Residents of the troubled Limpopo town of Malamulele have decided to continue with their shutdown of services. They have met to decide a course of action after the Municipal Demarcation Board denied their request to break away from Thulamela Local Municipality and form a separate municipality.

Protests over the last four weeks have often been violent and children are being prevented from attending school.

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Mahikeng- Six people were killed when a minibus taxi rolled on the Vryburg Road near Mahikeng, the North West premier’s office said on Saturday.

The accident happened on the Vryburg road between Setlagole and Mahikeng at around 11:30 when a minibus taxi, driving from Taung to Mahikeng, overturned, said spokesperson Sam Mokaila in a statement.

Six people died on the scene and a number of critically injured passengers were taken to hospital.

The cause of the accident was being investigated.

Premier Supra Mahumapelo conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

“On behalf of the government and people of Bokoni Bophirima, I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, and wish those injured a speedy recovery,” he said.

SAPA

A man sustained critical injuries following an incident while he was mountain biking next to Jan Smuts Avenue near Conrad Drive in Craighall Park, Johannesburg this morning.

“Exact detail surrounding the cause of the fall is still unknown but reports from the scene indicate that the  man was cycling on the trail when the man came off his mountain bike” Netcare911 spokesperson Santi Steinmann said.

Netcare 911 paramedics, its rescue unit and other services arrived at the scene and found the injured man lying on the ground. Upon assessment it was established that the man was in a critical condition.

The man was skillfully placed on a trauma board and eight people carried the from the trail to a waiting ambulance, after which he was transported to hospital for further medical care.
-TDN
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Mahikeng- The National Department of Small Business Development (the dsbd) in partnership with the Bokone Bophirima Department of Economy and Enterprise Development hosted a Provincial workshop focusing on Co-operatives Development Act 6 of 2013, on Wednesday at Gaabo-Motho Resort in Mahikeng.

“The purpose of the workshop was to create awareness on the amendments and their implications to existing co-operatives with the aim of improving the sustainability of cooperatives” department spokesperson Dumisa Seshabela said.

The  Amendment Act aims to strengthen governance, accountability and transparency, and provide for a differential dispensation for co-operative to reduce the regulatory burden to co-operatives. 

Seshabela said the workshop was attended by approximately 150 cooperative members inclusive of youth, women and people with disabilities, representatives from government departments and municipalities within Bokone Bophirima. 

Speaking at the workshop, Elize Koekemoer: Director for Cooperatives Policy, Legislation and Strategy (the dsbd) emphasized that all provincial authorities responsible for cooperative development should be aware of the changes in the legislation and its implications, as well as the requirements and responsibilities in the co-ordination of co-operatives development initiatives amongst the three spheres of government.

Koekemoer indicated that the Act advocates for the establishment of institutions that will empower cooperatives and respond to their challenges such as Cooperative Development Agency, Cooperative Tribunal and Cooperative Council 

Patrick Sebitlo from Agro-preneur Business Incubation Centre encouraged other cooperatives to align to the new Cooperative Amendment Act and comply with other legislations that govern enterprises. 

He echoed that co-operatives need to stop depending fully on government for assistance; rather they should be able to generate their own capital and only approach government for further assistance.

The Department is currently working on the Provincial Cooperative Strategy that will incorporate the new amendments to reduce unemployment rate especially amongst youth and women as small businesses are the key drivers of economic growth and job creation.

The Department will further conduct follow up workshops in all the districts to afford other co-operative members opportunity of interacting with the Amendment Act.
-TDN
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Fochville- Three people were killed and four others injured in a collision on the N12, approximately 18kilometres from Fochville on Friday.

The collision involved a truck and two light motor vehicles.

“According to bystanders the truck allegedly overtook another vehicle and collided with two light motor vehicles in the oncoming lane” ER24 spokesperson Pieter Rossouw said.

When ER24 paramedics arrived on scene they found one car ripped into pieces and the other car heavily damaged.

All four injured patients were transported by medical services to nearby hospitals for further treatment.

The cause of the collision remains unknown.‬
-TDN
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Polokwane – Malamulele residents will not get their own municipality, despite weeks of protests, Limpopo’s co-operative governance department said on Friday.

“No, they are not getting it,” MEC Makoma Makhurupetje’s spokesman Motupa Selomo said, following a meeting with the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

MDB members held a closed meeting with the Malamulele task team and Makhurupetje on Friday.

Protesters demanding their own municipality have brought Malamulele to a standstill, monitoring roads to ensure no business takes place, and forcing a shutdown of schools as well as shops in the local mall.

Residents have blamed the MDB for not heeding their call for Malamulele and some surrounding areas, especially the Xitsonga-speaking ones, to have a separate municipality.

They claim they are not receiving services from the Thulamela municipality, which they allege has been channelling services to Tshivenda-speaking areas.

The demand for another municipality has fuelled tensions between Tshivenda and Xitsonga speakers, and triggered divisions among local traditional leaders, as some regard it as a tribal issue.

Last year, protesters set fire to shops and looted, causing millions of rands in damage.

The MDB was not immediately available for comment.

There were no immediate reports of violence following the announcement.

“For the last couple of days its been quiet, but the shutdown remains. There are no services, and schools and businesses are still closed,” Colonel Ronel Otto said while the meeting continued.

“They (residents) are awaiting feedback from the MDB.”

She said feedback was initially expected on Saturday.

The MDB said in a statement on Thursday that its members would meet in a closed session with the Limpopo provincial administration, including Makhurupetje and community representatives.

“The purpose of the meeting is to provide information regarding the outcome of the study that was conducted by the MDB under the conditions that were outlined to the community,” spokeswoman Bulelwa Mbali-Khoele said.

In the statement on Thursday the MDB said it would not announce at Friday’s meeting whether Malamulele would get its own municipality. However, this decision was apparently reversed.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The attack on four foreigners in their shop in Nsuze, near Dundee, is unfortunate, KwaZulu-Natal’s transport, community safety and liaison MEC said on Friday.

Three Ethiopians were shot and injured, and a fourth was assaulted.

“We are very disappointed and angered by these latest attacks. These, unfortunately, come at a time when we were convinced that we were making progress in amicably resolving these in the greater Inanda (area),” Willies Mchunu said in a statement.

He called on locals to work with police to end such attacks, saying the latest violence harmed efforts currently underway to resolve the matter.

KwaZulu-Natal police said that on Thursday, at 7.30pm, four armed men attacked four Ethiopians in their shop in the Bhamshela area, Nsuze.

“Three of the foreigners were shot and wounded, and the fourth was badly assaulted by the suspects,” Major Thulani Zwane said in a statement.

The attackers fled with an undisclosed amount of money. The victims were taken to hospital. A case of attempted murder and business robbery had been opened.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni appealed to people to approach police with information about the suspects.

Last week, violence – labelled by some as xenophobic – and looting of foreign-owned shops spread from Soweto to Kagiso on the West Rand, Sebokeng in the Vaal Triangle, Eden Park in Ekurhuleni, and Alexandra, Johannesburg.

It was sparked when 14-year-old Siphiwe Mahori was shot dead in Snake Park, Soweto, last Monday, allegedly by a Somalian shopowner. Mahori was allegedly part of a group trying to rob the man’s shop.

Somali national Alodixashi Sheik Yusuf has appeared in court charged with Mahori’s shooting. He will return to court on February 4.

At least nine people have been killed following Mahori’s death. Over 180 people have been arrested in connection with public violence and possession of stolen property.

Sapa

Harare – A man has been jailed for nine years in Mutare, Zimbabwe, after he was found in possession of python meat, Newsday reported on Friday.

Archwell Maramba, 58, said he wanted to eat the meat “to cure my spine”.

Pythons are protected reptiles in Zimbabwe. Killing or hunting them is a criminal offence.

His arrest, conviction and sentencing took six days.

“Since I ate my first python I have seen remarkable improvements (in my back problems),” he argued.

Maramba said he only ate pythons, and was introduced to them by artisanal diamond miners in Chiadzwa a few years back, Newsday quoted Maramba as saying.

He was arrested last Friday in Zimunya, south of Mutare on the road leading to the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

It was not immediately clear if Maramba’s arrest was linked to the discovery of a python in Zimunya earlier this month.

Local press reported last week that the 3.4m-long reptile was killed by youths in Zimunya and its carcass burnt.

Maramba told a court in Mutare this week that some friends had brought the dead python to him.

In 2012, four villagers from the Mhondoro district were each given only a 30-day jail sentence, with the option of a fine, for killing and eating a python.

Sapa