Isolomzi Express 1 March 2018

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THURSDAY March 1, 2018 |0 047 050 4430 | Facebook: Mthatha Express | Twitter: @MthathaExpress | elizabethg@media24.com or express@media24.com

Community members look on in shock.

EDITOR: BETTIE GILIOMEE

PHOTO: SIM MDLEDLE

M ASSACRE: POLICE MEMBERS, FORMER SOLDIER GUNNED DOWN MASSACRE:

Bullets fly in Ngcobo BABALWA NDLANYA AND CARA-LEE DORFLING

T

HE leaders of the Mancoba Seven Angels Ministry, which was called a “satanic cult” by the former minister of police, have been implicated in the murder case of five police officers and a retired soldier who were shot and killed at Ngcobo Police Station last week.

When the suspects were cornered last Friday, they tried to fight their way to freedom through a gun battle with the police. The battle left seven suspects dead and one police officer injured. Ten other suspects were arrested and others managed to escape.

Only four suspects appeared in

the Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of murder.

Andani Monco (30), Kwanele Ndlwane (22), Siphosomzi Tshevu (22) and Siphesihle Tatsi (19) have been accused of the murders of the five police officers.

Luxolo Tyali, NPA spokesperson, said the four suspects also faced charges of attempted murder and two counts of robbery with aggravated circumstances.

A group of people protested outside the court on Monday, asking that the suspects not be let out on bail.

Tyali said that Monco and Tatsi indicated that they would not be applying for bail, while Ndlwane and Tshevu would apply.

The case has been postponed to March 8, when the bail applications will be heard.

This was the second attack on the Ngcobo Police Station and police believe that the gang that struck in March last year could be the same ones that carried out last week Wednesday’s deadly attack.

The names of the slain police officers are Warrant Officer Zuko Mbini (45) from Mthatha, Constable Zuko Ntshelu (38) from Ngcobo, Constable Nkosiphendule Pongco (32) Ngqeleni, Constable Sibongiseni Sandlana (32) from Qunu and Constable Kuhle Mateta (27) from Ngcobo. The retired soldier is Mbuzeni Mpandeni.

The gunmen stormed the station and opened fire without saying a word, killing three officers.

After robbing the station of six pistols, two shotguns and two assault rifles, the suspects fled the scene and allegedly killed the sol-

‘‘

We will not allow ‘inkunkuma’ (rubbish) to kill our people who are fighting for society.

- POLICE MINISTER, FIKILE MBALULA dier on their way out. They made off with one of the police vehicles and took two officers with them, before allegedly killing them execution style near Nyanga High School about 5km from the station in the CBD. Their bodies were found lying on the grass just outside the school.

On Tuesday a memorial service for the slain officers and soldier

was held at the Ngcobo Methodist Church and it was attended by top officials from the South African Police Service.

Former police minister Fikile Mbalula said the police arrested the alleged criminals at an allegedly satanic place, masquerading as a church.

“Our people must be vigilant and report these kinds of places.

“We urge our people to continue working with the police for a peaceful and prosperous South Africa,” said Mbalula.

He described the shooting incident at the police station as a merciless killing. He said this was a wake-up call for the government to ensure that all police stations in the country were well secured.

Continued on page 2

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2 NEWS

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

Warrant Officer Zuko Mbini. PHOTO:

SUPPLIED

Constable Zuko Ntsheku. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Constable Nkosiphendule Pongco.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Constable Kuhle Mateta. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Constable Sibongiseni Sandlana.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Bullets fly in Ngcobo shooting Continued from front page HE also promised to install cameras so that anyone coming to or leaving the station could be seen.

“We can assure you that we will work hard to arrest all the perpetrators.

“They are supposed to rot in jail. We will not allow inkunkuma (rubbish) to kill our people who are fighting for the society.

“They don’t belong in our society at all because they are rubbish.”

Mbalula said they would support the fami-

lies of the deceased and their children would receive bursaries from the government.

The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla Sitole, also thanked the police for a job well done.

“They must continue to assert the authority of the state and affirm rule of law.

“The task team that was formed included detectives, the Hawks, crime intelligence and the tracing team,” said Sitole.

Churchgoers of the Seven Angels Ministry were unemployed and they depend on

the church leaders for everything.

City Press reported that no fewer than 100 sex slaves, girls as young as 12, were freed from this church, alongside tiny babies, on Friday.

Sithole said the “indoctrinated and brainwashed” girls and young women were taken to social workers for counselling.

In 2016, the church made headlines after officers from the Department of Social Development rescued children who were living in the church and not going to school. ) Three police officers died in an accident

A memorial service was held on Tuesday for the five slain police officers and former soldier at the Ngcobo Methodist Church.

on their way to Ngcobo on the same day as the memorial service.

According to police, the three officers from North West were part of a task team and were on their way to Ngcobo to help with investigations into the massacre.

Captain Khaya Tonjeni, provincial police spokesperson, said that the officers’ vehicle collided with a stray horse just after midnight on Tuesday. They died at the scene.

Another police official was seriously injured in the accident and he was taken to a hospital in Mthatha.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Court sentences convicted rapist to 18 years’ imprisonment BABALWA NDLANYA THE Butterworth Regional Magistrate’s Court convicted and sentenced rapist Sivuyile Ndlotyeni (24) to 18 years’ imprisonment.

The accused was sentenced for raping a 25year-old woman. The victim was on her way to her home in Taleni Village, Dutywa on No-

vember 7, 2016, when she met Ndlotyeni, who accosted her.

The victim was overpowered and raped by the accused.

A case of rape was reported at Dutywa Police Station. Police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said the Butterworth Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Of-

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She also congratulated the investigating officer of the case, who professionally and properly investigated the case. ) In another incident, police from Dutywa closed an illegal shebeen at Colosa Village in Dutywa.

According to Manatha, liquor was confiscated and would be destroyed soon.

Drug lords spread their wings to rural areas SIMBONGILE MDLEDLE

Fax: 086 298 3964 E-mail:

fences Unit (FCS) investigated the case. Ndlotyeni was traced and arrested.

He was later charged with rape.

Eastern Cape Police Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga welcomed the sentence and she hoped that the sentence would serve as a deterrence to other would-be rapists.

This was clearly evident when POP members and members of the K9 unit arrested two men dealing in drugs in Ridge Locality and Sibangweni Location respectively.

In the first incident, a 44-year-old man was arrested at Ridge Locality, Qokolweni Administrative Area in Mthatha last week, while the other one was arrested in Sibangweni Locality in Libode.

The arrests followed recent incidents where scores of drug lords were arrested in different Mthatha taxi ranks, in areas including Northcrest, Maiden farm, Waterfall Park, Ngangelizwe and the CBD.

According to the police report, the man who was arrested in Ridge was found in possession of tik and mandrax, while the one who was arrested at Sibangweni was found in possession of 91 mandrax tablets.

Mthatha Cluster police spokesperson Captain Dineo Koena said officers found the suspect in possession of 159 sachets of tik and 331 mandrax drugs, with a street value of R3 350.

She said the man was charged with possession and dealing in drugs.

Koena vowed that the police wouldn’t rest until drug dealing was rooted out in Mthatha.

She said that drugs were one of the contributing factors to the escalation of crime.

Therefore, the police in Mthatha were committed to putting all drug dealers behind bars.

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

NEWS

3

Tragedy strikes at Ngobo police station Tragedy struck at the Ngcobo Police Station last Wednesday when five police officers and a retired soldier were killed. A group of suspects stormed the police station and opened fire, killing three police officers. They robbed the station of various weapons and as the suspects were fleeing, they shot and killed a retired soldier and made off with one of the police vans, taking two police members with them. They later shot them execution style. BABALWA NDLANYA AND SIM MDLEDLE were at the scene of the horrendous crime.

Community members from different localities in Ngcobo standing in the rain, still shocked about what happened in their town.

PHOTO: BABALWA NDLANYA

One of the bodies are taken out of the Ngcobo Police Station by officials from Forensic Pathology.

PHOTO: BABALWA NDLANYA

PHOTO: SIM MDLEDLE

The police vehicle that was taken by the suspects was later brought back to the police station for further investigation.

PHOTO: BABALWA NDLANYA

ANC Chairperson in the Eastern Cape Oscar Mabuyane, Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula, MEC for Safety & Liaison in the Eastern Cape Weziwe Tikana and National Commissioner of Police General Khehla Sitole attending prayer in Ngcobo.

PHOTO: BABALWA NDLANYA

Police officers from various stations and pastors preparing to light candles during a special prayer that was held outside Ngcobo Police Station.

PHOTO: BABALWA NDLANYA

The scene last Wednesday at the Ngcobo Police Station.

Residents given until tomorrow to vacate ECDC properties HOSEYA JUBASE THE Mthatha High Court has given residents, occupying the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) properties in Mthatha, until March 2 to vacate the premises.

The court ruled that they would send members of the police to remove anyone illegally occupying the properties on March 2.

Acting Judge Nomawabo Msizi delivered the verdict and said the court also gives respondents until March 13 to explain why they should not be permanently removed from the properties.

During their first court appearance on February 6, the court ordered the residents to submit their motivations against the ECDC court order by February 15, but they failed to do so.

“Residents must listen to the court because you don’t have a lawyer and the court gave you your last chance to make the proper arrangements for a new lawyer.

“Please, residents, take this issue seriously and find out what your new attorney is doing because you are the ones who are in trouble,” Msizi said.

The court also refused to grant the residents’ request to have six to nine months be-

fore moving from the properties.

The affected villages include Norwood, Fortgale and Hillcrest.

During their previous court appearance on February 6, residents threatened to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.

National spokesperson for PACTOA, Papa Sillo, said the department must grant people the properties as they have stayed there for almost 15 years.

4 NEWS

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

Little growth forecast for Eastern Cape CARA-LEE DORFLING THE Eastern Cape Province’s economy is not what it should be and the unemployment rate remains high.

This was acknowledged by Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle in his State of the Province Address in Bhisho on Friday.

Masualle also announced that only 1,7% economic growth was forecasted for the year.

Despite this, Masualle emphasised the development of housing and education systems ,as well as the upgrading of the province’s road network.

He said that although the high unemployment rate was a huge concern, the province succeeded in creating more than 508 000 job opportunities in the past four years through its extensive public works programme.

With regards to human settlements, Masualle said they had moved away from a time of underspending.

Since the 2014-’15 financial year, up until the third term of 2017-’18, a total of 47 453 low-cost housing units were built. A further 8 870 will be built in the coming financial year.

In conjuction with SANRAL, roadworks and upgrades to the tune of R7 billion were undertaken in the province.

A further R5 billion was budgeted for projects in the next four years.

Special focus was given to the N2 at Qumbu, Mthatha, Butterworth and Mount Frere.

As far as education was concerned, Masualle said he was proud of the matric class of 2017 and he was satisfied with the pass rate of 65%, compared to the 59,3% of the previous year.

He said the province would focus on the Development of Education in mathematics and science.

Professors from Cuba would be brought in to assist with the two so-called problem subjects.

Digital transformation in the Education Department would also receive attention.

According to Masualle, there was evidence that the province was winning the fight against tuberculosis (TB).

He said in 2014, a total of 697 cases per 100 000 people was reported.

In 2017, this figure has dropped to 571 per 100 000 people.

New initiatives will be launched for earlier detection and treatment of TB. A total of 11 medical facilities in the province has been prioritised for upgrade work.

Masualle thanked the national government for making national resources available to combat the drought.

In reaction to Masualle’s address, Bobby Stevenson, leader of the DA in the Eastern Cape,

Phumulo Masualle, Eastern Cape premier, and Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga, provincial police commissioner, before he deliverd the State of the Province Address in Bhisho. said the Premier’s State of the Province Address “lacked heart, soul and substance”.

“It failed to ignite the flame necessary to bring about total change. Whatever the Premier had to say was overshadowed by two events.

“First, the impending ANC reshuffle: we were listening to a dead man walking.

“Second, the national budget has completely taken the wind out of the Premier’s sails.

“There have been reductions in the school infrastructure grant and the human settlements grant.

“This means that in our province, where there are thousands of schools without running water or electricity, decent ablution facilities and mud structure schools, learners are going to continue to suffer,” said Stevenson.

“The provincial equitable share is only scheduled to increase by about 5%. This means that we are going to go backwards as far as service delivery is concerned because the increase in benefits to civil servants will surely be more than that.

“What we need in this province is not patchfixing but instead, total change that will bring

real freedom and opportunity to the people of the Eastern Cape,” said Stevenson.

Bishop Lievie Sharpley, Cope leader in the legislature, said Masualle should be praised for the work and progress in the province, but that his address was almost a repeat of previous years’ addresses.

“It is difficult to get excited if there is nothing new. Everyday we read about tyres being burnt in protest against poor service delivery. This is the community’s way of saying they are not satifisfied. It doesn’t help if there are wonderful plans but no action,” said Sharpley.

Sharpley felt Masualle could have expanded on his plans for better safety and policing, especially in the rural areas.

“Another problem in the rurual areas is the shortage of medical infrastructure and staff,” said Sharpley.

“Seventy percent of the province’s population stay in the rural areas. There are clinics that are called the Panado clinics because Panado is prescribed for every illness and pain – that’s if they have it in stock. The shortage in stock of chronic medication, as well as in doctors and trained medical staff, should receive urgent at-

tention,” said Sharpley.

Max Mhlati, UDM leader in the legislature, shared Sharpley’s views on competent medical staff.

“If the province focussed on appointing trained medical staff, the number of legal cases against the department, which currently claims a big portion of the budget, will be reduced.”

Mhlati said it was clear to him that Masualle’s watered-down speech was due to instability in the ANC. He said Masualle should not be satisfied with the 2017 matric pass rate since the province again fared the worst in the country.

“I want to know more about what is being done than just that professors from Cuba are being asked to help to teach our learners maths and science.”

Mhlati said Masualle also neglected to give plans that would encourage the community to get involved in the agricultural sector.

“Too many people in the country depend on government grants. They should rather start projects which will help the community to use the land for food and job creation.”

New offices for ‘Mthatha Express’ REPORTER THE Mthatha Express has moved offices and will from this week operate from offices at

the Fort Gale Caltex Junction Service Station on the R61 at the Sutherland and Sisson Street intersection in Mthatha.

Advertising representatives and editorial

staff for Mthatha Express and Isolomzi Express will be working from these brand-new offices and can be visited here.

The distributors of the Mthatha Express,

On the Dot, will also operate from these premises.

The newspaper’s phone number remains unchanged at 047 050 4430.

Mantashe calls for stability in local municipalities ANELE RAZIYA

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AFRICAN National Congress (ANC) chairperson and newly appointed Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, recently emphasised the importance of stability in the municipalities, including the Mnquma Local Municipality in Butterworth.

During his visit to the ANC Mnquma Subregion last Tuesday, Mantashe told party members at the Msobomvu Community Hall that the stability of the municipality brought investors on board.

“I am here to speak with ANC councillors about the importance of stability in the municipality,” he said.

He believed that where there was no stability, investors would not invest because they protected their money.

“Councillors must work together all the time to deliver services to the people so that investors could be more attracted to invest and they must also give account to the community members,” said Mantashe.

Councillors should report monthly to the

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe (right) shakes hands with Mnquma Local Municipality Executive Mayor Thobeka Bikitsha during his visit to the ANC Mnquma subregion. PHO-

TO:ANELE RAZIYA

communities about the progress they had made during the month, so that they can build a stronger partnership between themselves and community members.

In the months prior to the ANC national elective conference, the Mnquma Municipality showed some signs of instability because of the ruling party councillors who were divided because of their opinions of supporting candidates. Some of them supported current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa,

while others threw their weight behind Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign.

Mantashe said the delegates who attended the conference at NASREC last year voted for unity and they also wanted leadership to fight corruption, which included state capture.

Furthermore, they wanted to see ANC members as a more united front than before and to put their differences aside with the aim of serving South African residents.

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

NEWS

5

Phelophepha train brings hope to Eastern Cape SIYANDA NKONYENI THE train of hope rolled into Mthatha on February 19 and will be leaving Mthatha tomorrow.

The train spent two weeks rendering medical assistance to disadvantaged communities at an affordable price.

Spokesperson for the Phelophepha train, Zingisa Mabangulana, urged the local community to make use of the opportunity the train was bringing to them to get medical assistance, because the prices they ask for their quality services are much lower than they would pay elsewhere.

“The train of hope is here again this year with our mobile clinic where we do free examinations and provide medication at affordable prices. For instance we wash, fill and do teeth extractions for R10 and our eye-clinic which is a favourite with locals, does eye testing for free and prescribes spectacles of choice the same day for R30.

“This service is aimed at helping communities who would normally struggle to get these services from private practices. We help every-

one from the elderly to the young on a first come first served basis.

“Those who are younger than 15 years old do not pay,” she said.

She said that they had to improve and expand their services because of the demand for their mobile clinic in the most rural and disadvantaged areas around the country.

“We have realised that one train was not enough because of the turn-out of people needing assistance. So Transnet had to supply a second train so that we could come to the Eastern Cape on an annual basis.

“Again we try to get experienced doctors who can deal with crowds without compromising quality. We have also realised over time that people queue overnight for our services and have introduced a soup kitchen.

“We cannot promise that we can help everyone, and those we cannot help we refer to local hospitals.”

The train would also be in Dutywa from March 5 to 16 and in Mdantsane from March 19 to 28. She also advised people to come during the first week to avoid overcrowding. “People should get to the train by 06:00 so that they can get stickers on time.”

The Phelophepha mobile clinic continues to give medical help to many disadvantaged communities around the country.

PHOTO:SUPPLIED

Award-winning rescue dog discovered unharmed in forest SIMBONGILE MDLEDLE

stating that Olive was back and they were happy to have him back on duty.

A POLICE dog, which went missing on She said Olive was found in the same Sunday, February 18, at Mahlubini Local- forest where he had discovered the dead ity in Sulenkama, man, not far from the Qumbu was found place where the body with no injuries and was found. is back with his hanKatikati was overdler. whelmed after being reunited with Olive.

The male dog, OlSpeaking to Exive, went missing aftpress, Katikati said er recovering the he now had his appebody of a 55-year-old tite back because it man. was difficult for him The man had gone to eat while he was missing on Friday 16 worrying about his when he went to dog’s whereabouts. fetch wood at a near“We bonded the first time we met and by forest.

Olive was chased this dog was like a by other dogs after baby to me. I am completing the remore than happy covery, while his that Olive is back. handler, Constable “Ever since his reSongezile Katikati, turn, I have been viwas busy talking to siting him time and members of the comagain, and as we munity about the inspeak now, we are tocident. gether in Bhisho atOlive and Katikati tending the State of had been working tothe Province adgether since 2012. Oldress. ive was awarded the Olive the rescue dog is already back at “I will make it a “best rescue dog” in work after his disappearance. point that he is althe Eastern Cape in PHOTO:SIM MDLEDLE ways next to me to 2014, 2015 and 2016. avoid him going Police spokesperson in Mthatha Cluster missing again because that traumatised Dineo Koena confirmed the good news, me a lot,” he said.

Constable Songezile Katikati with his partner, Olive, who had gone missing.

MEC, youth council start efforts to attract youth to agriculture REPORTER EASTERN Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane will team up with the provincial chapter of the South African Youth Council on a drive to attract scores of young people into the agriculture sector.

This was decided at a meeting between Qoboshiyane, senior officials from his department and Youth Council provincial leadership, led by Ceduma Mbongxela, in East London on February 20.

At the meeting, Qoboshiyane said the number of young people participating in agriculture was worryingly low and it was important for the youth to be actively involved in agriculture in order to benefit from opportunities from the sector.

Mbongxela said they had resolved to work with young people to see agriculture as the sector that can benefit their own growth, development and enable them to have sustainable living.

“This is one of the sectors that still needs a lot of concentration and young people ought to be

at the centre.

“Some might not have agriculture qualifications, which doesn’t mean they cannot be involved in the sector.

“There are opportunities to be explored by young people in different regions and by women, who are represented in low numbers in commercial agriculture,” said Mbongxela.

She said together with the department and other stakeholders, they would hold career exhibitions to share agriculture career information with the youth, especially those in remote villages of the province as part of attracting youth to the sector.

Qoboshiyane, who had been driving youth participation in the sector, said there would never be poverty eradication without involvement of the youth.

“There are some young people doing well in agriculture and if we can resource them more, they can do wonders and this would interest other youth to join the sector.

“We have a rural youth wealth creation programme at Fort Cox and other programmes to benefit the youth,” he said.

He said government wanted to empower the

youth to gain skills, access land for them to drive agriculture enterprises to be self-sustainable.

“We will work with the provincial chapter of the South African Youth Council to drive information to the youth to see opportunities in the sector. We have to work with the youth in their villages and give them access to available finance for infrastructure and production.

“If the youth is not informed about programmes of the department, they will struggle.

Hence we have brought our district managers to link them with the Youth Council to work together in pursuit of the agriculture economic transformation strategy,” said Qoboshiyane, adding that this would help the province produce its own food.

; South African Youth Council provincial chairperson Ceduma Mbongxela (left) and Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane after their meeting in East London where they agreed to work together to attract young people to the agriculture sector.

PHOTO:SUPPLIED

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

6 NEWS

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

NGO donates uniforms to Mqambeli learners ANELE RAZIYA A BUTTERWORTH NGO, called Giving Hurts, recently donated 15 school uniforms to disadvantaged Mqambeli Junior Secondary School learners.

Giving Hurts gave each learner a school uniform consisting of school trousers, socks, shirts and shoes, during an event which was also attended by the children’s parents.

The NGO created the initiative to help children who come from poor backgrounds and whose parents struggle to buy uniforms.

Giving Hurts member, Nonceba Mbenya, said the aim of the initiative was to assist where they could manage to do so, especially where rural school leaners were concerned.

“We saw many children going to school without a proper uniform and it is where we felt that there is a need to create something that will help and then we started this initiative to assist,” said Mbenya.

They organised sponsors, including Me-

lumzi Funeral Parlour, Sinekhaya Funeral Parlour and Mqambeli Village businessman, Nkqubela Fatyi, to assist them with the money so that they could help the children.

Fortunately for them, sponsors came on board and helped them with funds to buy the uniforms for all 15 learners.

All four founders of the NGO grew up in Mqambeli Village and they decided to make their first contribution in the area where they grew up before moving on to other communities.

A Grade 7 learner, Mbali Mphahlwa (13), who also benefited from the programme, expressed her happiness about the assistance from Giving Hurts.

“We are happy about the uniform gifts and we are hoping they will motivate us to do even better at school,” said Mphahlwa.

One of her parents, Lathiswa Mphahlwa, also thanked Giving Hurts for their contribution to their children’s future and she promised they would keep the uniforms clean and safe.

Mqambeli Junior Secondary School learners with Giving Hurts members after the donation of the uniforms.

PHOTO:ANELE RAZIYA

Khanya Community Radio hopes for breakthrough year at ECMAs ANELE RAZIYA IT is that time of the year again when the nominated Eastern Cape community radio stations are preparing to compete against each other in the annual Eastern Cape Music Awards (ECMAs).

The well-known Khanya Community Radio Station 106.1 in Butterworth is among the nominees again who will be in the battle for the title of best community radio programme/show.

Since the establishment of the Eastern Cape Music Awards a few years ago, Khanya Community Radio 106.1 has been regularly nominated for awards, but they always struggle to get enough votes to win the category.

However, this time around a promising radio presenter, Zuko “Mzukwana” Ntonzima (32), believes his show, called Sipheth’ingoma Choral Show, will bring

< Khanya Community Radio presenter Zuko Mzukwana Ntonzima is asking his listeners to vote for his show to win an Eastern Cape Music Award. PHOTO:ANELE RAZIYA

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the award to the station for the first time.

The optimistic presenter said since last year, he had been working very hard for this opportunity and he was pleased about the nomination.

“I am absolutely delighted about the nomination because I have been working very hard to get such a big opportunity to compete with other community radio stations for the first time,” he said.

In 2014, Khanya Community Radio won the best community radio choral show category at the Eastern Cape Music Choral Awards.

Ntonzima, who joined the station in 2016, believes that history could repeat itself, but in order to achieve that, his loyal radio listeners must vote for his programme.

“I have a trust in KCR FM listeners that they will do the something they did in 2014 when they voted for the show to win,” he added.

The Centane-born presenter has urged his listeners to vote for his programme as many times as they can by sending ECMAS’ Best Community Radio Programme Zuko Ntonzima to 33459. SMS’s cost R1,50 and the closing date for voting is March 26.

More live entertainment to accompany EC Music Awards BABALWA NDLANYA

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THE third annual Eastern Cape Music Awards (ECMAS), which will be hosted at the ABSA Stadium in East London, will add a new entertainment aspect this year.

ECMAS founder Koko Godlo, who is known for producing some of the biggest names in the entertainment and sports industries, said this year this event would be renamed the ECMAS and Woza Mzala Africa Music Festival.

He said that meant the big event was going to last the whole night with popular artists from around South Africa and the rest of Africa performing.

The awards will take place on March 24 when the gates open at 16:00 and only close at 06:00 the next day.

He said he started the awards with the aim of supporting the talent in the Eastern Cape. “The ECMAS was launched on October, 17, 2015. There had been a great industry buzz and excitement as artists and supporters were waiting for the announcement of the nominees for the third annual ECMAS,” said God-

The Founder of Eastern Cape Music Awards, Koko Godlo.

PHOTO:BABALWA NDLANYA

lo.

“ECMAS produced lots of artists, like Nathi Mankayi, Vusi Nova, Bethusile Mcinga, Butho and Yolanda Vuthela, Mobi Dixon and Berita, and all these artists won national awards.

Nominees were announced last week for artist of the year, song of the year, best male, best traditional artist/group, best female, best hip-hop, best gospel artist/group, best kwaito, best Afropop, best community radio DJ, best community radio show and best newcomer.

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

MOTORING

7

UMTATA CHILD ABUSE RESOURCE CENTRE: TANDI DASTILE AND TEMBAKAZI SOMFONGO

Children must exercise their right to education THE Umtata Child Abuse Resource Centre (UCARC), which operates in rural communities, advocating for children’s rights, has learned that some children are not attending school despite being the appropriate age.

This has occurred on a number of occasions and seems as if it is the norm in the rural areas.

The United Nations Conference on the Rights of the Child that was held in 1989 focused mainly on the rights of children. During this conference, it was said that children needed extra special rights.

Among the various discussed topics was the right to education as a paramount right that must be accessible to all children.

Chapter Two, Section 29 of the South African Constitution states that everyone has a right to education and that it must be reason-

able and accessible to all people.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child states that every child shall have the right to an education.

It further states that “the education of the child shall be directed at the promotion of the child’s personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential”.

The South African government provides all children with access to education. School structures are built by the government and resources, such as books and study material, are provided for the education of children.

Parents are encouraged to take their children to early childhood development centres at an early age as this aids their brain development. Early education for children improves intellectual capacity, cognitive and

social development. Studies have shown that children who receive assistance in their early years achieve more success at school.

Parents are encouraged to take their children to school for the betterment of their future.

Children who are of schoolgoing age are not supposed to be roaming the streets.

Any parent who fails to take his or her child to school is breaking the law and the law will run its course if they keep the children out of school and at home.

Parents are also encouraged to monitor, support and encourage their children with regard to education.

The best gift that a parent can ever give to a child is their education. They must ensure that children are not overwhelmed with chores as that can affect their progress

at school. Parents have a responsibility to their children and children have a responsibility to their education.

They learn much more in school than just what can be found in books.

They learn to respect their educators and parents, how to be successful and how to manage their time as well.

Children must study their books so that they proceed and complete their studies in good time.

They have a responsibility to attend classes regularly so that they are not left behind in the school syllabus.

It is, therefore, up to communities and relevant stakeholders to ensure that children attend school.

For more info contact UCARC on 047 531 1103 or ucarc@intekom.co.za.

AGRICULTURE: SIPOSETU JILATA

The difference between formal and informal markets FORMAL markets can be defined as those entities that are registered and that work under the rules and regulations of all labour laws, while informal markets can be defined as any form of trading done to increase sales and generate profits. Siposetu Jilata from Agri EC (PTY) Ltd. recently shared her view on formal and informal agricultural markets.

With a formal market, there is usually a signed contract or agreement that states the terms and conditions of all orders and sales made between the farmer and the buyer. For informal markets, there is no signed paperwork; it is just an exchange of money and goods between a buyer and a seller.

Both are suitable for any agribusiness, but need to be monitored and practised cautiously to avoid conflicts.

When we talk about marketing, we refer to the steps taken to ensure that sales are made.

This involves taking produce from the farm and delivering it to the consumer.

During this process, the quality of the produce should be maintained; it should be the same when it is delivered as when the product left the farm.

Formal and informal markets can be used for all agricultural products, such as livestock, crop production, horticulture, agroprocessing, dairy farming, feed farming and many more. The main purpose of a market is to create a bridge between the factor market and the product market.

Formal markets include, but are not limited to: . Abattoirs for livestock. This is when livestock is taken as live animals and then slaughtered to produce meat. This can be beef, mutton, chicken or even goat meat, to name but a few. The carcasses are then weighed and a

price is determined per kilogramme for the meat. . Agriparks, which are designed for vegetable production and vegetable processing, can also have other artifacts on display, like different cultural outfits or cultural objects, just to enhance the ethnicity of the place and project. . Florists normally have relationships with horticulture specialists for the production of different kinds of flowers. . Different types of manufacturing companies process a variety of foods and fruits from the farms. . Dairy farms sell their milk to large companies who then process it into the different dairy products they would like to offer, such as milk, amasi, yoghurt or cheese. . Feed sold as pastures is sold in bales, while feed, like maize, is sold in bags and weighed into different kilogrammes or tons.

they are used to the random prices of the informal market.

This means that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to train and mentor these farmers about markets and enterprise development. ) Agri EC (PTY) Ltd is situated at 49 Cumberland Street, Mthatha.

Services offered include business plan development and appraisals, business proposal development, enterprise development, market access (linking clients with the right mar-

Siposetu Jilata

PHOTO:SUPPLIED

ket for them), farmer mentoring, agricultural consultations on all agricultural food value chains and agricultural journalism.

Contact Siposetu Jilata on 076 024 6795 or send an e-mail to agricultureec@gmail.com.

Informal markets include, but are not limited to: . Street vendors who put up stalls and display their different products. . Door-to-door sales of the produce. . Social media sales of products.

When dealing with markets, one needs to know that there is obviously going to be a difference in the selling price of each product.

For example, when selling a sheep in a formal market, you will get a profit based on the number of kilogrammes once the animal has been slaughtered as compared to selling it as a live animal where you just price per head.

This is because formal markets follow certain procedures while informal markets are just about selling and getting money. The disadvantage is that most small-scale farmers struggle to participate in formal markets as

‘Use SASSA cards as the only legal form of payment’ SIYANDA NKONYENI THE allegations that pensioners are being forced to change their South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) payment cards to Net 1 cards is causing mayhem for many social grant beneficiaries.

It is alleged that the Net 1 payment cards were illegally issued without the permission of the government.

“We have found out that there are additional cards, which were not SASSA cards, that were given to grant beneficiaries to use at mobile payout machines that Net 1 owns,” said MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Zoleka Chapa.

“These cards come loaded with money to take out as loans then and these loans

are automatically deducted come pay day on terms that are not favourable to pensioners, something that leaves many of them broke,” said Chapa.

She said that they had been at loggerheads with CPS (the company that is contracted to pay grants to South Africans) about the matter and decided to take the company to court.

“We went to court about this as we did not have an agreement with them to do this. We are going to stop using CPS cards in April when their contract ends.

What are they going to do then? Now they argue that they are also a commercial bank and want us to accommodate them.”

She asked pensioners to be careful when dealing with their money and said they should use SASSA cards as the only legal form of payment.

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8 SPORT

ISOLOMZI EXPRESS | THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

League teams continue their run of bad luck ANELE RAZIYA ABC Motsepe League sides Butterworth FC and Matta Milan continued their run of bad luck when both teams lost their league encounters again at the weekend.

Lion City defeated the struggling Butterworth FC 2-0, while Matta Milan lost with the same margin, 2-0, against log leaders Tornado FC at Ngumbela Stadium at the weekend.

Since the resumption of the ABC Motsepe league season this year, neither Butterworth FC nor Matta Milan have managed to register even a single victory in the nine encounters they have played recently.

They are both sitting in the relegationthreatened zone, especially the Dutywabased team, Milan, who are at the bottom of the log.

Banzi Siyongwana’s chargers, Butterworth FC, are sitting in 11th position with 20 points after the 20 games they have played so far.

Although things are not looking good for Siyongwana’s troops, he recently said they will fight to improve their log standings so that they can escape the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Milan is still rooted at the bottom of the log with 14 points after the 20 games they have played so far.

ABC Motsepe league weekend results Matta Milan 0-2 Tornado Lion City 2-0 Butterworth FC Highbury 1-4 PE Stars Sibanye FC 1-2 SUBS Spears of the Nation 3-3 Try Again Future Tigers 1-3 City Lads Mthatha City 2-4 Bizana Pondo Chiefs

Lion City right full back, Aviwe Baartman’s efforts are fouled by Butterworth FC’s left wing, Siyanda Mkhaliphi.

PHOTO:SELBY MADIKANE

OR Tambo athletes prepare to compete in national athletics HOSEYA JUBASE

one medal in the national levels in Gauteng.

“Even though we were disappointed with that one medal, we are proud because it was the only medal for the whole Eastern Cape,” said Kulu.

He added that by taking part in these games, they were practicing inclusive education by combining children coming from different backgrounds and religions, including schools with disabled learners.

Athletes will compete in the 100m, 150m, walk racing, javelin, high jump and low jump events.

HUNDREDS of OR Tambo athletes will flock to the Chris Hani district and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality this coming weekend in preparation for the National Level Athletics event, which will be held later this year in Gauteng.

Hundreds of learners from different schools around the OR Tambo region gathered at Walter Sisulu University Stadium on Friday and Saturday in preparation of the provincial competitions which will take place this weekend.

They will compete against other districts, including the Amathole, Sara Baartman, Alfred Nzo, and Nelson Mandela Bay districts, while the senior athletes will go to Port Elizabeth for their competitions from March 7 to 9.

Chairperson of OR Tambo Schools’ Athletics Thandinkosi Cutter Kulu said they expected all the winners to do their best to represent the region named after the legend, Oliver Tambo.

Kulu encouraged learners and parents to keep in mind that not everyone would succeed through education in life, but others can reach their goals through sporting activities.

From left are Athini Ngqinambi (11) from Tsolo Special School, Athabile Vubo (11) from Cingca Primary School, Sidinana Avuyile (12) from Centuli Junior Secondary School and Ntombo Luthando (11) from Centuli Junior Secondary School.

PHOTO:HOSEYA JUBASE Commenting on the constrains facing the region, Kulu said the lack of sport resources and accredited teachers were the biggest challenges at the moment.

“Teachers need to be developed and attend accredited coaching training courses to learn

Mthatha Bucks lose more valuable points ANELE RAZIYA THE struggling National First Division (NFD) league side, Mthatha Bucks, failed, once again, to collect much-needed points at the weekend.

The only Eastern Cape team to ply their trade in the NFD League, Mthatha Bucks played to a 0-0 draw against league chasers Black Leopards at Mthatha Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Relegation-threatened Bucks have lost out on valuable points in their two most recent league encounters.

Recently, Duncan Lechesa’s charges also played to a 1-1 draw against the University of Pretoria at the Mthatha Stadium.

After they had dropped the points, Bucks ended up slipping one place on the league

table from 15th to 16th position with only 20 points from the 22 games they have played so far.

However, this weekend Bucks will have a good chance to improve their log standing when they visit their fellow strugglers, Ubuntu Cape Town FC. Ubuntu Cape Town FC is sitting in 14th position with 21 points after the 22 games they have played, so it means the only difference between these two teams is one point.

If Lechesa’s soldiers can win the game, they will shift from the bottom of the league and climb two places, but it will not be easy, especially since the Cape Town side will be playing in front of their home supporters. So, Bucks will need to put in more effort and commitment in order to bag all three points.

; Mthatha Bucks will visit Ubuntu Cape Town FC in their National First Division league encounter this weekend.

PHOTO:ARCHIVE

more about the importance of sport in our communities and our lives.”

He added that they were looking to introduce their own Caster Semenya soon in this region.

Last year the OR Tambo region won only

Results: ) Day 1 Libode - 106 points Mthatha - 96 points Qumbu - 44 points Lusikisiki - 36 points ) Day 2 Mthatha - 175 points Libode - 116 points Lusikisiki - 84 points Qumbu - 44 points ) Overall results Mthatha - 271 points Libode - 222 points Lusikisiki - 120 points Qumbu - 68 points