National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega has expressed outrage and concern about the rate at which police officers continue to be killed by criminals.

Over the past five days, five police officers were killed - one in Gauteng, another in Limpopo and three in the Western Cape.

On Friday, Lieutenant Colonel Knox Chauke, a training coordinator at the Human Resources Division (SAPS Head Office), was gunned down in front of his house in Kagiso. Nothing was taken from him.

On Sunday, Lieutenant Yezindaba Meshack Shikati, 54, and a constable were shot at by two men in Ritavi, Limpopo.

The two police officers were attending to a complaint at Mabuza tavern in Patanage village when they came under heavy gunfire. The constable escaped unharmed but the lieutenant was killed instantly.

In the Western Cape, three police officers lost their lives, also at the hands of unscrupulous gunmen.

In the first incident, the body of a 26-year-old sergeant from Gugulethu police station was found with multiple gunshot wounds next to his vehicle in Faure Road in the Mfuleni area, near Kuils River.

In the latest incident yesterday, two police officers - a sergeant and a constable aged 35 and 28 respectively - were gunned down in Nyanga.

The police officers pursued a suspected stolen vehicle, which was abandoned by the occupants who then fled on foot. They were gunned down in cold blood. Both members' guns were taken from them.

Phiyega said she is deeply saddened by the loss life within the SAPS.

"We remain resolute in our endeavours to fight crime and we will conduct round-the-clock investigations into all these incidents and bring those responsible to book,” Phiyega said.

She urged communities to join the police in efforts to bring an end to this brutality.

“We are appealing to whoever has any information on these incidents to immediately inform our police officers either at their nearest police station or by calling Crime Stop on 08600 10111.”

Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated as strictly confidential. - SAnews.gov.za

The next five years is about moving South Africa towards an energy secure future, with the Department of Energy already integrating their plans towards this goal. Energy Secure Plan According to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, her department has already started the process of ensuring a maximum level of alignment between their Strategic and Annual Performance [...]Moving SA towards an energy secure future is a post from: EconSpire
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It was a meeting of old allies when Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa met with his Norwegian counterpart, Prime Minister Erna Solberg, on Tuesday.

Solberg -- who is also attending the Partnership on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Forum, currently underway at the Sandton Convention Centre -- paid a courtesy call to Deputy President Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings.

Their conversation was dynamic as the two talked about the weather, the historical ties and bilateral relations, and the looming Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline.

Deputy President Ramaphosa was pleased to have met Solberg, whom he last met at the memorial service of former President Nelson Mandela in December.

“I attended the conference yesterday. It’s a very important conference and we are pleased that over 1 200 people from around the world are attending it. The best thing is that they chose us to be the hosts…” he said, referring to the Partnership on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Forum, which he addressed yesterday.

Expressing gratitude that the Deputy President had made time to meet her, Solberg said the conference is important, as it will allow time to reflect on the health achievements and how far the sector is in terms of implementing the MDGs.

Deputy President Ramaphosa hoped that Norway would continue to support South Africa and other African counties as they race against the 2015 deadline for the MDGs and beyond.

This comes as there are less than 500 days before the deadline for the achievement of the MDGs.

“The next 500 days will be critical for us, particularly as a country, as there is still a lot of work to do,” said the Deputy President.

He extended gratitude to Norway for supporting the country during the struggle towards democracy.

He said due to Norway’s unwavering support and strong solidarity then, a special and unique relationship exists between the two countries.

“We continue to value your cooperation and relationship with South Africa … Our victory over apartheid was your victory as well. You were a good friend in times of peace and transformation.”

The deputy president was referring to the fact that the Norwegian government offered moral, practical and diplomatic support to the liberation movement, the trade unions and the churches in their resistance to apartheid.

For her part, Solberg said the long history of cooperation that the two countries share should serve as a “good reminder that we should continue with our cooperation”.

To date, trade relations between South Africa and Norway are governed by the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) - European Free Trade Association (EFTA) free trade agreement.

In 2012, exports between the two countries amounted to R1.915 million, with an annual growth of 13.4%.

Norway is South Africa’s 41st export destination. In 2012, imports amounted to R735 million, thus showing a trade surplus for South Africa. - SAnews.gov.za

About 220 000 National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) workers in the steel and metal sector are downing tools in a nationwide strike that starts today.

The workers are expected to march in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, George, Cape Town and East London, according to Numsa.

The employers have tabled a three-year wage settlement offer of between 7% and 8% for different levels of workers in the first year and CPI-linked increases for 2015 and 2016.

However, the union has rejected the offer, as they are demanding 12%.

According to economists, the strike is a major setback for the economy as it recovers from a five-month long strike in the platinum mining sector. – SAnews.gov.za

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The City of Tshwane and the Innovation Hub have partnered to launch initiatives which will bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics closer to the youth, especially those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.The youth initiatives are aimed at addressing the shortage of skills in...

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The Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) has made significant strides in improving water management at the local level since its establishment in 2011.

“The MBI signifies the right direction when it comes to improving water services delivery in South Africa. It is an innovative and inclusive approach to tackling service delivery issues. It has also established important tools for change,” said South African Local Government Association (Salga) national executive committee member, Cllr Pinky Moloi.

In April 2011, Salga in partnership with the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the institution of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA) initiated the water services benchmarking in South Africa through the launch of the national MBI for Water Services.

Six key pillars of the MBI are:

· Water conservation and demand management

· Human resources and skills development

· Service delivery and backlog eradication

· Operational management and maintenance

· Product quality and financial management

“The MBI exemplifies a pragmatic approach to benchmarking, which has effectively addressed the current situation and designed an approach that takes into consideration varying circumstances of different municipalities.

“It has successfully encouraged participation from all municipalities and by allowing municipalities a degree choice on their level of participation and which performance indicators they monitor. As Salga, we’ve effectively ensured that the initiative was inclusive and could be adapted to meet the needs of each municipality stakeholder,” Moloi told reporters on Tuesday.

Moloi, who is also the Executive mayor of Dr Kaunda District Municipality, said the MBI is based on the mantra of ‘for municipalities, by municipalities to the benefit of communities’.

She said to quantitatively measure performance and monitors the areas in which particular municipalities were succeeding or falling short, a web-based data capturing system called munibench has been introduced.

According to Moloi, the strength of MBI lies in its multi-faceted approach to knowledge sharing and education.

“Through this exchange between stakeholders from across the spectrum, all those involved in municipal water affairs can become more informed and the MBI can be increasingly relevant and context sensitive in the future.”

Using technology, Salga has ensured that the MBI is transparent and all municipalities are able to access the necessary information.

Salga chief executive Xolile George said: “The MBI aims to improve effectiveness in water service delivery through comparative performance benchmarking and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.

“We will also vigorously market our initiative to external stakeholders both private and public with a view to sharing ideas and continuously improving water services performance.”

Executive Manager: Water Use and Waste Management at the Water Research Commission, Jay Bhagwan, said: “After years of pursuing benchmarking in the water services sector in South Africa, it makes me proud of the progress and innovations achieved to date.” - SAnews.gov.za

Police have seized over R2 billion worth of heroin in the biggest drug bust in KwaZulu-Natal.

A joint operation between the Umhlali K9 Unit, Umhlali Task Team, Phoenix Crime Intelligence and Tactical Response Team successfully uncovered the biggest drug lab in the province on Tuesday night.

Members from the Phoenix Crime Intelligence were following up on information of a drug lab operating in the Kloof area, at the elite suburban area of Hillcrest. After gathering enough intelligence, the members decided to conduct an operation.

When searching the premises, they found three men inside the premises and discovered a number of 40kg bags of pure heroin powder as well as industrial manufacturing machines, a scale and containers.

The three arrested suspects, aged 23, 55 and 56, were charged with manufacturing of drugs and were expected to appear at the Pinetown Magistrates’ Court no later than today.

KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni applauded the members for the excellent work of cracking this drug nest.

"As we had promised we are reaching the kingpins behind the drug trade in KwaZulu-Natal. We will continue to expose those that live in the lap of luxury and profit from the misery of ordinary citizens on the ground.

“Our detectives will intensify their investigations until everyone behind this network is behind bars,” she said. - SAnews.gov.za

Brazilian officials have warned that uncontacted Indians face imminent “tragedy” and “death” after a dramatic increase in the number of sightings in the Amazon rainforest near the Peru border. Experts believe that the Indians have fled over the border from Peru in a bid to escape waves of illegal loggers invading their territory. They are [...] Uncontacted Indians under Pressure is a post from: EconSpire
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