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noseweekJULY SARS put R100m, 12-year squeeze 2016 on innocent man

DEAD RECKONING WIDOW DECRIES FAMILY PLOT TO SEIZE INHERITANCE

WEST COAST RAVAGED OZ COWBOYS TRASH SA ENVIRONMENT LAWS

FUTURE PERFECT MALEMA AIDE SINGS THE RED BERET 00201 THE REVOLUTION BEGINS NEXT APRIL

SOCIAL GRANTS DISASTER LOOMS 104042 771025 9

Your favourite magazine is now ISSUE 201 • JULY 2016 available on your iPad and PC In the mind of the EFF

Page 29 FEATURES

4 Letters 8 The impending social grant meltdown Mass deprivation forecast, if government fails in 6 Editorial setting up new payment system 7 Notes & Updates 10 Taxman’s 12-year squeeze on innocent man Honest businessman’s life in ruins after AVAILABLE 42 Smalls vicious bribery battle ON YOUR 14 Kangaroo cowboys on the West Coast TABLET Murder and menaces ignored as Australian mining COLUMNS outfit trashes SA environment laws

34 Down 16 The fleecing of Limpopo Download your & Out While minnows are netted for tender irregularities, big fish continue feasting on provincial coffers digital edition today 35 Books both single issues and 40 Letter from 20 Dead Man’s Chest After years in the dark, widow uncovers family subscriptions available Umjindi conspiracy to snatch departed husband’s estate 41 Last Word PLUS never miss a copy – 24 Bitter battle over multi-million rand estate with back issues available to Forged signatures and fraud alleged as Hawks and NPA probe disputed will download and store

26 Heads roll and bullets fly in KZN DOWNLOAD YOUR DIGITAL As ANC factions go to war, it’s back to EDITION AT the killing fields of 1990 www.noseweek.co.za 36 The fire beneath or % 021 686 0570 Love and tragedy in the life and work of pioneering social anthropologist Monica Wilson

NOSEWEEK July 2016 3 Letters

Lesson for one and all audience at the Franschhoek Literary Africa’s education woes and expressed Festival. That is news. his views without fear or favour. YOUR PROFILE OF GG ALCOCK, “THE WHITE I, too, feel discomforted by what he had His departure is a great loss to our Zulu…” [nose200] is an absolute eye- to say; most sensible, right-thinking peo- academia, but I cannot blame him for opener for anyone in the marketing ple will be; all the more reason to take leaving. The students of today need to industry but more importantly, a lesson note. By all means, have a different view better identify their targets, and vent for everyone that we are clueless about of the developments on our campuses their anger in a way that respects the our society. Most inspiring. over the past six months. But when you institutions and those within them that Lloyd Macklin, condemn Jansen’s seriously held views have given them an enviable interna- Vaal Marina as “drivel”, “gossip”, “unethical”, “sala- tional reputation. cious”, “racist” and “deliberately provoca- Charlie Macgillivray, Jansen’s imperfect opinion tive”, it is your lack of judgement that Howick I WAS APPALLED BY YOUR RADIO ADVERT must be called into question. Our advert crediting Jonathan Jansen’s racist and fairly advertised an important feature of Knott-Craig’s odious stance that issue’s contents. – Ed. deliberately provocative opinion on the THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATIVE ARTICLE future of SA’s universities as your sell- on Alan Knott-Craig and his despicable n PROFESSOR JONATHAN JANSEN IS AN ing point. Is this the kind of drivel you behaviour towards Kenneth Makate extraordinarily open-minded man of like to pass on to your readers? (nose200). It is hard to believe someone courage and insight. He has been intui- I have been a great fan of Jansen but of Knott-Craig’s reputation and vast tively in-touch with the reality of South no man is perfect. When imperfect peo- wealth, would be prepared to stoop so ple air opinions at odds with their gen- low, and try to screw someone out of eral contribution, it may well be discreet his just rewards. His reputation is gone and politically savvy to disregard that forever – the Constitutional Court made comment, especially when he is under sure of that. He will now be remembered considerable personal stress. for the man he really is. Your paper Noseweek plays a valuable K Schmulow role in drawing attention to contentious Gus Port Elizabeth issues, but this salacious advertising shows a lack of judgement. Please recall n ANOTHER GREAT AND INCISIVE ARTICLE the ad immediately to avoid building a from Barry Sergeant, undoubtedly one racially polarised society in a politically of SA’s best investigative journalists. tense time. I have submitted a com- Clive Varejes plaint to the Advertising Standards Gallo Manor Authority and the Broadcasting Com- plaints Commission. n VODACOM IS NOTORIOUSLY ARROGANT Alison Gwynne-Evans when dealing with claims and dismisses Rondebosch them usually with no response. So it was Professor Jansen hardly deserves to especially pleasing to see this particular be patronised. If anyone has the moral Goliath slain by a very worthy David in authority to express the views quoted “Please call me, maybe” [nose200]. in our ad, it is he. He saw fit to express Anthony Krijger them from a public platform to a large Waiting for Godot Westville

4 Eye opener... Lesson for one and all

Incorrect assumptions as facts Charles Spencer. You do, however, own the property across the road that, as it IN “THE CONTESTED MIDAS TOUCH” happens, also previously belonged to Birds at Bellagio [nose200] you have portrayed me as a The Eighth Earl Spencer Family Trust. Except for the undertaker-crows villain. You have driven Barry Sneech’s (We note it’s up for sale at R36m.) version hard and completely down- Does that make for a different read- sneering in sartorial black and gray played, inter alia, that I have been to ing of our story? In nose200 we duly from elegant branches overhead, arbitration and successfully defeated noted the eminence of the various the birds at Bellagio, small and large, Sneech before some of the greatest le- lawyers you refer to and their rulings, expect to die from gunshot wounds gal minds in South Africa today. These but then took our own view of the story. outcomes were not some random errors You have taken a view of us. It’s a free on autumn afternoons. of judgment by Kuper SC and every country. – Ed. So when Tony lifts his binoculars, legal mind after him, as you seem to they shy from him as from a hunter, suggest. High court actions for review The real f******* crisis failed, and Sneech hasn’t paid my costs, into impenetrable green gloom, yet he persists with litigation in the A NOTE TO BHEKI REGARDING HIS COLUMN their pewter throats sealing song hope of deferring payment. “Letter from Umjindi” [nose200], if you in the trussed cypresses that sightless guard have issues with the Barberton (state) You have populated your entire piece mass graveyards of Italian birds, with blatantly incorrect assumptions Hospital, then voice these at your made to read as facts. For example, I beloved ANC, whose greatness you shot once for food, and then for sport don’t own Tarrystone [Earl Spencer’s have espoused in recent posts. Vote for over three venal centuries, in peace and war. former home in Constantia]. You should them – as you say you must – then see be ashamed of yourselves for dragging if they listen to the electorate about the Ingrid de Kok your publication and your own journal- condition of state hospitals everywhere. Only the first six lines of this son- istic integrity down to this level. Also, [re your headline: “F*** crisis. Rui Nobre TAC tactics urgent”] there is no F*** net were published in nose199. The London crisis; correctly it should be a F***ing poet has objected to the mutilation On closer inspection it emerges you crisis! and we publish the full poem here indeed do not own Tarrystone, the Con- John Binns to make amends. – Ed. stantia home that formerly belonged to Tableview Stent

NOSEWEEK July 2016 5 C

Editor Editorial Martin Welz [email protected] Special Correspondent Jack Lundin Designer Let them live Tony Pinchuck Consultant Len Ashton on R753 a month Sub-editor Fiona Harrison Contributors Len Ashton, Glenn Ashton, Warren Blunt, USTICE MALALA’S NOT-TO-BE-MISSED WEEKLY know anything about it. John GI Clarke, Alan Elsdon, TV show on eNCA ends with his Instead, SARS proceeded to persecute with Jonathan Erasmus, nomination of a Winner and a Loser of malice – there is no other word for it – the Bheki Mashile, Ciaran Ryan, Barry Sergeant, the Week. Noseweek readers will have whistleblower who had first identified Ferrer Harold Strachan, Anne Susskind, rejoiced at his choice of loser on 13 June: and had offered them all the evidence they Sue Waterstone SARS’sJ boss – and Pravin Gordhan’s bête needed to expose a billion-rand tax evasion and Cartoon noir – Tom Moyane. money laundering syndicate and its police col- Gus Ferguson, Dr Jack, Stacey Stent There are, no doubt, many reasons why laborators. Accounts Moyane might aspire to this accolade, but the Noseweek’s account of how Michael Addinall Nicci van Doesburgh one that moved Malala to despair was the fact was relentlessly prosecuted on false tax-evasion [email protected] that he had agreed to SARS’s paying auditors charges ran over several issues. See noses56, Subscriptions KPMG R23 million for a short and totally use- 58, 59 and, particularly the Editorial in nose60. Maud Petersen less report on the so-called “rogue” spy unit. No SARS has long not been as straight and in- [email protected] slander here: KPMG had, themselves, certified nocent as Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan it useless. would have us believe. Advertising sales executive Noseweek, on several occasions over the years, While Justice Malala’s targeting of Moyane Godfrey Lancellas has noted KPMG’s willingness – for a hand- was on the mark, the tax boss is only one of [email protected] some fee – to apply an audit gloss to some or many who are recklessly dishing out taxpayers’ Advertising other unsavoury business in order to give it the money. The very next day observant DA MP 021 686 0570 appearance of probity. (See noses 34,41,43,49,5 Bridget Masango revealed to the world that our [email protected] 3,65,110,167,176,180,187,190,191&194.) The jet-setting Social Development Minister Batha- drift is always the same. Early on we noted that bile Dlamini, while on a working trip to Durban, All material in this issue is copyright, and belongs KPMG had absorbed what remained of Arthur had checked in for the night at the luxurious to Chaucer Publications (Pty) Ltd, unless otherwise indicated. No part of the material may be quoted, Anderson, the auditing company that collapsed Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks. photocopied, reproduced or be stored by any under the weight of its bad reputation. It seems On its website, this deluxe five-star boutique electronic system without prior written permission. KPMG may have absorbed more than just the hotel, which “stands majestically on Umhlanga’s Disclaimer: While every reasonable effort is taken to remains. Look at the record and you will see beachfront overlooking the Indian Ocean and ensure the accuracy and soundness of the contents of this publication, neither the authors nor the publisher their SARS forensic report – that challenge to the iconic lighthouse”, is described as “the will bear any responsibility for the consequences of sanity – was just business as usual. But what ultimate in colonial charm and style”. It has any actions based on information (that we don’t know about) justified a R23m hosted the likes of Prince Albert II and Princess contained. Printed and Published by Charlene of Monaco, princes William and Harry, Chaucer Publications (Pty) Ltd. fee? Were there gold coins stuck to each page, as Malala facetiously suggested? supermodel Naomi Campbell and, no doubt, If KPMG can get away with that, they can various ANC celebrities. get away with anything. That’s the really scary The DA MP revealed that Dlamini had SUBSCRIPTION RATES bit. And if Moyane and his cronies can dish out checked into an ocean-facing suite just after Print taxpayers’ money like that without embarrass- midnight on Sunday 12 June, that her one-night SA only R410 ment, what else are they spending it on? stay cost a mere R11,000 and that, astonish- Neighbouring states (airmail) R600 There’s more: On Page 10 we tell the weird ingly, this was her 31st stay at the hotel. Europe, Americas and Australasia R740 and shocking tale of Sandton jeweller Jacob It was this minister who, while weeping for Internet edition Dozetas’s 12-year torture and ultimate destruc- the poor, informed us that the government’s 1 year R298 tion at the hands of SARS officials, all triggered research (in 2014) had shown that pensioners Combined by an extortionist wanting to extract protection should be able to survive on R753 per month money, inter alia on behalf of the late Police – and that the Treasury, in any event, cannot Print+Internet (SA only) R510 Commissioner Jackie Selebi. afford to pay them much more. That may be To subscribe As unbelievable as it seems, the story has a true, but coming from a minister fresh from her By post: Send cheque with name, precedent! Ten years ago (in nose89) we told the latest night at the Oyster Box, it’s no wonder address and phone no. to: noseweek, story of another Johannesburg jeweller, Steven that in everyone’s imagination a bewigged and PO Box 44538, Claremont 7735. Ferrer – he had a shop in Rosebank, Johannes- begowned Marie-Antoinette immediately comes Via Internet (pay by credit card): burg – who was extorted by a major tax-evader flouncing on screen to promote the latest flavour www.noseweek.co.za into making regular payments to Selebi and in cake for the starving masses. Email [email protected] then to Gauteng Police Commissioner Sharma Followed by gunfire and revolution. Further information Maharaj. Neither SARS nor the police wished to The Editor Call (021) 686 0570; fax 021 686 0573 or email [email protected] 6 Notes & Updates

Mantashe plays Game of Thrones

UDGE JOHN MURPHY HAS GRANTED evated to the throne and another court Princess Wezizwe Sigcau and her sets aside the decision of the Commis- mother Queen Regent Lombekiso sion on review, or directs the President MaSobhuza Sigcau leave to ap- to embark upon further consultation.” peal his December 2015 judgment With regard to the initiation schools, (Jnose200), which ruled that President the judge said no connection had been Jacob Zuma was not obliged to fol- shown between those problems and low a process of consultation with the who happened to hold title to the Mpondo Royal Family before naming throne. So, for the time being, Queen the princess’s second cousin, Zanozuko Sigcau continues as Regent, Zanozuko Sigcau, as the legitimate successor to cannot call himself king, and more her father as King of amaMpondo ase- judicial resources will be spent on re- Qaukeni. solving the six-year-old dispute. “The Supreme Court of Appeal has Meanwhile, anxious to pave the way never been seized with the interpretative for the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road and issue that served before me, and which I the Xolobeni mining venture to pro- have resolved by a process of interpreta- ceed, ANC Secretary General Gwede tion that other judges might consider too Mantashe continues in the footsteps extensive,” said Judge Murphy. He also of Sanral CEO Nazir Alli to heap royal dismissed the argument that irrepara- salutations on Zanozuko in contempt ble harm would ensue if the President’s of the standing legal position. appointment of Zanozuko was not made Two weeks before the judgment was “immediately operational”. handed down, Mantashe was defiantly The causes of harm were alleged to engaged in talks with Zanozuko and be the continued uncertainty about invited mayors of Pondo towns to dis- the succession and the alleged absence cuss the “development of Pondoland”. of authoritative control over the tra- “In June 2013 the Constitutional ditional initiation schools to stem the Court set aside the President’s ap- deaths and injuries to initiates. pointment of Zanozuko. That is the “The President, the Minister and the status quo. Zanozuko is not the king Commission, the applicants in the sec- of amaMpondo. It is disturbing, mis- tion 18(3) application, will not suffer leading, confusing and contemptuous irreparable harm by the delay in re- of the Constitutional Court for anyone solving the dispute and the continued to address Zanozuko as iKumkani [his contested title. Indeed, greater harm Majesty]” says Queen Regent Sigcau. – will result if the third respondent is el- John GI Clarke

“Most of them are mysteries to me, but that one on the right gives stock-market averages”

NOSEWEEK July 2016 7 SA’s impending social grant meltdown

HE COMPANY THAT DISTRIBUTES court papers) that it wants R900 mil- millions of state social security lion for its nearly obsolete computers grants, has not only the govern- and technology – that is the computer ment but all South Africa hang- cable by which we are left hanging. ing from a cliff by a proverbial And the relationship between computerT cable. the government and Net1/CPS is This year Cash Paymaster Services not exactly friendly: shortly before (CPS), a subsidiary of the US-based Noseweek went to press, SASSA laid Net1 Group will distribute R130 bil- criminal charges against CPS and lion (close on R11bn a month) to 17 the Net1 group’s banking subsidiary, million South Africans (30% of the Grindrod Bank, for allegedly persisting population) who are dependent on so- with illegal deductions from grant cial security for their survival. But on recipients’ monthly payments. This 30 March next year, the company’s con- was after the two companies had tract comes to an end. The Department written to SASSA saying they refused of Social Development – by way of its to stop the deductions as they believed division known as the SA Social Secu- the government had no legal right to rity Agency (SASSA) – proposes to take forbid the deductions. (More about this back that mammoth responsibility. issue below.) It wasn’t doing the job too well last The massive social security system time – when far fewer people received pays R53.5bn in grants to three million grants – which is why the job was con- pensioners; R48bn to 12 million chil- tracted out to a major cash-distribution dren in need of support (half of them, company in the first place. infants under the age of one year); Now, with less than a year to go to R20bn to more than one million disa- D-Day, 1 April 2017, the Department of bled people; and R5.5bn for the care of Social Security still won’t tell anxious 460,000 children in foster homes. opposition MPs exactly how it plans Just for the verification and approval to do the job; it is still “considering op- of grant applications, SASSA employs tions”. 10,700 people at a cost of R3bn a year. The government’s record at manag- Other costs bring SASSA’s budget up ing state enterprises is not good and to close on R5bn. (Its annual budget the minister in charge of Social Devel- for fraud investigations was recently opment does not inspire confidence. increased to R83 million.) If SASSA for any reason is unable Minister of Social Development To do the actual distribution and to make an instant, smooth takeover, Bathabile Dlamini payout (by means of a cash-card sys- and payments fail to reach the 17 mil- tem), CPS is paid a flat rate of R18 for lion people dependent on their “sur- each grant paid each month, a total of vival” grants on time, or at all, the unconnected to Net1 or its subsidi- over R300 million a month and R3.6bn consequences could be dire, if not cata- aries) tell Noseweek that in the time over the past year. strophic. One third of the population available, the government has only one But the colossal cash flow of over will immediately be without the means option. It will have to take over Cash R10bn each month creates other to feed themselves. The national crisis Paymaster’s entire infrastructure, billion-rand opportunities for profit- would be on the scale of war. with all its flaws. The snag there is that hungry financial agencies, such as Experts close to the situation (and CPS has already formally indicated (in Net1 and its own banking subsidiary,

8 have received numerous complaints from grant recipients who say they were coerced and “tricked” into opening bank accounts with EasyPay, another Net1 subsidiary. Funds from SASSA- branded cards are then automatically ‘Social grant money transferred to the private EasyPay ac- count, to which SASSA has no access and over which it can assert no control. in private accounts is And it emerges that Net1 has devised an irresistible strategy to lure the poor game for predatory to its new venture: they are persuaded to sign up with the offer of an instant R1,000 cash loan, repayable over six behaviour, keeping months (interest rate unspecified). Black Sash declared in a statement issued in May: “Corporates should re- beneficiaries in a frain from interfering with the state’s duty to provide social security to the debt trap’ most vulnerable members of society.” EasyPay was launched by Net1, the Minister of Social Development holding company of CPS that distrib- utes grants on behalf of the state, in Bathabile Dlamini 2014. According to reports, it man- aged to sign up between 800,000 and one million clients, mainly rural so- Grindrod Bank (which has a bank cial grant beneficiaries, within a few licence but no branch network to months. As Minister Dlamini, too, not- speak of). These include transaction ed in a statement: “Social grant money and cash-withdrawal fees charged to in private accounts is game for preda- grant recipients every time they use tory behaviour, keeping beneficiaries in their card either to make a purchase a debt trap.” or to withdraw cash at an ATM. (Grant At a press conference called in early recipients report that they are only May she related with great emotion able to use their cards at Bidvest the tales of suffering told her by poor and Nedbank ATMs, suggesting that and elderly women who were depend- CPS has struck a financial deal with ent for their survival on state social those banks, but causing considerable security grants: ever-larger sums were hardship for the poor and disabled who being deducted from the grants, even frequently have to travel long distances before they were paid out. Some were to find those sparsely distributed receiving as little as 20% of the grant ATMs.) amount. And, for an astute operator not too Dlamini made no mention of the fact concerned with social and moral issues, that DA MPs Bridget Masango, Elza there are even more profit opportuni- van Lingen, Karen de Kock and Lindy HAVE AN ORIGINAL? ties. Regulations instituted by Minis- Wilson had been raising this issue for Get the biography of Tinus de Jongh ter of Social Development Bathabile months already with SASSA, and pep- Dlamini disallow any advance deduc- pering her with parliamentary ques- tions from social grants other than for tions on the subject. a funeral policy premium (which may On field trips visiting their constitu- not exceed 10% of the grant amount). encies, these MPs had learnt that nu- Not satisfied with their takings from merous deductions were being made: funeral policies (Net1 had an insurance for various types of insurance, for loan subsidiary already lined up to market repayments, for electricity and cell- those to all grant recipients), within no phone airtime – deductions that fre- time, the clever people at Net1 had de- quently totalled half, or more than half vised a way around that restriction. of the total social grant. The Black Sash and a group of dili- In the next issue, Noseweek will gent DA MPs (all women) who have deal with the question: How might the Lavishly illustrated - ONLY R245.00 made it their business to visit rural government have addressed all these Order from www.tinusdejongh.co.za or www.takealot.com constituencies to research the subject, problems? n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 9

Untitled-5.indd 1 2016/04/18 10:01 AM Destroyed by SARS Taxman seized his business, sold all his assets and put Jacob Dozetas on trial for eight years, despite having no evidence. By Alan Elsdon

ACOB DOZETAS ARRIVED IN SOUTH promise and life in his new home, Jo- customers to avoid dealing with Jacob Africa in 1981 after running a suc- hannesburg, was good. He said Selebi Dozetas. His business suffered huge fi- cessful butchery and biltong facto- wished to receive a monthly “donation” nancial losses as the action entered its ry in Zimbabwe. He set himself up from Dozetas “to ensure continued suc- second, then third and unbelievably its in the jewellery wholesale trade, cess in the jewellery industry”. He sug- fourth year. In addition to his financial operatingJ from his home in Gauteng. gested a figure of R18,000 a month. losses, top tax consultants had to be In 1986 he acquired his first jewellery “I told him I ran an honourable busi- hired at huge expense to interact with shop in Johannesburg and later, two ness; I did not engage in any illegal the SARS investigation team. more in Pretoria, another in Durban, deals; nor did I make ‘donations’ or pay Four years after the investigation be- and one in Tyger Valley, Bellville, near bribe money to top government offi- gan, on a Friday afternoon in 2006, a Cape Town cials or anyone else,” said Dozetas. squad of police officers arrived at Doze- The glamorous Kew Jewellers in Soon afterwards, a concerned Gam- tas’s Tyger Valley shop. They arrested Sandton Square, Johannesburg was roni warned that if Dozetas did not co- him – without producing a warrant – Dozetas’s dream shop. But shortly af- operate, he and his businesses would and cited various charges relating to ter acquiring the premises, the former be “destroyed”. SARS fraud and tax evasion. He was owner lodged a dispute that ended up Still, Dozetas refused to change his detained at the Bellville Police Station. in the High Court. After three sepa- mind. There was never any contact be- Attorney William Booth, having re- rate cases – and huge costs – Dozetas tween Dozetas and Selebi. ceived instruction via a colleague, vis- emerged victorious. Later that year a summons from ited the Bellville police cells. Booth ex- Over the years, Dozetas’s business SARS arrived at Kew Jewellers, de- plained that Monday morning was the expanded to other centres in South Af- manding R100 million that was “due”. earliest that a bail application could rica. Clients arrived from all over the Given Dozetas’s personal and busi- be heard at the Bellville Magistrate’s world to buy his diamonds and exotic ness income, the directive was as unbe- Court. At about 2am on that Sunday jewellery. When Hicham Gamroni, a lievable as it was absurd. “I had never morning two police officers came to the flamboyant Moroccan who spent his seen anything near that amount of holding cell; one of whom instructed days rotating between Sandton’s fash- money in my life,” he said. But bearing Dozetas to get dressed as he was going ionable restaurants and coffee shops, in mind the recent threat conveyed to to Johannesburg. When he refused to took to bringing in wealthy Middle him, Dozetas realised it may not have accompany them, they handcuffed him Eastern clients – for a commission – been an error but possibly part of a de- and forced him into their vehicle. business got even better. vious plot, and he braced himself for Booth soon became aware of develop- During 2002 Gamroni mentioned whatever might follow. ments and complained that the action that, years earlier, he and the late Soon afterwards a SARS delegation by the police was unlawful. He made Jackie Selebi, then National Commis- inspected all his shops and began an a formal demand that his client be re- sioner of SAPS and head of Interpol, in-depth “investigation” of his personal turned to Bellville. had received military training togeth- and business tax affairs. In addition, “One of the police officers in Joburg er at an ANC training camp in Russia. the SARS officials also visited all his told me I was an extremely lucky man, Selebi had promised he would be well long-standing customers. In turn, their explaining that the reason they had looked after in the future if he ever books too were scrutinised, as were brought me to Johannesburg had been decided to settle in South Africa when their tax returns. to hold a kangaroo court hearing” – of the ANC came to power. The completely unwarranted “inves- which the obvious outcome would not Gamroni said Selebi had kept his tigation” caused concerned clients and have been in his favour. The next day

10 gone. There was no sign of forced entry but the apartment had been turned upside down. Had the “burglars” found and re- moved the two passports, it would have been impossible to comply with the bail conditions. The result would have meant detention until the com- pletion of the criminal matter. Luckily, the passports had been in Dozetas’s car and Booth was able to hand them to a senior police officer early the next morning at Cape Town International Airport in compliance with the strict bail conditions. The action taken by the SAPS and the conditions imposed by SARS, com- pelled Dozetas to close his shops and sell all his stock pending the criminal case outcome. SARS confiscated all the items in Kew Jewellers, Sandton – selling them for a pittance at auction – and instead of the proceeds going to Dozetas, SARS used it to “credit” his account. Booth, who is based in Cape Town, continued to represent Dozetas in the Joburg-registered criminal court case. Apart from the huge financial costs involved in a case of such magnitude, there was also the added financial bur- den of regular trips to Johannesburg, Attorney William Booth (left) including flights, accommodation and with Jacob Dozetas related expenses. Mostly the purpose was to have the matter postponed to allow the SAPS in conjunction with Dozetas was taken back to Bellville by SARS to conclude their investigation. police vehicle. Meantime, Dozetas could not operate At the crowded bail hearing, a large as a registered jeweller. Apart from the number of senior members of the SAPS devastating effect the ordeal had on and SARS were present to oppose the They branded Jacob his financial affairs, it took its toll on application. They branded Jacob Doze- him personally and on his family life. tas a criminal and a “dangerous crimi- During this trying phase of his life, nal who had access to firearms”. It was Dozetas a criminal a close friend confided in him that claimed he was also a flight risk. his loved ones were worried that he Attorney Booth pointed out that his and an extremely might contemplate suicide. Dozetas client was a respected and well-known had laughed at the very suggestion, business executive with no criminal re- responding: “This entire case is built cord. When challenged, the State could dangerous man even on malicious lies. God knows the truth. not produce any proof to back up their He is on my side and I will win.” earlier accusations. The first formal hearing took place In summing up the application, the capable of murder on 15 November 2007 in the Regional magistrate said he could “smell a rat” Court. Prosecutor M R Mulaudzi pro- – especially given the matter’s high vided a host of reasons and excuses profile. He granted bail of R100,000, why the matter should be postponed together with a list of strict bail con- – all of which Booth challenged. When ditions, one of which was to surrender money transferred and the conditions Booth asked why the policemen who his two passports. Asked about the of release formalised. had abducted him to Johannesburg location of his passports, Dozetas ex- By the time Dozetas and Booth ar- were not in court, he was told they plained they were at his home in Sea rived at his Sea Point apartment, “un- were “on stress leave”. Point. The next few hours saw the bail known persons” had already been and Magistrate Simon Radasi ordered

NOSEWEEK July 2016 11 the State to be ready for trial on 6 Moroccan businessman Gamroni, was March 2008. bestowed the title of “Mr Sandton” be- Jacob Dozetas duly pleaded not cause of his fame and success. guilty to all the charges – the five main Back in court in August 2011, Booth counts being allegations of fraud. The accepted several documents accom- alternative counts 1-3 related to con- The money owed to panied by affidavits handed in by the travening Section 104 (1)(d) of the In- prosecutor as preliminary evidence. come Tax Act of 1962. Counts 4-5 re- In her evidence, De Villiers said all lated to contravening Section 75(1)(a) SARS appeared to be monies going into the Dozetas’s five of the Income Tax Act. As its first wit- business bank accounts were deemed ness, the State called Olga de Villiers, R13m, not R100m. income. She conceded that at the time an Inspector Investigator in the audit of her assessment she had not taken section of SARS at the time. She had any expenses into account, nor loans only a matric certificate and no audit Often the SARS or transfers from one bank to another. qualification. She appeared not to understand that The case was adjourned and re- businesses are taxed on their profit sumed on 4 June 2008, when Booth witness complained and not on their gross turnover. The complained about the unreasonable money owed to SARS in tax over a five- delay in the case – and that most of the year period appeared to be R13 million evidence presented by De Villiers was of a lack of recall and not the R100m claimed by De Vil- hearsay and had been obtained from liers. Often she complained of a lack of SARS records – to which the Defence recall when confronted with inconven- had no legal access and could not prop- ient questions. erly prepare a defence. He added that Other witnesses for the State includ- without that information, De Villiers ed Patricia Cozen and a Trevor Dalton had nothing to tell the court. In the months that followed, the – not one of whom could shed any light To enable Dozetas to visit his son prosecution continued to present new on who had laid the criminal charge who was to be married in Australia, reasons why the matter should be against the accused. The matter was Booth applied to have the passports of postponed. Booth tried to convince the yet again postponed to obtain clarity his client returned. He was successful court that nothing that SARS had dis- on a number of issues presented by the and Dozetas was able to make unhin- covered even remotely suggested fraud State. dered trips to Europe, England, Israel or tax evasion. But the prosecutor in- At proceedings in June 2012, it and Australia. In a sense, the return of sisted the State had a strong case. emerged that the criminal charges Dozetas’s passports made a mockery of In 2010, Dozetas became aware of were laid at the Honeydew Police the serious allegations he had to fend a front-page article in which his for- Station in September 2005 by SARS off at the bail hearing. mer friend and business associate, the “investigators” – at the request of De Villiers. In her testimony, she had said she had had “nothing to do with the laying of criminal charges”. Recalled to testify, De Villiers was shown her affidavit of 11 March 2005 which read: “Charge under Section 75 of the IT Act for Fraud.” She then conceded to having made “certain com- mendations” to the investigators relat- ing to criminal charges. After further postponements for le- gal argument, on 10 April 2014 – 12 years down the line – the time for judgment arrived. The magistrate said the State had relied mostly on the evi- dence of two witnesses, De Villiers and Coetzee. De Villiers, he said, had been a pathetic witness: “When she started to give evidence-in-chief, she gave the impression that she had done a proper auditing of the accused’s accounts as well as the business accounts. “It transpired during cross-examina- tion that she had deemed all monies Hicham Gamroni as Mr Sandton going into the accused’s accounts and

12 business accounts as income. were able to misuse or abuse the sys- “She did not make any calculations tem to “destroy” an honest law-abiding at all on the expenses the business citizen simply because he would not be had incurred. A right-thinking person bribed. It is an ordeal that any other would have thought that any business successful South African businessman would have expenses, overheads and could have suffered during those times. salaries. She conceded that she did not Dozetas later contacted Hicham even consider a single cent as an ex- Gamroni to take him up on the promise pense. That is not proper auditing.” he had made. Their initial contact after The magistrate had much the same a few years was friendly and pleasant. to say about the testimony of Coetzee: This is what the Moroccan had to say “She did an auditing of the accused’s on WhatsApp: account but disallowed certain ex- Gamroni: “Hello Jacob, how are you? penses as deductions and cash cheques I am in Morocco doing very well and re- were not allowed as deductions.” laxing with my family. How is business He could not understand how they with you? The economy in Morocco is could say the accused had committed very good, better than SA with a lot of fraud, when they could not clearly in- cash money around. I think I am going dicate that he had intentionally mis- to start a new life in Morocco! represented himself to the revenue “I am sad to hear that you lost every- services. “This was a civil dispute that thing. I am sorry and I apologise again ended up in a criminal court. The evi- for all harm that I caused you! I will dence that was presented by the State help you and you don’t have to give me witnesses was of such poor quality that anything for it! You can phone me or no reasonable court acting carefully email whatever you want, I promise might convict the accused.” you please do not worry! At the previous hearing, the magis- “If you need anything else, please trate had found Dozetas not guilty of let me know! I can help you with busi- the five criminal charges and he was ness and I can connect you with people acquitted of the first three alternate in SA and overseas so you can start charges after SARS conceded it was standing on your feet. I can help you unbelievable that at the time of the in- with money if you need a loan in future vestigation Dozetas had been granted to start a business!” an extension to file all outstanding tax In further discussions, Dozetas made documents with SARS. it clear to Gamroni that he was plan- “Clearly the evidence shows that the Jacob Dozetas ning a civil case against the SAPS, accused was not negligent and there- SARS and the NPA. The Moroccan fore cannot be convicted on the re- then changed his mind and said he did maining charges. The State has failed in Dozetas’s personal and business not want to be involved in any legal to prove the accused guilty beyond any downfall. Hicham stressed that if there matters. Since then he has refused to reasonable doubt. He is also acquitted was any manner in which he could take Dozetas’s calls. This is Gamroni’s in respect of the remaining charges, al- make amends, he pledged to stand by last message on WhatsApp: “I am sorry ternative counts 4 and 5.” and provide his support. No amount of Jacob. I can’t help with this informa- At last, after 12 gruelling years, it apologies could make up for the horrific tion. I don’t want to be a public figure was all over. By declaring that the en- ordeal Dozetas had suffered. His once- in books with everybody reading about tire affair should have been a civil mat- thriving businesses and once-carefree my history with you. I am not going to ter and not have ended up in a crimi- but meticulous lifestyle was nothing give any private information. By the nal court, the magistrate confirmed but a memory; he was divorced, alone, way, I am not coming back to South that the action taken by the State and and financially stricken. Africa. I will stay in Morocco for ever.” SARS was nothing less than malicious Today, at an age when he should The outcome of Dozetas’s criminal prosecution from the outset. Against have retired comfortably, Jacob Doze- trial is testimony to how senior mem- enormous odds, Jacob Dozetas had tas has had to pick up the pieces of his bers of the government, at huge finan- stood steadfast and won his case. life. Still in the jewellery trade, he trav- cial cost, made use of the SAPS, SARS Strangely, for a tax evasion criminal els the country by car visiting some old and the National Prosecuting Author- matter of such magnitude, the case es- but mostly new customers to make ity (NPA), to launch and fuel a 12-year- caped being reported in the media. ends meet. Recently he decided to long unfounded and malicious case On a subsequent visit to Johannes- publish a book about the life-changing of prosecution. In a sense, they may burg, Jacob Dozetas crossed paths with consequences the malicious prosecu- have achieved their desired goal. But Hicham Gamroni – “Mr Sandton”. The tion brought upon him. And to set the the same people might soon have their Moroccan embraced him and begged record straight. credibility and evidence tested under a forgiveness for the role he had played People in high government positions spotlight. n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 13 Kangaroo cowboys go wild on the West Coast

Murder and menaces ignored as Oz mining outft trashes SA environment laws. By Glenn Ashton

IKHOSIPHI BAZOOKA RHADEBE, A said in 2007, “…there is always blood Coast] into the animals [sic] of history leader among anti-mining ac- where there are these types of projects as a failed campaign.” Developments tivists in the Amadiba area of and in my experience, you cannot have at the Australians’ mine on the West Pondoland on the Wild Coast, development without blood”. Coast do not bode well for what the was murdered on 22 March this The Sunday Times reported that amaMpondo can expect were they also year.S He had led opposition to attempts Mark Caruso, emailed the Pondoland to start mining on the Wild Coast. by Australian company Mineral (Re- community quoting Samuel Jackson’s Since Noseweek last reported (in source) Commodities Ltd (MRC) to ex- famous speech from Pulp Fiction: “And nose188) on the shenanigans at their tract the titanium-rich mineral sands I will strike down upon thee with great West Coast mine, Tormin – inter alia that lie at the heart of his people’s Wild vengeance and furious anger, those their illegal expansion of that mine and Coast territory. who attempt to poison and destroy my the collapse of the cliff on to the beach While MRC strenuously denied any brothers. And you will know my name – things have gone further downhill. connection with Rhadebe’s as-yet un- is the Lord when I lay my vengeance In order to legitimate mining meth- solved murder – he was shot eight upon thee.” He goaded detractors to ods they were not permitted to use in times outside his Xolobeni home – at continue their “campaign” against the terms of their licences, Tormin retro- least three other MRC opponents in mine: “I am enlivened by [the] oppor- actively applied for permission under the area have died or been killed under tunity to grind all resistance to my the Mineral and Petroleum Resources suspicious circumstances. presence and the presence of Mineral Development Act (MPRDA), as well as Locals recall that Patrick Caruso, Sands Resources (MSR) [their company for condonation under the National En- brother of MRC’s CEO Mark Caruso, that owns the Tormin Mine on the West vironmental Management Act (Nema). The latter transgression alone can trig- ger fines of up to R1m per event. Noseweek’s questions to both Tormin Debbie Ntombela spins the revolving door or the now-suspiciously secretive De- partment of Mineral Resources (DMR) AWYER DEBBIE NTOMBELA, WHO HAS who sought her expertise and con- regarding the approval remain unan- long had a close relationship with nections. Her input evidently contin- swered. However, a related court case LMRC and Tormin, previously ues to carry weight, given her role in revealed that authorisation was grant- worked in the legal directorate of the “regularising” Tormin’s activities. ed in May 2015, permitting the change Department of Mineral Resources Ntombela is an example of how, in processing method and expansion of (DMR), drafting and implementing unless prevented by regulation, ex- the plant from 2.6 hectares to 6ha. the Mineral and Petroleum Resources perienced officials or regulators shift Since then, MRC has unilaterally Development Act. to lucrative positions in private prac- increased the plant’s footprint to over She then shifted into private prac- tice or vice versa – a global problem. 10ha, of which 2ha is earmarked to tice, maintaining a “good working re- For connected players with hands in build a dam of around 50,000 litres. lationship” with ex-colleagues in the the mining trough, these sorts of ties Outraged farmers say the water is to be DMR and since her departure, has are indispensable when gaming the sourced from the drought-stricken Olif- moved between various law firms system. n ants River irrigation scheme. (Clanwil- liam Dam is less than 15% full.)

14 Perhaps the mine’s most heinous recent activity that was undertak- en without permission has been to construct a massive rock groyne from Tormin and the ‘One System’ the beach into the surf zone. ROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE overseen by the DEA. This inevitably In 2008 the government passed the mining in South Africa was led to tensions between the two, with Integrated Coastal Management Act Flargely unregulated before 1994. Environment portrayed by Mining (ICMA), described as among the best Look no further than the mine as a “spoiler”. Consequently the in- coastal legislation in the world. It took dumps of the Gauteng, the scars of dustry pressed for the government more than 12 years to finalise, at great coal mining in Mpumalanga and the to reform the system and remove in- expense, mainly through donor funds. mess diamond miners have made of terference by the far less politically ICMA specifically forbids any ad hoc the West Coast. powerful Environment branch. disturbance within the beach zone. Democracy delivered new regu- The result was termed the “One Authorisation is only permitted under latory dispensations. Mining was System”, and turned the DMR into stringent conditions after detailed en- regulated by the Mineral and Petro- the fox guarding the henhouse. It vironmental assessments are complet- leum Resources Development Act came into effect at the end of 2015, ed. However the cowboys in charge of (MPRDA) while the environment a year after Tormin began opera- Tormin appear to believe their mine is was protected under the National tions. The result has been seriously part of Australia, somehow exempting Environmental Management Act compromising, especially for envi- them from South African law: the gen- (Nema) and its related acts dealing ronmental oversight. The only way eral manager of the mine, Gary Thomp- with waste, air quality, protected ar- for the DEA to step in is if an appeal son, allegedly informed employees that eas, the coast, and biodiversity. is lodged against a decision made by they enter Australia when they enter This meant mining was regulated the DMR. This has not yet been test- the mine. through a twin-track system where ed. However the DEA has indicated The Mail & Guardian reported that mining permits were granted by the that it has begun investigations into in October last year Thompson ordered DMR and environmental permits Tormin. n his security staff to shoot at a gyrocop- ter flying over the mine, after aerial photographs showing illegal activity cally scarce water resources. cliff and is mining right up to the foot of was made available to environmental But there is more. In order to either the cliff. Parts of both the cliff and ap- authorities (and Noseweek). cover up, or in a botched attempt to proved access roads have been washed As far as the illegal groyne is con- rehabilitate the massive cliff collapse, away. cerned, several parties have informed Tormin has unilaterally dumped thou- The pipes to and from the beach ap- the provincial environmental author- sands of tonnes of overburden on top of pear to be incorrectly laid. Allegations ity, as well as the regional Coastal and in front of the collapse. It is now have been made of illegal disposal of Management directorate of this serious pumping the entire run-of-mine over- sewage, even into the sea. Trucks are transgression. burden on top of this, directly in con- using unauthorised routes that are be- Yet, inexplicably, in May 2015, the travention of the original mine authori- ing destroyed because the higher mine DMR not only declined to prosecute sation, which says overburden must be volumes place up to 100 trucks a day on this flagrant breach, but instead sanc- returned to the mined-out areas. unsuitable roads to avoid weighbridges. tioned this “jetty like structure,” with- The original authorisation only dealt The original permit allowed only four out following ordained procedures. with the removal of the zircon and trucks per day and they were restricted The department also granted Tormin rutile component of the beach sands, to the national N7 route. “permission” to expand the plant area which comprise less than 5% of the All these transgressions have been to 20ha, far more than the 6ha applied beach by volume. Tormin is now also raised with the relevant national and for in late 2014. removing garnet and ilmenite. This provincial authorities, yet no action ap- These “permits” reveal the hand of amounts to nearly half of the beach pears to have been taken. Tormin’s well-connected lawyer, Debbie sand, by volume. As a result the beach Will Environment Minister Edna Ntombela (see box), who has been in- profile has been significantly lowered. Molewa rein in the cowboys? Or is strumental in applying for condonation This creates two environmental im- she simply waiting for an invitation to of their unilateral alterations to the pacts. First, the beach is far more vul- climb on the gravy train? environmental and mine management nerable to wave action and run-up, Tormin has recently applied for en- programmes. All correspondence from exposing the foot of the cliff to further hanced exploration and mining rights. the DMR is addressed to Ntombela. erosion. Second, the cliff stability is re- The relevant laws state that further This case exposes both the profound duced due to removal of its sand foun- rights cannot be granted to companies flaws of the One System and the lack of dation. This radical change in mining that are in breach of existing laws and legal nous and capacity (or is it will?) of extraction carries far greater environ- regulations. What bets on the Zuma the DMR to manage the environmen- mental impacts than were considered administration having as little regard tal governance of mining activities that in the EIA studies that led to environ- for South Africa’s excellent environ- cause permanent damage to the envi- mental authorisation. Tormin has also mental legislation as it has for our ronment, agricultural land and criti- ignored the 10m no-go setback from the Constitution? n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 15 Property moguls continue to feece Limpopo government

Observers say rich Jimmy the Greek is the Life Honorary Premier of poverty-stricken province. By Warren Blunt

IMPOPO IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF stealing from the state featured high that have recently come to light.) the smaller provinces in South on the list of corrupt activities. Insider trading involving the sale of Africa in terms of contribution Former MEC for the Limpopo Treas- municipal and state land and inflated to GDP but it ranks high when ury, Sa’ad Cachalia, often lamented rentals being charged to various pro- it comes to corruption. the fact that local government paid vincial departments are high on the LGovernment officials and service double what the average man-in-the- list of continued “wasteful” expendi- providers with political connections street would pay for “a pencil or packet ture in Limpopo. In the past few years have long been reaping the benefits of of soap powder”. (When a tender is ac- new premises have been built by pri- inflated or irregular tenders, while the quired by means of a backhander to vate developers to accommodate: majority of the people, especially those the official involved, the price tends l the Office of the Premier; living in rural communities, have had to escalate dramatically – up to five l the Department of Public Works; to suffer poor service delivery. times the value in some of the cases l the Department of Transport; Most of Limpopo’s municipalities l the Roads Agency Limpopo; continue to rate poor financial audits; l the Department of Cooperative likewise, some government depart- Governance, Human Settlements and ments that deal with issues like infra- Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA); structure development, education and l the Department of Sport, Arts Cul- health – resulting in the need for na- ture and Recreation. tional government intervention a few Long-term leases were secured for years ago. Not that it mattered much; all of these at rates well above normal the problem remains. rentals. Property investors/business A few smaller fish have been netted people with close links to the Limpopo for tender irregularities and financial government’s leadership have made mismanagement – often with only spectacular fortunes. a slap on the wrist – but the big fish Polokwane property tycoon David have been left to feed from the coffers Mabilu netted a cool R20 million in of the provincial treasury. This, despite 2008 by buying land from one arm of attempts by current Limpopo Premier the government and re-selling it to Chupu Stanley Mathabatha to restore another through the now-disbanded some respectability to the tarnished parastatal Thubelisha Homes. reputation of the ANC in the province. Mabilu’s company, Promafco, did The South African Citizens’ Bribery a land-swop deal towards the end of Survey released towards the end of 2007 with the Polokwane Municipality 2015 reveals that 48% of Limpopo gov- in which he secured two lucrative prop- ernment officials demand bribes for erties in return for four barren pieces applications for tenders, jobs, driver’s of farmland. A year later, Mabilu sold licences and avoidance of traffic fines. Limpopo Premier Chupu one of the plots to CoGHSTA through The survey also found that soliciting Stanley Mathabatha Thubelisha, at five times the value, illicit discounts from businesses and after the land had been identified as

16 tion work on the project was stalled in January this year. CoGHSTA spokesperson Callies Matlala claims construction was also hampered by delays relating to elec- trical installations that were only ap- proved in January this year by the Polokwane Municipality. (Strange, since officials from CoGHSTA and the municipality were present when the project was unveiled and building com- menced in August 2015.) Matlala said the delay in construc- tion was only temporary; that the contractor, Mabone Construction, had met the CoGHSTA MEC Makoma Grace Makhurupetje on 18 Febru- ary to discuss the blockages, and that work would proceed before the end of February. As for the preservation of the endan- gered frog species in a neighbouring wetland, Matlala says the municipal- ity had accepted responsibility to re- solve the issue and protect the area in Demetrios Kourtoumbellides fanked by daughter Evridiki and wife Ismini question. “An alternative site close by has been identified for the purposes of nurturing and rehabilitating this en- suitable for a low-to-middle-income tion, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. (She dangered species,” Matlala said in re- housing project. At the same time that with a hole in her head from carrying ply to questions put to her by Noseweek the land-swop deal with the munici- buckets. – Ed.) earlier this year about the Bendor 100 pality took place, Promafco privately After irregularities with the original project. bought another two pieces of adjacent Environmental Impact Assessment Despite these assurances from land. They, too, soared in value – by (EIA) studies were unearthed by the CoGHSTA and the municipality, the 500% in a year – netting the company local Frog Watch group (and revealed Polokwane Frog Watch group still has another R20m in profit. to the world by Noseweek), construc- reservations about the continuation of Insiders in the property industry the project until the municipality has claim Mabilu is close to Limpopo’s complied with the EIA regulations. leadership. Business associates de- Besides raking in a considerable scribe him as a shrewd operator who Land was acquired profit from the sale of the land ear- forges relationships with “all the right marked for the Bendor 100 develop- people”. Whatever the reason, Promaf- ment, the number one player con- co and another company owned by Ma- at five times the nected with benefiting from a number bilu, Vharanani Properties, have expe- of dubious local government property rienced phenomenal growth since the and building projects in Limpopo is the early 2000s and now boast a portfolio going price when the mysterious ANC benefactor Demetrios of thousands of RDP houses and build- Kourtoumbellides. ings, specifically developed for local area was identified Known locally as Jimmy the Greek, government in Limpopo and Gauteng. Kourtoumbellides – introduced to A similar case can be made for the Noseweek readers in nose187 – is “flagship” Bendor 100 Integrated Hu- as the site for the said to have contributed to the strug- man Settlement project (see nose187) gle against apartheid by hiding ANC initiated by CoGHSTA and the Polok- members from the security police. If wane Municipality. Land was ac- ‘groundbreaking’ so, he continues to be handsomely re- quired through Thubelisha Homes at warded. five times the going price when the housing Kourtoumbellides, as co-director area was identified as the site for the with former Health MEC Seaparo “groundbreaking” housing develop- Charles Sekoati in Alpha-Veta (sic) ment by former Limpopo MEC for development Entertainment Enterprises, has been CoGHSTA and now Minister of In- accused of selling a number of Polok- ternational Relations and Coopera- wane properties to the government at

NOSEWEEK July 2016 17 inflated prices. He was also involved in wane. Together with another Polok- Works department, and the Phamoko the construction of the multi-million- wane property magnate, Jannie Mool- Towers for the Department of Trans- rand Olympic Towers, the new prem- man, through a company called Night port. Phamog Properties was also own- ises for the Department of Sport, Arts Fire Investment 8, the premier’s office er of Temo Towers which houses the and Culture. was extended for R119m. Limpopo Department of Agriculture. Documents of the Department of Then, as the co-director of Phamog Both Temo and Phamoko Towers Public Works reveal that Jimmy the Folang Joint Venture, Kourtoumbel- were sold last year to JSE-listed black- Greek was involved in four of the five lides was involved in the construction owned property loan stock company new government office blocks in Polok- of Works Towers for Limpopo’s Public Delta Property Fund for R136m and How Julius Malema fts into the Polokwane picture

IMPOPO’S NUMBER ONE CITIZEN ed at the time that Malema had indi- and Commander-in-Chief of the rect influence over who was awarded LEconomic Freedom Fighters tenders from a three-year budget al- (EFF), Julius Malema, has been mak- location of R4.6bn by the Limpopo ing a name for himself on the politi- Department of Roads and Transport. cal front, but the thorny issue of non- The M&G reported that companies compliance regarding money owed to linked to Malema, his business part- SARS from 2005 to 2011 returns ever ner Gwangwa, and his friend and po- so often to haunt him. litical ally, Limpopo Premier Cassel At the heart of it is the manner in Mathale, shared in some of the con- which he ended up with the huge tax tracts administered by the PMU. bill – through funds raised by the Ra- Malema and Gwangwa were simi- tanang Family Trust and the acquisi- larly involved in a company called tion of tenders from the Limpopo gov- SGL Engineering. ernment by On-Point Engineering, of Julius Malema Public Protector Thuli Madonsela which the trust was a shareholder. found no evidence that Malema had When Malema’s tax woes first came manipulated the tender processes, to light in 2012, Ratanang owed SARS the same. adding that much of the required pa- R15 million in unpaid taxes. And On- The PWC audit report found that per trail could not be found. Point Engineers – partly owned by the millions deposited into the Ra- Meanwhile, Malema has managed the trust – owed a further R3m in tax. tanang Family Trust bank account to settle some of his outstanding by- The Ratanang Family Trust was were subsequently paid out by way of now-R20m tax bill inter alia by sell- registered in Pretoria on 13 May 2008, cheques signed by Malema. ing his selling his Sandton and Polok- five weeks after Malema was elected Auditor Trevor White believed the wane mansions. President of the ANC Youth League. trust was set up by Malema to chan- After he established the EFF, he The trust was named after his nine- nel money, which “in many instances” reached a compromise with SARS, year-old son Ratanang Malema, who was received from contractors doing thereby avoiding sequestration. (In- was the sole beneficiary. His grand- work for the Limpopo government. solvency would have cost him his seat mother Sarah was sole trustee and Management of the Limpopo Roads in Parliament.) Julius Malema, sole signatory, ac- and Transport Department’s pro- Malema’s advocate Piet Louw SC cording to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers gramme management unit (PMU) said his client had paid off his SARS (PWC’s) forensic audit report com- was outsourced to On-Point Engi- debt with the help of donors and that missioned by SARS in 2012. neering in November 2011, when the he now had a clean slate. However, City Press reported in Section 100 national government in- But in April this year, SARS called 2011, that the trust was mainly used tervention took place. The national off the deal and resurrected the se- to support Malema’s lavish lifestyle government was forced to intervene questration application, only to with- and that money was paid into the when the Limpopo Treasury applied draw it once more on June 6. trust by various benefactors for help- for an additional overdraft of R1 bil- In September 2012, 50 charges ing them with government tenders. lion to cover its huge budget overruns. of money laundering, racketeering A Polokwane businessman told City On-Point Engineering, owned by and corruption relating to Limpopo Press that he deposited R200,000 into Malema’s friend and political ally road contracts were brought against the trust’s bank account after Male- Lesiba Gwangwa – with the Ratan- Malema and Gwangwa. The case was ma facilitated a government tender ang Family Trust being a minority struck from the roll in August 2015 for his benefit. According to the busi- shareholder – was contracted to run because of the State’s endless delays nessman, there were at least 20 other the unit for three years at a fee of in bringing its prosecution. The case business people from Limpopo doing R52m. The Mail & Guardian report- could be reinstated at a later date. n

18 R242m respectively, at yields of just the funds allocated for the 2011/2012 under 10% – based on leases to gov- budget had already been exhausted. ernment departments at rentals five At the time of the Section 100 na- times higher than that of local malls. tional government intervention, Lim- Delta Property Fund also owns popo’s treasury already had an over- Hensa Towers – the building housing ‘While some are draft of R787m with the South African CoGHSTA – making it the landlord Reserve Bank. The application for an of Limpopo’s low-cost housing depart- additional R1bn loan sent alarm bells ment, implementing agents for the satisfied with a ringing at national government level, R300m Bendor 100 integrated hous- culminating in the removal of Mathale ing project. (More about that as well in and his replacement with current Pre- nose187.) piece of the cake, mier Stan Mathabatha. Spokesperson for Limpopo’s Depart- A highly respected member of the ment of Public Works, Roads and In- this man insists on ANC, who declined to be named, com- frastructure (DPWRI), Paena Galane, mented to Noseweek: “The party can- provided the current monthly rentals not forever be beholden to one man for for some of the government buildings. taking the entire his contribution to the struggle, when He said there were currently six leases other comrades have done far more” of over R1m per month, of which five – suggesting that the current train of leases are subject to criminal investi- bakery’ thought in local ANC circles is simply gation following claims of overcharg- that it is others’ turn to feed at the ing. The monthly rentals are: Temo trough. Towers (Agriculture) – R1,575,863.19; “When you consider the exaggerated Hensa Towers (CoGHSTA) – R2,504, wealth of one man, while government 925.69; Phamoko Towers (Transport) former Limpopo Premier at the time of is battling to meet the needs of mil- – R2,493,962.40; Works Towers (DP- national government’s intervention at lions who remain without basic ameni- WRI) – R2,917,322.35 and the Olym- the beginning of 2012. ties, it makes one lose respect. pic Towers (Sport, Arts and Culture) Mathale was at the helm in Limpopo “Irrespective of who is made Premier – R1,968,843.42. at the end of November 2011 when of Limpopo, everyone close to home According to the 2015 last quarter wasteful and fruitless expenditure knows there is only one Life Honorary Rode Report for office rentals, Polok- resulted in the provincial treasury ap- Premier, and that is Jimmy the Greek. wane’s office rentals range from R75/ plying for an additional overdraft of While some are satisfied with a piece m2 to R140/m2, with the local govern- R1 billion to pay service providers and of the cake, this man insists on taking ment paying well above the average the salaries of civil servants, because the entire bakery,” he concluded. n rental for office space. With the inclusion of the South Af- rican Revenue Services, approximately 70% of Delta’s property portfolio is leased to the government. At the time of the purchase of Hensa and Temo Towers in 2015, Delta CEO Sandile Nomvete commented that one of the company’s strategies was to focus on smaller towns. “We tend to find better value in the smaller towns and Polokwane is one of those places.” Nomvete added that Del- ta, one of JSE’s newest property list- ings – having listed in November 2012 – was taking steps to “bring confidence back” into the government niche. Kourtoumbellides’s transactions to acquire the properties earmarked for the Bendor 100 development were made through a number of companies listed as Aerterno Investments. Among the many businesses falling under the Aeterno Investments um- brella is Aeterno Investments 118: Reg no: 2005/000737/07 under the director- ship of Cassel Charlie Mathale, the

NOSEWEEK July 2016 19 Dead Man’s Chest When Johannesburg businessman Imtiaz Mohammed was murdered in 2010, it fell to his widow Hajira to wrap up his estate. Only years later she discovered a family conspiracy to keep her late husband’s assets out of her hands. By Ciaran Ryan

MTIAZ MOHAMMED RAN A SUCCESSFUL Some time in 2013 Hajira stopped rated into open hostility. hardware and property business receiving her late husband’s 50% por- As Mohammed Sibda was more in the east of Johannesburg until tion of the property portfolio’s rental business-savvy than Hajira, he start- he was shot dead by a disgrun- income. And, she says, she was pre- ed looking into Imtiaz’s business af- tled employee in July 2010. He vented from having access to the bank fairs. He didn’t like what he saw. leftI four young children and his wife, statements and financial records re- Until 2014, Hajira had assumed that Hajira, who was executor and sole heir lated to the business. all Imtiaz’s business was conducted of his estate. The extended family ral- In 2013, three years after her hus- through the I&I Properties’ bank ac- lied around with comfort and support. band’s death, Hajira decided to marry count held at Standard Bank’s Boks- Hajira Mohammed had little knowl- the new love of her life, Mohammed burg branch. Later Sibda inadvertent- edge of business, and entrusted her Sibda, a businessman recently re- ly discovered a second Standard Bank brother-in-law, Mahomed Akoon, a turned from Saudi Arabia where he business account in the name of Hire former ANC councillor in Ekurhuleni, worked as a commodities broker. At World & Hardware, which had been with her late husband’s business af- this point, the already frosty relations 100% owned by Imtiaz Mohammed, fairs. In terms of the will, Hajira in- with the rest of the family had deterio- and therefore was the rightful prop- herited her husband’s entire estate erty of his only heir, Hajira. comprising the hardware business Hajira claims the Hire World busi- (trading as Hire World & Hardware) ness account had been kept secret and 50% of I&I Properties (which from her – and apparently for good owned three properties in the east Hajira insists her reason. She says she knew about Hire of Johannesburg that brought in World business, but not about the a monthly rental income of about bank account. When Sibda managed R50,000 – of which she was entitled to rejection of his to get bank statements for Hire World half). The other 50% of the company – which had subsequently been sold was owned by Hajira’s father-in-law, for R2.5 million to a Sasol employee, Ismail Mohammed, although she left amorous advances Feroza Syed, and renamed Nebuplex the day-to-day management of the – he found that the account had been business to Akoon. is critical to operated for 18 months after Imtiaz’s Mahomed Akoon, alleges Hajira, murder, and then was mysteriously could scarcely wait for the requisite Is- closed – though no-one knows who lamic mourning period of four months understanding closed it. and 10 days after her husband’s death To this day, Standard Bank refuses before proposing marriage to her. to divulge who authorised the opera- Akoon denies this in papers presented the acrimony and tion of a dead man’s account, or who to the South Gauteng High Court in closed it. Nearly R5m had passed March. disputes over the through the account after Imtiaz’s But Hajira insists her rejection of his murder – not all of it in the normal amorous advances is critical to under- course of business. (Inter alia, Hajira standing the acrimony and disputes spoils of the family discovered that Akoon and Ismail had over the spoils of the family business used money from the account to fund that were aired in court. It was after their legal battles with her.) the alleged marriage proposal (and re- business Hajira also discovered that the com- jection) that familial relations started pany was issuing invoices using two to break down. VAT numbers, which would no doubt

20 Mahomed Akoon (above, in black shirt) and Hajira Sibda (right)

be of huge interest to the VAT investi- secret bank account, and what she voke any power held by Akoon to oper- gators at SA Revenue Services. claims was the family’s attempt to dis- ate the company bank account. Akoon In an application before Judge possess her of her late husband’s as- and Ismail were ordered to pay costs. Kathleen Satchwell in the South sets. The court also ordered that Hajira’s Gauteng High Court in March, Hajira Judge Satchwell made short work of right to sell her interest in I&I Proper- asked the court to force Akoon, (her the counter application by Ismail and ties be referred to trial. father-in-law) Ismail, I&I Properties Akoon, dismissing their claims on the As is almost inevitable in such cases, and Standad Bank to give her unre- grounds they had no locus standi as a fair amunt of family dirty laundry stricted access to the properties, bank they were not heirs to the estate. Fur- was hung out to air in the course of the accounts and records of the business ther, the Master of the High Court had case. Hajira claimed that Ismail, her so that she could fulfil her duties as accepted the will as valid, and had not late husband’s father and business executor of the estate. been joined to the proceedings. On the partner, was a spendthrift with a gam- Akoon and Ismail brought a counter matter of the alleged forgery, she ruled bling problem and that her late hus- application claiming that Imtiaz’s will that the matter could not be decided band Imtiaz had had to block the old had been forged, in support of which on the papers. man’s access to the company account they produced reports by two hand- Judge Satchwell ordered Akoon for fear he would gamble it away. writing experts. Hajira produced a and Ismail to hand over to Hajira all Ismail called these statements handwriting expert of her own, who financial records, bank statements “vexatious and defamatory” and fired claimed the opposite. Akoon and Is- and contracts related to her late hus- back with some dirt of his own, call- mail further claimed that Hajira had band’s business, and to give her unfet- ing Hajira “untruthful and untrust- consented to distribute her late hus- tered access to the properties in the worthy”. He also claimed, based on band’s estate according to Sharia law I&I portfolio. Judge Satchwell also the supposed evidence of Hajira’s chil- – which would mean she would get ordered that Hajira be granted access dren, that her new husband Moham- just one-eighth of the benefit. She de- to the company bank accounts, while med Sibda was causing dissension nied this. Akoon was to be “divested of any right in the family in an effort to get his Hajira said she had previously to manage the business… or represent hands on the assets of their late father agreed to gift certain of her late hus- it in any way”, and he was interdicted Imtiaz. band’s assets to her father-in-law Is- from operating the company bank ac- Judge Satchwell saw it differently, mail as an act of good faith – but this counts. praising Mohammed Sibda for step- was before she found out about the Standard Bank was ordered to re- ping in to support Hajira’s two younger

NOSEWEEK July 2016 21 daughters, even though he was not a duties. But now Mahomed Akoon re- blood relative. “When I inquired I was neged on his offer to assist in man- told that the applicant [Hajira] has aging the business, referring tenant remarried and that it is her current complaints to Hajira and Ismail. Is- husband who is supporting these mi- mail claimed he had nothing to do nor daughters. I expressed then, and As the family feud with the business. do now, my appreciation that a person Hajira started questioning whether who is not a blood relative has taken over the assets the Standard Bank mortgage bonds on the financial care of the children over the properties were being ser- of the late Imtiaz Mohammed,” wrote viced, and whether a sale in execution Judge Satchwell in her judgment. escalated, Hajira was about to snuff out her sole source Hajira claims Mahomed Akoon’s of income. attitude towards her turned sour af- Ismail claims Hajira (as executor) ter she spurned his offer of marriage. was forced to leave, allowed the properties to fall into She claims in her affidavit that Akoon disrepair. She had no access to the had had ulterior motives as marriage taking her two company funds – these being under was now out of the question, “he had the charge of Ismail Mohammed and to find a different way of securing the Mahomed Akoon – and was therefore benefits of the business”. This had be- younger children unable to attend to basic maintenance come evident when the regular pay- of the buildings. ments she received from I&I Prop- “I have… referred to the fact that erties started to peter out and the with her (Ismail) is a signatory on the Hire properties fell into disrepair. World account and, given the fact that In 2012 a representative from I was not even aware of the account Standard Bank visited Mohamed still being operational after the death Akoon’s home, with Hajira present, of Imtiaz, he is the only person who to sign documents opening a new ac- should have been able to transact on count under the name of I&I Proper- diately suspend Akoon’s access to the the account,” Hajira declared. ties – making Akoon a signatory to the account. Hajira, as executor, sold Hire World account. There were now three signa- Hajira still had no luck getting to Feroza Syed for R2.5m. She decided tories to the account: Ismail Moham- bank statements for I&I Properties to share half of this with her father- med, Mahomed Akoon and Hajira, – neither from the family members, in-law, although he was not a share- though Akoon was the chief signatory. nor from Standard Bank. She then holder in the business nor an heir to When Hajira stopped receiving in- decided to approach I&I Properties’ her late husband’s estate. In return come from the property business, she accounting officer, only to be told the she was allowed to stay on in his decided she had better take a more ac- books had not been completed. She house with her children. But as the tive interest in the affairs of the busi- approached SARS to find out when family feud over the assets escalated, ness. In January 2014 she visited the tax returns had last been filed. That Hajira was forced to leave, taking her Boksburg branch of Standard Bank to was in 2010, the year her husband two younger children with her. inquire into the financial affairs of I&I was murdered. The Hire World bank account was Properties. The business manager at Seeing no other way out of the mess, not the only secret kept from Hajira. the branch refused her access to bank in February 2014 Hajira offered to buy She later found out that her late hus- statements, at which point Hajira de- Ismail’s 50% share of the business for band had a 20% interest in a company manded that the bank immediately R2.5m. Ismail did not respond, so she called Hassim Investments cc, a prop- freeze the account. asked an Imam in the local mosque to erty-owning company. Standard Bank said it could only do mediate… which went precisely no- Ismail, it turns out, was also a mem- so if it received written instructions where. ber in that close corporation, but had from both Ismail and herself. Ismail She eventually managed to get omitted to mention to Hajira his mur- Mohammed was not prepared to com- bank statements for I&I Properties dered son’s interest in the company. ply, so the bank account continued and it soon became clear why Ismail An inspection of the members’ reg- trading, with Hajira being kept in the had been so reluctant to share this in- ister of Hassim Investments reveals dark as to what payments were being formation with his daughter-in-law. In there were two dead men still record- made to whom. the year to May 2015, the old man had ed: Imtiaz, and his cousin Moulana Hajira fired off emails to Mahomed doled out R285,000 to Sikander Attor- Hashim, who had died in 2011. This Akoon and Ismail Mohammed asking neys to pay his legal bills in the fight would be convenient for the surviving why the monthly rental payments had with Hajira, and a further R194,411 three members of the cc, who it seems stopped, and demanding a full reckon- to himself. were pocketing the dead men’s share ing of the company accounts. Months Up to this point, Hajira assumed of the profits. went by without a reply so Hajira in- that the two family members entrust- What’s that old saying? “Family and structed attorney Emraan Dasoo to ed with her late husband’s business business don’t mix well – because if you demand that Standard Bank imme- affairs had simply neglected their lose one, you can lose both.” n

22 NOSEWEEK July 2016 23

noseweek advert full page JUNE2016.indd 2 2016/06/02 11:43 AM Bitter battle over multi-million rand estate of Polokwane accountant Forged signatures and fraud alleged as Hawks and NPA probe disputed will. By Warren Blunt

HE LATE AKBAR ALI AYOB WAS A fell in love with Hilda Watkins, who respected accountant and busi- was not Muslim, and the couple lived ness advisor in Polokwane, the together as man and wife until his sort of man one would expect to death in 2013. leave his affairs in impeccable “We never officially got married due order.T But his sudden death from a to his family not accepting me as his heartattack on 4 July 2013 triggered wife. Everybody knows he is the fa- a bitter court battle over his estate ther of our three children and he al- which continues to this day – in the ways had their best interests close at process, putting the reputations of heart. As far as I know, he had no last several pillars of the local establish- will and testament at the time of his ment on the line. death,” says Hilda Watkins. Contenders for the estate are, on As is Muslim custom, Ayob was one hand, his life-partner of 30 years buried within 24 hours of his death. Hilda Watkins and their three chil- The funeral was attended by many re- dren (two at university, the youngest spected Muslim business people from in matric) and on the other, are the Limpopo, including his brother and deceased’s brother and sister, Mo- sister. hamed and Halima Ayob. Mohamed is A week after the funeral Hilda went the imam of a local mosque; Hilda is a to Ayob’s bank to inquire whether her shop assistant working at one of the partner had left a last will and testa- businesses owned by Akbar. ment with them for safekeeping. She Although Ayob and his family lived Akbar Ali Ayob was informed there was no will but a frugal and simple lifestyle, Hilda that a considerable fortune was held and the three children were well tak- by the bank in the way of investments en care of and the children received a ing skills and sound business advice and shares in a number of companies. good education. During his career as both in Polokwane and other parts In addition, Ayob owned a number an accountant, Ayob accumulated a of Limpopo, Ayob was involved with of valuable properties in the CBD of considerable fortune through a num- most of the top Indian businessmen Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg) and ber of astute business ventures and in the province but kept his various in Nirvana, the suburb where the ma- investments in shares, unit trusts and business transactions to himself, even jority of the city’s Muslim community properties. The exact value of the es- without disclosing such matters to his resides. tate has yet to be disclosed due to the immediate family. Hilda Watkins approached the Mas- pending civil and criminal cases but is As a young man, Ayob also followed ter of the High Court in Polokwane expected to amount to several million his own mind when it came to choos- to determine who would act as the rand. ing his life partner – by having re- executor of the estate. There, to her As a result of his good account- fused an arranged marriage. He then surprise, she learned that Mohamed

24 and Halima Ayob had produced a last laid, the Watkins family was ap- will and testament that was allegedly proached by a representative of Mo- signed by Ayob on 29 June 2013 – just hamed and Halima Ayob to discuss PCSO-524® five days before his sudden death – whether the estate could be settled listing them as the sole beneficiaries amicably. The Watkins family refused of his entire estate and effects, which their offer and waited for news from they would inherit equally, on a 50/50 the investigating officer regarding the basis. The will had been prepared by case of fraud opened against Moham- Polokwane attorney Mohamed Salim ed Shaik. Shaik, who on occasion has been an After that, nothing much seemed acting-magistrate in Polokwane. In to happen and the Watkins family – the will Shaik was also appointed who by then had forked out more than as the executor and administrator R200,000 on legal fees in the civil case of Akbar Ayob’s estate. This will and disputing the will, plus the costs of testament was certified and approved the two handwriting experts and a by the Master of the High Court in private investigator – were desperate Polokwane on 27 August 2013. to find closure. As the will was drawn up only days In December the Watkins family before her husband’s unexpected paid a visit to the Polokwane Police death – and without her knowledge Station to ask about progress in the For more info & to buy, visit www.mylyprinol.co.za – Hilda Watkins immediately ques- fraud case against Shaik. They say tioned the validity of the will and, they were told that there had been al- together with the children, paid for most no progress. two private handwriting experts to Hilda Watkins states in an affi- examine the document. Specimens of davit that the investigating officer, Ayob’s signature were obtained by the Sergeant Matsimela told them: “The family from various bank documents, case involves a high-profile attorney hospital receipts and a college regis- and judge and cannot be attended to tration contract, and examined by the – even the National Prosecuting Au- handwriting experts. thority (NPA) cannot follow it up.” Both found the signature on the will Says Hilda’s brother, Steven Wat- to be a forgery. The report of one reads: kins, who is assisting his sister in the “Based on all of the factual evidence… matter: “We cannot allow the case to the disputed signatures of the de- be swept under the carpet. The family ceased on the will and testament were needs fair justice no matter what the not created by the same person who profile of the accused.” created the specimen signatures and Early in May the Watkins fam- are therefore classified as forgeries.” ily, fearing a cover-up in Polokwane, When the matter was heard on 16 handed over all the evidence of the al- February last year in a civil case in leged fraud case against Shaik to the the North Gauteng High Court in Hawks in Pretoria. Certified copies of Pretoria, the judge ruled that, on the the documents were also handed to basis of the handwriting experts’ evi- the Office of the Public Protector, the dence, the last will and testament of Human Rights Commission, Office of Akbar Ali Ayob be declared null and the Magistrate’s Commission and the void. National Prosecuting Authority. Watkins and her children then And to keep the police and justice opened a case of fraud against Shaik, system in Polokwane up to date, the who was still acting as executor of family even handed in an acknowl- Ayob’s estate. The Watkins family edgement of receipt of all the docu- suspected Shaik of being the author ments handed over to the various of the forged will. authorities to the Chief Magistrate, The fraud case against Shaik was Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on 9 opened at the Polokwane Police Sta- May 2016. tion on 25 September 2015. Case But for now, the matter of the estate number 416/13 was registered and of Akbar Ali Ayob, and of who will be the Watkins family waited for justice appointed as the new executor, lies in to take its course in both the fraud the hands of the Master of the High case and the administration of Akbar Court, Polokwane. The case of fraud Ayob’s estate. against Mohamed Shaik is currently Shortly after the fraud charge was being investigated by the Hawks. n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 25 Heads roll and bullets fy in KZN As ANC factions go to war, it’s back to the killing felds of 1990. By Desiree Erasmus

HREE DAYS AFTER COUNCILLOR that two of the five men arrested for Zodwa Sibiya was shot dead the shooting spree, Buka and Zamok- in front of her children in April, wake Shozi, are the brothers of coun- eThekwini Mayor James Nxu- cillor Dennis Shozi. (He could not be malo lashed out at the police There are so reached for comment on this develop- forT “not coming to the party” to protect ment.) Another man who was arrested politicians and officials. was an ANC branch executive com- Nxumalo was speaking at the mu- ‘many killings mittee member. nicipality’s executive council, and in About three weeks earlier, eThek- a rare moment of solidarity, council- wini ANC councillor Zandile Gumede lors from all parties expressed horror that it is difficult had to be escorted from the Inchanga and sadness at the killing. They called area by police while she was canvass- for the police to do their part, saying to tell a political ing. eThekwini’s power was limited when It was Gumede who ousted Mayor it came to providing safety. Nxumalo from his position as eThek- Sibiya, an ANC PR councillor, was assassination wini regional ANC chairperson in De- shot multiple times, allegedly at point cember last year during the area’s re- blank range, at Glebelands in Umlazi, ‘ gional conference. (This was after the a notorious, crime-riddled hostel com- from just another conference had had to be postponed plex where 62 people have been killed four times because of infighting, open since 2014. Sibiya was reported to run-of-the-mill brawling, death threats and overall have been intent on rooting out cor- chaos.) ruption, rampant in the complex. The once-tight ANC/SACP romance A visibly shaken Nxumalo would murder in eThekwini has reached critical lev- have understood the need for the po- els, with the SACP openly express- lice to step up their efforts better than OBSERVER ing its distaste at its alliance partner. most. In January, while at his Inchanga The most vocal comments came in late home, he heard what he described as May after Senzo Mchunu was told to “about 50 bullets” being fired from a step down as premier, a move that nearby sportsground where an SACP refused to identify themselves when the SACP was not consulted on and rally was taking place. Nxumalo, as asked and instead started shooting. with which they said they disagreed. chairman of the provincial SACP, was Three kilometres away an ANC Nationally, they have not shied away supposed to be giving a speech there meeting was taking place to nominate from speaking out on allegations of at the time, but had been delayed by candidates for Ward 4 in the city coun- “state capture” or how the ANC has to guests. cil elections. Interviewed by Noseweek get its house in order. Soon afterwards a senior SACP lead- on the day of the shooting at the SACP The ANC and SACP are, of course, er told Noseweek there was “no doubt” rally, Ward 4 councillor Dennis “Boy” not alone in experiencing allegedly it was a planned hit on Nxumalo that Shozi (who was at the ANC meeting), politically motivated murders in the had been foiled. Two people were said he “really didn’t have any idea region or the province this year. killed in the incident and another four this thing had happened”. In February, National Freedom Par- were injured. Witnesses said the con- While witnesses later accused him ty (NFP) publicist Phositshe Mbatha flict began when SACP members ap- of firing into the crowd at the SACP was shot dead near Ulundi. proached four men in a Mercedes who meeting (which he denied), police In March, NFP provincial councillor “looked suspicious” and who alleg- have not linked Shozi to the shootings. Beauty Nompumelelo Zondi was shot edly had guns in the vehicle. The men Noseweek has, however, since learned dead outside her home in the Nhlan-

26 eThekwini mayor and pro- ANC eThekwini executive Current KZN premier and ANC Former KZN premier Senzo vincial SACP chairman James councillor Zandile Gumede, deputy chairperson, Willies Mchunu stepped down from Nxumalo escaped an alleged a die-hard Zuma loyalist has Mchunu shufed his cabinet his post in May after being assassination plot this year. been touted to take over as in an apparent purge of Senzo asked to do so by the ANC. He Nxumalo is expected to lose mayor of eThekwini after the Mchunu supporters two weeks has turned down the ofer of a his position as mayor to the elections after being sworn in seat in Parliament ANC’s Zandile Gumede

hleni area in Msinga. On the same day, SACP member family and colleagues interviewed. The year has, however, been par- Siyabonga Dominic Ngubo was mur- There is the possibility that those ticularly brutal for the ANC. dered in Inchanga. He was incorrectly who have done the killing will turn In January, ANC member Bongani reported as being a member of the State witness and confess to politi- Dladla was shot dead outside his In- ANC by the media. cal motivation. Even then, taking the changa home. He was standing as a In June, ANC members Badedile word of a murderer/hitman, who may candidate for ward councillor and it Tshapa and Phetheni Ngubane were be hoping for leniency, is iffy at best. was widely thought he would be suc- shot while they were returning home South Africa’s high murder rate also cessful. after a branch gerneral meeting at confounds the situation. In Umlazi, ANCYL regional deputy chairman Imbali. Tshapa died at the scene and for example, where Cllr Sibiya was for the eMalahleni Region (Newcas- Ngubane, in hospital. gunned down at Glebelands, 175 mur- tle), Wandile Ngubeni, was shot dead While some of the ingredients in ders and 275 attempted murders were at a public drinking spot. The youth these murders would make for sala- recorded last year, according to SAPS league’s regional secretary for the cious political killing headlines, de- crime statistics. This is staggering if same area, Mafika Mndebele, was termining if a murder is politically one considers that in Alexandra, with critically injured during the shooting. motivated has become “increasingly a population of about 100,000 more Councillor Bhekithemba “Thami” difficult”, according to Mary de Haas than Umlazi’s 400,000, only 68 mur- Goodwill Nyembe was shot dead in of the KZN Violence Monitor. ders and 126 attempted murders were Nongoma after being ambushed while If officials or councillors are involved recorded last year. driving. Nyembe’s wife was with him in running businesses in competitive eThekwini’s bill for guarding coun- at the time and survived the ordeal. industries, such as the taxi industry, cillors in 2015 apparently stood at The chief financial officer of Mooi- motivation becomes even more diffi- R45.6 million. Twenty-one of the 26 Mpofana Municipality and ANC cult to ascertain. “In the taxi industry, councillors under guard at that time Edendale (Pietermaritzburg area) their competition may also be politi- were from the ANC. Many of them executive member, Simo Mncwabe, cians,” said De Haas. no longer live in their own wards, ap- was shot dead in Edendale a day after But proving that councillors and of- parently due to security concerns. he had resigned his post, allegedly be- ficials own taxis is equally difficult, Instead they have moved to council cause of death threats. particularly because the vehicles will housing in the city’s suburbs. A day later, the ANC’s branch chair- be registered in the names of family Perched on a gently terraced hill, man in Edendale, Nathi Hlongwa, was members or friends, who will receive a Glebelands is a complex of facebrick shot dead while returning from a par- cut of the cash takings. hostels in Umlazi, south of Durban, ty meeting in nearby iMbali. Hlongwa In order to determine a political mo- that houses over 20,000 people. It and Mncwabe (shot the previous day) tivation, De Haas says the context of has been a political hotspot since the were said to have been close allies. the crime needs to be examined, and Apartheid era when it was known for

NOSEWEEK July 2016 27 A job to faction fighting, weapons’ storage and criminals colluding are rife. criminality. In April, SAPS KwaZulu-Natal In the past two years, violence has spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker, flared to such an extent that some said that during the two years that die for residents made a call for interven- police had been deployed at the hos- tion by the United Nations’ Human tel, eight people had been arrested for O BECOME A COUNCILLOR Rights Commission. Public Protector murder and six for attempted mur- one does not need a Thuli Madonsela has visited the hostel der. In the same period, 43 rifles and degree, nor formal sector complex twice in the past six months; handguns had been recovered and 550 training, or even experi- she started an investigation into the rounds of ammunition. However oppo- ence. Political savvy, the violence and allegations of a hit-list in sition political parties say that, despite abilityT to make promises, and February. Her findings are yet to be re- these arrests, there is yet to be a trial (ideally) a large dose of party- leased. leading to a conviction. aligned charm are the best eThekwini Municipality has erected The ANC’s regional and provincial ingredients. fencing at Glebelands which reportedly in-fighting is the background to the vio- eThekwini Metro has 206 cost R10 million; CCTV has also been lence at Glebelands, says De Haas. councillors, two per ward in installed, as has private security. Police “The context in this province is one 103 wards, each raking in patrols have been increased. Some resi- in which the competition between Wil- an annual package of about dents, however, are not happy with the lies Mchunu, newly installed premier, R430,000. Salaries are largely fencing, saying that it hampers their and his predecessor, Senzo Mchunu, determined by the municipal- escape routes when fleeing violence. informs much, or perhaps most of ity’s budget and size. Despite the security upgrades, as re- the intra-ANC conflict,” De Haas told A councillor may structure cently as 1 June, three armed hijack- Noseweek. his/her salary to include a ers were shot dead by police when they “eThekwini has been the scene of housing allowance and a cell- tried to enter Glebelands. After a high- a bloody struggle to shore up support phone and airtime allowance. speed chase in the hijacked vehicle, the for Zandile Gumede to run the Metro (Councillors receive free lap- men rolled the car at the complex’s en- as mayor. Incumbent mayor [James tops and 3G cards for internet trance and opened fire on police, who Nxumalo] is not on the party list, or is access as tools of the trade). retaliated. very low down on it.” She said similar They also get a travel allow- In May, a man was arrested for alleg- political posturing to promote a certain ance of up to 25% of their total edly committing three murders and six faction of the ANC had been occurring remuneration package. attempted murders at Glebelands; he at municipalities throughout the prov- In addition, the council con- was dubbed a “most wanted suspect”. ince. “While every death at Glebelands tributes 15% of the basic salary Stories of thugs and warlords armed may not be political, most of them are,” to a pension scheme and pays with assault rifles are not sparse in she said. two-thirds of the monthly cost the history of Glebelands, and several This is all compounded by what De of a medical aid scheme. criminal gangs are said to work from Haas calls “appalling policing”. Her Even conviction and impris- the complex. Allegations of police and research indicates that “many local onment for murder will still police” are apparently colluding with see councillors employed and “thugs” who are allegedly close to the drawing salaries. “[eThekwini regional chairperson] Gu- The Mercury reported in mede camp” in Glebelands. June that eThekwini ANC The sitting councillor at Glebelands, councillors Velile Lutsheku and Robert Mzobe, is also said to be a Mduduzi Ngcobo are draw- Gumede ally. Although the area expe- ing salaries of about R35,000 riences massive service delivery prob- a month while serving life It’s so bad, UN lems, the Daily Dispatch reported that sentences in Westville Prison. Mzobe has recently been nominated to They were convicted of hiring stand for another term as councillor. a hitman to kill a Pinetown- Human Rights He refused to answer any of Noseweek’s based community activist in questions. 2014. Commission has been “Millions of rands have been spent on According to The Mercury, Glebelands and there is very little to council Speaker Logie Naidoo show for it,” said De Haas. said that the men could not called to intervene Mzobe’s office is set on a hill overlook- be dismissed from their posts ing the Glebelands complex. And like a until they had exhausted the king, he sits, protected by bodyguards, appeal process in accordance surveying the serfs below. He has been with the Municipal Structures accused of racketeering and intimida- Act. n tion. eThekwini allegedly pays nearly R500,000 a year to protect him. n

28 Picture: oppidanpress.com Picture:

In the mind of the EFF Ndlozi says Malema is the future

ITHOUT EDUCATION THERE IS NO By Sue Waterstone illiterate” and Nzimande, an “intellec- running of a sophisticated tual dwarf”. modern state, says Eco- the University of the Witwatersrand During the debate on the Vuwani nomic Freedom Fighters has had to be put on hold. His round- school-burning crisis, he questioned (EFF) spokesman Mbuy- the-clock work for the EFF leaves no why the “weekend special” (Coopera- Wiseni Ndlozi. “But it’s not just about time for any extramurals. tive Governance and Traditional Af- running the country,” he adds, “Educa- The good-looking Ndlozi, wearing fairs Minister Des van Rooyen) should tion is good for the soul.” EFF kit, is clearly recognisable to be allowed to speak during the week. Ndlozi, 31, beams broadly and orders many of the diners around us. At one Last year, Ndlozi was evicted from another caffè latte. “When I say educa- stage it’s apparent that not only is Parliament for addressing the DA’s tion, I am talking about that life-long the waitress hovering, but people at Dean Macpherson as “white boy”. He relationship with questioning power; nearby tables are looking at us with has also publicly accused Zuma and the capacity to learn and to research. unguarded fascination. After all, this the ANC of being “morally, ethically Universities give us the ability to is the guy who yelled out at Interna- and cognitively sick” and, during a self-educate. That’s what I love about tional Relations Minister Maite Nko- questions session with the president education.” ana-Mashabane, “You are sleeping on last year, told Zuma: “This is not the Our interview is taking place in the duty,” as she snored through President Trevor Noah show,” when he giggled Spur at Cape Town International Air- Jacob Zuma’s impeachment debate in his way through the proceedings. port. Ndlozi has flown in from Johan- the National Assembly. The video foot- But, one-to-one, Ndlozi is charming nesburg, where he had taken part in age went viral. It was also he who ad- to everyone, from the waitress, to the an SABC election debate with ANC dressed National Assembly Speaker woman at the next table who is obvi- MP Ayanda Dlodlo and DA spokes- Baleka Mbete as “Magogo Mbete”, and ously eavesdropping on the interview woman Phumzile van Damme. Higher Education Minister Blade Nzi- (and who eventually cannot contain Ndlozi bemoans the fact that work on mande as “Bra Blade” – having previ- herself and walks over to tell him “You his PhD in Political Sociology through ously called Baleka a “constitutional speak bee-ootiful English!”).

NOSEWEEK July 2016 29 On the subject of studying, it turns “The DA has consistently stated the out the entire leadership of the EFF is issue most needing urgent interven- busy advancing their education. “Yes, tion is jobs – and it is unemployment we are all studying… the CIC (Com- When we that Ndlozi hones in on immediately. mander-in-Chief, Julius Malema) is “The reality for many poor and black doing his Honours in Philosophy, the people – who remain the majority of SG (Secretary-General Godrich Gar- talk about the population – is that, in the past 22 dee) is studying law, and Deputy Presi- years of this thing we call a promise… dent Floyd Shivambu was awarded his they remain without decent jobs. This Master’s last year. nationalisation, is the most important challenge for us. Ndlozi says the most important “In the promise of a job is a whole set thing ultimately is the capacity to con- we are not of assumptions: ‘I will not depend on stantly educate yourself as a collective. anyone to eat, but I know I worked for “If a party is offering a political alter- what I have’. A quality job has medi- native… you cannot say your ideas are excluding cal aid, a pension, and proper working alternative and unique before you have conditions.” made the diagnosis that what we have In the build-up to their manifesto now does not work. University gives us partnerships with launch, the EFF leadership visited no research tools. We want to make South fewer than 200 communities in Gaut- Africa successful. The best countries private capital eng alone. Decent jobs and the lack of in the world are those that invest in basic services were the dominant is- education, particularly post-graduate sues – issues the EFF manifesto ad- education.” dresses, says Ndlozi. Land remains In the SABC interview the previous eign mining capital did not leave when one of the most pressing bugbears. day, Ndlozi had spelled out the EFF the mines were nationalised. Mines “First, there is a huge demand for manifesto, which is all about localis- have a long life and are the bedrock of settlement land. People are even reus- ing the EFF’s “Seven Cardinal Pillars” industrialisation.” ing graves. Two generations of a fam- into local government. These include: How do you distribute land “equal- ily still live in the same yard, there are l land expropriation without compen- ly”? Does everyone get, say, a 100m2 or numerous backroom dwellers in old sation for equal redistribution; a 250m2 plot? townships like Mamelodi, Dobsonville, l nationalisation of mines, banks and “Equality does not mean sameness. Thembisa and in countless new infor- other strategic sectors of the economy, It depends on the specific land-use: mal settlements which are informal without compensation; e.g. whether it is for settlement, ag- precisely because people are identify- l building state and government ca- riculture or industrial development. ing land and occupying it. There, there pacity (leading to abolition of tenders); The majority of land must be allocated are no basic services. l free quality education, healthcare, as far as possible to black people, to “But to those who have services, houses and sanitation; achieve proportionality. Beyond that, they are very expensive because of the l massive protected industrial devel- when land is allocated for a specific neoliberal state which, since 1996, has opment to create millions of sustain- purpose, it must be used for that. A conceptualised its relationship to the able jobs, including minimum wages; farmer must farm, he cannot use his people through payment, yet is unable l massive development of the African land to become a slum landlord.” to provide the means for people to ac- economy; and Some of the biggest shareholders in tually make the payment it has struc- l open, accountable, corrupt-free gov- banks are pension funds and trade un- tured itself around. ernment and society. ions, including the Public Investment “So you have the increasingly dev- Each of the issues is likely to provoke Corporation. If they are nationalised astating phenomenon of old-age pen- enough controversy to feed hours of de- without compensation, millions of pen- sioners who are unable to get services bate. But to make the point, Noseweek sioners and workers will suffer. How do because they owe rates to the value of, poses a few challenging questions: you explain that? in some instances, R50,000. And there Where will the high-risk capital “They hold big stakes, yes. But gov- are no concrete explanations for how needed for nationalised mines come ernment won’t take all shares; it only rates for water and electricity can be- from, if not from investors in shares on needs to acquire majority control. No come that expensive. various stock exchanges? developmental country can progress “Most people live in houses they don’t “Capital does not have to come from without access to capital. To advance own and for which they don’t have ti- foreign investors, as is often suggested. innovation and the required scale of tle deeds. They cannot say, ‘when I die There is substantial capital available industrialisation, you need projects I know that this house will go to my locally. When we talk about nationali- only a government can afford to pur- children’.” sation, we are not excluding partner- sue. Historically that has been shown Ndlozi finds it appalling “that our ships with private capital where we to be the case in many countries, even people have these problems because agree on percentages, as has occurred in the US and Britain – and in Korea. we have a government whose mac- successfully in Botswana and even in Read Cambridge’s “heterodox” econo- ro-economic performance, even in Zimbabwe where, as it happens, for- mist Ha-Joon Chang on the subject. the days of growth, has been unable

30 to translate into quality jobs. will die. When the ANC excluded and had laws that supported the way it “The government of the ANC, and expelled the Economic Freedom Fight- treated black people, so the treatment the DA, too, celebrate Extended Public ers in 2012, it showed us that the ANC of black people as waste was legal. The Works Programmes, which are no more was refusing to be reborn. It refused ANC are going to become even more than precarious labour contracts that generational renewal, so it took the dictatorial. That is the trend to watch.” perpetuate the phenomenon of black, country to its knees. Today, the govern- Zuma, he agrees, is showing no signs cheap and easily disposable labour, ment has no political direction. The of going away. “Look at the Gauteng which was at the core of the apartheid centre is not holding because there is conference last week. We thought at labour policy. That cannot be. no vision of the future. Their ideas are least in the Gauteng ANC, there were “This neoliberal state – even though exhausted, outdated, and they’ve re- people with some pride. But there they it gives social grants – won’t ever be fused renewal.” were, singing and dancing with him. able to create jobs because of the way In addition, he says, the ANC is “When a system is not legitimate it they think about the economy. The di- “turning dictatorial”. “I don’t think is essential to not have a normal rela- agnosis of the economy that informs people appreciate that. If you can kill tionship… to disrupt that relationship. these policies for both the DA and the 34 people and then, three years down Otherwise, the system does not know ANC – what they think is wrong with the line, no single politician has lost it has to change. We can’t act normal in the economy – is the wrong diagnosis.” his job for that, then I don’t know. You an abnormal situation.” He cites an example: “Yesterday I set the army on your own people. You He says the reason there are so few went to a debate in the city of Tshwane. kill unarmed workers with rifles in brave voices in the ANC now is “be- The way the Mayor of Tshwane speaks front of the whole world and no single cause of how they are all eating. They is big policy: how to attract invest- politician is held accountable. are afraid to separate from their privi- ment… He speaks in this intellectual “Life’s moved on. That is the inhu- leges to fight for what is right. That is manner because the audience, in his manity that characterises dictators. why I say that the most important test mind, are the investors. His goal is to How can [former police minister] Nathi of a modern revolutionary is what Ju- be affirmed by Moody’s [credit rating]. Mthethwa, [mining minister] Susan lius Malema is doing.” That’s the audience he has in mind. Shabangu and [Deputy President]) Will Malema become president and He doesn’t say, ‘How will the city make Cyril Ramaphosa still be there when what qualities would he bring? sure the clinic (which presently hands there is clear evidence of their direct “It will be very beneficial not only out Panados for everything) will work?’ involvement? Any government that for this country but for the continent, “He does not address the severe frus- takes the lives of its people with im- if the CIC became president. There trations people get when they go to the punity is an illegitimate government, has never been a president who knows clinics, the police stations. Or about because the right to life is so central. what they want, presiding over the rates and burials, or how to build and There’s little difference between Mari- economy in clear, consistent ways in maintain the roads that serve most kana and Sharpeville. This is worse the interests of the African revolution, people. He doesn’t do that because his because you are killing people without defined as the absolute dismantling of sense of what the city should do is that even the laws to support it. Apartheid the treatment of Africans as waste.” it should service the people who can He returns to the question of land: pay for the services. It is conceptual- “And that begs the question of the ised in a corporate way. It is the abso- land… the land is everything. Just ask lute corporatisation of municipal local ‘This nation is on the obvious question: Why are there government.” townships? Why are there these space- Still on the subject of the DA: “And less spaces as [revolutionary writer they celebrate that they created 11,000 its knees. Apart Frantz] Fanon put it, ‘where Africans jobs, half of which are precarious la- live in proximity to rats, pigs and rub- bour contracts, having spent billions. It from what Zuma bish, with no services, infested with is embarrassing. Our manifesto is cen- crime and lawlessness, where people tred on trying to address these issues.” die and it matters little how and why’? What role in the future would you has done, the “You cannot transform that real- like to play in South African politics? ity without addressing the question of “You call it politics, I call it the revo- land, and you can’t buy the land back lution,” he says. “The future is a ques- ideological force ... That is why the CIC must be presi- tion of the collective. One’s hope is to dent… because, on all these issues, he constantly be part of making this alter- of the liberation will not compromise. native a success.” “Malema has been tried and tested. What, in your view, is the state of the You can say whatever you want but nation? movement is everything he has been through has “This nation is on its knees. Apart tested him, his beliefs and his com- from what Zuma has done, the ideolog- mitments. He has been totally dis- ical force of the liberation movement is exhausted’ possessed of the little he had [not so exhausted and it has refused renewal. little – see box, Page 33] and he had Anything that refuses to be renewed the whole state machinery chasing

NOSEWEEK July 2016 31 after him. [See editorial for comment.] that matters to them… is to get South moment. “I don’t know what has tested [DA Africa working in a way that works “Julius, like Jesus, Moses and David leader Mmusi] Maimane; I don’t know also for black people who have been at in their time, is a leader like Anton him. I don’t know what drums beat in the periphery for so long. He will not Lembede was the leader of 1944 gener- his soul. He doesn’t have the necessary be fulfilled until that happens on the ation out of whom Sobukwe, Mandela inclination to try and test, that’s im- continent as a whole. and many other leaders were born.” portant for change to happen.” “The Fees-must-fall movement What are your predictions for the up- What drums beat in Malema’s soul? would never have taken place if the coming elections? “The African socialist revolution, EFF had not already inserted the idea “Look, we are going to do very well. that’s what. His commitment to these of economic freedom into the political Society is going to shock us by giving ideals is tested. He’s been consistent discourse. That’s the genius I speak of us huge responsibilities.” in those beliefs. He was at the height when I talk about Julius and Floyd. It What will South Africa look like in of the ANC’s leadership. He risked all is they who have agitated this genera- 20 years’ time? that influence. He didn’t have to stick tion to its core… the spirit they have “The land question will be closed, to the demands of the economic free- been breathing has captured every- education, until the attainment of the dom programme, but he did. I just hope body. They began to challenge the first degree, will be of quality and free we can get him (as president) while status quo, inspired by a completely for all. You won’t access education be- he’s still young and full of energy. different set of ideas. That is what it cause of the size of your pocket, but “Remember, in South Africa the means to be revolutionaries… Malema because you’re smart and you deserve terms are limited to ten years, so we has a vow. He will go to whatever ex- it. We will be light years into the es- have to get him as young as we got tent for the liberation of black people. tablishment, reindustrialisation and Obama, not as old as we got Mande- “Maimane does not move the youth. definition of new industries as well. la. Old people care more about peace, The leader of this generation is Male- And we will be feeding ourselves. It’s but there are important disruptions ma. Maimane knows there are no a shame we depend on the world for needed for the shackles of the past to drums beating in Maimane. The black food. I think more than 60% of the food be shed and for a truly new nation to people who join the DA are careerists, we consume comes from outside. be born.” they’re not driven by a passionate mis- “The financial sector will be undergo- Ndlozi is adamant that the EFF lead- sion. It’s mechanical, meritocratic, and ing huge transformations… we’ll have ership should come to power “whilst all about CVs and interviews. a state bank… that fights the anarchy they can run”. “I am hoping that in our “The black youth represented by the of the financial markets. A state bank early 40s we are able to take power in EFF are the criminalised, bastardised, will also be critical for the huge indus- the country and place Malema as pres- nyaope delinquents. Those people are trialisation programmes we must en- ident. That’s my personal wish, but of not in the DA. There is no black youth gage in. We have to produce our own course it’s the absolute prerogative of in the DA, just middle-class blacks who electronics – refrigerators, cellphones, the collective EFF. want careers. TV sets. There’s no reason for all those “The EFF ascension,” says Ndlozi, “What the EFF are about is the goods to come from outside. At least “will be as important as the Haitian historic moment – what in Biblical 40% of those should be produced in revolution, which inspired black radi- terms they would call the Kairotic factories in South Africa to start with. cals across the world to demand an end That gives you two things, growth and to slavery …if we in South Africa can sustainable jobs.” truly forge a revolution here that can ‘Old people care more We meet the day before Zuma is be sustainable, that can be democratic answering questions again in Parlia- and in which there is rule of law and a ment; the nation waiting for another limitation of terms of office, and a sepa- about peace, but EFF disruption in the National As- ration of powers. That is us”. sembly. The next day, their caucus was Does Malema work his EFF col- forcibly removed from the chamber by leagues hard? there are important Parliament’s security officers. “Eish, that one, he is a workaholic. Do the EFF MPs get nervous ahead of He has that excruciating attention to disruptions needed their disruptions of Parliament? detail. He’s a perfectionist and doesn’t “Conviction is conviction. There’s a compromise on quality. You should see lot of solidarity in the collective. Before the quality of EFF events. for the shackles of we go in, we sing together. We know “He is sharp… he cuts like a knife what’s possibly going to happen, and into butter… with military precision we tell eachother, we must just stick in anything he does. He is committed. the past to be shed together. He’s moved by the state of this coun- “The project we’re involved in is, by try. I am very close to him by virtue of and for a truly new its nature, a project of bravery, a storm- my role in the organisation and he is ing of the Bastille. Julius Malema is very genuine, that comrade. Floyd too. our inspiration. He leads from the The word for me is ‘authentic’… They nation to be born’ front, in absolutely everything – and don’t lie to themselves. The only thing his bravery is very contagious.” n

32 The making of a revolutionary

BUYISENI QUINTIN NDLOZI people. I was 16. He gave me the mic Others who have inspired him in- was born in 1985 in Ever- and made me speak for 15 minutes. I clude Black Consciousness Movement ton township, near Johan- opened the Bible and started speaking founder Steve Biko, revolutionary nesburg, to a single mother, – about repentance. Five minutes in, Afro-Caribbean writer Frantz Fanon, Zithelile, a domestic worker everybody was on their feet. It was a Karl Marx and Lenin – “a super-great and,M later, a shopkeeper. The family big affirmation. intellectual of the left”. moved to Sasolburg when Ndlozi was Ndlozi has trophies for Latin danc- “The Communist Manifesto remains five. His mother had two more chil- ing and he sang in various choirs, in- one of the most important documents dren, but when Ndlozi was nine years cluding a gospel group, Vaal Sounds. about capitalism, whether you are left his stepfather became abusive, so the His family voted ANC, but there or right. It is a must-read if you want family returned to Everton “to start were no activists he knew, apart from to understand how the world works. afresh”. These days his mother lives in one relative. “In the early 1990s, the “I am also fascinated by what PAC Orange Farm and runs her own cater- boers came to get him in the early founder Robert Sobukwe represented. ing and decorations business. hours. That you don’t forget as a child.” He was possibly an even bigger person- His father, says Ndlozi, was simply Ndlozi attended the Khutlo-Tharo ality than Mandela – he was smarter “not there”. “I mean it when I say my High School in Sebokeng, where he of- and more educated. Mandela admitted mother is an absolute black queen – ficially joined the ANC. he struggled academically. representative of many, many black He was a keen debater at school. “I “I still have my faith but I’m not a women across South Africa. Very few was determined to have content, so I member of a specific church. I do be- men I know of are constructively en- learnt to read widely.” lieve there is a transcendental being” gaged in the lives of their families. In standard nine, he won the Ndlozi’s PhD research is exploring Most of us in the township grew up Sowetan Anglo American Young Com- the question of how black youth is con- without fathers. But it is not a prob- municators Award receiving a bursary stituted. lem… If love and care from one parent to a university of his choice. “I was in He was recruited to the ANC Youth is there, then it doesn’t matter wheth- the newspapers and on TV. Winning League by Floyd Shivambu, at the er the other parent is there or not. that competition also revived my fa- time Wits SRC president (and now “My mother was everything to me. ther! He started trying to make con- deputy president of the EFF). Soon She is essentially my maker. I saw her tact. But that’s a story for another day.” after Ndlozi was elected as treasurer last night. I know she’s proud of me.” Ndlozi started studying at Wits Uni- of the ANCYL. Only last year, when Ndlozi himself is neither married versity in 2004 and graduated with some EFF leaders were reflecting on nor has children. “We are focused on a BA in International Relations and the past, Ndlozi learned Shivambu the revolution now,” he smiles. Politics, followed by Honours in Poli- had talent-spotted him preaching at a He was a driven, ambitious child tics, then a Master’s in Sociology. “Af- Christian service for first-years. who read a great deal and taught him- ter that, I enrolled for my PhD, which I Ndlozi also served on the Wits SRC. self at every opportunity. am still doing. Eish,” he grins, in weary In 2013, shortly before the EFF was As a dedicated churchgoer, he read testament to a gruelling schedule with formed, Shivambu approached him the Bible and spoke confidently in scant spare time. again and invited him to a meeting public from an early age. “In primary At university, he joined the ANC during Obama’s visit to South Africa. school, even before the charismatic Youth League, the SA Students Con- He had been presiding over the No faith captured me, my capacity for gress (Sasco) and the Young Commu- Obama Campaign. organised speaking, was already well nist League. He was also president of “So, I sat with Floyd… and he was developed. In Grade 4, I took part in the Christian Action Fellowship. saying we should go and participate a speech contest at school. My mother “I fellowshipped for my first four in the launch of the EFF. I had never coached me. The kids were blown away; years at university… but it became dif- met Julius Malema, even though I was my teacher was mesmerised and took fiicult to belong to an organised church in the Youth League when he was its me from class to class to repeat the because we started interacting with a president. speech. That’s where my confidence in whole new set of people, like (activists “And Floyd said … ‘look we want you speaking my mind to large groups of and clerics) Frank Chikane, Maurice to come and do our communications’, people started.” Ngakani and Caesar Malebatsi. “Their which was a big job because I didn’t But it was his “huge participation” views on spirituality really challenged have half the experience they required. in the charismatic church that really us to think very hard. Ngakane, a for- A few days after meeting with Floyd, I set him on the path of public speaking. mer South African Council of Church- met with Julius, just the three of us. “One Good Friday, the pastor asked me es leader, at 81 remains a very close “It was at that meeting that I to speak to a crowd of more than 3,000 friend. fully comprehended how great Julius

NOSEWEEK July 2016 33 Malema is, and I remain absolutely We spoke for about six hours. I left “But Julius and Floyd were light humbled to this day. I think Julius that meeting very humble and with a years ahead. They still are. They exist Malema and Floyd Shivambu are the lot of fear. I felt that I had been anoint- in a far more advanced paradigm than best of our generation. They are what ed by that guy. It was a huge respon- I’d ever comprehended. Most of the (ANC Youth League co-founders) An- sibility.” time in the EFF, I feel I’m at school. ton Lembede and A.P. Mda were like He continues: “I’ve told Floyd on Half the time I was unlearning a lot… in 1944, wanting to reform the ANC, many occasions that I didn’t feel I and the process of unlearning is far from being too much like a body of gen- was doing the party justice. I always more painful than that of learning.” tlemen with clean hands.) thought the rest of the big names of About ten days after that meeting “Malema and Shivambu are like Che our generation from the ANC Youth with Shivambu and Malema, they an- Guevara and Fidel Castro. They had League – like (former Young Commu- nounced the process to begin to estab- already shaken the foundations of this nist League national chair and now lish the EFF. country by then. ANC spokesman) David Masondo – “It took place at Constitution Hill. I “I knew that day that I had met a would come to us and that I wouldn’t knew this would be my destiny for a true revolutionary for the first time. have to do this for long. while.” n Lowdown. Down under

HE SUPERSTORM ON AUSTRALIA’S By Anne Susskind said the defence department could also east coast, which claimed at try selling tea towels to raise funds. least six lives and saw the ocean the ballot papers and the Australian A somewhat less illustrious South attack Sydney beachfront prop- Sex Party has pinned its hopes on an African connection: the federal Liberal erties and destroy promenades, opportunistic coupling with the Hemp candidate in Fremantle, Perth, Sherry hasT been classified an “insurance ca- (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) Par- Sufi, resigned after news surfaced of tastrophe”. Its intensity is a taste of ty in most states, and an agreement to his impersonation of his former South things to come in a warming world, say preference each other in the rest. Vot- African boss Michael Sutherland. Sufi climate scientists. ing is compulsory in Australia, and (an opponent of same-sex marriage So, which way will Australia jump there is a fine for not doing so. and of indigenous recognition) in 2013 in the 2 July election? It’s between the It’s the way of the world, tourists de- mocked Sutherland, mimicking his Liberals with the very wealthy PM stroying what they have come to see. South African accent to impersonate Malcolm Turnbull at the helm, once Now, in Thailand, the government has him and his description of a series upon a time, a Goldman Sachs banker closed a popular island under threat of sexual adventures: “When I was a (who recently told the media he start- of irreversible damage. Koh Tachai is freshman in college, you know, I f-d ed out life poor, sometimes with not one of the Similan Islands, known for every hot bitch in the University of Jo- enough food, and was the son of a single their white sand beaches, crystalline hannesberg…” and more. Now Speak- dad – generating sarcastic tweets such water, coral and scuba diving. “A beach er of the West Australian Parliament, as #MalcolmWasSoPoor he couldn’t on the island can hold up to 70 people. Sutherland said he hadn’t alerted his even afford to use a tax haven), and But sometimes tourists numbered well party’s state council to Sufi’s bad be- the Australian Labor Party with its over 1,000 on the beach, already crowd- haviour because he felt the issue was man-of-the-people, the rather dull but ed with food stalls and tour boats. This closed. Not surprising, really, since it is apparently worthy former trade union- caused the island to quickly deterio- hard to say who is more reprehensible. ist Bill Shorten (who however has had rate,” said Thon Thamrongnawasawat, While the federal immigration min- the good grace to say some of Trump’s deputy dean of the Fisheries faculty at ister, Peter Dutton, said in May that views were “barking mad”, for which Kasetsart University in Bangkok. “illiterate and innumerate” refugees he was criticised by Turnbull). So, let the defence force try to raise will take Australian jobs, the NSW Shorten and his ALP are stead- funds with chook (chicken) raffles in- Government, also Liberal, is more wel- ily climbing in the polls. The hobbled stead of schools having to do so, says coming and has announced the crea- Turnbull has been a disappointment, the outspoken principal of a Queens- tion of at least 100 public sector jobs pleasing no one really: to keep faith land Primary School, protesting about for refugees over the next year. with his party’s conservatives – as he the Turnbull government’s cuts to the In the Northern Territory (where the reportedly undertook to do when he Gonski funding programme for schools prison population is 84.4% Aboriginal), did the deal that toppled his predeces- (the South African born David Gonski there’s been a sharp rise in the number sor Tony Abbott, he broke faith with has become a household name in Aus- of women imprisoned, with Indigenous those hoping he would bring a more tralia, generating car bumper stickers women said to be becoming more vio- humane attitude on climate change, “I give a Gonski”, which translates lent, most likely as a consequence of gay marriage, refugees and support for into I’m a public education supporter). the violence being visited on them by public health and education. The principal, who fears she may lose men, speculates a Northern Territory Meantime, there are 54 parties on teachers without the Gonski funds, lawyer. n

34 Books LEN ASHTON

Life force. Keep on keeping on

HEY DON’T MAKE MOVIES LIKE THIS ANY and other assorted spooks in Europe and in more – and more’s the pity. Carnie South Africa. Dr Matisonn (yes, a law doctorate Matisonn calls himself a maverick, despite huge obstacles) qualified after apply- but swashbuckler would be a more ap- ing a sharp mind to his studies while keeping propriate tag. The quirkily entertain- himself fed, housed, and sometimes amused, ingT Degas’ Dust chronicles the adventures with an eventually profitable practice, creative of a poverty-stricken Joburg kid who defied investment in art, and some merry ventures misery to become… what? Nazi war loot de- in show business. He founded The Stage Door tective, theatre producer, lawyer… oh, and DEGAS’ DUST supper theatre in the then-booming Hillbrow violinist, helicopter pilot, property developer. By Carnie Matisonn of the 1960s, The Stage Door in Melville, and Plus philosopher. (With Charles Cilliers) much else besides. The vivid range and energy captured in (Tafelberg) Matisonn was no arms-length operator this dizzyingly crowded autobiography (with in any of the extraordinarily varied fields editorial assistance from journalist/writer in which he laboured. In an emergency, he Charles Cilliers) would require a dramatic could whip out his violin (named Mehitabel), documentary series for comprehensive pres- chivvy the chefs knowledgeably, and con- entation. It’s a rags-to-riches-to-rags-and- trasted all this with interest in bricklaying, back-to-riches tale of operatic complexity electrical wiring and other skills required for All the classic dramatic elements are there. his responsibilities as hotelier. Depressed parents, shadowed by holocaust Degas’ Dust is at times bewildering in its horrors, were less than ideal guides to a new dramatic variations, but succeeds in convey- life in Africa. Young Carnie records that he ing the vitality of a driven mind. Firm be- was beaten about the head with wooden coat liever in the Nelson Mandela dictum of us- hangers by his frustrated mother, and gener- ing failure to ignite energy, Matisonn came ally ignored by a father who sought consola- back from the brink time and again. When tion in alcohol. The Stage Door in Melville, crammed with Did these sorrows daunt Carnie’s tena- the boss’s paintings, sculptures and other cious survival instincts? Nope. They honed assorted treasures, was destroyed by a sus- his determination to fight for the good life piciously timed fire, he was, once again, in – and for his stolen heritage. deep trouble. The insurance coverage was Humble beginnings and hard work slowly negligible because he had forgotten to ef- bear fruit as the boy earns and learns inde- fect the necessary policy changes when he pendence in the less salubrious areas of the bought what had been a three-bedroom raffish town that was white Joburg in the house. But, buoyant as ever, he routed the 1960s. A sustaining myth of a distinguished heartless bankers who sought to bankrupt artistic grand-uncle, who was robbed and him, and even piloted his helicopter to the killed by German troops in Norway during then Johannesburg Airport in a bid to effect WWII, keeps the lad’s romantic imagination a runway arrest of a suspected arsonist. alive. And so does the suggestion that uncle’s It’s no wonder Matisonn’s first marriage missing Impressionist paintings might turn collapsed under the combined weight of dis- up one day. approving snooty in-laws and the maverick His plan was to educate himself, qualify adventures of the young Carnie. But it seems professionally (hectic tales of hit-and-miss true romance bloomed in due course, and survival endeavours are detailed with verve) Matisonn, his wife Amoi and two daughters and then to find the killer and the Nazi war now spend their time in Johannesburg, Cape booty. Town and Miami, where they are based. Pipe dreams? Not at all. The dream is even- Did Carnie eventually confront the Nazi tually realised, more or less, and involves cloak villain who killed his uncle? Did he recover and dagger encounters with the Mossad, KGB the stolen artworks? That would be telling. n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 35 The fres beneath Monica Wilson, née Hunter, was the most prominent social anthropologist of her day in South Africa. Her groundbreaking research in African communities continues to influence anthropological and ethnographic studies. Seán Morrow’s just-published biography of this remarkable woman and her husband and fellow anthropologist Godfrey Wilson, has been described by Professor Chris Saunders as one of the great biographies of a South African, part a great love story, ultimately tragic. Noseweek is privileged to publish a short extract, with the permission of the publisher, Penguin Books.

SING THE IDEAS OF E M FORSTER, Monica at work, gleefully pursuing facts Godfrey Wilson argued that as if she were a Nyakyusa hunter: “... human connection results in you have, I suppose, been pursuing facts a more intense experience all day with your brows knitted in your of life. In doing so he boldly own peculiar hunting look –ijo! ijo! – but summonedU Christ’s parable of the never knitted for long at a time because mustard seed. He wrote to Monica: “... the facts are on people, and you just as ‘finding the connection’ between you love them, and you stop in the middle to and me began life for me, in the same laugh and greet them – and then your way ‘finding the connection’ between conscience says ‘Fellow of the African In- different parts of our life together (as stitute’, to you, and you knit your brows between the loving intercourse with again and pursue the facts all over your facts and my passion for your arms) informants’ lives, like fleas – ijo! ijo! But will deepen that life all over. It is like a the smile is still there in your eyes.” mustard seed.” Without any sense of discontinuity, Godfrey had undergone Freudian the letter flows from Godfrey’s desire psychoanalysis, though he regarded for Monica to his current anthropologi- Freud’s attempt at sociology as com- cal preoccupation, the analysis of the pletely inadequate. If sex alone is spiritual and ritual significance of copu- fundamental, Godfrey argued that lation among pagan traditionalists. He the possibility offered by Forster of a loved her, he wrote, for her “scholarship connection between sex and other “oc- nothing to love, no proof of God in all as well as for other things”. casions of feeling” is removed. If he the flawlessness of the night”. Monica had a keen sense of how, as a himself had not been an ambitious Monica wrote to Godfrey simply and couple, they were united in and by an- sociologist as well as Monica’s lover, plainly: “I go to sleep and wake up thropology. “You see sweet, we are in it he “could never find a symbolic con- longing for you. I should just die inside together ... ” nection between [her] and sociology”. if I did not know that you love me so *** Godfrey maintained: “The truth is not much. I would die and become a hard that everything else is really a thin efficient selfish shell.” O MUCH OF THE PAIN AND disguise for sex, but that passion is so Her love letters, unlike Godfrey’s suffering of war is known important and so intense that no one which were frequently florid, are strik- only to lovers who suffer it.” can be happy until he has found the ingly simple: “Feel me loving you... and Godfrey had not been well, connection between it and his other comforting you thro’ these stiff words.” and his depression hit him interests.” again‘S “like a storm” as he arrived in Godfrey described the beauty of an *** Pretoria, where he was posted to the evening without her as “remote like Engineers’ Training Centre (ETC) at Chinese script – or rather like a won- The correspondence also addresses Zonderwater. derful carved frame, each detail per- anthropology, with many eager discus- “Damn the army and its ways! It is fect and peculiar, but surrounding a sions about fieldwork or analysis. One grimly disappointing for us,” he wrote. blank space... there was no relevance, letter conjures up a vivid picture of But with Monica’s help he could hold

36 Books

on: “I love you, Moché, and because you have done everything possible for me: young Fiks admired Father Trevor love me I can fight back against the waited for me, encouraged me, loved Huddleston, “who would often come sense of futility and failure that had me truly; no one could have done more, knocking at township doors to collect momentarily overwhelmed me. Damn few as much. It was the real thing our his altar boys for the Sunday service”. war. So much of the pain and suffer- love, don’t let my failure make you Fikile attended the Anglican St ing of war is known only to lovers who doubt that. Godfrey.” Peter’s College in Rosettenville, Jo- suffer it.” The official form reported that on 16 hannesburg, where he was taught by Eeyore [his personification of his own May 1944 “Deceased was found hang- Oliver Tambo, among others. Though gloomy side] was “desire gone sullen” ing by his neck at the Garrison Swim- he was awarded a scholarship to Wits, from being starved of her. He could ming Bath.” Until she arrived in Pre- his mother, fearing the big-city temp- only “smile ruefully” when Monica toria for the funeral, Monica was not tations of Johannesburg, arranged for commented that he had successfully certain that he had taken his own life. him to go to UCT instead. In Cape hidden Eeyore for nine years. It was, Godfrey Wilson lies buried in grave Town he stayed with A.C. “Joe” Jordan he explained, precisely because he had 288 in the Commonwealth War Graves – who also came from Tsolo – his wife managed to conceal him so successfully Commission Cemetery, part of the mil- Phyllis, and their family. Before Fikile that he had now broken out again: “one itary cemetery at Thaba Tshwane, pre- Bam had even registered as an un- has to let him out a bit sometimes.” viously Voortrekkerhoogte and Roberts dergraduate, Jordan took him to meet Godfrey sought the origins of his con- Heights. By 21 May, Monica was back Monica and Francis. dition in “the phantasies of childhood... at Hogsback. Only seven black students were reg- one tries to live up to one’s phantasies istered at UCT at this time. In addi- and is fearful and anxious because one *** tion, there were also a few coloured cannot do so”. He had reacted strongly students. Fikile Bam was one of the against his family, especially his moth- SORT OF PROGRESSIVE CLIQUE last black students to register before er, who had both “spoiled and fright- within the staff of UCT at the paradoxically named Extension of ened” him, [and was] ashamed of what the time,” Archie Mafeje was University Education Act came into he had been conditioned to perceive as just one of the African stu- effect. Even allowing for well-disposed arrogance, self-centredness and “sa- dents whose interests Mon- white students and staff, the tiny tanic pride”. ‘ica AWilson protected and promoted at group of black students found them- Invoking Francis Thompson’s great UCT. Another was Fikile “Fiks” Bam, selves in an alien environment, hedged poem, he said that Monica’s love was who eventually became judge presi- in by racism and restrictions not only the Hound of Heaven, and only she dent of the Land Claims Court. outside of, but also within the universi- could hunt down and transform his Born in Tsolo, Transkei, in 1937, ty itself. The Group Areas Act forbade burden. There are many other agitat- Fikile and his siblings were largely black students from entering campus ed and desperate letters at this time, brought up by their mother, Temper- residences, and a “gentleman’s agree- but they are leavened with passages of ance Eugenia, a devout Anglican. Dur- ment” functioned similarly to prevent “normality” and humour, asking Moni- ing the war years, her husband had them from attending parties such as ca for “forgiveness” in a way that would been in the army, and he died soon those organised by the anti-apartheid nevertheless have burdened her with afterwards in 1952. Temperance Bam National Union of South African Stu- an impossible responsibility. had been trained as a teacher, but the dents (NUSAS). Despite all this, Godfrey did his job rules of the day prevented her from Dismissing all such conventions, well and led an active and apparently practising her profession once she got Monica encouraged participation in successful social life. He gave lectures married. She took a job as a domes- the full range of university activities, on Yugoslavia and Russia, and even tic worker at the mission station, and even though black students lacked the addressed a group of black soldiers on afterwards as a hospital worker in middle-class experience and social cap- the topic of “native representation”, a Sophiatown. ital which generally enabled students “somewhat daring” undertaking, he Fikile’s sister Brigalia reports that to manage. Few staff members com- said. He wrote notes on 17 themes for prehended this. Fikile noted that there talks and workshops, on a variety of were three who did, a “sort of progres- matters, such as savings and inflation. Until she arrived sive clique within the staff of UCT at His notes on nationalism argue that the time”, who strove in an unpatron- small states have been superseded, ising manner to support and protect federal arrangements as in the Soviet in Pretoria for the black students. The three were A.C. Union were required, and the feasibil- Jordan, who taught African languag- ity of a pan-African federation should es, Jack Simons, and Monica, all good be explored. funeral, Monica was friends though with differing socio-po- litical orientations: NEUM, communist *** not certain that he and Christian liberal, respectively. When Jordan fled South Africa, But on 14 May, he wrote to Moni- never to return, he chose Monica to ca: “Darling, Try and forgive me. My had taken his own life help settle his financial affairs at the weakness has betrayed us both. You university. These three staff members

NOSEWEEK July 2016 37 were, Fikile said, “people who went island, as is clear from a considerable out of their way”, as indeed his correspondence. Monica closely studied own case demonstrates. Though maternal, the UNISA distance education courses Fikile Bam registered for a BA in available to him. She sent him the first law, but Jordan and Monica, feeling her demeanour volume of the Oxford History of South he needed something to fall back on, Africa, and got Alan Paton to send him guided him towards social anthro- was ‘queen-like... law reports, which the prison officials pology and African languages, much seemed to regard as innocuous. CONDUCTED BY as Monica had done in encouraging After Bam’s release from the island, Archie Mafeje to take anthropology there was a kind of he went first to the Transkei. The Wil- EWA STRUSIŃSKA when he was floundering in biological sons brought two sheep for slaughter sciences. The environment was more stiffness, of the to the Bams’ cleansing ceremony. It sympathetic in these departments, and was not long before Fikile Bam was the subject matter itself provided a old order’ made persona non grata and confined foothold for African students. to the ostensibly independent home- As Bam later recalled, both Jordan land. This did not, however, prevent and Monica took the opportunity to eager socialism. She reminded him him from travelling the back roads to teach students “the routines and the of “the celibate priests who had been Hogsback to visit Monica, by then re- disciplines”, so that after a year or at St Peter’s, who were socialists in tired, and her sons. two they would “be able to manage every sense of the word and yet ...were As her earlier assistance to God- the other courses as well”. Monica’s wearing these cassocks, and were very, frey Pitje and others shows, Monica classes were, however, not a soft option. what’s the word?, anti-class in their helped not only those black students Though maternal, her demeanour was living and in their behaviour”. who were formally her responsibility, “queen-like... there was a kind of stiff- But it was not merely as “a mentor” nor only those working in her field. ness, of the old order”. She was a strict that the students got to know her: they She responded to a request for advice disciplinarian, demanding punctuality “also got to know her as a parent”. Bam from Gabriel Setiloane, a family friend in class attendance and also in submit- had an English girlfriend, a fraught re- and later a prominent figure in Afri- ting assignments, but “she had an aura lationship, given the politics of the day, can theology, urging him to limit and about her... and you always wanted to and in his second year she committed focus his expansive research plans, to do well... and you would listen very suicide. He was devastated, and Mon- take account of urban as well as rural carefully”. ica supported him, persuading him contexts, and to modify some of his Occasionally, she would invite the to abandon examinations and rather terms, suggesting, for instance, “rever- class to her home, and Bam remem- to repeat his courses. She extended ence for”, rather than “worship of”, the bered sitting on the pavement outside, similar support to all her students, but shades. with his classmates, “because we didn’t what especially appealed to him was In the face of scepticism by funders, want to get there too early – it might be her utterly unpatronising attitude. she successfully supported Setiloane in improper: at the same time we wanted There could be no attempt to manipu- his application for an overseas scholar- to make sure that we were not late!” late her: “you couldn’t say to her, as ship. Monica went further, preparing BENEFIT CONCERT The group included Ruth, Bram Fis- you sometimes were tempted to with the head of anthropology at Edinburgh cher’s daughter, and Carmel Schrire, the other professors, Dzoh! You know, I University for what would “not be or- who was later an eminent archaeolo- come from a poor family, and I’m a poor thodox professional anthropology”, gist. The two young women usually black person... somehow, when she though acknowledging to Kenneth Lit- brought flowers, and many years later spoke to you, you wouldn’t insult her tle: “Perhaps I always have a soft spot Bam disarmingly noted that the black with that kind of nonsense. You had to for the men of two worlds or those of students “knew nothing about these come with a real problem.” two disciplines because anthropol- kinds of graces, and were, you know, Fikile Bam was arrested in 1963 and ogy itself was so much a fringe subject sort of fidgety”. incarcerated on Robben Island for ten when I began at Cambridge.” Bam was drawn to Monica’s lectures, years. While in prison, he remembered She read and commented in detail on MAHLER SYMPHONY NO.5 which were “very exciting” and rel- Monica’s words to her students: “at the Setiloane’s research proposal, and lat- evant: “She talked to us about things end of the day it’s not what happens to er, on his thesis, which, she felt, “must BRITTEN DOUBLE CONCERTO that mattered to us and to our lives”, you that matters, but how you react to be published”, as indeed it was. that is, not merely about kinship and it”, and years later it struck him that Aware of the disadvantages endured FOR VIOLIN AND VIOLA other anthropological staples, but also “she was really speaking about herself, by black students, Monica assisted TICKETS: R450 about history, thereby enabling stu- and her own experiences”. wherever she could. However, where dents to perceive social change and to Monica wrote to him as frequently a student failed to measure up to her including wine and canapés make their own connections and draw as regulations allowed, her letters cir- high academic standards she was cool their own inferences. Bam was raised culating among the prisoners. She had and unsentimental. Sympathetic to Fort Bookings online through an Anglican, and so the Christian un- the knack of writing in a manner that Hare lecturer Curnick Ndamse’s tra- More info: derpinning of Monica’s thought was escaped the attentions of the prison vails at the university, she was uncom- clear to him, but she said nothing to in- censor. She was instrumental in organ- promising about his doctoral studies: he 0832722117 or www.sanyo.org.za hibit, and never condescended to, their ising Fikile Bam’s legal studies on the had, she said, made no progress. n

38 CONDUCTED BY EWA STRUSIŃSKA

BENEFIT CONCERT

MAHLER SYMPHONY NO.5 BRITTEN DOUBLE CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND VIOLA TICKETS: R450 including wine and canapés Bookings online through More info: 0832722117 or www.sanyo.org.za Letter from Umjindi BHEKI MASHILE

Land. Eradication before expropriation

S I THOUGHT ABOUT THE ABOVE gramme, Retail Emerging Markets additional farms through expropria- headline and what prompted it (REM) instituted by the Land Bank – tion when those it already controls are – the policy screw-ups in Land and heck, you have a lifeline for black hindered by the simple failure of policy Reform – I had to question emerging farmers. implementation once again, and again? whether I was being an anti- The Land Bank’s REM programme No expropriation without eradication revolutionaryA or at the very least, was is very progressive. Applicants do not of such seemingly simple problems. going against the black pride move- need security but instead must secure What is painful about this state of af- ment that is gathering ground in this- market contracts or offtake agree- fairs is that such failures to implement here Mzansi. If you have not noticed ments. policies begin from as soon as the pro- it, then you need to wake up and smell So what does this-here writer, sorry, gramme purchases the land – which in the umqombothi (traditional beer – Mr Boer-maak-’n-plan do? He does too many instances leads to delays in think of SABC Chief Operating Officer exactly that – secures contracts, im- funding allocations. Hlaudi’s 90% and smell the umqom- presses Land Bank and gets financial Of course this is especially disastrous bothi). Coffee wouldn’t do the trick. assistance approval. for beneficiaries who are allocated non- The critical issue on my mind – well, Now however this-here very frus- productive farms. And, sorry, but for not just my mind but that of many an trated black “submerging” farmer finds those who receive productive farms, Mzansi citizen – is the bugger-up that himself, along with others, pulling at there is no excuse. is being made of the land reform pro- his beloved dreadlocks because three Adding to this pain are the many gramme. Nose readers will be aware years later we still do not have the new comments – be they in newspaper col- that I am part of this scheme, as I have leases. And naturally, there is bugger- umns or just from the man in the street shared my boer-maak-’n-plan belief in all that the Land Bank or any other in- – about “black failures” in farming. So various editions hereintobefore. stitutions can do to assist without that much for the black pride movement. Recently however, even I have been document. After all without it we have And Nosey ones, if you think this at my wits’ end over the failure by the right to nada, no land. here “submerging” farmer is frustrated those in charge of the programme to So, back to my million-dollar ques- it is nothing compared to that felt by implement policy; policy they have set, tion: how is the land reform programme the officials at the Land Bank. Kudos yet fail to implement – or are taking going to deal with the acquisition of to those guys. They have tried every- far too long to do so. thing in their power to bitch and moan A case in point: I cannot access an about this lease matter and the same approved loan from the Land Bank, goes to one Ms Thoko Gexa, at the de- simply because I and many others in partment’s property management divi- my Barberton farming district have sion in Nelspruit. not been given our new 30-year leases She called us all to a meeting in May as per the Department of Rural Devel- to assure us she was doing her level opment and Land Reform’s State Land best to address this matter, and oth- Lease and Disposal Policy that dates ers, such as the threats of warrants back to 2013, to be exact, signed off by of execution that are constantly being the minister on July 25, 2013. thrown at the department by irrigation Clearly all were overjoyed at this boards. new policy. After all, the previous So, the next time you want to write policy of three-to-five-year renewable a newspaper column or make a nasty leases did not make sense. Think about comment while in a queue at the local it: you plant macadamias, which take Pick n Pay about the failure of black roughly seven years for first harvest, emerging farmers, please be reminded but you are working with or have the that the heart of the problem lies in right to the land for only five years. policy implementation. And with that, Clearly there is something wrong with ask, how can expropriation take place such a scenario and yes, Pretoria saw without the eradication of existing that, and thus the new policy in 2013. failures? Now Nosey ones, you take this new You do that, you will be a man or policy and you throw in a loan pro- Tending macadamia trees in Limpopo woman after my own heart. n

40 Last Word HAROLD STRACHAN

Land. Eradication before expropriation Cookie. Food of love

HEN I WAS BUT FIFTEEN I WENT includes most of the human body. walkabout with my best Quite suddenly I realise I have some- friend Loonybin Bettleham, thing gritty in my teeth, and equally also Barkle and Torpid suddenly Cookie says to me Oh my Jarvis who were really Mi- God! I’ve lost my contact lens! Never Wchael and Norman, only they both had to worry, quoth I, taking it from the adenoids. Also a deadbeat old horse tip of my tongue. called Mary because she was full of I think we must go and sit down, grass. We were going to find the place says Cookie. We do. at Karkloof where Goodman House- My God, she says, I hold flew his homebuilt aircraft way feel so embarrassed back before the Zulu War, and we I must go home. Oh were going to do it rough, feeding come on Cookie, on phutu, sleeping on the say I, put it back or ground, all that pio- take them both out neer stuff. and stick them in my But farm to farm pocket and we’ll go on motherly farmwives dancing, we’re just getting fed us at the supper nice and friendly, know what table and put us to bed I mean? No, she says, it’s like between white sheets going to laugh and your false and Mary in a stable, un- teeth fall out. Oh come ON, I til finally we revolted and at a know you haven’t got false teeth certain farm explained: we had come f’chrissakes, what the hell are you on this manly backwoodsmens’ jour- talking about? No, we must leave, ney and so far we had not had a sin- says Cookie. gle night out of doors. Their kids were blue close stars, orange distant ones, Anyway. So here we all are ’mongst 14-year-old twins, boy and girl, and novae, supernovae, neutron stars, pul- the gum logs on this really snoeky both enchanted. In their whole long sars, cosmic strings, superstrings, eve- night and I’m at least 103% in love, lives as country kids they had never rything imaginable and unimaginable with this awesome erection under the slept in the outers, and it took a quar- blasting its energy down upon us as we blankets. I haul out of my pocket my E- tet of Maritzburg townies to suggest it. lie here in the vast field of stripped gum minor blues mondfluitjie, for I’m sleep- The incongruity of it! They were com- logs. You can hear the frost forming on ing in my clothes, cowboy style, and I ing with us for a night in the planta- a night like this: small cracklings in play, for her only: tion. the bits of bark and stuff lying on the Well the first time I went a-hoboin’ Where would you like to sleep then? ground. Cold, cold, cold, but we’re snug, I took a freight train to see my frien’ asked Dad. Oh, over there where the snug, snug, and the perfume of euca- She looks at me and after a bit she gums have been felled, so we can make lyptus leaves on the fire. And there is says; Do you only play native music? a fire without setting the plantation this girl with beautiful hemispherical and I say No, anything, really; be- alight we said. Sound thinking, lads! breasts and I love her totally, totally, cause I’m still quite a lot in love with said he. So into the bakkie: ground- both of her. Eternally, so help me Jesus! her, though the erection is not what it sheets, blankets, thermos flasks, a Man, I’m a sucker for romance and was. What would you like me to play big pot full of curried chicken, rice all blue eyes, though I’m not too sure about then, eh? The Blue Danube, says she, cooked, matches for the fire – this is the latter. Permit me to digress: some and I realise it is her mother who is winter, hey? See you in the morning, years later I find myself in a night club the admirable woman in this family, Mom called after us. in Joburg in the dark days of war, with on account of the date loaf and things In the Southern Hemisphere you look this lovely blue-eyed lass called Cookie, all wrapped up in wax paper for tomor- into the galaxy. The Milky Way is just doing oyster kisses around mouth and row’s journey and the crunchies we’re all matter and radiation; who the hell elsewhere, as is the custom of the time, going to have just now with coffee from ever saw space as empty? The seething and which, according to the morals of the Thermos flasks. light of it! Red giants, white dwarves, the time and the lighting in this place, Romance sucks. n

NOSEWEEK July 2016 41 Smalls ads must be booked and paid for online. Book at: SMALLS www.noseweek.co.za

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