BY Yoliswa Sobuwa

On Monday, doctors working at clinics in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape had to juggle between taking care of patients, and using their private cars to drive other patients referred to hospitals from their facilities. Nurses say they had to ask patients’ relatives to find private cars to drive them to hospitals.

This comes as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel downed tools or parked ambulances after two paramedics were robbed at gunpoint outside a clinic in Kwazakhele township on Monday morning.

The South African Emergency Personnel’s Union (SAEPU) Eastern Cape chairperson Luyanda Norushu says they downed tools because attacks on paramedics are continuing unabated. Attacks on paramedics around the country have been an ongoing issue for years now. 

A doctor working in one of the clinics says they had no choice but to leave their duties and transport patients. “In our clinic, we had patients who urgently needed to be transferred to hospital. Unfortunately, there were no ambulances and we could not let them die. I drove the patients to the hospital which is about 20 km away two times,” he tells Health-e News. 

He says other patients were not happy as they had to wait longer. 

A nurse working in another clinic says it was a chaotic day as they had to ask relatives of patients referred to the hospital to find their transport.

“We have a WhatsApp group where we request ambulances but they were ignoring us. Our doctor rushed two patients to the hospital in his car,” she says.

Paramedics ambushed 

Norushu says on Monday morning just after 8am an EMS crew working in the Kwazakhele clinic were confronted by six suspects who robbed them of their personal belongings.

“They drove away with the ambulance but it stopped a few minutes away,” he says. 

He says this is one of the areas where EMS workers need a police escort. 

“The attacks on our members have been an everyday thing. Everyday there is a gunshot in Gqeberha. However when we get to the scene it becomes difficult to assist the patient as people will start shooting at us,” he says. 

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Norushu says when they go to a scene without the police, some people take advantage and rob them. 

“When we arrive late at the scene we get attacked by community members. But they don’t understand that it takes time for us to go to the police station and get a police escort.”

Cries falling on deaf ears 

Norushu says SAEPU has engaged with EMS management and the Eastern Cape Health Department about the attacks on EMS but nothing has been done.

“Even with the event that happened on Monday, no one said anything. On Tuesday (today), we decided to go back to work because it’s unfair to punish other communities. But we have decided not to provide services to Kwazakhele township until the police have arrested the suspects.”  

Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Captain Andre Beetge confirms the incident. He says the suspects tried to drive off with the ambulance but abandoned it and fled on foot. “Police are investigating a case of attempted hijacking,” he says.

Sizwe Kupelo, Eastern Cape ealth spokesperson, says the department is gravely concerned about these attacks.

“These attacks adversely affect service delivery. We call on broader community structures to come together to find ways to put a stop to these barbaric attacks on our employees,” he says. 

Country wide issue 

According to a statement issued last year already by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), these attacks have been happening across the country.

“The situation is getting more dire with some areas classified as hotspots where responses to emergency calls require armed escort by either police and private security firms. As a result this interferes with the services that are being provided by EMS,” read the statement. – Health-e News

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A post,

Damning report on “state of disrepair” of many police stations, first appeared on Groundup.

By Matthew Hirsch

Parliament’s portfolio committee on police presented a report on Wednesday. One of the recommendations was for SAPS to be less defendant on Public Works for its maintenance and leasing. Archive photo: Matthew Hirsch

A recent report by Parliament’s portfolio committee on police found that the “state of disrepair” of many police stations has a negative impact on the morale of officers.
The report aims to assist MPs who take over from the current committee in the next Parliamentary term.
The report highlighted SAPS’s significant challenges with infrastructure development, the maintenance of police stations and leasing.
The committee recommended that SAPS finds a way to be less dependent on Public Works.

The “state of disrepair” of many police stations has a negative impact on the morale of the officers. It also “portrays an unprofessional image” to the communities in which they serve.

This is according to a recent “legacy” report presented virtually to Parliament’s portfolio committee on police on Wednesday.

The report, compiled to assist those taking over from the current committee, highlighted the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) significant challenges with infrastructure development, the maintenance of police facilities and leasing.

Legacy report

“SAPS is heavily dependent on the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) for the construction, upgrade, and maintenance of police infrastructure. The deficiencies in the DPWI must be addressed at a National Government level,” the report read.

The committee recommended that the SAPS consider alternative methods of infrastructure and lease management to “lessen the dependency on the DPWI” and to “bring policing services closer to communities and improve the working conditions”.

MP Brandon Golding (DA) said it was “imperative that we call these other agencies (like Public Works) to account. We need them to present a report because SAPS is being hamstrung by external issues”.

Virgill Gericke (EFF) agreed with Golding. “We cannot be business as usual. The lack of involvement may contribute to the increase of crime in these areas,” he said.

The report stated that departments should give feedback on the recommendations by 15 May 2024. “These will be made available to the 7th Parliament to further guide oversight,” it read.

State of SAPS buildings

The dilapidation of police buildings has been under the spotlight recently. At a meeting earlier this month, Police Minister Bheki Cele admitted that he had been working from home for the past four years due to the state of the Telkom Towers building in Pretoria.

This building was meant to be the national headquarters of SAPS. It was declared unfit for human use and was flagged by the Auditor-General as a material irregularity. The Auditor-General found that only one of nine buildings in the complex was ever occupied by SAPS.

In a statement, MP Sello Seitlholo (DA), who sits on the Portfolio Committee of Public Works and Infrastructure, called for a full review of the department’s mandate. “The state of the Telkom Towers is not a new issue as it was flagged by the Auditor-General in 2021,” he said.

“Aside from the fact that money has been spent on the buildings, Public Works is still paying rent for SAPS at a number of properties that should have been vacated years ago had SAPS taken occupation of Telkom Towers,” he said

Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala earlier this month told MPs that the department’s forensic investigation into the Telkom Towers debacle would “start soon”.

However, the Telkom Towers building remains closed since staff were evacuated in February.

Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili during a briefing in Parliament last week said that some police members were still working from home “while they waited for office space from the DPWI”.

The National Intervention Unit (NIU) office in Pretoria was also flagged by the police union, Solidarity.

Mosikili acknowledged that there “is no supply of clean drinking water … while power cables are being stolen”. But she added that the repairs and maintenance of this building is the responsibility of Public Works.

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A post,

Intercape attacks: the ‘murderous’ taxi boss at the center of the long distance bus extortion saga, first appeared on Amabhungane

AmaBhungane can reveal that notorious Eastern Cape taxi boss Bonke Makalala – currently facing a string of charges in the Western Cape, including murder, attempted murder and impersonating a police officer – played a key role in attempts by taxi formations to force long distance bus operators to stop competing with minibus taxis.

This throws a new light on claims made under oath by SAPS provincial commanders and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) that they could find no evidence that repeated attacks on Intercape buses was part of an organised crime campaign to intimidate Intercape and other bus operators.

This despite Intercape previously putting up evidence showing that it was Makalala who formally presented the taxi bosses’ demands at a meeting with bus operators in March 2022, pushing them to raise their prices and deliver other concessions in order to ‘normalise’ the situation and bring the violence and intimidation to an end.

AmaBhungane has previously reported on how the Eastern Cape high court skewered police over their failure to investigate attacks on Intercape buses as organised crime.

The court ordered the police to conduct a proper investigation, overseen by the court and the National Prosecuting Authority’s investigating directorate (ID).

Instead of latching onto the evidence provided by Intercape – including on Makalala’s role – both SAPS and the NPA have opted to appeal the ruling. (Watch our video on the case here.)

Perhaps it was not clear to the police and NPA just who Makalala was. That excuse is no longer tenable, if it ever was.   

In the last months, Makalala has been in and out of three Western Cape magistrate’s courts (Wynberg, Blue Downs and Simon’s Town) on separate charges of impersonating a police officer, murder, two attempted murders and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Makalala, who hails from Tsolo in the Eastern Cape, was arrested in Pretoria in December last year on alleged crimes dating back to 2018 and 2019 and is currently in custody pending the outcome of a bail application amid allegations he attempted to bribe prison officials while in custody in Malmesbury. 

Makalala faces one count of the murder of a man in Nyanga on 13 December 2019 and the attempted murder of a woman and a child. He also faces charges of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition that date back to 2018, as well as similar charges flowing from the recovery of a pistol and ammunition during his arrest in Pretoria.

He has proclaimed his innocence on all counts.

But he also features prominently in the series of cases brought by Intercape to try to stop the attacks on buses and the harassment of their staff and passengers.

According to the court papers, on 28 March 2022 Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira, alongside other long distance bus operators, attended a meeting in East London with representatives of various taxi associations from the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA), the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA), UNCEDO and the Gauteng Taxi Association.

Ferreira states under oath that “at this meeting, the representatives of the long-distance bus operators were brazenly informed by the taxi representatives that the only way to resolve the issues between the parties (i.e. to stop the violence) was for the long-distance bus operators to agree to certain terms and conditions… [the] meeting was led by a man named Bonke Makalaia, who is affiliated with CATA.”

Ferreira alleges Makalala wrote instructions on a whiteboard detailing how the bus companies should inflate their prices.

The terms Makalala wanted long distance bus operators to adhere to included increasing their ticket price to R1000.00, limiting the number of buses per day, and indicating that bus operators may no longer stop in a number of towns in the Eastern Cape, specifically iDutywa. Butterworth, Ngcobo, Tsomo, Cofimvaba, Gcuwa and Nqamakwe.

Ferreira refused to agree to the terms set out by the taxi associations.

In his affidavit he said a photograph of Makalala presenting the demands and other photographs taken during this meeting were provided to both the SAPS and the DPCI, as was a recording of the meeting.

Ferreira said that in April 2022 he agreed to meet with one of those present at the East London meeting – a certain “Hamilton”, who was representing the Gauteng Taxi Association

Makalala also joined this meeting at Menlyn Main, Pretoria, where Ferreira alleges he was told that if Intercape paid an undisclosed sum of money, the restrictions placed on them by taxi associations would be lifted. Later, at another meeting where Makalala was not present, a figure of R5-million was mentioned, claims Ferreira.

Intercape refused to buckle, but owing to the violence was forced to stop operating in the towns designated “no-go zones” by the taxi bosses.

Ferreira told the court that “the criminals who are behind these attacks are profiting from their reign of terror… first, by demanding extortion payments from long-distance bus companies against the threat of ongoing violent attacks; and second, by preventing long-distance bus companies from operating in certain areas and thereby eliminating any competition for taxi associations within the long-distance transport industry.”

According to Ferreira, in Makalala’s case the scheme went even further.

He points out that in the second half of 2022, Makalala seized the opportunity presented by the “no-go zones” to start his own long-distance bus company servicing these areas: Makalala Trans.

Makalala brought in his own buses to operate in hotspot areas where Intercape had halted operations.

Ferreira notes that “this appears to represent the next step in the stratagem of those behind the acts of violence; to fill the void created by their campaign of violence with their own services.”

According to the Makalala Trans web page, Makalala currently owns 17 taxis and 4 buses, and has 42 employees. The buses operate mainly between Cape Town and Mthatha, with the company office in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape.

Ferreira claims that “Makalala Trans is operating at least some of its buses without valid operating licences. Two Makalala Trans buses were impounded on 30 July 2022 and 2 December 2022. These impoundments, however, were immediately followed with what appear to be retaliatory attacks on Intercape…

“These attacks also make it clear that Makalala Trans strategy of violence will not only be implemented to establish itself in the market, but will be used to squash any opposition and remove any competition,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira notes taxi operators set up a WhatsApp chat group that included representatives of the bus companies to monitor compliance with their demands.

They also circulated details of a bank account into which the long-distance bus operators were required to make “donations” towards the travel costs of the taxi representatives. “I suspect that this is the same account that would be used by taxi representatives to receive any payment of extortion money from bus operators,” Ferreira observed.

He argues that while it was hard to link the taxi bosses directly to the multiple incidents of violence on the ground, viewed in the broader context of demands from the taxi associations the attacks constituted elements of a “pattern of racketeering activity” under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).

Makalala’s conduct in particular, Ferreira alleges, appears to fit the description of an offence under POCA in that he appeared to have received benefits “derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity”.

This was either directly through the protection money paid via “donations” by bus operators or indirectly through the proceeds generated by his own bus business, “which he obtained by using violence to push other operators (including Intercape) out of certain areas in order to create a monopoly for his services”.

Although Intercape is still struggling to get SAPS provincial commissioners to investigate the bus attacks as organised crime, there does appear to be increased national focus on Makalala as a significant figure in a wider criminal ecosystem.

Police said his arrest in Pretoria on 9 December 2023 came as the result of a joint operation between the Western Cape provincial detectives, Pretoria National Intervention Unit, Eastern Cape and Head Office Crime Intelligence.

In a speech on 16 February this year unveiling the latest quarterly crime statistics, police minister Bheki Cele also appeared to link Makalala indirectly to extortion in the Western Cape.

In a section of his speech titled “Construction Mafia,” Cele stated that “the Western Cape province has also made significant progress in dismantling and taking down those behind the 30% construction mafia grouping where projects were delayed as a result of acts of criminality. Amongst the many arrested include the Kingpins which include Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson and three others.”

Under the same heading, Cele went on to refer to the arrest of Makalala “for taxi violence related activities”.

Cele did not indicate why he placed Makalala in this context, and amaBhungane has no independent information linking him to the so-called “construction mafia”.

Meanwhile, the trail of bodies emerging in Makalala’s wake has grown, even while he is behind bars.

The charge of impersonating a police officer stems from an investigation prompted by a video that emerged online showing Makalala driving a marked police van and using its built-in loudhailer.

Two Nyanga based police officers were arrested in December for allegedly allowing Makalala to make unauthorised use of a state vehicle. Both were released on bail.

One of the two was killed in a shooting on the evening of 25 February in the Masiphumelele informal settlement on the South Peninsula. Gunmen opened fire, killing two people, including the police constable, and seriously injuring two others.  The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but there has been one unconfirmed report that the policeman was due to testify against Makalala.

The post Intercape attacks: the ‘murderous’ taxi boss at the centre of the long distance bus extortion saga appeared first on amaBhungane.

The post Intercape attacks: the ‘murderous’ taxi boss at the center of the long distance bus extortion saga appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

Criminals are using Artificial Intelligence to steal our money, first appeared on Grocott’s.

By Ross Marriner

Being financially successful is not only about growing your wealth but also about keeping it. Retaining your wealth is becoming harder than ever, as criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to try to extract money from you. Some are using artificial intelligence systems designed to produce text, audio, and even video footage that can fool not only individual victims but also systems that have been developed to identify viruses and scams.

We recently received queries from individuals who came across social media postings. In these clips, well-known entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Johan Rupert appeared to endorse a new trading app. This wonder product promised to turn relatively small one-time investments into huge amounts of income per month using Artificial Intelligence. The footage looked genuine, but it was completely computer-generated. It has been reported that many unsuspecting individuals have fallen for this scam and subsequently lost a lot of their hard-earned cash in the process.

The threat of falling for financial scams appears to be greater than ever before. Now that programmes can clone voices, images and writing styles, it is not just older people who are being targeted. Criminals are using Artificial Intelligence to create increasingly sophisticated emails and messages that can fool even the most tech-savvy people. These scams often appear to originate from trusted organisations such as banks, SARS or government agencies and can be very difficult to detect.

A common scam is for you to receive an email that appears to be from your bank or SARS. The email will ask you to update your account details by clicking on a link. The website may look real, but it is a fake site designed to steal your personal information including your login details.

Another common scam is technical support. Here, scammers pretend to offer help with computer issues, such as Microsoft upgrades. They will try to trick you with pop-ups, phone calls, or emails to get access to your devices or make you pay for unnecessary services. Your computer may display a message indicating the existence of a virus and instructing you to call a toll-free number for assistance immediately. This is a scam. Legitimate technology support companies will never contact you out of the blue.

Protecting yourself from Artificial intelligence-driven fraud requires a combination of awareness, caution and education. Always be on the lookout for unexpected requests for personal information, urgent requests for payments or device access, like emails, calls, or pop-ups.

It is important to independently verify the credentials of individuals or organisations that contact you. Instead of relying on the information provided by the caller or the content of an email, rather use official contact information from trusted sources to reach out and confirm the authenticity of the communication.

Finally, always ensure that your antivirus software is up-to-date and back up your data regularly. Education, sound judgment and a healthy dose of scepticism are our best defences against becoming a victim of cyber theft. If an opportunity sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

Rands and Sense is a monthly column written by
Ross Marriner, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® with PSG Wealth.
His Financial Planning Office number is 046 622 2891

The post Criminals are using Artificial Intelligence to steal our money appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

Magistrate appalled by more delays in Durban police brutality case, first appeared on Groundup.

By Benita Enoch

From left to right: Jones Naicker (Regan Naidoo’s grandfather), Siva Mudley (family friend), Timothy Naidoo (Regan’s father), and Jeffery Mahalingan (Regan’s uncle) outside court. The trial of 18 police officers for his death in custody has again been postponed. Photo: Benita Enoch

The trial of 18 police officers for the death-in-custody of Regan Naidoo in 2018 has been delayed yet again.
On Tuesday, the pretrial conference was adjourned to 31 May in the Durban Magistrates’ Court.
The new defence team said it had underestimated the volume of documents.
Magistrate Maryn Mewalal warned the state and the defence against further “unnecessary, unreasonable and unjust” delays.
The numerous postponements since Nadioo’s death six years ago have been an ordeal for the family.

The pretrial conference of a death-in-custody case involving 18 police officers was adjourned to 31 May in the Durban Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Magistrate Maryn Mewalal said she was concerned about “the unnecessary, unreasonable and unjust delays this case has endured.”

The officers, many of them attached to the Chatsworth police station, are facing trial after Regan Naidoo, 32, died in police custody in August 2018. Naidoo had been apprehended at a petrol station in Chatsworth on suspicion of being in possession of a firearm used in a crime.

After an investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), initially 22 officers were arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, torture, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.

There are three defence teams representing the accused.

At the last convening, on 23 February, advocate Anesh Sukdeo, who had been appointed the day before to represent three of the accused, said he would be ready for the pretrial conference. But on Tuesday, advocate Khuzwayo attended court on his behalf and informed the magistrate that the documents had been too voluminous to get through in time.

Magistrate Mewalal asked why Sukdeo could not be in court to answer for his previous assurances and to advise the court how much time he still needed. Khuzwayo said he was in court on Sukdeo’s instruction, and that they would be ready by the end of July.

Mewalal rejected this request and set a new pretrial hearing for 31 May.

She said the state and the defence would have to make the time to get through the workload to get the case moving forward.

She adjourned the matter and extended bail for the accused.

Divashin Govender, who is representing one of the accused, told GroundUp his client was being prejudiced by the delays caused by the state and other defence teams. “We have been ready for years,” he said outside court.

Naidoo’s widow, Kerosha, was at court with the family.

“We have to face them [the accused] every time we come to court,” she said tearfully. “They are out on bail, but our lives will never be the same. It takes me days to recover after seeing them in court. I am a single mother, raising two children on my own. I have to put on a brave face when I go home.”

She was six months pregnant with their second child when he died.

“My son is old enough to ask where his father is and I still don’t know how to tell him.”

Regan’s father Timothy Naidoo welcomed Magistrate Mewalal’s firm stance on addressing the time wasted on postponements.

The post Magistrate appalled by more delays in Durban police brutality case appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

Library services crippled in Nelson Mandela Bay, first appeared on Groundup.

By Joseph Chirume

Motherwell Library has not re-opened after it was closed for the Covid lockdown in March 2020. Photo: Joseph Chirume.

The libraries of Motherwell, Zwide, Allanridge, KwaMagxaki and Chatty are not functioning.
This leaves the main townships of Gqerberha with only the New Brighton library, the northern townships with only the Gelvandale library, and the townships of Kariega with only the KwaNobuhle library.
For nearly a month the municipality has not replied to our questions

The last few years have been tough on libraries in Nelson Mandela Bay. After closing during Covid lockdown in March 2020, many were left to ruin and a number of libraries could not reopen in August 2021. Some of them are still closed years later.

Libraries in Motherwell, Zwide, Allanridge, KwaMagxaki and Chatty have all been severely vandalised. This leaves the main townships of Gqerberha with only the New Brighton library; the northern townships with only the Gelvandale library; and the townships of Kariega with only the KwaNobuhle library.

Ward 35 Councillor Noline Moodley standing in the rubble of the vandalised Chatty Library. Photo supplied

Ward 35 Councillor Noline Moodley (DA) said the Chatty Library has been vandalised beyond repair. Learners in the area are struggling to do their school work without its services.

“I had endless troubles with drug addicted guys breaking everything down just for a quick fix. We had asked for the provision of security but all fell on deaf ears,” said Moodley.

“We went there to clean up on lots of occasions. But without security, it was just a wasted effort. Learners now have to travel to the West End library in ward 34,” she said.

The Motherwell Library never opened after it was vandalised during the Covid lockdown in 2020. Then in May and again in July 2022 it was damaged by fires.

It used to be well stocked and one of the few libraries offering braille services. The nearest library is 13km away in New Brighton.

“It baffles me to see a once beacon of our community falling victim to criminals, who, ironically, stay within this community,” said resident Edmund Ngwevu.

“The library was stacked with a variety of books, journals, magazines and newspapers that dated back several decades. I used to spend my free time here perusing old magazines and newspapers to educate myself about the struggle against apartheid.”

The province’s top performing public school, Soqhayisa Senior Secondary, is located less than 100 metres from the library. English teacher Thembi Mamatu said, “It’s heartbreaking that the library is not operating. It has been a pillar for our learners because the school does not have a functioning library.”

Physical Science teacher Phumeza Koyo said, “The closing of the library has badly disadvantaged our learners because they used to go there to learn by supplementing what we taught them and would get books that are not found at the school. Now they can’t do it.”

She said residents used the library and its computers, and could look for jobs and other opportunities. “So its continued closure disadvantages the entire community of Motherwell,” said Koyo.

Ward 57 Councillor Thembinkosi Maswana (ANC) is hoping the library will be refurbished this coming financial year. He said he was informed that R7-million had been set aside for this.

Ward 10 Councillor Lenny Moodley (DA) said the Gelvandale library was in an area with a high crime rate; learners travelling there were at risk.

“I am fighting to have a library here in Malabar. We have been abandoned for many years. Our children have no libraries. We have three informal settlements and I am starting my own project to establish libraries in all the settlements,” said Moodley.

GroundUp has tried to get answers to our questions about the libraries from the municipality for nearly a month.

People have to travel over 15km to use New Brighton library, one of the only functioning libraries in the townships of Gqeberha. Photo: Joseph Chirume.

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A post,

Library vandalism hits learners hard in Philippi, first appeared on Groundup.

By Sandiso Phaliso

The Brown’s Farm library in Cape Town has been closed since last August when it was broken into and badly damaged. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso

The library in Brown’s Farm, Philippi, in Cape Town, has been closed for seven months after it was vandalised, and may not be open again for another five months, leaving tens of thousands of users in the lurch.

The library, the only one in the area, was attacked on 7 August. Criminals stole and damaged books, computers and other appliances, broke windows and doors. Fifteen computers were lost. City of Cape Town spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said it would cost R4-million to fix the library and the money had not been budgeted in the current financial year.

He said repairs would only start in the financial year starting July 2024. For now, patrons have to walk about 3km or pay a R20 return taxi trip to the nearest libraries, in Crossroads or Weltevreden Valley.

According to Tyhalibongo, nearly 60,000 people visited the library last year. More than 13,500 books were borrowed and more than 3,747 people used the computers.

Thamsanqa Masiza, a Grade 12 learner at a nearby school, said the thieves have robbed learners of access to a scarce resource.

“Vandalism of community assets should be harshly punished because it is the community that suffers,” he said. “Currently we are finding it difficult to study and access the internet because most of us learners don’t have the money to pay for an internet cafe.”

Another library user, Mnqobi Maluleke, said the library had been vandalised many times and the authorities “must be fed up with fixing it”.

“But that is not our fault as library users,” he said. “We love this facility and it is helping us.”

Maluleke said if the library had been in a more affluent area it would have been fixed much faster. “The nearest library is far, and it is unsafe travelling to other areas and learners don’t have transport money to and from those areas,” he said.

The Khayelitsha library is also closed, after a fire on 1 February. Other libraries in the city, including the Bellville library which was broken into five times last year, are operating.

The post Library vandalism hits learners hard in Philippi appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

How to spend 12 years building a police station, first appeared on groundup.

By Bernard Chiguvare

The only police station in Vuwani, Limpopo is yet to be completed nearly 12 years after it was first built. Photos: Bernard Chiguvare

The only police station in Vuwani remains incomplete nearly 12 years after it was first built.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala, says it has been marred by several delays due to incompetent contractors.
Over the years, the department paid tens of millions of rands to contractors, but only a fraction of that been recovered to date.
Last week Zikalala announced that a new contractor was appointed. The station is expected to be completed by September 2025.

Construction of the only police station in Vuwani, Limpopo, started in 2012 and is yet to be finished.

Until 2021 police officers were forced to work from mobile units as a result of several delays with two different contractors to complete the administration block.

Vuwani has 125 police officers, who service about 96 villages. They have been working under difficult conditions including inadequate office space and having no holding cells.

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala said construction has been delayed several times over the years because of incompetent contractors.

The department has paid millions of rands to contractors, but only a fraction of this been recovered.

In 2012 the department awarded the first contract for over R27-million but work stalled when the contractor ran out of cash. The contract was terminated in 2013. At that stage only 20% of the work had been done. The department had only paid R7.5-million at the time.

The incomplete administration block. Police are only able to use a few offices inside this building.

The second contractor worked on the project from 2015 to 2021. The department said it again had to terminate the contract because the contractor had “cash flow problems”. About R36-million had been paid to this contractor.

Last week, Zikalala announced that a third contractor had been appointed and work was expected to be completed by 25 September 2025, at an estimated cost of R26.9-million.

Addressing Vuwani residents during a site visit at the station last week, Zikalala acknowledged that they had in the past made mistakes by appointing the cheapest contractors who turned out to not have adequate capacity to do the job.

The department’s acting deputy director, Nkosana Kubeka, said the current contractor has been tasked with completing the community service centre which included the police barracks, administration block, 11 holding cells, paving the station, the laboratory, installing a water tank and a fence.

In addition to this, the laboratory needs a ceiling, the cupboards must be repaired as well as plumbing. While the holding cells still need plumbing, ventilation, electricity and flooring.

Currently suspects are transported to the holding cells at Thohoyandou police station which is about 30km away. “We are happy that the project is taking shape. This will help in executing our duties,” said Vhembe District Commissioner Eddie van der Walt.

Kubeka told GroundUp that progress on the project will now be closely monitored by officials. “One of the senior managers from the national office has been assigned to check on this project. We will hold monthly meetings and give progress reports to the minister every two months,” promised Kubeka.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala (centre in reflective vest) walks through the unfinished Vuwani police station with senior provincial government and SAPS officials.

The post How to spend 12 years building a police station appeared first on Vuka News.

By Luvuyo Mjekula 

The post Lengthy sentences a bittersweet victory for murdered women’s grief-stricken families appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

Prasa promises trains for Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain by year-end, first appeared on Elitsha.

Raymond Maseko, regional manager of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) announced that trains would be running along the central line by the end of the year. Maseko was briefing civic organisations and the media on progress that Prasa has made in rehabilitating the central line .

“We are hard at work to recover just the line between Philippi [Station] and Nolungile [Station] within the first quarter of our financial year. By June, people in that section should be able to see a train,” he said. “As a commitment from Prasa, the central line community will see a train by the end of the calendar year at all train stations that we have within the central corridor.” Prasa has recovered 101 train stations “through collaboration with communities,” and is now recovering 11 stations, he said.

The central line was suspended in November 2019 following a spate of vandalism on the train tracks and has not resumed since. According to Prasa, the central line, which serves Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, used to transport 420,000 commuters daily.

As landless people lost sources of income as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and 2021, they occupied vacant land around Cape Town including along the railway tracks. Over 1,000 families currently live on the Langa line.

Hundreds of families have been relocated from the Philippi train tracks while thousands still need to be moved to make way for the re-opening of Cape Town’s busiest train line. GroundUp has reported that there is currently a dispute between Prasa and the City of Cape Town over the relocations as the city claims that Prasa conducted the relocations illegally even though the city was involved in the discussions. GroundUp also reported that residents of the newly relocated area were protesting last month for water, electricity and toilets.

Prasa has been campaigning for the relocation of the families who built shacks alongside the rail tracks. #OperationBhekela (Move back) is said to be the reason for the murder of Loyiso Nkohla.

Relocation of families

Ndumiso Mkwanazi, provincial manager of the Housing Development Agency, said the agency had to get land where the relocated families would be close to community facilities such as schools. Suitable land was found in Siqalo, and has already been paid for. Mkwanazi said Prasa has now to go through a statutory process, which involves public participation and rezoning of the land through city by-laws. The statutory process may take between 8 to 24 months as the agency received objections to the plan. “We received over 900 objections, but that doesn’t stop the project.  If they raise genuine concerns, we amend our plans.” The agency has responded to all the objections, and the next step is land preparation, he said.

The relocation of communities that built houses along the railway line is at the centre of a political tug of war between local and national government. File photo by Mzi Velapi

Deputy Director General Ngwako Makaepea, who chairs a project management committee, said the central line recovery project involves relocation, provision of basic services and identification of land for phase two. “We have responded to the issue of toilets and water. Now we are working on identification of land for phase two,” he said. “The purpose of the project is to allow the restoration of the train services. We know we have not delivered on timelines, but progress has been made.”

Mbulelo Ncedana, stakeholder engagement manager at the National Department of Human Settlements, said the absence of trains affects residents negatively. “People who used to travel by trains to do chores stopped working because they could not afford fares for other modes of transport,” he said.

Ncedana, who played the role of a programme director at the meeting, said: “People who sold their wares at train stations and inside trains [while trains were running] could not do so.”

Community feedback

Pamela Booysen, a member of Gugulethu Development Forum, said: “Contractors train us but tell us to bring our own protective wear. We wear takkies when we work. Why don’t they supply us with protective wear?” she asked.

Maseko responded: “People who hire you must give you PPE [personal protective equipment] and buy you uniforms. We will stress that to the contractors.”

There are thousands of families that still need to be relocated from the central line. File Photo by Mzi Velapi

Zanele Ngcobondwana, one of the shack dwellers who was relocated from Philippi, said shack dwellers struggle to get water as the water tanker comes occasionally.

Funeka Mpetha, a member of the provincial executive committee of Sanco [South African National Civic Organisation], said the absence of trains forces residents to pay exorbitant taxi fares. “We can’t afford taxi fares. We now pay R50 to travel to Cape Town, but we would have used less money if we travelling by train,” she said. “We pay taxi fares with money that we could have spent on food. Some kids have even dropped out of school because they can’t afford transport to their schools.”

Unsafe conditions for guards and construction mafia

Alexio Papadopulo, acting Head of Security for Prasa, said service providers were recovering the central line and deadlines and targets were met, but not without costs. Thugs “with AK47s shot them” and left some of them paralysed. “It became dangerous for guards to work along the central line,” he said. Prasa has formulated a new plan called Moving Forward, he said, which looks to involve community members as watchers and spotters to protect the guards working along the central line.

The ‘construction mafia’ also has Prasa fearing for their security. An anonymous senior Prasa official dared not talk about the construction mafia: ”Please don’t allow me to talk about the construction mafia because people’s lives are at stake”.

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A post,

Two Makhanda schools hit hard by rampant cable theft, first appeared on Grotto’s Mail

By Khanyisa Khenese

Two Makhanda schools are feeling the debilitating effects of cable theft.

TEM Mrwetyana Senior Secondary School in Joza has been forced to use a neighbour’s home for its printing needs, while toddlers and other little children at BoyBoy Mginywa Pre-School in Xolani, have been learning in the dark for nearly three months.

BoyBoy Mginywa supervisor Emihle Ngqina said she sometimes has to use her cellphone torch so that the little learners are able to see. “It’s dark in the classroom and it is hard to teach, sometimes I must switch on the torch on my phone so that kids can see the posters that are on the wall,” Ngqina said.

She said criminals cut off the cables in January and the school has been without power since.

Meanwhile, TEM Mrwetyana deputy principal, Nomalungelo Tambo, said cables at the school were stolen on the night of 25 February. She explained that on arrival for work at around 6.25am on 26 February, the caretaker alerted her to the damage.
She said thieves had cut off the two to three-metre long cables from the electricity pole on the school premises.

TEM Mrwetyana Secondary School caretaker showing a Grocott’s Mail reporter one of the cables that were severed. Photo: Khanyisa Khenese

According to Tambo, the thieves used a refuse container next to the school to jump over the fence.

The caretaker, Nceba Dlepu, said the cables were stolen during load-shedding hours at
night and he only noticed the theft in the morning.
“I was shocked to see the lights outside were on but here in the school, they were off. I then went
outside to check what could have happened to the pole and that is when I saw that
the cables had been cut off.”

Tambo told Grocotts Mail that the school was feeling the effects. She was also worried about the unfortunate timing of the problem – a time when the school is supposed to be setting assessment tasks for
the first term.
“Yesterday I knocked off just before 7pm because there was load-shedding and I had
to go to another school to make copies so that learners can write,” she said.

Staff at the school have been left with no choice but to ask for help from a neighbouring house. The arrangement is that the school’s printer is kept in the neighbour’s house and in return the school buys electricity for the neighbour so that documents can be printed. The school also gets much needed help from other Joza-based schools – Samuel Ntlebi Primary
and Khutliso Daniels Senior Secondary, the principal stated.

A teacher at the school,  who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said cable theft has put an end to all school programs.
“Printing has become a hassle now; we are used to Wi-Fi and now we have to use our
own data,” the teacher complained.

BoyBoy Mginywa Preschool in Xolani Location has also been a victim of cable thieves. Photo: Khanyisa Khenese

Cable theft has disturbed teaching and learning at BoyBoy Mginywa in many ways – from communication to printing and lighting.

A dangling cable connected to the classroom after cable thieves struck at BoyBoy Mginywa Pre-School in Xolani Location. Photo: Khanyisa Khenese

Both Tambo and Ngqina told Grocott’s that they reported the incidents to Eskom even though they have little hope that the cables would be replaced anytime soon

Tambo said the school reported the matter to the police on February 26. Ngqina confirmed she opened a case with the police, and a month later, the Saps has told her the case has had to be closed due to a lack of evidence. “They said there was no evidence that the cables were stolen, yet they never came to the school to investigate,” Ngqina lamented.

A message from the Saps, shared with Grocotts Mail, states that the police  “followed all
leads and therefore the case is closed. The docket will be re-opened upon new leads”.

Provincial police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli, confirmed that cases of
cable theft at the two schools were reported. However, he said their detectives have not made any arrests
linked to the cases of theft.

“The police station also conducts high-density operations, especially during load-shedding schedules,” he said, adding that they “conduct compliance inspections at all the scrapyards and second-hand good dealers in the area to assess their compliance with relevant laws”.
“From time to time, copper is confiscated and where possible, arrests are effected and suspects charged for possession of suspected stolen property,” he said.

Makana Municipality spokesperson Anele Mjekula said the municipality is considering increasing security measures at specific substations, where these incidents of cable theft often happen.

“The municipality is a member of the Non-Ferrous Metal Committee coordinated by the Saps looking into copper theft,” he said.

He added that the municipality is also planning to introduce a forum within the community so that they can educate the public about challenges around cable theft.

Despite attempts to contact Eskom and the department of Education to establish how the schools could be assisted, Grocott’s Mail was not able to obtain comment by the time of publication.

The post Two Makhanda schools hit hard by rampant cable theft appeared first on Vuka News.

A post,

Cape Town protection money syndicates kill people, kill livelihoods, first appeared on groundup.

By Sandiso Phaliso

A salon owner was shot dead at his place of work for refusing to pay protection fee, a message was sent..

It is an open secret that most businesses in the township are paying off extortion rackets, sometimes more than one per business.

On Wednesday morning a salon owner in Philippi, Cape Town, was shot dead at his place of business apparently for refusing to pay a “protection fee”.

Relatives of the victim asked that he not be named as many next of kin have not yet been informed of his death.

Eyewitnesses to the shooting, who out of fear refuse to be named, told GroundUp, four men entered the salon. An argument followed when the salon owner refused to pay, saying he had paid a different extortion syndicate the previous week. The men then assaulted him at gunpoint.

“One of them said they should send a message to us other businesses about what happens when people refuse to pay. The next thing they shot him. There were three gunshots,” said an eyewitness.

The murdered man’s cousin said he received the awful news at 9am.

“I think he refused to pay these guys because he already paid at the end of February. People open small businesses to feed their families and now they are killed,” he said.

Police spokesperson Captain Frederick Van Wyk said, “The motive for this incident forms part of the police investigation.”

He said the victim was taken to hospital where he died from his wounds.

He was not the first business operator to be murdered for refusing to pay. GroundUp is aware of several other cases where extortion rackets are suspected of pulling the trigger. The extortion gangs also kill each other in fights for turf.

Hair salons, vegetable stalls, meat sellers, furniture and electrical appliance dealers say they are now too scared to operate. Some owners told GroundUp they are closing for the foreseeable future.

A Philippi vendor said the streets of the township have become a war zone. It does not matter how small one’s business is, the syndicates want 25% of the month’s earnings, he said.

Another business owner said they have asked the police for protection but they get none. “I think what makes matters worse is the fact that there are no police stations to serve the Philippi population and there is not enough police visibility,” he said.

Most people are too scared to go to the police station.

Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF) cluster chair Martin Makasi said they have raised their concerns about the syndicates with the City of Cape Town and SAPS. The City established a unit to deal specifically with protection fees, and SAPS had deployed more officers to identified crime hotspots.

He said they “appeal to community and business members to report cases of [extortion], and reject the notion of paying, because they won’t stop”.

“Efforts are being made to address the problem, but if people don’t report, it is going to be tough for law enforcement agencies to deal with the cases.”

The post Cape Town protection money syndicates kill people, kill livelihoods appeared first on Vuka News.

The Civil Society Working Group says that the failure to prosecute many of those implicated in state capture leaves the door open for continued looting of the public purse. Archive photo by Mzi Velapi

Civil society organisations have collectively responded to the Zondo Commission report on state capture.

BY Lilita Gcwabe

Civil society organisations under the umbrella of the Civil Society Working Group (CSWG) have issued a response to the Zondo Commission report on state capture that calls for various reforms to address shortcomings in the recommendations by the commission.

Over 20 organisations participating in the CSWG – including Black Sash, Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), My Vote Counts (MVC), and the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) – agree that the findings in the state capture report point to various risks that make South Africa vulnerable to the threat of deep corruption and looting in government in the future. This, according to the CSWG, means that they have to remain vigilant against the threat of the return of state capture.

With six volumes, the state capture report was released in June 2022 after a four-year long investigation of corruption crimes in the state.

One of the highlights of the Zondo Commission’s report is the implication of known politicians, companies in the private sector, individuals, and state-owned entities that either benefitted from, or enabled, crimes that eventually led to absolute state capture. Photo from government website

Nicky Prins, who was the civil society liaison in the Zondo Commission, said that the lack of visible consequences through convictions and sentencing of those involved leaves a fertile ground to enable more corrupt acts by government entities in the future. “There are civil cases that are being brought to individuals who are implicated in the report that are more advanced and while a number of them have been criminally charged, they also face many consequences such as being fired, losing positions and their reputation. But the fact that there have not been convictions and sentences is a big problem,” said Prins.

The CSWG response states that the main weakness of the commission was its unevenness. “The attention paid to different facets of state capture was uneven and certain areas were under-served. This was worsened by the lack of communication to the public on what the logic behind the Commission deciding to investigate or exclude certain matters from the investigation was,” reads the report.

In addition to this, the report by civil society observes that the Commission took a lengthy period of time to conclude the inquiry. The report indicates that there were multiple delays in the process, some of which were a result of inefficient internal processes.

The collective response also highlights the failure of the Zondo Commission to consider the ways in which state capture affected the daily lives of people in the country, especially those who are living in poverty. Civil society says that the true impact and cost of state capture on society is not reflected in the commission report. “It failed to show that state capture crimes resulted in economic instability, austerity measures, the fallout from loadshedding, increase in government debt, and had significant impacts on the poor,” reads the report.

Speaking at a media briefing, Mohlatse Komote from Corruption Watch added that there are gaps around transparency in the public procurement system in South Africa, which she said relates to the fact that there is a lot of power that is centralised and can be linked to the “abuse” and “poor oversight” of the system as a result.

The state capture report details the levels of corruption of state institutions by private individuals and public officials who are entrusted with running government. 

Moving foward, the CSWG proposes comprehensive measures that would respond systemically to the levels of corruption which include a strong anti-corruption body, stronger procurement rules, accountability mechanisms, and law enforcement operations that are well capacitated and independent from political interference. “Civil society organisations need to remain organised and coordinated to push for a cause that aims to hold the government accountable, monitoring what is going on, and challenging what is happening in institutions. It is important to shine the light on these things so that citizens can see and take action,” said Prins in closing.

The post Beware the future plots to capture the state appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Enyobeni owners fined for selling alcohol to a minor was first published by Elitsha

The parents of the 21 Enyobeni victims said they are disappointed by the court’s decision to only fine the tavern owners. Siyakhangela and his wife, Vuyokazi Ndevu were found guilty on Wednesday of selling or supplying intoxicating liquor to a minor.

The court found that the state had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, that the couple were responsible for the sale of alcohol to underage children, and held them liable for the crime. They were sentenced on Friday to a R5,000 fine each or 100 days in prison.

The couple had pleaded not guilty, testifying in their defence and had applied for the withdrawal of the charges. However, the court agreed with state prosecutor, Thango Pangalela’s submission that there was no age restriction considered for access at Enyobeni. During the trial, the state had led evidence from nine witnesses including a neighbour of the Ndevu couple, a Liquor Board official and CCTV footage taken during the fateful night.

The parents of the 21 young people including minors who died, said they were expecting a maximum sentence. One mother, Ntombizonke Mgangala said, “To be honest, we are truly disappointed by the court’s decision. This is not about us, it is about the society, the underage children who are permitted to buy alcohol and those tavern owners who are selling alcohol to them. We were hoping the court would send a strong message that it is a serious crime to do so.” She said they understand that the case is not about probing who should be held responsible for the deaths but they expected the court to consider the merits and the tragic consequences of breaking even minor laws.

We understand that the case
is not about who is responsible
for the deaths but the court
should have considered the
tragic consequences of their
law breaking.

“Emotions are very high at this point. We, however won’t let this lay us down; we will meet as parents and deliberate on a way forward; we will seek legal advice as to see what options we have,” she said. Mgangala said she was also not happy about the delays of the inquest.

Khululekile Ncandana, whose son Bongo died in the tavern, said he had also hoped the court would impose the maximum sentence while anticipating a fine would be handed down. “Because there was no evidence that the children were all sold alcohol and drank it at the tavern on that day, the magistrate during his judgement on Wednesday considered a case of one child who was evidently sold alcohol and drank it. For that reason I knew he was going to fine them.

“The state prosecutor tried his best to present to court that there is no other way the case can be viewed other than in light of the serious consequences, but the magistrate considered other factors. We will not go beyond what the court has decided on,” Ncandana said.

The Liquor Board acknowledged the sentence. The boards’ spokesperson, Dr Mgwebi Msiya said, “Whilst Eastern Cape Liquor Board would have hoped for a tougher sentence to be handed over to the Ndevu couple, it does accept the sentence as it is in line with the provisions of the Eastern Cape Liquor Act.”

National Prosecution Authority regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali said they welcome with disappointment the sentence. “We had submitted in court that the two are not remorseful, and they have total disregard of the law. However, because the act provides for the magistrate to impose a fine, we do accept with hopes that the upcoming inquest will be able to tell who should be held liable for the deaths of the 21 children,” said Tyali.

The inquest is yet to resume on 29 February, after it was postponed to afford the state time to appoint a structural engineer and an expert to evaluate the postmortem results and toxicology report.

The post Enyobeni owners fined for selling alcohol to a minor appeared first on Vuka News.

The post “Public Investment Corporation: suspended COO’s R4.5m ‘suspicious transactions” appeared first on amaBhungane.

BY Tebogo Tshwane – December 19, 2023

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Forensic investigators acting on behalf of the state-owned asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), have recommended reporting the suspended Chief Operations Officer, Vuyani Hako, to the police.
• This follows a lifestyle audit triggered by a whistleblower report that uncovered “suspicious transactions” with transfers exceeding R4.5-million directed into Hako’s home loan accounts.
• Confidential audit committee documents obtained by amaBhungane reveal that at least five whistleblower reports accusing Hako of nepotism and corruption were circulated before he was suspended in June 2022.

Forensic investigators appointed by the state-owned asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), have recommended reporting suspended chief operating officer Vuyani Hako to the police.

This comes after a lifestyle audit, triggered by a whistleblower report, uncovered “suspicious transactions”, with transfers exceeding R4.5-million directed into Hako’s home loan accounts.

Hako, who occupies the fourth most powerful position in the PIC, was placed under precautionary suspension in June 2022 after allegations of misconduct were made against him. He remains suspended 18 months later.

At the time of his suspension the PIC, which oversees close to R2.6 trillion in assets, primarily of government employee pension savings, provided no detail about the nature of the allegations, merely stating that it was in the “best interest of both the employee and the employer to ensure that an independent inquiry can proceed unencumbered.”

Now, confidential board audit committee documents obtained by amaBhungane reveal that before his suspension the PIC received at least five whistleblower reports in which Hako was accused of nepotism and corruption.

The documents show that in response to the whistleblower reports, the PIC instituted various investigations, including a lifestyle audit by Fundudzi Forensic Services which uncovered a series of “suspicious” payments and transfers into Hako’s bond accounts beginning the month after he was appointed COO – in December 2020 – and continuing until November 2021. 

These payments – which according to investigators came from Hako and an in-law – went directly into Hako’s bond accounts to settle loans for two of his properties in East London and Centurion.

A report of the audit committee’s in-camera meeting states that when investigators questioned him about these payments Hako “failed” to explain the source of the funds.

As a result of these suspicious and unexplained transactions, Fundudzi recommended that the PIC lodge a criminal case against Hako in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

The Act makes it an offence not to report suspicion of corrupt activity to the police.

The audit committee resolved to recommend Fundudzi’s forensic report and recommendations to the full board for adoption, its meeting minutes show.

In response to amaBhungane’s questions, the PIC would not confirm whether a case had been opened against Hako, nor did they provide clarity on other allegations made against him, saying only that the COO was “under precautionary suspension while the allegations against him are being investigated and are yet to be concluded.”

“Mr Hako remains a PIC employee and is entitled to the same protection of his rights as any other employee, including entitlement to confidentiality for any matter or process between the employer and employee,” said the PIC in an email.

“The PIC must follow due process,” it added, emphasising that “it would go against applicable policies and labour legislation for the PIC to publicly disclose any detail or make public comments about any aspect of confidential labour proceedings that are still underway”.

“Legally, this would undermine the PIC’s own case and therefore the PIC is not in a position to respond in further detail.”

Hako also declined to respond to detailed questions.

Forensic evidence

A confidential report on the proceedings of a board audit committee meeting in November 2022 sets out a summary of the forensic auditor’s case against Hako.

It states that in 2021 Hako paid off his home loans with Rand Merchant Bank for two properties bought in 2015 and 2018 using money he could not adequately account for.

Fundudzi Forensic Services, the company the PIC appointed to conduct a lifestyle audit on Hako, reported that Hako made repayments of at least R1.9-million for the two properties over a few months.

Over a period of six months, an additional R2.7-million allegedly flowed from accounts belonging to a relative of Hako’s by marriage.

Fundudzi said Hako “failed” to provide the source of the R1.9-million transferred into his accounts; he claimed that the payments made by his relative were for “the rental of his property based in Mthatha”.

But investigators said there was “no agreement and/or lease agreement detailing rental arrangements”.

Suspicious transactions

“The PIC should register a criminal case against Mr Hako in order to determine the source of the total amount of R4,521,905.00 paid and/or transferred into his bond accounts,” Fundudzi recommended.

Fundudzi emphasised that the payments were deemed “suspicious transactions and require further investigations in terms of section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA).”

In simple terms, Section 34 of PRECCA places a duty on the relevant individuals to report suspected or actual acts of corruption, fraud or bribery involving transactions of R100 000 or more. 

Estate agents consulted by amaBhungane said that the typical rent for houses in Fort Gale, Mthatha, where Hako reportedly claimed he had received R2.7-million in rental income, ranged from R13,000 to R15,000 per month.

This is significantly lower than the over R440 000 per month that Hako received and raises further questions about the explanation he reportedly provided to forensic investigators.

Source of funds?

A separate document, flagged as a “Report of Tax Crime”, was leaked to amaBhungane alongside internal PIC documents, though its origin is not clear, nor is it certain that it formed part of any PIC investigation.

The document speculates on the source of Hako’s extra cash, alleging that “it is very likely that … all or some of the monies are traced from a company called Mazwe Financial Services”.

Mazwe was the recipient of a R180-million payment in 2021, part of a controversial R294-million loan facility approved by the PIC that also triggered a forensic investigation in the same year, but that report purported to find no irregularities in the approval process.

Hako, who was acting CEO, signed the resolution to approve Mazwe’s funding application, which had been struggling to gain momentum within the PIC since 2018.

Responding to questions sent by amaBhungane, Mazwe’s CEO Xolisa Bebula emphatically denied these allegations, characterising them as “false, malicious and unfounded”.

Hako would not be drawn into commenting on the transfers made to his bond accounts but stated that he had not had sight of the whistleblower and forensic reports referred to in our questions.

“I cannot therefore be expected to respond to the allegations contained in the

report/s which I have never seen or read,” said Hako.

“My attorneys have written several letters to both the PIC and its attorneys raising concerns about my prolonged suspension. In addition, my attorneys also referred the dispute of unfair labour practice relating to unfair suspension to the [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration],” he added.

Blowing the whistle

Hako, who was previously the executive head of properties, was appointed as the organisation’s operations chief in November 2020. Documents show that after he was appointed as the COO, he remained the head of properties in an acting capacity.

Before Hako’s appointment, the PIC had been operating without a COO since 2015, when the PIC underwent a restructuring process.

The position was officially removed in 2017 when the board, chaired by former deputy minister Mcebisi Jonas, amended a clause in the company’s memorandum of incorporation that outlined how the COO and chief investment officer (CIO) should be appointed.

When the Commission of Inquiry looking at allegations of impropriety in investment decisions at the PIC completed its work in 2019, one of its recommendations was that these two roles, with the addition of a chief risk officer, should be reinstated to strengthen governance in the organisation.

The commission, led by retired Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Lex Mpati, found that the removal of the COO and CIO roles had created a “centralised operating model with a significant concentration of decision-making responsibility, power and influence in the hands of the CEO and the CFO”.

But in April 2021, six months after Hako was appointed COO, the PIC received a whistleblower report through its internal reporting line that accused him of wide-ranging abuses of power.

The allegations focused on incidents that supposedly took place when Hako was acting CEO between March 2019 and July 2020, as well as during his time as the head of properties.

The authors of the whistleblower report accused Hako of manipulating the appointment of senior staff members to exert control over investment decisions, among other claims.

When the PIC’s internal audit team looked through the various allegations, it found that a number of them were either without merit or too vague to investigate.

However, a memo submitted to the board’s internal audit committee and signed by the PIC’s head of internal audit Lufuno Nemagovhaniu recommended that a lifestyle audit be conducted on Hako to determine whether “there are any suspicious activities”.

“The lifestyle audit will inform whether a forensic investigation is required on some transactions or not,” reads the memo dated October 2021.

The Wedge

The allegations from whistleblowers kept piling up and, according to a confidential report submitted to the board by the chairperson of the audit committee, forced the PIC to consider whether Hako should continue to act as the head of properties.

The confidential report, seen by amaBhungane, detailed the proceedings of audit committee meetings held between October 2021 and May 2022. It stated that in November and December 2021, the PIC’s internal audit team received more complaints of impropriety against Hako involving two transactions in properties.

One of the whistleblower reports was related to a project to refurbish the Wedge Shopping Centre in Morningside that supposedly led to the PIC’s biggest client, the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF), incurring fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

The renovation of the shopping centre seemingly happened without the requisite approvals.  Moreover, a whistleblower report claimed that Hako “told his team not to inform the GEPF about the matter. Staff were too scared to talk about the matter”. 

Isago

The other complaint was related to the PIC’s contentious decision to buy a 60% stake in an empty piece of land located on the N12 highway between Klerksdorp and Stilfontein (known as the Isago@N12 transaction) for an inflated price of R510-million. In its 2020/2021 annual report, the PIC’s client, the GEPF, said it had valued the land at just R178-million.

In a previous article, amabhungane shared details about a court dispute involving the landowners, Isago@N12 Development, and a retired military veteran who helped broker the deal with the PIC.

The case revealed a dubious commission arrangement, signed in 2015 between Isago and the veteran, providing for a 35% facilitation fee based on the money the PIC invested in the vacant land.

The veteran’s fees were supposedly for leveraging his “connections” to facilitate the land sale.

The deal was finalised in 2018 during Hako’s time as the head of properties.

The audit committee report recorded that a whistleblower report had included allegations that “Hako had struck a deal to pay a bribe of R100-million to a specific military Colonel.”

The audit committee resolved to appoint a forensic firm to look into the allegations regarding both the renovations at The Wedge and the Isago transactions, according to the documents.

The PIC would not answer questions about the progress or outcome of these two forensic investigations, nor reveal whether they had found any evidence of wrongdoing against Hako.

Suspension

The documents reveal that as early as February 2022, the audit committee had asked the CEO of the PIC, Abel Sithole, to remove Hako as the head of properties pending investigations into the allegations made against him.

Sithole’s response seems to have been discussed in May, and the report of the audit committee chairperson states that the “CEO noted the suggestion from the Committee and stated that Mr Vuyani Hako will continue acting as Executive Head: Properties as the person he was considering to act [in that capacity] was also subject to an investigation.”

Unimpressed with Sithole’s response, the committee requested that the matter be discussed with the board.

A few days later Hako was suspended.

Disciplinary action

Hako did not respond to our detailed questions, saying it would not be “prudent” to ventilate the allegations levelled against him through a “media inquiry or a so-called court of public opinion initiated by amaBhungane.”

“I prefer to deal with and answer to the allegations levelled against me in a disciplinary process provided by my employer, the PIC,” said Hako.

Hako said that he was unaware of multiple whistleblower reports received by the PIC, asserting that there “was only one so-called whistleblower report referred to when I was placed on precautionary suspension.” Hako did confirm that the PIC has commenced a disciplinary hearing against him, which is ongoing. However, he would not elaborate on the process or the charges brought against him.

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Here is how we’re doing on unemployment, murder, housing, life-expectancy and social grants

Map of the administrative geography (provinces and municipalities) of South Africa, as of 2021. Drawn by Adrian Frith based on MDB Local Municipal Boundary 2018 dataset. (Via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed)

18 December 2023

By GroundUp Staff

Ahead of the 2024 election, we examined how South Africa has done on several important measures over the past few decades. We looked at the following topics

• murder;
• unemployment and how it has changed since 2000;
• social grants and how coverage has changed since democracy;
• state provision of housing; and
• HIV and life-expectancy.

Murder and crime

Crime consistently ranks as one of the two major concerns of South Africans, along with unemployment. But other than murder, crime rates are hard to measure because many crimes go unreported. Murder is both the most serious and best measured crime. It’s a proxy for how we’re doing on crime generally. Unfortunately the country is regressing.

From 1995 until about a decade ago South Africa was making headway. The murder rate was dropping. But for the past decade it has steadily got worse.

Read How bad is South Africa’s murder rate?

Unemployment

Our chronic, most pressing problem that we have failed to fix is unemployment.

Read How unemployment has changed since 2000

Social grants

In the face of massive unemployment, the social grant system helps millions of people in South African to survive. Without it the country would be plunged into chaos. The following graph shows how the number of grant recipients has increased since democracy.

Read Here’s how South Africa’s social grant system has changed since 1994

Housing

The Reconstruction and Development Programme of the ANC in 1994 was its flagship programme and promised to provide everyone with houses. While much progress was made, there is still a long way to go. We found that the quality of data was unexpectedly poor, especially the 2022 census that was published this year.

Read Housing in South Africa: How have we done since 1994?

HIV and life-expectancy

We examined how antiretroviral treatment has reversed the country’s decline in life-expectancy. The following graph of South Africa’s change in life-expectancy since the late 1980s and projected to 2030 is quite extraordinary. One would be hard-pressed to find a country in the world with life-expectancy as volatile as this. The first dip was due to the HIV epidemic. The second, much shorter one, was due to Covid. The good news is that life-expectancy appears to be on a sustained upward trajectory.

Read South Africans are living longer, mostly thanks to HIV treatment

The post South Africa: key statistics ahead of the 2024 elections appeared first on Vuka News.

A woman is suing the Minister of Police for damages after arguing that SAPS had breached their constitutional duties to victims of gender-based violence when investigating her rape case 13 years ago. Archive photo: Barbara Maregele

Andy Kawa is suing the police for millions of rands for negligence

14 December 2023

By Marecia Damons

Andy Kawa was abducted, attacked, robbed and repeatedly raped for 15 hours near Kings Beach in Gqeberha more than 13 years ago.
She says the police were negligent in looking for her and also in investigating her case.
She is suing the Minister of Police for damages and has finally been given a date for the court hearing.

Andy Kawa, who is suing the Minister of Police for negligence in investigating her rape 13 years ago, finally has a date for her court case.

On 9 December 2010, Kawa was abducted, attacked, robbed and repeatedly raped for 15 hours near Kings Beach in Gqeberha. She managed to escape in the early hours of the next morning and was assisted by a group of joggers. Her family had reported her missing.

According to court documents, police conducted searches in cars, on foot, with dogs, and in a helicopter to find Kawa. Police arrested one person who was charged for being in possession of Kawa’s belongings. However, the accused could not be connected to Kawa’s assault, abduction and rape.

Kawa is suing the Minister of Police for damages for the emotional and physical trauma she suffered due to the police’s negligence and failures in handling her case. She lodged a civil case against the police minister at the High Court in Gqeberha in November 2013, asking for R5.8-million in damages. She argued that police failed to conduct a reasonable search for her and to conduct a reasonably effective investigation to hold her perpetrators accountable.

The court ruled in 2018 in favour of Kawa, finding that SAPS did not conduct a reasonably effective search to rescue her, or a reasonably effective investigation into the crimes committed against her. The court ordered that the police were liable for 40% of the damages claim.

Police Minister Bheki Cele successfully appealed this ruling at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in 2020. The SCA found that police had not been negligent when conducting the search and investigation because the officers had used all available resources.

Kawa then took the matter to the Constitutional Court.

On 5 April 2022, the Constitutional Court set aside the SCA’s ruling and held that SAPS had been negligent when investigating Kawa’s case.

Kawa has now been told that her civil case will be heard in the Gqeberha High Court on 19 February next year.

“For 13 years, I’ve been sleeping and waking up thinking about this case,” Kawa said. “I have no livelihood. I was a breadwinner, a mother and a role model. All of those have been impacted… My family wants this matter over. The prolonged wait is contributing to the depression that we are all suffering from,” Kawa told GroundUp.

“The Constitutional Court judgment was supposed to be my justice but this justice has taken almost two years. Justice delayed is justice denied,” said Kawa.

Since her ordeal she has not returned to her work in mining as she battles post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.

Kawa said her struggle for justice had highlighted how victims of gender-based violence are further victimised by the justice system. “You’re raped by your perpetrator, then by police, and then by the legal system.”

Delayed justice

According to the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ), in civil matters court dates are allocated on a “first come first served” basis.

“Should a party require a preferential date, such party is at liberty to approach the Judge President or Deputy Judge President. No such request was received in this matter. In this matter, the Defendant’s Amended Plea was filed on 13 September 2023,” the OCJ said.

The OCJ said the parties could also request that the dispute be settled out of court. “If so, the case may be allocated to a judge sitting in a settlement court for it to be finalised without a protracted hearing.”

Kawa’s legal representatives declined to comment.

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By Sam Sole | AmaBhungane Managing Partner

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Letters to business rescue practitioners (BRP’s) reveal Mozambican bidder’s furious allegations of being repeatedly sidelined.
• RGS Group Holdings claims the BRP’s repeatedly favoured rival bidder Vision Investments, despite RGS offering a better deal.
• Now there are doubts about Vision’s funding, while RGS claims its bid is fully funded.
• Both bids hang in the balance after a judge ruled that the BRP’s acted unlawfully in withholding sugar industry levies, but now RGS is asking the Durban high court to enforce the tabling of their bid.

This post Tongaat Hulett bidder in scathing attack on business rescue process appeared first on amaBhungane

Leaked letters have blown the lid off backroom battles that Tongaat Hulett rescue bidder RGS alleges show that the business rescue practitioners (BRP’s) have attempted to sideline them in favour of a rival bid led by IT mogul Robert Gumede.

The allegations amount to claims that the BRP’s acted contrary to the best interests of Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) and its creditors by frustrating efforts by Mozambique based RGS to make an offer for the distressed company – an offer that appears better for all concerned than others the BRP’s have been pursuing.

And, in the latest drama surrounding the business rescue process, RGS has launched an urgent application to force the BRP’s to table their bid for a vote by creditors, arguing that Gumede’s consortium has failed to raise the necessary cash.

Tongaat Hulett was placed in business rescue in October 2022 after a new management team uncovered accounting failures and alleged fraud that led the company to a R12-billion reversal in valuation. Business rescue is an alternative to liquidation for companies in distress that might be saved by a combination of new investment and a compromise of debts owed to creditors. 

In papers published on the Tongaat Hulett website yesterday (Tuesday 12 December 2023) RGS seeks a court order compelling the BRP’s to proceed with a creditors meeting this Thursday, 14 December 2023, to vote on an amended RGS rescue plan.

The amendments are necessary to take account of last week’s Durban high court ruling that the BRP’s acted unlawfully in withholding payment by Tongaat Hulett of sugar industry levies of almost R2-billion due to the SA Sugar Association (SASA).

The creditors’ vote on two published rescue plans – that of RGS and a competing plan of Gumede’s Vision Investments consortium (previously named Terris) – was due to have taken place on Friday 8 December but the timetable was torpedoed by the court judgment on the levies.

For the full background, read Who is behind the Tongaat Hulett bid battle?

Initially, the BRP’s were insistent that the creditors vote must take place on Thursday the 14th.

Now the BRP’s want it postponed to January. RGS alleges that this is intended purely to give Gumede more time to raise money, whereas their bid is funded and ready to go.

In their court papers RGS also take aim at the Lender Group of banks which holds some R7.7-billion of Tongaat Hulett debt and was poised to do a deal to sell their claims to Gumede’s Vision consortium, allowing him to take control of the business rescue vote by taking their place as the dominant creditor.

RGS disclosed a copy of the agreement between the banks and Gumede’s Vision Investments 155 which would have seen the Vision consortium take over the claims at a discounted price of R3.51-billion.

But it also shows that the agreement would terminate if Vision failed to make payment by noon South Africantime on 6 December 2023.

Vision failed to make payment and amaBhungane understands that this was because the board investment committee of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) resisted pressure to advance R2-billion, citing concerns about the reputational risk of preempting a fair rescue bid process.

In their application RGS claims they were informed by the Lender Group at a meeting on 7 December that the Vision Agreement had lapsed and no new agreement had been concluded.

Lawyers for the Vision consortium did not respond to questions about the PIC’s involvement and their efforts to find other funders, which were rumoured to have included an approach to Zimbabwe’s notorious Rudland family. Prior to the business rescue this family had launched a failed bid to take over Tongaat Hulett.

After deadline the lawyers for Vision sent this response: “It is well known that some of the Vision parties are Zimbabwean, and others have business interests in Zimbabwe, so they do travel to Zimbabwe often. A simple fact check would have revealed that Vision parties in 2021 had a THL board approved deal to purchase THL’s Zimbabwe and Botswana operations. This SA and Zimbabwean consortium deal was scuttled by the Rudlands’ backed THL rights offer at the last minute. We respect the Rudlands’ family as any other but there is no direct or indirect relationship with them on this deal or any other. However, it is important to note that neither any of Vision’s members have ever had the pleasure of meeting the Rudlands, their management or advisors. This allegation is a fabrication.”

They also noted, “We do not have a deal with the PIC, nor have we been promised therefore our plan is not depended on the PIC. We can confirm that Vision has an agreement with the Lender Group that is conditional on Vision’s plan being adopted by creditors. We are looking forward to the creditors meeting on 14 December. We are ready to present and support our plan.”

The PIC also failed to answer questions about its decision, merely saying, “The PIC is not collaborating with any party in this regard.  Any interpretation of the PIC’s position as a shareholder of Tongaat Hulett outside of the business rescue process would be speculative until a business rescue plan is presented and approved by the required majority of creditors, both in number and in value, at a duly constituted creditors meeting in terms of the requirements of the Companies Act. Currently, the meeting is scheduled for the 14th of December 2023.”

In their urgent application to compel the meeting to go ahead on the 14th, RGS argued that the BRP’s support of yet another adjournment until January was “bizarre” in circumstances where the RGS Plan was “fully funded and capable of adoption at the Meeting on 14 December 2023, and immediate implementation”.

RGS stated, “The BRP’s (and the Lender Group) should not be choosing sides between RGS and the Vision Parties… The Vision Parties have still not secured the necessary funding and it is inconceivable that the BRP’s should now be attempting to adjourn the Meeting to provide the Vision Parties with more time to secure the funds they need to acquire the Lender Claims.”

RGS said the BRP’s, “in promoting and favouring the Vision Plan,” were attempting to facilitate the Lender Group’s desire to escape their exposure to Tongaat Hulett.

“It is submitted that the BRP’s’ conduct has created a reasonable impression that they are conducting the THL Business Rescue solely for the benefit of the Vision Parties and / or the Lender Group,” RGS argues.

That claim is consistent with the history of previous interactions set out in the leaked letters between RGS and the BRP’s.

The letters suggest that:

• RGS delivered an expression of interest to the BRP’s in June but was ignored;

• RGS was forced to purchase another creditor’s claims in order to enforce its right to make alternative rescue proposals;

• Even at that stage RGS was forced to threaten legal action in order to get access to the Tongaat Hulett data room to conduct a due diligence exercise;

• In October, RGS made what it termed “a fully funded bid” that appears more beneficial than the Vision offer, yet it only saw the light of day after RGS threatened, in a blistering letter on 10 November 2023, to go to court to have the BRP’s removed.

The business rescue team appointed by Tongaat Hulett is led by Peter van den Steen, Trevor Murgatroyd and Gerhard Albertyn, all of Metis Strategic Advisors.

They did not respond to detailed questions but said through their spokesperson that business rescues were guided by regulated processes: “It is therefore not appropriate for us to provide detailed information on the current Strategic Equity Partner [bid] process outside of the formal communications channels.”

In an attached statement they said: “The BRP’s are tasked with providing for the efficient rescue and recovery of financially distressed companies, in a manner that balances the rights and interests of all the relevant stakeholders… [The BRP’s] are confident that they presented fair and balanced business rescue plans under challenging circumstances.”

RGS’s key allegations are set out in detail in a letter dated 10 November 2023, addressed to the Joint Business Rescue Practitioners and signed by M Aquil Rajahussen, the chair of RGS Group holdings.

RGS summarised the position in these terms: “It is clear to us that the Joint BRP’s have failed to act in an independent manner and have actively favoured the Terris [Vision] Transaction… over a due and proper consideration of the RGS Business Rescue Plan.

“In particular, the Joint BRP’s have not afforded the body of creditors of Tongaat the opportunity to evaluate the RGS Business Rescue Plan against the Terris Business Rescue Plan. Instead, the Joint BRP’s have sought to facilitate the purchase of the of the Secured Lender Claims to the Terris Sugar Consortium by inter alia… delaying the date for the publication of a business rescue plan to afford the Terris Sugar Consortium the opportunity to negotiate the purchase of the Secured Lender Claims and seek approval for its financing. This in the face of a fully funded business rescue plan contained in the RGS Business Rescue Plan.”

RGS also raised doubts about whether the secured lender claims of the bank Lender Group were “in fact secured against the assets of any member of the Tongaat Group due to such security being potentially invalid and unenforceable”.

The letter concludes with a threat to seek the removal of the Joint BRP’s on grounds of failure to exercise proper care and a lack of independence.

RGS argues that this perception is supported by the fact that when Vision was not able to secure funding in terms of an agreement with the Lender Group of November 3, further delays were allowed to enable the conclusion of another agreement as of November 20.

It was this later agreement that allegedly lapsed on December 6.

The RGS plan was only published – alongside the Vision plan – on November 29.

The RGS urgent application is being opposed by Tongaat Hulett and the BRP’s.

These and the competing claims of Vision and other parties are due to be argued tomorrow in the Durban high court, including the BRP’s application for leave to appeal levy findings in favour of the Sugar Association.

The post Tongaat Hulett bidder in scathing attack on business rescue process appeared first on Vuka News.

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. Archive photo: Becker Semela

In April ministers, G4S representatives and top police and prison officials were grilled by Parliament about Thabo Bester’s escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
Eight months have passed but very little has happened to hold any of the responsible government and private sector officials to account despite numerous failures on their part.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services said it has not yet seen the department’s report into Bester’s escape.

It has been eight months since the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services held a two-day hearing into convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester’s prison escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. Since then very little has happened to hold the authorities and their private sector partners to account.

In April, ministers, top police and prison officials, representatives from Integritron Integrated Solutions, and multinational security company G4S, which runs Mangaung prison, faced tough questions from MPs about Bester’s escape and subsequent investigations.

MPs appeared united across party lines, promising to hold those responsible accountable for their mistakes.

During the hearings, committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe suggested that G4S, whose officials are currently facing criminal charges, acted with “gross incompetence”.

MPs had harsh words for Integritron Integrated Solutions, the company that maintains the CCTV footage at the prison, for failing to timeously investigate its official, Tebogo Lipholo, who had switched off the CCTV cameras in the prison several times at the time of Bester’s escape.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) was criticised for its slow investigations, such as never questioning or surveilling Nandipha Magudumana, Bester’s alleged accomplice, and for not informing Bester’s rape victims that he was on the loose.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) was admonished for several instances of incompetence and waiting 11 months before admitting to the public that Bester had in fact escaped. There was even a call for Minister Ronald Lamola to resign.

And yet, despite this public show of “accountability in action”, as chairperson Magwanishe described it in closing the April hearings, there has been little accountability.

Promises by MPs to call further witnesses and to produce a report for debate in the National Assembly have not materialised. Minister Lamola has not resigned. Only three officials from the DCS have been suspended: the controller and deputy controller at the Mangaung prison and the director of contract management.

Asked by GroundUp about the status of the disciplinary processes, the nature of the charges and whether the suspended officials are still being paid, DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo replied: “We cannot divulge to the public internal disciplinary processes as those are between the employer and employee.”

Nxumalo said that he is “not aware” of disciplinary processes against any other DCS officials.

The DCS final investigation report into Bester’s escape is apparently completed and has been given to “relevant bodies”, according to Nxumalo. But Nxumalo did not answer directly whether the portfolio committee was furnished with the report.

Portfolio committee chair Magwanishe told GroundUp that the committee is not in possession of the report. The Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services has confirmed to GroundUp that neither is it in possession of the report.

Asked whether any policy changes are being considered to ensure accountability and prevent something like Bester’s escape happening again, Nxumalo said that because the criminal case against Bester and his alleged accomplices is ongoing, “we will prefer not to engage on policy changes”.

As for multinational security company G4S, DCS has moved to cancel their contract – due to expire in 2026. Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (a subsidiary of G4S) owns the prison and has challenged the decision to end the contract. Mediation attempts have failed and the matter is now in court.

Among the revelations that the April parliamentary hearings brought to light were that Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts and G4S withheld evidence from SAPS and maintained that Thabo Bester was dead despite having evidence to the contrary.

G4S only suspended and dismissed three of the almost 30 officials on duty the night of the escape, but seven G4S officials were later arrested. Four are still facing criminal charges, including corruption and helping an inmate escape. No senior officials have been held accountable.

SAPS did not respond to GroundUp’s questions on whether any police officers have been held accountable for failing to timeously and efficiently investigate Bester’s escape.

By July 2022, two months after the escape, SAPS knew that the body found in Bester’s cell had not died by suicide, that Nandipha Magudumana was closely involved in the matter, and that the DNA of the body did not match that of Bester’s biological mother. Yet, it was only in March 2023 after GroundUp’s exposé that a track and trace team was set up to find Bester and Magudumana.

Magudumana was never brought in for questioning; the house in Sandton that she shared with Bester after the escape was never surveilled; and important investigative steps, such as identifying the body found in the cell, took place only after March 2023.

The case against Bester, Magudumana, and ten others who have been charged, has been postponed several times for further investigations. Charges against three of the accused have since been withdrawn. The trial against the remaining nine accused will start in 2024.

When Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services will continue its hearings into Bester’s escape remains to be seen. According to Magwanishe, a scheduled meeting with Integritron Integrated Solutions has fallen through because an official, Teboho Lipholo, has been criminally charged and the committee is still seeking legal advice on how to proceed.

Magwanishe said that a long winter recess and a full committee schedule prevented the committee from meeting again and completing a report with the committee’s recommendations. “The Committee will deal with this matter as soon as the parliamentary programme permits,” he said.

“It is difficult to say at this stage if more people or departments will appear,” Magwanishe told GroundUp. “However, the committee will not hesitate to call more people or departments to account should the need arise. A lot will depend on information at the committee’s disposal.”

The post No sign of accountability for Thabo Bester’s escape appeared first on Vuka News.

Imprisonment should be the norm in corruption cases, a high court judge has said. Illustration: Lisa Nelson

A R10,000 fine imposed on a corrupt traffic officer was “laughable” a Northern Cape High Court judge has said.
The judge, while increasing the fine to R60,000 payable by the end of January 2024, said this should not serve as a precedent and “direct imprisonment should be the norm” in corruption cases
Oscar Bongela, and a colleague who has since died, demanded R1,000 from a motorist who was rushing his wife, who was in labour, to hospital.
Instead of paying the bribe, he went to the police who organised a “sting operation”.
Judge Mpho Mamosebo said the sentence handed down by the trial court was fatally flawed and not judicial.

A Northern Cape High Court judge has cautioned that direct imprisonment must be the norm when sentencing people convicted of corruption.

Judge Mpho Mamosebo, with Acting Judge AD Olivier concurring, described as “laughable” a sentence imposed by a lower court on an Upington traffic officer, who demanded a R1,000 bribe from a motorist. The officer was fined R10,000, payable in monthly instalments of R1,000, or two years imprisonment.

On appeal by the local Director of National Prosecutions, the court said the sentence was “fatally flawed and not judicial”.

The court increased the sentence to a fine of R60,000, to be paid by the end of January 2024, or to three year’s imprisonment, with Judge Mamosebo noting that traffic officer Oscar Bongela had already paid a portion of the fine previously imposed.

However, she said, jail should be the norm.

“I wish to issue this serious warning. This sentencing approach must in no way serve as a precedent. Direct imprisonment ought to be the norm.”

Bongela, who had been a traffic officer for 17 years at the time, was convicted along with colleague Lebogang Tosa of corruption in the local regional court in September 2020. They were both fined R10,000 or, in default of payment, to two years imprisonment.

They were also given three-year, wholly suspended sentences.

The DPP, in the appeal, said the sentences were shockingly lenient and ignored precedent in such matters.

Tosa died before the DPP’s appeal was heard.

Bongela did not participate in the appeal.

According to the record before the court, Bongela was senior to Tosa. They were posted near Upington Main Road when they pulled over Robert Doncaster, who was rushing his wife, who was in labour, to hospital.

They asked him for a bribe of R1,000.

Doncaster drove into town saying he was going to get the money. Instead he went to the police who swiftly set up a trap.

The police gave Doncaster marked money and fitted him with a recording device.

He paid the money to Tosa. Tosa kept R700 and gave Bongela R300.

After the police pounced, all of the money was recovered.

Judge Mamosebo, in her recent ruling, said “mystifyingly” Bongela was still employed as a traffic officer. At the time of the trial he had been earning R23,000 a month.

The State had pointed out that both Bongela and Teso had been paid on the day they asked Doncaster for a bribe.

Judge Mamobsebo said the magistrate had not considered relevant case law.

“Corruption, as expressed by so many courts, is a cancer to be dealt with harshly,” she said.

The magistrate had overemphasised the traffic officers’ personal circumstances and downplayed the seriousness of the offence and its impact on society.

“It was inconsiderate and even callous of them to demand a bribe from a person who was clearly acting out of necessity caused by his child’s impending birth,” the judge said.

The fine of R10,000 “was laughable”.

“I am of the view that the monetary aspect of the punishment should be increased steeply to signify the turpitude of the offence committed. I have also had regard that Bongela has retained his employment throughout. It is up to him to devise some means to pay the fine,” she said, saying if he defaulted, he must serve the time.

“The magistrate was far too generous.”

She ordered Bongela to pay a fine of R60,000 and to pay the full balance by 31 January 2024 or serve three years in jail.

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