Day: June 22, 2022

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development today inaugurated a two-day workshop to validate the draft report on Seed System Analysis in the IGAD Region in Addis Ababa.

The meeting is bringing together representatives from Member States’ Ministries of Agriculture, National Seed Authorities, farmers’ organisations, seed management private companies, other Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and sub-regional and international agricultural research institutions.

These sessions aims to validate the draft report on “Seed System Analysis in the IGAD Region” that will serve as a guide to collective activities and harmonised policies by Member States and other key stakeholders.

According to Dr Eshete Dejen, Programme Manager at the IGAD Agriculture and Environment Division: “This project engaged national governments, IGAD, local entrepreneurs and farmers to deploy new, high-yielding, climate-resilient seeds, modern farming knowledge and yield-enhancing good farming practices such as early-maturing, disease-resistant varieties and related crop management practices”. “It’s our strong belief that this collaboration in the agricultural input supply chain interventions will go far in addressing the issues the region has been facing in this unpredictable and challenging times,” he continued.

Ato Wondale Habtamu, Deputy Director General of the newly established Ethiopian Authority of Agriculture, in his opening remarks said that Ethiopia was happy “to be part of IGAD’s regional initiative to support seed system development and facilitate regional trade”. “We would like to see inter-REC partnerships for synergistic effects, rather than repeating similar process steps. In short, IGAD does not need to re-invent the wheel, but add up to and use what has been already achieved,” he declared before officially opening the meeting.

The Seed Systems Group, through the financial support of IFAD, has granted funding to IGAD to implement the regional component of ‘Building Back Better: Rural Livelihoods Recovery Initiative for the Greater Horn of Africa’ project. The project aims to address the farm input needs of the most vulnerable farmers and pastoralists of the four countries that are Djibouti, Eretria, Somalia , and South Sudan).

Source: Inter Governmental Authority of Development

There is a need for young people, especially women, to follow a career path in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries.

This emerged during a dialogue hosted by Government Communications (GCIS) jointly with the Department of Science and Innovation on Wednesday.

The webinar was hosted to celebrate the contribution of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries.

The event was hosted as part of the Youth Month campaign aimed at inspiring, engaging, and encouraging young women to consider a career in STEM related fields.

According to the UNESCO report titled: “Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in STEM,” only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally are women.

One of the participants, Dr Thulile Khanyile, Scientist, Social Entrepreneur and co-founder of Nka’Thuto EduPropeller, expressed concern on the number of women involved in STEM.

She said the use of technology is on the increase.

“We use science, technology engineering and mathematical products on a daily basis, so we cannot exclude the general public from participating in STEM.

“We need to have women in stem talking about the subject matters and the solutions that they are bringing. We need to increase the participation of women to ensure that we have diverse teams, so that these diverse teams can come up with more diverse and more inclusive solutions,” she said.

Dr Mamoeletsi Mosia, Managing Director of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) at the National Research Foundation (NRF), said they are tasked with communicating science, engineering, technology and innovation to the broader society.

Mosia said technology and innovation in general is needed and that it is something that must be passed on to society.

“I feel that if we start at the student level, we’ve already missed the boat, the boat actually starts at the parents. They need to understand what it is that if a child says ‘I want a career in biochemistry’ what it is that I will be doing.

“We need to talk to the parents, we need to talk to society and that’s where we start educating society in general. We [are] making science interesting for learners. We have science labs in schools,” she said.

Young people involved in STEM

Scientist and PhD candidate at the University of Washington, Zakithi Mkhize, is pursuing her PhD in biology.

“Not a lot of people have the opportunity to study further; I’ve been funded by NRF throughout my postgraduate studies and my masters.

“I’ve been with an organisation that is really passionate about transformation and having a young black woman in the forefront,” she said.

Mkhize said she regarded herself as a STEM activist.

Inam Kula, Architectural Engineer at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, said her architectural journey has been a difficult one.

“It hasn’t been easy so most of my degrees I studied for at UCT [University of Cape Town], so I have my Bachelor’s, Honours and my Masters. She also completed a post graduate diploma in planning at the University of the Witwatersrand.

“So I think there are many hindrances that prevent people from becoming architects and I think one of them is the portfolio. To get into architecture school, you have to have a portfolio that you apply with, and this is quite a stringent portfolio which has quite a lot of requirements.

“I think there’s [also] the issue of finances, architecture is really an expensive course and it requires a lot of resources,” Kula said.

Despite the tremendous progress towards increasing women participation in science-related fields, a significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of STEM disciplines all over the world. In South Africa, only 13% of graduates in STEM fields are women.

The webinar was aimed at creating a platform to discuss gender disparities between men and women in STEM fields, celebrate milestones achieved by women in male dominated industries and encouraging young women to venture into STEM careers.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The COP President Alok Sharma and a delegation of Ministers from the South African government has welcomed the progress made thus far in advancing the long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Following an engagement between the Conference of the Parties (COP26) President and the Head of the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team, Daniel Mminele, a meeting was held on Tuesday in Pretoria between Sharma and a delegation of seven cabinet members.

Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele; the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor; the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana; the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy; the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan; the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe; and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel met with Sharma.

In a joint statement, Sharma and the Ministers said the meeting reflected on the progress made since COP26 in advancing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) as a groundbreaking initiative to enable South Africa’s transition to a low carbon economy and a climate resilient society.

Through the Political Declaration issued in November 2021 to establish this partnership, the United Kingdom together with the European Union, France, Germany, and the United States undertook to mobilise an initial amount of $8.5 billion over the next 3-5 years to support the achievement of South Africa’s ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

“The COP President and Ministers welcomed the progress made thus far in advancing this long-term partnership. They continued discussions on the financing instruments to be provided, with a view to ensuring that the partnership meets the country’s investment needs and aligns with its fiscal framework.

“They discussed ongoing work on a South African-led Investment Plan, which will guide the use of funds. In this context, they noted that as momentum grows and enabling conditions are created, there will be considerable interest from wider sources of finance,” the statement read.

The meeting also underlined their shared commitment to a just transition that protects affected workers and communities as a key priority of the partnership, and to supporting opportunities for innovation and quality jobs including in the green hydrogen and electric vehicle sectors.

Progress has been made towards the creation of an enabling policy environment to support South Africa’s NDC, including the tabling of a Climate Change Bill in Parliament; reforms underway in the electricity sector; the finalisation of the Hydrogen Economy Roadmap and the Renewable Energy Masterplan; and the development of a just transition framework through the Presidential Climate Commission.

It further details the steps that have been taken to establish governance and implementation structures for the partnership, including the appointment of an independent technical secretariat led by Joanne Yawitch and the imminent establishment of working groups focusing on the electricity, green hydrogen and transport sectors as well as finance and implementation modalities.

“Finally, it confirms the commitment of the partners to finalise a comprehensive Investment Plan as well as to continue discussions regarding the financing package to enable meaningful progress by COP27,” the statement said.

As committed to in the Political Declaration, the South African Presidential Climate Finance Task Team (PCFTT) and the International Partners Group (IPG) on Tuesday released a detailed six-month update to leaders on the advancement of the Partnership.

The progress update provides an overview of the work currently underway to take forward the partnership as well as key interim milestones leading to COP27 in November 2022.

Source: South African Government News Agency

GQEBERHA – Continuous efforts to create a safe and secure environment in our communities led to the successful apprehension of a 40-year-old attempted rape and robbery suspect on Monday, 20 June 2022.

It is alleged that on the mentioned date, at about 00:10, the 25-year-old complainant was walking in Gazi Street in Langa when she was approached by a known male. The person threatened her with a knife and demanded her cellphone. He searched her pockets and removed the cellphone. It is further alleged that the suspect inappropriately touched the victim. The complainant screamed for help and a community member came to her assistance. The suspect ran away.

Within hours after the incident, SAPS Kamesh members arrested the suspect. He will be appearing in the Kariega Magistrate’s Court today on charges of robbery and attempted rape.

Source: South African Police Service

ORANJEVILLE – Members of Fezile Dabi Trio Task Team arrested three suspects for business robbery and theft of motor vehicle on Monday, 20 June 2022.

The members of Trio Task followed operationalized information received which led to the arrest of the first suspect who was wanted for stealing and selling a stolen vehicle during a business robbery conducted on 05 January 2022. This 47-year-old suspect was previously arrested by members of Provincial Organized Crime for possession of stolen motor vehicle, possession of unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition, house robbery and kidnapping. He has since been on the run until the Trio Task Team managed to arrest him on 16 June 2022 at his place of residence in Orange farm, Gauteng province.

Upon further investigation, his arrest led to the apprehension of two other suspects, aged 48 and 52. It is alleged that they were also part of the business robbery and theft of motor vehicle conducted in Oranjeville.

All three suspects were arrested and will be charged with business robbery and theft of motor vehicle.

They are expected to appear before the Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court today Wednesday, 22 June 2022.

Source: South African Police Service

GQEBERHA – Immediate activation of information led to the arrest of one suspect (39) and the recovery of a hijacked truck with cargo even before the complainant could report the case at SAPS Kwadwesi.

It is alleged that today at approximately 07:15, SAPS Kwadwesi members received information about a truck that was hijacked in Kwamagxaki. The members immediately patrolled the Joe Slovo area in search of the truck. While still in the area, they spotted the truck. Kariega K9 Unit members provided back up and managed to successfully intercept the truck. Two suspects alighted from the truck in an attempt to evade arrest with SAPS Kwadwesi members hot on their heels. The K9 Unit members remained at the truck to prevent possible looting. One suspect was arrested while the other managed to evade an arrest. A jamming device and three cell phones belonging to the driver of the truck and his co-workers were also recovered.

The complainant reported the hijacking at SAPS Kwadwesi later in the morning, where he alleged that at approximately 06:15, he was stationary at an intersection at Kwamagxaki when he was pointed with a firearm and forced out of the truck. The complainant was forced into a brown BMW while the one suspect drove off with the truck. The suspects drove towards Despatch with the complainant where they stopped next to the freeway and forced him out of the vehicle.

The estimated value of the truck and the goods recovered are R270 000.00. Detectives will be probing a possible link of the suspect to other hijackings committed in the area.

The suspect will appear in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court soon.

The Acting Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Brigadier Thandiswa Kupiso commended the team work between SAPS Kwadwesi and Kariega K9 Unit for the recovery and the arrest. “Truck hijackings have a heavy impact on the economy and communities and businesses are urged to immediately report any suspicious activities taking place. Businesses are also advised to improve on their security measures when transporting goods,” added Brig Kupiso.

Source: South African Police Service

WESTERN CAPE – A 25-year-old male was arrested on Tuesday, 21 June 2022, when Manenberg SAPS members received information about an illegal firearm at an address in Katrina court and responded timeously. Members conducted a search at the mentioned address and found the firearm hidden under shoes in the bedroom. The suspect was arrested and detained at Manenberg SAPS.

He will make his court appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s court, once he has been charged.

In another incident, Atlantis community members reported two male suspects who were tampering with aluminium cables in an open field in the early hours of Wednesday, 22 June 2022. The police responded swiftly and caught the two males red-handed. As they were questioned, they revealed where they hid other stolen aluminium cables. Both suspects were arrested, and will appear in the Atlantis Magistrate’s court on Thursday, 23 June 2022.

Source: South African Police Service