Monday, December 30, 2013
Madonsela donates prize to the needy
Cape Town - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has donated her prize money for being the “newsmaker of the year” to residents of the Agstelaan informal settlement in Valhalla Park, Cape Town.
Ten days ago, a fire swept through about 350 shacks and left 1,400 people destitute.
Madonsela wrote an e-mail to staff on Monday to say she had decided to donate the prize money from Rapport newspaper to the Valhalla Park community. “They needed the money more than any other charity.”
Residents started to rebuild their homes as calm was restored to the area.
Last week, the police fired rubber bullets at protesters when violence broke out after some residents were unhappy about the council’s response to their plight.
The city is providing building materials and has handed over 120 building kits to residents. A kit contains 25 sheets of corrugated iron, wood, a door and a window.
Madonsela’s spokesman Oupa Segalwe said earlier on Monday they had not yet decided to which charity or organisation the R5,000 prize money would go.
“She decided to donate the money after she saw what happened in Valhalla Park on the news,” he said.
“Madonsela believed the funds would make a difference to the lives of the people.”
Segalwe said Madonsela was humbled by the confidence the public continued to show in her office.
“I am always mindful of the fact that although the accolades are personalised, the work being recognised is the outcome of the collective efforts of the entire public protector team,” Madonsela said.
Valhalla fire victims start to rebuild houses
Cape Town - Rebuilding of the homes of the victims of the Valhalla Park fire disaster began in earnest over the weekend with materials for about 186 structures – 66 on Saturday and 120 yesterday – being allocated to families.
More than 1 500 people were left destitute when a fire ripped through the informal settlement last Monday.
The City of Cape Town and its Disaster Risk Management Centre are overseeing the allocation of building materials and plots and have set about developing the area in line with the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme.
“We will introduce basic municipal services and redesign the area through urban and social design, to improve the lifestyle of the residents and to eradicate crime,” said the deputy chief of disaster risk management, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.
He said the new structures, where the four sides were of corrugated iron, were “fire-retardant” and it was hoped this would reduce the risk of fires.
The first phase of allocation ensured that the most vulnerable – the sick and the disabled – received their structures first.
Sanitation, at a ratio of four toilets to 50 people, and water are being provided on site.
Construction work is continuing throughout the day.
Social Development MEC Albert Fritz said the unity shown by all levels of government in dealing with the disaster was a positive sign and that it was a core factor in residents being helped effectively.
“You can see the devastation here . It is encouraging to look at the work local and provincial government have been doing – (with) all levels of government working together,” said Fritz.
He also noted the effectiveness of the disaster plan, formulated by the City of Cape Town some time ago and fast-tracked last Tuesday to provide aid to the families.
He said that it was one of the hallmarks of the relief effort.
“The Department of Social Development was concerned and needed to look at the vulnerability of the children, so we had to fast-track this plan for people with children.”
Besides the materials that were made available to enable the families to start building their new homes, food parcels and medical assistance were provided to those had ailments.
The chairwoman of the subcouncil for the area, Rose Rau, said the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme involved allowing a much bigger space around each home.
Families would also have the opportunity to become homeowners, she said.
“The families will be entitled to a subsidy and will be able to get the title deed for their home,” explained Rau.
She and Fritz were on hand yesterday to extend their support to workers and volunteers who gave up their holidays to assist with the relief effort.
warren.fortune@inl.co.za
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Zuma's builder pleads guilty, proclaims innocence
Nkandla builder Thandeka Nene says a R7-billion fraud accusation against her in the Seychelles is a "political manoeuvre" - despite a guilty verdict.
The word "innocent" never makes an actual appearance, but is strongly implied in Thandeka Nene's version of what happened in the Seychelles in the past month.
Nene is best known for earning nearly R80-million through her company Bonelena from state-funded construction at President Jacob Zuma's homestead at Nkandla.
"We wish to state that there was absolutely no merit to the allegation against Mrs Nene hence she was allowed to return to South Africa," lawyer Phyllis Jailall from Durban firm Jailall, Yusuph & Associates said this week.
Jailall was not available to confirm that she acted on behalf of Nene when the Mail & Guardian first reported that Nene had been arrested and was being held in the Seychelles, accused of trying to perpetrate fraud worth around R7-billion.
But with Nene back in South Africa, her lawyers lashed out against the charges, saying Nene had been wrongfully detained in the first place, and insinuating that racism may have been at the heart of her arrest.
"We have reason to believe that the attempt to besmirch Mrs Nene’s reputation was a political manoeuvre and was spearheaded by the investigating officer in Seychelles who is a former white South African citizen now living in the Seychelles," Jailall said.
'Connected purely by association'
South African Frank Dutton, who helped form the Scorpions, was appointed to head an elite crime-fighting unit in the Seychelles in 2011 and is said to have been at least peripherally involved in the case.
He received one of South Africa's highest honours, the Order of the Baobab, in 2012 partly for exposing apartheid third force activities.
A former member of the Special Investigating Unit, which operates by Presidential decree, was also involved in Nene's prosecution.
Neither of the officers have been willing to discuss events, citing confidentiality agreements in their contracts of employment.
Nene's lawyers said she had been "connected purely by association only" with the transaction that saw her arrested.
Guilty plea
But records of court proceedings against her show that Nene was allowed to return to South Africa only after pleading guilty on two charges of fraud, and was then "promptly removed from the jurisdiction of Seychelles" by court order.
The supreme court of the Seychelles found as mitigating factors that Nene had pleaded guilty, was a first-time offender and had not benefited from the attempted fraud; the attempt to pass a €500-million fake bank draft had been detected before any transactions could be lodged against the funds.
Nene was given the choice between eight months in prison and a fine just shy of R50 000.
The state was given 30 days in which to appeal the verdict.
Contrary to Nene's statement, the court found that a third accused, Sierra Leone national Chernor Musa Kabia, had been minimally involved in what the judgment terms "the scheme", but makes no such finding on Nene, who was the first defendant.
Jailall asked "that the media respect Mrs Nene and her family's privacy during this time as she would like to put this ordeal behind her".
- M&G
Victory for Valhalla Park victims - Marius Fransman
The ANC Western Cape announced that it will approach the High Court to restore the dignity of fire victims in Valhalla Park after its leadership and the Youth League visited the Agtstelaan informal settlement in Valhalla Park, where 1 400 people were left homeless and 350 dwellings were destroyed hours before Christmas Eve.
ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman questioned the fact that no proper houses were built in that area after the court specifically instructed the DA run government to do so five years ago already!
"Why was DA councillor of Cape Town J.P. Smith wearing a bulletproof vest when he visited Agtstelaan?
"We do not wear bulletproof vests when we come here, because we are with our people. We also want to know why the DA led Cape Town prevented the state's SASSA (South African Social Security Agency) from coming into the informal settlement?
"We found that there is no list yet after the fire with the names of the affected people, which is totally unacceptable! This is the first step to control and assess the disaster situation.
"Yes, I am a politician and we are doing the DA's work for them, as we cannot stand by idly and do nothing when our people are in dire need and suffer hardship. While others had Christmas and celebrate the festive season, these people have lost everything! But we will see to it that our people get food and that every child has a matrass to sleep on.
"I will also ask Cape mayor Patricia de Lille to install toilets in the area and more water points, because water and sanitation is a basic right and denying anyone that right in any way is an affront to their human dignity," Fransman said.
Statement issued by ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman, December 27 2013
Update: Victory for Valhalla Park victims
The ANC Western Cape noted the change of heart by the DA led City of Cape Town to offer a better alternative to the temporary structures first given to the 1 400 victims of the Christmas Eve disaster fire that devastated 350 dwellings.
This follows the intervention by the ANC and consultation with the national minister of human settlements Connie September. Initially corrugated iron (zinc) sheet structures were delivered that caused residents to take to the streets in protest against the intention to replace the Agtstelaan informal settlement razed dwellings with another dreaded Blikkiesdorp (slum area).
A sample of the new structure was delivered on site today.
ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman, who was asked by the community to intervene, says: "The feedback from the area is that it is a better structure and that it is more agreeable with at least a proper door and windows. The change of plans came about after the ANC announced its intention to enter into litigation in order to protect the rights and dignity of the affected people. In the light of the new sample, the ANC will place a hold on that court application to give people a chance to decide on the new structure. The ANC will give the city three months after that to comply with a previous court order to start to deliver proper houses. The ANC will continue to talk to the committee and community on their needs."
ANC Youth League convenor for the Western Cape Khalid Sayed says: "The city clearly gave in to the pressure by the community. The Youth League will keep a close eye on the latest situation and will not hesitate to intervene to assist residents to assert their rights and make their voices heard. They have a say and rights that must be accommodated. They must be consulted every step of the way and must get proper sanitation with more water points - not being dumped in a modern-day concentration camp! The Youth League stands with the poor to ensure that they too may enjoy a better life soon."
Statement issued by ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman, December 28 2013
Nkandla: Zuma's dodgy builder bust for fraud
She had negotiated her way out of tight situations before. But on a hot and cloudy afternoon in late November, the Seychelles police pounced. By that night Thandeka Nene – President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead builder, mansion owner, lover of expensive cars and the finer things in life generally – was behind bars and seemingly out of options, accused of being a member "of an international fraud syndicate".
Nene and two others (one thought to be South African and the other from Sierra Leone) now face charges of attempting an enormous, barefaced and surprisingly unsophisticated bank fraud that could, if they are convicted on charges that include forgery, earn them long jail terms.
Police in the Seychelles say the syndicate approached BMI Bank on the islands to open new bank accounts that would be funded by what they said was €500-million in available funds held by HSBC Bank.
This, apparently, came as a surprise to HSBC, which informed its Seychelles counterpart that "the documents were false".
Arrests followed soon after, with a specialised fraud unit of the islands' police force also seizing "a variety of documents as well as laptops and other IT equipment" for forensic investigation.
According to a source with knowledge of the attempted transaction, it was a "reasonably crude attempt" at a common type of fraud, relying on a forged banker's draft. These drafts are routinely sent to the issuing bank for certification and, at an institution such as HSBC, the verification is fast.
What the seized documents revealed and what Nene and her co-accused were intending are not clear. Government authorities in the Seychelles would not comment on the matter and the country's police force said it would not disclose anything but the arrest report, which has few details. They would not even confirm the identities of those arrested.
Appeared in court
"Our policy is that we do not release any identity of any suspects who are being tried unless they are convicted," the police spokesperson, Jean Toussaint, told the Mail & Guardian.
However, sources on the island confirm that Nene was one of those who appeared in court on the charges and that proceedings are still under way.
"Thandeka Nene will appear before a judge tomorrow, Friday December 20, along with two other persons," a judicial source told an AFP reporter in the Seychelles who was following up on information provided by the M&G on Thursday.
The South African high commission responsible for the Seychelles but based in Mauritius referred all questions to the department of international relations and co-operation in Pretoria. The department would only say it had provided standard consular services to South African nationals charged in the Seychelles.
Lawyers who have previously represented Nene in South Africa said they no longer have dealings with her, and the firm believed to be representing her currently would not confirm or deny that it was acting for her or speak to the M&G.
Lawyers acting for the defence in hearings in the Seychelles could not be reached.
Neither the chief public prosecutor of the Seychelles nor its attorney general, who is responsible for criminal prosecutions, responded to requests for comment on the matter.
Fraud attempt
The Seychelles mission to South Africa referred questions to the country's foreign affairs ministry, which also did not respond.
BMI Bank, which was targeted in the alleged fraud attempt, said it could not speak about the matter without clearance from its managing director, who was not available.
HSBC in London did not respond to questions.
This is not the first time that Nene's conduct has been questioned, documents relating to the upgrading of Zuma's homestead reveal.
Nene's company, Bonelena Construction, of which she is the sole listed shareholder, held contracts valued up to R78.2-million for government-funded upgrades to the Nkandla complex in recent years. But her relationship with the department of public works, which was responsible for the project, has not always been easy.
Referring to Nene's conduct regarding Nkandla during tense negotiations, a senior department official, Gerard Damsta, asked: "Can it be labelled as fraudulent?" in an internal email seeking legal advice in September 2012.
"What recourse does it [the department] have under these circumstances?"
Damsta's concern was that the department had, after cancelling Bonelena’s contract due to missed deadlines, agreed to pay the company about R7-million.
Final liquidation
At the time, the company had been placed in final liquidation, something Nene did not disclose. In effect, Nene may have had neither the authority to demand the money nor to negotiate with a debtor, but she appears to have done so.
At the time, the department did not press charges; it had already backed down on the ultimately failed attempt to cancel the large contracts after being pointedly warned that legal action could expose the entire project to public scrutiny.
After the supposed cancellation, which Nene refused to accept, she wrote to Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi. At the time Bonelena had not paid its own suppliers, and they, Nene told the minister, had threatened "to approach the media".
The company, Nene said, would "not be held liable for any resultant reports that may surface as a result".
A little over a month later, Bonelena and the department reached an agreement.
The company was further helped out by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which came to its rescue with a R10-million loan – on top of the R20-million it had already granted the company.
Despite the unusual circumstances, the IDC has said its decision to grant it the bailout was in no way influenced by politics.
It's not the Eighties, when a get-out-of-jail card cost millions
Today, a diplomatic deal could be struck and South Africans convicted of crimes in the Seychelles could serve prison sentences closer to home, say those familiar with the handling of South Africans convicted of crimes in Africa.
But in the 1980s, the same could only be achieved with cold hard cash; specifically, about R3-million a person.
On November 25 1981, a gun battle broke out in the arrivals hall of Mahé airport, which is still the main entry point into the Seychelles. By the time details started to emerge, such as that one of the two dead was a South African soldier from an elite unit, and that a group of “mercenaries” had tried to overthrow the government, group leader "Mad" Mike Hoare and 42 others had already landed in Durban on a hijacked plane.
Hoare had been resident in South Africa for some time before the attempted coup.
Twenty-five of the "mercenaries" were active or reserve members of the South African Defence Force (SADF). A United Nations inquiry found that the SADF had supplied the group with weapons.
South Africa had been openly opposed to the socialist government in the Seychelles. During the group's trial, the government invoked security legislation to prevent some testimony from being given. Hoare openly and consistently said the operation had had the blessing of the South African government.
Yet it took another 16 years before something closer to the truth emerged.
In its final report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) said it could not conclusively find that the government had planned or ordered the coup attempt, but found that South African involvement was sufficient to hold the likes of the then prime minister, PW Botha, accountable.
During TRC proceedings, retired foreign affairs minister Pik Botha confirmed what had long been suspected: the South African government had paid the Seychelles about R20-million for the return of six coup plotters who had been captured.
Former SA cops work in Seychelles
The police force that arrested Thandeka Nene and two others on charges of fraud has for several years employed one of South Africa’s most storied investigators.
In October 2011, the police in the Seychelles announced it had appointed South African Frank Dutton to create and head up a division tasked with serious crime, which it described as an “elite crime fighting unit”.
Dutton remains in senior management in the force, and is believed to have been involved at least peripherally in the arrest of Nene and her co-accused. However, contacted this week he would not speak to the Mail & Guardian and referred all questions to official channels, citing the confidentiality requirements of his job.
At least one other former South African is also employed to police the Seychelles.
Dutton was partially responsible for the establishment of the now-defunct Scorpions. Over the years he has investigated former defence minister Magnus Malan and exposed third-force involvement in instances such as the Trust Feed massacre. He was a key investigator for the Goldstone Commission, where he was credited for the prosecution of Eugene de Kock, and was also part of the panel that reviewed the case against Jackie Selebi.
Dutton also worked on high-profile investigations for the United Nations.
In 2012, President Jacob Zuma named him a Supreme Counsellor of the Order of the Baobab during the presentation of national orders, "for his exceptional contribution to and achievement in his investigative work as a dedicated and loyal policeman, for exposing the apartheid government's 'third force', for his role in working for peace in KwaZulu-Natal, his international work in investigating and exposing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Bosnia‚ Kosovo and Darfur and assisting in establishing the causes of violence in East Timor and Sudan".
- M&G
Saturday, December 28, 2013
‘Petrol bomb behind Cape Flats fire’
Cape Town - A petrol bomb attack during a gang raid has been blamed for the fire in Valhalla Park which engulfed 350 shacks, and left 1,500 people homeless on Monday.
On Friday residents at the site claimed that members of the Outlaws gang were searching for members of their rivals, the Rude Boys.
When they couldn’t find any of the members, they allegedly threw a petrol bomb at a shack believed to be home to a Rude Boys member.
The fire spread and engulfed the shacks as residents frantically scrambled to save what little they could.
On Friday the smell of smoke still hung heavy in the air, as resident Brendan Meyer, now living in a makeshift tent made of a few fabric sheets, wood and corrugated plastic, claimed that Outlaws gangsters had threatened to burn down the homes of anyone who tried to rebuild.
“Most people are sure they started the fire, but everyone knows of the Outlaws’ threat to start another fire. People haven’t really tried to rebuild again, although I don’t know if it’s because of the threat or (if) they expected the City of Cape Town to provide new homes.”
The fire and the damage have ignited a political spat between the DA and the ANC, after police were stoned on Thursday while monitoring a group of fire victims who burnt tyres and smashed traffic lights on Robert Sobukwe Drive.
Police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, but also hurled the stones and bricks back at the victims.
Speaking at the site on Friday, ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman said the chaos was the result of a “broken promise” to provide temporary containers for the victims.
“The victims were expecting containers, but instead they got starter kits. For years these people have been waiting for homes. Their desperation and frustration with the starter kits boiled over and led to the protest. The City of Cape Town must get its act together and help these people,” he said.
He also threatened legal action against JP Smith, mayco member for safety and security, over allegations he said Smith made that the ANC had incited residents to attack police.
Smith countered that he would welcome any legal action by Fransman, and would “expose Fransman and his cronies”.
“The city, while accelerating its plans to service the land and build on the plots once they can afford to do so, never promised to deliver containers as it is national policy to issue the starter kits. Yet only the Western Cape does this.
“This was most likely just another attempt by the ANC to rile up the fire victims. I encourage Fransman to pursue legal action and we will bring him to face justice,” Smith said.
On the gang fight allegations by the fire victims, Smith said any evidence as to the source of the fire had been destroyed by those who had tried to move back on to the land.
“According to an investigation by the Fire and Rescue Services Department, no trace of the source was left after some people tried to move back on to the land, and it would be virtually impossible to identity the cause. However, we’ve had our own allegations of arson, and are following these up,” he said.
Fire victim Jacques Haddon said he could do nothing now but look at the piece of land that had once been his home.
“I lost everything, my clothes, furniture and even my dog.
“People are getting sicker by the day, and while we appreciate all the help from everyone, we need real homes.”
The victims have received help from Pick n Pay, which donated R20 000, along with R10 000 from Jamiatul Ulama South Africa.
The Social Security Agency of South Africa (Sassa) distributed 350 care packages and is assisting with the replacement of destroyed documents.
The Gift of the Givers Foundation also donated 350 mattresses and new clothes.
kowthar.solomons@inl.co.za
Friday, December 27, 2013
Fury after the flames
Cape Town - Protesters burnt tyres and destroyed traffic lights in Robert Sobukwe Drive in a stand-off with police and city officials over the provision of building starter kits for people left homeless by Monday’s fire in Valhalla Park.
Late on Thursday police and Metro police were seen picking up stones thrown at them and hurling them back into the crowd.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said he could not comment without seeing the pictures, but if it was clear that identifiable members were using excessive force against people, they would investigate.
Residents were outraged on Thursday when, instead of the containers they had expected from the City of Cape Town, a truck arrived with the starter kits of corrugated iron and wood.
A resident told the Cape Argus that the community became “aggressive” and started burning tyres because they were not happy. Police fired rubber bullets.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith claimed the protest action was political.
Earlier in the day, the city announced it was accelerating plans to upgrade the devastated settlement.
It is estimated that 350 shacks and eight council rental units were destroyed in the blaze.
Twenty-three people were treated for smoke inhalation, including nine firefighters.
On Thursday, some residents were back at the site, chopping up burnt-out cars and collecting scrap metal.
Five-year-old twins Kashiefah and Ashiefah Paul were sleeping in a drawer in a small structure built by their mother, Naziema Paul, and her husband on the site of their former home.
Paul said she would not move, saying she had lived there for eight years and had endured many hardships.
The twins needed new clothes, but none of the donations received had been the right size for them.
Paul said they had opted not to go to the community hall where fire victims were being sheltered.
“We will sleep here because we are used to fighting our own battles.”
The process of rebuilding homes began on Thursday with the installation of water pipes, the levelling of land, and the pegging-out of plots.
Building kits were to be distributed in the afternoon, and the first group were expected to move in on Friday.
Smith said the city had planned to service the land before the fire. Those plans would now be speeded up.
The land would be serviced, and beneficiaries could build on the plots once they could afford to do so.
Smith said anti-land invasion units were on standby to deter looters.
Densil Faure, an engineer in the Department of Human Settlements, said they had a register of those living on plots in the area.
“So we have a handle on who the beneficiaries are,” he said.
Pick n Pay has donated R20 000 to help the victims, along with R10 000 from Jamiatul Ulama South Africa. Food, blankets, toiletries and household items were also donated.
An ANC delegation which visited the site said that, in addition to the immediate disaster relief, the community needed sustainable help, including dignified living conditions and proper houses.
Led by Marius Fransman, ANC chairman in the Western Cape, the delegation said it “saw the need for a resident-led committee”.
“There is so much empty land in the rich and leafy suburbs of Cape Town, yet our people are forced to live in squalor and are in a state of constant risk of such fires,” the delegation said.
natasha.prince@inl.co.za
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Masiphumelele fire destroys shacks
Fire destroys 20 shacks & 4 houses at Masiphumelele leaving 69 people displaced. Unidentified adult female dies
City of Cape Town @cityofct
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Nkandla and the end of the age of innocence
"‘COMRADES!’ he cried. ‘You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the wellbeing of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Surely, comrades,’ cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, ‘surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?’" — (Squealer, Animal Farm, George Orwell)
In May 2006, about 70 villages in Kwanxamalala, home to President Jacob Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla, gathered to pray for ancestral wisdom and a verdict of not guilty in a rape trial centred around their most famous resident.
Throughout the course of the proceedings, impepho was burnt. It is a traditional herb, used to connect with those on the other side of the mortal curtain and flush out evil. Earlier, in March, 15 cattle had been slaughtered in a similar attempt to win favour with the ancestors. Zuma was cursed, some said. "Elders believe he needs to slaughter a cow to pay homage to his father," a family member explained. Fifteen would no doubt ensure Zuma had his father’s full attention.
And the smoke and bloodshed worked. The ancestors listened. At 3pm on May 8, Zuma was acquitted and Nkandla erupted in celebration. There were screams of jubilation as many, watching on television, let free their collective breath. Bhelekazi Zuma, the president’s second wife, said soon afterwards the family would meet to conduct a traditional cleansing ceremony. "To us as a family this victory definitely calls for a traditional ceremony," said Zuma’s brother, Michael, "to thank the ancestors for delivering him from this trap."
Evil was vanquished, and every dusty corner in which it had festered was to be swept clean. Nkandla was pure again.
Pure but impoverished. Back then every story on Nkandla would describe first the deprivation. Potholes, dirt roads, shacks and makeshift schools, limited access to water and electricity, people barefoot and lulled into hopelessness by the bleakness of it all, drifting around aimlessly. The harshness hit you like a sledgehammer. Not so much a village as a symbol of rural poverty. Overlooking it all — an unassuming cluster of thatched rondavels on the top of a hill.
Nkandla had been Zuma’s refuge throughout the trial and he would regularly return there while the justice system slowly ground forward. Now this simple home was no longer a fort under siege but a palace to be visited, and the king had returned. With the verdict of not guilty, the herd boy and president in waiting would be welcomed home. In turn, that night his home would welcome those loyal to him, as freedom was honoured and political allegiance rewarded at the remote, rural homestead. Many came to worship.
At least a 1,000 people descended on Nkandla that night. A huge white marquee was set up. Festivities went on late into the morning. "The Jacob Zuma you know today," said Zuma in a thank you speech, "was formed by what I learnt here as a child. It was here in Nkandla I learnt about respect."
And so there followed a brief age of innocence. Between Zuma’s rape trial and his election as ANC president in December 2007, Nkandla would be repeatedly romanticised by the press, as the humble home of a man of the people. The area would be described again and again as the impoverished backdrop to a pretender to the throne. "Yet despite the ubiquitous and palpable poverty," wrote one commentator on visiting the area, "the villagers’ spirit of ubuntu came shining through in their readiness to share the little they had." Nkandla was not just poor, but magically poor. South Africa’s own Bethlehem inn. And, in Zuma, the star that burned bright in the east. Hope sprung eternal.
"The amaXhosa told us since we didn’t vote ANC we are not going to get any help here. We like Zuma because he is like Jesus, he has been working hard for the freedom of the people for a long time. The indunas, the councillors, they don’t deliver, but if Zuma became president then maybe he will do something for this area," said one resident in 2006.
It was a metaphor Zuma happily indulged. He would tell biographer Jeremy Gordin in November 2007, "This is where I regenerate and reconnect. This is where I come back to myself. This is a particularly Zulu environment and yet this is where I become a South African. If I become too high-flying, this is the place that puts me back on my feet." But, Gordin would write, for all that ostensible modesty, Zuma at home was "a veritable pater familias" and a "seemingly endless river of people" waited to hold court with the man. Nkandla might well have been where Zuma’s roots were firmest, but the tree that had grown from them covered the entire village in its shade. And it was kept well watered with deference and obsequiousness alike.
If the Union Buildings were the place a traditional Zuma would later be restrained to show constitutional respect, Nkandla was the kingdom where traditional respect would be laid at his feet — the unofficial chiefdomship over which he held significant sway.
With his election as ANC president, his unofficial influence grew. And, with that, the river of ordinary people that ran to his doorstep became a torrent of status and high public office holders, as wise men and laymen followed the star to rural KwaZulu-Natal. And it burned especially bright in December 2007.
Every year, for the past ten years, Zuma had held a Christmas party at Nkandla. The patriarch would provide for his flock. But that year, it took on a different feel.
"The new ANC leadership — a who’s who of people you’re likely to see at Thabo Mbeki’s Christmas party — showed up at Jacob Zuma’s rural Nkandla residence on Friday, ostensibly to attend a children’s Christmas party," the Sunday Independent wrote on December 30 2007, "but it was also apparent the politically ambitious felt it was important to come and show their allegiance to the new king."
They gushed with gratuitous praise.
"Can you imagine the difference that we could make in the lives of our people if every ANC leader did this kind of thing in their own area?" asked Mcebisi Skwatsha, as he fawned over the president’s magnanimity. Tony Yengeni was spotted in and among the guests. Once lost, he too was now found.
Elsewhere, Ace Magashule, Sdumo Dlamini, Bathabile Dlamini, Meshack Radebe and Mike Sutcliffe found time in December to travel far into the province for Christmas.
The Mail & Guardian later dubbed Nyanda "the minister of luxury", as he lived life large in a series of lavish hotels that, together with a range of other controversies, saw him fired in 2010. Today he serves as Zuma’s parliamentary councillor.
Thousands of children attended the Zuma Christmas party that day. Many received gifts. Many were happy, it was reported, just to shake Zuma’s hand and have a photo with him. No doubt, many adults too. Zuma flew a little higher.
In January 2008, Nkandla would host a wedding. Zuma was to marry Nompumelelo Ntuli, his fourth wife. Zuma paid 11 cows in lobola and wore traditional regalia with a pair of Reebok sneakers. The Sunday Independent reported that "the ceremony was soured by the strict barring of journalists, and venomous threats and insults were thrown their way by Zuma’s bodyguards…". Green security gates were set up and local police sealed off a huge white marquee. Nkandla became a fort for a day. Vivian Reddy, a friend of Zuma called to testify in the Schabir Shaik trail, said he had not contributed to funding the wedding, "Zuma has money from his pension fund. Ours is a pure friendship, not one based on a monetary relationship."
Furniture, blankets and clothes were exchanged in a ritual called umabo. Zuma led Zulu warriors in song — Wawuyaphi ungaphethe isibhamu? (Where are you going without a gun?) Where indeed?
"Being an ANC president but having a traditional wedding — he is showing us that even if you can be up there you must not forget your roots," said a local resident. Life in Nkandla quietly unfolded, only occasionally would the gradual concentration of power in the area be evident.
In a small story in August 2008, it was reported in the Natal Witness that the Nkandla police station had been purged, with every member being deployed elsewhere. "From time to time we check levels of performance in our stations and we found that Nkandla SAPS did not fulfill objectives in terms of service delivery and principles of Batho Pele as set by the province," said SAPS provincial spokesperson Phindile Hadebe.
And, by the time December 2008 rolled round, and with it Zuma’s annual Christmas bash, his private generosity had been fully conflated with his public duties. "Today is not just Christmas for the kids but for the adults too," he said, as he revealed a new R13.5m multipurpose centre for the community, "We did this to bring service to the people."
But it would be the 2009 election, and Zuma’s election as president of the Republic, that Nkandla’s transformation from rural backwater to the unofficial seat of power would be complete. Zuma was now flying at an altitude from which he could see all. With that, any pretence that Nkandla was but a mere helpful metaphor, able to assist in painting the homely picture of a president well-grounded, abruptly ended. The metaphor itself was destined to become the story. But not before a little fun was had.
In attendance, everyone: Patrice Motsepe (it is remarkable where this man turns up; he was at Mandela’s bedside when he died, the Sunday Times reported), Irvin Khosa, Vivian Reddy, Jeff Radebe, Roy Padayachee, Bheki Cele, ministers, MECs, mayors, councillors, all travelled far for this unofficial coronation.
Gospel and maskandi music played. Hlengiwe Mhlaba, Deborah Fraser, Avante, Phuz’ekhemisi and Bhekumuzi Luthuli all provided their musical services. Funded in part by "business people close to Zuma", according to the Sunday Times, "an air-conditioned dining area, boasting peach roses, crystal glasses and silverware was reserved for VIPs. The buffet lunch comprised pasta, lamb curry, chicken stew, fried chicken, roast lamb and grilled fish. Dessert was crème caramel and trifle."
Other guests would eat the boiled meat of 19 cattle contributed by the community.
"Some of the lessons I learnt from the village and its people could not be obtained from any university," said Zuma, "they taught me to respect, to listen and to be humble myself."
In December 2013, General Vijay Ramlakan, the retired surgeon-general who represented the defence force, would explain to the country on national television why it was the state had paid more than R200m to upgrade, among other things, a chicken run, cattle kraal, football fields, tuck shops, air conditioning, and amphitheatre and swimming pool, all in the name of security.
And the man of the people? According to Minister of Public Works Thulas Nxesi, the neighbouring families living near Zuma had to be relocated because they were "identified as a security risk".
- BDLive
Valhalla Park upgrade to be fast-tracked
Cape Town - The Valhalla Park informal settlement in Cape Town will be fast-tracked for an upgrade after a fire there left around 1,500 people homeless, a city official said on Tuesday.
Safety and security mayoral committee member Jean-Pierre Smith said around 350 corrugated iron houses were destroyed in the fire on Monday morning. Eight council rental units were also damaged.
Smith said 23 people, including nine fire-fighters, were treated for smoke inhalation.
The city had arranged with its insurers to start emergency repair work.
The disaster site would be cleared later on Tuesday. On Thursday, engineers would start surveying the land and marking out plots.
“This process will include the implementation of fire breaks, installation of water points, safe electricity connections and other basic municipal services,” Smith said.
“The city intends rebuilding the fire victims’ homes during the course of the next week, using enhanced building kits.”
The local community hall had been opened to provide emergency shelter, and the disaster risk management centre would provide a Christmas day lunch to those affected.
The public could donate fresh or tinned food, blankets, personal hygiene products and household contents. These donations could be dropped off at the nearest fire station or at the Nooitgedacht Civic Centre in Valhalla Park.
The provincial African National Congress Youth League and Congress of SA Students said they would visit the area later on Tuesday to survey the damage and offer assistance.
Smith urged residents to be responsible when using electrical appliances and to exercise caution with open flames.
- Sapa
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Fire destroys Christmas for 1 400
Cape Town - Christmas bonuses and clothes, ID documents and family savings went up in smoke as a fire raged through the Valhalla Park informal settlement on Monday, destroying 350 houses and leaving 1,400 people homeless.
A howling south-easter fanned the flames as people desperately tried to save televisions, fridges, carpets and other items from the fire.
By early evening more than half the 585 dwellings in the settlement, near Bishop Lavis, had been destroyed. It is not clear how the fire started.
Theo Layne, spokesman for the city’s fire and rescue services, said nine firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation, and six were taken to hospital. Three residents were injured, included a three-year-old boy who had burns on his feet. There were no fatalities.
Resident Moira Anthony said angrily: “All my money I saved and stored in my mattress is now gone. But what are people going to do? Where are we going to sleep? I speak on behalf of all the people in Valhalla Park today.
“We all lost our Christmas clothes, our bonus money that we all worked hard for. It is very sad and makes us heartsore that we have to go through all of this.
“We will have to pay for new ID booklets, new birth and marriage certificates. We will have to start all over. This is not right. We have to go through these fires year after year.”
While some people were able to save possessions including television sets, fridges, carpets, mattresses and clothes, others found out about the fire too late, or were not at home.
Residents Anthony and Marlene Meiring said they had lost their savings of R10 000 in the fire.
“All I have left now is my black couch and the clothes I have on,” said Anthony.
Residents helped each other where they could, dragging furniture out of people’s homes and leaving it on the lawn beside Beauvallon Secondary School as they waited for the fire to die down.
Salaamuddeem Stemmet said he and his friend, Frankie Fernandez, helped to save furniture where they could.
“There was way too much smoke. It was so thick of smoke that you could not see anything.
“Gas stoves went off like bombs and that is when we decided to help out. I am not from Valhalla, but we had to help out where we could.”
Fire services were on the scene soon after the fire broke out, but water was a problem.
People were shouting: “Where is the water? Where is the water?” as the fire spread to more shacks.
Firefighters were eventually able to find water and started putting out the fire.
Residents helped the firefighters, along with the police, metro police, law enforcement and disaster management.
Layne said the wind had seriously hindered their operations.
“Accessibility was also a major problem – we couldn’t get our guys in-between the shacks and we had to split our forces in three different points,” he said.
A total of 18 fire engines, 11 water tankers, three rescue vehicles and eight support vehicles were dispatched to fight the fire, which was brought under control about 4.30pm.
Resident Natalie Adams said candles and oil lamps were a major problem in the area.
“They smoke oka pyp (hookahs), tik, and burn candles and their oil lamps. People cannot be upset about the fire if they carry on being unsafe.”
One man, who declined to be named, claimed gangsters used the opportunity to start a fight.
“I saw how they were shooting from their cars while the fire went on. You would think they would help, but they saw it as an opportunity to fight.”
Gaironiesa Wilson said the council would do nothing for them.
“We want houses, but what are they going to do? Nothing.
“All we get are a few planks and metal sheets to rebuild our homes. That is not enough.”
Others complained that their councillor was not at the scene. Some even protested that the fault lay with the DA and that people should vote for the ANC in the next elections.
“DA is ruling here and they do nothing! I know the ANC will provide,” said resident ML Prince.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Nkandla. The truth at last.
Today, I am ashamed. We should all be ashamed. We are a nation of moaners, always ready to criticise and to complain. We occasionally do so without even bothering to find out the facts. And sometimes, just sometimes, when those facts emerge, they act as a mirror, exposing us to ourselves for what we are.
The government report on Nkandla was released yesterday. And it has done just that. It has exposed us for what we are; whiners. Or worse; uninformed whiners. Whiners who don’t let simple matters like the facts stand in the way of a good groan about our government. Corruption? Ha! The expenditure on Nkandla turns out to be perfectly reasonable.
I read a report on News24 this morning listing ten explanations for the upgrades at Nkandla, and now I feel like the worst sort of running-dog capitalist counter-revolutionary. Was too much spent on Zuma’s security? Hell, no! I don’t think we’ve spent enough.
1. The fire pool.
There is no swimming pool at Nkandla. There is a high-tech conflagration-management device. According to National Police Commissioner Riah Piyega, people who grew up in rural areas aren’t smart enough to use fire extinguishers; “the best we know”, she said, apparently referring to those responsible for the safety of our President, “is to take a bucket, dip it in water and throw it on the fire”.
This explains why the original plan, for a row of Jojo water-tanks to be elevated on platforms at the highest point in the complex, to provide water at pressure, was scrapped; it would have taken far too long to climb up to the top of the tanks to dip the buckets in.
Reports of a cocktail bar having been installed in the fire pool area have also been dismissed as a scandalous lie. There is, of course, an assembly point for residents in case of emergency. It is well-laid-out, a safe distance from any buildings, and serves a mean pi?a-colada, although their G&T’s are reported to be a little heavy on the gin.
2. Paving.
General Vijay Ramlakan is a very smart man. He’s a retired Surgeon General, and knows better than to wear high heels at Nkandla. Especially when it rains. This is why the roads needed to be paved
.
I’m being a little disingenuous here. The real reason for the paving of the roads is that the security force detailed with guarding the life of our leader cannot drive on dirt roads. We simply do not have access to the sophisticated technology required. And besides, it would just be an added expense to replace Nkandla’s fleet of security Lamborghinis with bakkies. We’re not made of money.
On an unrelated note, General Vijay Ramlakan now looks absolutely fabulous when he pops in on the President.
3. The chicken run.
Those in charge of the safety of a president cannot leave any bases uncovered. “What if”, they said to themselves, “someone breached the electric fence, dashed past the security Lambo’s, and spent a few hours lurking unseen in the President’s chicken coop?”
Sound far-fetched? Maybe not. There are unconfirmed rumours doing the rounds that just the other day, a dangerous schizophrenic cunningly snuck through the highly sophisticated security cordon surrounding the President by walking through it and saying “hi”, and spent a few hours within a few feet of him, waving his arms around like a coked-up break-dancer being attacked by a swarm of bees.
4. The cattle kraal.
Do you know how stupid cattle are? How would we feel if one of the President’s prize Ngunis stumbled into the fire-pool area, causing hundreds of Rands of damage to the assembly cocktail bar?
We’ll never know. Those hundreds of Rands have been saved for the nation’s poor. By spending a Million rand to move a patch of cleared earth surrounded by a fence. And as an added bonus, the cows now have their own cocktail bar.
5. Air conditioning.
Bullet proof windows are hard to open. This, according to General Vijay Ramlakan, is why the cost of air conditioning counts as a security measure.
Bullet proof doors are also really heavy, and opening them to go outside is really taxing. This is why the cost of the home cinema and indoor bowling alley count as security measures as well.
6. Astroturf soccer pitches.
Not a security measure. An NGO just felt that an isolated homestead in a thinly populated rural area was the ideal place to set up a FIFA World Cup legacy project. We’ll be laughing on the other side of our faces when half of the 2018 World Cup squad turn out to be neighbours of the President.
7. Relocation of neighbouring families.
Some insensitive swine had asked, in light of all the security issues surrounding Nkandla, why the Presidential homestead was not simply moved to somewhere safer. This, as Riah Piyega so rightly pointed out, was a “demanding, if not arrogant question”.
When did we suddenly forget about basic human rights? “When you choose what is your home and you knew that home forever and ever and a day”, the good Ms Piyega added, “[that is an] insensitive question, every person has a right to choose where they should live,”
It was thus imperative that several of Zuma’s neighbours had to be moved. You may think that you have spotted a little irony in this statement, but you are wrong. These were simply not the sort of “persons” that Piyega was talking about. They were just a bunch of inconvenient peasants who happened to be in the way, and everybody knows that peasants don’t have the same rights as proper “persons” like our President.
8. Tuck shop.
The tuck shop was in the wrong place. Simple. It had to be moved. The idea of the President of one of Africa’s richest and most developed countries being expected to struggle on without a tuck shop is simply inconceivable.
Presidents the world over use public money to run small businesses in their homes, and nobody says a word. Obama himself has set up a small hair salon and spa in an unused wing of the White House, and you don’t hear the Yanks complaining. Why should Zuma be any different?
9. The amphitheatre.
There is no amphitheatre at Nkandla. There is merely, as pointed out by Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, a semi-circular, stepped concrete structure designed for “ground protection”. It is unclear whether the ground of the President needs to be protected, or the President needs protection from the earth itself. It was probably the latter. We all remember the nasty incident four years ago when three members of Zuma’s family were injured by a minor landslide during their production of Les Miserables.
Never again. The Zuma brood can happily stage this year’s dramatization of Far From the Madding Crowd untroubled by the fear of sudden shifts in the structure of the ground beneath their feet.
10. Three attacks at Zuma homestead
There have been three attacks at the Zuma homestead. Oh dear. Somebody should consider putting in some security measures. Maybe they should get a dog.
- News24
Boy dead, brother critical after shack fire
Cape Town - Neighbours tried in vain to save six-year-old Buhle Madono from a blazing shack in Tsunami Informal Settlement, Delft, on Sunday.
His eight-year-old brother Luyolo survived and was taken to Tygerberg Hospital with critical burn wounds.
The two boys were alone when the fire started after midnight. Their father had gone to the toilet some distance from their shack.
Neighbours were the first to respond, but “there was nothing we could do, it was too late”, said Priscilla Ntlonze.
“It happened fast. When I woke up my shack was also burning. Initially, we heard the boys screaming ‘daddy, we are dying, help us’. We tried to get inside to save them but the blaze was increasing because of the heavy wind.
“When Msulo Madono (the father of the boys) arrived, he rushed inside to try and help his children, but was stopped by other men because he was also going to burn. He loved his kids. He had bought Christmas clothes for them.”
Ntlonze said the two boys had a strong relationship and would walk together all the time.
“I saw them playing together during the day. They usually played with my son. They were not staying here most of the time. They were staying with their mother in Khayelitsha. They came here to spend Christmas with their father. They loved him because he is a good father.
“It was my first time seeing a man in that state. There is no way of describing how he was. He was prepared to die for his children. We found Luyolo in the cardboard, hiding.”
Ntlonze had been neighbours with Madono for over two years. She said he had wanted to find his children a local school so that they could stay with him.
“I believe they were not attending school. He had spoken to me about finding them a school here,” she said.
Msulo had gone to hospital to be with Luyolo, she said.
Msulo’s phone was on voicemail.
siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za
Hero gran may soon be homeless
Cape Town - The elderly woman who saved 14 children from a fire could soon be without a home.
Elizabeth Barrett, 68, and the children she cares for, have been living in a vacant building since Wednesday after a fire destroyed their home and belongings.
Barrett rushed into her burning home in Harrington Street, Cape Town to save the children.
At the time, the owner of the building, which is also in Harrington Street, gave Barrett until Saturday to find another place to stay.
Barrett said she was told he planned to turn the building into a recycling depot.
“I have no place to go… I feel (sad) that I must sleep in the street with the children. These are nice children. They are innocent children. That is my only concern,” she said.
Barrett had lived in the now-gutted Victorian-era semi-detached house in Harrington Street for more than 30 years where the family used the house for their photo-developing business.
She had four daughters but when her husband died of cancer 10 years ago, she opened her home to homeless people and others in need.
When the fire gutted the house on Wednesday, she had been sharing her home with her daughter Beatrice, 14 children - six of them her grandchildren - five street children, and three orphans sent to her from an orphanage to spend the holidays.
She had also taken in six needy adults. Barrett said she went to the city council on Friday to see if they could provide a shelter for her, but was told Mayor Patricia de Lille was on leave and there was nothing officials could do.
Although the threat of being homeless lingered, Barrett was smiling and laughing with her grandchildren as she prepared lunch for the family on Sunday.
Three of the young children sat on a table while the older children had gone to a public swimming pool.
Clothes, mattresses and toys on the floor gave testimony to the strangers and big corporations who had flocked there with donations.
The Department of Home Affairs had also since visited the family to replace their lost identity documents.
“I’m really grateful to everybody that has come to us. I want to thank them all. The man who gave us a roof over our head, it would have been difficult without the help.”
Barrett receives government social grants for one of her grandchildren and an old-age pension. The family’s other source of income is Beatrice’s salary.
The owner of the building, whose name is known to the Cape Times, could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
xolani.koyana@inl.co.za
Let’s fork off to the fire pool
All Eusebius McKaiser wants for Christmas is some honest politicians.
Two particularly nasty bits of politicking over the past week demonstrate just how addicted to lying some of our politicians are. ANC-speak is a language all on its own. Two phrases have been added to the ANC-speak dictionary.
One, of course, is “fire pool”. The painful look on Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi’s face gave away the fact that he knew he was being – how does one put it equally ridiculously? – economical with the truth. Since a swimming pool cannot be justified as a security necessity, this minister had to invent the idea that the swimming pool is actually a fire pool from which water may be drawn in case of a fire.
“Slaan my dood met n tien pond hammer!’ (Kill me with a ten pound hammer!) as my mom would have exclaimed in disbelief at such naked lying. But what I really would love to know is what Minister Nxesi thought as he prepared to read the statement, and make the non-argument, to the media and the public?
Hey, minister, did you secretly die of embarrassment but simply got on with singing for your Nkandla supper? Or did you actually think the public are a bunch of moegoes who will swallow the ridiculousness whole like a sumptuous Christmas lunch?
Because I can guarantee you, Sir, there is nothing sumptuous about taking voters, and taxpayers in particular, for a ride. Political morality might be an oxymoron, sure, but one worth dreaming about. If you had an inch of political morality, you would have pushed back against the lies from the public servants who prepared that defence of the swimming pool. Better still, you’d stand up to number one – whoever that is – and ask number one to defend his own ridiculousness. Fork off, minister!
Speaking of fork off. The other bit of ANC-speak came from the young ones, the ANC Youth League. (Remember that outfit? They’re trying to make a comeback. Don’t laugh).
The ANCYL’s national convener, Mzwandile Masina, told Numsa’s Irvin Jim to f*** off. Because, you know, it’s cool to swear as a substitute for argument. Instead of immediately apologising for the inappropriate language, and hope your sincerity and contrition will see you through, they release a statement saying the honourable gent mispronounced “fork off”. He, uhm, actually meant that Irvin Jim must accept, I don’t know, a fork in the road…?
I am indeed shaking my head, still, as I am typing this column entry. I honestly thought it was a spoof press statement released by Late Nite News. Who needs stand-up comedians when you have politicians of outstanding wit?
These two phrases – fire pool and fork off – reminded me of how much I love political satire. The Not the Nine O’clock News scriptwriters have nothing on some of our politicians.
But, of course, the difference is that satire is satire, and exists to make us laugh, reflect on our society, and so forth. Politicians who lie with a straight face and invent new words and phrases in the process aren’t funny. Because the consequences are serious.
And that’s why it’s important to hold them accountable. The opportunity cost of an unnecessary swimming pool being built for the president is that fewer textbooks are delivered, a feeding scheme for schoolkids suddenly comes under fiscal pressure, and more people wait for housing that isn’t delivered.
And that is why minister Nxesi should be ashamed to be the face of the lies. Equally, when young leaders lie about what they had said – fork off – that too is worrying. It means we have no guarantees that a younger set of politicians in the government would be a better lot than the older ones exiting the political stage.
Of course, it’s unsurprising that the ANCYL should behave so ridiculously, thinking they are a bunch of cunning linguists. Clearly, when someone like Nxesi role-models how to behave badly, then why on earth would the kiddies in the Youth League behave in an exemplary way? They are taking their cue from their seniors.
But let’s not spoil our Christmas break too much. Gawd, we need a break from the political trickery. But as soon as we’ve all recovered from overeating, and nursing a moerse hangover on January 2, let’s continue to put pressure on the politicians to behave honestly. Even if Santa forgets to bring us a few new honest ones.
For now, it’s time to fork off to the fire pool!
* McKaiser hosts Power Talk With Eusebius McKaiser on Power 98.7. He is author of the best-selling collection of essays A Bantu In My Bathroom
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers
- The Star
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