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Council declares war on
potholes
The City of Matlosana's Infrastructure and Utilities department will
stop at nothing in making sure that the concerns over the increase
of potholes in the city gets an immediate attention.
In its bid to declare war on potholes, the department has sourced
out services of 86 new general workers who will assist with the
patching of potholes.
The municipality has also advertised a vehicle tender which will
ensure that employees are sent to attention-seeking areas with
speed. The municipality is also busy purchasing concrete cutter,
wackers and pedestrian rollers for easy work than the old
conventional (pick and shovel) for the shaping and repairing of
roads. Presently, the municipal workers are working overtime,
including on weekends to address major routes of the city but due to
the recent rains, the Council have resorted to the use of the soil
crete to temporarily close the potholes during wet conditions as it
is unwise to close them with cold bag premix or hot asphalt.
Also advertised is the emergency patching contract to assist with
the proper patching of potholes around the entire city.
The Council intends acquiring the services of more than 2 service
providers to speed up this process. The Council has also sent a
request for budget adjustment to come up with a long term solution
of rehabilitating and resealing most damaged roads due to bad
weather conditions.
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DR. KENNETH KAUNDA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY DONATES FUNDS TO HAITI
The Executive Mayor of the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality
Councillor Boitumelo Moloi has joined the rising number of Good
Samaritans after committing funds totaling R50 000 towards disaster
relief funds to Haiti.
This happens following Mayor Moloi's pledge on SABC 2 Morning Live
telethon on 28 January that the District would be donating the Funds
to assist the government of Haiti which has been left with at-least
150 000 fatalities after an earthquake that struck more than
two-weeks ago.
Although the District is aware of the vulnerability of its
communities, particularly in the recent floods, the Mayor expressed
the Haiti Disaster as a tragedy that requires help from all corners
of the globe.
The Executive Mayor also challenges all able business-people around
the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District to assist in any way they can
towards the Haiti Disaster Fund.
The fund's bank account number has been announced as follows: 923
884 4487 at the Absa Branch Code 632005.
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Velour in the face of
violence
In late November last year, residents of AngloGold Ashanti's Vaal
River Village learnt with shock and dismay that the apparent safety
of their peaceful environment had been violated.
Fleeing after an armed robbery at Itireleng Residence had gone
wrong, three suspects crashed their get-away vehicle and charged
into a home where they held three people hostage for several hours.
It was a high-stress situation of which the outcome could have been
much different if it had not been for the valour shown by a passerby
and members of the company's Security Department.
Even though the incident was traumatic for the victims, the
controlled way in which it was resolved proved to be a testament to
AngloGold Ashanti Security's determination to prevent its people and
assets from being exposed to the risks of criminal activity. It also
proved that criminals can be thwarted if ordinary, law-abiding
people become more vigilant and work with crime prevention units to
make sure that thugs are brought to justice.
The hostage drama started to unfold shortly before lunchtime on
Friday, 27 November 2009 when three men drove a light delivery
vehicle (LDV) through the steel rollup door that leads to the
delivery bay of the Teba Bank at the residence. They held the
tellers at gunpoint while raking in a substantial amount of cash. At
about the same time, electrician, Hans Bal noticed a suspect vehicle
at the bank and alerted senior security officer, Jan Labuschagne who
was on duty in the control room. Jan immediately dispatched the
Security reaction units and a high-speed pursuit followed. The
suspects fired several shots and security officer, Nico Keys
returned fire wounding one of the suspects in his upper left leg.
Trying to avoid capture, the suspects drove into Vaal River village,
where they crashed and then seeked cover in one of the company
houses. The South African Police Services (SAPS) was informed and
working with Security personnel they acted quickly to secure the
scene. The suspects surrendered when the SAPS Special Task Force
arrived to take charge. All three suspects were arrested and two
handguns were seized. The stolen cash was also recovered without any
innocent bystander having been injured.
As could be expected, the management of Teba Bank was extremely
grateful for the outcome and decided to reward the men who had
bravely confronted the bank robbers. Hennie Oosthuizen, Klerksdorp
branch manager of Teba Bank, handed cash rewards to Hans Bal and
Nico Keys on Thursday, 21 January.
His relief was clear when mentioning that because there had been so
many people in and around the residence, the bank robbery could have
ended with casualties. “Even though the bank is insured against acts
like these, we felt compelled to reward these men for the dangerous
part they had played in apprehending the suspects,” Hennie said.
Head of Security, Pierre Victor thanked Nico and Hans, as well as
other members of his team for the professional manner in which they
had handled the situation. “The fact that no security personnel,
SAPS members, Teba employees, bystanders or those held hostage was
injured shows that safety really is your first value.
Your tremendous efforts and acute sense of observation must be
commended,” he said, adding that Teba Bank deserves applause for
presenting the heroes with their rewards.
Photo Below: Nico Keys (middle) and Hans Bal (second from right) Jan
Labuschagne (far left), Michael Mngadi (third from left) Max Modise,
marketing manager at Teba Bank; Piet Stander, branch operational
manager at Teba Bank; Pierre Victor, head of Security; and Hennie
Oosthuizen, branch manager of Teba Bank in Klerksdorp. |
