GROUNDUP: Railway line theft accused using ‘Stalingrad tactics’, court hears in review application

• Johannesburg continues to suffer from maladministration, with daily power outages and water shedding adding to the city's challenges.
• The closure of the Johannesburg library for years has sparked protests, highlighting the neglect and mismanagement by city officials.
• The city's budget is being misspent on contractors and vanity projects, with industrial extraction becoming an existential issue for Johannesburg's infrastructure.
• Johannesburg is on the brink of replacing Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, as the ANC grapples with its electoral losses in the cities.

I thought there were only so many times that Johannesburg city governors could break your heart. As a citizen of and ardent advocate for this excellent, bustling city, I find the maladministration visited upon it by administration after administration heartbreaking.

My mom, my family and the wider community are so abused that, even as rolling blackouts have mercifully stopped in the rest of the country, Joburg still suffers outages almost daily.

Water tankers race across the city as water shedding adds to our difficulties. Last week, we put in water tanks to add to the solar.

I laugh when I think of my disbelief when the Nigerian writer Azubuike Ishiekwene warned me decades ago that people would each have to become our own local government as service went down the drain.

“Not our Joburg,” I remember thinking. So naive.

On 18 May this year, many hearts felt sore when we protested against the Johannesburg library being closed for years. A small group organised by Defend Our Democracy, the tiny group of activists who hold progressive politics together so beautifully, made a big noise outside the library.

Professor Achille Mbembe, the storied scholar renowned for his work on the post-colony, spoke at a piece of public art to honour the role of women in the struggle. It is the centrepiece of Beyers Naudé Square, the open space of the library named after the beloved cleric who fought apartheid.

For years, the mandarins who nominally “run” the city have kept it closed. The park is rundown. A young woman, now with her own asset management company, came to protest. She said the library had allowed her to learn and dream when, as a learner, she visited and studied there. With her dad, they would have a Wimpy date and then he’d go to work and she’d go to study.

The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, run by the indefatigable Flo Bird, has been a lone earworm for the city bureaucrats fighting for information about the library closure. The city officials exemplify the cruel bureaucrats of the post-colony that Mbembe has studied for decades. In the post-colony, and without deeper-rooted transformation, the new leaders mimic the cruelties of the colonial old.

Taking rather than giving

The people are forgotten as the new politicians climb over each other in a frenzy of extraction and taking, rather than giving. The promised revolutionary servant leadership never happens.

For years, somebody has got rich from continuing work on the library – claimed to be a fire risk, but with insufficient explanation of exactly how. 

I asked our colleague Brooks Spector what would happen if, say, the New York Public Library was closed inexplicably by city hall for years. What would people do? “There’d be running riots on the street,” he shot back quickly.

And yet, the tyranny of our lowered expectations of Johannesburg is so ingrained now that there are none.

The city has been repurposed for State Capture. In their path-breaking study of national State Capture, professors Ivor Chipkin and Mark Swilling explained how public sector systems, budgets and networks are repurposed for extraction. The patterns they identified were one of the processes that eventually led to the ousting of former president Jacob Zuma.

As a student of State Capture then and of Johannesburg governance now, the patterns are exactly the same. The city, with an excellent operating budget of R73-billion, a capital expenditure budget of R7-billion and numerous conditional grants from the National Treasury, should make it work for its people.

But you see how much is spent on contractors (R20-billion for services its staff should be performing) and read how it is misspent on vanity projects exhibited on the city’s social pages. The multiparty coalition is using contractors and positions on the entities to extract billions.

So, industrial extraction is now existential. Johannesburg needs R220-billion merely to get its water, energy and transport infrastructure back to basics, Bloomberg reported this week. The Metro Centre, the city’s lungs and heart for its citizens, stands closed after a suspicious fire.

Some staff and councillors believe it was arson to allow a massive “decant” into private office space that is costing billions. A cadre was set to get the deal until the National Treasury stepped in ahead of the election. I could go on for pages and pages.

But now Johannesburg is on the cusp of firing hapless Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor as the ANC at national level clicks how it lost the election primarily in the cities. Gwamanda is like a character from Can Themba’s story The Suit – an empty caricature of a mayor. He is the fifth mayor since the election in 2021, when no single party won.

Elected as part of a tortured compromise to create a coalition between the ANC and the EFF, Gwamanda is from Al Jama-ah, which has only three seats in the council.

He owes loyalty and fealty to his political bosses, but he needs to show no accountability to the people because they did not appoint him. In a callous display of this, he called citizens “stooges” in July when protests grew against the impact of sky-high electricity tariffs and charges.

According to my source, he will be out in a week, and the city will have its sixth mayor since the local government election in 2021.

As the place where gold was discovered and a metropolis shot up without a supporting river or body of water, Johannesburg is an exciting and storied city.

Rebuilding Joburg

The mayoral musical chairs is a political joke, but it’s not funny. Johannesburg is systemic for South Africa; it’s too big to fail. Too many people live here. Too much of the economy is concentrated here. Too much of our history is contained here.

It is going to take much more than a change of mayor to fix it. What does that fix look like? Fortunately, we know about it because of the work of Jozi My Jozi, the civil society and corporate programme to bring it back from the brink, and the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance.

Jozi My Jozi’s team has relit the Nelson Mandela Bridge and revamped the arterial on- and off-ramps into the city. In a major programme, its volunteers cleaned Hillbrow on Mandela Day. Ahead of the All Blacks game at Ellis Park at the end of August, a plan is under way to revamp and uplift the eastern inner-city area from Ponte to Ellis Park and further down.

The Crisis Alliance has tabulated and project-managed exactly what a fix of Joburg will require and how it should happen. The city needs to be put under national administration, like Durban’s eThekwini council. It is the only way to bring back the two cities from the urbacide (killing of a city) visited upon them by local State Capture.

In Joburg, this will entail a legal shake-out of the administration and entities such as City Power, Johannesburg Water, the Johannesburg Roads Agency and Pikitup, through which the city is ostensibly managed. Each one of them is a basket case, rendered so by decades of cadre deployment and extractive politics.

The neoliberal method of city management was meant to introduce business savvy into how Johannesburg was run. That project has long lost its way and introduced a level of bureaucracy that has removed the city from citizens in ways that are stultifying for service and opaque for residents.

And yet, Johannesburg lives and breathes and thrives. As publisher and cultural icon Laurice Taitz-Buntman says, it is, in fact, a metropolis of five cities. It insists on growing and jiving despite the poor governance that besets its basic skeletal infrastructure.

The city needs a government to suit its exciting citizens, who never stop doing wonderful things.

In the next month, Mandla Sibeko, the curator of the Joburg Art Fair, will lace across the city an arts megafeast that is on a par with anything in Dakar, Milan or New York’s best. Almost every week, if you browse Taitz-Buntman’s In Your Pocket guide to the city, you will learn of a new district, a fabulous artist and an entrepreneur starting up.

It is a generous city where soup kitchens, food gardens and WhatsApp groups share a spirit that has always been part of its identity and culture.

The fascia that holds the city together is outside its government now, and what the city needs from any change of political heart is to return Johannesburg to its people. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

You may write a letter to the DM168 editor at [email protected] sharing your views on this story. Letters will be curated, edited and considered for publication in our weekly newspaper on our readers’ views page.

• The Miss South Africa event at the weekend was an exercise in hypocrisy.
• At the centre is how we define ourselves as South Africans and our country as part of Africa.
• Like xenophobia, this debacle holds nothing of value for anyone.
• Nationality and identity issues continue to fuel xenophobia in South Africa, highlighting complexities of immigration laws and prejudices.

Last week, the Patriotic Alliance, led by the minister of sport, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie, publicly claimed that 23-year-old Chidimma Adetshina did not qualify for the finals of the Miss South Africa beauty pageant.

This was because both of her parents were not born in South Africa. Later, the home affairs minister, the DA’s Leon Schreiber, issued a statement confirming that his department was investigating whether Adetshina’s mother had committed fraud in 2001.

To his credit, he said that Adetshina had played no part in any wrongdoing — she was an infant in 2001.

The PA then approached a court, arguing that Adetshina should not compete in the competition, and she withdrew from it. 

It is hard to escape the sense that the PA and its leaders, McKenzie and Kenny Kunene, are guilty of plain bullying here. They would have known, and not cared, that this would cause Adetshina pain even as she has played no part in our public life or committed any wrongdoing in connection with her legal citizenship.

If it turns out that she was not legally granted South African citizenship she would not be the first — former DA MP Phumzile van Damme found out through a very difficult and public process that she had been born in Eswatini, while official documents had proclaimed that she was born in Mbombela.

Other politicians have found themselves in a similar position. In Australia, 15 MPs were found to be occupying their office illegally after it emerged that they held dual citizenship.

Targets of xenophobia

Our current political situation is such that issues around identity and nationality are likely to be contested in many ways for some time.

Only about 3% of the people living in South Africa are from other countries.

However, the fact they are visible and may have higher levels of economic activity than many South Africans has made them targets of xenophobia. 

Perhaps the first public figure to use xenophobia for political gain was Herman Mashaba while he was DA mayor of Joburg.

He was followed by the PA, the ATM and several other parties.

Even the DA once claimed it would make the issue of immigration a major part of its election manifesto, but then stepped back from doing so. It was their home affairs minister who made a public statement.

While Schreiber may have felt he had no choice in going public with the decision to investigate Adetshina’s citizenship, this could well blow up in his face.  

It could be that Adetshina’s mother lied when she was registered. Or that she, in good faith, asked someone else to register her child (perhaps through an agent or agency) who then lied to her.

As the immigration lawyer Stefanie de Saude-Darbandi wrote this weekend, there have been many cases when officials have given citizenship applicants the wrong advice. She pointed out that it would be impossible for any foreign national to break the law without the connivance of a South African Home Affairs official.

It may be impossible to prove what happened. Schreiber might well be asked why he decided to make a public statement if it turns out there was no wrongdoing. Without his statement, Adetshina could argue that she may have won the contest.

Nationality and the law

This gets to the heart of very difficult questions about nationality and the law.

The Department of Home Affairs — and its counterparts around the world — is at the centre of so many controversies because it is the department where human behaviour, such as sexual identity, falling in love, having children and moving around the world in a non-binary way, has to be defined in a binary way under the law.

But to judge, or in any way change the way you treat a person because of where they were born is the height of absurdity and prejudice.

Our grandchildren might one day find it as difficult to understand why people were treated so differently based on where they were born, as do many young children to understand racism today.

This is also a useful reminder of the southern African experience of nationality.

Since long before the colonial era, people have moved around southern Africa. The discovery of diamonds in what is now Kimberley and then the gold rush in what is now Gauteng led to a huge movement of people into what is now South Africa.

The upshot was that some people who were born in other countries played an immense role in our history and some people born here played major roles in the history of other countries.

For example, the ANC leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Luthuli was born in Zimbabwe; the founder of the National Union of Mineworkers, James Motlatsi, was from Lesotho; and the late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace Mugabe was born in Benoni, as was the Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron. Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira, known to the rugby world as “The Beast”, was born in Zimbabwe.

It seems strange to suggest to voters that people from other countries must be treated differently, while our government has publicly celebrated the success of the Ndlovu Youth Choir in a television competition called America’s Got Talent.  

Jean Ping, who had a Chinese father, was the chair of the African Union Commission. In the UK, the fact that a former prime minister, the current mayor of London, and the immediate past leader of the Scottish National Party were all of Asian descent has been rightly celebrated as proof that ethnic identity should not be a factor in anyone’s life.

Such are the vagaries of the legalities of citizenship that at least six pairs of brothers have played football for the national teams of different countries. 

Miss SA organisers

Unfortunately, politicians are not the only hypocrites in the Miss South Africa debacle. 

The Miss South Africa organisers was one of the groups who first approached the Department of Home Affairs asking for clarity about Adetshina’s citizenship. While they might say this was out of concern or because they were determined to ensure no law was broken, they should have known that the controversy would bring much more attention to their event. 

The fact that the event was held over the Women’s Day long weekend suggests an attempt to link beauty with the value of a woman.

Such a claim defies rationality, but this is an organisation with a long history of hypocrisy.

In 2021, it proclaimed that its acceptance of a contestant who identified as transgender was proof it was inclusive.

However, just a year before, its rules stated: “The applicant shall not ever have been married, nor had a marriage annulled… Miss South Africa titleholders are also required to remain unmarried throughout their reign… It is accepted that while an applicant may be in a committed relationship or engaged, they must adhere to the rule of not getting married … during the year of reign.”

They were also not allowed to become pregnant or to be the legal guardian of a child.

Irrational

There is no rational reason for these requirements — if the objective is to assess “beauty”, what possible influence could a contestant’s marital status have? And why would it be such a mortal sin to become pregnant?

This is in complete defiance of the reality of our society, where many young women find themselves the de facto parents of young children through no choice of their own. Without the incredible efforts of these young women, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of young children would be left uncared for.

While the Miss South Africa competition may claim to be inclusive, over the years it has appeared to ensure that the winner has not been married, a parent, pregnant, short or skinny.

It has no bearing on our country or the lived existence of almost everybody in SA.

The furore over Adetshina has been closely watched in Nigeria, where politicians have been rightly concerned about xenophobia against their people in South Africa. 

One of the responses was from the Miss Universe Nigeria competition inviting Adetshina to be a part of their contest.

While the rules of participation in that pageant are not clear on its website, it seems unlikely that contestants who have already qualified will welcome this. This appears to be an attempt to benefit from the controversy.

Even the Puebla International Literature Festival in Mexico said it had rescinded South Africa’s status as the Country in Focus as a result of this furore.

It says this is a statement against injustice.

Its organisers had conferred this status on our nation despite our unjust inequality and the appearance that it supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Somehow, the organisers of the event decided that this furore over a young beauty contestant was more unjust than anything else our government had done before.

Beauty pageants are magnets for hypocrisy. For people who watch them, they are an exercise in confirming their own biases, an opportunity to claim that their “standards of beauty” are correct.

Like xenophobia, this debacle holds nothing of value for anyone. DM

• uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party plans to bring controversial figures to Parliament, including Brian Molefe, Lucky Montana and Siyabonga Gama, all facing past fraud and corruption charges.
• Proposed parliamentary members include relatives of party leadership, sparking nepotism accusations and internal tensions.
• Tom Moyane withdraws from Parliament consideration, opting for other party activities.
• Parliament receives MK party's removal of 15 MPs, triggering allegations of cronyism and power struggles within the party.

In an unsurprising move that will shake South Africa’s political landscape, the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party, the Government of National Unity’s official opposition, is reportedly planning to bring several controversial figures to Parliament. Among those slated for parliamentary seats are former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana and former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama – all of whom have previously faced charges of fraud and corruption relating to the state-owned enterprises they once led.

Adding to the controversy is the inclusion of individuals who appear to have close familial ties to the MK party leadership. The proposed list seen by Daily Maverick and submitted to Parliament suggests that the new members may include relatives of the party’s parliamentary chief whip, Sihle Ngubane, and a relative of party leader Jacob Zuma. The implications of these connections have fuelled accusations of nepotism and have exacerbated tensions within the party.

Daily Maverick has further learnt that former South African Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane, who was also expected to take up a seat in Parliament, has decided to withdraw from consideration. Instead, Moyane will pursue other interests, including activities within the party.

The proposed changes are outlined in letters dated 5 July, in which  Ngubane informed National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza of the removal of certain members and their proposed replacements. The MK party had made headlines for abruptly removing more than a dozen MPs, ostensibly to make way for figures like Molefe – a move that outraged  many in the party.

Read more: Zuma’s MK party ousts 15 MPs in rapid shake-up, sparking allegations of cronyism

Parliament has confirmed that it has received correspondence from the MK party advising the Speaker of its decision to remove 15 of its public representatives from the National Assembly (NA). According to the Constitution, a person loses membership of the NA if they cease to be a member of the party that nominated them to Parliament.

“Simultaneously, the Speaker has received email correspondence of persons on the party’s reserve list, indicating their unavailability to fill any vacancies in the National Assembly,” a statement from Parliament reads 

“The emails were submitted through the party’s chief whip in Parliament. The Speaker is currently considering these correspondences, and a decision will be made in due course,” it says. 

The sudden and drastic purge has led to allegations of cronyism and internal power struggles. Aggrieved party members have accused Ngubane and Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Sambhudla-Zuma, of orchestrating the ousting of MPs to consolidate their own influence within the party. Sambhudla-Zuma has denied any involvement in the matter.

There are also claims that party leader Jacob Zuma is unaware of the changes. “We met with the president following the swearing-in and he was happy with us. He never discussed any of these new changes,” said one MP who lost their seat.

The Daily Maverick sought a comment from Zuma, but was directed to the party spokesperson by the spokesperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, who is an EFF member.

Speaking on behalf of the MK party, Nhlamulo Ndhela defended the decision to replace the MPs, stating that those affected were aware of their impending removal and were advised not to proceed with their swearing-in. “They were further advised not to proceed to avail themselves for the swearing-in, or if they so wished, proceed with the understanding that they would be replaced at a later stage, pending the parliamentary procedures,” he said.

Ndhela also alleged that the MK party’s IEC list had been compromised by saboteurs who populated it with friends, family members and neighbours. He claimed that even Zuma’s inclusion on the list was premature, and that the plan was to introduce him later, as was done with former judge John Hlophe. A case regarding the list has reportedly been opened at the Sandton police station.

“The letter of the chief whip to Parliament was leaked, and certain terminated members further leaked them to social media. It is this ill-discipline and rogue behaviour that has led to the spurious misleading reports,” Ndhela added. 

The MK party is yet to finalise its constitution and is still led by an interim leadership. DM

• Review application related to alleged theft of railway line postponed in Eastern Cape High Court
• Co-accused in the case include former Prasa CEO and Cape Town businessman
• Delays in criminal proceedings due to changes in legal representation and court challenges
• New hearing date set for 28 November, accused claims innocence and lack of legal representation

A review application related to a criminal case in which a former acting Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO and a Cape Town businessman allegedly stole 42km of railway line in the Eastern Cape, was postponed in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Thursday.

This was the first time the review application, brought by Syed Mohiudeen, had been heard, 18 months after the notice of motion was filed at the High Court in February 2023.

Mohiudeen is co-accused with Mthuthuzeli Swartz, who was Prasa’s Western Cape regional director when a case of the theft of a Transnet railway line between Sterkstroom and Maclear was opened at the Elliot police station in the Eastern Cape in February 2013.

It took six years before Swartz was arrested on 22 January 2019, with Mohiudeen arrested on 27 February 2019.

It is alleged that Swartz and Mohiudeen, acting through his company Spanish Ice, took a R1.5-million deposit from Cape Town cousins Adrian and Cedric Samuels for the sale of the disused Transnet railway line, which the Samuels cousins then uplifted for its steel value.

In the period between the case being opened and Swartz’s arrest, Prasa appointed him as acting CEO. He served in this position for three months, from January to April 2018, until the Prasa board removed him because insurers wouldn’t provide directors’ and officers’ liability cover.

The criminal case, which itself was beset with delays prior to the review application, partly due to Mohiudeen changing lawyers and difficulty in obtaining court transcripts, ground to a halt after Mohiudeen filed an application for the High Court to review magistrate Nolitha Bara’s dismissal of his request for further particulars of the charges against him. He is also contesting the R58-million claimed in damages to Transnet as result of the line being uplifted.

Mohiudeen’s heads of argument, which he on Thursday told the court that his niece in London had helped him draft, were filed on 3 June this year.

Responding papers

Appearing before Judge Avinash Govindjee and Acting Judge Nicholas Mullins in the High Court on Thursday, Mohiudeen asked for a postponement so he could obtain legal representation. He said he had only received the State’s responding papers that morning. Since the start of his criminal case, Mohiudeen has changed lawyers at least four times, with his latest attempt to obtain legal representation from Legal Aid turned down.

Mohiudeen said Legal Aid had informed him of its decision on 1 August, at which point Judge Govindjee noted the reason was that Legal Aid deemed his application had “no real prospects of success”.

Advocate Bongo Mvinjelwa, for the State, argued that a postponement would further delay the criminal proceedings in the Commercial Crimes Court, which would “prejudice the State”.

Mvinjelwa said Mohiudeen had legal representation when he made the High Court application, and the matter was covered in the heads of argument before the court.

He said there was no merit in Mohiudeen’s application, and that he was using “Stalingrad tactics” to delay the criminal proceedings.

After a 15-minute adjournment, Judge Govindjee ruled that despite “suspicions of Stalingrad tactics”, the matter would be postponed. Although the State’s responding papers were sent to the Legal Aid Board on 23 July, it appeared they had not been forwarded to Mohiudeen until after the Legal Aid Board’s decision to turn down his request for representation, and he needed time to familiarise himself with the legal arguments.

New date for the hearing

A new date for the hearing was obtained for 28 November.

Outside court, Mohiudeen said he had been accused of something that he had not done. He said he did not expect not to have legal representation in court. 

“I’ve been railroaded,” he said. “The Samuels are the ones who stole the rail, and who got permission from Swartz,” he said, adding: “I can’t plead without the right information.”

He said the Apartheid Criminal Procedures Act was being used against him and it was a “trial by media” that had ruined his reputation. DM

First published by GroundUp.

• Russia intensifying offensive in Africa, facing resistance from Ukraine, turning continent into proxy battlefield
• Setback for Kremlin as Wagner Group suffers heavy casualties in Mali skirmish, challenging Russian expansion in Africa
• Russian presence expanding in Niger and Central African Republic, countering Western influence
• Russia maintains strong foothold in Libya, speculation over motives for engagement in the region

Russia appears to be intensifying its offensive – on various fronts – to gain influence in Africa, and its enemy Ukraine is fighting back, threatening to make the continent a major proxy battlefield. 

Minor military skirmishes elsewhere in Africa exploded last week when Moscow’s Wagner Group (now Africa Corps) took heavy casualties in a battle with Tuareg separatists and jihadists in Tinzaouaten, Mali. This was a setback for the Kremlin, which appeared to be expanding its presence or at least rebuffing Western efforts to regain lost African ground.

Russian soldiers had already begun filling the vacuum left by the US with the withdrawal of its last troops this week from Agadez, Niger. The US base had been used to monitor Islamist extremists throughout the Sahel. In Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s Central African Republic – effectively a client state of Moscow’s for some years – Wagner operatives scuppered attempts by the US security outfit Bancroft Global Development to establish itself in Bangui in January. 

Russia has also maintained a strong foothold in Libya, fighting on the side of strongman Khalifa Haftar, the military head of the eastern government based in Benghazi, against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, in the west. 

That war went cold in 2020, but as Chatham House Libya expert Tim Eaton told ISS Today, thousands of Wagner troops were expected to remain in Libya. The Russians still operate their airbase at Jufra in central Libya, and Russian military materiel is still entering the east. “There is a lot of speculation over the extent to which Russian engagement in Libya is about Libya, or access to Africa (particularly the Sahel) or both,” Eaton said.  

‘Marketing campaign’

On the propaganda front, Russia’s state-owned television network RT seems to be trying to relaunch or rebrand itself in Africa. An extensive marketing campaign of billboards and other advertising media featured images of liberation heroes such as Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, Uganda’s Apollo Milton Obote, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. “Your Values. Shared,” the billboards read. In a press release, RT claims it is committed to the “dismantling of neo-colonialist narratives in news media”.

But it’s difficult to establish RT’s actual presence in Africa. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the network was widely pulled off the air and now seems to be operating largely through Chinese proxies.

South African media analyst Anton Harber said RT’s campaign was “too dated”’ to hold much sway with young Africans. Also: “There is a huge irony in RT promoting itself as a voice of anti-colonialism at a time when Russia is increasing its influence on the continent in ways that could be described as neo-colonial. One thing we know about RT is that it is not an African voice, but Putin’s outlet, there to serve him and his country. So it is dressing up its ambitions for influence in Africa, with a paternalistic anti-colonial rhetoric.”

However, Samuel Ramani, Russia-Africa relations expert at the Royal United Services Institute and Oxford University, believes plugging the old anti-Western colonialism line “will definitely increase Russia’s soft power over time”.

Russia’s information war, as in the US in 2016, is also being conducted below the radar in Africa, with bots trying to influence election outcomes in South Africa, Madagascar and perhaps elsewhere. 

Though Moscow’s African offensive is broadly aimed at the West, it is also more narrowly aimed at Ukraine, at least concerning propaganda. And Ukraine is fighting back.

Ukraine’s special envoy for Africa and the Middle East, Maksym Subkh, said the country is opening several new embassies in Africa. This is not only to boost diplomatic, economic and other relations but to counter Russia’s anti-Ukraine propaganda. A wider diplomatic footprint would allow Ukraine to help Africans counter Wagner’s influence because, he said, Kyiv had learnt how to deal with Wagner when it was fighting it in Ukraine.

After last week’s fierce battle in Tinzaouaten, when Tuareg separatists claimed to have killed 84 Wagner fighters and 47 Malian troops, senior Ukrainian intelligence agency spokesperson officer Andriy Yusov said the Malian rebels had received the ‘necessary’ information to conduct the attack – implying it came from Ukraine.

In response, Mali’s military junta severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing it of supporting “international terrorism”. Ukraine denied the charge, saying Mali had acted hastily without investigating the full circumstances of the incident or providing evidence of Ukraine’s involvement. 

Mali’s fellow military junta regime in Niger also broke diplomatic ties with Kyiv. And Russia accused Ukraine of opening a new front in Africa – which is of course deeply ironic. 

If the Russia-Ukraine war has indeed spilt over into Africa, it could have grave implications for the continent. The Economic Community of West African States, in a rather general statement, condemned ‘foreign interference in the region … as well as any attempt to draw the region into the current geopolitical confrontations.’ The African Union seemingly hasn’t responded. 

But this development may not be entirely new in Africa. Ramani suggests that if Ukraine were indeed involved in Wagner’s defeat in Mali, that would be consistent with its strategy towards Africa, which he said had two prongs. First, diplomatic outreach through establishing new embassies and second, “below-the-radar special operations like we have seen against the RSF [Rapid Support Forces] in Sudan”.

RSF is engaged in a ferocious civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Russia, and particularly Wagner, are widely known to have been supporting the RSF. And in February, the Kyiv Post reported that Ukrainian special forces were operating in Sudan, backing the SAF against the RSF-aligned Wagner forces. 

Ramani suggested that Wagner’s defeat in Mali was no cause for complacency. It would lead to introspection, and Wagner forces probably being placed under greater state control, “much like the process currently underway in Libya”.

He added that “it might also give Burkina Faso and Niger, which are allowing small contingents of Russian advisers to operate in their countries … second thoughts about entrusting Russia more broadly with counter-terrorism missions”. But Ramani says Russia has suffered major military setbacks before – and will bounce back. 

“Russia is a very agile, flexible and nimble player which can take advantage of coups and crises. Its influence is likely to endure mainly because African countries see it as an integral pole within the international system and a power to be engaged with alongside others, and not a country that should be isolated like the West wants them to.’

Peter Fabricius is a consultant at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria.

First published by ISS Today

• Oratile Diloane's funeral in North West was a heartbreaking reminder of the injustice he endured after falling into a pit toilet at his school at the age of five.
• Mourners gathered to celebrate Oratile's life and express disappointment over the lack of accountability surrounding the incident that ultimately led to his death.
• Oratile's aunt emotionally recounted the injuries he suffered, which left him with neurological deficiencies and a life of suffering before his passing.
• Despite legal battles and denials, Oratile's family and community demand justice for the young boy who they say was failed by the school, government, and legal system.

Attending the funeral of a child is always heartbreaking, but what made Oratile Diloane’s funeral even more painful was the injustice the young boy endured after falling into a pit toilet at his primary school when he was only five years old. 

Loved ones and community members gathered at the Diloane family home in Kanana in North West on Friday to pay their final respects to Oratile. The 13-year-old’s funeral was not only an opportunity for mourners to celebrate his life, but also air their disappointment over the lack of accountability surrounding the 2016 incident.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the tent as Oratile’s aunt Melita Diloane recounted how the boy sustained the injuries that ultimately led to his death last weekend.

“After Oratile fell into the toilet in 2016, the school didn’t even notify us about what had happened. They just washed his clothes, cleaned him and dropped him off on the pavement outside his house, where no one was home. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to come to my house, and when I saw him, I could see the fear in his eyes. I knew something terrible had happened,” Melita Diloane said.

What happened to Oratile was only revealed when a neighbour asked his mother, Refilwe Diloane, if the then five-year-old was okay because the neighbour’s son had told her that Oratile had fallen into the toilet at school. But even when Refilwe went to the school to ask what had happened, the principal denied that the incident had occurred, a denial that is still maintained to this day.

Read more: Oratile (13) tragically dies after falling into ‘deathtrap’ North West school pit toilet

Melita Diloane said Oratile sustained injuries to his head, as well as cuts and bruises, which resulted in the child developing hypoxia and hydrocephalus, which left him with neurological deficiencies. For the remaining seven years of his life, Oratile suffered through temporary blindness, multiple hospital visits and ultimately lost the use of his hands and legs. Before he died, Oratile could not walk or talk.

“Oratile was a hero. We lost a hero. That boy fought,” his aunt said.

Refilwe took the Department of Education to court, but the North West High Court in Mahikeng ultimately ruled in favour of the department in 2023. Judge Ronald Hendricks dismissed the mother’s claim because she failed to prove that Oratile had fallen into the pit toilet.

The story of Oratile’s short life is not just one of avoidable tragedy, but it’s also the story of a child whose family says was failed by his school, failed by the government and failed by the legal system.

Loved ones say final goodbyes

“Oratile was a beautiful child. He was a flower. He was so smart and used to tell me stories all the time every time you spoke with him, it was like a revelation. But after he got hurt at school, instead of telling the truth about what happened, they told me I brought them a child with mental disabilities,” Refilwe Diloane said, addressing the mourners.

“My beloved son, as I say goodbye, I take comfort in knowing that you are finally at peace. Your suffering has ended, and you are in a place where there is no more pain and sorrow. I miss you every day, but I know that you are with me in spirit. Your memory is in my heart, and I will always cherish every moment we shared,” Refilwe said in her final message to her son.

One by one, the people who loved Oratile stood by his casket, recounting stories of how the young boy loved to laugh and dance and who was a smart child with a bright future before he fell into the pit toilet.

“You could not get anything past Oratile. You know how to play tricks on children, but even when he was small, he was too smart to fall for it,” a neighbour said.

“Oratile was a miracle baby. He shared his love and kindness with us every chance he got. He fought, but God finally answered his prayers. He would always say, ‘God, please heal me now’. It is his time to rest,” his sister, Neo Diloane, said.

With Oratile laid to rest and his suffering finally over, the family’s one wish is that he gets the justice he deserves.

“Oratile can never rest peacefully until he has been given justice. There will come a day when the people who failed Oratile, the people who tried to hide what happened to him, will be asked, ‘What happened to Oratile,’ and the truth will finally come out, and they will not be able to hide it,” Oratile’s uncle, Johnny Diloane, said. DM

In this podcast series, we bring you a healthy serving of the latest news – neatly wrapped up in under 15 minutes. Brought to you by some of the sharpest minds from Daily Maverick and Carte Blanche, it’s a must-have addition to your podcast diet.

In this podcast series, we bring you a healthy serving of the latest news – neatly wrapped up in under 15 minutes. Brought to you by some of the sharpest minds from Daily Maverick and Carte Blanche, it’s a must-have addition to your podcast diet.

The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) has had an exciting roster in the first half of 2024: two subscription concert series, a Valentine’s Day gala, an outdoor Mother’s Day concert for thousands featuring Lira and other soloists, a Jonathan Roxmouth-led tribute concert to Liberace, and collaborations on full-scale productions with Joburg Ballet and Cape Town Opera.

The musicians do their city proud. 

To this writer’s ears, the playing gets better and better each season. Those lucky (and wise) enough to get tickets in time for each concert come away often beaming and buoyed by the excellence on show. Not only do the orchestra members play well, but the selection of guest soloists has been a nearly unfailingly bright roll of brilliance.

What can one complain about? One thing: that there isn’t more. Before the Covid pandemic, the JPO had two concerts a week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. There were even times when they had three concerts a week. However, after returning from lockdown, the JPO has been performing only one night a week.

One show might seem precious little payoff for the work that the players put in week after week in rehearsals, and seems a skimp for Joburg music lovers, too. Many of the concerts are sold out and aspirant attendees who didn’t snatch up tickets long in advance can only pine about the great performances they miss.

When Bongani Tembe, the CEO, gave his customary address on the last night of the Winter Season, in June, he alluded to new endeavours by the orchestra. One bold audience member called out, “Bring back Wednesday night concerts!” 

The cry was heartily endorsed not only by other audience members but by many of the musicians on stage as well.

When listening to the music performed, one has to work hard to find grievances though. The playing of the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Second Piano Concerto may have been forgettable, but it was flanked by two of the most resounding works played yet: Bizet’s Second L’Arlésienne Suite, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

A great highlight

The Enigma Variations, in particular, were a great highlight of the season. Elgar wrote the work in his 40s, after years of toil as an undervalued composer. At the end of one long and tiring day of teaching, he sat down at the piano and played a little melody, which yielded some fruitful improvisation and variations. He expanded and orchestrated these into the work we know today, and playfully named each variation after people he knew personally, aiming to capture something of their character and essence.

Conrad van Alphen, who conducted the JPO in this work, brought deft grace and powerful empathy to the music. As the musicians played, I could hear Elgar’s fond memories of the people he cherished. Most famous of all is the plangent ninth variation, Nimrod, for which all the tumbling playfulness stands back for a moment. 

Nimrod is often used at solemn occasions, like war memorial services. But, to me, it resonates even more touchingly as Elgar’s intimate tribute to a beloved friend. The melody is inspired by the Pathétique Sonata, by Beethoven, another composer who faced a great artistic crisis, and the result is a poignant hymn to resilience.

Another highlight was a visit from the Durban-born soprano Bronwen Forbay who now leads a successful career in North America; she began with Micaëla’s Act III aria from Carmen, keeping her resources for her flourishing finale: the Jewel aria from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Adele’s Laughing aria from Die Fledermaus showed off Forbay’s shimmering high notes, which lit up the stage as if with fireworks.

In classical music, some of the greatest pleasures can come from very familiar music. 

Mozart’s very last symphony, No 41 in C major, or the Jupiter as it’s nicknamed, is, together with No 40, his best-known one. Daniel Boico, a frequent guest at the JPO and the conductor for this symphony, re-illuminated the joyous spectacle that Mozart surely meant it to be.

Boico conducts with great wit and verve. He brought out multiple little motifs that musicians play in the middle of textures or as echoes of louder themes. The final movement was a great triumph, a wondrous marriage of emotional and intellectual radiance: as the musicians passed the themes around, it almost felt as if one could see the structure of the music, as if interlocking geometric shapes were rising out of the stage. An irrepressible wave of elation washed over the audience at the close, who rose to meet it with a warm ovation.

As enriching as it may be to revisit a rightful classic, though, the animating spirit of art comes from exploring the new. For orchestras, this means music with which their audiences may not be familiar. 

Recent JPO seasons have been relatively gratifying in this regard, with treats like Strauss’s Oboe Concerto, songs by SJ Khosa, and an introduction to the little-known Swedish composer Elfrida Andrée.

Still, this writer glances at programmes from, say, the Cape Town Philharmonic, with envy: programmes that regularly feature Copland, Florence Price, Bartók, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Corigliano, and other composers you’ve never heard of, and a showcase of South African music just about every season.

A look ahead to the JPO’s upcoming Early Spring Season engenders some hope: we can eagerly anticipate not one but two saxophone concertos, as well as two bona fide rare treasures: Barber’s exquisite Violin Concerto, Ravel’s Mother Goose suite and Holst’s Second St Paul Suite. Success begets success, and for every warm ray the JPO emits, we grow more optimistic for a brighter lustre. DM

• Raw sewage from broken pump stations has been polluting the Gcuwa River in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, for eight years.
• Residents complain of stench and worry about health impacts and contaminated water affecting livestock.
• Municipality blames illegal electricity connections for pump station issues, while Eskom cites vandalism.
• Despite ongoing engagement, the pump stations remain unrepaired, posing a threat to residents and the environment.

Raw sewage, spilling from broken pump stations, has been flowing into the river in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, for the past eight years.

The pump stations, which are supposed to pump sewage to be treated at the wastewater treatment works, are situated near the Sikiti and Eugene informal settlements, and the pollution pouring into the Gcuwa River flows downstream to the Great Kei River.

GroundUp reported on this constant sewage spill in March 2017, following residents’ complaints about the stench. Livestock owners were worried about their cows drinking the contaminated water, saying it affects the milk.

At the time Amathole District Municipality confirmed there were two sewage pump stations spilling continuously into the Gcuwa River. They have still not been repaired.

Municipality spokesperson Sisa Mwisa said the broken pump stations could not be repaired until residents in the informal settlements stopped connecting illegally to the pump station power supply.

Phase imbalances

Mwisa said the pumps were not able to run due to the phase imbalances caused by the illegal electricity connections.

She said the Amathole District Municipality had been engaging with the Mnquma Local Municipality in which Butterworth is situated, and Eskom to try to find a way forward.

Residents GroundUp spoke to said that following heavy rains the polluted river rose and flooded their shacks. They said the water was not only polluted by the constant sewage spill, but also by illegal dump sites near the river, which were not collected by the municipality.

Sikiti informal resident Zimvo Tom said he passed the pump station every morning on his way to and from work. Tom said the flow of sewage was at its worst in the morning. He said community leaders, as well as the previous ward councillor, had reported it but it had never been fixed.

“I don’t think people report it now. We have given up because it’s been years living with it.

“What’s sad about this is that we are not the only people affected. As you know this river goes to the sea at Kei mouth. There are people who swim there. Others fish there. I’m sure that they don’t even know about this sewage leaking into this river,” said Tom.

He said that anyone could be using water from the river downstream from the sewage spill.

He showed GroundUp a few electricity poles that were installed by Eskom years ago, but the planned electrification of Sikiti, which could put an end to the illegal connections to the pump station, was never completed.

Constant stench of sewage

Sikiti resident Ntombokhanyo Maqanqa said although she had become used to the constant stench of sewage, she worried about the impact on her health.

She said there were also farmers in the nearby area and their livestock drink water from the polluted river.

“We used to have people coming here from the nearby villages to sell sour milk, very cheap, but they have stopped now. Those were the people who were worried about their cows when the journalists were here in 2017. It’s been years, I’m sure they stopped selling the milk,” she said.

 In response to GroundUp, Eskom blamed the problem on “continuous vandalism” at the pump stations. “The pressure on the Eskom network due to illegal connections and electricity theft results in overloaded networks in Butterworth. This then impacts service delivery for the local and district municipalities (and causes) enormous revenue loss for Eskom.” DM

First published by GroundUp.

• Adriaan Wildschutt shines in Paris Olympic Games with record-breaking 10,000m run, nearly 10 seconds faster than Olympic record.
• Akani Simbine impresses in men's 100m final with new records and personal best times, but no medal.
• Wildschutt and Simbine enhance South African history with unmatched feats at the Olympics.
• Paris 10,000m race showcases intense competition with top athletes breaking records, led by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei.

Adriaan Wildschutt is not a name familiar to most South Africans, but it should be. He arguably produced the country’s best performance at the Paris Olympic Games in a 10,000m final of staggeringly high quality that will, probably, be lost in footnotes in years to come.

A few days later, the brilliant and consistent sprinter Akani Simbine delivered another excellent race in the men’s 100m final.

Both men left the Stade de France track with new records and personal best times. And both left without a medal, such was the quality of the fields and the performances in their respective races.

But they also leave with enhanced reputations because their feats were unmatched in South African history.

Amazing Adriaan

Wildschutt (26), whose talent was spotted by former women’s 5,000m world record holder Zola Budd-Pieterse, crossed the line in the 10,000m final in a stunning national record of 26:50.64, nearly 10 seconds faster than the Olympic record.

You know, the Olympic record held by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, one of the greatest distance athletes of all time, set in Beijing in 2008.

Put another way, Wildschutt’s time and performance would have won every previous Olympic final in history. And he would’ve won them by at least 60m. It was a supreme run by the little-known man from Ceres.

Wildschutt, who was inspired to run by his older brother Nadeel, and whose only early ambition was to set a clock to 20 minutes and try to cover more distance in that time each day, has come a long way.

The reason South Africans are not ­celebrating another gold medal, though, is that despite Wildschutt’s amazing effort, nine other athletes finished ahead of him in what must be the greatest single race in Olympic history.

In all, the top 13 athletes all broke Bekele’s Olympic record, with Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei confirming his greatness with a stunning run, crossing in 26:43.14 for the gold medal.

The Ugandan intends to move to marathon running now, and so ended his generational track career with a performance for the ages.

Every man for himself

Although Cheptegei’s 10,000m world record sits at 26:11.00, more than half a minute faster than he ran to win gold in Paris, the reality is that distance world records are usually set in very specific circumstances.

For world record attempts, pace makers are allowed and the race is usually one where it’s windless, cool and dry.

In an Olympic final there are no pace makers and the conditions are what they are. Runners from certain countries might work together, as the Ethiopian trio of Berihu Aregawi, Yomif Kejelcha and Selemon ­Barega did, but it’s a fight between individuals for glory.

There are two reasons the Paris 10,000m race was so fast – the new track is quick, and the main protagonists in the final unusually chose to punch and counterpunch almost from the start.

Often, a 10,000m final in a major championship can be cagey, with real racing only happening in the final 2,000m after 8km of jogging (by Olympian standards).

Read more: Olympic Games Paris 2024

This time the Ethiopians took turns in driving a relentless pace for almost the entire duration of the 25-lap showdown in an effort to sap Cheptegei and remove his sting.

The Ugandan, though, stayed near the front, but never in front. Wildschutt, too, showed his class by running at the tip of the field as each Ethiopian surge resulted in another runner or two falling away.

It was testament to the strength of the field that with 500m to go, when Cheptegei finally put the hammer down, there were a dozen other runners still in with a chance of victory – Wildschutt among them.

It was only in the final 400m, when Cheptegei’s searing pace finally shattered the Ethiopian challenge, that Wildschutt’s dream of a medal final ended.

“I thought I ran really smart,” Wildschutt said after his race. “I knew I’d have to be really good in the last three, four laps. I moved up and got myself in an amazing position.

“I stuck with the pack and it was only in the last 300m that I started struggling. I’m very satisfied and very grateful for everything that I’ve been able to accomplish so far.

“My coach and I discussed things and the plan was to conserve as much energy as possible, knowing I’d have to run a fast last 1,000m.”

Scholarship

Growing up in Ceres, there wasn’t much money, but Wildschutt and his brother were supremely talented and loved running.

Adriaan and Nadeel were spotted by former Olympian and South African great Budd-Pieterse, who helped in recruiting the brothers to Coastal Carolina University, where she was a coach.

Budd-Pieterse helped secure bursaries for both and the brothers stayed with her and her husband Mike in Myrtle Beach while they were studying.

The Wildschutt brothers completed their degrees in Carolina, and Adriaan went on to earn an MBA from Florida State after transferring during Covid. Nadeel, who is considered by some to be even more talented than Adriaan, returned to South Africa and lives with the Budd-Pieterses in Stellenbosch.

Sensational Simbine

In the men’s 100m, Simbine, for so long South Africa’s standard bearer in international competition, made it to the final for a third straight Olympics.

And he produced the run of his life, clocking 9.82s, which in the greatest Olympic 100m race of all time, was “only” good enough for fourth.

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who finished last, clocked 9.91 seconds. That’s how good the field was.

American Noah Lyles won by five thousandths (0.005) of a second over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson as both were given a time of 9.79, with the US’s Fred Kerley in third in 9.81s, just one hundredth of a second ahead of Simbine.

For context, Lyles is the current world champion and it was his personal best time. For Kerley it was a season’s best, for Simbine a national record, and for sixth-placed Letsi­le Tebogo from Botswana, who finished in 9.86s, it was a national record.

For Simbine, his best was just not good enough for a medal. There is no shame in that. He produced the race of his life. No one can ask for more.

Simbine’s CV from 2016 now includes a fifth and two fourths in the Olympics and two fifths and a fourth in the world championships.

“I’m happy to have got a national record, I’m happy to have been in the final. I’m happy to be the fourth-fastest man in the world and I’m happy to have raced in three Olympic finals,” Simbine said.

“When I saw my time it consoled me. No way am I leaving the sport now. I started it very late in my life and I still want to get more out of the sport.

“I’m now 30 and running the fastest I have ever done in my life. Between Fred and me there was 0.01 seconds. I was in the race right until the end. My coach and I have been working hard to make myself faster, to be in the fight for medals.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Crime and violence are pervasive in South Africa, prompting questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts.
• Operation Shanela, a collaborative initiative involving various sectors, shows promise in tackling crime, with over 700,000 arrests made in the past year.
• The operation targets hotspots and organised crime syndicates through roadblocks, patrols, and compliance inspections.
• The success of Operation Shanela highlights the importance of multisectoral collaboration in combating crime and restoring safety and security.

Crime and violence have become so common in our country that many South Africans often despair of us ever stopping it. It is no surprise that every time we hear another story of a robbery or a murder or a rape, we find ourselves asking why nothing can be done to tackle crime.

A recent update by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Operation Shanela should give us encouragement that the fight against crime is gaining momentum.

Operation Shanela, which was launched last year, is a high-density initiative to enhance visible policing and to find wanted suspects, particularly those accused of murder and sex crimes. 

Importantly, Operation Shanela is a multisectoral crimefighting strategy. It is driven by the SAPS with the support of the South African National Defence Force, national and provincial traffic authorities, metro police departments, the Department of Home Affairs, the South African Revenue Service and the National Prosecuting Authority. 

It draws heavily on collaboration with community policing forums (CPFs) and community patrollers, and works with private security companies. 

Through roadblocks, stop-and-search operations, foot patrols and business compliance inspections, Operation Shanela’s teams have made important progress in dealing with crime hotspots and organised crime syndicates. 

The update delivered by the SAPS last week noted that solid police work over the past year had resulted in more than 700,000 arrests for various crimes, including murder, cash-in-transit robberies, vehicle hijacking and sexual offences. 

Over the past two years more than 20,000 firearms have been seized, including several homemade guns and rifles. More than 3,000 firearms were seized in the Western Cape, where gun violence among warring gangs is particularly rife. 

The SAPS has been working closely with the banking sector around the bombing of cash machines, arresting a number of suspects in Gauteng and in the Free State. 

Beyond the trauma and instability it causes in communities, crime is also an impediment to economic growth and development. 

During the sixth administration, we established specialised task teams to deal with economic sabotage such as cable theft, vandalism of power installations and railway lines, illicit mining and extortion in the construction industry. 

These crimes are highly organised and run by syndicates. As such, we have taken a multipronged strategy to combat them. Over the past five years, 722 so-called construction mafia suspects have been arrested for extortion at construction sites. Fifty-two have so far been convicted and sentenced to terms ranging from seven months’ to 89 years’ imprisonment. 

Read more: City of Cape Town and private sector join forces against construction mafia

Operations continue into the disruption of illicit mining activities, including working with mining houses and the Department of Mineral Resources to seal abandoned mine shafts. 

Our approach to crimefighting has had to evolve in response to new types of crime. These include illicit mining and construction site extortion, and, more recently, kidnappings for ransom and more sophisticated drug manufacturing and smuggling operations. 

The successes of Operation Shanela have shown the benefits of multisectoral collaboration and the value of specialised task teams. The SAPS and all stakeholders involved in Operation Shanela are to be congratulated for this sterling work. 

Crime, even if it has not affected us directly, is everybody’s problem. If we continue to work together as government, the business community, labour and civil society, we can restore the safety and security that is critical to economic activity and the creation of jobs. 

If, as communities, we play an active role in supporting the police through the CPFs and other structures, we can indeed take back our homes, our businesses, our communities and our streets from criminals. If we continue the good work started through Operation Shanela, we can beat crime and build a safe and secure country. DM

This is the President’s weekly letter to the nation, released on Monday.

• ANC to hold disciplinary hearings for MPs implicated in State Capture, including Gigaba, Mahlobo and Frolick.
• Gigaba accused of conspiring with Zuma and Guptas, Mahlobo of bribing judges, and Frolick of dodgy dealings with Bosasa.
• ANC's Integrity Commission to resume disciplinary processes for members damaging party's image.
• ANC luminary Netshitenzhe finds party lost votes due to lack of public confidence, calls for renewal and accountability.

The African National Congress (ANC) is moving forward with its renewal project as three members of Parliament implicated in State Capture are set to face long-overdue disciplinary hearings.

This development is meant to signal a turning point in the party’s commitment to accountability and the restoration of public trust. The hearings are seen as a critical step in addressing the legacy of State Capture and bolstering the ANC’s integrity.

Those facing scrutiny are former ministers Malusi Gigaba, David Mahlobo and Cedric Frolick, who have been implicated in corruption scandals. 

Gigaba was implicated at the Zondo Commission for allegedly conspiring with former president Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family.

Possibly the most damning testimony heard by the commission against Gigaba came from his ex-wife Norma, who testified that Gigaba would come home with bags of cash from the Guptas. Gigaba called the allegations “patently untrue”.

Mahlobo, now the deputy minister of water and sanitation, was accused of bribing judges during his tenure as state security minister under “Project Justice”. The operation allegedly had a R1.8-million monthly budget and was aimed at influencing the judiciary. Mahlobo has denied the allegations.

Frolick, the chair of the House committee in the National Assembly, was implicated in the Zondo Commission’s State Capture report. He was accused of having dodgy dealings with Bosasa.

He is said to have played a critical role in “winning over Mr Vincent Smith, the [former] Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and Justice” to the benefit of Bosasa’. In 2020, Smith was criminally charged with corruption related to Bosasa.

Frolick was one of four MPs cleared by the  Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests after being implicated in the State Capture report.

Clean-up attempt

The ANC’s top officials recommended Gigaba, Mahlobo, Frolick and Zizi Kodwa withdraw from the party’s national and provincial candidate lists before the 29 May general election. However, the four declined to do so and were not forced to by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

Former minister Kodwa resigned as an MP in July after he was criminally charged in connection with corruption charges in June. The ANC had deployed him as an MP in Parliament despite being fully aware he was facing criminal charges. 

ANC Veterans’ League President Snuki Zikalala told the Sunday Times this week that ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula informed them that he had written to the party’s Integrity Commission asking it to resume disciplinary processes after it declined to take action ahead of the elections. Zikalala told the Sunday Times this would be remedied.

“All issues that relate to the integrity and dignity of the organisation, we have raised them… We had a thorough discussion on Zizi and [Mbalula] has taken action. On the other three, action will be taken against them,” said Zikalala.

“There will be a meeting of the NEC that will discuss the Integrity Commission’s report on those found wanting in State Capture. It will happen and [Mbalula] promised that.”

ANC luminary Joel Netshitenzhe’s election assessment found that the ANC had haemorrhaged votes because people lost confidence in it. 

Mbalula has been vocal in press briefings about the party’s plans to get the National Disciplinary Committee to deal with those damaging the party’s image. 

He recently said a special NEC meeting would be held to look at outstanding Integrity Commission reports.

In his closing remarks to the ANC lekgotla last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said if members “tolerate acts of corruption and patronage … then not even the best communications strategy will be able to improve our standing among the people.

“The renewal of the ANC must be reflected in our everyday behaviour, on how we conduct ourselves in public platforms and what we post on social media. Let us not occupy headlines for the wrong reasons. Let us be known for excellence and competence.”

Other members facing allegations

Other ANC members are implicated in State Capture allegations.

It remains to be seen whether the Integrity Commission will investigate Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, whom Zondo referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for investigation after he allegedly received security installations from Bosasa for no charge.

At the time, Mantashe was the ANC’s secretary-general and did not hold any position in government. He now serves as the party’s national chairperson.

Zondo found Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was “probably culpable” in the Guptas’ capturing of Denel, along with other board members of the parastatal.

Former minister Nomvula Mokonyane is alleged to have received gratification from Bosasa.

Acting ANC spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said he could not confirm whether more ANC members would face disciplinary charges.

Zikalala told Daily Maverick that Mbalula mentioned only Frolick, Mahlobo and Gigaba. DM

• Grandparenthood is a complex and evolving relationship that defies simple linear predictions, influenced by various factors such as personalities, distance, and family dynamics.
• Emigration adds layers of complexity to grandparent relationships, introducing challenges like geographical distance and cultural differences that affect attachment bonds.
• Emotional attachment between grandparents and grandchildren is crucial for children's well-being, providing love, support, wisdom, and stability.
• Despite geographical barriers, modern communication tools and strong parent-grandparent relationships can help maintain and strengthen the bond between grandparents and grandchildren.

Grandparenthood traditionally unfolds in a straightforward manner: your adult child becomes a parent, and you, in turn, become a grandparent. 

This significant event typically marks the beginning of a lifelong bond, providing the foundation for a potentially nurturing relationship.

At first glance, this life-altering event appears as simple as a straight line. In mathematics, a straight line is represented by a linear equation. Similarly, the bond between a grandparent and grandchild might be expected to strengthen over time, envisioned as a straightforward, ascending line. 

However, the unique dynamics of these relationships are far more intricate, and simple linear predictions fail to capture the profound depth and complexity of grandparenthood. 

Numerous variables come into play, that may include: the personalities of the child and grandparent, the number of grandchildren, the grandparents’ gender, whether they are maternal or paternal, geographical proximity, the quality of their relationship with adult children, as well as the frequency of contact. 

Additionally, the marital status of the grandparents and adult children, as well as the age of the grandparents, further contribute to this dynamic relationship. These unique connections are too complex to be captured by a simple mathematical metaphor.

The addition of emigration to this equation increases variables and unfamiliar challenges. 

Emigration brings significant geographical distance, cultural differences, and the logistical difficulties of communicating across time zones. These factors complicate the dynamics of grandparenthood even more, including additional layers that can affect the attachment bond. 

The complexity of transnational grandparent relationships

Emotional attachment is a fundamental element of human relationships that create a sense of closeness and affection, sustaining meaningful connections over time. 

This attachment begins early in life, with initial bonds formed between infants and their caregivers. According to John Bowlby’s Infant Attachment Theory, children are born with an innate need to form attachments with primary caregivers, describing attachment as a deep and enduring emotional connection that transcends time and space.

Grandparents, together with parents but not only, serve as attachment figures, playing a vital role in the well-being of children. By building a relationship with their grandchildren they can not only provide unconditional love and emotional support, but also could serve as an important source of wisdom – from their experience – and stability. 

Grandparents also often become role-models and mentors, passing on family traditions and values. 

A healthy relationship with grandparents can offer comfort and guidance, helping children develop resilience and coping skills. Overall, having grandparents emotionally involved can enrich one child’s life, contributing to their character development and emotional growth.

With emigration, the traditional roles of grandparents often shift from frequent in-person visits to virtual interactions. 

Although technologies like video calls and emails help maintain connections, it can feel artificial and lack the warmth of physical presence. 

Being physically distant yet emotionally available can lead to emotional distress, particularly when grandparents miss simple physical comforts like holding their grandchildren. 

In my research interviews with grandparents, three primary factors have emerged as particularly influential: the geographical distance separating the grandparent and grandchild, the frequency of their contact, and the quality of the grandparent’s relationship with their adult child.

The interplay of these factors can either strengthen or weaken this bond, depending on the unique circumstances of each family. 

These dynamics are further influenced by societal changes, technological advancements, and evolving family structures. Understanding these three factors provides an appreciation of the challenges and joys inherent in contemporary grandparenting.

Healthy grandparent-grandchild relationships

Geographical proximity has long been identified as the key factor in shaping the quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Living nearby usually enables frequent contact that allows for grandparent involvement and emotional closeness, leading to the formation of strong attachment bonds with the grandchildren.

As an emigration therapist, my initial hypothesis was that geographical distance would be the most significant barrier in forming and maintaining a strong attachment between grandparents and their grandchildren. 

While distance can indeed complicate these relationships, it is not insurmountable. 

Modern communication advancements have made it easier for grandparents to stay in regular contact with their grandchildren. These tools effectively bridge the gap, sustaining relationships despite geographical barriers. 

However, my research indicates that a healthy relationship between parents and their own parents (the grandparents) plays a crucial role in overcoming the challenges of geographical distance. 

Parents act as a vital link in maintaining the connection, particularly when grandchildren are too young to communicate directly and depend heavily on their parents to facilitate communication with their grandparents. 

For instance, when grandparents send emails, it is the parents who read these messages to the grandchildren. Additionally, grandparents often rely on parents to share daily events and milestones in their grandchildren’s lives.

A grandparent shared: “I have no doubt that in my relationship, with my son and daughter-in-law, distance doesn’t define our relationship. There have been times when the distance gets me down, a lot! But I have found peace with it because my son and daughter-in-law encourage their children to join in on FaceTime calls.”

This intermediary role is crucial for keeping grandparents informed and emotionally connected. The proactive involvement of parents in facilitating these interactions is essential, as it ensures that grandparents remain included in their grandchildren’s lives, helping to nurture and preserve these important bonds.

Families often live far apart due to work, education, and other commitments. While geographical distance can pose challenges, the frequency of contact between grandparents and grandchildren has proven to be crucial in maintaining strong relationships. 

The regularity of these interactions, rather than physical proximity, helps build and maintain a close bond.

Frequent interactions enable grandparents to be actively involved in their grandchildren’s lives, whether through daily caregiving, sharing experiences, or simply being a consistent presence. This regular engagement creates a strong emotional connection and helps create a sense of continuity and support that can be particularly meaningful during the grandchildren’s formative years.

While the frequency of contact may naturally decrease as grandchildren grow older and become more independent, the emotional closeness established during earlier years often persists. 

Even as grandchildren enter adolescence and adulthood, the foundational bond created through regular interactions tends to remain strong. This enduring emotional connection, cultivated over time, reflects a deep-seated attachment that overcomes distance.

Relationship with their adult child

The quality of the relationship between adult children, now the parents, and their own parents significantly influences the grandparent-grandchild bond. 

The “middle generation” acts as a crucial link, shaping the dynamics of this relationship that will endure throughout their lives. 

The attitudes and practices of parents towards their own parents directly affect how grandchildren perceive and interact with their grandparents.

In essence, the middle generation acts as a relational bridge, determining the success of these attachments.

Research indicates that parents often serve as gatekeepers, either facilitating or restricting the interactions between their children and the grandparents. 

This role can be literal, where parents control the frequency and nature of these interactions, or figurative, where children model their relationships with grandparents based on their parents’ interactions with them. 

The emotional closeness between grandparents and their adult children, as well as family practices that foster intimacy, are important for developing strong and enduring grandparent-grandchild relationships.

In my study, some participants reported having more frequent and meaningful interactions with their daughter’s children. They felt more involved in their daughter’s pregnancy and early child-rearing, because the daughter actively included her parents, giving them a “front row seat” to these important life events. 

This inclusion created a sense of privilege and strengthened emotional bonds, highlighting the importance of the quality of the parent-grandparent relationship in shaping access and engagement with grandchildren.

Grandparenthood, a timeless equation

In an ever changing world, the essential role of grandparenthood remains unchanged: providing unconditional love and a sense of safety and security to grandchildren. 

Whether through the warmth of shared moments, a listening ear, or a comforting hug, grandparents can help enhance their grandchildren’s well-being. 

Staying connected requires  creativity and effort due to physical distances. As families adapt to contemporary challenges, by embracing modern means of communication and maintaining a focus on emotional connection, they can ensure that the invaluable role of grandparents remains a cherished part of the family. Both parents and grandparents play a crucial role in sharing the responsibility to maintain this emotional connection. 

While at first glance, the dynamics of grandparenthood might resemble a straightforward mathematical equation, in reality, no complex formula can adequately express the profound connections established. 

As we redefine grandparenthood in the context of contemporary life, it becomes clear that the true measure of these relationships is not determined by geography, but by the depth of emotional connection. DM

“When was your last period?”

For anyone who menstruates, this is a routine question during any visit to your doctor.

Health care providers generally ask this to determine whether their patient is concerned about a menstrual problem, or a possible pregnancy, or whether menopause is approaching or has occurred.

But rarely is the question discussed in the context of exploring menstrual experience as a “vital sign of health” throughout life. In fact, many providers fail to recognize the fundamental role of the menstrual cycle in overall health.

Menstrual experiences throughout the reproductive years and beyond can offer critical insights into a person’s overall well-being, akin to blood pressure, body temperature and heart rate.

We are a medical sociologist and public health researcher who focuses on women’s health issues and a professor emerita of psychology who has studied menstrual experiences across the lifespan and worked to improve menstrual education and body literacy.

Although it may seem as though the menstrual cycle’s main role is to facilitate pregnancy, this is only part of its purpose. In fact, it is a cornerstone of overall health and well-being thoughout the reproductive years and into the menopausal transition.

Understanding the menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle, or period, is a term that describes the sequence of events that occurs in the body that prepares for the possibility of pregnancy each month. It is measured from the time of the first day of menstruation until the first day of your next menstruation.

Although cycles vary, the overall menstrual process is the same for everyone. The menstrual cycle typically lasts about 28 days, but menstrual cycles ranging from 24 to 38 days are usually considered healthy. Cycles that do not regularly fall within this range should be further investigated for any underlying causes.

The menstrual cycle involves specific hormonal changes and physiological processes and comprises four main phases:

• Menstruation: This is the shedding of the uterine lining, occurring if pregnancy does not happen. Bleeding usually lasts for two to seven days but can vary month to month and across an individual’s life span. However, if bleeding tends to be outside of this range, especially month after month, underlying causes should be considered. The total amount of blood  lost during one period is usually about 60 milliliters (about 2 ounces), although it can feel like a lot more at times. At that rate of bleeding, it takes about four hours for a regular tampon or pad to become fully soaked.
• Follicular phase: Ovarian follicles grow, stimulated by follicle-stimulating hormone, preparing for ovulation.
• Ovulation: Mid-cycle, a surge in luteinizing hormone triggers the release of a mature egg from the ovary, which allows the body to be ready for potential fertilization. If fertilization occurs, a pregnancy begins.
• Luteal phase: Post-ovulation, the follicle transforms into the corpus luteum, producing progesterone to support a potential pregnancy.

The menstrual cycle as a vital sign

Regular menstrual cycles can indicate balanced hormone levels and reproductive health. Regular cycles are associated with better bone density, cardiovascular health and mental well-being.

Irregularities in the menstrual cycle include changes in cycle length, intensity of flow or other negative period-related changes, such as cramping – also called dysmenorrhea – or painful periods, breast tenderness, fatigue or negative mood changes. These irregularities can signal underlying issues such as polycystic ovary syndrome, which can also be a precursor to diabetes, primary ovarian insufficiency or endometriosis.

Irregular menstrual cycles can also lead to osteoperosis or indicate thyroid disease or reproductive organ abnormalities. In turn, these can affect fertility and overall quality of life.

Unusually heavy bleeding might suggest conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis or certain endocrine-related tumours. Absent periods could signal hormonal imbalances or problematic lifestyle factors, such as exercise-induced amenorrhea – meaning lack of periods – or eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

In fact, some female athletes experience a condition called the female athlete triad, in which their training regimen leads to a combination of disordered eating, the absence of a menstrual cycle and loss of bone density. Missed periods, also called amenorrhea, are usually the first sign of trouble. If left unaddressed, they can lead to more serious lifelong conditions such as osteoporosis and infertility.

Starting the conversation early

Menarche, or a girl’s first period, usually occurs around age 12. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the average age of menarche is 11.9 years old, with some starting as early as 8 years old and others as late as 16. An earlier onset of menstruation can be affected by an interaction of ethnicity, socioeconomic status and being overweight due to an unhealthy diet.

Overall, girls are getting their first periods earlier than in previous decades, although no one knows exactly why.

For nearly two decades, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have advocated that healthcare practitioners consider girls’ early menstrual experiences as a vital sign that may indicate healthy or problematic development.

For this reason, these organizations have urged clinicians to inform parents or caretakers about what is physically normal about early menstrual experiences. This allows parents and girls to know what to expect and to recognize abnormalities that need to be further explored.

Learning about menstruation as a vital sign of health can give girls a more positive foundation for later in life when they begin to understand and think of themselves as sexual beings.

Early negative messaging about menstruation is featured prominently in books for young girls, and this does not serve them well as they begin to come into their own sexuality. In fact, research shows that girls who feel negatively about their bodies, including not being comfortable with their menstrual cycle, have less agency in some sexual situations.

One recent study of girls found most would rather take medication to stop their period altogether than continue to experience healthy menstrual cycles. Early discussions of menstruation with health care providers and caretakers can combat such negative societal attitudes, enduring stigma and cultural taboos around menstruation.

Beyond adolescence

Of course, discussions about the menstrual cycle as a source of critical health information should not stop in adolescence. After all, the average person who menstruates experiences 450 periods in their lifetime.

• Future large-scale migration expected globally by mid-century due to push factors like climate change in regions such as Africa and the Middle East, and pull factors like labor demand in countries like Germany, China, and Japan.
• Climate change already impacting poorest countries, exacerbating push factors for migration.
• Declining populations in regions like Europe will lead to labor shortages, creating unstoppable momentum for migration.
• By 2050, populations of 64 countries will be in decline, with most population growth expected in Africa and outliers like Canada and Australia due to high inward migration rates.

The future will almost inevitably see large-scale migration on a level unknown in several generations, possibly centuries. It won’t happen in the next two years but will steadily ramp up so that by mid-century, hundreds of thousands of people globally are likely to be on the move annually. 

Large-scale migration will occur because of push and pull factors. The push factor will be caused by climate change and the lack of opportunity in regions such as Africa and the Middle East. The pull will be from declining populations and demand for labour in countries such as Germany, China, Russia, Poland, Japan and South Korea. 

The push effect of climate change is already evident in regions that include some of the poorest countries globally, such as the Horn of Africa and west Africa, and is exacerbated by deprivation.

Research by the Institute for Security Studies’ African Futures and Innovation team indicates that growth requirements of more than 15% a year are needed to end extreme poverty in Africa before mid-century. China and the Asian Tigers managed sustained growth rates approaching a much more modest 10% a year. In an era of slow growth globally, Africa is unlikely to approach even that rate. The result in Africa will be many economies with a surplus of educated people but limited formal sector jobs.

As we see in our long-term employment forecasts, the implication is that many Africans will survive in the informal economy and remain poorer than in most other regions, although their situation will steadily improve. They will inevitably search for opportunities abroad, eventually pushing against an open door as demand for labour elsewhere increases. This will happen even as African governments work to create job opportunities, constrain outward migration and grow their economies.

The pull effect will be provided by the declining populations of regions such as Europe, with its high standards of living, freedom and infrastructure. This year, the population numbers of 29 countries globally – including Finland, South Korea, Germany, Russia, Japan and Ukraine – are in absolute decline. 

The pull effect of labour shortages in rich European countries and elsewhere will eventually create an unstoppable momentum.

Already in 2022, Europe had six million vacant jobs. Technology can compensate for the decline in the size of the labour force as a percentage of the total population, but artificial intelligence does not cut hair, drive garbage trucks and look after the elderly.

The pull effect of labour shortages in rich European countries and elsewhere will eventually create an unstoppable momentum. Consider, for example, that in the European Union, 112 million people are currently aged over 65 years – roughly 22% of the total population. By 2050 it will have increased to 142 million (30%). 

No amount of investment in hard borders and other controls will succeed in the face of huge demand for elder care, or compensate for Europe’s labour force reduction from its current 251 million to 228 million. The challenges with stricter border control are evident in how countries like the US, Italy, Spain and others struggle to contain the current trickle. 

By 2050 the populations of 64 countries will be in an annual decline. In China, that trend starts in 2026. By the end of the century, the number of countries with falling populations will have more than doubled to 147 out of 188 countries in our database, including India (from about 2057) and the US (from about 2082). 

Most countries still experiencing a population increase by 2100 will be in Africa, with a few possible outliers such as Canada and Australia (due to high rates of expected inward migration). This also includes a poor country such as Afghanistan with its tenaciously high fertility rate. The only countries with large populations that will still increase would be Nigeria (then the fourth-largest population globally) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (sixth-largest population globally). 

The world will have to consider the ramifications of these changes and design appropriate strategies. In the short and medium terms – before the labour shortages in destination countries become acute – increased migrant flows will polarise electorates and energise nationalist and nativist movements. This is already evident in the US, Germany, the UK, France, Sweden and elsewhere.

Governments in destination countries need to match migrants’ skills and attributes with their labour needs.

Eventually, in those countries with declining populations that don’t attract migrants, rural and urban areas will be scarcely populated, with low or no demand for additional housing. Employers will struggle to recruit staff. The consequences in authoritarian countries such as China, North Korea and Russia are less clear and more likely to contribute to economic stagnation and eventually regression. 

Richer, democratic countries that attract large-scale migration will struggle with cultural matters, including social tensions if migrants are not well integrated. On the other end of the equation, large outflows of skilled and semi-skilled people could undermine sending countries’ economies. The effect of a brain drain is already decimating the health profession of Nigeria and Ghana, for example.

In previous centuries, when large-scale migration occurred, such as from many European countries to the US, an entire logistics value chain was established to process and manage the flows legally. We will probably eventually see the same, with flows this time from Africa. 

Instead of hardening border protection, African and Western governments should negotiate bilateral agreements where Africa supplies skilled workers to Europe as part of formal, government-to-government arrangements. This could help Europe meet its skills gaps while African governments gain funds to train and educate more people. 

For this reason, the World Bank encourages strategic migration management by making labour migration an explicit part of the development strategy in migration-origin countries. Governments in destination countries need to match migrants’ skills and attributes with their labour needs. The alternative – migration as part of organised crime – is simply too ghastly to contemplate. DM

Jakkie Cilliers, head, African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria.

First published by ISS Today.

• Residents of Kommetjie blame local authorities for recent human-baboon conflict due to inadequate baboon management resources.
• A protest in Kommetjie turned violent, with one baboon severely affected by pepper spray and residents wielding sticks.
• The Cape of Good Hope SPCA intervened, rescuing the injured baboon, but its prognosis remains uncertain.
• The Baboon Civics Coalition criticises the lack of resources and responsiveness from authorities in managing baboons, calling for better baboon-proof fences and waste management.

Residents of Kommetjie, a village on the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town’s deep south, say that the failure of local authorities to provide adequate resources for baboon management is a key factor behind recent escalations in human-baboon conflict in the area.

This comes after a protest about the presence of baboons in the town on Sunday culminated in an attack on a member of the local troop. The gathering, which was reportedly intended as a peaceful protest organised by the Kommetjie Baboon Action Group (KBAG), took place outside a burned-out building in which the troop had begun sleeping at night.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA confirmed that one baboon was “severely impacted” by pepper spray during the protest, and suffered visual impairment and further injury on an electrified fence while disoriented and attempting to escape. Some residents, wielding sticks, reportedly went for the baboons.

“The situation escalated when animal activists, attempting to protect the baboons, clashed with the residents… SPCA inspectors were called to the scene and promptly intervened, rescuing the injured baboon and transporting it to our wildlife department for urgent care. Despite our best efforts, the animal’s prognosis remains uncertain,” it said.

Patrick Dowling, acting chairperson of the Kommetjie Residents and Ratepayers Association, was present at the scene attempting to mediate between the different groups.

“Most of the people who arrived, their intention seemed to be to have a peaceful but determined sort of protest… There are a range of different attitudes to baboons in Kommetjie, going from extreme affection and support to radical and belligerent opposition. There were individuals from both those extremes who exchanged invective,” he said.

“There was a human casualty from being sprayed with mace or pepper spray and there was a baboon injury as well, caused in the same way. It was disappointing to see this event deteriorate in this way.”

Susan Hume, an artist and Kommetjie resident, was taking her dog for a walk when she came across the protest. She said that while she understood residents’ frustrations about the presence of baboons in the urban area, she had to draw the line when it came to cruelty to animals.

“I’ve had damage to my own property, so I can understand it. I’ve got dogs. It’s very, very stressful for me,” she said. 

“But seeing the [pepper-sprayed] baboon flailing around – it ran into a car, then it dashed into a wall – it was trying to get up a tree, it couldn’t see anything – I found that very, very upsetting. 

“I find it really worrying that people feel okay about doing that, and I personally lay blame at the feet of the authorities. We desperately need help… If it weren’t for the SPCA, I don’t know what we would do.”

Service delivery crisis

Dowling is part of the Baboon Civics Coalition, an organisation made up of representatives from associations in baboon-affected areas. He said the group had been trying “unsuccessfully to engage meaningfully” with the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team. 

“The build-up of frustration in the human community here has a lot to do with habituation problem and the insufficiently resourced management by the [baboon] rangers, because there are not enough personnel on the ground to do the job thoroughly, which means there are more and more incursions and… damages,” said Dowling.

“I think one of the main actions should be the [baboon-proof] fences. There’s still some opposition to that, but I think there’s more opposition to nothing happening. A lot of public perception is around [the idea that] there’s been a decided lack of responsiveness from the organisations that should be most responsible, and there seems to be… a reluctance to take over the payment for rangers.”

Most baboon troops on the Cape Peninsula are monitored by rangers from NCC Environmental Services, the city-contracted service provider for baboon management. 

However, the Urban Baboon Programme under which NCC Environmental Services is contracted is scheduled to be terminated in December. This will bring an end to the network of city-contracted rangers who are currently tasked with keeping baboons out of urban areas. 

Read more: Community baboon monitoring project in Cape Town claims pushback from authorities

Both Hume and Dowling say they have seen very little action by the task team when it comes to implementing baboon management strategies, other than the city-funded baboon monitoring programme in Kommetjie.

“Some people feel that it needs to hit rock bottom before the authorities will sit up and take notice,” said Dowling.

“A lot of others are also repeating the call for better-resourced and better-policed waste management. This has been an ongoing cry for probably several decades – promised bins of various designs have not been forthcoming.”

According to KBAG member Steve White, the gathering on Sunday was intended as a “service delivery protest” about the presence of baboons in the town. He claimed there had been instances in which dogs were injured in fights with baboons and had to be euthanised.

“[It’s about] a lot of people living in houses and paying rent and rates and not having the baboons in town. The baboons have become a major disruption to people’s lives in Kommetjie,” he said.

“My feeling is that the city needs to employ its own monitors… it also needs to have dedicated people that will manage the baboons.”

An online survey is currently being circulated in Kommetjie to gather information about residents’ interactions with baboons. As of Thursday, there had been 200 responses. Of the respondents, 66% reported that they had experienced damage to property or vehicles due to baboons. Just over half of the respondents indicated they would be willing to contribute money towards baboon rangers.

Polarised community

The SPCA has said it will be conducting a thorough investigation of the events surrounding the pepper spraying of the baboon on Sunday, and collecting evidence to proceed with a criminal case of animal cruelty in terms of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962. It has also approached CapeNature to explore further charges under the Nature Conservation Ordinance.

“We urge the public to respect the law and the rights of animals. Taking matters into your own hands and inflicting harm on wildlife is not only illegal but also morally reprehensible. Be assured that we will pursue justice aggressively for these acts of cruelty. No one is above the law,” said Jaco Pieterse, chief inspector of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.

The issue of the baboons has been very polarising for the Kommetjie community, said Hume, adding that there have been previous instances of people attacking the animals.

“There have been many, many baboons shot at, pellet-riddled and poisoned… one died right outside my house one day. It’s absolutely traumatic. It’s a terrible, slow death,” she said.

“It’s terribly polarised now where we are, and I’m very depressed about it.”

Hume said she supported the legal action that was launched in April against local authorities responsible for baboon management strategies. 

Four applicants – the Baboon Matters nonprofit organisation; Beauty Without Cruelty; Jo-Anne Bosman, an animal rights activist in the Western Cape, and Ryno Engelbrecht, a resident of Capri on the Cape Peninsula – have approached the Western Cape High Court in an effort to hold local authorities accountable for their failure to implement proposed baboon management strategies in the region. The case will be heard on 4 November.

Read more: Baboon activists launch legal action seeking better management of troops in the Cape

Task team responds 

Daily Maverick reached out to the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team about the concerns raised by Kommetjie residents. It said it had received a report from the service provider contracted to manage baboons in the area, detailing the following challenges:

• The easy access to human-derived food attractants in the area, including unprotected rubbish bins, fruit trees and vegetable gardens;
• The damaged building in the Kommetjie CBD that had become the preferred roosting site for the troop;
• The claim that some residents were intimidating the rangers and undermining their ability to operate safely or efficiently; and
• The polarisation in the community, with “severe differences” in opinion on how baboons should be managed and responded to. 

“This is not new but has escalated in recent times due to loud opposing voices. Most recently, this led to community unrest on 4 August 2024 where approximately 80 residents who wanted baboons out of the urban area were met with opposition from approximately six residents/individuals who believed that these residents intended to harm the baboons,” said the task team on the issue of polarisation. 

The team said there was an issue with some residents’ use of “extreme deterrent tactics” like paintball or pellet guns in Kommetjie. 

“[This causes] the baboons to scatter further afield, undoing the work of the rangers as they attempt to push individuals back together into groups to move them out of the area. The use of unpermitted weapons also poses a security and safety risk to the baboon rangers,” it said.

The task team claimed that some residents were feeding the baboons on their properties, which was illegal and detrimental to the rangers’ work.

When Daily Maverick asked about how the task team planned to address residents’ concerns about the impending shutdown of the baboon monitor programme, it responded, “The [team] will communicate the details of the transitioning period, starting on 1 January 2025, to the affected communities in due course.” DM

The Austrian-British political philosopher Karl Popper, originator of the notion of the “open society”, wrote that there was one true test of democracy. Would a governing party hand over power without violence after losing an election?

Will Democrats in the US accept a second Donald Trump victory?

Will Maga supporters accept a defeat?

Trump has weaponised the “rigged” or “stolen election” narrative and deploys it whenever he can.

Prepare for blowback come November, one way or another. Will it be 6 January reloaded? Even Elon Musk has predicted “civil war”.

Vladimir Putin has, no doubt, stocked up on popcorn.

Venezuela’s 28 July election was marred by ­allegations ­of a “foreign electoral cyberattack” and repression but it put strongman Nicolás Maduro  back in power with 51.2% of the vote, with opposition ­candidate Edmundo González Urrutia garnering 44.2%.

Maduro’s government has been accused of massive fraud and dozens of people have been killed in post-­election protests and violence.

A new era

We pause to acknowledge that the ANC, which governed us for 30 years, accepted the results of the 2024 elections that gave birth to the current government of national unity, the multi­party government, the coalition government, call it what you will.

At his inauguration, President Cyril Ramaphosa described this hybrid as “the beginning of a new era” safeguarding “national unity, peace, stability, inclusive economic growth, non-racialism and non-sexism”.

It is a hugely significant acceptance and speaks to the fading strands of the DNA of the Luthuli/Mandela/Sisulu generation, which still permeates the “ethos” of the ANC, in spite of the party’s capture by the venal Jacob Zuma’s “Pirates of Polokwane”.

Make no mistake, the threat of violence was, and is, ever present in Zuma’s backyard, KwaZulu-Natal (as July 2021 demonstrated).

It is a province awash with guns, assassins, criminal syndicates and construction, taxi and water mafias who all fed off the free-for-all Zuma years.

It is Zuma’s chaotic MK party that has challenged the outcome of the elections and threatened to boycott Parliament.

Extra security was dispatched to the province and a strong police presence during the elections was proof that the authorities remain on high alert.

Zuma’s dynastic project

While Zuma was hoping to straddle both the ANC and his shadow party, MK, he has now found himself expelled from the party he once led.

He is the phantom zombie at the centre of the chaos of his kleptocratic dynastic project. Pitchfork instigator Duduzile Zuma, his daughter, is her father’s enforcer, his paranoid eyes and ears.

If you are looking for an in-depth manifesto of what MK stands for, feel free to consult any of the volumes of the Zondo Commission.

The “real ANC” seems to have been caught by surprise by the level of support for MK that catapulted it into Parliament as the biggest opposition party.

Really? Surprised?

With a man like David Mahlobo, now a deputy minister in Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, in the tent, the stench is bound to permeate more than just his own reputation and career.

Here is a man accused by the Zondo Commission of helping to illegally repurpose the State Security Agency, alongside former director-general Arthur Fraser and other KGB wannabes, to personally and politically benefit one individual, Jacob Zuma.

They went along with Zuma’s unconstitutional proclamation collapsing domestic and foreign security into one department, which was then milked of about R1.5-billion from a secret slush fund between 2012 and 2018 to prop up Zuma. 

Mahlobo is a man without a constituency, and politicians like this are beholden to their benefactors. Why is he still around and attending meetings?

It is highly unlikely that Mahlobo, as one of Zuma’s most loyal buttplugs, was unaware of the formation of MK and its behind-the-scenes payoffs.

Under his watch, the State Security Agency initiated countless rogue intelligence projects targeting the media, civil society, students and private individuals.

Say what you will about Cyril Ramaphosa but cometh the moment, cometh the man.

Why the ANC lost

At a recent ANC National Executive Committee meeting, the party’s head of elections, Mdumiseni Ntuli, set out how the ANC lost the elections. According to City Press, it was a searing bit of soul-searching.

The Zuma years corroded everything in the party, including the activism that drives party members to campaign tirelessly without reward. The party was plunged into a life-and-death struggle to syphon off resources and public funds. That was its tunnel vision.

Read more: Party should never have put Zuma’s interests above its own, says ANC elections head

This “counterrevolution” was so determined, the document noted, that snipers were present at Polo­kwane, where Zuma was elected as ANC president in 2007, just in case he lost. Assassins would have targeted the ANC’s own members “to achieve the leadership changes it wanted”.

Project 2026 for the party has been launched. How it governs now in coalition and whether it respects the rule of law and the Constitution will determine what happens on that not-so-far-off date.

South Africa has turned back from the lip of the volcano many times before. We have done it again. It is a lesson for others. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Dr Adam Woodford, dubbed "Dr McDreamy" after a viral vaccine photo, receives medals for exceptional results in internal medicine exams despite pandemic challenges.
• Woodford's colleague, Dr Adam Grant, also excels, receiving top marks and joining Livingstone Hospital's ICU to serve the community in need.
• Both doctors credit their success to a specialist training programme at Livingstone Hospital, producing 20 specialist physicians dedicated to public sector service.
• Despite facing resource challenges and high patient mortality rates during the pandemic, Woodford and Grant find job satisfaction in serving their community and learning from their peers.

In March 2021 a picture of a hunky, shirtless Dr Adam Woodford receiving his Covid-19 vaccine went viral as many South Africans swooned over the handsome physician, dubbing him “Dr McDreamy”.

“It was quite an unexpected surprise for me,” Woodford (34) laughed. “But I got to promote the vaccine and a chance to lead by example. We knew the vaccine was the way forward to fight Covid-19.”

Against the many odds and despite the brutal toll of the pandemic, Woodford has just received medals for distinguished results in his final exams to specialise in internal medicine.

In 2017, he won the AM Meyers medal for achieving the highest marks in the Fellowship of the College of Physicians of South Africa’s (FCP-SA) clinical exam part 1, and this year he received the Asher Dubb medal for achieving the same distinction in part 2 of the exam, which he took last year.

Woodford also received the Suzman medal for highest average marks in both exams combined, and the Ian Huskisson medal for best clinical candidate for 2023.

“It is an honour and a privilege to get these medals. Your cohorts are incredibly intelligent people. It could really go to anyone,” Woodford said.

In Gqeberha’s Livingstone Hospital with its high staff turnover, Woodford is one of the veterans. Having joined the state facility in 2015 as an intern, he was then sent to Kimberley for his community service. He returned in 2018 as a medical officer, and started his training as a specialist in internal medicine in 2017.

What makes Woodford’s medals all the more special is that he studied during incredibly trying times.

“I was working in internal medicine for the first two waves of Covid-19 and then in ICU for the third wave,” he said. “We took a big knock. In the aftermath of the pandemic, it took me a while to find motivation again. I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted at that point.”

The internal medicine department at the hospital bore the brunt of the pandemic. Woodford said he would start doing a ward round and, before he had finished, the patients he had seen at the start of his rounds would have died. “It was probably a good six months [later] that I felt that I could do this again. I am pretty sure I had brain fog. I couldn’t concentrate really well.

“We had our expected and unexpected limitations with resources. It can be a kick in the face and make one feel demotivated.”

However, he added: “The most rewarding thing for me is to serve this community, especially when the patients appreciate it. It does give you job satisfaction.”

Woodford’s colleague, Dr Adam Grant, also received the AM Meyers medal for the 2023 exam.

Positive vs negative

Livingstone Hospital makes the news most often for the multiple crises that have become part of the fabric of state hospitals in the Eastern Cape. But behind the scenes, the two doctors have been excelling.

They are the products of a specialist training programme at the hospital that has produced 20 specialist physicians, the bulk of whom still work in the public sector.

“We are fortunate to have many excellent physicians still in the state sector,” Woodford said. “There are too many to mention.

“The people who paved the way, who do what I do now, they set the way for us. I want to thank those in my class because they are excellent and I have learnt a lot from them. We help each other. They are all brilliant.”

Grant (33) joined Livingstone Hospital’s ICU in 2021 at the end of the pandemic.

“From young I knew I was going to do medicine,” he said. “Initially it is a combination of an interest in biology and in the medical field, but as you move through university, you see how much the country – and specifically the state sector – needs it.

“I enjoy working in the public sector. I want to help the people who need it, in the Eastern Cape even more so than perhaps other provinces because of the lack of resources and the number of patients per tertiary facility.

“There is a lot on the shoulders of doctors at tertiary hospitals, who have to give advice to doctors in hospitals four or five hours away with very little resources. Most of us have a calling to want to help.”

Grant continued: “When I got my marks, I thought they had made a mistake. I was just very, very happy. The phone call comes months later [after the exams].

“You know that you are in a field with an elite group of people writing these exams. I did not expect the call for the medal at all. I wasn’t aiming for it. I enjoyed studying, and it obviously paid off. I was very happy and excited to have received it. It motivates me for the second part [of the exam].”

Woodford and Grant both praised their colleagues for motivating them and helping them to get through.

“My journey has been quite short, but from my first encounter in ICU with the consultants there it has been amazing. They guided me to the decision I made to specialise in internal medicine,” Grant said.

“All the specialists in internal medicine have been incredibly welcoming and motivational. Being a slightly smaller training group provided us with so much back-up and assistance, learning and training, and helping us to be the best specialists we can be.

“Guys like Adam [Woodford] also really help us a lot. The same for those who are studying with me. We will help each other through until we are finished,” Grant said.

“This has been amazing. There is such a closely knit team that I have not seen elsewhere. 

“It is easy to get lost in smaller pictures and it is easy to see a lot of negativity in the world. But in the world things are continuing to get better. Things will get better, even in South Africa – maybe slower, but it will get better.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

You may write a letter to the DM168 editor at [email protected] sharing your views on this story. Letters will be curated, edited and considered for publication in our weekly newspaper on our readers’ views page.

• Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee chairperson Christian Martin clarifies that the process to change names in Graaff-Reinet and surrounding towns is not yet finalised.
• Proposed name changes include Graaff-Reinet to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe or Fred Hufkie, Adendorp to Kwa Mseki Bishop Limba, Aberdeen to Camdeboo, and Nieu-Bethesda to Kwa Noheleni.
• Martin emphasises the importance of restorative justice and shared history in considering name changes, dismissing arguments about wasted money and tourism branding.
• Controversy surrounds the name change process in Graaff-Reinet, with the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality refusing to take a stance, while residents express concerns about preserving history and heritage.

Although some Graaff-Reinet residents and those of surrounding Karoo towns celebrated media reports that their names will not change, Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee chairperson Christian Martin said the process had not been finalised yet.

The proposed name for Graaff-Reinet is Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe or Fred Hufkie – both anti-apartheid activists with strong ties to the town – and the other changes in the province are Adendorp to Kwa Mseki Bishop Limba, Aberdeen to Camdeboo and Nieu-Bethesda to Kwa Noheleni.

Martin said in an interview that he wants to make it clear that it is not his idea to change geographical names. “I don’t sit and think which name must be changed today.”

For the past year the heavily contested application to change Graaff-Reinet’s name has been playing out in public meetings. The Sobukwe family gave their permission for his name to be used, but the Hufkie family withdrew their support, given the controversy.

I always say if you name it, you claim and you own it. That is what this is about.

Martin has been accused of being biased in favour of the change, but he said this was based on a comment he had made that was taken out of context.

“I want to go back to where the idea originated to change place names. In the 1950s, the United Nations gave a mandate to change names. This includes duplications.

“Aberdeen, for example – I think there are 30 Aberdeens in different countries. There is even one in Zimbabwe. If we take Aberdeen, for example, that will be a reason for us to change it.

Read more: Highlighting the compelling case for renaming Graaff-Reinet to Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe

“Of course, we look at the historical context as well. At the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that there wasn’t enough money to compensate those who suffered and they must be honoured by giving their names to towns.

“Then there is, of course, the whole question of the historical background of an area. One does look at restorative justice and restoration, redress.

“And then, what is very important is to look at the wider South African context. We have to acknowledge that we have a bad history in South Africa. We must look at the conquered and the conqueror. That is the South African context, whether you like it or not. Things were won over the barrel of a gun. I always say if you name it, you claim and you own it. That is what this is about.

“When we talk about restorative justice, my question is: how do we let everyone feel that it is South African? Some names must remain. We are not here to change names for the sake of changing [them]. So we look at shared history, shared identity, shared culture,” Martin said.

Many people who are against name changes cite money being wasted that could be better spent, but Martin said this is disingenuous. “It is cheap to talk about this in the context of wasting money. You cannot measure dignity with money.”

He said a budget of about R1-million has been set aside to cover the costs of consulting on name changes.

“It is ironic that suddenly now everyone wants to be consulted. Nobody consulted with the Khoi and the San when they changed names. Nobody consulted in the old South Africa. It is because we want to consult through the Constitution. Now we do it and now we are being opposed.”

Martin also dismissed the argument that city or town names become a brand that is known among tourists, for example. “It is lazy thinking to tell me the economics of a town like Graaff-Reinet is built around the name. You must do the marketing and emotion in your new name,” he said.

The name change of the globally known historic town, the oldest in the Eastern Cape and the fourth-oldest in South Africa, remains so controversial that even the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality, in which it is situated, refused to take sides.

“People want to protect their history, culture and language. We don’t want a shared history, culture and heritage,” Martin said.

Graaff-Reinet was named after Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff and his wife, Reinet, because the town was established when he was the governor of the Cape Colony. “You know now everyone is quick to tell me that Reinet was a Khoi woman. Nobody ever said anything about that before,” Martin said.

“I was involved 100% with the processes in Graaff-Reinet. I make sure that the process has been followed. But it will be the minister [of sport, arts and culture] who must announce. He decides that the name must change. That is when people can appeal and give their reasons to the minister.”

I am not just here to change names for the sake of it. I have a mandate and I am trying to do this in a balanced way.

Martin said the meetings that the names committee held in Graaff-Reinet were filled with “bush politics”.

“And they were very long. Those that have were lobbying the have-nots. They didn’t have anything to do with the name. People came with written notes to read. I was thinking, not to judge, but it looked like they were coached.”

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie said the provincial names committee submitted a proposal to change the name Graaff-Reinet to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe to the South African Geographical Names Council on 14 May. The council’s meeting to discuss the proposed name change took place on 4 July.

But he added that the council took a resolution not to recommend the name change, together with the three other Eastern Cape name changes submitted.

McKenzie said this was because applications were submitted with insufficient information; the consultation report submitted lacked information to convince the council that sufficient consultation was conducted on the name change; it transpired that there were petitions against the name change during the public hearings held in Graaff-Reinet; and there was not enough evidence submitted to show that the petitions and concerns of the concerned group or groups had been thoroughly addressed.

“The council therefore took a decision not to recommend this name change for the minister’s approval. The final report is still in the process of being circulated.”

Read more: Welcome back, Hanover Street, goodbye Keizersgracht, as Cape Town City Council votes for renaming

McKenzie said he was engaging with officials on a way forward and will make a determination at a later time.

Martin said the provincial names committee will address the council’s concerns.

“Conflict, I must tell you, is possible,” he added. “The other problem is that at the stakeholder meeting, people arrived already with boxes full of appeals and objections. They wanted to have our address to courier documents and we had done nothing yet.

“What must I inform them? I haven’t made a mistake. This is very political,” he said.

“Listen here, I am not just here to change names for the sake of it,” he repeated. “I have a mandate and I am trying to do this in a balanced way. I am ensuring the process is done. It is not me who wants to change names. If they welcome us [to public meetings] they tell us: ‘You can’t come change the names here.’” DM

• Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have shown to be involved in significantly fewer accidents than human-driven vehicles, according to stats from Waymo.
• A study with Swiss Re revealed substantial reductions in at-fault collisions, property damage, and bodily injury with AVs.
• Developing reliable and safe AVs is a complex challenge due to the unpredictable nature of the world, requiring advanced machine learning and AI technologies.
• Despite the high costs and challenges, over 250 companies are investing in AV technology, raising questions about the future and viability of autonomous driving.

Be honest. If you needed to hail a ride, would you opt for a regular human-driven vehicle, or a driverless AI-piloted robotaxi, assuming the price was the same?

Me too. But it’s not the wisest choice. According to the stats from Waymo, one of the most well-known autonomous driving technology companies in the world, which operates on public roads in a number of cities in the US, including San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix and LA, after 15 million miles in every type of driving condition imaginable (day and night driving, snow, fog, rain, extreme temperature conditions) the autonomous vehicle was involved in 3.5 times fewer accidents than human-driven vehicles.

A further study conducted with insurance giant Swiss Re is even more startling, and we can assume that the stern eye of a huge insurer keeps the numbers honest. Huge reductions in at-fault collisions, property damage and bodily injury were recorded. 

We should swallow our preconceptions and hail a robotaxi, should the opportunity ever arise. At least, if safety is our primary concern.

There are two bigger stories here though. The first is that the problem of developing reliable and safe autonomous vehicles (AVs) is really, really hard. The world is an entirely unpredictable and constantly noisy place, and the stakes are as high as they come (get it wrong, and people can die). 

There is little room for error. AV designers cannot possibly imagine, let alone list, all the scenarios that could arise at any given moment on the road. And, frustratingly, while humans learn to drive easily, we cannot explain, in fine algorithmic detail, how we do it. We use our eyes, ears, hands, feet, common sense, memory, logic, intuition and our long history of being alive and moving through an ever-changing environment. 

All of which means, if we can’t tell the AV exactly how to drive, then it has to learn for itself. Ergo, we have a big, hairy, audacious, many-headed machine learning exercise. This is not your “predict-the-next-word” ChatGPT4. It is many orders of magnitude more impressive than that.

The development of AVs is AI writ large. 

There is a fascinating discussion about this in a podcast from venture capital company 16z, called “Building the World’s Most Trusted Driver”, in which 16z partner David George interviews Waymo CTO Dmitri Dolgov. 

Dolgov gets deep into the weeds of the tech, and what has to happen for it to all come together. Stuff like GPS, maps, radar, laser tech (LisDAR), cameras, light, AI models, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and so forth, all talking to each other in crisscrossing feedback loops, in real time, making thousands of micro decisions which may require millisecond-scale response times to an incalculable number of situations, both tested and untested. (Just one of the examples discussed – what does the car do if it has to stop for a passenger pickup and there is no parking spot available? Does it double park, and how does it judge when it is inconsiderate or dangerous to do so? Does it park in an open driveway? What if the gate or garage door starts to open?)

While listening to the podcast, I wondered about the people who chose to tackle this seemingly impossible challenge, which started in earnest in 2007 with a series of autonomous vehicle competitions designed by Darpa (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency). I don’t mind a little challenge, and occasionally I take on a big one, fortifying myself with the tonic of ego, inspiration and aspiration. But this! Clearly these people are made of sterner stuff than me, and (presumably) most of you. 

There are more than 250 companies involved in building bits and pieces of AVs – software, radios, cameras, radar and other radio equipment, map providers, training data providers, etc – but a smaller number are actually putting cars on public roads. They are (among others) Waymo, Tesla, Cruise (GM), Zoox (Amazon) in the US, a surprisingly large cohort in China (Baidu, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX, Deeproute.ai) and, unsurprisingly, all of the major German auto manufacturers (Mercedes, BMW and VW). 

I was taken aback by the number of companies entering this race. These AVs, with all their fancy hardware and software and decades of R&D, are likely to cost significantly more than our current cars, even when manufactured at scale. And many of us will still want to drive our own cars, or would prefer to hail a car with the same species in control of the steering wheel. Why is all this money being spent? Is there actually a future which makes sense for AV investors?

The answer is yes, probably, maybe, we’ll see. MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) has been growing for a long time – ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, bike and scooter rentals, long-distance ride shares, personal delivery apps. All have worked swimmingly. You don’t have to own your mode of transport, and it is often cheaper and more convenient not to do so. MaaS seems to be on solid ground; there are plenty of companies increasing both their revenue and profits in this space. 

But, at the risk of being a gadfly, I think self-driving cars are a different kettle of fish. Yeah, subways and other track-borne transports sometimes don’t need drivers, but there are not that many decisions to be made. Start. Stop. Slow down, Speed up. Open and close doors. Even aeroplanes are barely piloted these days. Pilots are basically sitting on the bench except for unusual situations, take-offs and landings – and even these last are near-autonomous. But we absolutely want those pilots in their seats, don’t we?

Perhaps we will always prefer the Uber driver too. A person, just like us. To chat with, or not. To make us feel like we are not alone, we are not at the mercy of a software bug or hack or a completely unprecedented driving situation, never before seen or anticipated. 

As a technologist, I am enthralled by these cars. But I think I will still want to ask a driver to take the scenic route when I feel like it, and then perhaps witter on about the unseasonably hot weather. DM  

Steven Boykey Sidley is a professor of practice at JBS, University of Johannesburg. His new book, It’s Mine: How the Crypto Industry is Redefining Ownership, is published by Maverick451 in South Africa and Legend Times Group in the UK/EU, available now.

As Africa gears up for a digital revolution, at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting, to be held on 23 August 2024, the United Nations University (UNU), the African Union (AU), and Pan-African University (PAU) will co-host the Innovation in Africa event.

This is a unique opportunity to showcase the transformative potential of the African Digital Compact (ADC) and Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy (CAIS). This thematic discussion is not just about ideas; it’s about shaping Africa’s digital future. It’s about how innovation can drive sustainable development and position the continent as a global player in the digital age.

In a significant move, the African Union demonstrated its leadership and commitment to Africa’s digital future by adopting the ADC and the CAIS in July 2024. These are not just policy documents; they represent a unified vision. The ADC aims to harness the power of digital technologies for economic growth, societal well-being, and long-term development across the continent.

The CAIS aims to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainable development in Africa, aligning with Agenda 2063 and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Agenda 2063 is Africa’s 50-year socioeconomic transformation framework, adopted by the African Union in 2013.

It focuses on inclusive growth, sustainable development and a united political and economic landscape. It addresses challenges like poverty, inequality and climate change and promotes good governance and peace. The CAIS advocates ethical AI practices, calls for harmonised national strategies and encourages regional and global collaboration to achieve Agenda 2063.

The Innovation in Africa event is a perfect opportunity to unite the vision for Africa’s digital future. It will explore how digital transformation can address Africa’s unique challenges and pave the way for progress towards Agenda 2063. This unity of vision, which the event aims to foster, is what will drive Africa’s digital future.

Africa is already home to several ground-breaking initiatives that align with the ADC’s and CAIS’s objectives. The Deep Learning Indaba, for example, is an annual gathering of African researchers and practitioners in machine learning and AI. It seeks to strengthen African machine learning by fostering communities, developing talent and encouraging excellence.

This initiative exemplifies how Africa prepares the next generation of innovators to lead the continent’s digital transformation.

Thriving start-up ecosystem

Similarly, Africa’s thriving start-up ecosystems are rapidly expanding, with companies such as Lelapa emerging as critical players in the tech sector. Lelapa, a South African AI company focused on solving African challenges with local solutions, exemplifies how African start-ups drive innovation from within the continent.

Companies such as these depend on extensive databases like the one initiated by Masakhane Natural Language Processing (NLP), a grassroots organisation that promotes NLP research in African languages. The Masakhane initiative is a foundation for developing the African Large Language Models (LLMs).

Zipline’s drone delivery network in Rwanda has revolutionised healthcare by delivering essential items like blood and vaccines in remote areas. This innovative system overcomes geographical barriers, improving healthcare outcomes and showcasing drone technology’s potential.

These African ecosystems encourage entrepreneurship, create jobs, and contribute to economic growth, which is critical to the ADC’s and CAIS’s mission.

Innovation in Africa will bring together experts from academia, the private sector and recent university graduates to discuss how the ADC and CAIS can help Africa achieve the Agenda 2063.

The discussions will focus on bridging the digital divide and empowering communities through digital skills training – critical steps towards ensuring that all Africans, regardless of location or socioeconomic status, can take advantage of the digital economy’s opportunities.

The event will also address critical issues such as decent work and inclusive economic growth in the context of AI and technological advancements, entrepreneurship in the face of climate change and digital transformation, and the importance of leveraging innovation and training to support youth career opportunities.

These discussions will focus on how the ADC’s and CAIS’s strategic frameworks can be used to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, which is critical for creating jobs and building a resilient, self-sufficient Africa.

The ADC and CAIS should be viewed within the context that digital transformation is about more than technological advancement; it is also about improving human well-being, protecting digital rights and fostering social cohesion. By putting people at the centre of their vision, the ADC and CAIS intend to create a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape across Africa.

However, these initiatives are happening while the United Nations has similar frameworks: the Global Digital Compact (GDC), which can be viewed as the global version of the ADC, and the High-Level Advisory Body (HLAB) on AI, which deals with AI at a global level as opposed to the CAIS, which focuses on the African continent.

The GDC and HLAB on AI must be aligned with the ADC and CAIS to ensure that the African continent reaps the benefits of digital and AI advancements. The GDC and the recommendations of HLAB on AI will feed into the Summit of the Future in September 2024. The Summit of the Future is an international conference to address global challenges, promote global governance, and advance sustainable development.

The ADC, GDC (which is still to be finalised), CAIS, and the HLAB on AI (which is also to be finalised) should be inextricably linked, forming a symbiotic relationship that advances a digital and AI-empowered future at regional and global levels.

Both compacts are expected to share a common vision: a world in which digital technologies promote inclusive development, boost economic growth and improve societal well-being. This will help to bridge digital divides, protect digital rights and create a secure and equitable digital environment for all.

The discussions at the TICAD Ministerial Meeting’s side event on innovation in Africa will highlight Africa’s determination to partner with countries worldwide, including Japan; and to seize the opportunities presented by digital technologies. The ADC is a guiding framework for this journey, ensuring that digital transformation drives inclusive growth and shared prosperity across the continent.

As Africa addresses its unique challenges and seizes opportunities for innovation, aligning the ADC and CAIS with global frameworks such as the GDC and the HLAB on AI is critical. This strategic alignment ensures that Africa’s vision for a digital and AI-enabled future is seamlessly integrated with global efforts, promoting inclusive growth and prosperity.

Africa’s commitment to driving progress through digital innovation and collaboration and establishing the continent as a critical player in the global digital economy is crucial for attaining Agenda 2063. DM

• Two schools, two provinces, two racism rows: Pinelands High School and Pretoria High School for Girls embroiled in contrasting racial controversies.
• Gauteng Education Department pursuing independent investigation into racism culture at Pretoria High School for Girls, while Western Cape Education Department deems Pinelands incident an "isolated incident."
• Parents at Pretoria Girls' school divided over racism allegations, with some denying systemic racism among students.
• Debate rages over handling of racism cases, with diversity consultant Teresa Oakley-Smith stating that WhatsApp messages from Pretoria pupils constitute racism.

Two schools. Two provinces. Two racism rows. And two quite different governmental approaches. Racism-related sagas engulfing Cape Town’s Pinelands High School and Pretoria High School for Girls in recent weeks have highlighted contrasting stances from the Western Cape and Gauteng provincial education departments.

With a school governing body (SGB) investigation having cleared 12 white learners from Pretoria of racism after the leaking of WhatsApp messages expressing racial frustration, the Gauteng education department has announced its intention to pursue an independent investigation into whether a culture of racism exists at the school.

Speaking this week, department spokesperson Steve Mabona said there was a “strong presumption of the existence” of racism and discrimination against learners at Pretoria High School for Girls.

In Cape Town, meanwhile, five Grade 8 learners at Pinelands High School will have disciplinary hearings next week after participating in an apparent prank in which black pupils were “auctioned” to “bidders”.

But the Western Cape education department is adamant that this was an “isolated incident” (in the words of spokesperson Bronagh Hammond), which does not reflect “the values and ethos” of either Pinelands High or the department.

Hammond told Daily Maverick this week that the department would remain hands-off with regard to the incident.

“There is no reason to intervene at this stage and it would be inappropriate to do so. The school is taking action in terms of the relevant disciplinary procedures as outlined in the SA Schools Act, and we must allow for this process to take its course.”

Hammond said it was up to schools to deal with disciplinary matters involving learners, but the department would get involved if allegations were made against teachers. The department is undertaking one racism investigation involving a Table View High School teacher who allegedly used the k-word as part of a Grade 12 history lesson.

The Gauteng education department did not respond to questions from Daily Maverick about whether there were other racism investigations into the province’s schools.

Pretoria Girls’ community grappling with fallout

Parents outside Pretoria High School for Girls were still reeling this week from the exposure of their school in the national media when Daily Maverick visited.

One white parent of a Grade 11 student, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I believe these children are not systematically racist, but they happen to have been born during a time in which a lot of things are swept under the carpet. They have a lot to learn – and the school and we as parents have a responsibility to assist them.”

A white Grade 12 parent denied that there was a culture of racism among white learners. “I would not say my child is racist; nearly all her friends are black. The 12 girls, in my view, are also not racist. There is a huge difference between having a conversation about racism versus actually being a racist.

“In our family, we have plenty of WhatsApp groups and it’s just white people. We have discussions about everything under the sun – does that make us racists?”

A black parent said he was not surprised by either the allegations of racism or the findings of the SGB, which found the girls not guilty of misconduct.

“I was not shocked at all. It was kind of expected with the history of the school. It was bound to happen. It is kind of a recurring thing for them not to take action when it is necessary,” he said.

The girls who were cleared by the probe have also been reinstated in their leadership roles as prefects, a decision to which all three parents Daily Maverick spoke to appeared to be opposed. They were in agreement that there needed to be some kind of punishment for the prefects in terms of upholding the accountability and integrity of student leaders at the school.

Debate rages about prevalence and handling of racism cases

Public opinion about the incidents and how they were handled has been sharply divided, and extreme views have been expressed on both sides.

Diversity consultant Teresa Oakley-Smith, who is white, told Daily Maverick she believed that the comments made by the 12 Pretoria pupils in their WhatsApp group did indeed constitute racism.

The full transcripts of the controversial WhatsApp group have not been released, but reports state that messages centred on white students’ grievances about being treated unfairly because of their race. Messages included the suggestion that black students were now the privileged ones because “the world is more in their favour now anyways, like, apartheid isn’t a thing any more”.

“I was not shocked at all,” Oakley-Smith said. “I had red-flagged the school in 2016.

“The recent developments are a clear indication that the school has not done the work to create a good environment around issues of race.”

She added that, in her view, it is “absolutely not possible” for black children to be guilty of racism themselves. “Racism stems from power relations – actual or envisaged power that one group has over another. Another definition of racism is belief in the superiority of a particular race.”

On the other side of the debate is a figure like Richard Wilkinson, a young Johannesburg lawyer. He does not have children in the education system, but has adopted the issue of racism allegations in schools as something of a personal crusade.

Wilkinson told Daily Maverick he had become seized with the issue after being made aware of events at Johannesburg’s St Stithian’s College in 2020, when numerous allegations of racism that were made against teachers were found to be unsubstantiated in a subsequent investigation.

“I started tweeting about it and quickly discovered that similar things were happening at dozens of other schools. I have since had contact with over 200 parents and teachers at dozens of schools across the country who have reported numerous instances of bullying, abuse and harassment to me,” he said.

Wilkinson is frustrated by media coverage of incidents like the Pretoria High School for Girls saga and accuses journalists of parroting the Gauteng education department’s stance without meaningfully interrogating the facts. He believes diversity and transformation consulting firms are exploiting schools for financial benefit, and schools should stop recognising concepts like micro aggressions, cultural appropriation and systemic racism.

“The children are fine when left to their own devices and without being indoctrinated with divisive ideology,” he maintains.

Many disagree.

Christi van der Westhuizen, associate professor at the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University, says the recent incidents are evidence that elite, formerly white English-language schools are failing to grapple with “questions of institutional culture” sufficiently.

“In racially diverse schools, one would want processes where learners can openly engage with one another to better understand where they come from and how to tackle legacies of injustice,” she said.

“One would want to see the cultivation of not only critical thinking, but also of mutual understanding and empathy.”

In reality, however, “young people are simply not being equipped to deal critically and empathetically with the demands of a diverse world”, said Van der Westhuizen.

Schools getting it right

In educational circles, three Cape Town high schools are mentioned repeatedly for doing particularly well in terms of creating racially inclusive cultures: Camps Bay, Westerford and – perhaps surprisingly – Pinelands, the site of the mock-slavery debacle.

Insiders at Pinelands High School expressed distress this week that the incident was being used to paint the school as a whole in a racist light, maintaining that the “auction” was a foolish and ignorant joke among 13-year-old school friends.

The school’s staff would not speak about the matter on record because it is under investigation, but the SGB detailed the extensive steps the school has taken in recent years to reckon with racial transformation.

These included running “immersive, transformative” four-day “Rainbow Camps” for students, which focus on “embracing diversity across ethnic, cultural and gender lines”. The school also has a permanent transformation committee comprising both staff and learners, which runs programmes “to educate the school about cultural and social diversity”.

At Westerford, an email sent by principal Mark Smith to parents on Sunday, 4 August, epitomises what parents say is the school’s proactive approach to issues of race.

“You might have seen in the news recently that racism has resurfaced at schools. In light of this, we have to stop and reflect as to where we are as a Westerford community, as this also affects us daily as a school community. With this, we will have a pupil plenary with the school management team. This platform is where pupils of colour can raise any concerns and emotions as to how they feel in light of what has happened at our school, but also in the broader society,” Smith wrote.

“This is the platform to reflect as to where we are at as a school in terms of being an inclusive space. This platform will also be the springboard to determine how much transformative work is still needed to make Westerford an inclusive space for all … Do note that the school will not entertain any form of victimisation, as this will be a safe, inclusive platform.”

Camps Bay High School principal Louis Mostert told Daily Maverick this week: “No school in South Africa is ever going to get this problem totally solved.”

Mostert said the school viewed racial representivity among staff members as one of the most critical aspects: “It’s important that kids can always identify with someone on the staff.”

The school also uses its admission numbers to ensure student racial diversity and to draw learners from different socioeconomic groups. A diversity committee on the SGB helps to steer its approach on matters related to race.

“When people feel that they’re not being heard, it breeds dissent,” Mostert said.

When racial incidents have arisen in the past, it was critical that grade heads phone the relevant parents immediately to inform them of what had happened and tell them that an investigation was under way.

Mostert also highlighted the importance of playing open cards with the school community at large: “When things go wrong, you can’t hide it. You need to address it upfront as quickly as possible.”

Other schools have introduced specific mechanisms for handling complaints of racial discrimination.

Stuart West, the executive head of St John’s College in Johannesburg, said: “Our school has established several internal structures and committees dedicated to handling such matters, including the Guardian Anonymous Reporting App, which allows individuals to report incidents confidentially and securely.”

The school’s policy states that accusations of racism must be dealt with swiftly, efficiently and fairly by a task team called the anti-discrimination custodians. The policy also allows for an appeal process.

What the Constitution says about racial discrimination

The preamble of the Constitution states: “The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign, democratic state founded on the following values: (a) Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. (b) Non-racialism and non-sexism.”

Section 9(3) of the Constitution prohibits unfair discrimination against anyone on one or more grounds, including on the ground of race.

Department of Justice’s definition of racism

Racism is the belief that someone from a different skin colour, race or ethnic group is in a position of power over others on the basis of physical and cultural attributes, as well as economic wealth, involving hierarchical relations where the “superior” race exercises domination and control over others.

Racism is a denial of people’s basic human rights, dignity and respect. Its expression ranges from small, everyday acts of discrimination to barriers and omissions that may be inadvertently established at an institutional level and acts of threatening behaviour and violence.

Definition of racial discrimination

Racial discrimination is any act or omission, including a policy, law, rule, practice, condition or situation that directly or indirectly imposes burdens, obligations or disadvantage on, or withholds benefits, opportunities or advantages from, any person on prohibited grounds of race, ethnic or social origin, colour, culture, language and birth.

Readers’ views

• The interesting thing about my white kid is that he is severely autistic and spends most of his time at a special needs school and a special needs home. Most of his friends are from all backgrounds and races. Almost none is white. Special needs kids don’t appear to see colour. They also don’t seem to fight or have any hatred issues, unless they have meltdowns related to their mental conditions. They are very loving. One would wish kids who are far more privileged mentally would be more like special needs kids.
• A friend of mine’s child is suffering repetitive racism daily at the school she attends. But people won’t find it newsworthy as the receiver of the abuse is coloured and the abuser is black. Until people can come to realise that racism is a two-way street, it will never be sorted out. I cannot fathom that so few people get that. Every race has racism in them and to deny that they are all capable of extreme racism based on the colour of their skin is also in itself racist. Although I do not condone what these pupils at Pretoria High School for Girls did, when do we see the other side of the coin?
• My son experienced racism while at Bekker High School in Magaliesburg, Gauteng. He’s been a soccer fan since about five years old. The school didn’t offer it as a sport, but most of the black kids would play it at breaktime. When he joined them, he was ridiculed and called a k-lover by white kids.
• My eldest daughter is adopted. She is black and I am white. Two of her best friends once sent her a WhatsApp message calling her a little n*****, with a black middle finger emoji. She reported it to the Human Rights Commission, but it did nothing, and one of the children’s mothers victimised her and said she was ruining their lives. White and black people sometimes called her a “coconut” because she can only speak English. It affected her confidence badly. She said that she has three strikes against her: she is black, disabled and adopted. When she went to college, she had no confidence. She said she assumed that the way her school friends treated her would be the way everyone treated her. Thankfully, it was a better experience, and she is now more confident in her identity and has friends who embrace her for the amazing person she is.
• I, as a white teacher at a former model C school, was told by a parent of a black child that neither he nor his son needed to listen to me because white people don’t belong in this land, and “it’s not the time of the white man any more”.
• During the run-up to the local elections in 2021, some black parents on our school governing body reported to the management that EFF branch members in the local township, where many of our pupils live, were actively encouraging black pupils from our school to cause trouble and provoke race issues in order to “show the white man who is boss”. DM

If you have any experience of schools – both private and public – where incidents of racism or discrimination based on racial or ethnic differences occurred and the school community dealt with them effectively and inclusively, please share it with us so that we can reflect it in our journalism. Write to [email protected]

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Eastern Cape High Court orders Department of Home Affairs to pay R1-million in damages to woman unlawfully detained for a month.
• Judge criticises Department for pleading ignorance of Immigration Act, which allows for detention of illegal foreigners pending deportation.
• Woman arrested for lacking permit or visa, detained in poor conditions without legal representation.
• Home Affairs officials testify on decision to detain woman, court confirms detention and deportation order without her presence.

The Eastern Cape High Court has ordered the Department of Home Affairs to pay damages up to a R1-million to a woman who admitted that she was illegally in the country after she was unlawfully detained for a month.

“It is rather confounding that the [Department of Home Affairs] pleaded ignorance of the provisions of section 34 of the Immigration Act. Section 34 is the provision of the Immigration Act empowering immigration officers to arrest and detain illegal foreigners pending deportation,” Judge Lindiwe Risi said in her ruling on 30 July 2024.

The woman, whose identity was not made public by the court, was arrested on 18 November 2022, for failing to have a permit or visa to be in South Africa. She was brought to the Mthatha Magistrates’ Court on 21 November 2022, where she pleaded guilty to contravening the Immigration Act and she was then fined.

She was subsequently detained at the Mthatha Central Police Station from 21 November 2022, pending her deportation. But she was released on 22 December 2022 after legal intervention.

She sued the Department of Home Affairs for R1-million, alleging that her arrest and detention were unlawful. Her claim was opposed by the Department of Home Affairs. Its legal team argued that it was illegal for someone without the necessary papers to enter and remain in South Africa, adding that they were within their rights to keep her detained. 

The plaintiff stated in papers before court that she had admitted to being illegally in the country and had paid a R1,000 fine, but then she was detained for another month in the police cells without being given legal presentation or her incarceration being confirmed by a court.

She told the court that she was detained in deplorable conditions at the Central Police Station, which was not suitable for her detention, and that she was refused an opportunity to get an attorney. She was also not brought before a court within 48 hours of her arrest.

The legal team for the Department argued that they were entitled to arrest the plaintiff as she failed to identify herself as a foreigner who is lawfully in the country or as a citizen of the Republic. It claimed that the court authorised her further detention and she was duly informed of the decision to deport her and of the reasons for her continued detention.

They added that the Central Police Station was the place where illegal foreigners are detained pending deportation.

Officials fall foul of the law

The court heard from Home Affairs official Xola Memani that he had insisted that the plaintiff be detained after she was arrested. He said she could not produce the necessary permit or visa that authorised her to be in South Africa. He said further that she had been ordered to leave the country two years before she was arrested. 

He testified that he and his colleagues left the court late on 21 November 2022, and as far as he knew no request was made to the court on this day for the confirmation of the plaintiff’s detention pending deportation.

It was his and his colleagues’ intention to return to court the following day to apply for the court’s confirmation of the plaintiff’s detention from 21 November 2022 pending deportation.

The arrested herbalist was required to be present in court when an application was made for the confirmation of her further detention post-arrest, pending her deportation. Failure to bring the plaintiff to court would be an irregularity.

Memani did not return to court on 22 November 2022 as intended, but his colleagues did. It is from them that he heard of what transpired in court. He was informed that the magistrate confirmed the plaintiff’s detention on 22 November 2022, and backdated the confirmation to 21 November 2022, as he still recalled the plaintiff’s case from the previous day.

The plaintiff was also given notice on 21 November 2022 of the decision to deport her. An application was further made on 9 December 2022 for the extension of the plaintiff’s detention for a further period, pending her deportation. The magistrate further confirmed the extension of the plaintiff’s detention on 9 December 2022.

The woman, however, was not brought to appear before the magistrate.

Another Home Affairs official, Msimelelo Maqeda, testified that he arrested the plaintiff in the Mthatha central business district on 18 November 2022, during an operation that was aimed at identifying illegal foreigners. She was hiding in a room where she and another female were conducting business as herbalists.

When the plaintiff and another woman who was with her came out of hiding and were asked why they were hiding from immigration officials they said they did not have permits authorising them to be in South Africa.

It appeared from further evidence by Home Affairs officials that they were under the impression that the woman’s detention had been confirmed by a magistrate. The court further heard that when it became clear that she would not be deported within 30 days, her detention was extended for 90 days.

Maqeda heard later that the plaintiff was released from detention after the department was served with court papers. Home Affairs officials denied that the woman told them she was an asylum seeker. 

ConCourt ruling

In 2017, the Constitutional Court declared parts of the Immigration Act unconstitutional and suspended the order of invalidity for 24 months pending Parliament enacting corrective legislation to cure the defect.

The court added that pending action taken by Parliament, any illegal foreigner detained under the disputed sections of the Immigration Act shall be brought before a court in person within 48 hours from the time of arrest, or not later than the first court day after the expiry of the 48 hours if 48 hours expired outside ordinary court days.

The 24 months given to Parliament however expired in June 2019, and no amendments had been made. 

In 2023, the minister of Home Affairs approached the Constitutional Court for the revival of the order it made in 2017. Parliament was given another 12 months to fix the law.

Read more: ConCourt hits Home Affairs minister, DG with personal costs order over immigration law case

In this hearing, the Constitutional Court supplemented the 2017 order by setting out the procedure that would be followed in the meantime when an illegal immigrant is to be arrested and detained as follows:

“An immigration officer considering the arrest and detention of an illegal foreigner must consider whether the interests of justice permit the release of such a person subject to reasonable conditions, and must not cause the person to be detained if the officer concludes that the interests of justice permit the release of such person subject to reasonable conditions.”

The court upheld its previous ruling that an arrested person must be brought before a court within 48 hours from the time of the arrest to decide if it will be in the interest of justice to release the person. And if not, further detention must be authorised by the court. 

Read more: Aaron Motsoaledi must take responsibility for Immigration Act mess – Lawyers for Human Rights

Law is clear

“One thing remains clear – there ought not to have been any doubt in the mind of the immigration officers (and the court) regarding what was expected of them in their exercise of the discretion given to them in terms of [the law],” Judge Risi said in the Eastern Cape High Court.

“I emphasise that among the reasons why the Constitutional Court declared the provisions of the Immigration Act invalid in Lawyers for Human Rights was that they resulted in the detention of illegal foreigners for a period of more than 48 hours without any judicial oversight. They sanctioned the detention of the illegal foreigners without trial, in contravention of the Constitution.”

The judge said bringing a defendant to court was more than a mere formality.

“It ought to follow that bringing an illegal foreigner to court for the decision to be made regarding the confirmation of his/her detention pending deportation is not a matter of mere formality. 

“As the Constitutional Court envisaged, it is required so that the illegal foreigner’s right to make representations in open court and/or challenge the decision to be made that is adverse to him/her may be realised.” DM

• Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang convicted in New York court for role in $2-billion fraud scheme.
• Chang found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering, faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
• Victory for justice as Chang convicted of pocketing bribes, leaving Mozambique and investors with losses.
• Legal battle spanning five years ends with Chang's extradition to US, highlighting corruption in Mozambique.

Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang was convicted in a Brooklyn, New York court on Thursday, 8 August 2024, for his role in the $2-billion “hidden debts” fraud, bribery and money laundering scheme in his country in 2013 and 2014.

A federal jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence. It is not yet clear if he intends to appeal.

The jury reached its verdict after three weeks of trial and three days of deliberation.

“Today’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and for the people of Mozambique, who were betrayed by a corrupt high-level public official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world,” said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

“Chang now stands convicted of pocketing millions in bribes to approve projects that ultimately failed, laundering the money and leaving investors and Mozambique stuck with the bill.”

Chang’s conviction has also been hailed as a victory for South African justice – but also an indictment of the executive – as it was the climax of a protracted legal process which began with his arrest at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport in December 2018 and wound through the South African courts for almost five years.

The Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg twice overturned orders by two different South African justice ministers that he should be extradited to Mozambique. But advocates representing the Mozambican NGO Fórum de Monitoria do Orçamento (FMO) – Forum for Monitoring the Budget – argued that he would very likely escape justice in Mozambique, and so in November 2021 the Johannesburg court ordered him to be extradited to the US. This decision was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, and Chang was finally extradited to the US in July 2023.

“While serving as finance minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang obtained $7-million in bribe payments in exchange for signing guarantees to secure more than $2-billion in loans,” said principal deputy assistant attorney-general Nicole Argentieri, head of the US Justice Department’s criminal division. “

The loans were supposed to finance the purchase of tuna-fishing vessels and maritime patrol boats as well as maintenance facilities supplied by the Privinvest Group, a United Arab Emirates-based shipbuilding company, to three Mozambique state-owned companies, Proindicus, Ematum and MAM. But the New York court heard that Chang and his co-conspirators at Privinvest and in Credit Suisse and VTB banks, which loaned the US$2-billion, diverted more than US$200-million of the loans to pay bribes to Chang and others. 

“Not only did Chang’s abuse of authority betray the trust of the Mozambican people, but his corrupt bargain also caused investors – including US investors – to suffer substantial losses on those loans,” Argentieri said. Prosecutors said investors lost money because the loans from Credit Suisse and VTB bank were sold onto investors including some Americans. It was this defrauding of US citizens which decided the US on prosecuting Chang and seeking his extradition from South Africa. 

“Chang now stands convicted of pocketing millions in bribes to approve projects that ultimately failed, laundering the money and leaving investors and Mozambique stuck with the bill,” Argentieri said 

The New York court heard that of the US$200-million in bribes, Privinvest paid Chang and other Mozambican government officials more than US$150-million to ensure that the Mozambican state-owned companies Proindicus, Ematum and MAM entered into the loan arrangements and that the government of Mozambique guaranteed those loans. 

“The loans were subsequently sold in whole or in part to investors worldwide, including in the United States. In so doing, the participants defrauded these investors by misrepresenting how the loan proceeds would be used,” the US Justice Department said. “Ultimately, Proindicus, Ematum and MAM each defaulted on their loans and proceeded to miss more than $700-million in loan payments, causing substantial losses to investors.”

The jury convicted Chang on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” the US Justice Department said in a statement. 

It also noted that in a separate case in October 2021, Credit Suisse AG and CSSEL (together, Credit Suisse) had admitted to defrauding US and international investors in the financing of an $850-million loan for the Ematum project. 

“CSSEL pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Credit Suisse AG entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the criminal division’s fraud section and money laundering and asset recovery section (MLARS), and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. 

“As a part of the resolution, Credit Suisse paid approximately $475-million in penalties, fines and disgorgement as part of coordinated resolutions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom.”

The case acquired the moniker of “hidden debts” because the Mozambique government concealed the US$2-billion in loans from parliament and international creditors, including the IMF, which withdrew its support when it found out. 

Nicole Fritz, former head of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and of the Helen Suzman Foundation – which joined the litigation to have Chang extradited to the US – hailed his conviction. 

“The US verdict can’t stand as anything but an indictment of the SA justice system. It is true that SA ultimately extradited Mr Chang to the US, but this was only after much to-ing and fro-ing about whether to do so,” she told Daily Maverick. 

“At different points, the SA government indicated that they would choose instead to extradite him to Mozambique where he would almost certainly have been guaranteed immunity. It was only the intervention of Mozambican civil society, and the solidarity of SA civil society, through the courts that ensured he was transferred to the US. 

“It is worth noting that the period between his arrest in Johannesburg in 2018 and his extradition to the US in 2023 far, far exceeds the time in which it took the US to mount a jury trial and secure a conviction. “Whatever else that tells us, it should shame our criminal justice system for the endless delays we suffer in securing any relatively high-profile convictions. 

“It should also be noted that while Chang’s conviction is an important outcome in the fight against impunity for political leaders in southern Africa, his conviction and corresponding actions — such as that against Credit Suisse — do much more to set to rights US investors than the primary victims of this scheme — the people of Mozambique who are made that much more impecunious by having to shoulder the repayments of this criminal, fraudulently obtained loan. 

“Again, it is to SA’s discredit that we looked initially to stifle what little possibility of justice existed for the people of Mozambique by seeking to facilitate Chang’s return to Mozambique. But that is entirely in keeping with the ethos of the Zuma administration and Michael Masutha, his minister of justice.”

Mozambique NGO the Centre for Public Integrity also welcomed Chang’s conviction, noting: “ Chang becomes the first former member of the Mozambican government to be convicted abroad for corrupt practices while a member of the government.”

It noted that Chang was initially charged with three crimes, but one was dropped on the eve of the start of the trial – the charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

In South Africa, the Chang extradition case became a great test of the power of justice to prevail over political interests. Two justice ministers, Michael Masutha, in then-president Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet, and then later Ronald Lamola, in President Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, ordered him to be extradited to Mozambique, largely, it seemed, because of the fraternal relations between the ANC and Mozambique’s Frelimo government. 

But in 2019 Advocate Max du Plessis, appearing in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg case for the Helen Suzman Foundation – as a friend of the court – argued that the South African government was obliged to put law before politics, including foreign politics, by extraditing him instead to the US.

He insisted that even the most political decisions “are not immune from legal challenge. Nor does the field of international relations provide a cloak which shields such decisions from judicial scrutiny.”

He quoted Judge Kate O’Regan saying in a different case: “There is nothing in our Constitution that suggests that, in so far as it relates to the powers and obligations imposed by the Constitution upon the executive, the supremacy of the Constitution stops at the borders of South Africa.” DM

• Dam walls collapse in Dassenberg, Riverlands, and Chatsworth, leaving residents homeless.
• Gift of the Givers provides aid and sets up base at Riverlands Primary School.
• No fatalities reported as rescue operations continue; residents urged to stay vigilant.
• Calls for enhanced dam safety monitoring following the disaster.

Update:

Fourteen people are in hospital, 444 are receiving humanitarian support and 224 people are being housed at a local church and a community centre after three dams collapsed, flooding and destroying a number of homes near Malmesbury and leaving the area of Riverlands without potable water. 

On Thursday, 08 August 2024, the wall of one of the dams on a property known as Dassenberg breached, affecting two neighbouring dams and resulting in severe flooding to parts of Riverlands, Chatsworth and Dassenberg, outside Malmesbury. 

Heinrich Robertson, communications manager for the West Coast District Municipality, said three of four dams located on the Dassenberg property were compromised when the wall of one was breached. 

The Swartland Municipality in partnership with West Coast Disaster Management Centre investigated the cause of the dam collapse. “It was discovered that the third dam initiated the breach, resulting in the first and second dam being overwhelmed, resulting in the extensive and devastating floods affecting Riverlands,” the Municipality said. 

Fourteen people are being treated in hospital, while 444 people are receiving humanitarian support and 224 people are being housed at a local church and a Thusong service centre. The Riverlands town is without potable water, and the Swartland and Drakenstein Municipality will temporarily provide water to the community until water supply is restored.

Living in fear

Jessica Solomons, a Riverlands resident who was affected by the floods, struggled to find words as she recalled how her father’s home was destroyed. 

“I was crying yesterday when they [her father’s family] called for us for help and we walked through the water to reach them and they had to open their back door so the water could flow through the front door that was torn down by the water to the outside.”

After more rain last night, Solomons said they are living in fear as the water rises. “We are not satisfied because there is another dam that is full. We live in fear because the dam can also collapse and the water can come out to affect us.” 

Solomons told Daily Maverick that she lost her son to the dams two years ago. “It was a hot summer day on 13 January 2022. My son and some boys and girls were going to the dams to swim there, and on that day he never came out and they took him out the next day,” Solomons said.

Humanitarian relief organisation Gift of the Givers, which was called by the Swartland Municipality and local disaster management team in the early hours of Thursday morning to provide assistance in evacuating people and suppling aid, is still on the site and will remain there for the next week.

“We [are] going to be here for the next seven days; there is a need for clean drinking water, so we have already called on two water tanks from the Eastern Cape to come and assist here,” Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said.

The above update was published on 9 August at 15:20

Residents in Dassenberg, Riverlands and Chatsworth near Malmesbury were left homeless after their homes were flooded when two retention dams in the area burst in the early hours of Thursday, 8 August 2024. The dams are located within the municipal borders of the City of Cape Town. 

According to Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, who was on site after receiving calls about the flooding, the dam located on the property known as Dassenberg breached and resulted in severe flooding to parts of Riverlands, Chatsworth and Dassenberg. 

Gift of the Givers was called by the Swartland Municipality and local disaster management team in the early hours of the morning to provide assistance in evacuating people and supplying humanitarian aid. 

“We found out that it was two retention dams that had burst, destroying a number of houses along the way. It is total destruction currently, roads have been washed away, people have lost absolutely everything,” Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said.

The organisation has set up a base at Riverlands Primary School, where it will provide humanitarian relief to the affected communities for the next few days. 

“There is no electricity, no plain drinking water; it is total damage on the ground. Our team will be here to assist the areas of Dassenberg, Riverlands, and Chatsworth with hot meals, blankets and baby care packs,” Sablay said.

The West Coast Disaster Management is on site as well as Disaster Management teams from the Swartland Municipality, including fire and rescue and law enforcement services. No fatalities or missing persons have been reported. 

“Victims have been treated for near-drowning and 14 people have been transported to nearby hospitals for observation and further treatment. At this moment, no fatalities or missing persons have been reported,” Bredell’s spokesperson, Wouter Kriel, said.

More rainfall predicted

Residents have been urged to stay safe and remain vigilant, as the South African Weather Service has predicted more rainfall for the coming weekend. 

Heinrich Robertson, communications manager for West Coast District Municipality, said it will take a few days to clear the affected areas.

Leon Basson, chairperson of Parliament’s water and sanitation portfolio committee, has called for the Department of Water and Sanitation to monitor the situation to ensure safety of residents.

“The collapse of the Riverlands dam wall is symptomatic of shortcomings regarding dam safety across the board. It is necessary for the Department of Water and Sanitation to enhance their monitoring capabilities to ensure adequate safety standards for its own dams and enhance monitoring of private dams to ensure that the safety of people downstream is not threatened,” Basson said.

The investigation is still ongoing to determine the cause of the disaster and to determine if other dams in the area are safe. DM

I made Moroccan style flatbreads recently. The recipe made more than we needed, so I turned the balance into breakfast. It will work just as well with store-bought panini.

To begin with, plan a Moroccan tagine supper such as this or this chicken one. Refrigerate the remaining flatbreads overnight, and in the morning you can freshen it up.

The recipe for the actual flatbreads is here. Below, find the recipe for how to turn a leftover flatbread into a crunchy, delicious breakfast filled with delicious things to set you up for the day.

An air fryer comes into play, either on the grill or air fry setting, to crisp up the flatbreads. Or finish them in a 200°C oven until golden.

Moroccan flatbread breakfast

(Recipe for one flatbread, either for 1 or shared)

Ingredients

1 whole flatbread sliced into two round halves

Olive oil

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 green pepper, prepped and chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 chilli, seeds removed, chopped finely

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ a wheel of feta, crumbled

½ cup grated everyday cheese

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Cooking oil spray

Method

Slice the flatbread into two broad rounds. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cut parts.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the green pepper and tomato. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. 

Stir in the spices and seasoning, stir, and spoon onto the lower half of the flatbread.

Top with the crumbled feta and grated cheese.

Preheat the air fryer to 180°C and spray the basket with cooking spray. 

Bake the lower half of the flatbread in the air fryer at 180°C until the cheese has melted, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Have a look and decide if you think it has melted enough.)

Add the top half, spray the top with cooking oil spray, and air fry at 180°C until the top has turned golden and crunchy. That’s your breakfast, enjoy. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

• Childhood dreams of gender-swapping for freedom of movement evolved into a passion for anti-apartheid politics and women's rights activism.
• Inspired by courageous women leaders like Pregs Govender and Victoria Mxenge, who fought against sexist and racist oppression during apartheid.
• Reflecting on the historic 1956 Women's March and the ongoing struggle for gender equality in South Africa.
• Urging society to confront rape culture, domestic violence, and femicide with courage and collective action.

Dear DM168 reader,

When I was in Sub A at St Augustine’s Primary School opposite the Greyville racecourse in Durban (a Department of Coloured Affairs government school run by Catholic nuns), I would often dream of being a boy.

Boys in our school wore a white shirt, a navy blue tie and shorts.  We girls had to wear a white shirt, a navy-blue pleated skirt and navy-blue panties. The boys’ underpants were unseen, so I imagine they ranged from Batman undies to all the colours of the rainbow if they wished.

I watched with absolute envy how freely the boys ran around while we  had to hold our skirts down and behave like little ladies.  A feat at which I failed. Hopelessly. I was just not born to be a lady.

That little girl’s desire to gender-swap because of the denial of freedom of movement soon dissipated when I realised that I quite liked the shape and form of the body I was born with and was growing into. I could run around in shorts and T-shirts as much as I wanted to at home and during holidays.  And I found an exquisite sense of freedom in reading, writing, drawing, painting and listening to rebel music in a downstairs bedroom. My father sacrificed his study to make the room for me.

Adolescent Freedom

My sister recently reminded me of how she and my brother decided to lure me from my bedroom cave after I carved poetry on to one wall.  And painted a tropical island scene with flowing green palm fronds on which I stuck sanitary pads dripping with red paint on another. What can I say. It was my 16-year-old statement about how my idyllic freedom was being curtailed by debilitating menstrual cramps and my monthly uterine blood-letting.

I’m glad my siblings drew me out of my creative cave ­– because they introduced me to the world of anti-apartheid politics. Where I was exposed to many women and men of courage, people who shared my ideas of freedom. Not just from the sexist notions that a women’s place was to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, but also from the brutal racist strictures of apartheid.

Finding inspiring role models

Through the UDF, the Natal Organisation of Women (NOW), and our involvement in the anti-tricameral parliament campaigns, I was inspired by amazing women such as Pregs Govender, Sandy Africa,  former deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, our current speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza and lawyer Victoria Mxenge, who was shot and axed to death at her home in Umlazi on 1 August 1985.

It was through NOW that I learnt of the 20,000 courageous women, some carrying babies on their backs, who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 to hand over a petition to President JG Strijdom protesting against the National Party’s dompas (pass book), control over the free movement of black people. Strijdom was not there and ignored the petition. But, nearly 70 years later, on Women’s Day and every day I drive on Lilian Ngoyi, Sophie de Bruyn, Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph streets in Pretoria, I am reminded of the sweet victory of the women who led that march in 1956.

A country of courageous heroes and sheroes

We are a country born of courageous people, men and women, who made great sacrifices for a future they dreamt of in which we, their descendants, could be truly free to live our lives to their fullest potential.

But we are not free. Women make up 51.5% of the population but the only woman leader of a political party in Parliament is The Good Party’s Patricia de Lille. With one seat. Have we moved backward from those days when we planned protests in the NOW office? And from 1956, when women who represented the diversity of our country said no to tyranny?

Today, we are plagued by rape culture, domestic violence against women and children and a frightening rate of femicide. We all, women and men, need the courage to stop this scourge. The thing is, courage is not just about heroes and sheroes and putting our bodies on the line to make a political stand.

Why we all need to be courageous

Courage is about every one of us saying no when we mean no and yes when we mean yes. It’s about not following the herd and being what others expect us to be. It’s not about getting angry, frustrated and violent when we or those close to us cannot live up to the expectations that we think we should fulfil.

As Ted Talk star researcher and social worker Brené Brown reminds us, the word courage had a very different definition in its earliest form from the one it does today. She says courage originally meant “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart”.

For Brown: “Heroics is important and we certainly need heroes, but I think we’ve lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we’re feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage.”

Women’s Day and Month are a reminder of the value and worth of us 51.5% of the population, but  I’d like to dedicate this month to 100% of the population. All of us. Let us  us stop chasing the next big or better thing and find the courage to be who we truly are. Worthy recipients of the gift our marching ancestors bequeathed us. Freedom.

Share your thoughts

Please send your thoughts about this and anything else to [email protected] and I’d really appreciate it if those of you who read our newspaper in print or as an online e-edition could give us feedback by filling in this survey.

Get your copy of DM 168 at any retail outlet from Saturday or if you are an insider you can read the e-edition on Sunday mornings. This week’s lead story in DM168 by Rebecca Davis and Nonkululeko Njilo looks at the progress of anti-racism efforts in our public schools and the difference in the way the Western Cape and Gauteng education departments have proactively dealt with this.

Yours in defence of truth,

Heather

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.

On Thursday, 8 August 2024, SAPS confirmed that former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s former personal assistant Moroadi Cholota was escorted by Interpol and South African police officers while she was being extradited to South Africa.

Police also confirmed that a photo circulating online that showed Cholota and two SAPS members boarding a plane in the US was legitimate.

Her expected arrival at Oliver Tambo International Airport was Thursday, 8 August, at 5pm. She is likely to be arrested and formally charged.

There is a strong possibility that Cholota will appear in court on Monday, although there is no guarantee, with the National Prosecuting Authority giving no indication of when she will actually appear.

On Thursday, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenta Mathe said: “Cholota is on her way to South Africa. SAPS officials are escorting her on the flight. Once Cholota jets down at the OR Tambo International Airport she will be handed over to the Hawks.”

Faces five charges

Cholota is one of the accused, alongside former Free State Ace Magashule in the R255-million asbestos scandal, which included charges of fraud, corruption, theft and racketeering. She faces five charges, which include fraud and corruption stemming from the scandal.

The other co-accused are businessman Edwin Sodi, former director-general of national Department of Housing Thabane Zulu, as well as Nthimotse Mokhesi, Mahlomola Matlakala, Sello Radebe, Adel Kgotso Manyeki, Nozipho Molikoe, Albertus Venter, Margaret-Ann Diedericks and former MEC and Mangaung mayor Olly Mlamleli.

In addition, companies charged include Blackhead Consulting, 602 Consulting Solutions, Mastertrade 232 and Ori Group.

In 2019, Cholota spilled the beans about the asbestos contract, before the Zondo Commission into State Capture.

A clearer picture of the asbestos saga emerged when Scorpio’s Pieter-Louis Myburgh reported that a warrant of arrest had been issued for Magashule in connection with the asbestos removal contract in the Free State.

Cholota’s importance

Cholota’s testimony before the State Capture Commission in late 2019 revealed much about the intermediary role she played in requesting financial favours from people like the slain Igo Mpambani, on behalf of her boss.

She was summoned to appear before the commission after being singled out by the former MEC for Economic Development in the Free State, Mxolisi Dukwana, as one of the staffers who was privy to Magashule’s allegedly shady dealings with Mpambani.

The Bloemfontein High Court learned in November 2021 that a warrant for Cholota, who was studying in the US, had been signed. This came after she initially agreed and then refused to be a state witness in the corruption case in which Magashule is one of the accused.

Johan de Nysschen, the state advocate at the time, informed the court that Cholota was a state witness. Magashule, on the other hand, wanted her to testify for the defence.

“She is not cooperating… We’re going to charge her because there’s evidence implicating her,” the NPA said at the time.

Read more: Ace Magashule’s former assistant Moroadi Cholota’s choice: Come back voluntarily or be extradited from US

Cholota’s extradition slowed the start of the asbestos trial. The case was postponed in April 2024 after it was revealed that Cholota was being held in the US. 

Arrested in the US

Cholota was arrested in the US on 12 April 2024 and brought to court. A US court heard that South African authorities had charged her with four counts of fraud and five counts of corruption, in violation of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

Following the delay, the asbestos case was heard again in June 2024. At this point, the court ruled that the trial date would be April to June 2025, even if Cholota was not extradited by that date.

Read more: Magashule and Co will have their day in court – next year

Cholota’s extradition was approved on 7 June by Judge Erin Aslan of the Maryland District Court.

In this judgment, Aslan pointed out: “Cholota is alleged to have knowingly engaged in this scheme by using her government position to facilitate corrupt financial transactions.

“South Africa’s extradition request is accompanied by indictments, sworn statements and affidavits, a forensic audit, emails, and many other documents, all of which amply support a finding of probable cause to believe both that Cholota is the individual named in the pending South African indictment, and that she committed the charged offences.”

Cholota fought hard to stop the extradition, and her lawyer Piet Tibane said his client has requested direct and urgent access to the Constitutional Court to challenge the request to extradite her from the US.

He stated that his client wanted the Supreme Court to rule that the extradition request was invalid and unconstitutional, and that the arrest warrant should be cancelled.

On Thursday, when Daily Maverick contacted Tibane for comment, he said: “I have confirmed with the prosecution that Cholota is indeed on her way to South Africa.

“She will be processed and must appear in court within 48 hours, meaning she makes her first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Monday.” DM

• Akani Simbine secures first Olympic medal with silver in 4x100m relay, leading young South African team to success
• Simbine's blistering anchor leg run propels team from fifth to second place, just missing out on gold to Canada
• Jo-Ané van Dyk adds to South Africa's medal haul with silver in women's javelin final, achieving personal best distance
• Van Dyk's breakthrough year sees her exceed expectations and secure a memorable Olympic medal, following in the footsteps of compatriot Sunette Viljoen

After years of being the nearly-man of world athletics, 100m sprinter Akani Simbine finally has an Olympic medal as a symbol of his excellence, consistency and longevity in the sport.

On the penultimate night of action in the Olympic stadium, 30-year-old sprint star Simbine, who led youngsters Shaun Maswanganyi (23), Bradley Nkoana (19) and Bayanda Walaza (18) – Walaza is still in high school – to a silver medal in the men’s 4x100m sprint relay.

The youngsters held their own against a competitive field of athletes, but Simbine, running the anchor leg, ensured the medal for South Africa with a blistering run of 8.78s. He took the team from fifth to second in that time.

Simbine received the baton with Italy, Japan, France and Canada ahead and Great Britain tight on his heels. He managed to haul in France, Japan and Italy – as did Great Britain – but just ran out of track to catch up with Canada’s Andre De Grasse.

Canada closed in 37.50sec, South Africa in 37.57sec and team GB claimed bronze in 37.61sec.

“I’m so happy that we came out here and ran and got a medal,” Simbine said after the race. “We got the silver medal and the African record to top it up.

“Finally, I have a major championship medal. I’m hungry for more and I’m excited.”

Simbine’s athletics career has been marred by finishing just outside the top three in major championships.

At the Athletics World Championships in the 100m individual race, he has two fifth-placed finishes and one fourth.

At the Olympic Games, he finished fifth once and fourth twice — including his fourth-place finish in Paris. But with the relay silver, he has finally claimed a deserved major championship medal.

“My career has not been about the medals, it’s just been about a lot of consistency,” Simbine said.

“I’ve shown that I will always be there. I’ve shown that I will always be an athlete that steps up to the plate and that I’ll fight. My name will always be there. The medal is just the cherry on top. I’ve proven myself to the game.

“I’ve proven myself to my competitors. That for me is enough. I’m inspiring a new generation in Africa, that’s really huge, I don’t take that very lightly.

“Now I have a medal to add to that, but it doesn’t describe me.”

Javelin Jo

Team South Africa bumped up their medal haul in fine style this weekend after Jo-Ané van Dyk added to the men’s 4x100m relay team silver medal, with one of her own in the women’s javelin final.

Their feats took the country’s total medal tally to six overall with one gold, three silver and two bronze.

On Saturday evening, Van Dyk placed second with a distance of 63.93m with her third-round effort while Japan’s world champion Haruka Kitaguchi claimed gold after launching the javelin 65.80m in the first round.

Nikola Ogrodnikova of Czechia took bronze with 63.68m. None of the three medal-winning distances was particularly long, suiting Van Dyk who had thrown over 64m only once before — in the qualifying round for the final of the Olympics.

Van Dyk threw her personal best in the qualifiers with her opening throw of 64.22m. It was the best distance in her group, but four women in the other qualifying group had a greater distance.

Nonetheless, in the final, several of Van Dyk’s competitors failed to hit their straps — a distance of under 64m has not won an Olympic medal since the latest specifications were introduced in 1999.

It’s been a breakout year for Van Dyk whose best throw before 2024 was 61.61m, launched in 2022. She’s beaten that distance six times this year — including twice at the Olympic Games.

“I dreamed of it. I didn’t expect it [but] I hoped for it… I’m just still amazed.

“I knew what some of the other girls were capable of. In throwing [events], up until the last throw you can’t be sure of anything,” Van Dyk said.

“Only until the fourth girl threw I knew I was in the medals then I started thinking ‘woah I have a medal’.

“It was crazy seeing everyone in the crowd. I haven’t seen my fiancé cry ever, he cried.

“I haven’t seen my father cry except for maybe once or twice, he cried. Everybody cried. It was just amazing.

“I’m happy. I’m happy for the country and for the team.”

Van Dyk follows in compatriot Sunette Viljoen’s footsteps, having also claimed a silver medal in the event in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games. DM

• Karoo Lamb undergoes classification at the abattoir based on fat quality and other attributes.
• Standards in the agricultural industry, such as certified organic and free range, have to be paid for by private role-players.
• Setting public standards for agricultural produce is crucial for efficient markets and consumer protection.
• Enforcement and coordination of agricultural product standards can be costly and problematic for industry players.

Read Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

The Karoo Lamb that we loaded is now being slaughtered at the abattoir. There it will be classified according to the meat regulations. It may be an A1, A2, A3 or A6 lamb — depending on the fat quality, among other attributes of the meat.

In addition, for Karoo Lamb, the abattoir must verify that the lamb is from a registered farm in the Karoo (in alignment with the Karoo Lamb Geographical Indication regulations published under the Agricultural Products Standards Act).

In the agricultural industry, there are also many private standards that retailers and processors have introduced which must be paid for by private role-players. These include certified organic, natural free range and environmentally friendly.

Most of the general standards and classifications specified for different products under the Agricultural Products Standards Act, including the new regulations for Karoo Lamb, are in the public interest.

Setting standards

This dispatch will highlight some economic principles underlying the critical government function of setting public standards for agricultural produce.

Agricultural markets cannot function without institutions, what is known as the “rules of the game”. The state therefore has an important duty to ensure that institutions (the rules) are in place and enforced.

For agricultural produce and food products in general, the most important “institutions” include grading systems, food safety legislation and sanitary and phytosanitary systems. Other examples include the bylaws and rules governing municipal markets, and information systems in agricultural markets in general and the futures markets in particular.

Grades and standards in agricultural commodities and food products are vital for efficient price discovery and the functioning of markets. Setting grades and standards jointly between industry associations and the government is one matter, but more important is effective government regulation, application and enforcement of grades and standards.

Recently, it has become clear that enforcement and coordination as well as the mechanism of enforcement are problematic and costly to farmers, food processors, retailers and consumers.

Why are grades and standards in agricultural and food products important? We all know that agricultural and food products have specific attributes — you only know the quality and taste of the product when you consume it. This is referred to as “credence attributes”.

In essence, it implies that the information about the quality (or weight, size or grade) of the product is not evenly distributed between producer and consumer. The consumer will only know about the quality (and taste) after consumption and needs to be guided by classification standards or labelling to make the purchase decision. Hopefully, the Class 1 or Class A or free-range product will have the quality or taste that the consumer anticipated.

Critical areas

In addition, there are critical areas where consumers can be short-changed: The 7kg of potatoes which is actually 6.6kg; the animal carcass graded as A1 which should be A3; the “small potatoes” which turn out to be large potatoes.

The Agricultural Products Standards Act (Act 119 of 1990) (APS) regulates most agricultural produce, from dairy to meat, to fresh produce. For each product, there is a set of regulations that specify its definition, classification and grade.

Even claims on labels and packaging related to origin and production practices (such as West Coast or Free Range) need to be clearly defined by production protocols and audited.

In most countries, these regulations are enforced by well-staffed “agricultural inspection services” within the ministry of agriculture. However, in South Africa, these inspections, auditing and enforcement functions are outsourced to “assignees” who are appointed under the APS Act.

No one disputes the importance and role of the “assignees” and their functions, but for the past few years, there has been increasing discomfort about them within the agricultural industries.

Costs

Sometimes it relates to the qualification of the staff or the way the assignees got appointed, but most importantly, it revolves around the fact that the role-players in the food supply chain must pay for the inspection and auditing services of the assignees. In essence, the cost of inspection and auditing services inflates the price of the final product at the retail end and at the same time the producer earns less.

Many of our colleagues who are concerned with the increases in the retail price of food often forget about the large costs passed on to retailers, processors and farmers to comply with agricultural product standards. We estimate that the total cost added to the food supply chain in South Africa by these assignees exceeds R500-million.

Why must the role-players in the food supply chain cover these costs when it should have been the task of the state? This is a fundamental flaw in our agricultural system.

Let us illustrate how bizarre this situation is. The assignees will perform an audit or inspection at the critical points of control in the supply chain. Then they send an invoice to the retailer, packer and fresh produce market for the services performed. If they do not pay the invoice, they will be delisted as traders in the product.

More interesting, it will not be in any of the assignees’ interest to let the specific role-player fail the audit because they will be delisted and therefore not a client in the next inspection round. So, in essence, you would rather do “light inspections” to avoid losing places for invoicing. There is a conflict here.

The main point here is that there is no guarantee that the regulations on product standards are properly enforced, while the incentives and systems are not aligned and lead to opportunistic behaviour which will be to the detriment of the credibility of our product standards.

This needs to be fixed by the Department of Agriculture. DM

• Springboks overcome key player losses and yellow cards to dominate Wallabies 33-7 in Brisbane
• Lock RG Snyman's injury forces last-minute lineup changes, but Boks adapt seamlessly
• Five-try victory equals biggest winning margin in Brisbane, sets up Rugby Championship title bid
• Room for improvement noted in lineout errors, missed opportunities, and discipline issues; Boks eye Perth rematch

Not even losing two key players before kickoff, and three yellow cards in the match, could derail a good, at times even excellent, Springbok performance in Brisbane, as they thrashed the Wallabies 33-7 at Lang Park. 

Lock RG Snyman had been under an unspecified “injury niggle” despite being named in the squad. Coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed that Ruan Nortje was on standby to start. 

By Friday, it emerged that Snyman would not make the team and Nortje was elevated to the starting lineup, only to suffer injury in the captain’s run. 

With lock stocks dwindling, Pieter-Steph du Toit was asked to start at No 5, with Salmaan Moerat coming on to the bench and Ben-Jason Dixon starting at blindside flank.

The disruptions made no noticeable negative impact. The Bok scrum smashed the hapless Wallaby eight and the rejigged lineout still produced some smart variations that led to the opening try of the match for Siya Kolisi. The value of a larger 45-man squad was plain to see. 

In all, the Boks scored five tries and equalled their biggest winning margin — 26 points — in Brisbane, matching the 38-12 win at Lang Park in 2013.  

 It gave the Boks a bonus point victory and ensures that they will keep the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate. 

Read more: Time is right for Boks to end Rugby Championship title drought

Most importantly, it has set them up to win the Rugby Championship for the first time in five years. 

As Kolisi said in the build-up: “We can’t win the title here [Brisbane], but we can lose it.”

They are off to a fast start and are in the hunt now, with a rematch against the Wallabies in Perth next week to come.

Room for improvement 

While a massive win in Australia is not to be taken lightly, the Boks will feel like there is room for improvement.

They lost a couple of lineouts and squandered some try-scoring chances — especially in the first half — while their discipline also wilted. 

There were yellow cards for hooker Malcolm Marx after he hit Wallaby flank Rob Valetini high, one for flank Marco van Staden for repeated infringements and another for Jesse Kriel, who was accused of a deliberate knock-on. 

All those cards were issued by referee Luke Pearce in the final quarter and it allowed the Wallabies the chance to avoid the embarrassment of a shut out, thanks to a late Hunter Paisami try when the Bok defence simply ran out of numbers. 

But between Australia’s minor flourish at the end and the kickoff, it was pretty much all the Springboks.

The Wallabies scarcely escaped their own territory in a claustrophobic first half. Their inexperienced team found out first-hand what Springbok pressure, with and without the ball, feels like. 

Kolisi’s ninth-minute try was the least the Boks deserved from the opening salvos as they piled on set piece pressure and gratefully gobbled up the Wallabies’ inaccurate kicking. 

It was a mystery that the home team kicked away their rare attacking ball in the first half. The plan of trying to turn the Bok pack failed because their kicking game had no accuracy. Bok defenders had eons of time to deal with the aerial assault. 

The Boks, in turn, initially stuck to their strengths, keeping it close with one-off runners, but gradually they opened up.

Wrecking ball impact 

Prop Ox Nche, who scrummed with his usual wrecking ball impact, must be eating a few more salads these days because he has become a deft offloader in the tackle. 

His little out-the-back passes were worthy of the best flyhalf, adding to the general sense that this Boks team is only scratching the surface of its full potential.

Kolisi himself had a strong game, while No 8 Elrigh Louw was also eye-catching as he carried over the advantage line almost at will. Lock Eben Etzebeth popped up in the trams often to ask some really tough questions of the Wallaby defence, and Du Toit marauded with his usual manic intensity.

Read more: Glimpse of Bok future as Rassie picks Feinberg-Mngomezulu to start against Wallabies

Behind the dominant pack the backline had a foundation to excel, and they did for the most part. 

Centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel just keep maturing classily as a combination and as individuals — both bringing defensive tungsten and attacking silk.

Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, starting a Test for the first time, easily delivered the performance Erasmus was looking for with some deft touches and steely defence. His beautiful pass to a rampaging Du Toit for the game’s second try was gorgeous to behold. 

And he landed four conversions, after making a pig’s ear of his first kick — a penalty attempt from in front. 

Earlier Feinberg-Mngomezulu spliced open the Wallaby defence with a strong and silky run, which should’ve ended in a try. But instead ended down a blind alley when Willie le Roux failed to pass to the open Cheslin Kolbe outside him.

Maestros Kolbe and Arendse 

Speaking of Kolbe, is there anything he can’t do? He fed the first scrum of the match, with scrumhalf Cobus Reinach deployed to centre for the move that ended in a penalty to the Boks. Kolbe later fed a lineout with Marx in the sin bin and in between he made darting runs, accurate kicks and strong tackles. He is a rare talent. 

And in the same theme, opposite wing Kurt-Lee Arendse was magnificent again, scoring two tries, to bring his tally to 17 in 19 Tests. His first was a brilliant, jinking run through the Wallaby forwards. It looked like a speedboat cutting through oil tankers.

His second came after Kriel beat three defenders with some great stepping, before delivering another pass of high quality to put Arendse into five metres of space with 25-metres to the line. There was only ever going to be one winner as the Wallaby cover defence ate dust. 

And replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams deserves a mention because he provided some good tempo when he entered the battle. His delayed pass to put Kwagga Smith in a hole for the Boks’ fourth try — and the bonus point — was art. 

This was the start the Boks wanted and needed, and they can build from here. 

For Joe Schmidt and the Wallabies, it was a huge bucket of cold water after a July series win over Wales. The Boks are different gravy and, while the Aussies have to be realistic as they are in a rebuilding phase, the level they need to attain is some way off.

But as they say, a week in Test rugby is a long time. The Boks must remind themselves of that as they prepare for Perth. DM

Scorers:

Australia – Try: Hunter Paisami. Conversion: Tom Lynagh.

South Africa – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Kwagga Smith. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4)

• Jacob Zuma's MK party fires and replaces 20 MPs, sparking controversy and accusations of cronyism.
• National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza informs ousted MPs of party membership termination, disqualifying them from Parliament.
• Insider alleges Zuma's daughter and party chief whip orchestrated purge, claiming Zuma was unaware of the situation.
• MK party, plagued by internal conflict, promises full statement on MP removals amid speculation and concern.

Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party has sparked controversy by firing and replacing 15 Members of Parliament (MPs) just weeks after their late swearing-in on 25 July. 

The sudden and drastic purge has left many within the party fuming, with accusations of cronyism and internal power struggles coming to the fore.

Daily Maverick has seen copies of letters from National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza addressed to several of the ousted MPs.

In these letters, Didiza informs the members that she has received correspondence from the MK party’s chief whip, Sihle Ngubane, indicating that their party membership has been terminated, thereby disqualifying them from serving in Parliament.

An MK party insider alleged that Ngubane, along with Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma, orchestrated the removal of the MPs.

“They will destroy the party because they want their friends and relatives to occupy parliamentary seats,” said the member, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue. 

The insider further claimed that Jacob Zuma was unaware of the ongoing purge, suggesting a disconnect between the party’s leadership and its internal machinations.

This internal turmoil follows a pattern of instability within the MK party. At the beginning of July, then secretary-general Arthur Zwane was removed from office by Zuma, only to be recalled and fired again recently. 

Zwane had reportedly gained significant popularity among MK party supporters, a development that allegedly did not sit well with those in Zuma’s inner circle, including Sambudla-Zuma.

Read more: Flip flop – MK party has welcomed back its recently fired secretary-general, Arthur Zwane

Sambudla-Zuma has denied any involvement in the purging of party members. She has previously said that she is unfairly scrutinised because of her familial ties to the former president.

“There have been certain identified individuals of the ANC that have tried and continue to infiltrate MK party to usurp power for themselves in a plan to take over the party through strategically deployed agents, and in so doing attempt to discredit me,” she said. 

The MK party, which has been struggling to solidify its presence in South African politics, is no stranger to internal conflict. Formed by Zuma in 2023 after a fractious split from the ANC, the party has positioned itself as a defender of the values and principles of the armed wing of the ANC, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).

However, its short history has been marred by factionalism, with Zuma’s leadership often questioned by critics and supporters alike.

The party’s parliamentary spokesperson, Sipho Tyira, has remained tight-lipped about the details surrounding the removal of the MPs, but promised that a full statement would be released before Thursday evening, 8 August.

“We understand there is concern and speculation about what has transpired, and we will address this in our forthcoming statement,” Tyira told Daily Maverick.

Parliament has confirmed that it has received correspondence from the MK party “advising the Speaker of the National Assembly of its decision to remove 15 of its public representatives from the National Assembly. According to the Constitution, a person loses membership of the National Assembly if they cease to be a member of the party that nominated them to the Assembly.”

“Simultaneously, the Speaker has received email correspondence of persons on the party’s reserve list indicating their unavailability to fill any vacancies in the National Assembly. The emails were submitted through the party’s chief whip in Parliament. The Speaker is currently considering these correspondences, and a decision will be made in due course.” DM

• City Power disconnected power in Johannesburg's Northern suburbs on 22 July 2024, causing confusion and frustration among residents.
• Residents were caught off guard by the disconnections, with some claiming they received no prior notice or were unaware of arrears due to new service deposit policies.
• City officials defended the deposit policy, likening it to a landlord's security deposit, but residents like James Campbell and the Selvan family felt targeted and unfairly treated.
• Concerns about transparency and accuracy in account statements have been raised, with residents like Bryan Selvan and John Aaron experiencing discrepancies in their bills.

On 22 July 2024, City Power undertook a disconnection exercise in Johannesburg’s Northern suburbs, including but not limited to Melrose, Atholl, River Club Ext 9 and North Riding. Some customers have had their power reconnected while others remain without electricity.   

Residents told Daily Maverick that the disconnection took place without any prior notice or engagement before their bills were due on 24 July. Many of them also claimed to have not received the invoices until the point of disconnection, while some said they did not know their accounts were in arrears, or that they were in arrears due to the introduction of service deposits.

The addition of service deposits has caused particular consternation. Account holders who were disconnected said they were added days after their June accounts were issued. In July, they were shocked when City Power began disconnecting services, urging them to clear large sums of arrears.

In response to enquiries about electricity disconnections, the Member of the Mayoral Council for Finance in the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, explained the City’s policy on security deposits. He likened it to a landlord requiring a deposit to cover potential damages, stating that the City was entitled to request deposits to secure payment in case of customer default. 

He said: “This deposit is calculated and raised when a customer applies for a new service account and is included in the first invoice. The deposit is held by the City until the account is terminated, and refunded if no debts remain. Every application for services, including electricity, water, and sanitation, must be accompanied by a deposit to ensure customers honour their financial obligations,” said Morero, who is tipped to replace Kabelo Gwamanda as Johannesburg mayor.

Rude awakening

James Campbell, a resident of Atholl, said his power was recently disconnected.

“When I lost my power, I initially thought it was a transformer issue as usual until I realised that all the wires connecting electricity to my house had been cut off. Again I thought it had been vandalised until I noticed a note that was left for me by City Power saying power was cut off with a (message asking me to) please pay.”

He went to City Power’s offices in Sandown and was told that he was meant to pay R22,000 by 24 July. He normally pays about R9,000 a month for rates and electricity.

“When I asked why it was R22,000, she said when the power is cut-off ,we have to start from zero and that they have increased the deposits, which was R600 from my property, to R7,000.

“I  thought, well, yes, maybe (the deposit increase) is reasonable given that electricity has gone up over the 30 years I have had the house. I then asked why the amount was still at about R15,000 after paying the deposit and what was the other R6,000 for? I was told to pay for everything to be up to date. So I paid the R22,000 to be told reconnection would happen in 72 hours.” 

Campbell says he believes that this was a deliberate act by the City to force people to pay the higher deposits.

Similarly, Leonie and Bryan Selvan, who live in Elton Hill, faced disconnection even after proving they were not in arrears. They enquired why they were cut off despite having paid their bill, and were told “there was a lag in the delivery of the cut-off notices delivered by hand and email”. 

Bryan said that he showed the guy who was there the proof of payment, so he shouldn’t have disconnected them.

“It seems like it’s a money-making scam because these guys get paid for every person they cut off, and get paid to reconnect,” said Leonie.

Bryan said that his sister was in the same situation. She had been informed by the City’s revenue department that they were revising deposits to match two months worth of consumption. 

Bryan said his deposit, which was initially R3,679, had an additional R9,000 added in July. Reviewing past statements, he noticed his deposit had been manipulated: reduced from R5,614 to R3,679 in June, and then increased to R9,000 in July.

Despite a R15,000 payment in June, his July statement did not reflect this, showing an outstanding balance of R37,000.  He said the R9,000 added as arrears matched the new deposit amount, raising concerns about account accuracy and clarity.

John Aaron, from River Club Ext 9, said his power had also been cut off. He received a notice saying he owed R3,275.36, the equivalent of the new deposit. Aaron, however, said for him this was not the first incident.

‘Very concerned’

To date, DA councillor in Johannesburg, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, said they had received about 76 responses from people in wards 73, 74, 91, 103, 106 who had been disconnected. In some instances, they were fully paid up, on pensioners’ rebates, and some had acknowledgements of debt.

Echeozonjoku said the list had been sent to City of Johannesburg chief financial officer Tebogo Moraka.

“While the DA welcomes the City revenue collection drive, we are very concerned and disappointed regarding the disconnections where people paid in full. In some instances, the due date hadn’t arrived yet and residents were cut off, and where mistakes happened, the city is taking too long to rectify and reconnect,” said Echeozonjoku.

“In some cases, people paid but due to the deposits required are now falling in arrears, and are not given the option to pay the deposits off over time. The DA had proposed this to the City regarding the deposits to assist residents. Not many residents have R20,000+ available to pay at once.

“The City had also not sent explicit communication regarding the implementation and dates the deposits will be implemented for residents to prepare and possibly make arrangements for this.”

No water for two months 

Power is not the only service that seems to have been cut off.

Leon Kohrs told Daily Maverick that they had been cut off from Joburg Water for two months now. He said it all started with the delivery of a statement to their Birdhaven house, which was incorrectly addressed, and then shortly after the water was cut off.

He said officials didn’t explain why they cut off the water, but promised to reconnect the house within 72 hours. Kohrs said he had been surviving from water from their borehole while trying to rectify the issue.

“My many calls were ignored. In one instance the operator answered the call but took off his or her headset, placed it on the table, and continued their conversation in the office. I also tried to log calls via the SMS number, but this was ignored, and I never got a reference number. 

“Then on Saturday, my borehole had an issue. This time I managed to log a call over the phone. The technician arrived 48 hours later instead of the indicated 24 hours, and we were the only house in the area without water.

“He then told me we were cut off.  So I had to call back, but this time to the accounts department. The indication is that it should happen within 72 hours. We were still waiting today.”

Joburg defends disconnections

Morero did not respond to questions regarding residents’ complaints that their services had been disconnected without proper notification. Instead, he outlined the City’s revenue collection system and the application of deposits.

“The City is legally required to collect revenue from residents, businesses, and organisations for essential municipal services like water, electricity, sewer services, refuse collection, and property rates. The Credit Management sub-directorate under the Revenue Shared Service Centres oversees maximising revenue collection, reducing debtor growth, and improving customer experience.

He said customers were required to pay deposits equivalent to two months’ service costs.

“The policy, approved in August 2022, mandates that customers deposit an amount equivalent to two months’ average consumption upon registration. This deposit is periodically reviewed to ensure it remains sufficient. If a customer’s account becomes overdue, the City can offset the deposit against the debt and may disconnect services if the deposit is unpaid,” said Morero.

He added that certain customers, such as pensioners, those under the Extended Social Package (ESP), and properties with a market value not exceeding R500,000, are exempt from the deposit review and payment.

“Payments are allocated to the oldest debt first, followed by administrative costs, sundries, interest, and current charges. This ensures payments cover the total due amount, preventing accounts from being in arrears. The City communicated with all affected parties about the deposit inadequacy after a review and has disconnected services for those who did not respond to the adjusted deposit request.” 

In June 2024, the Johannesburg Division of the High Court ordered the City of Johannesburg and City Power to pay Eskom R1.073-billion, including interest for their unpaid electricity account, which has defaulted since October 2023.

In May 2023, reports surfaced saying City Power was allegedly broke. The City has slammed the allegation, stating they it was without any factual basis. DM

• Old Mutual survey shows South African women face more financial challenges than men, turning to multiple jobs and entrepreneurship to make ends meet.
• Covid-19 hits women harder, with highly financially stressed women surging to 60% by 2020 and remaining above 50% until 2023.
• Debra Slabber advises taking charge of finances through steps like improving financial literacy, auditing assets, maintaining a personal income statement, and paying yourself first.
• Experts recommend building a circle of trust, getting a financial adviser, and actively participating in financial planning to secure a stable retirement.

The Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor 2024 survey released last month revealed that although South African women, like men, are turning to multiple jobs and entrepreneurship to make ends meet, their financial outlook is more dire than that of men.

Before Covid-19, men and women had almost identical financial satisfaction and stress levels, but the pandemic hit women harder, the study shows. By 2020, women who were highly financially stressed surged to 60% and remained above 50% until 2023.

Men who were highly stressed shifted down more rapidly from 57% in 2020 to below 50% by 2022.

Debra Slabber, portfolio specialist at Morningstar South Africa, says it’s possible to take charge of your finances and set yourself up for financial freedom with just a few easy steps.

Improve your financial literacy

Financial knowledge is power. In this information age, financial tips, how-to guides, white papers, thought leadership articles, templates, videos, podcasts, news sites (such as Daily Maverick) and books are widely available online, at little to no cost. Don’t be intimidated, just start. Your financial knowledge can be greatly improved, one article at a time.

Audit your assets and liabilities

Slabber recommends that you start by getting to grips with your own financial situation. “Set up a list of all your assets – investment accounts, property, money in the bank, etc – and make a list of all your outstanding debt, for example, what you still owe on your house, car, credit card, clothing accounts, etc. Try to pay off debt as soon as possible,” she advises.

Maintain a personal income statement

Knowing what you are spending your money on versus what you are earning monthly is crucial for financial success. Make a list of all your monthly expenses – fixed and variable – and keep track of them.

They say it takes three weeks to build a habit, so try this and soon you will pick up trends in your spending behaviour and single out unnecessary expenses.

“Consider auditing which expenses may need a refresh. For example, do you need all those subscriptions, and can you negotiate a better deal with your insurance company?” she suggests.

One of the simplest ways to set up a budget today is by using online tools. There are many free budgeting tools available online or via an app on your phone.

If the budgeting app requests permission to access your bank account, however, be cautious about what permissions you grant. Several of the bigger banks now offer budgeting capabilities via their apps, which may be more secure than using an external app.

Pay yourself first

Paying your expenses first and then trying to save what is left almost never works – particularly now, when most consumers across all income bands are battling increasing costs. If you set up a debit order for your savings, you don’t have to make much effort and you won’t miss money you never saw.

“There are many different vehicles available to save, whether you open just a simple tax-free savings account or have an emergency savings account that is easily accessible, or through a retirement product like a retirement annuity,” Slabber says.

On this point, Janice Masencamp, head of retirement fund consulting at financial advisory firm NMG Benefits, points out that starting early allows more time for your savings to grow through compound interest. “Despite immediate financial pressures, it is crucial to make retirement saving an indispensable part of your monthly budget,” she advises.

Build a circle of trust

Get a financial adviser to help you with your financial planning, getting your investments into the right products for tax efficiency and ensuring that they are suitable for your unique circumstances. Surround yourself with people you can trust and talk openly with about finances.

Masencamp warns against deferring financial decisions to your spouse or partner. “This can be detrimental. It is essential for women to participate in all financial planning aspects actively, including understanding household spending, savings, investments and the status of retirement funds.”

Read more: Running out of money every month? Here’s how to create a practical spending plan

Read more: The best two ways a young investor can start saving for retirement

Masencamp emphasises the unique challenges that many women face in retirement. “Many view retirement as a time to relax, but for women it often brings financial stress, especially if they are retiring early or caring for an elderly spouse.

“A comprehensive retirement plan and a disciplined savings regime are crucial to ensure sufficient retirement funding without having to continue working part-time or having to rely on friends and relatives.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Gold remains a popular choice for portfolios concerned about inflation and currency depreciation, but the debate continues on whether buying the commodity or mines is the better investment strategy.
• AngloGold shines with impressive earnings growth, while Gold Fields struggles with a significant drop in profits due to operational challenges and lower volumes.
• Mantengu Mining faces uncertainty with the Birca Copper deal, while Copper 360 and Orion Minerals make positive strides in their respective projects.
• Glencore's decision to retain its coal and carbon steel assets surprises the market, highlighting the complexities of ESG considerations in the mining industry.

All that glitters … or not

Over the years, gold has managed to hold its own as a useful inclusion in portfolios that are worried about things like inflation and depreciation of fiat currencies. Many wise souls point out that buying the commodity is superior to buying the mines.

I’ve looked at this before and I’m not sure I agree that buying the commodity beats buying a basket of mines, as well-run mines should achieve operating leverage – earnings growth in excess of revenue growth.

I do fully agree that buying one mining group to take a view on gold is a dangerous pursuit, with Gold Fields doing an excellent job of reminding us of this.

For context of what might have been, AngloGold went first this week with earnings for the six months to June. With production up 2% year-on-year and cash costs per ounce dropping slightly, AngloGold did what it could to take advantage of a period in which average gold prices were roughly 13.5% higher for the group. Ebitda was thus 65% higher and Heps made a ridiculous jump of nearly 430%. When mining works, it works beautifully.

Alas, Gold Fields got none of that benefit. In a trading statement for the six months to June, the company delivered the highly disappointing news that Heps will be down by between 25% and 33% for the period. Unable to take advantage of the better gold prices because of a 20% drop in volumes, Gold Fields demonstrated many of the risks of the mining industry. The underlying operations struggled with issues ranging from the weather to mine-specific challenges. The company is expecting a better second half of the year.

Over five years, AngloGold is up 76% and Gold Fields is up 231%, so don’t be too quick to bestow greatness upon AngloGold. Year-to-date, though, AngloGold is up 54% and Gold Fields is up 8%. Single stocks are risky things.

Interesting week for mining

There was plenty of news in mining in the past week.

Mantengu Mining had the most unusual news of the week, with the Birca Copper deal hanging in the balance. Details have emerged that put the survival of that entity in doubt, with Mantengu subsequently announcing that it has managed to directly acquire the key mining right that was initially destined for Birca Copper. The lawyers are going to be busy there.

Copper 360 has declared the maiden reserve at Rietberg Copper Mine, with reserves up 50% versus the previously declared resource. Over at Orion Minerals, the company has been granted prospecting rights over a certain area at the Okiep Copper Project, marking another milestone for the group. Jubilee Metals, focused on copper in Zambia, also had great news to share, with operations commencing at the Roan front-end upgrade project.

There is a lot going on in copper, with the PGM industry out in the cold. Impala has re­­ported a cataclysmic drop in Heps of between 86% and 90% for the year ended June. PGM prices have plummeted at a time when the group should be enjoying the benefit of the Royal Bafokeng acquisition. Ouch.

Glencore stole the show, though, with the news that it will be keeping its “dirty” coal and carbon steel assets. After engagement with shareholders on ESG considerations, it turns out that some practicalities have found their way into the ESG narrative. The planned split of Glencore into a transition metals group and a dirty group isn’t going to happen. Glencore reminded the market that it will implement its Climate Action Transition Plan in any case. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

Four things make these air fryer toasted chicken mayo sandwiches a bit different from the rest: one slice of bread is spread with mayonnaise, the other with mustard; there is thyme in the chicken mix, and grated cheese appears both in the middle of the sandwiches and as a golden crust on top. But, while Croques Monsieur are fried in a pan (really), these are designed for your air fryer.

I like what the fresh thyme adds: a garden-fresh herbiness to contrast with the mustard and the tang of the mayonnaise. And though the mayo is a key element of the recipe, the inclusion of mustard and thyme means it is not dominant. Every flavour gets a chance to shine. And the one-dimensionality of your standard chicken mayo toastie is conquered.

All air fryers differ in settings and size, but as a guide I started to cook them in the Instant Vortex Plus 5.7 litre air fryer on the air fryer setting, which defaults to 180°C, then switched to the grill setting, which is 205°, but 200°C would suffice if that’s your top temperature.

This recipe relies on your having had chicken for supper the night before, unless you actually want to cook chicken especially for chicken mayo sandwiches. Which I doubt.

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A true Croque Monsieur is made of ham, cheese and Dijon mustard, with béchamel: here’s my recipe for those. 

Like the Croque Monsieur, these are made with ordinary old store-bought bread. I find that bread that is slightly beyond its soft freshness is best; they firm up and get nicely toasty. Here’s the recipe…

(Quantities variable depending on how many you’re making)

Ingredients

2 slices of day-old white household bread per sandwich

Butter or canola margarine for spreading the top sides of the bread

1 heaped Tbsp decent quality mayonnaise per slice

1 scant Tbsp mustard per slice

1 cup of cooked mayo strips per 2 sandwiches (½ cup for 1)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp picked thyme leaves

¾ cup grated cheese per sandwich, and more for the top

Cooking oil spray

Method

In a bowl, mix the shredded chicken with salt, black pepper and picked thyme leaves.

Lay the bread slices out on a plate or board. 

Spread the top sides with butter or marge, then top alternative slices with mayonnaise, and the others with mustard. The mayo one will be at the bottom, the other on top. The sides spread with mayo and mustard must both be face up.

The elements, bottom to top, in order, are: bread, butter/marge, mayo, chicken, cheese, bread (with the buttered side down this time), mustard, cheese.

Share the chicken between the two mayo slices, pressing down.

Sprinkle about ½ a cup of the grated cheese on the mayo slices, leaving the remainder for the top.

Place the other slices on top, mustard up, and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.

Preheat the air fryer to 180°C.

Cook at 180°C until you can see that the cheese has melted and is just starting to brown.

Turn the heat up to 200°C and continue cooking. Check now and then and decide when the browning of the cheese looks right. That means they’re ready. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.

• Russia sends military reinforcements to confront Ukrainian forces in Kursk region
• Second LNG tanker docks at US-sanctioned Russian terminal
• President Zelensky urges allies to support Ukraine's deep strikes into Russian territory
• Russia hits back at incursion, missile kills two near Kyiv

Russia dispatched military reinforcements to confront Ukrainian forces in an ongoing battle in its western Kursk region.

A second liquefied natural gas tanker has docked at an export terminal in northern Russia that’s subject to US sanctions, satellite images show.

Russia hits back at incursion, missile kills two near Kyiv

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory as his troops continue to hold the ground gained in a surprise cross-border incursion last week and a missile attack killed two near Kyiv.

Russia’s defence ministry said its troops fired on Ukrainian soldiers in the western Kursk region in a bid to repel the first foreign incursion on its territory since World War 2. The ministry said on Sunday it downed four missiles and 35 drones over Kursk and neighbouring regions overnight.

Moscow said earlier it was bringing in reinforcements to help quell Ukraine’s surprise cross-border attack — the biggest assault within Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered a supposedly quick “special military operation” against Ukraine in 2022 that’s now well in its third year.

Officials in Kyiv have been tight-lipped about their goals, as they were during counteroffensives in 2022 and 2023. Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday that army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was keeping him informed about “our actions to push the war out into the aggressor‘s territory” without offering more details.

Zelensky thanked his forces for creating “the kind of pressure that is needed — pressure on the aggressor.”

Russia struck several regions of Ukraine overnight with four North Korean ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. Explosions were heard from the nation’s west to east.

The KN-23 missiles were fired from the Voronezh region of Russia, Oleshchuk said, adding that Ukraine shot down 53 drones.

Read more: North Korea’s economy rebounds as Kim-Putin ties fuel arms trade

The US and South Korea have accused North Korea of sending millions of rounds of munitions and scores of ballistic missiles to Russia to aid in the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow and Pyongyang have denied despite evidence showing arms shipments taking place.

A residential building in the Brovary district east of the capital was destroyed in the overnight attack, killing a father and his four-year-old son and seriously injuring at least three others, regional authorities said.

Russian troops continued to press along the frontline in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and have also been storming positions in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, the General Staff in Kyiv said on Sunday.

Ukrainian officials have complained that delays in the arrival of promised Western aid are allowing the Kremlin to make grinding progress against an army already stretched by a lack of weapons and manpower.

While Kremlin ground forces have made slow gains in recent months, Ukraine has increasingly targeted military objects and energy infrastructure — often deep into Russia — with drones and missiles.

Read more: Russian army chief blamed for failings over Ukrainian incursion

Russia says army still fighting to repel Ukrainian incursion

Russia dispatched military reinforcements to confront Ukrainian forces in an ongoing battle in its western Kursk region.

The Defence Ministry in Moscow said Saturday that tanks had “taken up firing positions” against Ukrainian troops, whose surprise cross-border operation is the biggest assault on Russia since Putin ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine in a “special military operation” aimed at taking days or weeks.

Artillery and air strikes were deployed to prevent Ukrainian attempts to “break through deep into Russian territory” in the region, the ministry said in a Telegram statement.

Russia’s Federal Security Service announced a “counter-terrorism” regime in Kursk and the neighbouring Belgorod and Bryansk border regions on Saturday, a move that allows for restrictions on movement. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that was a response to Ukraine’s “unprecedented attempt to destabilise the situation.”

Putin looked grim-faced at a regular meeting of his Security Council on Friday, though he offered no comment on the crisis that’s spiralling into the most serious wartime challenge to the Kremlin since last year’s short-lived mutiny by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prighozin.

Russia’s air defences downed 26 drones overnight in the Kursk region and another six over the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, the Defence Ministry said on Telegram.

The Emergencies Ministry has evacuated more than 76,000 residents from border areas in the Kursk region in response to the fighting, the state-run Tass news service reported Saturday. Authorities in Moscow declared a federal emergency in the region on Friday.

While much of the situation on the battlefield remained unclear, Russian military bloggers reported Ukrainian advances as deep as 37km into the Kursk region.

A video posted on social media appeared to show a column of at least a dozen Russian troop vehicles that had been destroyed in the Rylsk district. The footage couldn’t be independently verified.

Zelensky convened a meeting of his war council on Friday to hear military reports on “our defensive actions in the directions from which Russia launched attacks on” Ukraine, in a post on the X social media platform.

In his regular video address to Ukrainians later, Zelensky hinted at the progress of his military by thanking troops for “ensuring replenishment of the swap fund” in capturing Russian soldiers as prisoners of war, saying “it has been especially productive in the past three days”.

In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, bordering Kursk and other Russian regions, officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of as many as 20,000 residents from a 10km zone under fire.

The spectacular operation in Kursk is a boost for Ukrainian army Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, who’s faced criticism over his leadership, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta research institute in Kyiv, in a Facebook post.

“We have been waiting for something like this for a long time,” Fesenko said.

Second LNG tanker seen docking at sanctioned Russian facility

A second liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has docked at an export terminal in northern Russia that’s subject to US sanctions, satellite images show.

The ship’s appearance and length of about 290m matches the Asya Energy, according to satellite images from Planet Labs. Its arrival follows the apparent export of the Arctic LNG 2 plant’s first cargo earlier this month on another ship that also concealed its true location and was owned by the same India-based company.

The Asya Energy is part of a suspected “dark fleet” of LNG vessels Moscow is setting up to carry gas to willing buyers, similar to a group of ships assembled to carry Russian oil. Traders are still closely tracking the Pioneer — the first tanker to dock at the Arctic facility, which had been struggling to start exports due to Western restrictions — as it heads toward Europe.

The US imposed sanctions in November to prevent the start of exports from Arctic LNG 2. While the facility began production in December, it was unable to begin shipping fuel as sanctions deterred foreign companies and stopped delivery of specialised, ice-ready carriers. DM

• Manufacturing output fell by 5.2% year-on-year in June, reflecting political uncertainty before the Government of National Unity (GNU) was established.
• Q2 performance not disastrous with a 0.9% growth in the sector compared to the previous three months, offering hope for a positive contribution to GDP.
• Absa PMI rose to 52.4 in July, indicating a strong start to Q3 for manufacturing, bolstered by reduced political risk and stable electricity supply.
• Concerns linger over global economic downturn impacting demand, but potential for brighter outlook if GNU addresses state failures.

Manufacturing output fell by 5.2% year on year in June, said Statistics South Africa, underscoring how political uncertainty that month weighed on activity before the Government of National Unity (GNU) was in place.

This followed a 1.2% year-on-year slump in May when political jitters were setting in ahead of the election, a state of affairs which took the shine off Eskom’s stellar performance.

However, a 5.0% annual rise in April means that Q2 will not be a train smash. In the three months to the end of June on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous three months, output in the sector grew by a marginal 0.9% — at least according to the preliminary data, which could be revised.

As things stand, manufacturing will make a marginally positive contribution to the Q2 GDP read, raising hopes that a recession has been averted after the economy shrank by 0.1% in Q1.

It’s still hardly a bed of roses.

“Despite improved operating conditions, demand is just not there,” Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, told Daily Maverick.

There are some green shoots for the current quarter.

The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose by 6.7 points in July to 52.4 from 45.7 in June, bringing it back into positive territory and signalling a solid start to Q3 for the manufacturing sector.

Read more: Absa PMI bounces back to positive levels in July, signalling solid manufacturing start to Q3

The GNU was firmly in place in July — greatly reducing political risk concerns — and Eskom managed to keep the lights on during the last full month of winter. There were and still are local outages but no nationwide rolling blackouts to prevent a grid collapse.

Still, there are headwinds on the horizon, notably concerns that the US economy — the world’s largest — could be sinking into a downturn, which will have serious consequences for global demand.

But if the GNU can stay in place and start reversing the multiple failures of the South African state, then at least the domestic economic environment for manufacturing is looking brighter. DM

• Notes from dining at Home Suite Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg: Crispy black pepper squid, Norwegian salmon with teriyaki sauce, and garlic-lime emulsion.
• Honest appraisal of the restaurant: Small, calm, and quiet setting, unlike the bustling eateries of Johannesburg.
• Chef Frank Mwase's new menu offerings and attentive service at the unnamed restaurant.
• Memorable dining experience with playful interactions and a relaxed atmosphere.

My iPhone app notes, tapped out between mouthfuls, tell the story. Crispy black pepper squid. Taste the pepper. Also tastes of herbs, very pleasantly. Very crispy thin coating. Heads and tiny tentacles too. Garlic and lime emulsion so garlicky, so creamy. Norwegian salmon. Dreamy teriyaki sauce. Crispy skin, so yummy.

Where could I be? This is the Home Suite Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg. There’s one in Sea Point, Cape Town too, and they have a trade arrangement with Daily Maverick that sees your intrepid investigative reporters and hotshot political analysts (and the occasional food writer) staying in their inns. They invited TGIFood to try out the food at the restaurant at their Rosebank, Jozi, location.

But, there’s no pandering here: those are, verbatim, my notes to myself while dining at Home Suite Rosebank’s cute lobby restaurant. When approached, I readily agreed to write the place up, as it gave me an opportunity to give something back; they look after us so well when we stay there, and I don’t know about my colleagues but I happen to be on first-growl terms with the two lobby dogs, Hazel and her new other half Maggie, who adore me as much as I do them. Maybe because, last year, I treated Hazel to lunch. 

So, even though I was a guest, and had agreed to dine there and write about the food, my notes tell you that I was genuinely impressed with the food, so we can proceed from there in the knowledge that this is not fawning copy; it’s my honest appraisal.

Is it even a restaurant? It has no name. The legend *Larder is affixed to the striking green tiles of the far wall, but it is only pointing guests to the honesty bar. You can literally pour yourself whiskys, gins and wine and leave the cash for your choices. But staff are usually on hand and are always ready to serve your drinks, so in all honesty on both of my two stays I have never needed to help myself.

It is, therefore, nothing like any of the restaurants that Joburgers go to. The grand, opulent, crowded, insanely busy places that with few exceptions are busier every night than most of the Cape equivalents. Only a couple of handfuls of the city’s masses of diners could fit in, in any event. And Joburgers go out all the time. There are people in that city, and not a few by any stretch, who dine out every single night of the week. Cape Town should be so lucky. (I wish it was, it is still my home city, sort of, even though we moved away 10 years ago. I adore the place and it always will be.)

Guaranteed calm and quiet

Who would dine here, other than the hotel guests? Well, that tiny size means one thing: it is possibly the only eatery in the city where you are guaranteed the calm and quiet that comes with its small scale. I didn’t count the chairs but in my mind’s eye I can picture three or four tables along one wall, and three along the other. Plus a big round table near the open kitchen that could seat six. So, there’d be comfortably no more than 20-odd people with you if it were full.

After having dined out lavishly the night before and for lunch that day, I was ready for a “night in”. But I had to push the boat out because I needed to try more than just one starter and main course if I was to get a proper idea of things. So I had a chat with chef Frank Mwase and explained that I would be pretending I was eating there for two nights in a row, so he shouldn’t be concerned if much that was on my plates went back to the kitchen. Make Frank Mwase’s Burrata Salad here.

Which became something of a meme through the evening, with me saying “that’s for the kitchen staff” and insisting that they take advantage. I don’t know if they did, if it would be frowned upon, or even allowed, but I did see lots of happy, laughing countenances and the occasional inquisitive face appear in the glass panel of the kitchen door.

Calm presence

Everything on the menu was new, Frank told me. Head Chef Megan du Toit was not there, due to private matters, but Frank looked after me very well. He is a meticulous chef with a quiet charm, just the right kind of calm presence that a place like this needs.

I was urged to try the crispy black pepper squid and the eggplant parmesan. If these were what “the kitchen” fancied tasting, I can’t blame them. The garlic-lime emulsion with the squid was sublime, the squid super crunchy, and a generous portion. The kitchen staff loved it. (I presume.)

You can see it in the photo: the Eggplant Parmesan (melanzane parmigiana) was every bit as good as it looked, even more so. Just what I hoped for, fabulous. I realised, then, that Frank Mwase is a gifted cook who understands the classics and the basics of good cooking.

Asked for two main course recommendations, Mwase went straight to the pan-seared Teriyaki Norwegian Salmon and the Beef Wellington.

The salmon was succulent, crispy, moist at the centre (correctly), sticky with that dreamy teriyaki sauce, and great accompaniments too. What would you pay for that at a top city grillhouse, I wondered… here you pay R280, which for Norwegian salmon is, I’m sure, much less than you’d pay elsewhere. (If you’re not from Joburg, you won’t be accustomed to Jozi restaurant prices; you pay that for certain starters at some of the fancy establishments.)

A proper test of a chef

Beef Wellington is a proper test of a chef, even at the highest echelon. Mwase turned out a Wellington that was spectacularly good. Perfectly done beef, so soft, utterly delicious; textbook crispy pastry. Delightfully moreish sauce. Top marks, chef.

Okay, a confession. I was so tired at this point that I forgot to photograph the dessert, Honey Bee. I made a mild stab at morsels of the burnt honey crème, the honey phyllo, pineapple wafers and lovely shortbread crumble, but after the tiniest of tastes I was happy to make the kitchen happy. I’m sure they were. 

On the last morning I went down for breakfast, and such a refreshing brekker menu: a range of smoothies, assorted quiches, various bagels (I had smoked salmon with cottage cheese, tomato and rocket), “loaded oats” (topped with toasted coconut, banana and berries).

Two variations of Eggs Benedict (which I never order, anywhere, any more, having been disappointed so many times), French toast, a Home Suite waffle, fruity and creamy with granola, and omelettes. I saw that one of the chefs was cooking hot breakfasts to order, but I was in a hurry to get to the airport, so nibbled at the edges of the bagel, for form’s sake.

Hazel and Maggie got pats on the head on my way out to the uber. I got winks and doggy-kisses in return.

Thank you, Home Suite family. And that includes you, Hazel and Maggie, you gorgeous things. DM

The world’s economics is about to be jolted, back from Aristotle and through the Middle Ages – when “the science of the human being in society” was not about making money, but rather about working and living together well in accordance with the good. 

Economics is often about the distribution of scarce resources and determines how we locate, measure and create value. Economics bears better fruit when it takes into account the breadth of these resources, namely time, food, water, wealth, faith, love, hope, integrity, respect and kindness. 

It is about attractive visions of the future, relationship networks, ecological resources and ensuring that both the advancement of and advantage to one person need not be at the expense of the other. 

It is about confronting head-on questions that today can no longer be avoided – not as a disengaged lone warrior living in your own time but as a part of a millennial tradition enacting life within a much larger framework. 

It is much more than ethical, sustainable and just economics, but encompasses our view of humanity – the innermost being of the individual – which in turn determines how we structure our interdependent economic, social, ecological, cultural and political systems. 

It is about releasing both better humans and a more humane economy that consequently takes the whole of creation into account. It is life to the people. 

Economics must answer the deepest questions of all, namely, how did Adam Smith’s economics – the moral philosopher and father of modern economic theory – undergo two important shifts that would transform economics fundamentally to take on as its objective, the rational, autonomous, self-interested individual and the discipline to cease to ask questions about what is good but preferring to ask questions about what is useful – thus becoming a utilitarian science concerned mainly with the increase of utility which in practice meant wealth?

Thus, economics became narrowly focused on formalising and measuring utility – to maximise the satisfaction that individuals derive from consuming goods and services – aiming to imitate the new science of physics, whose predictive successes impressed everyone. 

The notion of economics is one of a more relational, social and public economy as opposed to only the individualistic paradigm – concerned with public, not individual happiness. 

What does ‘a better life for all’ really mean?

What it is to be truly human, what kind of society do we actually want to live in, what does “a better life for all” really mean to us, can as many other people as possible participate in the economy and how come the profit (critical as it is) motive is such a defining characteristic of today’s economic thinking? 

It is not just what other people do, and does not concern only corporations, banks, senior executives and start-ups.

A holistic and integral view of economics is that all of us can contribute to the household with our sweat equity, skills and talents. 

A healthy society needs a strong economy, and a strong economy needs a healthy society. It is both high-level and strategic on the one hand and pragmatic and practical on the other. 

Capitalism’s absolute belief in the market has become a religion.

The market – a place of genuine human encounter – is there for us, not us for the market, which is a totally independent higher being that decides and regulates but is no one other than ourselves, as a source of inspiration, strength and well-grounded hope, who describe, define and shape it.

There is an increasing conflation of the economy, culture and society so that the market economy suddenly becomes a market society where economic principles and values inordinately dominate all areas of life such as religion, politics, culture, environment, safety, peace, education, healthcare, history, philosophy and the arts. 

Systemic failure

Nature, environmental and climate crises are not due to humanity’s failings, but the failure of the economic system as a whole. The crises are rooted in the way our systems are structured and are in the process of both creating an uninhabitable world and destroying the future – where as much as half of humanity may not have a home in 50 years. Because of their centrality in generating and solving these crises, the crises must be integrated into society’s solid institutions giving real life. 

These crises are global crises of primarily social justice, relationships, social inequality and poverty. 

The lack of nation building, social cohesion and community life fosters instability and leaves a void within the human soul. 

Society has destroyed the social, cultural and spiritual capital that has been accumulated over generations, and as a consequence, young people are poorly equipped to deal with their inner life. 

All of us live within a geoeconomic and sociopolitical architecture that constrains the kinds of choices  – recycle more, use public transportation, take fewer flights, eat less meat, etc – we can realistically make, no matter how hard we individually try beyond giving up smoking. Therefore, a full appreciation of how differentiated responsibilities are is critical both to social justice and to understanding realistic solutions. 

Business that has colluded in the suppression of green innovation and continues to benefit from a system that limits the choices of customers has more responsibility than citizens who are not sovereign, rational and totally free agents. 

Extraction and burning more fossil fuels is inimical to a liveable future. This is the same way that the abolition of slavery was predicated on the appreciation that a civilised society is one in which there is no such collective system as a market for human beings and appealed not just to the individual slave owner’s conscience, morality and higher values to make them give up their individual slaves. 

Built-in values

Values need to be built into the system, which has been transformed so as to absolutely eliminate the commodification of human life. There is a problem, and it is not sustainable when your own employees can’t afford the goods and services that you provide. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer opines that “the ultimate responsible question is not how I extricate myself heroically from a situation but how a coming generation is to go on living”. 

Therefore, what is asked of us is to make sure that we set up our economy and society in such a way that it will still be suitable for future generations. 

Paradoxically, the most important lesson is that we have to see the environment not as competition but as a source of possible partners for cooperation and collaboration. 

Those who generously share ideas, approaches and reflections as well as paint a compelling, clear and attractive picture of the future can invite others to join them in embarking on a journey and will, therefore, find many partners.

Trust is the one success factor that we often overlook – where one’s word and a handshake count much more than a contract and save trouble, time and money. 

Trust is based on lived values. Business is, therefore, not just about profit maximisation, obsession with shareholders’ returns and creating value only in terms of money, but is also about a much broader stakeholder community, shared value and a community of values and of common resources. 

Community

This is about the graduation from a risk of being exploited by a few to one that has the potential to provide a better quality of life to a greater multitude of people; from an economic system that has been designed to protect us from risk and from each other to one where we trust more in human beings than contracts and laws – where the community has value and people can interact face to face despite the risks such interactions entail. 

It is ultimately about common purpose and greater good. It is now time to repurpose economics integrally and get back to its core – where all are celebrated and not just tolerated. It calls for a compelling vision, environmental and social justice and a new moral imagination focused on both the meaning and dignity of human life. 

We must rediscover the abundant power of economics as an aspect of political and moral philosophy and, therefore, a humanistic discipline “to order our life together in society”; to restore all our society’s virtues; to build inclusive economic growth and meaningful economic participation by all; to shape life and society for the common good and a greater purpose.

Business is especially well equipped to lead wisely; to identify completely with human nature itself where it does not take, but regularly gives, because sometimes generosity is needed more than a cost-benefit analysis; and to serve as a resource for the universe and a new humanism to renew our collective imagination about who we are as human beings, our language of value and our vision of the good for everyone.

We must look beyond ourselves and beyond our own house. Kings lead, establish order and regulate the chaos. DM

• Retirement age flexibility: You can access your preservation fund from age 55, not just at 65 as initially planned.
• Tax benefits: Consider a tax-free withdrawal of R25,000 and lower capital gains tax on income from lump sum withdrawals.
• Life annuity considerations: Long bond rates impact income, with a 58-year-old locking in a return of 11% for life.
• Joint life annuities: Options available for non-spouse beneficiaries, but seek specialist advice for long-term financial planning.

Question: I’ll be turning 58 in just over a week. I have my pension money in a preservation fund until age 65. Here are two questions I have:

1. I would like to draw an income, but as I only turn 65 in seven years’ time, is a life annuity recommended?
2. Can a life annuity be structured to include a beneficiary who is not a spouse?

Answer: Even though you set a retirement date of 65 when you took out your preservation fund, you may retire from that fund at any stage from the age of 55. As you are 58, you may retire from this fund immediately.

If you have not made a withdrawal from this preservation fund, you may take out R25,000 as a tax-free withdrawal. This is advantageous, as any income from this lump sum will only be taxed as a capital gain, which is taxed at a lower rate.

If you then retire from this fund, you may take out up to one-third as a lump sum and the balance must be used to buy an annuity. The lump sum that you take will be taxed according to a special table for lump-sum withdrawals from a pension fund.

Life annuity

There are a few factors that play a key role when it comes to calculating the amount of income you can get from a guaranteed life annuity. The two key variables are the prevailing long bond rates and your age.

The long bond rates have been decreasing over the past few weeks, but they are still significantly above pre-Covid levels.

We do not know what they will be like in seven years’ time if you retire at 65.

To illustrate the impact age makes, here is an example of a 58-year-old versus a 65-year-old investing R1-million in an annuity:

Although you would get a higher initial annuity at 65, the life annuity is still good value for a 58-year-old, as you are locking in a return of 11% for the rest of your life.

If you invested in a living annuity, you should be drawing down no more than 4% a year as a 58-year-old. So, for a R1-million investment, a sustainable monthly income would be about R3,300 as opposed to the R6,500 that a life annuity would give you.

Joint life annuities

You can take out a joint life annuity that will pay out an amount until the last person dies.

You can have a joint life annuity with someone who is not your spouse. Remember that the starting pension will be impacted by the age and gender of the second life. If the second life is younger than you are, or if the second life is a woman, the starting pension would also be lower because women live longer than men.

When the first person dies, you can have the annuity remain the same or reduce to 50% or 75% of the current amount. The size of the decrease will have an impact on the starting amount that you receive.

You need to ensure that you have sufficient income to meet your long-term needs. Remember that one in 10 of us is going to live to 100, so your pension must be robust enough to last for another 40 years. I would recommend that you get some specialist advice before making any big decisions. DM

Kenny Meiring is an independent financial adviser. Contact him on 082 856 0348 or at financialwellnesscoach.co.za. Send your questions to [email protected].

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Jordan’s King Abdullah II urges de-escalation in the Middle East to prevent regional war
• Israel fortifies power supplies amid heightened risk of attacks from Iran and proxies
• Iran’s president discusses Gaza conflict and nuclear deal with EU’s Michel
• Iran warns of retaliation against Israel, expresses willingness to restart nuclear deal negotiations

Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East to prevent a full-out regional war.

Faced with the heightened risk of attacks from Iran or its proxies in the region, Israel is diversifying and fortifying its power supplies.

Iran’s president, EU’s Michel talk about Gaza, nuclear deal

Iran’s president warned a senior European official about Israel’s war on Gaza while also indicating Tehran’s willingness to restart negotiations over a 2015 nuclear agreement.

In a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday, Masoud Pezeshkian described Israel as a significant threat to regional and global peace and security, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna).

“The double standards of the US and some Western countries have made the Zionist regime more insolent,” Pezeshkian was cited as saying by Irna.

The remarks come in the wake of accusations from Iran that Israel was behind the recent assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran has vowed retaliation.

The Iranian president also “discussed ways to resume negotiations” to restore the nuclear deal, which was scrapped by the Trump administration in 2018 and has since remained in limbo.

“If both sides honour all their commitments and trust is built, other issues can also be discussed in addition to reviving the nuclear agreement,” said Pezeshkian.

The deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for some sanctions relief.

Jordan’s king calls for de-escalation of tensions in region

Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East to prevent a full-out regional war.

Jordan would not be a battleground for any party and would not tolerate any threats to the lives of its people, the king also said at a meeting in Amman with a delegation of US Congress staffers,  according to an emailed statement by the Royal Hashemite Court.

The region would remain vulnerable to an expansion of the conflict that threatened its stability as long as the war on Gaza continues, said the king.

Israel bolsters infrastructure defence amid Iranian attack risks

Mayors have battery-backed sirens ready, first responders got satellite phones and old-fashioned transistor radios could be an information lifeline if people need to move into shelters.

Faced with the heightened risk of attacks from Iran or its proxies in the region, Israel is diversifying and fortifying its power supplies. Maintaining continuous power is particularly important for the economy, which is so reliant on technology that the country has earned the nickname “Start-Up Nation.”

While there are few signs of panic — the nation already withstood a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran in April and has endured regular attacks from its proxies to the north and south for months — authorities are preparing for the worst, including stockpiling alternative fuels for power plants should regular supplies be disrupted.

“We purchased infinite quantities,” said Tamar Fekler, vice-president for operations, logistics and security at the Israel Electric Corporation, the largest supplier of electrical power in the country.

Since the 7 October surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group designated a terrorist organisation by the US, the IEC has built on-site defences at its power plants, said Fekler.

Offshore gas rigs have been at risk of attacks from Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia also backed by Iran and also deemed a terrorist group by the US. In the event of an all-out war in the north, Israel would decide on rig shutdowns on a case-by-case basis, making it unlikely for a complete closure to take place quickly, an Israeli official familiar with the matter said.

Even a short-lived power outage could make it difficult to keep the Israeli public up to date with events. That prompted authorities to fit backup diesel generators or lithium batteries to more than half of the cellular telephone masts in northern Israel, including in the port city of Haifa. In the commercial capital Tel Aviv, dozens of masts are plugged into the generators of nearby businesses or municipal facilities.

Authorities see added caution as justified, as tensions run high with Iran and its allies. A deadly strike near a Gaza school on Saturday, where Israel said a Hamas command centre was located, drew international criticism for the casualties it caused.

Hours later, Iran reiterated its pledge to avenge the recent death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The Islamic Republic’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, said early on Sunday that the response to Israel would be “legitimate and resolute”. Israel neither acknowledged nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing.

Hezbollah has also vowed to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a senior commander of the militant group last month. It is thought to possess as many as 150,000 drones and missiles including long-range weapons.

While Iran or Hezbollah hasn’t offered an indication as to where they might choose to target if they conduct a direct attack, Israel’s defensive focus has been on vital infrastructure and communications.

“Cellular telephony is critical in an emergency situation,” said Inbal Mashash, the director-general of the Communications Ministry. The authority is trying to extend mobile operations to as much as 24 hours after a power outage, up from two hours normally, she said.

As a backup, Cabinet ministers, city officials and emergency coordinators have been provided with satellite phones. SpaceX’s Starlink will soon also be available to enable Internet connectivity in municipalities, Mashash said.

Read more: Israel versus Iran — what all-out war could look like: QuickTake

So far in the 10-month-old war, Israelis have usually had to spend just a few minutes in fortified rooms or public shelters as the country’s air defenses shot down most of the rockets launched from Gaza or Lebanon.

In the event of a heavy and sustained attack from Iran or its proxies though, those defenses may need to be focused on protecting strategic facilities, leaving civilians increasingly dependent on shelters whose thick walls can limit normal mobile signals.

Some municipalities have made wireless connections available in shelters, said Mashash. Her ministry has also started using AM radio channels, since they are more effective in shelters, and has been distributing transistor radios.

Iran’s Pezeshkian names Cabinet amid simmering Israel tensions

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has picked an architect of the 2015 nuclear deal as his foreign minister and an industry veteran for the top job in oil.

Pezeshkian presented his nominee ministers to parliament on Sunday, state TV reported, as the Islamic Republic repeated its intention to retaliate against Israel after the killing of a top Hamas leader in Tehran on 31 July.

Pezeshkian’s proposed ministers still have to be approved by Iran’s parliament, which is dominated by hard-liners opposed to reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers that capped Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. Former US President Donald Trump exited the accord in 2018.

Pezeshkian has pledged to secure sanctions relief to improve the economy and boost the country’s oil exports.

If Pezeshkian’s choices for the top jobs are rejected, that will leave ministers from the administration of the late hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi in charge of key portfolios, until he can name alternatives.

Abbas Araghchi, who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was a nuclear negotiator under moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, has been nominated to run Iran’s foreign ministry.

The acting foreign minister is Ali Bagheri Kani, a close ally of Raisi, who has been handling talks with regional counterparts about the conflict with Israel. He has said that Israel should pay for last month’s killing of a top Hamas leader in Iran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Read more: Iran hard-liners tighten parliament grip as turnout hits new now

At the oil ministry, Pezeshkian has chosen Mohsen Paknejad for the top job. He has held several positions at the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. including a stint as acting managing director. He also served under Rouhani.

The only appointment of a woman in the list of 19 ministers is Farzaneh Sadegh Malvajerd, a 48-year-old architect and urban planner, who will serve as Iran’s first female minister of roads and urban development.

Iran missile unit conducts military drills near Iraqi border

A missile unit of Iran’s military was conducting exercises near the Iraqi border to “improve the combat readiness” of its forces in the area, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The exercises were confirmed after residents reported hearing several explosions. They come as tensions simmer with Israel over its war in Gaza and the 31 July assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran.

The drills started on Friday near the border towns of Qasreshirin and Gilanegharb in western Kermanshah province and would continue until Tuesday, Irna said, quoting a provincial official.

Israel says it hit Hamas command in a Gaza school

A deadly Israeli strike on Gaza City that drew international condemnation was aimed at a Hamas “command and control centre” embedded within a school and adjacent mosque, said Israel’s military.

Hamas authorities in Gaza estimated about 100 people were killed in Saturday’s missile attack. The figures couldn’t be independently verified and Hamas authorities don’t distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who’s running to replace President Joe Biden in the White House in November, rebuked Israel for civilian casualties while affirming its “right to go after the terrorists that are Hamas.

“Yet again, far too many civilians have been killed,” she told reporters on Saturday during a campaign swing in the western US. “We need a hostage deal, and we need a ceasefire. The deal needs to get done, and it needs to get done now.”

The Israel Defense Forces said the air strike, using three precision-guided bombs, targeted “approximately two dozen” members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad who it described as operating within the Al-Taba’een school. It named 19 operatives who it said were killed.

In a video statement, chief IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said an Islamic Jihad commander, Asraf Juda, may also have been present at the compound.

According to IDF intelligence, no women or children were present in the part of the compound that was struck, Hagari added, accusing Hamas of issuing an “unverified casualty count” inconsistent with Israel’s figures.

The US was seeking “further details” from Israeli officials about the strike, Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, said on Saturday.

Several European and Middle Eastern countries condemned the strike, along with Israel’s repeated targeting of school buildings.

“Horrified by images from a sheltering school in Gaza,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, said on X. “At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There’s no justification for these massacres.”

France condemned the strike “in the firmest of terms.” The foreign ministry of Qatar, which along with the US and Egypt has been trying to get a new round of ceasefire talks going, called the bombing a “brutal crime against defenceless civilians”. Turkey said the attack showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “intends to sabotage the negotiations for a permanent cease-fire.”

The school was located adjacent to a mosque in Daraj Tuffah, which serves as a shelter for the residents of Gaza, said the IDF. Gaza authorities said the dead included women and children who were sheltering in the school.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the Israel-Hamas war, now into its 11th month, and may hinder international attempts to resume ceasefire talks between the two sides.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have called for a new round of talks on 15 August, the latest attempt by the Biden administration to end the war in Gaza even as the region braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel. Israel has said it will send a delegation, while Hamas has yet to respond.

The three nations have been pressuring the two sides for months, urging both Israel and Hamas militants to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip that has killed roughly 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the coastal strip.

Iran promises to punish Israel in ‘legitimate, resolute’ manner

Iran’s acting foreign minister reiterated the country’s determination to punish Israel for last month’s killing of a top Hamas leader in Tehran.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will make Israel’s violations costly for this transgressive regime in a legitimate and resolute measure,” Ali Bagheri Kani said, according to a statement released by Iran’s foreign ministry early on Sunday. He did not disclose specifics on the potential scale or timing of the planned retaliation.

Bagheri made the remarks during a phone call with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, according to the statement. He emphasised that Iran’s response would be “in line with defending its national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and based on international law, global norms, and the United Nations Charter”.

The remarks add to an escalating series of statements from Iranian officials saying that revenge for the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was inevitable.

Sailors on US carrier headed for Middle East brace for conflict

As the USS Abraham Lincoln pulled out from Guam, the aircraft carrier’s captain announced to the crew over the intercom that fresh US strikes to destroy Houthi missiles and drones in the Middle East were a “reminder of the environment we are going to”.

The Lincoln is set to relieve the USS Theodore Roosevelt later this month after a planned transit through the South China Sea. It will be the fourth US carrier to be deployed to the region since the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel, a sign of the US’s intention to defend its ally and deter major escalation.

As Israel braces for a possible attack from Iran and regional militias in retaliation for assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas officials, the US has sent defensive reinforcements while pressing for a Gaza ceasefire deal. This makes the environment far more challenging for the latest US carrier sent to the Middle East.

On board the Lincoln, sailors and airmen said they were prepared for what may be a long engagement. On the flight deck and in the cavernous hangar space, mechanics worked on F-18 and F-35 fighter jets that could play a central role in countering attacks against Israel and other targets such as commercial ships.

Critics have contended these deployments offer little in the way of deterrence and are fraught with risks. The US military has been targeted before in the region and the dispatch of US military assets could draw the US into a wider regional conflict.

“We’re exposing US troops to physical harm for no good reason, and the carrier deployment in particular is uniquely problematic,” said Van Jackson, a faculty member for international relations at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

He said carriers wouldn’t deter adversaries who have already been attacked. “Our habitual use of force in the Middle East has gotten us nothing good,” said Jackson, who served in the office of the US Secretary of Defense. DM

Read more: Middle East Crisis news hub

To be honest, I can’t stand writing about justice for women, equality for women, safety for women, more voice for women. Why? Because these should be normalised by now; we shouldn’t have to be shouty about this in the year 2024.

Only 18% of voices during the election period were those of women experts, according to Media Monitoring Africa’s (MMA’s) research done in July 2024 on the media and the 2024 national election.

“An interesting element of the monitoring was that initial results showed 14% women’s voices, which is the lowest percentage of women’s voices we have seen in media coverage during elections. It was a positive move that the number increased to 18% overall. However, this is still far below the global average of 24%, and lower than previous election periods, where women’s voices usually account for 21% to 22% of sources,” said Thandi Smith, head of programmes at MMA.

Read it and weep, or accept the status quo, or act. Accept the conditions we face, in other words, the slow pace of progress, or misrecognise the terms we are subjected to by acting: speaking out or writing. It may not be deliberate that journalists phone male experts. It may be subliminal, or unthinking, or just who they have in their contact books. But all this contributed to not making the world a better place.

Loud voices, soft voices

It may seem patronising to have a “Women’s Month”. And, as some sexist reactionaries who wish to maintain the status quo will say: “What about Men’s Month”? But aren’t they already the default position of power, all the time and everywhere?

A small personal tangent. I remember some years ago, at a “postmortem” at the end of the week, when you discuss the paper that had just been published and the diary for the next week. I was proposing my story ideas and was cut off by a male voice, my politics section head, who then presented exactly what I had been proposing (10 minutes before in the smokers’ corner) for the next week’s diary.

But in the conference he talked over me, in a louder voice, and got the claps for his great story ideas. Initially, I thought I was imagining it, and then I saw the pattern. Now, I wish I had said: “Excuse me, let me finish.” Or: “Actually, you just repeated my idea.”

Of course, there are women with louder voices. If you shout or talk down to people, like Helen Zille, you are really disliked. Gosh, how she talked to journalists about the government of provincial unity that was on the brink of not happening in Gauteng. She told journalists something to this effect: “This is complex and technical stuff. I’m not sure if you will understand.” She was explaining something very simple, actually.

Quote This Woman+

A South African NGO that started up more than five years ago, Quote This Woman+, has a whole directory of women experts, including experts in climate change issues, health, media and democracy, elections, engineering, agriculture, psychology and education. For every sector of society you can think of, it has a directory of women experts to contact.

It seems as though this organisation is not getting funding to survive, so it is looking for partnerships to print a book of its women experts for all newsrooms, which it can update from time to time. Good idea.

Its director, Kathy Magrobi, said in an article: “In 2019, frustrated by the endlessly gendered portrayal of women in the news, I decided something had to give. I came across overseas organisations that curated databases of women-only experts for journalists so they could close the gender gap in their reporting, and realised South Africa needed the same thing.

“In my mind, somebody less middle class, grey haired and white skinned would have been a better fit to start the project, but I couldn’t find the right person to get excited about this project at that time, so I started it myself.

“From the beginning, adding the plus in Quote This Woman+ was important to me – that the project should amplify the voices not only of women, but also of thought leaders marginalised from mainstream news for other reasons – sexual orientation, gender identity, poverty, location (rurality), education (not speaking with the right model C accent) or anything else.”

I hope it gets funding to survive, given MMA’s recent research that only 18% of voices quoted during the 2024 elections were those of women, with Zille having the most voice, but at only 3%, and Patricia de Lille coming in at 1%.

Algerian French philosopher and deconstructionist Jacques Derrida theorised on “democracy to come”. In other words, democracy is always becoming and never fully realised. Here, regarding the latest statistic, let’s take democracy to mean more voice, more inclusion, more plurality and diversity. Unless one challenges the status quo there is no progress, and by the next election the 18% might be 9%.

Anti-feminist backlash is everywhere

An anti-feminist backlash, explained American scholar Susan Faludi in the bestselling book Backlash, is a recoil when women make gains in previously traditional male spaces, and are then pushed back. In South African terms we’d call it a “klap” (slap).

This anti-feminist backlash is happening everywhere, not just in South Africa. The UK general election revealed the same thing.

As journalist Luba Kassova reported: “The analysis of 171,500 online articles from over 2,000 national and local UK news outlets has revealed a decline in coverage that includes key gender-related terms of relevance to women, compared with the previous two general election campaign periods.”

In the US, as the second woman presidential candidate has been put up to lead the Democratic Party, we recall the vile misogyny against the first one, Hillary Clinton. Now Kamala Harris gets the backlash too on that toxic platform, X, i.e. her neck looks like a man’s; her laugh is too loud; is she really black? After all, look who she is married to – a white! Gasp, what a crime.

Added to this bunk, by both the conservatives and the woke bandits – is that she is not really black. But what is Jamaican-Indian if not black? Is she white? And does it really matter? She is sticking her neck out to lead. The world is getting beyond absurd.

“Democracy to come,” Derrida theorised. Yes, we progress, but he could have added that we go backwards (one example is the anti-feminist backlash) too. Never one straight progressive upwards line, is it?

We have to take note, otherwise in our next election, diversity of voice, vis-à-vis women’s voice, may go down from 18% to 9%, or worse still, zero. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

• Jamaica and the US have dominated the women's 100m sprint at the Olympics, with Jamaican runners consistently on the podium since Seoul 1988.
• Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred surprised everyone by winning gold in the 100m sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating the favorite Sha'Carri Richardson.
• Alfred also secured a silver medal in the 200m sprint, becoming Saint Lucia's first Olympic medalist since 1996.
• Despite facing challenges and lack of resources, Alfred dedicated her success to her late father and fulfilled her dream of becoming an Olympic champion.

As we headed into the women’s sprint events at the 2024 Olympic Games, most people’s eyes were firmly fixed on the usual battle between Jamaica and the US for podium placing. In recent iterations of the Games, that had been the dominant narrative – particularly in the 100m sprint.

In fact, the last time an Olympic podium for the women’s 100m did not feature a Jamaican runner was Seoul 1988. The Jamaicans showcased their superiority in the event at Tokyo 2020, with their sprint stars Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-­­Pryce and Shericka Jackson sweeping all the medals.

The last time someone not from Jamaica had won gold in the 100m was when Belarussian Yulia Nestsiarenka stormed to victory at the 2004 Athens Olympics, holding off challenges from the US’s Lauryn Williams and Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica.

Olympian effort

Enter Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred. The 23-year-old headed to Paris as a lesser-­known entity compared with the likes of Fraser-Pryce and American Sha’Carri Richardson, at least among casual followers of women’s sprinting.

So, when Fraser-Pryce pulled out of the 100m sprint because of injury, the tag of favourite automatically fell onto Richardson. After all, the American is the reigning world champion in the event.

With Olympic 100m and 200m defending cham­­­pion Thompson-­Herah not even travelling to Paris after suffering an Achilles injury a month before the Olympics, both races were blown wide open. In that open space, Richardson was seen as front and centre in the 100m dash, though the retiring Fraser-Pryce was expected to push the 24-year-old in the battle for gold. In the absence of the strongest Jamaicans, Richardson was expected to breeze to a win.

Alfred had other ideas, though, and she etched her name in Olympic lore by beating Richardson with a personal-best run in the final of the 100m. Her 10.72 seconds was also a national record in the distance.

In the process, Alfred secured Saint Lucia’s first medal since the Caribbean island nation made its debut at the 1996 Olympics. That she opened her country’s Olympics account with gold added to the sweetness of the victory.

She also competed in the 200m sprint and stretched Saint Lucia’s medal haul at the tournament to two.

In that race, Alfred managed second spot, finishing behind the US’s Gabby Thomas to leave France with one gold and one silver. Not only for herself, but for her country – which had just four representatives at Paris 2024.

Saint Lucia on the map

“I feel honoured just to be an ambassador for my country. Not many people know about Saint Lucia,” said Alfred, who is based in Texas in the US. “Sometimes I can be in an Uber and they’ll ask me where I’m from… and they’ll be like, ‘Where’s Saint Lucia?’”

Following her Olympic success, this question may become less common for the former University of Texas student. On the flipside, Alfred will also become a much more recognisable figure wherever she goes.

Alfred dedicated her Olympic success to her father, Julian Hamilton, who died when she was just 12 years old. Having spotted her athletic talent, Hamilton dreamt of his daughter heading to the Games to make a name for herself.

“He passed away in 2013. He couldn’t get to see me on the biggest stage of my career,” Alfred said.

It is a dream that Alfred also adopted and she has worked tirelessly to make it a reality since the death of her father. She had to endure the poor facilities in her country, as well as the lack of proper equipment for a budding athlete to reach the pinnacle of her sport.

Early struggles

“Growing up, I used to be on the field struggling, with no shoes, running barefoot, running in my school uniform, running all over the place,” Alfred said after her historic gold medal. “We barely have the right facilities.” 

In spite of the hurdles she had to leap over to arrive at this point in her career, Alfred remained focused on her goal of becoming “one of Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medallists. [One of its] first gold medallists.”

The dream was strengthened back in 2018, when Alfred finished second behind Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukuma in the 100m at the Youth Olympic Games.

“That was the beginning of something great. It influenced my choices in going to college as well. So, it was a really good ex­­perience for me,” Alfred told Olympics.com in 2023.

She won both the 100m and 200m titles in her final year as a National Collegiate Athletics Association athlete.

She also won silver in the 100m race at the Birmingham-hosted 2022 Commonwealth Games, finishing behind Thompson-Herah.

“I’m sure my younger self would be proud. I would have never imagined [this] in my life,” Alfred said in the same interview with the Olympics’ media department a year ago.

Read more: Olympic Games Paris 2024

“Growing up and seeing all those big athletes at this level, sitting on my couch and watching them, I never imagined myself being here. As life has progressed, I’ve realised that I have the potential to be one of the best,” she added.

“I didn’t get here just like that. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance. I gave up many times. Injury-wise, I wanted to go home and just quit.”

With her younger self’s wildest dreams now a reality, Alfred will be hungry for more success. But first she will savour her milestones in Paris, along with the 180,000 people of her country.

Then it is back to work, with many more medals to win. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.