EASTERN FREE STATE
TEL: 058 3035411
WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
WWW.EXPRESSNEWS.CO.ZA
FREE
Selahliwe still waiting Magashule says longawaited houses are to be built soon
} Tladi Moloi EARLY last year Olly Mlamleli, the MEC for
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), and Ace Magashule, the Free State premier, promised the residents of Selahliwe (“we are dumped”) that they would soon be moved to the newly developed Vogelfontein near Baken Park. However, it looks like the residents will have to wait longer than they expected as Magashule has failed to estimate when they would be moved there. He told Express Eastern Free State they were expecting to start building at the site before the end of this week. Magashule spoke to Express EFS soon after he had addressed the die-hard ANC sup-
porters following a recent door-to-door campaign which was conducted in Bohlokong, Bethlehem. “We’ll start building at the site next week, but I am not sure when the residents will be taken to that area,” he said. Magashule said the reason why he could not confirm the move, was that they were not only going to build houses there, but also schools, shopping malls and many other buildings. “We are doing what we call human settlement,” he said. Selahliwe is an informal settlement near Phumlamqash township in Bohlokong. Apparently it is now about 21 years old and thus far those people who are living there are without electricity and running water.
SHACKS in the Selahliwe informal settlement in Bohlokong.
Magashule and Mlamleli made their promises early last year during their Operation Hlasela visit to Bethlehem. A few months ago people were over the moon to see their names advertised in the newspapers, as all the names of people who qualified for the site were published. These desperate people thought they would have left the devastating Selahliwe for the new site before Christmas, but things have not gone according to expectations. Selahliwe has about 1 842 people in some 546 households. During his Hlasela visit, Magashule said: “We are indeed going to take all the people to the new place and after that we do not want to see any houses in Selahliwe before we have developed it for others.”
Magashule said they were going into a difficult election which would also be marking the 20-year anniversary of democracy. “Many people have lost hope and we have to make sure that we work hard and encourage our people not to give up. “We have to give people the site. People are getting houses, but they need the site. Young people want to start their own houses and we have to make sure that we give them the sites that they need. “We want our people to eat the fruits of freedom,” he said. He said they would never allow people to illegally occupy land. “We have agreed as the government that when people illegally occupy a site, we should let the police remove them,” he said.
Photo: Tladi Moloi
2
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
NEWS
Stock-theft unit praised for reaction } Tladi Moloi FIVE suspects were recently arrested for stock theft. Sifiso Zungu (22), Papie Mthombeni (28), Bongani Dube (36), Bekani Mdakala (29) and Jan Bezuidenhout (20), a farmer, are expected to appear before the Harrismith Magistrate’s Court on Friday for formal bail application. They have briefly appeared before the same court last Friday. The five suspect were arrested last Tuesday by the Kestell Stock Theft Unit following a tip-off from one of the community members. According to Sgt. Mmako Mophiring, the police spokesperson, the five suspects were arrested on alleged stock theft through community information at the Mountview Farm, District Harrismith, where three cows were slaughtered. A farmer was among the people who were arrested and his bakkie was confiscated. “At about 16:45 the commander and other six members of the unit went to the Mountview Farm outside Harrismith near the N3 where they found three slaughtered cows. They were removed from the storeroom next to the kraal. On further investigation it was discovered that cattle was sold to people who had a funeral in the township of Harrismith. In the process four suspects were arrested and linked to the scene on the farm,” he said. Mophiring said the same day at about 22:30 a follow-up was conducted from the farm to town at McKechnie Street, Harrismith, where the team made a stop at a certain restaurant. It is believed two carcasses were sold and kept here. He said the place was searched in the presence of the owner who was called in. “He showed the police a cold stor-
‘He showed the po lice a cold storage room in which lot of fresh bleeding meat was found packed on the shelves not orderly placed with its legs. The owner was arrested on the spot and the meat was removed for fur ther disposal.’–Sgt. Mmako Mophiring age room in which a lot of fresh bleeding meat was found packed on the shelves not orderly placed with its legs. The owner was arrested on the spot and the meat was removed for further disposal,” he said. “Stock theft is our priority crime in the Free State and we will not leave a stone unturned to search, seek and convict those involved in the criminal activities pertaining to livestock. It’s a thorn and a painful situation that the farming community undergoes with their stock being stolen. We urge people to stop promoting buying stolen properties and report such activities to the police. “I want to thank the willing community who fight crime through information and building good relations with the police. Also I congratulate the Stock Theft Unit for their reaction towards the information and arrests executed. The trust from community comes naturally when we respond to service delivery,” said Lt Gen. Simon Mpembe, the Free State provincial commissioner.
THE fresh meat of the stolen cows which was recovered in a restaurant in Harrismith. Photo: Supplied.
HEARTBROKEN: Tshepo Mofokeng, the owner of the house that burned down, with Lebohang Motaung who tried to help collect what remained of the belongings. Photo: Tladi Moloi
Tenant (38) dies in house fire } Tladi Moloi
A TENANT died while seven survived a fire that burned down a house in Bereng Street in Bohlokong near Bethlehem. The shocking incident happened on Saturday. According to the survivors they noticed the fire at around 23:00. Petrus Xaba (38) from Warden died in his room and was removed from the house by the state mortuary personnel after the fire had been extinguished. It is alleged that the fire started in the deceased’s room and some of the tenants said they believed he forgot to switch off the stove after cooking. Lebohang Motaung (22), who witnessed the burning of the deceased after she had failed to rescue him from the fire, said: “I was still in bed when I heard a sound from the opposite door. I though people were fighting until
I decided to go out and check what was going on. Immediately, after opening the door, I came across the smoke.” Motaung said she started kicking the door in an attempt to open it, but the door could not be opened. “I took an iron and broke the window, but I could not reach in with my hand to pull him out of the window. The fire was strong by that time and I thought of saving my two little kids,” she said. Motaung, mother of two kids aged three years and three months, said she grabbed her kids and waited outside by the fence crying. “I wished I could have saved him,” she said. She said they would appreciate any kind of help from good Samaritans as they had lost everything in the house. Tshepo Mofokeng (37), the owner of the house, said he could not believe it when he received a
call from one of the tenants who told him about the house that was on fire. “It was around 00:00 when I got the call. I rushed to the house and found police cars and the fire brigade attending to the fire,” he said. He said it was very unfortunate that they ended up losing one of the tenants and added that he also felt the pain of those who lost everything in the fire. “Imagine some of those people had to report to work the following day, yet they had lost their clothes,” he said. Mofokeng said he was going to meet with the ward councillor to negotiate any possibilities of helping him to get the house in its original shape again. “We believe that the municipality will help us,” he said. Sgt Majang Skalkie, the police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and added that an inquest case had been registered.
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013 3
NEWS
Premier Ace in a giving mood } Selloane Khalane
THE battle to secure the Wolhuterskop Game Reserve in Bethlehem by the Tyrannus Apostolic Church is coming to an end, the Free State government has said. “No one denied Jesus a mountain when he wanted to pray,” said Economic Development MEC, Mosebenzi Zwane. Zwane was one of many MECs, senior managers and ANC leadership attending the church’s moral regeneration men’s march against woman and child abuse on Sunday. The church’s senior pastor, Apostle Simon Mokoena, told congregants who had flocked to the service that the Free State government had signed over the land to the church. Mokoena told congregants that a certain “white party” was hindering the processes of allowing the church to purchase the land. “Why would you vote for a party that won’t give you this land,” Mokoena questioned his congregants during the sermon. Mokoena urged congregants to vote for a party that was “for” the church. In August, DA Free State legislature member Roy Jankielsohn opened a case of fraud and conspiracy to commit theft against Premier Ace Magashule. The case follows a promise made by Magashule to hand over the title deed of the land to
the church during a youth conference in Botshabelo in August. Zwane told Volksblad, parent paper of Express, he has instructed the Dihlabeng Municipality to erect a fence around a part of the game reserve being utilised by the church to ensure that birds and animals at the game reserve are protected. “The church’s application to use the game reserve followed guidelines and was therefore approved,” Zwane said. During the event Magashule campaigned for the 2014 national elections and told congregants the ANC belonged to them and Mokoena. “We would not lead if it was not for your prayers and support,” Magashule said. During an interview with Volksblad Magashule said the Free State government was partnering with the church to eliminate social ills and improve the moral fibre of society. Magashule said government supported the churches endeavours to secure the land and use it for church activities. “The land is our heritage as Africans, the land that was stolen from us,” Magashule said. Although the church is not yet the official owner of the game reserve, the name of the church has been inscribed on a hill there. ) Visit www.expressnews.co.za or expresspaper.mobi to see more photos from the service.
IN A GIVING MOOD: Free State premier, Ace Magashule (in red and white stripe shirt), leads a march against abuse in Bethlehem with members of the Tyrannus Apostolic Church and ANC members. With Magashule on the left is Economic Development MEC Mosebenzi Zwane in conversation with Tyrannus church leader, Simon Mokoena. Photo: Reginald Witbooi
4
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
NEWS
Rockman rallies for clean audits } Tladi Moloi ELZABE ROCKMAN, MEC for Finance in the Free State, recently visited 23 municipalities throughout the Free State. These visits were aimed at helping the municipalities to achieve a clean audit status in 2014. Rockman concluded her journey at the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality on Wednesday. She said she was delegated by the National Treasury to all the municipalities in the province, excluding the Mangaung Metro. “We are not making sufficient progress to achieve clean audit statuses. Some of the municipalities are making progress, but there were a number of municipalities which seemed to have gotten stuck in the challenges that have been there for the past three to four years,” Rockman said. She stated that they knew they needed to do something different in order for them to achieve their goals. “We then decided to engage the mayors and the political leadership. The engagement has been there before between the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Provincial Treasury and municipalities at official level, but we have not engaged sufficiently to bring the political leadership on board. “We wanted to ask them to ensure that they take the responsibility to drive certain processes within the municipality, so that we ultimately improve financial governance, financial management and the sustainability of municipalities. Those issues directly impact on service delivery. And through all of this we will ultimately achieve our improved audit outcome.” She said the audit no longer only took into account financial management, but the performance management part as well. “So without the political leadership being very strong in terms of giving direction, guidance and exercising oversight, those are issues that we feel we have not sufficiently addressed
ELZABE ROCKMAN, the MEC for Finance in the Free State, and Vusi Tshabalala, the acting executive mayor of the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality. Photo: Tladi Moloi in the past. That is part of what we have achieved in visiting all the municipalities.” Rockman said there were issues that they have asked the mayors to specifically attend to. She added that they would come back on a second round of visits at the end of November or
early December to check the progress. “The first meetings are very nice; we engage politely with each other, but we expect the temperature to rise in the second round when we see the progress is not there. I hope the progress will be there,” she said.
Vusi Tshabalala, the acting executive mayor of the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, said he was happy that the MEC had visited. He added that her visit was helpful and they were hoping to improve on some of the things that they discussed during their meeting.
Help SAPS with murder THE body of Thabo Maruping (46) was recovered by the Petrus Steyn police following a report from a community member. The body was found at the Reitz and Petrus Steyn old road near Long Farm in the Petrus Steyn district on Sunday morning. Sgt. Majang Skalkie, police spokesperson, said the police were contacted. On arrival at the crime scene the police found the body of Thabo lying on the ground with a head injury. She said he was wearing blue jeans, an orange shirt and brown tekkies. “An inquest was registered for investigation. “The police appeal to the community if they have any information with regard to the incident to contact the investigating officer, Detective Lieutenant Zacharia Hlongoanae, on 082-466-7034,” she said.
Show fashion flair FROM the left are Kananelo Mosea, Nomthandazo Dhlikilili and Prudence Hosha during the recent New Horizon College Fashion Show. Photo: Supplied
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013 5
NEWS
Kids Carnival almost here
PHUUUUUUUUSH . . . A good Samaritan was caught on camera helping to push one of the traffic department vehicles of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality that had trouble starting in one of the street in Bohlokong, Bethlehem. Photo: Tladi Moloi
THE New Horizon College obtained great results during the recent National Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. They received four medals, three bronze and silver in the competition. The learners are from the left Theodrine Ngaka, Tselane Tladi, Relebohile Motaung and Retlametswe Losaba. Photo: Supplied
ONLY ten more days until Z PR’s first ever Kids Carnival and our budding entrepreneurs, talented superstars as well as Pageant Kings and Queens are getting ready for the Kids Carnival which takes place on 26 October. This year the prestigeous event will be held at the Engo Centre’s playground area (formerly the Children’s Home located at 43 Victoria Avenue, Willows). The Kids Carnival is open to all young entrepreneurs between the ages of 6 and 17 free of charge and any money made by young traders is theirs to keep. Additionally, there will be a Kids Got Talent competition, as well as a Little Miss Kids Carnival and Mister Strongman pageant. Lynne Landman, organiser for this great project, says the competition encourages children with great creative ideas to make loads of money and to learn about business in a fun, innovative way. Kids have the opportunity to sell their products at a bustling flea market, while they are being judged by a panel of judges. “The judges look for the best product, best stall and best sales team,” says Landman. “Thus far we have received loads of entries and we are very excited about the creativity of our children. The ideas we have received thus far is brilliant and includes a wide variety of products and services,” says Landman. For more information, call the Kids Carnival hotline at 051522-9574 or email kids@zpr.co.za, Monday to Friday, during office hours. Alternatively visit http:// zpr.co.za/carnival/.
SOME of the “Golden Girls” who will take part in Kids Got Talent 2013. Sitting is Tshidi Mahanele and Susie Davids and Rymonde Jafta standing. Photo: Supplied
6
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013 7
LEGAL NOTICES For the placement of your legal notices.
Contact Adelina at 058 303 5407/084 673 9986 or e-mail adelina.mokoena@volksblad.com 911/QWA/18 AUG10/JJ
CALVES AVAILABLE. MANAMANE A TENG RE REKISA DI KGOMO LE DINKU TSA MAFU LE MOKETE CLOETE 082°445°3396/ 082 773 8492.
LETSATSI FINANCE AND LOAN: Low on cash? Need to consolidate? Contact us today to see how we can help you. Qwa Qwa: 058°713°2387. Fax number 086°546°3205.
Need cash?
We can help! We have opened a new branch in Qwa Qwa for your convenience. Visit us today at the Bus Rank Building on Setai Street, Qwa Qwa. Contact us on 058°713°2247 or visit www.letsatsifinance.co.za today.
Jemina is looking for work: Cashier, cleaner, receptionist. Code 10, Gr. 12 and N4 - N5 . (071 955 3149/ 078 281 9850.
120: Please take notice that the MMUSAPELO CONSOLATION MAKGONGAONA intends to make application to the Commissioner of CIPC for the restoration of BLUE CRANE CATERING (2009/057551/23). Any objections to this application must be lodged with the Commissioner of CIPC within 21 days of the date of the publication thereof. CIPC, PO Box 429, Pretoria 0001.
8
EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
EASTERN FREE STATE
LUYOLO NOMANDELA fights for the ball with the Kaizer Chiefs player Siboniso Gaxa.
Photo: Supplied
Race is on for Knockout
} Tladi Moloi
THE veteran skipper of the Free State Stars, Paulos Masehe, wants to lift a trophy before he hangs up his boots. He is quite aware that Ea Lla Koto has had a good run in both the Telkom Knockout Cup and the Nedbank Cup. Masehe says the team has learnt a lot in the cup championships and they now know what they should do to march to the finals of the competition. This coming Sunday either Ea Lla
Koto or Amakhosi will be knocked out of the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals. The two teams will battle for a place in the semi-finals of the cup when they meet at the Charles Mopeli Stadium. Kick-off is at 15:00. The Bethlehem-based Stars advanced to the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout with a 2-0 home victory over AmaZulu. Danny Venter and Abdul-Basit Adam guided the team. Chiefs booked their place in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory away to the PSL rookies Polokwane City.
Ea Lla Koto’s best show in the Telkom Knockout era is reaching the semi-finals, a feat they achieved last season as well as in the 2007-’08 and 2008-’09 campaigns, while Amakhosi have lifted the trophy three times in the Telkom Knockout era, winning the competition in 2007 -’08, 2009 -’10 and 2010-’11. “We need to be consistent. We just need to take each and every game serious and make sure that we beat them. I am sure that this time we will manage to win the semi-finals and hopefully reach the finals,” he said. Masehe said he was confident that
they would win the cup should they reach the final stage of the tournament. Both Steve Komphela and Stuart Baxter will be watching the 90 minutes with hawk eyes – they know how important a win will be on the day. The two coaches are not strangers. They have worked together with the national team, Bafana Bafana. Komphela was the right-hand man to Baxter in 2004. The Soweto Giants hope for revenge as they were kicked out of the quarterfinals of the 2012 Nedbank Cup, with Stars grabbing a 1-0 win.
However, Stars will be motivated by the home turf advantage and the twelfth man in the form of the supporters. The ability of strikers to score goals will be key here. Should both teams fail to win the game in an open play, it will be decided on penalties. Stars will pin their hopes on the free scoring Adam, Venter, Luyolo Nomandela and Katlego Mashego while Knowledge Musona, Bernard Parker, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyana will be expected to do the job for Chiefs.