Picture: The EFF MPL in North West, Betty Diale/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
A fraud case against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) in North West, Betty Diale was postponed by the Rustenburg Regional Court until 29 August 2022.
A 52-year-old politician is facing six charges of theft amounting to approximately R700 000 allegedly stolen from the Road Accident Fund(RAF) claimants. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in North West, Henry Mamothame, police reports reveal that Fidelity Funds, a body that oversees the conduct of attorneys, received several complaints from the RAF claimants, whose payments were deposited into Diale’s trust account.
“The claimants alleged that the said money did not reach them, after the pay-out and henceforth, reported to the police for investigation. Diale was practicing as an attorney during the alleged commission of the crimes between 2009 and 2011 and was subsequently charged with six counts of theft in June 2021.
“The Legal Practice Council has struck her off the roll, preventing her from practicing as an attorney. The state will engage with Diale’s attorney on the negotiations, although it is unknown what the negotiations are about at this stage,” Mamothame said.
He said the matter was set for a pre-trial, however, Diale’s defense attorney indicated to the court that, they intend to enter into negotiations with the state about the charges. Mamothame said the state did not oppose the postponement.
Diale is out on a warning and has been cautioned not to interfere with the state witnesses.
Picture: Residents waiting for water from a truck/
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
Residents of Lokgabeng village and neighbouring areas in Taung call on the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality to provide them with clean and drinkable water. This comes after taps dried up three weeks ago and left them penurious.
One of the residents, Masego Megalanyane said the water scarcity in their area affects their well-being. Megalanyane said, they cannot do their laundry accordingly because of the situation they find themselves in.
“We are forced to pay those who have donkey carts to go and fetch water for us. We urge the municipality to do something about the situation. The taps are dry and we do not have money to pay as mostly we are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Imagine paying R20 per bucket, while some of us are unemployed. As a community, we have tried by all means to engage with the councillor, but we received no joy. We urge the municipality to ensure that Sedibeng Water carries out its mandate as a water provider,” she said.
Another resident, Nomvula Sokupha in Ditompong Section shared the same sentiments. Sokupha said this has a bad impact on their livelihoods as they are forced to walk miles before they could have access to clean drinkable water.
The executive mayor at the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, Motseokae Sense Maje said the municipality is aware of the situation and they are working on it.
Maje said the delays were caused by Eskom after cutting its services due to the account being in arrears.
“The municipality owes Sedibeng Water R635 million, which is historical debt. The situation cut across the region and there is a mechanism in place to resolve it.
“We were informed timeously that Eskom will cut off its services to our water sources because of the account being in arrears. However, we did intervene timeously to make sure that the situation is abated by working together with Sedibeng Water and Eskom,” he said.
Maje further said the situation was affected by load shedding and water provision was affected. He added the water reservoirs were at a low level and most systems do not have backup generators.
“We are working together with Sedibeng Water and Magalies Water to finalise the millions of rands debts owed to Sedibeng Water. There is a process where we acknowledge that we are in debt to them and this will ensure that some of their invoices are validated.
“There is an amount, which is a historical debt that was put in the books of the municipality by another authority. But we are in the process of ironing out those issues,” said Maje.
He said they have committed that the current invoices will have to be audited as a matter of urgency to ensure that, while they are addressing the arrears, these ones do not fall into the same situation of arrears that we inherited.
Meanwhile, Mchunu who visited the North West a few months this week said: “Water supply should be at the peak of the province’s service delivery and that all communities should be supplied with clean water.
“There will be a review of water boards broadly and the disestablishment of the Sedibeng Water Board, which has been servicing a bigger part of the North West. At the moment, Magalies Water has been identified as the water board that will in future supply water to the province,” Mchunu said.
Picture: Customers queueing outside Shoprite store in Taung/Obakeng Maje
By OBAKENG MAJE
A case of business robbery against three men was postponed to 10 August 2022 by Taung Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Belcarid Salvadon Malate (39), Mosimanegape John Sebolao (49), and Monnapula Tshabadira (29) were arrested during a business robbery at Shoprite in Taung on Monday.
According to the North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Sgt Tryphosa van Rooyen, the police in Taung received a call of a business robbery in progress as Shoprite was about to close.
“The Community Service Centre and Crime Prevention Unit members were immediately dispatched to this scene. Upon arrival at the scene of the crime, the police found three suspects who were about to exit the store.
“The suspects were immediately arrested and the stolen property was confiscated. A case of business robbery was opened and the suspects appeared in the Taung Magistrate’s Court on 3 August 2022,” van Rooyen said.
The magistrate postponed the case for a formal bail application and also for accused number 2, Malate to get a foreign language interpreter. Sebolao and Malate alleged that they were assaulted by police during the arrested and that led them to suffer injuries.
The magistrate also instructed the investigating officer, Kemoletile Samuel Paul to take them to Taung District Hospital for medical attention.
Meanwhile, the acting District Commissioner, Brigadier Tshenolo Tlotleng lauded the police for their swift response, which led to the arrests of these suspects.
The Guardian 