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Analyst Calls For Rejuvenation of South Africa’s Police Leadership as Crime Stats Released

South African police say 10,000 new officers will be on the streets by Christmas after a jump in violent crime, with murders up 14%, car-jackings up 24%, and kidnappings doubling. Police say 7,000 people, almost 1,000 of them women, were murdered between July and September and 10,000 women were raped in those three months. The disturbing trend comes just ahead of Friday’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The crime figures from July to September were announced by the Minister of Police Bheki Cele.
“The crime stats show that aggression and violence are at worrying levels in South Africa,” Cele said.
Cele has promised citizens that the 10,000 additional officers will make a difference during the Christmas holiday period and beyond.
But crime analyst at the Institute for Security Studies Gareth Newman is skeptical. He says the crime stats show that the upward trend in murders that started over a decade ago has continued and increased and the rate of increase has worsened.
He says government’s crime fighting efforts are failing.
“They simply are not able to utilize the vast resources of the state. We’re talking about your large criminal justice budget around R140, R150-billion ($8.8 billion) annually,” Newman said. “A police organization of almost 180,000 personnel simply aren’t able to utilize the resources effectively in a manner that brings the perpetrator to justice”
For example, Newman says from 2012 until last year the ability of the South African police service to solve murders has dropped by 50 percent.
He has urged the president and the minister of police to take note of the reports from at least five government-sponsored commissions of inquiry or panels of experts looking into policing over the last ten years, and to make the necessary changes.
“We need a completely new rethink starting with the rejuvenation of the top management echelon of the South African police service ,because that is where the problem starts. That management structure is at war with itself,” Newman said.
The founder of the non-governmental organization 1,000 Women, 1 Voice, Tina Thiard, agrees that there is much room for improvement in the criminal justice system.
She and her team are getting ready to participate in the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which starts Friday.
They will be hosting circles for women called Hear Me Too in communities.
“But on a national scale we are organizing postcards to the president and on the postcards we will give them solutions, the solutions that we as women have come up with,” Thiard said.
And what are some of the suggestions?
“To strengthen our relationship between police and community-based organizations where they work together,” Thiard said. “Not just on a police forum but actually in police stations, also to train a lot more lay legal supporters so that women can be accompanied to the various services they need the police, the courts, the clinics.”
Thiard says they are also training women in rural areas to take in GBV victims until they can get to places of safety.

Source: Voice of America

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South Africa, Vietnam bolster trade ties

JOHANNESBURG— The 5th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting to enhance Bilateral Economic Relations between South Africa and Vietnam is currently underway at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

The two-day JTC meeting which will wrap up on Nov 24, is held annually on an alternate basis, is intended to enhance bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

This year’s session is chaired by the Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister, Nomalungelo Gina, together with her counterpart from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Vice Minister Do Thang Hai.

According to Gina, points for discussion at this year’s JTC meeting cover trade promotion and facilitation, including market access for South Africa’s agricultural products to Vietnam; cooperation on investment promotion and facilitation in the automotive sector; cooperation on capacity building in the furniture sector, and cooperation on mineral resources.

“At the 4th JTC meeting, which took place in Vietnam in 2019, we had affirmed that South Africa considers Vietnam as an important partner in South-east Asia, and we had undertaken to continue working closely together in carrying out measures to strengthen friendship and economic, trade and investment relations.

“Unfortunately, our momentum to concretise these concessions was dealt a devastating blow by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we have learned to coexist with the pandemic, we will ensure that these goals are achieved speedily,” Gina said.

A discussion on measures to remove bottlenecks and create more optimal conditions for trade, investment and business partnerships will also take place, according to the Deputy Minister.

“We will look into solutions to boost our economies’ connectivity, expand markets for each other’s goods, and capitalise on their strengths and resources to help with each country’s development,” Gina said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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South Africa: Biovac signs deal to manufacture oral cholera vaccine

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 24 (NNN-SANEWS) — South African-based bio-pharmaceutical company, Biovac, has concluded a ground-breaking licensing and technology transfer agreement to manufacture an oral cholera vaccine (OCV).
According to a statement released on Wednesday, this is a partnership with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), a non-profit international organisation headquartered in South Korea.
“The project is significant for Biovac as it enables drug substance manufacturing capability to be built, that is, production of the antigen or raw material needed to manufacture actual vaccines,” the company said.
“This is one of the remaining steps in the vaccine manufacturing value chain that is currently missing, not only at Biovac but across the African vaccine manufacturing landscape.”
The company, which is partly owned by the South African government, said the agreement comes at a time when cholera outbreaks are wreaking havoc on fragile health systems in Pakistan, Nigeria and Malawi.
“This places additional demand on already-limited supply of cholera vaccines globally.”
According to Biovac, the extent of recent cholera outbreaks has escalated while there has been an increasing gap between supply and demand for cholera vaccines.
The partnership with IVI aims to licence and transfer technology to increase production volumes to reduce the critical shortage of vaccines needed to prevent cholera globally.
Biovac believes that after many decades, this will be a critical step forward for vaccine production in Africa.
“This is in a market in Africa where less than 1% of vaccines are locally manufactured and where infectious diseases are still the leading cause of death, especially in children under five years.”
The agreement is underpinned by collective support of R120 million ($6.9 million) from Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the first phase of the project.
This will allow Biovac to expand its capabilities from filling and packaging of vaccine vials to end-to-end vaccine product development and drug substance manufacture.
Biovac CEO, Dr Morena Makhoana, said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed Africa’s lack of local production capacity.
“It became clear that increasing self-sufficiency is important if Africa is to have better control over its own public health and vaccine supply chains.”
For African vaccine manufacture to be sustainable, Makhoana said the continent needs to ensure that research and development, technology transfers, scale-up, drug substance manufacture and licensing all take place on African soil.
“This initiative will be the beginning of end-to-end vaccine manufacture at Biovac, while at the same time addressing an ongoing and increasing cholera disease burden globally.”
The technology transfer process will commence in January 2023, with the first clinical trial batches expected to be produced in 2024.
Meanwhile, the licensing of the product by the South African National Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is expected to be concluded in 2026 alongside World Health Organisation (WHO) prequalification certification.
“Through this and other projects, Biovac plans to attain WHO pre-qualification. We will then be well placed to supply United Nations agencies such as WHO and UNICEF/GAVI as many African countries and other least developed countries source their vaccines through this mechanism.”
The Director of IVI’s Cholera Program, Dr Julia Lynch, said the IVI’s technical know-how and required materials to produce OCV have been transferred to four different manufacturers to date.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Crime against women in South Africa remains “worryingly high” – Police Minister

PRETORIA— Police Minister Bheki Cele has once again raised concern at South Africa’s alarming rate of crimes against women and children.
This after Quarter 2 of 2022 crime statistics saw a double-digit percentage increase for murder, attempted murder and assault GBH [grievous bodily harm] against women. The Minister on Wednesday released the statistics, which reflected the country’s crime trends between July and September 2022.
Addressing media, Cele said the rate at which women are abused, violated and killed in South Africa remains worrying and unacceptable.
“Many are killed by the people they know, people they love and trust,” he said.
In the reporting period, Cele revealed that over 13, 000 women were victims of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
While 1,277women were victims of attempted murder, 989 women were murdered during this reporting period.
Over the three months, the Minister said over 10,000 rape cases were opened with the South African Police Service (SAPS).
“From a sample of 8,227 rape incidents that were perused, it was determined that 5,083,which is 62%, of these incidents occurred at the residence of the victims or perpetrators. [A total of] 1,651 of the rape incidents occurred at public places such as streets, parks and beaches,” the Minister said.
At least 69 people were raped at abandoned buildings.
The Minister said Mpumalanga was the only province to report a decrease in rape incidents.
“Inanda police station in KwaZulu-Natal, Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and Delft in the Western Cape are the three top stations with the highest rape cases.
“Buses, taxis, trains and other modes of public transport were the third most likely places of occurrence for rape incidents,” Cele said.
The Minister said the statistics were indicative of communities that continue to fail to protect children.
Shockingly, in just six months, 558 children were killed in South Africa between April to September 2022.
In this regard, Cele said police were investigating 294 attempted murder dockets opened between July and September 2022.
A total of 1,895 assault GBH cases, with children as victims, were opened with the police during this reporting period.
“It is on this note that the SAPS continues to prioritise gender-based violence (GBV) related crimes,” said the Minister.
Between July and September this year, the FCS [Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences] unit arrested 4,375 perpetrators of crimes committed against women and children.
“Police traced and arrested 410 rapists during this reporting period. Sixty-eight of them have been sentenced to life behind bars,” Cele said.
Cele said the Ministry remains extremely concerned about rape at educational premises.
Over the three-month reporting period, 83 rapes occurred at educational facilities, including schools and tertiary institutions.
“One needs to take into cognizance that educational facilities refer to the scene of the crime and should not be interpreted to imply that all perpetrators and or victims were pupils or students,” he said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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South Africa Pres Ramaphosa’s UK State Visit to drive economic growth, turbocharge infrastructure investment

LONDON, Nov 23 (NNN-SANEWS) — The United Kingdom and South Africa will join forces to drive economic growth and turbocharge infrastructure investment, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

He said this at the start of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s formal State Visit.

The UK government said the next phase of the UK-South Africa Infrastructure Partnership, launched Tuesday, supporting South Africa’s economic growth through major infrastructure developments and offering increased access to UK companies in projects worth up to £5.37 billion over the next three years.

“The UK government will also confirm new grant-funded technical assistance to South Africa to help unlock green hydrogen opportunities and boost skills in this key sector.

“As an example of the opportunities for UK businesses, Globeleq – a UK company that is majority owned by British International Investment – is today announcing they have reached legal close on six solar power projects, with construction expected to kick off in South Africa next year,” the UK government said in a statement.

South Africa is the continent’s second largest economy and is already the UK’s biggest trading partner in Africa, with trade worth £10.7 billion annually. Unlocking export finance offers significant opportunities for British businesses to invest and trade.

Ramaphosa is in London for a two-day state visit, hosted by King Charles III.

“After attending a State banquet for the South African delegation this (Tuesday) evening at Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister will welcome Ramaphosa to Downing Street for a bilateral meeting and lunch on Wednesday,” said the UK government.

Sunak in the statement said: “South Africa is already the UK’s biggest trading partner on the continent, and we have ambitious plans to turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together.

“I look forward to welcoming President Ramaphosa to London this week to discuss how we can deepen the partnership between our two great nations and capitalise on shared opportunities, from trade and tourism and security and defence.”

He said new education and skills partnership between the UK and the South African governments would also promote “shared learning in technical and vocational education, driving youth employment”.

UK funding will build the highly sought-after technical and entrepreneurial skills in the biggest growth sectors, including green technology and electric vehicle manufacture, ensuring South Africa’s youth are benefitting from the green transition.

Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said the UK’s relationship with South Africa was hugely important to the country.

“Together, we are working to deliver for the British and South African people, creating jobs, enhancing trade and investment, and boosting inclusive economic growth.

“This week’s State Visit, the first under His Majesty The King, is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our ties but also allows us to trigger greater growth, create even more opportunities for British and South African businesses alike, and further promote South Africa’s transition to green energy,” he said.

The Foreign Secretary said the South Africa Just Energy Transition Partnership, launched at COP26, also offers new opportunities to collaborate on renewable technology and green innovation.

“The UK and South Africa are today announcing the creation of a new Partnership on Minerals for Future Clean Energy Technologies to promote increased responsible exploration, production and processing of minerals in South and Southern Africa.

“Countries in the region are among the world’s leading producers of vital minerals used in clean technology, including the platinum group metals and iridium for hydrogen production and vanadium and manganese for battery storage. This partnership will utilise the UK’s expertise as the home to leading global mining houses, and financial services centre for metals to bolster sustainable and responsible production,” he said.

Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said the UK is today moving into a new era of its dynamic trade relationship with South Africa, “with exciting collaboration on infrastructure, clean technology, and renewable energy sources”.

“These new opportunities will unlock trade and investment for businesses from the Eastern Cape to East Anglia and boost growth, create jobs and future-proof our economies against a changing world,” she said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Men called to champion fight against GBV, spread of HIV: South African minister

PRETORIA— South Africa’s Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, says men are champions of change in preventing the spread of HIV, and addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in communities.

“One of the key tasks in preventing gender-based violence in all its forms is to enlist the active participation of men in all communities throughout the 52 districts and metropolitan municipalities of our country,” Zulu said in Parliament on Tuesday.

She was addressing the occasion of the National Men’s Parliament.

The Minister commended the participation of men who have voiced their commitment to non-violence.

“Toxic masculinity puts pressure on boys to be tough and emotionless. These societal constructs of what it means to be a man are extremely harmful to the boys who are being socialised into them, to the men that they become, to our families and to all of society,” Zulu said.

She said all men can play a part in dismantling the stigma around mental health by supporting men to access psycho-social support services, particularly mental health support.

“It is really important that we do that because men in general are less likely to seek assistance when faced with family, health, societal, and economic challenges. It is particularly important that we have met here over the last two days to foreground men’s agenda and to reflect on the state of the South African men.

“Gone are the days when men were only seen as providers or disciplinarians in families. Men have a critical role to play, particularly with respect to correctly nurturing and socialising their children.”

Zulu said men who champion change help in the fight against the multiple social challenges such as HIV, substance abuse and child pregnancies.

“They are not part of these problems. They are on the side of the positive solutions; real solutions that go to the heart of manhood are needed. This starts with building safe spaces by men, for men and with men.

Zulu said the perceptions of being overlooked when employment and empowerment opportunities arise are real among men.

“These frustrations, which turn into violent expressions, need alternative avenues and language[of expression]… We do know that many men do not abuse their partners and children. These are the men who continuously strive to embody respect and dignity.”

The National Men’s Parliament is part of Parliament’s initiative to address sector-specific challenges in order to develop a coordinated national plan of action on the role that men should play in the fight against gender-based violence.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK