executives over the sale of its prominent Johannesburg headquarters, the Campus, alleging a below-market price was set in exchange for kickbacks.
The executives deny the allegations, but nevertheless, they could constitute a significant setback for the organisation that was once a star player in the South African tech sector. The allegations are a particular embarrassment for Jeremy Ord, Didata’s co-founder and a lifelong leader in SA’s tech world.
Didata was once a constituent on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 Index, but somewhat lost its way before being bought by Japanese tech group NTT in 2012 for R24-billion. Yet it remains a crucial player on the African tech scene, particularly in the network integration business.
The organisation said in a statement that an extensive investigation had been undertaken regarding the sale of the group’s Campus property in 2019. The investigation revealed that former senior executives, including Ord, Jason Goodall, Grant Bodley, Steven Nathan, Saki Missaikos and Bruce Watson “did not disclose their personal financial interest in the transaction and wrongfully induced the conclusion of the transaction”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The group constitutes many people who were once at the highest level of the organisation. All have now left Didata, including Ord, who stood down as executive chairman in 2021. The African and Middle East business of Didata was taken over by Alan Turnley-Jones in June last year, following the departure of Didata long-timer Werner Kapp.
The company has not disclosed the extent of the alleged fraud, but the sale would have amounted to several hundred million rands. The company did say its investigation had revealed that the purchaser of the Campus, Identity Fund Managers, paid a secret commission to one of these former executives, without specifying the extent of the commission.
“NTT Ltd and Dimension Data place ethical leadership and governance at the heart of their business and will not tolerate any such violations at any level of the organisation,” the company said.
Bodley, speaking on behalf of all six executives, told the website TechCentral that “allegations against us lack merit and are denied. We look forward to presenting our defence to the allegations in court.” DM/BM
There is growing evidence that animals’ bodies and habits are changing as global temperatures rise. Now Canadian researchers have found that we may have an example of this on our doorstep. Over almost two decades of climate warming, the Cape ground squirrel is subtly changing shape.
At a nature reserve in North West, the maximum daily temperature has increased by about 2.5 °C over the past 18 years.
That might not sound like much — but it’s enough for the animals in this ecosystem to start changing shape.
This is the extraordinary finding of University of Manitoba researchers Miya Warrington and Jane Waterman, in a paper published in the Journal of Mammalogy late last year. “Temperature-associated morphological changes in an African arid-zone ground squirrel” records the physical changes observed in Xerus inauris, the Cape ground squirrel, as the temperature rises.
Shape-shifting in response to climatic warming
There is a growing body of evidence that climate change is causing the “ecology, life histories and physiology” of animals to change, Warrington and Waterman write.
This is likely to be happening because animals have to keep their body temperature within an acceptable range. Species which can’t achieve this, the researchers note, face problems ranging from reduced cardiovascular fitness to death.
The paper cites a number of other changes in body morphology which have been recorded by other researchers in recent years. They include increased bill sizes among birds, longer ear lengths in wood mice, larger ears in European rabbits and larger appendage sizes in masked shrews.
Although the changes are small, US ecologist Casey Youngflesh — who has recorded shrinking body sizes in 80 species of birds over the course of three decades — recently pointed out that most evolutionary changes take place across geologic timescales.
Youngflesh told The Scientist: “Seeing these sorts of changes over such a rapid timescale — it’s a little shocking.”
How the local squirrel study worked
Warrington and Waterman’s research is part of a long-term study carried out at SA Lombard Nature Reserve near Bloemhof in North West, which started in 2002 and continues to date, with the exception of a three-year hiatus between 2007 and 2010.
Because the study records daily temperatures and rainfall in addition to data about the Cape ground squirrel, the researchers were in an excellent position to look at longitudinal changes to the climate and corresponding changes to squirrel physiology.
When it came to the temperature records for the 18 years under observation, they found “strong ...
As rolling blackouts go into sixth gear, a rare piece of relatively good economic news: The BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index rose in December 2022 — its first bounce since May. But it’s a green shoot in a desolate landscape.
The BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (BETI) edged up in December to 132.1 from 130.3 in November, BankservAfrica said on Wednesday. This followed six consecutive months of decline for the index, a measurement of economic transactions between South Africa’s banks.
This brought it back almost to its January 2022 level of 132.8. But it remains well below the all-time high of 143.4 reached in May 2022.
“This indeed talks to the resilience of the South African economy, while the annual festive season might have played a role, pushing the number of transactions (electronic debit and credit transactions as measured by the BETI) to an all-time high of 143.6 million, an 11.4% year-on-year increase,” BankservAfrica said in a statement.
South Africans may be cash-strapped and the economic environment may be appalling as rolling blackouts reach record levels, interest rates rise and inflation remains high, but it seems the country let off some steam this December — the first since 2019 in which there were effectively no Covid restrictions.
The hangover is already setting in.
The economic outlook for 2023 is nothing short of dreadful as rolling blackouts shift into sixth gear with no end in sight.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Compounding the mounting domestic challenges is a sour global outlook that will curtail demand for South African exports across the board and dry up investment flows.
The World Bank has slashed its forecast for global economic growth this year to 1.7% from 3.0% previously, citing a worldwide tightening of monetary policy, high inflation and the continuing fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There were a handful of other green shoots that emerged late last year, including a 13.9% rise in new vehicle sales for 2022 compared with 2021 and surprising gross domestic product growth of 1.6% in the third quarter. The BETI falls into this category and does show some underlying resilience in the economy.
But as 2023 progresses, expect more withered vines than green shoots on the economic horizon. DM/BM
In a gangster’s paradise, you need extra protection from bullets, bricks, spikes and stones on the road. Expect to pay a queen’s ransom for additional layers of protection.
No longer the preserve of security companies, the military, diplomats and the blue-light brigade, armoured vehicles are becoming increasingly popular among wealthy, politically exposed individuals, company executives and others living in crime-ridden South Africa.
Armoured vehicle specialists say demand in SA for these vehicles is catching up to other high-risk territories such as the Americas, Russia and the Middle East.
Stats SA’s crime report for the 2021/22 period, released on 30 August 2022, found the number of hijacking victims more than doubled, increasing from 64,000 in 2020/21 to 134,000 in 2021/22.
An estimated 137,000 hijackings occurring in 2021/22 affected 134,000 people aged 16 and older, with about 63% of victims reporting the incidents to the police.
In SA, the civilian armoured vehicle market is helped in no small part by increases in crime (especially hijackings, robberies and kidnappings), an alarming wealth gap, and concern for the safety of cash-carrying businessmen, affluent families and company executives of global entities.
Local manufacturers of armoured vehicles are reluctant to reveal sales volumes, although they do say business is healthy – particularly after the 2021 riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The biggest market for these vehicles is still South America, which should offer South Africans some level of relief.
Leaders in the armoured vehicle market, AGP, offers the world’s most advanced armoured glass for the automotive market. In 2019, it controlled about 37% of the global market and produced some 20,336 vehicles in a single country: Brazil.
There’s growth and opportunity in this sector, particularly where there is money to be thrown at additional protection. Whether retro-fitted with armoured materials or purchased directly from a manufacturer with OEM-approved armouring, customers can expect to pay between 20% and 30% more for protection, depending on the vehicle and the armoured specifications.
B4-level protection, which shields occupants from rocks, bricks and .44 Magnum bullets, would lump an extra R470,000 on to a double cab bakkie, while B6 protection from high-powered weapons such as AK-47s would cost an additional R700,000. On a Toyota Land Cruiser 300, B6 armouring equates to an extra million.
Retro-fitting is more economical, explained Nicol Louw of SVI Engineering, a market leader in vehicle armouring kits to security, military and civilian sectors with branches in Pretoria, Cape Town and the Middle East.
“An armoured German luxury car, providing ...
Transformation of universities has been high on the agenda of higher education in South Africa for a long time. Demands for change preceded democratic elections in 1994. They included widening access for students, orienting the curriculum to suit South Africa’s particular needs and histories and diversifying the staff complement.
These challenges became more visible after 2015 as a result of the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements. The movements highlighted racial inequalities in terms largely of staffing complements at the former white universities as well as critiquing ‘western’ influence on curriculum and calling for decolonisation. The final element of the demand for transformation was for an end to student fees.
The University of Cape Town was the epicentre of this movement from 2015 onward when the Rhodes statue was removed from campus. Separate from student demands there was pressure from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) on the university to correct racial inequalities evident in its staffing complement.
One of the areas that came under the spotlight was the skewed distribution of staff across the academic hierarchy. White male professors predominated the higher echelons. While this pattern had been slowly changing, the university climate generated questions about the fairness of the promotion process.
Questions asked were: Who got promoted? Was the process transparent? Were there bottlenecks in the system that were to blame for the skewed hierarchical distribution (by race and gender)?
Academic promotions are universally a hot issue for staff. With promotion comes more remuneration, more opportunities, more influence, more prestige. All University staff want one day to be called ‘Professor’. The process by which staff get promoted varies but generally involves a rigorous set of steps including applicants writing a motivation, referees providing outside input and various university committees considering each application.
Despite suspicions that UCT’s promotion process was biased against black and female staff, no evidence of bias was found in a careful study that analysed all academic promotions at UCT from 2005 to 2015. (Hassan Sadiq, Karen I Barnes, Freedom Gumedze, Max Price, Robert Morrell (2019) “Academic promotions at a South African University: Questions of bias, politics and transformation”, Higher Education: 78(3): 423-442).
Nevertheless, the issue of promotions remained contentious because of the slow change in the demographic distribution of staff. Black and female staff were under-represented at senior academic levels.
UCT not unique
This situation is not unique to UCT. Many universities are pursuing diversity which is understood as having good representation of minorities ...
The recurrence of terrorism, intrastate conflicts, xenophobia, military coups and interstate conflicts reduces prospects for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Alongside dire humanitarian costs, the absence of peace in Africa disrupts economic activities through multiple channels, and its effects are large and persistent. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementers need to understand these different channels to better prioritise what can be done to minimise the impacts of conflict.
Is Africa suited to a continental free trade area?
Those who live in Africa — and some who live outside it — have asked this question again and again in their search for solutions to the plethora of problems facing the continent today. The question can also be put this way: Is the continental free trade area system suited to Africa?
The two questions are not the same.
Let us take the first one: Is Africa suited to a continental free trade area? The assumption here seems to be that Africa should be configured to fit into the free trade system. The question seems to preclude any consideration that Africa is more important than a free trade system: the primary interest seems to be in the system and not in Africa.
Now the second question: Is the continental free trade area suited to Africa? The assumption is that Africa is more important than the free trade system. The question presupposes that the system can be appropriated to serve Africa, not Africa to serve it. Is Africa to be the servant of this system? Or is the system to be the servant of Africa?
The answers to these questions can help us comprehensively pinpoint the growth traps and opportunities that surround the AfCFTA.
The answer to both questions is “yes”, but Africa should be the servant first.
First, we must understand that AfCFTA has certain incentives it needs to be attainable, which are political, social and economic in nature. Second, we must understand that Africa as a continent has a responsibility to provide the incentives needed.
Conflict and trade
Critical studies show there is compelling evidence that Africa has not yet modelled itself to suit the conditions that make AfCFTA flourish. The recurrence of conflict takes centre stage in inhibiting AfCFTA’s growth prospects.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been marred by conflict in past decades, though their intensity, nature and geographic distribution have varied over time. The latest significant cases of conflicts in Africa include the Cabo Delgado insurgency in ...
Hazardous medical waste has washed up on Mngcibe and Mdumbi beaches, leading to a warning to beachgoers while authorities remove the waste and track its source.
Members of the Mdumbi Surf Lifesaving Club in Nyandeni Local Municipality along the Wild Coast in Eastern Cape were shocked after finding bags of medical waste that had washed up on Mdumbi and Mngcibe beaches on Sunday.
Resident Warren Hudson said: “An assortment of hazardous medical waste washed up on the beach on Sunday, including a bag containing what seems to be a number of medical items. These include used gloves, blood and urine samples, syringes, needles, bandages, testing equipment and lots more. The testing vials include patients’ names and dates from as recent[ly] as 24 November 2022.
“We suspect that this waste comes from St Elizabeth Hospital laboratory in Lusikisiki, which is far from here. We have no idea how it got to Mdumbi.”
He said the illegal dumping of hazardous waste posed a danger to the environment and to the health of humans who might become exposed to infection and toxins.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Medical waste that is not properly managed, especially excreta, urine, blood and other liquid and solid waste from hospitals or clinics that are dumped into communities, rivers and oceans, is a serious health hazard and a threat to people, possibly leading to the spread of infectious diseases,” said Hudson.
He said the World Health Organization estimated that about 15% of waste from healthcare activities is dangerous to humans and the environment.
“This danger is very diverse. It is a bacterial threat, a chemical one, a radioactive one and an ecological one.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Beaches at risk: Report reveals alarming pollution along Cape Town’s coast”
Another resident, Lu Hemsley, said a lot of medical waste had washed up at Mngcibe Beach.
“I don’t want the kids at the beach as they will be playing with the stuff. picking it up. I did let the ward councillor know about this on Sunday, the first time we found this.”
Hemsley confirmed that some of the medical waste had been removed on Wednesday.
Nyandeni Local Municipality said the matter had been brought to their attention through their social media page and they had escalated it to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
“We will continue to liaise with them to ensure that this matter is attended to as soon as possible,” said the ...
The ANC’s January 8 statement made some encouraging noises about the role of the private sector in structural reform industries. But Cyril Ramaphosa’s emphasis on retaining state control here must be revisited, with the recognition that in some instances, bringing in much-needed private sector capital might include losing a controlling state interest.
There are encouraging signs in the outcome of the ANC’s 55th Elective Conference and the January 8 Statement of a return to political sobriety and leadership that can possibly navigate the nation out of its socio-economic morass.
After all, the build-up to that important event in our political calendar was preceded by noise threatening the removal of a reformist president and consequent policy uncertainty.
The January 8 statement is an emphatic endorsement of the policy and political direction that President Cyril Ramaphosa has been navigating — albeit at a frustratingly slow pace given the urgency of our challenges.
The euphoria of welcoming this is quickly tempered by the reality check that this is a party and government that has a pathetic track record of delivering on promises, offering conflicting messaging on its agreed path that often raises doubts on its reliability as a partner.
The January 8 statement highlights the economic structural reforms that hold promise for opening up the economy and unlocking the potential for investment, growth and job opportunities.
The recognition that the restoration of security of electricity supply requires more than just the urgent task of fixing Eskom — importantly noting the need for the speedy crowding in of private sector electricity generation — is significant. This hopefully puts paid to the foolish and moribund notion that the nation should be condemned to a single supplier. Important too may be an acknowledgement that the capacity Eskom needs to unleash the country’s growth potential requires a much larger investment than our fiscal position can afford today.
Private sector infrastructure investment is recognised as an opportunity in the so-called structural reform industries. The welcoming of private sector participation in the repositioning of SOEs should boldly also embrace the potential dilution of state ownership where necessary. After all, Telkom and latterly SAA (albeit too late and in desperation) are some of the examples of this shift.
It is imperative to recognise that it is only when the private sector has taken risks with its capital that it will put in what is required to ensure necessary skills and technology are in place, to be competitive and ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Until serious corruption is properly addressed, with fealty to the criteria set by the Constitutional Court in the Glenister judgment via the proactive reform of the criminal justice system, there will be no renewal in South Africa.
Much time and many deliberations have been devoted to the idea of “renewal” in South Africa, at the ANC elective conference, its 8 January celebrations and in the commentary on both events.
The essential promise to ordinary folk in our 1996 Constitution is “a better life” in which the state respects and protects guaranteed human rights for all and seeks to put in place a system of governance that is open, accountable and responsive. The public administration and state-owned enterprises are meant to exemplify ethical conduct, efficient and effective use of resources and sound human development of personnel who behave honestly, accountably and with fairness to all. Procurement of goods and services by the state should be done fairly, equitably, competitively, transparently and in a cost-effective way.
None of the above is abundantly evident in the way in which most facets of government at national level and in most provinces have been conducted. The State Capture Commission’s voluminous report is a long litany of governance failure and an authentic, authoritative account of the State Capture to which the country has been subjected since its liberation from the yoke of apartheid.
The archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, speaks eloquently of the “New Struggle”, and talk of a government of national unity is supported by him. There is also speculation that a coalition of some sort will somehow prevail in the 2024 general elections and that this may or may not include the tripartite alliance that has won every election at national level since the first one in which all were allowed to participate.
The President himself speaks in eloquent terms of the need for renewal of his party and the need for renewal in the country. Sometimes party and state are elided in the ANC’s striving for hegemonic control of all levers of power in society. This striving comprehensively rubbishes constitutional notions such as the separation of powers, the rule of law and the exercise of checks and balances over the use and abuse of power.
Our Constitution is supreme; when challenged, conduct and laws inconsistent with its tenets are liable to be struck down as invalid and unlawful by our (still) independent and impartial courts. All too often ...
The current crisis in Mozambique is due mainly to the inability of the state and the government to respond to the primary concerns of the Mozambican people. These include jobs, housing, basic public services and food. It will lead to a period of greater arbitrariness that aims to stifle any potential popular uprising and impose the authority of the government.
Authoritarian regimes emerge or strengthen precisely when they are no longer able to democratically maintain their legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The unpopularity of the Mozambican government has increased.
The cost of living and the lack of employment opportunities for many, especially young people, have undermined the government’s credibility.
The informal sector of the economy, which is strong in both urban and rural areas, tends to become illegalised, especially in urban areas, and is subjected to a kind of social fascism.
No surveys are needed to sense the widespread discontent among the population. In the traffic, in the markets, in the pastures, at family gatherings, in WhatsApp groups, the impression that the government no longer serves the masses — and that they are increasingly left to their own devices — is imposing itself.
This discontent has recently become more visible in the state apparatus as well. The failure of the so-called Unified Salary Tariff (TSU) — a salary adjustment announced in the last quarter of 2022 that included a promise of a significant increase in civil servants’ salaries — has increased state employees’ distrust of the government.
The TSU announcement created great expectations. But when it materialised, it led to discontent because it disappointed workers’ expectations about the improvement in salary levels; even worse, it called into question acquired rights, which, according to several experts, is unconstitutional.
This situation caused important public sectors such as doctors and teachers to paralyse their activities for some time in the last months of 2022. It was interesting to observe how creatively the protests were implemented. Primary and secondary teachers, for example, went on a fervent and silent strike. They did not stop going to schools, but they stopped working in almost all cases.
Doctors went on strike openly, but also went public with their reasons and what services they would continue to provide so that the population would not turn against this professional group.
Discontent was also expressed within the police and the army, the real vehicles of oppression, although not very actively.
Rising authoritarianism
These ingredients are enough to give rise ...
National structures from the City of Tshwane’s governing coalition parties met the municipality’s mayoral committee on Monday to discuss the city’s adverse audit outcomes. The DA-led coalition continues to blame its predecessors, the ANC.
The national structures of the governing City of Tshwane coalition engaged the city’s mayoral committee in a hybrid meeting on Monday regarding the Auditor-General’s (AG) leaked adverse report on the city’s financial fiasco.
The multiparty coalition in Gauteng — comprising the DA, ActionSA, FF+, IFP, ACDP and Cope — said it was “unequivocal in expressing its disappointment with the audit findings and expects urgent remedial action, deep reform and real accountability”.
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s report, which was submitted to the Gauteng legislature late in 2022, made the following findings about the city’s financials from July 2020 to June 2021:
Irregular expenditure of R10-billion;
Unauthorised expenditure of more than R600-million;
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure understated by more than R1-billion;
Unjustified supply chain management deviations of more than R480-million without reason;
Material misstatement of assets under construction and disclosed as completed, which means they were overstated by R2-billion;
Assets worth more than R52-billion were not properly accounted for and not valued properly, and the impairment of those assets was not properly assessed;
Leave pay amounting to more than R800-million not properly accounted for; and
Loans and bonds amounting to more than R800-million were not correctly accounted for.
The AG said there was “material uncertainty” over the city’s viability as an ongoing concern.
The Gauteng coalition and Tshwane’s DA mayor Randall Williams have largely blamed the adverse findings on the period in the year under audit when the city was run by administrators appointed by the ANC-led provincial government.
The coalition said: “While it can be noted that the current multiparty government took over the reins at the metro five months after the 2021/22 financial year commenced and there are deep historical problems underpinning the report predating even that financial year, the multiparty government is nonetheless committed to address the historical root causes of adverse findings and hold those responsible accountable.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Government lost R12bn to non-compliance and fraud, latest Auditor-General report reveals”
Williams told Daily Maverick: “The ANC provincial administrators inherited a R296-million surplus when they came into the city and left the city with a R4.3-billion deficit. The effect of their mismanagement has had a lasting impact on the city and many of the challenges we face today in the city can be directly traced back to their time ...
The Spring Foundation at Lentegeur Hospital has several projects to rehabilitate patients.
Psychiatric institutions are sometimes thought of as prisons, where people with severe mental illness are locked away from society with little hope of recovery or a return to society. The Spring Foundation at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital in Mitchells Plain is trying to change this.
Jeremy (not his real name) suffers from schizophrenia and is a forensic patient, meaning that he has committed a crime but the court found him not guilty because of his mental illness. He was admitted to Lentegeur in 2021 for rehabilitation.
With 722 beds, Lentegeur is one of the largest hospitals of its kind in the Western Cape. It has dedicated units for forensic psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, intellectual disability services, and general adult psychiatry.
At least five times a week, Jeremy spends three hours working in the Spring Foundation’s organic vegetable garden. The one-hectare garden produces quality vegetables, ranging from spinach and herbs to carrots and turnips, and supplies wholesale clients and the public.
Jeremy earns a stipend for working in the garden. This is the first time he has earned an income. He has been saving some of the money. “When I get out, I will be able to help my mom buy things for the house,” he says.
The vegetable garden is one of several projects run by the Spring Foundation, a non-profit organisation based at the hospital. The aim of the foundation, according to founder Dr John Parker, a psychiatrist who worked at Lentegeur for 19 years, is “the transformation of a psychiatric institution into a recovery centre”.
Traditional models of care at psychiatric institutions have become outdated, Parker says, and more emphasis should be placed on “recovery” — a focus on helping patients regain control over their lives and connect with a sense of purpose and meaning.
To encourage a connection to nature, the foundation has planted more than 100 trees on the hospital grounds and planted flower gardens. The occupational therapy services offered by the hospital are supplemented with projects that enable patients to earn an income and gain work experience.
The foundation also runs several initiatives that help patients reintegrate into society once they are discharged. This includes helping them apply for ID documents.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Toni Khulule has managed the Spring Foundation vegetable garden since its start in 2015. He says he has seen how patients improve ...
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga is under fire once again as schools reopened on Wednesday, with parents complaining of multiple online application system issues and than 1,300 children in Gauteng still waiting to be placed.
As inland schools re-opened on 11 January, more than 1,300 pupils remained at home as the Department of Education had yet to place them in schools in the province. Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has pleaded for patience from parents.
Motshekga said the education MEC in the province, Matome Chiloane, promised that the placement backlog will be resolved within 10 days.
“So, we are saying in 10 days we will have done the best we could. He is finding spaces in churches, he is finding spaces in old schools. They are even going to open a closed college. We are doing everything to assist parents,” Motshekga said.
Motshekga was speaking in Diepsloot, having planned to visit four schools in the province including Cosmo City primary and secondary schools, Diepsloot Primary and Sunrise Secondary School.
Motshekga acknowledged that placement shortages and overcrowding in schools were annual problems. She said the issues will be resolved through ongoing engagement with Chiloane and other key education figures.
Ahead of schools opening during the 2022 academic year, the provincial department scrambled to find places for an excess 1,465 learners. The number dropped slightly to 1,394 unplaced learners for the start of this year.
Motshekga said almost 100% of grade 1 and grade 8 pupils had been placed.
Spate of complaints
The 2023 academic year has been marred by numerous complaints regarding the inefficiency of the online application system. According to the department’s provincial officials, 1,394 primary and high school pupils are yet to be placed.
Upon encountering difficulties with the online application system, some parents said they were advised to go to their local education district offices to ask for help. However, upon arrival, they were given vague referrals to approach alternative district offices in their province.
“When I asked why I was being turned away, I was told that the district I was referred to was the one where my child got a place, not one aligned to the school where I applied to. As parents, not all of us know the procedure and the department must take it upon itself to educate communities, especially with the complications presented by the online application system,” Nonhlanhla Mkhize, a parent from Soweto said.
A small number of parents said they successfully ...
These risk revisions to the latest EIA studies have come to light amid heightened public awareness of gas explosions triggered by the recent Boksburg tanker disaster.
Karpowership consultants have made further last-minute changes to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study, the effect of which is to reduce the predicted negative effects of the Turkish floating powerships plan.
Some alterations came to light last month when Our Burning Planet uncovered several inconsistencies between a new fire and explosions risk study for the powerships and a previous version published more than a year ago. These changes have largely been attributed to “software updates” in the computer models used to predict death and casualty risks should a major gas fire or explosion break out on Karpowership vessels anchored in the ports of Richards Bay, Ngqura or Saldanha Bay.
These belated explosion risk revisions come at a time of heightened public awareness around gas explosions following the devastating Boksburg disaster that killed 37 people after an LPG road tanker explosion on Christmas Eve.
Now, other observers have also picked up further revisions to some of the latest EIA studies – including “dramatic” reductions in the noise levels predicted to be generated by powerships over the next 20 years.
Some of these late changes to the original EIA noise studies have been attributed to “new information” emerging from Karpowership and other sources about ship structure and the silencing equipment fitted to the Turkish vessels.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Karpowership’s environmental hazards controversially reduced in new EIA specs”
After years of controversy, a final EIA report is due to be published later this month and then resubmitted for approval to the Department of Environmental Affairs, which rejected the first Karpowership EIA in 2021 on the basis that it was flawed and inadequate in several respects.
Last month, Our Burning Planet undertook a detailed line-by-line comparison of a major hazard risk assessment by Karpowership’s Cape Town risk consultant Claude Thackwray. Significantly, we found numerous changes to the studies he published in February 2021 and November 2022.
In his revised study, Thackwray has reduced the predicted fatality distance of a transfer hose flash fire from 879m to 499m. Fatal impacts due to a jet fire dropped from 568m to 188m, while in another Karpowership gas fire scenario, the lethal impact distance dropped from 220m to just 15m.
At the time, Thackwray attributed these changes to software updates to the computer risk modelling tools he uses. But we noticed ...
After two decades of violent extremism, fundamental elements in preventing the threat remain absent from AU plans.
At the end of October 2022, the Somali capital Mogadishu suffered another suicide bomb attack, which killed 121 people and injured more than 300. According to United Nations sources, in 2022 alone, 613 civilians died and 948 were wounded in attacks by the extremist Islamist al-Shabaab terrorist group. Last year’s death toll was more than 30% higher than in 2021, making 2022 the most deadly for the country since 2017.
Somalia’s experience is not an isolated case. There has been a surge in terrorist activities on the continent characterised by escalations in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, northern Mozambique and parts of North Africa.
The rise has occurred despite the efforts of governments and regional and international organisations, including the African Union (AU), to contain and degrade violent extremist groups over the past two decades. Africa’s continued struggle with terrorism suggests that the responses of the AU and its member states don’t match the nature of the threat — much of which is not new to the continent.
Concerns in the late 1990s — well before the 9/11 attacks — prompted the Organisation of African Unity’s (OAU) adoption of the 1999 Algiers Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. The convention, now 23 years old, noted the ‘“scope and seriousness of the phenomenon” and the “dangers it poses to the stability and security of states.” Leaders expressed their determination to eliminate it “in all its forms and manifestations.”
Taking up the baton from the OAU, the AU developed the 2002 Plan of Action on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. The plan sought to implement the Algiers Convention through better cross-border collaboration on policing and surveillance. In 2011 an African Model Anti-terrorism Law defined terrorist offences, including money laundering and financing of terrorist groups, hostage-taking and terrorist bombings. Combating terrorism is also a key part of the AU’s Silencing the Guns by 2030 plan.
The AU has staged various peace support operations, including the AU Transition Mission in Somalia and the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The AU Peace and Security Council has also coordinated anti-terrorism deployments with regional economic communities, including the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram, the G5 Sahel Joint Force and the recent Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique.
These efforts have in some cases liberated territories ...
Llandudno Beach is the latest stretch of the Cape Town coast to close due to issues with sewage infrastructure. Sewage spills around local beaches have been a recurring problem this holiday season, resulting in closures over December 2022 and January 2023.
The summer holiday period in Cape Town has seen a series of beach closures due to sewage spills and overflows. The closure of Llandudno Beach on Monday, 9 January, marked the tenth such incident along the Cape coast in the past two months.
Llandudno Beach was closed due to an overflow from a sewer pump station, according to the City of Cape Town. The overflow occurred when a power surge caused by rolling blackouts damaged an ultrasonic-level sensor, used to measure the storage levels at the pump station.
All beach closures over the holiday season appear to have been caused by one of two factors: equipment failure at sewage pump stations caused by rolling blackouts, or blockages and damage to pump station infrastructure caused by the dumping of objects into the sewer system.
“The city temporarily closed some beaches, sections of beaches and tidal pools during the festive season as a public health precaution after sewage reached the shoreline,” said Eddie Andrews, Cape Town deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment
“When we need to close a beach due to water quality concerns, we install signage to inform the public accordingly. In these instances, City Health takes water samples on a daily basis for water quality testing and only opens a beach once the water quality levels are within the minimum requirement for recreational activities as determined by the National Water Quality Guidelines.”
The longest closure was at Bakoven Beach between 22 and 30 December 2022. Other areas that saw closures include Fish Hoek Beach, Muizenberg Beach, Strand Beach, Gordon’s Bay Beach, Kalk Bay Beach and Small Bay.
Impact on coastal communities
Fish Hoek Beach was closed between 18 and 19 December 2022, and again between 2 and 4 January 2023, due to sewer overflows caused by blocked sewer pipes, according to the City of Cape Town.
“People then move down [the beach] because there were certain places which were still open, and certain places were closed,” said Mathea Eichel, owner of Bayside Restaurant on Fish Hoek Beach, about the recent closures.
“[Bayside Restaurant] did lose the morning trade, like the coffee drinkers, people coming for breakfast after the swim. We did lose those people.”
The ...
Mexican waves, Sho Madjozi, moko jumbies on stilts, and tons of fireworks. The opening game of the SA20 delivered the party atmosphere it promised.
On the cricket field, emerging superstar Dewald Brevis and MI Cape Town provided the opening match of the SA20 with fireworks in the form of massive sixes and cartwheeling stumps.
MI Cape Town secured a comfortable eight-wicket win over near-neighbours the Paarl Royals at a scorching and packed Newlands, producing a near-perfect start to the much-hyped new competition.
But off the field, in the stands, is where the scene was set perfectly to inaugurate South Africa’s new premier T20 competition.
The picturesque Newlands cricket ground was at its colourful best on Tuesday, aided by cheerleaders in multi-coloured outfits and the stadium announcer getting the near-capacity crowd in full voice.
There hasn’t been a sold-out cricket match in a domestic cricket match in South Africa since before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and even then crowds were waning.
“That’s the fullest house I have ever played in, in South Africa,” said MI Cape Town opening batter Ryan Rickelton, who scored a brisk 42 off 33 deliveries.
“I’ve never actually played in front of a full house at Newlands. There were a lot of kids, a lot of screaming fans.”
“The guys on the mics were loud but they were good.”
Party atmosphere
City of Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was in attendance, donning the light blue jersey of MI Cape Town. Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa also attended while soars of waving flags drowned out Newlands after every wicket and boundary scored by the new home side.
Anyone unfamiliar with cricket in South Africa watching Tuesday’s action would imagine the sport is in a very healthy space in the country.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. The national team has been plundered in every format in recent months and the sport’s governing body is financially and operationally in a precarious situation.
The hope is that the action seen on and around the field at Newlands rejuvenates Cricket South Africa (CSA) as a whole.
Spectators sprung to the call of action, proving the SA20 could be the lifeline CSA needs.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Crowds started pouring in well before the action got underway with scores of people at the stadium before 12 in the afternoon, before gates even opened for the day/night match.
Fortunately, there was plenty for the spectators to enjoy and be excited about with ...
The 80th annual ceremony of the Golden Globes, a celebration of the world of TV and film, aired last night from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California; the awards were selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Here is a selection of images from the night's red carpet.
It is two weeks since the devastating gas tanker explosion in Boksburg on Christmas Eve. To date, the death toll has reached 37. Twelve of those who died were healthcare workers from the Tambo Memorial Hospital. More is now known about who they were.
On the morning of 24 December 2022, a truck transporting liquefied petroleum gas exploded after it became wedged beneath a bridge about 100m from the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg, Gauteng.
Initial reports were that just 10 people were killed in the blast, with 26 others seriously injured. The number has since risen to 37 dead. Among the affected healthcare workers from the hospital were 11 nurses and one driver. Although it remains uncertain exactly how the healthcare workers came to be injured, most of them succumbed to their injuries while in medical care after the blast.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Hospital colleagues voice ‘trauma’ and ‘anger’ as heartfelt tributes flow for 12 ‘fallen heroes’ at Boksburg memorial”
These are their profiles:
Koena Margaret Sekoba (59)
Koena Margaret Sekoba obtained her nursing qualification at Lebone Nursing College. As an enrolled nurse, she worked at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital and later joined Tambo Memorial Hospital to work in the surgical ward. She died on 25 December 2022 and leaves behind her husband, three children, four grandchildren, three sisters and two brothers.
Matlakala Suzan Maxakaza (58)
Matlakala Suzan Maxakaza trained as an auxiliary nurse at a nursing home and completed her further training at Ann Latsky Nursing College. She was working at Tambo Memorial Hospital and died on 26 December 2022. She is survived by her two children, four sisters, two brothers and a grandson.
Moshemane Billyboy Mahoa (43)
Moshemane Billyboy Mahoa died on the day of the explosion. He had worked for 12 years as a driver at Tambo Memorial Hospital and was described as a dedicated employee. Colleagues spoke of humility and his commitment to leading a healthy lifestyle. He is survived by his fiancé, his sons, Rorisang and Gontse, and a daughter, Bontle, as well as his sister and three brothers.
Matjaji Peggy Maila (38)
Matjaji Peggy Maila started out as a domestic worker at Balfour, Alexandra, before finding her true calling as a midwife at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital where she worked from 2012 to 2016. She was working at Tambo Memorial Hospital and died on Boxing Day 2022. She is survived by her three children — two sons and a daughter.
Kgothatso Magopane (41)
Kgothatso ...
There are real limits to what President Cyril Ramaphosa’s actions are within the realm of reason. He can’t just act against those who oppose him, and he cannot just replace them with allies.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday promised that the renewal of the ANC was now “irreversible and irrevocable”. There may be no better way for him to put his money where his mouth is than by conducting a major Cabinet reshuffle and removing those with big question marks against them.
But there are limits to how far he can go. Some of the questions a reshuffle poses are actually vexed political decisions that can have major repercussions. Within all of this, at least one person who is in Cabinet now, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, is likely to significantly enhance his political power and negative influence on South Africa’s energy policy.
Normally, it is difficult to predict if, or when, a president will reshuffle their Cabinet. Changing a Cabinet is entirely within a president’s power. They do not have to consult anyone, and those who are removed have no legal recourse — they can only ask how high they need to jump. There is no legal duty on a president to explain their decisions in a reshuffle.
In the real world, a reshuffle is all about politics. It was generally understood in the past that an ANC president would not reshuffle a Cabinet without consulting at least the top six national officials. When Jacob Zuma failed to do this, in December 2015 and March 2017, it was clear that he was acting of his own accord.
Still, this is one of those rare occasions when a reshuffle can be said to be imminent, mainly because the ANC’s constitution states that the position of secretary-general is full-time, which means Fikile Mbalula can no longer be transport minister.
But it is also because the results of the ANC’s conference have changed the political equations that some kind of action must be taken.
For example, it appears that Paul Mashatile is keen to replace David Mabuza as Deputy President, after his election as deputy leader of the ANC.
Also, certain people who are in Cabinet have lost significant power.
Mabuza is one example, while ministers Lindiwe Sisulu, Pravin Gordhan and Naledi Pandor are no longer in the National Executive Committee.
The question then is: How far will Ramaphosa go? And, perhaps: How far does he want to go?
Easy questions ...
For decades, an alliance of compromise with the ANC has secured the SA Communist Party’s place in South Africa’s government and political life. Now the SACP faces tough decisions about the cost of accepting social and economic policies that go against the grain of its core principles.
In his examination of why nine non-ruling European communist parties, with meagre results at the polls, continue to have sporadic participation in multi-party governing coalitions, Sidney Tarrow suggests that fear of being absent during a perceived period of crisis drives strategies for participation, often in a multi-party, left coalition.
He concludes that efforts to avoid isolation causes them to actively or passively support moderate policies and to form alliances with normally anti-communist elements.
And while such communist parties may have the theoretical and practical acumen to themselves take a country out of a crisis, they may also lack the courage or capacity to take the reins of political power, or believe that the balance of forces don’t allow them to do so on their own.
In South Africa, the historical and ideological roots to the political cooperation between the ANC, Cosatu, the SACP and the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) led to their alliance in the post-1990 dispensation.
Ahead of the first national democratic elections in 1994, the ANC sought organisational skills, material support, membership and electoral support from the alliance partners. For their part, Cosatu and Sanco needed a political organisation that could win elections, hold political power and advance a progressive agenda that would safeguard labour and civil society interests in Parliament.
The ANC also needed to enlist seasoned strategists, tacticians, organisers and campaigners from its alliance partners. Its electoral prospects depended highly on the constituencies of its alliance partners. And, importantly, the SACP did not have enough popular support to be a political force on its own in parliamentary politics.
The SACP did foresee the challenge of mediating and harmonising the ANC’s multi-class and centrist politics with its own professed working-class and leftist politics.
It opted to rely on the notion that swelling the ranks of the ANC would enable it to populate ANC spaces and platforms with communist ideas.
It also opted to intensify efforts to influence the political positions of Cosatu unions and education and research labour service organisations; to deploy some of its seasoned cadres to take up leadership positions within Cosatu; to lobby for leading SACP, Cosatu and Sanco activists to have representation in the ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said Jacob Zuma is trying to undermine the private prosecution process which would ‘irreparably’ harm his constitutional rights, dignity and reputation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday reiterated in his replying affidavit to a summons and private prosecution attempt by former president Jacob Zuma that the endeavour was “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid because they do not meet the jurisdictional requirements for a valid private prosecution”.
A key reason said Ramaphosa in his affidavit, filed with the Johannesburg high court, was that the Director of Public Prosecutions had not yet issued a nolle prosequi certificate — a prerequisite for a private prosecution — that relates to him. He said unless such a certificate was issued and presented, the private prosecution could not take place.
Ramaphosa wants the court to issue an urgent interim interdict and set aside the private prosecution, which is set down to start on 19 January.
Zuma initiated the private prosecution of Ramaphosa on 15 December, the day before the governing party was to start its national elective conference, the conclusion of which saw Ramaphosa being voted in for a second term as ANC president. The timing of the summons led Ramaphosa to accuse Zuma of attempting to scupper his chances at re-election.
The former president has accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact to criminal conduct or alternatively, of defeating or attempting to defeat the ends of justice, relating to the unauthorised disclosure of information in Zuma’s private prosecution of veteran prosecutor Billy Downer — who will be prosecuting the arms deal graft trial in which Zuma is accused number one — and journalist Karyn Maughan.
However, Ramaphosa said Zuma’s reliance on using the same nolle prosequi certificate that made it possible for the former president to privately prosecute Downer and Maughan was “practically impossible”.
He said that the certificate pointed to an alleged crime committed on 9 August 2021 when Downer and Maughan were accused by Zuma of leaking a letter related to Zuma’s medical well-being into the public domain. The two have maintained it was Zuma who filed the letter with the court and made it part of the public record.
Ramaphosa said that at the very earliest, the alleged crime Zuma is accusing him of, would have occurred after 25 August 2021.
“The certificate [relating to Downer and Maughan] does not set out a charge against me, it does not name me or link me in any way ...
At the Ethafeni Clinic in Tembisa, Maverick Citizen witnessed more than 100 parents bringing children for their jabs. Despite the long queue, healthcare workers were moving swiftly to provide the children with their injections.
Ekurhuleni has rolled out an emergency measles vaccination campaign following an outbreak of the disease in Gauteng that was confirmed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in early December.
As parents prepare to send their children back to school for the start of the new term, many have been seeking vaccinations to protect them from contracting the highly infectious disease.
At the Ethafeni Clinic in Tembisa, Maverick Citizen witnessed more than 100 parents bringing children for their jabs. Despite the long queue, healthcare workers were moving swiftly to provide the children with their injections.
Concerned mother Zanele Zwane (45), who had brought her 10-year-old and her two-year-old, said she had heard about the outbreak from staff at a Health Department information tent set up outside the clinic in December. They had urged her to bring her children for vaccinations.
“I haven’t come across someone who has measles and I haven’t seen it, but I wanted my children to be safe,” said Zwane. “I googled the disease, symptoms and so on. I saw that it’s very dangerous and I want my 10-year-old to be safe at school as they open tomorrow [Wednesday].”
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be spread through contact with infected mucus and saliva. An infected person can release the virus into the air when they cough or sneeze. Symptoms include fever, diarrhoea and a rash of small spots on the skin. It mostly affects children. The NICD has identified cases in three parts of Gauteng.
Parents who lined up with their children’s vaccination cards in hand said that they had learnt of the outbreak through word of mouth or from care volunteers who were going door-to-door to educate parents about the disease.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The vaccination drive is part of Ekurhuleni’s Provincial Measles Outbreak Response Campaign, which started on 28 December 2022 and targets children aged from six months to 15 years. The campaign includes radio briefings that explain the seriousness of the issue.
Posters and pamphlets in English, isiZulu and Sesotho have been distributed to healthcare facilities.
Ekurhuleni Health District Manager Terrance Magoro said the current outbreak had been contained. District health workers had been vaccinating the close contacts of ...
South African space enthusiasts have welcomed the news that the US’s National Aeronautics and Space Agency and the South African National Space Agency have renewed their partnership in lunar exploration.
A new deep space ground tracking station is to be built at Matjiesfontein in the Central Karoo District of the Western Cape to help the United States’ Artemis missions return humans to the Moon.
The antenna will be one of several 18- to 24-metre communications antennas placed strategically around the globe to ensure near-continuous connectivity between astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis spacecraft and those who will subsequently come to work on and around the lunar surface.
Previously, South Africa was home to a ground tracking station at Hartebeesthoek outside Johannesburg that played a critical role in Nasa’s Apollo missions in the 1960s. Artemis, named for Apollo’s twin sister, will land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence, and serving as a stepping stone to send astronauts to Mars.
Raoul Hodges, managing director of the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) Space Operations, says a Deep Space Network has the ability to communicate with spacecraft, humans, probes and any other object that is beyond low-Earth orbit in space. Sansa intends to put up one antenna in 2024.
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“We hope to have more clients that want to invest in Matjiesfontein and this would ensure more antennas. Sansa is also planning to put other smaller antennas, such as 3.7m and 7.3m antenna, for research and Earth observation data.”
The intention is to track all the Nasa missions planned in the 40-year Artemis programme. These are all missions to the Moon and beyond and will range from payloads, probes and humans.
“To track these payloads, they need to be visible to the antenna. Therefore, there will be at least three to five stations worldwide to have visibility and backup in case of failures.
“When a rocket is launched from a particular launch site, Sansa is normally first in line to acquire the rocket and download the telemetric data. This enables the owner to know whether the payload is on the right track and determines the health thereof.
“Thereafter, we track it when visible and relay the data to the owner of the payload till the end of mission,” he says.
When the next generation of moonwalkers set foot on Earth’s satellite in a ...
Due to increasingly interconnected and interdependent technological systems, space weather can negatively impact numerous sectors, leading to a cascade of operational failures. But South Africa is now equipped with a regional Space Weather Centre that can provide space forecasts 24/7 — and a leading local space weather specialist based there says its impact is so significant that it should be included in daily forecasts.
Space weather is caused by four main components: solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), high-speed solar wind and solar energetic particles. The concept of space weather refers to the effects that the sun has on the Earth and the planets of the solar system.
The Sun has an 11-year cycle and space weather is governed by this solar cycle, allowing experts to predict, at some level, when effects are likely to be most severe.
This next “solar maximum” is likely to occur between 2024 and 2026.
However, significant weather events can happen outside such predicted time frames — there was a massive flare on 5 January this year, for example.
The Space Weather Centre launched in November last year in Hermanus has eight full-time dedicated space weather forecasters, seven of whom are women.
Dr Lee-Anne McKinnell, managing director at the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) in Hermanus, says space weather is becoming so important “it should actually be included with the daily weather forecasts”.
GPS and electrical power
McKinnell explains that all GPS systems are affected by space weather, and if space weather is factored into planning, it is possible, for example, to reroute aircraft to have them fly at a lower altitude.
Electrical power is specifically sensitive to space weather, and with warnings, one can redirect it. Space weather can cause problems such as corrosion on pipelines and lead to incorrect signal settings on railways. Drones can be knocked off course.
There are means to mitigate the effects in important operational areas, McKinnell notes, but they also require keeping backup systems, which adds to operational costs.
Despite the added effort and cost, she says, “we need to start thinking about the Sun when we plan”.
The centre issues a daily general bulletin to all its clients and, depending on the industry-specific warnings, via a subscription service. This is increasingly in demand for anyone who relies on communication, navigation and transport.
The four factors
McKinnell explains there are four events that can have an impact on Earth:
A solar flare is an eruption of matter on the surface of the ...
South Africa has arrived at its moment of truth. Will we seize the day or will we continue to wade through the treacle of old loyalties, old policies and old global alliances towards slow but certain failure?
On the eve of the ANC’s December 2022 conference, The Brenthurst Foundation released its scenarios for South Africa under the heading ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and a Fistful of Cents’.
The direst of these four scenarios was “The Ugly” — one in which the ANC’s RET faction seized the leadership of the party and, after polling in the low 40% range in the 2024 election, formed an alliance with the EFF, which shares most of its recidivist economics.
In such a scenario, we argued, South Africa would embark on a road to rapid state and market failure, leading to massive disinvestment, hyperinflation, a currency in freefall and the reversal of the democratic freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
It is now clear that the ANC’s RET faction was decisively defeated at the conference, a fact illustrated by the party’s decision to fire Carl Niehaus, the party’s loony-left court jester. That Niehaus remained in the party’s ranks despite his repeated public criticisms of its leaders, policies and actions, illustrates how in thrall to the populists the party has been.
So, with the “ugly” scenario off the table for now, what is the likely direction that the party will take? Will it become the agent of the economic reforms needed to bring about the “good” scenario? Or will it continue with the “bad” scenario which has prevailed for more than a decade — indecisiveness, an inability to clean up corruption, and a civil service riddled with costly incompetence?
Or, will it head in the direction of the “Fistful of Cents” scenario, symptoms of which are already on display? In this scenario, a small, greedy elite dominates the state and economic life, with the crumbs of welfare payments dropping off its table, while a weak state lacks the will or competence to act.
Ramaphosa, the great prevaricator
All eyes are now on President Cyril Ramaphosa as he charts the way forward.
While Ramaphosa has acted against State Capture by attempting to improve the prosecuting authority and by speaking out against it in public, he has become the great prevaricator when it comes to reforming the South African economy.
When he was elected ANC president in December 2017, he delayed because he first needed the levers ...
Russian mercenary forces mounted a concentrated assault on a key frontline town in eastern Ukraine, a siege that president Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops were holding off in an ‘extremely difficult’ military exchange.
The Kremlin had positioned the most experienced units from the Wagner military-contracting company near the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian operational command spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi. Ukrainian forces were holding the line following 86 artillery attacks “of various calibre”, he said.
The European Union sought to forge a common line with Nato as the 27-member bloc signed a joint declaration with the transatlantic military alliance. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the accord solidified an EU defence that’s “complementary to and interoperable with Nato”.
Key developments
Russia’s budget gap surges to record as war hits finances
Ukraine’s inflation steadies on price cuts amid blackout fears
Ukrainians rush to relocate businesses to Poland after invasion
Russia to try to limit oil discounts with market principles
China scoops up rare Russian oil as top buyer boosts imports
On the ground
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near 13 settlements throughout the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions over the past day, including Soledar, the General Staff said in its morning update on Facebook. Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said the assault on Soledar followed previous unsuccessful attempts to capture it, resulting in heavy losses.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address that the resilience of the Ukrainian troops allowed his country to gain additional time, noting that “there are almost no whole walls left” to defend the settlement.
Russian forces also shelled civilian infrastructure in the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Kramatorsk and Ochakiv over the past day, the Ukrainian military said.
Ukrainian troops to train in US on Patriot system
Ukrainian troops will be brought to Fort Sill, an army training base in Oklahoma, as soon as this month for the extensive training required to operate the Patriot missile defence system, according to a US defence official.
The US announced in December that it was delivering one of the powerful but complex air-defence systems to Ukraine — and Germany said last week that it would provide another. The plan for training at Fort Sill was reported earlier by CNN.
German foreign minister visits city of Kharkiv
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made an unannounced visit to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, from which Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops last year, in a show of solidarity to residents confronting a winter in war.
Citing Ukraine’s ...
An apparent gunman was killed and a bouncer wounded at a Cape Town pub late last week — the latest in a series of shootings that have happened at venues in the city, suggesting that underworld gang tensions are stirring and patrons could be at increased risk.
Tensions in Cape Town’s underworld seem to be flaring up yet again, with a shootout at a pub in the early hours of Thursday morning leaving an apparent gunman dead and a bouncer wounded.
It’s the second shooting at a Cape Town venue in less than three months.
At the end of October, Daily Maverick reported that an early morning shootout at the Grand Africa Café & Beach in Granger Bay left a gunman dead and a security guard wounded.
That venue previously featured in an extortion case where it was alleged a group of men had tried to force the venue to pay for their so-called security services.
Patrons face potential dangers
This was linked to a broader underworld battle, as alleged by the State in certain court cases, for control of security at some Cape Town venues and involving gangs including the 27s and Sexy Boys.
These broader security battles have for years simmered away, sometimes boiling over in the form of shootings or stabbings in the city.
Also see: The Enforcers – Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles
A few years ago, there was a spate of shootings in or near nightclubs and eateries in Cape Town.
These incidents highlight the dangers patrons face when gangsters target their rivals at nightclubs and bars.
Underworld suspicions
Daily Maverick understands the latest shooting at Buckley’s in the Cape Town suburb of Bellville may be linked to figures suspected of violent acts relating to private security.
A photograph taken at the scene of the shooting appears to show an individual who has previously faced criminal charges in an organised crime case and who was involved in nightclub security in Cape Town.
Daily Maverick understands the shooting happened when a man approached Buckley’s and shot a bouncer. The gunman was then fatally shot by another man who is also linked to the private security industry.
It is understood the man who approached the venue and was subsequently killed was named Granville King.
Bouncer shot
Sources with knowledge of underworld ructions suspect King was a gangster linked to the 27s gang and to a towing company. He was reportedly targeting another member, or members, of a rival gang.
Daily Maverick has previously reported ...
Kevin McCarthy has finally lurched across the finish line to become Nancy Pelosi’s successor as speaker of the House, now that the Republicans have a tiny majority in that body. What happened and what should we look for in the future?
As a result of the outcome of the US’s 2022 mid-term elections with a tiny Republican majority and thus the conclusion of Nancy Pelosi’s time as speaker of the House for the US House of Representatives, a new era in the US government begins. How this will play out for both domestic affairs and foreign policy still needs to become much clearer, but there are certain facts we can already ascertain about the probable shape of things to come.
After 15 successive ballots, California Republican congressman Kevin McCarthy finally achieved what has been his lifelong ambition. Under most circumstances, such an election is almost a procedural, even ceremonial, moment as the majority party has usually — but not always — achieved a rough consensus even before the actual vote takes place. It is important to note that the election of a speaker is required before any of the other administrative elements of a new Congress can take place — from the swearing-in of the members to the appointment of committee members, and even the certification of salary payments for representatives and their staffs.
This time around, however, it became a grinding political war of attrition, but one that played out under the full spotlight of international television. Given both the razor-thin Republican majority and a divisive split in the party, the election of McCarthy as speaker became an increasingly angry snarl as the week wore on — even to the point of some near-fisticuffs.
True, most Republican congressmen and women lined up behind a largely traditional Republican, albeit deeply conservative member from central California, McCarthy. But a small percentage of members were adamant advocates of policies that were more Trumpian than Donald Trump himself. This group, the Freedom Caucus, held to a line that was an echo of the earlier Tea Party Republicans and they would not support McCarthy until he agreed to their terms. As a result, the voting for speaker dragged on for nearly a week, finally coming to an end on the second anniversary of the insurrection attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
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Precisely because the Republicans held only ...
Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira wins the case and hopes the courts will force Minister of Police Bheki Cele to protect his long-distance buses from violent attacks, particularly on Eastern Cape roads.
The CEO of Intercape, Johann Ferreira, has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to find a replacement for Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula as soon as possible to restore stability to the sector and improve the safety of dangerous routes for long-distance buses, particularly in the Eastern Cape.
Ferreira’s request comes after Judge John Smith dismissed Mbalula’s appeal against a court order compelling him and Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Xolile Edmund Nqatha, to develop a comprehensive action plan to stop the attacks on Intercape’s long-distance buses.
In his appeal, Mbalula argued that the court erred in requiring him and Nqatha to act jointly in circumstances where the Transport Act of 2009 does not allow them to do so.
However, the court found that — while Mbalula and Nqatha must each decide whether circumstances exist that require them to exercise powers vested in them — there was nothing in the Transport Act prohibiting them from acting jointly to facilitate the effective implementation of any measures to achieve the act’s objectives; in this case, the preparation and implementation of an action plan.
Mbalula needed to persuade the court that his appeal had a reasonable chance of success, or that there was some other compelling reason why it should be heard.
The application for leave to appeal was heard on 14 December 2022. In delivering judgment on Tuesday, Smith found that the appeal had no reasonable prospects of success.
Mbalula is expected soon to be replaced as transport minister after being elected as ANC secretary-general at the party’s recent 55th national conference. President Ramaphosa is likely to announce a Cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks.
The court order compelling Mbalula and Nqatha to compile an action plan was issued on 30 September 2022 after Intercape sought urgent relief from the Eastern Cape High Court to allow safe passage for its buses through the province.
Eastern Cape no-go zone
Parts of the Eastern Cape have been a no-go zone for Intercape buses because of the company’s refusal to give in to extortion and threats from certain sectors of the taxi industry.
At the time of the initial hearing, more than 150 shootings, stonings and other acts of violence and intimidation directed at Intercape bus drivers and passengers had been reported to police in Gauteng and in ...
It’s been a tough transition for Graham Potter since he moved from Brighton & Hove Albion to the demands of the Chelsea job. However, the Englishman still believes in his ability to turn things around.
‘In my position, you cannot use time as an excuse. You can talk philosophy, identity, all these nice words, but you have to think in the short term as well. We are in a results game and you have to try and do your best to win.”
So said Chelsea manager Graham Potter upon his appointment as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement in September 2022.
Of course, football – similar to other sports – is ultimately about winning. Something that Potter, since making the dream switch from Brighton & Hove Albion, has not managed to do often enough in his four-month tenure in West London.
The latest defeat for Potter’s men – a resounding 4-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup’s third round (the third loss by the Blues to City in two months) – has compounded the blues at the Bridge.
The London club has now only managed eight wins from 18 games with the 47-year-old in the dugout.
More worryingly, since beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in their final Uefa Champions League group game back in November, the Blues have lost six of their past eight matches in all competitions. The two results that briefly halted the rotten run were a 2-0 win over Bournemouth and a draw against Nottingham Forest.
In addition to being recently ousted from the FA Cup, Chelsea are out of the League Cup (where they were also defeated by City). Though, being twice drawn against the powerful City in the early stages of both domestic competitions is a reflection of the sort of luck Potter has had during his time in London.
In the domestic league, the situation is not much better. The five-time Premier League champions currently languish in a lowly 10th place.
They are out of the league race, and even finishing in the top four in order to attain Champions League football looks to be a distant dream – barring a miracle of biblical proportions. They trail fourth-placed Manchester United by 10 points.
It’s not great reading for the English manager who arrived in London amid promise of raising his managerial career to new heights by taking up the challenge at the two-time Champions League winners.
However, Potter is still confident of turning things around – with ...
This is a plea for the churches to throw their weight back into the arena of public education in South Africa, with children’s rights as the key lever.
As our education system grapples with its many challenges, it is worth considering that all schools are sites of struggle, thanks to the interplay of value systems that must necessarily co-exist within them. These play a profound role in the education our children receive.
The report arising from the 2020 call for an Anglican church investigation into alleged discrimination in Anglican schools (now publicly available) gives us an example of how a dominant value system can be admirable, but ultimately is not enough to fix our challenges.
The schools that were examined could naturally claim Anglican Christianity as a shared value system. The report has some eloquent phrases for this, including: “The flourishing of every child within a Christian value system that stresses equality and the dignity, rights and worth of all for the sake of the common good. biblical traditional and shaped by the crucible of our history. the Anglo-Catholic Benedictine tradition privileges the inherent dignity of the human person and educational provision for the common good.”
These are fine words, but those within the system are not always in agreement on what these values mean, and, anyway, they have no traction in law or public opinion. They are the values of a subculture, and we must sometimes negotiate them alongside other value systems with more clout.
‘Old South African values’
On the darker side, there are some “old South African values” lurking in the shadows of old institutions.
One of the schools reported that their chapel was “the heart of the school” – but the building boasted memorial tablets to British regiments from the days of the 19th-century Zulu wars in Natal. We have to consider what this colonial remnant means: as Prof Precious Simba writes, “coloniality outlives colonialism”.
Then there are broader issues that arise from our apartheid history.
There was recently a teacher at a public school south of Johannesburg who reportedly got into an argument with the grandmother of a student, and wrote to her, “You are trash, and I don’t like coloured people.”
While that raises many issues, a fundamental one is the persistent use of the apartheid term “coloured” to refer to a group of South African citizens who are demonstrably made up of almost 150 different historical groupings.
The notion was artificially constructed in the ...
The death of apartheid police minister Adriaan Vlok reminded me of the fierce, on-air confrontation that precipitated his fall from grace. This might have been the only time a journalist could have a bare-knuckled showdown with a Cabinet minister on the SABC.
‘Go to your fax. I am sending you something that will interest you.” It was David Beresford, the Guardian correspondent in South Africa, calling from London.
The papers that rolled out of the machine did not at first mean anything to me, but on examination they appeared to show South African Police secret payments to Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s Inkatha Freedom Party.
To get the gravity of this, you need to recall the dark context.
It was August 1991, and the negotiations over the ending of apartheid were under severe threat from civil violence, particularly the war between Inkatha and the ANC in what was then called the Natal Midlands.
I was co-editor of the Weekly Mail (now the Mail & Guardian) and we were investigating and occasionally exposing what we called the “third force” – mystery forces with illicit support from within the security forces who were undermining the negotiations with partisan violence.
Their purpose was to weaken the ANC and boost their opponents. It was bloody and ugly, and although we and others were publishing exposés of this activity, the authorities and much of the mainstream media were dismissing it because the evidence was circumstantial and fragmented.
First evidence
What had come off the fax looked like the first documentary evidence of illegal state support for Inkatha. It was dynamite, if verified. It would have a major impact on the negotiations and Inkatha’s position in them.
It was also critical to our newspaper, which was battling to survive.
We were in transition from an alternative struggle newspaper to what we hoped would be a new voice for a new democracy. The censorship laws had been thrown out the window with Mandela’s release and had not been replaced, so we were revelling in our new-found freedom.
Other alternative papers were closing around us as funding ran out, and our own future was precarious. A big exposé would be the key to building a new role and identity and in getting support to survive. This might be the breakthrough we needed.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Over the phone, which was usually bugged, Beresford could not give many details other than he had received the documents ...
As the new year dawns, many people in the corporate world will have recently undergone, or are about to undergo, an annual ritual that it seems just about everyone but HR practitioners despise: the annual performance review.
An early trailblazer of performance reviews was the Welsh industrialist Robert Owen, who introduced a system of coloured cubes strung over workstations at his cotton mills in Scotland to denote the performance of the employees below. But it only became a trend from the mid-20th century when updated versions were widely adopted by US managers.
A number of innovative companies have since seen the light and for the past decade or so have been ditching a practice that arguably undermines employee morale and in the process, productivity and profits. Given the wide distaste for the exercise, consigning it to the dustbin is surely one way to boost a company’s efforts at retaining, attracting or poaching talent.
The scale of the aversion to the process is more than just anecdotal, though there is plenty of evidence on that front. Many adults simply don’t like the indignity of being treated like schoolchildren who get gold stars for their efforts.
Deloitte Consulting’s Bersin — formerly Bersin & Associates until it was acquired by Deloitte — found in a 2018 performance management study that “most performance management approaches are despised and fail to generate required organisational capabilities”.
So one of the key takeaways from that study is that they are intensely disliked, by supervisors and subordinates alike, and don’t actually do much.
The group’s founder, Josh Bersin, noted last year that HR managers are constantly trying to reinvent this wheel, which remains stuck in a rut.
“One of the most frustrating, tired, and archaic HR practices is performance management. Most of us have had horror stories with our ‘performance appraisals’, leading HR leaders to try to reinvent performance management all the time,” Bersin wrote. “When I was running Bersin & Associates years ago we grew the company by 30-40% year after year with no performance management at all.”
A 2015 study by PwC found that “growing frustration from employees and managers with the year-end performance process is leading many organisations to focus on creating a continuous feedback culture to take the emphasis off the year-end appraisal”.
But the PwC survey of 100 UK-headquartered organisations and 1,000 employees also revealed that the “majority of employees find the year-end performance review useful. Of those employees surveyed, nearly two-thirds ...
The annual decline was the first since July, a worrying sign that the surge in rolling blackouts is dimming a sector that is power-intensive.
Output in the domestic manufacturing sector fell by 1.1% on an annual basis in November 2022, data released by Statistics South Africa showed on Tuesday. But a 2% spurt in production compared to October signals the sector is not completely on the ropes.
The annual decline of 1.1% was the first since July, a worrying sign that the surge in rolling blackouts is dimming a sector that is power-intensive. You simply can’t make stuff without electricity unless you revert to earlier models of production.
Still, markets had expected a much worse number, with the Bloomberg consensus forecast pegging a 3.5% decline.
On a monthly basis, there was a 2% bounce in November after a 6.2% fall in October. This indicates that the sector may have been overwhelmed by the outages in October, but the November spurt was off a low base after the tumble the previous month.
There are still some green shoots in the face of an array of challenges.
The motor vehicles, parts and accessories component of the industry saw a 13.4% rise in production in November as the global and domestic auto sectors slowly shift into a higher gear.
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After a recovery in the 2021 domestic new vehicle market — increasing year-on-year by 22.2% to 464,493 units, compared to the 380,206 units sold during 2020 — total new vehicle sales recovered further by 13.9% to 528,963 units in 2022, industry body Naamsa said on Monday. That 2022 total was still 1.4% below 2019.
Vehicle export sales also maintained their rebound, with a 17.9% increase in 2022 compared to 2021 to 351,450. So the manufacturing numbers would be even worse were it not for the performance of the automotive sector, which points, among other things, to the release of pent-up demand.
By contrast, sectors that have seen declining production include food and beverages, which fell by 2.5% year-on-year in November. It’s probably not a good sign if South Africans are eating and drinking less.
The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key barometer of the health of South African manufacturing, rose for the third straight month in December, edging up to 53.1 from 52.6 in November. That points to some resiliency, but it’s hardly in the fast lane.
The business activity index has not been ...
Residents have been living without refuse services since for over four weeks with many turning to illegal dumping.
Piles of uncollected rubbish and overflowing sewage have been strewn across the streets of Nelson Mandela Bay since the end of November.
The municipality says challenges with its new digital payment system have delayed petrol purchases for council trucks.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents have been complaining about the filth. GroundUp recently visited Govan Mbeki township near the R75 Uitenhage Road and Old Uitenhage Road where rubbish has been piling up. Many people have resorted to emptying their refuse bins along the busy roads and burning the rubbish.
Nothandekile Dipa from Govan Mbeki said his rubbish had not been collected for four weeks. “Our grandchildren’s disposable nappies are in my two wheelie bins and the smell is unbearable. The flies buzz when it’s very hot.”
He said that most household bins get full weekly during the festive season. “This municipality is very disappointing. We couldn’t enjoy Christmas lunch under these smelly conditions. We had to ask our children to go and empty these bins in open fields,” he said.
Sipho Ntsondwa, chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Bay Informal Settlements Forum, said rubbish had not been collected in Westville since November. “We have a problem with rats because of illegal dumping. This is made even worse because there is rubbish all over the place. We appeal to our municipality to quickly resolve this problem. Our children are playing in these illegal dumpsites,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Nothembile Solwandle said the drain outside her home had been blocked since September. “I have lost hope in this municipality. On hot summer days the pigs bathe in that sewage. When we ask municipal workers why our drains are not fixed they tell us that the municipality has no fuel.”
A waste management worker told GroundUp that they had not been able to resolve drain blockages in December because the municipal trucks had no fuel. “There is a huge backlog of unattended drains.”
Municipal spokesperson Mamela Ndamase said there had been challenges with the fleet management system in December. “We migrated to a new smart digital fuel management system, launched in September, aimed at mitigating fuel theft, fraud, abuse and limited controls of the previous system.”
“There are teething challenges in its early development rollout stages. We are working with a service provider in this regard.”
Ndamase said the council was ...
Twitter, at the best of times, is not a friendly place. When the news broke that Adriaan Vlok, apartheid-era minister of law and order, had died over the past weekend, Twitter was awash with outpourings of strong emotion, mostly vitriolic. One anonymous Twitter user tweeted that Vlok was ‘beyond atonement’.
Adriaan Vlok was the only former apartheid-era Cabinet minister who applied for amnesty for some, but not all of his involvement in criminal acts. But like his fellow Cabinet members, he did not apologise during the TRC process. He was, however, granted amnesty in 1999 by the TRC after he testified about his role in apartheid brutality.
Then, in August 2006, Vlok made the gesture of washing the feet of his erstwhile political opponent, Reverend Frank Chikane. The feet washing reignited the debate on whether white South Africans have done enough to apologise for the past. It also sparked a debate on the gesture of apology itself.
Vlok washed the feet of Reverend Frank Chikane in a private meeting on 3 August 2006. He arrived at the Union Buildings in Pretoria with a towel, a bar of soap and a Bible. He asked to see Chikane, who then held the position of director-general in the Presidency. Vlok apologised to Chikane and quoted a verse from the Bible. Chikane was but one of scores of apartheid victims wronged by Vlok.
Vlok was accused of attempting to kill Chikane by dousing his clothes with poison while he was travelling in the United States in 1989. Vlok saw Chikane as the embodiment of all the people he had wronged and Chikane said he accepted the apology. Vlok said he had hoped that Chikane would accept the “small gesture” of washing his feet, in his bid to reconcile with God and his conscience. The fact that his apology exacted a personal price made his gesture more credible.
In its response to the foot washing, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) said that it accepted the apology, but that it was no substitute for full disclosure, the requirement set by the Amnesty Committee of the TRC. The general secretary of the SACC, Eddie Makue, urged Vlok and “others with knowledge of these crimes” to show their repentance by apologising to victims.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
At the time some speculated that Vlok’s timing was strategic: he apologised shortly before the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ...
‘We have lost dedicated soldiers of the Tambo Memorial Hospital community,’ say bereaved colleagues of the 12 healthcare workers who lost their lives following the tragic Boksburg tanker explosion on 24 December 2022.
‘The horrific site of the 24th December 2022 remains etched in our hearts and minds. We were robbed of family members, colleagues and compatriots. Today marks a painful reminder that life as we know it can change instantly. However, we are consoled by the memories and experiences we got to share with our departed heroes.”
These were the opening remarks of Tambo Memorial Hospital’s Dr Londiwe Buthelezi at a memorial service at the Boksburg Civic Centre on Tuesday.
The service, organised by the Gauteng health department in collaboration with Icebolethu Funerals and the City of Ekurhuleni, was held to honour the lives of the 12 healthcare workers who died following the tanker explosion.
Among the many attendees were Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo Ralehoko, head of department Dr Nomonde Nolutshungu and Gift of the Givers representative Ahmed Bham.
Of the 12 workers, 11 were nurses and one was a transporter within the Tambo Memorial Hospital community. Six of the nurses were from the surgical ward and three from the maternity ward, while two were general nurses.
GDoH Profile Slides_Posters by janet on Scribd
Speaking at the memorial, the hospital’s nursing manager, Mavis Malekane, described the deceased as dedicated individuals.
“The last two weeks have been the hardest for us who used to work day in and day out with the 12 deceased and knew them on a personal level – even harder on their families and loved ones. This tragedy has left us emotionally traumatised, angry and with so many unanswered questions. The more we hear of the testimonies of survivors, the more we are scared and develop panic attacks, thinking of the worst that could have happened if the incident happened on an ordinary day during the week. Our fallen heroes were dedicated people in their areas of specialities and their death has left a huge noticeable gap. Already we know that there is a shortfall of nurses in South Africa, especially speciality nurses. Before the tragedy, we were already struggling to fill up posts for speciality nurses.”
Another colleague, Sister Thembekile Champala, said:
“I saw them and how severe their injuries were. I wanted them to get better and go home because I know that they were diligent and hardworking, but God had other plans. ...
There will be no new lockdown or travel restrictions in South Africa after University of Stellenbosch scientists found a case of the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant in South Africa, Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, said during a press conference on Tuesday.
South Africa will step up testing and monitoring wastewater for particles of the Sars-COV-2 virus in response to the discovery of the XBB1.5 subvariant in the country.
The subvariant has been named “The Kraken” by international media as it is claimed to be the most transmissible of the Sars-COV-2 variants and subvariants.
The genomic surveillance team at the University of Stellenbosch identified the subvariant in a random sample. The sample was one of 97 collected.
Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, said the government would impose no other lockdown measures, adding that they will not reintroduce the compulsory wearing of masks.
The superintendent-general of the national health department, Dr Sibusiso Buthelezi, said he sent a letter with new testing guidelines to the provinces last night. The department also decided to broaden the categories of adults who can receive another booster shot to everyone who has not had one in six months.
Deputy health minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo said there would be no compulsory wearing of masks, including when schools reopen as children are not prone to severe Covid-19.
Phaahla said scientists found the XBB.1.5 subvariant in a batch of random samples taken in December. It is impossible to identify who it came from, and no contact tracing can be done. He said while the sample was tested in the Western Cape, the person was not necessarily from the province. The government also has no information about the patient’s condition.
Phaahla said infection and hospitalisation rates remain low in the country, and the health department’s suggestion to the National Coronavirus Council this morning was that imposing any new lockdown measures or travel restrictions is unnecessary.
He said they would continue to advocate for vaccination as it has been proven “beyond any doubt” that [it is effective] in preventing severe disease and death.
China infections impact
Phaahla said the number of infections, hospitalisation, and deaths in China and globally had increased dramatically. Last week there was a 45% increase in infections and 48% in deaths. But the WHO said last week that according to genomic surveillance results released by China, XBB.1.5 is not the dominant variant in that country.
But Phaahla said the spike in infections, hospitalisations, and deaths due to Covid-19 had caused ...
Any South African National Defence Force soldier found guilty will be ‘brought to book’.
Defence officials are investigating a “despicable” video circulating on social media which seems to show regional soldiers, including at least one member of the South African National Defence Force, contemptuously tossing the bodies of dead insurgents onto a pile of burning rubble, apparently after a battle in northern Mozambique.
The incident appears to have taken place on 29 November 2022 near Nkonga village, in the Nangade district of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province where a regional force called SAMIM and Rwandan troops have been fighting jihadi forces of Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaah (ASWJ) – affiliated to the Islamic State – since July 2021.
SAMIM – the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique – had announced on 30 November that two SAMIM soldiers, a Tanzanian and a Botswanan, and “over 30” ASWJ insurgents had been killed in the battle at Nkonga village.
The video shows the soldiers in military uniform throwing the dead bodies on a pile of burning rubbish, along with furniture and other objects. A uniformed soldier, clearly showing the South African flag on his sleeve, stands by and watches, apparently filming the scene on his phone. The nationality of the other soldiers cannot be discerned.
Darren Olivier, director of the African Defence Review, told Daily Maverick that according to South Africa’s Law of Armed Conflict Manual of 1996 and its Revised Civic Education Manual (2004), “maltreatment of dead bodies” is a grave breach of the law of armed conflict and might amount to a war crime.
It would also be a violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 4, fifth paragraph, of the 1929 Geneva Convention stipulates that belligerents shall ensure that “the dead are honourably interred”.
He said it appeared that the SANDF soldiers were not actively taking part in the actions but as they were on the scene they had an obligation to stop it.
On Tuesday the SANDF issued a statement about the video “depicting the South African National Defence Force and other unknown defence force members engaged in activities against the law of armed conflict”.
Brigadier General Andries Mokoena Mahapa, director of Defence Corporate Communication, said the SANDF had recently become aware of the video “depicting members in a yet unidentified Defence Force uniform throwing deceased bodies in a pile of burning rubble as well as the SANDF member(s) standing around ...
‘We saw it all on Facebook — so we immediately saw it stolen . We’re ashamed,’ said a relative of one of the arrested believed to be in possession of stolen property belonging to the NGO, following a burglary during rolling blackouts at its offices. Police were able to recover some of the stolen items.
“When we saw this, we couldn’t just let it slide,” said a relative of a man accused of buying stolen property that belonged to Gift of the Givers. The relative spoke to journalists on Tuesday 10 January in Cape Town, as his family returned the stolen items to the humanitarian organisation.
A break-in took place between 4am and 6am on Monday 9 January during scheduled power cuts in Penlyn Estate, where the Cape Town offices of Gift of the Givers are located. Staff arrived at work after 8am to find the premises ransacked.
Read in Daily Maverick: Vital equipment stolen from Gift of the Givers’ Cape Town office during early morning break-in
By Monday afternoon in Belgravia, the man said his seven-year-old nephew had noticed items in the house and alerted his grandmother who then called other family members. Among the items were a photo frame, a gas tank, and a box with the Gift of the Givers labelling on it.
“We saw it all on Facebook — so we immediately saw it stolen.”
According to the man, the items were bought in nearby Hanover Park by his relative. By Monday evening, the family was informed that their relative had been arrested.
On Tuesday morning, the family gathered to pack up the boxes and went to a nearby mosque to ask a spiritual leader for guidance.
“We came back and dropped everything here [at the Gift of the Givers’ offices], everything that we knew didn’t belong to us,” the man said.
Speaking during an impromptu briefing at the NGO’s offices on Tuesday morning, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said eleven people — not 10 as indicated by police — had been arrested. He confirmed several items such as a kettle, microwave, and some personal protective equipment were stolen, adding to the prior previous list of stolen goods including a laptop, televisions and clothing meant for fire victims.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“In this kind of situation, you are dependent on community support. Fortunately, we have a very good understanding with communities in this country. After a ...
As a brutal war rages in Europe, this writer considers what South Africa’s own violent history reflects to the wider world about reconciliation and even redemption.
First published on 24 February 2022.
I have been haunted by this image for months: an old man in an ill-fitting, pale blue shirt and flapping khaki pants, wearing a grey woollen beanie on his head at the height of summer. He is walking down an uneven brick driveway cautiously feeling each step with a three-footed aluminium cane.
He draws behind him a dark past, its heaviness bearing down on his frail body as he hobbles toward me. I have seen him often in my own past, but I have never actually met him before. I know much about his outer public and political life – as does all the world. I know, too, something about his inner life to have seen that he has spent the second half of his life trying at least publicly to atone for the horror of what he decreed should be done to others.
He was one of the most powerful and terrifying protectors of white privilege in the dying days of apartheid. As deputy and then minister of law and order, he was one of the inner circle, one of the merciless anointed, who had the power to condemn anyone in the country to imprisonment, torture or, often – death.
He ordered the clandestine bombing of the headquarters of Cosatu and of Khotso House, the seat of the South African Council of Churches. In 1989, while early talks between the ANC and the apartheid government were taking place, he gave a clear order to murder. He instructed secret agents to place underwear laced with a deadly nerve toxin in the luggage of the Rev Frank Chikane, who was very nearly killed by the poison and only survived through specialised medical treatment in the US.
In 1986, while Adriaan Vlok was deputy minister, 10 activists from Mamelodi near Pretoria were tricked by a security policeman into believing they were going into exile, injected with a drug that made them unconscious and then burned alive in a minibus.
Some years after the end of apartheid, Vlok spoke out about his evil career. In 2007 he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Chikane and received a 10-year suspended sentence. He also talked publicly of apartheid as a sin and how he had sinned against God and ...
Gullible and desperate South Africans are falling prey to sophisticated international scammers.
In November last year, the Limpopo Mirror and GroundUp exposed the shenanigans of Gollong Investments. It was a Ponzi scheme. It promised lucrative returns to “investors” and claimed to be backed by big business and the government. Investors were told that they were buying products, such as solar equipment, which would then be rented out to consumers and businesses.
Gollong has now collapsed but not before the scammers squeezed whatever money they could out of gullible participants. Even before disappearing in mid-December, the operators of the scheme, who appear to be from outside South Africa, had already launched a new investment scheme which is still actively promoted.
The entry-level investment in Gollong was R230, which had to be invested for 40 days. Investors were to get back R8 a day and at the end of the period were to be paid out R320, the equivalent of an annual yield of 357%.
For investors who had an appetite for risk, the promised returns were even more attractive. A R140,000 investment in the top-of-the-range G-VIP8 products would pay out R588,000 in 60 days.
The Gollong Investment scheme made use of referrals, and new investors had to be introduced by active investors. The scheme encouraged members to recruit investors, and the more people a member recruited, the higher the member’s earnings.
Gollong made use of a dedicated app that could be downloaded from the Google Play Store or by visiting the website. The app provided members with more options to invest, and it displayed information such as daily balances. Communication was via closed WhatsApp groups, with strict rules prohibiting members from posting “negative” comments.
The scheme caught the attention of investigative reporters, who quickly saw the red flags.
Gollong Investments claimed in its marketing videos to have been active in South Africa since 2021, but the company was only registered on 21 September 2022. A visit to its listed address in Edgar Road, Boksburg, showed that there was no such business operating there. The address of the “headquarters” in Piccadilly Street in London also proved to be false.
The names and pictures of the international “directors” of Gollong also turned out to be fake. A reverse image search of photos of Gollong staff revealed that the same “team” were the driving force behind several other dubious companies. None of these companies responded to questions about the legitimacy of their directors.
In ...
We live in dangerous times. It will take the alchemy of organised people’s power to turn that danger into hope. In producing a chemistry for change, social justice journalism has a vital part to play.
Over the Christmas holiday this year I went hiking in the upper reaches of the Drakensberg mountains. Ironically, amid resplendent natural beauty, it felt comforting that the danger I faced came only from falling off basalt cliffs, getting lost on overgrown paths that are away from the reach of ever-intrusive cellphone signals, or from an Alpine cold that can suddenly descend even on a hot summer’s day.
These dangers are natural dangers. Sadly, they are still everyday dangers for poor people in some remote parts of the world. But they felt different and far away from the man-made dangers of inequality, femicide, genocide, poverty, crime, corruption, climate catastrophe and war (including possibly nuclear war) that are part of our “normal” lives and which, in one way or another, face now almost all of humanity.
Confronting these man-made dangers, and turning them into opportunities, is going to be humanity’s challenge for 2023 and beyond.
Humanity begins at home
This is a year that will undoubtedly be pivotal in South Africa and in countries across the world.
Last year ended with the ANC fiddling while Mzansi burned. The ruling party has started 2023 in the same bumbling fashion. But in South Africa we are now taxiing on the runway to the 2024 general elections, and many influential people – including Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and Songezo Zibi – are making it clear that the future of South Africa lies in the hands of its people, not its political parties – 2023, they agree, is the time to begin campaigns to wrest back power and rebuild community fabric from below.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The ‘New Struggle’: An alliance of high-calibre SA leaders is needed to craft a better future for SA”
Read in Daily Maverick: “SA people, let’s work together to rebuild the country of our dreams”
They reflect a mood that is also taking hold on the ground. “We are the people we have been waiting for,” I have heard some activists saying.
Countering division and disinterpretation
We live in a world of deliberate disinformation and “disinterpretation”. This means that in the quest led by activists for renewal and social justice, access to quality journalism about what is happening to people, their rights and the reasons for injustice, ...
The trafficking of donkey hide to meet Asia’s growing traditional medicine appetites is wiping out the local animal population.
Donkeys are prized in West African communities as a valuable source of income and transport. But the animals are increasingly targeted by transnational organised criminal groups that profit from lax law enforcement, a ready West African supply and continual demand from Asia.
The trafficking is driven by a growing demand in Asia, especially China, where donkey skin is believed to have sought-after benefits. Gelatine, also called donkey-hide glue or ejiao, is extracted from the skin and processed for traditional medicine and other products. It is used as an aphrodisiac, an ingredient in cosmetics, and for curing ailments such as anaemia, dry cough, chronic fatigue and symptoms of menopause.
China’s domestic donkey population dropped from 11 million in the 1990s to six million in 2013. With high local market demands of over four million donkey skins a year, traders have turned their attention to Africa.
In Niger, donkey numbers have fallen dramatically as a result. Skin exports increased from 27,000 to 80,000 between 2015 and 2016, and the average price of a donkey rose from €29 in 2012 to €122 in 2016. These trends raise concerns that they might eventually disappear from the country.
In Mali, a Chinese company is reportedly slaughtering 300 donkeys daily and exporting their skins to China. In Burkina Faso, around 19 tonnes of skin were exported to China between October 2015 and January 2016.
Donkeys are killed cruelly, often with a hammer or a dagger. Social media platforms provide traders with anonymity and secure communication channels that connect buyers with traffickers.
According to Simon Pope, tactical response lead at The Donkey Sanctuary in the United Kingdom, “Donkey skin trafficking in West Africa has large regional ramifications in which Ghana plays a key role. Donkeys can be transported from as far as North Africa, Chad and Cameroon, through Burkina Faso, where a large market exists.
“From there, donkeys are transported to Ghana where they are slaughtered. It is estimated that 100,000 donkeys are slaughtered there every year, and their skins exported to China and Hong Kong.” Pope says that while “two years ago, a donkey would be sold for $20 and its skin bought for $150 in West Africa, the price of the skin has rocketed to $800 in China.”
Pope says Benin appears to have either acted or been appropriated as a laundering station for donkey ...
Red, white and green. The colours of the Italian flag and of every Italian’s passionate heart. And the colour of the classic Caprese Salad, which originates, as the name suggests, on the Isle of Capri. But beware: a terrible fate might befall you should you get it wrong.
Caprese: literally “of Capri”. The salad we call Caprese, or Insalata Caprese in Italian, originates on the Isle of Capri on the Tyrrhenian Sea where the Mediterranean meets the Bay of Naples, with its fabulous First World shopping, its yachting culture at Marina Grande where celebrities rub shoulders with tourists, and the world-famous dish whose name reminds us of its genesis. And where, once upon a time, a dish was served ostensibly to please a poet, futurist and co-author of the Fascist Manifesto, founded by Benito Mussollini, Il Duce himself.
Fitting, then, that just a glance at any Caprese salad brings to mind the country’s very flag, with its red for tomato, its green for fresh basil, and its white for mozzarella. It is thought to have been invented as a sandwich filling by an unnamed mason who, after the end of World War I hostilities in 1918, enclosed tomato, basil and mozzarella in bread, although the ever-cautious Wikipedia does not go there.
The Italy Heritage website does, however, saying it appeared on the menu at the Hotel Quisisana in the town of Capri in the early 1920s and where in 1924 (the website claims) Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism, “raged against pasta, calling it outdated”. In short, he wanted pasta abolished. Which makes me want to rush out and order a large plate of pasta which, of course, quickly faded into ignominy and has scarcely been heard of since. A true visionary, that man.
But the La Cucina Italiana website offers a different perspective: “In 1932 Marinetti published a cookbook titled The Futurist Cookbook, which criticised much of Italy’s food traditions, particularly taking a swipe at pasta (the nerve of him!). so it’s said the hotel (Quisisana) created Caprese salad, a pasta-less dish in honour of these contrarians.” Since Marinetti’s Futurist Cookbook only appeared in 1932, the Italy Heritage date seems suspect.
Then again, Marinetti was a proponent of futuristic vegetarian cooking of lighter flavours without flour, and one theory has it that it was invented in honour of his “manifesto” of this approach to food; and in that, of course, his futurism was ...
What you actually need to know about attachment styles.
Attachment theory is almost everywhere. In magazines and books, in the news, on social media and in our conversations with each other.
Originally rooted in developmental psychology, the theory explains how we form and maintain close relationships in order to survive and thrive in the environment we are born into. It was quickly picked up not only by pop culture but also by social psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry as well as child welfare practice.
But some of the most important features of attachment theory are getting lost in translation. Misunderstandings are leading people to believe they have a “bad” attachment type that is wreaking havoc on their relationships.
Attachment theory is not a gauge of whether someone has the “wrong” or “right” attachment type. Its purpose is to help people understand what coping strategies they use when the people they are closest to are, or are perceived to be, unavailable or inconsistently responsive.
When psychologist John Bowlby developed attachment theory about 70 years ago, he had two goals in mind. He wanted to create language that can be used to scientifically formulate and test hypotheses. It worked: hundreds of studies have since been carried out exploring the many facets of attachment across the human lifetime.
Bowlby also wanted to develop a language that appealed to the public: evocative and relatable. Attachment theory soon became the talk of the town and was picked up by other scientists, practitioners, politicians, lawyers and parents. It gave people a new way to understand infant-parent and adult relationships with friends, family and romantic partners. Unfortunately, the meaning has been diluted.
What attachment theory means
The confusion starts with the term attachment itself. It is often understood by the public to mean a child’s love for their parent or the bond a parent forms with their child. People also use attachment to describe how adults relate to and interact with others.
In attachment theory attachment refers to a more selective type of relationship in which only a few people are sources of support. A parent does not become attached to their baby but acts as the infant’s caregiver and attachment figure.
Their caregiving may nonetheless be influenced by their own attachment type. As adults, we only become attached to a limited number of people although our attachment type in close relationships also tends to reveal itself during our social interactions with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers.
People also ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Binge-eating disorder is perhaps the most common eating disorder out there, yet many people still aren’t aware the condition exists. In fact, some people with the disorder don’t even realise they have it.
Television personality, author and hair stylist Jonathan Van Ness recently shared on social media his struggles with his eating and weight after “years of feeling out of control with food”. He described suffering from binge-eating disorder – an eating disorder characterised by consuming large amounts of food with a sense of feeling out of control.
Binge-eating disorder is perhaps the most common eating disorder out there, affecting between 0.6-2.3% of people worldwide. It’s estimated that it may occur two to three times more frequently than anorexia nervosa – and some evidence suggests that cases are on the rise. Yet, despite how common it is, many people still aren’t aware the condition exists. In fact, many people with binge-eating disorder don’t even realise they have it, meaning they don’t receive a diagnosis until their 30s or 40s.
Given the harm that can come from the condition, awareness raised by people like Van Ness can help more people get the help they need – instead of suffering for years alone.
Here’s what else you need to know.
Feeling out of control
The thing that sets binge-eating disorder apart from occasional overeating or periods of emotional eating is a sense of feeling out of control when eating, or if it interferes with your daily life.
Some other signs of binge-eating disorder include:
Eating until feeling uncomfortably full,
Eating large amounts of food, even when not hungry,
Eating more quickly than normal,
Feelings of disgust, low mood, or guilt after eating.
With the proper support, it’s often possible to identify binge-eating disorder before serious problems develop. It’s important to catch it early, as it can lead to a range of health problems, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol.
Other mental health problems are also common, with up to 70% of sufferers reporting mood disorders – such as depression – or anxiety. Around one-quarter of people with binge-eating disorder have attempted suicide. Binge-eating disorder can have a major effect on a person’s daily life, with people reporting poorer performance in school and lower employment rates.
A tragic irony with the under-recognition of binge-eating disorder is that it’s a highly treatable condition. Most people will be recommended psychological treatments, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, which can help them understand the factors that trigger their ...
About half the population of people taking regular medicines don’t take them as prescribed. Here are some tips to help you remember.
Taking regular medicines is common, and it’s not unusual for people to miss an occasional dose or take it outside the regular time window. Forgetting to do something is normal, but in the case of medicines, forgetting to take them at the prescribed time can have negative health effects.
By one estimate, about half the population of people taking regular medicines don’t take them as prescribed. Is this a breakdown in communication? A lack of understanding of their importance? Forgetfulness?
Largely, reasons for not taking medicines as prescribed can be organised into two types: intentional and unintentional. Unintentional is when a patient intends to follow the prescribed regimen but doesn’t due to factors outside their control, including forgetfulness, difficulties understanding dosing instructions, or cost. But for some, a patient consciously decides not to follow the prescribed regimen. This could be due to side effects, or not believing in the necessity of the medicine. Medication-taking is complex because each person is unique and the challenges to each person’s medication-taking can vary quite significantly. The most effective strategy is one that also considers why a person isn’t taking their medicine. What are some of the support strategies available, and are they actually helpful?
Pill boxes
The most commonly used methods to support medication adherence are organisational strategies such as days-of-the-week pill containers. These are functional if a patient has to take many different medications. But they’re not always suitable – if the user does not fill the container correctly or doesn’t remember to collect the prefilled pack (called a Webster-pak, blister pack or dosette box) from the pharmacy, this simple intervention quickly becomes ineffective.
Some medicines can’t be packed because their stability is compromised with repacking, and patients with reduced eyesight or dexterity can struggle to use these containers. So while they are an effective prompt, simple reminder cues such as days-of-the-week pill containers may not be ideal for everyone.
Alarms
Pre-set alarms are another commonly used reminder method. However, this strategy is not infallible, and the literature shows many patients miss medication doses when out of routine because they turn their alarm off subconsciously when occupied with another task.
Reminder alarms only seem to be effective when they are interactive or personalised. For example, in a handy combination of both methods above, you can now buy automated pill ...
Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a US hospital with abdominal pain a day after his supporters stormed Brasilia demanding military intervention against his loss in the October election, according to his wife.
The conservative leader, who travelled to the US on 30 December to skip the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is being treated at the AdventHealth Celebration, a hospital near Orlando, O Globo newspaper reported earlier.
Bolsonaro’s wife confirmed he’s hospitalised though she didn’t say where. A former aide to Bolsonaro, who requested anonymity to discuss his health, said he was being treated for possible intestinal obstruction. The ex-president has undergone several surgeries after being stabbed in the abdomen while campaigning in 2018.
The former president on Monday evening posted a photograph of himself on his Twitter page showing him in a hospital bed, adding that he’s in Orlando. “Thanks for the prayers and messages of speedy recovery,” he said.
Emails and calls to the US hospital went unanswered.
While Lula has alleged that Bolsonaro had been encouraging the riots in Brasilia, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday the Biden administration hasn’t received any requests from Brazil to extradite the former president.
Bolsonaro published on social media on Sunday, speaking out against the depredation of public buildings carried out by his supporters in Brasilia, and again on Monday, touting his government’s achievements.
Back in Brazil, a day after the country’s capital was stormed by Bolsonaro’s supporters, Lula worked from his office, where he met with governors as well as the heads of congress and the Supreme Court.
“We are not going to allow democracy to slip out of our hands,” Lula said at the meeting. “They want a coup, and there won’t be a coup.”
All 27 governors accepted Lula’s invitation – even allies of Bolsonaro such as the governor of São Paulo state, Tarcísio de Freitas – to meet in the Palácio do Planalto, damaged by rioters the day before.
“Brazilian democracy will become even stronger,” the governor said following the meeting.
The president, governors, heads of congress and court justices then all walked together to the top court building, which had also been vandalised, as demonstrations in defence of democracy took place in several cities nationwide, including São Paulo.
In Congress, also attacked on Sunday, a decree to intervene in the Federal District government through the end of January was approved by the lower house in a symbolic vote. ...
South Africa can only be saved by the Van Zyl Slabbert Commission's majority recommendation that 75% of all members of Parliament should be elected by us, the voters.
For 20 years, every African National Congress government has sat on the proposal of a majority of the commission headed by Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert that South Africa needs electoral reform in which MPs and provincial councillors are under the control of us, the voters, and not party headquarters.
Only we, the citizens of South Africa — and not politicians — can rescue and renew the country. We need a reform of the Electoral Act so that the majority of MPs are directly elected and can be removed by the citizens of South Africa.
It is shameful that nearly 30 years after the end of apartheid, black people should still be cut off from the power to choose their own representatives, and remain powerless. We demand an end to this electoral apartheid, in which all power over MPs is held by party headquarters.
After the curtain closed on the 55th ANC national elective conference at Nasrec on 20 December, it is important to acknowledge that the new ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) is incapable of cleaning up Parliament, and consequently cleansing the South African state and government of corruption and mismanagement.
Party bosses must not be allowed to continue to appoint their stooges as MPs. It’s a very destructive political racket.
ANC leaders linked to corruption
The Zondo Commission of Inquiry report has revealed that 97 ANC leaders have been implicated in corruption related to State Capture, with links to the Gupta family and Bosasa run by the Watson family.
There is Malusi Gigaba, the former minister of public enterprises, who administered the decline and destruction of Eskom, Transnet and Prasa under his watch. Gigaba is among those listed in the Zondo Commission report, yet he features in the top 20 list of the newly elected NEC. He will be an ANC member of Parliament according to the current Electoral Act, under which party bosses like him decide who becomes an MP — without a word from us, the citizens.
Gigaba’s estranged wife, Noma Mngoma, confirmed that the Guptas renovated Gigaba’s father’s house and settled his sister’s R800,000 debts. Such NEC members cannot be trusted with the resources of the state, yet we the people are powerless to remove them.
This is not what the struggle against apartheid was for. There ...
The Green Connection — part of a coalition of environmental and civic organisations opposed to seismic surveys — says it will appeal against the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s decision to give the go-ahead to the latest project.
Almost a year after its efforts to conduct marine seismic surveys were thwarted in the Western Cape High Court, Searcher Geodata has received environmental approval which, if unopposed, will enable the company to search for oil and gas off the West Coast of South Africa.
The 3D surveys, which entail sending powerful blasts of sound — a destructive practice, many suggest — below the seafloor, are envisaged to be conducted along a 30,000km2 stretch of coastline from St Helena Bay to Hondeklip Bay.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) slipped in the approval on 20 December 2022 after an application was lodged on 1 November by London-based Searcher Geodata’s newly appointed environmental assessment practitioner (EAP), Environmental Impact Management Services (EIMS).
In an environmental assessment notification dated 6 January, EIMS noted that the period between 15 December to 5 January was specifically excluded from the legal timeframes, which is why the notification could only be sent after 5 January 2023.
Interested and affected parties, including local communities and small-scale fishers, now have until 26 January 2023 to lodge objections to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
To date, seismic surveys have failed to persuade the courts despite DMRE accommodations to the fossil fuel exploration sector and the Petroleum Agency SA’s extensive apportioning of offshore oil and gas rights to 16 companies, including Impact Africa (nearly half-owned by Hosken Consolidated Investments), Total, Tosaco Energy and Shell.
In March last year, small-scale fishers and civil rights organisation, We are South Africans, obtained an interdict barring Searcher Geodata from conducting the surveys off the West Coast, for lack of public consultation.
In his ruling, Judge Daniel Thulare of the Western Cape High Court wrote: “If Searcher truly wanted to ensure that [small-scale fishers] were included in the consultation process, it would have advertised in isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans.”
This time, Searcher and EIMS appear to have heeded the judge’s admonition and consulted more extensively, from local municipalities and provincial authorities to (the fisher-driven social enterprise) Abalobi, Green Connection, Groundwork, various fisheries and the World Wildlife Fund.
The appeal, which was lodged on 8 September 2022, included advertisements in all three languages, including details of the public participation process, ...
Call it unfounded new year optimism if you like, but the JSE All Share Index and the JSE Top 40 Index closed at record highs on Monday in a reflection of easing economic concerns and looser Covid restrictions in China.
The record levels at which stock markets are trading are something of a misnomer as the global economic consensus is still pretty gloomy for 2023 as a whole. Yet, the equity markets are apparently responding to the possibility of less intense bad news than they expected previously.
SA’s equity markets have benefited in a number of ways. First, the easing of Covid restrictions in China has opened up the possibility that SA’s influential mining sector might continue to reap the benefits of Chinese and Asian expansion.
The Chinese turnaround has also boosted one of SA’s largest companies, Naspers, which is strongly linked to China’s Tencent.
Meanwhile, markets in the US have been boosted by indications that inflationary forces might be receding, providing more fuel to SA’s equity markets.
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There may be another effect too: the start of the new year. Januaries are typically good for equity markets. The effect is not large — perhaps a percentage point — and it’s possible it has something to do with tax planning rather than new year optimism.
Whatever the case, the JSE Top 40 Index — containing the biggest companies on the JSE — closed at 72,223, up 2% on Friday’s close, and beating the previous record in March last year of 71,058. The All Share Index didn’t rise by quite so much, but still entered record territory, closing at 78,343, a head higher than its previous record of 77,536, also recorded in March last year.
The increase from the beginning of the year has been stellar for these indexes, which rose by more than 5% in just a week. However, this is a little deceptive: although SA’s equity markets did hit highs last year, overall, the markets ended 2022 roughly where they started.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “JSE starts 2023 where it started 2022 in rand terms, uncertain times ahead”
However, over the longer term, the JSE has tended to treat investors well, doubling over the past decade, despite a long period between 2014 and 2020 where not much happened. The strong start to the year might well provide some impetus for future growth. DM/BM
The South African motor industry is slowly getting back to its feet in the wake of the pandemic, even though the bounceback last year was slower than that seen in 2021.
New vehicle sales are improving, but they are likely to take a while to reach even pre-pandemic levels, as industry body Naamsa said 2022’s sales were 1.4% below those of 2019.
Still, that’s reason enough to celebrate, especially after the battering inflicted by the Covid lockdown.
After a “robust” recovery in the 2021 domestic new vehicle market — increasing year-on-year by 22.2% to 464,493 units, compared to the 380,206 units sold during 2020 — total new vehicle sales recovered further by 13.9% to 528,963 units in 2022; still less than the 536,612 units sold in 2019. This, Naamsa said, is despite the many national and international headwinds.
The new vehicle market registered its 12th consecutive month of year-on-year growth during December 2022, with total sales at 41,783 units — a 16.2% increase on the same period in 2021.
December 2022 YoY volumes increased by 15.4% for new passenger cars and 16.1% for light commercial vehicles.
Medium commercial vehicle sales increased YoY by 36.9%, with 23.1% more heavy commercial vehicles and buses sold.
December 2022 boasted some bumper sales: 26,302 units — a 24.2% YoY increase on 2021 — left South African ports.
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Overall, out of the total reported industry sales of 41,783 vehicles, 37,479 units were sold via dealers; 7.3% were sold to the vehicle rental industry; 1.5% to the government and 1.5% to industry corporate fleets.
Naamsa notes that new vehicle sales are a good barometer of the health of the domestic economy.
“Following a fairly upbeat first quarter 2022 industry performance, global supply chain disruptions — along with the impact of the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, elevated inflation, an upward trend in interest rates, record fuel prices, as well as record highs in the frequency and intensity of load shedding — weighed heavily on both business and consumer confidence.
“However, the new vehicle market’s performance in 2022 remained resilient despite the multiple national and international headwinds.”
Unsurprisingly, lifting the Covid restrictions — and the accompanying recovery in business and leisure travel — helped the vehicle sector regain some market to counter the growing pressures on the cost of living, but the majority of consumers are buying smaller and more affordable cars.
South Africa is also plagued by consumer price inflation ...
The annual parade is built on a long tradition of celebrating the freedom of slaves in the Cape. Now minstrel organisations are at loggerheads after the event was renamed the Hollywoodbets Cape Town Street Parade in November last year.
The Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Second New Year) tradition began when Dutch colonists gave their slaves a day off on 2 January to celebrate. However, after slavery was abolished in South Africa in 1834, Tweede Nuwe Jaar became a celebration of freedom marked with street processions, music and song
In November last year, Cape Town’s Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade was renamed the Hollywoodbets Street Parade after the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA) obtained sponsorship of R3.5-million a year for three years from Hollywoodbets.
The Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) is furious about the name change and wants the government to take over the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade to preserve its name, culture and tradition.
The CTMCA also accused the City of Cape Town of hijacking the event and attempting to commercialise the Tweede Nuwe Jaar tradition — which the city denies.
CTMCA chairperson Sedick Soeker said the renaming of the parade was unconstitutional and the CTMCA was not consulted.
“The reason for celebrating Tweede Nuwe Jaar is for the freedom of slaves, which has been ingrained in our forefathers for nearly a century.
“Public participation was required because renaming the street parade is similar to renaming a street. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis did not even invite us to the launch of Tweede Nuwe Jaar in September 2022. We were purposefully left out in the cold,” said Soeker.
Read in Daily Maverick: Cape Town’s traditional Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel street parade is back
He said an iconic event cannot be renamed without consulting all roleplayers, including the community. The Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade, he said, belongs to the communities and is not for sale. He accused the city and the KKKA of “commercialising our culture”.
Soeker said the only way to reverse the renaming was for the national government to take over the event.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t make millions, but we should at least make sure that our people are rewarded for their efforts to preserve this culture.”
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The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BCRA) has backed the CTMCA and started a petition to protect the tradition and culture associated with the parade. Osman Shaboodien, the chairperson of the ...
‘We try to prevent animal cruelty by means of education. However, this attack would not have been prevented with education as there was a specific aim with this attack — to kill the animal for medicinal reasons,’ said an official with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.
A vicious attack on a seal at Monwabisi Beach outside Cape Town on Sunday evening was apparently carried out with the aim of using the animal’s parts for medicinal purposes, SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse told Daily Maverick.
The four culprits, who were arrested and are facing animal cruelty charges, repeatedly hurled rocks at the trapped seal. Due to the severity of its injuries, it had to be humanely put down.
Pieterse said the animal suffered from severe facial and skull fractures and was bleeding heavily from the mouth. One of its eyes was crushed and most of its teeth had been broken off.
“According to one of the suspects who was questioned as to what their motive was in trying to kill the seal, he explained that he and a group of friends had been approached by a traditional healer who pointed out the seal to them and offered them R3,000 to kill it,” said Pieterse.
Shock
Condemning the attack, the City of Cape Town said this was one of the most brutal attacks on wildlife in recent times.
Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews said he could not imagine the pain and stress the seal endured during the attack.
“I am shocked and horrified and call on the public to please keep on notifying us when they see animals being attacked, harmed or in distress,” said Andrews.
“I want to remind the public to please keep a safe and respectful distance from marine animals at all times, and to not interfere or feed them.”
This is the second incident involving a seal in less than a week, after a juvenile Cape fur seal attacked two beachgoers at Clifton 4th beach in Cape Town. It’s believed the seal was suffering from domoic acid poisoning as a result of eating red tide algae blooms.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Seal attack at Clifton beach could be linked to toxic algae bloom”
Both incidents are said to be rare occurrences, with the stoning of the seal the first of its kind in several years. Pieterse said, however, that the SPCA was aware of instances of seal body parts washing up on beaches.
“We try to prevent animal cruelty by ...
South Africa’s third attempt at starting a franchise T20 tournament has arrived in the form of the SA20. This time around, things look a bit different.
Six newly formed teams are vying for the inaugural SA20 trophy, which begins on Tuesday with a Western Cape derby between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals.
The sides, all bought by Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners, bear a close resemblance to their Indian counterparts, in name — Chennai Super Kings have become Joburg Super Kings, for example — dress and, in some cases, players.
The benefit of having close ties to the IPL is big for South Africa, not least in the large Indian fanbase it will attract, which will aid the tournament’s viability — something at which previous attempts at starting a global T20 league in South Africa have failed.
Logistics
There will be 33 matches played in total, including the two semifinals and the final.
Each team will play the other sides twice, home and away, in the round-robin phase of the tournament, after which the top four teams will meet in the semifinals.
All the playoff matches will take place in Gauteng — at the Centurion and Wanderers stadiums — because Newlands, Paarl and St George’s stadiums will host the Women’s T20 World Cup, which starts on 10 February.
The SA20 matches run for a month, from 10 January to 11 February, with a one-week break in the middle to fit in the Proteas’ three-match ODI series against England which begins on 29 January. All three ODIs will take place in the Free State and Northern Cape — two in Bloemfontein and one in Kimberley — as there is no SA20 team situated there.
SA20 league commissioner Graeme Smith said this will be the last time there will be international matches while the SA20 is in process.
“From next year on there will be clean windows throughout the Betway SA20,” said Smith.
Growing talent
South African players will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the world, with each team allowed four overseas players in their playing 11.
“As South Africans, we need this competition for the game to grow,” said the captain of the Joburg Super Kings, Faf du Plessis.
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“There’s no doubt that adding world-class players like Rashid Khan and so many more will benefit South African cricket.
“Our whole professional system is going to learn ...
Documents that were kept under wraps for 50 years give us insights that help explain why efforts to agree on climate change interventions have failed so far. The scale of the climate change catastrophe we face may seem overwhelming, but empowered by scientific knowledge, there are enough people who share the human traits of reason and consciousness who can use hitherto untried ways to persuade governments that it is in their interests to act on it.
How many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
So asked Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize laureate for Literature in 2016, in one of his immortal lines. He followed this question with another:
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows That too many people have died?
Sixty years after first asking these questions, his answer – “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” – needs updating. Besides addressing the question of gender, the answer is no longer blowin’ in the wind but is now howling in the hurricanes of climate change. As for the answer to his second question – “’til he knows that too many people have died” – the millions who have already been killed or uprooted by the ravages of climate change, alas, have not yet proved to be nearly enough.
But a possible silver lining is not that far away: Climate change will either be Dylan’s ultimate answer, as we finally run out of time, or – and herein lies our hope – we will triumph over the final hurdle of an essential beginning. That beginning awaits the cognitive and emotional leap required for the disruptive understanding of why the UN’s latest international gathering on the environment – last year’s COP27 in Egypt – was more of the same blah, blah and blah heard at the UN’s first international gathering on the environment 50 years previously in Copenhagen.
Most attempts to explain the failure of COP27 involve considerations of the undoubted power of the global fossil fuel industry. Some – like here – argued that effective societal power has too often ignored or insufficiently recognised the political dimension of the industry’s power while overemphasising the economic one. Similarly largely overlooked is that socioeconomic stability is conditional on harmony between these two spheres of power. Governments – in all their global forms – are the ultimate seat of political power. Such is the usual (ultimate) ...
The South African authorities responsible for combating crime face an urgent need to recognise the challenge of future-proofing their skills. Without collaboration with the private sector and with institutions that can assist to identify new threats and the resources required for modern policing, the opportunity for criminal minds to exploit investigative weaknesses will grow.
At some point over the past 10 years, most readers will have heard of Bitcoin, even if they have not directly encountered it. Bitcoin is the most commonly-known and widely-used cryptocurrency (crypto), but others include Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.
It is worth spelling out the basics of cryptocurrencies. Because they are inherently digital in nature, one cannot physically hold a Bitcoin. The movement of Bitcoins is recorded on a public ledger referred to as the blockchain — a ledger that is essentially a record of all transactions that occur using Bitcoin and is open to the public, meaning that every transaction is open to a certain level of scrutiny using a “blockchain explorer”. Although it would seem reasonable to assume that this public record means anonymity would be difficult to achieve, this is not the case.
Cryptocurrency is a national currency in only one country — El Salvador, where it shares the status of national currency with the US Dollar. Its adoption has been slow due to scepticism of the cryptocurrency by ordinary citizens in that country, so how commonplace Bitcoin transactions will become there remains to be seen.
It makes sense to consider crypto as a value-holding asset like a share. One may contend that this does not differ from ordinary money, but to date, crypto has lacked recognition as a form of money in most jurisdictions around the world.
In June 2021, a “Position Paper on Crypto Assets” was published by the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) to make recommendations to lawmakers on how best to regulate the crypto environment and all that goes on in it. The paper’s foreword by Chairperson Olaotse Matshane unequivocally states that “crypto assets are not ‘money’”.
One of the major selling points of crypto is the decentralised and unregulated nature of transactions. However, the recent FTX crash shows that some regulation may be necessary in order to protect ordinary members of society.
The IFWG’s position paper posits three possible approaches through which governments may deal with crypto assets: ban them completely, regulate them, or simply do nothing. The option of doing nothing was considered and ...
There are more unplanned pregnancies in countries where men hold more power in society, likely because women don’t have a say in how many children they have. The opposite is true when men support their partner’s use of contraception.
Jessica Hinds spent her 28th birthday hunched over the toilet.
“Things were really bad. She even lost a tooth,” her 38-year-old partner, Grant Hinds, recalls.
Jessica was pregnant and experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a rare but particularly severe form of nausea that affects about 2% of expectant mothers. Unlike the milder form of morning sickness that commonly occurs in the first three months of pregnancy, HG can last well beyond the first trimester, and in some cases for the entire term.
Some women lose more than 5% of their pre-pregnancy body weight because of the constant vomiting. Stomach acid reaching the mouth can also wear away tooth enamel, which could compromise a pregnant woman’s dental health.
Grant says he can’t shake the image of his gaunt, exhausted partner that day, sweating and uncomfortable, and at her wit’s end.
Jessica was not the happy person he knew when she found out she was pregnant around four months earlier. When their daughter, JJ, was born in 2022, they agreed: they’re not going through that again.
‘It’s a family thing’
With their newborn around one month old, Grant told his partner he was thinking of getting a vasectomy. This is a form of male contraception in which the sperm-carrying tubes leading from the testes are cut.
In fact, he’d been thinking about going for the snip even before the couple met, but their experience during Jessica’s pregnancy convinced him that it was the right thing to do — for both of them.
Grant says the vasectomy was “a no-brainer” in terms of being a way for him to support their family planning decisions.
Using modern options for birth control, such as contraceptive pills or injections, an intrauterine device, condoms or, as in the Hinds’ case, a vasectomy, allows a couple to decide how many children they want and how far apart they should be.
Researchers analysing a sample of 4.5 million births from 77 countries found that, specifically in poorer countries, the chance of an infant dying increases if a woman has two babies less than three years apart.
Moreover, when siblings are further apart, they may have better nutrition and be healthier, because mothers may have more money to spend on food and time to invest ...
A measles outbreak that began in Limpopo has spread to five provinces, and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has urged parents to vaccinate their children.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has urged parents to get their children vaccinated after a measles outbreak that has spread to five provinces in fewer than two months, with data revealing dismal vaccination rates.
The first outbreak was confirmed in Limpopo in October 2022.
“It is never too late to vaccinate,” the NICD’s statement reads, adding that major vaccination campaigns have commenced or are being planned countrywide.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. The most common symptoms are fever and a rash that looks like small, flat, red spots all over the body, that do not form blisters.
Other symptoms include a cough, conjunctivitis and a runny nose.
The virus can cause severe complications like encephalitis (an infection in the brain) as well as blindness, diarrhoea and dehydration. It can be deadly, and infants under two years of age are most at risk.
Measles vaccines are given routinely at six and 12 months of age. Unvaccinated children who are older than six months can receive free vaccinations at any state clinic.
Between October and December, the NICD tested 2,252 samples for measles antibodies, of which 14% tested positive.
Since the first week of December, however, the positivity rate in measles cases jumped to above 20%, with new cases in Limpopo, Mpumalanga (69 cases), North West (80), Gauteng (14) and the Free State (11).
A single case was reported in the Eastern Cape, five in KwaZulu-Natal, three in the Northern Cape and four in the Western Cape. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies a measles outbreak as three or more cases reported within 30 days in a defined district. However, the cases in these provinces were confirmed further apart than 30 days.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The number of cases continues to increase daily as blood samples and throat swabs are submitted to the NICD for [testing],” a statement from the NICD reads.
The outbreak was first declared in Limpopo on 11 October 2022, with most patients between the ages of five and nine, while some babies and adults were also infected. Of the 131 measles cases confirmed in the province, 80% had an “unknown” vaccination status, 9% were vaccinated and 11% were unvaccinated.
In Mpumalanga, an outbreak of measles was declared in November — 63% ...
South Africa’s new premier T20 competition — the SA20 — kicks off on Tuesday with great anticipation. Online tickets are sold out for the opening match between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands.
There are six teams vying for the inaugural SA20 title, with the two sides from the Western Cape — MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals — opening the tournament on Tuesday at Newlands Stadium.
Gauteng also has two teams — the Joburg Super Kings and the Pretoria Capitals.
In the east, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape will play out of the windy city of Gqeberha, while in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban’s Super Giants will hope the rain stays away from Kingsmead for the duration of the tournament.
MI Cape Town
MI Cape Town has the only non-South African captain in Rashid Khan, the leg-spinning all-rounder from Afghanistan.
The T20 maverick is regarded as one of the best bowlers on the planet and is ranked No 2 in the world.
The side will play out of the picturesque Newlands Cricket Ground. However, they play their last home match on 23 January, after which all their games will be away, regardless of where they finish on the standings.
Former Australian batter Simon Katich will coach the side from Cape Town.
They boast a star-studded lineup that includes Proteas pace ace Kagiso Rabada, batting prodigy Dewald Brevis and England T20 stars Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone.
Proteas batters Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton are also in their ranks, as well as experienced local fast bowler, Beuran Hendricks.
Paarl Royals
There will be an air of expectation surrounding the Paarl Royals in the first SA20 season. In the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League in 2008, their namesake, the Rajasthan Royals, claimed the inaugural series title.
Paarl Royals captain, David Miller, confirmed that there have been conversations in the dressing room about efforts to emulate that famous victory.
The side will be coached by JP Duminy in his first stint as head coach of a professional team since retiring from playing in 2019.
The Royals from Paarl have two World Cup-winning captains in their ranks in Eoin Morgan (50-over) and Jos Buttler (T20) who both won the most recent limited-over World Cups with England.
South African-born England opening batter Jason Roy is also among their ranks.
Of the South African contingent, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi are the big local stars.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
The famous, buzzing band, along with local supporters at ...
Public interest organisation Sakeliga has instructed its legal team to prepare an application for contempt of court against Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for failing to provide it with documentation relating to the government’s Covid-19 response.
Public interest organisation Sakeliga has instructed its lawyers to draw up an application to have the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, jailed for contempt of court.
The organisation said last week that she had refused to comply with a court order to provide it with documentation relating to the government’s Covid-19 response and instead sent them thousands of pages of documents that were already in the public domain.
Sakeliga is taking Dlamini Zuma to court in her capacity as minister and as political head of the department that managed South Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a State of Disaster in March 2020.
Sakeliga instituted legal action against her after she refused it access to documentation explaining lockdown regulations and decisions to keep the State of Disaster in place. Sakeliga has indicated that it will legally challenge the decision to declare a State of Disaster.
Dlamini Zuma had, in a lawyer’s letter, indicated her opposition to making the documents public, saying they were covered by privilege that attaches to the Cabinet. Her lawyers also filed court papers making technical objections to the court case. But she never filed opposing papers.
As a result, the Pretoria High Court ordered that Dlamini Zuma hand over the documents Sakeliga requested.
Dlamini Zuma was to hand over the documents by the start of December. This deadline was extended to 6 January, but last week the organisation’s CEO, Piet le Roux, said they had not received a satisfactory response from her.
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The documents to which Sakeliga seeks access are:
Records and documents relied on by Dlamini Zuma when she made decisions about Covid-19 regulations, including those on which decisions to extend the State of Disaster were based;
Reasons for the regulations; and
Deliberations, communications, and memorandums.
Le Roux said Sakeliga had instructed its attorneys to proceed with a contempt of court application.
“While [it is] obvious that Dlamini Zuma is frustrating Sakeliga and the court, it is a legal requirement that we prove her contempt with a particular court application. It is necessary to force her to either reveal the records or face jail time.”
He said they had received “thousands of pages ...
‘It’s a total mess at the moment,’ said Gift of the Givers’ Western Cape project manager, Ali Sablay, after a break-in at the humanitarian organisation’s Cape Town offices.
The Gift of the Givers’ Cape Town office was broken into early on Monday morning. A laptop, a desktop computer and other office equipment were stolen from the office in Penlyn Estate, said Ali Sablay, Gift of the Givers’ Western Cape project manager.
He told Daily Maverick that when staff arrived on Monday morning, they saw a main gate open and became suspicious.
“They saw the building; it was completely ransacked. it’s a total mess at the moment,” said Sablay.
“The main laptop has been stolen from our office lady — it’s very, very unfortunate for the underprivileged people of the Western Cape because, on that laptop, people register for food parcels.”
The laptop was also used to register schools for food gardens and stationery.
“So these people not only stole from Gift of the Givers, [but] from people as well. Information has to be recaptured and people have to come again,” said Sablay.
He said TVs and desks were also stolen, along with awards and certificates. Gift of the Givers was still trying to establish whether personal protective equipment and medication for diseases such as high blood pressure were among the stolen items.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The organisation was busy providing relief to residents of Philippi, Masiphumelele and Khayelitsha, which had been hit by fires in recent days.
“Last week, our teams were making up clothing packs for the six fires in the Western Cape. to distribute to fire victims — that, unfortunately, has all been stolen as well,” said Sablay.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Thousands left homeless as blaze ravages Cape Town informal settlements”
Sablay said the organisation thanked community members who had assisted the police with investigating the break-in. However, Sablay said there were elements within communities who could have been responsible for the break-in while their families benefited from services provided by Gift of the Givers.
“It could have been your mother, your grandmother’s name on that laptop,” said Sablay. “This does not affect Gift of the Givers’ operations; this was not our warehouse that was broken into, it was our office that was broken into.”
This was a setback for communities who needed aid from the organisation, as “that will be a bit delayed now”. Sablay appealed for anyone in the area ...
At some point over the next three months — but don’t hold your breath — the South African mining industry should know if the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has finally procured a functioning mining cadastre to replace its utterly useless Samrad system for applying for mining and prospecting rights.
A mining cadastre is an online portal that allows the public, free of charge, access to view existing mining rights, exploration permits and related stuff, as well as the known geological features of a mining jurisdiction. It brings transparency to the sector, serving the interests of all stakeholders.
The disaster that is Samrad is the main reason behind a massive backlog of applications for mining rights that has starved South Africa’s mining industry of badly needed investment.
The DMRE only revealed in February 2021 that the logjam had reached over 5,000. In November 2022, it said that had been reduced to 2,625 — still a number that hardly inspires confidence.
Over this period, the DMRE had been tendering for a Samrad replacement that would have involved building a new cadastre from scratch — a pointless exercise as proven, off-the-shelf cadastral systems are available. The Minerals Council SA urged the DMRE to take one of the proven options and even offered to help pay for it.
This raised suspicions that the DMRE wanted to keep the state of play of mining applications under wraps to conceal its incompetence and corruption. But the hopeless and hapless DMRE could hardly pull off this transparent stunt.
Light finally emerged at the end of this long shaft in October 2022 when DMRE director-general Jacob Mbele made a commitment that a cadastre would be procured by the end of the financial year, which is 31 March.
Botswana and Namibia
The DMRE has since said it was “benchmarking similar systems in countries that have successfully implemented a cadastral”, notably Botswana and Namibia.
Both countries use an off-the-shelf system provided by Trimble, which is headquartered in Colorado. So I thought I would check it out, and compare it with Samrad. I did so between Christmas and New Year, and the results were illuminating.
I tried to log on to Samrad, but was immediately stymied by the fact that even online systems at the DMRE get Christmas off. I am not making this up.
“ALL USERS ARE KINDLY INFORMED THAT SAMRAD WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FROM 23rd DECEMBER 2022, IT WILL BE REOPENED ON 03 JANUARY 2023.
“Wishing ALL ...
The British government is considering sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, a move that would mark the first time a Western country would provide Ukraine with Nato-standard main battle tanks to fight Russian forces.
A key member of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party said his government would continue to send heavy weapons to Ukraine to help it fight back against Russia’s invasion, after already pledging Marder armoured fighting vehicles.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was sending reinforcements to two frontline towns in the Donetsk region that he said had seen some of the bloodiest fighting since Russia’s invasion.
Key developments
UK considers sending battle tanks to Ukraine, officials say
Commodity ship heads for inspection after Suez Canal mishap
Putin’s energy gambit fizzles as warm winter saves Europe
McCarthy’s Speaker deal could stymie defence spending next year
US adds offensive weapons for Ukraine in $2.85-billion package
On the ground
Russian troops began a powerful assault on Soledar in Donetsk after suffering heavy losses in a previously unsuccessful attempt to capture the city, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram, citing Minister Hanna Malyar.
Moscow’s forces shelled a market and residential areas in the Sumy, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, killing at least two people, injuring others and damaging at least 100 buildings, Ukrainian authorities said.
Moscow’s forces also carried out seven missile and 31 air strikes, as well as 73 multiple rocket launcher attacks over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
US’s Sullivan says Ukraine aid ‘rock solid’ despite McCarthy deal
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the $47-billion in new aid for Ukraine approved in the $1.7-trillion government funding bill last month would not be at risk. His comments followed a deal struck by new House Leader Kevin McCarthy with GOP hardliners to cap 2024 spending in a move that could potentially include efforts to cut defence spending.
“That is money that has been appropriated,” Sullivan said. “I do not see that money getting taken away from us and therefore our ability to have the resources to support Ukraine, with both the security assistance it needs, as well as the economic humanitarian and energy assistance it needs.”
Estonia to move ahead of EU with plans to seize Russian assets
Estonia plans to introduce a legal blueprint for seizing Russian assets this month as the Baltic nation moves ahead with a bid to deliver funds frozen under European Union sanctions to Ukraine.
The legal framework will come by the end of January as the European Commission develops ...
Without proper supervision and control, the use of 50,000 armed civilians could aggravate security problems.
Fifty thousand Burkinabe civilians have joined the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) to fight the violent extremists currently occupying nearly half of the country. The recruitment campaign, launched in October 2022 by Burkina Faso’s authorities after the 30 September coup, ended on 18 November. More than 90,000 applications were received, and those selected will undergo 14 days of military training.
The military authorities intend to assign 35,000 VDPs in their residential communities and the remainder alongside the country’s Security and Defence Forces nationwide.
The use of civilian auxiliaries to support the security forces in the fight against terrorism has been tested since 2020 under Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was ousted as president in last year’s January coup. The civilians intervened mainly in the Kaya (North-Central), Ouahigouya (North) and Fada N’gourma (East) regions.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the new president of the transition, has made recovery of the territory lost to violent extremists his priority, as did Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who Traoré overthrew in September. While Damiba considered dialogue with terrorists, Traoré seems to be focusing on military action based on the concept of popular defence. This approach is a reminder of the 1983 establishment of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution under Thomas Sankara.
Traoré has called for the mobilisation of all Burkinabe in addressing terrorism. He has increased engagement with national actors, including the various components of the armed forces, the VDP and representatives of political parties and civil society organisations. The president also noted the need for unity and effective collaboration between the security forces and the VDP. Traoré also invited citizens to participate in the war effort by making in-kind or cash contributions.
In addition, a recruitment campaign of 3,000 soldiers and 1,400 gendarmes was launched in November 2022 to reinforce the Security and Defence Forces. The National Theatre Operations Command has also been reorganised. This structure, created in February 2022 to coordinate military operations and linked to the transitional president, is now under the authority of the commander of the armed forces.
Measures to reorganise the armed forces have also been taken. The aim is to widen their national coverage and counter the expansion of terror groups who have laid siege to northern towns such as Djibo, hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid. The number of military regions has increased from three to ...
The idea of mandatory voting for African countries is worth considering. It can protect and enhance individual freedom and promote more inclusive and transparent democratic processes.
In many African countries, voter turnout in elections is often low. According to the Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), between 2000 and 2015 the average voter turnout in sub-Saharan Africa was about 56%. This is lower than the global average of 66% over the same period. When voter turnout is low, it can result in election outcomes and policies that do not accurately reflect the will of the people. To address this, African countries should consider implementing mandatory voting as a way to strengthen democracy on the continent. This would require all eligible voters to participate in elections, which would improve the legitimacy and representativeness of African governments. Consequently, it will promote greater political engagement, individual freedoms and accountability.
Africa is a diverse and dynamic continent with many political systems and cultures. However, one common challenge facing many African countries is low voter turnout in elections. In some cases, turnout can be as low as 20% to 30%, leading to concerns about the legitimacy and representativeness of the political process.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Debunking voter registration campaigns in Africa: Lessons for Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe”
Concerns such as lack of transparency in the vote-counting process and fraud, including ballot stuffing, undermine the legitimacy of African elections. While these factors have contributed to voter apathy, a higher voter turnout can help mitigate these issues. For instance, a higher voter turnout leads to increased oversight, with more people at polling stations. In turn, it becomes more difficult for fraud to go unnoticed.
This year, 24 African countries are set to hold local and national elections. Equally, voter turnout in these elections will be an essential indicator of the legitimacy of these elections. One way to potentially increase voter turnout is through the implementation of mandatory voting policies. However, there may be logistical and financial challenges in enforcing such policies. These can be overcome through careful planning and the allocation of resources such as polling stations and staff to ensure a smooth voting process. Ultimately, increasing voter turnout can lead to greater legitimacy and representation in these African elections.
To encourage voter turnout, African governments can pass laws that require all eligible citizens to vote in national elections. The legislation can outline penalties and incentives for voters. For instance, voters ...
After dominating the 2022 United Rugby Championship, the Stormers started 2023 with a defeat while the Sharks also slumped to their first loss in six games, but the Bulls are back to winning ways.
Bulls director of rugby Jake White is recovering from emergency surgery to an abdominal problem, but he will be buoyed that his charges produced a strong performance to beat the Dragons 29-14 at Rodney Parade in Newport at the weekend.
White did travel with the team to Wales but had not been feeling well and stayed at the hotel instead of attending the match. Assistant coaches Werner Kruger and Russell Winter handled the match-day duties.
White’s condition deteriorated although he was able to return to South Africa before collapsing with severe abdominal pain on Sunday afternoon shortly after landing. It resulted in an emergency two-hour operation on Sunday evening.
The team arrived back at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday mid-morning at 10.10am. Later in the day, White complained of debilitating stomach cramps and was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention, necessitating an emergency operation.
“It is never nice to see one of our own down, but we are extremely confident that Jake is receiving the best medical attention available and our team of medical experts will provide him with all the necessary support he will need to make a full recovery,” Bulls chief executive Edgar Rathbone said.
“We would like to thank the hospital team, doctors and all those who rushed to offer their expertise and helped with attending to Jake. We have seen, first-hand, why South African medicine is rated among the best in the world.”
White will take a break from his duties until 8 February at least, as his condition is assessed over the coming weeks.
Kruger and Winter will prepare the team for this week’s European Champions Cup game against the Exeter Chiefs at Loftus and they go into that match in a confident mood.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over the Dragons kept the Bulls in third place on the standings and ended a two-match losing streak.
Stormers struggle
The high-riding Stormers came back to earth with a 24-17 defeat in Glasgow against the Warriors on Sunday. It was a weak performance by the Cape side with Glasgow deservedly winning although it took a last-minute try from wing Sebastian Cancelliere — his second of the match — to get the job done.
Manie Libbok uncharacteristically missed four out of ...
South Africans are desperate for a new beginning, for a return to the democratic values of 1994. It has been argued that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hand has been strengthened in the ANC, which should give us hope that a programme of renewal of South African democracy and socioeconomic transformation will be implemented. But this is not the case. For genuine renewal to take place, we need a reset through broad-based national dialogue.
I am on Facebook (FB) but am cautious about expressing views because it tends to lead to a range of conversations, often with Facebook friends with whom I would prefer not to engage. I prefer to simply share news and opinion pieces that may not be accessible to many others.
Periodically Facebook posts what they call a “memory”, resurrecting what someone has posted before, and asking whether that person wants to share it again. In my experience it is often something that does not warrant a rerun.
But a post that was written on New Year eight years ago, at the height of the Jacob Zuma era, has come up as a “memory”. And the concerns I expressed there are exactly the same as those that I and many others have today, after some years of what was initially dubbed a “new dawn”:
“This is to wish all FB friends a good 2015 and hoping that this will be a year where we can take steps to recover the democratic promise of 1994, restore constitutionalism, curb patronage and corruption, put limits on state and private violence and put patriarchy on the defensive.”
I inserted a preface this year: “The sentiments expressed 8 years ago are the same as I wish for this year – it is telling how the darkness persists and we need to find a way of finding the light of renewed freedom.”
South Africans want a fresh start
South Africans are desperate for a new beginning, for a return to the values of 1994, ideas and ideals that derived from a long, hard liberation struggle, that cost many lives, much suffering and sacrifice by very many people, mainly from the African community, but also from Indians, Coloureds, and a significant number from the privileged white community.
That struggle aimed to build a “new South Africa”, which would turn its back on the racism and state terror that characterised all features of apartheid, impacting on people’s lives, livelihoods, liberties, cultures, customs, belief systems, their ...
Families devastated, with newly-bought school uniforms and stationery burnt in the fire.
A Khayelitsha mother says she is devastated after losing all her savings and belongings in a fire on Saturday morning. According to the City of Cape Town, 81 structures in Town Two were gutted, leaving 192 people homeless.
Khaziwe Dyantyi told GroundUp that she grabbed her three-year-old daughter after hearing neighbours shouting that shacks were alight.
“I rushed out of my shack with my kid and left all my belongings inside except my pyjamas and my gown . I have no materials to rebuild my burnt shack,” said Dyantyi tearfully as she stood in the charred remains of her shack.
Read about last week’s devastating fires here: Thousands left homeless as blaze ravages Cape Town informal settlements
When GroundUp visited the community on Sunday afternoon, many people were sorting through the burnt rubble and material. While some were rebuilding their homes, Dyantyi, who is a domestic worker in Kuilsriver, was distraught that she barely had anything to salvage. She said she lost all her belongings which included a bedroom set, fridge, clothing, washing machine, and laptop.
Dyantyi’s brothers were helping her rebuild her shack with the charred zinc sheets, burnt poles and nails so that she can have a place to sleep.
“I rely on my child’s grant for survival most of the time as my bosses only ask me to work sometimes,” she said.
Vuyiswa Makhaphela also lost her home. She lived with her two children and four grandchildren and sold sweets and chips from her shack for a living.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Makhaphela said they were struggling to breathe as their shack was already engulfed in smoke by the time they woke up. “We ran out of the shack without removing anything. The strong wind made the fire come at high speed,” she said.
“I used my grandchildren’s grant to buy them stationery two days ago. We have no clothes to wear now. My kids have to go to school, but they have no uniforms and stationery,” she said.
“The youth rebuilding my shack with the damaged materials are hungry, but I have no food to give them as my groceries are also burnt,” she said.
Makhaphela said that the high density in the area contributed to why so many people were affected by the fire. “The firefighters came quickly but could not enter our area because we don’t have roads ...
The fatal shooting of a bodyguard and the apparent attempted assassination of Fort Hare University’s vice-chancellor appears to be part of a larger pattern of violence against campus management.
The former deputy vice-chancellor of Fort Hare University, Oscar van Heerden, has said the apparent attempted assassination of the vice-chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, at the weekend has confirmed his decision to resign out of fear for his personal safety.
He simply was not going to “stick around and find out whether I’m next”, Van Heerden told Daily Maverick.
The incident on Friday, 6 January, in which Buhlungu’s driver, Mboneli Vesele, was killed, was the latest violent attack on Fort Hare staff and management. There have been several instances of targeted violence against management.
When Vesele arrived at Buhlungu’s home in the latter’s car on Friday evening, he was shot by assailants in a nearby vehicle. The 52-year-old died at the scene, but Buhlungu was not in the car. The suspects fled the scene. The South African Police Service said Eastern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, had ordered their immediate arrest.
As of Sunday, 8 January, no arrests had been made, police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana told Daily Maverick. No motive had been established yet either.
Plea to the President
Following the attack, Buhlungu was moved to a safe location. Owing to the high volume of calls and messages he has been receiving, he was unable to provide comment to Daily Maverick.
Buhlungu made a plea to President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide an assurance about his safety. “I need the person who runs the country to say to me and to my executive and my staff: ‘You can rest assured you are covered, you are protected, you are safe.’ That’s where my headspace is right now,” he told journalists.
Buhlungu was set to continue his duties on Monday, with increased security provided by the university.
Condemnation
The attack has been widely condemned by the higher education community. Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said he condemned “this barbaric murder of Mr Vesele and the attempt on the life of Professor Buhlungu. This attack is not only an attack on the University of Fort Hare, but also an attack on the entire post-school education and training sector.”
Nzimande also sent condolences to Vesele’s family and the university.
Universities of South Africa (USAf) also condemned the attack.
CEO, Dr Phethiwe Matutu told Daily Maverick. “Violence of this nature clearly has potential to destabilise the sector and is therefore ...
Whether you use pork, lamb or mutton, the objective is the same: to turn out fall-apart tender ribs packed with moreish flavour that gets your fingers sticky. Pass the jammer lappie, somebody.
Never is a jammer lappie more called for than when everyone dives into a plate piled high with ribs, fastest fingers first. A jammer lappie, for the uninitiated, means literally “sorry cloth”, a damp tea towel or similar passed around for people to wipe their hands (and faces) on while eating messy meaty things without the nicety of a knife and fork.
Few South African meat eaters are going to argue with the claim that sticky ribs are a national favourite for the braai, shisa nyama or at your local steak ranch. It’s food for putting a bib on, ignoring the knives and forks, and not making any apology for the mess that is slowly spreading across your face.
I am not a fan of the ubiquitous “steakhouse sauce” which you can buy these days in big plastic bottles from trade stores; it’s a tradition that emerged from the popularity of monkey gland sauce in decades gone by and evolved (or devolved) into that ubiquitous sticky gloop. It gets brushed onto steaks and ribs at a thousand steakhouses throughout the country. If your ribs and steaks all taste the same at every place you order them, that’s most likely what you’re getting. They don’t taste of anything in particular; they taste of sweet, sour and brown. The idea of it is still sound; it’s just the recipe that has deteriorated into an unidentifiable melange of who-knows-what; the kind of sauce you get when it’s designed by a committee.
With friends coming over for a braai supper the other day, I spent the afternoon slow-cooking a whole lamb rib in the oven, then left it to cool until we were ready for me to finish it on very hot coals. They were already fall-apart tender but not so much so that they might disintegrate while crisping them on the coals. That’s the trick.
Whatever your choice of liquid flavourings (such as rine wine, vinegar, honey, molasses, soy sauce etc), you need a carrier stock. Many recipes call for chicken stock, but because I used red meat (rather than pork) I chose to use beef stock. Don’t be too shy with the quantities either. Ribs are not about subtlety, although for my taste resorting to ...
Sosaties need sweet and sour, chutney and vinegar. Add some Obies to get them nice and tipsy before they go on the coals.
Chutney, Old Brown Sherry and dried peaches. That’s a combination redolent of Cape cuisine and good times at the braai side. All you need is a Klippies & Coke to wash it down.
These sosaties are quick and easy to prepare, but you need to allow time for them to marinate. Once the coals are ready, be careful not to overcook them as the pork will dry out. It’s always tempting to cook pork for longer, but they don’t take long at all to cook.
(Makes 4 skewers)
Ingredients
600 g pork fillet
½ cup brown grape vinegar
½ cup Old Brown Sherry (Obies)
½ cup Mrs H S Ball’s chutney
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp dried crushed garlic
16 dried peach slices
1 red bell pepper
Funky Ouma black garlic pink salt
Method
Mix together the vinegar, sherry and chutney and stir in the ground ginger and dried crushed garlic.
Cut the pork into thick chunks and douse them in the marinade. Add the dried peach slices and make sure everything is well covered by the marinade. Let them steep in the fridge for several hours.
Prepare hot coals. Remove the pork and peaches from the fridge a couple of hours before cooking them.
Thread pieces of pork onto skewers, interspersed with peach slices and pieces of red pepper.
Season the skewers on all sides with Funky Ouma Black Garlic Pink Salt. I love this product and swear by it. But season with plain salt if you prefer.
Braai them close to hot coals, turning every 30 seconds or so. The fruit will char, but it’s a burn that adds to the flavour; it’s good char. Four minutes on each side should be enough. DM/TGIFood
Fish cakes don’t have to come out of a packet from the freezer at the supermarket. Just as fresh hake is a world apart from frozen, fish cakes made by your own hand are just better. And they’re not at all difficult to make.
A fish cake is defined by Wikipedia as “a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden”. Hardly an inspired description (it’s Wikipedia, hardly known for its way with a word) but concise it is.
The starchy ingredient is most often potato, boiled or steamed and then mashed. At the very least the mashed potato will be seasoned with salt. In a more inspired version other things will be added; mustard, dill, fennel, pepper, horseradish, garlic, spring onions, chives.
We may think of fish cakes as essentially British, and they are that, but they’re Asian too, and Canadian, Indian, Danish, Israeli, Norwegian, Portuguese, even Romanian. Recipes for them have sprung up wherever there is water, salty or fresh, and wherever there is fish.
Some versions are crumbed, others battered, yet others neither of those. In Britain, the fish used is usually cod, in Canada they use cod too, but salted flakes of it. In Caribbean nations, cod is also used, and dipped in batter before frying.
Among the best known in the world are Thai fish cakes, spiced with red curry paste and bound with egg, then served with sweet chilli sauce. Fish cakes made with shrimp are also popular on Thai menus.
I made fish cakes more or less the British way, but used hake, because a simple white fish that flakes easily and from which you can easily avoid the bones makes sense. But you could use good old Cape smoked snoek to make a fish cake of another flavour altogether, or, if you’re feeling really flash, Norwegian salmon fish cakes, really strong and salty.
You can also vary the additional ingredients to your liking; swap one herb for another, add egg, or an extra egg, for a firmer outcome, or go wherever your imagination takes you.
I made my own tartar sauce to go with them, using a bit of chopped pickled ginger among the other more usual ingredients to give it a bit of flair. Here are the recipes for both.
Ingredients
500 g hake fillets
500 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
300 ml full cream milk
1 bay leaf
1 lemon leaf
1 ...
Those packets of biltong ‘dust’ you can buy are useful for more than just soup. Blend them with crème fraîche or cream cheese, aromatics and butter for a spread for sandwiches or crackers.
I often make a textured biltong pâté using tiny pieces of soft biltong along with a quality cream cheese. But have you seen the price of cream cheese lately? Eina. This spread differs in that it includes butter, al0ng with crème fraîche, but you could use a cheaper soured cream.
Keep it in the fridge for those moments when you’re choosing a spread for your toast or sandwiches. The lemon in it will preserve it for several days.
Ingredients
80 g biltong dust
250 g crème fraîche
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 Tbsp butter, melted
Salt and black pepper
Method
Mix the biltong just with the crème fraiche, lemon juice, mustard, cumin, salt and pepper. Melt the butter and stir it in very quickly. Pack into ramekins or pots that have a lid, or a plastic tub with a lid. Use them as a spread for crackers, in sandwiches for a picnic, or as part of an al fresco supper. DM/TGIFood
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to squeeze Europe by weaponising energy look to be fizzling, at least for now.
Mild weather, a wider array of suppliers and efforts to reduce demand are helping, with gas reserves still nearly full and prices tumbling to pre-war levels. After the sharp turnaround over the past month, Europe is likely already through the worst of the crisis.
The combination of conditions — including China’s Covid woes blunting competition for LNG cargoes — would take the edge off inflation, stabilise Europe’s economic outlook and leave the Kremlin with less leverage over Ukraine’s allies, if they persist.
While a cold snap or delivery disruptions could still throw energy markets into disarray, optimism is growing that Europe can now make it through this winter and next.
“The danger of a complete economic meltdown, a core meltdown of European industry, has — as far as we can see — been averted,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a key architect of the country’s response to the energy crisis, said during a trip to Norway, which has taken Russia’s place as the country’s biggest gas supplier.
The crisis, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, has already cost Europe close to $1-trillion from surging energy prices. Governments have responded with more than $700-billion in aid to help companies and consumers absorb the blow. They also scrambled to unwind their reliance on Russian energy, especially natural gas.
The European Union is no longer importing coal and crude oil from Russia and gas deliveries have been significantly curtailed. The bloc has filled some of the gap by increasing supplies from Norway and shipments of liquefied natural gas from Qatar, the US and other producers.
In Germany, storage facilities are about 91% full, compared with 54% a year ago, when Russia had already been emptying facilities it controlled. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has since nationalised Gazprom PJSC’s local units and has spent billions of euros filling reserves.
Energy-saving measures from industry and households as well as the warmest January temperatures in decades have helped preserve that cushion.
“We are very optimistic, which we weren’t really back in the fall,” Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s network regulator, said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD on Friday. “The more gas we have in storage facilities at the beginning of the year, the less stress and cost we will face in filling them again for next winter.”
Benchmark gas prices have fallen to a ...
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set for talks with the union leaders directing the wave of strikes that have hobbled the UK since the start of the year, as the threat of more widespread action hangs over the country.
The nation will get a mild respite from rail strikes this week after a series of stoppages all but brought the sector to a standstill in the first few days of 2023. Employees on the Elizabeth Line, as well as ambulance workers, still have walkouts scheduled.
Trade-union leaders from various sectors have been invited to talks on Monday in a bid to avert further strikes by NHS, rail and other workers. It comes after the boss of one of Britain’s biggest transport unions last week called for coordinated strikes involving tens of thousands of public sector workers.
Unions want immediate pay improvement, but the government is more willing to talk about public-sector wage settlements for 2023-24. Sunak’s government has signalled it won’t sweeten the package for 2022, which is what has triggered the strikes. The Guardian reported Sunak may be open to a one-off payment to workers.
Some have also been angered by government plans to bring in new legislation enforcing minimum service levels during strikes.
“We want to have a reasonable, honest, two-way conversation about pay,” Sunak said in an interview aired this weekend. “We’re about to start a new pay settlement round for this year.”
Restless Tories
The slew of strike action and scenes of disarray in the health service are becoming an increasing political problem for Sunak, swallowing up any chance of a political honeymoon and distracting from his attempts, notably in a speech last week, to assert his leadership.
That’s left him under pressure from members of his own Conservative Party and the wider public to fix the mess. With less than two years until the next election, his Tory party is more than 20 points behind the main opposition Labour Party in the polls.
The industrial action is also dampening economic activity in a country which is already likely to be in recession — it remains the only G7 economy with GDP below pre-Covid levels.
Monday’s meeting comes after Sunak hosted a “recovery forum” of health professionals and officials at Downing Street on Saturday to address issues including improving emergency treatment and speeding up social-care discharge.
He left the meeting “with a renewed sense of confidence and optimism that we can get to grips with this ...
The ANC, at its 55th conference and the January 8th statement delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa, had a chance to chart a clear path for economic policy. As usual, the party that could not organise a binge at a mampoer festival blew it.
Comrades, amandla! The ANC has once again resolved to be irresolute on economic policy. Onward to the pot-holed road back to the future. Viva policy uncertainty, viva!
That pretty much sums up the economic policy thrust of the ANC’s “hybrid” bash in the Free State, the proposals a mixed and often contradictory bag that includes stale measures that keep cropping up, only to be kicked into the long grass of indecision.
Precisely all of the economic and development resolutions that had been adopted or “resolved” remained unclear on Sunday — there was still no document outlining them as we went to press — underscoring the ANC’s dysfunction.
One source told Business Maverick that there was a fight between the technical team and some members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) who wanted “to introduce some madness on various fronts and twist the final resolutions”.
Great way to craft and clarify policy!
It also underlines the fact that some of these “resolutions” are a long way from being resolved.
Most ANC constitutional changes were not even passed as fatigue overtook delegates in the early hours of Sunday morning. The dop served up at the gala dinner probably didn’t help.
Still, a number of policies appear to have emerged against the backdrop of the shoddy, litter-strewn roads of the Free State where the ANC’s transparent policy failures stand in stark contrast to the promises it always makes.
“Nationalisation” of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) remains on the cards — a pointless exercise that only serves to spook investors who fear that it is a precursor to changing the central bank’s mandate to include things like job creation and economic growth. There was talk of doing just that but Business Maverick understands the mandate was left alone, and its independence remains secure until this topic sprouts like an unwanted weed at the next ANC policy gathering.
For the record, the SARB’s primary mandate “is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth”. Also for the record, the central bank does not have a printing press that can churn out jobs. And “sustainable economic growth” is already part of its mandate, and ...
This year appears to be the last chance for the ANC to attempt to do anything real. Its leaders will have to grasp the stinging nettle of difficult moves, most of which will alienate parts of its vast constituency.
While the ANC’s revamped leadership now appears to finally have a clear mandate to get down to work, the clock is ticking to next year’s national and provincial elections — in a country that is going through multiple emergencies, where people are signalling strong and deep dissatisfaction with the ruling party’s almost three-decade-long custodianship of the country.
This is a daunting set of challenges for any party, even one whose leadership may finally feel there’s more manoeuvring space. Should President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new majority actually use this mandate, it could institute interventions whose time is long overdue.
This year appears to be the last chance for the ANC to attempt to do anything real. Its leaders will have to grasp the stinging nettle of difficult moves, most of which will alienate parts of its very broad constituency.
With the dust finally settling on the ANC’s 55th national conference, following its final conclusion on Friday morning, there is now ample evidence that Ramaphosa has a stronger mandate to actually govern.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) appears to be less divided than before, and those who are seen as obviously supporting what used to be called the “RET faction” are fewer in number. In the top seven national officials, Ramaphosa also appears to, at least for now, have a stronger hand. (By Daily Maverick’s calculations, 57 of the 80 members of the NEC are now in his camp.)
Crucial to this is the position of secretary-general, occupied now by the ever-energetic Fikile Mbalula — the man who has been vocal about his support for Ramaphosa for years now.
Also, the margin of the President’s victory over Zweli Mkhize was much more comfortable than his victory five years ago (579 vs 179), when he was just able to prevail against Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
There is also the behaviour of those who supported Mkhize that appears to support the picture of Ramaphosa’s strength. While the KwaZulu-Natal ANC delegates were bullish about Mkhize’s prospects all the way to the results announcement, they were also uncharacteristically quick to accept defeat — a critically important move to endorse Ramaphosa’s re-election.
This may mean that he does not face the kind of sniping that he suffered from ...
Several thousand protesters broke into the buildings and were seen on television smashing furniture inside the Supreme Court and the Congress.
Supporters of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday invaded the Supreme Court, the Congress building and surrounded the presidential palace in Brasilia, according to television images.
In an echo of the 6 January 2021 invasion of the US Capitol by supporters of former US president Donald Trump, several thousand protesters broke into the buildings and were seen on television smashing furniture inside the Supreme Court and the Congress. Local media estimated about 3,000 people were involved.
Beyond comprehension. As @davidrkadler states: “A policeman arrives on horseback to contain the insurrection and the Bolsonaristas beat the horse and bloody the policeman to the ground. I am speechless.”
Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) January 8, 2023
Many of the protesters dispute the result of the 30 October election in which leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat Bolsonaro. The former president repeatedly questioned, without evidence, the credibility of the country’s electronic voting system, and many of his hardcore supporters believe him.
Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida 48 hours before the end of his mandate.
Lula was in São Paulo for the weekend and on a trip to the interior of the state.
Lula’s Workers Party asked the office of the top public prosecutor to order public security forces to act in containing the demonstrators. DM
Reporting by Peter Siqueira, Adriano Machado and Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Daniel Wallis
We are just over a month away from this horrifying, unjustified genocidal war that Russian terrorists brought into our lives reaching a full year — but we remain undaunted.
For almost a full year, Vladimir Putin’s murderous horde has been raining missiles on our homes and infrastructure, killing and raping civilians, and doing all they can to erase our culture, our heritage, our history, and us. Yet, God is on the right side of history and standing strong with us against evil every single day. And I have proof.
Putin believed he could take Kyiv in three days? He couldn’t even take Bakhmut in seven months.
Russia wanted to demilitarise Ukraine? We now have more weapons than ever, and many of them are Russian — they left behind tonnes of weaponry and military machinery when they sprinted from Kharkivska oblast.
Putin wanted denazification? Millions of Ukrainians who used the Russian language in their everyday life now don’t want to hear a word spoken in that language.
Putin wanted to freeze Europe and Ukraine? It has been the warmest winter in a century. Last week the temperature in Ukraine reached 14°C — unheard of for January. The temperature in Russia is predicted to hit -25°C next week.
Putin wanted to destroy our crops and block our ports to starve Africa? We are delivering grain protected and unharmed.
Putin wanted to blackmail the world with gas and oil prices? They are lower now than they were before Putin started the war. Moreover, Putin’s efforts to weaponise energy exports have backfired so badly that most EU countries have completely eliminated their reliance on Russia.
Putin wanted to push back Nato borders? Two new countries, Sweden and Finland, have been invited to join Nato since 24 February 2022.
Putin claimed he has the best Black Sea fleet with unmatched modern weaponry? Its flagship Moscow, Putin’s pride and joy, was sunk with only two of our missiles.
Putin claimed he has the best modern weapons, ammunition and machinery? We have seen him crawling on his knees, begging Iran, Belarus and North Korea for help. Truly pathetic.
For the first time since the event was launched almost 10 years ago, Putin didn’t hold his flagship end-of-year press marathon in December.
And, mind you, these are just a few facts that immediately came to mind. Truly, a Loser of the Year — a title well earned by Putin.
Next week I will continue the series on our heroic soldiers, women ...
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Agency says its Food Price Index hit its highest levels in 2022, with food inflation driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, among other factors. Prices are still high but, after a massive spike, eased slightly.
The Food Price Index (FPI) of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) declined for nine consecutive months in 2022, ending the year with a 2.6-point drop in December to 132.4 points. Yet prices soared so rapidly in the first three months of the year, mainly because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that the average for 2022 was a record high of 143.7 points, 18 points higher than the 2021 average of 125.7.
The good news is that global food prices ended 2022 roughly where they finished 2021. The FPI in December 2021 was 133.7. The bad news is that they remain elevated by historic standards, contributing to an unfolding hunger crisis in Africa and elsewhere at a time of high global inflation.
Still, the trend is obviously welcome. The decline of global food prices from the peaks scaled in March last year mirrors the fall in oil prices over the same period.
Both have been key drivers of the global inflationary pressures that have triggered a relentless tightening of monetary policy by central banks worldwide, including South Africa’s. And cooling fuel prices can also bring food prices down further as they are a key cost in the agri-industry pipeline.
In South Africa, fuel prices have also been in retreat, not least because global price moves translate into monthly changes at the pump, depending on the rand’s performance against the dollar. South Africa’s petrol price at the pump fell on 4 January by more than R2 a litre, and almost R2.70 for diesel, a reflection of faltering global prices and mild rand gains in December.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
But food prices maintained their rise in 2022, partly because of lag effects, partly because of domestic factors such as the cost pressures on local producers.
Food inflation in the year to November accelerated to 12.8% from 12.3% from the previous month, raising the burden on poor and working-class households in an economy with an unemployment rate that is well over 40% based on its widest definition.
This remains a potential source of social unrest in a country that has plenty of embers to fan such flames. The December read will be published ...
Kyiv rejected as ‘nonsense’ a Russian defence ministry claim that Kremlin troops killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a major strike overnight. The rocket attack on Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region was said to be retaliation for the New Year’s Day rocket attack on Makiyivka that killed at least 89 Russian troops. Local officials said Kramatorsk was hit by Russian missiles, but that military targets weren’t affected.
The ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow over Orthodox Christmas ended on Saturday night. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops had violated President Vladimir Putin’s order, continuing to shell the town of Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions. Ukraine’s general staff said civilian infrastructure was targeted by multiple missile strikes during the 36-hour ceasefire.
Russia and Ukraine completed another prisoner swap, this time for 50 service members on each side.
Key developments
Putin’s energy gambit fizzles as warm winter saves Europe
McCarthy’s speaker deal could stymie defence spending next year
US adds offensive weapons for Ukraine in $2.85bn package
Russia looks to press big firms for more cash as war costs mount
On the ground
Ukraine’s forces repelled Russian attacks near 16 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the General Staff said on Facebook. Russian forces continued their offensive in the direction of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Lyman. Ukrainian aviation delivered 21 strikes at Russian strongholds and three strikes at Russian anti-aircraft complexes. Three Russian reconnaissance drones were downed.
A UN mission delivering humanitarian aid to Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region came under Russian shelling, regional governor Oleksandr Starukh said. The outskirts of Zaporizhzhia were also shelled. A civilian was killed in missile strikes on the town of Merefa in the Kharkiv region.
Russian claim of massive strike is ‘nonsense,’ official tells CNN
A Ukrainian military official denied the Russian defence ministry’s claim that it killed 600 Ukrainian troops overnight in a missile attack on Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
“This is nonsense,” Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told CNN. Journalists in the area said they saw no evidence of casualties or other unusual activity.
Cherevatyi told the Suspilne Novyny website that Kremlin forces don’t have the means to deliver high-precision strikes and that Sunday’s claim was an “informational operation”. Photos on social media of a school allegedly hit by a Russian missile appeared to show an empty building.
Russia, Ukraine each swap 50 in prisoner exchange
Servicemen from Ukraine’s armed forces, territorial defence, national guard and other units, including 33 officers and 17 ...
The ANC will push for the national government to take steps to enhance crime-fighting by increasing the number of police personnel, said ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.
‘We will not allow criminals to run havoc [sic],” said Cyril Ramaphosa, president of the ANC, on Sunday. Ramaphosa made the remark during the ANC’s 111th birthday celebration, held at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung, Free State. It is during this celebration that the ANC president outlines the party’s vision for the year.
One of the party’s priorities, Ramaphosa said, was fighting crime. “If you are criminals, we are coming after you,” he said, veering slightly off a prepared speech.
South Africa’s latest crime statistics, for July-September 2022, reveal that 7,004 murders, 115 rapes and 383 serious robberies were reported during that period.
Read in Daily Maverick: SA’s ‘bloodbath of violent crime remains out of control’
“The ANC calls on and directs the national government to take urgent steps to enhance the crime-fighting capacity of law enforcement agencies by increasing the number of police personnel to match our country’s population increase, in line with international norms,” said Ramaphosa.
He called on communities and citizens to cooperate and partner with police and law enforcement agencies to create safer communities, through effective and well-resourced community policing forums and community patrollers.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The ANC’s branches will do everything they can to ensure that communities play active roles in campaigns and initiatives to safeguard safety, security, peace and stability in communities.
“The ANC further directs government to immediately adopt and implement a national plan of action to deal with rising levels of crime such as kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, gangsterism, illegal mining, construction mafia.” he said.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told Daily Maverick the city “would welcome improved SAPS [South African Police Service] resourcing in high crime”. Frequently, police stations in Cape Town record the highest number of reported murders in South Africa. The city (under a Democratic Alliance governance) has been campaigning for the devolution of more policing powers to its authority.
“We are already taking guns and drugs off the streets every day, and more powers would enable us to build prosecution-ready case dockets to gain convictions,” said the mayor.
“We call on the President to devolve more policing powers to well-run local authorities without delay as this will be a quick win to make communities safer in addition to growing SAPS ...
Rise Mzansi is the national renewal effort we have craved for years, but can now finally implement.
At the final Daily Maverick webinar of 2022, our excellent host, Rebecca Davis, asked Mmusi Maimane and me a perfectly sensible question about what we would do to put an end to rolling blackouts. We both offered what I felt were workable short- and long-term solutions, but I wished we had been asked a bigger question: How can South Africa be set right?
Over the years we have spent so much time focusing exclusively on technocratic questions that we have failed to see and discuss what is hiding in plain sight, and that is a vision and a set of overarching priorities to realise it. Yes, the day-to-day issues oppressing South African citizens and businesses are real and unavoidable, but part of the reason we can never move the needle or make the tough choices needed to create the country we want is that we never describe it.
My hope is for a South Africa built on the social democratic values of freedom, equality, justice and solidarity. I also believe that a fifth value, integrity, is non-negotiable. After the trauma of the past 15 years or so, it goes without saying that having people without integrity in key roles in our society is suicidal. These happen to be the values upon which Rise Mzansi is doing its work and building a national footprint, but more about that later.
Agreement on values
Values are important because it is not enough to merely have a Constitution, a long legal document that most people find difficult to internalise. The first step towards rebuilding our country is to agree on our values, because they will anchor a vision, however contested it may be. Those contestations will, in the end, be about whether or not we are adhering to our values.
Second, I believe in a free African society where the rights of every human being are not only guaranteed and protected, but the state (which belongs to the free people) and its assets are used to advance those rights. We should build a modern African society where everyone has a meaningful opportunity to build a fulfilling, happy life because they are able to fulfil their potential, using their talents for personal growth and the advancement of society.
This is an intellectual and moral task that may appear abstract, but I earnestly believe that if ...
The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose for the third straight month in December, suggesting that the manufacturing sector was resilient in the face of the rolling blackouts onslaught. But the sub-indices are a mixed bag and, at 53.1 on a scale of zero to 100, it just gets a passing grade.
The Absa PMI nudged up slightly in December, to 53.1 from 52.6 in November, its third straight monthly bounce. Conducted by the Bureau for Economic Research and sponsored by Absa, the index is based on a survey of purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry, making it a key barometer of the sector’s health.
In the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, South African manufacturing output grew 1.5%, contributing to the surprise 1.6% expansion of the economy that quarter after the 0.7% contraction in Q2.
So the PMI reading suggests that the manufacturing sector retained some resilience in Q4 in the face of the load shedding onslaught, though rolling blackouts still contained its potential.
“While the headline number is positive, the underlying picture is more mixed. Most concerning was the business activity index which deteriorated further in December,” Absa said in a statement. “Sustained and intense load shedding during the last month of 2022 was likely a key drag on the sector.”
The business activity index fell to 45.2 from 49.5 and has not been above the neutral 50 mark since March of 2022, pointing to underlying weakness.
And it must be said that the assertion that the headline number was “positive” is probably a stretch. A rise is obviously positive, but 53.1 on a scale of zero to 100 is barely a passing grade. That may say something about expectations regarding the South African economy: the bar has been set pretty low.
The employment sub-index leapt a surprising 8.6 points to 54.3 in December, but it is a data point that is often erratic and not always a reflection of the realities on the factory floor.
“While any indication of an increase in staffing levels is encouraging, we have seen temporary increases in the index before that did not correspond with sustained manufacturing employment growth in the official data. Indeed, given that activity remained poor, it is unlikely that actual employment will improve to this extent on a sustained basis,” Absa said.
Moving into 2023, the sector has plenty of challenges. Rolling blackouts are already on track to beat records set last year, while global economic growth is ...
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa was stern and forthright as he delivered the party’s keynote address at the 111th party anniversary where he set out what the party aims to achieve ahead of the crucial 2024 national elections.
The newly elected ANC top brass has prioritised six focus areas — including energy security and improving the quality of its membership — as it plans to claw its way back from electoral losses, to much hoped-for victories.
The National Executive Committee (NEC), elected in 2022, has set out their commitment which includes deepening the renewal of the ANC, improving energy security to end rolling blackouts and mobilising social partners around economic reconstruction and recovery in order to increase job creation.
The ANC aims to regain lost electoral support which has seen a steady decline at the polls, reaching an unprecedented low of below 50% in the 2021 municipal elections — leading to the party losing governance to key metros including all three metros in SA’s commercial hub of Gauteng.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who beat rival former health minister Zweli Mkhize for the presidency, told the 20,000-capacity Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein at the party’s birthday celebrations on Sunday that the party should improve delivery of basic services, maintain infrastructure, strengthen the fight against crime and corruption and take action to build a better Africa and world.
[WATCH] The crowd cheers for ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. He is about to deliver the keynote address the #ANC111 anniversary celebrations held at the Dr Petrus Molemela stadium.
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) January 8, 2023
Ramaphosa expressed his disappointment about the state of the host metro of Mangaung which has been placed under national cabinet administration amid service delivery failures.
“The 55th national conference affirmed the historic mission of the ANC to emancipate South Africans from all forms of oppression and build a better life for all. We adopted a roadmap 2032 to define the ANC of the future as it prepares for its 120th anniversary in 2032,” Ramaphosa said.
“Central to the ANC roadmap, is the understanding that the ANC will only succeed in realising its strategic objectives when it confronts its subjective weaknesses and successfully transforms itself into a renewed, responsive, modernised, well-governed, well-resourced, ethical, caring and effective political formation.”
On energy, Ramaphosa reassured attendees that additional power would be generated in the short term by leveraging surplus capacity from existing generators and procuring additional power on an emergency basis.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa took a tough stand against racism as he delivered the ANC’s January 8th Statement in Mangaung on Sunday.
Two teenage brothers who fought off several middle-aged white men during a racist attack at Maselspoort Resort outside Bloemfontein have been praised by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Delivering the party’s annual January 8th Statement at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung on Sunday, Ramaphosa outlined the party’s key priorities for the year and also talked tough on racism.
He applauded the Nakedi brothers — aged 15 and 18 — whom he invited to the stage, where he sat alongside the ANC’s newly elected leadership.
“It was such a shameful act to see old white men trying to throttle these young men and to drown them in a pool underwater, the most shameful act to perpetrate against young boys like these and that is why they are my special guests,” Ramaphosa said.
The incident took place on Christmas Day when several white men attempted to prevent the black teens from using a swimming pool they claimed was reserved for white people.
The incident was shared on social media via a 32-second video clip posted to Twitter that sparked national outrage.
Ramaphosa thanked the teenagers for fighting back against racists, whom he said had no place in South Africa, and added that those who had not reformed must leave the country.
“I thank you, boys; stay strong and do not be afraid of white people. They no longer have power, their project of apartheid is over,” Ramaphosa said.
“We commend you, and say what happened to you should not deter you. You must be strong as young men; the message I want to give to you is that the spirit of our forebears who fought against the apartheid system must fill you with courage as it does all of us.
“We honour these young men, we thank them and we also thank their parents for having stood firm to make sure that they resist the racist acts and practices being perpetrated against them.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The video of the incident depicts a white man standing on the edge of a swimming pool, screaming, “Get out!” and reaching down in an apparent attempt to slap a black teenager in the water.
The 18-year-old tries to exit the pool, but is shoved back by the man and the confrontation escalates. A black boy is seen being ...
The Proteas — particularly with the bat — had a tough time during their three-match Test series against Australia. However, on the final day of the closing game, they dug deep to salvage a draw, but it was too little, too late.
On the last day of their final match against Australia, in a three-game Test series that they had already lost after crushing defeats in the first two matches, South Africa’s batters showed the type of fight that was absent as the hosts took the contest away from them with a match to spare.
Needing to dig their heels in to avoid an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash, South Africa’s brittle batting unit threatened to once again capitulate. This was after Australia’s pace pairing of captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ripped through the Proteas’ top order, leaving the tourists reeling on 137 for six as they chased the Baggy Greens’ first innings total of 475 for four (declared).
However, South Africa’s tail wagged emphatically — with Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer contributing to the team’s pursuit of a draw in the rain-plagued contest.
Jansen only made 11 runs. However, it took him 78 crucial balls (some of which were vicious body blows launched directly at him by Australia’s pacers) to reach the mark, as he helped the seconds and minutes tick along during the Proteas’ last-ditch effort to save some face on the tour with a draw.
When Australia were eventually able to uproot the stubborn Jansen in the 74th over, they would have breathed a sigh of relief. After all, they needed just three quick wickets to ensure the visitors followed on. But up stepped Maharaj and Harmer in a partnership that exemplified South Africa’s fighting spirit for this particular match — though it was too little, too late.
Maharaj top-scored for his team’s first innings in the number nine batting berth, landing a flurry of counter-punches on Australia’s bowlers during the opening session of the fifth and final day.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The spinner collected 53 runs from 81 balls, in an innings consisting of six boundaries — plus one maximum.
Harmer and Maharaj — chosen as two specialist spinners for the Proteas in this match — would have never imagined their finest moments of the tour would be with the bat.
Nevertheless, they will certainly be pleased at how they frustrated their rivals for almost two hours ...
South African scientists have found the ‘Kraken’ subvariant of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in local samples. But there is no need to panic, vaccinology professor Shabir Madhi said on Sunday. He stressed that it was unlikely the subvariant would cause an increase in severe Covid-19 cases.
A subvariant of Omicron, XBB.1.5 — dubbed “Kraken” by international media — is the driving force behind vast waves of Covid-19 infections worldwide and has been found in a South African sample.
This was confirmed on Friday in a tweet by Professor Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University and the KZN Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
He said teams looking for new variants and subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had found XBB.1.5 in South Africa. Scientists found the subvariant in one of 97 samples tested. The sample was taken on 27 December 2022.
Dean of Wits University’s Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Shabir Madhi questioned the value of publicising this on social media.
“It is unclear what value exists in publicising something on social media which is not clinically relevant. We need to become more circumspect about sharing on Twitter what remains an ever-evolving variant for the past year with repeated claims of greater transmissibility which generally has remained clinically irrelevant in settings with high levels of immunity against severe disease.
“The data from the United States, where XBB.1.5 dominates, does not show any significant upswing in hospitalisation. In South Africa, hospitalisation for Covid-19 still occurs, although at low rates, which is to be expected.
“Even if XBB.1.5 is more transmissible and more able to evade antibody neutralising activity, there is no indication that it is assailing T-cell immunity, mediating protection against severe disease.
“In South Africa, where almost two-thirds of the population was infected with BA.1 [Omicron], such infection confers protection against XBB.1.5 and even more so in people who have also been vaccinated.”
China situation
In its latest statement on the outbreak in China, issued on 3 January, the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) noted the rapidly increasing proportion of XBB.1.5 cases and said an updated risk assessment of XBB.1.5 was in progress.
TAG-VE, which is monitoring more than 500 subvariants of Omicron, meets regularly to review the latest scientific evidence on circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and advises the WHO on whether a change in public health strategies is warranted.
According to ...
Companies have been accused of docking the pay of security guards, but not following through on their health benefit promises.
Thousands of security companies, including some contracted to the government, are under fire for failing to provide their workers with medical benefits despite deducting millions from their salaries as part of a bargaining council agreement.
The matter is being probed by the Council for Medical Schemes and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
Unions say that the probe affects more than 30,000 security guards and about R50-million in deductions so far,
In March 2021, the National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS) approved a health insurance benefits scheme for the sector following the signing of a collective bargaining agreement with employers and unions.
The NBCPSS is registered in terms of the Labour Relations Act and cites its primary aim and purpose as “to regulate, maintain and enforce the terms and conditions as set out in the Main Collective Agreement. According to the Main Collective Agreement, registered trade unions and employer organisations represent employees falling within the scope of the security sector.”
According to the agreement, the scheme was to be administered by Affinity Health and workers were to pay a compulsory R250 monthly insurance, half of which was deducted from salaries.
The benefits include chronic disease management and medication, doctor consultations, hospital and casualty benefits, including an HIV and TB management programme.
Unions sound alarm, plan mass action
However, according to unions in the sector and security guards who spoke on condition of anonymity, scores of companies that are part of the agreement have not fulfilled their part of the deal and are in violation of the law.
Unions are planning mass action, including a march to the Union Buildings to highlight the issue.
“Lots of workers are turned away from clinics and doctors,” said Khumbulani Moyo of the Kungwini Amalgamated Workers Union (Kawu) which is affiliated to the National Bargaining Council for Private Security Services (NBCPSS).
The National Union of MetalWorkers of SA (Numsa) private security sector co-ordinator Frederick Mabasa said at least 80% of companies are not complying with the Main Collective Agreement.
“Workers are forced to utilise public health facilities even though they pay towards medical benefits from their salaries every month,” said Mabasa.
“The issue of non-compliance (by security companies) is very broad and very serious,” he said.
Moyo said Kawu, one of the largest unions organising in the private security sector, is in the process of laying criminal charges ...
The ANC’s 111th-anniversary National Executive Committee statement is big on promises to root out corruption, end rolling blackouts, go greener, alleviate poverty and stop rampant crime. We publish verbatim the draft statement that was prepared for delivery by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa in Mangaung on Sunday.
Statement Of The ANC National Executive Committee on the occasion of the 111th Anniversary of the African National Congress. 8 January 2023.
Comrades and Compatriots, People of South Africa
We gather here today in Mangaung, the cradle of our birth, inspired by our forebears and our founders. One hundred and eleven years later, the spirit of resistance against apartheid colonialism and the courageous struggle for liberation and democracy still dwells amongst us.
This spirit calls upon us, over generations, to recognise the injustices of our past. It calls on us to honour those who suffered for freedom in our land. It demands of us to fundamentally transform the living conditions of all citizens and free the potential of each and every person in our country.
This spirit was clearly evident as we concluded the 55th National Conference, where delegates from all over the country gathered to review progress and set out a programme of action to shape a better future for our country.
The ANC acknowledges that we are at a moment of fundamental consequence in the life of our nation. Across the country, the people are going through tough times:
They are increasingly losing hope of ever finding employment or setting up viable business and those trying to eke out a living in the informal sector are facing harassment and red tape.
The energy crisis undermines economic growth and investment prospects and persistent load shedding destroys businesses and compromises the production of food and the provision of social services such as water, sanitation, community safety, education and health.
Increasing lawlessness, criminality and violence creates a situation in which women and children live in fear not only in the streets of their towns and villages but also in their homes.
Households are increasingly finding it difficult to meet their most basic needs such as food, transport and energy due to the rising cost of living.
More young people are finding themselves in desperate conditions and they end up resorting to alcohol and drug abuse.
Many municipalities are failing to perform their basic functions such as delivery of clean potable water, regular waste collection and road maintenance leading to the rapid deterioration of the quality of life ...
Despite the popularity of basketball in South Africa, there are challenges for advancing the sport in this country. President of Basketball South Africa Sanele Mthiyane shared his suggestions for developing the game in 2023.
Basketball South Africa (BSA) is predicting a busy year ahead for amplifying the popularity of this sport. So says Sanele Mthiyane, president of BSA and a board member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).
Mthiyane was elected to Sascoc on 26 November 2022 at their Annual General Meeting. The South African basketball community took this as a positive sign for the advancement of the sport, with South Africa’s Basketball National League (BNLSA) saying that Mthiyane’s election “augurs well for basketball”.
Mthiyane had a well-established career in basketball, having been a player, coach and referee. He also served on the KwaZulu-Natal Sports Confederation.
BNLSA is South Africa’s official and semi-professional basketball league, which is part of BSA, according to general manager Dali Dzingwa.
Widely popular and inclusive
Dzingwa labels basketball a “widely popular” sport in South Africa. “In terms of popularity and interest, I would put my head on the block and say that basketball is one of the most popular,” Dzingwa told Daily Maverick.
Dzingwa says this is evidenced through the significant participation of players that he’s witnessed from school to university level. He believes the sport is also inclusive through being popular across genders.
Despite this popularity and inclusivity, he says a lack of funding has prevented basketball from reaching its true potential in South Africa.
Taking the sport further
Mthiyane raised multiple areas that BSA will be focusing on to take the sport further during 2023.
The BSA president also singled out basketball as a developing sports code, but added that administrative challenges have hindered its development in part.
Capacity-building for more administrators will be one of the areas that BSA will focus on during 2023.
“[BSA] still has a long way to go for getting things proper in terms of administration,” Mthiyane told Daily Maverick. More administrators can help with efficiency of BSA’s operations.
Mthiyane says that focusing on youth participation can be a crucial strategy in building administrative capacity.
“If you’ve got a lot of kids playing, then you know there’s going to be a kid who says ‘Dad let’s go and watch a game’. The father will be compelled to watch the game because he will be supporting his kid. And then he too starts to develop a love for basketball,” Mthiyane ...
While every child will have specific problems and individual needs, there are some suggestions to help parents or guardians support their child or young person with long Covid.
Long Covid is the patient-preferred term used to describe symptoms lasting more than four weeks after a Covid-19 infection. Children and young people can also suffer from long Covid following even a mild infection with the virus. The latest figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics show an estimated 69,000 children are living with long Covid, 41,000 of whom have had symptoms for at least a year.
The most common symptoms of long Covid in children are fatigue and headaches, but young people can also have a range of other symptoms including chest pain, persistent cough, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, anxiety and low mood.
We don’t know whether all children with long Covid will recover or how long this will take. Parents’ narratives suggest that symptoms may fluctuate over time, and that it’s not uncommon to have a period of apparent recovery and then relapse some months later. The course of the illness is not linear.
While every child will have specific problems and individual needs, there are some suggestions we can make to help parents or guardians support their child or young person with long Covid. Two of us (Binita and Tracy) have children with long Covid, and the following tips are based on our own experiences.
Believe your child
Long Covid is an “invisible” illness, so children can look well. At the start of the illness we both sent our children to school when they said they weren’t feeling well enough, putting it down to them not wanting to go to school, or some sort of anxiety.
Looking back, this was the wrong thing to do. They got worse by “pushing through”. Our advice is to listen to your child, don’t push them and seek medical advice to ensure there’s no other underlying cause for their symptoms.
If your child is not being believed by a healthcare professional, there’s no harm in asking for a second opinion, or sharing available information with the professional. Long Covid is a well recognised condition in children but sadly, there’s still poor awareness among some medical professionals.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Resting and pacing
Energy can be likened to money in the bank. If you keep spending without topping up, you soon get into debt. In long ...
The energy and jobs crises are holding back South Africa. They need to be solved, ANC supporters and alliance partners observed at the January 8th Statement celebrations in Mangaung on Sunday.
The immediate challenges facing not only the ANC but also the Tripartite Alliance and the entire country include putting an end to rolling blackouts as a matter of urgency.
This was said by SA Communist Party spokesperson Dr Alex Mashilo, when he spoke before President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the ANC National Executive Committee’s January 8th Statement at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung on Sunday.
Mashilo said the challenges necessitated: “Overcoming the overall energy production and supply security crisis and moving forward to ensure a just transition in all respects, including in the sphere of finance. State power has a crucial role to play.”
Mashilo said South Africa’s just energy transition should not lead to the destruction of jobs through retrenchments, nor should it turn towns in energy-producing areas into ghost towns.
“South Africa must therefore move more decisively in advancing carbon capture and sequestration regarding coal as an input in energy production, given our massive national endowment of the resource. This must form part of our mixed energy policy and just transition programme,” added Mashilo.
Cosatu’s president, Zingiswa Losi, who failed to garner enough votes to be re-elected into the NEC, cautioned the ruling party against making empty promises and said it had to end rolling blackouts or risk losing the elections in 2024.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The ANC needs to get its act together if it wants to win the elections,” he stated.
One of the attendees, Lerato Motloung, said, “I want Ramaphosa to talk about unemployment because we are young [and] have skills but there are no jobs — the few that are there are taken by foreigners.”
However, Motloung added: “Yes, the party has not done well but there is no one else to vote for. I think Ramaphosa is trying his best.
Vuyelwa Thethani, a merchandiser and food vendor voiced similar sentiments. “We love the ANC, although it keeps disappointing. I would like to hear the President speak about load shedding because it is really killing our business.”
The January 8th Statement outlined the ANC’s plans and hopes for the year as it commemorated its 111th anniversary.
Read in Daily Maverick: Fikile Mbalula berates ANC officials after party bigwigs get a close-up view of potholed Free State.
Businesses in ...
The shoddy state of Botshabelo in the Free State, where the ANC is holding celebrations to coincide with its 111th birthday, prompted newly elected secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to promise to clean up the metro within five days.
Officials failing to do their work would be “shown the door” during a clean-up-operation in the Mangaung township of Botshabelo, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula pledged at the weekend.
The clean-up programme would proceed to other provinces soon, he vowed.
It was evident that clean-up street operations had already taken place to prepare for the weekend celebrations. However, Party officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa in his motorcade, had to manoeuvre their way through badly potholed roads – some rudimentarily patched with mud and stones – to get to celebration venues. Residents who lack proper sanitation and must use a bucket sewage system watched the passing parade.
ANC111 @CyrilRamaphosa @MYANC Pres motorcade drives through a pothole infested road (patched with mud) in Botshabelo, the Free State. He’ll address a mini rally in an area that still uses a bucket system & lacks proper sanitation. Locals have been complaining for years.#eNCA
Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) January 6, 2023
In 2019, Mangaung metro was placed under administration after service delivery collapsed.
“Why do we have a mayor in Mangaung whom we don’t know what he’s doing? Why? Why should we have a mayor, or anyone for that matter, when they are sleeping on the job,” said Mbalula.
He made the remarks while delivering the Peter Mokaba Lecture in Botshabelo at the invitation of the ANC Youth League’s task team.
“Things must change, otherwise we will lose power because of sleepers, people who are sleeping on the job,” he said.
Mangaung is one of 10 municipalities Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke in her latest report flagged as having ongoing concerns over a period of five years. Maluleke said municipalities across the Free State had gone backwards in terms of meeting deadlines for infrastructure improvement projects.
According to an AG report on 1 January 2020, the provincial executive intervened in Mangaung “by imposing, and assuming responsibility for, a recovery plan that aimed to secure the metro’s ability to provide basic services and meet its financial commitments”, Daily Maverick reported.
The AG’s office explained that the metro had forfeited a R429-million grant from the National Treasury “due to underspending that resulted from delays in completing grant-funded projects”. This added to the dire financial position of the metro and had a negative impact on service delivery.
The ...
Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter has allegedly survived a murder attempt at his office in Megawatt Park, where he drank a cup of coffee laced with cyanide.
De Ruyter has confirmed the alleged attempt on his life, which took place on Tuesday 13 December 2022, a day after he submitted his resignation as CEO to the Eskom chairman, Mpho Makwana, but before this became publicly known on 14 December 2022.
“I have reported the matter to SAPS [the South African Police Service] on 5 January 2022, and the case can be assumed to be under investigation,” he told EE Business Intelligence.
A trusted source external to Eskom indicated to EE Business Intelligence that after drinking a cup of coffee in his office at Eskom Megawatt Park in Sunninghill, De Ruyter became weak, dizzy and confused, shaking uncontrollably and vomiting copiously. He subsequently collapsed, unable to walk.
He was rushed to his doctor’s rooms by his security detail, where his condition was diagnosed as cyanide poisoning, and treated accordingly. The tests taken subsequently confirmed massively elevated levels of cyanide in his body.
This has been further confirmed by a second high level-source, as well as De Ruyter’s own words confirming his reporting of the matter to SAPS.
De Ruyter and his executive team have been clamping down and cutting off illicit revenue streams from procurement irregularities, fraud, theft, corruption and maladministration, both within Eskom and by certain of its suppliers and contractors.
High levels of criminality and corruption are particularly prevalent in Mpumalanga Province where there is a high concentration of ageing and poorly performing Eskom coal-fired power stations.
The month of December 2022 was marred by extremely high levels of rolling power cuts throughout South Africa, which is unusual at a time when electricity demand is traditionally its lowest as the country enters the summer holiday period and festive season.
De Ruyter has indicated that his position as CEO of Eskom became untenable after ANC chairman and Mineral Resources & Energy minister Gwede Mantashe publicly accused Eskom management of “agitating for the overthrow of the state”.
The alleged attempted murder also occurred only days before the start of the ANC elective conference held at the NASREC Expo Centre, Johannesburg, from 16 to 20 December 2022.
The period in the lead-up to and during the conference is a time of significantly heightened political tension as factions of the ruling party nominate and contest the positions for the party’s president, its “top 7” ...
'No train smash,' says newly elected secretary-general Fikile Mbalula after the party was unable to pass the bulk of their constitutional amendments at the reconvened national conference in a hybrid format.
In the first leg of the ANC national conference, held between 16 and 20 December at Nasrec, the party had more than 4,000 delegates present. However, attendance during the hybrid dwindled over time.
Delegates told Daily Maverick that they were unable to reach a two-thirds majority quorum, with only around 2,100 delegates showing up to participate in voting for constitutional amendments. At least 2,900 delegates were required to allow for any changes to be made to the party’s constitution.
When the continuation of the conference commenced in a hybrid format on Thursday, the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that the roll call had been attended by over 3,000 delegates.
Sources explained that the numbers dropped significantly because the conference went on until late into the night and many delegates were tired and opted to go home by the time they had to pass the amendments.
The party initially said the second leg of the conference would be spread out over 5 and 6 January. However, there was a push to conclude proceedings as soon as possible, so the party president Cyril Ramaphosa could have a clear mandate from the conference in time for the party’s 111th anniversary celebrations.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
This meant that the contentious one member one vote policy, which seeks to introduce an internal electoral system through which ANC members can directly vote for leadership at regional, provincial and national levels, could not be passed.
This adjustment would erode the current system which favours consensus and voting in blocs.
However, Mbalula said their inability to amend the constitution is “no train smash”.
“It does not change anything, it is just that those who wanted to amend it could not get two-thirds in plenary. So there is no issue about that, it is simply the procedure of the ANC,” according to the party’s secretary-general.
He was speaking during a briefing on Friday at Ilanga Estate in Bloemfontein.
Only two amendments concerning the constitution of the party officials have been passed by the party’s 55th conference.
The first is the introduction of the seventh party official, who will be elected as the second deputy secretary-general of the party. This paved the way for Maropene Ramokgopa to be elected as the first-ever ANC second ...
It is my hope that, in 2023, civil society in South Africa will take the lead in wrestling with the question of how we can put aside personal greed and self-advancement, and work together with others to pursue, with vigour, that which will help us to become part of something bigger than ourselves.
I am referring to what I call the “New Struggle” in South Africa, as distinct from the old struggle against apartheid: a new struggle for a new society, a society of compassion and caring, a society in which we end inequality of opportunity and improve the lives of the poorest of the poor.
The pursuit of such a struggle has the potential to establish a new basis for our spiritual, economic, political and social lives, a morally virtuous framework that could and should unleash a sustainable wave of real change or — as some describe it — a movement of transformative improvement and a reprioritisation of the needs of our diverse communities.
To express the hope for such a movement is not wishful thinking.
Hope, as I have said before, is not a nebulous, pie-in-the-sky concept. No, hope is the driving force which motivates our determination to name our problems, to identify solutions to them and to mobilise people to overcome them.
Hope must be what drives us to work to fulfil our Constitution’s promise of a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
In recent days, the sad, racist attack on black children at the Maselspoort holiday resort outside Bloemfontein once again brought home the urgency of dealing with the hate and prejudice which still pervades South Africa.
Just as urgent is the need for civil society, including the churches and other faith communities, to refuse to surrender the human rights of the most marginalised: shack dwellers, refugees and economic migrants from other parts of Africa, and the LGBTQI community.
When I was in Ukraine just before Christmas, the Jewish community was celebrating Hanukkah, the eight-day festival which commemorates the miracle of olive oil which was supposed to burn in a lamp for only one day, but actually staying alight for eight days.
Similarly, in so many ways — by so many means and at so many times in our recent history — civil society has kept alight candles of hope to lighten the darkness in our societies in southern Africa.
We need also to light candles of hope for our Palestinian ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of this week’s events around the world.
Shack dwellers in Phola Park informal settlement in Philippi outside Cape Town have had a rough start to the year as they struggle to recover from their second fire in four days.
More than 500 residents of Phola Park in Philippi, Cape Town, lost their homes on Thursday after the second fire in under a week tore through the informal settlement.
The latest disaster came after a woman died and hundreds of shacks were razed in a fire on Sunday. That blaze left around 1,000 people homeless.
Residents said that after a rolling blackout on Thursday a fire broke out when the power returned and quickly swept through the shacks.
Samkelo Songweni, 40, says he managed to grab some important documents, but lost everything he owned.
“I was just relaxing when the electricity went off at 2pm — we had load shedding — and within two or three minutes (of the electricity being restored) I heard that there was a fire. I could already see the smoke and I had just three minutes to save my life,” said Songweni.
Speaking to a volunteer from Gift of the Givers, Songweni said he was grateful that his children were on holiday in the Eastern Cape when the fire broke out.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said “a strong southeaster fanned the fire that broke out. Several crews were on the scene with eight fire-fighting appliances and managed to contain the blaze.”
A team from Gift of the Givers arrived at the site while firefighters were putting out the blaze late on Thursday, and began providing humanitarian assistance on Friday morning.
Gift of the Givers’ Ali Sablay said some people were staying with friends, but others were afraid to leave their plots for fear that they would be occupied.
“The situation on the ground is so dire and people are devastated. What is sad is that some of the people affected in Phola Park are away in the Eastern Cape.
Gift of the Givers have been among the first the respond to fires that have displaced thousands of people over the holiday period. They are providing hot meals for victims, blankets, toiletry packs, baby care packs, blankets, bottled water as some taps are affected, and counselling. There have been five fires in the past seven days.
“Many of the children are suffering severe trauma. a father told us he had to ...
Over the course of three years, millions of calls to the police emergency number, 10111, were dropped. Worse, 10111 staffing is only at around 40%.
The state of 10111 call centres has been called into question after Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that only around 40% of the required 10111 call centre personnel are deployed, and that millions of 10111 calls were dropped over the past three years.
The statistics
South Africa’s 10111 police call centres are meant to be staffed by 3,344 people. However, as of 1 April 2022, only 1,315 staff were assigned to these offices.
North West has the lowest number of required personnel, with just 39 staff of the 328 meant to be deployed.
Available data from the past three financial years recorded more than 6.3 million dropped 10111 calls across South Africa.
Dropped call data from the Northern Cape, Free State and Limpopo were unavailable. Some centres in other provinces were also unable to provide data and dropped call data from certain centres were unavailable for specific years. This means the number of dropped calls could be much higher.
Dropped calls can refer to calls that could not be answered, which might have been due to callers ending their calls before being transferred to 10111 operators. They can also refer to calls which were ended by the caller after they had been transferred to a 10111 operator.
On the police agenda
“From the onset of his appointment, the national commissioner General Fannie Masemola has prioritised the capacitation and resourcing of police stations and units. The 10111 call centre is among the priority areas as the first line of entry for emergency purposes,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
“A number of the 10,000 (newly trained) constables will also be deployed to render services at the 10111 call centres. With more police officers being recruited over the next three years, the SA Police Service is confident it will be able to bring staffing levels to required standards,” Mathe told Daily Maverick.
Parliamentary question
Cele released the 10111 statistics in response to a parliamentary question asked by Andrew Whitfield, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of police.
Whitfield said in a press release: “I will be writing to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on police to request that the national police commissioner prepare a comprehensive turnaround plan for 10111 centres across the country within 30 days, to be tabled in Parliament when it reconvenes.”
Whitfield believes the high number of dropped calls ...
Russia said its troops stopped fighting in Ukraine at noon Moscow time under President Vladimir Putin’s order of a 36-hour ceasefire for the Orthodox Christmas holiday. Kyiv dismissed the offer as a ploy. Air-raid sirens rang out across the country shortly after the deadline, Ukraine said, as Russian jets took off from air bases in Belarus. The alerts were later cancelled without incident.
The US and Germany will send armoured vehicles to Ukraine, President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a joint statement, providing a significant upgrade in firepower urgently sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Germany will also follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine.
Russia plans to wrest more money from some commodity producers and state companies and trim non-defence spending, according to a government order seen by Bloomberg News.
Key developments
Russia says it’s begun brief Ukraine ceasefire that Kyiv scorned
Russia looks to press big firms for more cash as war costs mount
German shift on combat vehicles triggers calls for battle tanks
Heavier arms for Ukraine give Putin no respite: Balance of Power
US, Germany to send Ukraine armoured vehicles in major upgrade
On the ground
Ahead of their planned ceasefire, Kremlin forces continued limited counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line. Russian forces claimed that Ukrainian troops continued counteroffensive operations in the area. Ukraine’s military reportedly conducted a successful counterattack as Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and west of Donetsk City.
France says Putin’s ceasefire doesn’t fool anyone
A French foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia’s 36-hour unilateral ceasefire is an attempt by Moscow to hide its responsibility for relentless bombardments of Ukraine’s civilians and critical infrastructure.
Russia has shown during the conflict, now in its 11th month, that it doesn’t want peace, the official said, repeating a call for a full withdrawal of Moscow’s troops from Ukraine.
Kyiv to start talks on EU accession under Swedish presidency
Ukraine expects to start negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union — a process likely to take years — under Sweden’s presidency of the European Council, which started this month, Zelensky said during an online meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
“This is a powerful motivator for our army and a common desire of our society. We believe that it will be a strong incentive for unity within the EU,” Zelensky said in a statement posted on the presidential website.
Zelensky speaks to Japanese PM
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Japan for “powerful ...
The ANC has cautioned against forming opportunistic coalitions for the sake of gaining power, and even hinted that it needed to prepare for a possible loss of majority support in the next general elections.
The ANC seems to have started entertaining the possibility of being relegated to the opposition benches — or at least forming a coalition government — in the future.
Briefing the media on resolution reports from commissions early on Friday, national conference rapporteur David Makhura said the party would not be part of coalitions for the sake of clinging to power, but that it would have to be done on the basis of shared values.
Makhura said the party’s 55th national elective conference had agreed that coalitions were an important part of their tactics, but that the strategic objectives of the ANC were not going to change.
“We will work with those who agree with us on a range of issues. the development agenda, the transformation that needs to happen, the improvement of the quality of life that needs to happen,” he said.
Makhura said the ANC would support legislation to ensure the stability of coalitions.
Watch from 46:23 — Makhura talks about the party’s approach to coalition politics:
“We don’t want to be in power for its own sake,” said Makhura.
“We don’t want to be in a coalition because we want to share the spoils of office. we want to have the potential and the possibility to use that power.
“Nationally, if we should get there, or provincially, we should be looking at a common set of issues. We are basically saying, as the ANC conference, that we are not going to chase every (available) coalition partner just because we must be in government.
“If we have to be in opposition because we don’t want to be party to a group of coalitions that are rightwingers, we will choose to do so.”
In the 2021 local government elections, the ANC crashed out of power in Johannesburg, with the DA’s Mpho Phalatse becoming the first woman mayor of the city.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The ruling party also lost Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane. In eThekwini, the ANC dropped below 50% and is governing through a coalition. This is a municipality it won comfortably in the previous local government election.
Most recently, the ANC lost an outright majority in the troubled Ditsobotla municipality in North West.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “How the ...
The ANC’s financial woes are no secret — and its 55th national conference thinks the solution might lie in increased government handouts. One of the more controversial resolutions taken by the conference is that the state ‘must fully fund the activities of all political parties’.
Briefing the media following discussions at the ANC conference late on Thursday, MP Joe Maswanganyi said the party would be looking to amend the Political Party Funding Act — which the ANC blames in part for its parlous financial state.
The funding legislation, which caps the amount that can be donated to political parties in a single financial year and requires the public disclosure of any donations above R100,000, has caused “unintended consequences”, Maswanganyi said.
Other South African political parties were also having “serious issues” with funding as a result of the law, he added.
“The ANC used to get a lot of money from outside the country,” the MP said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “The ANC’s long history of taking cash from dodgy donors”
The Political Party Funding Act has, however, placed major restrictions on the forms of support that local parties may accept from foreign entities.
The ANC is calling for another look at the legislation — with Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi tasked by the party with investigating the possibility of revising the law.
But even if it is not amended, the ANC is asking the South African government to increase funding to political parties.
In the words of the relevant resolution: “The state must fully fund the activities of all political parties as part of funding democracy, and protecting the independence, transparency, accountability and integrity of political parties.”
Current funding not enough, says ANC
The phrasing of the resolution — in particular, that the state must “fully fund” political parties — is unlikely to be received well.
Political parties in South Africa — which receive enough votes in elections to secure at least one seat in Parliament — already benefit from state funding. The parties are allocated money in proportion to their electoral returns from both the Electoral Commission and Parliament.
Maswanganyi acknowledged as much in his briefing, but said these sources were insufficient.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Political Party Funding Act has more work to do”
The MP said the ANC needed money not just for its staff and internal processes, but also for the “programmes we run in communities”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The resolution document on ...
All four South African United Rugby Championship sides are in Europe this week — with some spending more than 50 hours in the air travelling north — to take on their international opposition.
Qatar Airways’ partnership with the United Rugby Championship (URC) has brought more problems than solutions for the South African URC sides.
The Stormers, who face Glasgow Warriors in Scotland on Sunday, travelled for more than two days on flights that went through three cities.
The Cape Town side left for Johannesburg on Monday and landed in Glasgow on Wednesday, but had layovers in Johannesburg, Doha and London before eventually landing in the Scottish city.
“We couldn’t get everyone on the same flight from London to Doha so about five players only arrived at nine o’clock on Wednesday night,” said Stormers’ head coach John Dobson.
“They’d been travelling for about 52 hours before they arrived [in Glasgow].”
The flight from Cape Town to Glasgow is usually around 12 hours, with a maximum of two layovers, but the URC’s new partnership with Qatar Airways means all the sides are obliged to travel through Doha — often in economy class and on separate flights.
The extended travel means that South African URC sides like the Sharks have elected to play a “B” team against Connacht in Galway on Saturday, with a plethora of first-choice players staying behind in Durban to prepare for their crunch European Cup match against Bordeaux Bègles next week.
Sharks in Ireland
The Sharks’ travel concerns extend to the Durban-based franchise deciding not to send their interim coach and director of rugby, Neil Powell, to Ireland.
Instead, Joey Mongalo, the Sharks’ Currie Cup coach, will head the side.
The Sharks are on a good run of form, winning their past five matches, including a 47-20 thrashing of the Bulls last week. They currently sit fifth on the log with two matches in hand on leaders Leinster.
Lock Reniel Hugo will lead a side that shows numerous changes, with flank Henco Venter, centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg and wing Marnus Potgieter the only players to retain their places in the starting line-up.
There are three possible URC debutants, with former Cheetahs lock Ockie Barnard, 20-year-old lock and loose forward Corne Rahl and outside back Ethan Hooker on the bench for the Sharks.
At flyhalf, former Maties playmaker Nevaldo Fleurs wears the number 10 jersey, while the experienced Lionel Cronje sits on the bench.
Stormers keep consistency
Despite the Stormers’ heavy travel schedule, Dobson has ...
The ANC’s leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Sboniso Duma, said the province is ‘not sorry’ for leading the failed attempt to oust Cyril Ramaphosa at Nasrec in December. However, he supports plans by the ANC to mediate between Ramaphosa and former president Jacob Zuma.
KwaZulu-Natal’s ANC leadership says it is deeply concerned about the deteriorating relationship between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor Jacob Zuma, and would assist in efforts to reconcile the two men, according to provincial ANC leader, Sboniso Duma.
Zuma has instituted a private prosecution against Ramaphosa at the High Court in Johannesburg, accusing him of assisting State advocate Billy Downer to violate sections of the National Prosecuting Authority Act.
Amid the flurry of legal threats and counter-threats, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had to issue a statement clarifying that it had not given Zuma authorisation to privately prosecute Ramaphosa.
Tensions were heightened last month when Zuma walked into the ANC’s national conference late, moments after Ramaphosa had begun delivering his opening address. This resulted in some KZN delegates singing and dancing, disrupting proceedings for several minutes.
Newly elected ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said one of his first priorities would be mediating between the two leaders to reduce tensions and prevent their dispute from affecting the work of the ANC.
Zuma-Ramaphosa tiff
Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines of the second leg of the hybrid national conference at Durban’s Exhibition Centre on Friday, ANC provincial chairperson Sboniso Duma decried the tension between the two senior ANC members, saying this was affecting the image of the party.
“ANC KZN supports all efforts to unite and build the ANC, including the pronouncement of the secretary-general, and should we be required to help in any way we can, we will,” he said.
55th ANC Conference outcomes
Duma said KZN was “not sorry” for leading efforts to unseat Ramaphosa as party president in Nasrec last month.
“We embrace the new leadership that was elected. We think the conference went well and the elections were fair. Democracy was at play. We believe that the majoritarian attitude, where the majority gets everything it wants, is not the attitude of the ANC.
“We are not sorry that we contested the space, because in a democratic organisation like ours, there has to be contestations from time to time.
“Even in the 2027 national conference, KZN will take a position and contest the space — and it will do so until all the goals of the revolution have been achieved ...
The business world shows that making mistakes can build resilience and prime you to look for better opportunities.
Failure isn’t pleasant but it is inevitable. And often, it is a stepping stone on the way to success. This is especially true in entrepreneurship. Given the considerable degree of uncertainty and ambiguity associated with starting and running a business, failure is a common phenomenon.
For the last decade, I have studied entrepreneurs and the keys to their success. Unsurprisingly, many have failed more times than they have succeeded. While failure may initially be a blow to your confidence and even put you in financial trouble, it is not the end of the road. Some of the greatest innovations are based on several failed attempts.
One of the entrepreneurs I studied was the founder of a pharmaceutical company in Nigeria. Keen to set themselves apart from the competition, this company started out by investing in niche drugs for the elderly. After a couple of months, it became clear there was no market for it and they suffered a significant loss. Instead of giving up, they conducted more market analysis and identified the company’s location as the problem. By moving, it grew to be one of the most successful retail outlets in the region.
Failure means that there is an opportunity to grow and do something better. It should be viewed as a challenge and a minor setback, not necessarily a sign that you’re in the wrong field or that your goals are unreachable.
Indeed, entrepreneurs often stress that taking risks is important to the success of their business.
Sir James Dyson struggled for five years to make the world’s first cyclone vacuum cleaner work. It took him 5,126 prototypes before number 5,127 succeeded. In the meantime, he had gone into debt and his wife was growing vegetables and raising chickens to get enough food to support the family. He took significant risks in his business and even signed his house to the bank. Now a multibillion dollar company, James Dyson insists that although its finances have changed dramatically, his company’s spirit of risk-taking has stayed the same.
It is worth noting, however, that despite their propensity to take risks, entrepreneurs tend to be analytical and calculative about this. Before making decisions, they consider the probability of a loss and how it could be minimised. In other words, preparing to fail can help mitigate its effect.
Read in Daily Maverick: “How ...
From Madame de Pompadour to punks and pussy protest hats, pink has always been the colour of choice for those who dare to make a statement.
From the blush pink of royal mistresses to the hot pink of tabloid party girls, pink has gained a reputation for being a provocative colour for those who dare to wear it.
Despite its various shades and the complexities of its cultural significance, it is a colour that is often branded with the same connotations of feminine frivolity and excess – whether girlish and innocent or womanly and erotic.
So much so that worshippers at a North London church were ordered to remove pink chairs after an ecclesiastical judge claimed that the choice of colour scheme could “cause puzzlement”.
This pink panic invites the question: why is pink so controversial?
A brief glimpse at its rather colourful history in the Western world reveals associations that both shape and challenge what pink means.
Pink’s past
According to historian Valerie Steele, the birth of pink in modern fashion began in the 18th century. By this period, pink had become the colour of choice among courtly elites of the Western world, including royalty and aristocrats.
Developments in dye making and the French court’s penchant for cutting-edge garments provided the perfect pairing to begin pink’s success as an emerging fashion staple.
Perhaps the most instrumental influence on pink’s power was Madame de Pompadour – the mistress of King Louis XV. She was often portrayed by the painter François Boucher sporting her signature pink gowns and shoes, most notably in his 1759 piece Madame de Pompadour.
In his 1758 painting, Madame de Pompadour at Her Toilette, she is shown applying rouge from a box of cosmetics – the blushed cheeks implying female sexuality. For Steele, the colour pink in this period becomes attached to both the frivolity of French high fashion and the eroticising of white femininity.
From the 18th century court to the 20th century home, pink gained further traction in the 1950s. As British professor of design history Penny Sparke writes: “Linked with the idea of female childhood, [pink] represented the emphasis on distinctive gendering that underpinned 1950s society, ensuring that women were women and men were men.”
Whether adorning first ladies, Hollywood stars or housewives, pink in this era represented a traditional femininity grounded in fixed gender roles.
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic pink gown in Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) paired with her typecast “dumb blonde” film roles and her pin-up ...
Europe’s biggest airline is resurrecting a dinosaur of the skies to tackle a dearth of premium seats on lucrative intercontinental routes.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG will return five ageing Airbus SE A340 jets in order to boost the availability of first-class seats as travel demand continues to rebound from the coronavirus crisis. The widebodies will be brought out of storage and commence flying in time for next summer, according to the company.
The step means Lufthansa will remain the biggest operator of the A340 and the only major airline still flying the jet. Aside from the German company and its Swiss subsidiary, which has four in traffic, other operators are minor carriers like Iran’s Mahan Air and VIP airline Qatar Amiri Flight. Other airlines, from SAS AB to Virgin Atlantic Airways, have long consigned the once longest commercial airliner to the scrap heap.
The decision to bring back the A340s alongside five revived last summer follows a move to resume flights with some A380 superjumbos, the biggest planes in the Lufthansa fleet. The plans mark a shift in thinking on the high fuel-burn models, which at the height of the pandemic had seemed likely to be permanently retired.
Airbus delivered 377 units and ceased A340 production in 2011 after less than two decades. The aircraft struggled to compete with more fuel efficient twin-engine models like the A330 sibling from the same era, which had gained authorisation to fly increasingly long oceanic routes, something that had previously been the province of four-engined jets.
Lufthansa aims to deploy the A340-600s at its main Frankfurt hub in order to broaden its offering of premium berths, German aviation website Aero Telegraph reported earlier. Those returned to service last year were deployed in Munich.
The plane’s 297 seats include eight in first class, 44 in business and 32 in premium economy. While the A380s also offer first, only three of the double-deckers may be brought back, according to Lufthansa’s latest thinking. The carrier’s Boeing 747-8s also feature the class, as will a new batch of Airbus A350-900s, though deliveries aren’t due until later this year.
Boeing 777Xs ordered by Lufthansa are also likely to feature a first-class cabin but the model has slipped five years behind schedule with deliveries postponed to 2025.
The Frankfurtflyer newsletter, which reported on Lufthansa’s A340 plans last week, said likely destinations to be served by the aircraft include New York, Hong Kong and Bogota. Still, the move may prove ...
South African authorities will meet peers from a global financial watchdog next week as they seek to avert being placed on its so-called grey list denoting nations with shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows.
A delegation led by the National Treasury’s Acting-Director General Ismail Momoniat will meet with the Financial Action Task Force’s Joint Group in Rabat, Morocco, on 13 January, the National Treasury said on Friday in a statement.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa late last month signed into law two key pieces of legislation that was seen as an important in addressing deficiencies flagged by the watchdog.
Officials from the central bank, tax office and law enforcement agencies will participate in the meeting in which they’ll update the Paris-based body on progress by the South African authorities.
Read More
South Africa revamps finance system in face of greylisting risk
South Africa readying new anti-graft laws, finance chief says
Africa’s most industrialised economy was found wanting in all 11 of the FATF’s effectiveness measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The evaluation was carried out in 2019 following an era of endemic graft during Jacob Zuma’s nine-year presidency.
Zuma, who quit in 2018 under pressure from the governing party, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
The central bank has previously warned that grey-listing may have wide-reaching consequences for South Africa’s financial system. Besides causing reputational damage, it could lead to capital and currency outflows, while transactional, administrative and funding costs for banks could increase, it said. BM/DM
Attempts by some provinces to scrap the ANC’s controversial step-aside rule have been unsuccessful, which means any members facing serious charges will still have to step down from their positions. The ANC also wants to make adjustments that will see the implementation of a new cadre deployment strategy based on merit.
The ANC’s commission on organisational renewal has resolved that the party will continue to implement its step-aside rule impartially and consistently. The party believes the guidelines should not be used to fight factional battles and settle political scores.
Speaking to the media in the early hours of Friday, renewal commission member Fasiha Hassan said instances of abuse of the step-aside rule, if proven, would result in sanctioning in terms of the law and the ANC code of conduct.
Hassan, the rapporteur for the renewal commission, presented a report to the media at the Imvelo Safari Resort near Bloemfontein as part of the second leg of the ANC’s national conference.
The party has also decided to review every six months the cases of those who have stepped aside, a move Hassan says is necessary to ensure that members are not unduly prejudiced.
The ANC has reaffirmed the step-aside resolution of the 54th Conference: We cannot as the governing party ask for the trust of the people, while deploying people charged with serious crimes. #ANC55
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) January 5, 2023
Hassan added that the intention behind the guidelines was to regain trust and not to replace the criminal justice system.
“We must also remember the intentions behind this. the reason why there is a review process is so that we can enhance procedural fairness. It is also an internal issue, so I think we should separate it from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“The NPA is an independent autonomous body. the ANC has no influence in the authority and its process. Having a step-aside review does not affect the NPA – they must continue with their processes and investigations.
“We are well within our rights to say every six months we check in. perhaps there is new evidence that has come to the fore,” said Hassan.
Party divisions
Divisions over the step-aside rule emerged shortly before the party’s policy conference in August last year. At the time, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal wanted it scrapped, while Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape wanted the rule to be retained.
However, the ANC in Limpopo made a U-turn at its provincial general council late last ...
In 2017, the declaration adopted at the end of the ANC’s 54th conference pointedly said that ‘the ANC should, as a matter of policy, pursue expropriation of land without compensation’. After the failure to change the Constitution along those lines and the adoption in the National Assembly of an Expropriation Bill that fell far short of that policy, the policies that have emerged from the party’s 55th conference have a strikingly different tone.
The unequal distribution of land remains a festering scar on South Africa’s body politic, not least because of the ANC’s failure to address the issue in a matter that actually produces desired results.
As such, it remains a red rag for assorted populists such as the EFF and the ANC’s now battered Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction, who wish to exploit the matter Zanu-PF style to gin up support for their ongoing project to recapture the South African state for personal enrichment.
It is also a red rag for investors who regard the protection of property rights as key to a functioning market economy. The example of the ruined economy of Zimbabwe and the colonial history it shares with South Africa is a clear warning of the pitfalls of pursuing a land redistribution policy in a populist manner.
RET’s fading fortunes
The fading fortunes of the RET brigade has been thrown into sharp relief by the wording on the land issue in the declaration adopted in the Free State this week at the ANC’s hybrid conference.
In 2017, the declaration adopted at the conclusion of the Nasrec elective conference narrowly won by then Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa pointedly made mention of expropriation without compensation (EWC):
“Conference resolved that the ANC should, as a matter of policy, pursue expropriation of land without compensation. This should be pursued without destabilising the agricultural sector, without endangering food security in our country and without undermining economic growth and job creation.”
The tone on the land issue is strikingly different this time round.
“We call on government to prioritise unlocking the potential of the country’s land for employment, rural development, food security and economic development. We must do more to bring underutilised land into production and enable the state to acquire agricultural land for purposes of distribution to previously disadvantaged persons,” it reads.
So land remains central to the ANC’s political agenda — that is why it forms part of its declaration — but the path to be taken diverges significantly from ...
Walking backwards burns more calories and has many other health benefits.
Walking doesn’t require any special equipment or gym memberships, and best of all, it’s completely free. For most of us, walking is something we do automatically. It doesn’t require conscious effort, so many of us fail to remember the benefits of walking for health. But what happens if we stop walking on auto-pilot and start challenging our brains and bodies by walking backwards? Not only does this change of direction demand more of our attention, but it may also bring additional health benefits.
Physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. Whether you’re regularly active or not, even a brisk ten-minute daily walk can deliver a host of health benefits and can count towards the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week.
Yet walking is more complicated than many of us realise. Remaining upright requires coordination between our visual, vestibular (sensations linked to movements such as twisting, spinning or moving fast) and proprioceptive (awareness of where our bodies are in space) systems. When we walk backwards, it takes longer for our brains to process the extra demands of coordinating these systems. However, this increased level of challenge brings with it increased health benefits.
One of the most well-studied benefits of walking backwards is improving stability and balance. Walking backwards can improve forward gait (how a person walks) and balance for healthy adults and those with knee osteoarthritis. Walking backwards causes us to take shorter, more frequent steps, leading to improved muscular endurance for the muscles of the lower legs while reducing the burden on our joints.
Adding changes in incline or decline can also alter the range of motion for joints and muscles, offering pain relief for conditions such as plantar fasciitis – one of the most common causes of heel pain.
The postural changes brought about by walking backwards also use more of the muscles supporting our lumbar spine – suggesting backwards walking could be a particularly beneficial exercise for people with chronic lower back pain.
Walking backwards has even been used to identify and treat balance and walking speed in patients with neurological conditions or following chronic stroke.
But the benefits of changing direction aren’t just therapeutic – an interest in backwards movement has led researchers to discover various other benefits.
While normal walking can help us maintain a healthy weight, walking backwards may be even more effective. Energy expenditure when ...
A traumatised young war veteran finds redemption in the raising and rewilding of an orphaned ocelot in the Peruvian Amazon. Watch this bittersweet documentary about mental health and conservation with characters reminiscent of a modern-day Tarzan and Jane.
Amid the sheltered light and lively sounds of the Peruvian Amazon, so perfectly exotic that it’s almost unreal to foreign eyes and ears, a young man lies on the ground whispering to a dappled cat, whose eyes are fixated off-screen. An encouraging touch sends the feline ninja scrambling up a tree in pursuit. The man looks up at the canopy, transfixed, his face emotionless but for pure fascination.
The young man is Harry Turner, who at 18, having just finished military training, was deployed to Afghanistan for a six-month tour. Unsurprisingly, he was medically discharged with recurrent depression and PTSD, and left with cold eyes and tattoos to cover the burns on his arms. He returned to his life in England without the will to live it, so he travelled as far as he could to find a new one in the jungle.
The movie doesn’t show how Turner linked up with Samantha Zwicker and her non-profit wildlife research and rehabilitation centre, Hoja Nueva, but their early days together are a jungle fairy tale. The couple snuggle with sloths, smooch snakes and bath with boar, like a modern Tarzan and Jane, protecting the land and rescuing animals that are injured or orphaned because of logging, mining or wildlife trafficking.
Directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh steer clear of the sensitive dynamic of white saviourism inherent in two kids from the west trying to protect the Peruvian jungle from Peruvian loggers and poachers. Zwicker is cognisant of it though; expressing her frustration that there’s little point battling the local loggers when it’s the best way they can make money and the people paying them are the true culprits of the devastating deforestation.
Search for redemption
Despite his lack of training, Turner’s resolve and ability to survive in harsh conditions makes him an apparently useful hand in the jungle, and the diverse work is healing. But his search for redemption truly starts when Zwicker makes him the surrogate mother of Khan, a baby ocelot found in a tree cut down by illegal loggers.
According to Zwicker, long-term raising and reintroduction of a wildcat has never been successful, and the importance of this project gives Turner a strong sense of purpose. Turner’s ...
Pursuing the fleeing daughter of Angola’s previous president to recover vast amounts of stolen public money is being hailed as a major test of unravelling Angola’s deeply ingrained corruption. But the country’s poor actually benefiting from these attempts seems unlikely.
Like South Africa’s infamous Gupta brothers, Isabel dos Santos is believed to be hiding in Dubai from prosecutors who want her for an alleged massive theft of public money. The apparently ill-gotten gains of the daughter of Angola’s previous president, the late José Eduardo dos Santos, lie frozen in accounts in many countries.
Her case is becoming a major test of Angolan President João Lourenço’s commitment to unravelling his country’s deeply ingrained corruption. It will also test the resolve of foreign countries to help Angola recover the vast amounts that she and others allegedly stashed abroad. This has implications for other African states.
It was common knowledge for decades that former president Dos Santos, who came to power in 1979, was fleecing Angola’s coffers on an industrial scale. And no one believed his daughter’s claim that she became a multibillionaire through her business acumen.
But it was only after Dos Santos retired as president in 2017 and was succeeded by Lourenço that the proof began to surface. The 2020 Luanda Leaks published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media confirmed the rumours.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Angola’s José Eduardo dos Santos was a ruthless manipulator who left no legacy”
The exposé revealed how Dos Santos had created Isabel’s wealth by awarding her companies, public contracts, tax breaks, telecom licences, diamond mining rights and preferential loans. And by making her chief executive of the state oil company Sonangol – a vital post in a country almost entirely dependent on oil revenue.
Stashed assets
The ICIJ estimated that Isabel dos Santos had stashed at least US$2.1-billion in bank accounts and assets – mostly in Europe, especially Portugal, but also in the US and Asia. Other estimates go higher. That was when Angolan authorities charged her with money laundering and embezzlement, precipitating a worldwide avalanche of legal actions against her.
Angolan, Portuguese and American authorities froze Dos Santos’s many assets and bank accounts, and they and other jurisdictions launched criminal investigations against her. The US and other governments banned her from entering their countries. Her business empire in Angola and abroad was largely dismantled.
Late last year, Interpol issued a Red Notice calling on all governments to provisionally arrest ...
Not a single ball was bowled on day three of the final Test match between South Africa and Australia in Sydney, with rain once again dictating the proceedings.
Heavy rain washed out the third day of the already weather-disrupted third and final Test between Australia and South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, 6 January.
Play was formally abandoned soon after what would have been the tea break, with the rain forecast to continue for the rest of the day.
The outlook for the weekend is more promising and Australia should resume their first innings on Saturday, 7 January, on 475 for four, with Usman Khawaja 195 not out and closing on his maiden Test double century.
Ready to bat
Speaking to journalists after play for the day was abandoned, Proteas’ batting coach Justin Sammons said the South Africans were not sure when the Australians would ask them to bat, but that they were ready to do so at any moment.
“If Khawaja wasn’t on 190-odd, they would probably declare straight away [on day four]. So, it depends on how they see that situation. I’d imagine they will let him go out there and try to get to that double – then declare,” said Sammons.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“But we’re not in their change room. It’s a tough one. If they do bat, it will likely be up to that point, where he gets to that double. But they might also say ‘team first’ and send us in to bat straight away.”
Australia have locked up the series after wins in Brisbane and Melbourne, but need a victory in the third Test to be certain of a place in this year’s World Test Championship final.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Australia take charge on gloomy day for Proteas”
The hosts have also released batter Marcus Harris and fast bowler Lance Morris to their Big Bash League teams, and called up Peter Handscomb to act as substitute fielder for the remainder of the Sydney test. DM/Reuters
A seven-bedroom family mansion in a sought-after upmarket Cape Town suburb has been put on the market. The property in question belonged to the Guptas and is among a number of restrained assets relating to the Gupta family business empire.
“The home is in a state of disrepair after many years of neglect” reads a property listing for a house in one of Cape Town’s poshest suburbs. The property in question belonged to the Gupta family.
The seven-bedroom Gupta family mansion in Constantia, Cape Town, is listed for sale for R20-million. Constantia is one of the priciest residential areas in Cape Town and one of the most expensive in the southern suburbs.
According to business rescue practitioners, the sale is in order to retain the value for “whatever value” is left of the estate.
The Bel Ombre property is 8,105m2. An online video of the property shows a green pool, a thatched roof in disarray and several pockets of unkempt grass. Agent Richard Huxham, from Hardie Properties , which listed the property, confirmed to Daily Maverick that it had been listed for sale on 30 December 2022 – and that the company was aware of the property’s association with the Gupta family.
The Guptas bought the property in 2005 for R17-million. In 2017, TimesLive reported there were concerns raised about planned upgrades such as a large gatehouse/generator room with bulletproof glass, enlarged staff quarters and a better lapa, among other changes — which caused ire among residents. Prior to the Guptas’ ownership, the home belonged to Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Islandsite Investments
The Guptas bought the property through their asset company, Islandsite Investments 180 — which also owns the infamous Saxonwold mansion, where a former government minister and senior state agencies officials were seen coming out with bags of money, according to their drivers/protectors.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gigaba, Molefe, Gama, Pita and Singh were leaving Gupta house with bags of money, say witnesses”
The company is currently part of a restraint by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Islandsite was attached in June 2021 when the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the NPA obtained an interim order to secure assets belonging to members of the Gupta family and former associate Iqbal Sharma and his company Nulane Investments 204, pending the outcome of a criminal case. It is owned by Gupta brothers Atul and Rajesh, their wives Chetali and Arti.
In June 2021, Daily Maverick reported ...
Stocks in Asia and US futures climbed ahead of crucial American jobs data that will help identify the path forward for Federal Reserve monetary tightening.
Equities in Japan, Australia and South Korea rose. Shares in Hong Kong and China traded higher to extend recent advances, helped along by news reports that Chinese officials would remove restrictions on property developer borrowing. Contracts for European futures and those for the S&P 500 rose after the US index fell 1.2% on Thursday.
Treasury 10-year yields retreated slightly after their first gain of the week on Thursday following comments from Fed officials. The dollar steadied and the yen fell after the Bank of Japan unveiled further unscheduled bond buying to control its yield curve.
The broadly positive sentiment precedes US nonfarm payroll data to be released on Friday. Estimates peg a decline in new jobs added, indicating a cooling in the labour market that would in turn reduce the need for higher interest rates. However, private payrolls data released on Thursday surpassed estimates and a surprise fall in new claims for unemployment benefits underscored a robust jobs market.
“What the Fed really wants to see is some slack build up in the labour markets, in hopes it can do this gently without creating much of a downturn,” Raghuram Rajan, a former governor of India’s central bank, said on Bloomberg Television. “But it may well be that by the time it seems that it will have raised rates enough, that the momentum takes us down to a mild recession at the very least.”
Market pricing for US interest rates to peak in June increased to above 5% following comments from Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic, who said the central bank still has “much work to do” to tame inflation. St Louis Fed president James Bullard said rates were approaching a sufficiently restrictive zone and that inflation expectations had retreated, offering investors some optimism.
There are increasing signs of pressure on technology companies, with Samsung Electronics Co the latest to report on a demand slump resulting in a 69% plunge in operating profit. Shares in the South Korean giant rose as speculation mounted that the hit to earnings would prompt the company to reduce capital expenditure.
The rise in European stock futures comes ahead of eurozone consumer price index data due later today. Consensus forecasts suggest inflation fell to 9.5% in December from a year earlier, down from 10.1% recorded in November.
Oil rose ...
A bearish mood has gripped the desks of global oil traders as the price of the fossil fuel took a dive in the first trading days of 2023. For the South African economy, this is a double-edged sword. It heralds the promise of slowing inflation and an easing of the cost of living crisis. But concerns about a slowing global economy are a key factor.
Brent Crude futures, the global benchmark for the oil price, fell more than 10% in the first two days of trade in 2023 to below $80 a barrel. Late on Thursday, they were fetching around $78 a barrel.
Compared with its 2022 high reached in March in the immediate wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brent Crude futures have tumbled about 35%. The most recent fall has been triggered by a number of factors, including jitters over the state of the Chinese economy as it remains gripped by Covid-19. China is the world’s top crude importer and so the relative health of its economy — and population, in this case — is a key driver of the price of oil.
A souring outlook for the global economy has also unleashed the oil market’s inner bear. Moody’s recently forecast a “slowcession” for the US for 2023, which sees the world’s largest economy avoiding a recession, but growing at a snail’s pace, as a brutal interest rate hiking cycle bites.
The International Monetary Fund late last year warned of a looming global slowdown, with a third of the global economy expected to tip into a recession. Oil price forecasts for 2023 have been cut by a range of institutions: the US Energy Information Agency, for example, in December revised its forecast for Brent Crude lower, to an average of $92 a barrel from $95.
It has since emerged that Opec lifted production in December, led by Nigeria and in defiance of the cartel’s commitment to cut output, so forecasts can be expected to be revised lower again.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
It’s early days yet, and if you can accurately predict oil’s performance in 2023, you stand to make a lot of money. But the bottom line is that, at the moment, the oil price does not have a lot going for it despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Oil’s pain is the South African consumer’s gain. Along with food prices, oil prices have been a scorching accelerant ...
The ANC has raised concerns about the spate of racist incidents which it believes has presented a threat to social cohesion and non-racialism in the country.
The ANC has resolved that there be harsher action taken against any persons or organisations found to be engaging in racist acts in the country and has lamented the extent to which it believes it has eroded the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity in communities.
Speaking to the media on Thursday during a feedback session of the party’s national conference commission on strategy and tactics, National Executive Committee (NEC) member David Makhura said a racist agenda was being driven by the “right wing”.
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe is now briefing the media.
He says the newly- elected party National Executive Committee will be holding a special meeting in the coming days. This will be the first time they will be gathering since their election. #ANCNationalConference
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) January 5, 2023
Makhura was speaking at the Imvelo Safari Lodge, near Bloemfontein, where the ANC’s Free State structure was participating in the hybrid continuation of the party’s national conference.
“We are heading to a dangerous place which is unacceptable, as long as the ANC is in charge we need to sharpen our response.
“We cannot tolerate racism, we did not discuss specifically instruments like what legislation will be used. We said at the level of the state we need to sharpen our instruments. The South African government needs to be following through on our Constitution. I know that dealing with racism, there may be specific proposals from other commissions on what needs to be done,” according to Makhura.
R350,000 for round of golf with Ramaphosa — ‘We don’t have money, we raise money,’ says ANC’s Mbalula
Makhura noted a number of racist incidents which have recently surfaced on social media and explained that party members felt strongly about the government looking further into curbing them.
The country was rocked by an incident in December, where black teens were barred by white men from entering the pool area at Maselspoort resort in the Free State. When the teens decided to ignore this and proceeded to swim, they were then attacked by a number of white men who were present.
In the video which made the rounds on social media, Kobus Klaassen, the man seen to be allegedly attacking the boys, was charged with attempted murder, common assault and crimen injuria.
Makhura said the ANC is ...
Most of those at the Durban Exhibition Centre — the KwaZulu-Natal venue of the ANC’s postponed and now hybrid 55th conference — were puzzled when organisers decided to play Bob Marley’s hit song Three little Birds with the lyrics - Don't worry about a thing,'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.’ The song played as scores of delegates were filing back to their seats in the plenary after the lunch break.
There was very little sign that the song was able to achieve its purpose of cheering up the sombre and disjointed delegates, many of whom were still showing signs of suffering the effects of a heavy defeat at the Nasrec conference proper in December 2022.
Ahead of that watershed gathering, the KZN ANC was the focal point of the campaign to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa and replace him with a youth-focused and Radical Economic Transformation-oriented leadership collective headed by former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.
Since the conference, the KZN ANC provincial leadership has come forward, accepted defeat and seemingly embraced the new leadership in which Ramaphosa retained his position and his allies dominated both the Top Seven and the 80-plus National Executive Committee (NEC).
In KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC administration took over only in 2004, a decade after the rest of the country was already in the ANC net. Before that, the ANC’s bitter rivals, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) ruled the roost in the province — running the provincial government and most of the then 62 local municipalities spread over mostly deep rural areas.
Existential threat
Now, ahead of the 2024 polls, for the first time in 20 years, the ANC faces an existential threat — corruption, the lacklustre performance of cadres deployed in government and the re-emergence of the IFP threatens to take its power away in KwaZulu-Natal.
The KZN version of the conference was well attended by senior leaders. Former President Jacob Zuma was there, but did not get the same wild applause and reception he got f fcdfrom some KZN delegates at Nasrec. During the lunch break, Zuma was accompanied by a phalanx of bodyguards and greeted a few comrades outside the venue before he was driven away.
Also at the gathering was Zweli Mkhize, who lost his contest with Ramaphosa. Mdumiseni Ntuli, conceded the battle for ANC Secretary-General to Fikile Mbalula by just more than 600 votes, was also mingling with delegates.
Mkhize, Ntuli, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, Malusi Gigaba, ...
I work with seals every day. As part of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s greater mandate to foster a safe environment for all wildlife within our precinct, we manage seal movements and undertake seal rescues, including disentanglements. Over the past 14 years of undertaking seal rescues, I have come to learn a great deal about their behaviour and how they respond to human contact.
Seals regularly come out of the water to rest — often this will happen on beaches. They will usually need to rest for a day or two after a hunting trip, which can result in the seal spending three to four days out at sea.
When a seal rests on a beach that is popular with human activities, the seal will be exposed to people and dogs, which both cause stress for the seal.
This has the potential, typically, of triggering the fight-or-flight response. We always advise people to keep their distance and allow the seal to return to the water, or if the seal fails to do so, to alert the appropriate authorities.
Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in the number of incidents where seals react aggressively to people, including lunging in their direction or, in extreme cases, biting.
This situation is not within their normal behaviour.
Generally, when seals are resting out of the water, and they feel threatened or harassed, they will return to the water to escape. This is why their presence on crowded beaches has not normally been a problem in the past. The situation we are now seeing is that many seals are choosing to rather face the perceived danger aggressively.
Poisoning
The likely reason for this is a long-term side effect of domoic acid poisoning.
Domoic acid poisoning happens when seals eat prey such as fish and crayfish that have been living in or consuming red tide algae. Red tide algae are a natural phenomenon which periodically appears along our coastline.
As the domoic acid builds up quite quickly in the seal’s system, it causes them to be poisoned. Towards the end of 2021, we saw a mass poisoning event that resulted in numerous seals either dying or aborting their pregnancies.
We saw the effects of this all along the Cape coastline.
Domoic acid poisoning causes swelling around the heart and brain, resulting in seals that survive the initial poisoning being left with long-term side effects, typically cardiac weakness and neurological disorders.
The most notable effect that ...
The death toll from the devastating gas tanker explosion in Boksburg on 24 December continues to rise as efforts to repair damage to the OR Tambo Memorial Hospital continue.
The death toll from the tragic Boksburg gas tanker blast on 24 December had, by late Wednesday, risen to 37. Human body parts continue to be found near the site of the explosion.
“Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi is saddened by the rising death toll following the Boksburg tanker explosion on Christmas Eve,” said Vuyo Mhaga, the premier’s spokesperson.
“The premier would like to send condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and continue to pledge his support and that of the provincial government.”
The province is also working with companies and organisations like Avbob and Gift of the Givers in the wake of the disaster. They are assisting with funeral arrangements and continue providing relief to those affected by the blast.
The aftermath
A funeral for four of the victims — all children from the Brits family — was held on Thursday.
Twelve of the 37 people who died in the explosion were healthcare workers stationed at the nearby OR Tambo Memorial Hospital. Several other staff members were injured in the blast, along with eight employees of the Ekurhuleni emergency medical services. Two are still being treated for their injuries.
The driver who inadvertently wedged the tanker beneath the railway bridge was arrested after the blast, but has since been released.
Repairs to hospital
The explosion occurred 100m from the OR Tambo Memorial Hospital, damaging facilities and infrastructure. The hospital’s antenatal clinic, operating theatre, outpatient department and maternity services have since resumed operation, while some areas of the hospital are still being repaired.
According to Zenzo Ndabula, chief executive officer of the hospital, it has been a challenge returning the facility to full operation.
“Today [Thursday] we handed over to contractors three sites — the clinical department, the radiology department as well as the accident and emergency department. We expect the contractors to start as of tomorrow,” Ndabula told Daily Maverick.
The accident has put significant pressure on the services hospital personnel can provide, said Ndabula.
“We’ve got a makeshift accident and emergency unit where the gateway clinic is operating. Now, you have those two services in one. It’s not ideal, really.” Ambulances have also been diverted to other hospitals.
“Ordinarily you don’t expect to go to work and die there. The sound of the explosion, the damage, the feelings. people are traumatised. ...
Eskom’s struggle to keep the lights on is made considerably worse by the theft of diesel fuel. A 40-year-old Atlantis man was allegedly involved in the latest incident of theft at the Ankerlig power station outside Cape Town.
Angelo Cysman, a 40-year-old plant operator at the Ankerlig power station in Atlantis, is accused of stealing diesel worth R500,000. Speaking on condition of anonymity, workers at the plant told Daily Maverick that Cysman’s arrest was merely the tip of the iceberg, and that diesel theft at Ankerlig had been continuing for some time.
Cysman allegedly allowed a vehicle to collect stolen diesel from the site, declared the diesel tanker was empty and that all the fuel had been offloaded, and then allowed the vehicle to leave with the stolen load.
He is charged with theft, but additional charges and more arrests are expected.
Cysman was arrested on 23 December and spent the Christmas weekend behind bars before appearing briefly in the Atlantis Magistrates’ Court on 28 December. He is currently out on R50,000 bail.
According to the power utility, diesel is used for powering the open-cycle gas turbines (OCGT) at Ankerlig and Gourikwa power stations, which have a combined generation capacity of 2,000 MW — equivalent to two stages of load shedding.
The OCGTs are used to make up for a shortfall in generation capacity during outages and breakdowns at Eskom’s coal-fired stations. If OCGTs run efficiently, they enable Eskom to avoid implementing higher stages of load shedding.
According to Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani, Cysman was arrested at home while on suspension.
“Through internal investigations, it was established that the plant operator permitted a vehicle to collect the stolen diesel. he declared the diesel tanker empty and that all diesel had been offloaded, whereas it was not.
“An internal investigation was conducted by Eskom and was then referred to the Hawks. for further probing.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Diesel theft is part of a larger national problem that affects Eskom’s ability to keep the lights on.
In November 2022, two security guards were arrested in connection with the theft of diesel worth R145,930 from an Eskom plant. The guards were employed by a security company contracted by Eskom and had been guarding the Port Rex gas turbine station in East London.
Also in November 2022, an Eskom subcontractor was arrested for allegedly tampering with essential infrastructure at the Camden power station in Mpumalanga, News24 reported. National Prosecuting ...
SA Rugby heads into the new year without a chief executive after Roux and Saru parted ways on 31 December.
SA Rugby (Saru) has officially parted ways with chief executive Jurie Roux following a long-standing legal battle with his former employers, Stellenbosch University.
Roux was found guilty of misallocating R37-million while serving his tenure in the finance department of the Stellenbosch University rugby club, Maties, from 2002 until 2010.
While Roux did not personally benefit from the misallocation of funds, he was found guilty of breaching his contract by manipulating the university’s computerised accounting system.
Roux subsequently lost the appeal against the arbitration ruling and was ordered to pay back the R37-million as well as the university’s legal costs — a case he continues to fight in the Western Cape High Court.
Roux’s position had thus become untenable for Saru and the pair agreed to part ways at the end of 2022.
The summons issued against Roux by Stellenbosch University occurred in 2015, while he was in his capacity as chief executive of Saru — meaning that Saru was unaware of Roux’s misdemeanours at Maties when he was hired in 2010.
‘Delivered only good service’
Despite being embroiled in a seven-year court case with Maties, “Jurie [Roux] delivered only good service to SA Rugby. It’s unfortunate that things beyond ours and his control have forced him to step down from Saru”, Saru president Mark Alexander told News24.
“Jurie agreed to step down in the interest of the game and the organisation. That takes leadership,” added Alexander.
Roux officially stepped down on 31 December 2022 according to the News24 report.
“He served the organisation for 12 years and he added significant value to SA Rugby during his tenure,” added Alexander.
“We must also look at what happened in 2016. In conjunction with the executive, when I took over, we crafted a strategic and turnaround plan for the organisation.
“And he was very key in crafting that plan. In 2016, we failed the transformation targets and came up with a strategic transformation plan and we see those results today. He was one of the drivers of that plan.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Alexander confirmed to News24 that Roux’s tenure exceeded the expectations placed on him.
“In the 12 years, I cannot fault him on the work he’s done,” Alexander said.
“He met and exceeded his KPIs (key performance indicators) during his SA Rugby tenure. He’s a true professional in what he does ...
The second day of the final Test clash between South Africa and Australia saw the hosts pile more pressure on South Africa’s bowling unit, before rain intervened and halted play.
Australia 475 for four in first innings (Usman Khawaja 195, Steve Smith 104, Travis Head 70, Anrich Nortje 2-55).
“It has been a really tough tour, to say the least.”
These were the sentiments of Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj after yet another taxing day at the office for the South Africans.
This after the Australians piled on another mammoth collection of runs before rain halted the second day of play and offered the Proteas some temporary reprieve.
Australia resumed their bid to clinch a convincing 3-0 series win over the tourists on 147 for the loss of two wickets in Sydney. Then up stepped Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja to torment South Africa’s bowling unit.
During a 209-run partnership, Smith struck his 30th Test century, with Khawaja also playing his part as the home side pummeled a flailing South African side.
It was the pair’s 10th century partnership from 33 innings. It also marked a milestone as they overtook their 188 stand against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) back in 2018.
That was not the end of the milestones on the day for the pair though. For Smith, who eventually fell for 104 (caught and bowled by SA spin wizard Maharaj), his return saw him pass Aussie legend Don Bradman’s Test centuries haul.
With his latest Test ton, the 33-year-old batter now has 30 career 100s, with only Ricky Ponting (41) and Steve Waugh (32) having managed more for Australia in this format.
As for Khawaja, he surpassed his previous Test best — 174 against New Zealand at Brisbane in 2015 — and seemed poised to overtake his career-high first-class tally of 214 until another Sydney downpour put paid to the day with 14 overs still to be bowled.
“He’s worked really hard. He plays all around the wicket and trusts his defence. He knows his scoring opportunities. He’s got really good hands. So, he’s worked really hard and is a different player to what he was four years ago against spin,” said Maharaj of Khawaja’s impressive knock.
Australia’s Test skipper Pat Cummins is likely to allow Khawaja a few overs to try and reach his maiden double century when play resumes tomorrow morning. He is only five runs short, while the Aussies are just 25 runs short of an ...
Residents of Komani in the Eastern Cape have been cooking and dining by candlelight for weeks on end, with power cuts that last way beyond scheduled bouts of load shedding that people are experiencing countrywide.
There is nothing charming or exotic about candlelit dinners in Komani, formerly Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape. Ever since November, when the sun sets, residents in some areas use candles as their only source of light.
Cooking on a gas stove while the neighbours light fires to prepare meals has also become the new normal in Komani.
The saying that “the night is alive” takes on new meaning indoors. Every time you move, the flickering shadows create the impression that something or someone is following you.
Some even enjoy the shadows, using their hands to make animal shapes — but those playing the game are drowned out by the noise made by people sitting around the fires outside.
The electrical infrastructure in Komani is in a neglected state and power outages are frequent.
Warner Street, Sterkstroom, Flowers Halt and Madeira Park have been without power for almost a month. This is according to Sean Russell of local funeral parlour Russell and Son, and Andre Sieberhagen, a member of the Civic and Ratepayers Association of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality.
On 9 December, lightning struck a mini substation causing power outages in Magxaki, Khayelitsha, Nomzamo, Phola Park, Railway, Nkululekweni and Melton Gardens.
The power was restored two weeks later, but a subsequent cable fault plunged some areas back into darkness.
I live in Khayelitsha, and not having access to a reliable communications network was a problem. I had to walk to the top of a hill — a kilometre from home — to get a signal so that I could make calls and check emails.
Spoilt groceries
Some people had to share fridge space with friends and family in areas that had power. One Khayelitsha resident, Zukisani Mdi, said he lost almost all his December groceries after spending close to a month without electricity.
“I kept my meat at my relative’s home, but even there it was not safe because they also had their days without electricity,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The outages have hurt local businesses financially — Jomo Jaxa of Esibindini had to buy ice to keep stock cool at a cost of more than R400 every day.
The enthusiastic young entrepreneur said that since the outages in Nomzamo began, he ...
It will be a matter of weeks before David Mabuza will know whether he will remain in his position or will have to make way for Cyril Ramaphosa’s new second in command Paul Mashatile.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula told the media at the second leg of the party’s national conference that the President and the ANC are still mulling over former party Deputy President David Mabuza’s political future. However, he highlighted that a decision would be taken in the near future.
This comes after Paul Mashatile was voted in as the party’s Deputy President at the national conference last month. Mashatile was elected over former ANC Youth League leader Ronald Lamola and Eastern Cape chair Oscar Mabuyane, while Mabuza declined a nomination from the floor.
“The conference has sat and we have a new Deputy President, the other one is in government and the other one is of the party. Whether or not we would combine or we will allow it go on like that until 2024. At the moment I do want to tell you what I think, I want to give you the actual ANC position. What I can tell you right now is that we are seized with these matters and in the next two weeks, we will be able to give an answer on that,” Mbalula said.
ANC’s NEC nomination list peppered with young(ish) contenders, controversial characters and RET leaders
The ANC leadership is usually aligned with that of the state to avoid what is deemed as “two centres of power” which will likely mean that Mabuza is booted out.
Not only did he not make the party’s Top Seven, Mabuza also failed to be elected into the organisation’s newly-elected National Executive Committee (NEC).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The ANC is concluding its national conference in the next two days with the party expected to wrap up its discussions on key party policy. Commissions will be held throughout Thursday and Friday.
Whether Eastern Cape provincial executive member, Andile Lungisa will be able to assume his position as an NEC member, is yet to be determined. He was allowed to run for the NEC despite having been suspended by the party.
Lungisa faced the ANC’s Provincial Disciplinary Committee after being charged with violating Rule 25.17.2. of the party’s constitution. The charges relate to his criminal record for smashing a glass jug on an opposition party member’s head six years ...
Part two of the ANC’s 55th national conference got shakily underway on Thursday. ANC delegates are meeting partly in person in Mangaung and partly online from their respective provinces to finish discussing and voting on policy resolutions left over from the December 2022 conference.
The ANC gathers en masse each 8 January to celebrate the party’s birthday — but this year, things are playing out a bit differently.
In the days ahead of the birthday party in Mangaung, Free State, ANC branch delegates who attended the December 2022 electoral conference at Nasrec are reconvening in order to conclude the unfinished business.
As a result of delays in the verification and registration of delegates, the Nasrec conference was able only to elect the party’s new Top Seven and its national executive committee (NEC) before the meeting’s scheduled end — which could not be extended due to issues involving the venue booking and expense.
On Thursday and Friday this week, the party’s delegates are gathering once again in a hybrid format, which will see ANC leaders, Free State delegates and some others joining an in-person meeting in Mangaung, while delegates from other provinces participate via online platforms from their home provinces.
Unsurprisingly, the start of the reconvened conference was again plagued with delays and technological difficulties — but by mid-morning on Thursday, events were underway.
This is a proposed draft programme of the day’s activities:
President Ramaphosa: It’s do or die time for ANC
Re-elected ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa opened this second part of the conference by urging delegates to reflect on the significance of the moment.
The decisions taken by the delegates, Ramaphosa said, will determine whether the party is able to turn the tide on its declining electoral and organisational fortunes.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ramaphosa reminded delegates of the outcome of the December conference, which he considered a victory for non-factionalism and anti-corruption.
He asked the ANC members to engage deeply and constructively with the discussions ahead and warned them that proceedings would probably stretch throughout the night. ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula subsequently confirmed as much to the media.
The agenda for the 55th conference, part 2
Over the next two days, delegates will be considering policy proposals and resolutions coming out of various ANC committees, and voting accordingly.
Read from our archives key articles from the policy conference last year here:
FROM OUR ARCHIVES – Inside the ANC policy conference: Read these key articles to understand ...
While the ANC will discuss policy at its national policy conference, the weekend will really be a proxy battleground for the governing party's elective conference at the end of the year.
ANC’s step-aside rule – the central 2022 proxy battle for ultimate power
FoIt’s about politics, positioning and power. And the step-aside rule is set to take centre stage as the policy proxy battle when the governing ANC meets for its policy conference, which begins on Friday. Marianne Merten reports.
ANC supports a basic income of R350 and proposals to ensure race parity in schools
At its national policy conference this week, the party will also hear proposals by the Women’s League for the chemical castration of sex offenders to be put back on the agenda. Ferial Haffajee reports.
Step-aside resolution key part of ANC renewal – economic transformation head Mmamoloko Kubayi
The National Policy Conference of the ANC will take place on Friday and Saturday at Nasrec in Johannesburg, where party members from around the country will discuss key issues such as the party’s step-aside rule. The ANC has been divided on this rule, with some saying it should be scrapped. Queenin Masuabi reports.
ANC discussion papers reveal the governing party’s dystopian vision of South Africa’s future
The ANC does not simply want to govern South Africa. It wants to be “the leader of society”, to spearhead a “moral regeneration”, and to fight back against “social decadence”. These are some of the aims contained in the policy papers tabled for discussion ahead of the ANC’s upcoming national policy conference, Rebecca Davis writes.
ANC cash crunch makes for a damp squib of fundraiser gala dinner
Despite seats being advertised from R5,000 to R20,000 the gala dinner was almost cancelled through a lack of interest, writes Carien du Plessis.
ANC’s policy document wish list may yet alter South Africa’s future for the better
While the ANC’s policy conference in late June this year is officially about the battle of policy ideas, there are strong indications already that the power contest(s) will overshadow debates around ideology and delivery. And yet, the policy documents published by the party ahead of its conference are important, as they give an indication of what officially the future direction of the party could be, writes Stephen Grootes.
Policy documents reveal how ANC failed to implement key economic strategies over five years
The governing party’s policy documents reveal its shortcomings since 2017, and what it will need to do to revive the ...
If you think the Karoo dies once the sun goes down, you haven’t spent much time in Aberdeen.
Summer, 2009: I’ve heard of a bicycle built for two – Nat King Cole sings about it.
So when Sagrys van Jaarsveld and his sweetheart Johanna van Wyk come tootling down the road in Aberdeen in their bike & cart contraption, I think very little of it. Out here in the Karoo, bedsteads in the veld, mountain climbers wearing bow ties, old ladies festooned with cats and Brits in bowler hats are de rigeur.
But when I hear they’re about to pedal more than 55 km to go shopping in Graaff-Reinet, it gives me pause. So much so, that later on, while firmly ensconced at the Art’s Café in Aberdeen behind a cold beer and a plate of pasta, I mention them to the owner, Dallis Graham.
“Sagrys and Johanna – a dear couple,” she says. “He pedals her off to church on Sundays and she sits perched on the back like a princess.” Sagrys might – in a future with no fossil fuel – become a rich man making bicycle trailers.
An artist and pataphysician
I’m on an informal quest for the quietest, most nothing-going-on town in the Karoo. I’m afraid the village of Aberdeen doesn’t cut it. There’s too much nightlife here, emanating from places like the Art’s Café. And the locals have a lot going on in their country lives.
Take Dallis’s artist husband, Hilary Graham. If you Google the guy, you’ll find out he was the “official painter to the pataphysician Y. Maharg, who was always accompanied by the baboon Bosse-de-Nage. They traveled in the pataphysical craft Anotur Neves.”
What? I begin trying to unravel this sci-fi mind-spaghetti by asking Hilary just what a “pataphysician” could be.
“A pataphysician studies a universe of alternative solutions contemporaneous to this one,” he tells me, with a straight face.
Apart from his Mahargian adventures, Hilary Graham is also known for his huge painting of the sinking of the troopship Mendi, on show at the Nelson Mandela Bay Museum in Port Elizabeth. His work is robust, burlesque and narrative, exploring hidden themes.
Martial arts in a pup tent
It’s a great night to be out in Aberdeen, drinking beer, watching the passing traffic on the dusty main road and talking of such strange things.
At my table is Bernard Raczokowski, a German fellow from Hamburg who’s bought a place across the road off the Internet. ...
On the koppies around Nelspoort lies history written in rock – with an ancient soundtrack.
Spring, 2002: From a hillside, you look down into a long, shallow valley.
A railway line and a dry rivercourse run beside one another, leading into the vanishing distance. A bulky flat-topped hill behind you looms over the landscape. Just over a ridge on the right is the little railway settlement of Nelspoort.
Back in the 1850s, missionary David Livingstone was already talking of the Karoo as the perfect place to cure lung diseases. So tuberculosis sufferers – in the days when it was still called consumption – headed for this dry land.
The healing Karoo
“Many sufferers were healed, but for others it was too late. On the farm Courlandskloof near Nelspoort, a Swedish man called Petersen carved a homesick poem onto a rock just before his death from lung disease,” writes Karoo historian Rose Willis in an edition of Rose’s Roundup, her well-loved regular newsletter.
“Despite being so sick, he climbed the hill every day for two weeks to finish his engraving, according to Reverend Paul de Villiers, who once lived on the farm.”
By the 1900s, the plague and TB were killing thousands in Cape Town. Doctors heard of the miracle cures being achieved in the Karoo and set off to investigate.
Philanthropist and retailer John Garlick donated 25,000 pounds to the Society for the Prevention of Consumption. Others added to the sum and finally there was 108,000 pounds available for “the first chest hospital on the African continent”.
A farm at Nelspoort was chosen because it had plenty of fresh water, fertile ground and rail access.
In 1925, the Prince of Wales officially opened the sanatorium with a ceremonial gold key he was given as a gift.
From then until 1969, when the first effective TB drugs were invented, Nelspoort was a place of healing, and remains so, albeit on a smaller scale these days. There is still a sanatorium here, treating mentally ill patients and those with lung disease.
Art on the ironstone
But now it’s far more famous for the stories etched in its rocks.
Grasses and bossies and the occasional small tree fill the landscape between large dark boulders that are strewn all over. These are dolerite rocks, also known as ironstone, and they had a fiery origin deep in the earth, rising as molten magma 182 million years ago. It oozed into the underground faults and hollows, dykes and sills. Then ...
Although listed cannabis company Labat Africa’s share price has tanked by 70% over the past year to sit at a current low of nine cents, management is confident that the ship will swing around over the next two years on the back of export contracts.
Labat Africa chief executive Brian van Rooyen admits that the company’s share price has been “taking a beating”, but says one of the reasons is that 19 million shares were sold when the share was between 18 cents and 10 cents.
“There could be a number of reasons [for the share price falling]. I’m not going to pay a lot of money to find out what the reasons are, but the market in South Africa hasn’t really taken to cannabis yet,” he says.
As an example of this, Van Rooyen points to Cilo Cybin, a South African medical cannabis company that planned to raise R2-billion through a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), but flopped when it failed to raise the minimum required by the JSE.
Cilo Cybin founder Gabriel Theron told investors they would be refunded and that the company would focus on new developments in the pipeline.
“It is in the company’s best interest to focus on its growth initiatives and postpone listings to a later date,” he said in a statement issued in November 2022.
Optimism follows dismal results
But back to Labat Africa. One reason for the fall in the share price could be the dismal results the company posted at the end of May 2022.
Shareholders would have seen the company take a hit of 21% on revenue at R23-million, while it also registered a loss of R34-million. The loss is attributed to impairments in line with international accounting standards (R16-million) and further investments into the healthcare (cannabis) operations (R12.5-million). That leaves a R5.5-million loss that was not addressed during the interview with Business Maverick.
Looking ahead, Van Rooyen is optimistic about the future of the company, banking on extraction agreements tied to the Sweet Waters cannabis cultivation and extraction facility in the Eastern Cape.
“We were recently awarded an extraction licence, making us one of only three companies in the country that can legally extract not only CBD, but all types of THC, which we can then export,” he says.
In the current financial year that started in June 2022, revenue-generating activities have been increasing month-on-month. The major contributors have been the Sweet Waters cultivation operation and Labat’s Cannafrica retail operations.
Exports
Sweet ...
Naspers and its Amsterdam-based subsidiary announced an update on their convoluted open-ended repurchase programme, through which they aim to unlock ‘immediate value’ for shareholders.
Shares in Naspers and Prosus surged by almost 5% on Wednesday after the companies announced an update on their open-ended repurchase programme, through which they are offloading Tencent shares.
The programme, announced on 27 June 2021, is aimed at “efficiently” unlocking immediate value for shareholders and increasing NAV [net asset value] per share over time.
In essence, the buyback programme allows Naspers-Prosus to fund other businesses (mostly startups, although the group said it has adapted to the new market realities by setting higher targets for M&A returns) around the world through dividends from Tencent, which suffered declining revenue for two consecutive quarters last year.
Prosus currently has a 26.9% stake in Tencent, down from 28.8% (worth about $128-billion) in June 2022.
‘Committed’ to Tencent
On 23 November, during the diversified media and technology group’s interim results announcement, CEO Bob van Dijk said they had invested heavily in some of their divisions and offloaded risky stakes in others, but were “absolutely committed” to remaining a very large shareholder in Tencent for a long time to come.
He said they were accelerating their path to profitability and that repurchasing their own stock was a “great use” of their capital: “Investing in Tencent and our own e-commerce portfolio at a 40% discount significantly improves NAV per share and creates permanent value that will compound over time.” Van Dijk said $15-billion of value had been created on announcement of the programme.
Earlier in November, Reuters reported that Tencent had planned to distribute $20-billion of stock in meal delivery giant Meituan in 2023, which triggered a selloff of Chinese internet stocks as investors feared more divestments by the online gaming business were in the offing.
The Chinese government cracked down on local tech giants last year for anti-competitive behaviour, which hit tech stocks hard, wiping billions of dollars off the value of giants including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, with the companies posting their slowest growth yet.
The Reuters report suggested the JD Group and Meituan dividends were likely to be aimed at buying goodwill with the Chinese government.
In effect, the Meituan plan meant a R100-billion boost for Naspers.
Naspers had already disposed of the JD Group in June last year, raising $3.7-billion from the sale.
But on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported Chinese shares were off to a strong start in 2023, as fears of ...
A microsatellite manufactured in South Africa was launched in the US on Tuesday, 3 January. This is the first time since 2009 that a microsatellite from this country has been sent into space.
A South African-made microsatellite, EOS SAT-1, blasted off from SpaceX’s launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 3 January. The satellite was manufactured by Stellenbosch-based company, Dragonfly Aerospace, founded in 2019.
The satellite was created to provide data to the agriculture and forestry industry that will aid with sustainable agricultural practices and possibly help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to Artiom Anisimov, CEO of EOS Data Analytics.
“The satellite is manufactured for imaging cultivated lands and forest areas, analysing generated data for learning about plant development and soil condition, and correlating these insights with meteorological and crop/forest management data,” said Anisimov.
First since 2009
South Africa’s history with satellites dates back to the 1990s with the launch of the Stellenbosch University Satellite, or SunSat-1, which was sent into space in 1999, says Martin Viljoen of Stellenbosch University.
EOS SAT-1 is the first microsatellite manufactured in South Africa since 2009, said Bryan Dean, CEO and co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace.
EOS SAT-1 is the first in a seven-satellite series — otherwise known as a constellation — called EOS SAT, according to Anisimov. The other six satellites in the constellation will be launched over the next three years. EOS SAT-1 will capture images in low Earth orbit.
“EOS SAT-1 is about to make history by becoming the first instalment in the world’s first [agriculture-focused] constellation launched by a company utilising remote sensing tech,” said Anisimov.
Showcasing engineering capability
“The design, development, integration and acceptance testing of the EOS SAT-1 satellite were conducted over a period of three years in our Stellenbosch facilities,” said Schalk Olivier, general manager of Dragonfly Aerospace.
The EOS SAT-1 showcases the aerospace engineering capability in South Africa, said Olivier.
“The launch will further the development of the South African space industry, which is an export industry that is potentially worth billions of rands per year,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The launch will add credibility to the SA space industry, which will lead to more customers and stimulate its development, Olivier added.
Growth in the space industry means SA will be relied on more for components and services, according to Olivier.
The Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) helped facilitate Dragonfly Aerospace’s interaction with the South African government, said Roelf Meyer, co-founder of PPGI and ...
Swimmers at Clifton’s 4th beach were left in shock on Tuesday after a seal pup attacked a child and a woman. However, experts caution that it's not aggressive behaviour, but defensive behaviour and possibly linked to swelling of the brain brought on by domoic acid poisoning from red tide algae bloom.
A Cape fur seal can be seen frolicking near the shore while the person doing the filming remarks on how cute it is. Moments later, the seal lunges for a boy and begins attacking him.
Bystanders quickly help the child out of the water as a lifeguard blows a whistle to alert others swimming nearby. The seal then heads towards a woman and attacks her too. A man is seen grabbing the seal and heading to the beach with it, before turning and throwing it back into the sea.
Baby seal attacks kid and female at Clifton 4th Beach!
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief predicted attacks ‘deeper and deeper’ inside Russian territory, as Germany’s top diplomat said there was little sign that President Vladimir Putin planned to end the war any time soon.
Kyrylo Budanov, the Ukraine military intelligence chief, also told ABC News that he expected fighting to flare up in March as Ukraine pushed on with an offensive.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, meanwhile, said Putin “alone can end” the conflict.
“If Russia stops bombing and withdraws its soldiers, we will have peace,” Baerbock said in an interview with news website, Table.Media.
Russia said 89 soldiers died in a Ukrainian rocket attack on New Year’s Day, raising the estimate for the number killed from 63 in what is the highest acknowledged Russian death toll of the war. Putin planned to hold talks on Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has sought to play an intermediary role in the conflict.
Key developments
Putin puts frigate with hypersonic missiles on combat duty
Ukraine plant must be seized from Russia, nuclear chief says
Russia ups death toll in Ukraine strike, blames cellphone use
McDonald’s brought a revolution to Russia, but it wasn’t enough
Europe gas falls again as warm weather brings relief for markets
On the ground
Russian forces focused on a push toward Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and were attempting to improve their positions near Kupyansk, Avdiivka and Lyman, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks near 10 settlements mainly in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, it added.
In the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched seven missile strikes, 18 air attacks and targeted civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions with multiple-launch rocket systems, according to the statement.
Ukraine plans major military push in spring, Budanov says
Fighting is likely to be “hottest” in March as Ukraine plans a spring offensive into territory including the eastern Donbas region, controlled by Moscow before the 24 February invasion, and Crimea, which was seized by Russia in 2014, the intelligence chief said.
Strikes would take place “deeper and deeper” inside Russia, he said, without specifying who would be behind the attacks.
“I promise it will not take too long now, and every taxpayer in the US will be able to see where every cent went,” Budanov told ABC News in an interview from Kyiv.
Ukraine plant must be seized from Russia, nuclear chief says
Ukraine must seize Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant back from Russia by force, as efforts to establish a ...
What is considered ‘luxury’ is different now to what it was in ancient times – but it’s always about conspicuous displays of wealth and consumption.
In today’s world it could be said, to a certain degree, that even a relatively impoverished person engages with luxury, in some way.
If you enjoy regulated heating or cooling at home, regular lighting, chicken meat, or eat chocolates, you are engaging with formats that once indicated luxury.
But what is, and is not, considered to be a luxury, changes with the times.
Decadence and luxury
When we describe a dessert as “decadent” today, we must remember it really means decaying, a concept related to the “Romans of the decadence” whose lavish lifestyles are held up as proof of why the Empire had to fail.
The Romans saw luxury as quintessentially foreign and therefore alien to the true and olden spirit of the Roman polis. This is why luxury was often represented as coming from “the Orient”, the source of rare scents, spices, gems, ivories and enslaved peoples.
As a result, the Romans introduced sumptuary laws, which were prescriptions to manage conspicuous consumption of things like expensive clothing and jewellery worn by social groups, but also the amount spent on banquets and even funerals.
This was necessary, because the ancient Romans enjoyed conspicuous luxury. They liked to eat food whose ingredients resembled another. They enjoyed delicacies such as fattened fowls, peacock, oysters, ham, wild boar and fig-peckers, the latter eaten whole, sometimes all combined together in a crusted paté, even though this was forbidden by the new laws. There were even luxuries in enslaved peoples. The poet Juvenal commented satirically that clearly it was better to have a bevy of pretty pageboys (exoleti) arranged according to their nationality, size and hair colour serving the drinks rather than coarse household help.
There is a long continuity in this type of consumption. In the 19th century, for example, there was a premium on tall footmen matching in size and the Victorians loved elaborate feasts with multiple courses.
Follow the money
By the mid 19th century, wealth from new industries created enormous fortunes at a time when taxation and labour costs were low.
North Americans became the richest people in the world. Clare Booth Luce, formerly married to the chairman of Time- Life, said:
“In America money is a thing less valued in the spending than in the earning. It is less a symbol of luxury than of ‘success’, less of ...
The DStv Premiership made its return at the tail end of December, with matches played for the first time since the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns ended 2022 with a win and, in their first match of 2023, the Tshwane side recorded another victory.
It’s a new year. New beginnings. People have come up with resolutions to ensure that by the end of 2023 they are living happier, healthier lives.
Then there is Mamelodi Sundowns, who have had only one resolution over the past five seasons — to keep winning and being the best soccer club in South Africa.
In 2023 they have the same mandate, which they have so far executed with the efficiency that has come to define them during their 10-year dominance of South African football.
With a 2-0 victory over Orlando Pirates to wrap up 2022 in the DStv Premiership, and another 2-0 win over Swallows on Tuesday — setting the tone for 2023 — Masandawana have now recorded eight consecutive league wins.
This is the Tshwane team’s best return since a 10-game winning streak in 2014.
Resilient Birds
In the game against Swallows to kickstart the new year, Sundowns were made to sweat as the Birds frustrated them with a low block — until Neo Maema broke the deadlock with a cracking, curling effort just after 60 minutes.
The Swallows wall collapsed and Sundowns doubled their lead thanks to some wonderful interplay between veteran Themba Zwane and starlet Cassius Mailula.
With the win, Sundowns — who have won the Premiership title five seasons in a row — are now seven points clear of their Pretoria neighbours, SuperSport United.
They have won their last four matches with a 12-0 aggregate. This led to Swallows head coach Ernst Middendorp claiming that the South African league champions (12 titles in total) have already won their 13th league trophy.
This claim was shot down as premature by his Sundowns counterpart, Rulani Mokwena.
“It’s too early to say that the league is wrapped up. Because there is still such a long way [to go]. No league title has ever been won in January. There are so many games still to go,” Mokwena told journalists after they beat Swallows.
Of course, the young mentor is not wrong, with 14 games played so far in 2022/2023, 16 matches remain. However, Middendorp is equally correct as Sundowns have recently not lost the league title from winning positions.
Another factor that generally separates them from ...
Maverick Life speaks to a financial advisor on how you can better manage your budget during inflation.
Inflation, defined by the International Monetary Fund as “the rate of increase in prices over a given period of time”, might affect South Africans differently than in countries such as the US. Indeed, Devon Card, a certified financial planner at Crue Invest in Cape Town, explains that while the concept of inflation is the same globally, South Africa usually does not reap its potential benefits (consistent, low inflation) because of our struggling economy.
For example, Card notes that if wages usually increase to be on par with inflation, in South Africa the average wage has not been able to keep up due to how much our inflation rates increase. This has resulted in immense economic stress for the average South African, and inflation’s unpredictability has made it difficult to plan and adapt accordingly.
Keep track of how you spend your money
“Having a budget and regularly checking in on it are two different things,” says Card. While having a budget in the first place is an absolute must, checking it and tracking your purchases are even more important.
Watch how you spend your money and what you spend it on. Try to pick up on spending habits and evaluate them. For large expenses such as bond repayments, it is preferable not to commit to the first option presented to you; instead, shop around and compare – and this can be applied to expenses such as car loans or insurance as well. “Even a small decrease in rate will result in you freeing up some disposable monthly income,” says Card.
If you need to cut down on expenses, cut strategically – don’t remove essentials from your budget just because they aren’t needed immediately. Start from the smaller things to the larger items. It may sound like common sense, but asking questions like “what can you absolutely live without?” and “what is essential?” are crucial to build a healthy budget (your medical aid and gap cover, as well as life and disability insurance if you have such covers, can be tempting to cut out because they don’t feel like they are for imminent use; but in the long run they might make a huge difference).
Your entertainment budget ultimately has the most wiggle room: look at your spending on socialising, eating out and unnecessary subscriptions. Food and clothing costs are a middle ...
Loco drivers, their firemen and their gleaming steam trains have a special place in the timeless chronicle of Karoo legends.
Spring, 1988: In days gone by, when De Aar was a full-steam-ahead kind of town, the locomotive drivers would yank their whistles late at night as they approached the Karoo settlement. Each driver would have his own signature tune, and his family living in the town would know it well. They would prepare for his return the minute that whistle went off.
To the general public of De Aar, the particular lilt of a loco whistle would indicate the way the Karoo wind was blowing that night – and what kind of weather they could expect the next day.
Nearly everything in De Aar revolved around The Colossus, the steam locomotive. For more than a century, the railroad tracks sang the praises of these huge metal dragons criss-crossing South Africa – and meeting in this Northern Cape town.
National steam no more
Steam has disappeared from our railroad system, except for the occasional heritage train experience. And then the sight of a loco in full toot across the veld is a wonderful hit of nostalgia.
A long-standing community of locomotive drivers and stokers retired to De Aar in the 1980s, perhaps to be close to one of the country’s last refuges of the steam train. That’s when I caught up with a few of them, and heard their stories.
A man like Piet Claassen grew up next to the tracks, in a little railway house in Kranskuil. His father worked on the railways, and so young Piet joined the SAR&H as well. That was the way, then.
“If your father was a railroad man, you became one as well,” said this huge 49-year-old senior staffer at De Aar Station.
Piet learns to stoke
When Piet was 16, he went to Keetmanshoop in the then-South West Africa as a station cleaner. It was the only job available on the railways, and he spent six long months cleaning trains and learning the time-honoured art of stoking.
One day a stoker fell sick and the supervisors chose someone from the yard – Piet Claassen. The driver was one Willem Rossouw, with 30 hard years’ experience.
“Willem was a good man. He knew his train well. If you couldn’t keep the steam flowing, he did it for you.”
Piet Claassen became Willem Rossouw’s regular stoker, the “driver’s eyes on the left-hand side”.
He would fire up the loco ...
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board had hoped the tragedy at East London’s Enyobeni Tavern had provided a valuable lesson to its liquor traders. Now, seven months later, three people — including two underage teenagers — died in an Eastern Cape tavern after allegedly being sprayed with an unknown substance.
The tragedy occurred on the evening of Sunday, 25 December at the Razzmatazz Tavern in the small Karoo town of Hofmeyr in the Chris Hani District. Eastern Cape police are investigating the deaths of Menzi Inathi, 17, Qhashani Cwegna, 15, and 25-year-old Mahlantsi Sinoxolo.
News24 reported that police were probing claims that a mysterious substance was sprayed in a tavern in Hofmeyr, allegedly leading to the deaths of the two girls and a young woman on Christmas Day.
The Liquor Board has closed down the tavern pending further investigations.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana, said police do not want to speculate on the cause of the tavern patrons’ deaths, but said this would be investigated.
“The suspect has not been identified and therefore is not known at this stage. However, the investigation is continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident,” said Kinana.
Mlungisi Mvoko, MEC for Economic Development in the Eastern Cape, expressed his concern about the deaths of the young people and emphasised that it was important for the government, police and communities to work together to combat underage drinking and the sale of liquor to minors.
Mgwebi Msiya, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, told Daily Maverick on Wednesday that the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy should have served as a valuable lesson to liquor traders, preventing a repetition of that incident.
On 26 June last year, 21 youngsters, one just 13 years old, died in Enyobeni Tavern in East London. They were at a party celebrating the start of the winter holidays.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ ‘People walked on us after we fainted’: Survivors share their trauma after East London ‘tavern of death’ horror”
The families fear they will never know what killed their children.
Methanol poisoning investigated as a possible cause of tavern deaths
Commenting on the latest tragedy, Msiya said: “We are very disappointed that in a very short space of time we have a very similar kind of incident in Hofmeyr. So we are completely disillusioned by this incident. We want to send a very clear warning to other liquor traders.
“We will be very harsh with anyone who continues to flout their liquor ...
In the energy and electricity sectors of South Africa, there is much that could be done and should be done, that is not being done. On the bright side, this should be a cause for some optimism, as it points to the massive opportunities that are within our grasp.
There would be good cause for pessimism if we were doing much of the right stuff, while still remaining stuck in the current mess.
The purpose of this article is to highlight the substantial challenges that we should be addressing, and, in so doing, appreciate and understand the significant opportunities that exist by successfully addressing just some of these.
Also read here about Eskom’s challenges and plans for 2023:
A country ‘ungovernable’ — how Eskom plans to tackle the scourge of sabotage, fraud and corruption in 2023
Energy and electricity policy
South Africa has experienced a backwards-looking failure by leaders at the highest level to understand and respond to challenges facing the international and local energy and electricity sectors, and to adapt accordingly.
Over-complicated and outdated oversight and governance arrangements by an excessive number of government departments and agencies, together with inadequate policy, regulatory, planning and oversight capacity for the electricity supply and distribution industries of South Africa, are plainly evident.
These governance and oversight bodies include the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), National Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the South African Local Government Association (Salga).
At the same time, ongoing energy and electricity policy uncertainty, combined with mixed messaging emanating from the Presidency, the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), National Treasury, DMRE, DPE and DFFE, is adding to the toll which regular rolling blackouts are taking on economic growth, business confidence and investment.
In 2022, the frequency and intensity of rolling blackouts to protect the national grid reached new record highs. Data from renowned rolling blackouts app, EskomSePush, indicates that the national utility failed to deliver an estimated 11,797 GWh of energy during 3,775 hours of rolling power cuts in 2022, some 4.73 times higher than the 2,496 GWh of unserved energy resulting from 1,153 hours of power cuts in 2021.
There is clearly a need for more consistent, coherent and well-articulated energy and electricity policies and strategies in South Africa. However, there is an apparent inability and/or unwillingness by politicians ...
Australia sit comfortably on 147 for the loss of two wickets in a day marred by controversy — from Covid scares to dropped catches.
Only 47 overs were bowled on day one of the third and final Test match between Australia and South Africa in Sydney, with Australia on 147 for two overnight.
Marnus Labuschagne and opener Usman Khawaja contributed 126 of those runs. Khawaja ended the day on 54 not out while Labuschagne was dismissed with the final delivery of the day, a snorter of a delivery by Anrich Nortje, for 79.
Incessant cloud cover contributed to both bad light and sporadic rain, ensuring the first day of the traditional Pink Test – in support of Breast Cancer Awareness initiated by former Aussie fast bowler Glenn McGrath – only saw half the allotted overs bowled.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. The overhead conditions usually favour fast bowling but the slow, low nature of the Sydney pitch made batting comfortable.
“It looks like a very dry wicket. As we’re landing and following through [while bowling] there’s quite a few marks there and that’s already on day one,” said Nortje after the first day’s play.
Both sides responded to the conditions of the wicket by bringing in an extra spin bowler to their bowling attack. Simon Harmer for South Africa, replaced Lungi Ngidi and Ashton Agar for Australia, replaced the injured Mitchell Starc.
The other injury casualty of the Boxing Day Test match, Cameron Green was replaced by Matthew Renshaw in Australia’s playing 11.
However, before Aussie captain Pat Cummins flipped the coin at the toss, Renshaw returned a positive Covid test.
Australia were allowed to replace Renshaw but decided against it, instead opting to isolate the player from the rest of the squad, as he even stood separate from the rest of the side during the singing of the national anthems.
The official take was that he was allowed to play as he did not display any obvious coronavirus symptoms.
Australia listed Peter Handscomb (not originally in the squad) as an emergency player — raising questions about when their team management knew of Renshaw’s health concerns.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Blow-by-blow
Nortje was the pick of the South African bowlers, bowling with relentless energy on a wicket that provided him with little assistance. In spite of this Nortje ended the day with two wickets for 26 runs in his 11 overs.
Opener David Warner, ...
The African Union Peace and Security Council remains largely reactive and selective in the conflicts it tackles.
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is among the African Union’s (AU) most dynamic and active organs. Since it was set up in 2004 to help prevent and resolve conflicts, the PSC has met over 1,120 times. Although its approach and scope have evolved substantially, the council still struggles with an overly selective agenda, poor early warning and a lack of follow-through on its decisions.
In the past five years, grave conflict situations such as those in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) have featured prominently on the PSC’s agenda. Region-wide challenges were also tabled, including political instability in the Sahel, Great Lakes and Lake Chad Basin. But despite the council’s focus on these areas, conflicts have worsened.
Other crises remain conspicuously absent from the PSC’s agenda despite their urgency and impact on Africa. Examples are the conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, which has claimed over 7,000 lives, Tunisia’s constitutional crisis, Libya’s civil war, and until recently, the war in Ethiopia. Election-related violence in Zimbabwe has never been included, and northern Mozambique’s insurgency, which started in 2017, only appeared on the PSC’s agenda last year.
The PSC has made statements on some of these issues but hasn’t taken any decisions. It seems unlikely that the five-year struggle in Cameroon and the unprecedented democratic recession in Tunisia under President Kais Saied will be discussed while the two countries are PSC members. Tunisia has one year left of its council term, and Cameroon has two.
Most PSC members are reluctant to see their country’s conflicts on the agenda. To avoid confrontation, the council prefers focusing on thematic issues and region-wide insecurity. It increasingly tables relatively new themes, such as the threat of pandemics, cybersecurity, emerging technologies and new media. While these issues are important, how can the AU — via its PSC — address country problems if it doesn’t table them?
Early warning to prevent crises and inform effective responses is also a vital function of the PSC, along with resolving conflicts, issuing sanctions for unconstitutional changes of government and authorising peace support operations.
Over the years, gains have been made in the AU’s deployment of military stabilisation missions in Burundi (2003) and Darfur and Somalia (2007). The continental body has also suspended the membership of military regimes in Togo, Mauritania, Madagascar, Niger, Egypt, the CAR, Sudan, ...
The move by president Joe Biden to break with tradition by endorsing the move of the presidential primaries to South Carolina is a resounding first step towards diluting the suppression of African American voices in the Southern States.
President Joe Biden shook the political establishment last month by declaring his support for moving the Democratic Party’s first presidential primary to South Carolina, granting it an outsized role in choosing the party’s candidate next year, the person very likely to become the next president of the United States.
Biden wants to scrap the 100-year-long tradition in which the predominantly white states of New Hampshire and Iowa have gone first, in favour of a state in which most Democrats are black.
The change will bring primary season into line with reality. It was Barack Obama’s win in South Carolina in 2008 that put him on course for the presidency. And in 2020, Biden’s candidacy was dead in the water until South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, the most powerful black voice in Congress, threw his support behind him. Biden’s victory in South Carolina opened the floodgates for the rest of the party, drowning Bernie Sanders’ challenge.
South Carolina has established itself as a unique bellwether of the base of the Democratic Party.
The rich and often violent history of the state can be witnessed through the story of Robert Smalls. As a 23-year-old enslaved person during the Civil War in 1862, he led a slave crew that daringly stole and piloted a Confederate transport ship out of the heavily armed Charleston Harbour and delivered it to the Union navy. He went on to become one of the first black navy maritime pilots and a war hero.
Charleston was a particularly symbolic place to stage such an action: some 40% of the Africans that were brought in shackles to North America came through the port of Charleston, more than any other entry point. The first shots of the Civil War were fired by Confederate rebels at federal troops on Fort Sumter in the middle of Charleston Harbour.
Robert Smalls grew up in a culture that maintained a strong cultural link with Africa. The enslaved people of South Carolina’s Lowcountry developed their own language, Ngullah, a Creole composed of African words that is still spoken to this day.
Many Ngullah words are from Kimbundu, a language of Angola, reflecting the fact that more slaves came to South Carolina from Angola than anywhere else.
After ...
There’s a village in the middle of nowhere being restored by a man on a mission.
In the winter of 2004, a slightly-built guy with bushy eyebrows and a studious mien arrives out of a dust storm in a middle-of-nowhere place called Rietbron.
Pedestrians don’t pitch up at Rietbron every day of the week, because the village lies on a sandy smudge on the map between the major Karoo centre of Beaufort West and the charming town of Willowmore to the south-east.
Our dusty, bespectacled newcomer is Dr Peter Kenneth Le Sueur, a highly-qualified quantum physicist with a deep knowledge of steam trains. He was also, in his time, a Kimberley ghost guide.
When first we met, we discussed the common thermodynamic link between ghosts and trains and the transfer of energy, a fundamental cornerstone of the workings of the Universe. It was like talking to a trainspotting, ghost-busting Einstein.
He said: “Death is just a scrap merchant, recycling matter into energy.”
‘A living museum’
De le Seuer buys a house and hires Anthony Cohen, the restorer of Rietbron, to enclose the porch so he can have more darkness and a bit of an escape from noisy morning birds.
When Anthony Cohen first arrived in Rietbron, it was in the company of his mother, who had bought a little house here back in 1978 for R600.
“My mom and I could not believe what it was like here,” he says. “It was a living museum. Everything was old and authentic. But then people started selling their stuff to the antique dealers of Oudtshoorn. They thought they were getting money for nothing, but they were actually giving away their heritage.”
Anthony started buying houses in Rietbron, mainly to revive them to their former glory and prevent them from being “modernised”.
A glorious hideaway
Driving in on the gently undulating dirt road from the Willowmore side, our first indication of life is the green smudge of trees around the graveyard and then the top half of the face-brick Moederkerk, with its legendary springbok spire.
Surrounding the church are deceptively tiny dwellings built around a century ago, mostly as Nagmaalhuisies by the farmers – places to come for communion, markets and match-making.
Most of the large backyards stilcul boast a braai chimney and an outdoor privy. There are working wind pumps, pepper trees and saltbush hedges – essential dryland garden elements.
There is only one shop left – the former Rietbron Kontant Winkel, now called Kapok Winkel – ...
As we enter 2023, somewhat gingerly, many South Africans continue to drift from the Government, while the African National Congress remains wedded to the belief that you can discuss anything, as long as you toe the party line. This is happening as the world is mired in a multi-dimensional crisis.
At this time of the year, we all become Janus-faced. We look back at the year that has passed and imbue senses of hope and anticipation into the year ahead. If you’re an orthodox economist (or a rational-choice fundamentalist, or a game theorist) you probably assume god-like genius and predict the future with back-slapping certainty. The rest of us have wishes and dreams, though some of us are sufficiently jaded and probably miserable, speaking for myself, of course, and really see no difference between any one year and the one that follows. This has little to do with illusory distinction between the past, present and the future, but is mainly a check on the limitations of our own inability to make like an economist and pretend we know all there is to know about everything.
It would be disingenuous, nonetheless, if we completely ignored the philosophical postulate that we may understand the current state of affairs by looking at processes, conditions or states of affairs that got us to any particular place in time. At the base of this is an understanding that history often telegraphs some kind of direction, which helps make its destination clearer. If we accept this assumption, that history (the past) projects some kind of future, there is no great genius in making claims about this year that are not exactly earth-shattering. It is akin to an element that segues from one part of musical composition to another without interruption. (Try and find the segue in German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Herbstmusik and Pink Floyd).
What seems certain, globally, is that Vladimir Putin’s war against the Ukrainian people that started in February 2022 will continue at least through Easter this year. What is less certain is whether Putin himself will survive through 2023, and for how long beyond. We can safely say that more Palestinians will be killed, and the next time they fight back the Washington-Whitehall Axis of power will condemn the fightback. For better or for worse, the US will continue to threaten war and or sanctions against China, Russia and Iran, and sanctions against countries or persons ...
A study published on October 2022 suggests that hearing or seeing birds has a positive effect on mental health. Not only does these findings implicate conservation and mental healthcare policies, but also looks at how humans and nature co-exist in urban spaces.
Everyday encounters with birdlife increase mental well-being for both people with and without depression, according to new research by King’s College London, titled “Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment reveals mental health benefits of birdlife”.
The study suggests that hearing birdsong or seeing birds can be prescribed by professionals to prevent mental health difficulties or complement treatments.
Researchers particularly focused on depression, “which is the most common mental illness across the world and is predicted to become the first cause of global burden of disease by 2030”. The researchers’ findings are a step towards greater environmental and wildlife protection policies to preserve birds’ natural and urban habitats, along with mental healthcare policies.
South Africa is reported to have an overall probable depression rate of 14.7% to 38.8%, which urges provincial level plans and resources “to reflect the burden of mental health problems” in each province. Additionally, the World Health Organization reports that low- and middle-income countries’ treatment and support services for depression often lack implementation or are underdeveloped. It is estimated that 75% of people with mental disorders in these countries do not receive treatment.
Although there is no golden bullet yet to combating mental illness, birds and birdsong are suggested to be healthy contributors in putting a chirp in one’s mood.
The inner workings of birdsong boosting well-being
The study comprised 1,292 participants who regularly tracked their moods and surroundings on the specially designed smartphone app Urban Mind which allowed researchers to sample their experiences in real-time, and in real-world contexts.
The data were collected between April 2018 and October 2021 and assessed whether participants described a positive mental state when they could see or hear birds. A positive association was observed between seeing or hearing birds, and momentary well-being during random intervals of assessment.
“Interestingly, we found that the positive effect of seeing or hearing birds on mental well-being was more pronounced when individuals were outdoors,” the study reports.
Read in Daily Maverick: “It’s almost time to bid 2022’s Bird of the Year goodbye”
Even though people are more likely to see or hear birds in green spaces, which might skew the data to reflect an overall effect of nature on mental well-being, researchers argue that the positive association ...
A 2022 study published in ‘The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ suggests that a vitamin D deficiency could be linked to increased risk for dementia.
While data are still being collected, the study, titled “Vitamin D and brain health: an observational and Mendelian randomization study”, was published in April 2022 to evaluate the relationship between a vitamin D deficiency and cognitive function in 294,514 people (mostly women aged 60 to 73) from the UK. After 11 years all participants had regular blood tests, and the brain images of 23,901 were analysed.
A blood vitamin D deficiency is generally defined as 25(OH)D levels being less than 25 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L), compared with the normal 50 nmol/L. The serum 25(OH)D is produced in the liver as a result of vitamin D interacting with an enzyme.
Globally, vitamin D insufficiency (different from deficiency) affects 30% to 50% of the population. Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D is important for bone health, brain functioning and cardiovascular and endocrine systems, according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Ageing Research.
“There is strong evidence to suggest that a diet deficient in vitamin D combined with inadequate sun exposure has potential to trigger many conditions, not only the well-known such as rickets and osteomalacia, but also neurocognitive disorder, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD),” the authors of a 2021 study in the journal Frontiers of Bioscience write.
Defining dementia
Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia, accounting for 60% to 70% of cases, writes Maverick Life’s Malibongwe Tyilo in “Vascular dementia – what is it and how to reduce your risk”. Dementia diagnoses vary across a spectrum of neurocognitive disorders and it is “suggested to qualify as a ‘silent epidemic’”, granting that a new case of dementia is diagnosed every four seconds globally, according to the 2021 study.
Dementia is defined by the World Health Organization as “a syndrome – usually of a chronic or progressive nature – that leads to deterioration in cognitive function (the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected from the usual consequences of biological ageing”, which affects “memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language, and judgement”. The Alzheimer’s Society also terms dementia as “a set of symptoms that over time can affect memory, problem-solving, language and behaviour”. Dementia is more common in people (particularly women) over the age of 65, states the society’s website. However, ...
The concept has been floating around for a little while; now, some local companies are also choosing to adopt four-day work weeks. We explore what it means and how it would (or wouldn’t) work.
In September 2022, the local branch of global non-profit 4 Day Week South Africa (SA) NPC announced the pilot of the first four-day work week that would take place in South Africa from February 2023.
The concept of the four-day work week is not new, but it is newly implemented in our country. According to an Australian study, the roots of the concept are in the idea of a “society of leisure”, which was first popularised in “Western industrial countries” in the Sixties and Seventies. But the idea of a shortened work week truly found its feet as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted the workplace and forced companies to be innovative with their working arrangements, and this ultimately added fuel to the concept of a four-day work week.
Nicola Paine, one of two directors at 4 Day Week SA, tells Maverick Life that the four-day week is a global attempt to “improve productivity and wellness in the workplace; attract and retain talent; improve the lives of individuals, families and communities and have a positive impact on the environment”.
Paine says the particular style of work week that will be implemented in the pilot programme in South Africa is based on the “100-80-100 model”, which is “100% of the pay, 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output”.
With 20 local companies already signed up, one wonders how the concept might work here, especially considering the state of our economy, and how it may affect employment laws.
Improvements across the board (room)
According to Talita Laubscher, a partner at Bowmans Employment and Benefits Practice in Johannesburg, the introduction of a four-day work week will not change much of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) besides the change in the terms of employment per company, which is already done with the employee’s consent.
New research conducted by 4 Day Week found that after a six-month trial in Australia, the US and Ireland found that companies that implemented the concept with no pay cuts had an increase in productivity. It also reported that workers felt “less stressed and burnt out” with higher rates of life satisfaction; the report also notes that none of the companies has ...
Setting goals is one thing. Achieving them another. Three experts have distilled the research down to 12 goal-enabling tips.
It’s that time of year to muse on what you hope to accomplish over the next 12 months.
The best advice when making New Year’s resolutions is to set goals that are “SMART” – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant (to you) and time-bound.
Once you’ve set your goals, what can help you achieve them? Based on our research, we’ve distilled 12 goal-enablers. These cover four broad principles you can use to keep yourself on track.
You don’t have to do all 12. Just focusing on the most relevant three to five can make a big difference.
Set relevant supporting goals
An outcome goal isn’t enough. Set clear supporting goals that equip you to attain that outcome.
1. Behavioural goals stipulate the actions required to reach your outcome goal. If you want to change jobs, for example, behavioural goals could include working out what job you want, networking with relevant people, getting advice on your resume, and submitting at least three job applications each month.
2. Learning goals are the knowledge and skills you need to achieve your goal. Ways to identify your highest-priority learning goals, and how to attain them, include seeking advice from others who have mastered the skill you aim to learn, working with a coach, or watching instructional videos.
3. Sub-goals are small milestones on the way to your goal. They indicate your rate of progress towards attaining your ultimate goal. They can also provide a motivating sense of momentum.
Build your internal motivation
This is the inner energy and focus that fuels, directs and sustains your efforts to reach your goals.
4. Connect goals to passions. If you like feeling like you’re on a mission, try framing your goals as reflecting a novice, apprentice or master level of development. If competition gets you going, perhaps frame your learning or sub-goals as indicating a bronze, silver, gold or platinum level of performance.
5. Engage in mental contrasting. This involves toggling between focusing on a vivid written or visual depiction of your present state with your desired future state. Mental contrasting increases goal achievement in areas such as eating more healthily, exercising more, improving grades and cutting down on alcohol consumption.
6. Build self-efficacy. Your self-efficacy is your belief in your capacity to succeed at a particular task. Set modest initial goals you are likely to achieve (see point 3). Ensure you have adequate ...
Data unveiled last week by the South African Revenue Service shows that the economy’s trade surplus in 2022 will fall far short of the robust one posted in 2021. Along with a current account that has fallen into deficit, this bodes ill for the rand in 2023. But a falling oil price may help arrest the trend.
South Africa’s preliminary trade surplus for the 11 months to the end of November was R187.8-billion, less than half of the R402-billion recorded over the same period in 2022, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said late last week.
Exports over the period rose 11.7% to R1,850.2-billion despite the train wreck that is Transnet. But imports of R1,662.4-billion were 32.5% higher in the 11 months to the end of November, slashing the surplus.
Commodity prices are the main drivers at play here, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the main villain on the stage.
The oil price spiked dramatically in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the price of some of the metals that South Africa produces also cranked up. Palladium hit record highs just shy of $3,000 an ounce, while the gold price vaulted to $2,000 an ounce.
But oil prices rose faster — Brent Crude soared over 50% to more than $120 a barrel — and oil prices remained elevated longer than most of the resources that South Africa pulls out of the ground, only cooling towards the end of the year. Coal was the one exception – its price more than doubling over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s record current account surplus — equal to 3.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 — evaporated in 2022 as more capital flowed out of the country than flowed in. But the deficit on the current account of the balance of payments narrowed to R18.1-billion, or 0.3% of GDP, in the third quarter of 2022 from R107-billion, or 1.6% of GDP, in the second quarter.
All of this helps to explain why the rand lost ground in 2022, helped along by rolling blackouts. It ended 2021 at around R15.93/dollar and was fetching about R17/dollar on New Year’s Eve 2022.
So the narrower trade surplus bodes ill for the rand at the start of 2023, though the significant fall in the oil price from its 2022 highs should help to arrest this trend.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Brent crude was trading ...
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said allies are pushing to strengthen the alliance’s target of spending 2% of output on defence, with the aim of reaching an agreement by July.
Ukraine warned that Russia may launch more attacks over the Orthodox Christmas holiday later this week, even as Kyiv continued to down Iran-made Shahed drones being sent into the country, Ukraine’s air defence command said on Monday.
Germany, meanwhile, is open to using billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild, as long as legal issues can be resolved and allies follow suit, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Key developments
Germany open to seizing Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild
European gas swings after hitting lowest level since before war
Russia’s oil flows slump to 2022 low as sanctions squeeze Moscow
On the ground
Two people died and nine were injured in Kherson and the regions due to Russian attacks, Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air defence systems intercepted every drone from two consecutive nights of Russian strikes since 31 December, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russian forces continued to carry out unsuccessful attempts to improve their tactical positions northwest of Svatove after a tactical pause, the ISW said.
UK’s Sunak pledges long-term support for Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone, pledging long-term support for Kyiv. The commitment was demonstrated by the recent delivery of 1,000 anti-air missiles, Sunak’s office said in an emailed readout.
The UK is also working to “provide further equipment in the coming weeks and months to secure Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield,” Sunak said.
Russian oil flows slump as sanctions squeeze Moscow
Russian crude shipments slid to the lowest for 2022 in the final four weeks of the year, as sanctions crimped Moscow’s exports.
Cargoes bound for China, India and Turkey, which have become a lifeline for Russian supplies displaced from Europe, saw a third straight drop. The country’s overall seaborne flows fell by 117,000 barrels a day to 2.615 million barrels on a four-week average basis.
Germany open to seizing Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild
Germany is open to using billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild, as long as legal issues can be resolved and allies follow suit.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government supports Ukraine’s demand for war reparations, but hasn’t yet taken an official position on seizing assets from the Russian state.
The issue is complex and some parts of ...
It is the eternal struggle between two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says, ‘you toil and work and earn bread, and I’ll eat it’.
‘No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation, and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.” — Abraham Lincoln, from the 1858 senatorial election debates with Stephen Douglas.
“Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ.” — New Testament, Ephesians 6:5-8.
Somewhat improbably, slavery is in the news: the Dutch prime minister has apologised for his nation’s role in carrying it out, and the state of California is considering paying reparations to the descendants of enslaved persons. Do such things have meaning for South Africa and South Africans?
Just before Christmas 2022, Mark Rutte made news (probably the first time in many years that a Dutch prime minister has made international headlines) when he offered a formal apology for his country’s “slavery past”.
In so doing, he acknowledged that the legacy of slavery continued to generate “negative effects”, even if the Dutch had officially outlawed slavery in their possessions in 1863. Slavery had ended in the Netherlands itself some years earlier.
In his apology, Rutte said: “For centuries under Dutch state authority, human dignity was violated in the most horrific way possible. And successive Dutch governments after 1863 failed to adequately see and acknowledge that our slavery past continued to have negative effects and still does. For that, I offer the apologies of the Dutch government.”
Rutte offered his thoughts in a speech at the country’s National Archives, in response to the 2021 report, “Chains of the Past”, issued by the Dutch Slavery History Dialogue Group.
“For centuries, the Dutch state and its representatives facilitated, stimulated, preserved, and profited from slavery. For centuries, in the name of the Dutch State, human beings were made into commodities, exploited, and abused,” Rutte went on to say.
He added that slavery must be condemned as a “crime against humanity,” — a view very few would disagree with in our own time — even though it still persists in various forms, in practice, if not with de jure legal protection. Even now, it persists in the ...
Following its stellar debut in 2022 when it released its first images, the James Webb Space Telescope has continued to release mesmerising glimpses into the universe. Here is a selection of these photographs.
More in Daily Maverick: “In pictures – The James Webb telescope’s first images”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Saving Earth from asteroids – Nasa’s Dart mission”
DM/ML
The ANC’s new Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula was in the hot seat in front of the media on Tuesday, where he justified his party’s costly fundraising activities ahead of the ANC’s 111th-anniversary celebration set to take place in the Free State this weekend. The party will also reconvene its 55th National Conference later this week in a hybrid format after it adjourned at Nasrec in Johannesburg in December 2022.
‘We don’t have money, we raise money — from people who’ve got money.” This was the frank statement from the new ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula about the party’s fundraising activities as part of celebrations for the 111 years since it was formed.
Mbalula was addressing the media from Luthuli House in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 3 January, about his party’s state of readiness for the continuation of the 55th National Conference and the 111th anniversary celebrations, all expected to take place in Mangaung, Free State.
Mbalula said that people were “questioning” the fundraising activities, referring to reactions on social media that the 111th anniversary Presidential Golf Day fundraiser would charge R350,000 to play on a four-ball with President Cyril Ramaphosa, amid an economic crisis and persistent rolling blackouts. To play with a minister or premier is no chump’s sum either, at R75,000.
They charge R350 000,00 for you to play golf with Cyril Ramaphosa.
The unemployment grant is R350;00 .
I’ve finally figured that 350 is the president ‘s favourite figure .
Mr 350 .
◇ #ANC110Limpopo #ANC110 | Ace Magashule ◇
DN A Huszle (@huszle) January 7, 2022
The Presidential Golf Day and gala dinner is set to take place this weekend on 7 January in Bloemfontein, as part of the lead-up to the party’s anniversary celebration on Sunday, 8 January.
Mbalula said, “There’s no gun on your head. You voluntarily buy a table,” referring to costly seat and table prices for the gala dinner, with individual chairs starting at R5,000 and going up to R95,000, and tables going from R760,000 to R1.2-million.
“Even if it is R2-million [for the presidential gala dinner], that money goes to the ANC to fund its political activities.”
Mbulula added that the party, “sell tables to business people who want to network”, who are aware that the money goes to the ANC.
The ANC’s 111th anniversary celebration will take place at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium, on Sunday, 8 January. The party expects its 15,000 seats to be full for the President’s address.
Mbalula acknowledged that from a financial point of view, ...
For five days every political journalist’s eyes were trained on the ANC’s elective conference. While watching some of the scenes at Nasrec, one was compelled to ask, ‘What has the ANC become?’
As if on point, the conference itself started seven-and-a-half hours late. If there was any doubt about why our country is in the turmoil it is in, why infrastructure is collapsing and why we flounder around in the dark (literally), this conference provided all the answers.
It started with Pule Mabe vacuously rambling on about why exactly there was a late start. Anyone who has even cursorily followed the way in which the ANC operates would understand that a delayed start is par for the course.
Quite why the media believed Mabe would bring pearls of wisdom and why they hung around to cover this as “breaking news” boggles the mind. But those are weak editorial choices and as citizens we could simply tune out, which the majority of South Africans no doubt did – either because they could not bear the incompetence and venality on display, or because they had no electricity.
Of course, Nasrec was exempt from power cuts and ministers are exempt from them anyway. And so, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe could happily tweet about the ANC gala dinner on the eve of the conference while Stage 6 load shedding was in full effect and Eskom CEO André de Ruyter announced his resignation. The President, too, was silent. Presumably, too busy fighting for his political life.
But this disinterest in governance is what we have come to expect from a governing party venal to the core and obsessed with only one thing: power and access to state resources.
After much drama, which included a late day-one entrance by former president Jacob Zuma and much talk of a Mkhize presidency, none of it came to pass. In fact, President Cyril Ramaphosa slightly strengthened his hand with more votes than he garnered in 2017 at Nasrec, as well as five of the Top Seven in his “camp”. Of course, the Phala Phala report has been taken on judicial review and Zuma, at the eleventh hour, sought to lay a charge against Ramaphosa in a desperate bid to have him “step aside”.
And so, nothing is as it seems and the Zumarites/Radical Economic Transformation supporters on social media, together with the likes of Carl Niehaus and Iqbal Survé predicting a Mkhize ...
Even though Australia have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series against South Africa, Elgar believes the Proteas still have a lot to play for – not least pride – in the third and final Test match.
The Proteas’ batting performances have been dismal thus far in Australia, with the South Africans only passing the 200-run mark once — in the second innings of the second Test match, crawling to 204 during their innings and 182-run defeat to the home side.
The third Test match, starting on Wednesday, is essentially a dead rubber in the context of the series with the Aussies wrapping the contest up convincingly in the two previous matches in Brisbane — where they won by six wickets — and Melbourne.
However, Proteas red-ball skipper Dean Elgar has confessed that his side have not given up the ghost on this tour.
“There’s still a lot to play for in this Test,” he said.
“We’re playing for a lot of pride and playing for a potential position in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).”
“We have a lot to play for with regards to the [WTC] final in June. That’s a massive incentive for us. We play every Test match like it’s our last.”
The Proteas left for Australia in early December clinging to second on the WTC standings after consecutive Test defeats to England in August and September.
They now find themselves in fourth place after the two recent losses to Australia — usurped by both India and Sri Lanka.
South Africa can still make the final of the WTC if results go their way and they win their remaining three fixtures — one against Australia and two against West Indies.
Changes
The pitch in Sydney, where the third Test will be played, is expected to be slower and produce more turn than the wickets in Melbourne and Brisbane.
This could open the door for a change in the Proteas bowling lineup, who so far on tour, have shown passion and effort in trying circumstances.
“It might force our hand to play two spinners,” said Elgar about the Sydney pitch. “Kesh [Maharaj] is definitely still our number one spinner going forward.”
Simon Harmer is expected to be the second spinner if the selectors opt for that route.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Harmer’s off-spin bowling could prove vital against the Aussies who have four left-hand batters in their top-six and the possibility ...
We need to rediscover the ethical and human dimensions of learning, yet schools are becoming less focused on balance, with the child in the centre, and are taking a more market-based approach.
Deciphering the patterns of the tea leaves in the education cup is difficult. The once relatively stable economy is more unstable than ever and even the good infrastructure in some schools is deteriorating. There are still high-level skills needs and shortages, and unemployment among 18- to 30-year-olds is alarmingly high.
Poverty levels are up, and South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, making the need for food support in schools an ongoing urgent need. Thousands of people continue to move to the bigger cities looking for a better life, and place incredible pressure on schools and other urban structures. Covid-19 has disrupted economies and increased unemployment, with reports of 600,000 job losses in Gauteng alone.
A swirl in tea leaves shows that the national competition for resources in social welfare, health and education is intense. This means that the large disparities in the quality of basic education and significant education backlogs will not easily be addressed.
The suspension of face-to-face teaching in schools during the first part of the Covid-19 pandemic still has a significant impact on students’ learning. So far, data in the Netherlands, for example, doesn’t look good considering it only had an eight-week lockdown.
This is a country with highly equitable school funding and the world’s highest rate of broadband access.
Research shows the impact is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year, the same period that schools were closed. Learning losses are up to 60% larger among students from less-educated homes, confirming worries about the uneven toll of the pandemic on children and families. These findings imply that students made little or no progress while learning from home.
In South Africa, we lost 1.3 years of learning, and new assessments show that children in Grade 4 in 2021 knew less than children in Grade 3 in 2018.
The pattern of the mutating Covid virus in the cup is prominent. Covid has reminded us that the world has become ‘flatter’ because of the ICT revolution, with knowledge freely available for those able to access the internet. Unfortunately, open education resources are not necessarily the public good they claim to be, but more a tool to increase the visibility of the institutions themselves. There is some hope in blended ...
As if 2022 was not turbulent enough, this year we can expect the SAPS to face continued criminal investigations into many of its members.
From warnings of gang infiltration to the country’s top cop facing criminal accusations and stepping down, scandals slammed into the South African Police Service (SAPS) this year – and conditions are ideal for even more to develop in 2023.
The year started with the dense storm clouds hovering over the SAPS finally bursting. In January, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) lodged criminal complaints against Khehla Sitole, the country’s highest-ranking police officer, alleging he failed to cooperate in a critical investigation relating to a detective’s assassination. Sitole denied it.
Just two months down the line, the end of March marked yet another pivotal – and scandalous – moment for the SAPS. Sitole’s contract was terminated and he stepped down in a move the Presidency described as “in the best interests of the country”.
Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola then took position in the hot seat.
By this point, though, a turbulent tone was set for the rest of the year.
Criminality and distrust
Certain crimes, for example kidnapping, rocketed and some figures linked to the SAPS pointed to it as being a service that not just fights crime, but also commits it.
Former acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane was arrested again in September in relation to a second criminal case in which he was an accused.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Phahlane, along with five others (of whom three are Crime Intelligence officers), faced “charges of fraud, corruption, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act pertaining to two police tenders issued in 2016, with an estimated value of R54-million”.
Fragmenting issues in the SAPS run deeper. Former police administration clerk Patricia Mashale told Parliament in December that she feared for her life and was in hiding because she blew the whistle on massive corruption in the police service relating to KwaZulu-Natal.
Mashale said she did not trust members of the SAPS or the State Security Agency (SSA) to conduct a threat assessment on her.
DM168 understands other past and present members of the service share Mashale’s feelings about the SAPS.
These and other SAPS storms that developed in 2022 will likely continue casting ominous clouds over the police in 2023, merging with fresh scandals that will also make landfall.
‘Hurricane’ Phala Phala
The biggest political storm to smash into democratic South Africa will possibly also rip into the ...
Criminals are stripping this region of South Africa and Namibia of its unique plant life to satisfy international demand.
Illegal harvesting to supply the international horticultural market threatens some of South Africa’s endemic succulent species. The plants — sought for their beauty, rarity and often whimsical shapes — face near extinction in the wild.
South Africa is home to three of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. One is the Succulent Karoo, covering 116,000 km2 in the Western and Northern Cape provinces and across the border into Namibia. The Succulent Karoo is the world’s most biodiverse arid region, with many of its species occurring nowhere else on Earth. It houses the planet’s largest concentration of succulents, all of which are uniquely adapted to thrive in aridity.
Despite its astonishing resilience to the harsh, arid climate, the Succulent Karoo faces several human-related threats. These include climate change, habitat destruction through farming and mining, and the rise in illegal harvesting and trade of wild plants to supply international horticultural markets. While cultivated succulents may be legally traded, wild plants may not be harvested or sold without a permit.
Although Red Listed in South Africa, several illegally harvested and traded species were recently added to the global International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Many Succulent Karoo plant species are now classified as endangered and critically endangered — only one step away from extinction in the wild, like the last two remaining northern white rhinos. There are fears that Namibia’s succulents may face a similar fate.
Media outlets increasingly report on suspected illegal harvesters being arrested and thousands of plants seized. Incidents of unlawful harvesting began to increase in 2019. Until then, it was mostly foreign nationals, including from Asia and Europe, who illegally harvested plants during field excursions to South Africa. More recently, Saudi Arabians have also been convicted of related crimes.
B(l)ooming ecological crime ravaging SA exposed after three Saudi Arabians caught stealing 1.6m seeds and flora
A CapeNature staff member told the Enact project that many of the arrested foreigners had travelled to South Africa before, and had probably plundered plants in other countries. One South Korean man was arrested in South Africa for being in possession of over 2,018 plants. After his conviction, he was extradited to the United States (US) and convicted of similar offences related to illegally harvested cacti species.
But, as a South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) official told ...
One of the most decorated tennis players of all time recently revealed she is facing a double cancer battle.
Former world No 1 tennis player and gay rights trailblazer Martina Navratilova said on Monday she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.
The Czech-American is considered among the greatest players of all time, winning a total of 59 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles.
“This double whammy is serious but still fixable,” the 66-year-old said in a statement to WTA. “I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all I have got.”
Czech-born Navratilova, who became a US citizen in 1981 and soon afterwards came out as being homosexual, was also diagnosed with, and beat breast cancer back in 2010.
Navratilova added that the cancer was in Stage 1, and the prognosis was good, with treatments to begin next week.
The cancer was discovered in early November during the WTA finals when Navratilova noticed a swelling in her neck that did not go down.
“Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth,” said Navratilova’s representative Mary Greenham. “When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as Stage 1 throat cancer.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer. Both of these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.”
Greenham said that Navratilova, who now works as tennis presenter on television and radio, will not travel to Melbourne for the 16-29 January Australian Open, but hopes to contribute to the broadcasts remotely.
“Martina won’t be covering the Aussie Open for the Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to join in from time to time by Zoom,” said Greenham.
Tennis fans quickly took to social media offering support, including another tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King.
“Martina is as brave as she is strong,” posted King on Twitter. “She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.” DM/Reuters
Sharks flanker Siya Kolisi will join France’s Racing 92 after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, in a move that the Durban outfit is hopeful will help strengthen their relationship with the European side and expand their global reach.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is set for a sensational move to French club Racing 92 after the culmination of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. His current club, the Sharks, confirmed the move on Tuesday.
“Siya has been an instrumental and much-loved member of the Sharks family since his arrival two years ago,” said the Sharks’ chief executive Eduard Coetzee.
“His well-documented and commendable leadership qualities extend far beyond the playing field and this is none more so evident than his involvement with the launch of the Players First programme, as well as his commitment in the expansion of the Sharks brand to a global market.”
The flanker joined the Sharks from Western Cape side the Stormers in February 2021, on a five-year deal. He added leadership to a dressing room boasting the likes of Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and most recently, Eben Etzebeth.
He was recently appointed as Shark captain for the European Rugby Champions Cup.
“His move to France is a new and exciting opportunity and we could not be happier for him. We are blessed to have him don the black and white jersey and we know that over the next few months, he will continue to give back to the team and our fans.”
Kolisi, Coetzee and the Sharks’ followers will hope that their star player can sign off on a high. The Durban outfit is competing on two international fronts this season — the Champions Cup (where Racing is also present) and the United Rugby Championship (URC).
Considering the quality that they possess; the South Africans are genuine contenders in each competition — though they have had some indifferent results in URC so far this season — leading to the departure of head coach Sean Everitt in November 2022. He was replaced by former Blitzboks mentor Neil Powell.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The bigger picture
Kolisi’s French move is a symbolic one as it is part of a broader long-term collaboration between the Sharks and Racing, with an eye on continuing to build a mutually beneficial relationship in the future.
The collaboration will involve quarterly meetings of owners and management, and an exchange of ideas about player sharing, coaching expertise and branding.
Racing will ...
The nation has played down the severity of a surge of Covid-19 infections in the run-up to an expected briefing by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which is hoping for detailed data on the evolution of the virus.
China’s abrupt U-turn on Covid controls on 7 December, as well as the accuracy of its case and mortality data, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad.
China’s foreign ministry labelled travel entry curbs imposed by some countries as “simply unreasonable”, saying they “lacked scientific basis”.
“We are willing to improve communication with the world,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.
“But.we are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the epidemic prevention and control measures for political purposes, and will take corresponding measures in different situations according to the principle of reciprocity.”
China’s shift away from a “zero-Covid” policy that had been championed by president Xi Jinping followed protests that had marked the strongest show of public defiance during his decade in power and had coincided with the economy’s slowest growth in nearly half a century.
As the virus spreads unchecked, funeral parlours have reported a spike in demand for their services and international health experts predict at least one million deaths in China this year.
China reported three new Covid deaths for Monday, taking its official death toll since the pandemic began to 5,253.
On Tuesday, the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, cited Chinese experts as saying the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild for most people.
“Severe and critical illnesses account for 3% to 4% of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing,” Tong Zhaohui, vice president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper.
Kang Yan, head of West China Tianfu Hospital of Sichuan University, said that in the past three weeks, a total of 46 patients had been admitted to intensive care units, or about 1% of symptomatic infections.
The emergencies area at the Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai was packed with patients on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Some were in beds in the corridor, covered with blankets and receiving IV treatment, while dozens were queuing around them, waiting to be seen by a doctor. It was unclear how many were there with Covid.
WHO meeting
The World Health Organization has urged Chinese health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the outbreak.
The WHO has invited Chinese ...
Petrol, diesel and paraffin are down sharply this month, but the gas price will be raised.
Petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin prices are down markedly, bringing consumers some relief during the most difficult time of year: January.
The Mineral Resources and Energy Department has announced a R2.06/litre reduction in the price of both 93 and 95 octane petrol; R2.68 in 0.05% sulphur diesel; R2.80/litre in 0.005% sulphur diesel; R1.93 for wholesale illuminating paraffin (IP) and R2.58/l for retail IP.
However, for those cooking (and heating) with gas, the price of LP gas will increase by 82c/kg.
The adjustments are effective from Wednesday.
Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe attributed the fuel price adjustments to the following:
Crude oil price
The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $88.77 per barrel to $85.08 per barrel during the period under review. The oil prices continued to drop due to fears of economic recession globally.
International petroleum product prices
The movement in international refined petroleum product prices, diesel, petrol and IP followed the decreasing trend in crude oil prices, while the prices of LP gas increased due to higher propane and butane prices.
Rand-dollar exchange rate
The rand appreciated slightly, on average, against the dollar (from R17.53 to R17.28) during the period under review, leading to lower contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and IP.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The slate levy
A slate levy decrease of 21.90 c/l (from 83.28 c/l to 61.38 c/l) will be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel, in line with the self-adjusting slate mechanism rules effective from 4 January 2023.
The slate levy — a self-adjusting mechanism that the government added to the fuel price calculation in August 2021 to deal with daily fluctuations in petrol prices — is one of seven levies imposed on fuel for vehicles. It is the only levy that doesn’t go to the state: instead, the money collected through it goes to the fuel companies.
Octane differentials between 95 and 93 petrol grades
The basic fuels price differential between 95 and 93 octanes is adjusted on the first Wednesday of each quarter. The BFP octane differential remains unchanged.
In a statement welcoming the price reductions, the Automobile Association said on Friday, 30 December, that the reductions would bring the price of 95 unleaded petrol inland to around R21.57/l and R20.92/l at the coast — prices last seen in March 2022.
“The forecast reduction in the wholesale price of ...
About half the population of people taking regular medicines don’t take them as prescribed. Here are some tips to help you remember.
Taking regular medicines is common, and it’s not unusual for people to miss an occasional dose or take it outside the regular time window. Forgetting to do something is normal, but in the case of medicines, forgetting to take them at the prescribed time can have negative health effects.
By one estimate, about half the population of people taking regular medicines don’t take them as prescribed. Is this a breakdown in communication? A lack of understanding of their importance? Forgetfulness?
Largely, reasons for not taking medicines as prescribed can be organised into two types: intentional and unintentional.
Unintentional is when a patient intends to follow the prescribed regimen but doesn’t due to factors outside their control, including forgetfulness, difficulties understanding dosing instructions, or cost.
But for some, a patient consciously decides not to follow the prescribed regimen. This could be due to side effects, or not believing in the necessity of the medicine.
Medication-taking is complex because each person is unique and the challenges to each person’s medication-taking can vary quite significantly. The most effective strategy is one that also considers why a person isn’t taking their medicine. What are some of the support strategies available, and are they actually helpful?
Pill boxes
The most commonly used methods to support medication adherence are organisational strategies such as days-of-the-week pill containers.
These are functional if a patient has to take many different medications.
But they’re not always suitable – if the user does not fill the container correctly or doesn’t remember to collect the prefilled pack (called a Webster-pak, blister pack or dosette box) from the pharmacy, this simple intervention quickly becomes ineffective.
Some medicines can’t be packed because their stability is compromised with repacking, and patients with reduced eyesight or dexterity can struggle to use these containers.
So while they are an effective prompt, simple reminder cues such as days-of-the-week pill containers may not be ideal for everyone.
Alarms
Pre-set alarms are another commonly used reminder method.
However, this strategy is not infallible, and the literature shows many patients miss medication doses when out of routine because they turn their alarm off subconsciously when occupied with another task.
Reminder alarms only seem to be effective when they are interactive or personalised.
For example, in a handy combination of both methods above, you can now buy automated pill dispensers with alarms that go off at predetermined ...
Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills, is 4,000 miles from the United Kingdom. Yet this does not deter the UK government from carrying out its plan in which asylum seekers deemed to have arrived illegally in the UK may be relocated to Rwanda. This plan was given the green light by the UK High Court in December.
The UK-Rwanda asylum plan was controversial from the start. Human rights activists globally condemned the plan. Some decried it as “a threat to the welfare of vulnerable people”. The Church of England’s senior bishops have condemned it as an “immoral policy”. The fact that many of the asylum-seekers have refugee status highlights their vulnerability.
On 19 December 2022, a UK high court ruled that it is lawful for the government to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than the UK.
Under the current legislation on asylum claims the UK Home Secretary, currently Suella Braverman, has the power to remove the person to “another safe third country”. The high court found that the Home Secretary succeeded in determining that Rwanda was “a safe third country”.
In addition, the Home Secretary has to decide whether there was anything about the particular circumstances of an asylum seeker which meant that his or her asylum claim should be decided in the United Kingdom. If not, the asylum seeker can be deported.
The judgment is expected to be appealed to the Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court. It is also likely that some asylum-seekers will again appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. There can be no doubt about the UK’s firm intention to remove asylum seekers. Braverman said that removals would go ahead “once the litigation process comes to an end”.
The UK government has so far paid £140-million to Rwanda as an incentive to ensure Rwanda’s compliance with the agreement.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
No refugees have been sent to Rwanda yet. As the first plane transporting refugees was about to take off in June 2022, a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights prevented the flight. Under the interim measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights, no individual can be removed to Rwanda “until three weeks after delivery of the final domestic decision in the ongoing judicial review proceedings.” Braverman stated that it was her “dream” to have ...
The Iziko South African museum’s newest exhibition since the Covid-19 pandemic aims to revolutionise the future of museum practices. Instead of curating mere ‘cabinets of curiosity’, the exhibition is a step towards looking beyond objects’ obvious beauty.
“The Hidden Wonders of the Iziko South African Museum” exhibition aims to foster more inclusive museum practices by moving away from showcasing objects based on its aesthetic and unusual, some would say ‘exotic’ qualities, to presenting natural heritage items and scientific research towards greater societal benefit.
The exhibition celebrated its opening on 15 December 2022 and showcases animals from a distant past, such as the first fossilised mammal from South Africa and a 3D-printed skull of an African bear to creatures vital to society today, such as dragonflies and damselflies.
“In the past, animals and objects were collected and investigated for their beauty, rarity and strangeness, and these were displayed in the colonial Wunderkammer-like museum,” says Dr Jyothi Kara, lead curator of the exhibition, during her keynote address at the exhibition opening. “Today, we collect to record our incredible natural heritage and uncover the primary foundational information it holds for the benefit of science and society.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Dismantling silos and engaging our contested past at Iziko National Gallery“
To demonstrate the shifting practices and priorities of the museum, the exhibition includes objects from its old “Wonders of Nature” exhibition. The display includes exotic and strange animals from faraway places, such as the rostrum of a sawfish, the skull of an American moose and the shell of the Amazonian Arrau river turtle. Together, these items demonstrate a typical “cabinet of curiosity”, according to Kara. Although these items are extraordinary in their own right, the new, surrounding exhibits reveal that there are more mysteries to unlock as scientists explore the vast worlds within each item.
“Throughout the rest of the exhibition, we explore the changing paradigms of what and why we exhibit through presenting diverging views of the value of an object that renders it wonderful; exploring the hypothesis that wonder is in the mind of the beholder,” says Kara.
Re-excavating ancient artefacts with technology
A more dynamic view of objects’ value is supported by technological advancements, which allows museums to “dig deeper” and “highlight the value of keeping such a remarkable record”, according to Kara.
“These advanced technologies have not only enabled us to immortalise these very fragile and valuable specimens, but to bring them closer to the public in ...
One of the greatest fighter pilots of World War 2 was a son of the Karoo. His story reads like a Shakespeare battle tragedy, replete with glory, loss and splendid isolation.
I’m sitting on a long stoep swirling Cremora into coffee, savouring the pre-dawn inky-blue blackness of the big sky, in the gritty nub of the Hard Man’s Karoo.
It’s a symphony of quiet but when you listen, really listen, you can break it up into little sound parts: there’s the percussive tonk-tonk of the wind pump on the farmstead, bottom-noted by the rustle of the early winter wind through the poplar trees on the nearby water course. A hidden lark on its morning breakfast run provides a high, sweet whistle solo. For the rest, silence rules.
Contrails in a clear Karoo sky
Here, literally in the middle of a stony nowhere, I see traces of jet planes in the sky, first a contrail streak then another one, and then a third. The Johannesburg-Cape Town air run is picking up. It’s blissful to be a distant bystander anchored in the Karoo, surrounded by bossies and rocks and little critters that lurk and hunt. And, of course, sheep. Never forget the sheep.
This, I reckon, is probably how the Karoo’s greatest aerial ace, its finest warrior-export, must have felt not that long ago as he sat right here drinking coffee, gazing up at the heavens which were once his battleground.
On the bench nearby lies a thick folder of cuttings, print-outs and general papers detailing, from all manner of sources, the life and times of one Khaki Hugo. Or, if you’re looking at him from a British standpoint, Dutch Hugo.
I am staying on Canariesfontein Guest Farm in the Carnarvon-Loxton area of the Northern Cape. This is where Petrus Hendrik Hugo, who went across “the pond” to Britain to fight for the Allies in World War 2 and became one of their top fighter pilots, spent the last period of his vivid, textured life.
A top fighter pilot
In an interview given many decades ago, he recalls:
“My first squadron was No. 615, AAF, and I stayed with them from 16 December 1939 to 26 November 1941. Winston Churchill was our Honorary Air Commodore and he came to see us at our base in France, Vitry-en-Artois, and later, regularly, at Kenley and Manston.
“Initially we flew Gloster Gladiators but in early May 1940 received Hurricanes.
“A great friend of mine, Bill Fowler, and ...
We are fighting our way towards the same goal: the chance to know and tell the truth.
First, my country was under attack for the whole of New Year’s day. Russian terrorists were inhumanly shelling all of our citizens from the early morning. The last siren alert sounded at five o’clock in the morning the next day. That was the sum of our New Year’s Eve and the first night of 2023.
Some cities, like recently deoccupied Kherson, were heavily bombed exactly as the clock struck midnight. Mind you, according to the Russian terrorists, it is now “constructionally their territory and their citizens”. They wrote “Happy New Year” messages on their attacking drones.
Kyiv by itself was attacked at night by more than 30 drones. They killed Ukrainians yesterday, they’ve tried to break our spirit, but, as always, they failed miserably. And this is what I want to share with you today — the New Year’s address to the nation from our president Volodymyr Zelensky, as it was a ray of hope for a lot of people in Ukraine.
Unlike pathetic Putin’s address to “soldiers” who are really part of the same cast of actors he features in all his videos, our president delivered an inspirational, empowering speech to the nation. The video features English subtitles and a lot of footage I really want you to see.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
I was extremely moved when I saw people from the deoccupied territories video-calling their friends and families to watch the presidential address together. So, I would also love to watch it with you:
Second, I want to start this year by expressing my gratitude to Daily Maverick. When the war started, when all I was trying to do was show the facts of Russian terrorists murdering, torturing, raping our civilians, shelling our cities, mass-killing Ukrainians in this genocidal war; when I was desperately knocking on every door sealed shut with Russian propaganda, when no one was willing to listen, you lent a helping hand.
We are fighting our way towards the same goal: the chance to know and tell the truth. Truth makes us better and stronger, it empowers, breaks terrorist plans and destroys their propaganda. Truth gives the power of speech to those who are temporarily voiceless and holds every single terrorist accountable. I want every reader to know how much I value their support. Your encouraging, emphatic, thoughtful ...
There comes a time when certain residents of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation are ready to return to the sea. It’s a farewell and a homecoming.
They left at dawn in two boats on a low-sky Monday, heading for the warm blue waters of the South Atlantic. Thunderstorms were predicted, but water was their medium so this was of no concern to them.
They will most likely spend Christmas in the great Indian Ocean gyre skirting Antarctica. Our season of Christian goodwill will not match their joy as they swim free again. Their traditions are far older than ours.
Their human-given names were Kijani, Turbo, Basil and Juniper – three green turtles and a hawksbill that had been recovering at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation in Cape Town. How they name themselves, if they do, we cannot know. They are strangely silent creatures.
Also into the heaving sea 45 nautical miles south of Hout Bay went 65 loggerhead hatchlings, each taken from their container and lovingly slipped into the water.
Their future is not assured. “It’s always a terrifying thrill to release our turtles because humans have made their home unsafe,” said Talitha Noble, Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s conservation manager, as we loaded the animals on board.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A few of their carers were wet-eyed as they bade them farewell. Plastic is their nemesis and most species are endangered. We do them great wrong.
Each turtle had their story of stranding or hurt that landed them in rehab at Two Oceans. The hawksbill, Juniper, was rescued in Mossel Bay suffering from pneumonia, but quickly recovered. Kijani, a green turtle found on the beach at Paternoster, also had pneumonia and Turbo came onshore at De Hoop Nature Reserve suffering from a neck abscess.
All were badly underweight, having eaten plastic, and were treated and fed a nutritious blend of gelatine, vegetables, shellfish, fish and supplements.
The ocean gyres
The hatchlings would have emerged from eggs on the beaches of northern KwaZulu-Natal in December 2021 or January this year. Once they emerge, they’re driven by an urge to survive that promotes a dash to the sea and a frantic, continuous four or five days of swimming from which nothing will deter them. They instinctively head for the blue of the Agulhas Current, then drift south.
However, near Struis Bay, the current doubles back on itself, heading north. Some turtles are spat out into colder ...
MPs must improve their performance after a year in which they dropped the legislative ball while politicians went toe to toe.
If mixed metaphors annoy, well, 2022 was just that kind of a year. And the trouble with 2023 will be that much attention, focus and effort will be away from the parliamentary benches as the 2024 electioneering campaigns are set to kick off across political circles.
The first signals of that could come as early as 9 February when the presidential State of the Nation Address opens South Africa’s political calendar – for the second year from somewhere other than Parliament.
The fire-devastated National Assembly building and other sections remain unrepaired and crumbling since the 2 January 2022 blaze – and unloved if the weeds between the cobblestone and rubbish blown into raggedy greenery is anything to go by.
Sometime early in 2023 repair work will go on tender after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was persuaded to loosen the purse strings for the roughly R2-billion it will cost. The DA is headed to court if Parliament doesn’t secure alternative venues to resume proper physical meetings.
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ended yonks ago. And yes, a dozen or so committee rooms are scattered in unaffected buildings on the precinct; traditionally, outside venues have also been hired.
Most recently, Parliament’s spending watchdog, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, has resumed fully physical sittings. The Section 194 inquiry into the removal from office of suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has also sat in person, with online links provided.
That impeachment inquiry has delivered acerbic exchanges, gobsmacking whistle-blower testimony and tedious politicking. But it suspended itself before schedule because of witnesses’ unavailability in a programme that has run well past its targeted September 2022 finalisation date. It will resume in early 2023, running down the clock on her non-renewable seven-year term that ends in October 2023.
The other impeachment inquiry – against President Cyril Ramaphosa over his Phala Phala farm forex saga – did not move beyond possibility as ANC MPs used their numbers to nix it. Five rebels, including Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, broke ranks publicly and several more, such as Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and ex-health minister Zweli Mkhize, were simply absent.
Their disciplinary fate for bucking the party line will lie with the ANC post-elective conference some time in 2023.
Though opposition parties sharply criticised the governing ANC for yet again putting party before state, that vote cleared one ...
While Covid-19 and its health and social impacts on the world are slowly but surely receding from the public mind, epidemiologists and virologists are preparing for other diseases that will surely come.
While the emergence of Pathogen X, the potential driver of a new global pandemic, is uppermost in public health experts’ minds, virologist and epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim says the latest data from Discovery Health Medical Scheme members is showing that the long-term consequences of Covid-19 infections will have a massive impact on the health system in years to come.
Other potential dangers that continue to pose a threat include a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a potentially severe flu virus and other viruses that jump from animals to humans, such as Ebola.
Karim says there are three scenarios for the next three to five years.
“The first is that we need to acknowledge and appreciate that we are still living in a pandemic. It hasn’t left us.
“The emergency of the Covid-19 pandemic is receding. Hospitals are not getting full, people are not dying in the same way as in 2020. But this doesn’t apply to the whole world,” he said.
“Many countries are still dealing with waves of infections. In the United States, there are 400 deaths a day due to Covid-19. In South Africa, we are still in double digits. Some days we record a low three to four deaths and other days 20 to 30 deaths. People are still dying, but not to the extent that we were concerned about in 2020.
“There is still a reasonable chance that the virus can mutate and create a new variant. This virus will have the potential to escape our current immunity.”
Karim says two descendants of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 are the latest mutations of the virus.
“They can escape almost every antibody that is available. That means that none of the monoclonal antibodies work against them,” he said.
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Monoclonal antibodies are clones of the human body’s antibodies that are made in a laboratory and meant to stimulate the immune system.
“The other problem is that they will escape vaccine-induced immunity,” Karim added. “That is our ongoing concern – that we may get to a new variant that has a high level of escape and that this will spread.
“The big plus is that the vaccine is doing very well in preventing severe Covid-19. We are hoping ...
Peering into the future is not for the faint-hearted, but we have done it anyway. It turns out that next year might not be as bad as some expect it to be — though it could be for Vladimir Putin.
In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus), a song by Zager and Evans:
In the year 2525, if man is still alive If woman can survive, they may find.
Trying to predict what will happen over the next 12 months is just an educated guess – but we can extrapolate from all the dangerous signs and dark portents that we see around us. Travel with us into the future as we contemplate some darker possibilities for 2023.
Niels Bohr, the famous nuclear physicist, and baseball great and champion malaprop-coiner Yogi Berra once shared the same thought, saying: “Prediction is hard, especially about the future.” Regardless of the pitfalls of such predictions, we offer a few guesses about what might go seriously wrong in 2023. So, take a deep breath and read about a possible future.
Towards the end of 2022, the world focused on the Sharm el-Sheikh COP-27 climate conference. At that meeting, there were demands from the nations of the South for financial relief from the effects of climate change, as well as to offset the high costs of reshaping economies towards greener energy. Grave crises focus attention – even if they don’t provoke action.
Winter in the northern hemisphere – from December 2022 on to March 2023 – was a very dry one, with record-low levels of snow pack in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Nonetheless, the relatively mild temperatures of that winter generated early bursts of brush and ground cover. But, in summer, that brush dried out and became tinder for seasonal fires.
The meagre snow pack also meant less ground water or soil moisture. Then, once the now usual summer forest fires began, they spread so quickly that fire fighters across the Pacific Northwest were overwhelmed by the blazes, which became one giant vortex of destruction. Airports from Vancouver to Phoenix closed for weeks because of the lack of visibility, and the high temperatures and terrible air quality produced massive spikes in respiratory deaths.
The traffic on the clogged highways fleeing the West to the Midwest and beyond soon rivalled the great migrations of the 1920s from the Dust Bowl – even if most hoped to return to what was left of their ...
At every level, the social contracts that hold our society together are coming apart at the seams.
Amazing as the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are right now, I humbly suggest that the key global trends that will affect the day-to-day lives of South Africans over the next 12 months are a little more human. Particularly, I am keeping a close eye on invisible borders, broken social contracts and shadow governance.
Invisible borders
The new version of discrimination is cleverly disguised as seemingly legitimate virtue, but still has the same effect: segregating the rich from the poor. I’ve termed this trend “greenlining”, as it works in a very similar way to redlining.
Redlining refers to the practice of discriminating against individuals based on their postal code, which is often a serviceable proxy of race, therefore allowing biased service providers to effectively discriminate based on race while still being able to claim ignorance. Greenlining is similar, only instead of using one’s address as the proxy for discrimination, eco credentials are used.
For example, there is a community battle taking place in Miami where wealthier existing residents are attempting to block the construction of more affordable housing in their areas. The residents are claiming “environmental impact” concerns as the reason for their resistance to poorer ethnic minority communities moving in next door.
Broken social contracts
At every level, the social contracts that hold our society together are coming apart at the seams.
At a micro level, the relationship between employer and employee is breaking down in the aftermath of the “great resignation” that saw millions of workers question the wisdom of the nine-to-five corporate grind.
At a macro level, the relationships citizens have with their states has to be redefined as governments the world over struggle to keep the lights on, in a very literal sense. As state service delivery struggles to keep up with collapsing population pyramids, citizens are questioning the rights they give up in exchange for what feels like less and less in return. Governments, in turn, are struggling to subdue waves of unrest.
Shadow governance
As state service delivery breaks down, communities are taking on the responsibility for protecting and maintaining their own neighbourhoods, often without permission.
Expect less from the government and more resourcefulness and resentment from the governed.
However these trends play out, you can rely on one thing, and that is that South Africans will continue to make a plan. And remember that while shiny new technology and ...
A Ukrainian strike on a Russian military facility in the occupied eastern town of Makiyivka killed 63 troops being housed there, Russia’s defence ministry said, making it one of the deadliest losses acknowledged by Moscow.
Ukraine warned that Russia may launch more attacks over the Orthodox Christmas holiday later this week, even as it downed all 39 Iran-made Shahed drones launched overnight, according to the country’s air defence command.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on New Year’s Day that Russians were “afraid. And they are right to be afraid because they are losing. Drones, missiles, nothing else can help them”.
Key developments
Germany’s Scholz tells citizens they need to keep saving energy
Putin eases roubles-only requirement for foreign gas purchasers
West’s victory in Ukraine may bring World War 3: Niall Ferguson
In every modern war Ukraine has been the big prize: Hal Brands
On the ground
Russia shelled the central market in Beryslav, in the liberated part of the Kherson region on Monday morning, injuring at least five people, Kherson governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.
Russian military forces have carried out 51 air strikes on Ukraine, mostly with Iranian-made Shahed drones, Ukraine’s general staff said earlier. All the missiles were shot down, the report said.
Russia also made 55 multiple launch rocket system attacks, hitting, among other targets, a children’s hospital in Kherson.
“The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure remains throughout Ukraine,” it said.
Russia says 63 troops died in Ukrainian attack
Russia’s Defence Ministry said 63 Russian servicemen were killed in a Ukrainian strike in Makiyivka in the eastern region of Donetsk, according to Interfax. The ministry, which didn’t provide the number of wounded servicemen or specify when the attack occurred, added that the facility was hit by four HIMARS rockets.
The Russian military command rarely provides figures about losses, but this is one of the most significant single-incident losses that Moscow has acknowledged since its invasion of Ukraine. At the end of September, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the military had lost 5,937 people to date in the war.
Ukraine braces for Orthodox Christmas strikes
Ukraine’s air defence forces are preparing for possible Russian attacks on Orthodox Christmas Eve on 6 January and Christmas on 7 January, military spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on TV.
“Attacks are happening three days in a row. Thus we should be prepared for new ones — keeping the powder dry and rockets charged,” he said, adding that Russia has not changed its intentions ...
The deck is stacked with profound problems that need solutions, but we can do it.
‘Nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody.”
Cast your minds back to March 2020 and the first weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Try, if you can, to recall the way in which South Africans rallied, trusted each other and accepted that we were facing a crisis that would necessitate sacrifices in the public interest. That there was such a thing as a common good.
Tragically, that spirit didn’t last long. The trust people offered was quickly broken by venal politicians and “public” servants who saw Covid-19 differently: primarily as a chance for corrupt accumulation. But there’s no doubt that, momentarily, a high degree of social cohesion and solidarity did come into being.
In those early months, one of the most significant developments was the appearance of localised Community Action Networks (popularly known as CANs), which often stretched across the divides between affluent and poor areas, providing food, money and other forms of support. Cape Town Together was a good example.
Food kitchens sprang up. For a year it was not unusual to see people collecting donations of food stuff outside supermarkets. Many people discovered joy and purpose in solidarity and community.
The CANs embodied an important principle: activism and transformation are most impactful and enduring when they are addressing tangible issues and start in your own backyard and then ripple outwards, changing the political culture.
The challenge for next year
2023 demands that we try to find that “yes we CAN” trust and common purpose again.
This time there may not be an unknown and deadly virus whipping us into line, but the social and political challenges people in South Africa face are just as great.
They, too, call for a response based on our common humanity if we are to get through the year stronger.
As we go into 2023, because of inequality, corruption and maladministration, we carry over a crisis of increasing hunger, mass unemployment, and health and educational challenges. Children eat cow dung or sand and are dying of malnutrition in parts of the country. Youth unemployment is at over 70%, meaning most of 2022’s successful matriculants will go quickly from celebration to exasperation then despair at not finding jobs.
Our healthcare workers are exhausted and overstretched, battling a rise in mental illness and the resurgence of diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV infection.
Our choice is stark: implode or ...
Cape Town’s annual minstrel carnival known as Tweede Nuwe Jaar was back in full force on Monday, 2 January 2023 after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19. Between 60,000-100,000 people lined the streets on a swelteringly hot day for one of the oldest cultural festivals of the Cape — a day of music, dance and flamboyant costumes — which is deeply rooted in the resistance to the painful history of slavery and colonialism.
DM
The highly anticipated demise of e-tolls was meant to come on the last day of 2022, but the final switch-off has been delayed while the Gauteng and national governments reportedly iron out a few issues.
The disastrous e-tolls project in Gauteng was meant to come to an end on Saturday, 31 December 2022. However, the deactivation date has now been pushed back to early 2023.
According to a statement issued by the Gauteng provincial government on Saturday, key components of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the national and provincial governments still needed to be finalised.
Key components
One key component is the duration of payments due by the Gauteng provincial government, which has agreed to pay 30% of Sanral’s R47-billion debt, said Vuyo Mhaga, spokesperson for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi. The national government has agreed to cover 70% of Sanral’s debt.
The maintenance of national roads in the Gauteng region is another issue that needs to be finalised in the MOU, said Mhaga.
‘Positive move’
Mhaga said it was the “collective view” of the Gauteng government and the people of the province that doing away with e-tolls was a positive move.
“When [Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana], during his mid-term budget, announced that e-tolls would be done away with, all of us were quite pleased,” he said.
Finalisation of the MOU is a priority for the Gauteng provincial government, Mhaga said, adding that the government was aiming for this to happen later this month.
“As soon as the MOU is clarified, the better for everyone,” he said.
The e-tolls will be switched off within 14 days of notification appearing in the Government Gazette.
Frustrations
The head of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), Wayne Duvenage, has expressed frustrations with the Gauteng government’s delay in deactivation.
Duvenage considers the e-toll tariffs as unnecessary costs for individuals and businesses, saying that fewer than 10% of motorists were still paying their e-toll bills.
“Those people who are paying must know that the likelihood of them getting refunded is slim to zero. Which means that if anyone is still paying — now that the government has said they are scrapping it — they are wasting their money. They really should stop paying now. There are going to be no negative consequences,” Duvenage said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
E-toll tariffs vary depending on the route, gantry and vehicle type.
The tolling of certain roads was introduced on 3 December 2013 and, said Duvenhage, the tolls were ...
Can stand-up comedy teach us something about coping with life’s miseries? Alan Committie’s current James Bond-skewering solo show not only makes you laugh, but teaches you how to reframe reality for a more manageable perspective.
Several times during his 007-riffing show, Live and Let Laugh, Alan Committie randomly identifies a solo clap emanating from somewhere in the audience.
It’s applause that doesn’t quite take off, like a rocket launch that’s failed to achieve ignition, and it serves as a running joke in the comedian’s 25th solo stand-up show, which is playing at Cape Town’s Theatre on the Bay until 21 January.
Committie, like a kindly headmaster berating that one troublesome schoolchild, delicately admonishes the anonymous clapper, and then proceeds to spell out the appropriate audience etiquette, which is to clap only once everyone in the theatre is good and ready to join the applause.
Reaching this ignition point may take some time, though, Committie seems to sigh as he scans the audience for signs of intelligent life, just a hint of hysteria welling up from behind his eyes. It’s a mirthful mix of reproach and making a joke at his own expense, of course. The implication is that either we, his beloved audience, are a bit slow, or that he’s not funny enough to inspire us to clap.
It’s also a reminder that live stand-up is exactly that: live. And it’s spontaneous and interactive, too. As Committie reminded one audience member on the night I watched the show: “This isn’t Netflix; I can see you!”
Committie’s tongue-in-cheek admonishment of an audience seemingly unable to keep pace with his jokes is delivered with plenty of wink-wink tenderness, but it is not without a margin of truth. His comedy comes so fast and so furious, you’d be daft to interrupt it with applause. He is like a bullet train, in fact – not only fast and furious, but fiercely ahead of the pack – and not only will you do well to save your applause till the end, but you should be warned that he’s going to keep you on your toes until the end arrives. Because this is what you get from an Alan Committie stand-up show: quip-cracking virtuosity at breakneck speed.
There are moments – many, in fact – when, unable to help himself, Committie throws a joke out in the middle of another joke: the need to purge is so compelling that he’s forced to pause ...
Over 75% of the ocean remains unmapped despite the importance of seabed mapping to sustainable management of ocean biodiversity and marine conservation in the face of the climate crisis. But South African underwater explorers are making waves and making maps that could change what we know about our oceans.
The story of the Coelacanth is a story of discovery. Once considered to have gone extinct approximately 65 million years ago when dinosaurs last roamed the earth, the 1938 discovery of a specimen hauled in by fishermen off the coast of South Africa was unprecedented.
The Coelacanth first discovered 83 years ago in East London was a miraculous find, but it was not until many years later, in 1987 that the first live specimen was observed in the waters of the Comoro Islands.
It was this discovery of the living fossil that sparked the interest of Bruce Henderson, who had been living at sea with his wife and had spent many months in the Comoros at the time.
“So I had always had this ambition to dive with Coelacanth but we hadn’t dived deep enough to see any,” says Henderson.
“Then they were found in South Africa in 2001 and a Coelacanth was first spotted at Sodwana Bay at a depth of about 100 meters,” explains Henderson.
With renewed hope and a known population in the Jesser Canyon, Henderson began to plan his 2019 expedition.
Of the first water
“But we couldn’t get permits,” says Henderson. Having booked time off work, flights and accommodation, at the 11th hour all hopes were dashed.
“So I called up an old mate and I said ‘look, my Sodwana trip is off, I am going to come and join you guys’,” says Henderson.
It was Mike Frazer and his son, Alan Frazer that had suggested the group dive the Umzumbe Canyon on the south coast of Kwazulu-Natal where Alan had fished in the past.
“He had said in certain conditions, during cold water upwellings, they get these weird deep water fish that they couldn’t explain,” says Henderson.
Alan speculated that it was untrue that Coelacanth could only be found in Sodwana and not in other areas down the coast as had originally been thought, says Henderson.
“So we dived there, not really thinking we would find Coelacanth,” says Henderson.
But it was only 10 minutes into the dive at a depth of 69 metres that they discovered and filmed a live Coelacanth.
“We swam straight into this great, big, two-metre ...
Use this 2023 calendar to take the sting out of inflation and rising interest rates.
This year really has been a ride. Consumers have had to deal with everything from rocketing inflation (onions were up 97% year-on-year in November!) to rising interest rates, with the prime lending rate climbing 3.25 percentage points since January to end the year at 10.25%.
Salaries are still lagging behind headline inflation, according to the BankServ Take-Home Pay Index.
“This is reflected in a 5.1% year-on-year decline in the real average salary recorded in October,” says independent economist Elize Kruger.
Though you may not be able to control outside factors such as inflation and interest rates, you can take control of your own finances to ensure that you end 2023 on a positive financial footing.
January – budget, budget, budget. Your budget is your best tool. This simply means writing down all your expenses and weighing them against your income so that you can ensure you are living within your means. If you need to borrow to cover your expenses, that’s a sure sign that you are living beyond your means.
February – tax time. It’s the shortest month of the year, so get cracking on those documents you need to complete your tax return early in the month. Remember to make a note of your car mileage on Wednesday, 28 February, if you plan to claim for business travel.
March – short-term insurance. Once Christmas and Valentine’s Day are safely out of the way, review your short-term insurance so that you can add on any expensive gifts such as a PlayStation or engagement ring. Marius Steyn, personal lines underwriting manager at Santam, says you want to ensure you are insured for the right amount. The value of the goods insured should equal what it would cost to replace them today, not the original purchase price.
April – holiday budget and bonus planning. Even if you are planning a staycation at the end of the year, everyone tends to spend a little more in the silly season. Start planning and set aside an amount each month.
May – electricity. Since load shedding started in 2007, planning for your winter electricity costs has become a thing. With power cuts a certainty in the years ahead, it may be time to price an inverter, generator or solar panels to power your home.
June – medical costs. It’s the middle of the year. This is a good time ...
In the background all over South Africa, there are concerned citizens who are sacrificing their time to make a meaningful difference. Here are some of their stories.
A wave of change for the Jeffreys Bay community
In a community where children do not have many options, a world-renowned surfboard maker is carving opportunities to keep children off the streets.
Growing up with a single mother, Thys Strydom spent much of his younger years with friends. After moving from the mountainous Baviaanskloof area of the Eastern Cape to Jeffreys Bay at a young age, Strydom was introduced to surfing and was “bitten by the bug”.
Today, Strydom (57) is a world-renowned surfboard maker with his own brand, Rebel Surfboards. But even more admirably, Strydom makes use of his time helping young community members get into the sport as an alternative to getting drawn into the gang-ridden streets of the area.
In the early 1990s, Strydom spotted a group of children sharing a makeshift surfboard – waiting on the beach and taking turns when one fell off.
By that time, Strydom had been surfing for years. He offered the group of children some of his old surfboards. From there, he coached the group with the help of his friend Etienne Venter, and helped the children get into competitions.
“The families of the children Thys has taken in are very happy, because surfing is a much better option than drugs,” says Keegan Mitchell, an Eastern Cape surfer who has known Strydom for eight years.
The main objective for Strydom is to keep these children off the street and away from gangs, drugs and alcoholism.
Although his work is far from done, Strydom has achieved some success in his goals. He has helped children compete at provincial, national and international levels.
Going forward, Strydom wants to establish a surfing team for the Sarah Baartman District.
“I never had these opportunities,” says Strydom. “That was the main drive behind all of this – while I couldn’t do it, I will help these children to do it.” – By Tim Malinzi
Leading wastewater monitoring to track to Covid-19
At the height of Covid, while many were ensuring that they were safe and protected, Professor Angela Mathee (62) and the team of researchers at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) were working hard to monitor more than 80 wastewater plants within South Africa to observe the SARS-CoV-2 RNA within them.
“I grew up in Athlone, on the Cape Flats,” she ...
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil’s president on Sunday, delivering a searing indictment of far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued by hunger, poverty and racism.
In a speech to Congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America’s biggest country, the leftist new leader of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote, when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation.
Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil’s young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that birthed a violent movement of election deniers.
“Democracy was the great victor in this election, overcoming . the most violent threats to freedom to vote, and the most abject campaign of lies and hate plotted to manipulate and embarrass the electorate,” Lula told lawmakers.
Lula, who was behind bars during Bolsonaro’s 2019 inauguration on graft convictions that were later overturned, delivered a veiled threat to his predecessor.
“We do not carry any spirit of revenge against those who tried to subjugate the nation to their personal and ideological designs, but we will guarantee the rule of law,” Lula said, without mentioning Bolsonaro by name. “Those who erred will answer for their errors.”
He also accused Bolsonaro’s administration of committing “genocide” by failing to respond properly to the Covid-19 virus that killed more than 680,000 Brazilians.
“The responsibilities for this genocide must be investigated and must not go unpunished,” he said.
Although Bolsonaro’s Florida trip insulates him from any immediate legal jeopardy in Brazil, he now faces mounting judicial risks — related to his anti-democratic rhetoric and his pandemic handling — after losing his presidential immunity, legal experts said.
Lula’s plans for government provided a stark contrast to Bolsonaro’s four years in office, which were characterised by backsliding on environmental protections in the Amazon rainforest, looser gun laws and weaker protections for indigenous peoples and minorities.
Lula said he wants to turn Brazil, one of the world’s top food producers, into a green superpower.
US support
In his first decisions as president, Lula restored the authority of the government’s environmental protection agency Ibama to combat illegal deforestation, which had been diluted by Bolsonaro, and revoked a measure that encouraged illegal mining on protected indigenous lands.
He also unfroze the billion-dollar Amazon fund financed by Norway and ...
It was a tumultuous and controversial year for professional golf, largely owing to the rise of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.
For almost as long as it has existed, professional golf has had a clear hierarchy. Major championships have been the pinnacle of the game, and the US-based PGA Tour has been the world’s strongest and most exclusive professional golf circuit, attracting the best players in the world.
The DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, was second on golf’s small pyramid, attracting many of the world’s best European players, and was often used to kickstart careers — such as those of Rory McIlroy and Sergio García. South Africans have also been particularly successful on this circuit.
These tours have decades of history, and a legacy built by some of the world’s greatest golfers competing year after year.
Yet, when a new tour arrived, with money unlike anything ever seen in the game, history and legacy went out the window.
The elephant in the room
The LIV Golf Invitational Series, which recently completed its first season, is a professional golf circuit funded by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, reportedly worth $500-billion.
The season consisted of eight LIV events. The first took place in early June at the Centurion Club in London, and the season finale concluded at the Trump National Doral golf course in Miami, Florida, at the end of October.
Headed by Greg Norman, LIV aggressively pursued some of the biggest names in the game and gave players huge signing-on fees. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson were both paid more than $100-million just to join, whereas most other defectors signed on for tens of millions.
The LIV “tournaments” were invitational only, and consisted of a field of 48 players playing 54-hole stroke play for the individual title. Participants were split into 12 teams of four, with prizes on offer.
There was no cut, each round had a shotgun start and the first season of events did not offer participants world ranking points. What caught the world’s attention was the money.
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South Africans cashed in
Each event had a total purse of $25-million, with the individual winner taking home a cool $4-million.
A number of notable players signed with LIV Golf over the course of the season, despite facing a complete ban from the PGA Tour, including major champions Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Mickelson and Cameron Smith.
South Africans Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, ...
After a year of rocketing inflation and rising interest rates, South Africans head into 2023 bogged down by financial baggage that includes higher debt levels.
A Credit Stress Report for the third quarter of 2022, released by analytics and research company Eighty20 in collaboration with credit bureau Xpert Decision Systems (XDS), highlights some alarming trends in the four most credit-active South African customer segments.
“At a macro level, the credit market is looking relatively resilient despite continued inflation and rising interest rates. Overall, total defaulters are down 3% from the third quarter of 2021 and total overdue balances are down 12%. However, a more detailed view of the credit market is showing large pockets of customers that are facing significant financial distress,” says Andrew Fulton, a director at Eighty20.
The prime lending rate increased by 3.25% over the last year, moving to 10.5%, which translates to a monthly repayment increase of more than R3,000 on a R1.5-million home loan. The report shows that home loan and vehicle asset finance (VAF) customers in the middle-class workers segment are under pressure, with the total value of these loans moving into default increasing by 20%. XDS data show that this segment includes 4.1 million adults typically earning R8,000 to R30,000 a month. Almost 75% of this segment are credit active and they are starting to show signs of significant credit stress as their incomes are no longer able to support their lifestyles.
Fulton points out that the average instalment-to-income ratio increased by nearly 9% over the last year to 66%, which means that two-thirds of the average middle-class salary goes to servicing debt.
Although owning property is no longer as easily achievable for the middle-class workers segment as in previous years, owning a car is the next big aspiration, with 25%, or 630,000, using VAF. The figures again paint a picture of financial distress, with 21% of vehicle asset finance balances going into default in the third quarter of the year, while the average repayment increased by 11% (R535) compared with the third quarter of 2021. On the home loan side, average bond repayments were up by 15% (R452) and 19% of home loans went into default for the first time.
At the bottom end of the income brackets, the mass-income market, made up of 11.9 million adults earning between R3,000 and R8,000 a month, is using unsecured, retail and credit card debt to make ends meet.
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Whether you’re looking for an isolated, wild piece of coastline to spend time by yourself, or a sandy stretch with warm water for frolicking all day long, each province by the sea has something to offer.
No two beaches are the same, much like the reasons they attract us. Some are beautiful with cold water temperatures, others warm yet with riptides. Some offer mobile coffee caravans or cafés across the road, others have volleyball nets and great birdlife. Others are a wilderness paradise.
The good news is that we’ve only skimmed the sand in our search.
Lookout and Robberg No 5, Plettenberg Bay
Before it was literally washed away, Lookout Beach used to be widely regarded as the best beach in southern Africa. With perfect breaks and life-savers on duty, it was great for body-surfing and safe for families, with a café at the head of the beach situated against some iconic rocks.
The beach has since returned, but it’s not quite the same. Today it is a protected sanctuary for birds – white-fronted plovers and black oystercatchers among them – and a special spot for long, quiet walks towards Keurbooms and the Crags beyond.
The “new” Lookout – and the most popular beach in Plett – is Robberg No 5, running along the loosely delineated “millionaires’ mile”. Fat new mansions replaced old beachfront cottages, with owners often duplicating their city lives right here at the beach.
Yet it is the area’s nature that draws people here: a very long beach, good breakers, the bay stretching to Nature’s Valley in front and the imposing, magnificent Robberg peninsula to the southwest. And an Italian making and selling coffee in the car park. Take note, however, that it is packed during the school holidays.
There is a seal colony towards the end of the peninsula, which boasts a fine walking trail.
A lesser-known fact is that Nelson’s Cave – accessed via a path to the right just after the security boom – contains an excellent display about the evolution of humankind on this stretch of southern Cape coast, dubbed the Cradle of Human Culture.
Brenton-on-Sea
A 15-minute drive around the lagoon from Knysna, Brenton ticks a number of beach boxes. It is relatively far removed from town, meaning it’s not as crowded as Leisure Isle, for example, over public holidays.
Keeping in mind that experience is as much about the journey as it is the destination, whether driving in from town on that winding ...
A team in form - our investments have grown over time, giving us space to explore our options for 2023.
Each year, the Business Maverick team puts heads together to choose the nine stocks they think are worth investing in over the coming year. We are by no means investment experts, but our portfolio remains much stronger than the market, with an overall 18.7% return over two years.
The markets, both local and global, were bleeding almost daily in 2022, across all major asset classes aside from US dollar cash. We invested R180 over two years, with a return of R129.32 at the end of 2021 and a return of R80.73 as at 12 December 2022.
Our 2022 portfolio is down 10.29% year-on-year, which is not good but not terrible. Essentially, we assumed that construction would pick up this year with Aveng in our portfolio. Other than that, we correctly predicted that tourism would come back, but our retail stocks balanced each other out.
Mining and high-end goods seemed like safe bets at the start of the year, and they were, but not enough to compensate for the fact that our construction sector bet was wrong. For the exercise, we assumed an investment of R90, with R10 in each stock.
With stubbornly rising inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war and aggressive interest rate hikes, it does seem as though the bottom has dropped out of the market. However, though this typically leaves most investors wary, there is no better time to find great investment opportunities at low prices.
These are the Business Maverick team’s stock picks for 2023 (share prices at close of day 12 December 2022):
Resources: Exxaro (R221.39) and Thungela (R286.23)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine not only disrupted financial markets but also led to worries about resource shortages (oil, natural gas and coal). This was not surprising given that Russia provides roughly 10% and 13% of the world’s oil and natural gas, respectively. But coal takes the cup, as it supplies 18% of the world’s consumption.
Since Putin’s temper tantrum that turned into a war, economic sanctions against Russia have forced developed nations to search for alternative suppliers of resources, especially coal. And that search has pointed them to South Africa’s coal producers, such as Exxaro and Thungela.
The share prices of both companies rallied strongly in 2022, shooting up 45% and 228%, respectively.
Western nations are also facing gas shortages and problems with generating electricity from renewable energy sources. This ...
Despite being the instigator of the Tembisa 10 Story, Pretoria News Editor Piet Rampedi was not interviewed for the Public Protector’s investigation into the allegations pertaining to the treatment of the mother of the fabled decuplets. His boss, Dr Iqbal Surve also escaped spotlight.
A year and a half after the events transpired, the Public Protector ended 2022 by releasing a report that confirmed that the media claims that a ‘Tembisa 10’ mother gave birth to decuplets in June 2021 at Steve Biko Hospital were “unsubstantiated” – as were other several claims submitted by her partner, Tebogo Edward Tsotetsi.
Tsotetsi also alleged that:
Sithole was refused access to see her decuplets,
she was wrongfully admitted to Tembisa Hospital for medical observation following the ‘birth’; and
her medical information was wrongfully shared to the Gauteng Provincial Government and to the media, which confirmed she was never pregnant.
Most of this is well-known, and at this point, well-recycled in the media. Perhaps the most interesting insight of the Public Prosecutor’s report is that out of all affidavits, reports and letters from doctors, government officials and witnesses involved in the case – Piet Rampedi was not interviewed.
To recap, in June 2021, Pretoria News made international headlines when the outlet’s editor Piet Rampedi published a story claiming that a Tembisa mother, Gosiame Sithole, had broken a world record by giving birth to 10 babies (decuplets).
It turned out, the decuplets never existed.
The disappearing decuplets: deconstructing the fable of the 10 babies
But a few weeks after the false news broke (7 June 2021) and the media frenzy followed, Tebogo Edward Tsotetsi, the thought-to-be father of the decuplets, filed a complaint to the Public Protector (22 June 2021), alleging maladministration and improper conduct by officials of the Gauteng Provincial Department, the Gauteng departments of Health and Social Development as well as SAPS and Ekurhuleni Municipality.
In her report of the investigation of the claims, Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka confirmed that the claim that the babies were born and that the mother was denied access to the babies was “unsubstantiated”.
A few weeks after Sithole claimed to have given birth to decuplets, she was involuntarily admitted into Tembisa Hospital, where she was put under medical observation.
Then on 23 June 2021, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) issued a media statement saying that a medical examination carried out at Tembisa Hospital found that Ms Sithole had not given birth and has not been pregnant “in recent times.”
Sithole’s ...
Benedict XVI, who shocked the world’s 1.2 billion followers of the Roman Catholic Church when he became the first pope to resign in almost six centuries, has died. He was 95.
Benedict XVI passed away on Saturday at 9.34am in his residence, the official Vatican News agency said on Twitter. The public will be able to pay respects to Benedict from January 2 when his body will be on view in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.”
Benedict relinquished the leadership of the church in 2013, saying that he no longer had the “strength of mind and body” to fulfil his duties. He was succeeded by Argentinian Pope Francis the following month and took the first title of pope emeritus.
The end to Benedict’s almost eight-year papacy capped a tumultuous period for the church, which had come under attack for doing little to punish paedophile priests and covering up evidence of widespread child abuse.
As a German cardinal then known as Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI was elected as pope in 2005 following the death of John Paul II. Succeeding such a charismatic, revered pope — John Paul II was swiftly put on the path to sainthood — wasn’t going to be easy even under normal circumstances. But crimes kept buried during his predecessor’s time would loom large during Benedict’s papacy.
There were allegations of sexual violence by Catholic clergy in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, the US and elsewhere. As the media uncovered court records of the church’s mishandling of sex crimes dating back half a century, Benedict faced questions over why he had failed to act on past warnings.
Under John Paul II, he had occupied one of the most important jobs in the church — defending Catholic doctrine and investigating crimes such as claims of sexual abuse. As a high-ranking cardinal and head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had been in a position to probe the allegations.
Groups representing victims of abuse demanded his abdication. The scandal plunged the papacy into what Swiss theologian Hans Kueng called “its worst crisis since the Reformation”. Benedict apologised to victims of abuse and to their families but was criticised for not turning his words into action.
On 28 February 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff to step down since Gregory ...
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping hailed deepening ties between Russia and China in talks on Friday, despite signs that Beijing is impatient with the wider political and economic impact of Russia’s struggling invasion of Ukraine.
Russia would seek to strengthen military cooperation with China, with relations between the two countries at their “best in history,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the video call, the first since the leaders met in person in September. China stands ready to expand their “strategic partnership”, said Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
US President Joe Biden signed a $1.7-trillion government funding bill that includes $47-billion in additional aid for Ukraine. The US is considering sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of a further package of military support, according to people familiar with the matter.
Key developments
Putin, Xi hold talks as Russia struggles with war in Ukraine
Biden signs $1.7-trillion funding bill that includes Ukraine aid
US considers sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine
Russia to raise yuan share in wealth fund to 60%, gold to 40%
Why the US is giving a Patriot system to Ukraine: QuickTake
On the ground
Ukraine’s defences shot down all of the fourth wave of drones sent over the past day, with a district administrative building sustaining damage in Kyiv, according to local authorities and Ukraine’s military command in the east. It was part of one of the most intense missile and drone attacks of the war. Russian shelling killed two people and wounded two more in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office. The president said the toughest fighting was taking place near Bakhmut and Soledar, and he expected more attacks before New Year’s Eve.
War may cost Ukrainian farmers $40bn this year
Financial losses suffered by Ukraine’s agriculture industry may rise to $40-billion this year due to Russia’s invasion, Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy said on television.
Xi vows to play constructive role in ‘crisis’
Chinese state television reported that Xi told Putin Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in seeking to resolve the Ukraine “crisis”, though the road to peace talks won’t be smooth.
Beijing has refused to publicly condemn the invasion or even to call it a war, instead accusing the US of provoking Russia by pushing to expand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Putin, Xi pledge to expand ties
Putin said in his end-of-year video call with Xi that Russia and China’s strategic partnership was a “stabilising factor” against rising geopolitical tensions, and Russia ...
International Press Institute (IPI) research reflects that 66 journalists and media workers were killed in 2022. In many cases, investigations into journalists’ killings stall because of a lack of political will, as the truth might implicate those in power or bring corrupt systems to a fall.
The past year has seen the highest number of journalists and media workers killed globally since 2018. International Press Institute (IPI) research reflects that 66 journalists and media workers were killed in 2022, a steep increase from the 45 journalists killed in 2021, 49 in 2020 and 51 in 2019.
Leading factors included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where eight journalists and media workers, including Ukrainian and foreign reporters were killed in the line of duty or because of their journalistic profession. The IPI report states that up to four more Ukrainian journalists and media workers may have been killed by Russian troops in connection with their profession but these cases are unverified.
Many of the journalists were killed while covering the war on the front lines. Under international law, deliberately targeting journalists working in a conflict zone constitutes a war crime.
“This year has again demonstrated the critical and dangerous role of journalists covering wars. Without them, we would only hear from the military,” says IPI executive director Frane Maroević.
Globally, there were 39 targeted killings of journalists in 2022, meaning they were murdered due to their work. Seven journalists were killed while covering armed conflicts, two were killed while covering civil unrest, and two lost their lives while on assignment. In the remaining cases, the circumstances and motives behind the killings remain unconfirmed, but work-related killings could not be ruled out.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The deadliest place for journalists: Mexico
Fourteen journalists were killed in Mexico in the deadliest year for the country’s media since 2017. Those reporting on corruption, local politics and organised crime seem to be most at risk. The high number of deaths is in addition to 15 cases of missing journalists in Mexico, as documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Natalie Southwick, CPJ’s programme coordinator for Latin America, says Mexico consistently features on CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, which highlights countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go free.
“As a result of the spiralling violence and impunity, entire regions of the country have now become so-called silenced zones, where journalists are no longer able to do meaningful ...
Although they laid foundations in 2022, the Springboks struggled to perform consistently and must now shift their focus to achieving good results in 2023. With more effort, the Blitzboks could be a stronger force, while women’s rugby has made important gains during 2022.
The South African rugby collective produced a mixed bag of results in 2022.
There were title successes for the Stormers in the inaugural United Rugby Championship (URC) and for the Blitzboks at the Commonwealth Games staged in Birmingham. The senior national teams failed to win silverware at major tournaments and slipped down the world rankings.
That said, the Springbok Women took a giant leap forward when they featured at their first World Cup since 2014. The Springboks got some answers with regard to their depth in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup in France.
The year 2022 was monumental for the franchises, when two teams contested the inaugural URC final, and three – the Bulls, the Stormers and the Sharks – qualified for the Champions Cup, the world’s premier club competition.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Franchises face fight to survive in Europe
It’s fair to say that the South Africans have exceeded expectations in Europe, and all that remains is for the Boks to join an expanded Six Nations tournament – possibly in 2024 – to complete the migration to the northern hemisphere.
DM168 understands that negotiations are at an advanced stage, and that outgoing CEO Jurie Roux has been retained as a consultant by the South African Rugby Union (Saru) in order to finalise a private equity deal with CVC Capital Partners, which own stakes in the Six Nations, the URC and the English Premiership. The partnership could have massive commercial benefits for Saru and boost rugby in this country to the next level. Getting this deal over the line will be one of Saru’s biggest priorities in 2023.
South Africa’s franchises have done well to qualify for the Champions Cup and, in the case of the Bulls and the Sharks, have made promising starts to their respective campaigns. Whether these three sides have the resources to win the Champions Cup is another story.
These teams will do well to compete across two major tournaments for the first time in history, and may be stretched further when their Springboks are rested or withdrawn for World Cup planning camps over the next few months.
At the very least, the Bulls, ...
The SA women’s football team’s victory is far-reaching. It is a win for the entire South African population and for little girls who dream of one day playing in a fully professional South African women’s football league.
After finishing as bridesmaids on five previous occasions at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), Banyana Banyana finally exorcised the ghosts of Wafcons past, nabbing the most prized possession in African football after seeing off hosts Morocco 2-1 in the final of the biennial spectacle on 23 July.
Striker Hildah Magaia scored twice, as South Africa’s footballing women claimed their first Wafcon title.
South Korea-based Magaia’s goals came in the space of eight minutes as she tapped home from close range in the 63rd minute and added a second in the 71st from a similar position.
A lapse of concentration saw South Africa give away possession to allow Morocco to pull a goal back in the 80th minute through their English-born striker Rosella Ayane.
It set up a nervy finish, which included nine minutes of added time, in front of a capacity crowd in the Moroccan capital Rabat.
However, even with tens of thousands of Moroccans cheering their nation on at the Moulay Abdellah stadium, SA’s hunger and drive to end their Wafcon drought saw them keep their calm and carry on to victory.
The win saw the South Africans become the second country, alongside Nigeria, to have their men’s and women’s teams crowned continental champions. The SA men famously won their only African title back in 1996.
Flawless journey
Banyana went through the tournament unbeaten, thumping favourites Nigeria, as well as Burundi and Botswana, to top Group C.
Tunisia and Zambia were the next victims in the quarters and semis, which saw the South Africans through to their sixth final.
Central (literally) to Banyana Banyana’s success was Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies goalkeeper Andile Dlamini.
On the rare occasion that the team’s defensive wall – which featured Dlamini’s clubmates Bambanani Mbane and Karabo Dhlamini – was breached, the experienced goalminder was alert to the danger.
Dlamini kept three clean sheets in the six games that Banyana played and won en route to their historic victory. Her efforts were rewarded when she walked away with the goalkeeper of the tournament award.
Financial relief
Coach Desiree Ellis has said that if female players could rely primarily on football as a source of income, the team’s performances would be much better.
“It [having a professional league] would definitely close the gap,” she ...
A little more than nine months after the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) was placed under administration, the Stormers produced one of the most remarkable victories in rugby history by claiming the inaugural United Rugby Championship (URC) title.
The cross-hemisphere continental title, with 16 teams from South Africa, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and Wales, had its detractors at first, but ended with a roaring success. And that was in no small part thanks to the success of the South African teams and the Stormers in particular.
Coach John Dobson somehow produced a team that played attractive, attack-minded rugby against a backdrop of despair at the WPRFU.
Perhaps the never-say-die attitude came from more than a year of boardroom drama and angst. At one stage players’ salaries were paid late and they never knew if there would be a next week for a union teetering on the brink of financial Armageddon.
Dobson kept the team focused on rugby, and when Rian Oberholzer arrived as administrator and the chain of command was clarified after months of muddiness as leadership battles played out in the boardroom, the coach was freed to coach. And the results were spectacular.
The Stormers ended second on the URC log by winning eight matches in a row and by the final they had stretched that sequence to an 11-match winning streak.
When they beat the Bulls 18-13 in the final in front of a half-full Cape Town Stadium (owing to Covid restrictions) it was obvious that on the field the Cape side was in fine fettle.
It was a dream ending for a side that never won Super Rugby in a quarter of a century of trying.
Along the way Dobson’s team flourished and players such as Manie Libbok, Evan Roos and old warhorse Deon Fourie went on to make deserved Test debuts for the Springboks. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days, we shall republish online all the results in various ...
Cape Town is having a bumper holiday season after the Covid pandemic, but rolling blackouts continue to present a challenge for small businesses seeking to capitalise on boosted tourist numbers. Daily Maverick engaged with local business owners about how outages are affecting their day-to-day operations.
After two years of Covid-related uncertainty and restrictions that spelled disaster for the tourism industry, Cape Town is finally experiencing a bumper holiday season. It’s a welcome development for those businesses who cater to the travellers’ market.
The bumper season means a greater number of flights and cruise ships coming into the city, according to James Vos, mayoral member for economic growth and tourism at the City of Cape Town.
Between 7 December 2022 and March 2023, 1.6 million two-way aeroplane seats to Cape Town are expected to be available, with 191 international flights landing in the city per week. This will generate about R8-billion in tourism spend. During the same period, about 75 cruise ships are expected to dock.
“From my conversations with tourism operators throughout the City, our attractions and hotels are reporting fantastic numbers and occupancy. In some cases, fully booked and even surpassing pre-Covid figures,” said Vos.
However, one factor continues to undercut the lucrative opportunities that come with the summer months – rolling blackouts. As the country heads into New Year’s weekend, frequent power outages are an ongoing feature of the South African experience.
Apart from a brief respite on Christmas Day, there have been rolling blackouts throughout the festive period. This week, Stage 3 rolling blackouts have been implemented from 5am to 4pm each day, followed by Stage 4 rolling blackouts from 4pm to 5am. In Cape Town, where outage stages are one below the national level, this means Stage 2 and 3 rolling blackouts.
The City of Cape Town is currently able to limit rolling blackouts in its supply areas by building up reserves from operations at the Steenbras [Dam] hydro pumped storage scheme, said Vos.
In a respite for New Year celebrations, rolling blackouts will be suspended from 4pm on 31 December 2022 until 5am on 2 January 2023, when stage 2 would be implemented until further notice, according to a Friday announcement by Eskom.
Daily Maverick engaged with small business owners in and around Cape Town to find out more about how rolling blackouts are impacting operations during the holiday season.
Muizenberg
‘For small business, it’s a killer’ – Nelson Da Silva
Majestic Café, in the coastal tourism ...
Forward, captain, coach: Desiree Ellis has been with Banyana Banyana from the beginning in 1993 all the way to this year’s Wafcon triumph.
When this year began, Desiree Ellis had almost done it all with Banyana Banyana. All bar one elusive achievement – winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).
She was there as assistant coach when Dutch football mentor Vera Pauw qualified the team for a second Olympic Games in 2016. The team’s maiden Olympic qualification had come four years earlier, courtesy of coach Joseph Mkhonza.
Ellis was there at Wafcon 2018 (this time as head coach) as the South Africans went all the way to the final before they were edged out by fierce rivals Nigeria during a penalty shootout. It was the fifth time the team had fallen at the final hurdle, having also reached tournament deciders in 1995, 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Ellis led the team to their first participation in the Fifa Women’s World Cup a year after that Wafcon heartbreak – an achievement she described to DM168 in the lead-up to the 2022 Wafcon as the “highlight of her tenure to date”.
In July 2022 she and her team of fighters were finally able to exorcise the ghosts of Wafcons past as they triumphed in the continental competition’s final, beating hosts Morocco and ending a decades-long wait for the African crown.
Gracious and grounded, Ellis refused to claim the glory for helping to bring about this watershed moment in South African women’s football.
“It’s a victory for those who have come before. Banyana did not start now. It started a long time ago. It shows that we’re on the right track. It shows that we’re moving forward. It’s fantastic that we were able to win the gold medal,” Ellis said.
Before she made her significant contributions from the dugout, Ellis was one of the founding members of Banyana Banyana in 1993. Two years later, as a forward, she led the line as Banyana made their debut in the continental showpiece after South Africa’s post-apartheid readmission to international sport.
She also featured in the 2000 edition as Banyana reached their second final – where they lost 2-0 to Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
That match had to be abandoned as angry South African supporters hurled projectiles on to the pitch after the Nigerians had doubled their lead at the Vosloorus stadium. Their actions forced play to halt 20 minutes early – with the Super Falcons declared ...
Though the season got off to a less than promising start, Max Verstappen went on to remove all doubts about his deserving the title of Formula One champion.
After winning his first Formula One world championship title in controversial circumstances last year, Max Verstappen (25) silenced his critics by dominating the 2022 F1 season.
After two mechanical failures in the first three races, sandwiched in between a victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen found himself in sixth place in the drivers’ championship, 46 points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
But from then on he was in a league of his own. The Red Bull star went on to win the next three races in succession, taking the lead in the championship for the first time after the Spanish Grand Prix.
After a third-place finish in Monaco, Verstappen added further victories in Azerbaijan and Canada. And although there was a brief glimmer of hope for Ferrari fans after Verstappen finished behind Leclerc in Britain and Austria, it was short-lived.
The Dutchman won the next two races in Hungary and France, and the next race at the Belgian Grand Prix stands out as a highlight.
Starting the race from 14th on the grid after taking an engine penalty, Verstappen was simply in a class of his own, picking off all his rivals to claim victory by a mammoth 17.8s.
And there would be no slowing down.
Further wins in the Netherlands and Italy would make it five in a row for “Super Max”. And although he finished down the order on the slippery streets of Singapore, there would be no delaying the inevitable.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen produced one of the best drives of the season to cruise to victory, a dominant 27s clear of the rest of the field.
And after teammate Sergio Perez inherited second place owing to a late mistake from Leclerc, it was enough to seal a second world championship title, with four races still remaining.
Verstappen ended the season with further victories in the US, Mexico and the season-ender in Abu Dhabi, taking his tally for the year to 15 race victories and 454 points, both of which are records. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso ...
Come on in, the water’s fine, says eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda after sewage floods into the sea. Eww.
The mayor of eThekwini, Mxolisi Kaunda, is the reluctant swimmer of the year. And Our Burning Planet’s Polluter of the Year runner-up.
As reported by Daily Maverick, in November the municipality was taken to court in a civil case after the city’s wastewater treatment infrastructure was not repaired following the floods of April and May. This caused millions of litres of untreated human sewage and industrial waste to contaminate the rivers and sea of Durban.
Criminal charges of mismanagement of the city, including mismanagement before the floods, were also opened.
Other criminal charges, against senior officials of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial department of environment affairs, were opened in relation to the city’s alleged contravention of environmental pollution laws.
Shortly afterwards, Kaunda announced the reopening of several beaches.
He was quoted as saying: “We have partnered with one of the reputable and independent laboratories, Talbot, to constantly test the quality of our water, and we have agreed to compare and share our results publicly.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The DA had challenged Kaunda to go for a swim at the recently opened uMhlanga Main Beach, an invitation that Kaunda declined even though he said it was ready to welcome tourists and beachgoers.
A day later, Kaunda woke up brave enough to go for a swim with deputy city manager Dr Musa Gumede to prove that the quality of the water had improved enough for swimming to be safe.
Sewage pump stations are being repaired, as are a number of public swimming pools. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days, we shall republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather Robertson, DM168 editor.
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
It is clear that our municipalities and CapeNature are failing to preserve our biodiversity. Where they are unable to control the movements of individual baboons, they seek to kill them; and where there is public outrage that prevents the killing, they seek to ‘relocate’ the problem.
In September 2020, a group of about 50 animal activists gathered at the bottom of Ou Kaapse Weg over the Silvermine Reserve in Cape Town, in a tense stand-off against baboon rangers of Human Wildlife Solutions (HWS), wanting to recapture Kataza, the chacma baboon that had been “relocated” from Slangkop to Tokai by the City of Cape Town.
The stand-off was eventually defused, the city capitulated and Kataza was returned to Slangkop temporarily before the “problem” baboon was exported to a rehabilitation centre in Limpopo.
Deep South Vibes: Kataza’s ‘homecoming’ – Can we all get along?
As I pen this on Christmas Day 2022, activists of the Pringle Bay community have told me they are threatening direct action to stop the relocation of four adult male chacma baboons from their baboon troop. Those activists are monitoring the HWS baboon rangers — the same HWS involved in the 2020 standoff — preparing to form a human chain to stop the threatened relocation, if necessary.
The situation in Pringle Bay has deteriorated; especially since the appointment of HWS by the Overstrand Municipality. Many residents are outraged at the cruel methods of herding (chasing with paintball guns) the baboons from their sleep site in the morning, through the day and back again every evening. While not confined to a cage, the baboons are in all other respects “captive”.
Before 2020, the Pringle Bay community had organised itself to recruit and manage its own baboon monitors. It set up an “early warning” communication system, to be alerted of the troop’s movements — baboon monitors gently escorted the baboons through and out of the village, back into the mountains. It worked. A similar scheme worked in Kommetjie, on the Cape Peninsula.
Then Overstrand appointed HWS, despite warnings from activists about the heavy-handed methods that had made it so unpopular with activists on the Cape Peninsula, where it lost the contract with the City of Cape Town Municipality; not to mention the controversy over its appointment by deviating from the tender process, which was subsequently found to be flawed.
Within months of HWS’s appointment, the raiding incursions shot up from six to nearly 19 per month.
In their endeavours ...
Before her recent overseas career move, innovative Mandy Rambharos breathed new green life into a smoky, coal-powered Eskom plant. For that, she is Our Burning Planet’s Guardian of the Year runner-up for 2022.
Mandy Rambharos worked at Eskom for 24 years, until October 2022. In her time at the power supplier, she introduced the Just Energy Transition office as a means to make Eskom greener.
Read in Daily Maverick: “What the world is learning from South Africa’s nascent Just Energy Transition Investment Plan”
Because Eskom is one of the world’s largest carbon emitters, Rambharos wanted to make sure it could lessen its carbon footprint through the introduction of a renewable energy source power station.
Last coal huff and puff
Last month, before Rambharos left her office, Komati power station huffed the last bit of smoke from coal.
Instead of this power station closing down, like many others, Rambharos brought it to life again.
Komati now operates as a renewable power plant station with 150MW solar PV, 70MW of wind and 150MW of battery storage.
Three other power stations on the verge of being closed down – Hendrina, Grootvlei and Camden – are also set to be repurposed for renewable sources of energy and are undergoing environmental assessments.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Uncertainty about whether Eskom will continue with the transition to greener energy remains following Rambharos’s resignation and that of CEO André de Ruyter, who is a big supporter of this change. He is set to leave at the end of March 2023.
Greener pastures
Rambharos has moved to the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington DC. The non-profit organisation focuses on “driving game-changing solutions to our biggest environmental issues like climate change, air pollution and more”, according to its website.
In an interview with News24, Rambharos said: “I feel like I’ve done enough groundwork and built enough of the base for somebody else to run with. And I realise, too, that it is partly due to my personality that things got done.” DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to ...
For the second year in a row, DM168 readers have voted Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe their ‘Polluter of the Year’. His unyielding defence of the fossil fuel industry earned him the title.
For the second year in a row, the winner of the South African Polluter of the Year title is Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe, according to votes by DM168 readers.
As was pointed out in 2021, Mantashe is responsible for a portfolio that oversees some of the most environmentally destructive and harmful practices, from seismic blasting to open-cast coal mining. The minister has, however, in the eyes of readers, further cemented his position as polluter-in-chief over the course of 2022.
Asked to comment on the award, Mantashe’s spokesperson Natie Shibangu instead sent a video of the minister announcing that he had been awarded the ‘African Petroleum Minister of the Year Award’ by the African Leadership Organisation.
That award was given to Mantashe at the African Energy and Infrastructure Forum in Ghana in “recognition of his excellent leadership and contribution to the sector”.
The minister’s spokesperson followed up on his response by sending a text saying: “AFRICAN PETROLEUM MINISTER OF THE YEAR 2022”.
In the video, Mantashe says, “It’s not because of an individual, it’s because of the efforts we are making as a sector and the message that is coherent that comes from South Africa that provides clarity and leadership in the continent.”
Indeed, Mantashe has been forceful in his defence of and advocacy for a sector recognised as being a leading contributor to human-induced climate change.
Take the case of Shell and the Wild Coast.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Shell determined to pursue seismic exploration ambitions off South Africa’s Wild Coast”
In November, the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha reserved judgment in an application for leave to appeal by the minister, Impact Africa and Shell against a judgment by the Makhanda High Court, which found an exploration right granted to Shell to conduct seismic surveys off the ecologically sensitive Wild Coast was unlawful.
Green Connection’s Liziwe McDaid said the government did not need more fossil fuels, “so why are we still looking?”
“This is starting to feel like a stuck record. Dear decision-makers, we are in a climate crisis, a massive threat to food security. We must stop exploring for more offshore oil and gas, and rather invest in renewable energy.”
Mantashe’s avowed pro-fossil fuel stance may be related to the R15-million donation ...
We dedicate our 2022 environmental heroes accolade to six organisations whose tireless efforts against the exploitation of the sea and its communities deserve South Africa's recognition. The leading ones were Sustaining the Wild Coast, Amadiba Crisis Committee, Natural Justice, the Legal Resources Centre, Greenpeace Africa and the law firm Cullinan & Associates.
It was the summer of 2021 when the largest environmental campaign in South Africa’s history was launched. On the beaches of the Eastern Cape, activists, academics, subsistence farmers, fisherfolk, traditional healers and lawyers rolled up their trousers and waded into the ocean, all in the name of safeguarding our marine heritage.
The protesters were affiliated to many organisations, but the leading ones were Sustaining the Wild Coast, Amadiba Crisis Committee, Natural Justice, the Legal Resources Centre, Greenpeace Africa and the law firm Cullinan & Associates. It is, therefore, to the management and staff of these six organisations that we dedicate our 2022 environmental heroes accolade.
For the answer to what they did, we need to go back to early December 2021 when the vessel Amazon Warrior had just arrived in South African waters and was waiting to blast its 48 airguns through the ocean floor and deep into the Earth’s crust.
The hunt, of course, was for oil and gas, and the hunters were local consortium Impact Africa and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.
During that same week, we had watched an application for an urgent interdict play out in the Makhanda High Court. The advocates for the oil companies used every trick in the book to allow the seismic blasting to go ahead. But, a few days after Christmas last year, the interdict was granted and the Amazon Warrior was ordered to vacate the waters off the ecologically sensitive Wild Coast.
Then, on 1 September 2022, an even bigger victory was achieved. In a ruling that set an international precedent and was covered everywhere from The New York Times to The Sydney Morning Herald, a panel of three judges sided with the activists, rural communities and traditional healers.
They said in their judgment that the government, and more specifically the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy under Minister Gwede Mantashe, had granted an “unlawful” exploration licence to begin with.
Amid the celebrations, the question of whether Mantashe and the oil companies would take the matter on appeal still remained.
The answer, we now know, was yes. We also know that we live in a more intense ...
Brazil soccer great Pelé died on Thursday aged 82 after a long battle with cancer. Here are reactions to his death from around the world.
DEATH OF A LEGEND
Fifa President Gianni Infantino
His legacy is impossible to summarise in words.
To his family and friends, to CBF (Brazilian Football Federation), to Brazil and to all football fans who loved him so much, I express my sincere condolences.
Today, we all mourn the loss of the physical presence of our dear Pelé, but he achieved immortality a long time ago and therefore he will be with us for eternity.
US President Joe Biden
For a sport that brings the world together like no other, Pelé’s rise from humble beginnings to soccer legend is a story of what is possible. Today, (First Lady) Jill and I’s thoughts are with his family and all those who loved him.
Former US President Barack Obama
Pelé was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And as one of the most recognisable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
During the eight decades of his life, Pelé not only filled football stadiums with exhilaration but he filled hearts and homes with hope and the knowledge that adversity was surmountable. He was a global inspiration who embodied the best that sport has to offer as an exhibition of physical endeavour and as a means to transform individuals and entire societies from within.
His endurance and impact on the field of play inspired the resilience with which Pelé worked for peace and justice globally. Pelé will be missed by multiple generations of people worldwide who were touched by his life even if they never set foot in a stadium.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Pelé (1940-2022) – The G.O.A.T”
Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin
He was the first global superstar of the game and, thanks to achievements on and off the field, he played a pioneering role in football’s rise to become the world’s most popular sport. He will be greatly missed.
Actor Sylvester Stallone, Pelé’s co-star in film Escape to Victory
Pelé The Great! Rest in peace! This was a good man.
New York City Football Club
Obrigado Pelé. No one did more for this sport here, and everywhere. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Argentina Captain Lionel Messi
Rest in peace, Pelé.
Argentina President Alberto Fernández
One of the greatest ...
In the seventies, she was known for her London fashion boutique, SEX, and being behind the image of the punk rock band, the Sex Pistols. Her trademark safety pins, bondage suits, 'nippled' slogan t-shirts and anti-establishment attitude have marked fashion in significant ways. She was a fashion designer, an activist, and a disruptor who in 1992, received her Order of the British Empire wearing a dress and no underwear. Shocking! Westood died in Clapham, south London, on Thursday.
Pelé, widely considered the greatest soccer player of all time, died at the age of 82 on Thursday.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known to the world as Pelé, has died. The great Brazilian soccer player, winner of three World Cups with the Seleção and numerous other titles, succumbed to colon cancer. He died at 3.27pm local time in Brazil after multiple organ failure.
Pelé. Four letters that transcended sport. He was an icon, a hero, a winner and the embodiment of the beautiful game. Pelé was simply soccer.
No sports person in history, save Muhammad Ali, was as feted, as revered and as widely considered the greatest to have ever played a sport as Pelé.
He burst into international consciousness as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Even as a teenager he fulfilled a promise to his father to return the Jules Rimet trophy to Brazil after the anguish of 1950.
On home soil, Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay in the unofficial final of the 1950 tournament, which had the odd concept of a final group stage. As luck would have it, the last group game pitted Brazil against their South American rivals at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio. The home side only needed a draw to be declared World Cup winners.
But Uruguay prevailed and Pelé saw his father cry for the first time as they listened to the match on radio. He vowed to win the World Cup for Brazil again. He more than lived up to that promise, playing starring roles in the 1958 and 1970 campaigns (in Mexico) and also securing a winners’ medal during an injury-plagued 1962 campaign in Chile.
In Sweden in 1958, he became the youngest World Cup winner at 17 years 249 days, a record that still stands to this day.
He nearly didn’t make it to the 1958 World Cup after suffering injury in a warm-up game against Brazilian club Corinthians. Although he missed the team’s final warm-up games before the tournament, and only played a peripheral role in the group stage, he burst to life in the knock-out stages.
Pelé scored six goals in total, starting with a superb solo goal against Wales in the quarterfinals. He added a hat-trick in the semifinal against France during a 5-2 win and added a brace in the final against Sweden, again during a 5-2 win.
Some of the goals he scored are simply amongst the best in World ...
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, he grew into the legendary Pelé and will remain one of the greatest sports stars of all time.
Death has dethroned the soccer kingdom of its king. One of the greatest players to ever kick a soccer ball, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (better known by his nickname Pelé) lost the final match in his life – this time to cancer.
Pelé succumbed to a long battle with colon cancer on Thursday, 29 November.
The 82-year-old had a tumor removed from his colon in September 2021 and had been in and out of the hospital for treatment on a regular basis prior to his passing.
The Brazilian football legend’s condition worsened in the last fortnight. The 82-year-old spent Christmas in hospital with his family, as he received treatment for his cancer.
Pioneer
In recent weeks there has been a viral video circulating on various social media platforms. The clip shows various generations of football greatness performing some of their best skills, which are then contrasted with snippets of soccer icon Pelé performing similar or the same exact moves.
Pelé vinha do futuro, o MAIOR, MELHOR e não tem jeito.
Que vídeo foda.
memes futebolisticos. – vito (@Mfutebolisticos) November 20, 2021
From Zinedine Zidane’s famous pirouettes, to Cristiano Ronaldo’s chop, as well as Andrés Iniesta’s mesmerising midfield runs – the narrator in the video says: “Pelé did it first.”
Now the assertion that the late 82-year-old was the inventor of the many moves we have seen on the pitch over the decades is not something that can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. There were probably others who did the same moves before the Brazilian.
Nevertheless, one thing is indisputable – though others may have performed the same moves before he did, Pelé pulled some of them off as a 16-year-old while playing for one of Brazil’s most recognised clubs – Santos.
He also performed such moves as a 17-year-old, as he took the world by storm and led Brazil to their first ever Fifa World Cup in 1958.
These displays set him up to be one of the most influential athletes at the time. It also set him up to be regarded as one the greatest humans to kick a soccer ball, and indeed placed him amongst the most legendary athletes of all time.
After all, at this moment, no soccer player can claim to have three World Cup gold medals. Nor does anyone, other than Pelé, possess the bragging rights of ...
Pelé, the magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday.
Pelé had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumour was found on his colon.
Pelé, whose given name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, scored a world record 1,281 goals, and is the only player ever to win the World Cup three times.
With sublime skills and a winning smile, he helped make soccer the world’s most popular sport and he charmed popes, presidents and Hollywood stars in a seven-decade career as player and ambassador for the sport.
Born on 23 October 1940, in the small Minas Gerais town of Tres Corações, or “Three Hearts”, Edson Arantes do Nascimento learnt the game from his father, a semi-professional player whose promising career was derailed by a knee injury.
Several aspects of his youth are obscured by myth, including the origin of his famous nickname. As Pelé (sometimes) told it, he often played as goalkeeper in neighborhood games, and kids began comparing him to a local player named “Bile” – and the letters got twisted over the years.
Whatever the truth, he was soon dazzling scouts not as a goalkeeper but as an attacking forward – a prototype number 10.
He was respected for his range of talents, and more so than any player since, he could do it all: He was two-footed, had tremendous pace and stamina, he could head, pass, tackle – and of course, he could score goals.
He joined Santos at the age of 15 and turned the small coastal club into one of the most famous names in football.
Over a glittering 18-year spell at the club he won every honour in Brazilian football as well as two Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the Champions League – and two Intercontinental Cups, the annual tournament held between the best teams in Europe and South America.
His talent was soon recognised by the national team and he was chosen for the Brazil squad heading to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden – although a team psychologist called the 17-year-old “obviously infantile” and advised against playing him.
Pelé went on to score a hat-trick within one half of the semifinal against France, and another two goals in the final against the host Swedish team – helping Brazil to ...
Russia on Thursday unleashed one of the most intense missile barrages of the war, targeting major Ukrainian cities including the capital, Kyiv, and Lviv in the west near Poland.
Out of 69 cruise missiles launched on Thursday by Kremlin forces from strategic bombers and ships in the Black Sea, 54 were downed by air defence systems, according to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s army commander-in-chief. In a separate incident, Belarus’s air defence shot down a Ukrainian anti-air rocket over its territory.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal accused Russia of trying to sabotage power facilities ahead of the New Year celebrations and said some energy infrastructure had been damaged in the latest attacks.
Key developments
Russia fires heavy salvo on Ukraine, ruling out peace talks
Belarus says its air defence shot down Ukrainian missile
European gas rebounds amid mixed weather forecasts for January
Russian tycoon urges Africa to press EU on fertiliser snarl
Ship insurers’ exodus from Russia-Ukraine trades gathers pace
On the ground
Overnight, Russian forces hit energy infrastructure in Kharkiv with Iranian-made Shahed drones, killing one person, Ukrainian officials said, adding that air defence forces shot down 11 Iranian-made drones. Several buildings, a gas pipeline and a power line were damaged in an attack on the Zaporizhzhia suburbs, Oleksandr Starukh, the regional governor, said on Telegram. Three Russian missile carriers are now on combat duty in the Black Sea, according to a statement from the Ukrainian southern command.
Belarus summons Ukrainian ambassador over missile incident
Belarus’s Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Kyzym to voice protest against what the country’s authorities say was a launch of an air defence missile towards Belarus.
Minsk called on Ukraine to investigate Thursday’s missile launch, punish those responsible and apply measures to rule out such incidents in the future to avoid “catastrophic consequences”, according to a statement on the Foreign Ministry website.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry press service didn’t reply to requests for comment. Kyiv has accused Belarus of allowing Russia to launch missiles from its territory. Russia has used Belarus as a staging point for its invasion, but Belarusian troops have so far stayed out of the war.
Belarus says it downed missile fired from Ukraine
Belarus said its air defences shot down a Ukrainian S-300 missile that flew into its territory on Thursday — a rare instance of the war spilling over the border into Russia’s ally, where an official downplayed the incident.
Missile debris fell near the village of Gorbakha in the Ivanovo region of southern Belarus near the border ...
The families of some of the victims of the Boksburg explosion on 24 December, which has so far claimed 27 lives and injured eight people, with two still missing, have spoken out about their loss. Meanwhile, the driver of the truck that exploded after it crashed into a bridge is now a free man after being released from custody on Tuesday because, the police say, there was no ‘case against him’.
“Everything still feels like a bad dream that one can’t wake up from. To see and hear that I lost four of my friends to this horrific incident is bad. Even more, because I have to see their families who are in immense pain breaks my heart because I have never seen them in this state.
“I don’t know how to help and be there for them. I’m not coping but I am trying to be strong for the people around me and my family members. This is just not about my friends but we had a major loss in the community.”
These were the words of Boksburg resident Marcus Peterson about the explosion that claimed 27 lives, with eight injured people receiving medical attention and two still missing, according to the Gauteng Department of Health’s latest count.
On 24 December, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker travelling to Botswana exploded in Boksburg after sustaining damage when passing under a low bridge. The vehicle’s release valve caught on the bridge and a fire started, according to Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, killing 10 people and seriously injuring 26. However, since then, the death toll has risen to 27.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Death toll of Boksburg gas tanker blast stands at 18 as government assesses damage to nearby OR Tambo Hospital”
The explosion also caused damage to the nearby Tambo Memorial Hospital, leading to its temporary closure.
On Thursday, Daily Maverick interviewed some of the victims of the explosion.
The mood was sombre in Hospital Street where the tragedy occurred. Flowers, candles and messages had been placed on the pavement near where the burn victims lay after the explosion. Family members stopped to pay their respects at the scene.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
‘The pain is deep’
Geraldo Geduld lost his wife, Elise, and their 19-year-old son, Janil, in the disaster.
“I can’t even put in words the trauma I feel losing a wife of 20 years, my best friend and my partner. On the ...
The families of some of the victims of the Boksburg explosion on 24 December, which has so far claimed 27 lives and injured eight people, with two still missing, have spoken out about their loss. Meanwhile, the driver of the truck that exploded after it crashed into a bridge is now a free man after being released from custody on Tuesday because, the police say, there was no ‘case against him’.
“Everything still feels like a bad dream that one can’t wake up from. To see and hear that I lost four of my friends to this horrific incident is bad. Even more, because I have to see their families who are in immense pain breaks my heart because I have never seen them in this state.
“I don’t know how to help and be there for them. I’m not coping but I am trying to be strong for the people around me and my family members. This is just not about my friends but we had a major loss in the community.”
These were the words of Boksburg resident Marcus Peterson about the explosion that claimed 27 lives, with eight injured people receiving medical attention and two still missing, according to the Gauteng Department of Health’s latest count.
On 24 December, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker travelling to Botswana exploded in Boksburg after sustaining damage when passing under a low bridge. The vehicle’s release valve caught on the bridge and a fire started, according to Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, killing 10 people and seriously injuring 26. However, since then, the death toll has risen to 27.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Death toll of Boksburg gas tanker blast stands at 18 as government assesses damage to nearby OR Tambo Hospital”
The explosion also caused damage to the nearby Tambo Memorial Hospital, leading to its temporary closure.
On Thursday, Daily Maverick interviewed some of the victims of the explosion.
The mood was sombre in Hospital Street where the tragedy occurred. Flowers, candles and messages had been placed on the pavement near where the burn victims lay after the explosion. Family members stopped to pay their respects at the scene.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
‘The pain is deep’
Geraldo Geduld lost his wife, Elise, and their 19-year-old son, Janil, in the disaster.
“I can’t even put in words the trauma I feel losing a wife of 20 years, my best friend and my partner. On the ...
The Constitutional Court has found that Eskom erred in 2020 when it reduced the electricity it supplied to the Ngwathe Local Municipality in the Free State and the Lekwa Local Municipality in Mpumalanga. The power utility erred because it failed to consult with or inform affected residents and businesses in the municipalities before cutting the power.
Eskom’s efforts to recover outstanding electricity payments from heavily indebted municipalities have been dealt a blow by the Constitutional Court.
SA’s top court trashed Eskom’s tough practice of unilaterally switching off the lights at the Ngwathe Local Municipality in the Free State and the Lekwa Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, which each owe the power utility more than R1-billion in unpaid electricity bills. At last count, the Ngwathe municipality owed Eskom R1.467-billion and the Lekwa municipality owed R1.536-billion.
The Constitutional Court found that Eskom erred when it reduced the electricity it supplied to the municipalities in 2020 and effectively threw them into the dark, without informing or consulting with affected residents and businesses.
It’s a victory for residents and ratepayers of the Ngwathe and Lekwa municipalities as the court ruled that Eskom’s decision to reduce their bulk electricity infringed on their human rights, as set out in the Bill of Rights.
“Eskom’s decision to reduce electricity supply has adversely affected the residents’ right to dignity, their right of access to healthcare services, their right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being, the right to basic education and the right to life,” wrote Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga in a majority ruling supported by justices Mathopo, Mhlantla, Theron and Tshiqi.
Ratepayers of the Ngwathe and Lekwa municipalities initially took Eskom to the Pretoria High Court, where they successfully secured an interdict that blocked the power utility from reducing their electricity. Eskom, which has long-standing electricity supply agreements with the municipalities in arrears, was also ordered to provide the municipalities with “full power”.
The interdict was granted on an interim basis and would remain in place until the ratepayers pursued a separate court application, which relates to whether Eskom’s decision to throttle the amount of bulk electricity it supplied to the municipalities should be reviewed and set aside.
Eskom then took the matter on appeal to the Constitutional Court. The power utility lost the appeal as the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling by the Pretoria High Court and ordered the power utility to “restore electricity supply to what it was before the reduction” ...
Green practices and sustainable materials are becoming more popular at weddings as couples plan their big day without compromising on price or vision.
In 2020, more than 89,000 couples said “I do”. Whether that was in a grand church, barefoot on the beach, in their back yard or at Home Affairs, when asked whether they know how the average wedding affects the environment, many would probably say: “I don’t.”
The average wedding produces about 180kg of waste and emits 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is according to Kate Harrison, author of The Green Bride Guide.
More than love in the air
There are a number of ways that weddings negatively affect the environment, from travel, electrical demands and the production of once-off clothing and decor that emit CO2 into the atmosphere, to wasted food and litter strewn in the environment.
But, sustainable practices at weddings can make an impact without compromising the couple’s vision.
“There are numerous adjustments that can ultimately lower the carbon footprint a wedding can produce and instil motivations in wedding guests to bring these practices into everyday life,” says a weddings and sustainability case study.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Here come the eco-brides
“One thing about me is that I hate wasting,” says Reinate van den Berg, who is currently planning her wedding to her fiancé, Niel-John Lord.
“I work in the hospitality industry and I witness a lot of waste,” says Van den Berg, “so that was really the main focus of the wedding.”
There are a number of sustainable practices that can reduce waste and environmental impact when planning a wedding. Sending invites electronically, reducing or removing meat from the menu, avoiding single-use items or skipping wedding favours are all options for the eco-conscious bride or groom.
There are so many areas where sustainability can be incorporated into wedding day plans and it might feel overwhelming to consider them all, but South African brides are choosing to go green in these ways:
Floral focus
Using locally sourced flowers for the bouquet and reception decor are a great way to reduce waste and the impact of wedding day festivities on the environment. Local flowers are cheaper, don’t emit as much CO2 for transport and will not introduce invasive species to the local biome.
Van den Berg has taken her local flowers a step further by also incorporating them into her confetti. Flower petals are hand-picked and dried to be ...
There’s been some good news lately from CPI data in the US, but expectations of the global economy avoiding a nosedive are unrealistic.
If it is impossible to know where the world is going, it is at least advisable to try to have a clear idea where it is. To understand the state of the global economy, therefore, it is useful to look at it through the lenses of the most critical factors: growth and interest rates.
The one constant underpinning financial markets since the beginning of the 1980s has been the inexorable decline in interest rates. The US 10-year bond yield has gone from 15.8% in 1981 to a pandemic-era all-time low of 0.67% in March 2020. Since then it has risen sharply, reaching a recent high of 4.2% in November.
This may sound of little consequence, but it is fundamental to understanding the global economy and financial markets. Lower interest rates have three critical effects.
First, they encourage economic expansion through a mix of cheaper debt, resulting in more borrowing and thus higher levels of consumption, fixed capital investment and job creation. Ever lower rates have effectively been a four-decade free lunch for the global economy.
Second, the US 10-year bond yield acts as the benchmark for the discount rates used to price all securities. The lower the interest rate, the higher the valuation investors will place on a future income stream.
As rates have ground down year after year for four decades, the valuations of all securities – equities and bonds alike – have soared. The S&P 500 went from a low of 102 in August 1982 to 4,796 at the beginning of 2022, an annual compound growth rate of 10.3% a year.
Several “real economy” factors have been behind this. The fruits of higher productivity, technological innovation and increasing trade from globalisation have meant greater corporate profitability and higher valuations. Arguably, however, this relentless rise in asset prices has been simply a repricing of future profits.
The third effect is that lower returns from “risk-free” investing, such as lending to the US government for 10 years, force investors into riskier assets to ensure they attain desired investment returns. This created a new investment mentality.
Investing went from being about mitigating risks to being about how to take advantage of any apparent risk and return mispricing arbitrage. Suddenly there was a market for everything, as investors created demand for more and more exotic asset classes in ...
The FAANG companies are in lawmakers’ crosshairs for using people’s data to maintain market dominance.
If 2022 was the year Big Tech was humbled, 2023 will be the year the halo truly falls. Amazon lost $1-trillion, Facebook lost 70% of its value as it tried to pivot to a virtual reality (VR) alternative future and Twitter, well, it got bought by Elon Musk. And chaos ensued and, at the time of writing, the story was still unfolding.
Musk’s irrational and impulsive decision to ban journalists who reported on his ongoing tiff with a teenager who tracks his private jet might have been the final nail. As is his habit, Musk created a poll to ask whether he should step down as Twitter CEO, in which 17 million people voted and 56% said he should. Immediately, he disputed the poll as bots may have voted.
Musk tweeted he would “resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”
It’s safe to say 2023 will continue where this year left off, with the petulant antics of the no-longer-richest person in the world, and the continuing train crash of his overpriced $44-billion purchase of Twitter. This often juvenile, often querulous, and somewhat naive new owner is lurching from self-made crisis to spectacular own-goal. He even hinted at a war with Apple over what he called “a battle for the future of civilisation”.
In the same tweet, he added: “If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.”
That is Silicon Valley hyperbole for: Apple owns the App Store and can get away with charging 30% fees because, well, it’s Apple. Facebook took it on, as did Spotify and Fortnite-maker Epic Games. Apple shrugs it off.
But arguably not for long. There is a strong possibility 2023 will see significant antitrust court cases against the FAANG companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. US President Joe Biden strengthened the hands of key agencies, most notably Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission. The 32-year-old Columbia Law School professor is a fierce critic of Big Tech and its dominance.
She helped the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law in its 16-month investigation into these firms, and its scathing 450-page report, which found “once . scrappy, underdog startups” have “become the kind of monopolies we last ...
The FAANG companies are in lawmakers’ crosshairs for using people’s data to maintain market dominance.
If 2022 was the year Big Tech was humbled, 2023 will be the year the halo truly falls. Amazon lost $1-trillion, Facebook lost 70% of its value as it tried to pivot to a virtual reality (VR) alternative future and Twitter, well, it got bought by Elon Musk. And chaos ensued and, at the time of writing, the story was still unfolding.
Musk’s irrational and impulsive decision to ban journalists who reported on his ongoing tiff with a teenager who tracks his private jet might have been the final nail. As is his habit, Musk created a poll to ask whether he should step down as Twitter CEO, in which 17 million people voted and 56% said he should. Immediately, he disputed the poll as bots may have voted.
Musk tweeted he would “resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”
It’s safe to say 2023 will continue where this year left off, with the petulant antics of the no-longer-richest person in the world, and the continuing train crash of his overpriced $44-billion purchase of Twitter. This often juvenile, often querulous, and somewhat naive new owner is lurching from self-made crisis to spectacular own-goal. He even hinted at a war with Apple over what he called “a battle for the future of civilisation”.
In the same tweet, he added: “If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.”
That is Silicon Valley hyperbole for: Apple owns the App Store and can get away with charging 30% fees because, well, it’s Apple. Facebook took it on, as did Spotify and Fortnite-maker Epic Games. Apple shrugs it off.
But arguably not for long. There is a strong possibility 2023 will see significant antitrust court cases against the FAANG companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. US President Joe Biden strengthened the hands of key agencies, most notably Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission. The 32-year-old Columbia Law School professor is a fierce critic of Big Tech and its dominance.
She helped the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law in its 16-month investigation into these firms, and its scathing 450-page report, which found “once . scrappy, underdog startups” have “become the kind of monopolies we last ...
A stunning new cover of the 1960s anthem ‘Eve of Destruction’ tops a collection for a world on fire.
The climate emergency deserves its own soundtrack. Social movements throughout history have used music to inspire activists to persevere in the face of apparently long odds. Music also offers solace for the losses that accompany struggles to build a better world, and it can wake up the unaware or apathetic, propelling them to join the fight. A stunning new cover of the 1960s protest anthem Eve of Destruction, produced by the South African nonprofit news site Daily Maverick, delivers on all counts.
The original Eve of Destruction, released in 1965, protested against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Written by PF Sloan and recorded by pop singer Barry McGuire, the song became an instant hit thanks to its octave-jumping hook – “And you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction” – and an infectious groove supplied by drummer Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew, a renowned Los Angeles session band. The verses, penned by Sloane at the age of 19, channelled the growing fear and anger of American youth as more and more of their generation were sent to fight, kill and die in Vietnam.
Daily Maverick’s journalistic chops shine in the music video for the new Eve of Destruction, a relentless stream of images from the onrushing climate emergency: grey smoke and yellow flames billowing from refineries and petrochemical plants, vultures feasting on drought-desiccated cattle, the swirling eye of a hurricane seen from space, an oil-soaked seabird attempting to free itself from the muck, and a bulldozer crane tossing around logs in a recently levelled rainforest.
The melding of such images with the haunting vocals of South African singer Anneli Kampfer triggers goosebumps. In the video, her eyes are closed, as if she can’t bear to watch the stupidity and suffering that she’s describing, and she sings in a tone at once baffled and confrontational. The lyrics of this cover were tweaked to shift the song’s emphasis from being anti-war to being anti-climate catastrophe. The original lyrics observed that the soldiers being sent to Vietnam were “old enough to kill, but not for votin’” before adding, “You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’?” The new lyrics put more onus on the listener: “You’re bad enough to scream, but ...
A confidential report that flags harmful levels of toxic mining effluent in Lesotho’s key rivers feeding the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has raised uncomfortable questions in the government and set the cat among the pigeons in cabinet, as ministries shift the blame and justify not doing their job due to a lack of funds. While South Africa, which relies on the water it buys from Lesotho, has also raised the alarm, the situation now poses a threat to Lesotho’s economy.
Lesotho depends heavily on the more than M1.1-billion in royalties that South Africa pays for the water it receives annually from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). This is equivalent to about 5% of Lesotho’s annual budget and far outweighs the income from mining.
Toxic rivers
The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), which monitors and manages the LHWP, says operations at the Letšeng Diamond Mine, Storm Mountain Diamonds (Kao) and the Liqhobong Diamond Mine continue to pollute water sources critical in the project catchment areas in Mokhotlong and Botha-Bothe.
This is despite the mines’ repeated promises to mitigate nitrate contamination during joint meetings chaired by the environment department. South Africa has also repeatedly complained about this mining-based pollution.
Former South African high commissioner to Lesotho Sello Moloto warned in an exclusive interview with MNN earlier this year that failure to address this would eventually lead to a situation where “these big dams will remain empty”.
In an exclusive interview with MNN, Lesotho water commissioner Mokake Mojakisane said Lesotho had “committed to keep the quality of that water within acceptable standards to ensure that when transferred to South Africa, it is safe for drinking”.
Mojakisane argues that Lesotho’s commitment to transfer clean water to South Africa “does not mean that our economic activities must be halted simply because the water is being transferred to South Africa”.
“The issue of mining in general – I am not justifying that mines must pollute – has pollution challenges, even South Africa has similar challenges. Theirs are even worse rising from acid mine drainage and that is a known fact.”
A highly placed government source, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, said that “this (the Lesotho government’s attitude) is a dangerously misguided assessment that is not backed up by data and also fails to consider how lack of protection of water sources from mine pollution will decrease availability of clean water” for domestic use as well as for transfer to South Africa and ...
A poem by Here Tic, triggered by Dr Seuss and the antics of the ANC.
All the Screws in Screwville have suffered rather a lot, because the Grinch in black, green and gold is the government they got.
From the seat of maladministration in the jacaranda-lined capital to the burnt-out remains of the parliamentary brothel, the Grinch presides as Pimp of Patronage to the greedy while sneering at the needy.
Puffed up with self-importance, the Grinch pours scorn over the Screws, humming amapiano tunes while leaving every nook and cranny of the state in ruins.
The national airline and Post Office hobbled in debt, while municipalities crumble under years of neglect.
Streets covered in potholes like a bout of bad acne, and the Durban sea unswimmable because infrastructure is so crappy.
Screws of Screwville wait days for water while electricity goes off for hours.
Darkness is what the Screws get for granting the Grinch 28 years of power.
The Grinch deploys cadres to clock in and shut the gate, and to watch TikTok dance moves and the latest Nollywood greats.
Inflating tenders for hand sanitisers and Digital Vibes, bumping off whistle-blowers who cotton on to their lies.
Thousands and thousands of Screws wait in endless queues in the sun, hail and rain, for IDs, passports, birth certificates, licences, grants, a decent education, healthcare – and some medicine for the pain of having to live under the Grinch’s reign.
Admittedly, the Screws have themselves to blame for voting for the Grinch again, again and again.
Perhaps if we’re generous we can forgive them their folly, because in the beginning The Grinch was rather jolly.
But those halcyon days are sadly no more.
Nipped in the bud when The Grinch decided to sell out the poor for Aids denialism and quackery, State Capture and hijackery.
Who knows, maybe the Screws are waiting for a change of heart – for The Grinch to stop causing an entire country to fall apart.
Or maybe the Screws of Screwville will screw their courage to the voting poll, and finally be rid of the Grinch who stole Christmas, Boxing Day, Easter, Youth Day, Human Rights Day, the Day of Reconciliation and New Year – and with them an entire country’s cheer. DM168
Here Tic is the pseudonym of a DM168 staffer who used to vote for the ANC.
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, ...
As times get tougher, parents are re-evaluating education choices, with the Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor 2022 reflecting that 9% of respondents had chosen to move their children to less expensive schools in the past year.
School fees and education costs were also the third most common reason for saving, with 29% of those using a stokvel indicating that this was their end goal. Where saving for education once meant saving for a tertiary education, fees for primary and secondary school have climbed such that parents need to save for these costs rather than trying to cover these fees from their monthly salaries.
Annual fees for state schools range from R8,000 to R20,000, while Business Insider reports that some of the more prestigious private schools now cost more than R173,000.
André Wentzel, solutions manager at Sanlam, has previously cautioned that parents will probably need more than R1-million in today’s money. This included fees of between R30,000 and R60,000 a year for public schools, between R100,000 and R200,000 for private schools and up to R300,000 for a four-year degree.
“Historically, education costs have increased by [between] 2% and 3% above general inflation, meaning that, over time, they become a larger proportion of a household’s budget,” he says. This merely highlights the importance of saving or investing to reach an attainable end goal. Relying on a “pay-as-you-go” approach could result in you eventually having no capital saved up for your child’s future studies, which means you will most likely be forced to apply for prohibitively expensive credit.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
According to Old Mutual, if your child is eight years old today, a four-year tertiary degree starting at the age of 18 is likely to cost R674,525, while the parent of a three-year-old today will need to save R991,099, based on an 8% inflation rate.
The numbers can make saving for education seem like an intimidating, impossible goal. Saleem Sonday, head of savings and investment at Allan Gray, says shifting your mindset away from saving to match the total cost of education or not saving at all, to saving as much as possible, is the first step towards alleviating the impact education fees will have on your future salary.
While it makes sense to start saving as soon as you have a child, the reality is that few parents are in a financial position to do so. “If you are a ...
There’s been some good news lately from CPI data in the US, but expectations of the global economy avoiding a nosedive are unrealistic.
If it is impossible to know where the world is going, it is at least advisable to try to have a clear idea where it is. To understand the state of the global economy, therefore, it is useful to look at it through the lenses of the most critical factors: growth and interest rates.
The one constant underpinning financial markets since the beginning of the 1980s has been the inexorable decline in interest rates. The US 10-year bond yield has gone from 15.8% in 1981 to a pandemic-era all-time low of 0.67% in March 2020. Since then it has risen sharply, reaching a recent high of 4.2% in November.
This may sound of little consequence, but it is fundamental to understanding the global economy and financial markets. Lower interest rates have three critical effects.
First, they encourage economic expansion through a mix of cheaper debt, resulting in more borrowing and thus higher levels of consumption, fixed capital investment and job creation. Ever lower rates have effectively been a four-decade free lunch for the global economy.
Second, the US 10-year bond yield acts as the benchmark for the discount rates used to price all securities. The lower the interest rate, the higher the valuation investors will place on a future income stream.
As rates have ground down year after year for four decades, the valuations of all securities – equities and bonds alike – have soared. The S&P 500 went from a low of 102 in August 1982 to 4,796 at the beginning of 2022, an annual compound growth rate of 10.3% a year.
Several “real economy” factors have been behind this. The fruits of higher productivity, technological innovation and increasing trade from globalisation have meant greater corporate profitability and higher valuations. Arguably, however, this relentless rise in asset prices has been simply a repricing of future profits.
The third effect is that lower returns from “risk-free” investing, such as lending to the US government for 10 years, force investors into riskier assets to ensure they attain desired investment returns. This created a new investment mentality.
Investing went from being about mitigating risks to being about how to take advantage of any apparent risk and return mispricing arbitrage. Suddenly there was a market for everything, as investors created demand for more and more exotic asset classes in ...
This year the South African Revenue Service brought about changes that made taxpayers’ lives easier, but also made life hell for those who were noncompliant. SARS is Daily Maverick's SA Institute of the Year runner-up.
To ensure that it rakes in all taxes due to it, SARS introduced lifestyle audits this year. This was directed at taxpayers who were not declaring all income and were in fact underpaying. SARS introduced these audits after suspecting some taxpayers were living flashy lifestyles. An estimated R474-million was collected in lifestyle audits this year.
Some well-known names, such as musician Dr Malinga, had their assets repossessed for noncompliance.
Recently, Trevor Noah’s mother Patricia Noah was also said to be in tax debt of more than R24-million.
Apart from surviving State Capture, the institution has remained steady even during the lowest point of South Africa’s economy.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A champion of justice – for Andrea Johnson, it’s all about an intense belief in right and wrong”
During Covid-19, SARS introduced digital technology that ensured that the revenue service continued to deliver its services and on its mandate.
It came as no surprise when Intikhab Shaik, head of technology and solutions delivery, received the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa’s President’s Award as the Visionary Chief Information Officer of the Year. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days, we shall republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather Robertson, DM168 editor
How readers voted in the SA Institute of the Year category.
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
For too long, accounting officers in state departments and enterprises have been loath to do their jobs, but the tide is finally turning against them.
For many years, the Auditor-General’s office came under intense criticism for highlighting how taxpayer funds were being mismanaged but not taking action against accounting officers at government departments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
These accounting officers are responsible for annual expenditure worth at least R2-trillion, and year after year the Auditor-General would publicly trash them for not following proper rules when spending money (known as irregular expenditure that gives rise to fraud and corruption), or not accounting for every single rand spent.
Although the Auditor-General recommended remedial action, the accounting officers often ignored it. Their errant behaviour, in some instances, got worse. They would not bother to submit financial statements to be audited, leaving taxpayers in the dark about the true state of their departments’ financial affairs.
But 2022 has been a turning point for the Auditor-General’s office, led by Tsakani Maluleke. It has increasingly flexed its accountability muscle and got accounting officers to toe the line of good governance.
It all goes back to four years ago when the law was changed to increase the Auditor-General’s powers. Amendments to the Public Audit Act came into effect on 1 April 2019 and gave the Auditor-General power to act against recalcitrant accounting officers.
The office can now identify and report “material irregularities” in the financial books of government departments and SOEs. This happens when accounting officers consistently fail to implement the office’s previously issued recommendations that are aimed at preventing further financial losses, acts of fraud, and corruption.
As a final resort, the Auditor-General can now issue accounting officers with “certificates of debt”, which may hold them personally responsible for irregular expenditure. Where its recommendations have been ignored, it can refer cases to the Financial Information Centre, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks for further investigation and the recovery of wasted taxpayer funds.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A champion of justice – for Andrea Johnson, it’s all about an intense belief in right and wrong”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Metro dynamo – Geordin Hill-Lewis, one of the most hard-working and visible mayors Cape Town has had”
The Auditor-General’s office has used its enhanced powers to identify 179 “material irregularities” that carried financial losses worth R12-billion during its 2021/22 financial year. It prevented R636-million in further losses from being incurred; losses worth R509-million were in the ...
The Proteas suffered a chastening innings and 182-run defeat in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne to lose the series with one match to play.
It was no surprise South Africa succumbed to Australia in the three-match series Down Under. Without a Test-worthy batting unit, it was always going to end in tears.
Australia claimed an innings and 182-run victory in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) following a six-wicket win in Brisbane in the first Test on a “substandard” pitch. That match ended inside two days with 34 wickets falling.
Unfortunately, 20 of those wickets were Proteas players who only amassed 251 runs over two innings. At the MCG, South Africa totalled 393 runs for the loss of 20 wickets.
Or put another way, the Proteas lost 40 wickets while scoring a mere 644 runs over six days of actual play across the two Tests. That’s 16.1 runs per wicket.
The Aussies now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series and won their first home series against the Proteas since 2005/6. The Proteas have now lost their last four Tests going back to the second and third Tests against England, and those defeats have all stemmed from poor batting.
Underlining that theme, the Proteas top five managed only 303 between them over two Tests, averaging 15.15 per innings. How can that be?
Of those, Temba Bavuma scored 133 at 33.25, with a top score of 65, which was pretty much in line with his overall Test average of 34.3. The other four (well, five as Theunis de Bruyn replaced Rassie van der Dussen for the second Test) didn’t contribute in any meaningful way at all.
Only wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne’s fight enabled the Proteas to not suffer complete embarrassment at the Gabba when he scored 64 on that spicy pitch. Verreynne added 52 in the first innings at the MCG and another 33 in the second dig.
Exposed
Blaming the first Test pitch had some merit as the Aussies also struggled, but on an MCG pitch that required application and good technique the Proteas top order were exposed – again.
Australia at least took advantage of a much better batting surface in Melbourne, scoring a mammoth 575 for eight. David Warner, who had a lean time of it before this series, scored 200 at the MCG. Alex Carey made a debut century and Travis Head posted a brisk 51 to add to the 92 he ...
A woman who devoted herself to serving the poor, a doctor who blew the whistle on shocking hospital conditions and a police diver who died in the line of duty are our joint Community Champions of the Year 2022.
Dr Tim de Maayer
In May, Dr Tim de Maayer, a paediatric gastroenterologist at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (RMMCH), became so desperate about the conditions at his hospital, and the failure of the authorities to do anything about them that he penned an open letter published in DM168.
The letter was read tens of thousands of times. But it also embarrassed Gauteng’s MEC for health, which led to De Maayer’s suspension. However, a petition was started that quickly gathered 30,000 names. David Makhura, the premier at the time, stepped in and rescinded the suspension.
DM168 checked in on De Maayer to find out whether his stand had led to improvements and how he feels in retrospect.
Born in Belgium, he moved to SA in 1991 at the age of 15 and completed medical school in 2000.
“During my training, when I rotated through Coronation Hospital [later renamed RMMCH], I felt this is a public hospital I would bring my own children to. Yes, nurses were short-staffed, facilities were old, but all the paediatric staff oozed passion.”
In 2009 he started working there. “But [the hospital] saw a steady slide. Supplies ran out, water has been a perpetual problem. Load shedding wreaked havoc.
“Workload also skyrocketed.
“Doctors did speak up. Complaints were raised. When I finally decided to ask Mark Heywood to publish the letter, it was after asking for the opinions of several wise colleagues. The nationwide support I received afterwards was humbling. It reminded me that you and I do have some power.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Dr Tim de Maayer, Rahima Moosa hospital whistle-blower, suspended”
De Maayer says he hopes his letter gets people to think about whistle-blowing.
Since the outcry, the CEO of RMMCH has quietly been moved elsewhere. There is an acting CEO who all the health workers feel is more accessible and hands-on.
But have things actually changed?
“Yes and no. We were excluded from load shedding and surgeons are less likely to be faced with darkness while digging in someone’s abdomen. The sinking of a second borehole by Gift of the Givers seems to have resolved water outages.
“But overcrowding, understaffing, infectious outbreaks, shortages of drugs and equipment, understocked wards and infrastructure that should be condemned still interfere ...
Many South Africans may have rolled out of bed at about 7am today to check how the Proteas were faring in the seemingly impossible task of batting for two days against arguably the best bowling attack in the world. Yet, after a second innings which lasted just 68 overs, the match was already over.
As play got under way on day four of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Proteas had a mountain to climb.
Beginning the day at 15 for one, with captain Dean Elgar already back in the dugout and in a deficit of 371 runs, it needed a Herculean effort to save the Test and avoid a first series defeat since the 2005/6 season. But the batters weren’t up to the task.
In what has become an all-too-common theme, the Proteas collapsed to 204 all-out in just 68 overs as Australia secured victory by an innings and 182 runs.
As it happened
Sarel Erwee (7) and Theunis de Bruyn (6) got the Proteas off to a decent start, surviving the first nine overs of the day with no issues.
But with the score at 47 for one, Erwee (21) was trapped lbw by Mitchell Starc. And although he was originally given not-out, an Australian review confirmed the ball hit the opener’s toe and would have crashed into leg stump.
De Bruyn (28) fell a few overs later after he nicked a Scott Boland delivery to Steven Smith at slip. Still in a deficit of 329 runs, South Africa’s top three had all been dismissed.
With Temba Bavuma and Khaya Zondo at the crease, there was a moment which summed up the dire state of the Proteas’s batting.
On the final delivery of a Pat Cummins over, Bavuma (9) blocked the ball to mid-off and immediately set off for a quick single, which ultimately wasn’t there. And despite a desperate sprint to the other end, Zondo (1) wasn’t even in the picture when Travis Head’s underarm throw hit the wickets. With the score at 65 for four, it was becoming embarrassing.
Consolation runs
Bavuma (37) and Kyle Verreynne (27) played some fine cricket after the early chaos, putting together a 55-run partnership in the 14 overs before lunch to steer South Africa to 120 for four.
However, it was short-lived, as Verreynne (33) was trapped lbw by a cracking delivery from Boland, ending their 63-run partnership. After a half-century in the first ...
The DA called its leader’s gaffe a ‘lighthearted take on current affairs’. We beg to differ and put him in the running for Moegoe of the Year.
Sometimes when partners break up, they maintain a respectful relationship. Other times, parties go their separate ways. On rare occasions, one partner appears on a podcast badmouthing the ex, embarrassing themselves in the process.
John Steenhuisen took the latter approach on MacG’s podcast and referred to his ex-wife as “roadkill”.
The DA leader’s appearance on Podcast and Chill in August was problematic in itself because of the podcast’s history of sexism, misogyny and transphobia. Nevertheless, Steenhuisen felt it was an appropriate place for a prominent politician.
Asked about “roadkill”, Steenhuisen replied: “It sounds a lot like my ex-wife.”
That drew laughs from the hosts but other people were less than amused.
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Read in Daily Maverick: “Supreme misogynists – Justice Samuel Alito and the judges who believe they can control women’s bodies”
Steenhuisen is meant to be a leader in a country where women face countless issues, yet here he is, trashing one.
The DA doubled down on the gaffe by urging people to watch the show “and chill”.
“I fully understand that the joke may have been in bad taste to some, but it is important to note that the podcast is a lighthearted and comedic take on current affairs,” said Steenhuisen. His lighter side earns him a Moegoe of the Year runner-up spot. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days, we shall republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather Robertson, DM168 editor
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
Mogoeng’s presidential plans have brought many South Africans to tears – some in laughter, others in fear. He is a runner-up in Daily Maverick's Moegoe of the Year category.
In September, former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng filled the country in about his fate to become president of South Africa. After a gala dinner, Mogoeng told the media he had been “called” to become the head of state one day.
Endorsed by prophets and the All-African Alliance Movement, Mogoeng was announced as the party’s presidential candidate in October.
“So many prophecies, even today at the hotel where I was, one lady was crying tears, saying, ‘Sir, I had a dream of you as president’, ” said the long-time judge.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Damage and waste – the fallout from Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s real life and fantasy”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zweli Mkhize – a sick state of affairs and a lot of bad vibes”
Mogoeng’s plans have brought many South Africans to tears – some in laughter, others in fear.
“You don’t know how many messages I receive in one month, even from New York, saying we saw you being sworn in as president.” Given the extensive knowledge New Yorkers typically have about South African politics, perhaps the visions have credibility.
Mogoeng is not a newcomer to moegoe-ish behaviour. Given our recent history of controversial presidents, Mogoeng would fit the position like a glove. Partnering with a religious-leaning party seems like a match made in heaven. DM168
Malinzi is an intern from Stellenbosch University’s Centre of Journalism and Media Studies honours programme.
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days we shall republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather Robertson, DM168 editor
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
The former ANC spokesperson and Jacob Zuma’s number-one cheerleader is synonymous with unashamed hypocrisy and venal dishonesty, and is deserving of Daily Maverick's Moegoe Lifetime Achievement award 2022.
Six months ago, Carl Niehaus led a march to Luthuli House and gave the President 48 hours to resign over the Phala Phala scandal. ANC members demanded accountability and the march was “the first of many protests to come”, he said.
Wearing a Panama hat, thick-rimmed glasses and ANC merchandising mistakes, Jacob Zuma’s number-one cheerleader embarked on an often solitary #RamaphosaMustGo campaign, warning that the President was “very damaging if not totally destructive for the African National Congress”.
Niehaus’s campaign to save both party and country was building up to the Nasrec conference. He’d been staging a one-man protest outside the venue by defiantly holding a #RamaphosaMustGo poster. But days before the conference began, he was expelled from the ANC over comments he made in July 2021. He had vowed to fight any attempt to arrest Zuma after the Constitutional Court’s contempt judgment. The uprising that followed Zuma’s incarceration led to 354 deaths and about R50-billion in damages.
Niehaus’s life has been spiralling towards the absurd for years.
In his twenties he was studying to be a Dutch Reformed Church minister in Johannesburg before he left the whites-only organisation and joined the anti-apartheid movement. He was arrested in 1983 after, unbeknown to him, working with a security police spy on plans to sabotage the Johannesburg Gas Works. He served seven-and-a-half years in prison, which he often inflates to nine-and-a-half or 10 years.
In the democratic era, he chaired a parliamentary committee and later served as ANC spokesperson. This is, of course, to say there was a time before “Carl Niehaus” was a synonym for unashamed hypocrisy and venal dishonesty, before he became an empty body of lies in a real soldier’s uniform.
In a profile from 2021, Niehaus told DM168’s Rebecca Davis that he’d realised the material things he previously strived for, “which led to financial problems, are not important”. They rarely are when you get exposed as not just a liar but also a sanctimonious con artist who would betray friends and family – not to mention the fight for a just and democratic society – for a buck.
Debt and the undead
Niehaus’s financial deceit has become the stuff of legend. In 2009, he resigned as ANC spokesperson after tearfully admitting to Mail & Guardian journalist Pearlie Joubert that ...
Reaching the upper echelons of the opera world is difficult enough, but doing so when one is from an area where the art form is not widely popular is even more impressive. Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha is Daily Maverick's Artist of the Year runner-up.
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha is a world-renowned soprano who has toured the globe and won numerous international awards in her relatively short career.
“I feel very blessed,” Rangwanasha told DM168.
“To be where I am today. it’s something I never dreamt of. It was too far from what I could dream of.”
Growing up in Limpopo, Rangwanasha explains, opera was not something that was seen as “relatable” or something that could turn into a viable career path.
Nevertheless, Rangwanasha decided to venture down the road less travelled and pursue her love for the art form. After enrolling in the performing arts department at Tshwane University of Technology, she completed her postgraduate degree at the University of Cape Town.
From there she moved to London where she was a part of the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House for two years.
She is now the house soloist at the Stadttheater Bern in Switzerland.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zelensky, the Jewish lawyer-turned-comic-turned-actual president who pulled off a military miracle”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Iranian women’s cries of ‘freedom and equality’ inspired by Mahsa Amini’s death”
On average, Rangwanasha estimates, she performs twice a week, with most of her time spent on rehearsals.
A major highlight in 2022 was singing the soprano part of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem on the first night of the BBC Proms series of concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She also won the song prize in the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and this year was one of two performers chosen for BBC Radio’s New Generation Artist Programme.
In March 2023, Rangwanasha will be performing Liu in Turandot at the Royal Opera House – an achievement she described as “a dream come true”. DM168
Malinzi is an intern from Stellenbosch University’s Centre of Journalism and Media Studies honours programme.
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to ...
Russia has launched another large-scale missile barrage against Ukraine, with major cities including the capital Kyiv and Lviv in the west near Poland coming under attack, according to officials and witnesses.
Ukraine’s Air Force command said on Facebook that Russia had fired cruise missiles from ships and strategic bombers, and officials reported missiles incoming across the country, including in Kharkiv in the east, Odesa in the south and Sumy to the north. Russia had launched more than 120 rockets in the latest assault, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a tweet.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, ruled out talks with Ukraine to end the war. The Kremlin won’t discuss demands that it withdraw from occupied lands and pay reparations, Lavrov said in an interview with state-run news service RIA Novosti. Ukraine should cede sovereignty over territories annexed by Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered the 24 February invasion, he said this week.
On the ground
Overnight, Russian forces hit energy infrastructure in Kharkiv with Iranian-made Shahed drones, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook, adding that 11 of 13 unmanned aerial vehicles had been shot down by Ukrainian troops.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zelensky sees gains on Russia in the east; Austria warns of blackout threat to Europe”
Several buildings, a gas pipeline and a power line were damaged in an attack on the Zaporizhzhia suburbs, Oleksandr Starukh, the regional governor, said on Telegram. Three Russian missile carriers are now on combat duty in the Black Sea, according to the Ukrainian southern command.
Residential buildings struck in Kyiv
Debris from downed missiles damaged two residential buildings in eastern Kyiv, as well as an industrial compound and playground in the centre, the city’s military administration said on Telegram.
Two people were rescued from a residential building and treated for injuries, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, who warned that the city may experience problems with power supply and urged residents to charge their phones and stock up on water.
JPMorgan to extend refugee programme
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Warsaw office is planning to extend a work and training programme for Ukrainian refugees for another year after hiring about 50 this summer.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zelensky sees gains on Russia in the east; Austria warns of blackout threat to Europe”
The Wall Street firm expects to recruit a similar number – depending on the war situation – into its 1,200-person Warsaw office, following positive feedback from employees, Paul Brazier, ...
South African comedian, writer, producer and global superstar Trevor Noah, who hosted ‘The Daily Show’ in the US for seven years, recently left the award-winning TV programme, bowing out gracefully on his own terms. He is Daily Maverick's Artist of the Year, 2022.
Trevor Noah was almost set up to fail at The Daily Show. He started as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s late-night programme in 2014 and became the host within a year.
Jon Stewart, the icon, sat at the desk for 16 years and was a permanent feature of American political satire. No one could fill Stewart’s shoes, let alone a relative unknown from South Africa. But Noah had his own plans.
He hosted The Daily Show for seven years before calling it quits and shooting his last episode in December. In his own words, he started as “this random comedian nobody knew – on this side of the world” but he exceeded expectations and eventually left on his own terms, announcing his departure while filming, without even telling his crew.
In the rarefied world of American late-night shows, the idea of a black, foreign (in this case meaning anyone not from the US or the UK) host doesn’t – or didn’t – exist. After he took the job Noah spoke of being part of “a new young generation of comedians of colour, in a space where our parents didn’t have a voice that was recognised”. He started to remake the show in his own image, as an outsider looking in on US politics and society, achieving major celebrity status while striving to remain relatable.
Some of his segments went viral, like when he said Donald Trump was “the perfect African president”, comparing him to Jacob Zuma and former president of The Gambia Yahya Jammeh, and he regularly interviewed the world’s top celebrities. The guest list for some of his final shows included Roger Federer, Gabrielle Union, Will Smith, Iman, Barack Obama, Nas, Jordan Peele and Thuso Mbedu.
‘Talk to black women’
He was criticised for not being as funny or insightful about US politics as Stewart or some other late-night hosts. But, broadcasting from his New York apartment during the Covid-19 lockdown, he delivered unparalleled takes after the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that balanced genuine insight with humour on the country’s most challenging issues.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zelensky, the Jewish lawyer-turned-comic-turned-actual president who pulled off a military miracle”
In ...
For billions of football fans around the world, 2022 was full of kicks.
What a year it was for football. Both avid soccer fans and those who follow the game sporadically will remember 2022 as the year that Argentina’s Lionel Messi finally “completed football”.
With a number of club trophies and myriad individual records already under his belt, the diminutive magician had one last magic trick up his sleeve as the eyes of the world fell upon an unorthodox soccer World Cup in Qatar.
At the ripe old football age of 35, Messi’s World Cup efforts were effortless and effervescent. He showed his class in scoring seven goals (one less than tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappé), providing three assists and delivering a number of inspirational speeches as skipper.
Messi, as opposed to arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, has come across as a calm and shy man. That was until a video of him delivering a speech before the 2020 Copa America final against Brazil surfaced.
“Before the start of every match he (Messi) spoke. But this speech was different, he lost his mind,” says long-time teammate Ángel Di María in the viral video clip.
Lionel Messi’s speech before the final of the Copa America vs Brazil.
Are there still people who question his leadership?
PS: To see more football videos with English subtitles, follow me.
Juani Jimena (@JimenaJuani) November 2, 2022
“We had an objective and we’re one step away from achieving it. The best thing about it is that it’s in our hands,” he said to teammates in the dressing-room huddle.
“So, we’re going to go out there and lift the trophy, we’re going to take it home to Argentina and enjoy it with our family, friends and everyone else [who] has always supported Argentina.”
The Argentinians did just that in a 1-0 win. It was Messi’s first major international trophy and matched Ronaldo’s triumph at Euro 2016.
The locker-room talk before Argentina’s clash with France in Qatar last week probably went along similar lines – as Messi knew, it was likely to be his last chance to add a World Cup to all the other accolades he has garnered in a storied career.
The World Cup win, Argentina’s third, saw Messi emerge from the shadow of his late countryman Diego Maradona and take his place as one of the greatest athletes.
Madrid mania
In Europe club competition, 2022 saw Spanish champions Real Madrid extend their Uefa Champions League record to 14 titles, with a triumph over ...
At this time of year, many of us give thought to what we could do differently in the next 12 months. Here are DM168‘s New Year’s resolutions for public figures who need them.
ELON MUSK
In 2023, I will come to terms with the reality that being a billionaire engineer does not mean I have a flipping clue about how to control the world’s most feral social media platform. I will graciously step away from Twitter and return my focus to the establishment of space colonies and putting chips in people’s brains. Also, even though I had such a miserable childhood in my homeland of South Africa, I will give serious thought to donating loads and loads of money to good causes there, such as Gift of the Givers.
JACOB ZUMA
I know I say this every year, but this year I really mean it. The year 2023 is when I will finally just embrace my retirement and fade peacefully from the public consciousness. I won’t give any more weird press conferences fronted by Jimmy Manyi. I’ll stop claiming that I fixed load shedding, only for Cyril to break Eskom again. I will immediately cease my attempts to prosecute journalists and I will never again announce my availability to run for national office. Instead, I will sit on my stoep at Nkandla, enjoying the view, having a nice cup of tea and teaching my grandchildren how to play chess.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
I will check all my furniture for money. I’m talking every couch, armchair, ottoman, every damn footstool. I will also look under carpets, in drawers, inside tissue boxes and behind picture frames. I will personally root around, in and under every piece of upholstery I own to make sure there are no further millions in foreign currency stashed away that I or a member of my staff may have somehow forgotten to inform authorities about. In response to popular demand, I will also post more pictures of my pet husky on Instagram.
HELEN ZILLE
I know I say this every year, but this year I really mean it. The year 2023 is when I will finally just embrace my retirement and fade peacefully from the public consciousness. I will recognise that the DA is capable of making decisions without me, even if those decisions are definitely the wrong ones, in my opinion. I will hand over coalition negotiations to someone else and let them mess it up ...
Troubled sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, which entered business rescue in October, has acquired "post commencement finance" from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC). This will enable it to finish out the current season with seed capital to prepare for the next while the business rescue proceedings unfold.
Tongaat made the announcement on Wednesday in a “business rescue update” on SENS. It remains to be seen if the business can indeed be rescued, but at least it now has a lifeline.
“The Company is pleased to inform shareholders that it has secured post commencement finance from the IDC,” Tongaat said, without disclosing the amount.
“Post commencement finance” or PCF “is finance or credit granted to a company in Business Rescue and is regulated by section 135 of the Companies Act,” according to the Business Rescue Exchange. ( URL:/). to make Post Commencement Finance more attractive to investors and financiers.”
“Post Commencement Finance may be applied towards the payment of the Practitioner’s remuneration, employee costs, working capital or any other avenue that may maximise the probability of successfully rescuing the company.”
This effectively means that it provides liquidity when the taps have run dry.
Tongaat said the finance secured should fund its “working capital requirements in order to complete the current season, as well as to carry out necessary off- crop capital expenditure to get operations ready for the next season.”
So it is looking forward to the next sugar crop season and expects to still be operational then.
“This represents a key milestone in the business rescue process and now enables the business
rescue practitioners to focus on the next phase of the business rescue proceedings,” the company said, without providing further details.
There has been nothing sweet about the Tongaat saga, which includes allegations of missgvernance and corporate malfeasance. Seven people, including six former Tongaat executives, appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court early this year on fraud and racketeering charges linked to company land sales. (/ ).
The sales agreements were allegedly backdated in a way that had a material impact on Tongaat’s results while producing millions of rand in “performance bonuses.” The matter has since been moved to the Durban High Court.
With the stench of these cooked books hanging in the air, Tongaat attempted a capital raising exercise with Magister Investments, an obscure Mauritian company with ties to the Zimbabwean Rudland family which faces persistent allegations of being involved in the illicit tobacco trade. Imagine a ...
The president against ex-president saga continues as Cyril Ramaphosa files an affidavit in support of a court application to declare the former head of state Jacob Zuma’s attempted legal moves against him ‘unlawful’.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed an affidavit in the high court in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 28 December, in support of an earlier motion that sought to interdict former head of state, Jacob Zuma, from further pursuing attempts to privately prosecute the newly re-elected leader of the ANC.
This is the latest strike in the legal exchanges between Ramaphosa and Zuma, the latter of whom faces several accusations regarding State Capture and recently launched another baffling legal battle.
Daily Maverick has previously reported that legal experts view Zuma’s attempted court action against Ramaphosa as nonsense.
Threats made, threats kept
A statement issued by the Jacob G Zuma Foundation on 15 December, the day prior to the start of the ANC’s National Elective Conference, is where the matter first started.
The statement announced that Ramaphosa “has been charged in a private prosecution with the criminal offence of being accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others Adv Downer namely, breaching the provisions if [sic] the NPA Act”.
Advocate Billy Downer, who is leading the prosecution of Zuma on corruption charges related to the Arms Deal, is the “Adv Downer” in reference.
Zuma is claiming that Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan colluded to publish classified information on his medical status, in a separate court matter.
Zuma claims that he reported alleged prosecutorial misconduct on Downer’s part to Ramaphosa, but that Ramaphosa had failed to act and as a result is an “accessory after the fact”.
The presidency countered the following day, 16 December, stating that the charges “completely spurious and unfounded”.
Despite this, the Jacob G Zuma Foundation doubled down, releasing another statement that private prosecution attempts would go on.
“The Foundation notes sadly that President Ramaphosa and his team have not yet grasped the legal import and implications of the charges which he faces,” read the statement.
It was at this point that the presidency threatened to take legal action of their own to interdict Zuma to cease his attempted private prosecution of the president.
The five-page response letter was sent to Zuma’s lawyers from the State Attorney on 17 December, demanding that the “invalid summons” be withdrawn by Monday, 19 December and that failure to do so would result in Ramaphosa seeking “punitive costs”.
And that is precisely what ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed the postwar rebuilding effort with BlackRock chief executive officer Larry Fink, as his government prepares to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos next month.
“Specialists of this company are already helping Ukraine to structure the fund for the reconstruction of our state,” Zelensky, who had a video call with Fink in September, said in his evening address to the nation. He didn’t say whether he would attend the 16-20 January 2023 World Economic Forum in person or participate virtually.
Ukrainian investigators said that Kostyantin Zhevago, the billionaire chief of iron ore miner Ferrexpo, had been detained in France on suspicion of money laundering and embezzling funds linked to his banking business.
Key developments
Russian billionaire urges Africa to press EU on fertiliser snarl
Russia leaves its options open for a tougher response to oil cap
Oil dips from three-week high in choppy holiday trading
On the ground
Ukrainian air defence forces have downed 420 Russian rockets and 430 drones since September, spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on television, adding that the military was ready for more potential strikes.
Zelensky and other officials have warned that Russia may stage a new attack during the New Year holidays. Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and Avdiyivka in the eastern Donetsk region, while trying to improve their tactical position on the Lyman axis to the north, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
According to the statement, Russian troops carried out a missile strike and launched 33 barrages with multiple-rocket systems over the past day, including targeting civilian facilities in the southern city of Kherson.
Russia flagship crude exports drop 16% from November
Russia cut shipments of Urals oil from its three main western ports sharply this month, signalling the nation has had difficulty in replacing European buyers bound by sanctions.
Urals exports dropped to 6.7 million tons, or 1.58 million barrels a day, in December, according to loading programmes compiled by port agents.
Russia expels Lithuanian diplomat
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it’s expelling a Lithuanian diplomat in retaliation for a similar step by the government in Vilnius.
Lithuania ordered out a Russian diplomat for “activities inconsistent with diplomatic status” on 1 December. Russia and the US and its European allies have each expelled scores of diplomats in tit-for-tat moves since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February.
Ukraine says Ferrexpo owner Zhevago detained in France
Zhevago was detained at a hotel in the French ski resort of Courchevel on Tuesday by ...
Video games can make climate change real for players. More video games are about climate change issues. Games can have beneficial behavioural effects on players, but games can also create a false impression of easy fixes.
The ice caps have melted. Continents have been reduced to a handful of islands. Survivors seek to rebuild what is known as the Floodlands.
That’s the premise of a video game released this year which represents a new approach developers are taking: using games to educate players on climate change, and what might happen if they fail to rein it in.
In an earlier game, Eco, the land is still vibrant and human society is growing. Eventually, an asteroid strikes, but the inhabitants do not know that yet.
Eco and Floodlands approach climate change differently – the former as imminent doom, the latter as its aftermath. Both are part of efforts by the $200-billion gaming industry to be a part of the growing discussion on climate change.
“The game shows the worst-case scenario,” Kacper Kwiatkowski, Floodlands designer and head of game studio Vile Monarch, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over email.
“Our early research indicated that a realistic rise of sea levels is several metres. We decided to assume 10-15 [metres] in the game for more dramatism. Now it seems that this dramatic scenario is not necessarily an unlikely one,” he said.
Globally, there are about 2.6 billion gamers. Activists and governments are hoping they can encourage behavioural change among gamers through green “nudges”, where points are awarded for protecting the environment in consumer games, or explicitly educational, interactive play.
The goal is to close the psychological gap between what people know and what they resonate with, said Hamid Homatash, a lecturer on computer games at Glasgow Caledonian University.
“You can be told all this information that the ice caps are melting, but what does that really mean? It’s quite alien in a way, because you can’t really comprehend that experience,” he said over a video call.
At the 2017 United Nations climate summit in Germany, COP23, and at COP24 in Poland the following year, Homatash presented a game called Earth Remembers, in which players fight the effects of global warming based on an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change model showing the temperature rise.
“The people in the room playing it had audible gasps,” Homatash recalls.
“They were actually shocked and horrified when they saw it happen in front of their eyes.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page ...
Katlego Maphai and his friends ‘MacGyvered’ an Android device to receive card payments, which revolutionised the payment landscape for small, medium and micro enterprises.
Some people can’t see the wood for the trees, while others think not only outside the box but also inside and around it. These are the innovators – the problem-solvers in society who not only identify a problem, but come up with solutions to make it better.
In psychology, the concept of “functional fixedness” suggests that most people tend to look at problems in a particular way, which locks them into a conservative view of the world in which they cannot think of using an object in a new way that might solve the problem.
Its opposite – cognitive flexibility – is a skill that enables us to adapt behaviour to achieve goals in a new or volatile environment. Flexible thinking is the key to creativity and inventiveness; to make new connections between concepts or objects, much like MacGyver would knock together a lie detector from an alarm clock and a blood pressure pump.
Katlego Maphai, co-founder and CEO of Yoco Technologies, is just such an innovator. He saw a quick fix to a financial services problem, improved the idea and roped in three of his friends to build a business that solves one of the most fundamental problems of a small business: receiving payment.
Carl Wazen and Maphai had both worked for Delta Partners, a telecoms advisory, and Rocket Internet, a German venture capital company and incubator for online start-up development. Bradley Wattrus is an actuary and Lungisa Matshoba, a tech wizard who worked on apps long before smartphones were even a thing.
Maphai had stumbled on the solution to a customer “pain point” while dining at a hole-in-the-wall eatery in San Francisco in 2012. A US-based friend had paid for their meal – not with cash, as he would have expected to do back home – but with his bank card via a portable device hooked up to a white dongle.
This gadget, which was essentially a remodelled Android phone, was simple in its design but a game-changer for small businesses: by enabling them to receive digital payments, they could operate on a more level playing field and increase their “basket size” by not expecting customers to stump up the cash.
Back home in South Africa, he presented the concept to his compadres and they launched Yoco three years later, to address ...
With many airlines closing down in South Africa – and even more struggling to stay afloat – one commercial company has come out of the storm despite experiencing heavy turbulence.
Founded in 1965, Safair had been doing aviation work in South Africa for decades before establishing its commercial airline, FlySafair, in 2014. At the head of the successful airline is CEO Elmar Conradie.
Under Conradie’s leadership, FlySafair has navigated through treacherous conditions many other airlines could not. It remains a powerhouse in the commercial airspace and has capitalised on the gaps left by its competitors.
Taking off
When Safair first branched out into the commercial market space, it was seen as the perennial underdog – given little chance of success. Over the previous decade, 10 airlines had gone bankrupt. However, the new airline in the hangar had decades of aviation knowledge on its side.
“This was not a company started by people with a commercial insight and a mere passion for aviation. This was a company that was actually started by aviators,” says Kirby Gordon, FlySafair spokesperson.
“There is a lot of history and a lot of knowledge and a lot of heritage there that we certainly have been very cautious to maintain. That is something that I know has been very dear to Elmar.”
A major strength of the company is its ability to adjust amid ever-changing global conditions.
Conradie is particular about remaining flexible to market conditions and taking advantage of emerging opportunities.
A dependable pilot
Conradie is a charismatic leader with a profound influence on his employees, according to Gordon. FlySafair employees are specifically appreciative of Conradie’s commitment to transparency in the workspace.
“[Conradie] believes very deeply in the power of the team,” Gordon says. “He is the kind of guy [who] certainly has an open-door policy. He will speak to absolutely every employee from every level without reservation.”
This year, the International Air Service Licensing Council of South Africa approved FlySafair’s application to operate regional routes in the Southern African Development Community region.
The company seeks to establish a presence in these countries in 2023, as well as expand its fleet from 26 to 31 aircraft by the end of April 2023. DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running, we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we ...
Eskom’s record-breaking bouts of load shedding mean less chicken will get fried this festive season. KFC has said it has to temporarily close some of its South African restaurants because of power outages. KFC is a unit of US-listed fast food giant Yum! so this state of affairs sends a bad signal to foreign investors.
KFC made the terse announcement on its official Twitter account this week.
“We are sorry, but due to the ongoing load shedding, some of our restaurants will be temporarily closed, while others may have limited availability on some of your favourite menu items.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and will be back soon,” it said.
No further details were provided, including which or how many restaurants are affected. Presumably it is franchises that cannot afford back-up power systems or those located in strip malls that are also at the mercy of Eskom’s inability to keep the lights on all the time.
News24 reported that about 70 stores have been closed, citing a spokesperson.
The closures, of course, mean that many employees will be temporarily out of work in an economy with an unemployment rate of well over 40%, if discouraged jobseekers are included.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
KFC has 925 stores in South Africa, according to the KFC store location website and most of these are franchises, so local businesspeople are losing revenue. Cholesterol levels may get lowered, but so ultimately will gross domestic product, the economy’s beating heart.
KFC is a unit of Yum!, a US-listed fast food giant with a market capitalisation of $36.6-billion and a share price that is near record highs. When such companies do business in overseas markets, the boardroom pays attention. And so KFC’s current woes in South Africa send a bad signal to foreign investors.
It will be of more than passing interest to see if other fast food outlets in South Africa will be forced to adopt similar measures in the face of mounting power outages. Does the fate of the Double Crunch in some locations also await Big Macs and King Steer burgers in others?
This has been a record year for load shedding and rolling power blackouts, and KFC may just be the canary in a fast food coal mine.
KFC has its secret “eleven herbs and spices”, but there seems to be no recipe at the moment to fix Eskom and the damage it is inflicting on South Africa’s ...
It is important that your family knows where your will and any other important documents are.
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we often focus on physical health goals and ignore our financial health. Here are four things that you can do in the new year to ensure your future financial wellness.
Review your budget
We have had several interest rate increases over the past year. It may be a good idea to take stock of your expenses and see if you are living within your means.
I would recommend that you go through your bank statements and update your monthly budget by listing all the items on which you are currently spending money. You can then use this to make the necessary adjustments if your expenses exceed your income.
Sort out your important documents
It is important that your family knows where your will and any other important documents are. These would include copies of your ID, medical aid card and marriage certificate.
Earlier in the year, I shared a copy of a life file template that lists the important documents that you should have handy should you or your spouse pass away. I’m more than happy to email you a copy if you contact me.
Review your investments
We have been through a particularly turbulent year on the investment front. It is always a good idea to revisit your investment strategy and ensure that your portfolio is sufficiently diversified to reduce any unnecessary risks.
One risk that is worth a close look is having all your assets physically domiciled in South Africa. It is relatively easy to move assets offshore. Once your money is offshore, you have a much wider range of investment choices open to you.
Many financial experts recommend that you should have between 25% and 40% of your assets physically located outside the borders of South Africa.
Review your risk cover
Life happens and your personal circumstances change. We do not always check to see if the risk cover that we have is appropriate for our needs. This can result in us wasting money by paying premiums for cover that we do not need.
The more dangerous option, however, is to have too little cover for our needs, which can result in you and your family getting into financial trouble should something unfortunate happen.
There are two key risks to consider. You should check that you have structures in place to ensure that, should you be unable to work ...
A 32-second video posted to Twitter on Christmas Day has sparked outrage around the country. The clip shows several white men assaulting black teenagers at the Maselspoort Resort outside Bloemfontein.
“What happened at Maselspoort Resort on Christmas Day, exactly a year after Archbishop Tutu left us, is a challenge to us as a nation to change course,” said Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana in a statement released by the South African Council of Churches on Wednesday.
“The grotesque images of adult white men throwing their all at black teenagers, with a man throttling a boy, and two others appearing to attempt to drown another boy, are sickening and must be condemned by all South Africans, with a crescendo especially from white people and white organisations of influence,” says Mpumlwana.
“As black people continue to endure these episodes of humiliation, it becomes that much more difficult to hope for national reconciliation and social cohesion.”
Family came to spend the day @ MASELSPOORT RESORT & CONFERENCE CENTRE in Free State. My brothers were attacked by these grown men because they are apparently not allowed in the pool as it’s reserved for the “white people” here.
The Oranje-Vrystraat we love
One of the widely accepted notions in modern societies is the extent to which rapid advancements in digital technologies outpace governments and human beings alike, constantly bringing about new challenges for them to adapt to shifting changes. These advancements are, of course, the net result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has brought about an explosion in data and its use.
Advancements brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) mean more data, while there are more and newer kinds of machine-learning algorithms. This combination of data, algorithms, computing and communications technology has a chain effect – the quantity of data grows exponentially.
To address this astronomical increase in data, telecommunications platforms have been evolving every 10 years. First there was 1G before 1990, followed by 2G in 1990, 3G in 2000, 4G in 2010 and 5G in 2020. And as we anticipate, 6G is due to be introduced in 2030. A key infrastructure evolution required for these changes is regulatory, including making additional frequency spectrum available and ensuring fair, safe and competitive use of it.
Developing infrastructure requires cooperation among many and diverse stakeholders, including society at large, international standards organisations, governments, telecommunications providers and non-governmental organisations. In this article, we advocate the need for such cooperation regionally and globally. Of course, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (where Goal 17 is Sustainable Partnerships) calls for the same, especially since the goals are themselves interrelated.
On the one axis is the natural “evolution” of technology. On another, which today makes technologies more interesting, is desired confluence or integration. Such integration or interconnection has yet to translate effectively to interoperability, which is when devices or network providers/platforms are changed, connectivity remains intact, and for which there are technical and “non-technical” considerations. It is now widely expected that when travelling from one country to another, you will need to connect to a cellphone network at your destination. For example, when one of the authors arrived at Newark airport from Johannesburg, they needed to connect to the local cellphone network provider in the US.
For this to occur seamlessly the network provider in South Africa must have effective contractual relationships with one or more network providers in the US – the efficacy of technical delivery is premised on this. Several parameters, including global supply chains and geopolitical factors, shape such a relationship, but the cost must not be prohibitive. Sadly, for many frustrated consumers, it is, and ...
A very small number of people own more and more of the world’s wealth. The chances of the poor escaping their grim economic circumstances grow slimmer as time goes on.
A small global elite, call them “Davos Man” if you wish, owns an increasing share of global income and wealth. The 2009 global financial crisis, the 2020 pandemic and the 2022 war in Ukraine have swelled their fortunes. They are wielding increasing power over international affairs. We live in a new (neo-) feudal economy, with the (tech) elite billionaires our new overlords, while the middle class is shrinking. The prospects for escaping poverty are gradually evaporating for most of the poor.
In this context, we should understand the recent prominence in the media of an offshoot of the effective altruism movement called Longtermism. Longtermism is the view that if we want to be maximally altruistic, we should serve the interest of the vast numbers of future people who may yet live. These may include possible sentient digital people. Any existential risk must be eliminated at all costs – even if it means neglecting current problems such as poverty and climate change.
It is associated with many tech elite billionaires’ views and ambitions – Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Jaan Tallinn. As well as the recently disgraced – and arrested – CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who gave millions to promote longtermism. Indeed, the enthusiasm with which our billionaire overlords embrace longtermism has led to it being described as “a disturbing secular religion that looks like it addresses humanity’s deepest problems, but actually justifies pursuing the social preferences of elites”.
These social preferences may have nothing to do with current global challenges such as poverty, inequality, conflict, migration and even climate change – challenges that are acutely affecting Africa. In a now infamous paper, the founders of longtermism, Hilary Greaves and William MacAskill, recommended that “for the purposes of evaluating actions, we can in the first instance often simply ignore all the effects contained in the first 100 (or even 1,000) years, focusing primarily on the further-future effects” (they later deleted this). Nick Bostrom, an Oxford philosopher and an intellectual father of longtermism, argues that “the expected value of reducing existential risk by a mere one-billionth of one billionth of one percentage point is worth a hundred billion times as much as a billion human lives”.
This type of reasoning could lead some to assume that ...
International and local flights were delayed, says Airports Company South Africa.
A glitch in OR Tambo International Airport’s fuel-supply system resulted in major flight delays.
ORTambo (@ortambo_int) December 28, 2022
The airport, South Africa’s busiest, has been “experiencing challenges with fuel supply from its fuel storage facility to the main hydrant system”, Airports Company South Africa said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday. “Technicians are onsite and have resolved the issue.”
International and local flights had been delayed because of the technical fault.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Flight suspensions loom as Cape Town Airport faces jet fuel shortage”
The airport handles 21 million passengers a year and facilitates 53 aircraft movements every hour, according to the company’s website. DM/Bloomberg
A Hout Bay-based initiative is taking a novel approach to combat plastic pollution. Non-recyclable VHS tapes are upcycled into products which help the community members who make the products fund their dreams.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Someone removed their VHS copy of “Star Wars: A New Hope” from their tape player for the very last time.
What happened next is a great mystery. Was it gifted to grandchildren who were born in the age of iPads? Was it donated to an antique store and eagerly purchased by an old-school cinephile? Was it tossed out when the tape refused to play the adventures of Obi-Wan, Darth Vader and Princess Leia?
There is no way to know how the 1977 movie tape ended up as another piece of plastic pollution amongst the other old movie tapes scattered in with the donations to the Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative in Hout Bay.
“Most of the VHS and audio tapes come from the Domestic Animal Rescue Group in Hout Bay, as well as Sungardens Hospice in Pretoria,” says Regine le Roux, the founder of the initiative.
“We also get a lot of donations from people decluttering and wanting to find an alternative use for the VHS tapes instead of throwing them away,” she adds.
Regardless of where these discarded tapes came from, they are now turned into upcycled items that are reducing plastic pollution and giving their makers a chance to run.
From trash to treasure
Without intervention, current plastic pollution levels could double by 2040 and there is growing concern amongst experts regarding plastics’ continued contribution to the climate crisis. While recycling can mitigate some of the damage there are many plastic items that cannot be recycled and end up as plastic pollution — including VHS and VCR tapes.
The Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative takes these tapes to create luxury bags and footstools out of non-recyclable material.
But for le Roux, the Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative really just started as a hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Knitting and crocheting has always been one of my hobbies,” says le Roux.
So during the pandemic le Roux began to experiment with different materials and inspired by women she had seen crochet with plastic bags in the past, she began to work with non-recyclable materials.
“My first attempt at cutting up a six-pack wrapper was an absolute disaster,” says le Roux. But with some perseverance, le Roux began to turn empty plastic bags into colourful crocheted items.
“From there the project ...
To dismiss it as merely part of a ‘scramble for Africa’ is simplistic.
The US-Africa summit which President Joe Biden hosted in Washington this month was a “jamboree”, as one US official put it – a huge variety of meetings, initiatives, deals, projects and programmes over three days, designed by the US to reset relations with the continent. Forty-nine African states were represented, 45 of them at head-of-state or government level, as well as the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Everyone was there except the governments of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sudan, which were not invited because they have been suspended from the AU for seizing power undemocratically through military coups. Eritrea and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (aka Western Sahara) did not receive invitations because the US does not have diplomatic relations with them.
The many events included a leaders’ meeting with Biden, a security forum with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and US AID executive director Samantha Power, a business forum with leaders of about 300 African and US corporations, and countless more meetings of civil society including engagements with the African diaspora, young people, women and other groups.
The summit did appear to revive and reinvigorate US-Africa relations which had flagged during the Trump era.
Investment plans
Biden summed up the summit by saying his administration was planning to invest at least $55-billion in Africa over the next three years. This included loans of up to $21-billion through the IMF to support the recovery and resilience efforts of low- and middle-income countries, and a $504-million compact signed by America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation with Benin and Niger to help finance regional economic integration and trade and cross-border collaboration.
It also included a new initiative called Digital Transformation with Africa, through which the Biden administration aims to invest more than $350-million and mobilise more than $450-million in private capital to boost digital access and literacy across Africa; $369-million in new investments by the US international Development Finance Corporation in food security, renewable energy infrastructure and health; and about $1.3-billion in MOUs signed by the US EXIM Bank to facilitate US exports to and investments in Africa.
The US government programme Power Africa, which is bringing electricity to many Africans, launched a new Clean Tech Energy Network, a collaboration with US clean-tech energy companies and African energy stakeholders that aims to mobilise $350-million in deals. Power Africa also announced ...
After another Australian onslaught on day three of the second Test in Melbourne, the Proteas have a mountain to climb. Sitting at 15 for one in their second innings and facing a deficit of 371 runs with two days to play, it will take a miracle to avoid a first series defeat Down Under since the 2005/6 season.
Rain greeted the players ahead of the start of play on day three of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and it was a welcome sight for the Proteas, but it wasn’t enough.
Having been made to toil in the field for a shattering 145 overs in the Melbourne heat as Australia amassed 575 for eight, and a lead of 386, this match is unlikely to have a happy ending for the Proteas.
Just nine balls into their second innings, captain Dean Elgar was gone for a three-ball duck after getting a touch on a Pat Cummins delivery down the leg-side, with wicketkeeper Alex Carey taking the catch to leave the Proteas zero for one.
Erwee (7) and Theunis de Bruyn (6) were able to survive the next six overs before rain ultimately brought a close to the day’s play.
At 15 for one, and with two days remaining, the Proteas are on the brink of a first series defeat Down Under since the 2005/6 season.
Control
Australia were in complete control in the Test, coming off a second day where they scored 341 runs for the loss of just two wickets, taking their tally to a mammoth 389 for three – 197 runs ahead of the Proteas’s first-innings total.
David Warner (200) was undoubtedly the star of the show, scoring a double century in his 100th Test before retiring hurt due to severe cramping. Steven Smith (85) also played a key role during a 239-run stand with Warner.
There was some bad news in the Australian camp, however, as it was confirmed that Cameron Green (6), who retired hurt after being hit on the finger by an Anrich Nortje delivery, had fractured his right index finger. The injury rules him out for the rest of the series and leaves him unable to bowl in South Africa’s second innings.
The Proteas may have been hoping for three days of showers to forge a result in the match, but the rain quickly dried up and play soon got under way after a 45-minute delay, with ...
KFC is temporarily closing some of its fried-chicken outlets in South Africa due to power cuts imposed by Eskom.
The Yum! Brands chain made the decision after the number of blackout days passed 200 this year – a record. Eskom supplies more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity and has implemented nationwide power cuts to prevent the grid from total collapse.
We are sorry, but due to the ongoing loadshedding, some of our restaurants will be temporarily closed, while others may have limited availability on some of your favourite menu items. We apologise for the inconvenience and will be back soon.
KFC South Africa (@KFCSA) December 27, 2022
The government has awarded bailouts to the highly indebted utility and has said it will take over as much as two-thirds of its nearly R400-billion debt.
KFC, which has about 750 restaurants in South Africa, is not the first major company to say power cuts are a hindrance to productivity in the country.
Read in Daily Maverick: “After the Bell: The problem with Eskom is that it’s not just Eskom”
MTN and Vodacom, the two biggest mobile phone companies, have also cited blackouts as a disruptor of business operations and a source of additional costs, due to the need for back-up equipment such as batteries and generators.
Yum!, based in Louisville, Kentucky, owns and franchises more than 25,000 KFC outlets worldwide. The company’s other brands include Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. DM/Bloomberg
Through its depiction of the Mafia, its drama, sweep, exploration of power and illegality, its rendering in all its complexity of a community, a family, and of the structure of American society, ‘The Godfather’ is a masterpiece.
When Francis Ford Coppola first glanced through a novel by Mario Puzo, he thought it “a rather sensational, sleazy crime novel”. Not long after, he made The Godfather, one of the greatest movies ever made.
There are not many candidates for best film ever made: Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein), Citizen Kane (Orson Welles), Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray), Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa). the making of The Godfather was a landmark in cinematic history because of its depiction of the Mafia, its drama, sweep, exploration of power and illegality, but also its rendering in all its complexity of a community, a family, and of the structure of American society.
While the focus here is on the movie, it is inseparable from its counterparts, the second and third episodes of the saga, which together make up the kind of span covered by the miniseries of today.
The Committee on Organized Crime was convened in the US in 1950, with televised hearings, and another committee in 1963 looking into organised crime also received nationwide attention. Paramount studio boss Bob Evans was convinced interest in the Mafia was growing. Puzo, heavily in debt, submitted 60 rumpled pages to Evans, who bought the rights for $12,500 (more or less R215,000) to turn it into a movie.
Earlier treatments of the topic had failed at the box office because, Evans thought, they were not made by Italian-Americans. He was convinced the movie “must be ethnic to the core. [Y]ou must smell the spaghetti.”
Coppola, 30 at the time, had written the Oscar-winning screenplay for Patton, and just made a decent film, The Rain People, which was a box office failure. He owed the studio money but he was reluctant to make a movie that glorified violence, but producer Albert Duffy convinced him and he took on the project.
He reread the novel, this time finding it was “the story of a family, this father and his sons; and I thought it was a terrific story, if you could cut out all the other stuff.”
Aspects of production
Puzo’s novel was a bestseller, selling more copies than the Bible, but he was finding it difficult to turn it into a movie script, so he got help from Coppola.
Filmed by Gordon ...
It is no surprise that they are the 2022 Villain of the Year runners-up. They receive this award, paraphrasing rapper Drake’s lyrics, because they made laws about what women can do with their bodies.
In June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade regarding abortion rights. Roe v Wade is a 1973 lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court making a ruling on abortion rights.
In 2022, Alito, alongside other conservative judges, made it illegal to have an abortion in 15 states in the US.
Before the ban, conservative judge Jonathan Mitchell released a statement saying that women can simply just say no to sex.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Women can ‘control their reproductive lives’ without access to abortion; they can do so by refraining from sexual intercourse,” said Mitchell. Predictably, this caused outrage not only in America but also across the world.
Ten steps back
After many years of progress in reproductive health, that was all disregarded by a group of conservative men who believe they can control women’s bodies.
Not only did this ban take the US several steps back, it also highlighted the patriarchal and misogynistic world we live in. This further makes it impossible for rape victims and women who simply do not want children to access abortion. This increases illegal abortions, which can be dangerous. DM168
Asive Mabula is an intern from Stellenbosch University’s Centre of Journalism and Media Studies honours programme.
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days we will republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather Robertson, DM168 editor
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
Protests marking a historic turning point for Iranian women have been going on for months. After the death of the 22-year-old in police custody, young women are not backing down easily this time. These Women protesters in Iran are runner-ups in Daily Maverick's International Person of the Year category.
Mahsa Amini died in the custody of “morality police” after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. “Morality police” enforce Iran’s Islamic code of conduct.
Young women have come out in numbers to protest against the suppression that women have endured for the past 43 years, and to defy the rules. They have also taken part in protests on social media.
Iranian women have held demonstrations pleading for their freedom since the 1979 revolution, but there is a new mood now.
“The protests since September 2022 are not like the ones in 2009, 2018 or 2019. The protesters are young and brave; they no longer want mere reforms and have defied the crackdowns,” said a report.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A champion of justice – for Andrea Johnson, it’s all about an intense belief in right and wrong”
At protests, “death to the dictator”, “no hijab, no force” and “we want freedom and equality” have been the cries of many young women.
In support of the women back home, Iran’s soccer players did not sing their national anthem at their first 2022 World Cup game against England.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
According to reports, the government has executed two prisoners for crimes it claims they committed during protests.
The UN Human Rights Council held a session on Iran on 24 November. It condemned violations of human rights and voted to establish a fact-finding mission. DM168
Asive Mabula is an intern from Stellenbosch University’s Centre of Journalism and Media Studies honours programme.
How we chose the People of the Year winners
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but for the second year running we have asked readers to vote for their preferred choice, with the proviso that we still have the final say. Choosing the annual winners is a labour of love because that’s what it takes to get a bunch of DM editors to decide whether they agree or disagree with the choices of 13,000 readers. Over the next few days we will republish online all the results in various categories. – Heather ...
Growing up in impoverished circumstances did not discourage Thorsten Shibambu from pursuing his dreams. Now he is packing his bags to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
While other youngsters his age idolised football stars Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Thorsten Shibambu was fascinated by science gurus such as Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.
His ultimate dream was to enrol at Cambridge University to follow in the footsteps of his hero Newton. But, growing up in a remote village on the border of the Kruger National Park, this seemed a far-fetched dream.
However, dreams do come true, even for village boys. Shibambu (21) is now on his way to the University of Oxford in England.
Shibambu, who hails from Makuleke village in northeastern Limpopo, was recently awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. First awarded in 1902, it is the “oldest international scholarship programme, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford”.
According to the Rhodes Trust, which manages the programme, there are 10 scholarships available each year for students based in southern Africa, of which nine are for South Africans.
Shibambu, who completed his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) this year, matriculated with five distinctions in 2018, including an impressive 100% score in physical science.
He was raised by his maternal grandmother, who inspired him to reach for his goals early in his school life.
“It’s a poor family, I would say. I grew up in a mud hut with my grandmother and extended family,” Shibambu said of his childhood years. His greatest goal was to complete matric and study further so that he could “make as much money as possible so that I could help my family”.
In 2012, his grandmother opened up a new world for the youngster when she presented him with a brand-new smartphone bought with savings from her state old-age pension grant. After that Shibambu never stopped surfing the internet to do research on his passion: science.
His high school, Jim Chavani, didn’t have a laboratory or other amenities found in urban schools.
It is a no-fee school with a good academic record and is recognised as one of the top schools in the Vhembe district.
“I think the discipline in the school helped us,” said Shibambu. “We had extra study sessions and the teachers were very helpful and were also strict.”
He cites overcrowding in classes as one of the big challenges of his ...
Rural Limpopo youngsters receive new kit courtesy of donations from you, our readers.
A group of young tennis enthusiasts from a rural Limpopo village cheered and smiled when a brand-new set of kit was handed over to them for an early Christmas present recently – courtesy of contributions from generous Daily Maverick readers.
Ntwanano Mashimbye and his peers never thought much would materialise from an article published by DM168 in September 2021, detailing the challenges they experienced in pursuing their love for tennis in a football-obsessed society.
Their village of Thomo near Giyani is nothing like Wimbledon, the London suburb where each year the world’s great tennis players meet to enthral the crowds and millions of television viewers with their skills.
In fact, Wimbledon stars would probably be shocked were they to come anywhere near the dilapidated combi court where Mashimbye and his pals play barefoot.
It is typical of many rural villages without proper recreation facilities where, if the youngsters are not playing football, they find an outlet for their idleness at the bottom of beer bottles in taverns, which are about the only source of entertainment in these parts.
Added to these challenges is the apathy among village elders, who give the boys no support at all.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The name of the game is tennis for a group of youngsters in rural Limpopo”
“We don’t have a coach. We don’t have anyone to guide us. But because we love this game we continue playing. We hope one day that we can get someone to help us improve,” said Mashimbye, who is regarded as the team’s captain.
“We would also like to be able to play matches with other teams from elsewhere because right now we only just play among ourselves,” he said.
After the publication of their story, Daily Maverick readers opened their hearts and wallets to contribute towards encouraging the boys.
A total of R12,500 was generated through donations. With the cash, Daily Maverick bought basic equipment – 15 rackets, 15 shirts, 50 tennis balls and a net.
Before this intervention the boys only had a few old rackets that they shared, and a few tattered tennis balls. Still, they had lots of passion for the game.
The boys burst into wild cheers and celebration when the kit was handed over to them at the dilapidated community court where they still play daily. Although others had already left to visit family elsewhere for the holidays, they quickly ...
Extraordinary times in Eastern Europe deliver both the good guy and the villain of a dramatic year. Volodymyr Zelensky emerged clearly as the claimant of international hero status.
Not so long ago, Volodymyr Zelensky was just one more leader of a struggling, often chaotic, squabbling, former Soviet republic. True, his nation was trying hard to shuck off any remnants of old-style Soviet economic policy, even as crony capitalism had taken hold in many sectors.
Nevertheless, the contrast with the successes of the Baltic states or in many of the former satellites in Eastern Europe remained palpable, although the country had become one of the world’s great grain exporters – helping to feed much of the population in Asia and Africa. Still, Ukraine had a long way to go before the toxic legacies from its past were finally expunged.
Politically, Zelensky had come into office through an election that was largely free and fair, even as the politics of his country remained significantly tainted by the behaviour of earlier presidencies, especially Viktor Yanukovych, the president prior to Zelensky’s immediate predecessor.
Yanukovych’s corruption, avarice and cravenness towards Russia had brought on a revolution that, at its peak, drew perhaps a million people into Maidan Square in Kyiv to protest against his rule until he fled the country in 2014.
In 2019, Zelensky decided to make a run for president as a kind of an insider life-imitates-art joke. But the man was, and is, obviously a patriot who felt strongly about the difficult circumstances of his nation and thought he could do something about them.
A lawyer by training, he had become a comedic hit with his TV series about a high school history teacher who, angry about corruption in high places, runs for president – and wins. Inspired by this fictional, Walter Mitty-esque life, Zelensky seems to have decided that if his fictional self could do it, why not his real one as well?
He did run, and won convincingly. Immediately, Zelensky was confronted by the challenges of coping with a nation still divided by the legacies of its complex history – as well as the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula and its surreptitious support for a separatist movement in the country’s easternmost provinces.
The westernmost part of Ukraine, the region most influenced by and attracted to Western ideas a century earlier, had been the Habsburg Empire’s most distant province. The remainder of Ukraine had had a more distant ...
Gripped by the idea of a future Russia that would again be the great empire of its czarist times, he was always going to receive this title, as he turned himself into Volodymyr Zelensky’s existential nemesis.
As the story is well known by now, Putin had been a low-level KGB operative in East Germany when the collapse of the regime, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the mass movement of people crossing the formerly forbidden border between East and West Berlin made a deep, bitter impression. As East Germany vanished into history, Putin and his family returned to the Soviet Union in their second-hand car, bringing kitchen appliances and other sad accoutrements of a would-be middle-class life.
Soon enough, though, he landed on his feet. After his return to the Soviet Union, he found a niche in the civic administration of Leningrad (before the city was rechristened as St Petersburg again).
When Boris Yeltsin became leader of the Soviet Union, Putin came along as the kind of man who could make things happen, a bureaucratic fixer, an especially valuable commodity in the increasingly chaotic Yeltsin regime. Over time, he manoeuvred himself into becoming president of the new Russian state.
Despite the new opportunities of a Russia reborn as a 21st-century version of the Wild West, hitched to a swarm of apparatchiks who became robber barons and then oligarchs as vast state enterprises were privatised, Putin never quite relinquished his anger over the break-up of the old Soviet Union and its system of Eastern European satellites.
Emblematic of that, he has often been quoted about his belief that those events had been the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.
Putin, of course, drew his inspirations for a future Russia from the writings of romantic nationalists that largely reached back to ideas and myths from before the Soviet era. This gave impetus to his views about a future in which Russia would again be the great empire of its czarist times, able to rid itself of all those Western corruptions that had crept into the nation with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Read in Daily Maverick: “A champion of justice – for Andrea Johnson, it’s all about an intense belief in right and wrong”
Of course, this new Russia that Putin was hoping to create was also a land where the oligarchs of industry were totally beholden to him for their positions, wealth, holdings and status.
And by many ...
Buffeted by the winds of a changing world, designers and artists are finding new meaning and purpose. They explain how being able to adapt nimbly is what it takes to survive and thrive.
From changing technology to finding sustainability and surviving a global pandemic, South African artists and designers have had to adapt quickly. It’s a skill that is now a key ingredient of their success.
In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the author says that “all living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.”
For the artist, having the ability to adapt is a survival skill. And after a few years of a shattering global pandemic, the creative world still seems to be facing major disruption: from the rise of AI to challenging economic conditions. We’ve asked a few artists for their thoughts on the future of their industry. The answers are a beacon of light in an otherwise darker sociopolitical time.
AI: embracing the technology
For artists practising in non-traditional mediums, such as digital art or animation, the rise of AI tools is shaping and changing their work dramatically. Artificial intelligence research labs such as Midjourney and OpenAI have systems that generate images from written prompts, which calls into question what the role of artists will be in the near future.
Lwazi Msipha, a South African animator, says he’s excited about AI even though it offers new challenges for artists and animators alike.
Msipha is listed on Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30. He was winner of the Youth Achiever Award at the 2022 South African Film and Television Awards, and creator of My Cartoon Friend, which has featured on Cartoon Network.
“I love technological advancements, especially in the creative space,” he says. “I have dabbled in AI and I am still shocked at what it can do.”
AI can be a great tool to help artists and animators, says Msipha: “AI can help artists and animators automate tedious tasks, such as colouring and shading, which can save time and allow them to focus on more creative aspects of their work.”
However, he acknowledges that AI can also be a threat to artists, affecting their livelihoods and raising ethical concerns about plagiarism.
Msipha believes the future of AI and art depends on what artists make of it and how the industry adapts ...
Ukraine’s economy may grow next year, and this year’s inflation may be less than expected, according to the head of the central bank, who cited the nation’s resilience in the face of Russia’s campaign to destroy energy infrastructure.
Kyiv has seen a noticeable drop in enemy Air Force activity after a drone strike on a strategic-bomber base deep inside Russian territory on Monday, said a military spokesperson.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops are resisting Russia’s advances in intense fighting in the east and finding some opportunities to drive them out.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine must comply with Moscow’s demands to surrender in full and concede sovereignty over annexed lands or face continued war.
President Vladimir Putin also signed a decree banning the export of Russian oil and oil products to foreign buyers that adhere to a price cap on his country’s crude.
Key developments
Putin bans selling Russian oil to price cap participants
Ukraine resilience helps halt economic drop, central banker says
Russia says Ukraine must surrender even as Putin’s army retreats
Three die in new drone attack on Russian strategic bomber base
On the ground
Zelensky said in his overnight address that the most difficult areas of the front are near the towns of Bakhmut and Kreminna where Russia is pushing hard to make advances, and his office said he met with his commander in chief to discuss the situation.
Russian forces, military equipment and weaponry are concentrated around Bakhmut, but efforts to encircle the town have been unsuccessful, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on television.
Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near eight settlements in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
Putin bans selling Russian oil to price-cap participants
Putin banned the export of oil and oil products to foreign buyers that adhere to price caps imposed over his invasion of Ukraine, according to a decree.
The market has been waiting for Moscow’s response to the $60-per-barrel cap since 5 December when the Group of Seven nations’ limit on Russian seaborne crude exports came into force.
The restriction on Russian crude exports will begin on 1 February, while the starting date for the ban on oil products will come later. Putin’s decree didn’t list countries where Russian oil and oil products cannot be sold.
The majority of the countries that imposed the cap have already halted purchases, suggesting the initial impact of the step may be limited in scope.
Read more here
Kyiv says nuclear plant free zone ...
The gas tanker explosion beneath a bridge in Boksburg on Saturday has claimed the lives of 18 people, including nine staff who were working at the nearby OR Tambo Memorial Hospital.
On the morning of 24 December, a truck transporting liquefied petroleum gas exploded after it became wedged beneath a bridge about 100m from OR Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg, Gauteng.
Initial reports said 10 people were killed in the blast, with 26 being seriously injured. By Monday evening, the death toll stood at 18.
Among the deceased were nine staff from the nearby hospital, eight of whom were nurses. The ninth victim was a driver.
The Gauteng Department of Health issued a statement on Monday, saying: “Thirty-seven people, including 24 patients and 13 staff members who were outside the wards and the hospital parking lot at the time of the explosion, sustained severe burns and were diverted to neighbouring hospitals including Bertha Gxowa Hospital, Far East Rand Regional Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital, Thelle Mogoerane Hospital, Pholosong Hospital and LenMed.”
By Monday evening, OR Tambo Hospital was still not admitting new patients and hospital visits remained temporarily suspended.
According to the police’s preliminary investigation, the tanker – which was reportedly travelling from Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal to Botswana – got stuck beneath a low-level bridge and began leaking gas.
Initially, a small fire was sparked. As onlookers gathered, the Boksburg Fire Department arrived and began extinguishing the flames. The tanker then exploded, destroying the bridge and causing extensive damage to the immediate area.
“Many onlookers watching the initial accident became victims when the tanker exploded,” said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Boksburg gas tanker explosion leaves 10 dead, 26 injured – and temporarily shuts down OR Tambo Memorial Hospital
Police arrested the 32-year-old truck driver that evening at a private hospital where he was receiving treatment for minor injuries, police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said in a statement on Sunday.
The driver has been charged with “multiple counts of culpable homicide, negligent causing of an explosion resulting in death . and malicious damage to property”.
He will appear in the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
OR Tambo Hospital damage
The explosion destroyed two vehicles and a fire engine. Damage was also caused to five houses and part of the OR Tambo Memorial Hospital.
During a visit to the hospital on Tuesday morning, the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Infrastructure, Lebogang ...
Former head of state Jacob Zuma’s brazen attempt to privately prosecute Cyril Ramaphosa has hit another hurdle, with the current president saying he’ll launch a court application to declare Zuma’s attempted legal moves against him ‘unlawful’.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has approached the high court in Johannesburg in the hope of interdicting his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, from pushing ahead with proceedings to have him privately prosecuted.
Ramaphosa’s move is the latest in a series of exchanges involving him and Zuma, who faces several accusations relating to State Capture.
Daily Maverick has previously reported that legal experts view Zuma’s attempted court action against Ramaphosa as nonsense.
Attempted counter-prosecution
The matter stems from a statement issued by the Jacob G Zuma Foundation on 15 December – a day before the start of the ANC’s National Elective Conference – saying that Ramaphosa “has been charged in a private prosecution with the criminal offence of being accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others Adv Downer namely, breaching the provisions if [sic] the NPA Act”.
The “Adv Downer” referred to in the statement is Advocate Billy Downer, who is leading the prosecution of Zuma on corruption charges related to the Arms Deal.
In another court matter, Zuma is claiming that Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan colluded to publish classified information on his medical status.
The Jacob G Zuma Foundation statement, in relation to the attempted private prosecution saga, said Ramaphosa was expected to appear in the high court in Johannesburg on 19 January.
Urgent application
Ramaphosa has now hit back.
On Tuesday, 27 December, it emerged that Ramaphosa had approached the high court notifying it of his intention to make an application on 10 January.
Ultimately, he wants a summons against him to be declared unlawful and wants the private prosecution being driven by Zuma declared “unlawful, unconstitutional, invalid” and for it to be set aside.
READ: President Cyril Ramaphosa’s notice of motion to a) interdict former President Zuma from pursuing his private prosecution against him b) pending Ramaphosa’s bid to set that private prosecution aside as unlawful and unconstitutional.
Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) December 27, 2022
It appeared that Zuma had structured his attempted private prosecution against Ramaphosa on a specific certificate.
The Presidency has previously explained that, according to the Criminal Procedure Act, “a private prosecution can only be instituted after the individual prosecuting has obtained a certificate of non-prosecution”.
It added: “The certificate serves as a legal confirmation that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will not ...
Darkness fell over South Africa with severe rolling blackouts, but the Zondo Commission findings and some overdue arrests did provide some light.
An epoch ended on Boxing Day 2021, a Sunday, with the death of the beloved Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the age of 90.
The new era began a week later, on 2 January 2022, when alleged arsonist Zandile Christmas Mafe set fire to Parliament in the early hours of the morning. Fanned by a strong wind, the flames destroyed three chambers, 21 committee rooms and 473 offices, all of which will cost more than R2-billion to restore and refurbish.
Tutu was part of a generation of activists and struggle leaders, along with Mandela, Tambo and Sisulu, who now all belong to the angels and the ages.
The fierce blaze came to symbolise the heat of 2022 for the ANC and a scorched-earth policy that brewed all year long as factions fought a dirty, bitter and bloody battle for power and control. The year ended with a nail-biting ANC elective conference at Nasrec and a second-term victory for President Cyril Ramaphosa.
His rival, former health minister Zweli Mkhize, resigned in 2021 after revelations emerged that more than R1-million had allegedly been skimmed off the Department of Health’s R150-million Digital Vibes contract during the 2020 Covid pandemic.
And so the 12-month Tour de Farce came to a close.
On 14 December, mere days before more than 4,000 delegates were due to vote for new ANC leadership, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter resigned, having lost his political support.
Gwede Mantashe, the man who tipped De Ruyter over the edge by claiming that the Eskom boss was “agitating to overthrow the state”, is now the re-elected ANC chair.
By December, load shedding had become a way of life as power cuts shredded an already fragile economy.
Before the Nasrec vote, it was announced that members of the South African National Defence Force were being sent to protect the energy provider from saboteurs, thieves and criminals – from within and on the outside.
The hum of generators across the country has become a new sort of “national anthem”, replacing the burglar alarm and the hadeda.
Eskom’s failure affected cellphone operators and forced network provider MTN, for example, to burn 400,000 litres of fuel a month to keep its towers running for emergency backup.
The food sector was affected, as was industry at all levels.
Estimates are that South Africa loses R20-billion a month at stage 1 of ...
Two years of exuberance in the housing market are coming to an end, with business predicted to slow in 2023 due to rising interest rates and the increased cost of living. But the market is nowhere near to crashing.
A series of interest rate increases and surging food and fuel prices in 2022 have already started to cool the boom seen in South Africa’s housing market over the past two years.
The housing market emerged as a bright spot in the economy since the early days of the Covid pandemic, with ultralow interest rates driving up the number of property purchases and elevating house prices.
First-time home buyers entered the housing market in their droves and existing homeowners upgraded into more spacious homes, resulting in the value of property sales in SA more than doubling from R69-billion in 2020 to R153-billion in 2021.
Housing sales are expected to surpass R156-billion in 2022.
But there are signs that the two years of exuberance in the housing market are coming to an end, with business predicted to slow in 2023 due to interest rates that are set to continue increasing, and the unrelenting rise in the cost of living.
Although the total value of property sales continues to increase, the number of residential property transfers registered in the deeds offices has been on a downward trend in 2022.
The latest figures from data analytics group Lightstone show that the number of residential transfers registered in the third quarter of 2022 dropped to 60,700, down from the second quarter’s 77,880 and the first quarter’s 129,642. That represents a more than 20% decline quarter on quarter.
Industry players argue that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the housing market is crashing, but it is correcting in response to higher interest rates, which have made borrowing more expensive and impacted on home-buying patterns.
Housing market pressures
Property sales started to taper off at a faster rate from July this year when the South African Reserve Bank increased interest rates by 0.75% – the first large hike since the central bank started lifting rates in November 2021.
Since then, interest rates have increased by a cumulative 3.5%, taking the interest that commercial banks charge on home loans (known as the prime lending rate) from a near 50-year low of 7% to 10.5%. This interest rate has reached pre-pandemic levels.
FNB economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi says the interest rate increases, coupled with higher living costs, have impacted on consumer affordability levels, ...
That’s not the only bad news for the economy in 2023. South Africans will remain at the mercy of Eskom rolling blackouts and government decay will continue to make doing business costly and difficult.
Yet there are a few rays of light piercing the coming storm. Inflation should brake further and President Cyril Ramaphosa has more political space to pursue economic reforms, having clinched a second term as president of the governing ANC.
More private sector energy investment is certainly on the cards, and the agricultural sector remains buoyant. And brisker-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter, of 1.6%, heralds the promise that the economy grew as much as 2.5% in 2022, far overshooting initial expectations.
However, that performance will not be repeated in 2023. Global economic growth is seen sharply slowing in 2023 as Russia’s war in Ukraine stumbles along, interest rates rise to curb inflation, and China struggles to contain the Covid pandemic.
In October, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2023 world economic growth forecast to 2.7% from 2.9%, and in November it said the outlook had become “gloomier”. Forecasts from banks and other financial institutions have been even bleaker.
“The global economy is projected to expand at a sluggish pace of about 1.6% in 2023 as financial conditions tighten, the winter aggravates China’s Covid policy and Europe’s natural gas problems persist,” investment bank JP Morgan said in early December.
“The global economy is not at imminent risk of sliding into recession, as the sharp decline in inflation helps promote growth, but a US recession is likely before the end of 2024.”
In South Africa, inflation will also probably slow after peaking in July at a 13-year high of 7.8%, but domestic growth is unlikely to get much of a bump from that. Although consumer inflation braked to 7.4% in November from 7.6% in October, food inflation in the year to November rose to 12.8% from 12.3%.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Food prices are expected to remain elevated in 2023 because of the war in Ukraine and the impact of a third year of La Niña weather patterns.
Food inflation will continue to eat into the household budgets of poor and working-class households, leaving them with less income to spend on other things, or for saving.
Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank is expected to maintain its hiking cycle, though at a slower pace, after raising interest rates by 350 basis ...
This past year brought a new kind of unpredictability, something with a dramatic but not cataclysmic effect. Economically speaking, the story of 2022 is somewhat exemplified by a single, small South American country: Guyana. Guyana’s real GDP growth this past year was heading for 57.8%. I am not making this up.
Guyana’s growth comes on top of growth in 2021 of 19.9% and in 2020 of 43.5%. Only one country has grown faster in history in a single year, and that was Libya in 2012 after the first civil war, and the growth was really only a rectification after a devastating contraction the previous year.
Guyana pootled along for years without looking anything like a world-beater. But then it discovered oil off the coast in 2015 and everything changed. Drilling began in 2019, and has continued feverishly.
The oil in the Suriname Basin could be the last huge oil find on the planet. Guyana’s production is expected to reach 1.2 million barrels a day by 2027, which would see the impoverished former British colony overtake Colombia to become the third-largest producer in Latin America, and fall within the top 20 in the world.
The difference is that Guyana has a population of about 800,000 people. The government is due to earn about $1-billion from oil revenue this year, reaching about $4.2-billion in 2027. That would be more than twice the country’s current budget of $2.5-billion. It would also mean an income of $5-million per person per year.
Of course, it wouldn’t last forever, but then again, what does?
It’s possible that the Guyana government could be sensible and create an oil fund like Norway did to invest for the future. But that would not be the way of oil-producing countries all over the world. There is almost nothing that distorts a country’s finances like sudden oil riches; it’s wonderful, but it puts a target on your back.
Internal politics gets to be a high-stakes game, and external relations become a delicate balancing act. But perhaps Guyana has learnt a thing or two. One can only hope.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
What the Guyana experience does illustrate for the rest of us is the enormous power of resource politics – as if we didn’t know already. And 2022 was the year when resource politics came crashing down on our heads.
The invasion of Ukraine suddenly created new winners and losers in the resource industry ...
The ANC’s electoral committee, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, is set to investigate allegations of vote-buying by party president Cyril Ramaphosa and national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, among others, at the ANC’s 55th national conference at Nasrec just over a week ago.
The latest drama to rock the governing party comes after a KwaZulu-Natal delegate wrote to the electoral committee requesting that it probe “the alleged infringement of the buying of votes and/or the offering of rewards for votes during the 55th ANC elective conference”.
The delegate, Thabang Mdletshe, is a member of a branch in eThekwini. Once investigations have been concluded, he wants the committee to report the matter to the Hawks.
Mdletshe claims Ramaphosa, Mantashe and Bejani Chauke – who failed in his bid to become the party’s treasurer-general – used cash to influence how delegates voted.
In an interview with eNCA (ANC National Conference | In conversation with Gwede Mantashe), Mantashe admitted that the use of money by candidates seeking to climb the leadership ladder was a serious matter.
“Can I tell you, if there is one battle that we almost lost, it’s the battle and fight against money . In the past, we had this thing that money is used and so forth. This time around, you find people at branch level, at regional level, phoning you . I have this number of delegates, please give me so much money,” said Mantashe in the televised interview.
Asked for an estimate of the amount of money involved, he responded: “It depends. One person phoned me and said: ‘I have 140 delegates, give me R100,000.’
“And I tell him, ‘you see, if I had R100,000 I would go to an auction and buy sheep or cattle. I wouldn’t give it to you’.”
Mantashe was also asked about Ramaphosa’s alleged involvement in cash-for-votes during his 2017 election campaign, and how the party would deal with this situation when the president himself had faced similar allegations.
“I’m not sure . I think he scaled down this year. Last time he was in trouble about that. But today it was more complex because it was widespread. For example, there was a man that was campaigning for treasurer-general.
“He worked in the Office of the President. We raised our concern, saying this person is in your office . he is going around buying votes. Please deal with that issue.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, he was not elected treasurer-general of the ANC. But if you ...
Can our planet recover from climate change? Commissioning editor Kofoworola Belo-Osagie asked scientists to share the reasons they believe there is hope.
Jennifer Fitchett, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
People are starting to notice the weather and climate, and to understand climate change better than ever before.
It is very difficult for humans to feel the 1.1℃ post-industrial warming. In Johannesburg, our diurnal temperature range is often more than 20℃. From day to day our maximum temperatures can differ by over 10℃. This makes climate change seem intangible. However, over the last few years, the public has become far more aware of the weather and climate, and the impacts of climate change are becoming more tangible, more easily observed, and more measurable by the person on the street.
We are noticing, for example, that jacarandas are flowering earlier than they used to. We are aware that floods are evidence of extreme climates, and that extreme climate events are affecting southern Africa more frequently than they used to.
The tone of public discourse is starting to shift. Sometimes this leads to single events not-quite-correctly being attributed to climate change. But it shows that people are aware and concerned about their climate future. This public awareness is a crucial first step in addressing climate change.
While is it very important to recognise the immense value of young climate change activists like Greta Thunberg, we often don’t notice the many students across the world who are choosing to pursue degrees in fields relating to climate change. The University of the Witwatersrand launched a short course that was offered to more than 5,000 incoming first-year students in 2022, and which was taught by a PhD student in climate change. This large cohort of students passionate about understanding climate science, avenues for adaptation, and innovations for mitigation is our future!
Patrick Omeja, Senior Research Fellow, College of Agriculture and Environment, Makerere University, Uganda
There is an urgent need for far-reaching change. Government action on climate change is slow as their hands are often tied by stringent bureaucracy, big business and the need to please all of the electorate.
However, I am optimistic that climate action will happen because communities, businesses and foundations around the world are seeing the need for action and doing their part.
For example, in Uganda, solar panels are appearing everywhere. Large companies like Coca-Cola Africa, Nile Breweries, Unilever and Nations ...
The shenanigans were always there, but until Fifa president Giovanni Infantino called them out in his down-to-earth press conference in Qatar, they remained the elephant in the room.
The hint of displeasure goes back 12 years when Qatar won the bid, defeating Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States. That outcome was unexpected.
The Persian Gulf is good news for Western oil and gas supply, and tales of mysticism and Arabian opulence, but an Arab World Cup was a different matter altogether.
European interests pounced. They immediately insinuated that the process had been compromised, and later expressed discomfort that the timing could also disrupt major European league schedules and leave players too exhausted to finish the season.
Of course, they conveniently forgot that Arab money sustains some of the best European leagues.
When the excuse of disruption didn’t stick, they expanded the field of resentment, taking care to deploy, from the reserve bench, thorny issues of migrant labour and LGBT rights. Explanations by the Qataris that they were doing everything possible to improve their migrant labour records – and Fifa pressure on Qatar to do even more – did not satisfy the large sections of the press; the British being perhaps the most notable antagonists.
They carried the LGBT matter on their heads, leaving their own domestic turmoil unattended. Their attitude seemed to suggest that since football started in England 159 years ago, Europeans also have the responsibility of not only setting, but also insisting on, the cultural rules under which fans can relate and watch the game, regardless of the sensibilities of local communities.
If Infantino sounded angry and unsparing in calling out the West over its hypocrisy, he had good reasons to do so. And he was absolutely right that another 3,000 years of atonement would be insufficient to right the wrongs.
Yet, hypocrisy is a flaw embedded not just in the West’s historical relationship of exploitation, slavery and a sense of entitlement; it remains the hallmark of a number of its current engagements with other parts of the world, especially Africa and the Arab world.
A number of fairly recent sporting and social events organised in a number of Western countries bear the same marks of abuses and significant social displacements, over which Qatar was threatened at gunpoint, but which the Western press was very pleased to turn a blind eye to in its own back yard.
During the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, for ...
For two months this year, the entire province of Mpumalanga faced a free condom shortage due to supplier stockouts. The situation at the Komatipoort truck stop in Mpumalanga’s Ehlanzeni District — where condom shortages are ongoing — offers a glimpse into the consequences.
For two months this year, the Mpumalanga province faced a free condom shortage due to supplier stockouts. While the full consequences of the situation remain to be seen, the observations of clinic staff at one truck stop in Mphumlananga’s Ehlanzeni District suggest that truck drivers and sex workers are among those suffering the fallout.
The Komatipoort truck stop near the border between Mpumalanga and Mozambique is home to a roadside wellness clinic run by Trucking Wellness, a primary healthcare delivery system dedicated to the health and wellness of those employed in the road freight and logistics industry.
There — amid the choking diesel fumes, smoke and dust — clinic staff provide condom-use education and screening for sexually transmitted diseases (STI), HIV, TB and malaria, among other services. The clinic also distributes condoms.
Blessing Mahlalela, a clinic coordinator at the Komatipoort site, told Daily Maverick that the Ehlanzeni District was first impacted by the condom shortage in June.
“We still don’t have enough condoms at the moment. We used to get maybe 15, 20 boxes of cartons. But now, maybe sometimes you get the one [box], because sometimes they supply just the hospitals, not the clinics,” he said.
“I heard that at warehouses there are condoms but on our side, we didn’t receive it — at the moment we are running short of condoms.”
One of the nurses at the Komatipoort clinic, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that there was a shortage of condoms. She said that the people she runs health tests on are often dependent on the availability of free condoms and will forgo using condoms if free ones are not available.
In response to Daily Maverick’s enquiry, the Mpumalanga Health Department stated that lack of free condoms in the province resulted from contracted condom suppliers not receiving enough stock from the manufacturers outside the country.
“The manufacturing was negatively impacted by Covid-19 as they also have a huge backlog,” according to the department.
“Condoms were available in our health facilities. However, it must be pointed out that the available stock could not allow the department to meet its monthly and quarterly targets because that available stock was already counted as having been distributed to ...
At a Western Cape cabinet meeting several months back the word ‘polycrisis’ was mentioned in passing. A polycrisis arises when various crises occur simultaneously and interact with one another.
In 2022 it has felt like the world is in a constant state of polycrisis: the climate crisis, the cost of living crisis, energy constraints and wars, to mention a few. Unsurprisingly – and purely coincidentally – “permacrisis” was named the Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2022. It certainly feels as if our country is in a permacrisis, especially as we end the year with the fifth round of Stage 6 rolling blackouts and warnings that our energy woes will worsen dramatically in 2023 before there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
As I traversed the Western Cape this year, the power crisis was raised at almost every meeting I attended. Load shedding schedules have become as important to households as running water. I share the frustrations of Western Cape residents. And I am always asked: what is the Western Cape government doing to address this crisis? It is a fair question, and one we are engaging with urgency as the entire provincial government. One of the most important steps we have taken is to create a provincial energy council to help the provincial government coordinate our work and support for municipalities, individuals and businesses to navigate the energy crisis.
While we are not responsible for the Eskom crisis, there is work we can do to create an enabling environment for businesses and support municipalities.
As a provincial government we are finding remedies. In Mid-2022 when the country was pushed into Stage 6, my team and I immediately called a summit. Officials from across the board – from Eskom and municipalities to private sector role players and academics – put their heads together to plot a plan a way through this disaster.
We have since taken some important steps to respond to the crisis.
The provincial government’s Municipal Energy Resilience plan is one such intervention, aiming to support municipalities, and the private sector, to generate, procure and sell their own power. It presents an opportunity to incorporate innovative methodologies and delivery mechanisms as the Western Cape moves towards an energy-resilience future.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A few months ago I led a Western Cape government delegation to the UK and several European Union countries to seek further ...
The platform has already suspended one third-party seller, who more than doubled the prices of the in-demand Gizzu power stations, but now another seller has stepped in to take advantage of Eskom's collapsing grid.
Takealot has suspended a third-party seller from its marketplace, after complaints of price gouging on a popular portable power station. This comes after consumers noticed a spike in the price of one of the hottest commodities during this seemingly neverending season of rolling blackouts: the Gizzu Portable Power Station.
Debate about the devices was set off by reviews of the Gizzu 150, 296 and 518 by trader Dwaine van Vuuren on Twitter, who posted on Wednesday, 21 December: “After nearly a month of use, I formally vouch for this product Gizzu 296. Paid R4,700 on Black Friday but range from R5,500-R9,000 so shop wisely. Slams 4hr loadshedding with 40% battery spare with 65cm TV, AppleTV & Soundbar with subwoofer. Runs desktop PC or iMac 27″ for 6 hrs”, followed by “The Gizzu portable UPS stock situation in SA is ridiculous leading to price gouging, Can an official rep for Gizzu please inform the public if they gonna meet demand or must people look elsewhere for another manufacturer to avoid getting gouged”.
Demand had already shot up on Takealot for the devices at the end of last month, as shown by Serval Tracker, which records the historic price of the top-rated products on Takealot.
The Gizzu 296, for example, listed in February for R10,689, has possibly suffered more price fluctuations than Eskom’s power grid, but on 27 November one third-party retailer hiked prices progressively over three weeks, from R4,799 to R10,999.
Their Gizzu 518 saw the steepest price increase, shooting up from R6,799 on 28 November to R15,999 on 15 December, where it remained until 23 December.
On 16 December, another third-party pushed it even further, cashing in on the thirst for Gizzus, selling a 518Wh power station for R16,999.
By contrast, the 296 is available at Builders Warehouse for R5,599 and the 518 for R8,399.
Asked about the wild fluctuations in price, Ryan Martyn, co-founder and sales director of Syntech – the supplier of the Gizzu power stations – told Business Maverick that price gouging was a big concern and damaging to their brand because third-party sellers, who have nothing to do with their company, were taking advantage of rampant market demand.
Syntech has recommended retail prices of R2,999, R5,999 and R8,999 for the 155, ...
The ‘victories’ at this Nasrec edition may well turn into future losses for the party.
Late on Tuesday morning last week, as the ANC elective conference was running out of time, the newly elected ANC secretary-general channelled his inner drill sergeant, his voice booming over the Nasrec loudspeaker system.
“Comrade delegates, I am Fikile Mbalula, secretary-general of the ANC. The following provinces should be in the [voting] queue: Western Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo. The rest of us, let us go to the plenary hall. Please comrades, go inside the plenary hall for the commissions’ report-back.”
The tannoy announcement hit home what this, the 55th ANC national conference, was mostly about: electing leaders. And exhaustion, both from long nights’ slate haggling and voting amid messy, messy logistics.
Unprecedented for a national ANC conference, the gathering of over 4,000 delegates was adjourned to 5 January 2023 to meet in hybrid format from the provinces. No conference declaration was taken, no policy commission reports or resolutions adopted.
Those policy debates took place late at night amid voting for the Top Seven officials’ elections. And if sneaked photos and the Nasrec grapevine were anything to go by, attendance at commissions was, politely put, poor.
“It’s a pure, unfounded fabrication,” was Mbalula’s dismissal of this during a briefing.
But adopting policy commission reports and resolutions stalled on the conference’s final day because, as Mbalula’s loudhailer message indicted, voting for the 80 members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) was slow going.
Most of the action seemed to have relocated to the road leading up to the Nasrec conference venue, where scores of ANC delegates in their party T-shirts fired up braais, browsed stalls with food and party regalia – with the occasional paper-bag-wrapped booze bottle.
It almost seemed that once the winning Top Seven officials had been announced – President Cyril Ramaphosa and his side took five of these top posts – interest in the conference was just about done and dusted.
With Ramaphosa’s win widely welcomed as signalling the continuation of a reform and clean-governance agenda (business and investors seemed particularly pleased, and the rand bounced back from an earlier dip), it remains to be seen exactly how a favourable slate of officials translates into the NEC.
When the results were announced on Wednesday afternoon, almost 24 hours after the conference had adjourned, it seemed a mixed bag.
Ramaphosa got in many from his so-called renewal slate, which was finally released on Tuesday morning just as ...
The former health minister has contributed to South Africa’s ailing health system and economy.
Zweli Mkhize, who was the health minister from 2019 to 2021, was involved in the collapse of the country’s health system during a pandemic.
Many people’s loved ones died from Covid-19, some due to a lack of beds, food and oxygen tanks in hospitals.
In total, South Africa recorded nearly 103,000 deaths and 4.04 million positive cases as a result of Covid-19.
One would think that with the billions of rands donated and loaned to SA we would at least have a new hospital to show for it, after the pandemic. However, we are left with what is soon to be another State Capture inquiry, a villain who had set his sights on becoming the next president, and no vibes this festive season. Not even digital vibes.
How to be a villain 101
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigated Mkhize in the awarding of a communication tender, worth R150-million, to a company called Digital Vibes. This came after Scorpio journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh exposed the shady deal.
Mkhize was quite generous with this amount – not to the millions of ordinary citizens who depend on the healthcare system, but to his family and friends.
Myburgh discovered that R82-million had been spent in total on Covid-19 communication, which raised eyebrows for him. Digital Vibes was revealed to be listed under company director Radha Hariram, who “was a front for Tahera Mather: a figure familiar to political journalists as Mkhize’s longtime aide”, reported Daily Maverick.
Mkhize’s daughter-in-law received money to open a nail bar and, in previous years, Mkhize’s wife also received millions to buy a farm.
Mkhize’s plans to become South Africa’s next president have been scuppered now that Cyril Ramaphosa has been re-elected president of the ANC. DM168
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.
In terms of reader votes, Geordin Hill-Lewis won the person of the year by far, which is an indication of how much Cape Town DM168 readers appreciate the early efforts of their young mayor.
It was a tough call, but Hill-Lewis is a regional politician who clearly enjoys wide support among readers, whereas advocate Andrea Johnson, the head of the Investigating Directorate – who pipped the dynamic mayor in the person of the year category – is a national figure.
DM person of the year runner-up Hill-Lewis had barely moved into his new fifth-floor office in the Civic Centre after being inaugurated in November 2021 when a massive blaze incinerated Parliament on 2 January.
The mayor and DA Western Cape Premier Alan Winde made the newly renovated City Hall available to serve as Parliament after the fire.
Although it is still the early days of wearing the mayoral chain, Hill-Lewis has been one of the most hard-working and visible mayors the city has seen. So much so that veteran activist Zackie Achmat praised Hill-Lewis, saying his style “signalled a change in the approach of his administration to working-class communities”.
The City, under Hill-Lewis’s leadership, has focused on sewerage repairs and upgrades, and he has driven a bid that secured $4.5-million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation towards a pilot project.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Key focus areas have been homelessness, finding ways to mitigate rolling blackouts for residents and opening paths to renewables. A solar plant has been promised by 2023.
In the latest 2020-21 Municipal Finance Management Act report, the Western Cape Metro was commended for the “quality of its financial statements and performance report that were free from material misstatements”. However, this financially unqualified opinion was a “regression” from the previous year’s clean audit.
Cape Town has seen growth and investment, and the province has seen major investments pouring in from Europe in particular.
The City has opened up paths to renewables and announced that it will build a solar plant by 2023. Also, it is due to pay independent energy producers to feed power into the grid.
DM168
How we chose the People of the Year winners
How did the 35-year-old Geordin Hill-Lewis end up as No 2 and not No 1 in the Person of the Year category? The editors explain.
In the past, Daily Maverick journalists decided who they thought warranted the title of Person of the Year, but recently we ...
David Warner stole the show on a 37-degree scorcher at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as he became just the second player to score a double-century in their 100th Test, while Steven Smith and Travis Head further solidified Australia’s domination in the second Test.
Ahead of the start of play on day two of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), it was advantage Australia.
The Proteas batting line-up had flopped to 189 all-out on a pitch said to favour the batters – the only highlight being a partnership of 112 between Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen.
In response, Australia raced to 45 for one at the close of play on day one, with an out-of-form David Warner sitting at 32 not-out.
And as Warner and Marnus Labuschagne (5) strode to the wicket at 10.30am local time on a scorching day in Melbourne – Australia on just 144 runs with nine wickets in hand – the Proteas bowlers had a mammoth task.
Finding form
Labuschagne (14) and Warner (47) got Australia off to the perfect start, navigating the first six overs of the day and scoring at a healthy run rate to take the score to 70 for one.
Then there was a glimmer of hope.
In the 18th over, Warner pushed an Anrich Nortje delivery into the covers and the pair completed the single, but an overthrow opened the opportunity for the second. And while Warner made it comfortably, hesitation in the middle meant Labuschagne (14) came up short, being run out by a combination of Keshav Maharaj and Nortje to leave the Aussies at 75 for two.
But with Steven Smith and Warner at the crease, Australia went into cruise control. Warner brought up his 50 soon afterwards, fittingly off his nemesis Kagiso Rabada, which marked his first in 10 innings.
There was a chance at 109 for two as Smith (9) gloved a Marco Jansen delivery down the leg-side, but wicketkeeper Verreynne couldn’t hold onto the catch. It would prove to be crucial, since the chances were few and far between.
Piling the pressure on
Warner (81) brought up 8,000 Test runs after running four runs off the bowling of Maharaj. He became the eighth Australian to reach the milestone, and in the process moved ever closer to a century in his 100th Test.
Australia brought up the 150 in the 40th over, with Warner (89) and Smith (32) quickly taking the game away ...
From Eswatini to Chad, people have taken to the streets across Africa to demand political and social change.
Over the past year, protests have been recorded in more than 30 countries across the continent, finds a new global report by the Civicus Monitor. Despite the right to peaceful assembly being protected by many national constitutions and international law, such as the 75-year-old Universal Declaration on Human Rights, protesters face a range of unlawful risks and restrictions.
In numerous countries, restrictive laws or emergency regulations have been deployed to make it difficult for people to protest, including the need for permits and levying fees. Authorities have also used outright bans to prevent protests from taking place, often using grounds such as disturbing the public order, security concerns or public health reasons.
In Guinea, the military transitional authorities, who took power after a military coup, banned all public protests that were “likely to compromise social tranquillity” until the start of the electoral campaign period, which could be years away.
In South Africa, the City of Johannesburg tried to impose exorbitant fees for organising protests, up to R15,000 for a union strike, arguing that protests require additional municipal services. Luckily the Johannesburg High Court found the proposed fees unconstitutional.
One of the most prevalent protest violations is the detention of protesters, being recorded in more than 20 African countries from the past year. Arrests at protests can be frequent, such as in Zimbabwe where people are arrested for picketing, rallying and holding demonstrations. In March, 10 students belonging to the National Students Union were arrested for protesting peacefully against fee hikes at the University of Zimbabwe. Further arrests against the price hikes were made in April.
In the same month in Angola, 22 protesters were arrested during a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Luanda, to demand the release of political prisoners and to call for free and fair elections. They were later prosecuted for rioting and disobeying a police order to disperse.
To quell and prevent protests, authorities sometimes detain the organisers before the planned gatherings.
In July, two opposition politicians in Sierra Leone were arrested on accusations of inciting unlawful street protests, a day before the “Black Monday” protests against the high cost of living, economic hardship and economic policies took place in Freetown.
In South Sudan in August, activists were arrested ahead of planned nationwide anti-government protests, organised by the People’s Coalition for Civil Action. On the eve of the ...
There’s the courageous legal crusader vs the one whom the courts have found to be seriously wanting. Only one of them can be our top villain.
A modern-day discussion about the distinction between ownership and control of central banks should throw up a few interesting contemporary references: Peru, Venezuela, Canada, for example.
So, why turn back to 1938 and Adolf Hitler and how his National Socialist party, the Nazis, repurposed the German economy while systematically murdering six million Jews and other undesirables? Why seek inspiration in this dark corner of human history? In the end, 55 million people perished in genocidal Europe.
Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the suspended Public Protector, went there.
So heard the historic Section 194 impeachment inquiry into her fitness to hold office. Her enchantment with Nazi economics is a bit of evidence that has lingered low-key in the steaming pile that has been presented so far. Mkhwebane and her co-conspirators had sought to tweak the Constitution through the back door in her Bankorp-CIEX report.
Mkhwebane had consulted Holocaust denier and Hitler acolyte Stephen Goodson, State Security Agency (SSA) officials and former president Jacob Zuma – and kept this secret. Until her report was challenged and set aside by the courts, Mkhwebane’s lack of candour had gone undetected.
Don’t touch us on our Guptas
The CIEX report was released shortly after the South African Reserve Bank had fined the Gupta family’s bank of choice, Baroda Bank, R11-million for offences related to money laundering.
This led to the closure of the Gupta network’s local bank accounts and the Baroda branches, shutting down the family and their accomplices’ entire criminal operation.
The CIEX report is one of the reasons Mkhwebane now finds herself sitting in the benches of committee room M46, alongside her legal representative, advocate Dali Mpofu, facing an impeachment vote.
Mpofu has earned about R13-million in the years he has done work for Mkhwebane. “Peanuts,” he has said.
Her personal attorneys, Seanego, were paid R55-million during her term while Mkhwebane has suffered 38 losses in the courts. The inquiry has also heard that 47 other reports were currently subject to legal challenge.
Mkhwebane has been at the centre of the State Capture project from the moment she was appointed in October 2016. One of her key targets has been Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, on whose failed litigation she spent R15-million.
Picnic at Nkandla
The Section 194 inquiry, which kicked off in April, has faced several attempts by Mkhwebane’s legal team ...
Eskom announced further cuts amid warnings of ‘profound implications for the economy’.
South Africa passed 200 days of power cuts in 2022 on Tuesday, with more to come.
Eskom said on Christmas Day it would cut 1,000 megawatts from the grid until further notice.
Stage 1 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 on Monday morning until further notice. This is possible due to the lower demand for electricity during the day, reducing the reliance on emergency generation reserves.
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 25, 2022
On Tuesday, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. announced further that it will ramp up power cuts from stage-1 load shedding, to stage 3 from 4 pm until 5 am for the rest of the week. It will cut 2,000 megawatts from 5 am to 4 pm on Wednesday, the utility said on Twitter.
Eskom has implemented record rotational blackouts this year because its old and poorly maintained power stations continually break down.
1/2 Stage 3 loashedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until 05:00 tomorrow morning. This will be repeated everyday for the remainder of the week. Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 tomorrow morning until 16:00.
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 27, 2022
The energy shortages have dented investment and weighed on output.
“The fluctuations in the supply of electricity have profound implications for the economy and could be viewed as the biggest risk to growth and, through that, the future of South Africa,” said Sygnia executive chairperson Magda Wierzycka.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The Reserve Bank said last month that power outages mean the economy is only likely to expand by 0.1% in the final quarter. It predicts economic growth will slow to 1.1% in 2023 from 1.8% this year and it assumes increased power rationing will shave 0.6 percentage points off output.
The resignation of André de Ruyter as Eskom chief executive gives South Africa the opportunity to bring in a skilled and experienced CEO that has the requisite political support, Wierzycka said. “It will not be easy to find someone suitable, but the government cannot afford to get it wrong one more time.”
Read in Daily Maverick:
“After the Bell: The problem with Eskom is that it’s not just Eskom”
“What a tangled web has been woven around Eskom, much of it having little to do with electricity”
Eskom supplies most of the nation’s electricity and doesn’t generate enough revenue to cover its operating costs and interest bill, ...
Yearly on 22 December, Ibhetshu Likazulu hosts memorial services for victims of the Gukurahundi Genocide. This year’s commemorations were disrupted by police who ordered mourners to go home. Afterwards police officers followed three people and arrested them. The three were Thamsanqa Ncube, vice-chairman of Ibhetshu Likazulu, Melusi Nyathi, a founding member of Ibhetshu LikaZulu, and Samkeliso Tshuma, director of The Girls Table.
On 22 December 2022, Zimbabwe celebrated Unity Day, a national holiday. It is meant to mark the anniversary of 22 December 1987, when the leaders of Zimbabwe’s then-largest political parties, PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF, signed the “Unity Accord”.
Imagine someone told you this and ended the story there. That 22 December is Unity Day, full stop. You are not allowed to probe further and you are not allowed to tell the story behind the signing of this agreement.
But what was this agreement, one would naturally want to ask? What led to it? Was it a peace deal? A ceasefire? Did Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe and the political parties they led just wake up and decide, out of nowhere, to sign an agreement of unity?
Well, that is what the government of Zimbabwe would like everyone to believe.
However, Ibhetshu LikaZulu, an organization that promotes the memorialisation of victims of the Gukurahundi Genocide, has taken it upon itself, to remind us all of the tragic events leading to the signing of the accord. But they are evoking memories that Zanu-PF would prefer to remain buried.
Genesis of a genocide
Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain through a negotiated peace settlement called the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979. One of its terms was that in the first post-independence elections, 80 seats would be contested by Black people’s parties and 20 would be reserved for whites. Of the 80 seats, the Mugabe-led Zanu-PF won 57 and Nkomo’s PF-Zapu won 20.
Zapu won all the Matabeleland seats and a few in parts of the Midlands provinces.
This did not go down well with Zanu-PF, which preached that for Zimbabwe to progress, she needed to be a one-party state.
The minister of state security and head of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) at the time was Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the current president of Zimbabwe. His job was to identify and deal with any threats to national security.
It was Mnangagwa, in this capacity, who identified Ndebeles as a threat to national security for voting for Zapu. It was also his ministry’s responsibility to ensure ...
The head of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate is guided by a disciplined work ethic and a love of justice.
Advocate Andrea Johnson thrives under pressure and expects the same from her team. She tells them not to work according to their own expectations but to meet the demands of their oath and their allegiance to the Republic.
Johnson took over the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate (ID) in March 2022 and was immediately under intense pressure to prosecute State Capture cases. In under 10 months, her unit has charged some of the country’s most high-profile corruption suspects who had evaded accountability for years despite extensive evidence, and the ID has offered a glimmer of hope that the age of impunity may be coming to an end.
The ID was established in 2019 to pursue cases arising from the Zondo Commission on State Capture, the Nugent Commission on SARS and the Mpati Commission on the Public Investment Corporation. Its multidisciplinary approach takes inspiration from the Scorpions and includes NPA prosecutors as well as police investigators from the Hawks and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
It has opened 89 investigations, enrolled 26 cases involving 165 accused persons and worked with the Asset Forfeiture Unit to freeze R12.9-billion in assets and to recover R2.9-billion. Advocate Hermione Cronje led the ID from its inception but, as the unit failed to meet expectations, she resigned, reportedly owing to a lack of support and resources to meet the intense pressure to prosecute suspects.
Under Johnson’s leadership, the ID has led charges against former Transnet and Eskom leaders Brian Molefe and Anoj Singh, former Eskom executive Matshela Koko, former SAPS boss Khomotso Phahlane, former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane and Trillian boss Eric Wood – key players in the system of State Capture who dismissed attempts to hold them accountable.
“It is a lot of work,” said Johnson in an interview. “I think there was a day or two when I did say to my daughter, ‘I know I look awake but I actually think I’m sleeping’.”
Early ambitions
Johnson was six years old when she decided she wanted to be a public prosecutor. She was raised in Umzinto, KwaZulu-Natal, and her father was a policeman who instilled discipline and self-respect. Visiting him at work one day, she saw an imposing figure in a black gown. Kids with TVs might have looked up to Batman or Spiderman but Johnson saw the local ...
Ukrainians woke up on Christmas morning to warning messages showing the entire country coloured red, warning of missile attacks.
It is early Christmas morning in Kyiv. The streets are sprinkled with white untouched snow, hints of holiday decorations peek out here and there from people’s windows. You can actually feel the crisp winter cold outside, so I’m immensely grateful to have heating and electricity today. I’m having my first cup of hot coffee of the day while the sirens are going off in the city, disrupting the still life of this Kyiv Christmas morning.
This image is what every Ukrainian saw this morning, well those of us able to charge our phones: a message with every last bit of our country coloured red to indicate a possible missile attack.
This means the Christmas morning is over, this image is a call to stop whatever you were doing and immediately seek shelter. This image popping up on your phone means Russian terrorists are preparing yet another mass missile and drone attack to destroy what is left of our critical infrastructure and target civilians. As my city is waking up to air-raid sirens on this Christmas day, the Russians are ready to kill, terrorise and destroy.
I’m listening to sirens and all I can think about is how much I miss my kids back in South Africa, today more than ever. I have a job that often takes me from place to place, from one city to another, from one country to the next one, yet today it feels very different. Yesterday I had a day that, without a hint of a doubt, gave me a different outlook on life. Yesterday I was granted a front-row seat to all of Putin’s and Russian terrorism and how it ruins, kills and terrorises our citizens every single day. Yesterday I was in Mykolaiv:
Mykolaiv, once a very buzzy seaside city of half a million people, now seems quiet and empty. It is our hero city which became front-line from the very beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Mykolaiv is our shipbuilding centre and transportation hub, as the city has access downriver to the Black Sea and it is one of our key cities to keep control in the south.
Mykolaiv was shelled by the Russians from the very first day of the invasion. It still is. The last report I read at the beginning of November stated that from ...
John Dobson’s Stormers have turned DHL Stadium into a fortress built on beautiful tries and jubilant support.
Coach John Dobson has created something special in Cape Town with the Stormers.
On Friday, 23 December, DHL Stadium in Green Point was packed with 30,000 supporters draped in Stormers blue, howling encouragement as their side beat the Bulls 37-27 in a thrilling United Rugby Championship (URC) clash.
“I didn’t expect to have 30,000 people two days before Christmas,” said Stormers skipper Steven Kitshoff after the match.
“You can just see the flags and the cheer and how loud it was. The atmosphere at DHL Stadium was just electrifying.”
The people of Cape Town received their money’s worth, watching the home side run the visitors ragged in a five-minute blitz of three tries in the second half.
Exciting 19-year-old centre Suleiman Hartzenberg scored the pick of the exquisite tries, finishing off an 80-metre team effort that had backs and forwards interlinking like a Pandora bracelet.
Friday’s win takes the reigning champions to second on the URC log with one loss and one draw among their seven victories.
The Stormers have failed to get out of third gear in many of their early season matches – despite claiming the seven triumphs.
“I reckon that’s us at 70% of our operating capacity. I don’t think we’ve gone over that much this season,” said Dobson.
And while the Stormers seem only to be finding their championship winning stride now, the long-term planning and sacrifice has paid off for Dobson.
“Our plan up to the Dragons game [round nine of the URC] was to give as many guys caps as possible so we have depth. Then the next phase was cohesion which meant keeping the same team going. That was our plan,” said the coach.
A special group with a sense of belonging
The cohesion Dobson speaks about extends further than the four white lines of the rugby field.
Outside centre Ruhan Nel – who suffered a leg injury last week against Cardiff – was in the stands at DHL Stadium on Friday and cheered in jubilation at every positive impact Hartzenberg – his replacement – made on the field.
“We’re trying to create a special group here with a sense of belonging, playing for the people of Cape Town, playing for each other,” said Dobson.
“[Injured] Salmaan Moerat has been at every training. He’s offered to help with lineouts while on crutches.
“That is the satisfaction I get, when I see Ernst van ...
UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar has died at the age of 45. He is best remembered in the world of mixed martial arts for being one half of a game-changing bout against Forrest Griffin.
In the early hours of Christmas Day, the United Fighting Championship (UFC) announced the news of Stephan Bonnar’s death at the age of 45. The promotion cited heart complications as the cause of death, which occurred on Thursday, 22 December.
Bonnar was a pioneer in the UFC, making history as a finalist on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) in 2005. The reality TV show has long been credited for not only saving the then struggling promotion, but also taking it to new heights once thought to be unimaginable.
The finals bout between Bonnar and Forrest Griffin has etched its name in mixed martial arts (MMA) folklore, and in 2013 was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame Fight Wing.
The Ultimate Fighter 1
The debut season of TUF saw 16 athletes, eight light heavyweights (93kg) and eight middleweights (84kg) live together and compete to be crowned “The Ultimate Fighter”.
The athletes were divided into two teams coached by UFC legends Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, respectively. Bonnar was a light heavyweight on Team Couture, while his eventual co-finalist Griffin was on Team Liddell.
In the finals, Bonnar and Griffin produced a three-round, stand-up war. The two went back and forth, with neither giving an inch to their opponent. The fight has been hailed as one of the best in modern mixed martial arts history.
At a time when mixed martial arts was largely seen as senseless violence, this fight simultaneously delivered just that, yet somehow contradicted that rhetoric. On paper, the fight was nothing more than an absolute slugfest. But the spectacle also told the story of two men who wanted to win by any means and would not fold despite the adversity.
The 15-minute affair earned a roaring ovation from the live crowd, and plaudits from viewers all over the world.
Although Bonnar lost the fight via unanimous decision, “The American Psycho” earned the respect of the MMA world, including UFC president Dana White. Bonnar was offered a UFC contract after the fight despite the losing effort.
As for Bonnar’s opponent, Griffin eventually went on to become the UFC light heavyweight champion. Griffin is now the vice-president of athlete development at the UFC Performance Institute.
A credible career
Although Bonnar did not quite reach ...
It was a day full of Shane Warne tributes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as the Boxing Day Test marked the first Test in Melbourne since the passing of the hometown hero earlier this year.
Thousands of spectators streamed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the beginning of the second Test between South Africa and Australia on Boxing Day. Many were sporting zinc and a floppy hat in tribute to one of the greatest bowlers of all-time – Melbourne’s own Shane Warne, who passed away earlier this year.
And in a performance Warne of which would have been proud, the Australian bowling attack ripped through the Proteas top order, before a late partnership brought South Africa back into the game.
As it happened
Having dominated the first Test at the Gabba to take a 1-0 lead in the series, Australia named an unchanged starting 11. Scott Boland retained his place at his home ground after Josh Hazlewood declared he wasn’t at 100% yet after missing the first Test due to a side strain, while opening batter David Warner was picked for his 100th Test cap.
The Proteas made one change, with Theunis de Bruyn chosen ahead of Rassie van der Dussen, who struggled in the first Test.
Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss for the second match in succession and sent the Proteas into bat in front of 64,876 fans at the MCG. Much had been said of South Africa’s flimsy batting lineup, and when openers Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee strode into the middle of the Australian cauldron, it was time to step up.
A broken record
The Proteas made a shaky start, as captain Elgar was dropped by Cummins off his own bowling in the fourth over, while Erwee survived two LBW appeals an over later.
After some early scares, the openers knuckled down – seeing off the first 10 overs for 28 runs. However, in the next over Erwee (18) was gone after nicking one to Usman Khawaja at slip off the bowling of Boland.
In the 17th over Elgar was given a second lifeline as another caught and bowled chance went down – this time off the bowling of Nathan Lyon. Thanks to some early luck, the Proteas captain (25) brought up 5,000 Test runs after smacking Boland for four, becoming just the eighth South African to do so.
De Bruyn, meanwhile, got off to a good start, hitting two fine boundaries early on. However, ...
An LPG gas tanker travelling in Boksburg on the morning of 24 December 2022 exploded, causing 10 fatalities. This is according to reports from the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, which also confirmed that damage sustained to the nearby OR Tambo Memorial Hospital from the blast has led to its temporary closure.
The gas tanker, which had been travelling from the Free State, sustained damage when passing under a low bridge. The vehicle’s release valve caught on the bridge and a fire started, say Ekurhuleni Emergency Services.
The accident scene had drawn in spectators and the Boksburg Fire Department had arrived on scene and started to extinguish the fire when an explosion caused the bridge to collapse.
The blast has resulted in 10 confirmed fatalities, 26 serious injuries, the destruction of two vehicles and a fire engine, as well as damage to three nearby houses and the hospital, which is only 100m away from the site of the explosion, say Ekurhuleni Emergency Services reports.
“The impact of the explosion affected houses and buildings within an estimated 500 metres of the scene,” says a statement issued by the Gauteng Department of Health.
Various residents, including some from as far as 4 kilometres away from the site of the explosion, posted on social media that they had initially thought the explosion had been an earthquake due to the shockwave and thunderous sound.
“The horrific tanker explosion outside OR Tambo Memorial Hospital this morning tragically resulted in loss of life, multiple injuries with various degrees of burns, damage to the Emergency Department at the hospital, destruction of a low-lying bridge, railway lines and multiple homes in the surroundings,” said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers.
“Many onlookers watching the initial accident became victims when the tanker exploded without warning,” said Sooliman.
Multiple firefighters were also injured in containing the explosion.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Emergency Response
“This is probably the worst scene ever,” said Madelaine Muller, a Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni.
The South African Police Service has taken over the scene and residents should refrain from visiting the area for the time being, said Muller.
“Disaster and emergency medical services personnel are on site and have been assisting patients who sustained various degrees of burn wounds and lacerations due to flying debris,” said the statement issued by the Gauteng Department of Health.
Thirty-seven people, including 24 patients and 13 OR Tambo Memorial Hospital staffers, have sustained severe burns and ...
As holidaymakers are preparing to travel around the country, several disease-related warnings have been issued for South Africa — measles, whooping cough and rabies.
There have been 227 reported cases of measles in the country, with the majority reported in Limpopo. This is the latest reported increase in diseases as South Africans prepare to go on holiday.
Measles
On 22 December, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed 227 cases of measles across five provinces. Limpopo had the most cases with 110, followed by Mpumalanga with 64 cases and North West with 27 cases. Gauteng and Free State were next with 10 cases and five cases respectively. According to the NICD, the number of cases is increasing daily.
NICD first reported an outbreak of cases in Limpopo in October. Measles is a highly contagious disease, reported Daily Maverick at the time of the outbreak. Common symptoms include a fever and a rash that looks like small, flat red spots all over the body. Other symptoms include cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis.
Whooping cough
Earlier in December, the NICD warned of an increase in pertussis (whooping cough) cases in South Africa. The NICD said the cases occurred among younger children, particularly infants younger than three months old. The increases have mostly been reported in the Western Cape.
Whooping cough is a vaccine-preventable disease with immunity following vaccination that lasts for approximately 5-6 years. The NICD said clinicians are advised to be on alert for cases, conduct diagnostic testing where appropriate, vaccinate healthcare workers and encourage pregnant women to vaccinate where possible.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Rabies
This week, Daily Maverick reported warnings issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development over rabies, a zoonotic disease which can be passed from animals to humans. The virus is transmitted through an infected animal’s saliva when it bites, scratches or licks a person. “In animals and humans, the disease affects the brain and once clinical signs become visible, there is no curative treatment, and it is 100% fatal,” said the department in a press release.
The department said that rabies is prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as well as on the border between the Free State and Lesotho. Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were particularly high-risk areas for rabies. “The public is advised not to approach, touch or pick up stray dogs and cats from these areas for whatever purpose” the department ...
South Africa needs to decide whether to stick with five specialist batters or to increase the depth as they go into the crucial second Test against Australia in Melbourne on 26 December.
For the Proteas, a lack of runs is not a new narrative because it’s an old problem for the current crop. But the story of a lack of runs after the first Test against Australia in Brisbane last week continues to rumble because the home side also battled with the willow.
South Africa were bowled out for 152 and 99, while Australia managed 218 and 35 for four, to win by six wickets. The Aussies don’t often lose 14 wickets for 250 runs on home turf.
The Gabba pitch was rated “below average” in a report by match referee, former West Indies captain Richie Richardson, but it will make no difference now.
The Proteas are on the back foot in the three-match series and simply have to win the second Test, starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Boxing Day.
Low scoring, while unusual for the Aussies in recent times, is unfortunately an increasingly familiar trait for the Proteas top order. No Proteas batter has made a century since the second Test against New Zealand in March.
The team has not made more than 200 in their last six Test innings and in terms of averages, captain Dean Elgar is the only one of the team’s top five that hovers near the 40-runs-per-innings mark.
It is unsurprising then, that the team is able to achieve big scores with so few world-class batters and so many inexperienced players. In fact, it was fast bowler Kagiso Rabada who stepped up to the batters’ defence in the wake of the first Test loss.
“The batting line-up we have is quite inexperienced. In fact, the team we have is relatively experienced if you look at other cricketing nations around the world. Dean Elgar is our most experienced player, followed by, I think, myself and Temba. I’ve played 50-odd Test matches and others haven’t played much,” Rabada said.
“It can get frustrating. I don’t mean to single out the batters; I mean that it’s frustrating as a team. You have to understand that sometimes this is what happens in a rebuilding phase.
“I’ve played in a team with a star-studded line-up, where you’re playing with greats of the game. I don’t think that happens frequently. There are a whole lot of players ...
At the same time, Eskom’s financial situation is deteriorating. The power utility has recorded losses for the second year in a row, it is losing the battle to recover electricity debt owed by municipalities, and is spending more money on its emergency generation fleet to avoid a total blackout. But encouragingly, its smothering debt levels are reducing.
Eskom has published its delayed annual financial results for 2022. They are as grim as its outlook for rolling blackouts over the Christmas period.
Eskom has not given a firm indication on whether households will get a reprieve from outages on Christmas Day or face more blackouts, which have been unrelenting and remained at higher stages (between Stage four and six) since early December.
Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer has acknowledged that while power usage would drop over the festive season as most businesses and intensive energy users usually shut down their operations, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the power utility would scrap rolling blackouts on Christmas Day.
“It is Eskom’s intention to not have load shedding over Christmas. However, we will monitor the system leading up to Sunday morning [on Christmas Day, 25 December], and then we will make the decision [on whether to implement load shedding,” said Oberholzer on 23 December, during a press briefing, where Eskom’s results for the year ending 31 March 2022 were presented.
Fragility of the power system
Oberholzer said Eskom does not foresee additional challenges on the electricity system in the next day and a half, adding that emergency reserves will be utilised to avoid rolling blackouts on Sunday. “We are going to utilise a lot of the emergency fleet, water and diesel volumes, to not have load shedding at least on 25 December,” said Oberholzer. He also cautioned that this outlook could easily change, considering the fragility of the power system.
Since 16 December, Eskom’s coal power stations have not been able to generate more than 16,500MW of power, which has led to higher stages of rolling blackouts becoming a permanent fixture. Eskom needs to keep breakdowns below 13,000MW to stave off the worst-case scenario of blackouts.
Further worsening the situation is that in recent days, Eskom has lost about 4,000MW at its various power stations; around 2,000MW arising from the breakdown of three units at Kusile Power Station, 918MW being taken out from Koeberg unit two, and 1,200MW from international imports.
Eskom financial results
Eskom’s financial situation is as fragile as its electricity ...
The year past in health and wellness.
This story was first published as a newsletter; click here if you would like to sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Maverick Life delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
At Maverick Life we understand that life gets tough. Sure, there are a ton of quick-fix wellness tips out there on the internet, but sometimes it’s difficult to know what’s just another fad and what’s worth your while.
That’s why we’ve made reporting on health and wellness one of our priorities this year. Whether an article helps you in a small way by cautioning against using earbuds for your ears, or in a large way by equipping you with healthy habits so that you truly can start ‘living your best life’, we’re confident that this curated collection of conversations will help you along your physical and mental health journey.
Be it fitness, diet, technology use, mental health, disease or habits and routines, our journalists always consult expert sources in their reporting so that you can be sure that what you’re reading will add value to your life.
Keep your head up, put the earbuds down, stay hydrated, and get reading!
Are you feeling burnt out? Here is how to know the signs Burnout is classified as an occupational phenomenon that results when stress related to one’s work is not managed correctly. Maverick Life spoke to an expert in employee wellness who gave some tips to prevent it from happening to you. By Sarah Hoek
Warning: Step away from the cotton buds to clean your ear canals Although cotton buds are marketed as make-up application and removal aids, many consumers use them to clean their ears, despite numerous warnings from medical professionals. Here is why you should keep them out of your ears. By Malibongwe Tyilo
Why you should not ignore pain – ever Professor Sean Chetty explains that the sooner chronic pain is identified and treated, the better the chances of success. But what is chronic pain exactly? By Iza Trengrove
Regaining fitness after Covid-19 infection can be hard. Here are 5 things to keep in mind before you start exercising again Are you finding it difficult to get moving after having Covid-19? You are not alone. Even if you have mild symptoms, you may still experience difficulty in regaining your fitness. By Clarice Tang
Social media impact on the mental health of young people and practical strategies to ...
This is the future of corporate.
This story was first published as a newsletter; click here if you would like to sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Maverick Life delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
In 2020 and 2021, many of us had the corporate rug pulled out from under our feet as we were forced to adapt to working from home.
With declining Covid cases in 2022 most offices reopened their doors, bringing back some semblance of normality. But the pandemic did prompt changes to our working lives, some of which seem to have stuck.
We saw the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) communication platforms like Otter.ai in the nascence of the pandemic, which continue to evolve and embed themselves in our day-to-day working practices.
Robots and machinery were once thought to only pose a threat to manual labour, but AI’s evolving capabilities have caused many a white-collar worker to clutch onto their desk chairs and tremble in their brogues.
In fact, AI seems to be making its way into a realm once thought sacrosanct to humans: the ideation and creation of visual artwork and videography. What’s more, the robots seem to be such stellar virtuosos that their creations are winning awards.
But AI isn’t the only feature of the pandemic that’s endured; the closing of offices and shift to flexible forms of remote work created a cohort of “digital nomads”, the gypsies of the corporate world who work while trotting the globe.
The pandemic also brought to the fore employees’ mental health concerns, drawing our attention to important topics like workplace toxicity and how to foster a healthy working environment.
We’ve compiled a list of thought-provoking reads that will encourage you to reflect on the world of work – as it is today and as it might be tomorrow.
Take it easy, enjoy the reads and stop responding to work emails if you’re on holiday!
How to reduce toxicity in the workplace and improve workers’ mental health The US Surgeon General recently unveiled a new framework with five essential recommendations to help bosses identify toxicity at work, as well as improve the mental health and well-being of workers. By Malibongwe Tyilo
Have no fear, AI is here – white-collar workers can dispel employment angst, study suggests A study takes a closer look at the impact of artificial intelligence on employment rates across 23 developed countries. The results are not what you might think. By Malibongwe ...
What to read this January.
This story was first published as a newsletter; click here if you would like to sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Maverick Life delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
It probably comes as no surprise that our team of journalists at Daily Maverick does a lot of reading, so we’d like to think that we know a good book from a bad one.
In an effort to share our wordy wisdom with you, we’ve spotlighted excerpts and reviews of an array of books covering South African realities that we believe deserve your attention.
From shedding light on Eskom’s shady business to encouraging affirmative action in addressing both the climate crisis and the poaching crisis, Daily Maverick has your holiday reading list covered.
We’ve also popped in a couple of lighter-hearted options for those sunny summer days by the pool: excerpts from a coming-of-age story that’ll have you in stitches, an interview with the author of a Cape Town women’s story reminiscent of Sex and the City and a vibrant review of an equally vibrant photographic guide to South Africa’s birdlife.
To sate the intellectual cravings of our practically minded readers we’ve included book excerpts that’ll equip you with tools and tips to face the real world: like how leaders can capitalise on Gen Z’s disruptive demands for change, and South Africa’s top CFO-backed strategies for success.
We hope you enjoy our selection of the year’s most thought-provoking South African reads this holiday season. Let us know if you follow any of our recommendations – we’d love to hear from you.
Greta Thunberg’s ‘The Climate Book’ – the essential handbook to change the world. In The Climate Book, environmental activist Greta Thunberg gathers wisdom from more than 100 experts – geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and indigenous leaders – to outline the knowledge we need to combat climate disaster.
‘Sabotage’ by Kyle Cowan: Eskom’s corruption and neglect uncovered In May 2022, evidence of sabotage emerged at three Eskom power stations – cables and an air pipe were cut at Tutuka, crucial copper parts were removed from three units in the heart of Hendrina, and an attempt was made to take a unit offline at Matla. Sabotage at Eskom is real, the utility proclaimed. At that time, Cowan’s book on Eskom, aptly titled Sabotage, was on the printing press.
Book review: Apartheid’s pernicious legacy lives on in ...
The newly released epic, ethereal comedy-drama by Alejandro G Iñárritu (Birdman) made the Oscar shortlist representing Mexico in the category of best international feature film.
The mind whose eye we see through in Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is an accomplished Mexican independent journalist and documentary filmmaker, celebrated in the US. In the film he’s called Silverio Gama, and is played by Daniel Giménez Cacho, but his resemblance to the director, academy award-winner Alejandro G Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant) is not cryptic.
The presented premise of the film is that Silverio is receiving a prestigious award (a fictional substitute for the Oscars) that compels him to ruminate on moments in his life and return to his home in Mexico. This premise is misdirection – one’s early attempts to find order in the fleeting, casually paradoxical hallucinations of his life make no sense through this literal lens.
The lucid dreams of Bardo are better seen from a wider view, like that of the 65mm lens in which the film is shot, blurring the edges of each on-screen moment into a sector of a circular reality. A viewer naturally seeks to understand stories by sorting its parts into real and non-real along a linear timeline, but in Bardo those qualities are muddied.
The film begins in the desert with an archetypal dream – flying; but not the one where you beat feathered wings, the one where you have to jump, launch yourself into the air and soar weightlessly. Our apparition takes three long leaps, each slower and higher than the last. if the reverie is two leaps too many for you, you’re likely to find Bardo slow and frustratingly vague. But more likely, the sound of the shadow’s amazed gasping breath and the swooping vistas of the arid vastness will lull you into a walkabout.
“Bardo” is another name for antarābhava, a liminal state of non-physical existence between two lives, which some Tibetan Buddhists believe souls pass through before being reincarnated. This transitional space is the setting of Silverio’s tale, but also an allegory for his relationship to Mexico and the US.
He covers stories of Mexican immigrants, which he is painfully aware relate to his own moving to America story. He has fraught, semi-comedic discussions with his teenage children about the contradictions of modern life as an immigrant. His wife points out how hypocritical it is that whenever someone praises Mexico, he rants about ...
Former Eskom strongman Matshela Koko has this week approached the Gauteng high court to challenge certain findings made against him in the State Capture report. The former Eskom acting CEO accused the State Capture Commission of Inquiry of being biased in its findings against him.
Former Eskom acting CEO Matshela Koko, on 20 December, filed an application in the Gauteng high court to review and set aside certain “adverse findings” made against him contained in the Zondo report. He accused the Commission of having “failed to consider relevant evidence” brought by some witnesses who testified against him at the State Capture Inquiry.
In his lengthy 189-page affidavit, Koko accused the Commission of failing to examine witnesses who were, he claims, “hiding the truth”. He added that he had appeared before the Commission to give evidence nine times and handed in seven affidavits. However, Koko claims the Commission ignored the evidence he provided when it made its findings.
Eskom: Zuma, Molefe, Koko and Singh branded key players in State Capture
“The commission was not following the evidence,” he said, adding that it was instead “on a hunt for Koko.”
Koko said that the Zondo Commission’s adverse findings, remarks and conclusions are not “rationally connected to the evidence before the Commission” and should be reviewed and set aside.
“The Commission’s findings, remarks and conclusions must be rationally related to the purpose for which the power was given,” he said.
“Otherwise, they are, in effect, arbitrary, inconsistent and unlawful.”
In his affidavit, Koko insists that he only ever acted based on the information that was available to him, and in what he believed were the best interests of Eskom.
“The advent of State Capture at Eskom, under my watch, if the Commission’s conclusions are anything to go by, have resulted in a marked improvement in Eskom’s financial and operational performance. That is fantastical,” said Koko.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“It is tragic and irrational that I, the Eskom executive who has achieved the best operational improvement at Eskom since 2001 and has not subjected the country to any load shedding during my tenure, am presented by the Commission as the face of State Capture at Eskom when the evidence before the Commission shows that I at all times acted based on the information and advice that was available to me by what I at the time believed was the best interests of Eskom,” he continued.
The collapse of ...
South Africa falls in the ‘extremely high risk’ category on the national UV index, so if it’s not already part of your daily routine, remember to protect your skin against irreversible sun damage.
Damage from adverse exposure to UV rays, such as pigmentation, skin cancers and wrinkles, can never be fully repaired, according to Dr Suretha Kannenberg, a consultant in the division of dermatology at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of medicine and health sciences.
“The vast majority of skin damage occurs during childhood and teenage years, then accumulates with the years,” she adds. Dr Bianca Tod, a dermatologist and senior lecturer in the division, agrees that “many of these effects stem from sun exposure in our youth” and that early “sun protection is like saving for your retirement”.
UV rays explained
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is part of the solar radiation (sunlight) spectrum, which falls within the electromagnetic spectrum, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
UV rays are further divided into three subgroups: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C, with UV-A being the most dangerous. On the UV index and associated UV risk level scale, from 0-2 (low risk) to 11+(extremely high risk), the vast majority of South Africa is categorised as being at an extreme risk for UV exposure.
“South Africa is a country with high UV levels that are frequently high enough to cause damage to our skin and eyes,” says Tod. “The Northern Cape tends to have the highest UV index levels, although very high levels are observed in all provinces, depending on prevailing conditions.”
These conditions extend to a location’s proximity towards the equator (the closer to the equator, the higher the UV levels), the season (higher levels in summer), weather, time of day, altitude and changes in the ozone layer, Tod adds.
Tanning a sign of skin damage
“Excessive UV light exposure is associated with damage to the skin. This damage can be divided into acute (early) and chronic (delayed) effects,” says Tod. Acute effects include sunburn and heat stroke, while chronic effects include an increased risk of skin cancer, skin ageing and uneven pigmentation.
“Sunburn is an indication of damage to the DNA of skin cells. This triggers inflammation: redness, pain and generally feeling unwell,” says Kannenberg.
Even though people with darker skin are less likely to develop sunburn (visible redness or pinkness of the skin) than those with lighter skin, they might note dryness, irritation or darkening of the skin, explains Tod.
“Some individuals will ...
Middle-class homeowners are selling up in the big cities and thronging to small towns and the Western Cape.
It’s boom time in the Western Cape as prospective homeowners stream in from other provinces
By Georgina Crouth
Middle-class homeowners are selling up in Gauteng and thronging to the coast, triggering a building boom in the Western Cape.
Is semigration a solution or a problem for South Africa?
By Tim Cohen
The precise extent of semigration to the Western Cape from the reef is hard to tally, but we might know soon because the 2022 Census should be out fairly soon. The 2011 Census showed a huge, disproportionate influx of black South Africans into the Western Cape, but also into Gauteng, compared with the 2001 Census.
Semigration: Is it time to leave the city?
By Sarah Hoek
They say home is where the heart is, and for many South Africans the heart is no longer beating the traffic, pollution and the hustle and bustle of overcrowded cities.
Townsizing to the Karoo
By Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit
Why moving permanently to South Africa’s dry heartland could just be the adventure you’ve been dreaming of.
All too often, victims of rape face an uphill battle when attempting to get justice through the court system. A constitutional challenge recently lodged against the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Act by the nonprofit claims that the current definitions of rape and consent in South African legislation are contributing to the problem.
Trigger warning: This article makes mention of rape and sexual offences.
A South African nonprofit has launched a constitutional challenge against the definitions of rape and consent in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Act, with the intention of ensuring better access to justice for victims and survivors of rape.
The Embrace Project, an organisation that aims to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa, is the first applicant in the case, launched out of the Pretoria high court on 25 November. The notice of motion names the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, the Minister In The Presidency For Women, Youth And Persons With Disabilities, and the President as respondents.
“For us, there’s two main reasons [for the constitutional challenge]. One, the scourge of GBV is completely out of control, and we’re hoping that this can assist with enabling access to justice for victims and survivors, and in turn, we are also hoping that this will prompt further discussions around what consent means,” said Tina Power, the attorney of record representing the applicants in the case.
A notice of intention to oppose the constitutional challenge was filed on behalf of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services on 1 December.
The Sexual Offences Act currently defines rape as a situation in which a person “unlawfully and intentionally commits an act of sexual penetration with a complainant (‘B’), without the consent of B”.
The problem with this definition, according to the Embrace Project, is that it means it is not enough to prove in court that a person accused of rape committed an act of sexual penetration without the victim’s consent. It is also necessary to prove that the accused, in their own subjective state of mind, intended to rape the complainant.
Power pointed out that in South Africa, where a culture of disrespecting women’s bodies and sexual autonomy is prevalent, this can allow an accused to claim they thought they had consent because, for example, the victim didn’t fight back; was silent; engaged in other sexual activities with the accused before the rape; or was in a relationship with the ...
Oil giant is appealing cancellation of permit to explore for oil in the ecologically rich waters.
On the southern coast of Africa, local community groups and environmental activists have been celebrating a significant legal victory over a major oil player. In September a South African court prohibited Shell’s controversial plan to conduct seismic exploration for oil and gas deposits off the Wild Coast in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. But, the battle is far from over, Shell is appealing the ruling, and it has the resources and government support to take the case through the country’s court system to get the decision it’s after.
For the moment though, the advantage lies with the anti-drilling activists.
“We stand for human environmental rights and this [Shell’s planned exploration] was illegal as we, the local communities, were not consulted,” said Sinegugu Zukulu, who is a programme manager at the environmental nonprofit Sustaining Wild Coast (SWC), one of the many local groups that filed two lawsuits contesting the permit.
The suits argued that Shell hadn’t adequately consulted with impacted communities, nor had it conducted a required environmental impact assessment of underwater seismic testing in the region.
The Wild Coast is a famous migratory path for whales moving north from Antarctica during winter in search of warmer waters and then returning to the Antarctic Ocean at the start of summer. Scientists are concerned the noise from the surveys will disrupt these patterns, while causing stress and interfering with animals communicating with each other affecting their ability to find food, reproduce, and even calves’ ability to suckle at their mothers. Dolphins and sharks are just two other marine species that could be negatively affected by seismic surveys through behavioural changes to get away from the noise. Although no baseline research exists on the effects of these surveys, the suits against Shell’s exploration included statements from six marine biologists affirming the latest consensus on the damage such surveys can do.
“Coastal communities and the environment are both being violated. It’s nothing new, Europeans going and exploiting the ‘Third World’. it’s about enriching shareholders of Shell, not African economies,” Zukulu said.
In its ruling, the Makhanda high court cancelled the permit on grounds of improper community consultation by Shell, saying “consultations consist not in the ticking of a checklist, but engaging. in a two-way process aimed at achieving consensus”. It added that “a chief does not denote a community” and cultural practices and communities’ ancestral ...
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has failed to intervene and rectify the matter regarding payment of tuition, accommodation, visa extensions and stipends for Mpumalanga students in Russia. As a result, they face a bleak future and the end of their dreams of acquiring medical degrees.
For 218 Mpumalanga students who are studying in Russia, it will be an anxious Christmas because the Mpumalanga department of higher education has failed to pay their tuition, accommodation and visa extension fees.
Unless they can raise the money themselves they will be forced to return home without completing their degrees.
Managing these payments was previously the job of RACUS-SA, an Mpumalanga-based company which recruits students for study in Russia, but its contract ended in March 2022.
The department claims it advertised for a new tender in the last quarter of 2021 but received zero applications. The problem was left unresolved for months after the RACUS contract ended, before the students turned to the media to create awareness and drive pressure to resolve the matter.
According to a letter from department head LH Moyane, this resulted in the department sending two officials to Russia in November “to source invoices, academic results and to further monitor and pay homage to our bursary holders in Russia”, and to arrange payment in local currency through the South African Embassy due to forex issues, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
This delegation failed to get academic results but was so concerned by living conditions that the department felt “compelled to relocate them to private accommodation. on a sharing bases (sic)”.
With only 47 students’ tuition paid, most of them still have not had their tuition, accommodation or monthly stipends for basic food and transport paid, with many stipend payments backlogged to October. These students, from underprivileged backgrounds, have to share food where possible, often surviving on instant noodles, while some parents have had to take out loans to help.
They are now being forced to return home empty-handed after years of studying. Some are just months away from graduating.
Since RACUS no longer has a valid contract, the department asked the various Russian universities to submit new invoices to it directly, as part of due procedures and protocols, before payment can be made. All but three are unwilling to do so because they originally agreed to work with RACUS as the agent.
The result is a stalemate.
Instead of awarding an emergency, short-term contract to RACUS, the department has not ...
'Going green' may be easier than you think and includes more than recycling and to stop eating meat. Read the following articles to open your mind to the possibilities of a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Four New Year’s resolutions for a healthier environment
By Viniece Jennings
When many people think of New Year’s resolutions, they brainstorm ways to improve themselves for the year ahead. What if we expanded those aspirations to include resolutions that benefit our communities, society and the planet, too?
Watch your steps – consider your carbon footprint and travel in eco-friendly style
By Jamie Venter
South Africans are becoming more conscious of the environmental impacts of their holiday trips. Likewise, the tourism industry is looking at ways to cater for travellers who care about the planet.
Coffin? Casket? Cremation? How to make your death more environmentally friendly
By Paola Magni and Edda Guareschi
Burial land is running low in certain parts of the world. It’s about time we started to consider the environmental cost of our final resting place.
Sustainable solutions for a new generation of self-starters
By Julia Evans
Young entrepreneurs are coming up with sustainable and innovative businesses that are creating job opportunities and boosting the circular economy in South Africa. And they have no intention of leaving their communities behind.
Why biodegradable packaging might not be. biodegradable
By Malibongwe Tyilo
There’s a perception that product packaging labelled as ‘biodegradable’ will simply degrade in a matter of months, reducing litter and making for good compost. That is not always the case. In fact, it can be worse for the environment.
Understanding the climate crisis – YouTube channels, podcasts and free online resources
By Tevya Turok Shapiro
If you’re strapped for time or energy to engage with detailed written articles, try these instead and get quickly clued up on the science around our climate crisis.
We’re recycling potato skins to make prebiotics: here’s why that’s good for your gut – and the planet
By Eleanor Binner and Afroditi Chatzifragkou
It’s an unbelievable tragedy that a third of the world’s food is wasted. To put that in perspective, it would take an area the size of China to grow that much food – and if food waste were a country it would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter.
Two women were shot and killed during a robbery along the N1 road, on a cross-border bus headed to Zimbabwe in the early hours of Thursday. One other woman was injured. No arrests have been made but the hunt for the suspects continues.
The three attackers reportedly pretended to be passengers and boarded the Harare-bound bus at Bosman in Pretoria, said Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.
The bus, which belongs to the Copperbelt Bus Company, left Pretoria just after 1am on Thursday, and as it passed the Mantsole weighbridge on the N1, one of the gunmen shot through the windscreen, forcing the driver to pull over, Mojapelo said.
“The other suspects shot three women, instantly killing two and critically injuring the other. All other passengers were then ordered to disembark and lie on the ground. They were thereafter robbed of their belongings, including cash, cellphones and passports. The suspects were thereafter allegedly picked up by another motor vehicle that was following the bus.”
The bus had been carrying more than 80 passengers.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
One of the passengers told SABC News the gunshots had come from a car that had been tailing the bus.
The passenger, who identified himself as Daniel, said: “It was 3am, we had just passed the Mantsole weighbridge. All of a sudden we had gunshots coming from the car which had been following the bus. Two other gunmen who had posed as passengers then walked up to the bus driver, demanding he stops the bus. After the bus stopped the armed driver from the car which had been tailing the bus came into the bus. And together with the other two men who were already on the bus, demanded everyone’s phones, money and valuables.”
The women who were killed “were randomly shot at” but had cooperated with the gunmen.
A search for the suspects was launched on Thursday but no arrests have been made yet.
The Limpopo police warned motorists to be extra-vigilant in the province over the festive season, especially given an alarming increase in opportunistic crimes.
Mojapelo said incidents of crime have been reported along the N1 between Pretoria and Polokwane, as well as Polokwane North to Beitbridge. However, he says police officers have been deployed in the routes and malls to make sure people shop and move around in a crime-free environment.
The bus company had not responded to a request for comment by the ...
It’s hard to believe that around this time last year South Africa was facing heavy travel restrictions after the discovery of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
This story was first published as a newsletter; click here if you would like to sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Maverick Life delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
The pandemic has left many of us with itchy feet, eager to grab our passports and head abroad. But two years of travel restrictions have also given rise to an appreciation for all the incredible destinations that Africa has right on our doorstep: from the colourful Namaqualand flowers that litter the West Coast National Park, to the vineyards and luxury wineries that dot the Cape Winelands and big-game viewing in neighbouring African countries.
This year, we at Maverick Life tried to do our bit to help you scratch your itchy feet (yuck) by giving you the practical tips to start putting together a travel itinerary. These included our reader-vetted suggestions for the top holiday picks in the country and a brief and comprehensive breakdown of the best airlines to help you get there. We also explored trends in travel such as working and living on the road as a digital nomad.
If you’ve missed any of the travel tips, tricks and guides that we’ve published, you’re in luck: we’ve pulled out some of our best work and put together a list of evergreen stories that’ll aid you in your future travel endeavours.
Bon voyage and enjoy these reads.
Travel-wise
Backyard wonders – our readers’ top holiday picks at home in South Africa DM168 readers share their favourite South African holiday destinations. By Karabo Mafolo and Sahra Heuwel
Townsizing to the Karoo Why moving permanently to South Africa’s dry heartland could be just the adventure you’ve been dreaming of. By Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit
Road trip to Botswana: Cowbells, expanse and splendour The build-up to our first trip to Botswana in December 2021 was a draining mix of anticipation and anxiety: Covid-19 and the fluctuating travel ramifications that are but side-shows of the pandemic; there were three of us – my wife Nicolene, Adele du Toit (friend and wife of the late Duif du Toit) and I. The trip was in memory of Duif, as he and Adele travelled through Botswana in 2009. By John Hogg
Van Life – the beauty of living and travelling South Africa in a ...
Associate Editor of Maverick Life Malibongwe Tyilo takes no prisoners when it comes to South African politics. Here is a selection of his best satirical pieces written in 2022.
Wakanda kak is this? Episode 2 of The South Africa Show: Xmas Special
I have an idea that might work for the show’s art department. It may be time to relook tired black, green and gold, and introduce seasonally appropriate tones that better reflect the moment.
The disinformation campaign against Zweli Mkhize
The way disinformation has been allowed to spread is disheartening, and poor Dr Mkhize is just the latest victim of the war on truth.
Julius S Malema, bringer of joy, the true fighter against corruption
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. South Africa is #blessed to have such a leader in our midst. With his recent realisation that there might be corruption in the ranks of the EFF, the new and improved Julius Malema will save us from heartless grifters.
Gwede Mantashe is right, Eskom 2.0 is our only option for the future
If it is to work, Eskom 2.0 must harness the energy of our great politicians, who are by far some of the most electric beings on the planet. This is the only way forward for our country.
Gwede Mantashe is the disciplinarian South Africa needs
Ill-discipline must be uprooted from our society and its media. Minister Mantashe has repeatedly demonstrated that he is our best chance at helping to create a disciplined South Africa.
Malusi Gigaba is the shepherd journalism needs
These are challenging times for journalists. We need to pimp up our game and learn to punch far above our weight, as it were. Who better to guide us than the man who has led some to lucrative occupations far beyond their capabilities?
Lindiwe Sisulu is the spiritual leader South Africa needs
All hail South Africa’s RET Kween!!
The SA Show’s Xmas Special: Somebody please check on Daddy’s little Dudu and her pet RETs
The South Africa Show’s portrayal of a daughter’s love for her father, her Machiavellian machinations to save him from his fate, and her eventual descent into madness, make for one of the most tragically captivating performances ever seen on screen. Brava!!!!
The South Africa Show: ANC Conference Xmas Special, a masterclass in cinematography with director Pule Mabe
Ahead of the screening of the second episode of The South Africa Show: ANC Conference Xmas special, the film’s co-director and occasional Barbara Streisand, Pule Mabe, sat down with members of the ...
It took significant willpower to keep up with the madness that was the news in 2022. How well did you manage? Test your knowledge and tell us how you did.
Tell us how you did in the comments section below.
While the state-owned freight, rail and logistics company managed to generate a profit of R159-million, its rail operations continue to be unreliable for the mining sector, causing harm to the economy. While much of the attention is on Eskom’s debt problems, Transnet has its own.
The good news is that state-owned transport group Transnet managed to eke out a profit even though its operations were severely disrupted by the April floods in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
As investors and lenders took their working caps for the year and left for their various holiday destinations, Transnet released its financial results on Thursday, 22 December 2022, which showed that the company recorded a profit of R159-million during the six months to the end of September 2022. The floods occurred during this period, damaging Transnet’s railway lines, especially the Container Corridor, which is a key economic node to move freight between Gauteng and Durban.
Financial losses have become a permanent fixture in the state-owned entity (SOE) universe. And when companies in this universe generate a profit, it becomes an event.
Transnet was able to post a profit because it managed to free itself from debt repayments that were soon due to its lenders by deferring them to a later stage. It also deferred tax payments worth R271-million. These factors allowed Transnet the space to enjoy the revenue it generated from its freight, rail and logistics operations without shelling out large amounts to service debt obligations and pay the taxman.
Now for the bad news. A further look at Transnet’s latest results shows how the company is battling to reform its operations, especially its rail network.
Transnet’s operations are a crucial cog in South Africa’s economy. They are responsible for moving most of the iron ore and coal that is produced in the country and then taken around the world. Transnet also has a major role in carrying freight and fuel around the country and helping importers land their goods at ports. When Transnet isn’t operating properly, many businesses and South Africa’s exports come to a standstill.
But exporters are facing major problems in railing their goods to market and this can be seen at Transnet Freight Rail, the largest division at Transnet which generates most (45%) of the R36.1-billion in revenue at the SOE.
Transnet Freight Rail’s revenue, which is generated from the contracts it mainly has with the mining sector, fell by 5.5% to R18.7-billion during the ...
Nature buzzwords like “nature-based solutions” and “nature positive” have been a contentious issue at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, among scientists who have warned that some nature-based solutions to climate issues come at the cost of biodiversity.
‘Nature-based solutions are really perhaps the one thing that Africa has going in its favour, if we have the right safeguards in place,” said David Obura, a Kenyan biodiversity scientist whose current research is focused on global science-policy processes for biodiversity, coral reefs, climate and sustainability.
Standing next to the “nature positive” pavilion at the UN Biodiversity Conference, one day before the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, Obura told Daily Maverick that nature-based solutions are the “solution for Africa” because the large majority of people on the continent still live off the land or off the waters, and without strong social services, maintaining healthy ecosystems is the “best safety net most people have”.
However, nature buzzwords like “nature-based solutions” and “nature positive” have been a contentious issue at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, among scientists who have warned that some nature-based solutions to climate issues come at the cost of biodiversity. African delegates and indigenous communities are sceptical that they will be used as tools for businesses to commodify natural resources while greenwashing.
After two gruelling weeks of negotiations, and hundreds of brackets worked through (a term not agreed upon is bracketed) the term “nature-based solutions” appeared in two of the final 23 targets that need to be met by 2030 in the global effort to halt biodiversity loss.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Historic moment for nature and humanity as Kunming-Montreal framework adopted at UN biodiversity conference”
The targets call for the use of nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches to minimise the impact of climate change on biodiversity and to restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contribution to people.
The “and/or of ecosystem-based approaches” was added to the final text during negotiations this month, because to many at the conference there is a significant difference between those two terms, and what they mean for future conservation and restoration efforts.
“Ecosystem-based approaches” is a term that was adopted by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2000, and basically means using ecosystems and biodiversity to help people adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Shonisani Munzhedzi, CEO of the South African National Biodiversity Institute, explained ...
With a new year comes new opportunities to make smart financial choices. Here are eight stories to help you along in every stage of your life.
Before you buy a financial services product, ask the following questions
The recent crypto crash coincided with crypto being declared a financial product in South Africa. This move confirms the authorities are acknowledging the role and importance of crypto in our economy. However, with progress also comes risk. In light of this, the South African Association of Treasury Advisors has advice for those considering a financial services purchase.
The implications of what used to be called ‘financial emigration’
Financial emigration has been replaced by the concept of being ‘ordinarily resident’ in a country. This is a fairly loose term, but it boils down to which country is the place that you actually call home now.
The costs of implementing your will and bequeathing your estate
It is always a good idea to get an executor and financial planner to look at your will and calculate the costs of implementing it.
The pros and cons of investing funds offshore
With the recent wave of load shedding, it’s normal to be concerned about the risk of having all your investments in South Africa. How easy is it to invest assets offshore and how should you go about it?
How to save on a shoestring budget during tough economic times
‘The pandemic taught us that those rainy days are possible, and that they are hard and taxing on our monthly budgets. South Africans know this and are putting aside whatever funds they can to cushion unexpected blows.’
All you need to know about bequests, marriage in community of property, capital gains tax and more
By Kenny Meiring
Will stocks and shares owned by one of the partners in a marriage in community of property be liable for capital gains tax (CGT) only when the second spouse dies?
How to adjust your financial planning before your baby is born
Making good financial decisions when your baby is born will help your family’s financial wellness. Most financial planners should be able to help you put the right structures in place.
How to keep your family financially stable during delays in winding up estates
When doing financial and estate planning, one of the factors to take into account is access to funds. Your spouse and family need to have access to funds while your estate is being wound up.
The Sudanese businessman who allegedly bought 20 buffalo for $580,000 in cash from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm has told eNCA’s Annika Larsen that ‘it was a normal business transaction’.
Hazim Mustafa is a Sudanese millionaire, living in Dubai, who was identified by News24 in September as possibly being “Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim” who allegedly paid $580,000 for 20 buffalo owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Daily Maverick’s Rebecca Davis reported.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Sudanese businessman tells Sky News he is Ramaphosa’s buffalo buyer – but how does his story stack up?”
Earlier this month, Mustafa told Sky News that he paid $580,000 in cash for 20 buffalo from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in December 2019 — but had no idea that the animals, or the farm itself, were owned by the President.
eNCA’s Annika Larsen visited Mustafa and his South African wife, Bianca O’Donoghue, at their home in Dubai, to get Mustafa’s version of events, leading up to his purchase of the buffalo, which he still hasn’t received.
‘Normal business transaction’
Speaking to Larsen about the Phala Phala purchase — and dressed in head-to-toe Gucci — Mustafa said he was surprised to be dragged into the media spotlight of an international scandal, for what he considered to be “a normal business transaction”.
“It’s nothing to do with His Excellency the President — I just went there and I bought cattle and buffaloes from the farm,” said Mustafa.
Mustafa is a Sudanese businessman who has lived in Dubai since 2011. He claims to have made his fortune from agricultural imports and exports.
“I started my business from scratch. My main business line is agricultural imports and exports, to supply fertilisers, and export [crops].”
Mustafa said he hadn’t done much business in South Africa before his infamous buffalo purchase — “only one transaction about six years ago of flower seeds”.
$600,000 in cash
However, on 23 December 2019, Mustafa arrived at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg with $600,000 in cash, which he claims he declared. According to him, he was in South Africa for his wife’s birthday.
“I know the regulations all over the world: If you declare it, you have no problem — as long as you are not smuggling,” said Mustafa, saying his plan was to buy a house for his wife in Cape Town.
Mustafa said he had also planned to buy game in South Africa and, after receiving an urgent call that he had to return to Dubai ...
In the months, weeks and days leading up to the ANC’s 55th National Conference, the campaigns and contests played themselves out. On social media where the majority of participants are young people, the debate was whether Cyril was ‘Uyabuya’ (coming back) or ‘Akabuyi’ (not coming back).
As hundreds of journalists were ushered into the plenary session of the ANC’s 55th national conference — where election results were to be announced — the first telling sign that Cyril Ramaphosa had won was when a young male delegate was overheard on the phone telling the person on other side that “Hey Maan, LeTaima Ibuyile”, a slang term meaning, in short, “The Old Man has retained his position”.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Relief for Ramaphosa but the wolves remain resolutely on NEC doorstep”
The Radical Economic Transformation (RET) Forces, joined by the ANC Young Lions in several provinces, were emphatic in their messaging that he was not coming back and would be replaced by his rival Zweli Mkhize, while Ramaphosa’s supporters maintained Uyabuya (he is coming back).
These terms had begun in KZN, but later caught fire around the country. When former KZN ANC chairperson Sihle Zikalala (who had alienated himself from the RET faction by seemingly supporting Ramaphosa over Zuma) was attending a mass prayer meeting at Nkandla in support of former president Jacob Zuma earlier this year, a video clip was spread on the social networks which showed some of the RET supporters jeering him and telling him to his face, “Akabuyi lo”; he should forget about retaining his position as the leader of the ANC in KZN. When the provincial elective conference was held, Zikalala lost to 44-year-old Sboniso Duma, when his Taliban (Young Turks) faction swept the floor.
The Young Lions gambled on Zweli Mkhize to unseat Ramaphosa and lost. They were unhappy that the party has not been able to revive the ANC Youth League which has largely been led by task teams or weak leadership since the departure of Julius Malema, who was kicked out of the party and later formed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), taking with him the militant activists who were once creative in bringing vibrancy and radically changing ANC policies.
Taliban clean sweep
In KZN, the wing of former Youth League leaders who called themselves the Taliban made a clean sweep, taking over the entire KZN ANC top five as well as many provincial executive committee positions. In Gauteng, ...
We reflect on the year and dive into what 2023 holds for us in politics, pandemics, business, investment, personal finance, property, social media, technology, health and wellness, sport, arts and culture, and more.
Dear DM168 readers,
Just when we thought we were over the worst of Covid-19, 2022 arrived with a left hook and an uppercut, almost knocking us out for the count.
What a year this has been. On its second day, Tweede Nuwe Jaar, Parliament was set on fire by an arsonist, destroying the new National Assembly building, offices and the gymnasium in the old National Assembly. That inferno was a poignant statement replete with foreboding of things to come that would torch the edifice of our democracy.
Phew, but here we are, alive and kicking, falling over our feet in the depths of Stage 6 darkness. Mightily relieved that the ANC’s end-of-year sabre-rattling sideshow is over, so that maybe, just maybe, we can have a restful break, recharge our batteries and gear up for what seems to be another pretty challenging New Year.
It’s a bit of out with the old and in with the new in this year’s special bumper edition of DM168. We have our fabulous satirist Malibongwe Tyilo, thought leaders Mark Heywood, Judith February, Tim Cohen and Natale Labia looking at the past and gazing into the crystal ball of the future. We also have a stunning free Zapiro 2023 calendar that will have you giggling through every month of the New Year.
We provide you with reflections on the year and take deep dives into what 2023 holds for us in politics, pandemics, business, investment, personal finance, property, social media, technology, health and wellness, sport, arts and culture, and more.
Look out for acerbic DM associate editor Marianne Thamm’s wild word ride through the highs and lows of 2022, ending with our Phala Phala President winning the battle to stay in charge of the ANC.
The other Marianne in our writing squad, associate editor Marianne Merten, gives you an in-depth analysis on what the President’s win means for the party he has been entrusted to lead into the 2024 elections, and what his win means for us South Africans.
We have some pretty inspiring stories about a bunch of incredible ordinary South African citizens who are doing some amazing work to keep our country going while the politicians fiddle – they are out there, cleaning our environment, educating children, finding cures and ...
There are critical shortcomings in the police’s surveillance capabilities. Daily Maverick spoke to a number of intelligence insiders about the dire condition of spy equipment, and the outlook is bleak. Be it intercepting communications, pinpointing hate speech originators on social media or intercepting calls and phone location data in the field — police are working with the bare bones. Observers say the problem is political.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Tracked, Part One: With its hamstrung surveillance capabilities, SAPS is no match for criminals”
South Africa has earned a spot as a top destination for organised criminals. In the world of trafficking guns, drugs, minerals, poached wildlife and human beings, SA ranked 19th out of 193 United Nations member states. That’s according to a recently published two-year study from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Part of the reason for criminals’ free rein, intelligence insiders who spoke to Daily Maverick and were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, is that the South African Police Service (SAPS) and its Crime Intelligence Division (CI) are largely deprived of a crucial tool when tackling complex, well-organised syndicates: electronic communications surveillance. WhatsApp calls and texts, emails, Skype, and even just tracking suspects’ movements in the field are out of law enforcement’s reach.
What’s up, WhatsApp?
A long-standing headache for SAPS and CI is their inability to decrypt and read data messaging, particularly end-to-end encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram.
Encryption, simply put, is a way to protect the content of a message. Roughly speaking, software is applied to scramble the message before it is transmitted, and again decipher it after it arrives at the receiver’s smartphone or computer. It’s crucial to privacy and cybersecurity, but it hamstrings an ill-equipped SAPS.
In a 2021 report to Parliament, the judge appointed to watch over South Africa’s interception laws warned of the desperate spy technology shortcomings SAPS faces. The judge (also known as the Rica judge) is responsible for granting SA’s intelligence services warrants to allow interception of mobile phone communications and internet traffic. She does this in terms of Rica — the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act.
Several issues were brought to the Rica judge’s attention by SAPS Crime Intelligence, most related to what’s known as the Office of Interception Centres (OIC) — the national interception hub that falls under the auspices of the State Security Agency (SSA), SA’s main spy organisation. There are various ...
The revisions appear to have lowered several of the predicted risk profiles for harbour workers should fires or explosions break out accidentally around the proposed gas-to-power ships and pipelines in Richards Bay, Ngqura or Saldanha Bay.
Karpowership consultants have declined an opportunity to fully explain belated revisions to three specialist studies dealing with the deadly hazards of mooring several power ships in three SA ports for the next 20 years.
The revisions appear to have lowered several of the predicted risk profiles for harbour workers should fires or explosions break out accidentally around the proposed gas-to-power ships and pipelines in Richards Bay, Ngqura or Saldanha Bay.
For example, the predicted fatality distance of a transfer hose “flash fire” (previously calculated at 879m) has decreased by almost half to 499m. The maximum fatality distance for a “jet fire” drops from 568m to 188m, while in another scenario, another jet fire impact distance drops from 220m to just 15m.
Last year, Karpowership consultants submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) as part of the approval process for the controversial Turkish-led “emergency solution” to the Eskom electricity crisis.
That study — rejected by DFFE assessors as flawed and inadequate — also contained three specialist reports compiled by Claude Thackwray, the head of Cape Town-based Major Hazard Risk Consultants.
Despite standing by her officials in rejecting the flawed EIA process, DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy granted Karpowership another bite at the cherry by giving it extra time to conduct further studies and public consultations as part of an extended EIA process.
Above: a Youtube clip showing an LNG road tanker explosion on the Beijing-Harbin highway in 2018.
The department’s rejection of the first study did not appear to raise explicit concerns around Thackwray’s major hazard installation (MHI) gas fire and explosion risk studies. (Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a major hazard installation is defined as an industrial facility which handles dangerous materials which could harm staff and members of the public in the vicinity in the event of an accident such as a major fire, explosion or release of toxic materials.)
Somewhat inexplicably, however, Thackwray has now compiled three fresh reports that contain several changes to the initial reports he signed off on in February 2021.
The new Thackwray reports, dated November 2022, were published as part of the second public participation process during a brief series of online and in-person meetings held ...
‘We are not scared of deportation or anything. If we remain quiet, we will become prisoners of conscience,’ say the vulnerable residents of Joburg’s ‘building of darkness’, who were illegally evicted on Saturday.
“We were left completely with nothing and we are smelling a rat that there is a sort of corruption that has taken place . This also happened about a decade ago when we had policemen knocking on our doors and forcing us out of the building. History repeated itself on Saturday in the presence of the Johannesburg metropolitan police department.”
These were the words of Lazarus Chinhara, one of the evicted longtime occupants of Joburg’s “building of darkness”, so named because it was without electricity.
Chinhara said Saturday’s evictions were carried out by the anti-foreigner group Operation Dudula.
“These people knew we would have groceries, clothes, money and a few valuables to send home since it’s the festive season . When they evicted us and attacked us while sleeping in the park, our stuff was left unattended and they could take everything. The activity was also planned for a time when many human rights organisations and individuals who usually help us have gone on holiday,” said Chinhara
Many of the former occupants of this derelict building told Maverick Citizen that life after the eviction is tough.
According to Furisai Chutupa, their struggles include not having identification documents or legal and affordable accommodation, and not having food, clothes, blankets or essentials of any kind.
“They also stole my stock . the sweets and biscuits I sell on the streets as a means to survive. Now I have no way of generating an income . We suspect this group has mobilised building owners in the inner city not to accommodate us,” said Chutupa.
Almost 40 people are being temporarily accommodated for the next two weeks in seven rooms that cost R1,700 each. Five or six adults and children sleep in each room.
Going home not an option
“I can say I would rather go home, but I have no bus fare and there is nothing in Zimbabwe. It’s more like I’m going back to be a burden on our already struggling families who have also been dependent on us,” said Margaret Maushe.
Mental toll
“Every time I close my eyes, I have flashbacks, so I have been awake. At this point, I’m tired but I can’t sleep. My body is sore from the sjambok beatings we got from that Dudula group. ...
As Russia’s invasion nears the 10-month mark, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more tanks, planes and money to defend the nation in a speech to the joint houses of US Congress. It was Zelensky’s first foreign trip since Moscow invaded on 24 February.
President Joe Biden promised to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” after his administration confirmed almost $2-billion in military assistance and said it would deliver a Patriot missile battery to help Ukraine bolster its air defences. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Poland’s president on Thursday on the way back to Ukraine from the US.
Russia criticised the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting between Zelensky and US President Joe Biden and said it would target the air-defence systems the US pledged to send to Ukraine. Armed forces chief of staff Valery Gerasimov said Kremlin troops had hit more than 1,300 critically important targets in the almost 10-month conflict.
Key developments
Zelensky wins applause, aid in half-day dash through Washington
Kremlin dismisses Biden-Zelensky talks in US, warns on weapons
US to back Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’, Biden tells Zelensky
Biden says giving Ukraine advanced weapons risks US alliances
Putin vows no limit in funds to ensure army’s victory in Ukraine
Investors trapped in Russian bonds find saviours in Kazakh buyers
Zelensky insists to Congress that aid isn’t ‘charity’
Zelensky pressed the US Congress for tanks, planes and other weapons to help repel Russia’s invasion, portraying the war as a battle of democracy against tyranny as he looked to win support from sceptical Republican lawmakers.
Zelensky told a joint meeting of the House and Senate that US support had been crucial so far and predicted that the year ahead would turn the tide in the war. He called for more sanctions and demanded Russians responsible for the war be brought to justice.
“Your support is crucial, not just to stand in such a fight, but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield,” Zelensky said in his 27-minute speech. “Your money is not charity, it’s investment in global security.”
Biden reiterates caution on advanced weapons
Biden defended his reluctance to give Ukraine all the advanced weaponry it wants to fight off Russia’s invasion, saying the provision of longer-range missiles and other sophisticated gear risks straining US alliances in Europe, including Nato.
“The idea that we would give Ukraine material that is fundamentally different than is already going there would have a prospect of breaking up Nato and breaking up ...
Many defaulting municipalities across SA were hit on Thursday by load reduction — on top of load shedding. In the Karoo, with its high summer temperatures and a water system already left fragile by rolling blackouts, additional load reduction threatens to trigger a humanitarian crisis.
On Thursday morning, Graaff-Reinet resident Sias Smith looked at the prepaid meter in his house. “It was full of money. My money was in there. I owe Eskom nothing. But there was no electricity.”
This was supposed to be joyful Christmas. Instead, residents were hit by another six hours without electricity — on top of rolling blackouts.
For the first festive season since 2019, there were no Covid-related restrictions. People in the Karoo were getting ready to make some money as visitors returned, en route to the province’s beach towns. And families unable to travel for a while were finally home for Christmas.
Now the milk was turning, dessert ingredients were melting, people worried about their meat, drinks were no longer cold, the taps were dry, and there was anger in the streets of Graaff-Reinet. Farmers, businesspeople and residents gathered at the municipal offices.
“If there was anybody in there, they refused to come out,” Smith said. “Neither the mayor nor the municipal manager was answering their phones.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Angry residents briefly closed the N9 highway. “But you know what I told them — these are just ordinary people. They want to get home to their families for Christmas. They still have a long way to go. Let’s find a different way,” said Smith.
So they retreated to the dusty streets of the Karoo town, where their tempers simmered in the heat on Thursday afternoon, as they waited for the water truck to arrive and the electricity to resume.
“Our homes are full because our people are here for the holidays. The food is going off because we haven’t had electricity for 14 hours and no water. The municipality has sent a water truck, but many people need help, and there is not enough water for everybody,” said Smith.
While Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality, which has its seat in Graaff-Reinet, owes R285-million in outstanding fees to Eskom, the municipality has a written undertaking from Eskom that as the dispute had been referred for arbitration, the municipality would not be included in the load reduction schedule.
‘No communication from Eskom’
Mayor Willem Safers said they had received ...
While the lustre of Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency fades away, revealing rusty blemishes covered up by optimistic promises, imagining a post-ANC future of coalitions has come back into fashion.
Local government is increasingly characterised by coalitions; it seems like national government soon will be too. Should the ANC fail to secure a majority in 2024, the dynamics of coalitions will become more complex, with implications of greater importance.
While the ANC’s support declines throughout the country coalitions are becoming the defacto framework for South African politics of the future. Opposition parties will have greater latitude to work together, free from the constraints of the majority the ANC has enjoyed for more than two decades, as they become more entrenched.
Such developments should be welcomed. Despite the plurality of proportional representation in South Africa, the ANC’s majority for much of the last two decades has left little room for alternative parties and voices to carve out space. More participation leads to more competition, which in theory should lead to more accountability.
Yet, without any party likely to secure a majority at either the municipal or national levels in 2024, there are no certainties about the outcomes coalitions may lead to. No opposition party has come even remotely close to challenging the ANC at the national level.
The question thus is: if coalitions seem suitable at the local level, how will they translate at the national and provincial levels?
Imagining them as a mechanism for removing the ANC, or as a roadmap for arriving at a post-ANC future, reignite aspirations about what’s possible, when it seems like year after year there are only dead ends.
But they also overlook the reality of South African politics: The ANC will be a key part of coalitions. The party is obviously not too big to fail. But it’s also too big not to be a central part of how coalitions will continue to develop.
If we are to believe in a post-ANC future, opposition parties and the coalitions they will form at the national and provincial levels run the risk of not having a shared goal, at least beyond removing the ANC. Just like it was when Jacob Zuma’s removal was the paramount goal of oppositional collaboration, viewing coalitions in this way has the potential to lose momentum should the goal be achieved in a couple of years.
Without a shared vision of what coalitions can achieve, in addition to the sheer number of parties ...
Police Minister Bheki Cele and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula are ‘making a plan’ to ensure the safety of Intercape buses travelling to the Eastern Cape – but due to their political commitments, they haven’t had time to meet yet.
Police Minister Bheki Cele will be chairing an interministerial committee to come up with ways to protect long-distance buses from what bus company Intercape says is extortion and intimidation by rogue taxi associations, primarily in the Eastern Cape.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s spokesperson, Lwaphesheya Khoza, said Mbalula would sit on the committee that will address the safety concerns of long-distance buses – specifically Intercape buses – that travel to and from the Eastern Cape.
Intercape has obtained a court order against Mbalula and the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Xolile Nqatha, to force them to deal with the issue.
Khoza said it’s difficult to indicate when the ministers would be able to produce a plan of action: “Minister Mbalula is concerned about the safety of Intercape passengers. He has noted the court order and is working on the problem.”
Earlier this year, Intercape turned to the Eastern Cape High Court to force the government to address the deteriorating security situation affecting long-distance buses. Bus drivers faced regular incidents of extortion and intimidation. They were also threatened and instructed to increase their ticket prices to match those of long-distance taxis – taxi associations also told large retailers to stop selling bus tickets.
The company successfully obtained an interdict, but Mbalula filed a notice to appeal, which had the effect of suspending the order. This week, Intercape successfully obtained another court order that enforced the successful interdict despite the government’s attempts to appeal it.
In papers filed with the high court in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira points to Mbalula’s “ongoing disregard for the seriousness of the issues at hand, which concern life-threatening and endemic acts of violence and intimidation”.
More than 150 recorded violent incidents have occurred, including shootings, stonings and acts of intimidation directed at Intercape and other long-distance operators by rogue taxi associations intent on stopping companies from operating on certain routes across South Africa.
Most of these attacks happened in the Eastern Cape.
In its first ruling, handed down in September, the court gave the government 20 days to formulate a workable action plan.
Nqatha filed his plan on 28 October, but Mbalula gave notice that he wanted to appeal the ruling.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more ...
Two operating theatres at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had their cooling systems compromised on Wednesday when copper piping — supplying the theatres with water — was stolen.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has suffered yet another theft that left patients’ lives at risk. The latest incident comes after 10m of copper cable was stolen during the early hours of Monday morning. These cables supplied oxygen to sections of the main Intensive Care Unit.
Then, on Wednesday, copper pipes leading to two general surgery theatres — used to supply high-pressure water — were cut and stolen, resulting in cooling systems being compromised.
“It looks like criminal actors found their way into one of the plant rooms and. cut the copper pipes feeding the two theatres with water,” said Motalatale Modiba, spokesperson for the department of health in Gauteng.
This resulted in a failure in the autoclave system — the machine that sterilises equipment in theatres — and “patients had to be moved to a different ward for operations”.
Police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza confirmed that a case of theft had been opened with the Diepkloof police.
Easy access
Victor Moreriane, chief communications director of the Gauteng department of infrastructure development, said the three-metre copper piping stolen on Wednesday, 21 December was not in an access-controlled plant room.
“We have done the same process once more of immediately bringing a support service on-site to ensure the matter is attended to as quickly as possible,” he said.
“The team working on site will complete the process [on Friday] because there are some parts that we are still trying to source, like the valves and so on.”
Emergency security measures to be implemented
Moreriane believes copper pipes at the hospital are being deliberately targeted by thieves.
“These pipes were in a plant room, so it is clear now that these plant rooms are being targeted,” he said.
Additional security measures will soon be implemented by the department of infrastructure development, according to Moreriane. The hospital does have security guards, but only in certain areas of the facility.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We have asked hospital management to ensure that the security guards do regular patrols,” he said.
An emergency procurement process has begun to ensure that all plant rooms become access-controlled, said Moreriane.
A statement by the Gauteng health department said the provincial government would soon announce measures to deal with the security situation.
“There are various measures being introduced to beef up security at the ...
Cyril Ramaphosa’s original 2017 mandate to lead was tenuous. He has had five years to stamp his personal authority on the ANC and four to get to grips with the country’s major challenges as state President. Thus far, he has done neither.
Great leaders are decisive leaders and business craves good leadership. The results of the ANC 55th conference have provided President Cyril Ramaphosa with a mandate to now lead his party and the country decisively. Decisiveness does not necessarily mean speed of decision-making, nor unilateralism. Complex issues demand careful consideration, the weighing of options, the development of scenarios and the anticipation of consequences. Irrespective of the process, decisiveness minimises uncertainty, reduces doubt and provides a clear way forward.
Confronted with one of the most consequential decisions facing humankind, United States President John F Kennedy consulted intensively with his closest advisers over six days before he alone made the decision to blockade Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis.
Nelson Mandela reflected on the difficult and personally risky decision he made to enter into talks with the leadership of the apartheid regime without the full knowledge and support of the ANC leadership. Irrespective of how history judges former president FW de Klerk, his 2 February 1990 speech, inter alia, unbanning the ANC, was decisive and heralded profound consequences.
By contrast, President Ramaphosa’s equivocation regarding his own fitness to hold the highest office signalled a potentially terminal failure of leadership. Upon release of the Section 89 report, Ramaphosa’s personal inclination was to resign, with his speech ready for delivery on 2 December.
The President has never publicly explained the reasons for his reported decision to resign, but it is reasonable to surmise that this was due to the criticism of the veracity of his version of events and the panel’s conclusion that he may have breached the duties of his office and have a case to answer. In other words, there may be grounds for his impeachment.
The subsequent on-off resignation debacle provides unique, if uncomfortable, insights into the belly of the beast, revealing the President’s political DNA, along with the configuration of power within the ANC elite.
Ramaphosa’s indefatigable optimism, which served him and the country well during the fraught transitional and constitutional negotiations is miscast as a President and leader of a fratricidal ruling party. His failure to grasp the seriousness of the case against him, combined with a dilatory approach to the management of his own ...
More than 50 white-backed vultures have been poisoned in KwaZulu-Natal. The latest mass killing brings this critically endangered species closer to extinction in the northern Zululand region.
Notably, 35 of the birds were beheaded — pointing strongly to the involvement of traditional healers who market vulture brains and other body parts to bring good fortune, boost exam performance or enhance chances of winning the Lotto or horse racing bets.
A recent study on the use of vultures by an association of traditional healers in the Bushbuckridge area of Mpumalanga estimated that this single association of more than 400 healers may use as many as 400 to 800 vultures a year.
The provincial conservation agency, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and the conservation group Wildlife ACT confirmed that 52 poisoned vultures and five tawny eagles were discovered on 18 December in the northern part of the province. Five of the vultures were still alive, while the heads of 35 of the 47 dead vultures had been chopped off.
Earlier this month, national environment minister Barbara Creecy published a draft biodiversity management plan for South Africa’s seven resident vulture species in an effort to reverse their steady rate of decline in most parts of the country.
The exact location of the killing site has not been disclosed because police and conservation officers are working to track down the perpetrators and the suppliers of the poison.
Rehabilitation centre
The five surviving birds were treated at the scene and taken to a rehabilitation centre, but their chances of survival remain uncertain.
The carcasses of the dead birds were piled up and burnt soon afterwards by conservation officials to decontaminate the scene and avert further poisoning deaths.
Brent Coverdale, a senior mammal and bird scientist at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said the deliberate poisoning of vultures for use in the traditional medicine trade was now one of the major threats facing South Africa’s vultures.
“The current spate of such poisonings is unsustainable and will lead to the demise of vultures within South Africa and simultaneously, devastating environmental consequences, and the loss of cultural heritage,” he said.
Ezemvelo said local conservation agencies believed that traditional healers — and the associations they belong to — remain critical stakeholders in the conservation of vultures and have a duty to ensure that such poisonings are strongly discouraged and reported to the authorities.
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Writing in the draft vulture management plan published last week, local bird ...
If we hope to score better next year, we should start a de-centring of the human species. We should rid ourselves of the pernicious conceit that we stand above the natural world.
It’s that time of the year when parents pursue peace and quiet by reminding their offspring that Santa rewards goodness with gifts, but leaves a lump of coal in the Christmas stockings of naughty children. While the practice is somewhat problematic (simultaneously a dereliction or outsourcing of parental duties and the reckless confluence of virtue and material gain), philosophers and psychologists agree that there is value in moral self-reflection.
The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca, for instance, believed moral reflection is the antidote to evil. He therefore committed to a daily reflective practice: “I will keep constant watch over myself and — most usefully — will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil — that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.”
Aristotle, in turn, recognised that the cultivation of virtue requires knowledge and awareness of one’s current feelings, inclinations and dispositions. Certain schools in psychology agree, proposing that purposeful self-reflection improves self-regulation.
Now that humans have managed to grow their number on the planet to an outrageous eight billion, it might be appropriate to engage in such moral self-reflection collectively — to ask at the end of the year, not whether we’ve been naughty or nice boys, girls and non-binaries; but whether we’ve been good as a species.
We are, coincidentally, the only species that could or would ask this question. As far as we know, we are the only species that makes its existence an object of study — that takes issue with its “being”.
One could ask whether it makes sense to judge any form of species-being ethically — as being good, bad, evil, noble, foul, just or unjust. We might find it curious that the cuckoo or the indigobird leaves its egg in another mother’s nest, but we don’t conclude from this that these birds are evil or despicable. It is merely their species-being: the way they have come to exist and survive. Why, then, treat the human species-being as something we can assess in ethical terms?
It is exactly because of the nature of our species-being that we can (and must) ...
Bolder policies are needed to tackle the problems of productivity, investment performance and regional inequalities.
A friend recently forwarded me an email from a client who was bemoaning the state of the UK and questioning whether it still met the standards of a G7 country. In response, I joked that since the population chose to leave the European Union, the country has been in the dismal position his client described, but maybe it cannot get much worse from here. A contrarian might want to buy the pound on the grounds that the mood will improve as things become marginally less disappointing.
In fact, gallows humour aside, it would be a risky bet, because there is ample evidence to suggest that the country will be very challenged unless there are bolder policies. The reasons fall into three broad, interrelated categories, starting with Brexit.
Britain has been paralysed in many ways, both by the decision to leave the EU and by the way it was done. Mainstream politicians and the current government are too scared to admit that Brexit has significantly harmed the economy. Nor will they even discuss the possibility of mimicking membership in the EU’s single market through the alignment of regulatory and trade policies.
As a tactical matter, the current government’s reluctance is vaguely understandable, given current opinion polls and persistent pressure from avid Brexiteers like Nigel Farage. But Labour, too, has remained relatively quiet. Although Labour leader Keir Starmer was one of the most articulate advocates of remaining in the EU, the party seems not to want to relitigate the issue now that it is already ahead in the polls.
Is this wise? All those cutting-edge analysts who presciently warned that disgruntled voters would be pleased if the UK left the EU are now pointing to signs that some of the same voters regret the decision, or at least the way it was carried out. There is certainly little doubt that Brexit has indeed been bad for the economy. Standard economic indicators – real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth, investment levels, the size of the labour force – all show that the UK has underperformed relative to its peers in recent years.
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Before the 2016 Brexit referendum, I could see why many might have wanted to leave the EU, even if it would almost certainly be an initial negative for the economy. I didn’t believe that ...
It’s been almost 40 years since Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ hit the airwaves to raise money for the victims of a famine in Ethiopia. This Christmas, the entire continent is in the grip of an unfolding hunger crisis that is even worse. Climate change and Vladimir Putin are among the biggest culprits.
Global inflation has been one of the big economic stories of 2022 and as any household with debt knows, this has triggered a tsunami of interest rate hikes around the world to contain price pressures. This has also contributed to an emerging humanitarian crisis, notably in but not confined to Africa, at a time when a slowing global economy and rising food import bills limit the capacity to alleviate the tragedy.
And it is a tragedy on a terrifying and heart-breaking scale.
“Across Africa, from east to west, people are experiencing a food crisis that is bigger and more complex than the continent has ever seen, say diplomats and humanitarian workers. One in five Africans – a record 278 million people – were already facing hunger in 2021, according to data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. It says the situation has worsened,” a recent Reuters report said.
The number of east Africans experiencing acute food insecurity – when a lack of food puts lives or livelihoods in immediate danger – has spiked by 60% in just the past year, and by nearly 40% in west Africa, according to the World Food Programme.
A look at the map of Africa on the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) shows swathes of the Horn of Africa and east Africa coloured in red, which signals an emergency situation that is one shade below the dark hue that signals famine.
“Famine is projected to emerge in three areas in southern Somalia in April to June 2023 if current high levels of multisectoral humanitarian assistance are not sustained,” Fews Net said recently.
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In southern Africa, huge parts of Mozambique and Zimbabwe are stamped with orange, denoting a “crisis”. Much of the continent is marked yellow, signifying stress. South Africa is currently excluded from any food insecurity marking, but all Daily Maverick readers will be aware that hunger stalks this land. People don’t beg at robots for the fun of it.
In April, my colleague Estelle Ellis reported that 14 children below the ...
The beleaguered power utility Eskom may be forced to back down on its claim that construction company Stefanutti Stocks was overpaid to the tune of R1bn for the Kusile power project and instead find itself liable to pay Stefanutti R1.14bn.
In June 2020, Eskom alleged that it had overpaid around R4-billion to various contractors involved in the construction of the 4,800MW coal-fired Kusile Power Station. The overpaid amounts were broken down into R1-billion each for Stefanutti, multinational ABB, and Tubular Construction Projects, with another R735-million to Tenova Mining and Minerals and another R180-million to “various site service contractors”.
The construction of the power station was initially expected to take six years to complete at a cost of R81-billion, but since work kicked off in 2008, costs have risen to R161-billion and in June this year, Eskom said it expected Kusile to be fully operational by May 2024, 10 years later than initially expected.
Stefanutti and Eskom entered into an interim arrangement in February 2020 to appoint independent experts to determine the causes, duration and to quantify all delay events up to 31 December 2019. They agreed that the Dispute Adjudication Board would then issue a final, binding decision, which Eskom and Stefanutti would abide by.
Since August 2021, Eskom has paid the company R110-million. However, Stefanutti this week released an update revealing to shareholders that it had submitted an overarching preliminary and general cost claim and a subcontractor overarching preliminary and general cost claim of R337-million and R194-million respectively.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The company also submitted to experts a provisional construction cost claim of R438-million and a finance cost claim of R171-million on 20 December, which means the total quantum of the provisional claims submitted is R1.14-billion.
Stefanutti anticipates that it will submit the remaining claims relating to commissioning costs and interest to the experts in the new year and that the adjudication board will issue a binding decision during the second quarter of 2023. Both Eskom and Stefanutti will still have the right, at that point, to issue a notice of dissatisfaction and refer the dispute to arbitration.
The issue is not small for Stefanutti, which reported a 9% fall in contract revenue to R2.9-billion for the six months to end December and absorbed restructuring and abnormal legal fees of R28-million in the reporting period. The group’s order book is currently R6.3-billion of which R1.6-billion arises from work beyond ...
Cape Town tills are expected to ring as summer visitor numbers are back to pre-Covid levels, but as a long-haul destination, the economic boost also contributes to the climate crisis.
The tourists are back. Covid lockdowns decimated the tourism and hospitality sector, with job losses across the board in 2020, but according to City and province officials, Cape Town and the Western Cape are expecting a bumper summer season, with visitor numbers back up to pre-Covid levels.
Addressing the media on 8 December, City mayco member for economic growth, James Vos, said “targeted campaigns” had kept Cape Town “on traveller’s radars”. With Covid restrictions now almost non-existent, this had paid off. Vos said the number of passengers on domestic and international flights to Cape Town was now at “100% of 2019 figures”.
Among the campaigns was to secure more flights from key markets, which has “resulted in new air routes from the US, Belgium and Mozambique, and new airlines – United Airlines, Air Belgium, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic (which returns to Cape Town after seven years).”
He said during November and December there were 184 international flights per week, which will increase to 191 international flights per week from January to the end of March. This is on par with the 190 inbound international flights per week from 1 December 2019 to 31 March 2020. For the same period last summer, there were an average of 110 inbound flights per week.
In addition, he said there were 75 cruise ships on the booking schedule for this season, and it was estimated passengers spent about R100-million when they visited the port. This meant cruise ship visits alone would bring an estimated R7.5-billion to Cape Town businesses.
This was way up from the 30 cruise ships that docked in the pre-Covid 2019/2020 season, and the 12 that docked last summer while Covid uncertainty remained.
Watch your steps – consider your carbon footprint and travel in eco-friendly style
When it came to domestic tourism, Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy said their latest Domestic Travel Intent Report indicated two-thirds of South Africans would travel during this festive season, with 92% of them intending to travel locally. The most popular domestic holiday destination was the Western Cape.
Duminy said by November domestic flights were at 74% of pre-Covid levels, and expected to increase as the festive season gained momentum.
In a separate media release on 13 December Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic ...
Patrice Motsepe, the current president of the Confederation of African Football, believes that the performances of the continent’s teams at the recent World Cup can only bode well for the continent’s imminent inter-club football competition.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe is hopeful that the various individual successes enjoyed by the continent’s five representatives at the Qatar 2022 World Cup can help bolster the African Super League.
Morocco led this success by becoming the first African country to reach the semifinals of the men’s soccer World Cup, before eventually being ousted by two-time world champions France.
Countries such as Tunisia and Cameroon also clocked up some accolades in Qatar. The former beat finalists France, while the latter became the first African country to beat record world champions Brazil in the tournament.
CAF officially launched the Super League back in August 2022 and the mother body of African football has set a tentative date of the same month in 2023 to officially see it lift off. They hope that it will change the face of the continent’s football for good, and for the better.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference in Johannesburg on 21 December 2022, Motsepe reiterated the importance of the Super League being a success.
The business mogul, who will celebrate two years at the helm of CAF in March 2023, added that the displays of African nations in Qatar will make drawing support for the Super League — from all spheres — just a bit easier.
“We should not underestimate the importance of finance. The salaries that players earn, that coaches earn, in other parts of the world. That’s why the African Super League is a very important intervention,” Motsepe told journalists.
“We are confident that over time it will significantly increase the salaries of players in Africa, and compete [with the rest of the world] . For example, we know how much they pay in the Scandinavian countries for our players. And [with the Super League] we can compete,” the 60-year-old added.
“We are confident that the performances of African nations at the Qatar World Cup will serve as a significant stimulus and accelerator for the good work that has been taking place to improve the quality and global competitiveness of African football.”
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Motsepe also called on governments to take a leaf from the tree of Morocco’s actions, which led to their current success ...
The Stormers and Bulls have tested two varied methods in their quest for glory this season. Although the results of their hypotheses will only present themselves fully at the end of the season, this weekend will provide some evidence of who the expert is.
The narratives are plenty heading into Friday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash between the Stormers and Bulls. It’s a north-south derby between South Africa’s two most successful unions.
It’s also a replay of last season’s URC final at the same venue.
But the anticipation for Friday’s battle really ignited three weeks ago when Bulls head coach Jake White decided to rest most of his first-choice players for consecutive European Champions Cup fixtures in order to have them fully ready for their clash in Cape Town.
“We’d like to do well in both competitions, but I’m also a realist,” White said about opting to play a less experienced side against Lyon and Exeter Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Stormers’ leader, John Dobson opted for continuity in his squad, sending his best 23 men into battle against Clermont and London Irish.
Dobson has already felt some deflating consequences of his decision. Springboks Herschel Jantjies (rib) and Salmaan Moerat (knee) are both unavailable for selection against the Bulls due to injuries picked up against London Irish.
While scrumhalf, Jantjies will likely only be out for one week, Dobson confirmed that second-row Moerat will be out for up to nine months — possibly missing out on next year’s World Cup.
Despite the differing approaches, both sides’ maiden European Cup expeditions ended with the same result: one loss and one win in their respective European Cup matches.
“It’s also clear what this game means to the Bulls, by the fact that they have rested players [leading up] to this game. You can’t argue with it, because it’s their plan. It’s also important to us. This game could be played for any cup and it would mean so much. That’s a sign that the rivalry is back,” said the Stormers coach.
Blue vs Blue
Dobson has had the edge over White in recent times, claiming three victories in his last three meetings against the old foe up north.
However, Dobson was quick to give credit to the work done by White.
“Another thing is that we were probably on a streak of about four or five in a row that we lost, somewhere close to that. So, in reality, it’s probably five or six to three against Jake ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... These are the images of some of this week’s events around the world.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise has broken her silence on the Russian cargo vessel Lady R which docked in Simon’s Town Navy Base earlier this month.
The cargo offloaded by Russian ship Lady R was an “an old, outstanding order for ammunition used by the Special Forces”.
This was according to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise who was briefing the media on the progress relating to benefits for military veterans, on Thursday morning. During the briefing she was asked to respond to questions about Lady R.
Until now the minister has kept mum on the ship’s arrival and dawn departure, and there has been no official explanation from the Department of Defence (DoD), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), nor the navy for the arrival of the ship. This is despite a number of calls from politicians and repeated media requests.
Read in Daily Maverick: “State Defence, SANDF silent in face of speculation Lady R was shipping Russian weaponry”
Addressing the media on Thursday, Modise refused to respond to detailed questions about Lady R, saying she didn’t want to comment on the contents of the vessel because she “will be guessing” until she receives all the paperwork.
“I am waiting for the paperwork; I’m waiting for the people who know,” she said.
However, the minister did confirm that Lady R’s cargo was an old order which had been made before the pandemic. DA defence spokesperson Kobus Marais previously told Daily Maverick that the information he had received was that the unloaded cargo was “an old, outstanding order for ammunition used by the Special Forces”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Modise said: “We do know, however, that whatever contents this vessel was getting, were ordered long before Covid started, and therefore the reason you are interested and America is interested in that vessel, coming into our shores, is actually because America threatens the rest of Africa – not just South Africa – of having anything that is even smelling of Russia.
“As far as they’re concerned, we must consume all the Russian vodka quickly and if it is depleted you will be found wanting for drinking the Russian vodka,” said the minister.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Cloak and dagger – the infamous nights Simon’s Town became Vladimir Putin’s town”
The minister did not go into detail about the nature of the ship’s cargo.
Modise said Lady R was a matter on which members ...
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has told the NPA to ‘stay out of this dispute and humble itself to the final say of the courts’ in the latest dispute surrounding the attempted private prosecution of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Jacob G Zuma Foundation has rejected a statement by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) over its attempted private prosecution of President Cyril Ramaphosa. On 22 December, the foundation labelled a statement by the NPA as “an improper and professional attempt by the NPA to play judge” in an interpretation of its own certificate, which is currently at the centre of the “dispute” over the private prosecution against Ramaphosa.
On Thursday, the foundation said this was “totally unheard of”. This is the latest in the saga involving former state president Jacob Zuma and Ramaphosa.
On 21 December, the NPA released a statement saying it had noted the summons issued in relation to the current President. The NPA said it had issued two nolle prosequi certificates in good faith and in compliance with Section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The certificates, the NPA said, were issued in direct relation to the docket Pietermaritzburg CAS 309/10/21 — which contained statements and affidavits relating to specific individuals for alleged contravention of Section 41 (6) read with Section 41(7) of the NPA Act.
“The nolle certificates apply to any persons who are specifically mentioned in the docket. The President was not mentioned in any of the affidavits or statements and thus the certificates were not issued in relation to him” read the NPA statement, issued by Advocate Rodney de Kock, the Head of Prosecution Services.
The NPA said any further clarification would be provided in court “should the matter be litigated”.
THE NPA CLARIFIES NOLLE PROSEQUI CERTIFICATES
NPASouthAfrica (@NPA_Prosecutes) December 21, 2022
The foundation responded to the statement and said “this statement is demonstrably false and nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to rescue Mr Ramaphosa”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“It is therefore totally mind-boggling how any member of the NPA who has had any sight of the docket can even begin to falsely state that the President is not mentioned in the docket,” said the foundation via a statement released on social media on Thursday morning.
“Indeed even if the denial was true, it would still be for the NPA to so blatantly take sides in favour of a criminal suspect,” the foundation said.
In addition, the foundation has challenged ...
There is still no test to diagnose long Covid and also no cure. It’s the fallout from the pandemic that is fast becoming a mounting health concern.
Patients battle a ‘blanket of fatigue’: Inside Groote Schuur Hospital’s long Covid clinic
By Biénne Huisman for Spotlight
Doctors at Groote Schuur Hospital’s Post-Covid-19 Lung Disease Clinic are treating patients who have recovered from Covid-19 but who suffer lingering symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath.
Covid-19: The evolving science behind long Covid
By Kathryn Cleary for Spotlight
A study published in the Lancet medical journal confirms that the health effects of Covid-19 can linger months after someone has ‘recovered’. Spotlight asked local experts about the underlying science and whether the South African public healthcare system is ready for so-called long Covid.
Still many unknowns, but long Covid is real and deserves support for rehabilitation, says expert
By Ufrieda Ho
There is still no test to diagnose long Covid and also no cure. It’s the fallout from the pandemic that is fast becoming a mounting health concern.
SA at forefront of long Covid research, with microclots offering vital clues
By Adele Baleta
Professor Resia Pretorius and her colleagues at the University of Stellenbosch are at the cutting edge of research into one of the most likely causes of long Covid – inflammatory microclots.
Hair loss and lower libido among long Covid symptoms – new research
By Shamil Haroon and Anuradhaa Subramanian
Long Covid sufferers may have experienced a wider variety of symptoms than previously thought, new research has found.
My long Covid journey: Learning patience with my own body
By Khairoonisa Foflonker
Long Covid, I’m learning, is a daily rollercoaster. How I will feel each day is entirely unpredictable. A day with excessive struggle to accomplish daily tasks leaves me exhausted and anxious. Even now, nine months later, I still experience frustration with the physical limitations of my body.
Regaining fitness after Covid-19 infection can be hard. Here are 5 things to keep in mind before you start exercising again
By Clarice Tang
Are you finding it difficult to get moving after having Covid-19? You are not alone. Even if you have mild symptoms, you may still experience difficulty in regaining your fitness.
Five tips on how to manage debilitating fatigue after Covid-19
By Natasha Yates
People are often surprised by how fatigued they are during a Covid-19 infection.
Getting to grips with Long Covid — and the gender biases that skew medical diagnoses
By Donné Minné and Altay Y Turan
Long Covid is showing up in much higher ...
Study, published today in New England Journal of Medicine, shows that a new regimen is safer and more effective than the current standard of care.
The standard-of-care treatments for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) are nine to 20 months and have side effects, which often cause patients to stop taking their medication. But the results of a clinical trial, published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that a new six-month treatment regimen is safer, more convenient, and much more effective than the standard-of-care regimens.
DR-TB is a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to the drugs normally used to treat TB. In South Africa, about 14,000 people get DR-TB every year.
The trial, known as TB-Practecal, was run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). It included 522 patients and was conducted at seven sites in Belarus, South Africa, and Uzbekistan. Participants had TB and were resistant to at least rifampicin, one of the standard drugs for treating TB. (This means rifampicin is not effective, or not as effective as it needs to be, against the strain of TB with which they were infected.)
The trial tested three different regimens against the standard of care used in each of the three countries. It found one to be the most effective and safe: a combination of bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid, and moxifloxacin (BPaLM).
A participant’s outcome was considered favourable if, at 72 weeks after being enrolled in the trial, he or she was cured, alive, had finished the regimen, and didn’t get a recurrence of TB. The trial found that nearly 90% of patients on BPaLM, administered over six months, had favourable outcomes. By comparison, just over half of the patients on standard-of-care regimens had favourable outcomes.
This was not a large trial. Its details are enormously complicated and in the final analysis there were fewer than 100 participants in the BPaLM group. But it arguably constitutes the best evidence yet for a treatment regimen for DR-TB, a disease that has suffered from a lack of large high-quality clinical trials.
Last week, the trial results spurred the World Health Organization to change its guidelines, recommending the six-month BPaLM regime for the treatment of DR-TB.
Treatment regimens, currently used for DR-TB are not ideal. “Patients were telling us that the previous regimens were lengthy, ineffective, and gruelling and that the side effects were worse than the disease itself,” said Dr Bern-Thomas Nyang’wa, MSF’s medical director and chief investigator of the ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
Grab your popcorn, plug the TV into your generator, and your Wi-Fi router to your UPS back-up battery, season 29 of ‘The South Africa Show’ might be the most exciting take on the Afro-political drama genre yet. Groundbreaking stuff, new depths, exciting lows.
Shortly after the 16-to-20 December screening of The South Africa Show: ANC CONference Xmas special, I, alongside my peers who are some of our country’s most elite TV critics, was invited to a preview of the upcoming 29th season of The South Africa Show. You’re in for a treat, long-suffering viewer. Get your resilience socks on, this groundbreaking show will break even more ground in the coming year, heading further down into previously unthinkable depths. It’s such an emotional roller coaster of a season that even though it’s been days since I watched the preview, I still struggle to achieve unmedicated sleep.
I know some of you were worried that season 28, which came to an unimpeachably dramatic close, would be boring. That perhaps the actor who was cast into the presidential role a couple of years ago wouldn’t find his dramatic footing and the characters would prance around in ramaphoric bliss, with little in the way conflict, friction, espionage and the corruption that has made the Afro-political drama genre such exhilarating viewing as far back as the colonial era.
You needn’t worry.
Our country has some of the best scriptwriters on the African continent, and they respect the genre. Expect the kind of lows that would break the namby-pambies of the so-called developed world.
Not to say they’re formulaic in their take. I’m sure the genre enthusiasts among you will remember that often, in this kind of Afro-political drama, writers will introduce dictatorial leaders who overstay their welcome. How refreshing, then, that season after season, The South Africa Show scriptwriters have consistently given us a twist on this arguably tired trope. Bar the first guy, every single president has understayed their welcome, always leaving long before they have to.
SPOILER ALERT! The writers have decided to keep the sofa-banking president character for another season. Sadly, the reliably ebullient tribe of Nkandlarnia and their allies from the eastern lands of RETardia, seem weakened in this season. And unfortunately, some plotlines also feel somewhat unsatisfying. There’s something very satisfying about seeing bad guys get their comeuppance on screen, but there’s been very little of that in the past, say, 21 seasons. In fact, many ...
In South Africa, policy inertia around the cannabis economy remains the order of the day. Still, it’s not all up in smoke and there are some green shoots emerging.
Cannabis industry has huge economic value for South Africa, but government dragging its feet
By Nicholas Heinamann
The Draft South African Cannabis Masterplan states that there are up to 900,000 traditional dagga growers in South Africa and that they and ‘dagga’ need to be included in the cannabis value chain, but makes no recommendation as to how this is to be achieved.
Cashing in on the high end of budding cannabis tourism
By Bridget Hilton-Barber
Despite legal obstacles and controversy, the cannabis tourism industry in South Africa is budding. Most places remain discreet, but local and foreign tourists are staying at weed-friendly hotels, going on urban cannabis tours and participating in rural community-based cannabis adventures.
High time: SA cannabis products firm Cilo Cybin to list on JSE
By Ed Stoddard
The cannabis economy is rolling along worldwide but, in South Africa, policy inertia remains the order of the day. Still, it’s not all up in smoke and there are some green shoots emerging.
Take me to your dealer — grow club model dealt a blow as growing pot for others is still deemed criminal
By Georgina Crouth
The High Court agrees there’s not much difference between a dealer of cannabis and a grow club, handing cannabis hot potato back to Parliament. It says it’s not for the courts to decide on legality of grow clubs, which have been set up to sidestep the Drugs Act.
Can you smoke ‘zol’ before work?
By Tania Broughton
A CCMA ruling suggests you can so long as it doesn’t impair your performance at work.
For more, read here.
With Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC presidential re-election buttoned up, all South Africans who care for their future could ask themselves a question: How can I, in any practicable way, help to get our country out of its potential tailspin? Ramaphosa must not fail us. But we as citizens must not fail him.
Cyril Ramaphosa has shored up the momentum for reform in just a few dramatic days. It is now up to civil society, indeed as many citizens as possible, to play their part.
Neither Ramaphosa nor his ailing yet still ruling party can do the job alone. In fact, its notorious infighting could even harm the national effort of recovery. But at least the ANC has an exceptional leader in Ramaphosa, now re-elected.
This is the moment to remember the words some of us heard over the airwaves from the United States on 20 January 1961. They ring down six decades.
At his inauguration in the US, newly elected President John F Kennedy said something of value to US citizens and to humanity: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
Let us not fall into the trap of letting a dogged, enlightened leader like Ramaphosa battle on without a broadening of his support in the country at large. For some time he has, despite crises, arguably commanded a majority there for some time. It could be most useful if coalition politics were to replace hostility and division.
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It does not mean suspending party politics, which would be unthinkable, outside of a national calamity bringing about a temporary national government of salvation. A collapse of the world economy, or an asteroid heading for Earth, could justify that. (Fortunately, the latest big one heading our way, 2022 AP7, should be a close miss, say space scientists who know.)
The time has come to put aside the more dangerous petty squabbling that we’ve seen for years now, which has been markedly apparent inside and outside what we might call a power-shedding ANC.
Our politics are full of recklessly libellous attacks, racial taunting, and the cynical rejection of well-meaning efforts to find common answers to common problems.
For the benefit of my own diversion, I was called a “thug” more than once recently in a social media reply in Daily Maverick after a mild piece assessing Ramaphosa’s chances. “Thug” is worth googling for ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa won his first term as ANC leader with the narrowest of margins and a deeply divided NEC. This time around, things are quite different — and Ramaphosa should now have the political capital to make serious moves.
President Cyril Ramaphosa exits the ANC’s electoral conference and enters his second term as party leader in a much stronger position than previously.
Ramaphosa more than tripled his margin of victory against his presidential rival. He previously had to contend with a difficult ANC Top Six; this time around, the balance of power in the newly formed Top Seven is squarely in Ramaphosa’s favour: five of the top spots have gone to Ramaphosa and allies, just one to a member of a rival faction (Nomvula Mokonyane), and one to a politician who holds his cards too close to his chest to be classified: Paul Mashatile.
Ramaphosa also had to deal with a deeply and almost equally divided National Executive Committee (NEC) in his first term. With the announcement of the new NEC on Wednesday, this too has fallen away.
It is unlikely Ramaphosa could have hoped for a better outcome: 57 of the 80 new NEC members, by Daily Maverick’s calculations, fall within the Ramaphosa camp.
Less than a third of NEC seats have gone to allies of defeated presidential candidate Zweli Mkhize.
Loud voices in the Mkhize camp
What Ramaphosa’s NEC dissidents lack in numbers, they may hope to make up for in volume — as their members include some of the more forceful, and loud, voices in the ANC.
Back in is Lindiwe Sisulu, who had a shocker of an ANC electoral conference after failing to win sufficient support to make it onto the ballot either based on pre-conference branch nominations or hands from the floor.
One of the safest predictions you can make in South African politics right now is that Sisulu’s days as a Cabinet minister are numbered. The significance of this cannot be overstated: Sisulu has served in the Cabinets of every post-democratic South African president, from her days as deputy minister of home affairs in the Mandela administration.
Effectively stripped of purpose and power, do not expect Sisulu to embrace retirement gracefully. Her attitude towards the Ramaphosa camp is likely to have hardened after the Nasrec humiliation, and if Sisulu is left with the NEC as her sole political playground, she is likely to make it count.
The other figure who may be further embittered ...
The war in Ukraine is in its eighth month. The costs of the conflict are massive, but they are also hidden. Still, the dire circumstances somehow bring out the best in human spirit and character.
Plastered on the blue and white walls surrounding the St Michael Monastery of the Orthodox Church in Kyiv are the names and faces of more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since the war began. Outside we met two young women who were putting up a picture of the husband of one of them, killed in September, having returned to the front after being wounded in the first days of the war. The other young woman was there for her brother, a paratrooper, who died leaving behind three children and a pregnant wife.
We said the Lord’s Prayer together, outside in the snow, hand-in-hand, a moment that left us both in tears.
It is almost impossible to console such grief when emotions are raw, and there is little relief in sight. The four million Kyani, the citizens of Kyiv, are under virtual daily Russian bombardment of critical infrastructure, especially electricity. The government works around the clock to reinstate energy sources. With temperatures well below freezing, mayor Vitali Klitschko told us that within a couple hours the temperature inside is the same as that outside.
The war in Ukraine is now in its eighth month. The costs of the conflict are massive, but they are also hidden.
They can be seen visibly in the destruction of infrastructure, more than $120-billion at last count. To this can be added the cost to the global economy – more than $3-trillion to date – including the negative impact on a billion Africans by the rise both in fertiliser and fuel charges and the shortage of Ukrainian grains on which many of the vulnerable depend.
It can also be assessed from the number of internally and internationally displaced (so-called IDPs) in Ukraine, 15 million of its 43 million people having been forced on the move since the start of the war on 24 February. Eight million have left Ukraine altogether. We visited one centre for IDPs in the company of the Ukrainian-Rwandan Olympic champion Zhan Beleniuk, which has seen 80,000 pass through its doors. Some of the children are there without their parents, or with just one parent, their fathers fighting at the front.
These costs can also be counted through the loss of human life, perhaps as ...
Holiday-makers have been warned to be wary of potentially rabid animals during their festive season travels around South Africa.
“Rabies is particularly common in the KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, as well as the border between Free State province and Lesotho,” warned the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in a media statement on 19 December.
“The public is advised not to approach, touch, or pick up stray dogs and cats from these areas for whatever purpose.”
A surge in strays
There may be more strays on the streets this festive season, according to the National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ consulting veterinarian, Dr Bryce Marock.
The reasons behind this increase are multiple; among them being animals escaping the loud noises created by fireworks as well as escaping their properties when left home alone during the holidays.
“It could also be because these animals are often dumped or abandoned when they are no longer wanted,” said Marock.
When encountering a stray animal, one should be wary, since spotting a rabid animal is not a uniform process. Some may appear vicious while others can seem sleepy or even overly friendly, warned the department’s statement.
“They may drool a lot, may not be able to swallow, continually vocalise, show odd behaviour and sometimes become aggressive, or, on the contrary, they may just appear weak and unresponsive.”
Rather than approaching a stray animal, one should contact the metro’s dog control, the SPCA and other such bodies, suggested Jared Strydom, a veterinarian in the Eastern Cape.
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A rabid concern
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns saw an outbreak of rabies in 2021, said Strydom, which caused a rapid spread of the disease.
While the number of rabies cases had decreased from about 100 cases a month in November 2021 to under 10 cases a month in 2022, the deadly disease is still one to be cautious of, he said.
“The rabies virus is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal when it bites, scratches or licks a person,” the department’s statement informed.
If exposed, it is crucial that the wound is washed well with soap under running water and that preventive treatment is immediately sought, as the disease could otherwise prove fatal.
Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate
While the government is responsible for disease control, the onus is also on animal owners to ensure that their pets are up to date ...
A Muslim marriage will be in community of property unless the spouses entered into an antenuptial contract excluding the community of property regime.
Question: My husband and I married under sharia law by Muslim rights in a mosque and then legalised our marriage at the Home Affairs office.
I want to understand the following:
Are we married in community of property? When we got married, I owned a house, which is registered in my name. Will my husband be the co-owner of the house, or can I bequeath it to my children?
Answer: Islamic marriages are not yet accorded full recognition. A Muslim marriage that has subsequently been solemnised by a marriage officer will be the same as that of a civil marriage in terms of the Marriage Act. This means that it will be in community of property unless the spouses entered into an antenuptial contract excluding the community of property regime.
All assets that belonged to the spouses when they got married as well as any assets that the two of you acquire during the marriage will accordingly be co-owned by both parties in equal share following their civil marriage. Again, this assumes that you did not enter into an antenuptial contract. Your husband will therefore own half of your house. You are able to bequeath your share of the house to your children.
Question: I have two retirement annuities as well as R3-million in a company pension fund. I want to stop my retirement annuity contributions when I turn 56 and start drawing a pension from them even though I plan to work until I turn 65. Am I allowed to do this?
Answer: You are allowed to draw an income from a retirement annuity (RA) from the age of 55, regardless of whether you are working or are not working.
However, before you take this course, I would strongly recommend that you chat with a knowledgeable financial planner as this plan of action can have long-term implications. You would need to think about a couple of things:
Your tax rate will be high when you are working, so the additional income from the RAs will be taxed at a higher rate than it would be taxed if you were on pension.
The longer you invest and the later you start taking any drawdowns, the better off you will be. In your situation, you would be stopping contributions as well as starting drawdowns 10 years earlier than ...
After multiple failed attempts at creating a South African global T20 league to rival the likes of the IPL and the Big Bash, the inaugural edition of the Betway SA20 league kicks off in early January. But with the largest prize fund in the history of South African franchise cricket on offer, this one appears to be different.
The idea of hosting a brand new T20 league on South African shores which could attract some of the world’s best cricketers is nothing new.
Just four years ago, a R10-million prize fund was announced before the first Mzansi Super League (MSL) — which was designed to do exactly that. Six teams took part from various cities around the country, and the prize money was shared among the top two, with SABC broadcasting every match live.
South Africa’s best cricketers, including AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada and many others took part, while international stars such as Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, Rashid Khan and Dwayne Bravo also competed in the inaugural edition.
After a month of competition, the Jozi Stars emerged victorious, defeating the Cape Town Blitz in the final. Yet, the average attendance over the course of the 32 games was under 6,000 people, and the tournament didn’t make a dent compared to T20 leagues such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia’s Big Bash league.
The MSL ended up costing CSA more than R100-million over two editions because it virtually gave the broadcast rights away.
It was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, being replaced on both occasions by a regular CSA T20 league.
Ultimately, CSA made the decision to cancel the MSL altogether — the idea never quite living up to its billing as a rival to some of the world’s biggest T20 leagues.
Now, four years on from the inaugural edition, a new South African T20 league has entered the fray.
Here to stay
The Betway SA20 league, which kicks off on 10 January in Cape Town, follows the same structure as its predecessors — with six teams participating and the tournament taking place over the course of a month.
However, there are some noticeable differences.
First, all six teams are owned by IPL franchises. The teams participating will be the Mumbai Indians Cape Town, the Paarl Royals, the Durban Super Giants, the Joburg Super Kings, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Pretoria Capitals.
Second, and perhaps most ...
Over the past two decades, several new sites of social anxiety have taken shape. This anxiety has swirled around public and private corruption, crime, nepotism, prebendalism, re-racialising and retribalisation of politics, the disintegration of public institutions and collapse of public utilities, crime, physical and structural violence, poverty, inequality, unemployment and homelessness, xenophobia and a unique brand of ethnonationalism.
We know now what the constellation of power in the ruling ANC will be in 2023 and into the first few months of 2024, when the country is expected to hold its seventh general election. Perhaps now, over the coming 14-16 months, more than ever, the country’s intellectuals have an obligation to disambiguate and bring clarity to the anxieties of our time, and to the politics that reproduce these anxieties. How we approach politics in this putative age of anxiety (so often overused a phrase) how we identify, explain and understand, then relay it all to the greater public, will define the work of intellectuals in the coming months.
It is passé, to be sure, but there is no harm in repeating that significantly more substantive public discussions can be had beyond the daily disgorgement of 280-character tweets. This is where the intellectual becomes indispensable to society.
Intellectuals and the truth
A clever Italian thinker made it clear, about 100 years ago, that anyone and everyone is, or may be, an intellectual. However, not everyone plays a professional or public service role as an intellectual. Most important are those intellectuals who represent the interests of rich or poor communities; those who may be umbilically tied to ruling elites, and those who feign independence, but serve as functionaries of the class or some other group with which they are affiliated. From these vantage points, they direct the ideas and aspirations of those groups. This applies simultaneously to journalists who “cover” events, and those who apply their minds, insights, and understand and draw on history to produce further insights into events or states of affairs.
We should distinguish between intellectuals in the sciences — those whose research and output are on, say, theoretical physics — and those who serve a social (intellectual) function. The latter are the journalists, academics and public figures who bring political, economic, social and historical ideas and arguments to the pages of daily or weekly news and information sources.
(On a lighter note, I cannot ignore a delightful and fairly succinct statement by that Danish fellow, ...
Lawyers for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich argue he should not be sanctioned because his ties to the Kremlin are weak, but new documents reveal he secretly had a yearslong partnership with the Russian government in a forestry venture.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was a direct partner of the Russian government for nearly a decade in a forestry venture worth at least half a billion dollars, leaked documents show, contradicting his claims that his links to the Kremlin were limited.
Abramovich, worth about $9-billion, was sanctioned for his Kremlin connections by the European Union and the UK following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The US has not sanctioned Abramovich but has recently stepped up its hunt for his assets.
In a lawsuit aimed at getting the EU sanctions removed, Abramovich’s lawyers have argued that he has had no substantive ties to the Russian government.
But company records and leaked compliance documents from Cyprus show that Abramovich in fact invested heavily in a major forestry company, Russia Forest Products (RFP), in which the Russian government was also a significant shareholder. Both the Russian government and Abramovich sold their RFP stakes in January this year, just a month ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.
‘Lie laid bare’
The new findings “lay bare the claim that [Abramovich] had no direct partnership with the Kremlin and did not benefit from that relationship,” said James Henry, an economist and longtime investigative journalist focusing on banking and the offshore sector.
“He has denied it, but because his holdings, including land and forestry concessions, were also or mainly in Russia, it makes sense that he would be a partner,” Henry added. “Russia’s economy is deeply political and the Kremlin controls everything of importance.”
A shareholder since 2008, Abramovich held just under a third of RFP by 2013 through a British Virgin Islands-registered company called Minden, according to contracts, loan agreements, deeds and other internal correspondence obtained by OCCRP. Through Minden, he appears to have invested about $230-million into the forestry company between 2008 and 2016, the documents show.
In 2013, the Kremlin became Abramovich’s partner when it invested in RFP through a Cyprus-registered company called Amarudo. By 2021, Amarudo was RFP’s largest shareholder, holding more than 40% of the company. Amarudo is a fully owned subsidiary of the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), an investment company headquartered in Moscow.
The RCIF has declared in public documents that it is 45% owned by the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), ...
For now, the pilot project is kicking off in the Western Cape with more than 250 pickup points across the province. There are plans to phase in in-store collection points and make the service available on the Woolies app in the new year.
In a bid to up its online shopping delivery options, retailer Woolworths has announced a new partnership with leading logistics company Pargo, which will allow the retailer to leverage off more than 3,000 Pargo collection points in the long term.
For now, the pilot project is kicking off in the Western Cape with more than 250 pickup points across the province. There are plans to phase in in-store collection points and make the service available on the Woolies app in the new year.
Customers will be able to shop the full range of Woolworths fashion, beauty and homeware products, with the option to pick up their online orders at nearby Pargo click-and-collect pickup points, such as FreshStop stores, Caltex service stations, Lewis stores and some pharmacies.
The service is competitive at R20 per delivery, with free Pargo deliveries if your order is over R475 or you own a black Woolies credit card.
By comparison, competitor The Foschini Group (TFG) offers delivery to your door at a cost of R50 if your order is under R500 and free delivery for orders of more than R500. You also have the option to “click and collect”, free at any TFG store.
If you choose the current Woolies delivery option (not Pargo), you will pay R25 for orders under R475 and get free delivery for orders of more than R475. You can also choose to pay an additional R35 if you want to receive your order within one to three days rather than the typical three- to five-day delivery period. Express delivery (within one day, excluding weekends and public holidays) will cost you R75.
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Although Woolies is currently trialling a free “click and collect” option for food purchases at some stores, this service does not seem to be available for online purchases of clothing, beauty and homeware.
“We realise that some of our customers are not always available to receive parcels delivered to them. Parcel pick-up will not only bolster our omnichannel value proposition, but will further provide our customers with convenient solutions that suit their individual lifestyles. This partnership will now allow us to offer another reliable delivery ...
Destination marketers roped in prancing ponies and football icons and even looked to the stars to promote their countries in 2022.
‘Revenge travel” — that is, travelling to make up for time lost because of Covid lockdowns — is the hottest trend this year, as markets opened up and competed to entice valuable tourism currency.
The World Tourism Organisation’s latest Tourism Barometer, which monitors short-term tourism trends, says international tourism is on track to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of December.
About 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September — around 133% more than the number recorded in the same period of 2021.
The agency said results were boosted by strong pent-up demand, improved confidence levels and the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
Monthly arrivals climbed from -64% in January 2022 (versus 2019) to -27% in September, confirming the rapid and sustained recovery of international travel throughout the year.
Tourism performance was particularly strong in Q3 2022 when an estimated 340 million international arrivals were recorded around the world — almost 50% of the nine-month total.
Europe (up 126%) continued to lead the rebound of international tourism through to September, reaching 81% of pre-pandemic levels. The Middle East saw international arrivals more than triple year-on-year between January and September 2022, climbing to 71% of 2019 levels.
Africa (up 166%) and the Americas (up 106%) reached 63% and 66% of 2019 levels respectively. In Asia and the Pacific (up 230%), arrivals more than tripled in the first nine months of 2022, although they remained 83% below 2019 levels.
To increase awareness and carve out space in this crowded sector, marketers are laying on the FOMO with fun, quirky campaigns that position countries or regions as desirable destinations.
Here’s a look at some of the marketing masterstrokes this year, to inspire wanderlust in 2023:
Live Again:
Joe Public United’s work with South African Tourism, “Live Again”, tugged at the heartstrings as it reminded travellers — especially Saffas — that the pastures are not greener, or more fun, abroad.
Inviting travellers to “live again”, the campaign showcased SA’s diverse landscapes, cultures and other offerings as bucket-list destinations, adventures and experiences are just a flight away.
“Live Again” features a woman leaving a gloomy London for a dream holiday in South Africa, filled with game parks, the Drakensberg, water sports, parties and horseback rides on the beach.
Gorilla marketing
The “Land of the Thousand Hills”, Rwanda has cleverly used its association with sport to build its ...
The press across Europe has been reporting at length on the scandal, which allegedly involves an attempt by Qatar to improve its relationship with Europe and defray criticism during and after the Fifa World Cup.
A bizarre link has been uncovered between SA businessman Iqbal Surve’s Sekunjalo Development Foundation and the organisation which is at the centre of the largest and most controversial corruption scandal to hit the European Union.
The link, which Survé claims to be entirely innocent, exists because an EU document records that the Sekunjalo Development Foundation was at one point the largest donor to a European Union lobbying organisation called Fight Impunity.
The organisation’s full title is Association Against Impunity and for Transitional Justice, and it has been at the centre of the alleged financial scandal in which police have seized €1.5-million in cash in at least 20 raids on homes, offices and hotel rooms across Belgium, France and Italy.
The press across Europe have been reporting at length on the scandal, which allegedly involves an attempt by Qatar to improve its relationship with Europe and defray criticism during and after the Fifa World Cup.
Fight Impunity was founded by Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former member of the European Parliament, notionally to promote the cause of human rights and to bring violators to justice. Panzeri and a Fight Impunity and parliamentary staffer, Francesco Giorgi, are both now in custody.
So is Giorgi’s Greek MEP girlfriend, Eva Kaili, who is by far the most prominent of the people arrested so far. Kaili was one of the 14 vice presidents of the EU Parliament and has served for almost a decade.
To say these events have been dramatic would be a huge understatement: Kaili was arrested by Belgian Federal Police on 9 December following an investigation into organised crime, corruption and money laundering tied to lobbying efforts in support of Qatar. A suitcase of cash was found with her father upon his arrest, and bags of cash were found at her home. About €600,000 was recovered by the police.
Kaili has been expelled by her party, Pasok, and removed as an EU vice president. Much has been made of a speech she made at the European Parliament, praising Qatar’s human rights record and criticising accusations of corruption made against the country.
The organisation Fight Impunity was started in 2019 and it so happened that in September 2020, the secretary-general of the European Commission asked the EU Parliament’s ...
Chief executive Anthony Thunström says the acquisition will enable the group to scale up its presence in the value-branded footwear segment and gain new customers.
The Foschini Group (TFG), which already has more than 3,000 outlets across Africa contributing 66% of its turnover, will now take over Street Fever, which has 114 branded footwear stores.
The acquisition by TFG’s Sneaker Factory is not material and did not trigger any JSE Sens announcements. When the company announced its interim results for the six months to September 2022, it had R1.5-billion cash which was earmarked for growth and acquisitions. In August this year, TFG bought the Tapestry Group, which holds Coricraft, for R2.2-billion.
In a brand-conscious country such as South Africa, the sneaker industry is worth millions as many are prepared to pay upwards of R1,000 for the likes of Nike, Adidas, Superga and Asics brands. Sneaker culture is so entrenched that rappers YoungstaCPT and Raf Don released a hit song earlier this year called Tekky.
“Youngsta and I wanted to find a way to connect with people from different cultural backgrounds, races and classes and this was the perfect way to do that because of the common love and interest in sneakers, which also inspired the title of the song by using the colloquial term Tekky,” Raf Don told SA Hip Hop Mag.
TFG management says the deal will see about 650 jobs absorbed into the group. Chief executive Anthony Thunström says the acquisition will enable the group to scale up its presence in the value-branded footwear segment and gain new customers while offering them a greater choice of brands and products through TFG’s sourcing capability.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“We’re pleased to be able to safeguard employment for the Street Fever staff despite the current challenging trading conditions. As we have shown with previous acquisitions such as Jet, Granny Goose and Tapestry Home Brands, TFG has an established track record of integrating businesses successfully and using our scale to unlock accelerated growth,” Thunström says.
About 90 of the Street Fever stores will be rebranded as Sneaker Factory stores and the remainder, which are located in proximity to Sneaker Factory outlets, will be taken up by other TFG brands.
“Loyal Street Fever customers can rest assured that they will find familiar faces in the rebranded Sneaker Factory stores as the staff will be retained, while TFG will bring even more competitive pricing, exciting ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington on Wednesday to address Congress, his first trip outside his country since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
US President Joe Biden’s administration confirmed nearly $2-billion in military assistance and will announce moves to deliver a Patriot missile battery to help Ukraine bolster its defences this winter.
President Vladimir Putin said Russia has “no limitations” on military spending for the war in Ukraine, and his defence minister said Moscow should expand its armed forces to 1.5 million troops from the current 1.15 million.
Key developments
Zelensky leaves Ukraine for first time since war to firm up aid
Zelensky visits US with Biden offering more funds, weapons
Putin vows no limit in funds to ensure army’s victory in Ukraine
Why the US is giving a Patriot system to Ukraine: QuickTake
Ukraine gets IMF nod for non-cash programme, paving way for aid
On the ground
Ukrainian forces repelled assaults near 25 settlements, including the eastern city of Bakhmut, over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. Russian troops launched five missile attacks and 16 airstrikes, as well as 61 multiple rocket launcher assaults, damaging civilian infrastructure in several cities, including Kherson, according to the statement.
Russia hit the southern town of Ochakiv, in the Mykolayiv region, with cannon artillery on Wednesday afternoon, injuring three people including a 10-year-old child, according to Zelensky Office deputy chief Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
Biden to announce Patriots, other aid
Biden announced that the US would provide Ukraine with $1-billion worth of military aid via a drawdown of existing stock including expanded air defence and precision-strike capabilities, as well as other munitions and equipment, the State Department said in a statement.
The Department of Defense also announced an additional $850-million of security assistance, bringing total US military aid to $21.9-billion.
The package will for the first time include the Patriot Air Defence System, which will improve Ukraine’s anti-air capabilities as it can shoot down short-range ballistic missiles and aircraft at a higher ceiling than now, the State Department said.
Sites go dark across the globe in support of Ukraine
More than 60 famous world locations including the Colosseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House and the Rockefeller Center in New York, switched off the lights on Wednesday in support of Ukraine.
The project was a fundraising effort to collect aid for power generators for hospitals in Ukraine, United24, the fundraising arm of the government in Kyiv, said on Telegram.
Putin vows no limit in funds to ensure victory
Putin said Russia has ...
Water outages have occurred in 18 of the 24 local municipalities in the Western Cape after prolonged bouts of rolling blackouts.
The mayor of Matzikama has apologised for the municipality’s poor water quality and laid the blame for it squarely on the prolonged power cuts which have affected the water supply. It is among several municipalities in the Western Cape where the ongoing rolling blackouts have affected the water supply.
“As executive mayor, on behalf of the Matzikama Municipality, I apologise for the quality of the water,” said Mayor Johan van der Hoven in a statement.
The statement was released in response to complaints by residents about the quality of water in the municipality, about 300km north of Cape Town, along the N7 highway. The municipality consists of the towns of Vredendal, Ebenhaeser, Klawer and Vanrhynsdorp — all of which have been affected by the ongoing issues with water.
In Facebook posts on community groups, several community members have complained of brown water coming out of taps.
‘Discoloured water’
One resident, Rodney Lackay, told Daily Maverick the water had been “brown and discoloured”. He said power cuts weren’t new and questioned whether there was another reason for the water problems.
Lackay also asked why the municipality issued the statement only on social media platforms when many residents did not have access to these platforms.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Van der Hoven said: “Load shedding is and will always be the main reason that influences the water supply to the reservoirs. The process of hiring generators has already been put into motion.”
The mayor said that because of recent heavy rainfalls in the area, “mud got into the system and put a lot of pressure on the filters” of the reservoirs. Van der Hoven said an emergency meeting was held on Tuesday with the municipality’s technical staff, who were working “24 hours to monitor and normalise the situation. You can be assured that it wasn’t due to deliberate actions and the municipality is doing everything possible to solve the problem.”
Matzikama’s water is supplied by the Clanwilliam Dam. The Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell, told Daily Maverick the dam was managed by the national Department of Water and Sanitation and was currently 63.62% full.
Matzikama is not alone in suffering water problems associated with power cuts. This week, News24 reported that Beaufort West experienced water cuts, with municipal officials also indicating that rolling blackouts were affecting ...
There is considerable uncertainty around whether Nelson Mandela Bay metro still has its DA mayor, Retief Odendaal. Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Zolile Williams has promulgated a decision to change the municipality’s structure from an executive system to a collective one, in effect removing Odendaal from his job.
A change in the structure of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, promulgated earlier this month, has in effect removed the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) executive mayor, Retief Odendaal, from his position, as there is no apparent interim mechanism created in the law for this type of decision.
Odendaal, with DA support, has now filed an urgent interdict to provisionally suspend the decision by provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Zolile Williams, pending a judicial review of its correctness.
He said on Wednesday that they are not using taxpayers’ money for the legal action.
In papers before the court, Odendaal accused Williams of acting unconstitutionally, irrationally and “with ulterior purpose”. He said Williams pushed the decision through without resolving an intergovernmental dispute declared by the current coalition government.
He said a judicial review of this decision might take considerable time, and that the metro would need an interim court order to keep the current executive system in place.
The ANC holds 48 seats in the metro’s council, as does the DA. Smaller parties make up the rest of the seats. Under the new system, the ANC, DA, EFF and the Northern Alliance will serve on the executive committee, while smaller parties will sit in council but not in the political leadership body.
At the moment, the Northern Alliance, the Defenders of the People, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Freedom Front Plus, the Good party, the Abantu Integrity Movement, the African Independent Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress all hold leadership positions in the coalition government, along with the DA.
Williams’ spokesperson, Pheello Oliphant, confirmed that the MEC had received the court papers on 19 December and had filed an intention to oppose.
The matter has been set down for 30 December.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
While it was not yet possible to obtain Williams’ opposing affidavit, he said earlier this year that he believed the political instability in the metro was not in the best interest of service delivery and its residents.
Williams, a widely respected municipal manager before entering politics, said the new coalition government was very unstable.
“There is no focus ...
‘False Rape SA’ is an organisation that publishes the details of women and children who they allege have made false rape allegations. Operated anonymously, they provide no evidence for these claims, and tend to target women who work in advocacy spaces. Daily Maverick spoke to some of these women and discussed the egregiousness of this organisation.
A self-proclaimed non-profit organisation is posting the names, pictures, and locations of women and children who they claim to be false rape accusers.
‘False Rape SA’, operated anonymously, provides no evidence for these allegations, and did not answer Daily Maverick when contacted.
Active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WordPress, the organisation proceeds on the basis that ‘toxic femininity’ has created a culture of false rape allegations and vastly overestimated rape statistics in South Africa.
They claim to be the ‘first world information centre on false rape’ and state that they will not take down their list of supposed false rape accusers until the government develops a statute for false rape allegations.
The targeted
While presenting their venture as a noble one, the truth of this organisation is that they tend to unjustly target women who work in advocacy spaces.
“80% of the people on the page are actually friends of mine, they are activists that work in the activism space,” said the fundraising director at Rise Up Against Gender-Based Violence, Mandisa Khanyile, who was posted on the false rape accusers list on 11 December.
It was after she had made a Facebook post critical of the MacG podcast that she was listed as a false rape accuser, said Khanyile.
“They are making up allegations that are so out of this world”.
Roché Kester, who simply commented on Khanyile’s post, was then also listed as a false rape accuser.
Kester works in the LGBTQIA+ activism space and said that she had never heard of the organisation before.
“Next thing my face appears on this website, and I’m like: ‘What the hell is going on here?’”
The non-profit women’s rights organisation, Women for Change, were first made aware of the organisation in December 2021 after they began receiving attacks from them on social media.
“They have attacked us on their platforms before and have posted our images on their Instagram,” said the founder of Women for Change, Sabrina Walter.
“They also post videos of little children and say that they are false rape accusers. It’s so violating”.
The battle for removal
The organisation released a statement on 11 December in which they criticised ...
For more than 10 years, the I Am Water Foundation – a Cape Town-based nonprofit – has been making the ocean more accessible for young South Africans in a bid to encourage the conservation of this precious resource.
Windmill Beach in Simon’s Town is a pristine example of the best the Cape Peninsula coastline has to offer – soft sand and clear waters, with a scattering of boulders just offshore that provide protection from rougher waves and winds. It’s a favoured spot for those seeking a calm day by the sea.
It also serves as one of the locations for the workshops run by the I Am Water Foundation, a local nonprofit. Through the workshops, the organisation transforms the small beach into a natural classroom where young people can learn more about the ocean and how to protect it.
Unlike in a conventional school, the uniform worn by students is a 5mm wetsuit and the space is shared with a variety of small sea creatures.
“Our immediate target is to connect people to the ocean,” said Katherine Wallis, education and communications manager at I Am Water.
“We start with the connection and that connection sparks a love for the experience they’ve had, [for] this amazing resource that they’ve got to enjoy, and that love quite instinctively leads to wanting to protect it.”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
An ocean for all
I Am Water was founded in 2010 by Hanli Prinsloo, a longtime freediver and ocean advocate. Her aim was to inspire a wave of ocean conservation by fostering a connection with the sea among young people. Those who participate in the organisation’s programmes are largely children from schools in low-income coastal communities.
“The reason we target those communities and those schools is because there’s so much evidence to show that they live right there, but don’t have access to the ocean in a safe and positive way, and don’t necessarily get given the tools to understand how they can have a positive impact on the ocean,” explained Wallis.
“Over the past year, we’ve been moving from coastal [areas] to the whole of . the Cape Town area.”
I Am Water’s flagship programme is the Ocean Guardians workshop, a two-day experience for Grade 7 pupils. The children explore rock pools, participate in a beach clean-up and learn about the importance of the ocean.
“The highlight for everyone is always the snorkelling. A lot of the kids ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
It’s Christmas — a time for parties, presents and pity for those children spending the holidays in institutional care. It makes government’s plan for the mass deinstitutionalisation of children seem miraculous. But, instead, in an uncanny recreation of the first Christmas, it may leave many children out in the cold.
It’s been three years since, on 18 December 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the “promotion and protection of the rights of children”.
The resolution has a section dedicated to “children without parental care”. It states that children should grow up in a family environment, and that “every effort should be directed to enabling children to remain in or swiftly return to the care of their parents or, when appropriate, other close family members and that, where alternative care is necessary, family and community-based care should be promoted over placement in institutions”.
This was followed on 25 June 2022 by the Kigali Declaration on care and protection reform — signed by all Commonwealth countries, including South Africa — which “encourage development agencies by 2025 to prioritise quality care arrangements at the community level, over institutionalisation” and “support projects which take a holistic and inclusive approach to child protection systems development and family strengthening”.
While the move towards deinstitutionalisation seeks to uphold the rights of children, it’s also predicated on the belief that all institutions are inherently damaging, unnecessary and even self-serving. It’s a perspective obvious in global thinking about institutional care.
A study which focuses on “dispelling the orphan myth” illustrates that, while there are an estimated eight million children in institutions globally, 80% have a living parent.
Although the study did not include South Africa, it indicated that, across multiple countries, children were placed in institutional care due to poverty, disabilities, abuse or neglect, discrimination (for example, families that did not want to raise a girl) or because organisations were using nefarious means such as removal orders or recruitment to populate their institutions.
Equally, the Kigali Declaration argues that institutional care is being promoted by “well-meaning international aid, donations, orphanage volunteering, mission trips or tourist visits”. These, it says, “can lead to unnecessary family-child separation and undermine care reform efforts”.
For South Africa, the declarations represent an important commitment from government to move away from long-term institutional care for vulnerable children and have received widespread support.
Lack of nuance
As with many child-rights-focused initiatives in the country, though, the lack of nuance in the global view ...
Commentary of union activists on social media about the developments in Nasrec and the participation of workers and unemployed members who participated in the 55th National Conference as ANC Branch delegates, once more compliments the viewpoint that workers and the working class are not automatically disaffected by the nightmarish rule of a national liberation movement like the ANC.
There are two generalities with respect to national liberation movements that are often repeated for those who care to listen.
Firstly, given how the middle strata, petty bourgeois and a compromised working class leadership governs a country in the interest of a few after freedom is won, national liberation movements generally have a lifespan of 30 years in an ever-declining handle on the levers of political power. If not removed from power by disinterested people, it is overtaken by the neo-liberal parties who are often trusted by the working class to do a better job than the people who had liberated them.
Secondly, it is believed that the masses who had suffered under the yoke of colonial domination, exploitation and discrimination will for a very long time remember and show loyalty to those they regard as their liberators. In this regard national liberation movements, despite a departure from serving the best interest of the working class and the poor, have been retained in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique. Oftentimes, holding onto power in these countries has seen a fair amount of trickery and fraudulent conduct to hold onto the levers of power by former liberation movements.
In South Africa, there has been much talk about the 1994 democratic breakthrough. In the national liberation camp, where the working class was considered a leading detachment and motive force of the national democratic revolution, over time the notion of the working class being the only consistent and most reliable motive force (singular) in the revolution made way for motive forces (plural).
The “new vision” of building a national democratic society, in front of the very eyes of the “Socialist Axis” in the ANC-led alliance, saw a retreat within the national liberation movement — dominated by the ANC — from some of the progressive policy perspectives developed by Merg (macro-economic research group who died a sudden death in favour of a neo-liberal policy regime), the fatal suffocation of the RDP (reconstruction and development programme), abandoning of the Freedom Charter and the replacement of these social democratic and welfarist policies by a ...
Wednesday’s announcement of the ANC’s new 80-member National Executive Committee has revealed that the vast majority of those elected to the body are allies of party president Cyril Ramaphosa.
The ANC’s new National Executive Committee (NEC) was announced by the party’s electoral committee head, Kgalema Motlanthe on Wednesday — and fewer than 20 of those named are not Cyril Ramaphosa supporters. The ANC briefed the media at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Soweto.
Former party deputy president David Mabuza was not announced as an NEC member, which is a double blow for his political career.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Zuma’s influence on the wane as KZN fails to deliver at ANC conference”
NEC members who are not in Ramaphosa’s camp include former ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini, former finance minister Malusi Gigaba, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, former health minister Zweli Mkhize and Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
The political future of ANC Eastern Cape provincial executive member Andile Lungisa hangs in the balance as the party still has to discuss whether his suspension will be lifted. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says a final decision around Lungisa’s fate will be made by 5 January 2023.
According to Mbalula, “there was a big lobby for Andile Lungisa to be part of the ANC NEC”.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Ramaphosa’s arch nemesis, Tony Yengeni, failed to make the cut despite having successfully taken the party to court in a bid to have his disqualification lifted.
Over the weekend, Ramaphosa and his supporters managed to garner enough support to install some of his trusted lieutenants in the party’s top ranks — even if by a small margin.
Winning a second term as ANC president, Ramaphosa was elected alongside Gwede Mantashe as national chair, Mbalula as secretary-general, Maropene Ramokgopa as second deputy secretary-general and Gwen Ramokgopa as treasurer.
Nomvula Mokonyane and Paul Mashatile, voted in as first deputy secretary-general and deputy president respectively, are the only top officials who are not part of Ramaphosa’s camp.
Final #ANCNEC list. #ANCElects2022 #ANCNationalConference
Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) December 21, 2022
Among those who failed to make it back on to the NEC are International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor, Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel and Public Service Minister Thulas Nxesi. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan opted to withdraw from the contest.
Mbalula ...
Their line up of black and white musicians was a mission statement for a fractured nation, while Hall’s doleful vocals starkly illustrated the politics of disillusionment.
Terry Hall, who has died after a short illness at 63, was the voice of The Specials, an iconic band that bridged the youth sub-cultures and mainstream pop of the late 1970s and early 1980s, embodying the sound of disaffection in Thatcherite Britain.
Born and raised in Coventry, Hall brought a distinctive stance, and sound, to British pop. As frontman of The Specials and then Fun Boy Three, his simultaneously deadpan yet melodic vocals, flecked with his native Midlands accent, belied the eclecticism that underpinned his music.
His sardonic delivery, likewise, was the filter through which he reflected a sense of alienation, both national and personal. He was plagued by mental illness after being abducted by a child-abuse ring aged 12, which he later alluded to in Fun Boy Three’s song Well Fancy That. By 15 he had left school and drifted through a series of jobs, including bricklayer and hairdresser, before gravitating towards music, first punk and then ska.
It was the latter that particularly infused the sound of The Specials, initially formed as The Coventry Automatics in 1977 by keyboard player and songwriter Jerry Dammers with Hall joining soon afterwards. Early hits were a mixture of Dammers compositions such as Too Much Too Young and covers of ska classics like A Message To You Rudy, fronted by Hall and Neville Staple, who had moved to England from Jamaica aged five.
The mixed-race aspect of The Specials and, latterly, Fun Boy Three was more than just an element of their sound. It was a mission statement for a fractured nation. 2 Tone referred to the genre fusing ska, reggae, punk and new wave – of which The Specials were among the primary exponents – but it was also the name of their record label, founded by Dammers.
The band emerged in parallel with Rock Against Racism, a movement responding to the rise of the far-right National Front in the mid-to-late 1970s and, more specifically, comments that Eric Clapton had made in support of former Birmingham MP Enoch Powell, whose incendiary and racist rhetoric helped to stoke tensions in the Midlands and Britain at large.
Catching the mood
The broader politics of disillusionment were most starkly illustrated on The Specials’ number one hit Ghost Town, Hall’s doleful vocals providing melodic punctuation amidst ...
Songezo Zantsi’s first solo exhibition, Iinkumbulo, derives from archival shots of the Bisho Massacre and complicates the South Africa's history by underlining stories not to be forgotten.
Songezo Zantsi’s first solo exhibition, Iinkumbulo, presented by Vela Projects in the makeshift space on Shortmarket Street in the heart of Cape Town, was a body of 13 oil paintings and one mixed-media work on paper. Most of the paintings are derived from archival shots by seasoned South African photographers like Greg Marinovich and João Silva, who documented the Bisho Massacre in the Eastern Cape, which took place two years before the birth of the multicultural democracy that is South Africa today. A few of the sourced images came from the artist’s family photo album. Zooming in on anecdotes often overshadowed by the grand narratives of “a post-apartheid memorial complex” of resistance and liberation, and the glorification of the “miracle” reconciliation as authored by the ruling ANC, the artist complicates the nation’s history by underlining stories he believes must not be forgotten.
Through compositions dealing with the artist’s early childhood against a backdrop of a nascent national reformation, Zantsi accentuates that developments in history do not always follow a linear course since many things occur simultaneously.
In the sparse exhibition space, the first artwork to draw my attention was a painting of elderly women beating another woman lying on the ground. She is defenceless, almost lifeless, yet the barrage of sticks continues to pound on her. I cannot tell on which parts of her body the makeshift weapons will land as there is no order to the gruesome act. The violence in the scene contests all the characteristics society stereotypically ascribes to femininity – forgiving, nurturance, tenderness, humility, understanding, etc. The act of violence transcends gender, and race in the case of apartheid South Africa.
I later learnt the victim was being accused of spying for the ANC by members of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Such mob justice was also meted out to spies of the apartheid regime by the ANC and others. In search of answers as to why oppressed people would behave in this manner, I am thinking of the catastrophic effects of trauma, victimisation and violence on the individual and society’s collective psyche. I am thinking of how the oppressed transmit and circulate learned forms of subjugation, turning them into a societal culture.
With that in mind, I am reminded of that scene in Njabulo ...
Gordon has managed to pull off a feat of multidimensional life-writing. This is not just a biography of Emily Hale, but of Eliot himself, whose letters to Hale reveal how his life found its way into his poems.
On 2 January 2020, South African Lyndall Gordon was one of a select group of T.S. Eliot scholars who waited in Princeton’s Firestone Library for 1,100 letters from the Nobel Prize-winning poet to Emily Hale, a drama teacher and actress, to be released from their 50-year embargo.
The Hyacinth Girl: T.S. Eliot’s Hidden Muse has reached our shelves a mere two years later. It tells the story of a poet who needed women for their transformational power. Eliot’s first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood, transformed him from a “mediocre teacher of philosophy” into an English poet. His second wife, Valerie Fletcher, transformed him from a puritan and celibate into a late-life lover and uxorious husband. But the woman who acted as his muse through his most creative years, who gave him a visionary power, and who co-produced his most loved lines, was Emily Hale:
Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden, Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither Living nor dead, and I knew nothing, Looking into the heart of light, the silence
As Gordon and fellow researcher Frances Dickey, working together at the same table, read the letter that confirmed Hale as Eliot’s hyacinth girl, they jumped up to hug. Here was proof enough to convince even the most calcified of her doubters and detractors that Hale had contributed materially to the poem of the century.
Eliot was an ardent correspondent who often told Hale that he wanted their letters to one another to be preserved. But then he developed cold feet. He had a colleague at Faber burn Emily’s letters to him. Unable to set fire to those secreted at Princeton, Eliot insisted on adding what Gordon rightly describes as a “character assassination”.
In this covering letter that researchers like Gordon were obliged to read before delving into the correspondence, Eliot denies Hale’s primacy in either his life or his poetry. He wasn’t in love with her: it was “the love of a ghost for a ghost”. He implies that because he hadn’t married her, Hale was driven by desire for revenge against him. Gordon tells us that his “letter alleges Emily’s ‘insensitiveness’ and ...
Changing your eating, exercising, socialising and engagement with nature can help treat depression. Now mental health professionals have some guidelines to shape treatment around lifestyle therapies.
Jonah Hill’s Netflix documentary, Stutz, is an insightful journey into the mind of his therapist, renowned psychiatrist Phil Stutz. Hill delves into Stutz’ model of care, creatively using visual depictions of key concepts and “tools” drawn by Stutz himself.
This model is founded upon one’s relationship with their physical body. When he’s discussing the importance of health behaviours like exercise, diet and sleep, Stutz estimates 85% of the initial gains to someone with mental health concerns commencing therapy can come from focusing on these “lifestyle” factors. Surprised, Hill says in the film:
“When I was a kid, exercise and diet was framed to me in like, ‘there’s something wrong with how you look’. But never once was exercise or diet propositioned to me in terms of mental health. I just wish that was presented to people differently. Because for me, that caused a lot of problems.”
So, is Stutz right?
What does the latest evidence tell us?
While the 85% figure is debatable, there is now good evidence therapies targeting lifestyle factors can be a critical part of treating psychiatric conditions such as depression. A recent meta-analysis (which brings together results from different research studies) shows exercise may be as powerful as anti-depressant medication for depression.
Our own research shows a modified Mediterranean diet can substantially improve symptoms and functioning of people living with moderate to severe depression.
The mental health benefits of these interventions occur independent of weight loss, can be used in combination with medications (such as antidepressants or antipsychotics) and are cost-effective because of societal gains such increased workplace productivity.
And the benefits of these approaches can be be experienced relatively quickly, with effects evident in as little as three weeks.
Lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of common conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which contribute to the 20-year life expectancy gap for those experiencing mental illness.
The strength of the evidence means it has now been cited in key policy documents, advocacy and clinical practice guidelines in Europe and the United Kingdom.
The principal organisation representing the medical specialty of psychiatry, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, now recommends lifestyle modification should be considered the first step in treating depression.
Despite all of this, this approach has not been comprehensively taken up by mainstream mental health-care providers in ...
Maverick Life interviewed British musician and TikTok star Casey Lowry in the middle of his South African tour.
Standing on stage in District Six, dressed in a green and gold Springbok jersey, Casey Lowry looks like he could have lived in Cape Town his whole life. With long blond hair under a baseball cap and a beer in hand, one would be forgiven for thinking the Indie musician was brought up on the beach and not in the British midland town of Chesterfield.
His accent, naturally, gives him away, but the crowd in Harrington’s Cocktail Bar is delighted as he throws around South African colloquialisms and a few Afrikaans words (kk is a firm favourite.)
As the show starts, Lowry has everyone on their feet, tables and chairs pushed aside as he encourages the audience to press closer. In December of 2022, it feels like a joyous return to live music after the pandemic years.
Singer and songwriter Lowry has just embarked on his first world tour which kicked off in Johannesburg on 4 December. After his Cape Town show, he heads to Langebaan, Hermanus, Stilbaai and Plettenberg Bay before moving on to Europe.
Read in Daily Maverick: “The year in music 2022 — wrapping up or mopping up?”
Above the streets of Cape Town, in a new venue after the show had to be upgraded to host a larger capacity than Lowry and his team anticipated, the musician certainly delivers. Lowry’s indie guitar pop sound is free and joyful and calls on the listener to sing along. Nothing about his songs is too complicated, but in that lies the appeal; music is meant to be enjoyed, sung along to, moved to. It’s naughty and light-hearted, and his lyrics are even more so. “I write fun things,” Lowry tells Maverick Life.
“I want to write music that is in my own taste, that I would listen to and get really excited about if I heard it on the radio, otherwise what’s the point?”
One of these fun songs Lowry plays in Cape Town is Trampoline, which he wrote at the age of 14.
“I was forced to play the clarinet when I was a kid growing up, and I didn’t like it at all. So when I was 13 I managed to move over, so I learnt guitar on YouTube,” he says.
“Some people like trimming the gardens and become gardeners. I like to play music. It feels really good. ...
Jay Savage summarises his top tracks and delves into the artistry behind some of this year’s must-listen music.
Last year at this time — as global pandemic panic was just beginning to recede and something like a ‘life’ was just crazy enough for the optimistic amongst us to consider might be in store in the coming year — I took an immodest, impudent, entirely impotent, quixotic swipe at the music digital service providers (DSPs) generally and one platform in particular.
I was righteous and indignant at said music/tech platform’s annual year-end ‘Wrapped’, a juggernaut of a crisply digestible but creepily invasive, sinister surveillance-based algorithmic capsule of our yearlong music preferences, listening patterns, fetishes and lapses of taste, not to mention the distressing data on how much time was spent in distracted procrastination avoiding all the constructive important stuff we should — but will never — get around to.
I wrote in Daily Maverick how this grotesque, generational broadside was vulgarising our musical appreciation or experience and cheapening in every sense — and specifically, for the creators of music, the material sense. Impudent and impotent yes — irrational too — I took on the task of trying to “Swat-a-fly” with an omelette. Virtually, an omelette.
This year — indeed, a fortnight or so ago — my updated listening diagnosis arrived again. Unsolicited and equally as unwelcome. An unwanted gift. And you can’t return it. The machine imparted all manner of data designed (in any case managing) to reduce you to the single grain of sand you are on a vast, vast beach. There was little I didn’t know, much, much less I needed to, and only two items I’ll share here.
One, my favourite song of the year turned out to be the one I listened to . most times!
And two, I was heartily congratulated, complimented, and praised (by a programme that would have spent, what — a 200th of a blink of an eye? — on analysing the data) for my wide-ranging listening tastes. I had in point of data-fact listened to 41 genres (!) this past year. I was heralded as an “Adventurer”! I am suitably flattered. Of course, had I listened to two or even only one, I would surely have been lauded as a “true believer” or perhaps “heroically loyal and dedicated”.
So, once again, in the spirit of mortal discovery — which is to say as a weary goddamn adventurer — I’ve ...
An unusual customer joins crowds heading for a Cape Town mall to go bargain hunting.
SPCA inspectors get odd callouts, but the one they had on Wednesday was so weird it sounded like a prank. It wasn’t. A female Cape fur seal was crossing the busy Jakes Gerwel Drive heading for the Vangate Mall in Athlone, Cape Town.
The Metro Police were on the scene controlling traffic and a crowd was gathering. She was soon named Santa by curious onlookers.
Was it a gimmick to sell the latest fad or had it forgotten where the sea was? Do seals do Christmas shopping?
Perhaps, quipped SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse who rushed to the scene, it was intended to be an unusual Christmas gift for someone’s mother-in-law and dumped when its captor saw the price of fish!
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Quite how a seal got to be there remains a mystery. Pieterse speculated it had swum into a canal and was washed further inland by strong currents.
He and Inspector Lwazi Ntungele, experienced in the ways of fur seals, acted quickly to get the animal safely into a crate before a quick health assessment. It was then taken to the nearest quiet beach, where she lolloped into the water and swam off with a wave of a flipper. Her Christmas shopping would just have to wait. DM/OBP
If you could only go out once this December, what would you choose?
Seasonal greetings from Bed.
Since last summer, I have only once travelled more than one kilometre from Bed. That trip – in June, to visit a dying friend – took me a month to recover from. Bed is an autocratic state and daring to stray beyond its boundaries demands retribution.
Post-exertional malaise or PEM is the hallmark symptom of ME/CFS. The chronically ill might be able to go out for a couple of hours today, but 24 to 48 hours later we will be ambushed by a phalanx of symptoms leaving us as punchdrunk as if we’d gone 15 rounds with a heavyweight.
Christmas then is quite a conundrum for the Sick: do we spend our spoons on going out to a carol concert on Christmas Eve or save them for sitting up for a meal with our family on Christmas Day? We won’t be able to do both.
If you could only go out once this December, what would you choose?
For decades, the majority of the medical profession, the media and thus society that surrounds the Sick did not believe our chronic illness was real, simply because a biomarker has not yet been mass produced.
But why on Earth would anyone want to pretend to be ill for years on end? Who would choose to confine themselves to the bleak and gloomy land of Bed?
In high summer, with luck, I have the luxury of contemplating three (well-ventilated) social occasions. This month I chose to accompany my young adults to hear the wise words of internationally renowned author, poet, comedian and #DeGenderFashion icon Alok Vaid-Menon. To witness them radiating love and passion to an adoring crowd at the Hearty warehouse in Woodstock last Saturday was pure joy. Alok’s jewel-bright insights and intellectual sparkle felt like the perfect way to kick off Christmas.
Apart from the fact I lay on a couch in shades and ear defenders with my feet up, you wouldn’t have guessed that I came from Bed. I smiled and clapped. I walked to the loo without assistance. I looked completely in the pink.
Of course, what you couldn’t tell at a glance is that I’d rested for a full week in advance to prepare for an evening out.
You couldn’t tell that two days’ prior I’d had an intravenous infusion of saline and vitamins to help me stand and breathe at the same ...
While many people are on holiday or making plans to celebrate Christmas, Elizabeth Mashego and the Tshwane Leadership Foundation are trying to stave off the looming closure of the Lerato House shelter for girls in Pretoria due to a lack of funds to support the children, many of whom are orphans or come from abusive homes.
It is a warm afternoon in Pretoria and congregants and friends of Lerato House are at the Congregational Church in Leyds Street to sing carols and think of ideas to save the shelter for girls. The shelter is one of the projects of the Tshwane Leadership Foundation.
The shelter has housed hundreds of girls over the 25 years of its existence and faced great challenges, but none more severe than in the past three or four years.
The shelter received funding from the Department of Social Development (DSD), but when it had to move after a bar was opened next door, its troubles began.
The shelter moved to a house that could accommodate about 20 girls, in the suburb of Muckleneuk, but the house had not been rezoned. The shelter struggled to get a rezoning certificate and faced backlash from the community, who didn’t want the shelter in their neighbourhood, and in April the DSD revoked its funding due to non-compliance.
The shelter is now waiting for a health compliance certificate at its new accommodation so it can reapply for funding from the DSD.
The shelter has support from a wide range of good Samaritans who offer their expertise in areas such as psychiatric help and career advice, as well as providing tangible goods. But without the core funds from the DSD, the Tshwane Leadership Foundation and the house mothers are struggling to make ends meet.
The shelter houses 10 girls at Thusanang Centre at the Congregational Church. It costs R50,000 to R60,000 to take care of them monthly. Because of the stigma which abused, trafficked and prostituted girls face, schools in the immediate vicinity have rejected girls from the centre, so they have to attend schools in Atteridgeville and Soshanguve, which adds transport expenses of R800 a week for just four of the girls.
Thandi Sekobela(41) was one of the first girls to be housed at Lerato House — in 1997 when she was 18 years old.
“When I got here, I was reserved, a loner, I didn’t trust anyone, and thought hugs were weird. I got my first true love here. ...
An unusual customer joins crowds heading for a Cape Town mall to go bargain hunting.
NSPCA inspectors get odd callouts, but the one they had on Wednesday was so weird it sounded like a prank. It wasn’t. A female Cape fur seal was crossing the busy Jakes Gerwel Drive heading for the Vangate Mall in Athlone, Cape Town.
The Metro Police were on the scene controlling traffic and a crowd was gathering. She was soon named Santa by curious onlookers.
Was it a gimmick to sell the latest fad or had it forgotten where the sea was? Do seals do Christmas shopping?
Perhaps, quipped NSPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse who rushed to the scene, it was intended to be an unusual Christmas gift for someone’s mother-in-law and dumped when its captor saw the price of fish!
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Quite how a seal got to be there remains a mystery. Pieterse speculated it had swum into a canal and was washed further inland by strong currents.
He and Inspector Lwazi Ntungele, experienced in the ways of fur seals, acted quickly to get the animal safely into a crate before a quick health assessment. It was then taken to the nearest quiet beach, where she lolloped into the water and swam off with a wave of a flipper. Her Christmas shopping would just have to wait. DM/OBP
Efforts by the Drakenstein Municipality show how waste reclaimers could help to make the process of waste management more visible, educate people, and help mend the social fabric torn apart by apartheid.
At 6am on a Thursday in Paarl, as residents start putting their bins out on the street, we meet Francois September who lives nearby “under a bridge”. He allows us to join him as he works. First, he tackles individual bins, then those belonging to a block of flats. After working for a few hours, he crosses the bridge to sort out his goods at a clearing spot before taking them to one of the buy-back centres in the nearby industrial area, Drommedaris.
September illustrates how, under very dire conditions, waste reclaimers have created an ecosystem that works. Economic recovery should focus on supporting those already doing valuable work, not just on big, shiny new projects. Waste reclaimers are often silent change-agents creating not only economic activity but also tackling environmental and social justice issues. Yet they are invisible because, as with waste, we prefer not to look.
The Drakenstein Municipality in the Western Cape has been hailed for its efforts to integrate waste reclaimers into its formal waste management system. The national government adopted plans for waste-reclaimer integration in 2020, and clear guidelines have been developed, yet very few municipalities have put systems in place.
In 2018, the municipality started the process of integrating waste reclaimers operating at the Wellington landfill, which receives most of the municipality’s waste. This entailed a long engagement process and the establishment of a materials recovery facility in Paarl to enable waste reclaimers – known as “wastepreneurs” – to sort and separate their waste and run their business. Despite only allowing 30 waste reclaimers at a time, the Paarl facility is a vibrant space.
The municipal pilot focused on street waste reclaimers started in 2022. It aims to help regulate street waste collection in certain parts of Drakenstein. It will entail registering waste pickers on a database and providing them with recognisable IDs and personal protective equipment. According to municipality officials, this will ensure that the system is orderly, safe and transparent. According to Thys Serfontein, senior manager, solid waste and landfill management, “the programme seeks to assist those reclaimers genuinely doing the work, to have a dignified life. It will also prevent criminal elements or people abusing the system.”
Tailored entrepreneurship support
The potential that waste holds for ...
Anti-GBV activist Caroline Peters wants a section of the Criminal Procedure Act declared unconstitutional and invalid.
An anti-gender-based violence (GBV) activist is challenging a law that prohibits publicly naming an accused charged with rape or other sexual offences before they have pleaded in court.
Caroline Peters, founder of the Callas Foundation, wants the relevant section of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) declared unconstitutional and invalid. She says it “constitutes a tool to silence women from speaking out against sexual offences”.
“This constitutes indirect discrimination against women, who are primarily the victims of sexual violence, and thus violates the Constitution on the grounds of sex and gender,” she says.
Peters, who is being represented by the Women’s Legal Centre, has filed her application in the Western Cape high court against the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. This comes as Peters herself faces charges for naming a person accused of rape in photographs she posted on social media.
She has cited the accused, who was charged in August 2021 but has not yet pleaded, as the second respondent in the application. The accused’s name has been redacted to comply with the provisions of the Act, referring to him only as Mr G.
Peters says her activism is rooted in her own experience of being gang raped when she was 15 years old. “More than three decades later, this memory remains vivid in my mind and has shaped the work I do to serve and protect the rights of women who become victims of sexual violence,” she says in court papers.
She says her Foundation’s core function is to provide court support for victims in a bid to reduce secondary victimisation through drawn-out cases and to ensure their rights are protected.
In the case of Mr G, Peters says she assisted the complainant and had attended the court hearing in October 2021. While waiting outside, Peters took a photograph of the court roll pasted on the passage wall, “clearly visible” to the public.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
She also took a photograph of the back of Mr G when he walked into the courtroom. She posted both photographs on her Facebook page.
At his next appearance in November, she again took similar photographs and was cautioned by the magistrate not to take photographs in court.
“The magistrate did not at any stage inform me that I may not take photographs of the court roll or the accused ...
The safety of players forced organisers of a ticker-tape victory parade for Argentina’s World Cup-winning team to be cut short as up to four million people turned out to acknowledge their heroes.
Argentina’s World Cup heroes had to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans flooded onto the streets and brought the city to a standstill, with Lionel Messi and his teammates whisked into helicopters to complete the celebrations.
The players who were triumphant in Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar were unable to reach the central Obelisco monument as planned because the route was completely blocked by the heaving crowd, estimated by local media at over four million people.
With social media footage showing some fans trying to jump onto the team’s bus when it passed under a bridge, the scheduled eight-hour journey was cut short due to security fears. The players were transferred from their parade bus and into helicopters.
“The world champions are flying over the entire route in helicopters because it became impossible to continue on land due to the explosion of joy,” presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.
Television images showed people all over the city, including those waiting around the Obelisco and on surrounding highways trying to catch a glimpse of their returning champions.
“It’s crazy, it’s incredible, it’s the best thing that can happen to you in life,” said 25-year-old metalworker Matias Gomez.
“It is an enormous joy to see all these happy people, all together, one with the other, holding hands, giving each other hugs, kisses. We are all one today.”
The team had arrived in the early hours of Tuesday at Ezeiza airport. Despite it being around 3am local time (0600 GMT), thousands were waiting with banners, flags and flares and howling with joy after Messi and his teammates ended the country’s 36-year wait to win the World Cup.
By around midday, millions had already congregated in downtown Buenos Aires, with major roads shut down for the parade. People held up banners of Messi and late icon Diego Maradona, played instruments or climbed lamp-posts or bus stops.
Roads started to clear after the players took to the sky in helicopters, with some people left disappointed not to see the team.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The Argentine capital has been in party mode since the dramatic victory over France in Sunday’s final in Qatar, which has helped mask ...
Hikes that the whole family can do together are the best, and fortunately there are many of them scattered around the country, from the Drakensberg and Dullstroom to Magoebaskloof.
This list of beautiful hikes for the whole family has been compiled with the tacit understanding that some are more challenging than others. After all, as a species, we like to challenge ourselves, from the gung-ho daughter and son to the granny who refuses to be told she can’t.
Crucial to remember are water, sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. Peaks are pointless if the sun hits your neck, which by the way is where sunstroke hits you.
Game Pass Cave, Kamberg Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal
This hike will consume about three hours of your day at a decent pace and features some of the finest San rock art to be found in South Africa. A broad claim, which will set the rock art among the academics, but all archaeologists and palaeontologists will agree that it’s up there with the best.
It’s important to watch the video first at the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife office, as it sets the paintings in the correct context. But don’t be fooled into thinking that seeing the video replaces the real thing – the walk needs to be done.
It’s a mostly gentle contour hike, offering the most gradual of inclines as it climbs over and around spurs and past a cool little waterfall on its way to this holy grail of Drakensberg rock art. My kids of nine and 12 joined me.
Beyond the odd baboon and mountain rhebok, keep your eyes peeled for the Verreaux’s black eagle and the bearded vulture, aka the lammergeier, a German name literally meaning “lamb vulture”, leaving the hiker in no doubt as to the modus operandi of this quite stunning raptor.
My nine-year-old daughter spotted both, highlighting the importance of having young eyes scanning the skies while your own may be on the path. Having said that, the black eagle she spotted on a boulder ahead on the path was about as large as she was, so keep your children close.
Ezemvelo KZN operates the Kamberg Nature Reserve. Hikers are not allowed to enter the cave without a guide.
Dullstroom, Mpumalanga
For outdoor enthusiasts, there are a few hikes worth mentioning in this highland landscape. The first is an unusual hike in that it is in an enclosed area, the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate, about 12km from Dullstroom. Let ...
A group supposedly posing as members of Operation Dudula has evicted more than 200 people from a privately owned derelict building, which has been home to over 400 occupants — mostly migrants. Many are people living with disabilities and are wheelchair-bound, while others are visually impaired. The eviction comes after months of threats of eviction directed at the occupants by Dudula.
On the morning of 17 December, the group — which allegedly identified itself as Operation Dudula — is believed to have evicted more than 60 people with disabilities (predominantly blind) and more than 200 women and children from a derelict building in the City of Johannesburg’.
The eviction comes after months of ongoing threats of eviction directed at occupants of the building by Operation Dudula — an anti-immigration group that sprang up in and around Soweto a year ago which has been accused of fuelling xenophobic sentiments.
The building in question was initially home to more than 400 people — including people living with disabilities, most of whom were migrants. However, earlier this year the number dropped to less than 300 following Dudula’s threats and fear of attacks and deportations which led to some occupants packing up and fleeing.
On Monday, 8 August 2022, a letter written by Operation Dudula was sent to the building’s occupants, serving as illicit notice to oust the occupants and laying out reasons for wanting to remove them.
While the five days’ notice was not acted on it was followed by several threats which saw some of the building occupants flee the building and allegedly the country.
Read more: ‘Life in Zim is worse,’ say migrants returning to South Africa
Daily Maverick, however, reached out to Operation Dudula’s Jeppe branch for comment on the evictions. Sifiso Nkosi and a man identified only as “Sello” both denied carrying out the eviction last weekend.
“We have heard about the evictions but that was not Dudula,” said Sello.
They both claimed their branch had not been engaging in any activity since their leader “Siya” was shot dead by alleged gangsters in Limpopo during the launch of a Dudula branch in the Sekhukhune district in October.
No safety, no protection
Explaining what happened on the day of the eviction, Richard Ramzi, one of the occupants told Daily Maverick, “On Saturday a group of people who identified themselves as Operation Dudula came to our building armed and ousted everyone from the building together with their belongings.
“We tried to show them ...
We are out to prove that online news and analysis can be independent, informative, entertaining, and pay for itself without doing silly things like making readers pay for access.
That makes us a little unusual – but only in good ways.
At around 3.30am on Monday, 196 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework committing the world to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, a global goal hailed as the equivalent of the totemic 1.5°C climate target.
In the eighth hour of the United Nations plenary for the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, from Tanzania, quoted Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible, until it is done.”
This is something the room full of delegates Mrema was addressing — some resting their heads on their hands, struggling to keep their eyes open, while some seemed fast asleep after two very late nights in a row and a gruelling two weeks of negotiations — could relate to.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of three international environmental treaties that was first established at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Since then, the 196 nations party to that convention have met 15 times with the three main aims of promoting the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of genetic resources.
But this meeting, the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15), was the most significant.
The last time parties to this convention met was four years ago — the biodiversity convention is meant to meet every two years, but the meeting in 2020 was delayed because of the pandemic.
So, it’s been a long road, with five engagements, both in person and online, to get here, and negotiations over the past two weeks have not been any easier — as reflected in Monday/Tuesday’s eight-hour plenary to confirm the framework first adopted in the early hours of Monday morning, 19 December.
In a truly historic moment, at around 3.30am on Monday, 196 countries that are part of the CBD, under the presidency of China, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework committing the world to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, a global goal hailed as the equivalent of the 1.5°C climate target.
Importantly, despite this conference receiving relatively little media attention and poor political attendance compared with the climate conference in Egypt last month, climate goals cannot be achieved without protecting and restoring nature — nature loss is one-third of the climate problem but nature can contribute to one-third of ...
Here is a selection of interesting and revealing images of the ANC Conference, which is underway in Nasrec, Johannesburg until 20 December 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to Bakhmut, a city hailed by his deputy defence minister as ‘our eastern fortress’, amid heavy fighting over the past few weeks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s prime minister said the authorities plan to triple the number of emergency aid stations to help people cope with blackouts, warning that Russia was prepared to do “everything to leave Ukrainians in darkness”. Emergency power cuts in 11 regions are being enforced after Russian drone and missile attacks, Denys Shmyhal told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian government also said it had reached a deal with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies to get thousands more of its Starlink antennas to help keep people online despite Russia’s attacks on infrastructure.
Key developments
Ukraine to get thousands more Starlink antennas, says minister
Ukraine gets IMF nod for non-cash programme, paving way for aid
US legislators release huge spending bill before year-end deadline
On the ground
Russia continued to move increasing numbers of mobilised servicemen and military equipment, munitions and fuel from its far east toward Ukraine, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Russian forces continued to concentrate their offensive efforts on the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka directions in the Donetsk region, it said in an update.
US cites ‘active discussions’ with Russia on prisoner Paul Whelan
The US was engaged in “active discussions” with Russia over securing the freedom of Paul Whelan, the former US Marine who has been held in Russia for the past four years, National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said.
“There are active conversations that we continue to have with our Russian interlocutors about trying to secure Paul’s release,” Kirby told reporters. “We’re just not going to detail like, you know, who’s calling who and what day and what the details are.”
The Biden administration came in for criticism after it agreed to trade convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for basketball star Brittney Griner without also securing Whelan’s release. US officials said Russia insisted on a one-for-one release or none at all.
Ukraine plans to triple emergency aid stations for blackouts
Ukraine is seeking to boost the number of locations where Ukrainians can get uninterrupted access to power and heating from the current 5,000, Prime Minister Shmyhal said.
The premier earlier told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that two-thirds of the funds that Ukraine had received since the start of the invasion had come from the US and European countries.
“We really appreciate this help and are working together to ...
In his wrap of the ANC’s elective conference, re-elected president Cyril Ramaphosa said the party would establish an anti-corruption unit.
In his closing speech at the ANC’s elective conference at Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Tuesday, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said the party was determined to take all necessary action to end corruption and patronage within the party. In light of this, the ANC had decided to form an anti-corruption body to deal with criminality and State Capture.
“We have recognised that corruption within the ANC is a dire threat to the continued existence of our organisation and to the future of the National Democratic Revolution. We have recognised the great progress that has been made over the last five years in tackling corruption within our ranks, within the state and across society.
“But we have also acknowledged that we have not done enough to end corruption, to reverse the effects of State Capture and to deal with its corrosive effects on the ANC and institutions across society. We have said that the government should consider the establishment of a vibrant and independent anti-corruption agency as a structure to address issues of corruption across the country,” he said.
He mentioned that there were attempts to divide the party and to “provoke” and “divert” the party from achieving its mission.
The party’s conference started on a chaotic note when a small group of ANC KwaZulu-Natal delegates heckled the President while he tried to deliver his political report.
Party chairperson Gwede Mantashe tried his best to restore calm and initially did not succeed. Delegates’ songs were synonymous with former party president Jacob Zuma, and some chanted “step aside, load shedding” when Ramaphosa was at the podium.
Then, just before Ramaphosa started delivering his political report, Zuma walked in with his daughter Duduzile, KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma and his deputy, Nomagugu Simelane.
The crowd would not budge, and a frustrated Mantashe interrupted the President to inform delegates that he would be calling security personnel.
Duma, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Mantashe then had a short huddle on stage, and the KwaZulu-Natal chair got his delegates in line and calm was restored.
Despite this, Ramaphosa remained optimistic about the future of the party.
“There have been moments at this conference that have tested our unity and cohesion. But thanks to the political consciousness and, for the most part, the discipline amongst yourselves as delegates, whatever differences amongst us did not distract us from the critical work that ...
It is scarcely surprising in South Africa, where conspiracy theories thrive, that the parole of Janusz Waluś, the assassin of South African Communist Party General Secretary, Chris Hani, should revive questions about the April 1993 murder.
It is understandable that Chris Hani’s family, and the party he led, should have been the first to question whether a wider conspiracy existed.
Conspiracies abound, but for matters of such national importance, it is vital to do sober research, investigation and analysis. Those who thrust themselves to the fore with speculative, fanciful and libellous storytelling, should at least warrant circumspection. They invariably excite the most basic of prejudices, and far from clarifying possible leads, muddy the waters. RW Johnson’s latest foray on the business news site, BizNews, is one such aberration.
Johnson’s article is a rehash of the theory peddled in his book, South Africa’s Brave New World, published in 2009, correctly described by a Guardian reviewer at the time as “a record of pretty well every piece of unsubstantiated gossip to have circulated South Africa’s rumour mills”.
Johnson is no stranger to controversy, having outraged the likes of novelist André Brink, political scientist Roger Southall and constitutional law professor Pierre de Vos, for his reliance on hearsay, private informants, bizarre stories and uninformed speculation.
Particularly damning was Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille’s rejection of Johnson’s claims “of doing things I have never done, or of believing things that have never entered my head, or of devising strategies that are figments of a critic’s imagination”.
In fact, RW Johnson’s intellectual credibility was forfeited a decade ago in liberal circles when he wrote a racist piece for the London Review of Books (LRB) in which he compared the horrific xenophobic attacks in South Africa to baboons fighting rottweilers. According to Ben Fogel, writing in Africa is a Country, Johnson’s crude racist stereotypes provoked widespread outrage among intellectuals and academics worldwide, culminating in an open letter condemning the LRB for granting him a platform.
The ‘plot’
The core of Johnson’s proposition regarding who was behind Hani’s murder is that Thabo Mbeki (at the time a member of the ANC’s National Executive Committee and one of its lead negotiators) and his “partner” in crime, a ghoulish Joe Modise (“who killed people with his bare hands”), should be considered prime suspects.
The reason: Chris Hani was an obstacle to their ambitions. He cites Hani’s popularity at the ANC’s Durban conference in July 1991, claiming it was ...
ANC renewal and unity on Tuesday remained perennial as the governing party, unprecedentedly, adjourned its national conference without adopting policy commission reports and resolutions. However, second-term party president Cyril Ramaphosa gave a few hints in his closing address to a hall that was barely half-full.
Better and quality service delivery with a focus on energy and water security. Quality education and healthcare regardless of the ability to pay, as envisaged by the National Health Insurance (NHI).
Economic transformation through accelerated spending on infrastructure, fibre provisioning in rural areas through, for example, incentives, tax rebates and private sector compacts, and a focus on rural and township economic development.
Dealing with the “turmoil of load shedding”, as President Cyril Ramaphosa put it in Tuesday’s adjourning of conference address, was another policy point. As was redressing “the original sin of land dispossession” through measures to accelerate land reform and support productive land use.
From Ramaphosa’s signals, the ANC’s policy direction fundamentally remains on track, including pledges to fight corruption, and economic transformation for inclusive growth. So no surprises there, nor in the briefing by rapporteurs of the various policy commissions, who gave what was described as the “flavour” of discussions.
No real details could be provided as commission reports and resolutions must first be adopted. This can only happen after the conference, which was adjourned to provincial hybrid sessions, on 5 January. It’s now part of the lead-up to the January 8 statement that traditionally sets the ANC’s policy priorities for the year.
The 55th ANC national elective conference ended on Tuesday as it started on Friday — messily, fraught and unresolved.
The plenary hall was mostly empty by the time Ramaphosa started his address; transport pressure by delegates in distant provinces was cited as a reason, along with the messy registration process.
Given the nature of the heavily contested leadership, Ramaphosa pledged to pursue party unity — and lay down the unity line for everyone to toe.
“The branches have spoken by choosing the leadership that emerges from here. Once the branches have made their choice all of us are expected to fall in line and embrace and accept the decisions that are taken here,” said Ramaphosa.
Such renewal and unity were needed even if tense moments would arise in the fight against corruption within ANC ranks, which was “a dire threat to the continued existence of the ANC”.
Despite progress made over the past five years, more needed to be done to ...
Imtiaz Sooliman is a South African medical doctor and the founder and chair of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, an organisation that has, in the 30 years of its existence, provided extraordinary support to millions of South Africans. Here, he tells the story of how his dad influenced his journey.
Where do I start in talking about what I learnt from my father? There was just so much. To say that I was moulded by him is an understatement. So many aspects of who I am today are a result of the person he was, and what he taught me, through his words but far more through his daily actions.
My father Ismail Sooliman was born in Potchefstroom in North-West Province. His father had moved to South Africa from India and had set up a shop in Potch. Dad followed in his footsteps.
When I was very young, my parents divorced. That was a tough time for us, my father trying his best to look after my two sisters and me.
I’m going to start with what I learnt from my father in his position as a businessman. As said before, it was his actions from which I learnt the most. His actions spoke loudly, far louder than his words.
In the general-dealer shop which he ran — and which I helped in from when I was about 10 — most of his customers were black Africans, a great number of them poor. There were a few of the customers who were fairly well-off, but they were by far in the minority.
Most of the customers who struggled to make ends meet would buy on account; food, clothes, school stationery — all sorts. My father would treat each and every one of his customers with the same love and the same enthusiasm, and the same care. Actually, the customers became friends; they were not just his customers, they were friends. No matter where you came from, or whether you were well off or very poor, he was the same with everyone. In him, you saw those human values of caring, of kindness, of respecting and helping the poor.
It would often happen that he’d have a customer whose account was in arrears. My father would then say to his staff member who was unsure whether to allow said customer to buy again on credit: “Look, this family’s mother supported us for a long time — it’s ...
Every province, apart from the Western Cape, owes money to service providers, with outstanding invoices running into millions of rands. This was revealed by the Public Service Commission’s Anele Gxoyiya during a media briefing on Tuesday.
Anele Gxoyiya, a commissioner on the Public Service Commission (PSC), unpacked the Quarterly Bulletin titled The Pulse of the Public Service, which covered the period from 1 July to 30 September. The briefing dealt with unlawful instructions and ethical dilemmas within the public service, enablers and inhibitors of job performances of senior management service, non-payment of government suppliers, and complaints and grievances handled by the PSC.
Non-payment of suppliers within 30 days
Gxoyiya said non-payment of suppliers was “a serious problem that needs to be addressed”. He referred to the festive season as a time when suppliers needed to be paid, as people had responsibilities.
“The non-payment of invoices on time affects small, medium and micro enterprises severely, to an extent that it threatens their very survival . some cannot honour their financial obligations as they mostly do not have financial reserves to utilise,” said Gxoyiya.
“So, you can imagine the impact it has on those service providers.”
Providing a provincial breakdown, Gxoyiya said only the Western Cape did not have unpaid invoices.
By September 2022, the Eastern Cape owed R2-billion to suppliers, Gauteng R1.2-billion and North West R255-million.
Nationally, the departments that paid suppliers within the quarter’s reporting period included Labour; Mineral Resources and Energy; Sports, Arts and Culture; Public Enterprises; Transport; and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
A stern warning was issued to the Department of Health. Gxoyiya said “they are owing more and more”.
The department, Gxoyiya said, was going “deeper and deeper into crisis”. According to information supplied by the PSC, the department had, in July, 2,923 invoices outstanding, amounting to R73.7-million. The situation remained virtually unchanged in August and September.
Complaints handled by the PSC
Gxoyiya said the PSC had the mandate to investigate of its own accord, or on receipt of a complaint about personnel or public administration practices, and report to the relevant executive authorities and legislatures.
These practices relate to irregular appointments, transfers, qualifications, practices that relate to procurement irregularities and poor service delivery.
“The own-accord investigations undertaken are identified through an analysis of the trends of the complaints handled by the PSC and through media reports,” said Gxoyiya.
Over the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, there were 415 complaints received by the national anti-corruption hotline. In the ...
Ah, Elon Musk. What a tangled web, and all of that. Although I am not sure deceit is his goal. I honestly think he doesn’t know what he is doing anymore, deformed and warped as he must be in the wake of not only being (recently) the richest man in the world, but probably currently the most written about too.
His latest, er, bright idea was to poll his Twitter users as to whether he should continue as CEO of Twitter. The thinking behind this is a little difficult to untangle. He had previously used this form of ‘democracy’ to test whether he should let back various tweeters who had been unceremoniously ejected. The vote said bring ‘em back.
So perhaps his calculus was that the support of his views in the previous poll would certainly guarantee a tsunami of support for his continued leadership of the company.
Oops. 57% of respondents said bugger off. As of this moment, he has yet to do so. No one knows whether he will respect the poll or not. That’s kind of what mercurial means, and he is nothing if not that.
But wait. Perhaps the poll results are exactly what he wanted. He gets to signal virtue and step down, head held high, claiming surrender to the will of the masses, while secretly giggling like a mad monarch who has escaped the slice of the guillotine. Perhaps he planned it this way, which would have been genius. Because he is a large shareholder and could still continue to rule with the hidden hand of equity.
And then there is this — Musk is a bit of a joker. He has toyed and played with the media and his fans and his enemies for years. Light insults, cryptic banter, feints and parries. He has clearly wallowed in the irreverence of it all; scattershot non-conformity as a goal rather than a tactic. Look how different I am, he has blared. But I would hazard that Twitter is no fun at all. At least not since he took the reins.
Maybe this was a way to let go. But I don’t think so; his ego is far too large for him to have contemplated a vote loss.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Twitter was always a toxic place for those who cross various ill-defined lines. And Musk has found out, perhaps to his great surprise, how much ...
Mike Wills cherry-picks the best and the strangest headlines of the year.
As I have bemoaned in these virtual pages, headlines aren’t what they used to be. The demise of the crusty sub-editors who made them an art form, and digital media’s pervasive need to bait clicks, has made a clever, seductive headline a rare creature. But they’re still to be found.
Five best headlines of the year
“Honey I shrunk the quids” — The Daily Star (UK), after short-lived UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget crashed the pound.
“Tubular gels” — The Economist on a new gel-based method for vasectomies.
“The Thane, Insane, slays mainly in Dunsinane” — The New York Times’ review of ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’
“Florida man makes announcement” — New York Post reports Donald Trump’s decision to run again in 2024.
“Rory’s left to mullet over” — metro.co.uk after Cam Smith, with a spectacular mullet, beat Rory McIlroy at the British Open golf.
Aside from the good stuff, I have also collected for you some of the downright weirdest headlines of the year.
Top five from The Guardian (UK)
“Giant New Zealand potato is not in fact a potato, Guinness World Records rules”
“Call to tighten New Zealand law that allows public pooing if no one watching”
“Taste the TV: Japan invents lickable screen to imitate food flavours”
“Norwegian conscripts told to return underwear as Covid hits supplies”
“BBC apologises after ‘Manchester United are rubbish’ appears on ticker”
Top five from The Daily Mail (UK)
“Father who ‘hasn’t stopped breaking wind since he ate a ham roll at a Christmas market five years ago’ sues for £200,000”
“Etiquette expert reveals the elegant way to eat a Flake bar without getting crumbs of chocolate everywhere using the ‘suck’ method”
“Angry McDonald’s customer BLOCKADES the drive-through for two hours in stalemate row over sausage egg McMuffins before being forced to leave by police”
“102-year-old great grandmother who says you should ‘live one day at a time’ reveals her secrets to a long life, including tequila shots, Jägerbombs, sausage rolls and Dominos pizza”
“International Chess Federation accuses world No. 1 player of tarnishing game’s reputation by quitting match against fellow grandmaster, over fears rival was using vibrating anal beads to cheat”
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Top five health advice headlines
“How to eat your way to a tighter vagina” (citizen.co.za)
“Why you should probably not use hand sanitiser on your genitals” (iol.co.za)
“National Park Service Asks Visitors to Please Stop Licking Toads” (New York Times)
“Japan tells its ...
The embassy of the Central African Republic has dissociated itself from the publication of a letter, allegedly authored by its ambassador, revealing that South Africa’s State Security Agency had secretly financed most of the embassy’s costs for eight years.
Daily Maverick and other publications reported last week that the State Security Agency (SSA) had provided the Central African Republic (CAR) with buildings for its embassy and the ambassador’s residence, as well as three vehicles, and had paid the salaries of local staff as well as the running costs of the embassy.
This sponsorship was revealed in a letter ambassador André Nzapayeké wrote to his foreign minister, Sylvie Baïpo-Temon, in November this year.
In the letter, Nzapayeké said the extensive sponsorship had begun in 2014 under Jacob Zuma’s presidency as a result of both the CAR and South Africa feeling a need to open embassies in each other’s countries in order to communicate better.
This flowed from the deaths of 15 South African soldiers in a firefight with Seleka rebels on the outskirts of CAR’s capital, Bangui, in March 2013. The rebels went on to topple President François Bozizé days later, plunging the already unstable country into even greater instability from which it has still not completely recovered.
In the letter to Baïpo-Temon, Nzapayeké pointed out that the SSA, under President Ramaphosa, had decided to terminate the sponsorship on 30 November and so he was appealing to his foreign minister for more funding to keep the embassy running.
However, in a statement issued this week, the embassy said “articles and documents circulating in various newspapers and social media that purportedly bear the stamp of the embassy” had come to the embassy’s attention.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The CAR embassy hereby categorically refutes any involvement in these publications and does not have any connections whatsoever with their authors. Moreover, the embassy has never made any public statement expressing such views or concerns. It is not the custom of the embassy to engage on state affairs through the media.
“The objective of those polemical publications is clearly to tarnish the excellent relations and cooperation based on formal agreements between the Central African Republic and the Republic of South Africa.
“Therefore, the embassy disclaims all responsibility in this matter and will not make any other statement or comment thereof.”
The embassy’s statement seems carefully worded to distance the embassy from the leaking of ambassador Nzapayeké’s letter, rather than ...
Despite the intense media gaze, the ANC’s 55th National Congress has been a shameful example of fiddling while Mzanzi burns.
When the congress is over it will be historic mainly because of what it was not. Yes, definitely rather Ramaphosa than the RET crooks. But in the view of most civil society leaders I spoke to there are not many other reasons to be cheerful about the ANC.
In 2017 it was different. Then the ANC congress took place on the crest of a wave of civil society-organised social mobilisation that had built throughout that year against the revelations of State Capture, including the Gupta leaks. It wasn’t a pro-Ramaphosa wave by any means, but it was definitely an anti-Zuma wave.
Put another way, the movement to Save South Africa was a reassertion of democracy and the vision of our Constitution. Eventually that wave grew big enough to be a reality check for many ANC leaders and delegates at the 54th congress, making it clear that the Zupta show could not go on. And helping them find the courage to outvote NDZ, JZ’s proxy candidate.
In 2017 Cyril Ramaphosa was elected President by virtue of faction politics and it was by faction politics that he risked falling again this week.
In 2017 he was the beneficiary not because he had been brave and outspoken in fighting State Capture – the Zondo Commission has now found the opposite in fact – but because he appeared the most accepting of bad choices at the time. He was a constitutionalist, a former trade unionist and a struggle grandee.
In 2017 civil society was heavily vested in the outcome of the ANC’s leadership contest and we watched and listened with bated breath. Preventing a Zuma dynasty consolidating its hold over the ANC was a necessary step to turn the tide on State Capture and to protect the Constitution.
This time it was different.
This time civil society has been most visible by its absence. Only 29 organisations were on the credentials committee’s list of civil society organisations, think tanks and foundations – and that included Safa and Netball SA. After five years of continued corruption, austerity and lack of progress on any of the fundamental issues that affect people who are income-poor; after the mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic (and I don’t mean just the corruption), much of progressive civil society has largely discarded its investments in the ANC.
Read in Daily Maverick: ...
Delisting of Nutritional Holdings has 2022 exceeding 2021’s run, off an ever-lower base.
The JSE’s announcement earlier this month that it would terminate the listing of Nutritional Holdings’ securities is not, on the face of it, that significant. The company appeared to be in a world of distress and no serious investor would be sorry to see it go.
What is significant is that it marks the 25th JSE delisting for the year, and the 27th from all SA’s public markets. This exceeds the JSE’s 24-company delisting streak of 2021, with a few weeks left to run. This is not quite the one-in-10 companies as predicted earlier this year, but there are also at least four delistings already locked in for early next year (Onelogix, Etion, Mediclinic, Distell) and a further nine probable delistings waiting in the wings, along with 17 companies currently suspended from trade where most are unlikely to ever have their suspensions lifted.
On the flip side, there have been just six new listings so far in 2022, of which four were on the JSE, with one more to come as Zeda scrapes in just before Christmas.
The other significant milestone that has been surpassed is that, after multiple years of net delistings, South Africa will end the year with less than 300 publicly listed companies — the lowest number in probably more than three-quarters of a century.
What is most telling is not that there are a lot of delistings, as delistings are a natural part of the public market life cycle, but rather the almost complete dearth of new arrivals raising primary capital when listing, outside the temporary blip of capital raisings by Real Estate Investment Trusts in the mid-2010s.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
What listings there have been were mostly technical by nature — unbundlings, demergers and secondary listings by introduction, for example. The last true IPO, with a genuine offer to the public, is often quoted as being Telkom’s listing way back in 2006. This should be something policymakers at the National Treasury are concerned about, but with the myriad other problems the country faces, it is unlikely that it has the intellectual bandwidth to do so.
What is strange is that the organised financial services industry — those custodians of South Africa’s savings industry — are not even the slightest bit concerned. This is because through practice and regulation and for their own ...
The KwaZulu-Natal floods in April took the lives of 443 people and left countless others displaced. Interviews conducted by SECTION27 in the aftermath revealed an inadequate disaster response system that resulted in many flood victims having to endure compromised access to education, healthcare and adequate shelter.
As the waters receded in the wake of the KwaZulu-Natal floods in April 2022, it exposed a lack of coordinated responses by local authorities which left the communities of eThekwini in a more vulnerable state than before the deluge.
The existing vulnerabilities are borne out by the finding that eThekwini has more informal settlements than any municipality in South Africa. Coupled with the observation that at least 164 of the 550 informal settlements are built on floodplains, it was a disaster by design for many. A total of 443 people lost their lives in the floods and countless others have been displaced.
SECTION27 interviewed 18 families, primarily from Ugu, Umlazi and Groutville, whose lives were uprooted by the floods, to assess the impact the floods had on access to basic education and healthcare, and to gain insight into the government’s response before, during and after the disaster.
While we would not suggest that the survey respondents are representative of all of those affected by the floods, the findings are notable and align with other evidence of impacts reported in the media.
Education and health
Across the board, we found that schooling was interrupted for at least two weeks, in some cases up to two months. Of those interviewed by SECTION27, 50% cited damaged roads as the primary reason their children could not get to school. While there were only a few instances of damage to school infrastructure in the survey, the Auditor-General of South Africa, in its first special report on flood relief funding, found that 356 schools in KwaZulu-Natal were damaged by the floods.
Another reason the interviewed parents gave for not returning their children to school was that their uniforms had been washed away in the floods, a finding corroborated by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in a briefing to Parliament in September 2022. In response, the Department of Social Development, through the South African Social Security Agency, spent about R3.2-million on 1,231 school uniforms (about R2,600 per uniform), according to a parliamentary report in November 2022. SECTION27 found that by July, 83% of the children of those interviewed had returned to school.
Access to healthcare was equally ...
Around 250 billion tonnes of chemicals are produced globally every year and many have not been properly researched, meaning that their impact on life on earth is unknown.
It’s almost impossible to count how many synthetic chemicals have been developed over the past century or so, or to unravel their precise role in damaging the complex web of life across the world.
What is clear, however, is that there are now hundreds of thousands of chemical formulations that have been synthesised in laboratories stretching from Beijing to Massachusetts and beyond.
Yet — despite the benefits many of these chemicals have brought to society — just a tiny fraction have been studied at anywhere near the level of detail that is necessary to assess the harms they can unleash on humanity and the wider environment.
These are some of the reasons why senior South African chemical engineering researcher, Prof Ndeke Musee, is calling for the establishment of a new Intergovernmental Panel on Chemical Risk Assessment — similar to the United Nations’ expert panel that provides scientific advice to governments on how to respond to the climate crisis.
The Kenyan-born academic, who has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, established the first South African research group on chemical nanosafety in the environment, during his seven-year career at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Rapid development
Musee, now head of the University of Pretoria’s Emerging Contaminants Ecological Risk Assessment (ECERA) research group, is worried that chemical products are being developed at a rate that exceeds the current capacity of independent scientists to study their harmful impacts.
According to a recent study by Zurich-based chemical pollution researcher Dr Zhanyung Wang, more than 350,000 chemicals and mixtures of chemicals have been registered for global production and use.
Wang and his colleagues also reported that the identities of many chemicals remain publicly unknown because they are claimed as confidential (more than 50,000) or are ambiguously described (up to 70,000).
Whereas the United States, Canada and Western Europe once accounted for more than two-thirds of world chemicals turnover, their market share has dwindled significantly, with China now accounting for nearly half of global chemical production.
Musee says chemical production in China alone grew by 280% between 2003 and 2013, with developing countries now producing around 63% of all chemicals.
“Every year we produce close to 250 billion tonnes of chemicals,” says Musee.
Who’s studying the impacts?
But who is researching their impacts on the aquatic ...
The Mozambican government has again been denied leave to appeal against the Johannesburg High Court’s decision that former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang should be extradited to the United States — this time, by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa has dismissed the Mozambican government’s application for leave to appeal against the Johannesburg High Court’s decision that former Mozambican finance minister, Manuel Chang, should be extradited to the United States to face corruption charges.
The application for leave to appeal was dismissed on 8 December on the grounds that there was “no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard”.
The dismissal put paid to the Mozambican government’s latest attempt to appeal against the Johannesburg High Court order handed down in November 2021. It previously sought leave to appeal against the decision in the high court and the Constitutional Court, but was denied in both instances.
Chang was arrested in Johannesburg in December 2018 on a US warrant, according to a Daily Maverick report. The US government had indicted him on charges of corruption related to a fraudulent $2-billion scheme — also known as the “hidden debts” scandal — he was involved in, in 2013 and 2014, when he was the Mozambican finance minister.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Johannesburg High Court extends order to forbid Justice Minister Lamola from extraditing Manuel Chang to Mozambique”
In January 2019, the US requested that South Africa extradite Chang to America to face the charges. Just a few days later, the Mozambican government — which until then had not indicted him — requested that he be extradited to his home country to face charges arising from the same fraudulent scheme.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Two successive South African justice ministers have attempted to extradite Chang to Mozambique — first Michael Masutha in May 2019, then Ronald Lamola in August 2021. However, the Johannesburg High Court overturned both ministers’ decisions, largely in response to concerns voiced by Mozambique’s Fórum de Monitoria do Orçamento (Forum for Monitoring the Budget).
The forum is a collective of watchdog non-government organisations which fears that Chang will not be prosecuted if extradited to Mozambique, due to possible immunity from prosecution for any actions he took as a minister and member of parliament.
The ‘hidden debts’ scandal
As part of the “hidden debts” scandal, Chang ...
‘The people who stole the copper pipe . intentionally put the lives of 24 patients at risk, 19 of whom were on life support and depended on access to oxygen through artificial ventilation,” said Gauteng MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko
The Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, has urged police to spare no effort in their attempts to find those who put Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital patients’ lives at risk.
This was after the theft on Monday of a 10m copper pipe which supplies oxygen to the main Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital.
“The people who stole the copper pipe should not just be charged with theft but also with attempted murder. They intentionally put the lives of 24 patients at risk, 19 of whom were on life support and depended on access to oxygen through artificial ventilation,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.
A statement issued by the Gauteng Department of Health on Tuesday stated that clinicians at the facility noticed the flow of oxygen was lower than normal and reported it to the Department of Infrastructure Development, which is responsible for the plant room from where the stolen pipe runs. This led to the discovery that the oxygen supply pipe had been tampered with.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Crisis at Chris Hani Baragwanath ICU after mystery visitor cuts oxygen”
Patients in the unit were immediately evacuated to another ward, where they continued receiving oxygen. A contractor was called, and the copper pipe was replaced.
A case was opened on Tuesday afternoon with Diepkloof SAPS, confirmed police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza. “We have opened a theft charge,” she added.
The process of moving patients back into the main ICU will commence on Wednesday, 21 December, according to the statement.
Health department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the National Department of Health had been informed of this “life-threatening incident, which is tantamount to [the] attempted murder of innocent and vulnerable patients”.
“We appeal to communities to join hands with the law enforcement agencies and our authorities across the country to enable our health workers to perform their duties, and patients to receive much-needed services at a safer place,” he added.
Phumelele Khumalo, the spokesperson for the hospital, had not responded to questions by the time of publication. DM/MC
The Africa Visa Openness Index, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, has tracked visa regimens in Africa since 2016. SA is ranked 33rd out of 54 African countries, which is no surprise as its online system is far from user-friendly.
Ten months after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the launch of e-Visas for 14 countries, including China, India, Kenya and Nigeria, to streamline and modernise the visa application process, South Africa is trailing behind other African countries.
The e-Visa was envisaged to enable visitors to apply and pay online for a visa from their home country, without visiting the SA Mission.
The Africa Visa Openness Index, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, has tracked visa regimens in Africa since 2016.
The latest index shows many countries have returned to pre-pandemic levels of visa openness. For each country, it calculates the number of countries whose citizens must obtain visas before travelling, the countries whose citizens may obtain a visa upon arrival, and those whose citizens do not need a visa to enter. The countries are then assigned a visa openness score and ranked, on a scale of 0 to 1.
South Africa scores an abysmal 33 out of 54, level with Niger.
Poor showing
SA has a dismal e-Visa service and does not offer travellers visas on arrival. It has been heavily criticised by South Africans and visitors alike, who find the Department of Home Affairs’ website impossible to navigate.
Some of the country’s top banks — FNB, Nedbank, Absa, Standard Bank and Investec — have stepped in to assist clients by enabling the processing of the e-Visas, but the operation remains cumbersome and frustrating. Most complaints on social media relate to the inability to upload documents, receive one-time PINs, and secure bookings.
Last week, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told Parliament that his department had a visa backlog of more than 56,500 applications, which it hoped to clear by the middle of 2024.
The visa applications backlog has not been helped by Home Affairs’ decision to centralise long-term visa applications, which resulted in delayed processing times and missed opportunities for travel and business.
He said the turnaround times for visas differ, depending on which visa is being processed, but that it usually takes between four and 10 weeks to process critical skills visas, while business and work visas take up to 14 weeks.
Policy changes
The Africa Visa Openness Index ...
The stakes are high. Transnet’s woes, which mirror Eskom’s in many ways, have been hugely costly to the mining industry and wider economy.
The Minerals Council SA, an umbrella group for the mining sector, and Transnet have agreed to establish “joint collaborative structures” to keep the train and port network from going off the rails.
The aim of this version of “private-public partnerships” is to “stabilise the whole system’s performance” with “recovery” as the ultimate aim.
The stakes are high. Transnet’s woes, which mirror Eskom’s in many ways, have been hugely costly to the mining industry and wider economy. In October, the Minerals Council estimated that the sector had lost R50-billion in lost exports of bulk commodities like coal and iron ore up to that point in 2022. That followed R35-billion in losses in 2021.
“To achieve the stabilisation and improved performance, the Transnet Board and Minerals Council Principals have agreed to establish an Oversight Panel, a Recovery Steering Committee and Channel Optimisation Teams for each of the major commodities (coal, iron ore, manganese and chrome),” the Minerals Council said in a statement.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“The five-a-side Recovery Steering Committee, made up of Transnet Board members, the Minerals Council CEO and CEO representatives of the bulk commodities, will deliberate, agree on and drive solutions that are cross-cutting to the rail and ports,” it said.
Details remain scant, but it is clear that the mining industry wants to have a hands-on approach to resolving Transnet’s challenges as these can ultimately threaten the viability of many operations if things go from very bad to worse.
Transnet’s capacity has been hobbled on many fronts, including the theft of copper cables, which has become so commonplace that the state-owned enterprise has daily and weekly reports on the issue.
In early December, it unveiled some headway, with News24 reporting that such incidents were down by about a third over a seven-month period after 1,500 arrests.
Transnet has suffered from other kinds of vandalism, fuel theft and general mismanagement. Getting it right is crucial so, hopefully, this initiative will help to stabilise and improve the situation. DM/BM
Middle-class homeowners are selling up in Gauteng and thronging to the coast, triggering a building boom in the Western Cape.
On 15 December, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) published its latest building statistics for the private sector, revealing that the value of recorded building plans passed — at current prices — increased by 7.9% (R7.114-billion) from January to October 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.
Increases were recorded for additions and alterations (12.5% or R3.107-billion), non-residential buildings (7.6% or R1.164-billion) and residential buildings (5.7% or R2.842-billion).
Stats SA conducts a monthly building statistics survey collecting information on building plans passed and buildings completed — financed by the private sector — from the largest local government institutions in South Africa.
The value of the completed buildings increased by 14.5% (R7.142-billion) during the period under review, compared with January to October 2021.
Increases were recorded for additions and alterations (21.8% or R2.522-billion), non-residential buildings (12.5% or R1.417-billion) and residential buildings (12.2% or R3.204-billion). These exclude low-cost housing projects, as data on subsidised housing is obtained from the Department of Human Settlements.
The largest contributions to the total increase of 7.9% were from the Western Cape (contributing 6.8 percentage points) and Mpumalanga (contributing 1.4 percentage points).
Six provinces reported year-on-year increases in the value of buildings, with the Western Cape (contributing 10.1 percentage points), KwaZulu-Natal (3.3 percentage points) and Gauteng (1.2 percentage points) being the largest contributors.
‘Golden economic era’
Judging by the increase in residential building activity in the province, the Western Cape is moving into a “golden economic era”, says FNB property strategist John Loos.
Relatively high levels of Western Cape residential building activity are not just about a “semigrant” demand for homes; they suggest a regional economy that may be moving into a period of significant outperformance economically, compared with the rest of the country, driven by decades of superior skilled labour attraction and retention.
But Loos says though it may be tempting to attribute the strong levels of residential building planning and activity in the Western Cape to the strong wave of semigration by the middle- and upper-income groups, it seems that building plans passed in the province are exceeding those of Gauteng.
“Its strong building planning levels are not just about recent inflows of semigrants needing houses. It is about a process that started over two decades ago,” Loos says.
Last month, the Stats SA residential building statistics release for September pointed to a national year-on-year decline in new ...
Households and cooks may have wept this December when paying for onions. The bulb, which features in so many dishes, saw a whopping 97% increase year on year in November. A 10kg bag of onions that cost R63.39 last November now costs almost double that at R125.08, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group’s Household Affordability Index for November.
The steep rise in the price of onions is no surprise to Paul Makube, senior agricultural economist at FNB Agribusiness.
“A combination of factors is responsible; the main one being supply tightness. There have been significant cost pressures in the agriculture sector, with fertiliser costs running high. Onion farmers had to reduce their hectarage by 700 hectares compared to last year, which made quite a big difference to supply, and demand remained the same, which pushed prices up,” he says.
Makube says that, as with most seasonal crops, the price of onions should come down when conditions are more favourable and supply improves.
“Internationally, we are seeing fertiliser prices starting to moderate, although they are still at relatively high levels. International factors such as the war in Ukraine have affected the manufacture and supply of fertiliser. Higher crude oil prices also impacted on freight costs, which were absorbed in the fertiliser prices,” he explains.
Fertiliser price outlook
Fitch Ratings says it expects fertiliser prices to decline in 2023, but to remain above mid-cycle levels due to high crop prices, gas input costs and restricted, although improving, supply.
“Our reduced 2022 assumption for urea [fertiliser] reflects lower year-to-date prices, which we do not expect to recover for the rest of the year.
“We have kept all other assumptions unchanged as we maintain our view that new capacity additions will offset lost exports from China and supply disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war,” Fitch says.
“We estimate that 3.8 million tonnes of new production capacity will be added globally, excluding China, for the full year of 2022, followed by 3.2 million tonnes in 2023 and 2.2 million tonnes in 2024.”
Maize yield barometer
Makube adds that maize yields are a good barometer of overall crop performance, with projections improving slightly, from the 14.53 million tons anticipated at the beginning of 2022 to around 15.02 million tons currently predicted.
“Despite the slight drop in anticipated yields from the previous season, these volumes are still significantly higher than the historical 10-year yield trend, and given that domestic consumption typically averages around 11.8 million tones, there ...
While Francois Pienaar and the Springboks raised the Webb Ellis Cup in 1995, a 27-year-old Ivorian, Max Brito, lay paralysed in hospital. Brito died on Monday night.
After more than a quarter of a century in a wheelchair after a collapsed ruck left Ivory Coast wing Max Brito paralysed from the neck down, the 54-year-old passed away in France on 19 December.
His life after that fateful day in Rustenburg against Tonga at the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in 1995 changed dramatically. Brito was 27 when, buried under a pile of bodies after being tackled, two vertebrae were crushed. He spent much of the ensuing years fighting depression.
After finding some joy in the latter part of his life, Brito died late on Monday night in the company of his sons Mike and Anthony and friends.
“The Brito family, his children Mike and Anthony, sadly announce the death of Max Brito, on Monday December 19 at 18:30 (17:30 GMT),” read the family statement on the website of French club, Biscarrosse Olympique Rugby.
“Max went on his last voyage with dignity and without suffering.”
Depression and anger
Even though Brito underwent numerous operations after the accident, he retained only limited mobility of his head, upper body and arms.
His wife left him and, in an interview with French publication Le Monde in 2007, Brito’s anguish and desperation were revealed.
“It is now 12 years since I have been in this state. I have come to the end of my tether,” Brito told Le Monde.
“If one day I fall seriously ill, and if I have the strength and courage to take my own life, then I will do it. This bloody handicap. It’s my curse. It kills me and I will never accept it. I can’t live with it and it’s going to be with me for the rest of my life.”
But he did find some peace and came to accept his condition after finding what he described as “spiritual enlightenment”.
News of Brito’s death was a reminder of the dangers of rugby and that while 1995 was a triumph for the Springboks and South Africa, it will always be tinged with sadness.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“It’s a stark reminder that rugby is a beautiful game, but it is also a brutal game,” Bok 1995 winning flyhalf Joel Stransky told Daily Maverick.
“To hear that Max passed away is tragic and sad. But I suppose it also ...
Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden’s ‘corpse flower’ has bloomed. Nicknamed for its rotten-flesh scent during bloom, the plant attracted thousands of visitors daily.
The Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden has a number of glasshouses containing various weird and wonderful flowers, shrubs and trees that are not adapted to the Western Cape’s climate. Two glasshouses mimic an arid environment, hot and devoid of rain. But it was one of the tropical glasshouses that had the most foot traffic in the past week.
Resembling and feeling like a hot and sweaty tropical forest, it housed a titan arum or “corpse flower” in a unique and rare bloom.
“It was around 1,000 to 2,000 people per day through most of that week of people coming specifically to see the corpse flower,” says Donovan Kirkwood, curator at the botanical gardens.
It smelled like.
The titan arum is endemic to the Sumatran rainforest and only blooms every five to seven years. It is this bloom that gives the plant its uniquely morbid nickname: it has evolved to attract pollinators that would ordinarily lay their eggs on the corpse of a dead animal, mimicking the stench when in bloom.
The plant reached full bloom on Tuesday, 13 December, at a full height of 1.5m.
“It wasn’t quite as intense or as bad-smelling as we expected, except late in the evening once the glasshouse was closed,” says Kirkwood. “But then we are also used to bad-smelling flowers.
“The corpse flower was actually more like a mix of faeces and smelly cheese to my nose than dead animal.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Now this is worth making a stink about – southern Africa’s only ‘corpse flower’ to bloom this weekend”
Although the plant is adapted to smell during bloom, this plant did not attract swarms of flies.
“There is still some doubt about exactly which species pollinate this plant in its native Sumatra, so it may be that the scents target a specific set of insects,” explains Kirkwood.
But, “more obviously, of course, we are in the middle of town and the plant is inside a glasshouse, making it difficult for flies to find their way to it anyway”.
Corpse bride
The titan arum is the largest single inflorescence of any plant in the world. An inflorescence is when many small flowers cluster together on a single plant, and on the corpse flower this is on a central spike, or spadix.
There is a “bunch of girl flowers at the bottom and a section of ...
At 8am on Monday morning the ICU at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had to be evacuated after the oxygen to the unit was cut by someone who had accessed a locked room that could only be accessed by an electronic card. By 11am on Tuesday morning, Prof Rudo Mathivha and her team were still trying to stabilise their critically ill patients after 36 hours.
At 3am on Monday morning an electronic card was used to access the room where vital pipes providing oxygen to the hospital’s ICU and surgical theatres were housed. Three metres of wiring was cut. It cut off the oxygen supply and medical air supply to the hospital’s intensive care unit. The part that went to the theatre was left intact.
The Progressive Health Forum said what happened was equal to a war crime.
For Professor Rudo Mathivha, head of ICU at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, it was a nightmare.
“The staff went into emergency response mode,” she said. They had to make sure each patient was stable. We had to take the patients off the ventilator and using manual oxygen bags from an oxygen cylinder which is available at each bedside,” she explained.
“All our life-sustaining equipment have sensors that alert us and sets off alarms when oxygen supply and medical air are low or absent,” she said. In addition, the patient’s pulse oximeter saturation meters read low values, alerting staff, she added.
“Prior to the emergency, we were doing handover rounds from night staff so everything was stable.
“The first alarm came from the high-frequency oscillators that we use for non-conventional mode of ventilation, they were immediately followed by the conventional ventilators.”
Emergency evacuation
There were 23 patients in ICU. Five were well enough to move to general wards.
“The patients were evacuated to Ward 23, which houses Covid-19 ICU patients and has a capacity of 37 beds and only had one patient in it,” Mathivha explained.
It took roughly five hours to evacuate the patients, she said. Each patient had to be accompanied by a doctor and nurses and their condition had to be carefully monitored as they were being moved.
Mathivha explained that something like this has never happened at the hospital and that the pipe is not in a vulnerable space. “It is not a freak accident, the copper pipe feeding oxygen into ICU was cut, and a portion was removed,” she said.
Security was tight
Victor Moreriane, Chief Director of Communication from the Gauteng Department ...
A former US pilot was arrested in Australia in October. It has since emerged that he is accused of violating a US arms embargo linked to exporting defence services to China – and that he conspired with two South Africans and a local flight academy.
A deal, which now forms part of a developing court matter linked to several countries, was allegedly brokered between a test flight academy in South Africa and a state-owned entity of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
This deal was arranged via a Chinese business that sourced technical data and military equipment for its government and involved the South African academy providing “aircraft carrier approach and landing training to PRC military pilots”.
“The training was to occur in China, South Africa, and other locations”.
A South African lawyer was also linked to the training and was involved in acquiring a specific aircraft from the US – but false information was provided to get hold of it.
Detained in Australia
These allegations, along with several others, are contained in a US indictment against Daniel Edmund Duggan, a military pilot originally from America and once based in China, who was arrested in Australia in October.
He has citizenship there.
Duggan, whose lawyer has told other media that he is innocent of wrongdoing, remains detained in Australia.
The US wants him extradited because he faces charges there relating to money laundering, violating the Arms Export Control Act, and a conspiracy about providing defence services to China.
Duggan has become the centre of a broader international skirmish involving the UK and Australia issuing warnings that former military personnel should not provide training to China.
South Africa is also increasingly becoming part of the saga – individuals from, or based in, South Africa have been referred to in court papers against Duggan and Australian police reportedly searched the home of a British pilot based in this country last month.
A few weeks ago Daily Maverick reported that the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), which is based in the Western Cape town of Oudtshoorn and operational worldwide, was embroiled in the saga.
Members of the academy had consulted lawyers in the UK after reports recently surfaced there that it was effectively a head-hunting agency for the Chinese government.
Three South African ‘co-conspirators’
The US’s indictment against Duggan, which Daily Maverick has seen, was filed back in 2017 but only made public this month.
It showed that Duggan had eight “co-conspirators”.
Three had links to South Africa ...
Matshidiso Lencoasa unpacks how the past year’s budget choices will affect key public health services.
Health budgets have the power to advance access to healthcare for millions of people in South Africa. This year, however, as the health sector and the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic and a volatile global environment, the South African government missed opportunities to provide the financial resources to protect access to healthcare for the most vulnerable.
In 2022, the aggressive fiscal consolidation path characterised by below-inflation increases in healthcare funding to reduce public debt continued the pre-Covid-19 trend of cutting social spending, including that on healthcare.
Missed opportunities
This year corruption, underspending, irregular spending and fruitless and wasteful spending continued to chip away at investment in healthcare in the country, while healthcare users still withstand the worst of the under-resourcing of public health facilities.
Following the February 2022 main budget, there was an average real reduction in healthcare funding of -4.3% for the 2022/23 financial year, which limited the health sector’s ability to tackle the backlogs in access to healthcare created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Section27, where I work, called for increased funding to bolster the quality of care available to the 76% of the population that uses public health facilities by redressing the pre-existing structural issues that plague the sector.
However, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation projections for 2022/23 increased to 6.8%, this real cut has only become more pronounced, resulting in a cut to health funding of -8.2% this financial year.
The Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) also did not respond to this with the much-needed upward adjustments to health budgets for this or future years. Instead, the MTBPS pencilled in an overall real cut to spending per public healthcare user of -R610 from R5,036 in February this year to R4,426 this financial year.
What does all this mean for public healthcare users?
i) Healthcare Infrastructure
In 2022, we raised concerns that the budget allocations to the Health Infrastructure Revitalisation Grant would constrain government’s ability to address backlogs in infrastructure and maintenance. There have been no upward adjustments to this grant to remedy the delays to health infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation caused by the lockdowns and pandemic — this is in spite of rising inflation rates this year.
Moreover, this lack of upward adjustment to ensure that health budgets keep up with CPI inflation occurs as the country shoulders extreme weather events, which National Treasury notes in the Budget Review and ...
Those who have been closely following the ANC’s politics over the years would know that the newly-elected “second” deputy secretary general of the ANC is no new kid on the block, having been deployed to critical positions by three ANC presidents.
At 42 years old, she is the youngest member in the ruling party’s newly elected top seven leadership. Her political career spans over two decades, having initially carved her niche in the often crude and brutal ANC Youth League (ANCYL) school.
Ramokgopa made history when she ascended to power on Monday when she was elected the first “second” deputy secretary general of the ANC — a position which came into existence after the 55th National Conference passed a constitutional amendment for the position which, among other functions, was aimed at strengthening the party’s administrative capacity.
The position was necessitated by the crisis that the secretary general’s office faced over the past five years. Former party secretary general Ace Magashule was suspended for involvement in the Free State Asbestos scandal. Then deputy secretary Jessie Duarte died earlier this year. This saw the then ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile juggling three positions.
Ramokgopa’s name was nominated from the floor and she emerged victorious having garnered 2,373 votes to Ronalda Nalumango’s 1,948.
In her past interactions with the media, she’s always maintained a calm demeanour and expressed the importance of women and youth representation in the party’s top leadership structure.
Read more: Ramaphosa allies form slim majority in top seven while Mashatile, Mokonyane balance the numbers
Previously, the party’s top six structure had a single woman, the late Duarte. The newly elected top seven leadership has three women, a first for the ruling party.
The newly elected women are, Ramokgopa, Nomvula Mokonyane — the first deputy secretary-general and Gwen Ramokgopa, the newly elected treasurer-general, who too made history as the first woman to occupy the position.
ANC’s head of transformation, Mmamoloko Kubayi said, “having three women in the leadership, a gendered generational mix, this is a mixture of different generations that are there. I believe society will be able to resonate with us”.
Kubayi believes the mix will also bring about vibrancy to the party.
Among other positions, Ramokgopa is currently a member of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in Limpopo, she is also a chief advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa on international relations at the African Union (AU).
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
In June this year, she ...
Daily Maverick sports writers Yanga Sibembe, Keanan Hemmonsbey and Cody Hansen give us their highlights from the World Cup.
Yanga Sibembe
Games of the tournament
France vs Argentina – A final for the ages, enthralling, goals galore and Lionel Messi adding the final jigsaw piece to his silverware collection. Kylian Mbappé became just the second player to date to score a World Cup final hat-trick. That he was on the losing side says it all.
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia – The Argentinians had probably calculated three points from their opening World Cup clash against Saudi Arabia. However, it wasn’t to be as the Arabs shocked Argentina 2-1 in one of the greatest World Cup upsets yet.
Japan vs Spain – Japan were aware that a win over Spain would guarantee them top spot in a World Cup group since 2002. They duly obliged with a 2-1 win over the fancied Spaniards.
Croatia vs Brazil – The contest might have been decided on penalties, but Croatia defied the odds by ousting Brazil following a 1-1 draw after two hours of play.
Ghana vs Portugal – Against a Portuguese side filled with some of the best players in the world, Ghana held their own in a tightly contested group game which ended 3-2 in favour of Portugal.
Players of the tournament
Lionel Messi – He won his first World Cup crown. He was always influential for his country, whether it be through his seven goals, three assists (the joint-most) or his grit and guile as a leader.
Kylian Mbappé – The French forward is now just five goals from usurping the record of Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup goals to date. Mbappé has 12 from two tournaments compared with Klose’s 16 from four.
Emiliano Martínez – The Aston Villa goalkeeper was key to Argentina’s World Cup success, making some key saves along the way. He once again emerged as the hero for his country in the last moments of the final, denying France’s Randal Kolo Muani at point-blank range.
Sofyan Amrabat – The all-action midfielder was a vital cog as Morocco made history in Qatar. His lung-busting, last-ditch tackle on Mbappé in the France vs Morocco semifinal is evidence enough.
Luka Modrić – Integral to his nation’s runner-up finish in Russia four years ago, the 37-year-old Real Madrid midfielder was crucial as Croatia clinched bronze in Qatar.
Flops of the tournament
Brazil – Many had tipped Brazil to at least reach the latter stages ...
Holidaymakers’ big vehicles made a deep impression on a rural herdboy who, in adulthood, made his childhood dream come true by founding his own off-road driver training academy.
The village of Mtalala in the Eastern Cape, which lies along a popular tourist route where convoys of 4×4 vehicles pulling caravans often make their way to the Wild Coast, inspired a young man to venture into a business of a different kind.
While growing up in this village in the 1970s, Noel Stapelfeldt (51) marvelled at these grand vehicles and vowed to get involved in the lifestyle one day.
Back then, it seemed a far-fetched dream for a young herdboy from a rural village. But dreams do come true, and his has.
He is the owner of Impilo 4×4 Driver Training, one of the first black-owned 4×4 training companies in the country.
The company celebrated 20 years in business this month. Over the years, Stapelfeldt has had opportunities to be involved in such events as the annual Limpopo 4×4 Challenge, the Land Rover G Competition and the internationally renowned Top Gear TV show.
His company is accredited by the Transport Education Training Authority and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations as a skills development provider.
“The reason we called our company Impilo [health] [was that] for us it was our life on the line. And we had to do our best to make it work for us,” Stapelfeldt said.
The company provides driver training to people from all walks of life, including students who have recently obtained their driver’s licences.
A driver development programme forms part of the training on offer, and is designed to teach new drivers all the techniques that driving schools don’t usually get around to.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Dreams soar for ‘little girls of colour’ after pilots Moreetsi and Vundla command historic flight from Joburg to Cape Town”
Other services include teaching advanced driving, truck driving and defensive driving, as well as team building and community work involving schools in the area.
“We wish we could introduce our driver development programme to the minister of transport. Every person who has completed their driving test should spend at least two or three days on the driver development course.
“This will prepare one mentally and ensure that we have better drivers on the road,” Stapelfeldt said. Impilo 4×4 has a staff of five and, whenever there is a rise in demand, enlists the help of freelance instructors based in Cape ...
The French energy giant wants to drill up to 10 exploration wells for oil and gas in the deepwater Orange Basin along the west coast.
TotalEnergies, the French energy giant, intends to drill up to ten exploration wells for oil and gas in the deepwater Orange Basin along the West Coast, as well as conduct sonar surveys and vertical seismic profiling, among other operations. The explorations will span from 188 kilometres offshore to 340 kilometres from the coast.
Several public consultations were held in November from Hout Bay to Port Nolloth.
Fishers we spoke to in the small coastal town of Doringbaai say they are concerned about the impact the oil and gas explorations may have on their livelihoods.
Doringbaai was home to about 1,260 people at the time of the 2011 census, but residents say this number has possibly doubled since then. The town relies mostly on fishing and the Doring Bay abalone farm at the harbour.
“Oil and gas, and fishing cannot co-exist,” says Fabian Mohammed, a fisherwoman in Doringbaai. “Either you go into the ocean to catch fish or [you go] for oil and gas. But you can’t do both.
“Fishing has been our livelihood for generations . We were born here and we work here,” she says. “If they are coming to drill oil, who can guarantee there will be fish left in 15 years’ time? What kind of future do our kids have in Doringbaai?”
Government’s Operation Phakisa Ocean Master Plan to unlock the “untapped” wealth of South Africa’s vast ocean resources will make things easier for larger fishing companies to dominate over small communities, says community leader Peter Owies.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
“Ocean grabbing isn’t new to us,” says Owies. “We’ll be competing as a small-scale industry where these [companies] want to operate.”
He fears the small fishers will be “driven out”.
The environmental consultants conducting environmental impact assessments (EIA) for TotalEnergies, SRL Consulting, say that natural gas exploration will “complement renewable energy” while also creating jobs and economic growth.
In the draft scoping report, the consultants note that job opportunities created will be limited and limited to skilled and semi-skilled jobs.
Mohammed says that most of the Doringbaai locals do not have the skills and qualifications needed for these projects. “How are you suddenly going to make someone who has just been a fisher for 20 years an engineer on an oil rig?” she asks.
The EIA assessment on ...
Fikile Mbalula has been ignoring the mayor’s letters. Activists are now threatening legal action against the transport minister.
Commuter activist group #UniteBehind says it will launch litigation in the new year to compel the Minister of Transport to hasten the local control of commuter rail to municipalities or provincial governments, also known as devolution, if they do not see concrete progress.
UniteBehind director Zackie Achmat told GroundUp that the case will be against the minister and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), and will cite the City of Cape Town.
Devolution of rail has long been government policy, but to date there has been little progress or coordination to achieve this, either by national government or from municipalities. According to the National Land Transport Act of 2009 (NLTA), commuter rail should be located “in the appropriate sphere of government”.
The City of Cape Town appears to be ready to claim its responsibilities for commuter rail. On 13 December, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis released a statement, which argued that the persistently poor performance of Prasa “confirms the urgency for rail devolution”.
Hill-Lewis said that there is no hope of the national government turning around passenger rail and they need to start planning for the handover process without delay.
He said that the City was moving ahead with completing its Rail Feasibility Study, a necessary first step before devolution can be implemented, but that the City required “access to all institutional, financial and technical information associated with operating the current rail system in Cape Town” from Prasa.
Correspondence from the City to minister for transport Fikile Mbalula shows that the City has been attempting to push ahead with devolution. On 23 May, Hill-Lewis wrote to Mbalula to propose establishing a working committee composed of City and Department of Transport officials to discuss how commuter rail could be devolved to the City, in line with the National Rail Policy that Mbalula had gazetted earlier this year. No reply was received.
Then on 18 August, Hill-Lewis wrote to Mbalula, saying that the City had begun a feasibility study into the devolution and assignment of rail on 1 July 2022, and that a conceptual report was due at the end of September.
Hill-Lewis requested a meeting and asked for information that the City could use to inform their plans to take over commuter rail from Prasa. Once again, no reply.
On 1 December, Hill-Lewis wrote a further follow-up letter to Mbalula, noting that the ...
In May 2020 Cabo Ligado Weekly was launched by ACLED in partnership with Zitamar News and Mediafax as a new conflict observatory monitoring political violence in Mozambique. The aim was to present concise reflections on the Cabo Delgado insurgency’s development to that point, and identify key issues to watch. ACLED had noted the increasing competency of the insurgents, the momentum that they had at the time, and their evolving relationship with the wider IS movement.
We also noted the poor combat effectiveness of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) in the face of the still relatively inexperienced insurgent forces. We pointed to FDS abuses, and how these reflected the depth of their dysfunction and highlighted the absence of an overarching counterinsurgency strategy that engaged communities constructively.
The progress made by the insurgents in the two and a half years up to May 2020 had been considerable. Though concentrated in five districts in the north of the province, and along the coast, they had also probed as far south as Ancuabe and Metuge.
The authorities had by then lost control of much of the north of the province.
In March 2020, the Quissanga and Mocímboa da Praia district headquarters were briefly occupied. In April, Muidumbe headquarters was occupied, and the following month it was the turn of Macomia headquarters. This ability would reach its peak in August 2020, when the insurgents, after months of activity, asserted control over Mocímboa da Praia town, expelling government forces.
A similar attack on Palma town in March 2021 would finally precipitate significant international military support. This would change the shape of the conflict over the subsequent 18 months, significantly impacting the dynamics of the conflict, but arguably bringing it no nearer to a conclusion.
By late 2020, the conflict had also unquestionably internationalised on both sides of the conflict.
The Mozambican state had in 2019 contracted with the Wagner Group, and then the Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) in 2020 in its efforts to deal with the growing internal threat. The rapid growth of the insurgency over the first three years placed considerable pressure on Mozambique to accept bilateral and multilateral support. This came from many quarters, including South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), former colonial power Portugal, the US, the UK and the European Union.
IS had, since June 2019, included Mozambique in its self-styled Central Africa Province through its Central Media Bureau announcements. As we discuss below, this essentially recognised ...
Soccer is suffering. Suffering in so many ways — lungs, legs, heart, guts and emotions suffer in the pursuit of success. And in failure, there is suffering too. At the top level, there is always suffering.
To say that Lionel Messi has suffered during a career almost unmatched in the history of the beautiful game sounds foolish. This is after all a man bestowed with Painite-rare footballing gifts, discovered on junior pitches in Rosario, the football-mad town on the banks of the Parana River, some 300 km from Buenos Aires and honed and shaped at Barcelona’s La Masia academy, 10,500km away.
He is financially set for several lifetimes — riches beyond anything he could have dreamed of as a small child growing up in Argentinean soccer’s spiritual hometown.
Messi has won 37 major club trophies, the Copa America, seven Ballon d’Ors, scored 701 goals at club level and 98 at international level. He is regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest player, to kick a ball. And now he has a World Cup winners’ medal. It doesn’t sound like a career of suffering when put like that.
Waiting and suffering
But Messi has spent 16 years suffering under the burden of carrying the hopes of his country and the weight of expectation that he would deliver the World Cup again.
Blessed and cursed to wear the No 10 shirt for the Albiceleste. With the number 10 shirt of Maradona, Messi is the demigod Argentina pinned its hopes on every four years since 2010. He might have won all the spoils the club game had to offer, but in the eyes of his nation and many soccer fans globally, only one title would fulfil his iconic career.
The World Cup is an accolade Argentina, as a country, covets perhaps more than any other footballing nation. That led to Messi’s suffering. And to his fulfilment.
Until Gonzalo Montiel’s penalty hit the back of the Lusail Stadium net on Sunday evening, Messi’s suffering was ongoing. He’d done all he could. Two goals over 120 minutes — one from the penalty spot and another tap-in, as well as playing a huge part in the third goal during the match. He added another penalty in the shootout.
Messi had cajoled, scolded and inspired teammates, not only throughout the course of the nerve-shredding final against France but also over the course of a month in Qatar. And in the years leading up ...
The ANC Electoral Committee, led by former party deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, has had the arduous task of monitoring the highly contested leadership race, and believes its processes ‘can stand up to scrutiny’.
The election ballots for the ANC’s Top Seven positions were counted several times to ensure that all observers were satisfied that the numbers were correct.
This was according to ANC Electoral Committee secretary Chief Livhuwani Matsila who said the committee’s processes could stand up to scrutiny.
Matsila and the committee have faced increased pressure over the past few months, while he has also been accused of bias towards re-elected party president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Matsila received a backlash over his close friendship with Ramaphosa following an article in City Press earlier this year, in which he endorsed his second term as the governing party’s head.
Talking about the elections, Matsila said: “Everything was transparent, the records are there, the spreadsheets are there, so anyone who wants information, whether it be individuals or the courts, we should be able to furnish them to their satisfaction. There is no basis for contestations over the Top Seven results,” he said.
“I would not say it is a lot [of criticism], it is a few. So, again our processes can stand up to scrutiny. The acceptance of the results by the conference will serve to demonstrate that there is nothing irregular about what we do.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zuma’s influence on the wane as KZN fails to deliver at ANC conference”
“There was no recount for that, that is just a false rumour by someone who wants to tarnish the process. The conference has unanimously approved the outcome of the election of the Top Seven.
“When we do the counting of votes, we do that in front of provincial observers and we allow provinces to nominate two observers that can take turns, we also do that with the leagues. So, if any of the observers feel like the counting of particular sets of ballots needs to be recounted, we did that, but that is not a dispute. I cannot tell you how many times we would have counted, we would have to recount as much as possible so that everyone is satisfied, that is the purpose,” he said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The ANC’s Electoral Committee has cracked down on members of the party contesting for leadership positions. The rules state that those who have ...
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged the world to continue to help the South Asian nation recover from devastating floods ahead of a United Nations conference next month to mobilise funding.
Pakistan is facing an economic crisis with reserves covering one month of imports, a dollar shortage and a delay in its loan program with the International Monetary Fund. Investors are still concerned about the nation’s ability to pay its debt, with long-term dollar bonds continuing to trade at distressed levels despite the payment of a $1-billion bond this month.
“We find ourselves in this incredibly difficult position where we’re trying to manage our macroeconomic indicators with the IMF and provide the imminent relief for the people that is still necessary now in Pakistan, and plan forward for reconstruction and rehabilitation,” Zardari said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Washington DC. “Unfortunately, the cameras have gone, the attention has disappeared, but there are still floodwaters in many areas of my country.”
Pakistan’s unprecedented floods in the summer killed more than 1,700 people, inundated a third of the nation and cut the nation’s growth by half. The floods have left about $32-billion in damages and losses to the nation’s economy.
The United Nations said the global community hasn’t provided enough funds after the devastating floods in Pakistan and that may lead to the suspension of its food support programme next month. The UN and Pakistan’s joint appeal garnered only about 30% of the $816-million funds requested, according to Julien Harneis, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan. They will seek more funds at a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, scheduled for 9 January.
Pakistan has seen a delay in its latest IMF loan tranche amid prolonged discussions with the global body, which has asked for details on how much the nation will be spending this year for rehabilitation after the devastating floods. The IMF indicated that talks have been productive to revise the macroeconomic outlook after the floods, resident representative in Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement this month.
“The entire unity government agrees that it’s important for us to deal with international financial institutions — we want to see the fundamental reform that’s required for the overall health of our economy,” Zardari said. “But at the moment, our number one priority has to be helping these people who are in extreme, extreme distress in the short, medium and long term.”
‘Eight-month tantrum’
Pakistan is also ...
The yen strengthened as the Bank of Japan said it would let benchmark bond yields rise further. Asian equities headed for a fourth day of declines amid investors concern on the global inflation outlook.
The BOJ kept policy rate unchanged, but increased the upper band limit on the yield target to 0.5%. The yen had been appreciating since late October and got a boost more recently from speculation of pivoting away from ultra-lose policy.
Japanese government bond trading was in a midday break.
Shares dropped in China, South Korea and Australia, while Japanese shares eked out a small gain. Reports of growing disruptions from Covid outbreaks remained concerns among investors in Hong Kong and mainland.
US stock futures turned lower after the BOJ policy decision. The S&P 500 had closed at its lowest level in more than a month on Monday. The benchmark was dragged down by declines in big-tech firms including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.
A gauge of the dollar dropped as it rallied.
In China, banks maintained their benchmark lending rates, including the five-year rate that is a reference for mortgages, for a fourth month after the central bank kept its monetary policy settings unchanged last week.
Oil was higher as investors weighed a pledge from China to revive consumption against broader low-risk sentiment, with West Texas Intermediate above $75 a barrel.
Still, global sentiment remained sour after former New York Fed president and Bloomberg Opinion columnist William Dudley told Bloomberg Television on Monday that optimistic markets could only make the central bank tighten even more.
Milford Asset Management sees the risk of profit decline among companies dragging for longer as the economy slows. “We are looking for at least a profit decline of 20% and possibly a bit more. That’s going to be a bit of a shock to investors next year,” William Curtayne, portfolio manager, said on Bloomberg Television.
After hitting an abrupt and confusing snag in a Bahamas courtroom, Sam Bankman-Fried’s preparations to be extradited to the US appear back on track.
FTX co-founder Bankman-Fried said in court on Monday that he was ready to waive his right to fight extradition to the US where he faces fraud charges over the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. However, his local lawyer, Jerone Roberts, said in the same hearing that he wasn’t aware of the plan.
Ultimately, the proceedings were adjourned, and Bankman-Fried was ordered to return to jail. Later in the day, Roberts told local media that Bankman-Fried wouldn’t fight extradition and could be back in court again this week. Attempts to reach Roberts were unsuccessful.
The chaotic scene is the latest twist in the high-stakes drama that has been playing out since Bankman-Fried was arrested last week at the request of US authorities.
Although he initially said that he would fight extradition, Bankman-Fried has more recently indicated in private conversations that he was preparing to return to the US as soon as Monday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Bankman-Fried’s change in attitude is in part tied to the expectation that he’ll be able to get bail in the US, according to the person, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Former federal prosecutor Tim Howard said a US bail deal for Bankman-Fried is definitely a possibility. Willingly returning to the US would help calm fears that he’s a flight risk, though he’d still have other conditions to meet.
“If the defendant was to offer a substantial bail package secured by cash, home detention and location monitoring, I could see a situation where prosecutors would agree to that,” he said.
Representatives for Bankman-Fried and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which has been handling the case, declined to comment on Monday.
Bankman-Fried wore a blue suit and a white shirt to Monday’s proceedings, which played out in a courtroom packed with about 20 people, including several who appeared to work for the US government and members of the press. There was confusion from the start as Roberts asked for clarification on the purpose of the hearing, and said he was “shocked” to find out that his client was in court.
“Whatever trail got him here this morning, it did not involve me,” said Roberts. “I am not at the front of what is ...
LOS ANGELES, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and two other sexual assault counts by a Los Angeles jury on Monday, marking the second conviction of the onetime Hollywood kingmaker who became the face of #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago.
By Lisa Richwine and Tim Reid
The jury found Weinstein guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving one woman, but acquitted him of charges relating to a second alleged victim, the Los Angeles Superior Court announced.
The jury could not reach a verdict on two allegations, including rape, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who previously disclosed she was Jane Doe 4 in the trial. The jury did not reach a verdict on charges relating to one other woman.
Weinstein, 70, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual misconduct in New York.
The former model and actress that Weinstein was convicted of raping at a Los Angeles hotel in 2013, and known in court as Jane Doe 1, issued a statement shortly after the verdict.
“Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back. The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did. I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime.”
Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison on the counts for which he was convicted, but aggravating factors could increase that to 24 years. Lawyers return to court on Tuesday to deliver arguments about aggravating factors.
Elizabeth Fegan, Siebel Newsom’s attorney, said in a statement: “While we are heartened that the jury found Weinstein guilty on some of the counts, we are disappointed that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on Jane Doe 4,” Fegan said.
“She will continue to fight for all women and all survivors of abuse against a system that permits the victim to be shamed and re-traumatized in the name of justice.”
In Los Angeles, Weinstein faced seven counts of rape and sexual assault from four women during encounters between 2004 and 2013.
The jury acquitted Weinstein of a felony charge of
sexual battery by restraint involving an alleged attack on one woman, Jane Doe 3, in 2010. ...
With President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term as ANC president secured on Monday, party renewal talk hit fever pitch, alongside how the President’s government reform agenda has been bolstered. All that, of course, with a firm view on the 2024 elections.
In Monday’s vote announcement, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s slate secured five of the seven top ANC officials’ posts, almost a clean sweep, after terse and tense last-minute horse-trading and cajoling that was reflected in several narrow result margins.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Relief for Ramaphosa but the wolves remain resolutely on NEC doorstep”
Effectively, that means Ramaphosa remains in Luthuli House and the Union Buildings, set to steer a governing party that’s admitted to being in an existential crisis and in decline. Or as the organisational report put it: “We must acknowledge that the ANC is experiencing a crisis threatening its existence. We cannot expect to achieve any of our goals and regain the people’s trust if we fail to take the necessary actions.”
The organisational report bluntly talks of the ANC’s falling electoral support, how “disunity and factionalism remain rampant” amid inadequate party functioning. “We are at a crossroads,” said the report.
Such blunt statements from an organisation whose membership has dropped to 661,489 from just over a million members in its 2012 centenary year, come against recent research that put Ramaphosa’s public trust levels, in the mid-30 percentages, at between 10 to 15 percentage points higher than the governing ANC he leads.
But Ramaphosa’s clean governance push was damaged by a Section 89 independent panel recommendation that he had an impeachment case to answer over his Phala Phala farm forex scandal. While probes by the Public Protector, Hawks, the tax authorities and South African Reserve Bank are ongoing, ANC MPs used their numbers to kill off any further parliamentary steps for Ramaphosa’s removal from office.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Phala Phala, Parliament, Eskom: Ruling party is closing ranks again, playing ANC vs Everyone Else”
However, Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma voted for starting an impeachment inquiry, while absent for that vote was Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who’s also been sharply critical of the President.
A Cabinet reshuffle
Segue to the first hurdle Ramaphosa faces — a Cabinet reshuffle, possibly as early as January, on the back of a strengthened political hand following his re-election.
It’s tricky timing amid a confluence of factors, including recompense for faithful organising and electoral regimen. It will test Ramaphosa’s political nous and ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Belarus in more than three years after authorities in Ukrainian said drone attacks in Kyiv had inflicted more damage on critical infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said drones had been used against Kyiv early on Monday, urging the leaders of the UK and other countries to provide more air defence and weapons.
European nations reached a deal to cap natural gas prices at €180 per megawatt hour, ending months of political wrangling over whether to intervene in an energy crisis that’s risked pushing the region into a recession.
Key developments
Putin begins talks with ally Lukashenko in rare Belarus trip
EU agrees to cap gas prices at €180 temporarily to ease crisis
Canada to pursue $26m in assets from Russia’s Abramovich
Europe’s $1-trillion energy bill only marks start of the crisis
Putin’s ambitions put Finland’s troops and tanks back in vogue
On the ground
The city of Kherson, liberated in November, is under permanent fire, including from S-300 missiles, Halyna Luhova, the head of the southern city’s military administration, said at a briefing. Ukrainian troops intercepted 18 out of 23 drones launched by Russia overnight at Kyiv, the Ukrinform news agency said, citing the city’s military authorities.
EU agrees to cap gas prices at €180
European officials had been seeking an agreement on the cap before the arrival of severe winter weather drives up gas demand for heating and electricity.
The so-called gas market correction mechanism, designed to prevent extreme price swings, will apply from 15 February. It’s significantly lower than an earlier proposal by the European Commission, which wouldn’t have prevented the spikes that the region saw this year as Russia curbed gas supplies.
Putin, Lukashenko begin talks in Minsk
Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began talks in Minsk as the Russian leader called the neighbouring nation “our ally in the truest sense of the word”.
Putin said in televised comments at the start of the meeting in the Belarusian capital that while strengthening economic ties would be the main focus of the discussions, the two sides would also discuss further military-technical cooperation.
Russia attacked Kyiv with Iranian drones, says Zelensky
Ukraine’s capital was attacked early on Monday by drones from a new batch of such weapons that Russia got from Iran, Zelensky said at a meeting of the leaders of the United Kingdom’s Joint Expeditionary Force.
Russia constantly uses missiles and drones for strikes, primarily on the Ukrainian energy sector, he said. US intelligence has accused Iran ...
The agreement represents the most significant effort to date to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.
The United Nations (UN) Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, that began on 7 December ended on Monday with a landmark agreement, when 190 nations adopted four goals and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030, known as the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The aim of the agreement is to ensure effective conservation and management of at least 30% of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030, with emphasis on areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Currently, only 17% of terrestrial areas and 10% of marine areas are protected.
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It also intends to cut food waste in half by 2030.
The agreement represents the most significant effort to date to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. One of the most important topics that took centre stage at COP15 is financing to reverse the loss of biodiversity and deciding who will pay for it.
However, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other environmental groups were concerned that the draft deal puts off until 2050 the goal of preventing the extinction of species, maintaining genetic diversity within populations and preserving the integrity of ecosystems.
Here are the main conference outcomes.
The day before the conference wrapped up, Bert Wander, the acting CEO of the campaign website Avaaz made an impassioned plea to delegates to do the right thing by planet Earth and all its creatures:
“My name is Bert Wander and I’m the acting CEO of Avaaz, a campaigning community of millions of people from all over the world.
“Avaaz means voice or song. And I’m speaking today to deliver more than three million citizens’ voices from all over the world who are part of Avaaz’s campaign to put half the Earth under protection by 2030.
“But I’m also speaking to you today on behalf of all the non-human voices that aren’t heard at political negotiations like this.
“I’m speaking on behalf of the last Kauai O’o, whose song rained down from a treetop at sunset calling for a mate who would never come. I’m speaking on behalf of Spix’s Macaw. The Western Black Rhino. The Golden Toad.
“All torn from the great tapestry of life. Wiped out by a single ...
(Bloomberg) -- Singer Justin Bieber accused retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB of selling clothing depicting him without his consent.
“The H&M merch they made of me is trash and I didn’t approve it,” Bieber posted on Instagram. “Don’t buy it.”
Clothes in the H&M collection include sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies featuring Bieber’s likeness, lyrics and branding. The retailer has previously sold Bieber’s concert tour merchandise a few times, going back several years.
“I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M,” Bieber wrote Monday. “All without my permission and approval.”
A representative for H&M didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
H&M has struggled with weak sales lately as the retailer tries to cope with high inflation and shaky consumer demand. Management aims to double sales by 2030.
In the past three days, I’ve experienced a massive missile attack, heard multiple Shahed drones in the night sky, and watched the black of the night light up with explosions as window panes shook in my apartment. I’ve heard siren after siren, sat without electricity and water for just a bit, and lived fully clothed indoors — all in just three short days.
Let me start my weekly blog by greeting you and wishing you well from the very heart of Kyiv!
I haven’t been home for a few very long years and thought I was informed and prepared. It took forever to reach Kyiv. I used to love travelling through Ukraine by rail as our countryside is absolutely gorgeous, but now I felt scared of what I might see just by peeking out of the window.
On Friday, when I landed in Poland and was waiting for my train to Kyiv, Russian terrorists rained missiles on Ukraine: 76 were fired from the sky and Azov and Black Seas. Though our unbelievable air defence forces managed to shield Ukrainians by shooting down 60 of them, still Putin’s terroristic organisations managed to once more heavily damage our critical infrastructure with the few that reached their goal.
Most of the missiles — 40 out of 76 — were aimed at our capital: the city they passionately hate as it represents everything they want to be, but aren’t. A city that stood tall, was cultured and developed when there were nothing but swamps on the territory currently known as Moscow.
Hatred
That’s the reason for a massive missile strike on Kyiv — pure hate based on nothing but Putin’s uneducated and uninformed personal view of world history.
Moreover, cities that border Russia or territories temporarily occupied by Putin’s terroristic organisation are also heavily shelled from the ground — not just the sky and the sea.
Kharkiv was under horrifying attack, suffering severe damage to vital city infrastructure. In a lot of big cities there was no light, no heating and no water.
A lot of people were injured and a beautiful family with an almost two-year-old little boy was killed in the city of Kryviy Rih after an apartment block was hit by shelling.
And just a short moment later, another massive attack — this time by drones — was carried out on Sunday night. Kyiv experienced three large waves of Iran-made Shahid kamikaze drone strikes. There were 23 kamikaze drones lurking in ...
Proving their point, Eskom has announced load shedding until they have at least an additional 4,000MW of generation capacity to allow them the space to take some of their units off for planned maintenance. “The risk of load shedding, unfortunately, remains,” warned Jan Oberholzer, Eskom group chief operating officer at a state of the system briefing last Wednesday. Proving their point, Eskom announced on Sunday, 15 May, that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented tonight (from 5pm to 10pm), and escalate to Stage 3 on Monday and Tuesday evening at the same time, due to a continued loss of generating capacity. Stage 2 will then continue for the rest of the week. At the system update, along with CEO André de Ruyter, Oberholzer continually emphasised that the power utility is in urgent need of 4,000 to 6,000MW of additional generation capacity to allow them the space to take some of their units off for planned maintenance. And until this capacity is met, the risk of load shedding remains.
PowerAlert1
Due to a continued loss of generating capacity, Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 17:00 – 22:00 tonight, and Stage 3 will be implemented on Monday and Tuesday evening Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) May 15, 2022 Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha explained that since Saturday evening Tutuka, Camden and Majuba power stations each experienced a breakdown on one of their units. Mantshantsha said, “we currently have 2,094MW on planned maintenance, while another 17,640MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.” De Ruyter explained in the system update last week that we need 4,000 to 6,000MW of additional capacity, “in order to give us the headroom to take units out on planned maintenance and carry out that maintenance and return the units to service as planned.” Oberholzer and his executive team explained that generation problems are rooted in lack of sufficient generation capacity, which Eskom says is aggravated by equipment age, insufficient funds for maintenance and additional system space. Mantshantsha ended his statement by reminding South Africans that “load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid,” and appealed to the nation to help limit the impact of load shedding by using electricity sparingly by switching off all non-essential items, especially between 5am and 9am and 4pm and 10pm. DM
The legal battle between divorced actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is a sordid melodrama – but the way in which it’s being framed and received by the public is deeply worrying. There’s a question which lawyers for actress Amber Heard have repeatedly put to witnesses in the court case which sees ex-husband Johnny Depp suing Heard for defamation on the basis of a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she implied she was the victim of domestic abuse at Depp’s hands during their relationship. That question, loosely paraphrased, is: have you ever heard of an actress whose career or reputation has improved after making accusations of violence against a famous man? Nobody has been able to respond with a name. That is deeply revealing. Yet the dominant public narrative around the Depp-Heard saga has become the following: that Heard probably invented abuse allegations against Depp to raise her profile and bolster her career. Never mind that this strategy has never succeeded in the history of Hollywood. Never mind that a British court has already found there was sufficient evidence to classify Depp as abusive. Never mind that this is a historical moment in which we were told that the #MeToo movement had ushered in a new climate of support for women confronting powerful men. Despite all this, the woman making court-endorsed allegations of abuse against one of the most famous actors alive is being utterly and grotesquely vilified in the public sphere. How the hell did we find ourselves back here? The reality is that there are two courts currently hearing the lawsuit between divorced celebrity couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The first is the actual court of law sitting in Virginia, USA, where Depp has brought a second defamation lawsuit against Heard after losing his first attempt in a UK court in November 2020. The second is the court of public opinion, headquartered increasingly on social media. And whatever judgment is eventually delivered by the Virginia court, it is the ruling of the court of public opinion which is likely to have more lasting impact on the lives of the two actors involved. This is where things get scary, because the version of the case being filtered through social media bears very little resemblance to the real events unfolding within the Virginia courthouse. It’s not just social media which is delivering a thoroughly warped interpretation of the Depp-Heard trial. Tabloids are having a field-day ...
The Home Affairs director-general has told Parliament that there are 9,025 unfunded vacancies in the Civic Services branch alone. Staff shortages, budget cuts and regular network failures are causing block-long queues outside offices across the country. Day-long queues have become a permanent feature outside Home Affairs offices across the country, from Johannesburg to Stellenbosch and Cape Town. Although the top brass are trying to solve the causes, a budget shortage means the issue won’t be sorted out in the near future, despite a “war on queues” programme initiated in 2018. The problem appears to be that Treasury, crumbling under multiple pressures, does not have the money. Briefing Parliament on 31 August last year, Director-General of Home Affairs Livhuwani Makhode said only 37% of civic services posts at Home Affairs were filled, adding that the 9,025 vacant posts were unfunded. Civic Services is the branch dealing with citizens’ applications within the 412 Home Affairs offices nationwide, as well as at about 100 mobile units and 27 bank branches. This includes clerks servicing clients, various functions such as fingerprinting and biometrics capture, and back-office staff processing document applications. Even the approved and funded posts are not filled. According to the department’s latest 2020/21 annual report, the total number of funded staff positions across all three Home Affairs programmes – administration, citizen affairs and immigration affairs – is 8,617. Of these, 8,451 posts are filled, leaving 166 vacancies. In citizen affairs, 52 funded posts are vacant. The 9,025 civic services vacancies – more than double the current staff contingent of all three divisions – are not mentioned in the annual report, possibly because they are unfunded and thus not approved. Questions about the unfunded vacancies sent to Home Affairs spokesperson David Hlabane have not been answered despite having initially been sent in February, with a blue-ticked WhatsApp follow-up, and continual follow-ups over the past week via email and WhatsApp. Additionally, no response to budgetary questions has been forthcoming from Treasury. As reported by DM168’s Rebecca Pitt, the department, in its annual performance presentation plan of 26 April, requested an additional R266-million from Treasury for employment compensation to fill 762 vacant posts (427 for civic services, 328 for immigration services and seven for information services). The Western Cape manager for the public servants’ union, the Public Servants’ Association (PSA) of South Africa, Aileen Mosetic, said Home Affairs only had about 47% of the staff they needed. “For example, in the Stellenbosch office there are nine ...
In a move aimed at supporting, growing and rewarding small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Absa has launched the Absa Small Business Friday campaign. In terms of the campaign, Absa Rewards customers who shop at participating SME outlets on Fridays will earn double cash back when they use their Absa card to pay at an Absa card machine. In addition, participating SMEs will be profiled on a dedicated Small Business Portal and receive cash rewards when they reach certain milestones across their Absa card machines for the month, which will be paid into their transactional accounts. “As part of broader efforts to transform the economic competitiveness of the country, Absa is fully committed to support SMEs along their journey by building strong relationships with them and creating innovative solutions that meet their unique needs,” says Christine Wu, Managing Executive for Customer Value Management at Absa Retail and Business Bank. “SMEs are vital to enable job creation in South Africa and will play a key role to jumpstart the economy as it continues to recover from the impact of Covid-19. The launch of the Absa Small Business Friday campaign underscores our commitment to this vital segment and connecting individuals to communities.” The initiative comes at a time when SMEs are slowly finding their feet in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the civil unrest of 2021. Small businesses in particular continue to grapple with challenges such as load-shedding and high fuel prices, and Small Business Friday is Absa’s way of giving SMEs a shot in the arm and helping them reach their potential. To participate, eligible SMEs must have a turnover of R5 000 or more, but less than R20 million, have a qualifying transactional account with Absa and an Absa card machine. “By connecting Absa Rewards customers with SMEs, we hope to highlight the important role individuals can play to support small businesses and amplify the ‘ME’ in ‘SME’ ”, Wu adds. The launch follows the introduction of the Absa Business Evolve transactional offering, which was designed with the flexibility to evolve as these businesses develop and grow. To support the unique needs of SMEs, Absa also recently launched Absa Mobile Pay, a market-first, mobile payment acceptance solution. DM/BM About the Absa rewards programme: Absa Rewards is a rewards programme that pays out cash based on your tier. Consumers can earn up to 30% real cash back, depending on their Rewards Tier on everyday purchases from our ...
It has become increasingly clear over recent years that the world has not only a moral imperative to decarbonise, but also an urgent practical incentive. If we continue on the current trajectory based on a world-wide fossil fuels-dependent energy system, we will breach the global temperature limit identified as necessary for our ecological sustainability within the next decade or so. The science of climate change is therefore undeniably urgent and requires action by all economic participants from market issuers, asset managers, asset consultants and asset owners to regulators and media. The Paris Climate Accord and COP26 reinforced this message through the identifying and setting of a global climate change limit to 1.5 degrees Celsius in an attempt to avoid significant climate disruptions that could see an exacerbation of hunger, conflict and drought globally. However, while we have seen immense progress in worldwide decarbonisation efforts in recent years, it is essential that this is done in an orderly fashion. The recent move upwards in oil and gas prices and general energy crunch in Europe (even before the Russia/Ukraine crisis) is a clear indicator of the repercussions that a disorderly approach to the transition away from fossil fuels could bring if it isn’t balanced with enough production from renewable sources to meet global demand. Currently, individual economic actors – such as pension funds and other asset owners, banks and other lending institutions – are decarbonising in various ways, with each individual actor behaving rationally and for the right reasons. However, as a collective, the impact has potentially severe unintended consequences. Indeed, already the resulting material reduction in capital investment in fossil fuel provision (by some estimates a halving of investment in recent years) has meant less fossil fuel supply at a time when it will be many years before renewables, at the current production rate, can take up the slack. This has had dire consequences for energy prices, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A secondary effect is that this cut in the production of fossil fuels is also raising the cost of steel and other commodity resources that are needed to construct renewable energy infrastructure such as wind and solar farms. Escalating sanctions and reduction of oil trade with Russia by Europe and the US in an attempt to curtail the current conflict is a further aggravating factor in the situation. The conflict has created a powerful imperative to accelerate European and US investment in ...
Both public sector corruption and private sector financial shenanigans share some important commonalities: Both undermine trust and confidence in society, and serve to reduce investment, growth and job creation. Another commonality is that it is very likely that insiders always know what's going on. An insider’s fear of speaking up is wholly justified, if only based on the tragic stories of the whistleblowers who have put their heads above the parapet: Careers have been derailed, livelihoods undermined, reputations have been attacked, and personal safety has been put at risk. Having seen decades of investor losses and government decay, and as both responsible investors and members of civil society, Futuregrowth Asset Management and Old Mutual Investments jointly commissioned Just Share to review South Africa’s legal and regulatory framework around whistleblowing. In addition to a review of the landscape we asked Just Share to opine on the questions “What’s going wrong?” and “How can whistleblowers be empowered and protected?” Just Share’s work shows that South Africa has a wide range of legislation and regulations designed to encourage whistleblowing. While that sounds good, the report highlights a few problems: First, without legal advice, a prospective whistleblower has almost no prospect of knowing what information they should gather, how to blow the whistle and to whom, and under what regulation or framework to do so. Legal advice should be provided in advance, to give the whistleblower the best odds of success and protection. Second, there appears to be no effective protection of a whistleblower’s anonymity. This failure will fairly quickly “paint a target” on a whistleblower’s back – and provides the true perpetrators with someone to villainise. Third, the remedies and protections afforded to whistleblowers are nearly all in the area of labour law. That means that whatever victimisation or retaliation the whistleblower faces — whatever costs they incur or losses they suffer — they can only seek redress through labour law (CCMA) action, with limited recompense or reimbursement. The sum of these flaws is that whistleblowers will likely face aggressive, well-funded attacks from highly motivated adversaries – and they will face those attacks alone and without any funding for legal or income support. The risks are enormous, while the only sure reward is having “done the right thing.” As we say in investments, the “risk:reward ratio is badly skewed”, and it’s no wonder that 99 out of 100 people will choose to keep their mouths shut, or vote with their ...
Roman Abramovich still can’t quash the rumours that he is Vladimir Putin’s money man, though he’s sued people who dare suggest it. He is clearly cosy with Putin, and even tried to talk him out of invading Ukraine, but he’s a secretive man about whom we still know very little. It’s hard for outsiders to understand why so many Chelsea fans still carry a torch for Roman Abramovich. He is the uber-oligarch, the most famous face of that weird elite group first teased out from the shadows of the broken old Soviet Union that rules Russia to this day. He was the most successful of that band of billionaires who hit London in the late 1990s, lapping up everything they could lay their hands on and painting the town Château Pétrus wine-red. Abramovich still can’t quash the rumours that he is Vladimir Putin’s money man, though he’s sued people who dare suggest it. He is clearly cosy with Putin, and even tried to talk him out of invading Ukraine, but he’s a secretive man about whom we still know very little. Abramovich managed to stay sufficiently downwind until the war broke out, but after that he was no longer welcome in London. As with Abramovich, Chelsea became collateral damage. The Champions of Europe and the world were forced to knuckle down under draconian sanctions as if they, together with their owner, were complicit in the war. Fans were barred from attending the matches. Only season-ticket holders could enter, leaving swathes of empty seats in the stands, which were pockmarked by the shame of their owner and his connections to the Kremlin. We all waited for him to come out and condemn Putin’s invasion, but he never did. Enter the American squillionaire Todd Boehly, who has cobbled together £2.5-billion with his consortium – the immediate number needed to save the club from its relegation to the doldrums of despair. Thanks to Boehly, Chelsea’s manager, the German wizard Thomas Tuchel, can once more concentrate on firing up Romelu Lukaku and the team for the FA Cup final against their archenemies, Liverpool, at Wembley on 14 May. The Abramovich era Abramovich was my near neighbour for 20 years in Chelsea. Unlike the actual Scarlet Pimpernel, you didn’t meet him in the grand drawing rooms of Cheyne Walk after dark, and you’d never pass him in the street. Rubbing shoulders with megastars populating London’s most glamorous borough is so much a part of the daily street ...
Liverpool could claim a second piece of silverware this season by winning the FA Cup final at Wembley. But a Chelsea in flux stand in the way of the Reds making history. Liverpool’s dream of completing the quadruple – by winning the Premier League, the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Champions League – is hanging on by a thread. Manchester City hold a three-point advantage in the Premier League with two of the season’s 38 games to be played. It would take a remarkable collapse by City for Liverpool to win the title. So, Liverpool’s realistic hopes of ending the season with more than one trophy rely on winning one of the three Cup competitions they are still pursuing. The League Cup was won in a dramatic penalty shootout against Chelsea in February, and the sides clash again at Wembley for the FA Cup on Saturday, 14 May. After that, Liverpool have a trip to Paris for the Champions League final against Spanish giants Real Madrid on 28 May. Because they have reached every Cup final, the Reds will finish the season having played every competitive match they possibly could in 2021/22. They could still come away with four trophies, or just the one. In between it could be two or three. Red attack Their stellar season might fizzle out, but it could deliver so much success, too. That is the beauty of this campaign and of manager Jürgen Klopp’s team. Liverpool are relentless and have pursued every accolade with a brilliant brand of attacking football and an iron will that has seen them snatch wins from seemingly impossible positions. The FA Cup is the oldest and most prestigious domestic cup competition in the world. But, for a time, Liverpool’s relentless pursuit of ending their Premier League drought, which went from 1990-2020, meant they occasionally relegated the FA Cup to a secondary consideration. This year marks Liverpool’s first final appearance in a decade. Under Klopp, that mentality has changed. Liverpool FC play every match to win and enter in every competition and league with the objective of victory. But to achieve those ambitions, and meet those self-set standards, requires planning and foresight. You don’t play 63 competitive games in a season, which has included one game every three days for the past two months, without high-quality squad depth. Every player has to be interchangeable with another so that the team is not weakened. The shape might have to ...
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is giving bidders more time to lodge final offers for its international drugstore arm, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company plans to allow suitors a few extra days to firm up their bids, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Walgreens had initially requested binding offers by May 16 for the business, which includes the Boots chain in the UK, but is now expected to receive proposals later in the week, the people said.The battle for Boots, one of the most well-known names on the British high street, is set to be a litmus test for dealmaking in the country as credit markets become more fragile. Walgreens has been seeking 7 billion pounds ($8.5 billion) for the business, which includes more than 2,200 UK stores as well as operations in a smattering of other countries and private-label brands like No7 Beauty Co. Britain’s billionaire Issa brothers have teamed up with TDR Capital in the bidding, while Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. has partnered with Apollo Global Management Inc., people with knowledge of the matter have said. The sale has also attracted interest from retail-focused private equity firm Sycamore Partners, Bloomberg News has reported. A representative for Walgreens declined to comment.
Some of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges are suspending or starting to delist the tokens associated with the collapsing Terra blockchain, even those that were investors in the troubled network. OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, is terminating all trading of UST, LUNA, as well as two other tokens on the blockchain, Anchor and Mirror. Before resuming earlier Friday, Binance, the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, said that it suspended spot trading for LUNA, the native token of Terra blockchain and TerraUSD, or UST, the dollar stablecoin that lost its peg, against Binance’s stablecoin Binance USD. Huobi took similar measures. Crypto.com announced that it has suspended trading of LUNA, Anchor and Mirror. Coinbase, Global Inc. will suspend trading May 27. Some of the exchanges were among Terra’s best-known investors. The venture arms of Binance, Huobi, OKX and Coinbase all invested Terra previous, according to past press releases. Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of Binance, said in a tweet that the decision was made after Terra blockchain halted its network the second time. The halt of the network resulted in “no deposits or withdrawals possible to or from any exchange,” he tweeted. The Terra blockchain stopped processing new transactions for a second time late Thursday, after Terraform Labs, the main developer firm of the blockchain, said in a Twitter announcement that entities responsible of verifying transactions on Terra, had taken the step to “come up with a plan to reconstitute” the Terra blockchain. The blockchain resumed activities about nine hours later, according to the latest tweet by Terraform Labs. UST was trading at $0.103, down 83.7% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. LUNA at the same time, was down to virtually zero. It had climbed to more than $100 before the collapse. 5. I am very disappointed with how this UST/LUNA incident was handled (or not handled) by the Terra team. We requested their team to restore the network, burn the extra minted LUNA, and recover the UST peg. So far, we have not gotten any positive response, or much response at all CZ Binance (@cz_binance) May 13, 2022 “I am very disappointed with how this UST/LUNA incident was handled (or not handled) by the Terra team,” Binance’s Zhao wrote. “We requested their team to restore the network, burn the extra minted LUNA, and recover the UST peg. So far, we have not gotten any positive response, or much response at all.” Before everything went down last ...
The acclaimed SA saxophonist imparts the depth and complexity of his musical credentials on the album from within the context of apartheid while ranking alongside jazz heavyweights like John Coltrane. The 60s are regarded as a ‘silent decade’ in mainstream South African history. Indeed, after the Sharpeville Massacre, the apartheid regime cracked down on resistance, banning political parties opposed to the regime and ushered in a new era of political silence. Though that may be misleading: in the 1960s the South African jazz industry was booming and within it, a vast political landscape existed. Testament to this we get to Yakhal’ Inkomo by bona fide South African jazz legend Winston Mankunku Ngozi. Recorded and released in 1968, the album is widely regarded as Mankunku’s magnum opus. Directly translated as “the cry of the cow before slaughter” the album is Mankunku’s cry that expresses the lived experience in South Africa where non-white South Africans were living and dying to satisfy the desires of the ruling white population. Though to speak only of the political context of this album would ignore the brilliance of the music itself. At a time when John Coltrane was at the peak of his abilities and on top of the musical world, it isn’t hard to imagine how in a hypothetical world where Yakhal’ Inkomo got the attention it deserved Mankunku would be right up there with him. From a technical standpoint the album is exemplary, and the first second of the first track (Yakhal’ Inkomo) sets the tone. It’s cool but forlorn empty spaces sitting delicately between moments of frantic playing, the saxophone an extension of Mankunku himself allowing us to listen in to his joy and his pain. We get through to the second track, it’s a dedication to hard bop legends John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter — one I’m sure they’d have been proud of. We’re halfway through the album now and it’s time to flip the record over — for this album we have finished with Mankunku’s originals, the B side is also only two tracks. They are covers, “Doodlin’” was originally written by Horace Silver and “Bessie’s Blues” originally written by Coltrane himself. In this sense, we get to see directly how Mankunku stacks up to the greats, and he matches them pound for pound. For me, this album is among my three favourite jazz records of all time, though I can never settle on exactly where in the ...
Elon Musk sowed new chaos into the market over his takeover bid for Twitter Inc. on Friday, first claiming his offer was “temporarily on hold” and then maintaining he is “still committed” to the deal, sending the social media giant into a tailspin. The billionaire initially sent an early tweet saying the $44 billion deal is pending until he receives more information about the proportion of fake accounts on the social media site, which sent Twitter stock tumbling as much as 25% in premarket trading. A few hours later he sent another tweet saying he is “still committed” to the deal. Twitter’s shares recouped some of their losses and were down 11% at 9:45 a.m. in New York. Musk said he was waiting for details on a recent filing from Twitter that fake accounts on the social media platform contributed less than 5% of its users. Twitter said in its latest quarterly results “that the average of false or spam accounts during the first quarter of 2022 represented fewer than 5% of our monthly daily active users during the quarter.” However, this data-point has been part of Twitter’s quarterly filings for almost a decade. Twitter said it applied “significant judgment” to its latest estimate, and the true number could be higher. For more coverage Short Seller Founder Trolls Elon Musk Over Pausing Twitter Deal Twitter-Musk Deal Spread Blows Out After Purchase Put ‘On Hold’ Twitter Bonds Drop After Musk Stirs Confusion About Takeover Bid Fighting fake accounts has been a cornerstone of Musk’s bid to reform Twitter. In a statement announcing his deal to buy the company last month, he revealed he wanted to defeat spam bots, authenticate all humans, and make its algorithms open source. Musk has also said he’d like to make the platform a bastion of free speech, taking the guardrails off of content moderation. Bots are currently allowed on Twitter, though under the company’s policy such accounts are supposed to indicate that they’re automated. The platform has even launched a label for “good” bots, such as @tinycarebot, an account that tweets self-care reminders. Spam bots, however, are not permitted, and the company has policies meant to combat them. Why Spam Bots are Top of Elon Musk’s Twitter Hit List: QuickTake Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022 Doubts have grown in recent days that Musk would be able ...
Imagine, as a very young child, wandering through your grandparents’ home in the heart of Bordeaux, France, and seeing artworks so beautiful that your heart stops for a moment. The pieces — the way they are formed, the colours, their quiet impact — captivate you, and from then on they irresistibly shape the direction of your life. Some 85 years ago, French-born May-Eliane Miailhe first experienced the arresting power of art. Her grandfather, a collector of paintings, ancient Chinese ceramics and pre-Columbian art, would guide her through his house (“It was like a museum”) and tell her about the history of each piece, where it came from and when and how it was made. It’s no surprise that her journey in art appreciation and collecting began then and there. Later, as a student at the École des Arts Décoratifs (now EnsAD), she specialised in the art of ancient civilisations, particularly the Middle East, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Her interest in glass, however, was sparked on a visit to Bath in the UK, where her attention was caught by a small glass goblet, notable for its cleverly twisted stem, in the window of an antique shop. What she discovered through her further research into the ancient art of glass-making astonished her: all glass starts off as nothing more than sand, a very poor material that is readily found “on beaches and deserts”. But, when combined with the intelligence, creativity and skill of man, it can be fashioned into something very different and richly superior. Much like wine-making, then? “Glass and wine do have a lot in common,” she says. “They both come from poor material and poor soils, and through man’s talent and genius they become works of art.” And May-Eliane (now Mme de Lencquesaing) certainly knows about wine: in 1978, she became owner and general manager of the prestigious Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, expanding its size as well as the reputation and quality of its wines. When Mme first saw Glenelly on a visit to South Africa in 2003, it was a fruit farm. Recognising its potential as a vineyard — scrubby soil, good elevation, perfect slopes — she replaced all the plum trees with vines and brought her many years of experience and skills to the property, just outside Stellenbosch in Ida’s Valley. It wasn’t long before her reds were winning renown and awards. (She also brought a touch of France to its new restaurant, Vine, which, ...
With his new book, Sifo: The Cooking Husband, Sinoyolo Sifo’s goal is to break the gender stereotypes that surround male figures in the kitchen and encourage more men to cook. Sifo is a pharmacist by profession, and a self-taught home cook and social-media food influencer by passion. Growing up in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, he developed his enthusiasm for food from watching his mother cook, and helping his father work in his butcheries during school holidays. Motivated and inspired by his wife, Nondumiso, Sifo began his food journey in 2020, and he continues to amass an ever-growing following of people who love his easy-to-make, hearty and delicious meals. Sifo: The Cooking Husband is a book inspired by the nostalgia of home and family, bringing together a selection of almost 70 recipes, each one simple and accessible, wholesome and delicious. There are scrumptious breakfasts, indulgent pasta dishes, hearty stews, quick lunches, impressive dinners, decadent desserts, as well as traditional South African dishes and some childhood favourites. Sifo’s Beef Burger with Burger-Mayo Sauce This is hands down my favourite burger, hence the name. If you are looking to impress your loved ones with a homemade take on a classic favourite, I highly recommend this recipe. Chargrilling the beef patty on the braai adds a unique smoky flavour to the meat. Makes 4 thick patties For the burger patties 250g lean beef mince 1 large egg 1 tsp (5ml) crushed garlic and ginger 10g fresh Italian parsley, chopped ½ tsp (2.5ml) wholegrain mustard 2 Tbsp (30ml) barbecue spice 1 tsp (5ml) paprika 1 tsp (5ml) dried mixed herbs 1 Tbsp (15ml) garlic powder ½ tsp (2.5ml) ground cumin salt and pepper, to taste 4 slices cheddar cheese For the Burger-Mayo Sauce 1 Tbsp (15ml) butter 1 small red onion, minced 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped ½ tsp (2.5ml) barbecue spice 3 Tbsp (45ml) mayonnaise 1 Tbsp (15ml) barbecue sauce 1 tsp (5ml) honey salt and pepper, to taste For the burgers 4 large hamburger buns 100g lettuce leaves 1 large tomato, sliced 1 medium red onion, sliced For the burger patties In a large bowl, combine the beef mince, egg, crushed garlic and ginger, parsley, and wholegrain mustard. Then add the barbecue spice, paprika, mixed herbs, garlic powder, cumin, and salt and pepper. Mix by hand until all the ingredients are well combined and the meat mixture is smooth. Divide the meat mixture into 4 equal portions. Using your hands, shape each portion into a ball and place on a tray. Using the back of a spoon, press down on the centre of each patty to create a ...
Shocking, moving, terrifying, surprising... And at times beautiful. These are the images of some of this week’s events around the world.
Read Ian Moll's poem for Maverick Life ahead of World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022. There once was a prophet, technophile Schwab All dressed up in revolutionary garb Does his 4IR hold sway? That’ll be the friggin’ day It really does not help les misérables Our new normal universe a vast digital net? Post-contact viruses, learnings, now bombings beget Not quite a state of the art Though algorithmically smart Machines are means not ends, I stupidly forget Covid-19 variants one, three, maybe ten Supposedly unleash our digital Amen! Does a virus go digital As the digital goes viral? Let’s figure this out so we can get well again If we’re allowed to say “bullshit” by local norms Then say it we should of alleged digital storms That somehow are “brand new” With roots in past milieu? Just don’t say it out loud, so everyone conforms There’s this list of each and every whizzbang thing Robotics and blockchain and machines that go “ping” Smart machines in hyperlinked swarms Forecasting algorithmic storms Sadly each was a last century happening Of last century fusions there’s quite an array But why do they tell us they’re the tech of today? When distorted technologies Repress our psychologies Technobabbled “revolution” leads us astray Strong AI, they tell us, is centuries away The bofs contend it’ll never ever see the day Instead it’s just weak It is all technospeak Only software parading as our future’s doorway A machine that learns and thinks like you? Just build in a pattern recognition or two Trouble is, can it feel? Intuition, for real? Mundane stuff is fine, but ‘soft skills’ a can’t do Apparently clever, hard-working machines Outnumber us humans in workplace scenes But fear not dear folk These robots ain’t woke They haven’t a clue beyond their routines The robots are not coming, come what may Most of them can’t think in a human way Even those not dense Have no common sense A software that’s ‘smart’ is purely hearsay When Siri or Googlé or Cortana doth quote We sense that our intellect becomes quite remote Sure they all repeat lots of stuff With the right accent, well enough But their thoughts are so dumbly, so multiply rote These cars drive themselves, only with complex source code When their programmes foresee each traffic episode But read a taxi driver? As a Mzansi insider? Now you know why they’ll never ever hit the road Look at this top general blurting his joy Now that he has his killer bots to deploy His much more sober boss Adds political gloss They’re measured new ways to deter any ploy How cool is this internet of things, how ratchet A computer brain that links every known gadget But it’s not magic For no device tragic All that it does is give us a ...
In ‘Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred – Updated edition’, author and journalist Mark Gevisser looks at the former president’s role in the ANC and in the broader South Africa, arguing that ‘the Mbeki presidency and the Mbeki ANC actually set the table for state capture, through their policies and practices’. As Daily Maverick Ferial Haffajee noted in her story, Gevisser who is Mbeki’s biographer, is “in the very top tier of political writers. His research is deft. His style is melodic. He has written two new chapters and an introduction to the biography for the updated edition by Jonathan Ball now in bookshops.” Here is an extract of his book. One of Thabo Mbeki’s favourite Shakespearean tragic heroes is the Roman war hero Coriolanus. When Coriolanus is banished from Rome by the tribunes—much as Mbeki was banished from the ANC by its delegates—he responds by calling them a “common cry of curs” and storming off into exile with the words “I banish you! And here remain with your uncertainty. There is a world elsewhere.” After Polokwane, Mbeki turned away from the ANC and from South Africa – even while he was still president. In his last months of office, he focused primarily on his task as a mediator in in the Zimbabwe conflict. After his recall, he took on AU appointments mediating between Sudan and South Sudan, and in Côte d’Ivoire; and he led a high-level panel on illicit financial flows for the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa. Mbeki would return from these travels to the home he and his wife, Zanele, had built in Riviera, between Houghton, where Nelson Mandela had settled, and Saxonwold, where the Gupta family held court. The new Mbeki home was a sprawling but low-key stone and thatch complex that fused African style with the Randlord vernacular of these grand old Johannesburg suburbs. Following Mandela’s lead, the ex-president had set up a Thabo Mbeki Foundation, which focused on his legacy and on education; the foundation bought the property next door to his home and moved in there. Then, with a splashy launch in November 2020, Mbeki revealed his plans for a magnificent Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library to be built on the site, in the form of massive domes inspired by African granaries, designed by the Ghanaian-British superstar Sir David Adjaye. Mbeki’s presidential legacy project, the ambitious Freedom Park heritage complex outside Pretoria, had turned out to be a white elephant, as ...
As greater numbers of humanity get to experience older adulthood, healthy ageing and a good quality of life are not guaranteed as part of the package. Here is what you can do to improve your chances to be a healthy elder. Global life expectancy has increased significantly over the past century. Most recently, in pre-Covid June 2019, the United Nations released its World Population Prospects 2019 report. Some of its findings were that “life expectancy at birth for the world, which increased from 64.2 years in 1990 to 72.6 years in 2019, is expected to increase further to 77.1 years in 2050” and “by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over age 65 (16%), up from one in 11 in 2019 (9%).” Healthy ageing and a good quality of life are not guaranteed However, even as greater numbers of humans get to experience older adulthood, healthy ageing and a good quality of life are not guaranteed as part of the package. While genes have a role to play in determining the health status of older adults, there are various choices and actions that can be made to improve the chances of “healthy ageing”, which the World Health Organization defines as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age”. While medical professionals know more today about healthy ageing than ever before, there is still much to be studied and updated. One field of study to which new knowledge is being added is vascular health. “From a medical side of things, one of the most important things is looking after what we call vascular risk factors; basically blood vessel health. This includes improved ways of treating high blood pressure, diabetes, and lowering cholesterol. Essentially, there’s a lot of evidence that good blood vessel health plays a key role in helping you age better, even in terms of diseases that are not strictly related to blood vessels,” says Dr India Butler, a Johannesburg-based geriatrician and vice-president of the South African Geriatrics Society (Sags). As an example of conditions indirectly affected by blood vessel health, she cites dementias such as Alzheimer’s: “Even the risk of those types of diseases is lowered by improving vascular health. That’s been one of the biggest changes, which we think has caused people to age better and sort of live longer.” While there are numerous lifestyle choices that individuals can make in the quest toward healthy ...
Are we feeling differently about how we’re feeling than when we were 10 or 20 years ago? Experts believe that emotional enlightenment is leading the way. “Emotionology” — despite a well-argued academic paper published in the ‘80s — is not a word that ever really caught on and it can’t be found in mainstream dictionaries. It refers to the attitudes or standards that society or a group within society has towards emotions and their appropriate expression. Yet the history of emotions and how they vary through history and among cultures is a fast-growing academic field. How we — and how nations — respond to insult, for instance, can after all be the difference between war and peace. If the number of popular books currently being published on the topic of emotion is anything to go by, this interest in the expression of our interior weather is growing substantially. Perhaps this is not surprising considering how powerful the puppeteers who control the strings of consumer and civilian emotion have been shown to be in the past few years. Fear has won out over sex as the most effective driver of consumer behaviour. Panic and paranoia have been harnessed to reprogramme political agendas and the “fear and greed index” is used to gauge stock market fluctuations. Brené Brown, the current mega-star on the emotion rock stage, argues in her latest book, Atlas of the Heart, that people will do almost anything not to feel pain, including causing pain and abusing power. She says that very few people can handle being held accountable without rationalising, blaming or shutting down and that without understanding how feelings, thoughts and behaviours work in reaction to one another, we become disconnected from ourselves and others. It is generally agreed that to develop empathy and common ground with people we like, love, work with, or must deal with in everyday life, we must understand our own emotions so that we can negotiate conflict better. However, Brown, in studies ranging over 15 years, has found that most people are only able to name three emotions: happy, sad and angry. In her latest book, she lays out 87 emotions and experiences and gives examples of how they make people act or react. From the difference between dread and fear, through jealousy, resignation, frustration, wonder, curiosity, irony, despair, comparative suffering, perfectionism, invisibility, self-trust, pride, self-righteousness and relief, Brown provides language for the subtle differences, the bittersweetness and ...
The octopus is one of the coolest animals in the sea. For starters, they are invertebrates. That means they don’t have backbones like humans, lions, turtles and birds. That may sound unusual, but actually, nearly all animals on Earth are invertebrates – about 97%. Octopuses are a specific type of invertebrate called cephalopods. The name means “head-feet” because the arms of cephalopods surround their heads. Other types of cephalopods include squid, nautiloids and cuttlefish. What do they eat? As marine ecologists, we conduct research on how ocean animals interact with each other and their environments. We’ve mostly studied fish, from lionfish to sharks, but we have to confess we remain captivated by octopuses. What octopuses eat depends on what species they are and where they live. Their prey includes gastropods, like snails and sea slugs; bivalves, like clams and mussels; crustaceans, like lobsters and crabs; and fish. To catch their food, octopuses use lots of strategies and tricks. Some octopuses wrap their arms – not tentacles – around prey to pull them close. Some use their hard beak to drill into the shells of clams. All octopuses are venomous; they inject toxins into their prey to overpower and kill them. Where do they live? There are about 300 species of octopus, and they’re found in every ocean in the world, even in the frigid waters around Antarctica. A special substance in their blood helps those cold-water species get oxygen. It also turns their blood blue. You can find octopuses at different depths too. Some are found on warm tropical reefs just a few feet below the surface of the water. Others live deep in the sea, practically in the dark. The species that goes deepest is the dumbo octopus, spotted at 22,800 feet down – that’s more than 4 miles (almost 7 kilometers). How smart are they? Octopuses are at the head of the class. They are among the smartest invertebrates on Earth. They have nine brains – one mini-brain in each arm and another in the center of their bodies. Each arm can independently taste, touch and perform basic movements, but all arms can also work together when prompted by the central brain. Octopuses put their brains to good use. They can solve mazes and puzzles, particularly when food is the reward. Sometimes they even outsmart people: At the New Zealand National Aquarium, Inky figured out how to sneak out of his tank and escape to the ocean through a drainpipe. How ...
Satellites help run the internet and television and are central to the Global Positioning System. They enable modern weather forecasting, help scientists track environmental degradation and play a huge role in modern military technology. Nations that don’t have their own satellites providing these services rely on other countries. For those that want to develop their own satellite infrastructure, options are running out as space fills up. I am a research fellow at Arizona State University, studying the wider benefits of space and ways to make it more accessible to developing countries. Inequity is already playing out in access to satellites. In the not-so-distant future, the ability to extract resources from the Moon and asteroids could become a major point of difference between the space haves and have-nots. As policies emerge, there is the risk that these inequities become permanent. Where to park a satellite Thanks to the rapid commercialization, miniaturization and plummeting costs of satellite technology in recent years, more countries are able to reap the benefits of space. CubeSats are small, cheap, customizable satellites that are simple enough to be built by high school students. Companies such as SpaceX can launch one of these satellites into orbit for relatively cheap – from $1,300 per pound. However, there are only so many places to “park” a satellite in orbit around Earth, and these are quickly filling up. The best parking is in geostationary orbit, around 22,250 miles (35,800 kilometers) above the equator. A satellite in geostationary orbit rotates at the same rate as Earth, remaining directly above a single location on Earth’s surface – which can be very useful for telecommunications, broadcasting and weather satellites. There are only 1,800 geostationary orbital slots, and as of February 2022, 541 of them were occupied by active satellites. Countries and private companies have already claimed most of the unoccupied slots that offer access to major markets, and the satellites to fill them are currently being assembled or awaiting launch. If, for example, a new spacefaring nation wants to put a weather satellite over a specific spot in the Atlantic Ocean that is already claimed, they would either have to choose a less optimal location for the satellite or buy services from the country occupying the spot they wanted. Orbital slots are allocated by an agency of the United Nations called the International Telecommunication Union. Slots are free, but they go to countries on a first-come, first-served basis. When a satellite reaches the ...
Judge Elmarie van der Schyff finds part of the Act discriminates against women and is unconstitutional. The Gauteng high court has declared unconstitutional a section of the Divorce Act that the judge said was unfair, especially to women. The section barred those married out of community of property and without the accrual system, from benefiting, on divorce, from what they might have contributed to the marriage. Before 1984, South Africa had only two marriage regimes: in community of property, which meant the couple shared all assets and debts; and out of community of property, which meant the couple’s assets and debts were separated. But with the enactment of the Matrimonial Property Act (MPA) the concept of “accrual sharing”, or asset sharing, was introduced. A section was introduced to the Divorce Act to give judges discretion in the distribution of assets in marriages out of community of property which had been concluded before the enactment of the MPA, when the accrual regime did not exist. Read the judgment: Greyling v Minister of Home Affairs and others But the Divorce Act does not allow a court to make any order regarding “redistribution of assets” for couples married out of community of property, without accrual, after 1984. This left many people, mainly women, financially barren, even though they had contributed to the household and assisted their spouses to accumulate assets over the years. Judge Elmarie van der Schyff has now deemed section Section 7(3)(a) unconstitutional, striking it from the Divorce Act, and referring the matter to the Constitutional Court for confirmation. The case before her was brought by the estranged wife of a wealthy farmer, who was married to her husband out of community of property, excluding accrual, in March 1988. She said if she was not successful in her application to the court to strike out the section of the Divorce Act, neither she nor other spouses in a similar situation would be entitled to redistribution orders, irrespective of their particular circumstances and “no matter how stark the injustices they face”. This, she said, was because as the law currently stood, the court had no power to exercise discretion. This was arbitrary and irrational and discriminated against people married after November 1984. Judge van der Schyff said she had not been called upon to determine whether or not the applicant was entitled to any assets in her particular divorce but whether the section passed constitutional muster. In argument during the hearing, it was submitted ...
Before Abahlali BaseMjondolo leaders Nokuthula Mabaso and Ayanda Ngila were killed, eKhenana had been envisioned as a ‘land of milk and honey’. Today, residents say it is a ‘Place of Weeping’ where blood is constantly spilled. Nokuthula Mabaso (40) will be laid to rest on Saturday at eSidumbini village, near Tongaat, about 25km north of Durban. The latest victim of the low-intensity civil war waged over the eKhenana informal settlement, near the Mayville shantytown, Mabaso was Abahlali BaseMjondolo’s women’s branch leader in eKhenana. Eyewitnesses said she was at a branch meeting in the main hall on Thursday evening, 5 May 2022. She left the meeting at about 7.30pm to tend to her pots when she was ambushed by two men in front of her one-room shack. They opened fire, hitting her four times in the back, then once each in the stomach and breast. The attackers fled into the night and they are still at large. Abahlali leader describes how Nokuthula Mabaso was shot 4 times in back, then in breast and stomach Two of Mabaso’s three children – who are between 17 and four year old – were sleeping inside the shack. She drew her last breath in the presence of fellow Abahlali members, who had been with her in the meeting only seconds earlier. Mabaso was one of the people who had witnessed, on 8 March 2022, the brutal killing of Ayanda Ngila, who was shot in broad daylight by four heavily armed men. So far, only one man has been arrested for Ngila’s murder despite the fact that all four attackers known locally are said to be close to the ANC ringleader in the area. ‘Targeted’ Ekhenana – which is home to about 100 poor families – was supposed to be a land of milk and honey, where no harm ever occurs. It had a communal garden, poultry project, kitchen and shop, and residents pooled together to ensure no family went to bed without food and no child went to school on an empty stomach. But it has become a Place of Weeping, where blood is spilled constantly. The garden, once green with vegetable and corn, now lies fallow after prominent Abahlali members were attacked, arrested and killed. Ngila and Mabaso were prominent members of the community and played a critical role in the development of communal projects. Ekhenana residents and Abahlali BaseMjondolo contend that key members of the community are targeted so that the place becomes run-down and made ...
In his latest book sociologist Professor Roger Southall, a prolific researcher who has written extensively about political dynamics in Southern Africa, avoids the “negative and condemnatory” approach generally seen in writing on white South Africans, the creators and beneficiaries of apartheid. In the preface to the book, Whites and Democracy in South Africa, he explains that he’s done this to instead undertake a nuanced and constructive assessment of white people’s adjustment to post-apartheid democracy. Therefore, he enters the South African debate on critical race studies by setting his study apart from whiteness scholarship that assumes: “the homogeneity of white practices, ideas and attitudes and that being white is synonymous with being racist (p. 13).” Southall criticises academic writing that attempts the corrective re-orientation of white people towards adopting more desirable behaviour as “sociologically overambitious” (p. 13). He regards such scholarship as prescriptive and removed from the everyday experiences of white people. Instead, he insists that analysis of whiteness must be based on empirical research. With this approach, Southall cuts through the sometimes shrill debate on race in South Africa with findings that are grounded in solid research. The book assists in taking the sometimes overly abstract idea of whiteness to a more useful engagement with white people, and their actions and ideas. The findings provide a welcome update on white people’s political stances after almost 30 years of democracy. Whiteness in South Africa The book is based on data collected through eight in-depth qualitative focus group interviews, conducted in the provinces of KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, Gauteng and Free State. Southall anchors the study with a historical contextualisation, giving the long view over time of specifically the political development of whiteness. He provides an analysis of the state of liberalism. There’s renewed interest in this because of controversial stances on race taken by the main opposition Democratic Alliance. The party is the primary representative of liberalism among opposition parties in the country. He also analyses changes in Afrikaner politics over time, white people as citizens, and explores the politics of representation through to the politics of wealth redistribution. The study confirms the diversity in the political positions of white people in the country. This is also found in other work. Whiteness stands centrally in a racial order in which those positioned as “other” to whiteness are regarded as inferior. But it also creates internal hierarchies through overlapping regimes of domination, whether economic, patriarchal, heteronormative or others. Analysis, when done from a critical vantage ...
The Buccaneers can reach their first continental competition final since 2015. First, they must navigate past Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli. Orlando Pirates are on the cusp of reaching the Caf Confederation Cup final. They need to merely avoid defeat against Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli in the second leg of their semifinal to progress to the final showpiece, which is to be played in Uyo, Nigeria on 20 May, 2022. In the first leg, played in Benghazi, the Buccaneers managed to secure a two-goal cushion thanks to strikes by Innocent Maela and Goodman Mosele. The goals handed Pirates a vital 2-0 win away over Al Ahli. However, the co-coaches of the Soweto giants — Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids — are fully cognisant of the fact that the tie is still very much alive, with it essentially being halftime in the contest. The former, speaking after their crucial success in Libya said: “The game is not over; this is just halftime. We are only leading because they can go to South Africa and do the same to us. We will treat the game very seriously because we understand the dynamics of African football, an away goal is very important.” “We will afford them the respect they deserve in the second leg but not to the extent that it alters the way we play and how much we want to impose ourselves on the game. We’ll just prepare for a good team,” Ncikazi added. Since their lone Caf Champions League title in 1995, the Sea Robbers have struggled to show the tip of their nose in continental interclub competitions. They did reach the final of the Confederation Cup in 2015, but were beaten by Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel. Two years before, they fell to Egypt’s Al Ahly in the Champions League final. This season, the Buccaneers have found solace in the Confederation Cup, this in the face of another underwhelming domestic campaign. They find themselves languishing in sixth on the DStv Premiership log; a mammoth 22 points behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns. In the Nedbank Cup, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by finalists and defending champions Marumo Gallants. Their fortunes in the continental competition have been vastly different. Pirates finished at the summit of their group, with four wins, a loss and a draw from their six games. They also ended the round-robin phase as the top goal scorers, with 15 strikes to their name — the only team, ...
An ongoing strike by emergency services personnel in the Amathole and Qonce areas is putting strain on rural healthcare users needing emergency care. Some healthcare workers say the situation is dire with emergency cases piling up. The Eastern Cape Department of Health was left with no choice but to rope in private ambulances as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers in the Amathole and Qonce areas have been striking since 12 April. According to the department, the private ambulances cost R1.2-million for this period. The situation escalated after some private ambulance vehicles were allegedly stoned and some paramedics who refused to join the stay-away were attacked. Some health workers say the situation is dire and emergency cases are piling up. Doctors warned that this puts patients at real risk of harm and even death. Critically ill patients, including complicated pregnancy cases, often have to be ferried by private vehicles to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane and Frere Hospital in East London. One frustrated healthcare worker who asked to remain anonymous slammed the EMS workers for refusing to take call-outs. “This EMS strike is crippling access to ambulances and patient transport vehicles and putting other healthcare workers under pressure,” the healthcare worker says. “We are unable to transfer patients to Cecilia Makiwane or Frere Hospital in need of urgent medical care since 13 April. We have no choice but to use non-emergency vehicles to transfer patients according to the order of importance. “Emergency cases are piling up by the minute, as we normally transfer ten emergencies on a normal day. We have been requesting a private ambulance to assist with transfers and to alleviate the pressure caused by the lack of personnel. However, striking workers are not allowing private ambulances to operate and it was allegedly pelted with stones. They also tried to drive the ambulance off the road when responding to emergency situations. “There was a pregnant lady that should have been referred to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, but there was no EMS. She had a Caesarean section in Fort Beaufort Hospital, luckily the mom and the baby were fine. There are many cases of children on oxygen needing referral to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital. Now we have to wait for the police to escort private ambulances. If there is no police vehicle available, we are unable to refer patients.” The healthcare worker warns that such delays can be fatal. “In some cases, we risk people’s lives and transport them in ...
The ombudsman for banking services had a bumper year, fielding a record 8,257 complaints, more than 10,000 referrals and more than 40,000 calls from consumers seeking intervention with banks that had fallen short on service or complaints resolution. To the layman, the independence of an ombudsman that is funded by the industry it oversees could be called into question when one considers that 73% of cases were resolved in favour of the banks in 2021. Looking at the past three years, the split seems to be roughly 70/30, with 71.6% of cases resolved in favour of banks in 2020; 72% in favour of banks in 2019 and 74.3% in favour of banks in 2018. Banking ombudsman Reana Steyn says this ratio is largely in line with best international practice. “Our office found no legal nor fair grounds to uphold those particular complaints against the banks,” she said, but stressed that her office is guided by the facts, the law, fairness and considerations of best banking practices – national and international. However, Steyn also noted that the complaints received by her office tend to be the more complicated, where most often consumers are victims of fraud by third parties and these cases are usually already thoroughly investigated by the banks in consultation with their legal teams to establish liability. “The banks don’t want to have high complaints, so they try to resolve them before I am called in. This means that the simpler complaints, the cut-and-dried cases, are usually settled by the banks in favour of consumers and don’t ever come to my office,” she says. Consumers are required to try to resolve their complaints with the banks first, before approaching the ombudsman. However, many go straight to the ombud and are then referred back to the bank with a complaint number to see if it can be resolved within 20 days. The ombud had 10,330 referrals in 2021. If a referral is not resolved or the complainant is still unhappy, Steyn’s office opens an investigation. “In some cases, we are able to convince the banks to make an ex-gratia payment, as a gesture of goodwill where there are extenuating circumstances or we can identify the complainant as a vulnerable consumer,” she says. A vulnerable consumer is defined by the ombud’s office as someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to detriment, particularly when a bank is not acting with appropriate levels of care. When determining ...
Russia’s growing role in Africa, as well as its past support for southern African liberation movements, was clearly a factor in African countries absatining from the UN vote to condemn the invasion. When the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, only Eritrea, Belarus, North Korea and Syria dissented – hardly an endearing group. But 35 countries, including India and China, abstained. Kenya’s UN ambassador made a powerful speech against the invasion: “We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression,” he said. South Africa initially called for the withdrawal of Russian troops, but then blamed NATO expansion for the war, ending up abstaining with 16 other African countries, its President Cyril Ramaphosa, explaining it hoped to play a peacemaking role. Russia’s growing role in Africa, as well as its past support for southern African liberation movements, was clearly a factor here. The Ukraine War has magnified a shifting geopolitical dynamic, including Russia’s expanding influence in the Middle East after its decisive role in the Syrian war, with Saudi Arabia and UAE rulers refusing to take Joe Biden’s phone call. Donald Trump massively damaged the US’s global standing and China of course is practising quasi economic colonialism across Africa. And the Iraq War provoked resentment at double standards. Although Russia’s deployment of cluster munitions against Ukraine citizens has rightly horrified, Biden hasn’t so far reversed Trump’s endorsement of their use. Kenya’s denunciation of Russia’s naked violence in Ukraine was notably accompanied by a condemnation of “the trend in the last few decades of powerful states, including members of this security council, breaching international law with little regard”. Although no democrat or humanitarian can defend Putin’s brutal aggression in Ukraine, the West has questions to answer, too. Why on Earth did NATO ever entertain Ukraine’s ambitions to join – a demand even Ukraine’s admirably brave president is willing to abandon? In medieval times Kyiv was the capital of a kingdom that spread to become the Russian Empire, and it was only after the 9th century that the capital shifted to Moscow. Ukraine and Russia have therefore been tied to one another for centuries. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russia. When the Russian Austria-Hungary empires collapsed towards the end of World War 1, Ukraine ...
World Rugby have confirmed the host countries for the next five men’s and women’s World Cups and it clearly indicates that South Africa might never host again. In November 2017, in the corridors of a plush London hotel, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) delegation huddled in stunned silence after France were named as hosts for Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023. It was confirmation that, despite doing everything asked of them, South Africa’s place in the future of the game was as a member, not an influential insider. An independent panel tasked with assessing the three bids for RWC 2023 had, two weeks before events in London, made South Africa the preferred candidate. South Africa received an overall score of 78.97% after a lengthy and comprehensive evaluation by the independent technical committee. France scored 75.88% and Ireland came in with 72.25% on a selection of weighted criteria. When news of the assessments emerged, there was great joy because, despite the World Rugby Council needing to ratify the decision in London two weeks later, it was supposed to be formality. Sensing though that the French delegation, who were particularly angry at the technical committee’s assessment, would not let it go, Saru CEO Jurie Roux issued a statement reminding the World Rugby delegates of their duty. It had been agreed by council members that the final vote for the hosts of RWC 2023 would be in line with the technical assessment scores. “We still have a vote to come on the 15th of November; different people have different opinions but they have a fiduciary responsibility at that meeting to act accordingly,” Roux said. “We hope that sanity will prevail because an independent process is there for a very specific reason – to keep it independent.” But that’s not what happened and when the council voted – in secret – France won the final decision by 24 votes to 15 over South Africa after Ireland dropped out in the first round. It was a crushing blow for World Rugby’s supposed transparency, but nowhere near as crushing as it was for South Africa and SARU, who had put together an impeccable bid despite some huge hurdles. Read in Daily Maverick: “South Africa recommended as 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts” World Rugby tried in vain to spin the outcome as some sort of victory for its democratic process, but it was clear the French delegation had embarked on some intense lobbying between the time of the published ...
Members are expected to help reduce conflict but confront the same structural obstacles that hobbled previous panels. At the African Union’s (AU) February summit, four new members were appointed for a three-year term on the Panel of the Wise. Given the many obstacles they face in this role, bold steps will be needed to fulfil the great responsibility placed on them. Former Burundian president Domitien Ndayizeye is the panel chairperson. Other members are former Egyptian foreign minister Amre Moussa, Lady Justice Effie Owuor, Kenya’s first female high court judge and Professor Babacar Kanté, Senegal’s Constitutional Council Vice President. The fifth nomination to the panel, from Africa’s southern region, is pending. This is the fifth panel to date, and by working with the new AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) members, it has an opportunity to tackle urgent conflicts and crises on the continent. But like previous panels since 2007, it faces considerable obstacles. These include a vague mandate, lack of clarity about its powers, structural limitations and inadequate financial and human resources. Success will depend greatly on the goodwill of the PSC and AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, with whom the panel is expected to work closely. Members have vast experience in their fields, which include public administration, diplomacy, mediation and conflict resolution, multilateralism and legal affairs. To make an impact though, they will need an intimate understanding of Africa’s conflicts. Panel members will also have to raise additional funds for their work and expand and leverage their networks in the AU, member states and regional economic communities. To implement their mandate, they must be prepared to take bold action. The panel is a key component of the African Peace and Security Architecture and can be deployed by the PSC to de-escalate potential conflicts and mediate ongoing ones. The AU Commission chair may refer any matter needing action to the panel, which is also mandated to advise him and the PSC on all African peace and security issues. Close cooperation will be needed with the Pan-African Network of the Wise, the Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation and the Network of African Youth on Conflict Prevention and Mediation. The panel says it will “support ongoing political transitions in Sudan, South Sudan, Chad and Somalia.” At its inaugural meeting on 28 and 29 March in Addis Ababa, the panel expressed concern over the extent and nature of conflict and instability in Africa. In light of ...
As someone who teaches Russian literature, I can’t help but process the world through the country’s novels, stories, poems and plays, even at a time when Russian cultural productions are being canceled around the world. With the Russian army perpetrating devastating violence in Ukraine – which includes the slaughter of civilians in Bucha – the discussion of what to do with Russian literature has naturally arisen. I’m not worried that truly valuable art can ever be canceled. Enduring works of literature are enduring, in part, because they are capacious enough to be read critically against the vicissitudes of the present. You could make this argument about any great work of Russian literature, but as a scholar of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, I will stick with Russia’s most famous literary exports. After World War II, German critic Theodore Adorno described the Holocaust as a profound blow to Western culture and philosophy, even going so far as to question the very ability of human beings to “live after Auschwitz.” This idea, born of the very specific context of the Holocaust, shouldn’t be haphazardly applied to the present moment. But following Adorno’s moral lead, I wonder whether – after the brutal shelling of the city of Mariupol, after the horrors on the streets of Bucha, along with atrocities committed in Kharkiv, Mykolaev, Kyiv and many more – the indiscriminate violence ought to change how readers approach Russia’s great authors. Confronting suffering with clear eyes Upon learning that Russian writer Ivan Turgenev had looked away at the last minute when witnessing the execution of a man, Dostoevsky made his own position clear: “[A] human being living on the surface of the earth has no right to turn away and ignore what is happening on earth, and there are higher moral imperatives for this.” Seeing the rubble of a theater in Mariupol, hearing of Mariupol citizens starving because of Russian airstrikes, I wonder what Dostoevsky – who specifically focused his piercing moral eye on the question of the suffering of children in his 1880 novel “The Brothers Karamazov” – would say in response to the Russian army’s bombing a theater where children were sheltering. The word “children” was spelled out on the pavement outside the theater in large type so it could be seen from the sky. There was no misunderstanding of who was there. Ivan Karamazov, the central protagonist in “The Brothers Karamazov,” is far more focused on questions of moral accountability ...
Can Themba was a journalist and short story writer who challenged the apartheid state by foregrounding the pain and the joy of black life. Siphiwo Mahala is well known as a South African short story writer, novelist, playwright and literary organiser. He is also an academic. In fact, his most recent book is a product of his PhD thesis, titled Can Themba: The Making and Breaking of the Intellectual Tsotsi. Can Themba was a journalist and short story writer who challenged the apartheid state by foregrounding the pain and the joy of black life. We asked Mahala to tell us more. Who was Can Themba and why does he matter? Can Themba was part of a generation of black writers that revolutionised journalism and the South African literary landscape in the 1950s and early 1960s. This was a culturally dynamic and politically volatile period in South Africa. In 1948 apartheid was introduced by the white minority government, followed by the enactment of draconian laws in the early 1950s, which sought to separate people according to race. This prompted the black oppressed majority to intensify its resistance struggle. Artists, intellectuals and the growing cohort of black journalists were at the forefront of finding platforms to speak against these socio-political ills and challenge the regime. Drum was the most widely distributed magazine that foregrounded the voices of urban black people at this time. Themba was associate editor and also wrote for Drum’s sister newspaper, the Golden City Post. He was central in chronicling the black condition. Themba had a penchant for ordinary stories – of the neglected, the marginalised and even the resented – and he wrote them in such a sensational way that they would attract global attention. He was a daring journalist, unafraid to put his body on the line in pursuit of a story. The kind of stories he covered included the impact on ordinary people of the 1957 bus boycott and of pass laws. One of his most documented stories was Brothers in Christ, where he investigated if white churches would welcome black worshippers in accordance with the Christian doctrine of brotherhood. He was assaulted and charged for trespassing in churches, creating a controversy that solicited international attention. His romantic relationship was the subject of police interrogation because he dared to love across the colour line. He was manhandled and arrested for doing journalism. He was banned under the Suppression of Communism Amendment Act ...
What is the purpose of making NFTs and what makes some of them so costly? An NFT is a technology that proves who the owner of a digital object is. This digital object could be a song, a picture, a video, a tweet – or even a piece of digital land in an online game or virtual world. Recently, pieces of digital land in a forthcoming virtual world called Otherside sold for nearly US$6,000 (£4,791) each. What’s more, people were so keen to buy them that they also paid thousands of dollars in transaction fees. NFT stands for non-fungible token. If something is non-fungible, this means that it cannot be replaced or exchanged for something of identical value. An example of something fungible is a current coin, such as a one pound coin, because this can be exchanged for another pound coin. It doesn’t matter which of the coins you have – you still have £1. Something like a painting, though, is non-fungible. That particular painting only exists once. If you bought a painting, you could take that painting and hang it up in your bedroom. It would be yours – no one else would own that exact painting. Owning something is more tricky for digital objects, because they can be copied. For instance, if you find a picture online that you like, you can right-click it, save it in your computer, and use it as a background if you want. This is where NFTs come in. If you bought an NFT of a digital painting from the person who made it, a record of your purchase is kept in the blockchain. The blockchain is a giant database maintained by many people in their computers, and it is almost impossible to alter. Once the blockchain keeps a record of a transaction, it’s there forever. Everyone can see that you bought the NFT – and it proves that you are the only owner of the digital painting. High values Some digital objects have been bought for large sums of money. For instance, in 2021, the first tweet ever sent was sold for almost US$3 million. But why would someone pay so much money for an NFT? First of all, most NFTs actually have a low price. We just only get to hear about them whenever there has been a record sale. It is the same with physical art. We hear about it when someone paid millions for a painting ...
When South African writer Antjie Krog was just 17, she wrote a poem for her school magazine which was shocking enough to upset Kroonstad High’s parents. The furore caught the attention of the Sunday newspapers, who descended on the town in the Free State province. The 17-year-old had expressed the desire to: “build myself a land/where skin colour doesn’t count/only the inner brand/of self; where no goat face in parliament/can keep things permanently verkrampt/where I can love you,/can lie beside you in the grass/without saying ‘I do’/where black and white hand in hand/can bring peace and love/to my beautiful land.” (Translated from Afrikaans by Krog.) In South Africa in 1970, the minority white government’s apartheid policy spurned “racial” mixing and prohibited sexual relations between black and white. The poem attacked Afrikaner conservatives (verkrampt means cramped, but also a political designation). Die Beeld newspaper repeated the entire poem and consulted Dr Ernst van der Heerden, poet and head of Afrikaans and Nederlands at Wits University, about whether it had value. His opinion was that Krog’s work was like that of famed poets Breyten Breytenbach and DJ Opperman. More press descended, the poem was published again (in English in the Rand Daily Mail). Her mother got involved in defending her writing. The poem appeared in the African National Congress (ANC) publication Sechaba (the ANC, now the country’s governing party, was then a liberation movement in exile). Her father was summonsed by the Broederbond (a powerful and secretive patriarchal Afrikaans nationalist society), to explain how this could have happened. This rapid set of events led to the publication of her first volume of poetry – Dogter van Jefta (Daughter of Jephthah) – but without the offending poem appearing in it. That tale holds all the ingredients of Krog’s unfolding trajectory as a South African voice: an uncompromising stance about her own experiences and thoughts and a courage to say them out loud, the instant attention of the press and literary fraternity, and a curious and appreciative audience. This year Antjie Krog turns 70 and her passions and commitments, forged in the 1970s, show no waning. For decades she has represented the important role that a poet can play in public life in a fractured country. Two audiences With Dogter van Jefta, Krog was immediately set on a path to become a serious poet, a writer mentored by Opperman and able to produce volume after volume with the assurance that thousands would buy ...
Clark is a new limited series on Netflix about Clark Olofsson, the notorious Swedish celebrity gangster responsible for the term Stockholm syndrome. The trick to this fascinating comedy crime-drama is to not get charmed yourself. You’ve probably heard of Stockholm syndrome: a psychological response to being held captive in which a hostage forms an attachment to their captor. A popular theory is that it occurs as a coping mechanism – when afraid and faced with danger, a person will seek out security and reassurance, and the perpetrator, being in a position of power as well as the only available option, is able to step into that role. The important thing about this explanation of Stockholm syndrome is that it is primarily initiated by the captor’s manipulation rather than a sudden burst of insanity in the victim. Stockholm syndrome is most likely to happen when the perpetrator is charismatic, intelligent and narcissistic enough to buy into their own lies – someone like. Clark Olofsson. Early on in Netflix’s new limited series, Clark, Olofsson (played to perfection by Bill Skarsgård) suggests that Stockholm syndrome should rather be called Clark Olofsson syndrome. He’s got a point. The term was coined when he managed to charm hostages in a bank heist – one of whom he was romantically involved with – into helping him. The fact that the bank was in Stockholm seems arbitrary in that part of the story. But in another sense, Stockholm syndrome is the perfect name, because it wasn’t just the hostages who were seduced by his charm – the city itself and much of Sweden fell under his spell, revering this career criminal as a folk hero like Jessie James or Bonnie and Clyde. Olofsson is one of the most controversial figures in Swedish history. He’s spent more than half of his life in Swedish correctional facilities of various kinds for virtually every crime you can think of (he’s particularly fond of bank robberies and drug trafficking) and yet he’s been deified as a Swedish legend. Olofsson was good-looking and charming, and he lived his criminal lifestyle with extreme recklessness. When his crimes started attracting public attention as a young man, and he was acquitted for killing a cop, the tabloids latched onto the image he presented of himself as a bad-boy Casanova and essentially made him a superstar. The media has struggled not to idolise him ever since. Even as recently as 2020, a Swedish ...
The development of a stable , reliable and sustainable electricity grid is fundamental to the African growth story, but while large-scale infrastructure projects are critical, we must not ignore the opportunities available to small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the African Development Bank, 640 million Africans have no access to electricity and if one looks at Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa, per capita consumption is just 180kWh compared to 13000 kWh per capita in the US and 6500 kWh in Europe. While the problem is clear, it is very difficult for a small business to see an opportunity unless the rest of the ecosystem is aligned. What is your motivation to invest if regulation, access to capital and a lack of political will are going to hold back investment in the sector? In this regard, I believe that all SMEs currently operating or aspiring to operate in the energy sector should familiarise themselves with UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7): Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. When the goal was announced, the core issue was that 3 billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating while indoor air pollution accounted for over 4 million deaths per year. The current energy mix accounts for around 60% of total greenhouse gas emissions, despite the adoption of renewable energy solutions across the globe. The starting point for tackling this challenge is ensuring that there is sufficient generation capacity for the grid and this has seen a number of large infrastructure projects being commissioned. While generation is important, we must not lose sight of the two other elements in the electrification journey: Distribution and Transmission. When looking at the African continent, we need to remember that many countries operate a centralised parastatal controlled power grid responsible for all 3 of these elements. These models are not fit-for-purpose in the changing energy ecosystem particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous financial pressure on State-Owned-Entities (SOEs). A country like Uganda has understood that its electrification challenges are multi-faceted – what works in the city will not be as effective in rural communities. This has led to the establishment of the Rural Electrification Agency whose mandate it is to find innovative ways to connect rural households to save electricity solutions. A simple example here is that 1 out of every 5 Ugandan households can’t afford to wire their in-house electricity safely. Subsidised training and ...
The role of infrastructure in the developmental narrative has received a significant amount of attention over the last 40 years, with the macroeconomic effects of infrastructure the predominant area of research. A key reason for this academic focus is to determine the influence of infrastructure on income inequality, poverty, and unemployment, given their importance in a human context. The role of infrastructure in the developmental narrative has received a significant amount of attention over the last 40 years, with the macroeconomic effects of infrastructure the predominant area of research. A key reason for this academic focus, is to determine the influence of infrastructure on income inequality, poverty, and unemployment, given their importance in a human context. Starting Point – The Definitions Economic growth refers to the “increase in output (GDP or GNP) or incomes over a period of time”. When considering the growth narrative, the key consideration is the “removal of barriers to economic efficiency” and there are three static engines of growth: Putting idle resources to work – growth is curtailed by idle resources. Allocative efficiency – welfare can be raised by allocating resources to produce what people wish to consume. Comparative advantage – countries should produce what they are good at. What does the literature say? Considering the above, infrastructure development is essential in removing barriers to economic efficiency – a reality that comes through in a host of literature on the topic. Infrastructure development is fundamental for economic growth and poverty reduction, as the availability of this infrastructure (or lack thereof!) influences production costs, employment creation, access to markets, and ultimately investment flows. Based on the surveyed literature on the topic, a consensus view has emerged: constraints on economic growth and poverty reduction in the African context are due to a lack of adequate infrastructure, with specific reference to transport and logistics, water and sanitation, energy, along with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and communication networks. Not only does the lack of these types of infrastructure impact the lives of the majority of Africans, but it also negatively impacts the competitiveness of businesses. Taking this a step further, the literature on growth shows that there is a significant link between the growth rate of an economy and the living standards of the populous in the long run. Simply put, the living standards of a country can be seen as being dependent on its ability to produce goods and services (i.e. productivity), with productivity determined in reference to ...
White House cyber director Chris Inglis said on Friday he expects Russia’s use of disruptive cyber attacks to continue so long as there is war in Ukraine. Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg TV, he said that the enduring war has shown Russia is “not perhaps as competent as they might have imagined, both in the physical world and the cyber world”. “For as long as Russia persists in this egregious behavior, I think that cyber will be in their playbook, and so I would think that this would continue apace.” The first-ever U.S. National Cyber Director was in Singapore as part of a regional tour. Inglis previously appeared in Australia, where he spoke about the role of cybersecurity in U.S. strategy and international ambitions to build resilience and counter threats. Inglis’ remarks came after the US, UK, and the European Union formally blamed Russia for a February cyberattack against the satellite communications provider Viasat Inc., leading to outages across Eastern Europe hours before Russian troops invaded Ukraine. “Oftentimes, we find that cyber is used below what I would call the use of force, but it’s a tool that’s used in combination with other tools,” Inglis said on Friday. “Therefore, I don’t think that you should think of it as cyber on cyber, or for that matter to think of it as something that changes at the end of the day the outcomes that one nation can achieve against another.” U.S. officials meanwhile continue to signal their concern about rising security threats amid the war. The National Security Agency told Bloomberg News it’s investigating the use in the U.S. business community of cybersecurity software made by Kaspersky, a Russian vendor. Before stepping into the role of cyber director last year, Inglis was a managing director at Washington D.C.-based venture capital firm Paladin Capital Group. He was also previous Deputy Director of the National Security Agency, where he had also worked as chief operating officer. BM
The US State Department outlined plans to boost pressure on China over what it called “horrific abuses” of Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region, an issue that is becoming one of the biggest points of tension between the world’s two biggest economies. President Joe Biden has put human rights at the forefront of his China policy, highlighted by a law set to take effect next month that bans imports of goods from Xinjiang unless companies can prove they weren’t made with forced labor. It’s also weighing the unprecedented step of imposing more severe Treasury Department sanctions on Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., which makes cameras and surveillance systems used in Xinjiang. In a report to Congress marked “sensitive but unclassified”, the department explained how the US would raise its concerns about the treatment of the predominately Muslim Uyghurs, who face what the administration has called a campaign of “genocide”, a charge Beijing has repeatedly denied. This would be done in meetings with other nations, multilateral institutions such as the G7, and the private sector. “The US government will fully leverage its authorities and resources to combat forced labour in Xinjiang,” the report said. It also sought to counter “intrusive surveillance, forced population control measures, separation of children from families, mass detention, torture, coercive ethnic and religious assimilation.” The focus on Xinjiang is part of broader US efforts to rally allies and partners around the world to pressure China on a range of fronts, including its diplomatic support for Russia and suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. While China and the US both still trade with each other more than any other country, in recent years they have started to wall off economic ties in strategic areas on national security grounds. The State Department report shows a recognition that the US alone can’t exert enough economic pressure on China to force changes to its Xinjiang policies, according to Adrian Zenz, senior fellow in China Studies at the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, who has conducted extensive research on Xinjiang. “The report outlines a strategy that is far ahead of what I have seen from other nations,” Zenz said. “If this is implemented, it represents a clear step up from previous efforts.” The report says the US will seek to identify companies or other entities that may benefit from forced labor in Xinjiang, without naming any entities. The US, according to the report, will work ...
Wednesday's implosion of the TerraUSD stablecoin kindled widespread panic in the crypto space. But 24 hours later, things have calmed down significantly. Terraform Labs halted, restarted and then halted again its Terra blockchain in the wake of the collapse of TerraUSD and its related Luna token. Developers who work on the blockchain said in a tweet posted to their verified Twitter account that the second halt was intended to enable them to “come up with a plan to reconstitute” the network. Both TerraUSD (UST), the algorithmic stablecoin that lost and never regained its 1-1 peg to the US dollar, and the associated Luna token were trading near zero at the time of the second halt. But elsewhere in crypto sentiment had started to rebound. Tether, the largest stablecoin used in cryptocurrency markets to facilitate trading, recovered from an earlier mini-crash, soothing concerns that its troubles might spill into the broader market. Read more: Tether Takes Victory Lap After Stablecoin Regains Peg Tokens underpinning key decentralized finance protocols also advanced. Even ApeCoin rallied, advancing more than 35% in 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Bitcoin, meanwhile, traded above $30,000 after falling to about $25,000 in the previous day’s trading. And some alternative coins also gained, with Bitcoin Cash adding 20% at one point before paring gains. It’s a remarkably more positive picture from the havoc that overtook crypto markets on Wednesday as UST entered a “death spiral”. That day, Bitcoin had suffered a nearly 10% drop. Read more: ‘Everything Broke’: Terra Goes From DeFi Darling to Death Spiral “The fact that Tether is stabilising means that the margin calls that took place are fading,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “Whenever you get forced selling in anything, it overshoots. People are still nervous, but the selling has abated. Investors will be nervous for a few more days, but the supply-demand equation has stabilized again.” Market-watchers noted that Bitcoin, which typically trades in tandem with the stock market, was able to gain on Thursday even as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 sunk 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meanwhile, said Terra’s tumble showed the dangers of tokens that purport to be pegged to the US dollar, though she added that its implosion didn’t pose a threat to financial stability. “Crypto has little economic significance. Not that many people own much of it,” said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen. Still, he added that the crypto ...
‘All water activities are prohibited. Beachgoers are urged to heed this warning unwaveringly, because disregarding it could result [in] outbreaks of waterborne diseases, that may be fatal,’ the city cautioned. Several Durban swimming beaches are facing extended closures because of high sewage pollution levels and chemical and oil pollution from a variety of sources — including a sludge overflow from the mothballed Sapref oil refinery during the devastating floods last month. Across the city, several municipal sewage treatment works, pump stations and effluent pipelines have been damaged — prompting the city to issue a strong warning to bathers to stay out of the water until E. coli (sewage bacteria) levels drop to safe levels. “All water activities are prohibited. Beachgoers are urged to heed this warning unwaveringly, because disregarding it could result [in] outbreaks of waterborne diseases, that may be fatal,” the city cautioned in a statement. Government sources suggest that six municipal treatment works (in North Durban, Tongaat, Umhlanga, KwaNdengezi and the South Durban area) and up to 50 sewage pumping stations around the city were damaged by the severe April floodwaters. The contents of a sludge dam at the Sapref (Shell/BP) refinery in South Durban also ended up in the sea south of the city after the Umlaas Canal overflowed early on 12 April. While Sapref spokesperson Hlengiwe Hlela confirmed at the time that several refinery staff had been evacuated because of flooding, she offered no details about the environmental impacts. However, Facebook posts from refinery staff show clear evidence that at least two large fuel storage tanks were leaning over at nearly 45 degrees. Google Earth satellite imagery also reveals visible evidence of a long, dark oil pollution stain along the beach immediately south of the refinery. Neither Hlela nor Shell communications officials responded to requests for further information on Thursday, but two independent sources have confirmed that a large sludge dam at the Sapref refinery overflowed when the Umlaas Canal burst its concrete banks at the height of the recent KZN flood. One source estimated that somewhere between one million and two million litres of sticky bituminous sludge and heavy hydrocarbons were involved, and said that a clean-up crew from Spill Tech had been engaged to clean up the mess in the vicinity of the Isipingo Beach and estuary. As many as 130 refinery staff were also reported to have been airlifted to safety by helicopter teams at the height of the disaster. Now that the pulse ...
An occasional column based on glimpses of the goings-on at the Port of Cape Town (note: this is the extended Saldanha version) — and how politics and economics are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. A Liberia-flagged tanker carrying crude oil from Russia, which was hit by widespread sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, is expected at Saldanha Bay harbour on Sunday. By all accounts, it may just be an R&R break for the Elandra Denali. Or it might be a pit stop on a more complicated route to sidestep tightening sanctions imposed against Russia — from oligarchs to oil. But the arrival of a vessel carrying crude oil from a country under sanctions (Russia) at a South African port, puts into sharp relief domestic policy scurvy. This comes at a time when South Africa’s officially proclaimed neutrality on what the government usually calls a “conflict” has incurred significant criticism. Without at least a view on how to respond in global geopolitics and trade, South Africa seems to be flailing. Already, action at European Union ports has stepped up, as Lloyd’s List recently reported on the ban from entering port of one Malta-flagged vessel that had taken on Russian-origin cargo. As the EU, UK, US and other countries’ sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bite in some parts of the maritime world more than others, Bloomberg is tracking Russian crude oil movements that remain popular going to the Far East. Russia relies on crude oil and gas to generate revenue. “Half of the ships loading at the northwest Russian ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga last week are either heading to Asia, or not showing final destinations. Most of that second group are signaling destinations such as Gibraltar or Malta, suggesting that they may either be heading to Asia via the Suez Canal or to conduct ship-to-ship transfers in the Mediterranean,” according to Bloomberg in early April. That’s the pattern the Elandra Denali seems to have followed. It took on Russian crude oil in early April off Ceuta, near Gibraltar, from the Aframax Tigani that had loaded at Primorsk, according to Bloomberg. Its destination is signalled as Saldanha Bay port, or SDB — home of the Strategic Fuel Fund, the government-owned entity in charge of crude oil storage — according to at least two maritime vessel-tracking sites, marinetraffic.com and vesselfinder.com. The tanker’s arrival time on 15 May shifted back from early morning to the ...
Russian forces may have been pushed from the outskirts of Kyiv, but they are pressing harder along the front in the east and south of the country. A Cape Town doctor has seen a corresponding uptick in the number of refugees and patients at the makeshift medical station where she volunteers. Dr Natalia Novikova’s daily commute these days requires a little more creative thinking than her usual rush-hour drive to and from her doctor’s practice in Cape Town’s city centre. On a cool, glistening spring morning on her way to the Ukraine border from her hotel in the nearby Polish town to Przemysl — now colonised by armies of NGO workers — Novikova winds her rental car through narrow rural backroads, past fields of dandelions and neat, blossoming backyard orchards. The 40-something gynaecologist, originally from Kyiv, is here on a volunteer stint treating patients at the Medyka border crossing, which has seen an exodus of refugees since the war began. This is her second tour to the border after a stint in mid-April — she can only leave her work and three kids for about a week at a time — and Novikova is still feeling her way around the detour that bypasses kilometre after kilometre of backed-up traffic that has ground to a total halt. These are vehicles heading towards war-torn Ukraine. In the middle of last month, for the first time since the war began, the flow of people from Ukraine was reversed. Polish border authorities reported that on 16 April, 22,000 people crossed into Ukraine — nearly 3,000 more than had left at the same time. Trailers full of sedans without number plates, headed for export to Ukraine, only add to the traffic — a sign that optimism about the future might cautiously be making its way into Ukrainian hearts. Evidence too that the urges of homo economicus remain irrepressible even in times of war, as the cars will go to buyers free of import duties, which wartime Ukraine has abolished. There is a less upbeat take, though — the demand for new cars is also one of survival. Ukrainians are worried about being left at the mercy of public transport when the need to flee arises. It is a reminder that any renewed optimism in these rapidly changing times is likely to be ephemeral. Russian forces may have been pushed out from the outskirts of Kyiv, but they are pressing harder along the front ...
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‘I’d say he’s lying,’ said Paul Kgoedi under oath about former SAPS North West Deputy Commissioner Jan Mabula at the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday. “He was present when I was arrested. present when I was assaulted.” On day four of the “torture trial” of former SA Police Service (SAPS) North West Deputy Commissioner Major-General Jan Ntebo Mabula and seven members of his “rogue” investigative unit, charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and extortion, witness Paul Kgoedi was cross-examined by the defence team. Read more here. All eight accused – Mabula, Matome Kgorane, Samuel Sanamela Kutumela, Ismael Dawood, Adam Mahlako Moahloli, Mpikwa Meshack Makhubu, Mfana Patrick Makutu and Israel Mdluli – have pleaded not guilty. On Tuesday, Kgoedi, a warrant officer in the SAPS, testified that 16 years ago he was arrested and tortured by Mabula’s unit to implicate himself in a crime and extort money from his sister. Read more here about why the road to justice has taken over a decade. In 2006, the SAPS established a National Task Team (which included all the accused of this case, who were part of the North West Organised Crime Unit, led by Mabula) to investigate the R14-million robbery of an SAPS storeroom at Benoni Police Station between 24 and 25 May that year. Several days later, the investigative task team arrested and interrogated several suspects, three of whom are complainants in this case – Kgoedi, Serious Mthembi and Richard Tlakulane Sebuyi. The seven other suspects arrested in 2006 by Mabula’s team are now deceased, although the cause of their deaths is still unclear. Under cross-examination, Kgoedi told the court: “Up to this day, 16 years later. nobody knows what happened to that money. I was arrested, I was assaulted, I was forced to implicate people. “This case is just misleading the public that indeed there are people who stole money. Something that can’t be proven.” Advocate Dawie Joubert, representing five of the accused, asked Kgoedi if as a police officer he had ever been accused of assaulting someone, bringing up a case of alleged assault against him in 2020, which the Independent Police Investigative Directorate had investigated. “I never assaulted that person,” responded Kgoedi. Joubert said to Kgoedi that his instructions from his client Mabula were that, “He never saw you. He doesn’t know you. He didn’t participate in any manner in the investigation on the 29th of May 2006. He had no interaction with you at all.” Kgoedi ...
G7 foreign ministers vowed to break a Russian blockade of grain in Ukrainian ports, and wheat futures rose in Chicago after a US Department of Agriculture report said production in the country would drop by one-third compared with last season. Gas prices surged by more than 10% in Europe after Russia reduced supplies to Germany in retaliation for European sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. Despite all the sanctions, Russia’s oil revenues have surged by 50% so far this year even as many refiners have shunned its supplies, pumping about $20-billion a month into Moscow’s coffers. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the “accession process would be smooth and swift” should Finland decide to join the military alliance, after Helsinki’s top policymakers threw their weight behind a bid. Key developments Russia curbs gas supplies to Germany in warning for Europe Finnish leaders back joining Nato, with Sweden set to follow Germany says Russia weaponises energy as gas feud escalates China is spoilt for choice of oil as many avoid Russian barrels Russia oil revenue up 50% this year despite boycott Rare Russia criticism within China shows simmering policy debate G7 ministers seek way to break Russia’s grain blockade “Twenty-five million tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian ports, especially in Odesa,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the opening of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Weissenhaus in northern Germany. “This is grain which is urgently needed as food in African countries and the Middle East.” Accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of using grain to further divide the global community, Baerbock said, “We must stand together in the face of this food crisis.” She said the ministers “will discuss how we can unblock the Russian grain blockade, how we can get the grain into the world”. Wheat futures in Chicago rose after a US Department of Agriculture report said production in Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest growers, would drop by one-third compared with last season. US legislators see Finland, Sweden in Nato as likely Leaders of a key US Senate committee described Finland and Sweden joining Nato as almost a done deal. “We’re about to get two new members,” Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at a hearing on Thursday. Senator Bob Menendez, the panel’s Democratic chairman, said members were “already working to ensure swift consideration” if Finland and Sweden apply to join the military alliance. Karen Donfried, the assistant secretary of state for European affairs, said Putin’s invasion ...
As the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame inflation roil both stocks and bonds, investors everywhere are struggling to figure out the best way to play defense in markets amid concerns that a recession is on the horizon. One of the top executives at Goldman Sachs Asset Management has a surprising idea: Beyoncé. (Bloomberg) —Katie Koch, the chief investment officer for public equities at GSAM, quips that “Beyoncé is ultimately recession-resistant” and so are other popular artists. That’s why the portfolios she helps oversee own shares of live-concert companies in the US and Europe. While Live Nation Entertainment Inc. got hit hard during last year’s Covid-19 lockdowns, she points out that the company actually weathered the previous recession well and managed to grow revenue in both 2008 and 2009. By Michael P. Regan and Vildana Hajric May 12, 2022, 9:17 PM – Updated on May 12, 2022, 9:17 PM Word Count: 366 “So the consumer will spend in a recession,” she says, but “they’ll be quite selective in terms what they spend on.” Another example is beauty products, she added. And Koch doesn’t buy the notion that China is uninvestable: “You can buy assets here in the US as well as assets in China that are overly discounted for something that we know is eventually going to work out, which is that the economy will reopen.” Koch joined this this week’s episode of the “What Goes Up” podcast to discuss the state of play in markets and why, despite share prices that have crashed over the past year, investing in innovative companies is still a good idea for the long term. The tech-centric Nasdaq 100 Index has lost more than a quarter of its value since the start of the year. Koch says that there will be opportunities within the tech and innovation spaces again. “These things will work and they’re going to work really, really well. It’s just at the moment, it has been dislocated,” she said. “The recent correction actually provides some really compelling entry points to get exposure to technology as a secular theme,” Koch said. “Tech is down at the moment, but it’s not out. Don’t give up on it.” There’s more to that conversation. Take a listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to What Goes Up here.
Problems with the management of funds, leadership, accountability and budgets – whether by state institutions or individuals – are hindering efforts to improve the Gauteng healthcare delivery system, the parliamentary watchdog has heard. During a virtual briefing on Thursday, the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) said it was working on reducing irregular expenditure and was implementing house resolutions to improve the healthcare delivery system in the province. The GDoH, led by its head, MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi, briefed Parliament’s accounting watchdog, Scopa, on why it incurred unauthorised expenditure in the last financial year and on its efforts to reduce this. The briefing comes after a report by the Auditor-General (AG) in the last financial year, 2020/2021, that raised serious concern about the GDoH’s irregular expenditure, delayed services and the non-existent culture of “doing things right”. As per the AG’s report, the province incurred R378.40-million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, stemming from the procurement of personal protective equipment. The GDoH continued to be under financial strain due to unbudgeted medical claims of R24.33-billion, with R392-million paid out in the financial year. This had affected the department’s ability to deliver services, pay its suppliers on time, fill vacant positions for healthcare workers at some health institutions, and to build, maintain and upgrade hospitals and other health facilities. Earlier this year, there were reports of supplies running out and biological waste piling up as public health facilities failed to pay suppliers and medical interns in the province’s largest medical care facility, Chris Hani Baragwanath, because of the financial problems. The Gauteng Health Department’s CFO, Lerato Madyo, has attributed some of the irregular spending to the department being underbudgeted and overcommitted as a result of population growth in the province. “Gauteng should acknowledge that the baseline allocation of the department cannot meet the health requirements in terms of provincialising quality healthcare in the province. The population influx does not necessarily accommodate what the fiscus can afford.” Madyo said the GDoH’s financial issues were not just because of a shortfall of money but also due to historic financial problems. “The biggest challenge that we had on paying service providers on time was impacted by invoices that we have carried through from one financial year to the other. [About] R500-million is paid to suppliers of goods and services annually. the highest level of consumption of available funds, which also makes it impossible to afford the demand made in the provisioning of resources for quality healthcare services ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the Second Global Covid-19 Summit on Thursday. He spoke of the progress the African continent had made in developing its vaccine manufacturing capabilities. However, he warned that this could be lost if international agencies failed to purchase vaccines from African manufacturers. If the capabilities for vaccine manufacturing in Africa are to be retained, there is a need for multilateral agencies and philanthropic organisations to procure vaccines and boosters from African vaccine manufacturers, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. Speaking at the Second Global Covid-19 Summit on Thursday, Ramaphosa detailed the progress that the African continent had made in advancing its vaccine manufacturing capacity, including the opening of the continent’s largest Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in South Africa in 2021. The World Health Organisation has provided support for South Africa to become the “centre of the mRNA process”, with hubs for tech transfer in countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and Tunisia, said Ramaphosa. In February, the African Union summit endorsed a common agenda for the manufacturing of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and health products in Africa. “However, this progress may be reversed because international agencies. that have had a lot of money donated to [them] for purchasing and procuring vaccines for developing economy countries, are not buying vaccines from African vaccine manufacturers — even for those vaccines that are destined for African countries,” he said. “This immediately just devalues the whole process of local manufacturing and local production of vaccines.” As a number of African countries are “stepping up” to produce vaccines for those who live on the continent, Ramaphosa called for vaccines to be purchased “for Africans on African soil”. “As South Africa and as the African Union Champion for Covid-19 Response, we call on the international community to ensure that solidarity and equity underpin this next phase in our management of the pandemic,” he said. “This means that vaccines produced in Africa must be procured in Africa for Africa’s people. This is vital for the continent’s health security, now and into the future.” Low vaccination and testing rates To prevent a regression into the “catastrophic early days” of the Covid-19 pandemic, many more people needed to have access to vaccinations, testing and treatment across the world, according to Ramaphosa. “The global health recovery will not be inclusive as long as millions of people in developing economy countries remain unvaccinated. Africa has one of the world’s lowest vaccination rates at 16%, and coverage in low-income countries is still under ...
Blind SA remains hopeful that the Constitutional Court will rule in its favour and uphold the rights of the visually impaired to access copyrighted works in accessible formats. This was after the court reserved judgment in the case heard on Thursday. Blind SA, represented by public interest law centre Section27, wants South Africa’s outdated Copyright Act of 1978 amended so that people with visual disabilities can access books without having to first approach the copyright holder to allow for works to be changed into an accessible format such as braille, among others. The Copyright Act states that changing or adapting a copyrighted work may amount to a copyright infringement and as such may constitute an offence. The Copyright Act recognises “exceptions” to allow the use of published works for certain purposes without the permission of copyright holders, and these exceptions include the reproduction of works for the purpose of criticisms or reviews, newspaper articles or private study. However, despite these exceptions, there is no exception for people who are blind or visually impaired to make, reproduce or distribute published works without the permission of the copyright holder. This has been a large contributing factor in creating a “book famine” in South Africa, which refers to the fact that less than 0.5% of published works are available in an accessible format for the visually impaired. On Thursday, the Constitutional Court heard the case requesting the confirmation of an order of the high court in favour of Blind SA, that declared the Copyright Act unconstitutional because it discriminates against persons who are blind or visually impaired. Last year, Blind SA asked the high court to amend the outdated Copyright Act by “reading in” section 19d of the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB). The bill amends the Copyright Act of 1978 and allows for general exceptions regarding protection of copyright works for people with disabilities, which would allow people with disabilities to develop or import accessible-format copies of published works without having to secure the permission of the copyright holder. The high court declared the Copyright Act unconstitutional and ordered that section 19D of the CAB be part of the act. Prof Owen Dean holds an opposing view to the “reading in” of section 19D of the (CAB) into the act, and he instead highlights, as a remedy, section 13 of the Copyright Act, which deals with general exceptions in respect of the reproduction of works and allows the minister of trade and ...
Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos’ election as president of the Philippines makes us think that celebrity plays a key role in politics, rather than ideas. Sad. Learning that Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr is to be the Philippines’ next president started me thinking about hereditary leadership beyond actual inherited monarchies, and why they seem so popular. People have been calling Ferdinand Jr “Bongbong” for at least 50 years or so, so let’s just go with them on this one. Bongbong ran for president in that island nation and he crushed his opposition — massively. (Two of his sisters are in the country’s Congress and another is apparently a drummer for an indie band.) It is a real question about what triggered this astonishing rush to embrace a man who is heir to his father’s (and mother’s) political record, but who has now apparently transcended the elder Marcos’ reputations for cruelty, corruption, moral turpitude, murder and incompetence. In an odd, perverse way, Bongbong’s success has come by milking the celebrity of being next in line from a globally branded family. Back in the 1980s, it was hard to avoid hearing about Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, their political excesses, her collection of every pair of expensive shoes ever made as long as they were showy and ostentatious, and their surprising exile in which they ended up living on an estate in Hawaii — once the country’s citizens were sufficiently fed up with the pair’s corrupt, criminal shenanigans. Of course, like most Southeast Asian nations, the population of the Philippines is a young one, and it is a reasonable supposition that many of the people who voted for Bongbong had not even been born when mom and dad decamped from one set of islands to another back in 1986. Bongbong’s political resume is not exactly stellar, but at least it was deeper than Donald Trump’s when he ran for office. Bongbong had actually been in the country’s parliament and had been governor of one of the less important states, for a spell. Marcos senior, of course, had been a genuine hero in World War 2, and that history was still recent enough at the time for it to have been a core element in his political rise; that, and the fact he seemed to give his fellow citizens a sense of pride in their nation with little or no tugging of the forelock in the direction of the country’s former colonial ...
The refreshed third-generation locally produced BMW X3 comprises a comprehensive range of premium SUVs meeting world-class standards. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but for every 100 BMW X3s that roll off the production line in Rosslyn, Pretoria, 95 of them are earmarked for the export market. Since we all know how fastidious the Germans are when it comes to manufacturing their cars, especially a brand like BMW, this must speak to the world-class quality of what’s being produced at the German brand’s local manufacturing plant. I got to test this assumption when I recently spent substantial time in the top-of-the-range diesel derivative, the xDrive20d M Sport and the flagship petrol version, the X3 xDriveM40i – both part of the refreshed third-generation X3 – launched locally at the end of last year. If you’re not a fan of BMW’s controversially large 1-piece kidney grille, you may be disappointed that the latest version of this mid-size SUV proudly brandishes it. I think it works aesthetically, along with slimmer LED headlights and a revised front bumper, creating an overall more sporty effect. While there are no changes to the powertrains which are the same as the pre-facelift models – a 1.8 litre diesel, a 2.0 litre petrol and diesel, a 3.0 litre diesel and of course the powerful petrol M40i – the interior has seen a substantial makeover by adopting the latest 3 Series layout. Over the festive season, I got to first spend substantial time and kilometres in the 2.0 litre M Sport diesel. I was expecting a good all-round German SUV, albeit one that made a bit of noise on start and wouldn’t set my heart aflutter on the straights and speedy bends. Boy, was I wrong. The xDrive20d is one helluva car. With its 2.0 litre superquiet turbodiesel engine, delivering 140kW and 400Nm, it felt much faster than its claimed 0-100km in eight seconds. The 8-speed automatic transmission is so well mated to its engine that on the twisty roads of Du Toitskloof Pass, there were times that I forgot I was driving a midsize, relatively heavy diesel SUV. It felt as nimble and well-planted as a hatch, with impressive grip on tight corners. But what ultimately sticks out on the 20d is the superb efficiency of this engine. With a range of over 1,000km, aided by some careful driving, I managed to get her fuel consumption under 6l/100km and at times, with a more conscious light ...
The damning testimony of a woman who had been the social media manager of a former right-wing extremist pastor, who allegedly plotted to overthrow the government in 2019, could help the State to secure a successful conviction against the leader of the extremist group. Riana Heymans, a former member of the National Christian Resistance Movement (NCRM), took the stand in the Mpumalanga High Court this week in a case involving Harry Knoesen, a right-wing pastor and former member of the South African Defence Force. Knoesen, who gave himself the title of general, is a self-professed leader of the NCRM, also known as the Crusaders. Knoesen allegedly planned an insurrection and the genocide of black people during December 2018 and November 2019. Right-wing ‘terrorist pastor’s’ dark plans for a bloody coup unravel in high court Part of this plot included attacks on national key points. Knoesen also allegedly explored the possibility of using a biological weapon to infect and kill members of the African population. The plan was supposed to be executed at midnight on 28 November 2019, but Knoesen was arrested that day at his home in Middelburg. Two years later, his trial began in the Mpumalanga High Court. Knoesen has pleaded not guilty to charges of high treason, incitement to carry out terrorist attacks in South Africa, soliciting support and/or recruiting to carry out terrorist attacks, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. Riana Heymans was arrested on 29 November 2019 but the charges against her were withdrawn in August 2020. She was an administrator of the Crusaders’ WhatsApp group and had inside information about the plot and where the group held its meetings. She also knew the plan was supposed to be carried out at midnight on 28 November 2019. Heymans’ 21-page affidavit detailed how she joined extremist groups, the plot and her state of mind when she heard the news that the “General” had been arrested and that the Hawks were on her trail. She recalled there being pipe bombs that were to be used during the insurrection, and outlined the role of the Abrams brothers, Errol and Eric, in the plot. The brothers were each sentenced to eight years in jail in the Middelburg Regional Court in December 2020 for their part in the plot. “I remember Errol saying that the person who sold him pipes looked at him suspiciously. On the way home, Errol told me that it was pipe bombs that he ...
Dr Imogen Mashazi says that ensuring good financial management is the key to realising service delivery. ‘I did not start as a city manager, I was not imposed and I am not a political deployee. I was appointed from within; I started as a health director and grew up in the system, performing, and I do not have any cloud of corruption.” These were the words of Dr Imogen Mashazi, Ekurhuleni’s first female city manager, in an interview with Daily Maverick. Mashazi has been city manager for the past five years under the shoddy administration of former executive mayor Mzwandile Masina. Her term expired in November 2021 when a new multiparty coalition government led by Mayor Tania Campbell was elected to run Ekurhuleni. However, the council extended her term for six months to ensure a smooth transition for the new mayor and the process of appointing a new city manager. The six-month extension expires at the end of May, when she will continue in the same role in the new term. Mashazi brings three decades of local government experience to her role. She has worked her way up from being a nurse at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital to the executive director of health and social development in Ekurhuleni. She was appointed as chief operating officer in the Ekurhuleni Department of Health before becoming a city manager in 2016. The married mother of three was born in Soweto, Johannesburg. She holds a doctorate in public health from Unisa. Mashazi moved from Soweto to Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, where she has grown her public service and gained the trust of the council through her skills in steering the city’s administrative structure in the right direction. In July 2020, Mashazi won the Public Sector Leader award in the Top Empowerment Awards. She has been entrusted again with the responsibility of leading and managing the realisation of the City of Ekurhuleni’s vision as the city moves into a new era of governance – a multiparty coalition government made up of the DA, ACDP, FF Plus, Cope, IFP, ActionSA and PA. She says she has been entrusted with the responsibility because of her management skills, which ensure good governance structures. “I have the core competencies required for one to be an accounting officer. and these include high moral value, good financial skills, strategic direction and management component, people-first mindset, integrity and honesty.” Mashazi says she will prioritise: Good governance to prevent fraud and corruption; Improving service delivery and responsiveness towards service ...
The parliamentary committee on health recently concluded public hearings on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. This article looks at what the committee was asked to consider about medical benefits and the NHI. Presentations on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill heard by the Portfolio Committee on Health were collated by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group and analysed by researchers from the South African Medical Research Council, the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the universities of the Western Cape and Cape Town. Everyone wants to know what benefits the NHI will cover. Clause 25(4) of the bill provides for a benefits advisory committee to review the benefits and types of services that the NHI will cover and, in consultation with the minister of health and the board, to determine the healthcare benefits the fund will provide. Most respondents declared support for the bill’s aim of progressively realising universal healthcare. The trade union Nehawu said this “would allow for people to access healthcare services without incurring any financial hardship”. However, respondents were concerned by the “open-ended” nature of clause 25(4). The bill was considered to lack detail on what services would be covered, their affordability and the level at which they would be offered. Inherent difficulties in the process of deciding on a benefits package under potentially severe budgetary constraints were identified. The bill has no information on how the benefits package should be determined. What will the NHI cover? Several respondents wanted greater clarity on what would be included in the NHI benefits package. The Professional Provident Society and the US multinational pharmaceutical company MSD (known as Merck in the US and Canada) called for the NHI to “spell out” the benefits package. The South African Medical Association argued that it was “extremely difficult for health practitioners to support the NHI reforms, not knowing what will be available to patients, or under what conditions”. The National Health Laboratory Service argued that the bill should clearly state what the package would contain, what would be excluded and how excluded benefits would be paid for. Affordability and level of benefits The Health Funders Association was concerned that “given budgetary constraints, the NHI is likely to cover a much narrower range of services than what is currently provided by medical schemes”. Wits University pointed to the findings of the ministerial task team on social health insurance (2005), which concluded that “even with a minimum benefit, costed at the lowest level feasible, it appears ...
Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. For decades, experts suspected the existence of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, but definitive proof was provided on Thursday afternoon. Scientists had previously seen stars orbiting around something invisible, compact and very massive at the centre of the Milky Way. This object, known as Sagittarius A, is indeed a black hole, and the image provides the first direct visual evidence of it. It is located 27,000 light years from Earth. Although one cannot see the black hole per se because it is completely dark, glowing gas around it reveals a tell-tale signature: a dark central region (called a shadow) surrounded by a bright ringlike structure. The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole, which is four million times more massive than our Sun. The announcement was made by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, an international collaboration capturing images of black holes using a virtual Earth-sized telescope. This technique of linking eight radio telescope antennas across the globe to create an Earth-sized interferometer has been used before, when the EHT made history by publishing the first-ever image of a black hole in 2019. “This is it. It’s as close as it gets,” said Anton Zensus, the founding chair of the EHT Collaboration Board. Albert Einstein, he added, “would have been ecstatic”. Dr Sara Issaoun, from the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, explained: “Because the black hole is about 27,000 light years away from Earth, it appears to us to have about the same size in the sky as a doughnut on the Moon.” The collaboration of more than 300 scientists presented their latest results on Thursday afternoon, during a live-streaming event to the Wits Planetarium in Johannesburg, which was one of the main press conferences held simultaneously in Germany, the US, Mexico, Japan and Taiwan. Professor Roger Deane, director of the Wits Centre for Astrophysics, at the Wits Planetarium, explained that the first image of a black hole, called M87, was captured at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy. However, M87 is 1,000 times more massive than Sagittarius A and 55 million light years away. Scientists are excited to finally have images of two black holes of very different sizes, which offers the opportunity to understand how they compare and contrast. They have also begun to ...
Twenty-three members of Abahlali baseMjondolo have been killed over 17 years as a result of the politics of land occupations. But, vowed leader Thapelo Mohapi, ‘we are not going to retreat’. On the eve of the memorial of slain Abahlali baseMjondolo leader Nokuthula Mabaso’s memorial, Abahlali general secretary Thapelo Mohapi started his talk on “Land Occupation and Politics” by asking everyone to observe a moment of silence to honour Mabaso. Mohapi is taking part in The Forge’s talks on land in South Africa, which are scheduled to run throughout the month. “It’s not easy to organise in KwaZulu-Natal not knowing whether or not you will come back; our families are praying every day that we will come back. We are constantly in hiding and our only crime is to fight for the land,” he said. “We never thought that we would have to fight for what our parents were fighting for, Ayanda [Ngila] was very young, Nokuthula [Mabaso] was very young and the killings continue. we continue to die in the hands of the ANC. two ward councilors were convicted in 2015 and sentenced to life for killing Thuli [Ndlovu]. Thuli was shot seven times in front of her children. When we got there her two-year-old child was crawling in a pool of her blood and did not know what was happening. Mabaso’s child still thinks she’s just in hospital and coming back. We never thought there are people this cruel to kill a mother in the manner they did.” Mohapi described the eKhanana commune where Ngila and Mabaso were recently shot dead as “a hope” for Abahlali and an example of what communism should be. He lamented, however, that bloodshed was the order of the day for those who live there as a result of members and leaders of the ANC who work with the police, planning the killings of people eKhenana who are using the land communally. According to Mohapi: “In KwaZulu-Natal, if you organise outside of the ruling party you are regarded as the enemy, especially if you are poor. When you are poor people think you can’t think because you are regarded as nothing in the world. “Mabaso was a woman like any other in South Africa. She was shot four times in the back and to show it was a hit they turned her over and shot two other bullets into her, one in the breast the other in the stomach. ...
The development of Covid-19 mRNA vaccines is a good example of how the single best efforts of only a few firms generated a breakthrough technology in record time, and saved hundreds of millions of lives. We need similar action to fight back against the climate crisis. Climate technologies are ideas that are turned into innovations that will reduce and even eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and help us adapt to a changing climate. A climate technology revolution entails the invention and deployment of radically new — breakthrough — technologies to accomplish this, and not over the long run, but as soon as possible. We have, and can make even more progress in reducing CO2 emissions by incrementally improving and rolling out existing technologies. This is also largely the gist that the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) takes: the report contains an extensive discussion of the need for a systemic approach to innovation — invoking the concept of innovation systems — to ensure the broadest adoption of emission reduction technologies. However, the AR6 report also stresses that “aggressive action” is needed to limit global warming and that the window of opportunity to do so “is rapidly closing, and with it the opportunity to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.” The report thus stresses the necessity for moving beyond technologies that will only reduce CO2 emissions, to ones that will remove existing CO2 stocks from the atmosphere. In particular, the report calls for further development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, stating that “the deployment of CDR to counterbalance hard-to-abate residual emissions is unavoidable if net-zero CO2 or GHG emissions are to be achieved” (IPCC AR6 2022: p.63). While it does not explicitly say it, the IPCC AR6 almost amounts to a call for a climate technology revolution. Given the urgency of the matter — that we seem unlikely to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels — and the dangers of crossing climate tipping points — the incentives to engineer the climate are indeed stacking up, as Scott Barrett in 2009 thought they would eventually do. The question is: How can we ignite a climate technology revolution? The current global approach, predominantly, is to view climate change as requiring an aggregate effort — hence the UN’s Conference of Parties (COPs) approach using global climate conferences to galvanise support and commitment from national states through “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDCs). Linked to this is the ...
The State is fed up with the game of cat and mouse being played by former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, saying that his delaying tactics are preventing his trial from getting under way. Former Crime Intelligence chief Richard Mdluli and his co-accused Heine Barnard (former supply chain manager) and Solomon Lazarus (former chief financial officer of the State Security Agency) are facing charges of fraud, theft and corruption. The alleged crimes were committed between 2008 and 2012. The charges relate to the “gross abuse” of a police intelligence slush fund. Other allegations involve money spent on private trips to Singapore and China, the leasing of Mdluli’s private residence to the State to pay his bond and the personal use of witness protection property. The State has tried unsuccessfully for over a decade to get the matter to go to trial. This case was first enrolled in 2011. The State says it is in the interest of justice, as well as of Mdluli and his co-accused, to have the case heard as soon as possible. Mdluli is currently serving a five-year sentence handed down by the Johannesburg High Court in September 2020 after being convicted on kidnapping and assault charges that date back to 1998. His application for leave to appeal against the sentence was denied. Mdluli and his co-accused appeared in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday, where the State has applied to the court to put an end to the “unreasonable delays” in getting the matter to trial. The State brought the application after Mdluli announced he would be reviewing a decision by the SA Police Service (SAPS) not to pay his legal bills. However, according to an affidavit in support of the State’s application, dated 12 April 2022, Mdluli has yet to file the review despite learning that the SA Police Service had denied him funding almost four months ago. Mdluli’s legal representative told the court they would not be filing replying papers. Instead, they would file papers when the matter is heard in June 2022. On Wednesday, an affidavit deposed by Hawks Captain Mark McLean outlined that the delay in proceedings between October 2020 and 6 April 2021 can be attributed to Mdluli. The subsequent delays, from 6 April 2021 to 18 January 2022, related to Mdluli’s application for legal funding. “Mdluli is yet to file a review application three months after learning that the SAPS refused his request for State funding. The continued delays have resulted ...
The authorisation certificate required by the State to charge a person with terrorism is the vital outstanding document needed before the matter of Parliament’s suspected arsonist, Zandile Mafe, can go to trial in the Western Cape High Court. Terrorism accused and alleged arsonist Zandile Christmas Mafe appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. Mafe is charged with housebreaking with the intent to commit terrorism and arson, terrorism, arson and theft. The charges relate to a fire that ripped through Parliament in the early hours of 2 January 2022, causing widespread damage to the Old and New Assembly buildings. If convicted of terrorism, Mafe faces life imprisonment. Senior advocate Mervyn Menigo told the court that a final report on the damage to Parliament would be ready on Friday, 20 May. He said a crime scene and arson report would be finalised soon. In view of the outstanding reports, Menigo requested the court to postpone the case to 9 June. He promised that all outstanding reports would be ready, as well as the authorisation certificate that is required when an accused is charged with terrorism. Mafe’s legal counsel, advocate Luvuyo Godla, objected to this request, saying that he had been instructed by his client to dispute the requested postponement. He asked the court to give the State two weeks. “The incident happened on 2 January 2022. Four months have elapsed and the investigation should have been completed. We cannot talk forever about the investigation,” Godla said. However, magistrate Ronel Oliver ruled in favour of the State, saying it was in the interest of justice to grant the postponement. She requested that the indictment be ready to be served on 9 June. Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “The authorisation certificate which the NPA needs when they are going to charge a person with the Terrorism Act and all other reports will be ready 9 June 2022. We will then serve the accused with an indictment and transfer the matter to the Western Cape High Court.” Meanwhile, Mafe is also waiting on the judgment relating to his appeal against the decision of the Cape Town Regional Court to refuse his application for bail. Mafe’s bail was denied on 4 February. Arguments in the appeal application by Mafe’s counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, and prosecutor Menigo were aired in the Western Cape High Court on 25 April before judges James Lekhuleni and Daniel Thulare. The gist of Mpofu’s arguments ...
While hunters celebrate and conservationists mourn the killing of two of Botswana’s largest-tusked elephants, a biodiversity tragedy is waiting in the wings. For millions of years, elephants have undertaken seasonal migrations, following the rains that nourish the foliage they eat. On the way, they refashion landscapes, fertilise the grasslands essential for countless herbivores and help sequester carbon by spreading seeds. One of their main dispersal routes as they move from the Okavango Delta and central Botswana is northwards along the Kwando River into Namibia, Angola and Zambia and from the Okavango Delta to the Chobe River. These areas provide some of the finest wildlife tourist viewing in the world. One of those corridors, NG13 (NG stands for Ngamiland), was recently declared open for trophy hunting. Last month, one of the region’s largest-tusked elephants was shot there by an American client of the professional hunter Leon Kachelhoffer, acting on behalf of Derek Brink (of Derek Brink Holdings), one of Botswana’s richest men. The huge animal had tusks weighing 48kg (105.8 lbs). The hunt has caused outrage among conservationists around the world. Another elephant, with tusks nearly as big, was shot in NG41 in the Delta-Chobe corridor under the guidance of professional hunter Johan Calitz who, in 2001, had his licence suspended because of alleged unlawful conduct within his outfit during a hunt. His lodge Qorokwe in NG32 is listed seamlessly as a Wilderness Safaris-branded camp and is booked through the company. The Wilderness website describes it as having a well-deserved reputation as a top Botswana safari destination, but does not reveal any link to its professional hunter owner. When it was opened, Wilderness Safaris Botswana managing director Kim Nixon said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Calitz family to reveal this exclusive new land-based camp and private concession — a highly-productive game-viewing area that has been unutilised for the past four years.” Another hunt planned In a podcast, responding to criticism of the NG13 hunt, Kachelhoffer’s disingenuous reply to Blood Origins host Robbie Kroger was “when you take a bull like that, there’s a lot of remorse, there’s a lot of sadness, you think about the great life that this elephant has led.” According to the Tcheku Community Trust, he will be returning to NG13 with a client on May 28 to shoot another super-tusker. The Masisi government has given many reasons for the resumption of hunting after the previous president, Ian Khama, banned it in 2014. It claims ...
South African mining and manufacturing production data for March suggest the economy got off to a faltering start in the first quarter of 2022. South African mining production slid 9.3% on a year-on-year basis in March, according to data released on Thursday, underscoring the many headwinds faced by this key sector which threw Treasury a lifeline last year. This followed a 5.8% annual decline in February. It all adds up to a seasonally adjusted 1.5% contraction over the three months to the end of March compared with the previous three months, which bodes ill for first-quarter (Q1) gross domestic product (GDP). The year-on-year decline was led by a steep 25.6% drop in gold production, in part no doubt a reflection of the impact of the strike at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines, which started on 9 March. By contrast, mineral sales at current prices rose 6.6% year on year as commodity prices remained juiced up in March in the immediate wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mineral sales from coal soared 77% during the month as Moscow’s actions breathed new life – rather like Frankenstein’s monster – into the fossil fuel. South Africa’s mine production value exceeded R1-trillion for the first time in 2021, the Minerals Council SA revealed at the Cape Town Mining Indaba this week, but the sector seems to have stumbled into 2022. There are a number of plausible explanations for this: the Sibanye strike, an apparent rise in social unrest disrupting operations and Transnet’s ongoing woes, as well as Eskom. The bottom line is that the sector’s contribution to the GDP number in Q1 will be negative. Mining was one of the few bright spots for the economy in 2021, with record prices translating into a revenue windfall for Treasury while record current account and trade surpluses propped up the rand. The wider economy needs the mining industry to retain its traction. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector is hardly shooting the lights out. In March, manufacturing production declined 0.8% year on year, but managed to eke out a 4.7% rise on the seasonally adjusted front in the first three months of the year compared with the last three months of 2021. But that was before the April floods in KZN and the recent onslaught of load shedding as autumn sets in. The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index, a key gauge of confidence in the manufacturing sector, slid to 50.7 in April from 60 in March, signalling that the sector began the ...
Covid began to hit South Africa badly in May 2020. Now, we are very likely beyond the worst, with fewer people dying. But Covid remains very infectious and still rather deadly. The Medical Research Council (MRC) has diligently tracked the excess deaths in South Africa that have come in the wake of the pandemic. It was two years ago this month that the number of deaths in the country started exceeding what was expected, based on historical numbers. As of 7 May, 310,000 more people have died than expected over the past two years. Conservatively, 85% of these deaths are estimated to be directly caused by SARS-CoV-2. This means that more than 260,000 people in this country have died of Covid. Our excess death rate has been high, but quite a few countries have had it far worse. Also, since we’re the only sub-Saharan African country that measures excess deaths with much accuracy and consistency, it’s quite possible other African countries have been hit as badly, or worse. For the past six months or so, despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the excess death rate has dropped a lot. Although Omicron and its sub-variants are more infectious than any previous variant, a combination of vaccination – more than 21 million people have been vaccinated at least once — the high rate of previous infection (most people who are most susceptible to serious Covid disease have already died), and changes to the virus itself have all contributed to making the disease less deadly. The drop in lethality is good news. Also, there are new medicines like Paxlovid (which contains the drugs nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), that are promising treatments for Covid. But they are expensive. The US government pays more than R7,500 for a five-day course of Paxlovid, for example. Also, these treatments are not available in South Africa. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority should get moving by approving these drugs as well as rapid tests for home use, and pharmaceutical companies should drop their prices and allow generic manufacture of these medicines. There are important caveats to the good news, though. Barring some technological breakthrough, Covid is with us for the long run. It’ll continue mutating and continue infecting us. Epidemiologists use the word “endemic” to describe this. Many of us have had Covid at least once, and most of us will get it several times in the course of our lives. As we get older, ...
As International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May, tributes were being paid to sister Diane Seale, whose calm and selfless actions prevented further deaths during the recent mass shooting at the hospital which claimed the lives of three people. While nurses are being celebrated today on International Nurses Day, the Western Cape health department is also celebrating brave nursing sister Diane Seale, who calmly subdued Jean-Paul Malgas after he allegedly shot and killed three people at the New Somerset Hospital over the weekend. “The story of Sister Seale is one of leadership, bravery, compassion, teamwork and true humanity,” said Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. Seale was reluctant to be interviewed, but her actions during the events of 7 May were shared in Winde’s statement. According to Seale, she was busy with her routine handover process when she received a call from a colleague in distress. “I could hear her screaming and my colleague who had answered the phone informed me that there was an altercation on the second floor,” read the statement. “It was like something out of a movie. It still feels so surreal,” said Marissa Burnett, who was the shift leader of the ward Malgas was in. Burnett was also in the middle of her handover process when the shooting started. Burnett was speaking at the hospital where banners celebrating International Nurses Day were on display. Nurses stood in the foyer taking pictures while a celebratory table of snacks was laid out for them. “I was under the impression that [Malgas] was out of the ward because we hadn’t seen him in a while. During the handover, me and the night shift sister heard the nurses shouting. I came out of the room and he was fighting with the police officer. I shouted at him and he shouted back at me. Then the gunshot went off,” said Burnett. Malgas disarmed and shot Constable Donay Phillips, who died from his injuries the following morning. Burnett went to call security, while her colleague called Seale. “As I entered the second floor, I noticed a body on the floor in the corridor, but my eye caught the patient with the gun in his hand. I proceeded to walk straight to him [and] made eye contact. I walked towards him and I hugged him. I escorted him into the cubicle. He told me to close the door. That also afforded our staff to then attend to the policeman who had been ...
Boss Babes of South Africa, a digital skills-sharing platform, is an all-women movement that provides professionals with the space to share their skills and knowledge with others. The online community allows for collaboration, networking and support among local women. A “boss babe” is someone who knows who she is and what she wants in life and, more importantly, takes action to go and get it. It is someone who carves a career, chases their dreams and empowers themselves. This is why Kovini Moodley, founder and CEO of Boss Babes of South Africa, chose the moniker for her digital skills-sharing platform. The all-female movement provides a space for professional South African women to share their skills and knowledge about particular industries. “It really is about giving back to the community. giving back to the women of South Africa, and ultimately creating a safe space for women to connect, collaborate, network and leverage each other’s skills,” said Moodley, who is a chartered accountant. The platform was launched in early 2020 as a “hobby”, according to Moodley, with a handful of followers made up of her close friends and family. Today, Boss Babes has about 22,000 followers on Instagram. It’s primarily a skills-sharing space — about 3,500 professionals are registered as potential contributors. About once a week, Boss Babes hosts Instagram live sessions featuring professionals including doctors, actresses, media experts and pilots. “A lot of our audience are people who want to start a business, but they don’t have any idea where to begin, what to do, how to register and so on, and we’ve found that this type of content is really powerful in terms of helping them,” she explained. Viewership of the platform’s sessions can go up to about 500 people, with some sessions reaching up to 1,000 viewers. “We’re always open to bringing on things that are interesting to our audience. The big ones are digital marketing, entrepreneurship — we’ve had a lawyer a few times, and mental health coaches,” said Moodley. Women empowerment “What kept me in Boss Babes is basically that they do what they say, and it really is about women empowerment and uplifting people around you,” said Kesari Kistnasamy, a chartered accountant who has used the Boss Babes platform as both a contributor and observer. Kistnasamy has found the platform beneficial as a space for networking and learning from “incredible, like-minded women”. Participants in the skills-sharing sessions are always willing to share their experiences, she said. “It’s basically ...
One of the most important benefits of free trade is that it exposes domestic firms (and labour markets) to greater competition, which induces them to keep prices low and to innovate constantly to stay ahead of the curve. One of the main goals that US President Joe Biden has set for his administration is to empower US workers and the country’s middle class. Many believe that globalisation (along with several other factors) contributed to stagnating real wages, rising inequality, and the sense that US workers have lost out to workers in other countries with lower labour standards. But in its attempt to reverse these trends, the Biden administration has embraced protectionist rhetoric and policies that will cause US workers to lose once again. Though any mention of the word “openness” is met with suspicion nowadays, the surge in inflation – the US Consumer Price Index was up 8.3% in April – has nonetheless prompted a discussion among economists about whether trade liberalisation (and openness more generally) could be used to rein in rising prices. Since one of the main arguments for free trade is that it lowers prices for consumers, the link between open borders and inflation is worth contemplating. To be clear, no reasonable economist claims that the recent inflation is the result of trade restrictions. By now, the causes are well understood to be a combination of pandemic-driven supply-side shortages, policy-fuelled demand, and further supply-side disruptions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. But as policymakers struggle to contain inflation without causing a recession, they must recognise that “Buy American” requirements, tariffs, and immigration restrictions may be making a bad situation worse. According to a recent Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) policy brief, a feasible reduction of trade barriers “could deliver a one-time reduction in [CPI] inflation of around 1.3 percentage points”. The study is conservative, focusing only on trade restrictions that can plausibly be lifted in the short term, and its authors are careful to emphasise that the result would be a one-time outcome. The proposed reduction of trade barriers would not solve the problem of rising prices, but it would make today’s high prices lower. US consumers would welcome such short-term relief. If the Biden administration finds it necessary to sell oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve despite its commitment to addressing climate change, why shouldn’t it also recognise the need to reverse Donald Trump’s tariffs? In 2021, according to ...
There is just no avoiding it. It’s time to gird your loins and take a look at your investment portfolio. Trust me, this is not going to be fun. My portfolio, as I laughingly describe it, is 18% down and I think I have got away lightly. It’s a bear market, and it’s time for the bear market clichés to come rushing out of the cupboard like little mice, providing, as they do, advice you should probably already know, but perhaps some little sense of comfort. So. here are my favourite bear market quotes, starting of course with the foundational investor Benjamin Graham: “There is a considerable tendency for common stock investors to do the greater part of their buying, both of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ securities, at high levels of the market. They are equally inclined to do the greater part of their selling at low levels of the market, a procedure which is not conducive to successful results.” I just love that “not conducive to successful results” – those were the days when gentlemen spoke with cordial delicacy. He also said of a bear market: “Those with enterprise haven’t the money, and those with money haven’t the enterprise, to buy stocks when they are cheap.” And that certainly applies to me. Peter Lynch puts into words the thing you should know, but somehow it doesn’t help all that much: “You need to know the market’s going to go down sometimes. If you’re not ready for that, you shouldn’t own stocks. And it’s good when it happens.” By far my favourite is John Stuart Mill: “The malady of commercial crisis is not, in essence, a matter of the purse but of the mind.” So much of how we understand the modern world is a consequence of what we now describe as “the narrative”. The key to investing is not to dwell in your own mind but to trust the system even when your mind is telling you not to. But, while knowing the history and the philosophy is one thing, the big question is: what should we do? The best advice is to do nothing. Time heals all wounds, or, alternatively, time wounds all heels. Remember Graham; God forbid that you should do something “not conducive to successful results”. There is one other theory about bear markets you might be cautious about, and that is the theory that index funds do well on the way up, but ...
There is a growing global interest in producing high-quality protein products from simple flies or fly larvae, to be specific. And two Cape Town companies are making food while the sun shines. One of the companies, Inseco, has secured $5.3-million in seed funding from Futuregrowth Asset Management, with participation from E4E Africa, Oak Drive Ventures and private investors. At the time of writing, it was the largest seed funding round ever raised in South Africa. The other company, Maltento, is a smaller entity and is well on its way to securing seed funding. The market, it would appear, is big enough for both. Both companies produce protein, oil and fertiliser (from the by-product) that is derived from fly larvae for the global pet food market. The products are a nutritious and cost-effective alternative to conventional ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil, with distinct environmental returns. Both companies were founded by individuals driven by a passion to solve global food production problems. Simon Hazell, CEO and cofounder of Inseco, says: “Now more than ever, we’re seeing the importance of sustainability and the responsibility that we have to be a more resource-efficient society for future generations. “We believe that insects will play an important role in this transition, becoming a widely available source of sustainable protein and an important form of nutrition to help meet the food demands of the future.” Dean Smorenburg, CEO of Maltento, who began farming black soldier flies in his living room while working as a management consultant, says: “The world’s population is exploding, and we are consuming resources faster than we are replenishing them. I had a theory that insects offered a unique solution, so I began experimenting.” The black soldier fly is incredibly efficient, using 95 times less land and 26 times less water to produce the same amount of protein harvested from a soy plantation or cattle – though not at the same price. The process is simple: the adult flies lay eggs and, once hatched, these little grubs are distributed into feedlots, where they eat. The grubs are vegetarian and are fed industry by-products such as spent grains and yeast – not waste from farms, supermarkets or restaurants, where hygiene isn’t guaranteed. “The adult fly has no mouthparts, which is why it carries no pathogens,” says Smorenburg. “The grub converts the feed into 50% protein, 30% fat and 20% carbohydrates, which has to sustain the adult fly through the breeding ...
South Africa’s external trade situation is among the strongest in the emerging market universe, with its positive export positioning ahead of any of the other emerging markets. Commodities will determine whether and for how long this continues. But as long as commodity prices remain elevated, the country’s low external risk status stands in our favour. South Africa is stacking up well against its other emerging market counterparts in the trade stakes, and although the world may sometimes feel there’s far more bad news than good right now, latest research paints “a relatively benign picture” for emerging market trade balances this year. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) this week published an analysis that quantifies emerging market trade balances to assess their external risk and finds that in most cases trade balances are better, or similar to, early 2019 before the pandemic struck. In all, the IIF ascribes higher imports than before Covid-19 to the economic recovery and high global inflation, but fortunately strong exports are, in the main, outpacing imports. South Africa leads the pack in exports as it has achieved on an annualised basis compared with its pre-Covid annual period and has the second largest trade balance in the emerging market universe, topped only by Peru. Of course, South Africa’s trade balance has been predominantly lifted on a rising tide of commodity prices and, with commodities contributing more than 70% to total exports, its trade fortunes will inevitably rely on how its top commodity exports fare during the year ahead. These include coal – which will continue to benefit as long as the global energy complex remains under strain – iron ore, platinum and gold. In April, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said the performance of commodity prices over the past month had been varied. Energy prices have continued their upward march, metals are mostly lower and food prices mixed, but all are higher year on year. Thus the country stands to benefit from higher prices on palladium, rhodium, iron, coal and food exports – and a moderation in oil prices will also favour South Africa’s trade balance in the second quarter. The effect of higher commodity prices could be even more prolonged because, as the World Bank points out, “global patterns of trade, production and consumption of commodities (have shifted) in ways that might keep prices high for years”. “Many countries are turning away from Russia as a coal and oil supplier and have been finding alternatives ...
Confidentiality of the in-camera deliberations of judges is fundamental to the courts’ tradition of secrecy. The SMS must be seen for what it is: a scandalous leak. Imagine you are a judge in a serious case about crimes against the state, such as terrorism and sedition. The case is acutely complex and has far-reaching national ramifications. Let us say that the proceedings were at the sentencing stage after the accused person pleaded guilty to all charges. The prosecution approaches the bench and whispers in your ear that they overheard a journalist or someone in the courtroom gallery saying that rumours are that the state president will announce a decision tomorrow to pardon the accused before you. Gripped with concern not to hand down a decision that will contradict the supposed announcement of the president, you bring the proceedings to an abrupt end indefinitely only to be told that there is no such intended announcement by the president. How independent do you think you are as a judge? The above hypothetical story is no exaggeration nor is it intended to spread a fake story about the judiciary. It is common cause that it happened in the Pretoria High Court when the case of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane had to be postponed following an SMS that was sent to Andrew Breitenbach, a member of the legal counsel for Parliament, by Ismail Abramjee that he “had it on very good authority” that Mkhwebane’s rescission case was going to be dismissed by the Constitutional Court. I am still perplexed why Abramjee, described as a legal analyst and consultant, should influence the continuation of the proceedings of the court in this manner. There are three fundamental problems with this saga: first, it creates a doubt as to whether the Constitutional Court is staffed with disloyal people or infiltrated by individuals preoccupied with destroying its credibility and integrity. Second, what crime has been committed against the administration of justice, and if any, what is the Office of the Chief Justice going to do about it? Third, should the Pretoria High Court judge have stopped the proceedings based on a rumour? It has been reported that Mkhwebane “has pressed criminal charges against the sender, Ismail Abramjee, and the justices of the Constitutional Court, and sent a scalding letter to Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, demanding to know the scope and terms of the investigation into the text message.” In the interests of objectivity, I would not ...
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund led by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and mining company Anglo American invested $5m to help Mission Zero Technologies develop its technology. A London startup that uses simple chemistry and off-the-shelf equipment to suck planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the air raised one of the largest funding rounds for a carbon-removal startup based in the UK. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund led by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and mining company Anglo American invested $5-million to help Mission Zero Technologies develop its technology. To limit the rise in global temperatures, the world has to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero. But climate scientists are now sure that meeting that goal will almost certainly require removing CO₂ already accumulated in the atmosphere. Though the approach will only be desperately needed to remove billions of tons of carbon after mid-century, getting to that scale means technologies have to start growing rapidly this decade. Mission Zero is entering a crowded market. A $100-million prize for carbon-removal ideas sponsored by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, received more than 1,100 entries. Mission Zero was a part of one of the 15 teams shortlisted in the first phase of the prize and awarded a $1-million grant to further their technology. Last month, Swiss startup Climeworks, which builds machines to capture CO₂ from the air, raised $650-million — the largest round globally for a carbon-removal startup so far. Mission Zero’s proposition is that it can drastically cut the amount of energy needed to capture CO₂ and thus bring down the cost of capture to less than $100 a tonne. People have “designed, financed, built and operated this equipment for many, many years” for a variety of manufacturing purposes, said Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Chadwick. “The expertise needed to scale this technology to capture CO₂ instead is already out there and ready to be repurposed.” This is how CO₂ is usually removed from the air. Big fans draw in large amounts of air to bring it into contact with a chemical — different ones are used depending on the company — that has a special affinity for CO₂ over other ingredients of air, like oxygen and nitrogen. Once the CO₂ has been trapped, it’s moved into another place where some form of energy, often heat, is applied to release it as a pure stream of gas. The chemical is then recycled to trap more CO₂. Mission Zero’s innovation is that it ...
Over the last decade or so, there’s been an uptick in the number of adults being diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Any number of factors might explain this rise, including greater public awareness of both conditions, broader diagnostic criteria and changing perceptions in who autism and ADHD affects. But while autism and ADHD still affect a greater number of men, more women are reporting being diagnosed with these conditions as adults. Again, this increase is probably due to any number of factors. But social media may also be playing a role, with women able to use platforms such as Twitter and TikTok to spark discussions and share their experiences and stories. One constant in the experiences that many women have shared on social media is how long they waited for a diagnosis. Many have even spoken about how they were even brushed off by healthcare professionals when seeking a diagnosis, told pointblank that they’re “not autistic” or that their problem is “anxiety and not ADHD”. For many, not knowing why they felt different from others left them feeling confused and even depressed. This isn’t surprising, as autism and ADHD are both often missed or even misdiagnosed in women. Nearly 80% of women with autism are misdiagnosed – often with conditions such as borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, bipolar disorder and anxiety. It’s currently unknown how often women with ADHD are misdiagnosed. @_thislineismine Here’s some of my story #autism #awareness #autistic #LearnOnTikTok ♬ You – Petit Biscuit But there are a number of reasons that may explain why this happens. The first is that autism and ADHD symptoms are different in women than they are in men. Other conditions common in people with autism and ADHD (such as anxiety and depression) may also make it appear that symptoms are the result of these conditions instead. Women with autism and ADHD may also learn over time how to hide their symptoms from people – which may further lead to misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Another major problem is that autism and ADHD are still often seen as “male disorders”. While it’s true that both conditions affect a higher proportion of men than women, it also means that the current tools used to diagnose people with these conditions tend not to recognise female symptoms as readily. Girls with autism may have less obvious social difficulties and often have better verbal communication than a boy with autism might. For girls with ADHD, ...
New draft regulations on the surveillance and control of notifiable medical conditions have been published. The regulations, if effected, will ensure future alcohol bans remain on the cards even when the country is not in a state of disaster. The latest surge in Covid-19 infections in South Africa, highlights once again that we are far from seeing the back of this pandemic. However, with 80% of South Africans having some level of immunity against Covid-19, either through infection or vaccination, we can only hope that the current fifth wave, and any future waves, are not as deadly as those experienced last year. What will be critical to keeping hospital admissions and deaths low, is everyone taking personal responsibility for adopting the necessary precautions against the virus. This includes citizens getting vaccinated, receiving their boosters, sanitising their hands and wearing masks when indoors. All of these actions are going to become even more crucial as we head into the cold winter months, where people will be socialising indoors and immune systems will be weakened. By everyone remaining vigilant and playing their part, South Africa can show that it is possible for people to continue going about their daily business despite the Covid-19 pandemic still forming part of our lives. With our county’s official unemployment standing at 35.3%, we cannot afford another round of restrictions imposed by government which will close down the economy, such as the four alcohol bans that were enforced between March 2020 and July 2021. These bans had a devastating impact on the alcohol industry, with 14.7% of projected sales volumes for 2020/2021 being lost (a total of 1,262.7 million litres), R42.2-billion lost in retail sales, and a R64.8-billion loss to the GDP (1.3% of the GDP). The total excise income tax loss was R10.2-billion, while the tax revenue loss, without excise, was R36.4-billion (2.8% of tax revenue). The first and second ban alone resulted in 165,000 job losses. When it comes to the beer industry, by 11 January 2021, 30% of local breweries were forced to shut their doors permanently. Against the backdrop of this economic devastation, the Beer Association of South Africa (Basa) is extremely concerned about new Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions: Amendment 2022 that was published by the Minister of Health on 15 March 2022. These proposed regulations focus on interventions to contain the spread of notifiable medical conditions in the future, including Covid-19, and ...
Senator Elizabeth Warren wants companies to disclose the rationale for charging more for their products and empowering federal regulators to go after companies ranging from oil producers to food sellers that have sharply increased prices. Legislation she’s drafted, obtained by Bloomberg News, would allow the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general more leeway to investigate sellers that charge excessive prices. The legislation also clarifies that price gouging anywhere in the supply chain is illegal.Warren’s bill is being introduced as consumer prices have been rising at the fastest rate in decades. With inflation becoming the top concern for voters, Democrats in Congress are seeking ways to tame price hikes ahead of the November mid-term elections. However getting the legislation passed would require the support of at least 10 Republicans in the evenly divided Senate, an unlikely prospect with GOP lawmakers pinning blame for high prices on Democratic policies. “Prices are rising, and consumers are paying more, while giant corporations are using inflation as a cover to expand their profits,” Warren said in a statement. “This bill would crack down on corporate price gouging by setting tougher rules of the road and enhancing enforcement, and I’m going to fight to get this done.” The US consumer price index rose 8.3% on an annual basis last month, the government reported Wednesday. The data indicated that the rising cost of shelter, food, airfare and new vehicles are among the biggest contributors to the elevated inflation, which may continue for months. Read More: Prices in US Outstrip Forecasts in Sign of Inflation Persisting The legislation would give the FTC even broader powers than those in a plan Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released last month to go after gasoline price manipulation. That bill also faces long odds in the Senate. The bill would require public companies to disclose costs and pricing strategies. During periods of market shocks, companies would need to explain the changes to their costs of goods sold, margins and pricing strategies in quarterly regulatory filings. The legislation would also scrutinize companies that have told companies they are using inflation to hike prices and target companies that have outsized leverage to raise prices on consumers. The bill would create exemptions for small businesses earning less than $100 million from some of the reporting requirements. The bill also provides $1 billion for the FTC to investigate price gouging. The legislation is co-sponsored by seven other senators, including Democrats Bob Casey of ...
Tech and megacap growth stocks are selling off at the fastest pace since the dotcom bust of 2000 when compared with cheaper companies such as banks and energy firms that pay higher dividends. Investors are cooling on stocks whose earnings prospects are far off in the future — a future made all the more uncertain after prices rose more than expected in April, keeping inflation near a 40-year high. Add a more aggressive policy response by the Federal Reserve and a possible recession and all the ingredients for a deeper tech bust are lining up. “This CPI print was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated in recent history, particularly for growth investors with high duration names forming the bulk of their portfolios,” said Lewis Grant, a senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes in London. It “would not have been welcome news.” Data on Thursday also showed producer prices rising faster than expected, adding yet further pressure on US policymakers to ramp up rate hikes. That’s fanning speculation the Federal Reserve will resort to a three-quarter point move to follow last week’s increase of 50 basis points, the biggest in two decades. For growth stocks such as Apple Inc., Google-owner Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. that means a bigger discount to their earnings power. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.3% Thursday, extending its decline this year to 27%. Apple Drops 22% From January Peak as Tech Selloff Continues “The major vulnerabilities for growth stocks stems from the destruction of excess liquidity at a global level, and the associated higher discount rates,” said Peter Chatwell, head of global macro strategies trading at Mizuho International Plc. “Now that the monetary tightening is in full force, this should only be the beginning of the macro trend.” Almost half of Nasdaq constituents are down at least 50% from the rolling highs, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Baskets tracking unprofitable technology firms and richly valued software firms have lost all of their pandemic-era gains. What’s more, growth stocks are likely to remain under pressure amid the prospect of a more aggressive Fed, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists. They reiterated their preference for cheaper value shares. Read more: Citi Strategists See Even More Losses Ahead for Growth Stocks Growth stocks remain pricey, especially when compared with cyclical value stocks. The MSCI World Growth Index is currently trading at 22 times forward earnings versus 12 times for their value counterparts. The gap between the two famous investing styles ...
Germany said Russia is using energy as a “weapon” after Moscow reduced natural gas supplies in retaliation for Europe’s penalties over the war in Ukraine. A unit of Gazprom PJSC that was seized by Germany has had its deliveries reduced by about 10 million cubic meters a day, according to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck. While the move appears to be largely symbolic — amounting to about 3% of Germany’s Russian gas imports, according to Habeck, the Kremlin is showing it won’t shy away from squeezing its largest customer. Benchmark gas prices in Europe surged more than 20%. “The situation is escalating to the point that the use of energy as a weapon is becoming a reality,” Habeck told reporters on Thursday in response to Russia’s move. On top of the German standoff, shipments to Europe via Ukraine were curtailed on Thursday after a key cross-border entry point was put out of action because of troop activity on the ground, according to Kyiv. Moscow’s counter-sanctions also targeted a pipeline that crosses Poland, removing a potential backup route for European customers to receive Russian gas. The tension comes just as a solution appeared to be emerging for what has been the main headache for weeks — Moscow’s demand for ruble payments for its gas. Companies including German giant Uniper SE were increasingly confident they could keep buying Russian supplies without breaching sanctions. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Wednesday seemed to back such a move, and more European buyers are opening ruble accounts. Read: Draghi Says European Companies Can Pay for Gas in Rubles Germany has been seeking to wean itself off Russian gas, but it still accounts for about 35% of the country’s supplies, down from more than half before the invasion of Ukraine in late February. It will take another step later this year when the its first floating liquefied natural gas terminal goes on line. Habeck said Germany can cope with the latest disruption in part by securing alternative supplies, adding that there’s no need to elevate Germany’s alert level in response to Moscow’s sanctions against Gazprom Germania GmbH. The country’s three-stage emergency plan, which is currently at its first level, could see its network regulator eventually ration gas if supplies get tight. The fuel is a crucial part of the energy mix of Europe’s largest economy. Some 15% of Germany’s electricity is generated from gas — compared with less than 9% in 2000, as the country winds ...
Mozambique’s R11.3-billion Maputo-Katembe Bridge has brought many changes – as well as nostalgia for what has been lost. First thing we used to do on arrival in the happy, shabby seaside village of Catembe was catch a cold beer at the local mercado (market). It was in a place called Ponte, which means “bridge” in Portuguese, at the end of the harbour’s jetty where the ferryboats came and went. There was a chaotic and colourful strip of barracas (street shops), a petrol station, a pharmacy and palm trees. People would gather here to haggle, trade, gossip, drink beer and watch football. Women sold fresh fish as well as fruit and vegetables from their mashambas or plots of land. Ponte was the nexus of Catembe. Tourists could get beer, airtime, cashew nuts and headache pills. Locals could get freshly baked pão (bread), basic foodstuffs and sit-down meals. They could get their hair done or their bicycle tyres repaired. There were taxis, fishermen, vendors, peddlers – all the deliciously vivid flotsam of a tiny African port. I adored the mercado at Ponte. It made me laugh and want to drink rum. Many times, it made me drop to my knees in prayer and give thanks for life. That was because getting to Catembe was often such a wild ride. To take your car from Maputo to Catembe, you had to board the legendary rust bucket of a ferryboat, Bagamoyo, or her equally cantankerous sister, Mpfumo. Getting all the passengers and about 18 cars aboard was a lively exercise that involved ferry guards, port officials, ancillary helpers, runners, fixers, hustlers, as well as passing gogos by whose collective power the 18-odd cars and all the people and their piles of shopping and bags of xima (mielie meal), their car spares, their small generators and their chickens as well as all the tourists somehow squashed themselves together on board like the Mozambican opposite of a Rubik’s Cube. Bagamoyo lurched her way across the waters, straining and groaning at an excruciatingly slow pace. It could take more than an hour to make the 1.5km crossing. Sometimes, she would break down and loll about in a dreadful fashion as babies cried and children puked and couples fought. We would clutch our pearls and think of the lyrics to that old Chris de Burgh song: Don’t pay the ferryman Don’t even fix a price Don’t pay the ferryman Until he gets you to the other side. But ...
Employees have demanded a 10% wage increase, citing untenable workload and unfavourable working conditions. Some of the workers at steel giant ArcelorMittal who downed tools on Wednesday are expected to return to work on Thursday after the employer succeeded in getting an interdict, said the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa). The workers are demanding a 10% wage increase. The union held demonstrations in different parts of the country where the company has operations, including Vanderbijlpark and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. As well as a 10% wage increase across the board, Numsa wants ArcelorMittal to pay 80% of medical aid contributions and to scrap labour brokers and offer permanent jobs to workers in temporary employment. Numsa said in a statement that the employer had offered a 5% increase which was “not much at all” for the lowest paid worker who earned R7,000 a month. In Gauteng, the workers marched in and out of the main gates of ArcelorMittal in Vanderbijlpark, chanting and disrupting traffic. ArcelorMittal said in a statement the company believed its offer was fair considering current economic conditions and the future sustainability of the business. Spokesperson Thami Didiza said the company had won an interim interdict in the Labour Court against a strike by employees at the blast furnaces, coke batteries and steel-making in Vanderbijlpark and Newcastle. “Should these employees continue with the strike, it will be considered unlawful,” Didiza said. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said those workers were expected to return to work on Thursday pending a final court judgment on the strike. She condemned ArcelorMittal for going to court to stop the strike. “They waited until the last hour, so that they could strike fear against the workers,” she said. The union said in a statement that ArcelorMittal had made the application for the interdict because another application — that its business be declared an “essential service” is pending at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. Essential services workers have more limited rights to strike. The union said the Labour Court interdict affected only workers in blast furnaces, coke batteries and the steel plant. All other workers could still take part in the strike. Lucky Serutla, a general worker at ArcelorMittal in Vanderbijlpark, complained about working conditions. “The company doesn’t want to meet our demands. Some workers have been retrenched and fired, and they don’t employ any additional workers. You find two of us as employees, having to share the workload of ...
Jozi is big, taking up twice the area of New York City. And it’s spread out. People from other South African cities don’t always get that there are such enormously good food and drink places up here, but they are not all in one spot or down one road. There are many enclaves of excellence. Two of my favourite restaurants regarded as among the best in Jozi are in the Parkwood enclave that mostly consists of Park Corner. It stretches down Bolton Road for a block, turns into Jan Smuts Avenue and really runs all the way to Woolies on Wells Street. They are Coalition and CHE Argentine Grill, almost at opposite ends, with a wealth of interesting, crazy and fabulous places at which to gorge, taste, be inspired and even get silly in between. Coalition on the Bolton Street side is pretty tiny for a great place. I like to say that pizza is not real if not from Naples or made by a Neapolitan, except Coalition pizzas. They are neither and yet they are the really real things, in almost every way utterly unlike what the world consumes as pizza. All I can suggest is have it here and judge by looking at it and eating it. Sorry, there’s no bacon and avo pizza a-swim with cheese on a tomato sauce. These are true sourdough, time-risen pizzas and there are only a few toppings. Owner Shayne Holt is by passion and qualification a sommelier. Near his Coalition in another Jozi enclave in Blairgowrie, he opened the country’s supposedly smallest wine bar, Mr Pants. But now he has an even smaller one, it seems to me, leading from the Coalition we’re talking about in Parkwood, straight into a room with a counter, a hand-drawn map of Italy next to it and a few chairs. It’s called flor and it’s not about sherry. It’s about wine drinking your way around the map of Italy, region by region, by the glass. You can be as fully dedicated to the taste-tour task as you like or simply settle down and eat the pizza and maybe drink some actual wine of the Naples area, the Campania. You can be spoiled for choice with good bars in between the good restaurant food places. And some of them, like the Streetbar Named Desire, have both, thanks to chef Thom Hughes. The food is excellent. But I’m already leaping around the ...
The legislature office says rumours on social media that Lukhele has been dismissed are not true, as he still faces a disciplinary hearing. The ANC chief whip’s office in the Mpumalanga legislature has suspended its employee Philemon Lukhele without pay. Lukhele is a research officer in chief whip Fidel Mlombo’s office. Mlombo says they will wait for Lukhele to return, then haul him into a disciplinary hearing where a decision on whether to dismiss him or not will be taken. This follows his arrest for 28-year-old Hillary Gardee’s murder. Lukhele was arrested with two other men — Sipho Mkhatshwa and Albert Mduduzi Gama — together they are charged with murder, rape, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and possession of an illegal firearm. They are currently behind bars and will wait until 9 June 2022 before they appear again at the Nelspruit Magistrates Court for a possible bail application, after abandoning their right to apply for bail during their first appearance on 9 May. Mlombo said the ANC in the legislature notes the “seriousness” of the charges against Lukhele and “in line with the Code of Conduct a resolution to suspend to Lukhele has been taken”. He is suspended without pay until the conclusion of an internal investigation, Mlombo said. On Wednesday this week, the University of Mpumalanga announced it was cutting ties with Lukhele, who was accredited for a student accommodation contract with the institution, pending the high-profile murder case. Lukhele owns Insika Guest House, which has three properties across Mbombela. The University has advised students to vacate all of Lukhele’s properties as it will no longer pay for their stay at Lukhele’s facilities. “The University takes these developments very seriously and has, in keeping with its Value of Integrity and for the safety and wellbeing of our students, no other option but to cancel the accreditation of the three (3) Insika Guest House student accommodation facilities with immediate effect,” it said in a statement. The People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) has also taken a decision to suspend Lukhele. He is a senior member of Pudemo — eSwatini’s biggest opposition party — and was exiled to South Africa for pro-democracy struggles. Meanwhile, Mkhatshwa’s family has “disowned” him, saying the behaviour of their son has been shocking. “Mkhatshwa was also served with a protection order at the request of the Mkhatshwa family for his violent behaviour towards occupants of the Mkhatshwa residence in Driekoppies, including housebreaking. There [have] been prior interventions by traditional leaders, ...
One thing became apparent at the annual Investec-sponsored KZN Growth Coalition business breakfast on Thursday: The shadow of eThekwini’s former mayor — corruption accused Zandile Gumede — and political infighting within the province’s ANC, remain a talking point and a very real deterrent for potential investors. R1-billion in contingency funding that had been committed by National Treasury for initial flood relief efforts in KwaZulu-Natal was yet to materialise. This is according to KZN Economic development MEC, Ravi Pillay, who made the comment at the annual Investec-sponsored KZN Growth Coalition business breakfast on Thursday. The same thing was said by Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka during his budget policy speech earlier this week. During that speech, Hlomuka said that the cost of the flooding on both public and private infrastructure — with assessments still underway — was expected to exceed R25-billion. Provincial departments are currently reprioritising budgets to manage rebuild efforts. Nevertheless, said Pillay of the R1-billion commitment: “We are actually hoping it will be more than R1-billion. The truth is that it has not quite been finalised in terms of the paperwork for that particular allocation.” The event turned out as most business breakfasts do: a convivial networking session between some very rich people, some not so rich people, and mayors and municipal managers, over sticky pastries and chicken sausages. Questions from the floor were polite, some even flattering, while others punted their wares. Clapping was measured and delivered at appropriate times. In his lengthy address, Premier Sihle Zikalala said what was expected — that in the past two years, KwaZulu-Natal had been hammered by Covid-19, the July riots, and the April floods. Read in Daily Maverick: State failure in KZN forces people to look elsewhere for support Platitudes were espoused by the premier — the social compact, the need for business and government to work together, and how “resilient” the province and its people were. The KZN Growth Coalition remained “a unique platform for senior business leaders in the province to interact with government, and for government to tap directly into the well of wisdom and skills that prevail in the private sector,” said the premier. He said the floods were “an indictment on how we have allowed our cities to develop without much consideration of environmental risk and geographic location”. Too, “no corruption will be tolerated” as the province undertook rebuilding efforts, he said. “Together with Treasury, the Office of the Auditor-General, the Office of the Public Protector, and Human Rights Commission we ...
With every second city and town projected to suffer increased flooding, South Africa must be better prepared. A month ago, floods in the country’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province killed 489 people, destroyed 4,000 houses and displaced about 40,000 residents. Flooding started when a cut-off low-pressure system delivered extremely high rainfall levels of 450 mm in some areas in just 48 hours. Many have called it South Africa’s deadliest storm on record, and the country’s leaders have blamed climate change for the widespread devastation. But is that accurate? Flooding is a frequent, annual and well-known hazard in South Africa. Cut-off low-pressure systems have caused comparable events before, including in KwaZulu-Natal. A remarkably similar system was responsible for the infamous September 1987 floods in the province that killed 506 people after 900 mm of rain were recorded over four days. In April 2019, another cut-off low-pressure system brought 170 mm of rain to the Durban area (Chart 1). About 80 people died in the resulting mudslides and flash floods. A similar system caused the 1981 Laingsburg flood in the Western Cape. It killed 104 people when the Buffalo River burst its banks after a downpour of 425 mm in two days. In 1968, 400 mm of rain fell in just four hours in the southeastern coastal city of Gqeberha, in perhaps the most intense rainfall event in the country’s recorded climate history. Durban’s ‘great flood’ in April 1856 saw rainfall totals of about 700 mm over three days. South Africa’s southern provinces were clearly exposed to flood risk induced by heavy rainfalls long before climate change became an issue. This said, evidence shows that climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of storm systems worldwide. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently assessed that an upward trend in extreme rainfall events can already be detected in southern Africa’s eastern parts. Further rises in intense rainfall events are projected in the region for as long as the world continues to warm. Formal climate change attribution studies will probably confirm that the phenomenon indeed intensified this year’s floods, although such disasters occur in the province due to natural climate variability. KwaZulu-Natal’s April 2019 floods and mudslides should have been a reminder of how vulnerable the province is to heavy rains. Many communities live below flood lines along river banks and on steep slopes. Rivers such as the Umgeni and Umvoti that transverse the larger Durban area have long been known to ...
The train station in Cape Town serves the busy Cape Flats line but has been allowed to fall into ruin. Lansdowne station in Cape Town is littered with garbage, urine, and excrement. The roof has been vandalised, the electrical box stripped and the subways are used as toilets. When GroundUp visited the station, huge rats were running around. The station serves commuters on the Cape Flats Line coming to Cape Town via Maitland, Ndabeni, Pinelands, Athlone, Crawford and Lansdowne to Retreat. In Retreat the line connects with the Southern Line which runs from Cape Town to Fishhoek and Simon’s Town. Stephen Swanson, who lives nearby, said when he moved into the area 20 years ago the station was well maintained and very busy. “But for over five years there has been a downward spiral in the maintenance of the station. The subway has been used as a toilet, the fence has been broken down. The station grounds are hardly maintained.” Swanson said people who had to cross the line to the day hospital nearby could no longer use the subway. “The stench during the summer on hot days is unbearable.” “I feel sorry for commuters. Many have stopped using the train station and have gone back to using their own cars and other transport to get to work. Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa] is losing business and running empty trains.” He said security guards monitor the platforms only and though there are Prasa security vehicles in the area this does not seem to help curb crime. Swanson said the residents had a meeting with Prasa officials in which they asked the state-owned enterprise to fix and replace the old fence, clean the subways, and close the subways overnight. They had also sent emails but nothing has been done. GroundUp watched a commuter cross the lines to avoid using the subway. The commuter, David Phiri, said the subway was too dirty to use. There is another subway but it is considered dangerous. Phiri lives in Maitland and works in Lansdowne. He takes the train around 6am and gets to work about 7am. “The train station is not busy anymore. Many people have given up because of delays. Sometimes you wait for a train and it doesn’t come. Sometimes it gets stuck on the way. People get mugged at the station. “It is not fair for us commuters who buy tickets. We are not satisfied with the service they are offering ...
Prices of cooking oil, butter, bacon and more are sky-high and climbing, with consumers blindsided by surging prices. Sunflower oil costs more than olive oil did not so long ago. A random supermarket basket costs R300 to R400 more than a year ago. And restaurants are feeling the pinch as the cost of ingredients soars. It’s not always easy to keep track of what costs what when you’re doing your shopping. Who can remember what things that last a while were the previous time you bought them? Not I. Other items you buy more frequently, or regularly, you have a rough idea of how much they are, or should be, and small fluctuations are noticeable and sort of acceptable because, well, inflation is a thing. Then, to make it more fun, there are special offers. All the time. At different supermarkets. Butter, for example. It wasn’t that long ago – relatively speaking – that finding it for R20 a block was a win. Now, in 2022, two for R100 must be snapped up and put in the freezer with the rest because where will this threshold end? I have no idea what kind of butter disaster I am anticipating but I cannot stop myself from doing this. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have a massive chest freezer. I think I have a fairly good idea of average prices, what’s a good deal and what’s a ripoff, but the pantry staple that stopped me in my tracks was sunflower oil. Yes, we’ve been warned the war in Ukraine is going to affect this but this was several months ago, long before the Russian invasion. I don’t use it very often, but I keep it on hand for making aïoli. I remember seeing it on the shelf and thinking to myself, “What the actual heck (something like that)? When did that happen?”. I don’t recall the exact price; it was less than it is now but way more than before. What it is now is between R90 and R100 for two litres. [I’ve seen it for R102, so that ceiling has been breached and will be again. – TGIFood Ed] That’s a lot. And it’s likely to go up even more. Don’t get any ideas about stockpiling, if you’re buying from Woolies. Online only allows you to select “quantity: 1”, R99.99 or R89.99 with a Rewards card. “At Woolworths, we strive to keep our ...
Wednesday’s meeting resulted in a call to get jabbed and a stern reminder about the fight against gender-based violence. Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said on Thursday Cabinet had implored people to take precautionary measures to protect themselves against Covid-19, amid a rapid rise in infections. He was briefing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Noting the increase in infections, Cabinet had called on “those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so to protect themselves and their loved ones”. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) recorded 10,017 new Covid-19 infections in South Africa on Wednesday. The increase represents a 25.3% positivity rate, it said. Minister Mondli Gungubele: Cabinet has called on those who have not been vaccinated to do so to protect themselves and their loved ones. We should also continue to adhere to all #COVID19 prevention protocols #PostCabinet @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) May 12, 2022 “Cabinet noted with concern the recent spike in Covid-19 infections in some parts of the country, and urged all people to take precautionary measures to protect themselves against the deadly virus, especially during winter,” said Gungubele. Read in the Daily Maverick: “More than 10,000 new cases registered in South Africa on Wednesday” “The virus is still a constant threat and vaccination remains the most effective weapon to protect ourselves,” he added. “We should also all continue to adhere to all Covid-19 prevention protocols, including the wearing of a mask that covers both the nose and mouth, washing hands with water and soap, or using a 70% alcohol-based hand sanitiser, and keeping a safe social distance of at least 1m.” Read in the Daily Maverick: “A guide to South Africa’s latest Covid-19 health regulations” Despite the increase in infections, Gungubele said Cabinet was “pleased” after recent statistics indicated South Africa had reached the milestone of more than 50% of adults vaccinated in five provinces. Crime Cabinet had condemned the “senseless killing of women and has welcomed the swift response by law-enforcement officers in arresting suspects” in connection with the murder of Hillary Gardee in Mbombela, Mpumalanga. Gardee – the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee – was abducted from the Nelspruit Plaza Spar last month, and was found dead on Tuesday, 3 May at the edge of a plantation near the R532 road connecting Mbombela and Sabie. Three men appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrates’ Court on 9 May in connection with Gardee’s kidnapping and murder. Gungubele said Cabinet further condemned the killing of ...
Insects. They are what we’re told we’ll all soon be eating if we care about the planet. For Wendy Vesela-Ntimbani, born in Limpopo, the mopani worm has been a culinary favourite since she was a kid. Now she is sharing them with the world. A cash cow disguised as a caterpillar? Squeamish about what you eat? “Get over it!” That command came my way as I was about to bite into a mopani worm for the first time. It was Travel Indaba 2011 in Durban. The Limpopo stand, where a chef had cooked up a mopani stew. I was pondering whether to start by biting off the head or the tail. My face had apparently spontaneously squished into an expression of mild revulsion. The guest house owner, to whom I had confessed that I had never tried a mopani worm, was not going to have me worm my way out of this “opportunity”. “Don’t scrutinise and analyse. Just eat it,” she barked. Then added: “They’re nutritious. They have protein and the skin gives you roughage.” Suitably reprimanded and a little ashamed even though her clinical description did nothing to whet my appetite, I took a deep breath. Then a bite. Into what could best be described as kind of like a well-cooked but not crispy prawn. Inside it was juicy with what looks like black blood and entrails and my stomach threatened to topsy-turn. Until the chef told me what I was experiencing, which had a gently smoky flavour, was tomato, onion and spinach. The worms had been gutted, boiled, salted, and sun-dried long before they had been kind-of reconstituted in the stew. Fast-forward to Travel Indaba 2022, which was on in Durban last week. “Will you have a worm?” my friend, Kathy, visiting Durban from California, asks. We’re at the Indaba opening night welcoming party, drinking our R55 a “glass”, small and plastic, of red wine. Kathy had come across the Limpopo stand and told me about this woman doing all kinds of interesting things with mopani worms. Kathy, no surprise, hadn’t heard of mopani worms before this encounter during her wanderings around the Indaba halls and stands. She has a couple of tiny three-worm sample packs. “Sure,” I say. Probably because they are the colour of biltong and are kind of chewy like biltong and salty-tasty like biltong, it strikes me that this is a really good bar snack. Very tasty. Very good to ...
A prominent Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, and Israel said it was launching an investigation to try to determine who killed her. Israel says troops exchanged fire with Palestinians Israeli defence chief says unclear who killed reporter Veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was wearing a press vest that clearly marked her as “Press” while reporting in the city of Jenin, the Qatar-based outlet said. She was covering the latest arrest operation launched by the Israeli military amid deadly Arab attacks in Israel. The death of a distinguished reporter who has been covering Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for over two decades at the popular news channel watched by millions in the Arab world seemed likely to add fuel to a surging conflict. Read in Daily Maverick: The critically endangered species of lesser spotted Real Journalists, by Branko Brkic In an Al Jazeera video captured in the moments around Abu Akleh’s killing, gunfire can be heard in the first few seconds before a man yells “Shireen! Shireen! Ambulance!” The camera then moves around the corner to show Abu Akleh slumped face-forward on the ground. Other journalists are seen rushing to take cover. Another Palestinian journalist at the scene, Ali Samoodi, was also wounded. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described Abu Akleh’s death as blatant, cold-blooded murder by the Israeli military, which said dozens of Palestinian gunmen had confronted troops who arrested a Hamas militant in Jenin. A Palestinian medical examiner, however, did not echo the accusation, declining to comment on who might have fired the round, after an autopsy was conducted in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Abbas was making unfounded allegations, before Israel conducted a “thorough investigation.” Bennett said it appeared likely that Palestinians “firing indiscriminately” were responsible for Abu Akleh’s death. But Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz later was more circumspect. “Our initial findings from the investigation so far cannot indicate what gunfire was directed at Shireen, and I cannot exclude any option under the operational chaos on the ground,” Gantz told reporters. The White House strongly condemned the killing and called for an investigation into Abu Akleh’s death. Read full story On Twitter, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said her death was an affront to media freedom everywhere. “The Israelis have the wherewithal and the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation,” Price told a news briefing. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “appalled” by the killing ...
Geometric brown and orange wallpaper, a luminous lava lamp oozing pinkly-red on a table, and your favourite people huddled around a pot bubbling over a tiny flame. In the pot, molten cheese into which they’re dipping skewered chunks of bread on forks, to collect the cheesy sauce and savour it. How perfectly 70s was the cheese fondue. Any old bread and cheese lying around at risk of becoming so past-it that it has to be thrown out? In that dilemma, you have the ancient origins of the cheese fondue. Fondue is a derivation of the French verb fondre, to melt, and a Swiss fondue was once, and for a very long time, exclusively about cheese. Wikipedia dates its earliest known origin to 1699 in a published recipe for “Käss mit Wein zu kochen” (cheese cooked with wine), in which pieces of cheese are melted with wine, and bread dipped into it: the essential, basic fondue we know today, though now there are many variations, and today it doesn’t even have to have any cheese at all. But until the late 1800s the term “cheese fondue” or fonduë de fromage did not refer to our notion of it at all, but to a dish that was “something between scrambled eggs with cheese and a cheese soufflé”. Brillat-Savarin wrote dismissively of it in 1834, says Wiki, as “nothing other than scrambled eggs with cheese”. Eggs are in fact an ingredient of some forms of modern fondue. The Fondue Genevoise (of Geneva) is made of “a combination of egg yolks, butter, cream, sugar, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and grated cheese – either Emmental or Gruyere”, says an excellent piece on Taste Atlas. But many recipes say you should not salt it, as cheese is salty. The fondue pot is called a caquelon. It stands on a metal base with a portable stove called a réchaud at its centre, in which a flame is lit to warm the caquelon. Traditionally it might have been heated by a small candle as very little heat is needed – the cooking happens before you sit down around the pot to stick your forks in. A simple gel from the braai goods section of the supermarket is all you need to fuel the spirit lamp. This strikes me as being safer than a liquid fuel, which can spill if somebody accidentally knocks the contraption. Other than cheese, in modern times we also have the oil ...
After Mark Boucher and Graeme Smith were both cleared of charges of racism that were at best tenuous and at worst trumped-up, what happens now? When Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) disciplinary case against Mark Boucher collapsed in a heap of acrimony this week, the beleaguered organisation defended itself with a familiar trope: “We had to test the accusations against the coach and due process was followed.” It was the same defence it used after an arbitration hearing against former director of cricket Graeme Smith over alleged racial discrimination and bias, ended in an emphatic victory with costs for Smith. CSA is correct that it needed to test the allegations. But what they don’t broadcast is that the reason they were forced into a position of pursuing Smith and Boucher, was because the current board did not display a backbone. It ignored legal opinion, warning the board that the 235-page Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) report from advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC was problematic and flawed. Once it was accepted, CSA’s board could not sweep it under the carpet. It shows a lack of leadership and a dereliction of fiduciary duty to their own organisation because it wasn’t as if this was an honest mistake. The SJN report formed the basis of CSA’s cases against Smith and Boucher. Unsurprisingly and entirely predictably, one collapsed and CSA lost the other badly. Pursuing Smith and Boucher legally, with flimsy evidence, was a chosen course of action by CSA’s board despite overwhelming opinion to the contrary. And it cost millions, which doesn’t appear to be fulfilling fiduciary duty at all. Also, by accepting Advocate Ntsebeza’s “tentative findings” of racism against Smith and Boucher, the CSA board ensured the pair were tarnished and tried in the court of public opinion. Despite being vindicated in the long run, Smith and Boucher’s names have been sullied. I’m not sure it’s the kind of “due process” they expected. Boucher’s ‘gross misconduct’ hearing clouds the future for Proteas Boucher was accused of racial discrimination against teammate Paul Adams 20 years ago. He also stood accused of racial discrimination towards his assistant coach, Enoch Nkwe, through various actions such as “no defined role” for his right-hand man. And third, he was charged for not dealing with the Black Lives Matter movement appropriately. CSA’s own lawyers concluded this week that “none of the three charges (against Boucher) were sustainable”. They were contained in a seven-page charge sheet in January. “Cricket South Africa has ...
Cryptocurrencies steadied after the woes of the TerraUSD stablecoin triggered a flight from many popular digital tokens. Bitcoin climbed back to about $29,000 on Thursday from the lowest since 2020. Tokens like Avalanche and Solana that underpin some key decentralised finance protocols posted double-digit percentage gains. The TerraUSD stablecoin was still below it $1 intended peg, while affiliated token Luna struggled. The crypto sector overall is nursing heavy losses for the week and sentiment remains fragile.“UST’s collapse undercuts confidence in all liquidity protocols,” said Aaron Brown, a crypto investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion. “If UST can fail, maybe Aave can too. Sort of like when Bear Stearns failed, it focused people’s attention on whether Lehman would fail.”The TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin — also known as UST — has been bouncing between 20 cents and 90 cents and was around 75 cents as of 10:35 a.m. in Singapore. Backers of the coin are trying to raise about $1.5 billion to shore up the token after it crashed from its dollar peg, according to the founder of a firm that was approached about the deal. “Is the market getting spooked by what’s happening with Terra? The answer is yes,” Craig W. Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, said by phone. “Money-market funds are important to investors and right now we’re questioning the third-largest money-market fund in crypto land. People did not think we were going to break the buck on that and that’s clearly happened.” Crypto sentiment was also hurt by elevated US inflation, which points to aggressive interest-rate hikes — an unfavorable environment for risk assets. “There is extreme fear across the crypto market,” said Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at the UK-based digital-asset broker GlobalBlock. The area around $30,000 had been an “especially sensitive zone,” for Bitcoin, wrote James Malcolm, head of foreign exchange and crypto research at UBS. That’s where mining economics turn negative, “which could potentially lead to increased coin sales by this key cohort,” he said. Meanwhile, Coinbase Global Inc. shares and bonds fell to new lows Wednesday, signaling investor skepticism about the prospects of the crypto exchange in a bear-market. The company reported lower-than-expected revenues yesterday, and warned trading volume and monthly transacting users in the second quarter is expected to be lower than in the first. Piper Sandler‘s Johnson says that’s another concern for crypto investors right now. “It’s the largest exchange here in the United States and they just turned ...
Strong pay rewards could feed into inflation and push up the cost of living even further, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, signaling wages would remain low under his government as flaring inflation becomes a key issue ahead of an election this month. Morrison’s statement could prove expensive at a time when consumer price gains, of 5.1%, are at their highest since 2007 but wages growth has yet to materially pick up, adding to pressures on household balance sheets. Opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of the May 21 vote, has called for wages growth to match inflation, from below 2.5% now, attracting criticism from Morrison who said a 5.1% pay increase “can feed into inflation, which pushes up interest rates and pushes up the cost of living even more.” A combination of rising cost of living and prospects of faster rate increases have already spooked Australia’s heavily indebted households, sending consumer sentiment to the weakest since August 2020. The country’s central bank last week raised the cash rate by a greater-than-expected 25 basis points to 0.35% and signaled further increases are in the offing. Australia’s Hawkish Pivot Jolts Markets During Election Campaign Australia’s Fair Work Commission will likely announce its annual wage review in few weeks’ time. The current national minimum wage is A$20.33 ($14.06) per hour. Albanese said a 5.1% increase would be equal to $1 an hour or “two cups a coffee” a day. “The cost of everything is going up,” he said in a televised debate Wednesday night. “People are doing it tough. Those people who are on minimum wages, if the increase is less than the inflation rate, then what that means is they will be getting a real wage cut and they deserve better than that.” Morrison said he welcomed pay rises for all workers but pointed to small businesses who are “doing it incredibly tough. They are the ones who employ people. And we want to make sure they can keep employing people.” BM
Some China bond investors are betting yields will resume their declines as a liquidity glut pushes short-term borrowing costs to the lowest since December 2020. The seven-day repo rate, a gauge of the short-term borrowing cost, dropped to 1.54% this week. It’s stayed below the central bank’s operating rate for reverse repo contracts since the start of April, the longest discount streak in two years. The deviation, once seen as a possible trigger for an engineered liquidity squeeze from the central bank to prevent asset bubbles, isn’t a concern for some investors. They see it as part of the People’s Bank of China’s strategy of maintaining an easy policy stance to support the economy battered by lockdowns to curb the spread of Covid infections. “We continue to recommend long China bonds and carry trade strategy in May,” said Yang Yewei, analyst at Guosheng Securities Co. “Money market conditions will remain loose with repo rates kept low,” which could push the 10-year yield to near the January low of 2.7%. China’s benchmark 10-year bond yield has risen more than 10 basis points from a 19-month low hit in January. That’s because the central bank refrained from cutting rates amid the nation’s widening policy gap with the Federal Reserve, which kicked off its rate hike cycle this year. However, a slew of liquidity support measures from the PBOC including the reserve requirement ratio cut in late April and its profit transfer to the Ministry of Finance have unleashed over 1.3 trillion yuan ($193 billion) of cash into the banking system, making it attractive to borrow cash via repo trades and invest in government debt. READ: World-Beating Gain for China Bonds Shows Power of PBOC Policy Repo rates would stay low at least for this month as weak demand for credit has left the cash with “nowhere to go,” said Albert Leung, strategist at Nomura International in Hong Kong. Moreover, the carry trade return, as measured by the spread between 10-year yield and seven-day repo rate, stands near 130 basis points, about the highest in a year. “The window to long China bonds has already opened even without an actual rate cut, as the central bank will show more tolerance of the lower repo rates,” Li Yishuang, analyst at Cinda Securities Co., wrote in a note. Fiscal risks However, bonds could face risks from an increased emphasis on fiscal support to boost the economy. “In a scenario where more fiscal support is needed, China ...
Hong Kong’s national security police detained four prominent democracy activists on Wednesday, including a senior member of the Catholic church, prompting condemnation from the U.S. and “extreme attention” from the Vatican. Those arrested included 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, former lawmaker and barrister Margaret Ng, 74, and Canto-pop singer Denise Ho for allegations of colluding with foreign forces, according to local media reports. All four were released on bail pending an investigation, according to a police statement late on Wednesday night. The National Security Department used a court order to require them to surrender their travel documents to the police, the statement added. The arrests are the latest move against democracy activists in the former British colony, which has seen most prominent political opponents jailed or threatened with charges following unprecedented street protests in 2019. The police operation also comes shortly after John Lee, Hong Kong’s former security chief and a vocal supporter of the China-imposed national security law, was selected to be the city’s new leader in a contest where he was the only candidate. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called for the immediate release of the activists, as did State Department spokesman Ned Price. “In arresting these veteran activists, scholars, and religious leaders under the so-called national security law, Hong Kong authorities have again demonstrated that they will pursue all means necessary to stifle dissent and undercut protected rights and freedoms,” he said. ‘Ominous sign’ Matteo Bruni, a spokesman for the Vatican, was cited by Italy’s Ansa news agency as saying “The Holy See has learned with concern the news of the arrest of Cardinal Zen and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention.” The cardinal and the other two were among five trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which was established to provide financial assistance to those involved in anti-government protests in 2019 and came under intense scrutiny by the authorities over the past year, according to the report, citing people it didn’t identify. A fourth trustee, Hui Po Keung, was arrested Tuesday as he was about to leave for Germany, according to the South China Morning Post. “Arresting a 90-year-old cardinal for his peaceful activities has to be a shocking new low for Hong Kong, illustrating the city’s free fall in human rights in the past two years,” Maya Wang, a senior China researcher at the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. The arrests are “an ominous sign” that ...
Since the ANC won power at the beginning of our democratic era, one of the main tensions within our society has been the extent to which the government should control and run certain aspects of the economy. There have been strong indications, though, that there could soon be a greater role for the private sector. The ANC’s position is that South Africa has a “mixed” economy in which the government runs certain parts of the economy while the private sector runs other parts of it. Over the past few months, there have been strong indications that the balance in this debate is shifting towards a greater role for the private sector. While there could still be major changes in how this debate plays out, it is possible that this may indeed be the beginning of a longer-term shift. This is because of the ANC’s own internal dynamics and because the state failed in its delivery and now lacks the capacity to continue providing services through state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The ANC is in an alliance with the South African Communist Party, which believes that the “commanding heights” of the economy should be nationalised. At the same time, within the ANC itself there have always been tensions on this issue. Considering that, as ANC Chairperson Gwede Mantashe once put it, “economics is the very essence of politics”, it is no surprise that a political party in government would want to control as much of the state as possible. Also, considering our history, and the way the apartheid government used its political power to control the economy, there was and is a need to transform the economy. The biggest agent available to do that is the state and the resources that it commands. And so, up until this point, this has been a major plank of ANC economic policy. It has been said that the government, through SOEs and other agencies such as the Public Investment Corporation, should help transform the economy and properly deracialise it. However, in the last few months, there have been strong indications of this policy changing. First came the decision, from no less a figure than Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, to sell the majority stake in SAA. While the final details are still not public (and neither are SAA’s financial results for the last few years) it is envisaged that the Takatso Consortium will have 51% ownership of what is left of the airline. This is ...
Environmental groups are challenging approval granted to a gas power plant in Richards Bay and are urging the government to pay attention to the climate risks posed by the exploitation of gas reserves. Environmental justice groups groundWork and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), are challenging the amendment of an environmental authorisation for another proposed floating gas-to-power plant in Richards Bay. CER has approached the Pretoria High Court to challenge the reissued environmental authorisation granted to Richards Bay Gas to Power Plant 2 (RB2) in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone. This new court challenge comes in the wake of last month’s announcement that groundWork and the SDCEA, supported by activist organisation Natural Justice and represented by attorneys Cullinan and Associates, have received a court date for the landmark litigation launched in 2021 against the environmental approval of the proposed 3,000 MW Eskom gas-to-power station. It’s the first challenge of its kind in South Africa. The latest challenge calls on the government to take into account scientific evidence of greenhouse gas emissions released during the lifecycle of gas as a fossil fuel, and to recognise the serious potential climate change impacts of the RB2 project. This challenge joins multiple other objections to the gas port (as proposed by the gas industry) at the Richards Bay IDZ and port in KwaZulu-Natal. According to the CER statement, the groups have approached the Pretoria High Court to review Environment Minister Barbara Creecy’s refusal of certain grounds of appeal brought in 2021, given the environmental impact regulations which govern the amendment application under review. They call for an assessment of all impacts related to the proposed change, advantages and disadvantages associated with the proposed change, and measures to ensure avoidance, management and mitigation of impacts associated with such proposed change to be included in a report. In this instance, the proposed changes to the gas-to-power plant bring about climate impacts. “To achieve the purpose of the EIA regulations, the assessment of all impacts, advantages and disadvantages must consider the circumstances at the time of the amendment application, including environmental, policy, and legal developments that disfavour the previously authorised project,” read the CER statement. Parties have 16 days from 25 April to oppose the case and provide the records that were before Minister Creecy when she made her decision. The 400 MW gas-to-power plant, which received an environmental authorisation in 2016 for a closed cycle gas ...
Eskom group chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer told an Eskom state of the system briefing on Wednesday that the coal fleet was the main challenge when it came to generation insufficiency. His colleague Rhulani Mathebula, acting MD generation for Eskom concurred. ‘In terms of our energy availability factor on our coal fleet, we ended the year at 55.5% which is extremely low’. Just before Eskom initiated Stage 2 load shedding due to the failure of three generation units, CEO André de Ruyter said in a state of the system briefing on Wednesday afternoon, “I think it’s important to emphasise that we should not accept load shedding and the lack of generation capacity as the new normal. “While it’s been going on for 14 years now, we need to take urgent steps to address load shedding.” This year to date we’ve had 32 days of load shedding compared with 26 days of load shedding in close to the same period last year. As of the end March 2022, Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor — the amount of energy generation a plant is capable of supplying to the grid — was at 62%, below their target of 74% for the financial year. The most urgent issue to be addressed is that Eskom needs at least 4,000 megawatts (MW) of additional generation capacity to serve the country’s energy demand. It needs the space to take some of its units off for planned maintenance. Until this capacity is met, the risk of load shedding remains. Jan Oberholzer, Eskom group chief operating officer, said in the briefing that the power utility had good performance in the network side of the business — transmission and distribution. The unsatisfactory performance remains in the generation — particularly its coal fleet. The reasons for generation problems are rooted in lack of sufficient generation capacity, which Eskom says is aggravated by equipment age, insufficient funds for maintenance and additional system space Coal the greatest challenge Oberholzer was quick to distinguish coal as the main challenge when it came to generation insufficiency. “I’d like to separate the performance, and to focus on where the challenges are — and that is in the coal fleet.” Oberholzer emphasised the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station was performing well — having been online for 196 days — as well as Eskom’s open-cycle gas, pump and hydro systems. Rhulani Mathebula, acting MD generation for Eskom said, “In terms of our energy availability factor on our coal fleet, we ended the year ...
There is a new guide to litigation in South Africa titled ‘There is no limit to Stalingrad jurisprudence’. This work has been carefully compiled and tested in practice by at least three prominent litigants: former president Jacob Zuma, Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Jacob Zuma is clearly the pioneer of the Stalingrad approach to litigation. He was first indicted on charges related to the 1999 alleged Arms Deal corruption in 2005, but he escaped being a co-accused in the trial of Schabir Shaik, charges which were reinstated against him in late 2007. Fifteen years later and countless applications before the full panoply of South African courts, Zuma remains charged, but no trial has even commenced. The latest in an unprecedented exhibition of legal imagination is an attempt to have prosecutor Billy Downer SC removed from prosecuting the case. There is now an approach to the Supreme Court of Appeal to reconsider its dismissal of the application to have Downer removed from the case. But there can be little doubt that even if this attempt fails, Zuma will head off to the Constitutional Court and if the Constitutional Court finds against Zuma, further arguments will doubtless be raised to ensure that a criminal trial never ever is completed. By the way, Zuma has filed a criminal complaint against Downer at a Pietermaritzburg police station, alleging that Downer leaked a confidential medical report by a third party to journalist Karyn Maughan. Busisiwe Mkhwebane impeachment With exquisite similarity, the Public Protector has employed the same tactics. It would require a series of columns to describe the various judgments in which the reports of the Public Protector have been set aside and in which adverse cost orders have been made against her. Suffice to say, finally, steps were taken by Parliament to initiate the impeachment of the Public Protector after Parliament had appointed an independent panel, which included retired Constitutional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde, to consider whether there was prima facie evidence for the removal of the Public Protector. The panel unanimously concluded that there was prima facie evidence that she had committed acts of misconduct and was clearly incompetent to hold the office of Public Protector. Off went the Public Protector to the Western Cape High Court, alleging that the panel was biased and that it was improperly composed in that it had a retired judge of the Constitutional Court as one of its members. Further, ...
I read with glee my colleague Tim Cohen’s column last week about taking a small Karoo town off the electricity grid. It’s a clear and detailed investigation of the ongoing lack of electricity and how to fix it. Prince Albert pays Eskom R16-million a year for wholesale electricity and would need 60,000 solar panels for its 15,000 residents to replace that. Tim estimates installation expenditure would be about R80-million and Prince Albert would take about eight years to pay for it. But there is a problem with this logic. The way Bounty Brands imploded demonstrates it: to build a business, the company founders took on too much debt. The ultimate losers were us, to the tune of R1.8-billion in highly questionable investment of Unemployment Insurance Fund money. Big business’s problem is it thinks too big. Government’s problem is it thinks like big business. As admirable as taking Prince Albert off the grid is, it’s a R80-million recipe for disaster, with looting, angry residents and eventual collapse. Local municipalities do not have the skill sets, nor the integrity and morality, to manage their own finances. Just ask villagers of Giyani, without water eight years after R3.3-billion was blown. The bigger the project, the less likely it is to be completed. What struck me about the Bounty Brands implosion was why nobody saw it coming. Taking on lots of debt is how big business solves a problem. And that is the core fallacy: everyone in South Africa thinks of fixing our country like a big business. We have to stop and think like a small business. In lockdown I realised I was no longer a journalist. My primary responsibility was paying salaries in a pandemic. Luckily, my long-suffering business partner Sally Hudson is good at managing the money nuts and bolts. Stuff is a small media publishing house that employs 10 people. We have no legacy businesses to prop up, low overheads and are very frugal. The reason we are lean and agile is because, well, we’re a small business. We can’t afford to be showy or throw millions at projects that are not well thought out. We closed our offices and found a way to pay that money to staff. Good small businesses tend to be robust because they don’t overreach financially. Knowing your limits is as important a business skill as knowing your strengths. Please also don’t think my next sentence is self-congratulatory. Some old Mail & Guardian colleagues (Mungo Soggot ...
The Premier Soccer League and Kaizer Chiefs have opted against settling their differences in court, curbing a seasonal trend. It was a matter that threatened to curtail the end of the 2021/2022 season. However, it seems that after Kaizer Chiefs withdrew their challenge to the Premier Soccer League’s (PSL’s) review application, and were also allowed to play the two games they missed due to Covid-19, the matter is likely to be resolved by the league’s disciplinary committee (DC). The PSL had filed an urgent review application at the Johannesburg High Court, asking that an arbitration ruling granted in favour of Amakhosi by arbitrator Nazeer Cassim SC in March 2022 be set aside. The Soweto giants were brought to their knees by a Covid-19 outbreak at their Naturena headquarters in December 2021. After a plea by Amakhosi to have their games for that month called off was rejected by the league on the basis of existing rules around Covid-19 not being one of the requisites for matches to be called off, the Johannesburg-based side chose to forgo two of those matches. They were scheduled to play Golden Arrows and Cape Town City. However, after reporting that as many as 50 people involved with the club were affected by the outbreak, they did not honour the fixtures. Cassim, during the arbitration process, sided with Amakhosi based on the facts presented before him. The league, which could not have foreseen that so many people could be affected by the virus at a single club when they drafted those internal Covid-19 regulations, refused to accept Cassim’s ruling. It announced that it would approach the Johannesburg High Court to have it reviewed. After all, they had to stand firm. In the previous season, teams were punished on the basis of these regulations. However, Chiefs were allowed to play the games missed, against Arrows and Cape Town City, pending the court hearing. They lost both by 2-1. Cape Town City had threatened to boycott the scheduled replay. On whether the club had indeed pulled the plug on the court proceedings, Chiefs’ media manager Vina Maphosa told Daily Maverick: “As per usual, I’m sure [PSL prosecutor Zola] Majavu will update the media.” At the time of writing the PSL was yet to respond to our inquiry. The likelihood is that Amakhosi will now be brought before the league’s DC on misconduct charges — a misdemeanour punishable by 3-0 walkover wins for both of Amakhosi’s opponents. Considering that Chiefs ...
Former revolutionaries like Cyril Ramaphosa and Kaizer Chiefs are shadows of their former selves and no longer pack the punch they used to. I have a feeling the gods are trying to warn us about something — Cyril Ramaphosa, a working-class hero of the 1980s, gets heckled and chased away from a rally by mineworkers? This happens on the same weekend that Kaizer Chiefs, the “Glamour Boys” of SA football during the same decade, suffered a fourth successive defeat in the DStv Premiership. Back in the ’80s, these two scenarios were just unthinkable and completely unimaginable. Boo and heckle Cyril Ramaphosa? Goodness! During the turbulent 1980s when he was leading the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the biggest and strongest union in the country, even just thinking of carrying out such an act was a sure way of inviting a lynching from workers that could land you within a few centimetres of the revered Pearly Gates. Then, Ramaphosa had all the makings of a revolutionary. He had the image of a fearless negotiator and unionist. He sported a scruffy Afro and ragged beard and dressed like a struggling working-class man who did his shopping at second-hand traders on the sidewalk in downtown Jozi. He was a far different animal from the clean-shaven gentleman who now dons well-cut suits and speaks the language of bureaucrats and captains of industry. When he was chased away from the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg on May Day, Ramaphosa was kitted in that shiny black ANC-branded leather jacket that made me think for a few moments that perhaps the workers mistook their leader for a feared taxi boss? Anyway, it was during that period when he carried that revolutionary image, in 1987, as general secretary of NUM, that Ramaphosa led the biggest strike by mineworkers since 1946. NUM was challenging powerful mining houses that were in cahoots with the apartheid government to pay workers a living wage and improve their working conditions. Remember, back then there was no progressive Constitution. The slightest sign of resistance was met with boots and bullets, hence Ramaphosa, who by the way has never been a mineworker, was the workers’ hero. But now? He is chased away by members of the same union that he once led and helped to build into a respected labour movement. Imagine a president being forced to abandon his address on such an important international day by a few hundred men who ...
Police need to explain why the suspect, Jean-Paul Malgas, wasn’t handcuffed when he was transferred to New Somerset Hospital, why he was not under police guard and why he was allowed to be treated as a normal patient. A mother is demanding answers from the Western Cape commissioner of police after her son was one of three people shot dead at Cape Town’s New Somerset Hospital by a suspect who is a former police officer. The triple murder happened on Saturday, 7 May shortly after a scuffle between the suspect, Jean-Paul Malgas (39) and a police officer, Constable Donay Phillips (32), who was guarding a prisoner in the hospital. During the scuffle, Malgas allegedly disarmed and then shot Phillips, who succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police say that after shooting Phillips, Malgas went to a ward and fatally shot two patients. One of the victims was Geret Carolus (48) from Laingville, St Helena Bay. The next of kin of the other victim have not yet been located and his identity is being withheld. It has emerged that on Thursday, 5 May, two days before the shootings at New Somerset Hospital, Malgas was a suspect in a domestic matter in Hopefield on the West Coast. Two police officers approached Malgas in Hopefield, and it is alleged that Malgas stabbed one of the officers in the chest. The second officer shot Malgas in a leg and Malgas was admitted to the Vredenburg Hospital. The circumstances surrounding how Malgas ended up in the New Somerset Hospital are being investigated by the SAPS. This was confirmed by Provincial Commissioner Thembisile Patekile during a visit to Khayelitsha by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Tuesday, 10 May. Cele’s visit to the volatile area came in the wake of six people being killed on Sunday in the Site C informal settlement in Khayelitsha. Patekile told the media: “The accused was escorted by police to the hospital. We are investigating the cause of the release. Police had attended a case where he was a suspect and he stabbed one of the police officers.” He said a case against the accused in the attack on the police officers was being investigated. However, police need to explain why Malgas wasn’t handcuffed when he was transferred to New Somerset Hospital, why he was not under police guard and why he was treated as a normal patient. Magrietta Carolus, the mother of Geret Carolus, said: “The blood ...
For all my tendency to optimism, I have always harboured a degree of caution. So, when we sold up everything in New Zealand and shipped ourselves and more than a ton of books and other educational gear to start the ANC primary school in Tanzania, I kept back 1,500 Swiss francs (R4,800 at the time), secreted in a money belt, ‘just in case’. It turned out that it was just as well I had taken the precaution. Having left the ANC school in Tanzania, we were in quite desperate need of three things when we arrived in Britain: accommodation, transport and work. We had been told that we could expect no help from the ANC in London which, as Zarina, wife of ANC leader Mac Maharaj, noted in her memoir, was dominated by “a ruling clique of mainly Stalinist types”. They had, she said, “appointed themselves as owners-in-exile of the South African revolution”. And they had apparently spread a distorted view of my dissidence. As a result, we were personae non gratae with the majority of ANC officials and members in London. But we had support in a few senior circles, and among some rank-and-file members, so we could not be wholly isolated. I also rejoined the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and met up with some colleagues I had known both in the 1960s and in New Zealand. We were also able to get about because of my emergency fund. At an informal travellers’ market on London’s South Bank, we bought an elderly converted Commer van. It could sleep the four of us, had a gas cooker, a shower and chemical toilet. I also bought a suit, tie and briefcase: we had accommodation, transport and the sartorial requirements for job seeking. Ensconced in our van, we discovered, by pure chance, that there were two free parking spaces in the centre of London, alongside the Serpentine in Hyde Park. If we got in as soon as the park opened in the mornings, we could park for the day, without charge, right in the centre of London. So while Barbara and the children walked and explored London as part of an expanded educational exercise, I trudged about looking for work as a casual subeditor. That turned out to be much less of a problem than finding where to spend the nights. It was impossible, it seemed, to stop anywhere for more than a day or two ...
Regenerative agriculture, which involves special techniques to cultivate nurture-rich soils that also trap greenhouse gases, can initially be time and labour intensive. But farmers who stick with it are witnessing enormous returns. Regenerative agriculture could transform farming in Africa, increase food production through better land and water management, create millions of jobs and help trap greenhouse gasses — combating climate change. So why aren’t emerging farmers adopting it faster? On a continent where emerging farmers are kept in the dark about the true value of their produce, or fail to receive adequate warnings about climate-related threats, the answer is as simple as it is tragic: access. To create a second green revolution — one removed from the harmful practices of the first in 1945 with its synthetic artificial fertilisers, pesticides, and genetically modified seed varieties — we need to better support emerging farmers to take up this practice. What is regenerative agriculture? The practice involves special techniques to cultivate nurture-rich soils that also trap greenhouse gases. The method offers the most promising avenue to intensify production, rehabilitate landscapes and create more resilient agroecosystems. The benefits to date have been astounding. A report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) demonstrated the following benefits: Conservative modelling estimates that through the adoption of regenerative agriculture, produce could increase up to at least 13% by 2040. However, some businesses have already demonstrated food production increases of 68% – 300% are possible; It could create upwards of one million additional full-time jobs (in farming, processing, transport, etc) by 2030, reaching nearly five million jobs by 2040; If it were adopted and practised on just 50% of African farmland, it could equate to $17-billion in savings to farmers and companies each year; and Smallholder farmers could see household incomes rise by $150 per year from current earnings. Although regenerative agriculture can initially be time and labour intensive, businesses that stick with it are witnessing enormous returns. So what’s the way forward? Emerging farmers must be supported better. They need real-time information on factors that affect their outputs, such as temperature, rainfall, pests and diseases. But in-person specialised extension service support is rare. In some countries, the ratio of extension officers to farmers often ranges as high as 1:5,000. In the gap, digital technology is increasingly proving to be a critical enabler for the continent’s smallholder farmers. In one example, a swarm of locusts devastated farms in Uganda along with the Horn of Africa in February 2020. There ...
The Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the faultlines in nursing — a critical shortage of nursing staff, a low number of nurses with degree qualifications, too few nurses with advanced degrees such as intensive care specialists, and too few nursing academics for training and research. When the World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife to acknowledge their vital role in healthcare, nobody could foresee exactly how prophetic — or ironic — this would be. We did not know at the time that 2020 would be the year in which the world came to a sudden and shocking halt due to the pandemic. As frontline workers, nurses were at the coalface, day and night. As we honour nurses on International Nurses Day, 12 May (the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth), we are again confronted with the myriad challenges the pandemic has laid bare over the past two years — particularly the critical shortage of nurses in South Africa, on the continent and globally. Importantly, we need to acknowledge the void of adequately qualified nurses and the vital role they play in providing scientific-based nursing care and specialist services when needed. In reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on nursing staff, Dr Matlou Molepo, chairperson of the South African Nursing Council (SANC), wrote in the council’s latest report: “The healthcare system has been challenged severely by the Covid-19 pandemic, with nurses at the forefront of the fight against the virus. Nursing is a noble profession which requires the highest degree of professionalism, dedication and care. “This pandemic has highlighted that the healthcare system cannot function without nursing as its backbone.” Cracks in the system Also, we need to recognise that this pandemic has further emphasised existing cracks in the South African healthcare system. It has certainly confirmed that there is a critical shortage of nurses at all levels in SA. Yet, earlier this year, nursing was not included in the critical skills list of the Department of Home Affairs. But even more so, South Africa needs nurses with degree qualifications with expert clinical competencies and skills. Multinational studies indicate that patient outcomes are better when the nursing staff is better qualified. Although healthcare systems have introduced interventions and innovations during the pandemic, it is unclear whether nursing managers and staff were adequately equipped for this demanding and emotionally taxing situation. Were they receiving the necessary support, or were they set up for failure? According to estimates by ...
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t want to escalate the war into a full-blown conflict with Nato. Russia’s deputy foreign minister held a meeting with the US ambassador in Moscow. The talks followed a report that Kremlin-installed authorities in Ukraine’s Kherson region plan to ask to become part of Russia, a sign that the occupied territory may be annexed. Kyiv and Moscow clashed over natural gas supplies sent via pipelines to Europe, while Russia’s economy showed more signs of strain with a collapse in car sales. The UN labour agency said that almost 4.8 million jobs had been lost in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. On the battlefield, Ukraine deployed US-supplied howitzers to the front but warned of hard times to come as it waits for more weapons. Key developments US, EU plan to pledge supply-chain cooperation to counter Russia Ukraine, Russia gas clash raises threat to Europe’s supply Russia trains missiles on Ukraine’s quiet zone to target trade Lack of Russian, Ukrainian translators in US opens door for AI Spy chief says Ukraine could leave Russia weaker but aggressive Russian car sales drop by record 79% as automakers leave Italian PM says EU companies can pay for gas in roubles Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said European companies will be able to pay for gas in roubles without breaching sanctions, apparently dismissing European Union guidance to the contrary. With payments looming later this month, companies have been trying for weeks to figure out how they can meet Russia’s demand for rouble payments – and keep crucial gas flowing – without violating the sanctions. Draghi said as of now there is no official pronouncement on what constitutes a breach of sanctions, and whether rouble payments would qualify. Draghi said he also discussed with US President Joe Biden, whom he met on Tuesday at the White House, the possibility of creating an oil buyers’ cartel to check the power of Opec. European gas falls as traders shrug off Russia supply risk Russia sanctions seized Gazprom unit, others Russia introduced blocking sanctions on the owners of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, the entire Gazprom Germania group, and several other European and UK companies, according to a government decree. Germany temporarily took control of Gazprom Germania, a unit of Gazprom, in early April. Austin doubts Putin would widen war to Nato US Defense Secretary Austin said he doubts Russia will widen its war, such as by attacking missile sites in Poland, because Putin doesn’t want to take on the Nato alliance. ...
Fortunately, the Comrades Marathon doesn’t only bring out the best in people’s athletic ability — it also brings out the living spirit of Ubuntu: the Comrades is because we are. With this in mind, Dr Tom Boyles — attempting his ninth run this year — has launched a campaign to raise funds to subsidise runners who struggle to afford the entry fee. The Comrades Marathon prides itself on its egalitarian traditions. In this great human endeavour, class, creed, gender and race make no difference because running 90km is a great leveller. And, unlike many elite sports where participation is often determined by affordability and class, Comrades (as we runners affectionately know it) is the ultimate race of equals. You just need to be part of the dense crowd at the starting line — heaving with anticipation and fear, listening to Chariots of Fire, singing Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica, waiting for that famous cock crow — to feel that. Having been a casualty of Covid for the past two years, the Comrades Marathon 2022 is taking place much later than usual, this time on Sunday, 28 August. It is open to up to 20,000 runners and the closing date for entries is now only days away, on Monday, 16 May. To qualify for Comrades, you have to have recorded a marathon in under five hours. and pay the entry fee. But for many this year, it’s the entry fee that will be causing sleepless nights — it has doubled to R1,200. There is no doubt that with so many livelihoods decimated by Covid, and with unemployment at an all-time high, this will be a stumbling block to the participation of many athletes from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. Just to quantify it, the entry fee is more than three times the monthly R350 Social Relief of Distress grant upon which more than 10 million South Africans now depend for an income. The entry fee hike has been criticised, as has the halving of the prize money. Organisers of the Comrades Marathon did not respond to questions emailed to them, but it is believed the increase is due to a loss of sponsors and costs associated with the Covid lockdowns. Fortunately, the Comrades Marathon doesn’t only bring out the best in people’s athletic ability — it also brings out the living spirit of Ubuntu: the Comrades is because we are. With this in mind, a leading infectious diseases specialist, Dr Tom Boyles, — attempting ...
The advanced technology of the mining sector has been on full display in recent days. Last week, it was a monster hydrogen-powered truck with a 290-tonne payload. This week, at the Cape Town Mining Indaba, Spot, a robotic dog with a payload of 14kg, made a fetching appearance. On Wednesday morning, the third day of the Mining Indaba, a robotic dog named Spot walked 1.5km from the V&A Waterfront to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Simply because he can, of course. But the wider point is that he can also easily walk 1.5km underground if required to do so and, with his 14kg payload, could take 14 litres of water to mine workers trapped after an accident. Rather like a more compact version of a St Bernard, which rescues people buried under snow. Spot, which is controlled by an X-box-style console, is powered by a lithium iron battery and once he’s juiced up, can roll for 90 minutes, said Jamie van Schoor, the CEO of Dwyka Mining Services. “Who wants to do a push-up challenge with Spot?” he joked after the robot arrived at the convention centre to the delight of a small crowd of attendees. Here’s a hint: only challenge him if his battery is almost empty. Spot is manufactured by Boston Dynamics, while his environmental sensors are the product of Maestro Digital Mine. Dwyka is the local authorised reseller for both and has spliced the technology, which was on display for the first time at the Indaba. Spot’s uses are varied and go beyond search and rescue. Importantly, he can be applied to preventive measures to ensure accidents don’t happen in the first place. Using laser technology, Spot can go in and “map an underground area to detect geotechnical faults”, Van Schoor told Business Maverick. Such technology can also be employed to detect other hazards. “Hazardous gases underground are an invisible threat to mining teams, who often don’t know they are in danger until it’s too late. This gas build-up can be created through the exposed strata, blasting, daily ‘mucking’ and even runaway battery fires on critical machinery. “Traditionally, the gas levels are measured by the ventilation system at the return air raises or wearable sensors donned by miners. While this fixed infrastructure has saved countless lives, mobile autonomous inspection on aerial and ground robots of strategic areas before re-entry or in emergency situations are the next step to complete real-time coverage,” Dwyka said in a statement. “Using ...
Parliament’s section 194 committee is proceeding with the impeachment inquiry of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane — regardless of her again turning to the Constitutional Court to rescind its dismissal of her earlier rescission bid. ‘I am trying to find the right word. It seeks to rescind the decision not to rescind the decision of the Constitutional Court. Apparently, the Chief Justice should not have allowed the [rescission] judgment to be issued while he is still investigating the issue of the SMS,” was how Parliament’s legal adviser, Sizwe Njikela, on Wednesday described to MPs the latest legal curveball from Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. The Public Protector’s lawyers had written to Parliament, asking that the impeachment proceedings be delayed until the finalisation of her renewed rescission application to the Constitutional Court, against the dismissal of the earlier rescission application. According to her affidavit, a central issue is that the SMS leak that her application had been unsuccessful had “undermined justice”. The Public Protector also asked Parliament to agree to a postponement of the interdict hearing that had already been adjourned to 18 May from 25 April in the Western Cape High Court because of that SMS — and the Office of the Chief Justice’s investigation into that. Rescission applications used to be rare in South African jurisprudence. That is, until ex-president Jacob Zuma’s bid against his guilty verdict and 15-month jail sentence for contempt of the State Capture Commission — and now, the third such application from Mkhwebane, who lost her first rescission application, against the Constitutional Court upholding the invalidity ruling against her CR17 campaign funding report, in early March. While Njikela may have been cautious around the repeat rescission bids by the Public Protector, his comments on Parliament’s constitutional powers and responsibilities were clear-cut. “The work of Parliament cannot be trumped by what is before court. Otherwise, Parliament could be paralysed in all instances. All you have to do is file an application. “There is no court that can decide the Public Protector is incompetent or has miscoducted [sic] herself. That is exclusively within the mandate of Parliament.” Ultimately, in Parliament it is the MPs who decide what to do. And on Wednesday it was a yes to proceed. “There is nothing stopping the committee from continuing,” said ANC Deputy Chief Whip Doris Dlakude, adding that no interdict or other restrictive measures were in place. “I don’t want to dwell on the leakages — it’s very unfortunate that it happened ...
Following his explosive New York Times bestseller 'Red Notice', Bill Browder returns with ‘Freezing Order: A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, State-Sponsored Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath’ – another fascinating non-fiction thriller chronicling how he exposed Vladimir Putin’s campaign to steal and launder hundreds of billions of dollars and kill anyone who stood in his way. A graduate of Stanford Business School, Bill Browder worked as a financier in Russia from the late 1990s, at a time when oligarchs were profiting massively from the privatisation that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. He was initially pro-Putin, as the newly elected Russian leader promised to stamp out corruption. Before long, however, it became clear Putin’s true intentions were the opposite. Browder’s interference in corrupt corporate practices led to him being expelled from Russia by Putin in 2005, as a “threat to national security”. While investigating a $230 million tax fraud perpetrated against his company, Browder’s lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was arrested, and subsequently tortured and killed by Russian authorities after 11 months in police custody. In response, Browder campaigned for the creation of the Magnitsky Act, legislation to freeze the assets of those involved in human rights violations around the globe. He also continued to call for investigation into Russian corruption, making himself some very powerful enemies. In February 2022, Daily Maverick editor-at-large Richard Poplak and Browder discussed the character of Putin, his recent invasion of Ukraine and the effect this will have on South Africa and the rest of the world in a Daily Maverick webinar. Read the excerpt of his book below: The Aspen Stakeout SUMMER 2014 A few weeks later, after a business lunch near Parliament, I strolled along Birdcage Walk by St. James’s Park, reflexively checking my BlackBerry. Among a backlog of messages was one from Paul Monteleoni. I’d barely heard from him since the US government filed their case against Prevezon. He was blunt: “Call me. Urgent.” I’d never received this kind of message from Paul before. I ducked into a doorway and punched in his number. He picked up almost before it had a chance to ring. “Hi, Paul. It’s Bill. What’s going on?” “Oh, hi.” He took a moment before continuing, as if he had to step out of a meeting. “I, uh, I don’t want to alarm you, and I can’t be a hundred percent sure about this, but we’ve received intelligence that some individuals are soliciting funds to hire a team ...
South Africa recorded more than 10,000 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, with one in four tests being positive, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in its daily update. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) registered 10,017 new coronavirus infections in South Africa on Wednesday, spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh said. She said the increase in case numbers represented a 25.3% positivity rate. The National Department of Health on Wednesday reported 50 more deaths due to Covid-related complications, of which 10 deaths had occurred in the previous 24 to 48 hours. Jimoh said most new cases found on Wednesday were from Gauteng (39%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (21%). Dr Waasila Jassat’s unit in the NICD, which monitors hospital admissions and hospital deaths due to Covid-19 complications, also released its latest report on Wednesday. According to this report, there was a 5% decrease in the number of new admissions in the past week compared with the previous week. Gauteng had the highest number of admissions in the past week followed by KwaZulu-Natal. The report said there had been an increase in the average daily Covid-19 admissions, comparing the previous 14 days and the current 14 days in all the provinces; and a small increase in deaths for the same period in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Northern Cape. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Dr Geetesh Solanki and colleagues at the South African Medical Research Council’s Health Systems Research Unit was published in the PLOS One journal, aimed at quantifying the cost of treating Covid-19 complications in a large South African private health-insured population. According to the paper, researchers used demographic data for 188,292 members of Discovery medical schemes who tested positive for Covid-19 between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2021, coupled with hospital data for these members up to 30 June 2021. Researchers found that individuals older than 65, with three or more comorbidities, and men (in general) had the highest hospitalisation and mortality risks and the longest and costliest hospital stays. It was found that hospitalisation and mortality risks were higher in the second wave than in the first. Diabetics were at the highest risk, and this increased if they also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease. The overall mortality risk for patients with Covid-19 was 3.3%. The study found that patients spent about six days in hospital and longer if they were older. In general, the overall median hospitalisation cost per Covid-19 positive case ...
Don’t let the toys distract you from the fact that the Mercedes-Benz GLS 400d is a faultless SUV. So it turns out you lot were right all along. South Africans buy VW Polos hand over fist and, having had one for a few days, I can absolutely see why. It was a reasonably spacious five-door hatchback with a good, torquey and efficient petrol motor and five snickety-snick manual gears engaged with a deliciously well-engineered clutch. It had aircon, front and side airbags, decent headlights and a level of NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) abatement that would put some much more expensive cars to shame. Objectively, the base Polo is a great car. All you’ll ever need. As it happened, I also had a rocket ship of an SUV in my driveway that week, and yet it was the Polo I was drawn to, and not merely because I think it’s important to drive what South Africans actually drive in their vast numbers. I really rather loved the anonymity, the simplicity and the quality of a product built for a buyer they wholly understand, designed just so and executed (in Gqeberha, if I may add) absolutely brilliantly. The Polo made me consider the need-want gap that marks human existence, which – if the car market is anything to go by – can yawn like the Grand Canyon. In The Status Game, science writer Will Storr explains that for humans, as overly evolved simians, life is an unending status game that we play, as instinctively as we breathe, until we die. How we play and what we play for is driven by where we choose to play, be that within antivaxxer circles (boy, that was an interesting chapter), among the yam growers of Micronesia (yes), boardroom bullshit in London, or, if you’re Paul McCartney trying to change Lennon/McCartney to McCartney/Lennon half a century after the songs hit Number One (also, yes, really). Your status is measured and intimately understood by fellow players. I wandered down this wormhole because I recently spent a few weeks in a car that, in the status game that is the corporate carpark or the school drop-off zone, is an almost unbeatable expression of dominance. The Mercedes-Benz GLS is the SUV you buy because a standard German SUV isn’t big enough. It is vast. The Benz badge on the snout is bigger than a football. In my low-status house in Cape Town, I couldn’t ...
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Vitamin D is important for maintaining health, as it has many roles in the human body. But there is more than one form of vitamin D, and recent research suggests that these forms may have different effects. So what are the different types of vitamin D, and is one really more beneficial than the other? Although medical conditions later associated with vitamin D deficiency, such as the bone disease rickets, have been known about since the 17th century, vitamin D itself wasn’t identified until the early 20th century. This discovery led to Adolf Windaus winning the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1928. The vitamin D family actually includes five molecules, with the two most important being vitamin D2 and D3. These molecules are also known as ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol, respectively. While both of these types of vitamin D contribute to our health, they differ in how we get them. Dietary vitamin D2 generally comes from plants, particularly mushrooms and yeast, whereas we get vitamin D3 from animal sources, such as oily fish, liver and eggs. Both forms of vitamin D are also available in dietary supplements. What most people probably don’t know is that most of our vitamin D comes from exposing our skin to sunlight. When our skin is exposed to the sun, ultraviolet rays convert a precursor molecule called 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D3. This important effect of exposure to the sun explains why people living at more extreme latitudes, or people who have darker skin, are more prone to vitamin D deficiency. Melanin, a pigment in the skin, blocks ultraviolet rays from activating 7-dehydrocholesterol, thus limiting D3 production. Wearing clothing or sunscreen has a similar effect. Both vitamins D2 and D3 are essentially inactive until they go through two processes in the body. First, the liver changes their chemical structure to form a molecule known as calcidiol. This is the form in which vitamin D is stored in the body. Calcidiol is then further altered in the kidneys to form calcitriol, the active form of the hormone. It is calcitriol that is responsible for the biological actions of vitamin D, including helping bones to form, metabolising calcium and supporting how our immune system works. Technically, vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all, but a pro-hormone. This means the body converts it into an active hormone. All hormones have receptors (on bone cells, muscle cells, white blood cells) that they bind to and activate, like ...
Most pundits considered the capitulation of Ukraine to be inevitable. Its resilience was lauded, but the outcome of a conflict was deemed inevitable. A country of 44 million was not going to be able to resist a country of 144 million forever. And yet, Ukraine is resisting with enormous fortitude and skill. So chalk one up for the Ukrainian side — at least, so far. But for supporters of Ukraine, there is an uncomfortable truth; Russian finances are holding and, with enormous skill and creativity, the Russians have dealt with what could easily have been a financial implosion. Or have they? Ostensibly, the measure for these things is the exchange rate. As South Africans know all too well, the exchange rate embodies three things: trade, political confidence and economic robustness. The rouble had been trading between €85 and €95 for some time. At the start of the war, it suddenly leapt to €144, in what can only be described as a rand-like gyration. Not only this, but Europe and America have snookered Russia’s best-laid plans by freezing all the Russian-held dollars and euros outside Russia that have been carefully boosted precisely to support the rouble. Nobody knew you could do this, least of all the Russians, who now have $600-billion that they can’t use. Not entirely unfairly, Russia describes this as “theft”, but as they say, all is fair in love and war. Then, of course, a funny thing happened. Notwithstanding a host of articles in the western press cheering the success of all this financial manoeuvring, the rouble bounced back. It’s now stronger than it was before the war began! A lot of the credit for this goes to Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, who instinctively knew what to do. It’s worth noting that Russia did not have exchange controls, a little financial gizmo rejected, one assumes, by the oligarch class who didn’t want pesky law-like things interfering with their ability to buy yachts and football clubs. The funnelling of wealth out of Russia for years now has been extraordinary, so much so that, by some calculations, Russia could overtake SA as the most financially unequal country on earth if you count in the foreign holdings of the oligarchs. Anyway, the first thing Nabiullina did was to double interest rates to 20% from 10%. Talk about aggression. She then intervened in the rouble market, spending around $1-billion to defend the currency. Then the Russians demanded that ...
Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front ‘has gone from a band of brothers who invaded Rwanda in 1990 and toppled a genocidal regime, to a revolution eating its own’, author Michela Wrong told the Cape Town Press Club on Wednesday. South Africa, like most countries, is failing to stand up to the bullying of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and is allowing him to increasingly become the dominant African leader. “And that’s something I find both puzzling and depressing,” says Michela Wrong, the British author of Do Not Disturb, an investigation of the Rwandan government’s assassinations of opponents in foreign countries and other crimes. Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) “has gone from a band of brothers who invaded Rwanda in 1990 and toppled a genocidal regime, to a revolution eating its own”, Wrong told the Cape Town Press Club on Wednesday. “One of my aims was to point out that recent Rwandan history is not a simplistic story of Hutus versus Tutsis, as we tend to assume. It’s a story of a dictator who is determined to cut down any possible challengers, whatever their ethnicity. He doesn’t care whether they are Hutus or Tutsis, the question is whether they pose a viable threat.” The book chronicles Kagame’s remarkable success in persuading the world that the RPF are still the heroes who came to the rescue of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority when they were being slaughtered by Hutu extremists in 1994. Wrong details how Kagame has seduced her own British government and many others into believing he was the exemplary leader of a model African developmental state. “In the process, they become complicit in the democratic recession that is sweeping not just across Africa, but across large swathes of the world,” Wrong commented. “My country is certainly not standing up for the values it professes to cherish,” Wrong said, noting that Prince Charles would be travelling to Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, next month to open the Commonwealth summit there. She added that the UK had just done a controversial deal with Kagame’s government to send asylum seekers who cross the English Channel to Rwanda to be processed. Wrong said that to its credit, South Africa had given a safe haven to Kagame’s former Rwandan intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya and former military chief General Kayumba Nyamwasa when they fled from Rwanda to South Africa more than a decade ago. “But we constantly hear how your administration is attempting to normalise relations with Rwanda,” she said, ...
The Western Cape High Court has found in favour of Tiso Blackstar (now Arena Holdings) and amaBhungane in their application to gain access to a PwC report commissioned by the embattled retailer Steinhoff. The report will shed light on the alleged irregularities giving rise to a precipitous drop in the company’s share price in December 2017. amaBhungane and the Financial Mail have secured a vital court victory in the Western Cape High Court that affirms the right of journalists to access information for the purposes of accurate reporting — including from private actors. The decision also strikes a blow against the argument that exemptions from providing such information, such as legal privilege, can be invoked merely on the say-so of the requestee. A sound factual basis must be established. The impact of this decision is that legitimate requests for access to information from, for example, companies mired in scandal, cannot be ignored or deflected by briefing attorneys. It means that just because a document may be marked “legally privileged” does not necessarily make it so. Where it began The Steinhoff saga is an example of a corporate scandal that has had far-reaching effects on outsiders to the organisation — in this case, thousands of investors all over the world, including investment vehicles housing the pension funds of a great number of workers. It all began on 6 December 2017, when news broke of the sudden resignation of Steinhoff chief executive Markus Jooste and an announcement by its board of directors that information had come to light of “accounting irregularities requiring further investigation”. It emerged later that these irregularities consisted of a scheme allegedly masterminded by Jooste, in which “fictitious profit” of R106-billion was funnelled through Steinhoff’s accounts. The news of Jooste’s resignation caused the share price of the company — once held up as a paragon in the business world — to drop by some 95%. Steinhoff engaged the law firm Werksmans to instruct PwC’s advisory services arm to conduct an independent investigation into the irregularities, and a report was issued by the accounting firm in March 2019. But Steinhoff only published a summary of the report, which hid much of the detailed mechanics of the alleged fraud and who exactly was responsible. The Financial Mail, and later amaBhungane, submitted separate requests in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) for access to the report. Both requests were refused by Steinhoff, which cited as the reason for the refusal ...
The South African mining industry has made strides in preventing deaths from fall-of-ground incidents. But the industry’s safety record is still regressing after decades of improvement, the Mining Indaba heard on Wednesday. First, the good news. In the first quarter of this year, no South African mine worker in gold and platinum was killed in a fall-of-ground (FOG) incident, a first. One was killed in a FOG at a coal mine, which is a rare event. “This is the first time ever our gold and PGM [platinum group metal] mines have not had a fall-of-ground fatality in the first three months of the year. This impressive record is extending into the fifth month in these two sectors. “These things don’t just happen. A lot of effort goes into these safety initiatives by companies and organised labour,” says Dr Sizwe Phakathi, the head of safety at the Minerals Council South Africa. Last year there were six FOG-related fatalities in the first quarter of the year. But the bad news is that a worrying regression on the safety front in the industry continues. A weekend incident at Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine, in which four workers were killed by a mudslide, has brought the number of South African mine workers killed at work in 2022 to 19 to date, the Minerals Council said at the Mining Indaba on Wednesday. At this point in 2021, 18 mine workers have been killed. In 2019, a record low of 51 South African mine workers were killed on the job – still almost one a week. In 2020, that number spiked to 60 and it reached 74 in 2021. Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter told a media briefing at the indaba that the sector was taking a number of initiatives to improve its safety record. These include “stopping unauthorised or uncontrolled access to mining areas, which happens even in operational mines”. Ensuring that incentives or bonuses do not encourage reckless behaviour is another safety initiative. In terms of FOGs, the industry has made strides in recent years in reducing such incidents with measures such as rolling out safety netting at the face where rock-drill operators carry out their arduous work. “The number of falls-of-ground fatalities has fallen to an annual average of 24 in the 2016-2020 period from an average of 111 a year between 2001-2005, a 78% improvement,” the Minerals Council said at the indaba. But many deaths in the sector are related to transport incidents – ...
It’s a rare State Capture intervention success story. Without the Bank of Baroda, the Gupta corruption and racketeering enterprise would not have been able to smuggle billions out of South Africa to fund its international ambitions, evidence before the State Capture Commission of Inquiry revealed. The latest report from the State Capture Commission of Inquiry has found that the Bank of Baroda, an Indian state-owned bank, failed to report highly suspicious activity on the Guptas’ and their associates’ accounts, enabling them to continue their money laundering activities. Without the SA Reserve Bank’s (Sarb’s) intervention, the Guptas would have siphoned much more to their enterprise. The Zondo Commission found that Baroda Bank facilitated the money laundering operation for the Guptas. The central bank alerted the Reserve Bank of India to what Baroda was getting up to in South Africa. By 2018, Baroda had been fined in South Africa and shut down as part of what it said was a global consolidation of its overseas operations. It is a rare State Capture success story of acting speedily and using networks and expertise to isolate and expose corruption and money laundering. Sarb fined Baroda Bank R11-million for money laundering-related offences, but this was reduced to R400,000 because of weaknesses in the system. The DA also laid charges against the bank, which the Guptas tried and failed to get to stay open. The Guptas then tried and failed to buy Habib Bank through South African businessperson Hamza Farooqui. The closure, first of the network’s local bank accounts and then the Baroda branches, eventually shut down the Guptas’ entire criminal operation. In a two-part report on how Eskom was corrupted, Judge Raymond Zondo revealed how Baroda turned state witness under summons from the commission’s investigators. The Guptas launched many assaults against the state. Their biggest sortie was to “hijack” the purchase of Optimum Coal Holdings from Glencore, with the assistance of then mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane in 2015. Ajay Gupta’s master plan was to secure coal supply contracts for his family. Coal supply is still the bedrock of South Africa’s energy system, and the Gupta don saw big bucks. But the Guptas were short of cash to make the payment once Glencore folded, and their company Tegeta needed a cash injection to seal the deal. “Following the sale agreement of 10 December 2015, Tegeta needed to demonstrate it had sufficient funds for the purchase of Optimum in order to gain the consent of the Consortium ...
Being your own boss means making your own rules, following your passion, and driving your own success. It also means working overtime, battling fickle consumers, and a lack of support from the government. If being an entrepreneur means that you’re helping the economy and creating jobs, what is the government doing to say ‘thank you’? Entrepreneurs discuss the challenges involved in starting your own business, especially in townships. This film was produced by Street Talk. Street Talk is a groundbreaking television series aired weekly on community television. From grassroots to the establishment, our engaging programmes expose the lived realities and uncensored views of ordinary South Africans. Street Talk was launched in 2008 and is a non-profit organisation — visit us at www.streettalktv.com Disclaimer: Street Talk encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of participants who appear in the TV series — Street Talk, are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the producers. DM
Former revolutionaries like Cyril Ramaphosa and Kaizer Chiefs are shadows of their former selves and no longer pack the punches they used to. I have a feeling the gods are trying to warn us about something — Cyril Ramaphosa, a working-class hero of the 1980s, gets heckled and chased away from a rally by mineworkers? This happens on the same weekend that Kaizer Chiefs, the “Glamour Boys” of SA football during the same decade, suffered a fourth successive defeat in the DStv Premiership. Back in the ’80s, these two scenarios were just unthinkable and completely unimaginable. Boo and heckle Cyril Ramaphosa? Goodness! During the turbulent 1980s when he was leading the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the biggest and strongest union in the country, even just thinking of carrying out such an act was a sure way of inviting a lynching from workers that could land you within a few centimetres of the revered Pearly Gates. Then, Ramaphosa had all the makings of a revolutionary. He had the image of a fearless negotiator and unionist. He sported a scruffy Afro and ragged beard and dressed like a struggling working-class man who did his shopping at second-hand traders on the sidewalk in downtown Jozi. He was a far different animal from the clean-shaven gentleman who now dons well-cut suits and speaks the language of bureaucrats and captains of industry. When he was chased away from the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg on May Day, Ramaphosa was kitted in that shiny black ANC-branded leather jacket that made me think for a few moments that perhaps the workers mistook their leader for a feared taxi boss? Anyway, it was during that period when he carried that revolutionary image, in 1987, as general secretary of NUM, that Ramaphosa led the biggest strike by mineworkers since 1946. NUM was challenging powerful mining houses that were in cahoots with the apartheid government to pay workers a living wage and improve their working conditions. Remember, back then there was no progressive Constitution. The slightest sign of resistance was met with boots and bullets, hence Ramaphosa, who by the way has never been a mineworker, was the workers’ hero. But now? He is chased away by members of the same union that he once led and helped to build into a respected labour movement. Imagine a president being forced to abandon his address on such an important international day by a few hundred men who ...
Earlier this year, the National Treasury relaxed foreign exchange controls, allowing retirement funds to invest up to 45% of their assets offshore. The optimal global exposure for a standard Regulation 28-compliant balanced fund is closer to 35%, according to analysts at Cape Town asset manager Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG), who warn that you should exercise caution when making the decision to invest offshore. Urvesh Desai, a portfolio manager at OMIG, says there are at least three main arguments for diversifying a portfolio offshore. The first is exposure to more companies and industries than are available locally. “The local equity market is concentrated in the financial and mining industries, with virtually no exposure to technology industries such as hardware, software or even biotech,” says Desai. The second reason is diversifying your investment risk among different economies, countries and currencies. Third, investors believe they can potentially earn higher returns globally than are on offer locally. “We all agree that portfolio diversification makes sense, but few appreciate how much of a diversified portfolio’s outperformance derives from the relative performance of the rand versus offshore currencies rather than asset allocation,” says Desai. A South African investor’s experience of global assets is therefore significantly impacted by the rand, which can be particularly volatile. A fourth reason would be if you anticipate that your family or your children plan to emigrate when they are older, and you want to leave them an inheritance that is already in the currency of their most likely destination. “Because currencies move in cycles, the minimum time horizon for an offshore investment should be seven years,” advises Debbie Netto-Jonker, the founder of Netto Invest. Investors in different life stages will also find different offshore weightings appropriate. For example, Netto-Jonker says a young person with a business and property in SA can afford to have a higher offshore weighting, particularly as their investment horizon will be longer, whereas a retired investor will gravitate towards the lower-risk option of a lower offshore weighting. Global factors currently at play Duggan Matthews, chief investment officer at Marriott Investment Managers, says the international markets currently face three major challenges: INFLATION. The major downside of the recent unparalleled monetary and fiscal stimulus is that consumer demand bounced back faster than supply, triggering bottlenecks and pricing pressures that would normally emerge far later in the economic cycle. This rapid increase in inflation has piled pressure on to central banks to hike rates and is particularly evident ...
Brazil’s consumer prices increased more than expected, reaching the highest level in nearly two decades after the central bank signaled it will likely raise its interest rate again next month. Prices rose 12.13% in April from a year ago, the highest level since October 2003 and above the 12.06% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Monthly inflation hit 1.06%, the national statistics agency reported on Wednesday. The central bank is nearing the end to one of world’s most aggressive monetary tightening cycles since the pandemic, with hikes that have added 10.75 percentage points to the Selic in just over a year. Yet inflation remains stuck in the double-digits, grating on Brazilians and presenting a major challenge to President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to win a second term. What Bloomberg Economics Says “While the bulk of pressure again came from food and transportation costs, there are signs inflation remains widespread. The outsize gain may fuel further increases in inflation expectations — certainly for 2022, and possibly for 2023 due to inertia.” Adriana Dupita, Latin America economist Click here to read the full report Contracts on interest-rate swaps due in January 2023, which indicate investor sentiment about monetary policy at year-end, rose 11 basis points in morning trading as traders mulled the probability of additional borrowing cost increases. Monthly inflation was driven by rising costs of food and beverages, which rose 2.06%, as well as transportation that increased 1.91%. It was the biggest consumer price jump for the month of April since 1996, the statistics agency said. Top Concern Last week, policy makers led by Roberto Campos Neto raised the key rate to 12.75% and signaled an additional, albeit smaller, increase was likely on tap before they stop hiking. In the rate-decision minutes, central bankers wrote that the effects of higher borrowing costs on inflation was “still to be seen.” Read more: Brazil Central Bank Says Intense Rate Hikes to Impact Prices Commodity prices continue to be pushed up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reverberating across the Brazilian economy. State-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. raised diesel prices by 8.9% this week. The surging cost of living has become a top concern for voters ahead of October’s general elections, with polls widely showing Bolsonaro shouldering the blame. While Campos Neto has previously said inflation should peak in April, major Wall Street banks now see inflation at more than 9% at year’s end, well above the 2022 target of 3.5%.
Alphabet Inc., owner of the ubiquitous search engine Google, has flagged an interest in bidding for the broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League, or IPL, joining the ranks of half a dozen media giants vying for the coveted asset in cricket-crazy India. The American tech company, which also has the video-streaming website YouTube, purchased the bid-related documents from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the information isn’t public. SuperSport, a South Africa-based group of television channels, bought the documents too, according to a person familiar. Amazon.com Inc., The Walt Disney Co., billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd., Sony Group Corp., homegrown Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. and fantasy-sports platform Dream11 have also signaled their interest by purchasing these information dockets from BCCI, Bloomberg reported earlier. Google’s interest in the global media rights of India’s top cricket league intensifies the fight for a sports event that has emerged as the world’s third-largest, trailing only the Premier League and the National Football League in terms of viewers. Last year’s edition of the IPL brought in 600 million viewers, according to BCCI estimates, underscoring the sheer media clout this event represents in India’s highly competitive entertainment market. BCCI and a YouTube representative in India declined to comment. Read More Amazon, Disney, Reliance Gird for $5 Billion Cricket Prize Fight Bezos Poised to Clash With Asia’s Richest Man in Cricket Auction Super Bowl of Cricket Plans Women’s League as Viewership Surges BCCI, the sport’s governing body in India which values the IPL at about $7 billion, will be auctioning its broadcast and live streaming rights for the years 2023-2027 starting June 12. Purchasing application documents doesn’t lead to a certain offer and the firms can decide to not bid, the people said. Bagging IPL’s media rights — considered the Super Bowl of cricket by some — will allow companies to reach out to hundreds of millions of eyeballs and bolster their advertisement revenue.
US consumer prices rose by more than forecast in April, indicating inflation will persist at elevated levels for longer and keeping the Federal Reserve on the path of aggressive interest-rate hikes. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.6% from a month earlier and 6.2% from April 2021, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday. The broader CPI rose 0.3% from the prior month and 8.3% on an annual basis, a slight cooling but still among the highest readings in decades. Some of the largest contributors to the monthly increase included shelter, food, airfares and new vehicles. The core CPI topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which had a median projection of 0.4%. The headline gauge was seen climbing 0.2%. This Town Has the Worst Inflation in America Treasuries declined and the S&P 500 rose in early trading. Traders steepened bets for the path of Fed moves, increasingly betting on a fourth straight half-point rate hike in September. “The peak of inflation may be behind us, but today’s CPI report points to a long, slow descent or maybe even a plateau around 8%,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. Breadth, Persistence While the latest report shows that US inflation has likely peaked, the figures underscore the breadth of price increases in the economy and, when combined with firm wage growth, suggest high inflation will persist for some time. Despite the Fed raising interest rates, including the biggest rate hike since 2000 last week, global headwinds like China’s lockdowns and resilient services’ demand may mean a slow road to the central bank’s 2% goal. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that officials are open to several half-point increases in the central bank’s benchmark rate in the months ahead. The CPI will help shape estimates for the April personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, which will be released on May 27. Inflation has put President Joe Biden and Democrats on their heels this year, threatening their thin congressional majorities despite a robust job market and resilient consumer spending. Read more: Fed Officials Back Half-Point Hikes, Mester Open to Doing More A key expectation for a moderation in inflation this year hinges on slowdown in goods prices as Americans shift their discretionary income to activities like travel and dining out. The rate of goods and other commodities inflation declined while services costs increased by the most since 2001 on a ...
The move follows the adoption of landmark EU copyright rules that compel Google and other online platforms to pay news publishers, journalists and content creators, among others, for using their work. Alphabet Inc’s Google has reached agreements with over 300 European Union-based news publications in order to publish their stories on the search engine. Publishers in Germany including ZEIT, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Spiegel, along with others in Hungary, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland have signed up to the agreement with the search engine, Google said in a blog post on Wednesday. The post did not reveal how much Google would pay for the deals. The European Copyright Directive, which came into force in 2019, was the culmination of an effort from the European Union to ensure publishers from inside the bloc are compensated for their content. The copyright law, which is being rolled out across the region by each country, allows publishers to ask for payment whenever online platforms use their content. The new rules have allowed news outlets to negotiate with web platforms such as Google and Facebook over the reproduction of their content. How Europe Is Rewriting the Rules for Digital Media: QuickTake In 2021, Google entered an agreement with German publishers to create criteria for payments to publishers with an exemption for hosting small extracts of stories, which can be used free of charge. Google is now expanding the roll-out of these agreements through a web tool, to facilitate future deals with publishers. Over 220 news outlets in Germany have now entered into these licensing agreements with Google, the company announced in a seperate blog post on Wednesday. These agreements aren’t limited to print publishers but also to multimedia, such as TV channels n-tv and RTL. Australia has also been forcing tech giants to renegotiate payments with content providers. In early 2021, Facebook Inc. reached a multiyear deal with News Corp. in Australia, agreeing to pay Rupert Murdoch’s publishing arm for access to additional stories. BM
Putting everything in a greased oven pan and letting it cook away while you relax is just what we need in the colder months. The vine leaves out back are turning orange and then brown, and falling like oversized snowflakes to settle at our feet and remind us of the new growth only months ago, when we planned to make dolmades and were relishing the prospect of long hot evenings ahead. How soon it passes, and now the fallen leaves make us think of shutting the kitchen door and filling a deep tray with everything we want for supper, shoving it in the oven and settling in front of the fire while it cooks. There’s comfort and truth in a tray bake. It represents the human need to huddle together against the cold and the odds, to seek succour for mind and soul as well as body. It’s a primal dish, no matter what you put in it. It’s meant for what you have to hand, not what you need to go out and shop for. What you can afford, in the time you can afford, is cut up and put in the greased oven tray, seasoned and moistened, and in it goes. There are no frills or pretensions in it. All the frippery of urban café society is as nothing in the winter kitchen when all you want is the warm glow of hearth and fire and mulled wine or smooth merlot in hand to soothe the pressures of the day. It’s no wonder that restaurants have a tough time in these colder months. Our kitchens call us; we’re summoned to warmth and nurture. Autumn and winter vegetables are glorious and made for the oven tray. Pumpkin and butternut, sweet potatoes and beetroot, turnips and parsnips; if only they were more commonly available. I’d cook with them several times a week if I could; the parsnip is hands-down the most underrated vegetable of them all, so whenever you see them, grab them before I get there and buy the lot. For me, a perfect tray bake has five elements: A light meat such as chicken, perhaps pork. Steak is not for the tray, and nor are lamb/mutton or venison. They need the oven, yes, but not the tray in the context of a family all-in-one bake. Red meat that needs slow-cooking needs to roast in its own time while vegetables are cooked elsewhere on the ...
Trevor Manuel has written to JJ Tabane requesting a retraction of statements Tabane made that he had a hand in the formation of Cope. Dear Sir, I am compelled to address you in relation to certain statements you made relating to and concerning me, among others, during an interview on ”The Hustlers Corner” that was aired on YouTube. During the aforementioned interview you boldly claimed that I and several others played a role in the formation of COPE. After mentioning me you said, “They can deny all they want”, and “He (in reference to me) can be as angry as he wants.” Well, I am not angry but I am outraged at the falsehoods you spread. Your statement is simply not true. You peddled this false narrative in the full knowledge of its falseness by virtue of, at least, your apparent involvement in the formation of COPE at the time. You are an experienced highly qualified media personality. Your statements and utterances shape and influence public opinion, more so than is ordinarily the case because of your stature and own media profile. Following the aforesaid interview, the print media has now picked up on your false narrative and continues to disseminate the untruths. In point of fact, Mr Mbhazima Shilowa, one of the founders of COPE tweeted today, “This is all I will say about the ”revelations” by @JJTabane. People should go back to what happened at the Hefer Commission especially when my friends and comrades Mo and Mac faced Moerane, not to mention Vusi and Ranjeni. One would think that people then learnt never to peddle lies.” At the time of the founding of COPE, I was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC. I remained as a member of the NEC until I stepped down at the 53rd National Conference that convened in Mangaung in December 2012. Your accusation that I was involved in the formation of COPE whilst an NEC member of the ANC impugns my integrity. From my perspective, you have accused me of duplicitous conduct. This incorrect perception, unless immediately retracted and corrected, can and will take hold in the minds of the public at large thereby undermining my standing in the broader South African community. You will appreciate your wrongful and unlawful conduct has caused me and continues to cause me great harm. In the circumstances, I hereby call upon you to unreservedly withdraw the false, wrongful and unlawful ...
Hours waiting for emergency medical services, medicine shortages, high travel costs, and long walking distances to clinics. These are some of the issues rural communities in the North West face when trying to access healthcare services. Meanwhile, expensive mobile clinics purchased from the Gupta-linked Mediosa are gathering dust. Nthusang Lefafa spoke to community members in some of these rural communities and the provincial health authorities. Residents of several rural communities in the North West province cite hours waiting for emergency medical services, medicine shortages, expensive travel costs, and long walking distances to clinics as some of the challenges they face when trying to access healthcare services. Meanwhile, expensive mobile clinics that the provincial government purchased from the Gupta-linked Mediosa are gathering dust. Long wait times for emergency services Dunga Tshilo, whose aunt Lydia Jotwe (83) lives in the remote village Cokonyane near Taung in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, says they waited nine hours for an ambulance for his aunt. She passed away in the ambulance while it was transporting her to a nearby hospital in Taung. The nearest health facility to her home is Cokonyane Clinic, a mobile container clinic which cost the North West Health Department nearly R1.2-million, according to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) constituency head Sello Seitlholo. The mobile clinic that serves 70 to 170 patients a day does not have enough shelter for patients who sometimes have to wait outside in the wind and rain. There is no space to store patient files and medication inside the clinic. There is also no privacy for pregnant women to deliver their babies, says Seitlholo, who has been monitoring the situation since 2020. There is only one flush toilet, intended for health workers, while patients only have access to one pit toilet outside, which some say smells very bad. At night, Seitlholo says it becomes very dark because the only high mast light for the area is often not working. Cokonyane Clinic also serves five other surrounding villages, including Sethabeng, Mamashokwane, Madibaneng, Modimong, and Helenspan. Tshilo, who is from a neighbouring village called Modimong, says some patients have to travel nearly 11km to reach Cokonyane Clinic. Some use donkey carts, while those with motor vehicles can charge up to R300 to hire their car for a trip to the clinic. “Sometimes when children and the elderly get to this facility, they are told that some of the medication they require is not available,” says Tshilo. He went on ...
A shortage of personnel, lack of equipment, and not having enough ambulances on the road are all challenges hampering response times and the quality of emergency medical services in the Northern Cape. Refilwe Mochoari spoke to relevant stakeholders, including healthcare users and EMS staff about these perennial problems and what is needed to fix them. It was around 10:00 on 11 March 2022, when Masego Kolane (23) from Barkley West, about 35km outside Kimberly, says she called an ambulance. She was in labour. Kolane was 39 weeks pregnant and after several calls, she says no ambulance came to her rescue. “My sister eventually called the police station, asking them to help take me to the hospital,” Kolane tells Spotlight. “But unfortunately, the police [said they] do not have authority to transport me, so they had to drive to the Barkley West Hospital to fetch the ambulance themselves,” says Kolane. Four hours later, the ambulance arrived at the Kolane residence, she says. “When we arrived at the Prof ZK Mathews Hospital in Barkley West, nothing could be done because my blood pressure was too high and I had to be rushed to the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberly where the child was born. I really don’t know how I managed to come out of that terrible situation alive. I don’t know what would have happened to me and my child if the police did not come to my rescue,” says Kolane. She says she will never advise anyone to rely on ambulances in the province because “that is taking a risk with one’s life”. Community suffers Some Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel members blame ambulance shortages, staff shortages, and inadequate occupational health and safety measures. They say they can only work with what is available. Prince Naidoo who has been an emergency medical services worker for more than ten years, during an interview with Spotlight says it is often the community who suffers most when it comes to emergency medical services in the province. “The reason we are always late for our patients is [that] there [are] not enough vehicles and staff members and often the ambulances don’t have working equipment. As a result, we use our own personal equipment that we have invested in for ourselves as emergency services personnel,” he says. “We are understaffed, we are strained, we do not have the proper equipment to help the patients when in the ambulance, and there [are] not enough ...
Blind SA and intellectual property activists are confident the Constitutional Court will rule in their favour in a vindication of the rights of people with visual disabilities. A decades-long campaign will come to a head on Thursday when the highest court in the country presides over a case to decide whether to confirm the high court order from September 2021. Blind SA, represented by SECTION27, launched proceedings in the high court to declare the Copyright Act unconstitutional since it limits the rights of people with visual disabilities from accessing copyrighted works in formats they can read. Blind SA has been at the forefront of a decades-long campaign to end the book famine for blind and partially sighted people. Blind SA asked the court to amend the outdated Copyright Act by “reading in” section 19D of the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB). The bill amends the Copyright Act of 1978, and allows for general exceptions regarding protection of copyright works for people with disabilities. In other words, this section would allow people with disabilities to develop or import accessible-format copies of published works without having to secure the permission of the copyright holder, thereby greatly improving access to reading materials. Not only did the high court declare the Copyright Act unconstitutional, it ordered that section 19D of the CAB is now part of the act. This means that if the legislature does not pass copyright reform to provide an exception for people with visual disabilities within 12 months, the order that section 19D is part of the act will become permanent. In addition, the reading-in of section 19D into the act paves the way for the Marrakesh VIP Treaty to be acceded in South Africa. The United Nations-administered treaty, adopted in 2013, makes it possible for the production and international transfer of specially adapted books for the visually impaired. Blind SA president Jace Nair believes the Constitutional Court’s confirmation of the high court order will be a meaningful vindication of the rights of people who are blind or visually impaired and will allow them to have access to a far higher number of published works in formats they can read. “It is unfortunate that we had to approach the Constitutional Court to seek relief for inclusion of exceptions and limitations for blind persons to access works in accessible formats despite progressive legislation and the Constitution that we have in our country. Blind and partially sighted people have been denied ...
After decades of presenting memorandums, calling for meetings and holding protests – and being ‘ignored’ by the government – elderly campaigners seeking justice for rights abuses during apartheid finally got to make their case to the justice minister directly. It took 13 cold nights sleeping outside the Constitutional Court to finally get Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to listen to struggle veterans trying to get apartheid reparations. Lamola, his deputy John Jeffrey and justice spokesperson Chrispin Phiri arrived at the ConCourt in Johannesburg at noon on Tuesday, 10 May 2022 to meet the elderly and frail members of the Galela Campaign. Galela means “pour” in Xhosa, and refers to the need for reparations to begin to flow. Reparations were promised to victims of apartheid human rights violations after the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1998, but these were downgraded severely in 2003 by then president Thabo Mbeki. The Khulumani Support Group (KSG) has been fighting against the “closed list” of victims ever since. The veterans, who represent thousands of others nationwide seeking help, told the three justice officials they felt disrespected and angry. After decades of presenting memorandums, calling for meetings and holding protests, the government had pointedly and continually ignored them, they said. After an intense discussion, the minister said the department could only pay reparations in line with existing regulations and processes, and claimed only the President or Parliament could resolve the issue. The Galela veterans pointed out that appeals to the President and to Parliament over 23 years have led to them being told the minister of justice would deal with the matter. Lamola then said he would have to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa to meet them. The veterans said they would continue to sleep outside the ConCourt until the President came to them. They emphasised that this must happen “now”, not in days or weeks. “We are saying, since he, the minister of justice, says he cannot fix the failed reparations, then the President must come and do so. Now. We will be here waiting for him,” they said. The Galela Campaign began after yet another failed request for a meeting with the Justice Department on or before Freedom Day on 27 April 2022. They then decided to sleep outside the ConCourt until they were heard properly and their demands acted upon. “We have consulted, convened, marched, pleaded and toyi-toyied. We have been told, ‘yes, of course we will deal with this’. We are still ...
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act makes abortion legal in South Africa. But how far along your pregnancy is determines whether you can get an abortion, what type of termination would be best for you and who should perform it. Abortion experts Melusi Dhlamini and Boitumelo Lewele explain the ins and outs of how abortions work in South Africa. Abortions have been legal in South Africa for the past 26 years. But the legal-speak in the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and the guidelines that go with it can be daunting to read. Melusi Dhlamini, a doctor certified to perform abortions, and Boitumelo Lewele, a registered nurse, answer six questions to help you make sense of what to expect when you get an abortion. What does the law say about abortion in South Africa? The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act makes it legal to get an abortion in South Africa. But the rules for when you can get an abortion and who can perform it depend on how far along your pregnancy is. Up to your 12th week of pregnancy, getting an abortion is completely your choice. You don’t have to explain your reasons for wanting to end the pregnancy. If you’re between 13 and 20 weeks pregnant, the pregnancy may be terminated if it’s the result of rape or incest, you can’t afford to have a child, or if your or the foetus’ health is at risk. This includes severe genetic disorders or serious brain or heart problems. After 20 weeks, an abortion is possible only if continuing would put your or the baby’s life in danger. Two doctors have to agree about this. Only certified doctors, nurses or midwives are allowed to do abortions. Are all abortions done the same way? No. There are two types: In a medical abortion, you take pills that end the pregnancy. This method works best in the first trimester. A trimester means the length of the pregnancy is divided into three periods of three months each. In a surgical abortion, you have a small procedure during which the foetus is removed from the womb. The procedure is usually done after 12 weeks of pregnancy, but it’s possible to go this way in the first trimester if your healthcare worker says it’s best for you. How does a medical abortion work? You take two types of pills, called mifepristone and misoprostol. Research shows that this combo successfully ends a pregnancy more than nine out ...
Climate change is already having a massive impact on our planet. Here are some of the products that could become harder to find because of the climate crisis. Have you noticed that every time you do your monthly shop it seems like your trolley becomes more expensive? With rising prices all round, South Africans are feeling the pinch. But did you know that climate change is also part of the problem and is contributing to the inflation? On 6 May 2022, IPES-Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems) released a special report on the state of the global food crisis and world hunger. The scientists explained that, as climate changes put pressure on local farmers, South African food prices could rise and more money will also need to go to importing food. It’s been happening for years. The World Bank reports that “over the past few decades, Africa’s food import bill has more than tripled”, reaching about R559-billion ($35-billion) a year. Here are shopping cart items that are likely to get more expensive and elusive thanks to climate change. Lower nutritional qualities in crops The IPES-Food report states that the effects of climate change are already “afflicting agriculture regularly enough to create persistent vulnerability, as well as injecting a permanent layer of uncertainty into global markets”. The report also found that climate change “increases competition for land and resources and pushes people into poverty” as extreme weather events (such as droughts and floods as well as changing climates that introduce new pests and change growing conditions) displace millions of people and force them to migrate. In fact, the report also refers to an IPCC finding that estimates that climate change has reduced agricultural productivity growth in Africa by 34% since 1961. One severe factor of climate change is rising carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas levels. This, combined with higher temperatures, affects the metabolism of plants and their growth rates, yields and nutritional qualities. Studies have found that higher CO2 concentrations decrease protein, zinc and iron in wheat grains and decrease protein and vitamin content in rice grains. This means that finding healthier grains is not only going to be more difficult or expensive for shoppers, but could also affect the “nutrient status of about 600 million people”, warns the IPCC. Change in composition of fruits and vegetables Fruits and vegetables, many of which are key resources in South Africa, are also facing threats from climate change. The IPCC Climate Change ...
Suspect Philemon Lukhele owns several student accommodation properties which the university has asked students to vacate. Philemon Lukhele had a contract with the University of Mpumalanga to accommodate students in three separate guesthouse-cum-student lodge facilities across Mbombela. Now the university has announced it has cancelled its student accommodation accreditation contract following Lukhele’s arrest in connection with the murder of Hillary Gardee — the daughter of EFF politician Godrich Gardee. Lukhele owns the Insika Guest House student accommodation in Mbombela, which has three properties housing students for the University of Mpumalanga. Police believe Hillary Gardee was held at the guest house before her murder. Students had been advised to vacate all of Lukhele’s properties as the university will no longer pay Lukhele for their stay at his facilities. Lukhele, a senior member of Eswatini’s biggest opposition party, the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), was arrested with two other men. Pudemo has also taken a decision to suspend Lukhele’s membership pending the case. Pudemo said the party is opposed to gender-based violence and had to prove this by cutting off ties with Lukhele. University management also said they took this decision to cut the accreditation contract with Lukhele because they take the issue seriously and have to act in keeping with their values of integrity. Hillary was the daughter of EFF senior leader and lawyer Godrich Gardee, who has also offered a “handsome reward” to anyone who can come forward and assist police with information concerning how his 28-year-old daughter was abducted while shopping at the Nelspruit Plaza Spar on Friday 29 April 2022. She was found dead on Tuesday 3 May 2022 in a Mbombela forest plantation — just 500 metres from the R532 road connecting Mbombela and Sabie. Lukhele and the two other men face numerous charges including kidnapping, rape and murder. DM
Hearing people take things for granted – and this is never more obvious than to the children of deaf parents, who tell us what they’ve learnt along the way. Andries van Niekerk, a specialist at the National Institute for the Deaf (NID) in Worcester, grew up in a home of limited spoken language. “The spoken language was primarily between my brother and I, not from my parents,” he explains. “My mother could speak relatively well, but my father not. They mostly use South African Sign Language – SASL for short – to talk with us.” Van Niekerk is forthright about the fact that being a CODA – the child of deaf adult/s – is not easy: “Being a CODA has a lot of challenges. My parents didn’t have access to a lot of information. There was much we did not know about the world that we only discovered at a later age.” Despite these communication challenges, Van Niekerk values the unique brand of multilingualism he possesses as a result. “The benefit is that I am not only multilingual, but I am also multimodal multilingual, which means that I know languages in two different modalities,” he notes. “Some research indicates that this is beneficial for cognitive development.” He learnt SASL before spoken language, which he picked up from “neighbours, the daycare centre and grandparents”. Although this may seem unconventional, he adds language-learning processes like this are not radically different from typical early language development of any other kind. She laments having to see how her father is occasionally excluded from conversations with hearing people or how people will sometimes steer clear of him at gatherings “Cognitively, there aren’t many differences; the same language centres of the brain are used regardless of modality,” Van Niekerk says. “There is some extra development in the motor centres of the brain, which makes sense, as sign languages rely on motor skills.” CODA siblings Caitlin and Marco Terblanche grew up with a hearing mother and deaf father. Both were raised as English and SASL speakers. For Caitlin, a qualified sonographer who now lives in Australia, the community her family has found through her father’s deafness is indispensable. “It’s a really awesome community. They look at things from a very different perspective,” she says. “To be able to be hearing and be part of the community in a way, really gives you a different outlook on life and [helps you] see the way they see things.” She adds, however, that ...
Learners argue that the Department of Basic Education adequately doesn’t understand how deaf education and South African Sign Language work together, to the detriment of teaching. Modiegi Njeyiyana lives in two worlds: “We [deaf people] have spoken language culture around us, plus the deaf [culture].” Njeyiyana, who has been deaf since she was three, recently obtained her Master’s degree in linguistics from Stellenbosch University, and she plans to pursue her doctorate. Her achievement is a story of success for the deaf community, which struggles to access education past Grade 12. Films such as Sound of Metal and CODA have helped make deaf culture a bit more known to the hearing world. But although they shed light on deaf culture, the hearing world will never be able to experience deaf culture as they do. This reality has not yet spilled into the education system. And because deaf education is not led by the deaf, it cannot help uplift the community, says Njeyiyana. Negative attitudes towards the deaf community linger, she says. “There is certainly not enough awareness around sign language and [deaf] culture. This is something that we struggle with until today.” Njeyiyana talks through a combination of signs that have their own grammar, syntax and vocabulary. She communicates in South African Sign Language (SASL), which she has been teaching at Stellenbosch University since 2018 — and an interpreter translates. Njeyiyana, a mother of two hearing children and whose husband is hard of hearing, is one of more than 200,000 who speak SASL, including those who are hearing and hard of hearing. National deaf organisations, such as the SA National Deaf Association, indicate that there are more than four million deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the country. Njeyiyana’s research — which investigated SASL variation within the Dominican School for the Deaf in Wynberg in the Western Cape — is important for millions of deaf South Africans, especially because academic literature and support for SASL remain poor. Slow progress SASL has made some progress in the country, albeit slow. For example, SASL is considered a home language in schools and, since 2015, it has been offered as a subject from pre-school to Grade 12. Now, 43 schools offer SASL and, in 2018, the first cohort of deaf learners matriculated in SASL. In 2017, the Constitutional Review Committee of Parliament also recommended that SASL be added as South Africa’s 12th official language. This has not yet been done. According to Njeyiyana, these staggered strides have, sadly, ...
From peacekeeping to early warning and mediation, traditional tools aren’t resolving protracted conflicts. Africa faces widespread instability. In the past year, there have been coups in Mali, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and attempts to overthrow governments in Central African Republic (CAR), Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau. Violent extremism has also spread due to the political and economic marginalisation of some communities, the difficulties of transitioning to democracy, and governments’ failure to modernise their defence and security sectors. Solving these violent conflicts has been problematic, mostly because of the ineffectiveness of existing instruments and geostrategic changes. As a result, debates are ongoing about the usefulness of peacekeeping and peace support operations in various countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan, the CAR and Somalia. And while governments aim to preserve their territorial integrity at all costs, international actors often prioritise a humanitarian-based vision focused on defending minorities. These different approaches lead to disagreements about how to resolve conflicts. Various instruments in the so-called civilian crisis-management toolbox are also struggling to show results in Africa. One of these — early warning — faces a double challenge. The first is the ubiquity of information, which requires early-warning systems to take a different approach, focusing on identifying and analysing relevant data. The second is governments’ shortage of willingness and capacity to act on information that can prevent crises. The lack of swift action in response to early warning is exacerbated by African states’ resistance to interference in their internal affairs. This has consistently hampered conflict prevention initiatives by the African Union (AU) in various crises, such as Cameroon, Guinea and Mali. Mediation also faces problems. While disputes between states are on the rise — for example Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt, Algeria-Morroco, Kenya-Somalia, Sudan-South-Sudan — countries seldom ask the AU to facilitate, preventing it from playing any significant role. In the case of conflicts between governments and armed groups, for example in the CAR, mediation has floundered because of the increasingly diverging interests of warring parties. Also, many rebel groups have unclear political agendas that are difficult to translate into a peace agreement. Violent extremist groups such as al-Shabaab and Boko Haram — the main perpetrators of instability in Somalia and the Sahel — are ideologically opposed to any accommodation with their ‘secular’ state enemies. They may have a vision of society but no clear political interests. State-led security responses to crises haven’t fared much better than early warning and mediation. Peace support operations ...
The University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights has advanced democracy for over three decades. The Centre for Human Rights (Centre) at the University of Pretoria (UP) aims to advance human rights through education, research and advocacy, by combining academic excellence and effective activism. The Centre played a significant role in the drafting of South Africa’s Constitution and in guiding aspects of its two-year development process after the inauguration of Nelson Mandela. The work of the Centre was shepherded by its founder Johann van der Westhuizen, who was a professor and head of department in UP’s Faculty of Law at the time and who is a former Constitutional Court judge. During his tenure at the height of the country’s troubles in the 1980s, human rights were introduced into the Faculty of Law’s curriculum. Justice Van der Westhuizen served on several panels and committees during the drafting of the Constitution and led the early stages of drafting the Equality Act (2000) before being appointed as a high court judge. During the development of the Constitution, his role in the “deadlock breaking” panel – where the language, meaning and interpretation of a draft Constitution was negotiated and amended to relieve the pressures of disagreement between negotiating parties – was of particular importance. This panel was the “last stop” for any disputes prior to restarting the entire constitutional process if a consensus could not be reached on certain matters. Constitutional talks were first held a few years prior to the formal process and during the 1991 Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) in Kempton Park. The Interim Constitution emerged from this, and the process moved to Cape Town (1994 – 1996) for the drafting and adoption of the final Constitution. In December last year, South Africa celebrated 25 years since the adoption of the Constitution. In 1986, at the height of apartheid, discourse about a new Bill of Rights for the country took place in a parking lot at UP. This led to two historically important outcomes: a symposium hosted at the University that explored what a new Bill of Rights may comprise; and the formation of the Centre for Human Rights, which later grew into a highly influential think tank that helped shape South Africa’s national charter and influenced the country’s journey to democracy. Both of Judge Van der Westhuizen’s successors at the Centre – the late Professor Christof Heyns and current Director Prof Frans Viljoen ...
Whatever happened to the pot roast? Fashion seems to have removed it from our kitchen routines. Let’s bring it back this winter, starting with this pot roast of a whole chicken with chunky vegetables. To roast or to pot roast? The difference is liquid. We usually roast meat in a very hot oven after oiling or buttering it, but with no liquid such as stock or wine added. A pot roast eschews those in favour of liquid: stock, wine, or both, as well as vegetables which release their own moisture and flavour into the dish. A pot roast can be cooked on the stove top, but I prefer the oven. In fact: two ovens: a Dutch oven, inside your oven. Dutch ovens are those heavy cast-iron ones by manufacturers such as Le Creuset, or the black ones made for the braai. I used the former, but any large, heavy pot suitable for the oven will do. A whole chicken is unusual for a pot roast, but it is a thing. And it makes for a deliciously hearty supper to warm a cold evening. There’s a whack of garlic in this. Oh, and there’s bacon in it. Of course. Ingredients 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 x 1.5 kg chicken, giblets removed 2 Tbsp salted butter 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chunks 2 orange sweet potatoes (Kara), peeled and cut into thick chunks 1 large red onion, outer layer removed, the onion cut into 8 wedges through the root (so that the wedges remain intact) 8 whole garlic cloves, in their husks 200 g streaky bacon, cut into 2cm pieces 2 rosemary sprigs ½ cup white wine ½ cup chicken stock Salt to taste Black pepper to taste Method Preheat the oven to 180℃. Heat a little olive oil in a large Dutch oven with a lid, on a moderately high heat on the stove top. Season the outside of the chicken and the cavity with salt and black pepper. Brown the chicken in the Dutch oven on all sides for about 15 minutes. I use two wooden spoons, one in the cavity, to turn it. Use the same spoons to remove it to a large bowl while you sauté the vegetables. Add the butter to the pot. When it has melted, add the bacon and cook, stirring, for a minute, then add the chunks of potato, sweet potato, carrot, red onion wedges, whole garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs and toss them ...
The Skhaftin Bus is a mobile grocery store that aims to provide low-cost food and promote plastic-free shopping. Over six days, it made its way from inner-city Johannesburg to its new home in Grassy Park, Cape Town. Here is a diary of the trip in one place. Day One – The journey to low-cost sustainable food Day Two — ‘If we don’t plant our own food we are going to starve’ Day Three – ‘It should be everybody’s responsibility to keep the planet clean’ Day Four — Mobile grocery store model is addressing our reliance on plastic packaging Day Five: Monetising waste gives communities an extra incentive to recycle Day Six — the long journey to a new home
Strauss & Co is pleased to announce advance details of its live virtual sales in Johannesburg on 15–17 May 2022, which will include an evening session entirely devoted to Surrealism and its influence on South African art and artists. One of the most important art movements of the early twentieth century, Surrealism is increasingly understood as a global phenomenon – the impact of which has subtly fed into work produced by South African artists as disparate as Alexis Preller and William Kentridge, Judith Mason and Tracey Rose. “Surrealism has its creative origins in inter-war Europe, in particular Paris, but recent scholarship has shown that Surrealism flourished globally,” says Dr Alastair Meredith, a specialist in early twentieth century art and head of Strauss & Co’s art department. “The travelling exhibition Surrealism Beyond Borders, which was originated by The Met in New York in 2021 and is now on view at the Tate Modern in London, shows that cities like Buenos Aires, Cairo, Lisbon, Mexico City, Prague, Seoul, and Tokyo were all hotbeds of surrealist creativity. However, the only artist from Southern Africa in Surrealism Beyond Borders is Mozambican artist Malangatana Ngwenya. Our curated sale will show that South African artists have similarly been moved, influenced and connected by the larger Surrealist conversation.” Due to be held on Monday, 16 May, the evening session will include a diverse roster of South African artists grouped into themes related to Surrealism, which celebrated dreams, magic and the unconscious. The line up of multi-generational artists in this session will include, among others, Keith Alexander, Zander Blom, Breyten Breytenbach, Kevin Roberts, Peter Schütz and Helmut Starcke. The session includes high-value works by Alexis Preller and William Kentridge, which will be available to preview at Strauss & Co’s gallery in Houghton from the last week of April. Noted mid-century art critic F.L. Alexander in 1962 described Alexis Preller as “South Africa’s most important surrealist painter,” an appellation that Preller emphatically refuted. Preller’s work nonetheless shares striking affinities with Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico, whose metaphysical paintings are currently part of Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity, a travelling group exhibition initiated by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Museum Barberini. Kentridge’s charcoal drawing The Highveld Style Masked Ball (estimate R2 800 000 – 3 400 000) is dated 1988 and depicts two figures with strange head adornments of cutlery and pylons dancing in a highveld landscape. Kentridge has frequently emphasised the role of ...
The US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman has reiterated that most digital assets fall under his agency’s purview and venues trading them should register with the regulator. The SEC is also beefing up its enforcement efforts. Gary Gensler is ratcheting up his criticism of digital-asset exchanges, arguing that some platforms are shirking rules and may be betting against their own customers. The US Securities and Exchange Commission chair reiterated on Tuesday that most digital assets fall under his agency’s purview and venues trading them should register with the regulator. The SEC is also beefing up its enforcement efforts, he added. Read more: SEC Crypto Team Getting 20 More Officials in Bid to Crack Down Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg News, Gensler said he’s concerned that crypto exchanges aren’t putting up proper walls between different parts of their businesses such as custody, market-making, and offering a trading venue. He said the “commingling” of services may not be in clients’ best interests. “Crypto’s got a lot of those challenges– of platforms trading ahead of their customers,” Gensler said. “In fact, they’re trading against their customers often because they’re market-marking against their customers.” The securities regulator also raised issues with stablecoins, digital assets that are typically pegged to the dollar or another fiat currency. The three largest stablecoins — Tether, USD Coin, and Binance USD — are all affiliated with exchanges, Gensler said in the interview. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” he said. “Each one of the three big ones were founded by the trading platforms to facilitate trading on those platforms and potentially avoid AML and KYC,” he added, referring to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer controls. The largest stablecoin, Tether, which has an $83 billion market value, has ties to the people behind the Bitfinex crypto exchange. Another major one, USDC is issued by a consortium of several companies including Coinbase Global Inc. The world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, is connected with Binance USD, which has a $17 billion market value. In response to Gensler’s comments, Binance referred to a blog where it says its stablecoin adheres to “strict guidelines and remaining transparent with the user community.” Coinbase declined to comment and Bitfinex didn’t immediately respond to a request. On Tuesday, Coinbase’s shares tumbled after its first-quarter revenue missed estimates and it warned its trading volumes in the current quarter will be lower than in the first. Bitcoin is down more than 50% since its all-time high in early November. Concerns ...
New Zealand will fully reopen its border two months early, allowing the arrival of tourists, students and migrants from non visa-waiver countries like China and India. The border will be accessible to all from midnight on July 31, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday. Previously, the government had said the final re-opening step would occur in October, though it signaled the date would likely be brought forward. The maritime border will also open for cruise ships on July 31. New Zealand has been progressively allowing foreign visitors to return this year, hoping to revive a decimated tourist industry and add workers to a labor market battling with skills shortages. Visitors from visa-waiver countries such as the US, UK, Canada and Germany were able to enter from May 2, while Australians could arrive from April 13. The government is optimistic the full reopening will kick-start demand for the peak spring and summer tourist seasons although China’s border remains closed, making it difficult for its citizens to travel internationally. “New Zealand is in demand and now fully open for business,” Ardern said. “We know a major constraint on business is access to skilled labor. This plan will increase the available pool of labor, while also speeding up our tourism recovery.” Read More: Coming to New Zealand? You’ll Practically Have it to Yourself Ardern announced plans to speed up immigration processes to allow in more essential workers. The government is rebalancing its immigration settings to allow businesses to access the skills they need, while encouraging a move away from an over-reliance on lower-skilled migrant workers, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said. It will provide a new streamlined path to residency for highly skilled workers in 85 hard-to-fill roles across the construction, engineering, trades, health and technology industries. “Our rebalanced immigration system will be simpler, reducing categories, bringing more online accessibility and streamlining application processes for businesses,” Faafoi said. “Employers won’t need to provide as much information, can use their own recruitment processes to prove no New Zealanders are available for work, and Immigration New Zealand will endeavor to have these visas processed within 30 days once an employer is accredited.” The government also announced that 20,000 foreign workers with visas expiring before 2023 are being granted either a six-month extension or a new two-year visa with open work conditions, so their skills can be retained. BM
The US House on Tuesday night approved a more than $40 billion emergency Ukraine spending bill that pays for new weapons and provides economic and humanitarian assistance. “Given the magnitude of the terror campaign being waged against the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian democracy, we are morally obligated to ensure the brave Ukrainian fighters and the Ukrainian people have the security and economic aid they need,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro said in a statement. The 368 to 57 vote underscores bipartisan support for Ukraine in a Congress deeply divided on most other issues. The legislation, which is significantly larger than the $33 billion aid package President Joe Biden requested last month, now heads to the Senate where approval is likely next week. The bill includes $19.7 billion for the Defense Department, more than $3 billion above the level asked for by the Biden administration. This includes the $6 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine that Biden sought last month and $9.05 billion to replenish weapons stocks sent from the Pentagon to Ukraine. The package would provide $4 billion in foreign military financing for Ukraine and other countries affected by the invasion to help them purchase weapons. The bill also includes $8.8 billion in direct economic support for Ukraine along with funds to repair the US Embassy in Kyiv, document war crimes and protect against nuclear fuel leaks. In addition, the measure would provide $4.35 billion for global food and humanitarian aid to be administered by the US Agency for International Development and another $700 million in global food funding at the State Department. The inclusion of the funds was made despite some concerns from Republicans that the global food crisis should not be addressed in the bill. Read More: Biden Signs Lend-Lease Act to Speed Weapons Delivery to Ukraine The legislation also contains language to allow Ukrainian refugees to access US government benefits, over the objections of some Republicans. Provisions requested by Biden to ease the resettlement of Afghan refugees were dropped at the last minute after the GOP objected to them. Senate Republicans heard a plea for aid from Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, during a luncheon Tuesday and emerged saying they felt Ukraine had properly accounted for how it has spent previous assistance in its war against Russia. “It’s an emergency and they’re desperate for it,” Ohio Republican Rob Portman said after the lunch. Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, said he had pushed to ...
Sri Lanka extended its nationwide curfew through to Thursday morning, with the army threatening to shoot anyone who damages property after weekslong protests over food and fuel shortages turned violent earlier this week. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appealed again for unity and asked Sri Lankans to reject the “subversive attempts” to push the country toward racial and religious disharmony. The International Monetary Fund said technical level discussions between its officials and Sri Lankan authorities will continue in order to be ready for talks once a new government is formed though it is concerned about the “rising social tensions and unrest.” Mahinda Rajapaksa, the brother of president, resigned as prime minister on Monday as violent clashes between government supporters and protesters left at least eight people dead and over 200 injured. There were reports he and the members of his family relocated to a naval base in the northeast after protesters stormed his Colombo residence. IMF Says Talks with Sri Lanka Continue, Concerned About Unrest Sri Lanka Extends Curfew Through Thursday Morning Violence Erupts in Sri Lanka After Leader’s Brother Quits as PM A Day of Violence in Crisis-Hit Sri Lanka: In Pictures How Sri Lanka Landed in a Crisis and What It Means: QuickTake Rajapaksa took to Twitter for the third time in three days to appeal for calm and call for unity following the violent clashes between government supporters and protesters earlier this week. Rajapaksa has resisted attempts to make him resign during the weekslong protests. He has in the past indicated that he would be willing to allow constitutional amendments to curb his sweeping executive powers. Gotabaya Rajapaksa @GotabayaR This is the time for all Sri Lankans to join hands as one, to overcome the economic, social & political challenges. I urge all #Srilankans to reject the subversive attempts to push you towards racial & religious disharmony. Promoting moderation, toleration & coexistence is vital. Sent via Twitter for iPhone. View original tweet. IMF says talks with Sri Lanka continue The International Monetary Fund is closely following developments in Sri Lanka and “concerned about rising social tensions and violence,” Masahiro Nozaki, the fund’s mission chief for the country, said in a statement. “Technical level” discussions between IMF officials and Sri Lanka authorities have started, will continue in order to be ready for policy discussions once a new Sri Lanka government is formed, Nozaki said. Meanwhile, the parliament speaker has cancelled a party leaders meeting due to security concerns for the lawmakers, many of whom had their homes attacked, local media ...
ANC National Executive Committee member Aaron Motsoaledi says media reports about threats of violence at the Eastern Cape conference are inaccurate. While he believes that it was necessary to beef up security to avoid what happened at the 2017 provincial conference, he did admit that it was not welcomed by delegates. Former ANC Eastern Cape treasurer Babalo Madikizela’s lobby group is said to have been behind the decision by senior party members to chuck out police during the closed sessions of the provincial conference held at the East London International Convention Centre over the weekend. This is according to ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) convener for the Eastern Cape Aaron Motsoaledi. He said media reports of possible violence at the conference were overstated. In an interview with Daily Maverick, Motsoaledi said that a request had been made for the police to be removed as Maliya lobby delegates had said it was uncomfortable to have debates while they lingered around the venue. “There was an exaggeration over the weekend at the conference by the media who believed that there was imminent violence. It was just a debate where people were asking questions and many of them complained that when they raised questions they were accused of trying to collapse the conference. Ramaphosa’s second-term bid on shaky ground after ANC factions clash over State Capture report “They even asked that ‘please remove the police’, we cannot debate with the police inside the hall and they were removed. It is true that security was there, but it is because of the history of the Eastern Cape; it would have been a mistake for us not to organise security,” he said. In 2017, the provincial elective conference that was also held in East London degenerated into chaos and violence when delegates hurled chairs at each other during the adoption of the delegates’ credentials. At the weekend, posters about the police presence were circulated on social media, supposedly by delegates. “They have planted security personnel inside the conference venue for purposes of intimidating you. Do not be intimidated by these unwarranted attacks. The ANC belongs to you,” the posts read. Uniformed police were stationed at all corners of the East London ICC throughout the weekend and were on high alert in case of any violence. Security guards were also present at some entrances of the conference venue. ‘Fearless and independent’ SA courts hailed for holding the line against Zuma onslaught Conference delays The conference, which was meant to begin ...
The reward by former EFF secretary-general comes despite Police Minister Bheki Cele deploying the ‘best experts’ to work on the case. Mpumalanga lawyer and former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee has posted a message on social media offering a “handsome reward” to anybody who can give the police more information regarding the kidnapping and killing of his daughter Hillary Gardee. In the post, shared on Facebook and Twitter, Gardee calls on people in the Mbombela CBD who can “help police [with information] on how Hillary Gardee was kidnapped when she left SuperSpar” on Friday, 29 April. The move comes despite Police Minister Bheki Cele deploying the “best experts” to work on the case. Hillary Gardee was found murdered 45km outside Mbombela on Tuesday, 3 May. Throughout the days following the discovery of Hillary’s body, EFF leader Julius Malema iterated that they would deploy their own intelligence capacity to find the killers. Malema, who delivered Hillary’s eulogy at the Church on the Hill in Kamagugu, told Cele that they wanted the killers locked up for a very long time. “So that when we sit down and relax, we do so knowing that the killers of Hillary are rotting in jail. “That’s the only thing we are wishing for and, in the absence of that, Minister, you will have to defend us all the time because then we’ll start having ideas on what we can do to ‘complement justice’.” Gardee’s social media post asks people to assist with “any information on shops Hillary visited that day and what car she last went into when she left Spar”. “We assure you of highest secrecy and confidentiality,” the post reads. 013NEWS has been reliably informed that members of the EFF’s paramilitary security arm and of the taxi industry have been engaged in a search operation in the eMalahleni CBD. They were deployed there on Tuesday after information was received that a fourth suspect in the murder case had been spotted in the area. Sources close to the operation told 013NEWS that the suspect handed himself over to the police in Witbank on Tuesday evening, but police spokesperson Donald Mdluli said he could not confirm this. Condolences Three men – Lawrence Mkhatshwa (39), Philemon Lukhele (45) and Albert Gama (52) – are in custody after being accused of committing the murder. They appeared briefly in the Mbombela Magistrates’ Court on Monday following their arrests over the weekend. The trio abandoned their bail application in court, opting to stay in prison while the ...
Nearly 90 years after the Holodomor, Vladimir Putin is again using hunger as a tool to erase Ukrainian identity. Mass starvation during the Holodomor happened because Soviet authorities forcibly expropriated food from the countryside and reallocated it elsewhere. Within 10 weeks, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has provided numerous parallels with Hitler’s atrocities during World War 2, among them the use of food as a weapon. However, Ukrainians on the edge of starvation recall the Holodomor, a human-made famine inflicted by the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. About four million Ukrainians perished from starvation during the Holodomor of 1932-33. Dead, swollen bodies were lying everywhere in the countryside and in cities. Food taken away from starving peasants was used to industrialise the cities that Russian bombs are now destroying. Now, nearly 90 years after the Holodomor, Russian President Vladimir Putin is again using hunger as a tool to erase Ukrainian identity, along with other inhumane war tactics. However, many more people are likely to be affected. Mass starvation during the Holodomor happened because Soviet authorities forcibly expropriated food from the countryside and reallocated it elsewhere. Troops – hundreds of city-dwellers – were sent to villages to accelerate grain requisitions. They were instructed to search for food everywhere and take away even the last bits of it. Survivors of the Russian occupation in Ukrainian towns and villages have experienced similar food searches by the Russian military during the past few months. In places where Russian convoys stop for the night, they forcibly take food and slaughter cattle. Russian occupiers seized more than 100,000 tonnes of grain from Ukrainian farmers that were set aside until the future harvest. They also claimed ownership of agricultural enterprises in the Kherson region, where more than 10% of Ukraine’s grain is produced, and demanded that farmers give them the harvest from the current sowing campaign for free. Using similar language as in the 1930s, the local administration in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia has announced a plan to reduce the local food shortages through the expropriation of “food surpluses” from Kherson and possibly other southern regions of Ukraine. Similar policies heavily undermined agricultural productivity and exacerbated the famine in Ukraine 90 years ago. People who rely on stores to get crucial supplies are struck most by the war-induced food shortages. There are two main problems. First, Russian soldiers rob grocery stores, leaving scant provisions for those who live in the besieged cities. Second, they block deliveries ...
After the tabling of KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) budget policy on Tuesday, it is still unclear when departments will be able to reallocate funds for flood relief; however, it is highly unlikely that such funds will be channelled from Cogta’s traditional leadership bureaucracy. Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka “offered a disclaimer” during his budget policy speech at the KZN legislature, saying that government departments were still awaiting guidance from the provincial treasury to “reprioritise their budgets to enable the necessary recovery to occur”. Official records in the aftermath of the recent floods in the province state that 435 people were killed, 63 are still missing, and more than 40,000 people’s lives were “severely disrupted”. This is in large part due to 4,983 homes being destroyed and a further 8,310 partially damaged. Roads, water and electricity infrastructure were also severely damaged, with repair operations continuing. Hlomuka said assessments were still under way, but the cost of the floods on both private and public infrastructure was expected to exceed R25-billion. The National Treasury has indicated that it has R1-billion immediately available for relief via contingency funds, but that money is yet to reach the province. “With eThekwini metro — as KZN’s economic hub — accounting for almost half of all of the damages caused by the heavy rains, the impact of the resulting floods is felt throughout the province. “While we continue to restore the most essential services, including water and electricity, to all affected communities, we carry on with the task of assessing the damages to prepare for full reconstruction of all infrastructure that has been destroyed. “In order to ensure that the funds earmarked for recovery indeed reach their beneficiaries, we will be monitoring all expenditure with utmost care,” said Hlomuka. Meanwhile, according to Tuesday’s budget policy speech, the largest single line item of Cogta’s R1.8-billion budget, totalling 35% or R637.7-million, has been allocated to the maintenance of traditional authorities. The department had previously stated that about 95% of the funds budgeted are for traditional authorities such as paying salaries for iziNduna (headmen/headwomen), secretaries of traditional councils employees who support amakhosi (local chiefs). The remaining 5% goes towards support for the various traditional councils across the province. This excludes other line items that involve traditional leadership and associated institutions, pushing the net budget allocation much higher. Some of the budget items focusing on traditional leadership include: Providing electronic tablets to all 247 amakhosi who belong to the ...
As many as five teams can still lose their DStv Premiership status through relegation this season. While Mamelodi Sundowns wrapped up their fifth DStv Premiership title on the trot with four games to spare, with only two games left for each of the candidates, it is still unclear who will suffer the dreaded relegation drop from the Premiership. Maritzburg United, Chippa United, TS Galaxy, Swallows and Baroka can still finish in the bottom two spots of the league log. With two rounds of Premiership matches to be played, it is the Limpopo side Baroka that anchors the table. They are in 16th place with 22 points. Swallows are 15th, with two points fewer. Tim Sukazi’s Galaxy are third-bottom on 26. Chippa, 14th, are on 28 points. Maritzburg have the same number of points as the Gqeberha-based outfit. Danger looms Baroka and Swallows are in the most danger of direct relegation, with Galaxy hovering just outside the red zone. On paper, they also have an easier run-in than the other two contenders for the chop. The Rockets — who have won just six of their 28 league games to date (losing 14 and drawing eight) — tussle with Marumo Gallants and Chippa United in their final two matches of the campaign. A win in one of those match-ups would probably be enough to preserve the Mpumalanga team’s Premiership status — which is just two seasons old. Galaxy’s German coach Sead Ramović says he is relishing the challenge and pressure that has come from the position his team finds itself in. “I enjoy the pressure because I’m the type of person that enjoys taking responsibility. I’ve played all my life under pressure. I’ve faced pressure my whole life. Football is all about pressure. The pressure that we have in the football world is not compared to other types of jobs in the world,” Ramović explained. The former Wolfsburg goalkeeper joined the Rockets five games into the 2021/2022 season — replacing Owen da Gama, who was dismissed after a poor run of three losses and two draws in that early-season period. Under Ramović the results have not been much better, hence the current predicament. However, the young team has shown glimpses of the type of exciting football it could play were it not for the prevailing circumstances — which require that the team momentarily puts self-preservation over flair and flamboyance. “Everyone knows where we are on the log. I don’t have to emphasise that. The log ...
You can only address gender-based violence in the long term through major structural reform. But South Africa’s women don’t have the long term: they need to be safe now. In the final episode of our third season, we’re talking to a Cape Flats activist who used the sale of koeksisters during lockdown as a pretence to offer battered women shelter. And we’re speaking to a British academic who believes her work with churches can provide a model for other countries with strong religious institutions.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
Would you pay to attend a dinner party at which you’re told that you are probably more racist than you realise? A business established by two women of colour in the USA invites white women to do just that - and hear some hard truths. In this episode, we’re talking to Saira Rao and Regina Jackson, founders of the controversial project Race2Dinner.
MUSIC: Oh Freedom! (Slave spiritual folk song) by Sound of Joy & Oh Freedom! as sung by the Golden Gospel Singers
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
Is there any way to “solve” racism? Are there any means by which we can achieve true racial reconciliation? In this episode, we’re looking at the example of Rwanda, a country torn apart by deadly ethnic divisions in the 1990s, whose government argues it has largely achieved national peace post genocide. And we’re talking to a man who bears one of the notorious surnames in the history of South Africa – who has made it his life’s mission to help undo the damage of his forebears.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
Women’s sport in South Africa is still decades and decades behind the state of play for men. In this episode, we’re talking to Daily Maverick’s resident sports guru and the current Springbok women’s rugby coach, exploring how the USA managed to create the world’s most successful women’s soccer industry within two generations, and busting some of those tired myths you still hear all the time – like that “women’s sport just can’t attract any money because nobody wants to watch it”.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
Social media is making us more unhappy, less safe, and in some cases just stupider. This while the power of these websites grows unstoppably: Facebook now has more adherents than Christianity. In this episode we’re taking on just two aspects of the social media problem: the way it spreads fake news, and the vicious nature of the conversation. We’re looking at a counter-intuitively simple fix for the issue of misinformation, and talking to a South African researcher who is using the tricks of trolls and bots for good rather than evil.
Additional Resources: Full interview between Fairfax Media’s Ginger Gorman and ‘Mark’, the troll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNCTBtpf_pI
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
Ever since the statue of Cecil John Rhodes was targeted in 2015, statues of apartheid and colonial figures around South Africa have been vandalised. What the hell should we do with them? In this episode, we’re asking what the best way is for South Africa to grapple with the past. We're talking to a professor who has made it his business to see Cecil John Rhodes account for his deeds - in fictional form; and to a museum curator whose job it is to collect Germany's most toxic monuments.
Additional reading: The Trial of Cecil John Rhodes by Adekeye Adebayo (Jacana, 2021)
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One.
South Africa is literally running out of places to store its rubbish: the City of Johannesburg has warned that its landfills are almost full. Who wants to live in Trashzania? In this episode, we are taking on the country’s littering epidemic. We’re talking to an academic and an activist who help explain why this issue is neither trivial nor middle-class; exploring one of the most successful anti-littering campaigns in history: and speaking to someone on the team which designed a simple but brilliant local product: a giant vacuum cleaner for the beach.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix and theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Giving people free money? That might sound like the last thing South Africa can afford. But numerous studies have found that giving people a universal basic income grant leads to the funds being used in productive ways which both improve people’s quality of life and boost the economy more widely. In a country with SA’s levels of unemployment, it just might be the only sensible next step.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix and original music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
We’re constantly told that education is the single most important service to get right to secure South Africa’s future. In this episode, we’re speaking to an expert on probably the world’s most respected school system, chatting to someone who toured schools all around South Africa to get a sense of what makes the good ones good, and along the way we are busting some of the myths that have built up over the years around this troublesome topic.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze. How To Fix South Africa’s Schools: Lessons From Schools That Work (2014) · ‘Schools That Work’
The latest crime stats prove that the violent crime rates in South Africa are getting worse. In this episode, we hear about a country which turned around its crime situation in the 90s, talk to a woman with a simple but brilliant solution to keep people safer in high crime areas, and learn what’s regarded as the most important measures to take towards establishing a crime-free society long term.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and written and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original music and sound mix by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Ninety One. Ninety One SA (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider.
In our third season we're exploring ideas on how to fix things in South Africa. We all know the problems: education, crime, poverty, inequality. Now we want to focus on how they can overcome, looking at innovative local solutions and answers that have worked elsewhere in the world. Join us for Season 3 of Don’t Shoot The Messenger, launching on the 1st of March 2021.
Over the last five years no Test opening batsman has scored more runs than Dean Elgar. The Proteas left-hander has knocked off 3018 runs at an average 40.78 since 2016 and has become an indispensable part of the team. Making runs at the top of the order and seeing off the new ball is a vital skill and Elgar has continued to produce for his team, continuing a post-isolation tradition of gritty opening left-handers that have excelled in the Test arena, after Gary Kirsten and Graeme Smith. Over the coming weeks he will face a new challenge when he opens against Pakistan, in Pakistan. Conditions might suit reverse swing and Elgar will again have his technique and fortitude tested in a new way. As always, he is up for the challenge.
Riots at the national Capitol buildings, US president Donald Trump impeached and Coronavirus numbers rising despite the vaccine being rolled out. America is struggling, preparing for more violence as the inauguration of Joe Biden is mere days away.
Produced and narrated by An Wentzel with technical and research assistance from Ken Tiven.
Some 20 000 of American president Donald Trump's lies have been made into an art installation by a community radio station - Radio Free Brooklyn, in New York. The wall took on a life of its own after it was vandalised with MAGA sentiments, but only came back bigger and is now on its way to the Biden inauguration in Washington DC and about to become an exhibit at a New York City museum.
In episode 2, America held its breath waiting to hear who won #USelection2020 but got no relief when President-elect Joe Biden was announced the winner, as President Donald Trump continues to insist that he is not going anywhere. Daily Maverick Night Editor, An Wentzel is in the US.
Newly appointed Sunshine Tour Commissioner Thomas Abt has taken over at one of the most precarious times in sporting history. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on sport in general, and on golf in this case, is likely to be profound. The cost of the pandemic might not fully be known for years to come, and Abt will be the person steering South Africa’s professional game through the turbulence. He has two decades of experience in the golfing industry. He started as an assistant golf professional at the Lost City Course at Sun City, before moving to Sports Marketing Company SAIL, where he became head of the golf division. More recently he occupied a dual role as deputy Sunshine Tour Commissioner while still at SAIL, but on 1 October, he moved on a full time basis to the Sunshine Tour. The Sunshine Tour’s motto is: “greatness begins here” and Abt aims to ensure that he and the tour live up to it.
On 28 March 2020, Daily Maverick Night Editor, An Wentzel, got stuck inside the USA when South Africa went into a hard lockdown. Instead of watching Netflix and chilling, she mostly watches America - looking at how it holds together, and where it pulls apart.
As a young man, Rodney Wilkinson won Springbok colours in fencing - but he would enter the South African history books in a different way. On 16 December 1982, Rodney set four bombs inside the Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town. They were timed to explode 24 hours later - and explode they did, while Rodney had already ridden to safety on a bicycle across the South African border. We travelled to hear the story from Rodney Wilkinson himself.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Investec.
Professor Renfrew Christie risked death by hanging to spy on the apartheid government’s power stations - using his doctoral thesis as a pretext to gain access to the plants in order to gather intel. He became South Africa’s pioneering nuclear whistleblower. In this week’s episode, he explains how he wrote a confession read aloud in court to provide information on how Cape Town’s nuclear power station could be bombed without loss of human life.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
This podcast has been sponsored by Investec.
On 26 September, Cape Town was rocked by tremors after an earthquake occurred off the South African coast. The incident was minor, but it got a lot of people wondering about South Africa’s preparedness in the event of a(nother) major disaster. In this episode, we speak to a disaster management specialist, an earthquake expert, and an activist who has been horrified for years by the risk posed by Koeberg nuclear power station.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
One of rugby’s great myths is that the forwards are always the unthinking, heavy lifters, while the backs have all the brains. It probably comes from a small sample of players back in the sport’s sepia-toned past, but times have changed. Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee was a prop – and a very good one at that – he played Super Rugby for the Sharks, for South Africa ‘A’ and spent eight years playing in France for Biarritz. He is anything but unthinking or brainless, and as rugby enters a new post-Covid-19 world, the challenges that the game faced before the pandemic ravaged the planet, have been exacerbated by six months of lockdown. Previous business models have to be torn up and re-engineered. For the next few years at least, professional rugby in South Africa and globally too, will be in a precarious position. It will take bold, innovative young leaders such as Coetzee to navigate a way through these turbulent times.
When legal advocacy group Ndifuna Ukwazi launched a 2019 campaign to have Rondebosch Golf Club land re-allocated for affordable housing, it was revealed that the club was paying less than R1000 rent a year for hectares of public land. In this episode, we take a look at those crazy leases - and find that around the country, some golf courses on municipal land are paying as little as R20 rent per year. You read that right: R20 annually.
In this episode, we have no trouble making the case against golf in South Africa in 2020 - but in the interests of fairness, we take a look at the other side too.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
On this week’s show, we’re exploring the global movement called QAnon: a web of conspiracy theories, fantasies and lies which may have started in the head of a former tech journalist from Johannesburg, but which has spread to the United States Congress and the White House. And we’re looking at its growing hold on South African social media users too – many of whom may not even realise that they are playing into a vast and very dangerous game.
Additional Resources: For further information on the possible true identity of Q, listen to episode 166 of the excellent podcast Reply All.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
As a rugby player he was tougher than complex quantum physics and more courageous than a wounded lion. He captained the Springboks 18 times and played 39 Tests at a time when Bok rugby was in a deep state of flux and going through coaches as quickly as Cheslin Kolbe goes through defenses. The enduring image of Corne Krige is one of a bloodied and bruised, but never cowed, player. He played every game as if it were his last – sometimes, by his own admission, stepping over the line whether in Western Province, Stormers or Springbok colours. Since retirement he has carved out a successful business career and stays fit on his mountain bike. Corne also keeps a close eye on rugby from the outside and is still passionate about WP and the Springboks. On the Maverick Sports Podcast he talks about the past, present and future of South African rugby and typically, pulls no punches.
A teacher logs on to a WhatsApp group at a specified time. All students who are present send emojis to indicate their readiness. And so class begins.
This is what education has looked like in some parts of South Africa during the Covid-19 lockdown, with teachers, NGOs and businesses scrambling to find ways to keep pupils learning from afar. The innovation is there, the technology is available, and online teaching does away with some of the practical problems which plague the local education system.
So in this week’s episode of our podcast, we’re asking: Could virtual learning offer the key to boosting South Africa’s schooling even in non-lockdown times?
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
NGOs and businesses mentioned in this episode: Olico Mathematics Education: https://learn.olico.org/ Axium Education: https://www.axiumeducation.org/ Digicampus: https://www.digicampus.co.za/
Stephen McGown is regarded as Al-Qaeda’s longest surviving hostage. Since his release in 2017, he has been putting his life back together, and is working on a book about his experience. In this episode, he discusses the profound strangeness of trying to readjust to normal life after losing 6 years - and his ultimate feelings on Al-Qaeda may surprise you.
Six Years With Al-Qaeda: The Stephen McGown Story will be published by Maverick 451 in late November. Keep an eye on the Daily Maverick website for further details.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Your local bookstore will definitely stock ‘Harry Potter’, but when it comes to South African kids’ books featuring children of colour, all bets are off. The local publishing industry admits there’s a big problem - but just how big, nobody knows.
In this episode, we speak to local writers Buhle Ngaba and Mohale Mashigo about the crisis in representation that led to them creating their own work for South African children. Pan MacMillan publishers Miemie du Plessis and Sibongile Machika talk frankly about the issues - and also argue that the publishing industry is not entirely to blame.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Since a March 2017 Western Cape High Court ruling, you can’t be arrested for smoking marijuana within your own home in South Africa. But that doesn’t mean marijuana is legal: you still can’t buy it or sell it anywhere. It’s also been totally unclear how much weed you’re allowed to possess for your own use.
The courts gave Parliament two years to draw up the necessary laws to take South Africa out of legal limbo. With the deadline about to run out, a draft bill has been produced - which both weed advocates and lawyers say is a disaster. In this episode, we explore the ways in which users and businesses are currently exploiting the loopholes in law, and look at why the proposed legislation is problematic.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Cricket in South Africa is at a major crossroads. There is a leadership vacuum, a pending financial crisis, transformation, race and social justice issues as well as unease from sponsors and most importantly, players. It’s easy to forget the 315 players who make some form of a living in the cricket industry. It’s easier to forget the many lives that cricket supports through salaries paid to coaches, office, managerial and cleaning staff, and the many small businesses such as hospitality, cleaning and security services that the game supports. This week, a concerned Andrew Breetzke, CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association, otherwise known as Saca helps us unpack the drama that is Cricket South Africa.
Seven months into the Covid-19 pandemic, frighteningly little is still known about this new disease. But one thing that is now clear is that Covid-19 is not simply a lung disease. It can attack the brain, the kidneys, the gut, the blood system and more. And for the people now known as the Covid Long-haulers, the effects of Covid-19 can persist for month after month - laying them low with over 60 separate physical symptoms. There are over half a million Covid Long-haulers in the UK alone, and it’s estimated that millions more are suffering around the world, including in South Africa.
In this episode, we speak to health activist Robin Gorna - herself a Covid Long-hauler - and infectious disease researcher Professor Francois Venter about the growing medical acceptance that Covid-19 can manifest as a long-term condition for which there is currently no treatment and no cure.
Former ICC and Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat has seen it all in the game. From South Africa’s tentative return to the international arena in the early 1990s, to India’s rise to cricketing super power in the 21st century. He famously stood up to India at ICC meetings, both as CEO of the international organisation and of CSA. It was controversial and led to some spats, but Lorgat always put the interests of the organisation he was representing, and of the game of cricket first. After parting ways with CSA in acrimonious circumstances in 2017, Lorgat has returned to the private sector but has also been involved in the establishment and running of the T20 Pakistan Super League where he has brought his considerable knowledge to that tournament. With Covid-19 wreaking havoc with the playing schedule and CSA in a dire financial situation, Lorgat joins the Maverick Sports Podcast this week and pulls no punches in his assessment of the game, its past and its future.
The old saying goes that defence wins World Cups and in 2019 that adage held true as the Springboks conceded a miserly four tries in seven matches at RWC 2019 to claim their third world title. The mastermind behind their steel was renowned defence coach Jacques Nienaber, who has spent more time than is healthy in dark rooms, lit by LED screens, watching men tackle each other. Jacques has been the power behind the throne for all of his coaching career but in 2020, he has stepped into the spotlight as the 15th post-isolation Springbok head coach. Normally he would have overseen his first Test matches by this time of the year, but due to the suspension of competition as a result of coronavirus, he is still waiting to lead the current world champions into Test battle. Until then, like a likeable Bond villain, Nienaber has time to plot and plan another four years of world rugby dominance, as he waits to unleash the Boks again.
He played 77 Tests for South Africa, 75 of those at lock. He twice played loose forward, and it was the two he played at No 8 that might be most remembered. Mark Andrews was a Springbok giant in every sense of the word, but in the space of seven days in 1995 he was asked to do a specific job by coach Kitch Christie, playing out of position in the back row in two of the most memorable and crucial games in South African rugby history. June the 24th marked the 25th anniversary of the Springboks winning the 1995 World Cup with a famous 15-12 victory over the All Blacks at Ellis Park. He won many accolades as a player and has gone on to achieve success in the business world. Mark won Currie Cups and a Tri-Nations title and played 94 matches in total for South Africa, but his name will always be synonymous with the class of 1995.
Wayde van Niekerk is unquestionably South Africa’s most accomplished athlete of all time. He is the only runner in history to break 10 seconds for the 100m, 20 seconds for the 200m and 44 seconds for the 400m. He comes from great stock as his mother Odessa was a world-class sprinter and Springbok World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe is his cousin. The pair famously won medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2020, Wayde was hoping to defend the 400m title he so famously won in world record time four years ago but that will have to wait for at least another year. The 2020 Olympic Games postponement due to the Coronavirus pandemic has moved the Tokyo Games to 2021. After nearly two frustrating years on the sidelines due to injury, Van Niekerk was demonstrating a good return to form earlier this year. So, while he was confined to training without competition, Wayde took time out to join the Maverick Sports podcast this week.
He is considered South Africa’s greatest-ever opening batsman, but even more impressively, he is the country’s most successful captain having led the Proteas to historic series wins in Australia and England and the team to the top of the world Test rankings. Graeme Smith was appointed Proteas captain at 22, but quickly stamped his authority on the team. He was accomplished in all forms of cricket and had a sensational career on the field. He’s now turned to the administrative side of the game as Cricket South Africa’s director of cricket at 39. Given the challenges that face cricket both on and off the field, which are compounded by the uncertainty over the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, these are difficult times for the sport. Smith doesn’t have all the answers, but when it comes to rebuilding the Proteas team and meeting challenges head-on, there could be no one better lead from the front than the man affectionately known as ‘Biff’.
Lockdown conditions imposed all over the world have succeeded in halting certain types of illegal trade – but also given rise to new and expanded black markets. And while some of them are relatively benign, others are anything but.
In this episode we’re taking a look at the Covid-19 underworld: how the global lockdown has both disrupted traditional black markets, but also birthed new kinds of criminals. We’re taking a trip to the underbelly of the Dark Web, where the illegal products for sale now include the blood of people who have tested positive for coronavirus; and we’re zooming in on one particular South African black market, the trade in abalone, to see what effects the lockdown has had on this type of illegal trade.
Additional audio: The Most Trafficked Animal in The World is Probably One You've Never Heard Of, by Fusion Media
Motherhacker podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/motherhacker/id1487213874
Additional reading:
Coronavirus source found in pangolin meat, by Don Pinnock and Tiara Walters on Daily Maverick
South Africa’s abalone black market is being squeezed by Covid-19, by Kimon de Greef on Haika
Poacher: Confessions from the Abalone underworld, by Kimon de Greef and Shuhood Abader
“Zooming With The Zumas” is the real title of a real YouTube series offering the public a front-row seat to intimate video chats between former South African president Jacob Zuma and his son Duduzane.
In this episode, we rope in Daily Maverick journalist Marianne Thamm to help unpack the perplexing world of Zooming with the Zumas: fact-checking some of the confounding claims made by the Zumas, analysing what it tells us about their undeniably curious family dynamics, and interrogating what on earth the point of this strange production could be.
Additional audio: Zooming With The Zumas on YouTube
Additional reading: Duduzane’s Dubai Lockdown Diary - Everything But The Lost Years, by Marianne Thamm
Parts Two and Three, in which the Zuma Dynasty finds itself a hapless victim of circumstance, by Marianne Thamm
Kagiso Rabada has been an integral member of the Proteas set up for five years and he still has many years ahead of him to terrorise batsmen and rewrite South Africa’s bowling records. He was a schoolboy phenom who dominated under-19 cricket. But unlike so many who are touted as future greats only to fall away under the pressure of senior professional cricket, Rabada has improved at every level. It’s a rare athlete that gets better as the levels rise and the opposition improves. Right now, the coronavirus pandemic is robbing Kagiso and his teammates’ opportunities to play, but while he stays fit behind closed doors under lockdown, ‘joins us on the Maverick Sports Podcast.
The great global slowdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing a slower pace of life on most of us, whether we like it or not. There’s something about hitting the brakes for this amount of time that can feel deeply anxiety-inducing - so we thought we’d use this moment to explore the benefits of taking it nice and slow.
In this week’s episode, we’re investigating the virtues of slowness: learning about the secrets of the world’s slowest mammals, exploring the delights of the Slow Food Movement, and hearing how the annual month of Ramadan brings a moment of calm and reflection to Muslim lives.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee, presented by Rebecca Davis, edited by Tevya Turok Shapiro, with original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support from Kathryn Kotze.
Special thanks to Muhammad Dawjee for providing this week’s episode with original music from his soon to be released EP: Otherness. Featured tracks in order of play: Doublespeak Neither Dialect
Additional audio: This American Life -
Additional reading: All-Day Venison, a slow-food recipe by Tony Jackman
In late April, Cuba sent 217 healthcare workers to South Africa to help fight Covid-19. A tremendous humanitarian gesture involving heroic doctors? Perhaps. But the deployment looks likely to cost the South African government almost half a billion rand - at a time when South Africa has its own doctors and nurses sitting unemployed. What’s really going on?
Cuba has been lending its doctors to other countries since the 1960s as a gesture of international solidarity, and those doctors have won praise for their work in some of the toughest public health contexts on record.
But as the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Mark Keller explains in this episode, from the 2000s onwards the Cuban medical missions began to serve another purpose too: to make some much-needed cash for the Cuban government.
With the South African state reportedly being charged over R450 million for the Cuban medical mission sent to South Africa to fight Covid-19, the question is whether these doctors are even really needed - and why South Africa would be willing to pay such a high price.
With Mark Keller, we unpack the history of Cuba’s medical missions and why they have on occasion been likened to “human trafficking”. We also hear from advocate Rene Govender, who for years has been fighting an uphill battle to win South African doctors who trained overseas the right to practice medicine here. Unlike with the Cuban doctors, nobody is rolling out the red carpet for these unemployed local medics.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Additional Credits:
Supporting audio provided by: Al-Jazeera, University of Miami, Redfish Stream and News24.
Guantanamera by Playing for Change. Is the deployment of Cuban doctors to SA justified?
Newly appointed Bulls director of rugby Jake White has a clear vision of turning the franchise into the dominant force in southern hemisphere rugby. With the backing of wealthy owners at Loftus Versfeld, White has the means to see his project through. All he needs now is for the coronavirus pandemic to pass so he can start work in earnest. While he waits to get his hands on the team, he joins the Maverick Sports Podcast to talk about his journey; great moments of joy and despair, and to reminisce about some key incidents in a career that has spanned Himalayan highs and deep lows. White has his critics, but ultimately he has been successful with every team he has coached in a career that has spanned 35 years.
On this week’s show, we’re thinking about Tomorrowland: the fascinating connections between pandemics and pop culture. The Bubonic Plague struck Europe more than 650 years ago, yet its impact is still felt in art today. As we face the greatest social disruption since World War II, with COVD-19 killing hundreds of thousands of people globally, we’re asking: What mark will this moment leave on art, fashion, film and literature? To help us explore ‘Tomorrowland’, we’re talking to experts in fashion, film – and to South African author Lauren Beukes, who just spent five years immersed in a fictional pandemic, only to emerge into a real one.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
What happens when a country suddenly makes the sale of alcohol and tobacco illegal? It turns out the answer is: quite a lot. Suddenly the trauma units of some of the busiest hospitals in the world are virtually empty, as drunk driving ceases to be such a serious social problem and bar brawls and other forms of interpersonal violence virtually disappear. That’s a great result. But some of the other effects are not so positive. In this episode, we look at the impact of South Africa’s lockdown ban on selling tobacco and alcohol: ranging from the difficulties faced by alcoholics, to the fact that massive criminal syndicates are currently enjoying the payday of their lives with tobacco trade driven underground.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
He is the only batsman in cricket history to have made half centuries on debut in all three formats of the game - Tests, One-Day Internationals and T20s – and the only South African to score seven fifties in his first 14 ODI innings’. Rassie van der Dussen has taken the road less travelled to the top of the game. He made his ODI debut at 29 and his Test debut at 30, having ground out a career in the backwaters of local cricket. Unlike prodigies that emerge straight from high school into the national set-up, Van der Dussen took the better part of a decade to find his way onto the international stage, but when he arrived, he showed he belonged.
When the regulations for COVID-19 kicked in, Dave Martin actively disseminated information to the community about safety practices and different ways people could practice social distancing - like how to create isolation spaces for the elderly who live in rondawels and assisting spaza shop owners by providing them with Jik to sterilise their spaces. Dave is also the original founder of Bulugule Lodge, so he rushed to get the eco-friendly space ready for the most vulnerable members of the Nqileni Village community - the majority of them are elders who live with diabetes and other chronic illnesses. The lodge is now filled with a generation of people who in the past have had little opportunity to socialise with one another. And in a time of dread and anxiety, there exists a tiny community of a forgotten generation who are making the most of a safe space by enjoying a wonderful selection of music, sharing stories and indulging in their favourite past time - smoking pipe tobacco. In a time of social-distancing, these elders are mastering the art of safe socialising. In this episode, we hear from them. They share inside stories of their experience, tell us how they spend their time and enlighten us on the rare opportunities for joy that can be found in times like these.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Chad Le Clos is on track to become South Africa's most successful Olympian of all time if he adds to the four medals he won in London 2012 and Rio 2016, in Tokyo next year. The decorated swimmer has three Olympic silvers, and one gold, which he famously won by ending Michael Phelps’ 10-year unbeaten streak in the 200m butterfly in London eight years ago. Le Clos will be 29 at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and admits he is the underdog as a new generation of swimmers emerges. On Today’s Maverick Sports podcast, Le Clos talks about the highs of London, the lows that followed, the scourge of doping and his determination to leave an unprecedented legacy in South African sport.
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford and author of The Butterfly Defect chats to us about the effects pandemics have on global co-operation, what technological advancements are being used and should be used when dealing with global emergencies and how COVID-19 will change our physical landscapes and impact the relationships younger generations have with elders. He discusses how ultimately, times like these are a test of human character while reflecting on Cyril Ramaphosa’s admirable interventions in comparison with other countries; and he shares which developments he hopes to see in the future as a result of this pandemic.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
With special thanks to Arundhati Roy Resources: The Butterfly Defect by Ian Goldin
He has run a successful publishing company, has a Masters degree in creative writing, a law degree, an MBA and has written two novels. But that’s just one piece of John Dobson’s story. In another part of his life he coached UCT to the Varsity Cup title, won a Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup as head coach of Western Province and guided WP’s U-21s to two national titles. He had playing stints in Italy and Portugal and is currently head coach of the Stormers in Super Rugby. His mother still asks when he is going to get a ‘real job’, but Dobson is a self-confessed ‘rugby romantic’ whose deep passion for the game was moulded by a family steeped in rugby. He sees coaching as not only teaching young players how to become better at their jobs and to win matches and titles, but also how to become better human beings.
The coronavirus pandemic is already taking a significant toll on human relationships. In this episode, we look at the separations between loved ones created by the South African lockdown, and one way people are finding to deal with separation.
Rebecca also talks to a couple whose relationship has survived a situation far more intense than a 21-day lockdown: just the two of them, in a confined space, with limited supplies, at the mercy of terrifying external forces, for six months...
To report domestic violence or abuse contact the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre at 0800 150 150
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro, original theme music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Additional credits: Additional audio from South China Morning Post and Times Free Press Music by Sandy Pierce and Young Rich Pixies
He has coached South Africa to two World Series titles, a Commonwealth Games’ gold medal and an Olympic bronze medal, but for Blitzbok coach Neil Powell the job is only partly about winning titles. The South Africa sevens programme has become the envy of the world game, where it keeps churning out world-class sevens players every year and setting the tactical standard for the shorter version of the sport. The team had set its sights on Olympic gold in Tokyo this year, but that target has moved after the postponement of the global showpiece to July and August 2021 following the outbreak of the Coronavirus. It will lead to a massive adjustment of the Blitzboks’ preparation time frames but will also give them a chance to evolve even further. Neil joins the Maverick Sports Podcast today, to talk about these and many other issues.
It’s now clear that the Covid-19 pandemic is going to have effects that we’ll be dealing with for quite some time afterwards - not just in terms of public health, but also economically and perhaps also politically.
We wanted to know: what does history say about the likely political fallout of this kind of health emergency? Can pandemics foment revolutions, or birth dictatorships?
In this episode, Rebecca speaks to Yale Professor Frank Snowden, who has studied the effects of pandemics throughout history: from the medieval plague to more contemporary diseases like malaria.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is produced by Haji Mohamed Dawjee and presented by Rebecca Davis with sound engineering and editing by Tevya Shapiro, original music by Bernard Kotze and additional support by Kathryn Kotze.
Additional credits: Featuring audio from Voices of the First World War (BBC.co.uk)
In this episode we hand over the Maverick Sports podcast platform to the biggest issue of our time – perhaps of any time since World War II – Coronavirus. The sporting landscape both locally and internationally has been decimated by cancellations and postponements in recent weeks. The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo the latest casualty of the global pandemic. On the podcast today is respected journalist and 20 times Comrades Marathon runner Mark Heywood. Mark is a veteran activist who was on the front line in the HIV crisis in South Africa more than a decade ago. He is editor of Maverick Citizen, which is telling vital stories of Coronavirus and more at both a macro and micro level. Once again he finds himself on the front line of a health crisis. As a sports lover Mark understands the impact that Covid-19 is having in that space and helps us unpack it through a wide lens.
The 2020 Masters has been postponed due to coronavirus but this week we turn back the clock to remember one of the great achievers in South African sport. Trevor Immelman has the rare distinction of twice fending off prime Tiger Woods down the stretch in massive golf tournaments. The first was to win the 2006 Western Open on the PGA Tour and the second, most famously, was to claim the 2008 Masters at Augusta National when he was only 28. Immelman’s victory made him the fifth South African to win one of golf’s majors and only the second after Gary Player to claim the Masters’ green jacket. Victory gave him a lifetime membership at Augusta and moved him into a select group of players to have won one of golf’s four elite tournaments. He also won the South African Open twice on his ‘home’ course of Erinvale. After that heady win at Augusta, Immelman’s career hit some bumps through severe injuries and loss of confidence and he never won another professional tournament. Immelman has no regrets though, as he moves into the next phase of his career as an analyst and commentator for the Golf Channel.
Doug Ryder only wanted to be a pro cyclist. He eked out a living trying to fulfil that dream on the cold European winter and autumn circuit in the 1990s and had moderate success. Through those experiences a dream of building an African cycling team that would compete at the elite level started to form. The dream slowly became reality as Ryder banged on the door of the sport with only his vision and passion to sell. He met resistance, mirth and suspicion from cycling’s establishment, and learned some valuable lessons along the way. But he never gave up and today the NTT Pro Cycling Team (formerly Dimension Data) is in the first division of the World Tour. Since its entry to the upper echelons of the sport its riders have won many races, including seven Tour de France stages. It has also given over 80,000 bikes to underprivileged African communities through its Qhubeka Foundation and it continues to grow. Today, Ryder joins the Maverick Sports Podcast to talk about the rise of the little team from Africa, which had no money, to an organisation that employs more than 100 people and has a R255m annual budget.
It’s 42 in 2020 but unlike most 40-year-olds, the Cape Town Cycle Tour shows no signs of decline or of slowing down. The iconic race is now as much a part of South Africa’s sporting landscape as the Comrades Marathon. Its world-class organisation, coupled with unparalleled scenery, makes it a bucket list event for every cyclist and many non-cyclists. With 35000 participants riding a 109km route across the Cape Peninsula, it requires impeccable logistics, planning, cooperation, a little luck and a big sense of humour. Dave Bellairs is one of the dedicated team tasked with bringing all these moving parts together to ensure that the iconic event meets the expectations of first time riders and of those doing the Tour for a 10th time or more. In 2020, there is also the small matter of the Coronavirus outbreak to consider…
Investec Bank Limited CEO Richard Wainwright and Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop in conversation with Daily Maverick Business Editor Tim Cohen, to unpack Budget2020 pronouncements including on the public sector wage bill, SOEs and a state bank.
This week we veer into the world of sports science, which has increasingly become the frontier battleground of professional sports. It’s a complex and vital area of sport and Dr Mike Posthumus, a respected voice in the field of sports science and a professional athlete himself, joins the Maverick Sports podcast to delve deeper. Heard of the 10,000 hour theory? Well, Mike tells us why it’s nonsense. Posthumus is the head of High Performance at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa and an honorary Senior Researcher in the department of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at UCT.
Neil Manthorp has been the voice of South African cricket commentary for nearly 30 years and he’s covered almost every tour and match the Proteas have played since readmission to international cricket in 1991. He’s a respected journalist and media entrepreneur and the author of seven books…. six about cricket and cricketers and one about drinking beer. He is an avid runner and keen golfer with the slowest backswing in the amateur game. This week he joins the Maverick Sports Podcast to discuss the trials facing the game in South Africa, Faf du Plessis and his favourite Proteas’ moment.
Robbie Fleck played 31 Tests for the Springboks as an accomplished outside centre between 1999-2002 and he was also head coach of the Stormers for four seasons between 2016-2019. He was thrust into the Super Rugby coaching job when current England mentor Eddie Jones vacated the Stormers post after only 10 days, leaving Fleck to pick up the pieces. In today’s episode Fleck talks about the difficulties and challenges of that situation and how Western Province’s financial problems impacted on the team. He regales us with tales of the ‘Men in Black’, the talented 1999 Stormers team that came so close to winning Super Rugby and gives piercing insights into his 20 years in the game as a professional player, and coach.
Despite breaking his neck in an horrific scrumming incident that left him a quadriplegic when he was 17, this week’s Maverick Sports podcast guest Andy Barrow would not change anything. Barrow showed courage and determination to embrace his fate and become an inspirational captain of the England wheelchair rugby team that competed in three Paralympic Games, three World Championships, and five European Championships, where his team won three consecutive gold medals. Barrow is now a motivational speaker and world traveler, spreading his infectious zest for life to hundreds of people of all ages.
Tennis South Africa’s chief executive Richard Glover can’t pinpoint exactly where or when SA’s first tennis superstar might emerge, but he and his organisation are building foundations to make that to happen. The last 20 years have been among the best ever in professional tennis. Roger, Rafa and Novak on the men’s side have redefined the sport while Serena has done the same for the women’s game. Over the past few years new Tennis SA has slowly started to rebuild the grassroots program and bring sponsors into the game again. Money is vital to find and nurture talent in a sport than can be financially crippling for young players and their families. This week Glover explains what is happening in South African tennis.
Schalk Burger is one of South Africa’s greatest rugby players. Famous for his intensity and skill, he is a former World Player of the Year, captained the Springboks against the All Blacks at his beloved Newlands, won the Rugby World Cup at junior and senior level, picked up a European Cup and an English Premiership title with Saracens, and had an acclaimed career in Japanese club rugby. Nowadays he’s a full-time dad, part-time car renovator and occasional rugby analyst on SuperSport. He joins us to talk about rugby and life and to share some anecdotes about being at the top of his profession for 15 years.
There isn’t a person in cricket who has seen as much as today’s Maverick Sports podcast guest, but even by the wild standards of South African sport, the last two weeks in local cricket have been amongst the most dramatic ever. Not since the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal has South African cricket been in such a state of disarray. Ideally it should be in a state of introspection too, having lost an R80-million-a-year sponsorship from Standard Bank, having four board members resign, the CEO suspended pending a forensic audit as well as many other issues plaguing Cricket South Africa. Tony Irish, the outgoing CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca) has been at the coal face of many of the goings on and he shares his insights and experiences to reveal the inner workings of professional cricket in South Africa.
He’s been part of two HSBC World Sevens Series winning Blitzbok teams, he’s won an Olympic bronze medal and he is South Africa’s all-time leading sevens try-scorer with 224 tries in just 203 World Series games. But Seabelo Senatla is more than a try machine. He’s an inspiration to many, a leader in the squad and now an entrepreneur, dabbling in wine. He is also determined to become a 15s Springbok, cement himself in the Stormers squad for the 2020 Super Rugby championship and win an Olympic Games gold medal with the Blitzboks in Tokyo 2020. This week the try-glutton and all-round nice guy of rugby, joins us on the Maverick Sports Podcast.
Gary Gold has been a professional coach since the turn of the century, working with English clubs such as London Irish, Newcastle Falcons, Bath and the Worcester Warriors. He spent four years as Springbok assistant coach when they rose to No 1 in the world in 2009 and he has also coached WP, the Sharks and Kobe Steelers in Japan. He is currently head coach of the USA national team, whom he led to Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. He will be in charge of the USA Eagles through to RWC 2023 in France. There probably isn’t a coach in the world who has experienced such a wide variety of cultures in his career than today’s Maverick Sports podcast guest. In this episode, Gold shares insights into the potential of rugby in the USA and how the sport is in good hands with Rassie Erasmus as SARU’s director of rugby.
This week, on the Maverick Sports podcast, we sit down for part two of our conversation with former Proteas and India cricket coach Paddy Upton. He has written a fascinating account of his journey from cricket coach to leadership mentor titled, “the Barefoot Coach”. In this two-part podcast we talk about Upton’s journey from happy-go-lucky national team fitness coach in the 1990s, to a terrifying near-death experience on Cape Town’s unforgiving streets in the early 2000s, which played a crucial part in his own personal growth. Paddy mines deeper into the concept of success and what it really means, as well as the notions of continual learning and personal mastery. Upton is motivational, inspirational and aspirational as he gives us a glimpse into the mental side of sport, business and life itself.
This week, on the Maverick Sports podcast, we sit down with former Proteas and India cricket coach Paddy Upton. He has written a fascinating account of his journey from cricket coach to leadership mentor titled, “the Barefoot Coach”. In this two-part podcast we talk about Upton’s journey from happy-go-lucky national team fitness coach in the 1990s, to a terrifying near-death experience on Cape Town’s unforgiving streets in the early 2000s, which played a crucial part in his own personal growth. Paddy mines deeper into the concept of success and what it really means, as well as the notions of continual learning and personal mastery. Upton is motivational, inspirational and aspirational as he gives us a glimpse into the mental side of sport, business and life itself.
The Webb Ellis Cup is back at SA Rugby's headquarters Cape Town's northern suburbs, delivered superbly by a Springbok team that conquered the best in the world over six riveting weeks in Japan. Coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi, as well as 32 other players and all the backroom staff will go down in history as South Africa's third and probably, most unexpected, rugby world champions. In this episode of the Maverick Sports podcast we relive the final, dissect the turning points and ponder: 'where to from here', for these magnificent Springboks?
Welcome to episode two of the Maverick Sports Podcast hosted by Daily Maverick senior sports journalist Craig Ray alongside guest Zelim Nel. There is only one subject on the minds of all South Africans this week – the final of RWC 2019. Can the Springboks repeat the heroics of 1995 and 2007 by joining New Zealand as three-time winners of the tournament? Or is Eddie Jones’ formidable England side unstoppable, especially after the way they dismantled the All Blacks in last week’s semi-final. Nel, as a respected technical analyst, takes us through some of the numbers as we discuss the key battle areas for this monumental match-up.
In Daily Maverick's first-ever sports podcast, our new addition to Maverick Sports, Craig Ray is in conversation with rugby analyst Zelim Nel. This podcast provides you with a couple of laughs and some great insight into the Rugby World Cup leading up to the semi-finals. At the very least, it will stop you from looking like that guy in the Heineken advert.