By REGINALD KANYANE

Even though the provision of houses continues to be a backlog in the North West province, that could be a thing of the past soon. This comes after the North West Human Settlements department embarked on a benchmarking in Mpumalanga Province at the same department on the housing delivery approach.

The Head of Department in North West, James Mashigo said both provinces have unanimously agreed that they should implement housing delivery according to policy prescripts, despite little innovation in the structure of houses being built. Mashigo further said the two provincial departments agreed to share best practices.

“The benchmarking program was undertaken by the two provinces following advice by the National Department of Human Settlements on the delivery of military veterans’ houses. “As the North West province, we are highly impressed by what Mpumalanga is doing in consulting with military veterans’ beneficiaries on how they would want their houses to be like, but not moving away from policy prescripts.

“We build houses of the same size, but with different features as agreed with beneficiaries. Our visit to Mpumalanga was a great eye-opener for both provinces. We shared best practices and I think that we should continue to do the same going forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Department (HoD) at Human Settlements in Mpumalanga Province, Hazel Zitha shared the same sentiments. Zitha said, they all construct the said houses according to policy, however, the only difference is the innovation in coming up with the final product, which is still within the housing quantum.

“We hail the move by both the departments as critically important and will further bring more innovation in service delivery. We welcome the move and the best practice we learned from the North West province.

“The session was critically important to us as a province. We need to ensure that, as both provinces are predominantly rural, we have a common understanding and approach in delivering services,” she said.

Both provinces further highlighted that they experience common challenges such as the construction of services such as sewerage systems, especially the septic tanks, provision of Jojo tanks for water supply, and the negotiations between the beneficiary and the contractor on how the house should be like.

Another common challenge is the continued questions of low-cost houses constructed next to other houses in one yard. According to Mashigo, people should understand that in villages, families stay within one yard and parents would most like their children to remain next to them.

He said hence they find qualifying beneficiaries directing contractors to build their house in or close to their parent’s home.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

Many women came out in numbers to commemorate National Women’s Day at Khudutlou village in Taung on Tuesday. The event was organised by Tshimologo Rural Sports Centre founder, Obusitse Monchusi and graced by the North West MEC for Social Development, Boitumelo Moiloa.    

Monchusi said it is imperative to commemorate this day as it marks 66 years since approximately 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria against the country’s pass laws that required South Africans defined as “black” under The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a pass, that served to maintain population segregation, control urbanisation, and manages migrant labour during the apartheid era.

“Tshimologo Rural Sports Centre is a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and its mission is to assist the community. So, our main objective is to ensure we promote sport and education. We want to see excellence and we can achieve that through working together.

“We need to accept ourselves and ensure that we do that with integrity. The power of association is important hence we have partnerships with all stakeholders. We have short and long-term plans as the organisation,” he said.

Monchusi further said they are also going to engage with the department of education to ensure that there are sports activities in schools. He added that, as the NGO, they would like to call on all funders or sponsors to come on board to ensure that, they achieve their objectives.

“Last month, we lost our Secretary-General because of cancer, so we are doing an awareness campaign too. The centre does not belong to anyone, but the affected individuals. I am just a messenger and I want to urge everyone to ensure that we grow it together,” Monchusi said.

North West MEC for Social Development, Boitumelo Moiloa said: “What is happening here today, is a day that was set aside to commemorate Women’s Day. We continue to celebrate women’s month in August without saying other months are less important.

“In 1956, women stand up against the apartheid system and embarked on a peaceful march. If it was not because of them, we would not have been here. We are not only focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), but cancer too as it continues to affect many women across.”

She said, what is important is that all stakeholders have come together to ensure that the day becomes a success.

“As women, we need to stand against all odds because we are raising the society. We also need to stand together going forward. Remember, women are very strong because of what they are subjected to. I also want to appreciate all men who are here and continue to show love to us.

“However, there are animals who continue to rape women and endure the abuse. As women, we are not free to walk in the street freely nowadays. I would like to see one day men marching against GBV and standing against those perpetrators, who continue to abuse women,” she said.

Meanwhile, Community Development Worker (CDW) in Khudutlou, Tebogo Motshebe said there are still many challenges in the area. Motshebe said many women continue to be subjected to abuse, but they are working around the clock to assist those victims.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

Three accused, who were arrested during a business robbery at Shoprite store in Taung are back in court. On 1 August 2022, Belcarid Salvadon Malate (39), Mosimanegape John Sebolao (49), and Monnapula Tshabadira (29) allegedly entered the store, while it was about to close and held staff captive.

They allegedly robbed them of an undisclosed amount of money and some belongings. The North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Sgt Tryphosa van Rooyen said, 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 the 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.

However, the magistrate postponed the case to 10 August 2022 for a formal bail application and also instructed the investigating officer, Kemoletile Samuel Paul to ferry Sebolao and Malate to Taung District Hospital for medical attention.

Malate allegedly suffered injuries during his arrest, while Sebolao is diagnosed with diabetes. Also, he requested the state to ensure that Malate gets a foreign language interpreter as he is from Mozambique.

Meanwhile, the acting District Commissioner, Brigadier Tshenolo Tlotleng lauded the police for their swift response, which led to the arrests of these suspects.

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