The psychiatric evaluation of Warona Mark Zinde‚ nabbed two months ago for allegedly murdering his mother‚ Hope Zinde‚ has once again forced the court to postpone his case.

SENIOR citizens play a pivotal role in society and they are very generous, says Gaolatlhwe Plaatjie during his mother’s birthday. Elizabeth Plaatjie celebrated her 100 years at Seweding village, Mahikeng on Saturday.

Gaolatlhwe said his mother had five children, however only two were left. He said Elizabeth remained his source of strength over the years.

“I have learnt a lot from my mother. She is not a mother to us only, but to the whole village. She continued to be so generous and that made her to stand out amongst the rest.

“She believed in discipline, dedication and determination. My mother made sure that we never go to bed hungry despite any circumstances. Older people have a wealth of skills and experiences and contributed immensely to the communities,” Gaolatlhwe said.

He also said elderly persons contributions are something often forgotten.

“We need to take care of them because they possess a great deal of old world knowledge. Younger generation can learn from their level of expertise unknown to them. They possess the knowledge from real-life experiences, situations and customs that can help lay the path in an effort to maintain honorable values within our current culture,” Gaolatlhwe said.

Elizabeth shared her thoughts on what kept her healthy. She emphasised that respect comes first. Elizabeth is not even wears spectacle unlike her two children.

“I am so grateful to reach these years. If you want to live longer, you need to respect other people and stop living dangerously. We need to respect our parents so that our days can be prolonged in this world. Only Almighty God decides, so I also want to thank him.

“The world is different nowadays and children do not respect their parents anymore. They also engage in socio-economic illness. Life was perfect during our time, however things changed tremendously. I am left with only two children because others passed away. However, I am happy to celebrate 100 years,” she said.

Elizabeth Plaatjie’s granddaughter, Boitshoko Plaatjie said she learnt a lot from her grandmother. She said it was a privilege to be raised by Elizabeth.

“My granny always encouraged us not to give up. She is also a firm believer. We went through trials and tribulations of life, but she was always there to give a motherly love. Granny always shares fairytale and how life was then during apartheid. I will encourage those who have grandparents to treat them well,” Boitshoko said.

One of her daughters-in laws, Mamolepi Plaatjie said: “Without our elderly persons, we would not exist. They are there to remind us of old traditions that we may have forgotten. They are proof of the generation that came before us. They can also teach many things because wisdom comes in old age. They are also a living proof of the generation before us.”

Plaatjie has 17 grand-children, 33 grand-great children and 4 great great children.

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SOUTH African Police Service Women’s Network from Taung in visible policing unit visited Sebitlwane Special School in Lokaleng village, Taung on Monday. Captain Irene Molatlhegi said they visited the school in conjunction with Taung Agriculture department.

“The aim was to celebrate Women month and teach these children their rights. We also handed over sanitary pads to girl pupils at the school. The school caters for children with special needs around Taung and its surrounding villages. We want to encourage the school to promote open communication channels. The initiative will help pupils to inform their teachers about anything that might be bothering them.

“We must make sure they are not abused whether at home or at school. There is a need to give a particular attention to them. We should not judge them if they cannot speak as a result of their disability,” Molatlhegi said.

She further said rape cases tend to increase during school holidays recession. Molatlhegi added that most pupils visit various families and some pupils fall victims of to rape.

“They are either raped by family members or complete strangers. The challenge comes when families do not report such cases to authorities and choose to resolve them through family channels. However, we need to protect and embrace these pupils. It is true that education for children with special needs is sometimes more difficult, but the reward for their learning is unmatched,” she said.

The agriculture department donated various vegetable seeds to the school. They also promised to develop plant and maintain the school’s garden. The department representative, Tebogo Bolokang said: “We are very concern about the fading spirit of maintaining school gardens. The gardens were used to feed indigent families within communities previously. However, there is a need for those gardens to be given proper attention for them to bear proper vegetables.”

Education and sport development department spokesperson, Elias Malindi said children with special needs deserve attention. Malindi added that in order to truly teach these children, one must first really get a good grasp of what they are truly capable of achieving.

“Every child is different, so you need to take time to really study all of the information that is available to you so that you know the best direction to take the child’s education. Children with special needs most often require some type of tactile learning. Mostly learn best when they are touching and manipulating objects rather than the traditional paper and pencil learning that is still common in the school systems,” Malindi said.

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BY REGINALD KANYANE

THREE people died after a taxi that they were travelling in was hijacked. The incident took place between Swartruggens and Silverkraans. It is alleged that upon hijacking the taxi, the hijacker drove towards the north of Swartruggens.

MEC for health, Dr Magome Masike said the police were informed and that led to a chase.

“Unfortunately the hijacker lost control and the taxi overturned. A female nurse and another female passenger who was employed in the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) were killed instantly.

“The ambulance and the forensic team were summoned to the scene. The hijacker suffered severe injuries and was ferried to Moses Kotane Hospital for medical attention,” Masike said.

He added that the hijacker died at around 11:40pm while waiting to be transferred to Job Shimankane Tabane Hospital. Masike said all three deceased are at Phokeng Forensic Mortuary.

“The names of all the deceased will not be released yet. We need to inform their next of kin. The nurse was travelling to the Swartruggens CHC for her night shift.

“As the North West Department of Health, we are shocked by this horrendous incident. It is sad that we have to lose the much needed health professional through crime. I send a message of condolences to the family. Their loss is our loss,” Masike said.

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THE only way that Cope can remain politically relevant in the North West province is by strengthening its branches and coming up with a detailed strategy on how to win the support of local communities between now and 2019, when the national elections are held.

This is the view of Cope’s provincial chairperson in the North West, , who said that the party is concerned with their performance during the local government elections.

While a number of other opposition parties managed to attract a significant number of votes in the province during the polls, Cope’s performance – when compared to how they fared five years ago – shows a considerable decline.

The party failed to improve on their record in the Madibeng municipality – only managing to retain the single seat they won during the previous local government elections. In Moretele, they also won a single seat.

However, they will no longer have any representation in the council of the Rustenburg municipality, where they previously held one seat. In the Moses Kotane municipality, Cope also saw their influence reduced.

In 2011, the party won four seats, they will now only have a single councillor representing them. However, it is their overall performance in the province that has become a cause of concern for the Mosiuoa Lekota-led party.

In 2011, Cope managed to win a combined 27 seats in the North West. However, this time around, they managed just six. Plaatjie said to The New Age that financial limitations could have contributed to their failure to improve on their performance in 2011.

“We have accepted that we failed to do better than we did in the 2011 elections. I think a major factor was that it was hard for our candidates because they had to canvass for support using money from their own pockets.

“It was difficult because we could not assist them as a party. “In Rustenburg, we failed to submit the list in line with the IEC deadline so we did not participate,” Plaatjie said.

Source: http://www.thenewage.co.za

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The North West winners at the 2016 National ABC Motsepe Schools Eistedfodd were honoured for their efforts at a gala dinner in Klerksdorp on Friday.

The gala dinner, at the Rio Casino Resort, was held to thank and motivate pupils and choir conductors to continue working hard to enhance the image of the province.

It also served to encourage pupils to balance their academic performance and extra curricular activities.

MEC Sello Lehari, head of department Dr Itumeleng Molalethe, school governing bodies (SGBs), members of the top performing schools and principals attended the dinner.

The North West had 25 school choirs that competed in 38 renditions which included the recital of the national constitution’s preamble, the plea for Africa, the national anthem and the African Union anthem.

Matlosana Secondary School was the dominant choir at the competition.

The choir won in five categories and won R155000 that will be used to address academic needs at the school.

Other schools that won were Reoleboge Special School and Iteko Special School from Bojanala, Zamakulunga Primary School from Jouberton, Botoka Secondary school and Seiphemelo Secondary from Tlokwe and Gatelopele Secondary School from Tswelelang township in Wolmaransstad.

MEC Lehari thanked the men and women who worked with the choirs for the success of the North West.

“On behalf of the department, I would like to thank our men and women of this province for their selfless attitude of supporting our school choirs.

“Our choir conductors spent extra hours polishing the raw talent of our learners to become the jewel of the nation. Their patience in developing our children will always be amazing and we are extremely proud of their contribution,” he said.

He said pupils should put the same focus and commitment that they showed in music, in their studies to ensure the North West achieves top positions in this year’s matric results.

He said the North West would be a target at the next year’s competition and the other province’s will seek to beat it.

Choir conductors have to continue with the good work they did in 2016.

Matlosana Secondary School’s principal, Simon Makhanye, said: “These awards will motivate the pupils to work harder in 2017 to defend our championship.”

The top choirs were rewarded with participation certificates and trophies.

Source:www.thenewage.co.za

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Netcare 911 paramedics responded to the scene of a collision along the Roodepan Road in Kimberley on Wednesday. Netcare 911 spokesperson, Chris Botha said the reports from the scene indicate that two vehicles collided however; exact detail to the cause of the crash is a subject for police comment.

“Paramedics arrived at the scene and after examining the injured they found that two adults and two children aged six and seven sustained minor injuries. Medics treated the injured at the scene before they transported them to a nearby hospital for the care that they required,” Botha said.

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The South Africa Men’s Olympic Team will be without the services of central defender Eric Mathoho and striker Lebo Mothiba when they face Iraq in the crucial last group A match of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

The clash takes place on Wednesday, 10 August 2016.

Mathoho was ruled out due to an ankle injury. He went down in the last 10 minutes of their 1-0 loss to Denmark following a strong
tackle on him.

Mothiba was withdrawn because of a potential case of chicken pox.

The good news is that Abbubaker Mobara, who also left the pitch in the last match suffering from a hamstring strain, is available for selection.

South Africa will face Iraq in a do or die affair at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo.

Kickoff is at 22h00 local time (03h00 SA time).
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