24 Dec 2009
7 Dec 2009
3 Dec 2009
18 Nov 2009
6 Nov 2009
2 Nov 2009
30 Oct 2009
6 Oct 2009
5 Oct 2009
15 Sept 2009
10 items or less
Row brews over city's plan to clamp down on vendors8 Sept 2009
25 Aug 2009
18 Aug 2009
Global warming
Editorial cartoon for The People's Post 18/08/09Dagga hothouse in bathroom
tauriq hassen
POLICE got more than they bargained for when they raided a Southfield flat after a tip off about suspected drug dealing.
After keeping the house under observation, the police pounced – and found a mini hothouse set up in the bathroom and high-quality dagga worth R450 000 drying in a cupboard.
The bathroom had been fitted with electric fans, and the walls were covered in foil to make the plants grow faster, says Inspector Keith Chandler, spokesperson for Diep River Police Station.
“The equipment inside the bathroom was expensive, and we could see this guy knows exactly what he is doing,” says Chandler.
During the 10 August raid, police seized 30 large pots containing metre-tall mature dagga plants, which had been growing in the bathroom. They also fund a stash of high-quality dagga, with “heads” over 40cm long, drying in a cupboard.
They also confiscated heaters, grow lights and air conditioning equipment worth a further R100 000.
“He was probably drying the dagga out in order for it to be sold or transported somewhere,” Chandler added.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on the scene, is currently being detained at Diep River Police Station.
11 Aug 2009
drugs can make you do stupid things
Editorial cartoon People's Post 11/08/09Thief disguised as police official robs learners at schools
Melissa papier
Thief disguised as police official makes off with cell phones and jewellery
It has come to the attention of this office that a male person aged 30s dressed in police uniform visited some of the schools in Mitchells Plain under the false pretence of speaking to the children about drugs.
Once he has gained access to the classroom, he then changes the subject to cell phones and then requests all the children to hand in their cell phones and jewellery, under the pretence that he is going to hand the items in at the school safe. He then disappears with the property. A charge has been registered.
Mitchell Plain Police wishes to inform all schools about the modus of this fraudster. We advise that when schools are approached by unknown persons claiming to be police officials, they need to obtain the persons identity documents and contact the police stations human resources office for verification at (021) 370–1600.
4 Aug 2009
room to let
Editorial cartoon People's Post 04 August 2009
City parking mayhem
Henry booysen
CAPE TOWN is officially the most expensive city in which to park in South Africa, but even the CBD’s highest rates are chicken feed compared to what people are prepared to pay for a parking spot on the Atlantic Seaboard’s Platinum Mile.
While motorists were upset when parking in the CBD shot up to R8,20 an hour recently, parking bays in Clifton go for the price of a house in some middle-class suburbs.
Last month two undercover parking bays – one in Eventide and the other in Whitecliffs on the Clifton beachfront – were sold for a whopping R580 000 and R750 000 respectively.
“Land in Clifton is all privately-owned, and parking spaces are highly-sought after, so people pay huge sums of money when a space opens up,” says Pam Golding’s Basil Oritos, who made the sales.
Those prices are far from the record price of R2 million paid for an 18m² garage – R111 000 per square metre – in the same area in January 2008. cont....
16 Jun 2009
9 Jun 2009
6 minute limit
Editorial cartoon People's Post 9th June 2009Cape Town - Dogs that bark more than six minutes an hour could find themselves in the dog box with law enforcement officials, in terms of a draft by-law.
The measure, which will soon be released for public comment, is an attempt to deal with canines that arouse the ire of neighbours by barking continuously.
In a media release on Thursday, the city said the by-law was "very specific" on what constituted nuisance behaviour.
"Owners may not keep any dog which barks for 'more than six minutes in any hour or more than three minutes in any half hour', causing disturbance to inhabitants of a neighbourhood," it said......cont.
The measure, which will soon be released for public comment, is an attempt to deal with canines that arouse the ire of neighbours by barking continuously.
In a media release on Thursday, the city said the by-law was "very specific" on what constituted nuisance behaviour.
"Owners may not keep any dog which barks for 'more than six minutes in any hour or more than three minutes in any half hour', causing disturbance to inhabitants of a neighbourhood," it said......cont.
SAPA
4 Jun 2009
perfume con
Fake perfumes can fool you People's Post 02/06/09
tauriq hassen
ROAMING salesman have been conning people into buying bottles of expensive perfume for rock-bottom prices, but, as one shopper recently found, the bottles contain nothing but household detergents.
Vanessa Thomas bought two bottles of what appeared to be perfume in the Kenilworth Centre parking lot on Saturday 23 May.
“The packaging looked real and it even had that scent on the outside of the box that made you believe it was real,” says Thomas.
She opened her purchase when she arrived home and knew immediately she had been conned out of R250.
“I was so convinced that this was the real product and the way the guy sold it to me was so believable.”
These “perfume” salesmen wander around the parking area of the shopping centre, taking care to avoid being seen by security. “We don’t allow these guys to sell these items on our premises, but they manage to get it right every time,” says a spokesperson for Kenilworth Centre.
27 May 2009
20 May 2009
12 May 2009
google politics
editorial cartoon People's Post 12th May 2009(Donald) Grant, a former Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) local councillor, said it had been "with shock" that he got the call from Zille on Thursday offering him the post.
"I did a crash course on the internet last night to check up on what the DA's education policy is," he admitted. (news25,com 08/05/2)
6 May 2009
stolen gate
People's Post 5th May 2009While gates are supposed to protect your property, thieves are now stealing the security measure to sell it as scrap metal.During two separate incidents within two days, a gate in Lansdowne and another in Turfhall vanished overnight.........Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a man visiting a family member in Church Street, Lansdowne, on Wednesday laid a theft charge after his hubcaps were stolen. No arrests have been made.
extract for the article “ Strange thefts in Lansdowne precinct” by tammy petersen People’s Post 5th May 2009
28 Apr 2009
14 Apr 2009
smoking taxi
Editorial cartoon People's Post 14 april 2009The smoky road trip
"I AM sick and tired of their nonsense; they smoke as they please and couldn't care less whether there are passengers or not in the taxi."
These are the words of an angry Nelisiwe Grootbom about taxi drivers who smoke while transporting passengers.
Grootbom catches a taxi from Waterfall to Retreat on a daily basis. She says her frustration on this matter has gone beyond boiling point. She adds that some drivers will go as far as to light a cigarette while transporting school children.
"I am a parent and it bothers me greatly that they smoke in front of my seven-year-old; they are also placing his health at risk."
Demetre Horn from Strandfontein says he also uses a taxi, and according to him, the Retreat Taxi Association's drivers are notorious for smoking while transporting commuters.
Dr Ivan Bromfield, executive director of Health in the City of Cape Town, says it is a contravention of the Tobacco Products Control Act for a taxi driver to be smoking while transporting passengers; taxi drivers who commit this offence are dealt with by Law Enforcement officers.
Dr Bromfield adds that commuters who observe such an act can lay a charge against the taxi operator at any police station.
When laying a charge, commuters need to relate all the details of the incident, including the date, time of the offence, vehicle registration number and description.
Alternatively, commuters can hand a sworn affidavit, specifying all details of the incident, to the police or Traffic Services.
The maximum fine for contravening the Tobacco Products Control Act currently stands at R200, but Dr Bromfield anticipates harsher amendments to the legislation.
In Johannesburg, taxi associations offer far sharper penalties to their members.
Mdumiso Twala, spokesperson for the Johannesburg and Tembisa Taxi Association, says drivers who are found guilty of smoking while transporting passengers by the association�s disciplinary committee are dismissed immediately and blacklisted from driving in the association.
Twala adds that the association has its own inspectors, who drive around the city and check taxis at random. The inspectors also ask passengers about their grievances during the inspection.
With well over 200 taxis under the Retreat Taxi Association (RETA) management, one would perhaps expect to see many such inspections. But Grootbom, who uses a taxi daily, says she has yet to travel in a taxi that has been inspected en route.
Basi Nagel, Chairperson of RETA, says it is difficult for the association to catch culprits as commuters don't come forward to address their grievances.
"We have an office and a rank manager at every interchange and junction," says Nagel. "We are willing to listen and bring to book the drivers that shame the entire organisation.
"We are well aware that there are drivers who smoke on duty, but without full details of the driver and the vehicle he was driving, it is just beyond our control." (extract from article by Gopolang Peme People's Post)
3 Apr 2009
tough customer
" Always turn off electrical equipment before doing repairs or checks" Engen Pump Pages31 Mar 2009
ye olde gum tree
Editorial cartoon for the People's Post 31st March 2009
Wheels come off for stolen goods trader
christelle wiese
christelle wiese
A LANSDOWNE thief recently found an innovative way of acquiring stock for a lucrative new trade – without any capital.
When searching local advertising website www.gumtree.co.za, a Claremont resident was quite surprised to find his own custom bicycle for sale. The bicycle had been stolen from his Alphina Road flat in January.
According to Captain Angie Latchman, Claremont police spokesperson, the bicycle had been reported as stolen when the man opened a case of housebreaking and theft on 26 January.
When the man saw the advertisement for his bicycle on the website, he immediately contacted Inspector Daniel Geneke, the sector manager for sector one policing in the Lynfrae area.
Latchman says: “Acting on this information, Inspector Geneke and his team proceeded to a residence in Armstrong Road in Lansdowne, under the pretext of being potential buyers.”
The stolen bicycle, as well as several other bicycles, were found on the premises, and the man who posted the advertisement was arrested.
24 Mar 2009
7 Wonders of Table Mountain
Table Mountain has been short listed in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition, which will see the top natural sites of 223 countries being whittled down to 21 finalists and ultimately to seven winners in an exercise in global democracy expected to draw over a billion participants.
The race is now on - with internet voting reopened until 7 July 2009 - to determine the top 77 nominees, from which 21 finalists will be select.
The finalists will be announced on 21 July, after which a final round of voting - running through 2010 and into 2011 - will decide the New 7 Wonders of Nature, to be announced in 2011.
Vote for Table Mountain at www.new7wonders.com
17 Mar 2009
aerosol squad
Editorial cartoon: People's Post 17/3/9MEDIA RELEASE
FROM: The Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry
DATE: March 12, 2009
THE Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes the City Council’s decision to form a unit similar to the “Copper Heads” to stamp out graffiti.
“We are delighted that there is at last to be a concerted effort to stamp out this form of recreational vandalism that defaces the City, dangerously obscures traffic and safety signage, projects an image of lawlessness and costs property owners millions of rands a year in cleaning and repainting bills,” said Mr Jeremy Wiley, President of the Chamber.
He said that until now the battle against the graffiti vandals had been localised and the crime had not been taken seriously enough by the SAPS or Metropolice.
“What the city plans to do is co-ordinate the fight, photograph the graffiti and set up a data bank so that the work of individuals can be identified. This should make for more effective prosecution. Hopefully the new unit will be able to pinpoint the worst offenders and we hope this leads to some hefty community service sentences and deters further vandalisation or sabotage of public and private property. ”
Mr Wiley also called upon local businesses, particularly the retailers of paint in spray cans to assist in the identification of customers or purchasing trends that indicated unusual purchases of the paint products used by vandals.
He said there was a clear correlation between the proliferation of graffiti and school or university holidays. “This trend indicates the lack of parental supervision and high levels of boredom experienced by our youth outside classrooms.”
Defacing buildings with graffiti was not a petty crime as it sometimes cost property owners large sums to clean and repaint and, as there were thousands of incidents throughout the municipal area, the annual bill would run into millions of rands.
Mr Wiley appealed to the city to never ever refer to the graffiti vandals as artists. “Artists are creative people who enrich our lives. These vandals are utterly destructive and do nothing but despoil the urban environment.”
10 Mar 2009
3 Mar 2009
25 Feb 2009
18 Feb 2009
illegal posters
Cape Town comes unstuck
Extract from article by Toyah Lord
Extract from article by Toyah Lord
NIGHTCLUBS in Cape Town are in for a rude awakening: the City of Cape Town will soon serve notices on club owners who paste posters on private properties in the city centre without consent.
The Central City Improvement District (CCID) – which says the problem has been going on for years – says it is being inundated with complaints from property owners in Cape Town, who say they “have had enough” of clubs and bars sticking illegal posters on buildings.
The result, says Tasso Evangelinos, CCID chief executive officer, is that cleaning teams have to go out and scrape the posters off the buildings, thus causing damage to their exteriors. This in labour alone costs the CCID between R2 500 and R3 000 a month to deploy people on the streets every second or third day to remove posters throughout the city centre, adds Evangelinos.
Derek Bock of Eurocape says many of the property development company’s buildings have long suffered the sticky problem. “We find it totally unacceptable and a disgrace that clubs and bars paste illegal posters on private property,” he says. “Will these clubs and bars now pay for the costs incurred by Eurocape to repeatedly remove these illegal posters?”
10 Feb 2009
To let
"The City of Cape Town’s major programme to install and upgrade services in informal settlements is being destroyed by crime and vandalism. For every R3 that we spend on basic services in our 222 informal settlements, R2 is spent on repairs to vandalised and stolen infrastructure. Without this problem, we could deliver services at three times the speed we currently do.
Thieves and vandals have struck a large number of upgrade projects and have robbed local residents of water and sanitation. "
Thieves and vandals have struck a large number of upgrade projects and have robbed local residents of water and sanitation. "
Extract from a statement by Helen Zille, Executive Mayor of Cape Town
"Vandalism and theft of service infrastructure in informal settlements"
"Vandalism and theft of service infrastructure in informal settlements"
9 Feb 2009
4 Feb 2009
27 Jan 2009
negative impact
editorial cartoon People's Post 27/01/08CITY OF CAPE TOWN
MEDIA RELEASE
23 JANUARY 2009
Clarity on proposals in City’s Draft By-law on Liquor Trading Days and Hours
Reports that the City of Cape Town is proposing (in its Draft Liquor Trading Hours By-law) to give permission to liquor stores to open on Sundays are incorrect.
The only new addition to existing liquor sales allowed on Sundays that is proposed in the draft by-law is for supermarkets to sell wine on Sundays. This proposal is in line with the Western Cape Liquor Act, 2008 (Act No.4 of 2008), recently passed by the Western Cape Provincial Government.
However, if public comment calls for the City to continue to restrict the sale of wine from supermarkets on Sundays, the City does have the jurisdiction (in terms of the Constitution) to curb this in areas within the metro region.
Submission of comments:
We invite the public to provide us with their formal comments on or before 27 February 2009 to fax number: 021 400 1465, e-mailed to: liquor.bylaw@capetown.gov.za, or sub-council offices. For enquiries please call 021 400 1450.
Copies of the draft by-law are available at all sub-council offices and libraries, as well as on the
City of Cape Town’s website: www.capetown.gov.za
20 Jan 2009
13 Jan 2009
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