The North West Provincial Legislature has called for the scrapping of historical hospital debts owed by indigent residents, pensioners, unemployed people and persons living with disabilities, in a proposed intervention aimed at easing the financial burden on vulnerable households. The proposal seeks to prevent outstanding medical bills from pushing financially disadvantaged residents deeper into poverty or becoming a barrier to accessing essential public healthcare services. The call comes against the backdrop of longstanding financial and debt-management challenges within the province’s…

Alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that investigators from the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) inserted false information into his Section 204 witness statement to manufacture a history between him, former Police Minister Bheki Cele and the late taxi boss Jotham “King Mswazi” Msibi. Matlala alleged that the move formed part of a broader plan to implicate individuals perceived to be supporters of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, with the ultimate aim…

The Executive Mayor of Mahikeng Local Municipality in the North West, Tshepiso Mphehlo, is expected to hold an emergency meeting with frustrated residents of Masutlhe village following a service delivery protest that brought parts of the area to a standstill and disrupted the ongoing matric final examinations. Residents took to the streets early on Tuesday, blocking major roads with burning tyres and debris in protest against prolonged water and electricity shortages in the village. The protest caused significant disruption, particularly…