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Bhisho turned into bleak town

By Barbara Hollands

AS A light breeze swirls garbage around the austere buildings of central Bhisho, meandering goats rifle through uncollected rubbish piled up in the square surrounded by the imposing Tyamzashe Building that houses the provincial treasury, housing, public works and other state departments responsible for running the province.
In an untended flower bed outside the treasury offices and just metres from the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) building, a tap runs endlessly. Amateur plumbing attempts involving a rock and rope have failed to stem the flow of precious water. A nearby fruit hawker says the tap has been leaking for more than a month.
Grey, built-up, soulless and suffering from serious neglect, the bleak town, founded in the 1970s as the capital of the former Ciskei homeland, can hardly be compared to South Africa’s other provincial capitals.
When Weekend Post visited Bhisho this week, angry locals – some of whom are employed by the province – voiced their disgust about the state of the administrative capital.
“This is said to be the capital, but there is not even a shopping complex here because Pick n Pay and OK closed down years ago and the buildings are now rented by government departments. Business-wise there is nothing here,” said a health department clerk who asked not to be named.
He accused BCM of not cutting grass in front of his house and of failing to warn residents of frequent power outages in the residential areas around the town.
Health department general assistant Thami Mpolongwana said Bhisho was “doomed”.
“It used to look like a capital during the times of Lennox Sebe and Oupa Gqozo. It was marvellous, superb. People had jobs so there were no people loitering and it was clean. There were nice trees and flowers, but now it is doomed,”  Mpolongwana said.
“Only one in five streetlights works, there is nowhere to park, the pavements are crumbling and there is nowhere to shop, so we have to go to King William’s Town.”
Bhisho-born Xolisani Ncamiso, 26, complained of a lack of job opportunities in the town.
“There are no jobs for young people here, so I am unemployed.”
Dimbaza resident Eric Nkwali, who like scores of others was in Bhisho this week to queue at the SARS caravan, described Bhisho as “a dirty capital”.
“You can see the rubbish everywhere. It is not right.”

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Judge blows whistle on referee spat

By Shaun Gillham

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Equality Court has had to blow full time  on a bitter spat between two Port Elizabeth rugby referees  by red-carding a former provincial and international referee for apparently  attempting to sideline his opposition.
Last week the court warned Frans Muller, who has served as an official at the Rugby World Cup, about allegedly harassing fellow referee Trevor Ryan by spreading malicious slander both  “verbally and in written formats” to various individuals, schools, institutions and clubs in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“You have also influenced some institutions outside of your jurisdiction not to appoint the complainant to officiate in sports events,” the presiding judge said.
Muller, who represents the Eastern Province Rugby Referees’ Society (EPRRS) and refereed three test matches and officiated at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, was also warned to refrain from such activities – the non-compliance of which would lead to the issue being forwarded to a magistrate of a formal enquiry.   
Ryan, a lower league referee  and contract lecturer at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan University, has been embroiled in the long-running dispute with both Muller and other members of the EPRRS since 2008 and has brought the spat into the public domain through letters published in the media, including the Weekend Post.
At the core of the acrimony are allegations of dishonesty, nepotism and a form of favouritism which Ryan leveled at EPRRS during 2008.
His refereeing abilities were also subsequently called into question in various media by both rugby pundits and parents. 
When contacted this week, Muller told Weekend Post he wanted nothing to do with Ryan and preferred not to comment on the issue, especially since he did not want to address the problem in the public domain.
However, Muller, who pointed out that Ryan was not a member of EPRRS, made it clear that the breach of peace judgment was not the end of the issue as it was being dealt with by lawyers representing the Eastern Province Rugby Union.
But Ryan  insisted that he had been victimised.
In an earlier  letter to the Weekend Post, Ryan said: “Just to let everybody know that Frans Muller, chairman of the EP Rugby Union Referees’ Society, has been served with a breach of peace court order from the magistrate of the equality court, ordering him to withdraw all his malicious, slanderous and injurious statements that he made about me to each and every rugby-playing school and club in the Eastern Cape, where he instructed/intimidated them to not appoint me to officiate in lower league events which are not even part of his jurisdiction, and to refrain from such actions in future.”
Ryan went on to point out that Muller had not signed acceptance of the court interdict but that it was still legally binding.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Passengers steamed about service

By Lynne Gadd-Claxton

NELSON Mandela Bay residents who commute between Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth by train every day say the Metrorail service has reached an all-time low and they are being treated “like animals”, with little being done to upgrade rusted carriages or ensure their safety.
The commuters’ concerns about service delivery, safety and general maintenance have come in the wake of an announcement by the  Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) – the state-owned operator of Metrorail – earlier this year that the R124-billion existing fleet would be supplemented with more than 7 000 new coaches in the next 20 years.
But Uitenhage resident Tandiray van Breda, who has been taking  the train for 12 years,  said she had seen no evidence that Metrorail was doing anything to remedy the current situation in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The carriages are rusty and as soon as it rains they become wet with only a few spots left where I do not get rained on. Doors between the carriages do not close properly. Lighting is poor. Onsome days commuters travel in total darkness,” Van Breda said.
Another commuter, who asked not to be named, claimed the morning rush for the train had left her with an injured arm  after a Prasa employee pushed her and she fell.
She subsequently lodged a complaint against Prasa.
The commuter said she was frustrated by the way Metrorail security treated passengers.
“I will not stand for the way they treat me and everyone else who takes the train. It is unacceptable. How can you treat people like animals?”
Metrorail Eastern Cape spokeswoman Mimi Katsio said the company wanted customers to feel free to voice their concerns. “We view this complaint seriously, as we respect our commuters,” Katsio said.
Prasa required staff to wear name tags making them identifiable, she said.
“The region has introduced a customer care department dedicated to dealing with customer complaints … Furthermore, we have a structure called United Commuter Voices which engages with commuters.”
Prasa chief executive Lucky Montana said R14.5-billion would be spent on the construction of depots for maintenance of new coaches and the upgrading infrastructure. An additional R25.9-billion would be allocated to  improving and servicing the highest-density stations.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Shock metro housing plan

By Patrick Cull

A TASK team led by Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile  is  considering buying or even expropriating the popular Walmer Country Club to expand the city’s congested Walmer township – scene of several recent violent service delivery protests.
The task team  has also set its sights on a multimillion-rand property in the industrial area in Airport Valley near the airport owned by Irish property mogul Ken Denton, as well as environmentally-sensitive land in  Madiba Bay which encompasses the Driftsands and Cape Recife-Sardinia  Bay  coast.
However the shock Walmer Service Delivery Intervention Plan – a copy of which was leaked to Weekend Post – drawn up after a meeting with the community last month, points out that there has been “no interaction between the municipality and the property owner” [Walmer Country Club], a fact  confirmed by club president Mark Anschutz yesterday.
However, should negotiations occur and subsequently fail, the municipality could look into the possibility of land expropriation, the plan states. It also notes that no provision has been made in the budget for the acquisition of the land, and that a “preliminary minimum estimate” of four to six years is likely before any development can start.
The proposal outlines a number of short and longer term interventions geared at addressing challenges within the Walmer township community that exploded into violent protests in the past few months.
Councillors who met with residents reported that the community had vehemently rejected a densified layout in the township, with the  human settlements committee saying  it was “left with no option but to consider various portions of private land in Walmer”.
Although Walmer ANC councillor  Nomajama Benya  was not aware of what was contained in the document, she confirmed that the residents of  the formal and informal sections of the township had requested the municipality to relocate them.
“There are six informal areas in Walmer township. Even though not all Walmer township residents will be relocated, about 6 000 will have to be relocated,” she said.
“There is the possibility that property rates in nearby areas can drop. However it is very, very necessary for the residents to be relocated. With the heavy rains the residents in the informal settlements always struggle.”
In respect of the Walmer Country Club, the plan moots  “a continuous corridor” of high density residential development along the western side of Victoria Drive, “stretching from  Walmer Links to Glendore Road”.
The valuation of the golf club is R34.9-million but it was “likely that a valuation of this property will be in the region of R50- to R100-million”, the document says.
However, it  goes on to say that   “should the negotiation route not be favoured, an expropriation can be considered”.
The document also warns that the development of the property “may attract opposition” which could result in delays in both the rezoning and sub-division, as well as the EIA processes and any appeals that may result.
In the interim, the municipality is moving ahead with accessing funds for the rectification of properties in Walmer township and has outlined a detailed plan of interventions aimed at addressing the issues raised by the community, although there are obstacles such as the refusal of the airport authorities to allow the erection of high mast lights.
Mayor Wayile could not be reached for comment.
Additional reporting by Shaanaaz de Jager

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Hitmen say Hofmeyr mayor hired them

By Barbara Hollands

THE often violent political intrigue that has beset much of South Africa has now reared its ugly head in the Eastern Cape where a town councillor has made astonishing allegations of a sinister plot to kill him by political rivals.
Evan “Boeta” van Heerden,  an independent councillor in the Karoo town of Hofmeyr, near Cradock, said he feared for his life after learning of two foiled plots to kill him.
Van Heerden, 42, who was elected as ward councillor of the town, claimed that two sets of hitmen were hired – allegedly by the town’s ANC mayor and his cronies – to shoot him.
And, adding to the intrigue, a  DA chairman in Hofmeyr  was allegedly number two on the hit list.
The allegations have been strengthened by a recording, which is in Weekend Post’s possession, taped secretly during a meeting with the second hitman, in which a man called “Aubrey” implicates  Mayor Khaya Nqiqi in the murder plot.
Tsolwana Municipality mayor Nqiqi, who was found guilty of assaulting an elderly woman in February, has vehemently denied playing any part in the alleged assassination scheme.
“I don’t do such things. I don’t go to people to ask them to kill others. That is not constitutional,”  Nqiqi said.
Speaking exclusively to Weekend Post, Van Heerden said the first hit was foiled because the two murderers for hire decided the R5 000 deposit on the hit was not enough, while the second potential hitman warned Van Heerden’s wife about the plot.
Van Heerden claimed some ANC officials in the municipality were disgruntled when he was elected as ward councillor in the local government elections in May last year.
He first heard he had been targeted by killers when fellow Hofmeyr resident and DA chairman Vuyisile “Jomo” Blom, 29, was told by two strangers that they had been hired to kill the Hofmeyr councillor for R20 000.
Blom had met the men in order to buy a spare car part from them in Tarkastad.
“When they heard I was from Hofmeyr,  they said they had a job to do  there and when I asked what that was,  they said a group of people gave them a R5 000 deposit to shoot the ANC councillor there. I  knew there was no ANC councillor in Hofmeyr so I asked them to describe the man,” Blom  said.
He said he immediately knew from their description that Van Heerden was the target.   “He is the only big coloured guy who drives a black Navara bakkie in Hofmeyr.”
When Van Heerden  heard of the plot, he set up a meeting with the hitmen in Zola Township in Tarkastad,  which was also attended by Blom.
“I felt protected by God when I went to meet them. They had spent two days watching me, but decided the R5 000 deposit they received was not enough. They told me who hired them and the mayor was one of them.”
Blom was equally rattled when the men told him he was “second on the list”. 
“They said I was to be removed because I give Boeta [political] advice,”  he said.
Van Heerden said shortly after reporting the matter to the police, a man called Aubrey had approached his wife and told her of another alleged attempt to kill him.
Shortly thereafter, he came across Aubrey and thanked him for tipping off his wife.
“He said there was more [to tell] and I gave him a lift to my home and we sat in my kitchen and I secretly taped what he said on my BlackBerry. He said the mayor wanted me out but that he couldn’t kill me because we were involved in soccer together.”
Van Heerden said he then confronted Nqiqi.
“I met him in my office at the Hofmeyr Town Hall and played the recording to him. 
“He told me to report the matter to the police station, which I had already done.”
In denying the alleged plots, Nqiqi said he had “accepted” Van Heerden and worked with him on a daily basis.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Cynthia Nkamba said a charge of conspiracy to murder had been opened at the Hofmeyr police station and  was being investigated.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 7 2012. 

Bay school without water for 14 years

By Lynne Gadd-Claxton

DOZENS of teachers and children have been struck down by serious illnesses at a New Brighton school  which has been without a constant supply of clean running water for the past 14 years.
Nombulelo Sume, principal of the Charles Duna Lower Primary School, said each month about 20 children – some of whom were HIV-positive – were sick with diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea, while two teachers were recently diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis and  four others had contracted a bladder infection, allegedly because of the water situation.
Sume said the school suffered an unusually high absenteeism rate because of the health problems created by the lack of clean water, poor sanitation and inadequate plumbing.
The plight of the school was brought to the attention of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s public health committee, where it was revealed that  the two teachers had been diagnosed with the life-threatening illness (meningococcal meningitis).
The committee’s investigation also revealed that:
* The school had been without a constant water supply for the past 14 years due to a defective underground piping system;
* The underground pipes were  only 15mm in diameter, resulting in inadequate water pressure and no water supply to a second ablution block;
* The school had two ablution blocks about 50 metres away from each other. Bad smells emanated from the facilities with evidence of overflowing toilets in the first ablution block;
* Parents were  fetching water from an adjoining premises with buckets and a wheel-barrow to fill the cisterns.
Sume has obtained a quotation from the municipality to rectify the problem for R72 000, which the school cannot afford.
Following last weekend’s heavy rains in Port Elizabeth, the flaws in the  drainage system were brought to the fore when teachers were forced to send the school’s 998 pupils home at the beginning of the new term on Monday. Sume told Weekend Post this was a common occurrence when it rained.
The flooded school grounds made it impossible for Weekend Post to enter the school’s offices and classrooms and Sume and the few teachers who remained had to wade through calf-deep water in gumboots.
According to Sume, the water collects because there is no drainage system in place, which results in flooded grounds and pupils being sent home. “Many of my pupils are disadvantaged and come to school to be educated, but are told to go home.
“The Education Department expects us to deliver on the curriculum but we are unable to attend to the pupils in these conditions.”
Sume said the damp conditions were not good for children with a compromised immune system and those who were asthmatic.
The public health committee decided the Departments of Health and Education would pursue the matter regarding the provision of an adequate waterpipe system.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 21 2012. 

Hall of fame probe into Hewitt nears end

By Shaun Gillham

WHILE alleged sex abuse victims of former international tennis great Bob Hewitt eagerly await a prosecution decision from South African authorities, the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s investigation moved closer to completion this week after drawing Weekend Post into its vast inquiry.
Attorneys from Boston, Massachusetts-based Allen & Snyder LLP, which was contracted by the Hall of Fame to investigate Hewitt to ascertain whether he will continue to be an inductee, questioned Weekend Post around its extensive investigations into the decades-old saga on July 18.
The organisation’s initial refusal to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct made against Hewitt sparked an official complaint which was laid in Boksburg, Gauteng, by alleged victim Suellen Sheehan.
Sheehan, who along with other alleged victims has maintained a concerted campaign to have Hewitt brought to trial, said she had never been interviewed by South African authorities who were researching the case.
Sheehan is also part of the Hall of Fame inquiry.
According to  Michael Connolly, a partner in the  American legal firm who interviewed Weekend Post, the firm hoped to complete its investigation of the Addo man by the end of  the month. Connolly, who intimated that his firm had experienced difficulties in securing assistance and cooperation from South African authorities, said his primary duty was to present the findings to the Hall of Fame, which would then come to a decision as to Hewitt’s status.
The international probe also comes as the South African  Sports and Arts Hall of Fame (Sasahof) continues to officially recognise Hewitt’s status as an inductee.
While a source close to Sasahof revealed this week that the organisation may reconsider its recognition of Hewitt, a letter sent to another of the alleged victims, Twiggy Tolken, by Sasahof head David King late last year indicated that it would take no action until Hewitt was formally charged and a verdict was delivered.
“The SA Hall of Fame  sets out to honour extraordinary achievements by extraordinary South Africans,” the letter says.
“There are very strict criteria to be inducted and clear criteria to be removed, the major one being bringing your sport into disrepute.
“However, owing to a myriad of politics, sensational journalism, etc we take the approach that we cannot be judge and jury. This just puts us in a situation (not yours specifically but generally) where we will be involved in controversy all the time.”
Sasahof spokesman Ryan McGee, who has since taken over King’s position, said  while the organisation was closely watching developments from the prosecution process, Sasahof would be making a formal statement on the issue next week.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 21 2012. 

‘Dirty cops out to get me’

By Shaun Gillham

A FORMER Nelson Mandela Bay police informer who has fingered three prominent police officers as being linked to a sinister Port Elizabeth human trafficking ring,  is living in fear  after  repeated threats on her life.
The informant, who spoke to Weekend Post on condition of anonymity, was involved in gathering crucial information which led to the city’s biggest human trafficking bust in 2010.
The identities of the three police officers, including a high-ranking officer, are known to Weekend Post. They are understood to currently be  serving at three different policing precincts in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“At various meetings of the human trafficking syndicate I was observing [on behalf of the police] I regularly saw these police officers in attendance,” the informant said.
But while she and other intelligence sources claim the allegations against the allegedly corrupt officers are being “swept under the carpet” by high-placed police officials in Bhisho, Humewood police station commander Brigadier Ronald Koll yesterday acknowledged  an extensive case around the informant was being investigated.
Koll told Weekend Post he had received an affidavit on the matter from Nelson Mandela Bay city councillor Jeremy Davis.
“I can confirm that the matter is receiving attention and that the allegations made in the affidavit are part of an ongoing investigation,” Koll said.
“I can also confirm that certain SAPS members, including a high-ranking officer, are being investigated in connection with this case,” Koll said.
Davis said he first became aware of the latest issues around her work with the police between eight and nine months ago and that a full report had been recently handed to Koll.
“I have sent a file on this matter to Diana Kohler-Barnard who is the DA shadow minister for justice, for her attention. I have also been in touch with the Independent Police Investigation Directorate with respect to this matter,” Davis  said.
The informant, who said she feared for her safety as well as that of family members, was first recruited as an informant during 2005, but apparently fell foul of senior provincial police management about five years later after naming allegedly corrupt police officers in a particular intelligence report.
As a result the informant was diverted to gathering intelligence on other crimes in the Central area of the city.
However, the informant had  already gathered the information which led to the big human trafficking bust in 2010.
The case was struck from the Port Elizabeth New Law Court roll in September.
While the case was ultimately struck off the roll due to lack of evidence, it followed testimony  from a Hawks investigator during an initial bail application, in which he told the court of the “corrupt relationship between certain members of the SAPS using drugs and consuming alcohol” with the suspects at a Central premises.
At her wit’s end the informant approached Weekend Post this week claiming she had asked the police to assist and protect her  but to no avail.
Backed by timelines, specific dates, identities, police case numbers and information such as vehicle types and registration plates, copies of which are in Weekend Post’s possession, the source has claimed that:
* Ongoing threats were being made against her life by specific foreign and armed individuals in Central;
* Foreigners in the area make use of Port Elizabeth’s northern areas gangsters to carry out “dirty work”;
* She has been robbed and then attacked on three separate occasions by a “man associated with the Nigerian group” who may be a member or former member of a notorious South African prison gang;
* She was abducted in Central during October last year and was taken to the Willows Resort area near Noordhoek  where she was severely assaulted by two men claiming to be police officers sent to Port Elizabeth “to protect her”;
* She was held at gunpoint inside the vehicle of the same two men who demanded information; and
* She was currently still being subjected to death threats and intimidation and lives in fear of being killed.
The source said  human trafficking activities had continued while the six men were in detention and remained “rife” in the city.
The informant warned that parents should be aware that a human trafficking syndicate in Port Elizabeth targeted local schools  “where they take photographs of students of all race groups” who  they then discuss and earmark for use in activities associated with human trafficking, including prostitution.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 21 2012. 

Dramatic win at Billabong Pro J-Bay

By Shaun Gillham

Billabong Pro J-Bay winner Adriano de Souza. PHOTGRAPH: MIKE HOLMES

URGED on by a soaked but enthusiastic crowd, ecstatic  Brazilian Adriano de Souza clinched his first Billabong trophy in dramatic fashion during the hotly contested finals of the Billabong Pro J-Bay held in Jeffreys Bay on Friday July 13.
Following excellent conditions earlier in the week, throngs of supporters and contestants braved increasingly heavy rain and onshore winds to witness the final battle in South Africa’s premier surfing event which, in a new format, attracted 144 top local and international surfers to the globally renowned Supertubes surf break.
With just minutes left on the clock, De Souza – who faced Frenchman Joan Duru in a Europe versus South America  final heat battle – injured himself as he smashed his surf board fin on Supertube’s infamously sharp rocks.
He was forced to come out of the water as a friend sprinted down towards the famous surf break with a replacement board, and with the clock racing towards the final siren, gutsy De Souza was forced to pull his considerable skills and determination together to grab the coveted trophy, $25 000 (R200 000) in prize money in his 16 to 13.60 points win.
In an interview with Weekend Post following an exuberant celebration  on the podium, De Souza said anger and determination had seen him through the closely fought final heat.

Adriano de Souza during the final heat of the Billabong Pro J-Bay PHOTOHRAPH: MIKE HOLMES

“I could not believe it. I hit the rocks when I came off the wave. My fin was broken and I was angry about this. Luckily my friend came down with another board, but the clock was ticking. The anger made me get back out there and do my best,” said De Souza, who revealed he had been dreaming of a win at Jeffreys Bay since he first came to the surfing mecca more than 10 years ago.
“Jeffreys Bay is a very special place. The waves are fantastic and I am thrilled about this win,” enthused the short, stocky surfer who is currently ranked among the world’s top 10 competitors.
“I will definitely be back next year. I am looking forward to that already,” he said.
The contest, which also drew a massive national and international media contingent, kicked off on Tuesday in epic off-shore wind conditions with perfect waves of six to eight foot in height.
With forecasts predicting foul weather heading into the weekend, organisers were fortunate to complete the championship before on-shore winds and dropping swells made Supertubes uncontestable.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 14 2012.