Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Health’s acting head of department, Godfrey Mahlatsi, has been released on R5 000 bail after he appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on charges of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. He handed himself over to the police on Friday morning before going to court with his legs shackled later in the day. Mahlatsi previously served as an accounting officer at the health department and during that time he allegedly paid R8 million to companies which submitted false and forged invoices for services that were never rendered. His arrest followed an internal…

Mangaung Metro is in the process of updating property values across the city. While this article is specific to a process being undertaken in the Free State capital, the basic principles apply to all revaluations of any municipal roll. Most property owners in the metro should have received notification of the 2022 Municipal Valuation Roll. On a regular four- to five-year cycle, every metropolitan and municipal area needs to do a revaluation of all properties in its jurisdiction in order to comply with its obligation to charge rates based on the use and valuation of the properties in line with…

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA CAPE TOWN CITY HALL 10 FEBRUARY 2022 Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo, Deputy President David Mabuza, Former President Thabo Mbeki, Former Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Deputy President Baleka Mbete, Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu, Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Mr Geordin Hill-Lewis, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr Bene M’Poko, Members of the Judiciary, Heads of Institutions Supporting Democracy, Members of Parliament, Fellow South Africans, This…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa needs a fundamental change to revive economic growth and tackle endemic poverty, inequality and unemployment that have been worsened by chronic power cuts and COVID-19. Addressing the many troubles that have plagued Africa’s most industrialised nation in the past decade in his State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa singled out the country’s unreliable power supply as one of the most egregious threats to long-term prosperity. He said there was a need to address the immediate crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to create conditions for long-lasting development. The president added that his…

Staff Reporter The Welkom Magistrates Court has sentenced 27-year-old Sophia Maya after she was convicted of unfair business practice and fraud. In July 2020, the woman pretended to be a traditional healer to Ernesto Mangoele, 60, and asked him to bring all his money to her so she could “make” him rich. On Wednesday, Magistrate Botsile Lefenya sentenced Sophia to 15 years in prison for unfair business practice, 10 years for fraud, four years for Contravention of the Immigration Act and 12 months for defeating the end of justice. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Mangoele, who…

Staff Reporter Three suspects believed to be part of a gang responsible for a reign of terror in the gold mining community of Meloding have been arrested after they allegedly teamed up with other members who are still at large to rape a 21-year-old woman over a period of two consecutive days. About 10 gang members are believed to have taken turns to rape the woman. Lejweleputswa district police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng said in a statement the incident happened on January 28 at about 10pm when the woman was in her rented room in Meloding township when 10 men,…

Staff Reporter A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his nine-year-old stepson in Bloemfontein. Mangaung police spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli said the victim was with his family at home on Saturday evening in Phase 3 when he started sweating and vomiting excessively. He was then rushed to hospital where the medical staff tried to save the child to no avail as he lost his life. “Police were made aware of the sudden sickness and passing of the child and an inquest file was registered by Kopanong detectives,” Kareli said in a statement. “A post-mortem was conducted and it…

Staff Reporter Three suspects have been arrested on charges of common assault and malicious damage to property after they allegedly attacked a teacher at Setjhaba se Maketse Combined School in Botshabelo. The suspects were arrested on Thursday night. Two of the suspects are believed to be parents of a Grade 11 learner at the school who teamed up with their daughter to attack the teacher. Police spokesperson in the Mangaung metro Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane said the learner is believed to have had problems with the teacher while in class earlier in the day on Thursday and the parents were…

Staff Reporter Two suspects believed to be part of an armed trio that robbed the Wesselsbron Post Office on Thursday have been arrested. Lejweleputswa district police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng said the two were arrested in Welkom after police activated a 72-hour turnaround plan to track down the criminals. “The team worked around the clock and a vehicle that matched a description (given to the police) was spotted in the Welkom CBD and stopped by members of the Welkom Flying Squad,” Thakeng said in a statement. “A 32-year-old white male who was driving the vehicle and a 37-year-old suspect were…

The Sectional Title Schemes Management Act (STSMA) is the law under which all sectional title schemes are managed. Every townhouse scheme or block of flats that is registered as a sectional title scheme is managed in terms of this Act. The Act specifies how owners are recognised, how they can vote, the election of trustees and how the accounts of the building should be run. It is not an easy Act to understand or to run – to the letter of the law – and even professional administrators seldom get it 100 percent right. In my opinion, it is far…