Day: May 5, 2022

The Police in KwaZulu-Natal have mobilised all resources to apprehend suspects who shot and killed an off-duty police officer outside a school in Umbilo, Durban.

On Wednesday afternoon at about 14:15, fifty-two-year-old Warrant Officer Michael Jameson was picking up his daughter from a school in Umbilo when he noticed a hijacking in progress. The member immediately placed himself on duty and responded to the incident.

Upon noticing that the member was armed, the suspects opened fire. The member returned fire but sadly succumbed to his injuries on the scene.

Police in Kwa-Zulu Natal have since mobilised all resources to track and trace down the suspects.

Two vehicle’s including a vehicle that was hijacked outside the school in Umbilo and another that was hijacked in Hammersdale by the pair have been found abandoned. This after the pair crashed both vehicles as they were evading arrest.

The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola says police are working around the clock to apprehend those responsible for the murder of the late member.

“The late Warrant Officer died a hero as he died serving and protecting the people of this country. He indeed served with pride as he placed himself on duty and put the safety of his community before his own. Let me take this opportunity to pay gratitude to the deceased member. The bell has rung, thank you for your service and dedication to serve and protect. We will not rest until the late member’s killers are traced and apprehended to answer to this callous act”, said General Fannie Masemola.

General Masemola has sent his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the late member.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these suspects are encouraged to contact their nearest police station or call the Crime Stop Hotline number on 0860010111. Callers are reminded that they may remain anonymous.

 

 

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow, Friday, 6 May 2022, officiate the launch of Anglo American’s nuGen™️ Zero Emission Haulage Solution.

The launch of the haulage solution, which is a hydrogen-powered, ultra-class mine haul truck, will take place at the Mogalakwena PGM mine in Mokopane, Limpopo.

Anglo American’s nuGen™️ Zero Emission Haulage Solution is designed to operate fully laden with a payload of 290 tonnes in conventional mine conditions.

The use of this technology demonstrates the efficiency of hydrogen in the heaviest classes of transport and the role it can play in the transition toward a low carbon future.

This innovative investment fulfills part of the pledges made by Anglo American at the South Africa Investment Conference to contribute to the expansion of the South African economy, including assisting South African industry to achieve a clean energy future.

President Ramaphosa will as part of the launch activities observe the working demonstration of the nuGen™️ hydrogen-powered truck and join a guided tour of Anglo American’s on-site hydrogen production, storage and refuelling complex, which incorporates the largest electrolyser in Africa.

South Africa is committed, as a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement, to a just transition, a low carbon economy and a climate-resilient society.

South Africa is party to an historic agreement signed in 2021 with France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union to mobilise an initial $8.5 billion over the next three to five years through a range of instruments, including grants and concessional finance, to support the implementation of our revised NDC through a just transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy.

Following his tour of the mine the President will deliver an address at the formal proceedings of the launch of the nuGen™️ Zero Emission Haulage Solution.

 

Source: Government of South Africa

Eulogy by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the funeral service of Mr Silumko Sokupa, Heartfelt Arena, Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria

 

Programme Directors, Minister Thoko Didiza and Mr Lumko Mtimde,
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana,
The wife of our late brother, Dr Siphokazi Sokupa,
Members of the Sokupa Family,
Former President Thabo Mbeki,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Leaders of political parties and formations,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Comrades and friends,
Fellow Mourners,

It is with great sadness that I stand before you today to bid farewell to one of the veterans of our liberation struggle, a respected member of the intelligence community, and a fine and upstanding public servant.

Silumko Sokupa, or Bra Soks as we affectionately called him, was part of a generation that fought fiercely in the 1970s and 1980s for the attainment of freedom.

He was one of the generation charged with translating the theoretical perspectives of his movement, the African National Congress, into policies that would make freedom meaningful.

With the advent of democracy, Bra Soks was one of those given the task of forging a new democratic state with the capacity and the orientation to build a better life for all.

Like many of his generation, Bra Soks was conscientised during the late 1960s in the Black Consciousness Movement led by Steve Bantu Biko.

He was part of the generation that kept alive the flames of liberation that the apartheid regime sought to extinguish by imprisoning our leaders or forcing them into exile.

His political grounding in the South African Students Organisation, where he served as Secretary General, was to establish in him a life-long commitment to improving the conditions of the South African people.

Beyond the broader struggle for national liberation, Bra Soks and his peers sought very practical solutions to the challenges that faced our people on a daily basis.

Armed with very few resources, but driven by great conviction, they set up health facilities, law clinics, adult literacy programmes and other initiatives that had a direct impact on the daily existence of black South Africans.

When the apartheid regime intensified its repression, Bra Soks took the difficult decision to leave the country and join the liberation movement in exile.

He worked tirelessly in the underground and played an important role in the ANC’s intelligence work.

After the unbanning of the liberation movement, Bra Soks played a pivotal role in rebuilding the structures of the organisation in the Eastern Cape.

Despite his preference to provide leadership from the background, he was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC Border Region in 1991.

His election, as someone who had just returned from exile, speaks volumes about his leadership capacity and the high regard in which he was held within the structures of the mass democratic movement.

Those who served with him in the Regional Executive Committee remarked that his quiet but firm leadership style was highly appreciated by all.

He was deeply principled, and never sought positions, publicity or personal wealth.

These leadership features, being quiet but firm, were important because the complexities of our transition to democracy demanded nothing less.

Bra Soks was a dedicated public servant who served with distinction in every position he occupied and every responsibility he was given.

He played a particularly significant role in the transformation and development of our intelligence services.

He understood, more than many, the place of intelligence in a democratic society.

He understood the purpose of the intelligence services as guardians of the people, of their rights and of their Constitution.

In a difficult field of work, in an environment often shrouded in secrecy and intrigue, he stood firm on the preeminence of the Constitution and the rule of law.

It must have been deeply distressing for him – as a member of the High-Level Review Panel on the State Security Agency – to witness how far our intelligence services had strayed from their essential purpose.

I remain extremely appreciative of the insight, diligence and integrity that he brought to this work.

I am grateful to Bra Soks and his fellow panel members not only for exposing the severe weaknesses in the agency, but for providing a clear roadmap towards the agency’s recovery and restoration.

I am similarly grateful to him and to Prof Sandy Africa and Adv Mojanku Gumbi for their outstanding work in probing government’s response to the public violence and destruction that occurred in parts of our country in July last year.

In undertaking these tasks, Bra Soks was honest and measured, deliberate and principled.

Where he found fault, he sought solutions.

Throughout this work – indeed throughout his life – he remained true to his character and true to his convictions.

He remained true to his movement, but most of all, he remained true to the people.

It was out of his deep love of his people that was born his deep disappointment at the extent of corruption in our society.

He saw state capture and corruption as an assault on the poor and vulnerable.

He saw it as an act of counter-revolution, eroding the democratic state and stealing the resources meant to improve people’s lives.

Corruption and state capture constituted the very antithesis of what he stood for: service to the people without expectation of any personal material gain.

In honour of Bra Soks, we must remain resolute in our work to end corruption and state capture.

We must not waiver in our efforts to renew and rebuild the movement that he so diligently served.

We must forge ahead with the restoration of the integrity and credibility of the intelligence services, our law enforcement agencies and all our public institutions.

Most of all, we must pick up the spear where it has fallen, and pursue with greater urgency and purpose the achievement of a democratic society that is free, peaceful and just.

Let us learn from him the qualities of selflessness, sacrifice, hard work, discipline and love for the people.

We will always remember Silumko Sokupa as a brother, a husband, a father, a teacher, a disciplined cadre, a consummate professional and a humble leader.

May his rest be as peaceful as he was and long may his revolutionary spirit live.

I thank you.

 

 

Source: Government of South Africa

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Ms Thoko Didiza, will on 6 and 7 May 2022 handover a railway siding machine, farming implements and title deeds to the five Melmoth communities in KwaZulu-Natal.

The South African Farmers Development Association (SAFDA) was appointed by DALLRD to implement the Mkhuze Rail Siding Transloading Facility Project on behalf of the 1 900 Makhathini small-scale sugarcane farmers. DALLRD funded the project for the Makhathini small-scale farmers to the amount of R38 million.

This will enhance their meaningful participation in the sugarcane sector whilst simultaneously transitioning them to the mainstream players role in this lucrative business sector. The Minister will also handover Machinery and Farming equipment to the value of R10 Million as part of the operationalisation of uMkhanyakude District Sugarcane Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSU).

The Minister will also handover Settlement Certificates and Title Deeds to the five Melmoth communities. The Minister will hand over to the four communities some of the equipment that has been acquired using the development funding. The cumulative value of the both the land acquisition and development funding figures is over R1 billion

 

 

Source: Government of South Africa

The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Mr Buti Manamela, will launch the Veterinary Guidance Awareness Campaign Programme at the Sunnyside Hotel, Parktown.

In an effort to address the severe shortage of veterinarians and associated skills in South Africa, the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) is embarking on a Veterinary Career Guidance Awareness Programme.

Internationally, the norm is to have between 200 and 400 vets per million of the country’s population and South Africa has around 60 – 70 vets per million.

HWSETA is also committed to the transformation of the veterinary profession in South Africa.

Key to this is reaching out to students in rural areas where there is less awareness around animal health.

As part of the career guidance programme, HWSETA will be visiting schools in rural areas to encourage learners to consider veterinary services as a career path.

Greater veterinary and paraveterinary awareness requires appropriate support by all sectors to ensure adequate education, training, mentorship, transformation and development.

You are invited to attend the launch of this crucial career guidance programme.

 

 

Source: Government of South Africa