Hawks not investigating Nkandla: spokesman

Police on Tuesday dismissed reports that suspended Hawks boss Anwa Dramat was asked to provide information about the Nkandla investigation to police commissioner Riah Phiyega.

"Phiyega and... Dramat never discussed the Hawks' investigations into Nkandla," said the elite police unit's spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko in a statement.

"The Hawks is not investigating the Nkandla matter."

Instead, said Ramaloko, the National Investigation Unit, under Lt-Gen Vinesh Moonoo, was looking into the R246 million spent on upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's private homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

On Tuesday, Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said her party believed Dramat's suspension -- ordered by Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko on December 23 -- was linked to Nkandla.

"The suspension of General Dramat came the day after he focused on the Nkandla files... She [Phiyega] has demanded that General Dramat hand over the files on Nkandla," she said in a statement.

Kohler Barnard said she had heard allegations that Phiyega had asked for files on a number of other high-profile investigations, including one into alleged fraud involving Northern Cape ANC chairman John Block, and another into alleged corruption between MECs and businessman Toshan Panday in KwaZulu-Natal.

Ramaloko dismissed these claims, saying: "At no point did General Phiyega request Lt-Gen Dramat to submit any files to her."

Earlier, during an interview with Radio 702, Dramat's advocate Johan Nortje mentioned Nkandla as a possible reason behind the suspension.

"One has to look at the timing of the so-called suspension out of the blue... It's exactly the time when the KZN investigations, and obviously the Nkandla investigation are at a very crucial point," he told the broadcaster.

"It's quite clear that there are politics that are involved here."

Nortje said the reason given in a letter by Nhleko and Phiyega for Dramat's suspension -- that he was facing allegations into illegal rendition of Zimbabweans in 2010 -- was "baseless".

He said a report into the matter had cleared Dramat months ago.

Nortje said that, according to a recent court ruling, the suspension was unconstitutional.

"The most important aspect of the Constitutional Court judgment on November 27 is that the suspension clause has been deleted."

Yet, said Nortje, "10 days later, the minister used that suspension power".

The ruling was part of a larger judgment dealing with the constitutionality of legislation to establish the Hawks.

The court found certain defects in the laws -- such as the "untrammelled" power given to the police minister to dismiss the head of the hawks --had to be "severed".

Dramat's lawyers have given Nhleko until January 5 to lift the suspension.

- Timeslive

6000 kids at Zuma Nkandla party

More than 6000 children and youth attended President Jacob Zuma's RDP education trust party in KwaNxamalala, Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal, the presidency said on Monday.

This was Zuma's 13th year hosting the annual Christmas party.

"Every year, we look forward to this day when we do something for the many orphans and children who come from the poorest of backgrounds yet have this thirst for knowledge and education," Zuma said in a statement.

Since its establishment the education trust had educated 24,000 students, Zuma said.

Those in attendance came from KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.

The children received Christmas gifts, which included lunch packs, school bags, vanity bags, and an undertaking from the SA Social Security Agency to follow up and deliver books to needy and disadvantaged pupils, Zuma said.

What Zuma was doing through the trust was building on the work he had done for education since becoming president, said Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.

- Sowetan

Nkandla officials seek a deal

The 11 Public Works officials charged for rampant overspending and flouting of tender regulations on Nkandla may now all plead guilty, seeking to protect their pensions and avoid protracted hearings. Earlier, they had indicated they would plead not guilty.

It emerged at the weekend that Pretoria director of projects Itumeleng Molosi was let off with a two-month suspension without pay and a final written warning after pleading guilty to irregularly appointing contractors and flouting procurement procedures.

Had Molosi been found guilty rather than signing a plea deal he would have forfeited his pension.

Opposition parties have reacted strongly, calling for the officials to stick to their original not guilty stance, and saying the guilty plea would not exonerate President Jacob Zuma.

On Monday Public Servants’ Association labour officer Roshan Lil-Ruthan said he thought Molosi’s penalty was harsh because “none of the employees benefited financially from the project and they told the Special Investigating Unit that they were pressured by their supervisors to fast-track the project”.

The disciplinary hearings began in Durban in September and Molosi’s case was the first to be concluded.

T

he SIU report found that Molosi and his colleagues Rakesh Dhaniram, Bheki Dlamini and Thuli Ngubane approved the appointment of contractor E Magubane CC in June 2011.

The contractor was to be paid R9.6 million but ended up receiving R10.8m for installing electronic security systems at Zuma’s rural KwaZulu-Natal home.

In September Lil-Ruthan told The Mercury that all the officials intended pleading not guilty and that the disciplinary hearings were nothing more than the department looking for “scapegoats” to blame for the scandal.

But on Monday he said this could change.

“I’m not sure whether some of them will choose to plead guilty because I haven’t met them recently since we (the PSA) closed for the holidays,” he said.

Lil-Ruthan said Molosi’s plea was a “brave step” and he thought the co-accused might consider the same route to fast-track their cases.

“These hearings have brought tension and anxiety to our members. They obviously want the whole thing to be over, but it is also important to consider the future implications of either pleading guilty or being found guilty,” he said.

The PSA would now analyse transcripts of Molosi’s case to see if the remaining officials were implicated in his plea and if they needed to re-strategise their defence.

The EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said it was “a travesty” that Zuma was being “protected” through the charges brought against the officials. He urged the remaining 11 officials not to plead guilty, pledging the support of the EFF and other opposition parties.

“In the end, Zuma will not be held accountable. The issue is being buried by destroying people’s careers. We reaffirm our position that the officials must not stand down and instead stand their ground. The opposition parties, including the EFF, are willing to stand by them; they do not have to be scared. They must stand up for the truth.”

His sentiments were echoed by the IFP’s Narend Singh, who said the guilty plea did not exonerate Zuma from paying for non-security upgrades.

“Not all the work that was done was part of the security upgrades and the president must do the right thing and acknowledge that he unduly benefited from the project and pay back some of the taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The DA’s spokesman on public works, James Masango, said while the party acknowledged the findings of the SIU, it wanted the recommendations in the initial report issued by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to be adhered to.

“The junior officials’ guilty plea will be for not following open tender processes and obviously that was against the regulations. However, we want Zuma to take responsibility for the money that was spent on things like the swimming pool, kraal and chicken run which had nothing to do with security,” he said.

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said Molosi’s suspension was welcomed and dealt with what the party viewed as the unlawful escalation of costs.

“The suspension of an official, or officials, is what we called for. Someone must be responsible for the unexpected escalation,” Kodwa said.

- The Mercury

Teen dies in freak electric shock

Cape Town - A 14-year-old Khayelitsha teen was electrocuted to death in a freak accident at the TR informal Settlement over the weekend.

Amahle Masala, a Grade 9 pupil at Ntlanganiso High School, was killed when she held on to a metal wire connected to a shack which had an electric cable running through the zinc roof. The incident took place on Saturday at around 11am.

According to witness Lungile Jungwana, Amahle was stretching her arms out when she held on to the metal wire, used as a washing line, for support.

“We had just been joking around when she stood and held the wire. The next thing I saw was her body shaking and she was screaming for her friend Wendy to help her.”

Jungwana said at first he was so shocked that he stayed rooted to the spot. But he was triggered into action by the sight of flashing sparks coming from the wire near the roof.

“I quickly grabbed a wooden rake and tried hitting her away from the wire. We tried moving her with the rake several times until the wire broke.”

Jungwana said when the wire broke it got tangled around Amahle’s body causing her to choke even more.

“It lasted for a few minutes, but when we managed to set her loose from the wire she had already lost so much strength.”

Amahle collapsed and, according to Jungwana, her mouth and tongue had turned white. Neighbours arrived and threw water on her.

She was taken to the nearby fire station as the area’s clinics were closed for the weekend. Amahle died at the fire station.

Amahle’s sister Babalwa Masala, 19, said this was not the first time someone in their neighbourhood had been shocked.

“Our neighbour who lives in the shack directly beneath the electric pole where the cable runs through was also shocked, but survived. I thought my sister would survive it too.”

Babalwa said at the time of the incident she was inside their home cleaning the bedroom. Amahle had just finished doing the washing and was about to wash the dishes.

She said she heard her sister’s cry for help and when she went outside, she saw her sister dangling from the wire.

“I feel very hurt and shocked by the incident. It scares me because we have been living here since birth and we never imagined something of this nature would happen. Not to my sister, of all people.”

Babalwa said Amahle wanted to study tourism. She said her sister was also a good singer and was part of the high school choir.

“Amahle used to sing for us here at home and was a very humorous person who loved entertaining people. I’m not sure how this house will be now that she is gone.

Eskom spokesman Andrew Etzinger confirmed the incident. He said Eskom management was deeply saddened.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family.”

Etzinger said based on an initial investigation, it appeared that Amahle held on to a washing line for support as she stood up from her seat and was subsequently electrocuted.

He said Eskom technical staff arrived on the scene and inspected the area.

“There was no apparent indication as to how the washing line had been electrified. The incident is under investigation.”

zodidi.dano@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus

Civil servant suspended over Nkandla

A senior public works department employee has become the first official involved in the upgrades of President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead to take the fall for the R246 million project, City Press reported on Sunday.

Itumeleng Molosi, 58, director of projects, pleaded guilty to irregularly appointing contractors and flouting procurement procedures, the newspaper reported, according to information from "department insiders".

Molosi would keep his job after the department imposed a two-month suspension without pay and a final written warning.

Molosi signed the deal last Monday after writing to the department about his intention to plead guilty.

Molosi reportedly blamed officials, including himself, who felt pressured into cutting corners and taking short cuts because the project involved the president's home.

Eleven other officials, all represented by the Public Servants Association (PSA), may sign similar deals to avoid lengthy hearings, the newspaper reported.

Roshan Lil-Ruthan, the PSA labour officer representing the officials, said his clients intended to tell the hearings they also felt pressured into speeding up the Nkandla upgrades.

- Timeslive

SHACK FIRES: 150 CAPETONIANS SPEND CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SHELTER

Blazes gutted informal dwellings in the Cape last night & in the early hours of this morning.

CAPE TOWN - About 150 Capetonians are spending Christmas day without shelter after their informal dwellings were gutted by fires last night and in the early hours of Christmas morning.

A total of 39 shacks and a house has been gutted in areas including Philippi, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.

City of Cape Town disaster risk management's Wilfred Solomon’s-Johannes says, Disaster response teams have been deployed at first light this morning to provide the necessary aid to the victims that lost everything in the fires.”

He says an investigation into the cause of the fires is underway.

The city's Fire and Rescue Services says it has a full complement of fire fighters to deal with blazes across the peninsula.

Strong winds and faulty electrical equipment are some of the main causes of fires.

The city's Theo Lane says human error is to blame in many cases.

“We have seasonal firefighters about 120 of them. We have the recruits that have just finished training then we have the reserve firefighters, 19 of them, and they will be deployed to various fire stations.”

At the same time in the Eastern Cape, four boys have died after the hut they were sleeping in burnt down in Willow Vale.

They boys, aged between 14 and 17 apparently made a fire before falling asleep.

No foul play is suspected.

The Police's Jackson Manatha says, “At this point in time, the police are not suspecting any foul play and have opened an inquest docket for further investigation.”

- EWN

A South African Xmas

On-going violent protests worry Zuma

President Jacob Zuma has voiced concern about the on-going violent protests South Africans engage in when raising their grievances to government.

He was addressing the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) gala dinner at the International Convention Centre in Durban Friday night.  

Zuma has called on the ANC and its alliance partners - the South African Communist Party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and Sanco, to work together on common programmes of addressing the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.  

"There are things that we have not done. We have not for example dealt with South Africans to move away from the mind set of saying if you demand something you need to break things."

He says the manner in which South Africans deal with their democratically elected government has to be different from how the oppressive regime was confronted.

"We certainly need to meet and discuss that change of mind as a broader movement and therefore identify the steps we need to undertake to build this country because we could not change South Africa overnight."

Zuma commended Sanco for managing to strengthen itself after years of infighting

Meanwhile, Zuma called on Sanco to ensure that it monitors the progress the ANC is making on the commitments it made in its election manifesto.

He says it must continue to constructively engage the ruling-party on action to take to speed up service delivery. The President commended Sanco for managing to strengthen itself after years of infighting in the organisation.

"Sanco is a civic movement which is supposed to be where the people are as well as the branches of the ANC, we ought to know if there was dissatisfaction in any part of the country and act first to address that matter so that we do not create an impression that this beautiful democracy is a problem."

He called on all alliance partners to unite and work together.

"No one will help us to do so but ourselves. If we are to achieve all of this we need to work for unity of the progressive forces particularly because the reactionary forces are trying their best to disrupt the process of building this country."

Zuma says in the next five years they need to build on the achievements of the past 20 years and fulfil the commitment made to grow the economy to create jobs.

- SABC

Zuma: Nkandla upgrades not my fault

President Jacob Zuma says none of the Nkandla reports, including the public protector's, found him at fault for upgrades at the compound.

President Jacob Zuma on Sunday said all three reports conducted on security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead found no fault in him.

In a pre-recorded interview with the SABC, Zuma said initially, the allegations were that he had abused R250-million of taxpayers money.

“The reality is, the president did absolutely nothing wrong. “There is not a single one [report] that found anything wrong that the president had done,” Zuma said, referring to himself in third person. He said even the report compiled by public protector Thuli Madonsela found no fault in him.

Undue benefits

Madonsela’s report had stated that Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from some of the upgrades at his home and suggested that he pay back some of the money.

“But the president did not ask for any benefits from anyone,” Zuma told the SABC, He was still awaiting a report back from an ad hoc committee which was tasked to look into Madonsela’s report before deciding on a way forward. 

Public spending on security upgrades at Zuma’s home have turned into one of the major controversies of the Zuma presidency, as costs escalated to R246-million. It emerged the project included a pool (dubbed a “fire pool” by government), an amphitheatre, and a chicken run.

In August, Zuma’s personal architect Minenhle Makhanya was served with a R155-million civil claim by the Special Investigating Unit for the R246-million upgrades at Nkandla.

Makahanya later opposed the claim.

Differences in the reports of the public protector and the interministerial task team has cast doubts on the latter’s work. – Sapa, Staff reporter.

CTN fires leave hundreds homeless

A total of 118 people have been left homeless after 30 shacks burned down in various parts of Cape Town, the City's Disaster Operations Centre said on Saturday.

“No injuries were reported,” said the Centre's acting head Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

In the most devastating of the five fires that had broken out since Friday night, 80 people were displaced and 20 shacks were destroyed when a fire broke out at the Imizamo Yethu informal settlement in Hout Bay.

In Ravensmead, two adults and a child were left homeless after their backyard dwelling was destroyed in a fire, while in Khayelitsha, another shack burnt down, leaving two people displaced.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, two fires broke out: one in Fizantekraal and the other in Kraaifontein.

Eighteen people were left displaced in the Fizantekraal fire that destroyed six shacks.

In Kraaifontein, 15 people lost their homes after two shacks were burned down.

Solomons-Johannes said those affected were receiving food, clothing, toiletries blankets and building materials.

“The cause of these fires is undetermined at this stage,” he said, adding an investigation would, however, take place. - Sapa

Two girls die in shack blaze

Cape Town - Two little girls burnt to death after they were trapped inside their burning shack early on Tuesday morning.

Lithabo, 2, and Kwakhanya, 5, were fast asleep in their Philippi East home when the fire broke out.

Their mother, Vuyokazi Gcilitshane, managed to escape. She ran for help, screaming: “The children are inside.”

Gcilitshane was taken to hospital with burns, according to City of Cape Town fire chief Theo Layne.

Her neighbour, Douglas Gungqisa, was home on Tuesday morning to recount the horrifying night.

Gungqisa owns the formal house and property on which the backyard shack was built. The Gcilitshane family had lived there since last year.

“I was woken at 1am by a woman who came running to tell me the shack is on fire,” he said. “I jumped up and ran. I was so confused. Then we went to fetch water in buckets to throw on the fire.”

Gungqisa said the blaze only grew as they poured water over it, as if the water was paraffin.

“I heard the screams of the mother saying the children are in there,” he said. “The mother couldn’t say what caused the fire, she was just crying. All she could say was ‘the children are inside’.”

Soon community members came to help, and a security van called the fire brigade.

When the neighbours managed to put out the flames, they set about searching for the girls.

“We didn’t hear the screams of the children,” Gungqisa said. “It was just quiet.”

He found their charred bodies under a sheet of collapsed corrugated sheeting.

On Tuesday morning, the blackened site was home only to twisted metal, burnt plates and the soggy remains of a tiny girls’ T-shirts and pink shoes.

Gungqisa’s house in Apile Crescent was slightly damaged by smoke, but not burnt.

Layne said that a man had died in a separate fire last night. “There was also a fire in Kosovo informal settlement. One adult male sustained fatal burns.”

The cause of both fires was not known and details were unclear as formal reports had not yet been filed on Tuesday morning.

- Cape Argus

Poo protesters off the hook

Cape Town - Nine men on trial for dumping human waste at the airport were discharged on all but one charge at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Andile Lili, Loyiso Nkohla, Yanga Mjingwana, Ben Dyani, Jaji Diniso, Bongile Zanazo, Thembela Mabanjwa, Bantubakhe Mgobodiya and Wandisile Mkapa will have to answer a charge of contravening a section of the Civil Aviation Act – which carries a sentence of up to 30 years’ jail.

They are accused of dumping human faeces at the entrance of Cape Town International Airport’s departure terminal on June 25 last year.

They appeared at the Bellville Regional Court on Monday to hear the outcome of their section 174 application, which their lawyer, advocate Pearl Mathibela, had filed with the court in October.

This followed the State’s decision to close its case against the men.

They were charged with contravening the Civil Aviation Act with an alternative count, contravening the National Environment Management Act with an alternative count, and contravening the city’s environmental health by-laws.

They were cleared of all but the first count.

In dismissing counts two and three, magistrate Nonkosi Saba agreed with Mathibela on many aspects, including that “waste” as defined by the by-laws or acts did not mean faeces.

She said the State had not brought evidence before the court to prove the nine men had conspired to cause a riot.

Saba said their intention was to shame the City of Cape Town. “The intention of the accused was not aimed at the aircraft, crew or the navigation facilities of the airport,” she said.

Saba, however, said their actions had affected the operations of the airport, with the entrance having to be cordoned off, forcing some passengers to use an alternative access.

In this regard the men had a case to answer to because someone stepping on the dumped faeces could have slipped and injured themselves.

Their application for discharge was refused.

The nine accused displayed considerable relief, in particular Lili, who pumped his fist and smiled in the dock when the magistrate freed them on some of the charges.

Outside court Lili told his supporters that their lawyers were devising a strategy to deal with the remaining count.

“Now our lawyers are going to look at how they deal with that part that speaks about (possible) injuries to passengers. The one that speaks about injuries is true, because if one would have walked on the (faeces, they could have slipped),” Lili said.

“This is a serious indication that we must not take for granted what we are standing for; the issue of sanitation which has become a problem for all of us,” Nkohla said.

The case was postponed until Thursday.

xolani.koyana@inl.co.za

- Cape Times

Dunoon hit by sixth blaze this year

Cape Town - For the sixth time this year 160 residents of Dunoon, near Milnerton, watched in despair as a fire devastated the informal settlement - reducing all their possessions to ash and prompting the community to initiate a contingency plan.

The residents were among about 400 people who were displaced following fires in seven informal settlements across the peninsula at the weekend.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, mother-of-three Tokoza Xamlashe was woken by a cry for help as a fast-moving fire headed in her direction. “I woke my children, grabbed the baby and ran. There was no way that I was able to stop that fire. It was big and spreading very fast,” said Xamlashe.

“We rebuild, then lose our belongings. So the cycle continues. It is heartbreaking and terrible, especially because I know I am not responsible.”

City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said the cause was unknown.

At a meeting on Sunday, community leaders implored residents to be more careful about leaving fires unattended.

According to community leader Thembinkosi Janda, residents were considering establishing a night patrol to check whether residents had properly extinguished fires before they went to sleep.

“We will have meetings. The selected group will be responsible for ensuring that people kill their fires properly and report to me anyone who has fallen asleep with their candles still lit. This needs to end,” said Janda.

Residents of the informal settlement did not have access to electricity.

Janda said they had been occupying the land illegally for the past six years because there was no other place to stay.

Solomons-Johannes said the fire was one of eight at the weekend. On Saturday night, 63 people were displaced when fires swept through Masiphumelele, Philippi, Strand and Khayelitsha.

On Friday night, 118 people from Kanana informal settlement in Gugulethu and 41 people from Joe Slovo also lost their homes in shack fires.

Solomons-Johannes said on Sunday the causes of the fires were not yet known.

In another incident in Elsies River on Friday night, a 58-year-old woman died during a fire, leaving a male occupant displaced.

The cause of that fire was also being investigated.

francesca.villette@inl.co.za

- Cape Times

Over 150 people displaced in Cape Town fire

Over 100 people were displaced on Sunday, when a fire ravaged shacks in Du Noon, the city of Cape Town.

"It happened in the early hours of this morning. Thirty-eight shacks were burnt, 152 [people] were displaced," said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

No injuries or fatalities were reported.

Many of the shacks had been rebuilt by Sunday afternoon, he said.

- SAPA

Aftermath of a Shack Fire

With summer heat and seasonal gale force southeaster winds, it is a time of high risk for shack fires. There were 123 fires in the past month in informal settlements in the Western Cape. This December, load shedding may well be adding to that risk. GroundUp visited a family in the aftermath of a recent shack fire to see how they are coping.

In a fire on the weekend of 29 November in Barcelona, Gugulethu, Sindiswa Swapi lost everything.

At about 4:30pm, Swapi said she was woken by three of her neighbors, shouting to her to open her door.

"I took my children out of the shack to safety and ran to see what was happening. I saw people throwing water at my neighbor's house and trying to kick a door open. By the time the door was opened, half of the house was burnt, affecting other houses," said Swapi.

A lady known as Nomampondo said that some people in the community believe the cause of the fire was a stove that was left switched on.

"We think that the owner of the shack where the fire started left his stove switched on or did not realize that the stove was on because there was load shedding in the area ... [Shortly] after the electricity came back on, the fire started."

"We do not blame Eskom, but I think that Eskom should give us notices about times of load shedding, because sometimes when the electricity just goes off, we get upset and forget about safety precautions," said Nomampondo.

Eskom does give notice of planned power cuts, but as GroundUp previously reported, some communities struggle to get the information.

Nomampondo says that the owner of the shack ran away after what happened and they haven't seen him since.

According to Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, acting head of the Disaster Operations Centre in the Western Cape, faulty electrical equipment was the suspected cause of the Barcelona fire.

Solomons-Johannes said the City's disaster response team assisted the fire victims with food parcels, clothing, blankets, toiletries and building materials.

Seven shacks were destroyed by the fire and 28 people left homeless.

Swapi, her three children and husband are now staying in a neighbour's one-bedroomed shack.

"My neighbour offered my family a place to stay even though she and her family of four are already staying in the shack. My family and I are sleeping on the floor. We eat food parcels that were given to us by disaster management."

"I am hurt because I not only lost everything, but my two two-week old puppies were burnt to death and we couldn't help them," says Swapi.

Her surviving dogs and puppies are now homeless.

Swapi said that she doesn't have anything to wear; her children's school books were burnt, including their school uniforms, clothes and birth certificates. She feels helpless; she had just bought her children summer clothes for the December holiday before the fire destroyed everything.

All that remains of the neighbour's house where the fire started. Photo by Pharie Sefali.

"My husband is the only one working at home ... He doesn't know how we are going to survive for the month because we have to buy beds and other furniture and still have to think of the children's school uniforms for next year amongst other things," says Swapi.

Sibulele Swapi, who is 13 and in grade six, says he is glad that none of his family members were burnt, but he is sad he is not going to enjoy his holiday like other children; there won't be any money to buy Christmas goodies.

Other families are also staying at their neighbours until they rebuild.

Charlotte Powell, portfolio Head of Public Awareness and Preparedness at the Disaster Risk Management Centre, says the fire season is normally the summer months ranging from early October to late March every year.

"This is a high risk time when the southeaster blows at gale force strength and temperatures are high. Once uncontrolled fire is started, the combination of strong winds and dry vegetation makes it extremely difficult to control, especially in mountainous areas where access is difficult", says Powell.

According to fire and rescue services in the Western Cape, between 1 November and 2 December, 2216 fire responses were recorded of which 397 were structures on fire; 123 of those were in informal settlements with nine fatalities and 406 informal dwelling units burned down.

According to Ian Schnetler Chief Fire Officer, the shack fires (123) and fatality (nine) figures for this year and last year were exactly the same, but 81 less homes were destroyed.

- allAfrica

Sisulu's house centre of fight - large family evicted

A HOUSE that belonged to Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu is at the centre of a storm involving the new owner and a large family of tenants.

Ruskiya Karaniya, who has lived in the house in Yeoville, Johannesburg, for the past 11 years, accuses Sisulu of selling the house without giving her notice.

Sisulu's spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya confirmed the house was sold six months ago.

"Those people living there were given notice and they know the house was sold," said Mabaya.

The new owner, Sibusiso Maphisa, said he was now renovating the house, which he bought from Sisulu six months ago.

However, Karaniya and 22 family members said they could not move out of the house as they were not notified in time about the sale.

She accused Maphisa, a metro police officer, of threatening to kill them should they not move out soon.

"We are not refusing to move out if it is the case that the house has been sold but at least they should give us three months notice," said Karaniya, a Congolese national.

"We are a big family and there is no way we can just move out. We need to look for another big place where we can stay."

Sowetan found the house in a dilapidated state yesterday with no doors or windows, broken furniture, electric cables stripped off the walls, damaged water pipes, a leaking geyser and a passage flooded with water.

Karaniya said the damage was caused by Maphisa.

Maphisa denied the allegations.

"Those people are lying . I do not know if it is a crime to renovate your house but if it is so you know there are lawyers and courts as well as police, [then] I should be arrested."

Karaniya, who has been paying R7000 monthly rent to property agents Trafalgar for the past 11 years, said she felt she had been betrayed by Sisulu as she had added another two bedrooms outside and plastered the whole yard.

"I never missed any payment, not even one rand, but today I am being evicted like a dog.

"Even if she has sold the house, I feel she should have also told me about it so that I would have made an offer too," Karaniya said.

Maphisa's lawyer, Abram Mogoboya, said: "If the tenant and the landlord had it on agreement that when the house is sold, the tenant would get first preference, then there can be a strong case, but we do not know the terms between Sisulu and Karaniya."

ndlovus@sowetan.co.za

- Sowetan

Nkandla debacle takes a deadly turn

Two close family members of high-profile people linked to the allegedly irregular multimillion-rand upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead have been murdered within a month of each other.

The latest is Bavelile Mahlalempini-Mqadi, the 64-year-old mother of uMhlanga businesswoman, Thandeka Nene, the Nkandla builder who was recently arrested as investigators sought to uncover who had irregularly benefited from the mammoth project.

Mahlalempini-Mqadi was stabbed 21 times - in front of three nephews - at her Nagina home near Pinetown on Wednesday night. Six men entered and ransacked the house before killing her and fleeing with a car.

Nene’s liquidated company, Bonelena Construction Enterprise, had secured a R90 million contract to upgrade Zuma’s private home.

The death of her mother came 35 days after Sergeant-Major Shanilnand Indurjith, 45, the head of the SANDF’s health unit in Durban, was gunned down at a bus stop in Phoenix.

His brother - former surgeon-general Lieutenant-General Vejay Ramlakan - had been linked to the Nkandla affair for allegedly authorising construction of a helipad, military quarters and a military clinic at the homestead.

Speaking to the Daily News at her mother’s Nagina home on Thursday, Nene said she was puzzled by the murder.

But, she blamed the media for publicising the fraud and corruption charges against her.

The state alleges she bribed a Department of Public Works official to secure R118m worth of contracts for the construction of schools and hospitals between 2006 and 2012.

“To people reading the paper they think I have been awarded a R118m contract, but that’s not true - that work was awarded over a period of time,” she said.

“People think that because they know my mother they will get money from her, because the criminals were asking her ‘iphi imali? (where is the money?), sifun’imali mama (we want the money).’

“This worries me because these big figures make people think we have money, and we have not been awarded any work this whole year,” she said.

Nene’s husband, Sikhumbuzo, said six men “stabbed” her 21 times all over the body and tied the guys (her nephews) with cable ties. One of them had a gun and was showing it to them.

“They stabbed her in front of the boys until she collapsed to the ground.”

They were then shoved into wardrobes before the criminals ransacked the house and stole television sets and a car.

Ramlakan’s younger brother, Anand Indurjith, recently told the Daily News he wondered if the October 29 murder, which is yet to be solved, was a warning for those implicated to keep quiet.

“It’s just a thought and not a fact, because there is no evidence to back that up,” he said.

“On the other hand it could have been just a robbery in which the robbers just didn’t care about the results of shooting at him.... We think a lot and we have questions, but no answers.”

In a statement released by the military after his brother’s death, Ramlakan said the death of his youngest brother had nothing to do with the Nkandla matter.

Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said four men were arrested near uMzinto in connection with Mahlalempini-Mqadi’s murder and would appear at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Police were still searching for other suspects, he said.

They face charges of murder, house robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

While police believe robbery was the motive, Sikhumbuzo said they questioned why his mother-in-law, who had founded the Power of God Assembly, had to be murdered.

He said she had no enemies.

sihle.mlambo@inl.co.za; chris.ndaliso@inl.co.za

- Daily News

Moving Up in Joe Slovo

Approved Joe Slovo housing beneficiaries, who were deemed to be "too young" by government to receive houses in October, this week moved into their new units at the N2 Gateway development. Other families, who remain behind in the informal settlement, and who are now being moved to make space for the next phase of the housing development, remain unhappy.

In the last week of October, Zimasa Zibeko, 32, and dozens of their neighbours were denied access to houses at the Joe Slovo N2 Gateway development in Langa. The houses, they believed, were due to them, and they threatened to resist being moved out of shacks on land earmarked for the next phase of the development.

GroundUp investigated and found that that Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela had deemed the beneficiaries too young to "be prioritised" for government houses.

But Madikizela has now confirmed that those beneficiaries (56 in total) were approved before government's policy shifted to prioritise people over the age of 40 for housing.

"This is incredible," said Zibeko, as she gave GroundUp a tour of her new double-storey, two-bedroomed apartment at the N2 Gateway development. She received the keys on Monday.

"We were worried [in October] that this day would never come. Here we have a toilet and running water. We are warm at night, and this has already had a good impact on me and my children's health. I have asthma, and when the wind blew through my shack at night, I used to cough until the early hours of the morning."

The novelty of a house has been particularly entertaining for her three-year-old son, Yomelela. He has been flushing the toilet with glee, and been mesmerised by the door handles, the likes of which he has never seen before, according to Zibeko.

Nomonde Mahlati in the shack from which she is to be removed to make space for the next phase of the Joe Slovo housing development, in Langa. Photo by Daneel Knoetze.

"My child was always sick; the flu would not go away and he had a runny tummy sometimes. It is all because of the conditions where we lived in the shacks. It was not healthy ... We had to walk far just to go to a portaloo or a water tap."

For other residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement who have not yet received houses, such unhealthy conditions persist. Approved for housing at the new development, 41-year-old Nomonde Mahlathi has lived in the area since 1995. When her shack was demolished by the Housing Development Agency to make space for the housing development, she spent four nights outside in May 2013. She now stays in a small two-roomed shack with seven family members, four of them children. As the land is cleared for the next phase of houses, she will have to move again.

"We are disappointed ... Some of those beneficiaries were very young, in their early twenties, and they do not even have families to look after," said Mahlathi.

"What about my children? My son Ndim, who is now six, still has memories from being evicted," she said, recounting how her son, aged four at the time, came home from creche to find his mother's shack lying in tatters.

"He has become a withdrawn and scared boy at school. Living like this is not good for his health and he is psychologically damaged from us being removed so violently. Now, we have to move again -- to a small shack in a congested area where the risk of fires is very high."

- allAfrica

Cape Town goes after bid-rigging money

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is claiming R400 million in damages from construction companies involved in bid rigging for construction of Cape Town Stadium, making it the first municipality to attempt ty to recoup costs.

“Bid rigging is the most serious contravention of the Competition Act and is designed to subvert competitive tender processes, leading to increased costs,” said mayor Patricia de Lille during her address at Wednesday’s final council meeting for the year.

“The damages suffered were at the expense of the public whose rights we are duty bound to protect.”

The Competition Commission has referred the case of collusive tendering for the 2010 World Cup stadiums against WBHO Construction, Group Five Construction, Stefanutti Stocks Holdings and Basil Read to the Competition Tribunal. Murray & Roberts was granted some leniency.

These companies, excluding Murray & Roberts, did not settle the case as part of the general construction fast-track settlement process, which started in 2011.

The commission’s investigation found evidence of collusion when bidding for the construction of stadiums by allocating tenders among themselves and agreeing on their profit margins.

Among the alleged deals was that the tender for Cape Town Stadium would be given to Murray & Roberts in a joint venture with WBHO.

“I have instructed the city’s attorneys to issue summons for the recovery of the damages suffered and they will be attending to the formalities over the next few days,” De Lille said.

The city would also lay criminal charges.

ACDP caucus leader Grant Haskin threw cold water on the announcement: “How do we believe what you are saying when the companies involved keep getting contracts from the city?”

In October, Haskin asked the mayor which of these contractors were awarded contracts after 2010. De Lille said in her written reply that R313m was paid to Group Five for four contracts after 2011, including two MyCiTi contracts.

Group Five Construction was awarded a R70 662 543 contract for Phase 1B and the N2 phases of the MyCiTi service in 2012. It was also awarded a contract for R87 269 708 for construction of the inner-city feeder bus stops.

“This shows that the DA government’s prior commitment had been unilaterally ignored and, rather, that they had been rewarded with even more contracts,” said Haskin.

Asked why the city had continued to do business with this company, De Lille said: “Watch this space.”

She added that the construction companies had paid fines after the commission’s findings. “We had to wait for the process to run its course (before taking further action).”

She later quipped to the ANC, on the other side of the House: “You must be careful, there are a lot of comrades in those companies.”

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus

Nkandla builder arrested for fraud

The woman who built President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead has been charged with corruption and 18 counts of fraud.

Thandeka Nene, 42, is accused of exaggerating her experience as a builder to win government tenders to the value of R118 million. She is also accused of bribing a public works official to secure the work.

The Umhlanga businesswoman was arrested by members of the Hawks Anti-Corruption Task Team last week and was released on bail of R30 000. Spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Natasha Ramkissoon-Kara confirmed the arrest.

“We can confirm Nene was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption. She appeared in the Durban Commercial Crime Court before Judge Nalini Govender. She was granted bail and the case was remanded to December 12.”

Nene’s charges relate to work done by her companies Bonelena Construction Enterprise and Project CC and Ntshantsha Construction CC for the building of schools and a hospital.

After a four-month investigation by the Special Investigating Unit it emerged there were irregularities in the tender procurement process:

* She lied to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) when applying for a grading so as to increase the grade she was awarded.

* She sent the CIDB forged tax clearance certificates.

* She shared a corrupt relationship with someone from Public Works. It is alleged that she made regular deposits into this person’s account to manipulate the tender process. As a result, Nene was awarded 12 tenders by the Department of Public Works.

The current charges make no mention of the upgrade to Zuma’s home in Nkandla.

Nene’s company secured R90 million for the “security upgrades” at the president’s home.

Nene’s husband Sikhumbuzo Eric Nene, 43, her sister Cynthia Cyndi Mahlalempini, 34, and brother-in-law Jordan Mlamuli Ngubane were also arrested last week because they were listed as directors of Ntshantsha Construction. They were each released on R5 000 bail.

Nene told Independent Media her legal team was looking into the findings of the investigation.

“I have nothing much to say about the matter since it is a new case and it is a legal matter still in court. I will leave the rest in their (legal team’s) capable hands.

She said business people often faced challenges.

“This is a testimony to other entrepreneurs like me out there that business is not for the faint-hearted, but if you have God on your side then all is well.

“God has been nothing but good to me through the many challenges that I faced. He kept me and still continues to keep me going.

“And my friends and family have always been supportive, even today, and I thank them for that,” said Nene.

When asked whether she believed the investigation had anything to do with her involvement in Nkandla, she said she did not want to comment on that.

A high-ranking police source believed the investigation into Nene’s credentials was sparked by her involvement with Nkandla and a fraud charge against her in the Seychelles last year.

“The SIU has done a great job. We are now looking into her assets and there is a possibility that assets to the value of the charges may be retained for the course of her trial,” said the source.

Nene got in trouble with the law last December when she was arrested in the Seychelles, accused of allegedly being involved in an international R7-billion bank fraud syndicate.

According to previous media reports, she was arrested along with two other people, one believed to be from South Africa and the other from Sierra Leone.

She pleaded guilty and paid an admission of guilt fine to return to her family in time for Christmas.

Who is Thandeka Nene?

Thandeka Nene, 42, is a multimillionaire businesswoman who enjoys the finer things in life.

Her company, Bonelena Construction CC, was one of two building firms nominated by the Public Works Department to do major work on the “security upgrades” to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead. The high roller clinched almost R90 million in 2010 when she secured the contract.

Nene built her empire on government construction tenders.

She boasts on her company’s website that she has a string of academic qualifications and that she’s received a number of awards over the years for being the best female contractor.

Nene, who is formerly from Durban’s KwaDabeka township, now lives in Pietermaritzburg and is known for her flashy cars as well as her opulent homes in Umhlanga and Pietermarizburg, registered in her company name.

She’s often seen draped in designer clothing, and spends a lot of time travelling overseas. She was thrust into the international spotlight last December after she was arrested for bank fraud and alleged links to an international fraud syndicate.

In media reports last year, it was revealed that Nene was arrested with two others, one said to be a South African and the other from Sierra Leone. They were charged with attempted bank fraud.

At the time of the arrests, the Mail & Guardian reported that Nene and the two accused had allegedly approached BMI Bank on the islands to open new accounts that would be funded by what police in the Seychelles said was €500-million (R7-billion) in available funds held by HSBC Bank. Their arrests followed soon after, with a specialised fraud unit of the island’s police force also seizing documents and IT equipment. Nene pleaded guilty and paid a fine in order to return home.

From her Facebook profile, it is evident that she frequents Zimbali on KZN’s north coast, the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, and the lavish Beverly Hills hotel in Umhlanga.

nabeelah.shaikh@inl.co.za

- Independent Media

Scramble to fix Nkandla fences after exposé

The broken fence at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home has been fixed - thanks to the Sunday Times. Until last weekend, no one appeared to know that parts of the R6.2-million outer perimeter fence were falling apart.

On Thursday, the government sent a KwaZulu-Natal North Coast fencing company to repair the damage.

By the time a Sunday Times team arrived at Zuma's homestead on Thursday afternoon, all sections of the broken fence, including the part near one of the guardhouses, had been repaired. The logs used to support the collapsed fence around the security personnel compound had been removed and a new fence installed.

Two trucks belonging to Cornerstone Homes, a KwaDukuza-based company specialising in fencing projects, were parked nearby. When contacted on Friday, the company refused to comment.

Phillip Masilo, legal adviser to Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, said he did not know whether the fence had been fixed because that was an operational issue and the minister was not in charge of operations.

Public works spokesman Sabelo Mali referred questions to the SAPS, which is responsible for internal security at Nkandla. Police spokesman Solomon Makgale declined to comment.

Zuma's 8.9ha homestead is surrounded by two rings of 3m-high fence - an internal fence that cost R8.2-million and the outer perimeter fence at R6.2-million.

The perimeter fence has a R1.8-million CCTV camera installation and a kinematic fence detection system that cost almost R1-million, bringing costs for the perimeter to about R17-million.

The contract to install the perimeter fence was awarded to Durban businesswoman Thandeka Nene's Bonelela Construction Enterprise and Projects, which secured work worth R98-million on the Nkandla project.

However, Bonelela's contract was cancelled because of nonperformance and the work of installing the outer perimeter security fence was given to another company.

Despite the fences, the Special Investigating Unit has raised concerns about Zuma's safety at Nkandla.

Matter of fact

Last week in "Nkandla falls apart" we incorrectly implied that Betafence Projects erected the outer perimeter fence, which is in a state of disrepair, at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence.

We also failed to ask Betafence for comment. Mike James, general manager of Betafence SA, said that only the inner security - which is in good repair - was erected by his company.

We apologise for these errors. - TimesLive

Nkandla spending hidden from AG - report

Evidence of large-scale misappropriation in the Nkandla construction project was hidden from the auditor general (AG), Beeld reported on Thursday.

That was why, over three years, the AG did not pick up on the R246m spent on so-called security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma's private Nkandla homestead in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

This was revealed by AG Kimi Makwetu on Wednesday in his response to a question at the release at Parliament of the latest audit outcomes for national and provincial departments.

"If you go back to our audit reports for the department of public works during these years you will see that we said we could not deliver an audit opinion because we could not get access to all the necessary documents," he was quoted as saying.

"It was not an easy task for us to do the audit because the documents were classified and it was not easy for us to do a normal audit."

Makwetu had been asked why the AG never raised the alarm over the Nkandla spending.

The public works department took steps against officials involved in the project only this year after the public protector and Special Investigating Unit found that rules and regulations were contravened and R155.3m was overspent.

- SAPA

‘Deadly’ E.coli levels found in Cape river

Cape Town - A river flowing into scenic Gordon’s Bay has been found to contain potentially deadly levels of E.coli bacteria. It has sparked calls from the ANC for City of Cape Town officials to take immediate action and prevent life-threatening infections, especially among people with low immune systems and those living with HIV.

The Sir Lowry’s Pass River was found on October 23 to have an E.coli count of 130 000 per 100ml at the point where it flows into Gordon’s Bay.

The test was confirmed by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

This count is four times that found by a DA health fact-finding mission into borehole water at the poor community of Mokopane in Limpopo, where the E.coli count was 40 000 per 100ml.

DA health spokesman Dr Wilmot James described a count this high as “highly pathogenic and unfit for human or animal consumption”.

But he pointed out that some of the water at Mokopane was for drinking, whereas the water in the Sir Lowry’s Pass River was not intended for human consumption.

The results on the Sir Lowry’s Pass River show the E.coli count increases dramatically as the river winds down to the ocean after passing through an informal settlement 6km upstream.

The information comes two weeks after a False Bay fish exporter revealed he found dangerously high levels of E.coli in harders (mullet) tested in July.

E.coli, or Escherichia coli, is normally found in the intestines of people and animals. Most E.coli is harmless, but its presence indicates the presence of pathogenic (illness-causing) compounds.

The young, elderly, pregnant and those with weakened immune systems, such as people with HIV, are particularly vulnerable.

“This could be devastating,” said the ANC’s acting spokesman Cobus Grobler. “An E.coli count that high is a potential killer, especially if you have TB or are HIV-positive, because you are then more prone to be infected.

“It can have severe, if not fatal, consequences. The city may not think it is serious but to the poor it is life-threatening,” said Grobler.

“The city seems to know there is a problem in that area, yet they are doing nothing. If this escalates they could find themselves legally liable.”

But mayoral committee member for health Benedicta Van Minnen said there was no need to be alarmed.

“The City of Cape Town cannot comment on these results as they were not analysed in the city’s laboratory and it is unclear how the samples were taken, stored and transported to the laboratory.”

She acknowledged that the count was over the limit for recreational water use as set by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s SA Water Quality Guidelines.

A single sample result should give an E.coli count of equal to or less than 1 000 per 100ml or it is unsafe for bathers and other water users. “However, the appropriate manner of testing is to weigh each single sample result against a number of fortnightly samples collected over three months.

“A single sample result does not really provide adequate information to draw any specific conclusions,” said Van Minnen.

Rivers passing through urbanised areas often had “background” pollution owing to contamination on hard surfaces that was washed into the river by rain. Blocked or overflowing sewers could also cause a problem.

“The water quality in the Sir Lowry’s River is therefore impacted to varying degrees at various locations. However, it does not impact on the overall water quality along the coastline. Bikini Beach is a Blue Flag-accredited beach and the water quality there is fine,” said Van Minnen.

“The water in the Sir Lowry’s River would be considered non-potable – it is not for consumption.”

The SABS report comes just three months after the DA embarked on a four-province water-testing tour in ANC municipalities.

The DA’s James, along with Kevin Mileham and Leon Basson, travelled across Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape investigating the quality of drinking water and water supplies.

This was sparked by an outbreak of diarrhoea in Brits in North West that affected more than 500 people and led to the deaths of at least three babies.

James described an E.coli count of 40 000 per 100ml in boreholes in the community of Mokopane in Limpopo as highly pathogenic and unfit for human or animal consumption. “That will kill you if you drink it.”

The count at Gordon’s Bay is more than three times higher than found at Mokopane.

The DA vowed to take legal action against the ANC-run municipalities where high E.coli counts were discovered.

But on Wednesday, James told the Cape Argus the Gordon’s Bay results needed to be tested over a period by the National Health Laboratory before confirmed as reliable.

“Our oversight visits to the provinces examined E.coli levels in drinking water. The Gordon Bay tests were of non-potable river water not intended for human consumption.

“It appears as if the river in question is polluted as a result of dumping and contamination practices of civilians and possibly businesses.”

He said the city ran educational programmes to promote public health.

“We can always do more – including post warnings – and I give you our assurance we will do whatever is appropriate under the circumstances.”

elliott.sylvester@inl.co.za

- Cape Argus