Category: General

On Tuesday, 28 September 2021, Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers will hand over the Sibanye Open Space and Play area, at the Sibanye Informal Settlement in Morreesburg, Swartland Municipality.

The handover will be done in partnership with the Swartland Municipality and the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Community Resource Centre (CORC).

CORC was appointed by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements(WCDoHS) in 2018, as part of the NGO Framework Agreement, to conduct skills training and capacity-building, community-based planning and enumeration in the Sibanye informal settlement. The project which concluded in 2019, was valued at just over R 1 million. The strong relationship which was formed with the community led to CORC funding the Play Park, without utilising any provincial funds. Swartland Municipality will be responsible for the maintenance of the park.

Minister Simmers said: “This clearly demonstrates what can be achieved when the different spheres of government, the NGO sector and the broader society work together to ensure that spaces and places are improved, so that the community can optimally benefit. As the Western Cape Government we’re delighted to have partners such as CORC that are willing to go the extra mile in serving our communities. I am looking forward to unveiling the Sibanye Open Space and Play area, as it will further enhance the area”.

The Sibanye Informal Settlement is testament to the ideals promoted by the Informal Settlement Support Programme (ISSP), as it relates to all 3 of the Strategic Objectives:

Upgrade settlements through access to land, services, public infrastructure and incremental housing opportunities;

Enhanced quality of life and active citizenship; and

Strengthened sector capability, governance and resources.

Source: Government of South Africa

On Sunday 26 September 2021 a 52-year-old female was arrested after she was found in possession of unlawful ammunition.

It is alleged that Cradock Public Order Police executed a search warrant after information was received.

The following were confiscated at the residence:

* 55 live rounds of ammunition,

* 1 magazine,

* 2 projectiles,

* 11 cartridges, and

* 53 grams of gun powder.

She will appear before the Cradock Magistrates’ Court on Monday 27 September 2021 on related charges.

Source: South African Police Service

Conflict between Cameroonians and local wildlife has led to street protests Saturday in the western village of Bakingili. Farmers and villagers say elephants are destroying their plantations and scores of houses, reportedly leading to the killing of two elephants this month. Authorities blame locals for occupying elephant habitats and caution against killing the endangered animals.

More than 200 villagers marched, demanding help in Bakingilli, a farming village in Cameroon’s English-speaking South-West region.

The villagers say elephants have destroyed more than 250 banana, plantain, corn and bean plantations. They say several dozen homes also have been destroyed by elephants in the past two months.

Vincent Njie, who says he is the spokesperson for the villagers, said Saturday’s protest is the third in two months. Njie said villagers do not understand why the government is reluctant to help kill or chase the animals out of Bakingili.

“The elephants come out even at daytime, scaring even school children. The principals (teachers) are even afraid to go to school because they think that if they go there they will meet elephants. Elephants should be evicted so that we continue our normal lives. Most of the people living in Bakinggili rely on farming. Please, we need help,” Nije said.

Bakingili lies at the foot of Mount Cameroon, known locally as Mount Fako. In 2009, Cameroon’s government created the 58,000-hectare Mount Cameroon National Park to protect biodiversity.

The government said that between 2009 to 2019, the elephant population in the park increased from less than 170 to about 300.

Delphine Ikome, the highest-ranking government wildlife official in Cameroon’s South-West region, says most of the forest where elephants live has been turned into plantations and villages, provoking conflicts between the gigantic animals and humans.

“These elephants that we are protecting have become a threat to the community around this protected area, the Mount Cameroon National Park. We have come here to appeal to the population of Bakingili, to tell them to conserve our protected areas to improve the livelihoods of our local communities,” Ikome said.

She said elephants are critically endangered because of habitat loss and fragmentation. She said elephants roam over long distances and play a key role in spreading tree seedlings to balance natural ecosystems and reduce climate change.

The villagers said they killed two elephants in the park this month. Wildlife officials have yet to confirm the deaths.

A conservation group, The Last Great Ape, or LAGA, has been protecting elephants in Cameroon. The group’s vice president, Eric Kabah Tah, says the government has a responsibility to protect both its citizens and its wildlife.

“The government should learn lessons from other areas where such conflicts have been successfully resolved through the use of some conservation methods to send away the animals and ensure that both parties live in peace. Certain sounds are played in such a way that it could scare off the wildlife. But there should be long-term solutions such that humans should be able to understand where the limits of their area is so that they don’t encroach into wildlife habitat to avoid such conflicts,” Tah said.

Cameroon has an estimated 6,500 elephants. Conservation groups such as LAGA say the country still has one of the largest elephant populations left in Africa.

Source: Voice of America

BLOEMFONTEIN – On Friday, 24 September 2021, Trompsburg Highway Police were doing their routine patrols on the N1 between Trompsburg and Edenburg when they spotted a suspicious grey Golf 5 and stopped it. Upon searching the vehicle, nine black bags of dagga were found on the back seat and inside the boot of the vehicle. The two suspects aged 38 and 39 were arrested.

While the police were processing the two suspects at the charge office, a white Polo sedan appeared and the occupants asked for the arresting officer. They allegedly offered the police officer an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for letting the suspects go. The officer refused and instead called for his crew who helped him search the vehicle. Crystal meth and other drugs suspected to be nyaope were found. The three suspects (driver and two occupants) aged 36, 37 and 47 in the Polo were also arrested.

The street value of the confiscated drugs (dagga, crystal meth and nyaope) is just over R900 000. All five suspects will appear in the Edenburg Magistrates Court on Monday, 27 September 2021 for possession of drugs and bribery.

Source: South African Police Service

NEBO – The South African Police Service in Nebo have launched a search operation for an elderly woman named Magajane Anna Mapadimeng, aged 85, from Eenkantaan village in the Nebo policing area.

It is alleged that she was last seen outside her house in early hours of Thursday, 23 September 2021, at about 03:00.

Police have conducted search operation at friends, relatives and surrounding areas with no success.

Anyone with information that can assist to locate the missing woman is requested to call Captain Mogawane on 082 573 4672, the Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or nearest Police station or submit detailed information through My SAPS App.

Police investigation and search operations are still continuing.

Source: South African Police Service