Western Cape leads in cop killings

 

• 14 Jun 2016
• Cape Times
• Dominic Adriaanse

THE Western Cape has suffered the most attacks on police officers of all provinces.

Picture: CINDY WAXA

DEATH SCENE: A police officer was shot dead last night at a garage in Delft while investigating a robbery.

This is what national police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi, said yesterday after constable Mthetho Sandla, 35, was shot dead and his partner wounded when they responded to a business robbery in Delft early yesterday.

A total of 714 police officers have come under attack nationally – 276 in the Western Cape alone, Mulaudzi said.

About 38 police officers have been killed this year.

“As of the turn of the year, 276 police officers in total have been attacked within the province.

“The Western Cape has the most attacks on police officers of all provinces” said Mulaudzi.

Hawks spokesperson, Lloyd Ramovha, confirmed police officers responded to a robbery in progress at a garage in Delft Main Road early yesterday.

“The officers came on the scene and were ambushed by two AK-47 wielding suspects who shot at them indiscriminately before fleeing,” said Ramovha.

Three balaclava-clad accomplices emerged from the store, joined the shooters as they fled and left explosives behind, Ramovha said,

“This points at a failed ATM bombing attempt.

“A 35-year-old constable succumbed to his injuries on the scene while a warrant officer is receiving treatment at a hospital.

“No arrests have been made,” he said.

Yesterday’s incident followed last month’s killing of constable Luntu Nkabi in what his family believed was a “planned and well orchestrated” attack.

Other recent attacks on police officers included Lindekile Skade, who was shot and killed outside From page 1 his Lower Crossroads house and his official gun taken, a 32year-old constable, stationed at Mitchells Plain shot and wounded while sitting in a vehicle in Nyanga, and a 42year-old warrant officer, stationed at Milnerton, shot and wounded while responding to a business robbery in Joe Slovo, Milnerton.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato condemned yesterday’s attack.

“This murder in cold blood is an attack on the police and an attack on the communities our officers work to keep safe,” said Plato.

His department offered a R50 000 reward for information resulting in an arrest and successful conviction.

YENGENI 'DIDN'T ENDANGER ANYONE’S LIFE' ON NIGHT OF ARREST

The ANC NEC member is back on the witness stand for the resumption of his trial in Cape Town.

FILE: Tony Yengeni leaves the Cape Town Magistrates Court after his drunk driving trial resumed on Friday, 11 December 2015. Picture: Xolani Koyana/EWN.

Xolani Koyana |

CAPE TOWN – African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) member Tony Yengeni has told the court he did not endanger anyone’s life on the night he was arrested for alleged drunk driving.
Yengeni is back on the witness stand for the resumption of his trial in the Cape Town Magistrates Court today.
The state claims the politician was three times beyond the legal limit, but he says he only had three sips of traditional beer hours before his arrest. 

Under cross examination by Prosecutor Leon Snyman, Yengeni has denied that he was driving recklessly on the night he was arrested.

Yengeni says the impression being created is that he was endangering the lives of other motorists.

But that is not the case, he argued.
He told the court the notion that he was driving while drunk is a figment of someone’s imagination.
Snyman showed the court CCTV footage of the night Yengeni was arrested, in which he alleges the politician’s vehicle made several illegal moves.
He says Yengeni had previously told the court he did not change lanes but the video shows otherwise.

(Edited by Leeto M Khoza)

City’s Informant Reward System pays off

CITY OF CAPE TOWN

7 JUNE 2016

MEDIA RELEASE

City’s Informant Reward System pays off

The return on investment has been huge since the launch of the City’s initiative to reward informants which sees members of the public paid a small cash amount in exchange for blowing the whistle on crime. Read more below:

The City of Cape Town has made dozens of arrests and recovered stolen goods and contraband worth millions of rands, courtesy of its Informant Reward System.

The City’s Safety and Security Directorate formulated the Informant Reward Policy in 2013. It makes provision for payment of up to R1 000 for information that will lead to an arrest or the successful confiscation or recovery of stolen goods or contraband.

Since the initiative was launched in October 2013, 34 payments have been made to informants, totalling R33 500. In return, the City has made 51 arrests:

Charge

Number of arrests

Theft

21

Dealing in drugs

12

Murder

6

Kidnapping/human trafficking

6

Illegal possession of firearms

5

Attempted murder

1

Total

51

In addition to the arrests, staff have also recovered the following:

· Drugs with a street value of more than R485 000

· Abalone valued at R5 million

· Four firearms, including an R4 assault rifle

· Copper cable and other metals valued in excess of R500 000

‘The return on investment is a no-brainer and if ever there was doubt about the success of the reward policy, these operational outcomes surely put those doubts to bed,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

Applications for the payment of a reward can only be submitted by the member of the Safety and Security Directorate who received the information that led to the arrest(s) or recovery of stolen goods. They have to provide proof of the informant’s involvement to a special committee which considers each application. The system is not open to people under the age of 18 or City of Cape Town employees.

‘The information is handled very sensitively because we don’t want to compromise the safety of the informants. Some people are critical of such payment reward schemes, but the benefits of stopping crimes of this nature completely outweigh the small cost of paying informants. Our enforcement staff cannot be everywhere all of the time. We need extra eyes and ears on the ground that can provide good intelligence to help us rid the streets of criminals,’ added Alderman Smith.

End

Month reprieve for Athlone driving schools

CAPETIMES 

2016-06-03

By: Siyavuya Mzantsi

Cape Town - The driving school operators facing a ban from running their businesses at the Athlone Stadium parking area have been given a one-month reprieve.

This comes after a group of frustrated driving operators met City of Cape Town officials and Athlone Stadium management to discuss the reasons behind the ban. An agreement was reached to extend their operations, and allow business owners time to formalise themselves and establish a representative body.

The City had announced in April that driving schools would no longer utilise the parking area from June 1.

This was because there had been numerous incidences in which private property was dammed through accidents in the vicinity of the stadium, along with damage to the facility’s fencing and gates, according to Athlone ward councillor Suzette Little.

Driving schools were asked to use the busy Klipfontein Road for driving lessons as an alternative.

Driving instructor Lloyd Castle said the body will engage the stadium management to establish a formal agreement. “Trucks are a huge issue. Conditions have been specified to even allow trucks to stay until we formalise ourselves and it is in the interest of truck owners to be aware of those conditions,” said Castle.

Officials were adamant that no trucks would be allowed in this area at all, but later agreed to a concession until July 1.

“A memorandum of agreement can then be signed to take us forward and engage the City on the lease and/or management of the parking areas.

“It has been agreed that there needs to be a follow up meeting before 1 July. So for now we operate.”

Little had said residents were extremely concerned about safety in general, more especially the safety of their children.

The trucks were causing weight-bearing problems to the surface of the stadium’s parking area.

However, Little could not provide the number of complaints received from residents.

She said the fencing would be erected from July 2016.

“There will be a further meeting with the management structure to discuss tariffs, public liability, etc,” she said.

Cape Times

MORE THAN 4,500 PEOPLE KILLED ON SA ROADS IN 2014/2015

Latest figures show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities involved adults and males between of 19 and 34.

FILE: Latest figures show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities involved adults and males between of 19 and 34. Picture: ER24.

JOHANNESBURG – Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says harsher laws must be put in place if government wants to deal adequately with drunk driving and speeding on the country’s roads.
Latest figures released by the department on Friday show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities in the past year involved adults and males between the ages of 19 and 34.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) report said more than 4,500 people died on South African roads.
The minister says light passenger vehicles contributed the highest number of fatal crashes in the 2014/15 financial year, with the figure at 47 percent of all road deaths.
Minibus taxis were responsible for seven percent of road deaths.
Peters says traffic officials will increase their visibility at crash hot-spots, including the N1 between Pretoria, Polokwane and the Beitbridge border post, as well as the N2 between Somerset West and Cape Town.
“There should be periodic integrated operations focused on checking the road worthiness with fines of more than R50,000 imposed on impounded heavy vehicles and R15,000 for light vehicles. It is important that we give stiffer penalties.”

The department says drunk driving remains one of the main contributing factors to crashes.

Peters says serious action needs to be taken.

“New inexperienced drivers between the ages of 25 and 34 years of age were most likely to die on the roads. Women were most likely to die on the roads as passengers, especially in public transport vehicles, while children will be affected as passengers and pedestrians.”

The latest national road traffic data shows most fatal crashes in South Africa involve young men in light vehicles, and occur over the weekends.

Most crashes between 2014 and 2015 were recorded in Gauteng, the Western Cape and in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Meanwhile, RTMC says law makers are considering lowering the blood-alcohol limit to 0,02 grams per 100 millilitres.

It also says it’s looking at imposing a minimum two-year jail sentence for drunk driving.
The current limit is 0,05 grams per 100 millilitres, but if government has its way, it could decrease all the way to zero.

The corporation’s head Makhosini Msibi says a committee is reviewing legislation, with the aim of imposing harsher penalties

“[In] particular, schedule three offences that relate to the traffic offences, to be reclassified to schedule five. Key to it is also the minimum penalty that we are considering that people have commit, [like] driving under the influence of liquor, to a minimum sentence of two years.”

Four years after a Western Cape court ruled that the Dräger Breathalyser test be suspended, authorities are now promising to reintroduce the equipment with better laws in place by November.

In 2011 an alleged drunk driver was acquitted in a landmark test case.
This resulted in court cases across the country being withdrawn, where evidence was obtained using the Dräger test.

The transport minister says final arrangements are now under way to make sure it can be used to conduct on-the-spot tests, on motorists suspected to be driving under the influence.
(Edited by Leeto M Khoza)

‘AUTHORITIES MUST DECISIVELY DEAL WITH DRUNK DRIVING’

Peters says government is in the process of finalising the re-introduction of the draeger breathalyser test.

FILE: Transport Minister Dipuo Peters. Picture: EWN

JOHANNESBURG - Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says authorities must deal decisively with drunk driving as a committee meets to discuss the option of imposing a minimum two year jail sentence for motorists caught driving under the influence.

Lawmakers are currently considering lowering the blood-alcohol limitto 0,02 gramms per 100 milliliters instead of the current 0,05 gramms per 100 milliliters.

Peters says government is in the process of finalising the re-introduction of the draeger breathalyser test.

“The Cabinet of the Republic of South Africa led by President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday discussed the challenges that are related to drunk and driving and those who drive under some substances or drugs that alter their ability to concentrate on the roads.”

Meanwhile, The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has released its annual report for the year 2014 to 2015, showing thatmore than 4,500 people died on South African roads.

(Edited by Winnie Theletsane)

City traffic chief’s unlicensed ride

9 Sep 2015 Cape Argus

Siyabonga Kalipa STAFF REPORTER kalipa.siyabonga@inl.co.za

City traffic chief’s unlicensed ride

Cape Argus enquiry galvanises officials to launch probe

A SENIOR traffic chief in the City of Cape Town is facing disciplinary action for allegedly driving an unlicensed car – a car he parked at the traffic department in full view of his colleagues. Paul Oliver, the traffic chief for the city’s west region, has been seen driving a blue Mercedes-Benz C-Class to and from work, despite the vehicle’s licence having expired on February 28.

PICTURE: HENK KRUGEREXPIRED: The Mercedes-Benz parked inside the pits at Gallows Hill testing centre. Inset: Paul Oliver and the licence disc.

Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Cape Argus staked out the Gallows Hill traffic department last week, and spotted the unlicensed vehicle, with the expired disc still attached to the windscreen, parked in the staff parking bay at the back of the building.

The city’s executive director of Safety and Security, Richard Bosman, confirmed that the city was probing the matter and that the manager was found to be driving a car without a valid licence. The city initiated action against Oliver after the Cape Argus made enquiries about the allegations.

The ownership of the vehicle has also come into question after a source in the traffic department claimed that it was not registered in the name of Oliver or his wife.

“It appears the car is not his but belongs to someone else. The reason a licence could not be taken out on the vehicle is apparently because there was an admin mark on it – which means there are outstanding warrants under the rightful owner’s name,” another official said.

Traffic officers at Gallows Hill confirmed that Oliver had been driving the vehicle well after the licence’s expiry date.

Bosman said the vehicle’s licence had expired.

“As per normal a fine was issued to the person in question on September 4, 2015 to the value of R500. The city takes the allegations very seriously and further investigation is under way. The outcome will determine further action, including disciplinary procedure if necessary,” he said.

Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the traffic department issued a fine as soon as the matter was reported and was also initiating disciplinary proceedings.

“We have an excellent track record with discipline and this case is no exception. We acted as soon as we were made aware of the situation. Oliver should set an example as someone responsible for upholding the law.”

Oliver oversees traffic operations in the city’s area west, which includes Sea Point, Camps Bay, Clifton, Hout Bay and Fish Hoek.

The Cape Argus can also reveal that Oliver had previously been accused of using city vehicles to get to and from work when in fact he was being paid a fixed car allowance in terms of which he had to provide his own transport to get to work and back home.

Bosman confirmed that in that case Oliver “pleaded guilty and paid back the money”.

He added that Oliver had informed him that he had returned the car to its owner and would be reimbursed for the private sale.

According to traffic officers, they were asked to pick Oliver up at home and drop him at work using city vehicles.

Oliver referred requests for comment to the City of Cape Town.