The land deal around an extension to the Cape Town International Convention Centre has been declared legal.

Cape Town - The land deal around an extension to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has been declared legal by the public protector.

In March, the ANC raised concerns about the deal, claiming the market value of the land was R50 million, but the city was paying more than R100m in its purchase from media company Naspers.

The ANC said this highlighted a “questionable relationship” between the DA-run city and Naspers shareholders. However, the city has denied any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, the deputy mayor of Cape Town, Ian Nielson, said the findings were “a clear vindication of the city’s belief that the ANC’s complaint on this matter was vexatious and driven by petty politics”.

“Most importantly, the public protector found that the deal was in the best interests of the city, that the purchase price was reasonable and that there was no evidence of any individual improperly benefiting from the deal.”

In the findings, the public protector made the following findings:

* That the transaction for the purchase of Erf 246 Roggebaai is found to be above board and to be generally of benefit to the public.

* That the purchase price of Erf 246 for R106 000 000 is R2 000 000 more than the initial valuation that was obtained by the CTICC on August 20, 2010, and R1 000 000 more than the subsequent updated valuation. Reports or allegations that the value of the relevant property was no more than R50 000 000, were not substantiated by the evidence obtained.

* That no evidence of collusion could be found between the city and Naspers, to short-change taxpayers.

* That no evidence could be found to substantiate the allegation that individuals improperly benefited from the transaction to purchase Erf 246 Roggebaai.

However, the public protector also found that “the city, as the purchaser in this transaction, failed to take charge of the negotiations from the outset leading to the sales agreement. This failure constituted maladministration”.

In response to the latter, Neilson noted “that while the initial negotiations with Naspers were conducted by Convenco, the relevant city officials, who have the oversight role over Convenco, were involved at that early stage”.

“It was only once the decision was taken that the city would purchase the land, rather than it be purchased by Convenco, that the city’s property management department was authorised to become involved in the process.”

The city promised to adhere to a full internal investigation, as demanded by the public protector.

Cape Argus

A Vredehoek resident was woken by a commotion outside her house and greeted by thick smoke outside her window.

Cape Town - Vredehoek resident Lauren Cohn was woken by a commotion outside her house in Bridle Road early on Wednesday and greeted by thick smoke outside her window.

Half asleep, she stumbled out of bed at about 2.40 am, looked out the window and realised that the mountain side, about 10m away from her home was engulfed in flames.

There was thick smoke outside her window and neighbours were in a panic.

Cohn is one of a group of Bridle Road residents who had to evacuate their homes early on Wednesday after a fire broke out on Table Mountain.

“The flames were hot and too close. I thought my house was going to burn down,” Cohn said. “My husband and I grabbed the children, our dogs and cat, and we ran down the driveway where a group of people had gathered. Firefighters were already on the scene.”

The city’s fire department was alerted to the fire shortly before 1am. Over 20 fire vehicles responded to the call and five helicopters were used to douse the blaze. The fire did not cause any damage to property and no one was injured.

The Cohn family has lived in the house for six years. This was the second time they have had to evacuate because of a fire.

“This one was much worse. My children were petrified. We really felt the heat from the fire… it was so hot,” she said. Cohn’s three children are aged four, seven and nine.

The family returned to their home four hours later, after firefighters managed to get the flames under control.

Cohn spent the morning making sure the firefighters were fed and hydrated: “They were brilliant and amazingly professional.”

Philip Prins, Table Mountain National Park fire manager, said the blaze started near Deer Park in Vredehoek and crept up the mountain embankment. He said over 80 firefighters were on the scene, including volunteers.

“At the moment we suspect a vagrant who stayed on the mountain overnight might have caused the fire,” said Prins

He said firefighters would monitor the scene until Friday, as south-easterly winds were expected to pick up and spark another fire.

Cape Argus

The WCape became the second province to nominate Motlanthe for ANC president, as the long road to Mangaung nears its end.

Cape Town -

The Western Cape became the second province to nominate Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe for ANC president early on Thursday morning, as the long road to Mangaung nears its end.

Gauteng and the ANC Youth League have also nominated Motlanthe - but President Jacob Zuma is still in pole position to clinch a second term at the party’s national conference, set to begin in just 10 days.

Bleary-eyed and exhausted delegates received the results of the vote after pushing on through the night to complete the nomination process.

After the results were called out, Zuma and jubilant Motlanthe supporters broke out in song and dance, competing to drown each other out, all in seemingly good spirits.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Deputy Arts and Culture Minister Joe Paahla lauded the mostly peaceful conference as “democratic… as only the ANC does”.

Late on Wednesday night, however, the engagements were markedly more tense as non-delegates caucused outside, negotiating with different factions from the fractured province.

The province’s nomination conference was delayed twice over the weekend, largely thanks to the major battle between those who want Zuma to remain in charge of the ANC and those who want Motlanthe to take the reins.

Provincial chairman Marius Fransman, who is also deputy international relations minister, is known to be backing Zuma, while provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile is a key lobbyist among those pushing for change.

On Thursday morning, Mjongile was circumspect about the Motlanthe victory, saying it was merely an “official nomination of the Western Cape”.

“Branches can still go to Mangaung and be persuaded either way [to vote differently… [But] of course every nomination counts, so of course it will boost [chances of Motlanthe accepting the nomination].”

Meanwhile, a relatively upbeat Fransman said the Western Cape conference was “basically in a situation of a 50/50 balance where Kgalema Motlanthe got 99 votes and President Jacob Zuma got 90 votes”.

“We know that as supporters of president Jacob Zuma we are taking our votes to what I believe is already 2 370 votes being taken into the national process,” he said.

There will be 4 500 voting delegates at Mangaung.

“However, we are very satisfied that the spirit was good, healthy, no bad-mouthing among comrades, and I think that’s what we were able to pull off today [Thursday].”

Zuma has been nominated for the top job in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West and Free State. He also has the support of the ANC Women’s and Veterans’ leagues.

The Limpopo nomination conference, meanwhile, was delayed again on Wednesday, according to Sapa, amid continued disputes.

Motlanthe supporters were reportedly proceeding on Thursday morning without the rival Zuma camp, who had walked out claiming the conference had not properly verified delegates.

Political Bureau

Two adults and four children were killed in a head-on collision near Touws River, a Western Cape traffic official said.

Cape Town - Two adults and four children were killed in a head-on collision near Touws River on Thursday morning, a Western Cape traffic official said.

Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said a car was driving along the N1 from Cape Town when it collided with a truck around 9.30am.

He said the truck had been travelling from Beaufort West, about 40km outside Touws River, when the collision occurred on the notorious “road of death”.

“Apparently the driver of the motor vehicle fell asleep and the vehicle moved over to the right hand side of the road in front of the truck.”

Africa said the children, aged 12 to 15, were apparently on their way to meet their father.

“He was informed of the accident and arrived at the scene devastated.”

The truck driver escaped without injury and the matter was being investigated by police.

Africa was launching the “Safely Home” road safety plan for the festive season, on the same highway closer to Cape Town, when the accident happened.

“This accident was really not [what] we expected and we are saying, enough is enough. We are not going to tolerate this nonsense anymore,” the traffic chief said.

Motorists were asked to take regular breaks on a road trip and stop every 200km or every two hours.

Sapa

Illness has again put a spoke in the wheels of Cape Town cardiologist Wouter Basson's ethical conduct hearing.

Pretoria - Illness has again put a spoke in the wheels of Cape Town cardiologist Wouter Basson's ethical conduct hearing.

Basson's hearing on charges of unethical conduct before a professional conduct committee of the Health Professions Council was supposed to resume on Thursday.

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

Basson's legal representative Jaap Cilliers SC applied for a postponement until April because two of Basson's witnesses were not available because of illness.

Toxicologist Prof Gert Muller of Stellenbosch University was to have given evidence on Thursday, but had a heart attack a few weeks ago.

Cilliers handed in a medical certificate from Muller's cardiologist that he was not allowed to travel by air and would not be able to testify.

Former surgeon general Dr Niel Knobel, who was to have resumed his evidence, was still recuperating from open-heart surgery earlier this year.

The hearing was delayed in September when the legal assessor, retired judge president Prof Frikkie Eloff, 80, was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Eloff was back at the hearing on Thursday. Basson was not present for the postponement.

Pro forma prosecutor Salie Joubert said it was expected that evidence in the hearing would be concluded within a week.

Final argument in the hearing will only be presented in July next year.

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

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

United States medical ethics expert Prof Steven Miles previously testified that Basson had violated the laws of humanity and various World Medical Association declarations and regulations.

In contrast, Knobel said Basson had been a soldier and not a doctor when he headed the chemical and biological warfare programme.

Knobel also disagreed with Miles' view that once you were a doctor, you remained a doctor and that Basson had made use of his medical knowledge and skills when he headed the programme.

It was Basson's case that the surgeon general at the time had been in overall charge of the programme and that he had only carried out orders as a soldier.

Sapa

An Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) member appeared in the Worcester Magistrate's Court for alleged possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

Cape Town -

An Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) member appeared in the Worcester Magistrate's Court on Thursday for alleged possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

Charl Smal, 43, was granted bail of R1500 and was told to return to court on January 18, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

NPA Western Cape spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said Smal was one of seven men arrested in a routine roadblock on the N1 on Tuesday morning, during farmworker protests.

Police said earlier the men were driving towards De Doorns when their car was searched. An unlicensed .308 Mauser and 60 rounds of ammunition were found.

Six of the men were released after an investigation.

AWB leader Steyn van Ronge confirmed that Smal was a member.

Table grape harvesters began protesting in De Doorns in early November for a wage of R150 a day and improved living conditions. The protests soon spread to 15 other towns, leading to violence and two deaths.

Farmworkers suspended the strike until Tuesday to allow the Employment Conditions Commission to review the sectoral determination for agriculture, which stipulates minimum wages, number of leave days, working hours, and termination rules among others.

However, many workers resumed the strike after Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said it would be impossible to address their demands by their Tuesday deadline.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) announced on Tuesday evening that the strike had ended after it came to an agreement with Agri-SA to conduct negotiations on a farm-by-farm basis.

Talks would be about the wage demand and a profit-sharing scheme.

If no agreement was reached by January 9, workers on those farms would strike again. - Sapa

An attack on a security guard at the Gugulethu community health centre has stoked the ire of the SA Medical Association.

Gugulethu - The SA Medical Association (Sama) has expressed outrage at the attack on a security guard at the Gugulethu community health centre (CHC).

The association said such attacks on clinics and hospitals could result in the deaths of health workers.

Dr Zameer Brey, the provincial chairman of Sama, said the latest attack – in which a group of men severely assaulted a security guard after he refused to let them into the clinic – was a manifestation of a total disregard for health workers’ safety in the province.

“We are deeply shocked by the failure of the provincial Department of Health to implement adequate security measures despite the number of incidents in the past few months, let alone in the past few years,” Brey said.

“We are also shocked by the disregard for health care workers’ safety in this province… it cannot be tolerated any longer.”

The department has confirmed that a security guard from the Gugulethu clinic was in critical condition in Groote Schuur Hospital after the attack by a group of alleged gangsters on Tuesday night.

Faiza Steyn, provincial Health Department spokeswoman, said the group “forced their way in and assaulted a security guard” after he allegedly refused the group entry as per the clinic’s admission policy.

Due to the severity of his injuries the security guard, from contracted company Sechaba, was later transferred to Groote Schuur Hospital.

Brey said that if the department took the security of health workers seriously, similar attacks could be avoided. He said many doctors in Gugulethu CHC were too scared to go to work following the attack.

Brey added that almost all the clinic’s doctors had stayed away on Wednesday night due to the trauma experienced on Tuesday.

“You can’t blame those doctors… most of them were deeply traumatised by what happened on Tuesday. Nobody can be expected to work under such circumstances,” he said.

While Brey said many doctors were back at work on Thursday, this did not mean that security was not in crisis at the clinic and various other clinics and hospitals around the province.

“We need long-term solutions to our security problems, and not knee-jerk reactions,” he said. “Too many attacks have happened in different hospitals in the province. How many more must happen before the department takes the issue seriously?”

Other recent attacks in Cape Town include one on a Stellenbosch University final-year medical student who was robbed at knifepoint in her sleeping quarters at Tygerberg Hospital in June. The attack came just a week after a doctor from GF Jooste was robbed at gunpoint in the hospital’s car park. Steyn said district management within the department was currently “reviewing the situation with the security company”. - Cape Argus

Police are looking for a man with a scar on his face who was seen leading Simoxolile Linosa from his home a week ago.

Cape Town - The body of a three-year-old George boy reported missing last week has been found.

The police are now looking for a man with a scar on his face who was seen leading Simoxolile Linosa from near his Thembalethu home a week ago. On Thursday night, the police released an identikit of the man.

“All the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death will be investigated,” Southern Cape police spokeswoman Bernadine Steyn said.

Two young boys discovered the toddler’s body at about 3.30pm yesterday, she said.

“The boy’s body was found in the river about 2km from where he was last seen,” Steyn said.

It was unclear whether the toddler had drowned, but this would be investigated, she said, and added that an inquest docket had been opened.

“An autopsy will be conducted… The boy’s parents will be offered trauma counselling,” Steyn said.

Asked for the family’s contact details Steyn said they did not want to speak to the media.

Linosa disappeared while playing with his friends at about 5pm on November 29. The police said the little boy was seen with a man who had a facial scar and was dressed in a white Adidas top.

Residents and the police combed the area. On Monday police divers were called after Linosa’s denim shoes were found on a rock on the river bank but they found no trace of him.

Missing Children SA spokeswoman Nicky Rheeder said: “It is so very, very sad.”

She urged parents to be extra vigilant about their children’s whereabouts during the holidays. “Teach your child basic safety tips like knowing the home address and parents’ phone numbers,” she said. - Cape Argus

A Cape man waiting to meet his four children and two of their uncles, discovered they had died in this gruesome accident.

Cape Town - A father’s worst nightmare has unfolded on a Cape “road of death”.

The man from Cape Town was travelling to the Eastern Cape at around 7am on Thursday. His four children and two of their uncles were in a second vehicle, a Toyota Venture mini-van.

They were due to meet up in Laingsburg, provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said. But, somehow, they missed each other. The Venture had continued on the N1 to Beaufort West.

Shortly after, ambulances left Laingsburg, heading towards Beaufort West too. The father followed them in his own car, Africa said. And around 40km along the N1, he and the ambulances came upon a terrible scene.

The Venture had smashed into an oncoming truck and all six people inside had been killed.

The truck driver told officers the Venture veered into his on-coming lane and they had connected head-on.

At the time of going to press, police spokesman Andre Traut said neither names nor ages had been released.

Africa said about 26 people had died on the road this festive season so far and they were planning to bring the number down from last year where 139 people died on the road during the festive season.

The latest tragedy unfolded on precisely the same day that a Western Cape provincial government cluster of MECs – Community Safety, Transport and Health – launched the seasonal “Safely Home” campaign.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said: “We will increase the detection and prosecution of road traffic offences by having all staff on duty, and will once again run a 24-hours-a-day, 7- days-a-week operation. We will also have road blocks throughout the province and will stop and check at least 200 000 vehicles during the 2012/13 festive season.”

Transport MEC Robin Carlisle said that between December 1, last year, and January 31, this year, 243 people were killed on the province’s roads.

“The province is determined to bring that number down significantly,” he vowed.

“We are on track to reduce road deaths by 50 percent by December 2014. As of the end of November, we have reduced the fatalities by 29 percent. Over the next two months, I want to see that reduction go well past the 30 percent mark.”

The trio said Safely Home activities over this festive season would include:

l The new Average Speed Over Distance (Asod) camera network enforcement system on 31.7km of road on the Three Sisters-Beaufort West to Laingsburg “death stretch” , adding to the already existing 71.6km Asod system on the Beaufort West to Aberdeen (R61) stretch.

l A partnership with SA National Taxi Council’s (Santaco) “Hlokomela” project, the goal of which is to “change the face of the taxi industry” through its road safety initiative. Industry leaders will be assisting officials at ranks and road blocks to identify unroadworthy vehicles and address drivers on safety and the need for regular rests.

l Various enforcement efforts that include fatigue management.

l Other activities centred around speeding, drunk driving, and pedestrians (who account for half the fatalities in the province). Carlisle urged: “Switch on your headlights over the festive season, and please exercise patience. There will be congestion at times, this is just a natural result of everyone wanting to experience the same fun and festivities as you do. Be patient, and our traffic officers will do their best to ease the situation.”

Health MEC Theuns Botha added: “EMS will be present on the N1, N2, N7, R62, R61 and R27, and medical response teams will be on standby to support staff at rural hospitals. This year we will also be working with taxi operators to facilitate the transport of stranded passengers. Cross-border assistance will be rendered on the N1 and N7 for the Northern Cape, and on the N2, R61 and N12 for the Eastern Cape.

“On days when large-scale partying is anticipated, EMS will have satellite operational points,” Botha reported. – Additional reporting by Neo Maditla - Cape Argus

An urgent application to halt the closure of 18 schools will be heard in court just two weeks before the new school year.

Cape Town - An urgent application to halt the closure of 18 schools will be heard in the Western Cape High Court just two weeks before the new school year, it was reported on Friday.

The Cape Times reported that the matter had been set down for December 18 and 19, with the expected closures to take place on December 31.

The provincial schools, their governing bodies and the SA Democratic Teachers' Union filed papers last week against provincial education MEC Donald Grant and his department, and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

The application seeks to prevent Grant or the department from closing or merging the schools and moving pupils, teachers, and resources.

It also asks for subsidies and salaries to be paid in the interim and that the department be forbidden from interfering in school operations.

Grant announced in October that, after careful consideration, 20 schools would be closed because of low enrolment numbers, multi-grade classes or a decline in pupil numbers.

Beauvallon Secondary School principal Henry Hockey, in an affidavit on behalf of all applicants, said the closures were unlawful and unconstitutional.

According to the report, six new schools would open at the start of the new term.

These schools were: Sunningdale Primary, Concordia Primary and Concordia High in the Eden and Karoo area, Disa High in Hout Bay, AZ Berman High in Tafelsig and Soneike High in Kuils River.

A Virgin Active gym has banned one of its members after an alleged homophobic remark was made to eNCA anchor Andrew Barnes.

Green Point - Virgin Active has banned one of its members after homophobic remarks were allegedly made to eNCA anchor Andrew Barnes.

Virgin Active spokesperson Les Aupiais told the Cape Argus they had acted decisively and shown zero tolerance.

“When you have a case like this, we look at both sides. You have a hearing, listen to both sides and you have to verify facts.

“We acted decisively and take zero tolerance and we stick with that.”

Last week, Barnes laid a complaint at the Green Point gym after he was verbally abused for kissing his partner goodbye.

He wrote on his facebook page on November 27: “Verbally abused at gym this morning by an old fart who took exception to seeing my partner kiss me goodbye… In this day and age? Seriously?

“Anyway, we’ve laid a formal complaint and the manager of Virgin Active Point will be talking to the aggro homophobe tomorrow.

“I’ll keep you posted.”

Barnes took to his Facebook page again on Thursday, thanking Virgin Active for taking a stand.

“Thank you Virgin Active for taking a stand against homophobia.

“For physically threatening my partner and verbally abusing us both, The Homophobe has been banned for life from The [Green] Point.

“He’s also been suspended from all other Virgin Active clubs for the next three months. Here’s hoping he’s learnt that discrimination and intimidation, on any grounds, are no longer tolerated.” - Cape Argus

Premier Helen Zille says a top police official used her post to try to encourage ANC members to object to a safety bill.

Cape Town - Premier Helen Zille has filed a complaint of misconduct against a senior national police official for trying to encourage ANC members of the provincial legislature to object to the draft Western Cape Community Safety Bill.

The bill is aimed at giving the Western Cape more power in its oversight role over the police and to help highlight systemic problems.

Zille said on Thursday that she received a tip-off about an e-mail allegedly sent by Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, the secretary for the police service in charge of the civilian secretariat for police service.

She submitted the complaint to Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

Mthethwa’s spokesman, Zweli Mnisi, said he had received Zille’s complaint.

Zille said the e-mail, which was sent towards the end of last month, asked that the members object to the draft bill and requested them to make a submission during the upcoming public hearings on the bill.

In the e-mail, Irish-Qhobosheane said: “Dear comrades, the DA in the Western Cape is planning legislation whereby they want to control the function of the South African police and have the provincial commissioner answer to a local board.

“They are trying to degrade SAPS to the level of municipal police. Deadline for objections is Monday, November 26, 2012. Please make your voice heard by faxing your objection… Please remember policing is not a provincial competency, but national.”

Zille said that Irish-Qhobosheane had contradicted the constitution.

“The e-mail also constitutes an abuse of state resources to promote a party political agenda,” Zille said.

“Furthermore it is intended for the explicit purpose of manipulating a public participation process for party political ends. This contradicts the purpose of public participation, which is intended to be a bona fide process and not manipulated by people with political agendas.”

Zille said it was also important to note that Irish-Qhobosheane’s comments reflected the same objections that Mthethwa had raised about the bill.

She said she and Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato had asked Mthethwa to take disciplinary action and inform them of the outcome.

Mnisi said Mthethwa would read Zille’s complaint and reply appropriately once he had done so. - Cape Argus

The FBI is looking into the rot that has plagued South Africa's social grant payouts in recent months.

Cape Town - The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into the rot that has plagued South Africa’s country’s social grant payouts in recent months.

In the Western Cape, 1.3 million people alone depend on grant payouts every month.

But the system has descended into chaos since new operators, Net1 UEPS technologies took over.

Net1 is jointly listed on the American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and on the JSE.

The US Department of Justice Criminal Division and the FBI have now teamed up to investigate possible corruption in how that company secured a R10 billion tender to issue grants here.

In August, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the process of awarding the tender was illegal and invalid.

Despite this, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) was allowed to continue using Net1 through its subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

The judge decided that although the process was flawed, cancelling the contract would be disastrous and the social service would collapse.

If the American investigation is successful, Net1 could be out of business and senior managers could face arrest.

Sassa and the Social Development Department say they have not been contacted by the FBI or the US Department of Justice Criminal Division.

Social Development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant says by law, government has a constitutional duty to make sure grant monies are paid.

“We have a five-year contract with CPS and we don’t forsee any problems,” she said.

“We have not had any contact with anyone from America, everything we [are] hearing is from the media.”

Meanwhile, the previous grant payout company AllPay, a subsidiary of ABSA, is also still going ahead with its legal appeals.

They want CPS to be replaced after the court ruling that the tender awarded to them was invalid.

This case will resume next year on the Supreme Court of Appeal’s roll.

This double court action has raised concerns that Sassa must have a back-up plan to continue paying grants if Net1 is found guilty of corruption.

The Western Cape government says it is out of their hands because the money is paid by the national authority.

Western Cape Social Development spokesperson Samatha Fourie says they also had no idea about the possible payout crisis: “We have not been informed of any developments pertaining to the issue raised.”

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

A landmark bid by five Western Cape prison officials to have an employment equity plan struck down will be heard next year.

Cape Town - A landmark bid by five Western Cape prison officials to have the department's employment equity plan struck down will be heard next year, Solidarity said on Friday.

“Everything has been finalised. The parties agreed on pre-trial minutes and the content thereof in chambers today (Friday). The agreement will be filed by no later than Tuesday,” the union's labour court head Dirk Groenewald said.

He said the union would approach the Cape Town labour court for a preferential trial date, which would likely be no later than April.

The union was acting on behalf of Pieter Davids, Christopher February, Andre Jonkers, Linda-Jean Fortuin, and Geonita Baartman.

The group, all coloured, had apparently been passed over for appointment or promotion on the basis of affirmative action.

The union seeks an order to compel the correctional services department to promote the employees and to have its equity plan declared unlawful.

The correctional services target in the Western Cape is the same as every other province - 79.3 percent target for black staff, 9.3 percent for whites, 8.8 percent for Coloureds, and 2.5 percent for Indians.

The local demographic, however, is 54 percent coloured, 26 percent black, 19 percent white, and 1 percent Indian.

According to Solidarity, the lawsuit would be the most extensive case yet in the country, as it would affect not only the department, but all affirmative action policies in the civil service.

Groenewald said papers were served on the department last week for five other coloured employees who also wanted to challenge the equity plan.

They are Desiree Merkeur, Teresa Abrahams, Deidre Jordaan, Jan Kotze, and Derick Wehr.

Papers were filed in this regard in the labour court on Friday.

Parties in the matter agreed that the two cases would be consolidated because they had the same legal basis. - Sapa

Staff at Iceland Fisheries in Koeberg Road, were subjected to a robbery by five gunmen one of whom fatally shot a man.

Maitland - A man has died, apparently after being shot by robbers at a Maitland business on Thursday night.

When Cape Argus arrived at Iceland Fisheries, in Koeberg Road, the staff were giving statements to police and were unable to comment.

Staff at Embassy Air Conditioning, a neighbouring business, said that five armed men had forced their way into Iceland Fisheries at about 6.30pm.

“We heard that the staff next door were shoved into a room shortly before shots were fired. I did not hear the shots and only found out that something had happened when police and an ambulance arrived,” said Linda Potgieter, of Embassy.

“It’s very scary, especially because there has been a spate of crime, [including] break-ins, around our building in recent weeks. We are often here alone well into the night.” – Cape Argus

Two children aged two and seven, burnt to death when a double-storey Woodstock house went up in flames on Thursday night.

Woodstock - Two children burnt to death when a double-storey Woodstock house went up in flames on Thursday night.

The victims were named as Tyrease Roberts, seven, and Tyrell Roberts, two.

The fire, which started at about 10pm, was described by Theo Layne, chief of the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue services, as “very intense.”

“The evidence suggests that it started spontaneously [possibly due to an electrical fault] and spread very quickly,” he said.

This was supported by an eyewitness account.

Deon Roberts, uncle of the deceased children, was in an upstairs room when he was alerted to the fire by a scream from downstairs.

“I wanted to run downstairs to see what was happening, but by that time the smoke was already coming up. I could see flames, so I decided it was better for me to turn around. I escaped from the top storey on to the roof of our neighbours’ house and then into the street,” he said.

Roberts said his sister, the mother of the two children, was distraught.

She and other family members had been relocated to a relative’s house nearby. A priest had been called to provide counselling for the family.

Layne said that from interviews conducted by his staff it seemed the children had been with one of their parents in a bathroom when the fire broke out. The fire apparently started in an unoccupied room next to the bathroom.

“The details of what happens next are sketchy,” said Layne.

“The parent was separated from the children. I suspect that the fire developed… in the interim, and the kids could not be reached in the bathroom again. We have had reports that some residents tried to break a hole through the single brick interior wall of the bathroom before abandoning these efforts and vacating the house.” - Cape Argus

Cape Town police have bust a counterfeit gang who thought making fake cash was as easy as scanning documents on a printer.

Cape Town - Cops have bust a counterfeit gang who thought making fake cash was as easy as scanning documents on a printer.

But a 35-year-old man and a 29-year-old female’s luck ran out on Wednesday when they were caught red-handed with R16 700 worth of counterfeit “Randela” notes.

And when police made the huge bust in Auber Street, Delft South, they expected to find a stash of drugs.

Instead they found uncut fake notes still on A4 sheets of paper.

The suspects had first scanned real “Randela” notes before copying them onto blank sheets and stuffing them into black bags.

The duo is expected to make their first court appearance on Friday at the Bellville Magistrates’ Court on a charge of being in the possession of and manufacturing counterfeit money.

But it had been an arrest of the 35-year-old male on drug charges which led police to this house.

The man had given the address as his own and once police swooped on the house, they found a bag full of fake Randela notes as well as an HP scanner.

Police confiscated one R20 note, 35 R50 notes, 110 R100 notes and 20 R200 notes.

Delft cluster police spokesperson Captain Joe Wilson tells the Daily Voice the bust forms part of their festive season operations.

“The money was found in a black bag in a cupboard in one of the back rooms,” explained Wilson.

“And the scanner was in the kitchen.”

When the Daily Voice questioned neighbours about the “money making factory”, they refused to be named and claimed they had no knowledge of what was happening.

Provincial police spokeman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut says cops believed they would find drugs instead of money.

“Members of the Delft Visible Policing Unit searched a house in Auber Street,” he said.

“The search emanated from an earlier arrest of the same suspect for the illegal possession of drugs.

“The suspect then gave the address as his, while he was arrested at another address.

“Armed with a search warrant, members were pleasantly surprised when they failed to recover any drugs but rather counterfeit money instead.”

Wilson says people found in the possession of fake cash will be arrested.

“People should look at the government badge and the metal strips on the notes [to check authenticity],” he said.

“They should look for the watermark and feel the texture of the note.”

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

After 16 years in South Africa a Dutch man’s application to remain in the country has been denied, but he won’t give up the fight.

Cape Town - He has been fighting to remain in South Africa - a place he has called home for 16 years - and thought there was light at the end of the tunnel when Public Protector Thuli Madonsela intervened, demanding that Home Affairs get its house in order.

However Thijs van Hillegondsberg’s hopes were dashed last month when Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor rejected his application. He has now briefed an advocate to lodge a court application to have the minister’s decision set aside.

Van Hillegondsberg, his wife Patricia Poelmann, and their son Ludo moved from Holland to South Africa in 1996. The couple, who live in Strand, also have two adopted South African children.

Van Hillegondsberg eventually took his battle to the Public Protector, who published a report in April in which she found the department had abused its power in his case. She gave then minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma until the end of May to remedy the situation.

After a flurry of correspondence between Dlamini-Zuma and the Public Protector, it was agreed that Van Hillegondsberg should apply for exemption in terms of the Immigration Act. He lodged the application at the end of July.

In September Dlamini-Zuma was replaced by Pandor, who wrote to Van Hillegondsberg on November 20 to say his application was rejected on the basis that there were no special circumstances.

Saturday Star

Teams from all over the country will flock to the V&A Waterfront in an attempt to achieve what the Wright brothers did many years ago.

Cape Town - Teams from all over the country will flock to the V&A Waterfront in an attempt to achieve what the Wright brothers did many years ago, at Sunday’s Red Bull Flugtag.

Forty-one teams, with high hopes for their home-crafted machines, will take the plunge off a 6m-high ramp in the hope of travelling further than their competitors before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean.

Red Bull said tomorrow’s Flugtag, in South Africa for the second time, was highly anticipated. “In the past two weeks the competition was held in San Francisco and Miami. This is the 123rd version of the competition. It was last in SA in 2002. This year we had over 400 entries and managed to narrow it down to 41 teams that will compete, with the youngest competitor just 17 years old.”

Flying machines have to weigh less than 120kg without the pilot, and the wingspan may not exceed 8m. The machines can be made from polystyrene-, hydrocarbon- or paper-based products.

Two Cape Town teams hoping to take first prize at the Waterfront’s Jetty 1 are the Grandmark Flying Matchbox and the Cape Mayans.

The Cape Mayans have built The Phoenix, a plane modelled after the Condor – a bird closely associated with Mayan culture.

“There’s been a lot of effort and love put into building our plane. We’ve been working three or four times a week for the past eight weeks. Winning would be great, but it’s more about the fun,” one of the Mayans, Jeremy Moyle, said.

Grandmark Flying Matchbox, a group of Grandmark International employees from Elsies River, have built a life-size Lion matchbox with wings.

The team is hoping to take the first prize for the Tehillah Community Collaborative, a centre which provides HIV/Aids programmes and services for the unemployed and victims of abuse in the Elsies River, Eden Park and Upington communities.

The Red Bull Flugtag starts at 10am on Sunday.

sibongakonke.mama@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

A charge of “driving under the influence of alcohol” does not require a blood test for a conviction.

Cape Town - Tell tale signs of drunk driving, and not blood tests, will be enough to land motorists in trouble with the law as the authorities seek new ways to crack down on the problem before the festive season.

Now, the authorities announced in a joint show of force on Friday, they will turn back to an existing charge of “driving under the influence of alcohol” - rather that the more commonly used “driving with a blood alcohol limit over the legal limit”, which necessitates blood testing - which means drunk drivers could be fined up to R180 000, or face as long as nine years behind bars.

Blood tests are not necessary to secure such a conviction, traffic authorities, police and prosecutors confirmed during a press conference yesterday, which was hosted by the provincial traffic department, the provincial police and the National Prosecuting Authority.

With roadblocks planned across the province during the holiday season, traffic officials will instead be looking out for the telltale signs of inebriation – unsteadiness and an inability to perform simple tasks, such as walking in a straight line or picking up a bunch of keys.

The NPA’s Mark Wakefield said that instead of simply sending suspects for blood tests, traffic officers at roadblocks would primarily search for signs of drunk driving, to use as evidence in court.

The news has, however, already prompted a top criminal attorney and a forensic expert to warn that relying on the observations of law enforcement officials to determine sobriety could be risky.

William Booth warned the authorities that their change of tack would not be without its challenges. There could be a number of innocent explanations for behaviour which could be construed as drunkenness, he argued.

Forensic expert Dr David Klatzow agreed, pointing out that the rate at which alcohol was absorbed differed between people. The observations of law enforcement officials, including that a suspect’s eyes were bloodshot or he was unsteady, would also not be able to stand up in court when challenged by a skilled cross-examiner.

Klatzow’s view was that authorities should instead focus on ensuring that forensic laboratories, which test blood samples, work efficiently.

The decision came after a workshop at the NPA’s Western Cape offices yesterday, attended by traffic officials, police, Western Cape government officials and the NPA.

Wakefield’s NPA colleague, Christhenus van der Vijver, explained that there was a misconception that a motorist had to be drunk before being charged with driving under the influence. All that was necessary was for the State to present oral evidence from the law enforcement official and a district surgeon, he said.

Van der Vijver added that the benefit was that there was no need to wait for blood tests by overburdened laboratories.

There is currently a 12- to 13-month wait for blood test results, he said.

But Van der Vijver stressed that the move did not mean blood-alcohol tests would be abolished. It meant rather that the State did not have to rely on such blood tests for convictions.

Booth warned further that someone could have a drink and get into their car minutes later to drive home. By that stage, the alcohol had not moved through the person’s system, and their ability to drive was not impaired.

On the way home, however, the person was stopped at a roadblock and taken to a district surgeon on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“It takes about an hour before the district surgeon examines the suspect and, by then, the alcohol has started to take effect,” he said.

Booth suggested that rather than changing tack in terms of law enforcement, the government could consider drastically improving the public transport system so that people did not have to drive after partying.

He added that law enforcement officials also needed to be trained in the law so that they knew when to arrest.

Over the past five years traffic officials have arrested 800 to 1 000 motorists a month for offences related to drinking and driving.

To date, the NPA has had a 90 percent conviction rate.

David Frost, head of traffic management in the Western Cape government, said more than 30 000 of the 31 323 blood samples sent for testing returned positive.

The change in focus comes about two months after a Western Cape High Court judge found that the State had not proved the blood test results in a drunk driving case, because it hadn’t followed proper procedures.

fatima.schroeder@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus