EFF leader Julius Malema has told farmworkers in Worcester they can be the "bosses" of the farm owners.

Cape Town - Julius Malema has told farmworkers in Worcester they can be the “bosses” of the farm owners.

The Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader addressed workers and community members who packed a hall in Zwelethemba, outside the Boland town, on Sunday.

Malema promised that if the EFF was voted into power it would return land to Africans and nationalise the mines and sea for fishing.

“You can own a farm. You can produce wine, because it is you that produce it now. You can even sell that wine outside South Africa,” he said.

“It sounds like a dream but will happen. Why should you think you should be the one working and not the other way around and employ your boss of today. He can be your employee tomorrow.”

Malema had a blitz tour of the Western Cape this weekend.

He visited a fisher community in Hawston, Khoisan traditional leaders in Muizenberg and held a mass meeting in Khayelitsha on Saturday.

Malema said his party was speaking to the fishing and farming community about their problems before they drew up an election manifesto.

The EFF said it aimed to restore the dignity of farmworkers.

“Like today, there are still people who think white people are created by God to own farms and give you jobs. It is not like that,” Malema said. “That mindset must go away. You are your own boss. You must be the boss of everybody in this town.”

Malema said good education was the most important factor in ensuring the EFF’s revolution was sustainable.

“That (educated) child will get you from a shack to a mansion,” he shouted.

Malema warned against drugs, abuse of alcohol and xenophobia.

“Xenophobia is what white people like, rejoicing in blacks killing each other. Cape Town is full of foreigners, they are white but they are never beaten. But those are people who have taken your land, those are the people who have taken your economy but you never beat them. You beat fellow Africans,” he said.

Malema said he could understand why the DA had won the 2009 elections in the Western Cape.

“You are forgiven for voting for Helen Zille. It is because you did not have an alternative. But now you have one in us,” he said.

He told his audience that people should remember that “white people don’t vote for black people but you people voted for a white person”.

The EFF was seeking to win one million votes in the Western Cape, party officials claimed.

In 2009 the DA was the only party to win more than a million votes in the province.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Burnt and bruised, a 9-year-old child left to die after she was raped said her assailant laughed as he set her alight.

Cape Town -

Burnt and bruised, a 9-year-old child left to die after she was raped said her assailant laughed as he set her alight.

On Sunday afternoon, her family found her, still alive, huddled on top of a pile rocks, in the bush beside the R300. She had been on her way to her father’s house when she disappeared at about 8pm on Saturday.

“She was moving, still able to talk. She could tell us that she recognised the face of the man who raped her and that he laughed when he lit her, saying, ‘You won’t be able to tell anyone it was me,’” the child’s aunt said.

When police took a while to arrive, relatives carried the girl, wrapped in a blanket to her mother’s house from where she was later taken to Groote Schuur Hospital.

The girl, from Delft South, lived with her father, but would spend afternoons playing at her mother’s house only a few streets away.

On Saturday, when her father phoned her mother to check whether the child would be on her way home, her grandmother said she was still playing outside and would make her way later. The girl’s aunt, who cannot be named as it would identify her, said the child walked back to her dad’s house just after 8pm, but did not arrive.

On Sunday morning, a cowherd and a boy were herding cattle on the grass verge beside the R300 when they saw the child, the aunt said. The boy recognised the girl, rushed to the mother’s house and told herthat her daughter was lying in the bush.

“Her mother is not able to walk, she has problems with her legs. The grandmother and I went to see if it was her,” she said and added that when they realised it was the child, they contacted the police.

The child’s father said he did not think anything was wrong.

“She has a lot of friends at her mother’s house. I thought maybe she decided to sleep there instead,” he said.

Priscilla Mcentee, chairwoman of Delft Suburban, a community neighbourhood programme, said she called for back-up after seeing a man who behaved suspiciously.

“What gave it away was the fact that his T-shirt was burnt and he had blood on his pants. I stopped him and asked him why he had blood on his pants. The guy said he had been in a car accident,” she said.

News of the rape had spread fast and when residents heard about the man, they wanted to kill him, Mcentee said.

Mcentee and neighbourhood watch members kept the suspect in the garage of a watch member and waited for police to arrive.

“More then 100 people gathered outside the garage to try to kill the man. People tried to break the doors, swearing at us to give him to them,” she said.

Mcentee said she was against people taking the law into their own hands.

“I will wait for the police to tell me he’s guilty. I don’t want people killing people,” she said.

Police spokesman Andrè Traut said the child had extensive burns on her whole body. A 27-year-old suspect was arrested for rape and attempted murder and would appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday, he said.

“The suspect was handed over to police and fresh burn wounds were visible as well as scratch marks on the back of his body,” said Traut.

Children’s rights group Molo Songolo director Patrick Solomons said children in crime-ridden areas were at greater risk of being violated.

“We have found that it is often the people living with them or someone in the community that poses the greatest threat to them,” he said.

“However, there are many cases where the perpetrator is a stranger taking advantage of a child left alone,” he said.

Solomons emphasised the importance of communities getting involved and helping authorities ensure the safety of children.

“Communities need to take responsibility for the younger generation.

“We strongly advocate for neighbours to look out for each other’s children.

“In a community like Delft where large volumes of the people have recently moved into the area, it is more difficult for parents to build support systems. This then leaves children vulnerable,” he said.

francesca.villette@inl.co.za

barbara.maregele@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Cedric Gilbert is devastated by the loss of his wife of 68 years who was hit by a bullet while getting ready for bed.

Cape Town -

Gwendolene Gilbert, 88, died at the weekend in the room in which all her eight children were born – the victim of a stray bullet that pierced her window, passed clean through her head and lodged in her bedroom wall.

Her husband of 68 years, Cedric Gilbert, was on the couch in the lounge next door when his daughter Marilyn cried out: “Daddy, come look.”

Gilbert got to the room to see his wife slumped in Marilyn’s arms, blood all over her head.

Marilyn had been helping her mother get ready for bed at about 8.15 on Friday night, and was just pulling on her nightie when her mother collapsed. They did not hear the bullet that left a small round hole as it passed through the window.

Cedric Gilbert next remembers the police arriving and checking his wife’s pulse, and the hopeless feeling as they confirmed that she was dead.

Mrs Gilbert, as she was fondly known by neighbours, was a grandmother of 27 and the latest victim to be caught in the crossfire in a shooting incident outside her home in Circuit Street in Bokmakierie.

A man is helping police with their inquiries.

The shooting of his wife came as a shock to Cedric Gilbert, who said that for the 63 years they had lived in the area, the violence and shootings had never directly affected them.

“It never worried us until now.

“I’m not angry. It was an accident that happened and I don’t want to point a finger – whoever did it will be stopped sometime in the long run.”

Police officers from the Athlone station arrived to offer their condolences and to talk about the last time they had seen Mrs Gilbert. One officer described her death as “senseless”.

They spoke of how popular she was among the neighbours – how, before she became elderly and frail, she was actively involved in community projects. They spoke of arrangements for a memorial service and reassured the family that they were following up all leads.

Daughter Levona Gilbert told the police: “I hope the death of my mother will be an eye-opener for the youngsters.”

She pointed to where the bullet had penetrated the bedroom.

“She died in the room where all of us were born,” she said.

Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said that two people had been arrested and questioned in connection with the incident.

“One suspect has been released while the other one is still being detained,” Traut said.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

SA’s brain drain has begun to reverse with thousands of expatriates heading home.

Cape Town -

South Africa’s brain drain has begun to reverse with nearly 360 000 expatriates – mostly engineers and financial professionals – heading home since the onset of the global recession in 2008.

The figures are based on the January employment index by outsourcing specialists Adcorp, which examined the effects of immigration and emigration on the employment environment.

Adcorp labour economist Loane Sharp said the latest figures were derived from data for workers earning more than R400 000 a year.

However, despite the influx of professionals returning home, it’s still not enough.

Currently there is a shortage of highly-skilled workers, with 829 000 unfilled vacancies.

This represents 18 percent of the total pool of managers and professionals in South Africa and 12 percent of the total pool of graduates.

The unemployment rate for highly-skilled workers stands at 0.4 percent compared to an unemployment rate of 37 percent for the entire workforce.

Recruitment agencies confirm the situation.

Afrizan’s Christelle Fitzell said there had been a notable influx of South Africans returning to the country.

“We have noticed a diminished number of graduates leaving South Africa. There is a correlation between the global recession and returning professionals as South Africans abroad realise that the grass is not always greener on the other side,” Fitzell said.

While job losses started in the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore with the credit crunch in 2008, Europe was hit hard with job losses in 2010.

Most people have returned from Europe, particularly the UK, as well as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Hong Kong and Japan.

“Job losses resulted often with companies no longer able to offer lucrative expat benefits like housing and schooling for children in international schools. Coming home just proved the cheaper alternative. Although there has been a noted turnaround in the markets, companies are less enthusiastic to hire foreign nationals due to the expense.”

Fitzell said tightened immigration legislation coinciding with the recession also had an impact on South Africans returning home, particularly in lower level skill sectors.

Fitzell said stringent BEE policies made it difficult for returning banking and mining professionals to find work except in cases where skills were extremely rare.

“In these instances, professionals with rare skills are often head-hunted but whether they return for the lucrative packages they are offered or because of changing perceptions about South Africa, is a difficult distinction to make.”

There was still a great need for expats from other professions. “We are in desperate need of medical professionals, actuaries, IT and telecommunications professionals as well as scientists. However, we have not seen an influx of returning professionals in these areas.”

Managing director of MPC recruitment agency, Hough Joubert also said there was “definitely” a significant number of South Africans returning home compared with previous years.

“The people returning are mostly from the financial field particularly investment bankers and accountants.”

zara.nicholson@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Issues with two invoices delayed payment to the events company hired to help with Cape Town’s minstrel parade.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town says it could not fully pay the events company it hired to help with the minstrel events because there was a problem with two of the invoices.

Two employees who were sub-contracted to do work for Bharooch Event Styling and Management have complained that they were not paid on time, but the city’s mayoral committee member for tourism, events and marketing, Grant Pascoe, said one payment had already been made. The two other invoices “did not equate to the balance of the fees/funds due to Bharooch”.

But he said the matter had been resolved and the accounts were reconciled on Thursday last week. The correct invoices have been issued to the city.

“We are now processing payment.”

Eleanor Hendricks said she was one of 11 staff who had worked their “fingers to the bone” with Bharooch, only to be told earlier this month that there was no money to pay them.

“On the third and the fourth (of January) we worked from early in the morning until late at night, only going home for a few hours in between.”

Hendricks was predominantly involved in administrative work.

Although the suppliers were paid earlier this month, Hendricks said she was told that her money would be paid on January 6. This was then postponed to January 8.

Hendricks said she then received a Whatsapp message saying that she could not be paid yet as the city had not paid Bharooch.

There was no indication of when the money would be available.

“As far as I am concerned we were not employed by the city and the money was released to Bharooch. I feel disgusted by the fact that we literally worked 24-hour shifts and had to redo work that was not part of our criteria.”

She said when she asked Bharooch for information about her outstanding payment, she was told to “stop being immature”.

Another employee, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said he was still waiting for payment.

“Their communication with us was very bad. They should have made an arrangement (if they couldn’t pay).”

Pascoe said the city made payments once a month and usually paid within 30 days. So far, R2 million of the R3.5m contract had been authorised for payment, he said.

“Special arrangements have been made to expedite payment. The intention is to make payment within the next 48 to 72 hours, failing which the city will make alternative arrangements.”

Bharooch Event Styling and Management was initially meant to manage the entire event, but its role was scaled down to one of “facilitation” after some of the minstrel associations complained that they were being sidelined.

Its chief operating officer, Sharif Baker, said in response to a separate query about its event experience that it had been a registered company since May last year.

Baker redirected the Cape Argus’s queries about payment problems to the city.

On Sunday, Hendricks received a text message saying that payment would be made on January 26.

Cape Argus

“I use the word disaster because that is exactly what I am seeing.”

Western Cape -

Laingsburg, which has suffered flood damage estimated at R500 million, should be declared a disaster zone, says Western Cape Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Gerrit van Rensburg.

He visited the area on Friday to assess the aftermath of the flood, which saw many farmers cut off.

Two weeks ago, the Groot Karoo town suffered its worst floods since 1981.

“I use the word disaster because that is exactly what I am seeing,” said Van Rensburg, adding he would write to the National Treasury on Monday for funds.

“People don’t have electricity and roads are inaccessible, cutting off most of this town.”

A section of the N1 freeway was damaged and there were several stop-and-go intersections in place between Touws River and Laingsburg to allow for repair work.

The Buffels River broke its banks, damaging trees and parts of the adjacent bridge.

Cellphone communication was still limited in the area and some telephone and electrical lines were damaged.

Van Rensburg said the application to declare Laingsburg a disaster zone would go to the Western Cape Disaster Risk Management Centre and then to provincial and national authorities.

“I hope the process will be completed in at least three months,” he said.

Laingsburg mayor Wilhelm Theron, who is also a farmer, said the damage to roads and other municipal infrastructure was estimated at about R20m.

“The cost to repair damage would run into millions for farmers too.

“There was large-scale damage to our farms, which employ a large percentage of the town’s residents. We have limited funds because we are not a large municipality so we will need the help of provincial and national government,” he said.

Danie Crafford, owner of Floriskraal Farm in Laingsburg, said a large part of his farmlands were submerged due to flooding.

“I only have a small piece of land left to work with,” he said. Another problem we have here is the electricity. Our machines cannot operate without it. We need to shave our sheep.”

Van Rensburg also made a stop in Ladismith, where last week 10 people – five of them children – had to be rescued from a farm that had been cut off by floodwater.

Kannaland Municipality mayor Jeffrey Donson said his council would look at how they could assist farmers financially.

“Our town’s drinking water has also been affected by the floods. Our dam has been damaged.

“If farmers cannot do their business, a large portion of our community will be unemployed and that leads to social problems,” he said.

jason.felix@inl.co.za

Cape Times

SANParks has issued a further warning of a so-called red tide in the Knysna estuary on the Cape south coast.

Cape Town -

Further warning of a so-called red tide in the Knysna estuary on the Cape south coast was issued by SA National Parks on Monday.

“Authorities - including SANParks, Knysna Municipality and the Knysna Basin Project - are cautioning against the collection of shellfish from the Knysna estuary until further notice,” it said in a statement.

A red tide is the common name for an algal bloom involving large concentrations of red or brown coloured micro-organisms. These can become concentrated in filter feeders such as mussels and oysters, making them poisonous to humans.

Other types of shellfish, including abalone, are also affected.

SANParks said possible evidence of a red tide was seen from the Knysna Heads on Sunday afternoon.

The warning follows a similar one issued for the area two weeks ago. - Sapa

The parents of a boy who was shot on his first day at school are shocked that the alleged shooter has been freed.

Cape Town - The parents of the Grade 1 boy who was shot on his first day at school are unhappy about the police’s decision to release the man who was arrested.

Jermaine Taylor, 6, was shot in the arm when a man opened fire outside the gates of Matroos Holy Trinity RC Primary School in Elsies River on Wednesday morning.

Jermaine and another boy, 17, were injured in the attack. Police later arrested a 27-year-old man, who was charged with attempted murder.

He has since been released, owing to a lack of evidence linking him to the crime. A police source at Elsies River explained that the primary witness, the 17-year-old victim of the shooting, had “disappeared”.

News of the unconditional release came as a shock to Jermaine’s mother, Cecilia Taylor. She had heard last week that the man had been released on bail, pending a court appearance.

“The police have disappointed us. Are they sending a message that suspects can be released because they have not gathered the evidence properly?” she asked.

Meanwhile, Taylor said there had been an outpouring of support for Jermaine.

On Sunday a church group called at the family’s home in Clarke’s Estate, Elsies River, to pray with them.

On Monday morning Jermaine were scheduled to see a state psychologist and his parents were set to meet with education department officials to discuss the shooting.

“We would like advice from the psychologist on when Jermaine can go back to school. He is still traumatised.”

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A woman accused of defrauding the Raya Hotel Group of over R10 million is to try again to negotiate a plea-bargain with the State.

Cape Town - A woman accused of defrauding the Raya Hotel Group, owners of the Capetonian Hotel in Cape Town and the Balmoral Hotel in Durban, is to try again to negotiate a plea-bargain with the State.

This emerged in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Monday.

Mymona Creighton, 31, is charged with multiple counts of alleged fraud and one of money laundering.

Her trial was to have commenced on Monday, after the collapse of previous plea negotiations with prosecutor Simon Leope in September last year.

Instead, at Leope's request, magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg postponed the case to February 24, for the outcome of the second round of negotiations.

Creighton began working for the group 10 years ago as the assistant to the accountant and seven years later was promoted to the post of accountant.

She was based at the head office in Cape Town.

She was responsible for the payment of the group's creditors, and had to present cheques for payment to the group's management for signature.

Leope alleges that she either deleted or changed the details of the payees on cheques, after payment had been authorised by management.

It is alleged that the cheques would then be made payable to fictitious people, and the proceeds channelled into Creighton's personal bank accounts.

To “cover her tracks”, Creighton is alleged to have recorded the correct cheque details on management payment schedules, but intercepted and destroyed bank-processed cheques as they arrived back from the bank.

In this manner, Creighton eliminated evidence of her manipulation, and misappropriated the money.

Leope alleges that she concealed the payments, and used fictitious names, to hide the true nature of the fraudulent payments.

Creighton faces 250 counts of fraud involving R10 263 813 and one charge of money laundering.

Sapa

Western Cape community safety MEC Dan Plato has commended Delft residence for helping police arrest the alleged rapist of a nine-year-old girl.

Cape Town - Members of the Delft community, outside Cape Town, who helped police arrest the suspected rapist of a nine-year-old girl should be applauded, Western Cape community safety MEC Dan Plato said on Monday.

The girl survived the incident after her attacker set her alight in bushes along the R300 highway.

She was found alive by family members on Sunday.

A 27-year-old man was arrested on rape and attempted murder charges.

“I am deeply saddened and at the same time furious that another one of our young girls has been brutally raped. However, it is welcoming news to hear that our SA Police Service has already made an arrest,” Plato said.

Members of the neighbourhood watch made a citizen's arrest and were forced to keep the suspect locked away from angry Delft residents who were demanding mob justice.

“This situation could easily have turned into one of vigilante violence and I applaud those members of the community who kept calm in a volatile situation and ensured that justice can take its course,” Plato said.

“By working with the SAPS, our communities can go a long way towards increasing the safety of their neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.”

Plato said he would be monitoring the progress of the case.

Sapa

Police have arrested a woman for child neglect after her 18-month-old disabled son burnt to death in Lotus River.

Cape Town - Police have arrested a 29-year-old woman for child neglect after her 18-month-old disabled son burnt to death in Lotus River on Sunday night.

A fire engulfed five dwellings in the Phumlani Village informal settlement at about 9.30pm. Seven people were displaced and a baby boy, who was blind and disabled, died.

The mother of the boy is in custody at Grassy Park police station, police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said.

“It is believed the mother of the child was not at home, at the time of the fatal incident,” he said.

 City of Cape Town Disaster Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said teams had been deployed to assist those who lost their homes by providing food parcels, clothing, blankets, baby packs, toiletries and building materials.

City fire chief Theo Layne said, on initial investigation, the fire appeared to have been caused by a candle which had fallen over in a shack.

Cape Argus

The ANC in the Western Cape has called on its supporters not to rest on their laurels as it takes on the DA at the polls.

Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape has called on its supporters not to rest on their laurels as it takes on the DA at the election polls in the next few months.

The party held the provincial launch of its election manifesto in front of thousands of spectators at the Delft South sports grounds on Saturday.

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said party supporters could not “stand still and shout” at DA leader Helen Zille.

“What is the point? She does not hear you,” she said.

“The time has come to ask people to vote for the ANC. Don’t wait at home for people to come to you, as a cadre of the ANC, to say vote for the ANC.”

Duarte said the party’s work was not complete and it had spent the past 20 years dealing with “apartheid’s mess” and now had to build a “fearless nation”.

“It is time comrades, to not only shout slogans, to not only wear T-shirts, but to have the courage to take the Western Cape out of minority rule.”

Duarte said the top priority was job creation.

Posters for the rally had a picture of Zuma and created the impression among some supporters that he would be there.

“I know you are disappointed. He (Zuma) was needed somewhere else. When we bring him here, let us see you in bigger stadiums,” she said.

ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman said mass rallies would not win votes for the party to unseat the DA and supporters needed to visit voters at their homes.

He called on branch members to steer clear of division in the party because that would affect their support.

Several religious leaders, including the Muslim Judicial Council and the Progressive Professionals Forum, endorsed the party’s election campaign.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

His parents have been trying to cheer him up, but Jermaine Taylor, 6, finds the sound of gunfire deeply traumatic.

Cape Town - Please pray that the shooting will stop. This was the request of 6-year-old Jermaine Taylor to a church group who visited him days after he was shot in the arm on the way to his first day of school last week.

His parents have been trying to cheer him up, but he finds the sound of gunfire deeply traumatic.

 “There is only so much we can do,” says Cecilia Taylor, Jermaine’s mother. “Gunshots are loud and the sound travels far.”

When shots crack out in the night, as they did outside the family’s Clarkes Estate flat on Friday, Jermaine looks up in shock and fear. Taylor and her husband Jerome ignore the bangs in an attempt to set their child at ease.

“We try to remain calm. Jerome picked up the remote and put the television’s volume up. It helped to drown the sound of the gunfight outside, if only slightly,” Taylor said.

Jermaine is still recovering at home after being hit by a stray bullet outside the gates of Matroos Holy Trinity RC Primary School in Elsies River last Wednesday.

Instead of spending the first day of Grade 1 in class with his friends, he was taken to Tygerberg Hospital. On Monday, he saw a provincial Education Department psychologist.

“I’m only going back on Monday,” said a smiling Jermaine.

His mother said Jermaine’s apparent cheerfulness belied trauma that had come out in the form of regular tears. When a church group visited Jermaine on Sunday and asked him what he wanted them to pray for, he replied: “I would like to pray that the shooting must stop.”

“That really broke my heart,” said Cecilia Taylor. “It showed us that he understands a lot of what had happened. But, he has also been brave and there are times when he is happy and playing with his little sister.”

A 17-year-old youth was also wounded. This teenager, apparently the target of the attack, gave police the name of the gunman, which led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man.

Yet, after consulting prosecutors, police released the man without charge because the 17-year-old victim of the shooting “disappeared” after being discharged from hospital, a source close to the investigation at Elsies River police station said.

Meanwhile, provincial Education Department spokeswoman Bronagh Casey said the Safe Schools Programme had discussed security arrangements with the principal of Holy Trinity: “(They have) arranged for a security guard to be placed at the school. A safety plan was formulated, whereby learners are to stay within the school buildings at all times.

“In other words, they are to remain in the quad area until the situation outside in the community stabilises. They are also monitoring access to the school. The police are also visibly patrolling around the school.”

Police have asked the teenager and other eye witnesses to the shooting of Jermaine to contact the investigating officer, Captain Dean Kiewiets, at 021 928 1400 or 082 302 2952.

Youngsters need counselling after trauma

Berenice Daniels, the provincial Department of Education’s director of specialised education support, says young people need counselling as soon as possible after a traumatic event so as to avoid the possibility of long-term psychological harm. But there is no blanket protocol that can be applied in every situation.

“Professionals like psychologists, social workers and counsellors need to assess each situation and establish the facts so as to determine the level of support that is required,” she said.

“If possible, parents should be contacted as a first priority to inform them of the situation, and to involve them in the rehabilitation process.”

Depending on the age and development of the child, parents should keep their child informed about what is happening during the counselling process, and should explain it to them in terms that they can understand.

“Parents should also provide their children with constant reassurance of their love and support, and also talk to their child about their feelings regarding the incident,” Daniels said.

“A special effort should be made to spend more time with their children at this time, and to try to ascertain whether their child requires any additional professional support.

“It is unfortunately possible that exposure to traumatic events in childhood may increase a host of later changes in cognition, affect behaviour, neuro-physiology and physiology, but these will depend on a wide variety of factors. Having an intact, supportive and nurturing family appears to be a strong protective factor.”

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The City of Cape Town expects a “deluge” of applications for extended trading times when the new liquor by-law comes into effect.

Cape Town -

The City of Cape Town expects a “deluge” of applications for extended trading times when the new liquor by-law comes into effect on February 1.

Taki Amira, chairman of the Good Hope Subcouncil, said, in terms of the new legislation, sub-councils would have to advertise each application so that the neighbours and other interested parties could comment.

The new by-law, which replaces all existing bylaws dealing with the sale of alcohol, has several notable changes.

These include allowing off-consumption premises, such as bottle stores, to apply for extended trading hours from Monday to Saturday, from 6pm to 8pm and on Sundays from 11am to 6pm.

Patrons having a drink in a licensed establishment have 30 minutes in which to finish their drinks after last sales.

Establishments that comply with the schedule set out in the by-law may apply for extended trading hours from 2am until no later than 4am.

The by-law also allows delegated officials to suspend the extended trading hours if there are any contraventions.

The promulgation of the by-law last year came after months of debate, public comment and several amendments.

It is in strong contrast to the city’s initial proposal to ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays and curtail the sale of liquor after 6pm.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A man appearing at the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court was shot dead while leaving the court building.

Cape Town -

A man appearing in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court was shot dead while leaving the court building.

The court’s senior security officer, Steven van der Vent, said that as 30-year-old Ismail Ettalla made his way out of the turnstyle gates a man entered and fired one shot at him.

Ettalla, wearing a red T-shirt and shorts, ran after the gunman towards Mitchells Plain police station where he collapsed on the pavement.

The dead man’s identity was confirmed by the regional justice head in the province, Hishaam Mohamed.

A security guard, who wished to remain anonymous, said the bullet had gone straight through Ettalla and lodged in a brick wall behind him, where the police later retrieved it.

Abe Isaacs, chairman of the Community Policing Form, said they were still trying to get information about what had happened.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the incident and said Ettalla had been hit in the upper body. A murder docket has been opened.

No arrests have been made, but anyone with information should contact Detective Constable Munro Eksteen at 061 079 7009.

dylan.oktober@inl.co.za

zodidi.dano@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The trial of five people accused of the rape and human trafficking of a 13-year-old Atlantis girl has been delayed due to illness.

Cape Town - The trial of five people accused of the rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking of a 13-year-old Atlantis girl has been delayed because one of the accused contracted tuberculosis at Pollsmoor Prison.

The mother and stepfather of the teenager, who cannot be identified to protect her identity, are in custody. Their co-accused Maranatha Lotriet, Evelina Fortuin and Denise Muller are out on bail.

On Monday, the stepfather was not present in the Cape Town Regional Court because of his illness, and prosecutor Merle Engelbrecht said the matter could not continue without him.

He was having treatment in an isolation ward at Pollsmoor’s hospital, and the court was awaiting feedback on his condition.

The other four accused stood quietly in the small dock during brief proceedings.

The mother and stepfather are accused of selling the 13-year-old girl for sex for as little as R20 a time.

The State alleges that the mother sexually groomed her daughter over a period before pimping the child to the stepfather, and was present during most of the incidents.

It is further alleged that the teenager was taken to a park or bushes by various people to be raped, at a price of up to R1 000 a time.

Alcohol was apparently later bought with the money.

It is also alleged that Lotriet, Fortuin and Muller pimped the girl to a doctor.

The child reported the incidents to her teacher which led to the arrest of her mother.

Last year, police were still searching for three more suspects in Mossel Bay.

The matter has been postponed to next Monday for a medical report on the stepfather.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Mphumzi Sithela almost died when he was sjambokked and beaten with an iron pipe for allegedly stealing a DVD player.

Cape Town - Mphumzi Sithela almost died when he was sjambokked and beaten with an iron pipe for allegedly stealing a DVD player.

When he answered a knock on the door of his Khayelitsha shack, six men dragged him to a nearby tavern and started beating him, Sithela said on Monday, a day before an inquiry into police efficiency in Khayelitsha resumed.

The men accused him of having stolen a DVD player from a house in the area, he said of the attack that took place in October.

Sithela 32, who lived in Site C had both his arms broken. He sustained head injuries and later lost his job as a security guard.

The beating lasted about three hours and Sithela was later taken to hospital by his attackers.

“They stopped beating me up when my neighbour came and told them I had not stolen the DVD player,” he said.

“I tried to tell them I wasn’t the person they were looking for, but they continued beating me. I was confused because I had no knowledge of why they were beating me,” Sithela said.

Before the attack he had just started a new job after having been unemployed for three years, he said as he recalled how he escaped death.

“I was lucky. I don’t know how I survived the attack because when you are accused of stealing something in this area, they normally kill you,” he said.

Sithela did not file a complaint as he feared his attackers or their friends would come after him if they were arrested. He welcomed the inquiry and said it was time issues such as vigilante killings were taken seriously.

“Many lose their lives unfairly through mob justice. I think the commission is a great idea. These things… should be prevented.”

Since the attack Sithela has been unemployed.

He made a living by doing general house work for motorists who stopped at various traffic intersections where he waited daily, he said.

“The attack cost me everything because when I went back to my job, they told me I was not fit to work,” he said.

Sithela said his attackers had apologised with the help of the local street committee’s members.

“I forgave them long time ago… There is no use in holding grudges,” Sithela said.

siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za

Cape Times

The Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry is set to kick off, but police are yet to provide documents on mob killings.

Cape Town -

The Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry to probe police inefficiencies in the township starts on Tuesday but the police are yet to provide documents on mob killings.

The commission, tasked with investigating alleged police inefficiencies and a breakdown in relations between the community and the police, will hold inspections in loco from Tuesday. It was ready to begin public sittings on Thursday after the two days allocated to inspections.

Commission secretary Amanda Dissel said it had received most of the documents requested from the police and it had distributed them to all the parties. “There are still some documents that are outstanding that we have queried from SAPS regarding charge sheets on vigilante murders.”

The documents relating to vigilante murders had been requested by commission chairwoman Kate O’Regan in November but the police had no classification of vigilante or mob killings.

But advocate Peter Hathorn, appearing for the Social Justice Coalition, noted that in 2002 police management had implemented a register in the client service centre where all vigilantism incidents are recorded. There was also a document called the Vigilantism Prevention Strategy, Hathorn said.

At the time, Hathorn said it was important that the documents be seen today.

During the inspections three police stations, Khayelitsha, Harare and Lingelethu West will be the first to receive a visit from the commission headed by retired Constitutional Court Judge O’Regan and former NPA head Vusi Pikoli. Evening inspections are planned for BM Section, JPS and Green Point informal settlements.

On Wednesday the commission will visit Nkanini informal settlement, Harare Park, Ilitha Park and the Site C taxi rank.

On Thursday a public sitting will be held at Lookout Hill in Khayelitsha where the Social Justice Coalition, the police, the city and community safety department will give evidence.

The commission, set up two years ago by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille will finally get going after it had been stalled by lack of co-operation from the police and court challenges by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

Mthethwa lost cases at the Western Cape High Court and the Constitutional Court. The commission had been established after the SJC and its allies had submitted a complaint to Zille about the police’s alleged inefficiencies.

Many residents had lost faith in the police and resorted to taking the law into their own hands, condemning suspected criminals to death by stoning or necklacing.

xolani.koyana@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A Clifton property owner may be forced to destroy additions to his house that don’t match the “general look” of the area.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town wants a South African-born tycoon to demolish glass balustrades and granite cladding that have been illegally added to his multimillion-rand bungalow in Clifton.

The Good Hope subcouncil has refused two applications for building alterations to the house owned by businessman Vivian Imerman and called for the urgent demolition of any structures that do not comply with council regulations.

It also wants an investigation of all 99 bungalows along the Atlantic Seaboard to see if there are similar deviations at other properties in the area.

Imerman, who lives in London, wants council approval for glass balustrades and granite cladding which have already been added to his bungalow. A second application deals with extensions to the building and swimming pool.

“This glass, aluminium and marble construction is not compliant with building laws,” said Taki Amira, subcouncil chair.

“There is no way that we can support an application that is completely undesirable to the Clifton bungalows.” Amira said this was a “glowing example” of how property owners living outside of the country would buy property in Cape Town and then break “virtually every building law”.

“Enough is enough. This thing must come down.”

There was only one objection to the proposed alterations, subject to an agreement with the owner.

But ward councillor for the area, Beverley Schafer, said there was a tendency for neighbours to support applications because of similar unauthorised work being done on their own properties.

“In 10 years time there won’t be a general look and feel to the Clifton bungalows,” she said.

“We have got a responsibility to keep the heritage look and feel.”

Greg September of the city’s zoning department said there was no formal policy regulating the way buildings in Clifton should look, just a draft document that had yet to be approved.

“Operationally it will be difficult to inspect every property so it would be better to formalise the design guidelines.”

Attempts to get a demolition order would be guided by this policy, he said.

The document, entitled “Guidelines for work in bungalows’ heritage areas”, dealt with design criteria for buildings along this portion of the Atlantic Seaboard. It described the wooden “family of buildings”, which date back to 1903, as “significant cultural landscapes” worthy of conservation.

It recommended that materials used should be natural and textured, such as stone and timber, as these have “strong historical links with the area”. Amira said the use of granite and glass at Imerman’s property was not in keeping with the look and feel of the area.

“If there is any building that stands to be demolished, it should be this one.”

The city’s environmental management and heritage resources branch has raised objections, saying that the additions were not in keeping with the bungalow area. The granite was also visible from publicly accessible places. The glass balustrades were at odds with the low boundary walls and picket fences favoured in the area.

The Clifton on Sea and District Bungalow Owners’ Association has also raised concerns about the range of applications for “undesirable” works at this property. “The net result of hard surfaces, such as glass balustrades, high walls and the total absence of vegetation – especially along public paths – is not only to detract from the visual fabric and character of the Bungalow Heritage Area, but also serves to amplify the level of acoustic echo from pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the detriment of all users in the area.”

Schafer said the matter should be referred to the city’s legal services.

“We are doing ourselves a disservice if this property goes ahead.”

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Thieves who tunnelled their way to steal copper cable have left a hole in Cape Town’s pocket.

Cape Town - Thieves who tunnelled their way to steal copper cable have left a hole in the city’s pocket.

In December, thieves lifted paving along the high security fence at the city’s Brackenfell Depot and dug their way underneath it to the other side.

The thieves stole 60 metres of copper cable valued at R20 000.

Mayoral committee member for utility services Ernest Sonnenberg said the stolen cable contributed to an annual figure that amounted to millions every year.

The thieves were believed to have used a spade to dig the two-metre-deep trench and a tunnel about a metre long to get inside the yard where the cables were held.

The incident happened at night while security guards were on duty.

Due to the size of the yard, no one spotted the thieves.

“It was noticed in the morning when staff went into the cable yard that cables had gone missing,” said Sonnenberg.

Sonnenberg said it was the first time criminals had tunnelled under high security fencing to get to the yard.

No arrests have been made.

In other incidents in Mfuleni, an estimated 230kg of copper was stolen in December alone.

It was believed that a syndicate was operating in the area.

In two of the incidents the personal belongings of security guards employed to safeguard the sites were stolen while in another incident security guards were forced to dig up cables at gun point.

Sonnenberg said cable theft posed a safety threat to civilians.

“Residents across the city have also suffered damage to their electrical appliances from voltage surges experienced as a result of vandalism to electricity infrastructure. Cases of damaged electrical appliances have been reported city-wide,” he said.

The city has invested R500 000 to repair and to safeguard the cables from future theft by replacing copper cables with aluminium cables.

“We will not give up in our endeavours to ensure a high level of service delivery in Cape Town. I appeal to anyone with information to contact the city’s Metals Theft Unit,” said Sonnenberg.

francesca.villette@inl.co.za

Cape Times