Latest news with #Kriek
The Citizen
11-07-2025
- The Citizen
Human trafficking accused in Kempton Park court after 19 Ethiopians rescued
A man accused in connection with the suspected human trafficking case in Birchleigh North, Kempton Park, appeared in the Kempton Park Regional Court this morning. According to Kempton Express, the case relates to the rescue of 19 Ethiopian men who were found held captive in a house in Birchleigh North last Friday. The victims were allegedly lured to South Africa under false pretences, assaulted, and held while their captors demanded large sums of money from their families for their release. During his brief appearance in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, the accused's case was postponed to next Friday for a formal bail application. The police's crime intelligence unit continues to investigate the matter. The rescue followed after Freedom Front Plus councillor for Kempton Park Jean Kriek received reports of people calling for help from inside the property. Kriek went to the house to investigate and immediately contacted the police, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department and a private security company for assistance. The men were taken to hospital for treatment following their ordeal. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
11-07-2025
- The Citizen
Birchleigh North trafficking suspect to seek bail on July 18
A man accused in connection with the suspected human trafficking case in Birchleigh North, Kempton Park, appeared in the Kempton Park Regional Court this morning, July 11. The case against him relates to the rescue of 19 Ethiopian men who were found held captive in a house in Birchleigh North on July 4. The victims were allegedly lured to South Africa under false pretences, assaulted, and held while their captors demanded large sums of money from their families for their release. During his brief appearance in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, the suspect's case was postponed to July 18 for a formal bail application. The police's crime intelligence unit continues to investigate the matter. Also read: Birchleigh North house raid uncovers 19 human trafficking victims The rescue followed after Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) councillor for Kempton Park, Jean Kriek, received reports of people calling for help from inside the property. Kriek went to the house to investigate and immediately contacted the police, the EMPD and a private security company for assistance. The men were taken to hospital for treatment following their ordeal. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
07-07-2025
- The Citizen
Birchleigh North house raid uncovers 19 human trafficking victims
A total of 19 Ethiopian men were rescued from a house in Birchleigh North, Kempton Park, on July 4, after they were allegedly held captive and assaulted with pangas and knives. The rescue followed after Freedom Front Plus councillor for Kempton Park, Jean Kriek, received reports of people calling for help from inside the property. Kriek went to the house to investigate and immediately contacted the police, the EMPD and a private security company for assistance. Also read: Gauteng is human trafficking hotspot The men were taken to hospital for treatment following their ordeal. A preliminary investigation revealed the men were allegedly lured from Ethiopia to South Africa under false pretences before being held captive in the house. Their captors are suspected of demanding large sums of money from their families for their release. The police's crime intelligence unit is currently investigating the matter. According to Kriek, human trafficking remains a harsh reality in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng, where people are illegally held in residential areas, often unnoticed by the public. Also read: Man busted for attempted human trafficking at OR Tambo Airport 'Both the Global Organized Crime Index and Global Slavery Index have listed South Africa as a hotspot for human trafficking, with an estimated 250 000 people believed to be trapped in modern slavery conditions in the country.' Kriek said the incident underscores the urgency of dismantling trafficking syndicates, improving border control, and fostering better cooperation between communities, security services, and law enforcement agencies. He thanked the Norkem Park SAPS, EMPD, MML Security, Elite Force Risk Solutions, Guards Must Be Crazy, and Crowned Elite for their swift response in assisting with the rescue. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
18-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Why short-term loans can jeopardise your home loan application
Aspirant homeowners are advised to exercise caution and financial responsibility when it comes to using credit. This may be the case even while they are keeping up with repayments, says Renier Kriek, Managing Director at alternative home finance business, Sentinel Homes. While all debt should be managed responsibly to maintain a good credit score, for many South Africans, short-term loans have become a way for citizens to make ends meet, or to fund luxuries they cannot afford but refuse to live without. Credit providers use various risk models to identify patterns in potential customers' spending behaviour-good and bad. They know what financially responsible and irresponsible spending patterns look like. 'Frequent short-term loans-with or without defaulting-are a risky pattern that implies an individual does not manage debt well, and that is something a home loan provider does not want to make a long-term investment in. 'The ability to delay gratification is the underlying attribute that responsible users of credit have, but there is no easy way to quantify whether a particular applicant possesses that trait – the number, frequency and type of unsecured credit transactions is a useful proxy in that regard.' Kriek said the right course of action, especially to those who already have short-term loans is to first, understand that short-term loans have their place but are seldom necessary. He urged these customers to stop using them and make a plan to pay off the ones they already have. Then they should get to work on building an emergency fund of cash that can only be touched for true emergencies, so that they will not need unsecured debt in those cases, he said. Secondly, he advised aspirant homeowners to work on saving for luxuries such as holidays and large capital purchases. He said they will be paying monthly anyway, whether they take the credit or save, but in the saving scenario, interest will be working in their favour rather than against them. He added that delaying the gratification of that large purchase is difficult, but no-one said adulting would be easy. Finally, Kriek said if there is no other option, they must opt for 'good' debt as far as possible. He said they should buy their clothes, furniture, appliances, groceries and other items using store credit if they absolutely cannot do without. He said they do not have to buy things they do not need to build a good credit score as everyday items and normal household purchases are fine.
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Why South Africa's high interest rates are stifling private sector investment
South Africa's persistently high interest rates, the lingering effects of the post Covid-19 recovery, and muted domestic growth in South Africa continue to stifle the local real estate sector. Image: Henk Kruger African News Agency (ANA) The real interest rate remains far too high to spur meaningful capital investment by South Africa's private sector, despite the recent interest rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The bank's Monetary Policy Committee reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points last week. While the news brought some welcome relief to property owners, it was another disappointment for the country's real economy, said Renier Kriek, the managing director at Sentinel Homes. 'The SARB has consistently preached that their policy bible contains only one chapter, titled 'inflation targeting', which requires sticking to within their 3–6% inflation target band and anchoring inflation expectations at the 4.5% midpoint. 'Their messaging has consistently and unfailingly pledged that their mandate is the only consideration that guides their decisions,' Kriek said. South Africa is unfortunate not to have a stable interest rate environment - a scenario that is likely to continue for at least the next five years, according to Tyson Properties. 'We spent the last couple of years straight after Covid seeing record lows and a little mini property boom. When those rates began to increase, people found that they could no longer afford the houses they had bought. We struggled to sell houses because expectations were too high. "Interest rates began to level off, and the market picked up again. Then along came Trump and markets became nervous again,' said Tyson Properties CEO, Chris Tyson. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Kriek said that despite inflation remaining low over an extended period, currently sitting at 2.8%, leaving the opportunity for a softening of monetary policy wide open, the SARB had not budged. Kriek asked then why the SARB has stubbornly refused to reduce the interest rate accordingly, even as inflation hovers at or below the bottom of their target band? Despite preaching vague and opaque 'risks to the upside' to justify their hawkishness in recent years, he said it is clear that the SARB has been disingenuous. He said this was made plain for the first time last week with the interest rate cut, but it has long been evident that there is a secret driver of their decisions. 'It was clear with the announcement that the SARB's policy bible has contained a new chapter, which is their anticipated future mandate, and they have already been guided by that expanded gospel, despite the existence of the chapter having been secret and further despite the content of the chapter not having been agreed to with Treasury and other stakeholders,' Kriek said. The argument advanced by the Monetary Policy Committee, by way of Governor Lesetja Kganyago's statement and answers to questions during the press conference, is that the MPC wishes to deliver a decisive blow to inflation in the long term, transforming the SA economy to a low(er) inflation economy. This will also mean lower interest rates for longer in future, per the MPC's reasoning, since lower inflation economies generally tend to have lower inflation rates. 'However, the question is, why do we want to do this now?' Kriek asked. 'Moving to a lower inflation target will likely have long-term positive consequences for the SA economy, but it will also involve near-dated discomfort. Essentially, the MPC is promising short-term pain for long-term gain.' 'The SA economy is a very frail patient at the moment, and keeping interest rates at current high levels in order to achieve longer-term outcomes is a risky gambit. "We should at least be asking, and this is as much about political calculation as economic policy, whether we should not attempt monetary stimulus first, getting the economy out of its bandages, and attempt the MPC's incisive reforms once the patient is back on its feet. 'The property sector has shown signs of broad-based recovery, with price lines across all the metros trending upwards in Stats SA's latest Residential Property Price Index," he said. The cumulative 75 bps cuts, with a further cut at last week's meeting, have already had the effect of bringing previously pent-up demand spilling into the residential property market. However, while these are green shoots, the market is still under significant strain. According to National Credit Regulator(NCR) statistics, home loan delinquency is up by 35% in the last three years, signifying the tremendous pressure households are experiencing related to their finances.
