By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN -  Six members of African National Congress (ANC) who recently failed in their bid to have the re-election of provincial supremo Ace Magashule to the helm of the ruling party in the Free Sate nullified, plan to approach the Constitutional Court for relief.

This follows the dismissal of their application in the High Court by Justice Mojalefa Rampai who last month stated that no court should be asked to resolve internal ANC squabbles.

Mpho Ramaka, one of the six applicants who filed for a court interdict to stop Magashule and his provincial executive committee (PEC) from working, told Public Eye that the judgment by Justice Rampai was political and not judicial.

The Six applicants; Mpho Ramakatsa, Tumisho Mbethe, Majoro Mpuru, Elisha Mbangula, Cecilia Chaka and Ntshiwa Morolloane had asked the court to interdict Magashule and the PEC from assuming office, and also for the ANC to dissolve the Free State PEC and appoint an interim management structure.

Ramakatsa and his team say the Judge had erred hence their decision to approach a higher court in a last ditch attempt to overturn his ruling and stop Magashule in his tracks.

“The judgement was very unfair because we had all the evidence, proving how the conference was rigged and we put it before the court,” Ramakatsa said.

Ramakatsa said the ANC should not portray itself as an organisation that has no qualms about expelling members from its ranks but as one that deals with members’ complaints constructively.

His statement was in reaction to claims made by provincial secretary, William Bulwane, that the  Free State PEC would take disciplinary action against the six for trying to get the June  provincial conference declared null and void. “We have taken this decision in Polokwane (in 2007) that if any member took the party to court they must be expelled,” Bulwane said.

He added that “this would be contradicting the ANC constitution, so we will follow the processes in the constitution, which encourages disciplinary action over expulsion.”

Majoro Mpuru, a member of the group now dubbed “Regime Change”, who is one of the six pplicants, said the resolution made in Limpopo did not stop members of the ANC from taking the leadership or anyone to court.

“The resolution only discourages members from taking organisational matters to court but does not absolutely forbid it. It states that this may happen if members have exhausted the internal processes,” said Mpuru.

He said internal processes were exhausted long before the Parys conference because they had been lodging complaints about Magashule’s leadership since last year without getting any relief.

In the contrast, Bulwane argued that the applicants did not exhaust all internal remedies as they should have done before going to court.

“They should have followed the right procedure. If they were not satisfied at provincial level, they should have submitted their issues to the National Executive Council (NEC) and then to the conference,” Bulwane added. Bulwane said that if the applicants were “as smart as they think they are, they should have taken advantage of the fact that the national conference will be held

in their own province in December to air their disgruntlement”.

The so-called Regime Change group is a splinter from the Magashule led faction and is fronted by ousted economic development MEC Mxolisi Dukwana.

Dukwana with the backing of former Mukhonto we Sizwe fighters broke ranks with Magashule when he decided to run against the ANC strongman who has held court in the party in the province since the dawn of democracy 18 years ago.

Magashule’s reaction to the threat on his hold onto the levers of power in this province of some 2,8 million people was swift as he ditched Dukwana from the Provincial Government on seemingly spurious grounds which opposition leaders and analysts were quick to pierce. The Dukwana faction, like its national backers in the so-called Anyone but Zuma group, now risk wallowing in political exile for the next four years unless President Jacob Zuma is removed from the helm of the ANC at the party’s national conference in Mangaung in December.

Dukwana recently refused to appear before the ANC’s provincial disciplinary committee for allegedly sowing divisions in the party, arguing that he did not recognize the Magashule executive. Dukwana is accused of bringing the ANC into disrepute after he boycotted the party’s provincial conference held in Parys in June citing irregularities in the selection of delegates to the elective meeting and other related issues.

The anti-Zuma camp is pushing for Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to take over as leader of the ANC.So if Motlanthe wins the party’s top seat, Dukwana is likely to bounce back and probably finally replace Magashule, a staunch Zuma supporter.

Most commentators, analysts and even leading politicians agree that there is a crisis facing our country – a crisis of poverty, unemployment and rising inequality.

But there is a huge divergence among role players when it comes to the true causes of this crisis. The press, commentators and others have told us that the lack of (political) leadership in South Africa is responsible for our triple crisis.

We have no problem facing up to the agenda these role players are agitating for. They have never believed in the leadership capabilities of the current ANC collective in any case, so they are not being honest in their evaluation.

Our responsibility is to organise our people so that they can see this agenda for what it is: another attempt to stop the election of a particular candidate we are all told incessantly not to like, not to trust and that he can’t lead, period.

This time around, however, the attempt is more sophisticated.

It plays into people’s emotions and seeks to focus on the very real issues and problems we all agree are a challenge.

While we all agree that things are tough, it is incorrect to blame a particular leader.

But what concerns us here is the use of the downgrading of South Africa’s credit ratings by several ratings agencies, including Moody’s. This sub-narrative is being used to corroborate the “crisis of leadership” storyline.

Let us recall that the same agency also downgraded South Africa in the run up to the 52nd ANC Conference in Polokwane.

At that time the downgrade was used to tell the nation and ANC members going to Polokwane not to vote for a particular candidate. Same line, same agency, same papers, same ANC delegates.

Why must they listen to it this time around?

The reason why this view will not gain traction among ANC delegates is because the news and comment feed we’ve been given has not been completely candid about the root cause of the problems confronting society.

It has framed the news in such a way that the leadership of the ANC is seen as the scapegoat and not the capitalist system, which is undergoing one of its deepest and most prolonged crises.

Worldwide the result of the crisis has meant that more and more people are out of work and more and more people are getting poor while a tiny minority remains filthy rich.

The structural deficiencies of our economy have not been properly elaborated on for people to understand the need for a radical structural shift in economic policy.

In narrowing the argument, mainly driven by an elitist irritation with the president, the press has also failed to look at the credibility of rating agencies such as Moody’s – the same agency that gave triple-A ratings to the large American Banks who, by their reckless trading, were responsible for the current financial crises faced by the capitalist economies of advanced countries.

For example, Moody’s gave Lehman Brothers a triple-A rating only a few months before the mortgage company collapsed.

The question of who is actually behind Moody’s has never been critically engaged in our country or by the media generally.

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Fidelity, State Street, Blackrock and Morgan Stanley Investment are just a few of Moody’s shareholders. These are the world’s biggest fund mangers and they use Moody’s to influence the market so as to increase their share value and profits.

Their perception of South Africa is not class neutral or politically disinterested.

In reality they represent the crudest form of capital trying to use its muscle and its institutions, which are tightly linked to the system of global governance, to dictate terms to liberation movements and governments so as to shape and influence economic policy in countries such as SA.

So why should we now be persuaded to trust Moody’s?

And why is there a complete blackout on the probe in the US and Europe into the role rating agencies play in plunging those economies into the abyss they find themselves in today?

Rating agencies are nothing but the creation of a capitalist system needed to concoct confidence in its financial projects and the fictitious growth of economies.

This inability to be critical when telling the South African story should lead us to read the pessimistic messages with caution.

Our determination to radically transform the systemic features of the South African economy will never receive any positive feedback from Moody’s or other rating agencies. So let’s not lose focus!

Let us concentrate on mobilising the working class and our people to focus on our five priorities and the struggle to transform the growth path that sharks like Moody’s have been profiting from.

*Malesela Maleka is a member of the NC and NWC of the Young Communist League and is the SACP spokesperson

By Jonathan Jansen

The Grade 12 girl sitting in front of me took some time to complete the sentence as she covered her face with her hands and tears ran through her fingers.

It happened every weekend, the ritual beatings of a mother whom her daughter absolutely adored; the little girl would bear testimony to this brutality and wonder why her mother did not leave.

In the harsh life of an informal settlement, her options were limited. When asked whether they wanted their father released from prison where he served time for the murder, the children agreed; they needed the one parent still alive.

Thembi Letsoara (not her real name) was just starting to emerge from an earlier tragedy in which she was brutally raped by her cousin. Nobody would believe her, until days later the doctors would confirm the sexual assault. By this time, the evidence was thin since she had bathed and cleaned up the mess.

The boy’s father was the only person working and gave money to the grandmother with whom Thembi was staying; there was an agreement that they would not pursue matters for that would risk the only source of income available to the extended family.

“For a long time I did not trust male figures, not even my father. I slept with my mother.”

The young woman cries again as she recalls being raped.

Her sole support through this dreadfully painful period of her life was her mother.

“She encouraged me, she loved me, she supported me.”

Now the mother was dead.

It is almost impossible to match this smart, beautiful and well-poised young woman with the two tragedies I had just heard about.

It is even more improbable that her Grade 12 examination results, before these National Senior Certificate finals, include 92% in the mathematics third paper, 94% in the main mathematics paper, and 90% in life sciences.

Having spent only three years, Grades 10 to 12, at one of the top public girls’ schools in the country, the young woman overcame poverty, hardship and unspeakable trauma to become a top academic performer.

“She is guaranteed an A aggregate matric,” swears the principal.

Her break came when a famous boys’ school invited two children from every disadvantaged school in the area to become part of an academy in which promising learners were given high-quality lessons.

From this large group, two students were sent to that boys’ school, and two to the adjacent girls’ school. She made it, and took every opportunity to excel not only in academics, but also in senior netball.

There is something I have yet to understand: why most young people, when faced with incredible hardship, give up on life, but a few stand firm and triumph. This thing called resilience fascinates me. Her report card speaks of “her tenacious spirit” and “her determination and zealous attitude” and “going the extra mile to produce work of a high standard”.

But the report also speaks of her humility, her grace, and a “respectful, quiet and unassuming nature”. “What is it about you that keeps you going?” I ask.

“My mom, she was my best friend and she was very strong.”

And then she mentions the principal of the academy; this amazing man makes sure that people and the system do not fail her again.

“She wants to study medicine,” he tells me, and will need financial assistance and guidance.

“Why medicine?” I ask her.

“Like my mother,” she says, “I always wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to make my mother proud.”

It is clear to me that this is not the kind of medical graduate who will jet off to Europe after a state-subsidised education. She will plough back right here.

“If your mother were here, what would you say to her?”

She does not need to think.

“I would say thank you for raising me, for supporting me, for believing in me.” And then my final question: “What is the one thing you would want your mother to know about you today?”

With a soft, confident voice: “I am now stronger than I have ever been.”

Anyone who wishes to contribute to the university education of this matriculant should contact me on jj@ufs.ac.za for further information.

By Godfrey Simons

BLOEMFONTEIN – South African National Civic Organisation Secretary Bakoena Ramosie has demanded that the ruling party recognises theirrole in mobilising the community for positive cause.

He said the upcoming African National Congress elective conference inMangaung should address the concerns of the people who are oftenprotesting against poor service delivery.  “They must be mobilised through changing patterns of community discontent, changing employed strategies and tactics that compound SANCO gradual marginalization. There is also a need to ensure that wecounter the reactionary parties representing the African beneficiariesand at the same time to represent the masses of our people,” Ramosie said.

He said the Mangaung Conference will have to introspect whether theANC government has served the community well. SANCO was a strategicANC partner and civic organisations were interested in what will transpire in Mangaung.

“SANCO encourages delegates to bear in mind that the ANC has timelyproduced tried and tested leaders who never gambled with the wishes ofour masses. Those are the leaders that the conference must electinstead of electing seasonal leaders who will run away from the massesduring hard times. We need leaders who will permit the channel ofpublic engagement which will provide an order where wishes of the poorwill be articulated,” he said.

Ramosie believed that the economic benefits should be distributed tothe people of South Africa equally not to a few minorities.

He emphasised that their organisation as a social movement evoked thespirit of activism which will enhance the lives of the people in the country.

SANCO could not sit on the side lines when important decisions were made. Ramosie said civic organisations wanted to influence the election of quality leaders.

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – Scores of learners in the Tierpoort farming area who used to walk for 30 km to get an education will soon move into new boarding facilities at Kgotsofalo Intermediate School.

The Department of Education has invested at least R9.8 million in new hostel facilities for the pupils in the farming community which spans more than 200 farms.

Most farm workers send their children to the school which was built over 40years ago for children of black farm workers.

Before the hostel construction, learners in the area walked to and from school in all types of weather.

About 78 learners from Grade R to Grade 9 currently stay in Kgotsofalo Intermediate School hostel. The school is the only intermediate school drawing enrolment from four primary schools in Tierpoort.

A new school hostel is currently under construction in Bainsvlei which will give learners an option of choosing to complete their matric in either Bainsvlei or Dr Block High School.

School Principal, Malesela Lekoeneha said he was unhappy with the performance of his school due to inadequate personnel and poor school attendance by the learners especially due to unfavourable weather conditions, and previously transport challenges.

Addressing parents at the commissioning of the hostel last week, Lekoeneha said he would strive to turn the school into a haven for success and achievement. He said he wanted to turn the school into a mini-Tsoseletso, one of the best public schools known for producing commendable matric results.

The school now has a hall, a dining hall with a kitchen and laundry room, girls and boys hostels that accommodates 88 learners. Currently close to 77 per cent of learners are housed in the hostel. It also accommodates six teachers.

Chairperson of the School Governing Body (SGB) said the availability of boarding facilities promised to help improve general performance at the school that boasts only four permanent educators, two temporary educators, one grade R teacher and Grade three assistant teachers.

“Each educator is forced to teach a minimum three subjects in every stream,” said Lekoeneha.

Stanley Malope, Head of Department of Education said his department’s responsibility was to provide quality education in communities.

“We must understand that nations that have succeeded in the world are those that have invested in the education of their children. We must do the same,” he added.

The MEC of Education, Tate Makgoe said building more hostels in rural and farm schools stood as the biggest achievement for his Department.

He said the biggest challenge was to convince parents to hand over their children to move into school hostels. “I had to strategically call a meeting and buy some KFC to convince them that their children are in good hands,” Makgoe added.

He pleaded with teachers in rural schools to do justice to their learners.

“Teachers who teach in rural and farm schools have a tendency of not prioritising their schools and SGB members have the right to monitor whether children are being taught properly or not,” MEC said.

He promised to build a Mathematics lab at the school. “I want to see children of farm owners being registered at this school because of the quality of education provided here,” he added.

“Before the Kgotsofalo hostel’s project the Department had built another hostel at Harmony School that accommodates approximately 300 learners who attend different schools in Virginia,” said Makgoe.

Makgoe said the department had a hostel in the pipeline for Thabo Mofutsanyane district.

..demand fair allocation of houses

By Libuseng Nyaka

Former Maluti A Phofung executive mayor Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli

KESTEL – Victims of a freak storm that destroyed homes in Kerstel early this year are not happy with what they see as irregular selection of beneficiaries of new houses built to replace those destroyed, saying undeserving people who were unaffected by the tornado are getting first preference.

Residents who gathered here on Wednesday, November 7 told Maluti A Phofung executive mayor Sarah Moleleki that the contractor had used a controversial report when allocating the houses.

They protested that the report was full of irregularities and did notinclude some of the victims of the tornado attack of June 23, 2012.

“It is so sad when people affected by tornado are left out while preference is given to those who were not even affected. This issuehas to be addressed and ways found to compensate deserving victims,”Silas Sesoai said.

Former Maluti A Phofung executive mayor Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli signed the controversial report implying victims had received assistance to rebuild damaged homes. but some of the 82 victims of the storm say the contents of the report are false and misleading.

The chairperson of the Disaster Management Committee established to deal with victims and a principal teacher at Nkarabeng secondary school inKerstel, Thabo Tsotetsi said of the report: “The report is nothing buta pack of lies. It portrayed a different situation to what is obtaining on the ground. People have not been helped and the situation is still the same,” Tsotestsi said recently.

He said as chairperson of the disaster committee working closely withthe victims, he would have known if any funds or help had been rendered to the community as he was heavily involved in rescue efforts and community revival.

“This report is an insult to thevictims. I was also shocked to see the report because I am tasked towork with the victims to ensure they get help,” he added.

Residents also told Moleleki that they were unimpressed by the waypeople were being engaged to work on the construction project.

Moleleki told the affected people that she was there to clear the decks for the provincial government who would be coming soon to intervene.

But the meeting nearly went sour when Moleleki interrupted the chairperson of the disaster committee’s presentation, saying that Tsotetsihad no right to address them because he was not affected.

That did not go down well with the community members who electedTsotetsi to represent them.They demanded that he be allowed to speak.

However, the speaker of Maluti A Phofung, Malewatle Nthedi was quick tocool flaring tempers saying that the purpose was not to fight withthem but to engage with them so that they can all be assisted.

By Godfrey Simons

BLOEMFONTEIN – Three of the four men facing eight counts of rape, murder, kidnapping and escaping from police custody have shifted the blame on their co-accused who they claim master-minded a botched escape attempt when they appeared before the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday, November 7.

Nkosana Abram Zondo, 36, from Bethlehem, Joseph Ntoni, 33, from Phuthaditjhaba, Richard Thabang Phakoe, 27 and Thami Ramahlokoane, 34, from Matwabe in Senekal are facing two counts of murder, two of attempted murder, and 2 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and escaping from police custody on May 12 last year at Harrismith Magistrate Court.

The accused pleaded not guilty to all eight charges. They are serving 20years in jail for unrelated robbery and attempted murder charges. They killed police constable Jim Meshack Cebekulu, 29, after disarming him.

They then ran through the court building kidnapping and hijacking a 52-year-old motorist Evelyn Botes who later died instantly in a car crash after her high-jacked Mercedes Benz vehicle hit a brick wall while police gave chase.

The accused were re-arrested and sent back to Groenpunt prison in Vereeniging.

In his defence Phakoe told the court that he was shot by the police despite showing intention to surrendering himself.

“I was cuffed in leg irons with A1 (Zondo) and after everyone had a lighted from the van, I heard gunshots. We dived for cover under the vehicle. Zondo gave me a key to unlock the cuffs and I returned the key to him. I realised that the police were shooting at us. I stood up raising my hands above my head yet the police shot me and I fell back to the ground,” he said.

He denied that he had disarmed Cebekulu and their escape had been planned. Phakoe told the court that Zondo had carried him to a car.“ Immediately after we got out of the court building I saw someone behind us shooting. I told Zondo that someone was following us. Zondo shot at the follower. We got into a Mercedes Benz and did not know where the car was going. Zondo shot back at the police,” he said.

He said one of the accused (Moselane) who was driving the car was shotin the head. He said he grabbed the steering wheel as he realised that the car was veering off the road. He also said the kidnapped woman had asked Zondo to surrender by dropping the rifle magazine, which he did but the police kept on shooting.

Another accused Ramohlakoane testified  that he did not see who shot Cebekulu but heard gunshots. “Our lives were in danger. I was not escaping but protecting my life. A1 (Zondo) fired several times when we were running away,” Ramohlakoane said.

Zondo had told the court that he had fired back in self-defence while Ntoni refused to defend himself. Their lawyers had asked the court to acquit them but prosecutor Advocate Joe Hiemstra SC asked the court to find them guilty. The accused are represented by Advocate Sunette Kruger, Peter van de Merwe, Lawrence Maile, and Professor Carel Fick. The case has been postponed to January 17 next year for judgement.

…as strategies post success

By More Matshediso

Free State MEC for Finance Seeiso Mohai

BLOEMFONTEIN – Better financial husbandry strengthened by the introduction of a strategy to deal with corruption in a holistic way has resulted in a 20 percent drop in fraudulent activities in the Free State.

The MEC of Finance Seiso Mohai on Tuesday, November 6 revealed that stronger rules and procedures to stop nepotism, favouritism, and the awarding of contracts to undeserving people had reduced fraudulent activities in the province during the 2011/12 financial year when compared to the previous financial year.

Mohai attributed the contraction in incidents of fraud to the adoption of an anti-corruption strategy comprised of financial audits, use of investigating units such as Special Investigation Unit (SUI) to root out corruption in the public sector.

The strategy also includes laws and processes of protecting “whistle blowers”, training of all public servants on codes of conduct, ethics and corruption, and prosecution of all offenders and blacklisting of those who have been found guilty.

“With preventative mechanism in departments and improved monitoring systems tied to detective controls, we are confident that the decrease in percentage will yield positive results continuously,” Mohai said.

“We should continue building an environment which is free of fraudulent activities,” he added.

Mohai said the Free State government joined the world in celebrating International Fraud Awareness Week because it does not operate in a fraud free environment.

He said it is government’s responsibility to account for its own working atmosphere in creating a free fraud environment to enhance service delivery within set timeframes. “No government department, public entity, or Municipality is exempted from fraud. Steps should be taken to deter the occurrence of fraud and mitigate loss,” he said.

Meanwhile, Central Region Chairperson of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Rudolph Laubscher announced a 30 percent spike in fraud from the 2009 survey. “Unfortunately and as confirmed by our 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey that focused on cybercrime, fraud rose by 30 per cent from the 2009- survey,” he noted.

“Fraud is by its very nature a hidden crime. To complicate its detection even further, it often overlaps with other crimes like theft and corruption.”  Laubscher said it was implicitly evident that blowing the whistle on such a serious crime might have consequences for employees as they often implicate their superiors. “One aspect that deserves attention in the South African context is the need to depoliticise fraud.”

According to the ACFE report, about 77 per cent of fraud was committed by individuals working in one of six departments including accounting, operations, sales, executives, customer services and purchasing.

The report revealed that a typical organization loses five per cent of its revenues to fraud each year, translating into a potential projected annual fraud loss of more than R3.5 trillion.

“In South Africa, we are proud to announce that this is the third year in supporting the initiative that started out as a simple thank you to the fraud fighters in blue,” said Laubscher.

International fraud awareness week was launched in the United State and since 2006 when the ACFE joined the effort.

It has become one of the biggest events on the anti-fraud calendar. International participant organisations have grown from 100 to over 600.  Laubscher said fraud investigators should not be used to eliminate business or political opponents.

“Fraud touches on the moral fibre of our society and asks whether we are truthful or not,” he added.

The week-long campaign encourages business leaders and employees to proactively take steps to minimize the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.

By Libuseng Nyaka

Moeketsi Lebesa

QWA QWA – The new Executive Mayor of Maluti A Phofung Maditaba Sarah Moleleki has reshuffled her mayoral committee plucking out three members of the committee viewed as part of a rebel group dubbed“ Regime Change”.

The deposed councillors are: Ntsane Mopeli who was responsible for Spatial Development and Traditional Leaders; Qheku Wilson Lefora was responsible for Sports, Arts andCulture while Mahlomola Majake was responsible for Community services.

The three are alleged to be members of a group that is believed to have been plotting to oust Free State Premier Ace Magashule from the chairmanship of the African National

Congress (ANC) in the Free State in preparation for an assault on President Jacob Zuma’s leadership of the ruling party.

But Moleleki – who also assumed the mayorship after a palace coup in which former Executive Mayor Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli was shunted aside – has dismissed the allegations saying that the party had a right to deploy and recall its members.

Political commentators and opposition leaders scoffed at reasons given for the change of the guard at MAP, saying it was a political purge.Mopeli’s resignation was attributed to ill-health. ANC Secretary William Bulwane said Mopeli would be transferred to the Legislature and be replaced by Moleleki, a former chiefwhip of Thabo Mofutsanayana District.

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 underpressure to resign because there were things that she wanted to bedone properly – a thing that ANC does not like. There is no change which will be brought by Sarah Moleleki except to serve the ANC’s

interests without disagreeing with them,” Tlhakuli said.

Qheku Lefora will be deployed to Naledi Municipality as Municipal Manager while Moleleki said the ANC has not yet to decide where the others would go. However, she said the changes would not affect the trio’s councillorship.

The sacked councillors either refused to comment on Thursday, November 8 or were unreachable by telephone.

A low-level war of attrition has been raging in the ANC in the run-up to the career-defining Mangaung conference at which the ruling party will renew its leadership. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Deputy President Kgalema Mothlante is vying for Zuma’s job and has galvanised grounds well support to help him unseat his boss in both government and the party.

In Free State, a loose coalition of disgruntled members of the ANC main body, its youth league and former freedom fighters has since June tenaciously fought to block Magashule’s re-election to no avail.

The group which has been linked to former MEC Nxolisi Dukwana has waged court battles and boycotted ANC functions to drum up support for its cause.

This week, Moleleki also announced new members of her mayoral committee which includes Moeketsi Lebesa of Dikwankwetla South Africa party which cameas a surprise as the opposition leader has been a vocal critic of the ruling party’s record of poor service delivery.

Moleleki said Lebesa was selected after a lot of soul-searching by the executive committee. She said he had been identified as someone who can assist the municipality in its task of serving the people.

“We  are a democratic party. There is nothing wrong with the inclusion of Lebesa in our executive committee. We have identified his experience and intelligence which can add to the improvement of the service delivery,” she said.

Moleleki denied allegations that nominating Lebesa as a Member of the Mayoral committee was a way of silencing him.

Lebesa is apprehensive that the executive committee could stop himfrom making sure that ANC delivers on its mandate.“ I will be in a better position to make an input and even questionsome of the decisions and influence decision-making in the bestinterests of the people, unlike in the past when I was not involved in the discussions. This will make my influence carry more weight.”

Lebesa has been nominated together with Mohinya Azael Nhlapho, Dipuo Mboso, Tumelo Thebe and Mapoho Mohlabi Louis.

The executive mayor is yet to assign them to different portfolio committees.

By Libuseng Nyaka

MAP Mayor Sarah moleleki

QWA QWA – The new Executive Mayor of Maluti A Phofung Maditaba Sarah Moleleki has pledged to intensify the war against poverty and inequality within the municipality and challenged citizens to join hands to tackle these social ills.

Speaking during her acceptance speech last week, Moleleki promised to accelerate development in the impoverished district.

Highlighting a sleuth of problems such as unreliable electricity network and supply across the municipality, no access to water in some parts or wards in the municipality, shortage of serviced sites both for housing and economic development, among others, Moleleki said such challenges needed to be dealt with decisively. Ageing infrastructure and bad access roads in the villages might appear insurmountable, but these can also be tackled, she said.

However, Moleleki said these challenges can only be dealt with if citizens join hands in the war against poverty and inequality.

“We need to deepen our resolve. Working together, we can do more and really ensure that councillors, ward committees, youth formations, organs of civil society and the private sector join hands for the benefit of MAP residents as a whole,” she said.

“And, in this path, we have to ensure partnership with the traditional leadership as well and respect the role they have or can play alongside us, the elected leaders.”

Moleleki said the decision by the ANC to change leadership at MAP must not be seen as neither an act of desperation nor lack of a sense of direction, but be viewed as an act of strengthening an arm of service delivery to the people. Moleleki took over Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli.

Moleleki also promised to collaborate with all councillors, and the administration led by Madala Ntombela the Municipal Manager to chart a new path for development and service delivery.

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – e.tv stars mesmerised Mangaung residents when they breezed into the City of Roses last weekend and kicked up a storm.

The soapie stars kicked off their whirlwind tour with a late night party at Cubana on Friday, November 2. The club was packed with hot ladies who screamed their lungs out when the e.tv crew walked in to party with them.

Popular celebs from flagship shows such as Rhythm City, Scandal, Club 808, Craze and the second instalment of e.tv’s reality show, Rolling with Kelly Khumalo pranced around the dance floor sipping beverages throughout the night.

Samela Tyelbooi, known as “Shado” from Rhythm City, surprised the fans with her good moves as she danced to the house beats as DJ Leo from Germany was on the ones-and-twos.

Tyelbooi and other Celebs seem to have had a great time at Cubana while Kelly Khumalo relaxed on a couch most of the night mingling with guys, and girls.

Mpho Molepo (Fats), Setlhabi Taunyane (Kop), Mduduzi Mabaso (Suffocate) were also busy bees in the Cubana hive whereas Connie Chiume (Mamokete) only met with the fans on Saturday, November 3 at Sanlam Plaza and Mahungra Carwash with the rest of the crew.

Siyabonga Shibe (Killa), Brighton Ngoma (Quinton) and Nontsikelelo Petronella (Ruby), all from Scandal were also in the mix at Cubana crew and other places. Petronella confessed to Public Eye that she is rather shy and reserved.

From Club 808’s Mo Flava mingled with his local fans once more in less than a month.

The last time he was in Bloem was when his show came to Primi Piati for the “All white everything party” in partnership with the Mangaung African Cultural Festival (Macufe).Zola and Stephanie from Crazewere also on hand to wow their adoring fans.

“e.tv has a national footprint, and both our brand and talent are loved by many viewers around the country. We want to engage and connect with our audience; this is the key driver behind our Kasi tours planned across the country.

Viewers want to interact with some of their favourite celebs,” says Monde Twala, head of e.tv.

By Libuseng Nyaka

Mamiki Qabethe

HARRISMITH – The official launch of a Vehicle Distribution Centre with the potential to create more than 29 ,000 jobs is set to reducehigh levels of poverty and unemployment in Thabo Mofutsanyana district.

Speaking at the launch of the VDC at Tshiami, the Premier of Free State Ace Magashule said the project was a starting point of an integrated citymodel – the first of its kind in the world to be implemented inHarrismith.

Magashule said the project was not only going to create jobs but locals will also tap into the Germans expertise in vehicles.

The provincewas the official economic development, trade and Investment Corporation hub due to its location in the centre of the country, he said.

“Free State is a land locked province surrounded by six other provinces therefore it would be easier for you to attract business from these neighbouring provinces including Lesotho as a country. Free State did not enjoy the benefit of an industrial development zone. But through

President Zuma’s visionary leadership today Harrismith has attractedbusiness investment internationally and from as far as Germany,” he said assuring the Germans that they had made the right choice by doing their business in Free State.

Representing FDC Chief Executive officer, Thuso Ramaema  said the project would not only translate into a substantial financial injection of funds into the economy for local people, but also assist in the national government’s effort to move cargo from road to rail.

FDC,  government, and Germany partnered with Transnet freight rail inthis project Ramaema said the vehicles from VDC would be delivered by rail to Harrismith and, they will be distributed to different vehicle dealers from there, which meant even more jobs will be generated for locals.

MEC  of  Police, Roads and Transport Butana Komphela noted that the project will not only boost economic growth but will also minimise road accidents as the vehicles will be transported by railwayal though the initiative means there will be job losses in the trucking industry as their work of delivering vehicles will be done by trains.

Minister of Economic, Labour and Ports, Martin Gunthner expressed appreciation on the reception in Free State saying he hoped this was a good start for business.

But MEC for Tourism and Economy Development Mamiki Qabane said people should be dynamic and learn to be innovative by using new opportunities brought by this new project.

Executive Mayor of  Maluti A Phofung Sarah Moleleki thanked the Germany government for investing in her areaas well as the government for its efforts to improve Maluti A Phofung. A representative of the community of Tshiami Local Community, Tumelo Thebe hailed the initiative and said residents were excited with theprojects that would improve their lives as more jobs meant areduction in poverty.

Chairperson of the Harrismith Chamber of Business, Ben Deysel, said: “We have reach this stage because the government took time to ensure that Harrismith is also seen as an area which can be used to attract investment.”

Thabo Mofutsanyana district is one of the hardest hit poverty stricken areas in Free State.

By Dennis Cruywagen

President Jacob Zuma

CAPE TOWN – President Jacob Zuma has told Members of Parliament that his family, and not government, paid for his private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

“My residence in Nkandla has been paid for by the Zuma family. All the buildings and every room we use in that residence, was built by ourselves as a family and not by government. I have never asked government to build a home for me, and it has not done so,” said Zuma on Thursday.

He labelled as a lie reports that government had built his home.

“The house being paraded on television as being built by government is not true. The Zuma family has built its own home for its own comfort. I’m happy that the investigations are taking place.”

The President said his name was being used wrongly and that his family was being undermined. “I feel very aggrieved,” Zuma said.

He said that some of the recent actions and statements regarding the matter had made a laughing stock of his family and that he took exception to this.

The President was answering a question in the National Assembly on Thursday, November 15 posed to him by the leader of the opposition on whether he had instructed the Minister of Public Works to cease all building on his Nkandla home, pending the outcome of an investigation announced by the Public Protector.

Giving a history of his homestead, Zuma said that his two houses had been burnt down on two occasions at a time of political unrest in KwaZulu-Natal.

When times had normalized, he had taken out a bond to rebuild his home. He was still paying off this bond. “I engaged the bank. I’m still paying a bond on the first phase of my home.”

The Zuma family had decided in its own time to upgrade the homestead, of which there were two.

He said a distinction should be drawn between work which he had mandated and initiated at his home, as opposed to the security enhancement undertaken by government.

“On the basis of a security risk assessment undertaken by a team drawn from the Departments of Defence and Military Veterans, Police and State Security, I was approached to allow security upgrades to be made to my Nkandla residence. I was advised that the security upgrades were indeed necessary in terms of the National Key Points Act 102 of 1980.

“Therefore, all the security enhancements that have been undertaken by the Department of Public Works at my residence in Nkandla have been part of these security requirements. Any other construction undertaken by government, outside the perimeter of my home, such as the accommodation for government security personnel, is not part of my residence.”

Zuma pledged to co-operate with any agency instructed to undertake official investigations into his house, adding that he would not try to pre-empt the outcome.

“I fully support these investigations. We will not preempt the outcome of these investigations or respond to speculation at this stage. We must respect the institutions that are investigating, and the processes that have been started,” he said.

The President said should the investigations unearth wrongdoing of any kind, “the necessary actions will be taken, as we have done in respect of irregularity in other instances”.

The Minister of Public Works, ThulasNxesi, has established a task team of experts to investigate whether supply chain procedures were properly followed by the department in carrying out these security upgrades.  The minister has also instructed the department to cooperate with investigations by any other authorised agency.

The Auditor-General has also been requested to audit all classified prestige projects. - SAnews.gov.za

LADYSMITH – As South Africa forges on with its infrastructure build, electricity remains a key developmental goal with government aiming to electrify every household in the country, President Jacob Zuma said at the weekend.

The rollout of electricity supply in remote areas is important to improve the lives of people, he added. Zuma was speaking following his first tour of the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme.

“This is an important visit at this significant project,” said Zuma, adding that such visits are undertaken to assess progress made in key projects that government is implementing as part of monitoring and evaluation.

“Ingula is a significant part of the infrastructure development  plan,” he added of the massive plan to turn the country into a massive construction site aimed at primarily developing the country’s rural areas.

Zuma’s visit follows on an earlier trip to the Medupi power plant in Lephalale, Limpopo. The President was impressed with the progress made at the plant.

“We are winning in our efforts to ensure adequate supply for household use and industrial use,” he said, adding that the recent results of Census 2011 had shown that over 80% of the country now had access to electricity compared to the 58% in the 1996 census.

“This is a significant improvement. When we visit such sites it is meaningful for every South African. The importance of electricity cannot be over emphasised,” Zuma said, following the tour of the plant that will come on line in 2014 on phased intervals.

The visit, he said, gave people hope that power will come to all households.

“We don’t ever want people to doubt the security of supply, it’s in the national interest,” he said.

Zuma was accompanied to the storage scheme that consists of an upper and lower dam, each with a capacity of approximately 22 millioln cubic metres of water by Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters and Eskom CEO Brian Dames among others.

The erratic supply of electricity in previous years had cost the country, the President told a packed marquee at the plant surrounded by lush greenery.

The Ingula project will cost R23 billion. The infrastructure plan involves several SIP including SIP 9: Electricity generation to support socio-economic development. This is so as to accelerate the construction of new electricity generation capacity in accordance with the country’s energy plan namely the IRP2010 to meet the electricity generation needs of the country to ensure economic growth as well as to address historical imbalances.

“The project will cost R23 billion. The country’s infrastructure plan will change the lives of people,” he said, adding that this will provide jobs and grow the economy. “This is a very unique site,” he said.

Eskom board member Collin Matjila said the power parastatal has taken note of the importance of sustainable development; hence the parastatal has integrated this into its plans.

“Twenty years from now coal will contribute less to [electricity supply] and renewable energy will play a bigger role,” he said, adding that supply will be tight in the short and medium term.

Gigaba agreed with Matjila, adding that security of supply will be tight but that government is working on ensuring supply in the future.

The President unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit to Ingula. - SAnews.gov.za

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – Rietfontein Trust residents walked home with a spring in their stride following the donation of innovative 90-litre water casks worth R125 000 donated by Bloem Water on Tuesday, November 13 and dubbed Hippo Water Rollers.

Rietfontein is one of the trusts surrounding Thaba Nchu Township where access to water has been a lifelong problem for residents, but new developments and innovations are redeeming the water struggle.

Bloem Water has already distributed similar water carriers to residents in Moroto, Mariasdal, Long Ridge and Rakhoe Villages in Thaba Nchu earlier this year.

The barrel-shaped container is the Imvubu Project’s initiative that enables people to transport almost five times the amount of water than the traditional heavy 20 kilograms bucket that rural area residents usually use to fetch potable water.

“The product is convenient for rural communities because it has a wireframe handle that makes it easy for anyone to roll-over, not to carry and feel the heavyweight (90 litres which is equivalent to 90kgs) of water.”

The barrel was re-designed to enable people without water taps in their yards to transport water from distant water sources to their homes. It can also be used for drip irrigation to water crops.

Dr Benny Malakoane, Chief executive Officer of Bloem Water said he was surprised over five years ago when he was at the World Water Forum in France during the innovation hub, where creativity that could help develop African countries was displayed, to see South Africans displaying products that were not visible to their fellow citizens who needed them most.

“The Hippo water Rollers were invented in South Africa but I first saw them in France because they were not visible here in South Africa. I then came back and traced the Imvubu Project and partnered with them,” said Malakoane.

He added that the water barrels were easy to utilize even by people with disabilities, the elderly and young children.

Malakoane said Bloem Water intended to monitor water sufficiency in the Rietfontein area. “We want to see every toilet having an ablutionary basin for our people to wash their hands.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to save water and use it wisely,” he added.  Malakoane said other villages are still to be identified for the Hippo Water Rollers donations and other rural development programmes that Bloem Water is planning in future for making water more accessible to the communities.

One of the residents who were happy to get the water roller, Mmathapelo Ntholeng said the container would assist her get enough water without going to a communal borehole tap more than once like before. “I live with eight grandchildren but sometimes I take up the tiring chore of fetching water by myself.

The Hippo Water Roller seems to be easier to use with less effort and energy and I can also use water that I collect with it for laundry and other house chores as well as drinking without the fear that it will be finished quickly unlike when I use the bucket,” said the 74-year-old Ntholeng.

The Deputy Director of Department of Water Affairs, Priscilla Mohapi pleaded with the community to use the container for fetching water only and not to brew traditional beer in it like some of the residents were already suggesting.

“The Imvubu Project should motivate everyone to generate great ideas that will enhance the development of  South African communities,” said Mohapi.

By Libuseng Nyaka

Dr Balekile Edward Mzangwa (FS)

QWA QWA – The Executive Mayor of  Thabo Mofutsanyana District Dr Balekile Mzangwa has not made major changes to both the mayoral committee and composition of council, except filling available vacancies.

Mandela Radebe was nominated to take over as Chief whip and fill a vacancy created by Sarah Moleleki who has been appointed new Executive Mayor of Maluti A Phofung.

Dr Mzangwa named his Members of Mayoral Committee (MMC) during a special council meeting on Friday November 9 as follows: Madla Mamba will be responsible for Rural Development and Agriculture, Shashapa a farmer who was transferred from Maluti A Phofung is the new MMC for Finance.

Chere Makhobatakes over the Corporate Services portfolio, Phillip Mavundla moves to  Economic Development and Tourism, Teboho Mkhwanazi will run the Municipal Infrastructure and Transport, Mamodupe, Jane Komako will be responsible for Community Services while Sylvia Visagie will oversee Women, Children and People with Disabilities’ affairs.

Dr Mzangwa warned the new MMCs to take their jobs seriously and laid down the ground rules. “You are going be to be paid for the position you occupy and in return you are expected to deliver. I expect to see every MMC at work if onewill be absent this must be reported.”

One of the newly sworn MMCs Shashapa Motaung promised to adhere to the requirements of his post. Motaung was removed from MAP municipality to facilitate his move to  Thabo Mofutsanyana.

By Cees Bruggemans

The year 2012 started on a hopeful note, with especially public infrastructure spending offering some reason for a further mild GDP growth acceleration.

It was generally expected that household consumption spending would be slower in 2012, with higher inflation and slower nominal wage gains eroding real income gains.

But this was expected to be neutralized by faster state spending, especially on infrastructure.

In the event, the consumer slowing did materialize, but public infrastructure spending continued to disappoint.

More importantly, a major new disturbing factor arose alongside the usual supplyside strictures restraining growth in recent years, such as electricity shortages, constrained credit supply, limited export rail capacity and technical manpower limitations in the public sector.

Labour unrest and strike action has been on the rise since 2005. It limited GDP growth in 2010 when the public sector servants struck, last year there was industrial unrest leading to output losses, but all that paled somewhat next to the mining unrest this year.

Substantial mining output losses were recorded in 1Q 2012 and 3Q 2012, with 4Q  2012 probably also still suffering production weakness.

All of this has tended to have an intimidating impact on private business expectations, with business confidence remaining disappointingly low, and very limited appetite for capacity expansion being shown as private fixed investment grew less than 2% in 2012.

It didn’t help that the world economy also disappointed in 2012, slowing down anew, with the US barely achieving 1.5% growth, Europe entering recession (mild in places like Germany, where GDP growth fluctuated around the zero mark, but stark in Greece where GDP has been falling for six years and is now 25% below its peak).

Asia didn’t escape the disappointingly slow Western growth performance, finding its industrial export growth weakening, and this in turn eating into its own GDP growth performance (China slowing towards 8%, but India and some of the other South East Asian ‘tigers’ experiencing a much more pronounced slowing).

The weakening Asian performance in turn knocked global commodity demand and commodity prices such as iron ore and steel, thus causing export weakness in many EM commodity producers, adding to their domestic woes.

South Africa wasn’t alone on this particular score, although its export disappointment these past three years has been more pronounced than many of its peers.

Bottom line is that instead of lifting GDP growth from 3.1% last year to a more respectable 3.5% this year (more in line with our average growth performance this past century), our GDP growth weakened sufficiently to deliver only just over 2% this year.

This is slow going indeed, considering the disappointing recovery since mid-2009 averaging only about 3% GDP growth. This wasn’t enough to reactivate the many resources that became idled in the short recession of 2008/2009 as business turned much more defensive, given global crises and our own political drift and lack of a proactive policy framework boosting growth prospects.

There remains substantial unemployed formal sector labour of at least 0.5 million, office building vacancies remain over 10%, the building trades are operating only at about half ‘normal’ output, the civil construction sector has yet to recover after the 30% recession falloff in activity, and manufacturing capacity utilization still hovers only around 80%.

Most of these growth restraints are expected to remain drag anchors in 2013, ensuring another subpar GDP growth performance of at most 2.5%-3%, and this still likely to continue in 2014 as well before the pace picks up a bit. *Bruggemans is Chief Economist at FNB

PRETORIA – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Wednesday reminded taxpayers of the looming deadline for income tax returns while also announcing that some of its branches had extended its hours.

The deadline for individual taxpayers and trusts to submit their annual income tax returns is on 23 November.

SARS spokesperson Adrian Lackay said that its Randburg, Rissik Street, Vereeniging, Edenvale, Alberton and Roodepoort as well the Pretoria CBD and Ashlea Gardens branches would be open on Saturday from 8 am to 1pm.

The same would apply for the revenue’s Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Mthatha offices in KwaZulu-Natal as well as the Cape Town, Bellville and Port Elizabeth branches in the Eastern and Western Cape.

The revenue service’s contact centre will also extend its hours to assist taxpayers. On weekdays until Friday (16 November) the centre will operate from 8am to 7pm while on Saturday (19 November) the centre will operate from 9am to 2pm. For the new week ending on 23 November, the centre will operate from 8am to 8pm. To date almost 3.7 million income tax returns have been submitted to SARS for the 2012 tax season – an increase of 20% over the same period last year.

SARS said that, including outstanding returns from previous years, the total number of returns submitted since the tax season started on 1 July 2012 exceeds 4.5 million.

Of the 3 718 675 returns submitted for 2012, only 5 422 returns have been submitted in a manual format, a 75% decrease in manual filing compared to the 2011 tax season.

SARS urged taxpayers to submit their returns while also thanking those who have already done so.

“With the deadline of Friday 23 November approaching, SARS wants to urge all taxpayers who have not yet submitted their tax returns to do so as soon as possible, to avoid being caught in the final rush and to avoid penalties for late submission which start at R250 per month for each return which is outstanding,” said SARS.

On Tuesday, a total of 27 213 returns were submitted and it is expected this number will increase significantly over the course of the next nine days leading to the deadline.

Provisional taxpayers who file their returns via eFiling have until Thursday 31 January 2013 to submit returns.

For assistance with filing a tax return, taxpayers can use the Help-You-eFile function on eFiling, call the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277, or visit a SARS branch. - SAnews.gov.za

By More Matshediso

BLOEMFONTEIN – The health services in Free State are set for a major revamp following an injection of a further R166 million into the department’s fast dwindling resources.

Free State Finance MEC Seeiso Mohai said on Thursday, November 15 that the Department of Health in the Free State would get 89 percent of the supplementary budget out of the R186 million additional funding allocated to provinces by national department of health.

He said the amount is for the hospital revitalization grant, which is reward for the province’s attempts to accelerate delivery of hospital infrastructure.

“The  health department has been doing well hence it is being rewarded this much,” Mohai said.

He said R59.2 million has been allocated as a rollover from previous financial year towards health infrastructure development.

The department also gets a rollover of R27.5 million to assist in expanding HIV counselling and testing as well as further improving access to antiretroviral drugs and related services.

Mohai announced that the provincial government had taken bold steps in addressing the shortage of doctors.

“To this effect we have provided additional funding for 188 students to the tune of R18 million to study medicine in Cuba,” MEC said.

Mohai revealed that total funding for the adjustments budget was R934 million which excludes R5.4 million that relates to Retained Revenues by the Provincial Legislature emanating from previous financial years.

“This budget is funded from rollovers, equitable shares, conditional grants, provincial cash reserves, and provincial own revenue,” he said

“Firstly, there are rollovers from the previous financial year which amount to R174.7 million. Secondly, we have an amount of R264.1 million which is a transfer from National Government as part of the equitable share to deal with issues of improvement in conditions of service. Thirdly, there is a R171.8 million for conditional grants, which is also a transfer from national government,” he added.

Mohai said the provincial treasury had sourced R321.6 million from provincial cash reserves as well R1.6 million from provincial own revenues.

Meanwhile, three areas were identified as the province’s priorities for the 2012/13 adjustment budget including road maintenance, human settlement and education.

“An amount of R200 million was reprioritized towards roads in the current financial year. This basically shows that vigorous evaluations of budget could assist in unlocking funds towards key priorities,” said Mohai.

He indicated that R60.1 million was allocated to cater for maintenance of provincial roads. The amount includes a rollover worth R53.5 million from the previous financial year as well as R6.5 million which comes from reprioritization exercise.

“We admit that there are terrible roads in the province as there are lots of potholes in many roads.”

An amount of R244 million is earmarked for improvements in conditions of service, which has been channelled to various departments to cover a higher than expected wage settlement shortfall of 2 per cent, including R5.8 million which is a conditional grant set aside for FET Colleges to also address shortfall on wage settlement costs.

Human Settlements received a rollover of R30.1 million. It comprises of R27.4 million which relates to human settlement development grants and R2.7 million for housing disaster relief.

“Education remains a top priority for this government and thus R189.9 million is allocated to cater for Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). This allocation will greatly assist in dealing with challenges relating to procurement of textbooks for the next academic year.

“An amount of R93 million is set aside to provide for bursaries and laptops for deserving students in the province. Education department receives a rollover of R1.8 million which relates to various conditional grants.

He said other priorities funded by the adjustment budget include R32 million for Sports, Arts and Culture as well as R2.5 million for Library services.

“Given the projected weakness in the economic environment, the National Treasury has revised tax revenue downwards by R5 billion in the current year.

“As part of the New Growth Path and the Free State Growth Development Strategy which will be launched soon, reprioritization also means encouraging capital spending, particular in infrastructure that will stimulate the economy in ways that will expand the productive sectors and thus create jobs on a large scale.”

He said the Legislature has the powers to force government departments to work within their allocated budget. “We urge departments and public entities to remain within their baseline and  scale down spending on non-core or low priority programmes, to improve efficiency on supply chain management and service delivery and to reduce wastage and reprioritize savings towards government priorities.’’

QWA QWA – Mamelodi Sundowns might be going through a bad patch on thesoccer pitch this season but the team and its owner have refused tolet such lacklustre performances dampen its collective spirit of giving and putting smiles on other’s people’s faces

The team and Motsepe Family Foundation has brought forward Christmas for vulnerable and orphaned children from Maluti A Phofung when itspoiled them with piles of Christmas presents.

Supporters’ coordinator and former Sundowns Football Clubplayer, Daniel “Mambush” Mudau said the team and thefoundation had spent more than R200 000 on Christmas gifts forvulnerable orphans in the country.

The team works together with church leaders, councillors and civil society organisations to identify children who qualify for presents to avoid the initiative being politicised or stray from its purpose.

Mudau said they involved the church as a way of ploughing back to the community. “The objective of the toys distribution is to bring a little joy to the lives of poor, destitute children and share with them the love. If

I can manage to buy presents for my children who is buying for poor vulnerable children?

“It was through this idea that we decided to distribute toys to poorand destitute children in our rural areas.

“Christmas is a time for children, and we decided to take thisopportunity to come and pride our children in Maluti A Phofung,”Mudau said.

He said while still playing he used to come to this area and saw how poor it was and as a result when the initiative was launched he suggested that MAP be considered.

Acting Mayor, Mamoroanyana Mositi hailed Sundown’s and Motsepe’s gesture as a sign of good will and a reflection of a caring society.

“”This is the first time that some of these children got Christmas presents. The toys are going to play a role in their lives as it gives them a sense of belonging and it is the memory that will never go away,” Mositi said.

One of the Qholaqhoe crèche teachers’ Mina Moloi said Sundowns had set an example for others to emulate.

She also thanked the team on behalf of parents and children.

Among the toys that were distributed to 2 000 children in MAP were soccer balls.