Clock is ticking for Block, Scholtz
WHILE former ANC provincial chairperson John Block has until today to hand himself over to the Department of Correctional Services, speculation was rife in the city yesterday that he would apply to the Constitutional Court.
While Block’s legal counsel, Claude Reid from Bloemfontein, has refused to comment, the Department of Correctional Services indicated yesterday that Block had not yet handed himself over.
“The Appeal Court in Bloemfontein gave him 48 hours to hand himself over - this only expires on Thursday,” a spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services said yesterday.
“So far, he has not done so. We will look at the time the warrant was signed by the Appeal Court to determine the deadline by which he has to hand himself over on Thursday.”
According to the spokesperson, Block’s legal representative would indicate to the department if he intended to approach the Constitutional Court.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Phaladi Shuping, said earlier this week that both Block and his co-accused, Christo Scholtz, who are in the fifties, were entitled to make an application before the Constitutional Court, although they would have to prove sufficient grounds before the case would be heard.
Yesterday, NPA spokesperson, Brain Mdlalose, stated that they had not had any formal communication yet with regard to any intention by Block and Scholtz to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
“As things stand we are counting down their 48-hours grace period on the clock within which they must present themselves to correctional services.”
Respond
Instructing attorneys for Scholtz, Werner du Plessis Attorneys in Pretoria, also indicated that they would respond today on their client’s intentions.
Block and Scholtz, the CEO of the Trifecta group of companies, lost their appeal against their conviction and sentencing this week in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. The two were sentenced in December 2016 in the Northern Cape High Court to 15 years imprisonment after they were found guilty on charges of corruption and money laundering.
The State, on appeal, decided not to argue the money laundering charges as it constituted a “duplication of charges”. CLASHES between members of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and pirate taxi operators who collect passengers in Oliver Road in Kimberley remain a concern, and calls for local government intervention have intensified.
Last week, Logan Doyle, who collects passengers from the site in his private vehicle, said that he had raised a number of issues with law enforcement but was still concerned for his safety after several of his passengers had been threatened, ordered out of his vehicle and prevented from using his services.
Subsequently, several other concerned residents raised similar complaints, accusing taxi operators of intimidation and harassment, among other transgressions.
“The other morning I was walking in the Trim Park and saw a taxi literally force a car off the road for trying to collect a passenger,” said one member of the public. “They (taxi operators) aren’t only endangering the lives of taxi drivers and passengers but all road users.
“It’s only a matter of time before some unsuspecting motorist is involved in an accident because the taxi operators are at each other’s throats.”
Concerns have also been raised over the risk to public health and hygiene posed by the lack of facilities at the pick-up point.
“There aren’t any bathrooms or toilets so people are just urinating in the park,” added another concerned member of the public. “There are lots of people who use this facility (Trim Park) to train and get some exercise but the smell of urine is hardly conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
“Children also play in the park and shouldn’t be exposed to people relieving themselves in public.”
Yesterday, the provincial chairperson of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), Mazwe Nkonki, called for government to take action against pirate taxis, who he said were undermining Santaco’s best efforts to ensure that the industry was adequately regulated and that its members operated within the confines of the law.
“We are aware of the situation in Oliver Road,” said Nkonki. “Members of our organisation are collecting passengers from this point and while there have been some altercations, I’m not really sure what more can be done from our side to resolve the problem.
“We went through all the required processes in order to operate legally and to obtain the necessary permits from the department. However, with so many members of the public using their private vehicles as pirate taxis, we are losing out on a lot of passengers, leaving the official municipal taxi ranks very quiet.
“It is the pirate taxis that are the problem. They are operating illegally and nothing is being done to prevent them from doing so.
“We have asked for help but we are the only ones who have our vehicles repossessed left and right.
“Government must see what they can do. The Department of Transport must see to it that pirate taxis are stopped.”
Last week, the spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Transport, Keitumetse Moticoe, said that all minibus taxi-type operations had to commence from an approved municipal taxi rank and she encouraged the various role-players to be mindful of commuters’ safety.