Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter The town of Brandfort in the Free State will be renamed Winnie Mandela after the late struggle icon. Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa gazetted the name change on Friday. This, according to the notice, was in terms of Section 10 (2) of the South African Geographical Names Council Act (Act No 118 of 1998). Winnie Mandela was banished to the small farming town at the height of the oppressive apartheid system and spent about eight years there between 1977 and 1985. She was not allowed to leave the town and her movements were closely monitored by apartheid…

Staff Reporter Several schools in the Free State remained open in December last year to allow Grade 11 learners to finish the syllabus and prepare for their final year in high school. Education MEC Tate Makgoe said this had to be done in some schools in order to make up for lost time when schools were forced to close for several months last year in a bid to curb the spread of the coronovirus. Makgoe, who was speaking during a visit to schools in Mangaung by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday, said the matric class of this year,…

Staff Reporter Ensuring that children in primary school attend school every day is one effective way of reducing the number of those who drop out, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said in Bloemfontein this week. While education authorities in the Free State say the province has not reported a high drop-out rate amongst learners since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which has forced schools to close several times, the minister said parents and communities at large should help ensure learners stay in school. “It all depends on the role of community members,” said Motshekga when she visited schools in…

What is an exclusive-use area? It is actually just what it says: an area of the common property that is set aside for the exclusive use of one owner of a unit in a building. Typical of this would be a garden area, a carport or a storeroom. To qualify as an exclusive-use area (EUA), the part of the common property allocated for the use of individual owners would have to be noted in some way. In the first Sectional Titles Act (STA) in 1976, body corporates could simply draw up a simple plan and mark the area agreed could…

Staff Reporter President Cyril Ramaphosa has named ANC economic heavyweight Enoch Godongwana as South Africa’s new Finance Minister, replacing Tito Mboweni who resigned. The major cabinet reshuffle announced by the president on Thursday evening also saw Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula getting the chop, with Thandi Modise taking over. Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla has been elevated to the helm of the ministry after the incumbent, Zweli Mkhize, stepped down. Mkhize had been on special leave for close to two months on allegations that his department irregularly awarded COVID-19-related contracts to a communications company controlled by his former associates. Another…

Staff Reporter The state will have to wait for at least three months to get a confirmation from court on the preservation order that allowed assets worth over R520 million owned by Iqbal Sharma and others to be seized in June this year. The judge president of the Free State High Court, Cagney Musi, said the parties to the matter agreed to push the matter forward to allow everyone to submit responses before the matter is argued in court. The matter will now be heard on November 18. Investigating Directorate (ID) spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the judge will however rule…

Staff Reporter Embattled former head of the Free State Department of Health, Dr David Motau, has been placed on precautionary suspension by his new employer, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Motau, who left the provincial health department a few months ago, was appointed HPCSA chief executive officer/registrar in June and the suspension follows his recent arrest and appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court facing numerous charges of breaching the Public Finance Management Act. He is charged with 22 other alleged accomplices who include current and former employees of the department as well as service providers and their…

Staff Reporter Two armed robbers disguised as security guards have robbed a Post Office in Viljoenskroon of an undisclosed amount of cash after telling staff they were there to make a delivery before turning guns on them. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said in a statement the incident happened just before 17:00 on Tuesday as the staff were preparing to close for the day. He said the two men dressed in clothes similar to those of security guards approached a 49-year-old Post Office security officer and told him that they were delivering paper. “He opened the door and accompanied…

Staff Reporter Three people aged between 50 and 75 have been arrested for allegedly trying to defeat the ends of justice and corruption after plying a rape victim with cash in a bid to convince her to withdraw charges. Free State spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo, said in a statement the suspects were arrested yesterday and in the early hours of Wednesday in Bloemfontein. The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit carried out the arrest, assisted by the Tactical Response Team and Crime Intelligence. According to Singo, the suspects allegedly approached the victim last Thursday and paid her…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court will on Thursday morning decide on the assets to be included in an unlimited restraint order against Iqbal Sharma and businesses that have been linked to him. The restraint order, issued in June, pertains to Sharma, his company Nulane Investments 204 (Pty) Ltd as well as Islandsite Investments 180 (Pty) Ltd, which belongs to Atul and Rajesh Gupta and their wives, Chetali and Arti, respectively. The freezing order is in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act. “The order applies to assets in South Africa which include all property of Islandsite, Sharma…