By KAMOGELO POOE
The North West Province is ready to host yet another successful National Tourism Career Expo (NTCE). The NTCE which is set to run FROM 19-21 September 2019 in Rustenburg.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlahlela said the initiative was officially launched in Potchefstroom recently.

Mahlahlela further said the NTCE is an initiative of the National Department of Tourism, CATHSSETA and the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism as the host province.

“It is aimed at bridging the information gap between industry, government educators, learners and training authorities within the Tourism sector and its related fields.

“The significance of the NTCE and its objective to contribute meaningfully to the economy by creating sustainable jobs. Tourism is one of the rapidly growing sectors and the NTCE is a catalyst for growth and development within the sector,” he said.

Mahlahlela added that regardless of the economic challenges they are facing globally, Tourism has proven to be a sector which remains competitive.

“It has the potential to create valuable and sustainable jobs and therefore we need to steer efforts towards developing and introducing new growth paths.
“We are pleased with the impact the NTCE has made in terms of skilling young people and raising awareness of the opportunities that are presented by the sector and its multifaceted industries”, said Mahlalela.
The 2019 edition of the NTCE is the 11^th of its kind since establishment and will be running for the second year in the North West.

The MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, Kenetswe Mosenogi announced that the NTCE attracted over 4000 learners from all provinces in 2018 and this year 5000 learners are targeted to attend.
“In our efforts to diversify and grow the provincial economy we are committed to invest in Tourism. Tourism has contributed largely to the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and we can exponentially grow our efforts. As a province we are inspired to do extraordinary things to achieve that growth, while working together with our industry players.

“It is for that reason we are certain that this installment of the NTCE will be a great success, ” said Mosenogi.

She said under the theme “Broadening your horizons through tourism opportunities”, the 2019 NTCE will be hosted at the Royal Marang Hotel outside Rustenburg.

Mosenogi said amongst others the event will offer a variety of unique features including Chef’s Corner, Barristers and Mixology platform, Hospitality as well as the Responsible Tourism platform.

(Edited by: Reginald Kanyane)

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By BAKANG MOKOTO

Situation at Dryharts clinic in Taung leaves more to be desired, the Democratic Alliance said in a statement. The DA provincial spokesperson on Health and Social Development, Gavin Edwards said he was dismayed at the appalling condition of the clinic.

“The facility does not only lack vital equipment such as airway support devices, pediatric defibrillation devices and drip stands, adequate maternity or delivery beds, but also keep no drug registers, no infection control registers and the disorganized patient records leave much to be desired.

“The fact that the clinic serves a considerable population in a fairly remote area without adequately trained staff or vital emergency equipment, calls for urgent intervention. The clinic further has no medical waste registers, service schedules and fire extinguishers, which pose a serious medico-legal risk,” said Edwards.

The total dysfunctionality of the clinic was revealed during an oversight inspection by the North West Provincial Legislature Committee on Health and Social Development on Tuesday.

Edwards further said legal action against the department should be avoided at all cost as it is already facing negligence claims amounting to R4bn. He added that the DA will, therefore, write to the MEC for Department of Health, Madoda Sambatha requesting him to urgently address the shortfalls to avoid possible legal action and also the unnecessary loss of lives.

“The following observations made during the oversight will need immediate intervention. The emergency room is not adequately equipped to deal with emergencies, like the layout of the emergency consultation area, is simply too small to provide any meaningful medical care to a patient in need of emergency medical attention.

“The clinic has no Tetanus and Diphtheria vaccinations on-site and also no fridge where drugs can be kept at the correct temperature. Such a fridge is crucial as certain drugs will only be effective when kept at the correct temperature. The Electrocardiogram, Defibrillator and Monitor have no calibration certificate,” he said.

Edwards said there is also no service history or register available for any of the monitoring devices. He said the resuscitation cart has no portable oxygen and the emergency drugs are not locked away.

“Scheduled drugs for sedation are stored in the same unlocked drawer. The mattress on the emergency bed has no linen and no cross-contamination protection. Bloodstains were also visible on the mattress.

“The Emergency Manual Ventilation Devices are stored in the original boxes. Subsequently, medical staff will then have to remove such lifesaving equipment from a box in the event of an emergency. Ideally, these items should be stored in an area that is easy to access.

Oxygen / Medical gas is not stored safely, nor is any register kept of the oxygen inventory,” Edwards said.

According to Edwards, those who are vulnerable in North West are not safe in hospitals and clinics. He said the intention to implement the National Health Insurance Bill will not improve the already collapsed healthcare system. Meanwhile, the North West Health department spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane failed to respond to our questions before going to print.

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Details surrounding his death were not clear, but it’s understood he had been admitted to hospital recently.
JOHANNESBURG – SABC soccer analyst David Kekana has died.

Kekana’s family confirmed in a statement on Monday morning that the veteran journalist passed away on Sunday after a long battle with diabetes.

He was 47.

The father of two was best known for his known for his work on SABC Sport.

But he also worked at various media houses before that, including Primedia and the Sunday Times.

He was also appointed by Gauteng Premier David Makhura as a member of the province’s social cohesion games.

Kekana’s fans and colleauges have been paying tribute to him this morning.

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa said that his contribution to football analysis for close to two decades would be sorely missed.

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

A man who violently shoved a woman at a Spar supermarket in Schweizer-Reneke suffers from mental disorder, the police have said.

In a video, shared on social media, two women and a child can be seen walking down an aisle of the store, when the man dressed in a grey hoodie approaches and pushes one of them. He is then stopped by bystanders and staff.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Amanda Funani, it is believed that the incident happened around 09:33 on Friday.

Funani told News24 that the woman had opened a case of common assault at the Schweizer-Reneke police station.

Because police do not arrest suspects of common assault, the 33-year-old man was released into his parents’ care, Funani said.

The man is expected to appear in the Schweizer Reneke Magistrates Court on Monday.

“The prosecutor will decide on Monday whether to refer him to a psychiatric hospital or not. For now he is under parental guidance,” said Funani.

Source:www.news24.com

Picture: (Facebook)

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

Learners at Onkgoptse Tiro Combined School near Zeerust embarked on a protest and disrupt the teaching and learning process. According to information, pupils demanded speedy completion of the school hostels and complained about the conditions of buses which ferry them to school.

The North West MEC for Education, Wendy Matsemela condemned in strongest terms the actions of the learners. Matsemela said the School Governing Body (SGB) was called for an urgent meeting to resolve the protracted protest of the learners who disrupted learning and teaching for four days.

“I am really disappointed and dismayed by the disrespectful behaviour displayed by our own learners. I condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms as something that is highly unacceptable to the department. We are now in the third quarter of the year and this is a very crucial period and we don’t expect any learner to be out of class.

“These complaints are totally irrelevant and misguided because we have already provided them with alternative accommodation and transport. The complaints made by learners are not curriculum-based. The teachers have been waiting at school to teach. We are currently in the process of securing another contractor to finish off the renovations”, said Matsemela.

She said that the SGB resolved that learners should go back to their homes since they were not interested in attending school. Matsemela further said learners should come back to school accompanied by their parents on Tuesday at 10am.

“They will be given an opportunity in the presence of their parents to indicate if they wanted to attend school or not. Late last year the department realized that the school’s hostels were not safe and needed renovations. The department decided to relocate all the 296 learners who resided in the school hostels to Boitseanape and Batswana Secondary school hostels to allow them not to be affected by the renovation process.

“All learners residing in the hostels are provided with meals three times per day and transported to school and back. The appointed contractor could not finish the renovations on time according to the agreed period and ended up leaving the site. The learners eventually started complaining that, renovations were taking a long time,” she said.

On Monday, learners embarked on a full-scale protest by disrupting teaching and learning process. They burned tyres at the gate of the school and did not want to attend classes.

Matsemela added that teaching and learning are expected to commence on Wednesday and teachers will be ready to implement the recovery plan for the lost days. However, learners demand that teachers who occupied school quarter houses be evicted so that they can move in.

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By REGINALD KANYANE

The North West Provincial government will launch forensic investigations on the scholar transport tender. The North West Premier, Job Mokgoro’ spokesperson, Vuyisile Ngesi said scholar transport tender is one of the cost drivers in the province.

“We will commission a forensic investigation into the irregularities that were identified in the existing Scholar Transport Tender. For example, we pay R65 per learner in a day, which is two times compared to the national rate of R35 per learner. Also, some of our service providers were appointed irregularly hence we will approach the high court to set aside those contracts.

“We have also realised that some of the routes that the government is charged for, were not there in the initial contracts. So, the scholar transport tender is opened to abuse and this cost us money unnecessary,” Ngesi said.

He further said there is no route verification system in place to assist government to record all the travelling expenses of the scholar transport buses. Ngesi added that all tenders will be made public and will be advertised to bring transparency.

“We urged the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management to design a table that takes into consideration the applicable rates in accordance with distance and terrain in which a service provider operates, instead of paying all service providers a seemingly high flat rate.

“The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management will further explore a new Integrated Scholar Management System and report back to the EXCO soon. This is part of the provincial government’s Programme of Action to reflect and take decisions on matters that seek to expedite service delivery in the province since the beginning of the 6^th Administration,” said Ngesi.

State of the North West Transport Investments (NTI)

Ngesi also said the EXCO received a report from the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management on the financial state of the NTI, which is an entity of the North West Provincial Government and provides public transport services in Gauteng. He said the NTI mainly transport commuters from Atteridgeville, Hammanskraal, Mabopane, Soshanguve, and Ga-Rankuwa.

“The report further included the ongoing engagement with the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula as well as the recommended appointment of an Interim Board and a diagnostic report compiled by Provincial Treasury on the finances of the NTI.

“As a result, EXCO resolved on the appointment of an Interim Board comprising of four people with expertise in governance, legal and financial matters. This will be done in consultation with Mbalula,” he said.

Ngesi added that Mokgoro will engage with Mbalula on what could be done to rescue the NTI and turn it into a profit-making concern. He said the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, as well as the NTI management, should prepare a Comprehensive Strategy Plan on the future of the NTI and report back to the next EXCO meeting.

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Facebook: Lesego “Fire-Brand” Maimela 

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

The South African Students Congress (Sasco) at the North West University (Mafikeng campus) has re-instated its provincial chairperson, Zubenathi Jentile and Lesego “Fire-Brand” Maimela, who is the Provincial Secretary to their positions. This comes after Jentile and Maimela were subsequently suspended after they were indicted of maladministration, fraud, and corruption.

However, Sasco Provincial Disciplinary Chairperson, Thato Sedupe said: “We have uplifted the duo’ suspension because they were found not guilty of any wrongdoing. We have conducted investigations to verify the allegations leveled against them after recommendations from the PEC.

“However, the DC found that the allegations were unfounded, untrue and malicious. The DC has reinstated them immediately and furthermore, the two months period of suspension against them has lapsed,” Sedupe said.

He added that the Sasco wishes Jentile and Maimela well as they resume their revolutionary duties and equally thank those who have been acting on their behalf.

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