pic: (by obakeng maje)

Pretoria – The South African municipal landscape will change after the 2016 elections, the municipal demarcation board said on Tuesday.

“We have reached the final leg of this cycle and made the final determination of the cases that were before the board,” chairperson Lanbiwe Mahlangu told reporters in Pretoria.

“In reaching its final determinations, the board was by law expected, based on objections received, to either vary, confirm or withdraw on its decision on a particular case.”

She said the board had published 167 cases and received almost 10 000 objections, most of them from Gauteng.

Among these was an objection to the merger of the Midvaal and Emfuleni local municipalities, and the Sedibeng district municipality, into a single metropolitan municipality.

SAPA

North West Premier Thandi Modise has reacted with shock and dismay to the allegation of racial attack against three school children in Maquassie Hills.

This after the Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West raised an alarm about the incident which allegedly took place the 7th of October.

“We call on police management in the province to urgently investigate the serious allegations that have the potential to undermine progress we have made as a country towards social cohesion, reconciliation and nation-building and if found to be true, the alleged perpetrator should be disarmed and arrested and those who might have neglected to do their duty should be immediately stripped of their dignified blue uniform,” said Premier Modise.

According to reports, the three school girls were walking from the library when a white man drove close to them at 18h00 and fired two gunshots. The man allegedly assaulted one of the girls, Tsholofelo Kadi before taking her to a local river where she was thrown in.

It is alleged that the girl was hospitalized at a local public hospital, but her parents were forced to take her to a private doctor who referred her to Wilmedpark hospital in Klerksdorp.

According to Cosatu, the matter was reported to police but the man has not been arrested.

“We will not tolerate racism in our province or anywhere in South Africa for that matter. Not after what we went through for many years because of it. There should be no place in the South African Police Service for sympathisers of trigger happy racists”. 

She said this is not the Wild West.

“There is no place in our democracy for police who do not value the culture of defending human rights” cautioned Premier Modise.-TDN

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By Obakeng Maje

Potchefstroom-Construction work on a bicycle path that will stretch from Sarafina on the Klerksdorp road to the industrial area of Potchefstroom has started.

“The pathway will be on the northern side of the N12 and will greatly assist in making this section safer for all concerned” DA North West spokesperson Tiaan Kotze said. 

DA Kotze said there has been too many cyclist fatalities on the N12 lately and by this exclusive cyclist road, they want to protect the hard workers of our city.

In the meantime road markings are receiving constant attention from the department of traffic and safety.

“Speed humps, which can become dangerous when not clearly marked, are getting special attention” Kotze said.

The DA led Tlokwe coalition will continue to ensure a safer City of Expertise, says DA.-TDN

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North West-There is no turning back on development of rural village agro-industrial hubs that will assist farming enterprises in the North West Province to access markets, funding, training, technology and logistics support, Premier Thandi Modise assured the Serbian delegation that visited Mahikeng on Monday.

Premier Modise said that from the mission to Serbia that was undertaken by the province and lessons learnt, optimal land use is critical for revitalization of rural towns, communities and their livelihoods through village industrialization and manufacturing.

“The Serbian experience has shown us that it is cost effective to recapitalise small holdings with moto-cultivators and small farm equipment rather than big tractors and big farm machinery used for large commercial farming for enterprises to make a profit of R2 million on a 3 hectra,” highlighted Modise.

She added that the provincial government is studying the profiles of other municipalities visited by the provincial government delegation to identify matters of interest and propose possible twinning agreements with other municipalities in the province.

Several job creation and empowerment projects have been identified for implementation around Mahikeng in a pilot project to be rolled out in the next few months through the partnership between the North West Provincial Government, The Serbian Government, North West Development Partners Trust (NWDPT) and the BIPOM Balkan-Black Sea Machinery Cluster Manufacturer’s Association for improving competitiveness.

The establishment of Mini-Diary agro –processing, Mini Agro-processing, Mini-chicken abattoir, Mini-fodder processing, Mini-grain milling, Abattoirs& Meat Processing, Fish Agro-Processing and assembly, manufacturing and servicing of farm machinery plants are among some of the targeted projects to be rolled out.

Leader of the four member Serbian delegation and Co-President of BIPOM, Milivoj Stojanovic said that the North West Province is a strategic partner as the province is a gateway to the SADAC market.

The Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Kgora Farmers Institute, The Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT), Mahikeng Local Municipality, Taletso Further Education and Training College Mahikeng and Lehurutshe Campuses and the North West University are key stakeholders that will be involved in the pilot project.

The potential of the project to attract investments and create much needed jobs through the proposed free special economic zone (SEZ) and the proposed twinning agreement with Serbia’s Shabatz municipality were unanimously given thumbs up by the Mahikeng Local Municipality Council in its project briefing meeting with the delegation led by Stojanovic.

“The agro-industrial incubators will benefit the breed laying enterprise we have established and empower us with the technology and skills for us to be viable and sustainable and create more jobs“, said Councillor Thapelo Motshegoa who is a partnership project that is producing 300 eggs a day.

The municipality’s Executive Mayor, Councillor Lena Miga was part of the 29 June to 6 July 2013 provincial mission delegation to Serbia that was led by MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Desbo Mohono.

A development collaboration framework agreement that will guide the roll out of the development programme of the partners in the North West Province is to be finalised through a Memorandum of Agreement  on Technology transfer, Scientific and technical interchange in the field of Agriculture and Rural Development  that is in line with South Africa’s bilateral agreement with Serbia.

The partnership follows the NWDPT’s July 2010 visit to Serbia to benchmark issues of development and August 2011 BIPOM visit to the province.-TDN

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Rustenburg – The case of a man accused of murdering a woman at a mine in Rustenburg was postponed by the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, North West police said.

The case against Kabelo Arthur Moseki, 29, was postponed to Friday, said Brigadier Thulani Ngubane.

Moseki faces a charge of murder after his arrest on Wednesday following the discovery of the woman’s body underground at Aquarius platinum mine’s Kwezi shaft.

Sapa

Cape Town – The SA Police Services (SAPS) Amendment Act as it currently stands does pass constitutional muster the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

Advocate Renata Williams, for the justice department and the government, was arguing in a case in which businessman Hugh Glenister and the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) have sought to have sections of the act declared unconstitutional.

They argue that Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has too much power in terms of hiring and firing the head of the Hawks, which would open it up to political interference.

Williams disagreed.

“The minister must have an element of control. He cannot have no control.”

Williams said even if the Hawks were told not to investigate a certain matter, there were other institutions such as the public protector, which could “fill that gap” and help root out corruption.

Max Du Plessis, for the HSF told a full Bench of the court the “the possibility for abuse is manifest”.

Both Glenister and the HSF argue that the amendments do not allow the Hawks to meet the requirements of “adequate independence”.

The amendments were drafted in reaction to a previous Constitutional Court victory by Glenister, in which the executive was ordered to change the legislation to provide the Hawks with independence from political interference, among other things.

Glenister brought his suit following the dissolution in 2008 of the Scorpions, which was an investigative unit which fell under the jurisdiction of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The Scorpions, or the Directorate of Special Operations, was replaced by the Hawks, which falls under the police.

– SAPA

The outcomes of Auditor General Terence Nombembe’s audit of the Northern Cape government was welcomed by the ANC in the province on Monday.

ANC provincial whip Dave Molusi said his party encouraged the executive and accounting authorities to redouble their efforts in achieving clean audits.

“These outcomes demonstrate an emphatic improvement, with several departments and government entities close to achieving the ‘clean audit opinions’ advocated by the ANC-led government.”

Nombembe presented his findings to the provincial legislature and members of the Northern Cape executive last week.

Molusi said in a statement the highlight of Nombembe’s findings was the clean audit opinion, meaning unqualified with no matters of emphasis, which the social development department received.

During his presentation, Nombembe said consistent performance was an important benchmark of good governance.

Molusi said: “It is with pride in the ethic of hard work and dedication to service delivery that we can announce that none of the departments received a disclaimer opinion during the 2012/13 financial year’s audit.”

Disclaimer

A disclaimer report is issued when an auditor is unable to complete the audit for a variety of reasons and, therefore, does not issue an opinion.

The Northern Cape Economic Development Agency and Trade and Investment Promotion Agency received disclaimer opinions.

Molusi said that the provincial health department had received a qualified opinion report, an improvement from its recent history of disclaimer opinions.

“The AG also highlighted that this improvement was encouraging given the complex challenges faced by this department,” Molusi said.

“It is significant to note that Mr Nombembe was encouraged by the Northern Cape’s service delivery reporting on the whole.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – All the people, who were missing after an explosion in Middelburg, Eastern Cape, have been accounted for, police said on Monday.

“A manager of the company [Rolfe pharmaceutical laboratories] tells me that all people who were missing were accounted for,” police spokesperson Stefanie Smith said.

An arson investigation would continue.

“We will send out a canine unit to sniff out the building tomorrow [Tuesday] as we had to wait for the building to be stabilised first,” Smith said.

Earlier in the day, an explosion sparked a fire, which resulted in the evacuation of the building.

Thirty-five people sustained burn wounds in the incident and were taken to the Wilhelm Stahl Hospital for treatment.

The blast also damaged a part of the building.

The estimated damage has not yet been determined.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Katlehong police were searching on Monday for the family of an unknown boy whose body was dumped near a house in Katlehong, on the East Rand.

The remains of the boy, aged between 4 and 6, were found in August in Hlongwane Section, said police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini.

“The boy was assaulted and burned. [The] forensic science laboratory reconstructed his face in order to assist with a possible identification.”

Police could not find any case of a missing person, even around neighbouring police stations.

Dlamini urged anyone, who might be able to help identify him or knew anything about his death, to contact them.

Police were investigating a murder case.

– SAPA

Cape Town – The Western Cape High Court has reserved judgment in a case in which businessman Hugh Glenister and the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) are challenging the SAPS Amendment Act.

The SA Police Service Amendment Act was the government’s response to a Constitutional Court judgment that found invalid sections of the legislation which established the Hawks crime-busting unit.

Glenister and the HSF argued that the amendments were not sufficient to insulate the Hawks from political interference.

They argued that the powers given to Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to hire and fire the Hawks head opened up the unit to “undue influence”.

“It’s not all right for the minister to have control,” Paul Hoffman told the court on Monday.

Referring to the Amendment Act, which is meant to addresses the Constitutional Court’s concerns regarding the security of tenure for the Hawks head, Hoffman said: “The deck chairs have been moved around… but the Titanic is still not an independent entity.”

While the Constitutional Court found that it was not problematic for the Hawks to fall under the SAPS, Hoffman said the court did not mean for the unit to be under “executive control”.

Mthethwa’s control

Earlier in the day, Advocate Renata Williams, for the government, said Mthethwa needed to have an element of control over the Hawks.

Williams said that even if the Hawks were told not to investigate a certain matter, there were other institutions such as the public protector, which could “fill that gap” and help root out corruption.

The amendments to the act were drafted following a previous Constitutional Court victory by Glenister, in which the executive was ordered to change the legislation to provide the Hawks with independence from political interference, among other things.

Glenister brought his suit following the dissolution in 2008 of the Scorpions, which was an investigative unit which fell under the jurisdiction of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The Scorpions, or the Directorate of Special Operations, was replaced by the Hawks, which falls under the police.

– SAPA