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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Hartbeespoort dam is an open sewer
19:11 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
“The water is safe as long as it is not swallowed” -- Sewage spills turn scenic dam into rotting cesspool
Mar 7, 2010 Sunday Times journalists Prega Govender and Kea’ Modimoeng report that the municipality in control of the Hartbeespoort dam “rakes in millions of rands in rates from the 47,280 property owners “ but is battling to find R3.5-million to build a 500-metre link to a pipeline to ease Madibeng’s water woes.” It affects rich and poor: the townships of Lethlabile, Oukasie, Madidi Maboloka, Mmakau, Hebron, Kgabalatsane and Oskraal have had riots over the filthy drinking water over the past six months…
They interviewed Rick van Rossum, the head of Hartbeespoort's Water Action Group, at his Hartbeespoort house, which overlooks the mess. He described the dam as "an extension of Joburg's sewerage farm". ( Picture Raymond Preston.)
We have had (experts) from Israel and America, as well as our own, taking one look at the dam and saying, 'Oops, this is a sewerage farm' 
Treated waste water from Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Pretoria also ends up in the dam after flowing through the Crocodile River.
VIDEO Water crisis in Hartbeespoort
Related Articles
Although Rand Water built a 50km pipeline to supply water to some sections of Hartbeespoort in North West Province more than a year ago, the Madibeng municipality says ‘ it does not have the money for a connecting pipeline’.
- Collectively, the 47,280 property owners in Hartbeespoort, including suburbs such as Meerhof, Melodie and Ifafi, own properties worth R23.6-billion.
But they are fuming after millions of litres of raw sewage flowed into the dam between November last year and January after pumps at the water treatment plants stopped working. This prompted the municipality to warn residents to boil water before drinking it because of possible health hazards. In its notice to residents, the municipality said: "Bathing (with tap water) is safe, as long as no water is swallowed." The problem is not confined to wealthy suburbs. Residents of neighbouring Lethlabile, Oukasie, Madidi, Maboloka, Mmakau, Hebron, Kgabalatsane and Oskraal have also voiced their concerns.
- Eiighty-nine people were arrested as Oukasie residents blocked roads, burnt tyres and threw stones at police last week in protest over the poor water quality and lack of service delivery.
READ THE REST OF THE STORY ON http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article341477.ece
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Volksraadsverkiesingsdatum: 31 Mei 2011
Wees sterk!
Daar's 'n nasie te lei, daar's 'n stryd te stry, daar's werk!
Daar's nie na guns of eer te kyk,
daar's nie na links of regs te wyk,
daar's net te swyg en aan te stryk - Komaan!
- Jan Celliers
Ben Geldenhuys skryf namens die Volksraadverkiesingskommissie: “Op Saterdag 23 Januarie 2010 het die VVK onder die uiters bekwame leiding van Mnr. Dolf Buitendag 'n strategiese beplanningsessie gehou; bygewoon deur die Sentrale Komitee, Verkiesing Streek-Koördineerders vanoor die hele land; asook ander belangstellendes - waaronder die nimlike en skerpsinnige Professor Adriaan Pont.
Agtergrond:
Die VVK fasiliteer die verkiesing van 'n volksraad vir ons volk. Hierdie Facebookgroep is 'n forum waar geregistreerde kiesers bymekaar kan kom om "die praktiese uitvoering van die VVK se opdrag om ‘n volksverkiesing te fasiliteer’. Enige inligting wat nie verband hou met hierdie onderwerp nie, kan gevind word op die Vrae en Antwoorde blad van die VVK:
Organisasies wat steun aan die VVK verleen kan in 2 kategoriee gelys word:
1. Organisasies wat aktiewe bydraes verleen om die verkiesing te help realiseer: Radio Pretoria HNP Verkenners Bravoland Majuba Boerevolktrust TABOK Volkshulp 2000 ...
2. Organisasies wat die werksaamhede van die VVK goedgesind is en wie se lede by die Volksverkiesings-werksaamhede ingeskakel is; hoewel die organisasie as sulks nie aktiewe bydraes lewer nie (sluit in die res van die ander ongeveer 20 organisasies geaffilieer by die Afrikaner Front) Onder andere; Afrikaner Kultuurbond Afrikaner Volkseie Sport Aksie Vrouekrag AWB. Boerekommandokorps Bybel en Volk Genootskap vir Afrikaner Simbole Genootskap vir die Handhawing van Afrikaans Koördinerende Afrikanerraad Nasionale Belastingbetalersunie Reddingsdaad onderwysbond, Stigting vir Nasionale Minderhede Studiegroep vir Eietydse Geskiedenis TLU SA Tussentydse Afrikanerraad Volkseie Museumraad.
Die beplanningsessie vorm 'n waterskeiding in VVK-beplanning tot dusver; aangesien besluit is om wel 'n verkiesingsdatum asook beoogde kieser-getalle vas te stel – alles aspekte waaraan die VVK homself tot dusver nie wou vasbind nie. Daar is egter gevoel dat die uitdagings in die oë gekyk moet word en teiken-getalle en teiken-datums vasgestel moet word, sodat almal van ons vaster doelwitte het om heen te werk.
'n Reusagtige hoeveelheid werk is in die loop van die beplanningsessie geïdentifiseer; en die doelwitte wat gestel is kom neer op die volgende:
- *Beoogde aantal kieser-registrasies: minimum van 200,000 – 250,000 persone.
- *Aankondiging van verkose Volksraad: 31 Mei 2011 (laasgenoemde datum sal ook die 50-jarige herdenking wees van die totstandkoming van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika op 31 Mei 1961) Lees ook: Wat moet op ‘n volksraadkandidaat se cv staan?
Bogenoemde impliseer die volgende afsnydatums:
- *kieser-getalle op 60 000 - kerf teen 30 Junie 2010.
- *kieser-getalle op 150 000 - kerf teen 31 Desember 2010.
- *kieser-getalle op 200 duidend tot 250 duisend teen 27 April 2011
- *afsnydatum vir nominasies as kandidate: 4 Maart 2011.
- *afsnydatum vir kieser-registrasies: 27 April 2011.
- *Verkiesing om plaas te vind op 20 & 21 Mei 2011.
*Aankondiging van Volksraadslede en aflegging van ampsbeloftes deur Volksraadslede op 31 Mei 2011.
Sluit aan by Facebook: adres: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=268086507970#!/group.php?gid=48129031422
-----------------------
Die volgende is geïdentifiseer as take wat deurlopend uitgevoer sal moet word in voorgenoemde proses:
- *Verspreiding van inligting.
*Intensiewer veldtog tot werwing van befondsing.
*Bemarking.
*Aanstelling van verdere Registrasie Beamptes.
*Terugvoer aan geregistreerde kiesers.
*Vergaderings van streekvlak tot op die vlak van huisvergaderings; om
gehou te word op plaaslike inisiatief met medewerking van die Sentrale
Komitee en/of Streek Koördineerders.
*Verdere klem op betrokkenheid van meewerkende organisasies.
Motivering:
Deelnemers was dit eens dat voorgenoemde proses geensins deur 'n klein groepie persone op die Sentrale Komitee en die huidige Streek Koördineerders deurgevoer sal kan word nie. Ieder en elke individu sal sy of haar bydrae moet maak op welke manier ookal om die wa deur die drif te kry. Interessante voorstelle in hierdie verband (wat ook reuse koste-besparing sal meebring) was dat persone wat aangrensend tot snelweë of ander besige paaie en strate woon, groot borde op hulle eiendom kan oprig met die VVK se kenteken en webwerf-adres.
Daar is ook besluit (weens die kritiese belangrikheid daarvan en die reeds-bestaande werklas op die Sentrale Kantoor) om twee aparte komitees vir Bemarking en Befondsing saam te stel.
Ter afsluiting is daar 'n aantal promosie-items by die Sentrale Kantoor beskikbaar vir diegene wat dit in hulle werwing-veldtogte nuttig kan gebruik: pragtige VVK hemde en besigheidskaartjies.
- Skakel gerus vir Chantal as jy verdere idees of borgskappe in hierdie verband aan die hand kan doen.
In die woorde van Jan Celliers:
- Wees sterk!
Daar's 'n nasie te lei, daar's 'n stryd te stry, daar's werk!
Daar's nie na guns of eer te kyk,
daar's nie na links of regs te wyk,
daar's net te swyg en aan te stryk - Komaan!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=268086507970#!/group.php?gid=48129031422
*Prof Adriaan Pont –
- “Hervormde Teologiese Studies na 50 jaar” (1994) : http://www.labuschagne.nl/cv.nl.pdf
- verdere agtergrond: http://www.labuschagne.nl/cv.nl.pdf
SA journo lost farm and job to other peoples’ crimes
Destitute; unemployed Afrikaans journalist Engela Britz writes:
“Adriana, as an old reporter, I can only say that I am disgusted with what we experience in the RSA. They claim that they cannot do news stories because of the so called "sub judicae"-principle. Yet there are no court-cases - either because the SAPS doesn't do its job or the Justice department employs people with limited experience.
“For the past ten years I have slowly become a victim of a specific crime that has had serious implications for all my so-called human rights. Lost my farm at Mooinooi near Brits (due to fraud and crime by someone else) and subsequently my economic rights now are severely affected.
‘Whatever happened to that R500-m donated by EU and UN for victims of crime in SA?’ she asks…
There are funds to compensate victims of crime, she pointed out:
“In 2007, the EU and UN gave the RSA about R500-million – supposedly allocated to help victims of crime. No single person (government official!) can give us any information regarding what has happened to this money...” she says.
Engela – who comes from an old Afrikaner farming family and also is a skilled amateur-artist – started her slow downhill slide into poverty and dispair in 2001 when she bought a her farm at Mooinooi near Pretoria–where she lived.
However the ‘purchaser’ turned out to be a fraudster and because of this fraud the farm was sold to someone else at an illegal auction: yet she hadn’t been paid for it - so the sale was illegal: Engela then obtained a written agreement with the buyer that he will be appointed as her agent to her right to the farm. Meanwhile her movable assets were still at the farm -- but she no longer was able to access the farm to remove them: the new “owner” had set up a huge tik-manufacturing operation there.
This crook managed to produce R270-million worth of this dangerously addictive drug – known as c
rystal meths in Western countries -- by the time the SAPS arrested him and the AFU moved in to confiscate everything : this also included her movable property stored on the farm: despite the fact that she was a totally innocent bystander who had been duped into selling her farm; and despite the fact that the authorities were informed about her property stored there: she also provided them with a copy of the contract between her and the accused tik-manufacturer.
She lodged a formal theft-complaint (Ref. Nr Mooinooi MAS 155/12/2007) with the National Prosecutors’ Service’s office in Pretoria, at its Church Street headquarters – also complaining about the poor investigation of this case by the SAPS and demanding her property back – because she had obviously never had anything to do with the illegal tik-drugs factory and was an entirely innocent bystander.
She said the NPA Adv Andre WIlsenach acknowledged that her property had been illegally damaged – but because the complaint was unilaterally changed to ‘damage’ from her original ‘theft” complaint by the SAPS, and because of the long delay in the investigation, it became impossible for him to prosecute: they can’t establish exactly who damaged her property she says.
“And the National Prosecuting Agency tells me they ‘cannot prosecute because they do not know who damaged my property, as the theft charge was changed to malicious damage, ” she said.
She received a letter to this effect on 19 January 2010 (left).
Meanwhile, the fraud and theft docket somehow ‘got lost’ and nothing ‘could be proven’ – a duplicate case has been opened.
She then informed the AFU that she wanted the remainder of her illegally-confiscated property back -- which was still held under guard still on the farm. Security guards posted there refused to give her access at first. “When I finally did manage to get there, I found the security guards using some of my property; (picture right); all the electrical things and valuables were looted; my paintings and drawings were destroyed; my furniture was dumped in the veldt.” Now it’s all slowly rotting away in the rain and falling apart.
picture album below: When she finally got some of her property back it was destroyed – and now looks like this http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11414&id=1756853145#!/album.php?aid=10723&id=1756853145
sources:
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1265282950094#!/album.php?aid=11414&id=1756853145