Another reason rape is under-reported
THE terrible fate of Anene Booysen was in my mind as I read the latest court decisions this week. So it’s not surprising that John N’s appeal judgment caught my eye – even though it was marked ‘Not Reportable’. It’s a case from the High Court in Grahamstown where N,...
This circus is no fun for anyone: Free State tourism clowning around
So that’s where our tourism taxes are going: the latest edition of the Free State Business Bulletin reports that the Provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) believes that the Council of Free State Tourism (FST) is nothing more than ‘a circus’. Its...
Roadworks in our town, Smithfield, N6 now in THIRD YEAR. Want to know why?
Smithfield may be a tiny dorp, but it’s strategically located along the N6, half way between the Eastern Cape coast and Gauteng. That means it’s not just townspeople who are dismayed and angry at the pace of work: it’s just as much a problem for the thousands of...
Communities affected by illegal mining can do something – but when the streets run with blood, what happens?
THE annual mining indaba, now on in Cape Town, has spawned massive documentation and media reports. Organisers of the indaba – ‘Where the world connects with African mining’ – will have expected most of this publicity. But there’s one publication which may have been...
Angels visit Smithfield
Actually we had a number of angels visiting over the Christmas holidays, but none of the others was caught on film in complete regalia. These two angelic messengers, Jessica (6) and Rebecca (4) Klaaren, were strolling through the streets of Smithfield, round the...
Happy dogs are here again …
We’ve had a number of dogs staying at Trading Places, Smithfield, over the holiday season and they seem to enjoy themselves as much as their owners. Here’s elegant basset Maya with Natasja Delport. Natasja has a fab guesthouse in Johannesburg, but she has been...
SA can manufacture rail coaches, but outsources R51-billion coach contract
Today’s edition of the Free State Business Bulletin tells readers that South Africa has built and delivered specialised railway wagons to Botswana. Not only that, but there are plants in South Africa with capacity for building locomotives, coaches and other components...
Open letter to the Public Protector about fraud in the B&B business
DEAR Public Protector – You are quite right to be deeply concerned about ‘false billing’ – making the state pay for goods and services that were never supplied. And you’re right that the system of away-from-home accommodation for state employees needs a total...
Desperate Free State dorpies beg Lesotho for water help
SA dorpies appeal to Lesotho for help in getting drinkable water! Latest evidence of SA’s municipal woes from the current edition of the Free State Business Bulletin. So our poverty-stricken neighbours in Lesotho are now the last hope of people living in the Free...
Brand new tractors, abandoned in Bloemfontein, seek loving new home
The latest edition of the Free State Business Bulletin, an online weekly, is full of astonishing stories. Apart from its piece about desperate Free State dorpies asking Lesotho for help in getting drinkable water, the Bulletin also carries a story that made me pay...