Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Parents in the Free State are pressing provincial Education MEC Tate Makgoe to give them assurance it will be safe to send their children back to school in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced schools, which have been closed since the start of the national lockdown in March, will be opening on June 1, starting with Grades 7 and 12. The announcement was met with mixed reactions with some saying it was too early to resume school as COVID-19, which forced the country to go into lockdown,…

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande has announced the gradual reopening of the tertiary education sector from June 1. The minister said under Level 3 lockdown, a maximum of 33 percent of students will be allowed back on campus, with final-year students prioritised. Nzimande told the media on Saturday that students should know that the government was actively trying to save the 2020 academic year. The government envisages that students will gradually return to campus at various levels of lockdown. At Level 4, only final-year students in clinical training will return, according to the minister. Post-graduate students who…

Staff Reporter The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in the Free State and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) are installing hand-washing stations at taxi ranks to ensure commuters maintain good hygienic standards. At least nine Eazi-Wash Communal Hand Wash stations were installed at taxi ranks in different parts of the province over the past week as part of a pilot project expected to contribute significantly to the country’s fight against COVID-19. “We have started rolling out this project to just a few taxi ranks in the province and then we will see how it goes,” DWS provincial spokesperson…

Staff Reporter The University of the Free State (UFS) will allow students applying to study health sciences next year to use their Grade 11 end-of-year results as some of the standard requirements cannot be met due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ideally, students are mainly required to present their results for the National Benchmark Tests and Grade 12 June examinations. But these will not be a requirement because schools across South Africa have remained closed since March in line with the national lockdown put in place by the government in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus. “We understand…

Staff Reporter The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an appeal by former president Jacob Zuma in which was challenging a ruling that said he defamed ANC veteran Derek Hanekom when he called him a “known enemy agent”. The SCA did not even hear the matter saying there was no reasonable prospect of success in the court challenge. The Bloemfontein court also pointed out, in the Thursday ruling, that there are no other compelling reasons why the appeal should be heard. The matter follows a 2019 tweet by Zuma in which he called Hanekom a “well-known agent of the…

Staff Reporter A new-born baby has become the youngest person in South Africa to succumb to COVID-19. According to the health department, the two-day-old baby was born prematurely and therefore had “lung difficulties which required ventilation support immediately after birth”. In his latest report on the pandemic released this Wednesday night, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the mother had tested positive for COVID-19 and the child subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus as well. “It is important to appreciate the complexities of the underlying condition of prematurity,” he said, without revealing the baby’s province. “We extend a special word of…

Staff Reporter After being sworn in this Wednesday as Lesotho’s third prime minister in five years, former finance minister Moeketsi Majoro has vowed to hit the ground running to tackle hunger and poverty in the volatile kingdom. The 58-year-old economist has taken over the reins from Tom Thabane who was pressured to step down on Tuesday, months after police named him and his current wife as suspects in the murder of his estranged wife in a case that has gripped the country of 2.2 million people completely surrounded by South Africa. Majoro, who previously worked as an executive director at…

Staff Reporter Batho police station in Mangaung has been closed after a police officer tested positive for COVID-19. National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said in a statement released Wednesday that the station has been closed for decontamination and residents will be assisted from a nearby community centre. “The community service centre will now be operating from the Batho Community Hall which is located just across the street from Batho police station in Fort Hare Street,” said Naidoo. He said people are also advised to call 10111 for all emergencies and complaints which will be attended to by the Mangaung…

Staff Reporter Farmers in the Free State are crying foul after South Africa’s energy regulator granted Eskom permission to increase power tariffs by 6.5 percent. Free State Agriculture (FSA), the provincial commercial farmers’ body representing about 4 000 members, says the hike will have a serious impact on their operations. Eskom had approached NERSA for permission to increase tariffs by about 15 percent in order to recover a R27.3 billion loss from the 2018/19 financial year. However, the energy regulator only allowed the national power supplier to increase tariffs by 6.5 percent and recover at least R13.3 billion from consumers.…

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says schools – including those in Mangaung and other metros hard hit by the coronavirus – will re-open on June 1 as planned following approval by the cabinet and the National Coronavirus Command Council. She announced the plan on Tuesday night following extensive meetings with provincial MECs, unions and school governing bodies. Motshekga said she was well aware of the pressure placed by the coronavirus pandemic and that this has not been easy on parents, teachers and schools. She said they have had to strike a balancing act which involves dealing with the safety issue…