Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma has enacted the spatial planning and land use management bill, the presidency said on Monday.

“The… act seeks to bridge the racial divide in spatial terms and to transform the settlement patterns of the country in a manner that gives effect to the key constitutional provisions,” according to a statement.

“It will address the legacy of the discriminatory, inefficient and costly special pattern which puts a considerable burden on the public resources.”

The objectives of the act were to provide a uniform system of spatial planning and land management, and ensure they promoted social and economic inclusion.

The presidency said Zuma also assented to the Co-operative Amendment Act Six of 2013. This was an amendment to the Co-operatives Act 14 of 2005 – which came into effect on 2 May 2007.

The act provides for the establishment, functions and powers of the Co-operatives Development Agency.

It states that the provincial departments of economic development, would be responsible for co-ordinating and reporting all co-operative activities in the provinces involving other departments.

Municipalities would be responsible for the co-ordinating activities within their jurisdiction.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A man was arrested on Monday in connection with the rape of his 12-year-old sister in Dobsonville, west of Johannesburg, Gauteng police said.

The 19-year-old was arrested in Doornkop after a relative reported him to police, Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.

The relative took her to a doctor when she appeared to be ill.

“[During the visit] the doctor pointed out that the girl was sexually active and that she had been for a long time. They then started interviewing her,” Makhubela said.

“According to the doctor it looks like it has been a continuous thing for the past 10 years,” he said.

The girl was currently being treated in hospital.

The man was in police custody and would appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on rape charges, Makhubela said.

– SAPA

North West Premier Thandi Modise and Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla are to handover newly completed houses to two Military Veterans who fought in the Second World War. The historic handover of the houses is to be held as from 10:00 am at the Old Kraaipan Local Tribal Office near Setlagole in the North West Province on Wednesday.

“We are excited that the redress and rollout of benefits for military veterans who defended our country and fought for our freedom starts in our province. This gesture will go a long way in restoring the dignity of our heroes and heroines who gave their lives defending our people and our land,” said Premier Modise ahead of the handover.

Deputy Minister Makwetla who recently signed an agreement with the Minister of Rural Development and Land reform, Gugile Nkwinti to utilise the expertise of military veterans in the development of rural economies across the country will in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements use the occasion to launch a national housing programme for military veterans across the country.

The Department of Military Veterans is also in the process of issuing 6 500 healthcare cards issued to registered veterans that will enable veterans to access military healthcare facilities for free medical services.

According to the Military Veterans Act of 2011, a military veteran is “a South African citizen who rendered military service to any of the military organisations, which were involved on all the sides of South Africa’s liberation war from 1960 to 1994, those who served in the Union Defence Force before 1961, and those who became members of the South African National Defence Force after 1994, and has completed his/her military training and no longer performs military duties, and has not been dishonourably discharged from that military organisation.”-tdn
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North West Premier Thandi Modise is saddened by the loss of lives and properties that four families suffered due to fire disasters in Boikhutso and Colingny over the past week.

“We wish to convey our condolences to the Mogapi and Molokele families that lost their loved ones in fires that were allegedly caused by candles which were left burning by two pensioners in Boikhutsong Ext 3 and Coligny Ext 6 respectively when they fell asleep,” said Premier Modise.

In welcoming the assurance by Eskom that it would intensify its consumer education programme to prevent accidents caused by faulty electrical appliances, the Premier also commended the compassion demonstrated by Ditsobotla Local Municipality Mayor, Councillor Lesego Holele who visited the four families that had suffered loss in the incidents and gave them blankets to survive the cold winter weather .

Modise also welcomed assurance by Mayor Holele that electrification programme in Coligny Ext 6 would be concluded by December this year.

The assurance was corroborated by the General Manager for the Eskom Provincial Operating Unit, Philistas Khumalo who also confirmed that Boikhutsong Ext 3 is included in the 2014/15 electrification programme.

Pensioner Oupa Mogapi’s charred body was found on Tuesday night around 9pm after neighbours tried desperately to extinguish a fire that had engulfed his low cost RDP house in Boikhutso Ext 3.It is suspected that Mogapi who was alone at the time forgot to put out a candle when he fell asleep.

The Molokele family in Coligny Ext 6 experienced similar unfortunate incident as the Mogapi’s. A burning candle that not put out allegedly caused a fire which claimed pensioner Molokele’s life. At the time of the incident, the old and ailing Molokele was reportedly with her grandchild.

A neighbour allegedly heard a child crying on Wednesday morning and rushed over to attend to the cry. Upon arrival, the neighbour realised the house was on fire and screamed for help. After gaining access into the house, the neighbours discovered that the granny had burned to death and rescued the child.-TDN
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Johannesburg – The Young Communist League of SA (YCLSA) in the North West expressed concern on Monday at Tlokwe’s ANC mayor Maphetle Maphetle being unseated.

“We note the attempt by [the] Democratic Alliance with their fake Mayor Annette Combrink and a few factory faults from the African National Congress, to derail our revolution and to roll back the gains of our revolution,” provincial secretary Pabatso Barnard said in a statement.

The league intended campaigning for the ANC ahead of Wednesday’s by-elections.

Maphetle has been unseated twice when ANC councillors voted with the opposition to replace him with Combrink, first in November, and again last month.

The ANC’s North West provincial disciplinary committee expelled the 14 councillors concerned, resulting in them losing their seats.

By-elections would be held in Ward Nine in Tlokwe and in another eight wards in the province.

The Tlokwe ward would be contested by the ANC, the DA, the Congress of the People (Cope), the African People’s Convention, and an independent candidate.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Quick action by staff in Parliament prevented a fire from causing serious damage to the historic building in Cape Town.

“A fire broke out in a room between the Old Assembly and National Council of Provinces buildings on Friday,” a statement from Parliament said.

No injuries were reported and only a few clothing materials and “unidentified objects” were damaged.

“Parliament’s Protection Services reacted quickly and doused the fire with fire-fighting equipment,” the statement said.

“An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway and more details will be released in due course.”

The statement did, however, make reference to smoking in the Parliamentary precinct.

“Over the past two weeks, Parliament has erected more “No Smoking” signs at entrances and other strategic points in the precinct.

“This is to comply with the relevant regulations and to ensure that parliamentary buildings are smoke-free and to protect non-smokers from health hazards posed by smoking.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance on Monday called for more inspections of vehicles transporting school pupils.

“The DA urges the Gauteng education department to ensure provincial and local law and traffic enforcement agencies conduct regular inspections on scholar transport vehicles, to guarantee all vehicles abide by the minimum safety standards and traffic laws,” DA spokesperson Khume Ramulifho said in a statement.

He was responding to an accident that happened in Douglasdale, northern Johannesburg, on Monday morning involving 100 children aged 10 and younger.

Thirty-two of them were injured when the bus veered off the road and crashed into a ditch on the corner of Witkoppen and Waterford roads.

All the children got out of the wreckage on their own.

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

The cause of the accident was still unclear.

– SAPA

By Obakeng Maje

Coligny-A 23 year-old suspect arrested for the murder of Grace Leshomo on Saturday at about 23:35 in Doornbuly farm, near Coligny.  

Police said that the suspect allegedly assaulted the deceased  with fists and ended up with a swollen face and blood coming out of her mouth.  

“A bashed woman was allegedly taken to the hospital where she died” sergeant Kelebogile Moiloa said. 

The suspect appeared before Coligny  Magistrate Court today for murder. 

“At this stage the police do not know the motive of the incident and investigations continue” she said.-TDN

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By Obakeng Maje

Delareyville-North West police arrested four suspects between the ages of 26 and 40 for allegedly robbing a business shop in Delareyville on Sunday at about 20:00.  

“According to the information received, the victim was inside the shop when eight suspects entered the shop and one of them threatened him with a firearm” sergeant Kelebogile Moiloa said.  

The suspects allegedly demanded money from him and ordered him to open the safe.  

“It is alleged that the suspects assaulted the complainant by kicking him and he sustained injuries on his left eye” Moiloa said.  

Police said the alleged suspects cut off camera cables and robbed the victim undisclosed amount of cash.  

Allegations further states that suspects shot the security guard before they fled the scene on foot, and the guard was taken to hospital for medical treatment.  “The Delareyville police conducted their investigations and arrested four suspects while the other four are still at large” she said.  

The four appear before Delareyville Magistrate Court today on charges of Business Robbery, Assault and Attempted Murder. And their case was postponed for further investigations.-TDN

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More than 300 municipal workers have embarked on an industrial strike that has resulted in the disruption of municipal services in Kimberley and surrounding areas.

On Monday the angry workers littered the Kimberley CBD and municipal offices after a failed attempt to deliver a memorandum of grievances to municipal officials.

South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) provincial secretary Duma Lebakeng says they have resumed the strike after the municipality failed to honour an agreement to permanently employ all contract municipal workers.

“This march is only to display our dissatisfaction as members of SAMWU at the Sol Plaatje municipality around issues that are still outstanding and that are not implemented by management up until to today [Monday].”

“We are hopeful that the management will implement whatever we want them to implement,” Duma says.
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