The triple awards that the Human Settlements Branch of the North West Department of Human Settlements and Public Safety & Liaison scooped at the 2013 Govan Mbeki Housing Awards should give hope to the homeless and dispel doubt about the commitment of the provincial government to improve the quality of the lives of the people in the province, Premier Thandi Modise said on Tuesday.

In acknowledging the Best Woman contractor award that was scooped by, Best Enhanced Peoples Housing Project and the biggest and main award that were conferred on the department at Gallagher Estate in Gauteng on Thursday night, Premier Modise said that the prestigious awards represent the legacy of Govan Mbeki and what he stood for therefore the achievement should spur all departments in our administration to overcome service delivery challenges and strive for excellence.

Best Woman Contractor in the country was awarded to L& R Welding and Tools Suppliers for housing development project in Manthe and Tlapeng in Taung while the Best Enhanced Peoples Housing Project awarded to Tlhabangani Trade Enterprise was in recognition of the sterling work on the housing development in Welverdien and Ga-Motlatla

“We commend MEC Maloyi, Human Settlement stakeholders, all contractors and employees of his department who through their tireless effortcontributed towards the provincedelivering 14331 housing units and being declared the best performing province in housing delivery across the country during the 2012/2013 financial year,” highlighted  Modise .  The Premier said that she is confident that the department will use its R1.4 billion allocation for the current financial year to meet its target of building 15 000 new housing units with access to clean water and decent sanitation.

The Provincial government has in line with President Jacob Zuma’s commitment made during his State of the Nation Address allocated R27 million for the implementation of the Financial Linked Individual Subsidy Programme in Seraleng within the Rustenburg Local Municipality.

The money allocated for the programme is intended to assist the homeless who earn too much to qualify for low cost housing and earn too little to qualify for bond stock.

Itumeleng Khune (Gallo)
Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and captain, Itumeleng Khune, believes that the players in the national side have developed a great understanding and that they are performing as a team.

According to the Soccer-Laduma website, following South Africa’s 3-0 win over Central African Republic (CAR) in their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier on the weekend, Khune is confident that they will achieve if they continue to display that sort of form.

The keeper is looking to carry their winning momentum into the World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Sunday.

“We are gelling very well. We played as a team and you know me, I am a big fan of team work, because it always works wonders. This is not about individual players or one-on-one, but the team, and in this case it is about Bafana Bafana.

“We scored three goals and kept a clean sheet which was great and we couldn’t have asked for anything better. We showed that we were mentally strong after the set back we faced before the game.

“Now our focus is on Addis Ababa where Ethiopia is awaiting us. As I said we want the six points, so we got three and three to go. I believe we can complete our wish and mission on Sunday,” the PSL Player of the Year said.
For more http://www.news24.com

By Obakeng Maje
The Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital Complex has established Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Unit. MRI is a type of scan that is often used to diagnose health conditions that affect organs, tissue and bone. Unlike X-rays, MRI does not involve exposing the body to radiation.
The Klerksdorp/Tshepong Complex has been designated as a Provincial tertiary hospital in the North West Province. Through Modernization of Tertiary Services grant, the National Department Health allocated funding to the tune of R20 million which was then used to establish MRI Unit. Health MEC, Dr. Magome Masike will officially open the new unit on Friday, 14 June.
“MRI is a new phenomenon which will now be accessible for the first time to the people of the province. The availability of the MRI scan in the province will end years of travelling for patients in need of MRI service who used to receive assistance from Gauteng Province or Private Health facilities” MEC Magome Masike said.
This was not only costly but created a burden on healthcare as some patients skipped appointments resulting in department having to deal with advance condition that could have been detected earlier said Masike.
MEC Masike said MRI is used to diagnosing strokes in their earliest stages; diagnosing MS, diagnosing brain and pituitary tumors; diagnosing brain, spine, or joint infections; visualizing torn ligaments in the wrist, knee, and ankle. It is also used for visualizing shoulder injuries; evaluating soft tissue masses; and evaluating bone tumors, cysts, and herniated discs in the spine.
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

Lonmin mine management has been meeting with the miners’ union, Amcu in a bid to resolve the unions’ standoff. Amcu has threatened strike action from Tuesday if no agreement is reached.

Rival unions the NUM and Amcu have been at loggerheads over the ”recognition” issue. A NUM shop steward was shot and killed at the mine last week.

After failing to reach an agreement at the CCMA, Lonmin applied for arbitration, which is expected to take place later this month. However, Amcu members have voted to strike. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant has called on union leaders to discourage workers from engaging in unprotected action.

Some economists have suggested that the time is right to revisit traditional labour union representation models. Analyst, Patrick Deale says its like two bulls in a kraal and both unions should be accommodated. He added that there should be some degree of proportional representation and “majority status should be given to the bigger union with the most members.”
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

North West Deputy Police Commissioner William Mpembe will continue to testify before the Marikana Commission in Centurion, south of Pretoria, on Tuesday.

Mpembe is testifying about how the police implemented their operational plan on August 16, the day the 34 mineworkers were shot and killed by the police during unrest in Marikana. This is Mpembe’s second day testifying.

Mpembe has told the commission that a day before the mineworkers were killed he requested leaders of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and National Union of Mineworkers (Num) together with Lonmin management to attend a meeting at Lonmin offices.

Both union presidents attended, but according to Mpembe a delegation of about 10 other people attended, and refused to identify them on record.

Mpembe is expected to explain the strategies the police came with to find a peaceful solution. The plan included three phases entailing the dispersion of the protesters into smaller groups, encircling and disarming them.

The operation was scheduled to start at around 15h30 that day.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Multi-award winning former South African Broadcast (SABC) news journalist, Amos Molubi, has died after a long illness. He was 56 years old.

Molubi, who was based in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, won several awards for his reporting on the legacy of asbestos mining in South Africa.

He won two awards for his reporting on the landmark court case in London by the Prieska community against Cape plc.

Former colleagues describe Molubi as a diligent reporter who loved journalism and languages. In later years, Molubi preferred to cover science stories, extensively covering South Africa’s bid to host the Square Kilometre Array at Carnavon.

Family spokesperson Gadifele Letsholo says Molubi’s health deteriorated in the last few months. He will be buried in Pretoria on Saturday.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Cape Town – Former president Nelson Mandela has been out of the public eye for so long, analysts say, that his influence has waned.

Mandela, who was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday morning, was last seen in public in 2010.

“The bottom line is that Mr Mandela has not been at the moral and political centre of South Africa for a very long time,” political commentator Eusebius McKaiser said on Monday.

“We have let go of him ages ago.”

“I think there will be concerns from outside South Africa that Mandela is seen as the glue that holds South Africa together,” analyst Daniel Silke told AFP.

“But I think that this is something long gone frankly.”

With Mandela having made his last political speech in 2009, South Africa’s political arena has shifted radically.

“The point needs to be made that society and politics have changed in South Africa since the Mandela era,” said Silke.

“I just don’t think that Nelson Mandela’s passing is going to have any dramatic effect on domestic politics in South Africa,” he added.

Increasing acceptance of his mortality, with increasing hospital stays, has also seen the once-taboo topic of death broached as South Africa contemplates itself as a post-Mandela society.

His hospitalisation has triggered an outpouring of wishes for his recovery.

But this is often motivated by a genuine love for the man and his role in shaping the country, rather than melodramatic fears for South Africa, said McKaiser.

He said it was not Mandela’s mere presence which saved South Africa from becoming the next Zimbabwe, where white farmers saw their land seized, or from other instability.

“We, independent of his physical existence, are responsible for why the country has not been collapsing and so his non-existence cannot be a game changer.”

A pull-back on reconciliation as many feared was unlikely, said Silke.

“The issue of reconciliation I think permeates South African politics way beyond the era of Nelson Mandela,” he said.

During Mandela’s longest hospital stay in December, an article Nelson Mandela is going to die – it’s sad, but it’s ok was penned.

In it, GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen argued that South Africa held together not because of the Mandela of today, but because of his work over his lifetime.

“It is insulting to Mandela to suggest that his lifetime’s work will unravel at the end of his lifetime,” he wrote.

– AFP

Brits-A couple from Brits has been left seriously injured after apparently trying to play with a lion cub.

The pair, who had recently bought the lion, were both admitted to hospital and had to have surgery, reported Beeld.

Willie Jacobs of the Ukutula lodge near Brits said the lion cub had been bought from him by Manie and Angelique Visser, but the cub was still at their premises as the Vissers were waiting for some documents.

The lion was between 10-months-old and a year.

“I wasn’t here on Sunday but it sounds as if the lion wanted to play with Visser and the woman with him but a lion’s claws and teeth are sharp and they don’t know their own strength,” said Jacobs.

He said Ukutula staff had apparently tried to dissuade Manie Visser from going into the lion’s camp.

“The man apparently had lions before so they thought he knew what he was doing. And it was his lion.”

Visser tried to help his wife when the lion got hold of her, sustaining multiple bite wounds all over his body.

His wife was bitten on her leg.

Both are in a stable condition.

– News24

Mthatha – As former president Nelson Mandela spends his fourth day in hospital, his home village of Qunu was preparing for throngs of visitors, the Sowetan reported on Tuesday.

Some residents were preparing to turn their homes into home-stay accommodation, as they said there might not be enough place in the village should the ailing icon die, according to the report.

Villagers, who did not want to be named, told the newspaper there were only three bed and breakfasts (B&B) in the village.

An employee at one of the residences said the house had been converted into a 10-room B&B and had previously accommodated many foreigners who came to the village to see Mandela’s home.

Nowinothi Geledwana, 63, told the newspaper she had previously rented out some rooms in her house and expected to do so again, should there be a demand.

“I have about three to four rooms that are available and can be rented out should people prefer home-stay accommodation in Qunu,” Geledwana was quoted as saying.

“I really don’t know how much I will charge for them, but I’m sure I will make some profit.”

Apart from accommodation provided by residents, the Nelson Mandela Museum in the village also had accommodation for 60 people, while there was a plush guesthouse less than 10km from Qunu.

The Star newspaper reported the Mandela family in Qunu was preparing for another relative’s funeral.

Florence Mandela, the wife of one of the sons of the elder statesman’s uncle, died last week aged 96.

Florence’s funeral would be held on Saturday.
For more http://www.news24.com

Cape Town – The Eastern Cape has now taken to “swine politics”, with the ANC accusing the DA of “piggy-backing” by distributing piglets to Stutterheim communities in an attempt to score votes in next year’s elections.

Former ANC premier and accomplished pig farmer Nosimo Balindlela is now the target of the ANC as political parties gear up for elections next year.
For more http://www.iol.co.za