Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-05-29 i Sunday Independent

Are we seeing the end of the wine capsule? The capsule, also called the foil, is one of those anachronisms of wine, a relic of centuries-old tradition that hangs on because wine lovers like to think of themselves as part of a centuries-old tradition. But we are seeing more and more wines bottled without them. You’ve probably wrestled with capsules. The blades on the end of your cork puller are notoriously unable to cut through the cheapest plastic covering. You need to exert yourself to remove the top of a tin or aluminium foil capsule, and then worry about cutting your finger or getting shards of foil into the wine. Capsules were traditionally made of lead, but these were banned in the US and the EU in 1993, according to…

For You, I'd Steal A Goat: Short Stories by Niq Mhlongo (R195 on Loot.co.za) THIS short story collection is filled with memorable characters, intriguing plots and twists. From stories about a family who refuses to leave when the bank repossesses their house, and a stalking that has an unexpected outcome to a desensitised morgue manager who is spooked, Mhlongo explores the things people do for one another but also to one other. Injustice, corruption, love and desire are just some of the aspects of human interaction featured here. Killing Eve Season 3 (SABC 3, Thursdays at 9pm) Killing Eve is a story of two women, bound by a mutual obsession and one brutal act: Eve, an MI6 operative; and Villanelle, a psychopathic assassin. The third season continues the story of…

A Kagiso, West Rand, businessman who threw in his lot with supermarket chain Pick n Pay’s township business revitalisation plan says he initially signed up for a partnership but it turned out to be a franchise agreement that left him out of business and saddled with a R9 million debt. On their website, Pick n Pay sells their involvement in the township economy thus: “Since 2016, Pick n Pay has led a collaborative partnership with government and other strategic partners to help revitalise small, independent township grocers to regenerate their stores and turn them into thriving neighbourhood convenience stores.” But Phure Motshabi says this is the worst decision he’s ever made about the business that was set up by his late father. He says Pick n Pay is only in…

MORE than 80 days after business mogul Ismail Rajah, 69, was snatched from outside his company’s offices in Parow, his family has broken their silence, saying they remain hopeful that he is still alive. Raziek Rajah, in an interview with Weekend Argus yesterday, said his father was “a man of integrity and we miss him and wish that he can just come home”. “He worked his way up during apartheid, so he is strong and will get through this,” he said. Raziek added that Rajah always looked out for his family, staff and helped the poor through community feeding schemes. “He stood for what is right and is loved by us all,” he said. Rajah, who was dramatically kidnapped by armed men in March, is the founder of the Cape…

THE Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says Sindisiwe Manqele has earned her parole as per Section 73(4) of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998. However, the court of public opinion thinks otherwise. Seven years ago, Manqele was convicted of murdering her then-boyfriend and famous Skwatta Kamp rapper, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, in his Alexandra home. Manqele was entenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in 2015. She served the first half of that sentence at the Johannesburg Correctional Services Centre before her release this past Tuesday. The DCS describes parole as a manner of placement where an offender, subject to the completion of a minimum period of a sentence inside the correctional centre and to specific criteria being met, may be allowed to serve a part of their sentence in the community.…

Since the first human case of monkeypox in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the disease has been reported in several other central and western African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. Most infections are in the DRC. Ghana has not reported a human case of monkeypox. However, the source of infection of 47 confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox in 2003 in the US was traced to small mammals. These include rodents, rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian giant rats, brushtail porcupines, dormice and striped mice imported from Ghana. This was the first time that human monkeypox was reported outside Africa. Of the cases in the current outbreak in several European countries none seem to have any…

As the ANC prepares for its policy conference in July, all eyes are on how it will project and reposition itself. Therefore, it will be necessary for the delegates to put their differences aside and work as a collective to propose practical solutions to the party and the country’s woes. While the ANC will be doing self-introspection and mapping a way forward, it will also have to listen to the many voices that are coming from all directions. Eventually, the ANC will have to craft policies that make sense to it as the organisation and to the people of South Africa beyond party politics, not policies that are meant to appease those who fail to see the bigger picture. In this regard, the ANC’s Chapter 5 on “progressive internationalism” will…

The waves of coups d’état that hit West Africa and the Sahel region between 2020 and 2021 have been unprecedented in the recent history of Africa. The last time Africa witnessed such democratic reversals was the post- independence era when military putsches marred the moderate political stability experienced by West African countries, such as Ghana and Nigeria. In Burkina Faso, the military struck five times within 27 years of independence. What explains the recent recurrence of what UN Secretary- General, António Guterres has called a “coups epidemic” in Africa? Mali has made headlines again with the government’s announcement of an attempted coup on May 11 and 12, reportedly led by anti-progressive Malian military officers under the sponsorship of a western country. While coups d’état have been spreading in the Sahel,…

Finland and Sweden applied for Nato membership last week, breaking decades-long military non-alignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan, as the leader of the country that has Nato’s second-largest army, has stated that Turkey would not agree to Finland and Sweden becoming Nato members. He says the countries support terrorists such as the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) and its Syrian offshoot YPG/PYD. It is plausible that Erdoğan is using this as an opportunity to display anger towards US President Joe Biden, who has displeased the regime. “Neither of these countries (Finland and Sweden) has an open, clear stance towards terrorist organisations. Sweden is already a hotbed of terrorist organisations,”Erdoğan said in a joint press conference with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria on May 16. They are reportedly…

RAY LIOTTA, an actor best known for his menacing, tough-guy roles in Something Wild and the mob drama Goodfellas who also had a significant supporting part in the baseball fantasy film Field of Dreams, was found dead on Thursday in the Dominican Republic, where he was making a movie. He was 67. Liotta worked on daytime soap operas and other television dramas before he had his breakout role as an ex-convict in Something Wild (1986), directed by Jonathan Demme. Critic Roger Ebert called him “mesmerising as the evil husband with vengeance on his mind”, and Liotta’s role became a template for the kind of volatile, charismatic character that would define his career. In 1989, he played the ghostly embodiment of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, depicting the real-life…

When Nasty C first burst onto the scene as a fresh faced teenager with his infectious club banger Juice Back in 2015, it was clear to most that we were witnessing the emergence of a generational talent. In next to no time, he had AKA trying to sign him, had a massive continental hit with Cassper Nyovest and Davido, and the expectation quickly became that he was destined to be the first local rap star to make a mark on the global music scene. In the time since, he’s built a stellar resumé that includes a huge album release with iconic US hip hop label Def Jam, a Netflix Original documentary that chronicled his trip to Tokyo in support of his recent globally marketed Zulu Man With Some Power album,…

From Page 1 Lukhele was arrested with Sipho Mkhatshwa, who was reportedly born in eSwatini but adopted by a South African family, and Albert Gama, who is said to be an eSwatini national and undocumented in South Africa. The trio were arrested after Mkhatshwa allegedly went to a sangoma for cleansing but refused to pay for the service. Police sources claim that Mkhatshwa allegedly offered one of the children from his fiancée’s previous marriage, who was born with albinism, as payment for the service. However, the sangoma said he wanted money. After Mkhatshwa failed to pay, the sangoma allegedly tipped off the police. Mkhatshwa also submitted an affidavit to the directorate in which he claimed he was tortured. However, a spokesperson for the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, vehemently…

Residents of Watersdal Informal Settlement in Sebokeng have been forced to sleep on the streets after their shacks were demolished. This was after the Red Ants were deployed to evict the occupants in the area. It has been alleged that the residents illegally occupied the land, which is private. The Red Ants left no stone unturned during the evictions in the informal settlement. Some residents slept in the streets, saying they had no other option. When Sunday Independent visited the area on Thursday, desperate residents such as Tumelo Rantsane were cooking by the roadside. Their belongings and furniture, such as mattresses, pots and cupboards, were next to them. “On Monday, the Red Ants called the community and told us that they were in a position to evict us. But we…

If there’s any writer who has displayed an honest and candid approach to the conversation about the complexities of racial struggles in this country, it has to be Haji Mohamed Dawjee. In her new book, Here’s the Thing, she offers a collection of thought-provoking essays. Filled with stories and insights that are at turns contemplative, comedic and controversial. There is a touching letter to her father, a piece on the honest truth about the pain in the a*** that is parenting, and ponderings over struggles with the vicissitudes of a modern world filled with cancel culture. There is also a serving of the many lessons the game of tennis has to offer, as well as hilarious insights into and observations about dustbins – yes, dustbins – and ageing that ring…

On Wednesday, the eve of Afrika Day, I found myself sauntering the lawns of the Union Buildings to “support” the black workers embroiled in a protracted strike against the mining company, Sibanye-Stillwater. Reportedly, this is the company that “bought” the mining operations in Marikana from that company, Lonmin, whose brand was associated with the massacre of black workers by the police of the post-1994 rainbow government of the ANC in August 2012. But my visit there was met with agonised, yet determined, faces of black people, the working class in this land on Afrika Month. This is the month which should really be reminding us about the ideals of liberation, anti-imperialism and anti-colonisation. The restoration of Afrika and its wealth from the colonial powers and white settlers lay at the…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria this week, mainly to lobby for a pro-West stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following brief stopovers in Dakar, Senegal and Abuja, Nigeria. West Africa possesses major fossil fuel deposits which Scholz wants, needing to halt methane gas imports from Russia’s Nordstream pipeline. Berlin’s vulnerability to Moscow gyrations, such as Vladimir Putin’s latest invasion of Ukraine (the first being Crimea in 2014), worsened dramatically once Western sanctions started to bite. Scholz’s predecessor Angela Merkel had profoundly misjudged Putin, encouraging more trade, investment and finance, hoping not only for gas supplies but a tighter Russia-European alliance. It was a vain, naïve fantasy, given not only the easily-triggered Putin’s brutal, expansionary ambitions, backed by nuclear weapons, but also his fury over a blatantly…

In 2017, shortly after taking office, the UN secretary-general addressed the Security Council and presented his vision for promoting international peace and security by “meeting the prevention challenge”. In order to achieve this objective, the secretary-general emphasised the need to reform the organisation, leverage partnerships, surge prevention capacities and support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as a tool for long-term prevention of conflicts. All in all, the secretary-general’s proposal to member states entailed reviewing the role played by the UN in the peace and security value chain and increasing the organisation’s focus and resources on areas that, until then, had been neglected but that would provide more sustainable results in a more cost-effective way, both with regard to financial resources employed and to human suffering. Unfortunately, five years later,…

China’s foreign ministry has accused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, pictured, of “smearing” the country after he delivered a speech calling for action to counterbalance Beijing’s influence. Blinken’s speech “spreads false information, exaggerates the China threat, interferes in China’s internal affairs, and smears China’s domestic and foreign policies”, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday. In a wide-ranging speech on Thursday, Blinken warned of China’s “intent to reshape the international order”, and called for a defence of the global order. He also accused Beijing of raising tension over Taiwan and said Beijing had “cut off Taiwan’s relations with countries around the world and blocking it from participating in international organisations”. Wang said Blinken’s speech showed the US sought to “contain and suppress China’s development and maintain US hegemony and…

KAIZER Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Junior says that everyone associated with the club has to set “realistic and honest” targets as they look to turn over a new leaf under coach Arthur Zwane. Chiefs this week appointed club legend Zwane as the new commander-in-chief. He replaces Stuart Baxter who was sacked towards the end of the season amid a string of poor results. Zwane’s appointment hasn’t been embraced by all the members of the football fraternity, given that this is his first senior coaching post and Chiefs are in desperate search of silverware after a seven-year trophy drought. Despite the pressure to deliver, Zwane embodies Chiefs’ aspirations. They are eager to re-establish their identity and culture, and Zwane has been with the club for 22 years, spending 10 of…

comment THERE can be no denying that Precious Mashele is a fantastic running talent. The Boxer Athletic Club athlete’s achievements in the past year confirmed his standing as one of the country’s top runners. And one of those was his dethroning of Stephen Mokoka as the national half marathon champion. It was a run for the ages out in Gqeberha that the lad from Ga-Maraba in Limpopo dished out to beat the man he calls his role model. With Mokoka seemingly set to win, Mashele sped up to stun the running legend in the final 5000m and win in 61:17. That he later won the 10km national championships and represented the country in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics confirmed just how brilliant a year he had. This year Mashele…

RECORD-high unemployment, particularly among the youth, is one of our country’s greatest challenges. Starting a business and all that it requires is notoriously difficult. The harsh reality is that most small businesses fail within their first year. And yet, within the turbulent environment, several young entrepreneurs are defying the odds. All of them share an important commonality – a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities. The entrepreneurs are paving the way for a new generation of businesses, many of which are on a mission to uplift their communities, tackle some of our country’s most pressing issues and contribute to economic recovery. Three of them to watch: Ezlyn Barends: the founding director of DreamGirls Academy Having been recognised as one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans and one…

Besides being the largest organ, our skin is also quite adaptable – when seasons gradually roll on from one to another, it acclimatises to the prevalent one. But even something as adaptable can react adversely when faced with sudden, brutal climate changes. Blame it on climate change Many skin conditions and diseases are aggravated by climate change. Inflammatory skin conditions such as dermatitis or eczema are likely to flare up when air pollution or stress is on the rise, as is the case with skin allergies. So, how do you know if it’s dehydration that's ailing your skin or dryness? Dehydration or dryness? Dehydrated skin is completely different from dry skin. The former only lacks water and is a condition, while the latter needs additional natural oils or sebum to…

FILM: Top Gun: Maverick STARRING: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jay Ellis DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski From the first dulcet tones of its synthesised score, to the Univers Ultra Condensed font used in its opening credits, Top Gun: Maverick announces, in no uncertain terms, that it feels the need ... the need to wring every nostalgic smile, cheer and teardrop it can from fans of the 1986 original. Replaying the prologue of its predecessor nearly beat for beat – that adrenaline-pumping music taking us into the danger zone; those sleek, vaguely phallic fighter jets taking off and landing on a huge aircraft carrier, while cool-looking guys gesticulate in cool-looking semaphore; all of it drenched in a romantic, magic-hour glow – Top Gun: Maverick knows exactly what it’s doing and how…

If a nation decides to change principles when what really is needed is to tweak its techne (methods), it truly will have succeeded in nothing more than throwing out the baby with the bathwater. We need to embrace what we have learned from experience and tradition, for much of it comes at a dear price. We need to embrace what we discover in research, for it is incredibly valuable and accurate. But we need to be mindful not to throw out the wisdom with the data. It is time we ask ourselves hard questions. I. Mitroff, James R Emshoff and Ralph H Kilmann, in their article titled “Assumptional Analysis: A Methodology for Strategic Problem Solving”, poignantly point out that our culture unconsciously trains us for compromise or even the avoidance…

AT LEAST 19 people are to be arrested for their alleged hand in the state capture of the country as implicated in the Zondo Commission Report. The Sunday Independent has established that the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate (ID) and the Hawks have set their sights on 19 people, including former state-owned enterprise (SOE) executives, implicated in state capture reports. They are expected to be arrested before the end of September this year. “It will be nasty and ugly in the next few weeks. Many people will use dirty tricks to evade their arrests, but we will hunt them down and bring them to justice,” said a senior NPA official, who asked not to be named as he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media yesterday. The publication understands…

From Page 1 They were arrested after the second Zondo Commission report, handed to President Cyril Ramaphosa in February, recommended that they should face criminal prosecution for their alleged role in state capture corruption. Their co-accused, who also appeared in court briefly on Friday, Kuben Moodley, a man described as the Guptas’ fixer, was arrested in September last year in connection with the same matter. Gama, Pita and Roy were released on R50 000 bail, while Ramosebudi is out on R25 000 bail, but Wood’s bail was set for R250 000. The case was postponed to July 13 this year. Gama is accused of illegally awarding a R50 billion contract to China South Rail for 104 locomotives, among other investigations he faces. He was fired from Transnet in 2018.…

THE ANC in Ekurhuleni was yesterday still determined to proceed with its hotly-contested regional conference despite unresolved disputes over the eligibility of some branches. Regional chairperson and former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina is expected to be challenged by erstwhile member of the mayoral committee for finance and economic development, Doctor Xhakaza. The ANC Youth League in Ekurhuleni voiced support for its former regional chairperson, Xhakaza, to replace former deputy trade and industry minister Masina. Masina told Sunday Independent that the disputes should not be entertained at the regional conference as they were referred to the national disputes committee. The provincial steering committee (PSC) had a meeting to resolve the issue and was expected to give an update late yesterday. However, Xhakaza said the PSC was engaging branches that were affected,…

UNISA has refused to answer questions on the steps it has taken to implement the forensic investigation into the R77 million purchase of laptops that recommended “corrective action” against its executives. Professor Puleng LenkaBula, the principal and vice-chancellor of Africa’s largest open distance learning institution, vice-principal for finance, supply chain management and business enterprises, and chief financial officer, Khathu Ramakumba and other members of Unisa’s management committee (ManCom) are in the firing line following the investigation by law firm Bowmans. The investigation found that LenkaBula, in her capacity as chairperson of ManCom, failed to ensure that council approval was obtained for the deviation from the prescribed supply chain management processes as the expenditure exceeded the R50m provided to the committee. Bowmans concluded that after a review of emails and draft…

I recently overheard a broadcast where the radio host asked members of the public to tell stories about their customer service experiences. In response, most callers identified petrol attendants as providing the best customer service. However, one caller threw a spanner in the whole discussion, pointing out that, due to the nature of their work, petrol attendants don’t need many technical skills, except to be friendly to customers and ensure that those customers get what they request – whether the correct amount of petrol or the proper tyre pressure. To that extent, the caller argued, petrol attendants are far below in comparison to, for example, waiters (who have to have a thorough knowledge of the menu, the time taken to prepare the food, wine pairing, etc) or call centre agents…

“I cannot be free as a black man, if I am not free as a gay man.” These were the words of anti-apartheid and LGBTQIA+ rights activist, the late Simon Nkoli, at the first South African pride march on October 13, 1990. During the march, as shown in producer and actress Dr Bev Ditsie’s documentary, Simon and I, homophobic diatribes were directed at the marchers. That was more than 30 years ago. Since then, much has changed, and a lot has also remained the same. South Africa became a constitutional democracy in 1994 and, 12 years later, became the first African country to legalise same-sex marriages, and the fifth country in the world to do so. Today only seven countries on the continent, out of 54 countries, have decriminalised homosexuality.…

In a surprise “blitz diplomacy” move, Germany’s newly elected Prime Minister (Chancellor) Olaf Scholz spent one day in South Africa on May 24. The day was divided into an extensive meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team, a visit to the Old Fort at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg (where Nelson Mandela was briefly imprisoned in 1956), a visit to Sasol headquarters, and, to conclude, the attendance of the 70th anniversary celebration of the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the last years of the Angela Merkel chancellorship, South African-German co-operation was regularly praised but yielded few new impulses. An anti-government stance adopted by past ambassador Martin Schäfer, in a finger-pointing list of complaints leaked in 2019 to the media as an “open letter” to Ramaphosa, nearly caused…

ANDILE Jali, the Mamelodi Sundowns playmaker, could walk away as the most decorated player at tonight’s PSL Awards virtual ceremony which will be televised live (7pm, SuperSport 202 and SABC). The 32-year-old Jali is no stranger to winning awards. He won the ‘PSL Player of the Season’ gong for the 2019 /2020 season and lifted the ‘Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament’ prize in 2011 while playing for Orlando Pirates. Despite his stand-out performances for Sundowns, who have claimed five Premiership titles on the trot, Jali has not been able to break into the national team for the upcoming Afcon matches. Jali, teammate Peter Shalulile and Victor Letsoalo (Royal AM) are the nominees for the PSL Footballer of the Season award. There are different voting procedures for the various categories.…

ORLANDO Pirates need five unanswered goals in their final game against SuperSport United tomorrow to make the DStv Premiership top three and secure a spot in a CAF club tournament. The Buccaneers were on the verge of lifting the CAF Confederation Cup against RS Berkane in Nigeria a week ago when they equalised in the latter stages of the game but sank on penalties in the end. They returned home and emphatically beat Maritzburg United in a league match. That result gave Pirates fans reason to believe that they would return to Africa next season. Next against Royal AM, Pirates were expected to take full points following a two-goal first half lead. But true to form the Sea Robbers squandered that lead as the match ended 2-2 after they capitulated…

RICH PEOPLE So Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was in Davos as part of a Fifa delegation, to talk about, err, stuff. That whole World Economic Forum is just one big talk shop where rich people go and justify why they are rich and should be listened to. They add no value whatsoever to the world other than to show off that they are rich. Anyway, Mostepe, said the following about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: “Every time I’m in Qatar I see thousands of people from all over the world having the privilege and excitement of employment and taking money home with the building of the stadiums and the hotels.” You see, Fifa needs to let the world know that playing in…