Picture: The RSA president, Cyril Ramaphosa

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

Corruption is one of the greatest challenges our country confronts as we strive to improve the lives of all our people. State capture is one of the worst forms of corruption our country has experienced in recent times. State capture was the orchestrated theft of billions of rand through the capture of state institutions.

Our country is grateful to the actions of many South Africans who, acting as individuals and through various organisations across society, exposed state capture and in many ways ensured that decisive steps are taken to end it.

This week, it is exactly two years since the State Capture Commission held its final public hearing. Over the course of its work, the Commission heard evidence from over 300 witnesses and collected more than 1.7 million pages of documentary evidence.

In October last year, I submitted the government’s plan to Parliament in relation to the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. Since then, significant progress has been made to implement various parts of the plan.

The State Capture Commission made 205 recommendations on the criminal investigation and possible prosecution of people and companies implicated in evidence before the commission.

To undertake this huge amount of work, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks set up an Integrated Task Force to coordinate investigations and prosecutions. There are currently nine cases in court, involving 41 accused people and 12 companies.

Significant progress has also been made in recovering the proceeds of crime. Freezing orders to the value of R13 billion have been granted to the NPA. A total of R5.4 billion has been traced and returned to the State. The South African Revenue Service has collected unpaid taxes as a result of evidence before the State Capture Commission.

While a necessary part of our response to state capture is to hold those responsible accountable for their actions and to recover stolen money, we are also making far-reaching legislative and institutional changes to reduce the potential for corruption.

Eight of the 14 new laws or legislative amendments identified in our implementation plan have been approved by Cabinet and tabled in Parliament. These address areas such as public procurement, the involvement of politicians in administrative matters, the conduct of public servants, the intelligence services, money laundering and electoral reforms. A further six draft laws are in the process of public consultation with stakeholders. Further research is being done on some of the recommendations of the Commission, such as making the abuse of political power a criminal offence.

The State Capture Commission also made recommendations about the establishment of additional anti-corruption bodies. These proposals are being considered as part of a broader review of the country’s anti-corruption architecture. Part of this work is being led by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which is working across society to build ethical values and mobilise the nation against corruption.

The Commission found that the public procurement system was the main site for the theft and abuse of state resources. The Commission found that a lot of corruption takes place in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have large budgets.

In response to the Commission’s recommendation on the issue of dealing with corruption in the procurement system, government submitted the Public Procurement Bill to Parliament in May 2023. This draft law will increase transparency in procurement processes, will introduce binding codes of conduct for people involved in procurement and will improved processes to disallow suppliers who contravene procurement laws. The Bill establishes the Public Procurement Office within the National Treasury, with powers to issue legally binding instructions and powers of search and seizure.

In furthering the government’s implementation of the State Capture Commission’s recommendations in relation to SOEs, the State-Owned Enterprises Bill will align the process for the appointment of SOE boards and executive management with the recommendations of the Commission. This law will improve oversight, transparency and accountability of SOEs.

The Commission found that state capture was further enabled by weak law enforcement capacity. It said that that there was “a deliberate effort to subvert and weaken law enforcement, intelligence and revenue collection agencies at the commanding levels of those institutions so as to shield and sustain illicit activities, avoid accountability and to disempower opponents.”

Over the last five years, we have done much work to restore the integrity and effectiveness of these institutions, including the appointment of capable and credible people to lead them.

While many people contributed to exposing and ending state capture, the role of whistle-blowers was particularly important. Many of the people who revealed wrongdoing suffered victimisation and hardship due to their courageous actions.

We have put forward clear and effective recommendations on whistle-blower protection and incentives. These recommendations propose a range of measures, such as criminalising threats against whistle-blowers, creating a fund for whistle-blowers dismissed because of their disclosures, and providing state protection for whistle-blowers and their families where necessary.

These are just some of the actions that have been taken to give effect to the government’s comprehensive and far-reaching response to the findings of the State Capture Commission. In the coming months, many of the processes underway will be completed and much more progress will be recorded.

While tangible progress is being made, it is clear to me that we will only be able to put state capture firmly behind us if all South Africans work together to rid our society of corruption in all its forms.

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Picture: Police officers during parade/Google

By OBAKENG MAJE

Northern Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Col Sergio Kock said, the South African Police Service(SAPS) is embarking on the 2024/2025 recruitment drive, in which they envisage employing an additional 10 000 youth between the ages of 18 and 35, who will be trained to protect and serve the country as men and women in blue.

“The SAPS are looking for patriotic citizens, who are willing to proudly pursue a career as entry Police Trainees for the enlistment in the Basic Police Development Programme(BPDLP). It must also be noted that the age limit for recruitment of new trainees has been raised to 35.

The basic requirements are the applicant should be a South African citizen, and be 18 and under 35 years old. Be in possession of a matric certificate and have no criminal record. The applicant should submit to a medical examination and be physically and mentally fit,” said Kock.

He further said the applicant will also undergo a psychological assessment that complies with the profile of a police official. Kock added that, the applicant should be prepared to successfully complete police training.

“The applicant should not have tattoo marks, which are visible when wearing any uniform of the Service. Having a valid driving license for a motor vehicle will be to your advantage. Be prepared to serve anywhere in the Republic of South Africa.

“In the South African Police Service, there are over 200 career paths in our Visible Policing, Crime Investigation and Support environments. The benefits after successful completion of the BPDLP include a 13^th cheque (Bonus), leave benefits, service allowance, night shift and holiday allowances (shift workers), bursary (available internally), and once-off cash payments (acquired improved qualification),” he said.

Kock said there is also a once-off cash payment and long service medal awards (recognition of long service for 20, 30, and 40 years). He said application forms can be obtained free of charge at any Police Station/SAPS Recruitment office or downloaded from the SAPS website(https://www.saps.gov.za).

“Application must be hand-delivered to your local police station during office hours on or before the closing date of 31 August 2023. The SAPS management is embarking on this recruitment drive to ensure more boots on the ground in an effort to maximize our crime-fighting efforts and wishes all applicants well in this process,” said Kock.

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Ka OBAKENG MAJE

Baagi ba motse wa Manokwane gaufi le Taung ba bane ba tsenetse keteko-moletlo wa letsatsi la bomme ba re ba makaditswe ke tiragalo e e diragetseng kwa motseng o. Seno se tla morago ga gore, kgomo e ene e tshwailwe go ka tlhabiwa mo letsatsing la maabane ineye naga.

Go ya ka ba ba boneng ka matlho, kgomo ene ya tlisiwa kwa moletlo one wa go tshwarelwa teng ka Labobedi. Fela, ene ya re ha e tshwanetswe e tlhabiwe, ene ya tshaba. Go begwa fa banna ba motse ba ne ba re ba leka go e baya marowa, mme kgomo ene ya ba tlogela ba iphotlhere.

Mongwe wa batho ba ba boneng ka matlho, mme a sa batle leina la gagwe le itsiwe wa tlhalosa.

“Kgomo eo ene e tswa go rekwa kwa motseng wa Cokonyane, mme ya tlisiwa gore e tle go tlhabelwa batla moletlong. Fela, ene ya re ha e tshwanetswe e pagololwe mo teraleng, ene ya le botsa phokoje. Jaaka rele banna ba motse, re lekile gore re e beye marowa, mme ene ya re tlogela mo gare ga lerole.

“Ka maswabi, batla-moletlong ba ne ba sena se batla se bayang mo ntshung, mme ba ne ba tshwanelwa ke gore ba nwe metsi fela. Go fitlha ga jaana, kgomo eo ga re itse gore e lefatshe kae. Potso ke gore a mme e boetse Cokonyane kgotsa jang. Mme ntle le tseo, ke nnete gone re ketekile letsatsi la bomme monate ga mmogo le diphuthego tse di farologaneng.”

Mongwe wa Segosi, Otumiseng Baisitse o kaile fa bogosi bo romela ditebogo go batho botlhe ba ba neng ele karolo ya moletlo. Baisitse gape o ikuetse go morafe wa gagwe go ka nna ngatana ele nngwe, mme ba lwe le bosenyi jo bo diragalang kwa motseng wa bone.

“Re le bogosi, re romela ditebogo go batho botlhe ba ba tshotseng karolo mo ketekong-moletlo o. Gape, re a ikuela mo pusong gore batho ha ba tlile go re thusa, re ba itsise. Are boeleng kwa mokgweng wa rona wa segologolo, mme re tsamaise dilo ka mokgwa o re o itseng. Go gontsi, mme ga jaana, ga re ngongorege re ntsha maikutlo a rona fela,” Baisitse wa tlhalosa.

Moruti go tswa kwa South African Minister’s Fraternal (SAMIFRA), Kenny Thejane are, ba tsweletse ka dithapelo gangwe le gape go ka rapelela gore dilo tse di maswe tse di diragalang di fele. Thejane are ba dira seno ngwaga le ngwaga.

“Gona le dilo tse dintsi tse di diragalang tse di botlhoko. Bomme ba bolawa, bana ba shotlwa gape ba dirisa diritibatsi. Mme jaanong jaaka SAMIFRA, re tlisa dithapelo gonne batho ba imetswe. Dilo tse di ntseng jaana di tlhoka dithapelo gore dikhutlhe. Re rapelela gape le gore batho ba nne bofefu, mme ba natefalelwe ke go ka thuba mafatlha.

“Bana ba sotlwa ke gore, batsadi ba ba hepa ka diritibatsi. Ga gona ngwana o o itseng go dira motswako o gotweng ke nyaope. Dilo tseo di dirwa ke batsadi ba be ba di neela bana. Ka nako enngwe, ba di isa kwa dikolong le go di rekisa mo mebileng. Go naya bana dilo tse di ntseng jalo, ke boleo le go ba shotla. 

“Jaanong, re rapelela bopelo-tlhomogi mo Modimong gore dilo tse di ntseng jalo, di fete mme bana le bone ba utlwe batsadi ba bone,” Thejane wa tlhalosa.

Are gape ba ikuela go batsadi gore ba nne le nako ya go hepa bana ba bone ka thuto e e itekanetseng. Thejane are gona le bana ba dirisang diritibatsing, fa bangwe ba nna kwa metse-setoropong le go robala mo mebileng.

Kgabagare, mmusa-kgotlha kwa masepaleng wa sedika wa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Kgalalelo Sereko e ne ele karolo ya moletlo o. 

“O tla gopola gore bomme ba 1956 bane ba gwantela kwa Union Building kgatlhanong le melao ya puso ya tlhaolele, ebile ba ipiditse sehuba gore le bone jaaka basadi, ba tshwanetswe ke go tsaya karolo mo tsamaisong ya naga.

“Jaanong, gompieno ke ne ke tla kopa basadi ba ipetse sehuba hela jaaka basadi ba 1956 ba ne ba dira. Gona le dikgwetlho le mathata a mantsi jaaka tlhekefetso ya bomme le bana. Rena le mathata a mangwe eleng botlhoki jo bo tlholwang ke botlhoka-tiro. 

“Jaanaong, kene ke nagana gore bomme ba eme ka dinao ba ipetse sehuba, mme ba tsene mo seraleng le go ka thusa mo mathateng ao,” Sereko wa tlhalosa.

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Setshwantsho: Tirelo phitlho ya ga Keaorata Totonyana

Ka OBAKENG MAJE

Ba lelapa la ko ga Totonyana kwa motseng wa Dryharts gaufi le Taung, ba kaile fa loso la ngwana wa bone, Keaorata Totonyana (3) le ba tlogetse ba tsidifetse. Go kaiwa fa Keaorata a tlhokafetse ka Labone mo bekeng e e fetileng, morago ga go ya ntle.

Go ya ka ba lelapa, Keaorata one a ya ntle, mme telele ene ya tswa mo go ene. Mmagwe ngwana, Dimakatso Totonyana are, ba ne ba rwalela Keaorata kwa kliniking ya selegae mo bosigong morago ga gore a tlhaka-tlhakane.  

“Ko kliniking ga ba tlhaba ngwana lemao kgotsa go mo rwalela kwa bookelong jwa sedika jwa Taung. Fela, baoki ba ile ba nnaya molemo, mme ntaela gore ke fitlhe ke tshase ngwa Zambuk mo maragong. Ke ile ka dira jalo, mme ka maswabi ga senke a thusege,” Dimakatso wa tlhalosa.  

Mme mmagwe Keaorata, Selinah Maine o kaile fa a ne a go bidiwa le go begelwa fa ngwana a kobogetswe ke bolwetsi ebile a tlhakatlhakane.

Setshwantsho: Motsadi wa moswi, Dimakatso Totonyana le mme mmagwe, Selinah Maine

“Go kaiwa fa ngwana a ne a tabogisediwa kwa kliniking ya selegae ka Labone bosigo morago ga go kubugelwe ke bolwetsi. O ile a boa kwa kliniking, mme one a tlhaka-tlhakana fa a boa kwa kliniking. Oile a feleletsa a kgaogane le botshelo jo bo kakwano.  

“Re ile ra batlana le sepalangwa gore re mo rwalele kwa bookelong, mme ka maswabi ga ra ka ra se bone. Ke utlwile gotwe ngwana one a kaya fa a batla go ya ntle, mme gatwe telele ene ya tlhaga mo go ene, mme ene ya boela mo teng gape. Re itumeletse thuso e re e boneng go tswa kwa setlamong sa Batho Tlang Re Thusaneng (BTRT) ka go re bolokela ngwana ntle le go re lefisa madi ape,” Maine wa tlhalosa.  

Kgabagare, motsamaisi kwa mmoshara sa Batho Tlang Re Thusaneng (BTRT), Peter Mabathwana are: “Jaaka setlamo sa Batho Tlang Re Thusaneng (BTRT), re ile ra bona fa gole maleba gore re tle go thusa ba lelapa lara Totonyana ka go ba bolokela ngwana. Re ile ra bona seemo sa mo lapeng, mme ke ka moo re boneng go le maleba gore re tsenye letsogo.

“Re ile ra boloka ngwana mo motseng o wa Dryharts mo nakong e e fetileng. Jaanong, go bontsha fa batho ba motse o, ba ile ba itumelela ka mokgwa o re bolokang ka teng. Re ile ra letsetswa ke molekgotlha wa kgorwana e, mme are kopa go ka thusa.”

Mabathawana are jaaka BTRT, ba ile ba latela moswi mme ene ya re fa ba ntse ba dira dithulaganyo tsa phitlho mogare ga beke, ba itemogela fa gona le matsapa. Are, ba ile ba thusa ka go boloka ngwana ka botlalo.

“Jaanong, ka re itse gore fifing go tshwaranwa ka diboko, re ile ra thusa ka dithulaganyo tsa phitlho jaaka go tsenya moswi kwa serameng, lekase la polokelo, dithulaganyo tsa phitlho mo lapeng le kwa mabitleng ntle le go duedisa ba lelapa madi ape,” Mabathawana wa tlhalosa.

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Picture: Identikit of two unknown suspects/Supplied 

By OBAKENG MAJE

Two unknown men aged 26 and 35 allegedly robbed a local café of cigarettes and an undisclosed amount of cash at gunpoint in Kimberley. The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Dikeledi Gopane said the suspects allegedly threatened and ordered the shop assistants lay on the ground at the back of the store.

“They fled the scene in a maroon motor vehicle with no registration number. Anyone who has information regarding the incident is requested to contact the investigating officer, Warrant Officer, Segoje of Kimberley Detective on 071 208 3094,” said Gopane.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

A child aged 5 died in a fierce fire in Khibitswane village, near Taung on Saturday. The North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, said two women were sleeping with the child during load shedding at around 8:25pm. The house caught fire when electricity allegedly returned.

“When electricity came back, the fire started. It is unknown at this point what caused the fire. A case of arson and an inquest is underway. No foul play is suspected thus far.”

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Picture: A child died in a house gutted by fire in Khibitswane village/Generic

Picture: North West MEC for Public Works and Roads, Oageng Molapisi/Google

By OBAKENG MAJE

North West MEC for Public Works and Roads, Oageng Molapisi said much of R3.8 billion budget for 2023/24 financial year investment will be focused on roads. Molapisi said the department has appointed 37 contractors for projects across all four districts of the province.

“This publication comes at a time when we have just tabled our budget speech for the North West Department of Public Works and Roads for 2023/2024 before the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL). As you may be aware, the department has set aside about R3.8 billion for the province, and much of the investment will be focused on roads. 

“We have come a long way as a province and have made steady progress towards improving service delivery for our people. In his State of the Province Address (SOPA), North West Premier, Bushy Maape said the provincial government is on its feet, restless and listening attentively to the cries of our people, who are delivering messages of impatience, requesting us to deliver on our promise,” he said.

Molapisi further said they are on the verge of finalising the establishment of the Roads Agency for the province, with a view to implementing its Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) projects. He added that, the agency will augment the department’s internal capacity and assist in fast-tracking service delivery of the planned major road infrastructure within the allocated time and budget. 

“We are happy to announce that, SANRAL will implement 33 projects to the value of R1.6 billion, covering approximately 2.598km of road network across all four districts. We look forward to a growing relationship that will continue to benefit the province, the country and our people. 

“24 of these are for the major rehabilitation and special maintenance, while 13 are for upgrading from gravel to tar. In addition, a total of 1063 jobs have been created and 272 SMMEs have been sub-contracted on all projects currently under construction,” said Molapisi. 

He said, furthermore, the department will be appointing 10 consultants for the planning and design for planned upgrades of 10 roads from gravel to surface by the end of the second quarter. Molapisi said they continue to enjoy the support of and partnership with SANRAL to deliver world-class infrastructure for our people. 

SANRAL CEO, Reginald Demana said: “Our mission to transform the national roads infrastructure in South Africa is at full steam, particularly for a province like the North West, which is at the epicentre of the mining and agricultural activity driving our economy. 

“We intend to put major investment into key routes. Some of our key infrastructure in the province includes the N4, which stretches from the Botswana border post, through Pretoria to the Maputo Port in Mozambique. We also have N18 from Ramatlabama Border Post, which is a gateway to Botswana, also stretching across the province to Gauteng.” 

Demana said they have earmarked several key infrastructure developments in the province, like the rehabilitation of the sinkhole on national route N12 in the Stilfontein urban area between 11.6km (Buffelfontein Road) and 12.6km in Wintervogel road. He said they have set aside R55 million for the project over six months and are glad to announce that, they have met their targeted groups for labour, which are 30% female, 30% youth and 0.5% of persons with disabilities. 

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Picture: The female farmers continue to be ill-treated/Generic

By OBAKENG MAJE

The residents of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality welcomed the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Bill and expressed hope that it will address their challenges on agricultural land.

However, the residents also highlighted a few issues which they considered as shortcomings of the Bill. The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development held the public hearing in Upington, Northern Cape on Sunday.

According to some residents, the Bill should seek to consider ways of managing the agricultural land in a sustainable way. They indicated that the Bill is silent on methodology of the use of the land for food production.

One of the residents, Antoinette Erasmus said: “The commercial farmers in South Africa are using high level pesticides, but there is no provision in the Bill to deal with their effects in the agro-ecosystems to ensure that these pesticides do not negatively affect the agricultural land.

“The pesticides also contribute towards climate change and global warming, which is basically happening in the country. The Bill is also silent on matters affecting small-scale farmers. Many of the small-scale farmers use the commonage land, in particular the livestock farmers.”

Erasmus indicated that the Bill does not address the interests of the small-scale farmers because municipalities in the district are currently patronising them in the area.

Another farmer, Magdalene Odendaal shared the same sentiments. Odendaal further said small-scale farmers are always allocated commonage land, where they cannot produce quality and marketable livestock. She added that there are a number of issues that affect them in the area including land ownership, lack of funding, stock theft and ill-treatment of female farmers.

“I am part of an agricultural cooperative, which owns approximately 2000 hectares of land, and informed the committee that their challenge is that only 75% of women farmers received their title deeds, while the remaining 25% of them are still waiting.

“There is an unfairness of the system towards us. I have been farming for the past 12 years and recently, I lost my husband who was leasing an agricultural land for our farming activity. Our contract which was under the name of my husband expired and I am unable to renew it or to apply for a new one in order to continue farming,” said Odendaal.

She said this matter is very difficult for her and does not think that officials are fully aware of the challenges that women farmers are facing. Odendaal said female farmers are forced to share communal bathrooms with men.

“We have no privacy and believe that the system is very unfair towards women. The committee does not have knowledge of what women are really dealing with on farms,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the committee, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela said: “We are conducting these public hearings to ensure that all your views are reflected in the final Bill. Public participation is very important in the development and processing of legislation to ensure that laws that parliament passes are progressive and responsive to the needs of every citizen and do not infringe on their rights.

“The committee held its last leg of the public hearings at Pixley kaSeme District at Prieska Omega Hall, in Prieska.”

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Picture: The City of Matlosana offices/Google

By OBAKENG MAJE

Eight men have been arrested for public violence, trespassing, malicious damage to property and intimidation in Klerksdorp. It is alleged that approximately 15 men stormed into Matlosana municipal offices in Klerksdorp on Wednesday.

The North West police spokesperson, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said they allegedly forced their way to the boardroom, where they found the Mayor, Municipal Manager, Human Resources Manager and other officials in a meeting.

“The intruders who identified themselves as members of the so called 1818 gang from Kanana Township, near Orkney, demanded to be employed. Upon being informed that there were no vacancies, they apparently insulted the Human Resources Manager and hurled chairs at municipal officials leading to bodily injuries and damages to property.

“Consequent to the incident, a crime intelligence led operation by the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) was conducted. As a result, eight suspects handed themselves to the police. The accused, David Mbeloane (35), John Mokhele (38), Lehlohonolo Kgiba, Thabang Mpotle (36), Katiso Mokgatsi (37), Thabo Mafohla (39), Jabulane Sebeko (39) and Ephraim Mpedi (37) were all remanded in custody upon appearance before the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court on 31 July 2023,” he said.

Mokgwabone further said their case was postponed to 4 August 2023 for formal bail application. He added that, the investigation into the matter including tracing of other suspects is underway.

Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena said the arrest for this brazen act of lawlessness displayed by the accused, cannot be tolerated and will definitely serve as a deterrence to the would-be gangs. 

Kwena urged the community to report acts of this nature to the police for necessary steps to be taken as gangs cannot be allowed to disrespect the rule of law and in the process terrorise the law abiding citizens.

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