Dear Editor
The DA is deeply concerned about the recent reports of an R18 million theft from the Guardians Fund in April.
The Guardians Fund, established to manage money on behalf of individuals who are legally incapable of managing their own affairs, including minors, unborn heirs, and missing persons, plays a crucial role in protecting the interests of some of South Africa’s most vulnerable individuals.
It has come to light that payments from the fund have been suspended by the Department of Justice as they explore alternative and safer payment processing methods. In the interim, the fund’s payment system has been switched off to prevent further fraudulent transactions. While it is necessary to take measures to address the issue of theft and protect the fund’s assets, the suspension of payments has caused significant hardships for individuals who rely on these funds for essential needs such as school fees, medical bills, accommodation, and other necessary expenses.
Furthermore, there are reports that individuals owed money by the Guardians Fund have been denied access to their funds, with the Department of Justice failing to provide reasons for these delays. This lack of transparency and accountability exacerbates the burden on vulnerable individuals who are already facing immense challenges.
The DA will not stand idly by while the rights and well-being of South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens are compromised. We will be submitting Parliamentary questions to ascertain the full extent of the theft, the reasons behind it, the number of delayed payments and transactions resulting from the payment suspension, and the steps the Department is taking to recover the stolen funds. We will also ascertain what is being done to ensure that those in need are able to access their funds.
It is crucial that those responsible for this theft are brought to justice, and the stolen funds are recovered to minimize the impact on the lives of those who depend on the Guardians Fund for their financial support. The DA remains committed to advocating for the rights and interests of all South Africans, especially those who are most in need of protection and assistance. This is not the first time that the DoJ systems have been breached by cyber criminals, and they seem unable to effectively or efficiently put systems in place to ensure the integrity of important systems.
Regards
Adv. Glynnis Breytenbach MP
DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Sherwood Gladiator
Jislaaik – an expression of surprise [yis-liike] This is usually said when trying to express surprise or wonder.Example: “Jislaaik, you gave me a fright!”
Nacho
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”