Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-19 i Sunday Independent

The first part of 2023 has proved how far technology has come and how rapidly it has transformed, especially in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). What were once just the perfect ingredients of a sci-fi movie have been baked and pulled out of an oven to show that humans can have their cake and eat it, too. More ironic is that the race to AI domination among tech companies itching for a slice yielded the idea that the technology could replace many human jobs, which is currently selling like hotcakes. It's evident that the AI bakery offers various confections, whether it’s ease in everyday living or getting tasks at work done quicker. The notion of “let it do it for you” has become more palatable to the human taste.…

THE RECENT decision by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa) to authorise an almost 19% price hike on electricity has been met with fierce criticism from several fronts, including the small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. Economic analysts have highlighted the imminent cost-of-living crisis that will impact South Africans, as well as small businesses, whose struggle to contend with the energy price hike is being compounded by high inflation, the rising cost of fuel and load shedding. An industry snapshot With the 18.65% energy tariff increase primed to take effect from April 1, unless the deferral requested by President Cyril Ramaphosa is confirmed, the state of the SME sector hangs in the balance. The dramatic rise in the cost of energy will set off a domino effect that…

Theirs was a fairy-tale wedding. When Princess Kate walked down the aisle in April 2011 dressed in a stunning Alexander McQueen creation, thousands wanted to be her and watched in awe as Prince William stepped forward and took his bride’s hand in marriage. To the outside world, they represented the perfect couple, never wavering in their devotion to each other in spite of the adversity they faced, from William’s rumoured affair with Rose Hanbury to his brother’s revelations about heated arguments over Duchess Meghan in his tell-all book Spare. No, the Prince and Princess of Wales could do no wrong. Even in the eyes of the British press, William has been portrayed as a stoic leader who possessed the qualities as the future king of England. And Kate, well, all…

South Africans love their chicken. It is no surprise that South Africans eat more chicken than any other protein, and for good reason. Shoppers across the nation love its affordability and versatility – chicken is a table-pleaser for eaters of all ages. Among other nutrient benefits, chicken is an efficient dietary source of protein and provides all nine essential amino acids. Ever seen a “sold out” sign in the chicken section of a store? I don’t think so. Chicken is readily available in pretty much every supermarket and restaurant, and is generally less expensive than other meats like pork and beef. Chicken tastes good and it is good for you and it is sustainable! In this article, we will explore more about this ‘crowd pleaser’ type of meat. First things…

Patients share their deepest fears and darkest secrets within the safe confines of a therapist’s office. And increasingly, therapists are sharing versions of those stories with millions on TikTok. As social media plays an ever-more-central role in society, therapists have taken to online spaces to discuss mental health issues. Many of them share video vignettes that reenact conversations with clients. As a result, more patients are being asked to sign social media consent forms that allow therapists to use behind-closed-door revelations to inspire online content. Therapists pledge to avoid including identifying information, but still patients may find their painful breakup or troubled relationship with their parents on TherapyTok. Therapists see their foray into social media as a way to help a wide range of people by sharing coping strategies and…

THE ANC has been warned against its plan to make rape a capital offence and remove the discretion judicial officers have when dealing with sexual offence cases. Among its social transformation resolutions taken at its national conference in December and January, the ANC has decided to enhance the justice system response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases. According to the resolutions released two weeks ago, the governing party wants rape to be legislated as a capital crime to remove the discretion judges have in dealing with alleged rapists. It also proposes no bail to sex offenders, establishing special courts for GBVF and appointing specialist investigators to deal with such cases. “There should be no bail and parole for perpetrators for GBVF. Police need to undergo sensitivity training to be…

THE bitter legal fight between law firm ENSafrica and Transasia Minerals is now in the hands of the Gauteng North High Court. This was after the two had arguments over a charge of contempt of law against ENSafrica and its employee Senzo Mbatha. The arguments were heard at the Gauteng North High Court on Friday. Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi represented Transasia, while commercial and competition law counsel Arnold Subel argued on behalf of ENSafrica and Mbatha. Transasia recently asked the high court to charge Mbatha with contempt of law for violating section 165(3) of the Constitution. This was after Mbatha, who represents Umsobomvu Coal against Trans-asia, on behalf of ENSafrica, ordered the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to attend a court hearing and bring confidential documents of Transasia at the Palm…

ACCESS to health-care services is a basic human right guaranteed by the Constitution. However, even when such rights are enshrined, they often are violated. One such example is the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Between March and December 2016, 144 mental health patients died after the termination of a contract between the Gauteng health department and Life Esidimeni. The patients were moved to non-governmental facilities where they were neglected and as a result, died of dehydration and hunger. As South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day on Tuesday in memory of the sacrifices that accompanied the Struggle for democracy, one can not ignore the importance of remembering the people who died because their “rights” were violated. Siyambonga Mdubeki is a young South African actor, director and playwright who was overwhelmed with emotion when…

THE global community acknowledged International Women’s Day – March 8 – with the UN highlighting women's remarkable strength and voices everywhere. The value of empowering, including and giving women access to their full potential, is unquantifiable. Particularly when it comes to women’s rights to health. Across parts of the world some women have made impactful contributions in health that we have acknowledged or are yet to acknowledge. At a time when women have their rights to abortion, education, work, freedom, and safety threatened, it has become essential to listen to women activists, analysts, and educators. The founder of the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, Malan’s efforts have helped to give South Africans access to health documentation and education that previously may have been inaccessible. Bhekisisa primarily consists of a…

Former president Thabo Mbeki, speaking this week at the 150th anniversary of Unisa, where he serves as chancellor, chose the theme, “Reclaim our African Futures”. Mbeki reminded me of the argument: “African solutions to African problems.” I recently attended an international seminar on the future of open education. It featured various academics from institutions all over the globe, focusing on the various challenges the education sector faces. The seminar also heard how the concept of open education enhances the “social justice mandate” in the education field. Many factors such as locality, access to the internet, educational resources, financial restrictions and resources such as laptops, are some of the challenges faced by underprivileged people who are still – many decades later – seeking educational opportunities. The history of education in Africa…

ON JANUARY 17 last year, Zubayr Hamza is called aside to take a routine drugs test. He has performed this action numerous times during his career. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. But it is. Two months later, upon the release of the results, it emerges that Hamza has tested positive for a prohibited substance under the ICC's anti-doping code. How was it even possible? Was it recreational? Was it performance enhancing? These were the questions floating around all the while Hamza’s career was at a crossroads. The stylish batter had only just returned to the Proteas squad, having played a Test in New Zealand and struck a maiden half-century on his ODI debut a couple of months earlier. Everything was seemingly on the rise again, but suddenly it…

South Africa has registered its intention to bid for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup as a host, and has submitted letters of support from the government and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc). The bid was lodged at the 73rd Fifa Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, a few days ago. Also registering their intention to bid was a trio offering joint hosting from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. If South Africa is awarded host status, it will join an elite band of countries – France, Sweden, Germany and the US – to have hosted both Men’s and Women’s Soccer World Cups. Fifa’s council of 37 members has made known the bidding requirements for the 2027 women’s showpiece, and there is a heavy emphasis on two categories –…

Jennifer Austin had no reason to believe the holiday rental she booked was a scam. The photos of the home in Oro Valley, Arizona, featured a cosy living room with overstuffed furniture, a wide-screen TV and a bathroom with designer soaps. But the listing wasn’t what she expected from the photos, says Austin, a retired software salesperson from Westford, Maine. “It was a trailer,” she says. “And it was in a trailer park.” A Philadelphia woman recently found out that her home was fraudulently listed on Airbnb when a family showed up to check-in. “Scammers know you’re looking for a great location that’s available and affordable,” says Phil Foxall, the owner of TNP Vacations and a 27-year law enforcement veteran. “They’re preying on your emotions to con you into stealing…

More than 100 years ago a group of Afrikaner men met in Stellenbosch to form a publishing entity that would support their cause. After many years of operating as a publishing company it made the transition to the technology sector. As a publishing company it committed many sins for which it later apologised. As part of an apology process the company committed to do good and correct some of the wrongs of the past. When Phuti Mahanyele, the CEO of the company, announced the launch of a technology fund (Naspers Foundry) at the Prudential Investment Summit, she was partly paying for the sins of the past. She was also paying for a new sin that the company had committed (more on that later). This week the company announced that Foundry…

COMPANIES are being pummelled by the costs they are incurring amid power outages. Some have been forced to lower their growth outlooks. A slowing economy means consumers have less money to spend and businesses have fewer sales. JSE-listed company financial statements and trading updates reflect the millions and billions spent on diesel, hiking their costs, as firms lose thousands of hours, and counting. Nedbank noted said the economy enjoyed only two days without load shedding in the fourth quarter, and the hours per day without elec- tricity increased, with 51% of the quarter at load shedding stages 3 to 6. “Based on our calculations, real GDP (gross domestic product) is likely to shrink by a further 0.4% in the first quarter, which means that the economy probably entered a…

We’re spoilt for choice with the flood of matchmaking reality shows hitting our screens this year. And Mzansi Magic has just announced another one, S’jola Sonke – a show to give viewers a new perspective on dating and relationships, but with a twist. Actor Kope Makgae will steer the ship as host of the dating show produced by Brightfire Pictures, which will air every Sunday, starting on April 9. We all love a little drama and intrigue and we’ve heard this candid, unscripted and edgy season one will look at couples and singles redefining love and monogamy. Three couples and 17 singles who believe in having more than two people in an intimate relationship embark on a four-week journey to find love. The couples and singles openly date each other…

“I do sometimes wonder what the heck I’m still doing here,” Ted Lasso tells his therapist in the famously upbeat show’s third season. “I mean, I know why I came, but it’s the sticking around I can’t quite figure out.” It’s to the credit and the detriment of Ted Lasso that the show raises this issue before the viewer can in the first episode of the new season. Then again, the comedy about a lovable Kansan football coach who relocates to England to coach a mediocre soccer team has always been a little more interested in self-referential meta-analysis than its actual characters. This, too, is clear from the exchange: The therapist’s reassuring reply (Ted doesn’t like quitting) isn’t sufficient. Not as a therapeutic intervention (is this really a good reason…

A WHISTLE-BLOWER’S life has been turned upside down after exposing corruption allegedly involving senior management within the SAPS. Former senior police administrator in the Free State Patricia Morgan-Mashale says her life has been in danger after exposing the rot happening in the SAPS in 2009. While Morgan-Mashale uncovered the corruption more than a decade ago, she formally reported the matter only in January 2021 and has been living in fear since then. She has been at loggerheads with her seniors, which led to alleged attempts to kill her and have serious charges levelled against her. Morgan-Mashale has been in hiding. She fled the country after the Botshabelo Magistrate’s Court issued a warrant for her arrest for failing to appear “personally” in court on March 3, 2023. In a report issued…

THE telecommunications system is vital in our everyday lives but may be a challenging market to infiltrate. This system transmits signals, words, sounds, writing, signs and images over radio, wire, or optical lines, making it an essential part of everyday life. Tapping into this space to create a device that caters to the African market is Sifiso Lukhele, founder and CEO of Lukhele Mobile, which started as a mobile device company with its primary focus on manufacturing and marketing mobile devices with Fintech capability. The company has now evolved onto the network side as a channel partner to CommScope, Mavenir and Diplomat Communication. Telecommunications has been part of Lukhele’s adult life since he started working at MTN South Africa in 1998. “As a service-oriented person, I have always believed that…

MANY people have the desire to tell their stories and share their experiences of how they’ve overcome adversity. Often, it is through a book, and should they decide to publish it, they are most likely to go the self-publishing route. But in a country with a poor reading culture, what are the pros and cons of self-publishing a book? Success stories such as that of Dudu Busani-Dube, the self-published author behind the best-selling Hlomu the Wife series, and Zulu Wedding, a narrative adaptation of the film of the same name by director and producer Lineo Sekeleoane, might inspire us to chase our literary dreams and try our hand at self-publishing. Public relations specialist and former journalist Kabelo Chabalala is the author of A Journey From Boyhood To Manhood: A Masculinity…

The Conservative government of the UK has become the villain in the global conversation on immigration. It is because of a proposed asylum and resettlement strategy for immigrants that has turned humanitarian organisations into a loop. The Rwanda Asylum Plan was the long-discussed idea of the Conservative government before formally being proposed to parliament. British ex-prime minister Boris Johnson said the policy would save countless lives from human trafficking and decrease migrants crossing the aggressive waters between southern England and the French coast, known as the English Channel. The policy is poised to boost Rwandan development and investment. Over a five-year trial, migrants arriving in the UK through the English Channel will go on a one-way flight to Rwanda in East Africa. They will be funded between £20 000 and…

IN 2017, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán declared billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundation (OSF) persona non grata, which effectively barred them from entering the country ever again. Also, in 2015 Russia outlawed “undesirable” foreign or international organisations that allegedly undermined Russia’s security, defence or constitutional order. Besides Russia and Hungary, the OSF is illegal in China and Singapore and is on a government “watch list” in India. Hungary is located at the far-eastern frontier of the EU together with Poland and Belarus (a non-EU member). Due to their location, Hungary and its neighbours are in a difficult position to enact stricter migration policies to cushion the supranational state from the former east bloc countries, the Middle East, Asia and beyond. Hungary’s actions were widely criticised because Orbán…

IT could well have been presumptions and might yet still be. But South Africa’s participation at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) to be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire was “confirmed” way back in late May of 2022 when Zimbabwe got disqualified from the qualifiers due to the suspension of the football association by the game’s world governing body Fifa. That decision left Bafana Bafana to contest the two spots for the biennial, continental tournament with just two other countries – Morocco and Liberia. And logic based on current team strengths suggested that Bafana and the Atlas Lions should prevail ahead of the Lone Stars, the fact that stranger things have happened in this game notwithstanding. Beaten 2-1 in their opening match by Morocco who also dispatched Liberia 2-0, Hugo…

SAUDI Arabia would be open to hosting two Formula One races a year and it could happen in the near future, local organisers said on Friday. Today’s race on the Jeddah Corniche street circuit will be the third grand prix held in the kingdom, where a new track planned for the “entertainment city” of Qiddiya near Riyadh could be ready by 2027. “The idea of having two races in Saudi is doable,” Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation chairman Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal told selected reporters. “You have three races in the (United) States because the market is big there and there is a demand. So the demand is there (in Saudi Arabia), but the decision is not made. There’s a lot of things we need to consider. “The…

Award-winning content creator Nadia Jaftha and her bae Xavier Haupt recently had fun in the sun in Thailand. The couple, arguably one of the most adorable celebrity couples around, flew over to Asia to taste Thai luxury, compliments of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and their travel partner, Wolo Travel. So, what did Nadia and Xavier get up to? Gastronomic Thai experiences Nadia and Xavier dined on a variety of delectable Thai meals throughout their stay at several of the Island's award-winning restaurants, one of which offered rooftop dinners with views of the cityscape. They were joined by fellow content creators Nuzhah Jacobs and Kelly KiKx (Kelly Ernstzen). A hotbed of Eastern culture Adding an experience of local culture and spirituality into their trip, the couple visited the Chalong Temple,…

A paper authored by Meta’s Ben Nimmo and Eric Hutchins details how to create a “kill chain” for targeting key links in deception operations aimed at duping people online. “Human stupidity is one of the great powers in the universe, but this kill chain is trying to identify all the different kinds of operations that can try to target human weakness,” Nimmo told AFP. “The goal is to stop the attackers before ever reaching the target.” The hacker community has long joked there is no patch for human gullibility, such as computer users being duped into clicking on booby-trapped links or sharing login credentials at bogus websites. Advances in generative artificial intelligence that can crank out convincing but fake profile photos, voices and written replies give hackers, criminals and con…

Luther: The Fallen Sun picks up just where things left off in Luther, the neo-noir Netflix detective series on which it's based: with the arrest of the brilliant but flawed title character, police detective John Luther (Idris Elba). As explained by the new story at the start of this garden-variety serial killer thriller, Luther's arrest for such unethical behaviour as witness intimidation and breaking and entering has been years in the making, engineered by a maniacal Professor Moriarty-like villain (Andy Serkis) who keeps a supply of old corpses on ice for when he might need one as a prop. This is no spoiler; the bad guy’s identity is revealed in the film’s first few minutes, and not by Luther (although he does suss out a partial motive before anyone else…

The schism between the West and the global South, led by China and Russia, continues to grow wider as multilateralism, the glue that keeps global peace and stability intact, takes a battering. Just in the aftermath of the US wrath against South Africa for hosting Mosi II – the joint naval exercises with Russia and China in February – it was announced this week that now, Russia and China are embarking on a three-nation joint military drill alongside Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a pariah in the eyes of the West, with the US-led sanctions against Tehran predictably adopted by the EU. The Iran nuclear deal remains a sticky point since former US president Donald Trump unceremoniously tore up the agreement, claiming the Obama administration before him…

The EASTERN Cape provincial Health Department has launched an investigation following allegations against a nurse accused of violating a patient’s rights. Last week, the Sunday Independent reported the story of a 23-year-old woman who visited a community health care centre in the Alfred Nzo District. The young woman made several allegations against a male nurse, Luyolo Somhlahlo. Thobeka Mxenge (not her real name) gave a detailed description of how the nurse allegedly violated her right to access quality health care while she was having a miscarriage on February 26. In pain, Mxenge was allegedly asked to lift her shirt to see if she was pregnant by Somhlahlo minutes before giving birth to a stillborn. “I was crying, and the male (nurse) said I should not make noise, but I responded…

Having grown up without a home, Bonga Masoka promised to build his mother a house before she passed away. Using paint and colour, he wanted to create a feeling of home for others. In essence, he wanted to paint houses into homes and add colour to people’s lives. Masoka is the founding director of Splash Coatings Africa, established in 2017 following the acquisition of well-researched, developed paint formulations, designed to balance affordability and quality. Motivated by the book I write what I like by Steve Biko, he learnt the importance of owning his voice. After reading the book he took a module that focused on comparative institutions. “How and why different institutions are built, is where I cultivated the aspiration to become Africa’s industrialist. To contribute to the formation, development…

GUN Free South Africa (GFSA) has turned to the courts to push the Ministry of Police to take accountability and take action against corrupt gun mismanagement practices. GFSA announced it was enacting class action against the SAPS for deaths and injuries allegedly resulting from corrupt and negligent firearms management. The class action is the result of community outrage over a surge in violence that has severely affected the Cape Flats community in the Western Cape. GFSA and the Cape Flats Community Safety Forum believe the SAPS must take accountability for confiscated firearms that have found their way into the hands of armed gangs in the Western Cape under the hand of former senior SAPS member Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo. “These guns continue to circulate in our communities and pose the biggest…

THE WHITE House announced that US vice president Kamala Harris will embark on her first state visit to the African continent. Harris will land in Ghana on March 25, then in Tanzania and conclude with Zambia on April 2. She is the 18th American government official and the first senior official to travel to Africa. “Throughout the trip, in partnership with African governments and the private sector, the vice president will advance efforts to expand access to the digital economy, support climate adaptation and resilience, and strengthen business ties and investment, including through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the economic empowerment of women,” read a statement from Kirsten Allen, Harris’s press secretary. The trip follows the recently completed one by first lady Jill Biden. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Antony…

ERIK ten Hag said winning the League Cup had whetted Manchester United’s appetite for more silverware as he prepared his team to face Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals. United beat Newcastle at Wembley last month to end a six-year trophy drought and are also through to the last eight of the Europa League, where they will face Sevilla. “Of course, it is huge motivation,” said Ten Hag. “We all really enjoyed Wembley, we all really enjoyed winning a trophy and it has to be the fuel for the next one, get pushed by that idea, and that has to bring extra energy to beat Fulham.” Marcus Rashford again stole the headlines on Thursday with the winner in the second leg against Real Betis, taking his tally for the season…

TUSKERS chief executive Jason Sathiaseelan hopes to retain the cricketing talents the region’s top schools produce as they prepare to compete in Division 1 next season. The KZN-Inland cricket union’s region has a rich history of producing some of the country’s top talents, including the world’s best spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi. As a small union, it was bound to lose it’s talents to bigger, richer ones, and this happened when Shamsi moved over to the Titans in Pretoria, where he still plays domestically. The region’s team, the Tuskers, were drafted to Division 2 cricket when the Dave Richardson committee introduced a new domestic structure. After two years of hard work, the Tuskers have been promoted to Division 1 following their all-round domination in Division 2. Sathiaseelan hopes their promotion will help…

PERHAPS for the first time since he arrived at Loftus Versfeld in 2020, Jake White has admitted that he is feeling the pressure. Six defeats in a row across all competitions can do that to you, but what has left White a bit puzzled at the moment is that this is the same squad of players that won multiple titles in the Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup competitions, and reached the final of the United Rugby Championship. And to add insult to injury, their last three losses – to the Lions in the URC (29-25) and Pumas (63-15) and Western Province on Friday night (41-33) – have all come at Loftus Versfeld. To be fair, though, they have lost some crucial figures from their past success, such as captain…

Ever wondered which casinos are favourites among gamblers and travellers? A study by online casino experts at Online.Casino analysed the most-searched-for casinos worldwide by using AHrefs search volume data to see how many Google searches each of the most famous casinos around the world receives on average per month. This excludes any hotels they are connected to and is solely based on searches for the casinos. The research revealed that Foxwoods Resort Casino is the most popular casino in the world. Foxwoods places first as the most searched-for casino, with an average of 91 000 searches per month worldwide for “Foxwoods resort casino”. Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut is operated by Mashantucket Pequot Tribe Reservation. It opened its doors to the public in February 1992 and opened as…