Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/8/2019 i City Press

National carrier SAA was just hours away from total collapse when the decision was taken to place it into business rescue. With funds running out, booking agents stopping selling tickets, ticket insurers dumping the airline and lenders unwilling to touch the company, SAA was facing what board members believe would have been one of the biggest corporate failures in South African history. Global ticket sales fell by 40% in a matter of days and lenders began calling in their money. “In banking terms, we call this a run on the bank. We had a run on the airline,” said an SAA insider. A source in Ramaphosa’s inner circle said that when Cabinet took a decision late last week on “radical restructuring”, as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Monday,…

Gomolemo Legae dreamt big, she dreamt of fame and a rap collaboration with Cassper Nyovest, and her family knows that making news headlines as a gender-based violence statistic never crossed the teenager’s mind. “The only news headline she imagined was that of herself as a big-shot model and musician, nothing else. I looked at her empty bed last night and accepting that she is really gone is a bitter pill to swallow. “The brutal and callous manner in which she was robbed of her precious life makes it even harder,” said Legae’s teary-eyed aunt, Gadifele Mashetla. This was a day after 18-year-old Legae was laid to rest in Seweding village in Mahikeng, North West, on Wednesday. The family said they decided to bury her just three days after she was…

Through the Emirates Pursuit of Jazz talent search, and after sifting through a large pool of entries, Emirates Airlines has been able to uncover new talent. The entries consisted of talented strummers of strings, the most fit blowers of brass, the tightest masters of the rhythm section and breathtaking vocalists to emerge with a group of eight individuals from around the country who also won a recording deal with Universal Music. The new superband – The Artivist Avenue – consists of highly skilled jazz artists. Fouad Caunhye, the regional manager of Emirates Southern Africa said: “We want to connect people through shared passions – be it travel, sport or music. “We promote many cultural events globally, such as the Dubai Jazz Festival and the Emirates Pursuit of Jazz in South…

Last weekend, Berlin, a small town in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape, came alive when thousands of excited villagers from all over the province descended on it for the fifth Berlin November Traditional Horse Racing Festival. Regarded as the biggest horse racing event in the country, the festival is the province’s highlight every year. As early as 8am hawkers were already setting up their stalls while riders galloped around the dusty race track, warming up their horses for the race. As the day progressed, the number of participants and onlookers swelled – to between 40 000 and 45 000 people – according to the organisers. Last year 36 000 were in attendance. While some placed bets, others began singing and chanting as they waited in the…

“My vision is to develop a school recycling benchmark programme that other countries will copy.” With these words, Velaphi Ratshefola, the managing director of Coca-Cola Beverages SA (CCBSA), signed off on another successful school recycling programme. Now in its eighth year, the CCBSA recycling programme has 805 schools and more than 500 000 pupils actively cleaning up trash in their areas. CCBSA has invested R45 million into the recycling programme, which has also led to more than 80 young people being employed as recycling representatives, and 36 collectors being trained and supported. Ratshefola, fondly known as Bra V, beamed during this week’s awards event in Johannesburg. “This is about educating and training our children to demand and expect a better future. It is our responsibility to be part of the…

People who spend a very long time alone can lose the ability to sleep properly, can hallucinate, and can become stressed, depressed or less able to process information. Humans are, in their basic nature, social creatures, says psychology lecturer Sarita Robinson, from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Depriving the brain of interactions and stimulation can damage both physical and mental health, making people’s immune systems weaker and also triggering psychological problems. “One of the reasons that living in isolation is difficult is because humans are social creatures,” Robinson wrote in The Conversation. “Many people who have lived in isolated environments – such as researchers stationed in Antarctica – report that loneliness can be the most difficult part of the job.” She added: “Loneliness can be damaging to…

With former Proteas wicketkeeper and International Cricket Council chief executive officer (CEO) Dave Richardson having turned down Cricket SA’s request for him to be acting CEO while Thabang Moroe is suspended, Titans boss Jacques Faul has agreed to step in at Cricket SA (CSA). Faul agreed to the acting role after telling City Press how he would attempt to fix the burning issues in the sport. How will you resolve the issue of appointing a director of cricket? [Former Proteas captain] Graeme Smith’s concerns are credible in that he wants a chief executive who’ll give him a reasonable mandate. The moment he has that, Graeme will come through. I think he just wants a clear mandate, clarity on what he’s allowed to do and to have people around him who…

With each revelation of some kind of screw-up or another at Cricket SA (CSA) this week, which culminated with Standard Bank not renewing its sponsorship of the Proteas, it became clearer that chief executive Thabang Moroe’s position was untenable. Already an organisation with a history of corporate governance issues (think the bonuses scandal), the question is how CSA will deal with the spectacular collapse of its leadership; a fall from grace that all but crippled an entity that once claimed to be the first R1 billion business in South African sport. If CSA’s ham-fisted search for a director of cricket has taught us anything, it is that few organisations like to keep things in-house as much as CSA does. It’s almost as if, when there’s an appointment to be made,…

If the words uttered by José Mourinho this week are anything to go by, Nelson Mandela is continuing to inspire people. Before his first loss as Tottenham Hotspur manager to his former club Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Mourinho attributed a quote to Mandela in his pre-match press conference. And he is not the first person to attribute this quote to our former president. “A bit like Mr Mandela said: ‘You never lose. You win or you learn.’ And at United, I won and I learnt,” he said. Mourinho was answering a question about his troubled last few months at United, his last managerial position before joining Spurs, and was seemingly inspired by the great statesman’s quote. Or was he? Google it and you will find many references…

TS Sporting owner Thobela empties his pockets for team When you listen to GladAfrica Championship club TS Sporting owner Slungu Thobela (43) as he lays out his plans, you may be tempted to dismiss him as being overly ambitious. But then you hear the full story. We are taking a walk on his farm in Alkmaar, about 8km from Mbombela. It’s a dirt road with a brick wall on one side. We pass a few old farm houses and one new soccer field. At this stage, I can visualise the final product as Thobela ushers me into an incomplete building overlooking the field. He explains in detail what will happen next. His has been a fairy tale story in football – starting off in the amateur SAB third division league…

The recent Orlando Pirates and Baroka FC clashes are proving to be something out of the ordinary. The late rally from Bakgaga ba ga Mphahlele to share the spoils with Bucs yesterday was reminiscent of the two sides’ dramatic Telkom Knockout final on this day last year. That was the match where Baroka beat Pirates in the decider that needed penalties to separate them. Their Absa Premiership encounter yesterday brought to the fore a similar fighting spirit, especially in how Baroka came from a two-goal deficit to steal a point at the death. The Buccaneers were two goals to the good, but their treasure slipped from their grasp with only 10 minutes remaining. Things fell apart from the 82nd minute, when returning Pirates captain Happy Jele scored an own goal…

When you have had one too many you should stay away – far away – from your phone because you could end up saying things you wouldn’t normally say when sober – and you could regret it later. But on the flip side, some people use alcohol as an excuse to say things they have always wanted to say or do but were too embarrassed to when sober. It happened with one of my buddies who, after many rounds of drinking, decided to fiddle with his phone – and he ended up being the talk of town. The advent of social media means we belong to different WhatsApp groups – work, social clubs, community forums, business and so on. As with many people, I happen to belong to a few…

All comments from citypress.co.za Themba Dukes Nyathi I t’s strange that during apartheid most Europeans happily decided to migrate to apartheid South Africa, complete with its horrific draconian human rights violations. I still remember during apartheid when white South Africans called themselves Europeans in all segregatory public boards. Now the same Europeans are leaving a constitutional, democratic South Africa for other countries. Let’s all clean the apartheid mess which most Europeans supported through the National Party from 1948. Let’s stick together and rebuild, instead of endless finger-pointing. Denis Stigant My sons, educated here and funded by me, felt they were going to hit the white glass ceiling. They exiled themselves abroad and now occupy top positions in international companies. Homesick as they are, they cannot return to work here because…

President Cyril Ramaphosa faces myriad mean national challenges. Eskom immediately comes to mind; it must continue to keep the wheels of a declining economy turning, the street and household lights aglow, and the home fires burning. The president has just put the floundering national airline on business rescue, and not a day too soon considering the impending job losses. Nothing seems to be going right at SAA and that has been the case for quite a while. An infographic doing the rounds online shows that SAA employs 957 staff per aircraft, in stark contrast to an average 150 employees said to be hired by the competition. The airline’s latest financial report states that SAA made a loss of R10.4 billion in the past two financial years, over and above a…

While top management remains predominantly white and male, mining houses are battling to share the burden of community development Mining companies have recorded an improvement in several elements of compliance with the 2010 Mining Charter, but have barely moved the needle on transforming upper-level management. This is according to the latest transformation figures in a report released by the Minerals Council SA earlier this week. Addressing the media about the report, Minerals Council SA senior executive for public affairs and transformation Tebello Chabana said black people were not well represented in the higher echelons of most mining houses. “The representation of black people in management still has a long way to go, so does the representation of women because they only represent about 20% of the industry.” Chabana said the…

Once a prosperous railway junction, Alicedale in the Eastern Cape became a dusty outpost after state-owned enterprise Transnet retrenched workers in 1995. Phumla Gojela vividly remembers the onset of hard times and particularly the increase in abuse of women. “Women are forced to obey men even if they are doing something bad to them,” she says. “Women are not allowed to be vocal in their homes when men are talking. If they do so, the man will beat the woman.” Within three years of the retrenchments, Gojela established CARE, an empowerment initiative for victims of gender-based violence, that has developed into a thriving organisation providing women with support ranging from an income-generating gardening and poultry project to a crèche and a home-based care programme. Operating in a poor and marginalised…

This was a highly contested category. Coming in very closely behind our winners are President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2019 ANC election campaign. Shame, this guy was doing new-age dance moves, he used public transport – just a lot of things he actually knows nothing about. Another runner-up is Beyoncé Knowles for her poorly compiled The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. We know Afro beats, gqom and the yanos are hot on our continent right now, but we really didn’t need your take on it, Sisi. In fact, the Global Citizen performance, to the trained Beyoncé head, stands as the moment in which her music suffered a dip. Both her last albums, deep down inside you feel it too, are trash. The winners of this prestigious award that recognises artists…

Multi-award-winning illustrator and street artist Karabo Poppy Moletsane collaborated with Nike for its latest Air Force 1 collection as well as with beauty brand Ponds. The artist’s distinctive style has become a signature that is bold in its aesthetic and inspiration. Moletsane’s work was desired by multiple campaigns this year. This brought her further collaborations with brands such as Coca-Cola and resulted in her mural work appearing at home and in the US. She also made it on to this year’s Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list. Visual activist and queer photographer Zanele Muholi has continued challenging white cisgender heteronormativity as being the status quo with work that has been on display in galleries across South Africa, Europe and the US. Kimberley-born visual artist Bronwyn Katz, this year’s winner of…

TOP BILLING The end of South Africa’s lifestyle and magazine TV show Top Billing saw many – who grew up wishing to become presenters on the show – mortified. Top Billing became the ultimate aspirational reference point for many South Africans, showcasing beautiful homes, picture-perfect weddings and episodes presented by some of the most beautiful people with delightful voices. The production, which ran for 27 years, became one of the very first magazine shows in our country post-apartheid to offer black South Africans a lifestyle they could aspire to. It portrayed wealthy black people living in big and beautiful houses, which in its early days was rare to find on screens. Basetsana Kumalo was the perfect match to present the show, enabling her to steal South Africans’ hearts with her…

Controversial SABC board member Mamodupi Mohlala, who is also chief executive officer (CEO) of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB), is facing battles on multiple fronts, with her colleagues, the public broadcaster, government and her own staff raising questions about her conduct. Mohlala, a prominent attorney, has in the past had public blow-ups with superiors, staff and industry stakeholders in several public institutions she has headed. City Press has learnt through documents, letters and interviews with various sources that: . SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini alerted the human settlements department – under which the EAAB falls – that Mohlala was receiving SABC board fees in an apparent violation of rules stipulating that government employees who sit on boards of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may not collect payment; . Human Settlements, Water…

The special SA Communist Party (SACP) conference that starts tomorrow will again debate the recurring question of whether it should sever ties with the ANC to contest elections alone. The SACP’s first general secretary, Solly Mapaila, told City Press the conference was unlikely to end the alliance it had with ruling party. The discussion documents, recently released by the party, stated that there had been some backlash from party members who believed “national leadership was out of touch with their own lived experience of ANC abuse on the ground”. Mapaila said the matter had been a big talking point in the party in the past few conferences, but what was on the table now was the possibility of contesting independently from the ANC, but still maintaining the alliance. Mapaila said…

Africa’s fine flavours are deliciously diverse and awesomely ancient. Until recently, our continent’s gastronomic glories were served as home food or at simple street stalls but seldom in elegant restaurant settings. Home or street food can be wonderful but it is a different kind of wonderful from restaurant haute cuisine. And the world wants both. The good news is that chefs, working in Africa and overseas within the New African Cuisine movement, are increasingly introducing innovative interpretations of our continent’s traditional tastes into their restaurant repertoires. African restaurant chefs seldom receive the recognition that they deserve. In recent years, some wonderful cookbooks, such as Nompumelelo Mqwebu’s Through the Eyes of an African Chef, have won prizes but very few of the writers have an actual restaurant that diners can visit.…

Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has emerged from Parliament’s baptism of fire as the favourite for deputy Public Protector. The legal adviser to Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu has repeatedly been called on to answer for her time at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and as legal adviser to disgraced former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba. Gcaleka was nominated to fill the shoes of outgoing Kevin Malunga by advocate Adele Barnard, a former colleague at the NPA, who has known her for 10 years. Barnard told City Press that she was not concerned about the backlash that followed her nomination because she believed that the 38-year-old “is a good and ethical leader with a wealth of experience”. In her letter of nomination to the portfolio committee on justice and correctional…

A once stable political system of Botswana is hanging precariously, and will tip over and cause chaos and mayhem, if not properly handled. This was a warning from Advocate Duma Boko, leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). He was speaking on the sidelines of a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Boko, together with forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan of Forensics for Justice, addressed the media this week. They claimed that Botswana’s general elections on October 23 were rigged. O’Sullivan’s company had probed the alleged vote rigging and its report would be submitted as part of a court case lodged on Wednesday, challenging the outcome of elections. The two teamed up in April this year after O’Sullivan received a tip-off about possible vote rigging. Boko said he also received…

While there has been movement in the quest to improve and finally give recognition to women’s football in South Africa, a lot still needs to be done to level the playing field. This was evident during this week’s Sasol National Championship Women’s League at Tsakane Stadium. Eastern Cape-based Executive Ladies FC coach Vuyo Ndou bemoaned the lack of support for clubs outside Gauteng. Ndou said teams from provinces like his were always at a disadvantage when facing Gauteng-based teams due to inequality in the system. “We are a team from the Eastern Cape and I have realised that we have fallen far behind in relation to the progress being made in women’s football in other parts of the country,” he said. His side was hammered 12-0 by JVW FC –…

The PSL says there was nothing sinister about scheduling Mamelodi Sundowns to play a league fixture four days before their Telkom Knockout (TKO) final clash against Maritzburg United. The PSL’s acting chief executive, Mato Madlala, sought to set the record straight on Friday, saying that Sundowns had in fact asked to play their league game against Stellenbosch – four days before the Brazilians’ clash with United in the TKO final in Durban on Saturday. However, this decision has not gone down well with some supporters, who have accused the league of “doing Sundowns a favour”. Playing the midweek game means that Sundowns will have their star attacker Gastón Sirino back from suspension and available for the final at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Venezuelan will sit out his second game against…

The hot slap blindsided me after we walked into his varsity dorm room following a fun night out with his friends. I was 18 and he was 23. Only poor, destitute and argumentative girls were beaten by their partners. At least that was what I told myself. Only uneducated women had things like that happen to them. I was in complete shock. My crime? I had embarrassed him by correcting him in what I thought was an innocently teasing manner in front of his friends. I made excuses for him; put it down to stress of his upcoming final exams. He sobbed with me following the slap. He was sorry and so I stayed. We had been dating for a year. I loved him madly. He showered me with the…

Talk about being a self-starter. In this age of dependency and waiting for government to do things, Fernando Mucavele is a ray of sunshine. The builder has spent the past year constructing what he calls “Fernando’s Palace”, a magnificently designed modern home made out of scrap metal and off-cuts, located in the middle of Slovo Park informal settlement. This week, Cricket SA (CSA) did not cover itself in glory, especially in the midst of ongoing administrative bungles, which included revoking the accreditation of five journalists. Former CSA boss Ali Bacher summed it up when he said: “We are currently the joke of world cricket.” The last straw was losing Standard Bank’s sponsorship.…

It is often said that South Africa is a water-poor country, that we don’t have enough water, and so the story goes. Of course, this is not true. South Africa’s longest border has all the water you want. That is the coastline and it has the whole Indian Ocean and the whole Atlantic Ocean to use. So, all the water you would ever need. In his weekly newsletter to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that drastic measures need to be taken concerning water supply versus demand. He is quite correct, but he was talking about water that you can drink and water that you can put on the mealie fields. He said “usage increases rapidly because of population growth and as more houses get connected to water”. Again, he…

Government has made significant changes to employment equity reporting requirements with the goal to improve the accuracy and efficiency of collecting data about wage disparities between the highest- and lowest-paid employees. It hopes that this will enable the department of employment and labour to identify wage gaps and set benchmarks for different sectors. In practice, this means that the old EEA4 statement of income differentials form has been replaced with a new form. Here are the major changes you need to be aware of: REPORTING INDIVIDUAL REMUNERATION In the past, you only needed to report the total remuneration of all employees within an occupational level, population group and gender. The new form requires that you report the total remuneration of the individual who is paid the highest remuneration in each…

The good news is that the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) has registered growth in all its asset investments except the local market. The bad news is that the return on investments is significantly poorer than the previous financial year’s. Addressing the media during the release of the fund’s 2018/19 annual report earlier in the week, GEPF principal executive officer Abel Sithole said the economy’s poor performance had cost the fund significant growth. The fund registered a return on investment of R47 billion (2.6%) in the past financial year, down from R153 billion (8.5%) in the previous year, bringing the overall fund asset value, which is managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), to R1.82 trillion. Sithole said the GEPF, as the biggest investor in the domestic market by size,…

As at the end of October the national house price inflation index was at 2.9%. After a long streak of unrivalled outlying performance, the recent decline in the Western Cape has seen it join the ranging market and come second to the optimistic Limpopo which has just broken out with an annual growth of 5.9%. The Western Cape has been and still is the best destination for semigrants but the sentiment is slowly changing as indicated by the decline in its property market. This market is hugely dominated by the City of Cape Town municipality, which, over and above the price correction, has taken hits from rising crime stats, the recent water crisis, local government uncertainties and looming competition along the east coast. Limpopo, on the other hand, has seen…

This is one of our most popular and fun editions, in which we reflect on the year that was with all its cultural highs and lows. This year, the rest of the world continued to chase after our bright stars who have been making incredible waves around the globe. In fashion, Thebe Magugu became the first African to win the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Prize. Rich Mnisi won the Essence Emerging Designer of the Year award. Athi-Patra Ruga collaborated with the House of Dior to design two bags for its Dior Lady Art Project. Thula Sindi launched the first of its kind AfricaRise emporium in Sandton City. Palesa Mokubung’s label Mantsho collaborated with H&M for its first African collaboration. And Lukhanyo Mdingi presented his collection at the New York Men’s…

This was the year of Ami Faku, and the world seems to be in agreement. We first came across the budding songstress during her time on The Voice SA, where she made it to the top 16. Since then she’s released her hit single, Into Ingawe, featuring Sun-El Musician, which received a gold plaque, and bagged the coveted Apple Music New Artist Spotlight. Faku was in her vocal bag when she made Imali, which peaked at number one on Apple Music pre-order. Although the entire album is a soothing body of work, Ubuhle Bakho remains my favourite. Faku’s sultry voice, paired with heartfelt lyrics, will really have you drunk texting your crush at midnight. While some songs may have you shooting your shot, others, like Faith Nketsi’s EP, will tragically…

What were the gadgets that got us going and those that should not have made it to the shelves this year? Nintendo Switch Lite Nintendo makes excellent gaming products for the whole family, but when it comes to the Switch Lite you’re allowed to be selfish and keep it to yourself. This hand-held gaming console is suited for single play with built-in controllers, but cannot be docked on to a TV. At 5.5-inches, it’s portable yet sturdy and fits easily into a bag, especially when travelling. It’s guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment no matter where you are. With titles such as Diablo III, Skyrim and The Witcher 3, it is bound to appeal to the most hardcore gamer. Price: R3 999 Visit raru.co.za Bose Frames Rondo This is one…

Pretoria has always been treated like the stepcousin in the South African popular culture space. The one who you hear from – once in a while – but pay no attention to. That is why for so many, the rise of amapiano as a genre and Pretoria as musical capital was meteoric, and came as something akin to a shock. But the devil is in the detail. Amapiano is a sub-genre that has been percolating beneath the surface of Pretoria’s psychedelic House music scene for the better part of the decade. This year amapiano, with its jagged lyrical bent, went from a niche, citywide scene to the forefront of the pop culture. But beyond causing mosh pits and skewing faces all around the country, what you might not see is…

‘Aa blessing in disguise” and a “positive addition to my political itinerary”. This is how EFF leader Julius Malema has described the concerted effort by lobby group AfriForum to have him prosecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Last month, the NPA charged Malema for allegedly discharging a firearm during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in July 2018. This follows the NPA’s decision to prosecute him, together with the party’s national spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, for allegedly assaulting a police officer in April 2018 during the funeral proceedings of late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. An unrepentant Malema spoke to City Press this week on the eve of the red berets’ second National People’s Assembly – the party’s elective conference, which is set to take place from December 13 to 16 at…

There is a new trend in town, whereby people enter into relationships for the purposes of having shelter and other short-term goals. Relationship expert Paula Quinsee says this trend is fairly new in South Africa, unlike in the UK and the US, where it is more prevalent. “Many people are in relationships of convenience for financial or sexual purposes, and, in some cases, for the sake of children. Hobosexual relationships are a fairly new trend in South Africa and not many people are open about being in such relationships,” Quinsee says. She adds that women are more likely to be in relationships with hobosexuals. “Women are naturally caretakers and nurturers, and so they are more susceptible to this kind of behaviour because their nurturing instinct kicks in,” she explains. “They…

reducing,” reads part of Sisonke’s statement addressing the abuse of human rights and dignity of sex workers. The social justice movement and other civil society groups have been lobbying for the decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa in order to humanise the workers and offer them protection. Sisonke national coordinator Kholi Buthelezi adds: “A year has come to an end again and sex workers’ lives in South Africa are yet to be recognised. Sex workers’ rights are not considered, upheld, respected and protected. “The treatment of the sex worker community under the criminal justice [system] has failed. People who should be protective of them are not responding to the sex workers’ cries. This instead raises an alarm and concerns about when our government will take the agenda of the…

Legendary maskandi musician Ihashi Elimhlophe (59) has decided to pass on his wisdom and knowledge to young people who want to pursue maskandi music – while he is still alive. “One day when I am no more, I want to leave others behind who will continue the legacy I left. I believe that maskandi is an old music genre that Africans should be proud of.” We met Elimhlophe, real name Bheki Ngcobo, at Downtown Music Hub in Johannesburg – the studios that gave birth to successful music legends, such as Busi Mhlongo, Izingane ZoMa, Amatshitshi Amhlophe, Lucky Dube, Jabu Khanyile, Phuzekhemisi, Johnny Clegg and many more. Elimhlophe is always with his number one fan, his wife Mam’Linah Ngcobo, who has played a huge role in his music career. “Every song…

South African businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe has accused a Botswanan investigator of lying under oath when he implicated her in the alleged theft of more than $10 billion (R146 billion) from the diamond-rich country. Motsepe-Radebe believes that new evidence exonerates her from wrongdoing. According to an affidavit by Jako Hubona, an investigator in Botswana’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, Motsepe-Radebe was a co-signatory to two South African bank accounts that contained some of the stolen money. But the banks – Nedbank and Absa – denied this. Letters from each bank – seen by City Press – state that the accounts cited in the investigator’s affidavit as being held with these banks are nonexistent or untraceable, according to the banks’ respective records. Hubona’s credibility was also questioned after a Joburg-based forensic…

As he reaches the end of the golfing year at this weekend’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, Toto Thimba is already thinking ahead to next year and how he can build on what has been his most successful year as a professional. A maiden Sunshine Tour victory in the KCB Karen Masters in Kenya in June gave Thimba a glimpse of what is possible. And now he wants to take that further. “I had a phenomenal year. I’ve been playing well and I tried a few things. I’m very pleased with how it all turned out. Now it’s just a question of keeping that going,” he said at the Heritage Golf Club in Mauritius this weekend. Thimba is ranked 10th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. It’s by far his…

Having been sidelined for most of the season due to injury, South African tennis star Kevin Anderson has used the time to good effect, making the most of the season of giving. Anderson, who is a two-time grand slam finalist (at the 2017 US Open and at Wimbledon last year), had high hopes this year, but after being knocked out by Argentine Guido Pella in the third round of Wimbledon, he announced he would need to have surgery on his knee and “take the rest of the year off and prepare for 2020”. “My team, the doctors and I decided that surgical intervention was needed for further treatment. Everything went well, I’m trying to recover and get back on the court,” he said at the time on his social media…

Cricket SA (CSA) president Chris Nenzani has defended himself and his board for not resigning en masse in the wake of a week that saw the sport plunged into crisis mode, and lose credibility and its main sponsor, Standard Bank. Speaking at a press conference called by the organisation to appraise the media of its plan to get cricket back on track yesterday, Nenzani denied that he and his board were complicit in the operations paralysis that ended up with current chief executive officer (CEO) Thabang Moroe suspended and replaced in an acting capacity by Titans CEO Jacques Faul. Asked what responsibility the board took for the crisis in the sport, Nenzani put the blame squarely at Moroe’s door. “The board is not complicit in terms of decision-making. The board…

Mamelodi Sundowns are offering lucky City Press readers a chance to win double tickets to their Absa Premiership clash against Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The game kicks off at 7.30pm. To win, SMS the keyword MASANDAWANA to 34217. Please include your name and surname. SMSes cost R1.50. Free SMSes do not apply. The competition closes on Monday at midnight. Winners will be notified by phone and must collect their tickets from the City Press offices at Excel Park, corner Roderick and Lynnwood roads, Lynnwood, Pretoria. Normal competition terms and conditions apply.…

Have you ever imagined how the campaign against drunken driving would have gone if we had focused on everyone but the driver? Our slogans would be very different from what they are now. Imagine seeing a poster that says, “Break the silence! Report your drinking and driving father”, or maybe “Take a stand, end deaths on our roads – protect other road users from drunken driving”. How about when a pedestrian is knocked over by a car, and we ask this person who has just had a near-death experience: “Did you report it to the police?” And can you imagine how the campaign against HIV/ Aids would have gone? Perhaps the poster might have read, “Protect your friend from the virus, make sure they use a condom”. Nonsense, isn’t it?…

The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal that certain utterances might be hurtful without being hate speech has indeed pushed the envelope when it comes to the interpretation of some of our “progressive” laws as a nascent democracy. While not welcomed by everyone, the decision is an important step towards fine-tuning some of the laws in our efforts to building a truly democratic society. Such fine-tuning initiatives are important as we continue to navigate the minefield created by the legacy of centuries of colonialism and apartheid – systems that were inimical to the creation of any such democratic society. The court found the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Pepuda) – meant to protect all citizens against discrimination – to be vague and overboard. It…

Bigger organisations sometimes have plans and structures in place with stringent descriptions for the associated jobs, but, filling these roles with the right calibre of candidate can be extremely difficult, and all the more so for smaller organisations. Using a recruitment consultancy filled with specialists who thrive on finding the right candidates will go a long way towards helping an organisation. That is why recruitment specialists do what they do – they can work with both big and small corporations. Let’s have a look at why some roles are hard to fill. A company might feel that a recruiter has been working with them for a while and getting nowhere, but there are probably several interlinking reasons as to why the specialist is struggling to recruit the most suitable employee.…

Eskom, which this week again saw a collapse of its power network that led to nationwide load shedding, wants consumers to cough up a further R27 billion for electricity. The national energy regulator Nersa has published Eskom’s latest application for public comment. In it, the power utility said this was the amount that it underrecovered in 2018/19, and that it therefore wanted R27 billion more through power tariffs. Although Eskom suggested that whatever Nersa granted should be added to electricity tariffs next year and the year thereafter, Nersa’s decision will likely be too late to influence 2020 tariff increases. However, if Eskom receives the full R27.2 billion that it wants, and it is implemented over two years, this could see electricity tariffs in 2021 increase by 11.38% instead of 5.01%,…

I was recently giving a talk and one of the areas I addressed was how to pay off debt. But before that I spoke about healing or forgiving yourself for the past money mistakes you have made. A woman from the audience later told me in an email how this had liberated her from the burden of regret and shame. She said she had felt so ashamed about all the mistakes she had made with her money that she hardly ever spoke to anyone about her woes. But she kept on replaying what she could have done differently over and over again in her head. Talking about money can be clinical and numbers-heavy, but this takes the person out of personal finance. Personal finance should not just be textbook because…

In Mzansi, we’re notorious for our subpar meme culture that embarrassingly includes using memes of children inappropriately or recycling the Jacob Zuma memes, something I hope we’ll leave behind. But in the midst of all the disappointments, there is a glimmer of hope. Here are the memes that made our year a little more bearable: CATS CAUSING A CRAZE Twitter has been eventful this year with users retelling their encounters with a Joburg man-turned-cat who drives a taxi from Newtown to Fourways. It’s no surprise either that the meme of reality TV star Taylor Armstrong, of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, yelling at a cat gained notoriety on the Twitter streets of South Africa. AND I ... OOP Jasmine Masters is best known for competing in the fourth and…

BANGER OF THE YEAR De Mthuda & Njelic: Shesha This slow burn mix has been a club banger since the first time we heard it, and not a day goes by when it’s not playing on one radio station or another. We can’t get enough of De Mthuda and Njelic’s sweet melodic sounds on this House track. Shesha, which basically urges the listener to take a quick bath, get ready and head over to the club, party or wherever the vibe is, has made the duo household names and sought-after performers. Not even Mi Casa’s J’Something could resist putting a soulful spin on the song with his guitar. INTERNATIONAL BANGER OF THE YEAR Lizzo: Juice Lizzo is one of this year’s most debated singers/rappers – mostly because humans insist on…

The ivosho dance, which is considered a wild sport thanks to all the squatting and kicking involved, and the idibala, which saw people throwing themselves on the ground pretending to faint, have now been forced to step aside for the more coordinated, easier and stylish pouncing cat dance, which is sweeping the nation by storm. For many of us who struggled with ivosho and never bothered with idibala, the pouncing cat isn’t as wild a sport and promises to offer basics some room to shine. The dance move was influenced by amapiano music and appears in almost every amapiano music video in one version or another. The pouncing cat quickly became a sensation after the Kokota Piano song that saw many adding their personality and flavour to the move. The…

version of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You certainly made an impression, and they did fly the flag high for us. • A special commendation for AKA and his attempt to incorporate an orchestra at his gig at Time Square in Pretoria earlier this year, and again in Durban. It may have been a magical night for those in attendance, but his music was not really arranged to show off an orchestra – it was just the homie, some autotune and slight hints of violin laid over the backing track.…