By Obakeng Maje
Lichtenburg- Police are investigating a case of Culpable Homicide after a vehicle collided with a truck on Wednesday at about 12:00 on the R503 road between Lichtenburg and Coligny.

“It is alleged that a male (63) driver of a grey Nissan single cab lost control of the vehicle and collided head on with the truck of cements. The driver of the vehicle died on scene and the truck driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to Delareyville Hospital” sergeant Kealeboga Molale.
Investigations continues.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Kimberley Police arrested four men on Tuesday, 26 November for allegedly stealing a laptop out of a Ford Fiesta which was parked in the Kimberley Central Business District (CBD).
The Kimberley Visible Policing Unit was busy with routine patrols at approximately 17:15 when they were stopped and informed about four men who broke into a Ford Fiesta. The men fled in a taxi.

Kock said the police stopped and searched the vehicle near the Big Hole and found the laptop wrapped in a t-shirt.

The four men were arrested and the laptop was handed back to the rightful owner.
“The police request that vehicle owner should be wary and not leave any valuables such as cellular phones, laptops, digital cameras and handbags inside their motor vehicles” lieutenant Sergio Kock said.

The four men aged between 20 and 30 will be appear in the Kimberley Magistrates’ Court soon.
The investigation continues.

North West Premier Thandi Modise has expressed optimism that North West residents in the affected wards would vote in their numbers in today’s by-elections.

“We hope that the bi-elections will be hassle free and that our people will vote in their numbers. We call on everybody residing in the wards involved to vote in order to determine representatives of their choice. This is what democracy is about!” said Premier Modise.

Two by-elections are taking place in the North West.

Ward one in Koster is uncontested, with Canney Thabo Jacobs of the ANC being the only candidate.

Ward six in Lichtenburg is contested by three political parties, namely the ANC, the DA, and the FF Plus.

The polling stations opened this morning and will close at 9pm.

Premier Modise said those who neglect to exercise their democratic rights would regret when they realise that they had the right to choose whoever they want but did not exercise it.

According to the Spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Commission Kate Bapela, they are expecting to announce the results at midnight, after counting and verification.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Kimberley- The National Commissioner, General Riah Phiyega will be visiting the Northern Cape on Thursday in commemoration of 16 Days of Activism of No Crime Against Women and Children.

 
“National Commissioner will visits the families of an 87 year-old woman who was brutally raped and murdered in her house in Galeshewe on Sunday, 24 November 2013 and the family of a six year-old child who was also allegedly raped on Tuesday, 26 November 2013 by a known person” colonel Priscilla Naidu said.
Naidu said a church service will be held at 11:00 at the Assemblies of God at the cnr of Philipmphiya and Malebo Streets in Galeshewe.-TDN
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Tournament hosts, Al’s Puk Tawana booked a place in the quarter-finals in the fifth edition of the Sasol League National Championships following an overwhelming victory over Royal Wizards on Wednesday in the City of Matlosana, North West province.

Al’s Puk Tawana will face Mamelodi Sundowns in the second quarter-final clash on Thursday, 28 November after a 16-0 lashing of Royal Wizards in the final Group A match played.

Tawana kicked off their final group stage campaign with guns blazing against the Northern Cape side, scoring eight goals in each half to secure a convincing victory in the first game of the day.

Royal Wizards showed fighting spirit but the hosts proved too strong with a first-half hat-trick from Mmamdodu Nkosi.

Nondumiso Shelembe and Selina Schalwyk each scored four goals in either half to signal the end of Royal Wizards in the Sasol League National Championships.

Emily Molapo contributed to Tawana’s goal tally with a second half brace with Elderene Janties, Khumo Sefako and Queen Ramaila adding a goal each to seal an impressive 16-0 victory.

The second match of the day kept fans on their feet as they cheered City Lads, who defeated Empumalanga Ladies 5-2 to book their place in the quarter-finals. But the battle between the two got off to a slow start under the intense heat of the North West sun.

Empumalanga Ladies were first on the score sheet with a goal from Ella Mandonsela as the City Lads defence was caught napping. However, City Lads were soon back in it as they levelled matters before the break.

City Lads returned from the break the stronger of the two with a hat-trick from Phakama Duru and Andisiwe Ndesi finishing it off to give her side a 5-2 victory and the best runner up spot in Group C. They will meet Ma-Indies in the first quarter-final on Thursday, 28 November.-TDN
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Johannesburg – First year University of Johannesburg (UJ) students will have to have either a laptop or a tablet for their studies in 2014, the university said on Wednesday.

“Technology will be an integral part of UJ students’ learning process and with this, UJ graduates will have the competitive edge and be able to vie for top positions nationally and internationally,” it said in a statement.

According to the UJ website, the university had negotiated a deal with a service provider so that students would pay about R2 000 for a tablet and the necessary dongle.

Eduloan could arrange funding for students to buy the tablet and pay it off at R500 a year or a lower monthly instalment. It also offered online resources to help students compare prices of other providers.

The university had been preparing for the move to digital learning by preparing the necessary infrastructure, learning resources, and interactive systems. Campus-wide Wi-Fi connectivity and charging points would be available.

Prof Elizabeth de Kadt, executive director of academic development and support, said the technology would bring immediacy, collaboration, and ease of access to studies.

“Students will be able to respond when lecturers ask them to find information online, take an in-class quiz, or to let lecturers know when they need to make their explanations clearer.

“It puts students’ learning in their own hands and allows them to actively participate in their education.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Two men were arrested after they were found in possession of drugs with an estimated street value of R75m, the Hawks said on Wednesday.

The men, a Nigerian and a Tanzanian, were allegedly found with 20kg of heroin, 15kg cocaine, and 15kg of tik during a police operation on Wednesday, said police spokesperson Paul Ramaloko.

The two are expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court soon to face charges of drug possession.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Parliament’s public accounts committee (Scopa) is a toothless watchdog and its chairperson ineffective, says the Democratic Alliance.

“The sad truth is Scopa has become a side show,” DA MP Dion George, the party’s representative on the committee, told journalists at Parliament.

Releasing a report on wasteful government spending – which the DA pegs at a “conservative” R9.57bn since 2009 – he said Scopa chairperson Themba Godi did not take a strong enough stance against government corruption.

“We need to put the teeth back into Scopa… until we’ve [done this]… the people’s money will continue to be stolen,” George said.

Scopa was set up to act as a watchdog over the way taxpayers’ money is spent by the executive. Among its powers is the committee can recommend to the National Assembly that corrective action be taken against wasteful spending and financial mismanagement.

‘Undermines effectiveness of Parliament’

DA MP Ian Ollis said Scopa, under Godi’s chairmanship, had been unable and unwilling to take the necessary and punitive steps to ensure that government ministers were made to answer for wasting public money.

“It has been completely toothless and has undermined the effectiveness of Parliament,” he said.

The DA’s Sej Motau said Scopa needed a stronger, more independent chair if it was to properly fulfil its mandate.

His party would formulate a plan “to turn Scopa around” in the next few weeks, he said.

According to the DA, government’s wasteful spending over the past five years – over and above the wasteful and fruitless expenditure of R5.780bn identified by the Auditor General earlier this year – includes:

– R1.45m on credit cards;

– R47.08m on new cars;

– R333.40m on catering and entertainment;

– R9.49m (since 2012) on car rentals;

– R5.28m (2013 only) on budget vote cocktails; and

– R165.84m on flights and accommodation.

Gordhan ‘diverting attention’

George took a dim view of the misuse and waste of taxpayers’ money by some government departments.

“There are many accounting officers who should be jailed if you look at what they’ve been doing with public money,” he said.

Ollis was dismissive of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s announcement last month – on the occasion of his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement – that government was set to cut costs and abuse of funds.

While Gordhan should be lauded for trying, the announcement was essentially a “five-month belt-tightening exercise” done ahead of next year’s election, and aimed at diverting attention from five years of wasteful spending.

– SAPA

Bloemfontein – The SA Police Service (SAPS) is empowered to investigate alleged human rights violations in Zimbabwe, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled on Wednesday.

The SCA dismissed an appeal by the national police commissioner and national director of public prosecutions in the matter.

The SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) appealed against a judgment of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria which set aside a decision by the SAPS not to investigate complaints by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre.

That court held South Africa was obliged under international law to probe atrocities allegedly committed by officials in Zimbabwe. It found the NPA could prosecute the Zimbabweans concerned if they ever set foot in South Africa.

The Zimbabwean officials are accused of masterminding crimes against humanity by instituting a state-sanctioned reign of terror in their own country.

The SCA rejected a police submission that crimes against humanity were only deemed to have been committed once the perpetrators set foot in South Africa.

The court held police could investigate, irrespective of whether the alleged perpetrators were in the country.

It further found the SAPS was obliged to initiate an investigation under international law into the alleged offences.

The court found that on the police’s own version there was enough evidence to initiate an investigation.

This included determining whether the alleged perpetrators were in South Africa.

Witnesses from Zimbabwe could be interviewed in South Africa without necessarily affecting Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.

“No doubt, in conducting that investigation, the police will consider issues such as the gathering of information in a manner that does not impinge on Zimbabwe’s sovereignty,” the judgment read.

“The police are free to consider whether a request should be made to Zimbabwean authorities for a prosecution to be initiated there.”

The full Bench found there was no universal rule or practice against the initiation of investigations in the absence of the alleged perpetrators.

The court said it could not tell the police how to investigate such issues.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Playwright Lara Foot has released a statement in reaction to the controversy surrounding a matric drama exam question relating to her play Tshepang, which deals with the rape of a baby in 2001.

Parents and educators voiced their shock after pupils were asked how to represent the rape of a baby symbolically, with the use of a broomstick and bread, The Witness reported on Wednesday.

According to the basic education department, the question relating to Foot’s play was designed to assess their understanding of the concept of “action metaphor”.

Inappropriate

Foot stated she was unsure of the particulars of the exam question, but said it would be “totally inappropriate and frankly appalling” if it was set as an unseen extract from the work, or if the play had not been studied or seen by the pupils.

Even if the play had been studied by the matric pupils, Foot pointed out that the question “is unsuitable and entirely problematic in that it appears to miss the stylistic choices of my play”.

“We have performed Tshepang to 14 000 learners over the past 10 years with very successful and rewarding question and answer sessions afterwards. The exam question as it is presented indicates that there is a misinterpretation on the part those who set this question.

“Given the history and statistics of rape in this country, it is imperative that the matter is dealt with, but dealt with sensitively and responsibly.”

Foot said the last time she had contact with the education department was six years ago, when she was approached to use the play as a set work.

In a statement on Wednesday, the basic education department said it would consider excluding the question if it becomes apparent that any pupils had been negatively affected by the question.

– News24