su-Zuma DIY because anybody can

Flood warning for Cape residents

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre late on Tuesday issued a flood warning for many parts of the province, including the Cape metropole.

In response, the City’s housing directorate urged residents in low-lying, flood-prone informal settlements to reduce the risk of flooding by raising the floor level of their homes.

Communities in flood-hit informal settlements were invited to contact the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089 to request sand to raise the floor of their dwellings to keep water out. If the roof of their home is leaking, residents can apply for flood kits from the City’s Informal Settlements Management team.

The City appealed to residents to help by:

* Clearing out drainage systems on their properties

* Moving to higher ground if they stay in a flood-prone area (for assistance with this they can contact the City’s Call Centre or the Informal Settlements Management team)

* Digging trenches around their homes to divert water away

* Reporting blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping

* Waterproofing roofs, clearing gutters and removing dead tree branches

“The City’s human settlements directorate is working closely with communities and other City departments to, as far as possible, ensure that the residents whose homes are vulnerable to flooding are cared for,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Benedicta van Minnen.

The City advised that heavy rain, strong wind conditions in the interior and very cold weather can be expected over the next two days.

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, said the concern was that the weather would not only lead to flooding but mudslides and fires.

“Some of the other associated risks during bad weather like this also includes mudslides, and informal settlement fires as well as severe cold made worse by the possible electricity challenges due to potential load shedding,” he said

Bredell has urged motorists and pedestrians travelling in the province over the next few days, to take extra caution.

“Care should be taken when crossing low lying bridges, or streams and rivers as floodwaters may be on the way.”

Provincial as well as municipal disaster management centres remain fully operational with officials on standby 24/7. These centres can be activated immediately should it be required.

Bredell stressed that communities should contact and cooperate with local authorities and emergency response personnel in the event of any emergency. He said the easiest number to call was 112, adding: “This number can be dialled toll-free from any cellphone.”

In case of emergency other relevant numbers to call are:

* Cape Winelands: Langeberg Municipality 0860 88 1111

* Eden District: 044 805 5071

* Central Karoo: 023 414 2603

* West Coast: 022 433 8700

* Overberg: 028 271 8111

* City of Cape Town: 107 landline or 021 480 7700

The City also attached the following flooding related tip sheet:

How can I prepare for a flood?

* Identify the risk in your local area.

* Prepare a home emergency plan, and identify risks around your home.

* Remove leaves (from downpipes or gutters) or any other items that can increase the risk of flooding in your area.

* Have an evacuation plan. Everyone in your family has to know where to go to find shelter.

* Prepare an emergency toolkit. This should include a first aid kit, torch and portable radio with batteries, candles and waterproof matches, drinking water, a multi-tool, whistle and emergency contact numbers.

What should I do during a flooding?

* Monitor current flood warnings. Listen to the radio for emergency warnings, evacuation advice and weather updates.

* Avoid entering floodwater unless it is necessary, and never underestimate the strength of floodwater, even if you are inside a vehicle.

* Follow all instructions from emergency authorities.

* Turn off all electricity and water and take your cellphone with you.

* Assist elderly and disabled neighbours.

What should I do after the flood?

* Before entering your house, wait until the water has dropped below floor level.

* Check with electricity and water authorities to know whether it is safe for you to use these resources.

* Be aware of contamination if water sources have been flooded; this could be unsafe to drink.

Contact these additional emergency numbers:

* 112 (from a cellphone) and 10177 from a landline.

* Report floods, blocked drains and service disruption to 0860 103 089.

* City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre: 080 911 4357.

- ANA

Nkaandlaa Heh heh hey HAAAi

Cape Town Stadium: FIFA icon or albatross

Cape Town - An albatross around the necks of ratepayers, or a valuable and iconic asset? The Cape Town Stadium, running at an annual loss of about R40 million, was described as both during Tuesday’s full council meeting where it was agreed that the current management plan should be extended by a year to June 2016.

Councillors alluded to the recent Fifa corruption scandal during their debate on the stadium’s future, with Andre Fourie of the Freedom Front Plus saying that Fifa president Sepp Blatter took billions of rands out of the country, leaving Cape Town and other municipalities with massive bills for the stadiums that were built.

He said the consortium of Stade de France and the local SAIL Group pulled out if its management agreement with the city soon after the World Cup when it realised the stadium would never be filled to capacity.

Fourie said it was unlikely that the formation of a municipal entity to manage the stadium would be the panacea the city needed to make the facility financially viable.

“This albatross - despite the thousands that it cost the city to build - is costing ratepayers in unaffordable monthly operational and maintenance costs.”

Fourie said the only way the city could avoid any further financial loss was by selling the stadium to SA Rugby for R1.

“Acknowledge that the stadium was a mistake. Accept that you are not going to make it commercially viable without an anchor tenant. Cut your losses - and the albatross around the neck of Cape Town’s ratepayers - and offer the stadium to Newlands for R1.”

Demetrius Qually, of the DA, said that although the Fifa scandal had tarnished the World Cup legacy, the stadium remained a valuable and iconic asset.

There was also “justifiable” concern about the long-term viability of the stadium. However, the business plan being finalised, which included the lifting of restrictive environmental conditions, would make it sustainable.

“We are confident that the stadium and Green Point Urban Park can be both viable and financially sustainable,” said Qually.

Grant Haskin, of the African Christian Democratic Party, agreed that the management of the stadium had to continue without interruption while the business plan was being finalised.

But he said the city had been promising “stadium profitability” since 2009. “How then can one blame irate ratepayers for their calls to rather demolish the stadium instead of wasting their money? What was a proud moment in Cape Town’s history has become a furious embarrassment for the city and its people.”

Majidie Abrahams, of the ANC, argued that extension of the management arrangements without clarity on the business plan could put the city at risk of spending and losing money for another three years.

But mayor Patricia de Lille pointed out that the management plan had been extended to June 2016, and not 2018 as initially proposed, and included a condition that a progress report on the commercialisation of the precinct would be submitted to council in March next year.

Garreth Bloor, mayoral committee member for economic development, tourism and events, said the rezoning process was already under way. Demolition of the stadium was not an option, he said.

The city had been advised of 18 revenue streams that would generate a profit for the next 10 to 15 years.

This excluded any revenue that would come in from an anchor tenant.

He said the naming rights alone would secure between R5m and R10m in revenue for the city. The tabled revenue budget for the next financial year is R14m.

But Bloor allayed fears about the discrepancy between the stadium’s projected costs and income.

Although the tabled operating budget expenditure for 2015/2016 was R138m, limited commercial rights would bring this amount down to R34.2m. “The commercial rights process has already started. We will make it work and we will continue the (World Cup) legacy,” he said.

[like a mountain goat skipping through the diaspora with donations...]

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus

Government is not concerned about it's citizens here is the proof.

“One should question a government’s willingness to deliver housing for the poor when it builds a white elephant for the rich,” says André du Plessis of Cape Town-based InternAfrica, which campaigns for sustainable housing.

- Financial Times London 08/07/2010

Naturally what followed was colluded stadia construction Cape Town cost R4,4 Billion and service delivery of toilets for 50,000 that remain locked up and maintained at R60 million cost per annum... and Blikkiesdorp

All I can say is #ITOLDYOUSO!

LONG AGO!

Nkaandlaa burns Cape Town - as always

Houses burn as the President laughs about his firepool

Cape Town - Violence flared again in Marikana informal settlement on Friday, after residents torched the home of Leticia Mali on Symphony Way.

The act prompted retaliation by residents of Lower Crossroads who, in turn, set ablaze a shack of the man they accused of being behind the attack on Mali’s house.

The conflict has raged throughout the week, starting as a protest prompted by the cutting of illegal electricity connections to the informal settlement.

Four municipal trucks and five other vehicles were set alight, and a 68-year-old man died after his Toyota Hilux was stoned on the N2 on Thursday. Police vehicles were also stoned.

Angry Marikana protesters torched Mali’s home in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The Lower Crossroads residents then retaliated, claiming they were being held to ransom by the informal settlement residents.

“We are angry because we don’t have services to give them, and we are not responsible for them.

“So we don’t understand why they are taking their anger out on us and our homes.

“They have started this fight and we will not succumb to their ludicrous behaviour. These are our homes and we have worked hard for them,” one angry Lower Crossroads resident said.

Mali’s home was petrol-bombed by angry Marikana residents who claimed it was unfair that they were stuck in shacks with no services, while their neighbours lived comfortably.

Mali said some illegal electricity connections had run to Marikana from her house, but that she had cut them off due to the blackouts.

“They got angry and they threw a petrol bomb through the roof of the bedroom.

“The fire spread fast because there was no ceiling in that room,” she said.

Marikana community leader Nocks Gijana countered that it was not residents of the informal settlement who set her house alight, although she acknowledged there was bad blood between the two neighbourhoods.

Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said late on Friday that the area remained tense, and police were monitoring the situation.

“This office can confirm that police action was taken during an ongoing protest in the Philippi East area.

“Property was damaged, but an accurate account of damages cannot no be issued at this stage,” he said.

- Saturday Argus

South Africa's 'brazen cover-up' of Zuma's home upgrade

The offence itself was bad enough - an orgy of overspending by obsequious officials and conniving contractors who managed to spend 246m rand ($21.7m, £14.3m) of public money lavishly upgrading South African President Jacob's Zuma's private homestead, Nkandla.

That is nearly 10 times what taxpayers spent on Nelson Mandela's two homes, and 20 times what it cost to secure Thabo Mbeki's house.

As we now know, Mr Zuma's "essential security upgrades" included a swimming pool, an amphitheatre, a chicken run and a visitors' centre. A fairly humble collection of traditional buildings on a rural hillside has been transformed into something more like a luxury holiday resort.

But as is so often the case in politics, it is the cover up - long, venomous, hair-splitting and sanctimonious - that has been most revealing, and most depressing.

Some of Mr Zuma's closest advisers - those with an eye on image and votes, rather than on real or imaginary security concerns - were urging him from the very beginning to apologise for any errors and to volunteer immediately to pay for any unwarranted expenditure.

The scandal could have ended in a week, and the president could even have emerged with his status enhanced.

Instead Mr Zuma and his supporters have sought to undermine the credibility of South Africa's public protector - whose exhaustively forensic report recommended that he repay some of the money - and have ridiculed the opposition for seeking to turn Nkandla into a presidency-defining scandal about accountability and corruption.

Now the police minister - a man whose career is, of course, entirely dependent on Mr Zuma's goodwill - has produced his own report, which spells out, in inadvertently comic detail, how conveniently the mosaic-inlayed swimming pool can double as an essential source of water for fighting fires.

The minister's unsurprising conclusion - Mr Zuma should not pay back a penny.

Comic moment

President Zuma did not hide his sense of vindication.

In parliament this week he openly mocked the opposition's attempts to pronounce the word "Nkandla" in a not-so-subtle hint that it was white politicians who were driving the criticism.

It was a confident, boisterous, divisive, and - at least for his supporters - genuinely comic moment.

And there is no doubt that Mr Zuma's jibes will have gone down well with his base.

- BBC

Nkaaandlaa Giggler Strikes again - heh heh heh HAAAI !

Four children die in shack fire

Cape Town - A Khayelitsha family has been left reeling in the aftermath of a shack fire which killed four children trapped inside.

The children, two of them just a year old, had been found dead at the doorway where they had desperately tried to open the door.

Lungiswa Vensile, the mother of two of the children, screamed as she recounted arriving at the shack in Khayelitsha's U Section to find it had been engulfed in flames.

Her children had been staying with her sister for the past two weeks as she worked to support her extended family.

"I am just so sad," she said, her voice hoarse and tears spilling down her cheeks.

The other two children were three and six.

Police said the fire had started at around 8pm, They were investigating the cause.

Neighbours said they had stepped outside to see a tower of flames looming over their homes as the fire engulfed a double-storey shack on the property.

Police said four dwellings were destroyed.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus

Shack fire leaves more than 200 homeless

Cape Town - Approximately 240 people have been left homeless after a fire swept through parts of an informal settlement in Masiphumelele near Fish Hoek late on Thursday afternoon, the City of Cape Town said.

“Approximately 60 structures were destroyed,” the City’s disaster risk management spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said.

The City is providing emergency shelter for the survivors at the Masiphumelele Community Hall.

“The Red Cross Society will provide relief in the form of hot meals, blankets, and food,” said Powell.

The City’s human settlements department was on scene registering those affected and would provide affected residents with starter kits to rebuild their homes.

- ANA

BlikkiesDorp - The Zille legacy

Backyarders mark ‘their plots’ in Philippi

Cape Town - Backyarders from various townships marked plots on an open piece of land in Philippi on Wednesday, saying they were tired of waiting for housing.

The group used sticks, pangas and pegs to mark off pieces of land where they plan to erect structures near the Joe Gqabi transport terminus off Stock Road.

The residents were from Langa, Gugulethu, Samora Machel and Site C, and received help from community leaders.

One of the leaders, Joseph Makeleni, said they would continue to assist residents who wanted to invade open land.

“Law Enforcement and police came to remove us, but we were peaceful and some of the people left and others stayed.

“People have been waiting for housing for a long time, they are on the database for a long time and nothing is happening.”

Makeleni said they would continue to take land as a way to make the city notice them and their need for housing and proper service delivery.

“We feel rejected by the government and we will provoke them until they give us services.

“It is the only way to get their attention, by taking over the land that they boast about but don’t use.”

Makeleni said most of the privately owned land belonged to “rich white businessmen”, which was unfair.

Charmaine Mkoni, a community leader from the Marikana informal settlement, said they were forced to fight for themselves as their elected councillors were not doing much about their lack of housing and service delivery.

“We are planning on sleeping here because people are entitled to have spaces and housing.

“We will help each other to put up shacks and stay here,” Mkoni said.

City Law Enforcement spokesman Neil Arendse said they responded to the invasion but it was quiet and no serious incidents were reported.

Arendse said they remained in the area and officers were also focusing on other land invasion hotspots.

“Even though some of the land is privately owned, at some point it becomes a city problem. When the owner doesn’t do anything about it (invaders), the city has to step in,” Arendse said.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus

Five dead, scores displaced by fires

Cape Town - Five people were killed in three separate fires in the Cape Peninsula on Sunday morning, the City of Cape Town Fire Service said.

“Just before 3am this [Sunday] morning the City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to an informal settlement fire, Salamander Road Command, Hout Bay,” said spokesman Theo Layne.

A man, a woman, and two minors were killed in the blaze which swept through the informal settlement, destroying 30 shacks.

Approximately 120 people were left displaced.

Police were on scene to investigate the cause of the fire.

An hour later, a man was killed when one shack was razed to the ground in Solomon street, Mfuleni.

Earlier on Sunday morning, 25 people were left displaced when seven shacks were destroyed during a fire at the Village Heights informal settlement in Lavender Hill.

- ANA

No case yet on gang building protection

Cape Town - Police say “information from ground level” about protection money being paid to the Hard Livings gang by city-contracted construction companies refurbishing flats in Manenberg is not enough to warrant an investigation.

On Sunday, Jeremy Vearey, head of Operation Combat, a police operation targeting gangsterism in the province, said he had been notified of the situation in Manenberg, but needed a statement under oath to officially investigate.

“We received information from ground level which indicated these activities were taking place, but information is information. We need a statement under oath to form the basis of a case docket and then we can investigate,” Vearey said.

Vearey mentioned a report published on Sunday in the Weekend Argus, the Cape Times’s sister newspaper, that revealed an e-mail from safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith to other city officials, dated December 12, had been leaked.

Smith confirmed this on Sunday. He said he had been made aware of the allegations in December last year.

“In the e-mail, I basically said that all the information we have needs to go to the SAPS because it is a criminal offence in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and must be criminally prosecuted.

“I made it clear that the dossier be handed over and the complaint made to a senior police officer,” Smith said.

Vearey said: “We have not seen or received any dossier yet.”

Smith said he would be meeting with the city’s human settlements department and the construction companies this week.

“Either we will hire city law enforcement as security or we will select a panel of security companies and choose one to work there,” he said.

Mayco member for human settlements Benedicta van Minnen said the city was investigating two construction companies.

“Initially there was H & I Construction, and now there is Good Hope Construction. We are busy with our investigation and will be meeting again this week to discuss the way forward. The refurbishments will continue this week and we are on track to finish in June,” she said.

Good Hope Construction chief executive Raziek Rajah denied that his company was being investigated.

“It must be made clear that according to the city, we are not under investigation. They have made contact to confirm this.”

Rajah refused to be drawn on whether his workers were asked to pay gangsters protection money.

Attempts to reach H & I Construction for comment proved fruitless.

carlo.petersen@inl.co.za

- Cape Times

'Political instigators' blamed for land grabs

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is set to lay criminal charges against “political instigators” of a spate of illegal land invasions which have hit the metropole in recent days.

Metro Police and the SA Police Service officers were called to intervene in at least three land grabs in Khayelitsha, Wallacedene and Kalkfontein in the past week.

“The City is investigating reports of possible political interference pertaining to the Kalkfontein violence but it must be emphasised that a trend of political instigation is already visible in the attempted land invasions which have taken place recently, including in Khayelitsha,” said the City’s mayoral committee member for human settlements Benedicta van Minnen.

“We condemn land invasions and the incitement to invade State- or privately-owned land in the strongest possible terms. We urge residents not to be misled by miscreants who are preying on the poor to build their political profiles and to create havoc in the city.”

On Sunday night, a group of protestors who were prevented from invading land in Kalkfontein, near Kuils River, set a church alight.

“We will not tolerate this behaviour, which is placing strain on the City’s law enforcement agencies, the South African Police Service (SAPS), and the City’s broader service delivery efforts at the expense of law-abiding residents,” said Van Minnen.

“The City will use every available resource at its disposal to prevent land invasions and we will make sure that those who are responsible for any incitement to violence, land invasions and other criminal acts face the full consequences of the law.”

Van Minnen declined to name the politicians the City would be laying charges against regarding the Kalkfontein incident.

The City had, however, already laid charges against Economic Freedom Fighters Western Cape leader Nazier Paulsen who led a group of people to occupy land in Khayelitsha during the Easter weekend.

The City had since managed to remove the structures erected on the land next to the Nolungile railway station.

Law enforcement officers were also called to Wallacedene in Kraaifontein at the weekend. Thirty four structures were removed from the land.

The City on Monday called on private landowners to contact the City and relevant law enforcement agencies if they detect the illegal occupation of land.

“Landowners need to act immediately,” said Van Minnen.

“If landowners or residents are aware of any other illegal activity, such as political instigation or criminality, they must approach the SAPS to conduct an investigation and for assistance.”

- ANA

Cape land invaders refuse to move

Cape Town - Illegal land invasions have spread across Cape Town from Khayelitsha, Kalkfontein near Bonteheuwel and now to Wallacedene in Kraaifontein.

JP Smith, the mayco member of safety and security for the City of Cape Town, said seven people who occupied land illegally in Kalkfontein were arrested on Saturday.

“There were protesters in the area who were burning tyres and throwing stones near the lane of the R300 earlier on Saturday afternoon. And, firemen in Hamilton Estate were also assaulted after trying to put out a fire. One man was injured and the others refused to go back to control the fire because of the danger that they were in,” Smith said.

In light of the sporadic land grabs that took place across the city last week, Smith provided a breakdown of the city’s intervention.

“(A total of) 20 illegal structures and 920 pegs were destroyed in Khayelitsha, 100 pegs were destroyed in Lwandle (Strand). Thirteen illegal structures were demolished in Kalkfontein.”

He said public spaces in Wallacedene were under threat. “More of these illegal structures are being erected. (On Sunday) police will be in the area to stop these structures from disturbing public spaces.”

When the Cape Argus visited Kalkfontein on Sunday, people remained defiant and continued to erect illegal structures, saying they have nowhere else to go.

Elliot Malgas was adamant that he and his family would not move willingly. “We still want to build here. On Saturday, law enforcement demolished our homes but we haven’t got any other place to stay.”

After being evicted, Malgas said: “It was terrible, I am not happy. Everyone here has bought all the materials for their houses, now we have to spend more money to build. I have lost my TV, clothes and even my ID.”

He said this was the third time in one week that their homes were destroyed.

A church was set alight during the violent protest.

“It’s confirmed that the church has been set alight. Apparently it appears it was set alight by protestors,” said police spokesman Colonel Thembinkosi Kinana.

No injuries were reported.

“No arrests have been made so far. The investigation is still ongoing,” said Kinana.

Joshua Njingo, who was shot in the head on Saturday said: “They came to shoot at us while we were building. It’s terrible. The South African law enforcement can’t just come from behind and just shoot you.”

Banele Ntlangani, 22, another Kalkfontein resident, feared losing his eight-month-old baby, Uminati.

“We were busy building and law enforcement came. They said they were here just to break the shacks without people living inside them. Afterwards they surrounded the whole area with hippos and then just broke all the houses.”

Police spokesman Colonel Thembinkosi Kinana said: “Eight protesters were arrested for public violence on Sunday and they are expected to appear in court (Monday).”

matthew.vanschalkwyk@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus and ANA

Cape Town Stadium may cost another R60 million

Ratepayers are not done paying for the Cape Town Stadium just yet, because a draft environmental assessment report released for public comment reveals it could cost as much as R60 million to refurbish parts of the stadium to make it suitable for commercial activities.

The consultants working on the assessment, the Environmental Partnership, said this was an "approximate" cost that would depend on the stadium's full commercial potential being realised. With more limited specifications, the amount could be drastically reduced.

But the use of the stadium for office and retail space could bring in an annual revenue of R31m.

It has cost the City of Cape Town R4.4 billion to build the stadium for the 2010 World Cup, and the facility has been running at an annual loss of R39m since then.

Luke Stevens, spokesman for the Camps Bay Residents' and Ratepayers' Association (CBRRA), said: "Our greatest fear as ratepayers is that the city will throw significant amounts of good money - such as R60m - in speculative redevelopment to discover that even after the removal of the constraints to business activity, the stadium remains technically unprofitable."

Stevens said the association did not object to the commercialisation of the stadium precinct, but had "very little faith" in the business plan upon which the projected revenue streams were based.

The city had yet to adopt a business model for the stadium, and work on this was being done as a separate exercise, said the Environmental Partnership.

Stevens said this process "remains opaque and we continue to suspect, given the competencies of the International Risk Mitigation Consultants who compiled the business plan, that the hidden emphasis in the business plan's terms of reference was to find a way to dislodge Western Province Rugby from Newlands rather than to find real alternatives for Cape Town Stadium".

An estimated 20 000m2 of potential lettable space for offices, restaurants or retail outlets was available within the stadium structure. The proposed commercialisation of the precinct was limited to the stadium and would not infringe on the Urban Park.

The Environmental Partnership said the remainder of the shortfall would be made up from various revenue streams, such as the development of suites, commercial parking, advertising and the development of the Granger Bay Precinct.

The development of this precinct could bring in between R27m and R98m, depending on which proposal was accepted.

There was a separate environmental impact assessment under way for the Granger Bay area but the legislation was changed last December, and the proposed redevelopment was no longer a listed activity and therefore did not require an environmental authorisation. However, the development would still need land use and heritage approvals.

Given the ongoing operational and maintenance budget shortfalls for the stadium, the city needed to find a sustainable business model that would make the precinct commercially viable.

This could only be done if the existing environmental authorisation that restricted these activities was amended.

"It is anticipated that the income generated from commercial activities will assist in reducing the annual deficit of R39m incurred by the municipality and subsequently the ratepayers. From an economic point of view, the stadium's viability needs to be improved and municipal spending on this existing facility reduced," said the report.

The draft environmental report forms part of this process.

After feedback from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, it was recommended that two rezoning proposals should be considered - general business and a split zoning, which would allow the South Forecourt to be used for general business subzone 1, while the remainder would be for subzone 7.

While both zones would allow for commercial activity that include retail, business or office space, places of worship, a multiple parking garage, a service station, places of entertainment or hotels, the South Forecourt would have a height restriction and floor space restrictions.

Additional use rights include an adult shop subject to certain provisions.

The split-zoning was the preferred alternative, as it would be more likely to protect the integrity of the South Forecourt while allowing this portion of the precinct to become more functional.

Some of the major impacts identified in the report include the additional lighting at the stadium, potential traffic impact on event days, and future development risks associated with the South Forecourt.

The report also recommended conditions of approval, such as the use of signals on the Green Point traffic circle to cope with the increased traffic and a heritage assessment of any development on the South Forecourt.

This area of the stadium must be used as a functional open space, said the Environmental Partnership. This condition was welcomed by CBRRA. "We stress that open space is vital to the promotion of a healthy and productive society. These spaces are not fallow, wasted areas," said Stevens.

The findings of the draft environmental impact report will be available at an open meeting at the stadium on April 21, from 4pm until 8pm, with a presentation starting at 6pm.

- IOLProperty

Church set alight during protest

Cape Town - A church was set alight during a violent protest in Kalkfontein, near Kuils River, on Sunday evening, Western Cape police said.

“It’s confirmed that the church has been set alight. Apparently it appears it was set alight by protesters,” said police spokesman Colonel Thembinkosi Kinana.

“As I understand it, it’s a continuation of the land invasion protests that were going on the weekend,” he said.

No injuries were reported.

“No arrests have been made so far. The investigation is still ongoing,” said Kinana.

Kinana could not confirm whether the protests were linked to similar protests late in March when a council home rented by a law enforcement officer was petrol-bombed, allegedly by a group of people evicted from land they illegally occupied.

Members of the public order policing unit would remain on the scene, Kinana said.

Since March, the area has seen an invasion to occupy a stretch of land belonging to the city council.

- ANA

‘Gangsters were hired’

Manenberg, which fuelled gang warfare in the already volatile area.

If the allegations that a city-contracted construction company or companies paid gangsters for security are found to be true, the city, on a mayoral committee member’s admission, could be implicated in contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

Weekend Argus is in possession of leaked copies of e-mails and minutes of a meeting that show that, despite knowing about the matter in December, the city is still, months later, deciding how to address it.

This week police said they had received complaints from Manenberg residents about the matter, but that no formal statements had been made.

In a leaked e-mail from safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith to other city officials, dated December 12, Smith said: “The city needs to hand over all the information they have to SAPS around the paying of gangsters by city-contracted housing contractors working on the CRU (Community Residential Units). This is a criminal offence in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and other legislation, and needs to be criminally prosecuted.

“The city is implicated in this, and we need to make a formal submission to SAPS with all the information we have.”

Smith, in the e-mail, said he had suggested the human settlements department ask the contractors to put in writing what they knew.

He also asked the Metro Police to take the submissions to the police, “so the city has fully disclosed what we know”.

Asked to comment, Smith con-firmed to Weekend Argus he had sent the e-mails, adding that he was trying to alert his colleagues to a housing issue.

This week, various sources told Weekend Argus recent flare-ups in gang violence in Manenberg were rooted in the employment of rival gang members for security by construction companies which were upgrading council flats.

Late last year, this had fuelled fighting between gangs, unhappy with their rivals taking over construction sites, and last week the already tense situation was exacerbated when a hit was put out on an Americans gangster, and his allies then retaliated.

Residents reported that machine guns were used in the fighting.

In a terse response to a list of questions from Weekend Argus about the contractors paying gangsters, the city’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, Benedicta van Minnen, said only: “The city can confirm that an investigation is under way, and the necessary actions will be taken once the outcome of the investigation has been confirmed.”

But details of what has been happening are contained in the leaked e-mails.

In an earlier e-mail from Smith, dated December 2, he said a meeting needed to be set up with the head of one of the construction companies “and the contractors working for human settlements in Manenberg about the protection money being demanded by the Hard Livings, and being paid by one of the contractors”.

Minutes from a meeting between city officials dealing with the Community Residential Units upgrades, held on February 6, were also leaked to Weekend Argus.

The minutes show that a senior safety and security official had attended.

It mentions a “dossier of alleged contraventions” involving Manenberg, and says a Metro Police head advised that a charge should not be lodged at the Manenberg police station, but that a complaint should instead be made to a senior police officer.

But the senior official advised the issue be placed instead on the agenda for when mayor Patricia de Lille had her next monthly meeting with provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer.

De Lille was then meant to hand over the dossier for Lamoer to investigate at a provincial level.

This week, Lamoer said he did not know about the dossier, and provincial police spokesman Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said they had not received any such dossier.

De Lille’s spokeswoman Zara Nicholson said the matter was being dealt with “by the relevant authorities”.

On Saturday, police General Jeremy Vearey, who heads up Operation Combat, the provincial police’s operation targeting gangsterism, said some Manenberg residents had complained about construction companies paying gangsters.

“But none of these reports have resulted in statements,” he said.

Vearey said if the allegations and suggestions were found to be true, it could result in charges of racketeering and corruption being investigated.

This week, Raziek Rajah of Good Hope Construction, a company working in Manenberg and which was named in one of Smith’s e-mails, told Weekend Argus that late last year its security providers were checked by police.

Rajah said his company hired employees from a City of Cape Town database that did not specify who was or was not a criminal.

- Weekend Argus