The ANC’s boycott of the Western Cape provincial legislature was disrupting its work, Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius has said.

Cape Town - The ANC’s boycott of the Western Cape provincial legislature was disrupting its work, Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius said on Wednesday.

He said some committee meetings had been postponed because quorums couldn’t be formed, but other meetings were going ahead.

ANC MPLs decided this week to boycott some meetings in protest against what they say is the DA “closing democratic space”.

ANC MPLs protested outside the legislature for an hour yesterday and covered their mouths with black cloths.

They held up posters which read: “Zille gags”, “DA attacks democracy”, “DA destroys free speech” and “Suzman is no saint”.

The ANC is contesting Pretorius’s order that ANC MPL Max Ozinsky should withdraw a remark about Helen Suzman during a debate on May 9.

Referring to Helen Suzman and Umkhonto we Sizwe soldiers, Ozinsky said “she wanted to kill us”.

ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman said the DA in the Western Cape was denying its MPLs opportunities to debate issues like history, inequality and the plight of the youth in province.

DA chief whip Alta Rossouw said the ANC MPLs were neglecting their own constituents by not attending meetings at the legislature.

“This is a demonstration of what the ANC’s attitude towards democracy is. It is not the DA denying their right to free speech. It is the ANC showing a complete disregard for our democracy,” she said.

She said the ANC’s claims about censorship and closing of democratic space were unfounded, false and very ironic.

She said no ANC MPL had taken part in an oversight visit to Kuils River and Woodstock on Tuesday, while ANC representatives had also failed to attend the three other committee meetings and the public hearing.

ANC chief whip Pierre Uys said Rossouw’s argument was “nonsense” and they would continue with their boycott but would attend meetings that would ensure services were delivered to communities.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

It is disgraceful that pupils from South Peninsula High protested outside court instead of learning in their classrooms, says Donald Grant.

Cape Town - It was disgraceful that pupils from South Peninsula High in Diep River protested outside the Western Cape High Court instead of learning in their classrooms, Western Cape Education MEC Donald Grant has said.

Dressed in their school uniforms, 61 members of the school’s student representative council (SRC) protested against school closures on Tuesday. The Western Cape High Court was hearing a review of Grant’s decision to close 20 of the 27 schools he had initially identified for possible closure last year.

The majority of the schools which had been closed were small, rural schools which relied on multigrade teaching and had low pupil numbers.

Brian Isaacs, principal of South Peninsula High, said the school had a long history of activism.

“We have a history at our school where students are encouraged to voice their disapproval. The SRC decided they wanted to be there because they wanted to show their support.”

He said it was important that the Western Cape Education Department saw a school which produced excellent results could also protest against department decisions.

South Peninsula had achieved a 99 percent matric pass rate last year.

“We are serious about education and we are not going to let anyone tell us we can’t be there.”

Isaacs said he did not feel it was necessary to ask the department for permission.

“The department created trauma in our society. They were the ones responsible for students being there. The department created this war.”

He was unconcerned about possible action by the department. “To us, what must come, must come. Schools must decide, are they on the side of the poor or the side of the rich. And our school has shown it is on the side of the poor.”

Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for education MEC Donald Grant, said Isaacs was aware that the pupils should have been at school.

“It is a disgrace that learners are being used, during valuable school time, to support a particular point of view of a school principal.

“The minister does not approve of children being removed from school for any form of protest action.

“This is particularly concerning as these learners were being used to support a personal view of an individual principal.”

She said that any excursions of pupils during the school day must be linked to, and enhance, the curriculum.

“(Tuesday’s) protest action was evidently not linked to the curriculum.

“In all excursions involving learners, applications must be submitted to the district director at least six weeks in advance of the intended date.”

Casey said that the district office in which the school fell was investigating the matter.

“Following their findings, the (department) will deal with it in terms of existing protocols and policies.”

michelle.jones@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Fellow Rivonia trialist Denis Goldberg has urged SA to think of Nelson Mandela for his strengths.

Cape Town - Fellow Rivonia trialist Denis Goldberg has urged South Africans to think of the ailing liberation leader, Nelson Mandela, for his strengths, not any physical weaknesses brought on by old age.

“Getting old is not for weaklings,” he said on Wednesday during an exclusive interview at his home in Hout Bay.

Speaking exactly 49 years to the day that he, along with Mandela and other Rivonia treason trialists, faced the death sentence but were sentenced to life in prison, Goldberg also appealed to “all South Africans” to follow Mandela’s lead by actively trying to transform the country, and to embrace ubuntu - a spirit of togetherness.

Goldberg, who last saw Mandela for lunch a year or so ago, said: “I would like us to leave our great friend and great leader in peace at this time. We exploit him so.”

Recent attempts to intrude on Mandela’s privacy during his illness were “such a contrast to the selflessness of his life”, he said.

“I want him remembered for his greatness, his charm, his Mandela shuffle, his smile, his collective leadership. That is how I want to remember Mandela.”

It would be “dishonouring” Mandela’s leadership to see him as a man who “singlehandedly brought freedom to the country”.

“Mandela is a leader who has been able to mobilise, to inspire collective action.”

South Africans should “celebrate our good fortune in having leaders like the generation of which Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest... and that we have the possibility of really building our new democracy.”

The erosion of a common identity today troubled him. “We praise Mandela for his sacrifice, but yet we are not prepared to sacrifice ourselves. I am appalled that people do not respect and enhance the freedom of others,” he said.

He is saddened that there are still “historically privileged South Africans who believe in their superiority, despite their own amorality”.

He also called on South Africans to be patient, for people “to get their trotters out of the feeding trough, and not expect change overnight. Sadly, transformation takes time”.

Goldberg - who is 80 yet, as the youngest of the Rivonia trialists, is referred to by Mandela as “boy” and by other Rivonia trialists as the “baby” - said “of course” he would be sad when Mandela dies.

He treasures the eight months he spent with Mandela during the treason trial in the 1960s, though they were only in the same room during court proceedings and legal consultations, and were separated in racially segregated prisons.

All of the ANC leaders, including Goldberg, were prepared to die for their decision to take up the armed struggle to end apartheid.

The judge spared them the noose and sentenced them to life in jail.

As the only white person on trial Goldberg was sent alone to Pretoria Central Prison while Mandela, Walter Sisulu and others went to Robben Island. Goldberg spent 22 years in jail until his release in 1985, a few years before the others.

Recalling the day of sentencing, 49 years ago on June 12, 1964, Goldberg said: “Imagine if Mandela and the rest of the leadership had been hanged that day, what a loss that would be, not just because they were a bunch of committed human beings, but also because of the way South Africa has turned out. How fortunate are we? How different it could have been.”

For instance, he said it was the calibre of these leaders that had helped ensure that there was not a bloodbath of retaliation by South Africans who had endured years of injustice.

“(During the Rivonia trial) these leaders believed in equal rights... dignity and respect for all. This was deeply ingrained, and the basis of Mandela’s powerful speech in the dock (before sentencing). I wish you could have been there for that.”

* An ANC member, Goldberg has been nominated on to the ethics commission. He is also involved in charities.

Cape Times

The ANC's Marius Fransman has accused the SA Jewish Board of Deputies of "abusing" the SA Human Rights Commission.

Cape Town - ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman has accused the South African Jewish Board of Deputies of “nose picking” and “abusing” the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) with a “frivolous” complaint against him.

Fransman released a statement on Wednesday after reports that he had failed to attend a meeting called by the commission to mediate in a complaint that he had insulted Jews. The meeting was confirmed a month ago and Fransman agreed to it, but he did not come to the meeting on Monday.

The complaint relates to an interview with Fransman in February on Voice of the Cape, in which he said that building contracts in Observatory and Woodstock had been taken from Muslim businesses by the DA and awarded toJewish businessmen. The board at the time said that to attract votes Fransman had made “demeaning and inflammatory remarks” that would create animosity between Muslims and Jews.

In his statement Fransman demanded a public apology from the board “for misleading the people”. He said the board was running a mischievous media campaign.

Fransman said the board had chosen to “abuse our SAHRC by requesting them to investigate a frivolous complaint that in my view is not a violation of any individual or communities’ human rights, while the SAHRC is inundated with so many more serious complaints of real human rights violations”.

He said the board wanted “to fight a proxy battle on behalf of the DA”. Fransman believed white business was persisting in its attack on him “and in doing so does the grave damage to Muslim-Jewish relations which it accuses me of”.

“Such dogged determination to nose-pick and turn a blind eye while the travesty of reversing transformation under the DA government continues unabated must in itself be considered as a violation of the rights of the historically disadvantaged,” he said.

Board chairwoman Mary Kluk said Fransman’s reply was distressing. “The board has reached out to him to resolve the matter from the start.”

She regarded his allegations as “preposterous”. “We are an apolitical organisation,” she said. Fransman said he was co-operating with the SAHRC.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Several protesters carried portable flush toilets and sang freedom songs on a train to central Cape Town, the court heard.

Cape Town - Several protesters carried portable flush toilets and sang freedom songs on a train to central Cape Town, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard on Thursday.

Investigating officer Warrant Officer Warren Smith, said he was told by railway police of the events that took place in Woodstock on Monday morning, which led to the arrests of 184 people.

“It was specifically mentioned... that the seven accused that were charged first were all in possession of one of these portaloos,” he said.

“They proceeded to sing freedom songs and danced by putting the portaloos between their legs and jumping up and down.”

He said the words to one of the songs was “Zille is a dog”, and confirmed it was most likely a reference to Western Cape premier Helen Zille.

Smith was testifying in the bail applications of three of the accused, former councillor and ANC Youth League member Andile Lili, Yandani Kulati, and Thembela Mbanjwa.

The four other alleged “ringleaders” were released on warning on Wednesday, along with 176 other protesters, and told to return to court on August 2 after further investigation.

They were all charged with public violence and convening a gathering without notice.

The State is opposing the bail of Lili, Kulati, and Mbanjwa. Prosecutor David Jacobs asked Smith how police knew there would be a protest.

Smith said a Warrant Officer Ngloko had received information from an informant in Khayelitsha of a “gathering of protests against service delivery” on Monday.

Ngloko had arrived at Chris Hani train station around 7am on Monday and noticed around 12 people with portable toilets. One of the people identified himself as Lili.

“He asked him 1/8Lili 3/8 what they were doing at the station. According to the warrant officer, the answer was that they're on their way to Cape Town and about to throw faeces onto the Parliament.”

Ngloko then contacted members of the public order police and others for back-up. He joined the group getting onto the train. More people joined them as the train stopped at other stations, Smith said. The public order police cordoned off Esplanade station in Woodstock and stopped trains coming through.

Jacobs asked Smith why there was a perception that Lili was leading the procession.

“Some people in the train wanted to run (when it stopped) but they were instructed by accused number one (Lili) and the order was not to run and to remain calm,” Smith replied.

“Also at various stages, he calmed people down in the trains. This gave the impression... that he could possibly be the ringleader of the group.”

Smith said that from reading statements, he was of the impression that the group co-operated with police. - Sapa

A 'name and shame' campaign for convicted drunk drivers in the Western Cape has been shut down by the department of justice, Transport MEC Robin Carlisle claimed.

Cape Town - A 'name and shame' campaign for convicted drunk drivers in the Western Cape has been shut down by the department of justice, Transport MEC Robin Carlisle claimed on Thursday.

“The 'Safely Home' campaign has been pivotal in achieving a 30 percent decrease in road traffic fatalities in the province since 2009,” Carlisle said in a statement.

He said the 'name and shame' campaign was run according to procedure, and relied on court records supplied in terms of the National Road Traffic Act to the provincial transport department.

“The national department of justice initially simply ordered the courts to stop supplying the records, then later ordered them to supply a truncated record which excluded the offence and sentence of the culprit,” Carlisle said.

In a letter to Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, last Thursday, he insisted that the order be shut down and that the campaign be reversed.

He said the letter was copied to LeadSA heads Yusuf Abramjee and Chris Whitfield, and was then publicly released via Twitter on Wednesday.

Justice spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said the letter was “published in the media” before Carlisle could discuss the matter with the justice department.

“Contrary to insinuations, 1/8the 3/8 justice department supports all efforts aimed at addressing the scourge of drunk driving and has not 'shut down' the Western Cape government's campaign,” he said.

Mhaga said measures had been introduced to ensure that the information was properly screened, in consultation with the transport department, and did not include cases which were subject to review and appeal proceedings.

“Drunken driving charge sheets and judgments are public records and 1/8the justice department 3/8... in terms of the law, is only required to provide the name and details of the sentence, which we do,” he said.

Mhaga said the justice department could not be expected to copy “millions” of pages of judgments and charge sheets.

“The MEC is free to visit any court for such records on a case-to-case bases and for purposes that he wants to use it, as it's not our legal duty to publish these names...,” he said.

Carlisle said Transport Minister Ben Martins had previously said he would support measures by the Western Cape government to curb drunk driving.

“I hope that this means that I will have his full support on this matter.” - Sapa

Marius Fransman did not snub a meeting with the SAHRC and the Jewish Board of Deputies, the commission said.

Johannesburg - ANC Western Cape chairman Marius Fransman did not snub a meeting with the SAHRC and the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the commission said on Thursday.

“The commission would like to point out that Mr Fransman wrote a letter to the commission in which he excused himself from the meeting due to urgent engagements in Parliament,” SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) spokesman Isaac Mangena said in a statement.

“In this regard, his absence from the meeting cannot be viewed as a 'snub' either to the commission or the process initiated by the SAJBD.”

In an interview with the Voice of the Cape radio station in February, Fransman alleged that the Democratic Alliance handed building contracts in two Cape Town suburbs, previously held by Muslims, to Jewish businessmen.

The SAJBD then lodged a complaint with the SAHRC which arranged a mediation meeting for last Friday, with Fransman's agreement.

The complaint was that Fransman had made demeaning and inflammatory remarks that could create animosity between Muslims and Jews.

Fransman told The Cape Times he saw no reason to attend the meeting as he had not said anything in violation of human rights.

“I don't believe what I said is wrong... I'm prepared to meet them (the SAJBD) to engage about real human issues in previously disadvantaged communities,” he was quoted as saying.

Mangena said Fransman's attendance had no bearing on the commission's investigation.

“All parties, Mr Fransman included, will be given an opportunity to make submissions to the commission, and all submissions will be considered.” - Sapa

The three alleged "ringleaders" of a plot to dump human waste in Cape Town CBD were released on a warning.

Cape Town - The three alleged “ringleaders” of a plot to dump human waste in central Cape Town were released on a warning by the city's magistrate's court on Thursday.

Magistrate Chumani Giyosi said the State had failed to prove why former councillor and ANC Youth League member Andile Lili, Yandani Kulati, and Thembela Mbanjwa should be kept in custody.

The State's evidence did not suggest in any way that they would interfere with any investigations or intimidate the witnesses, who were police officials, Giyosi said.

He said there was nothing to suggest they would undermine the proper administration of justice or be flight risks.

“The court can infer that the incidents that gave rise to (Lili, Kulati and Mbanjwa) being charged are politically motivated and that being said, that there are political undertones which cannot, by any means possible, be settled in a court of law.”

The investigating officer, Warrant Officer Warren Smith, had testified that the three, and four other “ringleaders”, were arrested with 176 protesters at the Esplanade train station in Woodstock on Monday morning.

He was told by railway police that several people had been carrying portable flush toilets and singing freedom songs which included a reference to Western Cape premier Helen Zille as a dog.

Smith said some carried the human waste in blue municipal bags contained in milk crates.

Lili identified himself to a warrant officer who asked him what they were doing at the station.

“According to the warrant officer, the answer was that they're on their way to Cape Town and about to throw faeces onto the Parliament.”

The protesters were arrested when they disembarked from the train. They appeared in court on Wednesday. They were warned to return to court on August 2. All of them were all charged with public violence and convening a gathering without notice.

Under cross-examination by lawyer Duncan Korabie, for Lili, Kulati and Mbanjwa, Smith conceded the protesters had not been violent at any stage and had not disrupted operations.

Korabie said there were therefore no grounds to the charges of public violence and that the protesters had been raising a legitimate issue through a peaceful protest.

“We will argue that these people carried those portable loos to take it to Helen Zille and to mayor Patricia de Lille to hand it to them because no else is collecting the faeces,” Korabie said.

He accused the police of not having a Xhosa interpreter present when his clients made statements, and asked why the charge sheet in the court docket had been left blank.

Giyosi said the matter could have been struck off the roll because of the blank charge sheet, but that he had given the State room to present evidence in opposing bail.

The State had wanted bail arguments postponed until Tuesday, but the court ordered that they take place immediately to prevent unwarranted detention.

Proceedings ran over time and the three were released around 5pm.

Two men, who handed themselves to the police in connection with the matter, also appeared before Giyosi, who also warned them to return to court on August 2.

They were ANC proportional councillor and ANCYL member Loyiso Nkohla, and Ward 40 youth committee representative Bongani Ngcombolo. - Sapa

Two men accused of killing Cape Town schoolboy Glenrico Martin appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court.

Cape Town - Two men accused of killing Cape Town schoolboy Glenrico Martin appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Monday, the NPA said.

Wilston Stoffels, 18, and Jevon Snyman, 19, would return to court on July 9 after further investigation, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesman Eric Ntabazalila.

He said the two had abandoned their bail applications.

Martin, 18, was shot almost two weeks ago while entering the Spes Bona High School premises in Athlone.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said at the time that three men - two of them armed - wearing in school tracksuit tops approached Martin. One of them shot him in the head.

Provincial education MEC Donald Grant said paramedics revived Martin and took him to the Groote Schuur Hospital, but he died soon after arrival.

Snyman was arrested a day after the shooting in Athlone. Stoffels was arrested in Bonteheuwel the following day. - Sapa

A Western Cape contractor who manipulated the Overstrand Municipality’s tender system by cover-quoting was jailed for three years.

Cape Town - A Western Cape contractor who manipulated the Overstrand Municipality’s tender system by cover-quoting was jailed for three years by the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday.

Hermanus Albertus Mostert, who owned the business HM Irrigation CC, was also sentenced to three years conditionally suspended for five years, on 285 counts of fraud involving R3 million, which were taken as one for the purposes of sentence.

Haley Lawrence, for Mostert, told the court she would launch an urgent application on Friday for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence, and for Mostert’s release on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.

According to the charge sheet, cover-quoting happens when an individual contractor fraudulently produces his own quotations, in the names of fictitious business concerns, for a project put out to tender.

He then presents the quotations as if they were from independent contractors.

Cover-quoting ensures that the contractor is awarded the tender, and undermines the three-quotation system by corruptly eliminating competition and making artificially inflated prices appear competitive.

Prosecutor Derek Vogel told the court that cover-quoting ensured the purchase of goods or services at inflated prices.

The practice increased the risk of fraud, and compromised the integrity of the entire procurement process.

Mostert company was also fined R1 million, suspended for five years.

The Overstrand municipality includes Hermanus, Gansbaai, Stanford and Kleinmond.

Mostert was responsible for the maintenance of equipment and machinery at the Hermanus sewerage plant, and at the Preekstoel water purification works.

Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg said a mitigating factor was that Mostert had personally ensured that the maintenance was of a high standard.

She said the community expected fraud to be appropriately punished, and that a sentence of a mere caution and discharge, as suggested by the defence, was “laughable”.

The fraud had been finely planned for five years, between 2004 and 2009.

Sonnenberg said Mostert’s circumstances were suitable for a sentence of correctional supervision, involving a period of house arrest or imprisonment, but such a sentence would be too lenient.

It would suit only Mostert, and not the community, she said.

Sonnenberg said the amount involved justified the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years, but that this would be too harsh in the circumstances.

She said she had the discretion to declare Mostert unfit to possess a firearm, but would not do so.

“The court wants to give you a chance to learn from your mistake,” she told Mostert. - Sapa

A man was arrested for the illegal possession of perlemoen (abalone) worth R120 000 in the Skaapkraal area.

Cape Town - A man was arrested for the illegal possession of perlemoen (abalone) worth R120 000 in the Skaapkraal area on Thursday, Cape Town police said.

Captain Frederick Van Wyk said the Mitchells Plain cluster tactical response team received a tip-off from the community about perlemoen being stored at a house.

“When the members executed a search, they found a huge amount of abalone inside a freezer in the back of the yard. They found plastic bags containing 743 shucked abalone with an estimated street value of R120 000.”

A 29-year-old man was arrested and would appear in the Athlone Magistrate's Court soon, Van Wyk said. - Sapa

He got behind the wheel drunk, sped 150km/h, crashed into a car, killing a 73-year-old woman. His fine: R30 000.

Cape Town - The man who negligently caused the death of 73-year-old Joan Fulford during a horror crash on Hospital Bend nearly three years ago has been sentenced to house arrest and fined R30 000 for drunk driving.

Bhekilanga Nkalitshana, 39, a plant maintenance engineer at PetroSA in Mossel Bay, was sentenced in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

In delivering sentence, Magistrate Aziz Hamied said he considered a term of imprisonment as a possible sentence, but instead found that a wholly suspended sentence and correctional supervision was appropriate for the September 16, 2010 crash.

Nkalitshana, who was travelling at a speed of about 150km/hr, had been drinking before his 3-series BMW collided with Fulford’s vehicle.

Fulford, from Edinburgh in the UK, was in her country of birth to attend her brother’s funeral.

On the day of the crash, Fulford and two friends, Maureen Archer and Peggy Delport were on their way to the theatre in the CBD when the collision occurred.

The impact was so powerful that the vehicle was flung across two lanes into a barrier and caught alight.

Footage of the collision has been used by the Western Cape government in road safety campaigns.

Hamied said on Thursday that culpable homicide was “always a very serious crime”, and sentenced Nkalitshana to two years direct imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, on condition he was not convicted of culpable homicide again between now and 2018.

A three-year correctional supervision sentence was imposed.

This means Nkalitshana will be under house arrest at his Mossel Bay home for the next three years, may not leave his house unless he goes to work or church, and has to do 200 hours of community service.

Nkalitshana was ordered to complete treatment and development programmes, subject himself to monitoring at work and home, visits from a correctional officer, and refrain from using alcohol or drugs.

For driving under the influence, Hamied fined Nkalitshana R60 000, or 36 months in jail, half of which was suspended for five years.

His driver’s licence was also suspended for one year. The law allows for suspension of up to five years.

Hamied said although the punishment should fit the offender and the crime, the objectives of sentencing was deterrence, prevention, reformation and retribution.

“You robbed them of a matriarch in their house, a grandmother and a vibrant lady in their lives. Their loss can never be replaced,” he said.

Hamied said removing Nkalitshana from society would have a “dreadful effect” on his pregnant wife and four children, who were dependent on him financially.

After court Delport - who had been driving the vehicle that day - said Nkalitshana committed “an act of great violence” as more people could have been killed.

She said the sentence gave her a sense of closure but the most disturbing aspect was that Nkalitshana would be driving again within a year.

Delport said she was grateful to the brave people who helped her and her friends that day.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

MEC will do "everything within legal means" to start naming and shaming drunk drivers.

TRANSPORT MEC Robin Carlisle has vowed to do “everything within legal means” to start naming and shaming drunk drivers again, and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe is under mounting pressure to publicly support and reinstate the campaign.

On Wednesday, provincial transport MEC Robin Carlisle urged Radebe to take urgent steps to make it possible to continue publishing the names of convicted drunk drivers in the Cape.

Carlisle has been backed up by LeadSA, a partnership between the Cape Argus and Primedia Broadcasting, and a number of road safety campaigners, including South Africans Against Drunk Drivers and the Automobile Association.

Publication in the Cape Argus began in August 2010 and continued until October last year.

The tranches of names comprised most recently convicted drivers sentenced in Western Cape criminal courts, naming drivers whose names had been handed over to the provincial transport department for capture on the eNatis database.

But late last year, the flow of names to the transport department dried up.

Carlisle has written an urgent letter to Radebe, stating: “In November 2012, the courts in the Western Cape stopped sending in these records.

“After a series of meeting with representatives of your department in the Western Cape, including regional head Mr Hishaam Mohamed, it has been established that this occurred as a result of an administrative change to Department of Justice processes, the purpose of which remains unclear, but which is claimed to be more legally compliant.”

Western Cape head of the Justice Department, Hishaam Mohammed, said in response yesterday that court records of convicted criminals, including drunk drivers, were open to the public, but it had become too onerous on officials to keep up a steady supply of drunk drivers’ details to Carlisle’s tansport department.

Instead, Justice Department officials only recorded the names of anyone whose licence was endorsed – but this did not cite their offence, which could, for example, have been speeding-related.

Last night, Carlisle stuck to his call on Radebe to make administrative changes to ensure the campaign could resume.

Hector Elliott, head of the transport ministry at the time, who used the images for Safely Home’s “crash witness programme”, said of yesterday’s judgment: “I have followed (the Nkalitshana) case closely. We will never reduce the carnage on our roads unless our courts start jailing killer drunk drivers.”

Elliott, who introduced the name and shame campaign from Carlisle’s office, said: “The sentence, coming on top of the shut-down of the name and shame, can only take us backwards.”

The severity of the smash is still recorded on the Safely Home website, at safelyhome.western cape.gov.za – under the “galleries” section. -Cape Argus

A former station commander has been found guilty of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another while in custody.

Cape Town - A former Melkbos police station commander has been found guilty of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another while both were in custody.

Michael Paulse, who held the rank of inspector when the incidents happened four years ago, appeared in the Bellville Regional Court on Thursday before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

The woman who was raped was in custody for alleged possession of drugs, while the woman who was sexually assaulted was in custody for alleged fraud.

Defence lawyer Shantell Morgan requested that Paulse’s R1 000 bail be extended, but prosecutor Ebrahim Adams asked the court to revoke it.

Adams said the R1 000 bail had been set while Paulse was awaiting trial, but that Paulse, now convicted, faced a lengthy prison sentence and was likely to abscond if his bail were extended.

Sonnenberg extended the bail but increased it to R6 000 as an indication of the gravity of the offences.

Paulse was unable to pay the extra R5 000 and was led to the court’s holding cells.

Sonnenberg said the incidents at the Melkbos police station had happened only days apart, while Paulse was the station commander.

She said he had been dressed in full uniform during both incidents but without his name tag.

Both victims had been alone in their respective cells and he had illegally permitted them to smoke, even supplying them with cigarettes, she said.

Because the sexual assault victim had suffered from a cold at the time, he had obtained Vicks medication for her.

Although she had protested that she could apply the Vicks herself, he had insisted on doing so for her, first rubbing her back and then her stomach, up to her breasts.

This amounted to sexual assault, she ruled.

Sonnenberg said Paulse had shown the rape victim how to use the shower in her cell and had specially obtained a towel for her.

He had then helped to dry her, even rubbing between her legs.

Sonnenberg said the sexual assault victim had obtained his name from one of his subordinates on the pretext that she had wanted to thank him for his kindness, and she had then reported the incident to a woman police official.

The rape victim had been afraid to protest at his presence with her in the cell, because “he was a man of the law”, Sonnenberg said.

The case was postponed to July 29 for sentencing. - Sapa

ANC supporters marched to the provincial legislature over poor service delivery, school closures and the DA’s perceived racism.

Cape Town - Hundreds of ANC supporters marched to the provincial legislature on Thursday over poor service delivery, school closures, the DA’s perceived racism and dissatisfaction with the way the MyCiTi bus service is being implemented.

The marchers were led by ANC provincial leader and Deputy International Relations Minister, Marius Fransman, who addressed the crowd on the steps outside the legislature.

Fransman said it was unacceptable and “racist” for Premier Helen Zille to say that the Western Cape was the best-run province, while knowing that it had benefited from infrastructure built during apartheid.

He said the province fell under the old Cape Province during apartheid and it benefited from infrastructure development from then. It was therefore wrong for Zille to compare it with places such as the Eastern Cape, which used to be Bantustans.

“Under the DA, they believe in an open society which assumes all is equal. We are not equal. There are still historical imbalances we must correct.”

Tony Ehrenreich, provincial secretary of Cosatu, said: “Everywhere we have liberated our people from apartheid and we must liberate the Western Cape in 2014.”

He said Cape Town mayor Patricia de De Lille wore a mask when she visited informal settlements, yet she expected people to live in those areas.

“Does she want people to wear masks every day of their lives?”

Mandla Mata, deputy chairman of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape, said MyCiTi buses were a threat to the taxi industry and the taxi council had not been properly consulted by the city.

Mata said the buses would “kill” the taxi industry which, unlike Metrorail and Golden Arrow buses, was not receiving a government subsidy.

When a representative from the premier’s office was sent to collect a memorandum from the protesters, he was sent back by the crowd who demanded Zille.

Zille’s spokesman Zak Mbhele said Zille was not available to collect the memorandum. “While it is clear that the ANC has good grassroots machinery to mobilise lots of people for marches and demonstrations, it is also the case that they have nothing of substance or truth to say.

“It is all a great spectacle and lots of rhetoric but there is no basis for the accusations they made against the Western Cape government,” he said.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

ANC MP John Jeffery has offered to withdraw comments he made about DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko's weight.

Cape Town - An unseemly sideshow to this week’s debate on the Presidency budget ended on Thursday with ANC MP John Jeffery offering to withdraw comments he made about DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko and apologise to her.

Jeffery had remarked after Mazibuko’s speech that while she “may be a person of substantial weight, her stature is questionable”, setting off a storm of protest on social media in which he was accused of sexism.

ANC MP Buti Manamela also came under fire for commenting on Mazibuko’s dress sense.

DA deputy chief whip Sandy Kalyan called on ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga to discipline the two.

Their “petty references” were “a direct attack on the integrity of a fellow member and are unparliamentary”.

Kalyan asked deputy speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo to rule on the matter during the debate on Wednesday and Mfeketo said she would consult the rules.

Kalyan said Motshekga, “who has rightfully called for more decorum in the house, should hang is head in shame at this disgraceful display by his colleagues”.

Political Bureau

Like “modern-day midwives” two police officers helped a woman who went into labour on a street in Delft.

Cape Town - Like “modern-day midwives”, two police officers helped a woman who went into labour on a street in Delft on Wednesday.

The father of the baby ran to the Delft police station to alert authorities that 25-year-old Soraya Davids was giving birth outside on the street.

Two detective constables, Hajiera Noltona and Andy Maloy, then went with the 26-year-old man to find that Davids had already given birth, and they assisted with the after birth.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said the couple were on their way to the nearby day hospital when they stopped at the police station.

“Like modern-day midwives, the two detectives helped the woman with the afterbirth delivery procedures, including correct breathing and the closing of her eyes while trying to relax and holding their hands,” Van Wyk said.

Nolton even had the privilege of cutting the umbilical cord before sending the mother and baby to the Delft Day Hospital, Van Wyk said.

“After cleaning mother and infant, the detectives secured their safety and wellbeing before transporting them to the safety of the medical practitioners at the Delft Day Hospital… The mother, residing in Leiden (Delft) repeatedly thanked the police members for their professional support.”

The pair were later transferred to the Tygerberg Hospital for further treatment and were discharged on Thursday.

Delft’s station commander Brigadier Hendrik Jansen praised the officers for “going beyond the call of duty” and was impressed by the way they dealt with the incident in full view of motorists and pedestrians.

Tygerberg Hospital spokeswoman Laticia Pienaar said there were no complications and that both mother and baby were healthy.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Diver Nico van Heerden made his way through a upturned tugboat 30m underwater, when suddenly someone tapped him on the head.

Cape Town - Strand diver Nico van Heerden made his way through a murky upturned tugboat 30m underwater off the Nigerian coast, coming across bodies as he inched along, when suddenly someone tapped him on the head.

“I got a huge fright, but was relieved to find someone alive,” the 32-year-old said in a message to his wife, Simoné, on Thursday.

The person who had tapped him was Harrison Okene - the sole survivor of a crew of 12 in the capsized tugboat - who managed to breathe inside an air bubble while trapped under the upturned vessel.

Okene, the ship’s Nigerian cook, survived like that for 62 hours. His rescue and survival made international headlines.

Van Heerden and two other saturation divers who helped to rescue Okene - Darryl Oosthuizen of Edgemead and André Erasmus from Durban - were at sea off the Nigerian coast.

They work for subsea services company DCN Global, which was a technical partner of ADS, a Nigerian diving company.

The dramatic rescue operation started on May 26 when the tugboat, the Jascon-4, capsized about 30km offshore.

The rescue spanned three days. It involved helicopters and various vessels, and the divers were slowly acclimatised to working at different sea depths.

On Thursday Simoné van Heerden said she had been in contact with her husband the day the tugboat capsized and he had simply mentioned he was on his way to the scene.

The next time she got word from her husband was on the third night after he left for the tugboat.

He told her: “Ek het ’n f**ken awesome dag gehad.” (“I had a f**king awesome day”).

Van Heerden said her husband and his colleagues had been looking for bodies on the tugboat because they had not expected to find anyone alive.

“It took him three hours to open one door. There was one body. He found another two bodies. Then this guy suddenly tapped him on the shoulder,” she said.

“When he turned around and saw that guy’s face… That feeling can’t be explained.”

Van Heerden said her husband had been “shocked and overwhelmed” at finding Okene alive.

“It’s like he was on drugs,” she said, recalling how he had sounded.

The divers had been unable to find the twelfth crew member and the operation was called off because conditions had become dangerous.

A few days after the incident her husband SMSed her early in the morning.

“He mentioned he can’t sleep, because every time he sees these guys’ faces… Just knowing the way they died,” Van Heerden said.

Her husband and his colleagues had been offered counselling.

Van Heerden said he now seemed fine and was expected to return home next month.

When the tugboat capsized, DCN divers were on a dive-support vessel chartered by the Nigerian offshore engineering company West African Ventures.

According to a statement by DCN, they were working on a pipeline project when West African Ventures instructed DCN and ADS to call off the pipeline operations and respond to the tugboat accident.

The DCN statement said the tugboat had sunk to a depth of 30m.

The pipeline operations involving the divers had been conducted 70m underwater, and during the 17 hours it took the divers to get to the scene, they had to be brought to a different working depth.

This process involved the divers staying in a decompression chamber on the surface of the ship and the pressure of the chamber slowly being adjusted along with the mixture of gases the divers breathed.

According to the DCN statement, the divers located the tugboat upside down on the seabed.

Once Okene was discovered alive, the divers showed him how to wear a diving helmet and handed him one, which he put on.

The DCN statement said Okene was escorted out the sunken vessel into a diving bell, and then into decompression chambers.

He stayed in the chambers for roughly two-and-a-half days.

In an interview with news agency Reuters, Okene was quoted as saying he had heard fish eating his colleagues’ bodies.

He said the fact the room he was in had not filled with water was “a miracle”.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

The urgency with which the City of Cape Town is considering amending development plans at the V&A Waterfront, smacks of special treatment.

Cape Town - The urgency with which the City of Cape Town is considering amended development plans for the V&A’s Clock Tower Precinct, despite objections that the “ill-considered” proposal would result in the “strangling” of the V&A Waterfront and destroy its harbour character, smacks of special treatment.

This is the view of some members of the city’s spatial planning, environment and land use planning management (Spelum) committee tasked with considering changes to a development plan approved in 1999.

After hearing presentations from objectors and the Waterfront’s motivation, the committee scheduled an urgent site visit so it could deal with the application before council closed for recess at the end of the month.

Councillor Gerald Siljeur, of the ACDP, said: “We can’t see why we need to treat this as a special item and rush it through.”

ANC councillor Victor Mfusi said there was no need to expedite the application, and it could be considered when council resumed. Committee chairman Christo Kannenberg said they should not delay the visit until August, as this would hold up development in a critical part of the city.

Retired harbour master Bill Shewell, one of the objectors, said in his written objection he was concerned that “our Waterfront is systematically losing its port appeal and sense of ownership by the city’s population” as the need for a good return required “yet more building and crowding out of visual sites”.

At the heart of the furore is how the proposed development and its new building heights will affect the historic grain silo complex.

This houses the grain elevator, once the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa.

The plan would alter the height of buildings to range between 28m and 40m. It would include a building just off the East Quay and a 40m building on an expanded envelope on South Arm Road. There would also be 400 more parking bays.

The extra land allocation would allow for mixed-use development. Since this precinct is the link between the V&A and the CBD, it would be the first area where visitors and pedestrians could access and experience the harbour character of the area, the city’s land use department said in its report to the committee.

Plans for the grain silo include a design museum, a gallery space, a public market and restaurants and shops. The ground floor would be opened to pedestrians to create a public space. A new hotel may be included in the redeveloped grain silo space.

There have been almost 30 objections, most from residents in the adjacent marina. These include that the additional buildings will mask the grain silo complex from view; heritage resources may be compromised; the heights of the buildings are “unrealistic”; there may be a significant noise impact; there has been a misrepresentation in presentations to the public of the exact nature of the development; and that not enough work has been done on testing the wind tunnel effect that new buildings would create.

Willem Bührmann Associates, representing the Marina Residential Homeowners’ Association, said in a letter to the city: “There are more questions than answers at this stage. My client is not against the reasonable development of the Clock Tower Precinct, but believes the proposals are in direct conflict with the original Waterfront development philosophy and concept as was carefully considered, described and approved in the earlier heritage and precinct plans.”

Architect James Laidlaw said only “small sketches” and conflicting information about other issues, such as the impact on traffic, were made available, while heritage consultant Ashley Lillie said the recommendation to the city was “ill-considered and unimplementable”.

In response, developer Neil Schwartz Town Planning said this precinct had an approved package of plans for development and the application was consistent with these. No new impact assessments were required and the heritage aspects had been addressed. “All information necessary to make a decision on the application is therefore with the council. Most comments received focus on aspects already approved or issues not relevant to the application.

David Green, chief executive of the Waterfront, said the V&A was an “ongoing success story” that provided work for about 16 500 people. This precinct plan was part of the “ongoing and sensitive” development of the Waterfront. The changes to the height and bulk of the precinct would have minimal, if any, adverse impact. “It will be a much better use of the land area.”

Schwartz said the development concept would be finalised this year so it could be publicised during World Design Capital 2014. This was a “unique opportunity to preserve and enhance an iconic building in the central city”. More than R4 billion is to be spent on developing the precinct over the next 10 years.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Religious leaders ask followers to pray for statesman as his hospital stay lengthens.

Cape Town - Worshippers from across Cape Town’s religious spectrum came together in prayer for Nelson Mandela’s recovery at St George’s Cathedral on Friday morning.

Wearing layers of clothing to keep warm under the cathedral’s high ceilings, the faithful sang quiet hymns.

Leaders from various churches, as well as from the Khoi, Muslim an Hindu communities, lead the congregation in prayer and well-wishing.

“When he is in pain, all of us are in pain. When he feels discomfort, all of South Africa is in discomfort. We ask (God) to grant him relief from discomfort and to cure him of his ailments,” said Sheik Ebrahim Gabriels of the Muslim Judicial Council.

The cathedral’s dean, Michael Weeder, read a message from Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba, who is in Australia.

Makgoba asked all South Africans and the faithful from around the world to “join (him) in asking for God’s merciful hand to be held over Madiba, and for his love to enfold Madiba and his family”.

Support from the ANC, came in the form of an address by the party’s provincial chairman, Marius Fransman, who recalled the fondness that virtually all South Africans share for Madiba and spoke of how many lay awake at night in anticipation of news of his condition.

“We use this opportunity also to reflect on the legacy of an icon who sacrificed much in the struggle for freedom from suffering for many South Africans.

“Madiba always displayed a fondness for children and a compassion for the most vulnerable people in our society. We must take this legacy forward. The struggle can never be over while people are still oppressed and suffering, in South Africa or, indeed, anywhere in the world.”

The prayer vigil follows a week of similar gatherings at churches and other religious centres throughout South Africa.

In Pretoria, clergymen visited the Pretoria hospital where Mandela is being treated.

The delegation of clergymen, led by Bishop Abraham Sibiya of the Christ Centre Church in Pretoria, arrived at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Arcadia to pray for Mandela.

“We are deeply concerned about his health, as the church in South Africa. We pray that God will give him a speedy recovery and make him strong,” said Sibiya.

“We have come to pray that Mandela's family all over South Africa may be strengthened in this difficult time. We pray that God will comfort them and give them a will to move on.”

He said Madiba was an epitome of reconciliation, not only for South Africans, but for the world.

“He is a very good example of how the whole world should respond to the crises that they face. Tata Mandela taught us that we can put aside our differences [and] hostilities to join hands and pray together.”

Sibiya said he was hopeful the elderly statesman would recover soon.

“Let us believe together. Let us all come together, hold hands all over the world. Let us call upon God so that he would heal [former] president Mandela.”

He said a prayer session would be held outside the hospital because there were restrictions on entering the facility.

“We are not going to go inside, we are restricted from going in. We are not able to go inside,” said Sibiya.

“We can pray anywhere. We have come to uphold the former president in prayer.”

He said Mandela family members might join the prayer session.

Sibiya, a member of the International Bishops' Conference, was accompanied by bishops from the All-Africa Bishops' Council.

Mandela was hospitalised in the early hours of Saturday morning with a recurring lung infection. The presidency said he was in a “serious but stable” condition.

A media scrum of local and international reporters and broadcasters has been stationed outside the hospital since Mandela was admitted on Saturday.

Security at the hospital remained tight on Friday, with several police officers searching all vehicles entering the facility's two entrances.

The elder statesman's family members have been spotted at the hospital several times over the past six days.

Cape Argus and Sapa