Author: Boitumelo Tshehle
By Gomolemo Mothomogolo Nellmapius Secondary School Grade 12 pupils have expressed confidence that they will pass their matric examinations. Matric exams kicked off on Monday morning with more than 900 000 learners writing the English paper 1. Afterwards, the learners told Newsnote that the English paper went well and among them was Nlanhla Mdluli, who said the paper has boosted her confidence. “The English paper 1 wasn’t bad at all. I was expecting it to be difficult but it wasn’t that bad. I am happy and looking forward to writing paper 2 and other papers. I want to do the best…
Men must be at the forefront of fighting gender-based violence for this war to be won. So says Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu. She was speaking in Moruleng village in the North West, after visiting the family of Tshepang Pitse, whose family believes has been murdered and that the dismembered body parts found in a refrigerator in Soweto are hers. Tshepang was allegedly killed by her cousin, who was also her live-in partner. Police are yet to confirm that DNA results proved that the body parts belong to Tshepang. Zulu said there’s a need to work closely with communities in…
ANC councillors at Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District municipality voted with EFF to elect a red berets mayor on Friday. Tebogo Babuile is the newly elected Dr RSM mayor. His election comes four days after other ANC councillors helped the EFF to have a Speaker at Mamusa Local Municipality. ANC councillors defied the party for the second time despite condemnation by both the provincial and national leadership as well as threats to investigate and then discipline those involved. EFF provincial secretary, Papiki Babuile, welcomed the victory. “We are happy with the confidence that the councillors of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District…
Mamusa Local Municipality in Schweizer-Reneke finally has a new mayor. ANC councillor, Seitebaleng Chelechele, was elected in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after the process to elect the mayor was delayed by unhappy ANC councillors on Monday and again on Tuesday afternoon. Contrary to the earlier communication that the Mamusa council would reconvene on Friday, ney elected Speaker, Olebeng Mogorosi, got things rolling late Tuesday night. Municipal spokesperson, Jerry Maine, said the new mayor did not get the privilege of wearing her robe like all others because of the time she was elected. “I can confirm that the council…
The ANC in the North West wants all its councillors in different municipalities to follow the party’s discipline line to avoid divisions during party caucus meetings. The party’s Interim Provincial Committee coordinator, Hlomani Chauke, said this at the JB Marks Local Municipality in Potchefstroom on Monday. He was addressing the new mayors, speakers and single whips of different municipalities in the province. It was their first meeting after being elected to office and part of the gathering’s mission was to discuss local governance matters and a three-month plan of action for municipalities. “We have resolved that it is important that…
A special council sitting is expected to resume at Mamusa Local Municipality this morning (Tuesday) after proceedings were disrupted by ANC members on Monday. They were unhappy that some party members voted with the opposition to elect the new speaker. Olebeng Mogorosi who was the EFF’s PR councillor during the previous term was successfully voted new speaker of the municipality at an inaugural ceremony attended by all newly elected councillors. In an unexpected turn of events, the majority of councillors elected Mogorosi for speaker of the Schweizer-Reneke based municipality. The Municipal Manager presided over the session. Mogorosi took over to…
The African National Congress (ANC) has retained the mayorship of JB Marks Local Municipality in the North West through the election of Gaba ka Qhele as new mayor. JB Marks was one of the hung municipalities in the North West and the Democratic Alliance (DA) has made it clear for years that it wanted control of this council. The Potchefstroom-based council is one of the two hung municipalities under Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality where the DA has always had a strong showing. Ka Qhele, who was sworn in on Monday, promises better services. “On top of the list will…
The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) has appealed to the country’s municipalities to fix roads before the rainy season worsen in order to reduce accidents caused by potholes. RTIA’s director, Jacob Mmekwa, said this during the Commemoration of the World Day of Remembrance for road and traffic victims in Alabama outside Klerksdorp on Sunday. Mmekwa said big potholes that worsen when it rains were some of the contributing factors to the high number of deadly car accidents. He said in South Africa there were close to 14 000 fatalities that occur on the roads annually, rounding up the number of…
The DA in the North West will not form a coalition with the ANC nor with the EFF in the JB Marks Local Municipality, the party confirmed on Thursday. The Potchefstroom-based JB Marks council is one of the two hung municipalities under Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality where the DA has always had a strong showing. The DA’s Chris Hattingh said his party will only make an arrangement with a party that supports the DA’s mandate and vision. “We are not prepared to form a coalition with the ANC and the EFF. We are prepared to work with other political…
Residents of Azaniaville informal settlement in Mooibank outside Potchefstroom in the North West, do not have access to basic amenities like toilets, running water or secure housing. The residents said they continuously fear being evicted and feel defenseless and forgotten by the government that has made promises but failed to deliver leaving the people in the area in extreme poverty. More than 300 households were relocated in January 2021 from Gugulethu, another informal settlement in the Ikageng township after the North West Education Department earmarked the area to build a new school. The JB Marks Local Municipality carried out the…