Author: The Free Stater

Premier Mxolisi Dukwana has warned his new provincial cabinet to be courageous and decisive in tackling the challenges bedevilling the Free State, including corruption and poor service delivery. He announced changes to the Provincial Executive Council on Tuesday. The reshuffle, which came barely a fortnight after Dukwana replaced Sisi Ntombela as the Free State premier, saw three MECs who served under his predecessor’s administration getting the sack. Dukwana booted out William Bulwane (police, roads and transport), Montseng Tsiu (health) and Mamiki Qabathe (social development). Four MECs from the previous executive survived the axe, including Gadija Brown who has retained her…

The tabling of the Free State provincial budget speech has been postponed to next week. Treasury MEC Gadija Brown was originally scheduled to present the province’s 2023 financial plan this Thursday. The Free State Legislature said the postponement followed the untimely death of Education MEC Tate Makgoe in a road accident on Sunday. “Please be informed that the budget speech is postponed until the 16th of March to give the public and media time to mourn the untimely death of our beloved MEC, Ntate Tate Makgoe,” Nadine Vries, a public relations officer at the provincial legislature, said in a message…

Harmony Gold has reported a fatality following a rigging-related incident at its Tshepong North mine near Welkom in the Free State province. The accident occurred on Tuesday. Harmony Gold, the largest gold mining company in South Africa with five underground operations in the Free State, did not give further details of the incident, only saying “internal investigations were underway”. This is the fourth fatality reported in the company’s current financial year, which runs to June 2023. Harmony Gold recorded 13 deaths in the last financial year. – Staff Reporter

A protest against poor service delivery in Ventersburg has turned ugly with angry residents barricading the N1 highway with rubbish, stones and burning tyres on Wednesday evening. The police unit deployed to quell the violence in the Free State farming town, which lies about 148 km north of Bloemfontein, had to use stun grenades to disperse the protestors. According to regional police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng, residents of Mmamahabane in Ventersburg had initially gathered at a local stadium for a meeting to discuss a water crisis among other service delivery issues in the area, which falls under the Matjhabeng Local…

The Free State High Court has thrown out a bid for freedom by a man who raped his own pregnant teenage daughter. The rapist, who we cannot name to protect the identity of his victim, was sentenced to life in prison by the Ladybrand Regional Court in September 2017 after he was found guilty of the shocking crime. He however lodged an appeal against both conviction and sentence. In the appeal matter heard on 6 February this year at the High Court in Bloemfontein, the appellant argued that the trial court had wrongly convicted him on the basis of evidence…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed South Africa’s first electricity minister in an effort to address crippling power shortages that have seen the country suffer blackouts lasting up to 15 hours a day. Apart from spearheading the government’s response to the energy crisis, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will also have to deal with allegations of corruption at the state-run power company Eskom. “We said in the State of the Nation Address that our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately end load shedding altogether,” Ramaphosa said as he announced his cabinet reshuffle…

Free State MEC for Education Tate Makgoe was travelling from a meeting in Johannesburg overnight in an attempt to make it in time for a church service in Bloemfontein this Sunday morning when he perished in a road accident while on his way. He was declared dead on the scene after his car rammed into three stray cows on the N1 highway near Winburg, the small farming town that lies about 113km northwest of the provincial capital. His bodyguard, Vuyo Mdi, also failed to make it, while their driver, Pule Nkopane, survived the accident and remains in a critical condition…

Premier Mxolisi Dukwana has paid tribute to the late Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe who died in a car crash that also claimed the life of his security officer in the early hours of this Sunday. The accident happened after the car in which they were travelling in from Johannesburg rammed into three stray cows on the N1 highway near Winburg, about 113kn northwest of Bloemfontein. Dukwana said Makgoe had dedicated his life to uplifting the marginalised. “Makgoe, throughout his life, believed in the vision of a better life for all,” the premier said. “He was driven by the…

Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe has died in a road crash after his car hit two cows on the N1 highway near Winburg in the early hours of this Sunday. He was 59. His bodyguard also perished in the crash, while their driver survived and is being treated for moderate injuries. Premier Mxolisi Dukwana’s spokesperson Sello Dithebe confirmed the tragic news. “We are still in shock but the premier will share more details on the untimely passing of Makgoe at a media briefing scheduled to take place at his home in Bloemfontein this morning,” Dithebe told The Free Stater.…

Premier Mxolisi Dukwana has vowed to turn the Free State around within the next 14 months by tackling corruption and maladministration within the provincial government. Delivering his first State of the Province Address this week, he bemoaned the poor service delivery in the province due to the government’s failures. “To address this, we call on our people to become agents of change and put their energies at the disposal of communities,” Dukwana said. “We urge them to support our efforts to combat corruption, malfeasance and maladministration.” Dukwana, who was inaugurated as premier last Friday after he was voted in to…