Table of contents for 2021-11-26 in DFA News

Boipelo Mere boipelo.mere@inl.co.za WORKERS at Prof ZK Mathews Hospital in Barkly West picketed at the entrance of the hospital on Wednesday and yesterday and called for the CEO, Johannes Koopman, to be fired as they accused him of being “incompetent”. The workers complained that the facility, which was opened in 2008, is collapsing and claimed that the CEO was not doing anything about it. The workers burnt tyres and tree branches on one side of the entrance to the hospital and allow emergency vehicles and patients to use the other side. They said they will continue to picket at the hospital until the Northern Cape Department of Health hears them out and appoints a “competent” CEO to run the hospital. The police were on the scene and also monitored the…

staff writer SARS has extended the filing season deadline. The Revenue Service said it was impacted by load shedding and “systemic issues.” “...to afford other taxpayers the opportunity to comply with their legal requirements, SARS will extend the filing season deadline for non-provisional individual taxpayers from 23 November 2021 to 2 December 2021. “Sars is acutely aware of systemic issues the organisation has experienced, as well as the impact of load shedding on taxpayers which made it difficult for taxpayers to file their returns. As a result, the date for levying of penalties on taxpayers that have not filed their return, will be extended and implemented in January 2022.” It added that its website, www.sars.gov.za, has also been upgraded to allow for more digital services to taxpayers.…

Sipho Seepe IN ITS BASIC manifestation, democracy is an expression of the will of the people. The expression of this will in the form of the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is ritualised periodically through the elections. But this comes at a cost. It is precisely for this reason that our Constitution has made provision for the funding of the electoral system. Society has also come to terms with the fact that money is the lifeblood of democracy. It oils the election machinery. Registering a party, embarking on an election campaign, and putting in place the required logistics all require some form of funding. On its own, this is not a problem. The challenge arises when money assumes such a role that it…

Keshia Africa AT THIS time of year spending is the one thing on everyone’s mind, many people have turned to online shopping to avoid the stampedes caused by sales in stores. Online shopping has become essential to many over the past 18 months and with Black Friday around the corner, South Africans are being urged to be aware of cybercrime. Chief information officer at RCS, Leon Jacobs, said that although online shopping brings convenience, there was a greater risk of cybercrime. “Black Friday presents several opportunities for cybercrime in the form of online shopping fraud and phishing,” he said. He added: “Many of these cybercrimes can also take the form of emails, targeted ransomware and business email compromise attempts.” A study conducted by World Wide Worx on online retail in…

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za PATIENTS can expect to wait years before undergoing emergency or elective surgery at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) in Kimberley because of cost-cutting measures, limited operating hours and staff shortages. Doctors, nurses and general staff staged a picket outside the medical unit this week to voice their frustrations over how they are unable to take “adequate care” of their patients. The head of the ear, nose and throat unit at RMSH, Dr Rehuel Bortslap, indicated that they were functioning at a 30 percent staffing capacity. “There is a massive backlog, where doctors have to choose whether they should operate on patients that are facing life-threatening conditions or patients that may develop serious complications or may even die if they do not undergo surgery. This means surgeries…

vernon.pillay@inl.co.za Despite struggling with increasing debt burdens, South African consumers can’t resist the lure of a good deal. According to TransUnion data, consumers who open new credit facilities during the Black Friday period ev0ery year end up spending more than consumers with existing accounts – up to R10,000 more, in the case of credit cards. New credit card accounts opened in November 2020 ended the month with a 52.0% higher spend than existing accounts, with an average balance of R28,470 compared to R18,725. Retail instalment account balances were 59.0% higher than existing accounts, retail revolving accounts 98.4% up, and new clothing account holders spent a whopping 192.5% more than existing accountholders. Year-on-year balances for new accounts also increased across the board, ranging from 14.7% for credit cards to 29.6% for…

Matthew Marcus in Cape Town AFTER sticking with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until the bitter einde, Manchester United are sukkeling to find someone to lead the team. Whatever reasons they had for sacking the coach without having a succession plan, United bosses are making it plain that they don’t know what they are doing. Over the last few months of the season, we were all looking on as Ole unraveled on the touchline – eyes wide and clueless. But the manne behind the scenes aren’t doing a better job. They are not even sure of what they want. Chasing coaches who are already in jobs and making a success of their work is a tough route to go. PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino is top of their list, but even with his struggles…

AUSTRALIAN Open tournament director Craig Tiley expects up to 95% of professional players will be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the time of the grand slam in January, but is unsure whether Novak Djokovic will be among them. Tiley said Victoria state’s strict vaccination mandate had motivated players to get their shots before Melbourne Park, where fans and staff will also be banned if unvaccinated. Tiley also said he had spoken to world number one Djokovic, the Australian Open men’s champion, but was none the wiser as to the Serbian’s vaccination status. “Today more than 85% are (vaccinated),” Tiley said of professional players on local radio station SEN yesterday. “And we take a lot of credit for that because we put a vaccination requirement on it. “We think by the time…

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za FORMER Northern Cape Premier and Member of Parliament Dipuo Peters has come to the defence of ANC councillor Gomolemo Chere who was inaugurated at Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality in Kuruman this week. A video clip of Chere being sworn in went viral on social media, where she came under attack for her poor command of the English language after she struggled to pronounce some words. Peters pointed out that Chere was subjected to unfair treatment, as English was only one of the country’s 11 official languages. “Chere, who comes from a proud family of traditional leaders in the Northern Cape, was mocked and disrespected on Tik Tok, where her competency and qualifications were undermined. Chere is proficient in Xhosa and works in deep rural areas and enjoys…

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za THE DE Aar Stock Theft and Endangered Species unit and the Kimberley Mounted unit seized livestock worth almost a quarter of a million rand during a recovery operation in Richmond. Northern Cape police spokesperson Captain Sergio Kock said a 51-year-old man was found in possession of 107 Merino sheep that were allegedly stolen at a farm near Sutherland. “The sheep were stolen between April 30 and September 21 and are worth about R235 000,” said Kock. “The police registered a stock theft docket and it will be presented to the senior State prosecutor for a decision.” Kock added that the operation was part of the police’s Safer Festive Season campaign. “The SAPS will continue to tighten the grip and squeeze the space for criminals to operate,”…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za THE BEER Association of South Africa has warned that the industry cannot afford another immediate ban on alcohol. Rumours are swirling that the increase in new Covid cases in South Africa, coupled with the projection of the fourth wave in December, could lead to another ban on the sale of alcohol. However, neither the Covid-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee nor the SA government has confirmed a ban in the coming weeks. BASA has written a letter to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, asking for his urgent intervention at a Cabinet level, to ensure that irrational alcohol bans are no longer imposed, especially over the festive season, which is a critical time for our local beer industry and the thousands of jobs it supports. BASA…

Philippa Larkin AS an analysis by NielsenIQ this week revealed that South African shoppers had dramatically reduced the frequency of their monthly shopping trips, from an average of five trips per month two years ago, to an average of three, Statistics SA said this week the September retail sales volumes rebounded by 2.1 percent year on year following an unexpected decline of 1.5 percent in August. Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, FNB’s senior economist, commenting on the September retail sales, said the sales volumes showed the impact of the riots on the sector might be bigger than initially thought. “Notwithstanding, factors such as the improved roll-out of income support grants, an improvement in consumption credit uptake (credit cards and general loans), the better-than-expected civil wage agreement and the swift recovery in non-labour…

IANS WHILE wearing double masks, which helps create a strong barrier against Covid-19 infection spread via airborne viral particles, has become the new normal, prolonged wearing of masks can develop hydration issues or other nagging breathing troubles, health experts said on Wednesday. There has been enough evidence through the pandemic to show the importance of masks for effective pandemic control. At the start of the pandemic, it was seen that countries (primarily Asian nations) which enforced early masking had lesser mortality rates as compared to countries in the West where compulsory mask wearing was introduced quite late. "Prolonged mask wearing can be associated with certain problems - the most common being headaches, dehydration, acne and difficulty in breathing," Radhika Banka, Consultant Pulmonologist at P.D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC, Mumbai, told…

Staff Reporter THE PROTEAS will not take the team from the Netherlands lightly when the two teams clash at Centurion Park today at 10am. Despite six places separating them on the world rankings – South Africa in fifth and their visitors in 11th – spinner Tabraiz Shamsi says they will respect their opponents. He says: “Every game we play is an international game and I don’t think it’s any different for us. “Any game is a chance to establish yourself. We don’t really look to change anything, whether we play an associate team or a bigger team. It’s another opportunity to try and win a game for your country.” Their opponents will field a number of South African-born players in their squad and will therefore be out to prove a…

World honours Argentina’s ‘golden kid’ on the one-year anniversary of his death AFP THE WORLD yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Diego Maradona, regarded by some as the best football player of all time and a man adored in his home country Argentina despite, or perhaps because of, his human flaws. Argentine club matches are to mark a minute of silence and players will arrange themselves in a “10” formation on the pitch to honour Maradona’s famous jersey number, while special masses will be held – including in the Buenos Aires slum where Maradona grew up, to mark the day he passed away. In Naples, where he spent part of his career, two statues for the striker were set to be unveiled this week. “We’ll miss you…

Stormers are out to ‘streep’ Zebre THE UNITED Rugby Championship’s whipping boys, Italy’s Zebre, will take the field at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow 3pm for the first time when they face the Stormers. Off the back of five consecutive defeats, Zebre hit our shores with a negative points difference of 109. They also arrive minus star winger Pierre Bruno, who has scored the most tries (2), beaten the most defenders (15), made the most offloads (7) and made the most metres (214) for his team to date. Bruno is rested after making his debut for the Italy national team recently. On the other side of the pitch, the Stormers’ star so far this season has been No.8 Evan Roos. He tops the Cape team’s charts with 20 defenders beaten and…

NINE-TIME Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic won’t want to risk missing out on winning a record 21st Grand Slam title, tournament chief Craig Tiley predicted yesterday as a bumper series of lead-up events was announced. All players heading to Australia for the opening major of the year in January must be vaccinated against Covid-19, casting doubt on whether the Serbian world number one will play. Djokovic, who is gunning for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam, has refused to reveal if he has been inoculated. Djokovic said at the weekend that “we’ll have to wait and see” when asked whether he will be at Melbourne Park to defend his title. All Australian Open lead-up events took place at Melbourne Park this year in bio-secure conditions after players were forced to quarantine…

Sandi Kwon Hoo sandi.kwonhoo@inl.co.za THE KIMBERLEY Diamond Cup Apex Event (Kimberley Action Sports Festival) that would have been held this weekend at the Kimberley Skate Plaza has been postponed by the Northern Cape Department of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism. A R90 million three-year contract was entered into in 2019 with the events management company FISE Africa. It is believed that the company intends to take legal action against the department for breach of contract, where costs were incurred and international competitors were already on their way to compete in the event. A suspended senior official at the department is believed to be closely linked to the sole director of the events management company. The department’s chief financial officer, Kuberin Packirisamy, was arrested, along with the former head of department,…

Boipelo Mere boipelo.mere@inl.co.za THE UNITED Community of Sol Plaatje Municipality (UCSPM) and the Kimberley Action Group (KAG) have cried foul and accused the Sol Plaatje Service Delivery Forum (SPSDF) of using them to gain positions in council. They said that it was a “blessing” that a member of the SPSDF, Dennis Pienaar, was not elected as Speaker because it would not be fair to residents for him to get such a key position “fraudulently”. Pienaar was named as one of three nominees for the position of Speaker at Sol Plaatje Municipality during Tuesday’s council meeting at the Kimberley City Hall. The UCSPM and KAG accused the forum of being a “restructured faction” of the ruling ANC, which had failed to be honest and transparent with city residents. They accused the…

Betty Moleya THE DEPARTMENT of Human Settlements has warned the public not to fall for a scam on social media promising RDP houses from the Housing Development Agency. According to the department, there were numerous posts doing the rounds on social media about RDP houses. The department said the adverts were misleading and that the agency did not see houses. It also warned people about a Facebook page that encouraged people to apply for RDP houses online. Those wanting RDP houses should contact their provincial or local government to inquire about applying, the department said. “Housing fraud and corruption include intentionally and unlawfully paying money, or making money or making any benefits to housing officials in return for an RDP house, service stands and rented council property or stands,” the…

Staff Reporter Consumers are spending differently this Black Friday. While retailers are expecting a bumper weekend of sales during the annual shopping holiday, many have launched month-long sales campaigns to give consumers early access to their promotions. This has been dubbed “Black November”. Under immense pressure to make up for the lost sales over the year, retailers have moved away from a short, intense peak in response to the changing spending habits of South African consumers. This is the view of Thomas Pays, the chief executive and co-founder of Ozow, which provides easy, fast, and secure payment solutions - from QR codes, to point of sale, eCommerce, e-billing and peer-to-peer payments. Pays says that there has been a significant shift in the way people shop. “For the last 18 months,…

Staff Reporter With Black Friday approaching, it’s important that you exercise caution and self-discipline when managing your money over this period. Lack of financial discipline around Black Friday can easily lead to financial woes, especially in these uncertain times. Dhashni Naidoo, programme manager at FNB Consumer Education, says, you can avoid getting into financial distress over Black Friday by heeding the following tips: 1. Plan your budget in advance and be honest with yourself on what you can afford. Avoid spending funds you did not budget for. 2. Do your research ahead of time. You need to know exactly what you want to buy and determine the price of those goods upfront. Use this time to compare and understand the current price of the item you need, so…

Lance Fredericks IT MAY seem as if I am going to be bragging for a while, but that is only because I absolutely am. You see, five years ago, way back in the pre-Covid world, back in 2016 on this very day, I was privileged enough to be visiting the United States of America. I was based in Brooklyn then and it was a strange time in the residential neighbourhood. Republican Donald Trump had just won the presidential election against Democrat Hillary Clinton whose New York office was just down the road from where I was staying at the time. Residents in the predominantly Democrat-aligned area roamed the streets in a stunned, zombie-like state shaking their heads in disbelief at what had happened at the polls at the beginning of…

Stuart Hess Kyle Verreynne Barring injury, he’ll be behind the stumps and in the middle order for all three matches. Verreynne spoke about the importance of establishing himself in the side, with an eye on the 2023 World Cup. Having been talked up so much last season when Pakistan toured here, Verreynne knows that he has to prove he can cut it at the highest level. Middle order batting Verreynne, David Miller, Khaya Zondo make up the middle order for the series – with a bit of help from some all-rounders – and it is important to strike the right balance between circumspection and aggression. Middle order players need to be adaptable and those three have a critical task in the series. The (seam bowling) all-rounders There are three…

Staff Reporter ROMELU Lukaku would like nothing more than to add to Manchester United’s misery with the Chelsea striker hinting he will be back to face his ex-club on Sunday at 6.30pm. With United still looking for a new coach after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earlier this week, the Red Devils also go to the Premier League leaders without suspended captain Harry Maguire. That means caretaker coach Michael Carrick will be without Maguire and the injured Raphael Varane in the league’s joint second-worst defence (21 goals conceded) for their trip to the free-scoring Blues (30 goals). Lazy and overweight And Lukaku, who has missed Chelsea’s last six matches, will smaak nothing more than to pak dik when he faces his former employers after Blues boss Thomas Tuchel hinted that…

Staff Reporter in Cape Town The Proteas will continue taking the knee ahead of cricket games, Cricket South Africa said after a meeting between the board, team captains and management. In a statement on Wednesday evening, CSA said the board had clarified that for the rest of the season the Proteas should continue to take the knee as a contribution towards the global sports endeavour to demonstrate its commitment to eradicating racism and all forms of discrimination. “The decision to engage the players on the gesture of taking the knee was not taken lightly and we are delighted that we had the opportunity to engage with the captains and that this has now been accepted as a matter of principle,” said CSA board chairman Lawson Naidoo. “The…