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WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2014
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No mercy
HEARTBROKEN: Tsholo Mopeli, the Mabolela Village chief, and the disabled Roseline Kupe watch as a bulldozer destroys a shack during the eviction at the Bokamoso Infor mal Settlement, a piece of land known as Remaining Extent on the farm Bluegumbosch near the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus. Photos: Tladi Moloi
VISIT the Express Eastern Free State website to watch a video and to see more photos of the eviction.
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NTSUBISE NAKEDI and her younger sister Ethel MopeliMakoanyane points at the house which was destroyed during a recent eviction at the "Bokamoso" an informal settlement, a land known as Remaining Extent on the farm Bluegumbosch near the University of the Free State’ Qwaqwa Campus. Photo: Tladi Moloi
ONE of the evicted residents is crying on the ground as they were evicted at the Boka moso an informal settlement, a land known as Remaining Extent on the farm Bluegum bosch near the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus.
Bokamoso residents evicted } Tladi Moloi
BOKAMOSO. – An uncertain future looms for residents of ironically-named ‘Bokamoso’ (the future), an informal settlement opposite the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa campus after they were evicted in the cold early hours of last Wednesday. As many as 10 police Nyala vehicles, around 60 police officers as well as members of the police’s tactical response team set about destroying shacks and evicting people from 06:00. As early as 03:00, when Express Eastern Free State arrived on the scene, residents had already started burning tyres and blockading roads to the settlement in a futile attempt to prevent the eviction from taking place. Iceburg, a private company, was hired by the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality to evict people who have illegally occupied that land for three years. They destroyed the shacks and a few well-built houses. Only the furniture was taken to one of the factories in Qwaqwa. Residents could only watch as a bulldozer set about destroying their shacks while others had ample time to dismantle their shacks themselves. The site was illegally sold to
the community by Tsholo Mopeli, the chief of Mabolela Village, back in 2011. It is alleged that they bought the sites for between R500 and R1 000. In 2012, the local municipality opened a case against the chief for illegally occupying the municipal land. The High Court later ruled in favour of the municipality but the chief appealed. He lost three times before he took the matter to the Constitutional Court. On 23 May a verdict was issued but it also came back with bad news for the chief. It reads as follow: “The Constitutional Court has considered this application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that the application should be dismissed as it bears no prospects of success. Other: Application dismissed.” Ntsubise Nakedi (62) said it was painful to witness his house of R80 000 which has been there for a year going down. “We have just voted for the ANC and this is how they reward us. I want my money back. I worked as a domestic worker. After taking my package I built this house with the assistance of my sister. “I built this house because the chief gave us hope that we would never leave the place,” she said Mpho Mohalajeng said the
“It was heart breaking to see residents’ houses being destroyed, the worst part is that they did not even give us notice to va cate the place. We are disappointed by the actions taken by our municipality” ANC was playing with them. “We have just wasted our votes. They waited for our votes knowing that in the end this is what they would do.Vusi Tshabalala (Maluti-a-Phofung mayor) and his team are disrespecting us,” he said. Mopeli, the chief of Mabolela Village, said it was heart breaking to see residents houses being destroyed. “The worse part is that they did not even give us notice to vacate the place. We are disappointed with the actions taken by our municipality,” he said. Mopeli also said that they would go back and decide on their next move because they believed they could not lose the land so easily. He told Express that they would take the matter to the Human Rights Commission on
Monday. On 15 November 2012, Bokamoso residents were advised to buy sites when the municipality announced that there were sites available for the community at the Phuthaditjhaba Extension 10. Mopeli said the site was expensive because most of the people were not working. “They said there were 208 sites and we had given away 780 sites on this land. The problem was if they had so few sites who would go there? “They wanted to sell the sites for R10 000 which was too much. My people only paid R500 to get the sites and that is why even people who were jobless could afford the sites,” he said. A media statement from the municipality on that matter reads as follow: With regards to the eviction of
illegal occupants at the remainder of the farm “Bluegumbosch 199”, the first eviction order was served on 12 July 2012. The process has since been postponed by appeal applications made in the name of Morena Tsholo Mopeli and others. It went through the High Court, Supreme Court and finally the Constitutional Court. The municipality further explained that on 23 May, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality activating the court order dated 12 July 2012. Through the office of the Executive Mayor, the following measures took place: 1. A meeting was held with the Mabolela Tribal Council. 2. A meeting was held with the illegal occupants of the said area. 3. Church leaders met with the illegal occupants. 4. Information was broadcast on local radio stations. 5. Notice boards were utilized for displaying the order and loud hailing also took place. All these measures were taken to encourage the illegal occupants to vacate the land. The municipality is, however, identifying and taking care of the destitute families. Transport and storage of goods was also provided by the municipality.
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Forensic process intrigues learners } Tladi Moloi FICKSBURG. – Members of the Ficksburg Police Station, together with members of the Bethlehem Forensic Services visited the gr. 12 learners of the Maralaneng Secondary School in the Meqheleng Township recently. The visit was aimed at teaching matriculants how the police go about in investigating a crime scene. WO Maki Likhethe of the unit said that they normally collected various forms of evidence from crime scenes which was then taken to laboratories to be analysed. “At the scene of a burglary fingerprints must be lifted using adhesive tape, fluorescent magnetic powder and a magnetic brush,” he said. The learners were amazed when fingerprints were lifted from paper that had been used in the classroom. “The biology section is responsible for the analysis of evidential material of biological origin like body fluids, human tissue and hair. “Blood and human tissue are mostly collected from murder scenes, hence the scene must not be contaminated by walking or removing anything that might be used to connect the suspect with the crime. “Semen, hair and finger nail scrapings originating from suspected rapists are collected from the rape victim, and for this reason we always urge victims not to wash themselves. Victims are reminded that they must report the rape
LETAMO MOHLABI and WO Maki Likhethe with gr. 12 learners of the Maralaneng Secondary School during the crime experiments demonstration.
Photo: Supplied
within 72 hours so that they can receive a tablet that prevents sexually transmitted diseases. “This section also does facial reconstruction and individualisation when the flesh of the deceased has decomposed beyond recognition or when a human skeleton needs to be identified,” Likhethe explained. He told the students that firearms confiscated from crime
scenes and illegal firearms found in the possession of suspects were usually submitted for ballistic analysis. “Each and every firearm leaves a special mark on the projectile after a shot has been fired. The mark will be used to link to the serial number of the firearm – this will also reveal the firearm licence holder. “Firearms must be kept inside a
locked safe that is securely fastened to a wall or be on the licence holder’s person, holstered at all times,” he said. He said police investigators always took note of health and safety measures at the scene of a crime. He asked the community to stay clear of crime scenes because they could be exposed to hazards like chemicals, biological material such as blood and explosives.
“Sometimes criminals may still be at the scene and they might harm someone arriving on the scene. “All physical evidence collected from the scenes are handed to police forensic scientists for analysis. They study and interpret it according to acceptable scientific principles to bring criminals to book and to protect the innocent from prosecution,” he concluded.
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MEC admits collapse
Task team assigned to assess extent of problems } Teboho Setena STRINGENT measures with a possible takeover by the national Department of Health regarding the management of finances appear to be the last resort to rescue the trouble-ridden Free State Department of Health. The prospect of placing the department under administration was further fuelled by Dr Benny Malakoane, the MEC for Health, who admitted the department was in a dire situation. After months of pretending the department’s situation was just a storm in a teacup, Malakoane came clean about the department having hit rock bottom at last Tuesday’s media conference in Bloemfontein. Express Goldfields & NFS reliably learnt that last Thursday a task team had visited the Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom on a fact-finding mission to assess the extent of the problems that have been paralysing service delivery. The task team pitched at the hospital unannounced and it was said to be visiting other hospitals that were in a similar situation. The visit further fuelled speculation of the possibility of the provincial Department of Health being placed under administration to rescue it from the doldrums. The problems at the Bongani Hospital, directly arising from the department’s financial woes, saw nurses down tools last month. Their action was in protest of what they deemed the depressive conditions they had been subjected to work under. The nurses had to be content
RIOT ACT: Dr Benny Malakoane, the MEC for Health, at last Tuesday’s media conference, explaining the Department of Health’s problems which have negatively impacted on service delivery across the Free State. Photo: Mlungisi Louw with working without basic items such as surgical gloves, needles and nappies. They complained bitterly about a shortage of doctors and nurses, a situation which forced them in turn to work long hours and overtime. As a result the Bongani Hospital only performs surgeries deemed as emergency cases,
leaving patients booked for surgery in pain and discomfort. This publication learnt that the nurses had not been paid for overtime duties since last year. Neither have their performance appraisal monies been paid. The DA revealed that the Department of Health had
entered the current financial year with a R700 million shortfall due to accruals from the previous financial year. Malakoane’s repeated request for an additional R4 billion bailout on top of its R8,1 billion allocation to function properly, was declined by Elsabe Rockman, the Free State MEC for Finance, when tabling the
provincial budget in March. “We reject this statement. Unfortunately, MEC Malakoane failed to admit that financial and administrative mismanagement were largely to blame for the current sad state of affairs and narrowed it down to funding constraints,” said Mariette Pittaway, the DA’s member of the provincial legislature. Pittaway said they had failed to justify Malakoane’s request for bailout. “Considering our shrinking provincial population, this surely can’t be the case. The Department of Health must restructure its administrative and financial management functions, bringing it in line with the Public Finance Management Act. “We can’t allow people in need of medical care to be shown away from hospitals due to the inability of the department to work smarter and deliver better,” she said. The DA was adamant that Malakoane table a concrete strategy to turn public health around, and put forward the following recommendations: ) to present a plan to address critical staff shortages and implement an effective recruitment and retention programme; ) to implement the recommendations of the Auditor General in the department’s entire procurement process to bring it in line with the Public Finance Management Act; ) to implement a clearly defined monitoring programme of all contracted service providers; and ) to recruit and appoint competent and suitably qualified individuals to the executive management of health facilities.
Cause for a big celebration
THOSE WERE THE DAYS: Reabetswe Tshabangu, Lerato Molelekwa and Fedile Mofokeng in their school uniform, commemorating 16 June. Photos: Supplied
SONTO MOLOI from the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa campus commemo rates 16 June.
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Should we still observe 16 June?
I HAVE no doubt in my mind that to many of us, especially, black South Africans – whose children, sisters and brothers died in the course to acquire social justice and freedom, that 16 June induces some sense of pain and suffering, which we can do without. There is an immeasurable amount of sorrow that is embedded in our minds to the extent that whenever this day comes, one is reminded of massacres and the oppression of our people at the hands of the apartheid regime. My purpose here is to explain a particular view which I hold, and which you have taken your precious time to read and perhaps attempt to better understand. However, I am in no way trying to persuade the reader here to share my personal beliefs nor do I attempt to attract you to join a particular school of thought. I should like you to remain intelligently critical and openminded and use your judgment with understanding, and of course, with the desire to discover. I should therefore like you to walk with me this journey into the present. One day a friend of mine, who is also a lawyer, shared with me his experience during the apartheid era. Humiliated He went on to tell me that during the 1980s, when he was a
My view
Advocate Themba Diba Founder of Great Minds Institute of South Africa young boy of approximately 10 to 12 years old, he happened to accidentally bump into a white woman on the street while he was walking from the shopping complex in town. She screamed very loudly to get the attention of her husband, who then came running from their car, which was parked in the parking lot, to the rescue of his lovely wife from what he perceived to be a serious attack on her. He grabbed my friend and hauled him by his clothes towards his wife shouting “Is it him, is it him?” My friend was trembling with fear, not knowing what was so bad about what he had done and the fear of not knowing what was going to happen to him even made him wet his pants. Tears fell from his eyes down to his cheeks as he defencelessly watched this big and strong man dragging him around in full view of the public. He practically begged him for his mercy. To the reader here this may sound like a less serious incident compared to other horrendous violations of human rights this
country has seen during those years. As he continued revealing this ordeal to me his eyes were filled with guilt, anger, sorrow and more. Lifetime scars I should believe, given the manner in which he narrated this story and the tone that he had used, that the pain he endured on that fateful day cannot be measured nor can it be erased in his mind at all. I have begged the reader here right from the beginning to be critically intelligent and be open-minded to my movement of thought and not to accept it without proper analysis so that we can together embark upon a mission of finding peace, harmony and tranquillity. In as much as we celebrate Youth Day, and of course I believe that it is right to do so, but equally, it brings back the painful memories of the past we had to endure. Do you see why I say that we should rethink if it serves us any purpose as a nation to continue commemorating days like these? Our government has made
‘In as much as we celebrate Youth Day, and of course I believe that it is right to do so, but equally, it brings back the painful memo ries of the past we had to endure.’ significant strides in ensuring that we all live together in peace and harmony through programmes such as “reconciliation and nation building” and so on. In my view, no matter how unpopular it may be, the only day which remains significant and relevant to our present day life and living is Freedom Day on 27 April. Chained to our past A great philosopher and spiritual teacher, Jiddu Krishnamurti, wrote in one of his books: “Without freedom from the past, there is no freedom at all, because the mind is never anew, fresh, innocent. It is only the fresh, innocent mind that is free.” Freedom has nothing to do with age, it has nothing to do with experience and it seems to me that the very essence of freedom lies in understanding the whole mechanism of habit, both conscious and unconscious.” We have over the years classified ourselves as belonging to a particular race, religion, political party, nationality, sect and so on. The moment we define our-
selves as belonging to a particular class or group, we separate ourselves from the rest of mankind. Therefore any difference of class, sect or group in any society will inevitably lead to conflict as it has always been the case in the past. As in the case of my friend here, we are always chained in our past – not physically, but in our minds. I am therefore persuaded that we can only consider ourselves completely free if our minds are free from the past. In conclusion, Jiddu Krishnamurti laments; “After all, this is our world, it is yours and mine – not to live as Greeks, or Americans or Indians or Russians but as human beings. But unfortunately we have national, economic and religious barriers and living behind these barriers we talk of brotherhood, we talk about love, peace and God.” To really know what love is we must abolish all these barriers, and each one of us must begin with himself. ) Adv. Temba Diba is founder of the Great Minds Institute of South Africa.
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Protea colours for canoeing stars } Tladi Moloi BETHLEHEM. – Hard work and a passion for canoeing has earned both Success Mahlaba and his mentor, Cyprian Ngidi, of the Dihlabeng Canoeing Club, Protea colours courtesy of the South African Canoeing Federation (SACF). Mahlaba and Ngidi were recently awarded their Protea blazers by the SACF. According to Ngidi, who is also the South African Canoeing head coach, the blazers were awarded to them following the good results they produced in the past two seasons. “We have managed to provide good results at the Free State championships, as well as the KwaZulu-Natal championships in the past two seasons. We also achieved good results in the South African championship that saw us being selected to go to Europe to compete in three world cups and a world championship,” Ngidi said. Ngidi, who is also an athlete, said in most of the races, especially the one in Africa, they had achieved first and second position for about two seasons. “That made us some of the best competitors in South Africa. Because of that background, we were selected to get these Protea blazers,” he said. He said the standard of canoeing in the Free State was very low, because they did not have more people participating in the sport. He said they would love to see people attending in numbers
TJHETANE MOFOKENG (middle), the executive mayor of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality, with Success Mahlaba (left) and Cyprian Ngidi of the Dihlabeng Canoeing Club. Photo: Tladi Moloi to promote this rare sport in the province. Mahlaba said he was very
happy with the award. He said he had been in the game for eight years and what made him love it
even more, was that the results were becoming visible. “Representing South Africa
outside the country was a moment I will never forget,” he said.
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‘Coach must be local’ FORMER PLATINUM STARS mentor Owen da Gama believes appointing a foreign coach to lead Bafana Bafana could prove detrimental to the development of South African football. Da Gama – who also turned out for Moroka Swallows during his playing days – says Safa’s intentions of maintaining a harmonised playing philosophy among junior national teams right up to senior level will only succeed with a local coach at the helm. Frenchman Hervé Renard and Shakes Mashaba are among the coaches who are being linked with the Bafana coaching post. Safa are expected to announce Gordon Igesund’s successor at the end of this month. “A local coach is ideal for Bafana. If you look at other African countries that have appointed foreign coaches, you will notice that they are not consistent in terms of
getting results,” Da Gama tells KickOff.com. Asked whether European coaches are not better equipped with modern coaching techniques than their local counterparts, Da Gama responds: “Do foreign coaches know more about our own players than locals? Are they familiar with our culture and the characteristics of South African football? I do not think so. “Foreign coaches are not super coaches. Local coaches, on the other hand, have a better background of our football. “What Safa must aim at is to expose as many local coaches as possible to the modern trends of football. “This will ensure that the knowledge they gain is used to the benefit of local football. We must see more coaches enrolling for courses in Germany, Italy and other countries,” adds the ex-Orlando Pirates tactician. ) Source: KickOff.com.
Donate blood and win hampers JUNE is Blood Donor Month and 3M, with the South African National Blood Service (SANBS), are encouraging everyone to donate blood. To honour this noble service, 3M is donating 70 000 specially designed plasters in support of this challenge. 3M and SANBS challenge you to donate blood this June and win. All you have to do is take a “selfie” of your arm after donating blood showing a specially designed 3M plaster. Use the image to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to also donate blood and be a 3M “selfie” hero on Facebook and Twitter (use #GiveBloodSelfie) and win weekly hampers. Safe blood saves lives. Every time you donate blood, you can help up to three or four individual recipients. Every day thousands of people would die if others did not donate their blood. By donating blood, you are giving someone something money cannot buy and science cannot create. Most of the components of blood used for transfusions have a short shelf life and maintaining a constant supply is a persistent problem. Thabo Ngema, junior product specialist, said: “3M is committed to actively contribute to sustainable development through environmental protection, social responsibility and economic progress.”
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Ngema added: “Each person, if everything is in order, usually donates about 480 ml of blood. We are hoping to collect 33,6 million ml of blood through this campaign.” You don’t need a special reason to give blood; you just need your own reason. If you can’t think of a good one, here are some reasons other people came up with: ) Some give blood because they are supporting a friend. ) Some know that a family member or a friend might need blood someday. ) Some believe it is the right thing to do. ) You will feel good knowing you have helped save a life. ) Regular blood donations help to keep the levels of iron in the body in check, especially in males. This has shown to reduce heart disease. ) A single blood donation helps you shed 650 kcal. ) High levels of iron have been implicated in certain cancers. Theoretically, donating blood frequently will reduce the risk of cancer. To make a difference and be part of this campaign please like our Facebook page “NexCare South Africa” and follow us on Twitter @nexcaresouthafrica. Don’t forget to hashtag #GiveBloodSelfie and mention @thesanbs in the tweet to win weekly prizes. Time to start giving and snapping!
SuperSport looking for sports stars ARE you good at sport – or is someone in your school or place of education good at sport? Are you motivating or training others to be good at sport? Are you getting people active at your school, community or gym? Express Eastern Free State (EFS) wants to hear from you. SuperSport’s Let’s Play identified the need among the youth to get more sport active. With this in mind SuperSport and Let’s Play, in association with Express EFS, have launched a special initiative. We want to find and give recognition to learners at either primary or high school level who excel in sport or who are helping others to be more active. The SuperSport’s Let’s Play Sports Star of the Month is a competition for anyone aged six to 18. You can nominate yourself or be nominated by a friend or any teacher, lecturer or coach at your school or place of education. From all the entries received each month, one player will be chosen as the SuperSport Let’s Play Sports Star of the Month. The monthly winner will receive a Let’s Play hamper filled with goodies. At the end of the year one player from all the monthly winners will be chosen as the SuperSport Let’s Play Sports Star of the Year. Send your nomination today (nominations received before the 20th of every
GENERAL & HOME SERVICES
Vacancies FREE STATE AND WEST WITS OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR: CASE MANAGER JOB GRADING: C-UPPER SECTION: PHC BEATRIX SOUTH, PHC BEATRIX WEST, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH CENTRES AND PHC CENTRES WEST WITS REGION Candidates must be declared medically fit for the position and the environment, as determined by the risk-based medical examination at the relevant Sibanye Gold Occupational Health Centre. Pre-screening and psychometric evaluation may form part of the selection process. Short-listed candidates will be requested to attend a panel interview. Applicants who receive no response to their applications within 14 days may consider their application for the position to be unsuccessful.
Applicants must be registered with the South African Nursing Council as a Professional Nurse, have applied knowledge of BHF, ICD 10, CPT 4 Coding and Per Diems and be computer literate in the Microsoft Office package (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint) and Proclin. In-depth clinical knowledge and experience with specific reference to medical scheme management and protocols, broad-based clinical experience and a strong interest in case management would be advantageous, along with good negotiating, systems and above-average interpersonal skills with the ability to converse with all levels of management and the medical fraternity. It will count in the candidate’s favour to have established knowledge with medical schemes, the ability to work independently and under pressure in a stressful environment and case management-specific experience. The ideal candidate must be highly analytical, motivated and self-driven.
month will be included in that month’s selection. Nominations received after the 20th of every month will be carried over to the next month’s selection). Your nomination must include your name, age and a short paragraph (less than 200 words) on what you have achieved, as well as your contact details. You can email your nomination to supersport@zpr.co.za or send a fax to 086-552-4922. For more information call Lynne or Juanré at Z PR on 051-522-9574.
Duties and responsibilities include: • Case management and utilisation review • Postmortem and deaths management • Clinical auditing of files and adherence to protocols • Chronic disease management • Defaulter management • Occupational injuries management • Local hospital board management • Ill health retirement management • Medical incapacitation management • Liaising with external funders, stakeholders, human capital and safety officials • Statistical analysis and reporting of case costs, outcomes and trends. Interested parties should submit a Curriculum Vitae to the following regions: Free State Region: E-mail: Vuyani.jabuza@sibanyegold.co.za or fax: 086 520 2329, for attention: Vuyani Jabuza West Wits Region: E-mail: Patrick.tsabedze@sibanyegold.co.za or fax: 086 520 7426, for attention: Patrick Tsabedze. Closing date: 24 June 2014
Sibanye Gold is committed to the achievement and maintenance of diversity and equity in employment www.humanjobs.co.za
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EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2014
Visit the Express Eastern Free State Facebook page and tell us which team you will be supporting throughout the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
EASTERN FREE STATE
For more sports news and photos go to www.express-news.co.za
ON THE BALL: Qolane Ratolo, FK FC player on the ball, with Rampa Rantai running next to him during their league clash against Badoroang FC.
Photo: Tladi Moloi
FK FC taking case to Safa } Tladi Moloi SENEKAL. – The FK Football Club continues to fight the championship on the table while Free State Stars Development are uncertain of their future. The battle continues and the FK management believes the team will be victorious and go all the way to represent the Safa Thabo Mofutsanyana SAB Regional League in this year’s promotional play-offs. As the log table stands, Stars are the stream B winners with 39 points after 18 games and FK are second with 38 points in 17 games. They only need three points to become the champions in that stream. The winner will have to play against the
winner in stream A, which has been confirmed as Dla2 FC, and will then represent the Thabo Mofutsanyana District in the promotional play-offs. The FK Football Club was accused of fielding four u.21 players instead of the required five in their game against Manchester United from Ladybrand earlier this year. The team appeared before the league disciplinary committee in March and they were found guilty and docked three points. They appealed the verdict. Express Eastern Free State learnt that the case had been heard last week Sunday but that team management was still not happy with the outcome and were planning to take the matter to Safa.
Stars and Dla2, who are at the top of their respective log tables, will, therefore, have to wait for the outcome of the case. Until then nothing can be done. However, the two teams are still training hard in preparation for the play-offs. The winners in this region will join the winners of Lejweleputswa, Xhariep, Fezile Dabi and the Mangaung Metro in battling it out as the provincial champions, but the two teams that will go through to the final stage of the contest will automatically be promoted to the Safa Second Division for next season. France Qamakoane, FK chairman, confirmed they had appealed the regional ruling because they had felt there had been no justice.
“Those people are telling us about an amendment to a rule that we know nothing about. They have a copy of it, but never gave it to the teams. We spoke to the team to check if they had something like that but they did not,” he said. Qamakoane said Pinana Ramotala had been u.21 at the time he had been fielded in that league game. “He was a few months away from turning 22,” he said. He said the team would still play in tournaments in preparation for the upcoming play-offs. Dimakotso Mokoena, the league coordinator, said she was not in a position to comment on the matter.