Day: July 22, 2022

PARKTOWN – The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Gauteng Province, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has welcomed the arrest of seven supects reported to be involved in various shooting incidents that had recently occurred in Eldorado Park.

On 21 July 2022, members of the SAPS Eldorado Park Tracing Team together with Soweto Tactical Response Team followed up on information regarding the whereabouts of suspects responsible for the recent shooting incidents in Eldorado Park.

The members proceeded to the provided address and upon arrival conducted a search on the premises.

The search resulted in the apprehension of five male suspects aged between 19 and 24 years. One of the suspects was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm with sixteen live ammunition.

Two more suspects were later arrested for other separate cases of murder.

All arrested suspects are expected to appear before respective Magistrates’ Court soon.

The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela applauded the members for their swift response and dedication in fighting crime. He further expressed his gratitude to the community members for all their efforts in sharing information with the police as these successes could not have been possible without the integrated efforts of all parties involved.

The public is urged to continue reporting any criminal activities on the SAPS Crime Stop Hotline at 08600 10111 or leave anonymous tip-offs via MySaps app.

Source: South African Police Service

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrests of a businessman and his daughter in the Eastern Cape on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering to the value of R4.3 million related to a personal protective equipment (PPE) tender.

Makhonzandile Lukhope and his daughter Naledi Lukhope were on Wednesday arrested by the Hawks on the charges for the tender awarded by the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE).

The tender was awarded to Amabongwe Building and Civil Contractors CC (“Amabongwe”) and Tsunami Civils.

SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, said: “The pair appeared before the Zwelitsha Magistrates Court (on Wednesday). They were both subsequently released on bail of R 4000 and R 2000 each. The matter has been postponed to 19 August 2022, Regional Court 5 in East London.”

The arrests followed an SIU investigation authorized by the Proclamation R23 of 2020 by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption, maladministration, malpractice and payments made by State institutions relating to PPE procurement, together with the conduct of State employees.

Kganyago said the SIU investigation revealed that Lukhope snr, through his company Amabongwe, allegedly committed fraud through a misrepresentation and with an intention to defraud the ECDoE.

“He unlawfully submitted a Contract of Lease, which had the effect of misrepresenting to the ECDoE that Amabongwe was operational in the Eastern Cape Province and had a business in the Province. This led to the ECDoE into awarding a contract to Amabongwe in the amount of R1.9 million.

“Mr Lukhope also failed to disclose interest in Tsunami Civils, which belongs to his daughter, Miss Lukhope.

“Furthermore, the SIU investigation revealed that Ms Lukhope, through her company Tsunami Civils, allegedly misrepresented and defrauded the ECDoE by unlawfully submitting a Contract of Lease, which had the effect of misrepresenting to the ECDoE that Tsunami Civils was operational in the Eastern Cape Province and had a business in the Province.”

Through the “deceit”, the daughter’s company received a total payment in the amount of R2.4 million, causing actual prejudice to the ECDoE.

“All tenders awarded to the Lukhopes were restricted for businesses operating in the Eastern Cape,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature continues to trailblaze as an effectively managed institution which abides by the highest governance prescripts.

This was evidenced by the institution again receiving a clean audit outcome from the Auditor-General for the 2021/2022 financial year.

The audit outcome means that, for two successive financial years, the Legislature has continued to prudently manage its resources and in a manner that benefits the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

Commenting on the audit outcomes, KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker, Ms Nontembeko Boyce said the clean audit had been achieved because the institution’s officials had heeded the call for the legislature to lead by example.

“When we began the sixth administration in 2019, we sat with our management and emphasized that it was fundamentally important for them to exercise vigilance to ensure good governance standards were adhered to.

The political leadership did not only make a clarion for management to ensure that it handled the public purse with care and implements legislature programmes effectively, but it also ensured that it worked closely with management to ensure that our vision was implemented to the teeth,” added Boyce.

The Speaker said she was pleased that the legislature managed to execute its mandate of playing oversight over government departments and public education with distinction even during marathon Covid-19 lockdowns.

“When the pandemic struck, the legislature quickly moved towards digital platforms to ensure that the work of the legislature was not disrupted.

We organised the requisite IT infrastructure to ensure that everyone had access to virtual platforms. That meant that all management meetings, committee meetings, house meetings were done online.

We also developed ICT mechanisms which ensured that our public participation mandate was not affected. We did this by making sure that the public was able to participate in our online programmes without paying even a cent,” Boyce said.

She thanked the Office of the Auditor General for its continued support and guidance which made it possible for the legislature to achieve its set targets.

Ms Nerusha Naidoo, the Secretary to the legislature, said the institution continued to excel because the political leadership continuously encouraged management to commit themselves to high standards of integrity and ethical values.

Source: Government of South Africa

MTHATHA – Police arrested a 22-year-old male after an 11-year-old girl was found dead in her home, Kaplani locality outside Mthatha on 20 July 2022.

It is alleged that the deceased child was at home getting ready for school while her mother had already left for work. The child’s mother alleged that she received a call from her daughter informing her that someone is trying to push open the door.

The complainant phoned her neighbour who is also a relative to go and check on her daughter. A known male was seen leaving passing the house. The person was questioned and he alleged that he was looking for the victim’s mother.

The neighbour went into the house and found the girl with a stab wound in the upper body.

Police were alerted and the suspect was arrested in the same area. The suspect is also related to the deceased. The community also severely assaulted him.

A case of murder and rape is under investigation and the suspect is expected to appear in court soon.

Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Nomthetheleli Mene has welcomed the arrest. “However, it must be noted that such heinous and callous incidents of gender based violence and femicide must be fought by all sectors of society, and it is disheartening to observe that victims are not even safe in the hands of their relatives. We also condemn incidents of mob justice in any shape or form,” added Lt Gen Mene

Source: South African Police Service

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, has published for implementation the Biodiversity Management Plans (BMP-S) for Aloe Ferox and the Honeybush Species Cyclopia subtenata and Cyclopia intermedia.

The BMP-S were published in Government Gazette 46597 (Notice No. 2192) on 24 June 2022 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA).

The Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) aims to provide for the long-term survival of a species in the wild and to provide a platform for an implementing organisation or responsible entity as appointed by the Minister to monitor and report on the progress regarding the implementation of the BMP.

“The Minister assigned the responsibility for implementation of the BMP-S for Aloe Ferox to the Eastern Cape department of economic development, environmental affairs and tourism.

“Temporary responsibility for the implementation of the BMP-S for the two Honeybush species has been jointly assigned to the Western Cape department of environmental affairs and development planning and the Eastern Cape department of economic development, environmental affairs and tourism,” the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said on Friday.

The Honeybush Community of Practice and the Department will support the provinces.

This arrangement will end once the process to identify a suitable person, organization or organ of state willing to take responsibility for the implementation of the species is identified.

Aloe ferox have a restricted distribution in South Africa extending from the Western Cape Province, intermittently throughout the Eastern Cape, and up into south-eastern Free State. The species also occurs in southern Lesotho.

“The rosettes of succulent leaves form the basis of a thriving Aloe ferox industry in South Africa where leaf material from wild plants are collected to produce bitters and gels for commercial use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

“The A. ferox industry provides significant socio-economic benefits to many South Africans, from local communities who derive an income from harvesting of the plants, to small businesses who employ people to manufacture A. ferox products for both the local and international markets,” the Department said.

The species is included in Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to ensure that international trade in the plants does not threaten their survival in the wild.

The aim of the BMP-S is to ensure the long-term survival of A. ferox in its natural habitat, whilst ensuring that the livelihoods of stakeholders are respected.

“To achieve this the BMP-s aims to ensure that the wild harvesting of A. ferox is carried out in an adaptive, practical, participatory, and transparent manner that maintains the long-term survival of the species in the wild.

“It also aims to ensure that the wild collection does not adversely affect the structure and functioning of the surrounding environment and ensures the establishment and implementation of monitoring systems that will provide the scientific evidence required to inform responsive management practices,” the Department said.

By implementing this BMP, a major benefit, amongst others, will be to obtain the support of owners, managers, and occupiers of land on which the plant occurs for the implementation of conservation actions.

This should ensure the species does not go extinct and instead becomes better managed over time, maintaining the status of Least Concern.

“Honeybush species are endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape provinces with the distribution extending from the Cedarberg north of Citrusdal, southwards to the Cape Peninsula and eastwards to Port Elizabeth.

“Cyclopia species have been used commercially since the 19th century for the production of honeybush tea, a caffeine-free beverage considered by many to provide a range of health benefits,” the Department said.

Cyclopia subternata and Cyclopia intermedia are amongst the Honeybush species that are currently declining in the wild due to a number of challenges, which include the ongoing illegal harvesting within communal lands and nature reserves, as well as on private farms where land owners are absent.

The species is also declining due to the removal of excessively large quantities of plant material too frequently; an expansion of human settlement and agricultural lands into areas where the species occurs; and invasive alien encroachment by species such as black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and pine (Pinus sp.) that shade out indigenous plants such as honeybush.

“Although the two species are commonly used in the commercial tea industry, they are both classified as Least Concern in accordance with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria. However, a proper management plan and regulation is needed to ensure that sustainable harvesting and best practice takes place within this sector,” the Department said.

The aim of this BMP is to ensure the long-term survival of C. subternata and C. intermedia populations in the wild, whilst safeguarding and respecting the livelihoods of stakeholders.

Specific activities need to be undertaken to enable the sustainable utilisation of the species whilst ensuring that systems are in place to monitor ongoing impacts of commercial extraction.

This includes ensuring that the wild collection of these plants is done in an ecologically sound and sustainable manner that maintains long-term survival of the species in the wild.

The aim is also to:

• Ensure that wild collection of C. subternata and C. intermedia does not adversely affect the environment, including ecosystem function.

• Ensure that collection and management activities are carried out under legitimate tenure arrangements and comply with relevant laws, regulations and agreements.

• Ensure that through fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the biotrade and bioprospecting of C. subternata and C. intermedia, the conservation and sustainable use of honeybush species is promoted.

• Ensure wild collection of C. subternata and C. intermedia is based upon adaptive, practical, participatory and transparent management practices.

• inform management practices that can rationally be applied to other commercial Cyclopia species, whether reseeders or resprouters and to

• Ensure the protection/management of genetic C. subternata and C. intermedia resources.

To access the Biodiversity Management Plans for Aloe Ferox and the Honeybush species C. subternata and C. intermedia, click on:

https://www.dffe.gov.za/sites/default/files/gazetted_notices/nemba_aloeferoxhoneybushBMP_g46597gon2192.pdf

Source: South African Government News Agency

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has welcomed the sentence handed to convicted murderer and rapist, Njabulo Ndlovu.

Ndlovu, aged 29, was sentenced for the murders of a seven-year-old Zenande Ndlela, her mother Simangele Ndlela, 46, and her grandmother Zanele Ndlela, 65. He was also sentenced for the rape of Zenande.

Ndlovu was sentenced to five life terms for three counts of murder and two counts of rape by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Ndlovu pleaded guilty to the triple murders and rape.

In his statement presented by his legal representative before the court last week, Ndlovu stated that he had spent a night in the house after having drinks and had consensual sex with Simangele earlier.

Nldovu said Zanele came into the bedroom brandishing a kitchen knife and demanding that he leave her house, and a scuffle ensued.

He said he stabbed Zanele three times and strangled her to death. Thereafter, he murdered Simangele and later raped Zenande twice before strangling her to death.

Khoza said it is pleasing to see justice being served after such atrocities. She said the sentencing of Ndlovu should bring back confidence to the criminal justice system.

“We are pleased to see the support shown by women rights activists, residents of Sobantu Township, social workers and organisations from different sectors who have been calling for the court to give a stiffer sentence to Ndlovu.

“We believe that people like Ndlovu should never be granted parole. We heard that the judge cited that he can apply for it after 25 years in prison. Ndlovu showed no mercy or empathy when [he]committed the atrocious acts.

“As a society, we need to be united and make our voice heard against those involved in gender-based violence. We want to continuously see justice being done for all women and children who face abuse, rape and murders in our communities,” the MEC said.

Source: South African Government News Agency