Table of contents for 2022-11-11 in DFA News

A GALESHEWE family remains frustrated and accused the police of failing them after their five-year-old daughter was allegedly raped on November 1, 2022 . . . however there is still no case number nor have any arrests been made yet. It is alleged that the suspect inserted his finger in her vagina and threatened to kill her if she tells anyone. Apparently, the rape was confirmed through medical tests that the child had to undergo at the hospital, while statements were taken from the child, who identified the suspect. The family complained that they are not getting any progress reports from the police on the case. It is alleged that the suspect lured the victim and her three-year-old sibling away from home under the false pretence that he wanted to…

A TAXI driver, Aobakwe Molapisi, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Kuruman Regional Court after he was found guilty on six counts of culpable homicide. National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said yesterday that the accident took place on the R31 Hotazel road in August 2012. “The accused was driving passengers from Batlharos village to Kuruman when he encountered a stop-and-go. The State alleged that the accused was not adhering to the proper following distance,” said Senokoatsane. He stated that the accused had to brake to avoid oncoming traffic to avoid a collision when the vehicle that was driving in front of him applied its emergency brake. He added that the accused made two warning statements to the police. “The one statement corresponded with the statements that…

MEMBERS of the Public Servants Association (PSA) marched to the Office of the Premier in Kimberley yesterday after salary negotiations deadlocked over a three percent increase offer that was unilaterally implemented without the approval of the majority unions. The union stated that it demanded a revised offer of a 6.5 percent increase and the continuation of the cash gratuity beyond March 2023. “Public servants, like other employees and taxpayers, are feeling the severe effects of major price increases in fuel, transport and food as well as interest rate hikes. The cash gratuity, which is not pensionable and thus not an ultimate solution, assisted public servants and, if retained beyond March 2023, will further assist public servants who have not received a salary increase for the past three years.” Members were…

BENJAMIN Franklin famously said: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Isn't that quote the most weighty of all? To the reader, it appears to be clear. And yet, day after day, we are forced to cope with the results of our lack of planning. Even if the message from dear old Ben is flawless, we are unable to understand its importance. It appears that a fairly naive belief takes hold instead. Chance will be on our side and will not fail us. The situation will be OK. But how OK is our situation really in our Diamond City? Almost every aspect of our life is impacted by the planning we do. We make plans for the upcoming day, the job we will do, the meal we…

The Springboks seem to have a plan to contain the world’s best rugby player, Antoine Dupont, on Saturday night in Marseille, and leading the defence will be his opposite number Faf de Klerk. The feisty De Klerk is back at No.9 after a period on the bench behind Jaden Hendrikse and he said the Boks had learned a few things from how the Wallabies last week put pressure on Dupont, the World Rugby Player of the Year, and the man at the heart of France’s renaissance on the rugby pitch (they are tipped to win the World Cup on their home soil next year). “If you look at the way they play, they want to keep their big forwards close to Dupont — they don’t play a lot off flyhalf,”…

WHEN the World Cup kicks off in the desert nation of Qatar next Sunday, the heat will be on. With players coming straight from club action, which ends this weekend for the the vast majority of players, national-team bosses will be scrambling to get their teams in top form. For the big nations, if they don’t hit the ground running, their chances of glory could evaporate like a mirage on the horizon. Here we look at the battle in the groups, where their fortunes could be as shifty as sand. Group A Netherlands and Senegal to advance; Ecuador and Qatar to exit early THE Oranje and Senegal should make it out of the group without any problems. Louis van Gaal’s Holland side bombed out of the Euros last year, but…

THE DA in the Northern Cape has called on the SAPS, traffic authorities and the health department to urgently put together an action plan to improve road safety along the N18 before the festive season starts. According to Phokwane DA councillor Annette van Wyk, the N18 is famously congested along the stretch between Kimberley, Warrenton, and Vrybrug. Additionally, it runs parallel to a railway line that has eight crossings. Van Wyk noted that between 10 and 20 accidents happen on the road every month, the most horrific of which recently cost six lives, while this year also saw two fatal incidents along the railway route. "Driver weariness, overtaking, drunk driving and failure to stop at railroad crossings are the leading causes of accidents. Therefore, it is crucial to have traffic…

RAISE your hand and roll your eyes if you’ve heard the story of the deity that rescued a multitude of slaves from tyrrany, slavery and terror on one continent, only to lead them to the base of a mountain on another continent, where this deity with a display of lightning, thunder and earthquakes terrified the recently-released band of slaves. The people were given a law – the law of this deity – to uphold, and they soon learned that law-breaking had some pretty harsh penalties attached. One poor chap was stoned to death for gathering firewood on a certain day. Eish. Poor guy. Yet, it seems like an example had to be made, otherwise this rescued multitude would probably start testing the boundaries of the law to see how far…

SOL PLAATJE Municipality will make use of SmartBall technology from November 21 to 28 to assess the condition of and detect leaks on the bulk water pipelines from Riverton to the Newton Reservoir. Sol Plaatje Municipality spokesperson Thoko Riet said that following major upgrades and refurbishment to the entire water and sanitation system, the SmartBall would be inserted into the pipeline to pinpoint underground leaks. “To keep the ball moving along the main line, all major offtakes will be temporarily closed on November 21 to 23 from 10pm until 4am to allow the ball to pass,” said Riet. She stated that there should not be any impact on the water supply to consumers and the Newton Reservoir when the ball passes from Riverton to mid-station, on the 600mm and 900mm…

FIVE of the seven prisoners who escaped from the Hartswater SAPS holding cells last week have been re-arrested. The detainees were originally arrested in Pampierstad and Hartswater for charges including murder, rape and housebreaking. Two of the prisoners are Lesotho nationals. Police spokesperson Captain Olebogeng Tawana confirmed that the incident took place on November 2, when seven suspects who were detained in the Hartswater holding cells escaped after cutting the burglar doors and the mesh wire of the cell. “The suspects were arrested for charges ranging from robbery, murder, housebreaking and theft out of motor vehicle,” said Tawana. He added that two of the escapees were still at large. “However, the Hartswater SAPS members are following all the leads to bring the suspects to book. “The suspects are deemed to…

IT WILL be Pakistan against England in the T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday at 10am. With Pakistan having booked their place in the decider with a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in their final-four match on Wednesday, England yesterday smashed India by 10 wickets for the right to play in the final. Alex Hales (pictured) and captain Jos Buttler shone in an unbroken opening partnership as a ruthless England humiliated India at the Adelaide Oval. England, who won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019, can now become the first team to hold both global trophies in white-ball cricket on Sunday. They have rehabilitated opener Hales and skipper Buttler to thank as the pair chased down 169 for victory with four overs…

A FAST food informal trader is refusing to move his business from the KimPark centre parking lot, despite a notice instructing that the container housing his business be removed. According to the notice, the container is being used as a kitchen in the parking lot of the Kimberley Public Library. The owner was advised on October 25 that if he did not vacate the area within seven days of receipt of the notice, the container would be removed by Sol Plaatje Municipality at the expense of the owner. The owner of Fast Food Enterprise, Lirontsho Molise, said that he was making a roaring trade at the parking lot, where he provided work for 15 employees and a security guard. “I was issued with an informal trader’s permit and have been…

HOLPAN community members have raised concerns about the mining activities in their area after the miners started to dig less than 100 metres from their homes. Holpan is situated between Barkly West and Windsorton and has a population of approximately 500 households. The community pointed out that holes are being dug up around their homes and their graves are also being dug up in the process. They also claim that the miners have damaged Eskom facilities in the area, which interrupts their power supply. The community members said that there are three mining companies operating in the area. They accused the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) of turning a blind eye to the mines’ “blatant disregard of mining policies and regulations”. This after several attempts to bring their concerns to…

A LOCAL NGO, TS Life Coaching Project, is confident that the extra classes it provided for high school pupils in Galeshewe this year will help boost the physical science and mathematics pass rates. The NGO started its Master Pure Mathematics and Physical Science classes in July this year. The classes were held on Saturdays at Valentino High School and are presented by students from Sol Plaatje University once a week. The NGO managed to register about 150 pupils in grades 8 to 12 from different schools. The founder of the initiative, Thabo Phungwayo, said the project started on a voluntary basis. He added that parents had volunteered to contribute R100 towards assisting the students. According to Phungwayo, they started the initiative after realising that pupils struggle with these two subjects…

THE NORTHERN Cape Department of Roads and Public Works has notified road users that a 6km stretch of the R48 road, which is the turn-off from the N10 national road to De Aar, will be closed for roughly the next three months for construction work. Department spokesperson Crystal Robertson said crucial construction work will be conducted in order to fill the potholes on the road. “On Monday, November 14, 2022, the Department of Roads and Public Works will be closing both lanes of a 6km stretch on the R48 road, which is the turn-off from the N10 national road to De Aar in the Pixley Ka Seme District, due to roadworks,” said Robertson. “The damaged section is filled with potholes and edge breaks and in some instances the black-top surface…

PETRA Diamonds has suspended operations at its Williamson mine in Tanzania for up to three months after a wall of the tailings dam at the site was breached earlier this week, the company said yesterday. Petra Diamonds, which operates three mines in South Africa as well as Tanzania's biggest diamond mine, said there had been no fatalities as a result of the incident and three minor injuries had been reported, adding a probe was under way to establish the cause of the breach. A total of 13 dwellings have been affected by the breach, with those impacted getting aid and accommodation, Petra added. The company said it would bring forward a planned maintenance programme to minimise the impact of lost production. Petra owns 75% of the Williamson mine, with the…

The results from the Kimberley Golf Club for the week of November 1-5 are as follows: The Wednesday Darsha sponsored 18 hole IPS winner was Francs Schwartz on 38 pts with Harry Welham 2nd on 37 pts on a count-out over Zayhied Sulliman also on 37. The Thursday KWV Niner was won by Jock Robey with 23 pts with Ant Crozier 2nd on 20 pts and Braam Botes 3rd on 19 pts. The Friday MVD Kalahari closed golf day was well attended but played in tough windy conditions. The Saturday Horseshoe-Airport and Kalahari Lodge competitions were won by Jacques Gouws with the best gross of 79 with Jackie Beukes on the best nett of 70 and Susan Ferreira with the best IPS score of 39. The Saturday Charlies outing was…

Lewis Hamilton would love to celebrate his honorary Brazilian citizenship with a winning return this weekend to Sao Paulo’s Interlagos, the circuit where last year he enjoyed one of his greatest victories. Formula One’s seven-times world champion is still chasing his first success of the season and to do it in the penultimate race, at the home of his late boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, would be quite something. “I need all the energy we can get, OK? We’ve got to get that Brazilian flag up on top (of the podium),” Hamilton told local reporters at an event with team sponsor Petronas on Wednesday. The 37-year-old Briton is battling against the odds, however. “On paper, it shouldn’t be quite as strong a circuit for us as Mexico, but regardless, we want…