Showing posts with label rootx auctioneers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rootx auctioneers. Show all posts

Monday, August 15, 2016

Sustainability Conversations ... Pesticides, Banks, Bots & the Auctioneer

Destiny is a journey.... And sometimes I get scared.... But mostly I get excited, inspired and taken aback when people with passion conspire and choose to make different outcomes come true.... These small acts of courage and belief give meaning and greatness to this paradoxical thing we call life...

On the iStart2 Show this week we focus on two stories:

Simone's story about bots
:

(Definition of Bots: the larvae of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of animals. It lives typically in the stomach, finally passing through the host's dung and pupating on the ground).


Simone got cancer and lost her job. The bank (bots) moved in and sold her property on an auction. "Simone, the victim, struggling with cancer was subjected to numerous illegalities in the selling of her property, says Douglas J Shaw, an Advocate of the Supreme Court. "For a number of reasons the bank acted illegally:

- Firstly, an appeal for leave to Appeal was pending;
- Should the Appeal have been in some way defective, then the bank's remedy would be an exception or Rule 30;

- Secondly, the notice of sale in execution was only served three days before the auction and not 30 days as the rues provide:
- Thirdly, the property was auctioned twice despite the first buyer not agreeing thereto;

- The first auction was defective in that the wrong figure was given for municipal rates;
- The second auction was also for a lower amount than the first bidder;
-  This is without going into the unconstitutionality of the process itself"

Tune in on Thursday at 17h30 and hear a brave woman tell her story.


David's story about pesticide:  

(Definition of Pesticide: a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals).

Artist, scientist, designer and environmentalist, David Bellamy is inspired by almost everything in the natural world .. "and by ferocity, kindness, generosity, ambition, valour."



David's textile designs and oil paintings refer to the natural world, out of which we evolved and upon which we depend. “We should be making everything last for as long as possible, every object should have nine lives, so we should always live with old and new things,” he opines.


Rooted in the disciplines of science and art, his work reflects deeply held philosophical perspectives on humanity’s place in nature, ie a biocentrism that extends value to all living things and the environment in which they flourish.

Before he was an artist he was a war resistor, leaving South Africa for the UK in 1983. As a conscientious objector, he worked for the Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR) in London, later serving part-time in the public housing sector, while he completed a BA Honours degree at Central St Martins School of Art.

In 2001 he returned to South Africa, setting up the Cape Francolin Art Hotel in Riebeeck Kasteel. However after only three years running the hotel, he became ill as a consequence of pesticide drift exposure from the vineyards.

He campaigned against this issue and appeared on Carte Blanche, in Noseweek and in the Cape Times. This activism attracted harassment from the local farmers and a series of court cases flowed. David was partially represented by Angela Andrews of the Legal Resources Centre, UCT.

This drew her attention to the fact that chronic pesticide drift poisoning is ubiquitous and she turned her attention to getting regulations around agricultural remedies updated. Agricultural remedies are a euphemism for pesticides. Pesticide spraying is regulated by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Fertilizer, Farm Feeds and Agricultural Remeddies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947)

Design meets Biodiversity
Litigation costs prompted David to start marketing a range of what he calls "the cushions of the revolution" via his design house, bbellamy & bbellamy. Starting off as a means of funding legal costs, the company now markets these inhouse textiles as a way to address issues of biodiversity, focussing, too on water conservation and opposition to fracking, which requires urgent attention, believes Bellamy.




Keitu Gwangwa & Pierre du Toit host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485 MW (AM) in greater Johannesburg and countrywide on ‪#‎DStv‬ audio channel 869. 

 
Radio Today also streams globally on www.1485.org.za. 


Something to think about ...
"I am the people, I am not the pig. You got to make a distinction. And the people are going to have to attack the pigs. The people are going to have to stand up against the pigs"
- Fred Hampton

Friday, July 1, 2016

SA Banks the nastiest in the World? ... Douglas Shaw


South Africans are 20 times more likely to have their homes repossessed than elsewhere in the world.

Imagine losing your home for an outstanding debt of less than R1000. It might sound outrageous, but South African law makes it possible for banks to foreclose to recoup even the smallest debt. Properties are then sold at a fraction of their market value while homeowners are forced to keep paying. Watch the Carte Blanche investigation here

"Do you have to use a sheriff's auction system?"
 - Douglas Shaw on the iStart2 Show

In 2015, an estimated 10 000 repossessed homes were sold on auction in South Africa. Most of these homes were sold at just a fraction of the market value, leaving struggling home owners seriously out of pocket.

How do we change these injustices? Is everyone at our banks bad or have they just got multiple personality disorder? Maybe just the leadership? What about the other collaborators like property auctioneers, curators and other parties benefitting from injustice? What do you do when the Sheriff comes knocking at your door? Does the Constitution still matter?


We chatted to Douglas Shaw, Advocate of the High Court of South Africa about bank repo and your rights on the iStart2 Show this week. To listen to the interview click play below:






Thought of the Day: Home Repo and your Human Rights


What the law says

According to the Constitution, “everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing” and “no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished without an order of court made after considering all relevant circumstances”.
  • However, this does not mean you can never be evicted from your home. The legal responsibility still lies with you to ensure you repay your bond each month.
  • Should you not be able to pay the required amount, you are legally obliged to inform your bank in writing immediately.
  • Banks can only apply for a foreclosure after three months of non-payment.
  • The bank must apply for a forfeiture order at the High Court of Magistrate before any further steps against you may be taken.
  • Once the order has been granted, a court-appointed sheriff will be instructed to deliver a summons to you. You have the right to ask the sheriff to show you his valid identification card and the official court order before allowing them onto your property.
  • Only a sheriff is legally allowed to remove items from your home or take possession of property. No debt collector, tracer, bank representative or agent may remove a single item from your home.
  • Should anyone besides a sheriff order you to hand over property, you have the right to refuse.
  • If you are unsure, you can always contact the South African Board of Sheriffs.

    Read more about your rights here
For fast assistance or to make an appointment contact a banking law advisor at lesley@bankinglawadvisor.co.za