Picture: The illegal miners arrested by police in Klerksdorp
By OBAKENG MAJE
6 November 2024- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi commended the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), in their unwavering commitment to root out illegal mining activities in the province and in particular, Klerksdorp. Mokgosi said to date, over 1000 illegal miners affectionately known as Zama-Zamas, have been arrested through Operation Vala Umgodi.
“This ongoing operation forms part of the Safer Festive strategy, which will run for 123 days until the end of January 2025.
“This is an all-inclusive crime fighting initiative, which is centred on tackling illicit mining, murder, attempted murder, rape, Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), drug offences, illegal dealing in liquor and burglaries, as well as traffic violations and illegal immigration among others,” he said.
Meanwhile, the North West police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said: “A number of illegal miners who resurfaced yesterday, rose from the initial 269 to 439. In total, the number of illegal miners who resurfaced between 18 October and 5 November 2004, rose to just above 1000.
“The suspects are still being processed accordingly. The 55 suspects arrested on 2 November 2024, appeared in court on 5 November 2024, however, charges against them were withdrawn.”
Mokgwabone further said they were nevertheless detained by Immigration Officials in terms of Section 34 of the Immigration Act, 2002, pending deportation order.
6 November 2024- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi applauded the North West Department of Education on the successful launch of its ground-breaking Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) program for Grade 4s. Mokgosi said the department launched the program, which is primarily aimed at offering Mathematics, Natural Science and Technology in mother tongue.
“We congratulate the department on the successful launch of its ground-breaking MTbBE, which is primarily aimed at offering Mathematics, Natural Science and Technology in mother tongue.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to applaud tavern owners and their continued support by reducing their business operating hours and other activities during these matric examinations. We extend our gratitude to traditional leaders, School Governing Bodies (SGBs), parents, Faith-Based Organisations and Youth organizations,” he said.
Mokgosi further said their preparations for the 2024 National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) examinations and the implementation thereof has so far not experienced any incident, both from a policy or operational perspective.
Meanwhile, the North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi said: “The launch marked a pivotal step in promoting cultural inclusivity and strengthening foundational learning through the use of mother tongue instruction which is Setswana starting with the Grade 4 learners.
“The event featured a keynote address highlighting the vision and goals of MTbBE, set to begin in January 2025 for Grade 4 learners, and panel discussions exploring the benefits and implementation strategies of this transformative approach. The MTbBE program is designed to empower North West learners by connecting their education to their linguistic heritage, fostering inclusivity, and building a bilingual foundation.”
Motsumi added that in alignment with South Africa’s National Language Policy Framework, MTbBE also draws inspiration from the African Union’s call to build resilient, inclusive education systems across the continent. She said she shared a keynote address, while panel discussions were lined up by linguistic experts.
Picture: The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi during media briefing/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
6 November 2024- The North West Premier, Lazrus Mokgosi said his government will continue to address challenges vexing the communities, as well as implement the plans and commitments they have initiated to change their lives for the better. Mokgosi said the 2023/24 audit cycle which ended on 31 March 2024, serves as a ‘glimmer of hope’ when compared to previous financial years.
He further said a total of nine departments received unqualified audit outcomes with two receiving clean audits and only one department receiving a qualified audit opinion with reduced qualification paragraphs. Mokgosi added that this foundation has eased the transition as they managed to finalize and table the 2024/2025 Provincial Budget by focusing primarily on the immediate task of rolling out key service delivery programmes as well as job creation.
“Similarly audit outcomes in municipalities continue to demonstrate signs of improvement as some have been able to move out of the negative audit category. Of the 22 municipalities, 21 submitted Annual Financial Statements (AFS) for the 22/23 financial year with an exception of Ditsobotla Local Municipality.
“Three municipalities, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, City of Matlosana and Moses Kotane, obtained unqualified opinions in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years. Progress was also registered in Moretele Local Municipality, which moved from qualified to unqualified, Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality from unfavorable to qualified,” said Mokgosi.
He said Kgetleng-Rivier Local Municipality has moved from disclaimer to qualified audit outcomes. Mokgosi said all these efforts are as a consequence of the financial recovery plans that they have initiated through the deployment of Provincial Executive Representatives (PERs) in line with the national treasury guidelines, as they believe that it is important for these municipalities to adopt sustainable and funded budgets to meet the developmental needs of the residents.
“The stabilization of these municipalities has enabled us to focus our energies on rolling out various water and sanitation projects at a cost of over R66 million benefiting over 41 000 residents. Through our bi-weekly Thuntsha Lerole initiative, we officially opened a R97 million bulk sewer and water reticulation project at Rekgaratlhile Township, near Stella.
“Similar projects are being implemented, while some have been completed in Moretele, Kgetleng, Ramotshere Moiloa, Mahikeng, Matlosana, Tswaing, Greater Taung and Kagisamo-Molopo Local Municipalities. In total, 29 water projects are being rolled out across the province,” he said.
Mokgosi said unemployment is a cause for concern in the province, hovering around 54%. He said more than half of the province’s population are suffering from severe hunger.
“In response to the latter, the provincial government has initiated food distribution programmes to assist families in need. Through the Presidential Stimulus Package for the 2024/2025 period, R48m has been allocated to the province targeting 2400 households through commodities such as vegetables and fruits, grains, broilers and small stock aquaculture & fisheries.
“In addressing challenges of unemployment, we have appointed the Premier’s Economic and Investment Advisory Council to assist the province drive the growth and development path of our province through the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy. To date, we have garnered investments to the tune of over ten billion rand in the N14 Mixed Development, Manufacturing as well as Renewable Energy.
“We have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Henan Province of China and renewed our economic ties with the Gyeongsangbuk-Do Province of South Korea during our visit to the two countries,” said Mokgosi.
He said these efforts will culminate into various investment opportunities that will create employment for the people of this province and address high levels of poverty and unemployment afflicting our communities. Mokgosi said on Monday, he met with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of leading Indian companies in the country through the Indian Business Forum and they have also expressed interest in investing in Agriculture, Tourism, and Mining, which are primarily the province’s economic drivers.
“We also advertised over 240 vacant posts across all the departments of government targeting vulnerable groups such as women, youth and people with disabilities to take a lead in job creation.
“In mitigating the impact of poverty and hunger in our communities, we have set aside over R280 million to bolster subsistence, smallholder and commercial farmers to enhance and boost food production in the next financial year,” he said.
Mokgosi said their investment drive will only find traction, if they prioritize infrastructure development, particularly through the construction and upgrading of the roads. He said they have managed to introduce contractors to various communities for the construction of several road projects, including the upgrading of Road P202 in Ramokokastad in partnership with Anglo Platinum, who have contributed R50 million towards the project.
“Furthermore, the upgrading of Road D533 from the Manamakgoteng intersection through Sandfontein to Dikweipi, where Anglo Platinum has contributed R108 million towards this project, is in full swing. The provincial government also opened a completed R190 million second phase road construction project between Schweizer Reneke and Christiana in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality.
“Maubane community in Moretele was also handed over the newly repaired D625 road, which was upgraded at the cost of over R47 million. This is over and above the several roads that have been officially handed over across the province since June 2024, with a combined total of over R1,1 billion,” said Mokgosi.
Picture: North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi and newly-appointed MEC, Virginia Tlhapi/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
1 October 2024- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi has appointed Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL), Virginia Tlhapi as the new North West MEC for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation. This comes after the resignation of former ANCYL president, Collen Maine as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC), who was responsible for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation.
“I wish to take this opportunity to inform the people of the North West of my decision in terms of Section 132 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic to effect changes in the composition of the Provincial Executive Council by appointing Tlhapi in the same department.
“I wish to take this opportunity to thank Maine for his contribution during his tenure as MEC. Let me also congratulate the new MEC as she officially assumes this responsibility with effect from 1 October 2024,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mokgosi’s changes come after he was instructed by the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) to remove a male MEC and replace him with a female MEC to address gender disparity.
Picture: North West MEC Arts, Sports, Culture and Recreation, Collen Maine
By OBAKENG MAJE
20 September 2024- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi is expected to make changes to his Executive Council (Exco) next week. This comes after the ANC National Executive Committee’s instruction to remove a male MEC and replace him with a female to address gender disparity.
Now, Mokgosi has relinquished former ANCYL president, Collen Maine from his position as North West MEC for Arts, Sports, Culture and Recreation and replaced him with ANC Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL), Virginia Tlhapi, who is also former MEC for the same portfolio.
According to our highly-placed source, the decision was taken on 18 September 2024, during the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting. However, Maine allegedly requested until next week to wrap up some of the projects that were already at the advanced stage.
Those projects include the opening of Manthe Indoor Centre and Taung Cultural Calabash preparations, amongst others. Maine is expected to replace SANCO’s Tshepo Khoza as North West Provincial Legislature’s Deputy Speaker.
Khoza was unceremoniously removed from this position amid fake matric certificate allegations. On 21 June 2024, Mokgosi appointed five men and five women as MECs in his EXCO. However, he was supposed to apply the 60/40 method.
Meanwhile, the ANC spokesperson in North West, Tumelo Maruping said: “This matter is still internal and the North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi will communicate his decision next week.”
Picture: The acting North West Premier, Oageng Molapisi/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
29 August 2024- The North West Premier, Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi, has appointed the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Oageng Molapisi as acting Premier effective from 29 August until 6 September 2024. During this period, Mokgosi will be leading a delegation of the provincial government to Gyeosangbu-DO province of South Korea and the Henan province of China on an international mission.
Mokgosi said the primary objective of this mission is to strengthen economic ties with the two provinces. He further said their quest is to also critically position the North West province as a prime destination for investments.
“This mission forms part of our ongoing efforts as the province to attract investments and address the high levels of unemployment afflicting our communities. There lies huge spin offs in the three economic drivers of our province and our visit is centred on exposing these opportunities to our prospective investors,” he said.
The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi said his government has demonstrated significant improvement in the 2023/24 audit outcomes for provincial departments. Mokgosi said the provincial government is showing a marked progression from the previous year.
He further said this positive trend reflects the government’s ongoing commitment to enhancing financial management, accountability and transparency across all its departments and entities. Mokgosi added that in the latest audit cycle that ended on 31 March 2024, a total of nine out of twelve departments received unqualified audit reports, with two of them receiving clean audits.
“Only one department received a qualified audit outcome with a reduction in audit qualification paragraphs. This signifies that the government’s support efforts must be doubled to ensure that this department also receives an unqualified audit outcome.
“The current year performance reveals that the new techniques that were employed over the previous year which included working closely with Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and officials in the financial management sections are yielding desired results,” he said.
Mokgosi said in the previous year, the province managed to obtain seven unqualified audit outcomes, while five departments were qualified, prompting the provincial government to increase its support on these five departments.
He said the expansion in audit coverage bears testimony to the province’s comprehensive financial oversight and accountability.
“Part of building a capable, ethical and developmental state is to see to it that the government has sound financial management controls. We are particularly encouraged by the increase in clean audits and the overall accuracy of our financial statements.
“These improvements are aligned to our ongoing efforts to build public trust, enhance service delivery and improve the lives of the people of the North West,” said Mokgosi.
He said collaborative efforts of the Provincial Treasury (PT), Provincial Audit Committee (PAC), the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), dedicated members and Chairpersons of Portfolio Committees and other robust governance structures continue to set the province on a positive developmental trajectory.
“We made significant progress in addressing the root causes of the challenges that culminated into Section 100. These key stakeholders have been instrumental in implementing comprehensive reforms, enhancing financial management and strengthening oversight mechanisms,” he said.
Picture: The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi said the media plays a significant role in keeping the communities abreast of key government programmes that are primarily aimed at changing the lives of the people for the better. Mokgosi, who held a Provincial Media Day at Protea Hotel in Mahikeng on 2 August 2024 said, they have invited the media as part of their ongoing efforts to cement the relations with members of the media.
He further said as Members of Executive Council (MECs) in the North West, they met with the media after he delivered a speech on the official opening of the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL), to highlight and put emphasis on the priorities of the 7th administration. Mokgosi added that they affirm and fully support the independence of the media to hold the government accountable as enshrined in the constitution.
“This Media Day that we are launching today will be held annually after the Premier’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) to communicate developmental initiatives of this administration, as well as interventions on various socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, poverty and income inequalities afflicting our communities.
“We will also hold quarterly media sessions with yourselves to report progress registered in attending to a number of challenges, remedial action plans and achievements.
We are not ignorant to challenges confronting our province and we are hard at work to speedily resolve them,” he said.
Mokgosi said in the past two weeks, Members of the Executive Council (MECs), have been tabling their Budget Votes and Policy Speeches that are aligned to their Annual Performance Plans (APPs) to ensure that they create economic opportunities for their people, whilst attending to their concerns on service delivery. He said the period from now until 31 March 2025, the 7thadministration will be completing the work of the 6th administration to ensure a seamless transition between the two administrations.
“The full account and report back of the 2024 SOPA will therefore be in February 2025, which will also include a full resourced Programme of Action of the 7th administration. The provincial government has subsequently developed a Programme of Action for the 2024 SOPA for implementation.
“Today, we have invited you to highlight what the priority areas of the 7thadministration are. We have appointed the Economic & Investment Advisory Council, consisting of Members of the Executive Council (MECs), Economists, Industry Experts, Organised Agriculture, Labour, Tourism Sector, Mining and Independent Experts,” said Mokgosi.
Picture: The Special Economic Zone in Mogwase/Facebook
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi said approximately 97% of the total platinum production occurs in Rustenburg, with the mining sector providing around 50% of all formal employment. Mokgosi said they should harness this potential, however, they must also invest in people.
He further said they are collaborating with the North West University, the Departments of Higher Education and Minerals and Petroleum Resources to establish an Engineering Faculty in Rustenburg to respond to the demand for technical and engineering specialities needed to meet the demand in the mining and related fields.
Mokgosi added that the 7th administration has already started consultations with the Minister of Trade Industry and Competition to remove all hurdles preventing the cabinet from approving the issuance of the license for the formal proclamation of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mogwase.
“We have now appointed a full time CEO for the North West Development Corporation (NWDC), who will work with the Board to appoint the rest of the Executive Management Team. The NWDC will be restructured to be fit for purpose to drive our economic and industrialization programme.
“We are continuing with work in the SEZ to renovate existing structures and the construction of Phase 2 of the project. The main hub of the Platinum Valley SEZ will be housed in a 100-hectare site at the Bodirelo Industrial Park, located near the town of Mogwase,” he said.
Mokgosi said the site will be developed in three phases, comprising a logistics park, light manufacturing space and heavy industries manufacturing space. He said they have so far garnered investment commitments to the tune of R164 billion for the Special Economic Zone.
“Eleven of these are at an advanced stage with three having signed pre-lease agreements. These commitments are a culmination of the investment initiatives of the 6th administration to create over five thousand job opportunities for our people.
“Our province is home to Phelindaba, South Africa’s main nuclear research centre, and with the new Electricity and Energy Minister’s vision for a 2500MW nuclear plant, we have the potential to become an investment destination of a powerhouse in the energy generation sector,” said Mokgosi.
He said nuclear energy has a catalytic potential across sectors like nuclear medicine, energy and human resource development to develop new rare skills and specializations, which are in high demand.
Mokgosi said all these priorities require coherent policy direction and coordination from the government to guide interventions and direct sector contributions towards a common goal.
The North West Premier, Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi will on 25 July 2024, deliver his maiden address during the official opening of the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL). In his address, Mokgosi is expected to outline the 7th Administration’s service delivery plans and priorities that are aimed at addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities.
Mokgosi spokesperson, Sello Tatai said, the Premier will articulate the provincial government’s investment initiatives in an endeavour to boost the province’s economy.
“Themed: “The Year of Unity, Socio-Economic Renewal and Nation Building”, the opening of the 7th Provincial Legislature ceremony will be attended by guests and stakeholders, including Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs), members of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, religious leaders, ambassadors, private sector representatives, community members and the media.
“The Premier’s Inaugural Address will be delivered at Mmabatho Stadium Parking Lot at 9am,” he said.
Meanwhile, the North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh said: “The Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (PROVJOINTS) made up of various government departments and security forces, led by the South African Police Service (SAPS), is ready to ensure a safe and secure Official Opening of North West Legislature and Premier’s Inauguration Address.
“The law enforcement officers will be deployed in and around the parking area to ensure general safety in Mmabatho and Mahikeng. While daily activities will not necessarily be affected by security arrangements, it is significant for the public to take note of the closure with regulated or restricted access of certain roads and thoroughfares around the precinct between 5am and 3pm, as that will affect the flow of traffic.”
Myburgh said civil servants and neighbouring government buildings will still be allowed to access their offices. She said the streets/roads that will be affected are Sekame Road and Ngaka Modiri Molema Road, Dr James Moroka Drive and Ngaka Modiri Molema Road, Sekame Road, Kemonosi Street and Mmabatho Stadium Parking.
“The PROVJOINTS is making an appeal to members of the public, civil servants, learners and all those who normally use roads, streets, thoroughfares and other public offices in and around the aforementioned roads to work closely with and cooperate with law enforcement officials, who will be manning and working in the area.
“The deployment of law enforcement officials is intended to ensure that normal day today activities are not unduly affected or obstructed, and the cooperation of everyone is important in this regard,” said Myburgh.
The Guardian 