Table of contents for 2021-07-30 in DFA News

Sandi Kwon Hoo SA MUNICIPAL Workers Union (Samwu) members have issued notice to strike as from Wednesday, August 4. Samwu local chairperson Daily Semau yesterday listed reasons for the industrial action, including a number of irregular appointments at Sol Plaatje Municipality as well as local labour forums (LLF) that were not convening. According to the notice to strike, the last local labour forum meeting was held three months ago. He said a meeting that was supposed to be held yesterday was cancelled as a postponed council meeting was held in its place. “If the LLF meetings, which are supposed to take place monthly, do not take place, there will not be labour peace. The meeting was to be held virtually, when we do not have laptops or internet,” said Semau.…

Sandi Kwon Hoo THREE DA councillors – Herbert Japhta, Phillip Vorster and Elize Niemann – have been suspended after complaints were referred to the party’s federal legal council regarding the selection of shortlisted candidates to stand as councillors at Sol Plaatje Municipality. The five-year term of councillors will come to an end when the local government elections are held. The complaints relate to the alleged deliberate manipulation of the scoring of candidates. Meanwhile, a complaint was lodged for investigation after the electricity box at the residence of DA Member of the Provincial Legislature and former provincial party leader Andrew Louw was allegedly tampered with. An affidavit signed by the team leader of street lights at Sol Plaatje Municipality, who conducted an inspection at Louw’s home in May, indicated that the…

Sandi Kwon Hoo THE MAYIBUYE Multipurpose Centre will be temporarily closed, until further notice, for renovations as well as deep-cleaning following reported cases of Covid-19. Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture spokesperson, Morapedi Sekhoane, said yesterday that the centre was closed for public use in May 2021 for minor maintenance and repairs. “The centre's cleaning staff is encouraged to exercise caution when accessing the facility. The administrative officials are urged to work from the head office at the Mervin Erlank building or from home, until renovations are completed,” said Sekhoane. He added that the facility was deep-cleaned for Covid-19 following reported cases of the coronavirus in the past month. “The department encourages stakeholders visiting the facility to adhere to all Covid-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions including wearing of face masks,…

Benida Phillips AS THE national Department of Education prepares for all primary school pupils to return to class on a full-time basis, starting on Monday, August 2, teacher unions in the Northern Cape said that the provincial department still has a lot of work to do before this can happen. The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) in the Northern Cape said that they welcomed the return of all pupils, but only if all Covid-19 protocols are adhered to at all times. Sadtu provincial chairperson Senzo Mpalala said yesterday that while they understand that one-on-one classroom teaching is vital, the safety of pupils must not be put at risk. Mpalala said there are various challenges facing the provincial department that need to be addressed.…

Reuters SOUTH Africa plans about R36 billion ($2.4 billion) of relief measures to support businesses and individuals affected by unrest this month and by Covid-19 restrictions, the finance ministry said this week. The interventions would be funded by better government revenues and by shifting around some spending, senior officials told a news conference, expanding on measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday. The government tightened lockdown restrictions at the end of June as coronavirus cases spiked, but they have since been eased. An economic recovery drive was dealt a big blow by arson and looting triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma this month. "We are funding this package within available resources currently. We are not going to be going for borrowing," National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane…

Sandi Kwon Hoo SOL PLAATJE executive mayor Patrick Mabilo was listed as the councillor with the highest municipal account that was in arrears, to the amount of R218 817 as of June 30, 2019. The Sol Plaatje Municipality’s annual report dated 2018/19, which was only tabled this month, indicated that the account was outstanding for more than 90 days. The councillor with the second highest consumer account was DA councillor Surech Kika, who is also the sheriff of the court in Barkly West. Hewas was in arrears to the amount of R140 795 . The total amount owed to the municipality by councillors on consumer accounts as of June 30, 2019 amounted to R494 556. The municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) explained that consultation processes were stymied due to…

Matthew Marcus Opinion EK Sê mense, where is a South African Olympic Gold coming from? So far all we have are two silver medals to show for our athletes’ efforts in Tokyo. A first-ever surfing competition second-place finish for Bianca Buitendag on Tuesday was soon followed by Tatjana Schoenmaker’s runner-up medal in the 100m breaststroke. Let’s hope it arrived when Schoenmaker swam in the 200m breaststroke final. The 24-year-old swimmer has been the fastest in the competition in Japan, setting an Olympic record in both the 100m and the 200m. But despite her fast times, she needs to do it at the right time – in the final. And that was this morning at 3.14am. She was joined by Kaylene Corbett, who quietly qualified for the final, with the fourth-best…

Ashfak Mohamed in Cape Town AFTER an exciting campaign to the 200m butterfly final earlier in the week, Chad le Clos was unable to generate the same pace in the 100m yesterday and was eliminated from the competition in the first round at the Tokyo Olympics. South Africa’s most decorated Olympian with four medals in total from London 2012 and Rio 2016, the 29-year-old Le Clos was determined to make another statement about his longevity in the sport in the 100m butterfly. He was a rank outsider in the 200m, but managed to qualify for the final and challenged strongly for a medal in the decider – even leading the field after 150 metres. Hungarian world record-holder Kristof Milak, though, turned up the heat in the last 50 metres to…

Sandi Kwon Hoo THE MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Desery Fienies, will lead a high-level delegation to Upington to meet with the surviving Upington 26 trialists after the monument that was erected in their honour was defaced. One of the Struggle heroes recently removed his face from the historical monument by painting over his portrait. The trialists were sentenced to death for the crowd killing of a municipal police officer in Paballelo in 1985. They were later released after their sentences were overturned on appeal in 1991 following an international outcry. Former political prisoner Zonga Mokgatla said that the ANC had failed the Struggle heroes, where they and their families were left destitute, without jobs or a source of income. Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture spokesperson…

Boipelo Mere TWO ACCUSED were found guilty and sentenced by the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court for fraud and money laundering this week. The pair – Micheal Magoje; 56, and Fikile Jacobs Makoti, 38 - were on Tuesday sentenced to six years’ direct imprisonment on eleven counts of fraud and four years’ direct imprisonment for money laundering. The sentences will run concurrently. Magoje, a former employee at the Master of the High Court in Kimberley, and his accomplice, Makoti, were arrested in July, 2019. In August 2015, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in Pretoria received a complaint regarding fraudulent claims made at the Kimberley Master of the High Court office. It was reported that money was paid into the accused’s account which appeared to be later claimed by the guardians…

Xolani Qubeka THERE is rampant pain among the families whose loved ones died as collateral damage of the carnage that started on our national roads with the burning of scores of commercial trucks. When we hear reports that at least 330 people died in the looting and associated thuggery, we seem to see one number – 330. Yet that number represents 330 families, robbed of their loved ones because someone’s conviction, somewhere in the dark corners, conceived what was to be another Marikana. The nation is too silent. Our national flags ought to fly at half-mast and we should be in mourning. We shout and cry out more about destroyed malls than the human lives lost. The deeds of the past few days makes the Marikana disaster the beginning of…

Lance Fredericks HOW DO I put this delicately? There seems no other way to say it, but just say it … I was once a Nazi. Now that you have choked on your morning coffee or swerved into the next lane if you are reading this online while driving – which is a very bad habit, by the way – allow me to explain. When we were just little children my brother and I used to be obsessed with World War II. It could have something to do with the fact that we had piles and piles of war comics as well as the moulded plastic toy soldiers that we played with constantly. It could also be due to the fact that World War II movies were pretty popular at…

Neville Motlhabakwe Sports Reporter TAFEL Lager Griquas are under no illusion about the strengths of the Cell C Sharks whom they will play against tomorrow in Durban in the Carling Currie Cup and are preparing accordingly. Head coach Scott Mathie spoke to the DFA ahead of tomorrow’s game, saying that they knew where they needed to step up. “We have to match them at set pieces. They are a very strong side that likes to maul.” Mathie has consistently identified the Kimberley side’s handling of set-pieces as among some of the worrying aspects of the Griqua game. Under his guardianship this season Griquas have done more to rekindle the kind of high excitement levels among fans that has not been evident in quite a number of years. The “Peacock Blues”…

Herman Gibbs in Cape Town THE NEW coaching regime at Kaizer Chiefs has given 34-year-old goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune a new lease of life that will enable him to escape the monotony of warming the reserves bench or sitting in the stand and cheering the team on. Khune, armed with a surprising two-year contract extension, said that he is set for rejuvenation as a player when the new season starts. In the past few months, he played second fiddle to goalkeepers Daniel Akpeyi and Bruce Bvuma, the preferred choices as the club remarkably negotiated the challenging route to the Caf Champions League final. On Sunday, the Carling Black Label Cup will be played, and there is no chance of Khune missing out on the action. His popularity in the football community…

Staff Reporter IT WAS a historic day for Gymnastics South Africa at the Tokyo Olympics as Caitlin Rooskrantz (top) and Naveen Daries (right) became the first pair to represent South Africa at the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) competition. The last time a single female gymnast represented South Africa in the Women’s Artist competition was in 2004 when Zandré Labuschagne represented the country at the Athens Olympics. “We are incredibly proud of our two gymnasts,” says Gymnastics South Africa president Donovan Jurgens. Although their competition had effectively ended as they did not make it to the top 8 to advance to the next stage, Jurgens is confident that their appearance at the Games bodes well for gymnastics across the country. Jurgens, who is also in charge of Gymnastics South Africa’s transformation…

Sandi Kwon Hoo THE DEPARTMENT of Water and Sanitation has issued notices and directives to Magareng Local Municipality regarding effluent that is leaking from the Warrenton Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) that may contaminate water sources. The spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation, Sputnik Ratau, stated that there were recurring failures of the pump stations in Warrenton resulting in raw spillages entering the WWTW stream. “This can pollute the water and needs to be stopped. Notices and directives have been issued to the local municipality. If there are recent spillages the department will investigate and enforce,” said Ratau. Magareng DA councillor Willem Potgieter said a criminal charge was opened as raw sewage was polluting the Vaal River and causing significant damage to the environment. “Four oversight inspections, between…

Sandi Kwon Hoo THE HAWKS are investigating payments made to a consulting company for “system maintenance and support” by Phokwane Local Municipality, following the departure of the administrator. According to documentation, the municipality approved a payment of R185 000 on May 21, against the advice of a co-signatory who wrote on the invoice that he refused to become involved in the transaction. Another payment was made to the company on June 7 to the amount of R217 750. The company was apparently de-registered in August 2020 due to non-compliance with its annual return. Hawks provincial spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi yesterday confirmed that they were conducting an investigation regarding the company. “At this stage we can not confirm the amounts that were paid to that company,” said Mnisi. Phokwane DA councillor Annette…

Sandi Kwon Hoo CONSERVATIONIST, farmer and owner of the KhoiSan Karoo Conservancy that is situated near Hanover and Colesberg, Piet Cronje Ferreira plans to increase the hippopotamus population on his farm. The last hippos that populated the 300-kilometre Seekoei River in the Northern Cape were hunted to extinction in the 1700s. Ferreira reintroduced hippos to his farm in 2006, where they were released onto the Karoo Gariep Conservancy, which includes the Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve and the Hanover Aardvark Nature Reserve. He said that there was only one hippo left after dominant bulls fought and killed each other. “I would like to introduce three hippos onto the farm, depending on the amount of funds raised. Ideally I would have liked to establish a new herd of three males and two…

Mike Greenaway in Durban The Lions have to grapple with the tricky balancing act of keeping the frenzied Bokke hordes at bay on Saturday while also launching sufficient attacking forays of their own to win the battle. That is the poser for the Lions in Saturday’s second Test. They know precisely what is coming from chastised South Africans who will hurl themselves at the Lions’ barricades with an unprecedented fury. Gatland last week reminded his players of the second Test in 2009 when seven wounded Lions players were hospitalised by a Springbok team determined to clinch the series after having won the first Test, so what will an even more frantic Bok team be like as they fight to stay alive in the series? The enormity of a series defeat…

defining factors in Hungary Morgan Bolton THE KID gloves are off, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been told to cool it, Mercedes and Red Bull are eye-balling each other; a war of words and a degree of animosity is apparent between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner; and this weekend we will see how much the Silver Arrows’ new package has really improved their drive. Here Morgan Bolton takes a look at five facets that will define the Hungary Grand Prix. 1 A Red Bull track? Not really ... The Hungaroring is considered a Red Bull track but based on previous races this is something of a fallacy. The team has not won at the track since 2014 and since then Mercedes have won four of the six…

Zaahier Adams in Cape Town Goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse has claimed that the SA Hockey team never stopped believing they could “achieve some great things” after surprising Germany 4-3 at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday morning. The competition has been a chastening experience for the South Africans, particularly after suffering a 9-4 defeat to No.1 ranked Belgium in their last match. But such is the character and spirit of Garreth Ewing's team that they lifted themselves off the canvas to arguably produce the shock of this Olympics. The players certainly could not hide their emotions with young star Mustapha Cassiem, who scored the winning goal, breaking down in tears of joy at the final whistle. “I think you saw after the game that it meant a lot to us, the win…