LATEST NEWS FROM
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
·
·
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
- The South African,
- 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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
- News24 on-line news service
reports,
https://mailchi.mp/aec2a7424571/genocide-in-south-africa
- submitted anonymously by
contact in the United States,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
|
|
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, 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, 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, |
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,
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,
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,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4457280/Is-South-Africa-heading-civil-war.html
-
Daily Mail,
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,
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,
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,
HERE THE ANC's LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS
- In 21
years of ANC rule unemployment has gone up by 60%
- South Africa is now the rape capital of the
world
- After 21 years of ANC rule we have achieved
the dubious distinction of being 140th on a world list of 144 countries for our
education department.
- We are officially the country where the most
hijacks take place
- We are also on the top ten list for the most
murders
- In 21 years the rand/dollar has gone from
R3.41 to R12.50
- During ANC rule the petrol price has gone
from R1.73 to R13.00 per litre
- In 21 years our defence force has gone from
being the iron fist of Africa to a laughing stock that can't defend Disneyland
from an invasion of fluffy toys
- On the list of most corrupt governments they have
given us a special place right at the top
- In 21 years we have ten times more people in
squatter camps and 1000% more illegal immigrants
- In 21 years our roads, railways, military,
police, municipal services, old age homes, hospitals and orphanages have
literally fallen apart and are worth nothing anymore
- No other country on the planet has more
convicted criminals in their parliament than us
- 25% of all South African school girls are
HIV+
- Our school girls had 100,000 abortions last
year
- We have one of the highest unemployment rates
in the world
- report
sent by C.D.,
A
shocking report has revealed how large numbers of policemen in South Africa are
'regularly' arresting young women in order to rape them. The 'Broken Blue Line'
conducted by the Johannesburg-based Institute
of Race Relations, investigated the extent in which police officers in the
country plan and execute serious and violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed
robbery - and it drew a disturbing conclusion: that police involvement in
serious and violent crimes, including rape and murder, were a 'pattern of
behaviour' and not isolated incidents. The report, funded by Afriforum, analysed 100 randomly chosen
media reports from April 2011 to January 2015 on alleged police involvement in
serious crimes. Of those, 32 were murders and attempted murders, 22 were armed
robberies, and 26 were rapes, as well as other serious offences. The
results were compared against two sources of information on disciplinary action
against police officers implicated in crimes. The project has been
undertaken by the IRR since 2011 to track police involvement in criminality. In
2015, it found that officers exploit their official status and equipment to
perpetrate crimes and rely on that status to escape arrest and prosecution. The
most worrying aspect was that 'it is often with good reason that the public
fear the police, especially with regard to sexual violence and rape perpetrated
by officers against vulnerable women.' In a number of incidents, the
police officer used his authority to force the victims to submit to his
demands. In one incident, a woman was raped several times while in custody
and in another, a woman was raped in court. It is often with good reason that the public fear the police,
especially with regard to sexual violence and rape perpetrated by officers
against vulnerable women. Nine out of the 26 listed rape cases occurred
in either police station cells or official police vehicles. The report says in
a typical case, a police officer would stop a young woman in a public place,
before taking her away to be raped in the back of a police vehicle and then
setting her free. It found a 'significant evidence of a trend' where police
officers detain women in order to rape them. A 2011 version of the report had
similar results, including a serious problem with sexual violence by police
officers in a country which has one of the highest recorded rates of rape in
the world. And while South African Police Service management is attempting
to deal with the problem, it is with limited success. It warned that
'violent crime levels in South Africa won’t turn around while the
"wolf guards the sheep".' A report in Pretoria News in July 2013 said that
almost 1,500 serving police officers had criminal records - which is more than
one in every 100 officers in the country. A two-year audit into the police
service revealed there were even South African Police Service members
behind bars who were paid monthly salaries. The newspaper reported that
the shadow minister of police, Diane Koehler Barnard of the Democratic Alliance, had said that the
police were, in effect, admitting that their service was 'populated with
murderers, rapists, fraudsters and other offenders'. IRR CEO Frans Cronje said
that the project is one of the most disturbing ever undertaken by his
organisation. He said: 'You would expect the police to safeguard society by
infiltrating criminal elements. 'In our country there is much evidence
that criminal elements have infiltrated the police.'
-
report sent by P.Moller, May 1, 2016
The civil rights organisation
AfriForum and the TAU SA announced today that South African farmers and farm
workers experienced the most brutal year yet with the most recorded farm
attacks since the recording of farm attacks commenced in 1990. The past
year’s figures were processed and verified to provide the most accurate
reflection of the nature and extent of farm attacks in South Africa. A total of
318 farm attacks occurred in 2015, in which 64 farmers and workers lost their
lives. Although 64 murders were also committed in 2010, there has been a
gradual increase in farm murders since 2011, in which 48 murders were
committed. In the 318 farm attacks in 2015, 570 farmers, their families,
workers and guests fell victim. In 40 cases 65 farm workers were direct victims.
Although various families with small children and babies were attacked, it
seems that older people are targeted more often. This analysis was compiled by
the AfriForum Research Institute under the direction of Lorraine Claasen,
researcher at AfriForum. Data was collected during 2015 by AfriForum as well as
TAU SA and was verified back and forth. Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO of AfriForum,
said that the statement by the acting Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen. Khomotso
Phahlane, that farm murders should enjoy higher priority, was welcomed and that
the organisation would gladly cooperate with the police. “The
acknowledgement that something must be done to address the crisis does not mean
that the problem has been solved, however. It eventually boils down to the figures
at ground level – whether there will be a decrease in farm attacks in
2016. We can play a constructive role in this regard. In the meantime, we will
continue our campaign to prioritise farm murders.” Henk van de Graaf,
Assistant Head Manager at TAU SA, said that farm murders are one of the
problems alongside the drought and that the safety of farmers need to be looked
at from an holistic perspective for the sake of food security.
- White Genocide Awareness Project,
Water expert Dr. Anthony Turton
says that South Africa's water shortage is not simply the result of the current
drought. "The water shortage is also an induced one. It stems from a lack
of strategic planning, a loss of skills to transformation and the fact that
poorly functioning wastewater treatment plants are spewing close on four
billion litres of untreated or partially-treated sewage into the country's dams
and rivers every day," he said. These sewage spills are the most serious
of the many problems in the water sector. "Just as a small volume of oil
destroys the quality of a large volume of water, so a small source of
persistent sewage has essentially the sameeffect." Sewage discharges are
also driving the eutrophication of most major dams. Eutrophic water is characterised
by the presence of high levels of nutrients, which, in turn promote, the growth
of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae. One very common species
of cyanobacteria produces a potent toxin known as microcystin. This is
chemically similar to cobra venom. It is also carcinogenic (cancer-producing)
and damages the liver and central nervous system. "The microcystin levels
found in a number of major dams - including the Hartbeespoort, Hazelmere,
Midmar and Vaal dams - are amongst the highest ever measured in the world.
Microcystin toxin levels become a concern in developed countries at far below
the levels commonly found in South Africa. Moreover, nothing is being done here
to remove the toxin," said Turton. There are only two known technologies capable
of neutralising microcystin, and neither is in mainstream use in any of the
country's bulk potable water treatment plants. "Worse still, no one knows
whether these technologies can, in fact,neutralise microcystin at the
concentrations found in South Africa. In this regard, we are truly flying
blind." Instead of dealing with these difficult issues, the Government is
under-reporting the extent of utrophication. Official reports suggest that only
percent of the national water resource is at risk, but a recent study by the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has found that at least
two-thirds of South Africa's largest dams are already eutrophic, he said. The
more eutrophication proceeds, the more the 38 billion cubic metres of water in
our dams are likely to become unusable. "This looming disaster could have
been avoided if a rigid concept of transformation had not been allowed to trump
the imperative to safeguard public health," says Turton. On Tuesday, two
schools in the south of Joburg sent pupils home because the institutions had no
water. However, Joburg Water managing director Lungelo Dlamini said City Power
had experienced a two-hour power outage, so Eikenhof
power station was not able to pump water. This, he said, left many suburbs
without water, among them Lenasia, Brixton, Crowns Gardens, Robertsham,
Ridgeway, Little Falls and Radiokop. On Monday, Joburg Water said Rand Water
had notified them of a further deterioration in the bulk supply system,
recommending a high level of restrictions.
- report sent by PMR (South
Africa),
TAU SA's Safety Committee held an emergency
meeting in Pretoria to address the unacceptable level of violent crime on farms
and agricultural holdings. Farm attacks and murders showed a sharp increase in
the last month and so far 62 people
have been murdered in farm attacks this year. During November seven
people were killed on farms, while TAU SA is aware of 31 farm attacks. So far
five people have been murdered on farms during December and 18 farm attacks
have been reported. TAU SA demands that the political leadership of the
country, particularly the President and his cabinet, express themselves clearly
and condemn and reject this situation in unequivocal terms. "It is
unacceptable that the government does not display real concern to improve
the safety and security of the country's primary food producers," said Mr
Henry Geldenhuys, Deputy President of TAU SA and chairman of the Safety and
Security Committee. He said the involvement of foreigners, especially
Zimbabweans, in violent crimes is a serious concern. "TAU SA is
considering a variety of actions to focus public and international attention on
the plight of farm workers, the extraordinary brutal nature of the crimes and
in many cases and the unsatisfactory response from the police. "In
addition to the immediate tightening of security measures, TAU SA is planning
to seek legal advice regarding what could be regarded as actions of ‘the
reasonable person’ under such circumstances or when a real threat of
violent crime exists, as well as to what extent the actions of such criminals
could be classified as ‘terrorism'", says Mr Geldenhuys. He also
called on farmers to be on high alert during the festive season.
- TAU SA Media Release,
King Goodwill Zwelithini
praised the apartheid era during an event in Nongoma at the weekend. The National Party, he
said, had built a powerful government with the strongest economy and army on
the continent, but then came “this so-called democracy” in which
black people started destroying the gains of the past. The King said history
would judge black people harshly as they had failed to build on the successes
of the Afrikaner regime. The king was speaking at his kwaKhethomthandayo royal
palace in Nongoma on Saturday night during a celebration of his 44 years on the
throne. He said Black people “loved to use matches” to burn down
infrastructure built during apartheid. Delivering a speech which ended just
after midnight, the king told hundreds of people packed into a big marquee that
he felt lucky that he was born the same year the National Party came to power
in 1948. The king’s speech came in the wake of a series of
anti-government statements made by the monarch of the Zulu nation in recent months.
In September, King Zwelithini ordered that there should be no government
banners at royal events, and that the government should stop organising the
events. He said on Saturday that this was the first time his anniversary
celebrations had been organised by the King Zwelithini Foundation. The king
said the apartheid regime had built a mighty army. He said the South African
currency and economy “surprisingly shot up” under the National
Party regime. “The economy that we are now burning down. You do not want
to build on what you had inherited. You are going to find yourselves on the
wrong side of history.” He said while people on the ground did not
appreciate the infrastructure inherited from apartheid, democratically elected
presidents – Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma – were
occupying apartheid infrastructure, including the Union Buildings and
Parliament. “I am surprised that all presidents who have been in the
so-called democracy occupied apartheid buildings where they make all these laws
that are oppressing us. “But you on the ground are burning everything
that you found here. “You don’t want to use them (buildings), you
say this is apartheid infrastructure. Your leaders are occupying buildings
where apartheid laws were made to oppress you,” the King said. Despite
the National Party’s having created anti-black laws, he was happy that it
had treated him with respect. “The Afrikaners respected me. I don’t
know how it happened that the Afrikaners respect me so much.” He said at the
kwaKhethomthandayo palace there were still medals which the apartheid
government had awarded to his kingdom. The King also touched on the South
African Human Rights Commission which released its preliminary report last week
on his alleged involvement in xenophobic attacks early this year. The
commission had recommended that he make a public apology or risk being taken to
the Equality Court. Early this year it was reported that the king called on
foreigners to pack up and go back to their home countries. He said he would
address the Zulu nation in January on the outcomes of the report, which he said
were an insult to the nation. The king’s traditional prime minister, IFP
leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, told The Mercury that the report had exonerated
the king, but he said the commission should explain why it had called on the
king to issue a public apology. “I am pleased that they exonerated him,
but I am confused that they still insist that he must apologise. There seems to
be a contradiction.” Political analyst Protas Madlala said the king was
playing on the theory that white people could govern better. “He is
right, but he should explain deeper the reason behind their success,”said
Madlala. Apartheid had been supported internationally, he said.
- The [Natal] Mercury,
A widow
and farmer was brutally robbed, raped, stabbed and burnt with a hot iron during
a farm attack on Sunday evening near Van Reenen. Two men demanded money from
the 57-year-old widow and then tied her up in her farm house, with her hands
behind her back. The elderly woman was then stabbed below her knee and also in
the shoulder when she told them that all the money she had was in her purse.
The men took a hot iron and burnt her badly, numerous times. They then dragged
her into a bedroom, where they allegedly raped her. They fled the scene in a
white bakkie, making off with money and a mobile phone.
-
Ladysmith Gazette,
South
Africa’s murder rate has jumped 4.6% in the past year, with almost 49
people killed every day. A total of 17,805 murders were committed from April
2014 to March 2015, an increase of 782 deaths from the year before in a
population of 54 million. The government admitted authorities were struggling
to tackle the problem, but said the 10-year trend showed a decline in overall
crime. Opposition parties and analysts criticised the numbers and said there
was a lack of clear strategy to bring crime under control. The murder figures,
which have risen each year from a low of 15,554 in 2011-12, reflect a reversal
of what many had hoped was a long-term progress in reducing violent crime.
“17,805 is a number I would expect from a country at war,” said
Dianne Kohler Barnard, shadow police minister of the main opposition,
Democratic Alliance. Armed robberies, car-jackings and burglaries also
increased, showing the country “lacks clear strategies to reverse this
dangerous trend”, Gareth Newham, of the Institute for Security Studies
think-tank, said. “That robberies have increased raises questions about
the extent to which police resources are being effectively used. With some of
the best technology in the world, and more than 194,000 personnel, the South
African police service should be better able to reduce crimes such as robbery.
”The police minister said South Africa needed “to tackle the
violence within our communities”. “To think we can resolve the
issue of murder on our own is effectively just hallucination in a sense,
because it’s a social problem. It’s a problem that’s got to
be tackled at the level of family units,” Nathi Nhleko said. Reported
sexual offences, assaults and car thefts decreased. The fall in numbers of rape
and other forms of sexual violence by 5.4% could mean that victims did not
trust the police enough to report these crimes, Kohler Barnard said. More than
50,000 sexual offences were reported to South African police last year, but the
number of sexual victims willing to report these crimes has dropped by 21% from
2011 to 2014, according to a national survey on victims of crime, carried out
by Statistics South Africa, a government agency.
- The
Guardian,
When Mandela handed the Rugby World
Cup trophy to Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks, in June 1995, it
became emblazoned in history as a moment of reconciliation at the end of South
Africa's long apartheid struggle. But 20 years on, memories of the beaming new
president wearing Pienaar's number six jersey and a nation erupting in joy are
shrouded with disillusion. On Wednesday this week one of the country's newly
formed political parties, the Agency for New Agenda (ANA) will launch a court
bid to prevent the South African team from participating in the 2015 Rugby
World Cup in England and Wales next month, claiming its selection process is
biased against Black players. The party alleges that there is a lack of
transformation in the sport which it says is still dominated by White South
Africans. On Friday last week Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer announced a 31-man
team for the World Cup that includes eight Black and mixed race [Coloured]
players. It is common knowledge that some citizens resist such transformation
and continue to practice activities acts and conduct that are premised on
unfair discrimination based on a number of criteria including race, the party
says in papers to be submitted to the court. After 21 years there ought to have
been enough progress made to eradicate the vestiges and manifestations of
racial bigotry and discrimination, it argues. The party has also written to the
International Rugby Union requesting that South Africa be suspended from the
organisation as it still is a White-man's sport. The lawsuit comes amidst
growing anger against Meyer for not selecting sides that represent the racial
demographics of the country. Ahead of the World Cup selection, the country’s
largest trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(Cosatu) called for Meyer to be fired following what they referred to as racist
choices and a spate of losses suffered by the national team in the Southern
Hemisphere Rugby Championship. The federation said that five Black Springbok
players had approached it alleging they had been ignored by Meyer because of
the colour of their skin. Meyer moved to defend his choices, insisting he did
not consider race when selecting players and instead chose the best team he
could. “I don't look at colour. I look at the best players. I'm totally
committed to transformation and I have a great relationship with my
players,” he said at a press conference before a recent game against
Argentina. Tony Ehrenreich, Cosatu's spokesman, has now welcomed the newly
selected team, saying it is more representative than any of its predecessors.
- Daily Telegraph,
Police have arrested a 53-year-old man
in connection with the mutilation of the bodies of two women at a Durban
funeral parlour. The two women – aged 69 and 96 – had died of
natural causes and were to be cremated before their bodies were tampered with,
allegedly at Doves funeral parlour’s Greyville branch. A routine
inspection discovered that their breasts and private parts had been removed,
the Daily News reported last month. The funeral parlour put all its staff at
the branch through a lie detector test and hired forensic investigators to ascertain
how the body parts had been removed. Six funeral directors were suspended.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, confirmed that a 53-year-old suspect had
been arrested on Thursday and was to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s
Court. Pressed for comment on the arrests, Doves spokeswoman, Refiloe Kgoale,
said they would not comment. “This matter is with the police and Doves
will not comment on a matter that is under investigation,” she said.
Kgoale said it was “not an issue for the media” and the affected
families did not want it to be publicised. At the time of the incident,
Doves’s operations director, Adriaan Batt, expressed shock at the manner
in which the bodies of the deceased had been tampered with and said it made him
“sick to the stomach”. “I was never prepared for this and I
was angry that people would show such disrespect for the dead,” he said.
Batt said at the time that families had been offered counselling.
- The Independent,
“South Africa is a total
– and very dangerous – mess” says Donald Trump. The
billionaire business mogul took to social media to vent about the xenophobic
attacks in South Africa. Yesterday the billionaire developer and personality
behind the reality show The
Apprentice tweeted: “As I have long been saying, South Africa is
a total – and very dangerous – mess. Just watch the evening news
(when not talking weather)”. South Africa has made headlines worldwide
recently due to shocking violence against foreigners in a series of horrific xenophobic
attacks. This paired with Eskom’s load-shedding shame has shrouded the
country in a cloud of negative media coverage. This isn’t the first time
Trump has had something to say about South Africa. The real estate tycoon
referred to Judge Thokozile Masipa as a “total moron” after she
found Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide. He later tweeted
again: ” Oscar Pistorius only gets five years in prison for killing his
girlfriend. Ridiculous decision! Judge couldn’t even read her own writings.”
Trump, who has 2,8 million followers on Twitter, got only 21 replies to his
most recent tweet. By early Tuesday morning, it had been re-tweeted 116 times
and favourited 105 times.
- DestinyConnect.com,
Thousands sought refuge in
temporary shelters in South Africa after mobs with machetes attacked immigrants
in Durban, leaving at least five people dead, an aid group said Thursday.
Heavily armed police have scrambled to stop clashes this week after local
residents accused immigrants from other African nations of taking their jobs.
The attacks in Durban killed two immigrants and three South Africans, including
a 14-year-old boy, authorities said. "There has been an outpouring of
support from ordinary South Africans who are disgusted with the attacks not only
because they are foreign, or African, but because they are fellow human
beings," said Gift of the
Givers charity, which is helping those seeking refuge. "We are
preparing aid packages for those who may journey onwards to their home
countries. "The charity said about 8,500 people fled to refugee centers or
police stations this week because of the violence. That doesn't count anyone
who fled their homes to other, private accommodations, the group said. It said
it hopes the violence is limited to Durban, but assured immigrants that it has
a facility in Johannesburg to help those who might need shelter there. "We
have tents and all essential supplies on standby but pray that sanity prevails
and this does not become necessary," it said. In the past, Johannesburg
has been the epicenter of anti-immigrant tensions. In 2008, scores were killed
in attacks in the poorest areas of Johannesburg. Most of the victims were
Zimbabweans who had fled repression and dire economic circumstances. In that
attack, police arrested more than 200 people for various crimes including rape,
murder, robbery and theft.
- CNN report,
The owners of land at Ballito which
has been the target of an EFF “land grab” since the weekend have
accused the party of using this exercise to “gain publicity”
through setting up of Facebook pages
and hiring of a professional photographer to document the event. On Tuesday Greenlands Farm Pty Ltd secured an
urgent interim interdict against the party and its leadership, barring them
from setting foot on the land or erecting any structures on it. The EFF has
until May 7 to oppose the order’s being made final although provincial
spokesman Tobias Mthiyane - who attended the hearing in the Durban High Court
carrying the trademark EFF red overall in his hand - indicated that the party
might be back in court sooner than that, asking for its own order to stop the
company from proceeding with any development there. In an affidavit which came
before Judge Fikile Mokgohloa on Tuesday, company representative Ian Deetlefts
said it was about to embark on a commercial development of the property,
adjacent to the N2 just before the Ballito turn-off. He said the land invasion
began on Sunday when people moved onto the land and began digging holes,
assumed to be for fences or other supports to prop up makeshift structures. He
spoke to Mthiyane, who said “the government was not giving these people
land so they were taking it for themselves”. “I asked him directly:
‘How do you resolve this issue?’ His response was: ‘Get an
interdict and we will vacate.’” The following day he returned to
the property and the police were present. A structure had now been erected,
poles had been inserted into the ground and grass had been cleared. A crowd of
about 100 people had gathered about 1km [1100 yards] away. They confirmed they
were on their way to occupy the land and “set up business” there to
sell items to others in occupation. Again, the leaders said they would desist
only by court order. Deetlefts said in the meantime two Facebook sites were already “live”, one called
“Ground Zero - EFF Land Grab” and another “EFF Land Grab
Ballito”. The latter had almost 1,000 “likes” by Monday
afternoon. He said it seemed the EFF leadership was encouraging the invasion
and suggesting it had the right to do so. “It is clear the EFF is using
this to gain publicity. It would appear that a professional photographer was
engaged to take a photograph of the shack on the property,” he said.
“This must have been arranged in advance with the object of gaining
publicity and causing a media sensation.” After the judge explained that
she was granting the interim order and the EFF “must stop doing what it
is doing”, Mthiyane asked if the company was entitled to do what it
wanted with the land. Judge Makgohloa said the company had put up proof that it
owned the land and the party must put up opposing papers if it could prove
otherwise.
- The [Natal] Mercury,
The families of two men turned away
by nurses at Addington Hospital because no doctor was on duty are demanding
answers after the two died of the injuries they sustained in a horrific car
crash in Durban’s city centre. Marius Hayward, 31, and Nico Nel, 27,
clung to life after the crash early last Sunday morning as ambulance paramedics
treating them were turned away from Addington. Told by casualty staff there was
no doctor on duty, frantic paramedics had to take the injured men to other
hospitals, one of which is more than a 30-minute drive from the scene. Both
men, who had been violently flung from a bakkie, died shortly after they were
wheeled through the hospital doors. Medics maintain that had they not been
turned away from Addington, a four-minute drive from where the accident
occurred, the men would have survived. A medic who treated Hayward and asked
not to be named said Hayward had needed urgent hospital treatment. “I
found him on the road next to what was left of the bakkie. He had severe chest
trauma and other injuries. We were told by the casualty department at Addington
Hospital that there was no doctor on duty, they could not accept the patients
and we needed to go somewhere else. The only place we could find to take
Hayward was R K Khan in Chatsworth, which is half an hour away,” he said.
“He was hanging on by a thread. His chest injuries needed treatment that
can be administered only in a hospital. He died shortly after we arrived in
Chatsworth. I am sure that had a doctor attended to him at Addington, his
chances of survival would have improved dramatically.” Rescuecare
paramedic Garrith Jamieson said he was one of the first at the scene and had
treated Nel. “A bakkie had collided with a truck and the driver and
passenger had been thrown from the wreckage. I started treating my patient, who
was in a critical condition. He had severe head and chest trauma and was
fighting for his life. When I heard Addington was turning us away, I called
King Edward VIII Hospital and, after much pleading, I got them to accept my
patient, even though the accident happened outside their area. He died an hour
after we arrived at the casualty unit,” he said. “This incident is
just one of many. In the past month they have turned away dozens of patients.
We need to draw the line somewhere.” Nel’s sister, Anel Meyer,
speaking from her Pretoria home, was outraged that her dying brother was turned
away. “It makes me so angry that I feel physically ill. He might have
lived had the hospital not sent them away,” she said. Nel, a
self-employed handyman, had been living in Pennington on the South Coast.
“He was so ambitious and things were starting to go his way with his
business, and he was so happy. I will always remember his smile and how, just
by being in a room, he would lift everyone around him. He was very
caring,” said Meyer. Hayward’s brother, Colin, said that if he had
the means he would sue the state. “This is the worst thing that could
happen, that in my brother’s time of need he was turned away. It is just
unacceptable. If I could, I would sue the state, not for me, but for my
brother’s two daughters who are now going to grow up without a
father,” he said. He added that Hayward was a devoted father to Milandi
and Chade, aged eight years and eight months respectively. “If he had his
way he would spend his days with his children. He loved them dearly. He was a
wonderful man. My brother was the kind of person who would tell stories and
make us laugh. He would spend hours doing that,” he said. The head of the
Health Department, Dr Sibongile Zungu, said an inquiry had been launched into
the incident. “These allegations are being dealt with at the highest
level. A full investigation is under way. It is not common practice to have no
doctor on duty at a hospital. There would have been several in the
hospital,” she said. “Even if there was no doctor in the casualty
unit, the nurses know they must accept the patients and then go through the
on-call doctor list and raise the alarm. Those patients should never have been turned
away,” she added. Addington Hospital, fraught with staff shortages, faces
closure as the provincial health department scrambles to renovate the limping
health facility. In January, theatres and wards were shut after airconditioning
units stopped working, forcing a mass transfer of several hundred patients to
other hospitals. In July, provincial health portfolio committee members visited
the hospital and expressed shock at what they found. The hospital has a
chequered history of turning away the sick and injured. In 2010, Mohamed Khan
died in the waiting room at the hospital’s polyclinic. He was turned away
at the emergency room by security guards, despite a referral letter from his
doctor. In 2006, nursing staff berated paramedics and turned away seven badly
injured accident victims.
- Independent On-Line,
Shaun Veldsman, who was scheduled
to be the television match official at Ireland’s RBS Six Nations match against England in Dublin on Sunday, is to
miss the game after being stabbed during an assault in South Africa. Veldsman,
who is on the South African Rugby Union’s TMO panel, is recovering in
hospital after being attacked following the Super Rugby match between the
Stormers and the Blues in Cape Town on Saturday. He was stabbed in the lung
during the assault while travelling in his car in an apparent car-jacking
incident. Veldsman was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Stellenbosch
Medi Clinic, where he was said to be in a stable condition but later declared
unfit to travel this week. The incident was reported by the South African site
Netwerk24 to have taken place at about 9pm, following the Stormers’
victory in which Veldsman had acted as TMO. Veldsman’s mobile phone was
stolen in the assault but he escaped from the vehicle and was helped on the
side of the road.
- Daily Telegraph, February 24, 2015