Day: November 1, 2022

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Premier Bushy Maape congratulates Kgosi Thabo Milton Seatlholo on his appointment as Chairperson of National House of Traditional Leadership and Khoi-San Leaders

North West Premier, Kaobitsa Bushy Maape congratulates Kgosi Thabo Milton Seatlholo on his appointment as the Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders – NHTKL. 

Kgosi Seatlholo of Barolong Boo Rapulana at Lotlhakane village in Mahikeng, is a former Deputy Chairperson of the NHTL, a role he played for seven (7) years. He succeeds her Majesty Nkosikazi Dorothy Mhla.

Premier Maape said Kgosi Seatlholo is well deserving of this appointment as he has demonstrated dedication and commitment to issues of traditional leadership, culture and the development of rural communities. 

“We are delighted at his appointment as this is a great achievement for the province and the nation at large. We must remember that traditional leaders are custodians of our cultures and traditions. They are very important to us as government particularly in ensuring that we address a number of service delivery challenges in our communities” said Premier Maape.

Premier Maape said Kgosi Seatlholo will undoubtfully execute his new role with dedication as he continues to relentlessly serve the people of this country. 

“As the North West Provincial Government we are proud of his installation to this position. He has our full support. We wish him well in his new role” remarked Premier Maape.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Council for Scientific and Industrial Research hosts Biennial Conference, 2 to 3 Nov

South Africa’s biggest science and industry gathering set to take place in Pretoria

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is celebrating 77 years of touching lives through innovation. As part of this milestone, the organisation will host its 8th Biennial Conference on Wednesday, 2 and Thursday, 3 November 2022.

The two-day conference will bring together scientific experts, academia and industry leaders from around the world, and members of the public to evaluate how research, development and innovation (RD&I) can be harnessed to build a robust South African economy. This year’s conference will be held under the theme: ‘Harnessing research, development and innovation for a robust South African economy’.

The conference, which is one of the flagship initiatives to celebrate the organisation’s contribution to RD&I in South Africa, will provide a platform to showcase the CSIR’s multiple research capabilities and the continued impact of its strategy in contributing to industrial development and supporting a capable state.

Challenges such as power outages, water cuts, climate change and the high unemployment rate in South Africa, have all added enormous pressure on an already volatile economy that is slowly recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, the CSIR and its stakeholders will use this gathering to deliberate on how R&D can play a role in co-building a capable state, an inclusive economy and competitive South African industries.

The conference will also look at South Africa’s opportunity to become a significant player in the hydrogen market. The programme will include a plenary session that will feature key industry speakers. Some of the topics that will be discussed include empowering the South African workforce to embrace the fourth industrial revolution; precision medicine in Africa; the role of small, medium, and micro enterprises in growing the cannabis and hemp industry; and creating a circular plastics economy in South Africa.

The conference will have an interactive exhibition covering technologies such as Cardiflo, a point-of-care screening technology designed to detect cardiovascular risk factors to advise patients on care and preventative lifestyle changes. Technologies for precision agriculture, point-of-care diagnostic technologies to detect human, animal and zoonotic diseases and more, will also be on display.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Three people perish in shack fire

GQEBERHA – A family of three perished in a shack fire last night, 31 October 2022 in an informal settlement in Motherwell.

It is alleged that at about 20:00, the Iminathi Nkumba (11) was sent by his mother to his sister who lives nearby to ask for money. About 20 minutes later, she heard the community screaming and when she went to investigate, she saw that her parents shack was on fire.

All three occupants (mother, father and son) died in the fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department and the cause is yet to be established. The deceased were identified as Mnyamezelo Msizi (41), Noxolo Nkumba (47) and Iminathi Nkumba (11).

An inquest docket is under investigation.

Source: South African Police Service

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Accused sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for robbery

KWAZULU-NATAL – On 12 October 2022, the Durban High Court sentenced Mfana Shozi (21) to twelve years for robbery which happened on Pat Marshall Drive in Bhambayi, Phoenix.

In May 2019, two Metro Police members were performing guard duties at the councillor’s house when they were accosted by Shozi and his accomplices. They fired shots at the police and robbed them of their service pistols with rounds of ammunition.

The two police members died at the scene and a case of double murder as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances reported at the Phoenix police station. The case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from the Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation. Shozi and his accomplices were later arrested.

Shozi’s accomplices Sabelo Biyela (22), Thamsanqa Mabaso (29), Bonginkosi Msomi (24) and Nkululeko Zulu (22) are still standing trial for two counts of murder as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances. They will appear in the Durban High Court on Thursday, 03 November 2022.

Source: South African Police Service

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Suspect in court for R800 000 drug bust

DURBAN – Yesterday at 18:00, police officers from the Provincial Drug and Firearm Unit acted on information of a suspect that was packaging drugs from a flat on Dr Pixley Ka Seme Street in Durban.

The team proceeded to the identified flat and a sting operation was successfully executed. The operation resulted in the arrest of the 36-year-old man who was found in possession of two x 1kg packages of crystal meth, twelve large packages of crystal meth (weighing 1110grams), cocaine powder (weighing 51 grams), 93 ziplock packets of crystal meth (weighing 247,9 grams), 27 ziplock packets of cocaine powder (weighing 16,1 grams), 1616  ecstasy tablets, 100 glass pipes and 2 x 5 litre containers containing an undetermined liquid.

The recovered drugs are valued at R800 000-00. The suspect was detained for contravention of the drugs and drug trafficking Act as well as dealing and possession of drugs. He is appearing before the Durban Magistrates Court this morning.

Source: South African Police Service

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INDONESIA EFFORTS TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEM THROUGH MAKMUR PROGRAM

  • Makmur Program initiated to help farmers to increase their income and productivity through comprehensive and sustainable technical assistance and agriculture cultivation.
  • An ecosystem made up of a collaboration between state-owned companies to create full-service opportunities for farmers and agricultural stakeholders
  • A planting area of 250 thousand hectares targeted, with several priority commodities such as rice, corn, sugar cane, oil palm, and coffee

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ —  The Minister of State Owned Enterprises (SOE) of the Republic of Indonesia, Erick Thohir, initiated the Makmur Program since 2021 to help farmers to increase their income and productivity in Indonesia through comprehensive and sustainable technical assistance and agriculture cultivation.

Makmur Program is a collaboration of Indonesian state-owned companies in the Food and Fertilizers, Plantation and Forestry, Financial Services, and Insurance clusters which provides on-farm and off-farm technical assistance.

Makmur is an agriculture ecosystem which connects farmers and agriculture stakeholders from upstream to downstream which aligns with the G20 agenda, specifically continuation of economic growth from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The progression of the Makmur program is something we should keep our eyes on. As directed by the President, I will ensure that SOEs will play a role in supporting farmers and providing solutions, to level up their productivity and prosperity,” said Minister Thohir.

The ecosystem is a collaboration of state-owned companies in the Food and Fertilizers, Plantation and Forestry, Financial Services, and Insurance clusters. The Minister of SOEs supported Makmur by establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) led by Indonesia Food Holding Company (ID FOOD).

In addition to establish this ecosystem, Minister Thohir explained that Makmur also provides on-farm and off-farm technical assistance. On farm control consists of agro inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, pesticides. There is also support for soil analysis, fertilizer recommendations, agronomic and cultivation assistance, to the application of agricultural technology.

Off-farm assistance includes farmers receiving access to capital (banking loans to distributor financing), agricultural risk protection (insurance), licensing support and guidance from local governments, guarantees for buyers of crops from partners (off takers) with competitive prices, provision of training and capacity building.

This program is a comprehensive solution for the agricultural sector in Indonesia as previously, Indonesian farmers faced many problems, such as limited access to information, capital, markets, and technology required. In addition, some farmers have not implemented agricultural cultivation practices leading to low agricultural productivity and income.

The President Director of ID FOOD, Frans Marganda Tambunan, said that based on the combined data of state-owned companies until Semester I 2022, Makmur’s progress had been realized up to 60%. It has been implemented on areas of 184,305 hectares with a total of 84,431 farmers. This includes the realization of land expansion, supply of fertilizers, technical assistance, off-taking activity including the involvement of the private sector, and funding for People’s Business Credit from state-owned banks. Farmers experienced productivity and income improvement in all commodities.

This effort is intended to support the government in anticipating any potential food crisis. The program, a collaboration between ID FOOD as project leader with Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company (fertilizer sector), PTPN Holding Company (plantation sector), Perhutani (forestry sector), Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia (banking sector), Jasindo and Askrindo (insurance sector), Telkom Indonesia (telecommunication and media sector), and others stakeholders, provides access on-farm and off-farm assistances which will create a supportive ecosystem for agriculture stakeholders. “This synergy across SOEs is expected to mitigate a potential food crisis,” said Tambunan.

Meanwhile, President Director of Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company, Bakir Pasaman, revealed that the Makmur Program targets a number of agricultural crops, including rice, corn, sugar cane, oil palm, and coffee. This program has been implemented in many places across Indonesia, such as West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Lampung, North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara. “We are targeting this program to cover 250,000 hectares in 2022,” said Pasaman.

Not only bringing benefits to farmers, Makmur also provides benefits to all stakeholders and partners involved. The government can also guarantee the availability of food commodities nationally.

Twitter : @pupuk_indonesia

YouTube : PT Pupuk Indonesia Official

Instagram : @pt.pupukindonesia

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1934684/JAR02233.jpg