Tswelelang - A fire has ravaged through a house at Ext 5 in Tswelelang on Sunday night (23 August 2026). Eyewitnesses say, the fire started under a car that was parked nearby the house Residents says, when the fire started, they suspected that something was wrong. Eyewitnesses also said, they began to see red sparks coming from under the car which bursted into flames Wolmaransstad Link engaged with other witnesses who alleged that, the male owner of the house was raving his car multiple times and even spinning in inside his yard, after doing so, he parked his car where it normally parks and eventually made aware of the fire sparks coming from underneath his car and he allegedly ignored the warnings  "We warned him that the car was burning, and he decided to ignore our call and went inside his house. When we thought he was coming with something to defuse the fire, he came empty handed and by that time, the flames were getting much str...

Leeudoringstad/Witpoort - Concerned youth of Leeudoringstad & Witpoort have decried the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality's position towards them, saying, they have been disadvantaged by their own municipality. They say, every opportunity that comes through the municipality has to be applied for which proves the process of these applications as difficult. The communities of these areas felt left behind as each and every programmme is held in Wolmaransstad & Tswelelang " As people from Leeudoringstad and Witpoort we are very disadvantaged by our own municipality ,because it's now clear, everything that comes out from Maquassi Hills and DR KK District Municipalities must be applied or be fetched at Tswelelang Youth Center always" - concerned youth The youth voiced their frustrations over continuous neglect by their own municipality "1. UNISA's outreach programme was held at Tswelelang Youth Center or Library. 2.Muni...

  Makwassie, Lebaleng - The Makwassie United Liberation Movement is calling for action ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections as service delivery has collapsed, the movement operates within the Ward 11, and it says, "the power of the ward is not in the councillors office, it's with the people and the people are ready" Lebaleng is yet another township that continues to struggle with water, refuse removal, roads and other basic services. The area has been battling with water provision for years with the Maquassi Hills Municipality only providing with water tankering that also continued for a long time  In an article written by Wolmaransstad Link regarding the water probelm in April 2025, Residents said, the water problem that they have been experiencing didn't start recently, it has been an issue for several years "The water problem doesn't start now, it has been an ongoing issue for quite a number of years"...

The Department of Employment and Labour has opened a fraud case against a foreign national who allegedly attempted to claim Unemployment Insurance Fund benefits using fraudulent documents. The department said the incident occurred at the Rustenburg Labour Centre on Friday, 21 August 2026. Officials reportedly detected irregularities before the alleged attempt could result in the State being defrauded, after which the Department of Home Affairs and SAPS were contacted to assist with verification and the arrest. Acting Chief Director: Provincial Operations in North West, Chris Sithole, praised the officials involved for remaining vigilant. “We have zero tolerance for fraud. This arrest shows that our systems are working,” Sithole said. He added that the Department would continue working with law enforcement to protect public funds and ensure that resources reach their intended beneficiaries. Sithole also warned people attempting to defraud the system that they would be detect...

The residents of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality have overwhelmingly supported the Water Services Amendment Bill, particularly the solidification of provisions to suspend and revoke the licences of water service providers that fail to deliver quality water services.  The residents expressed their views on the Bill during the second leg of the North West public hearings on the Bill held at the Mahikeng Civic Centre in Mahikeng. Participants argued that due to the current challenges within the district, they are of the view that the licence of Ngaka Modiri Molema should be the first to be revoked with immediate effect as they spend countless days without water.  They also argued that, in most cases, municipalities are not adequately capacitated to meet the standards of their licences, and that renders them unable to deliver quality services. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, Leon Basson said they told the committee that the...

The North West Department of Education MEC, Desbo Mohono, has strongly condemned the burning of a block consisting of five workshops and a storeroom at Sewagodimo Technical School in Pella Village on Sunday, 23 August 2026. It is reported that the school held a camp for matriculants, which started over the weekend, with classes ending on Sunday, 23 August 2026, at 2pm. Following the camp, a parents’ meeting was held and ended at 4pm. The educators left the school premises at 17:00pm. At 17:53pm, the school management was alerted to a fire at the school. Management immediately contacted the South African Police Service and firefighters, who were dispatched to the scene. By the time they arrived, the fire was in its final stages of burning. The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations are expected to determine what led to the incident. It is alleged that all five workshops, each consisting of a storeroom and a classroom, were completely destroyed by the fire. A s...

On Saturday, 15 August 2026, a family at Monnamogolo House 1017, Ext 1, Phelindaba, lost their home after a fire reportedly started from a candle According to the family, one member had been using a candle for their praying session and later fell asleep and one family member was later woken by the smoke of fire. The family was assisted by passerbys. The family says no assistance had come forth since the incident took place two weeks ago, Councilor Matome Mangesi had reportedly went to check the damage caused by fire and never returned to the family again. However, the Matlosana Service Delivery Movement (MSDM) visited the family  and has offered to assist Wolmaransstad Link proud partner of Learners Classroom Wolmaransstad To book a Learners Driver spot, contact them on: 072 303 1918 or visit them at: Rood Street NR 9 Wolmaransstad  2630 #WolmaransstadLinkNews

The Madlanga Commission heard that no investigations were conducted into the theft of a multimillion-rand drug consignment from the Port Shepstone Hawks offices 5 years ago. Retired Hawks head General Godfrey Lebeya read out his statement today, with his cross-examination set to be rescheduled. Lebeya was questioned about various suspicious Hawks investigations, including the June 2021 theft. At the time, more than 500 kilograms of cocaine discovered inside a shipping container was moved to the Hawks offices s in Durban, instead of more secure police stations. The consignment was then stolen in one of several theft incidents that had occurred at the offices since 2011. Responding to the matter, Lebeya confirmed that further investigations were recommended by South African Police Service (SAPS) management. Khumalo: “Was there such an investigation?” Lebeya: “To my knowledge, there wasn't, because I would have known when an investigation is being done against the provinci...

The Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) has axed two of its prominent MPs seemingly for bringing the party into disrepute. Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala and Pumlani Kubukeli were officially given their marching orders by party president Jacob Zuma on Thursday, 28 August. The party has not only removed them as MPs but also stripped them of membership, saying it expects all members to conduct themselves with discipline and integrity. While it’s unclear what exactly led to the undoing of former navy admiral Litchfield-Tshabalala and war veteran Kubukeli, the party said the decision follows a series of acts and conduct which have been detrimental to the party’s name. Litchfield-Tshabalala has most recently been playing a leading role for the party in the Impeachment Committee probing the conduct of President Cyril Ramaphosa. A former African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP, she was well-known for being behind the “Pay back the Money” chant during the Z...

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says the declarations cover donations made between 1 April and 30 June 2026. The Democratic Alliance (DA) accounts for approximately 89% of the total, declaring more than R104 million. ActionSA declared R5.5 million, with the Labour Party of South Africa declaring R5 million and RISE Mzansi R2.25 million. The commission says submissions it received relating to African National Congress (ANC) donations do not meet the requirements of the Political Funding Act and the applicable disclosure framework, involving R15.27 million in donations. The IEC says the ANC-related donations have been excluded from the compliant total, while the party has been issued a Section 15 direction to address the deficiencies. The commission stresses that the publication of these matters should not be construed as a finding that the underlying donations are unlawful but rather concerns compliance with statutory disclosure and verification requirements. ...

Political analyst Ebrahim Harvey says requiring ANC councillor candidates to have matric is a step forward but warns education alone won't fix the problems facing municipalities. The issue of education and qualifications among political figures is again in the spotlight after ANC electoral committee chair Kgalema Motlanthe rejected formal waiver applications that would have allowed councillor candidates without matric to contest the November local government elections. Political analyst and author Ebrahim Harvey believes they should, and called the ANC's move to require candidates to have at least a Grade 12 qualification long overdue. "It's quite shocking that since 1994 the ANC didn't have a requirement. So, it's a massive progress advance. It's the lowest level of formal education to at least have a matric." Harvey suggested the poor performance of the country's municipalities was in part down to the level of education of councillors...

Tswelelang - The delay in accessing emergency incidents in Ext 17 and Mamarela informal settlement by the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Fire and Rescue Department located in Wolmaransstad has threatened the safety of communities in Maquassi Hills as fire has destroyed other several homes in Tswelelang in late July and early August 2026 An affected community member in Ext 17, Kelebgile Chooe has recounted the moments when the fire ravaged through their entire shack on Sunday afternoon, the 2nd of August 2026 Chooe said, in order to reach a fire station in Wolmaransstad, they had to first contact the Wolmaransstad Police Station after trying several times to reach it due to non-working emergency landline which has been like that for 2-3 months Wolmaransstad Link was informed that, the fire station located in Wolmaransstad, has 6 emergency vehicles with only one operating while others remain stationery, this isssue has raised questions as to what will happen if other...