Hadeda News - 21 April 2023

Wine Grape Harvest Set To Be Smallest In 19 Years

Yvette van der Merwe, executive manager of SAWIS, said the industry had decided to make harvest estimates public only once the harvest was complete, since so many variables affected the harvest within the season.

She added, however, that this season’s harvest would be substantially smaller than the 2022 harvest which, at 1,38 million tons, had been 5,7% smaller than the 2021 crop, yet larger than the five-year average of 1,35 million tons.

Conrad Schutte, manager of the Vinpro team of viticulturists that issued the crop estimate in collaboration with SAWIS, blamed the smaller harvest on load-shedding and unfavourable weather

According to him, loadshedding had disrupted the irrigation of vineyards in intensive-irrigation areas, and dry winter and spring conditions

had led to smaller berry sizes with a lower harvest weight.

The uprooting of vineyards in the Northern Cape, Olifants River area and Swartland in particular had caused the total area under wine grape production to shrink. Between 2016 and 2021, the area under production had declined by 1 848ha in the Northern Cape, by 2 503ha in the Olifants River area and by 1 585ha in the Swartland.

Schutte ascribed this to farmers switching to crops that were currently more lucrative than wine grapes; these included raisins, almonds, pecan nuts and even lucerne.

Olifants River and Swartland farmers had also uprooted vineyards because of the drought from 2017 to 2019.

Heavy rain in most regions during the second week of December had brought some

relief to irrigation farmers, but had increased fungal-disease pressure, specifically downy and powdery mildew, and driven up labour costs, as some vineyards required extra maintenance.

Schutte said that in spite of the smaller harvest, the quality of the early varieties that he had tasted so far was exceptional, thanks to the dry winter season, which had resulted in smaller berries with more

concentrated flavours and aromas.

The climate over the next few weeks was crucial and could still affect crop size.

“It’s now important to open fruit zones judiciously, so that air and light movement takes place optimally during these challenging conditions with high disease pressure,” Schutte said. - Farmers Weekly

Skrywersblok? Bestaan dit ooit?

Wenke van Welbekende Gepubliseerde Skrywer - Annerle Barnard

die storie op papier, selfs al reken jy dis pateties. Jy kan swart op wit redigeer. Met ‘n leë bladsy kan jy niks doen nie.

As stap 3 jou bly ontwyk: gaan stap ‘n ent.

Broei op jou storie terwyl jy stap, kook, rose snoei, kinders skool toe ry. Doen ook sommer net dinge wat niks met skryf te doen het nie.

Verander die perspektief. Werk aan jou karakters (beslis ‘n wenner!)

Skrywersblok? Bestaan dit ooit?

Ongelukkig, ja, maar moenie moed verloor nie: daar ís raad.

Wat beteken dit?

Dis wanneer ‘n mens nie weet wat om te skryf en hoe om met jou huidige skryfstuk voort te gaan nie.

Wat is die oorsaak daarvan? Erge self-kritiek (perfeksionisme).

‘n Vrees om met ander skrywers vergelyk te word (perfeksionisme).

‘nTekort aan eksterne motivering, byvoorbeeld om deur ander geprys te word.

‘nTekort aan innerlike motivering, byvoorbeeld die behoefte om die storie te vertel.

Hoe ons dit normaalweg probeer oorkom?

Deur te tob en uit te stel. Ja,

wanneer jy twee ure per karakterkaart spandeer, dit in Grieks en Hebreeus vertaal en die rand van jou kaart met Egiptiese hiërogliewe versier, is jy besig om uit te stel, of jy dit nou wil weet of nie.

Kan jy skrywersblok oorkom? Baie beslis.

Hoe?

Stap 1: plak boude op stoel. Sonder grappies: vestig ‘n skryfroetine. Die meeste mense werk van 9:00 tot 17:00. Vasgestelde ure. Roetine is belangrik. Besluit wat jou amptelike skryfure gaan wees (al is dit dan nou na-ure of vroegoggend).

Stap 2: vermy die Internet en jou selfoon.

Stap 3: Kry die storie op papier: jou woorde hoef nié perfek te wees nie. Kry net

Skryf iets heeltemal anders om jou kreatiwiteit te stimuleer. Wat? Soek na ‘creative writing prompts’op die Internet. Daar is hordes. Praat met ‘n vertroueling oor jou idee en hoor wat hy/sy te sê het. Soms kry ‘n mens die antwoord op jou probleem terwyl jy daaroor praat.

Iets wat my altyd help is om die kern van die probleem met ‘n kenner te bespreek. Soms haak ‘n mens vas bloot net omdat jy nie genoeg kennis/inligting het nie. In een manuskrip moes my karakter ‘n wapen gebruik waarvan ek geen kennis dra nie. Ek was later moedeloos gestoei en een van my beste pelle, Google, het niks bruikbaar opgelewer nie.Toe bel ek ‘n kenner. Voila!

Terug by jou eie storie: moenie by die begin begin nie. Kyk of dit werk indien jou storie nié chronologies verloop nie.

Kyk weer na jou navorsing (dit werk altyd vir my!) Beplan jou storie in meer besonderhede. Jy is ‘n ‘pantser’en nie ‘n ‘plotter’ nie? Moenie bekommer nie. Ek is ook ‘n ‘pantser.’Daar’s steeds raad: Kyk of dit help as jy ‘n nuwe karakter by jou storie betrek (dalk een wat konflik veroorsaak), of ‘n nuwe probleem vir die karakters gooi. Die belangrikste is dat jy jouself nie daaroor kasty nie. Hierdie is iets wat die meeste skrywers soms beleef. Per slot van rekening is more nog ‘n dag.

Indien jy ‘n aspirantskrywer is en nog nooit ‘n skryfskool/slypskool bygewoon het nie, oorweeg dit in erns. (Daar is selfs aanlynslypskole waarna jy kan kyk.) Dit behoort jou probleem op te los en antwoorde op jou vrae te verskaf.

As jy regtig nie nog ‘n dag kan wag nie en die skrywersblok is ‘n probleem wat jou reeds geruime tyd kniehalter, onthou dat dit bietjie soos Wiskunde is. Dit lyk dalk na Grieks, maar daar móét ‘n antwoord wees.

Lekker skryf!!!

Manie’s Bistro

Flippen Lekker Kerrietjops

Vir 4 | Voorbereityd

5 minute plus marineertyd | Gaarmaaktyd 10 minute

Jy benodig

• 8-10 lamstjops

Vir die marinade

• ½ koppie bruinsuiker

• ½ koppie bruinasyn

• 1 eetlepel

kerriepoeier (sterk of matig na smaak)

• 1-2 knoffelhuisies, fyngekap (opsioneel)

• 1 teelepel borrie

• 1-2 eetlepels appelkooskonfyt

• 1 teelepel sout

• ½ teelepel witpeper

Só maak jy

1. Meng al die bestanddele vir die marinade saam en kook dit in ’n potjie op die stoof of in die mikrogolf. Koel die sous af in die yskas.

2. Pak die tjops plat in ’n ziplock sak of ’n nie-metaal bak en

gooi die sousie by Sorg dat die sousie goed versprei is en die tjops heeltemal bedek is.

Marineer die vleis vir ten minste 3 dae. Die gemarineerde tjops kan tot 2 weke in die yskas hou.

3. Braai die tjops vir ’n paar minute aan ’n kant oor matige kole tot gaar. Jy kan ook met die braaislag nog marinade aansmeer Bron: Facebook /Suidwesters.

Bakholokoe King Demands Recognition And Land

The king of the Bakholokoe tribe, Letsitsa Moloi III, has blamed theANCled government for his tribe in the Free State still fighting for recognition. He claimed his tribe's legitimacy dispute resulted from the ruling party's decision to sideline royals during the Codesa negotiations.

The Bakholokoes are popularly referred to as Bakhulukwe in academia.

Moloi said politicians made decisions that impacted the tribes' lands.

Moloi made his remarks during a media briefing in Sandton last week when he also announced that a trust had been set up.The trust was approved by the courts to secure 550 000 hectares of land in the Free State.

READ: Siyabonga Hadebe | Lesotho 'land claim' is a dangerous colonial distortion

The land, he said, included parts of Estcourt, Nquthu, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Standerton, Vereeniging, Kuruman and Bergville.

These lands, he said, belonged to his people for centuries but, despite that, they had to repurchase them from the British colonial government with 9 450 herds of cattle.These lands were declared “Free State” by the pre-1994 government.

Questions were sent to theANC on Thursday, but a response had not been received at the time of publishing.

‘SAstill colonised’

Moloi said they were taking back their land in Free State, adding that they wanted no political parties in their territory

He stated: After several attempts that we did to engage with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his other colleagues, including general secretaries and MECs, they decided to ignore us.The kind of disrespect we received from them, we are not going to tolerate it anymore.

Moloi said theANC did not recognise them but they would inform municipalities, businesses, police and departments that their tribe was taking back the land.

He said kingdoms that were recognised by theANC should fight for their people and not let them suffer

“We further call on all kings and queens within SouthAfrica to join us in ridding ourselves of the plague of political parties and the continued theft of our natural resources and ancestral lands.”

Traditional councils, he said, would also be informed that they were occupying their lands.

Lesotho saga

Moloi mentioned a motion that was reportedly put forward byTsepo Lipholo of the Basotho Covenant Movement in

March to reclaim Free State, which borders that country, was just a game that needed to be stopped by that country’s authorities.

He said:

Moshoeshoe has never owned Free State and they must know that part of Lesotho belongs to Bakholokoe as well and we gonna discuss that with them in future.

Lesotho, he said, was not going to steal from them, he claimed.

“Britain took our land by force and promised to give it back to the kings after 100 years, which ended in 2019.”

He said Lesotho’s motion was made

after the tribe sent letters to theANC, indicating that they were reclaiming their lands.

Moloi highlighted SouthAfrican leaders never publicly commented on Lesotho's motion, “which simply proves that they’re in this together, so they must back off”.

He said this could be another strategy by the British.

“[T]hey are good at playing mind games or is Lesotho taking chances? But we don’t care,” he said. - News24

The king of the Bakholokoe tribe, Letsitsa Moloi III, has blamed the ANC-led government for his tribe in the Free State still fighting for recognition. Photo: Supplied

Gemeente In Postmasburg Is Waarvoor Ons Gebid Het

In sy denim broek, veldskoene, vlootblou en warm baadjie ontvang hy ons by sy hek saam met twee vet, maar vriendelike honde. ’n Koppie warm boere troos word vinnig deel van die onderhoud op ‘n gemaklike leer sitbanke waar hy ons op ‘n tydlyn neem van sy eens rebelse lewe as jongman en ‘n profetiese woord wat op ‘n baie vroeë ouderdom van sy lewe deur sy ouma aan moederskant oor sy lewe uitgespreek was en letterlik, woord-vir-woord, gestalte gekry het in sy lewe. Die uiteinde van ouma se seënbede oor sy lewe was die beroep as pastoor van die Volle Evangelie Kerk in Postmasburg (dorp gemeente) sowat ‘n jaar gelede.

Pastoor Henry-Paul Franck (HP) (37), leraar van die Volle Evangelie Kerk (VEK) in Postmasburg se dorp gemeente en sy vrou,Amy het presies ‘n jaar gelede die beroep aanvaar as herderspaar van ‘n gemeente wat nog worstel met die heengaan van hul vorige herder weens die KOVID-19 pandemie. Pastoor Franck is gebore en getoë in Pretoria en was sy lewe lank ‘n stadsmens. Die beroep na Postmasburg, ‘n dorp van wie se bestaan hulle nie eens geweet het nie, is ietwat teen die grein want dit verg meer as net geloof om ‘n beroep as pastoor na ‘n landelike dorp soos Postmasburg te aanvaar.

Dit is die warmte in sy gesels en oop gesig wat jou onmiddellik aangetrokke en veilig laat voel in Pastoor Franck se geselskap soos hy vertel van die uiters moeilike pad wat hy geloop het vanaf 2007 tot 2018 om uiteindelik die kansel te betree

Die menseregtekommissie (MRK) se ondersoek na die Dawid Kruiper-plaaslike munisipaliteit (Upington, Mier, Rietfontein, Louisvale) se onvermoë om voldoende drinkwater te verskaf, toon goeie vordering.

Die VF Plus het op 15 Februarie vanjaar ʼn klag hieroor by die MRK teen Eskom ingedien.

Mnr Anthony Wyngaard, ʼn senior regsbeampte van die MRK, het vandag bevestig dat verskeie oorsigbesoeke

as ‘n volwaardige pastoor en om te voldoen aan die streng akademiese en keuringsvereistes van die Volle Evangelie Kerk in Suid-Afrika om as pastoor georden te word.

“My pa was ‘n motorverkoopsman en mamma het in die versekeringsbedryf gewerk,” vertel HP. ”Ek het ook vir ‘n lang tyd in versekering gewerk as ‘n eise klerk wat met kliënte se versekeringseise gewerk het en my teologie studies deeltyds gedoen.” HP vertel dat tydens die grootste deel van sy teologiese studies aan die kerk se bybelskool was hy ‘n handy man wat met daardie inkomste sy studies gefinansier het. Die uitdagende en veeleisende kursus wat die bybelskool bied het in HPse tyd slegs 4 suksesvolle studente gelewer uit ‘n totaal van 15 ingeskrewe studente waarvan hy een van die suksesvolles was. Na voltooiing van sy teologiese skoling moes sy aansoek van meer as 30 bladsye toe ook voor ‘n paneel vanaf kerkraadsvlak, streeksvlak en tot by die VEK se hoofkantoor verskyn om uiteindelik gekeur te word om vir 2 jaar sy proeftyd by ‘n gemeente in Natal te voltooi. Hierna het ‘n string onsuksesvolle werksonderhoude dwarsoor Suid-Afrika gevolg en na vele gebede deur beide hy en sy vrou was Postmasburg die antwoord op hul gebede.

Pastoor Franck erken met :” Ek het nooit voorheen gehoor of geweet van die bestaan van Postmasburg nie.”

HPhet ‘n liefde vir houtwerk en

na die gebied in die volgende drie weke sal plaasvind.

Skole, hospitale, klinieke en tehuise vir bejaardes sal onder meer besoek word.

Die doel van die besoeke is om die omvang van die watertekorte vas te stel. Tydens hierdie oorsigbesoeke sal die VF Plus die MRK vergesel.

Die VF Plus beplan ook om saam met die MRK met die Dawid Kruiper-plaaslike

van sy handewerk pronk in hul woning in Postmasburg met ‘n treffende houtklok teen die muur, maar dit is sy liefde vir die roeping op sy lewe wat die botoon is in ons onderhoud. Hy vertel van die uiters moeilike pad en soveel uitdagings in verskeie gedaantes op sy lewenspad om uitendelik die kursus te voltooi om as pastoor georden te word, maar die treffende boodskap in Pastoor Franck se verhaal is die profetiese woorde wat sy ouma oor sy lewe gespreek het met :” Diè baba gaan eendag ‘n pastoor word.” Ouma se woorde het gevolg nadat die baba Henry-Paul ‘n sieklike baba was en sy ouers baie nagte regop gesit het met hul siek baba. Jare na ouma se woorde en haar dood het haar woorde waar geraak en het ‘n eens rebelse tiener se lewe radikaal verander en vandag eet ‘n gemeente uit sy hande wat alreeds in moederskoot gevorm

munisipaliteit te vergader om die uitwerking van beurtkrag op die watervoorsieningsaanlegte te bespreek.

Die rede hiervoor is dat die watervoorsieningsaanlegte tydens beurtkrag nie voldoende water kan lewer nie en afgeleë gebiede soms dae sonder water is.

Eskom het vanaf Januarie 2023 dieAbraham Holbors September-waterwerke verskeie keer van beurtkrag vrygestel sodat tekorte

was om eendag in God se akker te dien.

Pastoor Franck besef die moeilike taak op sy skouers as ‘n pastoor van ‘n gemeente in ‘n dorp waar daar soveel nood en uitdagings is. Hy raak opgewonde as hy vertel wat die Here in sy hart geplant het vir sy gemeente en vir die breër gemeenskap van Postmasburg inTsantsabane. Dit is egter die krag van gebed en die roeping op sy lewe wat Franck en sy musikale vrou na Postmasburg stuur. ”Ons het lank gebid en ek was telkens onsuksesvol in al my onderhoude by gemeentes dwarsoor die land en toe antwoord op God. Postmasburg was die antwoord wat God gegee het,” vertel Pastoor Henry-Paul enAmy Franck, nuwe leraarspaar van die Volle Evangelie Kerk in Postmasburg.

- Edward Smit

aangevul kon word. In die klag word versoek dat die watervoorsieningsaanlegte geheel en al van beurtkrag vrygestel word.

Water is en bly een van die mees basiese menseregte en daar sal aanhoudend druk uitgeoefen word om hierdie reg te beskerm.Hennie Roux - VF Plusraadslid: Dawid Kruiperplaaslike munisipaliteit

Vordering Op Klag Teen Eskom Om Watervoorsiening Uit Te Sluit Van Beurtkrag

Pastoor Henry-Paul Franck wat April 2022 die beroep na Volle Evangelie Kerk in Postmasburg se dorpgemeente aanvaar het na soveel uitdagings met sy studies en ‘n string onsuksesvolle onderhoude dwarsoor die land.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet service can provide fibre-like speeds and performance in areas as desolate as the Kalahari desert.

That is according to testing conducted by wireless Internet service provider Quick Connect Wireless.

The company recently told MyBroadband about their experience using a Starlink Internet connection on a trip to the KgalagadiTransfrontier Park.

The cross-border game reserve lies in the southern part of the Kalahari, with a section in South Africa and Botswana.

Quick Connect continuously tested their connection over four days, including at night.

They set the kit up and put it through its paces at Tweerivieren, Nossob, and KalahariTent camps.

Starlink kit deployed at Nossob Camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Photograph: Quick Connect Wireless

It is important to note that there

is barely any cellular signal available in Kgalagadi, never mind fast fixed connectivity

Only the first of those camps has any kind of mobile connectivity, with no other way to access the Internet throughout the park besides using a satellite service.

They described Starlink’s performance in these locations as “super impressive”.

“Basically, it was a copy-paste service as what was received in Joburg,” Quick Connect Wireless said.

“We had similar levels of service at each of the camps as well as various picnic sites along the way.”

The company provided MyBroadband with a screenshot showing a test recording a download speed of 167Mbps, and an upload rate of 11.8Mbps.

The connection’s ping was relatively high at 182ms, but that made sense considering there are no Starlink ground stations currently operating in or near SouthAfrica.

The Starlink app dashboard also showed that the connection was relatively stable, with one 18minute session showing just 6 seconds of no network availability

While Starlink has not officially been rolled out to SouthAfrica and still has an “unknown” estimated availability date for the country, there were two confirmed ways to get the service to work locally.

Firstly, the method that still works is having the Starlink kit shipped to and registered with an address in a country on another continent where Starlink is already live.

To get the service to work in SouthAfrica, you must bring the kit to the country and activate global roaming.

That is what Quick Connect Wireless has done, with their Starlink kit coming from their office in the UK.

Another option that was previously available was to ship the kit to one of the twoAfrican countries that already supported it — Nigeria or Rwanda — and activate portability mode.

The latter also allowed for roaming in countries where the service is not yet officially available but limited the user to the same continent as their registered service address.

That was the approach taken by one of MyBroadband’s forum members, who works for another ISPfocused on connectivity in the rural Northern Cape.

Unfortunately, the ability to sign up to portability mode has been

removed for new customers. While customers who had previously activated this service will still be able to use it, others will have to opt for the more expensive global roaming option.

However, Starlink’s terms of service explain that roaming is intended for travel use and that cannot be employed for more than two months at a time.

After that period, the service needs to be used back at its home address, or the address needs to be changed to the destination where the kit is most frequently being used.

Since Starlink is not officially available in SouthAfrica, using a local address could be problematic.

There is still very little clarity on whether Starlink’s local operation is entirely lawful.

According to the Independent CommunicationsAuthority of SouthAfrica (Icasa), SpaceX requires several electronic communications licences to operate in the country

However, Icasa has repeatedly failed to respond to queries from MyBroadband on the progress of SpaceX’s applications for these licences, if indeed it had applied for them. It has also not provided feedback regarding the legality of the roaming service working in SouthAfrica.

Starlink does not respond to media queries, leaving prospective customers in South Africa to speculate about what is going on with the service’s local launch. - My Broadband

Starlink kit deployed at Nossob Camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Photograph: Quick Connect Wireless

Animal Welfare Society(AWS) Upington Besoek Pabalello

Pabalello, Upington, 15April. Ten spyte van die kouer weer het baie mense opgedaag met hulle honde.

320 kg hondekos 50kg katkos en 50kg geelmeel is uitgegee 3 Leibande is vervang.

1 Noodgeval met gevorderde TVTis veearts toe geneem maar sy moes ongelukkig uitgesit word.

'n Paar ander gevalle is geidentifiseer waar die eienaars in die komende week die honde sal inneem veearts toe opAWS koste. Honde is gedip/gepoeier. ontwurm en kleiner seerplekke is behandel.

Te danke aanAgrimark Upington &Agrimark Bloemsmond het ons

voldoende honde en katkos gehad om uit te gee. Ons leibande/Halsbande voorraad raak nou min. Enige skenkings van bruikbare halsbande/leibande sal waardeer word. Of borg 'n leiband/halsband kombinasie wat vir ons vervaardig word @ R65.00 elk.

Dankie Bargain Hunt Upington vir hulle gereelde skenking vir ons dipdae wat ons in staat stel om die nodige dip. poeier en ander produkte wat ons gebruik (oaTerramycin en Biokill) aan te koop.

Dankie aan die inwoner langs Thabo Mbeki park wat vir ons water voorsien het.

Dankie Felicia van Pabalello wat kom hand bysit het -

hierdie dame is 'n groot diereliefhebber wat baie diere uit haar eie sak help. Ons het vir haar poeier en kos gegee vir die diere wat sy op haar eie help.

Soos gewoonlik - dankie aan dieAWS span & Sybrand van Vuuren wat ons kom uithelp het met vervoer!

Aangesien Pabalello 'n groot area is gaan ons nog n dipdag daar doen. Ons sal deurgee sodra datum en plek bevestig is. Ons ontvang talle navrae uit woongebiede oor dipdae. Ons probeer by soveel moontlik uitkom . Ons is n span vrywilligers so ons beplanning moet ook die beskikbaarheid van ons span in ag neem.

Daarby moet ons vir elke dipdag 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid kos aankoop so beskikbaarheid van fondse speel ook n rol by beplanning. Enige skenkings van kos, bosluisprodukte en halsbande/leibande is altyd welkom. Kontak ons en ons sal kom afhaal.

Feeding the Poor and Destitute in Rosedale Upington

Our Feeding Scheme which feeds hundreds of bitterly poor people in Rosedale and surrounds has become one of the beacons of assistance KODAcan give to those that are not sure where their next meal will come from. With the kind assistance of local businesses and individuals our kitchen staff are kept busy with the massive meals they prepare. We’d like to thank all those currently involved and encourage anyone that would like to get involved in any way to please get in touch Gob Bless...!!!

How To Find us

Please

Mr

FJ

Booysen, our Treasurer. FJ Booysen Treasurer

Koda Multipurpose Community DevelopmentAssociation

063 910 9943

When you come over the bridge from the industrial area to Rosedale we’re the first grey building on the left please come and pay us a visit and see what we do.

Lealern Rampie Project Manager

Koda Multipurpose Community DevelopmentAssociation

Mobile: 065 504 1356

Tel: 054 008 5006

Malie Assegaai van die KODA Kombuis Span druk besig met die kos voorbereiding

How South Africa Could Have 21 New Mining Listings

SouthAfrica could have 21 new mining listings if foreign mining companies that already operate in this country would also list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange inAfrica, but one that is shrinking.

The 21 companies are all listed elsewhere, with no listing in SouthAfrica, even though they are mining, developing or exploring in SouthAfrica.

If all 21 listed, there would be a 50% increase in the number of listed mining companies on the JSE,AmaranthCX founder and director Paul Miller calculates in a note to Mining Weekly

Miller contends that a prompt from SouthAfrica’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe would do the trick.

“The JSE has bent over backwards to make inward dual listings quick, easy and cheap. All we need is a trigger, and moral suasion by the Minister asking the CEO of each of the 21 companies to do so, would be a good place to start,” says Miller, a person of considerable mining finance experience with Nedbank and also operational mining exposure as the former MD of Keaton Energy

Foreign listed mining companies that are producing in South Africa but are not secondarily listed on the JSE, include New York-listedTronox Limited and Sydney-listedTerracom Limited.

Tronox’s Namakwa Sands operations are located in the Western Cape, where its ilmenite, natural rutile, and zircon are transported to the Namakwa Sands Saldanha Bay smelter by rail from an opencast mine and concentration plant in Brand-se-Baai.The ilmenite is processed in furnaces to produce saleable titanium dioxide slag and pig iron, while the zircon and natural rutile are stored on-site for export. Final products are dispatched globally to eitherTronox’s pigment operations or third-party customers through the Port of Saldanha.

TerraCom, through its wholly owned Universal Coal, has six thermal coal assets and one coking coal asset in South Africa, and exports through Richards Bay CoalTerminal and Maputo.Also producing in South Africa but not listed here are

diamond mining companies Petra Diamonds, Diamcor and BlueRock Diamonds.

London-listed Petra operates the Cullinan and Finsch diamond mines and has the Koffiefontein diamond mine on care and maintenance. Canada-listed Diamcor has the Krone-Endora diamond mine in Limpopo province, and LondonAim-listed BlueRock Diamonds mines diamonds at Kareevlei in the Northern Cape, northwest of Kimberley

Other producers are Sylvania Platinum, Jupiter Mines, Bushveld Minerals, Mineral Commodities, Kropz, and Bisichi.

LondonAim-listed Sylvania has six chrome beneficiation and platinum group metal (PGM) processing plants, located on both the eastern and western limbs of the Bushveld Igneous Complex as well as various mineral asset development projects on the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex.

Sydney-listed Jupiter Mines’ Tshipi é Ntle operates theTshipi Borwa opencast manganese mine in the Kalahari manganese field of the Northern Cape.

LondonAim-listed Bushveld Minerals is a vertically integrated primary vanadium producer with the Vametco mine, Brits Resource and Mokopane Project and Bushveld Energy, with vanadium redox flow battery technology

Sydney-listed Mineral Commodities has theTormin mineral sands operation on the West Coast of SouthAfrica and the Xolobeni mineral sands project in the Eastern Cape.

LondonAim-listed Kropz has the Elandsfontein phosphate project in the Western Cape and London-listed Bisichi has the Black Wattle coal mining and coal washing operation in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. Explorers listed in foreign countries but not on the JSE are Ivanhoe Mines, Marula Mining and Botswana Diamonds, along withTaung Gold International, Vanadium Resources,Theta Gold, West Wits Mining, ZEB Nickel Corp, URAHoldings, and Platinum Group Metals.

“It has been my view for some time that the delistings versus listings crisis on SApublic markets needs a far more

thorough analysis than ‘it is all the JSE's fault and it is their job alone to fix it’- which interestingly enough appears to be exactly what theAssociation for Savings and Investment SouthAfrica (Asisa) and its members seem to think,” says Miller

This week’s Financial Mail reports that SouthAfrica has shed about 20% of its listed companies since 2013 and is down to about 313 listed units.

Miller warns that SouthAfrica is sleepwalking into a situation where the stock exchange will have less than 100 listed companies in 20 years.That is the trajectory. Savings reforms introduced throughAsisa have resulted in the small end of the stock exchange no longer standing a chance of attracting funds.

Less than a dozen institutions, allAsisa members, as well as the Public Investment Corporation of SouthAfrica, now control 90% of SouthAfrica’s R9-trillion of savings.Asisa members in particular are subject to rules that direct investment into the big end of the stock exchange, to the virtual exclusion of the small end.

NationalTreasury, which has put restrictions onAsisa, does not respond to questions and appears disinterested in stock exchanges being places where primary capital can be raised.

Names ofAsisa members listed on its website include 27four Investment Managers Pty,ABSA Financial Services Ltd,Afena Capital Pty,Alexander Forbes Ltd,Allan Gray Pty,Assupol Life Ltd, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd, Discovery Holdings Ltd, FirstRand LifeAssurance Ltd, FoordAsset Management Pty,

Hollard LifeAssurance Ltd, KagisoAsset Management Pty, Liberty Holdings Ltd, MaziAsset Management Pty, Momentum Metropolitan Ltd, Nedbank Wealth, Ninety One SouthAfrica Pty, Oasis Group Holdings Pty, Old Mutual, Prescient Investment Management Pty, Prudential Portfolio Managers Pty, PSG Konsult Ltd and Sanlam Ltd.

These institutions have reportedly grown their assets under management fantastically and individual portfolio managers are reportedly fantastically wealthy individuals. The benefits have flown to investors and the rest of the benefit has gone to institutional fund managers.Those institutional fund managers have size and liquidity limits in what they can invest and they are reportedly very closely managed against benchmarks.

As a consequence, many of them are reportedly referred to as index huggers, with most of their investment decisions not straying very far from the indices.

With the structure of the savings industry anti-entrepreneurship, there is likely to be a continuing decline in the number of smaller companies on the stock exchange, which will effectively become a market for secondary listings of foreign companies, for theTop 40, and for listed products, exchange traded notes and exchange traded funds.

There is huge concern that the JSE will no longer serve its societal purpose as a source of primary capital for growing and expanding companies, be they mining, technology or retail companies. - Mining Weekly

AmaranthCX founder and director Paul Miller, when he listed Keaton Energy on the JSE many years ago, well before the delistings issue arose.

Since the United Nations Climate ChangeAgreement was signed by 196 nations in December 2015, many countries have announced policies to reduce their fossil fuel emissions.

Their commitments are set out in nationally determined actions they’ll be taking to achieve this.

But the transition must navigate political economy tensions, especially in developing countries.

Take SouthAfrica, for example.

It has deep-seated socioeconomic problems such as inequality and unemployment. Its unemployment rate (including people who have given up looking for jobs) is unacceptably high at 42.5%.The country is also among the most unequal in the world.

And inequality remains mostly delineated by “race”.The mainstream economy remains predominantly owned by the white minority almost 30 years

after democracy

SouthAfrica is under pressure to move from fossil fuels to green energy, with a strong emphasis on renewable sources. It has

developed a just energy transition framework and a just investment proposal that has so far yielded €600 million in concessional finance from France and Germany

But the country is yet to formulate a systematic transition plan. Such a plan would be underpinned by a social contract, supported by a broad range of stakeholders and affected groups. Moving to green energy will affect those directly employed in the coal mining sector This is a fifth of those employed in the mining sector.That means 108 000 out of 514 859 people.

The ripple effects of the transition will also be felt across the value chain, from mines to markets and into people’s homes.

Making the green energy transition a success requires that the government pay attention not just to environmental factors, but also to socio-economic needs. It must pay special attention to the effect on workers and people living in mining areas, and the macroeconomic effects of dwindling foreign exchange earnings and taxes.

Ignoring socio-economic issues risks a populist backlash that could slow a necessary transition to a green industrial economy

Socio-economic imperatives

The core mission of South Africa’s shift towards green energy should be to achieve economic growth, rising employment and greater equity and inclusion. It must do all this while minimising social risks.

Agreen energy transition that is not anchored in fairness and inclusivity could potentially multiply socio-economic risks.

Any efforts to move away from fossil fuels must cover three key areas.

Retrain workers in the coal industry who will be retrenched in the process, and offer them an alternative source of livelihood.The transition, as the World Bank proposes, requires a “whole-of-society” approach. This should entail engagements with everyone who is affected to ensure that no one is left behind. Promote inclusive supply chains to enable greater participation of small, micro and medium enterprises, especially in small equipment manufacturing activities, installation, civil works, retail and maintenance.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development notes that small and medium enterprises can be important drivers of green and inclusive growth.They can be encouraged to adopt green strategies as part of their preconditions for participating in the supply chains of major firms.

Enhance energy security by attracting investment into other cleaner sources of energy. For example, the European Union is considering reclassifying nuclear as part of green energy. Major countries such as France insist on “technology neutrality” to include nuclear and hydrogen in

their energy mix, rather than to privilege solar and wind energy sources that do not have baseload (the amount of power made available by an energy producer). Lack of baseload compromises energy security

Renewable energy sources provide intermittent power, depending on the availability of sun or wind, whereas average demand requires consistent supply. Europe’s predicament in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine best illustrates this: as soon as Russia throttled Europe’s gas supply, governments rationed electricity to curb demand. Or they ramped up the demand for coal from countries such as Colombia, Australia and SouthAfrica to ensure baseload.

Awide lens

As countries march towards a brave new world of green technologies, they must ensure that those left behind, and trapped at the bottom of the old industrial economy, are at the helm of the new economy.The transition to the ideal state must reflect a broad energy mix, rather than leaning on a narrow set of technologies that may not adequately offer energy security or produce just and equitable outcomes.

SouthAfrica must balance environmental concerns, socioeconomic imperatives and energy security in its transition strategies.

For this to be possible, the answer, according to the World Economic Forum, will probably have to be a combination of institutional capacity building, well-chosen policies and a substantial contribution by the international community — technologically as well as financially

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.The Mail & Guardian

Alternatives: Photovoltaic panels at the Sishen in the Northern Cape. South Africa’s National Infrastructure Plan aims for an energy mix to cut the country’s reliance on coal. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

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Exploring The Beauty At Rogge Cloof Private Nature Reserve

Roughly eight and a half minutes after the sun dies, all life on Earth will start coming to an end.The sun is already dying.These are the kind of things you learn when you go to Sutherland. Most people know this small Karoo town of about 3 000 inhabitants in the Northern Cape as consistently one of the coldest spots in SouthAfrica, with mid-winter minimum temperatures averaging at around -9°C.The record low was -16.4°C measured in July 2003.

Others know it as home to the SouthAfricanAstronomical Observatory (SAAO) as well as the SouthernAfrican Large Telescope (SALT), the biggest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. However, few people are aware that tourism rivals agriculture in importance to the local economy as astronomers from around the globe stream to Sutherland to gaze at the Milky Way, constellations, planets, stars, nebulae and giants of the southern skies.This is es pecially the case in winter when viewing conditions are optimal.

Taking the Road LessTraveled

Many has been the time I’ve driven up the N1 from Cape Town, spotted the R354 Sutherland turnoff just opposite Matjiesfontein and pondered heading north to see what the town is all about. Generally, though, I’ve deviated tempo rarily from my journey in the op posite direction… electing to enjoy the nearer comforts of the Laird’sArms pub at Matjiesfontein. It was only last year, when I was sent to photograph the Roggeveld Wind Farm – featuring nearly 50 of the highest wind turbines in SouthAfrica – that I continued down the R354 till I saw the steeple of Sutherland’s surprisingly stately Dutch Reformed Church glinting in the late afternoon sun. It being a Sunday in winter, I wasn’t expecting to see much and my expectations were more than met.There is a disparaging line that the pavements are rolled up at noon on Saturdays and this seemed to be the case.

nstead of heading 110km back to Matjiesfontein on an extremely good road and then home (Sutherland is 340km from CapeTown), I decided to push on to Calvinia in the dark; not knowing I faced 164km of gravel and a moersedetour back to the Mother City via

Vanrhynsdorp on the N7. (I’d already missed the turn-off to Ceres via theTankwa Padstal and, there being negligible cell phone reception in this part of the world, could not check my position via Google Maps.) Still, my interest was piqued and, when I visited the SAAO and spent a night at Rogge Cloof Pri vate Nature Reserve as part of a Kia Seltos media road trip a fortnight ago, I knew it would not be long before I returned.

The Rogge Cloof Private Nature Reserve

It took all of a week and this time I had my girlfriend, who’d flown down from the Eastern Cape, in tow. She’d never been to the Northern Cape or Karoo (nor Matjiesfontein, for that matter) and the trip, she said, was a delightful eye-opener. Rogge Cloof – a recent addition to the Cape Country Routes stable of independently owned and run hotels, lodges and guesthouses in the Western and Eastern Cape – covers almost 20 000 hectares and lies 15km south of Sutherland.About 16 000ha is surrounded by electric fence to prevent the reserve’s free-ranging cheetah population from straying onto neighbouring farms. Rogge Cloof (“Rye Ravine”) dates back to 1756.

It was bought by the Gerntholtz family of Melkbostrand in the Western Cape as a holiday farm in 1992 and the process of converting the property into a commercial lodge began in 2014. “One of the two original buildings – known as the Peerhuis – was converted into what is now our Rittersaal dining hall, kitchen, reception and curio shop.The other, which we now call Oryx, has become part of our self-catering guest accommodation,” says Ul rich Gerntholtz.As “inclusive” guests (those staying on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis) we were accommodated in one of the Orion suites.

These eight off-grid luxurious chalets overlook a small irrigated plain enclosed by rocky outcrops, down to which herds of springbok come down to graze. In winter it is periodically carpeted by snow. Each suite features a king-size bed, an inside sitting/reading area, wood-burning stove, coffee station and ample parking. With the lodge complex (described by the owners as an “ecovillage”) more than 10km from the reserve entrance, guest security is not an issue.

Wildlife sightings and stargazing at Rogge Cloof

While there are any number of B&B and self-catering estab lishments in Sutherland itself –many featuring astronomically punny names such as Blue Moon and Stêrland (my favourite is the watering hole known as the MarsThere are plans to introduce a female within the next year: presumably her name will be Ro salind. Once we established their general location through telemetry, we alighted the game-viewing vehicle and started tracking on foot.

It was my girlfriend who spotted

movement behind a nearby bush and we spent the next 20 minutes carefully moving into position where I could begin snapping away Though we were less than 15m away, the two cats were completely at ease with our presence and studied us incuriously Another activity offered to guests is, unsurprisingly, star-gazing and Rogge Cloof bills itself as a “dark sky” reserve because of the absolute lack of light pollution (a feature that is the pride of the en tire Sutherland). We could clearly count the craters on the moon through the reserve’s telescope which, we were told, featured a 10- inch mirror. -The Citizen

Picture: Jim Freeman

Picture: Jim Freeman

Picture: Jim Freeman

Eerste vir STAAL

Carnivores like leopards, lions and hyenas have been killing livestock for centuries, causing financial losses to farmers. In many parts of the world, farmers respond by killing these predators.This has greatly reduced the populations of some top predators like leopards and lions.

Killing predators may decrease their numbers in the short term. But there is no evidence that it is an effective way to protect livestock in the long term. For example, in SouthAfrica, populations of the medium-sized predators like caracals and jackals that also predate on livestock increased or migrated into the area in response to lethal control efforts.

For this reason, farmers in SouthAfrica are looking at nonlethal methods of protecting livestock. One sustainable, wildlife-friendly method is the age-old practice of herding or shepherding.

Very little data exists on how shepherding compares with lethal methods globally or in SouthAfrica. We conducted a study in SouthAfrica to fill this information gap. We found that shepherding was very effective. Using shepherds, livestock losses were five times lower than losses under lethal methods.

Get your news from people who know what they’re talking about. Our results suggest that shepherds not only reduce predation; they may also be able to give a clearer picture of what causes livestock deaths. For instance, shepherds can see when livestock deaths are caused by illness rather than predation.This is supported by other research that shows

predators may be blamed for livestock deaths that were actually due to exposure, illness or some other cause.

The presence of shepherds could allow for more prompt responses to ill, injured or lost animals.Aperson who is with livestock all day can also identify where fences and water points are damaged, assess what grazing conditions are like and make decisions about herd movement.

The challenge

Shepherding involves herding and protecting small livestock while moving between grazing areas and water points. Shepherds are also often responsible for corralling animals in a pen at night.

This is not a new strategy

Shepherding has been practised since early pastoralism began about 9,000 years before present (or BP, referring to the 1950s, the date up until carbon dating can be practically used).

But its efficacy is understudied globally.That means there’s little empirical evidence to show whether it’s the best approach to keeping livestock safe, where it might be used along with other methods, or where it might not work at all. Existing data often relies on interviews, with their inherent biases, rather than on observations in the field.

Our study sought to fill this gap. We are researchers in the fields of botany, zoology, agricultural economics and conservation. We set out to quantify livestock losses ascribed to predators in SouthAfrica’s Northern Cape province.The province’s dry climate means that the main agricultural activity is livestock

farming.

The Northern Cape has the highest recorded national livestock losses to predation –an average of 13% of the herd.

Our study

We hypothesised that shepherding would be more effective in reducing predation on small livestock (mostly sheep but also goats) relative to other methods. We had access to two databases: one relying on interviews with farmers who had used mostly lethal methods, and one using field observations by shepherds and mobile technology. We consolidated these two databases into one publicly available online database.

Unfortunately, data on predator or prey populations (which can influence predation) were not available for our sites in the Northern Cape.

We confirmed, however, that the livestock types, dominant predators and environmental conditions were similar across the two databases. Using statistical analyses, we tested how predator management (shepherd, no shepherd), land tenure (private, communal), flock characteristics (herd size, livestock type), and environmental factors like terrain and plant productivity drove losses of small livestock across the area.

As we expected, black-backed jackals and caracals were the dominant livestock predators in both management groups (shepherd, no shepherd).Also as predicted, the loss to predation was lower (five times) in shepherded herds than in the no-shepherd group. For lambs only, this was even more obvious with a seven-fold reduction in predation.

Using herders’direct observations rather than gathering information from questionnaires also allowed us to quantify livestock loss due to causes other than predation. In our study area, we found that livestock illness caused as many deaths as predation.This was in line with global assessments by the Food and Agriculture Organization that showed losses from disease (30% of a herd) and exposure (anywhere from 9% to 52%) were the main causes of livestock mortality and were

several times higher than the global average for predation (5%).

This contrast merits further investigation locally and regionally inAfrica so that farmers know where to place their management efforts in the future.

All farmers, whether they were managing land privately or communally, experienced similar predation issues and drivers of predation in our study.This means that shepherding could be scaled to work even for privately owned (and usually large commercial) farms as a means to protect livestock.

Several farmers in the study were keen to use or continue using herders. Others felt there were barriers to their use, such as financial costs and social issues.

The data proved useful to the herders, too. One, Brenda Snyman, said:

Now we have the numbers. We really value the skills we’ve gained in herding and data collection during the study

Historically, herding has been an unappreciated and poorly paid profession. But with specialised programmes to train herders in animal husbandry and farm management now gaining ground, the skills and profession of herding may soon receive more recognition, while generating rural employment.

The solution

We must interpret our findings with caution because we were unable to account for predator and prey abundances. It is also possible that the non-herder group inflated their predation estimates during interviews. But, given the scarcity of existing information, these are exciting results that can be applied and form a basis for further research.They could also prove useful for decision-making by land users, and in policy change.

Graham Kerley, Liaan Minnie, Dave Balfour, HO de Waal and Walter van Niekerk collaborated in this research. The authors thank Emma Cummings-Krueger (Conservation International) for her help on the text.https://theconversation.com/

Herder Katrina Schwartz with her goats. Photo: Conservation International

Kom Skou Saam Met Ons in

Kapelaan Patrick Cloete Geesdriftig Besig Met

Ons het weer 'n draai gaan maak by Kapelaan Patrick Cloete waar hy nog geesdriftig aan die 'grout' is met die Mosaiek wat deur die gemeenskap voltooi is. Die Fontein projek is geloods in 2019 met die doel om die vervalle fontein in Vredendal weer mooi te maak. Die plaaslike gemeenskap, skole en instansies het gesaamentlik al meer as 200 mosaiek stukke voltooi. Die voltooide stukke wat reg is vir installering kan by ons kantoor in Vredendal, Kerkstraat 3 besigtig word.

Enigeen of instansie uit die sakesektor wat 'n bydrae wil maak kan vir Desiree Brand kontak by 073 229 5093 want daar is nog baie wat gegrout moet word.