Table of contents for 2023-01-27 in DFA News

TAXIS barricaded roads leading into Jan Kempdorp on January 25 in objection to the poor state of the roads. Traffic was obstructed, while commuters were unable to report for work. A salon owner said that he would have no income for the day as he was unable to see any clients. Another community member agreed with the grievances raised by the taxi drivers. “The roads are in an atrocious condition and the ambulances cannot navigate through all the potholes.” Members of the Vaalharts Taxi Association stated that they had had several engagements with the local municipality since last year to highlight the dangers of the roads. “We want the main artery roads leading into Valspan to be repaired as a matter of urgency. The lives of passengers and drivers alike…

POWER utility Eskom said that Stages 4 and 5 load-shedding will be implemented from 5am on Thursday (yesterday) until Sunday afternoon. In a statement Eskom said due to the breakdown of a generating units at Camden, Kendal, Lethabo and Majuba power stations over the past 24 hours, load shedding will increase to Stages 4 and 5 for the remainder of the week - it started at 5am yesterday morning. “During the same time the return to service of a generating unit each at Matla and Tutuka power stations have been delayed. “Two generating units at Kriel, a unit each at Majuba and Tutuka power stations have been returned to service. “Planned maintenance to 6 462MW while breakdowns currently amount to 15 977MW of generating capacity,” the financially embattled Eskom said.…

WARRENVALE residents have accused the police of being unnecessarily “heavy-handed” during protest action this week where the N12 road was barricaded with rocks and burning tyres. Several community members who were arrested on Tuesday on charges of public violence appeared in the Warrenton Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Community members have vowed to continue with protest action until the ward 4 councillor is removed, municipal services improve and they can purchase electricity directly from Eskom. Protest action started on Monday when residents marched to Magareng Municipality, where they were sprayed with pepper spray when they smashed the glass windows. Schools were also closed for the week. The community claims that two 13-year-old boys were among the group of people who were assaulted by the police and were threatened with a firearm on…

Matches were played in the sweltering heat at the Sol Plaatje West End Bowling Club and the Kimberley Town Bowling Club, but even the extreme heat did not stop the bowlers from putting on a spectacular performance. In the end, René van Niekerk defeated Annelie Mathewson in the women’s final, while Driaan van Niekerk defeated JP Marais in the men’s final. Meanwhile, looking ahead, the Northern Cape Bowls Singles Championship will be conducted this weekend at the same sites, and the top six men and the top seven women from last week’s tournament have advanced to this week’s competition. Bowlers from Kalahari, Intervaal, Conroy, and Kimberley will be in the city for this competition, which will feature the top 16 men and women in the province competing for the coveted…

South Africa go into a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against England this week in a precarious position, needing to secure a whitewash if they are to make sure of automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup. South Africa are languishing behind in the World Cup Super League standings and left chasing the last available automatic qualifying berth for the tournament in India later this year – along with Ireland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. They sit in 11th place in the standings, having forfeited three ODIs against Australia this month in order to make room on the calendar for Cricket South Africa’s new Twenty20 league, but can make 100% sure of qualification if they beat England 3-0 and then win their last two qualifying ODIs in March…

Australia overpower New Zealand to take the title, England claim bronze Cape Town – Australia beat New Zealand 56-50 to claim the Quad Series title in Cape Town on Wednesday, while hosts South Africa finished last in the four-team netball tournament. New Zealand was in control of the game in the first quarter with a four-goal lead, but the Diamonds’ defensive pair of Courtney Bruce on goal defence and Sarah Klau on goal keeper pulled out all the stops in destabilising the Ferns’ attack, as they struggled to find goal shooter Grace Nweke in the circle. The pressure saw Australia close the gap to just one goal at half-time. The tables turned in the third quarter, when New Zealand battled to keep up with the increased tempo from Australia, which…

FIVE local artists have taken their paintbrushes and paint to visually highlight and spread the message on the dangers of various social ills, such as drug abuse and gender-based violence, in Kimberley. Artists from Artist Unite have since November been hard at work turning the entrance wall at the AR Abass Stadium into a colourful mural. The project manager for Artists Unite, Janine Peters-Titus, said various social ills are depicted through the work of the artists. “We have six young and talented artists who are working on this mural. We have noticed that there is a lot of movement in this area and also there are many soccer matches or other youth events that are hosted at this stadium. We decided that instead of constantly having to talk to the…

A SMALL agricultural co-operative, owned by six young, emerging Northern Cape farmers, benefited from business development mentorship and funding from a solar company in an effort to stimulate local economic activity and establish a more sustainable entity. After initially setting up their business to develop crops, Riverfresh Crop Primary Co-op has since been able to successfully shift its focus to livestock farming. Droogfontein Solar Power has purchased cows and six calves for them and Riverfresh has plans to grow its livestock in order to be able to contribute to the local meat market. Droogfontein Solar Power’s support for this co-op forms part of a collaborative enterprise development programme, which invests in youth-owned enterprises in the Northern Cape. This is achieved by the solar plant through a partnership with the Industrial…

IT IS SURPRISING that there are so many well-adjusted people from my generation around these days. Those who bear the Generation X grew up in the trenches. I mean, imagine hearing – when you were asking, pleading, begging for something you really, really wanted – “this child is a bladdy pest!” “Bladdy pest” nogal! No wonder so many ‘Gen-Xers’ have complexes. No wonder we sell ourselves short. No wonder we are so restrained. Ja nee ... when we wanted to express ourselves, we were labelled as “lastig”, or called “forward” or told that “children must be seen and not heard”. It’s for this reason that for some of us, any sort of recognition makes us a bit uncomfortable. It makes us squirm just a little bit. For example, a few…

AN INVESTIGATION into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of eight workers, who died after suffering from suspected heatstroke, on various farms in the Kakamas region last week will determine if any negligence was to blame. The Department of Employment and Labour will assist the bereaved families to access support from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Compensation Fund. A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Labour in the Northern Cape, Jason Lloyd, said the families would qualify for death benefits if the deceased had contributed to the UIF. “The report into compliance in terms of the occupational health and safety regulations will take between three to six months to complete,” said Lloyd. “Farm owners are expected to take the necessary precautions during a heatwave.” The Minister of Employment…

KEYBOARDS will be clacking, mice will be clicking and video game controllers are going to be wriggled, wiggled and toggled when the Northern Cape Online Esports Championships takes place on Saturday (tomorrow). Due to the International Esport Federation (IESF) having brought forward the 15th World Esports Championships (WEC) from December to August this year, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) will be offering all registered players the opportunity to qualify for selection to the national squad and for the Proteas team. In order to participate, however, players must be registered for the 2022/23 season. The provincial championship taking place on Saturday (tomorrow) will feature Shooter games like Call of Duty Mobile, Counter-Strike Go Desktop and PubG Mobile. There will also be Sport competitions namely, Fifa 23 Console, E-Football 23 (Konami) Console,…

Results for the week of January 18-21 are: The Wednesday, January 18 OBC Chicken sponsored 18-hole IPS was won by Neville Alexander with 40 pts. Fred Wyngaardt was 2nd on 39 pts with Jason Barnes 3rd on a count-out with 37 pts. The Thursday, January 19 KWV sponsored 9-hole IPS with power play options was won by Johan Herselman on 27 pts with Neil Langley 2nd on 26pts and Zayhied Sulliman 3rd on a count-out with 23 pts. The Friday, January 20 Flamingo Sun 9-hole IPS was won by Gavin Williams on 20 pts with Donald Witbooi 2nd on 17 pts and Kevin Antill 3rd on 16 pts. The Saturday, January 21 Jan Club sponsored 18-hole IPS was won by Sadick Thomas with 42 pts on a count-out over…

A LAWYER’S letter has been addressed to the HOD at the Department of Roads and Public Works, Dr Johnny Mackay, to deposit R10 million into the bank account of Batsha ba Tirong Financial Management (Pty) Ltd so that its sub-contractor, Morning Glory Security Services, can receive outstanding payments. A court judgment was obtained against Batsha Ba Tirong Financial Management (Pty) Ltd on December 19, 2022 to pay R10 million to their subcontractors, Morning Glory Security Services. According to the lawyer's letter, the owner of Batsha ba Tirong Financial negotiated with the Department of Roads and Public Works to change the bank account details to circumvent the court order. The Department of Roads and Public Works had previously agreed to pay outstanding payments to Morning Glory Security, on behalf of Batsha…

LEARNERS in the Northern Cape have another chance to improve their matric results. The Department of Basic Education is inviting learners who want to rewrite their matric exams to apply for a rewrite. The class of 2022 matric qualifies to write a second national exam (previously called supplementary exams) in the year immediately after their matric final. The supplementary examination in February/March has been phased out and is no longer available. A new exam is available during May/June where candidates can improve their results. Candidates can only register for subjects that they were registered for in any previous November exam. The closing date for application for 2022 is February 8. The Department of Basic Education says candidates who feel they need a re-mark may apply at the prescribed fee for…

ARIES Solar Power, close to Kenhardt in the Northern Cape, prides itself on continuing to reduce environmental impact thanks to a number of biodiversity interventions. Solar PV plants, together with other renewable energy power technologies, are already acknowledged for producing no greenhouse gases during power generation, however, Aries Solar Power has implemented a number of interventions to further minimise the impact of this renewable energy power on the surrounding biodiversity and environment. The environmental specialist at Aries Solar Power, Marli Schoeman, explained that they set ambitious biodiversity targets a number of years ago. “We piloted a number of programmes and have been pleased with the results, which we can now report on,” said Schoeman. Solar PV already has negligible impact on avifauna, with the added benefit of not using water…

IT HAS been almost 30 years since Kimberley’s Diamond Oval hosted a One-Day International, but next Wednesday, the Proteas and England will play a 50-over match at the city’s premier cricket venue located in Cassandra. In fact, the last time the England team played at the Diamond Oval was on November 12, 1995, when Paul Adams made his debut in the Proteas squad. Gibson Molale, the president of Northern Cape Cricket (NCC), stated during a press conference held at the Oval that major events like the upcoming ODI are essential for the Northern Cape to develop. This, said Molale, will enable both investors and visitors to enter the region, boosting the economy in a much-needed way. Molale said that NCC had requested that Cricket South Africa trust them to…

Colombia’s Nairo Quintana on Wednesday ruled out retiring from cycling despite not currently having a team, insisting he is still capable of competing at the highest level. Quintana (pictured), who won the Giro d’Italia in 2014 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2016, said he would keep riding even though he was disqualified from last year’s Tour de France by the sport’s governing UCI after he tested positive for the banned opiate painkiller Tramadol. “I’m going to keep fighting to compete, to continue riding until my body and my mind resist,” the 32-year-old told a news conference. “I’m an honest racer, I always have been.” Quintana, who finished sixth in the 2022 Tour de France before being disqualified, said he did not do anything illegal and has always respected the…

NOVAK Djokovic has won all nine of his Australian Open semi-finals and is not ready to let Tommy Paul ruin his unblemished record today as he closes in on a 22nd Grand Slam crown. The Serb, who won his first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park in 2008, struggled physically in the early rounds this year with a hamstring injury. But straight-set thrashings of Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev for the loss of just 12 games ominously signalled that the favourite is back to his best for the semi-finals.Should he beat the unseeded American Paul on Rod Laver Arena this morning, he will face either third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov as a final roadblock to a 10th Australian Open title on Sunday. Djokovic has extra…