BY REGINALD KANYANE

A YOUNG farmer from Mahikeng, Nthabiseng Kgobokoe has once again upheld the pride of Bokone Bophirima during the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) Female Entrepreneur Awards (FEA) held at The Ranch Protea in Polokwane, Limpopo.

Kgobokoe of the Batswana Farms and Training endeared herself to the judges as she was declared the winner in the Best Subsistence Producer.

She described herself as free spirited, inquisitive and adventurous young woman who is wholly committed to her trade.

“I developed interest in farming in 2010 after seeing various agricultural shows I visited. However the Batswana Farms and Training was registered in 2013.

“My career in farming has blossomed since then. My farm is duly youth owned and we focus on mixed farming like livestock and horticulture. We also offer informal training. We keep dopper sheep, boer goats and simbra cattle as well as fresh produce. The farm supplies the local retail stores as well as the informal sector of hawkers,” Kgobokoe said.

She scooped R150 000 in cash. The ultimate overall winner of the competition was Venecia Janse from the Eastern Cape.

The awards were aimed at rewarding the efforts and contribution of women, youth and people with disabilities in matters of food security, job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation.

MEC for rural, environment and agricultural development department, Manketse Tlhape said that the awards were part and parcel of an effort in acknowledging and rewarding women entrepreneurs during the Women’s Month and beyond.

She expressed that the DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards are a befitting gesture to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the women’s march and said it was an honour to add its voice towards the difference made by women of 1956.

“Kgobokoe’s win indicate that government’s intention to uplift impoverished women. We encourage other women to take heed from Kgobokoe’s win that was from the humble beginnings. We also urge you to hop into the agricultural train as a business venture and be part of ensuring food security,” Tlhape said.

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Ke Yona Team Coach Khabo Zondo(L) ,Ke Yona Team Captain Bongani Mbuli(SL) ,Tobie Badenhorst(TL) ,Boafela Pule of Supersport United(TR) Ke Yona Team Coach Mike Mangena and Supersport United Assistant Coach Kaitano Tembo during the 2016 Ke Yona Team Press Conference in Sandton Head Office on 31 August 2016 ©Aubrey Kgakatsi/BackpagePix

BY REGINALD KANYANE

NEDBANK Ke Yona Team captain, Bongani Mbuli is confident that this year’s team will cause an upset against their more fancied opponents as they gear up to take on Supersport United in the Nedbank Ke Yona Challenge on Sunday at the Sinaba Stadium in Daveyton.

A 20-year-old defender will be amongst the 18 member squad that has been unearthed by Nedbank, working with Shakes Mashaba, Owen Da Gama, Khabo Zondo and Mike Mangena.

Speaking at the Nedbank headquarters ahead of their match, Mbuli said that this year the tables would turn as they are determined to make history.

“We have a very strong squad of youngsters who are eager to not only make an impression with professional clubs but change the record books by becoming the first Ke Yona Team to win the Ke Yona Challenge. We have nothing to lose and want to give it our all” said a confident Mbuli.

Supersport United goal minder Boalefa Pule, who made his debut during his team’s triumph over Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final, cautioned his team to be careful coming up against a Ke Yona Team that has nothing to lose.

“It will be difficult playing against them since we have not seen them play. As a team, we will prepare for this match like we do with every other match and give them the respect that they deserve for reaching this stage of their football careers” said Pule.

The Ke Yona Team will be eager to follow in the footsteps of reigning PSL Young Player of the Season, Maphosa Modiba whose football dream continues to live on after signing a four year contract with Supersport United.

Modiba has been a revelation since graduating from the Ke Yona Team and is set to continue demonstrating the success of how Nedbank continues to make things happen.

Tickets to the Ke Yona Challenge are available for free at all Comp ticket and Shoprite Checker’s stores. Fans are advised to bring their ID copies to collect a maximum of TWO tickets per person. Gates open 13:00 and there will be entertainment until kick off at 15:00. The match will be broadcast live on SABC 1 and SuperSport 4.

Ke Yona Team TV Series:

Make sure you catch this week’s episode of Making The Team as Nedbank reflects on the journey and preparations of the Ke Yona Team ahead of the live broadcast on SABC 1.

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BY REGINALD KANYANE

THE body of a biker was found lying in the veld on Rex road in Rustenburg on Thursday morning.

ER24 spokesperson, Russel Meiring said paramedics were called to the scene where they found the man believed to be in his 30s. He said the body was positioned few metres from the road and his motorcycle.

“The deceased was assessed by paramedics and showed no signs of life. Unfortunately the man was declared dead on the scene. It was evident to paramedics that the man had been dead for some time.

“It is believed that the biker lost control of his motorcycle around the bend late last night. His body was found earlier this morning by local authorities,” Meiring said.

An investigation will be conducted by local authorities.

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NORTH West premier Supra Mahumapelo said they will continue to put agriculture at the apex of economic drive triangle of the province.

Mahumapelo was responding to a debate that was held at North West provincial legislature on Tuesday about VTSD implementation.

He added that working together with other stakeholders; the province will achieve more work in quest to change the lives of the people and deal with economic emancipation.

“The province is predominately rural and marred with unemployment, inequality and poverty. However we came up with strategic plans to improve economy growth of various villages. We have North West Development Corporation as a body that has been assigned to look into village development plan for each village.

“We have assessed all villages and look into various ways of empowering them. Each village will have its village chamber of commerce. This will make it effortless for each village to approach investors to come and inject cash in their areas,” he said.

Mahumapelo added that the provincial government also empowers women and youth because they were the most disadvantaged groups. He further said if they empower women and youth, the government will divest a burden of inequality, poverty and unemployment.

“Women are more than men in this country. The apartheid regime created a triple challenge for women. However, the government has addressed that challenges and many women continue to show their pedigree.

“They continue to climb the corporate ladder and embarked on various fields of entrepreneurships.  We also decided to dedicate 70% of our budget to Village, Township and Small Dorpies. We want to grow our economy with 6% come 2019,” he said.

Mahumapelo said many youth continued to be trained and mentored through Youth Entrepreneurship Services (YES). He further said 450 youth in Matlosana received mentorship through Seta.

“We must have a short, medium and long term plan on how we can improve the economy. We have opened 15 bakeries in conjunction with Transnet in Moretele, Mahikeng and Matloding villages. We aim to reduce unemployment in the province and we in talks with experts to obtain necessary skills.

“We will host VTSD Economic Summit in November this year. We will bring experts on board to come and discuss how we can sustain the VTSD project. We have appointed a committee that will deal with food production for social development, health and education and development departments. We agreed to use the food budget from all these three departments and injected it into rural, environment and agricultural development (READ) department,” he said.

Economic Freedom Fighters Thabo Sehloho said they share the same vision with North West premier, Supra Mahumapelo.

“We agree that VTSD is a good initiative. However, we request the premier to make sure those who are employed to deliver have necessary skills. We do not want great ideas to just collapse because of incompetence,” Sehloho said.

He also suggested that government must take over abandoned mines in the province and make them operational.

Democratic Alliance provincial chairperson, Joe McGluwa also said the province needed to be developed. He said the government must deal with corruption and fraud to make sure people benefit.

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