Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter The University of the Free State State (UFS) says it will gradually hire workers who are currently employed by different service providers at the institution starting early next year as it steps up efforts to insource all its labour. UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Francis Petersen told a virtual media briefing on Thursday that plans to insource the workers have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the academic programme was disrupted for the greater part of the year. “We have said we will insource from 2021 and it will be in a phased manner,” said Petersen. “We…

Staff Reporter The newly appointed Vodacom central region managing executive Evah Mthimunye has suggested the government should partner with the private sector in the expansion of networks in remote areas so that all communities across the country could have fair access to means of communication. She told a virtual roundtable with media from the central region on Wednesday that it remains quite expensive to cover some areas because of their topology and the potential business they can eventually get after covering them, hence it was important for the government to come in and invest. The central region includes the Free…

Staff Reporter Some cattle in an eastern Free State town have reportedly died after being exposed to raw sewage from a vandalised treatment plant. The exact number of the affected cattle in Lindley is unknown but the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the province has urged residents to desist from destroying essential infrastructure as it is criminal and could endanger both livestock and human life. DWS provincial head Dr Tseliso Ntili warned that such acts posed the danger of polluting water sources and could disrupt service delivery. “One act of this vandalism affects not only the local community…

Staff Reporter Thaba Nchu police have retrieved a headless body of an unknown man from a dam at the Rietfontein Trust. Free State police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said the police were called to the scene after a community member noticed a body floating in the dam. “The body . . . was retrieved and upon inspection, police noticed that the victim was beheaded,” he said in a statement. Makhele said the deceased was wearing black leggings, of medium built and dark in complexion. “A case of murder has been registered for further investigation. The victim is unknown and cannot…

Staff Reporter A researcher with the University of the Free State (UFS)’s Institute of Groundwater Studies, Professor Abdon Atangana, has been named among the top one percent of outstanding scientists in the world. Atangana, 35, made it to the prestigious Clarivate Web of Science List 2020 for his groundbreaking work in mathematics and other related fields. The Clarivate Web of Science List brings together an elite group of scientists recognised for their exceptional research influence through the production of multiple highly cited papers in the top one percent of citations in the Web of Science index. Less than 6 200…

Staff Reporter Three people are reported to have drowned during a baptism ceremony in the eastern Free State, while another died after going out for a swim with friends in Welkom. In the first incident, police say two men aged 24 and 25 as well as a woman aged 24 drowned in Liebenbergvlei Dam near Bethlehem on Saturday while being baptised. “They were part of a congregation from Botshabelo and drowned during baptism,” said the police in a statement. “The body of the female was retrieved by Lejweleputswa District K9 Search and Rescue Team,” added the police. The search for…

Staff Reporter Unknown assailants have set ablaze at least five trucks on the R59 in the Free State between Parys and Sasolburg. Police say they were notified of the attack just before 9pm on Saturday night and immediately rushed to the scene where some of the trucks and their goods had been reduced to ashes. “. . . a complaint was received by Parys SAPS and Sasolburg SAPS of trucks that were set alight on the R59 road,” said provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele in a statement. “On arrival they found that five trucks were already extinguished by the…

Staff Reporter Free State police are appealing to anyone who may know the whereabouts of Roshaan Britney Esterhuizen, 16, from Hennenman to come forward with the information. The girl’s mother, Maria Wellemse, has told police she left her daughter at home when she went to work on Thursday morning but upon her return she was nowhere to be found. A neighbour has claimed that Roshaan told her that she was going to Hennenman central business district, claiming her sister had sent her money. That was the last time she was seen. Anyone with information that could help in tracing Roshaan…

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Staff Reporter Learning and teaching in primary schools has suffered the most as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and it could take a few years to fix, Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe says. In an interview with The Free Stater, he said following the outbreak of the disease in the country a lot of attention has been put on secondary school education particularly the matric class as they raced to complete the syllabus and prepare for tertiary education. This, he said, came at the expense of learners in primary school as they were made to stay home or…