A Western Cape woman was jailed for in effect eight years for embezzling R3.8 million from her employer.

Cape Town - A Western Cape woman was jailed for in effect eight years on Wednesday for embezzling R3.8 million.

Celeste Gayle Harker, 45, an accounts administrator employed by Italian businessman Andrea Assirelli, was sentenced by the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 404 counts of fraud, and one of money-laundering.

Although she faced the minimum 15-year jail sentence prescribed for a first-time offender found guilty of fraud involving R500,000

or more, the court found compelling circumstances for a lesser sentence.

Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg found Harker had a severe addiction to gambling, was a primary care-giver to her children, had pleaded guilty and was a first-time offender.

According to the charge sheet, Assirelli owned five close corporations and one company. Harker’s duty for the six concerns involved the payment of creditors.

Prosecutor Juan Agulhas told the court Harker manipulated an electronic system to create fictitious service-providers for nearly three years, until being caught last February.

Bank staff had provided her with electronic passwords giving her access to the bank accounts of company creditors.

This enabled her to channel payments intended for creditors into her own account, and into the accounts of two friends.

Agulhas said the embezzlement had forced Assirelli to sell his luxury home and cars, and to close down one of his six business concerns. - Sapa

A woman died when she was struck by a taxi at Durbanville taxi rank in Cape Town.

Cape Town - A woman died when she was struck by a taxi at Durbanville taxi rank in Cape Town on Wednesday, paramedics said.

ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jackson said the 31-year-old woman was standing between two taxis when one of the vehicles was rear-ended by a third taxi.

“She was knocked down between them,” she said.

She died on the scene. - Sapa

Oil has leaked from the wreckage of a bulk carrier which ran agroung off Blouberstrand in 2009.

Cape Town - Oil leaked from the wreckage of a bulk carrier off Blouberstrand on Wednesday afternoon, the City of Cape Town said.

The navy had conducted controlled blasts to weaken the structure since Monday, said disaster risk management centre spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

“When it blasted one of the tanks underwater it ruptured, and it then released oil that was onboard the wreck.”

He said this resulted in an oil slick emanating from the tanks.

“There is no immediate threat to the shoreline and the marine life at this stage.”

Solomons-Johannes said the city's disaster rescue teams would conduct investigations on Robben Island, Dassen Island, and at the Koeberg nuclear power station to see if there was any threat.

“Sanccob (the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) was on high alert to assist with any birds which had been oiled or polluted.”

He said all necessary procedures were in place, and people were not allowed within 1000 metres of the operation area.

The oiled leaked from the wreckage of the Turkish bulk carrier MV Seli 1, which ran aground off Bloubergstrand in September 2009. - Sapa

The proposed total budget for the City of Cape Town's 2013/2014 financial year is R31.5 billion.

Cape Town - The proposed total budget for the City of Cape Town's 2013/2014 financial year is R31.5 billion, executive mayor Patricia de Lille announced on Wednesday.

“We have committed ourselves to creating the economic enabling environment that will allow investment to grow and jobs to be created, while providing immediate social relief for those who need our help the most,” she said.

De Lille tabled the proposed city budget in Cape Town on Wednesday.

“Of that (R31.5bn), the operating budget is R26.144bn, or just over 82 percent of the total; while the capital budget is R5.45bn, or 17.25 percent of the total.”

She said that in the proposed budget, operating revenue increased from R23.9bn in 2012/13 to R25.89bn in 2013/2014.

“This is a growth in revenue of just over eight percent.”

De Lille said local governments were able to charge a fee for the use of services they provided to generate revenue.

“The approach that we follow in Cape Town is to ensure that we generate enough revenue to be able to cross-subsidise services for the poor, more than any other municipality, while maintaining the highest standard of service possible for our ratepayers.”

However, the city did not believe it was enough to just shift the burden of costs onto ratepayers, especially not during these difficult economic times, De Lille said.

“The service charge increases we propose have therefore been calculated after conducting numerous cost-cutting exercises within the city to reduce unnecessary expenditure.”

The proposed tariff increases for 2013/2014 were: a 6.10 percent rates increase; a 6.32 percent refuse increase; a 7.06 percent disposal increase; a 9.53 percent sanitation increase, a 9.53 percent water increase and a 7.86 percent increase in electricity.

“We will maintain the provision of an excellent standard of service to private consumers, both individual households and commercial properties.

“At the same time, we will be strongly pro-poor to ensure that this whole city succeeds and moves forward together,” De Lille said.

It was proposed that free basic services be given to those with properties valued at less than R400 000, and also if there was a gross monthly household income of R3000 or less.

It was also proposed that senior citizens would qualify for rates rebates where their gross monthly household income was less than R12 000.

In the capital budget, the most significant expenditure was in utility services, at just over R2bn; transport, roads and stormwater at just over R1.4bn; and human settlements at just over R600 million.

“These three directorates constitute the core component of our delivery mandate for the city,” De Lille said.

“Mr Speaker, I believe that the proposed budget gives sufficient resources to each of our directorates.”

She said it was important to bear in mind that the budget sought to manage the balance between the city's priorities.

“But in as much as we recognise that we sometimes may not have all the resources that we require, we are committed to using all of the resources that we do have.”

In closing, De Lille said the total service provision of the budget was about R19.6bn, and of that R11.17bn was being spent in the poorer areas of the city.

“That is a total service investment of around 56.8 percent in previously disadvantaged areas.”

She said this was further proof the city had an overwhelming focus on the poor.

“So let us all agree that while we are creating the conditions for business to thrive, we understand that we can only succeed as a city if we provide for all of our residents, no matter what their income.” - Sapa

A 21-year old man has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the gruesome murder of a Cape Town woman whose body he mutilated.

Cape Town - A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the gruesome murder of a Kraaifontein woman whose body he mutilated.

Adrian Coetzee appeared briefly in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, where he entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.

In his guilty plea, Coetzee admitted that he had killed Shayeda Abdool-Leukes on August 20, 2011 by stabbing her many times, dropping a cement block on her head and cutting open her stomach and neck with a saw.

Coetzee said he had knocked on the front door of Abdool-Leukes’s Scottsville home and confronted her about claims he had not returned a cellphone she had lent him two days earlier.

The two had a heated argument. Coetzee then started stabbing her with a knife he had in his pocket.

He admitted Abdool-Leukes, 39, had fallen to the ground and when she was unconscious he had picked up a cement block and dropped it on her head.

Coetzee then went to the garage of the house to fetch a saw and cut Abdool-Leukes’s stomach and throat open.

He left her body lying in a pool of blood.

Coetzee said he had no right to act the way he did and that he had used tik and mandrax before the attack.

He said the drugs had not affected his judgement.

In accepting the plea and sentence agreement the court took into account the aggravating factors that the crime was violent, the murder had an adverse effect on Abdool-Leukes’s family, and she was killed inside her house.

In mitigation, the plea stated that Coetzee was unmarried, 21 years old, helped to support his family financially, had pleaded guilty, was remorseful and had been in jail since August 2011.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The infamous “Borat mankini” was to blame for the rule that has led to the ban of a near-naked city cyclist.

Cape Town - The infamous Borat mankini was to blame for the rule that has led to the ban of a near-naked city cyclist.

Steve Newman rode the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour wearing a jockstrap and a red plastic rhino horn over his genitals and has since been banned for a year.

Dave Bellairs, director of the Cycle Tour, said: “Our contestation is that he was aware of the rules, as he started in normal clothes, and changed after that. We introduced a rule which says you have to be dressed appropriately, and we specifically warned people that we riders must be sure to cover up – in keeping with a family event.”

The organisers sent Newman a letter warning that he would be banned if he could not prove he did not know this rule. He did not respond.

In response, Newman told Cape Talk there was no difference between his buttocks on display, and those of women modelling underwear on billboards across the city.

“I did purposely cover up on the front,” he told John Maytham.

Earlier this year, Newman ran down Kloof Nek road in a spoof of the skateboarder who sped down the hill setting off traffic cameras. As with his naked skydiving and Cycle Tour stunt, he said he was raising awareness about rhino poaching.

Cape Argus

Five shacks were torn down in Joe Slovo after their occupants defied an order to move to make way for a R480m housing project.

Cape Town - Five shacks in Joe Slovo, Langa, were torn down on Wednesday after their occupants defied an order to move to make way for a R480 million housing development in the area.

The Western Cape Human Settlements Department and the Housing Development Agency plan to build 2 639 houses in the Joe Slovo Phase 3 Project for families who earn less than R3 500 per month.

In demolishing the shacks, the department was enforcing a court order that the five families had signed on April 16, agreeing to move.

Ninety other families, who had been living in the same area, moved within the project area.

Three of the five so-called “sit-tight” families said they did not want to move until the department gave them a letter stating they would be entitled to a house in the new development. Five new shacks in a nearby area were erected for the evicted families.

The sheriff of the court led a group equipped with hammers and crowbars to the site. The owners were not home and the group went from one shack to the next, smashing padlocks. Belongings were put in bin bags and the structures were knocked down.

When Nolusizo Ndaba, 16, came home from school at about 2pm she found only a pile of her family’s belongings, including mattresses, boxes, blankets, pots and groceries.

“I’m going to wait for my mother to come back from work as I don’t know what to do next,” she said. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. For now, I have to look after our things until my mother comes back.”

Bruce Oom, the spokesman for human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, said they were happy they had not met any resistance from the community. “Everything went peacefully and smoothly, and we believe that we have done the right thing.”

Cape Argus

Oudtshoorn mayor Gordon April says he will not bow to pressure from his political masters, including Marius Fransman.

Cape Town - Oudtshoorn mayor Gordon April - facing charges of theft and intimidation - says he will not bow to pressure from his political masters, including ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman.

“I’m going nowhere,” said April on Wednesday.

April, pictured, denied he had agreed to step down as mayor at the next council meeting, set to be held in the Klein Karoo town tomorrow.

Last month Fransman said April had agreed to be replaced after a meeting with regional party leaders and members of Oudtshoorn’s ANC caucus.

On the night of the meeting, Fransman was rescued by his bodyguard and police from an attack by an angry mob.

At the time, Fransman said the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) had decided to demote April because he faced charges of theft, intimidation and had allegedly used municipal resources for personal use.

But on Wednesday, April said he was “going nowhere” as he had “done nothing wrong”.

“I don’t know what the ANC’s provincial leadership is telling the media - I am still the mayor and will continue being the mayor. I haven’t tendered my resignation and there is no motion from the ANC caucus or anyone else in council to remove me from office.”

April said he enjoyed the job and was “well-liked” by his colleagues.

“No one has a problem with me here, it is the ANC regional leaders that are making all the trouble.

“They want to force me to give their friends and ANC cadres jobs in the municipality without following the proper channels. I will not do it.”

April faces charges of theft, intimidation and the illegal use of a municipal vehicle. He and his co-accused, Raymond Wagenaar, the head of the Oudtshoorn municipality’s storm water department, appeared in court two weeks ago. The case was postponed to June 19.

April is accused of stealing sand and stone which was allegedly delivered to his home in Dysselsdorp by municipal workers in a work vehicle.

Asked about the charges yesterday, April said: “Let the law take its course.”

About the attack on Fransman, April said he was convinced that ANC members were responsible.

“The mob became angry when Fransman said I would be replaced,” he said.

“I was not there at the time, I had already left, but believe that that is what happened. I never instructed anyone to do it and am not behind any attack or plot to kill the provincial chairman. The police will have to investigate that.”

clayton.barnes@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Former champion boxer “Gerrie” Coetzee has been acquitted of a charge of failing to register himself as a dental technician.

Cape Town - Former world heavyweight champion boxer Gerhard “Gerrie” Coetzee has been acquitted of a charge of failing to register himself as a dental technician.

Coetzee, who retired from boxing in 1993 and has 66 wins, three losses and a draw under his belt, said after the verdict that he was relieved the case was over and looking forward to resting at home.

“At least it is behind me and I am free. This was an unnecessary transaction. It’s been four years, taking our time and costing us money. To take four years… they had no case, they had nothing.”

He added that he would consult his lawyer and consider taking legal action against the prosecution.

On Wednesday Cape Town magistrate Mogamad Esau found that there was insufficient evidence to convict Coetzee of being an “unregistered person practising as a dental technician or dental technologist without a permit”.

The prosecution called one witness, Johannes Nkambule, who testified that he was a registrar with the SA Dental Technicians Council and and had conducted an investigation after he received a complaint that Coetzee was not registered as a dental technician.

Nkambule said he found no formal certificate showing that Coetzee was a dental technician. The defence said he was in fact qualified, but had lost his documentation.

Coetzee, nicknamed the Bionic Hand because he always had trouble with his right hand, won the World Boxing Association (WBA) title in 1983.

His lawyer, Keith Gess, brought a discharge application in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act and argued that there was no evidence that Coetzee was “practising in the profession of a dental technician” and that the dentures Nkambule saw when he visited his home in 2010 in fact belonged to his wife, Rena.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

ANC MP Luwellyn Landers has lashed out at the legal profession for failing to revamp its “old boys’ network” in 20 years.

Cape Town - The legal profession had 20 years in which to rid itself of the “old boys’ network”, but had failed or refused to do so, ANC MP Luwellyn Landers said in a hard-hitting speech on Wednesday.

He said a debate had been raging over the question of why so few black women appeared as candidates before the Judicial Service Commission to be interviewed for positions on the Bench.

Landers quoted Kgomotso Moroka, a senior counsel since 2004, who said in an interview: “There are very talented young women on the Bar, but they don’t have work. They leave and join big firms. It is absolutely and utterly depressing.

“It is a vicious circle we are witnessing - without the relevant experience the black lawyer will not be engaged, and he or she will not gain experience until he or she is engaged.”

MPs and the executive should ask how they could ensure there was an oversupply of black women who would be nominated to serve on the Bench when vacancies arose, instead of there being so few.

Landers, also the chairman of Parliament’s justice oversight committee, was responding to Justice Minister Jeff Radebe’s budget vote speech on Wednesday.

He said the government, as the biggest litigator, was in a position to contribute to transformation by ensuring black woman lawyers were used in its legal work.

While it had to use the best lawyers to make sure it won its cases, and therefore had a right to make use of “the (David) Unterhalters and the (Jeremy) Gauntletts”, MPs expected to see black lawyers representing the state. This would give them much-needed work.

Landers welcomed proposed legislation that would establish the office of a solicitor-general who would be responsible for the transformation of state legal services.

Radebe acknowledged earlier that of the 239 judges, only 76 were women.

The department had increased, from 65 percent to 70 percent this year, its target for the percentage of briefs to be allocated to previously disadvantaged individuals.

While Radebe was congratulated by MPs on some aspects of his department’s work, especially the achievements of the Legal Aid Board, he was roundly criticised for the high-profile setbacks suffered by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the failure to appoint permanent heads of the NPA and Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

DA MP Debbie Schafer said the public were losing faith in the justice system and “the view that the system is failing is corroborated almost every day”.

MPs cited the slap on the wrist handed to fraudster J Arthur Brown, the failed prosecution of the police who killed community activist Andries Tatane, and the NPA’s “persecution” of senior prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach, among other cases.

Schafer said it was “unforgivable” that President Jacob Zuma had yet to appoint a permanent head of the NPA and SIU.

“We can allocate all the money in the world, but if there is no political will to fill crucial positions with fit and proper, suitably qualified people of integrity, the system will not succeed.”

Political Bureau

A woman bought a house in Constantia for R2.2m - but after a court ruling this week, she has neither the house nor the cash.

Cape Town - A woman bought a house in Constantia for R2.2 million – but after a court ruling this week, she has neither the house nor the cash.

Kelly-Anne Duarte was conned into believing she was buying a house in Wittebomen Road with the consent of the owner, Chao-Chen Chen.

But in what has been described as an “elaborate fraud”, those understood to have received the money from the deal have “absconded”.

Chao-Chen was also a victim of the scam. In terms of Judge Bennie Griesel’s judgment, handed down in the Cape High Court, Chao-Chen had merely been the victim of identity theft.

The court found that:

* The fraudsters had used a forged passport to persuade the relevant authorities to pass transfer of the property.

* The photograph on the passport was “manifestly” not one of Chao-Chen.

* Forged signatures appeared on the deed of sale and power of attorney.

* Chao-Chen’s marital status did not match up with that of the seller on the power of attorney.

* The recipients of the proceeds of the sale “appear to have vanished since the finalisation of the transaction”.

Chao-Chen, a Taiwanese national, brought the application to court after he became aware of the property transfer to Duarte, which had been effected on September 7, 2011.

The purchase price had been R2.2m. Chao-Chen sought to have the transfer cancelled and set aside in an application Judge Griesel said was “unusual”. In his judgment, he said that two of the respondents – named as Natasha Chang and Changchuan Lin – had received the proceeds from the purported sale but that they appeared to have “absconded”. Duarte opposed the application, but stated that she was not in a position to admit or deny Chao-Chen’s allegations.

She wanted to know whether he was indeed the registered owner of the house when the transfer was effected and whether it had been effected with his consent.

Judge Griesel heard oral argument on these issues, establishing that Chao-Chen had taken ownership of the house in June, 1990.

He had left South Africa for Taiwan in 1995 or 1996 and the property had since then been administered by his attorneys and other appointed representatives. Duarte’s husband had also been called as a witness, saying that the house had become “derelict” and an “eyesore” since Chao-Chen had left.

In the end, Judge Griesel said he had been left with two hypotheses: Chao-Chen had either been an “innocent victim of a fraudulent scam”, or he was somehow “complicit in a plot to transfer the property”.

There was “ample support” for the hypothesis that he was simply a victim and none to suggest that he was involved, Judge Griesel found.

He ordered, among other things, that the registration of transfer was of no effect and that it be cancelled. Duarte’s attorney, Andrew Donnelly, said his client would take further action to recover the funds.

Cape Times

Western Cape MEC Dan Plato has received an SMS saying there is an "open contract" out on all Hard Livings gang leaders.

Cape Town - Community Safety MEC Dan Plato has received an SMS saying there is an “open contract” out on all Hard Livings gang leaders.

The tip-off came anonymously and reportedly stated that each hit was worth R20 000. It also said a police officer had been bought to provide protection for the hitmen.

Plato was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his spokesman, Greg Wagner, confirmed that he had received the SMS.

As Plato had an oversight function, and no operational control over the police, he would discuss the information with police senior management, Wagner said.

“It will be up to police to investigate and liaise with the prosecuting authority.

“The person who sent the SMS informed the minister that he had also sent it to other individuals,” Wagner said.

Wagner declined to say whose, or how many names appeared on the list. He would also not confirm that a R20 000 payment was attached to each hit.

Police refused even to confirm the existence of the SMS.

All evidence about gang violence was being investigated as a “very high priority”, was all spokesman Captain FC van Wyk would say.

Hanif Loonat, chairman of the provincial Community Policing Forum, says the SMS indicates the early stages of an internal war in the Hard Livings gang.

Last week, a parole board ruled that Hard Livings leader Rashied Staggie would be released on day parole in September and full parole in March next year.

Loonat predicted that a bloody struggle would erupt between the “old guard” – Hard Livings members loyal to Staggie – and the “new guard”, gangsters who have capitalised on the leadership vacuum left by Staggie’s imprisonment.

Last Friday, the Cape Argus reported on the murder in Manenberg of Donovan Uys, a known Hard Livings leader from Ocean View. Uys and his girlfriend Sandra Simpson were shot and killed on Thursday evening.

Police have not confirmed a link between the couple’s deaths and gang activity.

Asked to comment, Staggie’s wife, Rashieda, said that she knew nothing of the politics of the Hard Livings gang.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Curio salesman Peter Mukendi has to come up with R500 before his confiscated wares will be returned to him.

Cape Town - An informal trader pleaded with law enforcement officers to be careful with his goods as they tossed them in blue and black bags because he did not have his permit to hand.

Peter Mukendi and Muhamad Farah were the only two traders fined in a blitz by the city on Wednesday. They both trade in St George’s Mall.

Mukendi was fined R500 and his African curios were seized. Farah was also fined R500.

Mukendi said his wife had made a payment last week and the permit had been with her since.

“There is a permit - it’s just not here. I don’t understand why they have to take the stuff - they can just give me a fine.

“What if they damage my stuff? They won’t want to pay.”

Mukendi said his stand had been in St George’s for two years and he had not been fined before, nor had his merchandise been confiscated.

He said he now had to pay the R500 fine and an additional R635 to release his wares.

Farah, who has a concession stand just outside Newspaper House, said he would have to make a plan to raise R500 by the end of the month.

“They gave me a fine because the drinks were outside the yellow block. The lady didn’t even give us a chance to try to push it back - she just wrote the fine quickly.”

The city’s executive director of safety and security, Richard Bosman, said officers checked hawkers every week.

“One fine was issued and one impoundment... On impoundment, the owner is issued with an impound notice which explains when, where and how they can claim their goods back.”

Bosman said the city was not liable for any damage to impounded goods, but dealt with traders with “courtesy and respect”.

“The trader has one month to claim the goods back. After three months the goods go to public auction. Goods can be claimed before the auction.”

The specialised Informal Trading Unit initiated the blitz.

Impounded goods are taken to the pound store in Ndabeni, near Maitland, for safekeeping.

Cape Argus

A small business in Khayelitsha which uses bicycles to deliver chronic medication, has earned its owner a spot on a Forbes list.

Cape Town - A small business in Khayelitsha which uses bicycles to deliver chronic medication to people, has earned its owner a spot on the Forbes Magazine’s 30 under-30 Africa’s best young entrepreneurs list.

Sizwe Nzima, 21, who graduated from the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development last year, runs Iyeza Express.

Nzima employs four men to criss-cross Khayelitsha by bicycle, collecting and delivering chronic medication from public hospitals and clinics and delivering it to the clients’ doorstep on prescribed dates.

Clients pay a minimum R10 fee per collection.

Nzima started off with two clients - his grandparents - but now has more than 250. He hopes to expand locally and even nationally.

“The response from the community has been great,” Nzima said. “My clients appreciate the privilege of their medication and other things being delivered while they’re busy with their own responsibilities. Some old people really feel that they are taken care of, considering their critical health problems.”

Forbes called it an “innovative enterprise”.

Nzima came up with the idea after hearing about the overcrowding at public health facilities, and noting that many of the people affected are able-bodied and sometimes have to waste time that could have been spent at work.

He sees entrepreneurship as a way to combat social issues.

“Our plan is to run Iyeza Express as a business that will benefit the community,” said Nzima.

This was one of the teachings at the academy, where much of the emphasis was on creative thinking and problem-based innovation, said academy director Elli Yiannakaris.

“They’re looking at issues within the community,” Yiannakaris said.

A survey last year of former students of the academy found that about 40 new businesses had been started as a result of the six-month programme. About 80 percent of the academy’s contactable graduates have gone on to find work, continue their studies, or start a small business.

The academy focuses on teaching fundamental business strategies coupled with workshops which instil confidence, professionalism, and interpersonal skills.

The course are open to individuals between the ages of 18 and 30. Applications for this year closed today, information about later courses can be found at www.ackermanacademy.co.za.

The local programme takes 30 students.

“Young people are the most powerful group of people in the country because they have all the power to change the world into what they want it to be,” Nzima said.

alison.decker@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has defended her R31.5bn budget, saying the city has an “overwhelming focus” on the poor.

Cape Town - Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille defended her R31.5 billion budget tabled in council on Wednesday, saying the city had an “overwhelming focus on the poor” with R11.1bn, or almost 57 percent of the services budget, allocated to poorer areas.

The total budget for services provision is R19.6bn.

The budget for 2013/14 was passed on Wednesday with 130 out of 195 councillors voting in favour, 61 against, three abstaining, and one who did not vote.

De Lille got a standing ovation from DA councillors, but faced continual heckling from opposition benches.

After the debate, opposition parties accused the DA of failing to address pressing challenges such as housing and the city’s social ills.

De Lille again came under fire for underspending in the current budget, with ANC chief whip Xolani Sotashe saying this showed the DA was unable to keep its promises.

Unpacking the services budget allocation, De Lille said around 56.8 percent would be spent in poorer areas. “Despite what the critics say, the evidence is clear: this city has an overwhelming focus on the poor,” she said.

Of the R31.5bn budget, the biggest allocation goes to utility services, with a capital budget of R2bn and an operating budget of R15bn for the provision of sanitation, water, electricity and refuse removal.

“This budgetary commitment is the very real expression of our commitment to making sure that the lights are on, the water is running and refuse is collected for all residents,” De Lille said.

Outlining utility services’ most significant projects, De Lille said R63m would be spent on the backyarders programme, R127m on the electrification of informal settlements and R150m on upgrading facilities.

The second most significant allocation went to transport, roads and stormwater, with a capital budget of R1.4bn and an operating budget of R1.8bn.

Human settlements received the third biggest portion, with a capital allocation of R627m and an operating budget of R1.1bn. Main projects include a R100m upgrade to Manenberg council rental units, R87m for the upgrading of the Langa hostels, R61m for upgrades at Hanover Park council rental units and R20m for the Delft Hague housing project.

The human settlements directorate would also spend R38m on the backyarders and informal settlements upgrade.

Of the total budget, the operating budget is R26.1bn while the capital budget is R5.4bn.

De Lille said the city’s revenue for the upcoming financial year was expected to increase by over eight percent to R25.8bn.

“In terms of generating revenue, as local government, we are able to charge a fee for the use of services that we provide.

“The approach that we follow in Cape Town is to ensure that we generate enough revenue to be able to cross-subsidise services for the poor,” De Lille said.

The city will institute various tariff increases this year but De Lille said there would also be cost cuts including “a raft of austerity measures applied to every department including the reduction of catering and entertainment costs”.

De Lille said free basic services would be given to properties valued at less than R400 000 or households where the monthly income was R3 000 or less.

Other changes to help low income households include a 75-percent rates rebate to households with an income of between R3 500 and R4 000 and a 50-percent rates rebate for households with an income of between R4 000 and R4 500.

Sotashe said the ANC was disappointed to be given only a few minutes to debate the budget and had not had enough time to examine it.

He said up to May 24 this year the city had spent only R1.3bn of its R2.1bn utility services budget. The financial year ends next month.

Human settlements spent R415m of its R647m budget, while what Sotashe called the “biggest embarrassment” was transport, roads and stormwater which had spent only R1.4bn of its R2.6bn budget.

Of its R9.5m budget, up until May 24, the social development directorate spent R2.7m.

“It is really embarrassing. There is no way those directorates are going to spend the remaining budgets in just over 30 days. If the city speaks about investment and caring then they should spend their budgets,” Sotashe said.

ANC councillor Peter Gabriel said: “Listening to the list of projects of the mayco members is like going through a Pick n Pay grocery list. You can boast about all the best ingredients but your cake can still be a flop.

“On service delivery the DA has flopped. Your claim that the majority of the budget is spent on the poor is election propaganda. Even if it were so then you should spend at least 80 percent of the budget to address the problems apartheid left behind.”

ACDP councillor Ferlon Christians blasted the rates increases. “Under the DA rule from 2008/09 to 2013/14 the services have consistently increased,” he said.

He said cumulatively the increases amounted to a 44.5 percent rates increase, a 54.3 percent increase in solid waste charges, a 55.7 percent increase in sanitation, a 61.9 percent increase for water and a 132.7 percent increase in electricity charges.

African Muslim Party (AMP) councillor Wasfie Hassiem asked: “Why don’t we close the tap on wasteful expenditure like the big white elephant in the room – the Cape Town Stadium?”

After a heated debate, De Lille responded to criticism, saying: “If the ANC votes against the budget, they vote against the majority of the budget being spent on the poor.”

ANC councillors voted against it, with Sotashe saying: “This is not the budget of the poor, we don’t buy that. De Lille must not play with the emotions of the poor.”

Cape Times

A shallow grave, covered by only a light sprinkling of sand - this was the final resting place of Professor Louis Heyns.

Cape Town - A shallow pit in a dune, covered by only a light sprinkling of sand - this was the final resting place of Stellenbosch University’s Professor Louis Heyns, whose body was found on Thursday.

For a week, Johannes Hendricks, a cleaning supervisor for the City of Cape Town, worked with his team at a toilet block just metres away from where the Heyns’s body lay on the primary dune which lines Strand Beachfront, between the beach and Beach Road.

The dune is covered by a tangled forest of protected milkwood trees, criss-crossed by narrow, sandy paths.

Some of these paths lead to little clearings, sprinkled with litter.

And one of these paths leads from the public toilets to where Heyns’s body was found. Freshly dug sand surrounded the shallow pit - distinct against the wet, undisturbed parts of the dunes.

“We work here every day. We open the toilets at 7.30am, and work here until 4pm. We could not have known that he was lying here - so close to us - all this time. It’s shocking,” Hendricks told the Cape Argus.

Heyns, a paediatrician and lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s medicine faculty, was last seen on May 22 at 8.30pm.

He had left for his home in Welgelegen after visiting his brother in Somerset West.

The lead detective in the case was Warrant Officer Hannes Niemand, from Somerset West. Sources said Niemand and his team “did not sleep for a week” while investigating the case.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said: “Police officers worked around the clock and managed to trace the dark grey Peugeot vehicle belonging to Dr Heyns to a chop-shop in Malmesbury. Three suspects from Malmesbury, aged 32, 37 and 43, were arrested last night.

“(Heyns’s) body was found in a shallow grave next to the Put-Put course in Strand Beach Road, after being pointed out by one of the suspects. A murder docket was opened and the investigation continues. The suspects will appear in the Somerset West Magistrate’s Court soon.”

Heyns’s wife of 33 years, Dalene Heyns, said last week that when he hadn’t arrived home by midnight, she sent him an SMS.

Dalene said when she and relatives found out he had left Somerset West more than four hours previously, they had reported him missing to police.

City worker Hendricks described the area as “dangerous”.

The City of Cape Town has launched a number of safety campaigns in the area, including deploying Metro Police to patrol the area because of its notoriety.

Police have not yet disclosed how or why Heyns’s body was taken to this notorious site, or where he may have been hijacked, or whether hijacking was the suspects’ alleged motive.

At publication time today, Heyns’s family had only just been informed of the gruesome discovery.

Cape Argus

The imminent release of Rashied Staggie has already provoked a fallout, says the Manenberg Community Police Forum.

Cape Town - The imminent release of notorious gang leader Rashied Staggie has already provoked a fallout within gangs in Manenberg, says the Community Police Forum (CPF) in the area.

Staggie, who served 10 years of his 15-year jail sentence and who according to court papers admitted to being the leader of the Hard Livings, is to be let out on day parole from September 24 and will have to report back to prison nightly for incarceration. He is later expected to be released on full parole.

On Wednesday the Manenberg CPF’s spokesman Kader Jacobs said gang violence in the area appeared to be increasing.

He said since the announcement that Staggie would be released on parole, there had been a number of incidents.

It appeared gangsters were trying to climb ranks and secure positions higher in their gangs before Staggie’s release.

“There seems to be in fighting (within gangs) at the moment. It’s a power struggle. Obviously there’s a lot of jostling for positions,” Jacobs said.

A week ago alleged Hard Livings gang leader Donovan Uys and a friend were killed in Manenberg. Days later there was another fatal shooting, Kader said.

As part of Staggie’s parole conditions, he would be electronically monitored.

Kader said aside from this, neighbourhood watch members had been told to monitor who Staggie visited once released so they could try and keep track of who he was communicating with.

He said Staggie’s release was “a major concern for us”.

Staggie was found guilty of giving orders and participating in the kidnapping and rape of a teenage girl from Mitchells Plain. Later, while he was in custody, he was convicted of stealing weapons from the Faure police armoury and sentenced to 13 years to run concurrently with the 15-year rape sentence.

Aside from Manenberg, the Lavender Hill and Steenberg areas had also experienced a surge in gang violence.

On Wednesday the Steenberg CPF’s spokesman Kevin Southgate said there had been a number of shootings over the last few weeks.

“The communities of Lavender Hill and Steenberg and the surrounds are overcome by fear,” he said.

Southgate met police yesterday and said a concern from officers was that spent cartridges, needed as evidence, were being removed from shooting scenes. It was not clear who was removing these, but he said it was possible gangs had “sweepers” - people tasked with removing evidence after a shooting.

Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said that a 21-year-old man had been shot multiple times in Lavender Hill early yesterday and died. Van Wyk said a 29-year-old man had been killed in Steenberg after being shot twice late on Tuesday. The man had tried to drive away from his three attackers, but crashed and died at the scene.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Cpe Town is in for a lively weekend weatherwise, as the Cape Town Weather Office warned of heavy rain and gale-force wind.

Cape Town - Cape Town is in for a rough weekend weatherwise, as the Cape Town Weather Office warned of heavy rain and gale-force wind arriving with another cold front on Saturday afternoon.

Disaster Risk Management staff were on standby to cope with possible flooding in parts of the city, said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

While the weather people declined to issue severe weather warnings, they did offer what they called “special weather advisories”, as Saturday’s front was due to be followed by another on Sunday.

These fronts would lead to “heavy falls of rain in places over the western and south-western mountains of the Western Cape province”, as well as “strong, damaging” winds reaching gale force at times in places in the Western Cape interior.

The weather office also warned that gales and strong gales would be experienced along the coast between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay on Sunday.

There would be very rough seas with wave heights greater than 4m from Alexander Bay to Plettenberg Bay on Saturday and Sunday, with waves higher than 6m between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay on Sunday afternoon and Monday.

Temperatures were expected to drop and there could be moderate snowfalls on the province’s mountains.

Cape Argus

Some of the country’s top cops met rail commuters in Khayelitsha to discuss crime in rail precincts.

Cape Town - Some of the country’s top cops met rail commuters in Khayelitsha on Thursday morning to discuss crime in rail precincts.

Western Cape commissioner Arno Lamoer, national police minister Nathi Mthethwa and commissioner Riah Phiyega shared a coach on a typical morning commute to Cape Town from Chris Hani Station in Harare, Khayelitsha. They were hosted by Metrorail’s regional manager Mthuthuzeli Swartz.

Mosegwa Mofi, a spokesman for Metrorail, said it was an opportunity for the minister to engage with commuters on the challenges they face with regard to crime and personal safety.

Commuters complained about rampant muggings at train stations in Khayelitsha, especially before dawn and after dark.

They also spoke of drug use on trains and echoed Metrorail’s ongoing concerns over vandalism and copper theft, as these crimes often lead to delays and a reduced service.

“It is very encouraging that our clients are as concerned about the issues of copper theft and vandalism as we are.

“A strong partnership between the public, police and Metrorail’s staff is our best chance at fighting this sort of theft,” Mofi said.

Mthethwa acknowledged that police had a role to play to ensure the safety of commuters and said better enforcement of the Second Hand Goods Act, which became law last year, could help in curbing the scourge of copper theft.

He called on the justice system to assist police in this regard.

Mthethwa, who was set to give his budget speech in Parliament later today, also called on “all spheres of government” to work together to ensure the safety of commuters.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The family of a man killed in Cape Town while cycling to work are taking his body to his birthplace, Matatiele, for burial.

Cape Town - The family of a man killed in Durban Road while cycling to work last week are taking his body to his birthplace, Matatiele, for burial.

Tsepiso “Action” Dlamini, 31, who worked as a groom at an equestrian centre outside Durbanville, died when struck by a bus at the intersection of Durban and Eversdal roads last week.

On Thursday, Dlamini’s wife and two of his three children left for Matatiele, helped by a former employer of the man described as a gentle horse handler.

Former employer Jenny van der Hoff said Dlamini was on his way to work at the horse yard of Theresa Perotti just outside Durbanville when he died. He had gone to see his family on Monday night to take them money and clothes he had bought for them.

Although Dlamini admired the Rastafarian lifestyle, he neither smoked nor drank alcohol and was interested in healthy living, Van der Hoff said.

“It is going to be a sad day today, because I am taking his wife Zama and two older children to the bus today so they can travel to Matatiele for his funeral,” she said. The youngest child will travel with Dlamini’s brother on Sunday.

“Action preferred to cycle between his family’s home and his work at the time because of the bus strike and because he wanted to be with his horses as early as possible in the morning.

“He was without a doubt gifted; gifted at being a fast learner and gifted at dealing with animals, especially horses. He worked with Springbok polo player Selby Williams in Matatiele from an early age and learnt to school polo ponies. He was a natural, he had the most gentle hands with horses.”

Dlamini moved to the Western Cape in 2004 where he worked as a polo groom until 2011 with Van der Hoff, before starting with Perotti.

He was the head of his own family and also took care of his younger brother, Van der Hoff said.

Van der Hoff and Perotti have established this account for donations to help Dlamini’s family: The Action Fund, Nedbank savings account 2005735833, branch ode 198765.

“Many questions around this tragedy remain unanswered and I intend to get to the bottom of it,” Van der Hoff said. “One should question whether this intersection is safe, for one thing.”

* Sapa reports that a woman died yesterday when she was hit by a taxi at Durbanville taxi rank, paramedics said. An ER24 spokeswoman said the 31-year-old woman was standing between two taxis when one of the vehicles was rear-ended by a third taxi.

The woman died on the scene.

Cape Argus