Author: The Free Stater

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has marked the trio of former Free State premier Ace Magashule, former MEC Mosebenzi Zwane and former head of the provincial agriculture department Peter Thabethe as possibly liable for the infamous Vrede Dairy Project and wants them charged for their roles in the failed enterprise. In the latest report of the State Capture Commission of Inquiry released on Wednesday evening, Zondo found that the Free State provincial government unlawfully paid a Gupta family-linked company, Estina, over R280-million for a project that ironically sidelined small-scale black farmers – the intended beneficiaries of the project – and got…

South Africa has dropped the compulsory wearing of masks in indoor settings as well as other measures put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 following a marked decline in active cases. Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed this during a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday. On Wednesday, he published a notice in the Government Gazette repealing the country’s COVID-19 regulations. The minister also announced that limits on gathering sizes and border checks for COVID-19 also fall way with immediate effect. According to Phaahla, by mid-June the country recorded a marked drop in new reported cases while the number…

Two of the three men who raped a 14-year-old girl in Rocklands, Bloemfontein, have each been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bloemfontein Sexual Offences Court. Magistrate Jan Greyvensteyn on Tuesday sentenced Lerato Mahumapelo, 25, and Tlogelo Mooki, 23, both from Rocklands, for the incident which took place on December 16, 2017. The complainant committed suicide while the matter was still in court. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said in a statement, on the day of the incident, the complainant, who was alone at home, went outside at around 22:00 to close the gate. He said she…

Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela will officially open the newly built Parys Clinic on Tuesday morning. She is also expected to embark on a public outreach campaign popularly known as “Taking Primary Health Care Services to the People” at an open space next to Phehellang Secondary School in Tumahole township. A joint statement by the provincial health department and Ngwathe Local Municipality said the opening and handover of the Parys Clinic, which was built by Sasol, is a significant service delivery milestone. It said the old clinic situated within the Ngwathe Municipality Building in the town was built in 1970…

Banks make most of their money when they lend to customers and charge interest. That is essentially how they get money to run their businesses and generate profit. In other words, no lending, no profit. When a bank lends you money to buy property, it allows you to purchase a property that otherwise you would never have the money to buy. It is the best investment you will ever make. Over time, property values rise and you get the benefit, as banks don’t participate in your profit. It used to be that banks lent 70-80 percent of the price of…

Suspended ANC chief whip in the Free State provincial Legislature, Vusi Tshabalala, is set to bounce back in his position after he was acquitted by the party’s Provincial Disciplinary Committee (PDC) on a charge of working with the opposition ahead of last year’s local government elections. At the hearing held on May 10 and 11, 2022 at the ANC provincial head office Kaizer Sebothelo House in Bloemfontein, Tshabalala faced two counts, namely organising and participating in a meeting which discussed the possibility of the party working with the opposition in the November municipal elections as well as trying to bring…

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), in collaboration with the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED), has launched an entrepreneurship competition targeted at young people during the month of June. CCBSA says this youth month, young people with a South African identity document stand a chance to win with CCBSA in partnership with DESTEA and GDED. The competition, which was launched this week on Lesedi FM, allows listeners who qualify to do a 90-second business elevator pitch live on the Thakgoha Show. The best presentation chosen by…

Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke has blamed inaction by political and administrative leadership at Free State municipalities as a key contributor to the poor financial performance at most councils in the province. She said this when she released the 2020-21 audit outcomes on local government on Wednesday. Maluleke said the audit outcomes for the province regressed during the period under review and no municipality in the Free State achieved a clean audit during the five-year period of the previous administration. “Inaction by political and administrative leadership continued to be a deliberate obstruction to municipalities’ effective functioning,” said Maluleke, adding provincial leadership…

The Free State High Court has sentenced a 24-year-old man from Ha Chabong Village in QwaQwa to two life terms after he was convicted of the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl from Kestell. Judge Ilse van Rhyn sentenced Kgotso William Mofokeng for the rape and murder of Tshepang Mosikili that took place on September 18, 2021. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Mosikili and her friend were going to a nearby shop when they met Mofokeng who asked them to assist him carry his goods to his house and they agreed. “Along the way Mosikili’s…

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that a decision by the government to ban the smoking or sale of all tobacco products during the hard lockdown was unconstitutional and invalid. The SCA made the ruling on Tuesday when it dismissed an appeal by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who was contesting an order of the Western Cape High Court which found that the decision by the government to ban smoking during the national state of disaster as a way to contain the spread of COVID-19 had no basis both legally and on health grounds. The…