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By OBAKENG MAJE

A mother of a mentally handicapped girl from Matlapaneng village in Taung, said she was left depressed after seeing a naked video of her daughter doing rounds on social media.

Keitumetse Marungwane said people should be sensitive before they could violate other people’s rights and dehumanize them. Marungwane’s daughter, Olerato (20) was seen walking naked in the streets at night and some of the residents accused her of witchcraft.  

“My daughter is mentally ill and I was so surprised to see her naked video on social media. On that day, Olerato left the house earlier wearing her clothes, but later on, we received a message that she was seen walking in the streets naked.  

“Olerato was never the same since the passing of her father in 2017. She started to show some symptoms immediately after the funeral on Saturday. However, we did not take it very seriously thinking that she might have been affected by the death of her father,” she said.

Marungwane said the situation got worse when Olerato showed a relapse of concentration at school. She said her daughter was doing Grade 11 at the time, but they could not do anything to assist her to get to her former self.

“Now, our community members know that she is not well and those who filmed her should refrain from distributing that video. Actually, we urge them to delete it because what they did was against the law,” said Marungwane.

North West Health department spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane said the department has strategic plans to provide quality and accessible mental health care services to the community of the province.

He said plans to reach the strategic goal of the department depend on the accessibility, facilities available for mentally handicapped persons, hospital beds.

“The strategic plan of the department is to provide quality and accessible mental health care services to the community of the province. Plans to reach the strategic goal of the department depend on accessibility, facilities available for mentally handicapped persons.

“On discharge of the mental health user, the family or guardian is empowered on the condition of the user and how to deal or observe any mood changes. There are two Mental Health Review Board appointed according to the Mental Health Care Act to safeguard the human rights of the mentally handicapped persons in the health facilities, as well as in communities,” said Lekgethwane.

He said as mental health cut across in every sphere is the responsibility of every department to collaborate with department of health to provide quality mental health to the people of the North West.

“There is also an established inter-sectoral committee consisting of key departments in mental health. We have the departments of Health, Social Development, South African Police Services, Justice and Constitutional Development, Correctional Services, and Education,” he said.

Lekgethwane said their term of reference is to support primary health care through consultations, training, and advocacy. However, he said the current situation in the province is that, only clinical psychologists were appointed for the four districts and one for Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati resigned in December 2020 and the province is unable to attract scare skill due its rural state.

“Each sub-district has a mental health coordinator to provide technical support to primary health care. So, to prevent discriminations and empower the community about the mentally handicapped person the department implemented health talks and dialogues about mental health are conducted in schools, community and health facilities.

Meanwhile, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said it will probe the allegations. SAHRC provincial spokesperson, Adv Oarabile Gaoraelwe said: “The SAHRC is mandated to protect, promote and monitor human rights in South Africa. We work with organisations involved in the protection and promotion of mental Healthcare users (and in particular persons with intellectual disabilities).

“Our institution is also empowered to investigate allegations of human rights violations including allegations of discrimination against persons with intellectual disabilities. So, we will initiate a probe into the allegations, review the available evidence and then make a decision into whether we must investigate the matter or refer it to a better suited statutory or constitutional body.”

taungdailynews@gmail.com

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

The families of 20 illegal miners who were killed at Orkney mine last week, will identify their bodies today. On 14 and 15 June 2021, the police made a gruesome discovery after 20 decomposed bodies of 20 illegal miners were found and stashed in grain bags outside abandoned China African Precious Metals (CAPM) mine.  

North West police spokesperson, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said: “The first five decomposed bodies were found at approximately 7pm on 14 June 2021 outside an old and unused mine shaft ventilation in Lawrence Park, Orkney.

“On 15 June 2021, 14 more decomposed bodies were found along Ariston Road near the railway line in Orkney. While still processing the scene, the police received information that another body was discovered where the initial five bodies were found, thus bringing a total number to 20.”

He said all the deceased were suspected to be illegal miners commonly known as “zama zamas” operating in obsolete shafts in Orkney and Stilfontein. Furthermore, the deceased suffered severe body burns.

It was reported that some of the deceased had pieces of papers depicting contact details of their next-of-kin with them. Most of these illegal miners are from Lesotho.

Now, today, the North West Premier, Prof Job Mokgoro along with Lesotho Consul, Selimo Thabane, will join the Lesotho families in identifying bodies of the deceased. However, the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) spokesperson, Brian Setswambung said Mokgoro will engage Thabane before meeting with the Lesotho families at 10am.

Meanwhile, the South African National Civic Organisation(SANCO) chairperson in North West, Paul Sebegoe said: “We condemn in the strongest terms these ghastly and horrendous criminal acts. The slaughter fields must be shut down for illegal mining operations before more dead bodies are retrieved or are in some cases buried clandestinely underneath the belly of the earth.

“It is a travesty of justice that shocking atrocities of this nature are committed with impunity by the so-called zama-zamas while municipal authorities, the Department of Mineral Resources and law enforcement agencies are seemingly turning a blind eye to the nefarious activities that have shown no regard for the value of human lives.”

He calls for the establishment of an integrated specialised unit to tackle the economic crimes committed by ruthless syndicates that are taking advantage of desperate unemployed people from neighbouring countries.

“Mining houses should be held accountable for their failure to rehabilitate abandoned mines. They are indirectly responsible for illegal activities that are claiming the lives of desperate miners who are lured to death traps by ruthless crime syndicates,” he stressed.

“We urge police to investigate whether human trafficking is not involved in these atrocious activities. No stone should be left unturned and justice for victims must be served without compromise,” said Sebegoe.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

 

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By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

Dear Fellow South African,

We are now in the midst of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We may be tired of this persistent enemy, but it is not yet tired of us. The threat to health and lives is evident as people become ill and some die.

So, we must do what we can, as individuals, as families and communities, as unions and employers, and as government, to limit the toll.

When the virus surges to this extent, the economy also faces challenges. Workers have to isolate or quarantine, people stop going out for recreation or shopping, tourism comes to a standstill, and workplaces have to spend more money to prevent infections.

It is incorrect to speak about a trade-off between lives and livelihoods. Rather, we need to invest our time, effort and resources to control the pandemic to see a payoff, in terms of both falling case numbers, reduced deaths and economic recovery.

The climb in new cases has been extraordinarily rapid and steep over the past few weeks. The number of daily new cases jumped from below 800 in early April to over 13,000 in the past week. In other words, it increased more than fifteen-fold from the last low point.

By now, we all know what we have to do to bring the rate of infection down, and we must act with great discipline to protect our people and our livelihoods.

Once again, we have to avoid social gatherings of all kinds, whether for family, friends, business or recreation. We must work from home if we can. We must wear masks when other people are around and stay one and half metre from other people whenever possible. Although we find ourselves in the middle of winter, we need to ensure good ventilation when indoors or in public transport, for instance by opening windows.

As South Africans, we have experienced pandemics before, most notably HIV/AIDS. We have managed to reduce new HIV infections by more than half since 2010. Our people know that we can control contagions, but it requires all of us to act together over time.

It is not a task only for the vulnerable or the healthcare system. It requires every South African to do their part, to accept that we cannot go back to pre-pandemic days but must rather build a new normal that is safe for us all.

We can win this battle, but it will take persistence and discipline.

As always with COVID-19, there are huge differences between different parts of the country. Right now, Gauteng is by far the hardest hit. This week the number of new cases exceeded the peak in both previous waves, and it has not started to decline yet.  As a result, hospitals are reaching capacity, and healthcare workers are exhausted.

Gauteng looks small on the map. But it is home to one in five South Africans and two-fifths of our economy. As an economic hub many people travel to and from this province. We need to turn this around urgently, or lives and livelihoods will be seriously under threat.

We plan to provide vaccinations for the vast majority of adults in South Africa by the end of the year. It is crucial that, when you become eligible, you get the jab as soon as possible. Our priority in this phase is to vaccinate all five million people over the age of 60. This week, we also plan to start vaccinating half a million educators and others in the sector since their work requires social contact and is vital for our children, our economy and our future.

All of us need to work to ensure a fast and smooth rollout of the vaccine campaign. If our family members, friends, neighbours or employees need help, we should support them in registering and getting to vaccine sites. We will only be able to effectively contain this disease when we succeed in rolling out vaccinations on a large scale.

Our country has experienced many hardships in the past. However, we overcame them by understanding the challenges we faced, developing appropriate strategies, and implementing them together. As we have done before, we need to work as one to prevent infections and reduce the effects of this virus on us.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

• 

By REGINALD KANYANE

Rebaone Seele (22) will be back in Taung Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Seele was arrested a few months ago after being accused of raping a woman (35) at a popular joint, Longstreet Lifestyle Pub in Ext 7 in Taung.

It is alleged that the victim was with her boyfriend at the pub when she decided to go to the bathroom. North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh said, while the woman was in the bathroom, Seele allegedly accosted and raped her.

“Indeed, the police are investigating a rape case that was reported. The incident allegedly took place in the early hours of Sunday morning, where a woman was raped.  It is alleged that the complainant was with her boyfriend at the pub when she decided to go to the bathroom and she was allegedly raped,” Myburgh said.

She further said Seele was subsequently arrested and appeared at Taung Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame said: “The suspect was granted a R2000 bail, but he has not paid it yet. The case was postponed to 21 June 2021 for further investigations.”

Taung Men against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Forum chairperson, Tebogo Mokgejane said they are concerned about GBV cases taking place in Taung.  He said despite the efforts by various formations in Taung, including Taung Men against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Forum to condemn and call to an abrupt halt of all barbaric acts of sexual violence, such cases continue unabated.

“Women will not be pushed to live in fear because some men have turned themselves into sex pests, preying on young and older women. The forum will not get tired of condemning these acts, assist victims and make the necessary follow-ups on all cases until justice are serviced to all victims.

“May it be known that the forum will treat all cases equally without fear or favor, no matter who is involved. The forum will continue to give the victim the necessary support like we normally do to all other victims known to us,” said Mokgejane.

taungdailynews@gmail.com