Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-06-19 i Sunday Independent

According to the Business Partners Limited quarterly SME Index, two of the top three challenges that small businesses face consistently relate to the economics of doing business. Managing cash flow is one of the leading make-or-break factors that influence whether small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are able to overcome the hurdles of their start-up years to grow into sustainable businesses over the long term. And while it is not necessary for small business owners to be qualified financial practitioners, a reasonable degree of financial acumen is essential. It is particularly important for SME owners to be uncompromisingly diligent with their financial management during a global economic downturn. The following three quick fixes are practical ways that small businesses can apply to improve their financial management: Leverage digital tools The digital…

Cosmetic dentistry is on the rise as the pressure to look perfect is ever increasing. The number of people opting to improve their smile is growing, as our pearly whites are a special part of our physical appearance. There is a long list of procedures one can do to improve one’s smile, which includes teeth whitening, orthodontics (braces), crowns and enamel shaping, the latest to trend in cosmetic dentistry being dental veneers. Local celebrities and their international counterparts have been flocking to places like Dubai and Turkey to get their veneers. The likes of Khanyi Mbau and her businessman beau Kudzai Mushonga recently had theirs done in Dubai. Musicians Murdah Bongz and Davido, and Real Housewives of Lagos reality TV stars Iyabo Ojo and Chioma Ikokwu haven’t been shy to…

Motivational speakers say: It is not how you start (that matters); it is how you finish. If this truism were to be applied to that ex-con we would all love to hate, Gayton McKenzie, it would not be misplaced. The man is busy turning the stereotype on its head. The other day he was just another criminal mastermind blowing the whistle on the shenanigans inside the prison system in Mangaung; a no-hoper, a gangster – in the eyes of many. Today, as mayor of the Central Karoo District, he is worth a second look. This past week he knuckled down, minus the mayoral chain, to join residents in closing the potholes in Beaufort West. Potholes are so ubiquitous in the Republic they’ll soon contest the Protea and the Springbok as…

SOUTH African authorities allegedly gave the Namibian police the silent treatment to frustrate their investigation into suspects linked to the robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm. It has been established that at least two official letters and numerous phone calls from their Namibian counterparts who sought assistance to put the robbery of American dollars, estimated to be between $4 million and $8 million at Ramaphosa’s farm to bed, went unanswered. This week, at least three sources indicated that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) received communication in 2020 regarding the robbery and assistance was sought from them, but nothing materialised. On Friday, a senior former NPA official who asked not to be named to protect his identity confirmed that he had seen two letters from Namibia seeking legal assistance…

From Page 1 DebtBusters’ chief executive, Benay Sager, found that the increase in loans and the lack of salary increases have led to more South Africans, particularly men, seeking debt counselling. “The number of men enquiring about debt counselling has increased from 48% to 56% since 2016,” said Sager. “In a society where debt isn’t readily discussed and many men may have avoided seeking help, this is encouraging.” The conversation around debt management has been a topic that the debt-counselling sector has been flagging as a concern for several years. First National Bank revealed in their own study that middle-income consumers were spending up to 80% of their monthly salary within five days of being paid. Their statistics suggest that an average middle-income South African who earns between R180 000…

THE NATIONAL Treasury has told the City of Johannesburg to open a criminal case against the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for economic development, Nkululeko Mbundu. This comes after a complaint was sent to the Treasury over Mbundu’s alleged interference in the procurement process of service providers. In a letter dated June 3 to Sipho Mzobe, the acting chief financial officer of the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), an entity under Mbundu’s portfolio, the Treasury said the accounting officer was responsible for the implementation of the municipal entity’s supply chain management policy. As such, supply chain management did not fall within the mandate of the MMC. The letter from Basani Duiker, chief director: governance, monitoring and compliance, was in response to complaints about Mbundu’s conduct in the procurement and tender…

The consensus among experts and students of international relations is that a country’s foreign policy is an expression of and seeks to benefit its domestic policy. Marxist analysts often add that it is the interests of the elites that are served by any foreign policy. Many have argued, for instance, that all the interventions by Western countries in most African and Middle Eastern countries are purely for the control of natural resources – oil, minerals, gas, cocoa, opium, coca, and many others. If these are the real interests of the many wars and coups that we have seen in our lifetime being perpetrated by Western countries, what then do we make of the interventions, past and present, that we have seen non-Western countries, such as Russia, making in the affairs…

Public service wage negotiations for 2022 started against the backdrop of the government’s failure to honour the last leg of a negotiated 2018 three-year wage agreement, and growing financial pressures on public-sector employees. The Public Servants Association (PSA) took this non-compliance by the government to the Constitutional Court to protect the rights and interests of public servants. Unfortunately, the court sided with the government and public servants were denied their negotiated wage increase, leaving them frustrated and creating mounting concern about the future of collective bargaining in South Africa. For the latest round of negotiations, all unions pressed for a single-year agreement, as there is no trust in government to uphold longer-term agreements. The PSA and other unions tabled a consolidated wage demand at a special Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining…

Post-colonial African states and their universities have refused to be seriously committed to the deconstruction of higher education curricula. South Africa is not an exception. While successive post-apartheid administrations have tried to implement policies to stem the tide of knowledge dependency and prioritise the transformation agenda, the curriculum of universities continues to reflect western hegemony. From the 1995 National Commission on Higher Education to the 1996 Green Paper on Higher Education Transformation as well as the 1997 White Paper on the transformation of higher education, none have resulted in an effective curriculum reconstruction. The outcomes-based education upon which the transformation agenda is constructed, focuses on increasing the quality of education, and not necessarily on expanding access to education. It was a goal-driven educational template. Reinforcing the importance of higher education,…

For the Palestinians, the past five weeks have seen some of the worst violence exacted by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on young people and journalists. Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s assassination was just one in a long string of killings that have been enacted with impunity. The world was shocked by the killing of Abu Akleh on May 11, and the subsequent attacks on mourners and pallbearers at her funeral. An investigation by CNN found that her killing was targeted and not accidental. New evidence shows that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight witnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that…

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, pictured, will visit Turkey next week, a Turkish official said on Friday. It is the first visit to the country by the Saudi de facto ruler since the brutal killing in 2018 of Saudi insider-turned-critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi’s murder shocked the world and dealt a heavy blow to ties between the regional rivals. The prince is expected to visit Ankara, but details of the visit are still to be announced. |…

THE Department of Employment and Labour has opened hundreds of fraud cases against companies that listed ghost employees for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme or Ters. These companies would illegally obtain their victims’ information to make fraudulent claims. Some victims found out through the SA Revenue Service (Sars), others when they applied for the Covid-19 social relief grant that they were victims of the scam. Twenty-five-year-old Ntokozo Siza, from Soweto, discovered that he was a victim of the fraud when he received numerous letters from Sars from 2020 until last year. At first, Siza brushed off the letters thinking it was a Sars error. However, he continued to receive the letters until he decided to go to Sars to find out why he was receiving letters…

THE Gauteng Human Settlements Department has been ordered to pay businessman David Mabilu’s company Vharanani Properties more than R1.85 million to partly settle a dispute over the construction of low-cost housing and rental units. Vharanani Properties built the houses in Nellmapius Extension 22, Heatherley East in Tshwane, after being awarded the contract in June 2005. The clash between the company and the department started in July 2018 when Vharanani Properties submitted an invoice for more than R5.2m. The department only paid about R3.9m in November that year. In 2019, Vharanani Properties demanded payment of the remaining R1.3m, for which the department admitted liability but failed to pay despite the company’s lawyers writing a letter of demand. Vharanani Properties maintained that it executed the work for which the claim was made…

From Page 1 “The Namibian police force identified individuals, bank accounts and various properties including lodges, houses and vehicles suspected to have been purchased with proceeds of crime and consulted the prosecutor general’s office to consider a preservation order of the assets,” the statement said. “A preservation order was issued, and a formal request was made through the ministry of justice to South Africa to confirm whether or not a crime was registered in South Africa. However, no response was received from South African authorities, resulting in the cancellation of the preservation order and release of assets,” the statement added. The statement added that South African authorities failed to help them. Justice Minister Ronald Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, yesterday said: “We have noted reports about the request for information from…

AfriForum announced this week that it would be implementing a new border watch initiative to help regulate and minimise criminal activity on the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. It follows its frustration at the lapse in border security that has overwhelmed the Department of Home Affairs, thwarting its border management efforts. AfriForum campaigns manager Jacques Broodryk explained how the Musina branch of its neighbourhood watch in Limpopo had regularly become involved in the curbing of criminal activity and border jumpers, who had tried to enter the country illegally or with contraband. “The scariest thing is how blatantly crime is taking place,” Broodryk said. “There are a lot of shocking aspects regarding our border control. If you know where to drive, you can head there in the middle of…

Driving the Amatyma movement, founder TT Mbha spoke to South African actor Abdul Khoza on his weekly feature called Wellness Check-in where he speaks to different fathers about their mental health, and physical and financial wellness. Speaking about the importance of the mental health of men, Khoza, who is actor Sthembiso Khoza’s younger brother, said he was currently working on a single that spoke largely about men’s mental health. “I personally feel that it is such a neglected issue (mental health) and a neglected pandemic to a point that it’s taken a couple of people in the media industry to realise that it’s a big issue, because we as men cry on our own and no one comforts us. Some men are denied access to their children, and they have…

Many South Africans have already drawn their conclusions regarding the judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, corruption and fraud in the Public Sector, including Organs of State. The inquiry was meant to be broad in scope. This, however, was not to be. It didn’t take long before it was reduced to a poorly orchestrated public flagellation of the former president, Jacob Zuma, and those considered to be his associates. The inquiry was exploited to the full by those who used it as an opportunity to settle their personal and political scores. Just a few months into the inquiry, one of the star witnesses, Mcebisi Jonas, cautioned about the risk of the commission being misdirected. Jonas warned: “The danger, I would still argue, with the process of state…

The horror of witchcraft accusations and ritual abuse against girls and boys across the continent is again rearing its ugly head – and none are more at risk than children with albinism. Fuelled by discrimination and stigmatisation, Africa continues to witness horrific cases of abuse, ill-treatment, abduction, mutilation of body parts and even murder of persons with albinism. Every year, thousands of children in Africa face accusations of witchcraft and suffer abuse and attacks, yet these crimes remain “hidden in plain sight”. Children with albinism are at much higher risk. The UN reports hundreds of cases of attacks and killings of persons with albinism in 28 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade. In spite of these horrifying reports, many African governments shun their obligations as signatories to the…

In May, Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli launched the country’s National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) 2050. This comes ahead of the country hosting the 27th Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, in November, and against the backdrop of being one of the most vulnerable countries to the impact of climate change. Yet, its global share of carbon emissions is less than 0.6 percent. Climate change threatens Egypt’s economic and human development across sectors such as agriculture, water, health, and infrastructure development. In Africa, Egypt has been a forerunner in climate change adaptation and sustainable development, with the goal of becoming the region’s hub for clean and renewable energy by the stipulated timeline. The NCCS 2050 is an extension of the country’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and other green…

AMAZULU Football Club have further strengthened their 2022/2023 squad with the capture of sensational youngster Ethan Brooks from TS Galaxy. Usuthu are one of a few clubs under a massive reconstruction, the permanent appointment of Brandon Truter and the release of 15 players a huge indicator of the club’s aims to establish a framework around the club. The club also announced the signing of 10 new players last week, the most notable element being a decrease in the average age of the current crop of players, a feature that 21-year-old Brooks matches perfectly. Usuthu chairman Sandile Zungu surprised many when he offloaded players that were key to the revival of the Durban club last month. But the new signings that the club has been announcing will bring back hope to…

THE objective was to win the Big Five Marathon. But a puncture en route to the race put paid to this and I was left having to consider making it third-time next year. The Big Five Marathon takes place inside the Entabeni Game Reserve in Sterkrivier, just outside Mookgophong in Limpopo. It is organised by the Danish company, Albatross Adventure Marathons, which have some seriously exciting races the world over. The Big Five Marathon is mainly run by Europeans who are in the country on safari, together with a few locals running the half marathon. I ran the Big Five last year and finished runner-up to Italian Christian Stuffer. I’d seen the finish times from previous years and thought I had what it took to at least get a…

In his State of the Nation Address, the president called for a social compact that had a date stamp of July. Baroness Minouche Shafik, the director of the London School of Economics, in her recently released book titled, What We Owe Each Other, discusses intergenerational challenges of the world precipitated by climate change of the past and present. She calls for a social contract that enables us to reset and gather what our true north could be. Seven years ago the right questions in this regard were asked. In the southern tip of Africa, a young man, Zwide Ndwandwe, accosted me at OR Tambo International Airport and asked me the question of whether South Africa owed itself the answer to the question of the future of its youth. He then…

Throughout history, women have faced pressure to have certain body shapes – often leading them to use extreme methods to achieve them. So you’d think with a greater emphasis on body positivity in recent years that the days of wearing corsets and other restrictive undergarments would be behind us. In reality, the global shape wear industry is booming – with sales of these products projected to reach $3.7 billion (R59bn) by 2028. While corsets can be traced back to the 16th century, it was in the 18th century that the hourglass shape became fashionable. Corsets had also come to represent elite status and physical fragility, which was symbolic of femininity. Different body ideals have come in and out of fashion since, largely shaped by popular celebrities or even famous images…

What were the June 16, 1976 Soweto Uprisings really about? This is a perennial question that needs to be properly addressed with utmost honesty. It has become crystal clear that this question is hugely side-lined and, at best, distorted. The danger, however, comes with the deliberate misrepresentation and erasure of this monumental epoch in the history of black resistance movements in this country of ours, Azania. The chicanery of the master-plotters of the rainbow nation in decontextualising and delinking this from the broader liberation project has been a very lethal substance injected in our psyche and social narrative. Black people need to take full responsibility on this matter, reclaim June 16, restore its sacred stature and remove all the convenient and artificial ambiguities around it. In my view, the decision…

It is an open secret that young South Africans may be not be waving, but drowning in a sea of easy debt, which exposes the wonky management of their financial affairs. A study by Eighty20, the Cape Town-based research and data analytics consultancy, shows that about 20% of the 1.2 million South Africans aged between 18 and 24 are credit-active. The report also reveals that student debt has risen to R16.5 billion as of March this year. Sebastien Alexanderson, founder and debt counsellor at National Debt Advisor (NDA), has warned that as South Africans become increasingly reliant on credit to make ends meet, the spending priorities among the youth need to change. Alexanderson said the NDA notes the seriousness of students transitioning to the workplace with a huge amount of…

From Page 1 “I’m unsure how much they claimed. When I first reported this issue, the department of labour thought I wanted to defraud it. “They had to ascertain that I was not an employee of that company. The department started its investigation shortly after they confirmed that I was being truthful,” Moupi said. Moupi’s case is still under investigation, as he only found that the company registered him for UIF three weeks ago. On the other hand, Siza’s case did not take long to resolve. Ndlovu’s case, however, is still pending. Moupi said he was yet to contact the department of labour to lay a formal complaint. The three young men wondered if the fraudulent UIF registrations were the reason they were not getting any calls from prospective employers,…

There is certainly no doubt that recently-published reports on the Phala Phala farm scandal involving President Cyril Ramaphosa have not only thrown the cat among the pigeons, but have sharpened political contradictions and deepened the crisis in respect of the political factions within the ANC, especially ahead of the party’s elective conference in December 2022. While the scandal is itself deeply concerning and embarrassing for a sitting president, especially one who has positioned himself as a corruption buster, committed to renewal and cleaning of the organisation, there is more to the story that is troubling. It is the mechanism and mode of operating in the revelation. Unless one is firmly entrenched deep in the factions within the ANC, and unrelenting in one’s belief that the president is guilty of corruption…

ON THURSDAY June 16, the usual razzmatazz of commemorating the 46th anniversary of what has problematically been labelled as the 16th of June 1976 Student Uprising was under way, because such jargon is misleading. A more applicable reference may instead be the unrest/uprisings of 1976, because that indicates the plurality of the violent events (both preceding and post-1976 in opposition to the repressive apartheid policy and Bantu Education). My suggested reference also dismisses the incongruous limitation of folks who were in the crossfire, to be reduced only to a cohort of juvenile students from Soweto. The appalling selective amnesia of consistently omitting non-students, who were also involved in the affected schools and in respective communities countrywide, must be corrected. Regrettably, the number of unsung activists who remain relegated to perpertual…

The political legacy of colonialism warrants to be revisited, rethought, and linked to current electoral and justice problems in (post) colonial states, especially those in Africa. The political impact of colonialism, and for others, of coloniality, is important in this discussion as it shapes, pre-determines, and pre-empts the outcomes of most political processes in (formerly) colonised countries of the global South. Political processes such as elections in (formerly) colonised countries have to be authenticated and approved by western countries, western-based institutes and institutions, and western- dominated multilateral organisations. This authentication is done based on western standards of what constitutes what the West terms “free and fair”elections. Why is it that the AU, the Southern Africa Development Conference (SADC) or Angola are not invited to observe and monitor, say, the US,…

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who chairs the East African Community (EAC), summoned army commanders in the East African region for a meeting today in Nairobi to finalise preparations for deploying a force in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which has faced decades of war. The EAC regional bloc brings together Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and now DRC, which joined this year. Kenyatta said he had consulted with his counterparts in the region this week. He called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities in eastern DRC. He said all foreign and local armed groups should lay down arms and commit to a political process. “I further call for the declaration of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces as a weapons-free zone, where any…

British interior minister Priti Patel has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange to the US where he is wanted on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law. The charges relate to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables which they said had put lives in danger. His supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimised because he exposed the US wrongdoing in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. |…

BOXING experts have sounded a clarion call to Boxing South Africa (BSA) to ensure that managers and trainers are educated to manage the health of the athletes efficiently. The call comes in the wake of the mysterious death of KwaZulu-Natal boxer Simiso ‘Gandaganda’ Buthelezi who died after a recent 10-round title bout against KZN rival Siphesihle Mntungwa, in Greyville. In the final round, Buthelezi collapsed and was rushed to a Durban hospital, where he died two days later. Boxing official Howard Goldberg, who was on duty at the tournament, said Buthelezi was on top throughout the bout. When the bout was stopped, Buthelezi was ahead on points and had just punched Mntungwa through the ropes in the 10th and final round. After Mntungwa was back on his feet, the referee…

From the vast deserts of Chile to the Indian Ocean in Mauritius, travellers take pains over choosing an ideal location for a peaceful escape that will allow them to rest and relax. Booking.com’s latest research reveals that over 84% of travellers want to mentally unwind on holiday in order to boost their mood – it’s clear that self-care travel is still very much on the agenda. Here’s a list of six of the best resorts, curated by the travel platform, to help travellers find peace of mind. Byron Bay, Australia This beach town is ideal for those seeking sun, sea, sand, and peace. The environmentally conscious Crystalbrook Byron (formerly Byron at Byron) is a must-see. With free daily outdoor yoga classes and endless trails through the surrounding rainforest, this luscious…