Roger Lucas, 24, appeared in court for allegedly setting alight his ex-girlfriend, resulting in her death.

Cape Town - A man appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court on Monday morning for allegedly setting alight his ex-girlfriend, resulting in her death.

Roger Lucas, 24, wearing a blue tracksuit top and khaki pants, was led into courtroom A after being kept in custody.

He was told that the charge against him had been changed from attempted murder to murder, after Nazeema Terreblanche died in hospital at the start of the month.

He told the court it was the first time he had heard of the new charge.

The case was postponed until July 31 for Lucas to get a lawyer and for further investigation.

Lucas allegedly attacked Terreblanche on June 14. The Daily Voice reported that Lucas and Terreblanche had been arguing. He allegedly poured petrol over her - while she carried a friend's baby - and struck a match. The baby sustained minor burns to his feet.

It was believed that Terreblanche was pregnant at the time of the attack.

Sapa

Two children and a woman died after the taxi in which they were travelling collided with a truck outside De Doorns on the N1.

Cape Town - Two children and a woman died after the taxi in which they were travelling collided with a truck outside De Doorns on the N1 shortly after 5am on Monday morning.

Twenty-two people were transported to Worcester Hospital for treatment, said Cape Winelands Health District spokeswoman Jo-Anne Otto.

Constable Lybey Swartz, communications officer for De Doorns police, said that both vehicles were travelling in the direction of Touws River.

“The taxi collided with the back of the truck in the process and the driver lost control. Two people sitting in the front seat died - a mother, about 45 years old, and her three-year-old son. Another boy, aged about 12, who was sitting in the back seat, also passed away,” she said.

The names of the deceased have not yet been released.

In a separate crash, three men died on the N7 outside Malmesbury on Sunday night when their vehicle collided with a bus. One victim, Michael Heideman, 46, was a lieutenant who worked at Paarl East police station. The other men were Booi Neels, 41, and Ruduwaan Fransman, 31.

A case of culpable homicide has been opened for investigation.

A 28-year-old woman also died on Monday morning when she lost control of her vehicle, a Toyota Avanza, on the road between Prince Albert and Leeu Gamka, said provincial traffic spokesman Jacques Mostert.

Cape Argus

Ocean View has become one of the latest areas in Cape Town to experience a flare-up in drug-related violence.

Cape Town - Ocean View has become one of the latest areas in the province to experience a flare-up in drug-related violence with an attack by residents, at the weekend, on an alleged dealer's house, the police say.

During the incident, sparked by a shooting, police vehicles were damaged and eight people were arrested for public violence.

They are expected to appear in the Simon's Town Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Other areas which have recently experienced a flare-up in violence include Steenberg, Manenberg and Mitchells Plain with reports of shots being fired in both Manenberg and Mitchells Plain on Sunday.

In the Ocean View attack, police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said a 32-year-old man had been shot early on Saturday by an unidentified man in Ivory Court and rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

"The motive for his attack is being investigated by the police," Kinana said. An attempted murder case was being investigated.

Kinana said following the shooting, residents had gone to a house in Draco Street where they believed the suspected shooter, an alleged drug lord, lived.

"In what was suspected to be a revenge attack on this house, the community threw stones at the house, broke… boats and smashed the car and the roof of the house," he said.

Police officers had to evacuate the family from the house. As they were doing so, Kinana said, the residents had turned on them.

The tyres of about five police vehicles were damaged.

Eight people were arrested. The police were monitoring the area.

On Monday in Manenberg, where are least four people have been murdered recently, a 44-year-old resident was wounded as he arrived home.

Kinana said three men approached the resident as he walked through his front gate.

The man had asked what they wanted.

"Without any warning one of the three males pulled out a firearm and fired several shots at him, hitting him in the left shoulder and grazing his forehead," Kinana said.

The men then ran off.

Earlier this month Manenberg Community Police Forum (CPF) spokesman Kader Jacobs said the imminent release of notorious gang leader Rashied Staggie appeared to be linked to some of the violence.

Staggie, who has served 10 years of his 15-year jail sentence, and who according to court papers admitted to being the leader of the Hard Livings gang, is to be let out on day-parole from September 24.

On Sunday Mitchells Plain community police forum spokesman Abie Isaacs said one resident had been murdered in Tafelsig and another in Beacon Valley last week.

He said there were also reports of gunshots in Mitchells Plain on Sunday.

Isaacs said most of the incidents reported were possibly gang related.

Steenberg CPF spokesman Kevin Southgate said last week there had been four shootings in the area. Two people were killed.

Southgate said it appeared "a third economy" was at the root of the violence.

He explained this third economy was "totally unregulated" and had to do with the buying and selling of illegal substances, including drugs.

Southgate said the reasons behind shootings in the area boiled down to money and drug "turf".

Violence, linked to gangs and drugs, has flared up in the following areas:

* Ocean View: One wounded and scores of residents turn on an alleged drug lord at the weekend. Police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said: "A strong police presence will remain in the area to deal with any situation which may arise, and to maintain law and order. The situation currently can be described as under control, however it will be closely monitored to detect any possible unrest."

* Mitchells Plain: Two murdered in a week. Community Police Forum (CPF) spokesman Abie Isaacs said: "From our side most of these issues can possibly be gang related."

* Steenberg: Two murdered in a week. CPF spokesman Kevin Southgate said: "We've had ongoing violence for the past couple of months… At the end of the day the shootings are all about drug turf."

* Manenberg: At least four people recently killed. CPF spokesman Kader Jacobs said: "There's also inter-gang rivalry in terms of the release of (Hard Livings gangster Rashied) Staggie."

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Two people died and several others were left homeless because of fires in Cape Town.

Cape Town - Two people died and several others were left homeless because of fires in Cape Town, a city official said on Monday.

A man was burned beyond recognition when his shack caught alight in Du Noon around 1am on Monday morning, disaster risk management centre spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said.

A second man died in a fire at the Europe informal settlement in Gugulethu around 11pm on Sunday.

Fires in Gugulethu, Langa, and Du Noon in the past two days had left at least 24 people homeless. - Sapa

Evidence presented by cardiologist Wouter Basson during his criminal trial will not be used in the hearing into his alleged unethical behaviour.

Pretoria - Evidence presented by Cape Town cardiologist Wouter Basson during his criminal trial will not be used in the hearing investigating his alleged unethical behaviour, the Health Professionals Council of SA ruled on Monday.

“It is ruled that that should not be allowed in order to maintain consistency with previous rulings, consideration of fairness, and in order not to allow anything that will unduly protract the scope of the inquiry,” said Prof Jannie Hugo, chairman of the HPCSA's professional conduct committee.

The hearing is into the charges of unethical conduct brought by the HPCSA against Basson before its professional conduct committee.

Salie Joubert SC, representing the HPCSA, told the hearing he would use evidence presented by Basson in his criminal case and at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He said he would also use this evidence during the cross-examination of Basson’s witness Dr Niel Knobel.

Basson’s legal team objected, arguing this would delay proceedings, as this evidence was contained in a document of over 1000 pages.

The team argued that bringing such evidence would also not be fitting to the scope of the hearing. This was echoed by the chairman's legal adviser, retired judge Frikkie Eloff.

The hearing adjourned and a few minutes later Hugo presented his ruling.

The charges arise from Basson’s involvement in the apartheid government's chemical and biological warfare programme in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He is accused of acting unethically by being involved in the large-scale production of Mandrax, cocaine and teargas, of weaponising teargas, and of supplying it to Angola's Unita leader Jonas Savimbi.

He is also accused of acting unethically by providing disorientating substances for cross-border kidnappings and making cyanide capsules available for distribution to operatives for use in committing suicide.

In 2002, Basson was acquitted by the High Court in Pretoria of criminal charges arising from his conduct.

The HPCSA reviewed the judgment to establish if there were grounds to continue with an inquiry against Basson.

The State appealed the decision of the high court in the Supreme Court of Appeal, but the appeal was dismissed.

The State then went to the Constitutional Court to appeal the decision. That was also dismissed in September 2005.

In 2006, the HPCSA started its own process of investigating Basson’s conduct. A charge sheet was drawn up and the inquiry began in November 2007. However, the inquiry was delayed when the HPCSA’s main expert witness fell ill. The inquiry resumed again in September 2008.

During the November 2008 hearing, Basson’s legal team argued that the case brought against him was unlawful and biased.

Basson’s legal team then went to the High Court in Pretoria to stop the inquiry. The matter was heard in the high court only in 2010. The court dismissed Basson’s application in May 2010.

The next month, Basson appealed the decision in the same court, but lost.

The hearing then resumed officially in September 2011.

In January 2012, Basson brought another application before the HPCSA's professional conduct committee to dismiss the matter.

However, Basson’s application was dismissed.

The hearing continues on Tuesday. - Sapa

Cosatu's general secretary has thrown his weight behind Tony Ehrenreich's threat to strike in Cape Town.

Cape Town - Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has thrown his weight behind provincial counterpart Tony Ehrenreich and the federation’s threat to strike if Premier Helen Zille refused to meet them to discuss crime and access to services in townships.

Ehrenreich threatened last week that Cosatu affiliates would take their 250 000 members on a one-day unprotected strike if Zille didn’t agree to discuss issues such as crime, gang violence, education, transport and health.

He claimed Zille and the provincial government closed off every means for Cosatu to raise workers’ concerns.

Zille’s spokesman, Zak Mbhele, reacted by calling Ehrenreich a hypocrite and a liar. He said Cosatu had not requested a meeting with Zille since 2011, while on other occasions Ehrenreich had refused to take part in meetings of the Economic Development Partnership (EDP).

The EDP is a government-funded non-profit company made up of 130 bodies that include business, civil society and research organisations. It aims to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality by helping economic growth.

DA MP and the party’s labour spokesman, Sej Motau, said he would ask Vavi to educate Ehrenreich on the competencies of different spheres of government.

Vavi told the Cape Times that Ehrenreich was right to call for a strike because “it’s time that government was forced to take action”.

“Believe me, if gangs were to extend their activities to rich, former whites-only areas that government would have long acted decisively,” he said.

Vavi said gangs were ravaging the lives of the working class, particularly in the Western Cape.

Ehrenreich said the provincial government and the DA, in their response to his requests, had tried to deflect the focus from the crisis of safety in the townships by accusing him of being dishonest and grandstanding.

He said Cosatu had lodged a complaint with public protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate whether the provincial government was misleading the public by “unnecessarily botoxing the facts for the media”.

Asked if Cosatu had done its own research on the prevalence of killings, Ehrenreich said it was clear from newspaper reports that gang-related killings in townships had reached “crisis” point.

Asked about Cosatu’s complaint, Zille said: “I’m not going to give him oxygen, so that is my comment.”

Madonsela’s spokeswoman, Kgalalelo Masibi, could not confirm whether the public protector had received the complaint.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Funky cafes for unemployed youth are still on the cards, despite a launch delay, says Social Development MEC Albert Fritz.

Cape Town - Funky cafes for the province’s unemployed youth are still on the cards, despite a launch delay, says Social Development MEC Albert Fritz.

In his budget speech in March, Fritz, pictured, announced that youth cafes - information hubs to help unemployed youngsters – would be set up in malls in 10 areas across the Western Cape by June.

The cafes would be modern, “funky places” where young people could network and access government services, bursaries and job opportunities.

But a month after the deadline, set by Fritz, not one has opened.

Asked about the delay last week, Fritz’s spokeswoman Melany Kuhn said: “The concept of youth cafes is very much still on the table. In fact, at the ‘unconferencing’ event held with the youth on June 16, one of the themes discussed related directly to youth cafes in terms of what young people expect from such a place – the look, the feel, the smell, etc. We wanted to probe what would make them walk through the door, how they would prefer to access it, what they expect to find inside.”

The department was collating the information.

“It is important that the youth cafes not become another white elephant, but rather a place of service delivery that is utilised to the max,” she said. “We will therefore finalise the rollout as quickly as possible, but it will take as long as is necessary to ensure that we package it exactly in the way that would make the youth embrace and identify with it.”

The project is set to be piloted at Vangate Mall for youth from Heideveld, Manenberg, Gugulethu and surrounds, the Promenade Mall for youth from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, and other centrally located venues on the West Coast and in the Boland, Overberg and Karoo.

clayton.barnes@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Access control booms at Wynberg Military Base have been unmanned for months, allowing anyone to freely enter.

Cape Town - Access control booms at Wynberg Military Base have been unmanned for months, allowing anyone to freely enter.

A resident who lives at the base called the Cape Argus to say there had been a number of break-ins at apartment buildings and housing units at the base in recent months.

The woman asked to remain anonymous, saying that she could lose her job as an SANDF employee if she was identified.

On Monday, upon visiting the base, the Cape Argus team had unrestricted access to the complex through two security checkpoints.

The team also walked into 2 Military Hospital, which falls within the base.

An employee at the base told the Cape Argus that he had not seen a security guard on site for about a year.

Since the beginning of the year at the base, he said, there had been several burglaries - one while the residents were at home - and a thief had been caught for stripping aluminium from the walls and doors in the hospital. The most shocking allegation was that a man, who had allegedly just shot his wife, had wandered into 2 Military Hospital’s casualty ward where his wife was being treated, still clutching his firearm.

The employee said: “I’ve inquired and (have) been told that it is a funding issue - that there are not enough resources to deploy permanent guards there.

“Yet it is a crucial service that is missing. All the while, generals have the freedom to use the budget for plasma flat-screen televisions and new leather furniture in their offices.”

Fencing around the base was also in disarray, he said.

No one would comment when the Cape Argus approached administrative and medical staff at the hospital.

Tim Flack, regional organiser for the South African National Defence Union (Sandu), said: “They won’t speak to the media, they are too scared of being reprimanded. But we can confirm an incident where an emotional and drunk man walked into the casualty ward waving a gun around. There was no security and no senior staff, leaving it up to an intern to calm the man down while she waited for police.

“Concerns have fallen on deaf ears. It is disgusting that these issues only get dealt with when the media exposes them,” Flack said.

Security had been beefed up only when General Solly Shoke, chief of the SANDF, was taken to 2 Military for treatment last month, Flack said.

Pikkie Greeff, Sandu’s national secretary, said that the lack of access control at the base was shocking but not unique.

He referred to an admission by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, reported on in the Cape Argus last month, that thousands of metres of copper wire had been stolen from the navy’s Silvermine communications centre over the past 18 months.

“We have had similar reports from 1 Military Hospital (in Pretoria), where patients have complained about strangers walking in and stealing their belongings due to poor access control,” Greeff said.

David Maynier, the DA’s spokesman on defence, said that the problem was symptomatic of a “R13 billion backlog” in infrastructure, maintenance and repair work in the defence force.

The department acknowledged receipt of the Cape Argus’s queries, but had not responded at the time of going to press.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Forensic investigations into alleged fraud and corruption have cost the Cape provincial government R51m over three years.

Cape Town - Forensic investigations by Deloitte into alleged fraud and corruption have cost the provincial government R51 million over three years, it has been revealed.

This has been described by former ANC Western Cape Premier Lynne Brown as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The information came from Premier Helen Zille in response to a question in the provincial legislature by Brown about the overall cost of outsourced forensic investigations.

Zille said a total of 137 investigations had been completed by Deloitte between December 2011 and May 31 this year, costing the provincial government about R51m. Of these, 84 investigations identified fraud and/or irregularities, 12 investigations could not confirm allegations, another 35 cases did not require a detailed investigation after the preliminary inquiry, and six investigations identified various instances of non-compliance.

“In addition to the 137 investigations, 17 cases were duplicate matters and were incorporated into an existing case, and 58 cases required an initial investigation by the respective department,” Zille said. “For the period, therefore, 212 cases were closed.”

Brown said paying a private company R51m for forensic investigations which yielded “no, or very little, results” was a waste of taxpayers’ money.

She claimed Zille’s department had removed people from the province’s forensic investigative unit after taking control of the province in 2009, and had since replaced them with Deloitte employees.

“They have resolved very few cases, but the premier keeps referring to a backlog of cases. If you are paying a company R51m, people should have been arrested and investigated. No one has been arrested.”

In response, Zille’s spokesman, Zak Mbhele, said most of the investigations resulted in findings of fraud or irregularities.

The unit’s proven effectiveness was a result of it being strengthened over the past few years, said Mbhele.

“We have seen results in reducing the case backlog that the DA administration inherited in 2009, so that by March this year, the unit had finalised all cases started in or before 2010/11.

This was achieved by addressing the root causes of the problems that previously plagued the unit, and building a strong foundation to ensure a competent and effective unit,” he said.

The investigations over the past three years included a probe into the tender awarded to Hip Hop Media, a communications company fingered in the alleged “brown envelope” saga involving journalists allegedly paid off by then premier Ebrahim Rasool.

The forensic investigation found that there were irregularities, but no proof of corruption in the awarding of the tender.

clayton.barnes@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

"When the volunteers interviewed (Tammelin), she said they were locked in the house while her mom went to the shebeen."

Cape Town - Authorities are investigating allegations that a Macassar mother locked her daughter, who has a mental condition, and granddaughter in their home, where a fire later broke out.

Sally Williams, who shares the house with her daughter, Tammelin Williams, 17, and granddaughter Cherice, five, denied the allegations on Monday.

No one was injured in the fire.

The city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesman, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, said rescue personnel were alerted to a fire in Ring Avenue after 10am on Sunday.

“When the volunteers interviewed (Tammelin)… she said they were locked in the house while her mother went to the shebeen,” he said.

Solomons-Johannes said residents alleged it was not the first time the children had been locked in the house.

“The Department of Social Development was notified and will be investigating the incident.”

A social worker was expected to visit the home as Williams could face charges of child neglect under the Children’s Act, Solomons-Johannes said.

An investigation was under way to establish the cause of the fire.

On Monday, Williams told the Cape Times she had gone to a nearby shop, and when she returned, her house was on fire.

“I just went to the shop to get groceries when one of the boys came running to tell me the house was burning. When I came home there were already so many people. I don’t like that people made their own stories about me and what happened. It’s not true,” she said.

Tammelin said she managed to unlock the door and left before the fire started. “I was next door when I heard one of the boys shouting there was smoke coming out of my windows. People came and started throwing water. It happened so quickly, but all my things burnt.”

* Early on Monday, an unidentified man was burned to death after his shack caught alight in Du Noon near Milnerton.

In Langa, eight people were left homeless by a fire that gutted two council houses.

On Sunday, an unidentified man died and 15 people were left homeless when their shacks in Gugulethu burned down.

Police are investigating a case of arson in Delft, where a fire was started after a domestic dispute on Sunday.

barbara.maregele@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A bottle store - next to a church, opposite a mosque and near a crèche and a high school - has caused an uproar in Cape Town.

Cape Town - A Blue Downs bottle store - next to a church, opposite a mosque and near a crèche and a high school - has raised the ire of some in the community, prompting urgent court action.

Residents, organisations and local representatives lodged an application at the Western Cape High Court on Monday. They want an urgent, interim interdict to stop the outlet from trading until the court has reviewed, among other things, the granting of its liquor licence.

The outlet, Ernie’s Liquor Store in Blue Downs Way, was to have opened on Monday.

Judge Dennis Davis, however, would not hear arguments in the matter because the respondents - there are 22 of them, including several local councillors, the Western Cape Liquor Authority, Premier Helen Zille, mayor Patricia de Lille and Ernie Fell, the liquor licence holder - had not yet had a chance to respond to the application.

Outside the court, a small group of residents holding posters protested, expressing outrage that a liquor store should be allowed to open so close to places of worship, and where children gathered, even though it was in a busy road.

Community leader Ridwaan Davids contends in an affidavit, which forms part of the application, that nothing came of numerous letters of objection, as well as a petition to stop the bottle store from opening.

According to councillors Yagyah Adams and Achmat Williams, who have assisted the community with the issue, they had come to court as a last resort.

Adams said the property had previously been zoned for residential use but had since been rezoned so that it could be used for business purposes, although the Fell family still lived there.

In letters of objection attached to the court papers, organisations such as the Tuscany Glen Ratepayers’ Association and the Blue Downs Community Based Organisation stated their reasons for not wanting the outlet to operate from that position.

Among their objections was the fact that liquor would be sold next to a church, opposite a mosque, “less than 100m” away from a childcare centre and “less than 500m” away from Tuscany Glen High School.

They also complained that they hadn’t been properly notified or consulted.

“The community certainly would have raised strong objections to such an idea of a liquor outlet right in the middle of the community,” said Tuscany Glen Ratepayers’ Association representative Charles Sedeman in a letter to the chairperson of the liquor authority as long ago as November, 2007.

“We vehemently object against such an outlet in our community.

“This outlet will surely impact our businesses in the area as the crime levels will increase with more readily available alcohol and elements hanging around these kinds of outlets.”

Judge Davis said he was inclined to hear the matter this week once the respondents had had an opportunity to answer to the founding papers.

The matter is expected to be heard either on Thursday or Friday.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Three people have been shot in the same Manenberg road in the past two days, with one woman shot while sleeping next to her kids.

Cape Town - Three people have been shot in the same Manenberg Road in the past two days, with the most recent incident involving a woman who was wounded in both legs while sleeping beside her children.

The children were unhurt.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said the incident occurred at about 5am on Monday.

An unidentified man had kicked open the door and fired several shots at the woman and children as they lay sleeping.

The woman, 28, was the second woman to be shot in Scheldt Walk on Monday, while a man was shot in the same street on Sunday.

Kader Jacobs, Manenberg Community Police Forum spokesman, said a woman, 21, had been shot in the leg on Monday at 1.24am.

“Both incidents could be gang-related because Scheldt Walk is infested with gangsters,” Jacobs said.

“It was all-out war between 2am and 5am (on Monday)… there was a lot of gunfire,” Jacobs said.

On Sunday, Deon Titus, 47, was shot in the left shoulder in Scheldt Walk. There have been four murders in Manenberg in the past month as gangsters have been waging pitched battles.

On Saturday, a 23-year-old man died after being shot in the neck in Dina Court.

Jacobs said the forum had asked the police to deploy three more Nyalas to hot spots such as Scheldt Walk in the area. “It does make a difference. In Renoster Road there haven’t been any shootings since Friday after a Nyala was stationed there.”

Jacobs said Hard Livings and Americans gangsters were not interested in peace talks because “too much blood” had been spilled.

“They are definitely taking revenge for all the people that have been killed.

“The situation is extremely volatile at the moment.”

A Manenberg resident said on Facebook: “It was hailing bullets again here in our road in Manenberg, an innocent woman got hit.

“Upon hearing she got hit I phoned the ambulance service and was told that I should contact police to get an ambulance as they are not entering Manenberg due to the heavy gang war.

“I don’t blame them because I know how hectic it is here. My nerves are so klaar.”

Meanwhile, police confirmed that a man was shot in the leg in Long Kloof Road in Heideveld on Monday afternoon.

Details of the shooting were unknown because the victim could not be located.

“We are waiting on the victim to report the matter so that a docket can be opened and the case could then be investigated,” said police spokesman Colonel André Traut.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato told the Cape Argus on Sunday that most of the gang battles were over drug turf or the initiation of gangsters.

* Anyone with information about the shootings should contact Manenberg SAPS at 021 699 9400 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

An advertisement for hotel staff, targeting Capetonians, has been dismissed as scam by a London hotel.

Cape Town - An advertisement for hotel staff, targeting Capetonians who were interested in positions and who could translate Afrikaans to English, has been dismissed as scam by a London hotel.

Numerous online forums have reported the scam, which has offered jobs at the One Aldwych Hotel in London since last year in other countries.

A new advert has been posted on classified websites Gumtree and OLX.

The hotel has issued a warning on its website about the scam.

Belhar resident Rabia Khan, 20, said she had seen the advertisement on Gumtree. She had been corresponding with the scammers by e-mail and was offered a job on Friday.

Khan had applied for a position as a receptionist.

She said the ad had been looking specifically for Cape Town residents who wanted jobs at the hotel as cleaners, cashiers, guest relations assistants, receptionists, or translating Afrikaans to English.

It was offering salaries of up to R30 000 a month.

“Everything seemed legit,” Khan said.

“All the names of the people listed on the job offer form were right. The only thing that was strange was that they have not asked to speak to me. Surely if you want someone to be your receptionist, you would want to know how they speak?”

Khan then called the number provided on the form, but she was suspicious of the person who answered, pretending to be Abida Chaudhry, the hotel’s human resources head.

When Khan called the hotel and was put through to the real Abida Chaudhry, she was told it was a scam as the hotel had no vacancies. But the hotel said there was nothing she could do about it.

She believed it could be a human trafficking scam and was worried young people would fall for it.

The hotel said: “It has come to our attention that false job offers are being made to individuals in the name of One Aldwych Hotel. This scam targets individuals who have registered with job search websites.

“Please know that we pride ourselves on our professional recruitment process, which includes interviews and appropriate professional verifications. We do not make job offers or ask you to disclose personal information or send any money.”

The hotel said anyone with questions about the legitimacy of adverts or job offers should call its human resources department. The number, if using a cellphone, is +44 (0)20 7300 1078; for landlines: 0044 20 7300 1078; e-mail hr@onealdwych.com.

xolani.koyana@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Municipalities don’t have the skills to interpret statistics from the census to help improve service delivery, says Trevor Manuel.

Cape Town - Municipalities don’t have the proper skills to interpret statistics from the census to help improve service delivery and planning, says Minister in the Presidency for Planning Trevor Manuel.

He and statistician-general Pali Lehohla were speaking on Monday at a symposium at Stellenbosch University on the government’s use of data in planning.

They both agreed there was a serious shortage of skills at municipalities to process information released by Statistics SA (Stats SA).

“We have an enormous difficulty with municipalities in the main… and I have asked Stats SA to take data to the municipalities and systematically go through it (with them),” Manuel said.

The problem was policymakers didn’t always understand how to interpret data and used consultants to write their integrated development plans (IDPs).

“Yet these consultants use the Stats SA data… People outsource their brains,” Manuel said. “I hope public representatives realise how easy it is to understand statistics. I’m not judgmental of local municipalities, but we must ensure that data is used for decision-making. It’s fairly basic stuff.”

Manuel said he worried that a lot of analysis was done without proper data.

It was important for Stats SA to present its findings in a way that was understood by everyone, he said.

Lehohla agreed companies and consultancies were making money in contracts from local government to produce reports that used data released by the government itself.

“There are situations where you find a lot of cut-and-paste stuff in IDPs. There would be municipalities in the Western Cape who use a consultant and then municipalities in Limpopo also use them, then suddenly something pops up from the Western Cape in the Limpopo report,” he said.

He said this group of companies packaged statistics better than Stats SA did. “Stats SA needs to up its act so that data is understood.”

Lehohla said many municipal managers didn’t use information available to them. Municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape did make use of statistics in their IDP reports.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Some Western Cape pupils started the third term in vandalised classrooms, while others stayed at home due to gang violence.

Cape Town - Some Western Cape pupils started the third term in vandalised classrooms on Monday while others stayed at home after incidents of gang violence.

Five classrooms at Arcadia Senior Secondary in Bonteheuwel were left without electricity following two incidents of vandalism during the holidays.

Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant, said the school had been vandalised on July 3 and 8 and electrical cabling and wiring stolen.

Acting principal Chris Arendse said the thieves entered the classrooms through the roof. Once inside they made holes in the ceiling cavity to steal the electrical wiring. This didn’t always trigger the alarm. And Arendse said because the alarm went off only at the security company’s control room and not at the school, the school security guard did not know when there were trespassers. He appealed to residents to come forward with information.

Brenda Manuel, principal of Rio Grande Primary in Manenberg, said several pupils were absent yesterday. The school borders Renoster Road, the scene of many shootings this month.

Manuel said many parents had opted to walk their children to school. At break pupils had to play near the school buildings, well away from the fence.

“There are signs sometimes that shooting is going to start, like whistling or when you see people begin to gather. The children know the signs already and then tell us ‘juffrou, hulle gaan nou skiet’ (miss, they are going to shoot now).”

Casey said counselling and trauma support were available to schools upon request.

Grant said initial reports from the eight education districts indicated that there had been no major problems on the first day of term.

Only 103 days remained before the start of the National Senior Certificate exams. “By now, our Grade 12s should all have received their June examination results, which will indicate how they are doing. Learners should use this as a benchmark to determine which subjects need more attention.”

The department was analysing the results of underperforming schools to determine where support was needed. Grant said all schools were encouraged to sing happy birthday to Nelson Mandela on his 95th birthday on Thursday.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Western Cape MEC Dan Plato has once again called for the army to assist in gang infested communities in Cape Town.

Cape Town - A call for the army to be brought in to assist the police in stabilising and patrolling the areas worst affected by a spate of gang violence in Cape Town has been made once again, by Community Safety MEC Dan Plato.

There has been a series of gang-related murders on the Cape Flats, particularly in Manenberg, in recent weeks. In the past 24 hours, two more men have been killed in neighbourhoods known for gang shootings.

A 36-year-old man was shot and killed in Bunting Crescent, Robinvale, Atlantis on Monday afternoon. The unidentified suspects fled, and the motive for the attack was unknown, said police spokesman Andre Traut.

Atlantis ward councillor Barbara Rass feared that retaliatory shootings could plunge the neighbourhood into another cycle of violence. She said at least 23 people were shot and killed in shootings between late last year and May this year. She supported Plato in his call for military intervention.

Two hours after the Atlantis murder, another man, aged 21, was shot and killed in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain. A woman in her twenties, carrying a child in her arms, sustained a gunshot wound to her leg. Police have not yet identified any suspects.

Bystanders speculated that the shooting was in retaliation for a recent murder in the area.

Plato said his call for the army to intervene in the Cape Flats violence merely echoed a call he heard on a weekly basis when visiting affected communities.

“People stress that they cannot continue to live under these circumstances. They feel that the police resources are too stretched to contain and combat the violence effectively. I support their calls for the defence force to intervene,” said Plato.

“Police are so busy responding to new crime scenes and shootings to do proper, consistent investigative work. They don’t have the time to gather intelligence to build cases and to confiscate illegal guns.

“That is why many of the shooters continue unabated and get away scot-free,” he argued.

At a community meeting in Hanover Park last week, dozens of people fell to the ground when a nearby car backfired.

“Witnessing that made me realise that we cannot continue in this vain. People cannot be expected to raise children and live amid such fear and uncertainty,” said Plato.

Plato said it would be up to the police minister, Nathi Mthethwa, to petition President Jacob Zuma to authorise army intervention.

In a response to a query from the Cape Argus about police capability and other issues last week, the police said they had an “effective, efficient and intact” strategy in place to address “criminal gangs and their criminal networks”.

Code-named Operation Combat, the strategy had a “long-term focus”, was “multi-phased” and operated across a wide geographic area, said spokesman Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana. Kinana said intelligence operatives were deployed to affected areas and investigations were continuing and arrests had been made.

Cape Argus

Chemical weapons were used against Unita rebels during the war in Angola, the Health Professions' Council of SA was told.

 Cape Town - Chemical weapons were used against Unita rebels during the war in Angola, the Health Professions' Council of SA (HPCSA) was told on Tuesday.

The council's professional conduct committee is holding a hearing into allegations of unethical conduct against Cape Town cardiologist Wouter Basson.

Salie Joubert SC, representing the HPCSA, asked witness Dr Niel Knobel, a former SA Defence Force surgeon general, whether it was his testimony that chemical weapons were used against Unita forces in Angola.

“Based on our own reports, although I was not personally involved in some of those incidents, South African troops who were deployed with Unita were often called to come forward to come and give assistance to members of Unita that were exposed to some or other chemical substance,” said Knobel.

“The evidence that we have from the reports given by generals and commanding officers of that operation, all of them reported that there were bombs released by fighters, a lot of smoke was coming down and it affected a lot of the troops,” he said.

The charges against Basson arise from his involvement in the apartheid government's chemical and biological warfare programme in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He is accused of acting unethically by being involved in the large-scale production of Mandrax, cocaine and teargas, of weaponising teargas, and of supplying it to Unita leader Jonas Savimbi.

He is also accused of acting unethically by providing disorientating substances for cross-border kidnappings, and making cyanide capsules available for distribution to operatives for use in committing suicide.

During cross-examination on Tuesday, Joubert asked Knobel about details of meetings he had with former president Nelson Mandela when he was still in office.

Knobel refused and said the meetings were confidential.

“Mr Joubert is starting to question me on meetings I had with Mr Mandela, which I am not at liberty to discuss,” he said.

However, Knobel confirmed that Mandela had rejected calls by the UK and the US to prevent Basson from travelling abroad.

In 2002, Basson was acquitted by the High Court in Pretoria of criminal charges arising from his conduct.

The HPCSA reviewed the judgment to establish if there were grounds to continue with an inquiry against him.

The State appealed the high court decision in the Supreme Court of Appeal, but the appeal was dismissed.

The State then went to the Constitutional Court to appeal the decision. That was also dismissed in September 2005.

In 2006, the HPCSA started its own process of investigating Basson's conduct. A charge sheet was drawn up and the inquiry began in November 2007.

However, the inquiry was delayed when the HPCSA's main expert witness fell ill. The inquiry resumed again in September 2008.

During the November 2008 hearing, Basson's legal team argued that the case brought against him was unlawful and biased.

Basson's legal team then went to the High Court in Pretoria to stop the inquiry. The matter was heard in the high court in 2010. The court dismissed Basson's application in May 2010.

The next month, Basson appealed the decision in the same court, but lost.

The hearing then resumed officially in September 2011.

In January 2012, Basson brought another application before the HPCSA's professional conduct committee to dismiss the matter. However, this application was also dismissed. - Sapa

Former social development deputy minister Jean Swanson-Jacobs will be given an official funeral, the presidency said.

Pretoria - Former social development deputy minister Jean Swanson-Jacobs will be given an official funeral, the presidency said on Tuesday.

The national flag would fly at half mast until her funeral on Saturday.

President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that Swanson-Jacobs was instrumental in the fight against the abuse of women, children, drugs, and alcohol.

“Her community development work will be sorely missed,” he said.

Swanson-Jacobs died in a Cape Town hospital last week after a short illness.

She served as a deputy minister between 2004 and 2009. - Sapa

Western Cape premier Helen Zille challenged innovators to come up with environmentally smart ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

Cape Town - Western Cape premier Helen Zille challenged innovators on Tuesday to come up with environmentally smart ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

The aim of the Better Living Challenge project was to design “green” and alternative products for informal and subsidy housing, her spokesman Zak Mbhele said.

Her government was hoping to capitalise on the creativity of individuals in the business, academic, and public sectors, as part of its 110 percent Green Campaign, which was announced in 2012 to link environmental goals with economic activities.

“Although there are no specific rewards or tangible incentives that are attached to taking part, the basic idea is that if a small to medium enterprise (SME) has some kind of innovative green economy innovation that provides housing or living solutions, then provincial government would help them network with business experts around enterprise development,” Mbhele said.

The project would allow for the green product or service to be marketed and for the SME to make a return on investment.

Part of the challenge would entail creating eco-friendly homes on show.

“A wide range of products and new technologies will make up these homes and the challenge will also involve the first test of new eco-standards for building materials,” Mbhele said.

Banks were invited to come up with different finance models for green housing models that would not normally qualify.

Zille unveiled the challenge at the Smart Innovation Open Forum in Cape Town.

“We sit on extraordinary potential and possibility in the Western Cape and South Africa. With the right policies we can promote job-creating growth and development and create replicable innovations that can be spread throughout the continent and beyond,” she said at the event, according to the statement.

“In all of this, the role of the government is to make it easy to be an entrepreneur and not be an obstacle to innovation.”

Details on the challenge would be made available in the next few months. - Sapa

A man and two children died on Tuesday after inhaling gas in their home in Grassy Park near Cape Town.

Cape Town - A man and two children died on Tuesday after inhaling gas in their home in Grassy Park near Cape Town, paramedics said.

“Three survivors, two adults and a child remain in a critical condition,” ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jackson said.

She said the six were found in the house unresponsive after a gas leak.

“Attempts at resuscitation were made on the adult man and two children. Nothing more could be done for them and they were declared dead on scene.”

Three survivors were put on life support and taken to hospital. - Sapa