Thursday 05 August - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
The Citizen (www.citizen.co.za) Page 1/3 – Don’t mess with delta Page 4 – The ‘black diamond’ hunt Page 5 – Village has a burning problem Page 8 – No cause to celebrate
Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za) Page 1 – Life terms for Masilela’s killers The Star (www.iol.co.za)
Unrest in Gauteng and KZN was a failed insurrection – ANC SA faces a different kind of terror in the form of cyber attacks
Terrorism accused politician Bruce Nimmerhoudt undergo forensic voice analysis Business Day (www.businesslive.co.za)
ANC wants municipal polls postponed to April 2022 KZN violence expected to cost Sappi R220m in lost profit SA used-car prices rise sharply
연합뉴스 (www.yonhapnews.co.kr)
남아공서 경찰서에 3인조 강도…총기 10여점 빼앗아 도주 남아공 백신 접종 800만명 돌파…하루 30만명씩 접종 방침
Don’t mess with delta
It is very different to the beta variant in terms of symptoms, so delaying being properly assessed for possible infection with Covid from the far more dangerous delta strain could prove fatal, says experts.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 5 Aug 2021
• Reitumetse Makwea – reitumetsem@citizen.co.za
Time is not on your side when it comes to the delta variant – and delaying a Covid test and, more importantly, a thorough clinical assessment of your condition, could cost you your life.
One of the problems with the devastating coronavirus variant – now the dominant strain in the world which experts say is 60% more transmissible than previous strains – is that symptoms can be slightly different.
Those who test positive are often reporting that they initially thought it was a normal cold.
And even when people are diagnosed Covid-positive, they often put off going to hospital if their symptoms worsen, meaning that by the time they are assessed, Covid could already be established in their bodies for some days.
Epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes said the delta variant definitely had slightly different symptoms and while these may be mistaken for flu, it was always better to get tested and seek help earlier as it allowed a much better chance of getting through a case of Covid.
“There are few cases, for instance, of loss of sense of smell, that was such a feature of earlier Covid cases.
“But on the whole the symptoms also start as a case of flu, headache and sore throat and in these dangerous times, it is never a good idea to ignore such symptoms and hope they will go away.”
She also said with areas where the pandemic third wave was at its height, getting access to hospital care could be a challenge.
However, she added that should not cause people to put off going to ask for help.
“The rising number of deaths can also be attributed to the fact that the delta variant is much more infective and that it seems to have a more serious effect on younger people,” she added.
“The original virus that circulated in the beginning spared young people a lot more. Now they are also falling ill.
“Unfortunately, the young seem to be more likely to delay seeking healthcare.”
Fever, headache, sore throat and runny nose were the most common signs, while coughing and loss of smell were not.
Other reports linked the delta variant to more serious symptoms such as hearing impairment, severe intestinal issues and blood clots leading to tissue death and infection.
South African broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser revealed how he survived Covid and the lessons he learnt after testing positive in the latest episode of his podcast, In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser.
In an episode which he titled “I almost died of Covid-19”, he explained that he tested positive after experiencing soreness of the throat that would not go away after three days of tonsillitis treatment.
McKaiser added that his general practitioner, whom he has consulted for years, initially insisted on increasing his tonsillitis medication, until he opted to take Covid test.
He also said the doctor advocated for the use of ivermectin without even knowing that he had Covid pneumonia.
But after consulting other doctors, he was admitted to a Covid ward at Netcare Olivedale Hospital in Johannesburg.
McKaiser’s message was: don’t take a chance with this variant. And don’t delay testing or getting assessed properly.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the delta variant is a variant of concern that they are tracking and monitoring around the world.
WHO Covid technical lead and epidemiologist Dr Maria Van
Kerkhove said the delta variant had certain mutations that allowed it to adhere to human cells more easily and that experts were also seeing a higher viral load in individuals infected.
Van Kerkhove said there were a number of factors that were contributing to increased transmission around the world and as of now, the delta variant had been reported in 96 countries and the WHO expected the variant to continue to spread even more.
“The first are these variants of concern, including the delta variant. The second factor is that we have increased social mixing and increased social mobility, which increases the number of contacts that individuals have,” she said.
“The third factor is the relaxation or the inappropriate use of public health and social measures.
“Proven public health and social measures that we know prevent infections, reduce the spread from somebody who is infected with the virus to others and save lives.
“And the fourth factor is the uneven and inequitable distribution of vaccines.”
However, Van Kerkhove said research was ongoing to determine if delta infection was associated with increased hospitalisation and death.
This was because there had been concerns of the healthcare system being on the brink of collapse as beds and oxygen were in short supply in many hospitals.
Delta variant is much more infective
The ‘black diamond’ hunt
TRUFFLES: SA GETS A TASTE FOR VERY RARE CULINARY DELIGHT
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 5 Aug 2021
• Saawmiet Moos and Rodger Bosch
Pictures: AFPHUNT IS ON. Trevor and Marda Norris and their dog, Clyde, search on the Woodford Truffle farm near Ceres for black winter Perigord truffles in an orchard of specially planted oak trees.
Ceres farmer cultivates highly prized fungi.
Only shrubs grew naturally in the sandy acid soil that farmer Volker Miros chose as a site to test the potential for truffle production in South Africa.
The determined mycophile, or lover of mushrooms, saw no reason why the highly prized fungi could not grow on the plateaus of the Cederberg mountains, where the climate is similar to that of Mediterranean Europe.
“We looked at where truffles are grown in the rest of the world and it’s in the northern hemisphere, about 320 to 350 north,” said Miros, wearing a black beanie on a chilly winter day.
“The same thing needs to be looked at 350 south” – where the family farm lies about 1 100m above sea level, he said.
Miros, 81, who picked mushrooms with his grandfather as a child in Germany, is a pioneer of SA’s budding truffle cultivation industry. In 2009, he imported spores of the French Perigord variety – touted as the “black diamond” of the culinary world – and used them to inoculate the roots of oak seedlings that were then planted in the area.
After six years of trial and error, and tons of calcitic lime to counter the soil’s acidity, the first truffles were finally unearthed.
Today, the family is SA’s number one Perigord grower and supplier, with almost 100
hectares of truffle orchards planted not only in the Cederberg region, but also in other pockets of the country with similar climates.
The most prolific of the orchards yields close to 10kg of truffles per hectare each season, which spans South Africa’s coldest months, from June to August.
“We were the crazy farmers on top of the mountain,” Miros’ son Paul chuckled, squinting in the winter sun as he looked over rows of inoculated oak trees and shrubs surrounded by snowy peaks.
The highest quality Miros truffle sells for R20 000 per kilo this year, almost at par with the European market rates.
Most buyers are local high-end restaurants that have only recently started to incorporate the delicacy into their dishes.
“People in South Africa don’t know truffles that well,” said Miros, 56, likening their taste to
“the smell of a wet forest floor”.
“One of our biggest challenges was getting people to buy truffles in their fresh state, because they only last about three weeks.”
A small but growing number of restaurants have worked the pungent tuber into their menus, conquering delighted customers with fresh truffle pastas.
Miros relishes experimenting with truffles, “like making vanilla ice cream with a little bit of truffle in it,” he said. “That creamy texture...” –
Village has a burning problem
DANGER: PEATLAND SMOULDERING Council has not monitored area and fire may spread to houses.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 5 Aug 2021
• Sipho Mabena – siphom@citizen.co.za
Picture: Jacques NellesCONCERNED.
A resident stands near a smouldering pit caused by an underground fire in what used to be a wetland in Sehlakwane, Limpopo, this week.
Billowing white smoke from a dried up wetland has put a Limpopo village on the edge, rekindling memories of the three people and livestock previously injured in the slowburn there.
For over five years, the community of Zaaiplaas village in Sehlakwane, about a three and a half hour drive from Johannesburg, have lived in terror of the burning peatland and have been apparently left in the lurch.
Without answers and his house and family metres away from the smouldering ground, Jacob Mabhena is concerned. His greatest worry is that it could extend into occupied houses in the area.
According to Mabhena, in June 2016, the driest season in the region, they had noticed smoke coming from the ground during the day and at night it was glowing red.
He said the fire was extinguished by pumping water into the peatland. But it reignited the following year and it was again extinguished using the same method. However, the smoke was billowing again, a signal that the peatland was again on fire.
“A geologist that my wife worked for examined the samples and warned us the ground was dangerous and will keep burning. Since then, the fire has returned for the second time,”
Mabhena said.
According to the Council of Geo-Sciences’ investigation report on the phenomena, the peat was ignited in a veld fire as it would not burn under normal circumstances because it was usually moist. It was believed that the above-normal temperatures and prolonged drought had also played a role.
“The extreme drying out of the peat could have been enhanced by the poor grass cover and disturbance due to grazing. The upper layers of soil could also have been disturbed and peat was exposed,” the report concluded.
The council recommended that human and animal activities be minimised in the area until it had stabilised. The council recommended that the area should be monitored by the local authorities in case the peat started burning again and that the area should immediately be fenced off. But this was not done.
The Sekhukhune district municipality did not respond to questions. Spokesperson Moloko Moloto said it was a technical matter and officials needed time to reply.
No cause to celebrate
MEDUPI POWER STATION: FAILS TO COMPLY WITH EMISSION STANDARDS Project beset with myriad problems and is a
‘monument to corruption’.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 5 Aug 2021
• Nica Richards nicas@citizen.co.za
When Eskom proclaimed in an enthusiastic statement on Monday that the Medupi coal-fired power plant project had finally reached commercial operation status, it failed to mention why it still failed to comply with minimum emission standards (MES) when it came to toxic air pollutants.
For NGOs groundWork and JustShare, Medupi’s “progress” is no cause for celebration.
The power utility has a pending MES commitment dating back to 2010, when 192 civil society organisations across the globe called on the World Bank not to grant Medupi the loan it needed.
Bobby Peek, groundWork director, said Eskom’s coal-fired power stations were responsible for roughly 2 239 deaths each year, with associated health costs amounting to R30 billion.
“We got stuck with polluting coal-fired power stations [until] beyond 2050. [They are] poorly constructed and will probably need ongoing excessive maintenance.”
JustShare climate change engagement director Robyn Hugo said Medupi’s “completion” does not have much impact when it comes to alleviating load shedding.
“It’s more of a paper milestone. The plant’s energy availability factor is also way below what it should be in terms of its design specifications.”
Although the loan was granted, the World Bank did warn that the project would contribute to
“energy poverty, environmental destruction”.
Peek said part of the World Bank deal was for Eskom to build a concentrated solar power plant, which has not yet manifested.
Air pollution emission standards are weak in South Africa by global standards, even when compared to other developing nations, but the utility has repeatedly sought to apply for compliance postponements.
The country also does not comply regularly enough with atmospheric emission licences.
Peek said Eskom would likely continue to seek “rolling postponements” every five years until all coal-fired power stations are decommissioned.
“In fact, it does not intend ever to comply with new plant SO2 [sulphur dioxide] standards, apart from at its two newest stations which are under construction.”
Hugo said a large amount of rectification work still needed to be done to address design and execution shortfalls.
Only once technical solutions related to boiler design defects
are completed will Medupi be able to reliably deliver power to the national grid, something Eskom did explain in its statement.
Hugo pointed out, however, that it was untrue that technical compliance to statutory, safety and legal requirements have been met.
“Eskom has yet to retrofit flue gas desulphurisation equipment onto any of the six units of Medupi – this is a way to limit SO2 pollution.
“So it is not accurate to say that Medupi is now complete.
“The exorbitant public cost and extreme time overruns for this project are certainly not to be celebrated; especially bearing in mind that renewable power is much cheaper, cleaner and quicker to provide.”
SA has just eight years left to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% if it stands a chance of avoiding
the worst impacts of climate change, Hugo added.
Eskom also risks having to decommission Medupi by 31 March 2030 if it continues to fail to comply with the 2020 MES by the end of March 2025.
Energy expert Ted Blom said in a Facebook post Medupi was “far from finished”, with
“defective” boilers only capable of generating half of their design capacity.
He said his engineers told him the “cut and paste repair solution on the boilers will blow up in Eskom’s faces within five years”.
Boilers still have to have scrubbers fitted, with Blom saying he was doubtful they would be operational before 2026 – further risking the possible decommissioning of the plant before the project is completed.
“Medupi is a monument not only to the extraordinary corruption of the Zuma era, but also to South Africa’s outdated and self-sabotaging energy policy,” Hugo said.
–
Cut and paste repair solution done on boilers
Life terms for Masilela’s killers
Three of the murderers had previous convictions and the judge said it did not seem as if they had learned from their mistakes
• Pretoria News
• 5 Aug 2021
• ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za
FAMILY and friends of Dumisani Masilela after the five men convicted of murdering him were sentenced to life in prison.
THE MOTHER of murdered Rhythm City actor Dumisani Masilela broke down in tears after her son’s five killers were each sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday.
Judge Papi Mosopa said the young actor, soccer player and musician was killed in cold blood – and all because of the greed of his killers.
Apart from receiving the ultimate sentence, the five were also sentenced to various jail sentences ranging between 30 and 40 years which included their convictions on a number of other charges where they had hijacked and kidnapped motorists in 2017.
Judge Mosopa said none of the accused showed any remorse for what they had done.
Three of the five had previous convictions and the judge said it did not seem as if they had learnt from their mistakes.
Khumbuzo Solomon Mukhaba, 31, the man said to have pulled the trigger which killed Masilela in February 2017 in Tembisa; and his four co-accused, Sfundo Harrison Nkosi, 34, of Ivory Park; Bongani John Masombuka, 38, of Tembisa; Brian Makhubedu, 28, and Mashudu Malema, 35, also of Ivory Park; all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The lengthy trial started in 2019 in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, and was marked by trials within a trial as the accused had disputed confessions which they had made to the police.
While Mukhaba was the one who actually shot Masilela on August 2, 2017, the others were convicted of murder on the doctrine of common purpose.
Masilela was shot in broad daylight while the gang were on a hijacking spree. However, he managed to drive on after he was shot.
He was with a friend Bongani Nkosi at the time.
The two switched places shortly after the shooting and Nkosi drove his friend to hospital.
Masilela died the following day. Nkosi also identified Mukhaba as the man who had pulled the trigger.
His co-accused claimed he had acted on a whim of his own and they in fact admired Masilela and did not want to see him dead.
However, he court found each of the accused’s actions contributed to the fact that Masilela was killed.
Masilela’s mother Sabatha Masilela told the court she was so heartbroken by her son’s death she could not resume her teaching job. Masilela visited his mother shortly before his death and told her he and Nkosi were going to Tembisa before returning to her.
The mother said his death had affected his family gravely and one of his siblings was now a drug addict because he did not know how to deal with his brother’s death.
Judge Mosopa said that despite the evidence against them, none of the accused showed the slightest remorse. Mukhaba in fact persisted that he was not guilty and even accused the judge of wrongly applying the law in convicting him.
While the tearful mother was too emotional to speak to the media, Masilela’s uncle, Tumelo Mogase, said knowing the accused were going to jail for life brought some closure.
“We know it will not bring back Dumisani, but at least it brings some closure,” he said.
He added that Mukhaba’s conduct in denying he was the actual killer and the fact that he questioned the verdict pained the family.
“It shows it was all about them. They did not care about anyone else’s feelings,” he said.
Mogase said the family would have wanted the accused to take ownership of their actions.
“These are not first-time criminals and we are at least glad society is now rid of them.”
Actor and TV personality Zola Hashatsi was at court to console the family. He expressed his gratitude that his friend’s killers would no longer roam the streets.
Unrest in Gauteng and KZN was a failed insurrection – ANC
By Baldwin Ndaba 28m ago
Johannesburg - The ANC national working committee (NWC) has added its disgust at the unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July and labelled them as a failed insurrection against the government.
ANC acting secretary-general Jessie Duarte also admitted that some of the people linked to the violent protests were members of her party who allegedly used social media such as Twitter and Facebook to incite acts of violence.
“The NWC condemned the recent attempted counter-revolutionary violence and looting, which can be characterised as insurrection. These actions, focussed mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, resulted in more than 300 deaths, billions of rand of damage and destruction to infrastructure, social services, and business. It has disrupted the lives of citizens and their communities, their education, health, and economic activity – threatening thousands of jobs,” Duarte said.
She said these events were planned, instigated, and well-coordinated, saying the targeting of strategic links in the transport and logistical value chain, such as the N3 highway and the Durban port, were not coincidental.
“They wanted to cause food shortages as they also burned down warehouses for food,” she said.
“It was calculated to cause maximum disruption to the economy and flows of essential goods such as food, fuel, and medicine. The events were preceded by a process of low-level mobilisation and preparation through meetings and social media, including the identification of targets that were indeed affected, as well as calls for the resignation of the NEC and the president.”
According to Duarte, her party’s NWC condemned the racial attacks and blockades inspired by vigilantes in a number of areas, including Phoenix.
“The NWC stressed the need to reaffirm the non-racial character of the ANC and its commitment to building cohesive society in a united, non-racial, non-sexist
democratic and prosperous South African nation. The NWC commended the thousands of members of the police service and defence force whose deployment quelled the violence and brought peace and stability to affected communities,’
Duarte said.
She said taxi owners and drivers as well as ordinary citizens who stopped the chaos, acted within the law and the Constitution, often in the face of extreme provocation, to prevent loss of life and property, including during the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma.
“The NWC expressed concern regarding the speed and coordination of the response and urged the government to attend to the capacity, resourcing, effectiveness, and accountability of the security services. The NWC commended the demonstration of lawful people’s power by citizens and organised civil society who rejected these counter-revolutionary actions, in words and actions, and rose in defence of their communities and our constitutional democracy.”
Duarte said the NWC was calling for unity and vigilance to counter the possibility of any further attempts at counter-revolutionary insurrection in light of ongoing
mobilisation, including on social media.
“This includes acting decisively to investigate, arrest and prosecute the planners of the attempted insurrection, as well as addressing poverty, unemployment and
inequality in our society. The ANC will act decisively against any of its members who have or continue to participate in these activities,” Duarte said.
She was reacting to a media release issued by former Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association spokesperson Carl Niehaus and former ANC councillor Andile Lungisa and various other individuals in the provinces who are threatening to lay charges of genocide against President Ramaphosa and some of his Cabinet members as well as top officials in the army.
SA faces a different kind of terror in the form of cyber attacks
By Opinion 2h ago By Lucky Masilela
In 1988, Vryheid-born and Umlazi-raised Busi Mbhele (then Mhlongo) was a final- year student at Amanzimtoti College of Education just south of Durban, training to become a Geography and English teacher. I was living outside the country, and apartheid South Africa was about to start the transition to democracy.
The Fourth Generation of computers were driven by very large-scale integration (VLSI) and microprocessors, semiconductor Random Access Memory (RAM) and were speaking programming languages like Python and Java.
One year before the Internet as we know it was born, ZA Central Registry (ZACR) was created.
Initially called UniForum SA, ZACR was created to promote open standards systems and related hardware, software applications and standards. Its first principal
mandate was to administer the “.co.za” domain namespace.
Since then, this forward-looking entity has grown from its 400 domain names to over 1,3 million under “.co.za”, and many others under “.africa”, “.org.za”, “.net.za” and namespaces for major cities like Joburg, Cape Town and Durban.
A far cry from when the government of South Africa was fighting off freedom-fighters in 1988, the country is now facing a different kind of terror - cyber attacks like the Pegasus.
In 1988, security forces were fighting off marchers as well demonstrators and right in the thick of hostel violence. Today, they are being deployed to quell looting
outbreaks, but everybody knows that the bigger threat will always be the loss of valuable information.
ZACR has become part of an ICT ecosystem that is seized with the concerns like whether or not one complies with the regulations of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) while fulfilling their public service mandate of making
processing important data under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
Losing one’s car is not as scary as losing their One-Time Password (OTP) to release millions between two accounts and across national borders without leaving their bed.
Covid-19 brought into sharp focus in March 2020 the inequality of access to fast, reliable and affordable data to enable children to learn, teachers to teach, outlets of social services like hospitals and Home Affairs offices to deliver uninterrupted support. Healthcare professionals are working hard to render services without
physical contact, which once again highlights the critical importance of Internet connectivity to make e-health and e-medicine possible.
Back in KwaZulu-Natal, Busi Mbhele is no longer a Geography teacher, but has had to evolve into a Computer Applications Technology educator. It is for people like her, at Chesterville Secondary School, that ZACR and dotAfrica continue to strive to deliver services beyond just domain-name administration; but to increase access to reliable Internet connectivity.
To date, our intervention at this school has made it possible to nearly 1,500 high school learners to receive education, complete their assignments and position themselves to operate in the 5G era.
In looking ahead to the next 33 years, ZACR hopes to continue contributing to the 21st century revolution: ICT revolution for better living, dignity and equality.
Terrorism accused politician
Bruce Nimmerhoudt to undergo forensic voice analysis
By Baldwin Ndaba 7h ago
Johannesburg - Terrorism accused and Patriotic Alliance (PA) West Rand leader Bruce Nimmerhoudt is set to undergo forensic voice analysis test on Thursday to determine whether he is the creator of the voice note which encouraged people to attack and destroy malls in the West Rand on July 15.
This is part of the deal entered into between the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Nimmerhoudt’s lawyers and was made an order of the court and a
condition as part of the decision of the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court to release him on bail of R3 000.
Nimmerhoudt was arrested at his home in the suburb of Witpoortjie, west of Joburg on July 16, after a voice note circulated widely urging people to block all major roads, including Main Reef Road.
In the voice note, the perpetrator of violence could be heard saying: “Communities of the West Rand are much stronger but we are much more. Do not attack schools, do not attack health-care facilities but malls you can do whatever you want. Do not attack any person except those who stand in your way.”
During his bail application, Nimmerhouldt was adamant it was not his voice note. He said that it was a plot to tarnish his political ambition to become a mayor in one of the West Rand municipalities.
Nimmerhoudt claimed in his testimony that he was framed. He also vowed to plead not guilty on charges of terrorism and inciting violence when the matter is set down for trial.
Nimmerhoudt tasted a first victory against the state when magistrate Annelie Africa ruled that he had cast doubt on the state’s evidence against him. She made the preliminary finding after Nimmerhoudt told the court that he was not the author or distributor of the voice note which urged people to attack malls and destroy various businesses in the West Rand.
In his testimony, he said he was part of a group of PA supporters who received and was shocked by the voice note. Nimmerhoudt also told the court that the voice note was sent to him by one of his party supporters, Luna Dickson.
Dickson testified in the bail application and corroborated Nimmerhoudt’s version.
She told the court that she related the same version to the Hawks on July 16, the day Nimmerhoudt was taken into custody.
“I also told the Hawks that the voice note was sent to me by my aunt Rona, and I sent it to the Patriotic Alliance Whatsapp group and Mannekrag, who were busy defending local businesses against looting and destruction,” Dickson testified.
In her ruling, Africa lambasted the police for shoddy work, especially their failure to provide the court with evidence that Nimmerhoudt was indeed the author of the voice note which encouraged people to attack malls and kill those who “stand in their way”.
Africa also attacked the police for their failure to obtain a statement from Dickson’s aunt prior to Nimmerhoudt’s bail application, saying they had ample time to do so after Dickson had made a formal statement to the Hawks.
According to Africa, the two witnesses, Dickson and Ashley Sauls – the PA’s Joburg mayoral elect – had corroborated Nimmerhoudt’s story on material facts.
Now the state is hoping that the forensic voice analysis on Thursday will assist to build a strong case against Nimmerhoudt.
Commenting on magistrate’s Africa’s ruling last week, the NPA’s Joburg
spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, was adamant that they have a strong case.
“We accept the court’s judgment as it has no bearing on the merits of the case,”
Mjonondwane said.
ANC wants municipal polls postponed to April 2022
The party says it will join the IEC’s application to the Constitutional Court to move the elections to a later date
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Jessie Duarte. Picture: BUSINESS DAY/FREDDY MAVUNDA
The ANC says it would prefer that local government elections be held in April 2022 as this will give political parties sufficient time to campaign.
The party’s deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, says the ANC will be joining the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) in its court application to the Constitutional Court to defer the municipal polls to no later than the end of February 2022.
The IEC on Tuesday that said it had approached the apex court directly on an urgent application due to “weighty constitutional matters” that include balancing rights enshrined in the constitution.
“We’re interested [in the IEC application] on the basis that the electorate does need to have a fair time to question candidates beyond what the ANC’s processes are doing, we have to take our manifesto to the ground, we have to do it properly and we have to have an assurance that the elections will be free and fair and that we [are] not hampered by yet another wave of Covid-19,” Duarte said on Thursday at a briefing.
The elections are scheduled for October 27. The IEC has asked the court to rule on its application by August 30 or by the latest September 10 to ensure that it will still be technically feasible to conduct elections by October 2021 or February 2022.
Duarte said the ANC is preparing for the municipal polls to be conducted in October pending the outcome of the IEC’s application to the apex court and has begun the process of selecting candidates for ward councillor and mayoral positions.
The process of candidate selection is being led by the ANC electoral committee headed by former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
The new process of interviewing entails candidate interviews, not just referrals from branches. All branches would have to complete candidate selection processes by August 23, irrespective of the outcome of the ruling by the Constitutional Court.
Motlanthe said on Thursday that 3,200 (80%) branches have elected candidates but have not concluded the meetings where communities will have the final say as to who will be presented to provincial and national party leadership to stand for positions in the
upcoming polls.
“The rules specify that those four names [of candidates] should be presented to the community meeting and the four nominees will present their credentials to the community. If the community is not happy with the nominees, they can nominate a suitable candidate for ward councillor. If there are objections, such an appeal must be made within 48 hours,” Motlanthe said.
The ANC enters the electoral race with shallower pockets than in previous years. Duarte conceded that the enactment of the Political Party Funding Act, which requires parties to disclose funders, has worsened the party’s financial issues resulting in staff being paid late.
“We do have a cash flow crisis ... it is occasioned primarily by the fact that the Political Party Funding Act has taken away from us. Many of our funders are not happy to have to make statements about their funding to the ANC and that has created a crisis for us,” she said.
KZN violence expected to cost Sappi R220m in lost profit
Sappi was forced to shutter mills as violent unrest gripped KwaZulu-Natal in July, while it also has to deal with backlogs after the Transnet cyberattack
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Sappi CEO Steve Binnie. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
Paper and packaging group Sappi, the world’s largest producer of dissolving pulp, says violent protests in KwaZulu-Natal is expected to shave off $16m (R220m) in core profit, a blow compounded by a growing line of ships outside Durban after Transnet was hit by a cyber attack.
The group lost about 10% of its quarterly production as it shuttered its Sappi Saiccor, Tugela and Stanger mills in KwaZulu-Natal in July, with the violent unrest also delaying the opening of its nearly-completed Saiccor expansion project to later in 2021.
CEO Steve Binnie told Business Day on Thursday that the group had faced a “perfect storm” in KwaZulu-Natal and was now also having to deal with a build-up in inventory as some ships opt to bypass Durban entirely. This followed a cyber attack that hit Transnet, worsening an existing backlog at the Port of Durban.
Binnie said Sappi was trying to leverage its status as the second-biggest exporter out of Durban to get shipping lines to take more direct routes to its customers, such as those in India, while it was also actively trying to get more space on ships that do arrive in Durban.
The $16m cost to earnings, before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation
(ebitda) will have an effect in the group's fourth quarter ending September, and represents about 11% of what it generated in its third.
“We are a big fixed-cost business, so it is a very expensive exercise for us to shut down,”
said Binnie.
Despite challenges, including rising raw materials costs and shipping issues that were not limited to SA, Binnie said the group was upbeat about profit growth in fourth quarter, and was benefiting from improving demand and rising prices for many of its key products.
The group generated $145m in ebitda during the three months to end-June, from only
$26m in the prior year, posting a $18m profit, from a loss of $73m previously.
Dissolving wood pulp, which is used in, among other things, textiles for clothing,
continues to benefit from steadily growing demand in the apparel sector. Dissolving pulp makes up 16% of group sales, and coated paper 45%.
The average Chinese market price for hardwood dissolving pulp increased 19% on the prior quarter to $1,088 per tonne — benefits the group will only experience in its fourth due to contractual lag.
Sales volumes increased 23% in the group's packaging and specialities segment in the three months to end-June, which generated record core profit, and almost half of the group’s total.
The underlying demand in the packaging and specialities segment remains robust particularly in SA and North America and opportunities for further growth in sales volumes exist in Europe, Sappi said.
The outlook for graphic paper in the fourth quarter is encouraging and market conditions are anticipated to steadily recover as activities in the travel and entertainment sectors normalise. Sales volumes in the segment reached 90% of volumes in the equivalent quarter in 2019.
In morning trade on Thursday, Sappi’s shares were trading 5.05% lower at R38.70, giving the group a market value of R21.9bn.
Sappi’s shares have risen almost 18% so far in 2021, but have fallen 11% since the start of 2020.
SA used-car prices rise sharply
The price index for pre-owned vehicles increased to 4.9% in the second quarter
0 5 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 - 1 3 : 3 3 D E N I S D R O P PA
There has been a dramatic rise in prices of used cars as demand for quality stock surges. Picture: DENIS DROPPA
Used-car prices in SA are rising faster than those of new cars as demand for high-quality used stock surged in the second quarter of 2021.
This is according to TransUnion Africa, which said the latest vehicle pricing index (VPI) for used vehicles rose sharply to 4.9% from 1.6% a year ago and is expected to soon surpass the new vehicle VPI, which eased to 6.1% in the second quarter from 6.5% the year before.
The VPI measures the relationship between the increase in prices for new and used vehicles.
“Where 2020’s level 5 lockdowns created a demand issue in the market, the combination of the 2021 level 4 lockdowns and civil unrest have created both demand and supply issues, with motor manufacturers suspending operations and supply chains coming to a halt,” said Kriben Reddy, vice-president of auto information solutions for TransUnion Africa
While new-vehicle finance deals in the second quarter increased 52% year on year, the number of deals for used vehicles increased 70%. The used-to-new vehicle ratio continued to climb, at 2.67 used vehicles financed for every new vehicle, he said.
About 35% of used vehicles sold were under two years old, with the number of demo models financed dropping from 6% in the first quarter of 2021 to 4% in the second quarter, indicating consumers were opting for older vehicles as pressure on disposable income increased.
More vehicles (new and used) are being financed in the over R300,000 bracket due to price increases.
There is a growing trend of consumers downgrading from a two-car household to one slightly more expensive vehicle, for example, trading two sedans for one SUV, said Reddy. This is expected to continue in the upcoming months as vehicle prices increase.
AutoTrader reported a 36% increase in vehicle searches from the first quarter to the second quarter, supporting the notion that consumers were opting for used cars over new, said CEO George Mienie.
“Civil unrest in July caused a 19% decline in search volumes on AutoTrader. However, the decline was short-lived as consumers returned to some normality after just two days,”
he said.
The knock-on effect of the lockdowns and civil unrest on new-vehicle supply was a recipe for future used-car price inflation as the vehicle fleet in SA ages and consumers buy up good, clean used car stock rather than new.
About 36% of listings on AutoTrader during the second quarter of 2021 were under two years old vs 42% in the second quarter of 2020, indicating an ageing SA car parc, said Mienie.
남아공서 경찰서에 3인조 강도…총기 10여점 빼앗아 도주
송고시간 2021-08-05 00:57 김성진 기자기자 페이지
경찰, 용의자 1명 체포…총기 10여점과 실탄 회수
남아공 한 경찰서에서 강도들에게 빼앗겼다 나중에 회수한 총기와 탄창
[현지매체 IOL 게재 트위터 사진 캡처, 재판매 및 DB 금지]
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 남아프리카공화국의 한 경찰서에 지난 주말 3 인조 강도가 들이닥쳐 총기 10 여점을 빼앗아 달아나는 사건이 발생했다.
경찰 특별 수사대 호크스(Hawks)는 토요일인 지난달 31 일 저녁 노던케이프주의 치넹 경찰서에 든 3 인조 강도가 들이닥쳐 혼자 당직중이던 경찰관을 흉기로 위협해 금고 속에서 권총 8 점, 소총 3 점, 엽총, 실탄을 빼앗아 도주했다고 밝혔다.
경찰서에 진정하는 척하고 들이닥친 강도들은 총기를 빼앗은 뒤 경찰관을 케이블로 묶고, 휴대전화를 빼앗았다.
경찰은 3 일(현지시간) 강도 용의자 중 41 세 남성을 체포했고, 탈취된 총기와 실탄도 모두 회수했다. 경찰은 나머지 용의자 2 명을 추적중이라고 현지언론은 전했다.
앞서 경찰은 이들 3 인조 강도 용의자들에 대해 제보하는 사람에게 5 만랜드(약 400 만원)의 포상금을 내건 바 있다.
경찰 및 교도소 민권조합(노조) 대변인인 리처드 마마볼로는 최근 비슷한 사건이 음푸말랑가와 이스턴케이프주에서도 발생했다면서 "경찰서가 역사적으로 안전한 피난처임에도 불구하고 이제는 경찰관이나 지역사회 구성원들에게 불안한
구역이 되고 있다"고 말했다.
베헤키 첼레 경찰장관은 이번 경찰서 습격 사건이 지난달 중순 콰줄루나탈주 등에서 발생한 폭동과 연관됐을 수 있다는 일각의 주장을 일축하면서, 지역사회 협조로 용의자를 신속히 체포했다고 말했다.
남아공 백신 접종 800만명 돌파…하루 30만명씩 접종 방침
송고시간 2021-08-04 20:57 김성진 기자기자 페이지
지난달 28일 남아공 요하네스버그의 한 드라이브스루 접종소에서백신을 놓는 장면.
[AP=연합뉴스]
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 남아프리카공화국에서 신종
코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나 19) 예방과 관련, 최소 한 차례 이상 백신 접종을 한 사람이 800 만 명을 돌파했다.
남아공 국립전염병연구소(NICD)에 따르면 3 일(현지시간) 오후 5 시 기준 코로나 19 백신 누적 접종은 798 만 1 천 822 회분이다.
하루 20 만 명 이상이 접종하는 추세를 생각하면 4 일 현재 800 만 명을 무난히 넘어선 것으로 보인다.
2 차 접종 등 백신 접종을 완료한 경우는 320 만명이 넘어 전체 인구의 5.5% 정도 된다.
남아공은 지난주 하루 평균 22 만 명 접종하고 이제 하루 30 만 명씩 접종하기 위해 속도를 내고 있다.
전체 인구 6 천만 명 가운데 절반이 넘는 3 천 500 만 명에 대해 올해 말까지 접종하고 4 천만 명을 내년 2 월까지 접종할 계획이다.
접종 장소는 처음에 12 군데로 시작해 이제는 3 천 곳 이상이 된다. 여기에는 정부 및 사립 병원, 약국, 광산, 공장, 교회, 모스크 등이 포함되며 접종도 공공과 민간이 공동으로 진행한다.
드라이브스루 코로나19 백신 접종센터로 쓰이는 요하네스버그 호튼 모스크
[AP=연합뉴스]
남아공은 현재 충분한 백신 접종분을 가진 것처럼 보인다.
화이자 백신 570 만 회분 이상이 이번 주 미국에서 도착했다고 AP 통신이 전했다.
이는 조 바이든 미 대통령이 1 억 1 천만 회분의 잉여 도스(1 회 접종분)를 60 개국 이상에 배포하겠다고 한 데 따른 것이다.
남아공은 또 화이자 백신 4 천만 회분 이상을 구매했고 이는 정기적으로 선적돼 배달되고 있다. 얀센 백신 3 천만 회분도 사들였다.
남아공은 백신 접종에 고무적이다. 조사에 따르면 남아공인 70% 이상이 백신을 기꺼이 맞겠다고 했고 불과 10%가 반대했다.
아프리카에서 코로나 19 타격이 가장 심한 남아공은 대륙 전체 인구(13 억 명)의 4.6%밖에 안 되지만 아프리카 54 개국 전체 확진자의 35% 이상을 차지한다.
남아공 코로나 19 사망자는 공식 집계상 7 만 2 천 명 이상이지만 실제 사망자는 거의 3 배에 달할 것으로 분석된다.
남아공은 현재 아프리카에서 유일하게 코로나 19 백신을 제조할 수 있는 나라이다. 국내 제약사인 아스펜이 존슨 백신을 원재료 배합 후 약병 주입 방식으로 생산하고 화이자 백신도 케이프타운의 바이오백 연구소가 마찬가지로 생산할 방침이다.
