Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-10-01 i Pretoria News Weekend

Poor Cassper. The dude was already a ball of contradictions – mulling over his underdog status one moment, gloating about his wealth the next. Don Billiato, as he calls himself these days, is someone as driven by ego as he is plagued by fame. This year, even his diehard fans have come to understand that he’s human, too. All flesh and bone and prone to error and inconsistency like the rest of us. The 31-year-old rapper and entrepreneur has entered unfamiliar territory. For the first time in a very long time, he’s now an underdog grappling with the reality of having to prove himself to a public that’s increasingly suspicious of his abilities as a rapper and his polarising persona. Despite this, when I spoke with him at…

The true-crime cottage industry that exploded in the years following Serial, the podcast that became a cultural phenomenon in 2014, is inherently exploitative – even when the work in question has an ostensibly noble mission. In the case of Serial, the mission was to find out whether an innocent man had been convicted of a murder he long maintained he did not commit. But even as the This American Life spin-off inspired fervent interest in Adnan Syed’s 2000 conviction for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, it has also received criticism for what – and whom – it left out. “This is not a podcast for me,” Lee’s brother Young Lee said, following a judge’s decision last week to vacate Syed’s 2000 murder conviction. “This is real life…

With beauty now one of the most talked-about sectors, it’s no surprise that skincare has become a major force in the world of beauty. And with consumers becoming more and more concerned about what they’re putting on their skin, there’s no end to the skincare products hitting store shelves. These days, it seems like everything is fair game for the skincare industry: oils, serums, lotions, creams, and pretty much anything else you can think of. As a result, this has created an incredibly fragmented market, especially when it comes to target customers. Are you constantly looking for something natural, hydrating, and right for your skin type? It can be tricky to find something that works for your skin type because there are so many options available. Here’s a breakdown of…

THE government has been urged to work with foreign countries to handle the repatriation of South Africans who die abroad. This week, yet another family came out to say it was asking for help to bring home the remains of their loved one – Siphosethu Mqokozo. The family need R300 000 to repatriate her remains after she died in China last week. The family of the 30-year-old teacher has, following her death on September 22, started a BackaBuddy campaign to raise funds to repatriate her. Mqokozo, originally from Vaal bank in the Eastern Cape, took up an English teaching post in the City of Yangzhou in the Jiangsu province of China in 2019. The family said she left the country in October 2019, and even though they had…

THE “bare below the elbow” policy is strictly enforced at Life Entabeni Hospital in Durban when health workers engage with patients in wards, and especially in the Intensive Care Unit. However, a Muslim staffer was having none of it, arguing that her faith did not allow her to expose her lower arms and wrist in public. Farzana Ismail said the “bare below the elbow” policy constituted unfair discrimination against people of her faith, and wanted it overturned. While acknowledging the fact that the Health Department had to have measures in place to safeguard patients – especially those in ICU who were vulnerable to infections – she suggested that she be allowed to wear long disposable gloves, which she would change after coming in contact with each patient. Her dispute with…

HOLISTIC Wellness, the brainchild of Elizabeth Mashadi Monareng, is a fitness, life coaching and psychological support centre based in Claremont, Pretoria. After the global pandemic, Monareng identified a need to offer a platform for holistic wellness, including physical health, mental health, spiritual health and emotional well- being. Holistic Wellness is officially launch- ing their flagship store to Pretoria residents and people from surrounding areas this weekend. Monareng is also an author, mental health specialist on Alex FM, pastoral counsellor, speaker, business woman and an ICU nurse. She holds a BA Social Sciences and BCur Nursing from the University of Pretoria, a BA Honours in psychology from Unisa, a diploma in critical care in nursing from the Netcare Nursing Academy, and…

THE axe has fallen on DA mayor Mpho Phalatse after opposition parties voted her out of power at an urgent council sitting yesterday. Newly elected speaker Colleen Makhubele did not waste time igniting the process of removing the DA government in the City of Joburg. Yesterday Makhubele called for an urgent sitting of the council to remove the governing multi-party coalition. The betrayal by the Patriotic Alliance (PA) during the election of Makhubele as speaker left the coalition fragmented and desperate. The PA had accused the coalition of being selfish by giving three key positions – mayor, speaker and chief whip – in the city to the DA. Phalatse was removed from her seat with 139 votes. It is understood that she had tried to interdict council and halt…

COMEDIAN Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, said he was going to leave the programme after hosting it for seven years. He indicated he wanted to dedicate more time to stand-up comedy. The 38-year-old comedian – who was born in Johannesburg and moved to the US in 2011 – had big shoes to fill when he took over in 2015 after the exit of long-time host Jon Stewart. He quickly established himself with his own brand, suited for an era where online influence was often greater than that of content on cable. His reign on The Daily Show required him to delicately cover some crucial moments in American history, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2021 attacks on the US…

Thousands of Iranian women have taken to the streets, protesting against the strict laws enforced on women by the Islamic Republic of Iran. One of these laws, which orders women to wear headscarves at all times, resulted in the death of 22-year-old Masah Amini on September 16. Protests have been under way since the incident took place more than a week ago, with women calling for justice for Amini and an end to mandatory hijab laws in Iran. These protests have taken not only Iran by storm but are taking place around the world, with women across the globe in solidarity with Amini carrying out protest actions in their countries. Amini was accosted by police officers who took her into custody after claiming she had not donned her headscarf in…

Rwandan tycoon Felicien Kabuga played a crucial role in the 1994 genocide that shocked the world, prosecutors said as he boycotted the opening of his own trial in The Hague this week. The last major suspect from the slaughter, the now-87-year-old set up a hate broadcast that urged ethnic Hutus to kill rival Tutsi “cockroaches” and armed the murderous Interahamwe militia with machetes, a UN tribunal heard. More than a quarter of a century after the 100-day rampage that left over 800 000 people dead. |…

Uncertainty seems to have been on a relentless upward trajectory since the beginning of the year. The S&P 500 Index had one of the worst starts to the year since the 1970s. Even traditional safe-havens like US bonds have not offered sanctuary, while cash rates remain negative in real terms in most parts of the world. But our sense of escalating uncertainty is not only driven by the dislocations that we are witnessing in global markets. The continuing war in Ukraine has made it clear that we need to consider the possibility of living in a world marked by escalating (and potentially expanding) geopolitical tensions. This perception is further underscored by continued tension between the US and China. The energy crisis is dragging on and is now being exacerbated by…

The worldwide blockchain investment boom is taking root locally, with more and more South African investors expressing interest in blockchain-powered assets such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to Schroders’ Global Investor Study for 2022. “Digital natives” are leading the pack with Gen Z, generally defined as those born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, showing the highest amount of enthusiasm. For Kondi Nkosi, country head of Schroders in South Africa, this finding is intuitive given that younger generations do not know a world without digital technology. “Digital natives will provide the industry with the stimulus it needs to evolve,” he says.…

Last week I had the privilege of attending a highly enlightening presentation marking the release of a new study by the UCT Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing on the state of South Africa’s black middle class. It has been 15 years since the institute, one of South Africa’s leading marketing think-tanks, conducted its first study into this sector. What was already starting to become apparent back in 2007 has been confirmed by this research: the growth of the black middle class during South Africa’s democratic era has been extraordinary. In 2012, the institute noted this dramatic growth, when, for the first time, the black middle class outstripped the white middle class. The latest report charts its significant and continued rise, describes how it has changed and identifies trends likely to…

THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) yesterday announced that the Moses Mabhida Stadium will again host the 2022/2023 MTN8 Final. The World Cup venue in Durban will stage the showpiece on November 5 with kick-off times and ticket sales still to be confirmed. The Durban stadium has hosted the deciding match four times in the last five instalments, with the latest encounter set to be the third MTN8 final in a row to be staged there. From this season’s semi-finalists, three clubs have already lifted the Wafa Wafa title at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Kaizer Chiefs, AmaZulu, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns remain in this year’s competition, which makes the most watched match in the country, the Soweto derby, an interesting prospect. While the all-conquering Brazilians’ following has grown in leaps…

BRING A Bag, Take a Bag is trending on social media after Woolworths became the latest retailer to make shopping a bit easier for consumers who had forgotten to bring their own shopping bags. The retailer has erected a hanging device in the shape of a tree in some of their stores, where shoppers who forgot to bring reusable bags can help themselves to one brought along by another thoughtful shopper. The idea is to then bring the bag back and hang it on the tree, making life a bit easier for the next shopper who forgot to bring a bag along. While this concept has been used in countries like Australia, this bright idea was sparked locally by Brent Lindeque, known as South Africa’s Good Things Guy. He has…

On June 24, “between 1 300 and 2 000 African migrants, most of them from Sudan and South Sudan, attempted to cross the Moroccan-Spain border by climbing the chain-link fences that separate Morocco from the Spanish territory of Melilla. Of the massive group, 23 African migrants were reported dead. Irregular African migration to the world has existed for decades, dating back to the aftermath of World War II. Since the early 1990s, the issue has increased for reasons such as security threats, varying from wars to military coups, or the search for better economic opportunities. The effects of irregular migration differ from country to country. For example, in the UK, low-paying jobs and non-permanent work contracts are usually the most targeted forms of employment by irregular migrants. Although this helps…

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has defended her tax-cutting policy after days of silence during which markets tanked and the Bank of England was forced into an emergency intervention. “We had to take urgent action to get our economy growing, get Britain moving, and also deal with inflation,” she said in BBC radio interviews. “That means taking controversial and difficult decisions,” she added, in her first comments to UK media since the crisis sparked by last Friday’s “mini-budget”. |…

Two recent reports from the credit industry covering the second quarter of the year (Q2) show that the credit market has stabilised in the aftermath of the pandemic and there has been growth in credit card spending. However, consumers have left themselves vulnerable to rising interest rates, which are likely to have a negative impact going forward. The Eighty20/XDS Credit Stress Report notes that the current balance on all loans increased by 1.7% (R37 billion) in Q2 to R2 214bn. (About half of this figure comprises mortgage bonds.) Total balances of more than 30 days in arrears decreased by R4.4bn (2.3%) in Q2, marking the second consecutive quarter-on-quarter decrease after more than two years of consecutive increases. Credit card balances saw the largest year-on-year increase, at 14.6%, with a 27.8%…

Bonitas Medical Fund has put a freeze on contributions until April 1 next year. Lee Callakoppen, the principal officer of Bonitas, said: “Our average increase for the year would have been 5.9%, well below the current inflation rate of 7.6%. The good news is that we’ve put a freeze on contributions for the first quarter of 2023 to offer our members some respite. This effectively means an increase of 4.8% over the 12 months. We have also shared exactly what members can expect to pay from April 1, 2023. By applying very low increases since December 2020, the scheme has effectively passed R1.4 billion in savings back to members.”…

I want you to imagine moving from home, assuming you live outside the big metros. You settle in a city like Johannesburg looking for better prospects and economic opportunities, but the better part of your family is still in the lalis (homesteads). Johannesburg has more than what you bargained for and delivers love. You fall in love, and your partner is the best thing that happens to you. The relationship moves quickly. The two of you are madly in love, so much so that you move in together. But life is cruel: your biggest heartbreak happens. You lose your partner to a fatal car accident. You're devastated. On the day of the funeral, you walk about the apartment you shared. You clutch to things you bought together, some things he…

SINCE taking over the England national team in 2016, Gareth Southgate has done a fine job overall up to the past year. Southgate is far from the best tactician, something that showed when he previously managed Middlesbrough in the English top flight from 2006-2009. Overall, he managed just a 29.8% win rate during his time with Boro. He looked out of his depth and, rather unsurprisingly, did not get another club offer in England. Since his time with Boro ended, he has never managed at club level. Southgate’s major contributions to England have not come from his tactics, but rather from what he has done to build unity within the squad. He did something that previous England managers in the modern generation failed to do and that was build a…

WHILE the Samsung Galaxy S7, commonly referred to as a smart phone, has many advanced functions, it is still a phone and not a computer, the Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled. The court was faced with an appeal by Samsung Electronics SA regarding the classification of this phone for import duty purposes. The amount of customs duty payable upon importation depends on the tariff heading as classified by the commissioner for the Sars. The question which arose for determination in the appeal was whether the Samsung Galaxy S7 was a “telephone for cellular networks”, or “falls under the category of other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data”. In September 2017, the Sars commissioner notified the importer of the product, Samsung Electronics SA, of…

Thabo Quka, 32, puts his life in danger every day to regulate traffic in Garsfontein, Pretoria, during load shedding, while hoping that someone will offer him a job. “I can’t remember when last I did a piece job. It is hard to find a job. I need to provide for six people at home,” said Quka, who was born in Bronkhorstspruit. South Africans have been suffering through a record-long stretch of load shedding for the past 21 days. Quka was asking for employment at a traffic light on the corner of Garsfontein and Isie Smuts roads more than a week ago when two vehicles collided during load shedding. “It was terrible. Elderly ladies drove both vehicles and they got hurt. I decided to help motorists by regulating the traffic. I…

WITH keeping fit and eating healthy being the “buzzwords” today, the University of Pretoria has found a way to make the humble sweet potato last even longer in order to address micro-nutrient deficiencies among young children and pregnant women. Sweet potatoes are reportedly high in fibre and antioxidants, which protect the body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain. They’re also incredibly rich in beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and boost the immune system. With all those benefits in mind, researchers at the University of Pretoria have found a way to make orange-fleshed sweet potato last longer as part of InnoFoodAfrica, a multinational, cross-continental project that aims to enhance food and nutrition security in Africa. The researchers discovered that they…

It is expected that in modern democracies that embrace free and fair elections, and respect for civil liberties, political parties will induce the system to be responsive. The expectation has stimulated discourse across knowledge domains that the shortfalls of democracy in Eastern Europe and Latin America can be ascribed to the absence or weakness of political parties. Citizen views of political parties are a long-standing issue, which has taken on added significance in South Africa due to their proliferation. The 2019 national and provincial elections, for example, were contested by 48 political parties. However, many of these parties do not perform well in elections but continue to participate in politics. In this context, research has shown that many of the parties are highly personalistic and depend on the personal resources…

The Kremlin said the incidents this week on two major undersea gas pipelines from Russia to Germany looked like acts of state-sponsored “terrorism”. The EU is investigating major leaks in the Gazprom-led Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea and said it suspected sabotage. Russia also launched an “international terrorism” probe. “This looks like an act of terrorism, possibly on a state level,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.“It is very difficult to imagine that such an act of a terrorism could have happen without the involvement of a state of some kind.” The US news channel CNN, citing three sources, reported that European security officials had observed Russian navy support ships and submarines not far from the sites of the Nord Stream leaks. Asked for a…

Entire villages are emptying out as Ukrainians flee from Russian annexation, refugees say. “It’s funny. Nobody voted, yet the results are in,” laughed Lyubomir Boyko, 43, from Golo Pristan, a village in Russian-occupied Kherson province as he waited this week outside a UNaid office with his family at a refugee reception centre. Russia prepared yesterday to annex a swathe of Ukrainian territory the size of Portugal and which included the Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. |…

Next week, from October 3 to 7, the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) hosts Financial Planning Week 2022, an annual consumer initiative to promote financial planning and improve financial literacy in South Africa. The initiative coincides with World Investor Week sponsored by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and the Financial Planning Standards Board’s World Financial Planning Day on October 5. For Financial Planning Week, the FPI has adopted the World Financial Planning Day theme of “Live Your Today, Plan Your Tomorrow”. Activities during the week will include a Facebook live session covering the following topics: Children and money Managing risk in your life Managing your finances in tough times Investment planning – global vs local and everything in-between Benefits of working with a financial professional. The Facebook…

Insurer King Price says it has settled more than R21 million in claims in the past 14 months alone due to damages sustained through power surges and dips, mostly caused by load shedding – and it expects this figure to rise. Wynand van Vuuren, the client experience partner at King Price Insurance, said the claims were registered in the period from July 1 2021 to September 19, 2022. Lightning-related claims are specifically excluded from this figure. “We’re asking our policyholders to install surge protectors to protect their appliances, and to make sure their generators and back-up power systems are installed professionally to ensure they’re covered by insurance.”…