karoo

A coalition between the ANC and the Karoo Gemeenskap Party (KGP) gave them the edge to topple the DA in the Central Karoo district municipality on Thursday 9 July 2020.

On Friday, 10 July, the new mayor in the Central Karoo district municipality will be the KGP’s Isak Windvogel, while the deputy mayor’s seat will be filled by Margaret Jafta, also from the KGP. The position of speaker will be taken by the ANC’s Mkhululi Hangana, while Johanna Botha will serve on the Mayoral Committee.

The coalition party is also set to remove the DA from the hot seat in Prince Albert municipality on Friday. Goliath Lottering, leader of the KGP and mayor of Prince Albert, confirmed that a motion of no confidence in the DA speaker and deputy mayor would be tabled. These two positions would be handed to the ANC, he added.

ANC Western Cape coordinator Ronalda Nalumango said that this victory formed part of an ANC campaign to return to power in as many municipalities as possible. The ANC intended to make a clean sweep and return to deliver in the 2021 local government elections, she said.

The KGP had gone to bed with…

Bejo and Zaad Holdings announced Bejo’s acquisition of Nuvance, as of July 1st 2020. Until June 30th Nuvance was a subsidiary of Klein Karoo Seed Marketing, part of Zaad Holdings. 

Bejo is a Dutch family-owned company specialized in international breeding, production and sales of vegetable seed. Nuvance is a well-established South African seed supplier with extensive expertise in Sub-Saharan Africa, ‘proudly in Africa for Africa’. The two companies have worked together for numerous years in developing South African horticulture and share a dedication for the professional vegetable market. 

Floris Kotze, commercial manager of Nuvance, says: “We take pride in joining forces with Bejo, enabling us to focus on the professional vegetable market and bring our service offering in line with the high ambitions set out in 2018. Nuvance will benefit from Bejo’s advanced technology and expertise, bringing substantial improvement to our business operations. For our customers, this means even better support through enhanced customer services, product innovation and tailor-made cultivation advice.” 

John-Pieter Schipper, CEO of Bejo, says: “We welcome our new colleagues from Nuvance to the Bejo family and look forward to deepening our existing relationship. Their extensive experience and knowledge of the South African market gives me great confidence that we can realize our joint ambitions. We know from other markets that local expertise and dedication are vital to operating successfully. Innovation in professional vegetable production is needed to keep up with the increasing demand for healthy, delicious vegetables throughout Southern Africa. This is an important milestone for both our companies.”

During the coming months, Nuvance will be fully integrated into the Bejo organization. With focus on the high-end professional market, this implies that some changes in the current assortment may be expected. These will be thoroughly evaluated and discussed with customers and suppliers involved. In the interim, Nuvance will do business under the current name, whilst customers and partners will see no change in their relationships with their trusted contacts. Despite some anticipated changes in the management, Bejo intends to continue working with the entire team of Nuvance specialists.   

Bejo and Nuvance would like to use this opportunity to thank Klein Karoo Seed Marketing for the successful partnership in the past, as both companies continually aim to go ‘beyond vegetable seed’. 

For more information:
Bejo
www.bejo.com 

What weather forecasters are calling one of the most eventful winter weekends in Southern Africa in many years is expected to make landfall in the Western Cape on Thursday, July 9. The mammoth cold front is is expected to bring heavy rains and even snow in high-lying areas.

The entire weather community in South Africa has eyes on the mammoth #coldfront developing in the South Atlantic (blue) this system, arriving Thursday, promises to bring heavy rains and widespread #snow to a great deal of SA and even #namibia if the system stays on track. pic.twitter.com/zqDIkga0QZ

— SA Weather??sawx.co.za (@sawx_sa_weather) July 6, 2020

A simulation of what we can expect from the #coldfront arriving late Thursday early Friday into the weekend. pic.twitter.com/wHX796W6eV

— SA Weather??sawx.co.za (@sawx_sa_weather) July 8, 2020

Early morning InfraRed #coldfront monitor satellite image from Meteosat 0 degree. The cold front expected to arrive late Thur/early Fri is looking well defined and still well on track. A second front also arriving Sunday/Monday and a region out of central S.America worth watching pic.twitter.com/PuyYJIWJVt

— SA Weather??sawx.co.za (@sawx_sa_weather) July 8, 2020

Matroosberg Nature Reserve is expecting especially low temperatures through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. Temperatures in the area will dip as low as -9°C on Saturday, July 11. Tuesday, July 14 will be particularly cold as well reaching a low of -8°C according to Weather.com.

A second cold front on Tuesday is expected to extend the cold temperatures further into next week, and bring more snow in high-lying areas as it makes landfall.

Storm Report SA says the massive cold front en route to Cape Town is still strengthening as it approaches the province.

The Cape Town Weather Office has also issued a severe weather warning.

“Strong north-westerly winds (60-75km per hour) are expected over the Western Cape on Thursday [July 9] but strong gale (80-100km per hour) wind is expected over the Central Karoo, Little Karoo, Cape Winelands, Overberg and coastal regions between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas of the Western Cape spreading to Plettenberg Bay by Thursday evening and subside by Friday morning [July 10],” they said.

Make sure properties are secure and all loose materials around dwellings are tied down or brought inside before the approaching storm. Flood warnings have also been issued.

The Disaster Risk Management Centre has been advised by the South African Weather Service of the following weather warnings :

A well-developed cold front is approaching the country from the west making landfall on Thursday afternoon, July 9, 2020. Ahead of the cold front, strong to gale force north-westerly winds of 60-74km/h with gusts up to 100km/h , are expected in places across the provincial interior into the evening.

The gale force winds are also expected along the maritime areas of the south-western Cape coast between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas on Thursday, spreading to Alexander Bay by late evening.

The front is expected to produce significant rainfall over the western areas of the Western Cape as it makes landfall on Thursday afternoon, with projected rainfall accumulations of 15 to 30mm.

The bulk of the rain will fall during the evening through the night, resulting in rainfall amounts of 45 to 50mm in the south-western mountainous areas of the province.

All City services and external agencies will be on standby to deal with the predicted adverse weather conditions.

Residents are reminded to please log any weather-related emergencies and/or impacts to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.

Picture: Storm Report SA

Matodzi ‘boasted’ about his safari trips with Ferreira

Former Vele Investment and VBS chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi, who is facing corruption, fraud and money-laundering charges for his role in the collapse of VBS Bank, has links to Stellenbosch-based business tycoon Gerrit Thomas (GT) Ferreira.

Ferreira is one of the founders of FirstRand, which owns FNB, one of South Africa’s biggest banks.

Sunday World can today reveal that Matodzi, who was fingered in Advocate Terry Motau’s report as the mastermind behind the mutual bank’s R2-billion theft, and Ferreira, a wellknown investor in the financial services sector, share both a business and a purported personal relationship.

It is a relationship that Matodzi, according to those close to him, has boasted about, but one that Ferreira has disputed.

The two, as evidenced by several pictures that emerged this week, have on at least one occasion spent a weekend together in Stellenbosch at Ferreira’s farm.

The two have also reportedly shared a ride in Ferreira’s private jet, flying to the Karoo, where the FirstRand founder has another farm.

But those close to the former Vele and VBS owner said they were puzzled there wasn’t a single mention of Ferreira’s links to VBS in Motau’s report despite that the Stellenbosch-based business tycoon, believed to be worth at least $500-million, had a close interest in the affairs of the bank.

Two sources, one Matodzi’s friend and another a former executive of the VBS bank, confirmed that Matodzi and Ferreira were close and had business dealings, some of which were not on paper.

Sunday World understands that Ferreira owns shares in Anglo Africa Finance, a subsidiary of Insure Group — the same company in which Vele later acquired a 51% shareholding for R300-million with money later found to have been stolen from VBS.

Matodzi’s friend, who was privy to the two’s relationship, also confirmed that Ferreira’s close relationship with the VBS chairman grew to such an extent that he personally invited Matodzi to dinner in Stellenbosch, where they allegedly discussed a number of business matters, including the role Vele investments intended to play in banking.

These details were also supported by a former VBS executive, who said that Matodzi, upon his return from the Stellenbosch meeting, told them that Ferreira had offered to mentor him and the VBS team as they were still new in the financial services sector.

“They became friends from there, and we never heard the last about this friendship. Matodzi always boasted to us that he was friends with GT Ferreira,” said the former executive.

According to the pictures seen by Sunday World, dated October 17 2017, Ferreira and Matodzi dined and drank together in what appears like a farm.

These pictures were also confirmed by a former executive, who said Matodzi had told them about the trip and that he had left on a Friday for Stellenbosch and came back on Sunday.

“He told us that immediately after he landed, he was picked up and taken to Ferreira’s farm in Stellenbosch. Thereafter they took Ferreira’s private jet and flew to the Karoo, to one of Ferreira’s other farms,” said the executive.

The pictures seen by Sunday World confirm these details. In one of them, Matodzi is seen driving a huge six-wheeler special production Mercedes-Benz bakkie and in another, he is posing next to the same bakkie and a blue coloured private jet.

In another picture, Matodzi and Ferreira can be seen holding what looks like wine glasses in an apparent toast.

Ferreira confirmed that he had met with Matodzi, but he claimed that he met him once in his office for about 30 minutes.

He denied that he had offered to be Matodzi’s mentor, saying that it did not appear as if Matodzi needed one. He also denied he had ever been to the Karoo with Matodzi.

“I have never been on a farm in the Karoo with Mr Matodzi, neither did I have drinks with him and have never had photos taken with him, so you are obviously speaking to the wrong person,” said Ferreira.

However, when he was sent the pictures, Ferreira made an about-turn and conceded that it was indeed himself and Matodzi in one of the pictures taken in the Karoo.

“As I have said before, I have met Mr Matodzi and yes, it is me in the first picture, however, it is not my car, it is not my farm and it is not me in the other pictures. I have never met with Mr Matodzi on any farm in South Africa,” he said.

Author

Aubrey Mothombeni

South Africa’s coronavirus cases continue to soar, with almost 9 000 new infections reported on Thursday evening. The figures are grim and the warnings are stark. More than three months into lockdown, the disease has scaled new heights and refuses to subside any time soon.

Places in South Africa without coronavirus, and those with low numbers

Therefore, It’s a curious quirk that South Africa does have some regions which have been able to handle the outbreak of coronavirus diligently. Factors such as low population density and remote locations have a big say in who gets to avoid the worst affects of this pandemic.

We’ve had a pick through the data to find which areas of the country are performing well against the looming threat of COVID-19, and there’s even some good news to report from Gauteng and the Western Cape…

Best performing provinces

Although the available data doesn’t give us a detailed provincial breakdown outside of the Western Cape and Gauteng at this point, there are a handful of districts in the Northern Cape that are free of COVID-19. Just 340 active cases exist in the province, and only one fatality has been reported in NC since the pandemic started.

Both Limpopo (1 286) and Mpumalanga (1 478) account for less than 1% of the total coronavirus infections in SA between them, and their cumulative death rates (17) are under 2% of the national tally.

The least-affected parts of Gauteng

The Tshwane 5 district, compromising of East Lynne, Rayton, Cullinan, Dewagensdrift, Refilwe, Silverton, Onverwacht, is the least affected part of Gauteng, averaging less than 13 active cases per sub-district

Tshwane 7, home to Ekangala, Sokhulumi, Dark City, Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, Kanana, Rethabiseng, has just 91 active cases to report. Midvaal, south of Johannesburg, has less than 200 coronavirus infections.

A district with no coronavirus cases in the Western Cape

The Central Karoo district has just 32 cases registered so far. It’s also home to the only sub-district in the Western Cape that can boast no reported coronavirus patients. The Prince Albert region, at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains, has remained disease-free since the first case was reported here in March.

Laingsburg would have joined Prince Albert but recorded its first and only positive test in June. Kannaland, on the Garden Route, has only recorded eight cases – the best results outside of the Karoo.

The only true ‘coronavirus-free territory’ belonging to South Africa

There are no confirmed cases on the Prince Edward Islands. The outlying landmass is a South African territory, manned by a team of scientists that travel in expeditions. This year’s research has been put on hold, as all field science activities will be scrapped.

Crew and passengers will be quarantined and tested before departure. The islands are roughly 1 800km away from the mainland, so no, this isn’t an escape option.

• All data correct as of 9:20 on Friday 3 July, figures provided by covid19sa and sacoronavirus

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There are fire warnings over parts of the Eastern Cape for Thursday, but an otherwise fine and cool day across the country, the South African Weather Service says.

Warnings:

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the central interior of the Eastern Cape.

The weather in your region:

Gauteng will be fine and cool. The expected UVB sunburn Index is moderate.

Mpumalanga will be fine and cool but warm in the Lowveld.

Limpopo will be fine and cool but warm in the Limpopo Valley and Lowveld.

The North West and Free State will be fine and cool.

The Northern Cape will see morning fog over the west, otherwise fine and cool but warm in the north. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh south-easterly.

The Western Cape will be fine over the Karoo, otherwise cloudy to partly cloudy and cool with morning fog over the west and south-west coast as well as isolated rain in the south-western parts that will spread to the south coast by the evening.

The wind along the coast will be moderate south-westerly north of Table Bay, otherwise moderate to fresh westerly to south-westerly, but strong between Cape Agulhas and Still Bay at times.

The expected UVB sunburn Index is low.

The western half of the Eastern Cape will be partly cloudy in places along the coast in the morning, otherwise fine and cool, becoming cloudy with light rain along the coast of Port Elizabeth in the evening. The wind along the coast will be light north-westerly in the east during the morning, otherwise fresh south-westerly, becoming strong from late afternoon.

The eastern half of the Eastern Cape will be fine and cool, but warm in places along the coast. The wind along the coast will be light north-westerly, becoming fresh to strong south-westerly in the afternoon.

It will be fine and cool to warm in KwaZulu-Natal. The wind along the coast will be moderate north-easterly. The expected UVB sunburn Index is moderate. 

– Compiled by Kerushun Pillay

Click here to see the specific forecast for your city over the next few days

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As of 1pm on 30 June, the Western Cape has 15 819 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 62 157 confirmed cases and 44 514 recoveries. 

Total confirmed COVID-19 cases

62 157

Total recoveries

44 514

Total deaths

1824

Total active cases (currently infected patients)

15 819

Tests conducted

303 067

Hospitalisations

1819 with 322 in ICU or high care

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro: 

Sub-district

Cases

Recoveries

Western

5252

4002

Southern

5504

4170

Northern

3805

2930

Tygerberg

7991

6236

Eastern

5642

4131

Klipfontein

6231

4742

Mitchells Plain

5323

4037

Khayelitsha

6561

5302

Total

46309

35550

Sub-districts:

District

 Sub-district

Cases

Recoveries

Garden Route

Bitou

69

23

Garden Route

Knysna

175

92

Garden Route

George

571

188

Garden Route

Hessequa

24

17

Garden Route

Kannaland

8

3

Garden Route

Mossel Bay

205

73

Garden Route

Oudsthoorn

73

25

Cape Winelands

Stellenbosch

1026

646

Cape Winelands

Drakenstein

2530

1806

Cape Winelands

Breede Valley

1540

879

Cape Winelands

Langeberg

466

198

Cape Winelands

Witzenberg

656

462

Overberg

Overstrand

613

295

Overberg

Cape Agulhas

50

27

Overberg

Swellendam

59

24

Overberg

Theewaterskloof

418

241

West Coast

Bergrivier

192

154

?West Coast

?Cederberg

41

14

West Coast 

Matzikama

63

28

West Coast

Saldanha Bay Municipality

617

348

West Coast

Swartland

542

353

Central Karoo

Beaufort West

25

2

Central Karoo

Laingsburg

1

0

Unallocated: 5884 (3066 recoveries)

Data note: As the province moves closer to the peak and the Department of Health is recording over 1000 new cases daily, it is not possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available here: https://bit.ly/2BsfdXt (link is external) 

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 49 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 1824. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Donation from the Chinese Consul General:

Today, I received a donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Chinese consul General, Mr Lin Jing.

The donation consists of: 30,000 surgical masks; 5000 N95 masks; 500 isolation gowns and? 500 face shields.

This donation will help to bolster our available stocks of PPE, ensuring that we have even more supply for the healthcare workers who are fighting COVID-19 on our frontlines.

We thank the Chinese Consulate, and the Chinese government for partnering with us in our fight against COVID-19 and for their ongoing relationship with the Western Cape.

Masks for the elderly:

The Department of Social Development has distributed 105 000 donated masks to various old aged homes in the province. The Department has so far been able to distribute a total of 120 000 masks to homes in the province.

The donations have supplemented the extra support given by the Department of Social Development to facilities, to assist in the fight against COVID-19.

We thank the many generous donors who have made these donations to the Western Cape Government and the Department of Social Development, which has allowed us to provide additional protection to this high risk group.

Fake news:

A number of new fake news messages are once again circulating on social media networks, which are designed to spread fear and confusion among members of the public and parents of children returning to school.

COVID-19 is a serious pandemic which should be treated as such, however, using false information that creates panic, or which is designed to take advantage of vulnerable citizens, is irresponsible and does not help in the fight against this virus. Information coming from unknown or unnamed sources should be carefully checked and verified before sending it on.

Use official government channels, such as the Western Cape, and the South African Government websites and social media channels, and trusted news websites for information.

You can also report fake news by Whatsapping it to 067 966 4015.

Issued by: Western Cape Office of the Premier

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.

Gale force westerly to north-westerly winds (63-74km/h) are expected along coastal regions between Oyster Bay and East London, moderating from the west during Sunday evening.

High seas with wave heights of six to nine metres are expected between Lamberts Bay and East London, subsiding from the west during Sunday evening.

Special weather advisory

Very cold conditions are expected in the Karoo Hoogland municipality in the Northern Cape, the South African Weather Service says.

The weather in your province

It will be fine and cool in Gauteng.

The expected UVB sunburn index is high.

Cloudy conditions can be expected in Mpumalanga with morning fog along the escarpment and southern highveld, otherwise partly cloudy and cool, but warm in places in the Lowveld.

In Limpopo, it will be cloudy with morning fog along the escarpment, otherwise partly cloudy and cool, but warm in the Limpopo Valey.

The North West will be fine and cool, but cold at first with frost in places.

There will be fog patches in the north-east of the Free State at first, otherwise fine and cool to cold.

It will be fine and cool to cold in the Northern Cape, but partly cloudy to cloudy in the south at first, with morning fog in the Hantam municipality.

The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong south-easterly.

Partly cloudy to cloudy and cold to cool conditions can be expected in the Western Cape, with isolated rain and showers along the Overberg coastal areas in the afternoon, spreading to the Garden Route coast by the evening.

The wind along the coast will be strong westerly along the south coast, moderating from evening, otherwise moderate to fresh north-westerly in the south-west, becoming light south-westerly in the evening, and light and variable along the west coast.

The expected UVB sunburn index is low.

It will be partly cloudy and cold in the western part of the Eastern Cape, but cool along the coast where it will become cloudy with isolated showers and rain from the evening.

The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong westerly, but south-westerly in the afternoon, moderating during the evening.

The eastern half will be cool along the coast, otherwise fine and cold, but partly cloudy in places in the west in the morning and again from the evening.

The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong westerly.

There will be morning fog over the interior of KwaZulu-Natal, otherwise it will be fine to partly cloudy and cool.

The wind along the coast will be moderate southerly to south-westerly, becoming south-easterly in the afternoon.

The expected UVB sunburn index is low.

– Compiled by Maxine Becket

Click here to see the specific forecast for your city over the next few days