graaff reinet

Cape Town, that most difficult, divided and unnervingly contrary
of South African metropoles, is at the heart of three out of the
five novels on the shortlist for this year’s fiction prize, with a
fourth written by a Cape writer – set in the Karoo – and the fifth
written by a South African now living in Turkey, whose novel spans
the globe from Ghana to Senegal and Paris.

With three out of five authors writing about characters from
elsewhere in the continent, this is also a shortlist that reflects
a new “Africanity” in the thinking of local fiction writers, a
welcome new direction for local fiction that demonstrates the
multitude of possibilities for looking not only within but beyond
our geographical and psychological borders.

Liberian HJ Golakai earned a place with her crime novel, set in
Cape Town, starring the self-assured, chaotic investigative
journalist Vee Johnson and combining genre elements with a nuanced
look at the social peculiarities of the Mother City.

Veteran author Michiel Heyns, previously shortlisted for the
award, impressed the judges with his beautifully written and
cleverly conceived novel of a small Western Cape town, whose
community is shocked by a crime into confronting itself and its
place within the context of broader upheavals in the country at
large.

Caine Prize-winner Henrietta Rose-Innes tells the tale of a pest
controller in her novel Nineveh, which the judges complimented for
the author’s expert prose and ability to examine a range of complex
issues, not only about the city in which it is set but also
speaking to broader socio-political concerns in the world.

Nigerian writer Yewande Omotoso also explores the city of Cape
Town in her assured debut, which leads the reader through new ways
of exploring the city and introduces a cast of colourful and
unexpected characters along the way.

Finally, South African-born Adam Schwartzman’s poignant and
funny tale, Eddie Signwriter, traversing the world from Ghana to
Senegal and Paris, earned a place on this year’s Afropolitan,
multi-faceted and reassuringly globally focused shortlist.

THE SHORTLIST

• THE LAZARUS EFFECT by HJ Golakai, Kwela
• LOST GROUND by Michiel Heyns, Jonathan Ball
• NINEVEH by Henrietta Rose-Innes, Umuzi
• BOM BOY by Yewande Omotoso, Modjaji Books
• EDDIE SIGNWRITER by Adam Schwartzman, Penguin

What the judges said

“Each of the writers on the shortlist uses language powerfully, and beautifully, and makes rich use of metaphor, allegory and an economy of language and style, and this bodes well for the future of fiction in this country. Many of the writers are young, and for several of them the books chosen are first novels. All of these issues were weighed carefully by the judges and we are confident that we have made a rigorous choice and have drawn the outline of an emerging and exciting fictional conversation among them.”

• – Sarah Nuttall, chairwoman of the judging panel

Books LIVE

Image: Paul Martin Eldridge / FreeDigitalPhotos.netAbout 741 farms used to be registered with the SA Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC), but this number decreased when the H5N2 bird flu virus broke out in the Klein Karoo, in the Western Cape, last April.

“This [number] has reduced significantly in the last few months, with the European Union (EU) export ban being a main driver, as it’s no longer profitable,” SAOBC interim chief Piet Kleyn said.

The EU used to import 90% of South Africa’s ostrich meat.

The ban’s effects had been keenly felt by ostrich farms, mostly found in the Klein Karoo valley, Southern Cape and Eastern Cape, which used to slaughter 250,000 birds a year for meat, leather and feathers.

More than 40,000 infected ostriches were culled following the outbreak, according to Western Cape agricultural spokesman Wouter Kriel.

He said the industry was losing about R108 million a month in export revenue and 20,000 job opportunities were at stake.

The national government provided R50 million compensation to farmers who lost birds, but many had to close their farms or survive with a limited flock.

The last time a highly pathogenic virus form was detected was back in October. A low pathogenic form, which caused mild disease in poultry, was detected in February but had already been slaughtered out, said Kriel.

However, the agriculture department would apply to lift the ban only once the industry had been re-structured — in line with the recommendations of a EU delegation which visited the country in February.

It required that all farmers re-register their businesses and comply with specific regulations before any of them would be allowed to export meat.

They were told this was necessary to protect the country’s image as a reliable and responsible exporter, said Kriel.

He said the industry accepted the recommendations and agreed it was sound advice, but time was running out.

“As the Western province, we are lobbying national government to re-think this approach and let’s rather allow a few guys to export now. Let’s find ways to get them to export at this stage, otherwise the industry will collapse,” he said.

“This [process] might take as a long as a year. We have a situation where all the [ostrich] farmers in the export business haven’t had income for a year. They are struggling to survive and have to invest more capital in order to export.”

The delegation recommended that bird and farm density be reduced, the movement of ostriches between farms and areas be cut down and ostrich health regulations be tightened up.

Kleyn said he believed a solution could be found if farmers, businesses and national and provincial government worked together.

Farmers were increasingly looking to the domestic market to sell ostrich meat, but there were few prospects as it was niche market which was favoured mostly by the health-conscious.

“It’s ironic and frustrating. The meat that we are not allowed to export is perfectly safe and can be sold into the domestic market. It is very small though and wherever we could, we’ve been trying to campaign and lobby,” Klein said.

Ostrich is a pricey meat as it cannot be sold on the bone, unlike beef and mutton. A 95 kilogram bird yields only about 15kg to 17kg of prime cuts.

Klein said a glimmer of hope for farmers was “a nice increase” in the price of leather and feathers.

The national department was unable to comment on Thursday as it was briefing Parliament on its budget vote.

THE Western Cape agriculture department will cull another 360 ostriches in the Oudtshoorn area by the end of this week.

Spokesman Wouter Kriel yesterday said this would end the department’s year-long culling programme in an effort to eradicate the bird flu outbreak that has all but decimated the once lucrative industry.

More than 40000 ostriches have been culled since the H5N2 virus was first detected in Klein Karoo flocks in March last year, including 3000 female breeders, which will affect breeding for the next three years — the time it takes to reach reproductive maturity.

While affected farmers received R50m in compensation from the government, the export ban imposed 14 months ago by the European Union (EU) has resulted in revenue losses of more than R800m.

Ostrich farmers who lost their flocks have had no income for over a year, and some have also lost their farms. In addition, the jobs of thousands of farm workers and employees in associated industries have been put on hold pending the lifting of the export ban.

Before the flu outbreak, the Klein Karoo region provided about 170000 slaughter birds a year, representing about 70% of ostrich meat consumption worldwide.

Western Cape agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg recently travelled to Oudtshoorn, where the ostrich industry makes up about 40% of the town’s economy.

He said his department would monitor the area in the weeks ahead. If the region’s ostrich farms remain virus-free for three months, the agriculture department can apply to the EU, which imports 90% of SA’s ostrich meat, to lift the ban.

The state vets were sure there would be no further positive tests because the extensive culling over the past year had greatly lowered the ostrich population, Mr Kriel said.

The EU will only consider trade in fresh meat once the industry is free of disease for three months and enforces disease-control measures including a reduction of bird and farm density, a limit on bird movement and a tightening of health regulations. Farmers also have to increase bio-security to prevent H5N2 from spreading, including chlorinating drinking troughs to prevent viral spread by wild birds.

Previously, only exporting farmers had to register with the agriculture department, but the EU now requires all farmers to register.

“This is quite a big job lying ahead and the MEC has urged farmers to get cracking so that we are not hamstrung by a lack of movement on this front once we get the go-ahead to resume exports,” Mr Kriel said.

Mr van Rensburg said the province wanted the government to lobby the EU to allow ostrich farmers who met the requisite safety standards to start exporting in the same way individual fruit farmers were accredited for export by European Good Agricultural Practices (EuroGAP).

Garden Route Media

REUTERS

International petroleum group Shell could spend up to 200 million US dollars (about 1.4 billion rand) in the exploration phase of its plans to extract shale gas in the Karoo.

Ukraine is likely to award tenders to two Western energy companies for potentially large shale gas fields, a government source said on Thursday, as Kiev tries to reduce its dependence on gas imports from Russia.

Anglo-Dutch Shell and Chevron of the United States are likely to win the right to explore and develop the fields, seeing off rival bids from Italy’s Eni, Exxon Mobil and Russia’s TNK-BP, the source told Reuters.

One contract area, Yuzivska, is in the eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions with the other, Olesska, in the western Lviv region. “(The likely winners are) Shell for Yuzivska and Chevron for Olesska,” the source said.

President Viktor Yanukovich has improved relations with Moscow, but Ukraine still hopes to develop its own reserves as Russia has used gas supplies as a political weapon in dealings with its smaller former Soviet neighbour in the past.

Ukraine has Europe’s third-largest shale gas reserves at 42 trillion cubic feet (1.2 trillion cubic metres), according to the US state Energy Information Administration, trailing France and Norway.

Exploiting the fields will require the drilling method known as fracking, which helps companies to tap gas and oil from previously inaccessible shale formations.

UKRAINE OPTIMISM

Ukraine’s State Geological Service, which is more optimistic that the US EIA, estimates the reserves of the Yuzivska area alone at 2 trillion cubic metres and those of Olesska at 0.8 to 1.5 trillion.

The geological service has also said the Yuzivska area would require $250-$300 million in exploration investment, while Olesska would need $150-$200 million. Tender application fees were $1.9 million for Yuzivska and $1.3 million for Olesska.

Apart from Shell and Chevron, Exxon Mobil and TNK-BP bid for Yuzivska last month while Eni bid for Olesska.

Western energy groups, especially in the United States, are ahead of Russian firms in developing the controversial technology of fracking (hydraulic fracturing). Environmentalists say the practice, which involves injecting chemical-laced water into underground wells, may contaminate groundwater and trigger earth tremors.

However, Ukraine gas no strong green movement that could put real pressure on the government over the issue.

The winners of the tender will enter production sharing agreements with state firm Nadra Ukrainy and SPK-GeoService, a privately-owned Ukrainian company picked by the government as its partner in a separate tender this year.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed on Thursday it had picked the winners but declined to name them, according to a report by Interfax news agency.

Ukraine imports about two-thirds of the gas it consumes from Russia at a price which has been rising steadily for the last few years and is expected to average about $415 per thousand cubic metres this year.

Russia says it would give Ukraine a discount only if Russian gas giant Gazprom is allowed to buy into Ukrainian gas pipelines which tranship the bulk of Russian gas to Europe, a trade-off Ukraine is reluctant to accept.

Talks on reviewing the price have lasted for over a year but so far failed to produce any results, unnerving Russia’s European consumers who have in the past suffered from supply disruptions due to conflicts between Moscow and Kiev. – Reuters

A FINAL report on the contentious issue of fracking for shale gas in the Karoo has been issued by a government-appointed task team, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said on Thursday.

The report makes recommendations on whether the government should permit the hydraulic fracturing technique to be used to extract shale gas in the ecologically sensitive Karoo. A moratorium was placed on prospecting pending its finalisation.

The report was compiled by a special task team appointed by Ms Shabangu last year. It will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration by July, she said on Thursday.

Shell is among companies keen to prospect for gas but has come up against fierce opposition by the Treasure the Karoo Action Group, which argues that fracking would contaminate water sources. Those in favour extol the benefits that gas extraction could bring to meet South Africa’s energy needs.

Shell has applied for a prospecting licence to explore an area of 30000km². In its environmental management plan, the multinational said up to eight drilling sites could be established in the Karoo.

SAFETY STOPPAGES

On Thursday, Ms Shabangu also told reporters at a media briefing ahead of her budget vote speech in the National Assembly that the report of the task team that investigated the impact of the implementation of section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act on the industry was also ready.

The section allows inspectors to stop production in the event of a fatality. Ms Shabangu acknowledged the need to refine the implementation of the section, which would be applied as a corrective rather than a penalising measure.

She said the report examined whether application of the section contributed to a decline in mining industry profits and production and whether it was appropriate for inspectors to shut down mines.

The platinum sector in particular was hit by section 54 production stoppages, often of a prolonged nature. In the case of Anglo American Platinum, there were 81 safety stoppages last year, compared with 36 in 2010.

LICENCE APPLICATIONS

The minister said proposed amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act would be submitted to the Cabinet soon. These seek to clarify ambiguities on, for example, how environmental considerations affect the issuing of prospecting and mining licences.

The amendments strive to introduce certainty into the regulatory framework and ensure that licence applications are made simultaneously to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the Department of Mineral Resources to prevent situations where companies obtain a prospecting or mining licence only to wait months or years for a water licence, which could even be refused.

The role of local authorities in mining licence applications will also be clarified, as will the requirements relating to consultation with communities.

Ms Shabangu said the process of applying for licence applications was now fully online, which she hoped would help reduce corruption. All 3500 old and new applications have been loaded on to the system.

ensorl@bdfm.co.za

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Montagu’s spa is a great oasis to indulge in warm water. Picture supplied

Related Stories

• Pics: gems of the Little Karoo       
  

Now why should the town fathers order farmers to keep their ostriches under wraps? What offence could these birds have given?

The answer is a quirky one, typical of Victorian morals. Those who issued the ban could be said to have their heads hidden in the sand, just like an ostrich.

The town fathers of Montagu’s feathers, apparently, were ruffled by the sight of male ostriches dancing to attract the attentions of the females. “Disgraceful,” they declared, forbidding farmers to keep ostriches in paddocks where the public could view such scandalous behaviour.

Nowadays, of course, nobody bats an eye when the males go about their ritual dance.

For me personally, every time I spot a hovering male ostrich, with legs all fiery in mating season, it makes me think of a visit to Tuscany, in Italy, where a male ostrich in a paddock stalked me up and down the farm fence-line.

While I flattered myself that he might have been a South African export who recognised a compatriot from his homeland, the farmer quickly pricked my bubble, telling me that male ostriches often fixate on human females when no feathered female is in sight.

Towerkop is a landmark from many sides. Picture supplied

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

While on the question of ostriches, they have a fascinating history of their own. The Semitic and Babylonian cultures, we are told, considered the ostrich to be an evil demon, connected with their dark goddess, Tiamat.

As for the Arabs, they thought it a stupid bird, whose form could be taken over by a djinn (a supernatural creature), while in Ancient Egypt, it was associated with the goddess Maat, the deity of truth and justice. Its feather – which symbolised truth because it is so light – was an emblem of the goddess Amenti and the god Shu.

The Kung Bushmen of Africa thought the bird had supernatural powers; so they performed ritual ostrich dances.

But moving away from ostrich plumes, the Kannaland Festival was being celebrated while I was in the area, and the local radio station was making sure anyone who tuned in was aware of the delights the area has to offer.

So, which towns fall within the Kannaland ambit? Calitzdorp, Ladismith, Vanwyksdorp and Zoar. Calitzdorp is well known for its port, and a festival celebrating this noble distillation is held every July. The inhabitants also take their culture seriously, and there seems to be much on offer in this respect. It is a great stop-off with wonderful views of the Swartberg mountains as a backdrop.

The back road beneath the Swartberg is a wonderful alternative to the main road to Oudtshoorn from Calitzdorp.

The landscape around Ladismith is dominated by the twin peaks of Towerkop (bewitched peak). The surrounding farms mainly produce dried fruit and dairy products. Their cheeses are in great demand, while for nature lovers there are several conservation areas to explore, such as Towerkop, Anysberg, Gamkaberg and Swartberg nature reserves.

Nearby, hot spring waters of Warmwaterberg in the Barrydale district lure those who love a good, long soak. When I first started visiting Warmwaterberg, it was run by a woman who was very health-conscious. This was where I first drank rooibos tea, long before it shot to fame and fortune. Only the healthiest foods were allowed on the table.

Each room had its own sunken bath – like a miniature swimming pool. You soaked, you lolled on a bench, you dipped in the water again. If you wanted to swim outdoors, a reservoir – also with hot mineral water – provided amazing vistas of the Karoo veld.

Now there are more modern pools, and trees have grown up, but this means those phenomenal views have gone. The special ambience, almost like a spiritual link with the Karoo, has disappeared. The indoor baths, though, still exist, but only those staying in the old farmhouse have access to them.

Montagu, where those prudish forefathers once issued the ostrich edict, is also famous for its hot springs. I must confess I also preferred them in the days before the 1981 Laingsburg floods washed away the old ones.

The many modern pools can never match the charm of sitting on a natural rock ledge in a crystal-clear pool, with mountains towering on all sides, and palm trees reminiscent of a desert oasis. The meander down the kloof from the springs to the town was pure pleasure. Not having been for some time, I am not sure whether this kloof walk is still open.

Uniondale, on the fringes of Kannaland, is not a town where many people stop, but it has a character all of its own. Its name comes from the fact that two communities lived here. Friction and tension were the order of the day, until a church was built between them, thus uniting them, leading to the name Union-dale.

Uniondale became known for the quality of the wagons its artisans built, and its water mill had the largest water wheel – now a national monument – in South Africa.

Instead of the usual charge down the national highway, how about taking time out to enjoy these small towns and little pleasures? – Sunday Tribune

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INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Montagu’s spa is a great oasis to indulge in warm water. Picture supplied

Related Stories

• Pics: gems of the Little Karoo       
  

Now why should the town fathers order farmers to keep their ostriches under wraps? What offence could these birds have given?

The answer is a quirky one, typical of Victorian morals. Those who issued the ban could be said to have their heads hidden in the sand, just like an ostrich.

The town fathers of Montagu’s feathers, apparently, were ruffled by the sight of male ostriches dancing to attract the attentions of the females. “Disgraceful,” they declared, forbidding farmers to keep ostriches in paddocks where the public could view such scandalous behaviour.

Nowadays, of course, nobody bats an eye when the males go about their ritual dance.

For me personally, every time I spot a hovering male ostrich, with legs all fiery in mating season, it makes me think of a visit to Tuscany, in Italy, where a male ostrich in a paddock stalked me up and down the farm fence-line.

While I flattered myself that he might have been a South African export who recognised a compatriot from his homeland, the farmer quickly pricked my bubble, telling me that male ostriches often fixate on human females when no feathered female is in sight.

Towerkop is a landmark from many sides. Picture supplied

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

While on the question of ostriches, they have a fascinating history of their own. The Semitic and Babylonian cultures, we are told, considered the ostrich to be an evil demon, connected with their dark goddess, Tiamat.

As for the Arabs, they thought it a stupid bird, whose form could be taken over by a djinn (a supernatural creature), while in Ancient Egypt, it was associated with the goddess Maat, the deity of truth and justice. Its feather – which symbolised truth because it is so light – was an emblem of the goddess Amenti and the god Shu.

The Kung Bushmen of Africa thought the bird had supernatural powers; so they performed ritual ostrich dances.

But moving away from ostrich plumes, the Kannaland Festival was being celebrated while I was in the area, and the local radio station was making sure anyone who tuned in was aware of the delights the area has to offer.

So, which towns fall within the Kannaland ambit? Calitzdorp, Ladismith, Vanwyksdorp and Zoar. Calitzdorp is well known for its port, and a festival celebrating this noble distillation is held every July. The inhabitants also take their culture seriously, and there seems to be much on offer in this respect. It is a great stop-off with wonderful views of the Swartberg mountains as a backdrop.

The back road beneath the Swartberg is a wonderful alternative to the main road to Oudtshoorn from Calitzdorp.

The landscape around Ladismith is dominated by the twin peaks of Towerkop (bewitched peak). The surrounding farms mainly produce dried fruit and dairy products. Their cheeses are in great demand, while for nature lovers there are several conservation areas to explore, such as Towerkop, Anysberg, Gamkaberg and Swartberg nature reserves.

Nearby, hot spring waters of Warmwaterberg in the Barrydale district lure those who love a good, long soak. When I first started visiting Warmwaterberg, it was run by a woman who was very health-conscious. This was where I first drank rooibos tea, long before it shot to fame and fortune. Only the healthiest foods were allowed on the table.

Each room had its own sunken bath – like a miniature swimming pool. You soaked, you lolled on a bench, you dipped in the water again. If you wanted to swim outdoors, a reservoir – also with hot mineral water – provided amazing vistas of the Karoo veld.

Now there are more modern pools, and trees have grown up, but this means those phenomenal views have gone. The special ambience, almost like a spiritual link with the Karoo, has disappeared. The indoor baths, though, still exist, but only those staying in the old farmhouse have access to them.

Montagu, where those prudish forefathers once issued the ostrich edict, is also famous for its hot springs. I must confess I also preferred them in the days before the 1981 Laingsburg floods washed away the old ones.

The many modern pools can never match the charm of sitting on a natural rock ledge in a crystal-clear pool, with mountains towering on all sides, and palm trees reminiscent of a desert oasis. The meander down the kloof from the springs to the town was pure pleasure. Not having been for some time, I am not sure whether this kloof walk is still open.

Uniondale, on the fringes of Kannaland, is not a town where many people stop, but it has a character all of its own. Its name comes from the fact that two communities lived here. Friction and tension were the order of the day, until a church was built between them, thus uniting them, leading to the name Union-dale.

Uniondale became known for the quality of the wagons its artisans built, and its water mill had the largest water wheel – now a national monument – in South Africa.

Instead of the usual charge down the national highway, how about taking time out to enjoy these small towns and little pleasures? – Sunday Tribune

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.

Kuphumla Zenze will be on the team building the SA stand at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

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• Wild, unkempt nature – in a garden

South Africa recently unveiled their 37th floral exhibit to the Chelsea Flower Show. For top exhibition builders, Joburg’s Ray Hudson and Cape Town’s David Davidson, 2012 will be the 19th year in which they have been on the creative team that develops and builds the SA floral stand in London.

As the international floral Olympics, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show (May 22 to 26) opens for five days in a tent city that emerges from parkland every May at the bottom of grounds belonging to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, in Chelsea, London.

First held in 1862 as the Great Spring Show, the show moved to Chelsea in 1905 and as the most famous flower show in the world, it’s a huge attraction to gardeners internationally. The theme of this year’s SA stand is Gateways – A botanical journey.

The aim of the exhibit is to take visitors to Chelsea on a journey across SA, through changing botanical and cultural landscapes.

Like the diary of a traveller, the exhibit includes a scene from the south-western Cape coast and interior (fynbos biome) extending into Namaqualand and the semi-arid Karoo (succulent Karoo biome) and onward to the northern provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga (grassland biome).

The exhibit is enclosed by a low perimeter wall, with each side featuring a typical architectural gateway providing a “sense of arrival” at each destination. The roads travelled take in a gracious Cape Dutch Manor House, a fisherman’s cottage, a rough Karoo farm track and an Ndebele archway.

The aim of exhibiting at Chelsea has always been to attract tourists to SA. The South African Gold Coin Exchange is the major sponsor of the exhibit for the second year in a row and a limited edition of a Gold Mandela medallion featuring the portrait of Mandela on one side and the Strelitzia on the reverse, links the icon to SA’s unique flora.

The Cape fynbos section of the exhibit will feature numerous protea species as well as cultivars and new hybrids, leucadendrons (cone bushes), leucospermums (pincushions), serrurias (blushing bride), heaths (Erica), restios and a host of gardener’s favourites such as Nemesia, Lobelia, Osteospermum, Helichrysum, Felicia, Arctotis and Gazania. – Saturday Star

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Malungelo Booi | 08 May 2012

<!–

Planned culling of infected ostriches will soon be complete.

–>

CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape Agriculture Department on Monday said it planned to complete the culling of ostriches affected by bird flu in the Karoo by the end of this week.

Agriculture MEC Gerrit van Reinsburg met with industry players in Oudtshoorn earlier.

More than 40,000 ostriches have been culled since the initial outbreak of avian influenza in March 2011.

The European Union also imposed a ban on South African ostrich exports at a cost of hundreds of millions of rand to affected farmers.

The EU imported 90 percent of South Africa’s ostrich meat.

The department’s Wouter Kriel said, “The Department of Agriculture will conclude the culling operation that has been ongoing for the past year in the ostrich industry. The last 360 ostriches will be culled this week.”

The department said it would monitor the area carefully in the following weeks.

The department will in the next three months apply to the EU for the resumption of ostrich exports.

According to the department, the entire Klein Karoo Valley, home to about 70 percent of the country’s ostrich industry, was affected by the outbreak.

The affected farmers received R50 million in compensation from the national government.

(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)

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Published in: Legalbrief Africa
Date: Tue 08 May 2012
Category: South Africa
Issue No: 477

There is ‘merit’ in carrying out some hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas in the Karoo, Environmental Affairs Director-General Nosipho Ngcaba said.

‘It does seem there is merit, from our own perspective as a department, on exceptional experimental work that would have to be undertaken under highly-controlled conditions,’ she is quoted as saying in a report on the News24 site. The department had said so in recent written inputs to the inter-departmental task team, set up just over a year ago by Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to investigate fracking. Ngcaba said these would now have to be considered by Shabangu, and the various options examined before her team finalised a report for Cabinet. She said her department’s inputs had noted, in particular, ‘the avoidance of the contamination of fresh water resources’ in the Karoo region. Further, there should be understanding that carrying out fracking operations ‘would require an enormous amount of water’, and that the Karoo was dry.
Full report on the News24 site

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INLSA

(File photo) President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. Photo: Leon Nicholas

President Jacob Zuma would get his second term if the ANC held its national conference tomorrow, but it would have been a fraught and tensely fought return to the party’s highest office.

However, a week – in this case eight months – is a long time in politics.

Political allegiance and friendship can change dramatically.

Officially, there is no succession battle, nor are there any discussions on, nor lobbying for, candidates until October when nominations open – there is only “leadership evaluation”.

However, the ANC’s rose-coloured rhetoric belies what is taking place in its regions across the country.

From Capricorn to Lejweleputswa, Bophirima to the West Coast, a complex contest is unfolding. It is drawing on local power and influence, including a potentially explosive mix of political office, or grievances over having lost council or provincial government positions, to offers of financial gain and, in some cases, violence.

Thus it is too simplistic to say that provincial membership strengths translate into delegates’ votes at the Mangaung national conference. Similarly, it is too simplistic to say that depending on the persuasion of an ANC chairman, the province’s delegates would fall in line.

The picture at grassroots is more nuanced and, at previous conferences, delegates representing branches within regions have shown their independent mindedness in the secret ballot.

While KwaZulu-Natal has worked hard to successfully sideline anti-Zuma voices in its ranks, it does not mean support in the largest ANC province, or about 24 percent of delegates, will bring victory at Mangaung.

The fight is region by region, but it’s an underground battle, with all the related dirty tricks and smear campaigns.

There was a clearly defined Zuma versus Thabo Mbeki battle in the run-up to the 2007 Polokwane national conference, with Cosatu, the South African Communist Party and the ANC Youth League throwing their support behind Zuma.

Today there is no face for the anti-Zuma campaign – certainly not after the expulsion of Julius Malema, the youth league leader who publicly called for leadership change at Mangaung. Much touted as a contender, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has publicly neither denied nor confirmed a possible run.

Saddam Masupha, from Gwa-Masenga branch in Vhembe, Limpopo, said while he would take a mandate from his branch, he would vote for Zuma in Mangaung if things were to go his way.

“Kgalema is not clear whether he is standing or not. He is not telling us whether he is available or not, and that is the problem. I do not even know who or which branches support him. I have seen Zuma’s line-up and it is powerful,” said the unemployed 35-year-old.

While liking Zuma because he was accessible and made it possible for him to report corruption on the Presidential Anti-Corruption Hotline, Masupha said, he knew very little about Motlanthe’s campaign.

Without a face, the anti-Zuma campaign is condemned to backrooms, with only occasional public displays of sentiment – the raising of a hand over one’s head with fingers pointing downwards to symbolise a showerhead, the gesture disparaging of Zuma as the man who gives trouble.

A factor that will evolve over time is that of the “Friends of Julius Malema”, established to provide him with a public platform outside the ANC in a replay of the support garnered around Zuma and his court battles in the two years ahead of the Polokwane conference.

But anything not in the open holds the potential for manipulation.

The ANC is aware of this: it has admitted, and condemned, vote-buying and lobbying for candidates as “un-ANC”. More recently, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe insisted branches must be allowed to think “and not be given a list of slates developed by a narrow, well-resourced circle in the ANC” and the frequent admission, and condemnation, of money for votes and un-ANC-like lobbying for support, dating back to the party’s national general council in September 2010.

While its organisational renewal proposals on banning the financial backing of candidates, even funding T-shirts, and the vetting of candidates by the integrity commission could be adopted at Mangaung, they would only govern future behaviour.

Meanwhile, it remains the task of senior leaders to speak out. As did Motlanthe at the December ANC Limpopo conference, where he condemned slates, or candidate lists, as the “worst form of corruption of the spirit, character and vision”.

“Stealing away the voice of members through slates, buying of votes and treating the ordinary membership as voting fodder therefore serves no other purpose than to corrupt the organisation,” he said, warning against purging those from the losing slate regardless of whether they have skills and capacity to contribute to work or the party.

However, soon afterwards Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale, at the start of his second term as ANC chairman, reshuffled his cabinet and excluded three people perceived to have been on the other side, and demoted a fourth.

Word is that Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza, the pro-Zuma politician also recently re-elected for a second term, will do the same to shore up his support. The far-reaching manipulation of who’s in and out crosses the lines of state and party: Gert Sibande mayor Khotso Motloung, a Mpumalanga youth league leader and vocal in the call for leadership change, was given his marching orders.

The signals from those in party and state power are clear to those in branches, whom the ANC calls its backbone.

And why should what worked in the run-up to Polokwane – swelling the ranks of ANC branches to ensure Zuma was nominated, the involvement of state structures and political plots and ploys – work now?

The intelligence services are again accused of becoming politically involved amid claims they are being asked to watch politicians. What is playing out around intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, the drafter of the KwaZulu-Natal ground zero plot against Zuma who remains accused of abusing the police’s slush funds, is unsettling.

And sometimes political tensions lead to blows – or worse.

Luthuli House has dispatched a task team to manage tensions in the Free State where pressure is mounting on Zuma ally Ace Magashule, who maintains tight control of Motheo.

Centred on the provincial capital Bloemfontein, it brings numbers and influence together and Magashule supporters hold all top five positions with four incumbents also in government jobs.

Some ANC regional leaders in the Free State, as in other provinces, have linked their political survival to that of Zuma’s, transcending provincial dynamics. Polediso Motsoeneng, secretary of the disbanded Thabo Mofutsanyana region and a known Magashule enemy, said he would support Zuma anyway.

“We support Zuma, we have a problem with Ace (Magashule). He is doing things in the name of the president, and he will never succeed,” he said.

In the Eastern Cape the political weathervane swings from region to region. And Zuma has visited often in the past six months, so much so that there are now claims that his education foundation is being deployed. Opposition is split between those in favour of Motlanthe and the third way, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

The regional conferences, such as OR Tambo around Mthatha, not only hold numbers but influence, despite divisions, and have previously backed Zuma.

Gauteng is known to play its cards close to its chest and to bring its divisions to national conferences. In the run-up to the 2007 Polokwane conference, the province indicated support for a third way but the branch delegates overwhelmingly voted for Zuma.

Much sympathy remains for provincial ANC chairman Paul Mashatile, who despite being linked to the anti-Zuma camp, has trod a diplomatic and politically sussed line.

What is clear is that ANC regions, not necessarily provinces, are setting the road map for Mangaung. And as of today, Zuma has enough support in enough regions to make it back into office.

However, there are still seven months to go on the road to Mangaung – and a verification of branches by Luthuli House – and the journey remains open to manipulation.

Gauteng

ANC provincial chairman Paul Mashatile, the arts and culture minister, wields considerable power in the province and was bruised when Zuma did not appoint him Gauteng premier in 2009.

This sore point lingers among rank and file supporters.

Mashatile’s supporters, largely associated with a call for change, but quietly and diplomatically, are in charge of three of Gauteng’s five regions – Johannesburg, the most influential, Tshwane, the biggest, and Ekurhuleni.

“My suspicion is that we might keep them both – the president and his deputy – and change the rest.

“We might lock those two in those positions in the interest of the party and be open-minded about the other positions,” a provincial executive committee member said. “We are trying to go to conference united.”

A government official who is close to Mashatile said: “Gauteng has never been to a conference as a united force. Gauteng has never really voted as a block.”

At the 2007 Polokwane national conference, branches voted overwhelmingly for Zuma despite different notions among the provincial leadership.

The divisions in the regions are to a large extent over local politics. In 2010, factionalism and infighting was so rife, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni were disbanded. In Tshwane, two conferences took place last year: the parallel conference of those opposed to the election of mayor Sputla Ramokgopa as regional chairman led to subsequent disciplinary actions.

In the West Rand, the region which Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane hails from, Humphrey Mmemezi, the deputy provincial secretary, swayed the vote in favour of Mashatile.

Mmemezi was then appointed an MEC in Mokonyane’s executive in a reshuffle that was forced on her.

In Sedibeng, there could be a serious contest for the position of chairman. Simon Mofokeng, the current regional chairman and mayor of the district municipality, will face opposition at the upcoming regional conference this month from Mosotho Petlane, the regional secretary. – Moffet Mofokeng

Western Cape

In the only province where the ANC is the opposition, the focus often falls on its role in local government – positions there and fighting the ruling DA – rather than party matters. And this muddies the picture, with observers saying it was a challenge to negotiate intra-ANC battles playing out in the council, province and society.

In the largest and most influential region, Dullah Omar, Cape Town, around a third of the 105 branches are not in good standing, according to insiders from the region.While much is linked to dysfunctional membership renewal – there is a push for members to take out five-year membership – personalities also play a role.

The ANC lost its Nyanga council seat in a recent by-election after the two unsuccessful candidates reportedly turned against the candidate selected through branch meetings.

In the Overberg, the problem with branches is centred around Swellendam, where the ANC and DA are neck-and-neck, and the ACDP now a free agent.

Work was under way to rehabilitate branches, according to the local ANC, but it was difficult as the tensions at council level, and personalities, play themselves out among members.

The West Coast regional structure was disbanded in March amid claims of factional fighting, officially denied, and too many branches not in good standing.

However, branches are being re-established ahead of regional elections later this month, according to the regional convener, despite the dominance of personalities which stalled effective ANC work and liaison with councils.

The exception is Central Karoo, around Beaufort West, where 14 of its 15 branches are up and running following the recently completed realignment with new municipal boundaries, according to the regional secretary.

While the ANC Western Cape elected new leaders in 2011, the historic factional fights remain those backing former provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha and those rallying behind former rival, now chairman, Marius Fransman, the deputy international relations minister.

Insiders say if regions like West Coast, Boland and Dullah Omar, linked to the so-called Skwatsha group, hold sway, the province swings in favour of President Jacob Zuma, in a replay of the run-up to the 2007 Polokwane conference. However, Deputy President Kalema Motlanthe is popular across regions.

The current provincial secretary, former youth leaguer Songezo Mjongile, is accused of pushing for leadership change.

Mjongile has dismissed such claims, saying all ANC leaders from Zuma and Motlanthe to Gwede Mantashe have been invited to the province.

“The only aim was to renew ANC structures and to win the province in 2014, he said: “We discuss politics – that’s the culture I’m bringing back”.

With 43 000 members, it’s doubtful the province will make an impact. – Marianne Merten

Mpumalanga

In the only province where the ANC is the opposition, the focus often falls on its role in local government – positions there and fighting the ruling DA – rather than party matters. And this muddies the picture, with observers saying it was a challenge to negotiate intra-ANC battles playing out in the council, province and society.

In the largest and most influential region, Dullah Omar, Cape Town, around a third of the 105 branches are not in good standing, according to insiders from the region.While much is linked to dysfunctional membership renewal – there is a push for members to take out five-year membership – personalities also play a role.

The ANC lost its Nyanga council seat in a recent by-election after the two unsuccessful candidates reportedly turned against the candidate selected through branch meetings.

In the Overberg, the problem with branches is centred around Swellendam, where the ANC and DA are neck-and-neck, and the ACDP now a free agent.

Work was under way to rehabilitate branches, according to the local ANC, but it was difficult as the tensions at council level, and personalities, play themselves out among members.

The West Coast regional structure was disbanded in March amid claims of factional fighting, officially denied, and too many branches not in good standing.

However, branches are being re-established ahead of regional elections later this month, according to the regional convener, despite the dominance of personalities which stalled effective ANC work and liaison with councils.

The exception is Central Karoo, around Beaufort West, where 14 of its 15 branches are up and running following the recently completed realignment with new municipal boundaries, according to the regional secretary.

While the ANC Western Cape elected new leaders in 2011, the historic factional fights remain those backing former provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha and those rallying behind former rival, now chairman, Marius Fransman, the deputy international relations minister.

Insiders say if regions like West Coast, Boland and Dullah Omar, linked to the so-called Skwatsha group, hold sway, the province swings in favour of President Jacob Zuma, in a replay of the run-up to the 2007 Polokwane conference. However, Deputy President Kalema Motlanthe is popular across regions.

The current provincial secretary, former youth leaguer Songezo Mjongile, is accused of pushing for leadership change.

Mjongile has dismissed such claims, saying all ANC leaders from Zuma and Motlanthe to Gwede Mantashe have been invited to the province.

“The only aim was to renew ANC structures and to win the province in 2014, he said: “We discuss politics – that’s the culture I’m bringing back”.

With 43 000 members, it’s doubtful the province will make an impact. – Marianne Merten

KZN

The ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has remained a vocal proponent of President Jacob Zuma’s second-term ambitions.

“KZN is unashamedly and conspicuously supporting Zuma for a second term,” said a prominent youth leader.

ANC insiders aligned to the youth league said they had to lobby and make compromises with the party and the Left to ensure the province presented a united front ahead of Mangaung.

Jointly, they have dealt decisively and diplomatically with dissenting voices, which arose particularly in Harry Gwala region – home turf of ANCYL secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa, now suspended.

As part and parcel of the political deal-making, those who want to see incumbent chairman and premier Zweli Mkhize go at next week’s elective conference have been alienated at branch level within the province’s 11 regions, paving the way for an overwhelming, if not a guaranteed total, pro-Zuma approach.

While those who are against Mkhize retaining the chairmanship were alienated within the regions at branch level, the disbanded pro-Zuma youth leaguers have pushed for its people in key positions and more than a dozen of them are either chairmen, secretaries or treasurers in 11 regions.

Former chairman of the disbanded youth league and MPL Mthandeni Dlungwane is now deputy chairman in Pietermaritzburg Moses Mabhida region.

Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo’s election as chairman of eThekwini, the largest region with more than 90 000 of KZN’s 244 000 members, is a boost for Mkhize – and thus Zuma, as the two have made up after last year’s fall-out.

Provincial ANC secretary Sihle Zikalala has been quick to point out that KwaZulu-Natal will not go to Bloemfontein to dictate the agenda “just because we happen to be the biggest province and will have the biggest number of voting delegates”.

However, the ground work has been done to guarantee a swell of support for Zuma in the ANC’s biggest province. – Nathi Olifant

Eastern Cape

Three of the ANC regions in the Eastern Cape have shown their pro-change inclinations, electing anti-Zuma regional leaders. Later this month OR Tambo region will see a vote off for chairman between the Zuma backer mayoral committee member William Ngozi and Mhlontlo mayor Thandekile Sabisa, who is seeking a second term on the ticket of leadership change, with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe heading the opposition slate as president. The region, around Mthatha, is key: despite its divisions, it has a history of independent mindedness.

In Amathole, a tricky region around Butterworth, which was disbanded in 2008 after Mluleki George joined Cope, the push for leadership change in favour of Motlanthe is under way. The main battle is between Young Communist League provincial chairman Sithembele Zuka and ANC youth league member Thembalethu Ntuthu for the position of regional secretary. It highlights the complex mix in this province where the South African Communist Party (SACP), Cosatu and the ANC leagues have brought their influence to bear.

Last month the Nelson Mandela Bay region re-elected former mayor Nceba Faku, who has pushed for a third way in favour of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale and has enjoyed the active support of the provincial youth league and uMkhonto we Sizwe Veterans League.

Faku won even after representatives of 40 of the 185 branches pulled out of the regional conference, claiming other branches supporting Cosatu-backed Zanoxolo Wayile were unjustly disqualified ahead of conference.

Earlier this year, Alfred Nzo region, a largely rural area around Mount Ayliff, voted in Sandile Sello, the Matatiele municipality finance committee head, over the pro-Zuma SACP candidate. In the newly established Buffalo City (East London) region the vote went in favour of Zukiswa Faku, the former mayor, as chairwoman in a show of anti-Zuma sentiments.

Bucking the trend was Chris Hani region, with its pro-Zuma regional executive under Chris Hani District Municipality executive mayor Mxolisi Koyo.

With 225 000 members, the province is the second-largest, but its membership clearly is divided, even in opposition to Zuma, leaving fertile ground for the incumbent to make gains. – Gcina Ntsaluba

Free State

For the first time, Ace Magashule – the longest-serving ANC provincial chairman – is facing what seems to be a fierce challenge to his hold on power. Magashule and his allies have captured the biggest region in the province and skilfully linked his survival to that of President Jacob Zuma, arguing both had to be given a second chance.

But the flames of discontent have been billowing from the province, where violent incidents flared up during the branch nomination processes in the run-up to the provincial conference, to be held in June. He is facing a strong challenge from his former allies – Sibongile Besani, the party’s provincial secretary, and Mxolisi Dukwana, the provincial treasurer. The duo represents a campaign bluntly named “Regime Change”. Their support bases are in Thabo Mofutsanyana – the second-biggest region – and Lejweleputswa. Opposition against Magashule in these two regions is relatively palpable. Interestingly, Magashule disbanded both regions last year in what was widely seen as a purge.

But Magashule has a tight grip on Motheo, the biggest region, which includes the capital Bloemfontein and home of the Mangaung municipality. Motheo mayor Thabo Manyoni, who is also the ANC regional chairman, said attempts to unseat Magashule would not succeed. Manyoni, who is also the ANC’s provincial deputy chairman, said Magashule deserved another term as party leader and premier.

“It is going to be smooth sailing for those supporting the Magashule campaign. Let him return his chairmanship so that he can finish his term as premier,” he said. But Magashule’s rivals have captured the province’s second-biggest region, Thabo Mofutsanyana, which is controlled by Polediso “Dihelele” Motsoeneng, a known Magashule enemy. Motsoeneng said his camp wanted Magashule removed, but supported Zuma.

“We support Zuma, we have a problem with Ace. He is doing things in the name of the president, and he will never succeed,” he said. But Magashule also has tight control of Xhariep, the smallest region. Magashule is hoping that support from Motheo, Xhariep and some parts of Thabo Mofutsanyana, Lejweleputswa and Fezile Dabi will help him win the conference. He appears to have the upper hand, albeit not as strong as in the past, over his enemies. – George Matlala

Limpopo

If Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe were to contest Limpopo province tomorrow, he would definitely win three of the five regions. This is if the so-called anti-Zuma camp that re-elected premier Cassel Mathale automatically supports Motlanthe.

Their regional allies are in firm control of Sekhukhune and Mopani – the two biggest and most influential ANC regions in the province – and won Capricorn three years ago with a small margin.

A sizeable number of branches in Capricorn did not support Mathale during branch nominations. With 131 branches and 38 000 members, Sekhukhune is the province’s traditional kingmaker, due to its sheer size.

Two regional executives – from Sekhukhune and Capricorn – said Motlanthe had made inroads in their areas. However, they admitted that Zuma’s presence was also felt. Zuma’s supporters are in charge of Vhembe and Waterberg – the third and fifth biggest regions respectively.

Most branches in Vhembe and Waterberg nominated Zuma’s ally and Deputy Arts and Culture Minister Joe Phaahla’s failed bid to unseat Mathale.

Saddam Masupha, a member of the ANC’s Gwa-Masenga branch in Vhembe, said he would vote for Zuma if elections were to be held soon. The 35-year-old unemployed man said apart from liking Zuma because he was accessible, he knew very little about Motlanthe’s campaign.

Capricorn, Limpopo’s financial powerhouse, is influential because it is home to most businessmen (or tenderpreneurs), politicians and civil servants. Some of the rich in this region are accused of financing and buying support in other regions to support their preferred provincial leader. Mopani, Vhembe and Capricorn hold their regional conferences in the next three weeks, and Zuma’s support base will be tested A regional leader from Capricorn added that “What I can say is that Zuma might be having few people. But the outcome of the two conferences (Capricorn and Mopani) will determine ahead of Mangaung”. Julius Malema’s allies, Joshua Matlou and Lawrence Mapoulo, are in charge of Mopani and Capricorn while Philemon Mdaka, who is not in the Mathale circle, controls Vhembe. However, Malema’s dismissal from the party and his and the province’s cash-flow crisis could also hurt the Mathale camp, and by extension – based on our theory – Motlanthe’s chances. – Piet Rampedi

North West

ANC chairman Supra Mahumapelo, a known Zuma supporter, is embroiled in a bitter fight with provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge over control of the party.

In this long-divided province, Mahumapelo and his faction are disbanding regions that, according to his critics, are not supporting him. The group is also at war with premier Thandi Modise, the ANC’s deputy general secretary, over the control of the provincial government. Modise is associated with supporting Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, who compiled a report that saw Mahumapelo’s executive |disbanded in 2008. Kabelo Mataboge supports Mbalula.

However, it’s a complex division: during last year’s provincial conference, Mahumapelo’s group had to broker a deal with Mataboge to help him become the provincial chairman.

The fight now is for the control of the province’s biggest region, Bojanala, Mataboge’s home region. The region’s chairman, Louis Diremelo, is seen as a supporter of Motlanthe because of his closeness to Mataboge, while the region’s secretary, Tokyo Mataboge, backs Mahumapelo, making him a Zuma-backer.

Diremelo said those who associated him with Motlanthe were malicious.

Mahumapelo disbanded Ngaka Modiri Molema and is set to dissolve Kenneth Kaunda – the two regions that are not supporting him. His faction wanted to install interim acting leaders who will toe their line.

A regional leader in the Ngaka Modiri Molema region said they supported Kabelo Mataboge – and thus Motlanthe. “People are failing to differentiate Kabelo from Malema,” the leader said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But a member of the ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC) close to both Kabelo Mataboge and Diremelo, said the two preferred Motlanthe over Zuma.

“Kgalema has always been calm and doesn’t have personal interests. We need his leadership to take the ANC forward,” the leader said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

However, Mahumapelo has the upper hand in the party’s PEC, which gives him ammunition to dissolve the regions that oppose him. Mahumapelo’s domination of the PEC, support in Bojanala, and his efforts to install his preferred leaders in Ngaka Modiri Molema and Kenneth Kaunda regions, could give him and Zuma the upper hand in the North West.

ANC provincial spokesman Kenny Morolong said those who suggested regions were being disbanded as part of the ANC succession battle were mischievous.

“We cannot allow mischievous elements who want to open a discussion on ANC leadership to drag us into that debate. (The dissolution of) Ngaka Modiri Molema was resolved by the PEC, not Supra,” he said. – George Matlala

Northern Cape

Godfrey Oliphant, the deputy mineral resources minister, has agreed to stand against the incumbent ANC chairman John Block, who is also facing a challenge from Thapelo “Prof” Sekhonyane, a former uMkhonto we Sizwe member and Robben Islander.

This means Block, who is supported by the vocal provincial youth league and has taken up its call for leadership change, faces an unprecedented challenge – and one which is splitting three key regions.

While Block holds significant support in the provincial capital, Kimberley, some claim through use of his government contacts there, the entry of Oliphant, a former ANC deputy provincial chairman, into the contest has galvanised branches outside the city, including Warrenton, Hartwater and Jan Kempdorp and Barkley West, in favour of Oliphant.

The Francis Baard region is the largest and most influential, but Oliphant is supported by the second-largest region, John Taole Gaetsewe, formerly known as Kuruman, which includes various mining towns.

Oliphant is a former National Union of Mineworkers’ leader standing on a ticket of clean governance. And this is a first sign that sympathy for Block, triggered after he was charged with fraud, may be on the wane.

Insiders say the fraud charges against Block have always been a driving factor, even among his supporters, including the provincial SACP.

“In 2013 we will start preparing for the 2014 national elections.

“ We are concerned that the present leadership will next year be undertaking their “Hands off Block” campaign instead of concentrating on the 2014 national elections,” said Oliphant lobby group spokesman Donovan “Mabalane” Brown.

The Oliphant lobby group has also made inroads in Siyanda region around Upington, Block’s stronghold and venue of the provincial conference early next month, particularly in the Tsantsabane sub region, which includes the towns of Danielskuil and Postmasburg, as well as Keimoes and Kakamas.

However, Block’s home town of Upington is squarely behind him, again splitting yet another region.

The group backing Block has access to resources necessary to criss-cross the vast Northern Cape, and thus its influence has been strong in regional elections in areas like Namakwa (Springbok) and Pixley ka Seme (De Aar).

However, the question also remains whether opposing Block would lead to the backing of Zuma. The opposition to Block is divided between those in favour of Zuma and those wanting Motlanthe as president. – Baldwin Ndaba

Sunday Independent

2012-05-02 22:45

Cape Town – There is “merit” in carrying out some hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas in the Karoo, Environmental Affairs Director General Nosipho Ngcaba said on Wednesday.

“It does seem there is merit, from our own perspective as a department, on exceptional experimental work that would have to be undertaken under highly-controlled conditions,” she told a media briefing at Parliament.

The department had said so in recent written inputs to the inter-departmental task team, set up just over a year ago by Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to investigate fracking.

Ngcaba said these would now have to be considered by Shabangu, and the various options examined before her team finalised a report for Cabinet.

There would have to be a “clear understanding” of the technologies that would be used to extract the shale gas.

She said her department’s inputs had noted, in particular, “the avoidance of the contamination of fresh water resources” in the Karoo region.

Further, there should be understanding that carrying out fracking operations “would require an enormous amount of water”, and that the Karoo was dry.

Fracking involves pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure down a borehole into the rock strata containing the shale gas.

The process releases the gas, which flows out of the borehole to the surface, where it is captured and contained.

Square Kilometre Array

Ngcaba said environmental affairs had also raised concerns in its inputs about the use of shale gas, a fossil fuel, and the impact of doing so on South Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions profile.

It had also noted that fracking could have an impact in the area set aside for construction of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.

Speaking at the briefing, Environment and Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said Shabangu was expected to table her team’s report on fracking to Cabinet.

She also said further discussion was needed on water matters before this could be done.

“We obviously would need to just jointly do a bit of work in that regard.”

Molewa told journalists Shabangu was “not withholding the report, but just finalising a few things that need to be looked at”.

Earlier this year, Shabangu said the report would go to Cabinet on March 31.

In that month, business consultancy Econometrix said in a report that if the amount of shale gas – lying about 4 000 to 5 000m below the Karoo surface – was confirmed, it could provide the equivalent of 400 years’ worth of energy consumption in South Africa.

It called for the government to get moving on exploring the potential of its suspected shale gas fields.

Mighty big fish

“This is big stuff in terms of contribution to GDP, in terms of employment potential. Even if the gas finds turn out to be a lot smaller than the estimate… we are talking about a mighty big fish,” Econometrix economist Tony Twine said at the time.

The Karoo shale gas was currently only a “suspected resource” of about 485 trillion cubic feet.

If this was correct – and using a projection model of four percent of the estimated resource – there could be, according to the report, an annual economic impact of more than R80bn to the country’s GDP.

Several companies, including oil giant Shell, are seeking permission to explore for shale gas across tens of thousands of square kilometres of the Karoo.

Environmentalists, landowners and others are opposed to this, saying fracking could contaminate groundwater in the region.

The fierce debate prompted Shabangu to last year declare a moratorium on fracking until her team had completed its investigations.

Wednesday’s media briefing comes ahead of debate in the National Assembly later in the day on environmental affairs’ 2012/13 budget.

Cape Town – South Africa’s ostrich industry hangs in the balance
as farmers desperately await a lift on a meat export ban, with time and
money running out.

About 741 farms used to be registered with the SA
Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC), but this number decreased when the
H5N2 bird flu virus broke out in the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape
last April.

“This (number) has reduced significantly in the last
few months, with the European Union export ban being a main driver,
as it’s no longer profitable,” SAOBC interim chief Piet Kleyn said.

The EU used to import 90% of South Africa’s ostrich meat.

The ban’s effects have been keenly felt by ostrich
farms, mostly found in the Klein Karoo valley, Southern Cape and Eastern
Cape, which used to slaughter 250 000 birds a year for meat, leather
and feathers.

More than 40 000 infected ostriches were culled
following the outbreak, according to Western Cape agricultural spokesman
Wouter Kriel.

He said the industry was losing about R108m a month in export revenue and 20 000 job opportunities were at stake.

The national government provided R50m
compensation to farmers who lost birds, but many had to close their
farms or survive with a limited flock.

The last time a highly pathogenic virus form was
detected was back in October. A low pathogenic form, which caused mild
disease in poultry, was detected in February but has already been
slaughtered out, said Kriel.

However, the agriculture department would apply to lift
the ban only once the industry has been restructured – in line with
the recommendations of a EU delegation which visited the country in
February.

It required that all farmers re-register their
businesses and comply with specific regulations before any of them would
be allowed to export meat.

They were told this was necessary to protect the country’s image as a reliable and responsible exporter, said Kriel.

He said the industry accepted the recommendations and agreed it was sound advice, but time is running out.

“As the Western province, we are lobbying national
government to re-think this approach and let’s rather allow a few guys
to export now. 

“Let’s find ways to get them to export at this stage,
otherwise the industry will collapse,” he said. “This (process) might take as a long as a year.

“We have
a situation where all the (ostrich) farmers in the export business
haven’t had income for a year. They are struggling to survive and have
to invest more capital in order to export.”

The delegation recommended that bird and farm density
be reduced, the movement of ostriches between farms and areas be cut
down and ostrich health regulations be tightened up.

Kleyn said he believed a solution could be found if farmers, businesses and national and provincial government worked together.

Farmers are increasingly looking to the domestic
market to sell ostrich meat, but there are few prospects as it is a
niche market favoured mostly by the health-conscious.

“It’s ironic and frustrating. The meat that we are not
allowed to export is perfectly safe and can be sold into the domestic
market.

“It is very small though and wherever we could, we’ve been trying
to campaign and lobby,” Klein said.

Ostrich is a pricey meat as it cannot be sold on the
bone, unlike beef and mutton. A 95 kilogram bird yields only about 15kg
to 17kg of prime cuts.

Klein said a glimmer of hope for farmers is “a nice increase” in the price of leather and feathers.

The national department was unable to comment on Thursday as it was briefing parliament on its budget vote.

It is likely to give detailed comment soon.

Africa is, as Africans love to say, not a place for sissies. Exotic and unpredictable, this is no bland, homogenous, one-size-fits-all continent. It is a brave, ballsy world with plenty of paradoxes. We asked a panel of experts – the well-travelled, the well-versed, the well-heeled – for their 50 Wildest African Experiences…

The park is packed with game, but it is the water birds that are the superstars: herons, ibises, egrets, storks, cranes, pelicans and many others, teeming in their thousands. Best of all is the paucity of humans. There is one small rest camp in Zakouma, Tinga, with simple but adequate bungalows. In the end, though, the most amazing thing about Zakouma is simply that it is there at all. 

Africa is, as Africans love to say, is not a place for sissies.

Exotic and unpredictable, this is no bland, homogenous, one-size-fits-all continent. It is a brave, ballsy world with plenty of paradoxes. Highlife SA, the in-flight magazine of BA/Comair, asked a panel of experts – the well-travelled, the well-versed, the well-heeled – for some of their Wildest African Experiences… 

Wildest Festivals

AfrikaBurn, SA: Not a hell of a lot survives out in the Tankwa Karoo. there’s a tyre-punishing road leading to it, and then miles and miles of beautiful desolation. Then, every April, along come the Burners – with their Bedouin tents, contraptions that swing gigantic balls of fire through the air, and everything they need to endure. 

Their mission? To party like tomorrow will never come and create a community free of commerce, but high on imagination. It’s a zany vision of Utopia. 25-30 April 2012, afrikaburn.com

Lake of Stars, Malawi: This magical three-day party on the palm-fringed shore of lake Malawi features more than 70 acts from around the world. lakeofstars.org

Oppikoppi, SA: You know you’re in for a rowdy gathering when online advice for this annual rock music event includes: ‘we don’t recommend sleep or rest … write on your wrist beforehand which band you want to see and when. people are then able to assist if required.’ 9-11 August, oppikoppi.co.za

Festival au Desert, Mali: Every year in January world musicians – from Ali Farke Toure to Manu Chao – gather two hours north of Timbuktu to play in the sand, amidst nomadic tuaregs and a growing international crowd. festival-au-desert.org

Gabao Hip Hop Festival, Gabon: Used even in presidential election campaigns, hip hop is big in Gabon – which is why the country’s two biggest cities, Libreville and Port-Gentil, are home to the largest hip hop festival on the continent. 5-8 July, thisisafrica.me

Wildest Places To Stay 

Chole Mjini, Tanzania: It’s just a tiny speck in the Indian Ocean, near Mafia, the least-visited archipelago off the Tanzanian coast. Very Robinson Crusoe: you get there by dhow, sleep in open-sided treehouses, dive in some of the world’s richest coral reefs, feast on fresh fish, and fall asleep to the lullaby of the marine reserve waters trickling through mangrove roots. The lodge comprises just nine treehouses; no electricity makes for night skies as incredible as the surrounding sea. cholemjini.com

Oddballs, Botswana: There is no budget way to see the Okavango delta, that great oasis in the harsh and beautiful Kalahari Desert, but one of the best-value camps – one that still connects you to the wild untamed heart of this strange jungle – is Oddballs’ Palm Island luxury lodge. It’s a small, remote riverside habitue? tucked beneath the shade of aged jackal-berry and sausage trees, away from the buzz of motorboats and jam-packed, zebra-striped safari vehicles. oddballscamp.com

Read more on page 2…

SOUTH Africa’s ostrich farmers are desperately waiting for a ban on meat exports to be lifted, with time and money running out.

About 740 farms used to be registered with the South African Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC), but this number decreased when the H5N2 bird-flu virus broke out last year in the Klein Karoo, in the Western Cape.

“This (number) has reduced significantly in the past few months, with the European Union export ban being a main driver, as it’s no longer profitable,” says Piet Kleyn, interim CEO of the business chamber.

The EU used to import 90% of South Africa’s ostrich meat.

The ban’s effects have been keenly felt by ostrich farms — mostly located in the Klein Karoo valley, southern Cape and Eastern Cape — that used to slaughter 250000 birds a year for meat, leather and feathers.

More than 40000 infected ostriches were culled following last year’s outbreak, according to Wouter Kriel, spokesman for the Western Cape department of agriculture.

He said the industry was losing about R108m a month in export revenue, while 20000 job opportunities were at stake.

The national government provided compensation of R50m to farmers who lost birds, but many had to close their farms or survive with a limited flock.

A highly pathogenic virus form was last detected in October. A low pathogenic form, which caused mild disease in poultry, was found in February but had already been eliminated, said Mr Kriel.

However, the agriculture department will apply to lift the ban only once the industry has been restructured — in line with the recommendations of a EU delegation that visited South Africa in February. It required that all farmers re-register their businesses and comply with regulations before being allowed to export meat.

According to the delegation, this was necessary to protect South Africa’s image as a reliable and responsible exporter, said Mr Kriel, adding that the industry agreed with the recommendations, but time was running out.

“As the Western (Cape) province, we are lobbying the national government to rethink this approach … let’s rather allow a few guys to export now. Let’s find ways to get them to export at this stage, otherwise the industry will collapse,” he said.

“This (process) might take as a long as a year,” Mr Kriel added. “We have a situation where all the (ostrich) farmers in the export business haven’t had income for a year. They are struggling to survive and have to invest more capital in order to export.”

The EU delegation wanted reduced bird and farm density, less movement of ostriches between farms and areas, and tightened ostrich health regulations.

Mr Kleyn said he believed a solution could be found if farmers, businesses and the national and provincial government worked together.

Farmers are increasingly looking to the domestic market to sell ostrich meat, but it is a niche market favoured mostly by health-conscious consumers.

“It’s ironic and frustrating,” Mr Kleyn said. “The meat that we are not allowed to export is perfectly safe and can be sold into the domestic market. It is very small, though, and wherever we could, we’ve been trying to campaign and lobby.”

Ostrich is an expensive meat as it cannot be sold on the bone, unlike beef and mutton. A 95kg bird yields only about 15kg-17kg of prime cuts.

Mr Kleyn said a glimmer of hope for farmers was “a nice increase” in the price of leather and feathers.

Last month, Business Day reported that farmers could sidestep the export ban by selling heat-processed meat abroad, as the ban excluded meat “precooked” for just three seconds at 70° C.

As a result, Oudtshoorn-based company Klein Karoo International received an order from Germany for 40 tons of heat-treated ostrich meat, said MD Johan Stumpf at the time.

Although farmers do not get as high a price for heat-processed meat as for raw ostrich meat, the processed product guarantees an all-year export market, unaffected by the avian flu ban.

The national Department of Agriculture was unable to comment on Thursday as it was briefing Parliament on its budget vote.

SAPA with GARDEN ROUTE MEDIA