By BAKANG MOKOTO

It is all systems go for the South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) set for Mmabatho Convention Centre in Mahikeng on September 29.

SATMA organisers announced the nominees for the different categories at Southern Sun Hotel in Cape Town on Saturday night.

Founder and organiser of the awards, Dr Dumisani Goba said they will continue to preserve and play a crucial role to grow the traditional music.

Goba said they are ready to host the awards.

“We are working in partnership with other stakeholders for marketing purposes like the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The SATMA has received close to 1000 entries and 76 000 votes thus far. In the most exciting category which is the Best Upcoming Artist Award, we have received more than 300 entries.

“We have also decided to improve the voting system and we are using voting codes. The voters will now have to sms the word SATMA and the code of the artist. All winners will be announced during the event in Mahikeng,” he said.

Goba said the event will start with a Golf Day before the main event on 29 September 2018.

He said that they will continue to have road shows across the country ahead of the main event.

“We have already started in the North West with our campaigns and we have over 733 electronic advertising at Airport TVs across the continent.

The SATMAs also have more than 300 billboards and the SABC will continue to run interviews with nominees until the day of the awards.

“We encourage the public to attend the main event in Mahikeng too. Our theme this year is: Embrace Your Heritage. It is imperative to preserve and protect our music, so we urge young people to play a crucial role in that. In line with our theme, we are celebrating the legacy and lives of our stalwarts like Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu and Nelson Mandela,” Goba said.

North West MEC of Tourism, Desbo Mohono said: “This initiative will boost the economy of the province. We urge our product owners to ensure that they display a good hospitality to our visitors and this will ensure that they come back.

“We know that in most cases, our product owners escalate prices. However, they must not put exorbitant prices because that will fright our potential tourists away. I would also encourage our tourists to visit our heritage sites like Taung World Heritage Site, Dikgwaneng, Taung Dam and other areas,” she said.

Mohono said Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) owners will also benefit.

SABC representative, Nada Wotshela said they will continue to support the event.

Wotshela added that there are many challenges but the public broadcaster will ensure that the traditional music is preserved.

“The SABC has the necessary diversity across all spectrums. We will continue to educate our people about our heritage. We will fully support this initiative through all our commercial radio stations too.

“We have strategic measures in place to assist this initiative. It is our responsibility to support the African and traditional music,” she said.

National Heritage Council (NHC) CEO, Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa said: “We have been part of this initiative and we are championing it. I am now happy that other stakeholders are coming on board.

“The founder never failed the nation now the event is recognised globally. We have local groups being awarded at the Grammy awards and represented South Africa well. The Black Mabazo Traditional group represented South Africa globally,” Mancotywa said.

He said the initiative also assist the country to find its true African identity.

Some of those who were nominated are Modiri FM presenter, Tshepiso Mogomotsi, Traditional Music singer, Mausi and Traditional Music Group, Umtiti.

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By BAKANG MOKTO

Pupils and teachers at more than 150 schools still use pit latrines in the North West province.

The startling revelation came to light after a week-long oversight visit to schools by the provincial portfolio committees on Basic Education and Water and Sanitation.

Water and Sanitation committee chairperson, Mlungisi Johnson said there is a need to urgently eradicate the sanitation infrastructure backlog at schools in the province.

Johnson said it was unacceptable that young children even those in Grade R, continue to be subjected to substandard pit latrines, endangering their lives.

“The committees held a joint meeting over a range of issues such as the readiness to deliver end of the year exams as well as the state of infrastructure in the province.

It was reported by the Provincial Education Department that about 154 schools still have pit latrines in the province. Of this number, 119 are primary schools and 35 are high schools which will cost an estimated R279 million to build,” Johnson said.

“Of these 154 schools, the department has only budgeted money to eradicate pit latrines in only 50 schools. More effort must be put in place to eradicate the backlog.

Furthermore, the department must consult institutions such as the Water Research Commission for innovative systems that can assist the DBE in dealing with the huge infrastructure backlogs,” he said.

Johnson highlighted that there was a need for standardisation and use of technology that will ensure that many latrines are constructed at a fraction of the current cost that the department is paying.

He said it is a shared view that the R90m budgeted for 50 schools this year could go even further and build more latrines.

“We acknowledge the challenge that the DBE raised in relation to the Department of Public Works being responsible for the building of state infrastructure. The use of technological advances has the potential of utilising the limited budget to build more facilities,” he said.

Portfolio Committee chairperson on Basic Education, Nomalungelo Gina said the underperformance in spending conditional grants was pointed out as a red flag which needs urgent attention.

“The department informed us that it has so far spent about 5% of the Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) conditional grant despite the huge challenge South Africa faces in relation to these subjects.

“Furthermore, we are concerned that the department has only spent 20.4% of the National School Nutrition programme by the end of the first quarter. The committee is of the view that proper planning should be done to ensure that spending is in par with projections,” said Gina.

However, the committee welcomed the measures that the department is implementing to deal with the under-spending.

The committee welcomes the assurance that the province is ready to deliver the National Senior Certificate examinations at the end of 2018.

“What is most important is the readiness of learners to write their exams as well as processes to guarantee the safety of question papers and answer sheets.

Following a visit to a district storage facility, the committee is confident that the protocols implemented will ensure that the province will deliver credible and secure examinations,” Gina said.

There were positives that the committees acknowledged during the visits.

“The good work done at the Taung Teacher Enrichment centre was welcomed by the committee. The support provided to teachers and learners is impressive despite the difficult operating environment.

Despite this, we have also stressed the need to implement maintenance programme at the centre as it is dilapidated currently,” Gina said.

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Picture: (Mighty Boys FC  captain celebrating after winning the Olehile Sport Club tournament)

By BAKANG MOKOTO

Mighty Boys Football Club continued with their dominance over arch-rivals Manthe Queenspark Rangers FC.

This came after the Mighty Boys pipped the latter to the Olehile Sport Club cup.

The two clashed during a tournament held at Manokwane village near Taung recently.

The two teams met in the first game of the tournament.

Manthe Queenspark Rangers missed golden opportunities in the first 25 minutes of the game where midfielder; Thabang Appie was the main culprit.

Mighty Boys FC players gained their confidence and showed their fangs.

They went on to win the match by a convincing 3-1 scoreline.

Manthe-based football club Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ontiretse Ntlhetlhisang said he is happy that his team continue to have an upper hand against their local rivals.

“Mighty Boys FC is a growing brand and we are happy with our performance thus far. It is always good to wallop our fierce rival, Manthe Queenspark Rangers FC. Our players always perform well against them and that gives us confidence.

“We have illustrious players who could make it into Premier Soccer League (PSL). We also believe that tournaments like this will increase their chances to break into the elite league. The Olehile Sport Club tournament is one of the best in Taung,” Ntlhethisang said.

He urged organisers to invite scouts to unearthed talent.

Ntlhetlhisang added that they are on the right path after winning the tournament.

“This is our second major win after we were crowned winners of Reivilo Soccer Tournament in April 2018. We will continue to work hard and we want to thank our supporters for their unwavering support. This tournament also plays a crucial role in social cohesion,” he said.

The Olehile Sport Club representative, Oduetse Kgoroeaboco said: “We established this tournament back in 2012. However, we are happy how things turned out despite some challenges. We have a security challenge and engaging the Taung Police Station was a futile exercise.

“We do not have any sponsors and we are using our own money to run the event. Remember, the value of sport to communities extends beyond sport. It can play a role in bringing communities together, having a social and cultural impact, developing social capital and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

“We deliberately host this initiative during Women’s Month to bring awareness regarding women and children abuse. Our women are the most vulnerable group in our society and we need to bring that awareness,” Kgoroeaboco said.

He said the initiative also encourages local people to participate as volunteers in community life.

Kgoroeaboco said regular involvement in sport can benefit individuals and communities and contribute to a range of positive outcomes.

“This will ensure that local people have a greater voice and influence over decision-making and we will see more cohesive, tolerant and inclusive communities that value diversity. The tournament plays a crucial role in the reduction of youth offending and anti-social behaviour. This contributes to the increase in culture of respect and tolerance among young people too,” he said.

Kgoroeaboco further said they want to have Under 21 players participating in the tournament in the future.

He said that according to research, young people’s participation in sport improves their numeracy scores by 8% on average above non-participants.

“Underachieving young people who take part in sport see a 29% increase in numeracy skills and a 12 to 16% rise in other transferable skills. It is important also to have school sport to maximise the impact of the social benefits.

“We urge other stakeholders to come on board and ensure that the tournament becomes a success. We have now rope in other sporting codes to ensure that our youth benefit from the initiative. The event also creates job opportunities especially our Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) owners,” he said.

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