As South Africa once again enters the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which started on 25 November and lasts until 10 December, the spotlight falls on domestic violence in society once again.

The Department of Co-operative Government, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) remained tight-lipped the past week about a R5,7 million security contract awarded to protect Toni Mphephu Ramabulana. The former acting king of the Vhavenda is to have 24-hour protection by armed guards at his two homes.

A Grade 12 learner at Louis Trichardt High School, Blessing Semenya (19), was one of the contestants in the Koo cooking show Colour your plate with Koo that took place in July this year in Cape Town.

Ouers Jan en Anita Bouwer van Louis Trichardt het vanjaar ‘n vroeë Kersgeskenk ontvang met die nuus dat hulle seun Jannie dalk al hierdie week uit die hospitaal ontslaan kan word.

The Public Protector suffered a devastating defeat in the Gauteng division of the High Court two weeks ago when the remedial action imposed in the Venda Pension Fund saga was set aside. The court ruling may very well also mean an end to the dreams of thousands of pensioners who believed that they could claim back the millions lost when the Venda Pension Fund was migrated to a centralised national fund.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, 23 November, the village of Nwaxinyamani saw a storm not to be forgotten soon. When Believe Maringa realized that something was not right, he went outside to take a look. Heavy rain was pelting down and a fierce wind was blowing.

“What am I going to do with this PhD qualification? Is this going to be mostly of impact to me, or on the community I live in?”

Despite murderously steep hills, walking in scorching temperatures of 40°C+ and dealing with the hiker’s worst nightmare - the ever-present, pestering little mopane bees that will fly into every exposed orifice (nose, eyes, mouth, ears) - Dave van Graan (Louis Trichardt’s own ‘Chuck Norris’) seems to be making good progress on his 800km walkabout through Namibia to raise awareness for Desert Lion Conservation.

The well-known soccer administrator and principal of Swobani High, Samuel “Scara” Tshigomana, obtained his PhD in Public and Development Administration at the University of Venda (Univen) on 19 November.

Thendo Mavhungu (22) and Nyandano Sipholi (19), both youths from the Vhembe District, are representing the “Venda kingdom” at this year’s Indoni Mr and Miss Cultural South Africa. They have been crowned as Venda “King” and “Queen” and are now competing at the nationals.

Mercy Masakona Madzivhandila has earned herself respect in both the music industry and academic circles after she graduated with a PhD in music from the University of Venda on Friday (19 November).

According to the newly appointed chairperson of the Lepelle Northern Water Board, Mr Nndweleni Mphephu, the board and the Limpopo Department of Water and Sanitation will need R1 billion for upgrading the Nandoni Water Scheme and installing the pipelines from Nandoni Dam to Nsami Dam in Giyani.

Environmentalists celebrated this week after the Chinese government confirmed that it has withdrawn its funding of the 3GW coal-fired power station for the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ). This follows an announcement by Chinese Premier Xi Jinping in September this year that the Chinese government was ending its funding of overseas coal projects. The promoters of the MMSEZ, however, said that they were unfazed by this development and had even welcomed the announcement.

The election of a new mayor for the Makhado Municipality was delayed for several hours on Tuesday while the infighting among the local ANC factions continued. Apparently only after strict instructions were issued from the ANC’s provincial and national executive was the former mayor, Samuel Munyai, re-elected.

A 42-year-old man from Tshirenzheni village was fatally stabbed with a knife in his spinal cord after he picked up three hitch-hikers and a fight later broke out about payment.