Day: August 23, 2022

U.N. agencies warn that severe hunger is sliding toward famine-like conditions in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, as four years of consecutive drought have wiped out peoples’ ability to grow the crops they need to feed themselves.

The World Food Program reports up to 22 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are facing severe hunger. It says hunger and the death of millions of livestock have forced more than 7 million people to leave their homes in search of food, water and grazing pasture for their cattle.

The WFP warns these figures are likely to grow, and conditions will continue to deteriorate, as poor rainfall is forecast for the fifth year in a row.

The WFP regional director for East Africa, Michael Dunford, recently returned from a visit to Somalia and northern Kenya.

Speaking from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Dunford says he was particularly struck by the dire situation in Somalia where more than 7 million people are facing a humanitarian crisis. He says this is the worst situation he has seen in the 21 years he has been working for WFP.

“We have a real risk of famine. It has not been declared yet, but already there are over 200,000 people in famine-like conditions, catastrophic levels of food insecurity, with another 1.4 [million] on the edge. So, unless we are able to continue to advocate to raise funding, to scale up our operations, then we will have, I fear, a famine to deal with,” he said.

Dunford says the specter of the 2011 famine in Somalia, which killed 250,000 people, half of them children, looms large over this current crisis. He says WFP is scaling up to reach 8.5 million people across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. He says $416 million is needed to provide lifesaving aid for the rest of the year.

Malnutrition remains high across the Horn of Africa. The U.N. children’s fund reports 10 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. It adds that nearly 1.8 million face severe wasting, a condition that is life-threatening.

UNICEF spokesman James Elder says millions of children in the Horn of Africa are literally one disease away from catastrophe.

“When you have got these terrifyingly high levels of severe acute malnutrition in children — and that is 1.8 million of those children in that state right now in the Horn, 1.8 million when you have got those — and then you combine it with a simple outbreak in [a] disease like a cholera, like diarrhea, then you see child mortality rates rise at a petrifying speed,” he said.

Elder notes the number of people without access to safe water in the region has risen from nine million in February to 15 million now.

UNICEF has revised its emergency appeal from $119 million to nearly $250 million. This reflects the growing needs across the region.

Source: Voice of America

The Hawks on Tuesday conducted a search and seizure operation at the premises of the former Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ).

The search and seizure operation was in light of officials accused of benefiting from a R225 million IT contract, said Captain Lloyd Ramovha.

He said: “The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team simultaneously descended on the premises of the three implicated individuals this morning around Pretoria and Kempton Park respectively”.

At the heart of the probe, said Ramovha, were allegations that the trio reportedly set themselves up to benefit from a R225 million IT contract, awarded to a multimedia and technology company.

“The contract in question relates to the national rollout of the digital electronic case management and litigation system which was initiated at the High courts in Johannesburg and Pretoria to allow for virtual hearings.

“The trio, which includes a former chief financial officer, former spokesperson and former case management director are said to have been instrumental in setting up the six-year contract which started during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the contract was in place they resigned and became directors of ZA Square Consulting which subcontracted to the main service provider. They reportedly stood to gain about R67 million through this deal.”

He said the OCJ reported the matter to the Hawks hence the search and seizure operation in order to obtain documentary and electronic evidence. The preferred charges would be that of fraud, corruption in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA) and the contravention of the Cybercrime Act. No arrests have been made as yet as the investigation continues.

Source: South African Government News Agency

DURBAN – In the early hours of this morning, police officers from National Intervention Unit acted on information about a man in possession of firearms in Empangeni.

The team proceeded to Farewell Street in Empangeni where all necessary measures were taken to gain access to the house but the owner refused entrance into the house. Police officers were met by a hail of bullets and there was a shootout. The home owner aged 45 and his security guard aged 36 died at the scene.

Police seized four rifles (including two AK47’s), a shotgun, five pistols, a revolver and 397 rounds of ammunition. Charges of attempted murder, inquest as well as unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition were opened for investigation at Empangeni SAPS.

Source: South African Police Service

As South Africa promotes a sustainable approach to waste management, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) plans to collaborate with waste reclaimer organisations to further integrate them into circular economy waste streams.

“Government, industry and civil society recognise the important role waste reclaimers play in the diversion of valuable resources away from landfills, and the need to formalise and protect these livelihoods and the circular economy they promote,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Barbara Creecy, said on Tuesday in Pretoria.

She said actors in the informal sector need to be educated on the differences between recyclable and compostable material, as well as the best practice with regards to identifying, collecting and storing the different materials.

It is estimated that there are between 60 000 and 90 000 informal waste reclaimers working at the heart of South Africa’s recycling economy, recovering mostly paper and packaging waste from households and businesses.

Data published by the packaging sector, prior to the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations coming into effect, estimated that waste reclaimers collect 80-90% of post-consumer paper and packaging for recycling.

The Minister said the planned training and awareness programmes will make a great contribution to the formalisation of this often under-recognized and undervalued sector.

“A notable feature of the agreement between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Government of South Africa and the Government of Japan, is the recognition of the informal sector’s role in waste management and the critical link it provides between households and recycling enterprises,” Creecy said.

This partnership comes after a bilateral meeting was held between President Cyril Ramaphosa and the late Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, on 29 June 2019, prior to the G20 Osaka Summit.

During that meeting, the Prime Minister committed that Japan would make funds available to assist South Africa in addressing the leakage of plastic waste into the environment, especially in the marine environment.

This commitment has been fulfilled, as the CSIR has received biodegradation assessment laboratory equipment from Japan, which includes a respirometer, an automated titration system and an elemental analyser.

This will enable the CSIR, through its Biodegradation Facility, to test and verify biodegradation claims of alternative materials, including compostable plastics, as viable alternatives for problematic products.

The services that will be on offer through the donation will broaden transparency and ensure product claims can be tested in accordance with environmental labelling standards.

At the same time, the South African Bureau of Standards is currently in the process of developing local standards for biodegradable packaging.

“Inadequate waste management poses a significant threat to our environment, causing pollution to soil and ground water and undermining ecosystem functions and services.

“To improve waste management in South Africa, we have to progressively increase the number of households with access to weekly waste collection, improve landfill compliance and look to the future of waste disposal beyond landfilling. In this regard the reduction and recycling of waste plays an important role,” Creecy said.

Government aims to divert 40% of waste from landfills within five years through reuse, recycling, recovery and alternative waste treatment.

“We aim to reduce the current amount of waste by about 25% over the same period and ensure a further 20% of waste is reused in the economic value chain.

“Government has over the past year introduced Extended Producer Responsibility schemes for the packaging, eWaste and lighting sectors. We are currently consulting on extending these schemes for batteries, pesticides and lubricant oils,” Creecy said.

Regulations for organic waste treatment, as well as the composting of organic waste, were published earlier this year for implementation.

This will help ensure that organic waste, including food waste, is diverted from landfills and used in composting and other sustainable technologies.

According to the Minister, consumers are increasingly conscious of the impact of their choices on the environment and consequently, are constantly in search of products that are more environmentally friendly.

“At present, bio-plastics represent less than 1% of plastics produced annually. However, rising demand, and an increase in more sophisticated applications means production capacity is set to increase. Bioplastic alternatives exist for many current plastic products, and we expect consumer choice to drive their mainstreaming and increased uptake over time,” the Minister said.

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, and Creecy officiated the handover of the biodegradation assessment laboratory equipment to the CSIR in Pretoria.

The event was attended by a high-level delegation consisting of the Ambassador of Japan, Norio Maruyama, senior members from UNIDO, as well as the CSIR CEO, Dr Thulani Dlamini.

Source: South African Government News Agency