Author: The Free Stater

Staff and key assets from the embattled Sedibeng Water Board are set to be transferred to the Bloemwater and Magalies water boards following the gazetting of the move by Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu last week. The department’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, said in a statement the development is in line with the minister’s commitment to review the country’s water boards to enable them to perform optimally while enhancing the delivery of water to municipalities and ultimately to households. The decision to disestablish Sedibeng Water – which served Matjhabeng, Masilonyana and Nala local municipalities, among others – means its staff,…

It is apparent that there are more and more buildings, especially in Bloemfontein’s central areas, that are standing vacant and are in a very poor state of repair. Why is this? Some of these properties are commercial properties and all buildings have a life cycle. When new they are effective and efficient but they age physically and socially over the years. A modern office building is designed very differently from the one that was built in the 1930s. Young people probably won’t understand how different the working environment was just 30-40 years ago. At that time there were no computers,…

The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has warned residents in and around the Free State capital to brace for heavy rainfall that could cause flooding this Friday. The municipality is urging drivers to take extra caution by reducing speed and switching their headlights on, while pedestrians are being reminded to be careful when crossing the road and to avoid crossing rivers and streams where water is above the ankles. “Residents of Mangaung Metro, particularly in the former Naledi region, are urged to be cautious on the road and in their homes as the South African Weather Service has issued an impact-based warning…

Mangaung council speaker Stefani Lockman-Naidoo has vowed not to stop fighting corruption in the metro after she was summoned to a disciplinary hearing set for next month for disobeying her party, the ANC, resulting in the axing and suspension of senior officials in the municipality. The ANC Mangaung Interim Regional Committee (IRC) has summoned her to a disciplinary hearing on June 7 to answer to charges of knowingly and intentionally defying a resolution of the ANC Caucus in council after she allowed a motion to be debated without referring it to party structures in the council. Lockman-Naidoo’s tiff with her…

Power distribution company Centlec has issued a stern warning to people believed to be hired by unknown individuals or syndicates to steal copper cables from the power lines saying it will not allow them to destroy such key infrastructure and put the country’s economy at risk. “This is war and we will fight it tooth and nail,” said Centlec in a statement. “We want to send a strong message to the criminals and their handlers that we will not rest until they are behind bars,” added the company, which distributes electricity to Mangaung and surrounding municipalities. It said it is…

A 30-year-old man will appear in the Viljoenskroon Magistrates Court this Wednesday facing two charges of murder. Fezile Dabi district police spokesperson Captain Malebo Khosana said the man was arrested for the double murder after he went to his ex-girlfriend’s house at about 4am on Saturday. “He suspected that the ex-girlfriend was sleeping with the current boyfriend,” said Malebo in a statement. “Upon . . . arrival at the ex-girlfriend’s home, he stabbed her to death and hit her son with a hammer on the head,” added the police spokesperson. The suspect then fled the scene. He is said to…

The man accused of killing Bloemfontein businessman and former Moroka Swallows FC player Lejoni Alfred Helepi in March 2016 has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Free State High Court after being extradited from Lesotho. Ntsane Togowe, 42, was given an additional 15 years by Judge Pitso Molitsoane on Monday after he was convicted of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Helepi was killed in his bathroom on March 29, 2016 in the robbery which included four other accused persons. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the slain businessman was attacked and fatally shot after taking a shower in…

After going through his wife’s mobile phone and discovering that she was having an extra-marital affair, a Free State man tricked her unsuspecting lover into visiting the couple’s home. Little did the lover know he was walking into a trap where the husband and his friend teamed up to bludgeon him with a hammer and strangle him before dumping his lifeless body into a dam. The husband, Kelly Sephton,37, and his friend, Raymond Oosthuizen, 45, will now rot in jail for the heinous crime. The Free State High Court, sitting in Sasolburg, on Friday sentenced the two men to life…

SABC chief executive officer Madoda Mxakwe has urged young people to be patient and remain focused as they pursue their careers and not rush to hog the limelight before mastering their respective professions. He said this when he delivered the keynote address at the Central University of Technology (CUT) 2022 Autumn Graduation Ceremony held at the Free State institution’s Welkom campus this week. The university quotes Mxakwe, who spoke on leadership, as saying it was important to build a strong foundation and support system in order to grow professionally. “I know I’m talking mostly to a generation that wants things…

The Free State High Court on Friday dismissed a last-minute application brought by the directors of the Gupta-owned slandsite Investments 180 (Pty) to postpone the return day of the provisional restraint order against company, Iqbal Sharma and others. Acting Judge Neil Snellenburg will provide a written judgment for dismissing the postponement application on Monday. The directors sought a postponement pending their application to the Supreme Court of Appeal where they are appealing against a High Court ruling passed in August 2021 that said the business rescue practitioners of Islandsite, not the directors, have the authority to represent the company in…