Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-02 i Pretoria News Weekend

Head chef and owner of Emazulwini restaurant Mmabatho Molefe has been named as one of the greatest hospitality pioneers on The World's 50 Best’s 50 Next list. The organisation behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Bars recently unveiled its second-ever annual list of young people hailed as the next-generation leaders in gastronomy at an all-day live event in Bilbao in Spain. The list, collated in partnership with academic partner the Basque Culinary Centre, celebrates people aged 35 and under, or older if they have set out on a new career path, identified as future leaders in food and drink. The list also encompasses the wider scene beyond chefs, from producers and educators to tech creators and activists. In total, game-changers from 30 territories across six…

A FORMER traffic officer who died more than 10 years ago left “his wives” in a difficult position as he apparently took his secrets to his grave as to whom he was married to at which stage. The now 79-year-old Maria Mkhari took the other Mrs Mkhari (no first name given in judgment) to the Limpopo Division of the High Court for an order that Home Affairs register and record the civil marriage between her and the deceased, entered into in the late 1970s. She said that her husband paid R70 lobola for her in the 1960s after their first child was born. According to her, she is the one and only Mrs Mkhari and the house her husband built for her in Polokwane was hers only. The granny…

RADIO and television presenter Anele Mdoda recently showed some love to her long-term friend, media personality and author Khaya Dlanga, when she gifted copies of his books to Mathew Knowles. Dlanga thanked his bestie on Instagram for sharing his works with Beyoncé’s father. “Santa Maria! Get yourself a friend like Anele. She gave my books to Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s dad! Whaaaat?” In the video clip, the host of 947’s Anele and the Club Breakfast Show is seen seated in an eatery while presenting two books to Knowles,. “Hello, fantastic Khaya Dlanga … remember you said we must give your books to somebody special? I finally found someone special to give your books to. I hope you agree with my choice,” said Mdoda before turning the camera to Knowles. “I’m looking…

Africa is plagued by many epidemics, from tuberculosis and HIV/Aids to malaria and wild polio. But the continent has also worked for decades to overcome these threats. The key to managing these deadly diseases is turning inward to existing expertise and finding locally driven solutions. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has placed public health back in the global spotlight and served as a reminder that science is not undertaken in an ivory tower. Science shapes humanity because it takes place among us. Covid has also demonstrated that no epidemic takes place in isolation. Through collaboration, we can build on our knowledge to innovate ways to address health challenges that benefit all. This is not a new idea, it is something we became all too familiar with during the HIV/Aids pandemic. Despair,…

With inflation at its highest levels in decades, and interest rates rising in response, there are fears that the combination could tip us into a global recession. Us millennials are no strangers to recessions. Many of us came of age during the recession that was sparked by the Great Financial Crisis in the late 2000s. Of course, more recently we’ve had to contend with the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now it seems another one could be looming as price rises and higher interest rates put the brakes on economic activity. What is a recession? A recession is when economic activity slows for two consecutive quarters. It usually lasts months and is generally less severe than an economic depression (which tends to last years). Recessions can trigger a vicious…

Contractual debt, mandatory living costs and insurance are top of many of our budgets. We can barely squeeze in an entertainment budget line. The cost of living seems to hinder any savings or investing. We always speak of the principle of paying yourself first. The idea with the principle is that you should pay yourself first through savings and investing before allocating money to other budget line items. Is this call even realistic with the cost of petrol skyrocketing, food prices increasing, interest rate hikes, and rising global inflation? The simple answer for many is no. However, one must think of the future. What does a financial future of zero savings and no investments look like? Pretty bleak! We often teach the apple analogy. If you earn 10 apples,…

KHABO Zondo has been named as the new coach of Royal AM. The former South Africa Under-20 coach succeeds John Maduka who surprisingly left the club at the end of last season despite earning praise and leading the side to a surprise third place finish in the league. Along with Zondo, Royal AM also announced that Thabo Maloka has joined the club as a physical trainer. The 60-year-old Zondo will be tasked with leading Thwihli Thwahla in the CAF Confederation Cup next season. While not the most decorated tactician in terms of silverware at senior level, the veteran coach brings a wealth of experience to Royal AM having previously led Lamontville Golden Arrows, Bloemfontein Celtic, Bay United and Royal Eagles, in addition to his work at youth level. Royal AM…

They say older siblings are the deputy parents because they care for you with so much love. International model and aspiring fashion designer Denetric Malope has proven to be the greatest catalyst in propelling his younger brother, Lebo Malope’s, career. The Malope brothers made headlines last week when they both walked for Fendi at Milan Fashion Week, one of the biggest fashion shows in the world. They received a lot of attention on social media, with South Africans rallying for them for being on the international stage. But what they didn’t know was that the Malope brothers have been in the modelling industry, only they weren’t much recognised locally. Denetric, 22, has always loved fashion but never saw himself as a model. At first he studied Information Technology for a…

THE City of Tshwane was at it again this week, ratcheting up pressure on defaulting customers to pay their municipal bills through its #TshwaneYaTima revenue-collection campaign. The campaign saw the municipality pouncing on defaulting customers who dared to illegally connect or reconnect their electricity to the grid after recently being disconnected. Municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said a tough stance was taken against illegal power connectors by permanently cutting off their electricity supply – “a process colloquially known as a rip disconnection”. Bokaba said those who suffered this disconnection fate had on numerous occasions been cautioned against illegal connection, but the message fell on deaf ears. Affected defaulting customers were based in Garsfontein, Pretoria CBD, Laudium, Sunnyside, Proclamation Hill, Erasmia and Westpark. Their electricity was disconnected due to accounts being in…

THERE is a close relationship between social justice, observance of human rights, and unity. Social justice entails that everyone is treated equally and with dignity. It implies equality before the law, equal opportunity, and a more equitable management and distribution of wealth. The old codes and values, based on sectarianism and prejudices that place one group above the other cannot, lead us towards social justice and the observance of human rights for all. In the Baháí view, we need a new set of moral and spiritual codes and values that lead to the acceptance of our oneness as members of one human family, and to the unification of humanity. Such codes and values would focus on the emergence of a world civilisation – a kind of civilisation built in a…

AGAINST all odds, Dimakatso Makinta has made a name for herself in a predominantly male-dominated science, technology, engineering and mathematics industry. Makinta is a threat response analyst at Mimecast, and mainly responsible for providing customers with intelligence on email-borne threats, remediating these threats and putting appropriate detection mechanisms in place. However, it was never an easy journey for the Limpopo-born expert, who experienced hardships to make it in the industry. “I had a disadvantaged childhood. Growing up, my mother earned a meagre salary of R1 000 a month, and had to support my siblings and I on that. “My grandfather’s salary was a can of beef, while my grandmother survived on R400 a month. Despite all the obstacles, I have managed to achieve both a national diploma and a degree,…

AWARD-WINNING songstress Shekhinah has fans excited by dropping the visuals to her smash hit “Questions”. Released yesterday, Shekhinah shared in an Instagram post that the music video marked the end of the chapter of her album “Trouble in Paradise”. “The Dust is settling, let’s close this chapter of ‘Trouble in Paradise’,” she wrote in her post. Shekhinah released “Trouble in Paradise”, her sophomore album, in 2021. The 12-track body of work sees Shekhinah take listeners through waves of pain, loss, recovery and the acceptance of what her life has become. It includes fan-favourite songs such as “Fixate” and “Tide”. The award-winning artist, in her post, went on to thank her fans for their support. “Thank you so much to everyone who made it so special,” she said. Fans expressed…

The recent suspension of Busisiwe Mkhwebane from the Office of the Public Protector by President Cyril Ramaphosa has once again thrust the anomalies that have confronted this key state institution to the fore. I cannot agree more with the statement that “President Ramaphosa and advocate Mkhwebane are both obligated to act in the best interest of the country”. The statement – made after Mkhwebane’s suspension – is not unusual because South Africans are accustomed to political rhetoric without substance. If there are doubts about this assertion, we should not look further than these vexing questions: Why is the Office of the Public Protector so highly politicised? Is this primarily an outcome of the conduct of the leaders of this office? Numerous media reports of the seven-year tenure of Thuli Madonsela…

In Latin America’s most significant election this year, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is facing stiff competition from Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president. However, an even bigger challenge may come from a Supreme Court judge. Justice Alexandre de Moraes is leading a broad investigation into disinformation that keeps touching the president. Moraes has opened multiple criminal probes into Bolsonaro, ordered the arrest of some of his top backers and briefly banned Telegram, a social-media service often used by Bolsonaro supporters. All of this has been done in the name of preserving Brazil’s young democracy. For those efforts, Moraes – the author of a highly-cited work on the constitution – has been hailed by some as the guardian of the rule of law. “He is a warrior, the…

The South African Revenue Service’s 2022 Tax Filing Season opened yesterday, July 1. This year, over three million individual non-provisional taxpayers have been auto-assessed by SARS and will not have to file a tax return if they are satisfied with the outcome. In a statement released this week, SARS says technology, data, artificial intelligence and algorithms have enabled SARS to make it easy and seamless for most individual taxpayers to comply with their obligations. “At the same time, technology has also enabled SARS to significantly sharpen its capability to detect non-compliance and to make such non-compliance hard and costly. SARS will impose penalties on taxpayers that deliberately attempt to claim impermissible expenses or understate their income as well as administrative non-compliance penalties to those taxpayers that do not adhere to…

NOVAK Djokovic comfortably reached the last 16 at Wimbledon yesterday while Maria Sakkari became the sixth top-10 women’s seed to crash out in the first week. Three-time defending champion Djokovic demolished Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 to stay on course to pull level with Pete Sampras as a seven-time champion, one behind Roger Federer’s men’s record. “So far, so good,” said the 35-year-old top seed after beating a player who described him as his “idol”. “I expect high standards from myself. You always want to raise the level and things are shaping up well.” Waiting in the fourth round is Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven. Playing in his debut Grand Slam main draw, the world number 104 defeated 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.…

Chris Hemsworth, who plays the titular role of the former king of Asgard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick Thor: Love and Thunder has revealed that two of his three children with wife Elsa Pataky got to feature in the motion picture alongside their dad. Christian Bale (Gorr the God Butcher) and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster/Mighty Thor) also got their broods involved. In a video interview with Kevin McCarthy, Chris, 38, spilled: “Taika (Waititi, director) had his children in there. Christian Bale had his. Natalie (Portman) had … her kids as well.” Chris revealed his 10-year-old daughter, India, plays the character of Love, while one of his 8-year-old twins, Tristan or Sasha, also got in on the action. While promoting the flick, Bale revealed that his children made their dad…

As a new generation of consumers comes into the legal drinking age, they not only seek something unique to their personalities but also something that fits into their lifestyle. High-quality beverages are a rage right now, and with cocktails and craft beers quickly growing in popularity, consumers are becoming much more knowledgeable about what they are drinking. Premiumisation Premiumisation has been an influential trend in the beverage industry. Premium products have become more alluring, and consumers are likely to treat drinks as something worth spending a little extra on. The influence of millennials continues to the growth in the market, and they prefer sophisticated indulgences and experiences. This growth is fuelled by globalisation – with established Western fads like demand for premium alcohol spreading to new markets. Eco-Friendly Initiatives With…

WITH school holidays in full swing, the Department of Home Affairs has extended operating hours by two more hours to enable parents to get their children’s documents in order during the long winter break. The department announced on Thursday that Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi had approved the extension of the operating times for certain offices across the country by two hours to 6pm, starting yesterday. The extension would remain in place until July 15 at selected offices across the country. However, this leeway would exclude the weekend operating times. The department stressed that the extension would only be applicable for the application and collection of smart ID Cards and passports, as it was anticipated that there would be an increase in demand for ID and passport services during…

Next month, Futurelife will be celebrating Mandela Month with the goal of providing a million meals for vulnerable children. This forms part of the company’s ambitious drive to distribute more than 5 million meals to vulnerable children as well as build a preschool. Futurelife has partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation Early Childhood Development Programme and is inviting all South Africans to join them in this initiative. The managing director of Futurelife, Mark Bunn, said the harsh reality was that malnutrition and hunger were a constant for many of South Africa’s children. Alarmingly, 4.6 million of the nation’s children will go to bed hungry tonight. Through this new partnership, Futurelife is stepping up to the plate to make sure this figure changes, and fast. “Futurelife is a brand that believes…

As of September, Komati power station – one of South Africa’s oldest coal fired-power plants – is due to be decommissioned as the first milestone in Eskom’s energy transition plans. Born from agreements at an international level which recognise the urgency of mitigating the drivers of climate change, South Africa has set course to shift to a low-carbon economy. Most recently, negotiations concerning a Just Energy Transition Transaction Partnership (JETTP) valued at R131 billion were entered into, with support from France, the UK, the US and Germany to accelerate the transition away from coal. Many questions have been raised about the potential conditions and beneficiaries of the agreement, which will consist of a combination of grants and structured loans. While transition finances are discussed behind closed doors, affected workers have…

Bonds are largely regarded by investors as the “boring cousin” to shares (equities), and for the most part this is true: they generally come with low investment risk and stable, if pedestrian, returns. However, like shares, their prices can fluctuate according to supply and demand. And the global bond market has seen big sell-offs in recent months. Although inflation and interest rates continue to rise, bond investment experts are beginning to see good value in bonds and are making a case for buying into this asset class. There are various types of bonds: government and corporate bonds; fixed-rate and floating-rate bonds; bonds of short duration, whose rates reflect the prevailing cash rates; and bonds of longer duration (as long as 30 years), which have higher rates because they have to…

The respite offered to consumers by the economic bounce-back from the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have been short-lived. Consumers are now facing a stalling economy, not helped by the worst loadshedding we have had in years, and rising living costs, and they are not happy. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), released quarterly by FNB and the Bureau for Economic Research, has dropped dramatically. Having already slipped from -9 to -13 index points during the first quarter of the year, the CCI plunged to -25 in the second quarter. The report notes: “Bar the CCI reading of -33 in the second quarter of 2020 – when the sudden outbreak of the Covid pandemic and subsequent implementation of level-five lockdown pummelled sentiment – the current reading is the lowest in more than…

THERE surely has never been a rugby cocktail party as spectacularly entertaining as the one held at Kings Park on July 24, 1974, and to do it justice, the scene has to be set. The British Lions had just beaten a plucky Natal team to maintain their unbeaten tour record with just the fourth and final Test against the Springboks to go. South African rugby had been in disarray for the two months, during which Willie-John McBride’s swashbuckling Lions had put the country to the sword. The provincial sides had all been thrashed and — shock, horror — the mighty Springboks had been contemptuously slain in three Test matches. The Boks had never before been humbled like this on home soil and the panic-stricken Springbok selectors eventually used…