BY KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

The North West Department of Health hereby issues a warning to the community and students in particular about a con-man operating in the Province who deceives learners into thinking he is working for the Department of Health on behalf of nursing colleges to accept application forms for nursing studies at the cost of R1500 per application.  The departmental spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane said the conman calls himself Mr Montshiwa to confuse people with Mme Mamotale Montshiwa who is the former Head of Mmabatho College of Nursing and now Director Nursing Services in the Department.

“The Department has already received a number of calls from learners who were following up on the applications indicating that they have since given Mr Montshiwa R1500 for application.  The Department has not appointed anyone to collect money for registration or application for nursing education.  Our bursaries are free to deserving learners who meet the funding criteria and admission requirements.  They are advertised annually for students to apply.

“Students and the community are urged to report any such a case to the South African Police Services (SAPS) should they come across anyone requesting money to have them registered with our nursing colleges or any of our institutions,” he said.

All enquires about nursing studies should be sent directly to our colleges which are Mmabatho College of Nursing (Tel: 018 384 1123) and Excelsius Nursing College (Tel: 018 406 8600)

-TDN

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Durban – Before entering the Butterworth Forensic Mortuary on Monday to identify their loved ones, the 35 families of those who perished in the Eastern Cape bus accident, gathered to pray.

Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the families arrived early on Monday to view the bodies of those who died when the bus in which they were travelling overturned on the R408 between Butterworth and Willowvale on Saturday.

It was also reported 10 people died in a separate accident when a minibus taxi overturned on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff Reinet.

-TDN

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North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo is under pressure to explain the employment of his most senior civil servant, the director-general, and another senior official despite their alleged involvement in a tender storm that has cost the North West government as much as R250 million.

North West provincial director-general Dr Lydia Sebego and acting head of the provincial public works department Vuyo Mbulawa say their hands are clean, but the two could still face possible fraud and corruption charges for their role in the tender.

The two started in their new top positions last month.

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg – A woman in her fifties sustained severe burns in a shack fire in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, early on Monday morning, paramedics said.

The woman, found lying outside her shack in a critical condition, was treated and rushed to hospital for further care while fire and rescue services extinguished the blaze, ER24 spokesperson Chitra Bodasing said.

For more http://www.news24.com

BY REGINALD KANYANE

The North West Provincial Chairperson of the ANC Youth League and MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements – Collen Maine has been nominated unopposed as the presidential candidate of the province during the Provincial General Council hosted at Mmabatho Civic Centre in Mahikeng over the weekend.

The provincial general council was held to prepare the Youth League in the province for the upcoming 25^th National Congress to be held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand from the 4^th to the 6^th of September – this coming weekend under the theme “Unity in Action Towards Economic Freedom in our Lifetime : Rebuilding the ANCYL and Reshaping the Future”.

Other names nominated unopposed for other top positions of the league includes Desmond Moela from Mpumalanga for Deputy President position; Njabula Nzuza from KwaZulu-Natal for Secretary-General and Thandi Moraka from Limpopo for Deputy Secretary-General. The league abstained to nominate anyone for the Treasure-General position.

When addressing the gathering Maine rebuked those using state power with tendencies of buying members of the ANC. He warned that the ANC is not cheap and is not for sale. “This new culture of buying members of the league must come to an end. Leaders of the ANC especially those who were removed from the state offices, must not want to influence the outcomes of the league by influencing and buying members to vote in a certain way. These tendencies must fall” said Maine.

In the quest to rebuild and restore the league’s integrity, Maine called on members to join the league at branch level and to be groomed and shaped to grow within the organization and develop as future leaders. “People can’t be elected chairpersons today and expect to be presidents tomorrow. There is no ANC Youth League branch in Luthuli House. All of us must start at the branch level and go through the Eye of the Needle” said Collen Maine.

As the congress date draw closer, Maine remembered where it all went wrong for the youth League. “We destroyed it in Gallagher Estate and we must go and restore this League there,” he said, referring to the last national congress that elected the League’s expelled leadership. “Being radical and militant does not mean you must be anarchic and disrespectful like the previous leadership. There is no room for anarchy in the ANC. Members must respect democratic processes of the organization and those who are not happy must learn to accept and live with such decisions” remarked Maine.

He also emphasized that all resolutions to be taken at the conference that starts this Friday will be of the league’s collectively and must never be pinned to an individual. Maine said the league must push for free education for all. “For young people to access opportunities presented to them, education must be free and fashionable. Without education we will not realize the economic freedom that we are advocating for as the Youth League. The league must take these resolutions and fearlessly engage the ANC to find expression within the movement” concluded Maine.

National Task Team deployee of the ANC to the province Faith Muthambi was impressed by the level of discipline displayed by members of the league who participated in all activities which ensured the delivery of a successful and incident free provincial general council.

-TDN

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LAGOS – Gunmen in Nigeria’s southern oil city Port Harcourt have kidnapped a senior journalist working for a private national newspaper, police and the daily announced on Monday.

Donu Kogbara, a renowned columnist for Vanguard newspaper, was abducted Sunday morning from outside her residence in the southern city, which is capital of Rivers State, the daily said.

Ahmad Muhammad, police spokesman for Rivers State, said efforts were under way to rescue her.

“We are making serious efforts to rescue her alive. We have our strategies to achieve this but I am not at liberty to disclose them to the public,” he told AFP.

For more http://www.enca.com