Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter The two people arrested yesterday on suspicion of looting funds meant for the Estina Dairy Project in Vrede were expected to apply for bail at the Bloemfontein Regional Court this morning . The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, also known as the Hawks, said the pair was arrested in an early morning operation Thursday and will face charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering worth over R244 million. A spokesperson for the Hawks told The Free Stater that the matter is not part of the much-publicised Estina Dairy Project scandal which has since been struck off the court roll, but…

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Education says it is following strict health protocols to ensure that learners who are beneficiaries of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) but have not yet resumed classes do not contract the coronavirus when they fetch their meals at their respective schools. Provincial education spokesperson Howard Ndaba said the learners are subjected to the standard protocols of social distancing and screening before entering school grounds to limit the possibility of them getting the disease. “In terms of COVID-19 protocols, as these learners fetch their meals, they must wear their face masks correctly,” Ndaba…

Staff Reporter A 20-year-old Free State man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of raping and assaulting his 47-year-old disabled mother. The man, who is from Hlohlolwane township in Clocolan and cannot be named to protect the identity of his mother, was caught in the act by community members in June 2018. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said magistrate Magda Jacobs this week sentenced the man to life in jail for rape and four months for assault. According to evidence presented in court, the accused was caught while raping his biological mother who…

Staff Reporter Almost half of the municipalities in the Free State have either not accounted for the manner in which they used their budgets in the 2018-19 or they did it poorly, Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu has revealed. Releasing the audit outcomes for local government entities for the period 2018-19 in Pretoria today, Makwetu said 10 municipalities in the Free State did not submit financial statements on time while three received disclaimers. The province has 19 local municipalities and five district municipalities. “The audit outcomes in the province continued to regress for the third consecutive year,” Makwetu said in the…

Staff Reporter Three more police stations in the Free State have been forced to close to allow for disinfection after several officers tested positive for COVID-19. Zamdela and Bethulie police stations were closed for the second time inside two months Tuesday to contain to spread of the disease while they are decontaminated. Park Road police station in Bloemfontein has also been closed. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo told The Free Stater that they were grappling to establish whether police officers were spreading the coronavirus among themselves or it could be people visiting the community centres for assistance. “With COVID-19…

Staff Reporter Leading mobile network provider Vodacom says data collected on its platform in the central region has assisted the Free State health department execute contact tracing faster and more efficiently when dealing with cases of COVID-19. Vodacom central region managing executive Mamello Selamolela told a virtual media round-table discussion that the company’s big data and analytics has played a major role in helping containing the spread of the coronavirus because it has been able to trace people’s movements without infringing on their privacy and sharing that with the health department. “As Vodacom, we take privacy very seriously,” she said.…

Staff Reporter Continued acts of theft and vandalism at Vodacom base stations in the central region could put a damper on the company’s rapid growth in network traffic which jumped 30 percent since the beginning of the national lockdown. Vodacom’s executive head for network and operations in the central region, Lameck Mkorongo, told a virtual media round-table Tuesday that while the company has enjoyed significant growth as more people are turning to data and phone use at home, increasing theft and vandalism of equipment, particularly in Phuthaditjhaba, eastern Free State, is a major concern. “Data traffic increased as people work,…

Staff Reporter South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 2020 following major contractions in the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors. The drop comes on the back of yet another decline at the end of last year when the country’s economy contracted by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Figures released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) Tuesday morning indicate that the mining and quarrying industry decreased by 21.5 percent while manufacturing contracted by 8.5 percent. The electricity, gas and water industry was also down by 5.6 percent and construction eased 4.7 percent.…

Staff Reporter Central University of Technology (CUT) has condemned the death of one of its students allegedly murdered by a man believed to be her boyfriend, describing it as a heartless and senseless killing. Dimakatso Constance Mokoena, 31, was found dead inside a car in Bayswater, Bloemfontein, last Friday together with the man believed to have killed her. They both had gunshot wounds to the head and the man had a firearm tucked between his legs. Police investigations later established that both the vehicle and firearm belonged to the deceased man. The late Mokoena was a first-year human resources management…

Staff Reporter Just a day after being reopened following the completion of the decontamination process, Mangaung police station has been closed again after three officers tested positive for COVID-19. A brief statement from the police said the station will be decontaminated once again and all staff will be screened while others might have to be tested in line with the health protocols. “Three more members tested positive for COVID-19 . . . at Mangaung SAPS which led to the police station being closed again,” read part of the statement. “The community serviced by Mangaung police station (is) advised that the…