LATEST NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA


 

Crime in South Africa being out of control and the SAPS failing miserably to combat it is no longer news. The cause of this is also no secret. The only matter of importance is how long South Africans will allow it to continue. The latest quarter (April to June 2023) crime statistics were announced today by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. According to the statistics, three people are still being murdered per hour, four are raped, and sixteen are seriously assaulted. There are 409 home burglaries taking place daily. According to the SAPS, 14 farm murders have occurred, and 6,281 pieces of livestock have been stolen in the past three months. TAU SA’s statistics differ from this. “The crime statistics, however inaccurate they may be, are unacceptable. We will certainly not welcome a slight decrease in some offences because every single crime is one too many,” says Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TAU SA. “South Africans must start using the available solutions to free the country from the government’s poor governance, such as making well-considered decisions at the ballot box, opposing legislation where necessary, and not resorting to a head-in-the-ground reaction regarding the government’s policy direction. Nothing will change or improve as long as the ANC is in charge.” TAU SA is constantly advising people on how to function independently of the state and taking action to oppose or change legislation while challenging the government on everything that harms the economy. TAU SA will not give up the fight for a sustainable economy and a progressive country.

 

 - Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, August 18, 2023

 


 

Belinda Magor, the woman behind the voice note calling for Blacks to be killed instead of Pitbulls has been arrested. This was confirmed by Gauteng [the PWV area] Premier, Panyaza Lesufi on Saturday, 26 November. Magor topped social media trend lists for her voice note in which she called for Black people to be killed and banned instead of Pitbulls. Her rant comes as a number of South Africans are calling for the vicious dogs to be banned following a spate of mauling incidents that have claimed innocent lives of children. In a voice note sent on WhatsApp, Magor is heard saying: “Estelle, I agree with you wholeheartedly. What I say is: ban the Black man. They rape, they steal, they kill, worse than any Pitbull could, and they get away with it. Ban those who are making the laws, ban Ekurhuleni, ban the Black man. Get all the Black women and cut out their uteruses and their ovaries [so] that they can’t procreate, because they will all turn out the same because they are all the same.“I’m very passionate about this. Ban them, kill them, shoot them, get rid of them because they are the problem — not Pitbulls, not animals. Animals are beautiful, and they deserve a warm bed, food, love, attention and everything else. God created those animals. Who created the Black man? Do you think God? I don’t think so.”

 

- The South African, 28 November 2022

 


 

80-year-old murdered on farm in Dwarsfontein area near Delmas

 

Hennie van der Walt (80) was found murdered in his house on a farm in the Dwarsfontein area near Delmas this morning, November 16. According to the police, Van der Walt and his 79-year-old life partner, Hester Smal, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease were attacked in their home during the night or in the early morning. The police suspect the assailants gained entrance to the house by breaking a window. Farm workers suspected something was wrong when there was no answer at the farmhouse this morning. They alerted the neighbours who rushed to the farm. Neighbours found all the safety gates locked and a grinder was used to break it open. They found the ailing Smal first and then the murdered Van der Walt. Van der Walt sustained severe injuries, but the police could not yet confirm the cause of death. They suspect he was shot. Information thus far suggests that fireams and a safe were looted from the house. A member of the police’s K9 unit found the safe in the field close to the farm house. It was forced open and emptied. The police’s forensic team is currently on the scene. A neighbour is currently taking care of Smal.

 

- Ridge Times, 16 November 2022

 


 

South African Police have launched a manhunt after a German tourist was shot and killed by gunmen near Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga province. The attack on Monday afternoon was by gunmen who sped away without taking any belongings from the tourist or three other travellers who were with him. The German tourist was driving with three passengers when their vehicle was attacked near the Numbi Gate of Kruger Park. The gunmen demanded that he open the doors but he locked them and then he was shot, according to Mpumalanga police as reported by the News24 website on Tuesday. The survivors are now receiving support from the German embassy. “Concerning the tragic incident involving the death of a German tourist in Mpumalanga, the embassy is in close contact with the South African authorities. Our consular team is providing consular assistance,” the embassy said in a statement. Mpumalanga province attracts many international tourists annually and is home to the Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest game reserve. South Africa’s tourism minister Lindiwe Sisuslu on Tuesday condemned the attack. “I also call on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in bringing to book the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” said Sisulu. She lamented that such crime hinders the country’s tourism industry. “This high number of tourists is one of the ways in which our tourism sector has been able to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. A R50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of those involved in the attack has been offered by the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism.

 

- AP News, 4 October 2022

 


 

An elderly couple were brutally attacked and murdered on their farm near Moorreesburg by a man recently released on parole. Frans (69) and Ingrid (65) Koch were attacked and overpowered in their home on Tuesday morning. Ingrid was stabbed multiple times and died on the scene due to her injuries. Her husband, Frans, who suffered severe stab wounds, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

 

- The South African, April 8, 2022

 


 

TAU (SA) is concerned about the condition of the country’s roads. It already has and will only have a greater impact on the economy, and more importantly, it is no longer safe on the roads. There are several factors that play a role and TAU (SA) realises heavy rain and the accompanying floods have damaged roads, but the fact is that many roads were already in a poor state before the heavy rains and floods. Here, both gravel and tar roads are referred to as roads that need urgent attention, because due to the lack of regular maintenance, the condition of the roads are now so bad that it needs to be rebuilt. We are past the stage where maintenance is still a possible solution. “Everywhere in South Africa, farmers hear the same story: There is no money, no manpower and no machinery. However, there is a large part of the fuel price - which rises almost every month - for the maintenance of roads. What happens to that money?” said Mr Bennie van Zyl, TAU (SA) General Manager. TAU (SA) decided to act with a campaign to see what can be done to change the current state of roads. “To address the seriousness of the matter and to bring its urgency to the attention of the right people - and to put them under sufficient pressure to enforce change - TAU (SA) needs everyone's help. This is an initiative of South African farmers in collaboration with TAU (SA) in the interest of food security, human dignity and the right to life,” said Mr Van Zyl. Farmers suffer severe damage to their vehicles and products that must reach the markets to feed the people. There are even transport contractors who refuse to use these specific roads due to the condition of roads while other contractors increase their tariffs if they must make deliveries or transport food to farmers - to whom access can only be obtained on the neglected roads. Mr Van Zyl adds: “Farming input costs are already very high, and this is even before the monthly fuel price increase is considered. Farmers and agriculture simply cannot afford another onslaught - like the national road conditions - in our effort to provide quality food to the people at affordable prices. The government must now come to the table and at all levels pay attention. We have a crisis on our hands.” To get involved TAU (SA) wants South Africans to visit our campaign page https://tluveldtogte.co.za/en/roads/ and add your voice to the choir of voices that are calling for change and action from the government. “By filling in the form, you are adding your voice to our request to the South African Government to provide for an additional 10% public tax rebate on all income and corporate taxes used for road maintenance. South Africans use their public tax rebate benefit highly effective for social issues. In the same way, a public tax rebate benefit for road maintenance can be instrumental to road safety. The request further demands from Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Transport, to declare the current state of roads not only a danger to people, but also to the sustainability of agriculture and the South African economy as a whole. The petition will also demand that allocated budgets be used effectively and within the necessary periods to actively improve South African roads.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, March 17, 2022

 


 

For South Africans who still need proof of the ANC's attempt to steer South Africa in the direction of socialism and communism, the latest controversy regarding the language policy for tertiary institutions is a good example. Netwerk24 reports Dr Blade Nzimande (Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology) controversial language policy framework for tertiary institutions that exclude Afrikaans, Khoi, San, and Nama as indigenous languages, will come into effect on 1 January 2022. Indigenous languages ​​are - in the policy framework published in the Government Gazette of 30 October 2020 - defined as follows: “Languages that have their heritage roots in Africa (also referred to as African languages in literature and some policy documents) and that belong to the Southern Bantu language family, where 'Bantu' is used purely as a linguistic term. An indigenous language is a language that is native to a region or country and spoken by indigenous people.” There have been attempts by various political parties and pressure groups to prevent this action and to include the above four languages. There is currently great dissatisfaction, as both Nzimande and President Cyril Ramaphosa have recently indicated that discussions on the policy are still ongoing. Mr Bennie van Zyl, TAU (SA) General Manager, says that the actions of Nzimande are just more proof of the path the ANC government has taken for South Africa and part of that is an attempt for education to take place on its terms. “This is clearly part of the ANC's centralised preoccupation with drawing power towards itself to reach its National Democratic Revolution (NDR). This language policy is just another way in which the ANC wants to implement it,” said Mr Van Zyl. “The ANC's ultimate goal is centralised control in a socialist and communist system. With events like these, the ANC is running strongly towards its NDR. The language policy is now in the forefront, but there are also the PPECB's enforcement of BEE and the still imminent danger of EWC to name just a few.” For TAU (SA), it is very important that South Africans realise what will become of our country, if we get to a centralised government of socialism and communism. “The ANC pretends that this policy will enable it to live up to its promises to its voters. Remember, the next national election is in 2024. Politically speaking, around the corner and our country's people are longing for the fulfilment of promises. Promises of receiving ... However, just receiving does not mean anything if you do not work with it in market-related principles. It is here and now where all South Africans must inform themselves of the facts. In the economic and cultural spheres - in every field - the ANC is sliding towards socialism and communism. Examples worldwide show that this system is not one that leads to everyone's prosperity. Not as advocated by the proponents of it. “Why does the government not give title deeds to RDP houses and why is there such an astronomically large number of people receiving social grants? These are ways for the ANC government to keep people imprisoned! It is because of the ANC policy that the country is in this economic position and there is such a great dependence on social grants. It cannot just be stopped now because there is a high rate of unemployment. For the economy to grow and to actively address unemployment, a market-oriented economy is needed, and this is something that the ANC clearly does not understand.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, December 21, 2021

 


 

The festive season is a time of great concern when it comes to the safety of South African farmers. “The time of year increases farm attacks and crime on farms. There are those who commit robbery and theft to get something for the festive season,” said Maj. Gen. Chris van Zyl, TLU SA’s deputy general manager. “Safety during the festive season is a very important issue and one that causes great concern.” Since November, several attacks and murders on farms nationwide have been reported. A clear increase can be seen. According to Netwerk24, there were nine farm murders in the [Orange] Free State in the last three months of 2020. So far, there have been three farm murders in the [Orange] Free State since mid-November. Attacks have also been reported in Natal and the Western Cape. One of the main reasons for the increase is the assumption that farmers have large amounts of cash with them this time of year to pay wages and the like. “Cash is definitely a big problem. Using a digital payment system is the solution, but geographical factors, access to stores, how to get there and the time it takes are some of the major challenges to implementation. There is a perception that there is a lot of cash, firearms and tradable goods on every farm.” Maj. Gen. Van Zyl also warns against cash transactions for the purchase of livestock. “Then there is a decrease in vigilance and preparedness - after all, it is holiday time - and then victims are disillusioned and surprised.” However, there are not only warnings, but also advice from TLU SA’s side for farmers during this time. “I must emphasize how important involvement in your immediate environment is during this time. You can and may not live in isolation. Remember, your neighbour is your nearest source of help. “TLU SA is a strong supporter of the farm guard system where volunteers work together to be of service to each other. Rural security works best when there is cooperation between agricultural unions and the key role players. This is clear from examples in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Northwest where formal co-operation agreements are in place.” Maj. Gen. Van Zyl also refers to the role of organised agriculture in the fight against farm attacks. “Different agricultural unions must find each other and take a common stand, because lives and property are at stake. We cannot refer to it as mere theft. We must not underestimate theft.” He also refers to TLU SA’s work on the long-term consequences of farm attacks. “We have access to a trauma network to help those who have been victims of farm attacks on the road to recovery.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, December 9, 2021

 


 

A family watched in terror as a gang of attackers tried to force their six-year-old son into an OVEN and threatened to cook him alive.The distraught schoolboy was at the mercy of seven heavily armed men who stormed the family farm in Mpumulanga Province [South-Eastern Transvaal], South Africa. The gang manhandled the screaming youngster into the oven, saying they would roast him as they thought his family were hiding cash from them. Cattle farmer Niel Bierman, 47, wife Sonja, 43, and sons Daniel, 13, Jacobus, 10, and Gideon, six, were ambushed on the farm which they have owned for the past 15 years. The family run a guesthouse on their land and on Saturday two men and a woman arrived at the door. Mother-of-three Sonja said seven men and a woman suddenly arrived at her home. "There was no time to react as they were armed with a shotgun and five pistols and tied Niel up," she explained. “They left my husband in the kitchen and took me to where the safes were kept and there was nothing I could do but pray out loud to the Lord asking him to protect us." They took her terrified sons Daniel, Jacobus and Gideon with them, then aimed their weapons at all four of them and threatened to open fire unless they opened the safes.Inside was a 7.65mm Browning pistol, a Browning rifle and a pellet gun, but no money or valuables - leading the gang to become enraged because they believed there was another hidden safe.

 

- The Sun, December 6, 2022

 


 

Law-abiding citizens under fire. The South African legal system – probably one of the last state institutions to instil some confidence – is now failing the law-abiding citizens. The arrest of several farmers countrywide, after trying to protect themselves against lawbreakers, has been brought to the attention of TAU (SA). “The legal process is losing its way if law-abiding citizens are now under fire,” said Mr Henry Geldenhuys, TAU (SA) President. “It seems as if criminals are now geared, to lodge a complaint with the police immediately, either for the pointing a weapon, racism, attempted murder, assault, intimidation or even murder against the farmer without any evidence. In most cases, the farmer is arrested, and the law-abiding citizen finds himself in the dock. More so, nothing happens to the person who first broke the law.” According to Mr Geldenhuys, the legal system is now being overturned, to protect the criminal and not look after the interests of the law-abiding citizens. “If your farm is entered illegally, you must be able to protect yourself! But now you apparently have to choose between getting shot yourself or going to jail.” More than one such case has recently been brought to the attention of TAU (SA). According to Mr Geldenhuys, the state is also doing everything in its power to oppose bail. “The independence and credibility of the legal system is seriously questioned. Where a farmer acted on his own land to protect his interests from intruders, he now becomes the criminal. The prosecutors and SAPS are in the process of handing out jail time and sentencing an innocent party, even before there was any trial. It is common knowledge that a farmer with a farm owns real estate and consequently is not a flight risk. Regardless of the latter, the state and SAPS treat farmers as if they have no real estate. It seems that double standards are maintained in the application of the law. Circumstances have deteriorated to such an extent that a law-abiding farmer who acts against criminals finds himself very quickly in the dock. After all, it was not the farmer who went looking for trouble! It is the criminal who enters the farmer's land illegally. The police and legal system then unilaterally believe the offender's complaints.A farmer appears to be guilty regardless of the circumstances before he is tried. Does the emotion of the community now apply more to the administration of justice than fairness and justice and the principle that everyone is equal before the law?” Mr Geldenhuys further says that the legal system is supposed to capture the element of crime and it should consider who was the initiator of the situation which then subsequently makes the farmer a criminal. “If the criminals had not entered the land illegally in the first place, there would have been no incident. The question that exists today is what about the farmers' rights to protect their legal property.” Geldenhuys also referred to the legal costs which are an extra and extremely unnecessary expense for the farmer. TAU (SA) will soon write to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Mr Ronald Lamola to bring the seriousness of the situation to his urgent attention.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, October 26, 2021

 


 

Treat all farm murders and attacks equally, says TAU (SA). This year – according to TAU (SA)’s Register of Incidents on farm attacks and murders - already saw 153 attacks on farms leading to the death of 25 people. But the minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Ms Thoko Didiza, had very little to say about any of these incidents. This week, however, she condemned the murder of a Black family on an Orange Free State farm outside Harrismith. Last week, the head of police in Mpumalanga, Lt.Gen.Semakaleng Manamela, said they wouldn’t rest before they have the suspects in the murder of a Black security guard on a farm near Brondal outside Mbombela behind bars. “It is tough not to conclude that the minister and her colleagues find the murders of some people more important than others,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TAU (SA). “Has racial prejudice now even found a place in denouncing crime? Each farm attack or murder is upsetting, unnecessary and unacceptable. Minister must publicly condemn every attack and leave no stone unturned in catching the attackers. Furthermore, the minister and her colleagues must treat all South Africans equally, as the Constitution states.” The real issue is that the government is not doing enough to protect the safety of South Africans of all races. TAU (SA) wants to emphasise this. According to the police’s admission, 11,703 members left the South African Police Service during the past four years. The government cut the police budget during the medium-term expenditure framework and has misspent the rest through malice and greed. It means every one police member is responsible for 200 people. “It is clear that the safety of South Africans is not a priority for the government,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “The recent cabinet shuffle offered the ideal opportunity to get rid of under-achievers and inadequate members of the national executive, but it seems that it was more of an exercise in political positioning.” TAU (SA) is still calling on Ramaphosa to clean out the police department from the top to appoint competent people.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, August 11, 2021

 


 

South African meat importers and processors have warned of looming food shortages across the country after cold storage units in KwaZulu-Natal were destroyed during the recent unrest resulting in a bottle neck of thousands of tonnes of food in Durban Port. South African Association of Meat Importers & Exporters (AMIE SA) CEO Paul Matthew said the industry had lost 55% of cold storage capacity in the province, equating to 20 000 metric tonnes of space. He said now that the Durban Port had resumed operations following the recent hacking incident, the industry was under pressure to move 300 reefer containers (refrigerated temperature controlled containers) out of the port as the space was needed for incoming cargo. He said the port was running out of plug points used to keep containers cool, which will result in massive food wastage if not resolved immediately.

 

- The South African, July 29, 2021

 


 

5 police officers have been arrested for cattle rustling in South Africa, in connection with the brutal murder of farm Manager Brendin Horner last October.

The ghastly slaying of Horner (22), who was trussed to a fence and tortured to death on his employer’s farm outside Paul Roux in the Free State Province on Oct. 2, 2020, is believed to be connected to livestock theft and police corruption. Anti-corruption unit the [Orange] Free State Falcons, in conjunction with the South Africa Police Service (SAPS), have now arrested seven people – five of them police officers – during an operation to curb  rampant stock theft in the province, News24 reports: “When Brendin was killed, local farmers and community members were adamant that (suspects) Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa, who were arrested for the murder, hadn’t acted alone. The two men were released on bail in June after DNA evidence failed to link them to the crime.”

 

- News24 report, July 22, 2021

 


 

TAU (SA) once again asks the president and the portfolio committee on police to relieve the minister of police, Bheki Cele, from his duties. During the past week of unrest, and under the failing management of the police minister, more than one million rounds of ammunition were stolen from a container yard near the Durban port while under the care of the police. Cele still denies that the bullets were under the supervision of the police. "Actually, it does not matter under whose supervision this happened," says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TAU (SA). "Thieves stole the bullets, and very little has been recovered. However, if it did indeed happen under the supervision of the police, we want to know how it happened, who did it, and how the government will act against the guilty parties and Cele. "Either way, we are still very concerned about where the ammunition will turn up and how much damage it will do." The owner of the destined business said the police dragged their feet in permitting the cargo to leave the port. He said they usually receive permission to leave the dock and then undergoes inspection in Pretoria or Johannesburg. They have been importing ammunition for 55 years. But this time, the authorities insisted the assessment be done in Durban. This correlates with allegations that police members with knowledge of the container's content tipped off the thieves. The Hawks are investigating this claim. Cele also said that they had found back 10,000 rounds of ammunition stolen from another firearm store in Durban – while he was in Durban himself -, but other sources suggest it formed part of the bullets stolen from the container. TAU (SA) also finds the police's handling of the unrest completely unacceptable. Especially where they tried to stop communities from protecting themselves, as happened in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal. "We do not accept the minister's weak excuses when something goes wrong in his department. Sometimes he even blatantly lies," says Mr Geldenhuys. "How many times will the government accept the actions of someone in this position before realising he is not capable of doing this critical job?" TAU (SA)'s campaign to have Cele fired is still available at the following link: https://www.tlu.co.za/en/tsamaea-cele-eng/

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, July 19, 2021

 


 

TAU (SA) finds the suggested amendments to the Firearm Act absurd and contradictory to the South African constitution. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution of South Africa states that every person has the right to a safe environment. Since the government miserably fails to guarantee the safety of South Africans, every person should have the right to take their protection onto themselves.“ South Africans are already like birds on a branch trying to miss the shots fired left, right and centre. Literally and figuratively,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TAU (SA). “The suggested amendments to the Firearm Act will be ridiculous as long as crime in the country is out of control and the government cannot guarantee the safety of each citizen.” “To expect that farmers, who are remote and isolated, must not protect themselves, is unthinkable.” The latest crime statistics show an increase in attacks and murders with 103 farm attacks and 16 farm murders just this year. It is common knowledge that the police do not have enough vehicles, uniforms, or even equipment to do their jobs properly. The telephones at some police stations don’t work. Some police members are part of the corruption. The minister of police, Bheki Cele, is the main reason for the country’s backlog in processing DNA samples and applications for firearms. “Why don’t the government rather spend time, money and resources to get the illegal firearms from gangsters and other criminals instead of targeting legal firearm owners?” asks Mr Geldenhuys. “Why don’t they spend time and money on visible policing, resource management and the protection of farmers?” If the government approves the suggested amendments, TAU (SA) will demand that the government be held liable for any expenses incurred from crimes where the victim could not act in self-defence. “These suggestions will not solve the crime problem in South Africa,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “It will only lead to gun owners lying about the purpose of their firearms of completely sidestepping the process by using firearms illegally.” TAU (SA) already reached out to organisations with the same objectives about a meeting to discuss the various issues on the table.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, May 24, 2021

 


 

Four young men were found burned to death and two others were found hanged by unknown assailants in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, police said on Thursday. The four men who burned to death were discovered on Wednesday night in a field in the province's Lady Frere village, while the two other men were found hanged in a forest in Maqhashu Administrative Area, a spokesman for the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eastern Cape told CNN. "On Wednesday night, our members were alerted to this particular incident by a member of the community, who reported that four young men in their 20s have been burned alive in an open field in Lady Frere," said Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana. "The SAPS members responded to the call and immediately rushed to the crime scene where they found the deceased lying bent on the ground. While the detectives were busy working and processing the crime scene, another report came through that two more bodies of young men were found hanged in a nearby forest in an administrative area known as Maqhashu," Kinana added. The regional police spokesman added that a seventh victim of the violent attack, who was hospitalized after sustaining severe injuries, also died. "This means that the number of the deceased has now risen to seven -- all of them South Africans, and in their 20s," Kinana told CNN, adding that the motive for the killing was unknown. "We have not made any arrests at this stage. However, we have opened seven cases of murder for investigation," the police spokesman said. The Eastern Cape, regarded as South Africa's poorest province with nearly 1 million rural people without jobs, has witnessed a surge in murder rate and other violent crimes, according to statistics by local police. Lady Frere, a small town in the province, has been in the news recently for other unexplained murders. In February, local media reported that regional police were probing the possible existence of a suspected "serial killer on the loose" after three women and a man were found fatally stabbed inside their homes in Lady Frere. Little was heard about the outcome of the investigation. Police urged residents with information on the latest attack to come forward. "We'll treat any information received with strict confidentiality," Kinana told CNN.

 

- edition.cnn.com, April 15, 2021

 


 

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) had enough of the Police Department's mismanagement and today launched a campaign to get the minister, Bheki Cele, fired.

Under his mismanagement of the department:
* The police cannot trace their official firearms;
* Around 8million pieces of evidence – many from gruesome farm attacks – were lost because the minister refuses to pay for an approved system within the approved budget;
* A brigadier from KwaZulu-Natal was promoted to major-general ten years after 98 firearms went missing on his watch;  and
* Detectives must pay out of their own pockets for equipment, transport and uniforms because of poor management of resources, which affects their work.

As police commissioner, Cele was investigated and suspended in 2011, after evidence of corruption and maladministration came to light. He continued to receive his salary of R1,3million until 2013, when he was finally given the boot. "Research proved many times over how a bad manager can negatively influence a whole company," says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, TAU (SA) president. "In the police force, we have members who follow his example, and they give the members who genuinely want to uphold their responsibility as protectors of safety a terrible reputation. Our problem lies not with police officers who support our farmers and walk the extra mile, but with criminals in the force and the number-one-enemy of safety in the country, Bheki Cele. He must tsamaea!" The parliamentary portfolio committee for police recently heard that Forensic Data Service switched off the police's firearm permit system to manage thousands of official firearms. The police neglected to pay for the software's copyright even though it had an approved budget, and the case went to court. Forensic Data Services handles the register of the DNA evidence gathered at crime scenes. They switched this system off as well, and now more than 8 million pieces of evidence are lost. Both systems are updated manually at the moment. It holds an enormous implication for tracking stolen firearms and evidence and, as a result, gives criminals free rein. "The police system is a mess because Bheki Cele is obsessed with a show of power instead of protecting South Africans," says Mr Geldenhuys. "Cele must be fired as the Minister of Police. We hope that his replacement will clean house and that the department will follow a fresh approach to strengthen safety in South Africa."

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, March 30, 2021

 


·                      

·                     Oom Tas Hefer, age 86, and his life partner, Tannie Duifie Oosthuizen, age 84, died after being burned alive inside their home during a farm attack. Their charred bodies were identified through DNA. The incident occurred February 5, 2021 at Cilvale, Welbekend area, in Bapsfontein, Gauteng [the PWV area] in South Africa. Reports say the couple was found locked in their bedroom. The fire was set in the home’s lounge.Blood found outside the home indicates the couple had been attacked prior to being forced into their home, where they later perished in flames.

 

- V.Dare.com, March 17,2021

 


 

The following report from the Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) surely says it all about the security situation in the “new” South Africa :-

 

TAU (SA) today launched a campaign to enable all South Africans to deduct any security expenses from tax. Section 23(b) of the Income Tax Act prohibits South Africans from deducting security expenses from income tax. Even though companies can deduct these type of costs, with this campaign, TAU (SA) wants to focus on offering this benefit to our consumers – an essential part of the value chain. TAU (SA) drew up a list of the necessary expenses each household in South Africa should be able to deduct from tax –


* defensive walls;
* security cameras;
* burglar alarms;
* electric fences;
* razor wire;
* guard dogs;
* 24-hour monitoring and armed-response services;
* home insurance;
* other home security measures and equipment; and
* expenses pertaining to the upkeep of the items, as mentioned above.

The list will be amended as TAU (SA) receives feedback about additional safety expenditure. “Countless South Africans have been subjected to the gravest invasion of their freedom by becoming victims of violence,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TAU (SA). “The Constitution requires the state to protect us from such invasions. However, the state’s utter failure to do so is painfully apparent, just from looking at its own statistics.” According to Stats SA, housebreaking or burglary is the number one crime in South Africa. An estimated 1,2 million housebreaking incidents occurred in the 2019/20 statistical year alone, affecting 891,000 households in our country. Like those on farms, South Africans living in remote areas are particularly vulnerable, as they reside far from any form of assistance. “Considering the grave danger South Africans face daily, it is utterly disgraceful that the state does not allow security expenditure incurred by a taxpayer in securing their residence to be deducted from their income tax,” says Mr Geldenhuys. Section 77 of the Constitution affords only the minister of finance – Mr Tito Mboweni – the power to instigate the abovementioned amendment. “We call on all peace-loving South Africans, regardless of race, gender, age, or creed, to join us in one voice, demanding the minister amend the Constitution so we can protect ourselves,” requests Mr Geldenhuys.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, February 23, 2021

 


 

The downgrading of the Land Bank by credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service is simply a symptom of the numerous problems in South Africa, says TAU (SA). The Land Bank announced this week that it would not succeed in restructuring its outstanding debt by the end of November as planned. It is now looking at March 2021 to complete the restructuring. In reaction, Moody’s downgraded the Land Bank's ratings to Caa1. “It is time for South Africans to wake up and pay attention to the cause of the country’s collapse on every conceivable level,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TAU (SA). “State-owned entities receive ongoing lifelines (from non-existent state funds), supposedly to recapitalise. Sadly, this never solves the problem. It is foolish to continue treating the symptoms, while the root cause remains untreated. “The ANC government is South Africa's number one enemy, mismanaging the country through cadre deployment, corruption and greed. As long as the ANC remains in control, collapse will accelerate.” The downgrade will have a dramatic impact since the Land Bank finances 27% of farmers' production credit as well as a number of agricultural businesses. The downgrade holds severe consequences for every person in the country because a lack of input cost financing has a direct negative impact on food production. “We are funding crime and mismanagement by continuing to pay taxes,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “We are literally enabling crime.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, November 25, 2020

 


 

The small town of Senekal in the [Orange] Free State is set for a chaotic showdown as two men accused of killing 21-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner make their second appearance in court. The pair’s first arraignment was met with protest action, spearheaded by fed-up farmers, which soon spiraled out of control and led to the destruction of public property.

 

- TheSouthAfrican.com, October 16, 2020

 


 

TLU (SA) calls on all South Africans to not be swept up by hidden efforts to create polarisation. The executive committee today discussed the situation in the country and the safety of its members. TLU (SA) also drew up guidelines for members on how to conduct themselves during protest actions. “The events at Senekal in the Free State confirmed that communities in South African reached their breaking point in terms of unacceptable crime and corruption,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the president of TLU (SA). “The double standards, when it comes to the handling of crime, creates polarisation in communities and with the SAPS.” The government fails South Africa in almost all facets. Crime in South Africa is not limited to agriculture. The recent spate of murders and crime has been at unacceptable levels for too long, and we will not tolerate the situation worsening even more. TLU (SA) questions the political will to take on crime. “We are realistic about the possible solutions,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “We cannot change the situation by ourselves. We must work with other organisations and structures to work on a joint strategy against crime for the future.” TLU (SA) also called on various organisations and church bodies to reach out to the government to ask it to contain the severe levels of crime in the country. “It is easy, against this background, to be swept up by emotions and lose self-control,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “The danger exists that people can abuse lawlessness in such a situation. It can lead to serious conflict, bloodletting and the destruction of infrastructure and property. “But, there lies more power in self-control than anarchy. And that is the message we sent our members today.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Press Release, October 14, 2020

 


 

Railway infrastructure in Gauteng [the Pretoria/Witwatersrand/Vaal Triangle area] has been torn apart, with trains, responsible for transporting millions of residents to and from places of employment in the province’s central business districts, unable to get back on track..

 

- TheSouthAfrican.com, October 12, 2020

 


 

It is clear to TLU (SA), along with all law-abiding citizens, that the South African government is either unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of its citizens. TLU (SA) will therefore support legislation which affords South Africans the basic right of ensuring their own safety and security. “We experience the South African government’s inability to protect us in every aspect of society,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, TLU (SA) president. “South Africans aren’t safe at home, at work, on holiday, in cities, towns, rural areas or on farms. “The majority of South Africans are living in fear, targeted and vulnerable groups like farmers bear the brunt of it. Farmers are on the proverbial front line in the war against crime in South Africa.” TLU (SA) is working on proposed policy changes that will allow safety and security expenses to be totally tax-deductible. TLU (SA) demands that crime-fighting efforts be radically improved, to such an extent that all South Africans will be safe anywhere in the country.  If it cannot handle this task efficiently, the government should outsource the management of this basic state responsibility. “We urge all South Africans fed up with the government’s inability to guarantee our safety, to support this project,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “Fellow South Africans who do not understand our predicament should wake up. Those overseas blind to the facts due to the government’s false international propaganda should take note. It is now time for us to protect ourselves.” South Africans can support this action and the proposed amendments by following this link: https://onsstaansaam.co.za/en/.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, October 10, 2020

 


 

TLU (SA) hopes the government, minister of police, Bheki Cele and criminals take note of the growing feeling of resistance under South African farmers. A big crowd of supporters this morning convened at the court in Senekal, Free State where the suspects in the gruesome murder of the farm manager Brendin Horner were set to appear. The court postponed the case. “TLU (SA) does not support any form of vandalism,” says Mr Bertus van der Westhuizen, the chairperson of TLU (SA) in the Free State. “But the behaviour of the supporters reflects the feeling of farmers at ground level. The irreconcilable attitude and remarks of the minister of police, Bheki Cele, against farmers add to this feeling. We are fed up and will no longer be targets.” TLU (SA) further hopes that the discussions between TLU (SA) and other role-players with the national commissioner of police yesterday, comes to fruition at ground level quickly and that the government will contribute to the protection of farmers and maintaining law and order. “The government’s attitude towards and denial of the seriousness of farm attacks are unacceptable,” says Mr van der Westhuizen. “We hope the government now realises that the chaos that could ensue if there is no active reaction would be unmanageable by the government. “We want to contribute. We want to build and help to build the country to the benefit of each resident. But not where farmers are like birds on a wire, and everyone shoots at them.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, October 6, 2020

 


 

Suzanne Daniels is a former Eskom employee who stepped forward to blow the whistle on some of the country’s most powerful and politically connected who raided the utility’s coffers in the Zuma era. As my colleague Bernice Maune reports, the former legal and compliance officer wasn’t tempted by the offer of R800m to help transform Eskom into a personal piggybank for Zuma and Gupta associates. Instead, Daniels laughed off the overtures and went a step further by providing testimony to nail Malusi Gigaba, who has held several top roles, including minister of public enterprises and minister of finance. Instead of being treasured for patriotism and bravery, Daniels has been in a lonely place, finding that her principled stance cost employment and friends. Meanwhile, Gigaba remains free to live his best life, although he is unable to shed the stench of corruption that has lingered around him for the best part of a decade.

 

-  The Daily Insider, by BizNews.com, September 22, 2020

 


 

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) supports protest actions against farm murders. “Farmers are fed up with the onslaught on their lives and will take action against criminals attacking and intimidating them,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TLU (SA). This past month the country increasingly saw how communities peacefully protested in their masses at court cases relating to farm attacks and murders. TLU (SA) and TLU (SA) members support these actions every time. During TLU (SA)’s virtual protest march on 14 August, more than 11,000 people showed their support by registering and sending messages of hope and strength to farmers. The posts reached more than 355,000 people through social media platforms. TLU (SA) was present at marches in Thabazimbi, Soekmekaar and Mokgopong in August where suspects in farm attacks appeared in court. More protest actions are planned for future court appearances. TLU (SA) will also be present on 18 and 19 September during the annual commemoration of victims of farm attacks at the White Cross Monument in Ysterberg, Limpopo. The organisers erect white crosses for people murdered in farm attacks every year. “We are pleased that these protest marches are peaceful every time and that there were no violence or damages,” says Mr Meintjes. “We want to encourage South Africans to support these types of marches and actions as much as possible and to take a stand against farm attacks. The purpose is to show that farming communities will stand together and will stand up for the safety of farmers, families and workers.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, August 19, 2020

 


 

TLU (SA)’s statistics about farm attacks do not correspond with the statistics the minister of police, Mr Bheki Cele presented in parliament today. According to the department, there were only 46 farm attacks during 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, while TLU (SA)’s statistics – which have been kept up to date since 1990 – shows there were 410 farm attacks between 1 March 2019 and 28 February 2020. TLU (SA) measures statistics over the financial book year. The statistics for murders on farms more or less corresponds with the department’s 49 in contrast with TLU (SA)’s 54 farm murders. “We have trusted statistics about farm attacks, and it never corresponds with the official statistics of the department,” says Maj. Gen Chris van Zyl (ret), the deputy general manager of TLU (SA). “We do agree that there was an increase in farm attacks and murders since last year, it is only the numbers which differ.” The statistics of TLU (SA) for 2018/19 shows 356 farm attacks to the 410 attacks of last year. The department showed an increase from 47 attacks to 49. “Though we are dissatisfied with the difference in statistics, we are more concerned about the new trends we are picking up during attacks,” says Maj. Gen Van Zyl. “Kidnapping is becoming part of attacks on farms more and more, as we saw with the gruesome attack and murder of the family of Hartswater in the Northern Cape. “TLU (SA) is distressed about the increased amount of attackers per attack. It seems to point to organised crime attacking farms.” Even though the police had to focus their attention on the application of lockdown regulations since March this year, the statistics and feedback indicate lacking and reactive crime intelligence instead of prevention. The SAPS should focus on preventing serious violent crimes and murders.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, July 31, 2020

 


 

TLU (SA) is anxious about the increase in farm attacks, which this weekend lead to five murders. It earnestly urges farmers, their families and workers to be alert at all times. “The nine attacks of this weekend confirmed our observation that the marked decrease in violent crimes on farms during the first week of the lockdown, was shortlived,” says Mr Henry Geldenhuys, the chairman of TLU (SA)’s Safety Committee and deputy president of TLU (SA). “The first six months of 2020 mirror the same period in 2019.” Apart from the increase in crime, the lockdown also leads to further complications when police stations have to close after exposure to Covid-19 temporarily. The public often does not have any alternative numbers for SAPS members at these stations, and they are left to their own devices during attacks. “It’s been some time since TLU (SA) realised they could not depend on the government to safeguard them,” says Mr Geldenhuys. “People who live on farms increasingly have to make use of their own abilities and capacity to ensure their safety. The solution lies in personal alertness and readiness.” From the feedback after failed attacks, it is clear that victims who were highly alert and ready – with a weapon on hand – could effectively prevent an attack. The reaction of a well-organised Farm Watch made up of members who know the environment and residents is invaluable when the reaction time and effective action of the police are limited. Safety starts with the individual farmer, then the family and workers and then branches out to neighbours, Farm Watch and the police. It is crucial to be prepared by doing the following:

·                                  

·                                 Keep a weapon for self-defence within reach;

·                                 Have your contingency plan in place;

·                                 Ensure the ability to communicate from the farm, is established.

 

TLU (SA) urgently requests farmers to join local safety structures and always to be alert.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, July 29, 2020

 


 

The agricultural sector was struck by 26 farm murders and 141 farm attacks so far this year. It does, however, look like TLU SA’s advice on safety and alertness adds to protecting farmers against murder. “It is clear that effective resistance and the implementation of self-defence techniques lead to the death or severe injuring of various attackers,” says Maj-Gen Chris van Zyl, the deputy general manager of TLU SA. “From the accounts of farmers who maintained proper levels of preparedness, attackers were not able to surprise them or catch them off-guard.  An awareness of strange or unnatural signs and immediate access to weapons prevented the loss of innocent lives and serious injuries.” There was a decrease in violent crimes since the inception of the lockdown. Between January and March this year, TLU SA recorded 71 farm attacks and 14 murders. Since then violent crimes started increasing to levels on par with those before the lockdown, and between April and June, there was 68 attacks and 12 murders under farm residents. “The high levels of violence against victims is not in comparison to the obvious motives like robbery and theft of money, weapons and tradeable goods like computers and cellphones,” says Maj-Gen Van Zyl. “Organised agriculture cannot monitor court cases to confirm actual motives. “The analysis of murder victims show without a doubt that white farmers, families and farm workers make up two-thirds of murder victims. The particularly high levels of violence and torture indicate a high level of racial hatred, which deeply concerns us.” TLU SA calls on farmers to be alert and to work together in Farm Watches to strengthen farm safety. Even though farm attacks still count as priority crimes, it does not receive as much dedicated personnel as other priority crimes. The root of the problem lies in the government’s disinterest in protecting the lives of farmers.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, July 6, 2020

 


 

It is clear to the Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) that criminals don’t heed the lockdown regulations, and farmers are increasingly the victims of their transgressions. There is an apparent rise in the theft of agricultural products, such as crop and stock theft, while the increase of cable theft in some areas are also frustrating farmers’ production. “What is of further concern is the explicit prohibition of farm guards and CPF’s to continue with their regular patrols and crime prevention actions by the minister of police,” says Mr Henk van de Graaf, the chairperson of TAU (SA)’s Northern region. “With the police now focussing on other areas, it means that rural areas are currently unprotected. Criminals know this and are abusing the situation.” It is worrying that the police prioritises persecuting people trying to buy alcohol or tobacco products, but does almost nothing to police the criminals threatening food security. Farmers are advised to increase the vigilance on their farms. The power of farm guards lies in the cooperation between roleplayers, effective communication, covering more significant areas than just their own farms, as well as patrolling public roads – which are often used as escape routes. Criminals welcome these desolate areas. “After the immense drought and the paralysing effect of foot and mouth disease on the agricultural sector, farmers cannot afford uncontrolled theft of their products because the minister of police took irrational decisions,” says Mr Van de Graaf. “Farmers are starting to view their farms as disaster areas and will have to implement emergency measures against any suspicious trespassing or movement on their farms,” he warns. “This will not benefit anyone. We are calling on the provincial government to urgently take this up with the national government to review the existing instructions quickly. We cannot continue like this for another three weeks.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, April 14, 2020

 


 

Six vehicles have been in the scorched town of Ladysmith in Natal, where violent protests continue to render the town incapable of functioning. The town of Ladysmith in Natal continues to burn,  with attacks on trucksduring the week followed up with the setting alight of six out of seven cars at the town’s Social Development offices. Protests have been ongoing in Ladysmith since February, with incensed residents calling for the head of fraud and corruption accused Alfred Duma local municipality mayor Vincent Madlala, as well as bemoaning poor service delivery, water shortages and escalating violence between warring taxi associations. The Department of Social Development vehicles were torched on Wednesday evening, and although there is currently no leads on who the culprits are, evidence points to a petrol bomb attack. Roads going in and out of town have been barricaded with the carcasses of burnt-out trucks and minibus taxis that continue to enforce a total shutdown in the area. KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala decried the loss of nearly R2 million a day with businesses, factories and transport operators rendered utterly unable to function amid the chaos. KZN MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza has called for the perpetrators of the attack on the government vehicles to be swiftly brought to justice. “The department has received a report and seen pictures with its six vehicles burnt by brazen criminals,” said Khoza.“We are shocked at this despicable act of vandalism, which is totally abhorrent, destructive and beyond any justification whatsoever. These vehicles are an important tool used to quickly respond and provide services to our needy communities,” she said.She said that the crime was just another in a long line of threatening acts committed against government employees in the area. “The torching of our vehicles is another form of threatening employees who have suffered a lot of hijackings in the past. The law must take its course wherever and whenever our properties are under threat. We urge police to investigate such criminal activities without fear or favour. No-one should do these despicable and morally reprehensible acts, despite any frustration,” she said.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

- The South African, March 12, 2020

 


 

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) today launched a campaign to force the government to put an end to violent and destructive protest actions. Violence, looting and damages are part of strikes and protest actions in South Africa. Trucks, trains, vehicles and infrastructure such as buildings, schools, clinics, businesses, tertiary institutions and roads are vandalised by economic terrorists daily. “These are not protest actions or demonstrations; it is acts of economic terror,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TAU (SA). “These deliberate incidents cost the South African economy billions of rands annually due to lost income, time and resources. “Our members report using leave days because of barricaded, burning towns,” he says. “People fear for their children’s safety because of riots near their schools. Or their insurance premiums increase because of damage to their property during the protest action.” The number of claims handled by Sasria – the government’s short-term insurer for damage caused by riots and terror – increased sharply in the 2018/19 financial year. Sasria processed more than 5,000 claims amounting to R1.7 billion in the past fiscal year. “During February we had almost 250 cases of destructive riots throughout the country,” says Mr Meintjes. “It boils down to eight and a half incidents of violent looting per day. When is the government going to start protecting the economy and residents against economic terrorists?” TAU (SA) is calling on South Africans who are fed up with any form of economic sabotage to support this campaign and sign the petition. With the appeal, you will give TAU (SA) the mandate to take on the government over real action against and repair after economic terrorism.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, March 4, 2020

 


 

https://thesouthafrican.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0828946f4cefe905183aff31d&id=d7a8133a75&e=6c0ba79d5f

 

-  The South African, March 3, 2020

 


 

https://youtu.be/gLPObyZ7kfs

 

https://youtu.be/Awq4VkIF4SI

 

https://youtu.be/42hB5PHCUX8

 

- YouTube videos from the Loving Life on-line channel, February 10/12 , 2020

 


 

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (SA)  is considering legal action to force the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) to supply satisfactory answers over the prosecution of the leader of Black First Land First (BLF), Andile Mngxitama. More than a year after Mngxitama threatened and incited his followers to kill White women and children, the NPA still can not indicate whether it will prosecute him. In December 2018, during a public rally in Potchefstroom, Mngxitama threatened to kill five White people for every one Black person killed. He further made threats against women and children: “We will kill their children, we will kill their women, we will kill anything we find on our way”. The next day, on December 11th, TAU (SA) laid a charge of hate speech against Mngxitama with the police. TAU (SA) had made various enquiries on how the case is progressing during the past year, and thousands of people have signed the organisation’s petition on it. “From the most recent interaction with the NPA, in November, it is obvious that there is no decisive answer on what is happening with the case or even who is handling it,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TAU (SA). “In terms of the National Prosecution Act, the power to decide on and undertake legal action on behalf of the state lies with the NPA. The state must protect South Africans against crime but fails time and time again. It is highly concerning and creates the perception that law-breakers can do as they please without any consequences. “The work ethic of the NPA is a disgrace and shows the flagrant disrespect the body has for the community. The NPA should at least supply answers to complainants, but even that is not happening.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, December 17, 2019

 


 

The Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) today launched a campaign to convince South Africans to raise their voices against the amendments of Article 25 of the constitution regarding expropriation without compensation. “President Ramaphosa’s government decided unilaterally to change the constitution despite inputs spelling out the negative consequences of such amendments clearly,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TAU (SA). “Our viewpoint is, and have always been that land expropriation without compensation endangers private ownership and the free-market system. “The amendment will ruin the South African economy and will have a fatal effect on food security. We cannot and will not be part of this destructive process. Land expropriation is not more important than food on the table.” The public has until February to comment on the wording of the amendments. “Parliament is rushing the draft bill,” says Mr Meintjes. “With our campaign we are making an urgent appeal to President Ramaphosa, and the chairperson of the ad hoc committee tasked with the wording of the bill – Dr Mathole Motshekga – to rather focus on how the amendments and wording should read to strengthen ownership and prevent expropriation without compensation. It is the interest of every resident of South Africa.” South Africans can support the campaign by following this link: https://www.tlu.co.za/en/land-expropriation/

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, November 26, 2019

 


 

The dysfunctional ANC government is actively driving the agricultural sector over an economic cliff. It is responsible for the accelerating rate of food security destruction South Africa is facing. This is according to Mr Johan Steyn, Chairman: TLU SA Eastern Cape, following the revelation that government incompetence failed to convince the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) of South Africa’s foot-and-mouth free status. “According to our information, the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform was scheduled to deliver two presentations to the OIE,” he said. “The objective of these presentations was to reinstate the country’s foot-and-mouth free status. At the first presentation, the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (OVI) refused to release the serological test results because the Department of Agriculture owes them money.  At the second presentation, Onderstepoort could perform no tests as samples had not been received from Limpopo Province.  Provincial technicians refused to take the cattle samples as they are not paid overtime to do the sampling.” Steyn points out that the continuing ban on the export of live breeding animals, game and meat has brought all export trade in these products to a grinding halt.  In addition, the wool price has plummeted by around 40% over the past year with storage facilities filled to capacity with wool that cannot be exported.  The price for slaughter stock continues to fall, despite a paucity of slaughter animals due to the relentless drought. The root of the problem is disease-ridden feral livestock freely wandering across the border with Zimbabwe and other neighbouring countries. This is due to the derelict border fences that are no longer maintained nor managed by the department. He says it is absurd and unacceptable that the survival of the largest agricultural sector in South Africa, namely livestock, hangs in the balance thanks to a dysfunctional government and its incapable officials. “We are not pleading for our existence, we are in fact demanding that the government fulfils its part of the social contract it has with the citizens of this country,” says Steyn. “Certain roleplayers in organised agriculture are recommending the kid-glove approach with government to solve the problem. In my opinion, similar to the SAPS simply “monitoring” the continued plundering, looting and destruction of private property, this approach is unlikely to bear any fruit.   Producers pay significant tax and comply with the laws and regulations of this country. In return, we expect that the government and their highly paid officials carry out their tasks diligently and effectively. To the benefit of the entire country and all its citizens.” He points out that many of the world-class systems that have placed South Africa at the forefront of various agricultural sectors worldwide have been developed over many years by agricultural organisations, individuals and others in the sector. “This expertise is still available in the private sector and will be applied in the interests of producers and to the detriment of state coffers. For example, private companies are very profitably and effectively filling the void left by the collapsed Onderstepoort through the manufacture of vaccines and other veterinary medicines essential to the livestock and other industries, both locally and in Africa. Increasingly, this expertise will be applied to maintain and expand the sector’s success. The fact is that the government is rapidly making itself irrelevant to the private sector,” he says. “The livestock industry makes a significant contribution to state coffers. It earns valuable foreign exchange through the export of wool, hides, meat, game and breeding stock. The export of practically all these products is forbidden since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease earlier this year. The livestock industry is one of the largest markets for maize in the form of animal feed.  In addition, the survival of companies supplying veterinary medicines, animal feed, livestock handling equipment and transport are all dependent upon the well-being of the livestock sector.”

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, September 12, 2019

 


 

Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, has ordered hundreds of troops into the sprawling area of townships known as the Cape Flats in Cape Town to combat gang-related violence that left 14 people dead in 24 hours last week. Six policemen have also been shot and injured in the past week. An official said it was like a “war zone”, adding “We have reached a state of emergency”.

 

-  Daily Telegraph, July 13, 2019

 


 

The significant increase in farm attacks and murders since 2012, and especially following the national elections, is a source of grave concern for TAU (SA). According to Henry Geldenhuys, Vice President of TAU (SA), this development, particularly regarding the inhuman torture of the victims, can no longer be accepted. “The national murder figure of about 53 people per day is unacceptable for us as an organisation as well as for our members. During May alone, there were 46 attacks and 7 murders on farms. June is barely 3 days old and already 5 attacks and 1 murder have been carried out on farms and smallholdings. This excludes towns and cities,” Geldenhuys said. The agonising question of when the government, SAPS, and NPA will take concrete action to halt the undeclared war that is being waged on South Africa’s farmers, remains unanswered. Daily statements that farmers - who produce food for all inhabitants of South Africa - have stolen their land, are made from political platforms. Yet the President, the entire cabinet and especially the Minister of Police remain silent about the attacks and murders that escalate daily. Is it possible that their deafening silence, in fact, condones this unacceptable situation? “This situation can certainly no longer continue! TAU (SA) challenges the government, SAPS, and NPA to implement an effective and workable solution to these tragic events within the next month. The foundation of their plan must be the effective, unbiased implementation of the laws of this country. It remains the legally binding duty of the SAPS to protect private property, combat terrorism, arson, trespassing, murder, rape, and incitement. The collapse of the rule of law in our country can no longer be accepted. The government has to take urgent action to prevent the total collapse of society.” He strongly urged farmers, both black and white, to sharpen up their security measures and to strategically include farm labour. “Arm yourself, know how your firearm works and use it within the framework of the law to protect yourself and your family. If you are not yet part of a Security structure, we would admonish you to urgently join up.” TAU (SA) directed an invitation to all agricultural organisations, agri suppliers, security companies and all organisations involved with Rural Safety to bring pressure to bear on the government and their various structures to work toward combatting this scourge. Geldenhuys also requested agri’ suppliers to contribute to TAU (SA)’s various security campaigns. “Without farmers, there is no food on our tables, you as an agri supplier will no longer exist and large areas of rural South Africa will be permanently ruined. This is truly how serious this situation has become as a result of the ever-growing wave of attacks and murders. This all while farmers in large parts of South Africa are struggling to survive amidst an ongoing drought of disastrous magnitude while simultaneously battling epidemic levels of theft of livestock and agricultural products.  The demand on our finances for assistance from numerous sectors is great." He warned that this state of affairs can no longer continue and that there is a very real danger of the situation coming to a head in the near future. 

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, June 3, 2019

 


 

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-people-shot-and-killed-after-their-bakkie-runs-out-of-diesel-in-benoni-20190526 

 

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/pics-young-couple-killed-after-their-bakkie-ran-out-of-fuel-identified-20190527  

 

- News24 on-line news service reports, May 26, 2019

 


 

https://mailchi.mp/aec2a7424571/genocide-in-south-africa

 

- submitted anonymously by contact in the United States, January 31, 2019

 


 

From 1 January to 31 December 2018, there were 460 farm attacks and 64 farm murders in South Africa. That equates to one farmer being murdered every 5.7 days and 1.3 farm attacks per day on average. Whilst the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the ANC government is denying the existence of these attacks, the horrific fact is that the White minority are under siege and Black leaders are openly calling for the killing of Whites.

 

- South Africa Today, January 5, 2019

 


 

The outcome of the parliamentary review committee that proposed that the country's constitution be amended to provide for expropriation without compensation did not come as a surprise to TAU SA as it was expected in the light of the dubious processes and the emotional uproar. This proposal means that many farmers are now in doubt whether they must plant for the new season. It costs more than R6 000 per hectare to plough and plant, and farmers will think twice to incur those huge costs if there is a great possibility that the land can be taken, and they are at risk to lose everything. The president of the country should give reasons why farmers should continue to plant. Furthermore, TAU SA will continue with its international campaign and the UN Human Rights Commission will be informed by the end of this month that the South African government wants to amend its constitution to steal land from its people while the South African farmers got their land lawfully and did not steal it.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, November 16, 2018

 


 

Crime in South Africa and particularly farm murders is now internationalised. Comments emanate from far and wide. Social media has put paid to the ANC’s hopes that their shenanigans will go unnoticed, and while t-shirts and food hampers may sway their hapless followers, the world out there knows what’s going on. It took some time, but the penny has finally dropped. President Ramaphosa’s gaffe during his recent visit to the United Nations in New York revealed a president either out of touch or simply lying through his teeth. His fabrication wasn’t an off-the-cuff aside in a corridor: it was during an interview with Bloomberg, a major global provider of 24-hour financial news and information and one of the most important financial institutions in the world. Bloomberg has 327 000 subscribers for its professional services, almost one million global circulations of Bloomberg Business Week and over 150 news bureaux internationally. What you say to Bloomberg matters – it travels around the globe in a matter of seconds and it lands on the desks of important people: investors, government advisors and CEO’s of the world’s top corporations. Unfortunately for the president, he was caught on video. There are no ambiguities about video: there he was pontificating about President Donald Trump being “clearly misinformed”, followed by an astounding statement: “There are no killings of white farmers in South Africa and there are no land grabs in South Africa”. The video went viral in South Africa. Some tried to excuse him (there will always be apologists for politicians in power!). They said the president spoke “out of context”. These defenders simply sank into Mr. Ramaphosa’s quagmire. The lie was there for all to see and hear. He “lied through his teeth” declared TAU SA president Louis Meintjes. He did not “misspeak”, nor did he tell an “untruth”. There was no “out of context”. Only last year he told the SA parliament: “We condemn the farm killings that continue to take place in our country, because we can never justify any form of taking a life. The farm killings must come to an end.”  He meant what he said because he said it. The president is often described as a “measured speaker”, not one to rush in or talk hastily off the cuff. He elocutes quite slowly, as he did recently in New York. The United Nations Human Rights Commission presents the eleventh session on Minority Rights in Geneva at the end of November this year. TAU SA is of the opinion that this theme has reference to “landlessness” which is facing South African farmers and other land owners should the SA government’s policy of expropriation without compensation begin. TAU SA will attend this commission and present a paper. South Africans are used to “food on tap”. Supermarkets are replete with the world’s best food, at excellent prices. Extra large eggs sell at R2 each and top quality avocadoes go for R3.50 each. Our meat is world famous for taste and quality, as are our vegetables. The president and millions of others take the production of SA’s commercial agriculturalists for granted. They probably never give a thought to those farmers who get up every morning not knowing if they will survive the next 24 hours. During the viral circulation of President Ramaphosa’s deceitful pronouncement, it was reported that eight farm attacks occurred from September 21 to 28. These happened all over the country. According to figures issued by TAU SA, since 1990, 1977 farmers or their workers were murdered, and there were 4790 attacks. This is up to and including mid September 2018. The annual figures have remained fairly consistent during this period, with spikes in 1998 (104 murders), 2002 (119 murders), 2004 (115 murders) and 2017 (82 murders). It is believed Mr. Mike Pompeo, the United States’ Secretary of State, has been instructed by President Donald Trump to investigate farm murders and the general crime situation in South Africa. Mr. Pompeo formerly headed the CIA and now runs the State Department. It is interesting to read his own department’s 2018 warning to US citizens about crime in South Africa. It is thorough, detailed and all-encompassing. It could actually serve as a general warning to all South African citizens. It ranges from CRITICAL-THREAT locations such as Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, to the numerous no-go areas within the country. It says “violent crime remains an ever-present threat in SA.” It described as “common” crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery, carjacking, home invasions, property theft, smash and grabs and ATM robberies. “Armed robbery is the most prevalent major crime”, says the report, most often involving hand guns or knives. Of particular concern to the State Department, with regard to US citizens in South Africa, are home invasion robberies and the accompanying violence. This includes farm attacks which are by definition mostly in the farmhouses. “Victims who resist or fail to comply with demands may be killed or seriously injured”, says the State Department report. The report adds financial and cyber theft, the dangers of walking in quiet tourist areas and in townships (specific locations are prohibited for US citizens), road safety and poorly marked and maintained roads and vehicles, bribes asked by traffic policemen, the high rate of fatal traffic accidents, and that a GPS could sometimes direct travellers to “dangerous neighbourhoods”. The warnings go on and on – ten long pages: the pilferage of luggage at airports, following airline passengers home and robbing them, fake “police officers” who pull motorists over at gunpoint, ethnic violence, unrestrained and disruptive civil unrest. (In the 2016/17 SAPS reporting year there were 10,978 peaceful demonstrations and an additional 3 715 violent demonstrations. This averages around 40 per day.) The country’s wildcat strikes are highlighted – these lead to destruction of property and assaults, resulting in “numerous deaths, injuries and extensive property damage”, says the report. Law enforcement is not good. While shops are looted, “the police have been videoed standing idly by. Citizens of other African countries are murdered, and the perpetrators are seldom successfully prosecuted.” Nothing goes unmentioned in this American report: pollution, environmental hazards, a crumbling infrastructure, the relentless theft of copper wire and cables, police detention and harassment and street level shakedowns for money. “South Africa is the largest market for illicit drugs in sub-Saharan Africa and serves as a trans-shipment point for cocaine and heroin, primarily destined for Europe”. The South Africa we knew is now unrecognisable. The savagery of crime is a terrifying phenomenon. The atrocities perpetrated on farms now fill books. In many cases, only a cell phone is taken. One episode graphically illustrates this feral trend: three former employees broke into a home south of Johannesburg. They assaulted and shot dead the father, then raped and killed his wife. They tied up the sobbing son and pushed him into a bath of boiling hot water to drown him. According to the accused in court, they “mutually raped the wife and restrained her by ‘standing on her face’”. The family dog was disembowelled. How does this tie in with the fulsome media praise of the South African  president’s “new dawn”? His United Nations lie about farm murders reveals a daunting level of delusion. He never publicly refers to the remorseless and merciless crime perpetrated on his fellow citizens. He ignores the farm barbarity, the sewage in the streets, the pollution of our water and the demolition of our infrastructure by mindless mobs. There is virtually no law and order. South Africa is beginning to resemble those countries to the north where the big man pretends to rule, makes sure his party will win the next election, rewards the faithful with jobs and patronage while his country slips into anarchy. The SA president has no thought of replacing the incompetents and thieves infecting local government, even though the collapse is blatant and catastrophic. He needs to stay in power, and he can’t upset too many applecarts. Gareth van Onselen told the recent TAU SA annual congress that “the rule of law is, for the most part, what holds anarchy at bay. When it is eroded, chaos can spread and multiply. And there is every indication that, today, the rule of law is at the weakest it has been for a long time. South Africa is now home to its own form of gigantism, only it has little to do with building or construction; rather, destruction and the depth and breadth of our collective descent”. Despite this, South Africans are gratefully overjoyed at the appointment of yet another ANC minister of finance, and everything’s going to be fine. He has “saved the day” according to some media. Fish rots from the head and no manner of shuffling the Titanic deck chairs in the South African government will make much difference. Says van Onselen: “When a government is not in control, when there is no growth and contemporary emergencies define your programme of action, the future very quickly becomes the present. The government cannot invest in the future, for it is too busy holding the present together”. The prescience of so many people who years ago warned of the oncoming ANC peril is yet another example of whether prescience is a gift or a curse. This point is of course academic now. Nobody was listening, and we have reaped the whirlwind. Our president is unambiguously ANC, and he should be judged on that party’s record, not on his latest patch-up cabinet appointment.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, October 19, 2018

 


 

SOUTH AFRICA’S WAS AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/south-africas-war-against-white-people__trashed_2681815.html

 

- article by Jani Alan, The Epoch Times, October 16, 2018

 


 

In a video clip recorded during Pres Ramaphosa’s visit to the United Nations in New York, he categorically states that no White farmers are being murdered on their farms and that no illegal land grabs have taken place. This after at least 43 people have been murdered on farms this year of which 20 were White farmers. A number of illegal occupations of land taking place in South Africa were reported by the national media. Where the president gets his information, only the man on the moon will know. Clearly his grasp of brutal realities in South Africa is the result of seriously twisted ideological tunnel vision. He is lying through his teeth. 

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, September 27, 2018

 


 

According to the SA Police Service 62 murders were committed on agricultural properties during the last financial year. However, the TAU (SA) data base reflects a figure of 70 which implies a slightly more than 10% higher figure than the official statistics. This difference and the necessity to speak with one voice on a topic which is increasingly receiving international interest, demands to be consolidated. In this regard TAU (SA) has approached the Minister of Police on several occasions to discuss the matter as well as other related issues, but to date no constructive response has been forthcoming. “It is imperative that in a matter of national (and even international) concern, the problem requires joint and integrated action. Bearing this in mind, a National Agriculture Safety Strategy in support of the SAPS Rural Safety Strategy, has been drafted, approved at ASUF level and duly implemented,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, President of TAU (SA). “It is trusted that both the Minister of Police as well as the National Police Commissioner will realise that the ongoing threat of extremely violent and senseless crimes against farmers, their families and other farm dwellers requires a dedicated and unified effort to ensure a safe and secure environment for isolated communities responsible for ensuring food security in South Africa”.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, September 11, 2018

 


 

There is no reason for government to be satisfied and there is no reason for farmers to be content. This warning comes from Mr Henry Geldenhuys, Deputy TAU (SA) President and Chairman of the union’s Safety and Security Committee as a follow-up on TAU (SA)’s announcement of attack and murder figures for the first six months of the year. Between January and June, 206 farm attacks and 33 murders occurred according to TAU (SA) figures. This shows an improvement when compared to last years’ announcement for the same period when 220 attacks and 44 murders were recorded. “As long as a zero figure is not recorded, we have no reason to be happy”, says Mr Geldenhuys. “Every life is important, and every murder is one too many. Government cannot afford to sit back and be content, purely because the 2018 statistics are better than that of 2017”. Mr Geldenhuys believes that the improvement could be ascribed to an increased awareness and resulting preparedness amongst farmers, as well as cooperation with private security companies supporting farmers in their quest for a safer environment. “TAU (SA) wishes to convey it’s appreciation to members of the South African Police Service who have rendered excellent services, but there still is room for improvement, especially with reference to the identification and apprehension of murderers. Too few are arrested and the lack of successful prosecutions is cause for concern”, said Mr Geldenhuys. He also called upon farmers to improve the standard of security as well as the establishment of more farm watches under the auspices of organised agriculture to contribute to more favourable outcomes.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, July 7, 2018

 

 

 


 

Mr Henry Geldenhuys, Deputy President of TAU SA and Chairman of TAU SA's National Committee for Rural Safety, expressed his concern that, despite the fact that farmers have made a lot of effort over the past to see to their own safety and the safety of farm workers, there is still a rising tendency of farm attacks and murders. Farmers had to become better equipped to look after themselves because the state does not fulfill their responsibility in this regard. According to Mr Geldenhuys, the focus should not be shifted from the real problem, namely that every murder on a farm is one murder too many. We keep ourselves busy with how statistics are gathered and updated instead of focusing on the crime itself. TAU SA's letter to the minister of police requesting an opportunity for cross-checking statistics as well as discussion regarding the formation of a specialist unit to investigate farm murders is still unanswered.

 

- Transvaal Agricultural Union (South Africa) Media Release, June 4, 2018

 


 

A Free State dairy farmer, Kobus, has been arrested and charged with murder after he shot dead 13 Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members who had occupied his farm and threatened his family. According to records, Kobus, has a 1,250 hectares farm which he mainly used for dairy farming. The incident happened in mid-November. The farmer is said to have been woken up by noises and toyi-toying at his property and was shocked to see close to 20 people wearing EFF regalia telling him to leave the farm. Kobus was born and raised at the farm and his great-grandfather built the farm and it was handed over to generations before him. The violence quickly escalated when an angry Kobus fetched his gun and fired warning shots. Not to be deterred, the EFF members are believed to have retaliated by throwing stones and moving towards Kobus’ house.Things quickly took a turn for the worst when Kobus opened fire on the invaders. The aftermath saw, 13 EFF comrades, 9 of which were men and the rest women, lying dead in the dust as the remaining protesters ran away with their lives.Police arrived at the scene after receiving a call from Kobus himself and he was arrested on scene and charged with man slaughter.He will appear in court soon.

 

- LiveMonitor, April 23, 2018

 


 

British singer Jon Moses was working for Fred Olsen Cruises when he was violently raped, in South Africa. "I was drugged... raped... beaten... neglected medically and denied the right to even have my clothes forensically examined!" said Jon Moses. When Jon got home, he spent three weeks in hospital because his injuries were so severe. After what he's been through, he's now lost vital income as a result of being a victim of this vicious attack.

 

- Care2 petition, April 5, 2018

 


 

 

A British couple said they were “lucky to be alive” after being stabbed and robbed as they climbed Table Mountain in South Africa. Yvonne and Don Cormack, from Harlow in Essex, had been walking with a group of seven fellow hikers in the Cape Town reserve on Saturday morning when two of them suddenly pulled out knives and demanded they hand over belongings, including their mobile phones. Those who refused were then stabbed and hit with rocks. The incident is said to have happened 30 minutes into the climb. Mr.Cormack, 71, was still in hospital yesterday being treated for nine knife wounds whilst his wife, 67, was also stabbed as she tried to protect her husband. She suffered cuts to her neck and arm as she hit one of the robbers with a walking stick. One of the hikers was in a critical condition, after being hit on the head with a rock. The South African National Parks authority, which runs the Table Mountain National Park, said that it had stepped up patrols following an increase in recent muggings.

 

- Daily Telegraph, January 17, 2018

 


 

INCREASING CRIMES ON FARMS AND SMALL HOLDINGS

 

According to TAU SA statistics, 2017 indicates that 2017 compares badly with the situation over the same period last year. In 2016 295 attacks and 52 murders were recorded whilst the same period this year reflects an increase of 347 and 65 respectfully. “The situation on South African farms and small holdings is critical and it is clear that the SAPS Rural Safety Strategy is not producing favourable results”, according to the TAU SA Deputy President and Chairman of the unions’ Safety and Security Committee.  “The question may well be posed whether violent crimes on farms and small holdings are truly enjoying priority status, whether the required resources are available in rural areas to counter the threat and whether Crime Intelligence is utilised to prevent attacks against law abiding farm dwellers?”

 

- TAU SA Media Release, October 24, 2017

 


 

Once the most wealthy and developed nation on the continent, South Africa is quickly facing economic collapse and brimming with racial tensions that many fear could spill over into civil war. Stoking the fears of race wars is South Africa's President Jacob Zuma who recently held a rally for 20,000 people in which he warned the White population that he was coming for their land. "They are telling us that we will be breaking the law when we take the land - but they broke the law first by stealing our land!". Zuma had earlier informed the South African parliament that he planned to introduce a new law allowing land seizures to go ahead without compensation, saying all Blacks should unite to "take back the land". Mzwandile Masina, a prominent member of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), made his own incendiary contribution, warning that 'we will crush' anyone who stands 'in the way of nation building'. Whites, who comprise four million out of a total South African population of 50 million, should expect that things will be 'very, very rough' for them, Masina warned. He told the crowd that while the White population is small in number, "we are many". The ANC is currently training thousands of 'national rural youth service corps' at military bases. There are reports that volunteers on the two-year programmes have been promised land. Zuma wants a "pre-colonial land audit of land use and occupation patterns" to help decide which lands need to be taken, and has said that "We need to accept the reality that those who are in parliament where laws are made, particularly the Black parties, should unite because we need a two-thirds majority to effect changes in the constitution." Zuma is calling for this radical action in response to the rise of a rival political party known as the Economic Freedom Fighters, who have long called for the confiscation of White owned lands. Julius 'Ju Ju' Malema, a former ANC youth leader tipped as a future South African president, made a chilling speech recently in which he said: "We are not calling for the slaughter of White people - at least for now".  He has also proposed a plan which calls for the removal of all Whites within five years. Many South Africans have seen the writing on the wall for some time after Robert Mugabe in neighboring Zimbabwe [formerly Rhodesia] began confiscating White farmers land and redistributing it, often with violence. In a similar fashion to Zimbabwe, South Africa, once a net exporter of food - is now forced to rely on imports to feed the population. Crime is rampant - with more than 50 murders a day, many sadistic and barbaric - while South Africa is shamed by an appalling record on rape, with a woman sexually assaulted every 23 seconds.

 

- Prophecy News Watch, May 5, 2017

 


 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4457280/Is-South-Africa-heading-civil-war.html

 

- Daily Mail, April 29, 2017

 


 

DARKEST MONTH EVER

 

The most attacks and murders were recorded in February 2017 which is one of the worst months yet. According to official statistics of TAU SA, the numbers of murders and attacks on farms and small holdings are as follows:

 

Attacks – 45

Murders – 17

The total for 2017 :

Attacks – 71

Murders – 21

 

These statistics are shocking. TAU SA would like to extend its condolences to families who were attacked and to those who have lost family members. We would also like to express our gratitude to the SAPS and everyone involved with investigations and the arrests of suspects in certain cases. Urgent action is now required from the government as well as from the SAPS. Your plans no longer work! To the farmers, don’t become a victim, become more vigilant. Carry your weapon and be sure you know how to use it. If you keep your weapon in a safe, rather sell it please. Become part of the Farm and Neighbourhood watch and get involved with safety initiatives, it does not matter which organisation arranges it  Pray every day for the Lord to protect you and join in prayer days wherever it is organised. 

 

- TAU SA Media Release, March 1, 2017

 


 

The great South African patriot and hero and former Conservative Party MP Clive-Derby-Lewis died at his home in the Transvaal on Friday 4th November 2016. Clive Derby-Lewis was a skilled orator and a tireless champion for the maintenance of civilised standards in South Africa. For this reason he was feared and targeted by the ANC terrorist regime, who managed to frame and imprison him for a crime which he clearly never committed. Prior to entering politics Clive Derby-Lewis served with distinction in the SADF, winning the John Chard Medal for his bravery, and was also a successful businessman. (A full obituary to Clive Derby-Lewis appeared in the December 2016 Edition of the Springbok Cyber Newsletter).

 


 

All-dominating political noise is drowning out what is shaping up to become a more immediate crisis with the supply of, and access to, water in South Africa. While a news storm centred around President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the issue of so-called state capture, the combination of the worst drought since 1903, collapsing infrastructure and pollution of water sources is fast developing almost unnoticed into a major crisis. Some areas in the country, like the Amatola district in the Eastern Cape, have already been confronted with life-threatening situations, and in parts of the economic heartland of the country, dependent on the Vaal River system, besides encountering supply problems, communities are running the risk of serious health threats due to pollution, including from raw sewerage. Awareness of the problem with sewerage dates back some time, and in 2015 the Mail & Guardian reported that the town of Deneysville on the banks of the Vaal Dam, next to its wall, is “being overwhelmed by streams of human waste”. But the problem not only comes from human waste and fertilisers being used in agriculture. As recent as this past weekend it was reporterd that a Harvard Law School investigation has found that the extraction of gold by mines has left a “dangerous” environmental legacy. “It includes having left some communities with contaminated water, soil and air with elevated levels of heavy metals, including uranium. “Elevated concentrations of heavy metals and radiation can cause immediate and long-term medical problems ranging from asthma and skin rashes, cancer and organ damage,” notes the report. Yet the government has not fully met its obligations to ensure that communities in these areas can exercise their rights to health, a healthy environment, water and housing, the report states. At a July 2016 Green Building Conference, University of the Free State professor and water expert Dr Anthony Turton said “… our sewage plants throughout the country are collapsing. We produce five-billion litres of sewage a year and only 20% of that is treated to a standard that makes it safe to be discharged back into rivers and lakes.” In reality, however, in many instances this insufficiently treated water does go back to rivers and dams. In the case of Deneysville, from where water in the Vaal Dam is released to areas downstream on the Vaal River, insufficiently treated water goes to the dam because the sewerage treatment plant of the Refenfkgotso (Sasolburg area) is hopelessly under-capacitated. The problem is further exacerbated by the drought and the resultant low levels of dams, pushing up the toxic bacterial concentrations in the water. The present crisis dominating our political and news scene does not only distract from the attention the developing water crisis deserves and needs, but adds to the problem. This was, almost unnoticed, illustrated at the end of last week when the latest dramatic development in the political drama burst onto the news scene. Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, filed papers with the High Court in Pretoria asking it declare that, as finance minister, he is not obligated to help the Guptas in their battle with South Africa’s largest banks, which all terminated their banking relationships with the Guptas and their companies earlier this year. The papers reveal a list of “suspicious” bank transactions by Gupta-owned companies at the heart of allegations about ‘state capture’, totalling almost R7bn. On the list of 72 “suspicious” transactions is one of R1.3bn in which the funds from the mining rehabilitation trust fund of Optimum was paid to the Bank of Baroda, an Indian bank that still does business with the Guptas. The Optimum mine was bought by the Guptas’ Tegeta Exloration and Resources from the mining giant Glencore under highly controversial circumstances. In his affidavit Gordhan expresses his concern that the Guptas could have appropriated the rehabilitation fund for other purposes. This fund, according to law, should only be used to restore the environment after a mine falls into disuse. There has been much speculation  that Tegeta intended to raid the rehabilitation fund in order to repay loans likely obtained to buy Optimum in the first place. It is, however, not only on this level that funds intended to secure clean, safe drinking water to the South African population is under political and maladministration pressure. Also last week, again almost unnoticed, it was announced that Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has set up a task team to investigate allegations of corruption following claims that she used her ANC influence in the so-called ‘watergate’ scandal. Mokonyane came under fire early this year after accusations of political interference in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The Democratic Alliance claims that the minister had a hand in the manipulation of processes to award tenders to companies and individuals with connections to the ANC. In the instance of the Refenfkgotso municipality, referred to above, a Carte Blanche report a year ago and an article on BizNews found that the treatment plant for sewerage is under-capacitated to deal with the water because a licence issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation is not properly policed. This allows the pipeline to take the polluted water to the dam where untreated sewerage is then dumped. The political crisis in the country is exacerbating a problem that is an immediate threat to the health and quality of life of millions of South Africans as well as inhibiting attention being paid to it.

 

- report sent by Piet Coetzer, October 18, 2016

 


 

A British historian who spent almost 20 years as a tour guide specialising in the Zulu War has died after a savage beating by armed robbers at his home in South Africa. Robert Gerrard trained under David Rattray, the most celebrated historical storyteller in the regionand a close friend of the Prince of Wales. Mr.Gerrard became the resident guide at Isandlwana Lodge in Natal, with a home overlooking the hillside where one of the most famous battles took place. Rattray himself was gunned down in his home by armed intruders in 2007. Mr.Gerrard, a former army officer and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was tortured and left unable to walkby raiders at his cottage. He died last Thursday following complications from injuries including brain damage, a shattered pelvis and severe burns, his family said yesterday. “He was an incredibly fit and determined man until this,” said his sister, Sally Gerrard Fox. He would be out striding the mountainside on tours every day. But he just wasn’t getting better, he was forcing himself to walk again but it was clear that the attack sounded the end of his career.” Mr.Gerrard was attacked on the evening of February 25th this year on returning home after dinner with guests at the lodge. “As he unlocked the door he saw one guy and punched him on the nose but didn’t realise that there was another one behind him with a gun.” Mrs.Fox said. “They beat the living hell out of him, smashed his head onto the floor, tied him up, poured boiling water over him, fractured his pelvis in several places. Afterwards, he was shattered not only that this had happened but by the brutality behind what had happened, the lack of clear reason for it.” The thieves took two handguns and two rifles, credit cards and a signet ring they broke his finger to wrench off.Mr.Gerrard, 74, a divorcee with two sons in Britain, had lonstanding family ties to South Africa and the military. His great-grandfather, Sir John Robinson, was the first prime minister of Natal and his father was a commanding officer of The Gordon Highlanders, a regiment which had fought in the Anglo-Boer War. He went to school at Ampleforth then served in Kenya, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand and Borneo before moving to South Africa to work as a commodity broker. Working with Rattray at Rorke’s Drift was “where I started to live my passion”, he once said. At Isandlwana Lodge he became legendary among visitors including Jimmy Carter, the former US President. He had, one visitor wrote, “one of those voices that you never got tired of hearing”. Mrs.Fox said her brother had been left profoundly depressed by the attack. “For the first time in my life, I could see that he was almost scared ,” she said. “I have never seen him scared of anything.” A memorial service will be held over-looking the the battlefield on October 29th. Police said they were investigating but no arrests had been made.

 

- Daily Telegraph, September 21, 2016

 


 

South Africa is a failed state on the brink of total collapse. South Africa is a failed state with a parliamentary collection of thugs inviting the criminal world all over the world to rape our constitution, murder our citizens and burglar our resources to leave behind a devastated nation in poverty, conflict and moral decay. I do believe what I see, what I hear and where I live in this demoralized desert of Black and some White South African-haters and criminals. Even exploiting the church community to condone crime, murder, extortion, lies, same-sex ‘marriages’, murder by abortion, legalized prostitution, corruption, destroying infrastructure by incompetent,lazy and corrupt state employed workers. We live in fear of organized, orchestrated attacks and murders on White citizens, marginalizing Whites by making them stand last in the row for jobs, promotion, education and denying them the constitutional right to be first-class citizens, according to the constitution. Even those who voted for “freedom” and a better life are running out of water, electricity, jobs, houses, medical care, education, safety and much more. The government totally ignores the bill of rights, the legal system and the safety of its citizens by flooding our country with drugs, illegal immigrants and international crime syndicates. The legal system supports the actions of high-ranking officials and turns a blind eye on illegal practices by law enforcement agencies like police, traffic department, etc. Municipal decay falls on death ears and most municipality’s are bankrupt and services non existent.

I CANNOT DENY THE TRUTH, THE FACTS, THE SLAUGHTER OF FARMERS, THE RAPE OF OUR HERITAGE BY BLOOD-HUNGRY HOUNDS. THE TRUTH IS EMINENT. FACTS CAN NOT BE A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OR UNBELIEVING. AS A CHRISTIAN, I CAN NOT LIE TO MYSELF OR OTHERS, SOUTH AFRICA IS A TOTALLY FAILED STATE ON THE BRINK OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ARE YOU READY ?

 

- report sent by PvB and TS, July 13, 2016

 

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