Day: May 23, 2022

WESTERN CAPE – Organised Crime detectives have initiated an investigation after three members of a family were shot and killed in Ekuphumleni, Khayelitsha on Sunday evening.

Lingelethu police were called out to Lindelwa Street where they found the bodies of two men and a woman with gunshot wounds. It is alleged that two armed men in dark clothes stormed the home at 20:10 and fired several shots. The ages of the deceased persons are 51, 53 and 57. Information gathered from the scene indicates all three victims were siblings.

The detectives are currently pursuing several leads as part of the investigation into the shooting incident. No arrests have been effected yet.

Source: South African Police Service

WESTERN CAPE – Members of the Provincial Task Team were busy with a stop and search operation in Hopland, Saldanha Bay, on Sunday, 22 May 2022, at around 19:30. When the convoy moved down Ferry Street, they spotted a suspicious male, who appeared to be very nervous. Upon searching the male, they confiscated a consignment of drugs. The 27-year-old man was arrested and detained on a charge of dealing in drugs. Once charged, he is expected to make a court appearance in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on the mentioned charge. 

In an unrelated matter, members of Operation Restore were busy with patrols near to Roos Street in Heinz Park on Sunday at round 19:30. Upon searching a male, they confiscated a firearm with ammunition. The 30-year-old man was arrested and detained on a charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Once charged the suspect will appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s court.

Source: South African Police Service

Human Settlements Minister and Head of Cabinet’s Economic Cluster, Mmamoloko Kubayi, will this week represent the South African Government at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

This year’s event will be held under the theme, “History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies”.

The Annual Meeting is the first global in-person leadership event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In a statement, the National Treasury said the 2022 Meeting will convene at the most consequential geopolitical and geo-economic moment of the past three decades and against the backdrop of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

“Government, business and civil society leaders will convene to simultaneously advance longstanding economic, environmental, political and societal priorities, security challenges, all the while reinforcing the foundations of a stable global system,” said the department.

Accompanied by a strong contingent of over 35 South African business representatives, Minister Kubayi will attend the meeting with the primary focus of promoting South Africa as an attractive investment destination.

In addition, the meeting will also provide an opportunity for the government to share an update on South Africa’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan, promote the country’s economic reforms, and advance important public-private partnerships to support the country’s development objectives.

Some of the key messages Team SA will focus on at WEF include: 

• unpacking government’s priorities for supporting higher levels of economic growth through areas such as infrastructure and industrial growth;
• outlining commitment to higher economic growth through faster implementation of structural reforms through Operation Vulindlela – a programme led by the Presidency and National Treasury to fast-track structural reform implementation in key sectors such energy and telecommunication;
• commitment to addressing climate change, the green economy, and transitioning to lower carbon emissions;
• commitment to deepening economic cooperation within the continent and globally and simulating trade; and
• implementing reforms that will support the Ease of Doing Business, such as reducing data costs and one-stop shops for setting up businesses.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Government has welcomed rating agency Standard &Poor’s (S&P) decision to revise South Africa’s credit rating outlook to positive from stable, while affirming the long term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB-’ and ‘BB’, respectively.

According to S&P, recent favourable terms of trade in South Africa have improved the external and fiscal trajectory, while the country’s reasonably large net external asset position, flexible currency and deep domestic capital markets provide strong buffers against shifts in external financing.

In addition, the agency expects South Africa to post a current account surplus in 2022 for the third consecutive year, as prices for key metals and mining exports have risen significantly since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

S&P also noted some improvement on the implementation of key reform targets under Operation Vulindlela – established in October 2020 as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms – as well as higher than-expected tax revenue.

The National Treasury in a statement said: “As stated in the 2021 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement and 2022 Budget, government is using a portion of the additional revenue to accelerate debt stabilisation, with the majority targeted to address urgent social needs, promote job creation through the presidential employment initiative, and support the public health sector.”

The department said faster implementation of economic reforms, accompanied by fiscal consolidation to provide a stable foundation for growth, would support a faster recovery and higher levels of economic growth over the long term.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is calling on community and small commercial media to apply for this year’s grant funding.

The application period has already commenced and will close on 1 July 2022.

In a statement, the agency said the grant funding is available for media projects in radio, television, print and digital publications, as well as small commercial print projects.

“Funding is one of the central factors towards ensuring successful empowerment, sustainability, and transformation of the community media sector. To this end, the application process will be effected through compliant, cost-effective, and transparent selection procedures, in-line with corporate governance principles and compliance with the Agency’s legislative framework,” the statement read.

Acting MDDA Chief Executive Officer Mzuvukile Kashe said the funding is aimed at putting community media control in the hands of those who previously could not access it.

“These grant funding applications aim to encourage media ownership, access and control particularly by historically disadvantaged communities and diminished indigenous language and cultural groups,” Kashe said.

Some of the criteria required for the grant funding include:

• The extent to which the project promotes media development and diversity.
• The likely impact of the project on historically disadvantaged communities and persons not adequately served by the media.
• The likely impact of the project on historically diminished indigenous language and cultural groups.
• The extent to which the project encourages ownership, control, participation and access to media by historically disadvantaged communities and persons.
• The extent to which the project develops human resources, training and capacity building within the media industry, especially among HDI’s.
• The quality and innovation of the project.
• Whether the project is likely to promote literacy and a culture of reading.
• Compliance with media laws.
• The existing or potential financial sustainability of the project.
• The independence of the project from any commercial media entity; any political party or the Government.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Government has once again demonstrated its commitment towards ensuring that local communities are supported and uplifted whilst also ensuring that the country’s unique natural environments and resources are conserved.

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, demonstrated this commitment through the formal launch of the Thohoyandou National Botanical Garden on Sunday as part of the International Day for Biodiversity celebrations.

International Day was celebrated under theme: “Building a shared future for all life,” which was aptly captured during the launch’s proceedings.

According to the Minister, the establishment of the Thohoyandou National Botanical Garden paves the way for future initiatives that aim to protect the country’s precious biodiversity and simultaneously uplifts and supports local communities, whereby South Africans continue to learn to build a shared future for all life.

“Conserving and restoring ecosystems, such as wetlands, rivers, and catchments, can reduce the disastrous impacts of extreme weather events, including floods and droughts,” Creecy said.

The Thohoyandou National Botanical Garden supplements South Africa’s network of national botanical gardens by contributing approximately 82 hectares of the Soutpansberg Mountain Bushveld. With only a mere 2.2% of this threatened vegetation type currently under formal protection, the declaration and launch serves as a conservation win for the country and its people. 

Situated within the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, the largest biosphere reserve in the country, the garden is home to a number of unique butterfly species, insects and threatened plant species. Of special importance, not just to conservation but also to the local communities are the various plant species that have important medicinal properties and value.

“South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) envisages that the plan for the Thohoyandou Garden will increase its educational value, financial viability and the interest and support of visitors, tourists, and the local community. We envisage the garden design where the choice of species represents multiple values of plants to the people, communicated in highly innovative, yet culturally appropriate ways,” said SANBI Chairperson, Prof Edward Nesamvuni.

The botanical garden is expected to play a role in highlighting and promoting indigenous plants that are used for food, African arts, medicine, perfumes, traditional architecture, horticulture, and agriculture, and a garden that serves to increase the connection between people and biodiversity.

The infrastructure that the garden hosts will serve as a biodiversity centre for the province, showcasing traditional botanical garden features and scientific research facilities.

“As a nature-based, cultural and scientific tourism attraction, the garden will contribute to the socio-economic development of the area, supporting the surrounding communities including the youth, students and local businesses. In addition to the conservation and socio-economic value that the garden has, it also holds insurmountable cultural significance especially to the Mphaphuli community members, who live in and around this area,” the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said.

Garden to support communities

The land, now included under the conservation estate of the country, was part of a land claim lodged by the Mphaphuli and Tshiluvhi communities, who were forcefully removed from their land in the past.

“These communities by agreeing to the governments offer of being financially compensated for their land and allowing their land to form part of a greater initiative, had already identified and appreciated the essence of what Building a shared future for all life, meant,” the department said.

This garden will continue to support communities by ensuring access to the ancestral gravesites and ruins; ensuring that there is historical acknowledgement through the naming of structures in the garden, including traditional designs adapted from the rich traditional knowledge of the Mphaphuli Community.

The garden will also host workshops for traditional leaders and healers to raise awareness around sustainable harvesting of medicinal plants; local students will also benefit from educational programmes; and overall, the garden will create temporary job opportunities for the local communities. 

“South Africa is equipped with a number of interventions to address the challenges faced by biodiversity and the negative impacts that has on people. Strategic implementation of these interventions and its translation into impactful actions will assist in maintaining a holistic approach to conservation whereby the relationship between nature and people is at the forefront,” the department said.

One such strategic policy intervention is the National Botanical Gardens Expansion Strategy published in 2019.

“The Strategy aims to firstly, establish at least one botanical garden in each province; secondly to ensure that all biomes are represented in the establishment of new botanical gardens and lastly to expand existing national botanical gardens as we have recently done for the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden in the Western Cape,’’ Creecy said.

The establishment, future developments and improvements to the Thohoyandou National Botanical Garden will be aligned to this strategy.

Source: South African Government News Agency