Emergency services and volunteers from across the area rushed to assist throughout the day and into the night as firefighters battled blazes in Kalkheuwel, Broederstroom, Skeerpoort and Silkaatsnek.

According to Kyle Vosloo of SDS Protection Services and Fireguard, the first alarm was raised around noon when a massive wildfire broke out in Kalkheuwel.

“Fanned by extremely strong, unpredictable winds, the flames exhibited terrifying volatility. The raging inferno effortlessly jumped multiple wide, pre-cleared fire breaks that had been meticulously prepared by local landowners,” he said.

“Overall coordination of the massive operation was assumed by the Fire Protection Association (FPA). Tactical teams were systematically deployed to establish defensive burn lines and protect vital structures, homes and wildlife sanctuary boundaries.”

The fire crossed the R512 and spread into the Lion & Safari Park. According to Albie du Toit, security and facility director at the Lion & Safari Park, the fire apparently started early on Wednesday near an informal settlement at Rhenosterspruit before being driven towards the park by strong winds.

“It jumped over the R512 and across the park’s 30m firebreak. Driven by the wind, it spread through the park so fast that we could not get ahead to do back-burns,” he said.

Neighbouring property owners, emergency teams and businesses joined forces to help contain the blaze.

“People came from everywhere. If it was not for their help, we could not have contained it,” Du Toit said.

Teams fought the fire from around 10:00 until 21:00 before bringing it under control. Approximately 60% of the park’s grazing was destroyed. “”Fortunately, roaming animals were able to flee, and we managed to stop the fire before it reached the lion enclosures and structures on the property.”

Meanwhile, two veld fires broke out in Skeerpoort – one near Bill Harrop’s Balloon Safaris and another near a church.

Skeerpoort resident RP Momberg said landowners and workers joined forces to contain the fast-spreading fires.

Additional veld fires also broke out at various locations in Broederstroom, including on the mountain near Oberon and on properties near Necsa.

Another major fire on the southern slopes of the Magaliesberg at Silkaatsnek spread over the mountain towards De Wildt during the early hours of Thursday.

Teams from the Cheetah Lodge, adjacent to the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre, the Margaret Roberts Herbal Centre and local farmers climbed the mountain in an effort to stop the runaway fire.

The Working on Fire team later joined the operation.

The Emergency Response Team Hartbeespoort (ERTH) also responded to a veld fire at a chicken farm on Van der Hoff Road on Wednesday night, where crews worked to bring the blaze under control.

At the time of publication, firefighters were still battling a veld fire at Hartebeesthoek, while the De Wildt community remained on high alert as another veld fire had erupted south of the mountain once again.

A 48-year-old hiker slipped and fell about a kilometre up the mountain at Vergenoeg Nature Reserve & Hiking Trail on Saturday morning. He sustained a broken leg.

According to Victor Schipper of Vergenoeg, the hiker decided to turn back during the hike and slipped on his way down.

“We contacted rescue organisations and the response was unbelievable. Hartbeespoort Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) was on the scene first, followed by members of the Mountain Club South Africa (MCSA) and SARZA Search and Rescue,” he said.

Schipper said approximately 25 people, including HEMS paramedics, climbed up the mountain to reach the injured hiker.

Because of the terrain where the hiker had fallen, a helicopter could not be used. Instead, the rescue team carried him down the mountain to the bottom, from where he was transported by HEMS to hospital.

“From everyone at Vergenoeg Nature Reserve, thank you to HEMS, MCSA and SARZA. Your dedication makes a real difference, and our community is stronger because of you,” Schipper said.

The Madibeng Municipality has announced that all outdoor advertising signage must now be declared, approved and paid for. This applies to any signage that is visible from a public space.

Notices are currently being delivered to premises across the Madibeng municipal area, informing business owners that they have to pay for any signs visible from public spaces.

All signage displayed on exterior walls promoting businesses, products or services, including those of tenants inside business centres, constitutes chargeable advertising space.

All advertising signage must be approved prior to installation, and the applicable tariffs paid. The cost consists of an administrative fee of R745 and a licensing fee of R607 per square metre of signage.

According to the notice, outdoor advertising includes wall-mounted signs, signs on boundary walls and fences, free-standing signs and billboards, as well as posters and promotional material visible from public spaces.

For business premises such as malls and shopping centres, this can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of rands. The management of malls and shopping centres is responsible for ensuring that all advertising by tenants on their premises is declared to the municipality and that the applicable fees are paid, according to the notice.

Madibeng states that failure to comply with the by-law may result in fines and penalties, removal of signage, billing for unauthorized use of advertising space, and legal action.

Irate business owners told Hartbeespoort News this week that, on top of already high service fees charged by the municipality, the new revenue enforcement drive will have a detrimental impact on businesses.

“Our municipal bills are already so high. It seems as if the municipality is permanently finding ways to milk us dry. This will add to tenants’ costs of running a business. In some cases, with these increasing costs, it may not be worthwhile to do business,” said Werner Wenhold, owner of De Handelspost in Hartbeespoort.

The owner of a small business in Brits said the municipality is welcome to remove his sign. “I have been here for decades and, on top of rent and high municipal costs, I am now supposed to pay for my business’s name being displayed? I am not going to pay. The municipality can remove my signage.”

He said municipal officials told him he could display his signage on a window, but not on the wall. “How ridiculous is that?”

Another business owner, Jacques van Rensburg of Pumba Signs in Hartbeespoort, said businesses not only now have to pay the municipality to display their names, but also have to deal with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), which has been clamping down on signage along its roads.

Although enforcement of these by-laws is only taking place now, the Outdoor Advertising By-law was adopted by the Madibeng Municipality as far back as 2010.

Businesses are advised to legalize their advertising immediately by contacting the municipality’s Department of Local Economic Development: Lebogang Tsogang at 012 493 7663/lebogangtsogang@madibeng.gov.za, or Michael Mpofy at 012 493 7769/ mikempofu@madibeng.gov.za

Hartbeespoort News is waiting for comment from the municipality.

National Treasury said the decision was taken to enforce fiscal discipline and ensure that public money is properly managed. The move aims to address Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure (UIF&W) and ensure that municipal officials and office-bearers are held accountable.

“The decision follows persistent and serious non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and its supporting regulations, despite support provided by the National Treasury through guidance, engagement, and formal or informal communication,” National Treasury said.

Prior to withholding the funds, National Treasury provided support and guidance to municipalities on the steps they needed to take to ensure compliance with specific provisions of the MFMA and its regulations.

The equitable share allocation is intended to help municipalities pay for basic services such as water and electricity, as well as fund core municipal administrative functions.

Although municipalities have the discretion to manage these unconditional grants, failure to prioritise the funds for their intended purposes can legally result in the National Treasury withholding transfers — an intervention used when municipalities accumulate severe debt or demonstrate poor financial management.

“For Madibeng, this poses a major risk because the 2026/2027 budget is already under pressure. The municipality relies heavily on transfers, collection assumptions, and improved revenue recovery. Any delay or withholding of grant funding will place further strain on service delivery, creditor payments, infrastructure maintenance, and operational stability,” said VF Plus councillor in Madibeng, Elsa Lourens.

“Because of the high amounts owed in interest to Eskom and water boards, the municipal debt is no longer only a capital debt problem. Interest is now consuming money that should have gone to basic services. Madibeng risks entering a cycle where it pays penalties and interest instead of fixing roads, water leaks, sewerage failures and electricity infrastructure.”

Lourens said the suspension of funds would worsen the political turmoil already affecting the municipality.

“A municipality under financial pressure requires stable leadership, disciplined oversight and quick corrective action. However, political instability, collapsed sittings, factional conflict and weak accountability delay decisions and make it harder to implement Treasury conditions. This creates a direct risk that transfers may remain withheld for longer,” she said.

According to Tracy King of the South African Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, the woman took to the skies around 13:30 and was in the air for about 20 minutes before losing control and crashing into the mountain near the Hartbeespoort Cableway.

“No one saw the accident, but we suspect that she flew into a whirlwind, which caused her to lose control of the paraglider,” King said.

Hartbeespoort Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) responded to the scene.

“Our paramedic ascended the mountain by cable car and climbed down to where the patient was. She was carried back to the top of the mountain, stabilised and taken down by cable car. She was airlifted from Hartbeespoort High School to a hospital in Johannesburg,” HEMS spokesperson Leandre Spies said.

The paraglider sustained pelvic and rib fractures.

King said the injured pilot will undergo surgery once the swelling caused by her injuries has gone down.

“She told me she will make a full recovery and is looking forward to taking to the skies again. All sports face risks. Paragliding has its own set of risks, and we as pilots embrace that fact.”

The association has expressed its gratitude to HEMS for its speedy response and caring treatment of the patient.

“We would also like to thank the cableway operators, who immediately made room for the paramedics. The staff were incredibly helpful.”

The MEC for Finance in the North West, Keneetswe Mosenogi, announced the intervention during a special Madibeng council meeting, just a day after an attempt was made on the life of municipal manager Quiet Kgatla.

A Provincial Executive Representative (PER) and a multidisciplinary intervention team will now take over the municipality’s financial and council functions.

This includes, among other things, taking over all executive functions of the municipal council and the mayor necessary for the effective implementation of the financial recovery plan.

The PER will also assume all financial functions of the municipality, including analysing monthly bank and budget statements and issuing directives to the municipal manager regarding the management of the municipality’s bank accounts. In addition, the PER will assume the administrative functions of the municipal manager and approve the municipal manager’s decisions.

Freedom Front Plus councillor Elsa Lourens said the party noted the report but placed on record that Madibeng did not need yet another administration intervention, but rather for the ANC to be removed from municipal and provincial governance.

“The FF Plus is the only party that has consistently cautioned against and consequently rejected every unfunded budget tabled in council. We are constantly being placed under administration or subjected to interventions from the province, with no close-out reports or positive results and outcomes,” she said.

Erna Rossouw, Democratic Alliance councillor, said the DA had received the Province’s intervention report with mixed feelings.

“We feel it is once again being pushed through, like all reports involving the ANC. The MEC was unable to answer our questions regarding the duration of the administration,” she said.

“The fact that we had to learn that Madibeng’s budget is actually unfunded was yet another lie, especially after the Speaker assured us in Council that it was a funded budget. Madibeng has been placed under administration so many times, but over all these years there has never been a final report to implement. With only four months remaining before the election, it certainly makes one wonder what the real agenda is.”

Kgatla sustained gunshot wounds to his arm and pelvis and was rushed to hospital.

He was on his way home on the R511 at Silkaatsnek near Hartbeespoort at about 17:30 when gunmen in a dark grey Volkswagen Polo approached from behind and fired multiple shots into his vehicle before speeding away.

According to Roland Craucamp, who was at a fuel station about 50m from the scene and was first to assist, Kgatla managed to get out of his vehicle and make his way to a nearby roadside shop.

“He was bleeding profusely. I tried to stop the bleeding with towels until the Hartbeespoort Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) arrived. He was rushed to a hospital in Brits,” Craucamp said.

Craucamp estimated that about 16 shots were fired. “It is a miracle that he is alive.”

Riaan Britz of the Emergency Response Team Harties (ERTH), who arrived on the scene shortly afterwards, said 11 bullet holes were counted in Kgatla’s vehicle.

“9mm pistol spent cartridges were found on the scene,” he said.

Police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh said the motive for the attack remains unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation.

“Police appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who has information that could assist in identifying the suspects or the vehicle involved, to contact Lt Col Ditau Malebati at Brits Detectives on 076 510 8262 or the SAPS Crime Stop number on 08600 10111. Information can also be submitted anonymously via the MySAPS App.”