Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Former Free State Human Settlements MEC Mosebenzi Zwane has told the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that the creation of a new housing database for contractors was agreed upon by the provincial executive council. Zwane, who is currently appearing before the commission, said he was acting on an instruction given by the executive council for the implementation of a housing project worth about R1 billion. About 500 000 houses were expected to be built when the project was signed off in 2010. He told the commission that he was instructed to create a new contractor and supplier database…

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Health says it will urgently review its COVID-19 statistics as it believes some of the figures are not an accurate reflection of the situation in the province. The decision follows concerns that the province presently has the second highest number of active cases in the country yet it has one of the lowest rates of infection. Latest figures indicate that the Free State has 14 737 active cases of the acute respiratory disease and is only second to Gauteng with 20 276. “We have discovered that our statistics need verification and some clean-up…

A developer is the person that put your building project together. This can be a very different person from the builder who built your building. The builder is the one who physically put up the structure of your complex. The developer is the one who bought the land, engaged the architect, organised for the building to be erected, negotiated the sales and so forth. Sometimes the developer is also the builder if they did their own construction. Until the first unit is transferred, the entire project belongs to the developer. Once the first unit is transferred to a new owner,…

Staff Reporter Despite a marked improvement in water storage capacity across the Free State, water authorities have warned that the availability of the precious resource in some parts of the province remains a problem. The provincial office of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says while there is generally adequate water in the province, some of the major dams remain below 50 percent capacity. Vernon Blair from the DWS told journalists during a tour of the Krugersdrift Dam, west of Bloemfontein, that water levels in most dams should be adequate to take the province to the next rainy season,…

Staff Reporter Eight police officers in the Free State have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a business robbery, defeating the ends of justice as well as perjury. All of them are members of the police’s tactical response team (TRT) in Welkom. They have been arrested by the provincial anti-corruption unit and they are expected to appear in the Kroonstad Magistrates Court on Friday. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said in a statement the officers allegedly turned rogue while on duty in June when they accused a business owner of breaking lockdown regulations by selling cigarettes, which was…

Staff Reporter Matjhabeng Local Municipality has accused Eskom of acting in bad faith when the national power utility attached its bank account at the beginning of September knowing full well that its claim of R3.4 billion for bulk electricity supply was in dispute and yet to be finalised in a court of law. In a statement issued on Friday by municipal spokesperson Kgojane Matutle, Matjhabeng says Eskom actually owes it about R4.5 billion for distributing electricity in the municipality’s jurisdiction, a claim that has been shot down by the power company as unfounded. “Matjhabeng municipality is of the view that…

Staff Reporter Free State police say they are investigating a case of attempted kidnapping after receiving a report that a Brebner High School learner yesterday nearly fell victim to what seems like a well-planned trend to abduct young girls and women by alleged criminals. Concerned parents and other residents have been taking to social media in the past few days to express their concerns at the new vice, prompting the provincial education department and the Office of the Premier to issue statements urging parents and women in general to be vigilant when out in public. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam…

Water is a source of life that cuts across both international and local boundaries in an effort to give life to humankind, animals and plants, hence it is referred to as life. Transboundary waters can serve as a key focal point for collaboration, thereby diminishing tensions between countries while promoting regional integration and development, both within a basin and in a wider region. The South African National Water Act of 1998 recognises the need to share transboundary water resources with neighbouring countries. This provision has also been confirmed in South Africa’s National Water Resources Strategy. Transboundary water management creates benefits…

A trustee is a person who has been elected to represent the other owners of a body corporate (of a sectional title scheme). Trustees are elected from one annual general meeting (AGM) to the next. They are the people who act on behalf of all the other owners when dealing, on behalf of the body corporate, with outside people and other owners. For example, the trustees’ duties include setting the levy, enforcing the rules of the body corporate and approving payments of accounts, almost all of which is actually done by your managing agent with the trustees’ direct or indirect…

Staff Reporter A 38-year-old Bloemfontein taxi driver sentenced to life in jail for rape, attempted murder and robbery has been set free after he successfully appealed to the Free State High Court against his conviction and imprisonment. Mthetho Solomon Khauta had already served over two years in prison since he was convicted and sentenced for the violent crimes by the Bloemfontein Regional Court on June 29, 2018. He had been convicted on two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, one count of attempted murder and one count of rape. All the counts were taken together for purposes of sentencing, resulting…