Day: July 7, 2022

PARKTOWN - The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has welcomed the sentence handed down on 01 July 2022 by Alexandra Magistrates' Court to seven accused for public violence.

The accused were arrested on 29 May 2022, following protest actions that were led by a Movement dubbed Dudula in Alexandra. One of the accused, Simon Motaung was identified as the leader of the Movement.

All suspects were found guilty and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment which is wholly suspended for five years on condition that they must not be convicted of public violence during the period of suspension.

Lieutenant General Mawela applauded Sergeant Maswinginyi of Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Investigations for his swift investigation that led to a conviction. "People should refrain from being part of public violence and destroying infrastructure as this amount to a criminal offence which is punishable by law. May this sentence be a deterrence to those who think of being involved in public violence," said Lt Gen Mawela.

Source: South African Police Service

In just a week after the Minister of Police, General Cele hosted a successful Rural Safety Summit in Parys, Free State, Members of Rural Safety Coordinators Constable Sello Nkhobo and Warrant Officer Motsejoa Lehloma received a complaint of Stock Theft where 85 cattle were stolen at a farm in Virginia district on the 7 July 2022 at about 02:45.

These SAPS members instantly followed the tracks and 55 cattle were found near L6 plot, they continued following tracks for about 25 km at Emarentia farm, where 6 cattle were found at about 08:30.

The members never gave up but continued to follow tracks whereby 21 cattle were found at 10:00 in the maize fields near Niel farm. 82 cattle worth R820 000 were found back by these hard working SAPS members. Three cows are still missing and a case of Stock Theft was registered for further investigation.

Anyone with information leading to the arrests and recovery of the remaining stock, to please contact Captain Malete, Commander of Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit at cellphone number 082 388 5113.

Source: South African Police Service

South Africa now has 3 996 441 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 after 657 people tested positive on Wednesday.

Most new cases in the past 24 hours were reported in Gauteng after 52 citizens were confirmed to have contracted the virus, followed by 13 in the Western Cape, eight in the Eastern Cape and seven in KwaZulu-Natal. Meanwhile, the other provinces reported less than five cases each, while the Northern Cape had zero infections.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this brings the positivity rate to 4.8%.

In addition, the National Department of Health reported that 12 people succumbed to COVID-19, of which three occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

According to the latest statistics, this means the death toll now stands at 101 859 to date.

The data shows that there has been an increase of 14 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, while the seven-day moving average daily number of cases has gone up slightly.

The information is based on the 25 789 955 tests conducted in the public and private sectors since the outbreak.

Global view

Globally, the number of new weekly cases increased for the fourth consecutive week after a declining trend since the last peak in March 2022.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), during the week of 27 June to 3 July 2022, over 4.6 million cases were reported, a figure similar to that of the previous week.

At the regional level, the number of new weekly cases increased in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, European and the Western Pacific regions, while the areas of Africa and the Americas recorded a drop.

Meanwhile, the number of new weekly deaths dropped by 12% compared to the previous week, with over 8 100 fatalities recorded.

At the country level, the WHO reported that the highest numbers of new weekly cases were logged in France (603 074), Germany (555 331), Italy (511 037), the United States (496 049) and Brazil (334 852).

In addition, as of 3 July 2022, over 546 million confirmed global cases and over 6.3 million deaths had been reported.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) will host a Bidders Conference today for renewable energy producers and stakeholders in relation to government’s call for bids under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) bid window six.

The REIPPPP is aimed at urgently addressing the country’s energy needs and deficit by adding more megawatts to the grid through renewable energy sources.

The department launched the request for proposals for the sixth bid window in April and says the conference is an opportunity for stakeholders to clarify issues or needs with the department.

“In support of this very important milestone in the IPPP Programme, and to engage with potential bidders and other energy sector stakeholders, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), and the Independent Power Producers Office, will host a Bidders Conference [today].

“The conference will allow all stakeholders to engage with members of the DMRE and IPP Office on queries or clarification questions in relation to the released Request For Proposal,” the DMRE said.

The department explained the importance of the current bid window.

“The REIPPPP Bid Window 6 is the second bidding round to be released in line with the Ministerial Determination of 25 September 2020 and calls for the procurement of up to 2600 megawatts (MW) renewable energy –1 000 MW from Solar Photovoltaic and 1 600 MW from Wind projects.

“The projects procured under this bid window will be required to reach commercial operation by 2024,” the statement read.

Source: South African Government News Agency