Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-04-03 i Pretoria News

HOUSEHOLD finances in South Africa are expected to deteriorate as pressure from rising interest rates and elevated inflation could shrink personal disposable income, after real consumption expenditure rose modestly in the last three months of 2022. Data from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Friday showed that real final consumption expenditure by households reverted to an increase in the fourth quarter of 2022, following a small decrease in the third quarter. According to the SARB’s Quarterly Bulletin, household consumption expenditure grew by a subdued rate of 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, and 1.9% year-on-year, in the fourth quarter. Consumption was partly lifted by higher tourist arrivals during the festive season and Black Friday sales. Real personal disposable income also grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.3% contraction in the…

RENERGEN has completed geological surveys showing potentially larger reservoirs than originally anticipated, the owner of South Africa’s first onshore gas production site said in a quarterly update Friday. A due diligence was being completed for Phase 2 funding with US DFC and Standard Bank, finalising credit submissions. On the geological surveys, the group said full 3D modelling and inversions of gas bearing features have been completed, the results of which were being incorporated into an updated 3D geological block model. In addition to magnetic data collected, the gravity gradient data had indicated further areas of interest within the field, specifically a series of low-density areas. “These low-density features, mainly attributable to previously undiscovered faults that are potentially gas bearing, are more numerous than previously thought and of significant extent, which…

STRAIGHT to jail and no getting out card for three months. This was the message conveyed to a father of three who simply ignored court orders that he had to pay maintenance towards his wife and children. These orders were made during previous court hearings following a settlement agreement between the couple when they got divorced. None of these orders, which the husband had earlier agreed to, were adhered to. It was calculated that he owed the wife more than R7 million. She told the court that because he did not pay as promised, she had to sell one of their other properties to make ends meet. In once again proving that maintenance orders are to be taken seriously, a judge on Thursday ordered the father had to, by Friday,…

The government, through its Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council has sealed a 7.5% wage offer deal with the majority public sectors unions, which includes the Cosatu-aligned SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu). Sadtu was the only Cosatu union which formed part of the swift wage negotiations since February this year while other affiliates such as Nehawu, Denosa and Popcru did not form part of the negotiations. Nehawu even organised protest actions, demanding that the government should open wage negotiations which collapsed in October last year, which prompted the government to unilaterally implement the 3% wage increase. Announcing the 2023 deal, bargaining council general secretary Frikkie de Bruin yesterday said the government and the majority of Trade Unions in Council had agreed on a multi-term agreement for the financial years 2023/24 and…

South African National Parks (SANParks), the country’s body mandated with the management of the national parks system, has appointed Hapiloe Sello as its first woman CEO since its establishment in 1926. Pam Yako, chairperson of the SANParks board, said the announcement was made after Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. She said the board was delighted to appoint a leader of Sello’s calibre to the role. She had a deep-rooted knowledge of the interconnectedness of conservation, tourism and people. “I have no doubt that SANParks is in good hands for the next phase of its growth,” Yako said. Sello joined SANParks in 2015 as its managing executive for Tourism Development and Marketing, and, among others, acted as its CEO from June to November last year. As managing executive, she spearheaded the implementation of…

THE time has come for the South African government to take a decisive decision and withdraw its membership from the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is the second time that South Africa has found itself in the spotlight regarding inconsistent decisions taken by the ICC that compel the government to arrest leaders who are visiting our shores. The first time the government found itself in this predicament was in 2015 when it was expected to arrest former Sudan president Omar al-Bashir for war crimes. Recently, the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He is accused of involvement in the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. The Russian president is an invited guest of the South African government to the 15th BRICS Summit to…

Burkina Faso has expelled two French journalists working for newspapers Le Monde and Liberation, the two newspapers said yesterday, accusing the authorities of seeking to stifle freedom of speech with an escalating crackdown on foreign media. Liberation said its correspondent Agnès Faivre and Le Monde’s Sophie Douce arrived in Paris early yesterday after they were summoned separately for questioning by the military authorities on Friday and later notified of their expulsion. The two are “journalists of perfect integrity, who worked in Burkina Faso legally, with valid visas and accreditations … We strongly protest against these absolutely unjustified expulsions,” Liberation said in an editorial statement on its website. There was no statement from the authorities in Burkina Faso and it was not immediately possible to reach them for comment. Relations between…

Finns began voting yesterday in legislative elections that could see the country take a dramatic turn to the right, as centre-right and anti-immigration parties vie to unseat Social Democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin. After the breakthrough by nationalists in neighbouring Sweden and the far right’s victory in Italy last year, Finland could become the latest country to join the nationalist wave in Europe. The vote comes just days before Finland’s formal accession to the Nato defence alliance, made possible after Turkey ratified the country’s membership bid last week. “The polls show that the more right-wing political trend in Finland is gaining strength,” said Juho Rahkonen from the E2 research institute. The latest survey showed the centre-right National Coalition holding a thin lead at 19.8%, with the nationalist eurosceptic Finns…

Caracas: More than 40 people have been arrested in Venezuela in an anti-corruption sweep of state oil company PDVSA and other related government bodies, the prosecutor’s office said. The crackdown began on March 17. This followed a communique issued by the anti-corruption police. They called for the prosecution of officials who “could be involved in serious acts of corruption and embezzlement”. So far, the country’s powerful oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, has resigned over the graft probe. This, while the anti-corruption drive has targeted officials in PDVSA as well as other public entities. | AFP…

World champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez were among drivers to criticise the officiating at a chaotic Formula One Australian Grand Prix yesterday, which finished under a safety car after the race was restarted three times. Verstappen won his second race of the season at Albert Park, ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third, following a series of incidents that led to only 12 cars finishing. Red Bull’s Verstappen said afterwards the decision to restart the race from the grid a second time, for what should have been a two-lap sprint to the finish, led to multiple collisions that took four cars out of the race. “I think if we would have had a safety car and then just have a normal rolling start, we…

South Africa 370/8 Markram 175, Miller 91; F Klaasen 2/43, Van Meekeren 2/79 The Netherlands 224 all out Ahmed 61, O’Dowd 47; Magala 5/43, Markram 2/40 South Africa win third ODI by 146 runs to win three-match series 2-0 This has been Aiden Markram and Sisanda Magala’s summer. Markram’s 50th one-day international for South Africa in the final match of an unforgettable season was simply an extension of the time of his life he has been having these past couple of months. After leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title, to rubber-stamping his return to the Test squad with a century, and then being elevated to the national T20 captaincy, Markram added the one last missing element to his golden season. He had never struck an…

LIMPOPO traffic officers will have their hands full as the Easter weekend approaches after eight more people died on the roads. Law enforcement is expected to be visible 24/7, Department of Limpopo Transport and Community Safety spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said. Eight people were killed in an accident in Musina on Saturday morning. According to Chuene, a minibus taxi apparently overtook at a barrier line and collided head-on with a light delivery vehicle. “Five men and three women lost their lives. Eight others who sustained injuries were transported to nearby health facilities for medical attention.” Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani urged motorists to be cautious in the run-up to the Easter weekend. “We are deeply saddened by the news and pray for the departed and the families…

‘Bottom up’ financial plan equates to Mickey Mouse economics THE history of economic policy in South Africa over the past two centuries shifted from white colonial robber baron laissez faire imperialism to neo-liberal economic orthodoxy with minimal state intervention – both of which marginalised and brutally dehumanised the majority black population. This was true during British colonial rule and the nefarious apartheid capture of the South African state based on a curious mix of race-based supremacist policies and a neo-Keynesian dispensation whose very ethos was to promote and preserve white privilege and control over political and economic governance. Almost 30 years into the post-apartheid democratic dispensation, President Cyril Ramaphosa is now championing a new “bottom-up” economic vision for the country. The ethos seems to be unsustainable welfare spending to stimulate…

The death toll from a major storm system that has lashed the south-central and eastern US with devastating winds and powerful tornadoes has risen to 22, with dozens of others injured, officials said. A spokesperson for the emergency management agency in Tennessee, one of the states hardest hit since the storms began on Friday, confirmed seven weather-related fatalities. That came on top of 15 deaths reported in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama in the south, Indiana and Illinois in the Midwest, and Delaware in the mid-Atlantic. The storm system was bearing down on the US east coast, with thunderstorms, hail and powerful winds predicted. The storm had sent multiple tornadoes – some of exceptional size and power – sweeping through Arkansas, where they killed at least five people, the state’s governor…

Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm. Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St Peter’s Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle before descending and starting the service from beneath an ancient Egyptian obelisk. The pope, 86, was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties. However, he recovered quickly following an infusion of antibiotics and returned to his Vatican residence on Saturday. Looking to allay concerns about his health, the Vatican has said he would take part a full array of Easter events this week, the…

A second Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps member who served as a military adviser in Syria has died following an Israeli air strike near Damascus. “Meqdad Mehghani Jafarabadi was wounded in a criminal attack of the Zionist regime on Friday and martyred due to the severity of his injuries,” the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement published yesterday. “The Zionist regime will pay for this.” Israel has for years carried out attacks against Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war. The air strike also killed another Revolutionary Guards officer and military adviser, Milad Haydari. | Reuters…

Can posing for Playboy be a feminist statement? A French government minister thinks so and has defended her decision to appear – clothed – on the front cover of the magazine. Marlene Schiappa, 40, a feminist author who was plucked from obscurity by President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, is no stranger to controversy. But even the prime minister and critics feel the minister for the social economy has made a mistake: posing for Playboy to accompany a 12-page interview on women’s and gay rights, and abortion. The decision has irritated some colleagues in the government battling strikes and increasingly violent demonstrations against plans to raise the retirement age. Some thought it was an April Fool’s joke. | AFP…

ABSA GROUP is planning a massive BEE transaction to increase black ownership to over 25% and benefit communities and staff, the lender said yesterday. Absa said Friday the details of the new deal had been finalised and would be implemented later this year, subject to shareholder approval. The transaction would strengthen the group’s BEE credentials in South Africa and provide communities and staff with an opportunity to benefit from the value generated by the group. Through the transaction 7% of the group’s shareholding would be allocated to structures to benefit ordinary black South Africans through a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) trust, and employees through a staff trust. The 7% stake equates to about R11.2 billion based on Absa’s recent share prices, making the deal one of the largest…

FIVE years ago, geopolitical relationships were relatively stable, technology evolved at a manageable and predict- able pace, and the economic growth of countries showed steady improvement following the 2008 financial crisis. In 2023, record inflation levels are threatening global recession, simmering conflicts may spill over into full scale war in eastern Europe, and technology has rapidly accelerated – catalysed and precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital technologies are transforming markets and creating novel economic opportunities pervasively across all sectors. According to the World Bank, strengthening digital inclusion is of paramount importance for any nation’s competitiveness and social stability. ChatGPT, launched towards the latter part of 2022, caused a step change in the impact that technology has in its potential to redefine all sectors, including education. It has had the fastest…

Politically a shutdown means bringing the country to a standstill. Julius Malema said the EFF were going to do that. It did not happen. The best way to prove that is what the media showed. For example, nothing was at a standstill in the Western Cape. When Malema left the ANC, the situation was conducive because the party was blundering, and he raised genuine issues. Within a short space of time, he formed a political party that grew using ANC blunders as its stepladder. But in Parliament the EFF always engages in violence and expects no retaliation. When action is taken against it, it cries foul. It is against that background that security was beefed up for its “shutdown”. The EFF, through its leader Malema, said the country would come…

Britain’s interior minister Suella Braverman said yesterday that the UK government was “in negotiations” after three British men were detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Media reports have identified the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, the unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge. “The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people’s safety is upheld,” Braverman told Sky News. The non-profit group the Presidium Network said on Twitter that it had been “working closely with two of the families”. “We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families,” the UK’s foreign ministry added in a statement. Scott Richards of the Presidium Network told Sky News: “We believe they are in…

The patch of irregular vertical lines that revolutionised checking out at the supermarket and facilitated the globalisation of retail is turning 50. But as the barcode celebrates its birthday today, its days might be numbered as it faces competition from the younger QR code, the information- filled squares used in smartphones. The trademark beep as a product is scanned is heard about 6 billion times per day across the world as around 70 000 items are sold each second. The technology revolutionised retail by speeding up checkout and giving retailers the ability to trace products and better manage inventory. The barcode not only identifies a product, but “gives professionals in stores access to other functionalities”. Barcodes were initially patented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in the US…

SEOUL: A forest fire raged in central Seoul yesterday, forcing the evacuation of at least 120 homes in the densely populated capital, authorities said. The fire, which started on a mountain in the middle of Seoul at about 11.53am local time, razed forests the size of some 30 soccer fields before it was nearly extinguished as of 5pm local time, according to officials. No casualties were reported. Smoke billowing from forests was seen across the city as firefighters battled to put out the fire with water-bombing aircraft. Multiple helicopters were seen flying over the Han River in an apparent effort to supply water to extinguish the fire, a Reuters witness said. | Reuters…

Two people have died after a hot-air balloon flying near Mexico’s famed Teotihuacan archeological site caught fire. “The passengers jumped from the balloon,” the government of the state of Mexico said, adding that a child suffered burns. It identified the victims as a woman, 39, and a man, 50. It said the minor had suffered second-degree burns to the face as well as a fracture of the right femur. It did not say whether the balloon had any other passengers. A video posted on social media shows the balloon’s gondola on fire. Balloon flights over Teotihuacan offer views of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, and its Avenue of the Dead. | AFP…

Rassie Erasmus says he would “like to have another go somewhere” else before he hangs up his coaching whistle. Erasmus is currently the SA director of rugby, where his main priority is ensuring that the Springboks are successful and defend their World Cup crown in France later this year. With Jacques Nienaber being the Bok coach, Erasmus has many other responsibilities as the director, where he oversees the various programmes such as the women’s game, Sevens, youth teams and referees. He was initially contracted until the end of 2023 along with Nienaber, but his lawyer Frikkie Erasmus told Rapport earlier this year that his deal is now until 2025, “but in terms of the contract, he has the right to end his contract earlier”. In interviews with UK newspapers…