Table of contents for 2022-12-15 in DFA News

THE NATIONAL Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) are demanding R10 500 salaries for community health-care workers (CHWs) as well as permanent absorption, failing which they are considering embarking on mass action over the festive season. Saftu trainer and Nupsaw organiser in the Northern Cape, Thapelo Thole pointed out that despite being allocated Persal numbers, the CHWs were not awarded any increases while civil servants received a backdated three percent increase. "The former minister of health, Aaron Motsolaedi, in November 2018 agreed to permanently absorb CHWs and provide salaries of R9 500 where, along with the three percent increase, CHWs would now be entitled to R10 500 per month." Thole indicated that CHWs in the Northern Cape were only…

THE MINISTER of Police, General Bheki Cele, welcomed 2,940 new police recruits to the ranks of the police services during the passing out parade held at the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) 3 South African Infantry Battalion yesterday. General Cele indicated that a ground-breaking 9,203 newly-trained police constables had successfully undergone nine months of intensive training programmes at various police training academies across the country, including the SANDF training facility in the Northern Cape. National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola stated that all trainees were trained, orientated and familiarised with the SAPS code of conduct, covering professional and ethical conduct. “They also underwent rigorous training in law focusing on the Criminal Procedure Act and other related legislation within the policing context,” Masemola said. He congratulated the newly-trained constables and…

IN A YEAR marked by yet more climate-linked floods, hurricanes and droughts, governments and companies were forced to look more closely at the financial risks and their exposure to liability. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the UN climate conference in Egypt, where countries reached a landmark agreement to set up a fund to help poor countries cope with climate-fueled disaster costs. Egypt’s COP27 talks did little, however, to address the cause of those disasters – the ever-rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That kind of slow progress in tackling climate change made vulnerable countries determined to get the so-called Loss and Damage fund approved – after yet another year of extreme weather disasters including record heatwaves from the United States to China, glaciers collapsing in India…

A MOVIE that is being produced for international audiences and that was filmed in the Northern Cape and Namibia, features three Kimberlites who formed part of the production team. Linda Sonaba from Big Blue Productions said the movie was filmed at top-rated locations in the Province including Augrabies, the Tankwa Karoo National Park, Kalahari, Haksteekpan and Riemvasmaak hot springs. “These iconic spots happen to be director David Moore’s favourite locations in the Province. It is his dream to see the Northern Cape becoming a serious player in the film industry. The movie showcases the hidden gems of the Northern Cape, while the production assistant, a producer and a data wrangler are born-and-bred Kimberlites,” said Sonaba. She added that the movie, titled ”Drunks Have Whiter Teeth”, was based on real-life stories…

Marnus Labuschagne relishing Proteas challenge AHEAD of a maiden Test against his country of birth, Marnus Labuschagne said that there will be no split allegiances as he looks to guide Australia to their first home series win over South Africa since 2005/6. The Gabba will host the first match, beginning on Saturday, before the series heads over to Melbourne for the annual Boxing Day Test. After scoring a one-day international century in SA in 2020, it will be the first time Labuschagne, the world’s No.1 Test batter, takes the field in a Test against the Proteas. And he is in excellent form ahead of the three-Test series. Labuschagne scored 502 runs at an average of 167.33 in two Tests against the West Indies, highlighted by three successive hundreds, including a…

A SUSPECT who was arrested for the murder of the Brand family on their plot near Hartswater and locked in a police vehicle, was still in handcuffs when he was re-arrested after he managed to flee from custody. The Brand family – Danie, 83, his wife Breggie, 73, and their daughter Elzabé, 54, were assaulted and abducted from their farm and their bodies were found abandoned in the veld near Takaneng village on July 27, 2020. The accused in the matter - Donald Seolesang, 22, Tshepo Visagie, 38, Kgomotso Mpumlwane, 45, and Tshepaone Melato, 21, were charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice. Testifying in the Northern Cape High Court this week, Captain Johannes Etzebeth from the SAPS K9 unit stated that one…

STRUGGLING South African consumers have been warned to brace for even more intense load shedding next year as Eskom moves ahead with its six-month outage at Koeberg nuclear power station while scrambling for money to buy diesel. This will cripple economic growth and is a major source of investor concern. It comes as Eskom last week ramped up load shedding to Stage 6 for the first time in three months due to a plethora of unplanned breakdowns at its ageing coal-fired power stations. By the weekend, the power utility eased load shedding to Stage 4 and Stage 2 as it had 5,901MW on planned maintenance while another 15,394MW of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha on Friday reiterated that the current conditions at Eskom would intensify…

IN ONE of the most anticipated voting exercises in Parliament concerning President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm robbery, opposition lawmakers failed to amass enough votes to pass the independent parliamentary report which would have led the president’s impeachment in the near future, APA has learnt. While 148 lawmakers voted in favour of the report, 214 lawmakers were against it, and two abstained. This was due to the ANC’s lawmakers in the House who were instructed by the top brass not to vote for the measure to pass come what may. While the ANC was successful in helping Ramaphosa escape being hauled before an impeachment committee to account for the “farmgate” scandal, the party goes into this weekend’s elective conference with “deep divisions” over combating corruption. This after four ANC members…

LIONEL Messi will get his date with World Cup destiny, and the chance to emulate Diego Maradona, after Argentina’s emphatic 3-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday took them through to the final in Qatar. It is 36 years since Maradona dragged Argentina to their second and most recent World Cup triumph in Mexico, the crowning moment of his dazzling but often troubled career. Messi came to this World Cup admitting it would surely be his last at the age of 35 and therefore his final opportunity to lift the trophy that escaped him in 2014, when Argentina were defeated by Germany in Brazil. The sense that Messi was building up to this moment was apparent in his displays for Paris Saint-Germain in the months before the tournament and he has…

For one young player to catch the eye of a talent scout is a big deal, but imagine the huge impact when three players impress during a scouting outing. That is exactly what happened when three promising football players from Tshwaragano All Stars in Kimberley recently returned home after being part of a trial camp at the Prestige Football Development Academy in Johannesburg. The three youngsters, Jayden Buffel, Lesego Moitsemang, and Tumelo Kopelwa received the invitation after the academy visited the City on a scouting mission back in September. The players, who had been trained and developed under the wing of manager and coach Roger Semeri and the club’s technical staff, impressed the visitors from Gauteng so much that they were invited to the Academy. The trial camp at Johannesburg’s…

THE DEPARTMENT of Education has been instructed to reinstate the acting principal of Vela-Langa Primary School in Upington after it was found that he had been unfairly suspended. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) on November 11 ruled that he should be paid compensation of R20 000 by no later than January 2023. The deputy principal who was serving as the acting principal was placed on precautionary suspension on September 13, following allegations of sexual harassment. A colleague who laid charges of sexual harassmentand serious misconduct against him was charged with insubordination and misconduct after she allegedly insulted and humiliated a general school assistant on April 11. According to the award, the acting principal advised that disciplinary action be taken against her for showing disrespect to the general school assistant…

ELIZABETH Conradie School in Kimberley was crowned the overall winner of the annual Frances Baard District Municipality (FBDM) Schools’ Business Plan Competition for 2022. The prize was awarded during a ceremony at the Frances Baard District Municipality on December 9, 2022. The Grade 10 learners received the award in the Tourism Category for compiling an exceptional business plan. The other two top awards went to Grade 11 learners from Degania High School and Grade 10 to 12 learners from Northern Cape High School. Spokesperson for FBDM, Tshepo Banga, said the competition is aimed at promoting tourism, business development and entrepreneurship amongst learners. Banga explained that the competition has the potential of encouraging learners to think creatively about the role of information and communication technologies in tourism and business development. He…

RUMMAGING through an old box the other day, I stumbled across a stack of my old Karate certificates. According to what’s written on them, I am supposed to be a lethal weapon. However, the reality is that I have not kept at it honing and perfecting the craft and, sadly now a few decades on from my last practice session, I am no more than a blubbery heap of “oh if only”. And how serious my pals and I were about our art. We were constantly training; not only our form and our fighting, but we were constantly improving our strength, stamina and flexibility. Even our games were influenced by our enthusiasm. We used to sneak out at night and meet at each other’s homes to skulk around dressed in…

AN INTERDICT and a protection order have been obtained against three community members as the ANC ward 16 councillor Casper Rammutle has apparently been on the receiving end of death threats. Rammutle related that he was warned that he would be stabbed to death and that his house in Phutanang would be set alight. Community members complained that there was no service delivery, while the bulk infrastructure project in the Snake Park informal settlement had come to an abrupt standstill. “We are still forced to make use of the bucket system,” the community members said. They added that the councillor was “arrogant”. “We recently found a bag of municipal accounts, which never reached our addresses, dumped in the veld. We are being prevented from attending community meetings because we are…

ANTI-rhino poaching activist Wayne Bolton has called for stronger collaborative action from the government amid concern over rising rhino poaching cases. According to Bolton, rhino poaching across Africa saw a significant decrease during strict Covid-19 lockdowns, but as the restrictions loosened, poachers intensified their onslaught on the species, with South Africa being hardest hit. Speaking to eNCA, Bolton said rhino poaching figures have increased. He said there were 259 poached animals since June this year, equalling 2019 figures before Covid. “One would expect a dramatic decrease, you’ve got a place like Kruger National Park that is sitting with 75% fewer white rhinos than they had 10 years ago and 51% fewer black rhinos, so we are in serious trouble as far as rhino conservation is concerned,” he said. Bolton also…

Detective Sergeant Olebogeng Raphael Khoboko, 49, who is attached to the Delportshoop SAPS detective unit, has been appointed as a match commissioner for the South African Football Association (SAFA). Sergeant Timothy Sam said Detective Khoboko joined the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a student Constable in 2008. “He started playing soccer at a very young age in the dusty streets of his home town in Barkly West,” Sam said. “His involvement in the sport opened doors for him where he officiated at soccer matches as a referee under SAFA Frances Baard. He was later promoted to officiate at the Vodacom Premier Soccer League.” Sam added that Khoboko was invited to attend a match commissioner’s workshop in 2016 after which he was appointed to perform the national match commissioner's…