Table of contents for 2022-09-23 in DFA News

I WAS given the go-ahead by Honda Kimberley to assess a few of their automobiles. The crossover WR-V was the first car up for assessment. The Honda WR-V, which competes with the likes of the Ford EcoSport, Renault Captur and Hyundai Venue, is Honda's entry into the crossover section. The WR-V was created to fill the gap between the budget-friendly, 7-seater BR-V and the more upmarket and fashionable HR-V, and it fills that gap beautifully. I like the outside styling with its modern chrome-wing front grille, LED headlights that come in the Elegance trim, LED daytime running lights, and C-shaped tail-lights. The WR-V executes Honda's characteristics. It has a convenient ground clearance of 173mm and sits on 16-inch alloy wheels as standard. Roof rails are there for those who need…

IN A week’s time, another one of our historical city’s grand old institutions will be celebrating an impressive milestone when the alumni of William Pescod High School hold a weekend of events from Friday, September 30 through to Sunday, October 2 commemorating 135 years of academic excellence. A meet-and-greet will serve as the celebratory weekend’s opening act. And from that point onward the itinerary will unfold in impressive fashion, from each alumnus receiving a stylish ‘goody bag’, to live musical entertainment, on to the renaming of the school hall and then the release of the eagerly awaited William Pescod High History Book … and these are just the highlights of the opening evening. Saturday, October 1 is billed to be a full day, starting at 7am when the William Pescod…

HAVE you ever had that experience when alarm bells go off in your head, a chill runs down your spine and gooseflesh runs up the other way? You know the feeling, when you hear something alarming, scary, even downright terrifying! Well, I had that experience not too long ago when a friend told me about South Africa’s proposed new trespass law. From what I gathered, our judicial system had finally lost their collective minds. According to what I heard, and by the way, these things I am sharing now were confirmed to me by quite a few people with whom I spoke … if property owners did not make 110 percent sure that they informed potential intruders to stay away, the trespasser had every right to enter a premises. Yes,…

Outgoing Proteas men’s coach Mark Boucher has unequivocally backed Temba Bavuma to lead the national team at the T20 World Cup in Australia next month. Bavuma missed the recent successful T20 International series against England and Ireland where the batting unit were particularly explosive, placing the skipper’s place in the T20I line-up under scrutiny. The spotlight on Bavuma further amplified when he was snubbed by all six franchises at the SA20 auction on Monday. Boucher, who will join the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, stressed that Bavuma remains the man in charge at the Proteas. “Temba Bavuma is our leader, and I back him 100%,” Boucher said ahead of the team’s departure for their white-ball tour of India. “Yes, there…

The results from the Kimberley Golf Club for the week of September 13-18 are as follows: The Wednesday Konica Minolta sponsored BBS competition was won by Eddie Barkhuizen and Nico Fourie with 47 pts. Second was Gavin van Zyl and J O’Conner on 46 pts on a count-out over Willie Delport and Pieter Roux du Toit. Fourth was Ronnie Engelbrecht and Dries Mostert on 45 pts. The Friday Flamingo sponsored Niner IPS was won by Andries Kori with 23 pts on a gross score of 31. Second was B van Zyl Jnr with 21 pts followed by P Maritz on 20 pts on a count-out over Jaco Janse also on 20 pts. The Saturday KGC IPS competition over 18 holes saw Allan Doherty shoot his best ever round for a…

THE DELAYED third leg of the Nedbank Cup competition gets under way this weekend with two semi-final matches and the final to be played at the Ditloung Stadium in Olifantshoek. The fixtures were temporarily held back last week as the Safa disciplinary committee in Gauteng was dealing with a match protest lodged by Kimberley’s Diamond City FC for a game they lost against Colville United in the opening rounds. According to Safa NC secretary Willem Coetzee, the Diamond City protest was dismissed by the disciplinary committee which heard the matter at a sitting earlier in the week. An insider at Safa HQ opined that it appears as though Diamond City FC had not acquainted themselves with the rules of the competition. “They had rushed to lodge a protest against what…

THE PUBLIC Protector will investigate whether Sol Plaatje Municipality should be held liable for the death of an 11-year-old boy who drowned in a waterhole in Riemvasmaak, Galeshewe. The pool of water was created due to a major leak at Gogga pump station. Onkarabetse Thole was accompanying his older brother Mosimanegape Mocholo and a group of friends to gather wood on September 11 when he jumped into the water to cool off. He was swept into the middle of the pool of water while he pushed his older brother (Mocholo) away when he attempted to rescue him, to prevent him from drowning as well. While the mayor’s office had promised to contribute to the funeral, the family rejected the offer of a pauper’s burial where Onkarabetse would have to be…

A VISITOR who was left stranded in the city for almost three months, after he was robbed of all his possessions, stabbed and left for dead, experienced the generosity of city residents who assisted him to return home to Newcastle this week. Msongelwa Tshabalala said he travelled to Kimberley on June 25 to visit his cousin. "Upon my arrival, I was robbed of all my belongings including the clothes on my back and my cellphone at the information centre. I was only left with my pants. I did not have any means of contacting my family back home as I had not memorised their cellphone numbers. I was unable to contact or locate my cousin in Kimberley and I was left to sleep on the street," explained Tshabalala. He added…

THE NORTHERN Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nocci) will oppose Eskom’s 32 percent proposed tariff hike that, if approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, will be implemented from April 1, 2023. The power utility said it needed the massive increase to cover emerging costs, the depreciation of assets, increases in the cost of diesel, fuel and oil and the cost of bringing independent power producers on board. This is while residents were plunged into darkness for up to eight hours per day this week after Stage 6 load shedding schedules were introduced. Many areas of the city were also left without electricity for a number of days this week due to cable theft and trips at sub-stations. Irate city residents complained that Eskom was barely able…

THE SPRINGBOKS have beaten the Pumas five games in a row now but perhaps a more comforting statistic is the fact that the only team in world rugby to have made more line-breaks than the Boks this year is Ireland, the conquerors of the All Blacks in June. That means the Springoks’ stated goal of growing their attack is working and seldom can it be said that the South Africans have cut the line more often in the Rugby Championship than the Kiwis and the Wallabies, both of whom are famous for cutting teams to shreds and scoring bucket loads of tries. This newfound ability of the Boks to fashion attacks will give them the confidence they need for tomorrow’s grand finale with the Pumas because – let’s face it…

Kagisho ‘Spakes’ Matile, the CAF and Safa accredited development coach, will be among a delegation leaving for the Nike Centre in Kliptown, Gauteng to partake in the annual First National Bank sponsored youth tournament running between October 3-7. Matile (pictured), speaking to the DFA, explained that he will be among three local coaches, including Safa regional administrator Ponatshego Mondela, who will accompany the Northern Cape delegation of 40 players – 20 boys and 20 girls – to the youth event. All provincial teams will partake in a knockout tournament involving other teams from Pietermaritzburg, George, Thohoyandou and Umtata, over the five-day period. The tournament at Nike Centre is the culmination of the FNB’s long investment in football. As of 2010 the bank has sponsored schools football including youth development up…

Christiaan Bezuidenhout embracing underdog tag ahead of Presidents Cup As the only South African representative among the players on the international team in the Presidents Cup starting in North Carolina on Thursday, much expectation will rest on the shoulders of Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The Presidents Cup rookie will play under countryman and international captain Trevor Immelman, and Bezuidenhout believes he is ready to perform at the highest stage of team competition in golf. “As soon as we found out that Trevor is going to be the captain of the international team, that was definitely one of my biggest goals of the season was to make this team, and to represent my country with Trevor being our captain this week,” Bezuidenhout said on Wednesday. “So hopefully we can make South Africa proud…

A LOCAL subcontractor intends to take legal action against the Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works over non-payment for work done at the nurses accommodation site. The subcontractor once again blocked the entrance of the construction site this week. He was escorted by the police to the Department of Roads and Public Works after entry to the site was obstructed. In an affidavit he indicated that he was owed R284,158.33. “There is still a retention outstanding with the relevant people, material on site and works to be measured,” he said. He added that the new contractor on site had given an undertaking on September 5 that he would receive payment by September 19. “By September 19 no payment was forthcoming. The contractor then said that they would pay…

JONATHAN Adams (17), a Grade 11 pupil at St Patrick’s College and who trains with the Flamingo Aquatics Swimming Club was the only swimmer from the Northern Cape and Free State that was selected by Swimming South Africa (SSA) to represent South Africa at the Fédération internationale de natation (FINA) or the ‘International Swimming Federation’ World Junior Swimming Championships. However, in February this year, FINA cancelled the eighth World Junior Swimming Championships that was scheduled to take place in Russia due to the imminent war at that stage. FINA later decided to change the venue to the world class VIDENA Aquatic Stadium in Lima, Peru. This swimming championship took place over six days from August 30 to September 4 this year. It was open to competition for girls 14 to…

The heartbreak of failing to qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup after a controversial penalty decision in their loss to Ghana last November has resulted in confidence levels in the Bafana Bafana squad plummet. Since then, the team returned to action for two friendlies and a 2023 Africa Cup on Nations group stage qualifier, but have not been on the winning side again. It is a situation that can change over the next few days, according to Bafana captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. South Africa, world ranked 68th, will play Sierra Leone (113th) on Saturday and Botswana (146th) next Tuesday. Both matches will be played at FNB Stadium. The world rankings of Bafana’s opponents suggest that the South Africans should end up victors on both occasions, but Williams cautioned…

TENNIS legend Roger Federer will play his final match tomorrow alongside his great rival and friend Rafael Nadal. Having announced that he will retire at the end of this weekend’s Laver Cup tournament, the 41-year-old, 20-time Grand Slam champion will team up with Nadal in a doubles match for Team Europe. Facing Team USA’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe tonight in London instead of teammates Nadal or Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, Federer admits the end of the road feels strange. He says: “I’m super excited to have them on our team ... and not having to play against them on my last match.” Honoured by his place next to Federer, Nadal adds: “After all the amazing things we have shared on and off the court, to part of this…

Manchester United announced yesterday a net loss of £115.5million for the 2021/22 season even though revenues at the club rose by 18 percent to £583m. Figures released incorporating the final quarter of the 20-time English champions’ financial year, which ended in June, showed losses rose by £23m on the previous year. The club’s net debt also increased from £419.5m in 2021 to £514.9m this year, an increase of more than 22 percent. United attributed that rise mainly to unrealised foreign exchange losses on the retranslation of borrowings in US dollars. “Our financial results for fiscal 2022 reflect a recovery from the pandemic, a full return of fans and new commercial partnerships offset by increased investment in the playing squad,” said chief financial officer Cliff Baty. “Our results have been adversely…