By Obakeng Maje

North West Premier Thandi Modise appeared before a SCOPA public hearing in the Madibeng Local Municipality Council Chambers to report to the Committee on the progress into investigations into the controversial “D Account”.

The D-Account falls under the control of the Premier of the Province in conjunction with the MEC of Local Government & Traditional Affairs and of the MEC of Finance.

The account collects monies in the form of royalties from platinum mines on the tribal lands in the province.

“The purpose of these royalties was to provide for development in these tribal areas for the benefit of the wider communities living on the land” DA John Franzsen said.

DA said over the years this account has seen deposits of over R500 million and monies were withdrawn at their own will with no control. The current balance now is approximately R100m.

“To make matters worse, the account has not been audited for the past 19 years” DA said.

The Premier in her submission to the Committee, which was meant to clarify the management of this account, failed to clarify any meaningful aspects regarding this, according to reports.

“She however admitted that she did not understand the working process of the D-account” Franzsen said.

“The DA can only after listening to the Premier come to the conclusion that

this account is clouded in a major cover-up”.

Modise suggested to the Committee that a closed meeting be held where she would arrange a delegation of “all concerned” to discuss and report on the D-account.

DA said the will monitor the developments into the investigation of the management of the account until the truth about its management is fully

disclosed.-TDN

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Johannesburg – The Currie Cup match between the Blue Bulls and Griquas in Kimberley on Friday may be billed as the battle of the bottom feeders, but both sides still have a mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs.

However, with only three rounds left in the league phase, a defeat for either side could deal a death blow to their chances.

The Blue Bulls, currently in fifth place on the log with 11 points, were one point above the Griquas, languishing in sixth place on 10 points – lying five and six points, respectively, behind the fourth-placed Cheetahs.

The Light Blues would be looking to take maximum points out of the match to stay in the running, and coach Pine Pienaar believed his side had the ability to do just that.

“We’ve shown in a few games, including last weekend against the Lions, we are able to put ourselves in a position to score four tries,” Pienaar said.

“The few games where we struggled, we didn’t have a great start. So we need to focus on getting a good start against Griquas.”

While the Bulls were beaten 35-26 in their match against the Golden Lions in Johannesburg last weekend, they managed to score four tries despite having two players yellow-carded in the first half.

Playing Griquas in the hostile Kimberley conditions would be an entirely different story, with the Northern Cape side desperate to break their six-match losing streak.

While the Peacock Blues had not won a match since their season opener against the Sharks, they could count themselves unlucky with a few matches going down to the wire.

They were fresh off a tight 19-13 defeat to Western Province last weekend after losing by one point against the log-leading Sharks in Kimberley two weeks ago.

Pienaar said while his charges demonstrated that they could score tries, they had to make the step-up in defence.

“I want a better defensive effort from the guys and our set pieces put us under massive pressure against the Lions,” he said.

“We know we are in a position where we have to score four tries. The biggest thing is that we know, it will sort itself out if we play better rugby, keep the ball longer in hand and work harder to recycle it.”

Bulls’ heavyweights Werner Kruger and David Bulbring would likely be used as battering rams against the Kimberley outfit and Pienaar said they had worked hard in training to improve the situation.

“Our biggest concern over the last couple of weeks were our ball carriers who didn’t do their jobs properly, Pienaar said.

“We struggled to get over the advantage line and, in many instances, we lost possession. If you keep the ball in hand it makes it much more difficult for the opposing team’s poachers to get their hands on the ball and, hopefully, it is something we’ve sorted out during the week.”

Griquas coach Pote Human said he believed his team was still in with a chance and they would not lie down and die too easily.

“We will be out to give the Bulls a very hard time,” Human said.

“We are still very much in it, even though the promotion and relegation games have become a hot topic.

“We still believe that we are in with a shot and thus will give everything to make the final four.”

Both sides traditionally try and dominate with their forward pack before giving their back line good front foot ball.

“We favour an approach with our forwards and guys like Marnus Schoeman and Rory Arnold will be key in helping us going forward,” he said.

“If we do manage to get our possession quick and clean our back line will definitely use that to their advantage.”

SAPA

Durban – Several hundred people are protesting in Durban’s southern Isipingo area, police said on Friday.

Captain Thulani Zwane said about 500 people were blocking roads with burning tyres.

Residents from an informal settlement known as Transit Camp were protesting over poor service delivery.

“Police cars were damaged when protesters threw stones at the police,” he said.

Police used teargas to disperse the crowd.

He said police were still in the area monitoring the situation, but it was reported to be calm.

A case of public violence had been opened and no injuries were reported.

SAPA

Johannesburg – The presidency is alarmed by comments that President Jacob Zuma’s weakness is that he reads too little, his spokesperson said on Friday. 

“The statement is incorrect, unfortunate, and misleading. 

It also serves to perpetuate stereotypes,” Mac Maharaj said in a statement.

Political analyst Richard Calland told the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday that Zuma did not read.

“It’s not that he can’t read, it’s that he doesn’t read and he doesn’t read the proper stuff; he doesn’t read Cabinet briefs, he doesn’t read stuff that is the meat and drink of modern, sophisticated government,” he said.

“It is not easy for one to have such disrespect of our president. The truth is we have a leader who encourages that… and who is, in many ways, the embodiment of anti-intellectualism.”

Maharaj said Calland had no knowledge of how Zuma worked, how he prepared for meetings, or what the aspects of his work were.

“It is therefore shocking that Mr Calland has taken gossip and rumours to be fact and has also decided to spread such rumours further,” he said.

Calland said Zuma’s predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, was the opposite and read everything, possibly too much for his own good because he paid too little attention to advisory voices around him.

Mbeki’s knowledge of important documents had, however, inspired confidence in the Cabinet.

“Cabinet ministers were constantly on their toes because they knew that they had a boss, a chairperson of Cabinet, who had read at least as much as they did, if not more, and knew their briefs as best, if not better, and that kept them on their guard.”

Members of Zuma’s Cabinet had more space to do what they wanted and some had consequently taken the opportunity to develop their portfolios.

“The problem, however, is this: that Zuma does not provide the backing that they need. He doesn’t back his ministers. They never know where they’re standing… it makes them jittery,” Calland said.

Calland teaches constitutional law at the University of Cape Town and heads the democratic governance and rights unit.Sapa

Johannesburg – The rand was stable against the dollar on Friday but the start of a strike at Anglo American Platinum’s [JSE:AMS] South African operations is likely to drag it lower.

The rand was at R9.9955/$ at 08:55, in line with its close in New York on Thursday.

Labour unrest in the local economy has hurt investor confidence, pushing the rand to four-year lows earlier this year.

The strike over job cuts at Amplats, the world’s top platinum producer, started this morning, a senior Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) official said .

Negotiations in the United States over the budget and increasing the federal debt ceiling will be closely watched by the market and the impasse could limit gains in the rand and government bonds.

US House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday refused to give in to President Barack Obama’s demand for straightforward bills to run the government beyond September 30 and to increase borrowing authority to avoid a historic default.

Government bonds weakened, with the yields on the 2026 and 2015 issues each up 2 basis points at 6.05% and 7.955% respectively.

“In the interim, the market appears to be in no man’s land until clarity is shed on the adjustment, if any, to the US debt ceiling,” Rand Merchant Bank analysts wrote in a note. 

“There may be scope to test higher levels while the uncertainty around the US debt ceiling lingers and diminishes global risk appetite.” Sapa

Nairobi – Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab rebels have threatened more attacks against Kenya, taking to Twitter to mock the country after Islamist gunmen attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, killing at least 67 people.

“The mesmeric performance by the Westgate Warriors was undoubtedly gripping, but despair not folks, that was just the premiere of Act 1,” the group said in one of a string of messages posted on Twitter overnight.

The Shabaab has said it was responsible for the assault on Westgate, which saw a group of gunmen walk into the part Israeli-owned mall at midday Saturday and gun down shoppers and staff.

Another Shabaab message said it had been “a great pleasure to have had you completely enthralled for more than 100 hours. What a wonderful audience you’ve been!”.

It also boasted that the “Kenyan government is still in disarray”, saying it “won’t be until several months when it fully comprehends exactly what took place at Westgate”.

Shabaab chief Ahmed Abdi Godane said the Nairobi mall carnage was retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia.

Kenya invaded southern Somalia to attack Shabaab bases two years ago, and later joined the 17 700-strong African Union force deployed there.

AFP

London – The British woman dubbed the “White Widow” was at the centre of a worldwide hunt on Friday after Interpol issued an international notice for her arrest in the wake of the Kenya shopping mall attack.

Samantha Lewthwaite, a 29-year-old Muslim convert, was married to Germaine Lindsay, one of four Islamist suicide bombers who attacked the London transport network on 7 July 2005, killing 52 people.

The Interpol red notice issued on Thursday at Kenya’s request says the mother-of-three is “wanted by Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011”.

The notice did not specifically mention the deadly four-day mall siege in Nairobi by Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab movement,

However it follows widespread media speculation over Lewthwaite’s possible role in the attack which left 67 victims dead, a toll expected to rise as more bodies are discovered.

Kenya’s foreign minister said a British woman was among the Westgate Mall attackers although President Uhuru Kenyatta later said the reports could not be confirmed.

Interpol issued four colour photographs of Lewthwaite along with the arrest notice. One shows her with long dark hair and pouting at the camera, while the other three show her wearing the Islamic headscarf in various poses.

Interpol’s notice, which requires member states to detain the suspect pending extradition, said Kenyan authorities wanted other member nations to be “aware of this danger posed by this woman, not just across the region but also worldwide.”

It said Lewthwaite had previously only been wanted “at the national level for alleged possession of a fraudulently obtained South African passport”.

Britain’s Metropolitan Police and Foreign Office refused to comment, saying it was a matter for Interpol and the Kenyan authorities.

The global hunt was launched as Kenya on Thursday began burying the victims of the mall massacre by Islamist gunmen, as police pleaded for patience while searchers combed the charred rubble of the devastated complex for dozens still missing.

An ‘average’ girl

The daughter of a British soldier, Samantha Louise Lewthwaite professed herself appalled when her Jamaican-born husband detonated a rucksack full of explosives and blew himself up on a London Underground train at Russell Square station in 2005, killing 26 people.

She was pregnant with their second child at the time.

“I totally condemn and am horrified by the atrocities which occurred in London,” she said, describing Lindsay as “a good and loving husband and a brilliant father, who showed absolutely no sign of doing this atrocious crime”.

Lewthwaite had met Lindsay in an Internet chat forum when she was 17, having converted to Islam two years earlier.

Described as a bubbly teenager, schoolfriends said she had an ordinary upbringing, first in Northern Ireland and then in the market town of Aylesbury, northwest of London.

Britain’s press has been fascinated by Lewthwaite’s story, and The Sun on Friday ran the headline “Angel-faced British girl who last night became World’s Most Wanted” across its front-page.

The paper also reported that she was being probed by the FBI.

Investigations have begun to lift the veil on Lewthwaite’s shadowy movements since the London bombings.

South Africa said on Thursday that Lewthwaite had gained a South African passport using the assumed identity Natalie Faye Webb and that the document was cancelled in 2011.

She had first entered the country in 2008. She was accompanied by her three children, a girl and two boys, who would now be roughly aged between seven and 12.

Media reports this week cited credit records as showing that “Natalie Faye Webb” had at least three addresses in Johannesburg and ran up debts of $8 600.

Two neighbours in the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Bromhof told AFP they recognised Lewthwaite’s picture.

Herbie Ullbricht, 69, who lived two houses away from her address cited in credit reports, said the woman lived there in “2010 or 2011” with her three children, and she was always dressed from head to toe in a hijab.

‘Semi-mythical status’

Earlier this month Kenyan authorities accused her of working with another suspected British Islamist, Jermaine Grant, who is on trial in Kenya accused of links to Al-Shebab and of plotting attacks.

Grant was arrested in December 2011 in the port city of Mombasa with various chemicals, batteries and switches, which prosecutors say he planned to use to make explosives.

It is believed Lewthwaite was involved in the alleged plan to bomb a number of tourist resorts on Kenya’s coast and has been on the run for months, with reported sightings of her in Somalia.

Raffaello Pantucci, a terror expert at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, said Lewthwaite had acquired a “semi-mythical status”.

“I don’t think we’ve had any concrete evidence of her being involved in this incident,” he said. “But the fact of her being mentioned in this context is not surprising because of her connections.”

AFP

Pretoria – The police implemented stage three of their plan in Marikana several hours after deciding to do so, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Thursday.

This emerged from the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Scott, who played a pivotal role in drawing up the plan.

The plan included dispersing, disarming and arresting striking mineworkers at Lonmin’s platinum mine last August.

Scott’s version of events varied from that of Major General Charl Annandale, who said in earlier proceedings that plans to implement stage three were finalised two days before they were rolled out.

Scott told the commission on Thursday he was unaware that his superiors met on 15 August 2012 to discuss their next move.

On the morning of 16 August, North West police commissioner Luzuko Mbombo held a media briefing where she said police intended ending the strike that day.

Scott was not present at the briefing, and said he was not immediately informed of the police’s intentions.

He said it was confirmed at 13:30 that stage three would be put into action.

At 14:30 he briefed around 20 commanders about the plan. None of them disputed nor added submissions to it. At 15:00 commanders were to start briefing their troops.

The plan was scheduled to have been rolled out by 15:30, but this only happened around 15:40.

Police had maintained their plan was disrupted, which resulted in them shooting dead 34 people shortly before 17:00 that day.

Time

On Thursday, Scott said had more time been made available, the situation would have turned out differently.

“Had the plan been successfully executed, there would have been fewer injuries. Given the time we had I feel we did the best we could.”

Scott said had he known earlier that phase three was officially given the go-ahead, he would have spent more time on its details.

While Scott had been tasked with putting the plan together, he told the commission he did not know the details of Standing Order 262.

It contains guidelines of how police should perform crowd management during protests and public unrest. He said he received training on an older module.

None of the public order police (POP) were present when his seniors approved the plan. The POP would have been responsible for executing the dispersal plan.

The commission, sitting in Centurion, is investigating the deaths of 44 people during the strike-related unrest.

Police shot dead 34 mineworkers on 16 August, while 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.

President Jacob Zuma had the commission established shortly after the shootings. It first sat last October and, after numerous delays and several extensions, was scheduled to conclude its work at the end of October this year.

On Thursday, commission chairperson retired Judge Ian Farlam said he had asked for another extension.

Zuma agreed, and a new deadline to conclude proceedings would be announced later.

The commission was adjourned on Thursday. It was set to continue on 14 October.

– SAPA

Pretoria – There has been no word from Kenyan officials on the South African passport of the fugitive Briton dubbed the “white widow”, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said on Thursday.

“We have not had communication from Kenyan officials that a South African passport was used. Of course we co-operate with the government of Kenya and have sent condolences,” she told reporters in Pretoria.

The woman is wanted by Kenyan authorities over alleged involvement in a plot to bomb holiday resorts there.

News media speculated about her possible involvement in last week’s attack on a Nairobi mall after a Kenyan minister said a British woman was in the group.

Pandor said a South African passport belonging to the woman was fraudulently issued.

“It [the passport] was investigated and reported on in 2011. It was cancelled at the time as it was found to be acquired fraudulently.”

Pandor said further investigations had to be done into how the passport was issued to a woman named Natalie Faye Webb.

“What we need to do is look at the applications office and check who processed it and how that person met the requirements to be granted a passport.”

Passport issued in Durban

Pandor said the passport was issued in Durban and last used in February 2012.

Since then it had not been used as the person was classified as a terrorist.

The minister said she did not think it was easy to get a South African passport, adding “it might have been easy at the time”.

She said officials would have to talk to the real Webb, who had a South African mother and a British father, which made it possible for her to obtain a South African passport.

Deputy director general of emigration services Jacky Mckay said the identities of those related to the “white widow” would be investigated.

“All identities related to that passport will be put on the stop list to ensure no travelling because they were acquired under assumed identities,” he said.

– SAPA

Cape Town – A court ruling overturning the withdrawal of charges against former police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli has implications for President Jacob Zuma, an expert said on Thursday.

The judgment, which also ordered national police commissioner Riah Phiyega to restore disciplinary proceedings against Mdluli, was made on Monday by Judge John Murphy in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Mdluli was suspended amid charges of fraud and corruption, and charges relating to the murder of his former lover’s husband.

An inquest cleared him of any involvement in the murder.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) later withdrew charges of fraud and corruption. He was reinstated, but was suspended again in 2012 pending Freedom Under Law’s (FUL) court application.

Political analyst Richard Calland told the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday: “Justice John Murphy’s judgment in the Mdluli case is extremely important for its extrication of the law.

“If Justice Murphy’s approach is affirmed, then the outcome of the review case from the Democratic Alliance of Zuma is likely to go the same way, which means the charges will be reinstated.”

Calland was referring to the DA’s application to access “spy tapes”, transcripts, and other documents that relate to a 2009 NPA decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma.

‘Spy tapes’

Last month, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ordered acting national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba to lodge a copy of the tapes with the registrar of the court within five days.

Zuma lodged an application for leave to appeal the following day, and this was subsequently granted by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

Calland said that should charges eventually be reinstated against Zuma, the ANC might deem it inappropriate to have him in a leadership position and might manufacture a “relatively graceful departure”.

He said Zuma might resist such a move and this could make him vulnerable.

– SAPA