Mahikeng- The National Department of Small Business Development (the dsbd) in partnership with the Bokone Bophirima Department of Economy and Enterprise Development hosted a Provincial workshop focusing on Co-operatives Development Act 6 of 2013, on Wednesday at Gaabo-Motho Resort in Mahikeng.

“The purpose of the workshop was to create awareness on the amendments and their implications to existing co-operatives with the aim of improving the sustainability of cooperatives” department spokesperson Dumisa Seshabela said.

The  Amendment Act aims to strengthen governance, accountability and transparency, and provide for a differential dispensation for co-operative to reduce the regulatory burden to co-operatives. 

Seshabela said the workshop was attended by approximately 150 cooperative members inclusive of youth, women and people with disabilities, representatives from government departments and municipalities within Bokone Bophirima. 

Speaking at the workshop, Elize Koekemoer: Director for Cooperatives Policy, Legislation and Strategy (the dsbd) emphasized that all provincial authorities responsible for cooperative development should be aware of the changes in the legislation and its implications, as well as the requirements and responsibilities in the co-ordination of co-operatives development initiatives amongst the three spheres of government.

Koekemoer indicated that the Act advocates for the establishment of institutions that will empower cooperatives and respond to their challenges such as Cooperative Development Agency, Cooperative Tribunal and Cooperative Council 

Patrick Sebitlo from Agro-preneur Business Incubation Centre encouraged other cooperatives to align to the new Cooperative Amendment Act and comply with other legislations that govern enterprises. 

He echoed that co-operatives need to stop depending fully on government for assistance; rather they should be able to generate their own capital and only approach government for further assistance.

The Department is currently working on the Provincial Cooperative Strategy that will incorporate the new amendments to reduce unemployment rate especially amongst youth and women as small businesses are the key drivers of economic growth and job creation.

The Department will further conduct follow up workshops in all the districts to afford other co-operative members opportunity of interacting with the Amendment Act.
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Fochville- Three people were killed and four others injured in a collision on the N12, approximately 18kilometres from Fochville on Friday.

The collision involved a truck and two light motor vehicles.

“According to bystanders the truck allegedly overtook another vehicle and collided with two light motor vehicles in the oncoming lane” ER24 spokesperson Pieter Rossouw said.

When ER24 paramedics arrived on scene they found one car ripped into pieces and the other car heavily damaged.

All four injured patients were transported by medical services to nearby hospitals for further treatment.

The cause of the collision remains unknown.‬
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_
‪

Polokwane – Malamulele residents will not get their own municipality, despite weeks of protests, Limpopo’s co-operative governance department said on Friday.

“No, they are not getting it,” MEC Makoma Makhurupetje’s spokesman Motupa Selomo said, following a meeting with the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

MDB members held a closed meeting with the Malamulele task team and Makhurupetje on Friday.

Protesters demanding their own municipality have brought Malamulele to a standstill, monitoring roads to ensure no business takes place, and forcing a shutdown of schools as well as shops in the local mall.

Residents have blamed the MDB for not heeding their call for Malamulele and some surrounding areas, especially the Xitsonga-speaking ones, to have a separate municipality.

They claim they are not receiving services from the Thulamela municipality, which they allege has been channelling services to Tshivenda-speaking areas.

The demand for another municipality has fuelled tensions between Tshivenda and Xitsonga speakers, and triggered divisions among local traditional leaders, as some regard it as a tribal issue.

Last year, protesters set fire to shops and looted, causing millions of rands in damage.

The MDB was not immediately available for comment.

There were no immediate reports of violence following the announcement.

“For the last couple of days its been quiet, but the shutdown remains. There are no services, and schools and businesses are still closed,” Colonel Ronel Otto said while the meeting continued.

“They (residents) are awaiting feedback from the MDB.”

She said feedback was initially expected on Saturday.

The MDB said in a statement on Thursday that its members would meet in a closed session with the Limpopo provincial administration, including Makhurupetje and community representatives.

“The purpose of the meeting is to provide information regarding the outcome of the study that was conducted by the MDB under the conditions that were outlined to the community,” spokeswoman Bulelwa Mbali-Khoele said.

In the statement on Thursday the MDB said it would not announce at Friday’s meeting whether Malamulele would get its own municipality. However, this decision was apparently reversed.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The attack on four foreigners in their shop in Nsuze, near Dundee, is unfortunate, KwaZulu-Natal’s transport, community safety and liaison MEC said on Friday.

Three Ethiopians were shot and injured, and a fourth was assaulted.

“We are very disappointed and angered by these latest attacks. These, unfortunately, come at a time when we were convinced that we were making progress in amicably resolving these in the greater Inanda (area),” Willies Mchunu said in a statement.

He called on locals to work with police to end such attacks, saying the latest violence harmed efforts currently underway to resolve the matter.

KwaZulu-Natal police said that on Thursday, at 7.30pm, four armed men attacked four Ethiopians in their shop in the Bhamshela area, Nsuze.

“Three of the foreigners were shot and wounded, and the fourth was badly assaulted by the suspects,” Major Thulani Zwane said in a statement.

The attackers fled with an undisclosed amount of money. The victims were taken to hospital. A case of attempted murder and business robbery had been opened.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni appealed to people to approach police with information about the suspects.

Last week, violence – labelled by some as xenophobic – and looting of foreign-owned shops spread from Soweto to Kagiso on the West Rand, Sebokeng in the Vaal Triangle, Eden Park in Ekurhuleni, and Alexandra, Johannesburg.

It was sparked when 14-year-old Siphiwe Mahori was shot dead in Snake Park, Soweto, last Monday, allegedly by a Somalian shopowner. Mahori was allegedly part of a group trying to rob the man’s shop.

Somali national Alodixashi Sheik Yusuf has appeared in court charged with Mahori’s shooting. He will return to court on February 4.

At least nine people have been killed following Mahori’s death. Over 180 people have been arrested in connection with public violence and possession of stolen property.

Sapa

Harare – A man has been jailed for nine years in Mutare, Zimbabwe, after he was found in possession of python meat, Newsday reported on Friday.

Archwell Maramba, 58, said he wanted to eat the meat “to cure my spine”.

Pythons are protected reptiles in Zimbabwe. Killing or hunting them is a criminal offence.

His arrest, conviction and sentencing took six days.

“Since I ate my first python I have seen remarkable improvements (in my back problems),” he argued.

Maramba said he only ate pythons, and was introduced to them by artisanal diamond miners in Chiadzwa a few years back, Newsday quoted Maramba as saying.

He was arrested last Friday in Zimunya, south of Mutare on the road leading to the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

It was not immediately clear if Maramba’s arrest was linked to the discovery of a python in Zimunya earlier this month.

Local press reported last week that the 3.4m-long reptile was killed by youths in Zimunya and its carcass burnt.

Maramba told a court in Mutare this week that some friends had brought the dead python to him.

In 2012, four villagers from the Mhondoro district were each given only a 30-day jail sentence, with the option of a fine, for killing and eating a python.

Sapa

Dubbed “Prime Evil” by the media, Eugene De Kock has spent over two decades behind bars, following his arrest in 1994 and his conviction two years later in the North Gauteng High Court.

In 1997/98, De Kock’s testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on activities at the farm Vlakplaas shocked South Africans with its graphic, and previously largely unknown, details of the kidnapping, torture and murder of anti-apartheid activists.

In a radio interview in 2007, De Kock responded to a statement by former president FW de Klerk – that he had a “clear conscience” regarding his time in office – claiming that South Africa’s last white president had ordered political killings, and that his hands were “soaked in blood”.

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg – Three foreign nationals were shot and injured and a fourth was assaulted in their shop in Nsuze near Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday.

“Last night, 29 January 2015 at about 19:30 four Ethiopians were in their shop at Bhamshela area at Nsuze when they were attacked by four armed suspects,” said Major Thulani Zwane in a statement.

“Three of the foreigners were shot and wounded and the fourth was badly assaulted by the suspects.”

The attackers fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

The injured victims were taken to hospital.

A case of attempted murder and business robbery had been opened.

Provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni appealed to people to approach police with information about the suspects, he said.

Last week violence, labelled by some as xenophobic, and looting of foreign-owned shops spread from Soweto to Kagiso on the West Rand, Sebokeng in the Vaal, Eden Park in Ekurhuleni and Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.

This was allegedly sparked by the shooting of 14-year-old Siphiwe Mahori in Snake Park, Soweto, last Monday. Mahori was allegedly part of a group trying to rob a Somali’s shop.

Somali national Alodixashi Sheik Yusuf has appeared in court charged with Mahori’s shooting. He will return to court on4 February.

At least nine people have been killed following the shooting of Mahori.

Over 180 other people have been arrested in connection with public violence and possession of stolen property.

Cape Town – A train derailed near Brackenfell station in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon, the city’s fire and rescue services said.

“The train did not catch fire. The train derailed and grass next to the train caught fire due to sparks,” said spokesperson Theo Layne.

He said the train left a junction between two platforms around 14:00.

No injuries were reported.

Johannesburg – Two people were killed in a car accident on Hendrik Potgieter Road in Little Falls, Roodepoort, on Friday morning as a driver apparently tried to avoid a roadblock, metro police said.

“A motorist in a Honda was travelling west on Hendrik Potgieter. When realising Johannesburg metro police officers were on a roadside check, he turned… into oncoming traffic,” Superintendent Edna Mamonyane said.

The Honda crashed into a Hyundai, which was travelling East, and two passengers in the Hyundai were killed. The driver of the Hyundai was critically injured and taken to hospital.

The driver of the Honda was allegedly drunk and was arrested on the scene. He was in custody at Honeydew police station.

He was expected to appear in court soon to face charges of culpable homicide and reckless or negligent driving, Mamonyane said.