Innholdsfortegnelse for Sunday, January 10, 2021 i Sunday Independent

COVID-19 Local vaccine strategy slammed AMANDA MALIBA and MANYANE MANYANE A LOCAL bio-pharmaceutical company has accused the government of “irregularities and systemic gate keeping” in the research and development of Covid-19 vaccine. This comes after the national Department of Health and the Department of Science and Innovation rejected Conoché Bio-Tech’s newly-developed bio-innovation, characterising it as a traditional remedy, even though it has proven its effectiveness in neutralising various bacteria and viruses. Iris Bajabulile Conochie, the co-founder of the Mpumalanga-based company, said the firm’s potential coronavirus pharmaceutical intervention was stymied by senior government officials despite a CSIR study having confirmed its capability to inhibit the growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and subsequently recommending animal and human trials in October last year. The government has been locked in advanced talks with US…

POLITICS ANC unveils ambitious plan to tackle use of money to buy leadership positions LOYISO SIDIMBA loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE ANC has revealed ambitious plans to tackle the use of money to woo members, who it wants to directly elect as leaders, ensuring that party bosses are subjected to lifestyle audits and integrity checks. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday that the governing party’s much-anticipated National General Council (NGC) would be held in the next few months amid high hopes of its elusive unity and renewal. Discussion documents released by the ANC ahead of the NGC, which is the governing party’s midterm policy review gathering in between elective conferences, show that should delegates accept the proposals later this year, the continent’s oldest liberation movement will regulate the use of money in its…

POLITICS Analyst: ruling party must resolve factional issues ders in government,” the party warns. The party continues: “It is clear that money politics has put the ANC in a precarious position of risking being auctioned at all levels. “It will lead, or it is already happening that the state and private resources are being used, thus, making corruption to be an essential modus operandi of these transactional politics”. According to the ANC, reviewing the document is not just an exercise but also a soul-searching endeavour against negative tendencies like the use of money in internal organisational processes. Political analyst Professor Somadoda Fikeni told Independent Media yesterday that the ANC’s biggest challenge was factional battles, and that until the issue is resolved, it would be difficult to implement any statement of…

Tail Piece PARIS’ LOUVRE MUSEUM VISITORS FELL BY THREE QUARTERS IN 2020 DUE TO COVID CRISIS THE Louvre museum in Paris - home to the Mona Lisa and other world famous works of art - suffered a 72 percent drop in visitors in 2020 compared to 2019, as a result of the COVID crisis. The Louvre said in a statement on Friday that its overall visitor numbers for 2020 stood at 2.7 million. The museum, like many around the world, had to shut for much of last year due to restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. Reuters…

BIOGRAPHY King gave Bapedi a futuristic perspective GROOVIN NCHABELENG THE popular adage by Maya Angelou says: “When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, and sterile; we breathe briefly.” And so, we have lived to experience this tragedy with the sad passing of Bapedi Nation King, His Majesty King Thulare Victor Thulare III ‘Bauba a Hlabirwa,’ 40. King Thulare was recognised a mere eight months ago, and received his Kingship Certificate from Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Honourable Obed Bapela, following a landmark Constitutional Court judgment and pronouncement by President Cyril Ramaphosa, that ended a 30-year legal dispute and removed the kingship from his predecessor and uncle, ‘KK’. While the jury has been out in certain circles about the role of kingships in…

EDITORIAL The danger of misinformation THERE has been a lot of hysteria around the procurement and roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine even before Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that the government had secured one million doses for this month and 500 000 for February from the Serum Institute of India. The anti-vaccine lobby has been hard at work in trying to weaponise Covid-19 vaccines, in the process, gained many followers. There are many unfounded allegations that the vaccine has, among other things, DNA-altering properties. As a result, there are those who are reluctant and sceptical about the vaccine. The distrust stems from anti-vaccine lobby and conspiracy theory sites. Mkhize was right in explaining that no one would be forced to take the vaccine. Social media companies need to do more to…

LETTERS Violence is a part of the American culture Email: scribe@inl.co.za (no attachments). All letters must contain the writer’s full name, physical address and telephone number. No pen names. WEEKS of baseless claims of voter fraud and incitement by Donald Trump culminated in ugly, disgraceful scenes of violence. Thousands of pro-Trump supporters went on the rampage in Washington DC, after the Democrats struck the final blow in the crucial Georgia run-off elections, wrestling the Senate from the Republicans. Emboldened by Trump’s speech that he would never concede defeat, they overwhelmed the police and stormed the Capitol building. If votes cannot win an election, then guns would. As gunfire rang out in the Capitol building, terrified senators dived for cover, and Congress had to be suspended. Four people died in the…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA BACKLOG AT BEITBRIDGE A ‘SUPERSPREADER EVENT’ Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.MARTIN LUTHER German professor of theology, priest, author, composer, Augustinian monk Zimbabwean truck driver Wallace Muzondiwa queued four days in his vehicle to enter South Africa after thousands of people rushed to escape Zimbabwe’s restrictions this week. The surge overwhelmed immigration authorities at the Beitbridge border post, where angry crowds were stranded by the backlog.…

Iran bans vaccines from US and Britain TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader has banned Covid-19 vaccines from the US and Britain from entering the country. “If these vaccines had been effective, Americans would not have thousands of coronavirus deaths a day,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on state television on Friday. Iran must not become a test laboratory for unsafe vaccines, he said. However, vaccine imports from “safe places” are not a problem, according to the cleric, who according to the Iranian constitution has the last word on all strategic matters. The Red Crescent immediately cancelled orders for 150000 vaccine doses from Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer, a US company. Iran has been testing its own developed coronavirus vaccine, called Coviran Barekat, since last month. dpa…

STARS TANYA OBREZA Aries (March 21 - April 20) Here’s a week when one detour leads to another. If coupled, you might want more independence, but be sure to give your partner the same freedom. Singles can expect love that’s short and sweet and for now, that’s the way you like it. Should the planets argue for a career change, don’t ignore them. Be grateful for any timely guidance. Taurus (April 21 - May 20) Work keeps you busy though there may be temptations on offer. You could be presented with a get-rich-quick scheme that seems too good to be true. You’re right - it is. If stepping into a new relationship, set up a no-touch zone until you’re sure your prospective lover isn’t already committed. Life’s messy enough as…

CRICKET Muthusamy’s cool Dolphins show has Titans drowning STUART HESS BackpagePix HOLLYWOODBETS DOLPHINS 272/7 Muthusamy 70*, Roelofson 65, Phehlukwayo 51. Galiem 2/22, Ntini 2/62) MULTIPLY TITANS 196/8 (De Swardt 3/30, Muthusamy 2/39 Dolphins won by 76 runs SENURAN Muthusamy delivered a fine all round performance as the Dolphins got the defence of their Momentum One-Day Cup title off to the perfect start in Potchefstroom yesterday. Muthusamy top scored for the Dolphins and then picked up two wickets on a sluggish surface at Senwes Park in the opening match of this season’s One-Day Cup competition, the schedule of which has been reduced owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The six franchises have been divided into two pools of three, with the Pool A fixtures taking place over the next week. The Pool…

RUGBY Bulls coach loses plot with Van Zyl, Steyn for Pumas dead-rubber ASHFAK MOHAMED ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za PHANDO JIKELO African News Agency (ANA) BULLS coach Jake White has taken an unnecessary risk by picking first-choice halfback pair Ivan van Zyl and Morné Steyn for today’s dead-rubber Currie Cup clash against the Pumas in Mbombela (4pm kickoff). A new-look team made up of several Under-21 stars and extended squad members travelled to Mpumalanga yesterday, with the likes of Clinton Swart, Tim Agaba, Joe van Zyl and Gerhard Steenekamp getting some much-needed game-time, while Arno Botha takes over the captaincy. Yesterday, both semi-finals were shifted to a week later by SA Rugby due to the number of positive Covid-19 cases in all four squads, so the Bulls-Lions and Western Province-Sharks games will take place…

ZONDO ‘Gordhan was behind Prasa’s demise’ MANYANE MANYANE manyane.manyane@inl.co.za FORMER Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) chief executive Lucky Montana has launched a broadside against the Zondo Commission, accusing it of trying to protect Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, former Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and former Prasa board chairperson Popo Molefe, who played “central roles in the demise” of the embattled agency. According to his 447-page submission to the commission of state capture and seen by the Sunday Independent, Montana said Gordhan, who was Finance minister at the time, tried to impose a public-private-partnership (PPP) model on Prasa’s R173 billion passenger rail systems modernisation programme in 2012. This was in addition to attempts by the Gupta family to manipulate Prasa’s rolling fleet renewal programme (RSFRP), which spanned 20 years, and…

COVID-19 Local vaccine developers given the cold shoulder African Bureau of Standards (SABS). Despite this, both the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Innovation were not interested. In a letter to Chonochie, of April 21, 2020, the director-general of the Department of Science and Innovation, Phil Mjwara, rejected the drug on reasons related to its efficacy. “We note that the product you offer for validation has no clinical evidence for efficacy. We further note that market demand cannot justifiably or legally be used as a proxy for efficacy.” He said his department consulted the experts, who told them that “for a high risk claim like either prevention and treatment of Covid-19, the requirement would be for full clinical trial evidence of efficacy and safety”. Mjwara’s counterpart from…

US POLITICS Drive on to impeach Trump AN INCREASINGLY isolated and angry US President Donald Trump, cut off by Twitter in the waning days of his term, faces a renewed drive by Democrats to remove him from office after he incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol. Twitter permanently cut off Trump’s personal account and access to his nearly 90 million followers late on Friday, citing the risk of further incitement of violence, three days after Trump exhorted thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol as Congress met to certify his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The resulting chaos, viewed with shock around the world, left a police officer and four others dead in its wake. Trump’s frequent use of Twitter was a key part of his campaign…

INDONESIA Plane feared to have crashed with 62 aboard A SRIWIJAYA Air plane lost contact after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight yesterday and rescuers said suspected debris had been found in the sea off the city. The Boeing 737-500, en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, disappeared from radar screens after taking off just after 2.30pm. Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya told a news conference that 62 people had been aboard, including 12 crew. Another official had said earlier there were 56 passengers and six crew. Bagus Puruhito, head of the country’s search and rescue agency Basarnas, said teams had been dispatched to search the waters north of Jakarta. No radio beacon signal had been detected, the agency said. Agus Haryono, another official with the…

UNITED STATES FBI makes arrests after tip-offs A SUSPECT believed to be the man seen smirking proudly in the office chair of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol has been arrested, the US Justice Department says. The man, who was arrested by police in Little Rock, Arkansas, is accused of breaking into a specially secured building, trespassing, vandalism and theft, a senior representative of the Justice Department, Ken Kohl, said on Friday. The ministry is also presenting 14 other charges under federal law, Kohl said. One of the suspects is accused of having had 11 incendiary devices and weapons in his car parked nearby. The Molotov cocktails were particularly dangerous because they were mixed with a type of foam, which resulted in a napalm-like incendiary…

Buildings shake as quake hits Taiwan TAIPEI: Buildings shook briefly in Taipei when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Taiwan, but there were no reports of damage. The quake’s epicentre was off the coast of Yilancounty, at a depth of 72.2 km, according to the island’s Central Weather Bureau. Taipei’s subway system was operating as normal, the city government said. Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates in the South China Sea and is prone to earthquakes. More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2000 people in 1999. Reuters…

INJURY TIME STUART HESS stuart.hess@inl.co.za MEDAL OF SHAME THE cheating, golfing orange moron finally (finally) has his social media accounts banned a few days ago. He’ll be gone in a few days too. But in the meanwhile, there he was on Thursday dishing out medals to a few golfers including, Gary Player. Normally there’s quite a bit of pomp and ceremony when it comes to the handing out of the US Presidential of Medal of Freedom. Instead there was Player, standing outside the White House, by himself. Only select media were allowed to attend, and no official pictures from the event - that took place on Thursday - were released (at the time of publication). Just hours earlier a mob of mainly white supremacists had rioted at the Capitol building,…

TV GUIDE TODAY Cricket: ANZ Bank Women’s Super Smash: Canterbury Magicians v Central Hinds, 4.30am, ACT; Canterbury Kings v Central Stags, 8.05am, ACT; Momentum One Day Cup: Momentum Multiply Titans v Six Sun Grill Cape Cobras, 9.45am, GSD, CRI; Test Series: Australia v India, Third Test, Day 4, 1.20am, CRI, GSD (3am); Big Bash Twenty20: Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat, 10.10am, VR1 Golf: PGA Tour: Sentry Tournament of Champions, Day 4, 11pm, GSD, GOL Rugby: Currie Cup - Premier Division: Phakisa Pumas v Vodacom Bulls, 3.30pm, RUG, GSD (3.45pm); The Final Whistle, 6pm, RUG, GSD Soccer: Diski Challenge: Swallows FC v Cape Town City, 10.45am, VR4. PSL; Orlando Pirates v Kaizer Chiefs, 12.55pm, VR4, PSL; Emirates FA Cup, Round 3: Chelsea v Morecambe, 3.20pm, EPL; Manchester City v Birmingham City,…

Tail Piece TESLA MARKET VALUE CROSSES $800 BILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME Shares of Tesla Inc jumped as much as 5.6% on Friday, pushing the electric-car maker’s market capitalization to more than $800 billion for the first time ever and inching closer to the trillion dollar club. Tesla’s stratospheric rally has helped CEO Elon Musk surpass Amazon.com Inc’s top boss Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man. Musk’s 21% stake in the automaker as per Forbes contributes more than $170 billion to his net worth, dwarfing the combined market capitalization of General Motors, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Reuters…

ZONDO Montana says Gordhan was ‘at the heart’ of Prasa’s collapse Gordhan’s acting spokesperson, Richard Mantu, did not respond to a request for comment. Mkhize’s spokesperson, Lwazi Manzi, said the minister stood by his previous statements that he made last year that Montana’s allegations were not true. Peters could not be reached for a comment. Montana rejected claims made against him by Molefe and instead accused him of benefitting from people he had parachuting onto the Prasa board. “He knows that he is not telling the truth. He has been part of the process with both Peters and Gordhan to parachute him, Zodwa Manase (chair of the audit and risk committee) and Willem Steenkamp (chairperson for operational safety) into the board. He should tell the commission how he was nominated,…

COVID-19 National Treasury is set to foot Covid-19 vaccine bill MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA Mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za Reuters IN an effort to allay fears over funding concerns of the Covid-19 vaccines, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize this week said the procurement of the vaccines would be financed largely from the fiscus. Mkhize revealed this when he briefed the health portfolio committee on the Covid-19 vaccine roll out plan and announced that South Africa reached an agreement with the Serum Institute of India wherein one million doses of vaccine will be available in January and another 500 000 in February. “We have had lots of discussions with the minister of finance to say that the fiscus is going to carry the major burden of having to procure the vaccines. "In the process, we have also agreed…

DISAPPEARANCE Young mother missing for 11 days AMANDA MALIBA amanda.maliba@inl.co.za Facebook TODAY marks exactly eleven days since the disappearance of 24-year-old Hloniphile Baloyi from Daveyton, a township in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality of Gauteng. The mother of a two-year-old boy was last seen leaving her home at around 9am on December 30, 2020, to go to the Lakeside Mall to get baby supplies. When her grandmother, Elizabeth Khumalo, tried calling her around 11am, she found that her phone was off. Her disappearance raised suspicions, especially since Hloni, as she is fondly known, is described as one who regularly kept in touch with her family and rarely had her phone off. Her aunt, Tsakane Baloyi, together with Hloni’s grandmother said the trauma of not knowing where their loved one was, coupled…

ICYMI | IOL.CO.ZA THREE WEEKS TO REPAIR PUMP STATION, SAYS ETHEKWINI 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 PATIL Former President of India In a statement released on Friday, eThekwini Municipality said they had encountered technical challenges in the operations of Northdene 3 pump station. However, the lead time to commence with repair work at the pump station is 3 to 4 weeks. IOL…

COMMENT He was a doyen of black journalism ABBEY MAKOE IF it were not self-restrictive, I would describe the late Jon Qwelane as a “doyen of black journalism”. But to do so would undermine his immense contribution to the advancement, protection and promotion of the craft. Qwelane burst into journalism via the back-door. A wordsmith of note, he was lurking in his hometown of Mafikeng in the North West, working as a clerk in the post office. Initially contributing as a freelancer to the legendary Mafikeng Mail, he never stopped telling the story of how Oom Leslie Sehume played a major part in recruiting him to the mainstream media in Johannesburg. There, he excelled, frantically learning on-the-job as he had no formal training in journalism. When he edited Tribute magazine,…

COMMENT ‘TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE’ Social media cracks down on Capitol debacle KATIE PAUL, ELIZABETH CULLIFORD AND JOSEPH MENN BY THE time social media companies took action against users and groups spurring on the siege of Capitol Hill this week, culminating in the suspension of US President Donald Trump’s accounts, it was too little too late. For weeks, content on big tech platforms Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet’s YouTube, as well as upstart fringe social networks foretold the storming of the US Capitol on Wednesday that led to five deaths. In one Facebook post identified by online advocacy group Avaaz, an illustration of Trump holding a machine gun in front of the White House is accompanied by the words “Come and Take it.” Another depicted Trump as Uncle Sam with…

ZIMBABWE Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono rearrested ZIMBABWEAN journalist Hopewell Chin’ono was rearrested on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said. “Zimbabwean authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and cease efforts to intimidate and harass him,” the committee said in a statement. On Friday afternoon, police arrested Chin’ono at his home in Harare, the capital, and took him to the city’s central police station, according to a tweet by the journalist and two of his lawyers, Doug Coltart and Harrison Nkomo, who spoke to CPJ over the telephone. Authorities said they planned to charge Chin’ono with “communicating falsehoods” over a tweet covering alleged police abuse, according to the journalist. “Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, drop all efforts to prosecute him, and cease these flagrant intimidation…

Kate celebrates 39th birthday in lockdown LONDON: Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, pictured, celebrated her 39th birthday yesterday as the royal family, like the rest of the nation, continued to live under lockdown. Kate marked the occasion with her family at their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall, where the Cambridges spent Christmas after the Queen decided to remain at Windsor Castle, British news agency PA reported. Her birthday celebrations were expected to be a private affair with her husband William and their three children, 7-year-old Prince George, 5-year-old Princess Charlotte and 2-year-old Prince Louis. During the pandemic, the Cambridges adapted their public life by turning to virtual engagements. When restrictions were temporarily lifted, some events were carried out face-to-face. dpa…

WORLD Newborn infants die in hospital fire NEW DELHI: Ten newborn infants died yesterday in a fire at a state-run hospital in western India, officials said. There were 17 infants in the unit for sick newborn babies when the fire broke out in the early hours at the Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra state. Seven infants died due to smoke suffocation, and three from burn injuries, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope told reporters. Seven babies were rescued by the nurses and ward staff. All the infants were aged between a few days and three months, Bhandara district health official Prashant Uike said. The government has ordered a probe into the incident and a safety audit of all neo-natal care units in the state. Initial reports indicated that the fire…

Child survives being run over by car twice VIENNA: A child in Switzerland survived after being driven over twice by a car, police reported yesterday. A driver was moving his car to a different parking spot in the town of Oberentfelden on Friday evening when he ran over the 2-year-old boy on a small balance bike. When the boy’s mother shouted out at the 53-year-old man, he put the car in reverse and rolled over him a second time, police spokesperson Adrian Bieri said. The boy sustained bone fractures, but he remained conscious and responsive after the accident, according to the spokesperson. A photo of the car showed that the driver had only cleared a small section of his windscreen of ice. The man’s driving licence was revoked. dpa…

FA CUP One way ticket as Jose d ips into pocket for opposition raffle TOTTENHAM Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho plans to buy a ticket for the raffle organised by Marine ahead of today’s FA Cup third round clash but said he could not claim the top prize, which is to manage the eighth-tier side in a friendly. Cash-strapped Marine's hopes of generating revenue through the turnstiles were dashed when the Merseyside region was placed in Tier 3 of Britain's Covid-19 restrictions, forcing the game to be played without supporters at the stadium. The Merseyside-based club expected 500 fans to attend but are staring at 100,000 pounds ($135,630.00) in lost revenue while a sponsor pulled out of a 20,000 pounds advertising package when the game went behind closed doors. However, former…

SOCCER SUNDOWNS SHIFT INTO SIXTH GEAR MIHLALI BALEKA KABELO LEPUTU BackpagePix BAROKA FC MAMELODI SUNDOWNS Lakay 56’ and Zwane 90+1' CATCH us if you can! That was a clear message from champions Mamelodi Sundowns as they kept their undefeated record intact in the DStv Premiership, defeating Baroka FC 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium yesterday afternoon.Sundowns’ win over Baroka FC ensured that they bagged seven wins and three draws in 10 matches this season, taking their tally to 24 points, three ahead of second-placed Swallows FC who’ll square off with Orlando Pirates this afternoon.After a handful of chances in the first half, the Brazilians were unfortunate to head to the interval with nothing to show for their efforts.With barely two minutes into the match, Sundowns’ attack was already in search…