By More Matshediso and  Molefi Sompane

BLOEMFONTEIN – Some 25 000 matric candidates in Free State will on Monday, October 22 begin sitting for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination amid a brazen official declaration that at least 80 percent of them will pass the watershed examinations.

Department of Education spokesperson Howard Ndaba said on Thursday, October 18 that authorities had pulled all the stops to ensure the class of 2012 beat last year’s pass rate.

“To achieve our 80% pass rate we intend to improve the performance in the so-called ‘killer subjects’:  In Mathematics we envisage an increase in the pass rate from 53.94% in the 2011 NSC results to 65%. In Physical Science we intend to improve our performance from 55.21% to 65% and in Accounting we hope to increase the performance from 60.3 percent in 2011 to 70% in 2012,” he said.

The department, he said, had among other measures cobbled together plans to improve results in underperforming schools by providing study guides for high enrolment subjects, previous examination papers and memoranda. Tips for Exams’ Z-folders were also distributed to 10 000 learners during the provincial Grade 12 motivational road shows at the beginning of October 2012.

Supplementary classes were also conducted to enhance learner understanding of the content covered while during the June holidays some 13 315 learners drawn mainly from 107 under-performing schools were taught by expert tutors with proven  track records of success in the schools in which they teach. The winter school programme covered subjects such as Accounting, Mathematics, Business Studies, Economics, English FAL, Geography, Life Science, Mathematical Literacy and Physical Science.

“In addition school management teams of under-performing schools and schools with big enrolments received training from the University of the Free State in the Instructional Leadership Programme. The aim of this leadership training was to ensure that these under-performing schools are properly managed to improve the performance of learners in the 2012 NSC examinations.

“Furthermore, we have partnered with community radio stations for live broadcasts of lessons of various subjects. These broadcasts commenced at the beginning of September and will run until the end of October. During these broadcasts learners are able to call-in and ask questions from the subject-advisors who are deployed to these radio stations,” he said.

Some underperforming schools in the 2011 NSC showed improved results. Vulamasango Secondary School in Bloemfontein obtained 40.1 percent but in June exams this year, the school has improved to 63%. Lefikeng Secondary School in Botshabelo received 47.54 percent in the 2011 grade 12 results. In June 2012 they have improved to an impressive 90.8 percent.

In Lejweleputswa District, Relekile Secondary School improved their results from 54 percent in the 2011 NSC results to 79 percent in April 2012 and to 87 percent in June 2012.

In Qwa Qwa, Selelekela Secondary School, the 2011 NSC results was 29 percent and in June 2012 the results improved to 65 percent. Reahola Secondary – also in Qwa-Qwa registered a marked improvement from 56% in the NSC results to 100 percent in June 2012.

Fezile Dabi District had nine schools which achieved 100 percent pass rates in the 2011 NSC. In June this year, 11 schools obtained 100 percent pass rates.

“We should support our learners in their exam preparations through encouragement and helping them to create sound study habits and spaces wherever they can. We thank teachers, parents, teacher unions, governing bodies, our business partners and the broader society for the hard work and support thus far. Education is a societal issue” said Free State Education MEC, Tate Makgoe.

Schools in Botshabelo Township claim to be ready for the exams buoyed by improved results in June after a swot camp held during mid-year holidays.

Deputy Principal of Reamohetse Secondary School, Lepolesa Maseloa said:  “The main challenge in our school is experienced by commerce learners who total up to 34 out of 100 matriculants in our school. Most of our learners fail accounting but manage to pass all other major subjects. Learners failed the subject in June as well as in their trial exams in September.”

He said the pass rate had up gone up by 17 percent in the third term of the 2012 academic year following the first matric class camp held at R.T. Mokgopa High School in Thaba Nchu during June school holidays for five days.

The Principal of Ntemoseng Secondary School, Mokati Ntho who is also the Camp manager for the ongoing camp in Thaba Nchu College since Monday, October 15 and ending on Friday, October 19 said the camp has brought together matriculants from 16 schools in Botshabelo, Ladybrand, Tweespruit, Wepener and Excelsior.

“The camp is a mixture of underperforming schools and well performing ones. The plan is for the schools to help one another reach desired outcomes with regard to the general performance in the Motheo district at the end of the year,” said Ntho.

Meanwhile, “good luck” messages are pouring in for the matriculants. Parents, mayors, MECs and the Premier Ace Magashule have all issued messages of support to the learners.

Who will be anointed king at Mangaung? The public discourse suggests that there is a contest for the crown between Jacob Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe.

But there can only be a succession race if there is an alternative contender, and Motlanthe has not yet thrown his hat into the ring.

There is no doubt that he would like to contest for the ANC crown. And there are many in the ANC who would like to see the back of Zuma. But unlike Zuma, who had nothing to lose and everything to gain in the run-up to Polokwane, Motlanthe has everything to lose should he be unsuccessful in a bid for the ANC crown in Mangaung.

Motlanthe will throw his hat in the ring only if he knows that it is a contest he will win. In this scenario, it is better to swallow your pride, defer the battle and position yourself for the presidency in 2017.

But how do we account for the divisions within the ANC? Moreover, why do so many of its factions want to see an end to the Zuma presidency? The common explanation is that this is a struggle between patronage networks over the resources of the state.

However, while there is an element of truth in this, what these explanations ignore is that this battle over patronage overlays a deeper ideological struggle about the meaning of development that goes back to the dawn of the democratic SA.

Two visions of development have vied for supremacy within the ANC in post-apartheid SA. The first simply imagines a deracialised capitalism, albeit with a poverty-alleviation focus.

It advances a conservative macro-economic policy agenda that emphasises deregulation, privatisation, low fiscal deficits, a BEE programme intent on creating a black bourgeoisie, and a circumscribed role for the state.

The second envisages a deeper social transformation and the establishment of a social democracy. It focuses on transforming the economy through aggressive state intervention, an active industrial policy, the strategic use of parastatals, a broad-based black economic programme and an agenda to address poverty and inequality.  The first of these visions prevailed between 1994 and 2007. It counts as its indicators of success a long period of moderate growth, low fiscal deficits and the stabilisation of the country’s macroeconomic finances. Its Achilles heel was its failure to address unemployment and contain inequality.

This was used to delegitimise the Mbeki presidency, culminatingd in his defeat at the Polokwane conference in 2007.

The second vision has come to dominate in the Zuma era. The Zuma presidency was thus explicitly built on the mandate of a deeper social transformation agenda and a broad-based black economic programme.

Its legislative hallmarks were the New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, both of which emphasised targeting particular labour-absorbing industrial sectors for growth, driving small business development, expanding BEE beyond politically connected entrepreneurs, driving employment and containing inflation.

The success of the programme, however, has been limited as a result of the global economic recession since 2008 and an internal political challenge from within the ANC.

The contemporary factional problem within the ruling party originally lay in the alliance of forces that brought Zuma to power in Polokwane. As so many have said before, this was a coalition of the wounded.

The left, institutionally represented by Cosatu and the SACP, was an important part of the coalition, but it also comprised African nationalists unhappy “with the climate of fear” under Mbeki, Zulu traditionalists who supported Zuma because he was one of their own, and a range of shady businessmen looking for their time at the feeding trough. It was a recipe for the factionalist politics that ensued.  The opening gambit in the divide within the Zuma administration was the tussle over economic policy, reflected initially in the mandate of and commissioners appointed to the National Development Commission, and the battle over executive appointments in parastatals.

It is now reflected in the tensions (not contradictions) between the economic policy prescriptions of the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan.

This primary divide, however, is overlaid by other divisions. A significant layer of the original left, centred on ZwelinzimaVavi, are unhappy at the enrichment and corruption that has not only continued but seems to have taken on an added impetus under Zuma.

Modernist African nationalists have been turned off Zuma either by the indignity he has brought to the presidential office through his personal foibles or the instability in markets that his lack of leadership inspires.

Other factions are led by ethically questionable politicians such as BhekiCele and Julius Malema, who simply want revenge against Zuma because he was forced to take action against them for their failures. Still others are led by shady businessmen who are driven by the potential access to the state’s largesse.  Zuma is, of course, not the best presidential candidate that the ANC can put up for a number of reasons. First, there is a tussle over economic policy reflected in some of the contrasting policy prescriptions reflected in the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan. These need not be mutually exclusive programmes and the tensions between them can be bridged.  - Habib is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg.

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – There are conflicting opinions whether youth need agencies, leagues and subsidies targeted at uplifting them from the tangle of joblessness.

The debate comes in the light of assertions that existing schemes fail to cope with demand from enterprising young people who are left out of the loop.

About 88 per cent of the Free State population comprises youths and more than 70 per cent of them are unemployed. These figures apparently show skewed economic conditions in the province since young people are regarded as the lifeblood of the country even when aspiring entrepreneurs apply for financial assistance to implement business ideas, many of them fail to access help because their applications are turned down without feedback.

“The youth are really in desperate need of representation. Only a few of them get what they apply for and it is mostly those affiliated to certain political parties that do, and this applies to both youth and adults,” the chairperson of Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and

Industry, Nancy De Sousa, said.  “If you are not in the right affiliation or do not have connections, you are out. If any are going to be selected for subsidies it will be those affiliated to certain parties,” she added.

In July this year, BonganiMagongo of National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) revealed that the South African population is made up of young people below the age of 35, and national statistics on the labour force indicate that the majority of the unemployed labour force is young people.

“Business ownership amongst the youth is very low compared to the proportion of youth population in the country. Sources of start-up capital for young entrepreneurs is either from their savings or family and most young entrepreneurs that are self- taught are unaware of the institutions that provide entrepreneurship support.”

He said most youth started their businesses because they could not find jobs or saw opportunities to make money. The biggest obstacles for their businesses are space, finance and competition. Thapelo Mokoatsi, a student in Africa studies at the University of Free State said young people need youth leagues because they are the breeding ground of political leadership of any political party.

He cited veteran nationalists Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu who formed the ANCYL as an organ of the mother body, the ANC as an example “Agencies such as National Youth Development Agency, to some extent Love Life are important in developing young talent in terms of entrepreneurship, education, and community development.  Subsidies are also another way government could meet its citizens halfway, especially youth,” he said.

He said government looked at how many young people have higher education qualification and how many are semi-skilled. “Ideally, one would expect that higher education should be subsidised because we already have many challenges as far as our education system is concerned. Many skilled and semi-skilled youth would benefit a lot from both the agencies and the subsidies programme.

With regard to the youth leagues, their role amongst others should be to mobilize youth in order to push the agenda of youth empowerment,” he added. But ShupingMokgothu feels that the format that the current youth leagues are using is not in the line with objectives they want to achieve. He said youth clubs are also critical for grass root moral development and although political parties have youth wings, it is critical to specify their role in society.

“The problem here is constituencies, I think the problems youth faced could be attended to better if we can have a youth department just like we have department of women and children and people with disabilities. The department would focus on youth needs regardless of their affiliation” said Mokgothu.

Head of Department of Sociology in University of Free State, Dr SethulegoMatebisi, said the country needed youth leagues as they could play a huge role in the fight against poverty and enhancing the capabilities of youth in their attempt to be self-reliant. He said youth of today, as represented by the youth leagues of different political parties, do not instil hope for many others. “Coverage of issues related to the youth is dominated by the ANC Youth League and Young Communists League of South Africa. I am not convinced

that the youth leagues currently play any significant role beyond using such structures as a means of survival at the expense of advancement of the youth in general,” said Matebisi.

He said if the only success stories about youth leagues are those which are kept at the office. “Simply put, the youth of today borders largely on protest politics and squandering valuable time at ineffective talk shops,” he added.

Matebisi said since the establishment of NYDA which has the mandate to “advance youth development through guidance and support to initiatives across sectors of society and spheres of government,” a fair degree of hope has been generated among the youth.

“For many youths in South Africa, the NYDA and other youth agencies have failed dismally in empowering them both socially and economically for a better life. World-class agencies such as the NYDA, together with all their noble intentions, have become what I call ‘a cow to be milked’.

He said in the high stakes game of economic survival today, it was not the unwillingness of the youth to participate in activities that will ensure their economic emancipation, but the ill-conceived ideas of the individuals leading youth agencies Matebisi said the people who are currently benefitting from these agencies are the politically-connected, including an extended web of families, friends and partners.

He said it was illogical that most of youth’s business plans never get funded simply on the basis of not being connected with anybody.

“The youth of South Africa need not remain hungry. With increased investment in youth initiatives, better youth policies and apolitical and competent leaders within public youth agencies, the country can achieve the desired economic revolution,” he added. But the branch manager of NYDA in Bloemfontein, KagishoMokae argued that the NYDA helped every young person despite their political affiliation.

“Since April 2012 we have managed to fund 23 young entrepreneurs in the Free State region, provided 466 youth with development training and 10 666 school learners with career guidance and also approved 77 vouchers including business plans and marketing plans,” Mokae said.

In the case of youth leagues, FezileSonkwane, spokesperson of Young Communist League of South Africa said his league was active particularly in the education sector and other youth programmes, irrespective of ideological perspective.

Youth organizations, he added, were important primarily because they championed youth interests. “Young people who are not affiliated to any youth leagues are missing out a lot because youth structures are the relevant platform to address whatever youth challenges that are out there.,” Sonkwane said.

“Young people must join youth leagues to play a meaningful role in championing interest of young people. Our outlook is to benefit the society at large not ourselves as individuals.”

BLOEMFONTEIN – An elephant needs a new home because of unhygienic living standards in the Bloemfontein zoo, the National SPCA said on Wednesday.

“The lack of cleaning staff led to compromising of the hygiene standards and the living conditions of the animals,” the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said in a statement.

These staff shortages included animal keepers, which affected the animals’ care and welfare.

Zoo manager Darryl Barnes said they had been struggling to find staff the past few years, but the situation had worsened in recent months.

“The last couple of years, the staff situation has… (become) worse and worse,” Barnes said.

The NSPCA said the Mangaung municipal council, which owns and operates the zoo, had agreed to help by hiring casual staff until permanent appointments could be made.

They said “desperately needed” improvements were already underway.

Barnes said the council’s response to the problem came after the NSPCA brought concerns about hygiene and living standards at the zoo to its attention.

“The problem wasn’t really being addressed as it should have been,” Barnes said. He said the zoo had struggled with staffing as Bloemfontein was not a major city centre and qualified staff could not be found locally.

The zoo would now seek out qualified applicants across South Africa.

The NSPCA said a new home had been found for the zoo’s 27-year-old elephant, Thandora. She would be relocated to a “virtually” free-roaming environment with other elephants.

Barnes said the zoo had been searching for a new home for Thandora for the past 10 months. He said that while an option had been found, it had not yet been finalised.

Elephants can live for up to 70 years in the wild, but their life expectancy is usually much shorter in captivity. – Sapa

…plagued by unwanted pregnancies

President Jacob Zuma and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi

QWA QWA –Traditional leaders and teachers’ representatives have hailed the introduction of the integrated health pilot programme in schools saying that it will save a nation plagued by unwanted teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids.

The Integrated School Health Programme, launched by President Jacob Zuma in Cullinan last week, will allow pupils to access a variety of health services.

“Our children become sexually active while still at school whether we like it or not, we cannot stop them.But what we can do is to save those who are already sexually active,” leader of traditional healers in the Eastern Free State Meshack Mokekola said.

“Use of condoms will at least prevent transmission of sexual diseases including  HIV and Aids. I fully support this initiative and while we mustencourage our children to abstain that alone is not saving thenation.”

Mokekola said people should not be afraid to give children condoms. “We should not be shy to protect our children. Children of thisgeneration live a modern life that is very different from how we usedto live. They need a dynamic approach, Mokekola added. SA Democratic Teachers Union general secretary Mugwena Maluleke saidthe union’s members would be available to offer “any form ofassistance” to the roll out programme. But Simon Chills of the Apostolic Church said that the move would makechildren go astray, especially if they knew they areprotected from pregnancy.

“Children must be encouraged to behave and wait until they are marriedor old enough to take care of themselves,” he said.

Roman Catholics are campaigning against the use of contraceptives. National Congress of School Governing Bodies secretary-general Nonokoane Hlobo said: “We are happy that this programme will cover the barriers to learning, information and counselling, on-site service provision, health promotion and environmental assessment of school”.

During the launch, President Zuma said an estimated 75 percent of learners who became pregnant left school and onlybetween a third and a half of these resume school. Equipping girls andboys with information on how to prevent unwanted pregnancies can play an important role in ensuring that all learners reach their full potential.

“It is almost always the girl child who has to deal with the stigma and other negative consequences of the pregnancy,” Zuma said.

“We know that this subject makes parents uncomfortable. But we have to face the reality that some learners are sexually active, no matter how much this knowledge distresses us as parents.”

To deal with this reality and promote primary health care, the school health nurse and team will provide sexual and reproductive health services including contraception as well as HIV counselling and testing, where appropriate, he said.

According to a report by the CEO of NAPTOSA in Free State and Northern Cape some of the learners failed to matriculate because they were in labour and had wasted twelve years of education.

The new integrated school health programme, which is one of the three streams of South Africa’s primary health care system, aims to strengthen and expand existing school health services beyond screening and referral. The programme will provide a comprehensive health package to improve the health of school-going children and remove health barriers to learning at every stage of their development.

In addition to receiving health and life skills education, every learner will be assessed by professional health workers at least once during each of the four educational phases to identify children who suffer from, or are at risk for, long-term health and psychosocial conditions.

School children in ten pilot areas will get a comprehensive health plan, under the aegis of the National Health Insurance (NHI). Thabo Mofutsanyana in Free State is one of the pilot districts. The move had also been supported by some of the parents.

Mokete Motjeku, who has two sons and a daughter said with this programme learners’ health would be monitored time and again and surprises like teenage pregnancy and spread of HIV/Aids will be minimised.

Mamoitheri Mokete said as a single mother of a son and a daughter it was easier for her to discuss issues relating to sex with her daughter than her son and saw the initiative as an intervention which will equip both her children with survival skills. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also welcomed the adoption of the programme “Based on international experience, we know that successful roll out of the integrated school health package will require close collaboration between various sectors – education, health and social development,” said UNICEF Representative Aida Girma.

The new policy also calls for the active involvement of school governing bodies and community leaders, such as traditional and faith-based leaders and ward councillors. The participation of learners through student representative councils and school clubs such

as the Girls and Boys Education Movement (GEM/BEM) clubs will be critical to expand the reach of the programme.

“Learners can act as health promoters and change agents among their peers, families and the broader community – amplifying the impact beyond the school environment,” said Girma.

Each pupil will be assessed individually once in each phase by a school health team that will be led by a professional nurse.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said mobile units for the pilot phase of the school health programme would be distributed to 10 districts where the NHI system was also being piloted. “NHI is the re-engineering of primary health care – it focuses on preventive measures.  Presently, our health system is a curative model, where we wait for people to get sick. There are 12 million pupils. We can’t wait for them to get sick and o then take them to hospital. We want them to get the help in school,” said Motsoaledi.

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN - Free Sate premier Ace Magashule has dismissed reports that he plans to dump cleaners hired to replace bungling cleaning firms last year for ANC approved cadres.

“Premier Ace Magashule is disturbed by the attempts of his political opponents who are fuelling uncertainty and confusion in the lives of these cleaners and other categories of officials.  Premier has learnt that there are faceless people who are spreading rumours that he had instructed the structures of the ANC to submit names for full time employment in the place of the aforementioned cleaners from Universitas Academic Hospital and National District Hospital,” his office said in statement released on Thursday, October 25.

Therumours, director of Media Strategy and Liaison, Mondli Mvambi said, were “meant to discredit the Premier and his efforts to advance development and securing of decent sustainable livelihoods for the cleaners and those in the employ of the Provincial Government”.

He added: “It is stated without any fear of contradiction that the insourcing of cleaning services and full-time employment of cleaners and other categories of officials is to benefit the current officials that are in the employment of external service providers in these two institutions.”

The Department of Health was being targeted by Magashule’s “detractors” as a point where uncertainty and confusion can be fuelled.

“However, as the Provincial Government we are resolved on ensuring that all is done to implement the programmes of government that will result in the improvement of the lives of the poor and vulnerable.”

Cleaners who are currently working at the two hospitals feared losing their jobs following the rumours.

Magashule recently convened a meeting with the MEC of Health, Fezi Ngubentombi, members of Senior Management Service in the Department of the Premier and Department of Health and a delegation from NEHAWU to ensure that a “clear all inclusive and consultative process is embarked upon to ensure that the decisions of government do not impact negatively on the plight of the workers and their rights.”

In 2011 during the State of the Province Address, Magashule said: “we have followed a phase approach towards implementing the in-sourcing of services that are currently outsourced by government. In this regard, we have employed 284 cleaners, 119 patient assistants, 302 security officers and gardeners in permanent positions at various health institutions. This obviously contributes to our efforts in creating decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods.”

He then convened a meeting with all cleaning staff members last year on August 31 at which he emphasised the need for government to terminate outsourcing of cleaning services and  instead to employ the cleaners full-time, making them eligible to receive service benefits.

Magashule said cleaners who come from QwaQwa and other small towns should be transferred to service Departments in their home towns.

“We have made significant progress with the in-sourcing of identified services at our public service institutions, especially with regard to the permanent employment of cleaners and security officers. One of the objectives we had set ourselves was to correct some of the injustices to which our workers were subjected to during the past.

“When QwaQwa ceased to exist as a so-called homeland, a number of female workers were transferred from their places of residence to take up employment as cleaners for the provincial government in Bloemfontein,” Magashule said this during the 2012 State of the Province Address.

…leaves last workers standing

By Libuseng Nyaka

LINDLEY – A Ficksburg Magistrate’s son is one of three men arrested for the murder of a principal of Reikemiseditse senior secondary school Ntha Lindley who was found dead in his house on Sunday, October 21.

The body of 52-year-old Mokotjo Aaron Mabizela was discovered at his home by a friend.A fourth suspect is still at large.

Police spokesperson Majake Skalkie who confirmed the incident also said two of the Mabizelas cars had been stolen. Police received a tip off from the community that the son of a Ficksburg Magistrate was seen driving through the Ficksburg border to Lesotho.

Skalkie said Mbizela was discovered dead on Sunday night by a friend who had gone to his house to check on him.

He said on arrival he knocked at the door but there was no response and foundhis friend lying on the floor of his garage when he entered the house.

Police said Mabizela’s hands were tied with an electric cord and was gagged to stop him from making any noise. Skalkie said three suspects will appear before court soon.

By Libuseng Nyaka

QWA QWA – Some elderly people are hesitant to join forums in their villages where they share their common challenges as elderly and bring them to government’s attention but prefer to participate in community groups that offer them incentives, the chairperson of a 64-member old person’s forum Moses Sibi has said.

“Men are few in our groups because they want to participate where they know in return they would get a form of reward such money or beer. Their contribution is also needed here,” Sibi said.

In an interview with Public Eye during celebrations to mark the International Day for the Elderly held at Basotho Cultural Village here Mapuleng Molakeng acknowledged efforts made by government through its Social Department, by organising the commemoration of this day.

“We are very happy with what the government has done to enable us to assemble here in order to celebrate our day. It is very important to us and shows that they respect and acknowledge our presence in the community. It also shows that they know where they come from and as a result they will be able to know where they are going,” Molakeng said.

He said it encouraged other elderly people to join such groups because they will be able to share and educate youth about their culture. “We want to make sure that our people are not shy to speak their language. Our native languages must be respected and cherished and be

spoken properly like people take effort to speak English,” Molakeng emphasised. Mabatho Lebesa who directed proceedings also applauded the municipality of Maluti A Phofung for having contributed to the success of this day.

“We do not only share problems here. It also acts as a platform where we are able to unwind and refresh ourselves as well as share our knowledge for the betterment of our culture,” Lebesa said.

MAP representative and organiser, Tinie Ngubeni said the celebration was in line with the international call for celebration of elderly persons.

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – From playing cat-and-mouse with the police during apartheid days, the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Free State region has scored a first in the taxi industry nationally by buying its own property worth R2 million from proceeds of their scrapped vehicles.

The new SANTACO house still needed to be renovated and be re-designed as an office since it was initially built as a residency.

No one can forget the dark days when black-owned taxis could not ply national or provincial roads. Drivers had to seek rural roads where police were unlikely to prowl and arrest them. If they got caught, their vehicles would be impounded and confiscated by the state.

“The industry has come a long way – spanning the dark days when legislation did not permit blacks to own taxis or participate in the transportation of commuters and travellers. The majority of passengers have always been black but blacks were not allowed to transport their own people,” noted the MEC for Police, Roads and Transport Butana Komphela when he officially opened the new SANTACO house in Bayswater, Bloemfontein.

He said he could still vividly remember the challenges that the drivers faced but somehow won the war decisively. Their survival tactic led to the proverbial name Maja Ka thata – “those who hustle to eat”, which still exists to date. “The current government is doing everything possible to regulate this industry so that violent conflicts do not recur,” said Komphela.

He said he felt duty bound to support SANTACO and sponsor the Provincial Taxi Council (PTC) with five brand new vehicles in the past and was seriously considering doubling that number if he got the assurance that members would make sure that there are no fatalities involving taxis during this coming season and beyond.

But National general secretary of SANTACO, Phillip Taaibosch blamed disloyal traffic officers that do not respect their work and the taxi industry for the carnage and piracy. He said some traffic officers receive bribes from members of the taxi association that have two illegal licenses and this encouraged piracy within the industry.

“Pirates could be convicted only if we provide necessary information to the traffic officers,” said Taaibosch. “The first industry of taxi association was born in the Free State. Today we should be asking why SANTACO in not forming a SADC taxi association and the question should rise from both Lesotho and Free State region.”

The provincial general secretary of SANTACO, Maleho Mmolotsane said the challenges that SANTACO faced from time to time revolved around 80 per cent of commuters complaining about being ill-treated by taxi drivers but only 20 per cent of drivers ever lodge complains against commuters.

“Currently we are about to open a call centre in Free State that will assist us to evaluate our conduct and resolve the challenges within the industry, especially driver-commuter relations.

The call centre will be operating in the new SANTACO premises,” Mmolotsane said. Office bearers of the board of the new corporate business of SANTACO are Daki Qumbu, Puleng Motshwane, Nanto Bango, Zachariah Kunupi, Moeketsi Majoe, Medupi Mofokeng, Marius van Rensburg and Silindokuhle Tsotso.

“Rebokamoso is the corporate part of SANTACO under the Provincial Taxi Council (PTC) which comprises of office bearers who are not necessarily original members of SANTACO but have different types of expertise that will help to run the business professionally.

“This makes it different from previous business entities of SANTACO that were administered by unprofessional board members and has now failed,” said Daki Qumbu, Provincial chairperson of SANTACO and a board member.

…as opponents  application is thrown out

By Godfrey Simons

BLOEMFONTEIN – The Bloemfontein High Court has thrown out an application brought by six disgruntled African National Congress members seeking to nullify the results of provincial elections held in June on the premises that courts should not be used to solve internal political fights.

Delivering his judgement, Justice Mojalefa Rampai said said: “Nocourt can resolve internal fights of the party (ANC). On the strength of thefatal procedural defects and irregularities, the application isdismissed.”

He ordered the six ANC applicants dubbed “Regime Change”, andcomprising Mpho Ramakatsa, Tumiso Mbethe, Majoro Mpuru, ElishaMbangula, Cecilia Chaka and Ntshiwa Morolloane to pay the costs of theapplication.

“The first preliminary point raised in limine by the respondents was well taken. The publication, by the applicants, of the notice of motion in the press purportedly as some sort of substituted service in terms of uniform rule 4(2) was procedurally irregular and thus materially defective,” Justice Rampai said. He said the incomplete service of the founding papers on 24 of the 26 respondents, by the sheriff on behalf of the applicants was materially defective.

“Accordingly the second objection is upheld. The deficient service on the respondents is declared incurably irregular, unprocedural, null and void and of no force and effect in law. The third preliminary point raised in limine by the respondents was good in law,” he ruled.

Rampai said the applicants had failed to join the BEC (Branch Electoral conference), which is the fundamental structure and nucleus of the ANC.

By specifying, citing and serving the chairpersons accused of manipulating the important lists of delegates to the provincial conference “was procedurally irregular.”

“The non-joinder of certain identifiable BECs with direct interest in the matter as demonstrated in the applicants founding papers was procedurally irregular. The applicants prematurely launched the current application for the judicial review of an administrative decision before it was actually taken. Accordingly the fourth and final objection is also upheld,” Rampai said.

The application was brought after the June 26 Parys provincial elective conference that saw Magashule Thabo Manyoni, William Bulwana, Mamiki Qabathe, Msebenzi Zwane, Tate Makgoe, Butana Khompela, Olly Mlamleli, Sisi Mabe, Sam Mashinene, Fezi Ngumbentombi, Malewatle Nthedi, Sebenzile Ngangelizwe, Manana Tlake, Sisi Ntombela, Manana Sechoara, Sarah Moleleki, Madala Ntombela, Jack Matutle, Meggie Sotyu, Mathabo Leeto Jonas Ramagoase, German Ramathebane, Max Moshodi, Madiro Mogopodi and African National congress cited as respondents elected unopposed after former Economic MEC chickened out at the last minute.

Supporters of the regime change group and of the opposing Magashule camp sang,

chanted and jeered each other on a rainy day outside the court. They were separated by police barbed wire as the streets near the high court were closed.  This is the second time that the court has ruled against the 6 members. The last time was in August and on September 27 the application could not be heard as the respondents had not filed opposing affidavits.

Ace Magashule and 25 others were represented by Advocate Neil Snellenburg and the applicants, Ramakatsa and others are represented by Advocate Anton Relix who stood in for Advocate Dali Mpofu.

THE recent issue of The Economist, which offered a grim commentary on South Africa’s political economy, became one of the focal points of political discussion in the past week.

The African National Congress (ANC) issued a detailed dismissal of the commentary. What was most revealing about the ANC’s response was the sense of insecurity in the governing party about how it is viewed by outsiders. The problems pointed out by The Economist have been highlighted several times by ordinary and prominent South African citizens.

Figures such as Desmond Tutu, Njabulo Ndebele and MamphelaRamphele, have expressed serious misgivings about various aspects of South Africa’s political leadership. Even some of the intellectual heavyweights in the ANC have started breaking ranks with the prevailing culture of silence over the leadership drift within the ANC. The standard response from the ruling party has generally been to ignore all protests.

In the few instances where the ANC cares to respond at all, it would label those expressing genuine concern about the state of leadership in the country as part of a “liberal offensive”.

The arrogance of power has convinced it that nothing its citizens do or say will affect its dominance. It is assured that the black majority is on its side and owes it a huge debt for bringing them liberation.

Given the growing indifference of the ruling party to critique and correction, it came as a surprise when it offered a lengthy response to The Economist.

Tellingly, the ruling party cares more about how its leadership is measured by outsiders than it does about the opinions of South Africans.

Yet the biggest confidence challenge for South Africa’s leadership is not so much how it is perceived by outsiders, but more how its citizens judge its moral and intellectual gravitas. This is also the ultimate test of legitimacy. By continuing to ignore the protests of its citizens, the ANC is delegitimising itself.

One of the aspects of The Economist’s article that was widely ignored in much of the analysis was the flawed conclusion that suggests the shadow of the ANC will rule South Africa indefinitely. In its view, as long as South Africa is not falling into a one-party state, a split in the party will produce hope for change.

What this means in effect is that, even in its deformed state, the ANC is seen as the only party that South Africans should fix their hopes on as it will eventually give birth to a splinter group to catalyse change. This is wishful thinking.

The problem with this view is that it reaffirms the false notion that the ANC is omnipotent and that there can be no independent agency for progressive change outside of the ruling party.

There are many within the ruling party who are genuinely hoping such a prospect will be the destiny of politics in South Africa. They are waiting passively for such a moment.

This view ignores the fact that if there is another split in the ANC, it will not be the first, and may not be the last.

Parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress, the United Democratic Movement and the Congress of the People are all offspring of the ANC.

So far, they have disappointed. Splinter groups of the ANC will always bear its genetic imprints and deformities. As such, they will be poor handmaidens for change.

Our concept of change should therefore not be based on an illusion of a splinter party that will look like the ANC in its former glory — less corrupt and with better leadership.

That is yearning for false hope and it is rooted in a sense of shame among the black middle class. It has been a huge disappointment that a black-led party of liberation has come crashing down like a gigantic cripple. The black majority sees a part of itself in the traditions of the ANC.

But the ANC is dying. The concluding prognosis of The Economist’s article serves to fuel this distorted view of change being possible only through another breakaway from the ANC.

Given the evidence in front of us, we should stop entertaining any possibility of a splinter group coming out of the womb of the ANC to rescue South Africa. Imagining a different political agency beyond the ANC will begin first as a personal journey, on which we ask hard questions about the kind of change we would like to see and how to conceive its drivers.

Ultimately, it is when we start exploring new possibilities for driving change — both in civil society and at the party-political level — that something new will gradually emerge. This requires active engagement in individual initiatives, as part of civil society, and through political processes.

We would also need to be content that building an enduring platform for change may not come through some big-bang political development, but may take gradual but consistent action in a positive direction.

• Qobo is affiliated to the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria.

…..blame them for collusion

HARRISMITH – Angry Residents of Intabazwe in Harrismith have threatened to take law into their hands, accusing police of a betting criminal activities by protecting the criminals. Residents told deputy Minister of Police Makhotso Sotyu on a recent tour of the community’s frustration with police operations in the area.

“We know these criminals because some of them are our neighbours but when we report them to police, they do not arrest them, they say we must bring evidence instead of investigating the cases themselves,” a resident, Lucky Motale said.

“Those that would have been arrested spend a day or two in police custody andare released back into community to haunt us again. Dockets go missingfrom the courts.”

Motale said he had reported a case to the police but up to now he had notbeen assisted.

Another resident Busisiwe Mthatati said she will never reportany crime to the police any more but she would kill any criminal who attacked her.

“I will kill… We are tired of these people. Policeknow them. We have lodged cases with them but they do not arrest them”.

A member of voluntary Crime Prevention Forum, Mohale Mokoena said their input towards crime prevention is also hindered by police who always make excuses when they want resources such cars.

“We cannot fight crime unless police also help us with resources. We are always turned from pillar to post whenever we want to use vehicles,” Mokoena said.

But the Free State born Sotyu was quick to apologise to the communityand also clarify that the meeting was initially meant for police officers only but she found it important to kill two birds with one stone. “We are aware of our mistake…it will not happen again.”

Moloi requested the minister to bring other stakeholders in the crimeprevention cluster along and the deputy minister conceded that it would be important if everyone played their part in the crime prevention.

“Sometimes you see criminals running around due to lack of evidence.If people can come up and testify against criminals, the courts willbe able to put offenders behind bars. A person is innocent until proven guilty,’ the deputy police minister said.

“Police arrest criminals and then leave everything in the hands ofcourts of law and prosecutions. People who lodge cases when they areangry and in the morning withdraw should stop that because on record such cases are not cancelled and. It puts our province among, leading provinces with high crime statistics.”

Moloi said he wanted government to empower police to charge any person who withdraws a case from the court because that person would havewasted state resources and police time.

Sotyu promised to bring along partners in crime prevention such as correctional service, National prosecuting Authority and authorities from Magistrates before the end of November.

The minister emphasised the importance of women joining the police force especially the detectives department.

“We need to see more women detectives. With the high rate of rape women are in a better position to handle such cases because most of the perpetrators are men.”

By Libuseng Nyaka

Butana Komphela

QWA QWA – The MEC for Police, Roads and Transport Butana Komphela has hailed the transformation of Maluti Bus Service as an achievement for generations to come.

The chairperson of provincial Taxi council Darkie Qumbu but tressed Komphela’s sentiments adding that the deal was a success as the taxi industry will no longer feel sidelined unlike in the past where only busses were getting subsidies.

Speaking at the launch of the Maluti Bus Service last week ,Komphela stated that the transformation will see taxi owners benefit from government’s subsidies which has a government cover of R270 Million.

The incorporation of the taxi industry into buses under the umbrella of Maluti Bus Service encompasses 60 percent of shareholding by the Taxi Industry, 15 percent Qwa Qwa, Bethlehem 15 percent, Harrismith 10perecnt , Tshiame 5 perecent and 10 percent owned by employees.

Komphela said under this deal everybody will work hard to ensure the success of the new initiative knowing that the profit made will ultimately benefit everyone involved.

The Executive Mayor of Thabo Mofutsanyana district Dr Balekile Mzangwa expressed his gratitude to the provincial government for helping the Thabo Mofutsanyana community.

“The transformation of transport system has positively impacted every life, when there is good transport people are able to access services easily and their lives consequently improve.

“The negotiations culminating into transport transformation begun in 2000 when Free State Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport entered into a negotiated agreement with Buford Investments and the FDC trading as Scoopful 21 (Pty) Ltd to operate bus services in the Qwa Qwa, Harrismith  and Bethlehem areas,” he said.

The original contract was divided into two contract areas identified as line haul and internal services. The internal service was to cover areas within Qwa Qwa. The external services were to operate from Qwa Qwa to Bethlehem and Harrismith, and were concluded for a period of five years. The contract was extended for 2 years and has been on month to month renewal since August 2007.

The MEC also took the occasion to donate 100 bicycles to learners who have been travelling to school nearly 40 kilometres.

By Libuseng Nyaka

Ntswaki Sibaya

KERSTEL – Ntswaki Sibaya, 26, could not believe her luck when she was nominated to represent Free State in the prestigious Best Woman awards. Sibaya was nominated by the South Africa Police Service women network.

Still recovering from the excitement while savouring her nomination Sibaya said she was not driven by the prospect of winning awards but by the need to help less fortunate members of society.

“I am so happy that my colleagues are recognising my efforts. I will take this as motivation and a stepping stone to even greater things that touch people’s lives,” she said.

Sibaya said her life changed dramatically when she was raped 15 years ago. “When dealing with victims and elderly people who are mostly abused in different ways I put myself in their shoes. I have assisted many elderly people to get their pensions. I have also followed up on former offenders whom I encourage to keep away from crime. Engaging with these groups has made crime prevention effective as people are now opening up to the police and come forward to report crime.”

She also thanked the former Commander of Kerstel police Captain Mmantsamayeng Ramantsa who is now based in Bethlehem.

“Ramantsa would always encourage us to go beyond the call of duty to touch people’s lives. She preached what she practiced and I learnt a lot from her. As an administration clerk for detectives at Kerstel police station, I would always do public campaigns though sometimes I faced challenges of transport,” she said.

“But I always soldiered on. Apart from my designation I also help in crime prevention campaigns as well as assisting vulnerable people on how best they can access police services.” Sibaya was born and bred in Kerstel in a family of five children.

….as water comes on stream

HARRISMITH – Days of walking long distances in order to fetch water are over for residents after the Maluti a Phofung municipality spent R65 000 on eight water pumps at Intabazwe.

Intabazwe is one of the informal settlements rocked by continuous protests against poor service delivery in the past months although the water project has somewhat appeased residents who still ramp up demands for electricity and housing.

A delegation including councillors Thembinkosi Josia Mahlambi of ward four, Mokete Komako and Moratwe Mokoena from Mayarol Committee MMC on Wednesday, October 24 checked if the water pumps were functioning before they could be handed to the community.

In an interview with Public Eye one of the residents at Intabazwe Celine Tshabalala said she was happy with what the government has done.

“Days of walking long distances in order to fetch water are over. The person who must be happier is my son who was responsible for fetching water as I could no longer manage due to poor health and old age. But I wish they could also come back and build us electrified houses and toilets,” said Tshabalala who has been living in a one roomed mud house for 12 years,  after she left Warden Farm.

Tshabalala said the toilet was a mess and reeked because it has not been properly built.

Echoing similar complaints one of the informal settlement’s residents Metals Meea said challenges they are facing in this area are horrible.

“When it rains the water seeps into our houses. I wish the government would come sooner to build us proper houses.”

But Mokoena said his council was not going to electrify the area or build houses because geological surveys had indicated that the area was unsuitable for home construction.

However he said they had decided to build temporary water pumps to bring water to the community while preparing to relocate the residents to another area. “We have already secured 650 sites where these people will be moved to once we have received funding we will develop that then these people can be transferred, “he said.

Councillor Mohlambi said there are 9 000 people staying in 350 shacks. “The over population in these shacks is caused by some people who are not South Africans. We learnt this when we were doing door to door check-ups. Some people have a lot of children hence the overcrowding,” he said.

….civic leaders doubt reasons

By Libuseng Nyaka

Free State ANC Secretary William Bulwane

QWA QWA – Civic opposition leaders doubt the real reasons behind the recent shake up at Maluti a Phofung municipality which resulted in the removal of the mayor and her replacement with another ANC party cadre.

The resignation of executive mayor Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli attributed to ill-health has received mixed reactions from opposition parties who are suspicious of the reasons given by ANC Secretary William Bulwane.

Bulwane said former Executive Mayor of MAP would be transferred to the Legislature and be replaced by Sarah Moleleki who is the former chief whip of Thabo Mofutsanayana District. The position of Mayor of MAP is not new to her.

Congress of the People (Cope) councillor, Ntombizonke Tlhakuli said she did not believe that Mopeli had resigned due to illness.

“This is just a political decision by ANC. Mopeli was put under pressure to resign because there were things that she wanted to be done properly – a thing that ANC does not like. There is no change which will be brought by Sarah Moleleki except to serve ANC ‘s interests without disagreeing with them,” Tlhakuli said.

Democratic Alliance councillor, Mary Kleynhanse Leona said she felt sorry for Mopeli adding the mayor had the potential to lead the municipality given the chance but she had always been under political pressure from her seniors.

Her sentiments were echoed by councillor of ACDP Tefo Jacob Mosikidi, who said that the former Mayor had no power and was constrained from making independent decisions. She was always influenced by fellow ANC councillors, he added.

Mosikidi hoped Molelelki’s arrival as a mayor would bring changes hailing her as a strong and independent character able to put her fellow party members to order.

“She is very firm I have seen her in several meetings while she was a Chief whip at Thabo Mofutsanayana. She is free of political influence,” Mosikidi said.

But President of Dikwankwetla, Moeketsi Lebesa does not think

Moleleki was better than Mopeli. While Lebesa said he was not surprised with the changes made by ANC because every party has the right to deploy its members, he said

Moleleki could not be any way better than Mopeli. “Having worked with both of them, I know Moleleki was a mayor after we took over at independence. She left a good structure in place but she failed to build on the legacy of good administration we inherited. By

then the municipality did not include many places like it is today,” Lebesa said.

“Given opportunity to makeindependent decisions, Mopeli could have done better. But the problemis that ANC say they do everything collectively and so we see no change in Moleleki’s coming if she would also use the same approach of collective governing.”

Mopeli‘s deployment came after a scandalous report which alleged that some victims of tornado at Kerstel were compensated ona partisan basis. Mopeli was elected Executive mayor  of MAP in 2011 after localgovernment elections taking over from the now Executive Mayor of Thabo Mofutsanyana, Balekile Mzangwa.

By Molefi Sompane

PARYS – Ngwathe Municipality Mayor Joey Mochela has vowed to improve service delivery and help create jobs, especially for the youth through apprenticeships.

Mochela told Public Eye in an exclusive interview on Saturday, October 28 that there would be learnerships meant to empower young people around Ngwathe.

“We have structures in place to tackle those things that we identified as a major challenge during the state of municipal address and we have made it clear that our youth will benefit in various skills empowerment programmes,” she said.

Mochela added that the local authority had fulfilled its promise toprovide stands for the community organisations such as churches, crèches and the people.

“We have made sure that many churches and crèches are given stands on which to build; we also gave our people places where they can live apart from providing electricity for the people who were previously disadvantaged,” Mochela said.

“We will continue improving people’s lives during this financial year so our people could feel the warmth of living in a democracy,” Mochela added.

She defended the fact that Ngwathe is concentrating on developing Parys only; the area which the premier Ace Magashule hails from. “Our people have been told lies that we are concentrating only on Parys but I am brave enough to tell you that all of our towns forming our municipality have been given deserved attention according to their needs.

“Why should we concentrate on providing services to only one town? It is all lies and we would like to call on our people to be patient about the services.we are working to ensure that they receive what they need,” she said.

Mochela admitted that there was still a lot to be done in all areas.“We have achieved a lot more than we expected since we got into theoffice, but we still need to do more. We appreciate the sterlingefforts by our district and provincial leaders who supported our thrust and we still think that more of things to be done in order to fulfill the mandate given us by the people who voted for us in power,” she said.

Mochela encouraged grade 12 learners in her municipality toperform well so they can be awarded bursaries.“I would like to call on this year’s matriculants to work hard so they merit financial assistance to further their studies. We will bewaiting for them to knock on our doors for such assistance if they deserve it,” added Mochela.

….for robbery suspects

QWA QWA – A case in which four men are accused of stealing half a million rand in rates and service charge payments from Maluti A phofung MAP on Friday, June 1 this year has been postponed to November 14 for further investigation.

Magistrate Mbuyeselo Khapha on October 30 ruled out the accused’s defence lawyer Skosana Kobeli plea for no further postponement saying there had been many deferments already.

Khapa also argued that that further delay would hold back the future of his clients.

Thabang Tsotso who was working at Maluti A Phofung as a security guard, Lekhotla Mokwai, Lukas Shongwe and Nape Motloung  were all MAP employees in the electricity department who are alleged to be involved in the disappearance of R500 000 collected from residents for services and rates.

The four had been released on bail of R10 000 each initially although this was reduced to R4 000 following mitigation.

The money disappeared from MAP municipal offices in Qwa Qwa on Friday, June 1. MAP had encouraged residents to pay their debts and came up with a debt relief strategy where residents would pay half their debt, and the other 50 percent would be written off by the municipality.

The deadline for payments had been set for May 31, and many people complied, while some could not. In June, the president of Dikwankwetla party Moeketsi Lebesa attributed the missing funds to a burglary after officials failed to deposit the money which had been paid before deadline into the bank.

He said the safe in which the money was kept was drilled into, and suspected the heist to be an inside job.  “Under no circumstances can one hold half a million so loosely in the office. If the bank is closed by the time one has reconciled his takings, it is sensible to call one of the many security companies here to keep the money in their vaults. Paying them to do so is better than all that money being stolen,” he said.

The then Municipal Manager Stephen Kau reported the theft to Phuthaditjhaba police resulting in six cashiers being arrested and spending the night of Saturday, June 2 in jail. Moloi Moloi appeared for the state.

AWARD WINNING: Bryan Habana

Springbok winger Bryan Habana was on Thursday named South African Rugby Player of the Year for the third time, while DHL Western Province picked up a brace of awards as their Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup success was recognised at a glittering ceremony at the Cape Town International Airport. The Sharks also scored off the field, with three awards heading to Durban.

Habana (29) was rewarded for his striking form as he helped the DHL Stormers to the top of the log in Vodacom Super Rugby and the semifinals of that competition, while extending his record try-scoring streak with the Springboks to 47. Habana was in superb form in the Green and Gold this year and scored seven tries in 2012, including a hat-trick against Australia at Loftus Versfeld in The Rugby Championship, resulting in him being the top try scorer in the inaugural season of the competition.

He also took the field in the Absa Currie Cup final in DHL Western Province colours and won the coveted trophy with this team for the first time, after tasting glory with the Vodacom Blue Bulls in 2009.

Unfortunately a knee injury sustained in the match rules him out of the Castle Outgoing Tour to Ireland, Scotland and England. The most capped winger in Springbok history will be missed. The speed merchant’s third award comes after similar accolades in 2005 and 2007. He becomes only the second player to win the title more than two times, following in the footsteps of Naas Botha, who won it four times.

He was voted as Player of the Year by South Africa’s accredited rugby media and the public, who voted via the Springboks Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Springboks) in competition with fellow nominees Keegan Daniel, Eben Etzebeth, Pat Lambie and JP Pietersen.

Habana’s award was the finale of a star-studded night during which 16 awards were won for rugby excellence across all age groups and competitions in 16 categories.

DHL Western Province had three more winners on the night with Demetri Catrakilis and Deon Fourie being named Vodacom Cup and Absa Currie Cup Players of the Season and Eben Etzebeth walking away with the Young Player of the Year award. The Sharks also scored a treble on the night with their Absa Currie Cup team being named Absa Team of the Year and their head coach John Plumtree, walking away with the Absa Coach of the Year award. Sharks captain Keegan Daniel was voted as Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year by the six franchise coaches.

Junior Bok midfielder Jan Serfontein, who was named Player of the Tournament after the IRB’s Junior World Cup in South Africa in June, was almost a shoe-in for the SA Under-20 Player of the Year award, while Griffons utility back Hansie Graaff grabbed the spoils of Absa Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year. Cecil Afrika got the award for Springbok Sevens Player of the Year for the second year running in a new voting process which saw media and the public each contributing 50% of the vote.