Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule says the state is wasting his time in the asbestos corruption case having allegedly failed to provide him with the names of witnesses against him so he can prepare his defence. He said this as he arrived at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday morning for the resumption of the pretrial conference. “The state is just wasting our time,” Magashule told reporters outside court. The pre-trial conference is set for two days. “We have been asking for the names of witnesses against me so I can prepare my defence but…

Dear Fellow South African, Africa’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic is a story of defied expectations. It is now two years since the first COVID-19 case in Africa was reported. Even as the burden of infections remains high – to date Africa has recorded over 11 million cases – dire predictions about Africa’s ability to withstand the health impact of the pandemic have not materialised. Some have called it Africa’s COVID-19 paradox, that despite widespread poverty, poor living conditions, under-resourced national health systems and scant resources, the pandemic is being effectively managed in a number of African countries. Several reasons…

The Cheetahs continued with their unbeaten run as they scored three tries en route to a convincing victory over the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday. A dominant second-half performance gave them a 28-17 win. The Cheetahs made the trip from Bloemfontein looking to make it three wins from three in their Currie Cup campaign. It was, however, the hosts who put the first points on the board from the boot of flyhalf Eddie Fouche in the second minute. The visitors drew level two minutes later after veteran Ruan Pienaar kicked a penalty to open his side’s account. Two tries followed,…

Every home is sellable. What changes is the price. Take two identical houses right next to each other on the same street. Why would one get a higher price? Assuming that they were built at the same time by the same builder, they would have been the same when they were originally completed. So what changed? Use your imagination. The owner of one unit is a young professional couple without children who have super modern furniture and are particularly neat and tidy in the way that they live. The other home was bought by an elderly couple who have heavy…

Staff Reporter Poor quality of roads, substandard electrical infrastructure, non-responsive police and stock theft are among the key service delivery issues that emerged during a meeting between Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the Kholokoe Traditional Authority near Harrismith in the Free State on Tuesday. Mkhwebane, who was accompanied by her deputy Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, was on a two-day visit to the Free State starting Monday and also met with members of the provincial government in Bloemfontein. “They heard of the struggles of the Makholokoe community including how ambulances and scholar transport cannot enter or leave the village during rainy…

Staff Reporter The Civils Lab at the Central University of Technology (CUT) is researching a safer pothole repair method that consumes less time and produces better quality repairs. Roads in most parts of the country are in a poor state due to ageing and lack of maintenance. Moisture in the underlying soil layers also contributes to the continued deterioration of roads. “The newly developed method has been used in Bloemfontein and Boshoff to improve the conditions of the roads,” read part of a statement released by the university. It said this repair method is one of the ways the institution…

Long before delivering his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), concerns reverberated in the political and social corridors surrounding President Cyril Ramaphosa, urging him to make conclusive statements, to have the heads of those implicated in corruption roll and to report on achievements and challenges. However, the somewhat overwhelming dismissive responses from prominent opposition party leaders may seem as if they are not eager to engage with the SONA constructively. Thus, it seems that no matter how well the SONA is delivered, there will always be those who dismiss it as a trivialisation of South Africa’s challenges. There were…

Staff Reporter The University of the Free State (UFS) will proceed to enforce its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy after an attempt in court to stop its implementation failed. This means, with effect from February 14, the institution will not allow students, staff members or visitors who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease to have access to its premises. The vaccination policy is part of the new measures approved last November by the UFS council in an effort to maintain a safe working environment at the university’s campuses. On Friday, the Free State High Court struck off the roll…

Staff Reporter Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane is set to embark on a two-day visit to the Free State starting this Monday as she gets her countrywide stakeholder consultation tour underway. According to a statement released by her office, the roadshow is aimed at “strengthening ties and fostering collaboration and cooperation with organs of the state”. The first stop will be the Fourth Raadsaal Building in Bloemfontein where Mkhwebane and her deputy Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka are scheduled to meet Speaker of the Provincial Legislature Ntombizanele Sifuba, Premier Sisi Ntombela and her Provincial Executive Council as well as other senior provincial…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has awarded a trained chef over R5-million to compensate him for the loss of past and future earnings due to the injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident he was involved in on June 28, 2015. Nicolas Alexander Spyrou filed a lawsuit against the Road Accident Fund (RAF) claiming the injuries had put paid to his dream of ever being employed as a chef as they had rendered him “unable to perform at the required level”. The injuries he suffered were described by Dr Bruce White, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, as:…