Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/1/2019 i City Press

Stats SA, which is responsible for collecting and interpreting all the data that South Africa’s economy requires to thrive, is headed for “destruction”, warns Pali Lehohla, who was the country’s Statistician-General from 2000 to 2017. As a result of massive cash shortages, 19.5% (685) of Stats SA’s 3 511 posts have been vacant since October 2016, City Press’ sister publication Rapport has revealed. Among the posts that have not been filled are more than 170 key management positions. Altogether, 26 posts have been filled by officials who were appointed to act in those positions. Among these are five of the eight deputy directors-general, as well as the institution’s chief operating officer. The cash shortage is so perilous that a critical survey on poverty – the Income and Expenditure Survey –…

In 2013, singer and songwriter Msaki used to sell her music from the boot of her car. “I managed to sell 500 copies of my CD. It was a big deal,” says the bubbly Msaki, whose real name is Asanda Lusaseni Mvana. Fast-forward six years, and the 33-year-old is now a muso who has collaborated with award-winning artists such as Prince Kaybee, Black Coffee, Mobi Dixon and Tresor. Prince Kaybee’s smash hit Fetch your Life and Tresor’s Sondela, both featuring Msaki, are currently dominating the charts. There was a point when she could have given up on her musical career, but her passion and perseverance saw to it that she did not. “Although I knew I could sing, I never took my singing career seriously,” the self-taught musician says. She…

Former SABC chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng has won a court challenge against the public broadcaster. City Press has learnt that Motsoeneng scored a victory in the Western Cape High Court on November 21, in a case concerning an application that was brought by the SABC to force him to pay the legal costs it incurred. Motsoeneng had initially taken legal action against the public broadcaster soon after his axing in June 2017, in response to the SABC charging him for comments he made at a press conference in April 2017. Motsoeneng challenged his former employer for charging him on that basis, rather than on then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendations. Motsoeneng then withdrew this charge, but last week the SABC was unsuccessful in forcing him to cover the…

Penalty shootouts are the ultimate way of deciding a winner and a loser in football, and when it comes to spot kicks, England have the worst record. The Three Lions have made it to 10 competitive penalty shootouts in the past 29 years and have lost all, bar three, during that period – with two of their wins coming in the past 16 months. In fact, the last time England’s national team won a shootout, manager Gareth Southgate was plying his trade as an international footballer in his first major tournament. England had made it through to the semifinals of Euro 96 via their maiden win in a shootout, before Southgate’s infamous missed penalty kick in that game against Germany began what would become football’s worst shootout losing streak –…

You have worked with several PSL clubs before, yet not much is known about you. Take us through your journey. I have been in the football conditioning industry for more than 12 years. It all started at the Bloemfontein Celtic Academy under then youth head coach David Modise before I progressed to the senior team. A major transformation in my career happened when a dynamic international sport company, Simsport International, directed by my footballing mentor Rasthoem Simons [a Fifa-accredited agent], started bringing international sporting projects to South Africa. In 2006, I found myself at the famous Bolton Wanderers Academy in the UK, headed by Dave Bailey and Sam Allardyce. On my return home, I joined Free State Stars, which was then coached by Steve Komphela and Themba Sithole. After being…

I am absolutely perplexed, annoyed and disheartened while watching soccer games these days. Why? Well, it’s all to do with the state of match officiating and the way some referees are allowing themselves to be pushed, shoved, shouted at and belittled, and, in some instances, physically assaulted by certain players. It’s happening on a regular basis and it seems to transcend the entire football fraternity, except in women’s soccer. No longer is it confined to certain countries that would have fanatical support where, perhaps, one would expect it, although not condone it. Fifa has taken steps to try to eliminate it as far as it can, but it’s still prevalent today. They brought in goal-line technology as a means to ensure that the whole of the ball had crossed the…

South African Under-23 captain Tercious Malepe is on the cusp of making history with a second successive Olympic Games appearance, but the defender is refusing to count his chickens. The 22-year-old led the national team to a bronze medal at the recently concluded age-limit Afcon in Egypt, a feat that earned coach David Notoane’s team a ticket to next year’s Games. The Tokyo Games in July could be Malepe’s second bite at an Olympic experience as he was part of coach Owen Da Gama’s team that took part in the 2016 Games in Brazil. “I can’t say for sure I am going to my second Olympics because, with the national team, no one owns a position there. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re the captain or not,” said the utility…

A player dismissed by the referee – that is, red carded or sent off, including dismissal as a result of two yellow cards given in the same match (for the first time in a season) – will be suspended from participation in the next two matches to be played by his team in any competition under the auspices of the PSL. • 52.2 For each subsequent dismissal during the same season, the period of suspension will be increased by one match from the suspension previously served. • 52.3 Any period of suspension or part thereof that remains outstanding at the end of a season must be served at the start of the next season. • 52.4 Any dismissal that occurs during a match that is stopped or abandoned before the…

The past few weeks have been tough on South Africans. November seemed like it did not want to end, until it did yesterday. It has been a tough 11 months. The extent of state capture has been laid bare at the Zondo commission, the economy has been stagnant, unemployment figures just skyrocketed while inequality remains high. The drought and threat to food security are real. Politics provided yet another spectacular year and gender-based violence continued to show its ugly face at every turn. And yes, we survived it all. Today is December 1 and for some people it marks the start of festivities – when we binge on alcohol, food and anything else we can lay our hands on. We become reckless and overdo everything because we have been paid…

I love Christmas. It’s my favourite time of the year. I love the food, crackers, wrapping presents, having parties. But I have had to dial it back, way back, to maintain the planet-friendly practices the family has put in place. The trouble with Christmas is the plastic. Plastic decorations, plastic toys, plastic, plastic, plastic. And excess. Too much food, too much meat, too much everything. I have been so successfully conditioned to be a Christmas consumer that I have been in a period of mourning just for the tinsel and glitter I can’t have. But then an even more nightmarish problem arose. What to buy as gifts? I have a friend who infamously one year bought her entire family a donation to a charity. Her two teenage sons weren’t best…

‘A train pulling into Cape Town Station’s Platform 6 at 7.40pm on Tuesday did so with several carriages already on fire.” This is not the opening scene of another Deon Meyer detective novel; it is the opening line of a news article that appeared in local newspapers earlier this year. No one was arrested for that incident. Five months later and there has been no progress. Over the past three years, more than 140 train carriages, which make up more than 40 train sets, have been burnt in separate incidents and not a single person has been prosecuted for this blatant economic sabotage. On Thursday, 18 more train carriages were burnt at Cape Town Railway Station, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and unable to get to work, school, doctors’ appointments,…

I always thought that the opposition parties were being too hard on Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (pictured), the minister in the presidency for women, youth and people with disabilities. Aside from the fact that she enjoys sleeping on the job, the gibberish she recently spewed at the Zondo commission of inquiry reminded me of how former apartheid minister of justice and police Jimmy Kruger reacted to the cruel death of Steve Biko. People like her should no longer be called to appear before this august commission, for they will leave us cold. This makes me wonder if there are no better people to be appointed ministers if we are allowing people like Nkoana-Mashabane to lead us. I think payback time has passed. Can the ANC, as the governing party, please give us…

Every year around this time, outstanding achievers in various industries are acknowledged for their exemplary leadership and impressive contributions to their respective sectors. There are, however, a few individuals who stand out, and someone who deserves a Bell’s is Professor Johann Maree for his ingenuity, sharp-mindedness and tactical ability to cleanly deflect harm – mental or physical – away from himself. At his advanced age, the septuagenarian had hoped he and Helen Zille, his wife of 37 years, would quietly slip into retirement after she completed her term as the premier of the Western Cape earlier this year. After immersing herself deep in DA and national politics for many years, during which she had spats with political heavyweights including Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema; fellow DA leaders Mmusi…

Forget, for the moment, state capture. Think instead of media capture and the effect it can — and does — have on our lives. At the same time, consider the ongoing attempts to discredit journalism and the media. That we should all do so was highlighted last week by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng when he delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. Speaking of judges and magistrates, he said: “Watch us closely, otherwise our constitutional democracy is gone … Who do we associate with the most? Who are we uncomfortably or indecently friendly to? And check judgments when those people are involved. Ask yourself, does it make sense?” The same questions apply to the other two traditional pillars of parliamentary democracy: the legislature and the executive. And it is perhaps even…

The community of Namaqualand in the Northern Cape wants to take over ownership of the West Coast Resources (WCR) diamond mine in Koingnaas that is facing liquidation. WCR, which is owned by the Trans Hex Group, found itself in a precarious situation when it could not meet its working capital requirements following a one-third decline in the diamond price this year. The company owes creditors R472.5 million and reported a net loss of R154 million in the financial year ended March 31 this year. Trans Hex has, as a result, applied for the WCR mine’s liquidation in the Cape Town High Court. The group owns 62.7% of the WCR mine, the department of public enterprises (20%), Dinoka Investment Holdings (8.8%) and the Namaqualand Diamond Fund Trust (4%). Of the R472.5…

Investment lingo can often be complicated and leave you feeling confused and unsure of what to do. Let’s look at what it means to diversify your investments, and why it’s so important to do so. We’ll use farming as an analogy to explain the concept and use Mr Farmer as an example. He has ample land to use and decides to plant only wheat. There are great profits to be made, but the risk is quite high. Adverse weather conditions, insects or wheat-related disease could wipe out the entire crop. Or perhaps the wheat market changes in a particular year and Mr Farmer struggles to sell his produce for a good price. However, if Mr Farmer uses 50% of his land for wheat and the remaining land for a different…

Funerals are big business in South Africa, with an estimated R10 billion a year spent on the ritual and its related services. Insurance companies have found a lucrative product offering in funeral policies, with about 15 million funeral policy holders. A FinScope survey by independent nonprofit trust FinMark found that 5.5 million people have two or more funeral cover products and that only 6.6 million people have insurance other than funeral cover. In a recent conversation with a researcher from CGAP – an international think-tank dedicated to financial inclusion – I was told that South Africa has significantly more funeral insurance per capita than any other developed or emerging economy. He also commented that the amount we spend on funerals well exceeds that of our international peers. We can debate…

The ball is once again in the police’s court to provide support and protection to a whistle-blower who survived a shooting in KwaZulu-Natal in October – after he has repeatedly pleaded for this. Thabiso Zulu believes that high-ranking ANC representatives are wielding political pressure to prevent the protection from going ahead – especially after he was recently informed by the office of the inspector-general of intelligence that he deserved police intervention. Zulu is a close friend of the slain former ANC Youth League secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, who died in September 2017 of multiple gunshot injuries. Zulu revealed at Magaqa’s funeral that his assassination was linked to a huge construction tender involving powerful officials. Zulu also testified at the Moerane commission of inquiry into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal. This week, he…

A 37-year-old mother from Pretoria has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting minor boys at one of Pretoria’s most exclusive boys’ schools. The charge of rape apparently relates to oral sex that the woman allegedly performed on one of the boys. Some of the boys are as young as 13 and 14 and are believed to be friends with the woman’s teenage daughter. It is understood that several of the boys attend a prominent high school in Pretoria. The woman appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday on 10 charges, including sexual grooming, exposing children to pornography and sexual assault, and one charge of rape. She was released on bail of R7 500. The state alleges the crimes were committed over a period of five months. During this…

It’s been over a year since she lost her husband, but watching the Bank of Lisbon building being imploded last Sunday reopened wounds for Ury Moropana, the wife of late firefighter Simphiwe Moropana. Simphiwe died when he slipped and fell from the 23rd floor of the Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg in September last year. This week, Ury, 27, broke down as she watched television coverage of the 31-storey building being demolished. “I felt like I was watching a movie. It was a painful thing to watch. “What was confusing was the crowd, who were there rejoicing. This is where my husband and the father of my two children took his last breath,” said an emotional Ury in a telephonic interview. The fuming Ury accused the city’s emergency medical…

A new emerging designer’s work will shortly be added to our closets, thanks to the prominent South African fashion and media personality Noni Gasa, who is making sure that this aspiring designer’s dreams are fulfilled. After an extensive search and shifting through trend storyboards and hand-drawn sketches, Gasa and her team at the Design Academy of Fashion in Cape Town selected Amanda Trom as a worthy recipient of The Noni Gasa Bursary, which offers her the chance to pursue a three-year diploma in fashion from next year. “I was superexcited and I struggled to believe it,” Trom said about receiving the news that she had been chosen for the bursary, which includes her full tuition fees and her living expenses for three years, to the value of R460 000. “It’s…

While commending Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on the national water and sanitation master plan, Professor Anthony Turton, of the University of the Free State’s centre for environmental management, said it still did not answer one important question: Where will the water come from? “What concerns me about this plan is that they talk about institutions, investments and innovation, but nowhere do they talk about where we are going to get water from. I mean, we ran out of water in 2002. It’s all good and well to talk about making institutions stronger, but where is the water going to come from?” Turton asked. During the launch of the master plan this week, Sisulu said insufficient water infrastructure maintenance and investment, recurrent droughts, inequality in access to…

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the plastic pollution problem, but we are not helpless. There are many ways each of us can address the problem and be part of the solution. Here are just a few tips: 1 Separate at source. This means that you don’t throw all your household rubbish into the bin and then put it outside. These are the items that have value in the recycling industry: paper, glass, plastic, metal, tetra pak (foil-lined containers) and polystyrene. Wash them and put them in a separate, clear bag outside, where waste pickers can remove them and earn a living. 2 Do not litter. Just because there are waste pickers and municipal workers cleaning up after us does not mean we can just throw things…

KWANELE FEZILE ZUMA A trip from job interviews in Johannesburg to Mpumalanga ended in tragedy for two siblings when one was raped and shot dead while her brother was thrown out of a moving taxi this week. According to media reports, Kwanele Fezile Zuma and Ngceboyenkosi Minende Zuma, both 22, from Carolina in Mpumalanga, were hitchhiking back home late on Monday from Witbank when they were attacked by occupants of a taxi that stopped for them. PRECIOUS RAMABULANA The Capricorn TVET College student was found dead in her room off campus on Sunday. The 21-year-old was brutally murdered last Sunday, on the eve of the launch of the 16 Days of Activism campaign. She was reportedly stabbed 52 times. After an extensive search, on Friday police arrested a 28-year-old suspect…

Positions held in SA sports administration • Sascoc president • Swimming SA president • Springboks manager • SA Rugby Union committee member • National Sports Council • National Lotteries Distribution Fund • Golden Lions Rugby International roles • Commonwealth Games Federation vice-president • International Olympic Committee commission member of sport and environment • Association of National Olympic Committees commission member of marketing and finance…

Now that there is a new bargaining agreement in place between the PSL and the SA Football Players Union (Safpu), discussions over the minimum wage will soon resume. This was the union’s top priority when it started representing players more than two decades ago, but the matter was not pursued. Safpu and the PSL signed a collective bargaining agreement this week in a move aimed at improving the working conditions of professional footballers. In a survey conducted by the union a few years ago, the players had suggested a base figure of R35 000 for those playing in the elite league and R18 500 for in the first division, according to Safpu president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe. “At our congress – in 2016/17 – we conducted a study and the figures were…

A number of players from the South African Under-23 team that finished third at the Afcon in Egypt have featured in more than one major international tournament. This is what recently earned them the “golden generation” of South African football tag. 2015 Under-17 World Cup (Chile) Kobamelo Kodisang Katlego Mohamme Athenkosi Dlala Thendo Mukumela Keanu Cupido Mondli Mpoto Grant Margeman 2017 Under-20 World Cup (Korea Republic) Tercious Malepe Teboho Mokoena Sipho Mbule Keletso Makgalwa Luther Singh Thendo Mukumela Grant Magerman Mondli Mpoto 2019 Under-20 World Cup (Poland) Njabulo Blom Kobamelo Kodisang Lyle Foster…

A terrific late long-range goal from Jonjo Shelvey denied Premier League champions Manchester City maximum points at Newcastle in yesterday’s early match. Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne thought he had secured all three points for the Citizens with eight minutes to go. First-half goals by Raheem Sterling and Jetro Willems had seen the sides go into the break 1-1, but Shelvey gave the home side a deserved share of the spoils from the 2-2 draw. City coach Pep Guardiola rang in the changes from the side held to 1-all by Shakhtar Donetsk in a midweek Champions League match, dropping five players, including Nicolás Otamendi and Bernardo Silva, to the bench. In their place, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez started at St James’ Park. Newcastle United, who last season scored a…

Logic and common sense are not concepts that one would ordinarily associate with ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, arguably the most acerbic individual in the party’s leadership. She babbles a lot, ties herself in knots, rants incessantly and lashes out at the drop of a hat. Conspiracy theories are her stock in trade. While some in the ANC use these as tools of manipulation, Duarte actually believes them. Don’t be surprised if she comes up with a claim that the current heat wave is a ploy by imperialist forces to dry up our dams and make us vulnerable to regime change. That being said, Duarte was remarkably logical and sensible during a lecture in Soweto recently. Delivering the Albertina Sisulu Memorial Lecture, she warned that the ANC was losing its…

The country’s HIV epidemic is very different today from what it was in the early 2000s. Due to the availability of antiretrovirals (ARVs), people with HIV are living longer. Far too many people still die of HIVrelated causes (around 68 000 in 2019), but the time of multiple funerals every weekend for people who had died of Aids is over and life expectancy has recovered from a low of 53 years of age in 2004 to over 66 today. Today’s ARVs have much fewer stigmatising side effects than the ones we used a decade ago. We also know that, since the publication of a landmark trial in 2015, taking ARVs reduces the risk of TB and various cancers, even if your immune system is not showing any signs of decline.…

All comments from citypress.co.za Nardus Visser Well done, Botswana! You’re the most progressive country on the continent. Pieter Masaete Really? Wow! A government restricting a prophet of God from entering its country ... What a shame. I used to respect the government of Botswana for what it stood for. Botswana Christians unite against this antichrist through prayers to win freedom of religion. God always fights for his own people; never give up, we are with you in prayers. Tiisetso Moholo Snr And you think God is going to answer your prayers for someone who commercialises His gospel to fill his pocket and bank account? Gullible South Africans! Wise move by the no-nonsense Botswana government. South Africa should learn from this and do what our neighbours have done. This boy must…

Impossible Return: Cape Town’s Forced Removals by Siona O’Connell Published by Kwela Price: R275 One of the best ways South Africa has told the story of its history and present is through the medium of photography. The country has a strong tradition of using photographs to speak about and depict the injustices of the past, as well as the contemporary. Some notable photographers who come to mind are Ernest Cole, David Goldblatt, Sam Nzima and Peter Magubane. These photographers played a pivotal role in depicting South Africa’s history under apartheid and their work continues to inspire not only because of what it represents, but also because of the aesthetic precision that it contains. It is from these photographers – and many others – that photography today continues to be a…

South Africa’s richest people are forking out huge amounts of money to live in gated security estates, with some paying as much as R75 million for a luxurious home in one of the country’s top 10 estates. More than 40% of the country’s wealthiest people live in the thousands of lifestyle, wildlife, golf and equestrian estates that have shot up around the country, a research report from New World Wealth (NWW) shows. South Africa boasts a total of 8 602 estate developments worth more than R1 trillion, according to data provider Lightstone. Broken up, 361 851 freestanding properties are worth R932.85 billion and 86 177 sectional title properties are worth R127.28 billion. The way estates are built has changed over the years, and developers have gradually moved away from the…

Many black executives in government feel besieged, while some in the private sector feel emasculated. They feel that they have been tasked with roles but without the necessary powers to execute their responsibilities. I spoke to several executives about this, who felt that things were about to get worse. As the economy worsens, the black executive will bear the brunt of it, especially because he has learnt to be both quiet and invisible, to nod when he disagrees and shake his head when he agrees. Executives seldom speak in defence of one another because the very nature of corporate is not based on the adoption of a shared vision and values. It is one where rewards are shared unequally. So if one executive is treated badly, the others simply look…

November 23 2018 – Loan advanced to Ngubeni via his wife’s company, Ntshuvuko Planners and Valuers April 12 2019 – Intsika Yo Sizo changes name to Pink Toast, according to records of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission May 9 – R450 000 grant approved to Intsika May 16 – Payment of R450 000 made to Intsika from GGB May 20 – Intsika makes R100 000 payment to QA Auditors, Mahlaba’s firm September 27 – Mahlaba allegedly receives a threat October 7 – Mahlaba goes on special leave October 16 – Mahlaba writes email to board and MEC November 18 – Mahlaba is served with notice to attend disciplinary hearing…

Zim does U-turn, keeps grain subsidies in place The Zimbabwean government will scrap its plan to remove grain subsidies next year, a move it says will protect impoverished citizens from rising food prices, state media reported this week. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a decade, marked by soaring inflation and shortages of food, fuel, medicines and electricity. Half of Zimbabwe’s population needs food aid after a devastating drought across the southern Africa region, worsened by an economy expected to shrink by 6.5% this year and month-on-month inflation at a four-month high of 38.75%. Zimbabwe’s grain agency buys grain from farmers and releases it to the market at subsidised prices, costing the Treasury tens of millions of US dollars. The government had planned to remove the subsidy…

For many middle class households, especially those with a single breadwinner, belonging to a medical scheme is simply unaffordable. For example, a mother of two earning R15 000 a month would pay about R3 700 a month for her family, even for a basic entry-level option, such as Discovery Key Care Plus. Considering that makes up 25% of her income, it is not viable. One of the challenges with medical scheme coverage is that the government requires all medical schemes to offer a list of prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), which includes 270 life-threatening conditions and 26 chronic illnesses that must be fully covered by a medical scheme. This list of PMBs cost about R821 a month per member. Jill Larkan says as a result of the cost of medical schemes,…

Hats are in this season, not only to protect you from the sun’s harsh rays, but also to send out a fashion statement and display your unique personality and eccentric edge. OwnURCrown is a hair street culture platform founded by Nikiwe Dlova. It showcases freedom of hair expression in individuals, art and media productions in the form of a pop-up salon that styles hair, and has braided hats and custom headpieces to hire or to buy. “I spelt ‘you’re’ as UR to emphasise that U R who U R. Just own it! I use hair to express myself. It’s a fun way to show my personality and tell a story. Most of my headpieces are inspired by African hairstyles from back in the day, and crowns as well,” Dlova previously…

Last week, we told you how Nghunghunyani, son of Muzila, realised he was losing control over large areas of the Gaza-Nguni dynasty. The historical struggle that Nghunghunyani was involved in would later shape the political lives of the Machangana and vaTsonga. Despite the threat the Portuguese posed and his distrust of them, Nghunghunyani established diplomatic relationships with Portugal. This did not help as conflict escalated in the north. Between 1888 and 1895, Nghunghunyani had to deploy a permanent force in Manicaland, Zimbabwe, when Joachim Jose da Cruz (also called Mhandze) and his son refused to pay tribute for the use of the Zambezi waterway. Manuel António de Sousa and his followers in Zambezia and Tete also threatened the security of the Gaza state. As the tentacles of colonialism wrapped themselves…

From page 1 “Until it is confirmed, it will have no effect on any hate speech case, including the one about the old flag. The [SCA’s] declaration will have no retrospective effect, so it will have no impact on any previous case.” Candy said the law firm would advise the Nelson Mandela Foundation to intervene in the Qwelane case when it goes to the Constitutional Court, “because hate speech laws are necessary in South Africa to protect vulnerable groups like black lesbians in townships”. Kallie Kriel, the chief executive officer (CEO) of AfriForum, which is currently appealing an equality court decision that displays of the old South African flag constitute hate speech, said the judgment was a major victory for freedom of expression. “It does not mean that you should…

The latest exciting and controversial social media sensation, TikTok, has a firm grip on the youth market. Rapidly becoming the world’s fastest-growing short-form video platform, teenagers across the world are uploading their creative short videos or simply consuming the light-hearted videos shared by others. The app is predicted to overtake Instagram and is a major threat to Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, previously tried and failed to buy TikTok and then tried to kill it with a copycat product called Lasso, which has yet to make serious inroads into TikTok’s market share. The Chinese-owned TikTok is available in more than 150 markets and in 75 different languages, with more than 1 billion people having downloaded it worldwide, according to data from Sensor Tower, an app analytics and competitive app intelligence…

Mpumalanga ANC provincial and regional executive committee members will not heed the recommendation of the national disciplinary committee (NDC) that they attend anger management classes. The committee picked up bad blood, underlying tensions, bullying and palpable anger among ANC leaders when it conducted the disciplinary hearing of former Ehlanzeni regional chairperson, Ngrayi Ngwenya, and the region’s acting treasurer, Phindile Nkuna, last month. Ngwenya and Nkuna faced charges of assaulting acting provincial secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, who is also Mpumalanga culture, sport and recreation MEC, at Nutting House on July 17. This follows a disagreement about the composition of the regional task team that would oversee the amalgamation of Ehlanzeni and Bohlabela regions according to the ANC’s constitution, which does not allow the existence of two regions within one municipal district. FACTIONAL…

Hage Geingob, Namibia’s president, is likely to secure a second term as partial results from this week’s general election show him leading with 56% of the vote. Geingob, Namibia’s third leader since the country freed itself from the apartheid South Africa in 1990, was seeking a second and final term in the November 27 election. His South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) party has been contending with an economy in recession for nearly three years, one of Namibia’s worst droughts and its biggest corruption scandal – all of which conspired to make the vote unexpectedly tough for Geingob. He faced nine challengers, including Panduleni Itula, a dentist-turned-politician and a Swapo member running as an independent. He is popular with young people, almost half of whom are unemployed. With 62.3% of…

Proteas interim team director Enoch Nkwe – who is in Holland with his family while the Mzansi Super League takes over the domestic calendar – moved house this week. Given the temporary nature of his employment with the Proteas, one hopes that’s not a metaphor for his grasp on the job – his first test series in charge, against India, was lost 3-0. He speaks about the experiences so far and the pending series against England. You’ve had time to think about what went wrong on the tour of India. What have you come up with? I know there’s been a lot of focus on the test performances, which were very poor, but there were quite a lot of positives that came out of the tour of India. If you…

Olympic champion Mo Farah is returning to the track to chase more gold in the 10 000m at next year’s Tokyo Games, he said on Friday. The 36-year-old Briton, who is a four-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion over 5 000m and 10 000m, retired from track athletics in 2017 to focus on road marathons, and he went on to break the UK record. “I’ve decided that, for Tokyo 2020, I’m going to be back on the track. I’m really excited to compete and ... give it a go in the 10 000m,” he said. “I will train hard for it and see what I can do.” The three-time 10 000m world champion said in March that watching Briton Laura Muir claim the European Athletics Indoor Championships 1 500m…

Yesterday’s results Absa Premiership Polokwane City 0-1 Bloemfontein Celtic Premier League Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Bournemouth Chelsea 0-1 West Ham Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace Liverpool 2-1 Brighton Today’s fixtures Absa Premiership AmaZulu vs Maritzburg United (King Zwelithini Stadium, 3.30pm); Chippa United vs Baroka FC (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3.30pm) CAF Confederation Cup Bidvest Wits vs Horoya AC Guinea-Conakry (Bidvest Stadium, 6pm) Premier League Wolves vs Sheffield United (Molineux Stadium, 4pm); Norwich City vs Arsenal (Carrow Road, 4pm); Leicester City vs Everton (King Power Stadium, 6.30pm); Manchester United vs Aston Villa (Old Trafford, 6.30pm)…

Chek’ Impilo rhymes well and sounds cool. It is even more cool when it is part of the commemoration of today’s World Aids Day’s theme, Communities make the difference – Cheka Impilo. It is a rallying call to action for all citizens, regardless of one’s status, to take responsibility for their health and wellness. And that’s where the nation needs to focus its energy to fight the scourge of HIV/Aids in our communities. The Joint UNAIDS Programme on HIV/Aids has set the 90-90-90 target and expects all countries to be meet this goal by next year. UNAIDS’s aim is to ensure that 90% of people living with HIV are tested and know their status, that 90% of people living with HIV are receiving treatment and that 90% of people on…

Jumpy MPs When the Hawks went on raids and arrested several politicians in different cases of corruption last week, they had no idea just how much fear they were instilling in our MPs. During the sitting of the home affairs portfolio committee meeting this week, the siren (used to convene MPs for a sitting) rang and MPs jumped in fear. The DA’s Joe McGluwa confessed: “I got a fright now, I thought the police were coming for more arrests.” The ANC’s Desmond Moeng quipped: “I also got a fright, I thought police were attending to another City of Tshwane kind of situation.” Stupid journo Comrade Irvin Jim of Numsa should have been basking in the glory of “winning” workers a 5.9% increase, which SAA was prepared to pay even before…

South Africa has, temporarily at least, halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For years the National Conventional Arms Control Committee – the government authority that oversees arms exports and regulates South African weapons companies – turned a blind eye to the illegal use of South African-made weapons in a Saudi-led coalition attack on Yemen. Not even TV footage of a “made in South Africa” sign on a downed drone in Yemen, or munitions found at the scene of a devastating attack on a fish market and hospital in Hodeida last year that looked suspiciously similar to the distinctive Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM) 120mm mortars could convince arms committee boss Jeff Radebe to investigate the presence of South African weapons in Yemen. The country’s possible…

The time has arrived when we as a nation must determine our own destiny and not leave it to politicians. Our own liberation movement, the ANC, has shown us in no uncertain terms that it is no longer governing at our behest. We need to elect credible men and woman of high integrity to positions of governance. The people in these positions make decisions on matters such as our economy, employment, education, crime levels, poverty and inequality. How do we just continue to entrust people who have shown little credibility with such enormous tasks on which our lives – and those of our kids and generations to come – depend? The country’s voting system needs to change and allow us, as citizens, to choose our leaders directly. The current system…

According to a recent Gallup study of nearly 7 500 full-time employees, burnt-out employees are 63% more likely to take sick leave, are 23% more likely to visit the emergency room, are 2.6 times more likely to leave their current employer and are 13% less confident in their performance. Studies by Daniela Kaufer, associate professor at the University of California in the US have shown that acute but short-lived stress is good to “push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioural and cognitive performance”. However, being exposed to long periods of excessive pressure or extreme stress over a short period can lead to underperformance, feelings of being overwhelmed, hopelessness, loss of meaning in your job, and feeling emotionally drained and unable to cope with your job. Burnout results…

‘We really only have this coming decade to save the world.” This was the terrifying statement made by Tshediso Matona, the secretary of planning in the National Planning Commission in the presidency, at the second annual Anglo American Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Accountability Dialogue recently. He was commenting on the change in attitude he noticed, when he travelled to the UN for the climate summit in September, among world leaders regarding their sense of urgency related to tackling the climate crisis. Prior to that summit, 28 companies, representing more than 1 million employees working in 17 sectors in 16 countries, committed to more ambitious climate targets aligned with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels and reaching net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. When the pledges…

With just three days left to submit tax returns, 1.5 million South Africans liable to pay tax have not yet done so. Non-provisional taxpayers who submit their returns via eFiling or the MobiApp digital platform have until Wednesday to do so. Provisional taxpayers have until January 31 to submit their returns via eFiling, but the tax season for individual taxpayers who intend to submit their returns at SA Revenue Service (Sars) branches has passed. The expiry date was on October 31. By mid-November, 3.88 million personal tax returns had been submitted at branches and via eFiling. This includes returns for this year and the previous year, said Sars. In the interim, the number has risen to about 4 million, said Fareed Khan, executive head of compliance at Sars. Khan said…

If you understand the power of seeing yourself reflected in stories, then, like me, you should be excited about books that educate black children about their history, and others that remind them of their brilliance in a world that’s constantly pulling them down. Two of the titles that came out this year are In Africa with Avi and Kumbi by professor and historian Nomalanga Mkhize (under the pen name Khize wamaZambezi), and Mpumi’s Magic Beads by Lebohang Masango. I think both texts will go a long way towards creating a generation of black children who know their magic. In Africa with Avi and Kumbi relates the continent’s history from the ancient era to independence. Themes featured in the book include the rise of ancient civilisations and ancient trade, African philosophy,…