The Namibian government has reportedly agreed to lease four farms to a Russian billionaire, Rashid Sardarov, for 99 years, a move that has been described by opposition parties as “modern-day land grab”.
According to The Namibian, the decision to “unanimously” lease the four farms to Sardarov was approved by Cabinet, and it was said to be “in the best social and economic interest of the country”.
The farms were valued at N$43 million, and measured a combined 17 000 hectares, the report said.
Namibian Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein reportedly defended government’s decision, saying the leasing of the four farms to Sardarov was a “better deal”.
The country’s land reform minister Utoni Nujoma concurred, adding that the move was necessitated by “considerable economic benefits that will accrue to Namibia”.
But a New Era report said opposition parties and civil society organisations were against the decision, describing it as “modern-day land grab”.
“This is what in modern-day is called the new scramble for Africa, [which] is how it played out in Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Modern-day scramble for Africa
“This is the modern-day land grab – they come under conservation, under investment. In Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya never will you see locals being shareholders. Modern-day scramble for Africa, Namibia has entered the race,” Landless People’s Movement’s (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi was quoted as saying.
The Russian billionaire owned at least 10 farms in the southern African country, another report by The Namibian said.
Sardarov was believed to have acquired land for nearly N$200 million in 2012 and 2013.
“I believe that we should have difficult conversations, as Namibians, with the aim of finding peaceful and sustainable solutions to the challenges of inequality, landlessness and outstanding pains of genocide,” AFP quoted Geingob as saying.
“If we don’t correct the wrongs of the past through appropriate policies and actions, our peace will not be sustainable,” the president warned.
Firefighters are battling a blaze in Overcome Heights informal settlement in Vrygrond, near Muizenberg in the Western Cape.
“I can confirm that there is a huge fire currently in the area. It’s very chaotic there at the moment but we are sending more staff to go and assist now,” the City’s Fire and Rescue spokesperson Edward Bosch said.
According to the City, the fire broke out shortly after 17:30. The cause is unknown.
Although no injuries have been reported, community leader Linamandla Deliwe described the scene as “chaotic”, saying that everyone was trying to save what they could.
“Yes, there is currently a huge fire here. Firefighters are currently here but they are struggling to go in because their trucks cannot go through…Maybe if there was a helicopter it would help,” Deliwe added.
But the City said it would be difficult to send through a helicopter during the night. Bosch described the blaze as out of control and said they were doing their best to put it out.
He said numerous wood and iron structures were affected.
“Currently, there are 12 fire engines, four water tankers and a rescue vehicle, with 68 firefighters on [the] scene,” Bosch said.
The Western Cape has been in the midst of a heatwave for the last few days and a warning to expect high fire conditions on Friday has been issued.
The ANC in Gauteng has joined thousands of voices as it reiterated its stance on the scrapping of e-tolls.
“Let there be no confusion, they are not part of the future of this province. We will have to work out how to pay for the roads but not through the e-tolls,” provincial chairperson David Makhura said.
Makhura made the comments during his address outside the Germiston Civic Centre, following a failed motion of no confidence in Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina.
He maintained that e-tolls have not worked and that the ANC in Gauteng did not support the move.
Makhura ‘s comments follow remarks by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni during his maiden mid-term budget speech on Wednesday, when he said: “If we want a road transport infrastructure that works, we need to pay our tolls.”
However, the ANC in the province said it was sticking to resolutions made at its 13th provincial conference that e-tolls be done away with.
During the conference, Makhura was mandated to engage with President Cyril Ramaphosa and the national government to expedite the resolution of e-tolls.
“The ANC Gauteng province is optimistic that the high-level engagements between the provincial government and the national government will yield positive results in resolving this matter,” the party said.
A family who has spent sleepless nights worrying about their farm in fire-stricken Vermaaklikheid say that if it wasn’t for the efforts of helicopter pilot Nico Heyns and others, the blaze would have done a lot more damage.
An emotional Stayci Anderson said on Wednesday morning that their hearts were broken after hearing that Heyns, 65, was killed when his helicopter went down during firefighting efforts in the Vermaaklikheid area on Tuesday morning.
“These helicopter pilots literally put themselves in danger for people they don’t know,” she said.
Anderson, 33, is based in Cape Town but her father Pierre du Plessis and stepmother live on the farm about three and a half hours away.
She spoke to News24 because Du Plessis was busy with the fire and his phone went straight to voicemail.
‘An absolute trooper’
The farm, next to the Duiwenhoks River, has been in their family for centuries and their historical Haartebees farm house is rented out to holidaymakers looking for a quiet escape.
But the tranquillity was shattered when her dad got hold of her a few days ago to let her know there was a fire down by the river and it had already taken a few houses.
He sent her a photo of thick smoke billowing above the lush green hills in the distance.
Du Plessis did not hesitate to jump into action.
“He is an absolute trooper,” Anderson said. “He is basically the maintenance guy for Vermaaklikheid, knows everyone, does everything, and wouldn’t hesitate to take the shirt off his back for someone else.
The Vermaalikheid valley filled with smoke. (Supplied)
“He hopped onto a neighbour’s boat to see if they could help but everything was too far gone.”
The wind soon changed direction and the fire jumped the river.
“By the time they got back, the fire was on the border of the farm.”
Firefighters doing their best
The family doused the buildings and land with water and did their best to put up a fire break, before deciding to evacuate.
A helpless Anderson cried when her dad sent her a photo of a trailer packed with their belongings, sitting on the road to their farm, with the orange glow of flames clearly visible above the vegetation.
A trailer sitting at the road to Da Laafing Lion farm in Vermaalikheid, ready for evacuation. (Supplied)
“The flames were higher than the windmill on the property. I could hear the crackling on the phone while speaking to my stepmother.”
Meanwhile, teams of firefighters from various organisations were doing their best to battle the flames on the eastern and western flank of Duiwenhoks River.
When her dad told her they might lose their house on Tuesday, she got in touch with the local firefighting team and help soon arrived.
“As far as I know, everything is fine,” said Anderson, who did not get any sleep on Tuesday night.
Eight structures have been destroyed in the blaze, according to the George Municipality.
Large areas of sustainable harvest Fynbos and wildlife grazing were lost and there were significant damages to fences.
The municipality said the fire was about 60% contained and good work was done overnight.
What is left of a neighbour’s thatch home. (Supplied)
Anderson said the only thing they lost in the fire was a river cruiser boat, which her dad had built by hand.
“We want to honour the pilot by renaming the boat after him. In my eyes he is a hero,” she said.
“You can rebuild a boat but you can’t rebuild a life.”
Anderson and her sister have set up drop-off points for anyone wanting to donate clothes, food, water, toiletries, blankets and other items to those who lost everything in the fire.
The drop-off points are in Table View, at the Hair Emporium at 82 Briza Road, and the Pizza Palazzo in the Merlot shopping centre.
One of the two sons of a late police officer who was a member of the so-called “Cato Manor death squad” has hailed his father as a “hero”.
In an open letter to the Sunday Times, published on Facebook this week, Ashton Eva, the son of Captain Neville Eva, said he would always defend his father’s legacy following the newspaper’s recent apology for stories it had run on the “death squads” in 2011.
“I will always stand tall and will never stop fighting until the courts finally decide to look at the facts/reality/truth and clear my father and members of the Cato Manor unit’s name. I believe in the justice of this land,” he wrote.
He said he was heartbroken when his father told the family about the article on a Friday before the article was published on Sunday.
“He wore his heart on his sleeve and called all the people that meant something to him. He knew that the article was being printed and would be published for the country to see.
“I will never forget that look in his eyes, the heartbreak that all his long hours of hard work, putting his life on the line as he faced the worst of society on a daily basis and all the sacrifices he had made were for nothing as his world came crashing down because the editors were chasing a prize and serving a hidden agenda.”
Captain Eva died in 2012, a year after the Sunday Times published the report into the so-called death squad.
On October 14 this year, Sunday Times editor Bongani Siqoko apologised for the Cato Manor report as well as for those on the so-called South African Revenue Service “rogue unit” and Zimbabwean “renditions”.
Siqoko also announced that the paper would return all the awards it had received, as well as any prize money.
Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Stephan Hofstatter were the investigative journalists involved in the articles published in 2011.
Apology ‘not enough’
Ashton said they had been quiet for six years, but promised: “I will not allow the people that destroyed my father’s name to think that by them saying a simple ‘I am sorry we got it wrong’ is ever going to be good enough – it will NEVER be!” he said in an open letter to the Sunday Times, published on the Durban organised crime unit KwaZulu-Natal Facebook page.
“I challenge the captured men to put this all to bed and reveal your sources, let the country see their names splattered all over the Sunday Times because the truth will truly set you free.”
He said it was more than just 30 men affected, but also families, wives and their children.
He said his father told them there and then that the truth would come out in the end, “but it is going to be a very hard long road and that we must stand strong in the face of adversity”.
“My dad had always had a very high code of moral ethics and he totally believed in our justice system and the rule of law,” he added.
Ashton’s brother, Dale Ashton, said the journalists involved in the story “failed to investigate” and “failed to follow the audi alteram partem rule that criminal investigators are obliged to follow”.
He said the journalists involved should know they were responsible for affecting his life.
He was 15 years old when about 12 heavily-armed officers surrounded his family home and blocked off access to their road.
“They were searching for my father so they could arrest him. Let me add that they were following orders so I don’t blame them at all for that, they were doing their job, but I do blame them for ransacking our house and threatening my mother as she tried to protect us and I blame their superiors who failed to tell them the Cato Manor unit were ready to hand themselves over and were at their offices in Victoria Embankment.
Sunday Times editor ‘brave’
“It was an absolute show of force and intimidation for the media and they took great delight in causing terror and embarrassment to all the families,” Dale said.
“I was stopped from leaving the house and did not make my mid-year exam at school that day,” he said.
He said he would like to personally thank the Sunday Times for “finally posting the truth”.
“It only took you six years to admit something that many people already knew from day one and that was that you were wrong.
“To the editor of the newspaper: the fact that you were brave enough to step up and tell the truth knowing that there are a lot of big and powerful people who are not going to be happy that you aren’t afraid of them is something I’m eternally grateful for,” he said.
He accused those who got rewards and collected money as “gifts” and even promotions as being “responsible for murder” that will have to live with their consciences.
“To the families and people that haven’t second-guessed the legality at any stage of the heroic acts that these heroes did to save our lives, I personally thank you for your gracious support.
“The fight is not over yet and as my dad used to say let’s ‘bite the bullet’ and keep persevering [in the belief] that the courts will finally see the truth,” he said.
Sunday Times editor Bongani Siqoko could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to help him appoint a new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). The panel will interview candidates in November and make its recommendations to the president by December.
A short history
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is a nominally independent state institution that reports to the Minister of Justice and is responsible for all prosecutions in the country. The NPA was established after 1994 and its functions are enshrined in the Constitution: “National legislation must ensure that the prosecuting authority exercises its function without fear or favour.”
How the appointment is made
The NDPP is the head of the NPA and ultimately responsible for running the organisation. All deputy directors of public prosecutions report to him. The appointment of the NDPP is governed by both the Constitution and the NPA Act and gives the president the sole authority to do so. The NPA Act does however stipulate that the NDPP must possess a legal qualification and “be a fit and proper person”. It is silent on the process the president must follow when appointing a NDPP.
Why so many NDPPs?
South Africa has had five NDPPs since the establishment of the NPA. Bulelani Ngcuka left in 2004 in the wake of his famous comment that he would not charge then-deputy president Jacob Zuma even though “prima facie” evidence of corruption existed. His successor, Vusi Pikoli, was forced out in 2009 after he refused to bow to political pressure, while Menzi Simelane, who was appointed by Zuma in December 2009, was removed from office in 2011 after the Constitutional Court found that his appointment was invalid.
Mxolisi Nxasana was appointed in 2013, but he also left under a cloud in 2015. The last NDPP was Shaun Abrahams, who left the position in 2018 after the court found his appointment by Zuma to also be invalid.
A politically fraught appointment
The appointment of the NDPP is both a legal and bureaucratic as well as a political one. The head of the NPA must have a commitment to the prosecution of justice as well as the safeguarding of the institution’s independence from political interference. But he (or she) also needs the ability to navigate the turbulent political environment and be able to make politically unpopular decisions or resist public pressure. Not one NDPP has completed his term and all have been victims of political machinations.
How will this appointment work?
The appointment process announced by Ramaphosa is unprecedented. Historically, presidents have made the decision on who to head the NPA by themselves, in accordance with law. After Pikoli’s removal the DA started lobbying to amend the appointment process and to bring it more in line with the appointment of judges. Two of Zuma’s appointments were overturned by the courts because the process Zuma followed as found to be invalid. Ramaphosa has now opened up the process, opting to advertise the position to the general public and asking a panel to assist him in shortlisting candidates. The ultimate decision however remains the president’s to make.
Who is on the panel?
The panel has representatives from all major legal formations in the country serving on it, including the General Council of the Bar, the Law Society and the Black Lawyers Association. It also includes Auditor General Kimi Makwetu. They will consider nominees before making a recommendation to the president. Judicial nominees by contrast are interviewed by the Judicial Service Committee that consists of politicians and representatives from the legal fraternity. They similarly make recommendations to the head of state, who takes the final decision.
Why is Ramaphosa doing it like this?
The NDPP’s appointment has always been a political one, and often seen to have been made with political expediency in mind – as was the case under Zuma. Ramaphosa is attempting to depoliticise the process by making it more transparent and inclusive, and also bringing it into line with the Constitutional Court (Simelane) and the High Court (Abrahams) judgments which found that the president needs to apply his mind properly when making a decision on a new NDPP. A new NDPP that has gone through an open and competitive process could just have enough legitimacy in both the NPA and in the political environment.
Larochelle Smit has endured attacks for dating outside her race but when she got a racist Facebook message from the mother of a man she used to date, she decided enough was enough.
Speaking to News24 on Tuesday, 28-year-old Smit said she was shocked when nurse Elaine Jacobs sent her the “absolutely disgusting” private message last month.
Jacobs has since claimed that her Facebook account was hacked. The Life Healthcare group, which the nurse listed as her employer on her profile, has stated that it will not utilise Jacobs’ services at any of its hospitals.
The message, which has caused outrage on social media, reads: “Ek meen jy’s n boere sa meisie maar jy wil soos n kardasian lyk??? En met k***** uit gaan?? [sic]” (I mean you are a Afrikaans South African woman but you want to look like a Kardashian? And date k*****?)
Smit explained that she dated Jacobs’ son about a decade ago and that Jacobs had kept her as a friend on social media.
“I don’t know if she has any ill feelings. She has seen photos of me and my boyfriend. This woman somehow felt the need to message me and enquire [about my makeup and boyfriend].”
She said she showed the message to her boyfriend, who tried to calm her down.
“From the time I have started dating outside my race, I have been bullied and been a victim of such awful comments. Largely from the Afrikaner community. I have reached a point where enough is enough.”
Smit, who is based in Sandton but is originally from Durban, said former eThekwini speaker Logie Naidoo was helping her lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission.
She has also opened a case at the Sandton police station.
Replying on Facebook to Smit in the comments section on Sunday, Jacobs said: “Hi there guys facebook just let me know about this and this is the first time ive ever seen this comments i asume my facebook was hacked,im trully sorry about this. And would ever in my life comment something like that [sic].”
News24 has sent a request for comment to Jacobs and is awaiting a response.
No longer employed at Lifecare
Life Healthcare human resources executive Chris Gouws confirmed on Tuesday that Jacobs was not currently employed by Life Anncron Hospital in Klerksdorp, as stated on her Facebook profile.
“We can, however, confirm that she is a former nurse having resigned from the hospital in 2012. Thereafter, she worked for a nursing employment agency and her last shift at the hospital as an agency nurse was in October 2017.”
Gouws said racial hate speech was a very serious matter and the behaviour contravened the company’s values and policies.
“Despite the fact that Ms Jacobs was not in our employ at the time of her post, we have reached out to the nursing agency and informed them that Ms Jacobs’ services are not to be utilised at any Life Healthcare hospital. The group has also made the decision that Ms Jacobs’ services will not be utilised at any Life Healthcare facility in the future.”
This is a screen grab of the original Facebook post:
After showing up at school with a bodyguard last Monday to protect himself from being bullied, a 16-year-old Grade 10 pupil at Grey College in Bloemfontein will now complete his studies at home, Rapport reported on Sunday.
According to the Sunday paper, the boy’s mother and the school came to this agreement because his safety is of concern.
This follows two incidents – one in March and another on October 12. In the first incident, his head was bashed against a wall and he was hit against his ear, causing damage to his eardrum.
On that Friday, the boy was allegedly kicked and rugby balls were thrown at him.
Last Monday, Netwerk24 reported that the boy was sent home within 15 minutes of showing up to school with the bodyguard.
The online publication reported that the school’s principal, Deon Scheepers, told the boy’ s mother that the boy was welcome to return to the school, but without the bodyguard.
The boy’s mother told Netwerk24 that, during the alleged attack, he and his family were sworn at by Grade 11 pupils, using the Afrikaans slur p**s and telling him: “You must leave this f*cking school.”
In a letter published by Volksblad newspaper, a Grade 10 pupil at the school wrote that the boy was assaulted because of his disregard of the school’s traditions.
“We don’t bully one another, but we sort one another out,” the boy wrote.
“He should have seen it coming.”
According to Rapport, the boy walked on a piece of lawn reserved for senior pupils.
In 2016, IOL reported that the father of a 15-year-old boy in Durban hired two security guards to accompany his son to school.
This followed an incident where a group of 15 boys charged at the boy wielding knives outside the gate of the Phoenix Secondary School.
IOL quoted the chairperson of the South African Council of Educators, Veronica Hofmeester, who said South Africa was second only to Jamaica when it came to violent incidents at schools.
When residents of Khayelitsha were woken up by screams of “Fire!” on Saturday morning, many of them scrambled to salvage the little they had, but were unable to do so.
The fire spread rapidly across the informal settlement with a strong wind fuelling its flames.
Sindiswa Mdikidiki said she thought the fire was far from where her now non-existent home was.
“I tried to get everything. I threw my baby out like a dog [to get her out of the fumes and fire]. I couldn’t get to everything,” Mdikidiki said.
“The fire made me confused, I’m still confused by what happened.”
No answers
Her teenage daughter has been asking questions that Mdikidiki says she has no answers to. Mdikidiki doesn’t know how her daughter will study for the upcoming exams – her school books are all gone.
The City of Cape Town on Sunday that more than 300 homes were affected in the blaze, while 1 300 people were now homeless.
Many of those affected are left with only the clothes on their backs and hope that tomorrow will bring comfort.
Another man says he was awoken by shouts, was caught off guard and ran outside naked.
“I heard people screaming ‘Fire’, I don’t know what happened. I ran outside naked and back in to phone the fire brigade,” he said.
The race against the fire was being lost and some were forced to watch their belongings disappear in the raging fire.
Sylvia Kanzi was not home when the fire swept through her home. She was alerted by her neighbours about the fire.
“I was shocked when I saw what was happening. I tried to save some things but I lost everything.
“It’s a fire, I can’t be angry at anybody, this could happen to anyone,” Kanzi said.
Residents clearing up the remains of their homes. (Maxine Becket, News24)
On Sunday, demarcating and digging seemed futile as the wind blew away residents’ efforts to start rebuilding.
A few people were attempting to dig trenches but it was quickly filled with sand blown by the gusts, by afternoon many had given up and opted to converse with each other.
Nofikile Jeyi, 68, who suffers from asthma and heart complications sat by herself, her crutch resting on her leg.
“I’m saddened sitting here in this open field with all this wind blowing.
“I’ve been coughing throughout the ordeal, even now, my chest is still painful,” Jeyi said.
She had not eaten for the day.
“Right now they are salvaging damaged material for me for further use,” she added.
Children collect rubble in Khayelitsha. (Maxine Becket, News24)
Many had nowhere to sleep for the night and have made use of the hall to lay their heads down. Others are staying with friends and relatives. Luyanda Dashe has used the time to mark a piece of land for himself.
“The children aren’t safe where I stay and the house is too small,” Dashe says as he relentlessly digs into the soft sand.
One person died in the blaze and hundreds are left homeless.
Relief efforts have been arranged.
This is devastating for the people of Town Two in Khayelitsha. Please any food, clothes and any donations at the Khayelitsha and Rowland Street Fire Stations. pic.twitter.com/mYAjJNHPQL
