BY BAKANG MOKOTO

NORTH West Provincial Government spokesperson, Brian Setswambung lambasted those who allege that Premier Supra Mahumampelo want to control National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA) structure in the province. This came up after a three day NICSA’s fourth annual provincial conference that was supposed to take place at Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre was called off on Tuesday.

Leadership from various churches were seen stranded at Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre after unpaid accommodation. The NICSA leadership claimed that North West Provincial Government office was supposed to book for them. However, provincial government spokesperson, Brian Setswambung refuted the claims.

Setswambung said NICSA provincial leadership requested the Office of the Premier to fund the conference.  However, he further said the NICSA representatives sent a ‘letter of request’ to the office of Reconciliation, Healing and Renewal (RHR) director, Tebogo Ramashilabele late.

“Ramashilabele received a letter on the 18^th of September 2017. The letter from NICSA requested a sponsorship for a conference that was supposed to start on the 19^th of September 2017.

“Unfortunately government does not work in that manner as there was virtually no time available to consider the request. Therefore, it must be clear that there was no partnership on the supposed conference. There was also neither commitment nor agreement to sponsor it,” Setswambung said.
NICSA provincial treasurer, Adam Mohammed said people who promised them to sponsor the conference disappointed them. Mohammed further said it was useless to cry over spilled milk.

“We need to look for other ventures and revenues for future purposes. NICSA is not affiliated to the North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo. The idea was proposed by President, Jacob Zuma back in 2009. Zuma appealed to all religious leaders to form a structure that will assist government to deliver services to the grassroots.

“NICSA is a Section 21 Company consisting of all faith based organisations in South Africa. Our vision is to take an inter-faith approach to building a new society with new moral values and attitudes. Therefore, we aim to strengthen, restore and re-build the integrity of the family and human values through interfaith dialogue and cooperation, as well as other interventions aimed at promoting national social cohesion and prosperity,” he said.

Mohammed further said the structure promotes moral regeneration for social development rather than moral regeneration for its own sake. He added that they need to ask themselves to what extent the moral values contribute to social development and a cohesive civic community.

“South Africa has emerged from its violent, racial, unequal apartheid past and has not addressed these issues in a systematic manner. The consequences of our past are dehumanisation, the loss of identity, African spirituality, and human dignity; landlessness, poverty and unemployment.

“Colonialism uprooted African people from their cultural and traditional moral value systems and they were socialised into Eurocentric and Judeo Christian value systems which essentially undermined and distorted the Ubuntu principles that shaped the moral character of the African community. The resultant anger of the violent apartheid past lingers in the sub-conscience of the majority of the African people,” he said.

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BY REGINALD KANYANE

RESIDENTS of Modimong village near Taung are living in fear after a leopard went on the loose.

According to community members, the leopard has allegedly been roaming the area for more than a week, attacking their livestock.

One of livestock owners, Ishmael Tedi, 83, said: “We are living in fear because of this wild animal. The leopard attacks our livestock and we have nowhere to turn to. We urge government to assist us by tracing the wild cat and take it to the zoo. I have cattle and goats now I cannot imagine losing them.”

Another resident, Christopher Tong said they have requested the men in the area to embark on a search for the predator but they refused fearing for their lives.

“We are worried because of a tiger on the loose. We do not know when it will strike. Our children and people at large cannot walk freely in the area anymore. However, the Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development department (READ) has installed a cage to trap it.

“We have requested men to embark on a hunt and kill the leopard, but most of them refused. They say the leopard is too dangerous and they cannot take that risk. Only few men agreed and we visit the veld constantly searching for it. The livestock we have is only our means survival,” Tong said.

He further said that Modimong village is predominantly rural and the economy heavily relied on livestock.

Tong said crime like livestock theft has also crippled them.

READ spokesperson, Emelda Setlhako said they have heeded the call to capture the leopard.

Setlhako urged community members to be cautious too.

“We have installed the cage at the identified area where the leopard was seen. We believe that we will capture it soon. The department also urges our people to be extremely careful. So far, we cannot tell where the leopard comes from,” Setlhako said.

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Rustenburg – An AMCU branch treasurer was gunned down outside the Impala Platinum mine in Rustenburg on Tuesday morning, the trade union said.

In a statement, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) president Joseph Mathunjwa said he will not speculate on the motives behind Mpeke Nonyana’s murder.

He said the organisation made a pledged at the “horrific scene” where Nonyana was gunned down to ensure “senseless killings stop”.

North West police said they are investigating the incident.

“Additional information is not available at this stage,” police spokesperson Colonel Amanda Funani told News24

Mathunjwa said assassination attempts are nothing new in the area.

“Not only do we make a plea for the killings to stop, we will continue putting more efforts to go to every shaft/branch to address workers about this senseless killing.”

Mathunjwa called on unity at mines to fight the retrenchment of “thousands of workers” at the mines countrywide.

“We must be united, put aside petty differences in the interests of the workers of this country,” he said.

Source: http://www.news24.com

Picture: North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo 

BY REGINALD KANYANE

NORTH West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo said part of the provincial strategy to deal with the high percentage of unemployment among the youth in the province is to refocus the existing Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) from being mainly about cleaning of environment to being innovation focused and skills development driven.

Mahumapelo addressed the VTSD Skills Development Lekgotla held at Madiba Banquet Hall in Potchefstroom recently.

“Important about the refocused EPWP will be to ponder extension of the employment contract from 12 to 24 months, to enable beneficiaries’ sufficient time to be trained before being released for their actual work through applicable recruitment processes”, he said. Mahumapelo added that some of the schools closed as part of the rationalisation process must be used as innovation and training centres for these EPWP beneficiaries.

Mahumapelo said through the North West Development Corporation (NWDC), EPWP beneficiaries will also be trained on fields such as security services, this with a view to pave way for them to be absorbed or recruited by institutions such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), State Security Agency (SSA) and other government institutions in the province.

He said the EPWP beneficiaries’ involvement in the Agriculture, Culture and Tourism sectors cannot be over-emphasised.

“In an attempt to increase the impact of agricultural extension in particularly our villages, we will have to identify these EPWP beneficiaries and give them a short training on the basics of agricultural extension, this to ensure that they contribute meaningfully in the province’s endeavor to improve delivery of services in this sector.

“We call on young unemployed youth to take advantage of initiatives introduced by the provincial government through EPWP, to better their lives. The province will ensure that the refocused EPWP is rolled out before the end of this quarter,” he said.

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Picture: ANCYL President, Collen Maine 

THE ANC Youth League  (ANCYL) president, Collen Maine paid homage to struggle stalwart Anton Lembede who was described as being part of a generation that altered the struggle patterns in South Africa.

This was during the ANCYL’ s 73rd anniversary in Klerksdorp. Maine compared Lembede with the likes of the late ANCYL Secretary-General Sindiso Magaqa.

“We meet here to celebrate a collossus of the ANC struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.

“President Lembede was part of the youth that altered the struggle patterns in South Africa. He was part of the generation that introduced militant tactics and radical views,” Maine said.
Lembede is accredited with the motto of “freedom in our lifetime” of which the likes of Mxolisi Majombozi, William Nkomo, OR Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were also a part.
“As we celebrate and commemorate the life of president Lembede we are sad to have learned of the untimely departure of one of the pioneers of the generation of economic freedom fighters, Sindiso Magaqa,” Maine said.
He further said Magaqa was also a courageous leader who believed that the ANC was the only party to usher in economic freedom, just like the generation of Lembede.
“As ANCYL, we are engaged with government and private sector on a number of issues to ensure that youth development takes centre stage in the transformation of our country,”
Maine said the future is now in terms of the ANCYL growing in its wisdom and durability.
Source: www.thenewage.co.za

BY KEDIBONE MOLAETSI 
MORE than 50 children will return back from Free State province and re-unite with their families in Madibogo and Setlagole villages, outside Mahikeng on Tuesday. 

The minors were employed as labourers by a farmer. 

MEC for Social Development department, Hoffman Galeng will welcome them at Letsapa Community Hall in Setlagole village at around 6pm.   

Galeng said more than 254 adults and atleast 20 children from the North West province were employed as labourers. He further said children will be accommodated at a ‘place of safety’ in Mahikeng, while adults will be disbursed to their respective villages and townships upon their arrival.

“We have deployed a team of social workers to provide counselling to the adults and await another group of 19 children who are to be returned from Free State to North West.

“The return of adults and children is part of the 5th administration concretes to reconcile, heal and renewal. The initiative also aims to create unity amongst the people of the North West who were mistreated,” he said.

According to media reports a case of child labour was opened against a farmer in Wesselsbron after under age children were found to be working illegally at Drie Hoek Farm.

The farmer allegedly brought minors from Setlagole, Madibogo, Delareyville and Makwassi to work at his farm and continually mistreating them by not giving them proper food and reasonable wages. 

The court has ordered Galeng to ensure that children who were rescued at a farm in Allandridge in Wesselsbron in Free State were retained to a ‘place of safety’ by Tuesday.

The labour department spokesperson, Teboho Thejane said  204 seasonal workers were rescued after being exposed to inhumane conditions.

“We will continue to protect vulnerable workers. Sixty four children were also rescued from a non-compliant employer also operating as an “illegal” labour broker in the Wesselsbron area. Some of those children are from poverty-stricken areas, in Ratlou Local Municipality,” he said.

Thejane said: “The department has been hard at work to crackdown what now seems like a syndicate of mischievous employers paying their workers next to nothing, if at all they get paid, for working their fields.  

“Since this clampdown, inspectors of the department have been very alert and leaving no stone unturned in making sure that these criminals are brought to book.” 

He further said they are determined to make a clean sweep of the whole Lejweleputswa district. 

“We stopped a truck ferrying 31 seasonal workers from one of the Wesselsbron farms back to the North West province. 

“The driver of the truck was ordered to head to a local police station together with his passengers.  Upon impeccable and thorough investigation by Labour Inspectors and the police, it was discovered that these passengers were seasonal workers and were being transported back home,” Thejane said.

One of minors who once worked at the farm shed more light on the matter. 

Tshepiso Mongale, 16, once worked as a labourer at Wesselsbron back in March this year. Mongale who stays with his father and other four siblings said: “I went to the area back in March. I wanted use the money to buy myself a school uniform. No one is working and it is hard to survive. My father is doing odd jobs and he has no basic salary.”

“I was paid R300 after working for two weeks. I want to continue with my studies, but it is hard with abject poverty that we living in. I am doing Grade 7 at Mmadisebo Primary School in Madibogo village.”

The school principal, Evah Bolokang said: “Most of our learners live in appealled conditions. The area is poverty-stricken and that forces them to quit school. Mongale is very intelligent boy. However, the support system he receives is not enough. Anyone who can assist must come forward because we do not want to see his future vanish in thin air.  

The Hawks spokesperson, Brig Hangwani Molaudzi said the case has been opened and investigations are under underway.

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