Innholdsfortegnelse for Sunday, November 1, 2020 i Sunday Independent

CLEAN-UP Top cop vows to stop rot in SAPS despite smear campaign MZILIKAZI WA AFRIKA and KARABO NGOEPE NATIONAL police commissioner General Khehla Sitole believes he is being targeted in smear campaigns and on dubious charges after he ordered a full-scale investigation into the SAPS’ supply chain management unit. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Independent on Thursday, Sitole vowed to stop the rot within the police. “So far, 42 members are facing charges of corruption, from constables to generals. This is a clean-up campaign to restore the image of the SAPS and not a purge,” Sitole said. The commissioner said he would charge whoever has committed a crime regardless of their rank or race. Among those facing corruption allegations is deputy national commissioner for human resources, Lieutenant-General Bonang…

UNIVERSITY UCT VC, ombud spar EDWIN NAIDU UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng has broken her silence on the ongoing controversy involving UCT’s ombud, who has reported allegations of bullying against Phakeng and has been critical of UCT’s handling of the matter. Phakeng said in a virtual staff assembly that the media attention around the controversy over the publication of the Ombud’s report “has certainly been very damaging to us as a university”. Zetu Makamandela-Mguqulwa, the ombud, received a notice of her possible suspension on September 28. The Office of the Ombud was established in 2011 to ensure the just, fair and equitable treatment of each member of the university. Phakeng denied claims that her executive was split, saying that the robust exchange of ideas was necessary, but UCT was not…

INFRASTRUCTURE Ire at school on brink of collapse LESEGO MAKGATHO lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za SUPPLIED A COMMUNITY in Limpopo is up in arms over the structural instability of a school they say is posing a danger to their children’s lives. Residents of Ga-Mokgwathi village under Mawa circuit, along with members of the school governing body (SGB), say Vallambrosa Primary School is on the brink of collapse – but their cries fell on deaf ears. SGB chairperson Thompson Shikwambana said they were sent from pillar to post in a bid to get the school fixed. Shikwambana, who is one of the learners to attend the school when it first opened its doors, says it breaks his heart to see the school in the condition that it is in. The school’s four blocks are built…

PANDEMIC Second wave not likely now ROLAND MPOFU SOME health experts have ruled out the Covid-19 “second wave” but have also warned that the focus should be on decisive behavioural change to avoid superspreader events, as positive cases are still on the rise, especially in the Western Cape and in Gauteng. Professor Alex van den Heever, chairperson of social security systems administration and management studies at Wits University’s School of Governance, said the country was unlikely to face a second wave this year and criticised the models being used for predictions. “We are likely to see a resurgence going into winter next year. We are unlikely to see a significant resurgence before then. None of the models were very useful. Their results were heavily driven by their assumptions,” he said.…

COMMENT Med ia law must evolve SYLVIA TLADI FROM as far back as humankind can be traced, storytelling has always been a powerful tool to capture history. Whether it was cavemen who depicted their rituals through primitive art or cave drawings, or ancient Greek myths and legends that have been told for hundreds of generations, or our own ancestors sitting around a fire sharing stories about the day’s hunt, humans have always enjoyed good content. Fast forward to modern society, communication today is heavily driven by technology with people fixed to their screens. While we have made progress in how we tell and consume stories, in the age of satellite frequencies and regulations, legislation, however, has not kept up with the current digital landscape. As the manufacturing costs of mobile…

POLITICS Graft tarnishes ANC brand To rid itself of corruption the party must opt for a set of everlasting mechanisms MOLIFI TSHABALALA SIBONELO NGCOBO African News Agency (ANA) KOPANO TLAPE GCIS IN A VIDEO that has been circulating on social media, former president Thabo Mbeki relates an interesting story about a meeting, organised by the Communist Party of China in Beijing, he had attended to discuss corruption within governing parties and its impact on economic growth and governance. Instead of discussing corruption within their own parties, he relates, Africans were only commenting on others. Perhaps, the ANC must organise a similar meeting to discuss how corruption has not only tarnished its brand, but also distracted its pursuit of National Democratic Revolution (NDR) objectives, especially in relation to an economic transformation over…

EDITORIAL Mboweni’s unenviable task IT WAS never going to be easy for Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. On Wednesday, he had the unenviable task of presenting the ugly picture of the nation’s balance sheet: public debt had risen and was expected to scale R3.97 trillion, or 81.8% of the gross domestic product this year; R5.5 trillion, or 95.3% of GDP in the 2025/2026 fiscal year due to increased borrowing, and was expected to worsen in the medium term. Mboweni had to juggle between staving off a downgrade further into junk status by ratings agencies, which would make the cost of borrowing even more and push the country into a fiscal cliff; reach out to public sector unions and tell government departments that the kitty was empty. Covid-19 has all but wiped…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA RACE IS ON FOR DA TOP JOB If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.NOAM CHOMSKYAmerican philosopher, historian and political activist Voting for the new leader of the DA has officially closed at 5pm yesterday after more than eight hours of online voting by the party’s 2000 voting delegates as the end to the battle for the party’s leadership position between Mbali Ntuli and interim party leader John Steenhuisen draws nearer.…

The People Actress Lori Loughlin starts prison term Los Angeles: Full House’ actress Lori Loughlin has begun a two-month prison sentence for her role in avast college admissions fraud scheme to help her daughters gain entry into a top US university, a prison official said on Friday. Loughlin, 56, reported to a federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, a spokesperson for the prison said. | Reuters Madame Tussauds in Berlin dumps Trump BERLIN: The waxwork museum Madame Tussauds in Berlin loaded its effigy of Republican Donald Trump into a bin on Friday, a move intended to reflect its expectations of Tuesday’s presidential election. The Berlin affiliate literally put the 45th president of the US in a dumpster with a sign saying “Dump Trump Make America Great Again”. The wax figure…

TANZANIA Nation on the brink of crisis MOUNTING allegations of vote rigging and calls for mass protests by the opposition has left Tanzania on a knife after watershed elections held on Wednesday. Tundu Lissu and his Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) or Party for Democracy and Progress) made the rigging claims and mobilized mass action following the contentious poll. They believe the exercise was being manipulated in favour of the incumbent, John Magufuli, who is seeking a second term, and the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or Party of the Revolution), Africa’s longest-serving ruling party. A series of statements on social media, apparently posted by the main opposition and its leader denounced the poll as rigged. Chadema claimed “concrete” evidence of ballot tampering orchestrated by National Electoral Commission (NEC). The…

MEMOIR Turning the page on addiction LESEGO MAKGATHO lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za A FORMER Addict recounts her journey to find strength, spirituality and self-love in a new memoir. It took one night for Isla Stone to make the life-changing decision to go into rehabilitation. In 2012, Stone went to a bar for one drink. She fooled herself. Not able to help it, she had one too many, drinking herself into a stupor. At the time, she was hooked on weed, cocaine and alcohol. Taking us back to that night, Stone shared that she felt like she was out of control. “It felt like I was in a twilight zone because my friends were sipping their drinks, and I had finished mine. I wanted another one, and I couldn’t stop drinking. I then had…

US ELECTIONS So what if Biden is up in the polls? Weren’t they wrong last time? CHRIS KAHN WHENEVER President Donald Trump is confronted with polls he does not like, especially the torrent of national data showing him trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in public support, the president’s response is usually the same: fake news. If the polls were always right, his thinking goes, Hillary Clinton should be running for re-election, not him. The former Democratic presidential candidate consistently led Trump in state and national polls in 2016 before he won the White House, just like Biden does now. But opinion poll experts say there are good reasons to trust this year’s polls more than those of 2016: Polls do a better job now of reading Trump’s base Trump’s upset…

‘Local dairy farmers not paid enough for their produce’ EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za DAIRY farmers, faced with fast escalating costs outside of their control, are on a constant battle to get a decent price for their product. According to the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO), the number of milk producers in South Africa fell more than half in January, to 1164 from 2686 the prior year. Oakland Dairy owner Ian van Niekerk this week said this meant that farmers left had had to produce more to make it profitable. “The problem is dairy farmers’ prices don’t adapt immediately to the international market, while feed prices do adapt. Feed prices are international, while the milk price is national and there’s also a delay in the adaptation of prices because supermarkets fix the price…

BIZ 101 Despite tough Budget speech, Mboweni vows rebound BEN BIERMAN FINANCE Minister Tito Mboweni has delivered what is arguably his most testing Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to date. Faced with runaway debt, an energy crisis, and an economy predicted to shrink 7.8 percent this year, Mboweni laid out the policy framework and defined the government’s goals and objectives based on the current economic landscape. Here are five key takeaways for the local small and medium enterprise (SME) sector: Debt The government is currently borrowing at a rate of R2.1 billion per day, and 21 cents out of every rand goes straight towards paying interest on existing debt. While the revised fiscal framework puts us on a course to stabilise the debt-to-gross dometic product ratio at around 95 percent…

SERIES Series finds heart, song in tragedy LYNN ELBER SERGEI BACHLAKOV NBC THE zestfully titled, song-and-dance filled Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist has an unlikely origin. The series, which will air on M-Net on Saturdays at 8pm about a young woman who channels other people’s thoughts through pop songs, was inspired by the devastating illness of creator Austin Winsberg’s father. In the months before a rare neurological disorder claimed Richard Winsberg’s life in 2011, the 68-year-old architect, who had been engaged in a full, active life, was left immobilised and unable to speak. “We would try to figure out ways to communicate with him, but we didn’t always know what he was thinking, what he was processing. And I was also becoming a dad for the first time, while losing my dad…

SUPER RUGBY UNLOCKED Lions ready to welcome visitors to their lair MORGAN BOLTON BackpagePix A WARM summer’s eve, the wind still, the grass green, tended, manicured. The hulking construct of red seats, concrete and iron, cocooned, wrapping around the field, holding the innards of the stadium together. Ponte Tower sticking through the crevices of the stands to the north-west, its neon advertising illuminating a perfect Joburg night for running rugby. If this is what home comforts will look like in the coming weeks, then the Emirates Lions will be a contented group of players and coaching staff as they prepare for the Blue Bulls next week, and then the Pumas and the Free State Cheetahs – all at home. Their home ground advantage started off emphatically on Friday with a…

MTN 8 SuperSport cautious of giant killers Celtic’s ‘happy family’ ESHLIN VEDAN SUPERSPORT United will be looking to advance to their third consecutive MTN8 final when they clash against Bloemfontein Celtic in the semi-final first leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium this afternoon (kick-off 3pm). Celtic advanced to the semi-finals of the competition following a shock 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns. Both teams enter the contest on the back of league defeats. Kaitano Tembo’s SuperSport go into the game on the back of a surprise 3-1 thrashing againt Lamontville Golden Arrows. Celtic were also upset 1-0 by newly promoted Moroka Swallows. Even though his side will be up against the cup defending champions, Celtic coach John Maduka believes his side have a good chance. “Being in the semi-finals, we have…

TV GUIDE SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER Boxing: WBA Super Featherweight Title: Gervonta Davis v Leo Santa Cruz (12 rounds), 4am, ACT, SSM Cricket: ODI Series: Pakistan v Zimbabwe, Second ODI, 8.45am, CRI, ACT; Indian Premier League T20: Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, 11.50am, CRI; Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals, 3.50pm, CRI; Women’s Big Bash League: Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat, 1.15am, CRI; Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Sixers, 4.40am, CRI Cycling: Tour De France, 2021 Route Presentation, 10.30am, VR1; La Vuelta a Espana, Stage 12: Pola de Laviana-Alto de I’Angliru (108.5km), 2.45pm, VR1 Golf: European Tour: Cyprus Open, Day 4, 11.30am, GOL; PGA Tour: Bermuda Championship, Day 4, 6pm, GOL Hockey: FIH Pro League, Women: Belgium v Great Britain, 3pm, VR2; FIH Pro League, Men: Belgium v Great Britain,…

COURTS Admission of guilt offences to be expunged EDWIN NAIDU IN A move likely to benefit thousands of South Africans, criminal records – including some of those obtained during the Covid-19 pandemic – will be expunged, according to Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery. Jeffery told Sunday Independent that a review of the regulations in the Judicial Matters Bill had been on the cards long before lockdown, with the intention to wipe the slate clean for people with records for certain categories of admission of guilt offences. The deputy minister said many people had paid admission of guilt fines as an “easy solution”, without knowing that this would leave them with criminal records. The government was now looking at removing the criminal records of those who found themselves in this situation.…

BUDGET ‘Many will resort to crime’ MANYANE MANYANE MANYANE.MANYANE@INL.CO.ZA John Jeffery Outrage, despair after Mboweni announces end to special Covid-19 grant MANY social grant recipients are unhappy with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s Medium-term Budget after he announced the temporary increases promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa will be stopped. In April, Ramaphosa said child support beneficiaries would receive an additional R500 for up to six months, while other grants would be topped up by R250 to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on the poor. However, on Wednesday, Mboweni announced that the government would no longer continue with temporary increases to social grants. Among those that will revert to their original amount are child-support and old-age grants. Some beneficiaries expressed frustration at Mboweni’s decision. Mmami Mthimukhulu complained bitterly, saying the situation will…

STATEMENT FROM KHUMALO’S LAWYERS A STATEMENT was sent out by Magdalene Moonsamy Attorneys to all the media houses saying: “We confirm that we act on behalf of Kelly Khumalo and have been retained as attorneys over a number of years. “It is with deep melancholy that we have to communicate with you the South African public, the continent and world extensively, who knew and loved Senzo Meyiwa, especially in light of the fact that the funeral was held on November 1, 2014, just a few hours from now. “Our client notes the recent developments of which at this sad time allowed her the opportunity to remain private in the best interest of herself and children especially that of the daughter she has with Meyiwa. “We wish to place it on…

POLITICS Tshwane’s new mayor speaks out Aims to restore residents faith in the City MANYANE MANYANE manyane.manyane@inl.co.za DA newly elected City of Tshwane mayor Randall Williams has accused the administration team that was appointed by the Gauteng government of failing residents. Williams, who was elected on Friday, said for the last seven months, residents have been living in an inaccessible City that was governed by unlawfully appointed administrators. Williams’ victory came after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the DA on Tuesday, and found that the decision by Maile to dissolve the council was unlawful. This after Gauteng MEC for Human Settlement Lebogang Maile and Premier David Makhura announced in March that the executive council in the province was invoking section 139 (1) (c) of the Constitution,…

JUSTICE Addressing Africa’s use of heavy-handed policing EDWIN NAIDU ON THE African continent, generally, governments responses have been tailored in favour of a blanket limitation and suspension of constitutional rights and guarantees, with many states, deploying heavily armed police officers, and in some instances, military personnel to enforce lockdowns and curfews, according to Abdirahman Maalim Gossar of the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum. He said those disproportionately affected by the enforcement of these regulations are the poor and marginalised, which include the homeless, drug users, commercial sex workers, any former traders, among others. “State efforts and intervention should seek to strike a balance, protect children, promote the rights and dignity of everyone,”said Gossar. The harsh impact of policing in this context, why it was happening, and what lessons from the…

COMMENT FRAMEWORK TO PROMOTE SANITARY DIGNITY SELLO MOKOENA SOUTH Africa has established the Ministry of Women in an effort to free women and girls from abuse, inequalities, unemployment and poverty. To this end, the Department of Women has developed the Sanitary Dignity Framework to promote sanitary dignity and provide norms and standards in respect of the provision of sanity products to indigent women. Stated objectives are: • To provide for an integrated and coordinated responsive government programme aimed at the provision of sanitary products free of charge to indigent girls and women; • To protect and preserve sanitary dignity of indigent girls and women as a fundamental human right; • To promote the empowerment of indigent persons in society and in the economy; • To provide acceptable national norms and…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA FOOD GOING TO WASTE Corruption is the enemy of development, and of good governance. It must be got rid of. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective.PRATIBHA PATILIndian politician As much as 170 million tons of food produced globally ends up as waste, according to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). In SA, this figure stands at 10 million tons which is about a third of the 31 million tons of food produced annually in the country, and the losses are estimated to cost the economy R61.5 billion. | IOL…

FRANCE Priest shot at church Country on high alert as police seek fugitive attacker in Lyon A GREEK Orthodox priest was shot and injured yesterday at a church in the centre of the French city of Lyon by an assailant who then fled, a police source and witnesses said. The priest was fired on twice yesterday afternoon as he was closing the church. He was being treated on site for life-threatening injuries, the source said. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin urged residents of Lyon to avoid the area around Jean-Macé, where the shooting occurred The incident came two days after a man shouting “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice. Two weeks ago a schoolteacher in a Paris suburb…

OBITUARY Sean Connery, dies at 90 CHARISMATIC Scottish actor Sean Connery, who rose to international superstardom as suave, fearless secret agent James Bond, and then abandoned the role to carve out an equally successful, Oscar-winning career playing a variety of leading and character roles, has died. He was 90. Bond producers EON Productions confirmed his death. Producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were “devastated” by the news. “He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words – ‘The name’s Bond... James Bond,’” they said yesterday. They said Connery’s “gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent” was largely responsible for the success of the series. Connery’s son, Jason,…

Night-time Covid curfew for Greece ATHENS: Greece will expand a night-time curfew on movement and shut restaurants and bars in the most populous areas of the country for one month from 3 November to contain a resurgence in Covid-19 cases. The country has reported less cases of the novel coronavirus than most in Europe, but has seen a gradual increase in infections since early last month. Restaurants, bars, coffee houses, cinemas, museums and closed gyms will be shut from this coming Tuesday for one month across northern Greece and Attica region, which includes the capital Athens. Reuters…

THEATRE Finally, Baxter is back on stage Opening show at struggling venue runs only a week, featuring Zolani Mahola and Gregory Maqoma SAM SPILLER sam.spiller@inl.co.za SUPPLIED AFTER months of closure that led it to the financial brink, the Baxter is raising funds in style with a show featuring Gregory Maqoma and Zolani Mahola. The two artists are coming together for a limited season of performances titled Baxter Back on Stage, a fundraising initiative with proceeds going to the struggling venue. The initiative is being championed by UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng. “Covid-19 has struck us hard,” Phakeng said. “The arts have been particularly hard hit as public spaces for them to perform have had to close down. Yet, it is often to the arts that we turn during our most…

AFRICA THIS WEEK AN AFRICAN WTO HEAD COULD MAR TRUMP’S GAME VICTOR KGOMOESWANA @VictorAfrica HISTORY will be made on November 9 when the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) meets to appoint the successor to its former Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo. US President Donald Trump is willing to spoil the party for the favourite candidate – an African woman. The tantrums are not mere theatrics of the Tweeting head of state, but an extension of the Trump-China trade policy. For the first time in its 25-year history, the WTO will appoint a woman as director-general, either Yoo Myung-hee or Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The chair of the General Council, New Zealand’s ambassador David Walker and his two colleagues, recommended Okonjo-Iweala, the former Nigerian finance minister and an experienced player in…

REAL NUMBERS JUSTICE NOT DONE UNTIL REMEDY, RESTORATION, REINTEGRATION PALI LEHOHLA HOW DO you know that a leper is free from leprosy and cannot infect you? When the presiding doctor shakes the hand of the leper. The quality of social life, its economic dimensions, political endeavours, legal and justice frameworks find expression in different ways. Social media has opened up the space for discussions. It allows society to engage as interest groups. I belong to a number of social media groups and another, which is family. In the family group we cover a broad range of topics of our lived experiences that often anchors and reverts to where we were born and bred, in Patisi, Lesotho. My eldest brother Mahapela Lehohla is former chief justice of Lesotho. It intrigues me…

TV HIGHLIGHTS IT’S A FEMINIST THING Sundays at 6.30pm on SABC 2 The eight-part talk-show captures the zeitgeist of the contemporary South African women’s movement – a feminist movement which has patriarchy squarely in its sights. It explores relationships between women, gives real expression to the ways that women love, support and empower each other, and shows patriarchy’s divisive and destructive power. THE CHI Mondays at 9.30pm, 1Magic (DStv 103) From Emmy-winner Lena Waithe, The Chi is set in Chicago’s south side. An average day finds kids prepping for school as their parents head off to work and young adults trying to make a living. But in this tough neighbourhood, dangers threaten to squelch dreams, and the simplest decisions can have life or death consequences. SUNDAY | NOV 1 SABC1…

STARS TANYA OBREZA Aries (March 21 - April 20) Our lives are full of opportunities to start over, and every so often there’s a cosmic push that gives us a dynamic boost and creates new beginnings. Now that Mercury steps forward again, it’s the right time for planning. This week, investigate ways to make your life grow. The result will be satisfying. Taurus (April 21 - May 20) Now that Mercury steps forward, over the next few days you’re free to sign contracts, schedule vital meetings, have significant conversations and make important decisions or purchases. Remain confident as you push ahead with anything that requires communication or planning. You’re back in control. Gemini (May 21 - June 21) A progressive Mercury sees work goals move in the right direction. All…

United’s strike force can spike Gunners MANCHESTER United’s forwards have forged a strong understanding that makes them a real threat in the Premier League, according to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta who will take his team to Old Trafford today. United’s front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood combined for 62 goals in all competitions last season and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bolstered their attack by signing Uruguay international Edinson Cavani last month. With Daniel James and Odion Ighalo also in their ranks, Arteta said United have the options to change their style. “They create really good relationships and they’re all very different. They glide together, have really good understanding and chemistry on the pitch. You can see that,” Arteta told Arsenal’s website. United are 15th in the…

SOCCER Walker blunts Blades MANCHESTER City beat Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Laney yesterday with Kyle Walker scoring against his boyhood club to extend the home side’s winless start to the Premier League season to seven games. Walker, who was raised in Sheffield and came through the Blades’ youth system, marked his 100th league appearance for City with a goal in the first half and refused to celebrate. The 30-year-old full back collected the ball outside the box and let loose an angled low drive into the bottom corner that skidded across the wet turf and beat the outstretched hand of Blades goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. “I’m happy to get on the scoresheet... United are well drilled and it’s a tough team to come and break down but luckily I came…

Tail Piece UK’S FIRST VEGAN ‘BUTCHER’ LAUNCHES IN a corner of north London, a new gleaming butcher is preparing to open. To coincide with World Vegan Day today, Britain’s first permanent vegan “butcher”, Rudy’s, is opening, set to sell meat-free versions of traditional products such as baycon, soysage and turk’y. Demand for vegan products has surged in recent years in Britain, with increasing numbers of people cutting out animal-derived ingredients completely, while others reduce the amount of meat and dairy they consume each week. “People understand what it is that we’re selling,” co-founder Matthew Foster said. “It’s all designed to emulate meat. It tastes like meat, it’s got meat-like texture.” The substitutes are made from soya and seitan. Reuters…

POLITICS DA set to name new leader today SAMKELO MTSHALI THE outcome of the battle for the leadership of the DA, the country’s official opposition party, is set to be known today with either Mbali Ntuli or interim leader John Steenhuisen set to be announced as the winner. The party is this weekend holding its first virtual Federal Congress, necessitated by strict lockdown regulations on the gathering of large crowds, with the congress having as many as 2000 voting delegates. Following months of campaigning by the pair, as they aim to succeed Mmusi Maimane who left in October 2019, the party is set to announce its new leader by 2pm today. The showdown between Ntuli and Steenhuisen will come down to which of the 2 000 voting delegates will entrust…

MARULENG Construction firms sidelined MANYANE MANYANE manyane.manyane@inl.co.za RESIDENTS of The Willows, a town in Limpopo, have alleged Maruleng local municipality manager Thabo Magabane is sidelining local construction companies in road projects for pavement overlay in the area. They have also accused him of abusing his power by threatening to terminate their contracts in projects. Resident Katika Malepe said the problem started after the main contractor appointed local contractors as subcontractors on September 9. “The project started in 2019 and it was divided into three phases. Phase one is already completed and as phase two was about to resume, the main contractor asked the locals to submit relevant documents to work as subcontractors. “Twenty companies applied and an agreement was reached between subcontractors to work together and group ourselves into 10…

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Township food businesses thrive despite setback NATHAN ADAMS nathan.adams@inl.co.za SUPPLIED SUPPLIED FOR THE maverick food entrepreneurs in the township, the stakes are high. These entrepreneurs have a common characteristic: they are all risk takers and have taken a gamble to start a food business in the heart of township communities where the customers want authentic, quality food at a reasonable price. Lockdown wasn’t easy for these businesses, with the hard lockdown a real blow to their profits. Township chefs faced the same hurdles as established restaurateurs in the city centre, hotels and in upmarket suburbs. Their profit margins are lower than restaurant chains, and their staff complement small. Businesses came to ruin because many survive from month to month. There are three township food brands that have survived and,…

HOW TO APPLY FOR AN EXPUNGEMENT IN THE CURRENT CONTEXT YOU can apply for expungement of your criminal record in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, to the Director-General: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Expungement of a criminal record is a process by which a criminal record of a convicted offender is removed from the criminal record database of the Criminal Record Centre of the SAPS. This allows you to carry on with life without a criminal record being an obstruction to employment opportunities. You can apply to have your criminal record expunged when: ◆a period of 10 years has passed after the date of the conviction for that offence. ◆you have not been convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment without the option of a fine…

COMMENT DISRUPTION OF TRADE HAS DIRE CONSEQUENCES NIKITA SHARMA TRADE routes have been significantly disrupted this year in efforts to contain Covid-19. The effects of this are already showing: global growth is set to contract by 4.9% and growth in sub-Saharan Africa will contract by 3.2%. This will get worse if continued restrictions further impede trade. The World Trade Organization warned that at worst, global trade could collapse by a third this year, and at best, contract by 13%, similar to the drop after the 2009 financial crisis. This has fundamental consequences – both direct and indirect – for many. For instance, within the first few weeks in March when some trade routes were initially suspended, flower exports from Kenya to the EU fell by 50%, affecting around a million…

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. SA needs solutions to economic problems OUR country’s economy is in doldrums and something urgent must be done to take us out of this crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled his much awaited Economic Recovery Plan last week. Among the key pillars of the plan is the rehashing of strategies of the previous economic plans. Since our democratic dispensation we have seen a range of economic planning documents that the government has unveiled. These include among others the Reconstruction Development Plan (RDP), the Growth Employment and Redistribution (Gear), the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), the National Development Plan (NDP) and now an Economic Recovery Plan. All…

ANGLOA Isabel Dos Santos mourns husband SINDIKA Dokolo, the Congolese businessman and art collector husband of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, has died in a diving accident in Dubai, a colleague and his family said on Friday. Dokolo and dos Santos, the daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ruled Angola for 38 years until 2017, faced corruption charges, including allegations that they steered $1 billion in state funds to companies in which they held stakes during her father’s presidency. Both denied wrongdoing. Reuters Sindika Dokolo/Instagram…

Seals rescue US citizen in Nigeria WASHINGTON: US forces carried out a rescue operation in northern Nigeria yesterday to recover an American citizen being held by armed men, the Pentagon said. “This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the US Department of State,” the Pentagon said. While the Pentagon did not provide the American citizen’s identity, a US official said it was 27-year-old Philip Walton, who was kidnapped on Tuesday, and the raid included Navy SEALs. Six gunmen riding motorcycles and armed with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped Walton from his home on the edge of a rural village in neighbouring southern Niger. Reuters…

FESTIVAL This year’s Artsabilty Festival will be held online SAM SPILLER Tracey Adams African News Agency (ANA) COVID-19 revealed the challenges that people with disabilities face accessing both the real and online worlds. This year’s Artsability Festival, hosted by the Unmute Dance Company in Cape Town, will set out to change that. Now celebrating its sixth year, the annual event has shifted online and will be available to view for free from Tuesday (November 3) to December 3. Though featuring a selection of productions from across the world, a major debut at this year’s festival is a film produced by the company, titled Access Denied. Filmed in a documentary style, the film is an exploration of the lives of the company’s students and staff and the discrimination they have experienced.…

Eskom continues to record staggering financial losses SIPHELELE DLUDLA siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ESKOM finances continued to deteriorate in the year to end March, with the utility reporting a R20.5 billion loss during the period and flagged that it continued to experience significant operational and financial challenges. Eskom said sales were 1.3 percent lower than 2019 as revenue reached R200bn, with growth hampered by capacity shortages and adverse economic conditions. The under-fire state-owned electricity supply company said that it experienced significant operational and financial challenges, resulting in Stage 6 load shedding during December 2019 and further R49bn government bailout. Chief executive Andre de Ruyter said despite these challenges, management had made significant changes to arrest the operational and financial decline. He said Eskom had implemented assertive collection strategies against the largest municipal defaulters,…

REVIEW Evocative strip club drama HANK STUEVER TINA ROWDEN Starz CHUCALISSA is the fictional Mississippi Delta town at the centre of Katori Hall’s richly textured and engagingly soapy new drama P-Valley, which begins airing on Tuesday, on 1Magic (DStv Channel 103) at 9.30pm. The area is more colloquially known as P-Valley because of its strippers, who work at a run-down, flickering-neon club called Pynk. Hall, an award-winning Memphis playwright, has based this series on a play she wrote that originally spelled out what that “P” stands for. Some network caution, I suppose, has prevailed and shortened the title – perhaps not so different from the Chucalissa ordinance that keeps the women at Pynk from going topless while they perform in the club. One of the most striking aspects of the…

Treat no trick as All Blacks destroy Wallabies NEW Zealand served up a Halloween nightmare for an inexperienced Wallabies side by romping to a record 43-5 victory in the Tri-Nations opener yesterday and claiming the Bledisloe Cup for the 18th successive year. All Blacks flyhalf Richie Mo’unga scored two tries in six first-half minutes and forwards Karl Tu’inukuafe and Dane Coles also crossed as the visitors led 26-0 after 30 minutes. The pain eased for the crowd of 25 689 at the Olympic Stadium early in the second half when Australia flyhalf Noah Lolesio scored a try on his Test debut but Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett blew out the score in the last 10 minutes. Mo’unga converted five of six tries and added a penalty to take his personal…

SUNSHINE TOUR Van Tonder goes four from six with Swazi Open title DANIEL van Tonder claimed his fourth victory in his last six Sunshine Tour starts when he won the Investec Royal Swazi Open at the Gary Player Country Club yesterday. And now the most dominant player on the Sunshine Tour this year has set his sights on the upcoming European Tour co-sanctioned events and the three-week run of the Joburg Open, Alfred Dunhill Championship and South African Open beginning at the end of November. “All of my titles in my career have come on golf courses that have good greens. I do well on courses with good greens. Randpark Golf Club (Joburg Open), Leopard Creek Golf Club (Alfred Dunhill Championship) and the Gary Player Country Club (SA Open) all…