Author: Larson Thebe
The National Department of Cooperative Governance has placed the Lichtenburg-based Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West, under section 139(7). This was revealed in a letter by Minister Velinkosini Hlabisa, which was sent to Premier Lazarus Mokgosi, in response to the municipality’s persistent governance failures, financial mismanagement, and the collapse of basic service delivery. The section allows the government to intervene in a municipality when a provincial executive fails to act or does not adequately address a municipal crisis, such as a failure to fulfil executive obligations or to manage finances. The municipality has faced several infightings, which saw the…
The joint parliamentary oversight delegation has expressed shock at the levels of dysfunction at the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality in the North West, describing the situation as deeply troubling. This emerged during an engagement between the delegation and the Ramotshere Moiloa Municipality Troika in Mahikeng, as the delegation is conducting a three-day oversight visit to the province to address the challenges of underperforming municipalities The delegation comprises the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, and is conducting the oversight together with the North West Provincial…
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, has expressed concern that the team has been plagued by a high number of injuries to key players, and that he was unable to call for national duty. This as the team has assembled in Johannesburg, ahead of the crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho on Friday and Nigeria on Tuesday. Ime Okon and Patrick Maswanganyi, Themba Zwane, Sphephelo Sithole, Deano van Rooyen, are some of the players nursing injuries. Midfielder Sipho Mbule and defender Thabo Moloisane have been called up as late replacements. “It’s maybe one of the most difficult preparations I have had…
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has cited several challenges for the delay to name the squad that will face New Zealand on Saturday in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at Eden Park. The coach traditionally names his team early in the week, whereas opposing teams announce theirs towards the end of the week. “One can look at the injury list, we’ve got Kurt-Lee Arendse out, Edward out, Asenathi Ntlabakanye. I don’t want to mention a bunch of others who are absent. There’s quite a lot of players who are not available. There would be a little bit…
The North West province is set to face intense scrutiny as a joint oversight delegation, comprising the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, embarks on a crucial three-day visit beginning Monday. The focus will be on municipalities that have a troubling history of financial disclaimers, which is raising alarms about the state of municipal governance and financial management in the region. Recent audit outcomes from the Office of the Auditor-General underscore the dire situation, revealing that municipalities in North West are grappling with overwhelming…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 2 funeral for the late Ambassador and former Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu. The 72-year-old Mahlangu, who passed away last Sunday on his way to a South African hospital following a short illness, will be laid to rest in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. He held the positions of High Commissioner to Kenya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Somalia, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON). He is also a former Ambassador to the United States. “President Cyril Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to…
The Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court has postponed the bail application of 36-year-old Mthobisi Mkhwatswa to next week Thursday. He was arrested on Wednesday at a weighbridge in Ventersdorp, after he was found transporting 350 boxes of Chief and Sahawi illicit cigarettes, worth an estimated value of R4,5 million. According to authorities, the truck which was travelling from Pretoria to Kuruman in the Northern Cape, was stopped on N14 as part of the normal operation by officers. “Reports suggest that after becoming aware that the truck was overloaded, traffic officials at the weighbridge checked the load and found that it was cigarettes. …
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has named his 23-man squad that will play two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria next month. Broos trimmed the squad from the initial 48 list that he announced last week, for the crucial games. Bafana last qualified for the World Cup in 2002. The team will play Lesotho away from home at the Free State stadium on 5 September, as Lesotho has chosen the stadium as its temporary home ground. Bafana will then face arch-rivals Nigeria at the same venue four days later. Broos said the team is aware about what is…
National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has ordered that 121 dockets be returned to KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who will then assign them to the political task team. The dockets were taken in March this year by suspended Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, on the instruction of suspended police minister, Senzo Mchunu. The confiscation of the dockets was revealed by Mkhwanazi, during an explosive briefing last month, where he alleged the political task team was disbanded, after it discovered syndicates that involved senior police officials, politicians, judiciary and drug cartels. Briefing the media on the side-lines of the…
The North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development alongside various state organisations conferred about 242 participants of the National Rural Service Corps (NARYSEC) with certificates of qualification during a graduation ceremony that was held in Mahikeng. According to the department, the graduates were recruited in collaboration with municipalities across the province in line with the District Development Model (DDM). The group completed training in various fields such as Mixed Farming, Beauty and Nail Technology, Tourist Guiding and Accommodation Services among others. During the ceremony, MEC Madoda Sambatha reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to support young people and provide them…