Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-08 i Pretoria News

AN MPUMALANGA traffic officer lost her life after she was hit by a light delivery vehicle while on duty. Moeti Mmusi, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, said Jeanette Mlangeni was trying to stop the vehicle, which was overtaking dangerously, when it hit her. “The Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaisons lost yet another traffic law enforcement officer yesterday (Monday) afternoon on the R544 road between Emalahleni and Kriel when the officer was hit by a light delivery vehicle while on duty,” said Mmusi. An investigation into the crash is under way. Acting Community Safety Security and Liaison MEC Speedy Mashilo has sent condolences to the traffic officer’s bereaved family, friends and colleagues of the deceased. He called on motorists to respect all law…

SOUTH African Tourism acting chief executive Themba Khumalo has “apologised unreservedly” to South Africans for coming across as arrogant at last week’s media briefing about the R1 billion English Premier League soccer club sponsorship. This happened when SA Tourism appeared before the tourism portfolio committee yesterday to account about the deal with Tottenham Hotspur soccer club. “I apologise unreservedly to this committee and the South African public for coming across in a manner that was arrogant and probably over self-confident in that presentation. “It was motivated by the fact that I was under personal attack on social media. I felt under pressure at that moment,” Khumalo told the MPs. “I apologise for my conduct in that briefing. Please forgive me,” he said. His apology came after committee chairperson Tandi Mahambehlala…

WHILE health stakeholders are urging caution following confirmed cases of cholera in Gauteng, the province’s Department of Health and Wellness says there is no need to panic as the situation is under control. MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko pleaded with Gauteng residents not to panic, after the health minister recently confirmed that there were two laboratory-confirmed cholera cases reported on February 1 and 3 in Johannesburg. “The situation is under control. Our outbreak response teams have been activated and we have increased surveillance efforts. The Gauteng Department of Health is working closely with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization and the National Department of Health to closely monitor the cholera cases,” she said. According to the national department, the cases came from two sisters who had travelled together from…

With cancer identified as one of the largest public health threats facing the world today, Ian Wakefield, country manager for global technology company BD Africa, shares points about cancer that women need to note. Despite the high death rate each year, Wakefield believes cancer is still misunderstood and not often discussed. Wakefield is a medical scientist by training and has completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at UCT. He has extensive experience in the health-care sector in Africa and has built a career in the pharmaceutical and medical research fields. In a conversation with The Star, Wakefield delves into vital details about cervical cancer, risks and key epidemiology facts, prevention, vaccination against HPV, the benefits of early screening and how it is done, the connection to other diseases, including…

OFTEN, when I listen to returned soldiers – men over 50 who have come back to their township homes – they say they have been betrayed and treated badly by their ex-wives or partners. Worse, they believe the GBV narrative is anti-black men. Nobody cares to listen to their trauma and pain. I was at my mother Nomali’s humble home in Diepkloof on Sunday when these uninvited men trickled in. On this patio was where my father, Mbokodo, retired to sit, read and reflect as he watched township life drift by. Most of the time, he would be reading or engaging in critical discourse. “I saw the car and knew you were here,” they say. “So, I came in to catch up.” You don’t make an appointment in the townships.…

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden was to deliver a State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress last night, at a time of record low unemployment, rising wages, and diminishing fears of recession – facts he was likely to trumpet as a sign his economic plans are working in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But there are pressing economic issues, most notably the need to lift a statutory debt limit that, in the extreme, could cause the US government to stop paying its bills. A still unresolved Federal Reserve fight to control inflation may pose the largest outstanding risk to the Biden economy, over which the White House has little influence. It was Biden’s second such speech as president and the first since the Republican party…

NEW YORK: Salman Rushdie has branded his attacker an “idiot”. The Satanic Verses writer, 75, was onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York in August last year when 24-year-old Hadi Matar stabbed him 15 times in the torso and neck, and the author said he now suffers PTSD and nightmares. Rushdie is still in recovery at home. “I’ve found it very difficult to write,” he said, adding that he hoped he would again find inspiration. “One of the things about being 75 and having written 21 books is that you know that, if you keep at it, something will come.” | Bang Showbiz…

KARACHI: Pakistani former president Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the campaign against al-Qaeda following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, was buried in his home town of Karachi yesterday. Musharraf, a former four-star general who seized power after a 1999 military coup, died on Sunday in hospital in Dubai, after suffering a rare organ disease. He was 79. After the 9/11 attacks, Musharraf gave US forces ground and air access into landlocked Afghanistan to chase down al-Qaeda militants. This contradicted Pakistan’s long-standing support for the Taliban, who still controlled Afghanistan until late 2001, and made Musharraf a target for militant groups. | Reuters…

Canberra: Alcohol bans will be reinstated for indigenous communities in central Australia in response to a crime wave. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (NT) Natasha Fyles said dry zones will be reinstated for indigenous town camps near Alice Springs. It comes less than 12 months after intervention-era alcohol bans in the NT ended in July 2022, making alcohol legal in some areas for the first time in 15 years. As a result, alcohol-fuelled violence soared in Alice Springs. Under the new laws, communities can opt out of the reinstated bans if 60% of residents support the decision and an alcohol management plan is in place. | IANS…

Alfa Romeo unveiled a new red and black livery yesterday for their final Formula One season as title sponsors of Swiss-based Sauber, with the team setting their sights on moving up from sixth overall. The team, who will become the Audi factory outfit from 2026, have an unchanged line-up in China’s Guanyu Zhou and experienced Finn Valtteri Bottas but new management after the departure of Fred Vasseur to Ferrari. Andreas Seidl has moved from McLaren to become CEO of the Sauber Group while Italian Alessandro Alunni Bravi has been appointed representative rather than the formal title of principal. Technical director Jan Monchaux said the new car, which will make its track debut for a filming day in Barcelona on Friday before pre-season testing in Bahrain, was an evolution of the…

WE’VE SEEN CLIMATE activists chaining themselves to the goalposts or taking to the pitch to disrupt major football fixtures in the English Premier League or throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. And the investment industry is not exempt – protesters occupied the New York offices of investment giant Blackrock recently due to its investments in fossil fuels. So, what now? As investment professionals, what can we do? As stewards of the future, as dream protectors can we make environmentally and socially responsible investment palatable? Can we make it easier to promote good governance through the investment decisions we facilitate or make? Can we make environmental, social, and governance (ESG) accessible, and can we at least start somewhere? The fight for climate justice, social development and good governance is an intergenerational,…

Hot weather is ideal for summer salad recipes that highlight the fresh produce of the season, and perfect for side dishes for cookouts and braais. These summer recipes, courtesy of Granny Mouse Country House & Spa, are proof that salads need not be boring. Each one is healthy, bursting with flavour, and big on texture. Smoked chicken Caesar Ingredients Olive oil, for drizzling 4 medium, skinless chicken breasts 300g ciabatta or good quality chewy bread, cut into 2cm cubes 12 streaky bacon rashers 3 Romaine lettuces, leaves separated, large leaves torn in half Small bunch fresh chives, roughly chopped Parmesan for shaving For the dressing 8 anchovy fillets in oil, drained 2 small garlic cloves, crushed 3 large free-range egg yolks Juice of 1 lemon (± 30ml) 2 tsp Dijon…

TWO of South Africa’s biggest mining companies lost their appeal this week against an earlier judgment allowing mineworkers suffering from sick silicosis and/or tuberculosis, to bring a class action against them. Thousands of sick mineworkers and the families of those already dead won a victory in 2016 when the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, certified their claims against a host of mining companies and some of the so-called parent companies, to constitute a class action. The court also gave permission to the families of those who had died to sue the mining companies. Mining giants DRDGold Ltd and East Rand Property Mines, however, turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to overturn the ruling that allowed the class action suits. The issue before the SCA was whether the high court’s…

The parents of schoolchildren at Laerskool Nellie Swart in Pretoria have accused leaders of their education district of racism for failing to appoint a black candidate who was successful in interviews for the position of principal. According to school governing body chairperson Thapelo Rantho, Laerskool Nellie Swart has been without a principal for nearly five years. “This has led to uncertainty and instability that have unintended consequences on the learners. The post was advertised in 2021 and the governing body selected an interview panel as per the Collective Agreement 2 of 2005 as amended and legislated.” Rantho said that last year parents held a meeting at which they shortlisted candidates and set an interview date. “Interviews were held with the three shortlisted candidates from a list that emanated from the…

THE SA Post Office says plans are afoot to negotiate with pensioners – former Sapo employees – for a once-off payment from the Post Office in lieu of subsidising their pension fund contributions, but it is not reneging on the pensioners’ retirement benefits. But pensioners say they are not willing to negotiate yet. Amid cash flow problems, the Post Office said it was giving pensioners the once-off payment option, as “subsidising the medical aid contributions of pensioners is not financially sustainable”. SA Post Office spokesperson, Johan Kruger, said: “This is to safeguard pensioners, as Sapo’s situation continues to deteriorate. It will assist the Post Office if this liability is removed from the balance sheet. Over the past 11 years, the Post Office has subsidised the medical aid payments of retirees…

WHILE expectant parents can put fears about the impact of Covid-19 on their foetus behind them, the harm posed by mental disorders to both the mother and child has been thrust into the spotlight this National Pregnancy Awareness Week. February 6 to 9 is National Pregnancy Awareness, with an emphasis on how depression during pregnancy could harm the mother and baby. However, it is treatable. According to research, although half of expectant mothers in the country experienced depression during pregnancy and following childbirth, it was often left undiagnosed and untreated. This placed not only the mothers at risk, but their babies’ health and future development. According to the statistics, between 21% and 47% of South African women experienced depression during pregnancy, with between 31% and 50% suffering from post-natal depression…

SCHOOLS are no longer safe havens for learners and educators, says a teachers union after a number of incidents of bullying, suicide, stabbing and shooting at schools across the country since the start of this academic year. The incidents include one at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan, where 18-year-old Grade 10 learner Shawn Mphele was allegedly stabbed to death by fellow learners. At Kagiso Secondary on the West Rand, a man allegedly entered the school and took staff members hostage. He allegedly stabbed one of the teachers and was subsequently shot dead by another teacher. At Tlotlisong Secondary in Ficksburg, Free State, a Grade 9 learner allegedly poisoned himself. He was allegedly humiliated by teachers in front of other learners. After the suicide, angry learners attacked teachers, damaging the school,…

A massive rescue effort in Türkiye and Syria battled frigid weather in a race against time yesterday to find survivors under buildings flattened by an earthquake that has so far claimed more than 5 000 lives. Tremors that inflicted more suffering on a border area already plagued by conflict left people on the streets burning debris to try to stay warm. Rescuers were working on collapsed apartments with heavy equipment as a worldwide relief effort promised food, search teams and equipment for the disaster zone. “We live on the first floor out of three, we’re too scared to return,” said Imam Caglar, 42, in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. “Our building is not safe at all. My mother-in-law, father-in-law, and two of my father-in-law’s sons (are trapped),” said Mahmud al-Ali…

A special Nigerian human rights panel has started investigating reports that the army massacred children and ran a secret abortion programme when fighting Islamist insurgents and said it would refer for prosecution those it considered guilty of rights violations. The Nigerian military said the reports were not true and that it would not investigate matter. Anthony Ojukwu, executive secretary of the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), launched the seven-member investigation panel yesterday led by a retired Supreme Court judge in Abuja. Ojukwu said the investigations followed “allegations of gross human rights violations contained in the three-part report published in December on military operations in the north east by Reuters”. The commission has no powers to prosecute human rights violators but can recommend prosecution for offenders. The panel is to…

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak yesterday reorganised several government departments and appointed a new Conservative Party chairperson following last month’s dismissal of a senior ally over murky tax dealings. Sunak, who last week marked 100 days in 10 Downing Street, announced close confidant Greg Hands had replaced Nadhim Zahawi in the role of party head and cabinet minister without portfolio. The Tory leader fired the wealthy Zahawi after an internal probe into his tax affairs found a “serious breach” of ministerial rules. Sunak created four new government departments ahead of a general election expected next year. The ruling Conservatives are trailing the main opposition Labour party by wide margins, according to polls. It follows several scandals amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation as decades-high inflation threatens…

ATHENS: Three people drowned and more than a dozen were believed to be missing in the second migrant shipwreck off Greece this week, authorities said yesterday. The coastguard said 19 people were rescued in an operation that began early yesterday after an inflatable rubber boat was spotted on rocks along the coast of the island of Lesbos, near Türkiye. At least 10 people were taken to hospital, authorities said, some suffering from hypothermia as a cold weather front brought freezing temperatures and snow. Survivors told authorities about 41 people were on board the dinghy that had sailed from the Turkish coast. | Reuters…

If you walk into any store right now you’ll know without a doubt that Valentine’s Day is coming up. While it’s very easy to give in to the hype and buy one of those corny gifts that most retail stores place right up front, your special person would appreciate a more thoughtful gift. For some, this might be tricky, especially when your better half seems to already have everything they need. However, there is one thing you can never have enough of. And that’s perfume. I must confess that I am one of those people. No matter how much perfume I have, I always have room on my dressing table for one more. Buying perfume for someone else can be daunting, but if you know what type of person…

A SHOWDOWN is expected in Parliament when President Cyril Ramaphosa takes to the podium to deliver his annual State of the Nation Address. The EFF, led by Julius Malema has vowed to disrupt the president’s speech and wants him to resign. The National Freedom Party (NFP) said it would do all it can to disrupt Ramaphosa’s 2023 Sona on Thursday. NFP secretary general Canaan Mdletshe said Ramaphosa failed to lead South Africa and must step down. “I do not think we are going to be muscled out. We are going to make sure we disrupt the president. He must not have it easy on Thursday … We are therefore calling on all other MPs (Members of Parliament), including those from the ANC, to do the same thing. “If they are…

IN ANOTHER blow for the CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and its board of directors, the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Mbombela yesterday turned down an application against an earlier order that they had to pay from their own pockets the costs associated with two cases. Mpumalanga High Court Judge President Francis Legodi, who issued a lengthy, carefully-reasoned judgment last month, made several scathing remarks regarding CEO Collins Letsoalo and the board’s running of the RAF, especially after they had fired their panel of attorneys. This resulted in the personal costs order against them, which could run into millions. Judge Legodi yesterday refused leave to appeal as he concluded that there was no prospect that another court would come to a different finding than that of the full…

THE article that was published on November 18 as “Under Scrutiny” in the Pretoria News by Thabo Makwakwa under the headline “CABC is a gibberish propaganda machine” refers. The facts and ethics of journalism do matter. I would like to bring a few issues to your attention in the interest of fair, ethical journalism which you owe your readers. Mr Makwakwa is currently involved in legal proceedings that he initiated, among others, in October 2021 against the Centres for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC), the City Press and Daily Maverick seeking to review and set aside two CABC reports. Surely this presents a conflict of interest on Mr Makwakwa’s behalf; a fact that he ought to have disclosed to your readers? Ironically, Independent Media published the findings of the Covid-19…

Mazwi Thuto from Rephafogile Secondary School got six distinctions and the Dlalisa Moyeni Foundation rewarded her with a R20 000 boost towards her studies at Wits The non-profit organisation based in Pretoria has handed a R20 000 cheque to the top achieving matric pupil from the school in Mamelodi East, who will be studying actuarial science at the University of the Witwatersrand. Last year, the foundation went around Mamelodi motivating matric pupils ahead of their final exams, as part of their mentorship programme. “We have expanded from being an organisation which mentors and moulds young boys into sound and stable men, to become a hub for motivating and encouraging matric learners in our surrounding community, which is Mamelodi,” said Nompumelelo Skosana, spokesperson for the foundation. “Last year, we set off…

We have a moral duty to consistently report whenever we witness abuse “As a nation, we are abruptly woken up from our slumber when these (killing of women and girls) heinous crimes are committed. We are outraged by the brutality and wonder whether these things are really happening in South Africa. Sadly, we succumb to our slumber again and again, believing that nothing is happening in between. It takes a Karabo Mokoena or Zolile Khumalo or Uyinene Mrwetyana to wake us up.” These were the words of Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Buti Manamela, addressing mourners at the funeral of Uyinene Mrwetyana in East London, Eastern Cape province, on September 7, 2019. Mrwetyana was only 19 and a film and media studies student at UCT when…

Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France yesterday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, as opponents took to the streets for a day of protests. The third day of union-backed demonstrations since January 19 was set to test momentum for the protest movement which has vowed to block Macron’s bid to raise the retirement age. The head of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez, warned that more “numerous, massive and rolling” strikes were coming if the government did not drop the plan. “If the government keeps on refusing to listen then of course things will have to be ratcheted up,” he said, as the demonstration in Paris got under way. Macron put raising the retirement age and encouraging the French to work more at…

Poverty and the prospect of better- paid work, rather than ideology, are what fuel recruitment to jihadist and other violent groups in Africa, the UN said yesterday. The conclusion casts doubt on conventional wisdom that religious doctrine is the main lure for joining groups like Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and the al-Qaeda-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in 2021 interviewed nearly 2 200 people across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan. The interviews included nearly 1 200 former members of extremist groups, of whom nearly 900 had joined voluntarily while the others had been coerced. Of those who had voluntarily joined, a quarter said the prospect of paid work had been their primary motive, UNDP said. Another 22% said they joined…

BAMAKO: Mali seeks to reinforce its economic co-operation with Russia and get preferential access to essential products, the country’s foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said yesterday before meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The meeting comes in the wake of a call last week by the UN for an independent investigation into possible war crimes by government forces and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali. Since 2020, Mali’s ruling military junta has turned to Moscow even as it sparred with neighbours and Western nations over election delays and its decision to work with Russian mercenaries to combat an Islamist insurgency. | Reuters…

Paris: Containing and cleaning up environmental pollution, especially in waterways, is crucial to controlling increasingly bullet-proof superbugs which could kill tens of millions by mid-century, a new UN report said yesterday. Superbugs are estimated to have killed 1.27 million people in 2019, and the World Health Organization says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global health threats on the near-term horizon. Up to 10 million deaths could occur every year by 2050 because of AMR, the UN says. The disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics that can help microbes become stronger are everywhere, from toothpaste and shampoo to cow’s milk. | AFP…

MI Cape Town provided evidence in the inaugural SA20 season that sporting contests are never decided on paper. The Newlands-based team were blessed with an abundance of superstars - both South African and international - and a coaching staff that was littered with legends in all departments. And yet they won just three out of their 10 matches that saw them rooted to the basement of the standings. For a team that is blessed with the amount of riches they have at their disposal, it has been an unmitigated disaster of a first season. The only consolation for MI Cape Town is that their parent team, Mumbai Indians, suffered a similar fate in the maiden IPL season before forging a dynasty that has seen them become the most successful side…

South Africa’s Zethu Myeki has come a long way from hitting balls across a football field in the Eastern Cape to establishing herself as one of the up-and-coming talents on the Sunshine Ladies Tour (SLT). Now in her fourth year as a professional since switching to the paid ranks in 2020, Myeki has already tasted victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf ladies tournament at Mount Edgecombe in 2021, and has a handful of top 10 finishes to her name. It’s been a long journey for Myeki, now aged 29, who came across the game by chance at the age of 13 - which is relatively late to the game for a future professional. “I started in 2007, in the Eastern Cape. I used to pass a soccer field to…

IF John Moeti’s death on Monday is a “big loss” for South African football as per the statements released by Safa, coaches and former players alike, can you begin to imagine just how much of a loss his passing is to his family? It is actually disingenuous of football people to spew that line, given that John’s contribution to the game had long ceased and none of them had bothered to provide him with a platform to share the “knowledge and expertise” they now would like us to believe he possessed. No doubt John played his role in the game and we would all agree that it was a huge one, particularly at Orlando Pirates where he made a significant mark as a captain and midfield enforcer. I was privileged…