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Last Update: February 11, 2002 |
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SA crime not worst in world, says Tshwete Although the crime rate in South Africa is still unacceptably high, there is no substance to claims that it is the highest in the world, said Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete on Monday. Briefing the media and diplomats at parliament, Tshwete said an analysis of the crime situation for 2001 indicated that the stabilisation goals had already been achieved well before the targeted year of 2004. Appearances notwithstanding, "the facts reject the contention by government detractors here at home and mischiefmakers abroad that South Africa (is) the unsafest and the most insecure piece of land on the globe". It was true that decent, law-abiding citizens continued to be robbed, killed and raped, but it could never be true that South Africa was the crime capital of the world. This was affirmed by the statistics released by the justice, crime prevention and security cluster in December last year, said Tshwete. "Yes the crime levels are high. But let's be realistic about it: there is no South Africa that is sinking into the quagmire of criminality. "On the contrary, it is the SAPS (SA Police Service), the intelligence services, the Scorpions, our courts, our prisons, and indeed our own people who are on top of the crime situation. "We are certainly winning the war against crime and the final battle of that war will be fought and won in the coloured and African townships - the apartheid slums which continue to be the mainstay of violent crime in the country." The cluster's "geographical focus of stabilisation initiatives" could be broadened from the existing 145 priority police station areas to include 195 more, said Tshwete. These areas - 340 of the about 1200 police station areas countrywide - were responsible for more than 80 percent of all serious crime in South Africa. The rapid stabilisation of the crime situation had created various bottlenecks in the criminal justice system, particularly in case backlogs and overcrowding in prisons. During 2002, special attention would be given to the issue of awaiting-trial prisoners, who made up almost a third of the prison population. "The initiatives to reduce case backlogs will play a major role in this regard. "This will mean an increase in the number of Saturday and additional courts, as well as measures to ensure higher productivity in courts during the week," he said. The cluster would also investigate measures to increase the correctional services department's community corrections capacity. "Policy issues, such as plea bargaining and bail conditions for less serious crime, will receive further attention by the cluster during 2002 in order to alleviate the pressure on the judiciary and correctional services," said Tshwete. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Februarie 2002.. Aardbodem. Hoe se my pa altyd, “die tyd stap aan.” Die laaste jaar of wat hardloop tyd vinniger as ooit verby. Ek was nog die een oomblik 21 en nou word ek al 24 op die 10de Februarie. Nou is ek nie meer in “her early twenties” nie, maar “in her mid-twenties.” Ek wonder of ek actually verander het in die laaste drie jaar? Ek weet nie eintlik nie. Ek was vreeslik opgewonde om legal te word in 1999 in my vierde jaar op varsity. 21 is mos die ouderdom waarop jy die wereld kan aandurf, en as jy boonop ‘n reenboog-idealis is met oe vol drome, dan kan dinge net beter gaan. Ek het nou nie juis ‘n monsterpartytjie gegooi vir my 21ste verjaardag nie. Ek het gaan breakfast by ‘n hotel in die mooiste Gordonsbaai waar die see glad le soos die Chesapeake Bay hier aan die East-Coast. My company was ‘n klompie random close vriendinne wat mekaar nie geken het nie: Sommige sulke submissive Afrikaner meisies van Stellenbosch; ‘n paar Ingilse uit die Southern Suburbs en ‘n hippie wat my soulsister is. Die dynamics was interessant, want Afrikaanse kleindorpie girls is baie anders as hul Engilse counterparts uit die Cape Town city surburbs. Dis een ding wat my altyd verstom oor Suid-Afrika, hoe ons almal dit reggekry het om in een landjie te woon op ons eie planete sonder om juis iets van mekaar af te weet. (Dis een van die lekkertes van die VSA; as expat ontmoet ek nou Suid-Afrikaners van orals af en soos my Zulu Rastafarian van die Pretoria townships sê, hy’t nooit gedink hy sou buddies word met ‘n Afrikaanse meisie uit so ‘n obskure klein verre noordelike suburb Kuilsrivier nie…) Ek het 22 geword in 2000, en dit was die soort verjaarsdag wanneer jy weet die hele lewe le oop voor jou: Daai adult life waarvan jy altyd gedroom het en die groot vooruitsig om my eerste grootmens-joppie hier in die VSA te begin. Dit was so half sad want dit was die laaste verjaarsdag wat ek in my bed wakker gemaak is met die drietjies (ma, pa en boet) wat vir my ‘n liedjie sing ; ‘n dag wat begin met twee warm hondjies onder my komberse, een in elke arm, en persente en breakfast in die bed. Laasjaar was midlife krisis. Die Groot 23. Ek dink 19, 23, 28, 33, 43, 51, 66 voel vir my soos sulke random verjaarsdae wanneer jy not quite in a new phase is, in ‘n soort midlife-limbo. 23 was net geheel en al arbitrer. Jy’s nie meer bloedjonk nie, jy sien die lyntjies om die oe raak en die eerste disillusionment oor die grootmenslewe kick in. Skielik besef jy jou drome was dalk effe onrealisties en daai eendag waarna jy altyd uitgesien het - die eendag na skool en varsity - is NOU. En dan weet jy nie so mooi wat om met daai NOU te maak nie. 23 het begin as ‘n alleen verjaarsdag en boonop die eerste een in die winter. Gelukkig het die weer saamgespeel en die Big Cheese kon vir my “barbecue” die nag voor die verjaarsdag dit was so warm daardie een enkele nag voor my verjaarsdag dat my buitelug ysskaatsrink gesmelt het. Na die barbecue wat heeltemal aan my hoe Suid-Afrikaanse braai-standaarde voldoen het, het ek die rent-‘n-aupair-crowd gevra my 12 uur die verjaarsdag in te sing. Toe dit 12am is en 7am in Suid-Afrika toe bel ek huis toe en se “Wens my geluk, dis my verjaarsdag.” Oe, was dit lekker hartseer om hulle te hoor sing oor die foon en altwee my brakkies word langs die foon vasgehou sodat ek kan roep “Rokkietjie, Kriekstetjie.” Die twee hondtjie-babatjies se verjaarsdag is op die 6de Februarie, so van altyd af dring ek daarop aan dat hulle saam met my partytjie hou en allerhande treats kry op my verjaarsdag. Op Saterdag 10 Februarie 2001 toe ek 23 word was my ice rink gesmelt maar die bestuurder het vir my ‘n rooi baadjie laat aantrek waarop staan RINK GUARD en ek was die enigste een wat toegelaat is om te ysskaats, ‘n spesiale verjaarsdag geskenk. Daardie Saterdag-nag toe sit ek tjoepstil en alleen in my huisie nie met chip en dip in Suid-Afrikaanse styl nie maar met ‘n nachos en salza soos ek geleer is in die VSA en ek voel misrabel. Die rede vir my melankolie: Ek beplan toe ‘n partytjie en my huis bly leeg tot laatnag. Ek dag niemand gaan opdaag nie. En ek sit toe met my simpele blou pruik en my party-outfit en huil en mis die Berg en my brakkies en vriende skielik, teen 10:30, is die partytjie in volle swing. Toe word 23 dit die 21st wat ek nooit gehad het nie. En al die random mense en connections wat ek in die VSA opgetel het wat mekaar nie ken nie, kom hou verjaarsdag saam met my, die grootste crazyste partytjie wat ons in ‘n lang tyd in Friendship Heights gehou het. “I didn’t realise you know so many people” het die meeste van my vriende gese. En toe besef ek: My lewe is hier, in Washington DC, en ek het ‘n fantastiese geskiedenis en fantastiese daar, in Suid-Afrika maar ook in hierdie stad wat my huis geword het, het ek tonne goeie lieflike vriende. Daardie nag toe kom die twee werelde bymekaar in my kop. So dit is waar ek vanjaar is. 24. Ek hou van die fyn lyntjies om my oe want ek LEEF mos. Ek het besef ek kan nie altyd terugkyk en mis wat verby is nie. Ek het ook besef die lewe is nie uit drome geweef nie maar uit die NOU. En ek leef vir daai nou. Ek het hierdie magic mense ontmoet die laaste jaar en ‘n half in die States: Franse, Zulus, Xhosas, Ingilse, Iere, California girls; Las Vegas boys, Vietnamese; Jamaicans en obviously regte egte Washingtonians en Southerners. Ek word 24 en ek is gelukkig om 24 te word: Ek is happy happy oor my mense HIER en DAAR en selfs my verskriklike hartseer oor my Rokkie-babatjie wat nie hierdie jaar op my verjaarsdag oor die foon vir my gaan blaf nie. Lewe en dood is ‘n deel van die 24 jaar se Live and Learn, net soos die gemis van daai wereld in my kop, Suid-Afrika, vir altyd deel gaan wees van Kytie Koekblik. Kuilsrivier en Grahamstad en die Berg is my konteks wat my vir 22 jaar gemaak het sodat ek die mens is wat ek vandag is, die Washingtonian met die sterk aksent. So ek is happy, en ek focus op die nou, en ek droom nie in oormaat nie en worry nie in oormaat nie, want die Nou is vol van exciting goeters soos my Misterieuse Rollerblader en daai roman wat ek probeer skryf en die feit dat ek nou actually betaal word om ‘n RINK GUARD by die buitelug-ice rink te wees en of course die Neverending Big Cheese Eskapades en ons talle Covert Operations. Ek voel ‘n veer vir die California girls se hoehakke en fashion en is heel gelukkig om steeds my eens neon pienk sokkies van 1991 te dra wat al lankal uit die mode is want dit is ek. Kytie Koekblik, daai Afrikaanse girl wat 24 word en steeds nie kan kook nie want dit was nog nooit deel van droom of realiteit nie. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Zim army 'won't stage coup' if MDC wins Harare - Leaders of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said they had been assured by top army officers that the Zimbabwe National Army would not stage a coup if the MDC won a March 9 and 10 presidential election, despite a threat to do so by Zimbabwe Defence Force commander Vitalis Zvinavashe. General Zvinavashe's statement last month that the army would not salute MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai if he won the election unsettled many voters, some of whom have been asking the point of voting if their verdict is not ultimately going to be respected. But MDC vice-president Gibson Sibanda said several top army officers had approached him and Tsvangirai and assured the opposition leadership of their readiness to serve under an MDC government if the party won the election. Previous reports have also quoted junior members of the army distancing themselves from General Zvinavashe's threat to topple any non-Zanu-PF government. Meanwhile, South Africa did not see itself as the final judge as to whether the presidential elections in Zimbabwe were free and fair, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Sunday. Speaking on SABC3's Newsmaker programme, she said South Africa started from the premise that "we all have a responsibility to make those elections free and fair". "Therefore, we cannot sit and hold our hands and say on the day we stand in judgement and say the results were free or not free." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] 'Road rage' doctor punches dentist in face In yet another case of road rage, a petite mother was allegedly punched in the face by a hefty man after a minor fender-bender in East London this week. Ronel Borman, a dentist who weighs just 55kg, had to have stitches after the man, a medical doctor who is believed to tip the scales at more than 150kg, punched her in the eye in front of her 10-year-old daughter. The doctor, Muphlela Katakumbani from the Republic of Congo, was enraged when Borman reversed into his car accidentally, causing slight damage. The incident happened outside Borman's daughter's primary school. Katakumbani demanded payment for the damage on the spot and when Borman said she didn't have any money on her and that her insurance company would cover the cost, he hit her in the face in front of other shocked parents and pupils, then drove off. An unrepentant Katakumbani said he had punched Borman because she hadn't apologised for reversing into his car. "I am not concerned about her face, I am only concerned about the damage to my car. "Her behaviour as a woman was not proper because she denied it was her fault. She never apologised or said she was sorry." School caretaker Graham Murray, who witnessed the incident, said he was horrified. "He hit her full in the face with such force that it what would have knocked a large man off his feet." He described the attacker as a very large man who weighed well over 130kg. However, a nurse at Frere Hospital where Katakumbani works said he weighed "about 170kg". Murray said Borman had been hurled against her own car by the blow to her face. "She just stood there staring in disbelief, bleeding from one eye." Borman said she was stunned and shocked by the attack. "I still find it hard to believe that this type of thing can happen in public, and this at an all-girls school. "I was reversing out of the parking lot when suddenly there was a car behind me and my vehicle ended up hitting the back end of a red Toyota." She said she got out to give the driver her information and to get his details but he shouted at her. "It was a minor accident. No one was injured and the cars were not that badly damaged." She told Katakumbani, whose children also attend the school, that they should exchange information so that the insurance companies could sort out the details, but he got even angrier. "I am not interested in insurance. You will pay for the damages right now," he allegedly shouted at her. Borman said he pointed to damage which had obviously been there before and said: "Look what you have done to my car." She again suggested that they leave it to the insurance company, at which point he shouted, "I want the cash right now!" "I told him we must contact the police and the next thing he punched me in the face." Borman has laid a charge of common assault with the police and intends reporting Katakumbani to the Health Professions Council. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - I’m recovering again (still?). Turns out one person has no less than four wisdom teeth (why?!), and so after having one removed as part of a dental study a few weeks ago, the dentist decided I had better get the others out as well. So here I am, sans wisdom, and recovering again. I’m telling you this so that you can anticipate a much shorter column this week. (Really. This isn’t just an empty threat as usual.) Every once in a while even the best (or less good) columnists run out of ideas or into dental problems (or both), and then they resort to that old faithful: The List. I’ve been in the US for nearly five and a half years, and even after all this time, this country, its people and their ways never cease to amuse and amaze me. So today, I’ve decided to list some of those things about the US that I find strange and/or hilarious. So here goes, in NO order of importance: * It seems fitting to write about football during the same week as Super Bowl Sunday. For those football novices out there, the Super Bowl is the equivalent of the Rugby World Cup, in which the two best football teams compete with each other at the end of the season. The competition only involves American teams, but with true American arrogance, they call the winners of the Super Bowl the "World Champions". Really, and all that without playing against at least ONE Canadian team! Are you going to tell them, or should I? * In the United States, it is rude to say that you want to go to the toilet. You have to say bathroom. At the same time, the word "p*ss" (And I’m bleeping myself, because it’s one of my LEAST favourite words, forgiven only when used by Dalene Matthee in Fiela’s Child.) is freely used on television (during prime time, no less) and even in polite company, without anyone batting an eye. But say toilet and you’ll have most Yanks choking on their bagels and coffee. * This first world country, for all its fabulous inventions and gadgets (Like the garbage disposal. It’s a device placed inside kitchen sinks, and it doubles both as a drain and a place in which to throw away scraps of (mostly soft) food), has still not figured out some of the pleasures that we’ve enjoyed in South African kitchens for years. A few examples are electric kettles and teapots. I’m sure you can find a few teapots here and there, but good luck with the search. And, as I’ve found out the scorching way: mind your lashes when lighting the gas oven. * When kids are 16, they can get their driver’s licenses in most states. But they’re only allowed to smoke cigarettes once they’re 18, or consume alcohol when they’re 21 years old. Certainly, smoking and drinking do cause a fair amount of bodily harm to the practitioner, but in my opinion, cars are far more lethal weapons. * Every autumn, people in the US (except for people in Arizona, Hawaii and a portion of Indiana) move their clocks an hour back, thus SHORTENING the already shorter days and thus ending Daylight Saving Time. In the spring they move it back again. No one I’ve asked can tell me for certain why it’s done. It makes everyone manic depressive, yet no one’s ever bothered changing it. I think Arizona’s residents are very clever not to be a part of it. They must be so bright because of the warm and dry climate over there. * All the states in the US have stupid laws that were made many years ago but are still in effect because no one has ever bothered to update or repeal them. There are too many to mention (that is a whole column for another day) but I’ve decided to pick the best ones for my state, Maryland, and share them with you: In Baltimore, Maryland, it’s illegal to throw bales of hay from a second-storey window within the city limits. (Shucks, there goes my house warming party idea. Hey, but they never mentioned any storeys ABOVE the second, so…). In Baltimore, my South African friends, it’s also illegal to take a lion to the movies. (I know, it’s terrible to leave your pets home alone, especially in a foreign country, isn’t it? Think I’ll leave Simba with the neighbours’ cat when I go to see the sequel to Harry Potter. Ought to occupy him for a while.) Still in Baltimore, it’s a park rule violation to be in a public park while wearing a sleeveless shirt. You’ll be slapped with an outrageous $10 fine! (In that case, beat it Britney Spears! There’s no telling how they’ll break YOUR bank balance with such a fine. Besides, if you hang around in Federal Hill Park for too long, you may just give those Maryland lawmakers in Annapolis half a chance to prohibit bare midriffs too! And good heavens, we can’t possibly expect you to start wearing clothes, now can we?) Oh, and it’s also illegal in Baltimore to sell chicks or ducklings to a minor within one week of the Easter holiday. (Isn’t that just too mean for words?). And as if that law isn’t terrible enough, no one is allowed to curse within the city limits. (I wonder if saying "p*ss" counts as cursing? If so, I’m going to start making a lot of citizen’s arrests!). On that note, the legal system in this country is quite odd (to put it mildly.). Most people are familiar with the McDonald’s lawsuit of 1997, in which Stella Liebeck sued the fast-food restaurant chain for $640,000 after she spilled a cup of hot coffee on herself. She won the case. Did I mention that she was balancing the cup between her knees in her grandson’s (moving) car? That same year a mother fell asleep with the door of her apartment wide open. Her two young daughters wandered off onto a nearby train track, where they were both killed instantly by an oncoming train. No sooner had the daughters been buried, or the woman was suing the local transportation authority, saying that they were responsible for the deaths because they had neglected to fence off the area. Never mind that she had tested positive for Methamphetamine (Speed). Just last week another woman received $3.5 million in her lawsuit against Starbucks after she was scalded with hot coffee during a demonstration on how to use an espresso machine. In a country where frivolous lawsuits like these abound (and are won!), it’s a bit surprising to learn that you can’t do anything about noisy neighbours! (Not if they shout and scream at each other, that is. But you CAN file a complaint if they turn their radios or televisions up too loudly.) Strange country, this USA, isn’t it? But at least they have some excellent coffee, well-behaved dogs and good dentists… © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] R260m in apartheid-era loans written off A total of R260-million worth of industrial development loans to municipalities was written off by the Department of Land Affairs last year, after the cabinet had granted it permission to do so. The loans to the local authorities - called industrial growth point loans - apparently dated back as far as the 1960s. The write-offs came to light in an auditor-general's report - tabled in Parliament on Thursday - on the financial statements of the department for the financial year ending March 31, 2001. The report says an outstanding amount of R277,82-million could not be verified when an attempt was made to reconcile the financial records of the department with the records of "the relevant local authorities". It states: "Payments on some of these loans have not been made for a long period, and there is now a possibility that certain loans, of an increasing amount, will have to be written off as irrecoverable." The write-offs happened "some time after August 8 last year" - the date on which, according to ministry media liaison officer Nana Zenani, the cabinet gave the department the go-ahead to scrap the loans. She confirmed on Thursday that the loans had been written off, and said the amount involved was R260-million. It is understood that loans were extended to 26 local authorities. Zenani said the cabinet had given the go-ahead for all the loans to be scrapped. "The suggestion was put to the cabinet that we need to look at one of two scenarios: either we look at paying back the debt and neglecting service delivery, or we concentrate on service delivery and do away with the debts." Zenani added the debts had "not been the present government's to begin with". Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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