Express Northern Cape 20131023 by Northern Cape Express Express

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WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013 WWW.EXPRESSNEWS.CO.ZA

Who makes the list? THE ANC list conference in process.

Photos: Boipelo Mere

ANC in Northern Cape confers to choose representatives } Boipelo Mere THE ANC in the Northern Cape gathered in the Mayibuye Centre on Monday to choose possible representatives in the national parliament and provincial legislature for after the 2014 elections. The Northern Cape is the first province to host its list conference. Already branches in the Northern Cape had produced their desired representatives and it was up to the list conference to consolidate the final provincial list. The conference started smoothly, although there was a lot of murmur about the existing list that seemed to have sidelined the Frances Baard leadership, even though the region held a majority members in the province. John Block, the ANC provincial

LEFT: Members of the provincial list committee.

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chairperson, and Zamani Saul, the provincial secretary, refuted the murmur and said that it was impossible to have leaders in the region at the last position since the list that was seen reflected only the desire of a particular region – however, the final provincial region was the one that would reflect the regional representatives. According to the ANC list process guidelines of 2013 there is room for 400 candidates who will go to the national parliament and 200 who should go to different provincial legislatures. The final provincial list will have representatives who will go to “national to national”, those who go to “province to national” and those who go “province to province”. ) By the time of Express Northern Cape going to print the votes were still in the process of being counted. Readers can go to our website, www.express-news.co.za, for an updated version of the story.

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Boipelo Mere

Sales Manager Johan Rossouw

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

NEWS

Pilediwa e tsosa tlhabanô

} Joseph Molusi

A LEARNER of the Sesheng Intermediate School shares her experience and appreciation with attendees. Photo: Supplied

Education priority for mine } Ilse Watson ARM (AFRICAN RAINBOW MINERALS) and the Socio-Economic Development Department of the Assmang Khumani Mine held its second quarterly stakeholder engagement breakfast at the Namakwari Lodge under the theme Education. Education is a key priority area in which the Khumani Mine invests yearly within the Gamagara Municipal Area. The purpose of this session is to provide a forum where Khumani can interact with relevant stakeholders, provide feedback on the progress of projects, and participants of the projects can give their own personal account of how they are benefiting from the Khumani projects. One of the many projects that ARM/Khu-

mani is investing in is the TEACHSA projects where ambassadors are placed at schools to specifically assist with Maths and Science. Two ambassadors are respectively placed at the Langberg High School, Sishen Intermediary School and Gamagara High School. The stakeholder breakfast was attended by representatives of the Gamagara Municipality, John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, local schools and Economic Development Projects. An important part of the engagement session is that stakeholders are given the opportunity to submit questions and comments to the Khumani Mine. The Khumani Mine commits to regularly host opportunities for interactions between community stakeholders to enable and support local economic growth in its hosting area.

E NE E LE semphete ke go fete mo mafelong a beke e, mo kgweding ya diphalane e tlhola malatsi a le matlhano, dinao tsotlhe di ne di lebile ko motseng wa Ga-Ramatale, o o itsegeng thata ka leina la Smitsdrift. Pitso e, e ne e biditswe ke ba kgoro ya bogosi jwa Batlhaping ba Ga-Moduane, ba ga Kgosi Sehunelo mabapi le raporoto e e ba e makalela ma makaleng tlhagang ko Tolo Commission. a puso ya porovense ya Batlhaping ba, ke ba ba Kapa Bokone. ileng ba hudusiwa ka dikgoka Modulasetilo wa Commuke mmuso wa tlhaolele wa nal Property Association, maburu, ka kete-kgolorobongMme Thengiwe Mdali, o ile somê a marataro le borôbêdi a re le bone mo CPA ba emet(1968), matlhatsipa a bone a se pegelo gotswa mo ntlong santse a bonwa mo mafelong ya Segosi, o kaile ha bana le a a tshwanang jaaka Kurumolaotheo wa CPA o o nale man, Kimberley, Douglas, JOSEPH MOLUSI from Kuru- karolwana e e amogelang tsa Tsantsabane le mo mafelong a man (citizen journalist) ntlo ya Segosi. Photo: Supplied mangwe a a mabapi, mme ba Leloko la Community Deile ba phuthaganela ko Smithveloper Worker(CDW) Rre sdrift beke e e fetileng. Gaolatlhe, o ile a ipelaetsa ka mokgwa o pitso Pitso e ile ya tsamaisiwa ke Rre David Afri- e biditsweng ka teng mo Smithsdrift, mme o ka, mme kamogelo e e bothito ya dirwa ke Mme ile a arabiwa ke modulasetilo wa Batlhaping Masego Selebogo yo e leng mokhaonselara mo trust, Rre Fisher Mosekiemang fa lekwalo le Smithdrift, o ile a re ba kgoro ya Kgosi ba kwaletswe mokhaonselara Mme Masego kgobe kgobe ka mmutlwa, ba dire tiro ya bona Selebogo, le lengwe le kwaletswe CPA, ebile go ba phuthologile ka gonne dintša di golegilwe, begilwe mo Radio Motsweding le mo diphitltse di tamayang mo mebileng ke tse di senang hong tse di neng di tshwerwe ko Kuruman, meno. A re: “ga di lome.” Kimberley le Smithdrif ka pitso eo. Reporoto ya Tolo commission e ile ya begiwa Morago ga ntwa ya bana ba mpa, ka tota ke mogwe wa ngwana wa kgoro ya bogosi jwa maraganela teng a bana ba mpa a sa tsenwe, Batlhaping ba Ga-Moduane ko Ga-Sehunelo e batla pitsong ba dumelana ka gore, ba ntlo ya leng Daniel Sehunelo,o ile a bega ha raporoto kgosing, ba itse ha le bone baagi ba ya Tolo commission e se e e maleba le bogosi Smithsdrift, ba beile seatla mo phatleng ba jwa Ga-Sehunelo, ke ka ntlha eo ba sa letile kgang ya Segosi go tla go dirisana le bone amogeleng diteng tsa raporoto ka botlalo, ebile mo setshabeng sa Smithsdrift.

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

NEWS

NC matriculants sign national senior exam pledge

KENNETH BORMAN and his fellow-learners of the Pescodia High School read the National Senior Examination Pledge. Photo: Boipelo Mere } Boipelo Mere DUWAYNE OOR (17) and Volente Peters (18) are confident that they will push to make their parents and teachers proud with their matric results at the end of the year. The study mates are both doing Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Science and History subjects. The two matriculants of Pescodia High were amongst the 11 000 matriculants throughout the province who have signed the National Senior Certificate Pledge for a smooth running of the examination process. Amongst the expectations on the pledge that was read by the matric learners together with the HOD of the Department of Education, Tshepo Pharasi, teachers and officials of the department, were the compliance of all rules by reporting any wrongdoings, following instructions and not being influenced to cheat during the writing of the examinations. According to Peters, who is the head girl at her school, the department was right to state that it had done its best to support the learners throughout the year. “Although I still have to put in more efforts to work on the Physical Science subject, the revision in the telematics programme that I parti-

cipated in made a huge difference in my performance. “The Saturday classes, where other teachers were invited to in order to assist us, also assisted us in completing our syllabus in time,” she added. She further revealed that the reason why she fell a bit behind with her Physical Science subject was because of the poor class attendance of her fellow-students, which led to them having to revise more in an effort to keep them up-todate. “It was a bit of a challenge during the year. But we managed to keep up after we arranged a motivational session amongst ourselves. Duwayne also gave a helping hand as we regard him as the best amongst us,” said the head girl. Duwayne on the other hand said: “You are never prepared enough for exams. The most important thing for me during the exams was doing revisions. “The telematics classes assisted me because I spent at least three hours on each subject. My biggest fear is the Mathematics paper 3, which I will put more effort in,” he said. Refusing to raise his hopes too much on the distinctions that he is aiming at, Duwayne said that he was ready to reap the rewards of his hard work. He had already started doing revisions, as of last month.

THE Kimberley Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit is investigating a kidnapping and rape which allegedly took place on 13 September at approximately 23:00. The complainant alleges she was on her way home from a tavern in Knight Street when she met the suspect at the Roodepan taxi rank in Kimberley. He forcibly took the victim to a room near the Kimberley train station where he raped her and kept her there until 06:00 the following morning. He then got dressed and left her in the room. The suspect is dark in complexion, of medium build, medium height, bald, clean shaven and speaks English. The police request anyone with information to call Detective Constable Pitso Tau on 082-4950618. All information will be treated with the strictest of confidence.

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

NEWS

Museum conference held in Kby } Boipelo Mere KIMBERLEY will be hosting the 77th annual national conference of the South African Museums Association from 22 to 24 October. According to the Tourism Authority, the conference themed Museums will focus on the role of museums in celebrating and conserving the cultural and natural heritage of South Africa. The conference will be jointly hosted by museums in Kimberley and will attract representatives from the museum and heritage sector. Topics will include discussions on best practice and standards. Further points of discussion will focus on how museums can educate through recreation, how museums can occupy a social space within their environments, how to foster intergenerational links within communities, how to display heritage in a modern way and how to employ innovative practices for better conservation. Speakers will address the inventiveness and vitality that have characterised the museum sector in recent years and evaluate the evolution of museums in their mission to influence the constructive transformation of society. According to Sharron Lewis, CEO of the Northern Cape Tourism Authority, this is an ideal opportunity to showcase the rich culture and history of the province and the importance its preservation should play in modern society. “The Northern Cape Province prides itself on its uniquely diverse culture and heritage and this conference is undoubtedly one way of celebrating this. It is encouraging that the museum industry is still looking for ways to make history relevant and applicable in the modern age. “This is also a chance for the province to introduce conference delegates to some of our prime cultural tourism offerings such as historical walks, transport and aviation tours, township visits, rock art sites and battlefield routes. We believe that our museums are of world-class standards, but it is always an enriching experience to share new ideas and methods with contemporaries from the industry,” says Lewis.

THE McGregor Museum in Kimberley.

Photo: Supplied

Matrics inspired Blue Chilli knows no limit } Boipelo Mere

} Boipelo Mere

WHILST reminding matriculants of what is expected of them, the HOD at the Provincial Department of Education, Tshepo Pharasi, highlighted that government takes them more seriously than in any other province due to the fact that they are in the fastest growing province. He encouraged them to choose careers in scientific fields in order to become part of the growing activities such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and SALT Telescope in Sutherland. During his motivational speech to the matric learners of the Pescodia High School in Roodepan at the national signing of pledges last week, he repeatedly said: “I wish I were you”. “I wish I were you in my years. You are very blessed and lucky to be in the province that is growing faster than any other province – to be matriculating in an era when everyone who is chasing opportunities come to the Northern Cape,” said Pharasi. The HOD pointed out how they only had opportunities of choosing a career of becoming a teacher, police, nurse and a preacher when he was in matric. “The time has come for you to apply yourselves to access all the opportunities available in the province as we have provided you with quality education for twelve years. So many opportunities are

BLUE CHILLI ENTERTAINMENT has turned into a wellknown brand in the local entertainment industry thanks to Anglo Zimele funded business. The company was founded in 2008 by Johane Maroro who grew up in Kuruman, with the aim of providing sound and entertainment for corporations. The vision is also to render excellent entertainment and media services for small and big events in the

Northern Cape. “Our mission is to be the preferred and best professional service provider and supplier of events equipment,” says Maroro. The company also provides services such as photography, tent and chair hire and music lessons. Maroro has always been passionate about music and working with young people. “Blue Chilli started out as a nonprofit youth programme and recreation centre. It was basically a place where young people could hang out

and do things that added value to their life.” Maroro says that the name Blue Chilli Entertainment progressed naturally from a name that was used for the place where the youth of Kathu came together to make music. So far, the group has performed at various events including the Kumba Iron Ore Youth Development graduation day and the Kumba Iron Ore Classic cycling event which is one of the biggest events in the Northern Cape every year.

THE HOD at the Provincial Department of Education, Tshepo Pharasi. Photo: Boipelo Mere currently coming to the Northern Cape. We are looking forward to having you in the first intake of the new Sol Plaatje University, to become part of the scientific activities, and to be the much needed geologists in the surrounding mines,” he continued to advice. He further motivated the learners to use all the resources that they have, including exemplary examination papers, to ensure that they are ready for the upcoming examinations. Pleading with the learners to do their best, Pharasi concluded by saying: “With you South Africa stands a better chance of being a better place. The power is in your hands to break the scurge of poverty”.

JOHANE MARORO (with the hat), owner of Blue Chilli Entertainment, performing during a show.

Photo: Supplied

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

THE accident scene.

Accident claims life } Boipelo Mere THE Kimberley Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide following an accident that occurred on Sunday at about 16:03 in Homestead. Allegedly a gold Toyota Corolla collided with a silver Ford Fiesta. The SAPS said that one person was certified dead on the scene whilst four others were taken to hospital due to injuries. According to Netcare 911 paramedics, upon their arrival on the scene they found that two motor vehicles had collided resulting in one man losing his life and others sustaining injuries ranging from moderate to critical. The injured were treated on the scene before being transported to nearby medical facilities for further care.

For more news and photos go to our website at www.express-news.co.za

Photo: Supplied

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

NEWS

Project offers girls a future in business } Boipelo Mere TWENTY gr. 11 girls from poor backgrounds from De Aar have been given the opportunity to become entrepreneurs in an effort to raise enough money to further their studies after matric. The girls will be introduced to multilevel marketing through which they will promote and sell a nutritional product that has already been identified by their mentor over weekends to avoid interference with their school curriculum. This project was identified by Felicity Fillies, the 2005 Female Farmer award

winner and successful owner of the Nieuborn Ostrich Farm outside De Aar, who will also mentor the learners. Fillies, a teacher by profession, has managed to keep her company, Nieuborn (Pty) Ltd, among the Small Enterprise Development Agency’s (Seda) top 80 successful businesses across the country. She trades in leather which she turns into bags and corporate gifts for the national and international markets. “Being part of this project has given me hope and purpose in my life. I was honestly drifting through life and now I know what I want to do with my life,”

said Petrusca Booysen (17), one of the learners. For 18-year-old Willemien Jacobs this entrepreneurship project will assist her in resuscitating her late mother’s business. Jacobs says her mother’s bakery and tuck shop business collapsed after her death in 2012. “I want to make my mother very proud. I will use this opportunity to further my studies and gain business knowledge that will assist me in being a better business owner,” said Jacobs. The group has already been registered

with Seda. Fillies was congratulated by Sylvia Lucas, the Northern Cape premier, who attended the launch of the project, for enhancing and nurturing entrepreneurship in the province. She was further commended for using her success to improve the lives of 20 high school girls who faced a bleak future. “This is a giant leap in history and it is one that will get our girl children to understand their role in our country. “Go out there and break new ground,” said Lucas.

New system to curb fraud } Boipelo Mere

THE Northern Cape is the second province in the country to launch the Biometric Access Control System after KwaZulu-Natal. Instead of the old-fashioned password system that is currently used in government, a new smartcard will be implemented, which enables the use of the fingerprint to lock on to protect state funds. As expected, the launch was to be conducted by the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, John Block, and Premier Sylvia Lucas. However, the premier was unable to attend the event due to her busy schedule. Mojalefa Mphapang, the head of Communications, made an apology on Block’s behalf for not addressing the briefing, stating that the MEC had other commitments, right after his keynote address. Block assured that the biometric system would ensure that the R12 billion budget for the Northern Cape was implemented properly. According to the HOD of the Department of Finance, Sello Mokoko, who went into detail on the new system, the Northern Cape expects to implement the system during the current financial year, after understanding the dynamics. He added that they would then roll it out in phases across all provincial government departments. “This is not a manga-manga system. We are faced with a lot of problems as most fraud cases concern government when very few are in the private sector. “They use government as an ATM, and go for millions,” he emphasised. Mokoko added that the launch was a bid to implement strong security control systems. This is to ensure accountability by prioritising the protection of the provincial government’s financial systems against electronic fraud. He pointed out: “We had several cases of fraud in the Northern Cape and lost them due to lack of proof. “This will definitely prevent identity fraudu-

lent activities and corrupt officials. Here no one can cut off your finger and use your identity,” stated the HOD. He said that the system would ensure that they pinpointed all fraud committers with positive evidence and protect the innocent. Mokoko further highlighted how difficult it was to expect to hold people accountable with lack of evidence. “Passwords are not enough, people can steal or share them because 12% use their pet’s name and 10% use their date of birth, or their mom’s or maiden name,” he added.

THE 2013 Trail Blazers plan to do more community work in an effort to make a change. Photo: Supplied

NC government empowers youth } Boipelo Mere

NO ONE can cut off your finger, said Mokoko. Photo: Boipelo Mere

THE primary objective of last month’s youth camp at the Vanderkloof Dam was to develop and empower them with requisite values, skills and knowledge that can assist them towards becoming responsible, conscious citizens and to strengthen their sense of patriotism and national identity. The camp, where 300 youth between the ages 14 and 24 across the provinces were hosted, was an initiative by the Northern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in partnership with the Department of Education, South African Police Service Youth Desk, Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, Department of Social Development, loveLife and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The 2013 camp is reported to have been the most exciting youth camp and has set a high standard and positive impact towards the participants who were named the ‘Trail Blazers’ during the camp. The Trail Blazers have showed their dedication by requesting the Provincial Youth Desk

coordinator of the SAPS, Christopher Mashilo, to assist them in ensuring that they implement what they have done at the camp within their respective communities. Last week they visited the Molehe Mampe Place of Safety in Galeshewe to interact with young people in conflict with the law on the basis of what they have learned at the camp. They had different activities with the youth and delivered motivational speeches, drama and poetry. One of the youth members at the centre appreciated the gesture and requested that they visit the centre on a regular basis. “The visit motivated us a lot. This clearly shows that other young people in the community love us. The only thing that is left for us in the centre is to change and become a new person in the community,” said the much motivated youth member. This is not the only activity that the Trail Blazers will be having. They still have a lot of activities such as visiting old-age homes and hospitals to assist with cleaning as part of volunteer and community services.

Woman found guilty of murdering baby } Boipelo Mere

HOD OF TREASURY, Sello Mokoko, handing Justice Bekebeke his first Biometric System card with MEC John Block looking on. Photo: Boipelo Mere

GEOGINA PRECIOUS ROOIBAATJIE (33) was found guilty for the murder of her newborn baby by the Northern Cape High Court last week. According to the SAPS report, the accused drowned her infant in a bucket at her home in Matlhomola Township, Griekwastad, after giving birth to him in September 2011. She took the baby out of the bucket and attempted to flush him away in a toilet. The baby was too big and her attempts failed. She then put the baby in a green plastic bag and hid him under her bed. On 4 September 2011, the Griekwastad police received information of a bad odour coming from the house. Upon investigation, police discovered the deceased infant under the bed. The accused was arrested and charged with murder. The accused was released and summoned to appear before the court for the pre-sentencing on 5 December.

GEOGINA PRECIOUS ROOIBAATJIE (33) has been found guilty of murdering her son.

Photo: SAPS

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

NEWS

RAF reaches out to rural areas } Boipelo Mere JENNY FRITZ regards herself as a victim of drunken and reckless taxi-driving and was ripped off by the Road Accident Fund (RAF). When she was told by her sister to go to the Bantu Hall and enquire about her case to make a difference, she was not keen on the idea. That is when the minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, flanked by the Northern Cape MEC for the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, Mac Jack, and RAF officials encouraged community members like her to speak up and not become victims of lawyers and crooks who end up ripping them off with their RAF pay-outs. “All I know, is that I was ripped off and used by the South African Police members and I don’t know who else. But I have decided to make peace with it and move on. The sad part is that I was not vigilant enough to take down the names of those people,” she said angrily. Addressing the packed Bantu Hall, Peters said that the RAF’s visit was aimed at encouraging accident victims to do away with the middle man who ripped them off. “We are here as government to help you. Avoid being used by those who take your details at hospitals when you are most vulnerable. That is why we want to be accessible to the people by opening our offices right in the Kimberley Hospital Complex,” she said. While congratulating the RAF for the road show initiative, Peters encouraged them to include rural areas, like Kathu, Springbok, Kuruman and Upington, in their outreach programmes because at these places are people who do not have resources. “This shows that the RAF is getting out of the office because it is a people’s organisation. This is a way of minimising the costs for an individual who has lost the ability to be economically active,” she highlighted. She touched on the issue of taxi accident victims, like Fritz, who are mostly being

RAF busy assisting community members at the Bantu Hall. preyed on. Her details were taken by a police officer after she landed in hospital due to a taxi accident. Peters promised that the RAF would work hand in hand with taxi associations to avoid reckless driving and losing more lives, and instead promote personal hygiene and customer care. She further revealed that 65% of the population used taxis, which is why the RAF services needed to be visible. Fritz, a mother of two, said that she was involved in an accident with her eldest son in 2004 where two taxis collided. She said

Photo: Boipelo Mere

she broke two of her ribs and her cheekbone while her son broke his nose and had a head injury. “I try to block it out, but I can still remember the incident like it was yesterday. We boarded a taxi to go home from town on a very cold, rainy day. The Quantum was overloaded, because everyone was desperate to go home. We only realised that our driver was drunk and perhaps high when he started speeding. He then hit the other stationary taxi from behind,” she revealed. “At the hospital, a police officer ap-

proached me when he saw me and my son covered in blood and said I have to claim from the RAF, and then took my details.” A few months after the accident she was called by another police officer to come to the police station to fill in forms. “Police officers then fetched me and six other victims of this same accident in a Venture. At the station we were given forms by the officers to sign quickly, because the officers said they were in a rush to be somewhere else. They told us to lie and say we were not in the first taxi, if we were asked, otherwise we would not get the money,” she said disgusted. According to Fritz, she got a letter from the RAF after being instructed to fax one document after the other that she would get a pay-out of around R6 000. “That was the end of the RAF, I never received a cent. The only thing that happened was a call, reportedly from the RAF, stating that they were investigating a fraud case against the officials who made a claim on our behalf. “The man, who claimed to be an RAF lawyer from Klerksdorp and was investigating our case and even came to my house to take my statement, also vanished. I later got a call from the RAF that I do not qualify to claim. My frustration is, why are we not involved in the whole process? Everything and everyone seemed too dodgy for my liking. We do not even have proof that those police officers were fired – why?” The minister said that RAF desks would be put up at all hospitals around the province in order to reach all the people. She emphasised more on the fact that the department would take away the licences of all reckless drivers as they posed a threat to all road users. “We borrowed you that licence. If you do not take care of it you will have to re-apply. Even when you re-apply, we will keep a record of those cases,” emphasised the minister in conclusion. According to Sello Mosotho, the media and public relations officer, their reports indicate that they have made settlements of R10 752 865 on that day.

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013

THE Okiep High School’s soccer team.

Photos: Supplied

AN Okiep High School team player, in an effort to make his school proud. Photo:

De Jongh feels team should have won } Boipelo Mere CLIVE DE JONGH, principal and coach of the Okiep High school, expressed his anger concerning the referee who was messing up the game during the Kay Motsepe provincial finals in Upington. Although his school came second at the provincial rounds and qualified for the national tournament, he still feels they were unfairly treated and were supposed to have been crowned the provincial winners. The Okiep High School finished sixth overall at the national finals of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, six places ahead of their Northern Cape rivals and provincial winners, Rietvale, who are seasoned campaigners at this stage of the tournament. They were also regarded the best performers of the province after two of their players were selected to travel to Johannesburg and participate in a Mamelodi Sundowns camp in November. “Safa is messing up the school tournaments. In the first place, they cannot give the South African School Football Association (SASFA) the responsibility to organise a referee, they had to do it themselves. Secondly, how can they ar-

range for the tournament to go to Upington when there was no school from Upington playing? “The other concern that I raised was for the learners to travel long distances to the venue, then be expected to play three games. The knock-out was one day, it is harsh for the learners,” voiced the coach. Coach de Jongh, who admitted to voicing his concerns at any given point, portrayed his confidence in his team by inviting the next provincial finals to Okiep. “Yes, I will be participating in the provincial finals next year. I am confident of that,” he responded with confidence to Express Northern Cape when asked whether he would be in the provincials. “I will be going with my same team next year. I have come a long way with my boys and they are the best. I started with them in u.10 tournaments. We reached the McDonalds National Finals in 2010, then again we reached the Metropolitan u.15 in 2011 where we were knocked out in the quarter finals in Pretoria. In 2012 we qualified from provincials to nationals on our home ground, and again made it to the quarter finals,” bragged the coach. Although, he admitted that the recent nation-

Pirates to face Al Ahly in league final ORLANDO PIRATES will face Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final after the Egyptians beat Coton Sport on penalties on Sunday. Al Ahly and Coton Sport played to a 1-1 draw in Cameroon two weeks ago, and after another 1-1 draw in El Gouna, Egypt, on Sunday the Red Devils beat the visitors 7-6 on penalties. Holders Ahly have seven CAF Champions League titles, making them Africa’s most successful football club. Ahly had to make do without their supporters as the match was played behind closed doors, the second fixture of a two-

match ban imposed by the ’n CAF for the fan violence before their group stage game against the AC Leopards of Congo. Ahly opened the scoring in the third minute when Abdallah El-Said climbed highest to head home from Sayed Moawad. Coton Sport equalised in the 65th minute when Kada Yougouda hit home from close range. Pirates booked their spot in the final with a 1-1 draw against Esperance in the second leg of their semi-final on Saturday night. Bucs will host Ahly in the first leg of the final on 1 to 3 November, with the second leg in Egypt on 8 to 10 November.

al tournament was tough with high standards, “we did exceptionally well”. “Personally, I learned that I need to prepare for next year’s tournament much earlier than I did this year. I am already drawing up the training schedule as most of the team that competed this year will be eligible for participation next year, so that will be a big advantage,” De Jongh said. The coach says the standard of play at the finals was extremely high. “The academy teams were very good, in particular, but I am pleased with my boys as we kept to the game plan and managed to close players down, preventing scoring opportunities.” The biggest challenge facing the team was the 24-hour trip they took to get to the venue, which is mostly a challenge in his scattered province. “The boys were tired, so they did not play well in their first game losing by 2-0 to the Louis Botha Technical High School (Free State).” De Jongh has 29 years of experience in coaching and holds Safa level 1 and 2 coaching certificates. He is very involved in soccer in his community being chairman of schools football in Okiep and implemented an u.10 soccer league in the town. He is also the school’s tennis coach,

Supplied

and is proud to have coached South African tennis player Jeff Coetzee. “Our school is based in a very poor area, but I managed to get the Department of Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation to build us a state-of-theart multipurpose sports combo field.” Concerning his complaints and proposals, he added that he has written a letter of concern to the organisers and SASFA as he refused to stand back and watch anyone mess up the beautiful game.