Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-08-30 i Pretoria News

A 3-YEAR-OLD boy who has been diagnosed with a rare Hunter syndrome MPS II condition has been given a lifeline by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The court issued an urgent order for Medihelp Medical Scheme to pay for treatment in this regard, including the medicine known as Elaprase. Judge Anthony Millar ordered that Hunter syndrome MPS II be declared a prescribed minimum benefit and that the medical scheme had to carry the costs for this treatment. This is pending the outcome of a complaint the child’s mother had lodged with the Council for Medical Schemes against the refusal of her medical aid – of which she has been a member for 10 years – to pay. This body must finally decide whether MPS II should be declared a prescribed…

THE Gauteng Health Department is liable for the multimillion rand in damages claim instituted by a mother after her son, who was born 17 years ago at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, suffered from cerebral palsy. It was found that the condition was due to the sub-standard care she had received from medical staff at the hospital. The high court sitting in Johannesburg found that the Gauteng Health Department was 100% liable for whatever damages the mother could prove that she had suffered. The amount of damages payable will be determined at a later stage. The mother, who cannot be named, so as not to identify her son, told the court that though she was HIV-positive, all was well with her unborn baby throughout her pregnancy. Her nightmar, however,…

Former utility services mayoral committee member (MMC) in Tshwane Darryl Moss has been hailed by political parties as a man of integrity who contributed positively to service delivery in the metro. This was as Moss, an engineer by profession, prepares to officially bow out as a DA councillor on Thursday and go into retirement. He was among the first MMCs who served under the first-ever coalition government in Tshwane led by the DA after the 2016 municipal elections. He worked under then mayor Solly Msimanga for almost three years. He was fired by Msimanga’s successor, Steven Mokgalapa, in February 2019. ANC caucus leader Joel Masilela alluded to the fact that Moss served the residents of Tshwane with distinction, and former Tshwane DA councillor Cilliers Brink, now a member of the…

AFTER not paying subsidies to Early Childhood Development centres during lockdown, the Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday ruled there had been no violations of constitutional rights by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu and the MECs. Zulu and MECs in her department had to fight an application lodged by SA Childcare and civil society groups. The organisations had initially brought an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, seeking a wide range of orders against the minister and the MECs, including subsidies to be released to ECD centres. The subsidies had been designated long before Covid-19 and were meant to assist children from low-income homes with food and care. But Zulu closed the centres upon the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and kept them closed even after schools reopened. Zulu…

The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) has threatened a full-blown strike in the security industry should employers persist in offering workers poor wages. This comes after a deadlock in wage talks between employers and unions yesterday. Unions were asking for a 16% salary increase while employers were only offering 5%. Satawu spokesperson Amanda Tshemese described the offer as an insult. “We wish to inform our members at this stage we are in the process of submitting our picketing rules and we will be meeting with the employer on September 1, 2022, over the picketing rules. “We expect both parties to conclude and sign off the picketing rules on September 12 and on September 26 we will be embarking on a strike if the employer does not give us…

THE prize money paid to the winning athletes at the 2022 Comrades Marathon is not enough and the race organisers should not hide behind the Covid-19 lockdown to justify paying the runners a pittance. The men’s champion, Tete Dijana, and his female counterpart, Russian Alexandra Morovoza, are set to receive R260 000 each for winning the 95th edition of the race. The Comrades Marathon Association has reportedly attributed the reduced prize money to lack of sponsorships due to Covid-19. The Comrades Marathon is a gruelling and difficult race that tests human endurance to the limit. In addition, athletes have to make a lot of sacrifices to participate in the race, including dietary requirements, entrance fees, and travelling and accommodation costs. It is reported that Dijana, 34, took unpaid leave…

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said yesterday he was en route to inspect Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been targeted by fresh shelling over the past day, according to its operator. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest atomic facility, has been occupied by Russian troops since the start of the war. Moscow and Kyiv are trading blame for shelling around the complex of six Soviet-designed nuclear reactors in the city of Energodar, in southern Ukraine. Last week the plant was briefly cut off from the national grid for the first time in its four-decade history owing to Russian shelling of the last working power line, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. At the weekend, Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom, which operates the plant, warned of the risk of a radiation…

Hong Kong: An unarmed Hong Kong man who was shot by police during democracy protests three years ago was convicted yesterday of multiple charges, including trying to steal the firearm that shot him. Chow Pak-kwan, 23, was shot at point-blank range by a traffic officer outside a subway station in November 2019 when protesters had called a citywide strike. The shooting was captured on a live Facebook broadcast. It showed the officer drawing his gun and pointing towards protesters blocking the road. He briefly grappled with a protester wearing white, as Chow approached. He then fired at Chow, hitting him in the stomach. Chow lost his right kidney. | AFP…

Police in China’s central Henan province have arrested 234 people, suspected of involvement in the biggest banking fraud in the country, which led to mass protests in late July, the local public security bureau said yesterday. A criminal group, led by suspect Lu Yi, illegally controlled four banks and committed other serious crimes, the bureau said, adding that the group lured people with high annual interest on deposits. The scandal erupted in April when a number of banks in the provinces of Henan and Anhui suspended online banking, which led to 400 000 people losing access to their deposits totaling reportedly 40 billion yuan (R98bn). | Sputnik…

Oslo: Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has fathered 10 children, said yesterday that the world needs to “make more babies” – and keep digging for oil. The richest man on the planet, who has warned that low birth rates posed a “danger” to civilisation, said ahead of an energy conference in Norway that the world is facing a “baby crisis”. Asked about the greatest challenges facing the world, Musk cited the transition to renewable energies but also the birth rate. “We don’t want the population to drop so low that we’ll just eventually die,” said Musk, founder of US electric car manufacturer Tesla and SpaceX. Many Western societies and populated countries such as China are facing declining birth rates and ageing societies. “If we don’t have enough kids, then…

South Africa's Bafana Bafana are about to suffer an ignominious exit from the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying competition unless they can pull off a miraculous 'Houdini' act at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. On Sunday, hosts Angola handed an under-prepared Bafana Bafana a 2-0 hiding in their first leg second-round qualifier in the capital Luanda. A goal in each half will send Angola off to South Africa for the second leg with a comfortable lead. Helman Mkhalele, in the absence of Hugo Broos, has been handed the poisoned chalice of preparing untried national team combinations for competitions such as the Cosafa Cup and CHAN. Both competitions fall outside the Fifa international window and clubs are not forced to release players for national team duty. Most Premiership clubs usually treat the…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said he would be happy for Son Heung-min to marry his daughter as he defended the struggling South Korean forward. Son has failed to hit the heights he established last term as his goalless start to the season continued during Spurs’ 2-0 win away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. His form so far this term has been far removed from the run of 10 goals in the final nine games of last season that helped Son win the Premier League Golden Boot award. Nevertheless, Conte said: “I understood Sonny is a really sensible player. “He’s really sensible and a top man, a really good guy. If I am to make an example, if I have to find a husband for my daughter I’d like…

Abby De La Rosa joked Nick Cannon is single-handedly creating the next generation. The 31-year-old DJ – who has 14-month-old twins Zion and Zillion with the Masked Singer host, who is also believed to be the father of her unborn baby – saw the funny side when the 41-year-old star was the subject of more jokes after he revealed he is expecting a third child with Brittany Bell, his 10th in total. De La Rosa shared a video from comic Brian Moller, in which he said: “They could take on the Kardashians for world supremacy. And they said millennials aren’t having kids. They’re not, Nick’s having them all!” Over the top of the post, De La Rosa wrote on her Instagram Story: “Lmao! Ayyeeee! Move over Kardashians, Gen ‘C’ taking…

THE legal fight by the City of Tshwane to exempt itself from paying workers a 3.5% salary increase in line with last year’s agreement with the unions will soon take centre stage in the Labour Court. This comes after a failed bid by the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union to force the City to honour the salary agreement pending the court case. The City approached the court after its exemption application from a wage agreement with the unions was dismissed by the SA Local Government Bargaining Council on April 8. In an arbitration ruling dated August 24, 2022 the bargaining council ruled in favour of the City’s move for a review application in the Labour Court, challenging the April 8 verdict. In…

THE Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court has sentenced 41-year-old Thokozani Caswell Shongwe to five years’ imprisonment or a R200 000 fine, of which half of the sentence was suspended. Additionally, the court ordered Shongwe to pay the SA Revenue Service (Sars) R160 000 which he unlawfully gained from the state institution. Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said Shongwe’s sentencing followed an investigation which was established in August 2021 by the Nelspruit-based Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation unit. “On August 4, 2021, four accused were arrested and appeared in court for unlawfully claiming undue funds, by submitting false tax returns on behalf of the company Muzithe Trading CC. “A total amount of R417 860 was paid from the revenue service into the company’s account and was further transferred into…

The Department of Roads and Transport has failed to respond to a memorandum from Hammanskraal taxi operators and their commuters. On August 4, taxi associations joined the Hammanskraal United Commuters Voice and a memorandum was submitted to the department regarding violence in the sector. The stipulated time for the department to respond was seven working days, said Caiphus Makoti, leader of the Hammanskraal United Commuters. “We have not got any response from the department,” he said. “I was at the department last week and spoke to an official. Still there was no response. I also called Minister Fikile Mbalula and the phone just rang. I sent him a text on WhatsApp, and it was not replied to.” Makoti said they were planning another march if the department failed to respond…

ONE of the many benefits of saving your money in a pension fund is the protection that the relevant legislation offers to you as a member of a pension fund. The Pension Funds Act of 1956 expressly protects your benefits from being reduced, transferred or otherwise ceded, or of being pledged or hypothecated, or being liable to be attached or subjected to any form of execution under a judgment or order of a court of law. The protections are provided subject to certain limited exceptions that are expressly contained in the act, such as the provision for housing loans granted against the value of your pension interest. Pension fund benefits may not be subjected to any form of execution under a judgment or order of a court of law. One…

The initial economic losses from floods in Pakistan could reach at least $10 billion, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview yesterday. Unprecedented and historical flash floods caused by abnormal monsoon rains have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, killing at least 1 000 people in recent weeks and affecting more than 33 million. “I think it is going to be huge. So far, (a) very early, preliminary estimate is that it is big, it is higher than $10 billion,” Iqbal said. The minister said it might take five years to rebuild and rehabilitate the South Asian nation of 200 million people, which will be facing an acute challenge of food shortage. He said 45% of cotton crops had been washed away in addition to huge damage to…

Iraq’s powerful Shia Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday said he was quitting politics and closing his institutions in response to an intractable political deadlock, sparking protests by his followers and raising fears of more instability. Sadr’s supporters, who have been staging a weeks-long sit-in in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, a sprawling area of ministries and foreign missions, stormed the main cabinet headquarters and demonstrated inside after his announcement. Iraq’s army declared a curfew and urged the protesters to leave the Green Zone to avoid clashes. During the stalemate over forming a new government, Sadr has galvanised his legions of backers, throwing into disarray Iraq’s effort to recover from decades of conflict and sanctions and its bid to tackle sectarian strife and rampant corruption. Sadr was the biggest winner in an…

Abuja: A Nigerian court has rejected a request to extradite a suspended police officer to the US after he was implicated by a social media celebrity in a fraud case. Deputy police commissioner Abba Kyari was suspended after he was implicated in the case of Nigerian social media influencer Ramon Abbas, known as Hushpuppi, who pleaded guilty to money laundering and other crimes in the US. Kyari’s US indictment prompted attorney-general Abubakar Malami to file an extradition request at the high court. But Judge Inyang Ekwo dismissed it yesterday because Kyari is already on trial in Nigeria for an alleged link with drug barons. | AFP…

Beirut: Tracy Chamoun, an ex-ambassador and granddaughter of late president Camille Chamoun, announced yesterday she would run for the presidency of crisis-hit Lebanon, in a rare such bid by a woman in the Arab state. “I announce to the Lebanese people, and their lawmakers ... my candidacy in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential elections,” Chamoun told a news conference marking the launch of her campaign for the post, which is reserved for Lebanon’s Maronite Christians. “I have a new vision for the republic, one that can offer solutions to the economic, political and social problems” plaguing the state, she added. | AFP…

When the words were coming out of Jacques Nienaber’s mouth, I grimaced and knew that the Bok coach was tempting fate ... “If you are a coach or a player, you are two poor games from being dropped, and you are two poor games away from being fired. That is the reality and one lives with that,” Nienaber said in a press conference a few days after his team had smashed the All Blacks in Nelspruit, and he had been asked by a Kiwi reporter if he felt sorry for Ian Foster. Well, the Boks lost that week at Ellis Park after getting their selections wrong and going through the motions for the opening quarter and they were 15-0 down before they had raised a sweat. Most thought they would…

The Springboks will be sticking to their same old guns this week for their rematch with the Wallabies after Deon Davids and Steven Kitshoff told the media that there is nothing wrong with the game plan. The forwards coach and the loosehead prop said in an online conference from Sydney that they still believe they are a champion team despite losing three of the six matches they have played this year, including a disappointing defeat in Adelaide last week. “We are confident we are on the right track,” Davids said. “We are blessed with talent, experience and youngsters coming through, and we have a long-term view of where we want to be. “We aim to win every game but we have given opportunities to players to get experience in different…

During our recent interview with Africa’s leading contemporary fashion designer, Thebe Magugu, he hinted that he’s been working on a special project with Vogue magazine, which will soon be unveiled. And when the invitation came this week, we all anticipated a big reveal, and boy oh boy, we were all blown away. Members of the media, fashion industry colleagues and Magugu’s family and friends gathered at the Glow Hire Studio in Riviera, Johannesburg, last Thursday night for an exclusive screening of the Vogue magazine September issue. Guests got a glimpse of the iconic cover, featuring tennis superstar Serena Williams in a stunning blue Balenciaga gown, with her daughter Olympia by her side. In his welcome speech, Magugu told guests how he received a call from Vogue to take part in…

GAUTENG police are on the hunt for a gunman who shot and killed an off-duty officer at a barbershop in Bramley View on Friday. It’s understood the warrant officer from the Sandton police station was getting a haircut from a barber on the street when he was attacked. Yesterday, police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda said it seemed the officer was attacked from behind. “Reports indicate that an unknown man approached the police officer from behind and started swearing at him before firing two shots at him. “The officer was declared dead on the scene. A search for the culprit is under way but no arrest has been made as yet,” said Netshiunda. He refused to share the officer’s name or photo. “We have to follow internal process and make…

KWAZULU-NATAL director-general Nonhlanhla Mkhize was arrested yesterday by the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) for allegedly defeating the ends of justice and intimidation. Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, spokesperson for the DPCI, also known as the Hawks, said Mkhize, 58, was arrested at her home together with her 47-year-old accomplice, following an investigation by the National Clean Audit Task Team of the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation. The arrest of the pair brings to six the number of suspects arrested in connection with allegations of corruption at the uMhlathuze Water Board in Richards Bay, northern KwaZulu-Natal. Mbambo said the chairperson of the uMhlathuze Water Board reported allegations of irregular appointment of service providers, without following the supply chain management protocols as well as contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. She said…

Leaders of the African People’s Convention (APC) say they will be leading a march to the Polokwane High Court on this morning in protest against the alleged illegal employment of a municipal manager. The high court will hear an application for the appointment of Mogalakwena municipal manager Morris Maluleke to be declared null and void. “APC senior leadership and members in Limpopo will be at the Polokwane High Court in support of APC councillor Comrade Jerry Mogotle and (the) Mogalakwena community to challenge the illegal appointment of the municipal manager,” said APC spokesperson Freddy Mbhandze. He said Maluleke was illegally appointed on August 8 after a dodgy council meeting involving councillors from the ANC. “An official council sitting, which was supposed to start at 1pm, was postponed via SMS 15…

IT IS befitting to begin by quoting American poet June Jordan, who said “Language is political”. During the recent visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Naledi Pandor, greeted him in four languages – English, Zulu, Sotho – and Arabic. Language and its use are an essential feature in any political environment and there is a motive behind the way language is used. It was thus most surprising to hear a South African government minister using Arabic in a country where it is not even an official language. It also makes no sense because none of the 16 Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) speak or use an Arabic language. There was no logic in using a language…

NASA called off a test flight yesterday of its largest rocket in a setback to the ambitious programme to send humans back to the moon and eventually to Mars. “We don’t launch until it’s right,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said after an engine temperature issue forced lift-off from Kennedy Space Center to be scrubbed. “This is a very complicated machine,” Nelson said. “You don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go.” Alternative dates for launch of the US space agency’s uncrewed Artemis 1 mission are Friday and next Monday. Blast-off had been planned for 12.33 GMT but was cancelled because of a temperature problem with one of the four RS-25 engines on the 98m Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Nasa said a test to get one…

Gibraltar finally joined the official list of British cities yesterday, after 180 years in which its status, granted by Queen Victoria, had been overlooked due to an administrative error. The British overseas territory bid to become a city earlier this year as part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, but research in the National Archives established it had in fact been granted city status in 1842. Spain ceded the rocky outpost at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea to Britain in 1713 after a war but has long called for it to be returned. In 2002, 99% of voters in Gibraltar rejected the idea of Britain sharing sovereignty with Spain. The status of Gibraltar and how to police the border with Spain has been a point of contention…

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department’s search of former US president Donald Trump’s home turned up a “limited” number of documents subject to attorney-client privilege, federal prosecutors said in a court filing yesterday. The Justice Department’s new disclosure could bolster a request by Trump’s legal team to appoint a special master to conduct a privilege review of the items the FBI seized from Trump’s Florida estate during its August 8 search. A special master is an independent third-party appointed by a court in sensitive cases to review materials potentially covered by attorney-client privilege to ensure investigators do not improperly view them. | Reuters…

Canberra: In his address marking 100 days since taking office, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday promised a “cultural change” to improve conditions for women in the workplace. Albanese flagged a shift to a “reform and renewal” agenda. Albanese said he had not wasted a day in office since leading the Labor Party to election victory Ahead of the government’s two-day jobs summit on Thursday, Albanese said that after 30 years in which the gender gap has hardly budged, he was hoping improvement in economic equality for women. “This is going to take more than legislative change,” he said. | IANS…

Time then for the Proteas - players and management - to get away from cricket for a while. Despite the two Tests lasting a combined six days, it’s been hectic in terms of build up - before Lord’s and then onto Old Trafford, where South Africa’s horrible record was reinforced with their fifth defeat there out of 11 Tests. The problems are very clear and overwhelmingly, it’s the batting which continues to let the team down. SA understandably received plenty of praise for the four-prong pace attack that dominated the first Test at Lord’s, but without runs on the board, the expectations are unreasonable that the bowlers will dig the Proteas out of trouble every time. So while taking time to clear their heads; perhaps by catching a play in…