7 January 2025- The South African Police Service (SAPS) in John Taolo Gaetsewe District received furniture for Victim Friendly Rooms. An official handing over event was held in Heuningvlei on 7 January 2025, where several stations within the district were beneficiaries.
The Northern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, together with the Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Policing, Major General Johnny Besnaar, the acting District Commissioner for the John Taolo Gaetsewe District, Brigadier Kenneth Baloyi and the Provincial Head for Pro-Active Policing, Brigadier Irene Kopeledi, handed over a vehicle and furniture to be utilised by Heuningvlei, Severn and VanZylsrus SAPS to efficiently equip Victim Friendly Rooms.
Otola said the services offered by the police in these rooms are of vital importance to ensure that victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual offences receive comfort and support after suffering traumatic experiences.
“This occasion is symbolic of our dedication and obligation towards creating a safe and secure environment for the vulnerable members of our community. These facilities provide a safe haven for victims, where they will receive counselling and other related essential services where they can feel safe and protected from their abusers.
“The policing of crimes against women, children, and vulnerable groups remains a priority for the police. The victims are urged to break the silence and report incidents to the police via the MySAPS App or 08600 10111,” she said.
Picture: The students from Taung Agricultural College
By REGINALD KANYANE
7 January 2025- The Potchefstroom Agriculture of College and Taung Agricultural College are gearing up to commence the 2025 academic year. Both institutions will reopen on 13 January 2025, and preparations are underway for the registration of first-year and returning students.
Prospective students are reminded to adhere to the registration dates and ensure that all required documentation is ready and complete on the day. Qualifying late or walk-in applications will only be considered subject to space availability during the registration period.
The North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spokesperson, Emelda Setlhako said those interested in studying at the colleges are encouraged to apply during the next application window later in the year. Setlhako said students requiring on-campus accommodation are advised that there is limited accommodation space and alternative accommodation arrangements should be made.
“Early planning is strongly encouraged to secure a spot. The Potchefstroom College of Agriculture will re-open on 13 January 2025. First year registration will commence on 20 and 21 January 2025.
“Second and Third-Year Registration will be on 22 January 2025. Taung Agricultural College will reopen on 13 January 2025. First year registration will commence on 20 and 21 January 2025,” she said.
Setlhako further said second and third-year registration will be on 15 and 16 January 2025.
She added that for further details, prospective and returning students can contact the colleges directly.
“For Potchefstroom Agricultural College, Ismail Haffejee may be contacted during office hours on 079 515 8714 or via email at IHaffejee@nwpg.gov.za. While for Taung Agricultural College, the contact person is Vuyiswa Mziwakhe, who can be reached on 060 504 8149 or via email at charmmyv@icloud.com during office hours,” said Setlhako.
Picture: The Spar Proteas team during the match/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
7 January 2025- The SPAR Proteas national netball team, who finished 2024 on a high as the number one ranked team in Africa, start the New Year with an exciting challenge when they travel to the Caribbean to take on Jamaica in the three-Test Margaret Beckford Sunshine series in Kingston.
Jamaica recently moved into third spot, behind Australia and New Zealand, on the world rankings, after beating England in a Test series. The SPAR Proteas and the Sunshine Girls have played each other 18 times, with the SPAR Proteas winning three times – most notably in the Netball World Cup in Liverpool in 2019, where the South African s won by 55 goals to 52 earning them a spot in the semi-finals.
The Spar Protea coach, Jenny van Dyk. “It’s my biggest challenge since taking over as coach. It’s always tough playing in the Caribbean, but I went to the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in 2023, so I am used to that kind of atmosphere.
“The humidity may also be a problem. Our strategy will be to close the gap in the score-line and then to go in hard, looking for the win.”
Van Dyk said the star goal defence, Karla Pretorius, was being rested for the tour and would be replaced by rising star San-Marie Visser. She said Karla has a young child, and they will be going to the UK after Jamaica, and that’s a long time to be away from her child.
“I am very excited about San-Marie and we need to start building for the future,” she said.
Assistant coach, Zanele Mdodana who was a member of the SPAR Proteas team when they last played in Jamaica, is aware of the challenges involved in playing Jamaica at home. She said it is tough to play Jamaica at home.
“They fill those arenas to capacity, they’ve got the dance, the song. Those spectators come out in full support of their team. But, we made history when we went there under coach Elize Kotze and beat them.
“They’ve got a very vibrant team, dynamic, athletic. Most of their players play in Australia, so they have great international experience. But we want to be the best, so we need to play the best,” said Mdodana.
Van Dyk further said the matches in Jamaica will be played on January 18, 22 and 25 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston. She added that from Jamaica, the SPAR Proteas will travel to the United Kingdom to play in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup next month.
“The other teams taking part are England, Uganda, and Malawi. We have big ambitions for the Nations Cup. We want to force England to take us seriously and to play their best players against us.
“The gap between England, New Zealand and Jamaica is very narrow and we want to show that we belong up there with them,” said Van Dyk.
She said the South African national under 21 team, the SPAR Baby Proteas will also travel with the senior side to Jamaica to play a friendly series during the Margaret Beckford Sunshine series against the Jamaican national under 21 team.
Van Dyk said this forms part of the SPAR Baby Proteas build-up preparation for the Netball World Youth Cup to be staged in Gibraltar in September.
7 January 2025- Three rankings confirm that the North West University (NWU) is an institution that shines not only locally, but also internationally. The university can stand tall among some of the world’s greatest universities.
Students can be assured that when they decide on the NWU as their preferred choice for higher education, they also choose a university that is not only known for excellence but is making an impact in addressing pressing issues in Africa.
This is evident in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) University Rankings for 2024 by Times Higher Education (THE). According to this ranking, the NWU is 6th in South Africa and 17th in Africa out of 129 universities from 22 countries. These rankings specifically assess the impact of universities in addressing some of the toughest challenges faced in the region. It considers, among other things, the impact a university has in Africa, as well as the factors such as student engagement, access and fairness, and ethical leadership.
It explores themes that include university education, teaching quality, financial strength and addressing inequality. According to the SSA, the rankings not only assess current performance, but also help universities to identify key areas where they can improve. This was the first year the NWU participated in the SSA rankings. For more information about the SSA, visit https://www.timeshighereducation.com/sub-saharan-africa-university-rank….
Leading the way in social and environmental sustainability
The NWU is among the leading higher-education institutions locally and in Africa in responding to crucial environmental, social and governance issues. This is according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Sustainability 2025. QS published their results on 10 December.
This ranking places the NWU among the top seven out of 13 universities in South Africa, top eight in Africa out of 70 institutions on the continent, and overall 505th out of the 1 751 institutions that qualified for the ranking internationally.
The three performance lenses applied in each of the three categories are environmental impact, social impact and governance. Each performance lens is made up of separate indicators that are used to calculate a score.
The NWU was 176th for Governance, 524th for Social Impact, and 637th for Environmental Impact.
According to QS World University Rankings for Sustainability in 2025, universities must be eligible for the QS World University Rankings and the QS Rankings by Region or the QS Rankings by Subject to qualify for the Sustainability ranking.
NWU excelling through research and innovation in Africa
The 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings highlight African universities that have excelled in research output, societal impact and innovation. This ranking placed the NWU in the top 10 of its rankings – a significant achievement, as 283 universities were considered in the rankings.
The ranking placed the NWU 25th overall in their universities category.
SCImago’s three different sets of indicators (20 in total) are divided into three groups intended to reflect scientific, economic and social characteristics of institutions measured by their web visibility. For more information about this ranking, visit https://www.scimagoir.com/rankings.php?country=Africa.
Picture: Law enforcement personnel during road blocks/Generic
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
7 January 2025- The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has called for vigilance, patience and respect for the rules of the road as the festive season comes to an end and travellers return home. Roads leading out of coastal areas and neighbouring states are expected to experience high traffic volumes.
Law enforcement officers have been deployed to monitor driver behaviour on the roads and reduce the number of crashes and fatalities.
In a statement, the RTMC said 7 448 people were arrested on South African roads over the festive period for various offences, including drunk driving, speeding, and attempted bribery. The arrests were made between 1 December 2024 and 1 January 2025.
“The highest breath alcohol level recorded was 2.47mg/1 000ml on the R61 in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, on 27 December 2024. Eastern Cape recorded 455 arrests for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in December.
“The highest speed recorded was in Limpopo on the N1. A motorist was caught driving at 209km/h in 120km/h zone on the 17th of December. As of 1 January, a total of 1 157 032 vehicles were stopped and checked by road traffic authorities as part of the festive season enforcement plan aimed at promoting safety on national roads,” RTMC said.
It said officers issued 408 783 written charges for various traffic violations and 6 034 vehicles were discontinued. RTMC also urged motorists to be cautious when driving under rainy conditions.
“Drivers are reminded to put their lights on, reduce speed, increase following distance and avoid the use of cellphones and other distractions when driving in rainy conditions,” it said
Picture: NTI employees protesting outside the North West Community Safety and Transport Management offices in Mahikeng
By OBAKENG MAJE
7 January 2025- The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) has urged its affiliated members, who are North West Investment (NTI) employees to return to work. This comes after employees downed tools in the middle of December 2024, over non-payment of their salaries.
SATAWU secretary, Muneiwa Mugwena said they urge their members who are in good standing to desist from embarking on illegal strike or they will face consequences.
“As we might all have heard the briefing from the North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng today about the situation in our company. We urge all SATAWU members in good standing to not engage in illegal strikes and continue to work towards the betterment of our company.
“There is going to be consequences for everyone who is involved in this illegal strike and we don’t want you to be part of it. As Morweng has announced today on the media platform, Business Rescue Practitioner (BRP) is going to leave our country and everyone will be held accountable for their actions,” he said.
Mugwena further said employees should wait for the 10 days until they receive their salaries, but they should continue to be doing their jobs.
Meanwhile, the North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng said: “The challenges facing NTI are not and have not been ignored by our department. The entity’s challenges, though going back for several years, had been compounded and exacerbated by the BRP.
“Given the financial difficulties and collapse of governance the NTI experienced, the shareholder resolved to put the entity under voluntary business rescue process in July 2022.”
Morweng said the BRP was supposed to turn the entity around to make it more sustainable and generate income to pay creditors, primarily of whom are employees. He said to do this, the BRP was supposed to have developed a plan within 25 days as stipulated by the Companies Act.
“However, the BRP has since dismissed and suspended most senior managers of the entity with the Group Chief Financial Officer, CFO, being the latest. This act of impunity was not only for senior managers but since his arrival, many other employees have also been sacked.
“As a result of this, there is a vacuum at the management level and the BRP’s incompetence has been exposed. Over the last 30 months, the department and the Gauteng Provincial Government have paid over R600 million to the entity without any financial accountability by the BRP,” said Morweng.
He said this amount is not inclusive of the multi-journey ticket sales and other operational revenue collected. Morweng said the department has written numerous letters to the BRP asking for accountability and all the letters went un-replied.
“Following the failure of the BRP to submit progress reports and accounts to the department, the matter of removing him was pursued through the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
“After successfully removing him, the BRP then indicated that he would apply for a leave to appeal the High Court ruling. The department then lodged a Section 18 of the Superior Court Act application seeking an implementation of the initial order for the removal of the BRP,” he said.
He said the purpose of this Section 18 move is to ensure that the court ruling is enforced despite the BRP application for leave to appeal. Morweng said it is for this reason that the posture of the department is not to transfer any money to the BRP, as previously money sent to pay employees was prioritized for purposes unknown to the department.
“It has recently been widely reported that the North West Provincial Treasury has allocated R75 million to the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management for NTI. Let me clarify that this is incorrect. As outlined in the official Treasury allocation letter, the actual amount is R65 million.
“It should also be noted that the department has made an advance payment of over R18 600 000 to the entity in June 2024. This advance was provided to cover NTI employees’ salaries,” said Morweng.
He said this was facilitated through LabourNet as it was the only option that could be used with certainty that the salaries would be paid. Morweng said taking these factors into account, the correct available amount therefore is just above R46 379 000.
“This is because the R18m referred to earlier is refundable to the department. The department is still to receive a formal report from the NTI on the specific usage of this R18m.
“This report should include a detailed expenditure breakdown, necessary for confirmation and compliance verification. Of late, the BRP has appointed a service provider who is deducting a 2% admin fee from employees, which is unlawful,” he said.
Morweng said from the payroll that was processed by the BRP service provider, a total of R223 000 was deducted from employees, who were paid in March 2024. He said the service provider which is preferred by the BRP is charging this exorbitant service fee and takes two weeks to process salaries of the employees whilst the LabourNet which was used before, processes salaries within a day.
“Some of the NTI employees have alleged that the BRP is selective in paying salaries and has been divisive in his approach. Some employees have allegedly been paid whilst others are being made to suffer.
“The NTI is a 3-D company that must generate its income and pay its creditors including salaries of the employees. As the company operates routes in Gauteng Province, it receives a subsidy of about R60 million every month,” said Morweng.
He said the NTI’s income from this subsidy alone should enable it to run profitably, but the BRP priorities are not for the benefit of the entity. Morweng said his department is a shareholder representative of the entity and does not budget for NTI.
“Since the BRP was appointed by the NTI to turn it around, it has not produced even a single report to the department nor account to the shareholder has refused to appear before the Portfolio Committee, and yet wants money from the government.
“Rightfully, the BRP, as the accounting officer of NTI, must respond to non-payment of the salaries of the employees. Regrettably, the BRP has been using the desolate state of employees that he had not paid to come to Mahikeng to demonstrate,” he said.
According to Moweng, the buses that he is sending here should be operating and generating money for the entity. He said the BRP has authorized buses to ferry employees to Mahikeng, who had been here since the middle of December 2024.
“This means production at the entity was affected as both the employees and the buses were here. My appeal to all NTI employees is that they should be part of the solution to the entity and not the problem and go back to work as we are busy trying to come up with a permanent solution.
“As the caring government, we can’t leave the entity to die. Our interest as shareholders is to see the employees being paid. Our team is looking into the possibilities of making sure that this is done and within ten days we will have made sure that there is a solution to that challenge of salaries,” said Morweng.
The Guardian 