Real News. Scrolla.Africa

Tuesday 26th January

2021, 1440

SOUTH AFRICA IS RUNNING

OUT OF COFFINS Everson Luhanga

Funeral parlours across South Africa are running out of coffins

as corpses pile up in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

In interviews with undertakers across several provinces, the

scale of the crisis becomes frighteningly obvious.

Officially, there have been 40,000 Covid deaths, but some

estimates put it at more than 100,000.

It's not just coffins:

● Undertakers are running out of cold storage space to keep bodies before burial

● Undertakers are looking for new grave sites as the existing ones fill up

● Funeral policy costs are rising

Limpopo

“Call me in three weeks time and I will tell you that we have run

out of coffins,” says the owner of MNH Funerals in Limpopo,

Kgaugelo Mapoulo.

“Before Covid-19 I was burying a maximum of five or six people a week. I am now burying between 30 and 50 people weekly,”

he says.

He said bigger businesses are burying up to 200 people weekly,

and they are also running out of fridge space to store bodies.

Free State

Ntamo Monnapule, secretary of the Free State Funeral Directors Association, says there's a sharp rise in demand for

coffins especially in Mangaung.

“Graves are full. Coffins are in short supply and people are

dying every day,” he says.

“We are meeting the Mangaung Municipality to try and get a new gravesite as the old one is full.”

He says undertakers from the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape have been coming to the Free State to buy coffins.

“We have warned our members to stock more coffins. We might not have coffins within the next few weeks,” says Monnapule.

Eastern Cape

Loyiso Singata of Usingata Funerals from Alexandria near Port

Alfred says they have buried more than 4,000 people since the area registered its first Covid-19 death last year.

“Our members have been burying between 15 to 20 people a

week,” says Singata.

Singata says from June to August he buried more than 60

people.

“There were weeks where I buried people every day of the week,” he says.

“I was in and out of Port Alfred Hospital like a madman collecting four bodies a day. Sometimes I found bodies in the

passage because the hospital had run out of storage. As an

association most of our members ran out of coffins.”

KwaZulu-Natal

National Funeral Practitioners of SA (Nafupa) secretary-general

Julie Mbuthuma says their biggest challenges are sourcing

coffins, getting graves in the cities, and a shortage of PPEs.

She says smaller parlours on the South Coast are burying between five to eight people a week and bigger parlours about

20-30 per week.

“This is more than eight times our normal workload,” she says.

Their day now starts as early as 3am and ends as late as 11pm.

“We no longer have time with our families or even time to rest. We are under constant fear of bringing the virus back to our

families.”

Cost of burials escalates as money dwindles

Sanitisers, masks, overalls and boots are some of the costs funeral parlours have to add to the bill their struggling

customers have to pay - but many poor families have stopped paying for their funeral policies because they don’t have jobs

and there is no money.

Thabo Modise from Mangaung in Free State who used to work

as a general worker says his policies were up-to-date for 10

years but in September his boss told him they were cutting his salary and he will only work when they need him.

Thabo who is now unemployed says he has to choose between feeding his family or his funeral policies.

“I chose to feed my family. I had no other choice,” says Thabo.

“Today, not all of us are covered and no one is working.”

Ntamo Monnapule, of Ntamo Funeral Services, says he had 500 active policyholders before March last year.

“I now have fewer than 300.

“Some customers tell me they will not be paying while others just vanish.”

Monnapule says funeral parlours have been forced to increase policy costs.

“We lost many colleagues as we used to collect bodies from

people's homes and we realised it was important for us to be well-protected. We had to buy full PPEs which meant charging

our client R2,000 more,” he said.

“Some pay, some don’t. Some have gone into serious debt

because of this extra charge we have to impose to make us safe.”

GroundUp reports that between 3 May 2020 and 16 January

2021, excess deaths exceeded 106,000. This is the estimate of

the latest weekly Medical Research Council mortality report. These excess deaths are likely due to Covid.

Moderna vaccine less effective against SA

strain

Arthur Greene

Manufacturer Moderna announced on Monday that its Covid-19

vaccine offers more effective protection against the variant first

identified in Britain than the one found in South Africa.

The laboratory tests show that the jab is slightly less likely to kill

the South African strain of the virus than it is the UK strain.

The results come from tests in which the vaccine was administered

in two doses, the routine amount.

As a result, Moderna has decided to carry out further tests to see if

three doses of the vaccine produces a more effective response.

More significantly, the manufacturer has also made a new,

tweaked version of the vaccine using genetic material from the

South African variant.

Other vaccine manufacturers are also expected to test their jabs

against the new variants.

Stephane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, said: "As we seek to

defeat the COVID-19 virus, which has created a worldwide

pandemic, we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus

evolves."

Both the variants found in the UK and South Africa have mutations

that have set them apart from the original SARS-CoV-2

coronavirus.

However, the South African variant, as well as a recent one found

in Brazil, are causing even greater concern because they have

additional mutations that may help the virus evade the immune

system.

Scientists expect more variants to emerge in the future.

LOVED AND LOST: Magezi Hlungwani

(1948 - 2021)

A Xitsongo musical legend who uplifted young artists

Tebogo Moobi

When he was growing up Magezi Hlungwani loved boxing and was inspired by Muhammad Ali, also known as “the greatest”. But apartheid prevented him from becoming a boxer and so instead he pursued his passion for music.

He took three wives before he left his village of Dumela in Malamulele, Limpopo, in 1983 to seek fame as a musician in Pretoria. It was there that he became a Xitsonga musical legend in his own time.

His biggest hits were Cikarakahle (A Good Village) which was a hit in the 80s and Shivavula in which he features the Na Mpfumu Sisters.

His son Raymond said that for as long as he could remember, his father was passionate about the growth of the Xitsonga

genre and the upliftment of its artists.

He groomed Xitsonga music talents such as Peta Teanet, Thomas Chauke and George Maluleke.

He was also a fashion designer and when he came back to his village people would come to him for designs.

Raymond said his father was blessed with 16 children and had 17 grandchildren. He said what the family will miss most was when he called together the entire family, including wives, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and cooked for them all.

"He would also call children from the street to join the family and we would feast together. Afterwards he would entertain all of us," Raymond said.

Raymond described his 72-year-old father as a humble man who was a great motivator to his family.

"Education was important to him and that is the reason we have so many graduates in our family," said Raymond.

"My father was always involved in our lives. He treated us all equally without favouritism.

Being a God-fearing person he attended church and was in his church's committee where he helped with serious decision making.”

He passed away on Sunday 24 January.

The family could not say if his death was Covid-19 related.

His funeral and memorial services are still to be arranged.

State Security Agency paid millions for

Zuma’s “upkeep” and to pay off judges,

Zondo told

The State Capture inquiry heard on Monday

that the State Security Agency’s (SSA) Special Operations unit paid millions of rands to

former president Jacob Zuma between 2015

and 2017.

Sydney Mufamadi, who formerly led a separate inquiry into the

SSA, testified in front of the inquiry.

According to him, an SSA agent had previously told his panel

that the agency’s Spec Ops ran “Project Commitment”, which had maintained Zuma’s financial upkeep through monthly

payments of millions of rand.

Mufamadi testified that cash payments of R 2,5m were made every month in the 2015/16 financial year. In 2016/17, these payments were increased to R 4,5m per month.

The SSA agent told Mufamadi’s panel that these payments were being made “via” former state security minister David

Mahlobo.

While it is believed that the money was then used for Zuma’s

“financial upkeep”, there is no hard evidence that he received the money as the agent never witnessed it.

Mufamadi said, “We have no basis to say it was given to former president Zuma or it was not.”

As well as payments made through “Project Commitment”, SSA’s Spec Ops also ran “Project Justice”, the inquiry heard.

The aim of this unit was to recruit and handle “sources” within the judiciary to look out for Zuma's interests.

“Project Justice” was formed after the agency discovered

hostility towards Zuma within the judiciary.

According to Mufamadi, payments of millions of Rand were also granted to this project by the SSA, for the “handling of these

sources”.

“The independence of the judiciary ... you forget about it if this

project was implemented,” said Mufamadi.

ANC refuses to

condemn xenophobic violence Lungani Zungu

South Africa's ruling party has refused to condemn the violence after a group of 30 people torched shops belonging to

foreigners in the Durban CBD yesterday.

The region has had sporadic incidents of xenophobic violence

while veterans of the party's military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe have accused foreigners of taking local jobs.

On Monday, foreign shop owners in the Durban CBD said they were grateful to be alive after their shops were ransacked and

torched by a group of about 30 people, believed to be members of ANC-aligned uMkhonto weSizwe.

The group were stopped from marching to the Durban City Hall, where the city’s government is based, on Monday morning by

the Durban Metro Police and the SAPS.

The police argued that the group did not have a permit.

Acting as if they were dispersing, the mob tricked the police and regrouped moments later - this time joined by more people and they allegedly started rampaging through the shops and

setting them alight.

Firefighters were called to douse the blaze in three shops.

Police reacted swiftly and stopped the group from burning more shops and one of the protesters allegedly tried to stab a

police officer.

The suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder and is expected to appear in court soon.

Shop owner Mohamed Hossain escaped without injuries after

the group stormed his shop.

“I thought they were going to kill me when they entered my shop and started destroying everything,” he said.

“I ran outside and started praying. These people were angry and I feared for the worst.”

Hossain estimated the damage at his shop, which sells cell phones and other appliances, to be over R500,000.

“I have to start all over after working so hard to be where I am

with my business. No one deserves such treatment.”

The group’s grievances were unclear at this stage.

Provincial MKMVA spokesperson Dumisani Mahlinza, distanced his organisation from the group.

ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said

the ANC would not get involved in this saga.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker confirmed the incident and vowed more arrests would be made.

"An operation is still ongoing to identify and arrest the other perpetrators. A case of public violence has been opened for

further investigation.”

Grant recipients rejoice at possible

lifeline Lungani Zungu

President Cyril Ramaphosa may just have thrown a lifeline to the millions of jobless South Africans who rely on the R350 Covid-19 relief grant to survive.

The grant, which was introduced last year for unemployed South Africans amid the pandemic was supposed to expire at the end of January.

During his closing remarks of the Lekgotla on Sunday, in his capacity as ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the ruling party is considering stretching the grant beyond January.

“In the context of the continuing pandemic, we need to consider the extension of basic income relief to unemployed people who do not receive any other form of state resources,” said Ramaphosa.

He stressed that this would depend on the state of public finances and should there be a clear exit strategy.

Smangele Mkhize from Pietermaritzburg recently told Scrolla.Africa that her life would be affected badly if the relief grant ended. She could not hide her excitement at the news that it might be extended.

“It means they are taking our pleas seriously. I hope that this is not just lip service,” she said

She lost her job as a domestic worker at the beginning of the lockdown.

“I plead with the government to implement its decision now. Life is difficult when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from,” she said.

Thabani Ngcobo from Durban said many people are able to feed their families through this grant.

“I’m happy they are considering extending it,” said Ngcobo who has been unemployed for more than five years.

Economist Dawie Roodt previously told Scrolla.Africa that the government should cut back on salaries of civil servants to finance this grant. There are about four million grant recipients.

Picture source: @OfficialSASSA

WhatsApp panic spurs massive digital

migration Toby Shapshak

Millions of gatvol WhatsApp users have been ditching the popular service and signing up with alternatives.

Should you escape WhatsApp too?

And if you do, here are some alternatives, including two homegrown platforms - Moya and Ayoba.

WhatsApp's new privacy conditions showed that owner Facebook will be accessing a lot of information on what you do with your phone, which sites you visit and what you buy. They won't be looking at your messages, or listening to your calls - that's all encrypted and safe - but they will be looking at everything else.

So scared users around the world worried about privacy have been signing up to the two big alternatives.

The big winners have been more privacy-focused apps like Telegram and Signal - not quite as smooth and easy to use as WhatsApp, but pretty good.

Telegram is owned and funded by a Russian businessman Pavel Durov, who set it up to help dissidents avoid the prying eyes of Vladimir Putin's spies. Durov says WhatsApp's new privacy rules sent 45-million new users to telegram in 72 hours - "the largest digital migration in human history".

Signal - run by a non-profit foundation (the people who invented WhatsApp and then quit after Facebook took it over) - has also welcomed millions of new users. It's the safest messaging app of them all. End to end encryption. Anonymous. Disappearing messages. No data mining. The one to use if you're having an affair or doing something naughty. But slightly

less user-friendly, and less suited than Telegram or WhatsApp for forwarding photos and links.

If you're feeling patriotic, closer to home there's MTN's Ayoba - a messaging platform with zero-rated data which allows publishers like Scrolla.Africa to run content "channels" to provide news, entertainment and education materials for free to Ayoba’s users.

Another African app that is doing very well is Moya which offers data-free services. It's encrypted and offers unlimited texts and voice notes.

Download Moya here, Ayoba here, Telegram here and Signal here

Mpumalanga premier

“regrets” going maskless Everson Luhanga

Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane has admitted to being guilty for not wearing a mask at the funeral of Minister

in the presidency Jackson Mthembu.

Mtsweni-Tsipane made a statement at the the Vosman Police Station in Emalahleni and apologised to President Cyril

Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza, the Mthembu family, the people of Mpumalanga and the rest of the country.

In a media statement released on Monday, Mtsweni-Tsipane said:

● I have also written a letter to the president of the republic expressing my regret over the situation.

● I have bought 1,000 masks that will be distributed in Emalahleni as part of a public education and awareness campaign to demonstrate the serious nature of Covid-19.

● I express condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones during the pandemic.

● I also wish those who are currently struggling with the virus a speedy recovery.

● I have taken a decision to go into isolation for a period of 14 days.

Mtsweni-Tsipane has been trending on different social media platforms with South Africans expressing their unhappiness with the premier’s conduct.

“I have noted social media and media reports revealing moments where I was walking around without a mask. I have since reflected deeply on this momentary lapse, which I regret profusely.

“I should have known better as a public figure and more so,

attending a Covid-19 funeral,” she said in a statement.

On Sunday, police minister Bheki Cele commanded top cops to investigate the premier’s conduct stating that “the wearing of masks in public is not negotiable.”

Mtsweni-Tsipane’s excuse for the maskless saga was that she was not aware that the mask had fallen off her mouth the time when she walked out of her car.

Picture source: @tumisol

Lampard fired as Chelsea coach Menzi Magubane

Chelsea have sacked their coach Frank Lampard and they have already identified former Paris Saint Germain mentor Thomas Tuchel as his replacement. Lampard was fired just 24 hours

after his 3-1 win over Luton Town in the Emirates FA Cup 4th round.

But the Blues’ inconsistency in the English Premier League is

management's main concern.

A statement sent out by the club on Monday said: "Results and performances have not met the club's expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement."

The 42-year-old only lasted 18 months as the club's head coach since taking over from Maurizio Sarri in 2019. In his first season at Chelsea he did well as he led the club to the FA Cup final and also earned them a spot in this season's UEFA Champions League.

Things however changed drastically for him this season and losing to teams like Arsenal, Manchester City and Leicester City cost him his job. Blues are currently in 9th place in the Premier League, 11 points behind log leaders Manchester United.

As a player Lampard remains one of the most successful players at Stamford Bridge. He was a captain and he is also the club's all time leading goal scorer with 147 goals in 429 games in his 13-year career with the club.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich took it to himself to comment on Lampard's sacking, something the Russian has never done in the past when the club fired their coach. Previously this work of commenting on hiring and firing of coaches would be left to the former technical director Michael Emenalo and director Marina Granovskaia.

Abramovich said: "This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him. He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers."

Chelsea's next Premier League assignment is Wednesday night at home against Wolves at 8pm.

Gunners need to recover - and quickly -

after Saturday’s disaster Menzi Magubane

Can Arsenal redeem themselves against

Southampton when they face them only three days after Saturday’s defeat?

Southampton booted the Gunners out of the Emirates FA Cup

by beating them 1-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.

Gunners coach Mikel Arteta was criticised for his team

selection after leaving out some regular players.

Arsenal will again face Southampton tomorrow night at 10.15pm at the same venue and this time they will be playing for three points and Arteta is expected to line up his big guns.

The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka

and David Luiz are all expected to be back in the starting eleven

tomorrow night.

On Saturday, captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s absence on Saturday was explained by Arteta who said his captain had to

attend to a personal matter.

"We're here to support him as he takes the time because that's

his priority at the moment," said Arteta on the club's Twitter page.

Whether the Gabon international will be available tomorrow is not known.

The skipper scored twice in Arsenal's 3-0 win over relegation

strugglers Newcastle United.

Arteta said he was disappointed at the way Arsenal conceded a

goal on Saturday.

Neither side can afford to drop points in the upcoming match

as they are looking to end the season in the UEFA Champions

League or Europa League at least. Southampton are 10th with 29 points with the Gunners in 11th, two points behind the Saints who have a game in hand.

Other Premier League matches tomorrow

Crystal Palace vs West Ham United (Selhurst Park, 8pm), Newcastle United vs Leeds United (St. James' Park, 8pm), West

Brom vs Manchester City (The Hawthorns, 10.15pm)

Picture source: @asfstuff

Chiefs haven’t forgotten the curse of

Baroka Menzi Magubane

It may have been a season ago, but Kaizer Chiefs haven't forgotten what Baroka did to them in the final Premiership match last season.

Baroka cost Chiefs the league title when they held them to a 1- 1 draw in a match that Amakhosi needed maximum points from to clinch the title.

"We were left disappointed and hurt,” said Kaizer Chiefs

midfielder Kearyn Baccus.

“That memory will help us to drive and battle and hopefully we will get the win."

Amakhosi host Baroka in the DStv Premiership at FNB Stadium in Soweto at 5pm.

Having played four consecutive matches without a defeat for the first time this season, Chiefs will be looking to keep that momentum going. They are in 7th place on the log table, 10 points behind joint log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United and Swallows.

"With games coming thick and fast, the log table standings change quickly. But we are not concentrating on the log. We need to concentrate on getting results," he said.

The midfielder recently returned from injury after a three-week lay-off. He is expected to play a crucial role in tomorrow's match.

All eyes will be on coach Gavin Hunt to see how he lines up his troops. Hunt has a big decision regarding the players he will use with the crucial Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates coming up on Saturday.

Will he rest his regular players before the derby or will he gamble and use them to try and secure what would be his second win at home this season?

The other league match tomorrow will see Pirates host TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium at 5pm. Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer also has the same headache as to whether he will rest his regulars or not.

Picture source: @kaizerchiefs

Beware Babar Azam! Sphiwe Masilela

The Proteas better watch out for Mohammad Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain and key player.

This is the warning from Faf du Plessis and captain Quinton De Kock.

The Proteas are in Pakistan for their first Test series since 2007 and the first match will start at 6:45 on Tuesday morning.

The second test is in Rawalpindi and starts on 4 February.

Azam captains Pakistan in the Test series, the ODI’s and the T20

competitions.

He missed the November 2020, New Zealand tour due to a fractured thumb he suffered during training.

Bowling as a right-handed off-breaker and right handed bat, Azam scored an impressive 2,000 runs in Test cricket in his 29th Test against England.

After the England tour, Michael Vaughan was quoted as saying:

“Babar Azam is certainly one of the best Test players in the world. I love the way he plays”.

Proteas, Themba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada are also looking to achieve personal targets.

Bavuma needs 65 to take him to 2,000 runs. He made his Test debut in December 2014 against West Indies and has represented the Proteas on 42 occasions in Test matches. Bavuma became the first black South African to score a century.

Rabada has taken 197 wickets in his Test career, and needs only three more wickets to become the eighth South African bowler to reach the 200 wicket milestone.

In July 2018, Rabada, aged 23, became the youngest Test bowler to take 150 wickets.

He won six awards in that year at the Cricket South Africa Awards which included Cricketer of the Year, and both Test Cricketer and ODI Cricketer of the Year.