Picture: Taung Agricultural College principal, Prudence Matlhoko arrested by the Hawks
By REGINALD KANYANE
A fraud case against Taung Agricultural College principal, Prudence Matlhoko has been postponed to 14 April 2020, reported our sister publication, The News Pulse. Matlhoko (38) briefly appeared at the Taung Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday after she was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption investigation team at the college on 4 May 2020 for fraud.
The Hawks spokesperson in the Northern Cape, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said: “The suspect allegedly submitted fraudulent travel claims exceeding R17 500. The investigations revealed that she allegedly used a state vehicle in October 2017 and fraudulently claimed official kilometres although she used her private vehicle whilst executing work-related duties.
Matlhoko’s R1000 bail was extended and witnesses in this case were also urged to avail themselves when needed. The case was also transferred to the Taung Regional Court.
The African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip in the North West Provincial Legislature, Paul Sebegoe on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of an independent investigators to assist provincial departments and public entities to fast track investigations into financial irregularities.
This comes after the North West Premier, Professor Tebogo Job Mokgoro’s response to questions asked by Sebegoe for an oral response on measures to tackle corruption during the special sitting of the Legislature held on Tuesday.
Mokgoro said that the project instituted by the Provincial Treasury has commenced and is in progress. He added that the new internal control models were introduced in the supply chain process to ensure the procurement complies with all laws and regulations.
“The compliance of the control environment is being monitored regularly by various stakeholders. Independent verification of the system for tenders valued above R10 million prior to awarding was introduced as from 1 April 2019 in order to reduce possible fraud or corruption in the procurement system.
“The roll out of risk management strategies in departments and entities by the Provincial Risk Management will pick up any possible gaps in the controls and other service delivery processes,” he said.
Mokgoro also pointed out that the province has pushed a drive to intensify the fight against fraud and corruption by raising awareness in collaboration with various law enforcement agencies and civil society and business. He added that the province has continued to promote whistleblowing as part of encouraging the public to report cases of fraud and corruption to the National Anti-Corruption number (0800 701 701)
Sebegoe said: “Consequence management introduced for non-compliance must be tracked, early warning systems put in place regularly monitored to ensure that service delivery happens without compromise of value for money and a systems bleed.”
(Picture Supplied: Taung Agricultural College principal, Prudence Matlhoko arrested by the Hawks
By REGINALD KANYANE
A trial against Taung Agricultural College principal, Prudence Matlhoko is expected to resume at Taung Regional Court on Wednesday. Matlhoko (38) was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption investigation team at the college on 4 March 2020 for fraud.
The Hawks spokesperson in the Northern Cape, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said: “The suspect allegedly submitted fraudulent travel claims exceeding R17 500. The investigations revealed that she allegedly used a state vehicle in October 2017 and fraudulently claimed official kilometres although she used her private vehicle whilst executing work-related duties.”
A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment for rape. Richard Senelo was found guilty of rape by the Kimberley Sexual Offences. Northern Cape police spokesperson, Lt Colonel Dimakatso Mooi said Senelo raped a girl (17) at his shack back in 2018.
“The incident happened on 26 May 2018 at about 18:00 when the accused accosted the victim while she was on her way to her boyfriend. He forced her to a shanty at Madiba Shacks where he raped her. The victim managed to escape and the matter was reported to the police.
“The accused was found at his shanty still asleep and was arrested on the same day of the incident. The Unit Commander of Galeshewe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, Lieutenant Colonel Marli Strydom, commended the Investigating Officer, WO Reginald Zephe, on a sterling investigation which secured a conviction,” she said.
In another separate incident, the Northern Cape High Court in Hartswater sentenced Elvis Malebo (26) to 25 years in prison for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Evelyn Mocumi (27). According to information, Malebo bludgeoned Mocumi to her death with a panga and stabbed her 34 times with a knife.
Northern Cape police spokesperson, Capt Sergio Kock said: “The incident happened on 14 June 2020 at about 07:30am when the accused found Mocumi with a 33-year-old male in her shanty at the Asgat Informal Settlement in Hartswater.
“Malebo went to his house to fetch the weapons and threatened the male with the panga. The male fled the scene and the accused murdered the female. He was arrested by Hartswater SAPS minutes later and remained in custody up until his sentencing.”
Kock added that Malebo pleaded guilty and received 25 years for the murder and 12 months for assault on the male. He said the sentences will run concurrently.
The acting commissioner for the Northern Cape Police, Major General Phiwe Mnguni commended the investigating officer, Sgt Abraham Mokae from Hartswater Detectives for a job well done. Mnguni also condemns the incident and reiterated that the sentence will send out a stern message to all persons who think of committing GBV crimes.
Picture: A spillage at Khuseleka One Stop centre in Vryburg
By BAKANG MOKOTO
Democratic Alliance in the North West said it is concerned about the safety of the victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at Khuseleka One Stop Centre in Vryburg. This comes after the DA spokesperson on Health and Social Development, Gavin Edwards, Member of Parliament, Sello Seitlholo and Councillor Hendriette van Huyssteen visited the centre on an oversight inspection recently.
Edwards said the purpose of the centre is to house victims of violence and crime that is referred for shelter by the South African Police Services (SAPS). He further said these women and children’s lives are often endangered and therefore optimum security is a non-negotiable necessity.
“It is concerning that the centre has no empowerment programmes in place to assist victims to develop skills or find jobs to rebuild their lives after leaving the centre. The recreational activities available are limited to a TV room, gym equipment and library consisting of a few books and computers.
“There are currently no tutors to assist with computer classes or other skills development programmes. Due to the Covid-19 regulations, the children staying at the centre are unable to attend Early Learning Centres,” said Edwards.
He added that the centre has a playground, but there are no other resources to ensure learning activities. Edwards said this concerning especially for children housed for an extended period of time.
“The centre management has, on several occasions, contacted the Naledi Local Municipality to unblock the overflowing drain, but to no avail. There is also a broken water pipe on the premises that has not yet been repaired by the Department of Public Works. The area is not cordoned off, posing a safety hazard to residents and staff.
“We will also write to the MEC for the Department of Public Works and Roads, Oageng Molapisi to request urgent attention to all maintenance challenges. We will also continue to apply pressure on the Department of Social Development to fulfil its constitutional obligations towards the vulnerable in society,” he said.
Meanwhile, the North West Social Development spokesperson, Petrus Siko said the centre is receiving support from the department. Siko said in 2019/20 financial year, the centre received an additional budget of R500 000 from the department to address all the identified needs including general maintenance of the centre.
“Currently, the centre has been allocated R6 000 000 for operational costs for the 2020/21 financial year. Our support service officials would do an assessment and ensure that the CCTV cameras are functional. Our work inspector has been engaged to assess the damage on the gate and developed specification for repairs.
“The gate is not functional but it does open and close manually. The interim structure for the institution was approved in 2017 and due to pressure on Compensation of Employees, not all the posts were filled. Social workers are currently providing Life Skills in order to make clients self-reliant,” said Siko.
He further said the department would prioritise the appointment of a Child and Youth care workers to provide services to children at the centre. Siko said there is a septic tank at the premises of the centre that needs to be regularly drained and at times the municipality takes time to respond to the call.
“The drain has been sucked and currently dried out, but District Works Inspector has assessed it and identified areas for repairs. Specifications for repairs were developed and submitted to Provincial Infrastructure sub-directorate for a briefing of Service Providers,” he said.
Picture: Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza visiting Taung
By OBAKENG MAJE
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza said the government will continue to work together with farmers to ensure that food security is preserved. Didiza engaged with commercial, subsistence and smallholders farmers around Taung to assess the conditions of their farms.
“One of the issues that the farmers have raised which they requested the government to work on it is the expansion of the irrigation scheme. Clearly, when you look at this area, there is a lot of lands that can still be irrigated.
“Secondly, they also requested the government to assist them in the area of the revitalization of the scheme. They need us to deal with issues of the canals which are very old and some of them need to be repaired,” she said.
Didiza further said irrigation infrastructure is a key area where farmers need assistance. She added that farmers urged the government to give them support so that they can reach their goals.
“They say even though government gives them support, sometimes it comes too late for the agricultural calendar. What do I mean about that is for instance, if it is the summer season where people are planting grains like maize or sunflower, when the government gives some inputs to them, sometimes the assistance comes in the middle of the calendar or even at the end of the season.
“So, those inputs are normally not going to be of use to the farmers. This has propelled some of the farmers to get into contracts with some of the commodity organizations, or in some of the individuals of the members of the commercial farmers. What we are concerned about is the times of contracts they tight themselves to because are not working in their favour.
“Farmers enter into these contracts and my guess is that sometimes they do not examine the conditions of the contracts. This happens because most farmers do not have the implements to farm the land. Contractors come, plant the land and harvest it and at the end, farmers get nothing out of their own land,” said Didiza.
She added that one of the things they have agreed on is coming back here and work with farmers. Didiza said they will look at how they can resolve some of those issues and ensure that they come up with mechanisms to assist these farmers.
One of the farmers, Keitumetse Kgosiemang (27) who has six years in farming said they are faced with a mammoth tasks. Kgosiemang said she is now sitting on top of R80 000 worth of debts after she engaged in a contract with a white commercial farmer.
“I am a farmer at Tshidiso South and I cannot see any progress in farming because of a lack of support from the government. This forced us to resort to seeking assistance from white commercial farmers. They buy planting seeds for us and pay water and electricity bills including the mechanism.
“However, this is not financially viable because we come out of this with nothing at the end of the cropping season. We are forced to seek assistance from these white commercial farmers because we do not have the financial backing to cover all our costs,” she said.
Kgosiemang urged government to provide them with the financial muscle and assist them with machinery and fertilizers.
Another disgruntled farmer, Aobakwe Gaobuse from Bosele Cooperative shared the same sentiments. Gaobuse said they have serious challenges as farmers in Taung.
“Firstly, we have a serious problem in Taung with machinery and even what the government is helping us with is not coming on time. That is why our people go to white commercial farmers for assistance. We also have a challenge regarding our extension officers who supposed to lead us, but they are not helping us at all.
Oratile Segosapelo who is one of the 176 people whom their land was taken by force back in 1992 said they want to be compensated. Segosapelo said even though their land was restituted back to them in 2017, it has turned into a ‘white elephant’ because of a lack of support from the government.
“We are not happy with how the department has handled our matter. We are 176 farmers and our land was forcefully taken away from us back in 1992. The government distributed back the land to us, but it has done little in giving us any support. What is happening is that white commercial farmers have been utilizing that land without compensating us.
“We have even written to the Office of the Public Protector for intervention. We would like at least to get compensated by those who have been benefiting from our land. Government bought a pivot irrigation system for us, but white commercial farmers strapped it and used those parts to fix theirs,” said Segosapelo.
North West Provincial Coronavirus Command Council (NWPCCC) said there is a need to raise alarm as a concerted effort to prevent the possible second wave of infections. This comes after the public’s evident of non-adherence to the COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly the wearing of face masks.
The North West Premier, Prof Job Mokgoro who also serves as the NWPCCC chairperson has urged the law enforcement officers to keep a close watch on this behaviour. Mokgoro said the council reflected on this observation during its virtual meeting, which was attended by Ministers and Deputy Ministers deployed to the province as National District Champions, the MECs, Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Chairperson of SALGA, Heads of Department and Administrators.
“While we note a steady decrease in the number of new and active infections in the province since August, we are concerned about the apparent public complacency, particularly on the use of masks. We need to caution the public that COVID-19 is not over and we have a collective responsibility to prevent a possible resurgence.
“The Command Council also welcomed the Epidemiology report from the department of Health which showed that the province’s recovery rate is now at 91%, and that there is a further decrease in hospitalisation cases which were at 180 as at 2 October,” he said.
Mokgoro further said the ICU and high care numbers were ranging between 5 and 23 during the same period. He said the Command Council welcomed the department’s resolve to continue educating the public about the significance of adhering to the preventative measures as well as strengthening the current strong focus on contact tracing.
“In support of this contact tracing effort, the Command Council encourages members of the public to download the COVID-19 Alert App launched recently by the national Department of Health, which lets users know when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
“We urge the public to make a difference by adding their phones to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 using this contact tracing technology. On the use of available quarantine sites, the Command Council agreed to keep all 13 government quarantine facilities across the province open, this to ensure availability of about 500 beds when a need arises,” said Mokgoro.
He said the Command Council also stressed the need for parents to allow learners to go back to school in order to avoid unintended consequences of an increase in school drop-outs. Mokgoro added that the meeting called on other community structures including the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders to forge hands with the department of Education and strategically encourage learners to go back to school.
“We urge members of the public to continue observing the Coronavirus prevention measures which include the washing of hands with water and soap regularly or use of an alcohol based sanitiser, wearing a face masks when in public places, keeping physical distance and covering the mouth with a flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing.
“We reiterate that through the consistent practicing of these hygiene tips, the fight to flatten the curve will be achieved and that COVID-19 will be finally defeated,” said Mokgoro.
Lindiwe Nkgobang said she is grateful after her rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment by Vryburg Regional Court recently. Nkgobang (23) said even though the case dragged for ten years before reaching its completion, she can breathe a sigh of relief.
“I was only 13 years when I was raped. We were chilling with friends from one of the joints in Vryburg when I decided to go home. My friends refused to go and I requested two of the young boys around to accompany me.
“Unfortunately, we came across two gentlemen who chased those boys away. I was left vulnerable as they dragged me to the toilets of an abandoned building and raped me,” she said.
Nkgobang said she was threatened with a knife and she was raped twice by the perpetrators. She said the first man used condom and Dikabelo Masiza who was sentenced to life imprisonment did not use it.
“It was heart-throbbing that the court acquitted the first accused. However, I still maintain that he raped me and I will not rest until he is also found guilty. They assaulted me during the ordeal and the incident has put me through severe depression in my life.
Masiza (32) had previous cases such as robbery, theft and being in possession of drugs. The court instructed that he should be deemed unfit to possess a firearm and his name be included in the sexual offenders’ register.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) regional secretary in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Justice Dabampe said: “We are happy that Lindiwe has finally found justice after 10 years of trial. Although the other accused was found not guilty, the other one was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
“This is after they raped her ten years ago. Mind you, she was only 13 years old. Indeed, ten long years to victory in Vryburg Magistrate’s Court. Gender-Based Violence (GBV) does not have space in our society.
Dabampe added that the perpetrator has been convicted previously for theft, robbery, and being in possession of drugs and he is a well-known monster that has been terrorising the community for quite some time.”
Meanwhile, Sonke Gender Justice senior strategic advisor, Bafana Khumalo said it is so sad to see men waged a war against women’s bodies. Khumalo said they calling on men to resist patriarchy, change the narrative of what it means to be a man, and treat all women with dignity and respect.
“We call on all men in our country to take a firm stand against GBV and femicide. They need to commit to working as allies with all organisations that are working in this sector. As men, we need to lead from the front in all efforts that seek to heal our land of this scourge.
“Let us support women and girls in all their endeavours as they seek to actualise their dreams of living in a violence-free country. Women should not be afraid to walk freely in the streets,” he said.
Revellers were left high and dry at Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre with no provision of water for days. This comes after the North West Tourism Board organised an event at the institution last week to celebrate the Tourism Month in a quest to promote the province’s various tourist attractions.
Some of the guests were allegedly forced to draw some water from the swimming pool to bath. They allegedly informed the institution’s acting chief executive officer (CEO), Adv Mothusi Tsineng but instead he allegedly requested them to revolt against the matter.
Tsineng allegedly entered a tour bus at the hotel school and accused the media of not writing anything about lack of water. He allegedly called on people to embark on protests over lack of water and shut down strategic areas with burning tyres.
North West Tourism Board spokesperson, Mamaki Phoolo said: “We are aware that there is no water at the hotel. However, it is not only the hotel school affected as this includes the surrounding areas.
“We will continue to engage with the water service provider and ensure that our guests are catered for. On allegations leveled against the CEO, I cannot comment. Please, call him so that he can answer for himself.”
Tsineng did not respond to our messages and his phone rang unanswered before going to print. Some of the staff members who did not want to be named for reprisal also alleged that Tsineng displays arrogance towards them too.
Meanwhile, the Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation, and Tourism in the province and its agency North West Tourism Board in partnership with the Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation on Thursday launched the province’s film festival in Taung under the theme “Film inspires Tourism’’.
The North West Tourism Board marketing coordinator, Mpho Motshegwa said: “Communities must sell the province to potential tourists. What we want to see going forward is that the first people to traverse this province should be the residents of the North West.
“We also concede that it could have been how we have been marketing the destination, our pre-occupation has been with the outside people forgetting our people. So, we are trying to rework our marketing model, so that it has an internal focus to start with our people because our people understand the dynamics of the province,” Motshegwa said.
The Regional Director of Mmabana in Taung, Nako Molema said Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports foundation through outreach programs identify talent from different villages and nurture it.
“We are an academy of arts and culture, we identify the talent of children in the villages through what we call outreach programs, it’s mostly called talent search but we call it outreach. And once we have identified talent we nurture it and groom them to become professional artists by providing necessary platforms for them,” said Molema.
The Nobula family in Lokgabeng village in Taung lives in fear after a group of people ‘masquerading’ as community members burnt the house of one of its family members. It is alleged that a group of people armed with knobkerries, sticks, and firearms stormed into the house of Moshe Nobula (44) and kidnapped his son (19).
North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh confirmed that police are investigating cases related to mob justice. Myburgh said it is distressful to see community members taking the law into their own hands instead of reporting suspects/criminal activity to the police.
“Three cases were reported following the mayhem. On Monday last week, at about 9am, a 19-year-old victim was allegedly at home when a mob arrived looking for his father. The boy was allegedly taken on behalf of his father, who was not home at that time.
“This people dragged him into a vehicle and took him to a house where he was beaten several times with a wooden stick and sustained injuries on his back. A 44-year-old suspect, who is the father to the kidnapped victim allegedly drove with his vehicle into a mob of people, injuring three of them on Lokgabeng Public Road at about 11:10 on Monday,” said Myburgh.
She added that the fourth victim, Oupanyana Sebokolodi (57) passed away in hospital later the same day due to injuries sustained from the vehicle crash. Myburgh said Nobula was arrested for murder the following day.
“The police also opened an arson case after Nobula’s wife was on her way to the hospital on Monday when her husband allegedly informed her that people are on their way to burn their house.
“She immediately went back home at Lokgabeng village, where she found their three-room house on fire. A Toyota Corolla vehicle was also burnt beyond repair in the fire. All three cases mentioned above are still under investigation.
“The police would like to urge the community to refrain from getting involved in mob/jungle justice. Information on criminal activities should be reported to your local police station. If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MYSAPS App,” said Myburgh.
One of our sources said: “Even though I was not aware of why people were looking for Nobula, I heard rumours that they accused him of livestock theft. However, we cannot be a lawless society and take the law into our own hands.
“It was unfortunate that when Moshe arrived at the scene he was attacked. He only wanted to rescue his son from the mob and unfortunately, he ran over some people. He was also shot at the following day by the same people, but police have not arrested anyone,” our source said. Meanwhile, today the police in Taung has arrested those individuals who allegedly torched the house and a vehicle belonging to Nobula who is charged with murder.
The Guardian 