Johannesburg – The curators of Julius Malema’s estate will bring a court application on Tuesday to have the former African National Congress Youth League leader declared in contempt of court.

The curators of his estate, Cloete Murray and Aviwe Ndyamara, brought the application in the Pretoria High Court following his  failure to declare his assets.

They were appointed curators at the beginning of March and tasked with ensuring Malema declared all his assets following a court order. Malema agreed to do so, but then did not.

Malema’s lawyer Tumi Mokwena said her client intended opposing the application. If found guilty, he could face a R500 000 fine, a jail term, or a suspended sentence.

On March 19, Malema, facing a R16-million tax bill, had his Limpopo farm, worth approximately R4-million, seized by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.

NPA spokesperson Medupe Simasiku said at  the time the property was allegedly acquired with the proceeds from fraud, corruption, theft, and money-laundering.

The alleged crimes were perpetrated against the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport, Simasiku said.

In January, sheriffs seized Malema’s Sandton and Polokwane homes. The South African Revenue Service rejected a R4-million settlement offer and auctioned Malema’s assets in the Sandton and Polokwane homes in February.

Malema also faces charges of fraud and racketeering related to the irregular awarding of a R52-million tender to On-Point Engineering in Limpopo. – Sapa

A Metrorail guard was filmed assaulting a passenger caught travelling without a ticket in Cape Town, according to a report on Tuesday.

The Cape Argus reported that the footage was shot at Kraaifontein station on Thursday evening and showed a guard striking a passenger numerous times before being called off by his colleagues.

The passenger was stripped of his shirt and hat while allegedly being manhandled by a guard who appeared to be called “Solly”.

The act was captured on an iPad by commuter Shelvine Erasmus, who noticed “a commotion going on at the bottom where patrons have to show their ticket to exit the platform”.

Erasmus told the newspaper that the worst of the beating occurred before he managed to get his iPad out.

“The other Metrorail officers were looking on and not doing a thing until they saw me filming. Only then, the one lady walked over to the guy dishing it out and told him to stop,” Erasmus said.

Cape Metrorail manager Mthuthuzeli Swartz said the use of violence was not condoned and that he had asked the chief of protection services to investigate.

He also encouraged the alleged victim to lay a charge with the police and for witnesses to contact the train company. -Sapa

By Obakeng Maje

Taung-Few houses were left without any electrical cables after criminals helped themselves to some cables meant for those households.

The incident took place in Maphoitsile, Taung after few RDP houses lose their electrical cables to thieves.

According to ward councillor Sunnyboy Phatswana, they have decided to halt the project until they met with ward committe to map way forward.

“Few houses in Bogosing Extension lost its electrical cables after they were stolen.So we decided to halt the project until we meet with the ward committe to come with plan B” Phatswana told Vaaltar FM news.

He said most of the houses where cables are stolen, are empty and urges owners to occupy their houses to avoid more damages.

For more news go to http://www.vaaltar.co.za

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

The R29 million spend by municipalities across the North West Province on consultants to assist them in preparing financial statements for audit is not commensurate with 

 minimal improvement that they have registered during the 2011-2012 financial audits, Premier Thandi Modise observed on Monday.

Although Premier Modise noted that all audits including prior year backlog have been cleared from the briefing on audit outcomes that she received from Liquath Ally, Business Executive of the Auditor General SA, the Premier shared the Auditor General’s concern that municipalities are not taking action against those responsible for poor performance and transgressions.In commenting intervention and support to municipalities by Provincial Treasury and the Department of Local Government & Traditional Affairs that have resulted in 100% submission of financial statements for audit, the Premier added that skills transfer should take place to build capacity within municipalities whenever consultants are employed.

“Municipalities should crack the whip on non-performers because pervasive root causes for poor audit outcomes such as loss of documents and deviations from supply chain management processes are recurrent. It therefore cannot be business as usual. They need to take bold steps to fill critical vacancies and employ skilled and competent senior managers in to accelerate and deliver quality services to our people” Modise emphasised.

According to the report, only five municipalities in the province received unqualified audit reports,

Meanwhile, the provincial government last week resolved to invoke Section 139(1) (b) interventions in Ditsobotla, Matlosana and Maquassi Hills as part of its local government turnaround strategy aimed at strengthening their administrative capacity improve their financial stability.

Cape Town – A Norwegian exchange student was raped and her boyfriend tied up by two armed men on Signal Hill early on Saturday, police confirmed on Monday night on enquiry from the Cape Times.

The sixth attack this year on the Table Mountain range, it led to a call from the mountain safety lobby group Table Mountain Watch for police to alert the public so people could be aware of danger.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Two of the five elephants that escaped from Sandhurst farm in Bray, North West, to neighbouring Botswana boundaries, have been returned to the farm to be hunted.

The department of economic development environment, conservation and tourism said permission was obtained by an import permit from the Eastern Cape issuing authority for the removal of calves to the Elephants of Eden destination in the province to allow hunting for the two adult elephants.

Three elephants have already been hunted following the permit application. The department was in constant communication with the farm owner to implement elephant management measures to avoid future escapes in line with the provisions of the National Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants.

The National Norms and Standards emphasises biodiversity, ecosystems and species conservation through health and conservation principles.

“South Africa, like many other elephant range states is faced with major challenges regarding habitat availability for elephants. It checks whether there is overpopulation on state land or loss of interest to continue keeping them on private land by private landowners,” a statement from the department said.

According to the department spokesperson, Dumisa Seshabela, the province has since 2008 been engaged with various elephant owners regarding elephant management in the province, including the requirements of management plans in line with the National Norms and Standards for the management of elephants in the country.

“The first declined application to hunt elephants on Sandhurst Safaris was in 2009. The landowner instituted an application before the high court of the North West and the court ruled against the department.

“Subsequently, with current regulatory provisions, the landowners at Sandhurst Safaris opted to convert their land to other land use practices that excluded keeping elephants.

“Finding no solace from the department to remove all elephants from the farm due to lack of management plans as required, the landowners went ahead and subdivided the property without informing the department, leaving inadequate space for elephants,” Seshabela said.

Last week the DA in North West called for an independent investigation into what the party believes was illegal killing of elephants at Sandhurst Safaris in Bray, outside Vryburg.

This comes after the provincial economic development and environment department issued five hunting permits for adult elephants at the farm and approved the transfer of four calves to Elephants of Eden resort in the Eastern Cape. The DA said the killing of the jumbos and the transportation of the orphaned calves was done in contravention of environmental regulations.

For more http://www.thenewage.co.za

Rifleman Karabo Edwin Matsheka was celebrated during his funeral with shouts at a military state funeral service held at the Barolong Boo-Ratshidi tribal court in Mahikeng on Saturday.

Paying tribute to and saluting the 28-year-old late Matsheka, who was buried in an exclusive cemetery alongside the Barolong Boo-Ratshidi chiefs, Premier Thandi Modise urged poets, singers, writers and dancers to ensure that the deceased’s name was upheld by future generations.

Modise said Matsheka’s name and those of the 12 other SANDF members of the 44th Parachute Battalion, who died in the Central African Republic (CAR), would forever be engraved in the hearts of South Africans as protectors and defenders of peace, stability and democracy not only in their country but across the continent.

“South Africa has never wanted to be a ‘big brother’ on the African continent.

“As a pioneer for the construction of the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union however, we owe it to the continent to work towards the creation of peace, stability and plant seeds of development in the mother continent as it began in most African countries during the years of humiliation and oppression,” the premier said.

Maj-Gen Titus Matlakeng said the SANDF would pursue the services of the fallen heroes.

“Their lives speak for the strength, dignity and decency of those who served and that is how they will be remembered.

“Let us draw strength and courage in the wake of the loss and sacrifice in the line of duty and grieve the loss of our colleagues, compatriots and friends while celebrating their lives in the service of the South African nation,” Matlakeng said.

Matsheka’s cousin, Keresepe Moncho said his cousin was a man of discipline and would be remembered by his family for his reserved stature.

Matsheka is survived by his 95-year-old grandmother, 44-year-old mother, his fiancée and a three-year-old son.