Monthly Archives: June 2014

MEC: Evictions distasteful


Johannesburg – The way people are evicted from their dwellings is distasteful and has to stop, Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo said on Wednesday.

“We are deeply concerned by the acts of violence, displacements, confrontations, loss of property and gross disregard as well as the violation of human rights every time evictions take place,” Mamabolo said in a statement.

“Our experience is that evictions leave behind a trail of pain.”

Mamabolo met management of the Red Ant Security and Eviction Services company on Wednesday.

The meeting was to ensure future evictions did not infringe on the human rights of residents, department spokesperson Victor Moreriane said.

The partnership between the two parties would include identification of vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly, before evictions were carried out.

It also provided for detailed communication with people facing eviction.

Mamabolo said eviction notices should be clear and should be distributed with instructions informing residents what to do.

“Our intention is to discourage violence while also taking care of the vulnerable groups. I am deeply convinced that things could be done better,” said Mamabolo.

The Red Ants management complained of being unfairly implicated in violence-related events they were not responsible for.

“The company said it has a strict disciplinary code of conduct for its employees and will take action against anyone implicated in deliberate acts of violence and damage to property,” Moreriane said.

He said the eviction company noted that most evictions were characterised by emotion and aggression.

“They also noted hostile cases in which some of their members were being attacked or even killed while executing eviction orders.”

The emergence of unregistered companies using violence to evict residents through the use of illegal eviction orders in the Johannesburg CBD, was also raised by the company.

“We want to make it clear that we do not accept illegal occupations of land and properties,” Mamabolo said.

“We therefore call on Gauteng communities to work with us. We will not tolerate property theft in this province.”

SAPA

First Eskom load shedding this winter


Johannesburg – Deliberate power cuts, the first of this winter, took place countrywide on Wednesday night, electricity giant Eskom said.
“Due to unavailability of some of our generators, we are implementing load shedding for an hour,” said spokesperson Andrew Etzinger on Wednesday evening.

He said two units at Duvha and Kendal power stations had tripped and a portion of the capacity usually imported from Cahora Bassa became unavailable.

“As a result, a reduction in electricity demand was required between 18:00 and 20:00 in order to balance the electricity system, which was implemented according to Eskom’s load shedding schedule.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience to affected customers.

“We anticipate that the system will remain tight tomorrow [Thursday] evening between 17:00 and 21:00 and once again appeal to all energy users to use electricity sparingly during this period.”

He said that in an effort to avoid load shedding, all electricity users were urged to switch off non-essential appliances, pool pumps and geysers between 17:00 and 21:00.
“Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make the biggest difference by switching off non-essential lights and not leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours,” he said.
SAPA

North West rapist jailed for life


By Obakeng Maje
Itsoseng- The fight against sexual offences gained success when Itsoseng Regional Court  sentenced Molatlhegi Richard Ramaisa,28, to life imprisonment on Monday for rape.  

“Upon sentencing the accused, the court also enforced Section 50(2)(a & b) of Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2007 (ACT 32 OF 2007) that the accused’s name is to be entered into National Register for Sexual Offenders” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.     

The crime was committed on 16 June 2012 when the accused raped a 79 year-old woman at Zone 1, Itsoseng after breaking and gaining entrance into the house. The old woman was found sleeping alone in the house and ultimately raped after the accused failed to get his intended victim, the old woman’s granddaughter.

The North West Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Ryno Naidoo thanked police for their excellent work that ensured that the accused gets maximum sentence.

“We will continue to work hard with other role players to ensure justice for every victim of crime including vulnerable persons like the old woman. We have no doubt that the sentence will send a clear message that police will deal effectively with those who commit crime”, said Major General Naidoo.    
-TDN
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President Zuma to celebrate June 16 in Kimberley


Kimberley- President Jacob Zuma will deliver a keynote address at the National Youth Day Commemoration on 16 June 2014 under the theme,“Youth Moving South Africa Forward”. The President will be accompanied by Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, Minister in the Presidency, Mr Jeff Radebe, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Buti Manamela and National Youth Development Agency Executive Chairperson Yershen Pillay.

“The year 2014 marks the 38th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto and other related uprisings. The uprisings ended tragically as large numbers of young people were killed by the apartheid government when they protested against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This day is popularly known as the Soweto Uprising or June 16” departmental spokesperson Patience Mogomotsi said. 

Mogomotsi said the democratic government decided to honour the memory of those who died and suffered during this day by declaring June 16 a National Day called Youth Day.

“The objective is to preserve the legacy and principles of selflessness of the youth of 1976 as we work together to take the country forward and promote social cohesion and nation building” Mogomotsi said.

In line with the 20 Years of Freedom and Democracy celebrations, the 2014 youth month programme will entail a month long programme aimed at highlighting the work of government through unveiling and launching projects, while having conversations with the youth on the progress made in the past 20 years.

The event details are as follows:

Date   :16 June 2014
Time   :09h00
Venue: Galeshewe Stadium, Kimberley

-TDN
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MEC Maine warns contractors to deliver quality houses


Klerksdorp- Following the recent handing over project programme which the department has embarked on, the MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements Collen Maine saw it fit to convene all the housing developers in the province to discuss housing delivery issues.

During the meeting, the MEC encouraged the contractors as well as departmental officials to play their part in moving the province to greater heights. “Our position as department remains to ‘turn the North West into a construction site’. To achieve this objective, we would need men and women contractors who are determined; committed to respond to their contractual obligations without fail. Where there are problems we remain duty-bound to resolve them. I expect maximum cooperation between yourselves and the department; remember you remain contracted to the department for a particular period to deliver quality houses for our people in the province,” said Maine.

He further emphasised that the role of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) should be taken into consideration when building houses.

“We are going to intensify our working relationship with (NHBRC) as body which is responsible for quality assurance of these houses. We will further convene a special meeting with NHBRC, our internal inspectors, regional Directors to strategise on effective monitoring and implementation of projects to ensure quality work,” he emphasised.

“I must warn you that from time to time I will visit the projects unannounced as a way of monitoring the progress of all the projects under construction. I also wish to advice you not to steal from government by doing shoddy work or leave incomplete projects and make a run for it. If we work together, no one will lose his contract,” warned Maine.

The MEC further commit that these developers forums are going to be held rotational on monthly basis in four districts.

Maine encouraged and motivated them to continue to deliver quality houses to the beneficiaries and to always remember the importance of building quality houses and that by doing the good work; the province will always remain on top of all the other provinces as far as housing delivery is concerned.

According to Maine, the department aims to deliver 11 000 units for the current financial year and further mentioned that some of the projects are already underway.-TDN
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SA top referee out of World Cup 2014


Brazil- Former South African referee of the Year, Daniel Bennett’s 2014 FIFA World Cup dream has been shattered after he was ruled out of the list of match officials to officiate at the 2014 World Cup tournament through injury.

Bennett was selected as support referee for the world football spectacle taking place in Brazil from 12 June -13 July 2014.

However, the diligent official picked up an injury in a routine training session at the Zico Centre in Rio on Tuesday, 3 June where the niggling injury was detected.

“The medical investigations revealed the seriousness of the injury which means a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks for cure. The main consequence is that Bennett will be unable to officiate and support matches at this 2014 FIFA World Cup,” said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke in a letter to the South African Football Association (SAFA) and CAF.

The FIFA medical team still had hopes to help Bennett recover but their efforts were in vain to get him ready in time for the tournament.

“During these days, adequate rehabilitation (twice a day) has been provided to Mr Bennett, however, this represents an additional load on the medical team, which has to ensure recovery massage and specific treatments to referees and assistant referees actively involved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” said Valcke.

As a result, the FIFA Referees’ Sub-Committee meeting of June 9, 2014 decided to release and send Bennett home to ensure proper recovery. However, his assistant Marwa Range from Kenya will continue with his duties in Brazil as support assistant referee.

There will be no replacement for Bennett as FIFA believe they have sufficient cover.

“The quality of referees and assistant referees at the 2014 FIFA World Cup is paramount, and the support referees were implemented in order to provide a seamless transition when a referee or assistant referee must be replaced for any reason after the final selection has been made.

“At this stage of the competition, taking any referee who is not on the final list of selected match officials is counter-productive, since those referees did not partake in any official FIFA fitness tests nor all theoretical, tactical and physical sessions since January 2014 when the final list of referees and assistant referees was approved,” said Valcke.
-TDN
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‘Letsama Le bolotse’ to visit few schools unannounced


Bona-Bona- The MEC for department of Education and Sport Development in the North West province Wendy Matsemela has tasked the department’s senior management team to conduct unannounced schools visits to their designated schools on Thursday to track progress in teaching and learning and the general school environment.

For this cause, MEC Matsemela will be visiting Bona Bona Primary School in Bona Bona village in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district and Thulare primary School in Moretele in Bojanala district on Friday.

“Monitoring and evaluation programme in schools is a research-based tool to gauge the quality of teaching and learning conditions on the ground and forms part of the department’s key flagship programme, Le Bolotse Letsema campaign which was launched on the 25 April 2014 to intensify positive educational outcomes to schools across the province” departmental spokesperson Brian Setswambung said.
-TDN
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North West MEC of Education happy with mid-year exam progress


Mahikeng- The North West department of Education and Sport Development is happy with the progress of the mid-year examinations that has been registered so far.

“There have been no hiccups experienced during this period of the mid-year National Senior certificate (NSC) examinations” Mr Bernadus Nothnagel who is a Senior Accreditation Manager said.

The mid-year examinations which started on the 2nd June 2014 is written by 10 671 NSC candidates at 120 examination centres across the province and will finish on the 26 June 2014.

Marking for the examination will commence from 27th June until 4 July 2014.-TDN
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Maine to address housing developers in North West


North West MEC for Human Settlements and Local Government Collen Maine will today address developer’s forum attended by contractors contracted by the department to build houses for the communities of the province.

MEC Maine is expected to encourage contractors to build quality houses and complete projects and to submit their claims for payments on time.

“It is during this forum where the MEC, Head of the Department (HoD) and departmental senior management discuss and resolve challenges facing contractors in different housing projects in the province” MEC Maine said.

Unblocking of blocked housing projects, termination of non performing contractors and completion of projects on time are amongst issues to be addressed during the forum.

The provincial developer’s forum will be held as follows:

Venue:Rio Hotel (Klerksdorp)

Date:Wednesday 11 June 2014

Time:11H00
-TDN
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Land not yet chosen for Lwandle evictees


made on where evicted shack dwellers will be moved to in Cape Town, a national human settlements official said on Tuesday.

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s spokesperson, Ndivhuwo Mabaya, told Sapa a meeting would be held at 17:00 to discuss the available options.

Sisulu would meet Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille and Western Cape human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela.

De Lille on Monday requested an urgent meeting with Sisulu.

“We have a number of pieces of land that have been made available by Sanral and offers from private developers who have indicated that they are willing to assist,” Mabaya said.

About 800 people living on SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) land next to the N2 highway in Lwandle, near Somerset West, were evicted on Monday and Tuesday last week because of an interim court order.

Their shacks were demolished and set alight. Many lost their personal possessions and were left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

Reports suggested shack dwellers had been transferred to Sanral land in Blackheath, a move that was met with resistance by families already living in the largely residential area.

But Mabaya said this was a group of young people who had got bored of sitting in the Nonzamo community hall and decided to go to the land.

“We don’t encourage that,” he said, adding that any piece of land would first need various authorisations and zoning approval from the city.

“We appeal for the mayor [De Lille] to give us an exemption so that we can offer for now to resolve that problem. If so, in 24 to 36 hours, we can have those people out of the hall.”

The evictees apparently had mixed views about the land options.

Mabaya said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure the land was close to the right schools and to Strand, where many were employed.

He said at some point, the city would be vetting the individuals to see if they actually qualified for government housing and were citizens of the country.

This would play a role if or when the city decided to build RDP houses for them or move them to a housing development.

On Monday, De Lille said once the necessary legal and land use approvals had been granted, she would be able to provide emergency housing kits to the evictees.

“If these processes are ignored, then it is only likely that a new set of problems will be created in relation to this matter and the rights of all those involved will be undermined.”

Congress of SA Trade Unions’ provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich on Tuesday accused De Lille of “politicising” the matter.

“We should have people resettled as a matter of urgency on land that is available. The technical details can be sorted out later,” he said.

“The city must provide basic services and ensure that the necessary regulations are put in place.”

SAPA