the beat 7 december 2012

7 December 2012

R1-20/FR

EE

[email protected], Website: thebeat.linmedia.co.za BEAT 7 Desember, 2012

For a speedy &friendly service call:Jan: 073 1593 875 •Home: 014 737 8373 •Fax: 014 737 1577Makwela: 071 490 3030

Two Limpopo women who sus-tained serious injuries on the eveof the 16 days of activism againstwomen and children abuse nowhave no food on the table, aftertheir husband was jailed for assaultwith intent to do grievous bodilyharm.Augusto Shivambu (32) was sen-

tenced to 12 months’ imprison-ment in the Malamulele Magis-trate’s Court last Wednesday, fol-lowing his conviction. He savagelyassaulted his two wives with asjambok after a pair of sandalswent missing.One of the wives, Nancy (25), who

sustained serious injuries al overher body during the beating, hadnevertheless played down the in-cident. She told Magistrate Nor-man Maluleke that the beatingtook one minute. Later she toldLimpopo Mirror she talked of one

Lizzy Bapela

Thursday 29 NovemberPolice in Pienaarsrivier arelooking for suspects whorobbed two Zimbabweanwomen of their belongings inthe area.Police spokesperson, War-

rant Officer MaxwellNkanyane, said that thewomen bought woodenboards in Johannesburg tosend home and asked for alift on a truck also driven byZimbabweans. He said thetruck was supposed to takethe N1 route but instead tookthe Rust de Winter road.According to the information

received, the driver and hiscrew had allegedly contactedtheir accomplices driving abakkie to come and rob thewomen. The victims noticedthe robbery, as they were theonly ones who were searchedand robbed of their cellphones, money and other be-longings including theboards.The getaway bakkie was

said to have returned fromthe Rust de Winter road backto Pienaarsrivier and policeare investigating a case ofarmed robbery.

Two people were arrested inBela Bela for drunken drivingand they appeared in court onMonday, 3 December.Lieutenant-Colonel Abel

Phetla, of the Bela Bela po-lice, said that one driver wasarrested In Leseding section,while the other one was ar-rested in town. He added thetwo were released on R1 500bail each and their caseswere remanded to February2013.Bela Bela police are inves-

Sunday 2 Decembertigating a case of recklessand negligent driving follow-ing an accident that hap-pened on the R101 just out-side Bela Bela, in the direc-tion of Hammanskraal.Phetla said that two vehicles

collided head on but nodeaths were reported as aresult. He added that the oc-cupants sustained minor in-juries and the drivers ap-peared before the Bela BelaMagistrate’s Court on Mon-day, 3 December.

Husband jailed for sjambokkingwives over missing sandals

minute because she wanted herhusband released.“I feel he should have received a

warning. It was a mistake and hedid not usually beat us,” she said.Limpopo Mirror visited the other

wife, who had not been to court asshe had run away. Elizabeth (28),the mother of five, said she ranaway during the beating but couldnot escape the sjambok marks onher face.“I went to my relatives in Venda

and only came back when I heardhe had been sentenced,” saidElizabeth. “We are both unem-ployed and there is no food for theseven children,” she added.She said neither of them had an

ID as they were from Mozambique,although they had been here forthe last eight years. Three of thechildren were receiving grants, shesaid, and their father was the one

who had been receiving those ontheir behalf.“Our husband had been here for the

last 20 years and that is why he hasbeen given permanent residence inSouth Africa. He also did odd jobs tosupport the children, but with himgone to jail, we are starving,” shesaid.She said the beating took place

when Shivambu found his pair of san-dals missing in one of the huts,which did not have a lock. “He tookoffence and he said we should knowas we are the people who are sup-posed to know everything at home,”she said.At the time of the visit, neighbours

had given them some food. “I felt pityfor the children and I gave them somefood and if my husband knows, hemay be cross with me,” said a neigh-bour, who refused to be named. —LiN News/Limpopo Mirror

43 000 illegal Zimbabweans deported the past year

About 43 000 Zimbabweans weredeported from South Africa to Zim-babwe through the Beit BridgeBorder Post over the last 12months as the crackdown on il-legal immigrants staying in thecountry continues.Police spokesperson, Chief

Supt Lawrence Chinhengo, saidthat, between October last yearand this year, they handled 42940 deportees.

Illegal Zimbabwean immigrants brave the treacherous and dangerouswaters of the Limpopo River in order to cross over to South Africa.Photo: Supplied

South Afr ica resumed thedeportations of Zimbabwean ille-gal immigrants last October, af-ter having initially suspended theexercise in April 2009.This was after the country had

introduced a moratorium on thedeportation of Zimbabweans,granting them a special dispen-sation for one year, so that theycould regularize their stay in thatcountry.

“On average, our statis-tics indicate that we re-ceive between 200 and300 deportees daily andmost of them would havebeen brought in f romLindela in Johannesburg,”he said.The largest number of

deportations on a singleday was recorded on 5December last year when672 Zimbabweans wererounded up in Limpopoand Gauteng.Chinhengo indicated that

several border jumperswere taking advantage ofthe drop in water levels inthe Limpopo River tocross the border illegallythrough undesignated en-try points.He said that they had in-

tensified patrols along theborder with their South Af-rican counterparts.Due to these patrols,

they had recorded a 76% declinein robberies along the LimpopoRiver between January and Oc-tober, compared to the same pe-riod last year.“We continue to warn people

against irregular migration, how-ever, as they risk prosecution andbeing attacked by robbers whooperate in bushy areas along theriver,” he said.Chinhengo expressed concern

over the continuous haphazarddeportation of ex-convicts, say-ing it fuelled crime in the bordertown.“South African authorities are

supposed to deport ex-convictsseparately, but, sadly, we con-tinue to receive them in a mixedbatch and that is now a majorchallenge for us when it comesto screening.They are supposed to be vetted

first and then categorised accord-ingly, because some of themwould have been on our wantedlist and end up engaging in crimi-nal activities and fuelling crimein Beit Bridge,” he said.On arrival in the country, the

returnees are received by the im-migration authorities at the BeitBridge Reception and SupportCentre (BRSC) of the Interna-tional Organisation for Migration(IOM), who vet them to ascertainwhether they are bona fide Zim-babweans. Soon after that proc-ess, they are then further vettedby police before being taken tothe IOM, which offers them over-night accommodation, medica-tion, food and transport to pro-ceed to their respective homes.The BRSC IOM has the capac-

ity to accommodate 600 peopleat any given time.Some of the deportees turn

down any form of assistance fromthe IOM and those who opt to gohome using their own means arereleased.Most of them resort to crossing

back to South Africa illegallythrough undesignated entrypoints along the Limpopo River,despite of the dangers of beingattacked by crocodiles or robbersoperating in bushy areas near theriver.— LiN News/Limpopo Mirror

Ali and NkelePole weremarried inModimolle onSunday, 2December.Photo: TKMashaba.

BEAT Page [email protected], Website: thebeat.linmedia.co.za 7 Desember, 2012


Lizzy Bapela

Students attending a tourism learnershipprogramme in Bela Bela, ran byBonwelong Skills Development fromPolokwane, expressed their dissatisfac-tion with the working of the programme.The students told The BEAT that they

were stopped from working and told tostay at home until proper placement forthem is found. So far, there has beenno news about when their placementswill come into effect.They said that they are currently not

attending any classes, receive only partof their stipends and have no proper uni-forms.The 12-month pilot programme started

on 28 May this year and the studentswere recruited through the Departmentof Labour’s database, which registersunemployed people for potential em-ployers’ interests.One of the students, who wish to re-

main anonymous, said that they signeda contract in the beginning of the pro-gramme, which states that they wouldhave 22 days in a month for theory andpractical work, and eight days to rest.The students said that they decided to

continue working because the contactstates that the principle of “no work nopay” is in effect and they were afraid thatthey would not be paid, even if they didnot stop working on their own.The students alleged that Bonwelong

removed gazebos from their previoussites and did not communicate withthem.“We were stopped from working on 22

October but we did work by distributingtourism information in town from 5 No-vember.We tried communicating with the man-

agement of Bonwelong and our coordi-nator from the local municipal i ty,Sephala Mokgohloa, but no solution has

Learnership students unhappy

Students of Bonwelong Skills Development programme are not satisfied with the running of the project. Photo: Michelle Murray

been reached.”“Mokgohloa is rude to us when we talk

to him and he even told us he does notwant to be involved with us anymore sowe are on our own,” alleged a student.Mokgohloa was off duty when The

BEAT contacted the municipality for hiscomment on the matter and allegedlyinstructed his colleagues not to give outhis contact details to anybody, espe-cially if it concerns work related issues.The BEAT spoke to Jacob Motadi, of

Bonwelong, who was surprised to hearthat the students had problems regard-ing the programme and operations.He said everything is being communi-

cated through phone calls and socialnetworks and he even created a groupchat where any student can talk to himat anytime.“I don’t complain even when they con-

tact me in the evening, as I am alwaysavailable for them. We have talked is-sues through and I explained to themwhy we removed the gazebos.We are still searching for proper place-

ment for them, where they can be moni-tored.”“The students were coming to work in

the mornings, when their coordinatorcame to mark the register and left im-mediately after he had gone, but theywant to claim payments for that. We paythem according to the register and anymistakes made in the register are theirresponsibility.We can not tell what went wrong be-

cause we are far away from them,” saidMotadi.He said that Bonwelong met with the

national and local Department of Tour-ism and the Limpopo Economic Devel-opment and Tourism (LEDET) and willbe coming to the sites to talk to the stu-dents about the way forward.Motadi said that the students just want

things to be done quickly and that mostof them do not evencare to understandthe processes butjust want money.“We recruited the

youth as they comefrom disadvantagedfamilies and want toabsorb them intovarious potentialemployment insti-tutions so they canhelp their families,”he said.Motadi insisted

that the pilotproject runsthroughout theprovince and thatall information iscommunicated tothe students.

Bela Bela detectivescrowned the best

Whatever youwant to teach,

be brief.Horace

he worked with determined colleagues.Some of these colleagues left theiroriginal units to join him, as he was,and still is, regarded as the most hum-ble, intelligent and easy to work with.On many occasions, Phetla received

acknowledgements from his juniors forhis sound and stable leadership.Sekgobela, one of those praising

Phetla as the greatest leader ever, helda gun for the first time when he was inthe army in 1994.He also worked in Johannesburg and

Hillbrow and moved to Bela Bela in2006, where he worked in the uniformedunit for three years.Sekgobela joined Phetla’s detective

unit in 2009 and worked wonders withthe help of his colleagues and com-mander in solving crimes and collaringcriminals.Sekgobela has cracked major cases

in and around Bela Bela includingarmed-, house- and business robber-ies, truck hijackings and car thefts.He was also part of a team that

cracked down a group of suspects whowere terrorising Bela Bela withhousebreakings.He led a team of detectives who as-

sisted Pienaarsrivier police in arrestingsuspects in cases such as truckhijackings and armed robberies, whereone suspect was convicted in 32 cases.In their successes, Sekgobela and his

team have managed to arrest suspectswho fled crime scenes and those whoevaded arrests and hid in Gauteng andMpumalanga amongst other places.An official ceremony is expected totake place at the Bela Bela police sta-tion to celebrate the heroes’

Lizzy Bapela

Two detectives from Bela Bela werecrowned the best of the best during thefirst ever Prestige Provincial Awardsheld at the Peter Mokaba Stadium inPolokwane on Saturday, 1 December.Lieutenant-Colonel Abel Phetla was

crowned the Best Detectives Com-mander, while detective FransSekgobela was crowned the Best In-vestigator.Unit commanders and provincial com-

missioners from all provinces acrossthe country attended the event.The national police commissioner,

Riah Phiega attended the occasion,with two commissioners from Lesothoaccompanying her.She called for provinces to implement

programmes that will influence employ-ees to work hard and achieve good re-sults. Phiega announced that theawards would be held annually and willbe held nationally as from 2013.Phetla and Sekgobela have been

working together for three years nowand have achieved many successessince. They are the only two police of-ficials in the Waterberg that wonawards at the ceremony, joined byTanya de Kock from their Supply ChainManagement.Phetla started working for the SAPS

in 1984 and worked in Witbank,Kgapane and Mankweng in the uni-formed unit. He then went to work inthe detectives unit in Zebediela, wherehe was promoted to station commis-sioner.Phetla came to Bela Bela in 2003 to

head the local detectives unit, where

Lieutenant-Colonel AbelPhetla wascrowned theBest Detec-tives Com-mander, whiledetective FransSekgobela wascrowned theBest Investiga-tor.Photo: LizzyBapela

Tel: (011) 447-1264/5/6

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EDITORIAL POLICY


The BEAT wants to hear from our readers. If you have agreat story or something that you want us to bring to light,please email [email protected] or send an SMS to one

of our reporters. Lizzy: 076 609 7644 or TK: 076 7569740. We would also LOVE to see some of your weird andwonderful photos for our editorial page. Do not delay, just

contact us today!

The festive season is a time when peo-ple gather with family and friends andmany enjoy a few alcoholic drinks aroundthe braai or at parties.However, at this time of year there are

many social gatherings that it can beeasy to over-indulge. Too much alcoholis dangerous to the drinkers as well asthose around them.Social time is important and can have

many health benefits, such as pleasure,relaxation and stress relief. However,people who consume too much alcoholcan endanger their health both in theimmediate and long term.It is therefore an important time for peo-

ple to be informed about how to consumealcohol safely and be careful to avoidconsuming alcohol in quantities that puttheir health at risk.The National Department of Health is

concerned about the bad effects of alco-hol abuse in the country and the ever-increasing health and social costs tocommunities, especially around this timeof the year.Alcohol abuse is associated with in-

creased injuries, illnesses, diseases anddeaths. Alcohol abuse has been foundto be a major contributing reason for roaddeaths. It accounts for up to 60% of roaddeaths in South Africa, including pedes-trians.“With many holiday-makers taking to

the road over the festive season, it is im-portant to keep a responsible mind set,”advises Adrian Botha, of The IndustryAssociation for Responsible Alcohol Use(ARA), an organisation, which promotesthe responsible enjoyment of alcohol bev-erages and is supported by the alcoholbeverage industry in South Africa.There are ways of enjoying alcohol and

staying safe. Never drive or swim whileunder the influence of alcohol. Avoiddrinking with partners who are prone toaggressive behaviour.When planning to go on a night out,

agree upfront with a friend that he/shewill be the designated driver. Avoid liftsfrom strangers, especially when intoxi-cated.Having food in the stomach reduces the

absorption of alcohol into the bloodstreamand reduces the intoxicating effects ofalcohol. It is very important to eat beforeor while consuming alcohol, and to eatenough food to fill the stomach. If youare planning a party, ensure there isplenty of food available for guests.Alcohol is a depressant; it can affect

your reason, judgement and coordina-tion, and slows down your reaction time.This means that if you drink to excess,you are putting yourself at risk.Drinking alcohol is a matter of individual

opinion and responsibility. It has been apart of social life and celebrations aroundthe world for thousands of years.Drinking sensibly means you can en-

joy yourself — and stay safe.

The silly seasonHow to judge yourconduct Bishop Silas Tlou

The daily conduct of Christians is veryimportant because it is the only wayothers can see God work in their lives.How do we know if our conductpleases God? There are some ques-tions that Christians have to ask them-selves.Does the Bible forbid this conduct

in any way? The Bible contains manylists of sins to be avoided. Mark 7:20-23; Romans 1:26-32; 1 Corinthians6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 4:17-5:21;Col. 3:5-11; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus3:3; James 3:13-4:10; 1 Peter 4:1-4;Revelation 21:8; 22:15.These prohibitions should be stud-

ied and obeyed. Remember that theBible teaches in both general andspecific terms. Sometimes it de-scribes in detail that a specific act issinful. Other times it presents gen-eral principles, which may includemany specific sins.Study is required to determine

whether a specific act fits the defini-tion of something God has forbidden.Surely, we should avoid what God’s

word directly prohibits, but we mustalso apply general principles to de-termine right from wrong.Will this conduct encourage others

to serve God better? 1 Timothy 4:12– “Don’t let anyone look down on youbecause you are young. Instead, setan example for the believers throughyour speech, behaviour, love, faith,and by being sexually pure.”Matthew 18:6-7 – “As for whoever

causes these little ones who believein me to trip and fall into sin, it wouldbe better for them to have a hugestone hung around their necks andbe drowned in the bottom of the lake.How terrible it is for the world becauseof the things that cause people to tripand fall into sin! Such things have tohappen, but how terrible it is for theperson who causes those things tohappen!”Will this conduct help or hinder my

service to God? Consider the influ-ence an act may have on you your-self. Matthew 6:13 – “And don’t leadus into temptation, but rescue us fromthe evil one.” If you know a course ofaction is likely to lead to sin, does itmake good sense to start down thatpath?Will this conduct lead me to disre-

spect authority? God has ordainedthat certain people have authority overus on earth. Ephesians 6:5-8 – “Asfor slaves, obey your human masterswith fear and trembling and with sin-cere devotion to Christ. Don’t work tomake yourself look good and try toflatter people, but act like slaves ofChrist carrying out God’s will from theheart. Serve your owners enthusias-tically, as though you were serving theLord and not human beings. You knowthat the Lord will reward every personwho does what is right, whether thatperson is a slave or a free person.”Would you feel pure before God if

you stopped in the midst of what youare doing and asked His blessingson it?

Brenda Read writes : Boet vanLoggerenberg and I wish to meet andthank all the people that helped us afteran accident and so bravely rescued usfrom our burning car.The accident happened on 11 June at

approximately 11:30. We were travellingfrom Bela Bela to Modimolle when ourcar left the road for some reason andended up against the rock face.The accident caused the dry grass next

to the road to catch fire and our car alsostarted burning, creating a very danger-ous situation.On that stage, five men appeared and

rushed to help us. They turned the vehi-cle, which was lying on its side, the rightway up and helped us out in the nick oftime.

Letter to the editorPlease help us findour rescuers

Our family agree with us that we shouldtry to find and meet our rescuers.We want to thank them and at least

shake their hands for their bravery andinitiative to get us out of the burningwreck.Personally, we feel that the rescuers

deserve national recognition for theirbravery.We also want to thank the police of-

ficer who called the fire brigade, policeand ambulance to assist us.We are also thankful for the help that

we received from Tromar EmergencyServices and the fire brigade on thatfateful day.


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Lizzy Bapela

The Department of Social Development inWaterberg District has postponed their 16Days of Activism Against Women andChild Abuse march.The march was expected to take place

from Dira O Direlwe Drop-In Centre inModimolle on Monday, 26 November.According to the spokesperson for the de-

partment, Legopheng Matlala, the marchhas been postponed until further notice.The 16 Days of Activism against women

Social Development postpones campaign

TK Mashaba

A group that seems as if they have beenin the music industry for years, but inreality had only been performing for ayear, stole the show at the Bela BelaMass Feeva Caribbean Carnival over theweekend.The Bela Bela based band consists of

a family of three brothers, Leon-, onbase, Robbie-, on drums, and BoboMautla on piano.Tumelo Merelo joins them on lead gui-

tar. Refilwe Matsho, Katlego Mashaba,Shana Thema and Lucky Baitseng com-plete the group with their vocal perform-ances. The group is currently perform-ing under the name X1 Crue, but theyare looking to change their name tosomething more appropriate soon.

Minister LuluXingwana is theleader of theSouth AfricanSixteen Days ofActivism cam-paign. Photo:Supplied

and child abuse is an international cam-paign, celebrated with the motto “don’tlook away, act against abuse,” from 25November to 10 December annually.The theme for this year’s campaign is

“elimination and prevention of all forms ofviolence against women and children.”The South African government mobilises

every year, urging members of the publicto wear white ribbons throughout the cam-paign. The government acknowledges thefact that the campaign has generated mas-sive awareness on issues of violence

against women and children in the past.Spokesperson for the Government Com-

munication and Information Systems(GCIS) in the Waterberg, MariaRamoshaba, said the campaign will counton everyone’s support again in 2012 butmust also move beyond awareness to prac-tical action, the next level, behaviouralchange.According to Ramoshaba, the govern-

ment also appreciates the contribution ofall sectors of society and organisationstowards the successful awareness drive.She indicated that in the past years the

campaign has marked activities around theworld to end gender-based violence.“Ending violence against women and chil-

dren is up to all of us and anyone can playan active role in creating a safer commu-nity. The 16 Days campaign has beenused to create a global movement to raiseawareness, to address policy and legalissues, to campaign for the protection ofsurvivors of violence and to call for the elimi-nation of all forms of gender violence.”“The 16 Days of Activism Campaign there-

fore focuses primarily on generating an in-creased awareness of the negative impactof violence on women and children as wellas society as a whole,” said Ramoshaba.The government champion for the cam-

paign in South Africa is the minister forthe Department of Women, Children andPeople with Disability (DWCPD), LuluXingwana. She is the national convener ofthe 16 Days of Activism.The Minister envisions that the 2012 cam-

paign addresses real issues at grass rootslevel that affect vulnerable groups, includ-ing women, children and people with dis-abilities. These issues include abuse,sexual harassment, rape, murder and cul-tural practices that are harmful to womenand children.The department is strengthening coordi-

nation and ownership of the 365 Days ofAction Programme to end violence againstwomen and children within government andthrough partnerships and this process willbe led by the Council for Gender-based Vio-lence.Ramoshaba said that the 16 Days of Ac-

tivism Campaign is meant to be a period ofintensive awareness raising efforts in a year-long national action plan to end violenceagainst women and children.She said that their task is to coordinate

the activities of all government departments,civil society and corporate partners.She added that the aim is to grow the cam-

paign’s reach year-on-year with the supportand commitment of friends in all sectors.

It all started with a dream

Katlego Mashabain full cry duringtheir perform-ances at Carnivalfestival. Photo:TK Mashaba

Members of thegroup get ready toperform beforethe show kicksoff. Photo: TKMashaba

X1 Crue made their debut at the BelaBela Show Grounds during the Bela BelaMass Feeva Caribbean Carnival and hadthe crowd eating out of their hands.“We started out as a house music

group because house music had a hugeinfluence on us last year,” Leon Mautlasaid.According to Leon, they were spotted

by David Raborolo, famous Bela Belabasketball player, at a wedding and fromthere on doors started opening for them.“We manage ourselves at the moment

and we are glad about the positive re-sponse that we receive from the audi-ences,” he said.The group started out after meeting at

church and starting weekly perform-ances at church gatherings.“We are very humble that we met at

church, It taught us discipline and totake our careers seriously,” Leon ex-plained.The group is working on their own songs

in order to offer an original product totheir fast growing fan base. The groupperforms afro-pop, rhythm and blues,gospel and house music.

Years teach usmore than

books.BertholdAuerbach

Mass Feeva paints town in a rainbow

The Carnivaliststeams dancingin the roadduring theparade to theshow grounds.Photo: TKMashaba

On Saturday, 24 November, the DAhosted a Christmas party, with presentsand food, for the children of theMantadi Youth Care Centre. Theprincipal of the Centre, Anna Makwela,told the Christmas story and the chil-dren thoroughly enjoyed the food andcold drinks provided by the DA.

made its way to the show grounds wherethe festivities continued.This is the second phase of this festi-

val. Last year the planning committeehosted a dress rehearsal that includeda parade and some festive activities onthe Bela Bela Festival Grounds.According to Matome Sebelebele, mu-

nicipal spokesperson, the Carnival wasmuch better this year because of theturnout. He did say, however, that therewere issues to be considered beforeembarking on the next year’s Carnival. “The build-up and parade was fine but

we suffered on the artistic side as thebudget was not in our favour,” he said.

TK Mashaba

The small town of Bela Bela came to astandstill when a Caribbean parade tookthe township and town by storm.The drizzling rain did not stop the spirit

of the people having fun in the streetsand at the Bela Bela Show Grounds.The municipality hosted the Carnival in

collaboration with the government of Trini-dad and Tobago Department of Arts andCulture, the Limpopo Provincial Govern-ment and local business.The official Carnival parade, that saw

1 600 people walking through the streetsof Bela Bela in colourful costumes,


Lizzy Bapela

The Department of Co-operative Govern-ance, Human Settlements and TraditionalAffairs (CoGHSTA) in Limpopo encouragesowners of government built homes (RDPhouses) to participate in the My Home MyPride Competition in the future.Provincial spokesperson for the depart-

ment, Tseng Diale, told The BEAT that thedepartment had already started with prepa-rations to host the competition.She said that the adjudication commit-

tee has already screened and finalised theprovince’s top eight houses to stand achance to win prizes worth building mate-rials and gardening tools.Diale further said that the competition My

Home My Pride was established in 2010and is aimed at encouraging RDP benefi-ciaries to value their property by plantingtrees and vegetables and maintaining beau-tiful yards.She added that the campaign is part of

consumer education programme set toraise awareness and to instil a sense ofownership to government built RDP hous-ing beneficiaries.The competition was called “My RDP My

Pride” when it was first established and

Lizzy Bapela

A Mookgophong farmer, R.MMathabatha, became the pride ofWaterberg when she walked away withR60 000 during the Limpopo Departmentof Agriculture (LDA)’s provincial awards.The department hosted a mini-agricul-

tural expo at the Polokwane ShowGrounds from Tuesday, 27- to Wednes-day 28 November.The Limpopo MEC for Agriculture,

Jacob Marule, gave awards to female en-trepreneurs that have made an impactin the Agricultural industry during theGala Dinner held on the first day of theexpo.Mathabatha won the Top Producer

Small Holder award, while two otherfarmers and a farm worker f romWaterberg were also amongst the topfive finalists announced during the cer-emony.Bela Bela resident, Raesibe Agnes

Sebola, working at Waterberg Eggs,

Homes competition backby popular demand

The My Home My Pride competition was established in 2010 and is aimed at encour-aging RDP beneficiaries to value their property. Photo: Supplied

the department changed the name, as theyfeel it somehow sound undermined be-cause they actually provide homes and notRDPs.“It also educates beneficiaries about the

importance of taking proper care of the en-vironment and improving the image of theirhomes. Greening is part of the overall gov-ernment initiative. This will go a long wayin contributing positively in the fight againstglobal warming and improving environmen-tal conditions thus leading to a healthierand more productive population,” saidDiale. She added that this year’s prizesrange from R150 000 for first place winner.Second place will walk away with R50 000while third place will receive R30 000 worthof building materials.The department has invited the finalists,

who are from various districts in the prov-ince to a ceremony that will be held inPolokwane on Friday, 7 December, andthe venue is yet to be confirmed.The ceremony will be hosted at the same

time as the department’ Service Excel-lence Awards, where government officialsfrom across the province will attend.Diale said that members from the depart-

ment’s provincial and districts offices willform part of the event.

Mookgophong farmer wins BIGcame in fifth position in the Best Fe-male Farm Worker category.Crops producer from Thabazimbi, Es-

ter Seobi, also came fifth in the BestSubsistence Producer Farmer category.The fifth position for the Top Producer

Commercial/National went to KanyaneMasedi Farm Produce f romMookgophong.The department hosted the expo, dur-

ing which departmental programmessuch as Land-Care, Food Security andFemale Entrepreneur of the Year werepromoted. Farmers across the LimpopoProvince had the opportunity to networkand exhibit their commodities and pro-duce. Input suppliers and agriculturalservice providers were afforded an op-portunity to display their products.Spokesperson for the department in

Limpopo, Mashudu Mabata, said thatthe awards were given under the annualDepartment of Agriculture, Fisheries andForestry’s (DAFF) Female Entrepreneurof the Year Awards Programme.

Government aims to develop farmers

The LimpopoDepartment ofAgriculture andDuPont Pioneerhave signed anagreement toimprove maizeproduction ofsmallholderfarmers acrossthe provincethrough trainingand access toimprovedcultivars. Photo:Supplied

the areas of plant breeding, variety or cultivarselection, agronomic practices and plantbiotechnology techniques used in crop pro-duction.Agricultural technicians will impart the

knowledge to farmers that will learnamongst others, to select the best seedvariety suitable for their geographic areasto maximise yields.The pilot project will enable farmers to

practise what they have learned on the dem-onstration plots at Madzivhandila Collegeof Agriculture.“We are going to bring our

biotechnologists, agronomists and scien-tists to assist in the project,” saidEsmeraldo. The General Manager for Agri-cultural Services in the LDA, Jethro Nowata,said that the agreement would help farm-ers receive quality training.Nowata also holds the view that it will help

the LDA since the department wasrefocusing on the agricultural colleges.

Lizzy Bapela

The Limpopo Department of Agriculture(LDA) and a giant seed company, DuPontPioneer, have signed an agreement to im-prove maize production of smallholder farm-ers across the province.The two parties have met and signed a

memorandum of understanding (MoU) atthe LDA’s head quarters in Polokwane onThursday, 22 November.Spokesperson for the department,

Mashudu Mabata, said that this endeav-our seeks to increase productivity and in-come of smallholder farmers.According to DuPont Pioneer’s director,

Tony Esmeraldo, this dream could beachieved through two activities, skills de-velopment for small-scale farmers especiallyon crop production and giving them accessto improved varieties.Esmeraldo said Pioneer would provide fur-

ther training to Agricultural technicians in

Waterberg municipality reach out

Political and government leaders led peo-ple with disabilities in a dance during anevent held in Northam. Photo: LizzyBapela

Lizzy Bapela

The Waterberg District Municipality has goneall out to reach different communities underthe local municipalities in the district.The district municipality hosted a number

of events, in line with current campaigns andactivities outlined in their events calendar.The municipality hosted an event to cel-

ebrate with the local traditional music artistJoyce Ledwaba, better known as Majoy.Majoy has made the Waterberg very proud

when her album “Sereto” won her the BestSepedi Album during the South African Tra-ditional Music Achievement Awards(SATMA), held in East London in October.She also won Best female artist at the

SATMA awards in 2007 with her song “Moloi”from her Moferefere album.Members of various media groups attended

the celebration, hosted by the district mu-nicipality, at Ga-Madiba Village inMogalakwena Local Municipality on Satur-day, 24 November.During the event, Majoy performed the

songs she is known for such as “Limpopoea di busa,” “moferefere, moloi” and manymore.Mayor Mogotlane gave a keynote address

during district disability event that took placeat Northam Sports Grounds at a ThabazimbiLocal Municipality event on Wednesday, 28November.People living with disability and members

of the disability council in the district at-tended the event, where they received mes-sages of support, information booklets andwere honoured.In Mokopane, the municipality hosted a

fundraising gala dinner for the House of Tra-ditional Leaders in the Waterberg District.The gala dinner was held at the Park Hotelon Thursday, 29 November.A delegation from the provincial House of

Traditional Leaders and chairpersons fromall district municipalities in the province alsoattended the gala dinner.Spokesperson for the district municipality,

Pat Malete, said that the aim of the galadinner was to welcome the members to theirnew house, which was officially opened onFriday, 30 November.The ceremony took place at T.T. Cholo (Ba-

varia) Stadium in GaMathapo, MogalakwenaLocal Municipality.


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Charles Lephaswa is the teammanager for the newly namedTotal Surrender soccer team.Photo: TK Mashaba.

New name and image for Bela Bela FC United TK Mashaba

Bela Bela FC United had a namechange after a new owner boughtthe team and changed their nameto Total Surrender FC.This deal had been in the pipe-

line since the last soccer sea-son and was confirmed thisweek.Charles Lephaswa, the new

team manager of the Total Sur-render FC team, told The BEATthat the team is now owned byJohn Mthunzini.According to Lephaswa,

Mthunzini is the sole owner ofthe team.The owned another team, also

called Total Surrender FC, twoyears ago.“We are looking forward to a

good season and working rela-tionship with the team playersand committee,” Lephaswa said.Bela Bela FC is currently in the

f i rs t posi t ion on the SABWaterberg log. The team said that

they are looking forward to thenew management’s approach.Total Surrender did not change

much of the technicalities thatmade Bela Bela FC a formidableteam. Zwakala Mokoma is stillthe head coach, Tshepo Komapeis the assistant coach and MaryZikhali is the secretary of theteam.During the previous season, ru-

mours started floating that BelaBela FC United were looking tosell their status after a particu-larly bad season. The teammissed many games becausethey had no sponsors and no wayto pay the logistics surroundingeach game.Lephaswa said that the team

managed to regain the wholesquad for now and they even havea new soccer kit that shows offtheir new name and new purpose.Total Surrender FC will be fac-

ing A1 Terrors FC on Saturday, 8December, at Moloto Stadium,the home ground of the Total Sur-render team.

Nedbank hopes dashed

A1 Terrors fell out of the Nedbank Cup tournament whenthey lost their game in Polokwane on 2 December. Photo:TK Mashaba.

On Monday, 3 December,af ter the defeat inPolokwane, Thulare saidthat his team did not per-form to his expectations.He said that the reasonmight be the long journeyfrom Modimol le toPolokwane.“This was one game that

we were supposed to win.The opponents were notthat strong. I believe welearned something from ourloss and we will pick up thepieces.We left Modimolle early in

the morning and played ourgame at 11:00. I think thetiring journey might havehad an impact on the play-ers,” he said.The Modimolle team might

be out of the Nedbank Cuptournament, but they arestill determined to have thebest season possible.A1 Terrors are in the sec-

ond position on the SABWaterberg League log afterthree games played. Theydid not lose any matchesand drew one match. Theystand on seven points.The team will be facing To-

tal Surrender, formerlyknown as Bela Bela FCUnited, on Saturday, 8 De-cember. On Sunday, 9 De-cember, they will play anaway game against Dieseln Dust at the Sunfa Sta-dium.

TK Mashaba

The Waterberg winners ofthe Nedbank Cup regionalround, A1 Terrors FC, hadtheir dreams cut short dur-ing the provincial knock-outround of the tournament.A1 Terrors met their match

on Sunday, 2 December, atthe Seshego Stadium inPolokwane.The Modimolle based team

lost their game againstManchester United FC, win-ners of the Capricorn dis-trict, with a final score of 2-0.Manchester United FC

went on to win the provin-cial round of the game witha score of 5-4 on penaltiesafter they played to a 0-0draw against Chakuma FC,from the Vhembe district.A1 Terrors showed a lot of

character in their road to theprovincial knockout round.They played an excellentgame throughout the tour-nament before the provincialwinners bested them.Before departing for the

provincial round of theNedbank Cup, Wi l l iamThulare, owner of A1 TerrorsFC, told The BEAT thatthey have much to accom-plish during the next twoseasons. “We are in greatform for this season and weare looking forward to greatgames,” he said.

the beat 7 december 2012

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