Innholdsfortegnelse for 11/24/2019 i City Press

E FF leader Julius Malema is facing open rebellion within his party for the first time, after the student wing made it clear that it would oppose his intention to shut it down His plan to establish a women’s structure is also being resisted, as is his proposal to impose a leadership slate ahead of the party’s conference in three weeks’ time. The EFF Student Command has challenged the party leader to a debate, saying he lacks guidance in his decision-making. The challenge comes after Malema described the structure as “useless” at a press briefing earlier this week. The formation, which has become a key driver of the EFF’s growth in the wake of the #FeesMustFall campaign, said in response to Malema that the leader’s comments showed he did not…

The contract of Monica Newton, the head of Gauteng’s department of sport, arts, culture and recreation, has been “redetermined”. In addition, three senior departmental officials have been placed on precautionary suspension, following the release of a report into unauthorised recordings that were leaked to the media. In March 2019, Newton and a colleague were accused by then MEC Faith Mazibuko of having failed to facilitate the construction of “combi courts”, to be used for the ANC’s election campaign. In a leaked audio clip, Mazibuko was heard making derogatory remarks to her staff. The audio that recorded the incident was found to be unauthorised, after a probe was conducted. The department also found that unauthorised security cameras had been installed, according to the department’s current MEC, Mbali Hlophe (pictured). “Following from…

The Maluti Mountains will come alive with the sound of music during the third annual Golden Gate Classics concert that starts on December 6. The weekend of jazz and classical music includes acclaimed vocalist Sibongile Khumalo, accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra conducted by maestro Kutlwano Masote, reknowned soprano Zandile Mzazi and members of the Tshwane University of Technology Vocal Art chorus. The Bokani Dyer Quintet, in collaboration with composer and pianist Thandi Ntuli, complete the line-up. Dyer believes this year’s event will truly strike the right notes. “Our collaboration with Thandi Ntuli is something different, comprising both our compositions,” he said enthusiastically. He said they would have two pianos on stage, along with the rest of the Bokani Dyer Quintet – Sphelelo Mazibuko playing the drums and Romy Brauteseth on…

Despite resisting at first, politicians in a strife-torn Limpopo municipality changed their minds and paid R1.4 million owed to an employee who was unfairly dismissed in 2016. Their about-turn could have been a way of avoiding further embarrassment. The sheriff had already attached and removed the Fetakgomo Greater Tubatse municipality’s four trucks and four graders valued at R1.5 million when it decided to comply with SA Local Bargaining Council commissioner Richard Sithi’s award to former human resources manager Charity Rabada. Rabada’s woes began in 2016 when the Greater Tubatse and Fetakgomo municipalities were being merged. She was dismissed for gross insubordination in September 2016 when she protested against being suspended by the municipality’s former employee, Nkgolo Shai, who was seconded from the Sekhukhune District Municipality as corporate services director to…

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he wanted a trial in the US Senate, suggesting he would be vindicated. “Frankly, I want a trial,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s programme, Fox and Friends. The US president said, however, that he did not think the House of Representatives – which is conducting public hearings as part of an impeachment probe into Trump – would impeach him. “I think it is very hard for them to impeach you if they have absolutely nothing,” he said. Trump’s comments come after two weeks of public hearings that have seen 12 witnesses testify. The Democratic-led House is investigating whether Trump abused his power of office by pushing Ukraine to investigate a political rival. The inquiry centres on a July 25 phone call that took…

October 1: vs Golden Arrows (Absa Premiership) . The 27th-minute penalty conversion set Chiefs on the road to a 2-0 win at FNB Stadium. October 19: vs Cape Town City (Telkom Knockout Last 16) . Missed from the spot in the 30th minute when Chiefs were 1-0 down, but Cardoso went on to score the first penalty during the shoot-out that Amakhosi won 4-2 at Cape Town Stadium. November 2: vs Orlando Pirates (Telkom Knockout quarterfinal) . Steps up to net Chiefs’ first penalty after Happy Jele had given Bucs the lead during the shoot-out following a 2-2 stalemate after 120 minutes at Moses Mabhida Stadium. November 9: vs Orlando Pirates (Absa Premiership) . Cardoso’s successful conversion handed Chiefs a 3-2 win over Bucs less than 10 minutes from regulation…

Revenge is a dish best served cold! A 10-man Mamelodi Sundowns team gave Golden Arrows a taste of their own medicine when they beat the home side in their Telkom Knockout semifinal showdown in Durban yesterday. A fortnight ago, Arrows reigned supreme during a five-goal thriller in the Absa Premiership at the same venue – Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium. But losing twice to the same team in back-to-back matches was not an option for the Brazilians. The 3-2 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Claremont-based outfit on a rain-soaked pitch two weeks ago was still fresh in coach Pitso Mosimane’s and the Tshwane giants’ minds. The nine-time league champions successfully executed their revenge mission with a nerve-wracking 2-1 victory over Arrows in front of a sold-out crowd to…

The reality of our situation is the constant reminder that a deviation from a principled and disciplined approach to how we run our affairs will always reignite the past we so much hope to get past. We will always be reminded of apartheid and racial prejudice, and will continue to live in the shadow of our past. We have to take a long journey before we can truly claim that we have indeed dealt with our past. Years ago, we knew that we needed to relook at our electricity supply, public transport system and many other things. We knew that the infrastructure then was designed to deprive the majority of the country’s people of services, and we knew that we needed to ensure that we expanded the services to include…

President Cyril Ramaphosa came into office with an oft-repeated promise to root out the corrupt elements in government. For about 21 months, he continued to preach this message, but there is still little evidence that his words have been followed by actions. His appointment of Shamila Batohi as the national director of public prosecutions was hailed as a great step, but she has taken time to adjust to the position. However, the arrest this week of home affairs portfolio chairperson and former state security minister Bongani Bongo could be a sign that the criminal justice cluster is heeding the call from South Africans who are frustrated by the high level of corruption and the impunity that seems to accompany it. Bongo appeared in court on charges relating to the attempted…

ANC MP and former health MEC in KwaZulu-Natal Sibongiseni Dhlomo has described the National Health Insurance (NHI) as “an equaliser in terms of health. It cannot be that I need to have better health because I have a deeper pocket. We ought to have social solidarity: the young must be ready and available to carry the old.” This is the message he has been carrying around the country as the public hearings into the NHI continue. While input from communities on this universal healthcare system has seen both support and condemnation, Dhlomo is determined to show that the NHI is what the country needs and deserves. Bongo joins the long list of ANC leaders who, when sick, have chosen to leave the country But can we all be equal in…

From my parents and church I acquired an early sense of the importance of doing what is right and good. Under the names ethics and moral philosophy it pervaded my university studies of theology, philosophy of religion and comparative religion, till it became the main, continuing focus of my work about 20 years ago. The result is a very privileged picture of this crucial facet of human life. Privilege involves responsibility. In my case it is the duty to share what I have been given as widely as possible. This article brings together what I see as some of the most important insights about ethics. Key words in ethics The main word in ethics is goodness, standing for the cherishing, fostering and preserving of all that is caring, beautiful and…

The University of Cape Town (UCT) notes the conversation in the media and on social media on the Sutherland reburial process following the public unveiling of the scientific findings on nine individuals whose remains were unethically acquired in the 1920s. As much as this is a part of the institution’s history that we are not proud of, conversations around this are bound to continue and some of them will enrich a process of ensuring that there is redress through community-led research and that the university addresses past injustices. However, UCT notes that in the process some inaccuracies have been introduced to the conversation. A PhD student has claimed that they were the one who pointed out that the remains were unethically acquired but they are not being acknowledged for it.…

Arthur Chaskalson: A Life Dedicated to Justice for All by Stephen Ellmann Published by Pan Macmillan South Africa Pages: 864 Price: R550 As the possibility of negotiations with the government loomed, after Nelson Mandela’s release, the ANC faced the task of developing its constitutional proposals. More generally, the country faced the task of developing its constitutional thinking. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that South Africa began an extended constitutional seminar – at the same time that the ANC, the government and other parties carried out an extended, high-stakes political struggle for advantage. That political struggle was fierce and frightening, and many lives were lost, particularly in clashes involving the ANC and Inkatha [Freedom Party], while strong evidence emerged of a government-sponsored “third force” illicitly bolstering…

Eskom has refused every request it received from struggling intensive energy users for tariff concessions, the power utility has confirmed. Among the companies that had applied for lower tariffs was Arcelor Mittal, which recently announced it would close its Saldanha plant in the Western Cape. City Press’ sister publication, Rapport, has previously reported that nine companies had asked Eskom for concessions. Chabisi Motloung, chairperson of the Ferro Alloy Producers Association of SA, said the last concessions Eskom had granted were four years ago, when it approved two out of 11 applications. Silicon Smelters and Sublime Technologies were the only two companies granted concessions. One of these agreements has since lapsed and has not been approved again, said Motloung. In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Motloung previously appealed for government’s…

The biggest bank on the continent, Standard Bank, hopes to be the go-to banker as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) eyes more investments on the continent. Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa in Dubai earlier this week, Victor Williams, Standard Bank’s head for corporate and investment banking for Africa, said the improving investment climate across Africa and inflows of Middle East investment had prompted the bank to position itself as the preferred and suitable banker of choice. The bank has $156 billion (about R2.3 trillion) in assets across the continent. “For multinational corporations and international investors, we are one of the few banks with a wide footprint across Africa, which allows them to access many markets at once,” Williams said. “We have teams on the…

Research consistently shows that women make better investors than men. This is not because they have superior foresight when it comes to investing, but rather that they tend to have a more conservative approach. How does a conservative approach outperform a non-conservative one? It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Studies show that, although women might take a long time to commit to a decision about a long-term investment, once they do, they hardly switch in and out of funds to try to “beat” the market. This is the exact opposite with men; men trade more frequently than women. Men are more likely to be overconfident in their ability to actively manage a portfolio. That makes them susceptible to the “hot hand fallacy”, which is a tendency for people to believe that,…

Now London-based, musician, artist and writer Nakhane is returning home to perform music from his latest album, You Will Not Die, after taking it on tour in countries such as Brazil, Poland, Denmark, the US, Greece and Australia. “I was abstractly excited, until I got into rehearsals, and now I’m tangibly excited,” says Nakhane, who hasn’t had a full show here in almost three years. Many, like myself, would’ve first seen him perform live at the Afropunk festival in 2017, where he captivated the audience and became the highlight of the night with his stage and vocal presence. “That show was significant to me. It was the first time I had performed after the whole Inxeba drama. I didn’t know how I’d be received. It was an incredible welcome back…

Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story BET (DStv channel 129) Wednesdays, 9.30pm BET’s Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story has big shoes to fill when it comes to portraying one of South Africa’s most loved and complicated women. Anyone who knew Lebo Mathosa as a public figure would tell you freely that the telling of her narrative is one that requires gusto, great music in abundance and fine storytelling. However, from the first episode, with Keabetswe “KB” Motsilanyane singing Unconditional Love, right through to the third episode, where Mathosa is still fighting record executives, one can’t help but notice that the show fails to meet two essential expectations that seem fundamental to the telling of Mathosa’s story. The storyline so far seems so generic. The narrative about Mathosa fighting record labels over…

Die Hard 4 M-Net Movies Action (DStv channel 110) Sunday, 8pm John McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyberterrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington, DC. Little Man (2006) BET (DStv channel 129) Monday, 6pm A wannabe dad mistakes a vertically challenged criminal on the lam as his newly adopted son. Lottery Ticket (2010) Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) Saturday, 8.30pm Kevin Carson is a young man living in the Projects who has to survive a three-day weekend after his opportunistic neighbours find out he’s holding a winning lottery ticket worth $370 million.…

Former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shaun Abrahams says President Cyril Ramaphosa feared that the appointments of senior prosecutors concluded by his predecessor, former president Jacob Zuma, were “fast-tracked” to counter his political victory as the new president. This is according to court papers filed this week by Abrahams, who said Ramaphosa acted unlawfully by revoking Zuma’s decisions without resorting to the courts. He said this infringed on the principles of legality. Presidency director-general Cassius Lubisi had told the court that there was no information available to them on how the appointments, made by Zuma in the dying days of his presidency in February last year, managed to go out beyond the walls of the Union Buildings. He said the process was not finalised since Zuma did not communicate it…

‘We need to look at how is it that, 25 years after we got our freedom, we still have people who don’t have homes; we still have racial, ethnic and gender discrimination; and we still have tribalism.” A critical Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng delivered the 17th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus yesterday. This year’s lecture was on “constitutionalism as an instrument for transformation”. Speaking to a packed venue that included the likes of United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa, Mamphela Ramphele and professor Njabulo Ndebele, Mogoeng said the purpose of his lecture was to look at the ills of our society. According to him, something is amiss when, 25 years into democracy, it is rare to find women and black people in the high…

Idols SA season 15 winner Luyolo Yiba has a spring in his step and a sparkle in his smile. “Just as my single Sunshine Through the Rain says, my dreams will not be in vain. I believe that God will make a way and that everything is how it is supposed to be. For now I’d like to focus on my career and push my single, which is currently number two on the iTunes charts,” said Yiba when asked if he had any fears about falling from his new found glory. Yiba is R1 million richer, owns a new car, has R80 000 to spend on clothes and a record deal with Gallo – a tidy pot of gold at the end of his rainbow. This comes after a battle…

Children are up to two-and-half times more likely to smoke, drink and take drugs if their parents have used cannabis, according to new Harvard research. As marijuana legalisation expands across the US, so does its use among adults and children alike. Now an estimated 12% of people over 18 and nearly 6% of high schoolers smoke and eat marijuana. Substance use is “handed down the generations”, making it imperative to devise better prevention and treatment strategies. These could include screening and counselling programmes for all family members, say scientists from Harvard Medical School in Boston, US. The finding, published on online medical journal Jama Network Open, was based on 24 900 father-child and mother-child pairs. Subjects included adolescents aged 12 to 17 and young adults between 18 and 30, all…

There’s a well-known biblical expression that says: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” I use this expression to highlight what I think is partly to blame for poor refereeing in today’s football games. I sometimes watch referees delay making a decision after an incident on the field, almost as if to see what kind of punishment should be meted out to the perpetrator. Recently, in a game between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in the Premier League, Spurs player Heung-Min Son went into a tackle with Everton’s André Gomes in which the latter suffered a sickening leg break. So distraught was Son that he was reduced to tears on the side of the pitch while Gomes was being treated and later stretchered off. The referee appeared…

Tuesday Orlando Pirates vs Polokwane City (Orlando Stadium) Mamelodi Sundowns vs AmaZulu (Loftus Versfeld) Highlands Park vs Bidvest Wits (Makhulong Stadium) Wednesday Stellenbosch vs Kaizer Chiefs (Cape Town Stadium) Maritzburg United vs SuperSport United (Harry Gwala Stadium) Chippa United vs Black Leopards (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium) Baroka FC vs Golden Arrows (Peter Mokaba Stadium) Bloemfontein Celtic vs Cape Town City (Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium) . All matches kick off at 7.30pm…

The heroics of the South African Under-23s at the age-limit Afcon has not only earned the team a golden ticket to next year’s Olympics in Japan, but the feat in Egypt unlocked possible elevations to Bafana Bafana. This was hinted at by Bafana head coach Molefi Ntseki on the return of the team from Egypt yesterday. The Under-23s beat Ghana in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Cairo on Friday to claim the bronze medal and the last Olympic spot in the junior continental championships that served as a qualifying tournament for Tokyo. South Africa qualified alongside champions Egypt and runners-up Ivory Coast as Africa’s three representatives for the global sporting spectacle. Head coach David Notoane said the integration process was something that he had discussed with Ntseki, but they were…

South Africa is in crisis. The economy is stagnant. Unemployment is high. Inequality is growing. State-owned enterprises are in the intensive care unit and are only surviving because of constant bailouts from the state. Hospitals are overcrowded and have no medicines, and patients are sometimes forced to bring their own linen. Millions of children learn in dilapidated conditions. We have a bloated public service, which fails the citizens. The likelihood of systems being down at government offices are equal to, or higher than finding clean, running water in taps in Stinkwater. That is the state of South Africa. We all agree that we need capable people to lead us in the right direction and get institutions working and the economy booming, while ensuring that everyone has an equal chance of…

Thabiso Zulu, a close comrade of former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa, who was murdered in 2017, has been on the run since giving evidence at the Moerane commission into the political killings in KwaZulu-Natal. Zulu’s exposure of the suspected killers of Magaqa was never going to be taken lying down by the perpetrators. Magaqa was shot and later died in hospital. He was supposedly killed by izinkabi – literally meaning oxen, but now the name for hired killers from KwaZulu-Natal, oxen in the yoke of the criminals who hire them. Zulu, a former youth league secretary in the Harry Gwala region, had given evidence at the Moerane commission about mass corruption and looting in the municipality. He was shot in the arm by three men at Copesville…

The #strongertogether hashtag that was created to support the Springboks during the Rugby World Cup reminds me of the motto emblazoned on our national coat of arms – “!ke e: xarra //ke” – written in the Khoisan !Xam. It translates to mean “unity in diversity” or “diverse people unite”. South Africans are still drinking from the spring of happiness and are on a high following the incredible Bokke winning the Webb Ellies throphy against England in Japan. (Ironically against a former conquerer of our territory dating to 1795 when Britain first seized control of the then Cape colony from the Dutch.) But what happens now that the party’s over; the festivities have died down and the rugby boots have been packed away until the new season starts? How do we…

Female entrepreneurs are a vast untapped source of innovation, job creation and economic growth in South Africa. By embracing entrepreneurship as a career choice, women have the opportunity to empower themselves financially as well as create jobs for others. However, despite the opportunities, a number of challenges can hinder women from pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams, including a tough competitor market and attracting new customers. One way women entrepreneurs can bolster their entrepreneurial presence and skills is by developing a strong personal brand. By building and growing a personal brand, especially as a woman in a male-dominated industry, you are affording yourself the opportunity to showcase not only your work but also your ethos to your clients. As a self-employed professional, a personal brand, along with your level of expertise in…

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Luno says FNB’s announcement earlier this week to stop providing cryptocurrency trading platforms with its banking services will not affect its clients. “It is business as usual,” Marius Reitz, head of Luno, told City Press’ sister publication, Rapport. “We have arrangements with other banks in place, so deposits and withdrawals can still be done on the Luno platform.” Luno is just one of the virtual currency exchanges that will be affected by FNB’s decision to shut down such accounts. The bank services of other virtual exchanges, including VALR and ICE3X, and their intermediaries will expire at the end of March 2020. Reitz said Luno clients with FNB accounts would not be affected until then, adding: “From the second quarter of 2020, FNB clients will still be…

Indian company Atha-Africa Ventures’ only hope to establish its Mpumalanga coal mine now lies in the hands of the province’s environmental affairs MEC, Vusi Shongwe, after its last court application failed. Environmentalists opposed to the establishment of Yzermyn in the Mabola Protected Environment near Wakkerstroom have frustrated Atha-Africa’s intention for the past three years, starting in the Pretoria High Court and going to the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal and eventually to the Constitutional Court. The Centre for Environmental Rights has so far not only managed to get the company’s mining permit reversed but also successfully opposed authorisations that were given by the department of environmental affairs (DEA), department of water and sanitation and the provincial environmental affairs department. Atha-Africa’s struggle began in November 2018 when the Pretoria High Court…

Lebo writes: I had a loan from Capitec. Then I was unemployed for almost a year. There was no communication between me and the bank. Then three years down the line I was contacted by debt collectors. How best can I deal with this issue? City Press replies: It is a pity you did not tell Capitec at the time as it’s possible you had credit insurance on the loan. This could have covered you if you were retrenched. Unfortunately, once you default the credit insurance falls away. You can ask the debt collector to give you proof of any communication the bank or the debt collector sent to you in the last three years. If they cannot prove that they had contact with you in that period, then it…

Kgomotso Neto Tleane is a self-taught photographer who is no stranger to the unconventional. He has just had his artwork showcased at the Bree Taxi Rank in the Johannesburg CBD. He effortlessly tells black people’s stories truthfully and without pretence. And his Turning Heads visual series is no exception. This is captured beautifully in an article on the website Behance about Neto’s work: “Looking at a photograph is about listening and then looking. “One has to listen to what the photograph wants to say before imposing anything on it. It is about how the ear catches the whispers and shouting that escape beyond the edges of the frame. It is about staring at what is there, what is not there, what could be there, what needs to be there. Neto…

MISS I’m always here for sheer and skin – usually a killer combination – but Liesl Laurie’s sequinned dress got lost in translation and looked way better in the daytime than it did at night HIT Lalla Hirayama kept things sexy, flirty and simple in this figure-hugging dress. The earrings and the hair also brought a classic feel to this timeless beauty HIT & MISS Tamara Dey brought all the drama to the red carpet and looked smoking hot with her slicked back hair and her smokey eyes. But I wish the trousers were better tailored around the waist and hip area as they looked messy MISS I’m also here for local celebrities wearing South African designers. However, former Miss SA Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala made this Imprint ZA piece…

Legal opinion sourced by DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille has given the green light for the return of former MP Gwen Ngwenya as head of policy. City Press reported last week that plans were afoot to bring Ngwenya back after her dramatic exit from the party just months before this year’s crucial May 8 polls. Zille had last week moved to bring Ngwenya back, but was met with resistance at the level of the federal executive. She tried again at last week’s federal council and it is alleged that a lengthy debate about Ngwenya’s return ensued, with many questions asked about whether Zille had the authority to unilaterally make that decision. The matter was ultimately deferred to a sitting of the federal executive, where it’s understood that Zille presented…

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and activist Simphiwe Dana (pictured) is set to seduce sound and titillate tunes with her second annual Symphony Experience. The mellifluous affair takes place on December 7 at The SA State Theatre in Pretoria. With more than 15 years in the industry, Dana has cemented her hard-earned place among the icons. She attributes her success to being honest in her craft: “I’m quite the introvert; staying at home with my kids is what fulfils me. I don’t live much of a celebrity life. I’ve always been honest in my music and that is why I think I’ve stood the test of time.” Dana explained that celebrating African unity was at the heart of the concert. “This year’s concert will be unlike anything you’ve heard before. With a…

A cash-strapped Mpumalanga municipality may need pickaxes and shovels to recover about R18 million in salaries that were paid twice to its employees last month. An error by officials in the Nkomazi Local Municipality’s finance department saw workers getting paid their salaries on the 15th instead of the 25th. When the council decided not to pay the workers on the correct pay day, 10 days later, the workers shut down all water treatment plants and other municipal services. The council bent over backwards and paid the bonanza to contain the service delivery chaos. Now it wants to recover the money before the end of the 2019/20 financial year in June next year and has suggested deducting 20% from the employees’ salaries, but the workers are having none of it. City…

It didn’t take long for the “anyone but England” brigade to turn on the Springboks, who had presumably done everyone a solid by comprehensively beating the Rugby World Cup favourites in the final at the beginning of this month. It began with noises from perennial, not to mention sour, underachievers Ireland, where it appears none of the shows they’ve done after the World Cup has concluded without one of their presenters or pundits looking to credit doping for the Springboks winning their third title. Then came the rest of Europe through former England centre Jeremy Guscott and Welsh referee Nigel Owens, who suggested that, to make the game a better spectacle, we should go back to the amateur age, where there were fewer replacements than the current eight on the…

Western Province chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Zacks has denied that the provincial rugby union’s cash flow problems are affecting the Stormers’ preparations for next year’s Super Rugby season. But a source close to the Stormers camp said last week that the team’s preparations for the new season had been disrupted by their struggle for the basics one would expect to be available in the training camp of an elite team. The basics included not being able to leave Cape Town to go to camp, being short of water at times and sometimes not taking to the field because there was not enough strapping. Coach John Dobson is reported to have paid out of his own pocket for the painting of the changing rooms at their training grounds. But Zacks,…

The difference between Kaizer Chiefs and their opponents so far this season has been Amakhosi’s ability to convert their chances. Also, the team’s positive start partly has to do with their defence, where Daniel Cardoso has been a regular feature. In their six-match winning streak in the league since the 2-0 win over AmaZulu in September, Chiefs have tallied 12 goals and kept five straight clean sheets, conceding only seven. While Serb Samir Nurković is steadily establishing himself as the outlet for goals, Cardoso has contributed to the cause, not only defensively, but his goals from spot kicks have also made the difference. The Bafana Bafana centre back has played every minute of Chiefs’ official matches in all competitions so far this campaign, and he is the team’s joint leading…

It’s wonderful, not just for the company, but also for the sporting community Patrice Motsepe, one of South Africa’s first black billionaires, has saved the Blue Bulls rugby team from a dire financial situation. This was revealed by Alfons Meyer, chief executive of the Blue Bulls Company (BBC), after Motsepe’s private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), signed an agreement with Johann Rupert’s investment holding company, Remgro. In doing so, Motsepe has acquired a historic controlling share in the BBC. The BBC was established in December 1997 to manage the Blue Bulls team professionally. However, for the past few years, the company has been battling to keep its head above water financially. Before the Blue Bulls Rugby Union approved the new contract – in a meeting held at Loftus Versfeld…

The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) is hoping for an improved budget to deliver Team SA to the Olympic Games in Japan, Tokyo, next year. The embattled federation has budgeted R30 million for the Olympic team, and about R17 million for the Paralympic team. This is a far cry from the almost R100 million that was pumped into the team for the 2012 Olympics in London, with an array of sponsors also contributing massively to the Paralympic team the same year. Sascoc acting chief executive Ravi Govender told City Press that the projected budget for Tokyo 2020 might shift, and was subject to the Olympic governing body meeting certain conditions and including the implementation of findings by a ministerial inquiry that was established more than a year ago…

The latest report from the Auditor-General into national and provincial departments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is enough to drive Buddhist monks to drink. For the uninformed, the fifth precept of Buddhism – by which this lowly newspaperman lives – reads thus: “I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are the basis for heedlessness.” But if Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu were to give a PowerPoint presentation on his 2018/19 findings to a priory of monks, all would have no choice but to delve into distilled intoxicants. In his report, Makwetu told us about a serious regression in audit outcomes. He told us that only 26% of the institutions “managed to produce quality financial statements and performance reports that comply with legislation”, the financial health of those…

Out, Mayor Floral The one thing that EFF leader Julius Malema dislikes more than white people is probably the new “white” DA. Juju held a press briefing about the EFF’s upcoming National People’s Assembly and took the opportunity to throw shade at City of Tshwane mayor Steven Mokgalapa. Malema referred to Mokgalapa as “that mayor of floral suits”, expressing his disapproval about the councillor’s behaviour and dress sense. He called out Mr Floral for his arrogance and warned that his days as mayor were numbered. “He has never spoken to the EFF; we must remove the flowers,” Juju said. Show no mercy The old saying goes: Never kick a man when he is down. But some South Africans can be unforgiving. When a certain Oupa Masilela saw the headline, Hawks…

The shooting incident at an ANC Youth League (ANCYL) event in Hammanskraal north of Pretoria, which led to the death of Lethabo Nkoana, represents the lowest point in what has been a race to the bottom of this once glorious formation. Why has the ANCYL degenerated into this limping wild animal that is now eating its own children? What happened to the calibre of youth league leaders and members that used to sit at the top of youth affairs in this country? The leaders of the league had authority to give commands for protests against an illegitimate government and instructions for change of leadership that had overstayed its welcome. These leaders championed the acceleration of service delivery, confident of their legitimacy as the true voice of all young people in…

How pupils are going to be taught about risky sexual behaviour, relationships and sexualities at schools has turned into a political hot potato yet again. There is probably no more contentious subject today than that of sexuality. Unlike other social and educational debates, discussion around sex is charged with emotional and political overtones. It is electric at its core, divisive and with so much at stake. It perpetuates a mounting cultural ignorance on one hand, while invoking one’s school of thought on matters of virtue and values on the other. There is a lot of talk – misinformation on social media platforms is gaining significant momentum, and pessimistic perceptions and conservative cultural views have already taken form with the demoralising cliché: “Sex is dirty, it cannot be discussed.” The distorted…

The standoff involving refugees and asylum seekers at both the UN Human Rights Council offices in Pretoria and the Central Methodist Church in Cape Town is a cause for concern, especially in light of the recent spate of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals. Since the first xenophobic attacks in 2008, South Africa has witnessed intermittent outbreaks of violence where foreign nationals have been attacked and displaced from their homes. In some instances they have been killed with no repercussions for the perpetrators of such violence. It is against this background that foreign nationals have demanded that they be moved from South Africa and repatriated not back to their home countries, but to other countries. They argue that they no longer feel safe here. It must be remembered that the most…

Rural communities in South Africa are facing several crippling challenges, both socially and economically. The plight of having little or no access to basic essential resources such as electricity, water, sanitation and transportation has varied implications for those living within these communities. These challenges also affect the most vulnerable in these rural communities: school children. They are confronted with the reality of living in homes without running water or electricity, which makes studying difficult. They have to walk long distances to and from school as transport is scarce. This leaves them exposed to the dangers of being knocked down by vehicles or meeting strangers who might have bad intentions. Many rural schools lack infrastructure as well as resources. In many schools there are no feeding schemes, the only source of…

Job creation is an increasingly important issue, particularly in a year when the unemployment rate hit its worst level in a decade – 29.1%. “Now more than ever, the interplay between funding established SMEs [small and medium enterprises] to grow, and for SMEs to access the right funder to serve their growth and sustainability is vital,” says Kumaran Padayachee, CEO of Spartan SME Finance. Paradoxically, funders complain of a lack of quality SME transactions to finance, while entrepreneurs complain of a lack of SME funding. How can both be right? The will to reignite growth in South Africa is clear. A R363 billion commitment from local and international businesses at the SA Investment Conference held in early November could result in the creation of about 412 000 direct jobs, and…

Dubai has set its sights on increasing its non-oil trade with Africa to more than R4 trillion before the end of this year and claims its approach is fairer and more sustainable than what the continent is getting from China. Speaking to media on the sidelines of fifth Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa in Dubai earlier this week, Hamad Buamim, CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said though the focus on Africa was not meant to compete with China, the small businesses-focused trade model was much better than what the continent was currently getting. Buamim said the Chinese investments were more government-led while Dubai was pursuing purely commercial relationships. “Our focus is not on the top 5% to 10% of businesses but the 90% of businesses,” Buamim…

South Africa’s struggle to safeguard its last investment-grade credit rating has failed to convince the most credit-sensitive global investors, and many active fund managers have already voted with their feet. The precarious credit rating of the continent’s most industrialised nation was put back in play again last month after government issued a bleak mid-term budget policy statement that slashed the growth forecast and showed that government debt is racing to more than 70% of GDP by 2023. Days laster, Moody’s Investors Service kept South Africa teetering on the brink of “junk” status by confirming its Baa3 rating – the lowest rung of investment grade – but revising the outlook to “negative”, opening a 12- to 18-month window in which a downgrade could be delivered. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings…

There’s a reason the classics never go out of style. This is particularly true for décor, especially when you consider an iconic South African brand such as Biggie Best. The company has perfected the blend of contemporary and country casual, and this year much-loved décor classics - which you will continue to fall in love with - make a welcome revival at Biggie Best. The latest collection of occasional furniture – bedside tables, blanket boxes, chests of drawers – sits equally well in a sophisticated city flat as in a relaxed country home. Much like all things Biggie Best, the furniture is elegant yet understated and with a functional no-fuss simplicity that makes it both an everyday showpiece and a practical storage unit to keep your home clutter-free. To nail…

Mdungazi was the son of Muzila, King of the great Gaza-Nguni kingdom. You may remember that Muzila was the son of Soshangana and that he only took control of the kingdom after a bitter struggle with his brother, Mawewe. When Muzila died, Mdungazi ascended to the throne and took the name Nghunghunyani. This is an isiNguni word meaning “to protect or to shelter”. Like the Nguni kings before him, Nghunghunyani increased the number of his followers by recruiting people, particularly young men and maidens, from the vaTsonga. The Gaza-Nguni aristocracy did not see how important it was for them to respect the vanquished and change their attitude of ethnic prejudice. When Nghunghunyani tried to unite his kingdom, he found it was not easy to absorb the vaTsonga as most of…

Black and Blue A fairly standard thriller that highlights the scourge of violence towards African-Americans over the past few years. Naomie Harris plays a rookie who left her hometown to join the army, and returned a fully fledged police officer after some time. – Phumlani S Langa Terminator Dark Fate Arnie is back, but he plays a secondary role to the women in this latest Terminator film. Although a lot of people weren’t looking forward to this one, viewers who watch it are in store for all-out girl power in a watchable action flick. – Phumlani S Langa Zulu Wedding This charming film will win over the hardest of cynics. A romantic comedy and love letter to the Zulu and Sotho cultures. – Channel24…

If you would like to experience Dubai and its jazz scene, Emirates and City Press are giving one lucky reader and a partner a once in a lifetime opportunity to do so. The competition will run in City Press until Sunday December 8, so make sure you read the article each week. You will need to collect all three articles to win. At the end of the three weeks, there will be questions based on the three clues published in the articles. The prize includes: • Two economy class round-trip tickets from South Africa (Emirates gateways: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg) to Dubai. • Three nights accommodation to share in Dubai. • Visa costs for the winner and their travel partner. • Two admission tickets to the Dubai Jazz Festival. Winner…