Innholdsfortegnelse for Sunday, August 30, 2020 i Sunday Independent

ACTIVISM 5km walk to make SA safe for women LESEGO MAKGATHO lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za “WE are not safe.” These were the words of #FunkItImWalking founder Nomsa Mazwai as she addressed President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year during a virtual march called “United We Stand”. #FunkItImWalking is an organisation that aims to make the streets of South Africa safe enough for a woman to walk at any time of day, in any condition. The organisation works with the Community Police Forum, police and the residents through social activism and engagement activities to create safer environments for women and vulnerable groups such as the LGBTQI+ community. Mazwai said: “The crime in this country makes it difficult for anyone to walk at night – not just women. How can we say we are free? What…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA ANOTHER WINNER FROM THE DEVELOPERS OF ‘LIFE IS STRANGE’ If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.COLIN POWELL American politician Dontnod Entertainment has carved out a niche by creating third-person perspective adventure games. In “Tell Me Why,” players hop between the perspectives of Alyson and Tyler Ronan, twins that can communicate telepathically. | IOL…

BENEFITS Bank hauled to court for ‘bypassing’ employee DON MAKATILE don.makatile@inl.co.za DEAN HUTTON Bloomberg A BLACK senior FNB executive has referred his dispute with the banking group to the Labour Court after he had been overlooked for the allocation of shares that have been extended to his colleagues of similar rank from other race groups. The bank and its chief executive officer Jacques Celliers have been cited as first and second respondent respectively. The litigant, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, reported directly to Celliers. In the court papers (Case Number JS314/20), the applicant says: “The second respondent is cited herein in these (sic) proceeding as a party by virtue of the fact that he is my superior and he is the person I reported to.…

COVID FUNDS Parties request for body to probe graft SIYABONGA MKHWANAZI POLITICAL parties are backing moves for the establishment of an ad hoc committee in Parliament to investigate Covid-19 corruption with Speaker Thandi Modise looking into the matter. Modise confirmed that she was looking into the request to set up a special committee to probe Covid-19 fraud and corruption following widespread allegations of graft. The EFF had first written to Modise about it and the DA made a similar request to the speaker. Yesterday the African Christan Democratic Party (ACDP) and Cope said they fully back the establishment of the ad hoc committee as millions of rand were lost. The IFP said its caucus would discuss the matter before deciding. Modise said following the request to look at Covid-19 corruption…

BILL Call for end to marriage unfairness LESEGO MAKGATHO lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za LEADING human rights organisations have urged President Cyril Ramaphosa in an open letter, to sign off on the Civil Union Amendment Bill that affords same-sex or same-gender couples the right to be married by any state-employed marriage officer and magistrate they choose. South Africa became the fifth country in the world and the first in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage through the adoption of the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, (Civil Union Act). However, under Section 6 of the act, government-employed marriage officers can refuse to solemnise same-sex unions if they state their religious objection in writing to the minister of home affairs. In 2017, then minister of home affairs, Hlengiwe Mkhize acknowledged that 421 of the ministry’s 1130…

JOURNALISM We are not in the business of muting unpopular voices IN their book, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, American professors Noam Chomsky and Edward S Herman argue that contrary to the image of the media as honest searchers of truth and justice, they are in fact the defenders of the socio-economic and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate the societal affairs, the government and geopolitics. On the basis of their analysis of the treatment of “worthy” versus “unworthy” victims, “legitimising” and “meaningless”, the duo concluded that journalists followed a propaganda model which covered up the errors and deceits of the powerful. “It is our view that, among their other functions, the media serve, and propagandise on behalf of, the powerful societal interests that…

COMMENT A rain of letters Cloudburst of correspondence is an ANC strategy to distract attention from the storm cloud of corruption TINYIKO MALULEKE BY THE end of business on Friday, August 28, 2020, three out of the four presidents of the ANC since 1994, had left us a curious, if also uneven bequest of open letters. Ironically, the most prolific and by far the most accomplished letter writer of them all, namely, Nelson Mandela, never indulged in the theatre of open letters. Yet we may soon have enough open letters by ANC presidents to justify their own book of open letters. The use of open letters by ANC presidents must be seen as but one of several scenes of the sins of incumbency. My earliest recollection of the deployment of…

MALI Junta sidelines opposition brass TENSIONS mounted yesterday between Mali’s military junta and the country’s longtime political opposition after the coup leaders failed to invite prominent opposition figures to a planned forum on the country’s political future. The meeting was cancelled and the junta leadership instead met with imam Mahmoud Dicko, an opposition leader who on Friday urged the junta to speed up the transition to civilian rule so the country could avoid further crushing financial sanctions. “I ask them to be part of the solution and not another problem,” he said. Only a week earlier, the opposition coalition known as M5-RFP that includes Dicko publicly backed the coup, with thousands of their supporters taking to the streets after the junta’s overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. On Friday, one…

Warning against Notting Hill street parties LONDON: Organisers opened an online version of London’s famous Notting Hill Carnival yesterday, with police warning people not to join unauthorised parties in breach of social distancing rules. London mayor Sadiq Khan appealed to people to “enjoy it from indoors” after the annual carnival parades and street parties were cancelled due to Covid-19.concerns. Khan said organisers of the three-day event had “worked really hard to keep the carnival’s unifying spirit alive online”. London’s Metropolitan Police warned people not to gather in the streets of Notting Hill, in London, that normally host the carnival. The annual event began in 1966 as a celebration by London’s African-Caribbean community. dpa REUTERS…

Official end to UAE boycott of Israel DUBAI: The ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a decree yesterday formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a US-brokered deal to normalise relations between the two countries. The announcement now allows trade and commerce between the UAE, home to oil-rich Abu Dhabi and skyscraper-studded Dubai, and Israel, home to a thriving diamond trade, pharmaceutical companies and tech start-ups. The announcement further cements the August 13 deal opening up relations between the two nations, which required Israel to stop its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians. The state-run WAM news agency said the decree formally ending the boycott came on the orders of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi…

2-storey restaurant collapses, many die BEIJING: At least 17 people were killed in China after a two-storey restaurant collapsed during a gathering yesterday, state media said. State broadcaster CCTV said in a social media post that 30 other people were brought out from the rubble, including four with serious injuries. The restaurant was in Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county, about 630km southwest of Beijing. The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear. Hundreds of rescue workers, wearing hardhats and face masks, searched for trapped people Video posted by CCTV showed them hefting heavy pieces of concrete. At least once, the remaining frame of the building shook but didn’t fall. AP…

AFRICA THIS WEEK AFDB GOVERNORS HAD TO STAND UP TO THE US VICTOR KGOMOESWANA @VictorAfrica THE US has a history of having its wishes granted, but for once came up short, judging from the outcome of the biggest meeting in Africa this past week, the joint 55th and 46th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Development Fund (ADF), respectively. The two-day virtual meeting of the bank group released its final communique, which announced the re-election of Dr Akinwumi Adesina as president. It closed a frivolous episode in the life of Africa’s foremost multilateral development finance institution (DFI). The US unsuccessfully attempted a coup; using its 6.563% voting power to impugn Adesina’s fitness to hold office. Whistle-blowers accused him of corruption…

HIP HOP Nasty C’s first-ever Zulu song Integrating culture into his music LIAM KARABO JOYCE TRAVYS OWEN THE last time I spoke to Nasty C, he was travelling around South Africa to talk to high schoolers about toxic masculinity and confidence. We spoke very briefly about his newest album he was working on. That was almost a year ago, fast forward to now and Zulu Man with Some Power is his proudest album yet. The award-winning rapper, whose real name is Nsikayesizwe Junior Ngcobo, has made incredible strides in his career since the early days of ‘Hell Naw’ back in 2016. Following the success of his debut album Bad Hair, the 23-year-old went on to win several awards, scored a BET Awards nomination and has worked with some of the…

TENNIS FIVE US OPEN CLASSICS With the US Open starting tomorrow, under strict lockdown regulations at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre in New York, Stuart Hess looks back at five notable matches. Maybe not the best in terms of quality, but important for their historical significance. STUART HESS Mats Wilander bt Ivan Lendl (final 1988) 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 At four hours and 54 minutes this match is (along with Andy Murray’s victory over Novak Djokovic in the 2012 final) still the longest US Open men’s match. It was one for the connoisseurs however, given the intense tactical cat-and-mouse game employed by both players. Wilander was incredibly slow between points - copping a warning from the chair umpire midway through the second set. The match began at 4:22pm…

DREAM BIG AND YOU TOO CAN BE A CCO Anyhow, it is worth reminding that the same Mthembu, who denied a coup had taken place at CSA, despite it maybe looking like a coup, also told Injury Times’ chums at The Star last year that he saw no reason why the South African public needed to know who would be selecting the national men’s team for last summer’s Test series against England. Back in November 2019, Mthembu, when asked for the identity of the “team” that will be selecting the South African squad for that series, said: “Why do you wish to know that?” Told that the South African public would be interested in knowing who will pick the team of players that will take the field to represent the…

Swallows on brink of pulling off famous comeback SWALLOWS FC coach Brandon Truter has suggested they are not putting all their eggs in one basket, only considering automatic promotion as there are possibilities of playing in the gruelling play-offs. It’s been a season of resurgence for the Dube Birds after punching above their weight to occupy the summit of the GladAfrica Championship standings ahead of the finale, having only been assigned to save their status and finish in the top-eight. Rewind back to five seasons, the Soweto outfit were relegated to the second-tier division but such was their fall from grace that they dropped down to the third-tier level – the ABC Motsepe League - a season later. But enter Panyaza Lesufi, the Gauteng’s MEC of education convinced businessman David…

SOCCER Pule super strike helps Pirates break out of winless bubble HERMAN GIBBS AND MIHLALI BALEKA ORLANDO Pirates registered their first win since the season restarted in the bio-bubble when they defeated SuperSport United 2-1 at Emirates Airline Park yesterday afternoon. SuperSport were well placed to claim a share of the spoils but they hashed two second-half penalties which were saved by Pirates ‘keeper Wayne Sandilands. Pirates advanced from fifth to fourth place on the standings. SuperSport remained third, one point ahead of Pirates on 46 points. Both teams showed attacking intent with Super-Sport the more penetrative after sorties down the wide channels. Pirates traded mainly on a crisp inter-passing game down the centre of the park. Just after the water break, Pirates prised open the SuperSport defence and Vincent…

NEC Growing calls for Ramaphosa to step aside SIFISO MAHLANGU, BONGANI HANS and SIYABONGA MKHWANAZI PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is to be hauled before the ANC’s Integrity Commission after he agreed yesterday to be subjected to it. This follows calls by some party members at the National Executive Committee with party MP Bongani Bongo calling on him to face the commission. ANC sources said yesterday after Bongo called on Ramaphosa to face the commission the president agreed. Ramaphosa was this weekend facing growing calls from the NEC to step down from the party. The fight at the NEC was about the CR17 campaign through which Ramaphosa clinched the top job of the party. CR17 has been the subject of court processes where calls have been made for him to unseal the…

COLLABORATION Detailing pain, success in book Collection of stories set to inspire women on the brink of giving up on life LESEGO MAKGATHO lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za The book is available on Amazon. FOR many women in South Africa, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown arrived like a tsunami, barrelling down upon unsuspecting mothers, wives and sisters who may well have been barely maintaining a precarious balance before that wall came crashing down. Although certain forms of financial assistance have been tabled, there are women who fall between the cracks, and they are very near-drowning. The Woman of Stature Foundation wanted to throw these women a lifeline, and so patrons, members and directors of the organisation – those who may once have been The Forgotten Women – compiled a selection of stories…

XXXXXXXXX Mayor called on municipal CFO, manager discord KARABO NGOEPE karabo.ngoepe@inl.co.za EMFULENI Local Municipality chief financial officer Andile Dyakala is being taken to task for allegedly threatening the municipal manager, Lucky Leseane, over media enquiries regarding claims of corruption. According to insiders at the municipality, Dyakala was asked why he bypassed protocols and spoke directly to the media but he retaliated by threatening Leseane and calling him corrupt. Leseane has since escalated the matter to the council and mayor. A meeting was scheduled between Dyakala, Leseane and the mayor to address the issue but he failed to attend. A source added that Dyakala was in the office on the day of the meeting but chose not to attend. “We saw him on the day but when the time for the…

FOR THE RECORD “CLINIC bitch” comment was a friendly joke, says top surgeon I write with regards to your front-page article with my named photograph and headlines “sexist language, derogatory comments by renowned surgeon” followed by grossly incorrect text which I regard as unfortunate, defamatory and actionable. When you emailed me on Wednesday, 20 August, I confirmed that I had never used the term “black bitches” yet, despite this, you chose to publish this accusation. I also explained that I had never met nor had anything to do with the plastic surgery registrar in question, and only had peripheral knowledge of the issues around her. Notwithstanding this express explanation, you chose to misrepresent the facts and link me to them. You never asked me about “clinic bitch” and chose instead…

FINANCE The nationalisation of the central bank is overdue Sarb has reproduced apartheid economic inequalities THE South African Reserve Bank Act No. 90 of 1989 in its current form allows private individuals, including foreigners, to own shares of the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb). The EFF Bill introduced by EFF President Julius Malema as a private members bill in Parliament, seeks to change this, by asking for the bank to be nationalised and that the private ownership of it should be done away with and for the bank to be democratically owned by the people as a whole. There are ongoing debates on the role and independence of the bank that were more amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic. Central banks all over the world intervened through various responses to impairment…

COMMENT QUESTIONABLE GIVING AWARD TO ALL AND SUNDRY THEMBA SEPOTOKELE CONGRATULATIONS to the newly-elected leadership of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) and I understand and appreciate their role, moreover with enormous challenges facing the media. It is surely a challenge to operate in a space with so many shortfalls such as dwindling newsrooms, lack of ethics in some sections of the media and the outbreak of the Covid-19. With the media under constant criticism from armchair critics mostly with no knowledge on the workings of the Fourth Estate and those who are found wanting for trampling our Constitution after taking an oath or affirmation, they blame the media for their wretchedness. The media is an easy target and often used as a scapegoat when it shines the spotlight…

LETTERS Email: scribe@inl.co.za (no attachments). All letters must contain the writer’s full name, physical address and telephone number. No pen names. Labels a disservice to scientific argument I WOULD like to note that in his article published on August 23, 2020, under the headline, “Covid-19 is a reality of our time”, Letepe Maisela has not refuted a single scientific fact that Sam Ditshego raised in his enlightening and eye-opening article of August 16, 2020, to which Maisela responded. What Maisela did was to use labels such as “lunatic fringe”, “dissidents” and “conspiracy theories” as if he was addressing a political or religious topic. These labels do not advance the debate one bit. In fact, these labels do a great deal of disservice to what is supposed to be a discussion…

MAURITIUS Protests over oil spill damage HONKING and drumming, tens of thousands of people protested yesterday in the capital of Mauritius over the government’s handling of an oil spill from a grounded Japanese ship and the alarming discovery of dozens of dead dolphins in recent days. At least 40 dolphins have died in an area affected by the oil spill – 38 were washed ashore since Monday. The frustrated residents marched peacefully through Port Louis a month after the ship struck a reef offshore and later cracked and spilled around 1000 tons of fuel oil. “It’s clear we are at a turning point in the history of our country,” a commentary in the Le Mauricien newspaper said. Addressing the crowd, some speakers called for government officials to step down. Other…

Suga a contender to replace ailing Abe Yoshihide Suga Reuters TOKYO: Yoshihide Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Japan’s Shinzo Abe, has emerged as a strong contender to succeed him as prime minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary stimulus that defined Abe’s nearly eight years in office. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, said on Friday he was stepping down due to a worsening of a chronic illness, setting the stage for a leadership election within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. While some other would-be successors have declared their intention to run, the 71-year-old Suga has said he doesn’t want the job. But such comments have been called into question by an aggressive media push in recent days that put him squarely in the public eye.…

Elephant festival to boost conservation JOHANNESBURG: Kenya will host the first annual Magical Kenya Elephant Naming Festival in August next year. Cabinet secretary for tourism and wildlife Najib Balala said the festival would go a long way towards supporting tourism and wildlife conservation efforts in the country. The festival has the potential to encourage more people to engage in conservation efforts while offering opportunities for supporters to learn more about elephants, other wildlife and Kenya’s heritage. People will also have the chance to adopt an elephant and choose its first name after contributing towards conservation. The second name will be a Maasai name based on the animal’s profile, history, role in the family and physical attributes, such as the state of its tusks. ANA…

Private business revenue decline spikes SIPHELELE DLUDLA siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za A STUDY by PwC has shown more than 50 percent of private businesses covering 53 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were expecting their revenues to decline this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The auditing firm said just 9 percent of respondents surveyed in February and March expected revenues to decline, but that number had spiked to 51 percent in June. It said the aviation and tourism sectors were most affected by the lockdowns and both industries were forecast to take at least three years to rebound to pre-Covid levels. PwC Africa’s leader for private company services Gert Allen said businesses’ agility was, however, paying off in improved performance amid headwinds. “The current operational and financial challenges…

BIZ 101 Solving problems is vital for maximum growth BEN BIERMAN RUNNING a business can be challenging particularly as the world continues to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past six months, the problems that businesses would normally face such as supply deficits and client service shortcomings have blown up to the extreme, bringing with it new challenges. How businesses adapt will ultimately determine their success. Problem-solving, therefore, becomes essential to minimise occurrences for maximum growth and development. Herewith is a guide on how to effect it. Identity Take time to understand exactly what the issues at hand are. Try to do this at the onset because a small problem can quickly snowball into a bigger one, especially if inappropriate solutions are rolled out prematurely. Perspective Get a few…

MOVIES Taking the helm in the new movie DEBASHINE THANGEVELO TAYLOR Zakhar Perez and Maisie Richardson-Sellers are the newcomers shaking things up in The Kissing Booth 2. Let’s just say, much has transpired since the first movie, where Elle Evans (Joey King) and Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi) became a couple. Now he’s at college and she is back at high school as a senior, and their long-distance relationship is not without its challenges. The fresh faces shed light on their characters and what fans of the franchise can expect. Cast as the dreamy Marco Peña: Zakhar Perez said: “Marco brings a different energy to this world that has already been established. Elle is now in a relationship with this college kid but a high school kid offers a different set…

TV GUIDE TODAY T Cricket 20 International : : England v Pakistan, Second T20, 3pm, SS2; Caribbean Premier League: Barbados Tridents v St Lucia Zouks, 3.30pm, SS11; Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, 8pm, SS2 Tour Cycling De : France, Stage 2: Nice Haut Pays-Nice, 187km, 12.50, SS8, SS12; Brussels Cycling Classic, 100th Edition, 2pm, SS9 European Golf: Tour: ISPS Handa UK Championship, Day 4, 1.30pm, SS5, CSN; PGA Tour: BMW Championship, Day 4, 7pm, SS5, SS1, CSN; LPGA Tour: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Day 4, 10pm, SS12 Motorsport: FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, SBK Superpole Race, 10.45am, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, SSP Race 2, 12.15pm, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon Spain, Race 2, 1.30pm, SS13, SS2; FIM Superbike World Championship, Aragon…

GOD AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES So there was an unedifying twitter spat between a couple of former Lions teammates, that reflect just how chaotic things are in South African cricket right now. And if you were looking for some leadership from the sports administrators, then nah, sadly none was forthcoming. Into this on-line spat, waded Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, one of CSA’s independent directors, stating: “I’m clear I serve a God of Mercy, even prison in SA is called a CORRECTIONAL services Not DESTRUCTION services. Even prison for worse criminals there is a parole. That’s my personal view.” Recorded as tweeted. We’re still shaking our heads over here.…

CRICKET CSA in major power play AGM hangs in the balance STUART HESS NEXT Saturday Cricket South Africa is scheduled to hold its Annual General Meeting where a number of critical posts are supposed to be filled. But whether the AGM will even go ahead as planned is something that will only be determined over the next few days. The Central Gauteng Lions became the first provincial affiliate to publicly express its displeasure about the nominations process for candidates to serve on CSA’s new Board of Directors. It has outlined how candidates it had nominated were not even discussed by CSA’s nominations committee. The presence of Border Cricket president Simphiwe Ndzundzu as a candidate for a place on the Board is also controversial given he is the subject of an…

F 1 Lewis’ Black Panther pole LEWIS Hamilton stormed to a dominant pole position in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas who completed a front-row lockout for Mercedes while rivals Ferrari endured a miserable day. The Briton, who leads the overall standings by 37 points from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, lapped the 7km Spa-Francorchamps track in a record time of one minute 41.252 seconds, 0.511 seconds clear of Bottas. Verstappen was once again best of the rest in third for Red Bull. The Dutchman was 0.526 seconds off Hamilton’s pace. Yerterday’s pole was a record-extending 93rd of Hamilton’s career and he dedicated it to Black Panther film star Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer on Friday. It was the 35-year-old’s fifth pole from…

EDITORIAL NO HARM IN PRIORITISING OUR OWN LAST week we ran two articles shining the spotlight on the employment of foreign nationals ahead of suitably qualified locals and before the ink had dried on the paper, we were labelled as xenophobic. Nothing could be further from the truth. With the benefit of hindsight, we can never forget the bloodletting that led to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, with the media fuelling the fires “othering” people and referring to them as Inyenzi, cockroaches. Our responsibility forbids us from engaging in this recklessness, even remotely. The fact of the matter is that, at 30.1% – as at March 2020, the country’s unemployment rate is too high. It is even more astronomic if we use the expanded definition of unemployment to include…

CULTURE Rapper iFani goes East for spicy travel reality series AMANDA MALIBA amanda.maliba@inl.co.za AFTER years of being under the radar, hip hop artist iFani makes his return with a TV debut on a travel reality series, Amah Knows Best. The Iingoma Ezimnandi hit-maker takes viewers through his China voyage documenting his exploration of the food and culture, while also quenching his long-standing yearning to travel. iFani, real name Mzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina, jets off on a journey of self-exploration and learns how to cook Chinese food from the kung fu masters of the kitchen – the amah, meaning grandmothers in Chinese. And as one whose grandmother holds a special place in his heart, having raised him from a young age, iFani pays tribute to his own “amah” through the series, just…

COVID-19 Pair probed for ‘wasting millions’ Property firm’s CEO, CFO ‘inflated prices’ KARABO NGOEPE karabo.ngoepe@inl.co.za THE chief executive of the Joburg Property Company (JPC), Helen Botes, and her chief financial officer Imraan Bhamjee are being investigated for allegedly wasting millions of rand by awarding highly inflated Covid-19 cleaning and sanitising contracts to four companies with no prior experience in cleaning. Within days of the hard lockdown taking effect at the end of March, JPC had spent nearly R19 million on cleaning and sanitising various municipally-owned properties in Johannesburg under the pretext of trying to combat the spread of Covid-19. However, the amounts charged by the contractors per square metre appear staggering. Triple SL Tech was paid R80 200 to sanitise just 200m2 – a space no larger than a suburban…

ELECTIONS Lekota in bid to change electoral laws LOYISO SIDIMBA COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota wants individual South Africans to be able to stand for elections and has introduced a private member’s bill to change the country’s electoral laws. Lekota’s Electoral Laws Amendment Bill states that the requirement of proportionality is met in the current system, voters are estranged because a direct relationship with an MP is absent and a lack of accountability of members of the relevant legislatures to its voters prevails much to their chagrin. He said there was increasing and continuing alienation of voters from the political system, which is detrimental to democracy and the well-being of society at large. In terms of Lekota’s draft bill, every South African citizen has the fundamental right to stand for public…

COMMENTARY Is South Africa’s national interest in peril? We must talk about what kind of polity we want to be without isolating foreign nationals THE preamble of the South African Constitution enjoins all South Africans towards the following: •Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. • Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law. • Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person. • Build a united and democratic South Africa, able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. Since these words were…

Nathaniel’s death: Coloured Lives Matter EDITORIAL THE killing of Eldorado teenager Nathaniel Julius by members of the SAPS has once again brought into sharp focus the level of police brutality suffered by black communities in South Africa. The groundswell of disapproval and outrage over the past three days since his death on Wednesday will be another short-lived protest action and campaigning, and the SAPS will be on to their next victim. The arrest of the two police officers linked to his murder gives a glimpse of hope for justice. Nathaniel, 16, who had Down syndrome, was unarmed when he was shot and dragged into a police van. His death has united the coloured community and given it a chance to air its views on coloured culture and the continued neglected…

GREECE Dispute over territorial waters Turkey warns of risk of war with Athens GREECE’S plans to extend its territorial waters threatens an armed conflict with neighbouring Nato ally Turkey, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay warned yesterday. “If this isn’t a cause of war, then what is?” Oktay was quoted as saying by state news agency Anadolu in Ankara. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week the country’s territorial waters would be extended from 6 to 12 nautical miles (11 to 22km) along its western, Italy-facing shores. Mitsotakis said his country could eventually extend its territorial waters in other maritime areas, too. “Do you expect us to accept this?” Oktay said of Athens’ plans. The Greek Foreign Ministry shot back, saying Turkey’s strategy of threatening war against its neighbours for trying…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA THOUSANDS PROTEST IN BERLIN AGAINST COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. VOLTAIRE French writer, historian and philosopher Blockades and sit-ins took place in central Berlin yesterday as tens of thousands of people rallied against Covid-19 restrictions. The mostly peaceful protest included people from far-right groups, conspiracy theorists who do not believe Covid-19 exists, and anti-vaccination campaigners.…

Nigeria postpones international flights PRETORIA: The Nigerian government has postponed the resumption of international flights, saying it wants to ensure that all essential measures have been put in place. Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika made the announcement on Twitter and said the reopening that was scheduled for yesterday had been moved to September 5. In March, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the suspension of international flights to stop the spread of Covid-19. Local flights resumed operations last month after three months of closure. The Premium Times reported the director-general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority Musa Nuhu as saying that the resumption was postponed to ensure that all non-aviation logistics were in place. ANA…

REAL NUMBERS PPE CORRUPTION SCANDAL LARGE FLY IN THE OINTMENT PALI LEHOHLA ON THURSDAY, Mamelodi Sundowns beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0. Sundowns was chasing the log with Chiefs on a three point lead. The win was a stamp of authority that now Sundowns has caught up with Chiefs. The league has suddenly become interesting. On the Covid-19 standings, South Africa may have been unhappy to have risen to number five and may get some cold comfort that Peru has overtaken it. South Africa has 618 000 cases against the US’s 6 million infections. Compared to South Africa, the US has 10 times the number of infections but its population is five times higher. This means at face that the US infection rate is twice that of South Africa. But as President…

TV HIGHLIGHTS VERMIS TUESDAYS AT 9PM, VIA (DSTV 147) Vermis places unsolved cases of South Africa’s missing persons on the agenda. In each episode of this true crime series, TV personality Doreen Morris explores the mysterious and unsolved cases of missing South Africans. She meets the missing person’s loved ones, retraces their last steps and reviews the theories on their disappearance. I MAY DESTROY YOU WEDNESDAYS AT 10.30PM, 1MAGIC (DSTV 103) AND SHOWMAX I May Destroy You centres on Arabella (Michaela Coel) a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy and a burgeoning writing career. But when her drink is spiked with a date-rape drug, she must question and rebuild every element of her life. SUNDAY | AUG 30 SABC1 06:00 Teenagers On A…

BRITISH IRISH LIONS TICKET FRENZY Demand will outnumber supply for the Lions tour MARK KEOHANE THE ticket ballot to the British & Irish Lions eight-match rugby extravaganza opens on Wednesday, September 2 and South African residents will have until midnight on the 16th September to put in an order to which there is no guarantee of a ticket. The demand will outnumber the supply, especially when it comes to a three-Test series that many have likened as three World Cup finals on successive Saturdays. The iconic Ian McGeechan, pre the 2009 Lions tour to South Africa, told the award-winning Guardian Newspaper’s South African-born sports writer Donald McCrae that what made the Lions so special in South Africa is “the way they’re seen in South African eyes …. for them, just like…

WHEN A COUP IS NOT A COUP BUT LOOKS LIKE A COUP STUART HESS From Rapport last week in a story concerning the many goings on at Cricket South Africa. The newspaper had requested an answer from CSA’s company secretary, Welsh Gwaza, about a “coup” taking place at the organisation in the wake of the resignations of Chris Nenzani as president, Jacques Faul as acting chief executive and Steve Cornelius as independent director all within a week of each other. The paper got the following response from CSA’s now former head of communications, Thamie Mthembu: “There is no coup. We were shocked by Jacques’ resignation. And while we recognise that maybe it looks like it, it really isn’t a coup. Cricket South Africa still has the best intentions for South…

THE TAO OF STEVE We’ve missed him, but he’s on twitter and didn’t take too kindly to some idiot’s rude criticism. So Steve Komphela replied: “I know you’re human and make mistakes but what you just tweeted will land you in big trouble. You’ll be sued to your underwear. Don’t be naive and defame people. You’ll be sued for defamation of character and you’ll regret for the rest of your life.” He should copyright the phrase “sued to your underwear,” because it’ll make for a great line on T-shirts.…

CSA coy about the release of Moroe’s forensic audit report Cricket South Africa will make the forensic audit report concerning the conduct of Thabang Moroe available to representatives of its Members Council, as long as they sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement first. The forensic report, which last Thursday was used as the basis for firing Thabang Moroe as Cricket SA’s CEO, is 468 pages long and is locked in a vault at the offices of Cricket SA’s lawyers, Bowman Gilfillan. A 48-page summary is also available, and also requires an NDA be signed first before viewing. Bowman Gilfillan on Friday told the Central Gauteng Lions that it couldn’t access the report, because CSA’s Board of Directors doesn’t want them to do so. “Based on our advice, the Board has declined to…