Rural areas: FREE • Platteland: GRATIS
Arrested Fear lessl y the tr uth
12 April 2013
015 307 7248
R4
www.bulletin.us.com
ALLEGEDLY
• A veil of secrecy surrounds the alleged arrest of Tim Maake , and his alleged subsequent release on bail of R50 000 •
Mopani District Municipality’s flamboyant manager, Mr Tim Maake, has allegedly been arrested in connection with corruption, but confirmation of this dramatic development, if true, seems to be impossible to obtain. He was allegedly arrested at about noon on Thursday 28 March, a day before Good Friday, and appeared in the Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court. At 17:45 that day, it is alleged, he was released on R50 000 bail. Our information is that he is to appear again in the same court on 5 May, pending further investigation. The regional secretary of SAMWU (SA Municipal Workers Union), Mr Cromwell Nhemo, said they were informed of Maake’s arrest. “Samwu is totally against any
form of corruption in municipalities. We believe the money that one person loots or spend in a corrupt way should be channelled towards service delivery,” he said. Maake’s alleged arrest comes just three months after the Hawks swooped in on the former Director of Water Services at the MDM, Itumeleng Charmaine Ledwaba, for submitting a fraudulent CV to secure her job. This led to SAMWU’s call for further investigation into the MDM, alleging that there was more suspicious things happening in the MDM than meets the eye. • The communications chief of the Police in Tzaneen, Lt-col Moatsha Ngoepe, said he didn’t know anything about the case.
• The spokesperson for the Hawks, Mr Paul Ramaloko, also said he couldn’t confirm an arrest. • When asked about Maake’s arrest and where it put the MDM and other seniors, their spokesman, Mr Neil Shikwambana, did not respond. He clearly struggled to find answers to the questions sent to him. He is always very punctual and efficient in responding to media enquiries, but this time around he seemed to have been restricted. When we eventually called and reminded him that we needed their comment, Shikwambana said: “Chief, I have written your comment but I sent it up for approval. You know
ZZ2 op TV TV-kykers tot in die verste uithoeke van die land kon Woensdagaand ‘n indrukwekkende onderhoud met mnr Tommie van Zyl (links), die uitvoerende hoof van die ZZ2boerderygroep van Mooketsi, geniet. Van Zyl, wat indrukwekkend wel ter tale is, het gewys dat die breinstrust van die ZZ2-groep presies weet waar hulle is, en waarheen hulle op pad is om dié makro-boerdery die toekoms in te neem — met goeie lesse vir Suid-Afrikaners. Die goeie nuus is dat die onderhoud herhaal word, vir diegene wat dit gemis het. Vandag (Vrydag) om 13:00 en Sondag om 07:00 is daar heruitsending op kykNET. Dit is die moeite werd om die onderhoud wat deel is van die program Sakegesprek met Theo Vorster te beleef.
The elusive public servant’s days may be numbered. that this is a sensitive issue.” After saying this much, his telephone went dead and we couldn’t succeed in getting through to him again. He did not respond to our SMS messages either.
Maake’s lawyer, Mr Chris Mahowa, the senior prosecutor at Lenyenye, the mayor of the MDM, Mr Joshua Matlou, and senior ANC members in Mopani were not available for comment.
In the meantime,
many people throughout
Limpopo are speculating about the position of the province’s Premier, Mr Cassel Mathale. He is said to be on extremely thin ice as far as the premiership is concerned, but rumour also has it that Mathale may well expect a visit from the Hawks quite soon — at least to clear up certain matters or for information that he as Premier could have and which would help sorting out the alleged abuse of the tender process in the province.