By Obakeng Maje

Madibeng-The suburbs of Elandsrand and Vucu in Madibeng municipality have again been left without water, this time for two days as chronic water pipe maintenance problems continue.

“Madibeng municipality’s consistent neglect of maintenance is impacting on the lives and businesses of residents in an unacceptable way” DA Tiaana Kotze said.

Kotze said the pump supplying water to the reservoir was flooded due to a lack of maintenance. 

“In addition, the standby pump and motor were out of order. The standby set has been out of order since March and there was no effort to have it repaired” said Kotze.

“No safety system is in place to detect and contain possible flooding and no maintenance programs exists” DA outlines.

The DA will place the necessity of a proper maintenance program for Madibeng water systems on the next council agenda.

“If the management of the Municipality continues to neglect the basic service needs of residents they risk transforming this once prosperous town into a dilapidated ghost town” Kotze said. 

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By Obakeng Maje

Kimberley-Police are investigating the murder of Nkosinathi Ephraim Mbi(17), who was allegedly stabbed at the Roodepan Taxi Rank in the Kimberley CBD on Sunday. 

“It is alleged that Mbi was stabbed by two men at approximately 03:15am. The suspects stabbed the victim in the chest and in one of his legs and fled the scene” Lieutenant Sergio Kock said. 

“The male was already dead when the police arrived at the scene” said Kock. 

Two male suspects surrendered themselves to the police on Tuesday,and appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on the same day. 

The two suspects, known as Royden Naidoo(19) and Daylain Haai(21) received bail of R300,00 each and the case was remanded until 23 July 2013. 

“The police however request that anyone with information please contact Detective Warrant Officer Kenneth Lamoen at 082 302 0407 or 08600 10 111 or sms 32211” he said. 

All information will be treated with the strictest of confidence. The investigation continues.

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The North West Provincial Government will begin a process of consultation among people for a name change-Premier Thandi Modise announced in her 2013/2013 Departmental Policy and Budget Vote presentation in the Provincial legislature today.

“We cannot be a “direction “or a position on the compass when we have calibre of leaders from our province like Malome Moses Kotane,” emphasised Premier Modise.

The Premier said that Moses Kotane had distinguished himself as a rare breed of leaders the liberation movement has ever produced.

“We celebrate this month in his name as a clear acknowledgement of how he continues to live amongst us through his teachings and practices and take pride to be associated with a man of his calibre. We remain inspired by his wisdom and love for his people and should encourage our youth to learn more about him and other heroes of our struggle,” said Modise.

She said that government should also institutionalize these heroes and heroines so that their names can forever represent the richness of our history and the brightness of our future.

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Public servants should not be scapegoats for the politicians who were ultimately responsible for the irregular clearance and landing of a privately chartered plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base, Agang SA said.

Gupta report’s Anderson finding defamatory: union

 Koloane ‘under pressure from number one’ to OK Gupta plane.

“We note with interest the government’s report into the failures of governance that led to the landing of the Gupta family’s aircraft at Waterkloof Air Force base,” Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele said in a statement.

For more http://www.timelive.co.za

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) was considering scaling down its restructuring plans further and saving most of the 6 000 jobs it had already slated for elimination, union officials close to the negotiations said yesterday.

Amplats was reported to be exploring options that would possibly include the dismissal of contractors whose role was not critical to its operations, early retirement and voluntary packages to employees, Franz Stehring, a divisional manager of Uasa, said yesterday.

“The fact that the mineral resources minister and director-general have intervened played a big role in getting collaboration between the parties.”

But Amplats spokeswoman Mpumi Sithole declined to comment on Stehring’s claims and made reference to a joint statement by Amplats, unions and the government.

“This process has now reached a stage whereby parties have agreed on measures and mitigation plans that will preserve jobs,” the statement said.

Sithole insisted that the company’s position remained that it planned to retrench 6 000 people and this plan would be presented at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Friday.

Lesiba Seshoka, the spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, said the Cosatu-affiliated union was totally opposed to any job cuts.

“Our understanding is that we are going to be talking saving jobs not retrenchments.”

Mere Boase, the workers organiser at the National Union of Metalworkers of SA in Rustenburg, said the company would not proceed with the retrenchments.

The joint statement followed a two-week tripartite consultation between Amplats, the government and unions, where various options to minimise job cuts were discussed.

In a restructuring plan tabled in January, Amplats had initially intended to retrench 14 000 staff, but it backtracked two weeks ago, following pressure from the government, announcing that it would only shed 6 000 jobs.

The company also trimmed down its original plan of cutting annual output by 400 000 ounces, saying it would now cut platinum production by 250 000 ounces this year and 100 000 ounces in the medium term.

But Loane Sharp, a labour economist at Adcorp, believed there were many methods that Amplats could use to lay off workers without attracting political attention.

He added that the government’s intervention was a classic case of government incoherence with no sound concept of unintended consequences.– Dineo Faku

Cape Town – Anene Booysen’s foster grandmother says she feels “good” that charges of rape and murder against Jonathan “Zwai” Davids have been withdrawn.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Johannesburg – Reports that a home affairs official allegedly manhandled reporters outside a Cape Town police station was met with outrage by the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Wednesday.

Sanef said in a statement that Cape Argus photojournalist David Ritchie and reporter Yolisa Tswanya were covering a story about the arrest and detention of immigrants at the police station when they were accosted by the official.

“According to Cape Argus executive editor Gasant Abarder, the officer pulled Ritchie from outside the police station, grabbed his camera and proceeded to delete the images – without identifying himself.”

A police officer, who witnessed the incident, apparently ordered Ritchie off the police premises.

The newspaper’s legal team were investigating the matter, with a view to instituting civil and or criminal cases against the official.

Sanef said it supported this action.

“Sanef is also concerned that it appears that wayward officials have taken to deleting images.

“Why would government officials go through the trouble of manhandling journalists and delete their pictures if they [officials] knew that they had not broken the law and thus had nothing to hide?”

Sanef said the deletion of images was illegal and should not be tolerated in a democracy.

– SAPA

By Obakeng Maje

Potchefstroom-The DA yesterday laid charges against Tlokwe Executive Mayor Maphetle Maphetle and others at the Potchefstroom SAPS charge office. 

The charges were based on findings from a forensic investigation requested by the DA during our time in charge of Tlokwe.

“The report found the council irregularly bought a R736 000 customized Mercedes Benz for Mayor Maphetle. It recommends the formal disciplinary action against the mayor and officials” Chris Hattingh said.

Hattingh said further abuse of the Disaster Management Fund and Poverty Relief fund by Mayor Maphetle are also documented by forensic auditors.

“Many of charges were used by the ANC in their no confidence motion in their own Mayor, before the party voted him back into office this year regardless” said DA.

“At this stage only six of the original 16 allegations were investigated by the Forensic Auditors – the outcome is overwhelmingly sufficient to proceed with criminal charges. It is an obligation in terms  of Section 34 (1) of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act. (1)  to report criminal activities as listed in the document” Hattingh said.

North West SAPS in Potchefstroom confirmed that DA’s Chris Hattingh opened a fraud and money laundering.

“We can confirm that Democratic Alliance’s leader Chris Hattingh came to Potchefstroom Police Station and launched a case of fraud and money laundering against Tlokwe mayor Maphehle Maphehle” Potchefstroom Police Station spokesperson said.

“It has become clear that the ANC Tlokwe Council does not have the political will to pursue these findings any further” outlines Hattingh.

Arguments in the Council, such as “there was not an (ANC)  mandate to proceed with the investigation” and the failure to discuss the report in an open council is indicative of the ANC strategy not to go public on issues where deployed ANC cadres are implicated in corruption said DA.

The DA said this strategy makes a mockery of the frequent anti-fraud-and-corruption utterances in the North West Province. It is clear that the ANC is not pepared to walk its anti-corruption talk.

ANC North West said they will support any investigations and they adhere to their mandate.

“Any member of the party who is involved in any corruption, will face the wrath of the party. Uprooting corruption is our mandate and we welcome investigations against mr Maphehle” ANC Gordon Kegakilwe said.

The DA handed to the SAPS sufficient documentation to support the charges and will attentively follow the progress of this case.

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