Innholdsfortegnelse for Saturday, September 26, 2020 i Pretoria News Weekend

President, Nehawu in high-level meeting GOVERNMENT and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) are to continue engagement on a issues including collective bargaining and workplace conditions in the public sector, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was announced in a statement following a meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and leaders of the public-sector trade union. The meeting followed the union’s submission of a memorandum to the president relating to, among others, service conditions and salary adjustments. The high-level meeting was chaired by Ramaphosa and the union was represented by its president, Mzwandile Makwayiba, among others. The meeting was described as frank and cordial. STAFF REPORTER…

Law to bar foreign business Permanent residency status may be required LOYISO SIDIMBA FOREIGN nationals living in Gauteng will soon be barred by law from doing business in the province’s townships unless they obtain permanent residency status. The Gauteng provincial government wants to stop foreign nationals from operating some businesses in the townships as part of plans to revitalise the economy in a number of the region’s most densely populated areas. A proposed new law drafted by the Gauteng economic development department and premier David Makhura’s policy unit will reserve certain economic activities in townships for South African citizens and people with permanent residency status. The draft Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill released this week does not identify the specific businesses it is targeting. However, the proposed law…

CAPTURE Zondo surprised at Zwane’s ignorance MOSEBENZI Zwane has testified at the Zondo Commission that he was unaware of the existence of a Housing Act when he held the position of MEC for human settlements in the Free State. Zwane appeared at the inquiry on Friday. He had served as MEC in the Free State from 2009 until February 2011 before being removed. He faced tough questions at the commission regarding his oversight role and allegations that he illegally pushed for over 100 contractors to be appointed to build 14 000 houses as part of a R1 billion Free State housing project. Witnesses who appeared at the inquiry earlier this week said that in 2010, the Free State department of human settlements faced the threat of a housing grant being…

Sky-high cost of royal visit to South Africa HARRY and Meghan’s last official tour as members of the royal family cost British taxpayers almost a quarter of a million pounds, official accounts reveal. The high-profile trip to South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Malawi last autumn had been billed as one of the showpiece events of the royal year. But the couple left months of work by staff and diplomats in tatters after they launched a stinging rebuke against the media during the trip, as well as secretly recording an explosive TV documentary in which Meghan painted Harry’s family as uncaring by accusing them of failing to ever ask if she “was OK”. The Sussexes, who also took baby son Archie on the trip, stepped down as senior working royals months…

PROACTIVE Hope thrives in Africa Contintent’s Covid-19 response praised as rich nations struggle CARA ANNA AP AT A lecture to peers this month, John Nkengasong showed images that once dogged Africa, with a magazine cover declaring it “The Hopeless Continent”. Then he quoted Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah: “It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity.” The Covid-19 pandemic has fractured global relationships. But as the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Nkengasong has helped steer Africa’s 54 countries into an alliance praised as responding better than some richer countries, including the US. A former US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) official, he modelled Africa’s version after his ex-employer.…

MALI FORMER defence minister Bah N’Daw was sworn in as Mali’s president yesterday after a coup last month, with putsch leader Assimi Goita as his deputy. The swearing-in ceremony in the capital Bamako was attended by Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and former Nigerian leader and regional mediator Goodluck Jonathan. N’Daw, who served as defence minister from 2014-2015 and held several other military positions, will act as president until the country can hold elections. Reuters…

UNITED NATIONS Abbas asks for ‘genuine peace process’ PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an international conference early next year to “launch a genuine peace process” while criticising the recent decision of two Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel. In an address before the UN General Assembly yesterday, Abbas seemed to acknowledge the growing international weariness with the decades-old conflict, saying “I wonder what more I can say after all I’ve said on countless occasions”. The Palestinians have rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the conflict that overwhelmingly favours Israel, and have officially cut off contacts with both the US and Israel. Instead, they have called for a multilateral peace process based on UN resolutions and past agreements. They have also rejected the decision of the…

MEDICINE First man cured of HIV infection now has terminal cancer TIMOTHY Ray Brown, the first person known to have been cured of HIV infection, says he is now terminally ill from a recurrence of the cancer that prompted his historic treatment 12 years ago. Brown, dubbed “the Berlin patient” had a transplant from a donor with a rare, natural resistance to the Aids virus. For years, that was thought to have cured his leukemia and his HIV infection, and he still shows no signs of HIV. But in an interview, Brown said his cancer returned last year. He’s receiving hospice care where he now lives in Palm Springs, California. “Timothy proved that HIV can be cured, but that’s not what inspires me about him,” said Dr Steven Deeks, an…

NETFLIX Cracking open the mind of wickedly alluring psycho nurse WHEN Sarah Paulson reflects on her career, the 45-year-old actress neatly divides her filmography into two eras: “Before MC” and “Post-MC”. Those initials belong to Marcia Clark, the prosecutor Paulson portrayed with striking strength and vulnerability in Ryan Murphy’s 2016 The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. That performance yielded an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild prize. But with a career-defining role comes the concern that the part could, well, remain career-defining. “You always worry. Will people say, ‘she’s good – but she’ll never be as good as she was as Marcia Clark’.” Paulson’s “Post-MC” era has included appearances in high-profile films such as The Post, Glass and Ocean’s 8. She also has carried on…

The Brief RISE IN SANLAM’S LIFE CLAIMS REFLECTS AUGUST COVID-19 SPIKE SANLAM individual life claims related to Covid-19 spiked in August, mirroring the infection-rate curve in South Africa. Petrie Marx, product actuary at Sanlam, says: “In August alone, death and funeral claims related to coronavirus were double the amount paid out for the period March to July. Similarly, claims for sickness or income protection that increased significantly in July, continued to rise further in August.” Marx says initially most claims were for sickness and income protection, but claims for death and funeral benefits increased to make up the majority. In line with worldwide experience, more than 80% of death and funeral claims were for individuals over the age of 50. On the other hand, the vast majority (89%) of claims…

TV GUIDE TODAY Cricket: Vivo Indian Premier League T20: Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad, 3.50pm, CRI Cycling: UCI Road World Championships, Women’s Elite Road Race, 12.35pm, VR1 Golf: European Tour: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Day 3, 2.30pm, GOL; PGA Tour: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Day 3, 9pm, GOL Motorsport: MotoGP: Grand Prix of Catalunya, Qualifying, 1.30pm, VR2 Rugby: Mitre 10 Cup: Southland v North Harbour, 6.30am, RUG; Hawke’s Bay v Canterbury, 9am, RUG Soccer: SkyBet English Football League Championship, Matchday 3: Wycombe Wanderers v Swansea City — 1.25pm on FTB LIVE Premier League: Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United, 12.30pm, EPL, SSM; Crystal Palace v Everton, 3.30pm, EPL, SSM; West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea, 6pm, EPL, SSM; Burnley v Southampton, 8.30pm, EPL, SSM; Premier League…

MATCH-UPS SuperHero rivals showdown RUGBY is back! The South African rugby season returns today with a double header at Loftus Versfeld Stadium where the Bulls take on the Sharks and Lions clash with the Stormers. Our rugby writers look at the key match-ups in the Tshwane showpiece. Mike Greenaway’s match-up Duane Vermeulen v Sikhumbuzo Notshe Earlier this week, Notshe spoke about how Vermeulen had mentored him when he was a youngster at the Stormers, and how much he had learned from the big fellow even though they play differently. Since those days in Cape Town, both have moved significantly on — Vermeulen has been around the world and returned to South African rugby at the Bulls, and is one of the most respected players on the planet, while Notshe moved…

Police most corrupt public servants – study POLICE are seen as the most corrupt public officials in the country, according to a new Corruption Watch report The Analysis of Corruption Trends found that bribery allegations against police account for 31% of all corruption claims against public servants. The allegations are that officers solicit bribes from suspects and victims, and sometimes from small businesses and members of the public. Corruption Watch researcher Melusi Ncala said the growing concern about corruption in the country also showed the strong will of the public to expose it and seek consequences even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Corruption Watch has seen almost 2 000 whistle blowers on corruption during the first half of 2020, an increase of more than 400 reports over the same period last…

Walking on sunshine online race challenge RUN or walk. Do 5km, 10 or 21. Today is Spar Virtual Challenge day and the event is an individual rather than a mass participation one this year because of lockdown restrictions. Thirty thousand people are registered for the combined Joburg, Tshwane and Lowveld region event, with each person receiving a T-shirt from a Spar store. Race time is between 6am and 6pm with the #BeSunshine theme. The aim is to create a sense of community as people go out in the streets of their neighbourhoods and walk “on sunshine” while observing lockdown restrictions and protocols. In the process, the event aims to break a Guinness World Record and is urging participants to post their virtual challenge photos and videos on #SPARVirtuaChallenge. The aim…

CULTURE ‘Jerusalema’ dance à la Française LYCÉE Jules Verne French International took on the Jerusalema challenge yesterday as they wore traditional dress and learnt the dance steps. The school, based in Joburg with a Pretoria campus, accepts French-speaking children from African countries and abroad. Head of communication, Vanessa Smeets said the children wanted to do the challenge, and it was a great way to celebrate heritage and ubuntu. Having rehearsed and done the dance which was recorded so it could be shared, they are now keen to make it a tradition on Fridays. The director of the school, Ban Gratien, said Heritage Day was important as they were an international school. It was good for the children to learn about different cultures and, at this time especially as with the…

Club can now kick-off with erotic shop logo AMSTERDAM: Netherlands top flight club FC Emmen will be allowed to display the logo of a sex toys company on their shirts, following a decision by the Dutch football association (KNVB) to reverse a ban. Emmen were stopped last week from displaying the logo of its new sponsors EasyToys, described as an erotic webshop, but the KNVB changed its mind after a storm of criticism and talks with the club. But the decision was widely criticised with the KNVB pilloried as conservative and out of touch, on popular Dutch television talk shows. “FC Emmen and the KNVB reached a provisional solution for the use of EasyToys as shirt sponsor on Thursday after good consultation,” said a club statement. “FC Emmen will play…

The People New prime minister steps into UN limelight TOKYO: Japan’s new prime minister Yoshihide Suga, pictured, makes his public debut, albeit virtually, at the UN General Assembly, the world’s premier international gathering of leaders. Suga is eager to emphasise that he’ll continue the foreign policy efforts Shinzo Abe championed in his nearly eight-year rule, the longest of any Japanese prime minister. | AP Trump’s lawyers juggling court cases NEW YORK: With the US presidential election looming, lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court yesterday to block Manhattan’s top prosecutor from obtaining the president’s tax returns in connection with a criminal probe into Trump and his businesses. The probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been stalled as Trump fights an August 2019 grand jury subpoena to…

BRITAIN Happy and bad news for royals BRITAIN’S Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are expecting a child next year, Buckingham Palace said yesterday. In a tweet from the royal family’s account, the palace said it is “very pleased’’ to announce that the couple are expecting a baby in early 2021. The tweet says “The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news”. Eugenie married Brooksbank two years ago at St George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Eugenie, 30, the queen’s granddaughter, is 10th in line to the throne. Meanwhile in other news it was reported that queen and her family are facing a £35 million (about R761m) hit from…

A Jumbo loss as iconic jet is scuppered LINDSAY SLOGROVE lindsay.slogrove@inl.co.za SOME sad news on BBC World this week, reporting on one of the coronavirus’s latest victims. One of British Airways’s last passenger-carrying Boeing 747 Jumbo jets went on its final flight to a Mojave Desert graveyard, joining hundreds of others that suffered the same fate – stripped bare to be turned into aluminium cans. The 30-minute documentary captured its final take-off and landing with a teary pilot saying farewell to the Queen of the Sky. (Yes, Boss, it was unscheduled and I couldn’t tape it so I did watch it with half an eye. Sorry. It was BBC, though, so technically news). Covid-19’s effect on travelling has forced the airline industry to scrap the 747, which made its first…

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK Saturday, September 26 Royalty Soapie Awards: SABC 1 at 8pm THE ANNUAL awards ceremony covers all the glamour, entertainment and celebration by bringing together SA’s soap stars, industry heavyweights, celebrities and socialites, to acknowledge the best in the soap opera industry. Sunday, September 27 Chasing The Sun: M-Net at 6pm The Springboks’ win at the 2019 Rugby World Cup is a powerful memory, but the story behind the victory is perhaps more remarkable. This must-watch five-part docuseries offers conversations and insider info from coaches, players and supporters. Monday, September 28 Mrs America S1: M-Net at 9pm The battle to give all US women the right to vote. Cate Blanchett is a lawyer fighting to keep the rights for married women only. Rose Byrne is…

VULNERABILITY Women under financial, emotional pressure They are more at risk of losing their jobs or being placed on ‘short time’, face rising expenses and must spend more time caring for children GEORGINA CROUTH georgina.crouth@inl.co.za ARE YOU thriving, or just surviving? Chances are, if you’re a woman in South Africa, you’re highly stressed about life and finances – and fighting to keep your head above water. Getting out of survival mode is not as easy as taking up yoga, escaping into nature or taking up mindfulness meditations. Although these practices might alleviate some of the stress, what you really need is a reset – and a plan. A survey by Sanlam has found that 72% of women in South Africa are in survival mode. In a patriarchal society such as…

International flight details still up in the air A WEEK has gone by and those wanting to travel into or out of South Africa by air are still waiting to know if it will be allowed from Thursday. The UAE’s Emirates has announced it will resume flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town on October 1, and Durban on October 4. This follows an announcement by Ethiopian Airlines Group that it would resume scheduled commercial flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town from October 1 when international commercial flights in and out of South Africa become permissible. Air France-KLM plans to resume flights to Johannesburg in October but will only resume flights from Paris to Cape Town on December 5, with KLM flights from Amsterdam due to resume on December 7. Similarly…

RELIEF R350 grant goes a long way Queues increase at city central post office JAMES MAHLOKWANE james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za OUPA MOKOENA African News Agency (ANA) GOVERNMENT’S R350 may not seem like much to many people, but the value of the social relief of distress (SRD) grant is obvious if one sees the queues outside Pretoria’s central post office. A long queue formed yesterday again at the post office on Church Square, of people waiting to collect their grants. The government announced the special SRD grant for six months at the start of the lockdown and it is intended for those who are unemployed, and do not receive any other form of social grant or Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) payment. By August, 4.4 million people received support. This was in addition to…

Innovation Summit: Ayo awards funding THE SA Innovation Summit kicks off next week at a crucial time for innovation. The summit is the largest start-up event in Africa with various platforms for developing and showcasing African innovation, as well as facilitating thought-leadership. The event, which is virtual this year, brings together top entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, policymakers and thought leaders to support start-ups and inspire sustained economic growth. Among the sessions are the Fem-in-Tech day where 20 women founders showcase their start-ups. The main programme includes panel discussions exploring the new age of technology and how it’s changing our world. Ayo Technology Solutions, as a sponsor, is also offering to award funding to the winner of the Africa Cup, a pitch-and-win session where selected start-ups compete. STAFF REPORTER…

More media access to rugby games – Sanef AS the country eagerly awaits today’s first rugby match at Loftus Versfeld and the normalisation of sports coverage after lockdown, the South Africa National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is surprised to hear that the number of photographers has been limited. The Blue Bulls company has issued a letter stating that only two photographers will be permitted to shoot the match. Sanef believes hurdles to accreditation and unwelcome regulations should be removed so that the media including freelancers (both local and foreign) are not denied the opportunity to get back to work. In a statement, Sanef called on journalists to adhere to the regulations of wearing masks, sanitising and ensuring physical distancing but, with this in place sports grounds, particularly as big as Loftus,…

LAID BACK Mother’s love is enough to stop you in your tracks JOUBERT MALHERBE THAT cathartic song about John Lennon and his mother is probably one of the most painful expositions of a non-relationship in rock ’n’ roll. “Mother/you had me/but I never had you,” the most tragic of The Beatles’ laments, on the song which dwells on him being abandoned by both of his parents in his teens. The song appeared on his 1970 Plastic Ono Band album. It never fails to move me. I recalled it the other day when I was out walking my two dogs, Ziggy and Fudge, along the streets of funky Doringkloof. Taking my canine chums for a stroll has become a ritual in the household. You should see the look of sheer dismay…

First woman to lie in state at US Capitol WASHINGTON: The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was commemorated yesterday at the US Capitol, when she became the first woman in American history to lie in state at the domed building, capping days of commemoration of her extraordinary life. The honour of lying in state has been accorded mostly to presidents, vice presidents, and members of Congress. Mourners paid tribute to Ginsburg, who died last week at 87, as her casket was on public view at the court’s steps before a private Capitol ceremony across the street. Ginsburg will be buried next week in Arlington National Cemetery. President Donald Trump plans to announce his nomination later today of a woman to take Ginsburg’s place on the high court. AP…

RWANDA Hotel hero admits backing rebels but denies violence THE man portrayed as a hero in the movie Hotel Rwanda for saving more than 1000 lives during the 1994 genocide there has admitted in court that he backed a rebel group, but denied that he supported any violence or killings. Paul Rusesabagina, appearing in a pink prison uniform for his bail hearing yesterday, told the court in Kigali that he helped to form the National Liberation Front in order to assist Rwandan refugees, but said he did not support violence. The judge has postponed ruling on his application for bail until October 2. Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and US resident who has been a prominent critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, is charged with 13 offences that include financing terrorism,…

CARPING POINT Be vigilant not paranoid KEVIN RITCHIE @RitchKev THIS has been a week for some spectacular sense of humour failures, but then again, this is South Africa and it has always been thus. There’s nothing more humbling than having to explain the punchline of a joke, especially when people resolutely don’t get it. But what happens if you weren’t actually joking – and they were right? Musician the Kiffness, aka Dave Scott, re-invented himself as a latter-day Jeremy Taylor during lockdown, keeping himself busy doing increasingly brutal (but immensely clever) parodies of hit songs past and present to illustrate some of the more banal and bizarre regulations. In the process he got up the noses of some critics, memorably Ekurhuleni’s Mzwandile Masina when he spoofed the National Anthem. Most…

EDITORIAL Justice not an overall success YESTERDAY, the court granted Andile Lungisa bail after he spent a week in jail for an effective two-year jail sentence for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm – four years after smashing a fellow Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan councillor over the head with a water jug. But later, Lungisa announced that he would be declining the bail offer and would stay in jail, pending his appeal to the Constitutional Court for leave to have it hear his case. Just how the court will find that Lungisa’s constitutional rights were infringed in this drawn out legal process should be a fascinating prospect, matched only in terms of logic by Lungisa’s refusal to vacate his council seat on the grounds that (a) the ANC…

‘Troubled Blood’ poised to be widely read – for reasons good and bad JK Rowling’s new novel is her most ambitious Robert Galbraith offering yet – and probably the most divisive BILL SHEEHAN IN AN afterword to 2015’s Career of Evil, JK Rowling noted that Robert Galbraith, her fictional alter ego, “has always felt like my own private playground”. On the evidence of Troubled Blood, the fifth and latest Galbraith novel, the playground has grown deeper and more commodious than before. Weighing in at more than 900 pages, it is the longest, most ambitious Galbraith novel to date. It is also the focus of a controversy that seems likely to divide the book’s many potential readers. Rowling has created a serial killer who dresses in woman’s clothes to more easily…

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED THIS FEATURE IS SPONSORED BY PSG WEALTH SAVING MUST COME BEFORE SPENDING How do I find the balance between my personal saving and spending when I have my family to support as well? Name withheld Ronald King, the head of public policy and regulatory affairs at PSG, responds: Living beyond your means will derail building your financial security, and this risk is even greater when supporting a family. An important first step is developing your budget. Determine what expenses you have, including your family, and make sure you write everything down, sticking to the budget you set. Covid-19 has taught us that there are many things we can do without, so cut out all unnecessary costs and luxuries. Your expenses must never exceed your income. Don’t spend…

The Good Read FEATURE SA’s BEST COACH Now that Sundowns under Pitso Mosimane have clinched a unique treble, we pose the question: who is the best coach in the PSL era? Herman Gibbs gives his view on why Gordon Igesund gets his vote, while Mihlali Baleka argues that five-times title winner Pitso Mosimane is head and shoulders above his counterparts … THE CASE FOR PITSO MOSIMANE MIHLALI BALEKA DO not take your eyes off the deep pockets of Mamelodi Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe. But give credit where it’s due because coach Pitso Mosimane is in a league of his own in South African football. Motsepe, the mining magnate, has ensured that the Brazilians are a well-resourced institution, on and off the pitch. But it’s barely hard to imagine…

GOLF Wind master doesn’t blow second title DANIEL van Tonder claimed his second victory on the Sunshine Tour’s new Rise-Up Series when he won the Vodacom Championship Unlocked by one stroke at ERPM Golf Club yesterday. Van Tonder closed with a final round of 67 to win on 13 under par 203, one clear of MJ Viljoen. Viljoen had led for 36 holes of this 54-hole tournament but was unable to maintain his challenge. Viljoen did make for a close finish though as he needed a birdie at the last to force a playoff, but had to settle for a par instead and a closing 73. Pieter Moolman took third place on 11 under par with a final round of 67. This is Van Tonder’s second victory on the Series…

CRICKET Greats react to Jones’ death which hit game for six FORMER Australia batsman Dean Jones died of a cardiac arrest on Thursday, aged 59. Cricket greats, some of whom played with or against Jones, have reacted to his death: Viv Richards, West Indies batting great, said: “You were more than a player I had played against, you were my friend, my brother. Will deeply miss your smile and your presence whereever cricket is played around the world. “Rest In Peace Deano man. The world needed more from you!” Justin Langer, Australia coach said in a statement: “Deano was a true legend of Australian sport and world cricket, one of the great players and personalities in a golden time for the game. “His role in the team’s World Cup win…

RUGBY Green and Gold Showdown ‘is a step closer’ to Springbok jersey MIKE GREENAWAY IN A FIRST for South African sport, 50 of the country’s best players were selected in a “schoolyard pick,” live on SuperSport last night for next Saturday’s Springbok Showdown at Newlands in Cape Town. The Springbok Showdown features a Green team coached by Mzwandile Stick (and managed by Rassie Erasmus) against a Gold team coached by Deon Davids and mentored by Jacques Nienaber, and the idea behind it is to give the country’s leading players game time before domestic competition kicks off on October 10, while it also doubles as a Springbok trial — the Boks could feature in the Rugby Championship that kicks off in Australia on November 7. Erasmus, SA Rugby’s director of rugby,…