Major wastes R45million on farms for husband

The mayor of a crumbling municipality - which suffers frequent water shortages - spent R45-million of unbudgeted council funds on seven farms in a neighbouring province. (from the Sunday Times)

Her husband was then put in charge of them.

The Sunday Times has established that the farms, bought last year, have since fallen into disrepair and are failing, despite a further R10.5-million being spent to keep them going.

Zoleka Capa - an ANC national executive committee member and the mayor of the OR Tambo district municipality in the Eastern Cape - this week confirmed attending the auction of the farms near Kokstad, in neighbouring KwaZulu-Natal. She bought the farms despite the fact that the municipality had not budgeted for them.

OR Tambo district municipality runs towns including Port St Johns and Mthatha. It boasts roads peppered with potholes, and suffers critical water shortages, frequent electricity blackouts and poor service delivery.

A task team set up by Capa's own party to probe municipal governance in the region is now demanding to know why the farms were bought without prior council approval, and has drafted a letter calling on parliament's public accounts watchdog, Scopa, to intervene.

The farms - 2600ha of prime agricultural land used for livestock production and growing crops like maize, potatoes and fruit - were bought in April 2008. Capa trumped an offer of R16-million by the Department of Land Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal with a bid of R25-million. Another R20-million was ploughed into the deal to buy vehicles, tractors, livestock and equipment on the properties.

Capa's husband, Ndumiso, who heads the agriculture section of the municipality's development agency Ntinga, was put in charge of running the farms with the intention of turning them into a profitable commercial venture.

But the farms were in a state of disarray when the Sunday Times visited this week:

* An apple farming project, which used to have a turnover of more than R1-million, has collapsed;
* Farm workers' homes are dilapidated;
* There is no office equipment, fences are falling apart and machinery lies in a state of disrepair;
* Bags of harvested maize lie discarded in a shed and there is no sign of a once-thriving poultry operation.

Asked about the state of the properties, previous owner Steve Wells said: "All I did was do business with the highest bidder. How they take care of the land and the welfare of the people who used to work for me is their business."

Bruce Kannemeyer, the municipal manager of OR Tambo, said this week that the R45-million was not budgeted for and no procurement processes had been followed "as (the farms) were bought through an auction".

He said, however, that the R10.5-million the municipality had injected into the project since the purchase had been budgeted for.

Ndumiso Capa said the farms were in trouble because "we were made to believe that most of the farming equipment was in working condition, but it was not".

"We understand that local farmers who wanted to buy this land are angry OR Tambo bought it. Hard luck. We will do our best to inject as much infrastructure (as possible) to make this thing work," he said.

Yolisa Xaba, a resident of Fort Gale in Mthatha, said this week she was shocked the municipality bought the farms when money needed to be spent on the provision of basic services.

Xaba said water shortages in Mthatha were so frequent that "if you don't have a tank as a reserve, you will go to work and school for days without water".

Buyelwa Sonjica, minister of water and environmental affairs, visited the province in July and declared OR Tambo's water services a disaster. The municipality has had to truck thousands of litres of water to at least 16 areas in the district.

Gene change in cannibals shows human evolution in action

It's a snapshot of human evolution in progress. A genetic mutation protecting against kuru – a brain disease passed on by eating human brains – only emerged and spread in the last 200 years. (from New Scientist)

When members of the Fore people in Papua New Guinea died, others would eat the dead person's brain during funeral rituals as a mark of respect. Kuru passed on in this way killed at least 2500 Fore in the 20th century until the cause was identified in the late 1950s and the practice halted.

Identification of kuru and how it was spread helped researchers identify how BSE – mad cow disease – spread through the feeding of infected cattle brains to other animals, and how this eventually led to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which has killed 166 people so far in the UK.

Zim Zim the cannibal...

Residents of Phoenix and Mt Moriah, north of Durban, have been terrified about rumours of a cannibal on the loose in the area. (from IOL)

However, Durban police spokesman Superintendant Muzi Mngomezulu said they had investigated the claims and had found no proof.

"There is no clarity. It appears these are rumours or superstitions of some sort because there are no people reported to be lost," he said.

He said the police would not disregard the matter, but would have to treat it with suspicion until someone came forward with new information that could give them some positive leads.

Another police spokesman, Captain Khephu Ndlovu, said there had been a story circulating in communities in the area about a cannibal named Zim Zim.

Fat cats raid agriculture of R100million for the high life

A R100-million taxpayer-financed empowerment fund meant for poor farmers has been used to bankroll the lavish lifestyles of politically connected fat cats - and no one seems interested in recovering the money. (from the Sunday Times)

Despite the fact that the limit for a grant per person is R430000, a Sunday Times investigation can reveal that:

• Dan Mofokeng, former Gauteng housing MEC and husband of ANC provincial legislature member Jacqueline Mofokeng, bought a Mercedes Benz CLS55 AMG for cash, and a R2-million luxury home in Six Fountains, near Pretoria, with money from the fund;
• Apart from this financing of his flashy lifestyle, Mofokeng is also the majority shareholder in a working farm project in Limpopo that received R6.5-million from the AgriBEE fund;
• Phil Mohlahlane, who was both head of the Agriculture Department section that approved AgriBEE project funding and acting CEO of the Land Bank when the disbursements were made, used money from the fund to pay cash for a R2.7-million home in Kyalami;
• The fund also paid for another R6.4-million farm in Limpopo, which was transferred to Mohlahlane's sister-in-law, Jessica Mojanaga;
• A Hazyview doctor received a R6-million grant to buy a 70% stake in a dairy farm that was worth only R660000, near Springs in Gauteng, and an employee of a consultancy that did work for the Land Bank received R3.5-million for a stake in an agricultural enterprise.

These people belong six feet under... prison will do for now... six feet under later....

and so it came to pass the people were hungry once more

'Govt bungling land reform'

Cape Town - The clumsy manner in which the government is currently attempting to push through land reform will cost it dearly, said Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA and its spokesperson on land affairs.

Government was now guilty of the very injustice towards white landowners that was perpetrated against black people when they were dispossessed of their land without proper compensation, he said...

De Jager said the restitution process began to go awry from the start because activists incited people to institute claims that involved almost all the agricultural land in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.

"The activists insinuated themselves into the public service and became senior officials, but never hung up their activist jackets to became administrators," said De Jager.

"This has led to corruption, nepotism and self-enrichment while the officials hiked the prices of land for personal gain while placing the blame squarely on the landowners."

The problem was exacerbated as the original deadline for land claims, March 2005, approached and little had been done to finalise the process.

This led to thousands of farms hurriedly being listed in the Government Gazette without the validity of the claims being investigated.

The department began paying out billions of rands and quickly ran out of money, while the local economies of towns like Utrecht, Levubu, Barberton, Malelane and Tzaneen, where large-scale land claims had been awarded, collapsed.

De Jager said government was now acknowledging that half of the farms that changed ownership owing to land reform were already no longer productive while the rest were following close on their heels.

The problem had been worsened because the Land Reform department has been unable to explain to the auditor-general where R1.15bn of its funds has gone.

Consequently there is no money left to proceed with land reform...

- Fin24

Land reform farms "in trouble"

The government has spent more than R6bn buying land for emerging farmers and more than half the farms purchased have either failed or are "declining", says Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti. (from News24)

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, tabled on Monday, he said his department had acquired 2 864 farms across all nine provinces for emerging farmers.

"[A total of] 29% of the 1 250 LRAD (Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development] projects reviewed have failed, and a further 22% are declining.

"Thus, 362 of the 1 250 farms are unproductive and a further 275 could possibly become unproductive if no agricultural support is received," he said.

In addition, the department had recently completed asset verification on its Pro-Active Land Acquisition Strategy farms.

"Approximately 127 farms need immediate agricultural intervention... to ensure that the land in question does not become unproductive," Nkwinti said.

Among reasons identified for the farm failures were insufficient agricultural support, conflict among beneficiary groups, and limited LRAD grants.

The department - which spent R6.25bn acquiring the farms - was developing a programme to give the necessary support to struggling farmers, he said.

General Butt Naked - Cannibal of the year 2009

General Butt Naked was a rebel commander from Liberia's civil war and is hereby awarded the prestigious Nongqawuse Cannibal of the Year 2009.

General Butt Naked told reporters that at the age of 11 he had a telephone call from the Devil who demanded nudity on the battlefield, acts of indecency and regular human sacrifices to ensure his protection. (Buzzle)

"So, before leading my troops into battle, we would get drunk and drugged up, sacrifice a local teenager, drink their blood, then strip down to our shoes and go into battle wearing colourful wigs and carrying dainty purses we'd looted from civilians. We'd slaughter anyone we saw, chop their heads off and use them as soccer balls. We were nude, fearless, drunk and homicidal. We killed hundreds of people — so many I lost count." (Wiki)

"Sometimes I would enter under the water where children were playing. I would dive under the water, grab one, carry him under and break his neck. Sometimes I'd cause accidents. Sometimes I'd just slaughter them."

"But in June last year God telephoned me and told me that I was not the hero I considered myself to be, so I stopped and became a preacher." (Coming Anarchy)

Only those who can blandly admit to killing and eating many are in line for the award. I understand the nudity demanded by the Devil, but what of MOTIVE?

"I agreed, because at that time they offered me a lot of money. Everything I did, I did on a commercial basis." (FSU)

Well there you go.. The love of money.. The root of all evil...

Kevin Wustefeld Janssens - A whole other kind of stupid

According to the farm's project co-ordinator, Kevin Wustefeld Janssens, "As a result of the assessments, we were able to establish the actual potential, understanding and therefore evoke our capability as managers by managing people correctly, therefore creating a spirit of motivation and increased productivity." He added that by doing this, they were able to restructure the business, and appoint and place people with the correct behaviour profiles to the various positions of leadership. (Business Services Industry)

The power of understanding

The process has been an amazing revelation, said Wustefeld, and the fact that real capacity exists in current staff eliminates the need to recruit or rely on outsiders. This debunks the myth of scarcity or inadequate capacity within empowerment projects that enable people to manage their own destiny through the ability to understand themselves and understand how to adapt their own behaviour to motivate another person's behaviour, he said.

As the saying goes, a "born leader" constantly modifies behaviour to draw out the best from others. However, most managers find it difficult initially to act in different ways with different people. With constant practice and awareness, not only will it become second nature; leaders can increase their own awareness and sensitivity to others, and as a consequence, influence others to become more productive and focused in their own self-development.

"By gaining clarity of your own behavioural style and that of others' and modifying your own behaviour, you will then be able to effectively manage and lead a team of individuals with variant personalities."

Constantly modifying your behaviour is not the hallmark of a great leader. It is the hallmark of a lying cheating stealing piece of shit. Your own behavioural style cost the failed farm project R3000 a day!

How can you rape a toddler?

Speaking at a police briefing yesterday, Petros, who took the opportunity to announce new appointees, said his reluctance to visit the bushes where the toddler's body was found was fuelled by his incomprehension of how a three-year-old could be raped. (from IOL)

"When I was told about her abduction, I held my breath in the hope that she would be found alive. I can't imagine how a three-year-old can be raped and stabbed." (Why would you want to?)

He said there was a commitment made by police to see that more capacity was given to units which dealt with this type of crime and thanked the NGOs for counselling families and police officers who visited crime scenes involving children.

Petros said residents should be appreciative of police officers who investigated crimes against children as he "can't imagine the trauma they must face".

Ehe... It's like Hollywood... I kant imagine!

Child abductions in the Western Cape

No police officer anywhere in the world would allow the payment of ransom money, Western Cape police commissioner Mzwandile Petros said on Wednesday at a media briefing on the death of three-year-old Viwe Mnembe. (from IOL)

"Globally, there's no police official who will allow anybody to pay ransom money to anybody.

"Because you know what will happen: you will be hijacked in the garage, and somebody's going to be saying, I want ten rand, and then it's easy money." (It's good to see our top policeman shooting his mouth off like this...)

"It is becoming a normal thing in the Western Cape, which is unfortunate. Each and every weekend we will have child abducted."

"We need to investigate this thing further, why is this thing happening in the Western Cape." (errr R500?)

ALL deserve UNIVERSITY edukation

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande, who will take over the troubled Setas, wants experienced workers without matric - or matriculants without exemptions - to study at universities. (from IOL)

"Why should a 40-year-old adult who didn't get a matric exemption, but has 12 years' work experience, go and write matric exams when he has enormous experience?" (Because standing in the garden with a spade for 12 years hasn't made him more intelligent and literate!)

The fact that only 18 percent of matriculants gained matric exemptions last year was not a true reflection of the potential of the youth. (It's not a reflection of the youth, but a reflection on the schools and the teachers at those schools. The problem does not lie in the admission standards.... it lies in the academic standards for the schools. Changing the admission standards is not ever going to improve the quality of the students. Earning a university degree requires motivation, dedication and perseverence.)

A report on post-compulsory school provision, commissioned by former education minister Naledi Pandor, found that 2.8 million of 6.8 million 18-to-24-year-olds in South Africa were not employed, in educational institutions or at workplace training.

Said Nzimande: "This implies 40 percent of our youth are not productively engaged due to very limited access to post-school education and training opportunities, poor resources, the lack of financing and the restricted unavailability of jobs. (Blade does not mention how getting a degree from a university translates to a job nor how many umemployed people there are with degrees.)

"This is a huge wastage of human potential."

Couple lose R30 000 to Sangoma....

Nosive Titsolo of Khayelitsha, who is unemployed, decided to consult a sangoma after her house was burgled and her purse disappeared. (from IOL)

The sangoma promised to perform three rituals to end her run of bad luck. One of these involved buying a bag for R12 000 into which a R1-million gift from the ancestors would appear on a certain day.

Titsolo paid R1 000 for a goat for the cleansing ceremony. She also borrowed R12 000 from a relative for the the bag for the ancestors' gift.

In the third ritual, she borrowed R15 000 from a bank to buy cows which would "protect and cleanse" her house.

She was also charged a consultation fee, bringing the amount she said she paid to the sangoma to R30 000. She was told to open a bank account and deposit the money in it.

But the day she was due to receive the R1-million "gift from the ancestors" came and went.

Titsolo went back to the sangoma, who was based in Harare, to find out what had gone wrong, only to be told by his assistants that he had gone to the "mountain in Kenya".

"My husband and I believed in him and trusted him, but we now realise that he brainwashed us," said Titsolo.

Titsolo's husband has a job.

She says they had expected some good luck, but had just had more bad luck.

Titsolo said she had tried to lay a charge with the Khayelitsha police but they refused to open a docket if people were going to be so stupid?

Minister's racist view underpins agricultural policy

Government will make R1bn available for support to emerging farmers, the SABC reported on Wednesday. (from News24)

Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said 2 000 land reform beneficiaries and 1 000 extension officers would be trained. She said broad-based black economic empowerment would also be monitored.

"We have, with the industry stakeholders launched the Agri BEE charter council to monitor and report on BBBEE initiatives.

"Not enough has been done to monitor BBBEE in agriculture and this will be intensified and monitored with scrutiny."

The government wanted to tap into the goodwill that existed among white commercial farmers to help grow the black farming sector, she said.

Speaking at the end of debate in the National Assembly on her department's budget vote, she warned it was wrong to label white commercial farmers as "the enemy". (Too late, she's already let it slip?)

"We must work together to do more. We will listen to all stakeholders. We will listen to those who have competence and skills. We do not have the luxury of time to reinvest in these.

"There are historically advantaged commercial farmers who have the knowledge and who have the know-how. And there is goodwill among white commercial farmers. There is goodwill; they want to help.

"It is tapping into that goodwill that is important, and not to always blame and label white commercial farmers as the enemy. There are patriotic white South Africans who want to help this country," she told MPs.

Government would work together with farmers who believed their collective future lay in South Africa, but not with those who were "condescending, patronising and racist" in nature.

"We are going to need... [farmers who] will share the risk of failure. If a farm collapses, it is going to be the responsibility of both white and black white farmers to address the failure," she said

The goodwill the minister crows about was all dribbled into the dry dusty earth by one Lulu Xingwana. It will take more than just saying that "they are not the enemy" to get that trust back. Does it matters to you what the colour of the skin of the person growing your food is? It matters to the minister. That is the racist foundation of the minister's approach. I will see you as black and white, but will not work with anyone who is "condescending and racist"? The minister just turned her back on South African farmers investing in the rest of Africa in a "condescending, patronising and rascist manner". These are farmers heading INTO Africa, so how does that make them rascist? To see a hypocrit the minister need only look in a mirror.

Agricultural minister unveils first harvest of sour grapes

Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said the government will not stand in the way of farmers investing in other African countries but "cannot help protect their investments." (From IOL)

Duh UH DUH! The minister can't get it into her teensie little brain that the white farmers of this country are seeking greener pastures elsewhere because of this government's policy targetting their farms. The minister is also ignoring the matter before the Constitutional Court regarding the governments dismal failure to lift a finger to help Mr von Abo when he was losing his farms in Zimbabwe. No pressure, no request, nothing from our government. Perhaps it is because Mr von Abo is white?

"South Africa would not be able to protect their risk in another country, and we wouldn't be able to provide them with any security or any insurance for their money. So if they invest, they face the risk like any other investor." (She means to say South Africa WILL not protect their investments in other countries? She is the person in the position to negotiate bilateral protection treaties with these countries? Maybe she knows something about the way Africa seems to work. An area is colonised and developed until the local population decides to lose the plot Zimbabwe style? What are you saying to foreign companies wanting to invest in South African agriculture when you are not willing to provide our citizens basic protections on racial terms? What about black entrepeneurs who want to invest in African agriculture?)

"We have also spoken about security of tenure and security of land, that they should understand the policies of the countries they are investing in - particularly around land." (You don't think the farmers have read the LARGE print regarding this country's land policy? Why do you think they are looking elsewhere?)

"We had high risk impacts in Zimbabwe, where South African farmers went to Zimbabwe, lost their farms and were looking for some form of compensation," she said. (While the South African government fiddled on the sidelines?)

"We are not trying to scare away South African investments in the rest of Africa...but we caution our farmers to say that make sure that you understand what you are negotiating, what you are signing up for. You need to read the fine print." (She is doing her best to discourage external investments and sounds panicky. Could it be that the grass really is greener on the other side? Or could it be that the minister realises that the white farmers are just leaving, taking their skills, money and equipment and escaping from under her jackboot? Lady, use the royal "we" all you like, you still sound panicked!)

Zimbabweans witches fly in baskets!

A HARARE magistrate has called in witchcraft experts after a Murehwa woman found NAKED outside her brother-in-law’s house in Highfield claimed she FLEW there in a winnowing basket with two others on a mission to kill him. (from newzimbabwe)

Refusing to take chances, Harare magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe said the woman should be remanded in custody just in case she “flies back to Murehwa”.

Guvamombe then told prison officers: “If she escapes, the Prison Service should explain.”

Experts from the Zimbabwe Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) were expected in court on Thursday to provide guidance on the bizarre case which is set to reignite a national debate on witchcraft.

The practice of witchcraft is illegal in Zimbabwe after witchcraft laws were changed in 2006. Under the colonial-era laws that existed before then, it was a crime to accuse anyone of practising witchcraft.

New laws say anyone accusing another individual of witchcraft must show proof of their allegations. The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act 2004 says judicial officers can rely on expert evidence “as to whether the practice that forms the subject of a charge… is a practice that is commonly associated with witchcraft.”

The spirit of Nongqawuse is with us today! "Pssstt... Kill your cattle... The MDC and the white man will turn into grasshoppers and mice and swept into the sea by a big wind... New cattle will issue forth from the soil and the farms will grow wheat and maize and tobacco and... " It is incredible that the magistrate would play along. He must BELIEVE. Add in that the "experts" are coming to give evidence.... this "witch" is in trouble. What constitutes proof of witchcraft? Perhaps TRIAL BY DROWNING? This is getting very close to waterboarding... Perhaps a simple stripsearch will reveal her WITCHES TEAT - an unnatural protuberance (usually in the armpit or in the crotch) that was insensitive when pricked?

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" Exodus 22:18

Land Invasion South African style

DISGRUNTLED land-reform beneficiaries have invaded a farm near Malelane in Mpumalanga, ousting its managers and assuming control of the farm workers and the running of the farm. (from the Business Day)

The 3200ha farm, Foroma, is part of Tenbosch, a R10bn land-restitution project, SA’s biggest by value. It is one of several farms handed back to four communities who lost their land under apartheid legislation since 1923. In Tenbosch, farming had slowed down on some of the farms. (Slowed? They mean to say the farm has slipped into subsistence farming)

Agribusiness Umlimi, which controls the joint-venture farm management company Makhombo for the Lugedlane community, has confirmed the land invasion, saying a group of people armed with knives and machetes arrived on Foroma last Thursday, threatened managers and seized control of the farm.

The invasion of Foroma farm comes among other indications that the Tenbosch project, the government’s showcase land restitution project, is beginning to fall apart.

Attorney Richard Spoor said the trustess had entrenched themselves by selling membership to the community and then setting up what amounted to pyramid schemes, which paid out unsustainable dividends to cronies.

Although there has been no profit so far, Makhombo pays "the community" about R180000 a month in rental.

Through Makhombo, Umlimi has disbursed about R3,5m to Mjejane Trust on behalf of the Lugedlane community in the past three years, but none of the income was passed on to the community, the group of concerned community members allege. (We want the farm, we want the money, we want the car, we want the edukation, we want the health care, we want...)

Food for Votes.... follow the leader - Zanu-PF..

The ANC is enticing voters with food parcels — using taxpayers’ money.

The Sunday Times has established that ruling party councillors and representatives have been accompanying officials from the Department of Social Development in dishing out food parcels since February, declaring that the largesse is from “an ANC-led government”.

The electoral code of conduct states that it is an offence to offer a reward to a person to vote in a particular manner.

“They wore their ANC T-shirts and told us that the food was from the ANC, and that we should vote for the ANC if we want to get more parcels in the future,” said Sheila Xasa, a domestic worker from CC Lloyd township, East London.

A Gauteng recipient said they were told to vote for the ANC because it would continue to give them food and services. The woman, from Diepkloof, Soweto, said they were told they would starve to death if they did not vote for the ANC. “If you know what is right for you, you will vote for the winning party,” people were told while standing in queues, the woman said.

The party officials dishing out the parcels gave preferential treatment to those wearing ANC paraphernalia.

“We know that strategy; they want us to vote for them. After the elections they will disappear. It’s food for votes. They know that we are hungry, so they target our stomachs."

The ANC has clearly learned from the Zanu-PF and their long standing tradition of buying votes from starving poor people with food. Of course it's time to play stupid....

"ANC spokesman Jessie Duarte emphatically denied the party was buying votes with food, but indicated that “it was true” that parcels were coming from an ANC-led government.

“The fact of the matter is that the ANC-led government will continue to provide social assistance,” she said.

But the IFP, DA, UDM and COPE have accused the ANC of abusing the social distress relief grants. NGOs, including the Black Sash, have also condemned the practice.

The Black Sash’s Sarah Nicklin said it was “one of the lowest, most unscrupulous forms of electioneering, especially when it leads to a scramble for food and the death of vulnerable people in need”.

Lindiwe Sisulu and the truth

Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has been heading up an ANC "task team" on Jacob Zuma's "Legal Affairs" and spoke to the Mail and Guardian.

Wasn't the case won on a technicality?
No - the truth is indivisible. The NPA had to get the point across that although their process was flawed they at least had a solid case.

The Truth is Indivisible? What does that mean?
The Truth is Inadvisable, The Truth is Incredible
The Truth is Jacob Zuma is Guilty


This is not an acquittal. Aren't future charges possible?
This matter is over. Finish and klaar.

What about a private prosecution?
Once this decision to withdraw charges has been confirmed by the court, how can anyone challenge the decision? On what basis would this not amount to an acquittal? If this is not an acquittal, then I will have to revisit my bush law degree.

The head of the ANC's Legal team looking into the legal affairs of Jacob Zuma has a bush law degree. They don't do private prosecutions in the bush you know. Getting your legal advice from someone with a law degree from the bush is like getting your financial advice from Pollsmoor Prison Golf Driving Range! No wonder the housing crisis just gets worse and worse year after year.... it's cause Stupid is in charge.

A Special kind of Special

Convicted fraudster Maurice de Grandhomme an "investment adviser", was a sentenced prisoner when he was in charge of a kiosk and acted as an informal instructor at Pollsmoor Prison's golf driving range, where he enticed "investors". (from IOL)

de Grandhomme was found guilty of two alternate counts of theft, eight of fraud and seven of contravening the Companies Act in his trial for fraud and money laundering involving about R6-million. (from IOL)

Tourist Mariana Fergusson lost R300 000 (from IOL)

de Grandhomme apologised to his victims while asking the Wynberg Regional Court for leniency in the passing of his sentence.

His apologies were met by snorts of derision from people in the public gallery.

Snort's of derision? Insert loud laughter here! So where exactly do you go for you financial advice? Oh, Pollsmoor Prison driving range. The public clearly have rocks for brains. It's a good thing I wasn't in that court because these people deserve to lose their money. They are too stupid to have money.

Agriculture Minister siezes two farms

Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana this week put the "use it or lose it" principle into action and seized an ostrich farm from land restitution beneficiaries. (From Business Report)

"Land must be fully utilised … no farm must be allowed to lie fallow," Xingwana said in Hammanskraal outside Pretoria in a speech released to the media yesterday.

She visited the ostrich farm on Wednesday and lamented its deterioration since it was sold to the department in 2007 for R3.5 million and then leased to Phaphamang Ma-Africa for R168 000 per annum.

"Of the 77 ostriches originally on the farm, only 57 could be accounted for. Several of the birds were limping and they were in a chronic condition (and) would therefore probably not respond to treatment.

"It is also important to note that despite all these support systems, it is apparent to me that the beneficiaries are not passionate about farming."

She said equipment had been sold, tools were missing and the once-viable restaurant had been stripped of all chairs and tables. (Sounds a bit like Zimbabwe!?)

The Gauteng farm Yzervarkfontein was taken back by the government as no productive farming had taken place on it since 2007, the Department of Land Affairs said today. (SABC)

Eddie Mohoebi, a department spokesperson, said the farm on the East Rand was taken back from Veronica Moos under the "Use it or Lose it" campaign. The farm was acquired by government for R1.7 million and was subsequently leased to Moos for R2 000 per annum.

Moos was given a further R200 000 infrastructural grant to do some electrical work and acquire equipment but when government inspected whether it was being used, it discovered that Moos had sub-leased it. "One of the elements of land reform is the State has the right to terminate the lease if there is no productive farming on the land," Mohoebi said.

During the visit, the minister said government would take back at least five more farms in Gauteng, the Free State and the Eastern Cape. A task team was traversing the country to evaluate farms allocated to black farmers to determine if they were productive.

(One farm is bought for R3.5 million and is then leased for R14000 per month. Another farm is bought for R1.7million and it is leased for R2000 per month!? How does that make sense? Hau!)

Number of farms in use falls by 13%

The number of farms in active production fell by 12.7 percent to fewer than 40 000 in the five years to 2007, Statistics SA said yesterday. Agriculture experts attributed the decline to consolidation while discounting a government view that food producing land was being bought up for golf courses and game farms. (from Business Report)

The reduction in active farming units by 5 836 between financial 2002 and 2007 continued a trend in the R79.5 billion commercial farming sector, the agricultural census showed. In 1993 there were 57 980 farms.

John Purchase, the chief executive of the National Agricultural Business Chamber, said small farms were generally less financially viable. There was a tendency for farmers with bigger land holdings to buy up smaller farms.

The move to better economies of scale was a way to improve productivity in a country struggling to compete globally.

Purchase did not necessarily accept that game farms were less economically productive.

In 2007 South Africa became a net importer of agricultural products for the first time in more than 20 years as local food output failed to keep pace with a growing population, according to the National Agricultural Marketing Council.

Jacob Zuma Guilty

South Africa is suffering from another mass delusion. Many aren't buying into it, but many are.

African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma was officially free of his corruption charges on Tuesday.

The High Court in Durban endorsed a decision taken by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to drop the 16 charges against the presidential frontrunner, who was seen smiling as the decision was confirmed. (from the Mail and Guardian)

Jacob Zuma is guilty of fraud and corruption. There I said it. Will he challenge that statement. Would he challenge it in court? Really? When we all KNOW he is guilty? Here is the case against Jacob G Zuma.

The NPA's acting head, Mokotedi Mpshe on Monday that the 16 charges would be dropped due to the alleged abuse of process by the former head of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), Leonard McCarthy.

Mpshe was quick to point out that dropping the corruption charges did not amount to Zuma's acquittal.

His decision was not based on the actual merits of the case.

"It does not amount to an acquittal ... Mr McCarthy's conduct offends one's sense of justice. It would be unfair as well as unjust to continue with the prosecution," Mpshe said at a press briefing.

I refuse to pretend that the "interference" in any way made it impossible for Jacob Zuma to have a fair trial. Evidence of this interference will never be tested in court. It's like producing a single untested piece of evidence which hints at innocence is enough to halt the prosecution. The fact that the NPA had to do a legal dance to get the information in front of them. I just wonder how that evidence could be led before a court of law. Who deposes to it? In fact not one instance of the alledged "interference" prejudiced the actual case against Mr Zuma.

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe on Monday said there were "good reasons" why the Zuma prosecution had to end: "Comrade Zuma has suffered undue prejudicial delay which renders a fair trial impossible." Undue prejudicial delay?! When Jacob G Zuma has fought the prosecution at every turn to the highest court in the land he can get off because of delay?

Some of the ANC's provincial leaders waiting for Zuma outside the court included provincial health minister Peggy Nkonyeni, who shouted "free at last, free at last". Nkonyeni also faces corruption charges, related to the procurement of medical equipment, and is out on bail. (No I am not making this up)

(Prediction - Jacob Zuma will wish that he still had his day in court.)

Bail out African Style

Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders on Monday approved a Zimbabwean reconstruction plan of up to US$8,5-billion (about R82-billion). (from IOL)

SA foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma stressed though that SADC governments would not raise most of the money themselves. (Classic stuff!!! Put together a "bail-out" plan, but hope "someone else", the "international donor community" will pay)

SADC would try to mobilise it from international donors and international financial institutions. She said the summit had agreed that the SADC governments would each decide over the next weeks what they could afford to give. (And all of a sudden our government finds that it's not so keen to just waste money by pouring it into Zimbabwe with no hope of ever recouping it)

Zimbabwe's $5 billion (about R50 billion) short-term economic recovery plan unveiled this week appears certain to fail unless the rule of law is urgently restored, as demanded by international donors. (also from IOL)

A senior International Monetary Fund official told a meeting of civic organisations: "We can't just step in and shore up the budget. We want to see sound policy changes."

A little recap then. Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF head up an entirely racist policy of farm invasions aimed solely at the white farmers of that country. An entire nation has subsequently been disincentivesed to farm and turned it's back on the sun. The white farmers of Zimbabwe then sued the Zimbabwe government at a SADC Tribunal. The Zimbabwe goverment have indicated that they are ignoring the SADC ruling, but now SADC must come up with R82Billion in aid to rebuild Zimbabwe and to feed it's people. Now for Zimbabweans eighty two billion rand might not sound like a lot, but for South Africans that is a lot of money. South Africa will pretend to care, while effectively turning it's back on Zimbabwe like Sir George Grey did to the Xhosa's 150 years ago. The idea that South Africa owes Zimbabwe ANYTHING is far fetched. Of course the ruling party sought refuge there in the days of apartheid, but times have changed. Pumping money into Zimbabwe is going to cost the ANC support, so don't expect the billions to be flowing any time soon.

Eat your car

The first thing that the Zimbabwe "government" did was to issue the massively bloated cabinet new Mercedes Benz's.

The second thing that the Zimbabwe government has done is to ask South Africa for financial assistance.... Money for food.

If someone were to roll up to my house in a merc and beg for food I would chase him away. Their money is no good for buying food, but South Africa's money is? Are these people really being serious?

Before the end of the year the Zimbabweans will be feasting on the flesh of their comrades... and if you dont' think so put your money where your mouth is. I am willing to take a US$100 wager that Zimbabwean cannabalism will be with us before the year is up. Write me to accept! (First 10 I accept.... have to put a limit on it, but am determined to be the first person this millenium to make a $1000 from cannabilism. No bets after June 2009 thanks.)

There will be..

ANC head of policy Jeff Radebe painted a picture of a dramatically different rural landscape in former homeland areas over the next decade. There will be kibbutz-style collective farms and “agri-villages” on either side of major roads; apartheid-era irrigation schemes will be revived and houses built; trucks will take communal harvests to market; there’ll be young, newly trained peasant farmers standing waist deep in market garden crops, using drip-irrigation methods. (from the Sunday Times)

I love it when people talk big about the plants they are "going to grow"... the ANC now has psychoponia.... And doesn't this talk remind you of some other words spoken right there in the Eastern Cape a 150 years ago?

"On a certain date a great wind and storm will come from the east and blow all the white people into the sea. From the deep sea new healthy cows will come and they will live happily ever after and never die. Those who refuse to kill their cattle will be turned into frogs, mice and ants."

Radebe said massive new budgets for support would be a centrepiece of the new policy, admitting: “We have just transferred this land without giving the necessary resources to continue this work; land support has not existed. “Most important, we must equip our people in terms of farmer support: training our people to utilise the land; making allocations of implements; reviving irrigation schemes which have been lying fallow; the construction of dams,” he said. (And despite this admission of failure the man keeps his job year after year)