A 27-year-old man heading to Cape Town was arrested after a consignment of crystal meth was allegedly found inside a vehicle which was pulled over near Laingsburg, police said on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said the silver LDV was on its way from Johannesburg and was pulled over on the N1 on Saturday afternoon.
During a search, the police and traffic officers found 15 sealed bags of the drug, also known as tik, wrapped in black bags and stashed into compartments in the vehicle.
The drugs weighing 16kg are estimated to be worth R5.6m.
The man is expected to appear in the Laingsburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Further afield, in Nyanga, police recovered three firearms and ammunition and arrested three people in two consecutive days.
Two firearms and ammunition were recovered on Saturday night, and two people were arrested in Nyanga and Browns Farm.
The first firearm, with nine rounds of ammunition, was recovered by the National Intervention Unit in Sibini Avenue in Mau-Mau, Nyanga.
A 57-year-old was arrested for the possession of a prohibited firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.
The second was a Norinco pistol with four rounds, which was recovered by Public Order Police in Ramaphosa informal settlement.
They were on a stop-and-search operation when they recovered an illegal firearm and four rounds inside a Toyota Avanza. The occupant could not produce a firearm licence.
A 32-year-old person was arrested on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Another illegal firearm was recovered and a 17-year-old person arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning in Sihlanu Avenue in Nyanga.
Those who were arrested are expected to appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
One of the firearms confiscated in the Nyanga searches. (Supplied)
A crime prevention operation in the North West has netted more than 250 wanted suspects for serious crimes, including crimes committed against women and children.
Police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh said the 263 people were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The suspects were arrested for offences such as murder, rape, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, robbery, sexual assault, assault common, rape, attempted rape and many other crimes. Out of 263 arrests, 46 were for crimes against women and children.
“The North West provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane, welcomed the arrests and indicated that the police will continue to work hard to ensure that members of the community feel safe,” said Myburgh.
Meanwhile, three people are expected to appear in the Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court on Monday for house robbery and the unlawful possession of a firearm.
Myburgh said the house robbery was allegedly committed in Mocoseng village, near Mmabatho, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“Subsequent to information received from members of the community, the first two suspects, aged 22 and 30 were arrested for house robbery. The suspects allegedly robbed the victim of his cash after he permitted them to stay at his place for the night.
“Further investigation into the matter led the police to the third suspect, aged 29. During the arrest, the police recovered and seized a firearm which was allegedly used in the commission of the house robbery. The firearm will be subjected to ballistic tests,” Myburgh said.
The DA leadership is calling for the embattled SAA to be put under business rescue.
The party said SAA is losing an estimated R52m per day, making it a ticking time bomb. The matter was discussed during the DA’s two-day Federal Executive [FedEx] meeting, which is the first one since John Steenhuisen was elected as interim federal leader and Ivan Meyer as interim federal chairperson.
“The only sustainable solution is to seek part or full privatisation of the beleaguered state owned entity and we call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take a firm stance against his union friends in favour of economic stability,” party spokesperson, Solly Malatsi said in a statement on Saturday.
“Now is the time for greater discipline in our unity of purpose. Now is a time for big ideas and big principles – not big personalities”
Malatsi said the party’s interim leadership had also committed to rebuild, refocus and reconnect with the people of South Africa.
“The FedEx was unanimous in giving its full support to and confidence in the leadership, and fully endorsed the new direction in which the party will head towards the 2021 local government elections and beyond,” said Malatsi.
Steenhuisen and Meyer promised to take the party back to its basics and re-establish “clear blue water” between the DA and other political parties and their respective offers to the electorate.
“It was laid down that members of FedEx and the party as a whole should, even during moments of debate and disagreement, always maintain a culture of respect, openness and transparency. Now is the time for greater discipline in our unity of purpose. Now is a time for big ideas and big principles – not big personalities.
“The recent report released by the Auditor-General, Kimi Makwetu, highlighted the DA governance difference, with 70% of Departments in the Western Cape receiving clean audits. This means that public money is being used carefully for service delivery and development, and not stolen.
Malatsi said the FedEx “particularly congratulated Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, the Western Cape MEC for Health, as being the only Health MEC in the country to receive a clean audit.”
Economy
The party raised concerns about the economy that “remains the single biggest threat to a shared, prosperous future for all”.
“Runaway unemployment rates, the collapse of SOEs, and growing inequality signal that the status quo remains. Our job is to work hard to provide hope and opportunity to the over 10 million unemployed South Africans.”
Malatsi said the nomination of councillor Funzi Ngobeni was also endorsed as the DA’s candidate to replace outgoing City of Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba.
“We have noted that the EFF will field a mayoral candidate and we assume the ANC will do the same,” he said.
“We are confident that we have the support of our formal coalition partners, and we will work together to ensure that Johannesburg does not fall back into the hands of coalition of corruption, as is the case in Nelson Mandela Bay,” Malatsi said.
Former president Jacob Zuma’s legal team continues his battle in the KZN High Court in Pietermaritzburg, appealing the decision to dismiss his application for a permanent stay of prosecution.
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Sikhakhane: “The decision not to charge Mr Zuma with Shaik has much more impact than is made here, on his ability to face a fair trial in the future. Of course, a judge that is quoted here in the SCA, says well, it’s not true that evidence admissible against this accused, or, not admissible against this accused, is the same, the same would apply.
“Well, I would like to differ with that proposition, because that theory itself doesn’t take into account the nature of offences that a court might be dealing with.”
10:04
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ICYMI:
Zuma was angry after his name was used to facilitate Gupta landing, Zondo inquiry hears
Former president Jacob Zuma was fully aware of the role played by former chief of state protocol Bruce Koloane in facilitating the Gupta Waterkloof landing in 2013 before appointing him as South African ambassador to the Netherlands, the state capture inquiry heard on Thursday.
However, Zuma looked “very angry” when former minister of international relations and cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told him his name was used to facilitate the Waterkloof landing, she testified on Thursday.
In July, Koloane admitted before the inquiry that, in his role as former chief of state protocol, he had abused the powers of his office to facilitate the Gupta Waterkloof landing.
10:04
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ICYMI:
Zuma: If the public protector wants my tax records, she must have them
Former president Jacob Zuma defended the public protector’s right to access his tax records in a series of tweets on Tuesday afternoon.
Zuma was supposed to appear before the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture this week, but excused himself due to illness.
Still, he has been busy on Twitter, defending public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane who is currently in a legal battle with SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter.
10:04
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ICYMI:
‘Overworked’ Zuma out of hospital, thanks supporters for well wishes
One of former president Jacob Zuma’s sons, Edward Zuma, says his father is overworked and has been instructed by doctors to rest.
Speaking to News24, Zuma junior said: “Like any other person of his age, he had to go to the doctors for a check-up.
“He is out of hospital, but has been instructed to rest because doctors say he is overworking himself. He doesn’t get enough rest and for his age that is not allowed,” Edward said on Saturday afternoon.
10:04
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ICYMI:
Zuma yet to remove ‘enemy agent’ tweet as Hanekom welcomes defamation ruling
Former tourism minister and ANC stalwart Derek Hanekom has welcomed the ruling of Judge Dhaya Pillay against former president Jacob Zuma’s leave to appeal her ruling that his statement – that Hanekom was a “known enemy agent” – was defamatory.
Zuma’s bid for leave to appeal the court judgment was dismissed on Thursday, News24 reported.
“In the opinion of this court an appeal of judgment would have no reasonable prospects of success before another court,” Judge Pillay said in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg.
While the investigation into a Cape Town orphanage manager’s fraud and corruption case is complete, the defence has thrown a spanner in the works, asking to bring an application for the return of the manager’s seized assets in terms of Section 31 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
The 49-year-old Al-Noor children’s orphanage manager appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where the State also revealed that it was still waiting for a decision from the director of public prosecutions on whether the trial would take place in Cape Town or Pretoria.
That decision would have to be taken at a hearing, at a date yet to be decided, given Friday’s developments.
The Cameroonian national, who ran the orphanage, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and three of contravening the Immigration Act.
The social development department removed 17 children from the facility after allegations of physical and sexual abuse. It coordinated efforts to reunite the children with their “immediate family” after the centre was shut down.
A 26-year-old man, believed to be a senior member at the centre, is also facing various assault charges relating to the orphanage.
The general gist of Friday’s proceedings centred around defence lawyer Andre Johnston arguing for the return of the manager’s vehicle which was seized. He was told to bring a substantive application in this regard in early December.
Thereafter, a date for the hearing would be set.
The matter was postponed to December 12 for the court to hear the application.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating the alleged misappropriation of intellectual property rights belonging to state defence firm Denel, reports said.
On Monday, City Press reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to probe allegations that intellectual property for some of Denel’s highly sought-after missiles were stolen by current and former employees.
They were allegedly stolen last April and given to arms company Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami).
On Thursday, BusinessLIVE carried a Reuters report which stated that the SIU’s focus would be on intellectual property rights relating to air-to-air missiles, stand-off weapons, surface target missiles, air defence and unmanned aerial vehicle systems.
The claims surfaced in 2018.
“The focus area for the investigation in question is unlawful, irregular or unapproved measures or practices in relation to the misappropriation of proprietary and intellectual property rights,” the SIU said.
Stolen intellectual property
Sami is a defence products manufacturing company formed in 2017 and owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A senior Denel executive told City Press that as many as 20 engineers, who have vast amounts of experience in the design and manufacture of missiles, have left Denel for Sami since last year.
Armscor’s acting chief executive, Solomzi Mbada, said that the agency had received information last year that Denel’s intellectual property had been stolen and handed over to Sami.
An internal investigation was conducted and there was no substance to the allegations, Mbada said.
“Armscor can state that the extent of the alleged breach will have to be established first, with further supporting evidence, before any conclusions can be reached. If such an act was committed, it should be referred to the relevant law enforcement authorities for further investigation.”
Denel spokesperson Pamela Malinda said should any new information surface: “Denel would not hesitate to report the same to the authorities.”
Last year, Sami approached Denel for a joint-venture offer, which would reportedly include the acquisition of Denel’s 49% stake in Rheinmetall Denel Munition, a large artillery shells and ammunition company.
Malinda said the company was not planning any joint venture with Sami and there had been no agreements reached.
Fin24 reported on November 6 that Denel was looking to diversify to end loss-making operations.
It secured a R1.8bn lifeline from the government in August amid doubts about its ability to continue paying staff salaries.
A small group of South Africa’s most promising social entrepreneurs just emerged from the first Oribi Village Food System Incubation Programme, hosted in Cape Town.
From left to right: Christopher D’Aiuto (PEDI), Zodidi Meke (PEDI), Loubie Rusch (Making KOS), Arnaud Blanchet (Shopit), Ria Schuurman (Ubuhle Bendalo), Bianca Hansen (Toast Ale) and Emma (Umthunzi Farming Community). Mhani Gingi’s Lillian Masebenza not present.
The incubator was developed by non-profit company Oribi Village to support and promote local innovators who are helping to build a more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient food system from farm to fork.
Why tackle the food system?
According to Oribi Village, food insecurity should not be handled as a production problem only, but as a result of a dysfunction in the food system, one of the core causes being financial and geographical accessibility.
In 2018, 29 million people in South Africa were forced to make compromises on the quality and/or quantity of the food consumed. “This situation is unacceptable for the human development capacity, moreover, if we focus on the immense quantity of global food production and food waste,” notes the non-profit.
Food System Incubation Programme graduates with French diplomats and representatives from Oribi Village.
Developing sustainable businesses
The incubator programme spanned the best part of a year, and sought to address three business challenges: operational excellence, supply chain orchestration, and transparency. It included individual mentoring sessions, weekly workshops, masterclasses, access to Oribi’s co-working space and participation in events to showcase the cohort’s various products and services.
The goal was to equip the social entrepreneurs – all working in Cape Town and surrounding townships – with the tools and skills necessary to turn their idea into a sustainable business model.
A graduation event was held at Food Jams in Salt River last week to mark the closure of the first Food System Incubation Programme. A new version is launching in January 2020 in collaboration with the Southern Africa Food Lab.
Graduation event at Food Jams
Meet the Food System Programme cohort
Shopit – Arnaud Blanchet
Shopit is a mobile app that improves the efficiency and affordability of informal grocery stores. The platform enables spaza shop owners to compare prices at wholesalers in their area, order all their stock directly from their phone at the best price and get it delivered to their doorstep within a few hours.
While the informal retail sector is growing faster than formal retail, spaza store owners often lack formal business skills and access to affordable stock. As a result, these stores can be inefficient and their low-income clients encounter high prices and regular out-of-stock.
Using Shopit, traders can save between 5 to 10% on the cost of their stock. By being able to order stock as often as they need, it reduces the out-of-stock occurence and enables low-income consumers to get better access to the products and services they need.
Philippi Economic Development Initiative (PEDI) – Christopher D’Aiuto
PEDI is a social enterprise giving emerging and small-scale organic farmers (urban and rural) easier access to the market while training them in the profession.
Essentially, PEDI’s solution is to focus primarily on the farmers’ needs and to create an access to market by: providing training to the farmers; aggregating what the small-scale farmers can provide, to ensure consistency for the clients; offering a logistics solution to the isolated farmers; and adding value to the produce in a packing space.
Mhani Gingi – Lillian Masebenza
Instead of retiring, Lillian Masebenza developed Mhani Gingi, a social entrepreneurial network that uses urban agriculture, arts & craft and hospitality & tourism business opportunities to economically empower vulnerable groups from the Cape Flats, including at-risk youth, people with disabilities, the elderly and abused women.
The urban agriculture programme supports these groups to develop and maintain their own food gardens by providing inputs (land, seedlings, etc.), skills-training and market access.
Since 2004, Mhani Gingi has impacted 10,000 people by supporting 50 projects working to eradicate poverty.
Umthunzi Farming Community – Emma Hosking and Kim Bloch
Umthunzi Farming Community is an e-marketplace that economically empowers small-scale farmers through marketing, sales and distribution of their seasonal, locally-grown organic vegetables, eggs and herbs. It sells a weekly Umthunzi Harvest Bag filled with seasonal, organic produce available at local collection points.
The empowerment of the farmers includes encouraging ownership of the systems by the farmers themselves through training and a long process of getting the farmers to be responsible for their availability list. Extensive research on pricing has been done so that farmers receive a fair share of what they work for.
Umthunzi is working towards building a strong community network of farmers, volunteers, consumers, and other stakeholders.
Making Kos – Loubie Rusch
Making Kos is a local indigenous food market that engages people to know about, grow and use forgotten edibles from the Western Cape. The business was created to be mutually beneficial to small scale farmers, cooks and the land. The indigenous foods market will improve livelihoods while reducing resource use and will bring exciting new ingredients back into use while supporting, rather than taxing, our biodiversity.
Rusch facilitates workshops and talks to bring awareness and know-how around these ingredients, and collaborates with researchers to explore opportunities for communities to develop livelihoods from cultivating local indigenous foods. She also engages with small-scale farmers, chefs and cooks to establish a market to support this cultivation.
Making Kos will soon be launching an indigenous food meal-kit box in partnership with UCook.
Toast Ale – Bianca Hansen
Toast Ale is a food waste initiative that transforms fresh surplus bread into low-calorie craft beer to create economic value and to reduce methane gas emissions. Toast Ale partnered with commercial sandwich factories and local bakeries, like Knead, to take over their surplus and use it to replace one-third of the malt in the beer. Profits from Toast Ale have been donated to charity.
Unfortunately, Toast Ale is no longer operating in South Africa, but founder Bianca Hansen has embarked on a new business project focused on waste innovation on a wider scale.
Ubuhle Bendalo Food Gardens – Ria Schuurman
Ubuhle Bendalo is a productive food garden in Khayelitsha Site B that grows and sells organic vegetables and herbs. Ubuhle Bendalo also shares skills with the local community to encourage people to grow their own home gardens.
The initiative encourages responsible production, and promotes awareness around the origins of food.
Visit Oribi Village online for more information about their work in social entrepreneurship]].
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is ready to prosecute those implicated in the controversial Gupta-linked Estina dairy farm project, according to media reports.
The project in Vrede, the Free State, was intended to see 100 black emerging farmers receive five cows each as part of an empowerment scheme.
Gifted to Estina in 2013 under a free 99-year lease by the provincial Department of Agriculture, the farm was one of the most controversial transactions between the Guptas and a government entity, News24 earlier reported.
According to IOL, National Director of Public Prosecutions advocate Shamila Batohi and NPA investigative directorate head advocate Hermione Cronje announced on Monday some state capture-related cases would be reinstated as Cronje’s unit had gathered enough evidence.
“We are waiting for the last piece of evidence from the United Arab Emirates before we can enrol the case in court,” Cronje said at a round table discussion with the media at the NPA’s headquarters in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Batohi also revealed she would declassify documents that could ultimately lead to the prosecution of former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
According to Business Day, she revealed that national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole had written to her last week saying he had agreed to declassify “a whole range of documents that we need”.
In September, the commission of inquiry into state capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, heard how Mdluli allegedly looted the secret service account (SSA) within crime intelligence.
Hawks investigator Colonel Kobus Roelofse revealed to the commission how Mdluli had spent money from the account for security upgrades, overseas trips and various vehicles.
Mdluli faced charges of fraud, theft and corruption for allegedly looting the crime intelligence slush fund, however, the charges were later withdrawn in 2011.
Roelofse told the commission that this decision “did not make any sense”, saying Mdluli had failed to co-operate with officers while he was under investigation for fraud and corruption relating to the SSA, News24 reported.
EFF MP Nazier Paulsen was asked to leave the National Assembly on Tuesday evening after he refused to withdraw his statement that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan appoints senior staff at state-owned enterprises based on race.
Referring to Monday’s appointment of Andre de Ruyter as the new CEO of Eskom, Paulsen said: “The people of Evo Morales views the appointment of Andre de Ruyter as Eskom’s new CEO as anti-transformational and we feel that this forms part of a racist project that seeks to undermine transformation in this country of the economy.
“The minister of public enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, is leading a racist project to undermine and to exclude black people, and Africans in particular, from strategic positions in state-owned companies. The appointment is irrational, shameful, and should be rejected.
“The only reason why this person was appointed could be because he is white and the minister, Pravin, only appoints whites in strategic positions.”
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor then objected.
“You consistently allow members of that party to make such spurious allegations against the serving minister without following the rules and bringing a motion to the House so that these allegations can be tested,” she told House chairperson Madala Ntombela.
Ntombela told Paulsen he had not referred to Gordhan as “honourable” and asked him to withdraw his statement.
“Honourable Gordhan only appoints non-Africans…” Paulsen responded but was cut short by Ntombela who again asked him to withdraw his statement.
“I can’t do that, chairperson. He appoints non-Africans and whites in senior positions in state-owned entities.”
As Paulsen gathered his belongings, EFF MP Veronica Mente complained to Ntombela about an ANC MP who had yelled at EFF MPs. Paulsen then took another seat.
After Ntombela dismissed Mente’s complaint, he noted that Paulsen was still in the House, whereafter a smiling Paulsen left.
Towards the end of last year, as its own financial dealings came under the scrutiny, the EFF launched a campaign against Gordhan.
In June, it left the chamber when Gordhan delivered his speech in the debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address and in July EFF MPs stormed the podium where he was delivering his budget vote speech.
They were physically removed from the room, after which Gordhan continued with his speech, saying what had just happened was the “defence of state capture” and that “we’ll survive this fascist populism”.
