Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025-03-10 i Daily News

“Mense!” (People!) – as South African comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout would say – is serving us some romcom charm in his latest film. If you’ve been keeping up, you’d know he’s been all over the place lately, from touring with his stand-up comedy across the nation to exploring bizarre careers in the documentary The World’s Strangest Jobs. And now, he’s stepping into a romantic lead in Soos Pynappel op Pizza (Like Pineapple on a Pizza). Fans are here for it. Bezuidenhout is known for his quirky, self-deprecating humour, his distinct bushy moustache, and of course, his signature retro-style sweaters. But a romantic lead? Even he wasn’t sure about that. Speaking to Independent Media Lifestyle, he admitted: “It’s new to me, a romcom is a completely different genre. I’ve been in a…

One of South Africa’s most celebrated playwrights, Athol Fugard, has died at the age of 92 after a long illlness at his home, in Cape Town, on Saturday. Fugard, also a renowned novelist, actor and director, was a revolutionary force in the South African arts, having penned more than 30 plays that brought attention to the injustices inherent in the apartheid system. His commitment to social justice extended beyond theatre, as he insisted on producing his works in venues where audiences were not segregated, demonstrating a profound dedication to equality and inclusivity. Among his notable works are masterpieces such as The Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, Master Harold and the Boys, and The Road to Mecca, each of which has left an indelible mark on audiences both locally and internationally.…

Respected political analyst, Professor Amanda Gouws says the multiple campaigns by lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity in the US undermine the government, and will bear negative consequences for South Africa. Last month, IOL reported that AfriForum and Solidarity faced an unprecedented backlash in South Africa, after US President Donald Trump unleashed a raft of sanctions against South Africa, including cutting financial aid. Several groups and individuals have opened police cases against Solidarity and AfriForum, insisting that the lobby groups be charged with treason, following their campaigns in the US calling for action against South Africa’s transformation and expropriation laws. University of Stellenbosch academic Gouws said the consequences of the sanctions would affect all South Africans, particularly the poor. “That AfriForum went to speak to President Trump’s administration is deeply undermining…

A NATIONAL State of Disaster is the declaration made over KwaZulu-Natal by the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) following the heavy rains that pelted the province in recent weeks, from February 16 to 28. The devastating rains, thunderstorms, powerful winds and floods led to the loss of 22 lives an estimated R3.1 billion in damages. The adverse weather incidents precipitated extensive damage to public infrastructure and private property and severely disrupted essential services, including water and electricity supply. KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has welcomed the NDMC’s declaration of a National State of Disaster which, promulgated in terms of Section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, represents a critical intervention to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive response to the devastating natural disasters. The…

DECADES after the dawn of democracy, millions of South Africans continue to live in informal settlements, waiting for their promised Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses. As hope dwindles amid persistent delays and allegations of corruption in housing allocations, many are left questioning the government’s commitment to addressing this urgent issue. In December last year, the University of Pretoria revealed that the backlog of RDP was estimated at 2.4 million with the number of houses being delivered declining from 75 000 units in 2019 to 25 000 units in 2023. Despite challenges, delivery has slowed to a near standstill. Informal settlements are expanding, and land-reform efforts remain stalled, signalling a troubling lack of prioritisation in housing policy. IMartha Khoza, a 57-year-old single mother from Daveyton in the East Rand, shared…

The recent postponement of the Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Sekhukhune United might have inadvertently placed AmaZulu in a very delicate position. Originally scheduled for Saturday at Lucas Moripe Stadium, this fixture has now been delayed, and while many would argue it could be a blessing in disguise for Sundowns, the reality is that it could spell trouble for AmaZulu. In what was supposed to be a thrilling Saturday of Nedbank Cup action, the match between Sundowns and Sekhukhune became one of three high-profile clashes. The other two fixtures involved SuperSport United taking on Orlando Pirates at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, and Stellenbosch FC facing Kaizer Chiefs at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. But, in a twist that no one saw coming, a double-booking at Lucas Moripe Stadium…

Kaizer Chiefs will travel to either Mamelodi Sundowns or Sekhukhune United in the semi-finals of the 2025 Nedbank Cup after being drawn to face each other on Sunday. In the second semi-final, the defending champions Orlando Pirates will welcome Marumo Gallants at the Orlando Stadium. Bahlabane Ba Ntwa sealed their place in the last four by beating Motsepe Foundation Champion side Durban City, with the draw taking place immediately after. With their quarter-final clash postponed this past weekend, the eventual winner between Sundowns and Babina Noko will face a buoyant Amakhosi. Having had to come back from behind in the last 16 against TS Galaxy, the hosts made four changes to the starting XI that helped them progress in the last round. One of the changes made by coach Simo…

Streaming giant, Showmax has recently announced that it will be airing two new episodes of the second season of its acclaimed documentary series, Steinheist, continuing the critical examination of South Africa’s largest corporate scandal. The release coincides with the forthcoming anniversary of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste’s suicide. Created by Richard Finn Gregory and subtitled: The wheels of justice have been turning, episodes 4 and 5 will pick up the story when the Reserve Bank seized R1.4bn of Jooste’s assets. A statement read: “From his 20-year ban and R15m fine from the JSE to his pursuit by German authorities; from his record R475m fine from The Financial Sector Conduct Authority, to his police summons to stand trial, the new episodes trace how the net tightened around Jooste in the build-up…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has faced criticism from his coalition partners in the Government of National Unity (GNU) and ANC Alliance partners Cosatu for digging in his heels about a VAT increase and not consulting them. Godongwana is expected propose a gradual increase in VAT over the next two years, starting with a smaller hike of 0.5% this year, when he presents his budget on Wednesday. Some GNU members believe a VAT increase was “lazy and irresponsible way to increase revenue” and it is believed that if the increase was implemented, it could spell disaster for the coalition. The finance minister’s budget speech was postponed last month after DA and other GNU partners refused to allow for a 2% increase in VAT, saying this hike would have disproportionately affected poor…

A 44-year-old man has been arrested in Pretoria following allegations that he was involved in a romantic scam that defrauded a woman of R365 000 and her Toyota Fortuner SUV. The lothario was arrested on March 6, by members of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Pretoria after a fraud case had been opened in June 2023, when the victim reported that she had been tricked into handing over large sums of money and her vehicle. Police allege that the victim was romantically involved with a Congolese national, who is still at large. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Singo said that the suspect reportedly posed as a businessman and convinced the victim to send him money under the false promise that he would use it to clear goods shipped…

South African football legend Siyabonga Nomvethe has called on local strikers to improve their scoring records and outshine players from abroad. Nomvethe remains the leading goal scorer in local football with 129 goals – a record that could soon be broken by Peter Shalulile. The Namibian international has netted 125 goals during spells at Highlands Park and current club Mamelodi Sundowns. With Sundowns still set to play their final 10 games in the Betway Premiership, while also competing in the CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, Shalulile could surpass Nomvethe’s record this season. “Anything can still happen. He’s still playing, and he’s a hard-working player,” Nomvethe said of the Sundowns striker. Even if he overtakes me, I won’t complain because he’s doing well on the field. I’ll be happy…

Rohit Sharma made a combative 76 to back up a potent spin bowling display as India beat New Zealand by four wickets to win a record third Champions Trophy title on Sunday. Chasing 252 to win, India got off to a fast start through their captain's first half-century of the tournament before KL Rahul hit an unbeaten 34 to help seal victory with six balls to spare in the final in Dubai. India added to their trophies in 2002 and 2013 to go past Australia, who have two titles. The world's No 1 ODI team, India finished unbeaten in the eight-nation tournament played in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. In a battle of spin on a sluggish Dubai pitch, New Zealand's bowlers put India in trouble at 203/5 with…

Boland Rocks secured a home Cricket SA 1-Day Cup final by defeating neighbours Western Province in the final league match at Boland Park in Paarl on Sunday. Boland will now host the 1-Day Cup final for the first time since they lifted the limited-overs trophy before their home supporters back in 1999. Much like the Paarl Royals team who dominated their home matches with spin during Betway SA20, Boland have utilised a similar spin-dominated strategy. Their slow bowlers came to the fore yet again against Province with Shaun von Berg (3/44), Aviwe Mgijima (2/27), Imran Manack (2/32) and Siya Mahima (2/17) combining excellently. Province could only manage 182 in 46 overs, despite the return of Proteas Tony de Zorzi and George Linde from ICC Champions Trophy duty. Boland had little…

In recent years, the PSL have faced growing scrutiny over the quality of officiating. Fans, players, coaches, and pundits have expressed increasing frustration with poor decisions on the pitch that affect the flow and integrity of matches. Kaizer Chiefs’ controversial win over Stellenbosch in the Nedbank Cup followed on from Mamelodi Sundowns’ rant in midweek when they drew to Golden Arrows in the Betway Premiership. Those two matches have only contributed to the growing wory regarding the poor officiating in the domestic game. There isn’t a PSL side that can claim to have never lost points or a trophy because of an inadequate call from a referee in recent years. These incidents often spark heated debates on social media, with fans quick to criticise referees for making what are seen…

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has denied allegations of any political pressure being exerted on him after the Ipid Phala Phala report was declared Top-Secret, saying this was to protect ongoing investigations and not to conceal information from the public. Mchunu’s comments come amid growing pressure from opposition parties who are threatening to take the matter to court. The report, which was completed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) in October 2023, allegedly contains detailsn about police behavior during the Phala Phala farm scandal involving President Cyril Ramaphosa. “It’s not exactly that the report should not be released, but what has happened is that there was a complaint filed by the ATM (African Transformation Movement),” Mchunu explained. “Ipid received this report about police behavior on the Phala Phala matter, and…

IT WAS like manna from heaven for looters who raided a business premises in the southern KwaZulu-Natal town of High Flats in July 2021. An undisclosed sum of money was released from a safe, which was flung by someone on the upper level of the Triangle Cash and Carry’s premises on Main Road. When the safe hit the ground the windfall was quickly lapped up by those nearby. Unfortunately for Nhlanhla Mkhize and his cohort who located, prised out the safe and flung it through the window, they were unable to get their hands on the splashed cash by the time they reached ground level. Instead, Mkhize, who was regarded as one of the ring leaders of the supermarket looting that occurred on July 12, 2021, was convicted and sentenced…

JUST little over two months into 2025 and KwaZulu-Natal is already emerging as the highest-risk province in relation to cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies. More than 200 CIT robberies were recorded in 2024, with KZN polling the highest number of robberies with 27%, followed by Gauteng (25%), Eastern Cape (21%), Mpumalanga (8%), Western Cape and North West (6% respectively), Free State (5%), and Limpopo (2%). The information was revealed by the Cash-In-Transit Association in South Africa (Citasa) revealed. Since the start of March, KZN has already reported at least four CIT robberies. Citasa incident and analytics manager, Dr Alice Maree said the provincial distribution for CIT robberies until March 6 at 1pm, was: “KZN is the highest risk province with 34% of the robberies, followed by Gauteng (24%), Eastern Cape (13%), North…

Could South Africa be set to enter the era of electronic voting? Well the prospect of such a possibility is exactly what the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is hoping to explore at its three-day conference in Cape Town. Today will see the start of the conference, running until Wednesday, which will delve into the prospect of electronic voting (e-Voting) in South African elections. The IEC will hold the conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This conference will serve as a pivotal platform for initiating a public conversation about the possibility of introducing electronic voting sometime in the future. The conference is based on research commissioned by the Commission and undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council. The research study produced a discussion document, to be launched…

The President is again expressing shock and horror at what the country’s 60 million other residents have known for decades. He talks about the state of Johannesburg as if he’s a foreign dignitary visiting South Africa for the first time. How often has he been chauffered to Luthuli House in the heart of Johannesburg over the last 30 years? Does he not see the progressive collapse of the city? Is he too busy on his iPad that he doesn't have time to look up to see the state of collapse? Has he driven past Alexandra recently and forgotten the promises made to the community in 2019? Seventy-seven people died in the 80 Albert Street building fire eighteen months ago. Lilian Ngoyi Street is still a horrible mess 20 months after…

The Sharks butchered a couple of chances on Saturday, which their coach, John Plumtree, was not too happy about. But all that counted was slotting that final penalty kick in the 75th minute to make it 25-22 when they beat the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday to claim an important home win and the South African Shield of the United Rugby Championship (URC). The Durban side consolidated their fourth place on the official URC log and put daylight between them and Munster, currently in fifth, with six rounds of rugby to go ahead of the playoffs. It was a crucial win for the Sharks, but Plumtree feels they could’ve made more of the chances they had created. “We definitely squandered some opportunities, which is pretty frustrating,” Plumtree said, despite…

This was probably one that got away from the Lions, but despite the 25-22 defeat to the Sharks, coach Ivan van Rooyen is still looking at the rest of the season with a glass half-full. Fighting back from a 17-7 deficit early in the second half to lead 22-17 with 15 minutes to go, it appeared as if the Johannesburg side – driven by the outstanding Player of the Match, Morné van den Berg – would finally back-up the previous week’s 38-14 victory at Ellis Park. Their inconsistency over the last few seasons must be driving the Lions supporters crazy, and it seemed like they had turned the corner at last. Captain Francke Horn and the rest of the forwards hung tough in hot, humid conditions to show real character…

JOSE Riveiro looked like he’d rather not be there, but post-match interviews are compulsory, and the Orlando Pirates coach had to oblige the media corps awaiting him deep in the bowels of the old Peter Mokaba Stadium. The Spaniard had just watched his team reach yet another Nedbank Cup semi-final, courtesy of a 5-4 victory over SuperSport United via a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 stalemate that remained unchanged even after an extra half-hour of play. It was definitely not how Riveiro would have wanted it to be, with Pirates gifting SuperSport the equaliser in injury time when they should have wrapped up the match in regulation time. Despite the win, his frustration was evident, particularly given his open dislike of this Polokwane venue, whose pitch he finds inconducive to…

Chelsea returned to the Top 4 of the Premier League on Sunday, squeezing past struggling Leicester City 1-0, with a 60th-minute goal from Spain defender Marc Cucurella, while Europe-chasing Bournemouth were left kicking themselves as they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues, who have lost momentum since the new year, injuries depriving them of an out-and-out striker, made heavy weather of their victory in warm London sunshine. They had been dominant in possession but toothless before Enzo Fernandez squared a pass to the onrushing Cucurella, who skidded an angled shot across the turf and past the diving Mads Hermansen. “I think Enzo passed me the ball and I see that I have the option to shoot. Normally ,I wouldn’t but I tried. We got…