Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it is worried the land issue was not adequately covered in the State of the Province Address delivered by Premier Sisi Ntombela on Tuesday. EFF provincial chairperson Mandisa Makhesini told The Free Stater the party is worried there is no firm commitment to deal with the land issue in the Free State. “The premier spoke about the issue of land but we don’t see the commitment to address it,” said Makhesini. “She acknowledges there is a problem regarding the redistribution of land and we feel vindicated as the EFF. “We are always…

Staff Reporter Agriculture and Rural Development MEC William Bulwane wants to see more young people getting involved in this sector while local government MEC Thembeni Nxangisa would like to see qualified people employed in municipalities in order to improve service delivery this year. In separate interviews, the two MECs said they found it important that Premier Sisi Ntombela had highlighted in her State of the Province Address the challenges faced by their departments and what could be done to improve them and deliver better services. Ntombela encouraged smallholder farmers to graduate to the commercial level because significant large-scale farming is…

Staff Reporter Free State Police, Roads and Transport MEC Sam Mashinini says the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cannot be left to the police alone because society can play an important role by helping identify perpetrators of this worsening crime and save lives. “The police can only solve this problem working together with the community,” Mashinini told The Free Stater following the delivery of the State of the Province Address (SOPA) by Premier Sisi Ntombela in which she announced that the province has appointed district coordinators to help the fight against GBVF. “We have created more closer relationships…

Staff Reporter Premier Sisi Ntombela has promised that all allegations of corruption and maladministration relating to the procurement of goods and services to address the COVID-19 pandemic will be investigated thoroughly in order to bring those who broke the law to account. She said this when she delivered her State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Bloemfontein on Tuesday. Ntombela said the provincial government welcomes the initial report of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) into COVID-19-related procurements and will assist the probe until it is finalised. “We remain committed to the investigation processes and look forward to the final report,”…

Staff Reporter Preparations for the low-key official opening of the Free State Legislature on Tuesday cost about 35 percent of the budget for the usually colourful ceremony, Speaker Zanele Sifuba told journalists. The provincial legislature had initially planned to host only 50 people for the official opening in line with the COVID-19 protocols for indoor gatherings. But there were last-minute adjustments after the country was moved from alert Level 3 to 1 which allows for up to 100 guests for indoor gatherings. “The expenditure for this year’s SOPA . . . by Sunday when I met with the team to…

Staff Reporter The Free State province is set to open three more COVID-19 vaccination sites this week as it steps up efforts to build herd immunity against the killer disease by the end of the year. Premier Sisi Ntombela told the provincial legislature when she delivered her State of the Province Address in Bloemfontein on Tuesday the three additional vaccination sites will be launched at Fezi Ngubentombi Hospital in Sasolburg, Bongani Hospital in Welkom and Rosepark Hospital in Bloemfontein. “We have adopted a decentralised vaccine roll-out approach,” she said. “As we continue with the roll-out, we have now vaccinated 4…

Staff Reporter Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela is expected to deliver her State of the Province Address (SOPA) this morning to mark the official opening of the provincial legislature for this year. The speech, which will set the tone for the province’s socio-economic programmes for the year, will likely touch on the province’s high unemployment rate which now stands at over 33.4 percent, the third highest rate in the country, the poor state of the roads, municipalities, education and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the province, among others. SOPA is a very important annual event marking the official opening…

South Africa will go to Level 1 lockdown with immediate effect, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced. “The country has now clearly passed the second wave,” Ramaphosa said during his televised national address on Sunday night. He credited the public health measures and changes in behaviour by the public for the decline in infections. This means that the hours of curfew change to midnight to 4 am and public gatherings – including social, political and religious – are once again permitted but restricted to 100 people for indoor gatherings and 250 for outdoor events, where the venue allows. Gathering after funerals,…

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Education is urging community members to take part in this year’s School Governing Body (SGB) elections and ensure quality education for their children. All public schools are expected to participate in the 2021 SGB elections set to run from March 1 to April 30. The elections take place every three years and the term of office of the current SGBs ends in March. The provincial education department said this year the elections will be held under the theme “Reimagining school governance under complex conditions”. “We urge all parents and guardians to familiarise themselves…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has sentenced a 35-year-old man for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend to an effective 20 years in jail. Tshokolo Nelson Mohlafu from Mokoai Moletsane informal settlement in Reddersburg was on Friday sentenced to an additional 12 months’ imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Judge Lani Opperman had initially found the accused guilty of killing Liza Tyumbo, 23, on February 29, 2020 in what the state described as a brutal attack. The court heard that on the day of the incident, Mohlafu and Tyumbo had an argument when they…