HAMMANSKRAAL I WITH THE COMMUNITY
Taxi owners keep passengers safe
27 JUNE 2019, 26 Volume 09, 23Week May 2017, Week 21
Ga-rankuwa residents and taxi commuters have hailed their taxi owners who initiated a campaign to keep commuters safe following an increase in robberies of their taxis. Last month alone, six Ga-Rankuwa taxis drivers and commuters were robbed by criminals at gunpoint after they pretended to be commuters. The modus operandi of the thieves, who usually work in pairs, was that they would ask to disembark from the taxi along the way, and as one points a firearm at the driver the
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other accomplice then searches the commuters. Taxi owner, Jafta Selebi, said the criminals took the taxi fare, while the partner robbed commuters of their cellphones, money and other belongings. “By the time the driver contacts one of the marshals for help, the criminals are long gone. We had to start taking a stand as they are jeopardising our commuters’ safety.” Selebi said however it wasn’t only the Ga-Rankuwa taxis that were being targeted, criminals had also
attacked taxis from Hammanskraal, Mabopane and Soshanguve. “In other areas there have been as many as eight attacks and more because they took action late. So we decided to put a stop to this early, plus we explain to the commuters that we need their co-operation for everyone to get home safely.” The taxi owners dress in reflector jackets and gather along the road, and once the taxi stops they ask male commuters to get out of the taxi for a quick body search, along with their bags. Even though body searches are
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not conducted on the women the owners use a scanner to search their bags. Matome Mmatau, who is another owner, said they braced the freezing weather until 11pm, when the last of their taxis finished up. “We can’t just stop and leave at 8pm or 9pm because the taxis coming late are also at risk. So if we leave we’ll only be called later by a taxi driver who was attacked and we can’t put our peoples’ lives at risk.” Speaking to commuter Karabo Kolani during “stop and search”, she said she was happy the taxi owners were taking a stand to keep everyone safe as they were also tired of being scared to travel after dark. Commuter Gideon Mothapisi said: “This thing had to be stopped because there are people who were hurt by these criminals in the other robberies, so we don’t mind a few minutes of cold and inconvenience to ensure we get home safely. “Even though it’s very cold it’s better this way than for us to risk getting hurt or even killed by these criminals.” Many of the commuters said they were confident that the attacks would soon be a thing of the past, as long as the owners kept up the momentum. The owners said they would continue for as long as was needed.
Malema slams court over order to pay Manuel R500k
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says he’s not concerned about losing court cases but wants land to be expropriated without compensation.
Malema was referring to his party’s latest court defeat: they were not granted leave to appeal a judgment ordering the party to pay former finance minister Trevor Manuel
R500 000 in defamation charges. He was addressing supporters outside the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday following a brief appearance. “R500 000 is nothing. We can pay it tomorrow. We are not concerned about money. We are prepared to lose life for the return of our land.” The EFF leader was in court on charges of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 for encouraging EFF members to illegally occupy vacant land. Malema made these comments at the party’s elective conference in Bloemfontein back in 2014. The case was postponed to 8 November 2019. He added that his party will fight those it believes are advancing what he calls “White establishment” in South Africa. During President Cyril Ramaphosa State of The Nation Address he says the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture
report is ready to be presented to Parliament for consideration and over the medium term budget period, R3.9 billion has been allocated to the Land Bank to support black commercial farmers. The National Assembly last year adopted the constitutional review committee’s report recommending the amendment to the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation. However many experts noted that the amendment was not necessary in order to do so. 209 MPs voted in favour of the report, with 91 voting against it. In December 2018 the National Assembly resolved to establish an ad hoc committee to initiate and introduce the amended legislation. The ad hoc committee didn’t conclude its work before the May 2019 elections and recommended that the sixth parliament will finalise the process.
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Traffic cops robbed at gunpoint after pulling over speeding car
The search is on for the suspects who robbed two traffic officers outside Groblersdal on Friday, 21 June. The traffic officers pulled over a grey VW Polo TSI without number plates at a roadblock after the car had been speeding, according to SowetanLIVE. Three people got out of the car while a written notice was issued to the driver. Two of them had rifles and a third person
was armed with a pistol. The officers were robbed of their phones, a firearm and some equipment. JacarandaFM reports that Moatshe Ngoepe, police spokesperson, stated that a multi- disciplinary task team has been assigned to tracking down the 5 suspects who were in the car. “The suspects are unknown and no arrest has been made. The investigation is continuing.”
Jacob Zuma says he will appear before the state capture inquiry in July Jacob Zuma has finally agreed to make himself available to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. This comes after the Zondo Commission gave the former president a deadline last week to confirm his attendance, with dates scheduled for July 15 to 19. Taxi Times reported earlier that the commission had denied Zuma’s request to be furnished with the questions the inquiry intends to ask ahead of his appearance. TimesLIVE reports that the commission
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had said it had waited more than six weeks for the former president to agree, in writing, that he would appear before them. Zuma has been implicated by several high-ranking officials, as well as former BOSASA COO Angelo Agrizzi, who claimed that the president had benefited from an illicit relationship with the company. The former president will now be given a chance to ‘give his side of the story’ in response to the evidence put forward by these witnesses.
I overheard a group of people debating about something and I thought it might be worth debating about. WHY DO INLWAS AND MAKOTI never seem to get along? Who is at fault here? I am sure that most of the SA population will agree with me when I say that as soon as UBHUTI ties the knot things change. What may be the reason behind this? Is it because that BHUTI is now focusing on this new lady and no longer buying things as he used to? What really causes this conflict that seems to tear families apart? Is this the case with wealthy families or is this only an issue with poor families? But even the bible says, “and a man will marry and leave his mother and father to be with his wife...” If this is the case, why do we always expect so much from our siblings? And why do we blame the MAKOTI when BHUTI no longer gives us money? Have we considered that BHUTI has other things that he spends money on that He did not have before he got married? Have we considered that now that he has his own place, there are bills, groceries and all sort of expenses to pay (WHICH WOULD BE YOUR POCKET MONEY HAD HE NOT BEEN MARRIED)? Are we just being nasty to uMAKOTI and SELFISH or they (MAKOTI) are also to blame? Talk to me people because this is a serious issue that tears our families apart. WhatsApp me at 061 815 9156
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27 JUNE 2019
Bafana Bafana stumble into AFCON 2019
Bafana Bafana made a losing start to their AFCON 2019 campaign when they fell 1-0 to Ivory Coast in blazing Al Salam Stadium, Cairo on Monday, 24 June. A breakaway goal by Jonathan Kadjia in the 63rd minute, was the difference between the two well matched teams. That makes Friday’s match against Namibia a must win, something coach Stuart Baxter admitted to The match started at a tepid pace due to stifling heat but it was the West Africans who came close in the first half when Pepe’s 31st minute strike hit the cross bar.From the follow up, outstanding Ronwen Williams made a world class
save in a one on one situation to deny Ivory Coast the opener. There was little to shout about from both sides in the first half although captain Thulani Hlatshwayo had a good header from a corner going tantalisingly wide. The tempo of the second half was almost similar to the first half but it was Ivory Coast who scored from a breakaway play that stretched the Bafana Bafana backline and left Williams stranded. Ivory Coast sat back and relied more on counter attacks after the goal, something that frustrated South Africa. The defeat makes the derby against Namibia a must win and Baxter said they would go for it.
Nike calls for acceptance in Caster Semenya film Nike has launched a video starring Caster Semenya that calls for acceptance and echoes its recent films featuring Raheem Sterling, Colin Kaepernick and Serena Williams. The Olympic 800m champion recently won a legal battle with the athletics governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, after it had banned the middle-distance runner unless she took hormonesuppressant medicine to control her testosterone levels. Semenya has naturally elevated testosterone levels as a result of a condition known as hyperandrogenism and had lost a landmark legal case against the IAAF, something that she successfully appealed in the Swiss supreme court. Nike’s film promotes Athlete in Progress, a women’s apparel collection by Off-White designer Virgil Abloh that debuted in September 2018 in Paris.
It follows Semenya running through the streets of Johannesburg in her native South Africa, talking about inspiring progress on and off the track. The theme centres on respect, love and acceptance. Semenya closes with the powerful words: “I have learned to appreciate people for who they are, but first it comes with me appreciating myself and loving myself.” She has accused the IAAF of using her body “as a human guinea pig experiment” and has received support from the South African government and several global sports bodies, including the International Working Group on Women & Sport, WomenSport International and International Association of Physical Education for Girls and Women. However, not everyone has stuck in her corner. British distance-running legend Paula Radcliffe has been a vocal supporter of the IAAF’s position, while noting it was unfair on Semenya