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EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY 4 DECEMBER 2013
Delivery of chicks brings delight THE Free State Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), in partnership with Agridelight Training and Consulting, has brought a ray of light to over 250 beneficiaries of the Itekeng Chicken Abattoir Farmers Communal Property Association in Deneysville in the Eastern Free State. On Monday, DRDLR and Agridelight officials visited the 19-hectare farm in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality to hand over 3 000 day-old chicks, much to the delight of the 28 members of the Communal Property Association who owns the farm. The 28 members have on average 5 direct dependents who stand to benefit from the success of the project. Two weeks earlier, the first delivery of 3 000 chicks was made to the farm and a second delivery has rekindled the morale of the beneficiaries who were beginning to lose
NEWS
hope in the potential of the farm. The total livestock currently on the farm is 6 000 chicks. From then, 3 000 chicks will be delivered on Mondays in accordance to the projections to keep the production on-going. The Itekeng Project has thus far received grant funding of R4,9 million from the DRDLR as part of its ministerial programme called the Recapitalisation and Development Programme since the start of the 2012-’12 financial year. The capital investment has gone towards the modernisation of production infrastructure such as the purchase of a delivery truck, building of abattoirs, water reticulation systems and ablution facilities. Investment towards the sustainability of Itekeng is estimated at over R9 million over a five-year period of the department’s Recapitalisation and Development Programme.
WAITING FOR JUSTICE: Andries Mashele, reeling from an alleged brutal assault by a police officer in Thabong, Welkom. Photo: Teboho Setena
Little justice for assaulted man } Teboho Setena
THE wheels of justice turn slowly for brutally assaulted victim Andries Mashele. He was allegedly assaulted by a police constable on 16 November at the Rea Hola residential area in Welkom. The police constable, whose identity is known to Express Goldfields, is still reporting for duty at the Thabong Police Station. He has not been arrested and taken in for questioning while Mashele is nursing scars on his face after the assault. Mashele opened an assault case at the Jan Hofmeyr Road Police Station. Two weeks have gone by with Mashele waiting in vain for the investigating officer to attend to his case. Left wondering, he only got a notification on 17 November sent to his cell phone which reads: “Constable MA Weper will investigate your case”. The reasons that led to the constable brutally attacking Mashele are not known. Mashele is a self-employed electronic technician, repairing radios and televisions at one of the available rooms at the residential complex of Rea Hola. The complex was formerly a mine hostel. Mashele was found in the work room lying in a pool of blood on the ill-fated night of his attack, allegedly by the constable who was off duty. The police officer is well-known to most residents having previously lived in one of the apartments in another block.
Mashele was rushed to the Bongani Hospital in an ambulance with multiple severe injuries to his face. A report compiled by the doctor who examined Mashele found that he was stabbed on his face with a bottle. He had stitches to his eyes, lower lip and forehead. At the time of the alleged attack, Mashele was in the company of two young girls, his daughter and a friend of his daughter. The constable has since left to live in another place in Welkom. An eye-witness told Express Goldfields that the constable came to fetch his property the next morning (17 November) being escorted by police officers who were apparently driving four state vehicles. Express Goldfields was taken from pillar to post in its quest to get a response from the Free State police’s communications department. Responding to questions posed to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, acting spokesperson Grace Langa said: “I wish to state that in terms of the IPID Act, we are mandated to investigate amongst other cases rape by a police officer where the police officer was on or off duty. Secondly, we investigate any complaint of torture or assault against a police officer in the execution of his or her duties. Allegations of assault by a police officer while the officer is off duty is not mentioned in the act as one of the cases to be investigated, which means it is outside our mandate.”