Home | South Africa A R25-billion renewal energy project is being constructed in Mpumalanga. Renewal energy solutions company – Seriti Green is establishing the renewable energy farm in Bethal. The Ummbila Emoyeni project will be the country’s largest renewable hybrid energy facility once completed. It is expected to generate a combined 900 megawatts of wind and solar energy. Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu visited the project site and reiterated the province’s support for transition from coal to renewable energy. Ndlovu has expressed satisfaction with the progress made thus far. Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane says the building of a psychiatric hospital in the province is still in the pipeline. The premier, who addressed the media during the opening of the newly refurbished Bethal Hospital on Tuesday, said the provincial government will announce soon when construction of a psychiatric hospital will take place. During an address at a mental health conference in April last year, health minister Dr Joe Phaahla did indicate that Mpumalanga is the only province that does not have a specialised facility to cater to people with dual mental health issues. Meanwhile, Mtshweni-Tsipane says renovations at Bethal hospital cost more than R800 million and the general hospital has been equipped with digital equipment, and it is in line with National Health Insurance standards. She says they have hired more medical personnel and vacant posts will be filled in the future. Copyright © 2022Capricorn FM.All rights reserved Dealer Principal at Eastvaal Renault/Nissan/Datsun/UD in the Mpumalanga town of Bethal The dealership is one of only two new vehicle dealerships in Bethal which is surrounded by larger towns like Emalahleni (previously Witbank) Middelburg and Secunda with bigger dealerships representing most brands Although agriculture is a big activity in the area it is the coal mines and Sasol so close by that predominantly provide the customer base for business and the dealership in Bethal “Business conditions in the current circumstances taking our location into account and the role the local issues play in terms of service delivery and infrastructure “We cannot sit around on the showroom floor waiting for customers contacting people and using all possible social media and Internet avenues are how we operate to get business meaning taking immediate action is what it is all about,” Christo tells Dealerfloor “Our workshop and parts department are busy The used cars side of the business is problematic as fewer new cars available to sell mean fewer trade-ins We also must go out and look for good quality used cars with offers that must be carefully balanced so that we can still make a profit when selling them Discounts are mainly something of the past as we have to make maximum profit with every deal to stay afloat.” Christo says the move of the UD division for the trucks from other premises to the current one just before lockdown was a financially sound move as it cut the overheads dramatically “If we can cut costs like we did in this regard it helps tremendously with the business’s profitability our UD trucks are popular with coal operators and in the agriculture sector we are looking forward to new products in the pipeline which for the first time will include single cab workhorse variants We hope to make some inroads with this into the farming community “The Renault Kwid continues to do very well Other new models are expected but they will probably be launched at a later stage Entry-level vehicles remain popular like the Kwid and Triber Swopping stock within our group to satisfy customer needs is easier with Renault in respect of which we have a number of dealerships in the group but we are the only Nissan dealership,” he says received a Best Service Award in SA in this category from Renault when Pina Nkosi scooped up the award in 2019 Christo concludes by saying that the new reality we all face we have to adapt and get our footwork in order,” he says Well-known South African racing driver and competitor at the annual Simola Hillclimb died this weekend when his Lotus left the road Mitsubishi Motors South Africa was presented with the Top Performer award in the After-sales – Customer Experience category at the brand’s recent annual global after-sales business excellence awards ceremony in Thailand The South African new-vehicle market showed its resilience yet again during April this year with an 11.9% increase compared to the same month last year This is notwithstanding the number of public holidays that manifested in long weekends with school holidays in between If you are not taking care of your customer The transition from a career in the OEM environment to the business at dealership level was like chalk and cheese Audi Centre Sandton was named 2024 Dealer of the Year while Hatfield Motor Group walked away with the coveted 2024 Dealer Group of the Year prize during Audi South Africa’s annual Vorsprung Awards For a dealership to make an 180-degree U-turn within two years and then went on to win the overall Volkswagen Dealer of the Year award This dealer-focussed innovation is made possible with the support and endorsement of Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance All content copyright of Panthera Media Pty Ltd 2020 We use cookies to personalise content and ads and to analyse our traffic and improve our service You consent to cookies if you continue to use our website The late Mr Jackson Mthembu was Minister in The Presidency from May 2019 to 21 January 2021.  He passed away due to Covid-19 related complications Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu has always been an anti-apartheid activist who was part of the liberation struggle He cut his political teeth in student politics in the 1970’s He was born and bred in Witbank (Emalahleni) in 1958 He was a student leader at Elukhanyisweni Secondary School in Witbank during the 1976 students’ Uprisings His activism continued when he was a student at the historic University of Fort Hare He contributed immensely to the birth of the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU) the predecessor of the National Union of Metal Workers (NUMSA) in which he became a senior shopsteward at Highveld Steel Corporation where he worked as a training officer and later promoted to be one of the first few black steel production foremen in the industry He was a leading member of the eMalahleni Civic Association He led both the local branches of the National Education Crisis and the Detainees Parents’ Support Committee (DPSC) all affiliates of the United Democratic Front (UDF) then During the state of emergency in the 1980s he was subjected to constant harassment and persecution by the security forces of the apartheid regime resulting in several months of detentions without trial mostly in solitary confinement Acts of persecution by the agents of the apartheid regime included petrol bombing of his house in Witbank and being subjected to various forms of torture at police stations treason and terrorism between 1986 and 1988 and tried together with 30 other activists from Witbank The trial came to be known as the Bethal terrorism trial and he was acquitted the apartheid security police continued with his harassment and intimidation which led him to moving away from Witbank and find refuge in Soweto and Alexandra in the Gauteng Province as an “internal exile” He was elected as the Deputy Regional Secretary of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the then PWV region (now Gauteng Province) under the leadership of the late Mama Albertina Sisulu It was through his involvement with the South African Council of Churches (SACC) under the leadership of Rev Frank Chikane that he joined the SWAPO solidarity campaign The solidarity campaign was comprised of various civic groups including the religious community business and taxi associations under the banner of the UDF He was part of the UDF and the progressive forces leadership collective that supported SWAPO’s election campaign by providing minibus taxis to transport voters during the first democratic elections in what was then South West Africa (now Namibia) SWAPO won the elections which led to the liberation of the then South West Africa (Namibia) from apartheid South Africa After the unbanning of political parties in 1990 he was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the Witbank branch of the ANC Between 1990 – 1994 he worked fulltime as ANC spokesman in Mpumalanga and participated as ANC staff component at the CODESA negotiations he has served in several strategic roles including as a member of the ANC Mpumalanga Provincial Executive Committee He has been part of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) since 2007 After the first democratic elections in 1994 he was part of the first ANC Members of Parliament contingent deployed in the then Senate (now NCOP) where he contributed to the crafting of our democratic Constitution in the Constituent Assembly then under the able leadership of Honourable CR Ramaphosa the current President of the Republic.  He was later appointed as MEC in Mpumalanga Province for Public Works Roads and Transport serving under the successive Premierships of Matthew Phosa and Thabang Makwetla He was the national spokesperson of the ANC under President Nelson Mandela from 1995 – 1997 appointed to the same role again from 2009 – 2014 one of the structures he chaired was the ANC Caster Semenya Support Committee which included the indomitable Mama Winnie Mandela the responsibility of this committee was to give practical support to Caster against the inhumane treatment abuse and discrimination she was subjected to by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) He served as the Chief Whip of the ANC in the National Assembly from 2016 up to the end of the 5th term of parliament in 2019 After the 2019 national and general elections he was appointed as the Minister in the Presidency Minister Mthembu was married to Thembi Mthembu together with their children they made Mbombela (Nelspruit) their home A battle over an RDP house in Bethal That’s because it’s built on 61-year-old Solomon Mahlangu’s land but the structure has been allocated to someone else Mahlangu has the title deed for the land and has thus far been unsuccessful in his bid for an RDP house The Govan Mbeki municipality has been unable to resolve the matter since 2015 The dwelling has been given to Gladys Khumalo “We want the municipality to give him his house and do what is right ” says Solomon Maghlangu’s relative Gladys Khumalo is equally adamant that the RDP house belongs to her: “I applied for this house but Mahlangu got the title deed After  SABC News  inquired about this debacle ‘We have been working on the matter but facing resistance from the elderly The title deed is his but the house is Khumalo’s so we are in the process of deregistering Mahlangu so that he can get a new house But we need him to cooperate with us on this,’ says Goven Mbeki Municipality’s spokesperson You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security Reaction Officers reported no injuries at the scene of a two (2) vehicle accident on the Inanda Road in Trenance Park - KZN this afternoon (Sunday) Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) received the call for assistance after a silver/grey Toyota Hilux bakkie rear-ended a black Haval H2 KwaZulu Private Ambulance Service responded to the scene and found an emotional and chaotic scene Assessing the scene paramedics found 4 occupants that had sustained fatal injuries Barbara Creecy and the Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa express their condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in a fatal road crash on the R63 between Adelaide and Maqoma in the Eastern Cape on Saturday A total of 15 people have died and five others sustained injuries in a head-on collision involving a fully loaded minibus taxi and a bakkie The accident occurred on the R63 road between Adelaide and Maqoma (Fort Beaufort) at about midnight on Saturday *03 May 2025* It is alleged that a white Quantum KZN – KZNVIP Emergency Control Center responded to a distressing incident this morning involving a 62 year old woman who was mauled by a dog while walking home after attending church on Baileybridge in Phoenix Emergency medical teams arrived promptly on scene to find the elderly female A head-on collision occurred in Sunwhich Port in which several people have been injured Med~Evac together with other emergency services are currently on scene Submit a report of any corrupt activity you are aware of to Corruption Watch Corruption Watch analyses all reported incidents very thoroughly - all we need is your help Or send us a WhatsApp message on: 082 579 5220 Visit our GivenGain R20 for Change page and help us demand transparency in our systems and better empowerment and protection of whistle-blowers you’ll be supporting our work with communities across the country helping them to know and access their rights and reduce the corruption that robs people of resources intended for their benefit