BY KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
The Mayor of Moses Kotane Local Municipality, Fetsang Mokati has officially opened a 1.8 km Lerome South Internal Road as part of the provincial Setsokotsane programme.

Addressing community members at the officially opening of the road, Mayor Mokati said the leadership listened to community needs and priorities that were raised during IDP public consultations. 

“During public consultations, our residents often complained of not knowing about projects in their villages. Following my presentation of budget speech for this financial year, we have been doing sod-turning ceremonies of service delivery projects to introduce projects to communities and tribal authorities. 

“Today we are handing over the 1.8km paved internal road.  Should there be any dissatisfaction of communities about any matter, let it not be on this road. Take care of this road, engage tribal authority and municipality to resolve any issues that you may have,” Mokati said.

She said it was not her wish that people of Lerome would burn the tyres on this road.

“This is your road. Have ownership to protect and preserve it. If you protect it, it will give us a chance to go to other villages of MKLM for service delivery provision,” she said.

Mokati further urged community members to be part of Setsokotsane service delivery outreaches to access government services within their reach.

She further urged them to register on the IEC voter’s roll as their registration will increase the municipal equitable share allocation from the National Treasury.

Setsokotsane is currently in Moses Kotane Local Municipality until February 28.

The R7.7 million project which started in April 2015 as phase two, was completed within a projected time.

Twenty five people were employed.

The municipality allocated R72.3 million for construction of internal roads and storm water projects for various villages as one of the key priorities of this financial year.
-TDN
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Issued by Beauty Makganye 

BY REGINALD KANYANE
Four suspects are expected to appear before Brits Magistrate’s Court for stock-theft.

North West police spokesperson, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said that the suspects aged between 25 and 32 were arrested for being in possession of fifteen  suspected stolen goats on Thursday at around 01:00am.

“Police were patrolling the vicinity of Kameeldrift when they noticed suspicious White Toyota Hilux carrying goats. The vehicle was stopped at Kameeldrift filling station and a search was conducted.

“They allegedly found fifteen goats loaded at the back of the vehicle.  The suspects failed to produce live-stock ownership or transportation documents upon request,” Mokgwabone said.

The police said the suspects confessed that the goats were stolen during  the arrest.

“The suspects informed the police that the goats were allegedly stolen in Moruleng village near Rustenburg, and were being transported to Mamelodi,” he said.
-TDN
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BY REGINALD KANYANE

A 37 year-old man briefly appeared before Vryburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for rape. The suspect handed himself over to the police on Tuesday. He was accused of raping a 14 year-old girl.

North West police spokesperson, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said the case was postponed until Monday next week.

“The accused allegedly raped a 14 year-old girl two weeks ago (February 6, 2016) at Huhudi location, in Vryburg. The accused was on a suspended sentence for a public violence. He was also out on bail for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm case.” Mokgwabone said.

He said it was alleged that the suspect started to rape the minor back in November last year. Mokgwabone said the suspect was also charged for abduction.

The South African Civic Organisation’s regional secretary in Dr Ruth Mompati, Mika Moeti said they condemned any means of abuse bestowed towards women and children. He said that they will support the victim and the perpetrator needed to be harshly sentenced if found guilty.

“As Sanco, we want to condemn any deeds that put our children and women at risk. We tend to receive reports almost every week about string of rapes that are taking place across the region. It is very disturbing to find out that some of men are turning into monsters. They rape the minors and get away with murder.

“We want to be on record and encourage women and children who experienced any form of abuse to come forward. We hope the law will take its course and we want to appeal to the community of Vryburg not to take the law into their own hands. As community members, we must work together with the police in combating crime.”

The disgruntled community members packed the court and allegedly called for no bail. They alleged that they will take the law into their own hands if the suspect gets bail. The case was postponed until Monday next week for bail application and to grant the  suspect an opportunity to get legal representative.
-TDN
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Rustenburg – The Tlokwe local municipality in North West did not write off R90 million in debt to entice voters ahead of the municipal ward by-election, the municipality said on Thursday.

“The DA’s allegations are grossly irresponsible and misleading to the public. It is a sign of a party that is politically bankrupt and would desperately do anything, even unethical, to scrape for whatever votes they can get,” said mayoral spokesperson Victor Boqo.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday accused the African National Congress (ANC) of cheap politicking, by writing off debt amounting to R90 million to residents in the much sought-after ward 4.

DA Tlokwe constituency head, Juanita Terblanche, said the ANC had swapped food parcels for debt relief in order to secure votes in the upcoming by-elections.

“Suddenly, it is revealed that the council scrapped nearly R90 million of residents’ debt in Promosa, Ikageng and Mohadin. It is straightforwardly suspicious that information like this is shared nine days prior to one of the most contested by-elections in the city ever,” she said.

“It is clear that this is just another exercise to gain votes. All the other wards are inhabited by the poorest of the poor with much more serious service delivery challenges than Ward 4. However, the poor and their conditions are ignored, just because they do not live in such a strategic ward for the governing party,” Terblanche added.

Boqo said there have been no sitting of council this year.

“They [DA] themselves know that there has been no council meeting this year as because of their boycott tactics that have left sittings of council with no quorum and unable to continue. So which council could have wiped off a R90 million debt?” he asked.

“The last time the council discussed the writing off of debts was in the 2013/14 financial year, and there were no elections. The amount written was not R90 million, but R43,349463. 91 and involved indigent debt only. The DA was part of that council meeting and never raised a whimper of objection or concern.”

He called on the DA to announce publicly which council meeting took a decision to write off R90 million debt.

“We are calling the DA’s bluff, they must tell the public as to where the decision of writing off the R90 million was taken, failing which we will say they can be confirmed as the greatest and shameless liars.”

By-elections would be held in Tlokwe on February 24, following the Constitutional Court ruling in November last year, which set aside the outcome of the by-election held on 18 September 2013 in ward 18 and by-elections held on 11 December 2013 in wards 1, 4, 11, 12, 13 and 20. The court ordered that fresh by-elections must be held.

Ward 4 would be contested by Johanna Shono Xaba, an independent candidate, Thamsanqa Nols Kondile of the ANC and Ludwig Johannes Zerwick of the DA.

The DA and Congress of the People on Wednesday said a service delivery blitz by the ANC led municipality was an undue influence of voters.

“As for the service delivery blitz in ward 4, it is not something new. We have been taking services to the communities which has been led by the executive mayor [Kgotso Khumalo], the premier, Supra Mahumapelo through Setsokotsane and the mayoral Imbizos including public meetings.

Instead we are on record that the DA, [they] have not been calling public meetings in December and January as they should be.”

Courtesy: African News Agency

Johannesburg – The defence lawyer for convicted murderer Donald Sebolai argued in the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday that former radio presenter “was not a danger to society and doesn’t deserve more than the minimum sentence”.

In October Sebolai was found guilty of murder and of obstructing justice, but was acquitted of the charge of theft.

The former Jozi FM community radio presenter stabbed his girlfriend Rachel “Dolly” Tshabalala in the lower abdomen and left her to bleed to death in her Soweto flat.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Parliament – President Jacob Zuma on Thursday said preventing another downgrade to South Africa’s credit rating was among government’s top priorities as he responded to the fractious debate on his State of the Nation Address.

“High up on our agenda is to prevent a sovereign downgrade,” Zuma told a joint sitting of the National Assembly.

He cautioned that a downgrade “would have an adverse effect for all South Africans”.

The president said while government could not alter the global factors that were hampering economic growth, it would work to address circumstances at home that were contributing to this.

“Since we cannot change the global economic outlook, we will focus on correcting domestic circumstances that have effected confidence in the local economy,” he said.

Courtesy: African News Agency

Johannesburg – There is an ongoing obsession with the controversial Gupta family in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) said on Thursday.

“The risk about this obsession with the Guptas is that we miss the bigger picture in the economy, such as British company Anglo American pulling out investments in the country or Mondi listing outside of South Africa…no one is talking about all that because it is not a Gupta matter,” secretary Gwede Mantashe told reporters at a briefing in Johannesburg.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss, Johan Booysen, will present himself to authorities at the Durban High Court on Friday to face renewed racketeering charges. He will be re-joining 27 other members of the Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit in the dock with whom he was originally charged in 2012.

This comes after the National Prosecuting Authority has announced that its new head, Shaun Abrahams, decided to reinstate charges that were withdrawn two years ago.

The state alleges that Booysen, together with 27 members of the Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit, acted like a hit squad by killing several suspects rather than bringing them to book. The state previously said in the indictment that Booysen had either directed these acts or that he ought to have known what was going on.

Booysen successfully challenged the racketeering charge against him in a court application in 2014.

For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel says government has invested over R290-billion in job creation through infrastructure. He was addressing Parliament during the State of the Nation Debate.

Patel outlined some of the outcomes of government’s nine-point-plan.

“This is how we implement the NDP and the nine-point-plan announced last year. The creation of jobs through infrastructure, we invested R290 billion as a nation for the past calendar year, more than R1-billion every working day. The money helped us to build 160 new schools, to provide new higher education housing accommodation for an additional 3100 students. “

Courtesy: SABC

Cape Town – The ANC in the Western Cape has condemned the violence that broke out during student protests at UCT on Tuesday night, and the damage done to busts and pictures that depicted white people.

Spokesperson Yonelo Diko said that while the students’ issues were legitimate and needed attention, being violent was not the way to go about it achieving anything.

He visited the campus because the party was worried about what was happening after the protests culminated in Vice Chancellor Max Price’s office being petrol bombed and the pictures were burnt.

Price was not in the office at the time the petrol bomb gutted the room, leaving black walls and windows.

For more http://www.news24.com