The second suspect linked to the alleged theft of 51 rhino horns at the North West Parks Board two weeks ago has been arrested. Lindani Mthombeni (32) briefly appeared in the Mahikeng Magistrate’s Court today, facing a business burglary charge.
The Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mathebula said Mthombeni was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit assisted by the Rustenburg Public Order Policing, Tactical Operations Management Section, Tracker Connect and Insurance Crime Bureau in Brits on Wednesday.
“The team followed up on information after the suspect was allegedly spotted in Brits driving in a Range Rover Evoque, which is suspected to have been used in the commission of the crime. He was traced to Brits, where he was arrested and charged with business burglary.
“Mthombeni, along with Elias Manganda, who was arrested last week for alleged theft of rhino horns, appeared in court today and their matter was postponed to 13 July 2023 for bail application. The duo was remanded in custody,” Mathebula said.
Picture: The ANC ward councillor, Tebogo Sepale/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
The disgraced ANC councillor, Tebogo Sepale has abandoned his bail. Sepale (43), who is facing 11 provisional charges, two for statutory rape, three for the violation of a child with consent, one for manufacturing pornographic material, four for rape and one for sexual intimidation, briefly appeared at the Orkney Magistrate’s Court today.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in North West, Henry Mamothame said: “In one of the cases, Sepale allegedly shared nude pictures with the complainant, in the second and separate case, but involving the same suspect, two counts of statutory rape were laid against him on 6 May 2023 by the parents of two boys aged 15 and 17.
“He will remain in police custody until his next court appearance. A report by the police indicating that, the Klerksdorp Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, was investigating a case of crimen injuria and two separate counts of statutory rape after they were reported at Kanana Police Station respectively.”
Mamothame further said the Orkney Magistrate’s Court postponed the case to 24 August 2023 for further investigations. He added that, the state is now awaiting the conclusion of investigations to possibly add more charges against the accused in preparation for trial.
For two days last week, several world leaders gathered in Paris, France for a global summit on financing development and climate action in developing economies. While such international summits may seem like a world apart from the daily challenges that South Africans face – such as poverty, unemployment and crime – they are actually closely connected.
Global development financing, if properly directed and provided on a significant scale, can make a huge difference in the lives of people living in countries like our own. While much has been achieved since the advent of democracy in our country to address the needs of the poor, this work has been undermined by slow economic growth, state capture and corruption, the electricity crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
These problems are made worse by the damaging effects of climate change, which include catastrophic flooding and drought. Poor communities and countries are most vulnerable to the effects of global warming, and yet they carry the least responsibility for causing climate damage.
That is why South Africa and many other countries have maintained that the industrialised countries that have contributed most to greenhouse gas emissions have a responsibility to fund the actions that less industrialised countries need to take to protect their people from climate change.
And since these countries have been able to develop their societies through economic activities that have caused the current climate crisis, they should also contribute to meeting global development goals such as eradicating poverty, improving health outcomes, expanding access to quality education, promoting gender equality and ensuring everyone has clean water and sanitation.
As we said at the summit, we do not want to be treated like beggars, as if we are asking for charity. The industrialisation and economic development of the Global North were achieved at the expense of the Global South. Wealthier countries, therefore, have both an obligation and an interest in supporting development and climate action in poorer countries.
As South Africa, we argued for a fundamental overhaul of the international financial institutions that are responsible for supporting development across the world.
These bodies, which include the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, should be restructured to be more inclusive and responsive. They should provide funding in a way that does not increase the debt burden of countries already struggling to service their debt.
We said that the international community must appreciate the scale of the challenge and make sure that sufficient funds are available.
As a start, industrialised countries must meet their existing commitments, such as mobilising $100 billion annually for climate action in developing economies. Yet, even as this goal is achieved, much more money will be needed to ensure an effective response to climate change. South Africa’s own Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, which was released a year, estimates that our country alone would need around $98 billion over the next five years to enable a just transition towards a low-carbon economy.
While the Paris Summit is not a formal structure through which international agreements are reached, it is significant that there was broad consensus among most of the countries that much more funding is needed and that international development banks needed to be significantly reformed to direct that funding to where it will have the greatest impact. There was general agreement that additional private sector funding should be mobilised and that funding should be provided on better terms.
But what does this mean, practically, for the people of South Africa?
With improved funding for our just energy transition, we will be able to invest substantially in strengthening our electricity grid and new renewable energy generation. This will make a significant contribution to ending load shedding and securing a reliable and affordable supply of electricity. This will, in turn, promote economic growth, make our exports more competitive and create employment.
This funding will also enable us to develop new industries, such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen, which will increase our industrial output and create jobs for the economy of the future.
Through such funding, we can increase our investment in infrastructure, expanding the capacity of our economy and reducing the costs for emerging businesses.
There are immediate challenges that we are addressing as a country. We are working to accelerate the implementation of our Energy Action Plan and Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to end load shedding, grow the economy and create jobs.
At the same, we need to continue to assert the needs and interests of developing economies in these international forums, so that we can raise the funds that are required to achieve a just transition and advance our developmental objectives. This is important not only for people in South Africa, but for people throughout the Global South.
In summarising the outcomes of the Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “More than ever, international solidarity and transfers from the richest countries to the most vulnerable ones are essential to shape a fairer world.”
This is a view that we share. We will continue to work with other countries across the world to ensure that it becomes a reality.
TaungDailyNews 