Day: March 5, 2024

The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Omusati Region are in pursuit of a pastor who allegedly raped two women and a minor on different occasions at Okandi village in the Etayi Constituency.

NamPol’s Omusati Regional Commander, Commissioner Ismael Basson, confirmed this on Monday, saying the incidents allegedly occurred between 09 and 24 February.

According to Basson, the victims are aged 17, 19 and 24, while the age of the suspect, who remains on the run, is unknown.

‘The suspect, who is the pastor and owner of the church where the victims attend, allegedly had sexual intercourse with them without their consent,’ he said.

Police investigations into the matter continue.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The deployment of a contingent of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the SADC Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) and the subsequent tragic deaths of Captain Simon Mkhulu Bobe and Lance Corporal Irven Thabang Semono have provided plenty of grist to the opinion mill.

It should. We are a democracy and this is a people’s defence force – and its role and its use should be debated.

There are major and justifiable concerns about budget implications. The lack of sufficient air cover for the mission and that this deployment might be fatally overstretching the SANDF’s capacity has been raised by some as a concern.

None of these are new concerns; successive chiefs of the SANDF have raised these precise issues in the past, along with their chiefs of service.

But these concerns ignore the reality that this deployment was not done in haste, nor without the requisite planning. There have been numerous discussions at the highest echelons of government about the need to support the SANDF i
n all its needs, including funding. There is a real commitment to do this.

We should also not forget three critical points in the current discourse, well intentioned or otherwise, about the SANDF.

The first is that the mission in the DRC is not solely a South African tasking but a request from the greater Southern African Development Community to ensure the stability of the region as the United Nations began its well-publicised drawdown of Monusco, its 20 year-long mission to stabilise the DRC, in December last year.

Secondly, there are other countries that will be also contributing to this mission, some of whom will be able to directly address the issue of air cover through the capabilities of their own air forces.

Thirdly, the SANDF has been part of Monusco since its inception, commanding the mission and regularly providing commanders for the smaller three-battalion strong multinational Force Intervention Brigade, the only UN force mandated to use force offensively.

The biggest issue of all though is p
eacekeeping. SA is a continental leader and has never shied away from the often onerous responsibility to lead these processes, participating from the front, if necessary, putting its money and its troops where its mouth is.

This is not an easy decision and it is not without risks, all of which weigh very heavily upon our commander-in-chief, President Cyril Ramaphosa; the political head; Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise; and chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, before deploying these national assets.

These soldiers are not conscripts, they are volunteers, but all of us know the risks that they will face in the field – and the sacrifices they may well be asked to make – to keep this peace.

It is easy for the keyboard warriors to argue that our horizons should be limited to our land, sea and air borders, but the reality is that the beating of a butterfly’s wings in Kivu or Goma could very well create an unstoppable tsunami in Johannesburg or Cape Town.

It’s too late to deal wit
h an insurgency not just on your doorstep but within your borders. This is part of the rationale for the SANDF’s participation in the SADC Mission in Mozambique (Samim) to keep the insurgency in Cabo Delgado at bay.

That is the apex threat – of war and terror in our cities and countryside, but there are other threats, too, of even more refugees seeking a better life in SA, potential economic and criminal risks which put further strain on our law enforcement agencies, the home affairs department, the department of social security and, indeed, our fiscus.

It is said that a stitch in time saves nine. It doesn’t help to just create nonporous borders, where the SANDF is already performing a yeoman and unheralded service as part of the ongoing Operation Corona.

We have to try to resolve issues and create the conditions that are crucial to allowing a sustainable and enduring state of peace on the continent that could otherwise threaten the way of life we aspire to, even though they are not our direct neighbours.

I
t is this philosophy that has guided the SANDF ever since the days of our first commander-in-chief Nelson Mandela, when he worked tirelessly to bring peace to the Great Lakes Region.

*Siphiwe Dlamini is Head of Communications at the Department of Defence.

**This article first appeared in The Citizen on 1 March 2024.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Ministers of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, and Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, have established a Technical Task Team to identify interventions with clear outcomes to manage the clearing of alien invasive plants at the Vaal River.

This follows public concerns relating to the use of the chemical, glyphosate, to clear alien invasive plants from the Vaal River by Rand Water.

In a joint statement, the departments said the task team, led by the Directors-General of the two departments and Chief Executive Officer of Rand Water, have identified immediate short- and long-term interventions with clear outcomes to manage the situation.

The immediate short-term interventions identified by the task team include the revision of the integrated control approach, which will assess the use of an herbicide that is registered with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

In the medium-term, compliance and enforcement interventions will be intensified against the so
urces of pollution that are driving this situation, while the long-term interventions include the review of the Vaal River Catchment Strategy relating to invasive alien aquatic species, in order to implement a strategy that will holistically address the situation.

‘Lastly, the refurbishment of the Rietspruit, Sebokeng and Leeukuil Wastewater Treatment Works will be fast-tracked to reduce pollution that is also contributing to the high eutrophication of the Vaal River System.

‘Multiple control strategies deployed simultaneously (biological, chemical and manual removal of alien invasives) are currently under investigation by the task team since a sustainable solution is required to manage the situation,’ the departments said.

The spraying of glyphosate over water hyacinth choking up the Vaal River has been stopped due to safety concerns.

Source: South African Government News Agency

A successful operation conducted by a border police team at Musina near the Beitbridge Port of Entry on Sunday has resulted in the seizure of counterfeit goods.

The team also recovered an inflatable boat believed to be used for illegal crossings of the Limpopo River between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

‘During the operation, members of the SAPS OR Tambo International Airport Border Police intercepted a smuggling attempt and seized one inflatable boat, 25 litres of diesel, counterfeit cigarettes and liquor that were being smuggled between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

‘Despite some suspects managing to evade arrest by fleeing on foot and crossing the Limpopo River, homemade wooden bridges used for illegal crossings were successfully dismantled during the operation,’ said the police in a statement.

In a separate incident, nine male Zimbabwean nationals were apprehended by the Vhembe District Proactive Police for contravening the Immigration Act during a separate Vala Umgodi operation.

These individuals were arr
ested less than 10km from Beitbridge.

The Department of Home Affairs Immigration Office was engaged for immediate deportation of the illegal immigrants.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is expected to present a Gas Master Plan to Cabinet this month to address gas supply in the country.

This is according to DMRE Minister Gwede Mantashe, who delivered the opening address at the Africa Energy Indaba held in Cape Town.

Recent media reports have suggested that South Africa may run out of natural gas supply in 2026, which could have devastating consequences for jobs and manufacturing.

In his written speech, the Minister said government has ‘noted concerns regarding the current and future gas supply in the South African market due to commercial disputes between Sasol and its customers’.

‘Our understanding is that this is in relation to the gas flow decline at source. It is a known fact that natural gas, like other natural resources, is a finite resource and therefore, Sasol reaching a cliff in its gas block in Mozambique is not an anomaly.

‘Having noted this eventuality, we, together with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (d
tic), have established a task team that includes private sector players to develop a joint strategy that will ensure a seamless transition and business continuity, thus ameliorating potential job losses. The DMRE has also completed all the modelling and drafting work for the country’s Gas Master Plan, which we intend to present to Cabinet this month,’ the Minister said.

Mantashe emphasised the importance for African countries to invest in gas infrastructure also as a means of transitioning from high carbon emitting energy sources.

‘In its 72nd edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, the Energy Institute states that fossil fuel consumption as a percentage of primary energy remains steady at 82%, whereas renewables’ share of primary energy consumption reached 7.5% in 2022.

‘In the same year, the European Union taxonomy declared both nuclear and gas as sustainable and part of transitional activities. It is, therefore, crucial for African nations to invest in gas infrastructure, including expansion
of pipelines.

‘It is in this context that iGas, a subsidiary of the Central Energy Fund (CEF), acquired an additional 40% ownership of the ROMPCO [Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company] pipeline, resulting in both South Africa and Mozambique jointly owning 80% of the pipeline,’ he said.

To solidify gas supply further, South Africa has entered into a gas sales agreement with the Mozambican State-owned hydrocarbon company which has the potential to ‘deliver up to 200 petajoules of natural gas’.

‘To breathe life into this agreement, PetroSA, another subsidiary of CEF [Central Energy Fund], has applied for a gas trading licence with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa [NERSA]. We are convinced that the granting of this licence will ensure continuous gas supply,’ the Minister said.

According to the Minister, South Africa has also made ‘significant new finds of natural gas’.

‘The discovery of gas by TotalEnergies in the Outeniqua Basin, and the discovery of maiden gas reserves by Kineti
ko Energy in Amersfoort, Mpumalanga, are strategically placed to strengthen South Africa’s energy security and propel the quest for industrialisation that will bring about growth and development,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The African Management Development Institutes’ Network (AMDIN) has elected new leadership to steer the organisation forward.

AMDIN held its elective general assembly in Mombasa, Kenya, and was hosted by the Kenya School of Government.

The new leadership is expected to build state capacity and enhance partnerships and collaboration among schools of government and administration on the African continent.

AMDIN is over a decade old and is an association of schools of government on the African continent. The organisation runs a successful academic journal, The Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, which is printed in three languages: English, French and Portuguese. It convenes joint training programmes and academic exchanges.

The newly elected Members of the Executive Committee of AMDIN are Directors-General of their respective schools of government or public administration and are the following:

President: Guillaume Wakimesa Banga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Secretary-General:
Busani Ngcaweni, South Africa (RSA)

Vice President North Africa: Nada Biaz (Morocco)

Vice President Central Africa: Gladys Njoukiang (Cameroon)

Vice President West Africa: Kwaku Bonsu (Ghana)

Vice President East Africa: James Nkata (Uganda)

Vice President Southern Africa: Royson Mukwena (Zambia)

The General Assembly designated South Africa’s National School of Government as the permanent secretariat of ADMIN.

Secretary-General Ngcaweni said through AMDIN, a new cadre of African civil servant can be developed and shaped ‘steeped in ideals of Pan-African and continental integration especially in the areas of trade, trans-national infrastructure development, poverty alleviation and effective governance’.

‘That will be our agenda during this two-year tenure, to shape ideas that advances Agenda 2063,’ Ngcaweni said.

AMDIN is in the process of finalising a programme called Governance in Africa (AfGOV), a postgraduate diploma that will be co-delivered with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) for publ
ic servants in the continent.

The National School of Government, working with other training institutes in the continent, will offer a curriculum on the African Charter on Values and Principles of Public Service in Africa as an online programme.

Source: South African Government News Agency