Former Hard Livings gang leader Rashied Staggie, who was killed in a hail of bullets last Friday in the same road where his twin brother, Rashaad, died two decades ago, will be laid to rest on Saturday.
A fleet of five luxury hearses, including a Porsche, hired from Pinetown Funeral Services, was spotted in the area around Staggie’s house in Cape Town on Saturday morning.
Staggie died on arrival in hospital after he was sprayed with bullets while inside a friend’s car outside his home in Salt River, Cape Town.
It is alleged that two men opened fire on Staggie before fleeing on foot.
“The CCTV footage from his house shows two guys approached the car and sprayed him with bullets just after 9am,” a police officer on the scene told Times Live.
Western Cape Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz condemned violence in all forms and called for calm following the shooting.
“It has been confirmed that Staggie was shot and killed [on December 13] in Salt River. This follows the shooting and death of a reported gang member, aged 32 years, in Mitchells Plain the day before.
“Staggie was shot sitting in a car in front of his house in London Road, where his twin brother Rashaad was previously shot and burned alive by People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) demonstrators in 1996,” said Fritz.
“Crime scene experts have combed the scene for clues that could assist the murder investigation. Woodstock police have reinforced deployment in and around the Salt River area,” he said.
Fritz assured the public that his department remained committed to using every tool at its disposal to safeguard the citizens of the Western Cape.
He called on anyone with any information to immediately come forward and report it to their local police station.
A book a day, prepares a child for the rest of her life.
Sarah Madingwane started the Daveyton Book Club in 2015 in her home’s garage together with her friend Kwandile Sikhosana.
To date the club has built 14 libraries in different schools. Here is how their journey started.
The two pioneers decided to be of service to their community after they realised that people do not have information and that only a few individuals in their community were able to access to books.
“We wanted to have a place where we can start having conversations as a community and give books to schools, run book reviews, read and write,” Sarah says.
They then found donors who had mostly primary school books that they were willing to donate to the book club. As a result, the club’s early work included donating books to primary schools.
However, they have since included high schools in their libraries project.
In building the libraries, they worked with the Rotary Club, Moja Love TV, and individuals who wanted to be part of improving the reading society.
Over time, the duo realised that their book club had grown immensely but it was not sustainable so they renamed it Rudo institute.
“When we started as Daveyton Book Club, the organization wasn’t sustainable because it solely relied on donations. The model wasn’t working financially, which is why we had to transition into Rudo Institute this year and have a more sustainable model which has different revenue streams. The name Daveyton Book Club was also very limiting because we had reached communities beyond Daveyton,” says Sarah.
The institution offers business development courses and has a creativity hub for our local entrepreneurs.
They do not only run the development course, but they also host a masterclass on mental illness where they invite experts to speak on the matter including doctors, neurologists, psychologists, and healers.
They have also planted 120 fruit trees in Daveyton for food security. “We partnered with the Department of Agriculture and gave out four trees per school for ten days. We had different fruits — peach, naartjie, and lemon,” Sarah says.
Picture this yogi: You’re in your flow, moving through asanas with ease, and having an om-azing time on your mat. Then, just as the Zen starts to really kick in, you pull your hips up into your umpteenth downward-facing dog, and suddenly you feel one of the telltale symptoms of (dramatic sound effect): yoga butt. “This is most likely a burning, discomfort, cramping, or pinching high up in the hamstrings, close to the pelvis,” says Ariele Foster, a physical therapist and yoga teacher based in Washington, DC.
Fear not peaceful warrior. You’re about to learn exactly what yoga butt is, what causes it, plus how to fix it because even if the name sounds a little silly, a yoga butt injury is actually no laughing matter.
On the contrary, it can be a real pain in the you know what, especially if left untreated, which is why it’s important to understand how to recognize and recover from a yoga butt injury if you have a regular yoga practice — or dance or martial arts, for that matter — as there’s a good chance you could experience it yourself at some point.
What is yoga butt, exactly?
Glad you asked. Yoga butt is, of course, just a casual name for what in most cases is medically referred to as a high-hamstring tendinopathy. “The tendon at the proximal portion of hamstring muscles is irritated,” explains Dr Foster. That’s the area near the smile line of your bum where the top of your leg meets your glutes.
Tendinopathy is a general term that encompasses anything from tendinitis (or inflammation/irritation of the tendon) to a pull, or a tear of the tendon, and it typically occurs when your body isn’t warmed up properly or more often, from overstretching, Dr Foster says.
Those are the two most common causes of yoga butt injuries, but there are other reasons you might be in this predicament.
Another source of yoga butt is a stress injury created by relying too heavily on your hamstrings to hold poses rather than other muscles. This can happen even in very simple postures like going from standing to forward fold without rounding your back. “In yoga, there’s been a lot of emphasis on forward folds happening from the hips rather than flexion of the spine,” Dr Foster says. That could cause a stress injury if you do it enough times.
One easy modification is bending the knees slightly in asanas that require you to rely heavily on your hamstrings like the aforementioned forward folds, plus downward-facing dogs, or standing splits, Dr Foster says. This will put slightly less pressure on them, particularly early on in class before they’ve had a chance to fully loosen up.
This is a common issue in yoga due to the repetitive nature of certain yoga practices like Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Bikram, which use a specific sequence of poses (or very similar sequences) every class. “What everybody needs is a variety of movement, and even though the yoga lexicon has a huge library of movement within it, we’re not really taking advantage of that,” says Dr Foster.
Something else that’s missing? An adequate amount of strength-building exercises, specifically for your hamstrings and glutes (rather than those that simply stretch these muscle groups), and that’s one thing that could be contributing to injury, says Dr Foster.
The solution here is to be mindful of how much time you’re spending stretching your hamstrings to ensure you’re not overdoing it — plus, make sure you’re adding a few hamstring strength-training exercises into your fitness routine regularly outside of your yoga practice.
Compression or Tension
Fewer yoga butt injuries are caused by this but it’s still worth noting that too much tension placed on the tendons that attach to the sit bones (the bones at the bottom part of your pelvis that you feel when you’re seated) can result in high-hamstring tendinopathy. It’s the result of overloading a tendon that isn’t strong enough, Dr Foster explains. If you meditate often in a cross-legged position or sit in an externally rotated pose like fire log, or lotus for a long time without enough strength in your glutes, it could cause hamstring pulls and even tears. All the more reason to strengthen your butt muscles.
Overdoing It After An Injury
If you’re recovering from a surgery or another hamstring injury, your body might not be fully prepared, and pushing yourself too much, too quickly could result in a yoga butt injury.
In that case, it’s best to take your practice slow (don’t go right back into a power yoga class) and to work on some strengthening exercises — both of which play parts in Dr Foster’s prescription for healing a yoga butt injury.
How To Treat Yoga Butt
If you’re already dealing with a yoga butt injury, the first thing Dr Foster recommends is seeing a physical therapist or doctor so that they can assess the extent of the injury and ensure that it doesn’t get worse. Until you see a professional, it’s ideal that you don’t stretch, since most of these injuries are caused by overstretching.
The best thing you can do is rest if you can. But if you’re itching to get back to yoga, especially for its mental health benefits, and your Doc or PT says it’s okay, try restorative yoga, which will be less intense, says Dr Foster.
Once you’re ready to get back to your regularly scheduled yoga programming, don’t push yourself too hard, as pain may manifest itself after class rather than during your practice. Dr Foster also suggests you skip any poses that you think might have contributed to your yoga butt injury, like lotus pose, until you’re feeling 100 and have had a chance to strengthen your hamstrings and properly. Here are some yoga-based exercises Dr Foster suggests doing prior to your yoga practice in order to engage and activate your hamstrings and glutes to help them get stronger.
Rolling bridge: Start lying on your back with you legs bent and feet flat on your yoga mat, arms by your sides. Tuck your pelvis under and roll up one vertebra at a time in to bridge pose, leading with the core rather than the glutes, hamstrings, or low back, until you form a straight line from knees to shoulders. Your pelvis should be in a posterior tilt toward the ceiling. Then, roll back down. That’s one rep. Complete 2 sets of 10 reps.
Hamstring bridge: For an added challenge to the rolling bridge, place a yoga block between your thighs and squeeze the block. Lift your toes off the ground but dig your heels into the floor while flexing the feet to further strengthen your hamstrings. Lift your pelvis off the ground into a posterior tilt with your toes lifted. Hold, and then roll back down. That’s one rep. Complete 2 sets of 10 reps.
Walking bridge: Roll up to a low bridge. While keeping your pelvis stable and not dropping your hips from side to side, lift one heel off the ground to balance on the toes of that foot. Replace it and repeat on the other side. That’s one rep. Complete 2 sets of 10 reps.
Straight leg bridge: Lie flat on the mat and elevate your feet on a block on its medium height. Push your shoulder blades and bra strap into the floor as you lift your tailbone off the mat to form a straight line from ankles to knees to shoulders. Hold for about 10 seconds, keeping the core tight, before releasing. That’s one rep. Complete 2 sets of 10 reps.
Centurion – Proteas coach Mark Boucher is satisfied with the progress made since the team began preparation for the Test series against England starting at SuperSport Park next week.
Speaking to members of the media on Friday, the former Proteas wicketkeeper expressed his pride in the hard work that the players and management have put in to be game ready come December 26.
“It’s been very good so far,” he commented. “We’ve pushed the guys a bit. We talked about being open to a few changes and the guys are really keen to try turn things around. They came in with a good attitude, we’ve had some good chats that have been very focussed on this Test series. I’m pretty happy with where we are, there’s still a bit of work to be done, building up into the Test match but I’m happy with where we are at the moment.”
Boucher, who represented South Africa in 147 Tests between 1997 and 2012, attributes the players’ confidence to good preparation building up to a tour and said his coaching staff was working hard to ensure that the players are prepared for all eventualities.
“I think the confidence comes from the preparation. It’s almost like preparing for an exam; if you prepare for an exam properly, you’ll walk into that exam and you’ll feel confident going into it. We’re trying to get that confidence back. We’re making sure that we’re testing the guys in areas that they’ve probably not been tested in before,” he continued.
When asked about South Africa’s position at the bottom of the log in the ICC World Test Championship, Boucher said: “I’m not even thinking about the Test Championship at the moment. I think that if we focus on what is important now, and giving guys good direction about where we want to go in the first Test match, the rest will take care of itself.
“The one thing that we want to instil is a good work ethic and good intensity at training, once we do that, we can take it into the middle and ultimately get the results. One thing I know about South Africans is they are resilient and they’ve got that bounce-back-ability and for me it’s how to try to get that bounce-back-ability into the heads of the players as soon as possible and realise that in one session, things can change.”
Boucher boasts a coaching support staff full of experience with Enoch Nkwe, Jacques Kallis, Justin Ontong and Charl Langeveldt assisting him for the summer series and (in most cases) beyond.
Paul Harris has also joined the team for the duration of the pre-series camp to continue in his mentorship role of Keshav Maharaj.
Boucher is determined to tap into each coach’s knowledge and skill to help take the team forward. “It’s a nice set up, there’s plenty of experience but I think nowadays it’s not only about the experience, it’s about the different angles that you can look at the game from,” he explained.
“Langes (Langeveldt) coming back into the system again, he’s been here before and he’s got a good relationship with the players. Having a guy like, he’s our most capped Test player and probably the greatest cricketer that’s ever lived, that’s invaluable experience. Even Paul Harris working with Keshav who he’s mentored for a while to get Kesh’s confidence back. Enoch has put structures in place which I’d be stupid to change because I do believe in the structures that he’s put in. He’s also been a mentor to so many of those players in the dressing room.
“For me it’s about trying to add value where I can. Hopefully I can get into a situation where I can earn the players’ trust over the next short while and they’ll have that confidence to come and chat to me. At the moment they might have the confidence to chat to other people about certain issues so I’d be stupid to be that guy who comes and tries to change everything so quickly. I’m not going to be that person. I think there’s enough experience in that dressing room at the moment and enough relationships that are strong in order for us to go in the right direction,” he concluded.
Proteas Test squad:
Faf du Plessis (Titans, captain), Temba Bavuma (Lions), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Dean Elgar (Titans), Beuran Hendricks (Lions), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Pieter Malan (Cape Cobras), Aiden Markram (Titans), Zubayr Hamza (Cape Cobras), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Dane Paterson (Cape Cobras), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras), Dwaine Pretorius (Lions), Kagiso Rabada (Lions), Rudi Second (Warriors), Rassie van der Dussen (Lions)
– To architect, design, develop and deploy custom SharePoint solutions and applications for the organisation, that extend the Microsoft SharePoint / Office365 platforms. – Whilst mainly customer facing, the position takes ownership of business requirement gathering through to development of applications and delivery of the project whilst following an agile project management approach. – Responsible for the application development lifecycle, including analysis, design, coding, unit testing, debugging, and documentation, including high-level system design diagrams. – Planning and leveraging the latest SharePoint/O365 social computing and collaboration features to maximize the capture and share of knowledge and expertise within the organisation – Assist the senior software developer in technical quality review, research and evaluation of software solutions.
Essential Work Experience:
– Minimum 3 years of professional experience in providing SharePoint solutions. – 4 years of professional development experience using .NET technologies (ASP.NET, C#, asp.net). – Track record in using Visual Studio, Azure DevOps and using Microsoft Team Foundation Services – Experience of working with the AGILE methodology – Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements and processes into effective SharePoint solutions – Proven track record to work to and adhere to strict business deadlines – Proven ability to communicate, both written and verbal, at all levels in the business
Beneficial Work Experience:
– Working knowledge of business process mapping
– Working knowledge of big data methodologies
– Working knowledge of the Microsoft technology stack with demonstrated expertise on the SharePoint platform and experience with enterprise projects on SharePoint, including intranet and extranet portals as well as external web sites
Technical Experience:
– UI/UX branding and library usage, including Bootstrap – Experience in developing and maintaining Web services and multi-threading. – Experience of building and maintaining applications using object-oriented methodology. – Experience in Workflow Developments. – Experience in various programming languages associated with the SharePoint framework, including ASP.NET / MVC / C# .NET / HTLM / CSS / JavaScript / SQL / jQuery / REST / OData / MVC / CDN
– Possesses significant knowledge of:
– Complex database concepts and modelling – Functional system / process design techniques – Writing functional specifications – Detailed understanding of SharePoint concepts, methodologies and development tool-set – Client/server and internet systems architectures
– Browser/client specific compatibility issues – Working Knowledge of InfoPath forms, workflows and use SharePoint Designer / Visual Studio to build solutions, web parts, Master pages, themes and CSS. – Extensive experience with Microsoft SharePoint Toolkit
Competencies / Areas of expertise:
– Proficiency in Software Design – Detailed documentation of Application Processes and system design diagrams – Applying Analytical and Critical thinking methods – Conduct troubleshooting and implement problem solving – Proficiency in verbal and written communication and effectively presenting concepts – Project Management capabilities Ability to influence people
A unique and unrivalled Penthouse with panoramic views of the Mountain.
The owners created a bespoke state of the art entertainers dream of a kitchen with built-in high-end appliances, a gracious air-conditioned living space with automated blinds and engineered wooden floors leading onto a magnificent patio with roof-top irrigated garden.
The fully automated blinds and outer retractable awnings create a lush shaded sanctuary of privacy on warm summer days and allows the sun to blissfully warm your home in winter.
Three elegant bedrooms with well-appointed bathrooms invite you to spend time here. Make a wonderful lifestyle choice and move into one of the most prestigious penthouse in the Southern Suburbs.
Biometric access, 24 hours on site security and basement parking for two cars as well as a large storeroom all included.
View this exclusively mandated property by arrangement only.
This newly developed unit is ready for its new occupant, located in Coral Point in Sibaya offers a lock up and go secure cosy 1 Bedroom that is close to King Shaka Airport and offers easy access to both M4 and N2 Highways.
This complex offers a lovely clubhouse/ pool area, an in house gym and 24 hour security. This unit is available for immediate occupation and excludes utilities.
In the heart of Newlands Village you’ll find this immaculate designer home on a small stand, yet it feels like a boutique style white Italian villa!
Petunia petals and fresh lavender frame the elongated sparkling pool creating an entertainment area from inside the open plan kitchen and living area to the outside.
A more formal lounge and dining room separates smart from casual, easy kitchen dining to classy evening suppers. Change the current work from home study room to a third downstairs bedroom if needed and escape from the rest of the world to your upstairs private suite with spectacular mountain views that can be seen from every angle of this lovely bedroom.
A very special feature to this home is a lush green plant filled conservatory adjacent to the guest suite which might also be an opportunity to Airbnb the downstairs area.
Larger than normal double garage.
And by the way – Hazz morning coffee is literally waiting for you just around the corner!
Exclusively mandated but I welcome all agents with qualified buyers to contact me as well!
NATIONAL TREASURY AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE
ON THE RELEASE OF THE 12TH ANNUAL EDITION OF TAX STATISTICS
PRETORIA, FRIDAY 20 DECEMBER 2019 – National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service have published the 12th annual edition of the Tax Statistics.
The 2019 edition provides an overview of tax revenue collections and tax return information for the 2015 to 2018 tax years, as well as the 2014/15 to 2018/19 fiscal years.
The 2018 technical recession led to a slow growth in revenue collections, which culminated in a downward revision of revenue targets. Whilst revenues generated from the tax system move in tandem with the economy, on average, the growth in tax revenues has been higher than economic growth. Key points in the 2019 edition are:
Tax revenue collected amounted to R1 287.7 billion, growing year-on-year by R71.2 billion (5.9%), mainly supported by Personal Income Tax (PIT) which grew by R30.9 billion (6.7%):
Personal Income Tax (PIT) at 38.3%, Corporate Income Tax (CIT) at 16.6% and Value-added Tax (VAT) at 25.2%, in aggregate remain the largest sources of tax revenue and comprise about 80.1% of total tax revenue collections.
Nominal tax revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 6.9% for the period 2014/15 to 2018/19. The tax-to-GDP ratio has increased marginally from 25.5% in 2014/15 to 26.2% in 2018/19 (increase of 0.65 percentage points).
In Chapter 2: PIT, geographic and demographic analysis of the assessments of the taxpayers who had been assessed as at the end of August 2019 showed some interesting results:
2 680 449 (54.5%) of assessed taxpayers were male taxpayers; 2 236 580 (45.5%) were female;
1 342 511 (27.3%) of assessed taxpayers were aged 35 to 44 years; and
1 976 674 (40.2%) of assessed taxpayers were registered in Gauteng, of which 636 460 lived in the Johannesburg Metro and were taxed on an average taxable income of R446 838.
Statistics in Chapter 3 regarding CIT reveal that out of the 814 151 companies assessed as at the end of August 2019 for tax year 2017, 24.3% had positive taxable income. Furthermore 48.3% had taxable income equal to zero and the remaining 27.4% reported an assessed loss;
Chapter 4 indicates that in 2018/19, 77.2% of active VAT vendors were companies or close corporations. They contributed 92.3% to Domestic VAT payments and accounted for 90.4% of VAT refunds. Although individuals (sole proprietors) comprised 17.3% of VAT vendors, they contributed 3.0% of Domestic VAT payments and received 1.3% of VAT refunds.
As detailed in Chapter 5, Import VAT and Customs Duties recorded higher growth rates in 2018/19 compared to 2017/18. They accounted for 13.6% and 4.3% of the year’s Total Tax Revenue respectively, resulting in a 17.9% aggregate, which was in line with the average over the preceding five years. The share of these taxes to GDP rose to 4.7% from the preceding five-year average of 4.6%, with Import VAT recording 3.6% and Customs Duties at 1.1% for 2018/19.
Import VAT from the top 3 contributing economic sectors made up 87.8% of the total, namely the Wholesale and Retail Trade, Catering and Accommodation sector (Tertiary) at 40.0%, followed by Manufacturing (Secondary) at 30.1% and Financial Intermediation, Insurance, Real-Estate and Business Services (Tertiary) at 17.7%.
The overall effective Customs Duty rate in 2018/19 was 3.1% compared to previous year’s 3.2%. Key commodities with the highest effective Duty rates were Footwear and Accessories at 24.4%; Hides, Skins and Leather at 19.4%; Textiles and Clothing at 15.8%; Food, Beverages and Tobacco at 11.4% as well as Vehicles, Aircraft and Vessels at 7.6%.
Finally, Chapter 6: Other Taxes and Collections provide information about taxes such as Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Transfer Duty, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (MPRR), Southern African Customs Union (SACU) payments and Diesel refunds. In 2018/19, CGT of R17.9 billion was raised of which R9.5 billion was attributable to individuals and trusts and R8.3 billion to companies. This shows a marginal increase of R249 million (1.4%) on the R17.6 billion raised in 2017/18. An aggregate of R142.6 billion has been raised since the introduction of CGT in October 2001.
SARS and National Treasury welcome public comments and suggestions to continue to enhance the publication’s utility in policy evaluation, and developing new insights in South Africa’s social and economic context. These can be provided via e-mail to taxstatistics@sars.gov.za.
Enquiries: SARS Media sarsmedia@sars.gov.za and National Treasury Communications Unit media@treasury.gov.za or call 012 315 5000.
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