Table of contents for 2021-08-25 in Post

health Pregnancy is one of the most cherished times in a woman’s life. When you find out that you are pregnant, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the overall health of you and your unborn child. Saffron spice is beneficial during pregnancy. It is painstakingly derived from the flowers of the Crocus sativus. Ayush Aggarwal, the founder and chief executive of Rasayanam, an Ayurveda start-up in India, shares the benefits of saffron during pregnancy. Tackles your mood swings: Mood swings have always been the most common issue faced by women during pregnancy. It is due to many factors such as the rapid hormonal changes or the physical discomforts. Saffron produces serotonin, which modulates the mood by amplifying the blood flow. This helps you cope with emotional ups…

BABITA Deokaran’s family believe she could have been gunned down because she was a witness in the Special Investigations Unit’s (SIU) investigation into the Gauteng Department of Health. Deokaran, the chief director of financial accounting at the department, was killed outside her house on Monday. The 53-year-old, of Mondeor, south of Johannesburg, had returned home from dropping off her daughter, 16, at school. While waiting to enter her property, gunmen opened fire on her vehicle. She sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Deokaran was taken to hospital where she died a few hours later. Her family believes her death could be linked to her being a witness in the SIU investigation into the province’s health department for corruption and fraud. This pertained to the procurement of personal protective equipment. “Someone tried to…

Janine Moodley janine.moodley@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality is the fourth most implicated municipality when it comes to reports of corruption from whistle-blowers. Corruption Watch released a report last week on local government corruption based on 32 998 whistle-blower reports from 2012 to 2020. eThekwini Municipality had 166 reports. Topping the list was the City of Joburg with 700 reports followed by Ekurhuleni with 354 reports and the City of Tshwane with 325 reports. The City of Cape Town was fifth on the list with 125 reports. Last year, Corruption Watch said it saw a 50% increase in the number of corruption cases. The most common form of corruption at a local level was found to be bribery. This was followed by procurement irregularities, employment irregularities, abuse of power and embezzlement of…

Justin Visagie, Ivan Turok and Sharlene Swartz SOUTH Africa has among the highest recorded levels of social protest of any country in the world. The reasons behind this are more complex than often assumed. The scale and severity of the looting and sabotage in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng last month, following the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma, have brought social protest and civil unrest into the popular discourse. But much of the commentary on the July riot – which cost more than 300 lives and billions of rand in damage to the economy – has neglected the long history of violent protest in the country. The truth is that, while disgruntlement by Zuma’s supporters was the trigger, the roots of social unrest go much deeper. What is more,…

WITHIN the Department of Education (DOE), it’s the men and women at school level, mainly the classroom practitioners, who do the heavy lifting. They represent the cradle of the nation, often working under daunting odds in their efforts to mould productive citizens for the tomorrows yet to come. Two sources, Covid-19 and the recent riots, both unexpected and frightening, have created a recipe for post-traumatic stress (PTS) for teachers. PTS could be described as normal or expected human reactions to abnormal situations. But manifestations, for example, such as fearfulness, sleep disturbances, impeded concentration, tendency to panic, a sense of hopelessness or feeling ignored, demotivated or unsupported, could have negative impacts on the well-being of this group of people, who, even at the very best of times, have onerous…

THERE were startling revelations at a media briefing about the Marikana reparations of the payment of more than R170 million to claimants. I even admired F Pandelani, the solicitor general, when he blurted: “We can’t have a bottomless pit of money!” While I am a firm advocate of the sanctity of human life and that no amount of money can bring back a loved one, people need to understand that you cannot hang today’s clothes in yesterday’s sunshine. The public was informed of, among other things, the following: That more than R69m was paid to 35 families. Advocate Dali Mpofu represented all the widows. They have rejected the government’s offer of a further R500 000 but are insisting on R1.5m. They are even talking of a fund to be set…

THE recent dramatic spike in Covid-19 cases within KwaZulu-Natal’s schools – as the more virulent Delta variant fastens its grip on our youth – is causing justifiable anguish for all involved within the educational sector. Many parents have raised questions with the DA regarding school protocols once cases have been identified and around sanitisation of schools once a positive person has been identified. For both, there are sound procedures in place. In terms of the latter, every school is supplied with materials to sanitise daily once learners leave. If this is not being done, it is criminal and the DA urges parents or those involved in the schooling environment to alert us immediately. While we have not, to date, received any confirmed instances of such, there have been numerous claims…

Latoya Newman latoya.newman@inl.co.za IN a bid to increase South Africa’s vaccination roll-out programme, registrations for everyone 18 years and older started on Friday, earlier than the initial September 1 roll-out plan. The move is intended to boost the numbers of the country’s vaccinated population. South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination drive was initially criticised for lagging behind. An added challenge has been that many people are still choosing not to vaccinate. In a statement following a virtual Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the government said over 9 million vaccines have been administered in South Africa, with over 7 million people partially vaccinated and over 4 million fully vaccinated. “Scientific evidence confirms that vaccinated people stand a better chance of surviving from Covid-19 than unvaccinated people. Therefore, we must all dispel the unfounded and…

Charlene Somduth charlene.somduth@inl.co.za JOB losses and salary cuts due to Covid-19 and the recent unrest are having a ripple effect on the payment of school fees at Stanger Manor Secondary School. Harithasen Naidoo, the principal, said previously they had a school fees collection rate of 90% but it had now dropped to 37%. The school was established in 1980 and Naidoo has been the principal since November last year. There are 36 teachers, six of whom are employed by the school governing body. “Our school is a quintile 5, this means we don’t receive much funding from the Department of Education. We have an enrolment of 1 164 pupils for grades 8 to 12.” Naidoo said the department allocated a budget of R202 200 for the year. “This is…

The Durban club were officially given top flight status last week after it purchased the PSL status of the now defunct Bloemfontein Celtic. Royal AM have chosen to use Chatsworth Stadium as their home ground this season.In their inaugural season the club’s aim will be to avoid relegation, given that they will be pitted against more well resourced and experienced teams. Cricket South Africa stunned by another potential high-profile departure The local cricket fraternity was stunned by another potential high-profile departure on Monday after Proteas assistant coach Enoch Nkwe declared an intention to resign from his position as he felt he was working in a difficult environment. Nkwe’s announcement is a huge blow to cricket given that he is one of the most skilled coaches, having led the…

Duff is a psychic medium, soul coach, spiritual mentor, healer and animal communicator. She has been connecting with spirit for over 20 years and runs her business, Quantum Soul, from Waterfall in KwaZulu-Natal. Listen to her on Lotus FM, live at 1.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as she connects with loved ones in spirit, and on GlowTV on Sundays after 8pm. Contact her at 072 986 5514 or email sharron@quantsoul.com Sharron Duff ARIES (March 21 – April 19) The end of a difficult cycle is coming to a close and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Trust that you are being guided. You may be receiving help from a friend. Accept this, even though it may not feel like help at the time. Lucky colour: purple.…

Charlene Somduth charlene.somduth@inl.co.za COURT proceedings were interrupted on Monday when a suspect linked to the recent unrest in Phoenix felt light-headed. Yubandra Govender, 46, who suffers from hypertension, was being cross-examined by the State during his bail application when he stumbled backwards. Other accused, seated around him, grabbed on to him to prevent him from falling. Magistrate Irfaan Khalil adjourned proceedings for 10 minutes while Govender was given water and a sweet. The accused appeared alongside Rinesh Mohan, Mehmood Khan, Mckallen Govender, Sholan Reddy, Khalil Mohammed, Christopher Pillay, Kirosh Maharaj and Sumeeth Maharaj. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and public violence. The murder charge relates to the death of a man who was captured on CCTV footage fleeing from a mob. He subsequently died.…

Nikita Chiniah nikita.chiniah@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality is in the process of installing prepaid and smart water meters to improve billing, revenue collection, and to reduce illegal consumption, following a 49% water loss. During the city’s executive committee meeting last Tuesday, it was announced that a leak detection project was being implemented. Msawakhe Mayisela, the eThekwini spokesperson, said the water loss was a concern and that it was being prioritised. “Glitches with meter readings, aged meters and estimates are being interrogated, and customer services department officials are addressing them. “Anomalies and fluctuations with the billing system, including bulk purchases, are also being addressed,” said Mayisela. Water meter installations were gaining momentum, following recent material shortages, he said. “Vehicles, plants and equipment for operational departments are (also) being prioritised, to improve the…

Nikita Chiniah nikita.chiniah@inl.co.za A CHATSWORTH father, who wanted his son to make peace with a teenager who was allegedly harassing him, was killed on Friday, following a dispute. Suntesh Mittoo, 42, of Westcliff, a medical distribution manager, was stabbed several times. He later died in hospital. His son Shoaib Shaik, 20, said he went to a nearby shopping complex on Florence Nightingale Drive that day. He said he had a prior run-in with the 16-year-old in July and claimed he was harassed again. “I went home and told my dad about it. We went to the shopping complex with the intention of making peace and moving forward. But he called his siblings and his dad,” said Shaik. Shaik said his dad was assaulted with hockey sticks and stabbed. “I tried…

Nadia Khan nadia.khan@inl.co.za FOLLOWING a 74.1% increase in sexual offences, women’s advocacy groups are demanding the government immediately open the proposed 32 sexual offences courts in the country. According to the recently released police crime statistics, for the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year, between April and June this year, 12 702 sexual offences were reported across South Africa. They included rape, sexual assault, and attempted and contact sexual offences. General Bheki Cele, the Police Minister, said the figure was a 74.1% increase on the same period last year, when 7 296 cases were reported. In June this year, during his response to questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that 32 regional courts were ready to be designated as Sexual Offences Courts. But…

Nokuthula Mabuza nokuthula.mabuza@inl.co.za DUMISANI Mvubu, the deputy principal at Welile Moshoeshoe Primary School, said not receiving enough money to function optimally, was a challenge for the institution. The school, in Amaoti, north of Durban, caters to pupils from grades R to 7. It was founded in 1937 on church premises. Years later, four other schools in the same area were built. Mvubu said the school began with five classrooms and 14 teachers. Today it has 24 classrooms and 42 teachers. “There was no land to build a school here until the community urged the church to share its premises. The school has been here ever since,” said Mvubu, who has been teaching there for almost 17 years. “We used to have about 500 pupils and the classes were overcrowded. In…

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa, told the Zondo Commission of Inquiry that he never checked to see if minutes of party meetings were recorded. He attributed this to the fact that there were too many ANC meetings. Ramaphosa has effectively revealed the root cause of the poor performance of senior government leaders, including himself, and his ministers. The same applies to provincial and municipal leadership. The ANC decision to deploy its leaders into key government posts has come back to haunt the party and cause irreparable harm to it. The president and Cabinet members all serve in the leadership structures of the ANC and are required to juggle their work between Parliament and Luthuli House. The demands of both are onerous. Over the years, contestation within the ANC has become fierce…

ETHEKWINI’S water woes as a result of its ageing infrastructure and the financial challenges posed to upgrading it, calls for a reconfiguration of its budget. But is that the only solution? The frequent pipe bursts in neighbourhoods are indicators of the extent to which the network requires upgrading rather than patching on an ad hoc basis. Neglecting to provide more money to address the decline in the condition of the infrastructure coupled with water losses amounting to 50% while revenue has decreased by 20%, calls for more than a budget review. It calls for a local government restructuring. The signals that this bloated eThekwini Metro is unsustainable have been mounting steadily for years. Besides its stagnant rates base, which cannot continue to be squeezed to provide the largesse that is…

Charlene Somduth charlene.somduth@inl.co.za THE University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has rejected Visham Panday's application asking them to disclose whether or not they are paying for Avril Sahadew’s legal fees. On June 7, Panday, a businessman, made the application in the Durban High Court, under the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The application was done through his non-profit organisation, VP Justice Foundation, which is focused on exposing corruption. In his application, Panday said he wanted the university to disclose if they were paying for Sahadew’s criminal case and, if they were, UKZN must provide the cost. He also wanted UKZN to disclose the amount paid for the legal fees of Operation Clever. Sahadew, 43, a forensic audit specialist at the university, was charged with defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping, and…

Janine Moodley janine.moodley@inl.co.za THE name of a Newlands East mixed martial arts athlete, Tayyib Galdhari, has been entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders and he has been declared unfit to work with children. On Friday, the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court convicted the 22-year-old after he pleaded guilty to 50 counts of illegal possession of child pornography. Galdhari was sentenced to seven years in jail, which he is serving at Westville Prison. The Marble Ray resident was arrested at his home on the morning of September 3 last year. Police found 50 images and videos of child pornography on his cellphone. Natasha Kara, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu-Natal, said those were inappropriate images of unknown children, both boys and girls, from as young as one year…

PFIZER and its partner BioNTech have asked US and European regulators to approve a booster dose following a two-shot regimen of their Covid-19 vaccine. This was based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation. Moderna has also filed for full approval for their vaccines in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration is aiming to give the green light for the Pfizer shots by early September. As of yet, there is no consensus among scientists and agencies, including the World Health Organization, that a third dose is necessary. The following outlines what some countries and regions are considering on the issue: Europe’s drug regulator, on July 14, refrained from making any recommendations on mixing schedules of Covid-19 vaccines with doses from different manufacturers, saying it…

Staff Reporter Q: Do I have a choice as to which vaccine I would like? A: No, not currently. It depends on the vaccine supply. There may come a time when a person will be able to choose. Q: What should I do if I contract Covid-19 between the two doses? A: You can continue with the second dose but will have to wait for at least 30-days after recovery to get the second dose. Q: Should you take the second dose if the first dose caused side effects? A: If the side effects following the first dose were mild or moderate, a person should have the second vaccination. However, if there was a severe allergic reaction to the first dose, then the second dose isn’t advisable. With that said,…

Charlene Somduth charlene.somduth@inl.co.za SWANVALE Primary School is in debt. The school, in Phoenix, owes the eThekwini Municipality R150 000 for water and electricity. Mohamed Shah, the chairperson of the school governing body (SGB), said they were unable to pay the arrears. The school opened 40 years ago and has 400 pupils from grades R to 7. “We are ranked quintile 5 (fee-paying). We have 13 teachers and two of them are employed and paid by the SGB. Prior to Covid-19, we were allocated a budget of about R150 000 from the Department of Education. It has now been reduced to about R90 000. We need about R60 000 a month to pay our monthly bills,” he said. Shah said the school fees for the year were R1 400 per pupil.…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za SOUTH African top flight football has officially returned to Chatsworth for the first time since 2016 when Lamontville Golden Arrows switched their base from Chatsworth to the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont. This comes after Durban football club Royal AM officially acquired the top flight status of the now defunct Bloemfontein Celtic last week. The Shauwn Mkhize-owned Royal AM officially played their first top flight game of the new season against Swallows FC at the Dobsonville Stadium last weekend. The DStv Premiership newcomers put up a good fight but lost 1-0 after Mbulelo Wambi scored with virtually the last kick of the game. While Royal AM cannot realistically expect to challenge for trophies, they stand a good chance of avoiding the relegation drop given that they…

Janine Moodley janine.moodley@inl.co.za A METRO police inspector has been suspended for alleged misconduct after his social media post, following July’s unrest, was deemed defamatory with connotations of incitement. On July 28, Persilen Naidoo shared a post on the history of violence experienced by Indian South Africans. It made reference to the Durban Riots of 1949 and the Inanda Riots of 1985. The post then mentioned the recent unrest and questioned why Indians were the only ones targeted when they fought back. The post was shared with the words: “Sometimes we need to think and understand why ppl do what they do.” (sic) It is alleged that a colleague screenshot the post and shared it on metro police’s WhatsApp group, demanding that action be taken against Naidoo. Two days later, on…

Charlene Somduth charlene.somduth@inl.co.za AS A teenager, Shantal Bechoo volunteered at welfare organisations in Chatsworth. She learnt about social ills in the community and this prompted her to study social science. Today, Bechoo is a social worker and the new head of the Anti-Drug Forum in Chatsworth. She took over after the forum’s founder, Sam Pillay, succumbed to Covid-19 in January. Pillay spearheaded education programmes at schools and later teamed up with the police to investigate and arrest drug dealers and runners. Bechoo, 35, of Chatsworth, joined the organisation in 2014. “When I joined, I quickly transitioned to the post of chief social worker. My duties included meeting families who have relatives battling with addiction. I also helped put programmes together that drive awareness in schools.” She said after Pillay’s death,…

Nikita Chiniah nikita.chiniah@inl.co.za POOR funding and a reduction in school fees have left PR Pather Secondary School in arrears with its utility bills. “The fees are R2 400 a year per learner. Prior to Covid, we collected about 40% of the fees. But now pupils have been applying for concessions or full-fee exemption. This year, we have only collected 16% of the fees. We are struggling,” said the principal, Yoganatha Naidoo. “The parents come from predominantly poor socio-economic backgrounds and the majority of them are unemployed or they have casual work. For some of them, the pandemic has just made things worse.” The school, in Merebank, has 690 pupils and it caters to grades 8 to 12. There are 21 teachers and five school governing body (SGB) appointees. Despite the…

Professor Vimolan Mudaly COVID-19 has declared war on all countries. It saw no colour, no creed, no class and no political affiliation. It destroyed those who dared to challenge the simple protocols that it demanded – wash hands, sanitise and wear a mask. That is all the virus feared. Two of those protocols should have been routine, in any case. So, this little unseen thing has ravaged the world with such impunity, leaving behind a trail of death, permanent ailments and financial ruin for many. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that if all goes well, South Africa should recover to pre-pandemic levels of GDP per capita by the fourth quarter of 2022. This does not say much for us. We were not doing well in any…

POLICE Minister Bheki Cele wants us to believe the crime situation is not as bad as it seems. Presenting the recent quarterly crime statistics, the minister was desperate to explain that the picture painted by the figures was exaggerated by last year’s hard lockdown. But even when looked at without the magnification resulting from comparing the corresponding quarters of this year and last year, the remaining picture is of a stubborn violent crime crisis that is destined to worsen rather than improve. It cannot be denied that the level 5 lockdown, which brought most economic, social and sporting activities to a halt at the beginning of the cataclysmic 2020, had a suppressive effect on most crimes. Indeed, the double-digit percentage increases in contact crimes, such as murder, may not be…

Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa THE South African Hindu Dharma Sabha respectfully requests you to personally, through national television, instil calm, quell racial tensions, allay fears and furthermore reassure minority communities that we are an integral and precious part of our South African rainbow nation. This position is consistent with the principle that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. This, as was enunciated in the Freedom Charter adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown in Soweto on June 26, 1955, and guaranteed by our all-inclusive Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act number 108 of 1996. It is distressing that in the celebratory Women’s Month of August, many Indian women as well as children and men are living in fear and are uncertain about our…

AUGUST is a special month where we remember and pay tribute to women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our democracy. As we celebrate women’s strength and resilience, we must not forget that on August 9, 1956, about 20 000 brave women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where they faced the might of white control. We honour these courageous women. Due to the pandemic, celebration to commemorate Women’s Month has been limited. But social ills against women, like gender-based violence, continue regardless of the pandemic. But this violence is sometimes not reported to the police due to fear. So let us all work together to ensure women are always safe. I am glad that women of today are empowering themselves through education. This will create a platform for…

Nadia Khan nadia.khan@inl.co.za A GQEBERHA (Port Elizabeth) couple is waiting for justice a year after both their children died of organ failure. Selina and Stanton Ingram’s children, Tammy, 12, and Matthew, 17, died days after they allegedly inhaled toxic gases from a neighbouring flat that was being fumigated at their complex in Kabega Park. At the time, Selina Ingram told the POST their neighbours were notified about the fumigation arrangements and were told to make alternative sleeping plans on August 21 last year. She said they were unaware of this. Ingram, a housewife, said she and Stanton, a draughtsman, had said goodnight to their children before going to bed. Tammy, however, woke them up a few hours later. She told them she was not feeling well. Her eyes and nose…

Sara Gon CRITICAL Race Theory (CRT) is an academic theory, the purpose of which is to convince people that in order to overcome racism they need to embrace anti-racism. This theory is perpetuated by creating a method for addressing racism. However, while CRT purports to end racism, it does, in fact, entrench it. CRT propounds that black people are eternal victims of “white supremacy”, and whites are eternally guilty as “white supremacist” victimisers, irrespective of them never having participated in the subjugation of black people. The theory suggests that the only way to change these black-white power relationships is to destroy “the system”. The theory originated in the US and is framed in the context of slavery and white dominance in the power structures. This means destroying law enforcement and…

Janine Moodley janine.moodley@inl.co.za THE prefab classrooms at Kamalinee Primary in Isipingo require repairs but this comes at a cost. “The classrooms were condemned and are no longer in use. But we want them repaired so we can comfortably accommodate children. We’ve submitted numerous requests to the Department of Education and await a response,” said Janelle Chetty, the school’s secretary and its spokesperson. She said the school was allocated R177 000 a year and that its annual expenses were around R3 million. Chetty said the school had 35 state-paid teachers and seven school governing body-appointed teachers. There are 1 080 pupils from grades R to 7 and some parents are unable to pay the monthly school fees of R4 000 because they lost their jobs during the pandemic and unrest. Chetty…

THE Department of Education and the eThekwini Municipality said they were providing relief to schools that were unable to pay their utility bills. Muzi Mhlambi, the spokesperson for the Department of Education in KZN, said: “The pandemic has devastated a lot of people with some losing their jobs. Unfortunately, some of those people happen to be parents, who will not be able to pay a lot of what they normally would do, including school fees.” The department had extended its nutrition programme to children when they were not attending school, he said. “Schools are being assisted with their utility bills, through norms and standards funds allocated to schools.” Msawakhe Mayisela, the spokesperson for the city, said many schools were unable to pay for their services. “The schools can sign a…

THE bigger seas have not been the nicest to be on if you suffer from the curse of sea sickness but some good catches have been made. The North Coast continues to produce the best game fish action. The snoek have been feeding well around the river mouths and adjacent beaches. Trolling a fillet bait in the early mornings has produced fine specimens. If you prefer lures, then spinning with a small spoon can be deadly when fished with a rapid retrieve. If you are fishing with a very small spoon then consider using wire, otherwise go without as you will get more bites as a result. The Durban area has also seen some decent snoek fishing around the Umgeni mouth as well as on Limestone reef just outside the…