Setshwantsho: Molatofadiwa wa bogodu jwa leruo/Facebook
Ka KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
Baagi ba metse e farologaneng kwa Taung, ba tlhotse ba tlile ka makatla-namane kwa kgotlha-tshekelong ya Vryburg go tla go itseela ka tsebe mo letsatsing la gompieno. Seno se tla morago ga gore lepodisi la pele, Godfrey Itumeleng Setatwe (45) yo oneng a tshwarwa le go latofadiwa ka bogodu jwa leruo a tlhagelele ka boripana kwa kgotlha-tshekelo.
Go begwa fa sepodisi sa Vryburg sene sa emisa sejanaga se se belaetsang, mme se kgwediwa ke molatofadiwa, Setatwe. Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo Bokone Bophirima, mokaptein Aafje Botma, sepodisi sene sa bona dipudi dile 21 tsa boleng jwa R42 000 mo sejanageng sa ga Setatwe morago ga go sepuruputsha.
Botma are, sepodisi sene sa tlhoma Setatwe dipotso le go mo botsa gore o tsaya kae leruo leo. Fela go begwa fa Setatwe a ne a shadikanya matlho, mme a palelwa ke go araba dipotso tse di mogote tsa sepodisi.
“Sepodisi se ne sa lemoga fa molatofadiwa fa a ne a sena le lekwalo la go ka tsamaisa leruo. O ne a lelelwa ke ditshipi, mme sepodisi sa leba kwa seteisheneng sa sepodisi sa Vryburg le ene.
“Go begwa fa go goroga ga sepodisi kwa Vryburg, Setatwe ane a leka go le botsa phokoje. Go kaiwa fa sepodisi sene sa mo baya marowa, mme ene a digela mapodisi ba ba ne ba leka go mo latlhela kwa ntlolefitshwaneng dingalo. Leruo le go belaelwang fa lene le utswilwe, le ne la neelwa mong wa lone morago ga go mo batla,” Botma wa tlhalosa.
Gobegwa fa Setatwe yo oneng a direla sepodisi sa Afrika Borwa kwa lephateng la leruo kwa seteisheneng sa sepodisi sa Taung, a lebagane le kgetsi enngwe ya bonwenwe. Setatwe o ne a kobiwa kwa sepodising morgao ga dipego tsa gore one a direla mongwe wa batshwarwa ba polao seshupo (affidavit) e ene e kaya fa a ne a seo kwa lefelong la tiragalo fa bosenyi bo ne bo direga, gonne a ne a etetse seteishene sa sepodisi go ya go tlaleya fa a latlhegetswe ke mogala wa letheka.
Fela dipatlisiso tsa sepodisi, di ne tsa shupa fa mogolegwa o, a ne a bua maaka, mme ba dirile bogwenegwene le Setatwe ka go leka go bipa bopaki. Kgetsi ya bogodu jwa leruo kgatlhanong le Setatwe e buseditswe morago go fitlhelela ka Labone wa beke e.
Setatwe ene o ka nama a letile kwa ntlo-lefitshwaneng.
Kgabagare, mokhanselara wa kgorwana ya bone kwa motseng wa Dryharts, Kagiso Pudule are bosinyi jwa leruo ke tlhoba boroko.
“Jaaka moetapele, go botlhoko go bona leruo la baagi le utswiwa etswa ele lone le ba itshidisang ka lone. Jaanong, nna kare a molao o diragadiwe gore go seka ga diragala gore baagi ba rona ba utlwe botlhoko, mme kamoso ba tsoge ba itseela molao mo matsogong.
“Bosinyi ke tlhoba boroko mo motseng wa rona, mme leruo ke lone khumo ya ngwana wa thari e ntsho,” Pudule wa tlhalosa.
The embattled North West Premier, Bushy Maape allegedly failed to take drastic actions against government officials, who were implicated in COVID-19 relief funds. On Tuesday, the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) briefed the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) on the management of COVID-19 after the Auditor-General’s startling findings relating to real-time audits in 2021.
The AG highlighted recommendations to the NWPG departments and municipalities relating to adverse findings, including Ngaka Modiri Molema District and JB Marks Local Municipalities.
The provincial government’s delegation included MECs from the department of Finance, Motlalepula Rosho, Wendy Matsemela for Education, Boitumelo Moiloa for Social Development, and Madoda Sambatha for Health.
The chairperson of the committee, Fikile Xasa said: “We engaged the MECs on the implementation of the AG’s recommendations, as well as the consequence management following the real-time audits.
“The committee also wanted to hear about the provincial government’s response to the findings of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (The Hawks).”
Xasa said, however, the committee expressed its unhappiness with the presentations and the MECs’ responses to questions posed by committee members. He said the committee also wanted more details on the consequence management process, particularly as it relates to the four officials mentioned.
“In addition, the committee will invite the municipalities that were supposed to be in today’s meeting to appear before it on 20 September to answer the AG’s findings against them.
“We will collaborate with Chapter 9 institutions to sharpen its oversight responsibility over the use of public funds, including money used by municipalities, as some municipalities have disclaimers after every audit. The committee has also identified some municipalities for intensified oversight, starting in the Eastern Cape province,” said Xasa.
He said the provincial treasury departments can play an important role in reversing the culture in public institutions of no accountability for public money.
It is alleged that the MECs, whose portfolios were implicated in the SIU report over the COVID-19 relief funds saga, failed to submit their consequence management reports to Maape.
The SIU released a report with findings, where municipalities such as the embattled JB Marks, Ramotshere-Moiloa, and Ratlou allegedly flouted the procurement processes when awarding tenders to companies buying PPE- related equipment on their behalf.
The SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago said, whistle-blowers from various municipalities reported malfeasance and corruption to them.
“At JB Marks in Potchefstroom, the business chamber responsible for disaster hunger relief requested the municipality to provide them with a donation to enable them to buy food for the needy.
“Our investigation has revealed that the municipality paid the business chamber R1.2 million without any due diligence. There is no expenditure breakdown in the proof of receipt document for the relief funds that were paid to the business chamber,” he said.
Kganyago said their investigation further revealed that an official played a role in the awarding of the donation without following any proper procurement processes. He said the SIU made a referral for the executive action against an office bearer for misconduct in respect of the awarding of a donation without following proper municipal processes on 12 November 2020.
“On August 2020, we also received another allegation from the same municipality that there was a supplier, who overcharged the municipality when it provided COVID-19-related PPE. It is also alleged that other companies were overlooked when awarding the tender to the supplier.
“The supplier supplied the municipality with items such as sanitizers, face masks, dust masks, and disinfection chemicals to the value of R900 000. Our investigation revealed that the company charged R25 per mask, which was an inflated price and was way above the R15 set by the national treasury’s guide,” said Kganyago.
He further said the SIU also found no supporting information in the documents obtained, which proved that the company was registered on the CSD system before the tender was awarded. Kganyago added that the state attorney has been instructed and counsel briefed to initiate proceedings for setting aside the contract.
“In Ratlou local municipality, our investigation revealed that the supplier was appointed without following a proper procurement process and also that it was not tax-compliant according to the CSD report generated at the time it was awarded a tender.
“We recommended that disciplinary actions be taken against two officials who were implicated,” he said.
A few months ago, the North West Premier, Bushy Maape’ spokesperson, Sello Tatai said, the reports that were requested were submitted by all departments who have cases. However, he said it was premature to divulge further information in relation to this matter as it was at a sensitive stage.
Meanwhile, the DA’s MPL in North West, Freddy Sonakile said: “Expecting the Premier or any of his MECs to submit implementation plans of the SIU report on PPEs is dreaming big. The Premier does not want to lose favour or support with some of his comrades, who are implicated in the SIU report, hence his failure to act.
“The ANC-led government has never been serious about fighting corruption. That report will sit there until it gathers dust or until a new government comes in to implement it.”
The newly-elected ANC in North West has appointed enigmatic Tumelo Maruping as its new spokesperson. Taung-born politician came through ANC ranks under the tutelage of the former ANCYL president, Collen Maine.
Maruping, who was born and bred in Matseng village in Taung, completed his matric at Batlhaping High School and later moved to Mahikeng to further his studies at the North West University (NWU).
“It is an honour to be appointed as the new ANC provincial spokesperson. I started my political career back in school while doing Grade 12. So, my political activism escalated, while I was at the university.
“I was part of the Student Representatives Council (SRC). I obtained my Honours Degree in Social Development studies and worked for the North West Social Development as a social worker/ probation officer,” he said.
Maruping was later recruited by the former North West MEC for Social Development, Collen Maine to his office. He also moved with Maine after he was re-deployed as the North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs.
“In 2015, I moved to the ANC Headquarters, Chief Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg after Mr Maine was elected as the new ANCYL President. So, for the past seven years, I’ve been working in the ANC.
“I also worked in the Office of the Presidency for monitoring and evaluation unit after the dissolution of the ANCYL,” said Maruping.
Meanwhile, the newly elected ANC provincial secretary, Louis Diremelo said: “Yes, I can confirm that we have appointed Mr Maruping as the new ANC provincial spokesperson and we have confidence in him. His experience will add value to the ANC PEC as he has vast experience.”
The North West Premier, Bushy Maape said the Section 100 intervention has yielded positive results and assisted the province to recover from its slumber. This comes after the Office of the Premier registered an improved audit opinion.
Maape said the audit results for the 2020/21 financial year show a continued positive trajectory after five years of decline and stagnation.
“The Office of the Premier has received unqualified audits following Section 100 intervention in the province. The North West Provincial Government (NWPG) was placed under Section 100 (1) (a) and 100 (1) (b) intervention in terms of the constitution for over four years to address maladministration, non-adherence to supply chain prescripts and poor service delivery among others.
“Since the national intervention, we have made some significant strides in addressing the governance and service delivery challenges facing our province. They include improved alignment of planning between departments to deliver on service delivery priorities,” he said.
In addition, Maape said they have also managed to fill key management positions and this is primarily aimed at improving the capacity to deliver services. He further said, they are happy that a moratorium on the recruitment of staff has also been lifted.
“This is going to enable us to expedite the pronouncements made during the State of the Province Address (SOPA). The functions previously centralised in the Premier Office have been transferred back to their original departments.
“Moreover, wasteful and poorly managed outsourcing contracts were also terminated and officials have been empowered to do the work they were employed for,” he said.
Maape added that, as part of restoring financial controls and governance, they have built capacity across departments to strengthen Supply Chain Management (SCM).
He said the provincial departments have also been re-configured to correlate with national norms and standards.
“Massive reduction of irregular expenditure was achieved and improvement on internal control systems was registered resulting in unqualified audit findings.
“Key services administered by the Office of the Premier include the Youth Advocacy Programme and Skills Training, which contributes to the development and empowerment of youth. The office also provides bursaries for young people from poor backgrounds to access tertiary education through the Victor Thebe Sifora Bursary Scheme,” said Maape.
He said his office has also approved a Fraud Prevention Policy and Implementation plan. Maape said the policy is being implemented through awareness campaigns on a quarterly basis as a control measure to deter any form of fraud and corruption within the government.
“The Office of the Premier also uses the complaints management system to deal with various service delivery complaints across the province through the Provincial Call Centre Toll-Free hotline.
“Through different platforms, collaboration and partnerships we have made significant progress in steering the province in the right direction and strengthening the capacity of government to deliver quality basic services to the people, as well as mending the broken bridges between ourselves, communities and organised labour,” he said.
Maape said his government remains committed to serving the community of North West and strengthening its oversight role in monitoring the implementation of all government plans through provincial departments.
Picture: The former policeman, Godfrey Itumeleng Setatwe/Facebook
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
A stock-theft case against a former police officer, Itumeleng Godfrey Setatwe (45) will resume at the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The North West police spokesperson, Aafje Botma said the accused was arrested by Vryburg police, while travelling on N18 road towards Pudimoe on 20 August 2022.
Botma said, the police spotted a suspicious-looking bakkie and stopped it for a search.
“During the search, 21 goats worth R42 000 were found at the back of the bakkie. The driver was questioned but failed to give a proper account for the possession. It was also established that he did not have transportation documents.
“As a result, he was arrested for stock theft and taken to Vryburg Police Station. Upon arrival, he allegedly tried to run away and assaulted two police officers who were detaining him. He was subsequently restrained and detained,” she said.
Botma said, the livestock was given back to the lawful owner after he was successfully traced. Setatwe, who was stationed at Taung Police Station and working for the stock-theft unit Setatwe was remanded in custody.
He is expected to do a formal bail application. Setatwe also has a pending case of fraud. According to information at our disposal, he allegedly connived with a murder convict, who lied that his cellphone was lost and he was not at the crime scene when it unfolded as he was at the Taung Police Station doing an affidavit.
Setatwe allegedly made a false affidavit for the convict, but he was arrested after the police preliminary investigation revealed otherwise.
The Guardian 