By Obakeng Maje

Johannesburg-South Africa yet lost another singer through illness this week. Spokes H as he was affectionately known to his fellowers succumbed to illness on Tuesday night.

Spokes H born Letona Spokes Hlatshwayo was admitted into hospital two weeks ago. According to reports, Motlhang Ke Tsamaya hitmaker fell sick two weeks ago and was taken to a local clinic where he was transferred to Kopanong Hospital in Veereniging,South of Johannesburg.

A 45 year-old musician shot to fame in 1990s with hit songs like Rabaki and Peace Magents.

“Spokes H fell sick two weeks ago and I personally took him to a local clinic, but because of deteriorating health he was transferred to hospital” William Mthethwa told sabc radio.

The reports say Spokes H was admitted into ICU because of high blood pressure.

Letona “Spokes H” leaves his three children and mum whom he stayed with at Migson Manor.

William Mthethwa said the funeral arrangement will be available soon as Hlatshwayo’s family is busy preparing for another funeral in Free State.

“Spokes H’s uncle also passed on, so the family is busy with funeral preparations and the musician’s funeral details will be available on Tuesday” Mthethwa said.

William Mthethwa also took time to lambasts Media for lack of coverage regarding musician’s death.

“The media of South Africa have that tendency of writing bad about someone and when they have to cover other aspects, they turn away” Mthethwa retorted.

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Three chartered accountants will be deployed to take over financial management of Matlosana Local Municipality by the end of this week, the North West Provincial Executive Council (Exco) noted in its meeting held in Mahikeng on Wednesday.

The deployment announced by MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Manketsi Tlhape follows the concurrence granted by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional approving Section 139(b) intervention by the province in Matlosana, Ditsobotla and Maquassi Hills Local Municipalities.

As per earlier Exco resolution, the intervention to support and strengthen Matlosana Local Municipality to rescue it from collapse will be limited to control of finances.

An assessment that was conducted by the Provincial Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs in terms of the local government turnaround strategy had established that there is a lack of management and leadership capacity in the Budget and Treasury Office resulting in poor financial management and administration of the municipality’s finances.

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By Obakeng Maje

Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ms Maria Bongi Ntuli will today handover a tractor and a truck to ‘LetsemaLethatakaBeng vegetables Cooperative’ as part of the Department’s support to emerging small farming businesses across the country. 

The official handover ceremony follows a recent visit by the Deputy Minister Ntuli at the vegetable farm, where she promised to donate a tractor to assist the co-operative to plough the vast vegetable fields with ease.

“Letsema le ThataKaBeng is a food security Cooperative based is Monakato Village, 50km north of Rustenburg in the North-West province. It was started by 10 unemployed local women who shared passion in vegetable gardening in order to fight poverty and reduce unemployment in the area” Deputy Minister Ntuli said. 

The number of direct beneficiaries at the Cooperative has now increased from 10 to 15 members, of which 96% of the composition is women. 

“Fifteen (15) people from the local community are now employed and earn an income contributing to social relief at home, such as basic household necessities like food, clothing and schooling of children, buying of electricity” she said.

Ntuli said this project, that covers 7 hectares of productive land, was granted funds amounting to R197 999 by the National Development Agency (NDA) in the 2002/03 financial year. 

NDA had since extended its financial support to the cooperative by granting it an additional amount of R793 136 in the 2010/2011 financial year.

The handover will take place as follows:

Place:Monakato Village, 50km from Rustenburg, North West

Time: 10H30 for 11H00am

Date: 25 July 2013

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Johannesburg – Two men and a woman have been arrested in Cape Town for possession of drugs worth about R100 000 on the street, Western Cape police said on Wednesday.

“The arrests follow after members executed stop-and-search patrols. When they searched a 39-year-old suspect they found four medium size plastic bags filled with dagga,” said police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk.

Police then followed up information at a house in Lytton Street, Observatory.

“They confiscated four plastic bags, three medium size plastic shopping bags, 32 plastic bank bags, all filled with dagga, and 85 white in colour tablets, which are used for the manufacturing of Mandrax tablets,” said Van Wyk.

A 21-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were arrested at a house in Cornwall Street, Woodstock, after they were found in possession of 20 Mandrax tablets with an estimated street value of R70 000.

Van Wyk said they would all appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

– SAPA

KickOff.com has learnt that Golden Arrows have promoted a number of youngsters from their reserve team, including a relative of former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain Mbulelo ‘OJ’ Mabizela.

“There’s quite a few of them that we have promoted from our reserve team, but I cannot confirm their names right now because we call each other by nicknames at training and practice matches,” Arrows team manager Vusumuzi Vilakazi confirms.

“It is true that the player in question is one of them. But we are finalizing paperwork with them currently.”

Thulani Mabizela, a 20-year-old central defender who also plays right-back and central midfield – just like the senior Mabizela – and seven other youngsters nicknamed Sulumane, S’beko, Nsimbi, Mthoko, Damien, KG and Zulu are also amongst those in contention for promotion.

KickOff.com has learnt that the young defender is Mabizela’s nephew.

Mabizela is currently in camp with Abafana Bes’thende and was on the bench in the previous weekends Ladysmith Mayoral Cup. Arrows lost to Free State Starts on penalties in the final.

Other opponents were Manzini Sundowns from Swaziland and the UThukela Select XI.

The youngster was part of Arrows’ squad during the 2011 Metropolitan U/19 Premiers Cup and was in the wanted list of Ajax Cape Town at one stage. He has also turned out for AmaZulu’s Youth Development.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Maritzburg United insist new signing Yakubu Mohammed will add value to the team, despite Roger de Sa’s comments that the Ghanaian striker was in no shape to play.

Why Pirates didn’t sign Yakubu …

Mohammed, who today signed a four-year deal with Maritzburg, looked set to join Pirates, but the move fell through after De Sa had a closer look at the player.

“He had one session and after 30 minutes he pulled off. He was out of breath and he couldn’t keep up. So I mean really are we going to sign a player who can only do 30 minutes of training? You must remember that if you are going to bring in a foreigner he must be better than what you have,” De Sa told KickOff.com.

“That’s why our national team struggles, because every foreigner that arrives here with a half a CV, we sign. We’ve got to think local if they are not better than the locals.”

However, Maritzburg coach Ernst Middendorp clearly saw something different, and team manager Quintin Jettoo feels they have a good signing on their hands.

“He has been with us since last week Friday already. The coach was impressed with him and felt that he can add value to the team,’ Jettoo says.

Mohammed was the Ghanaian League’s second top scorer last season with 14 goals, so what went wrong?

A quick check of Wikipedia shows that Ashanti Gold are based in the southern Ghanaian town of Obuasi, which is 101 metres above sea level. Johannesburg is over 1 000 metres higher at 1 753.

It is a well-documented fact that players coming from low altitude areas struggle with adjusting, even when given some to time to adapt to the altitude change – complaints of shortness of breath and sluggishness are common.

If one needs convincing of what playing at high altitude without adequate preparation can do, a reminder of Argentina’s humbling in Bolivia during 2010 World Cup qualification should suffice. The minnows ran rings around the likes of Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez in their 3 600m high fortress in La Paz en route to a 6-1 hammering.

New Zealand rugby teams who come to play Gauteng sides are known to go for an acclimatisation period in Durban in preparation for their games on the Highveld.

Perhaps Pirates should have given Mohammed another look …
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has explained the rationale behind crowding the left-back position pointing to injuries as the reason why he now has four players competing for the slot on the left flank of his defence this season.

Bafana Bafana international Tsepo Masilela, Zimbabwean Jimmy Jambo, Keagan Ritchie and new teenage signing Simphiwe Mtsweni are now all queuing up for the same position at Chiefs.

So why have so many players for one position when there is also another left-footed defender Tefu Mashamaite capable of slotting in at left-back in desperate situations.

“You said four,” responds Baxter.

“But Jimmy (Jambo) is not going to be available for quite a while to come because of injury. Then you have Tsepo who is playing so well for us at the moment but has a history of knee injuries.

“So with Simphiwe we are bringing him because we want to educate him now. Then we have Keagan who is a quality replacement if anything was to happen to Tsepo or if he (Masilela) loses his form.

“So very quickly your four becomes three and then after that your three is not too many to carry. We want to bring Simphiwe in the way we coach our fullbacks,” explains Baxter.

Jambo – who had a horrific knee injury in October last year – is already back at training and with his desire to play regularly when fully fit it will make up for interesting competition at left-back.

Baxter also adds that he is still in the hunt for a central-defender but is not panicking at all as he believes the situation at the back is manageable with Morgan Gould getting back to full fitness.

“Yes we are (still looking for a centre-back). We will see how everything goes but Morgan’s fitness is improving which eases the pressure.

“With Morgan not 100 percent fit and with Eric Matoho having a broken finger whose prognosis we didn’t know as there was talk of a week to six weeks out at one stage it was risky but then he (Matoho) played 45 minutes against United FC in a reserve match and came through without any hassles.

“And so with those two getting back it eases the pressure,” says Baxter.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

The 2013/14 League season has finally been given the green light after a League arbitrator dismissed disputes by both Thanda Royal Zulu and Chippa United.

The League had already released the fixtures, but were unable to include the names of First Division winners Polokwane City and promotion play-off champions Mpumalanga Black Aces.

This after Thanda and Chippa disputed the final NFD table of the 2012/13 season following the chaos at the start of the campaign when many fixtures were not honoured.

A statement released by the PSL reads: The arbitrator handed down his awards in two matters today, 24 July 2013, namely Thanda Royal Zulu vs. Mokoena (N.O.), the NSL and others, and Chippa United vs. The NSL.

In the Thanda Royal Zulu matter, the Arbitrator ruled that: Mokoena (Arbitrator, 25 May 2013) had jurisdiction to act as an arbitrator and to hear the appeal by Thanda Royal Zulu; Thanda Royal Zulu’s application is dismissed; Thanda Royal Zulu to pay the costs of the High Court application and the arbitration, save for the costs of SAFA.

On the Chippa United matter, the Arbitrator also dismissed their application with costs.

PSL CEO Brand de Villiers welcomed the conclusion of the arbitration: “We are relieved that this matter has been resolved and we can now focus on the start of the new season. Our priority right now is to plan for next week’s Absa Premiership fixtures and the MTN8 competition.”
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Mine workers at the Batho Pele shaft of Anglo American’s platinum mine in Rustenburg say they won’t resume work until their safety can be guaranteed. Two of their colleagues, 31-year-old Mashabela Phuku and 45-year-old Tsembele Joseph Mashele got trapped underground on Saturday after a rockfall.

Their bodies were taken to the surface on Wednesday night, three days after the incident.

AMCU chairperson at the mine, George Tyobeka, says the mine must be inspected first before they will resume their duties.

“We are going to finalise some issues with management including the contractors and the big important part of it is we need also to conduct the audit in all the sections here in Batho Pele mine, to make sure this thing cannot happen again. We want to identify, check all the sections, not specifically the section that had a fall of ground. Then maybe, going forward, things will be turned. But really, I don’t foresee the upliftment of the operations right now, because this thing is very hectic.”

Meanwhile, Anglo Platinum mine has undertaken to look after the families of the two mine contractors killed in an accident at Amplats’ Batho Pele shaft in Rustenburg.

“At the moment our priorities is really to make sure that we look properly after the employees’ family, and that we support them through this terrible time for them.”
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

The ANC has been accused of turning Parliament into a dumping ground for poor performing politicians. This after the ruling party deployed former Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale to Parliament.

Under Mathale, Limpopo misappropriated more than R2 billion that resulted in five departments being placed under administration. The Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip, Watty Watson, says that deploying Mathale to Parliament was an insult to the institution.

The DA says Mathale’s deployment might be a strategy by the ANC to keep him away from Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters.

ANC spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi, says the ANC issued a statement when Mathale was to be deployed to Parliament. “We said in that statement that we really appreciate his effort and the people that he has been working with, however the ANC felt it necessary that we should give him a relief from the province and deploy him elsewhere, hence comrade Mathale is deployed in Parliament.”

Mathale resigned last Monday as Limpopo’s Premier.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za