Klerksdorp-Eight men accused of killing ANC North West official Obuti Chika are expected to apply for bail in the Klerksdorp Magistrates Court today.

They are North West provincial ANC Youth League chairman Papiki Baboile (27), ward secretary Paul Molomonyane (33), Councillor Itumeleng Molebatsi (50), municipal worker William Malefo (46), community member Jeffrey Letuka (28) and minibus-taxi driver Kgotso Kali (36).

They each face a charge of premeditated murder and two charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The seventh accused in the matter, North West Local Government MEC China Dodovu, was arrested on Monday.

Chika, 33-years-old, was shot at point-blank range in the driveway of his home in Alabama, Klerksdorp, on December 14. 

He died at the Klerksdorp Hospital shortly after his arrival. 

He was the ANC’s regional secretary in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality.

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Cape Town – Truant teachers were absent for close to 7.5 million days last year, according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

“We have the highest rate of absenteeism in SADC (the Southern African Development Community). We’re at 19 days (average per teacher) a year. It’s huge. An average of 10 percent nationally,” she told reporters at Parliament on Tuesday.

It is understood that teacher absenteeism in other SADC countries is an average of nine days per teacher per year.

According to the department, there were 392,000 teachers employed at public schools around the country in 2012.

With each teacher, on average, being absent for 19 days last year, the total number of days absent multiplies out to 7 448 000.

Motshekga said there was “great concern” in her department about teacher accountability Ä arriving at school on time, and teaching for the full day.

Her department was looking at introducing an electronic clock-in system to replace manual attendance registers.

Responding to a question, she described the average of 19 days taken off by public school teachers as “pure absenteeism”, but said serious illness had also played a part in the high figure.

“Part of it is the burden of disease, where you find teachers over a period of time have not been to school, but in most instances it’s just poor administration.”

This was the reason the department wanted to switch to an electronic clock-in system.

Motshekga said transport problems were also a reason many teachers were late, or absent from work. – Sapa

The bail application by one of the two men accused of killing Anene Booysen enters its second day in the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Jonathan Davids, 22, pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Tuesday. He and Johannes Kana, 21, are accused of raping, killing and mutilating Booysen, 17, on February 2. Kana had not yet pleaded and was expected to apply for bail at a later stage.

The court heard on Tuesday that Davids was convicted of theft last February and received a five-year suspended sentence.

He also had three assault cases withdrawn against him in Bredasdorp, in September 2007, January 2008 and October 2011.

Booysen visited a nightclub in the town on Friday, February 1. A few hours later, she was gang-raped and mutilated. She was found at a construction site where she worked the next morning. She died in hospital later that day.

Sapa

Non-performing housing contractors appointed by the province’s human settlements, public safety and liaison will soon lose their contracts, the department said yesterday.

The announcement came after the human settlements branch acting head of the department, Monnapula Motlogelwa held one-on-one technical sessions with municipalities and contractors in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality.

His engagement with municipalities and contractors was aimed at finding solutions to housing challenges experienced in housing projects, creating healthy relations with municipalities and to accelerate housing delivery in the province. The session was the result of a number of complaints from the public and challenges experienced in the process of reducing the housing backlog and incomplete projects.

Motlogelwa warned that the department would not sympathise with incompetent contractors. “We have a mammoth task of delivering quality houses and dealing with the mushrooming informal settlements in the province.

“We need committed men and women in construction who will deliver in the best interest of our communities out there – on target.”

He said that the department would assist emerging women contractors to increase the pace of housing delivery in the province. Motlogelwa said the department was focused on strengthening partnerships and ensuring that projects yielded targeted job opportunities, ensuring that housing targets were met without compromise on quality, that roles were clarified and that early warning and monitoring systems were in place for prompt intervention.

“This is the right step to ensure that as citizens we receive quality service from the government, which promised to restore our dignity by providing quality housing,” RDP house beneficiary Boyce Mooketsi said.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

Mahikeng-Political figures from two opposition parties and the ANC have raised questions about Premier Thandi Modise’s multimillion-rand infrastructure projects set for this year.

Modise announced during her state of the province address that R200m would be spent on the roll out of 30 road rehabilitation and maintenance projects during the 2013-14 financial year.

She said that the R200m was earmarked for roads rehabilitation and maintenance, some of which would be contracted to small to medium enterprises.

“Thirty road projects will be under construction in 2013-14 as well as 24 building construction projects,” she said.

Last year President Jacob Zuma said that 10 road projects in the province were to be done by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). The number has been increased this year.

“I’m pleased to announce that the roads have been increased to 25 as gazetted on September 28, 2012, that will be part of the strategic infrastructure project. Sanral is the appointed implementing agent,” Modise said.

DA provincial leader Chris Hattingh said the announcement by Modise simply meant that the province had abdicated its duty to develop roads.

“What would the public works department do and where would the budget for roads go?

“This confirms that there is no capacity in the province for us to do our own roads because while 10 roads were acceptable, increasing them to 25 simply does not add up,” he said.

Other politicians serving on the portfolio committee on public works also raised the same concerns.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one member queried: “What is the status of the Koster-Lichtenburg and the Wolmaransstad to Schweizer-Reneke roads? People in those areas have long been waiting for these roads to be completed yet the public works department keeps on making unfulfilled promises.

“Last year, most of the staff in the department was doing nothing on the roads after a bungle in the procurement of diesel.”

Work on the Koster-Lichtenburg road is yet to resume since the provincial government paid off Down Touch Investments last year. Farmers and residents who use the road have been waiting for its completion since rehabilitation work started in 2008.

They also cited the issue of Mahikeng revitalisation where roads in the city are in a state of disrepair.

“The premier was silent on the Mahikeng revitalisation project and yet funds are allocated to the public works department. We are likely to see massive roll-overs because nothing was done in the previous financial year on the roads budget,” another member said.

http://www.thenewage.co.za

Echoes of ululations from parents, students and the academic staff reverberated off the walls of the North West University (NWU) Mahikeng campus Great Hall in celebration of the achievement by seven students who obtained distinctions in their first 2012 academic year.

Among the students was Kesaobaka Perserverance Mothobi, who got a standing ovation for recording a 91% average and 12 distinctions from 12 modules in the extended BCom in economics.

Other students were Thabang Nthaudi, who scored 80% and 11 distinctions in the BCom in chartered accountancy and Rebecca Maumau who got 81% and 10 distinctions in the extended BSc in chemistry and physics.

Others were Ingutu Mutemwa with 89% and nine distinctions in the BSc in statistics and mathematics, Lebogang Jabosigo with 82% and eight distinctions in the bachelor of social work, Tebogo Sathekge with 75% and eight distinctions in the BEd foundation phase and Abigail Beenzu with 76% and five distinctions in her LLB.

“I hope your stay in this institution will not only benefit you academically but prepare you for professional growth and emotional intelligence. Acquaint yourself with available services within the university and always keep reminding yourself of why you are here,” NWU academic vice-rector Prof Mashudu Maselesele said.

She said the next step was to grow as a campus and focus on science, engineering and technology programmes as well as research on rural development specifically.

“Hard work and sacrificing time has paid dividends to me. Success is for everyone,” Mothobi said.

NWU vice-chancellor Theuns Eloff said: “We have good foundation to build on.”

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

SuperSport edge Tshwane Derby

Posted: 26 February 2013

Time: 09:32 pm

Mogogi Gabonamong scored the only goal as SuperSport United beat University of Pretoria in a Tshwane Derby.

The defeat means AmaTuks extend their winless streak to six games, while Matsatsantsa claimed only their fourth victory of the campaign.

The game started off cagey, and dynamic winger Aubrey Ngoma created the first chance in the 22nd minute when he burst down the left flank but his shot was comfortably saved by Ronwen Williams.

Thokozani Sekotlong then had a brilliant chance to put his side in the lead five minutes before the break.

Williams had found himself in no man’s land after clearing a ball and was nearly caught out by a quick throw in from Ngoma but Sekotlong could not manage to lob the stranded Matsatsantsa keeper.

SuperSport came out the stronger side after the break, but it was Tuks again who created the first real chance of the second half.

A ball into the box found an unmarked Ngoma, but he failed to beat a rushing Williams.

Finally Gabonamong found the net, heading in a free-kick from Kermit Erasmus.

Warren Bishop nearly denied SuperSport the three points in the final minute of the match, but the defender’s header was saved by Williams.

For more details go to http://www.kickoff.com

Parliament, Cape Town – Women’s lives are far cheaper now than those of blacks in the years of slavery, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday.

Opening a debate on gender-based violence in the National Assembly, Motshekga drew links between gender relations in South Africa and the “persistent scourge of violence, abuse and femicide”.

“It cannot be right that women, who are in the majority at 51.7

percent, continue to be wantonly abused, defiled, raped and murdered as if they were sub-human, in the African Decade of Women, nogal 1/8more so 3/8,” said Motshekga.

Recent developments showed gender relations needed to be transformed in South African communities and families.

“What we do in defence and empowerment of women and the girl child will really demonstrate how serious we are about building a progressive, equal and prosperous country, in a better world.”

Motshekga singled out the gang rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen in Bredasdorp on February 1, and the killing of model Reeva Steenkamp, allegedly by paralympian Oscar Pistorius, on St Valentine’s Day.

“Recent events have brought into sharp focus the most inhuman treatment of women.”

Motshekga said gender equality and women’s empowerment was key to ending violence.

“We need a new breed of men to help lay a solid foundation of a non-sexist society.”

The minister also reminded the house that President Jacob Zuma would join over 10 million of the country’s pupils, when they were asked on Friday to pledge never to involve themselves in crime.

“They will protect women, children, people with disabilities and respect and uphold everybody’s rights.”

The minister called for unity to “dismantle the oppressive reality making women and girls second-class citizens, sex objects, the wretched of the earth and the rejects of life.

“Something has to give, fellow South Africans. The few evil among us must not be allowed to make the life of the many law-abiding and peace-loving South Africans a nightmare that it currently is.” – Sapa

A Provincial Interfaith Prayer Service in response to the scourge of rape, violence in the mining sector, muti-killings, satanism in schools, road fatalities, brutal killing of farmers and farmworkers and moral decay that manifests itself through strive, greed and corruption is to be hosted at the Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg on Sunday.

The prayer service hosted by the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA

-North West Chapter) in partnership with the North West Provincial Government is expected to attract thousands of believers from all faiths.

The theme adopted by the Provincial Chapter of NICSA for the prayer service scheduled to commence at 9:00 am is “Working together as people of faith in partnership with government towards service delivery, nation-building, peace, unity and moral regeneration in the North West Province.”

“We appreciate the partnership of NICSA and call on all our social partners, churches, faith based organisations, non-government organisations, men’s organisations, youth and women’s organisations, and all our people to join us in prayer. Lets us join hands in  working towards building a moral and caring society, conscious of its obligations to uphold the core values of respect for human rights, human dignity and the enjoyment of human liberties guaranteed by our constitution,” appealed Premier Thandi ModiseThe Premier says that fervent prayer and divine intervention should propel the province to reclaim the spirit of Ubuntu, social cohesion which is underpinned by the existence of shared moral values, social practices and a strong sense of unity within structures and our communities