Table of contents for 2023-03-08 in Post

An 80-year-old KwaDukuza (Stanger) grandmother was found in a pool of blood on the lounge floor of her Ridge Road home last week. She had been stabbed several times. The food Vasanthee Adjoodyah had been cooking had been charred black by the time her grandson, Nigel Govender, another family member and a security guard discovered her body just before 10pm. “My granny lives up the road from me,” Govender said. “I live in a flat and she has a carport so I park my car there. The area had load shedding from 9pm to 11pm. “I had been out with my brother-in-law and my sister. Just before 10pm on Thursday, I dropped my sister at home. My brother-in-law and I then went to park the car. “As I proceeded to…

Colonel Gregory David Joseph said he was committed to stamping out crime for good. He was recently appointed station commander for Amanzimtoti SAPS. Raised in Clairwood, Joseph lives in Newlands West with his wife and two children. He had served as the acting station commander in Sydenham since 2021. Joseph matriculated at Apollo Secondary in 1982 and has a diploma in police administration from Technikon SA. He said his love of serving the community was the reason why he joined the police force: “I have served in the force for many years and have always been career-driven. I love the work.” Joseph was one of the key figures responsible for recovering the infamous blue couch that was stolen during the civil unrest in July 2021. He said that was one…

AN increase to the national minimum wage for domestic workers and farm workers was gazzetted recently. This came after Thulas Nxesi, Employment and Labour Minister, announced the 9.6% increase. It means domestic workers will now have to be paid R25.42 (up from R23.19), which translates to R203.36 a day for eight hours of work. This totals R4067.20 per month. According to the February 2023 household affordability index released by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD), the average cost of the household food basket is R4 928.34. On a month-to-month basis, the average cost of the household food basket increased by R10.91 (0.2%), from R4 917.42 in January to R4 928.34 last month. On a year-on-year basis, the average cost of the household food basket increased by R572.64 (13.1%),…

ALTHOUGH several of his best-known children’s books were first published in the 1960s, Roald Dahl is among the most popular authors for young people today. The recent decision by publisher Puffin, in conjunction with The Roald Dahl Story Company, to make several hundred revisions to new editions of his novels has been described as censorship by Salman Rushdie and attracted widespread criticism. The changes, recommended by sensitivity readers, include removing or replacing words describing the appearance of characters, and adding gender-neutral language in places. For instance, Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no longer “fat” but “enormous”. Mrs Twit, from The Twits, has become “beastly” rather than “ugly and beastly”. In Matilda, the protagonist no longer reads the works of Rudyard Kipling, but rather Jane Austen. While…

The Indian community of South Africa, love them or hate them, they are here to stay! South Africa, for all its upheavals, historical trials and tribulations, conflicts, treasures and wealth, interspersed with growing poverty, is still a beautiful country. With its temperate climate, rolling hills and majestic mountains, diverse fauna and flora and diversity of its people, South Africa is indeed a beautiful country. The Indian community’s migration to these shores has been well documented – their progress and development have also been the subject of both praise and condemnation, depending on one’s vantage point. But there can be no argument that the generations born in this country since the arrival of those brave men and women – our forebears – who are merely reference points for our existence now,…

The recent death of nationally respected Pundit Madan Maharaj, 76, of Phoenix, created a loss which cannot be adequately measured by words. Pundit Maharaj was a great Hindu leader, a passionate community worker and a loving family man. He was a go-to person and a man for all seasons. He was innovative, bold and decisive, and spoke truth to power. He was a Hindu lion, not lamb. As a prominent and progressive priest, he toiled tirelessly with a rare sense of vision and mission. In 1981, Punditji founded the powerful Northcroft Hindu Dharma Sabha. The Sabha’s temple and hall stand today large and proud, as a living monument to Punditji’s sterling and stellar achievements. He turned scars into stars. In order to raise the priesthood into a pillar of…

FAMILIES waiting for justice have slammed the findings of the recently released Judicial Annual Report for 2021/22. The document said the backlog was at 49% countrywide, despite aiming to get it down to 30%. It also showed that KZN was unable to achieve its target in reducing the backlog, with a shortage of judges among the reasons given. Those awaiting justice for loved ones said the reasons offered are not good enough and the judicial system must do better. The Eastern Cape, Bhisho, and the Western Cape High courts were the only ones that achieved their targets. The Kimberley (67%) and Middelburg (66%) High Courts remained the courts with the highest backlog. KZN has 54%. Among the reasons given why KZN was unable to achieve its target were Covid-19, a…

DURING his recent Budget speech, Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, said South Africans wishing to install rooftop solar panels would qualify for a rebate. He said individuals could claim a rebate of 25% of the cost of the panels up to a maximum of R15 000. The National Treasury later explained how it would work. It said the rebate system would be available for one year to encourage investment as soon as possible. Individuals who pay personal income tax will be able to claim the rebate against their tax liability. “This rebate is not intended for solar installations at business premises.” The Treasury said the rebate would be on the cost of new and unused panels. “For example, a person buys 10 solar PV panels, at a cost of…

BRITISH boxer Conor Benn said he felt suicidal after failed drugs tests last year caused his much-hyped fight with Chris Eubank jr (pictured) to be cancelled. Benn, who tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene, has been cleared of an intentional doping offence by the World Boxing Council after the body ruled a “highly elevated consumption of eggs” resulted in the adverse finding. “It’s hurt me. I didn’t think I was going to make it through this period,” Benn, 26, said in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Monday. “I was taking it day-by-day. I didn’t think I would see another day.” Asked if he was feeling suicidal, Benn said: “Yeah, I would say so. And it upsets me now because I don’t know how it got so bad.…

THE offshore scene has been productive. There have been some brute bottom fish and plenty of gamefish action. Fantastic bottom fishing has been had off Durban, with the bulk of the catches being geelbek and daga. These have mainly been caught at night, but late afternoon has seen some good fishing on the deeper reefs. The rest of the bottoms have been a mix of reds (soldiers, slinger, and so on) and rockcod. The bigger fish have preferred live bait, with mackerel outperforming the rest of the bait. The shallows have mainly seen snoek action. The area from the Bluff south has seen much the same action as Durban, with plenty of dorado and tuna for the gamefish anglers, while the guys looking on the bottom also managed good hauls.…

Devika Rani Seeripat, a 73-year-old mother accused of plotting her daughter’s murder, testified before the High Court, sitting in Scottburgh, that her daughter Ashrika Seeripat, 42, physically and emotionally abused her over a 30-year period. In July last year Ashrika was found strangled to death during what was initially believed to be a robbery at her home in Kadville Heights, Umzinto. Ashrika was an aspiring actress who featured in the movie Broken Promises 2. She lived with her parents for most of her life at their home. When her father, Ramjathan, died in July 2021, she lived with her mother. According to the indictment, the relationship between the two women became acrimonious after the father’s death. The state is trying to prove that Seeripat planned to kill Ashrika and sought…

SURESH Rajkoomar will be remembered for the impact he had on the people around him. Rajkoomar, 64, a retired teacher, from Hillside in Ladysmith, was shot dead during a hijacking last week. Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, provincial police spokesperson, said: “It is alleged that the victim was accosted by four armed men who forced him to get back inside his vehicle. The victim did as instructed and they drove towards Steadville.” Ngcobo said that while one of the hijackers was driving, Rajkoomar tried to grab the firearm from him. A shot went off, wounding the suspect in the thigh. “The suspect then allegedly shot the victim and robbed him of his bank cards. The vehicle was later found abandoned at Ezakheni in Ladysmith.” She said police arrested a 33-year-old suspect shortly…

I was born into a large, humble family in Kearsney on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. I was one of 12 children. My grandparents worked on the tea estates and in a tea factory. My disciplinarian father owned a trading store, and a sugar and rice plantation. I attended a government-aided Indian primary school. Life was tough then, and children from the neighbourhood walked 10 kilometres to school without shoes. Our uniform was khaki shorts and a shirt. After school and on weekends we grazed cows, worked in the garden and fetched water from nearby ponds. There was little time for schoolwork, and we used candlelight and paraffin lamps to do homework in the evening. In the late 1950s, I attended Stanger Indian High school. In 1963 my brother-in-law, the late…

Louis XVI, the last king of France, seems to have been a nice guy. From the time he was little, he had a passion for locks and how they worked. He would spend hours, hidden away from everyone, tinkering away. One day, his skill for picking locks made him something of a hero when a fire broke out in a locked room at his home, the Versailles Palace. The young prince was able to pick the lock and put the fire out before it spread to the rest of the palace. Had the boy been able to continue with his passion, history would probably have remembered him as the child who had saved an iconic piece of French art. But fate had other plans. Louis-Auguste, as his parents named him,…

WE WILL begin the holy month of Ramadaan within the next three weeks as war, the grim reaper, continues to claim the lives of innocent people across the world. The dire consequences of war, hatred and prejudice, particularly for the civilian population, defy description. War is like fire in the human community, one whose fuel is human beings. Wars expose man’s ultimate inhumanity to man. Wars are an innate but obsolete part of human nature. Wars reflect man’s worst instinct, untamed by rationality. All wars are instigated by hungry megalomaniacs, the politicians, managed by professional killers, the military, and fought by the brainwashed members of their prospective population, the cannon fodder. This is the ultimate war crime against humanity, while a passive global audience looks on. Today’s world abounds in…

CAN you believe it, Man United torn apart like a rag by Liverpool? Humbled, humiliated, ashamed, dejected, disgraced Man apart! An embarrassed Man United left Anfield with their heads down when they suffered their biggest loss in almost a century at the hands of their arch-rivals, Liverpool. It was way back in 1931 when Wolves thrashed them 7-0. A resurgent Man United having just won their first trophy since 2017 went to Anfield riding the crest of the wave. Everyone expected a tightly-fought, thrilling contest between the two arch rivals. But it was a completely one-sided affair as Liverpool soon showed their dominance and blew United away. Four-nil was bad enough for United but 7-0 was an absolute disgrace. Marcus Rashford who has been in scintillating form recently was nowhere…

Antonio Conte’s uncertain future threatens to ruin Tottenham’s spluttering season as the Italian returns to the bench for today’s decisive Champions League showdown against AC Milan. Conte is set to be back in charge of Tottenham after missing the last four games as he recovered from gallbladder surgery. Watching on television back home in Italy while remaining in contact with his assistant Cristian Stellini, Conte saw Tottenham endure a choppy period that encapsulated the club’s inconsistent form throughout his reign. A pair of 2-0 wins against West Ham and Chelsea suggested Tottenham were on course to clinch a top-four place in the Premier League with a flourish. But that optimism was punctured by a dismal 1-0 loss at second-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round and another drab…

Chelsea will host Dortmund in the second leg of the Uefa Champions League tonight, as Graham Potter looks to redeem his career at Chelsea and their UCL tie following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg. The 21-year-old German forward Karim Adeyemi pierced through Chelsea’s defence with his pace and skill to find the only goal of the match. Chelsea have been stuck in the mud since Graham Potter’s era began. But last weekend the Blues registered their first victory since January 15 when they beat Leeds United. The hosts have played 12 matches in 2023 and they won only two of them. In the remaining 10 games they lost six and drew four. On the other hand, Dortmund have 11 wins in 11 matches in 2023. Speaking in the…

Political parties have mixed views on why police in KwaZulu-Natal have not presented the province’s crime statistics publicly. The national crime statistics for the period October 2022 to December 2022 were recently released by Bheki Cele, Minister of Police. Soon after they were released, Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng’s premier, gave an address on the crime statistics for the province and explained how his administration aimed to bring them down. A similar address was done by Reagen Allen, the Western Cape’s MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight. However, in KZN police and the Department for Community Safety and Liaison have remained silent on the matter. The DA has since written to MEC for Community Safety and Liaison Sipho Hlomuka calling for answers. Sharon Hoosen, an MPL and the DA’s KZN…

THE family of Bradley Singh protested outside the Magistrate’s Court opposing bail for his alleged killers. In November 2022, Singh was stabbed to death during an alleged robbery, metres from his home in uMhlatuzana township, Chatsworth. Singh, 38, was on his way to work. He was a machinist for a shoe manufacturing company in Jacobs. While walking along a pathway to get a lift to work he was held up and stabbed multiple times in his head and upper body. He was robbed of his shoes, cellphone and lunch bag. He died at the scene. A neighbour found his body facedown on the ground and alerted the community, who contacted the police. After months of investigations, Bayview SAPS detectives made a breakthrough in the case and arrested his…

There was a time when mechanics working from home charged a nominal amount to change spark plugs, filters, brake pads and engine oil. Motor spares and labour did not cost an arm and a leg as they do today. In similar vein, costs have gone up on all products and services that touch our lives on a daily basis. The cost of basic foodstuffs, building materials, home maintenance, furniture, household appliances, all forms of transport, home and office rentals, schooling, electricity, water and medical care continue to climb steadily year on year. One of life’s greatest occurrences – the coming of a new baby into the world – has also not escaped the ravages of inflation and corporate greed. Today, having a baby in a private hospital can be a…

KwaZulu-Natal’s latest expanded unemployment rate of 47.9% is a direct symptom of the empty political promises this ANC-run government has spewed out for nearly three decades. Last week’s copy and paste State of the Province Address (Sopa) is also part of a larger problem. Systemic failures within basic education coupled with no real rural development, a dearth of investor confidence and government incompetence have all led to KZN’s horrendous current unemployment statistics. It is easy to extrapolate and link the province’s crime stats to unemployment figures. There simply is no good story to tell. It is no coincidence that the DA-led Western Cape’s unemployment rate is 11% lower than KZN’s. Innovative and nimble political leadership has seen a dramatic shift in investment flowing to the Cape. Better governance, better schools…

Why is the average person, as an individual, in this country, so forgiving when it comes to shoddy service from any quarter? People are possibly prepared to join protest marches, but will seldom ever complain on a one-to-one basis. Am I the only one who does this? At a famous fruit and vegetable store: “Where are the sanitising towels to clean shopping trolleys?” “Got finished, Sir, I will tell the manager on Monday.” At the same store: “How do you expect to sell these already rotten bananas?” “So sorry, Sir, they are using chemicals that cause this thing.” At a famous supermarket, in the same, upmarket area: “Where is the floor manager to control these queues at the tills?” “I will try to find him, maybe at a meeting.” At…

Charlene Somduth’s front page article in the POST (March 1-5, 2023), “Wife, lover face murder charge”, has shocked the community of Chatsworth and the murder most definitely should be classed as one of the most barbaric. Our elders and forefathers will hang their heads in shame at the callous, inhumane murder of the father of two. What is happening to us? Our sense of morality has plummeted to new depths. Enough is enough: we have a crisis and there is definitely something rotten in our community. These insensitive and inhuman beings are savages. The Bayview police team deserve the highest accolades for their painstaking investigation. Definitely, a very difficult job in this country is being a policeman. To the Bayview team, take a bow for a job well done. The…

Aurets is a healer, psychic medium, intuitive mentor, masseuse and regression therapist who also teaches meditation and breath work. She practises in Upper Highway. ARIES (March 21 – April 19) Allow your abundance to flow by releasing your fear. How does not matter. Be open to receiving gratefully with the faith of acceptance and the highest good for yourself. Life can be easier when you release the struggle within. Heal and breathe. Magic number: 9. TAURUS (April 20 – May 20) The answers are there. Listen to your dreams, intuition and thoughts. Everything you need to know is in front of you. Still your mind. Be quiet. Follow the steps carefully to find the answers you need. Magic number: 5. GEMINI (May 21 – June 20) If worry holds you…