Auditor General, Terence Nombembe

MANGAUNG – The Auditor General (AG) has withheld an opinion on the 2010/11 financial statements of the Free State’s newly-established Mangaung metro municipality.

“I have not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion,” the AG said in a report that was before the Mangaung metro council on Monday.

Mangaung spokesman Qondile Khedama said the city had put in place all the necessary systems to stop the spread of “non-adherence” with its financial system.

“We are busy strengthening our finance department with particular emphasis to supply chain” he said on Tuesday.

The AG report indicated irregular expenditure of R148,765,509 and R108,427,595 which occurred in the current and previous financial years mainly because of contracts awarded to suppliers without authorisation.

Money spent, but not budgeted for, came to R67,711,892 for the 2010/11 financial year.

Answers were also still outstanding on investigations into previous unauthorised expenditures of R466,793,278 by June 30 last year.

Khedama said the city management would study the audit report and advise the council on corrective measures.

Democratic Alliance councillor Werner Horn said the AG’s refusal of an opinion was a indication of the ANC’s bad management style, money wasting practices and even possible corruption.

Horn said executive mayor Thabo Manyoni and newly-appointed municipal manager Lindiwe Mazibuko would have to implement drastic steps to stop the squandering of public money.

The DA said the municipality’s computer and IT-system were inadequate for the job and there were no proper collection processes.

City management said the process of cleaning the customer database and its indigent registers had started.

Khedama said other parallel processes had also started with the aim of improving the integrity of the city’s billing system.

Horn said his party would make urgent recommendations to Manyoni to immediately stop all non-budgeted payments.

SELOSESHA

The matter was postponed to February 6 when they were expected to apply for bail, Constable Consolation Mokoale said.

Rapulane Baile, Magwadi Meli, Matshediso Tsie and Lebogang Khama were arrested on Sunday shortly after the murder.

“They allegedly stabbed Thato Ledibane, 22, and robbed him of his cellphone in Thaba Nchu while he was returning from a tavern around 5am.”

His body was found in the street with multiple stab wounds. The men, aged between 18 and 21, were linked to the crime after being found in possession of a knife and the murdered man’s cellphone, Makoale said. – Sapa

Kabelo Mogosi, 17, was supposed to be having the time of his young life when tragedy struck. One night he went out with friends to hail in the New Year at their usual drinking spot and the next, he lay face up with his internal organs spilling from his belly….dead.

Only hours after the gruesome discovery of the boy’s corpse did the police receive information that led to the arrest of two young men, one of whom was only a teenager himself, …they confessed!

This is but one of the many cases where a teenager is arrested for committing a heinous crime that is beyond any adult’s imagination, which should be raising red flags everywhere, but in this country…this is normality.

“Our children seem to have lost their sense of belonging and have the need to belong hence they are easily influenced by their peers,” said Riaan du Plessis, the chief probation officer at the One Stop Justice Center in the Mangaung area.

Du Plessis explained that young offenders are usually assessed to find out what factors led to their behaviour not as a way to find points to assist in reducing their punishment but to get an idea of the causes that led the child astray.

Another psychologist from the provincial department of health cited the effects of abuse in the child’s life while growing up and the lack of proper role models to lead the child in the right direction.

“When children are hurt, they tend to act out the anger they experienced through violent acts and they also copy the wrong actions due to peer pressure and the need to fit into a group,” he said.

The psychologist also pointed out the history of the country stating that young people were required to be stubborn and to fight and that now that the country has attained freedom it is hard to ask them to go back and act as innocent children.

Speaking on the case of the 17-year-old accused in Thaba Nchu, du Plessis stressed that it was inevitable for the presiding magistrate to sentence the minor for a jail sentence should he find him guilty, as the crime was serious but that minors are placed in one of the two youth prisons in the province.

“The assessment made by the social worker might be used as mitigating factors in the sentencing and might work in his favor in that regard,” said du Plessis.

Du Plessis said that the assessment entailed details like verification of the minor’s age to ensure that he is truly underage, the addresses of the accused, background information in as far as how he grew up which will give the court an idea of what might have gone wrong in the teenager’s life.

“For serious crimes, the child is not rehabilitated but rather transformed in an intense program in order to try and restore him to the innocence he had as a child,” du Plessis explained.

The matter of the accused’s age is still a sore point among community members who believe that he has passed the legal age.

“We do not believe that this other boy is underage due to his behavior. What kind of a child commits murder? We do not feel safe with such people roaming around our streets,” said 38-year-old Mamiki Mogapi, secretary of the ANC Women’s League the in Ward 39.

An angry mob comprising of community members from Mokwena and Ratlou in Thaba Nchu marched to the teenager’s residence setting fire not only to his shack but to that belonging to his grandparents.

Councilor Leonard Mathobisa of Ward 43 said the community will keep hounding the police to ensure that the case is properly handled.

“The community was badly affected by what happened to that boy hence the incident with the burning of one of the accused’s shacks. We are appealing to the powers that be that this case be handled by investigators from Bloemfontein in order for the evidence to be in good hands,” said Mathobisa.

Du Plessis said that although parents’ inability to be the bigger person can play a role in the delinquent’s action the fact that children have rights protecting them has disempowered parents in more ways than one.

“A lot of the parents are afraid to discipline these children who threaten to report them to the police and most of the time these children are raised by grandparents who do not know how to deal with their naughty children,” Du Plessis said.

He said that most of these children committing crimes are failed by the school system which does not report naughty children or even drop outs that end up being criminals.

“Our children are not crazy; they are just naughty and need someone to give them attention to channel their energies in the right direction. These children own up to their mistakes,” stressed du Plessis.

By Libuseng Nyaka

BLOEMFONTEIN – Efforts by members of South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and Farmers Unions have yielded no fruit towards curbing stock theft as syndicates operating between Free State and Lesotho appear to be always a pace ahead.

Farmers are working very closely with SAPS to eradicate the escalating stock theft but the battle is still far from over.

A concerned farms union Chief Executive Officer of Free State Agriculture Union, Henk Vermeulen, said farmers lose millions each year on stock theft.

“Our farmers lose R80 million yearly on stock theft,” he said.

“Stock theft hampers farmers businesses as there will be no production of wool after the sheep and goats are stolen, and no livestock to butcher for meat. As a result, employees would have to be retrenched. But it does not only affect employment; some people have lost their lives during stock theft,” he said.

Vermeulen told Public Eye that the government had not fulfilled its promise to intensify security along the borders of Free State and Lesotho, which became a Court Order in June 2010.

“Under this background we have taken the government to court to answer a charge of contempt of court,” Vermeulen explained.

He suspected that in order for livestock operations by the syndicates to be always succeeding, there must be a conspiracy between criminals from both countries.

An independent farmer from Lesotho, Seipobi Seipobi, concurred with fellow South African farmers that cross border crime is more in the stock theft.

“My farm is close to Free State and I have lost some of the cattle to stock thieves because of the syndicate of criminals operating between the two countries,” Seipobi disclosed.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said while more arrests had been made during the festive season, especially along the border, the magnitude of the problem was still high.

“Stock theft is hard to fight because of some syndicate groups who work together between the two countries. It is not easy for some people from Lesotho to come and steal here without an informer who has made research on how the mission will be executed,” he said.

According to Mophiring, after stealing the livestock, the syndicate destroys the original marking made by owners in order to identify them. When they are recovered it becomes difficult to trace their original owners.

He blamed farmers for often raising alarm by hurrying to report livestock as stolen while they are just loitering. He said the action has the danger of weakening the urgency on circumstances where there is real theft. “Farmers do not come back to report once the loitering livestock have been recovered,” he said.

While admitting that major stock theft is from South Africa to Lesotho due to poverty that reigns in Lesotho, Mophiring also said some of Basotho also lost their livestock which crossed illegally into South Africa to graze and ended up being stolen.

This, according to him, is the result of poverty in Lesotho caused by high unemployment rate following the retrenchment of Basotho from South Africa mines.

Another challenge is caused by insufficient security along the borders.

He said: “Only members of the SAPS are deployed along the borders. Without the deployment of members of the army, the fight is still far from over”.

Mophiring said despite the challenges he mentioned, the joint operation in December last year recovered about 205 cattle in Qwa Qwa.

He said that included cattle which were stolen in Lesotho and from QwaQwa to Lesotho farmers.

Another livestock that was recovered from the same area included 40 sheep, eight goats and several donkeys.

According to Mophiring 14 people were arrested and livestock was handed over to the owners.

A police operation in Fouriesburg during the festive season also resulted in the arrest of 24 illegal immigrants in connection with stock theft. Sixty-seven cattle were also recovered along the borders of Caledon area.

In an effort to curb this on-going trend, the SAPS Specialist Stock Theft Unit is working closely with the Free State Agriculture Union. The two groups have their way of communication that enables them to identify each other while patrolling on the farms.

Farmers are not only concerned about the stock theft but also the problems that cross border theft pose. The increasing stock theft exposes the country to outbreaks of diseases such as foot and mouth.

Stock theft is not only threatening the sustainability of the country’s livestock industry and food security, but destroys high potential genetic material. Stock theft also increases the country’s vulnerability to outbreaks of diseases, such as foot and mouth.

Public Eye has observed that some of the consequences of stock theft are that when police delay to respond to reports, communities often to take law into their own hands.

In the rural area of Gladstone in Thaba Nchu, a Lesotho national who was suspected to have been involved in stock theft after he was caught in one of the kraals was burned to ashes by an angry mob on Sunday, January 1.

The law says if one is found in possession of livestock suspected to have been stolen, or illegally acquired, arrest must be made without any warrant and such person must be reported to the police station or community service centre.

According to Section 9 of the Stock Theft Act, 1959 (Act No 57 of 1959), “whenever any owner, lessee or occupier of land, reasonably suspects that any person has in or under any receptacle or covering or in or upon any vehicle any livestock or produce in regard to which an offence has been committed, search without warrant, such receptacle or vehicle and remove such covering”.

The same law however warns against the arresting of wrong people or malicious acts like mob justice being meted out on suspected stock thief.

“The wrongful execution of these actions is an illegal action that can expose you to possible civil claims. Such powers must be executed with great caution,” the Act states.

Worried members of the Agriculture Union because of escalating cross border stock theft have come together and incurred the expenses of lawsuits to force the government to intensify security along the Free State borders with Lesotho.

The Stock Agric Wiki report that farmers had been advised on how best to win the disputes regarding stock theft. Their animals must be marked with registered brand mark or tattoo for proper identification. This must be done in line with relevant provisions of the law regarding branding and marking of livestock. Again, selling of livestock among community members is not advisable as it creates chances for stock theft.

Grade 7 learners, Relebogile Melesi, Kamohelo Moahloli and Reabetswe Mase have gone through to the regional 2nd round of the international Maths competition, PMWC.

THABA-NCHU – Three learners from Mokitlane Primary School in Thaba Nchu have achieved a feat unbeknown to many learners from similarly disadvantaged schools by going through to the regional second leg of the Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest (PMWC).

Relebogile Melesi, Reabetswe Mase and Kamohelo Moahloli are the three out of 36 learners who will battle it out with learners from some of the most privileged schools in the Mangaung/Bloemfontein region with the hope of making the team of the final four which will eventually take to Hong Kong in July.

The learners said they were excited about the opportunity, and have used the competition to learn the value of group work. “We know we have to help each other to get where we want to be. We have to work as a team,” Mase said.

“We do not laugh at each other when someone has something wrong, but get together and try to find a solution,” Melesi added.

All three self-proclaimed lovers of Maths said that they were almost crippled by nerves in the first leg, because when they arrived at Ufs amongst the many white kids from privileged schools, they remembered the conditions of the Zone 2 Township where their school is located.

However, Moahloli, the one boy in the trio, said that this has changed. “We are more confident because we know what we can do and we really train hard.”

The Maths teacher who is working closest with the learners, Makgadi Masisi, exclaimed that she is “overwhelmed by the kids’ achievement. It makes me want to do more as a teacher to make sure they succeed,” she said.

According to one of the organizers of the competition in the greater Mangaung region, Dr. Elsie Schoombie, the first elimination leg featured 63 learners from 16 schools, who took their examination at the University of Free State. The second round between 36 learners from nine schools will also be at Ufs on Saturday, February 4.

Dr. Schoombie explained how the selection process works: “Every school in the district is invited, and the schools have to enroll their four best performing learners. The best performing half then goes through.”

She said that the learners who went through to the 2^nd round ought to be proud because the facilitators of the competition from China have set the examinations they took. All participating learners from across the world take the same test.

Training of the learners in preparation for the international Maths competition is also held at the university on Saturdays and is facilitated by Schoombie and Dr. Anelize van Biljon, the acting head of the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of the Free State.

Mokitlane principal, Lehlohonolo Khoba, told Public Eye that even the mere participation of the learners in the competition is an achievement and motivation for the school, especially the learners who have been thinking that they cannot do much because of a lack of resources.

“This is an opportunity because it’s like people undermine us. Public schools have been hidden by the private and more advanced ones. This shows what is happening behind the walls of our school,” Khoba said with pride.

The primary schools Melesi, Mase and Moahloli will be competing against Eunice, Fadimehang, Grey College, Jim Fouche, St. Andrews, Toka, Universitas and Willem Postma.

BLOEMFONTEIN – The accident of Hanje Pistorius has led the University of the Free State (UFS) to stop all first year students from shaking their cans begging for donations or selling Ritsems for fund raising at the traffic intersections of Mangaung.

Pistorius, a UFS student, was hit by a car in 2009 and subsequently lost her leg as a result of the accident while asking for donations at an intersection for Rag Community Service.

According to the media release from UFS, the decision follows after an evaluation was done in 2011\12 concerning the safety risk for students during this time at road crossings.

Each year UFS students embark on fund raising initiatives for school projects. It is through asking for money with cans at intersections and selling Ritsems that public participation is encouraged.

The Dean for Student Affairs at UFS, Rudi Buys said new security measures have specifically been implemented for this type of sales since last year.

“The measures included, among others, that students should be obliged to wear brightly coloured safety jackets during sales, continuous supervision of first-year students by senior students to ensure that students keep to the rules of the road, and limiting the sales hours at robots,” he said.

He said the school had since last year appealed to motorists to keep a lookout for students raising money for Rag Community Service. The measures were implemented and the effects thereof regarding students’ safety during sales at robots have been monitored since last year.

Although the new measures are a positive contribution to protect students even more, Buys said the school had decided to abolish the sales and fund-raising actions at traffic robots.

“The UFS sets the safety of its students as first priority and considers it in the best interest of students to not expose first-years to the risk during our Rag programme,” he said.

According to the Senior Officer of communication in Mangaung Metropolitan, Poelo Ntseki, it is unlawful for students to stand at intersection trading or begging for funds.

“They are breaking the law like some other street vendors, because they are in areas of risk and the municipality cannot take responsibility for such acts,” said Ntseki.

He said students found in such activities might face the hands of the law.

BLOEMFONTEIN – A new acting Municipal Manager, Chris Mokomela, resumed his duties on Thursday January 26 as a caretaker for Nala municipality until investigations on the suspended Municipal Manager David Shongwe are over.

Shongwe has been suspended after being linked to corruption by a KPMG forensic study, Public Eye has learned.

According to the Department of Cooperate Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson Senne Bogatsu, “the process of appointing Mokomela took longer than it was anticipated because he was supposed to have resumed duty on Monday January 23.

She said until forensic audit findings were out, the fact that Shongwe has been suspended did not mean he has been ousted; only the findings will determine his fate.

Bogatsu said Mokomela was known for his hard work in all municipalities he worked for. “He is the former District Director for Xhariep District and also, former Administrator for Masilonyana Local Municipality.”

On Monday, January 23 municipal workers took a memorandum to the municipality’s council demanding that the vacant posts of Municipal Manager and Technical Director be appointed to people within the municipality.

Workers want the person earmarked to take the post of Technical Service Manger not to be appointed. The position should instead go to a local person. The post became vacant after the resignation of Sidwell Nxumalo.

Workers want Martin Mokole to take the latter post as he has been a manager for years rather than an intern.

The workers are also demanding their pensions from back years because council is not depositing money into the fund every month as expected. Workers will be sending letters of demand to the municipal authority.

Thulo Majoe, of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) in Nala said: “We want the municipal manger appointed to be someone within Nala municipality, not a person we are sent by the department. We had a bad experience in 2006 when the municipality was under administration and the department appointed someone from Bloemfontein who messed us up.”

Now with the new appointment Majoe said: “municipal workers will meet on Monday January 30 to discuss the matter then a statement will follow thereafter.”

Municipal workers went on strike on Wednesday, January 11 after learning that no money had been deposited into the pension fund in December.

The council appointed KPMG, a renowned financial firm, to investigate its affairs. Its findings were released in November. The findings revealed corruption, theft and forgery and conflicts of interest in awarding of tenders within the municipality.

The report also revealed that more than half of the 51 tenders awarded contravened the supply chain management policy.

It is alleged that Shongwe and Nxumalo were the only supply chain holders when it comes to tender awarding processes.

Paleontologists found clutches of eggs, many with embryos, as well as tiny dinosaur footprints.

Researchers said this was the oldest known evidence showing that dinosaur hatchlings remained at the nesting site long enough to at least double in size.

The nests were from the prosauropod dinosaur known as the Massospondylus and were 190-million-year-old.

Bruce Rubidge, director of the Bernard Price Institute at Wits, said the research project, at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, had been underway since 2005.

“First it was the oldest dinosaur eggs and embryos, [that were discovered]; now it is the oldest evidence of dinosaur nesting behaviour.”

At least ten nests were found at several levels. Each one had up to 34 round eggs in tightly-clustered clutches. The researchers said the distribution of the nests in the sediments showed the dinosaurs returned repeatedly to the site, and apparently nested together.

The research was led by Canadian paleontologist, Robert Reisz, a professor of biology at the University of Toronto.

Hans-Dieter Sues from the Smithsonian Institute in the United States, Eric Roberts from James Cook University in Australia, and Adam Yates from Wits, were part of the team. Reisz said he suspected there were many more nests in the cliff still covered by tons of rock.

“We predict that many more nests will be eroded out in time as natural weathering processes continue.”

The team’s findings have been published in the current issue of the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

David Evans, a curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, said that although the fossil record of dinosaurs was extensive, very little was known of their reproductive biology.

“This amazing series of nests gives us the first detailed look at dinosaur reproduction early in their evolutionary history,” he said.

The fossils were found in sedimentary rocks that date from the early Jurassic period.

The Massospondylus was a relative of the giant, long-necked sauropods of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. – Sapa

Picture from file

BLOEMFONTEIN – The state has heavily opposed bail application against South Africa Police Service (SAPS) reservist Thabo Phalatsane, 33, arguing that his release would masquerade a threat to his alleged victim, a Nigerian national, Simon Guduza.

Phalatsane is charged of armed robbery, pointing of the gun and theft.

His two accomplices are Bongani Ntlatse, 21, a student at Vulamasango and unemployed Nceba Ticha.

In his testimony during the bail application of Phalatsane on Wednesday January 25, Constable Lehlohonolo Senaoana, who is also an investigating officer on the case, warned the court against the release of Phalatsane saying it would not be safe for Guduza, who stays 500 meters away from him.

He also told the court that Phalatsane is a flight risk even though he does not have a passport.

“We struggled to arrest Phalatsane because he was never available at his home. We managed to arrest him after tricking him into coming to our office promising that he must come to collect his cheque,” he said.

According to the evidence presented before court, Phalatsane was the mastermind behind the crime.

“He was the one who lobbied Ntlatse and Ticha into robbing Guduza as he was aware that he stays alone and is always in possession of cash in hand,” Senaoana explained.

The court heard that during the robbery Phalatsane, who was wearing full SAPS uniform, introduced himself as a policeman on duty and demanded a passport from Guduza claiming that his visa had expired. He was in the company of Ticha who was also wearing an SAPS jacket.

The three allegedly stole R2 000 cash and a car-radio at gunpoint.

In the evidence before court, Nceba and Bongani confessed to the magistrate that they committed the crime.

But the defense lawyer Tsie Leneoana of Legal Aid submitted that Phalatsane had only gone to Gabuza’s place as a client to buy curtains, not to rob him.

According to Leneoana, Phalatsane had also recruited some clients for Guduza.

The prosecutor Thembeka Tjama rejected evidence and submitted that Phalatsane was not on duty on the day of the crime and therefore he is not innocent.

Phalatsane told the court that he is not going to plead guilty during the trial.

The case still continues.

By Tselane Moiloa

Kalusi Ramakhula

BLOEMFONTEIN – Twenty eager young writers and film makers focused their eyes on the end product – listened to the wisdoms of some of Free State long serving television producers, script-writers and film makers.

A four-day workshop hosted by Pacofs ended on Thursday January 26 which was attended by athletes from across the province.

Renowned veterans within the industry, Seipati Bulane-Hopa, Thapelo Moraka and Kalusi Ramakhula as well as other writers took the aspirant youths under their wing to teach and practice with them the fundamentals of script-writing, production, and packaging films for sponsors.

The script writing and film making workshops were part of the Macufe Aftercare Programme which aims to keep like-minded art professionals and aspirants dedicated to their course once the annual short-lived Macufe is over.

It was a joint-venture between the Free State Tourism Authority, Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation and Macufe.

Speaking to Public Eye on Monday after her presentation, Bulane-Hopa, one of the founding members of Takalani Sesame said that the knowledge she had wished to impart to the attendees was for them to be committed and passionate about what they do, especially in the face of lacking resources.

Asked why it was important for her to come all the way to Bloemfontein for a few hours to give her presentation, then back to Johannesburg again, Bulane-Hopa said: “When national duty calls, you respond to the command,” continuing to say that she perceives film-making as a call equal to that of teaching and priesthood.

“Whatever adds value to my country, whether emotionally or socially, I want to be a part of it. It’s a vow I have taken,” she said.

Acclaimed drama writer, Moraka, gave credence to Bulane-Hopa’s words regarding the need for the participants to drive their own products, as he reminded them that all the people presenting before them are self-made.

According to Moraka, who spoke about writing a script for TV and films, most script-writers are short-changed by the “fear of the unknown” hence his mission for the week was to “teach them to simplify the art of writing and demystifying the fear of writing.”

He said: “Most of us think that writing for TV is difficult, but it is just pap ‘n vleis. You simply put on paper what you visualize in your mind.”

He explained that for aspirant writers to fully engage with their craft, their respective teachers and mentors have to make writing fun and playful, as teachers in the classroom would do with Mathematics.

Bongani Mpembe of Welkom is one of the writers who have dedicated himself to perfecting his skill and craft. The 19-year-old dropped out of the University of Free State where he had commenced studying for his BCom Accounting degree.

Mpembe said that he dropped out because he had always wanted to pursue a career in drama and performing arts, even though he knew the challenges the entertainment industry in South Africa was faced with.

He said: “We all get in the arts for different reasons, with some wanting fame and wealth. Even if I’m not wealthy, what I want to do is bring forth an opportunity to someone who wants a break, like I have been given an opportunity.”

While the students were appreciative of the investment by Pacofs and different stakeholders in them, they were also conscious and critical enough about the programme to raise questions regarding its continuity.