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WEDNESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2014

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NC hosts tourism event Province named top sports and leisure tourism destination

} Boipelo Mere THERE will be dikhori, chicken necks, dumplings, tripe, lerito vegetables and more when tourists arrive in the Northern Cape to experience the warmth that the province has to offer.

That is after the province was named the leading sports tourism destination in Africa as well as the top leisure tourism and business events destination.

“We are honoured to host the National Tourism Month celebrations in our beautiful province and look forward to welcoming you and showcasing the amazing offerings of the Northern Cape,” said the MEC of Tourism, John Block.

Debbie Damant of South African Tourism and the Northern Cape Tourism Authority, flanked by the National Heritage Council CEO, Boitumelo Bopape, were not only impressed, but also made a mark on some of the Galeshewe tourism sites to be listed as

their preferred destinations.

During their tour through the township with the team from the tourism authority, local tour guides Joy Thirisi of Native Minds Tours and Gilbert Matlhaku also made a good impression.

Apart from the tour, the lunch at the Ipopeng-based Fusion Kitchen was also a hit.

It was during the launch of Tourism Month that Diana Martin, general manager: marketing and promotions at the tourism authority, emphasised the importance of partnering with the media to encourage people to travel in order for them to see the product and become an ambassador.

Debbie Damant also stated that it was important for them (officials) to familiarise themselves with the product.

According to Tumi Bopape, it is about time for the Northern Cape to also tell its story and highlight its struggle sites so that it does not look as if the province was not part of the struggle.

YUMMY: Fundu Mtwana, Tebogo Velembo and Joy Thirisi enjoying dikhori during the Galeshewe tour.

Photos: Boipelo Mere

DEBBIE DAMANT, Diana Martin, general manager: marketing and promotions, and Boitu­ melo Bopape of the National Heritage Council at the Fusions Garden Kitchen in Ipopeng.

DIKHORI served on a plate.

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NEWS

Hospitals applauded for commitment } Boipelo Mere THE Kimberley Hospital (KH) and the Galeshewe Day Hospital (GDH) were applauded for their commitment in reducing infant mortality rates.

Both facilities are reported to have implemented the ten steps and three additional items of the Mother-Baby-Friendly Initiative (MBFI).

The Northern Cape Department of Health officially launched the BFHI initiative at the Horse Shoe Motel on Friday after it had been launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef in 1991, following the Innocenti Declaration of 1990.

Since the 1990’s launch the BFHI has grown with more than 152 countries around the world implementing the initiative.

South Africa, being one of them, has changed the name to the Mother-Baby-Friendly Initiative due to the important role motherfriendly care is playing in this initiative.

This initiative is a global effort to implement practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The initiative has a measurable and proven impact, increasing the likelihood of

VIRGINIA SPRINGBOK, a first­time mother, says that breastfeeding is the best advice she got.

Photo: Supplied

should be practised not only for premature babies, but also for full-term babies. Skin-to-skin contact is nature’s incubator and has proven itself to be one of the most effective interventions for the reduction of mortality rates.”

She elaborated how well a mother could bond with her baby during Kangaroo Mother Care as she was able to monitor the baby’s every movement, including when there was something wrong.

Carrying her little bundle of joy under her T-shirt, Virginia Springbok could not find the words to describe the joy of breastfeeding and kangarooing her nine-week-old baby, Letlhogonolo. Thanking the nursing sisters she said that it was the best decision that she had ever made as she was a first-time parent.

Magdeline Marabutshe also testified how breastfeeding and kangaroo parenting has created a strong bond between herself and her six-week-old baby, Realeboga.

“Even though her father also assists me to kangaroo her like I taught him, when she wants me it must be me. It is amazing how blessed I feel when I look into her tiny eyes during breastfeeding,” she said.

FACILITY MANAGERS of the Kimberley Hospital (KH) and the Galeshewe Day Hospital (GDH) were present­ ed with plaques to put on their facilities. They are Bulelwa Mogotsi of the Galeshewe Day Hospital and Mary Mdokwana of the Kimberley Hospital who were handed the plaques by Sister Lindiwe Nyathi­Mokot­ so.

Photos: Boipelo Mere

Sold most tickets and won bicycles

THE Campbell police seek help about the whereabouts of Magretha Cloete (37). Cloete was last seen on 30 May with her boyfriend at Plakkerskamp in Campbell. At the time of her disappear­ ance she was dressed in a black and white shirt, brown striped top and brown shoes. She resided at 3 Kudu Street in Campbell. The police appeal to the public for assistance to trace and re­ unite Magretha with her family. Any in­ formation can be communicated to Const. Amanuel Visser of the Campbell police on 078­894­3241 or 053­297­2901.

babies being exclusively breastfed for the first six months.

Milk coming directly from the breast to the baby was emphasised by Sister Lindiwe NyathiMokotso who gave the background of the MBFI at the event which was attended by mothers and departmental staff.

She reported that malnutrition was directly or indirectly responsible for about one third of deaths among children under five. Above two thirds of these deaths are often associated with inappropriate feeding practices during the first year of life, poor vitamin A supplementation and deworming.

Nyathi-Mokotso told the nursing sisters to continue encouraging the mothers on family planning, vitamin A supplementation and deworming syrup.

“We do not want any dummies, teats and bottles as they are not allowed in our facilities due to hygienic reasons as diarrhoea is also one of the biggest killers of children under five,” she said.

“We are not playing games when we encourage mothers to rather carry your babies in front than on the back. We also refer to Kangaroo Mother Care which

TWO learners from the Kuruman Primary School were the lucky winners of brand­new bicycles.

Russels in Kuruman lauched a project where learners had to sell raffle tickets to the community.

The learners who sold the most tickets both received a brand­ new bicycle from Russels. Rus­ sels also donated a laptop and printer to the school. All the pro­ ceeds of the collection (R38 848) are also ploughed back into the school. Pictured here are far right, front: Thabi Mathe with her pur­ ple bycicle; from the left, back: Sergio French with his new black bicyle, Louise Lottering (branch manager: Russels in Kuruman), Fahima Groenewald (teacher: Ku­ ruman Primary School), Irene Buys (teacher: Kuruman Primary School), Floyd Turner (principal: Kuruman Primary School) and David Fourie (area manager: Rus­ sels).

Photo: Ilse Watson

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NEWS

‘The only sign that there is a toilet in the yard is this key that I keep. That is to prevent my four­ year­old granddaughter form entering the stinky mess.’

– Margaret Malgas THE rusty mess inside the toilet is a health hazard to the family.

Blocked and rusted toilet of no use } Boipelo Mere

MARGARET MALGAS (61), her two children and grand-daughter have to wait for the sun to set in order to relieve themselves in the nearby veld.

Residing in the Homevale extension, she does have a toilet in her yard, but they cannot use it anymore due to it being continuously blocked.

According to her, they only survive through the day by using a bucket inside the house that they have to empty twice a day.

“But when we have stomach problems, it is a nightmare, because then we have to bother the neighbours, who have also become tired of us,” she reveals.

In response to why they have locked the toilet in their backyard, Malgas told Express Northern Cape to come and have a look at the toilet.

“The only sign that there is a toilet in the yard is this key that I keep. That is to prevent my four-year-old granddaughter form entering the stinky mess.”

She said they needed another plan as to prevent them from calling the municipality time and again to come and unblock the drains.

They were told by the municipality to call whenever the toilet was blocked.

She further explained that even at times after the system had been unblocked, the water remained brown when they flushed.

The whole system inside the toilet is rusted, causing it not to be able to flush at all.

She is even too tired of calling the municipality, because they take too long to come and even though they do unblock the system, it continues to become blocked.

“The municipality instructed us to call

them whenever the system blocks. They unblock the toilets using their long wires to do it.”

She even highlighted that they had been sending the same complaints to the municipality for years.

“Even our previous councillor, Loretta Williams, knew about our pleas.”

One of the ward committee members, Vincent Swart, agreed that Malgas had been one of the regular complainants of toilet blockages for the past ten years.

In her old age, Malgas is looking forward to the planned community meeting in her ward (3) where they want to meet the mayor of Sol Plaatje, David Molusi, and the speaker, Mangaliso Matika, to address their grievances.

The community needs answers as to whether their concerns are amongst the community concerns that are debated on a daily basis at the council meetings.

Attempts to get the mayor and speaker to address the community failed when they did not show up at the planned meetings for Monday, 18 August, and Tuesday, 19 August.

They said that they had only been informed after the protest that the mayor and speaker had been in Kuruman.

The community was so fed up that they barricaded the R31 road (leading to Barkly West) with burning tyres and had to be dispersed by the police.

They hope that they are not put in another position where they will be forced to take their grievances to the streets again.

Thus they are planning on sending another invite to the mayor and speaker to address them.

THE permanently­locked toilet.

Photos: Boipelo Mere

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Hoping to win trophy

NEWS

THE Centenary Methodist Choir members are confident that they will be returning with another trophy from the choir competition in Wepener. According to the chairperson of the choir, Peter Mogotsi, they are hoping for at least two more trophies to add to their collection. Last month the choir won a trophy during the regional competition in Kuruman in the Section A African Section. “That was our first step to winning the district competitions where we have competed countless times before. We will turn the tables when we compete with at least 15 choirs from all phases,” said Mogotsi.

Photo: Boipelo Mere

Kuruman given the shake-down by police Ilse Watson MEMBERS of the Kathu police, Kuruman police, immigration officers, Community Policing Forum (CPF) and social workers held a mass parade last Friday through Kuruman.

They conducted stop-and-check-searches and they also held a road block near Wrenchville.

“We are closing Women’s Month with high load patrols in Kuruman, stop and searching of vehicles, as well as checking immigrants’ documents.

“We will also hold a road block for two hours near the entrance to Wrenchville,” said Col Cecilia Kgobe, station commander of the Kathu police.

“We want to show the community that we as women can lead.

“Those years of women sitting in an

office is long gone.

“We are excited about today’s event and we want to support women in matters such as domestic violence.”

The police are once again warning the residents of Kuruman of the following: ) Drive with locked doors and closed windows. ) Do not leave valuable items in the car – put it in the trunk. ) Manually check that your car is locked when you lock it using a remote control. ) Hijacking hot spots: the fourway stop near Leach Toyota; the park near Leach Toyota and the areas around Cashbuild.

Residents are requested to stay vigilant.

S If you want to report a crime (anonymous) call 08600-10111.

S Childline: 0800-0555-55.

MEMBERS of the Kathu police, Kuruman police, immigration officers, Community Policing Forum (CPF) and social workers who took part in various operations in Kuruman last Friday. This special day was in celebration (and the end of) Women’s Month.

Photos: Ilse Watson

Soccer’s ‘silly season’ has begun THE first coach to be shown the door in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this season has been none other than Gavin Johnson who joined Supersport United from Platinum Stars at the beginning of the last term.

Johnson was only in charge of the Tshwane-based outfit for just four matches in the 2014-’15 campaign.

He got sacked for poor results as he had only managed to win one game out of four matches. He had lost the other three fixtures.

The writing was on the wall as criticism continued to mount against Johnson who struggled to turn around failing Amatsatsantsa’s fortunes.

It was only a matter of time, if what the club’s insiders have been saying was anything to go by.

The pressure had been building for Johnson after every loss and there was always discontentment.

United’s 1-0 defeat at home against Mpumalanga Black Aces last Wednesday was the last straw for him as he got fired a day later.

Now the former Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, whose contract with Safa expired on Sunday, is being linked to Johnson’s job.

The firing, or “amicable separation” – the new term used in football for firing coaches these days – of Johnson from United was obviously going to set the cat among the pigeons.

The ink from Johnson’s story had hardly dried on the pages when speculation arose as who was next to bite the dust.

A number of names are being bandied about, but none as much as the embattled Amazulu coach, Craig Rosslee. His name keeps cropping up whenever this subject is raised.

After five rounds of fixtures, Rosslee’s side are sitting at the basement of the log and they remain the only team without a league win.

The Cape Town-born mentor saw speculation about his future double after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the star-studded Mamelodi Sundowns this past weekend.

My view Sidwell Guduka Express Sport Editor So, it looks increasingly like a matter of “when” rather than “if” Rosslee will walk the plank.

Another coach whose job is not safe, is none other than Kosta Papic of PSL returnees Chippa United. People know that Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi is trigger happy and he fires coaches faster than he changes his underwear.

Since the Port Elizabeth outfit were promoted to the elite league for the first time two seasons ago, no less than eight coaches had been fired by Mpengesi.

They were Roger Sikhakhane, Julius Dube, Ian Palmer, Wilfred Mugeyi, Manqoba Mngqithi, Farouk Abrahams, Mark Harrison and Vladislav Heric.

So, judging by Mpengesi’s insatiable love for the trigger, Papic should be well advised to keep his suitcase packed.

The Yugoslavian was brought on board to replace Heric during the off season.

It remains to be seen how long he will occupy the hot seat before he gets fired as well.

Boebie Solomons is also walking a tightrope up in Limpopo. Polokwane City is placed 15th on the table, just one spot above Amazulu who are propping up the log. Only one point separates the two sides.

Yes, it is still early in the season, but club bosses in South Africa are very impatient.

They want positive results always.

The question remains, who will be next to be shown the door?

Your guess is as good as mine. ) Send your MyView contribution, of no more than 500 words, to Jabulani.Dlamini@volksblad.com or call 051-404-7910.

The firing, or “amicable separation” – the new term used in football for firing coaches these days – of Johnson from United was obviously going to set the cat among the pigeons.

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A.J. Ferreira makes history UPINGTON’S A.J. Ferreira High School made history this weekend after many years of drought on the soccer field. The school scooped the winning trophy in the provincial leg of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup at the A.R. Abass Stadium over the weekend.

The win comes after competing in this soccer competition for years without ever advancing beyond the cluster stage of the tournament. This time the team did not only reach the provincial final, but went on to win it and will now compete in the national final.

A.J. Ferreira beat veterans Okiep High School 3-1. Now both schools progress to the national final at Soshaguve.

They have earned R100 000 to be used to fund legacy projects for the school.

An exuberant coach, Monty Swaartbooi, said this was a long overdue victory, but admitted it was also unexpected.

“Every year we go into the tournament with the hope of progressing to the provincials. This year was different, as every member of the team was new to the tournament and I did not think that we would progress very far, so this is a surprise,” said Swaartbooi.

“The players rose to the occasion and proved me wrong. I thought that Okiep and Rietvale would beat us, because they have more experience and have been successful at this level before.”

Swaartbooi was surprised at how easy it was to get into the provincials.

“We only played three games in our cluster and won them all,” he said.

“I honestly thought that we would finish last at the provincials, but I must give credit to my team who showed guts and determination. We even beat Okiep convincingly in the final game.”

Swaartbooi is not sure what the school will do with their winnings, as it will be for the principal and the school governing body (SGB) to decide, but he does say they need a proper field and training equipment. There are also lots of broken windows and doors in the school building that need fixing.

Now it is down to preparing for the nationals and Swaartbooi says they will stick to their programme of training four times a week and playing friendlies against local teams on Fridays.

Swaartbooi realises that some of the teams at the nationals will be academies and he wants to bring in outside coaches to help him prepare tactically and technically.

“I coach for the love of the game and have no qualifications. If we are to prepare properly, I am going to have to seek support

from coaches at our local clubs,” he said.

Winning the provincial title has been the most rewarding outcome of the coach’s career.

“To have finally made it, fills my heart with pride. And it doesn’t end with playing soccer. Another reason I started coaching soccer was to keep the learners away from the bad influences that are prevalent in our community – so I also act as their advisor.

“I always tell the players to work hard in everything that they do, be it soccer, school work or in their personal lives.

“Putting in the extra work will always bring positive results. They now know and understand why they have to put in 110% into their training.”

The nationals will be held from 5 to 9 October where teams will get a chance to win the R1 million first prize.

VAUGHEN HANGOME (left) of the A.J. Ferreira High School and Richard Dryers of the Okiep High School chase the ball.

IT was a surprise that Upington’s A.J. Ferreira High School won the 2014 provincial Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup over the weekend.

For more news and photos visit www.express-news.co.za

Photos: Supplied