Monthly Archives: September 2024

Tanzanian spray toad extinction highlights the need to protect biodiversity

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Picture: Tanzanian spray toad extinction highlights the need to protect biodiversity/Supplied 

By PHENYO MOKGOTHU

4 September 2024- When a species becomes extinct in the wild, the loss is permanent. For Africa, a serious loss is the extinction of the Tanzanian Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis) due to habitat change and infectious disease.

This should serve as a wakeup call for policy makers to prioritise and implement conservation measures for endangered species. Found only in the Udzungwa Mountains, the species experienced a population decline after the construction of the Lower Kihansi Hydropower project and an outbreak of a fungal disease.

This is according to a study co-authored by Prof Ché Weldon of the North West University’s (NWU’s) subject group Zoology.

Weldon said the hydropower project reduced water flow in the toads’ habitat tenfold, and by March 2001, the population had dropped to fewer than 2000 toads. He further said although restoration efforts increased the population to nearly 18 000 by June 2003, this recovery did not last.

“The final blow was an outbreak of chytridiomycosis, caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. This infection affects the outermost layers of amphibians’ skin, impairing their ability to breathe or thermoregulate correctly.

“This led to the toad population’s rapid decline. By 2009, the Kihansi spray toad was declared extinct in the wild. The NWU study used spatiotemporal surveillance and mitogenome assembly of the fungus from archived toad specimens,” said Weldon.

He added that it showed that the outbreak was caused by the BdCAPE lineage of the fungus which, according to molecular dating, appeared in Southern Africa around the time of the extinction of the spray toads.

“Further surveillance of other amphibian species in the Udzungwa Mountains, showed BdCAPE infection without noticeable health impacts, suggesting that these species can tolerate the fungus under stable conditions.

“However, the spray toad’s vulnerability increased due to habitat change. The findings show that despite habitat restoration efforts, the BdCAPE fungus led to the Kihansi spray toad’s extinction,” said Weldon.

He said this is the first documented instance in Africa of a host species being driven to extinction by this specific pathogen. Weldon said the study highlighted the use of molecular techniques, such as shotgun sequencing, to analyse archived specimens and understand disease outbreaks and their impacts.

“It calls for comprehensive efforts to assess the risks posed by habitat modification, climate change and emerging diseases on vulnerable species.

“The extinction of the Kihansi spray toad shows the need for integrated conservation strategies that consider environmental changes and disease dynamics,” he said.

Weldon said policymakers must recognise the threats posed by habitat alteration and emerging infectious diseases to prioritise and implement conservation actions for endangered species.

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(Edited by Obakeng Maje)

A man who is accused of killing three family members over insurance claims back in court

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Picture: A man who is accused of killing three family members for insurance claims, Daniel Mokwai/Supplied

By OBAKENG MAJE

4 September 2024– A man (62) who was arrested for allegedly killing his three family members by poisoning them, will briefly appear before Bloemhof Magistrate’s Court today. Initially, three family members, who died over a period of three years, were buried and considered to have died due to natural causes.

The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said in all three cases, Daniel Mokwai successfully claimed from his insurance policies. Myburgh said, however, family members reported him to the police after becoming suspicious that he murdered their relatives by allegedly buying all three of them pies.

“They would then get sick after eating the pie and eventually die. The bodies of all three deceased were exhumed and pathology reports confirmed that they were poisoned, leading to the murder investigations.

“In the first incident, reported on 5 December 2020, a boy (16), died at midday between Phuduhudu and Gopane, near Bloemhof. The boy was the relative of Mokwai’s wife,” she said.

Myburgh further said the second deceased (17), who was also the relative of the wife of the accused, died on Wednesday night,1 December 2021, in Boitumelong Township, outside of Bloemhof. She added that the last victim, Mothibi Alpheos Mokwai (31), was the accused’ son.

“He died on Sunday afternoon, 9 October 2022, at his house in Mathyse Street in Bloemhof. Mokwai was remanded in custody until his second court appearance on 4 September 2024, for legal representation. Through prosecution led investigations, police identified Mokwai as a suspect and obtained a warrant of arrest that was effected on 26 August 2024,” said Myburgh.

Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, said it is unacceptable that young children were murdered by someone they trusted. Kwena reiterated that the police will continue to work hard to remove criminals such as this one from society.

“We call upon insurance companies and members of the public to report cases, where they suspect foul play or criminal activity when they process insurance claims,” he said.

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North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari brings necessary inteventions at Phokeng Forensic Pathology construction project 

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Picture: The North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari during his visit at Phokeng Forensic Pathology/Supplied 

By REGINALD KANYANE

4 September 2024- The North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari said upon completion at the end of November 2024, the Phokeng Forensic Pathology with a capacity to carry around120 bodies, will be the biggest in the province.

Lehari, who was accompanied by senior management from both Bojanala District and Provincial offices, conducted oversight visits at both Phokeng Forensic Pathology, in Rustenburg and the Brits Forensic Pathology.

Lehari’s visit follows his initial intervention visit last month, when work was stalled due to community disputes and disruptions on site, demanding allocation of some work to locals on site. He further said the members of the local business community had disrupted construction work demanding 30% of the work.

“However, through our Kopano Ke Matla oversight programme, we have brought all warring groups together, including the contractor, CLO, local leadership and two business forums and commitment was made that there shall be no further disruptions.

“Today’s visit was a follow-up since intervention was made and it was intended to monitor progress registered, since all parties agreed to work together to complete the project on time. As of today, at least 75% of work has been completed,” said Lehari.

He added that Phokeng is quite an important project because it serves so many areas in the province’s biggest and busiest region of Bojanala.

“We owe our people this service and we need no more excuses to finish this project. It must be completed within the set time frame of a month.

“It’s important that we bring people real services, not lip service that will cost them more time and money. This mortuary should be operational in a month,” said Lehari.

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Deputy Minister calls for a probe in water tankering scheme in North West   

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Picture: The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo/Supplied  

By OBAKENG MAJE

4 September 2024- The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Sello Seitlholo has encouraged municipalities of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality in North West and Phokwane Local Municipality in Northern Cape, to give urgency to the basic service of water supply to the communities they serve.

This comes after the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District and Phokwane Local Municipalities experienced unreliable water supply, which has led to communities calling on the Department of Water and Sanitation to intervene.

Seitlholo met with two municipalities on Monday in Vryburg, to discuss water supply challenges regarding a trans-boundary bulk water supply scheme that provides water to the two provinces.

“We recommended that the two municipalities resolve and finalise those water services challenges speedily. The Department of Water and Sanitation is aware of the battle water communities are facing, especially women.

“This situation should not be prolonged anymore. We must have a sense of urgency and be proactive when dealing with issues of water supply to our communities,” he said.

Seitlholo further said he is satisfied with the short-term interventions by the department, with the support of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in both provinces. He added that in six weeks’ time, a contractor appointed by Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, would begin with the facilitation of refurbishing and revitalizing two boreholes in Sekhing village, near Taung.

“The CoGTA in North West has assisted with a borehole in Upper Majeakgoro village, and the electrification of the borehole will be undertaken by the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality.

“In addition, Phokwane Local Municipality in Northern Cape is also in a process of refurbishing a pipeline and the pump station, while water tankering will be provided as an interim solution to address the current water challenges to the communities,” said Seitlholo.

He also lambasted unlawful actions of connecting illegally to water infrastructure, as well as its sabotage and vandalism. Seitlholo warned those who tampered with water valves and those who are in cohort with construction mafias.

“Municipalities should expose perpetrators, who sabotage infrastructure in order to benefit from water tankering to communities. I want a report of these service providers for water tinkering. I also want their schedule of providing water and a full audit of water tankers should be conducted in this province,” he said.

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Weziwe Tikana-Gxotiwe elected as the Chairperson of Powers and Privileges Committee  

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By BAKANG MOKOTO

3 September 2024 – The Powers and Privileges Committee today elected Weziwe Tikana-Gxotiwe as the Chairperson of the Committee. In accordance with Rule 212 of the National Assembly (NA), the committee is composed of 9 members.

The ANC is represented in the committee by Weziwe Tikana-Gxotiwe, Gijimani Skosana, Mikateko Mahlaule and Nonceba Gcaleka-Mazibuko. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is represented by George Michalakis and Baxolile Nodada.

The uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MKP) is represented by Dr Mandlakayise Hlophe, Nhlamulo Ndlela and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is represented by Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi with Poppy Moila as an alternate member.

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IPID investigating inquest case after a man died in the back of a police truck at Morokweng Police Station, near Ganyesa

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Picture: Two police officers burned to death in a police van/Generic

By OBAKENG MAJE

3 September 2024 – The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), has opened an inquest docket for investigation after a man (age not known) died apparently due to smoke inhalation, while the other (24), was taken to hospital as a result of burn wounds.

The North West police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the man allegedly burnt while at the back of a police truck in the early hours of today at Morokweng Police Station, near Ganyesa.

“The pair was allegedly kept temporarily at the back of a police truck that was parked at the station. Internal departmental investigation to determine circumstances that led to keeping of the men in the truck have been instituted,” he said.

According to Mokgwabone, IPID is investigating an inquest case.

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Lekgarebe la kwa Maphoitsile le tlhagelela kwa Kgotlhatshekelo mabapi le ditatofatso tsa go bolaya mokapelo wa lone

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Setshwantsho: Sepodisi se dira dipatlisiso tsa polao kwa tarveneng kwa motsesetoropong wa Orkney/Setshwantsho-papiso

Ka OBAKENG MAJE

Lekgarebe la dingwaga di le 40, lwa kwa motseng wa Maphoitsile, gaufi le Taung, le solofetswe go tlhagelela fa pele ga Kgotlhatshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la gompieno. Se se tla morago ga gore lekgarebe le, le latofadiwe ka go bolaya mokapelo walone.  

Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo sedikeng sa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, tiragalo e, e diragetse kwa di RDP Section, kwa Maphoitsile ka di 29 Phatwe 2024.

“Go begwa fa baratani ba, ba ne ba tswa kwa ntlung e rekisang bojalwa go ya go ijesa monate. Fela ene ya re fa ba fitlha kwa ntlung, go ne ga tsoga kgakgauthano ya mafoko.

“Go begwa fa molatofadiwa a ile a tlhaba moswi ka thipa mo sehubeng. Molatofadiwa o ile a amogelwa kwa bookelong jwa sedika jwa Taung, mme one a ntshiwa ka Mosupulogo le go isiwa kwa ntlo-lefitshwana,” van Rooyen wa tlhalosa.

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Eskom is showing the way towards the empowerment of women in the workplace

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Picture: RSA president, Cyril Ramaphosa  

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA   

We have just ended Women’s Month, in which we have celebrated the achievements of South Africa’s women across many areas of life. We have recognised the great progress that has been made in improving the position of women in our society.

We have also recognised the many challenges that still remain and the tasks that we must undertake to build a truly non-sexist and equal society. At the same time, the country has gone more than 150 days without load shedding.

This is in large part due to the concerted efforts of the leadership and staff of Eskom to improve the performance of its power stations. While there is much attention on what Eskom is doing to stabilise our electricity system, another significant change has been quietly underway at the company over the course of the last few years.

Women are taking a more prominent role in the work of Eskom and are playing a pivotal role in keeping the country’s lights on. Two years ago, I met Eskom’s power station managers and I was pleased to see that there were a number of women amongst them who were in charge of our power stations as managers.

I found this to be a complete departure from the past where power station managers were always white men. The inspiring story of Maserati Lesolang, the General Manager of the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, is a demonstration of Eskom’s successes in growing a new generation of female leaders.

Under Lesolang’s able leadership, Matla Power Station has implemented a turnaround plan resulting in it now being among Eskom’s better performing power stations. At a number of state-owned enterprises, women are excelling not only in management and leadership positions, but also in technical roles and occupations that were previously the preserve of men.

Within Eskom itself, women are working as power station managers, engineers, artisans, operators and technicians. This is the result of a deliberate and sustained initiative to increase female representation in the form of Eskom’s Women Advancement Programme.

The programme was launched ten years ago to redress the under-representation of women in leadership and technical roles at Eskom. The programme’s focus has been on creating a pipeline of female leaders.

It has also focused on transforming workplace culture to make it more gender-friendly, on skilling and training more women to occupy specialist roles, to conduct outreach in communities where Eskom operates, and to address issues of equal work for equal pay. Among the achievements of the programme since its inception has been that just over 33% of Eskom’s workforce is now female, 20% of Eskom executives are women, and women occupy approximately 43% of senior management roles.

This is important progress, but there is still the same way to go to achieve gender parity. Eskom has succeeded in narrowing the gender pay gap from 41% to below 6%.

The company’s procurement spends on black-women owned businesses has increased from R6 billion in 2013 to over R16 billion by 2022. The national power utility continues to invest heavily in skilling and training for women, with just over half of further study opportunities at Eskom taken up by women.

Another key focus area of the programme is conducting outreach at schools and in communities to encourage female learners to consider future careers at Eskom. Earlier this year Eskom also launched a Young Professionals Development Programme, a graduate trainee programme that places participants in positions across the span of its operations.

Eskom has made a concerted effort to encourage female graduates to apply. We call on other companies, both public and private, to put in place deliberate programmes to eradicate workplace discrimination and make workplaces more conducive to women’s participation and development.

Companies need to empower women in decision-making and technical roles. This is to ensure that every workplace and every occupation reflects the demographics of our country.

We must commend the leadership of Eskom and of other state-owned entities, as well as many other businesses, for all they are doing to advance gender equality in the workplace.

By continuing and intensifying this work, we can make sure that we have more and more to celebrate during Women’s Month in the years to come.

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Former Financial Manager who was found hiding in a refrigerator, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for fraud

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Picture: Former Finance Manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd, Prishne Khan/Supplied

By REGINALD KANYANE

Former Finance Manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd, Prishne Khan (37), was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court for fraud. This resulted in the losses exceeding R3 million.  

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana said in addition to this, Khan received a further 4-year imprisonment for theft amounting to R350 000, with the court ordering that these sentences run concurrently.

“The court heard that Khan was employed as a bookkeeper at Northern Cricket Union from June 2015 to 18 January 2017, with responsibilities that included processing payments for various service providers.

“Instead of executing her duties honestly, she altered banking details on multiple invoices, replacing them with those of her husband and cousin and misappropriated R350 000 over six weeks from May to June 2016,” she said.

Mahanjana said when questioned about her actions, Khan resigned from her position. She further said following her resignation, Khan became the finance manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd from 9 March 2017 until 30 September 2017.

“This role provided her with access to the company’s bank account and banking systems. During her employment, Khan again manipulated customer banking details to funnel payments into accounts controlled by her husband and cousin.

“Despite her ability to process payments, she could not execute them immediately due to a token needed, which was the responsibility of another employee. After leaving the company in September 2017, another employee provided her with the token, allowing her to release payments totalling more than R3 million to herself from September 2017 until March 2018,” said Mahanjana.

She added that the fraudulent activities came to light when the bank alerted the company about suspicious transactions. Mahanjana said subsequent investigations by the police led to Khan’s first court appearance on 31 May 2018.

“In court, she pleaded guilty to the charges and attributed her criminal conduct to financial difficulties, claiming she needed the money for essentials, including purchasing a motor vehicle for her husband.

“However, evidence in the pre-sentence report revealed that she had used the stolen funds for gambling. During sentencing proceedings, Khan sought leniency based on her responsibilities towards her three minor children aged 6, 12, and 15, and cited ill health as factors in her favour,” she said.

Mahanjana said the NPA welcomed the ruling and reaffirmed its commitment to holding offenders accountable for commercial crimes. She said this case serves as a reminder that the NPA is dedicated to prosecuting fraud and maintaining integrity within financial dealings in South Africa.

In response, the state prosecutor, Advocate Pulane Segalo, argued that Khan had committed serious offences, emphasizing that she had betrayed the trust of her employers for personal gain. Segalo urged the court to impose a sentence of direct imprisonment to reflect the gravity of her actions.

“The matter was postponed to 3 March 2023, for the judgment on the sentence. However, Khan absconded, leading to a warrant for her arrest. Over a year later, on 30 August 2024, she was located hiding in a freezer at her new home in Nigel, leading to her arrest and court appearance yesterday,” she said.

Meanwhile, when delivering the sentence, Magistrate Du Preez agreed with the state, stating that Khan’s actions were motivated by greed rather than necessity. Du Preez said he noted that Khan did not demonstrate genuine remorse.

“She pleaded guilty only due to the realization of the consequences of her actions. Consequently, the court determined that the only suitable sentence in these circumstances was imprisonment,” she said.

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Motaki o a itsegeng, Kagiso Mogokotleng o latofadiwa ka petelelo

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Setshwantsho: Motaki o a itsegeng, Kagiso Clifford Mogokotleng/Facebook

Ka OBAKENG MAJE

3 Lwetse 2024- Motaki o a itsegeng wa kwa motseng wa Veertien gaufi le Taung, o reboletswe beile ya R500 ke kgotlha-tshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la maabane. Seno se tla morago ga gore Clifford Kagiso Mogokotleng (42), a tshwarwe mabapi le ditatofatso tsa petelelo.

Go begwa fa ka di 7 Diphalane 2023, Mogokotleng a ile a betelela lekgarebe la dingwaga di le 17 kwa gagabo. Go ya ka tshedimosetso ya kwa kgotlha-tshekelo, lekgarebe le, le dula kwa Kimberly kwa profenseng ya Northern Cape, mme ba ne ba tlile phitlhong ya mongwe wa losika mono Taung, ga mmogo le mmagwe ka motsi wa tiragalo.

Go begwa fa mmagwe motswa-setlhabelo, a ne a na le dikamano tsa marato le mogoloe Mogokotleng. Go ya ka motaki o, ga ana dikgetsi tse dingwe tse di fetileng, ga mmogo le lekwalo la mosepele (passport).

Bosekisi jwa National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), ga bowa ema kgatlhanong le kopo eno ya beile ya molatofadiwa. Bosekisi bo tlhalositse fa bo sa belaele fa Mogokotleng a ka itshona-tshona nko mo di patlisisong tsa kgetsi e, gape motswa-setlhabelo o dula kwa Kimberly.  

Bosekisi bo tlhalosistse gape fa paki enngwe mo kgetsing e, e dula kwa porofenseng ya Limpopo. Kgetsi ya petelelo kgatlhanong le Mogokotleng, e buseditswe morago go fitlha ka di 3 Diphalane 2024, mme dipatlisiso di tsweletse.

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