By Obakeng Maje

Ikageng-A 34-year-old Ethiopian National who was a tuck-shop owner was killed last night 21:00 outside his store in Ikageng Extension 11 outside Potchefstroom. 

“It is alleged that the victim was closing the main entrance of his store when the incident happened” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said. 

Police said that one of the shop assistants heard the owner screaming outside and went to investigate. 

“He found the victim lying in front of his store in a pool of blood.

It is alleged that the victim was stabbed three times with screwdriver” he said.

 The victim was stabbed twice in the left hand and once in the chest and died on the scene said police. Police are investigating a case of murder, no one was arrested.

Police suspect that the motive for the killing could have been robbery.  

By Obakeng Maje

Pampierstad-The learners at Kgomotso High School in Pampierstad were left with no option,but to use the nearest bushes to answer nature calls because the is no water at their school.

Since taps dessicated the daring smell coming out of the toilets is unbearable.

However, the Department of Public Works refutes that the were not aware of the problem encountered by the school.

Kgomotso High School principal Tebogo Makoke said the smell that comes out of the toilets is so unbearable and that brings lack of concentration to learners.

“The unbearable smell affects learners and they now have to use nearby bushes to answer nature calls” Makoke said.

The North Cape Deapartment of Education spokesperson said they are dealing with the problem.

Water is the main cause of the problem in the area and at school.

Sanitation is one of the rife issues the province is facing and according to students this have an impact in their studies.

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Dignity of farmworker buried on the side road to be restored on Human Rights Day. 

  The North West farmworker who was buried on the side road of a farm after he was evicted, refused a graveside by his employer is be exhumed and reburied as part of the Provincial event to celebrate Human Rights Day on Thursday.

Minister for Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti and Premier Thandi Modise will be part of the staggered ceremonies which are part of the programme for the exhumation and dignified reburial of the remains of Maruping Serole to be held as from 9:00 am outside the farm Liliespan near Lichtenburg and later in the morning at the farm Buffelsdoorn outside Potchefstroom.

“Though decisive strides have been made by the ANC led government to reverse the negative effects of 1913 Natives’ Land Act legislation which affected millions of South Africans since the 18 years the democratic government came into office, Serole’s case highlights challenges related to the socio-economic conditions of communities living and working on farms, such as employment and wages, housing, education etc. It also highlights underdevelopment, inequality and need for land reform for both settlement and production for the benefit of the landless and dispossessed,” Modise

In 1999, farm workers at the 

farm Liliespan outside Lichtenburg in the North West Province embarked on a labour strike demanding better employment and social conditions and Maruping Simon Serole was amongst them. During the protest there were confrontations and.Serole sustained back injuries and admitted at the hospital. After a week he was discharged from the hospital, spent some weeks at home and later passed on, on 20th January 1999.

His family approached the farm owner to request him to grant a permission to bury Serole on the farm and he refused arguing that they were on labour strike and he did not want anything to do with them anymore, despite the fact that there were graves on the farm. The family was left with no options but to put him to rest by the side of the road.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform had since the shameful incident in February 1999 acquired a farm measuring 21hectares and relocated twenty evicted households from Liliespan to the farm in August 2000. Subsequent to this, the department had assisted the community to form a legal entity called Baitshoki Communal Property Association to administer and manage land on their behalf.

The reburial ceremony and the unveiling of a memorial plaque hosted by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform in partnership with the North West Provincial Government, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, Ditsobotla 

 commemorate the centenary of the infamous 1913 Natives Land Act and affirm the rights of farmworkers and the dispossessed

Limpopo – The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit has pounced on Julius Malema and attached a R4 million farm believed to have been his sanctuary after his expulsion from the ANC.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za

(photo: by obakeng maje)

Traffic authorities are aiming for zero road fatalities over the Easter weekend.

Arrive Alive has begun a national blitz to ensure a strong traffic presence as the holiday weekend nears. Annually, statistics show that around 110 people die in road-related incidents over Easter. Every month 1000 people die in road accidents, an average of 40 people a day.

As the Easter weekend nears, many make their way to the coast at the start of the school holidays.

Arrive Alive spokesperson Luthando Moya appealed to donors to give blood.

“Unfortunately when the holidays arrive, the demand does not decrease, and about 3000 units of blood is still needed by patients daily and for each day we are unable to make this target, the total units of blood that is available depletes,” he said.

At the launch of the national 2013 Easter road safety campaign Minister of Transport Ben Martins in Cape Town issued a stern warning to road users.

“This carnage on our roads must stop. All of us must join hands and put a stop to it.

“Our traffic law enforcement officers must remain vigilant in their enforcement of road traffic rules, without fear. If vehicles are not roadworthy, they must be taken off the roads to save the lives of our people” the minister said.

At the launch of the Easter Arrive Alive campaign for the North West province, transport MEC Nono Maloyi said the province was ready to deal with incidents and offences on its roads.

“We will be visible throughout. We have ensured that we have special vehicles that will also assist our officials to trace defaulting vehicles, we will also deploy over 400 well trained officials and we have a new fleet of vehicles,” he said.

The constituent association of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) organisation, the National Vehicle Testing Association (NVTA), has also made available free safety checks which began yesterday at its national roadworthy centres and continues until March 28.

Tips for the Easter holiday:

1. Make our roads safe – Drive with Headlights on

2. Don’t overload – Handling and performance of your vehicle will be affected by any load.

3. Beware of stray animals – They don’t drive, they enjoy being on the road and they kill, watch them.

4. Fasten your seat belts – A safety belt can save your life.

5. Speed kills – Adhere to speed limits, if you speed you might not be able to stop

6. Fatigue – Stop and stretch, drink water and wait until you are refreshed.

7. Don’t drink and drive – safely reach your destination.

8. Obey the rules of the road at all time and eliminate use of cell phones while driving.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

A war of words has erupted between the Northern Cape Tourism Authority (NCTA) and the Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nocci) over the filthy state of Kimberley.

The conflict broke out at launch of the Keep the Diamond City Sparkling clean-up campaign yesterday, NCTA CEO Sharron Lewis, who was on the street with her team cleaning up, said Nocci was always complaining in the media about how dirty Kimberley was, yet its own members were contributing to this state of affairs.

“They are always complaining about the municipality but the dump behind that building does not come from nobody. It is the same businesses that Nocci represents. They don’t walk the talk,” she said, pointing to the heap of rubbish opposite the SABC offices and behind Bultfontein Road, which had been closed.

“They (Nocci) are quick to go to the papers when the city is not clean but they are the ones who are littering it.”

NCTA is the provincial government agency responsible for tourism. Asked for a comment, Nocci CEO, Sharon Steyn said that Lewis should provide her with proof.

“Tell her to call me and let us sit and discuss the matter and if it is true that there is such a thing I will speak to the businesses concerned.

“We have had numerous cleaning campaigns in the city and the NCTA was nowhere to be seen. We can’t be held responsible for Bultfontein Road. There are no businesses there and you know we have been pleading with the municipality to open the road without success. We have even taken the matter to the public protector. They should get their facts straight,” she said.

Bultfontein Road, which passes next to The Big Hole, was closed some years ago with the municipality saying there was a danger it could collapse into the hole. Economically it was one of the busiest roads.

The campaign, was launched by the MEC for environment and nature conservation, Sylvia Lucas together with the mayor of Sol Plaatje municipality.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

After 11 months without a head, the Moremogolo FET campus in Galeshewe, Kimberley, has appointed a former lecturer to the post.

Patricia Galeboe said she was glad to be back “home” after she had left to further her studies in the North West.

College spokesperson Andrew Michael said Galeboe was a great asset to the college.

“We knew all along that we needed a person of her calibre,” Michaels said.

“We had numerous interviews but could not find a suitable candidate to fill the position. She applied and was shortlisted. In the final interviews we knew there and then that she was the one.”

He said Galeboe had experience and knowledge of campus politics.

Galeboe also managed colleges in De Aar and Namakwa.

She said she had a huge task ahead of her, of producing a 70% student placement. “It is a huge task but we need to strive and achieve it. It’s within our reach,” she said.

“We have already partnered with local companies to absorb our students after college.

“I am told already we are moving in the right direction. We have already achieved 20% this year.”

About 200 students will be placed in the Droogfontein solar power project, of which 10 have started this week.

Galeboe believes that both the solar and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) projects will bring more job placements.

SKA is a national government project that will see about 300 telescopes being built in the Karoo region.

For mre details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

The murder of a 67-year-old farmer and assault on his wife on Sunday outside Ventersdorp has triggered an angry reaction from farmers and condemnation from Premier Thandi Modise, who has expressed shock at the incident.

“We see that this behaviour of killing our fellow farmers is becoming the fashion and government is doing nothing about this.

“We will not leave any stone unturned because war has been declared and we shall fight back,” farmer Pieter Fritz said.

Modise has urged police to intensify their effort to work more closely with the farming community to prevent attacks and to arrest individuals responsible for the violent attacks as soon as possible.

“We call on police not to leave any stone unturned until those responsible for the heinous crime are behind bars.

“Perpetrators of violence against our farming community, particularly the vulnerable elderly should have no place in society but must be permanently removed,” the Premier said.

Modise also appealed to the public to come forward with any information which might assist police in their investigations, following another murder, attempted murder, and house robbery case registered in the province on Sunday, days after the sentencing of two men for the murder of Andre van der Merwe, an Ottosdal farmer.

In the latest incident, two men, 21 and 22, have been arrested and will appear in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court today.

Police said the two men confronted the farmer outside his house on the farm shortly before 10am.

They reportedly hit him over the head and dragged him into the house where they attacked and allegedly raped his wife.

The men allegedly tied up the farmer’s wife and fled with two cellphones but later she managed to free herself and found help from a neighbouring farm.

Provincial police spokesperson Brig Thulane Ngubane says that the farmer died on the scene while his wife was recovering in hospital in Klerksdorp.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

Cape Town – Coach Gordon Igesund has played down Bafana Bafana’s injury concerns ahead of their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic (CAR) in Cape Town on Saturday.

“I think obviously it’s very unfortunate, but this happens in football, you get injuries here and there,” Igesund said on Tuesday.

Siyabonga Sangweni and Tsepo Masilela were withdrawn from the squad this week due to injuries, and were replaced by Tebogo Langerman and Eric Mathoho, respectively.

With former captain Bongani Khumalo dropped from the squad, South Africa have lost in the region of 100 caps in terms of experience.

But to counter-balance the loss to a certain degree is the re-appearance of Morgan Gould, returning to fitness, and the Kaizer Chiefs man will now be expected to hold the back four together.

Alongside Gould will be either Siyanda Xulu or Mathoho, Gould’s Kaizer Chiefs teammate. Xulu and Mathoho combined have only a handful of international caps, while the man likely to play at left-back, Thabo Matlaba, has also only played a couple of games in the Bafana jersey.

“I have enough depth in the squad,” Igesund said.

“Eric Mathoho has been playing well, Siyanda Xulu has just been Man of the Match (for his Russian club) – he’s a fantastic player and will add value.

“And Thabo Nthethe is the captain of Bloemfontein Celtic and a player I can always rely upon.”

Nthethe was unlikely to crack the nod, and many believed Mathoho would line up next to Gould due to their understanding at club level.

“Siya (Sangweni) is a big blow for us – not to have him, he’s such a good quality player,” Nthethe said.

“But the guys they called in, like Mathoho, he can make sure the nation goes forward, and we won’t lose focus.

“Having Morgan back means a lot because he has been here for a while and he brings a lot of experience. It makes the rest of us comfortable and we believe we can do well in this game.”

Gould’s presence could be crucial to a team lying behind Ethiopia and Botswana in their qualifying group.

The former Jomo Cosmos and SuperSport United defender was up for the challenge and said he could not wait to don the national team jersey again after a six-month injury enforced absence from the game.

“It’s a really good feeling being called up to the national team. It’s good for me just to be playing football,” Gould said.

“I just came back from a career threatening injury. You live under pressure, but most of us thrive under pressure, so I have to just enjoy the pressure and use it to my advantage.

“Just being given a chance is overwhelming. Whoever gets the chance to play must carry on where the other guys have left off, because they have done a tremendous job.” – Sapa

Zurich – Sepp Blatter says FIFA “totally” trusts Brazil will have stadiums and infrastructure ready for the 2014 World Cup.

The FIFA president told reporters after a World Cup organizing committee meeting: “Don’t be afraid.”

Brazil has delivered just two of six stadiums for the Confederations Cup tournament in June. The iconic Maracana in Rio de Janeiro has an April 27 completion deadline.

Blatter says “it’s all a question of trust and confidence,” and FIFA has faith in Brazilian authorities.

The FIFA president adds Brazil “will be ready because it is the World Cup and no one can afford not to be ready for the World Cup.”

Brazil sports minister Aldo Rebelo says he will join Blatter in touring the 12 World Cup host cities during his visit for the two-week Confederations Cup.

Sapa-AP