Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-06-12 i Sunday Independent

IN good part the idea of the Economic Modelling Academy (EMA), launched on Thursday, was inspired by the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation Dialogue Among Equals, colloquially known as the Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum. We are indebted to you President Motlanthe for this vision. The Economic Modelling Academy has a profound acronym, Ema. In the Sesotho languages Ema carries paradoxical meanings. It means stop, and it also means stand or rise. Depending on your station in life, the word advises appropriately with a profound philosophical advice on reflection. It is not coincidental that Ema has its acronym as this paradox, for indeed, in South Africa and the world we need to stop before we think of rising. We need to ema. Monts'oane A serious reset is necessary in the aftermath of…

Blxckie is in a tricky spot. He’s arguably the hottest artist in South Africa right now with several chart-topping singles and a wall full of gold and platinum plaques to boot. But he’s also pretty new, having exploded on to the scene only 18 months ago with Big Time Sh’lappa alongside Lucas Raps before he certified himself as a bona fide star with the Nasty C-assisted anthem, Ye X4. It’s easy to forget that he just got here, such has been his incredible hit rate and the sheer volume of his musical output. Most artists take at least five years to build such a diverse and voluminous catalogue. As a newcomer, the temptation for Blxckie is to take what he gets and just be happy that he’s “made it”. When…

REPRESENTATION has become an important topic in the entertainment industry. Everyone wants to see someone who looks like them on screen. Whether it’s race, gender, sexuality or the shade of skin, it’s been proven that we are most likely to consume that content if we feel represented. From #OscarsSoWhite to #Diversity- AndInclusion, the issue of representation has been one that has been key in Hollywood and the entertainment industry for almost a decade. One of the major reasons Disney’s Encanto was such a success (beyond We Don’t Talk About Bruno), was because young children saw characters who looked like them, had the same hair or skin colour as them. The same can be said about the new Ms Marvel, which sees Iman Vellani cast as the first Muslim superhero, which…

From Page 1 “The MEC also asked Zakhele to buy him size 10 designer shoes in my presence,” said a source, who asked not to be named. The source alleged that Potted also delivered sports bags stuffed with cash to Shongwe. “Some of the deliveries were done in my presence,” the source added. The source also claimed that a businessman representing five successful bidders in the tender allegedly gave Shongwe a sports bag stuffed with R2.5 million in cash. Potted yesterday confirmed that his company was awarded the security tender two weeks ago, but denied bribing anyone to win it. Initially, Potted denied knowing Shongwe. He eventually admitted knowing the MEC but maintained that he was “too poor to bribe anyone“. “I am not close to politicians. I am just…

From Page 1 Ramaphosa also claims that he wasn’t aware that Rhoode, whom he had tasked to investigate the robbery at his farm, had allegedly kidnapped and tortured the suspects to hand back the remaining loot. During the closing of the Limpopo ANC provincial conference last Sunday, the president maintained that he had not broken any law or committed a crime. He said the money stolen at his Phala Phala farm in 2020 was from selling game animals and cattle. While the pressure is mounting for Ramaphosa to step aside while allowing the law to take its course, Geingob is also under pressure in Nambibia from the media and opposition parties. On Friday, Geingob’s office issued a statement stating that Fraser did not “make any allegation of criminality on…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has cut some the perks of members of his executive, including stopping the practice of the government paying for security at ministers’ and their deputies’ private residences. Ramaphosa approved the new guidelines for members of the executive on April 13, according to a letter written by Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi on May 17. The guidelines, formerly known as the ministerial handbook, apply to ministers, their deputies, premiers and MECs. The government said the changes have been necessitated by the need to ensure good governance with due regard to cost effectiveness and efficiency. In terms of the guidelines, the government will not be liable for the costs of any security upgrades effected or to be effected at the private residence of a member of…

After a two-year forced hiatus due to Covid lockdowns and restrictions, one of Africa’s most established multi-sector trade shows is back. In its 28th year, SAITEX is being co-hosted with food and beverage show Africa’s Big 7 and the Halal International Trade Expo at the Gallagher Convention Centre between June 19 and 21. “For almost three decades, SAITEX has been bringing buyers and sellers together, but this year feels markedly different, as it has been such a long time since our exhibitors and visitors last engaged in person,” says portfolio director of food, hospitality and trade, Evan Schiff. “This represents a unique opportunity for industry professionals to reconnect and develop strategic trade partnerships for future intra-Africa growth,” he says. With leading buyers and suppliers from over 25 countries showcasing their…

The Ukraine conflict broke out in February amid heightened tension between Russia and the US-led Nato, threatening to bring back the proliferation of weapons following a long lull. At the centre of the conflict as it played out was a context often omitted deliberately from the narrative and seldom referred to in mainstream media as well as social media platforms. That conveniently-avoided context is the illegal overthrow of the then democratically-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Western media outlets pleasantly referred to the coup as “the revolution of dignity”, or “Maidan revolution”. Yanukovych’s well-documented sin – or undoing – in the eyes of the powerful Western governments, was his unmistakable pro-Russian stance in regional and global politics. In the immediate aftermath of Yanukovych’s violent ousting were less-predicted wide-spread protests in the…

Recent developments in the country have left many people stunned. First, Arthur Fraser, the former spy boss, spilt the beans about the loss of millions of dollars at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm. This took the country by surprise. But what was even more surprising were the alleged offshoots of the incident. Among them were the allegations of torture, bribery and failure to report the incident to the police, as should be the case. While trying to digest this incident as a nation, political parties were equally concerned about it. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa proposed that the president go on sabbatical, at least until the middle of August. Taking the matter even further, the leader of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), Vuyolwethu Zungula, wrote to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane,…

How quickly has the world forgotten that France celebrated a daring football World Cup final win over Croatia, 4-2 on July 15, 2018, in Moscow, about a year after Emmanuel Macron was elected the youngest president of France. The celebration was global. Somehow, it was also seen as an African win as France’s young, racially diverse and carefree squad, Les Bleus, was mainly made of players of African origin. Among them was a young French-born man of mixed origins of a Cameroonian father and Algerian mother. His name, Kylian Mbappé. He was 19 years old at the time when he scored the fourth winning goal. In March 2017, he became the youngest player in 62 years to start for France. In the summer of 2018, he was picked for the…

The history of international relations is a story of wars and conflicts, passing by with the ebb and flow of time. However, the only clash that has remained for 75 years and survived the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR, and even Covid, is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those in pursuit of short-term political gains often present the Israeli- Palestinian conflict from an emotional angle. This kind of presentation causes history to fall prey to those trying to manipulate it. The emotional manipula- tion conveniently canvasses facts behind the canopy of a victim. Sadly, Israel continues to be a scapegoat for all the misfortunes that have befallen Arab people, particularly the Palestinians. Many of the accusations comprise a great deal of propaganda, slogans, imagination and the distortion of historical facts.…

Charles Leclerc lived up to his status as the master of poles this season when pulling a flying lap out of the bag in qualifying yesterday for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver, registering his fourth consecutive pole and sixth of the season, is joined on the front row for today’s race by the Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Perez, who won on the streets of the Azerbaijani capital 12 months ago and in Monaco last time out, again outperformed his world champion teammate Max Verstappen. Verstappen starts on the second row with Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari. “It feels good,” said a visibly thrilled Leclerc. “All poles feel good, but this one I didn’t expect. I thought the Red Bulls were stronger in first and second qualifying…

Such has been Gerda Steyn’s achievements since she took up running in her early adulthood that you’d expect her to be content. Surely anyone who holds three records of major races in her country should be delighted and perhaps even ready to call it in. Not so Steyn. The Comrades Up Run, Two Oceans and national marathon records that she holds are not enough. “Of course, the Comrades Down Run that I don’t have is on my radar. But I know that I will have to be in tip top condition to break it. Frith (Van der Merwe, who ran a 5:54:43 in 1989) was a fantastic athlete and it will take something special to beat her time. And remember, the current distance is about a kilometre longer than the…

The relevance of trade unions is one of the hot debates of 2022. This was triggered largely by the leadership brawl within the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and events building up to its second national congress. In the tenuous state-union relations under the apartheid government, attempts were made to confine the activities of black trade unions to the workplace, as opposed to taking up community struggles and participating in national politics. Cosatu-linked trade unions were opposed to the view and asserted that they, on principle, would not be apolitical in an unjust society. In the crucible of the anti-privatisation struggles of the early 2000s, this bread-and-butter view of unionism surfaced again. Proponents of this view were in the ANC and government leadership, who would otherwise have rejected this…

The popular hashtag #TheRiskITook challenge, trending among teenagers on social media has once more brought to the fore the follies of unsupervised and unrestricted access to platforms such as TikTok among growing children. In the videos that have gone viral, the teenagers, some as young as 14, share experiences on how they had unprotected sex and ended up having babies with their equally teenaged partners. They also share videos of themselves and their babies. Experts fear that the hashtag could be perceived as glamourising teenage pregnancy and unprotected sex among the young population in a country like South Africa, where there is a high rate of teen pregnancies and an equally high school dropout rate. One TikTok video shows a photograph of a 15-year old boy with the words: “I…

From Page 1 Maree added that teachers already within the system needed to continue to integrate education on the risks of participating on social media platforms with the existing systems in place. He said that while educators could not control the behaviour of teenagers outside school buildings, they could do so in the classrooms, but needed more support. “We need to tackle the core problems with our teen students. Life Orientation teachers should ideally have an educational psychologist at least associated with every cluster of schools,” he said. “At this stage, our educational psychologists are being lured away in numbers to other countries, like New Zealand. The educational psychology graduates here feel despondent over the opportunities and end up leaving.” Phakamile Khumalo, leader of Web Rangers, a peer-to-peer programme that…

LEADERSHIP battles are intensifying in the ANC, with structures taking the organisation to courts. The party’s Mangaung region has become the latest to follow this route, and has approached the Free State High Court due to what it terms the “slow pace of conference preparations”. The region, which filed an urgent application against provincial and national leaders, is also complaining about the validity of the interim structures. The group is calling on the court to intervene in the party’s “failure and neglect” to take necessary steps for new leadership to be elected in branches, regions and the province. The application, dated June 9, was launched against the ANC, treasurer- general and acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile, the Free State interim provincial committee (IPC), its co-ordinator Paseka Nompondo, convenor Mxolisi Dukwana, the…

The brutal killing of Hastings Ndlovu, Hector Pieterson and many others on June 16 1976 has bound our people together by the blood that covered the streets of Soweto, the blood that has since soaked the soil of our motherland even deeper. In his book, The Road to Soweto: Resistance and the Uprising of 16 June 1976, Julian Brown cogently observes that Soweto did not stand alone in the past. The uprising did not explode out of a period of quiescence, resurrecting a buried tradition of struggle. It arose out of the incremental, imperfect and ambiguous struggles of the previous dozen years – the struggles of white and black students, of workers, and of communities. These struggles shaped the terrain on which the school-going students of Soweto acted, providing examples…

An interactive picture book about a little girl on an adventure SABC Business news anchor Nzinga Qunta has released a children’s book called Amari’s Adventures – an interactive picture book about a little girl who goes on an adventure and encounters South African plants, animals and people along the way. The character encourages little ones to start counting with her as they proceed to read Amari’s Adventures which has been translated into all 11 official South African languages. as well as Nama, a Khoisan language spoken by the people of the Northern Cape. “What I found was that when I was going to bookshops I wasn’t finding exactly what I was looking for. I wanted my child to read a book that catered to young readers in various languages and…

The recently released crime stats for quarter one of 2022 depict an alarming picture of a continued war against the bodies of women and children in our society. The reported crimes committed in the first quarter of the year indicate a sharp increase in the number of women and children who were raped and murdered. In the first three months of this year, 10 818 people were raped in South Africa. Almost half of the cases took place at the home of the victim or the home of the rapist. Of the 6 083 people killed in the country, 898 of them were women, and 306 were children under the age of 17. Alarmingly, the murder of children recorded a 37.2% increase in the period of reporting. Therefore, the declaration…

Rwanda has come a long way since the 1994 genocidal orgy of violence against the Tutsis and murderous rampage against moderate Hutus. It was estimated that for 100 days, between 800 000 and 1 million people were slaughtered, families wiped out, the country’s social fabric decimated and the economy was left in ruins. Rwanda became the byword for a failed state. After the civil war triumph of the Rwanda Patriotic Front forces led by the current regime with its leader President Paul Kagame, the task of rebuilding Rwanda was daunting. The country has stitched itself back together, fostering unity and reconciliation, conventional and retributive justice and positioning itself as a knowledge-based service-oriented economy with enormous potential. So what has changed? For a start, the country has enjoyed a…

Proteas all-rounder Wayne Parnell believes the visitors are braced for an Indian onslaught in the second T20I in Cuttack today. The visitors pulled off a remarkable record chase in the first T20I to stun the hosts in Delhi last Thursday. India were in control for the first two thirds of the contest, before David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen combined for an unbroken, 131-run partnership to power the Proteas over the line with five balls to spare. “This match is going to be crucial. India will definitely bounce back. They are a quality side. We don’t expect anything else. Every single game till the Bengaluru T20I is going to be very, very tough,” Parnell said in the pre-match conference on Saturday. South Africa will, though, be hoping to start…

GENERATION Z, the individuals born between 1994 and 2010, are entering the workforce and driving some revolutionary changes as they go. Like every generation before them, Generation Z has different characteristics, priorities and opinions. Their arrival at businesses across the country runs parallel to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Having grown up in the digital age, Gen Zs are more in tune with the digital world than any generation before them. What this means for employers, big and small, is that recruiting and retaining the best talent from this generation will require a new approach. These five hiring tips for Gen Zs are based on insights about these dynamic, future-forward individuals: Flexibility is the ‘new normal’ Even before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the exponential rise in remote working,…

Artworks by some of Africa’s leading creatives, the likes of Zanele Muholi, Thania Petersen, Rahima Ismail, Segun Aiyesan, Lionel Davis and Sma Rajoale Kumalo, are on show in the District Six Homecoming Centre. Themed “Salon Afrique – a Homecoming Reimagined”, the exhibition aims to celebrate the continent’s diverse cultures and heritage. Curated by Beathur Mgoza Baker and Sara Bint Moneer Khan, it’s inspired by the history of District Six, which was a community that was a socio-cultural microcosm of diversity. “District Six was a place of the immigrant experience and journeying toward creating a new-found sense of home and belonging for many different cultural groups in Cape Town. It was a melting pot where everyone could fit in,” Baker says. “The concept of the exhibition is based on the…

The well-being of Gauteng residents is once again in jeopardy after yet another dismal performance by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development. During the last quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year, this department failed to meet and deliver on a number of targets. This is deeply worrying as this department is critical to ensuring that basic services are delivered to our residents unhindered. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that this department is full of cracks that no amount of plastering will fix. The unacceptable performance of this department is not unknown to the administration of David Makhura, who during the recent State of the Province Address (Sopa) debate lamented the fact that the Department of Infrastructure, because of its poor performance, is not able to meet its mandate. He…

TWO presidents have for the past 13 days failed to come clean and explain their roles in the alleged cover-up in the theft of undisclosed American dollars, estimated to be $4 million, at the Phala Phala farm owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February 2020. Former State Security director-general Arthur Fraser, in an affidavit filed when he opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa at the Rosebank police station last Wednesday, alleged that the president “sought the help” of his Namibia counterpart, Hage Geingob, “in apprehending the suspect in Namibia”. Fraser also implicated Ramaphosa’s head of the Presidential Protection Unit, Wally Rhoode, in allegations of criminal conduct. The main culprit in the Dollar$gate saga is Immanuwela David, the man believed to be the mastermind of the robbery…

TWO survivors of the bus crash that claimed the lives of 15 people and left others critically injured say they are grateful to be alive. The bus that was on its way to Centurion collided with a truck which came from the opposite direction on the M17 road near Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria. The cause of the accident remains unknown. Forty-three-year-old Sanah Motsamai (not her real name) from Zone 6 in Ga-Rankuwa is one of the survivors of the crash. Motsamai struggled to talk about the accident without tears filling her eyes. Although Motsamai suffered minor cuts to both her legs, the experience seems to have had more of a psychological than physical impact. She said she did not remember what happened, but recalled hearing a deafening bang. “The…

A local footwear brand, Vokal, has received international recognition for its authentic and unique athletic appeal. The brand has been nominated for the 2022 Global Footwear Awards (GFA) in the best design category for its V8 style. Kabelo Masia, 31, from JB Mafora in Bloemfontein, Free State, is the entrepreneurial brains behind the brand. The GFA is an initiative founded by the Farmani Group, a design and photography company headquartered in Los Angeles, US, to honour footwear designers worldwide, from emerging designers to those in the big league. The winners of the 2022 awards will be announced in November. The award nomination is a notable achievement for the Vokal brand. Masia said it took nearly a decade to conceptualise the idea and put it on paper. He views the nomination…

Like most South Africans, I have these past weeks been engrossed in the late Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa murder court case where defence lawyer advocate Zandile “Smiling Assassin” Mshololo has “brick by brick” been demolishing the testimony of State witness Sergeant Thabo Mosia. Besides all the ups and downs relating to the case, what caught my eye was an incident where the court proceedings (conducted in English) were projected on the screen as text. However, the sub-titles were in some gibberish instead of being in English. What came to mind was an article last year in The Story Exchange, an award-winning non-profit media organisation dedicated to elevating women’s voices, talking about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives. Artificial intelligence has incredible potential.…

It was the great African scholar Franz Fanon who said: “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.” Looking back at the history of the Struggle against apartheid, there is no doubt that the generation of 1976 defined its mission: the Struggle against apartheid. It was a mission which started with the legendary generation of OR Tambo and Nelson Mandela and was felt to be moving at a snail’s pace. Something needed to be done to speed things up. The ’76 generation was the catalyst for the building of a popular movement that brought communities and interest groups from every part of the country together to end apartheid. The youth of our country provided a steroid effect that radically changed the pace…

Two southern African countries, South Africa and eSwatini, are undergoing important reforms. South Africa is reviewing its electoral system while eSwatini is revisiting the powers of the monarch through a national dialogue. South Africa and eSwatini can look to Lesotho for lessons. It’s a fellow member of the SADC and has grappled with these issues for decades. The three countries share geographic, historical and economic ties. The kingdom of Lesotho returned to electoral politics in 1993, after a long haul of dictatorship capped by a military junta. Since then, it has experienced mutinies, coups and electoral violence. The advent of tumultuous coalition politics in 2012 laid bare the long-standing problems associated with the prime minister’s excessive powers that compromised the security forces, the judiciary, civil service and even parliament, thereby…

“They Don’t Know if They Want to be Matt Dillon (the sheriff on TV’s Gunsmoke) or Bob Dylan.” – Gil Scott Heron, “B” Movie, 1981. THE US has had a horrifying run of gun violence. Three days ago, a factory worker opened fire on his co-workers at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland, killing at least three people and wounding others following a shoot-out with police. Last month, a young white supremacist killed 10 black Americans at a grocery store with an AR 15, and in a separate incident, a young Hispanic man killed 19 elementary pupils and two teachers with the same military-grade weapon. The gun is designed so that its bullets tumble through soft tissue. It blew the children into pieces; their parents had to have their DNA…

Cape Town All Stars threw a spanner in the works in the promotion-relegation play-offs when they snatched a 2-1 win against Swallows FC at the Danie Craven Stadium yesterday. Cape Town-born Grant Margeman broke the deadlock for Swallows with a rocket from outside the box in the 62nd minute. The 24-year-old midfielder took advantage of a tiring All Stars and surprised them with a beautifully struck effort with his weaker left foot that flew past goalkeeper Kyle Peters before he could even move. All Stars midfielder, Ronaldo Maarman, replied with a spectacular effort of his own when he pulled his side level in the 88th minute. The stocky youngster drove a piledriver past Jody February in goals. Disaster struck a moment later when Swallows captain Wandisile Letlabika handled a cross…

THEY looked down and out for most of the afternoon, but when it really mattered, the Stormers showed skill and composure to get over the line against Ulster yesterday. Manie Libbok was the hero by slotting the conversion of Warrick Gelant’s last-minute try to secure a 17-15 victory at Cape Town Stadium to book a spot in next Saturday’s final against the Bulls in the Mother City. The fact that the home side managed to dig deep right in the dying stages speaks volumes about the character of Steven Kitshoff’s team. When Ulster ran onto the pitch, they looked like Kaizer Chiefs with their golden yellow jerseys. But the way they managed to bulldoze their way through the Stormers, they were more like Spanish football side Villarreal – whose nickname…

Luxury brands are now offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences to keep wealthy travellers on their toes. For example, the Capella Hotel Group created a unique camping experience for travellers looking for something other than a hotel. They offer one-bedroom Terrace tents with large outdoor decks, indoor and outdoor bathrooms and unspoilt views. All have outdoor dining areas, oversized daybeds and private pools. Guests have exclusive access to the Officer’s Tent living room as well as the service of a Capella Culturist (concierge) 24 hours a day. According to statistics, destination is one of the important factors for luxury travellers. As Alejandro Pérez-Ferrant, says in a Tribe Global statement: “When making a purchase, high-level travellers first choose the destination and then the on-site service, preferably exclusive boutique hotels, followed by international hotels’’. After…