The Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG) says it wants to learn from the investigation into the fatal stampede at the church last month, saying that it didn’t matter if it was right or wrong.
“We are not hoping to be right or wrong in this case. What we want is to be able to learn from their investigation,” church spokesperson Maynard Manyowa told News24 on Thursday.
Manyowa made the comments a day before the CRL Rights Commission releases its findings and recommendations after conducting hearings relating to the incident this week.
The commission held the hearings after several discrepancies came to light regarding what transpired at the Tshwane Events Centre on the evening of December 28, when the stampede occurred.
Manyowa said the church was hoping to hear the commission’s objective views on what went wrong that day so that it would never be repeated.
On Monday, church leader Prophet Shepherd Bushiri answered tough questions from the commission about the events that unfolded that fatal evening.
Bushiri said, when a storm hit Pretoria, congregants panicked and caused a stampede in one of the halls where church members were waiting for a service that was scheduled o begin at around 22:00.
He also told the commission that the church was compliant with health and safety regulations and that it was not involved in the transportation of bodies from the scene.
“The church only came to know through the media that there was a case of bodies being moved from the church without the police and taken to private mortuary,” Bushiri told the commission.
During the hearings the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) called for the families of the victims to be compensated with at least R1m.
The church said it was working on a compensation package along with the commission.
The commission has embarked on mediation efforts with one family who is aggrieved.
“We are hopeful that the CRL will win in its mediation efforts, specifically the one family that is aggrieved so that we maybe able to render further assistance,” he said.
Sanco and community members protested outside the premises two weeks ago calling for the church to be shut down.
Manyowa said [they] were also hoping the report would be able to mediate between the church and Sanco.
“We do not believe we can ever be winners in this. We lost beloved family members in this tragedy, and even if we are found to have done everything right and someone else dropped the ball, we will remain a family in mourning,” he said.
The ANC failed to obtain rights to the domain name of its website after an adjudicator, appointed by DomainDisputes.co.za, ruled against the party this week.
The party approached the body after service provider Unwembi Communications claimed ownership of ANC domain name www.anc.org.za.
News24 previously reported that there were allegations of non-payment of a R32m bill to the service provider, which prompted Unwembi to pull the plug, forcing the party to register a new domain and leave behind years of data.
“This website is suspended due to non-payment by the service provider,” read the message which greeted browsers who tried to access the site.
But, in its submission to the adjudicator, the ANC said that Unwembi posted a malicious notice on the website, which had a serious impact on its image, brand and business.
The party claimed Unwembi had acted in bad faith, notwithstanding agreements entered into, which were included in a termination of contract between the two parties.
The said it was now considering litigation.
“Since the decision of the adjudicator ruled against the ANC, we will now pursue legal action on our domain name and websites, and have already briefed senior counsel,” the party said in a statement.
The party said Unwembi was formed by individuals, with the assistance of the ANC, who were initially part of the movement’s IT department that registered and developed the website.
“When Unwembi was formed in 1997, the ANC entrusted the comrades with the responsibility to continue to manage its websites. Around 2015, ownership of Unwembi changed hands, when some of its original founders retired,” the statement went on.
The ANC said that its struggle to regain ownership and control over the domain name was a matter of principle.
“It is an important part of the 107-year-old legacy of our movement and people, and no private company or individual can claim rights over this rich and illustrious history.”
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is pleased to announce that it is joining the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) as a member. This is part of the SARB’s journey to support responsible financial innovation for the benefit of all South Africans. The GFIN, as a network, provides an efficient conduit for innovative firms to interact with regulators and to help them navigate between countries as they look to scale new ideas in the interest of consumers. Joining the GFIN will provide the SARB with the opportunity to share and gain insights from its fellow regulators on experiences in enabling innovation.
A couple escaped uninjured after their light aircraft made an emergency landing at a beach in Jeffreys Bay on Wednesday.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the Plettenberg Bay pilot and his wife were found safe at the beach.
“The pilot had landed on the beach in an emergency landing during a flight from Port Elizabeth to George following suspected motor failure,” said the NSRI’s Paul van Jaarsveld.
Van Jaarsveld added that the crew joined the police, Kouga Fire and Rescue Services and the Eastern Cape government’s Emergency Services personnel who had already been activated by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre.
Van Jaarsveld said the incident was being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The light aircraft reported to have landed on the beach in an emergency landing. (Supplied)
In June, two people were killed when a light aircraft crashed near Midrand, Johannesburg in a residential area.
“Gavin phoned me and said: ‘Frans, Patrick needs a new car’.”
“Gavin phoned me and said: ‘Frans, you better get hold of Patrick, he needs a car for his wife.'”
“Gavin called me and said: ‘Patrick needed a car for his son.'”
One of the key men at Bosasa, Frans Vorster, took the witness stand at the state capture commission of inquiry on Tuesday and delved immediately into the deep end of the largesse Bosasa bestowed on former correctional services chief financial officer, Patrick Gillingham.
Gillingham, it emerged, would take nothing but the best of German engineering – Mercedes Benz, along with some cold, hard cash.
For two of his three children, however, Volkswagen Polos would have to do and a VW Golf with all the extras was for his wife.
Gillingham’s eldest son was not a recipient of a Bosasa car, Vorster explained.
Commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, remarked at one stage that “the husband, the wife and the kids were driving cars bought by Bosasa”.
At the centre of this was Vorster, who testified that he would be called upon by Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson to fulfil Gillingham’s every request.
Vorster revealed that Bosasa’s relationship with Gillingham started well before the company scored its first lucrative tender from correctional services.
In fact, it was Gillingham who convinced the correctional services department top brass in 2004 that outsourcing the catering contract would be best practice and would save the department bundles of cash.
Bosasa won the R300m tender, under the watch of then national commissioner Linda Mti, who also allegedly accepted bribes from the company in exchange for tenders.
“He (Gillingham) was basically the driver of the process and then Mr Mti would approve,” Vorster said.
Gillingham’s key role in the scheme that saw Bosasa collecting more than R2bn worth of tenders from correctional services is well documented in a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report finalised in 2009.
The SIU report describes him as having played an “integral role”.
But how Bosasa first reached out to Gillingham remained a mystery until Wednesday.
Vorster – whose late father also worked for Bosasa and had a relationship with Gillingham – was the key man that sold Gillingham on the idea of working with the Krugersdorp company.
“Gavin Watson came to my office at Lindela [Repatriation Centre] in 2003 and asked to speak me alone. He said to me: ‘Get hold of Patrick again, as he would love to tender for the catering contract for correctional services,'” Vorster said.
At that stage, DCS ran kitchens at its facilities and prisons in-house and the idea of outsourcing was not yet on the table.
Soon Vorster was called to the now infamous vault at Bosasa’s head office, where he would be handed cash that had to be given to Gillingham.
Vorster would then pack the cash into an A4 envelope so that it looked like documents.
“I would meet with Patrick at a certain restaurant, mostly in the Pretoria or Centurion area, and we would discuss specs and menus regarding the kitchens of correctional services. I would hand over the envelope and take the information back,” he explained.
The amounts varied – between R5 000, R10 000 and R20 000.
Vorster described the relationship between Watson and Mti as “good and close”, which “led to Gillingham being appointed to the procurement division” of correctional services by Mti.
Mti would later appoint Gillingham as chief financial officer.
Soon after Bosasa scored the kitchens tender in 2004, Vorster said Watson instructed him to assist Gillingham procure a Mercedes Benz.
At the time, Gillingham drove a clapped-out, old gold Mercedes Benz E240, which had a high number of kilometres on the clock and a broken left headlight. The dealership offered him a trade-in value of R89 000.
Bosasa bought the car from Gillingham for R155 000, paid directly into his bank account, and then paid the shortfall for a new Mercedes.
“We paid far more than what it was worth,” Vorster said.
The fate of the old Mercedes Benz was not revealed.
The next year, Vorster was again called upon to procure a Volkswagen Golf for Gillingham’s wife.
“Gavin phoned me and said: ‘Frans, you better get hold of Patrick, he needs a car for his wife.'”
A year later, the call from Gavin came again – this time Gillingham’s son needed a car.
Bosasa also procured a VW Polo for his daughter, but Vorster said he was on leave when this was done.
Soon, Gillingham himself needed a new Mercedes Benz and Vorster, once again, made it happen.
Throughout, he testified, Bosasa would employ various tricks to hide the flow of cash being paid to the various dealerships.
“This was done so that if someone came to investigate, they would not be able to pick it up. The internal auditors didn’t even pick it up.”
Over the years, Bosasa also procured a VW Touareg V8 for Mti, and built luxury homes for both Mti and Gillingham.
Vorster said it was “open knowledge” that Bosasa was funding the construction of the homes in Midstream for Gillingham, and Savannah Hills for Mti, complete with custom kitchens and luxury furnishings.
These days, according to Agrizzi, Gillingham drives a Mercedes GLA200 courtesy of a company owned by Watson’s brother-in-law, Mark Taverner.
Vorster also testified how Watson instructed him to “hire a cabriolet” for the daughter of Nomvula Mokonyane, then Minister of Water Affairs, in December 2015.
When a cabriolet could not be sourced, Bosasa paid for the hire of an Audi A3.
During the SIU investigation, Vorster was also called upon to destroy evidence. He obtained the files relating to the purchase of the VW Touareg for Mti from an employee at the dealership, and burned the file.
“Who said all of this must be done? Whose idea was it?” Zondo asked at one point.
“That was a decision taken by Gavin, Angelo and myself, the crew at that stage,” Vorster said.
Names of employers who fail to comply with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be published on the website of the Department of Labour, a meeting was told in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday.
Fikiswa Mncanca, Chief Director for Statutory Services in the Department, was speaking to about 400 inspectors in East London on the state of readiness of the Department to implement and enforce the NMW, which was recently signed into law.
“Shaming such employers will ensure they are recognized as people intent on defying the state. This will go on to ensure that they will not be able to do business with government,” She said.
Mncanca said the sanction for not complying with the NMW requires the employer to pay an amount equal to twice the value of the underpayment or twice the month wages, whichever is greater. The Department is required in terms of section 76 (4) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) on a quarterly basis, to publish in its official website, all employers that were issued with compliance orders.
Mncanca reiterated that the purpose of the NMW is to advance economic development and social justice by improving the wages of the lowest paid workers, protecting workers from unreasonable low wages, preserving the value of the NMW, promoting collective bargaining and supporting economic policy .
She said the NMW was the floor level below which no employee should be paid from 01 January 2019. The level is R20.00 per hour to implemented and enforced. NMW for farm and forestry worker is R18.00 per hour – domestic workers R15.00 per hour and for Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) is R11.00 per hour.
Mncanca said the NMW would be reviewed annually by the Commission comprising Labour, business and community appointed by the Minister of Labour.
Another similar session will be held in Pretoria, tomorrow.
