By Obakeng Maje

Taung-Cultural Calabash in Taung, North West Province set to take place as scheduled.

The North West Cultural Calabash takes place in the rural village of Taung, home of the famous Taung child skull found in the early 20th century.

The North West Cultural Calabash is a multi – disciplined youth arts festival which include Local and District Selections, as well as a Provincial Festival held annually in the North West Province and culminating in the village of Taung and aimed at an adult audience.

The event did not take place last year as according to the co-ordinator, there were some other issues to be ironed out.

“The event did not take place last year as schedule because there were issues needed to be ironed” Mogashoa said.

As we promised,our crew contacted MEC of Sport,Art & Culture mme Tebogo Modise spokesperson, Vusimuzi Kama to confirm if the  calabash will indeed take place.

“I think it will be better if you personal speak with MEC so that she can clarify that issue”

“We agreed to have and interview with her today(saturday),but unfortunately she is not available.So,please call us on Monday or Tuesday” he said.

We decided to call Office of Premier, mme Thandi Modise as our next stop as The Department of Sport,Art & Culture spokesperson, mr Kama was not that helpful.

 Our crew spoke with mme Thandi Modise spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele who indeed confirmed that the event will take place,but the date will be announced later.

“The North West Cultural Calabash is indeed on and the date of the event will be announced soon. I will keep you posted and it will be hosted in Taung” Kgwele said.

Professional artists are also invited to present new productions at the Main Event in Taung. This is combined with a popular music concert for a family audience.

The Calabash is supported by the North West Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, its founding sponsor the Transnet Foundation and its venue partner the Mmabana Foundation.

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The suspect is sought for a case of Rape, in Potchefstroom which occurred on 21 July 2012 at about 06:00.

The suspect is a male in his mid-twenties.  He has a light complexion, tall, slender build and speak Tswana.

  He had a black sharks beanie on his head, a jacket and kaki pants on.

The investigating official in this case is Cst Langford of Potchefstroom FCS.  He can be contacted on the following numbers: 018 – 299 7326 or 073 576 7133.

By Obakeng Maje

Three suspects Pamela Malete 24, Lesego Raborifi 36 and  Jonas Masilo 35 years old  appeared today at the Brits Magistrate’s court on allegations of Impersonating Health Department officials and common robbery .

This comes after the three suspects were arrested at Centreville area in Letlhabile village in the North West province. It is alleged that the suspects arrived at a Tuck shop in the area and ordered the owner to open for them.

The victim alleges that he refused the suspects entry as it was not their first time they visited his shop pretending to be Health Inspectors. According to the victim they forced entry and demanded to check if the items in the shop have expired or not. After realising that some of the stuff have expired, they charged him R600, 00. 

“{It is alleged that on Wednesday, 12 September 2012,  the suspects visited the victim again with the initial pretence of being health Inspectors. The victim refused to open the shop and alerted the police” Colonel Emelda Setlhako said. 

Police managed to track them to the nearest tuck shop where they were also attempting to rob the owner and they arrested them. 

The suspects are still in custody and will appear again at the Brits Magistrate’s court on 24 October 2012.

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RUSTENBURG – Tension was rising outside the Aquarius Platinum mine in Rustenburg on Friday following ongoing strikes.

Police fired teargas at protesters from Anglo Platinum and Aquarius Platinum while they were marching to the Xstrata mine.

It was understood 10 people were arrested.

The miners disappeared into the informal settlements in the area following a march aimed at ending all mining operations in Rustenburg.

Police fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of marching workers after warning them that the gathering was illegal.

Eyewitness News can confirm at least one of the marchers was assaulted by the mine’s private security before being taken into custody.

Those arrested were held in police nyalas outside the Aquarius Platinum mine but the authorities would not say where they would be taken.

The striking miners were also planning on marching to the nearby Murray and Roberts mine to close down the shafts.

The workers want the mines to address their grievances before they return to work. 

They are demanding a basic salary of R12,500. 

They acknowledged an agreement that exists with management but they said it had not been honoured.

Rustenburg – A group of around 200 Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) protesters started heading for a Murray & Roberts operation in Rustenburg on Friday, as part of its plan to close all mines in the region.

They set off from Amplats’ Blesbok stadium, with police Nyalas driving in front of them for the 4km journey.

Mametlwe Sebei, leader of a group which has called itself the Democratic Socialist Movement, told the protesters that all mines in Rustenburg must come to a halt next week.

Sebei said protests were continuing to close all mines in the area and named Samancor, Xstrata, Murray & Roberts, Implats and Amandelbult.

Earlier, mineworkers insisted that their monthly salary demand of R16,070 was realistic.

Anthon Dembele, 38, said the underground work conditions posed a health risk.

“We breathe artificial oxygen in there 1/8underground 3/8; the noise of machines is also damaging our ears,” he said.

“Now, when you talk to me, you must raise your voice a bit,” Dembele said.

Another worker, who said he was a “former” National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) shop steward, spoke on condition of anonymity and echoed his colleague’s sentiments.

He said if this pay demand was met they could maintain themselves and even see specialist doctors.

He said NUM was “conniving” with the management and wanted nothing to do with them any more.

“Our regional leader normally twists our statements, that’s why the situation is like this today,” he said.

He said that after agreements were made at branch caucus meetings, he discovered these decisions were not later conveyed accurately to management.

He said NUM had known about their demands for a long time, but because of the shares it has in the mine, it was trying to balance its interests.

“They have shares. So now they are trying to balance their interests by compromising us,” he said.

An “executive committee” of six members operating outside union forums held meetings throughout the morning, ahead of addressing the miners gathered at the stadium.

On Friday, the group was much smaller and whiled away time until the meeting ended, by singing and dancing at the stadium.

The mine suspended operations on Wednesday, saying this was to protect employees from intimidation.

It said there is no strike, a statement some mineworkers interviewed at the stadium have disagreed with. – Sapa

Marikana – Lonmin’s Marikana miners on Friday rejected a R986 wage increase offer, Eyewitness News reported.

Sapa earlier reported that Lonmin [JSE:LON] has offered striking workers a R900 increase to R5 500 a month for entry-level workers, “very far” from their demand of R12 500, according to National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Frans Baleni.

“Lonmin is offering to adjust the rate of entry-level (workers) from R4 600 towards R5 500, an increase of about R900. Then all operators will be upgraded, by one grade up,” Baleni told the BBC World Service radio Newsday programme.

The offer was made during talks with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Lonmin management, unions and strike leaders on Thursday evening.

The increase would have seen entry-level workers earning R5 586 salary. The miners have been demanding salaries of R12 500.

Striking miners say the R986 increase is part of an existing 3-year wage agreement that will be implemented in October.

Baleni said the latest offer was far from the workers’ demands and he was unsure of how rival union, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), would respond.

“It will depend if they are really pragmatic and willing to look at the interests of those workers, as well as the interests of our economy. We hope every player in these negotiations will take that into account,” Baleni told the BBC.

The wage increase offer was the first one made by management and stakeholders are now expected to return to the negotiating table this afternoon to discuss a higher deal, ewn reported.

Operations at the mine have been low, with less than 2% of Lonmin’s workforce reporting for duty.

Workers at the Lonmin mine have been on an illegal strike for four weeks, demanding a salary of R12 500.

Last month, the protest turned violent and police shot dead 34 protesters and injured 78. A total of 45 people have been killed in incidents related to the strike.

Baleni said he was worried about job losses in the platinum sector and said 4 800 jobs had already been lost due to illegal strikes.

He was also worried about violence and intimidation during these labour disputes.

Baleni said the labour unrest spreading throughout mines in the North West was being orchestrated for political reasons.