Heavy rain has fallen in the Western Cape’s Overstrand area where strong winds have affected firefighting efforts against three separate fires in Franskraal, Betty’s Bay and Karwyderskraal.

Chief fire officer in the Overstrand municipality Lester Smith told the SABC on Friday evening that the blaze was out of control.

READ: Overstrand warns of ‘higher and stronger fines’ for illegal fires after devastating blaze

“The operation is very difficult due to strong winds making it very difficult to fight the fire,” Smith explained.

Netwerk24 reported that the wind was gusting up to close to 100km/h.

The Overstrand Herald reported that three houses had burned down in Betty’s Bay.

The flames had jumped the R44 earlier, Netwerk24 reported. 

Damage caused by the fire in Betty’s Bay. (Jaco Marais, Netwerk24)

“There are still two houses on fire,” Willem Law told News24 while watching the blaze from a main road on the eastern side of the small holiday town of Betty’s Bay.

The fire moved down the mountain towards the road as it was fanned by strong winds.

Law said: “Most of the fire has been put out and the rain has also subsided.”

He added that emergency personnel were on the scene.

“Several structures have been damaged. We hope to have more details available soon,” the Overstrand municipality said earlier.

“We lost some power lines in this fire and as a result some areas are without electricity. We will continue with firefighting throughout the night and get more resources, all local authorities and stakeholders are on site.”

ALSO READ: Overstrand fires: Franskraal residents ordered to evacuate

By Friday evening firefighters had evacuated parts of all three areas, and members of the public were urged to avoid those areas for the duration of the firefighting efforts.

“We are aware that certain areas are experiencing power outages. This [is] being attended to,” the Overstrand municipality assured residents through its Facebook page.

While some residents have been evacuated, the residents of Hemel en Aarde Estate have been asked to remain on standby until further notice.

Earlier on Friday, Franskraal residents were ordered to evacuate.

The municipality, which is approximately 90km away from the Betty’s Bay area, issued an emergency warning around lunchtime, warning residents that the fire was out of control and spreading fast.

“Overstrand municipality has designated the Gansbaai tourism office hall as your emergency evacuation centre. The evacuation centre is located at: Great White Junction (SPAR Centre), Main Road, Gansbaai,” read a message from the municipality.

Residents were ordered to gather family members loved ones, pets and only essential items. They were also asked to bring along essential medication, turn off all appliances and lights and lock their doors.

The following halls are available for use by those who have been evacuated: Grobbelaar Hall, Moffat Hall in Mount Pleasant, Gansbaai tourism hall, Sandbaai Hall and Crassula Hall.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

Jurie Roux and Stellenbosch University will go head to head in May this year over claims that the chief executive of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) possibly benefitted personally from seemingly misappropriated university funds.

The university is claiming damages of more than R30m from Roux, who served as a senior director in the university’s finance department before he was appointed as SARU’s CEO in 2013.

He also served on the management of the university’s rugby club for a decade. The details of the claim are contained in court papers filed in the Western Cape High Court in 2015.

ALSO READ: SA rugby boss denies allegations of financial mismanagement at Maties

Roux has denied that he acted inappropriately.

Frikkie Erasmus, Roux’s attorney, confirmed to News24 on Thursday that the High Court had set Monday, May 13, as a trial date.

He said the two parties had been in contact and that they would iron out pre-trial issues in February.

‘Misrepresented university funds’

According to a report by audit firm KPMG, attached to a notice by the university lodged at the court in October 2017, Roux “misrepresented the university’s funds (including by, without evidence of authorisation, reallocating reserves of the university for expenditure), entered into unauthorised agreements on behalf of the university, did not act in the best interests of the university, and potentially benefitted personally from university funds”.

The report – which was attached to the filing, giving notice that the university would be calling Roy Walligora, a KPMG director, as expert witness – states Roux could have benefitted from university funds through the payments of irregular bonuses.

The report says that payments and bonuses were approved to a club rugby coach who was then asked by Roux to deposit an amount of R55 250 into his account.

ALSO READ: Saru CEO: Report will damage my reputation

Roux also allegedly used a software mechanism that did not leave an audit trail “and concealed the movement of funds” between accounts to which he had access.

These movements “decreased the (university) council’s reserves by R35.3m from 2002 to 2010”, the report says.

KPMG also made adverse findings against a friend and colleague of Roux, Chris de Beer, who also worked in the university’s finance department and the rugby club.

He was found to have channelled funds from Roux to irregularly funded bursaries and unused or old student fee accounts. De Beer has been dismissed by the university.

Police have arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly extorting a family in Bedfordview. The suspect subjected the family to threats via WhatsApp and demanded a sum of R30 000.

“The perpetrator also mentioned the fact that he knew that the man was a wealthy person. The perpetrator demanded that unless he is paid an amount of R30 000 he would do something drastic to the man and his family,” Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department SWAT unit received information at approximately 14:00 that the money that had been demanded would be delivered to a location at Eastgate Mall.

“The suspect was pounced upon when he picked up the bag of cash and arrested.

“The cash was recovered, and a cellphone found on the suspect reflected the threatening messages he had been communicating to the victim,” Kgasago added.

The suspect who is known to the family claimed that he was not a criminal and that he merely acted out of desperation as he was in dire need of cash.

The man will appear in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court soon to face charges of extortion.

Members of the ANC’s uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) stormed the party’s provincial offices in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday morning, demanding that their concerns be attended to.

Scores of national executive committee members have been using the offices ahead of the ANC’s birthday celebrations and manifesto launch this weekend.

READ: North West protests: Some ANC members feel left in the cold in talks to end unrest

ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli was locked in a meeting with the MK veterans to clear the air.

“The concerned group has previously raised its concerns with the eThekwini region but seemingly felt that they were not being attended to, and now took to the provincial offices to voice them.”

Simelane-Zulu said that while the province deals with the aggrieved veterans, “all members should opt to use internal mechanisms to raise concerns and avoid storming offices”.

“The ANC’s focus is on delivering a successful January 8 event and listen to our president at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, and members should desist [from trying] to divert attention from that event,” Simelane-Zulu added.

Some of the concerns raised include the economic welfare and recognition of veterans.

READ MORE: ANC ‘to lose support‘

The party’s top brass travelled to various parts of the province on Monday to drum up support for the weekend event.

Party president Cyril Ramaphosa went to several townships and villages, talking to residents and hearing about their challenges.

He also paid a visit to the Masinenge informal settlement in the lower South Coast, a ward currently run by the DA.

ALSO READ: ANC dumps Methodist minister from January 8 celebrations after ‘degrading’ comments about women

His deputy, David Mabuza, was at the KwaMdakane taxi rank in Newcastle.

The party expects the Moses Mabhida Stadium to be filled to capacity on the day of celebrations. It said at least 1 300 buses would transport supporters to the venue.