Month: August 2022

DURBAN – Yesterday, police officers from the Organised Crime Investigation and Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant on a suspected drug laboratory in Ngudwini, which is under the Sundumbili policing precinct.

The police officers stormed the premises and discovered that the suspects had fled leaving the machines running. A large quantity of raw materials suspected to be used in the manufacture of drugs as well as tablets suspected to mandrax were found on the scene. Packing materials, two electrical grinding machines, a drying oven, an electric compressing machine, a truck with a secret compartment as well as other equipment were also discovered. The drugs and raw materials are estimated to be valued at millions of rands.

“We are very pleased with this breakthrough as this means that a large consignment of this drugs will be removed of our streets. The investigation will be handed over to the Hawks and we hope that the perpetrators will be brought to book,” said Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi.

Source: South African Police Service

POTCHEFSTROOM - The police in Setlagole request the community’s assistance in identifying a deceased man, found at about 09:00 on Wednesday, 27 July 2022, by a herdsman on a farm near Setlagole Village, along Pappiesvlakte road.

Due to the body’s state of decomposition, it is suspected that the man could have died approximately three or four months ago. The deceased is estimated to be between the ages of 35 and 40. He was wearing a blue overall trouser. Furthermore, a red T-shirt was found hanging from a tree next to the body.

The police request anyone with information that can assist in the investigation to contact the Investigating Officer, Constable Calvin Anthony on 067 ?761 4525 or call the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Stop on ??08600 10111. Anonymous tip-offs can also be communicated via the My SAPS App from smart phones.

Source: South African Police Service

Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, says the District Development Model (DDM) is critical to the seamless and speedy delivery of services to communities.

Gungubele was speaking at the Sedibeng DDM Presidential Imbizo – led by President Cyril Ramaphosa – which kicked off on Friday morning at the Sharpeville Cricket grounds in Gauteng.

He explained that early into his tenure in the highest office, President Ramaphosa recognised the need for all three spheres of government to work together to ensure seamless delivery of services.

“It became clear to the President that all those partaking in delivery must communicate…there’s seamlessness [and] there are well informed expectations amongst them.

“When there is seamlessness, when we work together, the projects are delivered in a speedier manner, in a less costly manner [and] in a more accountable manner. The President took a view that all spheres of government… [must] come and work together in a seamless way [and] work together with society, business labour and all stakeholders in a seamless way. [That is the] District Development Model,” Gungubele said.

Cabinet adopted the DDM in August 2019. It is an integrated planning model for cooperative governance which seeks to be a new integrated, district-based, service delivery approach aimed at fast-tracking service delivery. It also seeks to ensure that municipalities are adequately supported and resourced to carry out their mandate.

The Minister acknowledged that government has identified several service delivery and bulk infrastructure problems in the Sedibeng District that must be addressed urgently.

“There’s a lot of painful things that we have witnessed [in Sedibeng], there are also a lot of good things that we have come across. The President is here…so that if there are gaps we go back and relevant leaders come back to correct those.”

Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the economy of the area needs to be reignited and that the provincial government has plans to ensure that it receives that boost.

“We want the President and his cabinet to know that the economy of the Vaal is in serious trouble. We need national government – not just the province – to help us revive and rebuild this economy. The unemployment [rate] in Sedibeng is 64%. This economy of the Vaal needs decisive regeneration and decisive intervention.

“We have a team working with national government. The first thing we are working on is economic regeneration of the Vaal.

“We want the Vaal to be better than it was 60 years ago. We are building the Vaal Special Economic Zone. We already have seven projects. We had an investment conference here in the Vaal last year…[businesses] pledged R45 billion investment on condition that certain things are done. The Vaal Special Economic Zone is a big economic regeneration project for this area of the Vaal,” Makhura said.

Meanwhile, Sedibeng District Mayor Lerato Maloka described the DDM Presidential Imbizo as a key step in the right direction for the district and its local municipalities.

“This is a day that we have been waiting for with great excitement and anticipation. It is a great day for the community for Sedibeng because it is a day where we will witness democracy in action whereby there are no reservations to interaction between the people and their government.

“I’m reminded of the slogan ‘Nothing about us without us’. This is a slogan that has been used for nearly 500 years to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without a full direct participation by…groups affected by this policy. This together with active citizen participation are the centre of the democratic project,” Maloka said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has called on women appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive council, to use their new positions to improve the conditions in which KZN women live under.

The call comes after the appointment of six women as members of executive council (MECs) by the newly appointed Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

The MECs are Nomagugu Simelane for Health, Nonhlanhla Khoza for Social Development, Neliswa Nkonyeni for Finance, Bongi Sithole-Moloi for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mbali Fraser for Education, and Amanda Mapena for Sports and Culture.

Committee Chairperson, Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba commended the appointment of the six and called on them to ensure that value is added to government strategies to address inequality, poverty, unemployment and gender-based violence (GBV).

“These appointments were made on the basis of the women’s track records on service delivery and their commitments to the Premier’s call to change the lives of the people of KZN.

“These women are not new to positions of this nature and to the responsibility of serving the people. The committee therefore trusts that they will rise to this new occasion,” Ncube-Ndaba said.

She added that the committee is always available to provide any support it can within its mandate.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Residents of the Sedibeng District Municipality have highlighted housing, sewerage, poor service delivery and unemployment as some of the key areas that government should urgently address to improve their lives.

The residents were expressing their views at the District Development Model Presidential Imbizo led by President Ramaphosa at the Sharpeville Cricket Grounds in Gauteng, on Friday.

Responding to questions and challenges raised by the residents, President Ramaphosa said although the district and the country as a whole faces challenges, government is determined to resolve these.

“As a country we have many challenges but…much as we all have challenges, these challenges are being addressed….one by one. The one challenge that really stood out…was the sewerage that was just flowing into the Vaal river. I’m glad to hear that…this challenge of sewerage, of sanitation is being addressed on an ongoing basis and Minister [of Water Senzo] Mchunu…is addressing this,” he said.

Turning to the high unemployment rate in the district – which stands at some 64% - the President told the gathering that the Vaal Special Economic Zone is pivotal to the revitalisation of industry and consequently more employment of people in Sedibeng.

“By far unemployment is the biggest challenge. The Gauteng government has ambitious plans to revitalise Sedibeng by developing agriculture, by developing logistics, tourism and industries as well. These plans are pivoted around the Vaal SEZ which we have heard has the potential of creating up to 170 000 jobs over the next few years.

“That is a serious number of jobs that will be created right here in Sedibeng,” he said.

On housing, President Ramaphosa said the Human Settlements Department – which has some seven mega projects in the area – will look into complaints heard from people living in hostels.

“I believe that from housing, the Minister [of Human Settlements Mamoloko] Kubayi has conceded that over many years, we have not paid attention to our hostels. Many of our people still live in hostels and we have basically neglected them. I’d like to see us go to those hostels and revamp them and even go to those apartments where there is water and sewerage and revamp them,” he said.

The President was firm with his assessment of service delivery not only in the Sedibeng District but in local municipalities throughout the country.

“Our municipalities must pay attention to what needs to be done so that our people live with dignity. We want to see an improvement in the lives of our people from a service delivery point of view from now on. We cannot, in this place which used to be the industrial hub of the country, allow our people to live in squalor; in a dirty place,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President assured the community that their issues will not be put on the back burner at the end of the launch and said the DDM approach assures that these challenges are properly addressed.

“[The DDM] is a break with the past that we have had and here at local level, at district level, it is aimed at making sure that our communities who have felt neglected in the past are part of the whole process of resolving the challenges as they are properly and fully consulted.

“Ministers…keep going back to those areas where there are issues they have to address. This goes to show that we treat these types of engagements with you in this type of Imbizo very seriously and we want to be able to follow up on the issues that you have raised,” President Ramaphosa said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The skills Anna Kgaretswe has acquired is turning around the fortunes of her community.

A Jojo tank and vegetable tunnels dot Kgaretswe’s yard in Majakaneng, in the North West, which she has converted into a vegetable farm for the benefit of both her family and community.

The 49-year-old is one of the beneficiaries of the Sibanye-Stillwater Marikana Renewal initiative, implemented by SocioTech and Umsizi.

SocioTech and Umsizi are service providers who have a long-standing and fruitful relationship of cutting-edge innovation in the Southern African socio-economic developmental landscape, leading to the empowerment of thousands of households.

Through her participation in SocioTech’s Broad-Based Livelihoods (BBL) programme, which has empowered many rural communities with sustainable socio-economic development options, Kgaretswe has been able to grow her business and transfer skills to others.

The BBL strategies (BBL MyFood, BBL MyBusiness and BBL MyFuture) to stimulate personal economic activity, has helped Kgaretswe to acquire agricultural skills and apply the knowledge learnt to create a successful food gardening business.

As the 10th anniversary of the Marikana Massacre approaches, SAnews visited Kgaretswe to look at how the projects by Sibanye have benefited the communities around Marikana.

Speaking to SAnews at her home in Majakaneng, Kgaretswe recalls how a Socio-Tech representative approached her in 2017.

The representative explained how she could grow her then small vegetable patch into something bigger.

That conversation provided the sprouting roots to a self-sustaining business that also empowers the Majakaneng community to grow their own fresh produce.

“Through them I learnt about developing the soil and growing [food] God’s way – organically, without chemicals. I have found this method to be very successful. I now supply street vendors who sell vegetables in my area and also supply small catering businesses that sell in the streets,” she said.

The programme provided the novice farmer with seeds, material for vegetable tunnels and buckets to water the vegetables. The process was no walk in the park, but she stuck it out and erected the first tunnel.

Last year, Kgaretswe walked away with a SocioTech award and used the prize to put up a second tunnel.

Reaping the rewards

Through the business, Kgaretswe has been able to support her family while also having the ability to save.

“I am able to save a lot of money every month. I can buy food and everything I need from the money I make from selling these vegetables. Sibanye-Stillwater has also taken us through a budget course so that we learn how to use the money we make from our businesses. That has helped me a lot,” she said.

She pointed out the importance of drawing up a budget. “If you budget anything is possible.”

“This JoJo tank that you see here in my yard and the borehole are both the result of that saving. The borehole cost R27 000 and I saved for it. I took the budget course very seriously and it worked for me when the money started coming in.”

The fledging business has benefitted the North West community, particularly when COVID-19 hit.

“I sell my vegetables at affordable prices. Most community members and those who sell in the streets [buy their] stock from me. We help each other so that we can all have food on the table.

“They come to me because my prices are good and the quality of my produce is high. I charge R5 for lettuce, which is much less [than what is charged] by supermarkets. The cost of living is so high at the moment and most people in this area are poor.”

It also helps that the entrepreneur has confidence in her produce saying it has a long shelf life.

Kgaretswe has a clear plan to expand her business for future growth and venture into poultry farming.

“I am planning to extend my vegetable farm to a second stand that I have. I just need material for tunnels. I am also planning to hire two more people to help with the expansion.”

Skills transfer

Transferring the skills she has learnt in her venture continues to fulfil her.

Through the Phinda Phinda programme that is part of the programmes offered by SocioTech, Kgaretswe has trained about 16 people on how to start their own vegetable gardens.

The programme’s teaching methods are designed to create a learning culture that promotes the transfer of knowledge and skills to friends, family and neighbours.

“When my business began to grow, people in the community could not believe it and started asking me how I do it. I told them to come to school because Sibanye is here for all of us. We must help each other to put food on the table.

“I am part of a community that supports each other. One of the things I like about SocioTech is that it teaches us to think and act, remembering that as a community, we need more and more people to be successful. It is satisfying to see the growth of all those I helped train,” she said.

Tshepo Kgasago, Head of Community Engagement and Development for Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) Region South Africa, explains that Sibanye appointed an external service provider who is qualified to provide training. Sibanye’s role was to identify potential beneficiaries, which are mostly women and youth in the Majakaneng area.

“We identified a number of them; took them through the training via the service provider and provided startup input for funding as well as the buying of seeds and other materials. We fertilised the land and they started planting,” he said.

Kgasago said the project started in Kgaretswe’s yard and moved on to other community members.

“We funded all the tunnels you see in these yards around the community. The idea is that one will plant one or two vegetables [that are] different from their neighbour to encourage interaction and when they harvest they can exchange [their produce],” Kgasago said.

He added that Sibanye is building a hub in Marikana once everybody is up and running at Kgaretswe’s level.

“The aim is to create jobs at the centre as well as where people are planting. We have already spoken to the Tshwane Market and they are interested in supporting this initiative,” said Kgasago.

Kgaretswe’s harvest has not only benefitted her household but the seeds of that harvest will continue to sprout for her community for many seasons to come.

Source: South African Government News Agency