Table of contents for 2023-03-24 in DFA News

THE EFF and the Forum 4 Service Delivery have condemned the arrests of “innocent persons” during the EFF-led national shutdown, where the police arrested 131 suspects on charges of public violence and intimidation on Monday. The regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, said 19 suspects were released on a warning in Kuruman, while six people were released on a warning in Galeshewe this week. “In Barkly West, four suspects were released on R300 bail each and one suspect’s bail was postponed until March 27. In Jan Kempdorp, the bail application of seven suspects has been postponed to March 23,” added Senokoatsane. EFF councillor in the Dikgatlong region Lefa Leeuw stated that EFF members were shot at and their offices were targeted by the police during the shutdown.…

IN A BID to alleviate the high unemployment rate in the country and to ensure that small businesses can grow and thrive, the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) has launched a national training programme aimed at providing training to 48 000 small, medium and macro enterprise (SMMEs) across the county. SMMEs in the Northern Cape are among those that stand to benefit from the programme. Small business owners in Upington and Springbok in the Northern Cape were informed by Sanral Western Region transformation officer Morne Windvogel that business owners can, through the training, be equipped with the knowledge to identify critical information when submitting tender documents. Windvogel said they have over the years realised that many businesses lose out on opportunities to tender due to fear or lack of…

THE WINDHOEK Draught Griquas have it all to do to improve their position on the 2023 Currie Cup log when they take on the defending champions, the Airlink Pumas tonight at Mbombela Stadium, in the former Nelspruit. Sitting at position five on the eight-team table after one loss against the Toyota Cheetahs (42-19) and a win against the Cell C Sharks (40-48), the high-flying Pumas who have won two from two are not going to be an easy prospect, especially at home. Last year, during the league phase of the competition, Griquas did manage to pull off a narrow 44-45 win in Mbombela, then in the return match in Kimberley they completely outclassed the Pumas winning that contest 41-20. When the teams met in the 2022 final, that’s when the…

IT SEEMS pretty obvious that our provincial Martial Arts is fighting fit. This, after six Zanshin Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Academy students represented Northern Cape Karate at Karate South Africa’s (KSA) Children's, Cadet’s, and Junior National Championships in Durban last weekend. After competing at the Junior National Championships, Markus Becker, Mïcke Strydom, and Kgosietsile Maganelo were all included in the National Team training squad for 2023. The DFA had a quick chat with the three students about this massive achievement. Mïcke said that she competed in kumite, a form of sparring where two practitioners engage in simulated combat with predetermined rules and protective gear. She told the DFA that she won her first two rounds but was narrowly beaten in the subsequent rounds to miss out on the bronze, finishing fifth in…

WELL, well, well, wasn’t this past Monday a rather nerve-racking day? There I was, tucked into a foetal position under my bed, with my thumb stuck into my gob, quivering like a chihuahua on a caffeine kick, expecting all hell to break loose, and in the end the day passed without any major incidents – well, it was peaceful under my bed anyway. That’s when the funny memes, video clips and gifs started circulating on social media. I decided, after watching two videos which were more than enough for me, that once South Africans start passing jokes around, they must be comfortable that the crisis has been averted. But has it though? The national shutdown, remember, only came about because South Africans were getting an extremely raw deal as far…

CITY residents whose homes were once again flooded during heavy storms week this week, turned their anger on the premier, Sol Plaatje executive mayor and Speaker for “turning a blind eye” to their suffering. Residents living in Revelation Road in Galeshewe stated that they were unable to sleep or go to work on Wednesday after their yards and streets were flooded. “All our furniture is wet. We are caring for small babies and our children who are busy writing tests could not go to school. We cannot use our outside toilets as they are also flooded,” the residents said. They criticised their ward councillor for “running away” and for not attending to their problems. “The mayor and the premier never bothered to show their ugly faces here because they are…

Kimberley Golf Club results for the week of March 15-18 and news about next week’s programme. Results for the week of March 15-18 The Wednesday, March 15 OBC sponsored 18-hole BBS was won by Harry Welham on 41 pts with William Wepener 2nd on 39 pts and Nigel Page 3rd on 36 pts. The Thursday, March 16 KWV sponsored 9-hole IPS with power play options was won by Kevin Wakeford on 23 pts with Kevin Anthil 2nd on a count-out also with 23 pts and Jaco Janse 3rd on 22 pts. The Friday, March 17 Flamingo sponsored Niner was won by Eugene Snyman with 20 pts. Second was Donald Witbooi on 19 pts on a count-out over Lutchman Poonawassy also on 19 pts and fourth was Chris Gordon with 18…

AMENDMENTS to the National Credit Act could help municipalities, including the Sol Plaatje Municipality, and schools to recover billions of rand in outstanding debt. According to Sol Plaatje Municipality Speaker Nomizizi Maputle, the local municipality’s collection rate is 74 percent, which is below the Treasury guidelines of 90 percent. Municipalities, schools and body corporates, amongst others, could see improvements in outstanding payments if adjustments were made to the National Credit Act to allow the restructuring of these debts in debt counselling. Municipal rates, levies, school fees, money owed to medical practices and attorneys and other similar debts fall outside of the National Credit Act as it currently stands. According to the National Debt Counsellors’ Association (NDCA), this means debt counsellors cannot renegotiate these debts. A Statistics SA report on civil…

BOIKANYO Solar partnered with the Northern Cape Department of Health to hand over medical equipment at community health-care facilities in the Siyancuma municipal area as part of a collective effort between public and private institutions to support the needs of primary health-care services in the region. The medical equipment provided consisted of ECG machines, paediatric saturation metres, a medicine trolley and adult and paediatric Ambu bags. The equipment will play a crucial role in addressing local health-care facilities’ needs, as well as providing immediate care and treatment and preventing illnesses. The solar plant, together with the Department of Health, funded this support as an extension of its Healthcare Support Programme. The department’s needs and shortages were identified through this partnership to help ease the financial burden in the health-care services.…

THE BELIEF that stepping in animal poop being good luck has been around for centuries and can be found in many cultures around the world. While it may seem like a strange belief, there are some interesting theories about how this superstition came to be. One theory suggests that in ancient times, people believed that animals had a special connection to the spiritual world. Therefore, stepping in their faeces was seen as a way to gain good fortune or a blessing from the animal’s spirit. Now whether all the superstitions around animal droppings are true or not, the fact is that in Kimberley this past weekend, a pile of poop earned someone a big prize. This happened when the Pirates Tug of War club held their very own ‘beesloop’, where…