Category Archives: South African News

News24.com | ‘How could an adult do this to a child?’ – Franziska’s parents

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Cape Town – The parents of murdered teen Franziska Blöchliger have, in a moving letter read out in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, described losing their daughter as forever losing a piece of themselves.

“The loss of a child is the most traumatic experience. You lose a piece of yourself that can never be regained,” Andreas and Shireen Blöchliger said in the letter.

Howard Oliver, who on Tuesday admitted to raping and killing 16-year-old Franziska, was convicted of these crimes in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.

Franziska was murdered and raped on March 7, 2016, in the Tokai Forest in Cape Town.

She was also robbed of a cellphone, diamond ring and earphones.

Sentencing procedures were set to start on Wednesday and continue on Thursday.

franziska blochliger
A letter from Franziska Blochliger’s parents on the impact her murder has had on them. (Supplied)

Still in shock

In the letter read out in court, the Blöchligers said despite a year having lapsed since Franziska’s murder, they were still in shock over what had happened to her.

“The loss of a child is almost indescribable. There’s pain, there’s sadness, there’s anguish but acceptance is the hardest,” it said.

“To know that your child suffered and needed you, that is devastating.”

The Blöchligers described how their lives had drastically changed after Franziska’s murder.

Nightmares and insomnia

“We have moved house, changed schools, suffered though nightmares and insomnia, struggled with our marriage and feelings of blame and guilt, our belief in God has been tested.”

They said their younger daughter struggled to come to terms with the loss of her sister every day.

“We are left with the eternal question of why? How could one human being do this to another? How could an adult do this to a child?”

The Blöchligers said Franziska’s murder could never be explained or understood.

“There can never be any justification for taking her life. Her family and friends are left with the eternal grief and loss.

“We only hope that the person responsible for this brutal act of violence against an innocent child is not allowed to walk free to hurt another person.”

franziska blochliger
A letter from Franziska Blochliger’s parents on the impact her murder has had on them. (Supplied)

Gruesome

Regional National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said in court on Wednesday prosecutor Lenro Badenhorst had argued that Franziska suffered a gruesome death.

“The accused wrote a letter in April 2016 where he expressed remorse. Although he did express remorse then, the bottom line is that in May 2017 he still pleaded not guilty and denied that he was involved in the rape and murder of the girl. He took a chance pointing fingers at other people.

“I want to submit that through the thorough investigation of the police, they managed to arrest the correct perpetrator. We know he walked away from the scene with the cellphone of the deceased,” Badenhorst said.

He said Oliver had pointed fingers at others, but not himself.

“There are no substantial and compelling circumstances for this court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences.

“Both parents of this girl attended counselling and the sister of the deceased also attended counselling. This is an addition to the loss for the parents,” Badenhorst said.

Ntabazalila said the NPA welcomed Oliver’s conviction.

“The conviction is one major step towards ensuring that Howard Oliver is sentenced to a long prison term that will ensure that he does not get an opportunity to hurt any other woman, person or child again.

“We hope this sends a very clear message that the NPA will do whatever is in its power within the confines of the law to ensure that crimes against women and children continue being prioritised,” he said.    

eNCA | Revised mining charter due in few weeks – Zuma

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CAPE TOWN – Delayed revisions to South Africa’s Mining Charter, which sets industry targets for black ownership and participation in the sector, will be published and become law in the next few weeks, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

The mining industry has complained that it has not been consulted enough about the revisions and that South Africa’s mining industry is losing badly needed investment as a result.

The government said last week the revisions, which were expected in March, had been approved.

The president was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, his first appearance since the Cabinet reshuffle in March and since news reports of his apparent plan to relocate himself and family to the United Arab Emirates.

Zuma said a Commission of Inquiry into the extent of state capture would establish the fact and remove rumours.

Additional reporting Reuters

The South African Reserve Bank bursary scheme

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Publish Date: 2017-05-30
Category: Bursary

The South African Reserve Bank bursary scheme

 
1.          Purpose of the bursary scheme
 
The South African Reserve Bank (the Bank), as part of addressing the severe shortage of skills in South Africa, provides bursaries to students in relevant fields of study who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
 
The purpose of the bursary scheme is to assist financially needy students who obtain good results in Matric/Grade 12 and who want to study in fields relevant to the Bank.
 
The bursary is intended for undergraduate studies at a South African university on a full-time basis.
 
2.          Studies for which bursaries will be granted       
 
The studies that students intend to pursue shall have a bearing on, and be applicable to, the functions and activities of the Bank. (For more information on the Bank, visit the Bank’s website: www.reservebank.co.za). This includes, for example, Economics, Information Technology, Finance, Law and Accounting, and excludes, for example, Medicine, Dentistry and Social Work.
 
A bursary will be granted from the first academic year and reviewed annually
Bursary holders need not reapply for the bursary each year.
 
3.          Criteria for awarding bursaries
 
Over and above the criteria set out in paragraphs 1 to 3 above, the following will be used as guidelines in the awarding of bursaries:
 
·                 Bursaries will be awarded to students who obtain 60 per cent in the June Matric/Grade 12 examinations. Final awarding of a Bank bursary is subject to a student’s final Matric/Grade 12 results and enrolment acceptance at a South African university.
·                 Bursaries will be awarded to South African citizens only.
·                 The total number of students and related bursary costs will be reviewed annually.
·                 An annual one-off payment for books, accommodation (university accommodation only) and tuition fees will be made to a student.
 
4.          Post-bursary obligations
 
The Bank will have first right of refusal with regard to funded students, that is, bursary holders will be obliged to work for the Bank for a period equal to their bursary period, unless the Bank chooses not to employ them.
 
Students who choose not to work for the Bank despite the Bank offering them a position after completing their studies will be required to pay the full cost of the bursary back to the Bank.
 
The Bank will provide students who are Bank bursary holders vacation work opportunities that are funded by the Bank.
 
5.          How to apply
 
The closing date for submission of applications shall be 30 September of each year.
 
Examination results, university enrolment form (student number) and any other supporting documents must be submitted with the application form.
 
Completed application forms must be emailed to:
 
 
Or posted to:
 
Mr John Legoete
P.O. Box 30632
BRAAMFONTEIN
2017
 
 
6.          Submission of examination results by bursary holders
 
Bursary holders will be required to submit their examination results before 31 December of each year, regardless of whether or not they will be awarded a bursary for the following year.
 
7.          Bursary agreement
 
Potential bursary students will be required to avail themselves to be interviewed and to be tested.
 
Successful applicants(s) for the bursary will be expected to sign an agreement with the Bank.

 

 

Attachments:

Media Statement on the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury’s proposal for a Deposit Insurance Scheme for South Africa

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Publish Date: 2017-05-30
Category: Media Releases

Attached see a statement and the position paper on a proposal  for a Deposit Insurance Scheme for South Africa. ​The South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury are inviting the public to comment.

Attachments:

eNCA | UPDATE: Lynne Brown refers Tegeta coal deal to SIU

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• Editor’s note: This article is updated each time new information becomes available.

CAPE TOWN – Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown referred the Tegeta coal deal and all Eskom procurement from 2007 onwards to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Eskom is appearing before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

The power company will have to shed light on a concerning report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

READ: Eskom board faces Parliamentary probe

The committee has highlighted excerpts from the document, including the relationship between Eskom and Gupta-owned company, Tegeta.

MPs want to know how Eskom’s contract with Tegeta was structured and managed.

There are concerns proper procurement processes were not followed.

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Unity Financial Services, AutoZone introduce AutoZone Protect

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Unity Financial Services has partnered with auto spare parts and accessories distributor, AutoZone.

News24.com | Cops monitor KwaMashu after overnight violent protests

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Durban – Foreign-owned shops were looted in a violent protest that erupted in KwaMashu, Durban on Monday night.

– Are you there? Send us your eyewitness accounts and photos.

Marshall Security said that the area went into lockdown, with some protesters causing extensive damage and “destroying” a foreign-owned shop.

By Tuesday morning, Kwazulu-Natal police said the situation was under control and officers were still monitoring the area.

Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said no one had yet been arrested, but cases of public violence were opened.

Police could not immediately confirm that stories about children being kidnapped in the area had potentially sparked the protest.

News24.com | ‘There’s no crime in talking to the Guptas’ – Manyi

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Johannesburg – No independent institutions have found the Gupta family guilty of any wrongdoing, Progressive Professional Forum (PPF) head Mzwanele “Jimmy” Manyi has said.

Speaking to broadcaster Cape Talk on Monday night, Manyi was responding to reports at the weekend that he had approached the Gupta family seeking positions for himself and attorney Xoliswa Mpongoshe at state-owned-entities.

Two emails sent from Manyi’s Gmail account to Sahara CEO Ashu Chawla in 2014 show how he mentioned “as discussed with Tony [Gupta]” and then attached the two CVs. The emails form part of a huge batch of emails obtained by City Press, News24’s sister publication.

On Monday, Manyi, who is the former government spokesperson, said there was nothing wrong with what he had done, and that if given the chance to do it again, he would.

Desperation

He said people were so desperate for employment that he would use any opportunity to assist them.

“If they say a Gupta can assist, I will give a CV to a Gupta,” Manyi said.

“In this country people are so desperate. They eat rats out of desperation, they eat snakes, they eat grass, they drink petrol out of desperation. So if I am sitting in a position where I can assist people not to go and eat rats but try and ensure that their CV gets into the pot for processing I will definitely do that. Will I do it today? I will still do it even today.”

Manyi said he had full confidence in the integrity of the process government undertook in filling a position.

“Therefore regardless of who put the CV in the box, the issue is the integrity and the process of government. From where I sit [it] is impeccable and it would weed out whatever was not worth merit and therefore any CV that eventually gets appointed, that CV would have merit as appointed by Cabinet.”

Manyi said those who were criticising him were hypocrites, saying the forwarding of colleagues’ CVs was something they all did on a daily basis.

“We do this every day in the professional space. I can tell you now, that if professionals are honest, they will tell you how many of them send CVs to me and to many other people to say ‘please forward, please forward’.

“We do this every day in the professional space, not only CVs by the way. Some say ‘Please assist me with funding, I don’t know this CEO, please introduce me’. We do this every day,” he said.

Guptas ‘disrupting white monopoly capital’

Manyi said the Gupta family had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the country’s independent institutions and the only reason they were being labelled as wrongdoers was because they were disrupting the business elite from taking advantage of South Africans.

“I have a problem with hypocrites that we have in this country that are going to say Guptas this, Guptas that, and yet the same people have got nothing to say with banks of this country that are ripping us off every day – these hypocrites are quiet about this.

“The crime the Guptas have committed is to disrupt the white monopoly capital in their eating [of money],” he said.

Manyi said he did not associate the Gupta name with leprosy because he did not suffer from white monopoly capital’s spell.

“I do not have a problem of a Gupta-phobia. If you associate me with a Gupta that does nothing to worry me because Guptas are not outlaws.”

The only ones who had anything negative to say about the controversial family, according to Manyi, was “white monopoly capital media”.

“The only people that have pronounced on the Guptas are people with no credibility, the liars that are correcting their mistakes every day. The white monopoly capital media. So I do not take media seriously in this country. I do not read their newspapers because they lie every day.

“So if media says Guptas are wrong, I don’t take that seriously – so what media says means nothing to me,” he said.

eNCA | VIDEO: Passengers scream for help in alleged taxi altercation

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JOHANNESBURG – Video footage of taxi drivers involved in an apparent altercation while driving is doing the round on social media.

In the video, passengers are heard screaming and pleading with a taxi driver to slow down and stop while it appears that another driver is chasing him.

The other driver can be seen swerving and driving into oncoming traffic.

The incident apparently took place in Kyalami, north of Johannesburg.

READ: Rival taxi groups cause havoc in Cape Town

According, to one social media user, one of the drivers used a route that he wasn’t supposed to use.

Meanwhile, Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane condemned the reckless driving and conduct by taxi drivers.

“I am deeply angry and shocked at the reckless driving and conduct by our taxi drivers on Gauteng roads. I condemn these childish acts in (the) strongest and harshest terms,” Nkosi-Malobane said.

“Despite various road safety measures in place, Gauteng roads continue to experience growing incidents of reckless driving resulting in fatal crashes. The safety of our passengers within our public transport system remains a priority to law enforcement agencies.”

Nkosi-Malobane said she would ensure that law enforcement agencies work around the clock to investigate the matter and ensure that the culprits are charged with reckless and negligent driving.

– Additional reporting ANA

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