The National Development Plan will improve the lives of communities affected by poverty and crime, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said.

Cape Town - The National Development Plan (NDP) will improve the lives of communities affected by poverty and crime, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday.

“I'm quite encouraged once again by the ability of the ANC to be responsive to the challenges we face as a country,” he told community leaders at the Shekinah Tabernacle in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.

“As our people face challenges, as we have problems, we have a responsive governing party that will realise a storm is coming... and take proactive actions to do something.”

He said the NDP was not a plan collecting dust.

The African National Congress had decided to appoint an “economic recovery” task team, to look closely at the practical implementation of the NDP.

Ramaphosa was in the area to get feedback from the community on issues such as gangsterism, unemployment and service delivery.

He said he was aware the region was plagued by gangs which terrorised people.

“Young kids, as old as 12, are falling prey to drug lords. We live in a country which has those types of problems.”

Ramaphosa said the NDP was putting measures in place to reduce such criminality.

The plan also addressed “opening the minds” of young children through early childhood development centres and improving social welfare.

“The one thing we are not is a stagnant country. We are a country on the move,” Ramaphosa said.

He would conduct a walk-about of the region later on Saturday. - Sapa

Mitchells Plain in Cape Town needs a focused anti-drug campaign, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa told residents.

Cape Town - Mitchells Plain in Cape Town needs a focused anti-drug campaign, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday.

“We now require at national level a focus, a direct focus in Mitchells Plain,” he told community leaders at the Shekinah Tabernacle in the area.

“We should immediately begin to take action and, even if at provincial level we may not have such success, which we should have, that there should be a campaign....”

Ramaphosa said the focus of such a campaign would be to rid the area of widespread drug addiction and drug lords who preyed on young children.

Members of the community told the African National Congress leader about the struggles they encountered with the interlinked problems of drugs and gangsterism.

Ramaphosa said President Jacob Zuma had previously answered the call of parents with similar problems.

Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, resident Doreleene James, mother of a teenager undergoing drug rehabilitation, appealed to Zuma earlier in the year to rid the area of drug dealers.

Ramaphosa said Zuma had swiftly responded with a clean-up of the area.

One woman leading the fight against drug abuse in Mitchells Plain, who called herself “Mama Madiba”, told Ramaphosa that the government had ignored similar problems in her area.

“What Doreleene James is getting in Joburg, we want it 10 times better because Mitchells Plain's problem is bigger. She (James) is getting too much publicity,” she said.

“Please don't get a woman (James) from Johannesburg to come open a woman's desk here in Cape Town... It will be a slap in the face for us.”

Ramaphosa said the National Development Plan (NDP) was putting measures in place to reduce such criminality.

The plan also addressed “opening the minds” of young children through early childhood development centres and improving social welfare.

“The one thing we are not is a stagnant country. We are a country on the move,” Ramaphosa said.

“As our people face challenges, as we have problems, we have a responsive governing party that will realise a storm is coming... and take proactive actions to do something.”

He said the NDP was not lying dormant.

The ANC had decided to appoint an “economic recovery” task team, to look closely at practical implementation of the NDP going forward.

He said the party was looking at compiling a summarised version of the NDP for easier access. Translation to other languages was also under consideration.

This followed complaints that the plan was too long to read and not easy to understand. Ramaphosa was in the area to get feedback from the community on issues affecting them.

He would conduct a walk-about of the region later on Saturday. - Sapa

Two policemen were shot dead in separate incidents in Cape Town at the weekend, Western Cape police said.

Cape Town - Two policemen were shot dead in separate incidents in Cape Town at the weekend, Western Cape police said on Monday.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said a 36-year-old constable was killed while on duty in Spine Road, Mitchells Plain, around 8pm on Sunday.

“He was attacked by a suspect who collided with a police vehicle on an accident scene. The suspect fled the scene on foot.”

An hour later, a 40-year-old sergeant was shot in his Khayelitsha home while getting ready to go to work.

He died on his way to hospital.

No arrests had been made for either attack.

“Attacks on our members are viewed in a very serious light and we will make every endeavour to apprehend those responsible,” Van Wyk said. - Sapa

Cape Town's poo protesters ran amok, forcing the closure of a part of the N2 when they flung faeces at motorists.

Cape Town - Cape Town’s poo protesters ran amok again on Sunday, forcing the closure of a part of the N2 when they flung faeces at motorists, forcing some to stop and drive back against traffic.

This is the latest incident in a campaign that has seen the Western Cape legislature and Cape Town International Airport vandalised with waste by protesters in recent months.

Some panicked motorists were forced to turn around on Sunday - driving in the wrong direction on the N2 - after a group of protesters barricaded the road and flung portable toilets and faeces at vehicles.

Traffic on the incoming lane of the N2 near the Mew Way off-ramp ground to a halt late on Sunday afternoon as a group of men lined the road, armed with portable loos and bags of faeces.

Cars travelling on the road, where the speed limit is 120km, braked hard or were forced to slow down as the protesters approached.

Some drivers swerved, almost hitting the barricade in the middle of the highway.

A few drivers, some with children, who sped up and rammed through the barricade, had poo splashed across their vehicles and portaloos flung at their windows.

With canisters filled with faeces in hand, the protesters poured the waste on the tar and some hurled toilets over the barricade on to the opposite outgoing lane of the N2.

A tattered mattress and tyre were set alight while other protesters jeered at the vehicles’ occupants.

A city law enforcement vehicle arrived on the scene within minutes.

But the officers quickly backed up - reversing their vehicle as the protesters moved towards them, threatening to throw more faeces.

Soon afterwards, several police vehicles arrived.

As a fourth police vehicle pulled up, stun grenades were tossed at the protesters as the officers alighted.

Groups of onlookers - watching from the fence separating Khayelitsha and the N2 - and protesters dashed in through a hole in the fence before disappearing among the shacks.

A man in a yellow T-shirt was apprehended, but the onlookers told police he was not one of the protesters and he was released.

Earlier in the afternoon, 15 members of a task team that had been set up to lead protests following the arrest of protesters at the Cape Town International Airport for throwing faeces, held a press conference at a hall in Khayelitsha.

Police vehicles were parked outside the hall.

Task team members said they believed they were being monitored by police since the arrest of nine people - including former ANC councillor Andile Lili and ANC proportional councillor Loyiso Nkohla - for the poo-throwing incident at the airport.

The task team vowed to continue fighting and would continue to make the province “ungovernable”.

In a statement the task team said: “Faeces will fly until people’s demands are met”.

A march is planned for Wednesday, including one to the offices of the National Prosecuting Authority to demand that charges against the seven people arrested be withdrawn.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Dutch man who has been battling with the Department of Home Affairs to get SA citizenship for his family faces deportation.

Cape Town - A Dutch father who has been in a 17-year battle with the Department of Home Affairs to get South African citizenship for himself, his wife and his son, has been ordered to leave the country by Sunday.

Thijs van Hillegondsberg, 56, was served with an “Order to illegal foreigner to depart from republic” by an immigration officer at his Strand home on July 18. The order states that Van Hillegondsberg has to leave the country by August 4 and should he fail to do so, he will be “arrested and detained” until deportation.

Van Hillegondsberg, his wife Patricia Poelmann, 54, and their son Ludo, then three years old, moved from the Netherlands to South Africa in 1996. The couple adopted South African children, Thembisa Masisa, 18, and Johan Oktober, 16, in 2001.

Van Hillegondsberg has vowed not to leave the country.

“It’s better to go to prison than leave, because once I leave I won’t be able to come back to my family… it’s not like I can just pack a suitcase and leave my wife and children.

This thing has been dragging on for too long. It got out of hand so quickly, it’s now hard to imagine how it started.”

He alleges that by law they have been eligible for South African citizenship since 2001 when they became the legal adoptive parents of South African children by order of a high court judge.

The family have repeatedly applied for work, temporary residence and study permits, which have been extended annually since 1999. Ludo, 21, is studying medicine at Stellenbosch University, on a study permit.

The family first complained to the Office of the Public Protector in 2001 after they were repatriated to the Netherlands in 1999. They stayed in their native country for two months before returning to South Africa.

Last year, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela intervened.

Through a detailed report - “Unconscionable Delay” - presented in Parliament last April, Madonsela found that Home Affairs had botched the family’s application for permanent residency and recommended that the department grant the family permanent resident status by an exemption application. Backed by Mandonsela’s report Van Hillegondsberg applied for exemption last November, but Home Affairs has rejected his application.

Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said on Sunday the department had a constitutional mandate to enforce immigration laws. “As far as I know Van Hillegondsberg is in the country illegally.”

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Three men accused of killing gay nightclub owner Bruno Bronn appeared in the Western Cape High Court.

Cape Town - Three men accused of killing gay nightclub owner Bruno Bronn appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

John Frederick Coetzee, Fareez Allie and Achmat Toffa appeared before Judge President John Hlophe, who said their trial would begin on August 26.

It was to have started on Monday, but the court heard that a new lawyer had come on record for Toffa and would need time to prepare.

The men would appear in court again on August 19 to ensure they were ready for trial.

Coetzee is out on bail of R20 000 and Allie of R5 000.

Toffa was granted bail in this matter, but remains in custody at Pollsmoor Prison on two unrelated charges.

Bronn, 50, was found murdered in his Green Point home on February 7 last year. According to the indictment, he was strangled and died of suffocation.

He owned the popular nightclubs Bronx and Navigaytion in Somerset Road, Green Point.

The men face charges of premeditated murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Both charges carry life sentences.

The State previously withdrew charges against a fourth accused, Kurt Erispe. The reason would be revealed in the trial.

The State said it had drawn up a list of 48 witnesses although not all would be called if the men made certain admissions ahead of their trial. - Sapa

A Namibian man accused of murdering two cops patrolling in Hout Bay has allegedly confessed to the crime, a court heard.

Cape Town - A Namibian man accused of murdering two police officers patrolling in Mandela Park in Hout Bay has allegedly confessed to the crime, the Western Cape High Court has heard.

Fabianus Fillipus is alleged to have shot and killed 26-year-old Constable Phindiwe Nikani and 27-year-old Mandisi Nduku on October 12 last year.

But Fillipus’s lawyer, Rael Kassel, said his client would dispute the contents of the alleged confession saying that his signature was forged.

Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, who was presiding over the pre-trial hearing on Friday, asked whether the alleged confession was video recorded. Prosecutor Tembeka Mulenga told Judge Hlophe that it had not been.

Judge Hlophe instructed Mulenga to take the matter up with the investigating officer.

Mulenga said a trial date had been set and that the trial was expected to run for five weeks.

She said 29 witnesses had been lined up to prove the State’s case, but added that the trial might take longer because Kassel was expected not to make formal admissions about the case. This would mean that the State had to provide evidence on each aspect of its case.

It is alleged the officers confronted Fillipus a short while before the double murder around 11pm that night.

“The accused (Fillipus) was the driver of a BMW which was standing in the road. Police instructed the accused to move the vehicle to allow them to pass. After the BMW vehicle had been moved and parked, the police approached him.” Fillipus ran away. “The police initially gave chase but without success, then continued their patrol duties. The evidence indicates that the accused thereafter returned and shot the police,” the State alleges in the indictment.

The uniformed officers were seated inside the patrol vehicle when they were shot. Judge Hlophe remanded Fillipus to August 12 when the trial was set to start.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Seven people accused of murdering three men in Khayelitsha are expected to go on trial in the Western Cape High Court.

Caep Town - Seven people accused of murdering three men in a vigilante attack in Khayelitsha are expected to go on trial in the Western Cape High Court next month.

Prosecutor Jacomiena Swart told the court on Friday the case was ready for trial as lawyers had been appointed to represent the seven and that copies of the case docket had been supplied to them.

Brothers Mziwabantu and Mzimasi Mncwengi, Mzimasi’s wife Buyelwa, Lumnko Babalaza, Xolani Makapela, Mawende Siboma and Morris Maxela are accused of killing three suspected thieves on March 14 last year.

It is also alleged that they kidnapped Luxolo Mpontshane, 25, Mabhuti Matinise, 20, and Sivuyile Rola, 28, and tortured them for nine hours after the three allegedly broke into Mziwabantu’s home and stole a television set.

Their bodies were dumped among the sand dunes in Macassar and found by a policeman who was patrolling the area.

During Mziwabantu Mncwengi’s bail application in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court in April last year he denied taking part.

He said an angry mob was responsible for the murders and he was not responsible or involved in the killing.

He testified that he searched for the suspected thieves and took them to his house to get them to show him how they had entered his property.

Around the same time a large group gathered outside his house and started assaulting the men. “I tried my best to stop the people but they were unstoppable,” Mncwengi said at the time.

The prosecution put to Mngcwengi that blood was found on his pants.

“Yes (there was blood) because I was intervening when the community assaulted the men.

“What was I supposed to do when they were unstoppable?” he asked.

Mncwengi testified that he had left the premises and gone to the nearby taxi rank because he owned one of the taxis.

The seven are expected to plead to the charges on August 12.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A 15-year-old girl died after a 23-year-old BMW driver lost control of his car and ploughed into a group of friends in Kensington.

Cape Town - A 15-year-old girl died and her three friends were seriously injured when a car ploughed into them on the corner of Voortrekker Road and 8th Avenue in Kensington.

Provincial police spokesman FC van Wyk said the incident occurred at about 2.30am on Sunday.

The driver had sustained extensive injuries and the girl had died on the scene.

A culpable homicide case had been opened.

ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jacobs said the car crashed into a wall of a corner building and hit four pedestrians on the pavement.

Jacobs said the vehicle, a BMW, stood shredded at the side of the road after the crash and car parts were scattered for metres.

The three surviving pedestrians were taken to different hospitals and were said to have suffered serious injuries.

Groote Schuur Hospital spokesman Alaric Jacobs said two teenage girls were being treated there and were both in a stable condition.

Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa said traffic police had received reports of eight other deaths over the weekend.

Five occupants of an Audi were killed when their vehicle crashed on the N7 near Melkbosstrand at about 7am on Saturday.

The two other incidents occurred in Macassar and on the N2 to Mossel Bay.

One involved a pedestrian and the other a cyclist who died in a hit-and-run incident.

About 892 drivers were tested by traffic police for alcohol over the weekend, and 27 were arrested for driving while over the legal limit.

Cadet News Agency

Cape Argus

Five suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Hester Koch on her Philippi farm last year have been released from prison.

Cape Town - Five suspects arrested in connection with the murder of 62-year-old Hester Koch on her Philippi farm last year have been released from prison after DNA results went missing and the investigating officer failed to turn up in court.

Koch was allegedly murdered last November by a couple she had helped off the street and offered to accommodate in a shack on her farm. The police also arrested three men in connection with the murder.

Koch was sexually assaulted and strangled. She lived on the farm with her partner Arnold Schultz, 68, who was murdered a month later.

Koch’s family found out about the ruling last Thursday. Her niece, Michele Maree, said

: “This wonderful woman died and they just got a get-out-of-jail-free card; it is absolutely unfair. We are very disappointed in the justice system. They betrayed us.”

Another family member said: “I just don’t understand how DNA reports go missing.”

The investigating officer refused to comment when contacted by the Cape Argus on Sunday.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said he would follow up the matter and would comment by Monday.

“We have to get hold of the detectives in the case. If there is information we will forward it.”

Maree said family members intended to have a meeting with the police today to find out how to try to get the case back into court.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Rosa Carlyle-Mitchell died while celebrating her 21st birthday in Cape Town, after falling over a balcony.

Durban - A former St Mary’s DSG Kloof pupil, Rosa Carlyle-Mitchell, died while celebrating her 21st birthday in the City Bowl in Cape Town

She fell over a balcony on to the ground at about 10pm on Sunday night.

According to a family member, who asked not to be named, Rosa, a Theatre and Performing Arts student at the University of Cape Town, was celebrating her birthday with her brother, Luke, and her younger sister, Cristina, as well as a cousin who also had her birthday on the same day.

Rosa is the eldest daughter of Dominic, a business consultant, and Rene, a local architect, of Hilldene Road, Hillcrest.

The relative said that both parents were stranded in Italy as Dominic has been instructed by doctors not to travel after breaking seven ribs in a road accident last week. He was recently discharged from hospital but told not to travel for fear his broken ribs could pierce a lung.

He was to visit his doctors again on Monday to ascertain how he could best travel back to South Africa to be with his family.

Tyna Charter, principal of St Mary’s DSG Kloof said, “The staff of St Mary’s are deeply saddened to hear the news and our heartfelt condolences go to the family. We remember Rosa as a creative and talented student with a real joie de vivre.”

lauren.anthony@inl.co.za

Daily News

The W Cape ANC says it will release a recording confirming MEC Dan Plato's "smear campaign" against its leaders.

Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape says it will release a recording confirming community safety MEC Dan Plato’s “smear campaign” against its leaders.

ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile lodged a complaint with the police on Friday that accuses Plato of abusing his power, perjury and conspiracy to commit perjury. The ANC didn’t hand over the recording at the time.

Mjongile said on Sunday the ANC’s lawyers were transcribing the recording but would hand it over to the Hawks on Tuesday.

On Thursday the DA and ANC publicly accused each other in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature of being involved in gangs.

DA MPL Mark Wiley told the legislature the DA had affidavits that linked ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman and others to organised crime involving gun running, drug smuggling and murder.

Mjongile’s affidavit noted, however, that a recording existed that showed Plato met a gangster under the guise of peace talks and told him he would use affidavits from another gangster as a smear campaign against Fransman and others on the Cape Flats.

“I am outraged that Plato has used information he obtained as a result of holding office as MEC, used that information to manipulate an NGO to compile an affidavit from an admitted drug addict, convicted criminal and known gangster in which he deliberately implicates the ANC in the Western Cape,” Mjongile wrote.

Plato has not denied meeting with gangsters.

He told the Cape Times yesterday that he had handed over the affidavit and other documents to the public protector to investigate the claims.

“I cannot say what truth there is in the (gangster’s) affidavit and that is why I handed it over months ago but we did not make a fuss about it in the media,” he said.

Plato promised to co-operate with any investigation against him.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Seconds before the 2011 Italtile aircraft crash, a passenger called to let someone know the plane was being diverted.

Cape Town - Seconds before the 2011 Italtile aircraft crash, a passenger on board made a phone call letting someone in Plettenberg Bay know they were being diverted to George.

In light drizzle and thick fog the aircraft then plunged into the sea just off the Plettenberg Bay coast on February 8, 2011.

The pilot, co-pilot and seven passengers - including Italtile chief executive Gianpaolo Ravazzotti - were killed. The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft was flying from Queenstown to Plettenberg Bay.

The aircraft disappeared off the radar about 4.33pm and no distress call was received. The investigation revealed the probable cause of the crash to be “a possible in-flight upset associated with a loss of control during IMC (instrument meteorological conditions)”.

This aviation term refers to weather conditions which force pilots to fly with reference to their instruments, rather than by what they see outside, due to bad weather.

Contributing factors to the crash included that “judgement and decision-making (were) lacking by the crew”.

“The crew continued from the seaward side with the approach during IMC conditions and not diverting to an alternative aerodrome

with proper approach facilities timeously although a cellphone call in this regard indicate such an intention.”

There was also a possibility that the pilot flying at the time had become “spatially disorientated” while flying in those conditions and attempting to divert to George - this was “a significant contributory factor to this accident”.

The crew had “deviated from standard operating procedures” by choosing to “approach the aerodrome from the sea side”.

The reason for this could not be determined. The probe also found that it was the first time that the two crew members had flown together. Investigators found no evidence of pre- or post-impact fire and no indication of any engine-related problem. The aircraft also did not make the right-hand turn necessary to divert to George, as was indicated would happen by the phone call.

It also found that pilot Bronwyn Parsons, 32, had 10 years’ flying experience and was familiar with the aircraft as she had flown it regularly for three years. The aircraft was destroyed on impact with the sea.

Recovered parts included the propeller with two of the four blades still attached, the engine, a section of the left wing, and several parts of the fuselage.

The probe found the crash was “not considered a survivable accident due to the high kinetic energy associated with the impact sequence that was well above that of human tolerance”.

Details about the cause of the crash were in a report recently released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The Cape Times reported last year that the investigation had been stalled because it appeared the CAA lacked the funding to recover parts of the wreckage from the ocean floor.

michelle.jones@inl.co.za

Cape Times

The State is preparing to add more charges in the case of a man accused of murdering a teenage girl and dismembering her body.

Cape Town - The case of a man accused of murdering a teenage girl and dismembering her body was postponed by the Blue Downs District Court on Monday.

Prosecutor M Holt told the court that the Western Cape directorate for public prosecutions wanted an extra 14 days to finalise and formulate the charges.

Holt said it was possible that more charges would be added to the six counts Johannes Christiaan de Jager, 48, already faced. The magistrate granted the postponement, but at the request of defence attorney David Mbazwana, warned that it would be the final postponement for the DPP to finalise the charges.

This was De Jager's seventh court appearance.

The case was postponed to August 12.

De Jager allegedly murdered teenager Charmaine Mare in January, while staying at her home in Kraaifontein, in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.

At the time Mare's mother and other family members were away on a sea cruise.

He also allegedly raped and murdered a prostitute, Hiltina Alexander, in May, 2008.

De Jager faces charges of murder, aggravated robbery, defeating the ends of justice, dismembering a corpse, and fraud.

It was alleged that he buried Mare's partially burned torso in a deserted piece of veld in Kraaifontein, and that he hid her arms and legs in a carton in the garage of her home. He also allegedly falsely reported the girl as missing to the police.

De Jager has already appeared in the Atlantis District Court for Alexander's murder.

The two cases are to be combined.

Sapa

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Helen Zille is happy to serve another term as Western Cape Premier - if chosen - she has confirmed.

Cape Town - Helen Zille is happy to serve another term as Western Cape Premier, she has confirmed.

The next national and provincial elections are due between next April and July, when a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures will be elected.

Zille who is the DA’s national leader, has served four years of the current five-year term. The DA’s process of nominating and electing leaders for the next term starts next month.

In response to reported debate about the possibility of her vying for the position of Gauteng Premier, Zille confirmed on Monday she would be available for another term in the Western Cape.

“Constitutionally I may stand as premier for two five-year terms. By May next year I will have done one five-year term, and it makes sense to finish off the work you started - there’s still a lot of work to do,” she said.

Notwithstanding her willingness to serve, Zille said the selection process remained “entirely open - anyone can be nominated”.

The election of the DA’s premier candidate would thus have to follow its due process within the party’s structures, she said.

Cape Argus

Not white enough before 1994 and not black enough afterwards was the message delivered by a group of angry coloured protesters in front of Cape Town's Labour Court .

Cape Town - Not white enough before 1994 and not black enough afterwards was the message delivered by a group of angry coloured protesters in front of Cape Town's Labour Court at lunch time on Monday.

Inside the building, Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker presided over the resumption of an affirmative action case, brought by trade union Solidarity, against the Western Cape's correctional services department.

Outside, in Loop Street, a group of about 30 protesters called loudly for people to be employed on the basis of merit, not colour.

They held up posters with the messages “Employment Equity is Racism”, “Staan Saam Bruin Mense” (Stand together, brown people), and “Job Reservation is Apartheid”.

Many of the protesters wore orange, sleeveless safety vests, of the type worn by construction workers. Written on the front were the words “Post 94, Not Black Enough”, and on the back, “Pre 94, Not White Enough”.

The court case, which started on April 24, was postponed on May 3 to allow time for both parties to reach agreement on the matter involving nine of the department's employees and one job applicant.

Solidarity brought the matter to court on behalf of the 10. The union maintains that the department is pursuing a “blatant policy of absolute racial representation” when it comes to appointing job applicants to positions. It claims this is “unfair, irrational and unlawful”.

Martin Brassey, SC, for Solidarity, told the court on Monday attempts to reach an agreement in the interim had “proved unfruitful”.

The case resumed with evidence from correctional services official Teresa Abrahams, who was the “strongly recommended” candidate for a post in the department's Breede River management area, after an interview in 2011.

Responding to questions, she told the court she had heard that she had not been appointed because of the department's application of employment equity targets.

Marumo Moerane, SC, for the department, told her: “You were not appointed because the post was abolished.”

Abrahams responded: “They reject us... because we are coloured.”

Later, SA Police Service employee Desiree Merkeur told the court she had applied for a job as a secretary in September, 2011, and was “strongly recommended for the post”, but had not heard a word since then.

Moerane told her: “Once again, that post was abolished.”

He also explained, in detail, the provision of the Employment Equity Act which divides job applicants into four categories on the basis of race - black, coloured, Indian, and white - and further subdivides these on the basis of gender.

Merkeur said she did not understand why the department would shortlist her, invite her to two interviews and strongly recommend her for the position while knowing that level of post was “over-represented for coloured people”.

Evidence by three other applicants is to be heard later on Monday.

Outside, chairman of the United People's Alliance Frank Smith said his organisation was opposed to any discrimination in any form.

“We thought that after 1994 there would be no more discrimination; now there's more than before,” he said.

Employment equity, Smith said, was racism in reverse.

Protester Envor Barros said people had to be employed on the basis of merit.

“Coloured people must be given a fair share of the pie,” he said.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, Solidarity said government was contradicting itself regarding the concept of absolute racial representation.

“While this concept is one of the keystones of the (department's) case, the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) indicated that racial representation does not have to be applied rigidly.

“Dr Loyiso Mbabane, chairperson of the CEE, said during an interview there is no law that requires the composition of an employer's workforce to be an absolute reflection of the demographics of any area.”

By implication, this meant that racial demographics did not have to be applied nationally or regionally.

Solidarity is representing Abrahams and Merkeur, and Linda-Jean Fortuin, Christopher February, Andre Jonkers, Geo-nita Baartman, Pieter Davids, Derick Wehr, Jan Kotze, and Deidre Jordaan.

The union said that in all cases “the persons concerned had been identified as the best candidates for the positions they had applied for, and their skin colour was the only reason why they were not appointed”.

The case continues with the testimony of so-called “expert witnesses” expected to be heard later this week. - Sapa

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Criticising the police service reinforces the idea that officers do not deserve respect, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said.

Cape Town - Criticising the police service reinforces the idea that officers do not deserve respect, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Monday.

“What we are saying is that criticising the police is not a problem if they think there are weaknesses. But if they say nothing positive, they open them (the police) up to criminal attack,” he told Sapa.

He was referring to the Western Cape community safety department's increasing criticism of the police service in the province.

He addressed reporters in Mitchells Plain on Monday morning following the fatal shootings of two policemen in Cape Town on Sunday night.

Mthethwa said the province had the highest number of attacks on police officers.

“The major point we're making here is the issues of safety and security, like in any other province, is about working together and partnerships through a multi-disciplinary approach,” he said in a telephone interview.

“Police here are working. On an average weekly basis, 30 or 35 firearms are confiscated from the criminals (in Cape Town). There were 1500 arrests last week for drugs. Those weaknesses they may see should actually be raised in such a way that they are building, not demoralising.”

Community safety MEC Dan Plato condemned the police minister's comments, accusing him of “playing politics” while people were being killed.

“It is utterly disgusting and totally inappropriate that the national minister would use the death of police officers for electioneering purposes,” Plato said.

“The Constitution entitles provinces to conduct oversight over the police, but every attempt being made by the Western Cape government to improve policing through oversight has been blocked, undermined, and prevented by the ANC national government.”

He claimed no police officers had been hired in the province in the past few years, leaving the force to deal with an increasing population, and thus vulnerable to attack.

Mthethwa denied the claim, saying he was confident the police force could complete the tasks at hand.

“There will always be a shortage of police because what they are looking for is policing in all corners, which is not possible. It cannot happen anywhere else,” he said.

Plato said the commission of inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha had aimed to improve relations between police and the community, and identify the root causes of policing problems.

“Instead of working with the commission, the national minister and provincial commissioner opposed it, and we were taken to court.

The Western Cape High Court ruled in the provincial government's favour but the decision was appealed by Mthethwa, and is pending in the Constitutional Court.

Mthethwa responded that they already had a police inspectorate looking into policing problems in the area before the commission was formed.

“Why do we need more money when the same job is being done internally and they are doing it with impartiality?” the minister asked.

Plato said he had repeatedly called for specialised gang and drug police units to tackle the crisis on the Cape Flats, but this had been opposed by Mthethwa and provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer.

“I have called for the army to patrol the gang-affected areas of the Western Cape so that the police are freed to do their investigations, collect vital evidence, and secure convictions for the gangsters,” he said.

Mthethwa said the army was not the solution to such a “complex” problem and that a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency approach was required.

He also called on Plato to clear up allegations that he was siding with drug lords.

“He needs to clear up those drug allegations. They are detrimental. They (police officers) are supposed to confide in him, but how can they confide in him if such things exist? They should not define themselves through perception as taking the other side.”

Plato said last week that he believed the ANC was upset about sensitive information he received in a document from a citizen, and which he forwarded to the public protector.

“It is not my document, I am only the messenger... I welcome any investigation into the work I am doing.”

Sapa

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A “master plan” to deal with the serious drug problem in Cape Town is being considered, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said.

Cape Town - A “master plan” to deal with the serious drug problem in Cape Town is being considered, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Monday.

“I made this point a year ago when I was here that this thing of yours here of calling the army in townships is not going to work. Drugs is a complex matter,” he told Sapa in a phone interview.

“There are many areas here in the Western Cape that are affected, Mitchells Plain being one of them. I have mentioned Philippi as a pilot project and the positive thing is that the mayor (Patricia de Lille) is with us in the thinking of our approach.”

He said his was a “lasting approach” which involved the social development, health, education, and police departments in a partnership.

“What do we do with these kids who have been hooked by drug lords? We have a responsibility to deal with these kids and this should be led by social development.

“It's not something you come in one day and wipe away.”

He said he was satisfied with the police's fight against drugs in the province but that the flare-up of violence among gangs needed attention. He had already been in discussion with De Lille and was set to make an announcement in a week or two.

De Lille's spokesman Solly Malatsi confirmed the two met on June 18 in connection with a drug campaign. He said Mthethwa agreed to consult the provincial government in the matter.

ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mitchells Plain on Saturday and called for a focused anti-drug campaign.

“We now require at national level a focus, a direct focus in Mitchells Plain,” he told community leaders at the Shekinah Tabernacle in the area.

“We should immediately begin to take action and, even if at provincial level we may not have such success, which we should have, that there should be a campaign... .”

Ramaphosa said the focus of such an initiative would be to rid the area of widespread drug addiction and drug lords who preyed on young children.

Local residents told the African National Congress leader about the struggles they encountered with the interlinked problems of drugs and gangsterism. Ramaphosa said President Jacob Zuma had previously answered the call of parents with similar problems.

Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, resident Doreleene James, mother of a teenager undergoing drug rehabilitation, appealed to Zuma earlier in the year to rid the area of drug dealers.

Ramaphosa said Zuma swiftly responded with a clean-up of the area. Ramaphosa had been in the area to get feedback from people on issues affecting them.

Sapa

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The DA accused Nathi Mthethwa of trying to score political points by blaming the W Cape for the killing of police officers.

Cape Town - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is trying to score political points by blaming the Western Cape government for the killing of police officers in Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, the DA said on Monday.

“His comments today were distasteful, insensitive and an insult to the grieving families of these police officers,” Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said in a statement.

“The only people to blame for the deaths of our police officers are criminals who have no respect for the police.”

She said Mthethwa should pay more attention to this fact.

Earlier, Mthethwa said the Western Cape community safety department's criticism of the police service reinforced the idea that officers did not deserve respect.

“What we are saying is that criticising the police is not a problem if they think there are weaknesses. But if they say nothing positive, they open them (the police) up to criminal attack,” he told Sapa.

Mthethwa spoke to reporters in Mitchells Plain on Monday morning following the fatal shootings of two policemen in Cape Town on Sunday night. He said the province had the highest number of attacks on police.

The DA called on Mthethwa to retract his comments.

“(He must) stop abusing his position to make irresponsible statements. Instead, he should be proactive and launch an investigation into the causes and extent of police killings,” Kohler-Barnard said.

The DA intended asking Parliament to summon Mthethwa to explain what he would do to better protect police officers in the Western Cape and the rest of the country.

Sapa

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A bull due to be slaughtered for a funeral in Philippi East ran amok and gored a 10-year-old boy to death.

Cape Town - A bull due to be slaughtered for a funeral in Philippi East ran amok and gored a 10-year-old boy to death.

Ayanda Mfenku, a Grade 3 pupil at Faku Primary School in Philippi East, was attacked by the bull while standing in his yard on Sunday morning.

The bull had been bought from a Lansdowne farmer by the Ntandiso family to be part of the funeral ritual for Jackson Ntandiso, 58, the family’s father, who died last week.

As the bull was being unloaded from the farmer’s bakkie at about 9am on Sunday, it broke loose.

“People tried to control it, but it became more aggressive,” said Yandiso Ntandiso, Jackson Ntandiso’s daughter. “The raging bull shoved and injured an old man who was trying to force it into the yard, and it ran off frantically down the street, knocking over everyone who tried getting close to it.

“As it ran down the street people moved out of the way and shouted for kids and drunken people to get out of its way.”

About 500m from the Ntandiso’s house, Ayanda was standing in his yard near a low brick wall with an older friend. Ayanda’s grandmother Dora Mfenku was in bed when she heard a commotion outside. She heard people calling out to her and calling her grandson’s name.

“I quickly jumped out of bed to see my grandson lying helplessly across the road and a bull in my yard.”

Ayanda’s friend told Dora Mfenku that when he saw the bull galloping towards them he had run away, but Ayanda was not quick enough.

The bull gored him in the back and threw him against the wall. It then picked him up and threw him against the wall again. The friend grabbed Ayanda and dragged him across the road to the far side, where his grandmother found him.

The bull had collapsed in the yard.

“When I got outside, I saw the bull lying there and people started yelling for me not to pass it, but I thought I had to get my child,” said Dora. She managed to pass the bull safely and picked up her grandson. A neighbour took them to a hospital in Mitchells Plain where Ayanda died on arrival.

When the Argus visited the family on Monday Ayanda’s mother, Nwabisa Mfenku, sat on the couch in silence. Dora said Ayanda was her eldest child and only son. “He was our everything, a child that touched many lives with his jokes and insight… We will always miss him, our soldier.”

Residents said that after Dora and Ayanda had left for the hospital the bull lay in the yard. They called the farmer who had sold it to the Ntandiso family for R6 000, “but he said there was nothing he could do about it”.

Hours later residents called the police who informed the Cape of Good Hope SPCA about the animal. It was collected at about 6pm, but died, presumably of stress and shock, overnight, according to Lamees Martin of the SPCA.

The bull cannot now be used as part of the funeral because a live bull is needed for the ritual.

* This year in Empangeni Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s uncle, Alamu Mthethwa, died after he fell and was repeatedly trampled by a raging cow. The Mthethwa family was preparing to slaughter three cows for the funeral of a relative.

The SPCA advises:

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has issued guidelines on how to handle and slaughter animals according to the Animal Protection Act.

* Animals must be provided with water, food and shelter.

* Appropriate transportation should be used - animals should not be crammed in car boots or tethered on their sides using baling twine around the legs.

* Do not drag animals by the legs and horns.

* If ropes are used, use them properly and humanely to restrain the animal. It should be slaughtered as soon as it is down.

* Make sure that the jugular and carotid vessels are cut. The cut must be quick, clean, deep and swift. This is imperative to allow a quick blood loss resulting in loss of consciousness and death.

* The spinal cord must not be cut or severed. No dressing of the carcass is permissible until the flow of blood has stopped and all signs of life have ceased; this takes about eight minutes for cattle and six minutes for sheep and goats.

* The SPCA encourages pre-stunning of all animals before slaughter and hopes this will become the norm, rather than the exception.

* The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has appealed to people who wish to perform slaughters at their homes to ensure that animals are slaughtered humanely by an experienced person.

For advice or help call the SPCA Inspectorate at 021 700 4158/59 or 083 326 1604 after hours and on weekends.

zodidi.dano@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Cape Argus

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