Day: January 23, 2023

A drunk driver nearly crashed into the law, a resident found a warm place to stash drugs, and arrests continue to increase while calls to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) nearly doubled.

The City's enforcement departments made 307 arrests this past week, which means 100 more than last week.

Earlier this morning at 02:35, Metro Police officers were on patrol in Milnerton when a vehicle narrowly missed colliding with them.

The officers pulled the vehicle over and during the interview discovered the 39-year-old driver was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and taken to Milnerton police station.

He was one of 65 drivers arrested by the City's enforcement agencies in the past week for drunk driving.

'Drivers who literally gamble with their lives and that of everyone else on the road, are bound to be stopped one way or another. Every weekend our officers take them off the road, and I make a plea for responsible driving which seems to fall on deaf ears.

'The family and friends of motorists who get behind the wheel inebriated need to step up. Don't allow a loved one to drive drunk. Being arrested for drunk driving is not a badge of honour. It is a dark mark against your name at best,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

In Eerste River, vigilant Metro Police officers discovered a resident's drug stash on Saturday, 21 January during a joint search warrant operation with the South African Police Service.

While searching a house during the operation, parts of a food warmer fell and when the officers tried to reassemble it, they noticed a loose screw.

When it was removed, a bundle of money and drugs fell out.

The officers confiscated 50 Mandrax tablets, 18 Tik Lollies, two scales, 100 empty Tik sachets and R15 500 in cash. The 54-year-old homeowner was arrested for the possession of drugs and detained at Kleinvlei police station.

Also on Saturday, officers attached to the Tactical Response Unit and Gang and Drug Task Team, arrested three suspects for the possession of drugs in the Tafelsig area.

Officers were conducting crime prevention patrols when they spotted two men acting suspicious and when they were searched, the officers found 15 bankies Tik in the possession of one man and seven bankies of Tik on the other.

While the officers were arresting the two, they noticed a motorcyclist passing them looking nervous.

They gave chase when the driver stopped and ran into another property.

He was caught and officers found 60 stoppe dagga, 26 medium dagga parcels and two carrier bags of dagga in his possession.

All three suspects, aged 34, 21 and 53, were arrested for the possession of drugs.

PUBLIC EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTRE (PECC)

The PECC received 2 086 calls over the past weekend, compared to 1 557 the previous weekend.

Domestic violence calls more than doubled week on week – 58 this weekend compared to 24, while incidents of assault increased to 113 compared to 78.

TRAFFIC SERVICE

A total of 29 529 speeding offences were recorded, and 29 610 fines were issued for various traffic violations.

In total, 182 public transport vehicles were impounded and 1 609 warrants of arrest were executed.

Traffic officers arrested 81 suspects, of which 56 were for driving under the influence of alcohol and 25 for reckless and negligent driving.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

During the past week, the City's Law Enforcement Department officers made 155 arrests.

Officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP) made 137 of the total arrests.

Residents are reminded to phone 021 480 77 00 from a cell phone and 107 from a landline to report any criminal activity or emergency.

Source: City Of Cape Town

President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to assure South Africans that government is using every means and resource at its disposal to get more capacity onto Eskom’s grid “as a matter of extreme urgency” with the Energy Action Plan at the core.

The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter after South Africans have been experiencing a sustained period of the higher stages of load shedding.

President Ramaphosa said government is taking action to address the myriad of challenges Eskom is facing, with particular focus on improving the performance of Eskom’s ailing coal fired power stations which serve at least 80% of South Africa’s energy needs.

“A team of independent experts is conducting a diagnosis of the problems at poorly performing power stations and taking action to improve plant performance. Six power stations have been identified for particular focus over the coming months to recover additional capacity.

“Eskom is also working to connect Kusile Unit 5 to the grid by September this year. Every urgent effort is being made to restore other units at Medupi, Kusile and Koeberg with significant capacity,” he said.

The President added that Eskom is also taking steps to procure some 1000MW of energy from neighbouring countries with the power utility also aiming to “buy surplus power from companies with available generation capacity for a period of three years”.

Furthermore, government has also signed procurement deals in Bid Windows 5 and 6 of the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) which is expected to add some 2800MW of energy to the grid once completed in at least two years.

The President said government has allowed for private power producers to contribute to the strained grid.

“The licensing requirement for embedded generation projects has been removed. Since we first raised the licensing threshold to 100 MW, the pipeline of private sector projects has grown to more than 100 projects with over 9000 MW of capacity.

“We have cut red tape and streamlined regulatory processes, reducing the timeframes for environmental authorisations, registration of new projects and grid connection approvals,” he said.

President Ramaphosa announced that soon, those who have installed solar panels on the roofs of businesses and homes will also be allowed to sell their excess electricity to the grid with work already underway for a pricing structure.

Taking stock

Reflecting on the serious challenges facing Eskom, the President said “a combination of factors…years in the making” have led the power utility to where it currently is.

“Lack of investment in new generating capacity, poor power plant maintenance, corruption and criminality, sabotage of infrastructure, rising municipal debt and a lack of suitable skills at Eskom have all created a perfect storm. There can be no sustainable solution without addressing all these factors in combination.

“We should not make the mistakes of the past. For many years, critical maintenance was deferred, and our power stations were run too hard in order to keep the lights on. As a country we are now paying the price for these miscalculations,” he said.

President Ramaphosa acknowledged the destabilisation that load shedding has wrought on South Africans and businesses alike but called for patience as government implements solutions.

“As load shedding continues to wreak havoc on businesses, households and communities, the last thing South Africans want to hear are excuses or unrealistic promises. The demands for an immediate end to power cuts are wholly understandable. Everyone is fed up.

“We must be realistic about our challenges and about what it is going to take to fix them. While we all desperately want to, we cannot end load shedding overnight,” he said.

The President added that while measures are being implemented, collaboration from all quarters of society will ensure that the Energy Action Plan bears fruit.

“While we cannot end load shedding immediately, what is certain is that if we work together with urgency to implement the Energy Action Plan, load shedding will steadily become less and less severe.

“Through collective action, we will much sooner reach the point where we have enough power to end load shedding altogether,” President Ramaphosa concluded.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to confirm whether the national government intends scrapping plans to devolve the running of passenger rail to well-run local authorities. This follows comments this weekend by ANC policy head for Economic Transformation, Mmamoloko Kubayi, that devolving rail is off the table for the ANC, stating she would ‘not advise any department to dissolve power or function to the metros’.

Kubayi is quoted by Sunday World on views about rail devolution as follows: 'You can't do that with strategic infrastructure and an important economic activity. Rail is one of the backbones of movement of goods and people. We can't give it to metros.'

Minister Kubayi's comments do not seem to take any account of the fact that the service has collapsed under national management. The comments are also in direct contradiction with the national White Paper on Rail Policy.

Approved by the national Cabinet in May 2022, the policy position taken in the paper confirms that passenger rail will be devolved to capable local governments. The basis for this policy is abundantly clear: National Government has failed to manage passenger rail to the extent that it is now all but dead. It now seems, however, that the ANC is making a U-turn.

The White Paper states a Devolution Strategy for passenger rail would be implemented from 2023, but outgoing Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has already tried to delay until at least 2024. This is when a draft Strategy will be handed to the new Transport Minister, according to a letter from Minister Mbalula to Mayor Hill-Lewis received last week.

However, the latest statement from an ANC Policy Head rubbishing rail devolution creates utter confusion and forces the City to seek clarity on the matter:

'Mr President, is your government binning the Cabinet decision on devolving passenger rail to well-run metros?

'We already know national's Devolution Strategy for rail is delayed until at least 2024, according to outgoing Transport Minister Mbalula. We need trains running daily on time in our city right now, not years from now, or "never" as per the latest comment from your ANC policy head.

'Is it true you have abandoned millions of commuters needing an affordable and reliable train service, and now never intend to devolve rail for the City of Cape Town to run?

'Capetonians deserve a safe, affordable, and reliable train service, and the City's ongoing Rail Feasibility Study aims to devolve rail in the shortest time. We are ready to re-establish a viable rail service in the best interests of commuters, and we are ready to work with national government at any time to achieve this.

'The fact is rail has collapsed nationally. Prasa now only transports 3% of the passengers it did a decade ago nationally. PRASA is now bankrupt, with billions lost to corrupt deals, including trains too big for the tracks. Change is long overdue,' said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Mbalula confirms delay of national Rail Devolution Strategy

In his letter to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis last week, outgoing Transport Minister Mbalula writes: 'my department, together with Prasa, have not been given a directive by the government and me to start with any form of devolution. The devolution exercises in the country will be guided by the Devolution Strategy which is currently in the development phase and is to be completed in 2024'.

According to Minister Mbalula, the national Transport Department must ensure the draft strategy is 'submitted to the (Transport) Minister by 2024', who must then still promulgate it.

'In contrast, the City has successfully concluded the first deliverable of our Rail Feasibility Study - the Inception Report. Next, is a status quo report on the state of passenger rail in Cape Town.

'However, the outgoing Minister has to date refused permission to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa to share this critical information with the City about the state of its operations and rail assets in Cape Town.

'The City is determined to find ways of resolving this challenge, should the National Government undermine our devolution efforts and requests for information. We will not be dissuaded from this.

'We remain committed to working with Prasa and assisting where we can in restoring passenger rail. The City will also provide all assistance to National Government in devolving rail without delay in the interest of Capetonians who have waited long enough for an affordable, reliable rail service,' said Cllr Rob Quintas, the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility.

Source: City Of Cape Town

MKHONDO - The suspects, Blessing Nhlakanipho Ntombela (30) and Blessing Bongani Dlamini (38) appeared briefly before the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court on the charges of Murder and attempted murder.

The case has been postponed to 30 January, 2023 for a formal bail application. They were both remanded in custody.

They we arrested yesterday Sunday at Mkhondo in relation to the murder of a ward Councillor Mr Sbonelo (Mthembu) Ntshangase (36), and his friends Mr Sandile Khumalo (51) and Mr Sizwe Mbingo (40).

According to the report, the victims were allegedly shot by armed suspects in Mkhondo, also known as Piet Retief. It is further alleged that the suspects reportedly fired multiple shots at Mr Ntshangase who was in the yard, and also shot Mr Mbingo inside a bakkie who sadly died at the scene whilst Mr Khumalo was shot in the yard as well. Thereafter the suspects fled to unknown direction.

The Provincial Commissioner of Mpumalanga Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has vowed that more arrests are eminent pending the continuing investigation.

Source: South African Police Service

With the conclusion of the 2022/23 Identikidz Project, the statistics show that more than 125 000 children were tagged over five weekends at 16 participating beaches – proof that Identikidz grows in stature year after year.

The Identikidz project was first introduced in 2016.

It tagged 138 603 children during the 2019/20 festive season, reuniting 332 children during that period.

The statistics for the following two festive seasons were affected by the national lockdown, but this past festive season saw a definite upswing in the project's outputs, with a total of 126 669 children tagged and 403 reunited with their caregivers.

'Overall, child safety at our beaches was truly well managed this past festive season. Our Identikidz project tagged well over a 120 000 children and reunited just more than 400 with their caregivers. And, in terms of water safety, we had no fatal drownings where the victims were children younger than 15.

'I want to express my appreciation to the staff involved in the Identikidz project, but also the many departments who assist our Social Development and Early Childhood Development department in the execution thereof. The statistics illuminate not only how popular the project is, but also its importance in ensuring the safety of our young beach visitors. I also want to thank the members of the public who took advantage of the service, and encourage others to do the same in future,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.

A total of 22 children were handed over to the provincial Department of Social Development when their families could not be contacted by nightfall. A number of these children had not been tagged as part of the project.

In such instances, the provisions of the Children's Act are applicable.

While the children are returned to their parents' care, the parents have to appear in court to provide reasons for the neglect and/or abandonment.

In addition, they have to attend a statutory parenting programme, and the circumstances at home are investigated, with recommendations made to the court.

'Given how busy our beaches can get over the peak festive season, children being separated from their families is a big risk, and that is the reason why we introduced the Identikidz project. What we cannot condone is when the beach day turns to night, and children – some of them very young – have to be turned over to social workers, because no one has come looking for them, or relatives are not answering their phones. The City and its partners go the extra mile to ensure the safety of children, but ultimately, it is the responsibility of the primary caregivers. And, where they appear not to be living up to their responsibilities, the law must take its course,' added Councillor Van der Ross.

Source: City Of Cape Town

GQEBERHA - SAPS Algoa Park detectives are seeking the community’s assistance in tracing a 49-year-old man who went missing on Wednesday 4 January 2023.

It is alleged that on the mentioned date, Mbuyiselo Dakuse left his house in Missionvale with a friend to Kenako Mall, however he was not feeling well and informed his friend that he will go to Dora Nginza hospital. The hospital was visited and the family were unable to trace Mr Dakuse.

Police are appealing to anyone who can assist in tracing Mbuyiselo Dakuse to urgently contact SAPS Algoa Park D/WO Steven Bustin on 082 303 0572 or Crime Stop 08600 10111 or their nearest police station. All information is strictly confidential and callers have the right to remain anonymous.

Source: South African Police Service

NEW YORK — U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield will travel to Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya this week to advance joint priorities following December’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

Her tour, from January 25 to 29, will focus on regional security issues, food insecurity, humanitarian issues, and supporting African efforts to mitigate climate change, a senior administration official told reporters on Monday.

Thomas-Greenfield’s trip is happening in tandem with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s ongoing mission to Senegal, Zambia and South Africa that will continue through January 28. Yellen is seeking to deepen U.S.-Africa economic ties, including by expanding trade and investment flows.

President Joe Biden announced over $15 billion in two-way trade and investment commitments, deals and partnerships at the three-day December summit that drew delegations from 49 African nations to Washington.

Russia’s war

Africa has deeply felt the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as fuel, food and fertilizer prices rose in its aftermath. This year, U.N. agencies have warned that the impact of the fertilizer crunch could reduce the size of harvests on the continent.

The U.N. and Turkish-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative has seen more than 18 million metric tons of Ukrainian wheat and other food stuffs exported to international markets since it was signed in mid-July.

The Joint Coordination Center that oversees the deal says nearly 44% of the wheat exported has been shipped to low and lower middle-income countries. The U.N. is also working with Russia to remove remaining impediments to exporting its food and fertilizer products.

But the U.S. blames Russia for impeding the export of Ukrainian grain, saying it is not at the level it should be.

“Russia has deliberately slowed down inspections of these ships and essentially throttled the operation of this corridor,” the senior administration official said of the ships sailing in the Black Sea. “That is having an impact obviously not just on Ukraine but for the entire world.”

As of Sunday, the Joint Coordination Center said 35 ships are awaiting inspection. Five of them are waiting to enter Ukrainian ports and 30 are loaded with cargo waiting to leave for their destinations.

International support has been strong for Ukraine at the U.N. General Assembly, but African nations have repeatedly abstained on resolutions that might upset Russia.

Thomas-Greenfield, who previously served as a U.S. ambassador to Liberia and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, is making her third trip to the continent since becoming U.N. ambassador in February 2021.

During her trip, she will be visiting two current Security Council members — Ghana and Mozambique — offering the opportunity to address the issue of reforming the U.N. Security Council.

For decades, countries have said the 15-nation body needs to be expanded to reflect current realities, not those of a post-World War II world.

In September, Biden said the United States supports increasing the number of permanent seats on the council, including one for Africa. There are currently five seats — Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.

Source: Voice of America