Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/3/2020 i City Press

After bagging the best supporting actress in a TV drama award for her role as Nomonde on Mzansi Magic’s iThemba at the 14th SA Film and Television Awards (Saftas), actress Brenda Ngxoli believes the sky is the limit, and she told City Press that the award gave her hope that she could still audition and land any role. “I was in disbelief when the show’s producer called me to say I had won. The competition was tight as I was in the same category with Pamela Nomvete and Lorcia Cooper, the same people I grew up watching on TV,” she said. Other winners included Sindi Dlathu, Florence Masebe, Loyisa MacDonald and Clementine Mosimane. Mzansi Magic’s The River cleaned up with 10 awards. The winners were announced on Wednesday night via…

The majority of parents were likely to keep their children under their care and not allow them to return to school amid the rising curve of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. This is according to the National Association of School Governing Bodies secretary-general Matakanya Matakanya. “Parents are saying they will never take their children to the gallows. Sending them back to school is like sending them there to die,” Matakanya said. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced this week that schools would reopen “only if it is safe to do so and the environment allows”. South Africa has now been on lockdown for more than 35 days, with strict restrictions imposed in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Matakanya said there was a concern about who would be…

The country – and the world – is continuing to focus on the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, moving with tunnel vision and ploughing human and financial resources into curbing the spread of the infectious virus. But experts are cautioning against neglecting other crucial health interventions, particularly targeting equally deadly non-communicable diseases (NCDs), as well as the all-important immunisation and vaccination programmes. NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease have long been recognised as some of the world’s biggest killers and causes of disability. They are responsible for 41 million deaths a year. And now, emerging evidence from the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that there are intersections between coronavirus and NCDs. As of Friday, there were more than 3.1 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the 210…

It was one of my earliest visits to the ANC office in Penton Street, London, in 1985. I was in the process of being vetted for recruitment into the ANC while completing my Bar exams. On that occasion, I spent a few hours in conversation with Denis Goldberg and MD Naidoo – I was overawed by the presence of such heavyweights, despite being grilled by them on my understanding of the struggle, as well as my family background. I was to spend many, many more hours in their company over the ensuing seven years in London, learning and digesting first-hand accounts of the history of our struggle for freedom. It was a privilege I cherished. They simultaneously challenged and inspired me. Comrade Denis was soon to establish the ANC merchandising…

Lockdown at any level brings the work of policing to everybody’s attention as never before. While clearly the exception, disturbing reports of heavy-handed action by a few members of the police make it important to explore what ideal policing would be like now and in the future. In this article, the word ‘policing’ stands for more than the women and men in blue and other kinds of uniform. It also stands for the judiciary, disciplinary systems in the workplace, codes of conduct and, at a personal level, for conscience, and for anything else, including government, that has power over us and helps us to keep on the straight and narrow, and which corrects us when we don’t. To put the point succinctly, to thrive, societies and individuals need policing of…

On Thursday, former mine workers and the families of those who died in the Lily Mine collapse in 2016 marked one year of camping outside the mine with a solemn prayer session. Unlike most anniversaries, and in the week of Freedom Day, they had nothing to celebrate. They prayed for a government that cares about their plight and for justice for the mine management, which was found to have been responsible for killing their loved ones, and gave thanks to South Africans who donated food and supplies to sustain them. On February 5 2016, the main entrance to the Lily Mine in Mpumalanga collapsed. An above-ground container used as a lamp room was buried 70m underground, and with it Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyarende. Nkambule’s daughter was an…

The sharp decrease in the international price of Brent crude oil could contribute to tempering electricity prices in the future and make it more affordable for Eskom to avoid load shedding when the economy is up and running again. Eskom has confirmed to City Press’ sister paper Rapport that the price it pays for diesel is directly linked to the domestic diesel price, as determined by the mineral resources and energy department. The international oil price and rand/dollar exchange rate are major factors in establishing this. On Friday, the international oil price was at just over $26 (R490) a barrel, as opposed to $66.23 on January 2 and $62.06 a year ago. This dramatic price decrease is due to the world’s economy coming to a virtual standstill as a result…

• Banks are offering a payment holiday to customers in good standing. Doing this will not affect your credit record. • Life insurers have said they will assess requests on a case-by-case basis. Hennie de Villiers of the Association for Savings and Investment SA says: “Life insurers have looked into ways of making premium relief possible for policyholders who have been in good standing. “But we would need these clients to contact their insurers urgently to discuss options.” • Medical aid schemes will allow you to use your medical savings account to pay for premiums or to downgrade your plan. If you still cannot make payments, contact them for relief. Damian McHugh of Momentum Health Solutions says: “That will take the form of a deferment of premiums and then paying…

The bad news is that, after the Covid-19 crisis has passed, rugby will most likely not be the same again. The good news is that, after Covid-19, rugby will most likely not be the same again. Watching SA Rugby scramble to put a plan in place to mitigate Covid-19-related losses (they had the budget cuts figure at between R700 million and R1 billion) last week, one couldn’t help but feel for them because their elaborate calculations are effectively being written in the dark as nobody knows what actual damage the pandemic will wreak. As tempting as it is to say their estimates are putting the cart before the horse, the one thing none of us can dispute is that the rugby landscape – along with sport in general – will…

Shaheed Daniels, Kamalie Robertson and Mervyn Stopforth. Quiet men with a history in golf. Daniels can still remember caddying for the great Bobby Locke, earning 10c for 18 holes. Robertson holds dear his memories of caddying for a young Trevor Immelman at Erinvale Golf Estate. And Stopforth was on the bag for an amateur sensation known as Ernie Els when he lost the 1987 Western Province Stroke Play at Somerset West Golf Club. Around South Africa, for as long as the game of golf has been played, men – and, in the case of the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, women – have picked up golf bags and accompanied golfers around the course. They find lost balls, often risking snakes to do so. They’ll do everything to keep their golfer…

More trouble is looming for the embattled Safa. The football association is facing a revolt from disgruntled second- and third-division clubs, which are now serving it with divorce papers, demanding to be released to join the NSL. In a strongly worded letter to Sports and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, the clubs detail their grievances, which range from nonpayment of grants for more than two seasons to substandard playing kits and corruption in their leagues. They have asked the minister to hold the association to account for their grievances. The letter comes at a time when Safa is reeling from bad publicity over a bitter spat between president Danny Jordaan and one of his vice-presidents, Gay Mokoena. Now the beleaguered association has to douse more flames in the form of disgruntled…

The death of a nurse at Addington Hospital on the Durban beach front has led to further scrutiny of the provincial health department for allegedly suppressing Covid-19 coronavirus cases among medical personnel across the province. While the circumstances around the woman’s death are unknown, City Press has learnt that she was among a group of health workers based in the hospital’s theatre who were tested for Covid-19. The nurse is believed to have tested negative, but seven of her colleagues did test positive. This number was confirmed by three independent sources, including a member of personnel in the legislature, who said the number was formally disclosed to the health portfolio committee on Tuesday. According to SA Police Service KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala, an inquest docket had been opened into…

The department of basic education will be dragged to court on Tuesday to prevent it from reopening schools during level 4 of the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. The Tebeila Institute for Leadership, Education, Governance and Training and the African Institute for Human Rights and Constitutional Litigation want to bring an urgent application in the Polokwane High Court, because they believe that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s plans fall foul of the Constitution. “The minister’s plan to open schools does not protect children’s right to life because pupils will be exposed to the possibility of contracting Covid-19. Children, unlike adults, are not responsible enough to look after themselves,” reads the institutes’ statement. They argue that most businesses and employers are still closed under level 4 restrictions, which came into effect on Friday.…

Just two months after Sasha-Lee Olivier’s dream of becoming Miss SA came true, she was confined to her apartment in Sandton, Johannesburg. “The lockdown is not ideal. But the health of our country and its people is now a priority and I see it as a privilege to serve my country by setting the right example,” said the 27-year-old. Olivier was first princess in the Miss SA competition in August, but after the original winner, Zozibini Tunzi, was crowned Miss Universe, Olivier became Miss SA and took over the position in January. And then came the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. The reality is that a cake of soap costs as much as bread and, during these times, you don’t want someone to have to choose between food and hygiene Now she…

An ANC councillor in North West is facing a criminal investigation after social media exchanges emerged that seem to confirm a sexual relationship between him and an underage girl. He goes on to tell the minor that if people know that he is the one who impregnated her, he will lose his job and [political] career Screengrabs of WhatsApp messages, allegedly between the 37-year-old ward councillor in the Matlosana Local Municipality in Klerksdorp and a 15-year-old girl, were handed to the police this week. The police have now launched an investigation into a case of statutory rape after a case was opened by the EFF on Thursday. The opposition party said it found the councillor’s alleged behaviour “disgusting”. North West provincial police spokesperson Captain Aafje Botma said: “We can confirm…

Confusing messages from leaders in times of crisis can be very dangerous. The past few weeks have been instructive on how to and how not to communicate important information in such times. The initial messaging was streamlined and to the point. President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke as the nation’s leader, laid bare the gravity of the situation and the actions that had to be taken to fight the Covid-19 coronavirus. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and his team gave us the science, the updates and other relevant information. Ministers spoke about their respective portfolios, some articulately and others full of bluster. In the end, citizens were clear about what needed to be done – whether they agreed with the measures or not was neither here nor there. But now confusion has crept…

Silence is golden Former ANC Youth League leader Andile Lungisa is never far from ridicule, due mainly to his ignorance and tendency to opine based on the wrong information. This week, his critics dug out an old tweet of his: “The US once reported that Louis Armstrong was the first man on the moon in 1969. That was a great lie by the US to ridicule Russia.” One response was: “It makes sense now. Louis Armstrong was on the moon when he sang What a Wonderful World.” Poor Lungisa meant Neil Armstrong, but this did not stop advice such as: “Andile, you sound exceptionally intelligent when you are silent.” All together now This week, Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela sought to show the country how serious the province was in…

This week could see R100 billion flow out of South Africa because of the “junk” status of the country’s debt. The rand could well weaken to about R19.50 against the dollar, and further downgrades in the future aren’t out of the question, say analysts. Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service’s downgrade of the country’s sovereign debt at the end of March finally dumped the nation into full junk status. This week, S&P Global downgraded our foreign and domestic state debt deeper into junk status and said that, although the country had done well to combat the Covid-19 coronavirus from a medical point of view, it would be difficult to handle the long-term economic fallout of the five-week lockdown. This was because South Africa was in a weak economic position even…

It is remarkable how, when personally threatened, the rich and powerful rally around the banner of ubuntu. Suddenly, with the advent of the Covid-19 coronavirus, it is a matter of all for one and one for all. Mind you, that mantra was in place even before this latest coronavirus struck. Then we were “all in the same boat” because of the ongoing global economic crisis, in which business remained tight-fisted. Now, with Covid-19, some purse strings appear to have been loosened. On the local front, a few tycoons have contributed R1 billion each towards maintaining and reconstructing the economy. Despite public perceptions to the contrary, these amounts were in the form of low-interest loans, not donations. In the meantime, there is widespread and unequal suffering under lockdown around the world,…

John Lennon famously sang: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is a health crisis, but it is not the only crisis we will experience in our personal lives. What we can do is learn from it and start finding ways to make sure we are better prepared for the next crisis. I would like to share with you my personal story of surviving a financial crisis. It was this personal crisis 15 years ago that led me to change the way I managed my finances, and put me in a far better position to manage future financial disasters. Just after the birth of our second child, my husband and I had decided, irrationally, that it was time to buy a…

In the weeks since the Covid-19 coronavirus national lockdown began, it seems fraudsters have been working overtime trying to catch their next victim off guard. I have personally received two emails and one text message that were completely bogus but could have easily passed as legitimate if I had not been on high alert. We are all tired, feeling uncertain and experiencing some level of anxiety due to the Covid-19 crisis, creating the perfect condition for fraudsters to pounce. Fraudsters prey on your curiosity and want to catch you off guard when you are not as vigilant as you would be under normal circumstances. You have probably received an email, text, phone call or even a home visit from someone purporting to be from a financial institution, government department or…

These are very challenging times for all concerned with sports – be it players, coaches, event organisers or just sports junkies like me. And, like other challenges in the past, this too will pass. Of course, we don’t know when, but it will. Keeping people active and involved is even more challenging, especially if you have a house full of young children. My next-door neighbour has three girls and a boy, and they’re all younger than 10. I listen to their chatter each day. Thankfully, it’s spring in this part of the world – Ireland – and we are having very good weather, so they are out in the back garden. And they’re lucky to have a garden. Spare a thought for the people who live in high-rise flats –…

If Maritzburg United striker Jeremy Brockie and Cape Town City goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh had their way, they’d be at their respective homes in New Zealand and the Netherlands during the lockdown. But, as fate would have it, the pair is among a sizeable group of PSL players from far-flung countries outside Africa who find themselves confined in a foreign land owing to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak of the virus in South Africa in March saw Stellenbosch FC’s Dutch goalkeeper Boy de Jong leaving in panic. Just before the lockdown, the 27-year-old terminated his contract to be closer to his family in the Netherlands. Bidvest Wits Scottish striker Simon Murray also took the last flight out of Johannesburg before the nationwide lockdown kicked in. He’d also cancelled the remainder…

Cricket SA (CSA) is in talks with a mysterious global brand after gatvol Proteas sponsor Standard Bank followed through on its notification in December that it was not going to renew the contract this week. As confirmation of the expiry filtered through in the form of CSA this week thanking Standard Bank for its patronage over the past four years, acting chief executive Jacques Faul said CSA was in discussions with an international brand and a few other local companies with a view to filling the gap. “We are talking to a global brand, which is quite exciting,” said Faul. “But I’m not sure we can expect anyone to put a significant long-term commitment in now [with the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak]. We’ve got some options, which is encouraging. “The sponsorship…

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The local music industry has been hit hard by the national lockdown, and it seems as if broadcasters are rubbing salt into the artists’ wounds as they are failing to prioritise local content on their platforms. According to Radiomonitor – a global airplay monitoring service – its spins chart of 200 songs for the period between March 20 and April 20 shows only 47 local songs appearing in the top 100, while only six local artists’ names made it into the top 20. If you listen to Metro FM on Sundays, it’s an American circus! Artists speak out This is not the first time that artists have pleaded with broadcasters to support local content. In 2016, then SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng implemented a 90/10 quota in favour of…

Just as former president Jacob Zuma signalled that he was finally ready to face the corruption charges against him, the travel restrictions instituted across the country to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus have forced yet another postponement in the trial, which had been scheduled to start on Wednesday. Following consultations between the state and Zuma’s defence team, an agreement was reached to postpone the matter to June 23. City Press was reliably told that all parties had agreed that, even though government had eased lockdown restrictions, air travel was still off limits, meaning most of the lawyers in the case would have had to drive to Pietermaritzburg to attend the hearing. Most affected would have been French arms company Thales, which would have been unable to send a…

The DA is working on organising a virtual council sitting to elect leadership for the embattled City of Tshwane as it hopes to reclaim the mayoral position. This comes after the Pretoria High Court issued a scathing judgment reversing the Gauteng executive’s decision to place the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality under administration and dissolve the council. DA Gauteng provincial chairperson Mike Moriarty told City Press that a meeting of all the political party chief whips was due to take place today to decide when the council sitting would be held. He said team administrators – led by the City’s head administrator, Mpho Nawa – had been given until Friday to vacate their offices in terms of the ruling. The judgment found that Lebogang Maile, Gauteng MEC of cooperative governance and traditional…

As South Africa entered level 4 of the national lockdown this week, some workers have been given an ultimatum by employers to choose between their fear of the Covid-19 coronavirus and their jobs. However, this ultimatum has been met with strong opposition from Cosatu, which has urged workers to refuse to work if the workplace has not followed the set regulations to prevent the spread of the virus. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said that if workers deemed their workplace unprepared to resume work, they should refuse to work. “Our position is that if workers find that their workplace is not ready and doesn’t comply with set regulations, they must refuse to work. No employers can fire employees during the lockdown when they are not following regulations,” said Pamla. This comes…

Money is a highly emotional topic, and it is cited as the number one reason for divorce for good reason. So, having a relationship in which you can speak openly about money is very important, but it is not that easy, and it all stems from understanding your own “triggers” and emotions around money. • Get into the habit of talking about money regularly, not just when there is a crisis. Have a monthly appointment with your partner during which you discuss money. Make it at a regular time and place, and make sure it is always in your diary. • Find a place to meet that is your “money” place. It must not be in your home, but somewhere neutral, like a coffee shop (depending on lockdown restrictions). •…

Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba, Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein, Bob Hepple, Andrew Mlangeni, Arthur Goldreich, Harold Wolpe and Elias Motsoaledi. If ever there was a roll call of titans, this is it. These men are known as the Rivonia Trialists – that group of revolutionaries who represent the cream of South Africa’s noble freedom crusade. They were not the only ones. Alongside them were many other women and men who showed equal bravery and selflessness in the face of a brutal enemy that would stop at nothing to promote and uphold an evil system. The generation to which the Rivonia Trialists belonged was itself the product of earlier generations of selfless and visionary leaders. In turn, the Rivonia Trialists’ generation spawned others who carried the torch…

Just last week, I bartered a block of butter and six slabs of chocolate for six novels. The week before that, a friend who had been out shopping dropped off the four recipe items I had forgotten to include in my online shopping and I gave her a bottle of brandy that had been in my cupboard for about two decades – undrunk. Both were good swaps for me – and excellent ones for my chocoholic friend who is immune-suppressed and so can’t go out to get her fix, and for my friend who likes a drink but ran out of her daily tipple in week one, as she had failed to read the sobering fine print of the lockdown regulations. A whole lot of the newly minted lockdown barter…

Level 4 lockdown restrictions, which kicked in on Friday, might seem like a reprieve after five weeks of isolation, but, for most of us, things haven’t really changed – and aren’t going to change for some time. So while you dream of a return to normality, here’s a reality check on what life during The Great Staggering is going to look like. (Spoiler alert, there is no going back to “normal”.) Your work life During level 4 of the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown, a third of the workforce of some companies will be able to return to work. If you work for a large corporate, be prepared to be met with a very different office environment. Global commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield already has a clear vision of how…

Government and a section of the workers’ unions at SAA are optimistic that a new national carrier could be raised from the ashes of SAA. But the courts may yet pronounce on the validity of the process to wind down or liquidate SAA in the absence of a business rescue plan, as the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) approached the labour court to block the SAA business rescue practitioners from going ahead with the planned retrenchment of the national carrier’s nearly 5 000 workers in a process that could see the airline either wind down or be liquidated. On Friday, the public enterprises department said it was looking at “a business model that deals with what a new national carrier of…

Maya Fisher-French’s book Money Questions? Answered! is available to purchase as an e-book during the lockdown from mayaonmoney.co.za. In this book, she shares her vast knowledge and explains financial concepts in an accessible manner as she answers the most common questions she receives around managing money. She also shares her own money journey – from finding herself unemployed with a new baby and a massive overdraft to achieving financial security. Email us at personalfinance@citypress.co.za and tell us the one financial goal you aim to achieve as a result of the lockdown. The first five respondents will receive a free e-book.…

Gay Mokoena has set the cat among the pigeons with the so-called Mokoena Report, which details his sudden exit from the acting chief executive role at Safa last month. As much as I commend him for taking this stance, I have a problem with his timing in raising serious concerns within Safa. This is because Mokoena has been the acting chief executive officer since November. He witnessed and experienced the so-called interference by Safa president Danny Jordaan, but didn’t say anything. So why now? Is he raising all these governance issues because he has been kicked out of Safa? Is it because Jordaan has snatched the lollipop from his mouth so he feels aggrieved? On the face of it, it would seem like sour grapes, something he has objected to…

The Southern Kings’ equity partners – The Greatest Rugby Company in the Whole Wide World consortium and minority shareholders Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) – have blamed each other for the delay in paying their staff and players for the month of April. Having missed the April 25 deadline for payroll due to not receiving their “customary funding from the local metro”, the Kings – claiming to have been given payment guarantees by the municipality – wrote to their players and staff to reassure them they would pay them on Thursday. But when Thursday came and went without pay, the Kings, through an official speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EPRU had intercepted the payment by going to the municipality and claiming it was owed money by the majority…