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Est 2009 Issue 02 - 2020

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Inner-City Gazette

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23 - 30 January 2020

Website : www.inner-city-gazette.com

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Inner City Gazette

City Power to engage Eskom over load shedding Isaac Mangena

City Power CEO Lerato Setshedi

Johannesburg - City Power plans to engage Eskom to find alternative ways to cushion residents against the impact of load-shedding. The power utility has incurred a financial loss of over R58 million between 16 October 2019 and 5 January 2020 due to load shedding. Eskom made at least 16 load shedding declarations ranging from Stage 1 to Stage 6, as the Joburg power utility struggled with generation and other capacity constraints.

City Power CEO Lerato Setshedi said the cost of load shedding is huge for City Power. “We need to plan accordingly to maximise on other opportunities, including load limiting through smart meters, ripple relays, and increasing generating capacity at Kelvin Power Station, so that we cushion our customers against the impact of loadshedding. Plans are already underway to engage Eskom on some of these alternatives,” Setshedi said. Ina statement City Power said losses were felt mostly in three key areas,

which include staff overtime, as it is forced to avail technicians and operators after normal working hours to ensure restorations are done after load shedding. “Due to its ageing infrastructure, City Power has seen an increase in areas taking longer to restore due to insurge currents and explosions.” Another area of loses is the equipment, which either failed during restorations, or the transformers or mini substations that exploded during insurgents of current, the power utility said. “Rebooting the power grids is

to the detriment of already aged infrastructure and will lead to a failure risk of said infrastructure. The last is the loss of potential profit, which it would have made if it sold electricity to customers. But because of load shedding, people are not consuming, which means loss of revenue.” These loses do not include billions of rand lost by business’s lack of activity across the City of Johannesburg during load shedding, especially small and township-based businesses who don’t afford generators and other alternatives, City Power said.

Inner-city Gazette

News

For further information contact Boston on 011 551 2000 Email: info@boston.co.za Visit www.boston.co.za, or Facebook

First SA

institution in line for international accreditation in USA

Companies can no longer operate in isolation from the global economies, if they wish to compete in an ever varying economy, most especially an economy that plays to the ever changing rate of exchange as well as an ever changing labour market with varying skills demands. Ari Katz, CEO of Boston City Campus provides insights as to the benefits of adding international as well as internationally recognised qualifications to your CV. “Modern-day companies and industries have become quite flat structures to enable more opportunities for more people, on a global scale. As part of the fourth industrial revolution, employers and employees have to embrace new ideas, concepts, and strategies. Organisations aim to remain competitive and relevant by operating on a broad platform, liaising with international businesses, exchanging goods and services; and implementing these new ideas and services in their own corporate structure. To remain competitive and relevant, employees and business owners will need to be armed with international skills and equivalencies so that they can operate on a global scale”. Today, anyone aspiring for a career in the management domain needs to have a global mindset to get a career break in the current business industry. ‘International’ is a serious concept and buzzword in today’s marketplace. It

is a highly valued aspect of ones CV. “An international degree helps you create a robust bridge between you and your future career, through which you can achieve a greater exposure to attain the opportunities in the first place,” says Alok Mishra. According to Jason Raiffe, director at EduQual, (UK), “topping up your local qualification with an accredited international qualification makes you a global player. Moreover, even when you operate locally, it makes you that much more attractive to your local employers.” Katz adds that Boston is now also a candidate for accreditation of specific programmers by the ACBSP – the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (United States of America). The Boston CEO considers why these international accreditations and recoginition are significant for Boston as an institution, and outlines some benefits for the student. According to Dr H.J Botha: Academic Head at Boston, higher education institutions increasingly have to locate themselves within the global context of an ever-changing educational landscape. “At the same time, there is a strong drive to show how contextual realities shape educational theory and practices. In other words – higher education institutions such as Boston must stay in touch with the needs and skills demands of business to remain

relevant.” In this space, Higher Ed as an industry needs to think local and act global. Put another way, Educational Institutions must ensure that their approach to education is sensitive to the realities of life in South Africa while at the same time maintaining an active link with what is happening globally. “Boston’s goal to gain international recognition for its graduates’ is a strategic move for the institution. The accreditation gives expression to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) draft policy on the internationalisation of higher education,” says Dr Botha. Boston City Campus (Boston) is recognised and awarded accreditation as an Independent Higher Education institution with the British Accreditation Council (BAC). The BAC is recognised globally as an influential voice on standards and quality for the education sector. “We believe strongly in the importance of Higher Education being locally accredited as well as globally,” says Katz. “The world is a small operating system and work borders fall away when you hold globally recognised qualifications.” Says Dr Botha: “We will continue to pursue international relationships that will benefit students and enhance our approach to meeting the needs of students in the South African context, and open doors beyond our borders.”

23 - 30 January 2020

High risk of cyberattacks this year Tech Correspondent

ryptomining, botnets and ransomware are still the biggest security threats that businesses face. This is according to Check Point Research’s 2020 Cyber Security Report, which highlights the main tactics cyber-criminals are using to attack organisations worldwide across all industries. The report reveals key attack vectors and techniques observed by Check Point researchers during the past year. Though cryptomining declined during 2019, linked to cryptocurrencies’ fall in value and the closure of the Coinhive operation in March, 38% of companies globally were impacted by crypto-miners in 2019, up from 37% in 2018. This is because the use of cryptominers remains a low-risk, high-reward activity for criminals. Up to 28% of organisations globally were hit by botnet activity, an increase of over 50% compared with 2018. Emotet was the most common bot malware used, primarily because of its versatility in enabling malware and spam distribution services. Other botnet actions such as sextortion email activity and DDoS attacks also rose sharply in 2019. While the number of impacted organisations is relatively low, the severity of the attack is much higher; as seen in 2019’s damaging attacks against US city administrations. Criminals choose their ransomware targets carefully, with the aim of extorting maximum revenue possible. About 27% of organisations worldwide were impacted by cyber-attacks that involved mobile devices in 2019, down from 33% in 2018. While the mobile threat landscape is maturing, organisations are also increasingly aware of the threat, and are deploying more protection on mobiles. The year Magecart attacks became an epidemic; these attacks, which in-

Intelligence officer Lotem Finkelstein

ject malicious code into e-commerce websites to steal customers’ payment data hit hundreds of sites in 2019, from hotel chains to commerce giants to SMBs, across all platforms. Currently, over 90% of enterprises use cloud services and yet 67% of security teams complain about the lack of visibility into their cloud infrastructure, security, and compliance. The magnitude of cloud attacks and breaches continued to grow in 2019. Misconfiguration of cloud resources is still the number one cause for cloud attacks, but now we also witness an increasing number of attacks aimed directly at cloud service providers. Lotem Finkelstein, major intelligence officer at Check Point Software Technologies says 2019 presented a complex threat landscape. “Nation states, cybercrime organisations and private contractors accelerated the cyber arms race, elevating each other’s capabilities at an alarming pace, and this continues into 2020,” he says. He adds that even if an organisation is equipped with state-of-the-art security products, risk of being breached cannot be completely eliminated. “Beyond detection and remediation, organisations need to adopt a proactive plan to stay ahead of cybercriminals and prevent attacks. Detecting and automatically blocking the attack at an early stage can prevent damage,” Finkelstein says. ITOnline

23 - 30 January 2020

Inner-city Gazette

Workers fight labour broker issue

Shops looted

and burned

Zoë Postman Braamfontein - The case of about 200 former Ekurhuleni municipal workers who claim that they should have been made permanent employees was heard at the Labour Court in Braamfontein on Tuesday. The workers were first employed by the municipality as cleaners under a job creation programme called Lungile Mtshali Development Plan Project in 2014. The programme ended in June 2015 and the workers’ contracts were terminated. The workers referred a case to the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC), with the help of Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), arguing that they should be made permanent employees. In December 2015, while they were waiting for the case to be heard at the bargaining council, they were approached by a company called Hlaniki Investment Holdings to do the same jobs for the municipality. This time, the contracts were signed by the workers, Hlaniki and a government agency called Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP). In September 2016, the workers referred another case to the bargaining council arguing that Hlaniki was acting as a Temporary Employment Service (TES) or a labour broker for the

Some of the workers demonstrate outside the labour court.

municipality, and they should have been made permanent employees after three months. Both the workers’ cases were heard at the bargaining council by Commissioner Timothy Boyce in May 2018. Boyce found that the municipality should have made the workers permanent and made an arbitration award of R6,000 per worker. But Boyce did not find that the municipality hired Hlaniki as a TES, based on the contracts. LHR took Boyce’s ruling to the Labour Court, arguing that he had not looked beyond Hlaniki’s contract and assessed the actual implementation of the programme. LHR is asking the Labour Court to set aside the ruling. “The arbitrator misidentified the true nature of the enquiry, and when determining whether a TES rela-

tionship existed between Hlaniki, the municipality and the workers, confined himself to the terms of the contract, and confined himself to the description of the parties as appeared on the contract between Hlaniki, the workers and GEP, ” read LHR’s court papers. LHR said the municipality hired Hlaniki to provide and manage the workers. Advocate Erin-Dianne Richards, representing the workers, argued that although Hlaniki had been hired by the municipality as a project manager and not a TES, it was important to look at how the programme was actually implemented. “The workers were being procured by Hlaniki and working for the municipality,” said Richards. But Advocate Mashudu Tshivhase,

Pic: Zoë Postman

representing the municipality, said LHR could not expect the court to assume that Hlaniki was a TES when the tender award and contract clearly stated that it was hired for project management. Advocate Tshivhase also said that the LHR’s case should not be directed at the municipality because it was Hlaniki’s client nor was it part of the contract between Hlaniki Investment Holdings, GEP and the workers. The judgment on the matter was reserved.GroundUp

Centurion - On Sunday community members looted and burned shops said to be selling muthi in Olievenhoutbosch. Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said they went into the shops, removed muthi products and burned them outside the shops. “The crowd was dispersed, but returned in larger numbers in the evening. They attacked and burned some shops that are part of chainstores known to be selling muthi,” Peters said. She said the crowd also attacked a police Nyala, officers fired stun grenades and rubber bullets, and arrested four members of the group. “Preliminary reports suggest that this stemmed from last week’s arrest of a man suspected to be behind the murder of a woman who went missing in November last year.” Her body was found on January 16 in Mnandi in Olievenhoutbosch.

News

Inner-city Gazette

23 - 30 January 2020

Mandela Day blankets initiative

celebrates sixth anniversary Bridget van Oerle & Sneziwe Dube

Founder Carolyn Steyn

he 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day organisation celebrates its sixth birthday on 27 January. KnitWits from around Gauteng will gather at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton on 27 January to toast the legacy and future of the social movement. Looking back on the past six years, during which Guinness World Records have been broken and countless lives warmed through the blankets distributed, founder Carolyn Steyn says: “Who would have thought that what started six years ago as a simple challenge to make 67 blankets by Mandela Day 2014 would change so many lives? To think that a simple idea, a ball of wool and a crochet hook would snowball into what many are calling a movement for good and change in this world.” Steyn says since 2014 they have

distributed thousands of blankets to those in need. “We continue to cross borders, knitting lives together and honouring the legacy of our beloved Madiba with every stitch we make. Positive change is in our hands now,” she says. Because the initiative was launched on 27 January 2014 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, just weeks after the passing of Madiba, it is fitting that the place be the site of the sixth birthday celebration, Steyn says. Director of Mandela Day and Outreach at the Foundation, Yase Godlo says: “Having grown so much, 67 Blankets for Mandela Day has shown that all communities can work together to build a caring society. This initiative has yielded many lessons and achievements, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation is proud to be associated with this initiative. We thank everyone for their contribution in the fight against poverty.”

Woman kills love triangle rival ‘I am angered by her actions; she has been a problem in our area because of her aggressive behaviour’ Reiger Park - Last Saturday a woman stabbed and killed another woman with a beer bottle at the Joe Slovo informal settlement, after accusing her of ‘stealing her man’, according to police. Police spokesperson Zanele Motaung said the 23-year-old woman arrived at the police station and said she had killed another woman for ‘disrespecting’ her. “She shouted, ‘I killed that dog, she is lying there’. Officers rushed to the scene with her to confirm if she was telling the truth. They found a 35-year-old woman lying in a pool of blood with severe stab wounds on her right ear, neck and

right breast. The victim, Lungile Ntolo was certified dead at the scene. The suspect, who was under the influence of alcohol, was arrested and charged with murder,” Motaung said. Community leader Philemon Thansi said the community is shocked by Ntolo’s killing. “I am angered by her behaviour; she has been a problem in our area because of her aggressive behaviour. After receiving the sad news I spoke to the boyfriend and he said he had broken up with her and was in love with the deceased. He told me that they broke up before the festive season,” Thansi said.

Hillbrow police officers during their visit to Barnato school.

Police officials visit school Hillbrow - Police officials recently visited Barnato high school for the 2020 opening, according to communication officer Captain Shihambe. The visit was carried out by station adviser Major-General Sithole, station commander Brigadier NS Nevhuhulwi, communication officer Captain Shihambe and social crime prevention officers Sgt Setsibe and Cst Mthembu. Captain Shihambe said Brigadier

Nevhuhulwi welcomed back the teachers and learners for the year 2020, and wished them a wonderful year of study. “In his speech he discouraged bullying, and substance abuse and bringing dangerous weapons to the school. He urged respect between teachers and learners, and encouraged learners not to underestimate their potential, saying they must know that this school produces champions,” Shihambe said.

The school’s principal MH Frank supported Brigadier Nevhuhulwi’s statement. “The vision of the school is that every learner feels valued and inspired in an innovative education system. Our mission is to provide functional and modern schools that enable quality teaching and learning; that protect and promote the right of every learner to quality, equitable and relevant education,” he said.

23 - 30 January 2020

Inner-city Gazette

News

Creatives urged to apply for digital programme Selected applicants will receive access to mentorship and training sessions, and will also be hosted in residency in France Tom Jackson

igital Lab Africa has opened applications for the fourth edition of its programme, which aims to support creatives and cultural entrepreneurs from SubSaharan African countries. Managed by the South African innovation hub Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, Digital Lab Africa is an initiative of the Embassy of France and French Institute in South Africa (IFAS). Applications are open to both cultural and creative industries including artists, producers, designers, collectives, students or entrepreneurs, with the accelerator focused on five key categories; immersive realities, video games, music, animation and digital art. Selected applicants will receive

Lesley Williams

access to mentorship and training sessions, and will also be hosted in residency in France. They will also have the chance to attend industry events such as Annecy Animation festival, Newimages, Paris Games Week or Les Nuits Sonores in France. Tshimologong Precinct chief executive Lesley Williams said while the need for quality content remains paramount, Digital Lab Africa will focus on finding the most innovative creatives Africa has to offer. “We hope that this edition’s projects will be innovative in terms of form, storytelling, content and technologies used,” she said. Applications are open until March this year. Those who wish to apply may visit https://digilabafrica.com/submit-a-project/.

The 2020 Boxer Youth Leadership Programme aims to empower South Africa’s future leaders.

BOXER’S AMAZING YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME IS BACK! If you are a school pupil in Grades 9, 10 or 11 and believe in hard work and building a great future then you need to enter the 2020 Boxer Youth Leadership Programme in partnership with Nedbank! Now in its 18th year, the exciting, action-packed week long adventure and skills Programme is almost here and you have only a few weeks left to enter for a chance to be part of the ‘class of 2020!’ The Boxer Youth Leadership Programme (BYLP) is a five day programme filled with adventure and skills development hosted by Boxer and sponsor Nedbank. From heart racing outdoor tasks to inspiring leadership talks from industry professionals, the BYLP is a place where lifelong friendships are formed

while priceless skills and lessons are passed down by passionate leaders in leadership fields. “This programme empowers the minds of our youth and develops the skills of future leaders. We take great pride in being part of the growth and development of the next generation of South African leaders through the BYLP’s diverse and important range of activities. Once you have been part of the magic of this programme, the memories and lessons will stay with you for the rest of your life,” said Boxer Marketing Director Andrew Mills. The all expenses five-day adventure takes place in Zinkwazi, KwaZulu-Natal from 23- 28 March and there are only 50 spots available. If you want a chance at

being part of this once in a lifetime opportunity you must be in Grades 9, 10 or 11. You need to collect an entry in-store or online at www.boxer.co.za and write a 500 word essay on the topic “Why should Boxer pick me to be part of this youth leadership programme?” Once completed, submit your entry form and essay before the 20 February closing date. You can drop your entry at your nearest Boxer Superstore; or email it to digital@ boxer.co.za; or submit it online at www. boxer.co.za. If you have any questions, chat to a Boxer Store Manager today or contact the Boxer Customer Care line 086 0026937 for more information.

Inner-city Gazette

23 - 30 January 2020

Vivian Pretorius

Inner-city Gazette

The Arts

Summer season’s JPO 2020 line-up

Braamfontein - The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) has announced details of its 2020 Summer Season programme. JPO artistic director Bongani Tembe said they are showcasing the World Symphony Series this summer with a line-up of international talent and leading South African soloists. “While we are appreciative of the support, we enjoy from our family of regular concert goers, we urge each of you to introduce the wonder

of music to as many more members of your family, colleagues and peers, as possible. Encourage them; empower them, to share your experience. Music in our lives matters on so many levels,” Tembe said. The season launches with a Valentine’s Variety Gala programme on 12, 13 and 14 February. American conductor William Eddins shares the spotlight with two guest soloists, Montenegrin guitarist Goran Krivokapiæ and young South African soprano, Zandile Mzazi, who join the orchestra in performing

a richly curated programme of concert bon-bons by Berlioz, Rodrigo, Mascagni, Massenet, Khachaturian, Verdi, Lehar and Tchaikovsky. Japanese maestro Yasuo Shinozaki returns to the JPO podium on 19 and 20 February, in three concert staples of widely different character: Ravel’s hugely popular Bolero; and his fiercely taxing Left Hand Piano Concerto; and concluding with Mussorgsky’s masterly Pictures at an Exhibition. Netherlands-born conductor Arjan Tien, taking the podium on 26

and 27 February, salutes the 250th Beethoven anniversary with performances of two Beethoven favourites, the Leonore Overture No 1 and the Triple Concerto, played by pianist Malcolm Nay, violinist Tai Murray and cellist Aristide du Plessis. The evening closes with Bizet’s delightful Symphony in C. Israeli-American conductor Daniel Boico is in for the final concerts on 4, 5 and 7 March featuring Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, soloist Jan Jiracek von Arnim, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4.

Soprano Zandile Mzazi

CAF changes Afcon qualifier schedules The final four rounds have been shifted to JanuaryFebruary next year.

Sports Reporter

he Confederation of African Football (CAF) has changed the schedule of qualifiers for the next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and 2022 Fifa World Cup. The World Cup qualifiers had been set to start in March‚ with the draw for the group stages to take place on January 21‚ but are now to be done in October. The final four rounds of Afcon qualifiers for a place in the finals in Cameroon have been shifted to January-February next year. Coach Molefi Ntseki’s Bafana Bafana team started the campaign with a loss to Ghana, fol-

Bafana supporters expect improved performance from the team.

lowed by a win against Sudan. They now face home and away matches against minnows Sao Tome & Principe between March 23 and 31. Bafana will then host Ghana between June 1 and 9 for their penultimate match, then face Sudan between August 31 and Septem-

ber 8; probably having already qualified as one of the top two teams in their group. The World Cup group qualifiers will then get underway‚ starting in October 5-13, and November 9-17‚ before a double-header in March 22-30, 2021. The penultimate round will be

between August 30-September 7‚ 2021‚ and the group stages will be concluded in October 4-12 next year. If Bafana qualify for the final round of knockout qualifiers‚ which will be home and away‚ the matches will be played in November 8-16‚ 2021.