Table of contents for DF-2021-03-26 in DFA News

Benida Phillips staff reporter DISGRUNTLED students from the Moremogolo and Phatsimang TVET campuses in Kimberley protested at the offices of the college management in Long Street yesterday, where they also handed over a memorandum of demands. The students embarked on protest action earlier this week. Their long list of grievances include outstanding National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) payments, the issuing of laptops and challenges relating to accommodation. Staff at the college offices hurriedly evacuated the building when the students tried to force entry to the premises. The students resorted to burning a tyre when they could not gain access to the premises. The angry students accused the college management of “playing a cat-and-mouse game” with them. “We came to hand over our memorandum stipulating our grievances, but the principal…

Sandi Kwon Hoo chief reporter NINE suspects who were arrested for allegedly defrauding Sol Plaatje Municipality of R1.6 million are expected to apply for bail in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court today. The Hawks arrested the accused in Kuruman and Kimberley earlier this week on charges of fraud and money laundering. The accused – Mmpoletseng Beauty Kilelo, 40, Paul Mission Mokoena, 50, Oratile Yvonne Schoeman, 32, Togara Charles Ndebele, 51, Tjetjepa Motaung, 46, Jacqueline Tshilo, 44, Mandy Kelebogile Ntshoe, 36, Laban Ntshoe 37 and Eveline Makaloi, 60 – made their first court appearance yesterday. Hawks Northern Cape provincial spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi said that three of the accused – Ntshoe, Ntshoedi and Makaloi – were arrested yesterday, while the other six accused were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday. “It is alleged that…

Bloomberg SOUTH Africa's Infrastructure Fund, which is spearheading government efforts to secure $67 billion (R1 trillion) of private investment, said it has identified a project pipeline and implementation could begin by year-end. Established in August, the fund is targeting investing R100 billion in infrastructure over the next decade, which could galvanise 10 times as much money from pension funds, banks and other institutions. The National Treasury allocated the fund R18 billion over the next three fiscal years in the February budget, with a first portion set to be tapped in May, according to Mohale Rakgate, the fund's chief investment officer. Increased infrastructure investment underpins plans unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October to reignite an economy that contracted the most in a century last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi staff writer THE STANDING Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has demanded an updated report from SAA business rescue practitioners (BRPs) on the money spent for their services over the last few months since they began their work. This was after the BRPs presented figures dated May 2020 on the fees. It was revealed that R240 million has been spent on the business rescue process. The breakdown involves fees paid to law firms, aviation advisers, valuation advisers and BRPs. The BRPs were appearing before Scopa yesterday when the committee said the figures would need to be updated because they did not include those of the last few months. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the work done must not be in vain because a lot of money had been spent.…

Wynona Louw STORMERS coach John Dobson says one of the goals for their Preparation Series clash against the Lions tomorrow is to keep adapting to a higher ball-in-play time. The Stormers will go up against the Johannesburg side (kick-off 5pm) at their new Cape Town Stadium home after taking a 34-29 defeat to the Bulls at Loftus last weekend despite a pleasing performance overall and a few top individual contributions. This week, Dobson (pictured) wants to see them build on what they’ve done so far. “I was pleased with the character the guys showed up there,” he said. “We knew we weren’t putting massive emphasis on results in this series, but the way they fought was good. “I’m happy with the conditioning of the guys, it’s tough up there. In…

Ashfak Mohamed WHILE the spotlight is likely to be on Siya Kolisi’s debut for the Sharks against the Bulls toady, the performance of Boeta Chamberlain (pictured) at flyhalf could be of greater interest to coach Sean Everitt. That is because first-choice No 10 Curwin Bosch picked up a thumb injury in training on Wednesday, and Everitt said that scans would be done later yesterday. He admitted during a press conference that “we don’t know right now” how bad Bosch’s situation is. Everitt will hope that his two-cap Springbok pivot is not ruled out for a lengthy period, as the Rainbow Cup is set to start on April 17. Chamberlain ran the backline well in last week’s 43-40 try-fest defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park, but with rain predicted for…

Benida Phillips staff reporter DESPITE heavy rainfall in Kimberley flooding the local skate plaza and making the organising of the Kimberley Diamond Cup a real challenge, the Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism has announced that the Skateboarding for Hope event will be launched today. Department spokesperson Tebogo Velembo said that Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul will officially launch the event, which will be broadcast live on social media and other online platforms. “The city of Kimberley will this weekend be treated with the return of the #TheRealKDC at the Kimberley Skate Plaza. The event will be broadcasted live from March 26, from 10am. All these proceedings will be streamed live on our YouTube channel, with the finals event broadcast live on Saturday, March 27 at 5pm.…

Sandi Kwon Hoo chief reporter THE PROVINCIAL head of the SAPS Operational Response Service, Brigadier Monica Sebili, has come under fire for being in Sudan while unruly protesters ran amok, terrorising motorists and community members during several protests that erupted in the city yesterday. The legal adviser for the Northern Cape Civics Organisation, Ross Henderson, pointed out that the Public Order Police (POPs) could not function without a provincial head. “Kimberley is burning while there was a serious shortage of POPS members, who had to divide their attention and resources to attend to protests that took part in different parts of the city yesterday. “There would have been big trouble if unrest also occurred in the surrounding districts at the same time. Opportunists took advantage of a serious service delivery…

Staff Reporter KIMBERLEY was rocked by several violent protests this week, which started on Tuesday and escalated yesterday into clashes between the police and protesters. Although the Sol Plaatje executive mayor, Patrick Mabilo, visited several affected areas late yesterday afternoon, tensions remained high, with threats of more protests during the night and today. Reports indicated that residents were preparing to escalate their protest action. One of the areas most affected was Greenpoint, where protesters yesterday morning blockaded the N8 road that runs past the area. At one stage, the flyover leading towards the airport was closed. This saw some violent clashes between residents and the police, who attempted to reopen the road. Although the road was eventually reopened, by late yesterday afternoon the protesters were again trying to barricade the…

Robin-Lee Francke staff writer WE ALL KNOW someone who has been scammed. Many times we think “I would never be so gullible”, but believe us when we say scammers have upped their game. Here we give you a list of South Africa’s top 20 most common scams. You never know – it might just save you. 1. My Life Change 24/7 or ‘MLC 24/7’ This is a style of “Ponzi scheme” whereby group administrators gather eager first-time investors and ask them to contribute different sums of money in the hope of gaining a return far superior to any offered by commercial banks or investment houses. 2. “Overnight” online brokers With the forex trading and exchange traded funds (ETFs) being touted at unprecedented levels over the Internet, more and more brokers have sprung to life overnight.…

Staff Reporter THE SPAR Proteas got off to a perfect start in the SPAR Challenge Tri-nations tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday with a convincing 58-30 victory over Namibia. The SA team led 32-15 at half-time. With a number of Proteas unavailable for selection because of league netball commitments in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, head coach Dorette Badenhorst fielded a blend of experience and youth, with five new caps. She was able to use all 12 members of the squad, giving the less experienced players valuable game time ahead of their tougher clash with Uganda later yesterday. “We played well for a first game,” said Badenhorst. “Our conversion rate from centre pass was good, but there were still a lot of mistakes. The…

Benida Phillips Staff Reporter ACADEMIC classes at Sol Plaatje University will resume as from Monday after the Northern Cape High Court granted the university management an interim order to continue with learning. This follows after student representative council (SRC) members and students had disrupted academic activities when they embarked on protest action in solidarity with institutions of higher education across the country. Sol Plaatje University senior manager of communication and marketing Kashini Maistry said that staff would return to work on Thursday, March 25 (yesterday). “The call by the South African Union of Students (SAUS) for a national shutdown of universities, which our SRC supported, had an adverse effect on the functioning of Sol Plaatje University over the past few days,” said Maistry yesterday. “However, at this crucial time of…

Sandi Kwon Hoo chief reporter THE PUBLIC Servants Association (PSA) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in the Northern Cape believe that the merging of the Department of Environment and Nature Conservation and the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform on April 1 is premature and should be postponed until all disputes have been ironed out. Staff at the Department of Environment and Nature Conservation protested and burnt tyres outside their offices on Wednesday. PSA provincial manager Steve Ledibane said staff had embarked on strike action since Wednesday. “There are concerns that some employees were promoted before the process was concluded, while in other cases two officials will fill one post on the organogram. There is a lot of anxiety as proper…

Dave Alexander AFTER their recent emphatic 43-0 victory over the EP Elephants in the Windy City a fortnight ago, a more settled, more confident Tafel Lager Griqua team are at home for their last fixture of the Preparation Series when they host the New Nation Pumas at Tafel Lager Park tomorrow, in a match that kicks off at 3pm. Coming off their great win against the Elephants, hopefully Griquas have put their first two losses to the Sharks (31-10) and the Stormers (38-32) behind them and use the momentum from 12 days ago to boost them in tomorrow’s game. Speaking to the DFA yesterday, Griqua coach Scott Mathie said the hosts were expecting a competitive encounter. “It is obviously going to be a cracker this weekend with both teams, each…

MAX VERSTAPPEN ending the record reign of world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes this year would rank as Red Bull’s biggest achievement to date in Formula One, according to team boss Christian Horner. Hopes of a much closer battle between the rivals are rising as the sport prepares to start a new season in Bahrain on Sunday. Mercedes have won every title since 2014 while Britain’s Hamilton, who can become the first driver to win 100 races, is bidding for an unprecedented eighth crown. The 36-year-old and his team may be favourites based on past performance and stable rules but Red Bull stood out in testing as Mercedes struggled and Verstappen, best of the rest last year, has Hamilton in his sights. “Arguably winning with Max would be our biggest…

Morgan Bolton THE RUGBY gods continue to smile down on the Lions and their selection policy after coach Ivan van Rooyen once again picked an experimental side to take on the Stormers in their final preparation match tomorrow (Cape Town Stadium, 5.15pm). Van Rooyen flexed his tactical muscle with another team packed full of enviable depth that comprises experienced campaigners and up-and-coming youngsters. These matches have certainly unearthed a new batch of young players and new combinations at the Lions, while also continuing the growth and readiness of the squad’s first-choice players. As such, Van Rooyen again has the luxury of selecting a team that has the best of both worlds as he gets the union ready for the highly anticipated Rainbow Cup in April. The biggest change to the…