Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-03 i Pretoria News

IT WILL be up to the coal industry to ensure that coal remains the major feedstock for South Africa’s energy requirements in the future, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Dr Nobuhle Nkabane said yesterday. She was making the opening address at the 18th South African Coal Conference in Cape Town. The global energy crisis that has arisen from the Ukraine crisis has resulted in a rapid increase in demand for coal in Europe again, for power generation purposes, and record coal prices, while investment in coal mining prior to this has been steadily declining as the world moved on to renewable energy sources, due to the climate change crisis. Nkabane said the problem that South African miners faced in taking advantage of the high price and rising demand…

KUMBA Iron Ore - the Anglo American subsidiary - is anticipating a decline in headline earnings per share of up to 44% to R64.49 for the full year to December 31, 2022, due to weaker sales volumes and lower export ore prices, although a weaker rand to dollar exchange rate will provide some respite. The mining firm said Transnet had hammered Kumba Iron Ore’s volume shipments for the fourth quarter to December 31, dragging down sales by 35%. This derailed its 3% quarterly surge in production. The logistics bottlenecks from Transnet had remained of concern for Kumba Iron Ore, its chief executive Mpumi Zikalala said yesterday. “Transnet’s logistics remain a concern with poor performance continuing subsequent to the two-week wage strike in October 2022 and the annual maintenance shutdown…

Iconic mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s has recently announced that it would be discontinuing the condiment in South Africa. Taking to social media, the brand said that was due to high inflationary import costs. “It’s hard to say goodbye to delicious Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. But, due to high inflationary import costs, we will regretfully be discontinuing Hellmann’s in South Africa until further notice. A big thanks to our loyal fans for all the mayo love over the years (heart emoji),” it said. The fact that the product will not be available has left mayo lovers disappointed. One user wrote: “I am so heartbroken. And now I have to start auditioning for new ones.” A second user wrote: “I am leaving. Like, what is the point of eating anymore? While a third commented: “A…

While Parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises has welcomed the proposal to declare the ongoing rolling load shedding a state of national disaster to assist Eskom to manage the energy crisis, opposition members of the committee have reservations. Committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa (ANC) shared the committee’s view during a briefing from the department on progress made in addressing the auditor-general’s audit findings with respect to the department and its associated state-owned companies. However, in a separate statement committee member and GOOD Party MP Brett Herron described the electricity state of disaster as: “theatre without substance.” Herron said: “The ANC’s proposal to declare an electricity State of Disaster reflects its desperation to appear to be doing something, anything, to create the impression that it is nominally in control.” He said the…

BULLS forward Jacques du Plessis has been at the top on a number of occasions in his sporting career. Did you know that he won a gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010? And guess in which sport: athletics. Du Plessis was in Grade 9 at Hoerskool Ermelo at the time, and produced a magnificent throw of 63.94m in the discus event to clinch first place for Team South Africa. For a young boy of his size, rugby was a natural sport to play, but his first love was athletics and the discus, though, and he was so good that he broke the school records of two future Springbok No 8s, Pierre Spies and Duane Vermeulen. Success in rugby followed soon enough as Du Plessis – originally…

RECORD-BREAKING NFL quarterback Tom Brady announced on Wednesday that he was “retiring for good” at the age of 45, one year after reversing his decision to quit the sport. Brady, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs last month, called time on his 23-year career in a social media video. “Good morning, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring for good,” Brady said, sitting by a beach. Widely viewed as the greatest quarterback of all time, Brady won a record seven Super Bowls, six of them with the New England Patriots before adding his final triumph with Tampa at the end of the 2020 season. The quarterback had announced he was retiring on 1 February 2022, but 40 days later changed his…

MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag said Jadon Sancho can be a decisive player for the team after the winger returned to action in Wednesday’s 2-0 League Cup semi-final second-leg win over Nottingham Forest. Sancho, who spent three months out due to physical and mental well-being issues, received a rousing reception from the Old Trafford crowd when he was introduced as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since October 22. The forward has struggled for form since joining United in July 2021 but Ten Hag said he could make a real difference to the side. “He has really high standards, he has great capabilities to contribute to our team and the team is improving … Most importantly, players (have to) enjoy football, which gives energy, that gives them the…

SOWETO giants Kaizer Chiefs missed out on a golden opportunity to close the gap between them and their rivals in the January transfer window. The lack of action, though, did not come as a surprise after coach Arthur Zwane had made it clear that he is dead set on building the team from scratch with younger hungry players. But you have to wonder if Zwane will be afforded that opportunity by impatient Amakhosi fans. Undoubtedly, there is a shortage of material to work with in key positions, so Chiefs needed to consider bringing in quality players to reinforce their squad, which has been a significant factor in their recent struggles. Chiefs have needed a quality defensive midfielder for years, and now have the difficult task of replacing the departed Njabulo…

SUPER Group expected to report a robust 30% to 40% increase in revenue in the six months to December 31 after it weathered a myriad of negative local and global events and drew on the benefits of its diversity, scale and experience. A positive trading statement and earnings forecast saw the share price close 11.01% higher at R30.66 on the JSE yesterday. The group said revenue was expected to be between R28.1 billion and R30.3bn, while interim pre-tax profit would rise 25% to 35% to between R1.53bn and R1.65bn. Interim headline earnings per share was also expected to increase between 25% and 35%. The group’s journey over the past 10 years has seen shareholder equity grow from R3.4bn in June 2012 to R16.9bn at June 30, 2022 – a…

There may not be many obvious similarities between the children’s lullaby Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and BTS’s international smash Dynamite, but it turns out that both tunes are frequently used to induce sleep. Surprised? So were the researchers, whose work was published this week in the academic journal Plos One under the title “The acoustic properties of sleep music: Universal and subgroup characteristics”. It’s usual to use music to help you sleep. The researchers noted an earlier study showing that nearly half of those surveyed use music to aid in falling asleep. Despite how widespread the practice is, there hasn’t been any in-depth investigation into the kinds of music that people are really listening to for this purpose. Researchers looked at information from Spotify, the audio streaming service, to find…

Mabopane Sports Centre was packed for the memorial service of musician Vusi Ma R5, who was shot and killed on Monday morning. Dubbed the King of Bacardi music, 35-year-old Itumeleng Mosoeu – known as Vusi Ma R5 – burst into the mainstream with hits such as Tse Nnyane and Thaba (Ke Chenchitse) a few years ago. Vusi Ma R5’s death broke the hearts of many South Africans who woke up to social media messages that he had been gunned down near a popular hangout spot on the M17 in Soshanguve. By yesterday, his influence was not in question as young and old said they did not know about the Bacardi genre until they heard Vusi Ma R5’s music. At the service yesterday, mourners were treated to entertainment by some of…

Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders who wish to return home will be assisted to do so. Yesterday, the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria said it was ready to facilitate their return to that country. Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said in September last year that the validity of the permits had been extended to June 30 this year. The embassy and the consulate of Zimbabwe announced yesterday that they had adequately prepared for them to go back home by conducting a mapping exercise to identify and register them. The mapping exercise, to be conducted this month and next month in all provinces, will allow those who wish to return home to access a platform to register online for their permit renewal, and there would be physical visits by multi-sectorial designations…

WITH the Springboks getting a well-deserved break for the next month, the fringe players at the Stormers will most likely have a last chance in the local derbies to convince coach John Dobson not to discard them ahead of the United Rugby Championship playoffs. There has been a mixed bag of results this season for the defending champions when they had to shake things up when missing key players. Narrow home wins earlier in the season suggest that the stand-in players stood their ground when called upon. However, the trashing by Ulster in Ireland this past weekend, with a bunch of senior players missing, again showed that the squad depth of South African teams is not nearly where it needs to be when competing with a second-string side against the…

THE Faf du Plessis-led Joburg Super Kings will resume their Betway SA20 campaign when they host the Paarl Royals at the Wanderers today. The home side will be without veteran spinner Aaron Phangiso, who is suspended from bowling in the SA20 after a lab-test confirmed a non-compliant action. Western Province spinner Kyle Simmonds has replaced him for the rest of the tournament. The last time out, Du Plessis set the Bullring alight with a sizzling ton, the first of the SA20. Most importantly, Du Plessis led his troops to an all-important win after the Joburg-based side struggled in the early stages of the competition, losing three of their first five games. Boosted by the addition of Australian international Matthew Wade, who has also been in good touch with the bat…

NEW Everton boss Sean Dyche could hardly have chosen a bigger challenge than answering the ailing Merseyside club’s emergency call as he resumes his managerial career with a side seemingly spiralling towards the second tier of English football. The 51-year-old Dyche was used to battling the odds at unfashionable Burnley, gaining a reputation as an astute tactician and motivator who squeezed every ounce of potential out of his squad during six full top flight seasons. It was presumably why he was chosen by Everton, hopefully as a saviour from relegation or a manager capable of leading them back up if the worst should happen and they fall out of the Premier League for the first time. Dyche, Everton’s fifth manager in five years, begins what some call mission impossible tomorrow…

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema has revealed that he and his teammates are wary of the kind of danger a ‘highly confident’ Orlando Pirates possess. The two clubs will meet for the fourth time in all competitions tomorrow with both sides having laid gloves on each other. The Buccaneers were responsible for dumping the defending champions out at the semi-final stage of the MTN8 cup over two legs at the beginning of the season before going on to win the prestigious competition. The Brazilians also had their moment when they dispatched the Sea Robbers in their league encounter, seemingly re-establishing their long-standing dominance over the Soweto side. Since then Sundowns have gone on to build a 21-point gap at the top of the DStv Premiership standings, 24 ahead of Pirates,…

CHELSEA manager Graham Potter says he is excited by the challenge of getting the best out of a bloated squad after the Blues smashed spending records during the January transfer window. World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez could make his debut against Fulham tonight after joining for a British-record £107 million from Benfica. Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk could also make his Stamford Bridge bow after joining from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee that could rise to €100m. Chelsea signed eight players in total in January, taking their total spend in the first season under new ownership to more than £500m. Despite the investment, Chelsea sit 10th in the Premier League table and were dumped out of both domestic cups by Manchester City. Potter’s men have a 10-point deficit to make up if…

Find a solution sooner than expected, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele urges THE SOUTH African government aims to find a solution to end the ongoing energy crisis sooner than expected due to the devastating impact of rotational power cuts on the economy. This was the word from Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele yesterday as the government held crisis talks at the two-day Cabinet Lekgotla aimed at finding a lasting solution to load shedding. The talks come a week after the ruling-ANC NEC Lekgotla proposed that the government should declare a National State of Disaster in a bid to unlock all resources to assist Eskom keep the lights on. Gungubele said that work was under way to improve the performance of power stations to reduce stages of load shedding,…

ANGLO American, the diversified resource group, yesterday posted a decline in platinum group metals and nickel production, which was, however, offset by stronger output from its copper, diamond and coal production. Anglo American’s overall output for the period firmed by 10%. Copper output topped 244 300 tons, a massive 52% surge on the prior year contrasting period, and diamonds registered a 6% increase to 8.2 million carats. Production of steelmaking coal was also 6% higher which was powered up by optimum productivity during the quarter period. Duncan Wanblad, the chief executive for Anglo American, said the overall productivity increase for Anglo American for the quarter period had been driven by “the ongoing ramp-up at Quellaveco, which produced more than 80 000 tons” of…

Acting CEO says proposal is aimed at driving economic recovery in SA SA TOURISM acting chief executive Themba Khumalo has defended the agency’s drive to target international football fans through a R1 billion sponsorship deal with English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur. An impassioned Khumalo addressed journalists yesterday, and stressed that the agency had only one mandate – to promote tourism. He said he appreciated the media’s interest in the tourism sector and for holding leaders accountable, but refused to confirm or deny the reported R1bn deal with the North London club. “We are under confidentiality, so I can’t go too deep into some of the details there. I can neither confirm nor deny that the numbers that are in the public domain are true. “There are documents that are…

POLICE in Ekurhuleni have arrested a 38-year-old woman for alleged possession of a large quantity of pharmaceutical medication, and offering a R1 000 bribe to police officers. “On Tuesday, at 3pm, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) specialised services and Gauteng Traffic Police specialist law enforcement unit officers arrested a 38-year-old female passenger for attempting to bribe the law enforcers and recovered suspicious items found in the vehicle,” said EMPD spokesperson LieutenantColonel Kelebogile Thepa. During their patrol, officers became suspicious of two occupants in a white VW Polo sedan, a male driver who appeared to be providing an e-hailing service, and a female passenger, said Thepa. The vehicle was stopped and searched. The officers found four boxes of codeine syrup, with 50 bottles in each box. “An interview was…

A timely intervention by an alert private security company and police officers in Mpumalanga has saved a car dealership from losing vehicles worth around R5 million. When the security company and police officers arrived at the scene in the early hours of yesterday, engines of four Toyota vehicles which are on sale were already idling. Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said in total, eight vehicles were already unlocked and their dashboards had been stripped as the criminals tried to locate the vehicles’ tracking devices. The targeted vehicles were four Toyota Fortuners, two Toyota Hilux GD6s and two Toyota Land Cruisers. “Extra security features saved a vehicle dealership of vehicles worth about R5 million, which were already tampered with and some of them reportedly found with engines already running. This…

NEW Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad yesterday announced eight members of his mayoral committee after being sworn in on Monday. According to a City statement, the new MMCs were selected after extensive consultations with other political parties with the aim of solidifying the government of local unity partnership. The executive mayor said he intends to appoint two more individuals to his mayoral committee tomorrow, once they have been sworn in as councillors, in order to draw from the pool of skills that exist outside of council. “The new mayoral committee is tasked with ensuring the acceleration of service delivery.” Amad urged the new senior management team to work with the government in a cohesive and integrated manner. “We further urge senior management to instil professionalism and increase productivity that is performance-driven,”…

Esteemed musicians Zoë Modiga and Mandisi Dyantyis are starting their 2023 on a high note after the announcement of the production of their debut joint show, set to celebrate life, love and living, on February 11 at Constitutional Hill. Modiga and Dyantyis expressed excitement as they prepared to deliver a stellar performance on the same stage for the first time. “I’ve admired Mandisi for many years and enjoyed all he has been sharing about the human condition through song,” said Modiga. “Being able to take him in, in his message, his compositions and his calling has been a beautiful ride. “When the BandaBanda Agency brought up the idea of us doing a joint show to open up the year, I was thrilled. “I consider it my birthday gift as a…

THE Six Nations gets under way tomorrow, with players hoping to impress ahead of the World Cup which starts in September. Here, AFP Sport looks at six players to watch during the tournament: Antoine Dupont (France) The former World Rugby Player of the Year missed out on that award last December, but his ability to turn a game on its head remains unquestionable. Despite a quiet start to the season, he has helped Toulouse to top spot in the Top 14 and his country to impressive Test wins over Australia and the Springboks. The scrumhalf will be key to France’s hopes of finally winning their first World Cup later this year. Josh van der Flier (Ireland) Flank Van der Flier succeeded Dupont two months ago as the world player of…

“I AM still here and I still deserve to be where I am.” That was Proteas white-ball captain Temba Bavuma’s bold claim after his ODI century against England last week. Bavuma has now backed up that statement after his call-up to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad for the second half of the Betway SA20 yesterday. Bavuma was originally overlooked for the inaugural Betway SA20 when all six teams chose not to bid for the Proteas skipper. The 32-year-old’s omission caused a massive outcry around the country, particularly as it was just prior to last year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. But after taking a mental break ahead of the recent One-Day International series against England, Bavuma returned refreshed and recharged. He struck 180 runs at an average of 60.0…

FRANCE defender Raphael Varane is retiring from international football, ending a 10-year career with Les Bleus in which he won the World Cup in 2018 and was a runner-up four years later. The 29-year-old, who has 93 caps after making his debut in 2013, also helped Didier Deschamps’s team win the Uefa Nations League in the 2020/21 season. “Representing our beautiful country for a decade has been one of the greatest honours of my life,” Varane said in a statement. “Every time I wore that special blue jersey I felt an immense sense of pride, the duty to give everything, to play with my heart and to win every time we took the field. “I’ve been thinking about it for several months and I decided that it was the right…