Picture: North West MEC for Social Development, Boitumelo Moiloa/Facebook

By OBAKENG MAJE

The North West Social Development Department is expected to appear before the North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development over the 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan (APP) and budget. This comes after the department was chucked out of the meeting last week Thursday for hanging out its dirty laundry before the committee members.

The startling revelations exposed that, there is a tug-of-war between the North West Social Development, Boitumelo Moiloa, and the Head of Department, Relebohile Mofokane. It is alleged that the squabbles between Moiloa and Mofokane were caused by an R130 million security tender that Mofokane allegedly signed off on, even though the Provincial Internal Audit warned him about some discrepancies in bid documents.

The department was scheduled to appear before the committee to process its Annual Performance Plan (APP) and budget for the 2023/24 financial year. However, the chairperson of the committee, Gavin Edwards, sent them packing to sort out their ‘nonsense”.

Edwards said, the department was sent away because of its failure to resolve persistent squabbles between Moiloa and Mofokane.

“We felt that the squabbles will affect service delivery. We have resolved to write to the Leader of Government Business, North West MEC for Cooperative Government, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Nono Maloyi, and the North West Premier, Bushy Maape to urgently intervene.

“The meeting was halted after Mofokane revealed that he had been stripped of his powers as the accounting officer and that he had not been part of developing the APP. So, members of the committee were astonished by Mofokane’s revelation that he had been stripped of his powers as it has been revealed that he signed off tenders two weeks prior to the meeting,” he said.

Edwards further said Mofokane had signed off tenders for security contracts to the value of R130m two weeks ago and it is surprising that he alleged that he had been stripped of his powers. He added that they want to understand what is happening with service delivery because it is clear that Mofokane and Moiloa cannot work together.

“This is not the first time the department has been turned away by the Portfolio Committee. Last year, the committee questioned Mofokane’s appointment and his qualifications.

“Repeated requests by the committee seeking clarity on his appointment were simply ignored by Moiloa and subsequently Maape. Members of the committee raised their concerns with both Moiloa and Mofokane, questioning what actually happens to service delivery, while they are clearly more concerned with internal squabbling and battles rather than ensuring effective services,” he said.

 Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the member of the committee, Freddy Sonakile said: “As the Democratic Alliance, we are quite perplexed and believe that this is unprecedented whereby, we see such arguments between the Moiloa and Mofokane over a legal document that was supposed to assist the department and the residents to be able to get funds for the department to start functioning.

“What is funny is that it is not the first time that the department was turned away by the committee due to its internal squabbles. So, we are not taking this lightly and we believe that action must be taken, especially against Mofokane who in this case, clearly failed on his fiducial duties.”

Sonakile said they have been contacted by a number of NPOs, whose survival depends on funding from the department. He said they told them that they are struggling because they cannot get hold of their subsidies and SLAs are still not signed by the department.

The North West Social Development spokesperson, Petrus Siko said, he will respond to the allegations after he had gathered more details. The response will be incorporated into the article when received.

Today’s meeting will be virtual and will commence at 4pm.

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Picture: The ANC councillor. Gotsilekgosi John Doctor Batsi accused of coercing a 15-year-old girl to send him nudes pictures/Screengrab  

By OBAKENG MAJE

It does not rain but pours in the ANC in the North West province. This comes after another ANC councillor, Gotsilekgosi Batsi from Mamusa Local Municipality in Schweizer Reneke was rocked by sex scandals.

Batsi allegedly coerced a girl (15) on Facebook to send him nude pictures. However, Batsi’s persuasion was short-lived after the father of the girl reported the matter to law enforcement agencies and eventually filed a protection order against him.

According to the father of the girl, the incident took place in 2021. Last week Monday, the ANC in North West went on a rampage and expelled five councillors from the Mamusa Local Municipality after allegedly failing to ‘toe the party line.’

However, Gontse Kock, Tumisho Tlhole, Mitta Chelechele, Tshepo Khwenenyane, and Lesego Motlapele said they had since appealed the ANC‘s decision to expel them.  One of the expelled councillors, Lesego Motlapele alleged that the ANC in North West under the tutelage of ANC provincial chairperson, Nono Maloyi, ‘give a blind eye’ to Batsi’s wrongdoings.

“The circumstances that led to the charges being preferred against us and in what respect, we contend that the entire disciplinary proceedings were flawed in substance and procedure.

“We would also set out our plans to challenge the outcomes of the disciplinary hearing by the ANC Provincial Disciplinary Committee. We would also expose the real motives of the ANC PEC in persecuting the councillors for defending the legitimate policy pronouncements of the ANC and its constitution and program of renewal led by the current sitting ANC President, Cyril Ramaphosa,” Motlapele said.

He further alleged that all ANC councillors at the municipality were summoned by the newly-elected ANC PEC officials to attend the meeting in Rustenburg, wherein, they were instructed among others, to re-instate Batsi as the municipal speaker within seven days.

However, Motlapele alleged that in terms of ANC guidelines, the ANC candidates for the mayoral or speaker positions are required to have five years of experience in local government, no evidence of maladministration against them, and matric.

“The identification of Batsi as the speaker was a contravention of the guidelines because he had misrepresented his qualifications and falsified his curriculum vitae. In his CV, Batsi lied that, he possesses a matric and his matric certificate was misplaced.

“We pause to say that, this is a lie because Batsi does not have a matric. In fact, his recent attempt to pass his matric was last year in 2022, which he still failed. As if this was not enough, Batsi submitted several fake qualifications in the form of five Diplomas and a Doctorate Degree conferred on him by some institution called Timothy Training Institution. Notably, in accordance with his records in his CV, all these Diplomas and Doctorate Degrees were conferred on the same day on 24 August 2019,” he said.

However, Motlapele alleged that all registered Higher Learning institutions in the country, could not confirm the existence and legitimacy of the institution called Timothy Training Institution. He added that they reported the matter to the current ANC PEC, but all is in vain.

Meanwhile, incompetent ANC provincial spokesperson, Tumelo Maruping failed to respond to these allegations, despite being given ample time before publishing this article. Also, Batsi failed to respond to our media inquiry and all responses will be incorporated in the article when received.

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Picture: One of the accused persons, Paul Pokes Mabe/Facebook   

By OBAKENG MAJE

A stock theft case against two accused persons from Tlola O Nyele Section in Khibitswane village, near Taung, will resume today. The case was postponed on Monday due to a water shortage at the Taung Magistrate’s Court. Paul Pokes Mabe (46) and his wife, Gladys Machwe (40) were arrested on 6 May 2023 for allegedly stealing two cows back in November 2022.

According to the North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, a stock theft case was opened by the rightful owner of two cattle after they were allegedly stolen in Cokonyane village.

“As the investigation progressed, information was obtained, which led to the recovery of the two cattle at Matsheng village in January 2023. Further investigation was done and led to the arrest of two accused, who were positively linked to the stock theft case.

“The third suspect was still at large and the accused persons briefly appeared at the Taung Magistrate’s Court on Monday last week. They were remanded in custody until 15 May 2023 for a formal bail application. The alleged stolen cattle were handed back to the rightful owner after being identified by the brand mark,” she said.

Yesterday, Mabe briefly appeared in court with another accused, who is believed to be the third person who was reported to be at large. According to information, charges against Machwe were provisional withdrawn pending investigations.

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Picture: ACDP member, the late Mpho Ntlhaeng/Facebook

By OBAKENG MAJE

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) in North West said it was saddened by the passing of its member, Mpho Ntlhaeng (45). Ntlhaeng was allegedly shot dead by her boyfriend, Shimmy Koee (44) in Choseng village, near Taung in the early hours of Monday.

The cagey ACDP provincial treasurer, Gaolatlhwe Tshipo said, he will visit the bereaved family today at around 10am before he could make a formal official media statement on the matter.

“Look, I will be meeting with the bereaved family on Tuesday. I only learned about Ntlhaeng’s passing through the media. However, I spoke to one of the family members and I think it will be proper if we talk with the family first before we release any media statement. 

“I’ll be visiting the family around 10am and I think you can call me afterward. At that time, I’ll be at liberty to speak to the media regarding Ntlhaeng’s death,” he said.

Meanwhile, the North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen said: “The police in Pudimoe have opened a case of murder and inquest after the incident. According to information provided, the couple got involved in a dispute, where the man shot the woman and then turned the gun on himself afterward.”

It is alleged that Koee and Mpho Ntlhaeng were staying together in Pudimoe Township, in Taung before Ntlhaeng moved out after an argument. She allegedly went back to her parent’s house in Choseng.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Koee, who was allegedly accompanied by his friend, visited Ntlhaeng in Choseng. However, the friend allegedly stayed in the car, while Koee got inside the house.

It is alleged that an argument ensued between the couple. Koee allegedly took out a gun and shot Ntlhaeng with two bullets that killed her instantly, before turning the gun on himself. Both deceased persons were declared dead at the crime scene.

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Picture: John Frylinck Secondary School in Huhudi Township, Vryburg logo/Google

By OBAKENG MAJE

North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi is set to visit the John Frylinck Secondary School in Huhudi Township, in Vryburg today at 10am. This comes after the school was plagued by gangsterism since the beginning of the year.

Motsumi, who previously visited the school in April 2023 after major disruptions said, she adopted the school after it experienced serious incidents of gangsterism amongst learners.

“Learners attended school carrying dangerous weapons. You will remember, I left all my engagements and visited the school in order to bring back sanity to the school community. I was accompanied by the North West Community Safety and Transport Management Department.

“I have been extremely concerned about the behaviour of learners of this school. Some learners threatened the safety of other learners, which is a serious violation of the Constitution. Every learner has a right to education in this country and nobody must take away that right,” she said.

Motsumi further said, she is going to conduct a close monitoring of the behaviour of the learners of the school.

According to the www.health-e.org.za website, gangsterism among children – who are often left alone by their parents – has been pinpointed as the main driving force behind violence in schools. A Social Work Manager at the National Department of Social Development, Linda Makhathini told the website that, children who come from child-headed families or whose parents are unemployed, are often involved in gangs.

“As the DSD, we must address the social ills in our society. Our department has set up an anti-gang strategy after all nine provinces reported that children are displaying signs that they are part of gangs. The department must deal with this plight of gangsterism.  

“From a survey conducted in child and youth care centres, it was revealed that children of unemployed parents are the ones involved in gangs. These children are often left unsupervised during the day. We all understand that some parents have to work but these are some of the issues coming up,” she said.

Makhathini further stated that peer pressure and the lack of a parental figure can lead to children joining gangs. She added that, some also think that once they are part of a gang, there is no way out.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that each year up to 1 billion children experience some form of physical, sexual, or psychological violence or neglect. Besides lifelong impacts on education, health, and well-being, children exposed to violence can experience underachievement due to cognitive, emotional, and social problems,” said Makhathini. 

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