By TDN

The Mahikeng Airport City Project approved by the North West Executive

Council (Exco) will pave way for a number of projects that are expected to

create jobs and improve the economy, the North West Provincial Government

said in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to this endorsement, Mahikeng International Airport (MIA) will be

repositioned as an Airport City while the erstwhile Mahikeng Industrial Development Zone (MIDZ) will be designated as a special economic zone. To

give effect to the resolution, the MIDZ Land Use Plan and Mahikeng Town

Plan are to be reviewed.

The establishment of the Executive Council Project Steering Committee

constituted by the Executive Council, Mahikeng and Ngaka Modiri Molema

District Mayors and representatives of Barolong Boo Ratshidi Tribal Council

was also approved by Exco.

“Projects to be implemented to boost the local economy and job creation include concrete tile and roof sheet manufacturing, fuel farm, solar manufacturing, maize processing and business process outsourcing services” Premier spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele said.

The process towards development of the freight hub at the airport has already started with the development of an Air, Road and Rail Transport Strategy and upgrading of the airport.

“The upgrade towards a category 9 is intended at bringing it to strict compliance to South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and International Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations so that it can achieve a category 6/7 safety status” Kgwele said.

Meanwhile, Exco will in the near future convene a workshop with key industry and government stakeholders on the repositioning of Mahikeng towards an Airport city.-TDN

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By Obakeng Maje

Rustenburg-Three men appeared before Rustenburg Magistrate Court on Wednesdy in connection of murder.

Msobe Lungisani (23), Mafu Mantashe (30) and Mfundo

Mantashe (38) appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court on

Wednesday for the murder of Dumisani Dlamini (33).

“The appearance of the accused follows an intensive investigation and arrest by the Platinum Belt Taxi Violence Task Team. The accused were arrested on 11 and 16 September 2013 respectively” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said. 

The crime was committed at about 20:35 on 29 August 2013 at the Wonderkop Taxi Rank in

Marikana, where a former Lonmin employee and taxi owner was shot in the chest several times.

“The Provincial Commissioner of North West, Lt Gen Zukiswa Mbombo thanked the recently-established Mine Crime Combating Forum (MCCF), the

community of Marikana, as well as the task team for the breakthrough” Ngubane said.

Police said the investigation continues, and the community is

requested to give any information they have to the police.

The case was postponed to 20 September 2013 for further investigation and the accused will remain in custody.-TDN

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Ogies-A man believed to be in his 40’s passed away last night when the bakkie he was travelling in left the road and overturned in the early hours of this morning.

ER24 Paramedics were dispatched to the N12 near Ogies, where they found the man outside the vehicle, possibly being flung out during the rollover.

The vehicle was found beside the road in a field where it came to a standstill after it overturned.

“Unfortunately nothing further could be done to help him and he was declared deceased on the scene” Er24 spokesperson Vanessa Jackson said.

No other vehicles were involved and it is unclear what had caused the incident.-TDN

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Johannesburg – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is expected to release the national crime statistics on Thursday.

Last year the figures released by Mthethwa showed that the actual murder rate had dropped marginally, with 331 fewer people killed in 2012 compared to 2011.

An analysis done by SAPS research task team head at the time, Mzwandile Petros, showed totals for five of the country’s most serious crimes for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012:

– Murder: 15 609 (previous year 15 940);

– Attempted murder: 14 859 (previous year 15 493);

– Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm: 192 651 (previous year 198 602);

– Common Assault: 181 670 (previous year 185 891); and

– Sexual offences: 64 514 (previous year 66 196).

Violent crime in provinces had reduced in all but three provinces.

Limpopo, Free State and Western Cape recorded an increase in contact crimes, which include murder, assault, robbery and rape.

The other six provinces contributed to the overall decline in contact crimes by 3.5%.

Gauteng saw an 11% drop in violent crime – the most notable in the country.

Emerging security threats

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) crime and justice programme head Gareth Newham welcomed the reduction in violent crime categories but said the statistics did not reflect some serious emerging security threats facing the country.

These included corruption, public violence, group murders, political assassinations, and domestic violence.

Newham urged Mthethwa to allow the police to provide more regular and detailed information on these crimes. Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said the statistics did not provide the information necessary to beef up the battle against corruption.

It appeared that the crime statistics categorised much of the reporting of corruption as common fraud.

SAPA

By TDN

Taung-Three life sentences should serve as a deterrent and restore confidence in

criminal justice system-Premier Modise  *

North West Premier Thandi Modise has welcomed the three life sentences given to a man accused of murder, rape and robbery.

Premier Modise said that the sentence given to Matthews Koko Moeketsi by

the North  West High Court on Tuesday should serve as a deterrent that

should sent a strong  and unequivocal message that there is no place in

society for those who terrorise the aged ,the vulnerable and perpetrators

of the scourge of rape against women and children.

“These are the harsher sentences that should restore the confidence of our

communities in the criminal justice system for indeed justice has been

served. We wish to commend the prosecution and the police for a job

well-done” stressed Modise.

Mooketsi was sentenced on Tuesday for raping an elderly woman, murdering

her husband and robbing them in Pampierstad. He was given a life sentence

for each crime.

According to police, the 30-year-old Mooketsi had stormed into the elderly

couple’s home in Itireleng Village on New Year’s Eve in 2011.

He allegedly raped and assaulted the 62-year-old woman and assaulted her

85-year-old husband, who was blind and thereafter robbed them of clothes

and household appliances.

The couple was taken to Taung hospital, where the husband later died.

Mooketsi was caught three months later in Bloemfontein.-TDN

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Potchefstroom – The ANC retained control of two of the three wards in the Tlokwe by-elections in the North West on Wednesday.

The party’s candidate Oupa Mogoshane lost Ward 26 with 900 votes to independent candidate Batiki “Stone” Mahlabe’s 1 425 votes, according to the IEC’s results report.

The United Christian Democratic Party candidate Moeketsi Phakedi received 10 votes.

A total of 5 677 people were registered to vote in the ward of which only 2 374 cast their ballot. There were 39 spoilt votes.

Mahlabe, who was a former ANC councillor in the area for 12 years, registered as an independent candidate after he was expelled along with 13 others from the party in July for participating in a motion of no confidence against Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle.

Independent candidate

Maphetle was replaced by Democratic Alliance councillor Annette Combrink. However, the ANC’s national disciplinary committee overturned the expulsions but Mahlabe decided not to return to the party.

In the 2011 local government elections, the African National Congress won Ward 26 with 3 403 of the 3 580 valid votes cast, which gave them an overwhelming majority of 95.06% of the votes.

The ANC won the by-elections in Ward six and 18 on Wednesday. In Ward 18 the ANC faced off with another former party member and provincial chief whip David Kham, who registered as an independent candidate.

Kham, like Mahlabe, was one of the 14 councillors expelled from the party.

ANC candidate Thapelo Skozana won with 884 to Kham’s 520 votes. The Azanian People’s Organisation’s Matladi Mofokeng received 11 votes and the UCDP’s Molebatsi Lehloo 10 votes.

Spoilt votes

A total of 3 251 people were registered to vote in Ward 18 but only 1 452 votes were cast and 27 of those were spoilt.

In 2011, the ANC won the ward with 1 859 of the 2 009 votes cast which resulted in a 94.37% victory.

In Ward six the ANC’s Japhta Monaisa won 882 of the 1 386 valid votes cast. The Democratic Alliance’s Johann Coetzee came in second with 493 votes.

Azapo’s Lesego Malepe received six votes and UCDP’S Mawela Dinko received five votes.

A total of 4 254 people were registered to vote in Ward six but only 1 408 came to the polls. There were 22 spoilt votes.

SAPA

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By Obakeng Maje

Brits-North West Department of Health MEC Dr Magome Masike revealed a startling reports amid new Brits hospital opening.

The department announced that they advertised 105 job opprtunities for cleaners and received almost 8000 applications. 

And according to Masike, the department of health has been struggling to get 200 potential students who will be granted opportunity to study as health professionals in Cuba.

“This year we needed to take 200 students to Cuba to study medicine, but we struggled to reach 180 prospective students” MEC Masike said.

The new Brits hospital was expected to be opened soon,but MEC said the hospital will open its doors at the later stage.

“We advertised 105 job posts for the newly hospital and we received 8000 job applicants. It is very disturbing if we are a country that can produce cleaners, but fails to produce health professionals” he said.

North West government has been offering deserving students opportunity to study medicine in Cuba for years amid lack of doctors especially in remoted areas.

Masike encourages most pupils to study mathematics and science at school so that they can meet requirements of becoming doctors.-TDN

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Potchefstroom – Tlokwe’s Ward 26 was taken from the ANC by independent candidate Butiki “Stone” Mahlabe in Wednesday’s by-election.

According to preliminary results, Mahlabe won with 630 votes to the ANC’s 406 votes.

Mahlabe was one of the 14 councillors who were expelled by the ANC in July after its provincial disciplinary committee found them guilty on four counts of misconduct for participating in a motion of no confidence against Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle.

Maphetle was replaced as mayor by Democratic Alliance councillor Annette Combrink.

However, the ANC’s national disciplinary committee overturned the expulsions.

Despite this, eight of the councillors registered as independent candidates for the by-elections.

Mahlabe was a councillor in the area for 12 years.

Resident’s supporting an independent candidate in Tlokwe’s ward 26 by-elections were celebrating what appeared to be an early victory on Wednesday evening.

The crowd of about 100 people burst into song and ran into the street after someone told them Butiki “Stone” Mahlabe was in the lead.

Voting stations closed at 21:00 and counting commenced.

It could not be officially confirmed whether Mahlabe was in the lead.

He and the African National Congress’s Oupa Mogoshane were contesting the ward.

“This is Stone’s place, those who don’t want him can go back,” they sang.

They also sang: “Are you a fool supporting [President Jacob] Zuma”, “Zuma what you doing is not right” and “stop that side, we are killing these dogs”.

No ANC supporters were standing outside the school. Police kept a watch over the crowd.

A nyala drove up and down while police officers asked the residents to stay out of the road.

SAPA

Orlando Pirates coach Roger de Sa admits that he was not pleased with their finishing against Polokwane City but was happy to secure all three points.

The Sea Robbers recorded a 1-0 win over the basement dwellers, and with tough encounters coming up against Al Ahly in the Champions League and Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8, De Sa is hoping that the winning trend will continue.

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