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BY KATLEGO MOKAILA
Despite the good rains in recent months, our normal water needs still cannot be met and we are not out of the clear yet. The drought is far from over and even with a normal season it will take a number of years for the system to stabilize to an acceptable level.

North West province, which according to 2011 Census report has more than 3 million people is one of the driest province that is largely dependent on ground water. This then would mean that the drought situation must be taken seriously by everyone because  surface water is declining rapidly.

Climate change is still in our midst and South Africans have observed its effects first hand, even today we are experiencing changes in rainfall patterns and increasing heat. To say water is a precious resource is not an exaggeration from government but a reality. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, most of the three percent of freshwater is inaccessible. Over 68 percent of the freshwater on earth is found in icecaps and glaciers, and just over 30 percent is found in ground water. Only about 0.3 percent of our fresh water is found in the surface water of lakes, rivers, and the earth’s fresh water available for human consumption. This means that South Africa as a thirsty country, beyond doubt it is squeezing its limited drops to meet the demands of its people.

Government has had to spend millions of rands on drought relief interventions such as water tankers and borehole drilling among others in worst affected provinces and it is still not enough. This clearly means we should save water and change our casual behavior in our daily use.

The recent rainfalls have not made that much of an impact, it was like just a drop in the ocean, let’s continue being water wise. Every drop should count, as long as there climatic conditions such as El Nino and La Nina, water scarcity will continue to be a lifetime headache to all because is not a passing occurrence hence we need to adapt to it.

Let’s also adapt to rain water harvesting. Water should not go to waste, rain water is free and it should be used for meaningful things and not wasted.

The following tips could be useful:

·         To store rain water, use a drum or bucket when it is raining so that you can use the water after it has rained, but be careful and close the bucket so that children should not fall in and drown in it.

·         Educate children on how to save water and not to play with water as it is dangerous.

·         Use a bucket to wash your car

·         Save water that falls off during a shower

·         Save grey water and store rain water

Most people do not take the drought situation seriously because they are always fetching water from their taps or they wait for a water tankering truck to deliver water to them and if that doesn’t happen, they object.

In thirsty Municipalities such as Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality (DrRSMDM), dams such as Wentzel have no water, in fact there is no drop of water to be precise; however emergency support such as tankering have been deployed to all affected areas in the North West Province, including Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality.

Currently 211 dams are monitored by the Department of Water and Sanitation, 28 falls under North West Province. Dam levels in the North West Province are currently up from 1.6% to 67.3%. Remember dam levels are monitored weekly.

This forecast is still quite concerning with regard to the recovery of our dams. While we have seen some slight improvements in dam levels with the national average increasing, the drought is not over and we need to intensify our efforts to save water. Water restrictions measures will continue to be implemented until South Africa becomes a water wise alert society.

NB: Katlego Mokaila is the Communications Manager in the Department of Water and Sanitation, North West Region

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BY KEDIBONE MOLSETSI
A murder case against six suspects who allegedly killed Democratic Alliance councillor, Johannes Baatjies and his associate, Shuping Nose was transferred to Kimberley High Court on Monday.

The Hawks provincial spokesperson, Capt Philani Nkwalase said Zonisele Magawu (29), Charles Thompson Mpondomisa (39), Matthews Legodu (49) Richard Hasana (33), Paullis Mvuleni Mgcera (50) and Tsame Frak Baxane (31) appeared in Postmasburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

“The matter was referred to Kimberley High Court for trial from March 13 and all six suspects remain in custody as their bail application was denied last year.

“They are facing the murder charges relating to the killing of Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, Johannes Baatjies and his business associates Mr. Shupping Nose which occurred in August 2016,” Nkwalase said.

He added that Magawu was arrested shortly after the incidents, Mpondomisa, Legodu and Hasana were arrested in September while Mgcera and Baxane were arrested in October. 

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The Burger King-sponsored South African Men National U20 team (Amajita) has secured two friendly matches against Mali as they build up to the 2017 CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia next month.
The matches against the West Africans will take place on 16 and 19 February at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
 
And before the two games against Mali, Amajita will travel to Ndola, Zambia for another friendly match against Zambia that will be played on 8 February 2017.
 
U20 national coach Thabo Senong said he was excited to have secured friendly matches against hosts Zambia and Mali.
 
“We are very happy to have secured these matches and I believe we will gain a lot of momentum with these friendly matches against Zambia and Mali. We have two West African teams in our group, so these matches will assist us in addressing some strengths and weakness of the West Africans.
 
“In the match against Zambia, we will be looking more at ourselves. We need the players to gain confidence in the box, we need our midfielders and defenders to play as a unit and we need to re-emphasize the levels of fitness,” said Senong.
 
Amajita will begin their first phase of preparations this coming Thursday, 26 January 2017 before travelling to Zambia for an international friendly.
 
The team will then break camp for a few days before regrouping for the second phase of preparations on 13 February 2017 where they will pitch tent in Limpopo and play the two matches against Mali.
 
The first match against the Eagles of Mali will be played behind closed doors, on 16 February 2017 and kicks-off at 19h00 while the official international friendly will take place on Sunday, 19 February 2017.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 15h00 and entrance will be free.
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JOHANNESBURG – The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (NSPCA) says there’s a massive increase in donkey poaching, with the animals being slaughtered in a barbaric way.

Donkey skin is in demand in China as it’s used to produce medicine which is believed to delay menopause.

More than 100 donkeys were illegally slaughtered in the Northern Cape and North West in the last three months.

Meanwhile, 5,000 donkey hides were discovered in a shack in Benoni.

The NSPCA’s Mpho Mokoena says, “People are using a hammer to hit them. When they fall down, they don’t even wait to see if the donkey is dead and just start skinning it.”

For more http://www.ewn.co.za

The Minister of Water and Sanitation department, Nomvula Mokonyane, will meet with the MEC’s responsible for Cooperative Governance in the nine provinces of the Republic.

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Picture: (MEC for community safety & transport management department, Dr Mpho Motlhabane)

BY REGINALD KANYANE
MEC for community safety and transport management department, Dr Mpho Motlhabane said he is concern about a 12 months traffic training learnership advert doing rounds on social media and some of other platforms.

“We are warning the unemployed young people of this province and South Africa at large to be wary of these bogus traffic learnership advertisements that was globalised. The advert is captured as Traffic Officer Learnership X 250. This is not an advert from our department.

“Our last 12 months advert for traffic training learnership was globalised early in 2016 with the last intake of 20 learners to compliment the 2016/17 financial intake recently. Those intakes commenced their training at the traffic college in January 2017,” Motlhabane said.

He further said his department is in line with the national call for intensive traffic training and has introduced a new three year traffic learnership training diploma. Motlhabane said the advert was closed on January 6 this year.

“Communities are alerted that the circulating advert has no letterhead of the department, recruit learners to train for the next 12 months period and applicants are requested to download the application form from a link provided by these bogus initiators.

“Note that all our department advertisements including traffic training learnerships are published with our letterhead including correct logo, address and contact details. Applicants are requested to fill in the Z83 application form and we do not specify the number of positions available for the learnership,” he said.

Motlhabane added that they were not sure of the intentions of the people behind this. He said this could end up putting the lives of the people in danger and eventually lose their hard-earned monies.  

“We request unemployed youth not to fall for these bogus schemes. They must ignore the advert and never attempt to apply or respond. They are also advised to report anyone who is suspicious of being behind this scam. 

“Let us avoid further circulation of the advert as that could lead you to be an accessory to the crime ring unintentionally,” he said.

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BY BAKANG MOKOTO
Three suspects between the age of 39 and 42 are expected to appear in the Bray Periodical Court on Tuesday for rhino poaching. 

North West police spokesperson, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said the suspects were arrested inside a private game farm in Mokopong on Sunday.

“According to information available at this stage, police were called to the Game Farm after a rhino was found dead. It’s horns were removed. The police together with Game Rangers tracked down the suspects by following the vehicle trails. 

“The police spotted the suspects and arrested them. All of the suspects are from Mozambique. They were found to be in a possession of a rifle and two rhino horns,” Mokgwabone said.

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane commended the police and game rangers for their team work that led to the arrest of the suspects. 

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