Sekhukhune Dispatch 11 July 2014

Friday 11 July 2014Year 5 131st Edition Tel: 013 262 4416

The Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality willwelcome new Mayor Ms Julia Mathebe afterWendy Matemane was sacked by the ANCLimpopo Provincial Executive Committee. Theparty made the decision to appoint Mathebefollowing its special Provincial Executive Com-mittee (PEC) meeting on Monday 30 June.Another Mayor who was fired in Greater TubatseLocal Municipality, Sekhukhune District MrNkosi Mahlake will be replaced by the MrRalepane Mammekwa. The Limpopo ANC PECtook a decision to reinstate Mammekwa to hisprevious position as the former Mayor of GreaterTubatse Local Municipality in the special PECmeeting.The party alleged that Matemane, Mahlake andthe other two Mayors, Lawrence Mapoulo ofthe Capricorn District and Joshua Matlou of theMopani District were underperforming, whilenewspaper reports alleged that they werealigned to the Economic Freedom Fighters andits leader Julius Malema. The ANCYL in EliasMotsoaledi Sub-Region welcomes the appoint-ment Julia Mathebe as the Mayor of EliasMotsoaledi Local Municipality.“As the ANC PEC appointed the new Mayor wetherefore view this as a move to strengthenlocal government in general. Under the leader-ship of the previous Mayor, Elias MotsoalediLocal Municipality have been under siege forquite some time,” said the ANC Youth LeagueElias Motsoaledi Sub-Region ChairpersonBongani Nkonyana.He went on and said: “We expect nothing butthe highest level of commitment from the newMayor. We wish to remind her of the thousandsof young people all over our municipality who've

ANC Limpopo to replacerecalled Mayors

Mme. Julia Mathebe defectedfrom the ANC some time ago, andjoined up with COPE. In view ofthe leadership battle that existedwithin COPE, and the writing onthe wall, that it as a consequenceof this was losing support, shethen deflecting once again fromCOPE to rejoin the ANC. If that isnot jumping ship, or setting yoursails to the wind at the time, onemust be blind. To add insult toinjury Mme. Julia Mathebe. wasapparently also directly and orindirectly involved and or asso-ciated with a Ponzi scheme withinMoutse in which citizens losthundreds of thousands of Randsas a consequence. This is of no

Whois she?

A little bit of backgroundabout the new mayor.

placed their hopes on her shoulders as she inspires hope to them, asyoung people we do nothing but live to hope and expect the better outof her. In that way, we congratulate her in the new position.”Nkonyana concluded: “Our task as a league of the ANC is to abide bythe decisions and authorities of the ANC. As an integral part of the ANC,our task remains that of defending this decision. The experience Cllr Juliahas acquired throughout the years she spent within the structures of theANC and also within the system of local government as PR Councillorwill assist her to carry out her new responsibilities.”The Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality Communications Manager MrShakes Mokganyetji told the Dispatch that an official announcement ofthe new Mayor will be made after the council resolution.“We are still waiting for the council meeting to formally announce thenew Mayor. According to the ANC Julia Mathebe will be the new Mayorof Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality. We will officially make anannouncement after the council resolution that will be held soon in themunicipality,” he said.

good testimonial to her.Amazingly the candidate of preference by the REC Sekhukhune thatsubmitted the names, appear to be Mme. Julia Mathebe and this is onceagain a situation of either cadre, factionalism, cronyism, family, and or‘reward’ deployment which in no way represents the most qualified,experienced and or equipped person to hold down the position and inline thereof contribute to good management, governance and servicedelivery that are so critically required to be delivered in the SekhukhuneRegion.

The new mayor of Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality, Mayor MsJulia Mathebe (left) shaking hands with Cllr Thoko Mahlangu.

2 DISPATCH FRIDAY 11 JULY 2014

A 23 years old male suspect is detained atMarble Hall SAPS for theft of electric cables,the police said. The suspect was arrested onFriday 27 June at Keerom Village in MoutseWest.According to Constable Lethunya Mmuroafrom Marble Hall SAPS, the suspect enteredinto one of the yards in Keerom Village and cutthe 14.2 meters electricity cable between thehouse and pole.Mmuroa added that the owner of the house wasasleep when she suddenly noticed the lightsswitching off. She then heard the footstepsoutside the house and immediately shoutedcommunity members for help.The community traced the suspect and caughthim at the nearby bus stop in the village. Theyapprehended him and took him to the MoutseSatellite Police Station.The suspect was charged with theft and he willappear in Moutse Magistrate’s Court soon.Police are busy with investigations.

Cable thiefapprehended

bycommunity

Constable Eric Babili from the Moutse Satellite PoliceStation with the suspects, shortly after he was appre-hended by the community.

Two males named Amos Phahlamohlaka (20) and Emanuel Maelane (30)were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment each at GroblersdalRegional Court on Monday 7 July. The pair was found guilty for casesof rape and assault with grievous bodily harm (GBH).On the night of Sunday 2 October 2011, the two assaulted and raped a26 year old woman in Leeuwfontein Village near Marble Hall.“The victim was accompanied by her brother on her way home from alocal tavern when the two attacked them. They threatened the victim’sbrother with a knife and he ran away.One of the men then grabbed, assaulted and stabbed the woman with ascrew driver while the other one was chasing her brother. Upon thearrival of the second man, they took her inside the bush where they rapedher in concession without using a condom,” said Constable LethunyaMmuroa of the Marble Hall SAPS.He added that the victim reported the matter to Marble Hall SAPS whereshe was taken to Groblersdal Hospital for medical treatment and physicalevidence.The police immediately started the investigations and arrested thesuspects on 4 October 2011 in Leeuwfontein. They were taken to hospitalfor evidence and they were positively linked to the rape case. Theyproposed bail applications for several times but they were denied untilthey were both sentenced to twenty years behind bars.The Station commander of Marble Hall SAPS Lieutenant KateMaswangwanye welcomed the sentence. She discouraged to stopmoving around especially at night in places that are not safe. Sheencouraged the community to report crime to the police immediately andsupply the police with full information.

20 Years forrape

A farmer was fatally wounded in a robbery on his farm in Bloempoortbetween Groblersdal and Dennilton in the early hours of Monday 7 Julythe police said.According to Warrant Officer Stanley Magaela of the Groblersdal SAPS,three robbers broke into the farmhouse through a bathroom windowaround 4:30 am, after poisoning the farmer's two dogs.He said the Farmer, Mr Rudolph Pretorius (54) was shot in the face andhis wife Hannelie was assaulted with a firearm but she did not sustainany serious injuries. The robbers demanded keys to the safe and stolejewellery and firearms. It was unclear whether anything else was stolen.Pretorius was rushed to Groblersdal Hospital, but it was decided heshould be transferred to another hospital in Pretoria. The victim wastaken by a helicopter but died while on the way to the second hospital.No one had been arrested and investigation is underway.AfriForum on Monday said it would analyse the local police station'sresources.

Groblersdalfarmer killed

According to community members,police in this area have a gigantic taskat hand as they have a serious short-age in manpower, vehicles and re-sources, the civil rights organisation'shead of community safety, Ian Cameronsaid in a statement. He said supportand maintenance for local police sta-tions was key to rural safety.AfriForum said the SA Human RightsCommission recently agreed to hold ahearing about farm attacks and whetherpolice were doing enough to addressthese crimes.

Rudolph Pretorius whowas shot in the earlyhours of Monday 7 July

DISPATCH FRIDAY 11 JULY 2014 3


More Moutse residents are affected by the RDP housing scan-dals after some of the beneficiaries are still waiting for theirhouses since 2004. Some residents informed the Dispatch thatthey started losing hope in government after waiting for theirapproved RDP houses for 10 years.According to community members, some of the RDP houseshave been built in OR Tambo just behind the stadium. Thecommunity claims that the area is still privately owned and theywere surprised when the construction of the RDP houses wastaking place there. There are suspicions by the community thatsome of the RDP houses were sold to other community membersaround Moutse.A concerned community member Chris Malope said he made aneffort of trying to assist the affected community but the respon-sible councillors failed him.“I arranged a couple of meetings with them but they failed tocome. It touched me to see some of the community members inparticular senior citizens living in collapsing old mud houses. The

Suspicions of RDP housesselling in OR Tambo

Some of the RDP houses that were build in OR TamboVillage that the community alleged that they were sold asthe place is not formalized.

Mrs Joyce Mahlangu in front of her old collapsing housethat was built by her husband with cheap materials in the1960’s.

Agnes Msizastanding in frontof her mother’shouse. Thehouse is collaps-ing and the con-tractor tookmeasurementsbut he did not ar-rive to build thehouse until thebeneficiary diedin December.

The Council of Makhuduthamaga Municipal-ity has noted and accepted the resignation ofthree members of the Executive Committee.According to the Communications Manager inMakhuduthamaga Local Municipality MrLemson Moropjane, the formers EXCO Coun-cillors, Cllr Emily Mndebele, Cllr HudsonMasemola and Cllr Abel Mampane handedtheir resignation letters to the MakhuduthamagaLocal Municipality Council.“The three Cllrs will now remain as PR Council-lors. Subsequently, the council has unani-mously elected three councillors to fill in thevacancies. Cllr Maina Bahula, CllrKgwediebotse David Chego and Cllr SeponkaneNkadimeng were elected. The Mayor ofMakhuduthamaga Cllr Alfred Matlala has sincecongratulated the new members of the Execu-tive Committee and wished those vacating wellin their future responsibilities,” said Moropjane.

Mrs Zikhali from Sgoga Section in Elandsdoorn said she isnow using sheets to cover the other portions of hercollapsing house as the government fails to build her aRDP house.

community is suffering as they applied and were granted housesthat were never built,” he said.An affected community member Mrs Joyce Mahlangu (60) fromElandsdoorn, said her house was approved in 2004. She said shewas told by then councillor Mr Sailor Mtshweni that her house willbe built soon. She re-applied in 203 and was again told that thehouse will be built soon.Another community member Ms Agnes Msiza, told the Dispatchthat her mother died last year December still waiting for herapproved RDP house. She said her mother applied for a RDPhouse in 2004 and they were also told that it was approved.Mrs Zikhali from Sgoga Section in Elandsdoorn said she appliedfor a RDP house in 2004 and it was never built. She said she hasbeen in Elendsdoorn since 1962 but she is still living in the oldmudded house.Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality Ward 11 Councillor AliMaloba was not reached for comment as he wasn’t answeringboth his cell phones.

ThreeMakhuduthamagaEXCO members

resigned

A 30 year old woman was found hanging in thebushes at Ga-Matlala Lehwelere Village inMoutse. According to a community memberwho wishes to remain anonymous, the de-ceased was spotted by a man who was herdingcattle on Tuesday 1 July in the afternoons.“After spotting the deceased, the man decidedto keep quite fearing to be victimized by thecommunity or even arrested by the police. Hethen broke the silence on Sunday 6 July whenhe informed community members about hisgruesome discovery,” he said.He added that after receiving the news, thedeceased family informed the police and a searchwas started immediately. As it was already dark,the search was stopped and it started again onMonday morning.He said that the police managed to locate thedeceased’s body in the morning. She was iden-tified as a Ga-Matlala Lehwelere residents.“According to the family, the deceased wasalways a frustrated person threatening to com-mit suicide. After leaving home, the familydidn’t take her seriously when she was threat-ening to take her life until she was found deadin the bushes,” he said.The deceased’s family refused to speak to theDispatch saying that they are still shocked andtraumatized by the incident. They also refusedthat the name of the victim should be publishedas this is still a sensitive issue to them.An inquest docket was opened at DenniltonSAPS and investigations continue.

Woman hangedin Ga-Matlala

bushes


The community of Ga-Matlala Lehwelere is still in shock after a 50 year old male named BoldBoshielo was found dead in his shack on Monday 30 July. According to community members,the deceased was found by his colleagues on Monday morning when they went to pick himup for work.“He was found sitting on the couch with multiple stab wounds all over his body. We are nowshocked because crimes of this nature are not normal in our area,” said one of the communitymembers.He further said that the community managed to give the description of the suspect to the policeand he fled to Pretoria on Monday after the deceased’s body was discovered.“He later came back and handed himself to the Dennilton Police on Wednesday 2 July. Werealized that we are no longer safe here because criminals are now starting to attack thecommunity in their houses. I wish the court can act swiftly on the matter to spread the messageto other criminals in order to stop their evil behaviour,” he said.The Dennilton SAPS could not be reached for comment about the matter.

Fraudulent certificates andpassports confiscated

A 45 years old male suspect named CarlosMabote is arrested for fraud and possessionof fraudulent birth certificates and pass-ports. The suspect was arrested on Wednes-day 2 July, along the streets in Marble Halltown. According to Constable LethunyaMmuroa of Marble Hall SAPS, the policereceived the information from communitymembers about the suspect who was deliv-ering fraudulent documents to foreigners

Man found with multiplestab wounds

around Marble Hall Town.The police arrested the suspect. He wasfound in possession of fraudulent docu-ments. The documents were taken to theDepartment of Home Affairs in Groblersdalfor verification and it was certified that thosedocuments were fake. He appeared beforeGroblersdal Magistrate’s Court on Thurs-day 3 July for fraud. He will appear againsoon for bail application.

The Marble Hall Police arrested two male sus-pects for robbery on the night of Saturday 5July. According to Constable LethunyaMmuroa of Marble Hall SAPS, the suspectsallegedly robbed and assaulted a 59 years oldman of cash and his belongings when he washitch-hiking on the R573 road between MarbleHall and Siyabuswa. Mmuroa added that the victim was along theroad requesting lifts to Tweefontein Villagenear Kwa-Mhlanga.“A green Audi with two men inside stoppedand offered him a lift. When they reachedToitskraal Farms the driver stopped the car andtold the victim to get out of his vehicle.

Two robbers arrested afterfailing to elude the police

They searched him and took his cash and cellphone before assaulting him. He was left alongthe road and they drove towards Siyabuswa.After the incident the victim saw a police van,he stopped it and told the police about hisrobbery,” said Mmuroa. He further said that the police caught thesuspects and on the N11 Road between MarbleHall and Roedtan. The police searched thesuspects and discovered the victim’s items.They were arrested for robbery and will appearbefore Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court soon.Police encouraged people to use public trans-port when they are going to their respectiveplaces.

A bank employee accused of using an elderly man's bank card to withdraw money without hisconsent was arrested in Marble Hall on Wednesday 2 July, the police said.According to the Marble Hall Police Spokesperson Constable Lethunya Mmuroa, the 34 year oldwoman named Karin van der Westhuizen allegedly withdrew about R40 000-00 between Marchand June this year without the 84 year old victim’s consent.The woman helped the 84 year old man in March. She issued a bank card for him and kept it forherself.The man complained about the missing money to the bank and the woman was arrested after aninternal investigation.She appeared before the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court on Friday 4 July and was granted a R5000-00 bail. The case was postponed to Tuesday 15 July. An investigation continues.

Bank employee arrested forfraud


Continuing to support young people in theirvillage, Mpheleng Youth Development Forum(MYDF) held a schools choral choirs competi-tion at the MYDF Center.The organization has rendered services toyoung people in Mpheleng Village and sur-rounding areas. This includes delinquencyprevention services, teenage pregnancy pre-vention, schools and tertiary drop-out preven-tion, establishment of youth centers and clubs,job programs for young people, including boyscouts, girl scouts, big brothers and big sisters.

Choir competition forprimary schools

The competition was organized at the MYDF Centre in Mpheleng Villagewith three primary schools namely Ramonokoane Primary, RahlaganePrimary and Magate Leope Primary.The Ward 5 Councillor Mr Thabo Mmutle, educators, learners, localartists and the community came in numbers to grace the event.The three schools performed three songs each under the judgement oftwo local artists Pastor Staff Mahlangu and Mr Kabelo Moganyetji.Rahlagane Primary School managed to charm the judges to obtainposition 1 when singing the sweetest sounds of choral music that pulledattention of many attendees. They were awarded a trophy and acertificate of appreciation. Ramonokoane Primary School came secondand gets a trophy and a certificate of appreciation. Magate Leope PrimarySchool came third but they never leave empty handed as they were alsoawarded a certificate of appreciation from the judges and organizers.Wrapping up the event, MYDF coordinator Mr Kholofelo Motau saidthat was their first choral choir competition and it was success. He saidthey aim doing it every year to empower young people in primary levelwith singing skills and possibilities. People were entertained by localmusicians such as Lefono, Nonyane Tse Pedi, Billy Balaster, Christo,Master and the others.

Community members, learners and educators came innumbers to fill the Mpheleng Young Development Centreduring the choral choir competition.

The winning school, Rahlagane Pri-mary educators and learners celebrat-ing with the trophy.

The construction of the new soccer stadium at Ga-Masemola Village nearJane Furse is near completion. According to Mr Lemson Moropjane,Communications Manager at Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality, thestadium will not only benefit Ga-Masemola community members, it willalso cater residents from the surrounding village in the municipality.Situated at Ga-Masemola, Apel Cross, the stadium is expected to becompleted before the end of this financial year. “This is part of themunicipal programme to develop communities with provision of facili-ties. The stadium boosts facilities such as grand stands, change rooms,VIP toilets, fencing, kiosk, flood light with electrical connections, park-ing area, water supply and irrigation,” he said. A community member Ellof

Soccer stadium nearcompletion

Phahlamohlaka saidthe stadium will alsohelp revive the loveand spirit of playingsoccer amongstyoung people in thevillages. He said it willalso assist in remov-ing young peoplefrom the streets anddecrease the rate ofcrime committed bymainly youth aroundthe area.“We are thankful anddelighted that finallywe are going to havefacilities such as thesein our community.This will be a boost inrestoring the love ofsports to young peo-ple around our area asmost are willing to goback on the field toparticipate in sportsagain,” he said.

The Ga-Masemola Stadium grandstands of the soccer field.


The Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts andCulture held provincial Golden Games for eld-erly people. The sporting event was organizedin conjunction with the Makhuduthamaga Lo-cal Municipality, Sekhukhune District.The Golden Games, that saw hundreds of eld-erly people coming from the different parts ofLimpopo Province, were organized at PhokoaneSports Complex near Jane Furse.The purpose of the games, which takes place indifferent locations of Limpopo Province annu-ally, was to celebrate active aging throughsport.The Games are also designed to ensure thatolder persons are well taken care of, supportedand participate in sporting activities to promotea healthy lifestyle. The target group is olderpersons from the age of 60 and above fromcommunity based facilities such as servicecentres and hubs.When the games started at 09:00, elderly peopletook part in duck walk, passing of the ball, 100mrun, 200m run, 4 x 100m relay, rugby ball throw,jukskei, ball pass and kick, ball relay for bothmales and females respectively. Pegging washing pegs for wheel chair boundmales and females was also part of the games.Dress-up race, 400m run, 500m brisk walk, 800mrun, goal shooting, ring the stick and 400m relaysprint were also performed in the event.

Sekhukhune District hostsProvincial Golden Games

From emergingto commercial

farmersThe Makhuduthamaga Tomato Growers Asso-ciation (MTGA) has grown from emerging farm-ers to commercial farmers. The associationstarted growing tomatoes selling to local busi-nesses and people. After the association re-ceived a R400 000-00 funding from theMakhuduthamaga Local Municipality to im-prove their farming activities, they started togrow in leaps and bounds while also expandingtheir business to other areas.For poverty alleviation, the association is cur-rently employed about hundred permanentemployees around the Makhuduthamaga area.They also employ two hundred and fifty sea-sonal workers during harvesting period.They plough all sorts of vegetables and toma-toes as their main crop. They expanded to otherareas and they sell their products to both pro-vincial and national markets. They are also amajor shareholder of the tomato processingfactory called Norjax in Tzaneen.

Some elderly people taking part in 200m running atPhokoane Village near Jane Furse.

Elderly people also participated in ball passing and shoot-ing as the other sporting codes designed for the day.

Juskei was one of the sporting codesperformed by the elderly during theLimpopo Golden Games in PhokoaneSports Complex.

Sekhukhune Dispatch 11 July 2014

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Transcript of Sekhukhune Dispatch 11 July 2014