The arrest of MEC China Dodovu has piled pressure on Premier Thandi Modise who now faces the possibility of watching the implosion of her cabinet.

Dodovu was arrested by the Hawks in Potchefstroom on Monday as the eighth suspect implicated in the murder of ANC regional secretary Obuti Chika in December last year. Dodovu becomes the most senior ANC politician to be arrested in connection with Chika’s killing.

The development came on the back of three other MECs whose positions are under serious threat following damning revelations of financial improprieties.

They include social development MEC Mositsanagape Mokomele-Mothibi who conceded to having spent R174000 on accommodation and entertainment during her excursion with friends to Mangaung last year. Possibilities are that she will be removed by the ANC and have a criminal case opened against her.

The other two are finance and education MECs Paul Sebegoe and Louisa Mabe. The two are jointly under a multi-pronged investigation by the Hawks, the public protector, the auditor general and the Public Service Commission after close to R20m was spent on legal fees in disciplinary cases involving three officials.

Results of the investigation are to be released soon and if implicated, the two face the possibility of arrest.Ironically, Modise appointed Sebegoe to act at the local government department, raising serious concerns over her position on the fate of her lieutenants.

Political analyst Prof André Duvenage from the North West University said: “This is an all-time low for the province and we are likely to see continued tension as long as ANC members do not set aside their differences. Assassination incidents are becoming more frequent, considering that just before Obuti Chika was gunned down, an alleged attempt was made on suspended ANC provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge.

“It’s time for an overall clean up of the province and it rests upon Premier Thandi Modise to take decisive action.”

The DA’s Chris Hattingh said Dodovu’s arrest placed Modise in a predicament, with four members of her cabinet now under a cloud.
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North West – The DA’s final attempt to retain control over the Tlokwe municipality drew a blank when its arguments over irregularities in the council were dismissed, leading to the ANC regaining control over the North West municipality in Potchefstroom.

A show of unity prevailed from the ANC benches when all its councillors, including those who have previously initiated a motion of no confidence in their own mayor, voted him back to the seat he was forced out of, three months ago.

Maphetle Maphetle was demoted to an ordinary councillor in November when 19 of the 30 ANC councillors initiated his unseating amid factionalism and infighting prior to the Mangaung conference. 

They wanted to replace Maphetle with Lucky Tsagae. 

The remaining ANC councillors supporting Maphetle walked out of the council chamber, leaving the ANC out-numbered by the opposition and opening the door for DA councillor, Professor Annette Combrinck, to be elected to the seat. 

After Mangaung, the ANC had vowed to return the mayorship to the party, and sent President Jacob Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa to Potchefstroom DA councillor Annette Combrinck was defeated by 31 to 21 votes.

All 30 ANC councillors were present at Tuesday’s council meeting, where they successfully passed a motion of no confidence in the DA mayor.

Nineteen DA councillors, two Freedom Front Plus councillors and a Cope councillor voted against the motion. 

The vote came after several attempts by the DA to delay the motion, saying proper procedure was not being followed and that councillors were not given any regular notice.

But on Tuesday, the speaker, Barei Mosiane-Segotso, ruled that the council could continue with the motion. 

The DA on Monday approached the Pretoria High Court to halt the motion, but the application is yet to be heard.  

In Tuesday’s vote, Maphetle received 31 votes against Combrinck’s 21 votes.

Overseeing the process from the gallery were ANC national executive council deployees Bathabile Dlamini, Humphrey Mmemezi, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Obed Bapela and the ANC’s chairman in the North West, Supra Mahumapelo.  

The DA recently alleged that R143 million was spent irregularly under the ANC’s watch in Tlokwe, adding that a further R152m was spent without proper authorisation.

The ANC, through its acting secretary in the North West, Gordon Kegakilwe, also promised to investigate allegations of corruption levelled against Maphetle.

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Klerksdorp-Eight men accused of killing ANC North West official Obuti Chika are expected to apply for bail in the Klerksdorp Magistrates Court today.

They are North West provincial ANC Youth League chairman Papiki Baboile (27), ward secretary Paul Molomonyane (33), Councillor Itumeleng Molebatsi (50), municipal worker William Malefo (46), community member Jeffrey Letuka (28) and minibus-taxi driver Kgotso Kali (36).

They each face a charge of premeditated murder and two charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The seventh accused in the matter, North West Local Government MEC China Dodovu, was arrested on Monday.

Chika, 33-years-old, was shot at point-blank range in the driveway of his home in Alabama, Klerksdorp, on December 14. 

He died at the Klerksdorp Hospital shortly after his arrival. 

He was the ANC’s regional secretary in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality.

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Cape Town – Truant teachers were absent for close to 7.5 million days last year, according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

“We have the highest rate of absenteeism in SADC (the Southern African Development Community). We’re at 19 days (average per teacher) a year. It’s huge. An average of 10 percent nationally,” she told reporters at Parliament on Tuesday.

It is understood that teacher absenteeism in other SADC countries is an average of nine days per teacher per year.

According to the department, there were 392,000 teachers employed at public schools around the country in 2012.

With each teacher, on average, being absent for 19 days last year, the total number of days absent multiplies out to 7 448 000.

Motshekga said there was “great concern” in her department about teacher accountability Ä arriving at school on time, and teaching for the full day.

Her department was looking at introducing an electronic clock-in system to replace manual attendance registers.

Responding to a question, she described the average of 19 days taken off by public school teachers as “pure absenteeism”, but said serious illness had also played a part in the high figure.

“Part of it is the burden of disease, where you find teachers over a period of time have not been to school, but in most instances it’s just poor administration.”

This was the reason the department wanted to switch to an electronic clock-in system.

Motshekga said transport problems were also a reason many teachers were late, or absent from work. – Sapa

The bail application by one of the two men accused of killing Anene Booysen enters its second day in the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Jonathan Davids, 22, pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Tuesday. He and Johannes Kana, 21, are accused of raping, killing and mutilating Booysen, 17, on February 2. Kana had not yet pleaded and was expected to apply for bail at a later stage.

The court heard on Tuesday that Davids was convicted of theft last February and received a five-year suspended sentence.

He also had three assault cases withdrawn against him in Bredasdorp, in September 2007, January 2008 and October 2011.

Booysen visited a nightclub in the town on Friday, February 1. A few hours later, she was gang-raped and mutilated. She was found at a construction site where she worked the next morning. She died in hospital later that day.

Sapa

Non-performing housing contractors appointed by the province’s human settlements, public safety and liaison will soon lose their contracts, the department said yesterday.

The announcement came after the human settlements branch acting head of the department, Monnapula Motlogelwa held one-on-one technical sessions with municipalities and contractors in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality.

His engagement with municipalities and contractors was aimed at finding solutions to housing challenges experienced in housing projects, creating healthy relations with municipalities and to accelerate housing delivery in the province. The session was the result of a number of complaints from the public and challenges experienced in the process of reducing the housing backlog and incomplete projects.

Motlogelwa warned that the department would not sympathise with incompetent contractors. “We have a mammoth task of delivering quality houses and dealing with the mushrooming informal settlements in the province.

“We need committed men and women in construction who will deliver in the best interest of our communities out there – on target.”

He said that the department would assist emerging women contractors to increase the pace of housing delivery in the province. Motlogelwa said the department was focused on strengthening partnerships and ensuring that projects yielded targeted job opportunities, ensuring that housing targets were met without compromise on quality, that roles were clarified and that early warning and monitoring systems were in place for prompt intervention.

“This is the right step to ensure that as citizens we receive quality service from the government, which promised to restore our dignity by providing quality housing,” RDP house beneficiary Boyce Mooketsi said.

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Mahikeng-Political figures from two opposition parties and the ANC have raised questions about Premier Thandi Modise’s multimillion-rand infrastructure projects set for this year.

Modise announced during her state of the province address that R200m would be spent on the roll out of 30 road rehabilitation and maintenance projects during the 2013-14 financial year.

She said that the R200m was earmarked for roads rehabilitation and maintenance, some of which would be contracted to small to medium enterprises.

“Thirty road projects will be under construction in 2013-14 as well as 24 building construction projects,” she said.

Last year President Jacob Zuma said that 10 road projects in the province were to be done by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). The number has been increased this year.

“I’m pleased to announce that the roads have been increased to 25 as gazetted on September 28, 2012, that will be part of the strategic infrastructure project. Sanral is the appointed implementing agent,” Modise said.

DA provincial leader Chris Hattingh said the announcement by Modise simply meant that the province had abdicated its duty to develop roads.

“What would the public works department do and where would the budget for roads go?

“This confirms that there is no capacity in the province for us to do our own roads because while 10 roads were acceptable, increasing them to 25 simply does not add up,” he said.

Other politicians serving on the portfolio committee on public works also raised the same concerns.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one member queried: “What is the status of the Koster-Lichtenburg and the Wolmaransstad to Schweizer-Reneke roads? People in those areas have long been waiting for these roads to be completed yet the public works department keeps on making unfulfilled promises.

“Last year, most of the staff in the department was doing nothing on the roads after a bungle in the procurement of diesel.”

Work on the Koster-Lichtenburg road is yet to resume since the provincial government paid off Down Touch Investments last year. Farmers and residents who use the road have been waiting for its completion since rehabilitation work started in 2008.

They also cited the issue of Mahikeng revitalisation where roads in the city are in a state of disrepair.

“The premier was silent on the Mahikeng revitalisation project and yet funds are allocated to the public works department. We are likely to see massive roll-overs because nothing was done in the previous financial year on the roads budget,” another member said.

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Echoes of ululations from parents, students and the academic staff reverberated off the walls of the North West University (NWU) Mahikeng campus Great Hall in celebration of the achievement by seven students who obtained distinctions in their first 2012 academic year.

Among the students was Kesaobaka Perserverance Mothobi, who got a standing ovation for recording a 91% average and 12 distinctions from 12 modules in the extended BCom in economics.

Other students were Thabang Nthaudi, who scored 80% and 11 distinctions in the BCom in chartered accountancy and Rebecca Maumau who got 81% and 10 distinctions in the extended BSc in chemistry and physics.

Others were Ingutu Mutemwa with 89% and nine distinctions in the BSc in statistics and mathematics, Lebogang Jabosigo with 82% and eight distinctions in the bachelor of social work, Tebogo Sathekge with 75% and eight distinctions in the BEd foundation phase and Abigail Beenzu with 76% and five distinctions in her LLB.

“I hope your stay in this institution will not only benefit you academically but prepare you for professional growth and emotional intelligence. Acquaint yourself with available services within the university and always keep reminding yourself of why you are here,” NWU academic vice-rector Prof Mashudu Maselesele said.

She said the next step was to grow as a campus and focus on science, engineering and technology programmes as well as research on rural development specifically.

“Hard work and sacrificing time has paid dividends to me. Success is for everyone,” Mothobi said.

NWU vice-chancellor Theuns Eloff said: “We have good foundation to build on.”

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