The veteran radio broadcaster Oshebeng Alpheus Koonyaditse presented his last sports show last Friday, before he decided to quit his job at the public broadcaster after almost 30 years spent in the media industry.

He spent 21 of the 30 years at the SABC.

Although Koonyaditse’s freelance contract was set to end only in four months, he decided to call it quits this week. The veteran broadcaster has spent 19 years in current affairs at Motsweding FM.

The celebrated presenter is currently completing his thesis in international relations and holds an MBA from the University of the North West. He is also a Fellow at the United States International Visitor Leadership Programme (Edward R. Murrow Programme for Journalists).

“In life, you never say never. There is nothing that I know besides journalism. If granted another opportunity in the future, I will definitely consider it,” said Koonyaditse.

It is understood that Koonyaditse became frustrated at Motsweding FM when he was not offered a new contract earlier this year, and there was also believed to be unhappiness around the management at the radio station.

Another source claimed that Motsweding FM’s station manager Katlego Mokhele, who was suspended on August 2019, was at the centre of veterans leaving the radio station. Mokhele was fired by the public broadcaster last Wednesday.

The SABC’s acting spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo said Koonyaditse resigned out of his own volition.

By BAKANG MOKOTO

A 27-year-old policeman is expected to apply for bail at the Taung Magistrate’s Court today. Keaobaka Mmolawa who stationed at the Taung Police Station was arrested on Friday for armed robbery and attempted murder.

It is allegedly that Mmolawa shot a man who was hitch-hiking next to the filling station in Pudimoe Township in Taung along N18 road. According to the Pudimoe Police Station cluster spokesperson, Warrant Officer Tebogo Thebe, Mmolawa allegedly approached the man and demanded to search him.

Thebe said the victim allegedly requested Mmolawa to identify himself before any search can be conducted.

“It is alleged that a commotion ensued between the two. Mmolawa allegedly shot the victim several times, took his bag and put it in his car. The policeman was not on duty at the time of the incident.

“We can confirm that the victim was admitted at the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp with gunshot injuries. Mmolawa briefly appeared at the Taung Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, but he was remanded in custody until Thursday for a formal bail application,” he said.

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

Businesses and residents in Vryburg continue to be subjected to severe electricity cuts due to poor maintenance of the electrical infrastructure, said the Democratic Alliance.

DA councillor in the Naledi Local Municipality, Jan Brand said the party will write to the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Gordon Kegakilwe asking him to intervene in the municipality’s failure to restore electricity supply to several areas and to fix streetlights.

“The ANC-led Naledi Local Municipality is unable to attend to the basic and yet critical part of service delivery which directly impacts the safety of residents which is to fix the electricity problems that currently engulf the whole municipality.

“For the past ten years, the smallholdings and households on the Delareyville and Schweizer road have been subjected to severe electricity cuts. Residents have to endure long consecutive hours without electricity due to poor maintenance of the electrical infrastructure,” said Brand.

He said this negatively affects businesses who suffer in losses not only in productivity but incur damage to their equipment as a result of the unstable electricity supply. Brand added that in August, three transformers were burnt down and only two of them were fixed.

“The transformer will cost the municipality R400 000 to fix, money which the municipality does not have. This leaves households to each use up to 40 Amperes (amps). This is too low and causes residents’ electricity to trip and go off for more than 20 minutes if they plug in more than one electronic device.

“For the past three years, almost all the streets lights within the town have not been working due to a burnt-out cable. The DA has on numerous occasions asked the municipality to replace it, but nothing is being done to fix the problem,” he said.

According to Brand, the municipality does not have the necessary equipment and vehicles such as cherry picker trucks to attend to necessary electrical faults. He said the lack of street lights has also allowed criminals to take advantage.

“There has been an increase in crime, particularly, house burglaries and robberies. The automatic timer switch is also broken and has not been replaced, which causes many streets in Vryburg to either permanently be in the dark as the street lights have to be manually turned on and off from each light pole.

“Due to ANC mismanagement, the municipality is in a deep financial crisis and is failing to maintain electrical infrastructure and deliver basic services to its residents. It is no longer enough to place municipalities under administration as this does not yield any results.

“The municipality needs a change of government that will implement a turn-around strategy to fix the municipality’s finances and restore service delivery,” said Brand.

The Administrator at the municipality, Paul Maseko has not responded to our messages before going to print. The Naledi Local Municipality is one of 14 municipalities put under administration in the province.

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Picture: One of the unfinished RDP houses Source: Daily Sun

By REGINALD KANYANE

Incomplete RDP houses in the North West province continues to be a “cause for concern.” According to the beneficiaries, the contractors left these houses incomplete and have continuously promised to come back to complete them, but that has never happened.

Some of these houses in Lekgopung and Taung have been left without roofing, plastering, windows, doors and proper floors.

However, the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs in the North West, Mothibedi Kegakilwe he recently met with senior officials in the department to discuss the state of housing delivery in the province.

Kegakilwe further said his department should no longer tolerate poor performance by housing developers and must not hesitate to take action against such developers.

“We should not be lenient with developers because they decided to be in business and they must deliver good products. We, on the other hand, are in the business of delivering houses and we must do just that.

“We must also ensure that proper planning, monitoring, and contract management in the housing delivery chain is essential. Managers must plan, do a review and act to produce good results. Gone are the days when houses were built without internal services,” said Kegakilwe.

He added that the department cannot still be talking about developers who have long been appointed and have not yet occupied the site. Kegakilwe said communities expect nothing from them, but the delivery of quality houses.

“The department needs to address the challenge of water and sanitation in the context of housing delivery too. We also want to denounce the illegal occupation of the Community Residential Units (CRU) in Mahikeng. Most of the people who are occupying those units are government officials who can afford houses and we must, therefore, address this issue once and for all.

“We would request the Minister of Human, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu to convene a meeting with Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) to resolve the issue of the social housing units in Mahikeng – Unit 3,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kegakilwe also appealed for the empowerment of women, youth and emerging housing contractors. He said the government will nurture them so that they do not collapse.

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By BAKANG MOKOTO

North West policeman was arrested on Friday for armed robbery and attempted murder. Keaobaka Mmolawa (27) who is stationed at the Taung Police Station allegedly shot a man who was hitch-hiking next to the filling station in Pudimoe Township in Taung along N18 road.

According to the Pudimoe Police Station cluster spokesperson, Warrant Officer Tebogo Thebe who told Vaaltar FM News, Mmolawa allegedly approached the man and demanded to search him. Thebe said the victim allegedly requested Mmolawa to identify himself before any search was conducted.

“It is alleged that a commotion ensued between the two. Mmolawa allegedly shot the victim several times, took his bag and put it in his car. The policeman was not on duty at the time of the incident.

“We can confirm that the victim was admitted at the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp with gunshot injuries. Mmolawa briefly appeared at the Taung Magistrate’s Court today, but he was remanded in custody until Thursday for a formal bail application,” he said.

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services today commenced with interviews for the Deputy Public Protector position which will become vacant next month.

Committee Chairperson, Bulelani Magwanishe said the committee will expedite the process and aims to recommend a candidate for the position before parliament rises for its annual recess next month, in order for the National Assembly to adopt its decision.

“The deputy Public Protector is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Assembly for such a period as the President may determine at the time of such appointment, but not exceeding seven years.

“The Deputy Public Protector may at the end of his or her term, be reappointed for one additional term. The committee received 29 applications/nominations of which three withdrew before the shortlisting process. A total of eight candidates were shortlisted for interviews, but one withdrew after this,” Magwanishe said.

Today, the candidates were Adv Shadrack Nkuna, Buang Jones, Adv Moshoeshoe Moshoeshoe and Adv Noxolo Mbangeni.

Questions to the candidates include: How do they understand the concept of rule of law and that of due process? How will they address the possible conflict between the Deputy Public Protector (DPP) and the Public Protector (PP) and the roles regarding responsibilities given the DPP? Question of neutrality, decisions free from political bias were also raised with the candidates.

“The person recommended for appointment as Deputy Public Protector must be a South African citizen, who is a fit and proper person to hold such office, and who is admitted as advocate or an attorney and has, for a cumulative period of at least 10 years after having been so admitted, practised as an advocate or an attorney.

“The person must also be qualified to be admitted as an advocate or an attorney and has, for a cumulative period of at least 10 years after having been so qualified, lectured in law at a university or has specialized knowledge of, or experience for a cumulative period of at least 10 years, in the administration of justice, public administration or public finance or has, for a cumulative period of at least 10 years, been a Member of Parliament; or has acquired any combination of experiences mentioned above, for a cumulative period of at least 10 years,” he said.

The interviews will continue tomorrow at Old Assembly Chamber Building with Adv Lwazi Kubukeli, Adv Puleng Matshelo, and Adv Kholeka Gcaleka.
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The Springboks are on top of the world again!

They surged to a third Rugby World Cup title beating England convincingly 32-12 in the final here on Saturday.

Coach Rassie Erasmus’s masterplan marvellously came to fruition as his team, with cool composure, stuck to a script they had so religiously followed all tournament. Their forwards pummelled England in particular in the scrums, while the Springboks’ belligerence in defence allowed England very little time and space.

The Boks pulled Red Rose petals until there was nothing left to pluck.

The win is testament to coach Erasmus’s strategic planning and powers of organisation. He initiated a turnaround strategy for the national team that was in the doldrums after he became SA Rugby’s director of rugby almost two years ago.

By REGINALD KANYANE
The recent strike by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) members at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) head offices came to an end on Friday.

The NSFAS employees who participated in the strike will return to work from Monday as per agreement by both parties.

NSFAS administrator, Dr Randall Carolissen said an agreement was reached and signed by both parties, following a week-long strike that started on Monday the previous week, due to unsuccessful negotiations between NSFAS and the union relating to Performance Management System. The principle of “no work no pay” will be applied as per agreement between NSFAS and the union.

“The employer has agreed to set aside a R2 million payment for permanent employees that are within the bargaining unit. Both parties have also committed to an immediate resumption of a National Bargaining Forum (NBF) which will focus among other issues outstanding matters from the recent discussions.

“We would like to express our appreciation for patience and understanding shown by the students during this challenging period,” said Carolissen.

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