Slowly but surely the long arm of the law seems to be reaching the people who took part in the looting of the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank. The two officials delegated by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to serve on the VBS board were instructed by the High Court on Monday to repay R11,2 million and R12,2 million respectively to their former “blesser”, Vele Investments.

The Limpopo police have confirmed that they had arrested 2 511 suspects in their ongoing joint operations from 9 to 18 January, of which 1 274 were arrested for violating the Level 3 restrictions stipulated in the Disaster Management Act, which included the sale and transportation of liquor and breaking the curfew.

When the government gave the vuk’uzenzele mantra, thereby encouraging citizens to start their own small businesses as a way of job creation, Unarine Muade did not waste time in responding.

“I do not know what to do anymore or who to approach, so that I can also be allocated an RDP house. It’s been almost 20 years that I’ve been staying in a dilapidated one-room house with my 26-year-old son,” said Mbedzi Fulufhedzani (53), a resident from the Tshitereke area outside Thohoyandou.

The culmination of almost a decade of intensive research by well-known citizen scientists Retha and Tuba van der Walt recently saw the publication of a unique field guide focussing on the biodiversity of fungi and lichen species north of the Soutpansberg.

Die opkoms van die Internet het buitengewone verandering in die leeskultuur gebring. In ‘n moderne samelewing het dit nou noodsaaklik geword om ‘n balans te vind tussen die ewig-groeiende tegnologie en gesonde, intellektuele groei, waarin lees ongetwyfeld ‘n baie belangrike rol speel - vernaamlik onder die jeug.

Musina Municipality has come under pressure from a group of disabled residents who feel that their rights are not being respected and that the municipality is not doing enough to assist them.

Speaker after speaker described the late Mr Tshimangadzo Johannes Tshiololi, better known as “TJ”, as a giant tree that had fallen. Tshiololi died on Tuesday night, 5 January, in the Mediclinic in Tzaneen after a short illness that was confirmed to be Covid-19 related.

A 19-year-old diesel mechanic student from Musina TVET College was recently crowned as the first Miss Musina FM.

Thovhele Vho-Rudzani Harold Sinthumule (55), a senior traditional leader of Sinthumule, died on Saturday, 9 January, at his home in Tshiozwi after a long illness.

Musina en die Soutpansberg in geheel is beslis armer daaraan toe met die nuus van die dood van die welbekende Harry Smith (66). In lewe was Harry ‘n legende op vele vlakke van die samelewing en geliefd onder almal.

Beneficiaries still waiting to be compensated after being relocated when the Nandoni Dam was constructed are threatening to take the law into their own hands and close the taps at the dam, leaving communities without water.

Mphodo Ramunenyiwa Thidiela (57), wife of the Black Leopards FC’s owner, died in the Netcare Pholoso Hospital in Polokwane on Friday, 8 January.

Despite the warning signs, thousands of people still threw caution to the wind and invested with Mirror Trading International (MTI), a company now in provisional liquidation and whose CEO has fled the country. Closer to home, speculation is that local investors could have lost in the region of R7 million in what is now described as just another Ponzi scheme.

A well-known local businessman, community leader, and philanthropist, James Nditsheni Mukwevho (68), died only a few days after he was diagnosed with Covid-19.