Table of contents for 2022-07-22 in DFA News

THE GALESHEWE police and the Community Police Forum (CPF) hosted the South African Red Cross Society in a survivor-centred approach engagement on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) victims at the Galeshewe SAPS boardroom. Police spokesperson Sergeant Timothy Sam highlighted that victims of crime are sometimes shocked by what had happened to them or what they saw, hence they would need professional help. The SAPS identified 15 families affected by SGBV across all its sectors with the aim of having an integrated approach to dealing with this type of crime. The Department of Correctional Services and the NGO, Sisterhood Corner are some of the stakeholders that contributed immensely to Wednesday’s event. The 15 identified families were provided with food parcels as a good gesture for opening up and to be counted…

A 27-YEAR-old man was arrested by Prieska Visible Policing (Vispol) unit members after he was found in possession of drugs with an estimated street value of R7,000. Northern Cape police spokesperson Captain Olebogeng Tawana said the man was arrested following a tip-off. "On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at approximately 1.15pm, police acted on a tip-off regarding a vehicle that was delivering dagga in Matiti Street in Prieska. Vispol members promptly responded to the information and found the suspect on the premises in possession of 231 zip-lock bags of dagga weighing 815.3 grams with an estimated street value of more than R7,000," said Tawana. He said the suspect is expected to appear in the Prieska Magistrate’s Court on a charge of dealing in drugs. Tawana added that the police members were…

PROMISING plenty of fun, excitement and entertainment for young and old, the upcoming Yonder Hartsfees will be held from August 24-28 this year. That’s the good news. However, for the second year in a row, access to the Hartsfees will only be from the direction of the N12 when turning into Hendrik van der Bijl Road. For many years the Kenilworth subway – a shorter route to Yonder, bypassing the busy N12 – has been plagued with constant flooding and large, deep, submerged potholes pockmark the road. And by all indications, it seems like the Sol Plaatje Municipality is casting a blind eye to the problem and has for years not made any effort to try and fix the problem. The DFA has previously highlighted the problems at the Kenilworth…

WAYDE van Niekerk did the impossible from lane eight at the 2016 Rio Olympics, so will it be a lucky lane seven for the South African star at the World Athletics Championships? The 30-year-old put it all out on the track during Wednesday’s second semi-final at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to advance to the decider. Van Niekerk – the 400m world record holder, double world champion and 2016 Olympic champion – sped to the front and posted the fastest opening 200m split in 20.97 seconds across the three semi-finals. But going out hard almost cost him a top-two automatic qualifying spot as he was caught over the final 20 metres by American sensation Champion Allison and Barbados’ Jonathan Jones. Van Niekerk, though, called on all of his experience to…

The Proteas’ mission now is to repeat the trick at Old Trafford. Belief may be with them but history is firmly in the other camp. Since returning to international cricket in 1991, the Proteas have never won a white-ball series in England. If hearing that statistic may sound repetitive, then the objective has been achieved for it remains almost unbelievable that the United Kingdom remains the last frontier for the Proteas in limited-overs cricket. Series' have been won in much more demanding climates and conditions, dare we say it even against better opposition, such as Australia, India, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. But three days after a magnificent opening victory that took the shine off Ben Stokes’ last One-Day International, they will now have the opportunity to straighten…

THE NORTHERN Cape MEC for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform, Mase Manopole, has cautioned the public and land users to be on high alert for veld fires. This comes after a preparatory meeting was held with all role-players in order to increase the readiness of the Province in response to the veld fires season. Manopole raised concerns that the fire risk might not be limited to the eastern part of the Province only, but could spread across the whole Province. This, according to the MEC, is due to the good rains that the Province received this year. “We have also observed in the last season that fires were started by road users along the major road networks such as the N12 and N8,” added Manoploe. “We also…

IN AN OPEN letter to the DFA regarding the article “Rape was ‘pleasurable’”, the vice-president of Optimystic Bikers against Abuse, Celeste Louw, believed that the six-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by her 12-year-old sister’s boyfriend in Vergenoeg last year was experiencing a normal bodily reaction at the time of the incident. She pointed out that rape survivors experienced high levels of guilt when their bodies responded to a sexual experience, regardless of whether it was physically violent - where beating or physical harm was involved - or not. “This is a survival strategy, even when no consent is given. Our bodies are designed to find sex pleasurable. That is one of the reasons why so many rape survivors carry so much guilt – their bodies betray them,” explained Louw.…

THE BEEFMASTER Group has disputed claims that three of its workers collapsed at the Kimberley Abattoir due to gas inhalation on Wednesday. This is after it was also alleged that the rest of the workers in the same division were forced to go back into the same building after a few hours and continue working. Beefmaster stated yesterday that the incident was a “minor” one and that it was resolved on the same day before the workers returned to work. The company pointed out that all its standard protocols were in place, no one was forced to continue working and all staff members are entitled to exercise their personal right to stop work if they deem it necessary The HR manager at Beefmaster Group, Cindy Nkgoeng, confirmed that a refrigeration…

It could be a long time before the Springboks have as good a chance of winning the Rugby Championship as they do in 2022. Considering the draw and the form of the four teams, the Boks really ought to cash in and win a Championship title that will set them up nicely for a charge towards next year’s World Cup. The Boks start with two home matches against the out-of-sorts All Blacks, they then have a two-match visit to Australia, a country where the South Africans are long overdue some victories, and then they finish with matches against Argentina, one in Buenos Aires and one in Durban. After the recent northern hemisphere invasion of the south, the All Blacks were soundly beaten by Ireland, Australia looked very iffy in losing…

Racing Correspondent in Le Castellet Charles Leclerc will seek to complete Ferrari’s first hat-trick since 2019 by fending off world champion Max Verstappen and a likely threat from reinvigorated Lewis Hamilton at this weekend’s French Grand Prix. The 24-year-old Leclerc, who battled to victory in Austria last time out after teammate Carlos Sainz triumphed in Britain, is likely to enjoy strong support from a big holiday crowd sweltering in the merciless sunshine of south-eastern France. But he will need to overcome several challenges if he is to further trim Red Bull star Verstappen’s 38-point advantage at the half-way mark in this 22-race season, not least from Sainz, who is keen to add to his maiden Silverstone success. Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto has made clear he will not issue team…

SUPERSPORT United put an end to all the speculation as they confirmed the departure of captain Ronwen Williams to Mamelodi Sundowns for an undisclosed fee on a five year deal. Matsatsantsa CEO Stan Matthews took the time to wish Williams well on his next journey and revealed how grateful he was for the goalkeeper’s contribution at the club. “Ronwen is a beloved son and legend of the club who has entrenched his place in the history books as the longest serving and most capped player in the club’s history. “It’s rare to find loyalty in football anymore which makes our 18 years with Ronwen truly remarkable,” he told the club’s media department. “We are very proud that we could produce a player from the tender age of 12 and enable…

THE REISA Ubuntu Schools Project funded three social workers across eight schools in the Gamagara area in an effort to address challenges related to learning barriers. The project community operations officer for REISA, Veronique Isaacs, explained that the funding covers the appointment of these social workers, as part of its socio-economic development programme. Isaacs said the Ubuntu Schools Project is instilling trust in the communities they serve, making people aware that change is possible and that they are willing to go the extra mile. The beneficiary schools of this programme are Sishen Primary, Kathu High, Deben Primary, Gamagara High, Noord-Kaap Primary, Maikaelelo Primary, Langberg High, and Sishen Intermediate Mine School. “Through the social workers’ extensive engagements with learners and educators, various challenges around learning barriers have been brought to light…

ACROSS the Northern Cape a large percentage of our population spend a considerable amount of time each day, and often into the night, on their cellphones, tablets and laptops . . . and specifically on social media. And, despite concerns around misinformation and false claims . . . and fake news, social media users around the world continue to believe that the information they read and share on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook is factually correct, with levels of trust highest in emerging economies especially South Africa. The findings, based on a global study by Oxford University Press (OUP), the world’s largest university press, show that when looking for factual information, 37% turn to social media, rising to 43% of South Africans. Overall, most of us also rely heavily…

THE CELLPHONE movements of the seven accused in the Piet Els murder trial were the main focus in the Northern Cape High Court yesterday. The court heard testimony from Captain Hanlie Conradie, who is an Intelligence Analyst attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit in Kimberley, who analysed the cellphone data of the accused. The seven accused - Morapedi Rankali, Montlalentwa Qhautse, Lizbeth Ndlala, Oupa Jeffrey Mahomane, Themba Lawrence Maja, Samson Mbokane and Jabulani Wilson Zuma - are accused of the murder of the Kimberley businessman. Els and his partner were brutally attacked on his farm outside the city during the early hours of January 24, 2018. The accused are also facing charges of house robbery, housebreaking with the intent to commit robbery and unlawful possession of firearms. Conradie told the…

BANYANA Banyana’s drive for Women’s Africa Cup of Nations glory tomorrow could be hijacked by the hostility of obstreperous Moroccan fans, notorious for shining laser pointers, and a French-born coach Reynald Pedros hell-bent on guiding his charges to African football nirvana. Tomorrow’s final will mark South Africa’s sixth final appearance in 11 tournaments and first after four competitions. There is broad daylight between Banyana (58) and Morocco (77) on the world rankings. However, a few days ago, Morocco showed scant regard for the rankings after dumping 11-time champions Nigeria (39) out of the competition after their historic semi-final win. It was the first time the ever-improving Morocco had moved beyond the quarter-final round at a Wafcon. Hosts Morocco have emerged as the surprise package at the tournament. Prior to their…

RUGBY World Cup winner Faf de Klerk said yesterday he wants to “irritate” his fellow Springboks in Japan after becoming the latest South African to join the country’s ambitious league. The feisty scrumhalf has signed for Yokohama Canon Eagles after leaving Sale Sharks at the end of last season following five years with the English Premiership club. The 30-year-old joins several of his 2019 World Cup-winning Bok teammates in Japan and he said he is looking forward to “getting under their skin” when they face each other next season. “Maybe Malcolm Marx, I’m very good friends with him," De Klerk said of the Bok forward, who was one of seven Japan-based players called up for SA’s series against Wales earlier this month. “I’ll see if I can make him angry…

THE NUMBER of entrants is ramping up for the Northern Cape Golf Union’s (NCGU) annual 54-hole Junior’s Open tournament which will take place this weekend at the Kimberley Golf Club. Public invitation NGCU junior golf manager Henry Maritz said registration had been slow over the course of the week since the union put out a public invitation to juniors, clubs, parents and “guppies” interested in taking part in the tournament. The tournament is open to all age groups. It includes a section for much younger participants with ages ranging from six to nine. the more seasoned golf players have affectionately named the younger, pre-teen players starting out on the fairways “guppies”. “It is slow at this stage,” said Maritz. “Thus far we have between 15 to 20 entrants. It usually…