Author: The Free Stater

Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu has died of coronavirus-related complications, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced. “It is with deep sorrow and shock that we announce that Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu passed away earlier today from COVID-related complications. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time of loss,” the president said on Twitter. “Minister Mthembu was an exemplary leader, an activist and life-long champion of freedom and democracy. He was a much-loved and greatly respected colleague and comrade, whose passing leaves our nation at a loss. “I extend my deepest sympathies to the Minister’s family,…

Staff Reporter A Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor who was elected as speaker of a Free State municipality at a controversial council meeting last November and was contesting a court order barring him from assuming office has resigned. In a letter addressed to council, Eric Motloung said his party was opposed to the position taken by the ANC towards the court order prohibiting him from taking up his role as speaker of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality council until the matter is finalised. “. . . the Democratic Alliance caucus doesn’t agree with the decision of the ANC caucus to concede to…

Staff Reporter Health MEC Montseng Tsiu says the Free State is gearing up for a possible spike in COVID-19 cases in the mining communities across the province as more workers return from the holidays. She said this on Wednesday when she addressed a media briefing to give a provincial update on coronavirus cases and the measures being implemented to tackle the second wave of the acute respiratory disease. Tsiu said her department was putting together district-based teams to tackle increased numbers when more businesses open for the new year, particularly in the mining sector. “We cannot overlook the effect of…

Staff Reporter Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela is not happy with the carefree attitude shown by some people towards the deadly coronavirus and has warned stricter control measures could be introduced in the province. “This is a very difficult time . . . as South Africa grapples with the second wave of COVID-19 infections,” Ntombela said during a media briefing in Bloemfontein on Wednesday. “Our people have become complacent and, as such, over the past few weeks we have seen some of the highest numbers of infections, admissions to hospital and deaths recorded in the districts in which we live,”…

Staff Reporter A Free State municipality has pleaded with community members who feared the remains of their dearly departed could be submerged in water or washed away following the heavy rains that have pounded the province in recent days not to worry. This comes after pictures of flooded graves at Dasklip Cemetery in Frankfort, a farming town that lies about 354km north-west of provincial capital Bloemfontein, went viral on social media, prompting the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) to challenge the local authorities to act promptly to protect the sanctity of the dead. Mafube Local Municipality, which runs…

Staff Reporter South Africans had to fork out at least 7.3 percent more per kilogramme this just-ended festive season to enjoy their favourite beef braai than they did the previous December, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) has reported. This means if you paid R80 for a kilogramme of chuck in 2019, 12 months later you had to part with at least R5.85 more for the same piece of meat. Although South Africa’s inflation rate – measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI) – averaged 3.3 percent in 2020, it was at its lowest since 2004. Annual inflation…

Staff Reporter The Labour Court in the Free State has dismissed an application by an aggrieved candidate who failed to secure a job at Metsimaholo Local Municipality and wanted the process stopped because he believed he was the most qualified for the position. John Motloung is said to have applied for the position of director for corporate services some time last year and was shortlisted for the position together with other candidates. The municipality however decided to re-advertise the post together with others as it was not satisfied with the quality of candidates interviewed. Several other appointments of managers reporting…

Staff Reporter Residents of Lindley, Ntha, Petrus Steyn, Reitz and surrounding areas can rest assured they will not have their electricity supplies interrupted – at least for the next six months – after the Free State High Court barred Eskom from disconnecting the local municipality over a debt that has since ballooned to R300-million. In a ruling handed down on 7 January, Judge PJ Loubser interdicted the national electricity supplier from interrupting bulk power supplies to Nketoana Local Municipality – an administrative area in the Thabo Mofutsanyane district of the Free State that also includes the towns of Mamafubedu, Leratswana…

Staff Reporter Four suspects were expected to appear in court today for the murder of a police captain’s son in a Free State farming town. The suspects, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested in the neighbouring towns of Theunissen and Virginia this morning. This follows an operation mounted by the police after a lifeless male body was discovered at the Basil Read cemetery in Theunissen, about 95 kilometers northeast of Bloemfontein. The deceased man was identified as Andile Majikela, the 31-year-old son of a police captain in the farming town. According to Free State provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi…

Staff Reporter Free State Agriculture and Rural Development MEC William Bulwane says he has asked the Department of Cooperative Governance to declare the flood-ravaged farming communities in the province disaster areas so that they can get dedicated support from the government and other organisations. Bulwane told a virtual media briefing on Tuesday that farmers in several districts in the province urgently needed support as they have suffered extensive damage to their crops, infrastructure and inputs. “We are in the process of engaging the provincial treasury for immediate financial relief and the Department of Cooperative Governance to declare the area disaster-stricken…