Brits – Officials from the Department of Government and Human Settlements in Bokone Bophirima will as from today, move into Madibeng local municipality to conduct an audit on RDP beneficiary lists.

Yesterday, MEC Collen Maine’s decision to commission such as audit follows a peaceful service delivery march by the residents of Madibeng in which they complained that some of the RDP houses are occupied by unlawful beneficiaries.

MEC Maine said the audit should identify the rightful beneficiaries of these houses to root out any biased allocation including dealing with beneficiaries who have opted to rent out their houses as tuck shops or for any other purposes.

“It is only then that we would be able to decide on corrective measures which will ensure that we only have rightful owners in these houses”, he said.

MEC Maine also issued a stern warning against councillors who allocate RDP houses to their friends and relatives who are not necessarily on the beneficiary lists.

MEC Maine said all allegations of fraud, corruption, nepotism that the residents levelled against the municipality, will be thoroughly investigated.

He appealed to members of the community to come forward with information that would assist the investigations.

He said the water and sanitation intervention team that has was dispatched to camp in Madibeng since March this year, will continue to do the work at least until the water supply challenge, has been resolved.

“As the provincial government, we are aware that there is an elite group of people who want to control the resources of Madibeng to the detriment of the residents and we will not allow that to happen. Madibeng is not a playground”, he quipped.

As of March this year, the water and sanitation function is now performed by the Department of Local Government and Human Settlements and the Department of Water and Sanitation, whilst Magalies Water was appointed as an implementing agent to ensure the provision of water and sanitation to the community of Madibeng.
-TDN
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Vryburg- The Department of Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs (Cata) will on Wednesday launch Arts and Culture Ward-based Forums for the Naledi Municipality at the Naledi Municipality’s Banquet Hall (Vryburg) from 10h00, as part of the Setsokotsane programme currently being held at Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District.

In that meeting, a partnership between CATA and the Provincial Departments of Social Development (DSD), Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development and the Naledi Municipality will be forged, with a view to sharing information on how the arts can be run as a viable business.

Setsokotsane is a Bokone Bophirima initiative to bolster service delivery by taking a wide range of services to targeted wards, in a bid to introduce a rapid-response mechanism to community needs.

Meanwhile, Cata will also continue its campaign to promote Archives at Dithakwaneng Village in the same District on Thursdsy starting at 11h30 as part of initiative to take services to Villages, Towns and Small Dorpies (VTSD).

The MEC and Senior Officials of the Department are expected to grace these events as part of the mandate of the Department as well as empowering the previously marginalised citizenry of our Province.

Crafts Exhibition will be held at the Vryburg Taxi Rank on 3rd July 2015.

Communities are urged to support our crafters.
-TDN
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Picture: (Maize Cup launch at Delareyville library)

Mahikeng: As plans to host the inaugural Bokone Bophirima Maize Triangle Challenge are kicking into high gear, the Provincial Government encourages communities to support this initiative, which is set to create a new paradigm for the Bokone Bophirima Province.

Launched exactly three weeks ago, Bokone Bophirima Maize Triangle Challenge is a one-day soccer tournament which the Provincial Government initiated as part of the bigger vision to rebrand, reposition and renew the Province. Set to be an annual occasion, this inaugural tournament will be hosted at Moruleng Stadium on the 11th of July 2015.

As Premier of Bokone Bophirima Province Mr Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo puts it, the resolve to focus on promoting maize as the brand of this tournament is based on the premise that Agriculture has been placed at the apex of the Province’s economic growth strategy, this coupled with the Province’s comparative advantage in the country’s maize production industry. Besides, the tournament is set to attract a huge number of soccer lovers and tourists alike, thus reinforcing the prioritisation of Culture and Tourism as the Province’s other key pillars of the economic development agenda, and the already conceived brand architecture of A Re Yeng Bokone Bophirima.

To give strategic meaning to this principle, the teams participating in this tournament are from the country’s top three maize producers, namely Bokone Bophirima’s Platinum Stars, Free State’s Bloemfontein Celtics and Mpumalanga’s Black Aces. Township Rollers from the neighbouring Botswana will also participate in this tournament, thereby giving the tournament an international status.

“Our Province has for the 2014/15 production season, produced 3,562,500 tons of all commercial maize grown in South Africa, of which 78% was white maize and 22% yellow maize. These figures are enough to encourage us to invest more in this industry, as they also give substance to the recognition of Bokone Bophirima as the food basket of South Africa”, says Premier Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo who maintains that this tournament has the greatest potential to contribute towards the achievement of 6% economic growth by 2019.

Premier Mahumapelo also says “We also acknowledge the fact that our pursuit for radical socio-economic transformation will not be realised if we will not, through this initiative, invest our capital on developing the Province’s Villages, Townships and Small Dorpies with a view to address challenges of high unemployment, poverty and inequalities at these areas”.

Structured to be a family affair, the day will be filled with entertainment for the young and old. Communities are urged to support this initiative and attend in numbers, as this will go a long way in sustaining the envisioned development agenda of Bokone Bophirima Province.

Tickets are sold at Computickets and its outlets. The kick-off for the semi-final will be at 10h00.

-TDN

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