Friday, August 30, 2013

CAPE TOWN - Cape Town authorities are running relief centres in the rainy city where thousands of people have been affected by the weather.
"The bad and adverse weather that has hit the Western Cape has left more than 10,000 people in discomfort," the city's disaster and risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said on Friday.
The heavy rain and cold temperatures were predicted to continue into the weekend.
"The heavy downpour is exacerbated by cold and wet conditions... there is another low [pressure] frontal system expected to pass through tomorrow [Saturday]."
Solomons-Johannes said areas hardest hit by the adverse conditions were Philippi, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Lwandle, and Somerset West.
"The Cape Flats area is the most affected. We have been running a relief centre, handing out blankets and food."
On Wednesday, a cold front set in, bringing very cold and wet conditions accompanied by gale-force north-westerly winds between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas.
Solomons-Johannes said rivers were expected to burst their banks because of the downpour and urged residents in close proximity to be cautious.
-Sapa eNCA

Zille names poo protest leaders

Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has named 11 individuals she claims are responsible for orchestrating protests involving the dumping of human faeces in and around Cape Town.

“Today, we reveal the names of the ANC Youth League 'task team' that is leading the campaign to make Cape Town ungovernable,” she said in a statement on Friday.

There have been at least a dozen incidents of human waste being dumped in front of buildings, at the airport, or on city highways over the past four months.

Zille said the protests were part of a campaign to make the city and province “ungovernable” in the run-up to next year's general election.

“We have been gathering information about the ringleaders of the faeces attacks. Today, we are releasing that information, as well as supporting video footage,” she said.

A key point was there was only “a small handful of agitators”.

The statement then lists 11 names.

Zille called on the ANC “to act against them and subject them to disciplinary hearings”.

She said the information gathered on the 11 had been handed to the SA Police Service “for further investigation”.

“We... reiterate our call on the ANC and ANCYL to take swift and meaningful disciplinary action against their identified members involved in past and future attacks, and to co-operate with the police in their investigations by submitting relevant information,” Zille said. 

- Sapa


Cape Town shivers in the snow

Cape Town - Snow blanketed Table Mountain as well as mountains of the Boland and the Helderberg, Jonkershoek and Villiersdorp ranges on Friday morning, according to reports.
Whiel social media was abuzz with report and pictures of snow in Cape Town, authorities are running relief centres in the rainy city where thousands of people have been affected by the weather.
“The bad and adverse weather that has hit the Western Cape has left more than 10 000 people in discomfort,” the city's disaster and risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said on Friday.
The heavy rain and cold temperatures were predicted to continue into the weekend.
“The heavy downpour is exacerbated by cold and wet conditions... there is another low (pressure) frontal system expected to pass through tomorrow (Saturday).”
Solomons-Johannes said areas hardest hit by the adverse conditions were Philippi, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Lwandle, and Somerset West.
Helderberg mountains
Snow on mountains surrounding Stellenbosch.
@AgriWesKaap
“The Cape Flats area is the most affected. We have been running a relief centre, handing out blankets and food.”
On Wednesday, a cold front set in, bringing very cold and wet conditions accompanied by gale-force north-westerly winds between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas.
Solomons-Johannes said rivers were expected to burst their banks because of the downpour and urged residents in close proximity to be cautious. - Sapa and IOL

Second death as chill grips Cape

Cape Town - The pounding rain in Cape Town has claimed a second life, left thousands destitute and flooded a hospital ward.

The cloudy, wet and windy conditions are set to continue, with widespread thundershowers and snow over the high ground on Thursday and Friday.

Rescuers on Thursday recovered the body of a man who died when a cave in Hout Bay, in which he had taken shelter from the weather, collapsed.

On Wednesday a homeless man was found dead under sodden cardboard boxes in Kuils River. His companion was hospitalised.

Richard Daniels, 66, was one of two found by police huddled under sodden cardboard.

Vanessa Jackson, of the private ambulance service ER24, described the discovery of the dead man.

“As the Cape Town crew were heading back to their base, they were flagged down by the police on Main Road near the 7Eleven. The police had found two men huddled under wet cardboard boxes, unresponsive, freezing cold and sopping wet. One man was dead. The second was in a critical condition, with his body temperature at a dangerously low level.”

She said he was loaded into the ambulance and paramedics started resuscitation on him during the drive to Tygerberg hospital.

“By the time they got him to hospital, his condition had improved. He was stabilised and moving his limbs.”

Informal settlements throughout the city were affected, said the city disaster risk management team.

There was a large rock slide on to Chapman’s Peak Drive, and houses in Somerset West were flooded after the Lourens River burst its banks - forcing parts of Vergelegen Medi-Clinic to be closed last night. Nearby, residents of two gated villages smashed holes in perimeter walls to allow the rising floodwaters to flow.

Residents of Paarl were evacuated from their homes to community halls on Wednesday night when the Berg river broke its banks, said the DA.

“Community living near the river has been evacuated to community halls,” said Democratic Alliance Drakenstein constituency head Erik Marais.

“Mayor Gesie van Deventer has called up all councillors to go and assist the communities at risk.

“But, residents in Mbekweni informal settlement said that the municipality had failed them. With dozens of shacks under shin deep water this morning, residents say that there has been no aid or relocation plans for affected families.

Alfred Godongwana, a resident of Mbekweni for 10 years, was rallying support for “mass action” against the municipality. He threatened that a protest “unlike anything the municipality has seen before was imminent”.

Resident Andrew Rabie was seen at the rear of a neighbour’s house, smashing down a wall with a sledgehammer to let the water out of his house. Residents were filling plastic bags with stones to build barricades.

Franschoek Pass, between Franschoek and Villiersdorp, was closed after a mudslide and a small rockfall following heavy rains.

Traffic from Franschoek to Villiersdorp was being diverted to the N2.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Man dies in Cape cold snap

Cape Town - Driving rain has caused flooding in low-lying areas across the peninsula, leaving tens of thousands of residents destitute and at least one man dead.

The man was one of two found by police huddled under sodden cardboard. The second man was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Informal settlements were flooded, there was a large rock slide on to Chapman’s Peak Drive, and houses in Somerset West were flooded after the Lourens River burst its banks.

And it’s not over – cloudy, cold, wet and windy conditions will persist until Sunday as a series of cold fronts hit the Western Cape. The South African Weather Service has warned of snow on high ground, localised flooding in low-lying areas, strong winds and rough seas.

Charlotte Powell of the City’s Disaster Risk Management said many informal settlements had been affected across the Western Cape. They included Strandfontein, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Hout Bay, Edgemead, Kraaifontein and Lotus River.

People posted reports of flooding on the Western Cape Traffic Facebook page. There were reports of flooding in Glamis Close in Maitland; the Engen garage on the corner of Vanguard and Milton roads, Milnerton; Giel Basson near Plattekloof, Montague Gardens; and Monte Vista.

Powell said: “We will remain on high alert in the next two days until the rain subsides. The city’s community halls and centres in high-risk areas have been made available for emergency shelters… NGOs are helping with cooking and food distribution.”

About 30,000 residents have been affected by floods over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, night shelters were taking strain because of the extreme weather. Hassan Khan of The Haven night shelter in Green Point said the shelter’s intake had doubled in the past two days, and it was expecting more.

“We make a plan to accommodate them by putting extra mattresses on the floor, and hospitals have also donated folding beds.”

Vanessa Jackson, of the private ambulance service ER24, described the discovery of the dead man in Kuils River. “As the Cape Town crew were heading back to their base, they were flagged down by the police on Main Road near the 7Eleven. The police had found two men huddled under wet cardboard boxes, unresponsive, freezing cold and sopping wet. One man was dead. The second was in a critical condition, with his body temperature at a dangerously low level.”

She said he was loaded into the ambulance and paramedics started resuscitation on him during the drive to Tygerberg hospital.

“By the time they got him to hospital, his condition had improved. He was stabilised and moving his limbs.”

The man, as yet unnamed by authorities, remained in hospital on Wednesday night.

Spokesman for Chapman’s Peak Drive, Al-Ameen Kafaar, said there had been a “large” mud-slide halfway along the drive on Wednesday afternoon. “The pass is closed, but we will not be able to assess the situation until the mud is cleared, and we can see what damage there may be to the road.”

Residents of Paarl were evacuated from their homes to community halls on Wednesday night when the Berg river broke its banks, said the DA.

“Community living near the river has been evacuated to community halls,” said Democratic Alliance Drakenstein constituency head Erik Marais.

“With more rain expected tonight, more people are to be moved,” he said.

“Mayor Gesie van Deventer has called up all councillors to go and assist the communities at risk.”

Warnings of immediate danger because of rising water levels would also be sent to farmers next to the river, said Marais.

In Somerset West, the Lourens River burst its banks – flooding the N2 between Victoria Road and Somerset Mall, including a sub-station.

The water surged down a usually-narrow irrigation furrow and flooded the crescent of Penny Lane. Half a dozen houses were flooded as the street became a fast-flowing river.

Resident Andrew Rabie was seen at the rear of a neighbour’s house, smashing down a wall with a sledgehammer to let the water out of his house. Residents were filling plastic bags with stones to build barricades.

Restaurateur Bob McIlroy spent Wednesday evening, clad in a wetsuit, aiding neighbours.

“The river, which was our street, was rising by about an inch every 10 minutes – so about 30 of us urgently tried to barricade several houses. Some weren’t so lucky – the doctor four houses upstream had the river flowing through his kitchen. I’m standing on my stoep – it looks like a holiday house on the Breede.”

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Why I fling poo - law student

Cape Town - A self-proclaimed agitator has backed up the City of Cape Town’s claim that just a small group of people is behind recent protests around the city.
But he has warned that residents who co-operate with authorities’ new plans to pay for information on ringleaders run the risk of being regarded as “traitors”.
The Khayelitsha man, 23, a second-year law student at the University of the Western Cape, spoke to the Cape Argus on condition of anonymity, because of his frequent involvement in faeces-dumping and illegal blockades of the N2. He has been actively involved in protests since 2010, been arrested twice and shot with rubber bullets “dozens” of times.
“I want to challenge the stereotype that protesters are only desperate, unemployed people with no hope. I am a student, I live in a nice residence and have plenty of food to eat.
“Yet I return to Khayelitsha because I care about my community and I don’t want to see them being abused by the government.”
He said he rose with other protesters at 1am, blocked the N2 with burning tyres and dumped faeces at 4am, battled with police and still made it to morning lectures.
Copy of ca p4 protestor1 done
This Khayelitsha man says he is one of the people who drives the service delivery protests in his area. Photo: Cindy Waxa
Cape Argus
He said that a group of about 15 activists across a range of informal settlements were able to mobilise residents and co-ordinate protests in areas such Khayelitsha’s BM section, Barcelona, Europe, Kanana, Kosovo and as far afield as Dunoon. The existing discontent in these communities made it easy to rally people, he said. The cellular chat application WhatsApp is the group’s main form of communication among themselves.
Last week, JP Smith, mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, urged the media to stop referring to the protests as being related to “service delivery”.
Smith said there was increasing evidence that a “political element” underpinned these protests. Smith said the evidence was in the possession of Premier Helen Zille.
Protests had become more frequent and violent, with increased reports of rock throwing on the N2. A new “intelligence-driven” strategy was needed, he said.
Smith said prolonged investigations, photographing culprits and offering rewards for information that led to arrests were being considered.
On Wednesday, he will brief the media on damage to city property from recent protests.
Responding, the protester said that, although he was an active member of the ANC Youth League, his involvement in the protests had nothing to do with “party politics”.
“(They) are directed at the provincial government and its failure to provide proper services for people in informal settlements.
“We do not dump faeces at the offices of the DA, we go straight to provincial legislature. If the ANC takes power in the Western Cape and nothing changes, these protests will continue. In fact, they will intensify. This is a struggle of poor people who are subjected daily to conditions unfit for humans.”
Many of the main organisers were not affiliated along party political lines, he said.
In Khayelitsha, the Cape Argus spoke to another man, 37, who said he had been involved in dozens of service delivery protests in Site C over the past few years. He too professed to be an organiser without a party political mandate. He was a member of the ANC, but noted that many of the protests were directed at ANC ward councillors who failed to respond to community grievances.
“When I was younger we would stone buses and trucks, just as the youngsters are doing today. Now, I see it as my duty to teach them the ways of protesting without putting other people in danger. We do not want to see innocent people hurt.”
Both activists agreed that when “mob mentality” took over and at times when police fired rubber bullets there was “uncontrollable” violence, looting and vandalism.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Weather warning for Cape Town

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town will experience cold and wet weather conditions for the next few days, a city official said on Tuesday.

“The weather warning issued indicates that heavy rain is expected over the Cape Metropole overnight on 27 August and 28 August 2013,” disaster and risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said in a statement.

A cold front was due to set in, bringing very cold and wet conditions accompanied by gale-force north-westerly winds between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas.

“We urge residents to exercise caution,” he said.

- Sapa

Winter has no end in Cape Town

weather 1
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
The rain has left many residents living in informal settlements in the Cape anxious and residents in Kosovo in Philippi are to have a meeting a representative from the City of Cape Town to discuss a contingency plan. File photo: Ross Jansen
Cape Town - After clear skies and sunshine over the weekend Western Cape residents are again having to brace themselves for another cold front expected to bring more rain over the next few days.
Forecaster at the Cape Town weather office, Henning Grobler, said the rain predicted for Tuesday would not be too heavy but it would “intensify by Wednesday and Thursday”.
“There will be some cloud cover and a 60 percent chance of rain; it won’t be too bad, but the rain will continue until Thursday and Friday.”
Grobler said temperatures were expected be in the mid-teens and the weather was expected to clear up by the weekend.
The rain has left many residents living in informal settlements in the Cape anxious and residents in Kosovo in Philippi are to have a meeting a representative from the City of Cape Town to discuss a contingency plan.
Community leader Khaya Ncapayi said residents would meet before the meeting with the city.
“A person from the city will come here today and sit down and talk to us about our needs and what we can do for our people that are affected by the rain.
“We are hoping he can give us an idea of what we can do with those that have water in their homes.”
The heavy rains over the past few weeks have left at least 160 000 people across Cape Town needing assistance from the city.
A resident from the Siqalo informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Anetta Baloyi, said she had been living at a friend’s home in another part of the informal settlement for about two weeks, since her home was flooded.
“I go to check on my place every now and then but it doesn’t look like I will be going back anytime soon. Maybe I will go back in summer.”

Monday, August 26, 2013

Nkandla report coming soon: Madonsela

- SABC
Government has spent R200 million on security upgrades of President Jacob Zuma’s personal residence. (SABC)
Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, says the provisional report of her investigation into President Jacob Zuma's house in Nkandla will be finalised soon. 

Madonsela is investigating whether state money was abused for security upgrades at the president's private residence.

Government spent over R200 million on upgrades and consultants.

Madonsela says the report has already been drafted and bound. “We're just waiting for a bit more information…when we get that we should be able to factor it in within about five days, depending on the nature of the investigation and we shall then share the provisional report with only the affected parties.”

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Mom and child burn to death

Cape Town - A woman and her child burned to death in a fire in Parkwood, Cape Town on Sunday morning, Western Cape disaster risk management said.

Veronica Abrahams, 28, and four-year-old Riedewaan Slingers died after a fire broke out around 4am in a backyard dwelling in Parkwood Avenue, said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

“Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition.”

The cause of the fire was not known. - Sapa

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Cape taking radical steps against protesters

Cape Town - As violent protests flared up again on Friday in Khayelitsha and Milnerton, the city announced it is exploring radical new strategies for quelling the wave of discontent.

Police arrested 30 protesters in Joe Slovo informal settlement on Thursday night and Friday morning. They will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

On Thursday night the N2 was closed for three hours at Mew Way due to stone throwing from protesters.

Police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse crowds hurling rocks, glass bottles and rubbish at police and onto the road.

Govan Mbeki Drive in Khayelitsha was also closed. Police have not said how many people were arrested in Khayelitsha. Residents of the Khayelitsha BM Section tipped four portable toilets over the concrete fence and had been dragging them on to the highway’s inbound lane before police stopped them.

On Friday morning sections of Omuramba Road, Racecourse Road and Koeberg Road in Milnerton was closed as about 150 protesters burned tyres in the roads and threw rocks.

“The clashes between police and protesters are becoming more violent,” said JP Smith, Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security.

“Protesters are not merely throwing faeces anymore, a lot of stones are being thrown. It is only a matter of time before someone gets killed. We cannot carry on like this - responding to protests as they flare up and driving protesters away with force. A radically new approach is needed.”

At a portfolio meeting on Friday, Smith was to propose a new strategy which would see photographers accompanying police responding to protests. They would photograph the ringleaders and Smith hopes to put up posters in informal settlements - identifying the main suspects and offering rewards for information leading to arrests. This new strategy will be “intelligence driven” and could make use of informants and spies in the ranks of protesting residents.

“We have reports indicating that these protests are being politically motivated. We do not want people referring to them as ‘service delivery’ protests anymore - they are not. Increasingly we find that the ‘poor service delivery’ justification for these protests is paper thin,” Smith said, directing the Cape Argus to Premier Helen Zille’s office when asked for access to the reports.

But Smith has been slammed by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) for down-playing the lack of houses, sanitation and services in informal settlements as driving factors in many of these protests.

“It should be expected this time of year. We often see these flare-ups after periods of heavy rain and flooding in informal settlements. There is a well documented lack of housing in Cape Town and the city often fails in its aid and support for communities that are flooded,” said the SJC’s Axolile Notywala.

However, he acknowledged that there may be a subversive political element involved in some protests ahead of general elections next year.

Notywala said that Smith’s suggestion of putting up posters and asking residents to rat on trouble makers would only foster further antagonism between residents and authorities.

Instead, he said, city officials needed to link with ward councillors - many of whom are ANC members, and “constructively” engage about grievances as they arise.

Cop crackdown on Cape N2 protests

Cape Town - Police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse crowds that hurled rocks, glass bottles and rubbish onto the N2 in a protest that began shortly before 5pm, closing the road for more than three hours.

Cape Argus
Copy of ca p1 N2 cops crop done
A police officer fires rubber bullets at protesters on the N2. 
Photo: David Ritchie

The inbound lanes between Spine Road and Mew Way reopened at about 8pm.

With the normal rush hour traffic clogging up the outbound lanes and the inbound lanes being closed, traffic on the highway was more difficult than usual.

But provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said it would have been worse had the protests been on the other side of the road.

“It wasn’t a major problem but we still had some backlog. We managed it.”

Motorists were diverted to the N1.

Residents of the Khayelitsha BM Section tipped four portable toilets over the concrete fence and were dragging them on to the highway’s inbound lane before police stopped them.

Two police Nyalas, along with other police vehicles, as well as traffic and law enforcement were deployed to the stretch of freeway to maintain order.

Police spokesman Colonel Thembinkosi Kinana confirmed that police had fired stun grenades into the crowd to disperse them, and said officers would remain into the area to maintain peace.

“I think the protest is service delivery related, but there seems to be some resistance from the people and we have sent more police to the area.”

Kinana said it was a difficult situation to police as people ran onto the road to throw rubbish and then ran back into the informal settlements.

“We have not arrested anyone as they go attack and then run back into the shacks. One car was damaged and the person is going to lay a charge.”

The residents stood on top of concrete toilets and threw stones at passing cars, media and police. They said they were fed up with their toilet situation and would not stop protesting until they saw results.

Nangamso Ntshutsha, in his mid-30s, said he had lived in the BM Section for most of his life and had seen little change: “If we had proper sanitation it would be so much better, but we don’t want proper sanitation here, we want it in proper houses like other people that have normal houses.”

Ntshutsha said they would meet again on Friday for another protest.

The N2, one of the two major arteries in an out of Cape Town, has been closed at least four times in the past two months, because of protests.

A new lease of life for apartheid hostels

Cape Town - Work is due to start on the City of Cape Town’s huge R5.6 billion project to replace apartheid-era hostels with 15 000 rental flats for thousands of families in Langa, Gugulethu and Nyanga.

The first phase, for which R170 million has already been allocated, starts in October with the construction of more than 400 rental flats in Langa.

At least 1 000 families, many of whom are living in cramped hostel rooms meant for just one occupant, will move into these flats over the next two years. A further 837 units will be built by 2018.

Mayoral committee member for housing Tandeka Gqada said the completion of the project depends on whether the city can acquire enough land for the new units, and a constant stream of funding.

The National Treasury allocates funds to the city each year for housing, and this will be used for housing programmes, including the hostel development in Langa.

Gqada said the existing tenants of the New Flats and Special Quarters hostels would be top of the list of beneficiaries. This stage of the development will go up on a vacant site in Langa. Once the tenants from the New Flats and Special Quarters hostels are accommodated, these buildings will be demolished to make way for further development, said Gqada.

Residents of the Siyahlahla informal settlement will also be considered for flats, which will be three-and four-storeys, in keeping with the city’s densification policy. Each unit will have two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a toilet and shower, solar-heated water systems, wash-lines and a play area.

Gqada said city-owned hostels had provided single-sex dormitories for migrant labourers who had “bed cards” during apartheid.

Since this legislation had been repealed many of these “bed-card holders” were joined by their families, leading to severe overcrowding and the deterioration of conditions at these dwellings.

The project is being overseen by a steering committee with representatives of the affected communities to ensure the “success of this major development”.

This committee - which includes representatives from the hostels and informal settlements, the ward committees and council officials - would also help with the identification and verification of the beneficiaries.

Gqada said there had been years of public participation and that a project management team was set up in 2009 to gather information about the city’s hostels and to source suitable land for the new developments.

According to the heritage impact assessment for the project, the historical significance of the hostel sites should be preserved and recorded once the buildings are demolished for the flats to be built.

There should also be an interpretive plaque explaining the history of the site and the significance of past residents such as Chris Hani and Hamilton Naki, the self-taught surgeon who assisted Chris Barnard with the first heart transplant in 1967.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Cape Town braced for another wet spell

Cape Town - Wednesday’s cold front and heavy rains brought more misery to Capetonians living in low-lying areas, but relief from the rain is expected for the rest of the week.

After a few days of sunshine, the Western Cape was hit by yet another cold front on Wednesday that flooded roads and homes in many areas.

Disaster risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said 186 homes were affected in Chris Hani, Khayelitsha, on Wednesday.

At A Block in Kalkfontein, 105 homes were affected.

“A total of 1 980 people were affected, 1 540 blankets were distributed and 1 880 meals were supplied to people by disaster risk management teams.”

The good news is that the weather is expected to improve from Thursday, with sunshine for the rest of the week and the rain expected to return on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, traffic officials had their hands full with many flooded roads. Marine Drive near Milnerton, Berkley Road near Black River Park and the outbound lane on the M5 were among the routes affected.

Over the past few days, 160 000 shack dwellers have been affected by the heavy rains, according to disaster risk management.

Ocean Satellite Information Systems’ Jean-Pierre Arabonis said that although the weather should be dry and clear, temperatures could plummet and snow on the mountains could be expected.

Thursday will be mostly sunny with a high of 15 degrees and a minimum of seven degrees. Clear skies are predicted for Friday with a high of 18 degrees and a low of eight degrees. By Sunday, the temperatures should reach the mid-20s.

But it will be colder on Monday, and by Tuesday the rain will be back for most of the week.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Nxesi insists on Nkandla costs secrecy

Parliament, Cape Town - Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi on Tuesday insisted the report into alleged misspending at Nkandla remains secret to protect President Jacob Zuma's security.

Nxesi was again pressed on Tuesday to release it to Parliament's public works portfolio committee - even with those parts dealing directly with security excised - but told MPs to be patient.

They should await Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report into security upgrades costing R206 million at Zuma's homestead in the KwaZulu-Natal hamlet, he said.

“It is insensitive to request a document which deals with the security of the head of state. It is as simple as that,” he said.

“So my argument is let's wait for the public protector and the parliamentary processes to take their own course... let's wait for those reports and then once they come, let's deal with those issues.”

Nxesi confirmed that the report - which contains the findings of a government task team's investigation into spending at Nkandla - was handed to Speaker Max Sisulu.

The minister has recommended that it be given to Parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence for scrutiny. On Tuesday he reminded MPs that all political parties were represented on that committee.

Nxesi was asked for the report by Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer, who has accused the government of a “relentless cover-up” of what transpired at Nkandla.

Dreyer also asked whether the Special Investigating Unit had received a presidential proclamation enabling it to probe spending at Nkandla, following recent reports that it had been waiting in vain for more than six months.

Nxesi side-stepped the question, saying the president, not public works, had to issue such a proclamation.

“That question cannot be asked to this one, because it is not us who are signing that. Proclamations are dealt with at another level. That question can be asked at that level, not from us.”

He pointed out that the department had been co-operating with Mandonsela, who recently conducted an in loco inspection at Nkandla. She said in July her report was 99 percent ready.

“On this particular matter, even the public protector has been able to say these departments have been co-operating in terms of this information.”

The cost of the upgrade has caused public outrage, which grew worse in June when Nxesi told Parliament that the report had been classified.

Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin has said the findings indicated over-charging by contractors.

- Sapa

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Floods leave thousands homeless

Tens of thousands of Peninsula residents have been forced to abandon their homes, with forecasts of a respite today and tomorrow offering little solace after the havoc wreaked in the past few days.

More than 36 000 people have been left homeless as nearly 10 000 homes were flooded and countless informal houses and businesses damaged.

Residents swarmed around mayor Patricia de Lille yesterday in Philippi, when she waded through water mixed with sewage and rubbish, inspecting some of the worst-hit parts of the city.

At Kosovo, she and Disaster Risk Management officials and members of her mayoral committee who were accompanying her, struggled through knee-deep water during the inspection of affected homes yesterday.

Kosovo is built on a flood plain and is at high risk of flooding during bad weather. And while residents have been lucky for the past three winters, they were caught off-guard by very heavy downpours on Friday night.

Several homes were under water and residents could be seen packing up their belongings as they moved to stay with family and friends.

Following the example of residents, De Lille resorted to using stones and plastic sheets as makeshift stepping stones to traverse the mud and waterlogged paths.

Faeces, rubbish and even dead rats were floating in the larger puddles, which in many cases were turning into streams.

Shacks erected in the heart of Kosovo township were worst affected and while De Lille tried her best to reach them, it proved impossible.

“Sadly, because of its location on a water retention area, this outcome was almost predictable.

“It’s heartbreaking to see people’s homes filled with water and their possessions floating all over, with garbage,” she said, adding that they were relocating those affected to one of 13 temporary relocation areas.

The city had tried to move the people out of Kosovo for the past two years, but had met with resistance from the community.

“Some stay for close proximity to work and family, but some political activists convinced the people to resist our relocation attempts and stay, despite the danger. It is reckless and irresponsible to manipulate people’s lives for political gain,” De Lille said.

Throughout her inspection De Lille was mobbed by people who wanted to tell her of their plight.

Kosovo resident Nomavo Ndupe said she was pleased to see De Lille, because “the city must see what we go through”.

“It’s not just the water, but the sewage that flows into our homes. The children and old people get sick all the time,” she said.

Residents were given loaves of bread before De Lille and her team moved on to Macassar, where residents of Kramat had stacked sandbags in front of their homes after a nearby river began overflowing.

About 50 residents abandoned their flooded homes there on Thursday. They are being sheltered in the Macassar Community Hall.

Veronica du Plessis said it was the second time her home had flooded in three years.

“Last time we had no place to go and no one to help us, but this time we get meals and a place to keep our children safe,” she said.

While the women looked after the children in the hall, the men took it in turns to keep watch over their flooded homes to keep looters away.

On the other side of town, at the Klipfontein Mission Station along Lansdowne Road, residents protested and burnt tyres on Friday night over lack of proper stormwater drainage in the area.

Residents Jessica and Peter Andries said their home was knee-deep in water.

Jessica Andries said:

“I have a five-year-old and a baby grandchild who had been living under these conditions for over a week. Nobody has been here to help drain this water.”

Other residents complained about the threat of disease, sickness and sores.

Henry Adriaanse, 57, said they had been living “worse than animals” for the past week.

A fuming Patricia van Rensberg said they had given the city a memorandum demanding proper drainage.

“The entire road next to our homes is flooded, and when the cars come past all that water splashes and runs down into our homes. No person should be allowed to live like this,” she said. 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Cape Town’s flood relief appeal

Cape Town - The heavy rains this week has seen thousands receiving relief aid from the city, a mini mudslide in Hout Bay, several accidents and multiple road closures.
The City of Cape Town says it has spent more than R2 million in helping the nearly 10 000 people worst affected by heavy rains and cold weather that have been wreaking havoc around the city since Monday night.
The R2.6m spent by the city went toward supplying those affected with blankets, food and building materials.
Disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said 62 areas throughout the metro, comprising more than 3 000 households, had been affected in the past week.
Mayor Patricia de Lille said the city appreciated the effort put in by the disaster teams and civic organisations.
“As much as we want to assist every resident who has been affected by the current storms, we are not always able to do so due to the strain on already limited resources. I appeal to all businesses, community organisations and residents to contribute anything they can to help those who are affected.”
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Residents of QQ Section in Khayelitsha try to get their homes dry. Photo: David Ritchie
Cape Argus
The city has handed out 12 943 blankets, 349 baby kits, 2 250 meals and building materials consisting of roof sheets, wooden poles, plastic sheets and nails by Thursday night.
The city’s disaster response teams provided relief aid to individuals and households in Atlantis, Bishop Lavis, Cross Roads, Delft, Du Noon, Durbanville, Eerste River, Faure, Fish Hoek, Gordon’s Bay, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Lotus River, Macassar, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Ocean View, Philippi, Retreat, Scottsville, Simon’s Town, Strand, Uitsig and Valhalla Park.
Quinton Fortune, a resident from the Vrygrond informal settlement in Kuils River, said he stayed away from work because he couldn’t leave his goods floating in water. The water in his home had risen to ankle deep.
Other residents were packing sand around their homes in an attempt to prevent further water seepage.
The rains also caused a minor landslide near Hangberg in Hout Bay on Thursday morning. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile in Site-B’s QQ Section residents said they had not received any aid despite Mthobeli Qona, a community leader, writing to the city.
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Parts of the mountain slope in Hangberg gave way after heavy rainfall in Cape Town. Photo: Ross Jansen
Cape Argus
Jason van Veyeren, general manager at the River Club in Observatory, said motorists could not enter the premises because of a pool of water on the access road.
Motorists have been warned to be extra vigilant on the roads as heavy rains are forecast for the weekend.
Eight accidents were reported in just over six hours and several roads were closed on Thursday. Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said none of the accidents was serious.
Among the roads closed was the R45 near Paarl, the road between the M7 and M19 on the West Coast and Vissershok Road near Durbanville.

Minister Madikizela's Opening Remarks At the Affordable Housing Strategic Session, Fountain Hotel, Cape Town

PRESS RELEASE

The Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela, today delivered the opening remarks at the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements Affordable Housing Strategic Session at the Fountain Hotel, St Georges Mall, Cape Town. The session was attended by developers, banking institutions, social housing institutions and government.

"We are a well-known department, and are mostly well known for providing free houses. Yet we need to strike a balance, and make a paradigm shift in how we provide houses in South Africa. The development of affordable housing is one of the paradigm shifts we have to make."

"According to the latest statistics, we have around 3.5 million taxpayers, and around 17 million grant recipients. We have to move towards a situation where we have more people contributing, and less people on welfare, for the current approach is simply unsustainable."

"It takes around 11 grants to put together a house. The national allocation for housing is around R15 billion, and we need to avoid situations where we create poverty traps for municipalities by building free houses in which people do not contribute to rates and services, to providing houses where people can at least contribute something."

"We know there around 300 000 people who need houses, and earn between R6 500 and R12 500 a month, and we need to plan for these people and provide houses for them. We are not here to reinvent the wheel today. There are a number of developers who are doing some very good work, and we need to ask ourselves what kind of support we can offer as a state to the developers, so that some of these 300 000 people can be catered for. We do not need to do what the developers do very well, but rather to support them in providing opportunities for the above market, at a lower cost."

"We also need the banks to come on board, so that they can play a meaningful role in helping people finance their houses. Without the finance offered by the financial institutions, people will not be able to access the extra capital needed to buy the houses. It is through lowering the costs of development through government subsidies, and working closely with the banks, that the above market will be able to buy their own homes."

"We have made some changes in how we use the FLISP (Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Program), which helps lower the cost of bonds for people earning between R3 500 and R15 000 per month. Even with the contribution of the FLISP, a gap in service delivery still exists, and we are still not able to adequately service this market, as the costs of development are still too high to provide affordable opportunities."

"Today, we need to understand why many people cannot get bank loans to buy houses. We also need to understand why the government is still spending so much of its budget providing free houses that become poverty traps. We need developers to help come up with solutions to provide affordable developments. We need to understand what we need to do in consumer education and the importance of being a home owner, because many people get free houses and sell them in a few months after getting them. When used correctly, a house can be used to escape poverty."