Child murder case postponed

The case of a woman accused of murdering her two-year-old son was postponed by the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Zulpha Jacobs was not asked to plead and the matter was postponed until April 26 while the prosecuting authorities awaited the child’s post-mortem report.

Jacobs faces charges of murder and child abandonment after her son, Tariq, was found dead behind the Imperial Primary School in Beacon Valley, Cape Town, on December 31.

Jacobs reported Tariq missing, but was arrested when she later allegedly confessed to killing him. Tariq is the third of her children to have died in about a decade. All of them were aged two or younger,

Warrant Officer November Filander said the deaths of the other two children were also being investigated

 

SA woman rescued from Pakistan

A Cape Town mother and her two young children have been freed in a dramatic rescue carried out in a remote corner of Pakistan and spirited out of the country by SA officials and the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers.

The rescue, carried out in a raid organised by Pakistani police and intelligence operatives, came after Sajida (*surname witheld) alerted SA embassy officials in Islamabad to her plight.

As she was unable to give authorities details of her location, Pakistani police and intelligence agents began a massive search, eventually locating her and her young daughter and son in a rural area where they had allegedly been held captive for two years. The woman said she had been abused physically, verbally and emotionally.

Once they had traced her, authorities placed her and her children in a closely guarded safe house, where they stayed for five days.

Through arrangements made by SA High Commission officials, Gift of the Givers – an internationally recognised humanitarian relief organisation – put the mother and children on a plane on Tuesday bound for SA.

Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said he strongly believed there were many more South Africans who were being held against their will, “especially in Africa”.

“The position that the family were in was terrible,” he said.

“Held without being allowed to contact one’s family is an emotional disaster.

“The abuse of South African women by foreign nationals is apparently a huge problem that is kept under wraps.

“Over the past few days we have been given the impression that… South African women (are) lured into marriage by smooth-talking, convincing, loving and caring foreign nationals… (leading) to severe oppression, abuse, emotional trauma and intense hardship.”

Sooliman said Sajida had married a Pakistani national and moved to Pakistan with her husband and daughter in 2010 just after the birth of their son.

He said that according to SA officials, Sajida was at breaking point. “She presented a 10-page testimony in a Pakistani court on Monday that detailed months of emotional, physical and verbal abuse, including prolonged periods of ‘captivity’, allegedly by her husband and his family.”

 

The isolation of the mother and her children had allegedly been done, according to her husband and his family, to “culturalise” them.

But Sooliman said what was done to Sajida and to others like her was “inexcusable”.

“We need to determine the prevalence of such dehumanising abuse and ensure that it is stopped.”

Sooliman said Sajida was expected, with her children, to be reunited with her family on Wednesday. She would receive trauma counselling.

Anyone aware of similar cases may call Gift of the Givers’ toll-free care line 0800 786 786

 

Water in Cape Town ‘is fine’

Over the past weeks, water consumers in several parts of Cape Town have experienced an earthy taste and odour in their drinking water. The City would like to assure residents that despite the slight taste and odour, the water is absolutely safe to drink.

The taste and odour are caused by ‘Geosmin’ originating from several of the major dams supplying the city. The presence of Geosmin was noted earlier in the year, and has recently reoccurred. Treatment with activated carbon has been reintroduced.

The water is perfectly fit for human consumption. Continuous water quality monitoring by the City’s South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) accredited laboratory has revealed elevated Geosmin concentrations, greater than 10 nanograms per litre (ng/l). In general, the human perception threshold is about 15 and 20 ng/l for Geosmin odour and taste respectively and people with a heightened sense of smell and taste would be the first to notice the presence of Geosmin in their water supply. These are extremely low concentrations and it should be noted that a nanogram is a billionth of a gram.

FAQs

What is causing the change in taste and smell?
Geosmin and MIB (2-Methyl-iso-Borneol) are naturally occurring compounds found in surface waters (rivers and dams) as organic molecules produced by blue-green algae. Bright sun, warm temperatures and nutrients result in ideal growing conditions for the algae. The compounds are produced inside the algae cells and are only released when the algae die.

Why does it occur?
Apart from the sunlight and raised temperatures, algae require nutrients to grow and some of the dams have suffered from upstream negative environmental impacts that have raised the nutrient levels, which support these algal blooms. This phenomenon usually only occurs once a year for a few weeks during the summer months, but has again reoccurred this year.
Is the water quality affected by Geosmin or MIB?
Neither of these compounds is toxic nor harmful.

What does it smell like?
Both Geosmin and MIB are typically earthy or musty in character and are sometimes described as smelling of Carbaspray or fresh green mielies (corn). These odours can be very persistent and although the algae are removed, the organic compounds, Geosmin and MIB are not removed by conventional water treatment processes. It requires treatment with activated carbon to reduce the smell to below threshold levels.

Why do we smell it?
The human nose is extremely sensitive to both Geosmin and MIB. If you poured a teaspoon of Geosmin into the equivalent of 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools, you would still be able to smell it.

The general threshold for human perception is about 15 ng/l. However people with sensitive noses can detect these compounds in drinking water when the concentration is as low as 8 ng/l (8 nanograms per litre = 8 parts per trillion).

Heating the water increases the volatility of these compounds, which explains why the smell is more easily detected when you are in the shower or when used for hot beverages.

How does the City detect it?
Apart from all of the usual monitoring and the analysis of water quality parameters in our treatment plants and downstream in the pipeline system, the City has a protocol of regular monitoring of both the raw and treated waters across Cape Town for naturally occurring organic compounds.

Can it be removed from the drinking water?
Yes, Cape Town follows universal best practice, which is to treat the water with powdered activated carbon. The very tiny organic molecules are absorbed by the carbon particles and the carbon is then removed from the water. It is not possible to remove all molecules, but the aim is to maintain the concentration below the normal human taste and smell threshold level.

Where does it originate and how does it get to my area?
The blue-green algae and resultant organic compounds have occurred in both the Theewaterskloof and Voёlvlei Dams in varying degrees over the last 12 to 15 years for a few weeks during the summer months.

How well-equipped is Cape Town to deal with the problems?
Cape Town has achieved a score within the top two position since inception three years ago of the nation Blue Drop drinking water quality rating system that assesses all water authorities in the country on an annual basis.

The City’s SANAS-accredited laboratory at the Scientific Services Branch is one of the best in the country, and is fully equipped to deal with all water quality-related issues. By way of example, the piece of equipment used to measure the level of Geosmin costs in excess of R1 million. The City has the added advantage of qualified, highly specialised and experienced staff to operate the equipment and to effectively analyse the results. The services of this division of the laboratory are also made available to many other municipalities.

Does Geosmin occur elsewhere?
Yes. The problem of Geosmin is not specific to Cape Town or to South Africa and we make use of the current world ‘best practice’ in terms of monitoring and treatment methods to manage the issue.

Are we trying to learn better ways to monitor and treat water?
Many of Scientific Services and Bulk Water Branch employees have been and are actively participating with other water authorities at a national level in research projects under the auspices of the Water Research Commission of South Africa.

Many of these research projects have resulted in refining treatment processes as well as improving methods of process control. The City also consults with other leading authorities on the subject in South Africa and abroad.

 

House subsidy gift is it a voting trick or truth

Thousands of Capetonians could soon afford housing in greater Cape Town, following a key announcement by President Jacob Zuma.

The affordable housing is aimed at people who earn too much to qualify for RDP housing but not enough to persuade banks to grant home loans.

In his 2010 State of the Nation Address, Zuma announced that the government was planning to set up a R1 billion fund to “incentivise the private banking and housing sector” to put roofs over more heads by promoting access to loans.

In his speech on Thursday, Zuma illustrated the plight of many by using the example of Mzukisi Mali, a public servant from the Fingo area in Grahamstown, who had written to Zuma, saying: “In 1994 my income was too high to get an RDP and too low to get a bond, this continued until to date. When I apply for an RDP I am told that I do not qualify and cannot get a bond because I am risky to the banks…”

Zuma announced: “Fortunately we have gone some way to address the problem facing Mr Mali and many others. We are pleased to report that this fund will start its operations in April, managed by the National Housing Finance Corporation.”

He said that from April, “people earning between R3 500 and R15 000 will be able to obtain a subsidy of up to R83 000 from provinces, to enable them to obtain housing finance from an accredited bank”.

Leading property company owner Bill Rawson said the subsidy was “great news”.

“There is a huge chunk of people who want ownership, who want to get into the housing market, and who are looking for ways to afford to do so.”

He said the R83 000 loans would essentially serve as deposits buyers could put down on properties, to help persuade banks to fund the balance through loans.

Rawson said the Parklands-Sunningdale suburb on the West Coast had shown just how big this market was in greater Cape Town. Houses there that were now selling for far more than R500 000 had been introduced as affordable housing in the 1990s and had met a huge gap in the property market at the time.

Speaking for the City of Cape Town, mayoral committee member for human settlements Ernest Sonnenberg welcomed the initiative.

“The city is a major supporter of the GAP housing initiative as part of our suite of housing delivery options.

“The city already has agreements in place with Standard Bank and Nedbank in particular, where the city has made well-located land available specifically for the GAP housing market.

“While it is difficult to quantify the number of Capetonians who will benefit from this fund, we know that it will help many of the city’s nurses, teachers and policemen, who are unable to access housing finance in the private bond market,” said Sonnenberg.

A report would be submitted to the council soon to extend the possible GAP market beneficiaries from those earning R10 000 a month to those earning R15 000 to align the GAP policy with the new fund, he said.

MSP Developments, part of the Mevelaphanda Holdings group and widely regarded as the largest developer of affordable housing in greater Cape Town, is working on on more than 9 000 houses in three large developments – in Blue Downs, between Kraaifontein and Durbanville, and between Somerset West and Firgrove.

Commercial director Philip van der Berg said: “We’re essentially building whole new towns, and this subsidy could offer great incentive for more such developments…

“The problem is that you will sometimes sell the same unit three times over because of the difficulty many people have with getting home loans. And of this, the biggest constraint has been in securing a deposit, with banks still being reluctant to grant 100 percent bonds in line with the National Credit Act.”

But Rawson warned that there were several potential obstacles to the roll-out of more suburbs like these.

First, buyers would still have to prove exemplary payment profiles – that they had managed their debt responsibly in the past – because this was the key factor banks used to decide whether to grant loans.

Second, even if there was a proven market for houses priced up to about R500 000, aided by the new subsidies, property developers would still battle to access finance to fund such new developments.

Third, banks still categorised many poorer Cape Town suburbs as “red line” areas, where they remained extremely reluctant to grant housing bonds.

 

Cop who shot wife and self dies

The Metro police officer who shot his wife before turning the gun on himself has died.

Eugene Gilfellow, 30, was on life support after he shot his wife, Michelle,32, and himself in the head during an argument on Sunday afternoon.

Police found the couple in their main bedroom where it is believed he used his service pistol.

Michelle worked at Nyanga police station and is still clinging on for dear life.

On Tuesday police confirmed Eugene died on Monday afternoon after his life-support machines were turned off.

While the exact details of the incident are still sketchy a source close to the family says the couple were going through a divorce and Michelle had moved out of the house a few weeks earlier.

The woman, who was one of the first people at the scene on Sunday afternoon says Michelle and Eugene were “a happy couple”.

“They have been living in the area just over a year and they were a very happy couple,” she tells the Daily Voice.

“It was very surprising when she suddenly moved out.”

She says on Sunday Michelle arrived at the house with her sister to take her two sons to the beach with them.

“The boys lived with their father,” she explains.

It was during this time that an argument started between them about the children and where they were going to stay.

“They [children] were still inside the house when two shots were fired,” she says.

“The children then ran out of the house into the street and told [a neighbour] their daddy shot their mommy.”

The woman says Michelle told a friend they were getting divorced.

A memorial service will be held for Eugene at Philippi headquarters on Wednesday.