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DA clears the way towards Education  


By Obakeng Maje
Rustenburg-The recent blessing of much needed rain in the North-West province has brought along some issues as well, Democratic Alliance said.

“The road leading to Kloof view primary school had been flooded and covered with sand. Due to inaction from the municipality we decided to take it upon ourselves to clean and restore the road to the Primary school” DA provincial spokesperson Tiaan Kotze.

The clean-up was met with gratitude and praise from the community.

“If this is what we can do in opposition, imagine what we can do in government” outlines Kotzee.-TDN
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Police escort foreigners out of Cullinan


Pretoria – Police were on Wednesday escorting foreign shop owners out of Cullinan, east of Pretoria, to protect them from protesters.

“Vehicles are being used to transport the foreign shop owners and their belongings out of Refilwe,” spokesperson Captain Melissa van der Merwe said.

“Police had to use stun grenades to disperse the protesting residents as they wanted to stop and attack the shop owners.”

The protests started on Tuesday. Residents of Refilwe were angry after a foreign shop owner allegedly assaulted a 10-year-old child, who later died in hospital. The child was assaulted for apparently stealing sweets. Locals then looted shops owned by foreigners and barricaded the roads.

Earlier, a white Isuzu bakkie was trying to get out of the area and the occupants fired shots at protesters blocking their way.

“Luckily no one was injured or shot at,” said Van der Merwe.

Police were monitoring the area.

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Premier Modise urges police to act speedily in arresting fugitives


 

North West Premier Thandi Modise has called on police to act speedily in arresting the seven awaiting-trial prisoners who escaped from Mmabatho police station yesterday.

 

“We call on the police to act swiftly in arresting the fugitive. We will also request a full report on the circumstances which led to their escape. And we guarantee that heads will roll if any complicity or negligence is found,” said Premier Modise.

 

Premier Modise said it was especially worrying that the man suspected of being the Hammerman, who terrorised communities in and around Mafikeng by raping and killing women with a hammer, was believed to be among the escapees. 

“Failure to re-arrest the suspect swiftly will be a step back on the war against the scourge of violence against women and children,” cautioned Modise. 

It is believed that the suspects escaped through the ceiling after cutting the mesh wire of the cell.

 

Police say the escapees are dangerous and that if sighted members of the public must not confront them but instead report them to the nearest police station.

 

They faced charges that include murder, hijackings, house robberies and theft.-TDN
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Nwest to donate 14 rhinos to Botswana   


North West Provincial Executive Council (Exco) has approved the donation of 14 black rhinoceros to Botswana to assist grow the rhino population to a sustainable level, Premier Thandi Modise announced on Wednesday.

Premier Modise said that approval of the donation of 8 cows and 6 bulls was made on the understanding that once the Botswana Black Rhino population has grown and stabilised and the South African Rhino security has equally stabilised, the founder population would be retrieved in line with the Mafisa concept 50% of the offspring would be equally shared.
In line with the agreement endorsed by Exco and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, all capture and translocation costs of the rhinos estimated to cost about R1million would be borne by the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism of the Republic of Botswana.
Exco has directed that the requisite administrative compliance 
including norms and standards, policy requirements and legislative prescripts should be adhered to by officials of the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) and Botswana Wildlife Ministry.

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust (KRST) made up of communities in Serowe, Mabele a Pudi and Paje villages had previously received a joint donation of 13 white rhinos from the NWPTB and the South African National Parks Board.
According to the latest report, the 13 rhinos which were donated to the KRST a while back has grown to 48 meaning that 50% of the rhino offspring ranging at the KRS are owned by the North West Provincial Government.   Modise said that the donation is informed by South Africa’s membership to the SADC Rhino Monitoring Group, SADC Black Rhino Range Expansion, SADC Enhancement of Species Conservation, the SADC Rhino and Elephant Security Group and the SADC Conservation Protocol.
It is through the collaboration of the conservation fraternity in the SADC region that the current lion population in Madikwe and the Pilanesberg were donated by the Namiba’s Etosha National Park and the Wild Dogs in Zimbabwe were donated by the NWPTB.-TDN
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ex-Sunday Independent editor joins M&G


Johannesburg – Former Sunday Independent editor Moshoeshoe Monare will join the Mail & Guardian in March.

“It’s official. Pleased to announce that ex-Sunday Indy editor #Moshoeshoe Monare joins @mailandguardian as deputy editor next month,” the newspaper’s editor Angela Quintal wrote on social networking site Twitter on Wednesday.

Monare had worked with Quintal at Independent Newspapers when she was group political editor, where she groomed him as her successor.

Independent Newspapers announced last week that Monare had resigned.

The company’s CEO Tony Howard said Monare had tendered his resignation on Tuesday and would be leaving at the end of this month.

He said it was regrettable that Monare was leaving at a critical time when the group was embarking on a new growth strategy.

“Monare would have played a large part in the growth strategy for The Sunday Independent as well as other initiatives and strategies,” he said at the time.

Howard said the company was disappointed but wished him well.

Monare replaced Makhudu Sefara as editor of the newspaper two years ago.

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Schoogirls found dead in field


Johannesburg – Two teenage girls were found dead in Dobsonville, Soweto, on Wednesday morning, Gauteng police said.
“The girls were dressed in their school uniforms. They had cuts on their hands and necks,” spokesperson Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.

“Razors, candles and their school bags were found next them.”

eNCA reported that the girls were found dead in a field off Braam Fischer Drive.

Neither of the girls, aged 15 and 16, had been reported missing.

No arrests had been made.

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Unmannered cameras proposed for Pistorius trial


Pretoria – Media houses will use technologically advanced equipment to record Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.

Frank Snyckers SC, for MultiChoice and Eyewitness News, submitted that the equipment was not obtrusive and was controlled remotely.

He said the media houses had secured the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) support.

“The world’s eye will be on the criminal justice system, as it has been. Principles of open justice and right to freedom of expression are part of the right to a fair trial,” he said.

“In fact, the trial judge can be given the means to deactivate the recording.”

Pistorius is accused of killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February last year. His trial is expected to be heard in the North Gauteng High Court from 3 to 20 March.

‘Unconsenting witnesses’

Snyckers told the court that if granted permission to film the proceedings, MultiChoice would broadcast the full trial unedited. He said however “unconsenting witnesses” would not be filmed.

The application to film the proceedings was brought by news channel eNCA. It was joined in the application by MultiChoice and Eyewitness News. A 24-hour TV channel dedicated to the upcoming trial would be launched on DSTV on 2 March, a day before the former star athlete goes on trial.

MultiChoice and EWN said they were proposing to use unmanned, remote-controlled high-definition cameras which would provide feed to all broadcasters.

The NPA on Tuesday said it would not oppose the application. However, NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube said it did have a number of conditions. He would not say at the time what these were.

Pistorius’s legal team is expected to oppose the media’s application.

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Yeye: We’re ready to skin Celtic alive


Johannesburg-Kaizer Chiefs midfielder, Reneilwe Yeye Letsholonyane has vowed that he and his teammates will continue to work hard to defend their league title.

Yeye insisted that even though Celtic will be a hard nut to crack they will beat them when the two Teams meet on Wednesday night.

“The game will be tough. As you know Celtic has been doing well since the arrival of Coach Ernst Middendorp. We have to work hard as a Team to win the game on Wednesday. Even though we know what they can do, we will always focus on our game plan” Yeye told Chiefs official website.

“We are happy with the rotation of the players and that has been evident with the results. We are coping with the rotation system that the Technical Team have implemented. We are all working hard to get a chance to play and so far the system is working for us” continued Yeye.

Yeye said they have been encouraged by the attendance at games.

The supporters have been attending our games in large numbers. We hope they will come to FNB Stadium in their numbers once again. We are focusing on our plans at the moment. We are not looking at the other teams and their performances or whether they are closing the gap at the top of the table or not, says Yeye.

“What the other Clubs are doing is not of our concern, ours is to work hard and continue to win our games” said Yeye.

Tickets are sold at Computicket and Shoprite/Checkers outlets nationwide at a cost of R40 for adults and R10 for the juveniles accompanied by adults.

Kickoff is at 19:30 and the gates open at 16:30.-TDN
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MEC MALOYI TO HAND OVER 260 HOUSES IN MATLOSANA


By Obakeng Maje
Matlosana-MEC for Human Settlements Public Safety and Liaison Nono Maloyi will hand over about 260 houses to Jouberton families near Klerksdorp on Thursday.

The Houses are part of the 8000 houses that are expected to be handed over between February and March 2014. The benefiting families are said to be from the nearby farming communities and have never owned houses before.

“The handover is part of celebrating twenty years (20yrs) of freedom, and also in line with the Outcome 8 of the National Development Plan vision 2030 which is intended to improve the quality of people’s lives and bring back dignity to the marginalized communities across the province” departmental spokesperson Ben Bole said.

According to Maloyi the gesture is part of the department’s service delivery initiative and reduction of housing backlog in the province. He said that the move is also critically important because it restores the dignity of those benefiting communities.

The event will take place as follows:

Date: 20 February 2014

Time: 10H00

Venue: Jouberton Ext 20 (Open space)

-TDN
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Block’s call an order


Kimberley – A government official treated a request from Northern Cape ANC leader John Block to help a business friend as an order, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.

“I saw it as an order to help… with office accommodation in the province. We listen to our leaders,” State witness John Crouch said.

Judge Mathebe Phatshoane was hearing evidence in the fraud and corruption case against Block, Alvin Botes, ANC MP Yolanda Botha, and Trifecta director Christo Scholtz.

The National Prosecuting Authority alleges the Trifecta Group entered into a number of lease agreements with the Northern Cape social development department in which rentals, or rental space, were grossly inflated. The accused have all pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them or their companies.

Leading Crouch in his evidence-in-chief, prosecutor Peter Serunye asked whether he knew if Block was a government employee at the time the crimes were committed. Crouch was the head of a unit in the former Northern Cape transport, roads, and public works department responsible for providing accommodation for state departments in the province.

“No, he was the deputy chair of the ANC. I am a member of the ANC for many years, still am,” replied Crouch.

Serunye asked: “What was your reaction?” Crouch said Block was a leader of the ANC.

“It’s a fact in the Northern Cape when Block speaks we listen. We have that habit in the Northern Cape,” he said.

The court heard Block allegedly told Crouch a Sarel Breda would come to visit him.

“I must see how I could help him [Breda],” Crouch told the court.

Big chief

Crouch said before he could phone Breda, a Trifecta director, he apparently arrived at his office announcing he was sent by the “big chief”.

The court heard Breda visited Crouch’s office so often he and the staff became uncomfortable. Crouch testified he phoned Block to complain about Breda’s constant presence.

“His response was that I must see that the office accommodation of arts and culture, and agriculture must be completed,” said Crouch.

Breda died in a aircraft accident in the Northern Cape on 9 March 2009.

Earlier, Phatshoane warned Crouch he should answer all questions put to him by the State and defence teams honestly.

Crouch had faced corruption charges in the Trifecta case but turned State witness.

The trial continues.

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