tameTIMES Boksburg Flipbook - 28.09.2021

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tame TIMES - Boksburg

A FRESH APPROACH TO LOCAL NEWS 28 September 2021

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The Covid-19 Third Wave Officially Over With Level 1 Expected Soon “Nationally, all the measures and metrics are on a sustained decline, which is quite promising,” The country has officially exited its third wave of coronavirus infections, said the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in a statement on Sunday (26 September). The institute said that the national sevenday moving average of daily case numbers, positivity rate, and testing rates continue to decrease, with sustained decreases seen in all 9 provinces. On Sunday, only 967 new Covid-19 cases were reported, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,896,943. This represents a 5% positivity rate. The senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Ridhwaan Suliman, said that new infections in South Africa are now at 4 per 100,000 people, which is 11% of what was seen during the peak of the third wave a few weeks ago. New cases over the last week have been, on average, around 2,000 per day – a 40% decline in cases from the week before. Hospitalisations have dropped by 32%, and deaths decreased by 35%, week-on-week. “Nationally, all the measures and metrics

are on a sustained decline, which is quite promising,” he said. “The leading indicators have declined sufficiently below the threshold to indicate that, as a country, we have now formally exited the third wave.” The government is expected to announce South Africa’s updated lockdown regulations in the coming weeks, after moving to an adjusted level 2 lockdown on the 13th of September 2021. The Professional services firm PwC said that it expects the government to move to level 1 lockdown from the start of October. “The severity of the elongated mid-year wave, and the accompanying strictness of associated lockdowns, is a key driver behind the nature of the economic recovery, alongside the impact of electricity load-shedding,” the group said. “All our scenarios take into account a likely fourth wave of infections – with varying severity, depending on the scenario – during the summer holidays.” Joe Phaahla, the new Minister of Health, said last week that the government is considering the further easing of lockdown restrictions. Some of the eased restrictions could include: An 00h00 evening curfew; Alcohol allowed to be sold for off-site consumption on a Saturday; More leisure activities will be allowed to reopen. Phaahla and other health experts have however warned that a fourth wave could be

on the horizon – particularly with the coming elections in November, and higher mobility and larger gatherings over the end-of-year holiday period. Wits University vaccinology professor Shabir Madhi told the Sunday Times that the campaigning period ahead of 1 November’s local elections could cause numerous superspreader events. Prof Madhi said campaigning will be “the riskiest period with regard to possible superspreader events, particularly if electioneering is allowed to take place in poorly ventilated indoor places.”

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This is likely to be the case irrespective of the number of people who are allowed into these places. Increased community i mmunity and rollout of vaccines could lessen the blow of these superspreader events to a degree.

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28 September 2021

R200 Million Illegal Social Grants Paid To McDonald’s To Take The Toy Joy Out Of Its ‘Happy Meal’ Government Employees Every Month As a child visiting McDonald’s was always fun because of the little toys that

Over 170 000 South African government employees are illegally receiving more than R200 million in social grants administered by the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) every month. The Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu revealed this in a parliamentary response to questions from DA Member of Parliament, Mimmy Gondwe. According to the Zulu, the 177 108 public service employees from national and provincial government departments skimmed a combined R200 787 648. The government is now on a mission to recover the funds. Public servants were entitled to receive a grant for a foster child and may also get a care dependency grant only when paid for the same child. Zulu however revealed, in a five-page report to Parliament, that government

employees also received other grants, including old age, disability, and child support. “Since the information has been extracted, arrangements have been made to suspend the grants, apart from the foster child grants, for all public servants. Those who still qualify will have to come in and review the grant, and provide current information on their income to determine whether they still qualify to receive these grants” Measures will also be taken to recover any funds overpaid, said Zulu. The lion’s share of the R200 million went to KwaZulu-Natal government employees who looted Sassa out of more than R107 million. The second-largest amount, R19.6 million was taken by Northern Cape government employees, while Gauteng and Eastern Cape government employees were in the top four after getting R18.1 million and R16.3 million, respectively. Minister

Zulu added: Where it is found that the public servants were receiving a grant to which they were not entitled, the matter will be reported to their employing department, for disciplinary action to be taken. Gondwe said it “can’t be right that public service employees drawing salaries from state coffers are applying for grants intended for beneficiaries that really require those grants”. Gondwe said Sassa needed to strengthen its systems to ensure that no public service employees benefitted from grants they were not meant to receive. “I am surprised by the high number of public service employees that are currently receiving grants and obviously, i welcome the commitment made by the minister in the response that measures will be taken to recover any funds paid to public service employees who do not qualify for those grants,” said gondwe. “They [employees] will be reported to their various departments so that disciplinary and other legal action are taken against them,” She added. Gondwe said she became curious whether public servants received Sassa grants after earlier learning from Zulu that close to 40 000 public service employees had applied for the R350 Social Relief Distress Grant.

came inside the kiddies’ ‘Happy Meal’. From little cars to tiny figurines of our beloved childhood friends Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, wondering what we’d find next inside the box was always exciting.

Soon kids won’t find their favourite plastic toys because the food company has decided to go green. Believe it or not, the best part of a McDonald’s ‘Happy Meal’ was not the chicken nuggets of the small tub of corn. For years kiddies have enjoyed discovering a toy to add to their collection. But by the year 2025, children will no longer be able to find a plastic toy inside the iconic children’s meal as the fast-food giant plans to become more eco-friendly. REPLACEMENT THEORY: BUILD YOUR OWN 3D TOYS Earlier this week, McDonald’s announced their plans to scrap plastic toys from the meal but it isn’t all bad news as they will be replacing plastic toys with toys that are made with more sustainable material. “Our next generation of customers care deeply about protecting the planet and what we can do to help make our business more sustainable,” said mcdonald’s chief sustainability officer, jenny mccolloch, in a statement. “With this transition for our toys, we’re working closely with suppliers, families and play experts and engineers to introduce more sustainable, innovative designs and help drive demand for recycled materials, to keep mcdonald’s communities and beyond smiling for generations to come. Giving a little insight into what children can expect, McDonald’s shared that “fan-favourite movie characters that used to be plastic figurines may reappear as 3D figures that can be built and decorated”. They also said that board games that usually come with plastic game pieces will be swapped with accessories made from certified plant-derived or recycled materials.

Jacob Zuma Spends First Night At Nkandla After Being Discharged From Hospital

Franz Marx Dies Of Covid

“He is in his Nkandla home but he will be returning to spend the whole of next week in Johannesburg. We are just happy that he is fine and things are somewhat back to normal, though not 100% yet,” said one of the sources with intimate details, who asked not to be named. The source said Zuma’s return was being kept low-key as it was believed that they did not want people to flock to the compound or any fanfare around his return. The 79-year-old former head of state started serving his sentence in July after he was found guilty of contempt of court for failure to comply with an order of the Constitutional Court to honour a summons to appear before the state capture inquiry. He was sentenced to 15 months behind bars and spent several weeks of his incarceration in the medical wing of the Estcourt Correctional Centre before being moved to an external hospital for further treatment. The family said previously that Zuma had been unwell since he was “poisoned” in 2014. The Sunday Times reported that he travelled to Russia to confirm the diagnosis and undergo

Messages of condolences from friends and colleagues have been sent to his relatives. Film critic Leon Van Nierop confirmed Franz’s death on Sunday, saying he died of COVID-19 complications at 09:45. Marx began his career in TV as a full-time actor in 1968 and later, as director, Franz went on to write numerous TV series and mini-series between 1980 and 2000. Franz adapted the soap opera format for the South African audience with the record-breaking Agter Elke Man (Behind Each Man), which dominated local television for four years, between 1985 and 1988. He is most well-known for creating M-Net’s Egoli – Plek van Goud (Egoli – Place of Gold), which ran for 19 seasons from 1992 to 2010. In a tribute to franz, leon wrote on facebook: “he taught all of us who tried to write soap operas (with an emphasis on trying) how to construct soap operas and write summaries of each episode. Also

Former president Jacob Zuma has spent his first night in the comfort of his Nkandla home after being discharged from a Gauteng hospital on Wednesday, three independent sources have confirmed this.

treatment. He was granted medical parole by head of correctional services Arthur Fraser and is set to spend the remainder of his sentence at his Nkandla home. The Jacob Zuma Foundation’s Mzwanele Manyi previously said details of Zuma’s discharge would not be made public due to security reasons. “Due to a frenzy of media enquiries, the foundation wishes to advise that due to security reasons, the discharge of [former] President Zuma from the hospital will not be announced. At the right time, subject to correctional services conditions, further announcements will be made,” said Manyi. Zuma’s family, friends and relatives in kwaDakwadunuse who were eagerly awaiting his return had planned to give him a hero’s welcome. Celebrations that were planned had included a prayer and the slaughtering of bulls to give thanks to the ancestors for Zuma’s safe return. At the time, Zuma’s other brother Khanya said, “Usually when something good happens we slaughter cows to say thank you, but we have not met to discuss how we are going to celebrate.” On Thursday Khanya said, “I just got a call from my brother Joseph now asking me whether I had gone to see him because he arrived home last night. I told him that I had not heard that he was home already.” He said he was waiting for his elder brother Joseph to return from Durban.

On his return, they will both go to Zuma’s compound to see him. Joseph also confirmed the news. “I am rushing there now to see him. I am very happy he is back safely,” he said. Earlier this week, it was reported that at the Pietermaritzburg high court a legal team appointed by the state, which has been given access to Zuma’s medical records, deemed that he is fit to stand trial. This is according to the latest affidavit filed by advocate Billy Downer, who is leading the prosecution team in the arms deal trial in which Zuma and French arms company Thales are facing a myriad of charges. It was disclosed in court that Zuma was recently being treated at a hospital in Pretoria. Zuma wants Downer – and in fact all National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prosecutors – off the case, claiming they are biased. On Monday Zuma reportedly penned an open letter saying that SA was becoming a “constitutional dictatorship”. Zuma said the public have been “hypnotised” by an anti-Zuma narrative, and accused the judiciary of bending and manipulating the laws on several occasions to target him. The former president detailed three instances which he said proved his claims, including the establishment of the state capture inquiry and the refusal by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo to recuse himself as the chair of the inquiry.

The prolific South African writer and creator Franz Marx, the man who brought us Egoli amongst others, died at the age of 78 on Sunday, after contracting the COVID-19 virus.

what to do and what not to do.” He went on to say: “i still remember working with him on christmas day on some of the first episodes of egoli. He was a workaholic (‘i always work in the mornings, do not bother me in the mornings leon,’) who gave his life for the soap opera, especially at the beginning.” “What a loss. One could have written books about him. But first, this tribute to franz as the undisputed and highly-respected king of soap operas. Many people who still write soap operas today have learned from him. A big one is gone,” said Leon.


28 September 2021

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28 September 2021

Things to consider after the Springboks heart-breaking loss to the All Blacks

They made no secret of the fact that they were going to go back to basics and revert solely to the kicking game that served them so well in the World Cup and against the British and Irish Lions. This was good and well but the problem is that having kicked and chased so well, they then failed to capitalise on the momentum and space they created. Instead of then moving the ball, they carried on kicking. They squandered so many clear opportunities to attack it is scandalous.

Now that the dust has settled on the Springboks’ heart-breaking 19-17 defeat to the All Blacks, Mike Greenaway looks at five talking points from the Centenary match between the old rivals.

The Bok forwards did their job Apart from solidity in the set pieces, Siya Kolisi’s pack manufactured an incredible 13 turnovers at the breakdowns and rucks and mauls. That is a fine effort and it is such a pity that this invaluable source of possession was inevitably kicked away. Any coach will tell you that is the

best ball to attack with because the opposition defence usually hasn’t settled yet... Okay, it was only a semblance of the six-strong Bomb Squad of the World Cup but the three front-rankers from that squad were playing off the bench together for the first time since Japan and boy did Vincent Koch, Steven Kitshoff and Malcolm Marx come to the party! Their scrumming was superb — they forced two scrum penalties — and these guys also made an impressive impact in general play. The Bok loosies were on fire Siya Kolisi went into this match under pressure after having played below par in the two defeats

to the Wallabies. By his own admission, he was a shadow of the player that was so good against the Lions. His response was to be the best South African on the park and had his team won, he would have been the Man of the Match. Backing up Kolisi was much-improved Duane Vermeulen while Kwagga Smith — who was a controversial selection — made a nuisance of himself al over the park. He was exceptional, and then Marco van Staden came on and was even better! So if the forwards were so good, why did the Boks lose? The Boks lost because their game plan was too rigid.

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Where to now for the Boks? There is a worry now for the Boks that having emptied the tank against the All Blacks and all but won the game, they are not going to be able to play with the same intensity this week in the return match against the same side, and that there is a potential blow-out on the cards. This second match is indeed going to be a major test of Springbok resolve. Will they be able to shake off the disappointment and “get up” once again and set the record straight? We can only hope so because the reality s that they only need to tweak their game plan a little to get far better results. And that tweak is to allow themselves to use their backline when the forwards and the kickers have got them momentum ... And not kick the game to death.

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