Picture: North West MEC for Education, Wendy Matsemela 

By REGINALD KANYANE

North West Premier, Prof Job Mokgoro alongside MEC for Education, Wendy Matsemela is expected to visit three schools in Taung on Monday. Over 1500 schools across the North West are expected to welcome back 65 000 Grade 7 and 37 000 Grade 12 learners respectively.

Matsemela said the aim of the visit is scheduled to monitor the re-opening of schools in three schools around the Greater Taung region amidst a long break to the novel Coronarivus pandemic.

“We will visit Reivilo High School in Reivilo at 8am and this will be followed by a visit to Lokgabeng Primary School in Mokasa village before heading to Molale Primary School in Motlapaneng village. The visit will include monitoring availability of  COVID-19 PPEs to schools which is inclusive of infrared thermometers, cloth masks and face shields as well as the delivery of sanitizers, and hand soaps.

“Prior to the re-opening, schools received deep cleaning by various stakeholders and volunteer to ensure a hygienic environment for teaching and learning. We have use R380 million for the PPEs including the sanitizers, hand wash soaps, disinfectants, boards including face shields and face masks,” she said.

Matsemela added that they are expecting 103 217 learners in various schools this week combined with all 27 000 teachers they are having across the province. She said this includes food handlers, AAs, and the GAs.

“We have been working together with the Department of Health and believe that the department has unfolded a program that they know better than us. We will ensure that any person who is supposed to be at our schools is not compromised. As the department, we will also try to move in tantamount to what the president of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa is saying by saving lives at all cost,” said Matsemela.

She said the issue of appointment of Marebantwa as testing and screening volunteers are affectionately known across the province was the prerogative of the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) at schools. Matsemela also re-iterated that her department will take Grade 12s into camps.

“We have already budgeted for camps in terms of all semesters. The department has budgeted for summer, winter, and spring camps. So, we are going to take all Grade 12s given that there is a budget for them to put them in separate camps, which we will be in compliance with alert lockdown regulations going forward.

“We will take them there since we have a number of issues to look upon. For instance, the Grade 12s curriculum is not going to be trimmed. Therefore, the Grade 12s across the Republic of South Africa including the North West province must do the entire curriculum. Fortunately, the curriculum for Grade R-11s will be trimmed,” she said.

Matsemela said if SGBs and teachers from various schools refuse to adhere to the camps for Grade 12s, they will embark on school-based camps.

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Picture: North West MEC for Health Department, Madoda Sambatha

By BAKANG MOKOTO

North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha said the mines have become hotspots for this novel coronavirus in the province. Sambatha said the province has experienced a sharp increase recently.

“Mines such as Sibanye Stillwaters, Harmony Gold, Royal Bafokeng Platinum, and Impala constitute 266 out of 468 confirmed cases. Sibanye Stillwaters has 133, Harmony Gold is sitting at 47, Royal Bafokeng Platinum mine has 19, while the Impala mine reported 17 cases thus far.

“More effort is needed to curb the disease from spreading to mining communities. It is very key that those mineworkers who come from hotspot provinces like Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape should be screened and tested before they could start working,” he said.

Sambatha also said mining companies have been urged to make sure those mineworkers who test positive and their contacts are isolated at quarantine sites approved by the government. He further said mines that were lagging behind in terms of compliance and case management have been ordered to work with senior district health officials to ensure compliance.

“Our downfall is going to be the mining industry and complication is that contacts give you positive cases, which means we are now in community infection. We cannot blame the government on some infections, but societal behaviour. Most people do not practice coronavirus toolbox, but give the state their responsibilities regarding their health instead.

“We need to review the status of Rustenburg and Matlosana. Sibanye Stillwaters mine has 46 195 workforce and had its first 5 confirmed coronavirus cases. However, the mine let these five workers to go and work underground for five days. This resulted in infected workers to be in contacts with 68 mineworkers.

“If these five workers were detected earlier by the mine, they would have saved this five including 68 other workers. Impala mine’s total workforce is 42 300 and the mine had information about the whereabouts of infected mineworkers before resuming their duties,” he said.

He said some of those infected mineworkers came from high-risk areas declared by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).

Meanwhile, the North West Provincial Government has increased bed availability through partnerships with the private sector and mining companies. Sambatha said his department has rolled out an extensive training program in the prevention and management of COVID-19 for its employees as well as the private sector.

“This continued under Level 4 as more information on the diseases became available and the pandemic evolves. In terms of quarantine facilities, we have 397 active beds in Bojanala, 126 in Dr Kenneth Kaunda, 137 in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, and 81 in Ngaka Modiri Molema Districts.

“This translates into 7 facilities for Bojanala Platinum, 6 for Dr Kenneth Kaunda, 7 for Ngaka Modiri Molema and 4 at Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Districts. We have adequate quarantine facility beds in the mines, both in the Bojanala Platinum and Dr Kenneth Kaunda Districts,” he said.

Sambatha added that they are indeed prepared for the level 3 lockdown periods. He said the North West Public Works and Roads department is mandated in terms of the protocol for the establishment and management of quarantine facilities and homeless shelters to identify possible sites for quarantine and accommodation of homeless people based on the protocol on quarantine facilities.

“The department has subsequently identified, consolidated, and submitted the list of identified sites for quarantine and shelters for the homeless to the Provincial Disaster Management Centre as per the Protocol, and the list of identified sites is updated on a regular basis.

“Furthermore, these sites were inspected, assessed and maintenance as well as repairs needs were handed over to client departments for further processing,” said Sambatha.

The following states have been identified as potential sites/shelters for quarantine and homeless purposes:

• The Bloemhof old sub-district office and the Bloemhof EMS office in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and Donkervliet in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda Districts still need renovations before they could be utilized.
• In the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, the Molemane Tented Camp is ready for occupation, the Mahikeng Secure Care Centre (formerly known as the Bosasa Centre) is already in use while the showers at the Mmabatho Stadium are being repaired for the facility to be ready for use.
• The Vaalkop Dam, the Rustenburg Recreation Centre and the Golden Leopards Resorts Manyane Gate in the Bojanala Platinum District are also ready for occupation.
• The Bloemhof Dam and the SA Lombard Nature Reserve in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati are ready for occupation while the Public Works and Roads houses in Bray are just in need of minor renovations before they could be ready for occupation.
• The Faan Meintjies Nature Reserve in Dr Kenneth Kaunda is ready for occupation while the EMRS College in Orkney needs renovations.

“We have also decided to investigate the use of other state facilities such as the hangers at the airports and residential facilities at Health institutions which are currently not in use, in anticipation of the need for additional quarantine facilities or additional beds in the near future.

“Progress on the suitability of these and other facilities will be provided in due course. Private facilities have been identified in three of the four districts of the North West for utilization in case a need arises to augment state-owned facilities,” said Sambatha.

In the Bojanala Platinum District, the following private facilities have been identified:

• Rustenburg Kloof, the Country Hotel in Madibeng, Bleskop Hostel, Bleskop Flats, Graceland Lodge, Black Swan Lodge, Stay Easy Hotel, Road Lodge Hotel, Cashan Hotel, Royal Marang Hotel, AKTV Lodge, Bakubung Bush Lodge, Kwa-Maritane Resort and the Andrew Saffy Memorial Hospital.
• In the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, the following private facilities have been identified:
• Thapama Guest House in Bray, Klondike Guest Lodge in Vryburg, Kameelboom Guest House in Vryburg, and the Val-Re Walkie Guest House in Christiana.
• In the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, the only private facility identified there is the Klerksdorp Dam.

He said the department, as the lead department in the fight against COVID-19, it is working with Private Health Practitioners to ensure the standardized management of patients across the province. Sambatha added that the department is continuously monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and tools for managing COVID-19 patients in both the public and private sectors while protocols are being reviewed as and when necessary.

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By KEDIBONE MOALETSI

North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport, Sello Lehari said various licensing centres across the province will soon be opened for the public. Lehari said the services were like all others in the country and had been put on hold towards the end of March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

“As the department, we hereby notify that the licensing centres will soon be opened for the public after the announcement of the alert lockdown level 3 by the State President, Cyril Ramaphosa. The Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula instructed that licensing centres be opened and service public from 1 June 2020.

“To comply with government guidance, all departments should resume with gradual resumption of operations. Staff at all licensing centres began to work on 1 June 2020. They first began with backlogs that were created by the lockdown restrictions and further prioritizing emergency services,” he said.

Lehari added they will continue to adhere to the lockdown regulations such as social distancing, wearing masks, and screening of people as they enter the premises as well as sanitising and disinfecting. He said all these measures are to ensure that the public is safe when visiting these centres.

“We appeal to the public to be patient as the department is working around the clock to ensure the public is served whilst complying completely with lockdown regulations. We do understand the anxiety of our people to renew driving and motor vehicle licenses, however, it is also important that we put their safety first,” said Lehari.

He also warned that non-compliance could be disastrous and people need to realize that the department is circumspect as a slight contravention of these regulations could lead to closure.

Mbalula has since announced that driving licenses, learners licenses and motor vehicle licenses expired between 26 March and 31 May 2020, will be given a further grace period of 90 days.

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Picture: Nissan x-trail that was stolen during an armed robbery 

By REGINALD KANYANE

A 38-YEAR-OLD man was arrested for being in possession of suspected stolen property and illegal firearm. According to the North West police, three armed suspects allegedly robbed and assaulted a farmer (64) and his wife (63) at Reivilo near Taung on Saturday.

North West police spokesperson, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said a house robbery was reported to the police at around 10am on Saturday. Mokgwabone added that the police found a farmer along with his wife tied up inside their house.

“The victims were severely assaulted by three armed robbers during the ordeal. The farmer was poured with hot water by the suspects who fled the scene after robbing them of their Nissan X-trail, cash, two cell-phones, and a bank card. The couple was subsequently admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.

“The Reivilo police in collaboration with their counterparts in Schweizer-Reneke, Bloemhof, Airwing, Schweizer-Reneke Traffic officers and the Neighbourhood Watch Farmers immediately embarked on a search. The victims’ vehicle was spotted at a vehicle checkpoint in Schweizer-Reneke. A car chase ensued towards Ipelegeng location in Schweizer Reneke after the suspects failed to stop,” he said.

Mokgwabone said the suspects ultimately abandoned the car and fled on foot. He said one suspect was arrested after being shot whilst running towards a farmer that was assisting the police.

“The suspect has been admitted in hospital under police guard. A firearm suspected to be used during the commission of the crime was found in his possession as well as a suspected stolen cellular phone. Two other men were taken in for questioning and investigation into the matter continues,” said Mokgwabone.

The suspect is expected to appear in Schweizer-Reneke Magistrate’s Court in absentia on Tuesday. The North West SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena commended the police for their swift reaction and collaboration with other role-players which led to the arrest.

Kwena further said the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the fight against crime is key to ensuring that perpetrators are brought to book.

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

A 19-YEAR-OLD boy was arrested in connection with murder. According to the South African Police (SAPS) spokesperson in North West, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone, the suspect was apprehended for allegedly stabbing his step-father to death in Christiana on Friday.

“The police were called to a house at Marikana Township in Christiana where the body of Eric Thomson (43) was found with a stabbing wound on his back. Thomson was declared dead on the scene by Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS).

“Initial investigations into the matter revealed that the suspect and his step-father were involved in an argument, which led to the fatal stabbing of the latter. The suspect is expected to appear in the Christiana Magistrate’s Court on Monday for murder,” he said.

In a separate incident, a 26-year-old son is also expected to appear at Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court for allegedly killing his own father. Mokgwabone said the police were summoned to a house in Tshing Location, Ventersdorp in the early hours of the morning.

“On arrival, Moses Mahambehlala (56) was found on the floor with what appeared to be stabbing wounds on the upper body. He was also declared dead on the scene by Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS).

“The police were initially informed that the victim was allegedly killed by intruders. However, preliminary investigations led to the arrest of the victim’ son,” said Mokgwabone.

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena condemned both incidents, says Mokgwabone. He said Kwena applauded the police for their quick response that led to the arrests.

“Kwena reiterated the importance of engaging in peaceful conversations and resolution of conflicts to avert incidents like these,” said Mokgwabone.

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