The Office of the Premier of the North West Province has noted with disappointment and serious concern a vitriolic attack that described Premier Thandi Modise as “a wounded lioness” who is playing a dirty political game at the expense of sports development in Matlosana Local Municipality.

The unwarranted attack attributed to the Sports, Arts and Culture Officer in the municipality, Hunter Morebodi as published on page 23 of The New Age Newspaper of Wednesday 24 July 2013 not only undermines the Office and person of the Premier but seek to divert public attention from prudent financial management which was the Premier’s concern.

While Premier Modise had called for an urgently investigation as to whether the R2,4 million expenditure that the municipality was alleged to have earmarked towards the Mayoral Soccer Challenge was justifiable.

“We wish to put it on record that she has not instructed that the tournament be cancelled or postponed as alleged. The Premier had welcomed not the postponement of the tournament but the assurance that municipal resources were not going to fund the shortfall of the tournament organised by a private entity outside the municipality” Premier spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele said.

“We have noted however that Morebodi’s ill-timed comments suggest that the event was organised by the municipality and that the tournament was continuing even though no sponsors were secured a week before the tournament .

“We wish to dismiss as nonsensical the assertion that Premier has enemies within the municipality and reiterate she had acted promptly in the interest of good governance and our communities” Kgwele said.

They sais Premier had acted within her rights and constitutional obligation and could not have ignored allegations of financial mismanagement which were brought to her attention by the media. 

Had the municipality responded to the media enquiry, the Office of the Premier would not have known of the allegations or statement issued in this regard.

Premier Modise is confident that she had acted in the best interest of the ratepayers and residents after the municipality had not responded to media enquiries regarding the matter.

The seriousness of the allegations demanded for prompt action and for the Premier not to tarry. 

“Delayed interventions have caused our communities a lot and in this case, the directive for an investigation has resulted in reactions that raises more questions than provide answers” Modise concludes.        

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Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma has sent his condolences over the death of former chief justice Pius Langa, who died on Wednesday morning.

“The country has lost one of its best legal minds, a dedicated Human Rights jurist and a veteran struggle activist. On behalf of government and the people of South Africa, we wish to convey our deepest condolences. May his soul rest in peace,” said President Zuma.

Langa died at the age of 74 at Milpark hospital in Johannesburg, Gauteng, following a long illness.

He retired in 2009 and went on to chair the Press Freedom Commission, which looked into regulation of the print media in South Africa.

Pius Nkonzo Langa was born in Bushbuckridge on 25 March 1939.

He went from a factory job to the country’s top judicial post after a long legal career.

Chief justice

He became deputy chief justice in 2001 and was appointed chief justice by then president Thabo Mbeki four years later, succeeding Arthur Chaskalson.

He began his career in law as a messenger in the justice department in 1960, after a three-year stint working in a shirt factory.

He went on to study for B Luris and LLB degrees, via correspondence, at the University of South Africa, and became an advocate in 1977.

Langa practised at the Natal Bar and was known for defending opponents of the apartheid regime. At the time, he was also actively involved in the United Democratic Front.

His biography on the Constitutional Court website also notes that he served on the executive committee of the Democratic Lawyers’ Association, was a founder member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, and served as its president from 1988 to 1994.

He served on the boards and as trustee of various law-related institutions, and was involved in founding the SA Legal Defence Fund.

Constitutional Court

Langa was part of the African National Congress’s constitutional committee and acted as an adviser during the so-called “talks about talks” at Groote Schuur and in Pretoria in the early 1990s.

He was a founder member of the Release Mandela Committee, and a member of the reception committees which worked to secure the release of other political prisoners.

He became a senior counsel in 1994, which was also the year newly-elected president Nelson Mandela appointed him to the Bench of the Constitutional Court.

In 1997, Langa became deputy president of the Constitutional Court, before the top positions at the court and the office of the chief justice merged a few years later.

The following year, he headed a commission formed by the Southern African Development Community to probe the general elections in Lesotho which sparked violence and a South African military intervention.

In 2000 he served as the Commonwealth’s special envoy to assist the Fiji Islands’ return to democracy.

He also formed part of constitutional review commissions in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

He was Chancellor of the University of Natal and of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Awards

Langa was given several awards for advancing justice and human rights, including the 2004 Justice Prize, with Chaskalson, by the Peter Gruber Foundation in the United States.

In 2008, Mbeki awarded him the Order of the Supreme Counsellor of the Baobab.

His brother Benjamin Langa was killed in 1984 by an Umkhonto we Sizwe operative on suspicion of being an informer.

Langa was married to Thandikile from 1966. She died in August 2009 at the age of 64. The couple had six children and many grandchildren.

Langa was the older brother of respected poet and author Mandla Langa.\

His interests were listed by the court as walking, jogging, listening to music, reading and watching sport.

SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West province has learned with disappointment that the Department of Basic Education in the province is planning to close a number of farm schools in the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda Region, under the program of rationalisation of schools.
COSATU is informed that a number of schools in the Tigane Ottosdal area will be affected and a number of children will be forced to travel longer distances than they are travelling now.
COSATU provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said they had observed that many children in the farm areas are travelling more than ten kilometres to school in the current situation and the closure of the schools will increase the distance that they are travelling.
“COSATU have also observed that the school transport system is not functioning, as many farm children are still walking to school on a daily basis due to unavailability of transport. Where the transport is available it does not go into farms to collect the children, so they have to travel more than ten kilometres to the road to get the transport” Phetoe said.
“We believe that the continued closure of the schools will be taking away the rights of the children to education and will increase child labour as a number of children will be forced out of schools as the schools which will be too far for them to attend. The farm children are exposed to the racial attacks during travelling to school and this is one of the fights that COSATU in the NW had with the previous MEC, who ended up being removed and arrested for corrupt activities” they said.
Cosatu plans to call on the department of education to stop this process until there is an alternative school where children will be accommodated during the time they are attending school as was done with Onkgoposte Tiro and Moedwill.
“We call on the Department of Education in the NW to stop this and consult with farm communities and other stake holders that are involved in the farms. We are also calling on our government to act quickly on the challenges faced by Pomfret school which is in the poverty area, children are divided on the culture issue including teachers are treated badly with poor attendance of children on the bases of culture” Phetoe concludes.
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Cape Town – Ajax Cape Town has confirmed that Muhsin Ertugral has signed a three-year contract with the club on Tuesday.

Muhsin returned to the Urban Warriors in April the Head of Technical Affairs.

In a statement on the club’s official website, he was instrumental in keeping the club in the PSL, collecting eight points the last four games of the 2012/2013 season to ensure Ajax Cape Town’s top-flight status.
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