Author: The Free Stater

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality of only focusing on addressing Bloemfontein’s challenges while neglecting the rural towns under its jurisdiction. The party says the municipality has no plans in place to address issues such as water shortages, sewerage reticulation, refuse removal or road maintenance in areas outside the Free State capital. DA councillor Maryke Davies made these claims after Mangaung’s acting municipal manager, Tebogo Motlashuping, tabled his report on the state of affairs in the metro during an ordinary council meeting last week. Motlashuping is part of the interim management team appointed by Cooperative Governance…

Patricia Kopane has been named as ActionSA’s Free State leader just weeks after she quit the Democratic Alliance (DA) which she had previously headed in the province for eight years. The former MP’s appointment was confirmed by ActionSA president Herman Mashaba in Bloemfontein on Wednesday. Kopane is one of a number of former DA members to join the movement. “This announcement is the latest in a series of high-profile individuals who will be joining ActionSA this year following an inspiring 2021 local government elections,” Mashaba said. “It also forms part of a critical component of ActionSA’s development – the deepening…

The Free State High Court has endorsed the sacking of a chief finance officer (CFO) sent packing by Centlec after the Mangaung electricity distributor discovered she was unfit for office due to a pending criminal case and and a civil judgment for an unpaid debt. Hlonelwa Nkomo has been fighting to cling on to the top job although she had initially agreed to part ways with the power utility on a mutual basis. The about-turn prompted Centlec to launch an urgent application at the High Court seeking an interdict to prohibit her from accessing and entering the company’s premises and…

Twenty-three people will die from suicide today in South Africa. Another 460 South Africans will try to end their lives today. They are from different cultural groups, different income groups, attained different levels of education, speak different languages, range in age from childhood through to elderly, have different genders and sexual orientations. These people have very little in common except that their lives all ended due to the final symptom of an illness. People who experience thoughts of ending their lives describe this mental space as feeling grey. Their thoughts tend to keep returning to the futility of being alive,…

The owner of Buthelezi Emergency Medical Services, Thapelo Buthelezi, has appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court with two co-accused facing charges of fraud, contravention of the Tax Administration Act and failure to submit company income tax. Buthelezi, 43, appeared together with his wife, Monica Buthelezi, 41, his accountant, Nkosana Sekobane, 42, as well as two companies, Buthelezi EMS (PTY) LTD and B EMS Close Corporation. They are facing a total of 95 charges. Following the trio’s appearance on Thursday, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said in a statement that the state had suffered a prejudice of about R132-million. The state alleges that the accused unlawfully, with intent…

Free State police say they have noted an increase in reports of motorists hijacked at gunpoint by hitchhickers in different parts of the province. Provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli has warned motorists not to offer transport to unknown people. He said it’s believed there is group of armed males who use private vehicles fitted with blue lights stopping drivers posing as traffic officials or SA Police Service members. “The suspects who are heavily armed would stop the driver of the targetted truck and two or three suspects would get out of the vehicle and force the driver off the…

A 52-year-old man from Allanridge in the northern Free State has been arrested for allegedly raping his biological teenage daughter. The girl, 17, whose mother died in January last year, was allegedly sexualy abused by the father on several occasions. Lejweleputswa district police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng said in a statement the rape ordeal is believed to have started soon after the death of the mother. “It is alleged that one night while the girl was asleep on the floor, her father told her to sleep on the bed as it was cold,” said Thakeng. “Her own father started raping…

Men of European descent over the age of 50 are the most vulnerable to the development of atherosclerosis, the most common disorder associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a new study has found. According to the recent atherosclerosis study in the South African population – carried out by researchers in the Human Molecular Biology Unit in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) – nearly half of men in this group had visible signs of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries of the heart. In contrast, roughly one-tenth of the African-descent males and females and more…

This week I am sharing an article prepared by high-level tax consultancy firm Core Tax. The company advises the government on new legislation and trains staff of SARS. The article is a bit long, but should be worth the read. Enjoy . . . Property developers build residential property with the main purpose of selling the completed residential units in the course of making taxable supplies. Where a property developer who is registered for VAT develops residential properties for sale, the developer is entitled to deduct the VAT incurred on the development costs as input tax and is obliged to…

Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe has applauded the Central University of Technology (CUT) for building its second solar-powered vehicle as it gears to participate in the Sasol Solar Challenge next month, saying renewable energy is key to meeting the country’s growing demand for power. He said the exponential growth recorded in cities across the country has put a huge strain on Eskom as it battles to meet demand for electricity. “I think the most important thing is that, looking ahead, renewable energy will take the centre stage,” said Makgoe during last Friday’s launch of the CUT solar vehicle called…