Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Free State police have launched a probe after two men were found dead close to the entrance to Tempe Military Base in Bloemfontein this morning. The lifeless bodies of the two men, believed to be aged between 30 and 35, were discovered lying a stone’s throw from each at the corner of Furstenberg and Mellville streets in Brandwag, with no visible external injuries on them. A South African Defence Force (SANDF) staff sergeant called the police to attend the scene. “Earlier today, the police at Parkweg Police Station received a call from the SANDF staff sergeant reporting the…

Staff Reporter Free State police say criminals have devised a new tactic in which they pretend to be injured in order to lure motorists to stop and assist them before pouncing on them and robbing them of their motor vehicles. Acting provincial police commissioner, Major General Solly Lesia, warned motorists to be vigilant and exercise caution before stopping to assist strangers. “The community is warned to be aware of the emerging trend where hijackers pretend to be injured . . . so as to lure the driver out of the vehicle, then rob him/her of the vehicle,” he said. Lesia…

Staff Reporter Free State Treasury MEC Gadija Brown is expected to deliver the supplementary budget for the province at 2pm Tuesday. A statement released by the department said she will make a virtual presentation to the provincial Legislature, a departure from the norm owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This budget outline will be an offshoot of the national supplementary budget presented by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni last month in which he tried to charter a new path by stabilising debt and seeking new ways to revive the economy. Mboweni’s budget, which initially got mixed reactions, sought to improve the government’s…

Staff Reporter Lessons failed to resume at about six schools in Mangaung this morning after several learners and teachers tested positive for COVID-19. Free State education MEC Tate Makgoe said on Twitter that at least seven teachers and three learners had tested positive for the acute respiratory disease in the last few days. “Schooling at the following schools in Motheo (district) have been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 cases,” Makgoe said before listing the schools and the numbers of those affected. Katiso Primary School reported four teachers tested positive for the disease while Bloemfontein South School had a case of…

Staff Reporter Only learners in Grades 6 and 11 in the Free State are expected back in school Monday when South Africa extends its phased school reopening programme. Education MEC Tate Makgoe told a virtual media briefing hosted by the national Department of Basic Education that learners in Grade R will be phased in later in the month as part of measures to limit congestion in schools. “We are ready to take Grades 6 and 11,” Makgoe said. “We have also indicated that where schools are ready, we will take Grade R learners,” he added. Makgoe said he is confident…

Staff Reporter Free State police have launched another double inquest after a couple drowned during a fight that had seen the man allegedly attempting to kill his entire family by driving his wife and two children into a river. The incident happened late Friday afternoon in Kroonstad. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said police officers on patrol late Friday afternoon were stopped by community members who told them a couple with two children was fighting at Kroonpark under the bridge on Valsch River. “On 3 July 2020 at about 17:28 pm, the police vehicle was stopped by (members of)…

Staff Reporter The two women arrested by the Hawks in an early morning raid yesterday for allegedly siphoning state funds meant for the implementation of various agricultural projects in the Free State have been granted bail by the Bloemfontein Regional Court. Businesswoman Malikomo Mohapi, 55, and former chief financial officer for the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Seipati Dhlamini, 49, were each granted bail of R10 000 when they made their initial court appearance today. The case was postponed to September 10 for a High Court date. Mohapi, who is the sole director of Rekgonne Community Projects,…

The outbreak of COVID-19 in South Africa and the attached national lockdown regulations have left many people questioning the constitutionality of the restrictions and the seemingly blurred line between law, morality and politics. It’s just over a month since the country moved from Level 4 to 3 of the national lockdown at the beginning of June. The terms set out by cabinet and gazetted by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have largely helped the country slow down the spread of the deadly coronavirus. But, at the same time, they presented a variety of challenges to people as…

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and the nine provincial education MECs around the country have announced only Grades R, 6 and 11 will return to school on Monday, July 6. In a government gazette published earlier in June, Motshekga had announced Grades R, 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11 would return to school on Monday under strict COVID-19 guidelines and protocols. But on Thursday, the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), which comprises Motshekga and her deputy, and the nine provincial education MECs and their heads of departments, decided to amend the earlier decision. Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said…

Staff Reporter Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC Thembeni Nxangisa says he is confident Free State municipalities will start registering improved audit outcomes because the provincial government has put in place a host of measures to assist them. The MEC said this after Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu stated on Wednesday that municipal audit outcomes in the province had continued to regress for a third consecutive year. The AG said almost half of the municipalities in the Free State had either not accounted for the manner in which they utilised their 2018-19 budgets or they had done it poorly. In…