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JOHANNEBURG – ANC Youth League president Collen Maine says if the party’s chief whip in Parliament wants to resign, then he can do so alone.

Maine was speaking to eNCA in response to Jackson Mthembu’s call for the NEC to resign as a collective. Mthembu also reportedly told City Press newspaper that the governing party, with its current leadership, was worse than its apartheid predecessors.

“The ANC has taken the decision to introspect and self-correct after it suffered losses at the polls after August’s election… We all agree that the organisation is facing challenges and we need to self-correct, but self-correcting does not mean that I must be happy with making a newspaper headline, that doesn’t assist the ANC,” Maine said, emphasising that internal matters of the party need to be addressed internally.

Maine said it was unfortunate that a senior member like Mthembu would grandstand instead of following party processes. He also said that the governing party was looking into the possibility that their members could be paid by “external agents and enemies of the ANC.” 

“We will continue to be critical of anybody who defines [themselves] outside the ANC, even comrade Mthembu but we will do it within the structures of the ANC.“

Earlier, ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said “it would be extremely irresponsible and cowardly for the NEC to resign“, in response to Mthembu’s statements.

Source: eNCA

MAHIKENG-Based community radio station manager, Noah Donald Lentswe was laid to rest at Tshidilamolomo village, outside Mahikeng on Saturday. More than 2000 mourners including Lentswe’s former colleagues attended the event.

Lentswe passed away on Wednesday last week at Bophelong Provincial Hospital in Mahikeng after a long illness.

The beleaguered Lentswe was suspended as Mahikeng FM station manager during the time of his death. Lentswe also worked at Radio Sunshine and another community radio station called Radio Teemaneng in Kimberley.

His former colleague at Mahikeng FM, Botho Masigo-Moepeng deemed Letswe as a fighter.

“We have learnt a lot from him. Lentswe was like a brother to us and always had the interest of staff at heart. He was always caring and responsible. Lentswe was also a visionary and will go extra miles to ensure that everything runs smoothly at the station,” Masigo-Moepeng said.

Lentswe’s childhood friend, Thabang Ditlamelo said he lost a brother.

“Our friendship with Lentswe developed into a brotherhood relationship. We know that when we refer to a friend, we mean a mutual relationship of affection, trust, cooperation, and support between the two. Lentswe had all of that and was a good friend which I considered true blessing.

“I was always comfortable in his company and he taught me how vital a friendship can be to our lives. We spent a delightful moments with him and we shared our emotions together,” Ditlamelo said.

National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) provincial chairperson, Tsholofelo Moepeng shared his sentiments. Moepeng said Lentswe touched many lives through his work.

“Lentswe has been a good man and he subjected himself to the collective discipline of the organization through his time as a member of NCRF. He never has fallen into the temptations of defining himself as an individual who was immune from iron disciple.

“Our generation could take a leaf out of Lentswe’s book and learn. The youth need to take a cue from Lentswe and as NCRF we want to see sustainability and independence in the community radio sector in South Africa. The community radio builds the grassroots democracy by mobilizing all communities to engage in their society through access to the airwaves and participation in the programming of radio stations,” Moepeng said.

Lentswe also studied Electrical Engineer at Northern Cape FET College. He is survived by his wife, Mpho and a son.-Newsnote

TWO people and a baby succumbed to injuries when two vehicles were involved in a collision on N4 towards Rustenburg on Saturday. ER24 spokesperson, Chitra Bodasing-Harduth said several people also sustained injuries ranging from moderate to critical in a collision.

“ER24 paramedics as well as other services attended to the incident and found that two cars had collided. The driver of one of the vehicles was found trapped and sadly there was nothing that could be done for him and a female found lying in the backseat.

“The driver of the second vehicle, who was in critical condition, was also found trapped and had to be extricated from the vehicle. The baby who was believed to have been travelling in this vehicle was found on the road sadly fatally wounded,” Bodasing-Harduth said.

She said all critically and injured patients were treated and transported to hospital for further medical care by various services on scene.

“The exact cause of the incident is unknown. Authorities were on scene for further investigations.”-Newsnote

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Telkom Knockout

Result: Kaizer Chiefs 0 (4)-(2) 0 Maritzburg United

Date: 22 October 2016

Venue: FNB Stadium

Kaizer Chiefs progressed to the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals after beating Maritzburg United 4-2 on penalties.

Chiefs should have broken the deadlock after two minutes when Katsvairo dispossessed Bevan Fransmen, however the forward dragged his effort wide of the mark in a one-on-one situation.

The opening exchanges of the first half proved to be evenly poised, with both sides seeing a bit of the ball, although chances were hard to come by on both ends of the pitch.

Chiefs had Itumeleng Khune to thank for keeping the visitors at bay, as he produced a fine stop to deny Ntshangase in the six-yard box, after an error from Erick Mathoho.

Maritzburg were certainly holding their own in the middle of the park and nearly broke the deadlock after 34 minutes when Denis Weidlich rattled the upright from 25-yards out.

Chiefs, meanwhile, struggled in the middle of the park, as they were caught napping on the ball on a couple occasions, while they failed to carve out openings in the final third.

The score remained goalless as the sides entered the halftime break.

Steve Komphela’s charges looked lively upon resumption of the second half and went close through George Lebese and Sibusiso Khumalo in the opening exchanges.

However, Chiefs opted for a change after the hour-mark when Lewis Macha replaced Katsvairo as they looked for an opening goal.

Khune had to be at his best in the 65th minute, as the Chiefs shot-stopper produced a finger tip save to deny Weidlich from close range.

There was a bit of drama, as play was suspended in the 83rd minute when the lights went out at the FNB Stadium.

Play eventually resumed, and Komphela immediately introduced Keagan Buchanan for his official debut, replacing Lucky Baloyi.

The game was eventually forced into extra-time after it remained goalless after 90 minutes.

Neither side could break the deadlock in extra time, forcing the game into a penalty shoot-out, where Chiefs held their nerve to triumph 4-2.

Here’s how they lined up:

Kaizer Chiefs: Khune, Khumalo, Gordinho, Mathoho, Moleko, Baloyi, Katsande, Twala, Lebese, Ekstein, Katsvairo.

Maritzburg United: Mpandle, Fransman, Onyango, Weidlich, Moyo, Nale, Lentjies, Mngonyama, Mekoa, Maboe, Ntshangase.

Source: http://www.soccerladuma.co.za

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Benny’s Sports Academy and Development returned to South Africa after a successful 2016 Danone Nations Cup World Final where they finished in 14^thplace overall with 32 countries competing.  South Africa’s best finish since 2009 where they won the tournament.
Benny’s managed to finish second in their Group after beating South Korea 1 -0, Italy, the first all girls team to compete in the finals, 3 – 0 but losing to Indonesia 1 – 0.

The second round was tough with the team facing Brazil in their first top 16 game.  After losing 1-0 they were fighting for position 9 – 16.  Here they then faced a strong Tunisian team that were far bigger and stronger than our Limpopo boys.  After an early goal the South Africans fought back hard but failed to get the ball past a very agile goalkeeper leaving the boys fighting for position 13 – 16. 

The penultimate match of the tournament saw the South Africans running onto the field next to Uruguay, arguably the tallest boys in the 2016 world finals.  They refused to let the height of their opponents intimidate them and they outplayed them completely winning 2-1 and progressing to meet Russia in their final match for 13-14^th position.  This game was played at the Stade de France.

After conceding an early goal South Africa fought hard and pulled one back to finish level 1 each.  However the more composed European counterparts proved better in the penalty shootout and won it 3 – 1.

On their return to South Africa, Coach Mbishi Mokwena said that undoubtedly the game against Brazil was their toughest.  “The world finals were also a learning experience and the way the Brazilians used the field was an eye opener and very interesting to watch.  We were lucky to lose by such a narrow margin and our goalkeeper, Hulisani Mashau, had a cracker of a game,” he said.  “We went back to the drawing board after that game and used Brazil’s tactic against Uruguay and it worked in our favour.”

It was the game against Italy that took the youngsters by surprise.  “It was the first all girls team that has ever played at the world finals,” said Mbishi.  “We had been warned that the girls were going to be taller and stronger than us, which was the case, and they were academy girls from the famous Italian Club, AS Roma, so we were expecting a tougher challenge which did not turn out to be the case.  However, I have to admit there were a couple of girls that were exceptionally skilled on the ball.  They showed us a few amazing shibobo’s that left our boys standing,” said the coach.

For youngster Chrisjones Davhana, being in France was an enlightening experience.  “Paris is such an exciting city.  Full of life and interesting sights to see.  I loved it so much I would like to go and live there one day. 

“The food was interesting,” said Davhana.  “I think the French eat too many vegetables and I missed my traditional pap.  But they have the best fish!”

Germany was the ultimate winner beating Japan 3 – 1 on penalties at the legendary Stade de France in Paris, with Spain beating Brazil 2 – 1 to finish the 3^rd and 4^thplaces respectively.

Both the German and Japanese teams were selected through a trial process meaning their teams comprised the top under-12 players in their respective countries.  The same process was used to finalise many of the other teams as well.  A far cry from the South African boys who play school soccer on a dusty soccer field in the rural Limpopo area, Vhembe.  To have finished in 14^th position was a great feat. 

“When we showed other teams and the international media the video of our area, school and soccer field they had new respect for us and we always had other teams coming to watch our games and cheering for us,” said Mbishi.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

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A young boy’s dream came true just before going into theatre for a surgery today.

Little Aidan (7), became the youngest “member” of Team Red. Aidan, dressed in his red ER24 superhero flight suit, took his first official ride in an ambulance.

With the help of the sirens blaring and the lights flashing, Aidan, in the company of his ER24 “colleagues” and family, bravely reported for duty at the Mediclinic Morningside.

Aidan, who lives in Bryanston, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Costello Syndrome when he was 18 months old. The syndrome is so rare that he is only the second diagnosis in South Africa. He is one of only a few hundred people worldwide who has been diagnosed. 

Costello Syndrome affects various parts of the body. In Aidan’s case, he has to undergo abdominal scans every three months to screen for cancerous tumours. He also has to undergo heart scans as he has a thickened left ventricle wall.

In addition, Aidan has Culcaneo Vulgus Feet as well as a number of other challenges as a result of the syndrome.

Aidan recently developed growths under his lower eyelids. Today’s surgery was to remove these growths as well as adenoids as a result of them affecting him.

Aidan has been for numerous operations. To lighten his mood in the run up to today’s operation, Aidan’s mum, Melissa Botha, requested a visit from any emergency service. 

“Aidan loves emergency services… firefighters, police officers, paramedics, ambulances… he gets so excited. With the run up to this operation and Aidan having so many bad experiences, I thought about having a fireman, police officer or paramedic visit him to take the edge off. I put a message on Facebook stating that Aidan was not dealing well with the idea of another hospital visit. I requested a visit from any emergency service. ER24 contacted me wanting to assist. ER24 blew my request out of the water,” she said.

ER24 paramedics visited Aidan yesterday with a goodie bag and a flight suit.

He put the flight suit on immediately and did not take it off until it was time for his bath last night. “The first thing he did this morning was put the flight suit on again,” said Botha.

That was not all. Today, ER24 Joburg North paramedics, including branch manager Saul Behrmann, picked Aidan up and took him to hospital.

“There were a number of vehicles (response vehicles, an ambulance and rescue vehicle) at our door. ER24 made such an impact. Aidan got to ride to hospital in the ambulance. He was the paramedic and I had to play the patient. I cannot thank ER24 enough. Aidan was so excited and had a blast before his operation. The paramedics literally changed his whole experience with hospitals,” said Botha.

Aidan has become a household name in many homes with various people wanting to help.

As a single mum trying to do the best for her child, Botha has had to find ways of helping Aidan cope with the challenges he faces. She has also had to find ways of raising funds to cope with monthly expenses.

 Challenges

“As a result of the Culcaneo Vulgus Feet, Aidan was walking almost with the insides of his ankles. We tried various non-invasive ways to treat the condition. However, last year he had to undergo an operation. It was one of the most difficult operations we went through. He was in Plaster of Paris for more than six weeks and if you know Aidan, you will know that he is busy all the time. His mobility is his expression of communication. I had to keep him busy. He was a bit depressed that he could not move around. As a single mum it is a challenge. Aidan also gets uncomfortable with food and clothes and even getting him ready for school is a challenge. The biggest thing that works fort him is imagination. I cannot be an adult all the time. I have to be a child with him… to entertain him, get him to school and be on schedule. 

“Finance is another challenge. Aidan has to go for occupational therapy and needs medication and specialised equipment. There are costs that are not covered by medical aid. The average cost of raising Aidan is about R35 000 a month,” said Botha.  

To raise funds, Botha created a website called Raising Aidan. 

She raises funds by selling cupcakes catering for everyone’s taste including those who are diabetic or require gluten free.

You can help raise Aidan by buying these cupcakes. To find out more about how you can help Aidan, visitwww.raisingaidan.co.za or visit the Raising Aidan Facebook page.

 taungdailynews@gmail.com

BY REGINALD KANYANE

ECONOMIC Freedom Fighters (EFF ) councillor, Lucy Matsibi passed away this week.

Moses Kotane Local Municipality speaker, Sipho Vaya sent his heartfelt condolences to Matsibi’s friends and love ones.

“We want to send our deepest condolences to Matsibi’s family and friends. 

“The late Matsibi was sworn in as the Proportional Representative of EFF after the Local Government elections held in August 3 this year,” he said.

Matsibi will be laid to rest on Saturday next week at Sefikile village.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

(From Left to Right Simphiwe Nanise COO of MIT, Engineering Award Winner, Lerato Semetse and Mary Bomela, CEO of MIC)

THE National Union Mineworkers JB Marks Education Trust Fund said it will continue to support deprived students through their education. The trust fund spokesperson, Jako Mokgosi said the fund also assists graduates to enter the mining, energy and construction industries and other disciplines.

“We have shored up graduates from institutions of higher learning institutions. Some of them are qualified to work in disciplines such as engineering, mining, commerce, communications and medicine. When the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was established in 1982, a huge number of its members were illiterate.

“Through the Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT), the JB Marks Education Trust Fund was put in place to educate dependants of NUM members to study towards any qualification of their choice. This comes with no obligation to pay back the fund once their studies are completed,” Mokgosi said.

He further said those who graduated are serving to build a better South Africa. Mokgosi highlighted that engineers among them keep the wheels of industry turning while those in the construction industry create the infrastructure needed to support the modern economy.

“We provide assistance to those their parents/guardians are members of NUM. The JB Marks Trust Fund ensures that the bursary applications are sent out in March of each year. The applications will be captured onto our system. This will enables us to keep record of all the applications.

“After the applicants have been captured, then the trust gives priority to the students with the highest marks. The dependants of the mineworkers who are retrenched or deceased are then chosen. And finally, the rest are selected by their choice of course,” he said.

Mokgosi said it was imperative to assist students as their parents have worked durably. He added that everyone needs to take a stand and play a crucial role in equipping the leaders of tomorrow.

He added that they understand the importance of education being accessible to those who need it. Mokgosi said NUM and the MIT created the fund because many black miners were illiterate and could not afford to put their children through universities.

“It is a great opportunity for other organisations to implement the same system to assist those graduates in need. We award 200 bursaries annually and have had over 1000 graduates to date. Ninety two tertiary students were honoured at this year’s 7th JB Marks Education Trust Fund Awards which took place at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg recently.

“Of the 92 students who graduated with essential qualifications, nine of them achieved top honours and additional awards for Outstanding Academic performance in the various categories.

One of the beneficiaries, Lerato Semetse from Kanana Location, in Orkney completed her National Diploma in Engineering Metallurgy. She is studying towards her postgraduate studies (B-Tech) at Wits University.

“Education is very expensive nowadays, so being raised by a single parent is a disadvantaged. However, JB Marks Education Trust Fund came in handy. We need to come together to address poverty, inequality and unemployment.

“I also want to encourage students amid the #FeesMustFall campaign to refrain from burning public properties. We need free education and let us not be blindfolded,” Semetse said.

She said all stakeholders must come forward and address this issue. Semetse said South Africa is a young democratic country and justice imbalances are at the centre stage.

Mineworkers Investments Trust (MIT) COO, Simphiwe Nanise said: “There is no easy way to achieve success unless you apply yourself to the task at hand. All of the graduates have done just that.”- Newsnote

SITUATION has calmed down at Kagisano Molopo local municipality after some residents attempted to shut down operations recently. The concerned residents want newly-elected mayor, Bitsa Lenkopane to step down.

They alleged rendered her selection null and void as they claim procedural methods were not followed.

Lenkopane has assured residents that the wheel of municipal service delivery will roll out uninterrupted.

“We met with those disgruntled and addressed their issues. We also noted with regret the incident and pointed out that such exercise negatively affected the Local Economic Development (LED). The protesters forced many local businesses to shut down for two days last week.

“If the LED is affected, this will results in a setback in a fight against the triple challenges that we are facing our society. We need to address poverty, unemployment and inequality within our society,” Lenkopane said.

She added that the residents need to unite and work together with municipality. Lenkopane also warned those who supported her that their support should never in anyway be misconstrued as an ‘ace card’.

“Your support should not mislead you and think one day you could use it against me. This is just a wave that will come to an end and I will need everyone in Kagisano Molopo to join in the saamtrek-saamwerk initiative.

“We also urge you to conceptualise the reconciliation, healing and renewal (RHR) programme as some of the concretes of the 5^th administration to build the province,” she said.

Lenkopane further said plans were in place to roll out municipal service delivery programmes this week. She added that will empower and develop communities and improve their livelihoods. 

However, those who embarked on a protest refuted the claim. The Kagisano-Molopo Concern Group leader, Sino Kebotlhale said: “The mayor does not want to cooperate. We never met with her as she is avoiding us. Instead of meeting us, she calls and set police on us.

“However, we will never budge and we still maintain that she needs to vacate the mayoral seat. Her selection was invalid as we did not vote her in. There are many challenges that are still pending and she refuses to address community grievances.”- Newsnote

Picture: North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo

NORTH West Premier Supra Mahumapelo said his visited to China and India last month was an accomplishment. Mahumapelo said they will strengthen business opportunities with those countries.

“One of the agreements of business partnership was donkey business. The Chinese have capabilities in making use of donkey skin in different ways. They have the biggest Science Complex where they use it to deal with donkey skin to boost the economy. We have already identified few hectares where we will open a factory to deal with donkey skin business. We have reached an agreement that we will not send the donkey meat and skin abroad, but open a factory instead.  

“Our National Transport Investment (NTI) also engaged with Chinese government to discuss the possibilities of opening a bus factory. We will work together with all stakeholders in transport industry including taxi industry. We want to upgrade infrastructure especially in far-flung areas. The Chinese agreed to provide necessary training to our people by imparting skills,” he said.

Mahumapelo added that people need to have access to free Wi-Fi across the province. He further said they will also identify few youth who will be ferried to China, Brazil, Russia and India to be equipped with training.

“All those who will be identified, they will to go and get training abroad through BRICS countries. They will also learn the languages used in those countries. We will encourage them to visit our province frequently so that they can share their expertise while studying,” he said.

Mahumapelo said their main objectives were to eradicate unemployment, inequality and poverty which are triple challenges. Most community members need to have cooperatives to be employers rather than employees. We are targeting 70% of our youth to be employers instead.

“We will make announcement next year in 2017 regarding the deal. We also went to India to negotiate with them. The Indian economy is the most and fastest growing economy in the world thus far. They also have good infrastructure in agriculture. We have invited water specialists from India to come and assist us in addressing water challenges.

“The province has experienced water shortage through drought last year. We believe that our farmers will also benefit from that deal. They will educate them on how to reach underground water without spending more money. The Indians are using the easiest method to water their plantation too. They also have magical trees that make rain to fall and have water recycling methods through technology,” Mahumapelo said.

“We will be working closely with law enforcement authorities to address donkey-theft. We also want to applaud the police on arresting those who were involved in drugs selling in the province. We also want to highlight that most of our public servants are doing a great job. However, there are some of those who are involved in corruption and fraud. Their actions derail service delivery and we requested Provincial Government Director-General, Lydia Sebego to address that.

“Our province has reduced its wasteful expenditure from R900 million to only under R10 million currently. We have agreed with Audit General to apply PFMA and we will take drastic measures against those who found guilty. We have also completed the qualifications audit investigations,” Mahumapelo said.- Newsnote