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Court strikes Ofentse’s killer with life sentence


By Obakeng Maje
Mmakau- The Ga-Rankuwa Regional Court sentenced a 41 year-old, Strike Thulare to life imprisonment on Tuesday for murder and rape of an 11 year-old Ofentse Mogale of Mmakau village.

Ofentse Mogale was kidnapped from her home on 01 February 2013 by the accused and was found murdered and buried at the accused shack on 2 February 2013.

“It was also discovered that Ofentse  was raped by the accused” brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

North West Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo commended the good job done by the police. She said that this is a proof that crime does not pay and that criminals will face the full might of the law.-TDN
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Police won’t withdraw from Marikana – Mthethwa


Marikana – The police will continue to restore peace in the troubled platinum mining belt of North West, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Wednesday.
“Anarchy will not be allowed, whether disguised as industrial action or not,” he told reporters at the Marikana police station.
Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Lonmin, Impala Platinum, and Anglo American Platinum in Rustenburg and at Northam in Limpopo downed tools on 23 January, demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500.
The strike has cost the companies over R17.8bn in revenue and workers have reportedly lost more than R7.9bn in earnings.

Friction
The platinum producers recently resolved to approach striking mineworkers directly about their latest pay offer, in a bid to end the strike, but Amcu objected, raising fears of friction between striking mineworkers and those who wished to return to work.
Three miners and one of their wives were killed in separate incidents in Rustenburg since Sunday, prompting police to deploy reinforcements in the area.
Mthethwa said on Wednesday that more than 5 000 people had been arrested in the platinum belt in the past year.

He said those who had been instigating violence in the Marikana area would be arrested.
“We have names of those instigating violence and within hours we should be on top of them.”

Weapons
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega said the police would remain in the Marikana area as long as the situation warranted their presence.
“We have adequately deployed diverse units in this area.”
She denied the police were afraid to act after the Marikana shooting of August 2012, when police shot dead striking mineworkers.
“We have acted over a period of 20 months and more than 5 000 had been arrested for various crimes.”

Forty-four people were killed during the wage-related strike in 2012.
Mthethwa said on Wednesday that it was the responsibility of union organisers to ensure their gatherings were peaceful and that no one carried dangerous weapons such as knobkerries and pipes.

He said police disarmed some of the people who attended an Amcu rally at the Wonderkop stadium in Marikana earlier in the day.
“Some agreed to leave their weapons behind and we understand some managed to get into the stadium with their knobkerries,” the minister said.

SAPA

MEC Maloyi to hand over 914 homes to Wolmaranstaad families


Wolmaransstad- MEC for Human Settlements Public Safety and Liaison Nono Maloyi will on Friday hand over about 914 houses to legible beneficiaries in Wolmaransstad in the Maquassie hills municipality.

The hand over is part of the department’s endeavor to reduce housing backlog and making sure that legible beneficiaries receive quality houses.

“Most of the beneficiaries have been staying in informal settlements while others have been staying in rural villages of Maquassie Hills municipality” departmental spokesperson Ben Bole said.

According to Maloyi the programme is part of the government’s endeavor to restore the dignity of the Maquassie Hills community, as well as to Celebrate the 20 years of democracy.

The handover will be held as follows:

Date: 16 May 2014

Time: 14H00

Venue: Wolmaranstad EXT 15 Open space
-TDN
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Three cars torched at Implats


Johannesburg – Three stationary cars were torched at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg operations in the North West on Wednesday.
“Yes, I can confirm that. The three cars were set alight but there were no injuries,” said Implats spokesperson Alice Lourens.

No one was in the cars at the time.
The vehicles were parked on the mine’s property.

Criminal

Meanwhile Limpopo police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said that striking mineworkers had been hiding in a veld outside Anglo-American Platinum’s Northam mine at night and possibly plotting criminal activities.

“People are hiding and ducking in a bushy area or veld outside Northam mine in the evenings.
 
“The have been doing that from last week…every night they do that.”

Mulaudzi said it was a small group of mineworkers and it was unclear whether they were from the North West or Limpopo.

Patrolling

“It is striking mineworkers in the bushy area and they have muthi people [traditional healers] with them,” he explained.

“They are probably using muthi to help them be invisible [in the strike] or something.”

He said police were trying hard to remove those hiding in the veld.

“We are pushing them away…they must get out of that area. I think we do disturb them because police are patrolling there all the time.

Amcu members at Lonmin [JSE:LON], Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] downed tools on 23 January, demanding a basic salary of R12 500 per month.

SAPA

Don’t fall for e-toll ‘carrot’ – Outa


Johannesburg – The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) on Wednesday warned Gauteng e-toll road users to think before being “seduced” by the SA National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral) offer to register for e-tags.
For more http://www.news24.com

Lekwa-Teemane municipality under investigations after sporadic protests


Mahikeng – North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs Manketsi Tlhape has delivered on her promise of dealing and putting to rest concerns raised by Lekwa-Teemane residents.  

The Department has in terms of Section 106 (1) (b) of the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, appointed an audit forensic investigating firm namely Greentime Management Consulting to conduct investigations on allegations of maladministration, fraud, corruption or any serious malpractice at Lekwa Teemane Municipality.

The firm is expected to complete their investigations within two weeks, after which it will present its findings to the Department within a week thereafter. 

MEC Tlhape said the firm has already been introduced to the municipality on Friday 09 May 2014. “Their terms of reference are to interview any person in the municipality deemed pertinent to provide information and to request and seize documents relevant to the investigation. We are looking forward to the completion of the investigation because we want to put this matter to rest. We will adhere to the agreed time within a week of completion of the investigation the audit firm will make recommendations and submit a report to my office” said MEC Tlhape.

Amongst others the firm will investigate the lease agreements or sale of municipal farms, allocations of stands and alleged undertaking by the Mayor to allocate 1000 units, malpractice in allocation of RDP stands, the International Angling Tournament and other current projects arranged through Local Economic Development – LED unit, investigate nepotism in appointment of staff and contractors, the awarding of sewerage tender, mentioned labour cases in the municipality and to provide progress report on a criminal case of corruption against Mayor, Municipal Manager and other municipal employees.

The investigations at Lekwa Teemane local municipality follows violent protests in Boitumelo near Bloemhof and Christiana last month which saw houses belonging to the Mayor, her relatives, councillors and police officials torched.

These violent protests also saw the N12 road between Kimberley and Johannesburg barricaded with burning tyres and stones thrown at passing cars and trucks.-TDN
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Amcu strikers defy call to return to work


Johannesburg – About 5 000 striking mineworkers gathered at Wonderkop Stadium in Marikana, near Rustenburg in the North West, on Wednesday, refusing to return to work.

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) sang resistance songs and carried knobkerries and umbrellas.
Many had blankets around them.
They appeared to be defying a call by employers to return to work.

Lonmin [JSE:LON] warned that it might implement restructuring that could lead to a loss of jobs if striking mineworkers failed to return to work on Wednesday.

The company set May 14 as the deadline for employees to end the almost four-month-old strike.
“The only thing that could take us underground is R12 500”, said union member Tievo Nkomo.

He said accepting the current offer would mean they were on strike for four months only to receive R500.
“This is not what we strike for. The only thing we need is R12 500. I find it difficult that the employers could not understand our demand, which is clear,” said Nkomo.

The companies – Lonmin, Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP], and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] -offered Amcu a settlement on April 17. They tabled a wage increase offer of between 7.5% and 10%.

The proposed offer would have seen the minimum cash remuneration for entry-level underground workers rise to R12 500 a month, or R150 000 a year, by July 2017.

On Wednesday, union members were bussed into the stadium and were waiting for Amcu leader Joseph Mathunjwa to address them later in the day.

Security was tight around the mining area. Five police vans were stationed around the stadium and a Nyala armoured vehicle belonging to mine security was seen.
Another group of workers had gathered in Marikana West waiting for buses to transport them to the stadium.

The strike has cost the companies about R14bn in revenue and workers have lost over R6bn in earnings.
During a similar strike in August 2012, 44 people died.

Ten people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in the week before 34 people were shot dead in a clash with police on August 16.

A commission of inquiry into the 44 deaths has been hearing evidence on events and policing at the time of August 2012 shooting.
SAPA

Pistorius to undergo mental evaluation


PRETORIA – Judge Thokozile Masipa has this morning granted an application by the state to have Oscar Pistorius committed to an institution to have his mental health evaluated.
This morning’s ruling means Pistorius will spend 30 days at a psychiatric facility undergoing a full mental evaluation.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Premier Modise appeals to mining houses and AMCU to act responsibly to avoid violent confrontations     


Rustenburg- Parties involved in the 16 weeks wage dispute in the platinum belt should to act responsibly to avoid violent confrontations at all costs,North West Premier Thandi Modise said on Wednesday.

“Resorting to threats of dismissals, court actions and mobilising for intensified intimidation and violence against non-striking workers and those who wish to return to work instead of reaching a settlement to end the strike will only serve to exacerbate the already volatile situation that demands urgent responsible action by all parties to avert another Marikana,” Premier Modise said.
Modise called on traditional leaders and community leaders in the platinum belt not succumb to pressure to drag their communities into the wage dispute as it remains  a matter between mining houses and AMCU.-TDN
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Miners oppose Amcu bid to block SMS campaign


Johannesburg – Platinum producers Lonmin [JSE:LON], Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] will oppose a court application by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) over its direct communication with striking employees.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the three companies said its efforts to end an almost four-month-long strike was not in contravention of regulations or agreements.

“The producers reject claims made by Amcu that any of [its actions] contravene the Labour Relations Act, recognition agreements or employees’ constitutional rights,” it said.
The companies would ask the court to endorse their communication efforts to find a resolution.

Sake-Beeld reported that Amcu had applied for an urgent court interdict to stop the mines from communicating a new wage offer directly to workers.
The application was filed in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Monday.

Amcu wants the court to stop the companies from directly contacting some 70 000 workers.

The mines have been communicating directly with their employees for the past two weeks to convince them to accept a new wage offer made in April.

This came after the employers’ talks with Amcu leaders deadlocked.
Amcu argued in court papers that the SMS campaign and pre-recorded phone messages to workers from the companies breached the recognition agreement with the mining union. The court will hear the application on Tuesday, according to the newspaper.
Amcu members at the three companies in Rustenburg and at Northam in Limpopo downed tools on January 23 demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500. The strike has cost the companies about R14bn in revenue and workers have lost over R6bn in earnings.

Lonmin warned that it might implement restructuring that could lead to job losses if striking employees failed to return to work on Wednesday.

The companies offered Amcu a settlement on April 17. They tabled a wage increase offer of between 7.5% and 10%.

The proposed offer would have seen the minimum cash remuneration for entry-level underground workers rise to R12 500 a month, or R150 000 a year, by July 2017.
SAPA