Picture: The embattled Greater Taung Local Municipality mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe  

By OBAKENG MAJE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Nono Maloyi to intervene at Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM). This comes after the embattled municipality continues to be marred with widespread corruption and maladministration allegations.

The DA councillor in Greater Taung Local Municipality, Sam Nape said, they have written a letter to Maloyi, requesting his immediate intervention.

“The Greater Taung Local Municipality mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe in defiance of a council resolution, refuses to sign the monthly contract extension for acting Municipal Manager, Motlhaletsimang Andrew Makuapane. The municipality has not had an accounting officer since 21 October 2023.

“We engaged Gaoraelwe on the appointment of the acting Municipal Manager, but our engagements have been ignored. We then approached the Greater Taung Speaker, Grace Moipolai to call a special council meeting to resolve the issue of the temporary appointment of the acting Municipal Manager, but she has blatantly refused to consider our request,” he said.

Nape further said, it appears that both Gaoraelwe and Moipolai are deliberately obstructing the legal requirements of the council to ensure that an acting Municipal Manager is appointed until a permanent appointment is finalised.

He added that the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) also remains vacant.

“Not only do we have a political leadership vacuum, but also an administrative one in the municipality. There is no political or administrative leadership and as a result, the little bit of service delivery has come to a complete halt because of this impasse.

“Gaoraelwe is in breach of a council resolution and under normal circumstances, a complaint for disciplinary investigation would have been sent to Moipolai to refer it for investigation. However, Moipolai herself, is guilty of dereliction of duty and in breach of the Code of Conduct for councillors,” said Nape.

He said the DA therefore calls on Maloyi to intervene to resolve this dispute in the interests of THE Greater Taung residents and to initiate the required disciplinary processes against both the Mayor and the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Whip at the municipality, Amogelang Matuane said: “They condemn the wrong approach used to appoint the Municipal Manager. The council took a resolution on 5 January 2023, on which procedure should be followed in appointing the Municipal Manager.

“The council took a resolution that a panel consisting of five individuals should be assembled according to MFMA Schedule 12 of Appointment of the Section Panel for the Appointment of the Municipal Manager and that is Resolution 175/2022-2023.”

Matuane said the council also took a resolution on the advertisement of the Municipal Manager position and the members of the panel. She said those who were appointed, were the mayor as the Chairperson, Member of the Executive Council responsible for Recruitment as designated by the council.

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Picture: CPF members receive reflector jackets from Vodacom/Supplied

By OBAKENG MAJE

Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Timothy Sam said they welcome the donation of reflector jackets donated by Vodacom to the Community Policing Forum in Kimberly. Sam said Vodacom s one of the integral role players in the Provincial Non-Ferrous Metals Crime Combatting Forum.

“These jackets will be utilised by the provincial CPF Board for easy identification by the public when executing their functions. The jackets were well received by the Northern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt General Koliswa Otola who was joined by the executive mayor of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Kagisho Sonyoni, the CPF Board Chairperson, Tebogo Molapo and the Provincial Head for Proactive Policing, Brigadier Irene Kopeledi.

“Vodacom representative, Hadley Goliath handed over the jackets and wide brim sun hats. Goliath said that, Vodacom supports the efforts by SAPS and community structures in their fight against crime,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Northern Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General, Koliswa Otola, thanked Vodacom for the gesture. Otola said this collaborative gesture maintains public safety and fosters trust, communication and shared responsibility among all partners in the fight against crime.

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By OBAKENG MAJE  

The Galeshewe police are appealing to the public to assist them to locate Kedibone Schalk Wyk (7), who resides at 13148 Moledi Street, Bloemanda in Galeshewe, Kimberley.

Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Timothy Sam said, it is reported that Schalk Wyk left in the morning of Tuesday, 31 October 2023 to school at Venus Primary School in Roodepan, but never returned home where she was placed in foster care.

Sam said the social worker visited her biological mother, aunt and neighbours, but could not trace her. He further said Schalk Wyk was dressed in grey trousers, white shirt and a black jacket with pink flowers.

“The police are requesting anyone who might have information about the whereabouts of little Kedibone to contact FCS Galeshewe, Detective Lt Colonel Marli Strydom at 082 495 0618 or 08600 10111 or either SMS anonymously to 32211 or use the MySAPS app.

“The public is once again reminded that there is no waiting period to report a child missing. All information received will be treated confidentially,” he said.

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Picture: The missing Major Okedutse Itumeleng/Supplied

By OBAKENG MAJE

The police in Vryburg request the community to assist them to locate Major Okedutse Itumeleng (47). The North West police spokesperson, Lieutenant Col, Amanda Funani said, Itumeleng was last seen after work on 27 October 2023 and indicated that, he will be hiking from Vryburg to Johannesburg.

“A search was conducted around Vryburg and surrounding areas without any success. At the time of his disappearance, it is unknown what Itumeleng was wearing. He is light in complexion, 1.5 in height with dark brown eyes and a medium built body.

“Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts can contact the Detectives Commander at Vryburg, Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Masire on 060 987 7589. Alternatively, they can call Crime Stop on ‪08600 10111 and anonymous tip-offs can also be communicated via the MySAPS App from your smart phone,” said Funani.

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Picture: The North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi/Supplied

By OBAKENG MAJE

The distribution of the National Senior Certificate final examinations question papers was disrupted in North West on Monday. This comes after the aggrieved community members barricaded the roads at Makgori village near Mahikeng.

The North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi said they condemn the blockage of roads. Motsumi said the community is allegedly demanding toilets and decided to close the roads.

“The protest affected the distribution of question papers to four secondary schools such as Ntsidi, Kagiso Barolong, Mothusi Marumula and Mothibinyana Secondary Schools. The police should arrest anyone obstructing the writing of an examination.

“Such acts are intended to frustrate and confuse our Grade 12 learners. We are tired of people who use our learners to achieve their nefarious objectives. Atleast the question papers were finally transported to the affected schools after the intervention of the police,” she said.

Motsumi further said all learners finally wrote the examination on the first day successfully. She added that she was satisfied with the first day of the National Senior Certificate examination, which started with the writing of English Paper 1.

“I started by visiting Moreri Secondary in Tseoge and further proceeded to Pica-Pau Secondary School in Pomfret. The department is working with all stakeholders to ensure a successful examination process. So far, I am satisfied with the first day of the examination.

“I visited two schools in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and all learners were present. I am appealing to all our community members to allow learners to write their examinations without any obstacles. We are working with all stakeholders in our different communities to ensure that learners get a chance to write their examination peacefully,” said Motsumi.

She said on Tuesday, the Grade 12 learners are expected to write Economics Paper 1.

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Picture: A learner from Pudumong High School/Generic

By OBAKENG MAJE

The North West Department of Education has squashed allegations that learners at Pudumong High School, near Taung were ferried to Taung Hospital for medical attention after eating a tin fish bought from a local tuck shop.

The department spokesperson, Mphata Molokwane said, the learners might have been attacked by exotic pollen, but they are still waiting for blood tests to come out.

“Actually, it started on Monday last week, when a Grade 9A learner complained that her body is itching. This happened during the second period in the morning before break. She was sent to the local clinic for treatment and then came back.

“On Tuesday, the number increased to nine learners from the same class during the first period, where learners complained that they were itching. They were sent to Taung Hospital for treatment and on Wednesday, the health team visited the school to investigate,” he said.

Molokwane further said the blood samples were taken from four learners. He added that the suspicion is that the classroom is next to many flowers, so it might be that these learners were reacting to the pollen from those flowers next to the class.

“Having said that, we are waiting for the blood test results,” said Molokwane.

Meanwhile, the North West University (NWU) Subject Chair and Associate Professor for the School for Geo- and Spatial Sciences, Prof Frank Neumann warns about alien pollen as winter ends. Neumann said that even though spring entered with sunny pleasantness, thousands of “attackers” sprang into action to plague the part of the population that suffers from allergies and hay fever.

He said these assailants have one thing in common.

“They are mostly alien pollen that should not have been in South Africa in the first place. They come from plants that are often under climatic stress because they are unsuited to this climate and constantly release high amounts of pollen at short intervals.

“These culprits are exotic trees and plants found in South African gardens originating from Europe, Asia, and North America in the Northern Hemisphere. They begin to pollinate from August onwards, with fungi joining soon after the first spring rains,” said Neumann.

He said that these pollen producers are in the “who is who” list of popular trees and garden plants. Neumann said this includes the London plane tree, mulberry, birch, cypress, and oak.

“Add grass pollen and spores of fungi to the mix and you have a potent cocktail for allergic discomfort. Ragweed, a North American weed also known as Ambrosia, is adding its highly allergenic pollen to the mix, especially in areas like Potchefstroom, where my students and I are measuring pollen counts for research purposes, as well as contributing data to the Real Pollen Count website.

“The ragweed counts reach moderate levels in Potchefstroom and are much higher than in the rest of South Africa so far. Ragweed pollen is highly allergenic and there seem to be high occurrences of the pollen close to our sampling site,” said Neumann.

He said they have state-of-the-art equipment to trace pollen spores. Neumann, who is a Palynologist and also works in the field of aerobiology, said their work is all about measuring allergy-causing pollen spores in the atmosphere.

“The identification and measurement of airborne pollen and fungal spores (aerospora) is a pioneering aerobiological project in the North West province. It was initiated on 15 November 2022,” he said.

This was supported by a local General Practitioner and Allergologist, Dr Jurgen Staats. He found indications of allergenicity there in the local population during skin prick tests.

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Picture: The late Queenspark Rangers FC player, Tumelo Gaobuse/Facebook 

By OBAKENG MAJE

Heartfelt messages of condolences continue to pour in after the death of a soccer player, Tumelo “Storma” Gaobuse, who passed away in a horrific car accident. It is alleged that Gaobuse who was affectionately known as the best defender in Taung across the football fraternity, died along with his friend, Bolokang Mphahlele.

According to the North West police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, the accident took place next to Taung Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“The police are aware of the matter and there were five occupants in the vehicle. The Taung police were called to attend an accident scene at hospital road and upon arrival, it was found that a vehicle had overturned.

“Two persons were declared dead at the accident scene by Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The deceased were aged 23 and 26 years respectively,” she said.

Meanwhile, Queenspark Rangers FC coordinator, Kealeboga Taylor Sekopelo said: “It is hard to accept that you are no more. I have known you for the longest time, especially when it comes to football. I can say a lot about you and I do not remember requesting you to come and assist us and you gave me excuses.

“You always showed up. I am talking about a hard worker and a solid central defender, who was passionate about football. The last time I played with him was last year in Dikhuting village, near Taung. We were playing a final against Bakwena FC and oh boy, you were on fire.”

Sekopelo said even though they lost the game on penalties, Gaobuse encouraged other players and told them not to lose hope. He said he last spoke to Gaobuse in August 2023, however, he promised to regain his fitness and come back.  

“This guy loved and still loves Queenspark Rangers FC wherever he is with all his heart. I think I spoke for all Queenspark Rangers FC players as Gaobuse’s death left us shattered,” he said.

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Picture: The Springboks team celebrating after winning 2023 Rugby World Cup/Twitter  

By OBAKENG MAJE

North West University (NWU) principal and vice-chancellor, Prof Bismark Tyobeka said, he is super proud after the South African national rugby team, the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup for the fourth time.

Tyobeka said the Springboks is only the national rugby team in the world to record such a significant milestone. He further said, since the beginning of the Rugby World Cup in September, more than 60 000 North West University students and staff have embraced and cheered for that, which unite them as South Africans.

“To the world champions, your resilience, hard work, togetherness, and ethos of caring and protecting each, has once again united our country. We are proud of you and hearty congratulations. Your commitment and passion for our country has been exemplary.

“We thank the team captain, Siya Kolisi and the boys, as well as the coaching team under the leadership of coach Jacques Nienaber and the ever-flamboyant leader of the pack, coach Rassie Erasmus for raising South Africa’s flag higher than all other nations during the Rugby World Cup,” said Tyobeka.

He added that, the country saw blood, sweat, tears of joy and celebration, anxiety, and anticipation from South Africans as they stood stronger together to wish them success.

Tyobeka said the founding president of the beautiful country, Tata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, once stated that: “sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.”

“We have indeed witnessed this statement come to life across all our campuses, villages, small dorpies, towns, and cities of our beautiful country. There is so much we can achieve working together and united in pursuit of a shared goal – the success of our country,” he said.

Tyobeka said all of them at the NWU and everyone across the country, must always remind themselves of this and be inspired by this historic win by the Bokke.

He said to the broader NWU community and all South Africans, let them take the Springboks’ hard work, resilience, and winning spirit and use it in all our endeavours.

“That is, in our classrooms, workplaces, sport fields, and in all our daily lives to achieve greatness. Once again, congratulations to the entire Springbok team. You united the nation and made us proud. You definitely made a point loud and clear that South Africa is indeed alive with possibilities,” said Tyobeka.

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Picture: One of the suspects arrested during Operation Shanela/Supplied

By OBAKENG MAJE

The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Molefi Shemane said multi-disciplinary high density operation, Operation Shanela, remains steadfast in its quest to squeeze crime in all hot spot areas throughout the province. Shemane said the disruptive actions commenced on 26 until 29 October 2023.

“The police and other law enforcement agencies executed various actions that included random stop and searches of persons and vehicles, high visibility patrols, vehicle check points, roadblocks, tracing of wanted suspects, compliance inspections at liquor outlets, second hand goods dealers and scrapyards, compliance inspections at firearm dealers and visits to spaza shops.

“During the operations, 212 suspects were arrested for an assortment of crimes such as dealing in drugs, possession of illegal cigarettes, illegal dealing in liquor, possession of counterfeit goods, possession of drugs, robbery, assaults, housebreaking and theft, malicious damage to property, assault GBH driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and the detention of illegal immigrants,” he said.

Shemane further said, the detectives traced and arrested 208 daily wanted suspects, who have been on the run from the police for various crimes including, house robbery, murder, rape, assault GBH and illegal possession of a firearm.

He added that alcoholic beverages, dangerous weapons, drugs including crystal meth, tik, dagga, mandrax, cash and vehicles were confiscated.

“Efforts were intensified at tuck shops, where compliance inspections were conducted to remove and destroy expired items. The police were deployed throughout the province to police fan parks hosting the screening of the Rugby World Cup final during which no serious incidents were reported,” said Shemane.

Meanwhile, the Northern Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, applauded the joint efforts of the law enforcement agencies that led to the arrest of suspects ensuring that communities are safe. Otola also appreciated the efforts of the police, external role players and the community for their relentless efforts in ensuring a safe and peaceful festive season.

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