Tshwane – Page 2 – Pretoria.ws

Centurion residents taught how to avoid driveway hijackings by RICHARD BRUSSOW of the National Hijack Prevention Academy

Centurion residents were on Saturday taught about how to avoid becoming victims of hijackings in driveways. This was during a workshop at Laerskool Louis Leipoldt in Lyttelton, where former police officer Richard Brussow spoke to them about prevention of crimes such as hijacking and robbery. Brussow, who established the National Hijack Prevention Academy in 2001, said 68% of hijackings happened in driveways and could be avoided. He has more than 15 years of experience in motor vehicle crime investigation, organized crime, motor vehicle theft, metro police crime prevention, and vehicle tracking. Brussow educated his audience about tricks used by hijackers, their motivation, factors that lead to attacks and categories of hijacked vehicles. Robbers liked using service stations as a base to prey on unsuspecting victims, he said. Once they had identified their victims they drove behind them until they arrived home. Brussow advised motorists to always look at the ca…

The City of Tshwane is pulling the plug on smart meters contract with Peu

The City of Tshwane’s daily payment to its erstwhile electricity smart meters contractor Peu Capital Partners has been drastically reduced from R4million to R1.8m. In addition, MMC for utility services Abel Tau said the municipality has covered ground towards the replacement of the almost 13 000 meters that had already been installed as part of the deal. The replacement of the meters comes after AfriBusiness succeeded in having the Peu irregular smart meter contract set aside in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. But Tau said the reduction of daily payments to Peu was the essence of what the City wanted residents to know about. “We have made a decision that would save the City a huge amount of money to ensure that we can take those savings and redirect them to service delivery,” he said. Regarding the sum of R4m previously paid to Peu, he said: “I checked last week and the amount has drastically dropped. I think we were at R1.8m” He said the City was making inr…

It’s all systems go for Atteridgeville R1.2bn Capital Mall

The much-anticipated R1.2 billion Capital Mall in Atteridgeville will go ahead despite efforts to halt its construction on the basis that it would “cannibalize” smaller shopping centres in the vicinity. MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning Isak Pietersen said the City of Tshwane's Appeals Tribunal successfully intervened in the impasse, which threatened to block the development. The legal wrangling was between the developer, McCormick Property Development, and Safari Investments, over the threats posed by the new mall on the existing shopping centres. Pietersen said the complaint was overturned on the basis that it lacked substance and went against the spirit of competition permitted in business. He said the mall construction was an example of what the City wanted to do by creating a conducive economic environment for job creation. “The aim of the City is to make sure we create those jobs and this is going to make sure that we create jobs,” he said. …

Tshwane city manager, Dr Moeketsi Mosola, reprimanded for aborted China trip

Tshwane city manager Dr. Moeketsi Mosola has received a serious talking-to from executive mayor Stevens Mokgalapa about the controversial authorization of a trip by officials to China. Mokgalapa called off the trip in April after it came to his attention that Mosola “erroneously” signed a document on his behalf. He then called for an investigation to determine how the anomaly in the documents occurred. On Monday he broke his silence in the wake of the probe, saying he had already given the implicated parties a tongue-lashing. “I did reprimand those who were involved. For me the fact that it was canceled and that the city never incurred any funds for it; it ended there,” he said. Asked who exactly he reprimanded, he said: “It was the city manager I reprimanded because that was his signature.” He said that his message to Mosola was that what happened with the China trip must not repeat itself. “What I have received was that it was done in hindsight and I request…

AfriForum onthul skokkende nuus: 56 wit skoolmeisies weens ras uit Gauteng-netbalspanne gelaat

Die burgerregteorganisasie AfriForum het in Pretoria bekend gemaak dat dié organisasie die keurders vir die Gautengse o.12- tot o.18-skolespanne se puntestate bekom het. Dié puntestate bewys dat 56 wit meisies, wat volgens die keurders se beoordeling op meriete vir die spanne gekies moes word, egter weens hul ras uit die spanne gelaat is. AfriForum het reeds namens 12 van die benadeelde meisies se ouers amptelike klagtes by Netbal Suid-Afrika (NSA), Suid-Afrikaanse Skolenetbal (SASN) en Gauteng Skolenetbal (GSN) ingedien. Dié klagtes eis onder meer dat rassekwotas afgeskaf moet word en dat die benadeelde meisies skriftelik erkenning van GSN moet kry dat hulle wél op meriete gekies moes word. (Die volledige klag en die keurders se puntestate word hierby aangeheg.) AfriForum en die ouers het in hul klagtes aan die bogenoemde netbalinstellings aangedui dat, sou daar nie binne 14 dae aan hul eise voldoen word nie, ’n amptelike klag van rassediskriminsaie teen NSA by die I…

Two more suspects arrested in connection with Mamelodi pre-school robbery

Gauteng police have arrested two more suspects in connection with the robbery of international students at a pre-school in Mamelodi East, Pretoria, earlier this month. According to police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, one of the suspects was arrested in Limpopo on Friday while the other was caught in Mpumalanga on Saturday. Eighteen students and two professors from the US, who were on an outreach visit at the Viva Foundation School in Mamelodi East, were attacked and robbed by five armed suspects two weeks ago. Service Maimela, 30, was arrested a few days later at the Pienaarspoort informal settlement in Mamelodi East. He appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrate's Court last Monday on charges of robbery, attempted murder and assault. The matter was postponed to Monday, May 27 for further investigations, said Peters. Peters said the police were still processing the dockets of the two additional suspects, adding that they were most likely to appear in co…

Tshwane Metro Police Department officers pounce on robbery suspects

Pretoria - Tshwane Metro Police Department officers on Sunday arrested three men for possession of a car that was taken during a house robbery in Limpopo about two weeks ago. The arrests were made in Barnett and Hilda streets in Hatfield at about 11am. The suspects had been on the run after committing another crime on Saturday. Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the vehicle's original number plate had been replaced. The suspects, aged 24, 32 and 37, are facing charges of house robbery, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, as well as possession of a hijacked motor vehicle. Mahamba said two charges were opened in Limpopo and the others yesterday in Pretoria. “Between May 18 and 19, three suspects went to a house in Limpopo and committed house robbery and took a VW bakkie, a firearm, R4000 and bank cards and went to withdraw R5000 from the victim's account. “On Saturday night they went to a pub in L…

Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration in Pretoria forced roads to be closed for Saturday

President Cyril Ramaphosa's inauguration will bring some parts of the capital to a standstill. Dozens of roads will be closed and Pretoria residents will need permits to get in and out of certain areas. Many roads in Pretoria will be closed beginning on Friday. The street around Loftus Stadium will be closed around 3pm. TMPD spokesperson Isaac Mahamba said if you live in the area, you'd better get a permit. "Some main streets like Francis Baard will be open but many of the smaller streets like the intersection with Eastwood Street will be closed off to traffic," said Mahamba. University Road, which runs parallel to the highway, will also be closed. Residents in the area can use Walter Jameson Avenue to access Francis Baardt. Businesses operating close to the stadium won't be affected. "The business or the people that do business around the stadium are accredited, they have been given permits to come and occupy, to do their business as usual. "But if th…

Tshwane Total Shutdown: Protest movement hits Pretoria

The Tshwane Total Shutdown protest movement gripped Pretoria on Thursday morning, resulting in major traffic disruptions and an increased police presence. Total Shutdown action – first witnessed in the Western Cape and more recently in Alexandra, Johannesburg – is a protest movement designed to disrupt daily routine in an attempt to bring attention to a wide array of socioeconomic issues. The protests usually involve the barricading of major roadways and mass marches. Disruption in Tshwane erupted in the early hours of Thursday morning, following anonymous threats and flyer-drops earlier in the week. The African National Congress (ANC), which openly supported the protests in Alexandra, have distanced themselves from the Tshwane Total Shutdown. ANC regional chairperson, Dr Kgosi Maepa, said: “I’ve heard people are going to organise a shutdown. We are not against it because there is no service delivery in Hammanskraal.” The exact cause of the discontent in Tshwane is,…

Polisie se misdaad rekord styg – Twee Metropolisie lede van Pretoria op heterdaad betrap met ’n gesteelde voertuig in hul besit

Twee lede van die Pretoriase Metro Polisie is in hegtenis geneem nadat ‘n gesteelde voertuig in hul besit gevind is. Die voertuig wat in Eldoraigne gesteel is, is opgemerk by ‘n woning in Philip Nel Park. Die eienaar van die huis, ‘n vroulike lid van die Metropolisie is gearresteer en na verdere ondersoek is nog twee verdagtes aangekeer. Die een is getroud met die vroulike konstabel en word tans opgelei deur die Metro Polisie. Dit blyk dat die polisie se misdaad rekord aan die styg is as gelet word op die groot aantal voorvalle waarby beamptes betrokke was in die afgelope maande. Deur: Die Vryburger Hierdie berig weerspieël nie noodwendig die mening van SAUK-nuus nie.