The majority of traditional line fishermen in South Africa entered 2014 without the legal right to continue their operations.

Cape Town - The majority of traditional line fishermen in South Africa entered 2014 without the legal right to continue their operations. This comes after the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) denied their applications to have their rights renewed. Old rights expired at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Among them is a group of fishing boat owners in Kalk Bay who have accused the department of having “robbed” them, their employees and the hawkers (who act as middlemen between fishermen and consumers) of their jobs. The department’s deputy-director general for fisheries, Desmond Stevens, has defended the fishing rights allocation process.

“Instead of criticism, the department should be commended for having met the deadline of announcing the new rights (before December 31),” he said. “The application process was competitive. If applicants did not score adequately according to the predefined criteria, their applications were denied. There is an appeal process, and unsuccessful applicants have every right to challenge the decision.”

Arnie de Ross, 69, disagrees. He has been fishing off Kalk Bay since 1969. On New Year’s Eve, he found he and his son Kevin had their rights applications denied. Their boats had to be docked immediately and they would be breaking the law if they went on a fishing expedition.

“Fishing is my entire life. With the stroke of a pen the department has effectively retrenched me – fired me from my job without a pension and without a payout. Our family cannot survive if I cannot fish… I feel that my long history as a fisherman should count for something.”

Kevin de Ross, 47, speaks of the difficult phone calls he had to make to his eight crew members: “I could not wish them a happy new year, because I had to break the news that they no longer had jobs.”

Desmond Ball, 59, who started as a crew man on a Kalk Bay-based fishing boat as a teenager and now owns a fishing boat at the same harbour.

The last rights allocations were made in 2005. Of the 303 traditional linefish permit holders operating during 2013, only 115 were granted rights to continue fishing (and to reapply for permits) in the new year. Along with these 115 rights holders, 100 new entrants were granted rights.

This in particular has drawn criticism from established line fishermen and their representative body, the SA Commercial Linefish Association.

“Daff is being totally unrealistic by replacing rights holders with between 10 and 30 years’ experience with new entrants,” said the association’s chairman Wally Croome. “This could well have a knock-on effect to the productivity of the sector and possibly result in declining catches which will in turn have a dramatic impact on marketing dynamics.”

The association estimates that 1 504 fishers (rights holders and crew) will be left jobless as a result of being denied fishing rights.

“With an average investment of R400 000 per rights holder, a total of R75 million will be (compromised),” said Croome.

Unsuccessful applicants will have until the end of the month to appeal. At an emergency meeting scheduled for tomorrow, fishermen will decide whether to approach the Western Cape High Court for an urgent interdict against Daff’s decision to deny them fishing rights.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Face painted purple and yellow and sparkling with silver stars: George Rautenbach's dream for 2014 has already come true.

Cape Town - Face painted purple and yellow and sparkling with silver stars: a boy’s dream for 2014 has already come true.

George Rautenbach is 17, suffers from Williams syndrome, and travelled from Port Elizabeth just to be a minstrel in a Kaapse Klopse troupe.

It’s a moment he has been waiting for ever since he saw the Santam D6 Entertainers performing during halftime at a Stormers game at Newlands early last year. George was touring Cape Town with his school’s cricket team – as their water boy – and was captivated by the minstrel tunes.

“He saw us and wanted to be part of the Kaapse Klopse,” said D6 co-owner Nazeem Davids. “Without his family knowing, he contacted me, and I sent him DVDs of us performing.”

George has Williams syndrome, which means he was born with a defect to one of his chromosomes. It affects his heart and his IQ, and he will never be able to live independently. But George did not let his condition get in the way of his Kaapse Klopse dream.

“They said he’d never be able to read or write, but he organised this all by himself on Facebook,” said George’s father, Deric Rautenbach.

By the time George arrived in Cape Town, he had already made friends with members of many different minstrel groups, who gathered to welcome him into their ranks.

George was fired up as he joined the 800-strong troupe for the competition at the Athlone Stadium. The moment he couldn’t wait for was when “the crowd goes crazy”. Tongue out, knees bouncing and tambourine shaking, he fell in step with the D6 Entertainers. He said it was his best new year ever.

This year, George plans to volunteer at the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre in PE, helping to save penguins in peril. But come year-end, the call of the Kaapse Klopse will bring him back to the Cape for another stint as the Santam D6’s most remarkable guest minstrel.

chelsea.geach@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The number of road deaths in December would likely be the highest recorded since 2007, a driving skills firm said.

Johannesburg - The number of road deaths between December 1 and 30 last year would likely be the highest recorded since 2007, an advanced driving skills company said on Thursday.

A total of 1184 deaths took place over this period, or 39.5 deaths per day, www.driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones said in a statement.

“This exceeds the record figure of 38 per day for the 2012 festive season. The Christmas period for 2013/2014 will end on January 13, by which time I expect the death toll to be approximately 1736 deaths based on past and current trends.”

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokeswoman Thato Mosena said Handfield-Jones should not create the impression the corporation was not doing enough, as road safety was a collective effort.

“We need all role players to join hands to reduce road deaths. We have an international commitment to reduce road deaths through the 2011 United Nations strategy of action,” she said.

“This is a collective effort.”

Handfield-Jones, who has monitored road deaths during the Christmas and Easter periods since 2007, believed the current figure could rise between 15 and 20 percent after the 30-day waiting period for road deaths had lapsed.

This meant the 2013/2014 festive season could become the first with over 2 000 road deaths.

The main reason for road deaths increasing over the festive season was the failure of government to provide road safety leadership, he said.

According to the transport department and RTMC, the preliminary road deaths for previous years were:

* December 2007: 1142 people killed (the final figure was 1535);

* December 2008: 937 people;

* December 2009: 1050 people;

* December 2010: 1358 people;

* December 2011: 1232 people; and

* December 2012: 1279 people.

The figures for all the years except 2010 were for the month of December. The 2010 figure included deaths up to and including January 4.

The final death toll figures for the Decembers since 2007 had been higher than the preliminary figure.

“People only drive as badly as their governments allow them to,” Handfield-Jones said.

“In countries like the USA and United Kingdom it is socially unacceptable to be a bad driver. Government road safety systems in those countries are aimed at improving competence.”

South Africa, he believed, was the opposite.

“The RTMC showed a brief flash of intent while Gilberto Martins was acting CEO, but has since gone silent,” Handfield-Jones said.

“Licensing is a corrupt mess, with probably half of all licences being issued fraudulently.”

This created a culture of bribery among drivers who did not recognise the fatal consequences of illegally getting a licence.

To fix the problem, Handfield-Jones believed government needed to fix the poor gathering of road safety data, overhaul the licensing system, and prioritise law enforcement for moving violations.

“As long as the key priority of law enforcers is revenue generation rather than safety, South Africa's road deaths will continue to mount,” he said.

Mosena said road safety began at a community level.

“We can't do it alone. We need to start at a community level to spread and enforce the message that road safety is a priority and we must reduce road deaths.

“We are concerned as the RTMC that there are some among us who are responsible for road deaths, and the reduction in road deaths is an urgent non-negotiable call.” - Sapa

Prominent leaders in the Western Cape speak out on the prospects for their parties this year.

Cape Town - It’s election year 2014 and as South Africans recover from their New Year’s celebrations, political parties are polishing their battle armour, caucusing and tweaking their election strategy to attract voters to their respective political homes.

And over the next few months party leaders will hit the streets to canvass for votes.

DA leader, Helen Zille, and ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman may be on opposite sides of the political divide but where New Year’s resolutions are concerned they do have one thing in common, not believing in making any resolutions.

“I have given up on resolutions. Last year I took a resolution that there would be no more twars (twitter wars), and look what happened,” said Zille, who predicts the DA will continue to be the only party which keeps growing in successive elections, both nationally and in the Western Cape.

Fransman said he avoids making New Year’s resolutions, but he admits he is plagued by his eight-year-old son’s complaints: “Papa is always in meetings, meetings and more meetings…”

“I guess I will whisper a resolution to work a bit more with neglected children of politicians, amongst others, my own.”

On the political front, Fransman said there have been many times in 2013, when he has annoyed the “folk in blue, disturbed them, irritated them and bugged the hell out of them”.

“I just want to tell them I plan to continue in 2014.”

And there is no doubt in his mind that nationally, the ANC would retain its majority after the upcoming general elections.

As for the Western Cape, Fransman said though “the road to elections 2014 is going to be tough, Madiba reminded us ‘it seems impossible, until it is done.’ We will do it because the people of the Western Cape deserve better.”

Meanwhile, new kids on the block, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have confidently proclaimed this would be their year.

And just to show the party means business EFF leader, Julius Malema tweeted: “2014 is a year of a FIGHTER, all ground forces must be ready to attack. Ours is People first, fighters to the front. Salute.”

EFF’s national spokesman, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said they were the government-in-waiting.

“We are the reason to call this a new era, a new year. That also means we are the new thing that will happen in the elections and therefore in the political economy of South Africa.”

“EFF will be the choice of the millions of our people in the general elections, on this we are confident,” Ndlozi added.

Flamboyant Cape Town politician Badih Chaaban, the current leader of the National People’s Party (NPP) said this would be a watershed election for South Africa.

“The ANC will retain the national government albeit with an ever-diminishing majority hopefully dipping below the 60 percent margin for the first time, which hopefully will wake up the ruling party that they are not delivering to its constituents, nor to the citizens at large.”

As for Western Cape politics, Chaaban said the DA would again win the Western Cape with an increased majority.

“That is not in any way a compliment or kudos to the DA but rather the opposition in the Western Cape is so weak, and a couple of more own goals will be scored by the opposition to ensure another seemingly flattering victory for the DA in the Western Cape.”

Describing the DA and ANC in the province, Chaaban said: “The one party is spin doctor extraordinaire and the other is a complete illiterate, hence the prevailing perception that the one party is divine whilst the other is Satanic.”

Peter Marais, vice-president of the Bruin Bemagtigings Beweging (Brown Empowerment Movement) said his wish for 2014 was that President Jacob Zuma would do the honourable thing and step down as the country’s president.

His wish list included:

* That the ministerial handbook will be made public and reviewed by Parliament to stop the scandalous abuse of public funds by ministers.

* That BBBEE and Affirmative Action policies be applied to individuals and not groups and that absolute race quotas should be scrapped in labour laws.

* That the current parole system be scrapped and criminals be forced to serve their full sentences as handed down by our courts.

* That any political functionaries at all three spheres of government who are found guilty of corruption should be jailed without the option of a fine.

Marais predicts the ANC will receive between 55 percent and 60 percent of the total vote, while in the Western Cape, he sees a resounding win for the DA and huge inroads into the ANC’s support base in Gauteng.

warda.meyer@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Four amounts of what appear to be cocaine, valued at about R68m, have been found off Mossel Bay's beaches since Christmas.

Johannesburg - Four amounts of what appear to be cocaine, with an estimated street value of about R68 million, have been found off Mossel Bay's beaches since Christmas, Western Cape police said on Thursday.

In the latest haul, a drum containing a black bag with 25 bricks of what appeared to be raw, unprocessed cocaine washed ashore near Mossel Bay between Hartenbos and Klein Brak River on Wednesday afternoon, Captain Malcolm Pojie said.

“A holidaymaker spotted the blue drum with the floating bag and alerted the police.”

On Tuesday, a man standing on his balcony saw a similar blue drum with a bag attached to it floating in the water off the beach in Rheebok, near Mossel Bay.

“The man, who was standing on his balcony, immediately rushed to the beach and retrieved the bag and floating drum,” said Pojie.

“He immediately informed the police, who on arrival discovered 25 bricks of what seemed to be clean cocaine which weighed approximately 1kg each.”

If it was cocaine, in its refined form the estimated street value of each brick within the two drums was around R1m, or R25m in total.

The powder would be sent to the police's forensic laboratory for tests.

Captain Bernadine Steyn said the third amount was found after a swimmer contacted Mossel Bay police on Saturday around 9am informing them that a blue object was floating in the sea near Pinnacle Point.

“On arrival we found a blue drum and a black bag attached to each other with a rope. In the black bag 25 packets of what seems to be cocaine were found,” she said.

Each packet weighed just over a kilogram, and the 25 packets had an estimated street value of R8.75m.

A fourth haul was found floating in the water off Hartenbos Beach on Christmas Day. It also consisted of 25 packets of cocaine, also worth an estimated R8.75m on the street.

Pojie said the values of the hauls differed because some of the cocaine appeared to have already been “cut”, or processed, while the rest was still in its pure, or raw form. - Sapa

Experts are certain that the flotsam found in Mossel Bay is the result of a botched attempt to smuggle the drugs.

Cape Town - A blue drum found on New Year’s Day and packed with what police believe to be cocaine is the latest of four massive hauls of the narcotic to mysteriously wash up on beaches in and around Mossel Bay since Christmas.

In total, police have found what could be R100 million worth of the smuggled drug since the first package was spotted floating in the water off the coast of Hartenbos on Christmas Day.

But while authorities puzzle out the source of the powder, experts are certain the pricey flotsam is the result of a botched attempt to smuggle the drugs into Knysna.

Police spokesman Malcolm Pojie said the latest haul – a drum containing a black bag with 25 bricks – was spotted by a holidaymaker after it washed ashore between the beaches of Hartenbos and Klein Brak River on Wednesday afternoon.

The day before, a man standing on the balcony of his home spotted another blue drum attached to a bag floating in the water off the beach in Rheebok, near Mossel Bay.

When police arrived at the beach, they discovered 25 bricks of the same raw, unprocessed powder that was in the other barrel. Both hauls were sent to police forensic labs for analysis.

Pojie said if it was concluded that it was cocaine in its refined, “clean” form, the estimated street value of each 1kg brick could be R1m – putting the total value of both 25kg drums at R50m.

The discovery of these drums follows two similar retrievals last week: one in the sea near Hartenbos on Christmas Day and another near Pinnacle Point. Each barrel contained 25kg of what appeared to be cocaine.

Pojie said police are in the early stages of the investigation and could not confirm whether the drums all originated from the same source.

However, Herman van Niekerk, the operations manager at Maritime Risk Solutions – a private maritime security firm – was certain that the barrels belonged to one of the big crime syndicates operating in the country.

“These guys come in through Knysna and the nearby areas because they are basically like open ports… Nobody is policing the coastline… ”

In 2010, Knysna was the setting for one of South Africa’s biggest drug busts after police searched a Toledo fishing boat moored at a waterfront flat and found R9 billion worth of cocaine.

Stellenbosch University criminologist Grobler said Knysna, Mossel Bay, George and Wilderness were easy targets for smugglers as their coastlines were rarely policed.

Police have urged the public to look out for suspicious parcels on beaches or floating out at sea.

Cape Argus

A family's holiday ended in bloodshed when a "mentally disturbed" man attacked them at Cape Town International Airport.

Cape Town - A Bloemfontein family’s holiday in Cape Town ended in bloodshed on Thursday when a “mentally disturbed” man attacked them with a knife at Cape Town International Airport.

A man, 61, and his son, 23, were stabbed multiple times. They were receiving medical treatment at Medi-Clinic Hospital in Gardens.

The family did not want to be named but told the Cape Times about their experience.

“We dropped off one of our sons to get a flight… We went to level two of the parking lot. My son was ahead of myself and my wife. A huge man came behind my son and tackled him to the ground,” said the father.

“I thought it was a mugger. He beat my son and then it appeared he had a knife. I grabbed him off my son and then he went for me. He stabbed me three times in the left arm.

“Three female police officers came but they didn’t have handcuffs. They then ran off to call male police officers with guns. They forced him to the ground and took him to a holding cell.

He said it was “disgusting that this happened at the airport.

“This should not happen at the airport. It’s an area where tourists arrive. It’s a window to our country. The police took us through the arrivals hall with blood all over our clothes. What impression does that create?” said the man.

His wife said the attack had not appeared to be a robbery.

A doctor at the hospital told the family their son’s stab wounds were “pretty deep”. He had been stabbed in both shoulders near the spine and remains hospitalised.

Cape Town airport’s acting spokeswoman Deborah Francis confirmed the assault. “The suspect appeared to be unstable as he begged the police to shoot him,” she said.

The airport has on average 23 000 visitors passing through its doors during the festive season.

Cape Times

Cape drivers lend entirely new meaning to the term hot car over the New Year festivities.

Three Cape Town drivers were lucky to escape without serious injury after their cars went up in flames in separate incidents due to electrical wires short-circuiting.

Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said that at about 10.20pm on New Year’s Eve a car short-circuited and caught fire on the N1 incoming on Table Bay Boulevard. The driver was taken to Somerset Hospital for a “medical condition”.

Two motor vehicles went up in flames on New Year’s Day in separate incidents, each also due to electrical wires short-circuiting.

“When we arrived, we were able to contain the fires in the boot and rear passenger area,” Layne said. “The two main causes of motor vehicle fires are electrical wires short-circuiting and petrol pipe leakage on to the engine.”

In July 2013 a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster burst into flames on Kloof Road just above Camps Bay. - Cape Argus

Traditional line fishermen across the Western Cape have reacted to the denial of their fishing rights with threats of lawlessness.

Cape Town - Traditional line fishermen across the Western Cape have reacted to the denial of their fishing rights with threats of lawlessness and acts of despair.

Marius van Wyk, a fisherman in Kalk Bay, said one of his colleagues had had to be sedated and put to bed because of the shock of the news.

Wally Croombe, chairman of the SA Commercial Linefish Association (Sacla), said there had been two attempted suicides, one in Cape Town and one on the West Coast, so far.

He said: “I have had to act as a counsellor, an adviser and a psychologist. I have cried along with grown men.”

The unhappiness stems from the outcomes of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) fishing rights allocation process.

Fishing rights that were extended in 2005 expired on New Year’s Eve. As a result, fishermen had to re-apply for rights last year. Of 303 linefish permit holders last year, only 115 were successful in re-applying for rights. Adding to the consternation of established fishermen who were denied rights is the fact that 100 new entrants were granted rights.

Sacla held a meeting for line fishermen, who were denied rights, in Yzerfontein on the West Coast on Thursday. Another such meeting is scheduled for Cape Town’s line fishers in Granger Bay on Friday.

Tensions ran high at on Thursday’s meeting, with some of the fishermen suggesting that they attack and burn down government buildings.

One fisherman from Kalk Bay who spoke to the Cape Argus on Wednesday also threatened to take the law into his own hands.

“I have fished my entire life and have always done so within the confines of the law. But if the government deprives me of my livelihood for no good reason, I will be forced to go underground. I will poach and sell on the black market,” he said, asking that his name not be published.

Croombe has called for solidarity in the industry, asking fishermen who received rights not to go out on fishing expeditions while their contemporaries are denied the right to join them. Leading by example, Croombe, who was granted line fishing rights, has docked his own vessel.

“Our job is firstly to calm people down and to get solidarity in the industry – so that people don’t feel alone. We advised fishermen to act in a unified manner and not to do anything rash. I don’t think the government quite understands the damage that they have done through this rights allocation process,” said Croombe.

However, fisheries deputy director-general Desmond Stevens has defended the allocation process, saying that it was fair. He invited unsuccessful applicants to appeal the rights denial if they felt the DAFF made a mistake. There are, however, only about nine rights allocations still available for successful appeals.

Desmond Ball, 59, who started as a crewman on a Kalk Bay fishing boat as a teen and now owns a linefish boat, has already employed a lawyer and started preparing his appeal – which is due before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, both Croombe and Pieter van Dalen, the DA’s spokesman for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, have warned of the negative knock-on impact that the rights denial will have on jobs and food security in the Western Cape.

Each right holder generally employs between eight to 10 people on a fishing vessel – many of whom now stand to lose their jobs.

Hawkers, who act as middlemen between fishers and consumers, will also have smaller catches to work with – meaning less money. “Yes, that is a serious concern. I have 10 dependents and it has been a tough few years for hawkers as it is,” said Rafiek Isaacs, a hawker at Kalk Bay harbour.

Less fish coming in to the harbours also means greater demand and higher prices, warned Van Dalen.

“This will be very bad news for thousands of people on the Cape Flats who rely on affordable snoek as a source of protein.”

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A doctor has warned about diving accidents after seeing at least four people being admitted to hospital this summer.

Cape Town - While incidents of drowning around the Western Cape continue to make headlines, a doctor specialising in spinal cord injuries warned about diving accidents after seeing at least four people being admitted to hospital this summer.

Two victims are undergoing treatment at Groote Schuur Hospital for acute spinal cord injuries resulting from paralysis after dives into shallow water.

Dr Johan Sothmann of the ASCI (acute spinal cord injuries) Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital said such accidents often occurred when people misjudged the depth of the water on diving in head-first.

“People dive into the sea where they can’t estimate how deep it is and it is impossible to do so whether it is the sea, dam or tidal pool.

“Another problem is that they dive into the water head first and we warn strongly against this practice. Even if they dive with their arms out it is just as dangerous,” said Sothmann.

Sothmann warned that tidal pools were a particular hazard as people often misjudged whether the tide was high or low and how deep the water was.

The biggest tragedy in these cases, he said, was often the restricted existence that they would have to live for much of their lives.

“The real issue and tragedy is that the cost of treatment is enormous and it is a life-long expense.

“It costs the taxpayer a lot of money,” he added.

“Then there is rehabilitation, which can last up to three to four months, and it is expensive, and don’t forget that homes have to be revamped as well, which is costly,” added Sothmann.

He said that there are approximately seven to eight cases of accidents stemming from diving a year.

Up to 90 percent of the injured are young males between the ages of 18 to 35, he added.

Although Sothmann says alcohol consumption does play a role, more often it is the negligence of individuals that leads to accidents.

“Alcohol plays a role as well but it is not always involved.

“It is that the person dived into the water when it is too shallow – that is the main reason.”

Sothmann said such cases were often sad as the individuals involved were in the prime of their lives.

“It is often men who are working or who are engaged to be married, so it is very sad.”

Sothmann warns that the public and beachgoers should be cautious and must realise that these incidents can be avoided if they take note of his “simple advice”.

“Diving accidents are preventable; people should not dive head first without checking. Actually, they should preferably not dive at all.”

warren.fortune@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The Tweede Nuwe Jaar carnival has the potential to be Cape Town’s own Rio Carnival if only it was better marketed, said a troupe co-owner.

Cape Town - The Kaapse Klopse are poised to turn city streets into their stomping ground at noon on Saturday in the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar carnival.

But despite the kaleidoscope of uniforms, takkie-tapping tunes and powerful history, the parade needs to be better marketed to attract more foreign tourists, says one troupe owner.

With 74 troupes totalling 40 000 minstrels, the event has the potential to be Cape Town’s own Rio Carnival if only it was better marketed, said troupe co-owner Nazeem Davids.

“On Saturday the whole city is going to be shut down, there will be thousands of people marching through, and there are tourists who don’t even know it’s happening,” he said.

Davids said when tourists in the city encounter the minstrels by accident, they are captivated. He has even had requests from foreigners to be minstrels for a day. Two years ago, he dressed some German tourists in troupe uniforms and they marched in the carnival.

Parade day is a cash-in for city centre businesses. Davids said the street traders often benefit most, as spectators prefer to buy food and drink at stalls along the road, because that way they don’t miss any of the action.

“The impact on business is massive,” Davids said. “Stores on the Parade make a killing.”

While the carnival fails to feature on the international calendar, it does keep growing, and this is partly because of a transformation in the minstrel ranks.

Davids said: “The minstrels have changed totally. Before, it was seen as a working class activity. Now, we want people to feel like they can bring their families. There are more middle-class people, some affluent people, and women who are minstrels.”

One visitor travelled to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth just to be a minstrel for a day. George Rautenbach, 17, overcame the difficulties of Williams syndrome to land himself a Santam D6 Entertainer’s uniform and a tambourine for the annual minstrel carnival competition at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday.

The exhausted teen left the stadium at 2am, having been called up on stage and cheered by the massed minstrels.

On Thursday morning, as his family left the city for an annual family gathering in Sedgefield, George was distraught. His father, Deric Rautenbach, said: “He burst into tears and said he wants to be there for the carnival on Saturday.”

George does not know that his father has organised a plane ticket for the Kaapse Klopse’s biggest fan to be a minstrel for one more day. He will be marching with the Santam District 6 Entertainers tomorrow.

Michael Bagraim, of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Kaapse Klopse carnival brings a huge amount of temporary employment to the entertainment industry in the city. “Every year we get the same reports – there’s a surge of between 5 000 and 10 000 jobs in the city. If you’re providing food, drink, accommodation, business has to improve because of the Kaapse Klopse.”

Bagraim said the event has the potential to attract tourists to Cape Town, but it doesn’t yet. However, foreigners love to watch the carnival if they happen to be in the city.

“Tourists don’t come especially for the carnival, but while they’re here it’s one of their highlights. It keeps them here beyond the traditional New Year period.”

More important, Bagraim said, is the influx of people from all corners of the Cape. “It brings enormous streams of people from all around the Cape into the city centre. They want to be part of the revelry.”

The Taj hotel in the city centre supplies festive season guests with a booklet about the history of the minstrels, because few know about the carnival before they come to Cape Town.

Manager Michael Pownall said: “I don’t think there would be anyone coming specifically for the carnival. I’ve never come across that in all my years. But tourists are always interested to get involved.”

Pownall says that even if the carnival was better marketed overseas, the timing would still prevent it from being tourist bait.

“If it was a different time of year, you could market it as something like the jazz festival – you could make a whole weekend out of it. At this time of year people just want to do what they enjoy for New Year and Christmas. They’ll see the carnival if they’re here.”

Mayor Patricia de Lille will open the carnival at noon.

The parade will start at Keizersgracht, proceed along Darling Street, left into Adderley Street and right into Wale Street, cross Buitengracht, turn right into Rose Street and finish at Castle and Rose streets at about 8pm.

chelsea.geach@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

There will be an increased police presence at Mossel Bay beaches where drums containing cocaine have washed ashore.

Mossel Bay - There will be an increased police presence at Mossel Bay beaches where drums containing cocaine have washed ashore, police said on Friday.

“Police helicopters... will observe the area,” said spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie.

There would be regular patrols at ports of entry as well as police patrolling along the shoreline and in the water.

Four batches of cocaine, with an estimated street value of about R68 million, have been found in packets and in brick shapes contained within drums floating off Mossel Bay beaches since Christmas.

On Friday, Pojie said tests - expected to determine exactly what substances were in the bricks and whether the cocaine had been “cut” or processed, or was still in its pure or raw form - had not yet been completed.

The origin of the drums was not known but they could have been dropped off a ship, said Pojie.

“It is one of the possibilities.”

The latest haul - a blue drum containing a black bag with 25 cocaine bricks - washed ashore between Hartenbos and Klein Brak River on Wednesday afternoon.

A similar drum of cocaine bricks was found on Tuesday off Rheebok Beach.

Last Saturday, a drum was found near Pinnacle Point and on Christmas Day 25 packets of cocaine were found floating in a drum at Hartenbos Beach. - Sapa

Solidarity says it will return to court to try and get Correctional Services to implement a landmark ruling.

Cape Town - Solidarity says it will return to court to get the Correctional Services Department to implement a landmark ruling that regional, and not just national, demographics need to be taken into account for employment equity targets.

However, the department says it is not following this ruling, made about nine weeks ago, because there is an appeal against the ruling.

While Solidarity and the national department are up against each other, regional correctional services commissioner Delekile Klaas says he is not focused on race, but rather on nation-building.

Last year Solidarity and 10 Correctional Services Department employees took action against the department and the labour minister as they believe the department’s employment equity plan should be declared unlawful because its equity targets are in line with national, and not provincial, demographics.

Solidarity said coloured South Africans made up less than 10 percent of the national population, but 53 percent of the Western Cape population.

In October Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker ordered the department to take immediate steps to ensure that both national and regional demographics were taken into account when setting equity targets. This was in respect of people from designated groups, which included women, people with disabilities and people who were black, coloured or Indian.

On Thursday Correctional Services’ chief deputy commissioner for human resources, Teboho Mokoena, confirmed to the Cape Times that a circular, instructing that national demographics be used, was recently sent out to staff.

“The judgment cannot be enforced for now until the matter has been exhausted.”

Mokoena said the department, as well as Solidarity, were appealing against differing aspects of the judgment.

He declined to divulge exactly what was being appealed against.

Mokoena said a court date for the matter to proceed had not yet been announced.

On Thursday Solidarity’s executive officer, Dirk Hermann, said: “Our concern is that the Department of Correctional Services is misusing the appeal process to continue to implement unlawful practice.”

While the department had confirmed to the media it had issued the instruction to staff about national demographics, it was yet to confirm this directly to Solidarity.

Hermann said the department’s decision to stick to only national demographics in terms of employment equity was “very irresponsible”.

“It’s not acceptable at all,” he said. There were measures that could enable Solidarity to “force” the department to follow the Labour Court ruling.

Solidarity spokesman Johan Kruger said it was appealing against the Labour Court judgment in terms of no relief being granted to the applicants in the matter and no cost order being granted in Solidarity’s favour.

He said the Correctional Services Department was appealing against an aspect involving the regional demographics.

This week Klaas confirmed a circular about national demographics had been issued.

But he referred queries about the Labour Court case to Mokoena.

“From where I’m standing, the issue of race has never been a problem,” Klaas said.

He said when he had made appointments, he had taken various aspects, including skill levels, into consideration.

“For me the issue is nationbuilding,” Klaas said.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A group of people are grateful to be alive after the bus they were travelling in was involved in a crash along with five other vehicles.

Cape Town - A group of people are grateful to be alive after the bus they were travelling in was involved in a crash along with five other vehicles.

The crash happened on the N1 near Stellenbosch on Thursday afternoon.

Indran Naidoo, his wife Marlini Naidoo and their son Melvin were travelling back to Durban with family and friends when a veld fire caused poor visibility on the highway.

Naidoo said: “There was thick smoke over the highway and before we knew it a white Ford Fiesta came from the right side and stopped in front of the bus.

“Our driver swerved to avoid it but it was also hit by other cars when it came to a stop.”

Naidoo, Melvin, Ralden Moodley and other passengers got out of the bus and tried to help an elderly couple out of their car.

They managed to get one person out before they saw a grey car coming towards them at great speed.

Moodley said: “The car came flying towards us. I tried to run away but it hit me on the side. I was very scared.”

Moodley was checked by paramedics at the scene and he was told he would be fit to carry on with the journey back to Durban.

“My whole left side is numb but I am glad to be alive.”

Marlini Naidoo said she was thankful that everyone was safe.

“We have to thank God for keeping everyone safe. I was very worried because my son (Melvin) was sitting in the front.”

Jacques Mostert, a spokesman for the provincial traffic department, said the six-vehicle pile-up was caused by poor visibility.

“Two people were trapped inside their vehicle and they used Jaws of Life to get them out. They are in a critical condition and have been airlifted to hospital.”

Meanwhile, an advanced driving skills company said on Thursday that the number of road deaths between December 1 and 30 was higher than last year and the toll for the entire holiday period was likely to be the highest since 2007.

There were 1 184 deaths over this period, or 39.5 deaths a day, www.driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones said.

“This exceeds the record figure of 38 a day for the 2012 festive season. The Christmas period for 2013/14 will end on January 13, by which time I expect the death toll to be 1 736 deaths, based on past and current trends.”

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokeswoman Thato Mosena said Handfield-Jones should not create the impression the corporation was not doing enough, because road safety was a collective effort.

“We need all role-players to join hands to reduce road deaths,” she said.

Handfield-Jones, who has monitored road deaths during the Christmas and Easter periods since 2007, believed the current figure could rise by between 15 and 20 percent after the 30-day waiting period for road deaths had lapsed. This meant the 2013/14 festive season could become the first with more than 2 000 road deaths.

The main reason for road deaths increasing over the festive season was the failure of the government to provide road safety leadership, he said.

According to the Transport Department and RTMC, the preliminary road deaths for previous years over this period were: 2007: 1 142 people (the final figure was 1 535); 2008: 937; 2009: 1 050; 2010: 1 358; 2011: 1 232; and 2012: 1 279.

The final death toll figures for the Decembers since 2007 were higher than the preliminary figure.

“People only drive as badly as their governments allow them to,” Handfield-Jones said.

“In the US and UK, government road safety systems are aimed at improving competence.”

South Africa, Handfield-Jones believed, was the opposite.

“Licensing is a corrupt mess, with probably half of all licences issued fraudulently,” he said, which created a culture of bribery among drivers.

To fix the problem, Handfield-Jones believed the government needed to fix the poor gathering of road safety data, overhaul the licensing system and prioritise law enforcement for moving violations.

“As long as the key priority of law enforcers is revenue generation rather than safety, South Africa’s road deaths will continue to mount,” he said.

Mosena said road safety began at a community level.

“We need to start at a community level to spread and enforce the message that road safety is a priority, and we must reduce road deaths.”

Cape Argus

Minstrels will turn Cape Town into a massive carnival as the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade takes place.

Cape Town - A total of 40 000 minstrels from 75 troupes will turn parts of the Cape Town city centre into a massive carnival on Saturday as the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade takes place.

The parade will start in Keizersgracht Street in Zonnebloem at noon and is expected to reach its end-point, the intersection of Rose and Castle Streets in the Bo-Kaap, at 8pm. Thousands of Capetonians and visitors are expected to line the route.

While the parade usually takes place on January 2, the city was asked by minstrel associations that it be moved to Saturday so more people could attend.

From 10am to noon, before the official start of the parade, musicians will entertain the crowds on the Grand Parade. After mayor Patricia de Lille officially opens the event at noon, the troupes, sporting colourful outfits, bowties and umbrellas, will start marching and dancing from Keizersgracht along Darling Street, supported by bands.

They will turn left into Adderley Street and right into Wale Street before marching to the Bo-Kaap. According to the SA Weather Service, Cape Town is expected to be partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-20s with a wind of roughly 10 knots.

The city has said that no parking would be permitted on Keizersgracht, Darling, Adderley, Wale and Rose streets until 11pm on Saturday.

The carnival dates back to the days of the Cape Colony when January 2 was a free day for slaves. - Weekend Argus

When paramedics and emergency services arrived on scene, the wreck of a light aircraft was found with the body of the man inside.

Cape Town - A man died when his light aircraft crashed on Saturday afternoon near an airfield by Infanta, along the Breede River between Cape Infanta and Swellendam, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.

The NSRI, police, Western Cape emergency management services and municipal fire and rescue services were notified of the crash around 1.15pm, said spokesman Craig Lambinon.

“It is suspected, from reports, that the accident happened shortly after the light aircraft became airborne from the airfield.”

When paramedics and emergency services arrived on scene, the wreck of a light aircraft was found with the body of the man inside.

“It is believed that only the pilot was in the airplane at the time of the accident,” said Lambinon.

“The scene is under the authority of the SA Police Services and it is NSRI's understanding that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) has been activated.” - Sapa

The man killed when his light aircraft crashed near Swellendam has been identified as 45-year-old Joos Boonekamp.

Johannesburg - The man killed when his light aircraft crashed near Swellendam has been identified as 45-year-old Joos Boonekamp, SABC news reported on Sunday.

Overberg disaster manager, Reinardt Geldenhuys, told the broadcaster the SA Civil Aviation Authority would to establish whether mechanical failure was to blame for the crash.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the plane went down near the Infanta airstrip shortly after take off on Saturday afternoon.

The NSRI, police, Western Cape emergency management services and municipal fire and rescue services were notified of the crash around 1.15pm, spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

“It is suspected, from reports, that the accident happened shortly after the light aircraft became airborne from the airfield. It is believed that only the pilot was in the airplane at the time of the accident,” said Lambinon. - Sapa

Forty thousand minstrels marched to the beat of goema drums and brass bands paraded in the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel parade.

Forty thousand minstrels, dressed in Panama hats, bow ties and suits, and carrying umbrellas, marched and danced to the beat of goema drums and brass bands paraded from Keizersgracht to the Bo-Kaap yesterday in the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel parade.

Thousands of spectators lined the route, cheering and clapping as the 75 troupes marched past.

Some families had camped overnight on Darling Street near the city hall to secure prime viewing spots.

Melvyn Davids said he had been coming to the parade for decades.

“It’s great – it’s tradition,” he said, sitting in the shade of one of the many gazebos lining the route, as he waited for another troupe to arrive.

The parade was opened by mayor Patricia de Lille at noon, who said Cape Town should be proud of its minstrel tradition, which stretches back more than a century.

To cheers and laughter from the crowd, she added that the troupes had promised her that “they were not going to start late”, a reference to last year’s parade, which was delayed due to transport problems.

The carnival dates back to the days of the Cape Colony, when January 2 was a free day for slaves. This year the procession was moved to January 4 so that more people could attend it.

Soon after De Lille’s address, the first of the troupes started marching.

Each troupe marches separately, and is usually accompanied by its own brass band and drummers.

A standard-bearer leads the group, often followed by groups of eager youngsters, then the troupe’s main body.

As it passes the city hall, its name is announced and its history given.

The troupes, which practise for months ahead of parade day, all wear similar clothing which is made specially for the parade.

Some, like the Shopright Pensylvanians – wearing white and yellow suits and black panama hats – have hundreds of members. Others, like the Claremont Coronation Entertainers, who hail from Gugulethu and Khayelitsha, have only a few dozen. Its leaders wore black and white patterns based on traditional Xhosa dress.

But all were cheered heartily by spectators as they marched from Keizersgracht to Darling Street, turned left into Adderley and then continued up Wale ito the historic Bo-Kaap.

Brenda Easton, from Belgravia, said it was “fantastic” to be at the parade again after missing it for many years. Sitting on a camp chair on Adderley Street at lunchtime, Easton said she had come with friends and family to watch her nephew, who is part of the Beach Boys troupe.

Easton said she had been involved in Tweede Nuwe Jaar in her youth, but had had then lost touch with it. She added she was enjoying the music, sights and sounds tremendously.

“I just hope the Beach Boys don't come too late,” she said.

Mayoral committee member for tourism, events and marketing Grant Pascoe said the day went according to plan and although there were some delays, the event ran far more smoothly than in recent years.

He said a certain amount of controversy could usually be expected from the minstrel carnival, but that the only problem they had encountered was an MC on the stage at the Grand Parade who had taken it upon himself to make a political statement.

“It was unfortunate that at some point when some speeches were made, the platform was used to make some political speeches.

“We don’t condone that and we don’t approve of that kind of behaviour,” said Pascoe.

“We condemn that because we don’t use any event which public money is spent on to campaign for any elections.”

Other than that, Pascoe said, it “was an enjoyable day for all” and they were pleased to see so many thousands of people lining the routes in the city centre.

Pascoe said there had been no reports of injuries or any incidents during the course of the day.

The minstrel troupes were last night headed for Athlone stadium to continue the festivities. - Weekend Argus

The future of Princess Vlei has again been thrust into the spotlight with calls for its preservation and upgrading being described as a “golden opportunity” to showcase Cape Town as the 2014 World Design Capital.

The future of Princess Vlei has again been thrust into the spotlight with calls for its preservation and upgrading being described as a “golden opportunity” to showcase Cape Town as the 2014 World Design Capital.

The vlei, near Grassy Park, is the subject of a bitter struggle between authorities and local residents.

The authorities have set in motion a process to sell the land to developers who envision a double-level shopping mall precinct on the currently neglected land.

But local residents and interested groups are leading a campaign to save the wetland.

In the latest salvo, the Princess Vlei Forum has revisited its plan which it had submitted for World Design Capital 2014 back in April last year.

In the bid, titled Imagine Princess Vlei – A Community Driven Urban Nature Design Project, it proposes ideas it would like to see implemented:

- 7km walkway for cycling, running or walking;

- educational facilities teaching locals about the Khoisan and fynbos;

- improved facilities for the hundreds of religious baptisms that take place at the site;

- new children’s play area;

- an amphitheatre with views to rival Kirstenbosch concerts;

- food market or stall with local produce;

- sailing clubs for local children;

- a bridge over the road for safer access to the vlei;

- and possibly a monument to the heritage of the site.

The forum, though, believes it should be up to the community to finalise the proposal.

“Imagine Princess Vlei will fuse space, plants, animals, water, people, legend, memory and imagination, stretching the design process in a socio-ecological response to contemporary social and environmental challenges.

It will consolidate several years of community engagement with the Princess Vlei,” the bid states.

The Princess Vlei Forum, chaired by Philip Bam, submitted the proposal in April and in June found they had been short-listed. They were asked to present in July, but they were not on the final list announced at the end of October.

Media manager for World Design Capital 2014, Priscilla Urquhart, said that Princess Vlei was submitted as a project during public calls for submissions, but because of the dispute between the potential developers and the City of Cape Town, it had been set aside for now.

The city is in the process of deciding whether to sell part of the land to developers who wish to build a mall on the site.

“We’d rather start on a clean slate,” says Urquhart.

“It is in the best interests of all parties involved that we rather await the outcome of the dispute. It hasn’t been rejected or even not considered. It’s just being held at the moment.”

Urquhart said that the Princess Vlei project was one of many “incredible” projects submitted for World Design Capital.

Bam said: “It would give us a lot of hope if our proposal is still on the table. I’m hopeful looking forward that the decision will be made in 2014 with Cape Town being the World Design Capital. What a golden opportunity.”

In a letter published in the Cape Times last Thursday, Bam accused the city of failing to recognise that Cape Town was much more than just the Grand Parade and Green Point.

Referring to a newspaper article which “lauds mayor Patricia de Lille for bringing people from all over Cape Town back to public spaces”, a scathing Bam replied: “You refer to the challenge to make these public spaces accessible to all who live in the city. It is a huge challenge to get Capetonians from as far afield as the Helderberg, Atlantis and the far deep south to enjoy the public spaces within the City Bowl, but what about the public spaces within affordable reach of the thousands of poorer citizens, on their doorsteps, such as Princess Vlei?”

Meanwhile, many locals are against construction of a mall, even though they would be the ones most likely to use it.

Clive Harris has lived near the vlei for more than 30 years. He fishes there regularly and the family often braais and relaxes there.

He says his strong wish is for the developers not to mess with the area, but rather to improve what they already have.

He would like to see a children’s play area, improved braai and parking areas, more indigenous plants and the plastic, old tyres, cans and shards of glass cleared away at the edges.

Robert Johnson has been fishing at the vlei to feed his family for 20 years.

He says a mall is not necessary because there are a lot of malls around.

Councillor Belinda Walker, Mayco member for community services and special projects, says negotiations for the sale of the land are still ongoing and, based on that, she doesn’t see how anybody would be willing to start any major project there until the status of the land is verified.

“What I would like to see is some final resolution so we know either that it is or is not going to be for sale,” Walker said.

“Everybody wants to see this concluded.”

Walker added that there were many open spaces the city would love to improve, but it largely came down to a question of budget as well as long-term maintenance. - Weekend Argus

Tragedy struck on the first night out for the Cape2Rio race: a sailor died after being injured.

Cape Town - A sailor has died, several more have been injured and at least two vessels are returning home after the Cape2Rio fleet hit a violent storm during its first night at sea.

The 35-strong fleet set sail at 2pm on Saturday, but were lashed by winds of up to 50 knots and 5m seas as night set in.

Bille, a 54-foot Angolan entrant, suffered a broken mast. Four crew members were injured and one Antonio Bartolomew, later died.

Sources said the yacht was “unsailable” and commercial shipping vessels in the area – around 75 nautical miles off the West Coast – were attempting to assist.

The SA Navy was also on standby, as were rescue choppers, which were currently inoperable due to the inclement weather.

Others in the fleet also suffered drama, with at least two more returning to shore.

Race chairman Ray Matthews reported: “All yachts reported bumpy conditions on Saturday night, with swells of 4m to 5m sometimes breaking at top and wind speed up to 50 knots.

“Black Cat has reported a problem with its rudder and is proceeding back to Cape Town. One crew has a sprained ankle, but all are well.”

Black Cat is co-skippered by acclaimed yacht designer Dudley Dix, formerly of Hout Bay but now living with his family in Virginia on the East Coast of the US.

The yacht Peekay reported sail problems and was on Sunday proceeding to Saldanha Bay, although its crew were “all well”.

Explora had reported its engine flooded – “but all well and will attend to the problem in calmer conditions”.

The yacht Isla had reported both engines inoperable, but its generator was working.

“The only yacht we have not had communication with is Avocet and we are working on the problem,” Matthews said.

When the fleet set sail on Saturday, the sails of three yachts stood out as they deployed their “bags” – sailing slang for the spinnaker.

On Sunday afternoon, the trio had already covered almost 300 nautical miles (around 480km).

Craig Sutherland skippers Explora, sponsored by DStv’s SuperSport, with a crew of seven chief executives who own the sleek 60-footer together, and at 1.28pm on Sunday had 3 140 nautical miles to go until Rio – at times hitting speeds of more than 20 knots.

Neck and neck with them was Robert Date with his Australian crew aboard Scarlet Runner. They were not far off on the water near Explora.

But out in front was the yacht bearing the name of one of the world’s most potent sports car marques, Maserati, skippered by the Italian Giovanni Soldini, who was a little ahead mid-on Sunday.

Cape Argus