Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-02 i Pretoria News

The sheriff of the court yet again swooped on the Menlyn office of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to confiscate furniture due to non-payment of supplier claims. At the same time, the RAF is heading to court next week to obtain yet another bailout in paying out claims to accident victims. A full bench of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in April 2021 gave the RAF a reprieve of 180 days in which to pay claims. It was ordered that the RAF was to pay all claims based on court orders already granted or settlements reached, which were older than 180 days. The court at the time ordered the RAF to make payment of the oldest claims first. This was based on the date of the court order…

RESIDENTS in and around Pretoria are in for a treat next weekend when the annual Francophone Festival brings a festivity of language to the city. The event, now in its 14th year, will give visitors a chance to explore the diversity and richness of Francophone cultures. Each year more than 2 000 people of all ages and backgrounds meet to celebrate this festival, which was launched in 2009 with the aim enshrined in the ‘Charter of La Francophonie’. The event, to take place at Hoërskool Waterkloof in Erasmuskloof on March 11, brings together all Francophone and Francophiles embassies and institutions in South Africa to participate in the promotion of Francophone culture and French linguistic diversity. The Francophone culture, they said yesterday, lays emphasis on being broad-minded, loving, independent, polite…

The recent resolution in the United States House of Representatives says more about the US and its domestic and foreign policy than it does about South Africa and its relations with its BRICS partners, Russia and China. In summary, House Resolution 145 of the 118th Congress, passed on February 21, opposed “the Republic of South Africa’s hosting of military exercises with the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, and (called) on the Biden administration to conduct a thorough review of the United States-South Africa relationship”. The reality is that 33 years after the end of the Cold War, US domestic and foreign policy is in a shambles. For those of us who study and analyse foreign policy, we know that the first place to look for clues…

Toilet paper is an unexpected source of potentially harmful “forever chemicals” in wastewater across the globe and could be leaching into soils via sewage, a new study yesterday said. “Forever chemicals”, or PFAS, are found in cosmetics, non-stick cookware and waterproof clothing. They have been linked to several types of cancers, cardiovascular disease, fertility problems and developmental disorders in children. The synthetic chemicals are present in soil and waterways across the globe, and a new study yesterday found that toilet paper “should be considered as a potentially major source” of PFAS in wastewater treatment systems. The researchers said reducing PFAS in wastewater is “critical”, since the chemicals are potentially harmful. “Wastewater effluent and sludge are commonly reused for irrigation and/or land application; research has already shown that these two pathways…

Maputo: Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers in Mozambique voiced concern yesterday at the ratification of an extradition treaty between the two countries, raising fears it will be used to persecute dissidents. The text was approved by the Mozambican government this week, paving the way for ratification by parliament. The Rwandan senate ratified the treaty earlier this week. Rwanda is regularly accused of chasing after opponents in exile, a charge Kigali has denied. A number of Rwandan dissidents have been murdered or forcibly disappeared in southern Africa. The extradition treaty covers past and future crimes and sentences. | AFP…

Canberra: Rooftop solar is set to overtake coal as Australia’s most prominent source of power. A report, published by solar consultancy firm SunWiz, yesterday said the generation capacity of small-scale solar systems on households and business roofs has surpassed 20 000 megawatts, or 20 gigawatts. When the 2 000MW Liddell coal plant is closed by energy giant AGL in April, rooftop solar will become Australia’s biggest electricity source. There are more than 3.4 million rooftop solar systems in Australia, with 300 000 being installed every year. It took Australia 11 years to reach its first 10 000MW of solar generation and just four years for the second 10 000MW. | IANS…

London: Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are being evicted from their home on the British royal family’s Windsor estate, leaving them without a UK base, reports said yesterday. Frogmore Cottage, which they refurbished at a reported cost of £2.4 million (R53.3m), was a wedding present from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018. It has now been offered to Prince Andrew, King Charles III’s disgraced brother. Harry and Meghan, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were reportedly told to vacate the property in January just days after the publication of the prince’s tell-all memoir Spare. A possible axing of Andrew’s £250 000-a-year grant could see him forced out of his current residence, the 30-room Royal Lodge, also on the Windsor estate, due to its…

WHEN Marco van Staden rejoined the Bulls from Leicester, it took him a while to get to his best form. The Springbok openside flank had left England under a cloud of concussion, and hardly featured for the Tigers during a short stint following the 2021 Rugby Championship. Van Staden played in just eight games for the club, and left by mutual consent to continue his rehabilitation in South Africa. Bulls boss Jake White was able to sort out a two-year contract to welcome Van Staden back to Loftus – after the No 6 had departed Pretoria at the end of the 2020-21 season. Now the 27-year-old loose forward is regaining his old touch around the breakdowns, and putting in the big hits as he tries to push for a Bok…

DESPITE a 36% increase in interim profit, Harmony Gold’s shares slipped yesterday after it failed to deliver a dividend as it hoards a war chest for copper acquisitions for its transformation into a global gold-copper producer. In its results for the six months ended December 2022, the gold miner reported a 36% increase in net profit to R1.9 billion from R1.4bn in the comparative period in 2022. But on the JSE yesterday the share price had recovered and gained 0.70% at R56.20 at the close. Headline earnings per share in- creased by R2.93 per share, while earnings per share rose by 31% to R2.98 per share. Revenue of R23.3bn increased by 6%, while operating profit grew 7% to R5.4bn. The group did not declare an interim dividend due…

PHARMACEUTICALS THE MARKET appeared to overlook Aspen Pharmacare Holdings first half 15% decline in headline earnings per share, with its share price closing 13.29% higher yesterday at R160.75 after the group outlined positive expectations for the second half and beyond. CEO Stephen Saad said they were confident the multinational speciality pharmaceutical group would report second half earnings that exceed the previous year. Revenue decreased by 1% to R19.2 billion and normalised earnings before interest tax and amortisation fell 11% to R5.1bn. “We are very positive about the second half. In particular, we have stuck our position to the mast on getting R8bn out of our new sterile manufacturing capacity business, and that we hope to target R4bn in the 2025 calendar year,” chief financial officer Sean Capazorio said in…

THE election of Dr Muruwa Makwarela as Tshwane mayor has been greeted with mixed reactions from political parties in council and municipal workers. Makwarela has vowed to work with all parties in council, but he was labelled a “Judas” by the Freedom Front Plus. Party caucus leader Grandi Theunissen accused him of betraying the trust of coalition partners by reneging on his promise to support the mayoral candidacy of Cilliers Brink. Makwarela caused a shock when he accepted a nomination, openly supported by the ANC, ATM and EFF. Theunissen said: “I find it hard to believe the promises you made on Tuesday. Because a week ago you aligned yourself with the coalition. You made promises and committed yourself, and what did you do? From this day on I will recognise…

The question of whether it is a dismissible offence not to work overtime when requested to do so if a worker does not have an agreement with his or her employer in this regard, came under the spotlight in the Labour Court, sitting in Johannesburg. The court concluded that if there was no agreement to work overtime, the instruction to do so was unlawful as it was against the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. The issue was sparked by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) on behalf of four of its members working for the Andru group. On the day in question, the four employees’ normal working hours were from 6am to 4pm. Their site manager instructed them to work overtime to meet production targets, but they refused.…

WATER challenges experienced in Gauteng municipalities have led to a call for spheres of government to unite to find a solution before taps run dry for unbearable durations. Tshwane and Ekurhuleni have been experiencing infrastructure vandalism, coupled with inevitable operational maintenance shutdown schedules and the impact of load shedding. Moreover, the water infrastructure in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg has aged, while significant population growth has rendered their water treatment plants under-capacitated. Recently, Tshwane experienced a series of water availability challenges owing to plants operating under-capacity, vandalism and maintenance issues. In addition, failure at Rand Water’s pump stations ultimately meant the City had to prepare for shortages from its bulk supplier. DA Gauteng spokesperson for the Infrastructure Department, Nico de Jager, said Rand Water had been leaving Gauteng residents without water…

Ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu yesterday was declared winner of Nigeria’s fiercely disputed presidential elections, securing the former Lagos governor his life-long ambition of heading Africa’s most populous democracy. With President Muhammadu Buhari stepping down after two terms, many Nigerians hoped Saturday’s vote would usher in a leader capable of tackling widening insecurity, righting the economy and easing poverty. The final results gave Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), 8.8 million votes against 6.9 million for opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar. The Labour Party’s Peter Obi notched up 6.1 million votes, confirming his success as a surprise third candidate. The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) confirmed Tinubu as president-elect after he also secured the required number votes across two-thirds of Nigeria’s states – a rule…

Israeli police have arrested five suspects over a Jewish settler rampage in the occupied West Bank earlier this week that an Israeli general described as a “pogrom” and which followed a deadly Palestinian gun attack. Shops in the Palestinian village Huwara remained closed on army orders yesterday amid a heavy Israeli military presence, residents said. A Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli brothers there on Sunday, prompting assaults by settlers on houses and cars during which one Palestinian was killed. Israeli police said yesterday they expected to make more arrests during a continuing investigation into the settler violence in and around Huwara. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a visit to the village yesterday that the arrests were not enough. “We see an organised crime perpetrated by the Israeli government…

MANILA: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that the ongoing crisis in Myanmar was affecting the region’s security and welfare and new ways must be found to persuade its military rulers to work with Asean to achieve peace. After meeting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jr in Manila, Anwar said he appreciated his counterpart’s reiteration that a five-point peace plan agreed between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Myanmar’s junta must be implemented. Myanmar has been beset by chaos since its military overthrew an elected government in 2021. Human rights groups and the UN have accused the military of carrying out atrocities. | Reuters…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has moved to eliminate free rent for cardinals and subsidised rents for other senior Vatican officials, saying they, too, had to contribute to cost savings. The new rules stemmed from a meeting that Maximino Caballero Ledo, a Spanish layman who heads the Vatican’s finance ministry, had with the pope last month. A senior Vatican official confirmed its contents. Until now cardinals who live in Vatican-owned apartments, either inside the city-state or its surroundings in Rome, have lived rent-free. Bishops and other Vatican managers pay subsidised rents. | Reuters…

NEWCASTLE United fan Kris Cook was so convinced his club was going to win a first domestic trophy for nearly 70 years that he had a tattoo celebrating the fact on his leg. The problem was Newcastle ended up losing 2-0 to Manchester United in Sunday's Carabao Cup final at Wembley. Cook had the popular club chant "Tell me ma me ma" complete with "NUFC Cup winners 26/02/23" etched on to his skin but it proved somewhat premature as Newcastle's wait goes on. "I asked the lass who does my tattoos: 'Can you put cup winners on my leg?'," he told the BBC. "I think she was thinking it was a bad idea at the same time, but I got it done. I think my mam is still a little…

South African artists continue to slay, and there’s no stopping them. Internationally-acclaimed singer Tyla, who is touring Europe, got to attend Milan Fashion Week in Italy, and she was the moment. The Been Thinking hitmaker had her fashion debut by attending the Dolce & Gabbana show last Saturday night. Sitting in the front row to watch the D&G Spring/Summer 2023 show, Tyla donned a laminated leather dress from the designer’s spring/summer 2007 collection. It is the same dress Lady Gaga wore in 2009 for her hit single Paparazzi cover. That’s not all. After the show, she attended a star-studded exclusive dinner outside the iconic Duomo di Milano, and rubbed shoulders with Kim Kardashian, J Balvin, Ashley Graham, June Ambrose and Michele Morrone, among other A-listers. She was also surrounded by…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says the Constitutional Court judgment is not a blow for him. Yesterday, the Concourt ruled against Ramaphosa in his direct application to reverse the findings and recommendations of an independent parliamentary inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing at his Phala Phala farm, dismissing it without costs. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said that the judgment does not pronounce on the merits of the case. “The judgment just says there is no case for the Concourt to be petitioned directly, and we should put that into context and understand it. I have heard some journalists say it is a blow for the president, but it is not a blow for the president. What will happen now is that the legal team will convene and map the way forward and consider…

Mpumalanga’s acting MEC for Safety, Security, and Community Liaison, Speedy Mashilo, has revealed that the man accused of hacking a mother and her three children to death was a lover who refused to accept that their relationship had ended. Mashilo made the statement in a State of the Province Address debate in the provincial legislature this week. Legislature member Dikeledi Mahlangu was the first to raise the issue of the murders in the House, and received support from Mashilo and others. “The ANC has learned with sadness about the murders of the woman and her three children who included twin boys. It is very concerning that our women and children are killed in this manner by suspects known to them. “Preventing the killing of women and children is a national…

PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has once again blamed State Capture for the unacceptable levels of load shedding in the country, further hinting that there was perhaps a new version of state capture taking place. Gordhan was responding to statements from Members of Parliament during a plenary session on Tuesday evening, where he was accused of making excuses for load shedding instead of fixing the problem. This follows the abrupt stepping down of Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter last week, amid allegations he made during a TV interview that ministers were involved in corruption at the power utility, or at least condoning it. “The EFF notes the recent utterances by former Eskom CEO Mr Andre de Ruyter who has claimed the ruling party is using Eskom as a feeding trough.…

WITH more and more people going through life with hearing disabilities, cochlear implants are said to be the next step to alleviate hearing loss where hearing aids prove to be insufficient. World Hearing Day takes place tomorrow, and in this regard the University of Pretoria said it understood and recognised that cochlear implants were not for everyone. A transdisciplinary research team is hard at work to customise each device and enhance the benefit for users. The World Health Organization estimated that in 2020 more than 5% of people, or about 466 million people, suffered from disabling hearing loss, and most lived in low- and middle-income countries such as South Africa. “The detrimental effect of untreated hearing loss crosses generations. Elderly people may experience social isolation, depression, reduced quality of life…

WHEN you have a special bakkie with a V6 petrol 3.0-litre engine capable of 292kW and 583Nm, the Namib dunes will be hollering loudly in your ears. Which is precisely what Ford heard when they invited us to finally drive the new Raptor over two days followed by a road trip back to Johannesburg. We’ve covered the new generation Ranger and the Raptor extensively over the last few months but our eye was constantly on those dates in Namibia which would tell us all. We saw it in the metal last year in Thailand in a clinically clean workshop, but 14 of them lined up outside Walvis Bay international airport is a different prospect. The Ford Truck DNA shouts from the large grille with the big F-O-R-D letters, C-clamp Matrix…

Minister’s speech demonstrates good intent and action to inspire hope Government budgets matter, and more so for children who need the social, financial, and economic support to grow into well-functioning and productive citizens. In South Africa, the Constitution entrenches the rights of children – principally Section 28 – and is aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The current reality, as indicated in part by the minister of Finance in his 2023 Budget speech is that South Africa faces severe challenges including disrupted electricity supply, slow domestic economic growth, rising government debt, and the effects of climate change that has seen natural disasters that caused the displacement of scores of children. These factors lessen the availability of resources for child-focused government programmes, because of…

A Greek passenger train collided head-on with a cargo train late on Tuesday, throwing carriages off the tracks and killing at least 36 people in the country’s deadliest rail crash. Dozens were injured in the crash and the fire that followed. Officials said the death toll was expected to rise. The collision occurred as the passenger train, heading to the Greek city of Thessaloniki from the capital Athens, emerged from a tunnel near the central town of Larissa. “There was panic. The fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned,” said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage. A passenger who escaped from the fifth carriage said: “Windows were being smashed and people were screaming. One of the windows caved in…

The Ivory Coast’s Tunisia embassy has provided emergency accommodation for dozens of its citizens, including young children, made homeless due to a crackdown ordered by President Kais Saied, a diplomat said yesterday. Last week, Saied had ordered security forces to take “urgent measures” against “hordes” of sub-Saharan African migrants, accusing them without evidence of causing a wave of crime. Landlords across the country, fearing they would incur heavy fines, then started turfing out migrants. Many Ivorians and Malians ended up camping for several nights outside their embassies during a cold snap. Many of the migrants had been in Tunisia for more than five years before being ordered to leave. More than 800 Ivorians have registered to be repatriated, the official said. The embassies of West African countries have been negotiating…

Tehran: More than 100 pupils were hospitalised in Iran after a new spate of suspected gas attacks on girls’ schools yesterday, media outlets in the Islamic republic reported. Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls across Iran, in what one government official has said could be an attempt to force the closure of girls’ schools. At least 10 girls’ schools were targeted in the latest suspected attacks yesterday, seven of them in the north-western city of Ardabil and three in the capital Tehran. The incident in Ardabil forced the hospitalisation of 108 pupils, all of whom were in stable condition. | AFP…

OSLO: Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg was twice detained during a demonstration in support of Indigenous rights in Oslo yesterday, with police removing her and other activists from the Finance Ministry and later the Environment Ministry. Thunberg had joined protesters demanding the removal of 151 wind turbines from reindeer pastures used by Sami herders in central Norway. They say a transition to green energy should not come at the expense of indigenous rights. The demonstrators have prompted Energy Minister Terje Aasland to call off an official visit to Britain. | Reuters…

ZAKHELE Lepasa is determined to make use of his time at SuperSport United to get his career back on track. After an incredible loan spell at TS Galaxy five seasons ago, Lepasa returned to Orlando Pirates the following campaign with a lofty billing as he was tipped to fire on all cylinders for the club. However, injuries and changes in coaching personnel didn’t allow him to reach his true potential as he was in and out the team. Under former coach Josef Zinnbauer in 2020 and current incumbent Jose Riveiro, Lepasa had bright starts to the season, but failed to become a regular due to a host of factors, including injuries and form. This season, he had a tough decision to make, staying put at Pirates despite not…