Monthly Archives: August 2020

SANCO in North West suspends Gadinabokao and Sekonyela over misconduct

NEWS Leave a comment

 

Gadinabokao

Facebook: A prominent businessman and SANCO PEC member, James Gadinabokao

 

By OBAKENG MAJE

South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) held an extensive meeting that was marred with widespread discontent at Lichtenburg on Saturday. SANCO provincial secretary, Packett Seaketso said the aim of the meeting was to address various challenges ranging from maladministration and corruption in government including insurgency of its members.

It is alleged that a protracted conflict between Seaketso and a PEC member, James Gadinabokao who is also a prominent businessman showed its ugly head again during a heated meeting. However, Seaketso said in a statement that the organisation has resolved to suspend Gadinabokao and another member, Bisto Sekonyela with immediate effect.

“We have resolved to suspend Gadinabokao and Sekonyela pending investigations on their conduct. This is in relation to a variety of serious allegations, which the two comrades are alleged to have made on behalf of SANCO.

“The PEC meeting has also resolved to call on the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) to conduct a lifestyle audit on public representatives and government officials as part of the ongoing efforts to enhance ethical, accountable, and transparent leadership. There are numerous allegations of large scale corruption and looting that is continuously taking place and the provincial government cannot look the other way,” he said.

However, Gadinabokao labeled Seaketso’s claims as hogwash. He said the ‘misunderstanding’ between him and Seaketso emanated from his utterances after calling for the disbandment of the ANC Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) recently. Gadinabokao was seen on video footage that went viral, calling on the ANC IPC coordinator, Hlomani Chauke to go back to his place of origin, which is Giyani in Limpopo.

However, Gadinabokao said he will never budge. He said he will continue to speak his mind and preach the gospel truth without fear of reprisal.

“Let me put it on record that I and comrade Bisto Sekonyela were part of that meeting in Lichtenburg yesterday and there was no such a decision. We argued our case in the Provincial Working Committee (PWC) and later in the PEC. The decision in both constitutional structures of SANCO is that the secretariat must process and formulate a report of those allegations, investigate and thereafter charges should be procedurally brought to the attention of the PWC and PEC for formal organisational decision-making.

“The media statement released by Seaketso is not the true reflection of what transpired in the PEC meeting and unfortunately, it would never be adhered to by us. We are not running a traditional council here and SANCO leadership must just be truthful to its constituency on the matter of its legitimacy.”

Gadinabokao also lambasted Seaketso for allegedly confusing the ANC infights with SANCO. He said one of SANCO’s mandates is to ensure it addresses the pre-conditions such as poverty, inequality, social discrimination, and lack of social justice and democracy and held public representatives accountable without fear or favour.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

‘Taung hospital under fire after woman gives birth on her own, while nurses are asleep’

NEWS Leave a comment

Ontiretse Madieng

(Picture Courtesy of Facebook): Ontiretse Madieng

By REGINALD KANYANE

Ontiretse Madieng (21) from Rooiwal village in Taung considers herself lucky after allegedly giving birth without any assistance from nurses at Taung District Hospital recently. Madieng said she received a horrible treatment from the nurses at the hospital and she was forced to give birth without any assistance while nurses were asleep.

“I experienced some labour pains on Sunday last week and went to the hospital for medical assistance. I was admitted at the hospital and truly, I felt safe at the unit. However, my situation took a drastic turn when I started to experience twinges, cramps and contractions. I informed the antenatal midwives who were on duty, but they disregarded me.

“They dosed me for labour induction and sent me back to sleep. I stayed at the hospital until Tuesday. At around 9pm I was in excruciating pains and knew that I was in labour. I went to the nurses and inform them about my situation. To my surprises, I was turned away and told that I was not dilated at all,” she said.

Madieng said she was crestfallen when she was ordered to go back to sleep again. She alleged that she went to those ‘sleeping nurses’ for the third time after her waters broke.

“The situation freaked me out and asked if this was not labour then what was it going to be like? However, I received no answers, instead, nurses told me to stop being repellent. I went back to my ward, climbed on my bed and gave birth on my own.

“The real stressful thing about the whole situation was I felt I was really on top of it, but incompetent nurses told me otherwise. I managed to give birth to a bouncing baby boy and nurses came afterwards. They took me away and stitched me. They instructed me to sleep afterwards,” she said.

Madieng said she woke up around 3am and asked for her baby. She was shocked when she allegedly received a baby only ‘wrapped up’ with a disintegrating blanket.

“I could not believe it when I touched him. He was so cold and my thoughts were plagued with anxiety. I wonder what might have happened to him if I did not wake up on time. I think is high time now for the department of health to take drastic measures against incompetent nurses at the hospital.

“There was another heavily pregnant woman in the same unit who was experiencing labour pains, but nurses left her unattended. Actually, they passed sarcasm remarks and told her to walk around to ease pains. Nurses at the hospital ill-treat patients especially at the maternity unit,” said Madieng.

Meanwhile, the North West Health Department spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane said: “According to the hospital management, the Patient Relations Officer was already aware of the voice clip and made follow-up with maternity unit operational manager. She further tried to call the patient to get her side of the story on Tuesday even though there was no formal complaint forwarded to her or the hospital management, but unfortunately, she didn’t pick up her phone.

“According to our records, it is not true that the patient could have delivered herself due to the fact that she was a primigravida (first time being pregnant) and since her labour was induced. She was given the last dose for labour induction around 14h35 and monitoring was done.”

Lekgethwane added that last PV checking was around 20h55 and she was 1cm dilated and membranes ruptured. He said Madieng was again to be done second PV checking 4 hours later.

“It is not true that nurses did not take care of her as there was also another delivery that nurse did at 00h33. Madieng delivered in the ward with the assistance of the nurses and if labour was not supported by nurses, she could have suffered serious injuries as she delivered a 3.8kg baby.

“Madieng only had a second-degree tear that was same sutured and postnatal care initiated. The department will continue to investigate the matter by means of interviewing all affected parties,” Lekgethwane concludes.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

 

North West MEC in ‘hot water’ over prejudicial statement  

NEWS Leave a comment

Madoda Sambatha

Picture: North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha  

By STAFF REPORTER

North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha is in ‘hot water’ after he allegedly made a slanderous statement against one of the Members of the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL).

Sambatha was seen on a video footage accusing an MPL of anarchy, while addressing the media at the Mmabatho Medical Depot recently where they raided the place and found unpaid invoices worth millions.

Now, things have taken a wrong direction after the Chair of NWPL Standing Committee on Legislative Review and House Resolutions Implementation, Mmoloki Cwaile registered a notice of contravention of house rules on proceedings of matters regarding ethics, integrity and members interests on and around public utterances against Sambatha.

According to the letter that is in Taung DailyNews’ possession, Cwaile requests for a swift redress from the NWPL speaker, Sussana Dantjie in terms of the 9th edition of the NWPL Standing Rules as adopted on 26 March 2019.

“Sambatha has made unprecedented, demeaning, reckless, irrational, and prejudicial statement, on and around 12 August 2020 impairing the dignity of the members and the integrity of the legislature using media statement and video recordings.

“He leveled allegations against both member/s of the legislature and or legislature itself in contravention of the House Standing Rules governing the conduct of the members of the House with no regard to the decorum and regulatory faculty of discipline prescribed by the Standing Rules of the House,” he said.

Cwaile said Sambatha alleged that member or members of the legislature is or are whistle-blower/s on matters of allegations of unprecedented rates of corruption and malfeasance at the Department of Health, where he presided as Executive Authority (AO). He alleged that Sambatha failed to engage or respond to the ever-growing allegations of corruption or challenges facing his department that do not seem to get out of the sight of the media or unknown whistle-blowers.

“Sambatha consciously chose to launch attacks on the integrity of the legislature and this is a serious allegation impacting negatively on the integrity of the legislature as per interpretation of the Standing Rules. So, we requested the Speaker to invoke Chapter 18 on the House Standing Rules on and about Ethics, Privilege, and Contempt.

“The Speaker must appoint an Ad-hoc Committee to make an inquiry on the allegation/s regarding my submissions on an unbecoming conduct of Sambatha. It is unfortunate that he holds the view that MPL’s are in the business of making allegations in the form of whistle-blowing outside of their capacity,” said Cwaile.

He said MPLs constitutionally enjoy so much powers, privileges, and immunities to extend that even if evidentiary factual proof does not exist, they are able to make allegations on any matter and seek investigations and or accountability on them or responses to deal with them. Cwaile further said one wonders if Sambatha has ‘selective amnesia’ to extend that with no reason he now sees MPLs as weak, fearful public sector employees when they are honoured with bigger and powerful responsibilities.

This cannot be ignorance, but maybe due to reckless political gymnastics not helpful to serve delivery nor decorum of the house, says Cwaile.

Meanwhile, Sambatha said they have a permanent circulation of accusations which most of them were lies. He said whistle-blower circulated a letter that saying the administrator has an interest and that is why the management was suspended at the medical store.

“Mr Anonymous/whistle-blower is not going to write a letter tomorrow and he knows while people don’t have medicines. What must he do is just to open up and tell us what is his real problem and anger about the department of health, instead of mobilizing anarchy where we are correcting.

“Management of this centre has been suspended predominantly because of the problem surrounding the availability of medicine. Mr Anonymous/whistle-blower was the spokesperson of suspended managers in his letter he circulated. We are here at the depot because we do not have medicines to supply to people,” said Sambatha.

He also challenged Mr Anonymous/whistle-blower who is the MPL to come out of the closet and mobilize his people to give them invoices to be able to pay service providers and have access to medicines.

What we are not going to do is to compromise our people because of anarchy, says Sambatha.

The NWPL spokesperson, Tebogo Chane confirmed that Dantjie has received a letter and will address it in due course.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

Lehari visits Mogwase Police Station to monitor compliance amid COVID-19     

NEWS Leave a comment

police-vest

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management in North West, Sello Lehari visited Mogwase Police Station near Rustenburg on Wednesday. Lehari said the aim of his visit was to monitor compliance over lockdown regulations amid COVID-19.

“The police are at the forefront of enforcing law enforcement on COVID-19 regulations and it is therefore important for them to lead by example regarding compliance issues. That is the reason why we are here today. I am happy that this station is definitely leading by an example,” he said.

In an engagement with the department’s Directorates for Monitoring and Oversight on Police as well as Crime Prevention officials, the Station Commander Colonel Oupa Raphata confirmed that the station is trying its best to create a safer environment for the law officers and public visiting the station for various services.

Raphata said the station was shut down three times already following confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“We only had three positive cases here, and we closed for 24 hours per incident to decontaminate the station. We are pleased that all affected members have since recovered. The station has enough supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and, we conduct the disinfection of the station regularly.

“We also ensure that our community members observe social distancing while waiting for assistance and encourage them to wash their hands. They are also sanitized after screening at the entrance of our Community Service Centre (CSC),” said Raphata.

Meanwhile, the police station has established a COVID-19 steering committee, which is responsible for collating reports and adhering to the protocols and monitor compliance according to regulations. Raphata added that the station has further put measures to restrict officers’ unnecessary movements, while on duty to ease the contact tracing in case there is a positive case.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

Shocking: Unpaid invoices worth millions uncovered at North West medical depot

NEWS Leave a comment

MEC Sambatha

By BAKANG MOKOTO

North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha said ‘heads will roll’ after unpaid invoices worth millions uncovered at the Mmabatho Medical depot on Wednesday. Sambatha said the unpaid invoices belong to more than fifty companies and date back from 2014.

“The medical depot could not pay companies as invoices were missing. As a result, companies stopped supplying medication which has affected stock level at the medical depot. A decision was then made to raid the offices and block workers from accessing the depot. The search uncovered a number of unpaid invoices and the search continues.

“One unpaid invoice worth over R16 million was found at the medical depot drawer. The department can confirm that all the invoices will be verified before payment being processed,” Sambatha said.

He added that the non-payment of suppliers affected his department because they were unable to get enough supply of medicine from the same companies. Sambatha said there were people who were employed by the government to process those invoices, but they failed dismay to perform their duties.

“This technically leads to unavailability of medicine in the medical depot. The raid now provides the management of the department to work out a plan on how to catch up with the payment of suppliers. This will lead to improved availability of medicine which will then be delivered to clinics and hospitals where they are needed the most.

“It breaks my heart to know that there are people in the department who decided to withhold payment of medicine, which should be assisting our parents, family members, and communities at large. It is treasonous and the situation has to be corrected,” he said.

Sambatha further said when the administration team arrived at the department back in 2018, the stock level of essential medicine was at 64% and it was improved to around 85% through intervention. However, he said the level started dropping at the beginning of the year and some companies stopped delivering medicine in March 2020 citing non-payment.

“The stock levels did not change despite money being made available in April 2020. The department then got technical assistance to speed up payment of suppliers. Through that intervention, it has come to the attention of the department that a number of invoices are missing.

“We have also noted that whenever a decision is made to correct the situation at the medical depot, an anonymous letter always surfaces. We will know the identity of the author and address the matter at an appropriate platform,” he said.

Meanwhile, four managers at the medical depot and the provincial office in Mahikeng respectively have since been put on precautionary suspension following alleged mismanagement involving expired medication, depot, and staff. He said a plan to improve delivery timelines and turnaround is in place.

“It involves direct deliveries of medication to hospitals while the medical depot will now deliver directly to clinics,” said Sambatha.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

SANCO welcomes Bylsma’s two life sentences for killing teens

NEWS Leave a comment

 

Bylsma

Picture: (Courtesy of Media24) Xander Bylsma is appearing at the Mahikeng high court for the sentencing of the murders of Marna Engelbrecht and Sharnelle Hough which he committed in a small town of Stella 

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in the North West welcomed two life sentences given to Xander Bylsma (20) by the North West High Court in Mahikeng on Friday. Bylsma strangled and killed his former girlfriend, Sharnell Hough (17), and her friend, Marna Engelbrecht (16) at Stella High School hostel back in 2018.

Hough and Engelbrecht were learners at the school during the atrocity.

SANCO provincial chairperson, Paul Sebegoe described Bylsma’s sentencing as a victory against the scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and femicide. Sebegoe said the scourge of GBV remains a blight that continues to rob women of their freedom, human rights, and dignity.

“The harsh sentence reaffirms that perpetrators of GBV who have waged an insistent war that transcends class and race against women and girl children have no place in our society. It will serve as a deterrent and restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.

“We hope that the Hough and Engelbrecht families that lost their loved ones in the gruesome killings will find closure knowing that justice was ultimately served,” he said.

The North West High Court Judge, Ronald Hendricks sentenced Bylsma to life imprisonment on two counts of murder for strangulating and hanging the deceased. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame said bodies of the deceased were discovered at the school hostel, Huis Eesterhuizen.

“Evidence presented in court by the state indicated that the murder was premeditated and driven by malice. A friend to both Bylsma and Hough testified on how the accused called her on the 24 May 2018, citing his disapproval of Hough having moved on with her new boyfriend.

“When asked what he intends to do, he vowed to confront Hough in two days and turn her life into a living hell to a point that she commits suicide. On 26 May 2018, the lifeless body of Hough was discovered hanging on the hostel staircase with a rope around her neck, while Engelbrecht’s body was found in the hostel bathroom with signs of strangulation,” Mamothame said.

He added that on the day the two bodies were discovered, the accused, in the company of a private investigator was handed over to the Vryburg Police Station to be charged for two counts of murder. Mamothame said more evidence pointing to the accused was gathered through telephone records and text messages.

“The evidence presented in court by the private investigator confirmed that Bylsma confessed to murdering the two victims, while he was accompanying him to the police station. In his statement to the police, presented in court, Bylsma confessed to the murder but pleaded not guilty,” he said.

Prior to sentencing, a social worker from the Department of Social Development responsible for probation services, Portia Pedinyane gave testimony to her account on the pre-sentencing interviews held with the accused, the parents of the victims, and the school personnel. Pedinyane confirmed that through assessing the accused, it came out clear that he had no mental history and his upbringing was normal with no underlying family or social challenges.

“This was corroborated by both Bylsma’s parents who have divorced, but indicated that their co-parenting was seamless as they created a loving environment for him as their only child. The accused showed no remorse for his actions as he continued to plead not guilty although the court has already found him guilty for the crime he committed,” she said.

Through this evidence, the state maintained its stance that the accused at all material times had the necessary intention to murder his victims. In pleading for a lighter sentence, Bylsma’s defense attorney pleaded to the court to be lenient to the accused as he was emotionally immature at the time he committed the crime, a first-time offender, has the support of both parents to help in his rehabilitation and that he is young and has his future ahead of him. However, this was dispelled by the State’s senior counsel, Johan Smith who argued that the accused should be given a maximum sentence for the brutal murder of the victims. Smith described the murder as highlighted in the post-mortem report, as painful and heart-breaking.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

A man sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape, GBH assault

NEWS Leave a comment

Police tape

By REGINALD KANYANE

North West police spokesperson, Capt Sam Tselanyane said the police will continue to work hard in turning the tide against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). This comes after the Lichtenburg Regional Court sentenced Lentikile Tau (28) to 30 years imprisonment for rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Tselanyane said Tau gained access into the house belonging to a couple at Ext 5 in Tlhabologo Township, near Coligny back in 2017, and attacked them. He said the accused found the couple aged 48 and 37 asleep in their bedroom.

“Tau entered the house through a broken window at around 4am. It was at that point that the man became aware of a strange noise and went to investigate. Unfortunately, he was confronted by the accused who assaulted him several times with a spade, while demanding money.

“After robbing them of their cash, the accused left the man lying unconscious on the floor and went to the bedroom where he found a woman. He repeatedly raped her without using protection and fled the scene on foot afterward,” he said.

Tselanyane added that the accused was eventually apprehended after the incident was reported to the police. He said Tau was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

“He was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbery and two years for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH). The court ordered that all sentences imposed will run concurrently. Furthermore, the accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of section 103 of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000),” said Tselanyane.

He urged members of the community to work together with the entire criminal justice in the fight against the scourge and to be vocal about crimes committed against women and children.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

ANC and SANCO in North West call for disbandment of the ANC IPC

NEWS Leave a comment

 

ANC Members 1

Picture: (Generic: ANC members marching)

By BAKANG MOKOTO

Political turmoil continues to take place in the North West province. This comes after ANC branches in Ngaka Modiri Molema region picketed outside the ANC’s provincial office at Mpekwa House on Monday.

The branches spokesperson, Tholo Gotlagomang said they gathered at the ANC Provincial office to express their dissatisfaction with the manner in which the ANC Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) runs its affairs in the province.

Gotlagomang said the branches demand the intervention of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) because the IPC has totally failed to unite the branches.

“The ANC IPC has been busy with a self-serving agenda of targeting municipal TROIKAs along factional lines and seeking to subject them to unprocedural and inconsistent disciplinary processes with the intention to remove and replace them with their cronies.

“As the branches of the ANC in Ngaka Modiri Molema, we want the IPC to be disbanded. The ANC IPC has not done anything in terms of its mandate since they occupied the office. The mandate of the IPC was to unite and establish proper ANC branches. However, they have failed dismally on that matter,” he said.

Gotlamang alleged that the ANC IPC coordinator in North West, Hlomane Chauke interfere with the process of municipal managers appointment in various municipalities.

“We have signed a petition calling for the ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule to remove this self-serving IPC. We want the office to be closed until our grievances are addressed.

Meanwhile, the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in the North West shared the same sentiments. SANCO provincial secretary, James Gadinabokao said: “We want to send a clear message to Chauke that his time is over in North West. He must go back to Giyani because we will not allow him to mess up this province.

“Chauke must go with immediate effect because the term of the IPC has expired. We are going to tell the ANC National Executive Committee to come and remove Chauke as soon as possible, unless they want to see the North West on fire again. We said to Chauke that, we are looking at you and we are monitoring you.”

He said Chauke must leave the municipalities alone. Gadinabokao alleges that there is no single branch that was launched by Chauke in the province. He said Chauke’s mandate was to come and build the province, instead he is running around in the municipalities and departments.

Gadinabokao threatened that the time will come to revolt against Chauke. However, Chauke dismissed the allegations as hogwash. He called Gadinabokao a ‘tribalist’ of note that he had never seen in his life.

“I find it very disturbing after spending 30 years of my political life in the North West. So, it is unfortunate to receive such a video coming from a person who came from UCDP. Gadinabokao is clueless and has no understanding of the operations within the ANC.

“We understand that there are people marching to Mpekwa House, but generally whoever is marching to Mpekwa House need to know that is illegal. Comrades need to understand that we are under COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, so gathering of people is not allowed,” he said.

Chauke added they do not say comrades should not raise their grievances, but they need to follow necessary procedures. He said they expect to see the ANC branches adhering to the lockdown regulations and help with the matters of COVID-19.

“They know their roles and what ANC caucused on. There is no evidence that I am involved in any matter of hiring at municipalities. There are ANC processes that always work when coming to the matter of deployment, and I happen to be at the forefront of matters of deployment as the coordinator of the ANC in the province,” said Chauke.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

 

‘Mahikeng-born engineer provides a one-stop solution to your electricity woes’  

NEWS Leave a comment

IMG_3904

Picture: Mahikeng-born engineer, Thabiso Kgosiemang 

By BAKANG MOKOTO

Nowadays many business owners and residents’ livelihoods continue to be affected either by obnoxious load-shedding or high tariffs of electricity across South Africa. However, Thabiso Kgosiemang who is a specialist in renewable energy has a lasting solution to that.

Kgosiemang runs a company that installs medium-to-large scale rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (PV) that provides cost-effective electricity. Mahikeng-born engineer said his company, Bodiredi Maranyane PTY (LTD) which is micro-enterprise, is your one-stop solution from back-up to off-grid.

“Grid-Tied and Off-Grid systems with battery storage are ideal for saving electricity costs and reducing monthly expenses. This cost-effective initiative offers the best return on investment as people continue to nitpick that Eskom electricity is unreliable.

“Remember, the sun is a natural resource which is not affected by economic factors like inflation. So, I came up with this project to tap the sun resource and provide people with energy. I am using solar as a bridging technology for the majority of the poor who could not afford to cover costs like Eskom tariffs,” he said.

Kgosiemang added that it is efficient to run a solar energy system because you do not draw power from the grid, but from the sun. He said the technology is developing and the cost is going down.

“I think that majority of people will be able to afford a basic solar system for lighting and infotainment in the future. We established the project under Bagaetsho Non-Profit Organisation at Mantsha village and Mosikare Secondary School in Mahikeng.

“So, the project started very basic and we erected a solar street light at Mosikare Secondary School. The solar street light was meant to educate our people including learners about solar technology. I started venturing into residential households where I installed solar energy for household applications, said Kgosiemang.

He further said they have a team comprises of two technicians, one artisan and himself as an engineer. Kgosiemang enrolled for Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Mathematics at the North West University (Mafikeng Campus) to further his studies after completing his matric at Letsatsing Science High School in Mahikeng back then.

“I was fortunate enough to receive a bursary from Eskom to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town afterward. I received a two-year internship at the power utility company after my graduation and I was happy to be appointed as a permanent employee and worked as an engineer in a research environment for seven-year before I resigned.

“I decided to quit my job because every time when I visited home back in Mahikeng, I could see an opportunity for renewable energy, solar in particular. Mahikeng is a semi-desert area where we have sun resources in abundance,” he said.

IMG_3906

Kgosiemang said solar energy can work as grid electricity and cater for commercial, industrial and agricultural purposes. He said it is important to do an electricity usage survey and look at the customer based.

“Municipalities can use solar energy as grid electricity and it is imperative for them to differentiate their customer base from residential, commercial, and industrial. The survey will help to design an adequate solar system after segmentation.

“Nowadays you will find independent solar suppliers which are mainly solar and wind. Mostly they are building solar plants that are equivalent to coal-fired power stations depending on the size of the solar plant. The advantage of solar is that its lead time is relatively shorter compared to developing a coal-fired power station,” Kgosiemang said.

He said a solar system mainly comprises a solar panel, batteries, infuse boxes, inverters, and connection cables. Kgosiemang said the solar panels capture the sun heat and convert it into usable alternating current electricity.

“The energy from the sun is the direct current that is captured by the panels and converted into the alternating current by the inverters which is the second component of the solar system. So, household appliances normally use alternating current that will power them.

“The inverters also regulate how the batteries charge and discharge. This helps to ensure that batteries are not overcharged or overdischarged. The energy stored in the batteries is used during the night or cloudy periods when there is no sunlight,” said Kgosiemang.

He added that some households need solar for lighting only, while others need it for lighting and plugs or a comprehensive package. Kgosiemang said solar renewable energy installation has a lifespan of 20-25 years and the brand of components that one is using plays a role.

If you are interested in solar energy installation you can call Thabiso Kgosiemang on 0713528637 or email thabisotwin@gmail.com 

taungdailynews@gmail.com

 

 

NPA: “We have a water-tight case against Hartswater triple murder accused”

NEWS Leave a comment

Hartswater triple murder accused

Picture: Five accused appear at Hartswater Magistrate’s Court for alleged triple murder

By OBAKENG MAJE

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Northern Cape says it has a water-tight case against five accused regarding Hartswater triple farm murder. Donald Seolesang (20), Tshepo Visagie (36), Realeboga Manyedi (19), Kgomotso Mpumlwana (43) and Tshepaone Melato (19) were arrested following the abduction and murder of an elderly couple, Breggie (73) and Danie (83) Brand and their daughter, Elizabie (54) on Sunday.

The suspects briefly appeared at Hartswater Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. According to the police, the suspects allegedly robbed the deceased their belongings like laptops and money on their farm before they fled the scene. They allegedly kidnapped Elizabie and dumped her body in Takaneng village near Taung.

The suspects were arrested by police in Pudimoe Township in Taung on N18 road while driving the SUV vehicle belonging to the deceased.

The NPA spokesperson in Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokwatsane said: “We have a water-tight case against the accused looking at the evidence that we have collected thus far. We do not want to speculate on the motive of this crime, but looking at the way things were, this is only crime. Probably, the motive might have been money because they took a car and laptops.

“The suspects do not have any relations with the victims and this might have been a crime where the suspects wanted to make a quick buck. A crime is crime and it does not have race or class. So, we do not see this as a farm attack and it is unfortunate that it happened to this family.”

The family spokesperson, Stephen Bennie described the ‘calamity’ as barbaric and unscrupulous. Bennie said it is difficult for the family to deal with the loss.

“It is very difficult for family members to face the accused. However, we said to them that it is very vital for them to face the accused. This will send a clear message to the accused that they will not win because what they did is inhumane. We are extremely grateful for the unwavering support we received from various community members and organisations.

“We also want to applaud the SAPS for their swift response. There is no funeral arrangement for the deceased yet, one of the family members went to the mortuary to identify their bodies,” he said.

Occupational and Safety manager at Vaalharts Landbou Verenig, Frederick Van Zyl shared the same sentiments. Van Zyl said they hope justice will prevail and they will be glad if the suspects rot in jail.

“Is very bad and sad for the family to look at the suspects and say these are the people who killed our sister, father, and mother. There is only thing that could ease the pain by seeing them going to jail. We would like to send our regards to the farming community and the police for assisting in arresting the suspects.

“We do not know the motive behind this heinous crime, but we hear that the suspects were looking for money. However, I ask myself that why they did not take money and belongings instead of killing them. Rural safety needs to be taken into consideration and we have learned a lesson from this incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, four suspects requested a representation from the legal aid attorney, while Mpumlwana will attain her own attorney. Magistrate Doctor Jameson postponed the case until 13 August 2020 and the suspects will remain in custody.

taungdailynews@gmail.com