Daily Archives: January 23, 2014

Whites stole our land- Bekkersdal residents


Westonaria – Vacant land in Bekkersdal, on the West Rand, was stolen by whites, the Greater Westonaria Concerned Residents’ Association said on Wednesday.

“We are not apologetic for occupying the land. We believe it belongs to us. It was stolen by the whites,” spokesperson Mbulelo Koyana said.

He said the government had failed to provide residents with houses.

“When people voted in 1994, they never knew they would be powerless when they were in power,” Koyana said.

On Tuesday, more than 1 000 residents reportedly carried shovels and picks onto the land, which is owned by mining company Rand Uranium, to erect dwellings.

Earlier on Wednesday, The Citizen reported that the Westonaria municipality and Rand Uranium were applying for a court interdict to stop residents from illegally occupying the vacant land.

In court papers, the municipality had reportedly said it was not in a financial position to “take on the burden” of providing services for which it had not planned or budgeted.

According to the newspaper, the municipality said the area had been rezoned for agricultural purposes, and was geologically unstable and prone to sinkholes.

The case would be heard in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.

Community leader Thabang Wesi reportedly said he received court papers on Tuesday but had not responded to them yet.

“Our legal team is working on that matter.”

Last year, violent protests broke out in the area and lasted for more than a month, with residents demanding the removal of the municipality’s Mayor Nonkoliso Tundzi. They accused her of maladministration and nepotism.

Resident Fezile Momoza said on Wednesday that unemployment was high in the Bekkersdal area. The only development since 1994 was a community hall.

“If government had listened to us, we wouldn’t have grabbed the land. The municipality does not care about our concerns.”

The residents wanted councillors guilty of corruption to be suspended, he said.

SAPA

Premier Modise to handover school shoes and food garden to rural learners in Taung


Taung-Over five hundred learners from Kokomeng Primary Schools in Taung are to receive school shoes from North West Premier Thandi Modise and MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development at 9:00 am today.

The intervention is part of government’s War on Poverty Campaign being implemented across the province to fight poverty and reduce social and economic infrastructure backlogs in rural communities. The Anti-poverty Strategy builds on the work of government since 1994 and seeks to change the trajectory of government”s anti-poverty initiatives. Its main objective is to reduce the incidence of poverty.

Central to this resolve is the ending of inter-generational poverty through improving the economic situation of households.

The event includes the handover of a food garden to Seabo High School.-TDN
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Efforts to root out corruption in municipalities intensified-Premier Modise


An Executive Council (Exco) task team to oversee implementation of the Ministerial Task Team Report which had uncovered maladministration, fraud and corruption in Madibeng Local Municipality has been established, North West Premier Thandi Modise announced after the Special Exco meeting held in Mahikeng on Wednesday

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According to Premier Modise, the task team composed of the MEC’s for Finance, Local Government & Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements-Public Safety & Liaison and will ensure that investigations into reported cases of nepotism, fraud and corruption across all municipalities in the North West Province are speedily concluded.

The team is expected to present a progress report in the next two weeks in time for a meeting with provincial police management and the Director of Public Prosecution to establish reasons for delays in finalising refereed cases.
The objective of the meeting will be to guarantee that new referrals are dealt with swiftly. 
“Where obstruction and resistance are encountered, Exco will not hesitate to dissolve municipalities in terms of Section 139(1) c of the constitution. Though the approach of the Exco collective is to be evenhanded, there will be no compromise with those who have benefitted in any way from corruption. Where fraud and corruption are uncovered, properties will be attached and people send to jail,” stressed Premier Modise.
The political oversight committee to monitor adherence to timeframes for implementation of the over R2 billion projects to be rolled out in areas with water challenges in the short to medium term was also confirmed.
In appealing to communities to give the roll out of the implementation plan a chance, Modise said that the province will be embarking on a province wide roadshow to address stakeholders and community representatives about the targeted intervention. The first of the series of meetings is to be held in Madibeng next week.
The committee was also tasked to deal with challenges of sanitation as experienced in Marikana, Khuma, Ditsobotla, Delarayville and other areas in the province.-TDN
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