Thousands bid farewell to Dr Tuelo Joshua “Baba” Schalk and celebrated his contribution and dedication to the struggle for freedom at his funeral held in Vryburg over the weekend. In her moving tribute, North West Premier Thandi Modise described Dr. Schalk as a freedom fighter, a mentor who helped others and was a model for cadre deployment as he had the requisite skills, experience and expertise to serve at the highest level in the public service.

North West MEC for Development,Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Mme Mosetsanagape Mokomele-Mothibi has tabled the 2013/2014 Department’s Budget Vote before the North West Provincial Legislature today totalling R1.082 billion. 

She told Members of the Provincial Legislature that the budget is an increase of R118.8 million from the previous financial year and that increased funding will be directed to the following:

i) An amount of R18 million will be allocation for the absorption of Social Work Graduates into the Department’s Staff complement. 

ii) Early Childhood Development Massification Programme, which will receive an allocation R9.3 million – R7 million of which will be for equipment to be bought for Early Childhood Development Centres in the North West 

iii) A further R4 million has been set aside for maintenance of departmental facilities 

iv) An amount of R6.2 million will be allocated to Learnerships and Internships to ensure that government’s programme of providing graduates with workplace experience continues 

v) An additional R6.7 million will be allocated to ensure all the support is provided to the NGO sector while the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) in the Social Sector will get amount of R16.4 million.

MEC Mokomele-Mothibi added that, in total the 2013/2014 Departmental Budget will be divided as follows, totalling R1.082 million:

i) Administration R154.8 million

ii) Social Welfare and Social Specialist ServicesR786.5 million

iii) Community Development R132 million

iv) Special Programmes R8.6 million 

“She further announced that the Department has appointed an extra 105 newly qualified Social Workers who are products of the Department’s Social Work Scholarship Programme and they will be deployed accordingly throughout the North West Province to curb the shortage of Social Work professional in most parts of the province” department spokesperson Vuyisilwe Ngesi said. 

“The National Development Plan indicates that there is a serious shortage of social services professionals including social workers and community development practitioners”, MEC Mokomele-Mothibi said. 

She added that 90 Community Development Practitioners received customised accredited training on community development planning, integrated planning and project management. 

MEC Mokomele-Mothibi added that for the current financial year, the Department will fund the establishment of 16 Youth Development Structures, link 26 unemployed young people to entrepreneurship development programmes and 200 unemployed youth to the National Youth Service programme. 

“About 20 Women Income Generation Projects in the North West will receive financial and technical funding” she said. 

MEC Mokomele-Mothibi said that the Department will prioritise the strengthening of in-patient and out-patient centres for this financial year through funding of existing and new community based organisations and one in-patient treatment centre at a cost of R7.7 million targeting over 500 000 people using and abusing drugs and related substances.

Mokomele said the department will ensure that this year the Witrand Hospital In-Patient Treatment Centre in Potchefstroom will be fully operational and that the Taung Hospital In-Patient Treatment Centre for Substance Abuse is completed.

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Johannesburg – A Midrand student is missing, feared kidnapped, The Sowetan reported on Tuesday.

Philasandre Ngum, 19, was thought to have been abducted at the Boulders shopping centre on 3 May, the newspaper reported.

Her mother, Catherine Ngum reportedly opened a missing person’s case, distributed flyers and reviewed security footage from the mall showing her daughter entering, but not leaving.

The Sowetan reported that she received a phone call on her daughter’s cellphone on 11 May, from a man demanding R1 500 for her daughter’s safe release.

After she paid the ransom into her daughter’s bank account, the man phoned her again and said he would let her daughter speak to her and would release her, but this did not happen.

The newspaper reported that he called again on 13 May and said he would not release her because she had threatened him. No contact had been made since then.

Constable Matome Tlamela told The Sowetan the teenager was still missing, that there were no suspects and investigations were continuing.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Magistrates around the country participated in a stay-away on Tuesday, demanding improved salaries and benefits, the Judicial Officers’ Association of SA (Joasa) said.

“The two-day strike was for yesterday [Monday] and today,” Joasa president Nazeem Joemath said.

Magistrates embarked on protest action in March. They demanded a single pay structure for the judiciary, which would put their salaries and benefits on the same sliding scale as that of judges.

The Independent Remuneration Commission (IRC) suggested a 5.5% pay increase, which Parliament approved. Joemath said magistrates rejected the increase.

“The IRC should [instead] do a review and then decide [on the increase].”

He said Joasa expected Parliament to reject the IRC’s suggestion.

“Nobody is listening [to the magistrates], not even the president,” Joemath said.

Justice spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga could not be immediately reached for comment. He was quoted by The Times as saying the strike was illegal.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Two men have appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court for raping a mentally disabled teenager, The Daily Voice reported on Tuesday.

The case against the men, aged 27, and 29, was postponed until next Tuesday for bail information, the newspaper reported.

The 15-year-old girl was reportedly playing outside her home on Thursday when she was lured to a shack with the promise of money.

According to The Daily Voice, she was abused for two hours before escaping.

It reported that the community found the men, beat them with sticks and fists, and handed them over to the police, within 24 hours.

The child’s mother told the newspaper her daughter’s epileptic fits had increased since the attack.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Government Employees’ Pension Fund is to acquire a 25% stake, worth about R500m, in Independent News and Media SA, Business Day reported on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, the fund already owns a 19.5% stake in the Times Media Group, which publishes Business Day and other major titles in competition with the Independent’s titles, which include The Star and The Cape Times.

Independent was recently purchased by the Sekunjalo Independent Media Consortium, which was set up by Dr Iqbal Surve to bring Independent News and Media SA “back home”, after it was bought from Anglo American [JSE:AGL] by the Irish holding company, Independent News and Media in 1994.

Business Day reported that the state already owned 100% of the public broadcaster, the SABC, and had been perceived to be keeping The New Age afloat through lucrative advertising deals.

Pension fund spokesperson Khanya Buthelezi told the newspaper the purchase of the stake in Independent News and Media SA was in line with its government mandate.

“In terms of our development investment policy, to which we have allocated 50% (about R60bn) of total assets under management, we seek to invest in commercially viable projects that deliver both financial and social returns,” he was quoted as saying.

“In addition, we seek to promote black economic empowerment to increase economic participation by the majority in the mainstream economy.”