Latest news with #Vaal
The Citizen
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Finally, heavens ring in jubilation
SEDIBENG.- At last! In case you don't know, the news is that Vaal will be represented in the semi-professional league once again. This is a dream come true for many local football supporters. It is like God heard their cry. Ladies and gentlemen, let's put our hands together and congratulate Young Pirates FC as they will campaign in the ABC Motsepe League in the 2025/2026 season. The latter made the Vaal proud when they became the Gauteng champions at the Inter-Regional play-offs held in Pretoria over the weekend. PAR EXCELLENCE! Jou lekker ding! For a long time, Zakes' Sports Corner pleaded for this to happen, and somebody's heard my prayers at last! What else can Zakes' Sports Corner ask for? Of course, this is something to celebrate, considering how long it took this region to have a team in the ABC Motsepe League. Can somebody bring a bottle of champagne to celebrate this remarkable achievement? Gone are the days when teams from outside the Vaal would come to enjoy the freedom of our facilities because we didn't have a team that played at this level. It is the Vaal people's responsibility to support Young Pirates FC. This club is now the pride of the Vaal, to say the least! Gone are the days when we would be called the sleeping giants of South African football. This region was called the sleeping giants of South African football after the now defunct Vaal Professional relegated from the top-flight football. This region was without top-flight football for years, and now, at least, Young Pirates will represent us in the second division league, which is regarded as one of the competitive leagues in South African football. This is despite the great players and football administrators this region produced in the past. Those with long memories will remember the par excellence football this region produced in George 'Kid Action' Thabe and Dr Molefi Oliphant, to mention a few. Zakes' Sports Corner wants to join the thousands of Vaal football people to congratulate Young Pirates for their promotion to the ABC Motsepe League. It was long overdue, shame! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
23-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Finally, Vaal will be represented in the top flight football
SEDIBENG.- At last, the Vaal will have a representative in the top-flight football as part of the ABC Motsepe League. This was after Young Pirates FC were promoted to the second division of South African football, the ABC Motsepe League, for the 2025/2026 season. Pirates FC was crowned the Gauteng Champions after their overall performance at the Inter-Regional Promotion Play-offs held in Pretoria over the weekend. The latter represented the Vaal in this promotional play-offs after being crowned the SAFA Sedibeng Hollywood Men's Regional League for the 2024/2025 season. Back to the Inter-Regional Play-offs, Pirates FC was unbeaten in all their games, which made them the Gauteng Champions. This is great news for Vaal football after a long time. Speaking to Sedibeng Ster Sport after the play-offs, SAFA Deputy President Velaphi Motsepe was overwhelmed with joy as he made bold predictions that Pirates FC would gain promotion to the ABC Motsepe League. 'As SAFA Sedibeng, we want to take this opportunity to congratulate Young Pirates on their achievement. This is something to celebrate, as this league was declared null and void for the past two seasons. I am happy that our league was declared the best in Gauteng, regardless of our challenges in previous years. As SAFA Sedibeng, we give Young Pirates FC our support as much as we can to sustain their ABC Motsepe League status. I do not doubt that the club is in this league to compete, not to add numbers,' said Motsepe. Sedibeng Ster Sport attempted to get hold of the club's chairperson, but was unsuccessful as he was out of the country at the time. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
16-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Famild Day Softball Tournament a huge success
SEBOKENG.- The Jumpers Softball Club Family Tournament was a huge success. This two days tournament took place at Saul Tsotetsi Sports Centre in Zone 14, Sebokeng, over the weekend. The tournament attracted teams from our side Vaal, as far as from Lesotho, Free State, North West Province, Johannesburg and Vaal. It was a long weekend of action galore with VUT Softball Club being crowned the tournament champions in the men stream. TUT Softball Club finished as runner-ups, while Brewers Softball Club finished in third place and Jumpers Softball Club fourth place. Pamridge Ladies Softball Club were crowned the champions in the ladies stream while VUT Softball Club finished as the runner-ups. The tournament saw the Sebokeng community come in numbers to support their respective teams. This was despite the chilly weather. Speaking to Sedibeng Ster Sport, Sammy Molefe said the tournament was a huge success. He said he was overwhelmed by the support from the Sebokeng community. Molefe said he thanks all the people who contributed to the success of this Family Day Tournament. 'As Jumpers Softball Club we want to thank the families who came in numbers to support this initiative despite the cold weather. We would also like to thank those clubs that traveled as far as from Lesotho and other parts of the country to be part of this tournament. We also acknowledge the attendance of former softball administrators and players. It was good to see them after a long time. I have no doubt that next year this Family Day Tournament will attract more participants,' said Molefe. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
News24
28-05-2025
- Business
- News24
WASTE LAND: Rand Water forms new entity, takes charge of stricken Emfuleni's water works
Rand Water is permanently taking over Emfuleni's bulk water and sanitation service through a special-purpose vehicle. Emfuleni will transfer its sewage and water infrastructure to the Vaal Water Corporation in exchange for a stake in the special-purpose vehicle. The Vaal Water Corporation will collect water and sewage revenue from customers, bypassing the municipality's collapsed systems. For secure, anonymous communication with News24's Investigations team, click here. Rand Water has partnered with the Emfuleni Local Municipality to form a new special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to permanently take over the running and maintenance of the bulk water and sewage infrastructure in the Gauteng municipality. For the past four years, the water utility has been assisting the municipality in arresting a spiralling sewage pollution crisis and cleaning up sewage-covered streets and rivers. Rand Water will control and operate the new Vaal Water Corporation, permanently extending its mandate from the Department of Water and Sanitation to end the sewage pollution crisis caused by the collapse of municipal infrastructure. While both entities want a majority stake in the SPV, the exact ownership levels have not yet been finalised. When it became clear that the municipality's sewage infrastructure and capacity to provide the service had collapsed, Senzo Mchunu, then-minister of water and sanitation, intervened through Section 63 of the Water Services Act and appointed Rand Water to restore operations in 2021. He appointed Rand Water as the implementing agent. The total estimated cost of the intervention is R7.6 billion over a seven-year period, including completion of the major capital works, the department said in a statement attributed to Pemmy Majodina, the current minister. In the new venture, the stricken municipality will transfer its existing bulk infrastructure - including four wastewater treatment plants, 44 pump stations, more than 8 000km of sewer pipelines, freshwater infrastructure, and other assets - as its contribution in exchange for a major stake in the new entity. The municipality's more than R1.5 billion outstanding debt due to Rand Water will also form part of its contribution to funding the SPV. Other contributions would be the municipality and regional infrastructure's share of grant funding from the National Treasury and the customer base within the municipality's service area, said Emfuleni spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni. 'The municipality cannot operate and maintain its bulk water and sanitation infrastructure,' added Sipho Mosai, the chief executive officer of Rand Water. 'It has been hollowed out.' Under the department's guidance, Rand Water approached the municipality with the idea of forming the SPV for water and sanitation services, which requires the approval of the minister of finance. Majodina said: The establishment of the SPV will result in a professionally managed, dedicated utility with full responsibility and accountability for the provision of water and sanitation services in Emfuleni. The SPV will collect sanitation revenue from the municipality's customers, while Emfuleni will retain its status as the water authority responsible for setting water tariffs and the water licence, which will be transferred to Vaal Water. For more than 10 years, Emfuleni has been experiencing a sewage pollution crisis caused by its failure to maintain and repair infrastructure. This has resulted in sustained raw sewage spilling from broken pipes, flowing through the streets into the river system, negatively affecting residents' living conditions. The municipality, located in the south of Gauteng, borders the Free State on the Vaal River and is home to more than a million people. During the past five years, the municipality's collapsed capacity caused it to forfeit and return more than R640 million in unspent municipal infrastructure grants to the National Treasury. All four Emfuleni wastewater treatment plants and most of the 44 sewer pump stations had fallen into disrepair. The resulting sewage crisis heavily polluted critical and strategic natural water sources such as the Vaal River, which South Africa's industrial heartland of Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga relies on for water. Four years later, a visit to the area revealed that sewage pollution had been significantly reduced, and all four wastewater treatment plants were working. The problem has not yet been fully resolved, but significant demonstrable progress has been made. Rand Water carried out a major refurbishment of the Leeuwkuil Wastewater Treatment Plant over the past three years, replacing stolen electrical cables and installing new pipes to replace the collapsed 60-year-old infrastructure. This includes the replacement of 50 collapsed sewer lines. The Leeuwkuil plant is now operating at half its 36 megalitre capacity, from a standstill three years ago. Work currently under way would take its operations to full capacity over the next two years, said Justice Maluleke, the department's head of infrastructure in Gauteng. A contractor has been appointed to carry out the capacity expansion. Maluleke said Rand Water had overseen the construction of the R1-billion Sebokeng Wastewater Treatment Plant, which currently processes 150 megalitres of sewage a day, including a load from the City of Johannesburg. The plant has a design capacity of 200 megalitres. Rand Water has restored all 44 pump stations through major mechanical equipment upgrades. Thahasello Mphatsoe/News24 To achieve this, Rand Water employed more than 80 people and contractors to work on the sewer infrastructure and acquired 36 vehicles and machinery. The assets are registered in the name of Rand Water and the department to reduce the risk of being attached by the municipality's other unpaid creditors. Plants have armed security teams guarding them round the clock, curbing the vandalism associated with cable and scrap metal theft. According to spokesperson Makenosi Maroo, Rand Water's interventions at the pump stations and pipelines have cost about R900 million. While the interventions have had the desired overall impact, the residents of Kanana section in Evaton still grapple with sewage spilling into their homes from blocked pipelines 20 years on. Rand Water said the solution was to replace the pipeline with a bigger pipe as population growth rendered the original pipelines inadequate for the load. As a temporary relief measure, the municipality will prioritise the flushing of the pipeline with a mechanical sucker while it secures funds to replace the pipe.
The Citizen
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Vaalies excel in demanding 2025 Vasco Yacht Race!
On May 25, a determined team of five sailors from the Vaal Triangle embarked on the annual Vasco da Gama Yacht Race, navigating the challenging 280 nautical mile (518km) stretch from Durban to East London. Skipper-owner Herbert Karolius, co-owner Rex Anderson, and crew members Jakes Opperman, Roy Downes, and Sarie van den Berg showcased exceptional skill and endurance, crossing the finish line in 29h51m – a mere 16 minutes behind the winner, CFM II. The Vaal Triangle team, who won the race in 2017 and finished second in 2022, demonstrated remarkable consistency by claiming the runner-up position once again. The team's achievement is a testament to their dedication and teamwork. Congratulations to Herbert, Rex, Jakes, Roy and Sarie, who represented the Vaal Region in such a remarkable way. Notably, Trevor Hulleman, another Vaalie, was part of the winning yacht CFM II's crew. The Vasco Da Gama Yacht Race, named after the famous Portuguese explorer, has a rich history dating back to 1971. This grueling offshore sailing event tests participants' seamanship, strategy, and physical endurance as they navigate varying weather conditions and ocean currents. With its enduring spirit of adventure and competition, the race remains a highlight of the South African sailing calendar, drawing participants from far and wide. * To see yesterday's thrilling final stretch of the Vaal team's race, click here: At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
