Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-11-09 i Cape Argus

Earlier interdict was ‘induced by fraud’ The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an interdict granted by Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath on March 18 – with costs – to halt the construction of Amazon’s African headquarters at the River Club with a finding that the decision “was induced by fraud”. The rescission application was heard by a full bench of judges Elizabeth Baartman, James Lekhuleni and Hayley Slingers, along with an appeal against Goliath’s order. The court came to the conclusion that Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council high commissioner Tauriq Jenkins had “misrepresented” the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin’s constitution and therefore had no authority to bring an application in their name. “It seems that Mr Jenkins was determined to stop the development at all costs. He therefore fabricated a…

POLICE have a breakthrough in the fatal shooting of ex-Americans gang boss Kaldimola “Dimes” Madatt afterthe arrest of a 32-year-old man. Madatt died in a hail of bullets in what the police said was a gang-related attack, while a 40-year-old man believed to be his bodyguard sustained a gunshot wound to his left hip. The incident occurred on Monsoon Road in Mitchells Plain, where Madatt’s body was found. His bodyguard was taken to hospital. Police said the suspect faced a charge of murder and attempted murder. IOL reported that the arrested suspect was Madatt’s son-in-law and that the incident appeared to be an “internal hit” among the Americans gang, as he was supposed to be “taken out” last Thursday but had not been. Anyone with information can contact Detective Constable…

The 14 collaboration schools in the Western Cape make high-quality no-fee education available to more than 12 300 learners in poor communities. Our collaboration school donors have contributed to the value of more than R325 million to our schools to date, a contribution to our education sector that might otherwise not have been made. Of the schools using the model, 10 are new schools, offering more than 8 300 no-fee school places to learners. We are generally seeing a positive trend in systemic test and matric results at these schools, but this is not the only reason the model is valuable. Learners at collaboration schools also benefit from access to opportunities made possible by the involvement of operating partners. The involvement of operating partners allows additional resources…

The ANC has run out of political ideas and the much-anticipated December elective conference is just going to be more of the same old issues of dealing with poverty, land distribution, inequality, unemployment but we know they are not capable of implementing those policies. Most of its proposals have been discussed before and little has been implemented. It has become a rhetoric. This conference is more about the politics of power rather than the policy direction the country should take to recover the economy, creating jobs and tackling Eskom rolling blackouts crisis which has cost the economy billions of rand. Eskom data shows that September was the worst month of rolling blackouts since it began in 2007, with altogether 1 503GWh estimated to have been shed, directly affecting 572…

'“PEOPLE always have been and they always will be the stupid victims of deceit and self-deception in politics, until they learn behind every kind of moral, religious, political, social phrase, declaration and promise to seek out the interests of this or that class or classes. “The partisans of reform and betterment will always be fooled by the defenders of the old regime, until they understand that every old institution, no matter how savage and rotten it may seem, is sustained by the forces of this or that dominant class or classes.” – Vladimir Lenin What Lenin meant when he uttered those famous words was that people will always be misled until they learn to discover the class interests of those who are driving a particular agenda. When the National Union…

There were tears and emotional scenes as the family of anti-apartheid Struggle activist Imam Abdullah Haron visited the police cells and the stairway where the imam was alleged to have had the fall which led to his death. Surrounded by friends and relatives, as well as court officials and journalists, the imam’s three children Muhammed, Fatiema and Shamila Haron stoically tried to contain their emotions during the visit, but at times found it impossible to stop the tears. The visit was part of an inspection in loco by Judge Daniel Thulare, who is presiding over the inquest, and took in Cape Town Central police station (formerly Caledon Square police station) and the Maitland police station. These were the two police stations where Imam Haron was kept and tortured during his…

Capricorn/Vrygrond residents are living in fear after renewed shootings between gangsters and those within the taxi industry. After a month of respite from a bloody weekend of shootings, resulting in several deaths, there were several shootings between taxi drivers and the Junky Funky Kids gang. Ward councillor Mandy Marr said the shootings started on Friday. “There were multiple fatalities throughout the weekend as well as on Monday, with people injured including innocent bystanders. “It’s not contained. Two of the shootings of taxi drivers took place on Prince George Drive. There were shootings in Vrygrond, as well as Overcome Heights,” she said. Marr said residents were afraid of using taxis, and taxi drivers were scared they might be targeted. “There is a general sense of instability and a fear that this…

The father of 18-year-old Cassidy Hartzenberg yesterday broke his silence after his son’s appearance in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court. The nephew of slain magistrate Romay van Rooyen stands accused of killing his aunt at her Marina Da Gama home on September 9, after she allegedly refused to give him money. He will be spending the holidays in custody as an awaiting-trial prisoner with the matter having been postponed to February 16. He faces two counts of murder and theft after an investigation by the Hawks into the 50-year-old’s death. Cassidy is the son of Van Rooyen’s sister, Tania, and was a pall-bearer at her funeral. After his son’s appearance, father Deon Hartzenberg said: “We never expected this. For me, it’s a matter of they are going to keep…

Public sector unions are readying their 840 000 members for a nationwide strike over the government’s decision to give them only a 3% wage increase. The Public Servants Association (PSA) said its 235 000 members would strike in all provinces on Thursday. The PSA’s Western Cape members will be marching to Parliament where they will hand over a memorandum to Premier Alan Winde’s representative at 1pm on Thursday. After a seven-month deadlock on salaries, and to the ire of unions, acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi implemented a unilateral 3% wage increase, which was followed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana rubber-stamping the average wage bill increase rate at 3% in his recent mini-budget. The unilateral implementation came after negotiations between the government and labour collapsed, leading to unions’…

The DA has slammed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan for a last-minute postponement of a standing committee on public accounts sitting at which he was expected to be quizzed on the contentious SAA-Takatso deal. At the weekend, Gordhan wrote a letter to Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa, requesting to be excused from the meeting that was supposed to have taken place yesterday as he had been asked by President Cyril Ramaphosa to accompany him on a State visit “late” last week. “This will clash with your planned meeting, at which I would have wanted to be present. As you know, the (SAA-Takatso) transaction is being led by the Department of Public Enterprises. I am therefore requesting a postponement so that I can attend on my return from Kenya,” Gordhan wrote. DA…

The various portfolio committees in Parliament have a duty to oversee and monitor all the departments within the civil service and many other institutions. The Zondo Commission specifically pointed out that Parliament had failed the country by not exercising its oversight role seriously and properly. I regularly attend the portfolio committee on employment and labour. Unfortunately, most of the members of all the oversight bodies are made up of the ANC. The governing party tends to heavily support the directors-general of all the various departments. It is rare for the governing party to put a government entity to terms. To this end, Justice Raymond Zondo was correct. Last week, I attended the portfolio committee on employment and labour, to hear its report on the third quarter performance of the Department…

As competition for leadership of the ANC at its December elective conference heats up, many candidates are busy looking for scapegoats to shore their support. One of the most convenient, populist and diversionary tactics is to attack the judiciary for being anti-transformation and to blame for the rut in which the country finds itself. The judiciary is not sacrosanct and is open to criticism like any other structure of society. But what is problematic is the vacuous criticism directed at it. For one, who is responsible between the executive, legislature and judiciary for the transformation of the country? The judiciary is not there to drive transformation, which is a political project. Judges apply laws that are put into place by the politicians that accuse them of anti-transformation.…

THE threat on the life of the editor of one of our Independent Media titles, The Star in Johannesburg, serves as a reminder of the treacherous terrain our journalists are forced to navigate in the course of their daily work. Indeed, the pursuit of truth, and service to the public by keeping them informed, are not for the faint-hearted. It is a calling that requires a special breed of individual. It demands courage, determination and a commitment to making our communities, our country and our world a better place. Sadly, there are those who would seek to silence our journalists, to keep them from finding and telling the truth – and would resort to criminal and violent lengths to that end. Editor Sifiso Mahlangu found this to his dismay when…

Afrikaans language and cultural exclusion, toxic culture of residences, intimidation, bullying, mistreatment of staff, and middle management resistance to transformation, were some of the findings in the report into racism at Stellenbosch University (SU). SU rector and vice-chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers received the independent report on findings of the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry, led by retired judge, Sisi Khampepe. The inquiry formally commenced on June 13 was prompted by two incidents of alleged racism in May - one in which white student Theuns du Toit urinated on the belongings of black student Babalo Ndwayana. A call for submissions attracted a mere 22 submissions by deadline. The commission sought expert testimony from acclaimed and highly respected professors, Jonathan Jansen, Thuli Madonsela and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. The report found that SU’s Student…

As the Bonteheuwel A and B Blocks areas are seeing an increase in gang shootings due to what ward councillor Angus McKenzie says is the early release of gang members from prison, the Wilson family were mourning the death of their son who was killed for allegedly refusing to join the gangs. Twenty-eight-year-old Jermaine’s life was cut short on Sunday afternoon by three men who stabbed him multiple times in the chest. He died in hospital two hours after the incident. Speaking on behalf of the family, Jermaine’s aunt, Mary Hendricks, said they were distraught and still coming to terms with his passing. She said it was especially tough for Jermaine’s fiancée, Simone, with whom he was planning a wedding for early next year. Jermaine leaves behind two children, aged…

The Black Sash says it is engaging the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Postbank on ongoing challenges which recently saw millions of social grant beneficiaries unable to access their monies. Black Sash national director Rachel Bukasa said: “We are well aware of the problems that are being experienced on the ground and we are disappointed to see this happening. “However, we have been engaging with Postbank, Sassa and the other parties who are aware of the problem and we are currently dealing with that. “As soon as we have more updates we will provide that, but it is heartbreaking for the beneficiaries.” Last week, Sassa issued a warning to social grants recipients using its gold cards to collect their monies at retailers and ATMs as over-the-counter withdrawals at Post…

The ANC led a long and protracted resistance against racism. The day came that the ANC threw out its erstwhile enemies and started a new dawn of freedom. Amazingly, it then sat down with the very people it thought to replace and displace. It construed, with the help of its erstwhile sworn enemies, a constitution that basically brought nothing new and hardly changed the status quo. The education structures of the past were thrown out as a political act, a disaster from which we have yet to recover. We introduced – with minimal consultation with educationists like myself – the gruel called OBE. Thankfully, we have since moved on, although I cannot see us undoing the damage within the foreseeable future. Both of the above instances of ANC behaviour demonstrate…

Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter on October 27, the world’s richest man proposed controversial changes to the platform, tweeted out from his Twitter account. Primarily to raise revenue, one idea was to charge $8 (R142) a month for verified status – the coveted blue tick badge next to the account handle. Within days, the paid verification has already been rolled out in several countries, including Australia, under the Twitter Blue subscription service. Twitter says the blue tick lets people know an account of interest is authentic. There are seven categories of “public interest accounts” – government office accounts, news organisations and journalists, and influencers. Yet this seemingly innocuous little blue icon is far from a simple verification tool in Twitter’s fight against impersonation and fraud. In the public view,…

Americans cast the final ballots yesterday in US midterm elections that will determine whether Democrats lose control of Congress, and with it the ability to push forward on President Joe Biden’s agenda in the next two years. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in midterm elections, and nonpartisan forecasts suggest the results will be no exception, as concerns about high inflation and crime outweigh the end of national abortion rights and the violence of the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol in voters’ minds. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot. Republicans are widely favoured to pick up the five seats they need to control the House, while the Senate – currently split 50-50 with Democrats holding the…

South African cricket is again in a state of disaster. It inevitably occurs around this stage of major ICC tournaments. But Monday’s headline in the Cape Times could not have described it any better: ‘The Greatest Choke of Them All’. The 13-run defeat to the Netherlands at the Adelaide Oval in the T20 World Cup is undoubtedly the Proteas’ lowest point since readmission in 1991. The obvious reaction to such a nadir would be to target the coach. But in this instance, Mark Boucher was already destined to vacate the hot seat at the conclusion of the tournament. The captain is normally next in the firing line. But considering the trauma Temba Bavuma has experienced over the past few months – even before the Dutch debacle – it would not…