karoo

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Karoo
Hoogland and Hantam municipalities in the Northern Cape as well as the Central
Karoo, Garden Route and northern parts of the Cape Winelands in the Western
Cape, warns the South African Weather Service.

Special
weather advisories

An
intense cold front with an associated cut-off low is expected
over the western parts of the Northern and Western Cape from Wednesday morning
until Friday.

The public and small stock
farmers are advised snow over high-lying areas are possible, strong to gale
force coastal and interior winds, heavy rain, flooding, extremely cold
conditions and rough seas can be expected.

The
weather in your province

Gauteng will be fine and cool.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is low.

There will be morning fog patches over the central and southern
Highveld of Mpumalanga,
otherwise fine and cool but warm on the Lowveld.

Fine and cool but warm conditions are expected in the Limpopo valley
and Lowveld.

It will be fine and cool in the North West and Free State. 

There will be morning frost over the southern high ground in the
eastern parts of the Northern
Cape, with fog along the west coast where it will be cloudy and
cool, otherwise fine and warm.

The wind along the coast will
be light to moderate southerly to south-easterly, becoming strong at times.

The Western
Cape will have morning fog along the west and adjacent
interior of the south coast, otherwise fine and cool but warm over the
north-east.

The wind along the coast will
be light to moderate northerly to north-easterly at first, but light to
moderate westerly to north-westerly, otherwise light to moderate southerly to
south-easterly.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is moderate.

Fine and warm conditions can be expected in the western half of
the Eastern Cape.

The wind along the coast will
be light to moderate northerly.

In the eastern half, it will be fine and cool but warm south of
the escarpment.

The wind along the coast will
be light north-westerly becoming north-easterly by afternoon.

KwaZulu-Natal can expect morning mist
over the northern interior, otherwise fine and cool but warm in the north-east.

The wind along the coast will
be moderate northerly to north-easterly.

The expected UVB sunburn index
is moderate.

– Compiled by Maxine Becket

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

Where to Stream:

Trackers

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With all the hoopla over the arrival of HBO Max, people forget that HBO has had a “Max” in its family for decades: Cinemax. And guess what: it’s still debuting scripted originals, usually imported from overseas. The latest is a South African thriller based on an award-winning novel that takes the action all over the picturesque nation.

TRACKERS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: In Loxton, in the Karoo region of South Africa’s Northern Cape province, three motorcycles buzz down a dirt road just after the son goes down.

The Gist: The bikers stop at a local pub and harass the young bartender there. A seemingly quiet man named Lemmer (James Gracie) sees that and pounds the crap out of the bikers, and might have done worse if Diederik Brand (Deon Lotz) didn’t intervene. Diederik has a proposal for Lemmer; he needs someone with his experience to transport some not-so-legal cargo from the Zimbabwe border back to town. Lemmer seems resistant, but at a certain point, Deiderik knows he’ll agree to it.

Back in Cape Town, a woman named Milla Sachan (Rolanda Marais) packs her bags and heads for a new life. She’s left her powerful husband and wants to get a job so she can take care of her son, over whom her soon-to-be-ex wants full custody. Elsewhere, a shady deal goes down that’s been spied on by a guy named Ismail (Adrian Alper). He was about to surreptitiously video the proceedings when his phone rings (ever heard of vibrate, Ismail?), which sets off a lengthy chase over various rooftops. With a bullet in his leg and his options limited, he surrenders to the police. But one of them, Quinn Makebe (Thapelo Mokoena), picks him up and says, “What have you done now, Ismail?”

Ismail is an informant for Makebe, who works for the Presidential Bureau of Intelligence, who brings Ismail back to HQ to pump him for what he knows. After Makebe’s boss, Director Janina Mentz (Sandi Schultz), squeezes the informant’s bad leg to get him to talk. And what he reveals is that one of the meeting’s attendees is an al-Qaeda operative named Suleiman Daoud (Emmanuel Castis). Something big is being brought into the country, and the PBI is throwing all its resources at the urgent issue.

In the meantime, Milla tries to get a researcher job at a newspaper, but when she’s turned down, she’s encountered by one of the other recruiters, who also happens to work for the PBI. She says, “Can you keep a secret?” and recruits her to be a researcher at the bureau. She finds a key piece of info on her first day that leads the task force to focus on a new operative.

After Ismail gets his throat slashed and bleeds to death in broad daylight, an operation goes forward to place a camera in the home of one of the low-level operatives to see if Daoud does some further dealmaking. The operation to plant the camera is successful, but just barely. At the same time, Janina finds out that, based on an earlier botched investigation, the president is ready to shut down the PBI. When Makebe finds out about that, he wants to aggressively go after Daoud as a way to keep the bureau alive.

But when they go to capture Daoud, Janina aborts, thinking that it’s best that they find out more about the bigger operation so they can roll everyone up. Notes on the laptop in the video, though, show that the big target might be a friendly football match between the South African and USA national teams.

Meanwhile, Lemmer meets a chatty truck driver named Lourens (Gerald Steyn), who takes him to the rendezvous spot, where he meets an operative named van Jaarsveld (Trix Vivier); the three of them meet the people who want them to transport the contraband. It’s just a surprise when they find out what the contraband is.

Our Take: If the description above seems like a long, twisty tale, well, the first episode of the show, based on Deon Meyer’s novel Trackers, is just that. Lots of stories and people, seemingly has a number of somewhat unrelated threads that slowly start to come together by the first episode, but it’s not entirely clear where and when these threads are going to come together. As it is, it feels like your standard international spy thriller, with some other stuff mixed in.

When we get to the end of the first episode, we have Milla’s story, the PBI’s pursuit of Daoud, and Lemmer’s transport of the contraband into the heart of South Africa. The first and the third ones seem somewhat undercooked in the early going, and we’re not sure if we will have the patience of waiting for them to develop and connect into the bigger story. We already know that somehow Milla’s made her way into the PBI, but what her role will be going forward is anyone’s guess. Her crumbling personal life seems like it would be the better part of her story, but how it ties into the investigation is unknown right now.

Really, if the show just stuck to a spy/anti-terror/intrigue story involving the PBI, which was due to get shut down, it would have been a taut thriller. Can the agency bring down the big catch before they’re disbanded? That would have been all that was needed for a thrilling season.

Of course, if that was the case, we wouldn’t have seen the spectacular scenery shot around South Africa, especially in the savannas where Lemmer was making his way to get his cargo. So maybe we need the other threads. But right now there are too many stories and characters, and not enough time to give them all the proper storytelling space they need.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: We see the closeup of the contraband Lemmer and Flea are going to transport… a black rhino.

Sleeper Star: Avital Lvova plays researcher Jessica van Zandt, who is Milla’s boss, and she’ll have a bigger role in the investigations going forward, as will some of the other agents at the PBI.

Most Pilot-y Line: Some of the diversions thrown out by the PBI in their operation to install the camera were comical, including a car that blocked an intersection for an inordinately long time to keep the guy who lives in the home they were bugging away.

Our Call: STREAM IT. There’s enough action in Trackers to keep you interested. But the first episode is disjointed and confusing, and you may not have the patience to stay with the show as the stories start to come together.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Trackers On Cinemax.com

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has vowed to take “bold steps forward” in order to defeat the COVID-19 spread. The health minister was in a bullish mood on Thursday, as he revealed more about South Africa’s journey out of lockdown – with the next stop at Level 3 on the horizon. More importantly, he also lifted the lid on how changing level restrictions by region and district would work.

One of the biggest issues to emerge from Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address on Wednesday was establishing what he meant when confirming that “most of South Africa” would enter into Level 3 of lockdown at the end of May. He admitted that some parts of the country would, therefore, “remain at Level 4”.

How will government decide who moves into Level 3 of lockdown?

But how exactly does the government plan to divide the nation this way? Do cities move forward, or just provinces? Well, Mkhize came armed with answers on Thursday: According to the minister, each stage of lockdown will be determined by district – of which there are 52 in this country:

“The time has come to look forward and take bold steps to beat coronavirus. Government has thus prepared a district-based approach to its COVID-19 response, moving away from a one-size-fits-all method. Districts have therefore been differentiated in accordance with the average active cases experienced over one week”

“The case numbers will be monitored and the National Command Council will review the level of lockdown per district every two weeks. The fundamentals of COVID-19 prevention should not be forgotten as we move forward, either. Social distancing, wearing cloth masks in public and regular hand hygiene should persist.”

Zweli Mkhize

What are the districts of South Africa?

Western Cape Districts

1. City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
2. West Coast
3. Cape Winelands
4. Overberg
5. Eden
6. Central Karoo

Eastern Cape Districts

7. Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
8. Cacadu
9. Amatole
10. Chris Hani
11. Ukhahlamba
12. OR Tambo
13. Alfred Nzo

Free State Districts

14. Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
15. Xhariep
16. Lejweleputswa
17. Thabo Mofutsanyane
18. Fezile Dabi

Northern Cape Districts

19. Namakwa
20. Pixley ka Seme
21. Siyanda
22. Frances Baard
23. John Taola Gaetsewe District Municipality

North West Districts

24. Bojanala Platinum
25. Ngaka Modiri Molema
26. Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati
27. Dr Kenneth Kaunda

Gauteng Districts

28. City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
29. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
30. City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
31. Sedibeng
32. Metsweding
33. West Rand

Limpopo Districts

34. Mopani
35. Vhembe
36. Capricorn
37. Waterberg
38. Greater Sekhukhune

Mpumalanga Districts

39. Gert Sibande
40. Nkangala
41. Ehlanzeni

KwaZulu-Natal Districts

42. eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
43. Zululand
44. Umkhanyakude
45. uThungulu
46. Umzinyathi
47. Uthukela
48. Umgungundlovu
49. iLembe
50. Amajuba
51. Ugu
52. Sisonke

Which parts of South Africa are likely to stay at Level 4?

Mkhize has also given us the criteria for determining when these regions will be ready to move on to the next level. By looking at the average active cases per 100 000 people in each district, a decision will be made to either jump to the next phase of lockdown, or to stay put in the current restrictions. Sadly for locals, hot-spots in Cape Town, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape are likely to stay at Level 4 this month:

“Depending on the average active cases per 100 000 people, districts will be individually assigned levels of lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. COVID-19 hotspots have emerged in the Eastern and Western Capes with more than half the country’s cases emanating from the two provinces.”

“Cluster outbreaks concentrated in and around Cape Town are driving the pandemic in these regions and require targeted efforts to track and trace contacts in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape respectively.”

Zweli Mkhize

The district method: Zweli Mkhize’s Level 3 proposals

The minister ended his statement by revealing more about the ‘enforcement’ of these protocols. In a welcome move for many, Mkhize says that community policing forums (CPFs) can operate again – apparently, they will form part of the blueprint that will help South Africa get a stranglehold on the coronavirus crisis:

• Community organisations – like local government and community policing forums – will now be empowered to monitor compliance and enforce regulations.
• Each district should have a dedicated rapid response team to intervene should there be cluster outbreaks while screening, testing and case management are conducted.
• Inter-sectoral and inter-departmental oversight structures will be put in place with the guidance of national government.
• Corresponding regulations pertaining to each level of lockdown will be integrated into each district.

As the only port with green status in the Southern African port system, Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA’s) Port of Ngqura has now established itself as a suitable partner in driving green energy development in the country.

TNPA says the port has provided a safe gateway, temporary storage and an accessible distribution point for wind turbine components imported from Spain since 2012.

These components, consisting of wind turbine tower parts and blades, besides other components, are destined for various wind farm projects throughout the country.

They include the Golden Valley Wind Farm, the Nxuba Wind Farm between Bedford and Cookhouse, in the Eastern Cape, and the Roggeveld Wind Farm, in the Karoo, spanning both the Northern Cape and Western Cape.

The majority of wind farms are located across the Eastern Cape.

The port has been a major player since the then Department of Energy approved these projects as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme in 2012.

“The port is uniquely positioned to accommodate these special projects cargo or abnormal cargo, classified as general cargo, at its ‘Finger Jetty’. It also has a dedicated laydown area of 80 000 m² to store these massive components.

“The port’s ideal location and accessibility to the national freeway make road-haulage of the components to its destination easier, compared to a city-locked port.

“The surrounding infrastructure linking the port to the hinterland is also ideal – no restrictive bridges and the road can handle the abnormal cargo size and weight,” says Port of Ngqura new business development manager Nozipho Booi.

“The almost 50 000-million tons of wind turbine cargo that was imported in the 2019/20 financial year, fit perfectly into the port’s revenue diversification strategy of avoiding over-reliance on a single revenue stream,” adds Port of Ngqura port manager Tandi Lebakeng.

A green port status means that it is a port that was subjected to environmental legislation during its entire development – from pre-construction, during its current operation and, going forward, its future development. 

EDITED BY: Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Farming is not child’s play, especially in the unforgiving Karoo sun. Just ask sheep farmers Juan Louw and Demetrius Sas, who joined forces after realising that there is no such thing as a self-made man.

Together, they could achieve so much more despite their obvious differences. You see, with South Africa’s troubled past it is not always the easiest thing to form partnerships if you come from different racial and economic backgrounds. However, whilst they were both playing for Young Lions Rugby, the Carnarvon rugby club, they had ample time to suss each other out, and the rest is history.

The 29-year-old Louw says they played together for three years. “We were friends before we became (business) partners. Being white, black or coloured doesn’t bother me. It’s all about mutual respect and farming. About building a future for ourselves. To make a success of our business and our personal lives. To this day, this (deciding to work with Demetrius) is one of my proudest decisions.”

Sas (32) and Louw raise sheep on rented land. They are breaking down barriers and tell Food For Mzansi that they want to show South Africans that despite difficulties it is possible to unite and flourish. Their partnership kicked off in 2017 with Sas’ 100 and Louw’s 200 ewes. At the time both of them were struggling to make things work.

“As an up-and-coming farmer, it was very difficult for me. No one wanted to help me. My livestock was either stolen or hunted, so I lost a lot of money,” Sas recalls.

He originally started farming with just one lamb a previous employer gave him, and eventually partnered with Louw because he could no longer afford the property he was renting. Also, community members started making a habit of hunting his sheep with their dogs. The many unanswered e-mails and wasted trips to government offices in search of assistance also began weighing him down.

Louw faced similar challenges. However, he adds that the severe Karoo drought, working solo and having to repay bank loans with high interest rates also formed part of his farming woes. He used to spend his school holidays toiling the land of both his grandfathers, and learned early in his life what farmers meant when they said, “Jy moet spaar vir die droogte. (You have to save for the drought.)”

“It is tough out here,” Louw tells Food For Mzansi. “Because of the drought, there is not enough natural food, so we (also) have to feed the sheep. This is very expensive, but you can’t let your animals go hungry.”

Partnership is no fairy-tale

Sas and Louw discovered their joint power soon after their partnership was finalised. Up until today, playing open cards about everything remains one of the secrets to their success story. Sas adds, “Everything starts with trust and respect for each other. If these two aspects are strong, everything else will fall into place.”

And the dynamics of their obvious cultural and other differences?

Louw says, “Demetrius and I don’t even think of colour. We are too focused on our goal to become the biggest and best farmers in South Africa.”

They describe their partnership as an equal divide of workload and profit. Sas has knowledge of the land, sheep and other practical skills, while Louw manages the markets and finances. Currently they both receive 25% of the ewe lambs arriving
and the rest of the stock is sold to pay for rent, feed and other expenses.

Towards the end of every year, both farmers have the choice to do whatever they want to do with their ewes. Until now they have kept their ewes together to give their business a boost. Yet, despite their moments of successes, both Louw and Sas
concur that their partnership is not a fairy-tale. Every now then they differ about matters.

Sas says, “There will always will be differences, but this will teach you to look at the situation from someone else’s perspective. And you will learn from it and also learn to
consider the other’s choices and opinions.”

Many challenges remain out of their hands, including the severe, ongoing drought in the Karoo. They also haven’t had much luck in getting financial assistance to grow their business.

“I have applied for financial help from the government, but never got a reply. It is tough. Sometimes we raise all our lambs just for them to be sold so that we can pay the rent and cover other farming expenses,” Sas says.

‘Small-scale farmers could go extinct’

Also, the Karoo’s severe winters and summers are tough on their sheep. Accessing markets in the big cities are becoming increasingly expensive, because they’re so far
off the beaten track. And they have to face long distances daily to drive to their rented land.

This makes Louw believe that small-scale farmers themselves could be extinct in the nearby future. “The drought, high feeding prices, no help from government, escalating land prices and interest rates makes it difficult for a small-scale farmer to
survive. This tells us that the funds that are publicly advertised as drought-relief are not (always) used correctly and end up just disappearing. So, we can’t depend on that.”

Notwithstanding the difficulties, both farmers are extremely proud of what they have achieved. They haven’t lost hope and look forward to a brighter future in agriculture.

“We hope that our story will inspire both farmers and non-farmers to take hands and help each other to go forward in these testing times where it seems like everything is against us,” Louw says, with Sas adding, “It is in my genes to farm and I want to do it for as long as I live, while inspiring others to also join the world of agriculture.”

If only the drought can go away. If only government can see their ambition and hard work. If only someone could help them.

In the nine weeks of South Africa’s lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Karoo town of Beaufort West has been largely sheltered from the storm

The largest town in the Central Karoo District, it’s a hub for transport and travel between the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, as well as a link to Johannesburg along the N1 highway.

In the more than two months of the lockdown, the town had only two confirmed cases. One of the people infected is considered recovered and no longer infectious.

Now the local government is anxious about what effect opening the economy could have on the movement of goods and people through the area, and are concerned about whether local health services will be ready should the number of cases increase exponentially.

“I’m very worried,” said mayor Noël Constable. He’s acutely aware of the financial effect the lockdown has had on the town and its people, but simultaneously believes a coronavirus outbreak would devastate the area.

The largely agricultural economy benefits from the town’s status as a rest stop for truckers, buses, taxis, and road trippers. And the nine weeks of lockdown have meant that, like the rest of the country, restaurants, coffee shops and takeaway outlets have been closed.

“We are on the borders of the Free State and the Eastern Cape, so we may have some challenges with the taxi industry. We’ll see a lot more people moving through here,” Constable said.

Beaufort West got its the first case of coronavirus late into the lockdown. For the first seven weeks, town officials monitored the situation and were pleased with the lockdown. They noted that the police and traffic-enforcement monitoring of road traffic was having a positive effect. This was until South Africa moved from level five to level four in the government’s risk-adjusted strategy.

The first confirmed cases in the town was of a local man who returned home during the seven-day grace period at the beginning of May, which allowed people to return home if they were stranded.

Constable said this one case shook the community, who thought themselves insulated from the pandemic and adhered only marginally to the lockdown.

“From our side, we’ve done everything to communicate the message. We’ve gone around with loud hailers, it’s on our social media, we’ve sent out text messages, but for people, they said they are not in the city, they’re not in like Khayelitsha [in Cape Town], so it won’t affect them. So when we had our first case reported, many asked ‘What is the municipality doing?’. They were so afraid. But it’s not our responsibility to keep people safe, because they need to stay at home.

Despite the warnings, Constable is panicking. He’s not sure whether the town’s only hospital and a handful of clinics would be able to handle an influx of patients. So far the provincial health department’s focus has been on hotspots in the City of Cape Town and the Cape Winelands district municipality.

“If we have a lot of cases, Beaufort West will not be ready. We don’t have quarantine sites here. If something big happens, we are in trouble. So far the provincial government has only looked at Cape Town and other towns, even though Beaufort West is a sensitive and central place when it comes to the transportation of people. This virus will be a massive burden on us,” he said.

But despite Constable’s fears, he supports the announcement that churches and places of worship will be allowed to reopen under level three of lockdown regulations.

When lockdown restrictions were at level five, Constable called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to allow people in small towns to observe communal prayer under strict regulation because of the low number of cases. “If children can go back to school, if people can move around in level three, if we can have funerals, then churches can do the same … People need that place to commune with each other and communicate. I’m happy that churches will now be able to do that,” the mayor said.

The Western Cape government said it is prepared for the spread of the virus and the inevitable increase in the number of infected people.

“The scientific reason for the lockdown, and which has been made clear by experts, was to buy us time to prepare for the peak that will inevitably come. The virus cannot be stopped and will continue to spread throughout the country. We have been working around the clock to make sure that we are prepared and that every resident that requires healthcare gets it when they need it,” said Premier Alan Winde in a statement last week.

“The Western Cape [has] 2162 general care beds and 150 ICU [intensive care unit] beds in central and regional hospitals across the province. We have opened 18 testing and triage centres (12 are already operational) to provide additional support at these facilities. We also have 3888 community health workers across our province, with a further 464 due to start work soon,” Winde added.

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a new report of 20 amazing African sites that could become Unesco World Heritage Sites in the future.
• Among the listed candidates is South Africa’s own Succulent Karoo desert that stretches from the Northern Cape all the way into Namibia, which is home to a third of the world’s succulent plant species.
• More than half of Africa’s natural World Heritage Sites are in critical condition and sites face even more pressure, following Covid-19-related lockdowns that have shut down tourism – a vital revenue generator.
• Go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za for more stories.

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a new report of 20 amazing African sites that could become Unesco World Heritage Sites.

The IUCN, which is responsible for approving Wold Heritage Sites and encompasses government, civil society and the input of more than 15 000 experts, has released its Natural World Heritage in Africa: Progress and Prospects report to help shine a light on Africa’s natural wonders.

The 84-page document identifies 20 remarkable wonders, from the unique Madagascar dry forests, home to endemic lemurs and baobabs, to Africa’s largest wetland in South Sudan.

Among the listed candidates is South Africa’s own Succulent Karoo desert, part of a biome that stretches from parts of the Northern Cape all the way into Namibia. This is the world’s only plant hotspot that is entirely arid and harbours about one third of the world’s approximately 10 000 succulent species, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The IUCN report also includes, for the first time, a detailed update of Africa’s current 48 World Heritage Sites, a chapter for new listing nominations to prepare for the World Heritage Convention, where decisions are made to add sites onto the Word Heritage List.

Of the 48 sites, it identified 17 that could be extended, including South Africa’s own Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in Mpumalanga, and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal.

More than half of Africa’s world heritage sites are in critical condition and Covid-19 isn’t helping

By the end of 2019, a total of 1 121 World Heritage Sites had been inscribed, including 252 under the natural and mixed criteria. Forty-eight are located across 54 countries in Africa.

More than half of the 48 sites are in a critical condition, according to the IUC’s World Heritage Outlookwith 12 natural sites categorised as being “in danger”. This is as a result of factors that include civil unrest, poaching, infrastructure development, mining and uncontrolled timber harvesting.

Sites are also under pressure following Covid-19-related lockdowns that have shut down tourism, a vital revenue generator. Lockdowns threaten jobs, from park management to local communities and businesses.

Here are the 20 remarkable areas that the IUCN says could be next:

Source: Natural World Heritage in Africa: Progress and Prospects 

Succulent Karoo (Namibia and South Africa).

The Succulent Karooincludes the richest succulent flora in the world. Some 40% of the plant species occur nowhere else on the planet.

Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia).

The Bale Mountainssupport the largest expanse of Afroalpine vegetation, plants growing 3 500 metres to 4 000 metres above sea level, in Africa. The area is home to threatened and endemic species, such as the mountain nyala and the Ethiopian wolf.

Benguela Current Marine Sites (Namibia).

The Benguela marine ecosystem is home to rich stocks of fish that feed large populations of Cape gannets, African penguins, cormorants, dolphins and Cape fur seals.

Bijagós Archipelago (Guinea-Bissau).

The Bijagós Archipelago is composed of 88 islands and one of the most important areas in West Africa for migratory birds.

Government-Badingilo Migratory Landscape (South Sudan).

It supports one of the last great mammal migrations on Earth, involving about a million white-eared kob, an antelope found across Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa.

Chott el Jerid (Tunisia).

The Chott el Jerid is a dry salt lake located in southwest Tunisia.

Dinosaur Fossil Beds of Niger (Niger).

Home to fascinating fossil deposits that date back to the late Triassic through to the Cretaceous period.

East African Coastal Forests (Kenya and Tanzania).

The biodiversity is endemic and there are massive concentrations of threatened plant and animal species.

Eastern Arc Mountains (Kenya and Tanzania).

The biodiversity of this ancient complex of mountain ranges is home to many species of plant and animal that remain isolated.

Equatorial Atlantic Coastal Forests (Congo and Gabon).

These forests form the western fringes of the vast Central African rainforests. Populations of critically endangered western lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, and forest elephant dwell here. Along the shoreline are multiple nesting sites for leatherback turtles.

Erte Arle and the Danakil Depression (Ethiopia).

Erte Arle is an active volcano in the north of Africa’s Great Rift Valley. It has been in an active, more or less, state of eruption for more than 100 years. It has the world’s longest-lived lava lake.

Great Western Desert (Egypt).

Egypt’s western desert has been identified as a priority site for stunning sand, dune and rock formations forged by wind action and preserved in extremely dry conditions.

Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Zambia).

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second oldest freshwater lake, the second largest by volume and the second deepest. Its fish include some 330 species and much of the lake’s biodiversity remains to be documented.

Madagascar Dry Forests (Madagascar).

The dry forests of western Madagascar support threatened and endemic plants and animals – including the characteristic lemur and ancient baobab trees.

Montane Forests of the Southern Albertine Rift (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda).

They are home to a high diversity of plants, more than 500 bird species and primates – including the critically endangered eastern lowland or Grauer’s gorilla and endangered chimpanzee.

Mozambique Channel (Comoros, France, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania).

The Mozambique Channel is a priority marine site in the Western Indian Ocean. The IUCN says six specific localities have been identified which would ideally be incorporated into a single transboundary serial site.

Protected Forests of the Gulf of Guinea (Cameroon and Nigeria).

Home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered chimpanzee. A portion of this has the highest diversity of primates recorded at a single site in Africa, with 18 recorded species.

Sudd Wetland (South Sudan).

The Sudd is Africa’s largest wetland and one of the largest tropical wetlands in the world. It is in the middle reaches of the White Nile providing refuge to a large proportion of the world’s 8 000 endangered shoebill storks.

Tropical Moist Forests of the Upper Guinea Biodiversity Hotspot (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone).

The Upper Guinea forests of West Africa are important for their biological diversity and the high degree of endemism in most groups of flora and fauna.

Volcanic Islands and Forests of the Gulf of Guinea and Cameroon Highlands (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe).

The flora and fauna of each “island” is distinctive and a plant and bird species have evolved with typical “island adaptations”, such as gigantism and dwarfism.

*The report was produced by the BIOPAMA Programme, an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and jointly implemented by the IUCN and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC).

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• Booze is back – and bars can also sell it from Monday, though takeaways only
• All domestic workers can return to work on Monday – subject to ‘protocols’
• The rules for lockdown worship ban live hymns – and touching is entirely out
• You can buy hot pies, roasted chicken in store from Monday
• You might want to wait before fixing your home loan interest rate

By Chris Bishop

Africa has agreed to link the middle of nowhere to God knows where to help NASA in its space race.

The South African government agreed, on May 27, that the South African National Space Agency be allowed to set up an earth station, in partnership with NASA, to help to support human spaceflight to the moon Mars and beyond. It will be called a Deep Earth Station and will assemble a bunch of scientists and experts to support the existing network of similar sites in the United States, Spain and Australia, according to official papers.

“The station will benefit South Africa in, amongst others, the development of scarce skills and the growth of the science, engineering, technology and innovation sector,” says cabinet papers.

The new earth station will be built in a tiny dot on the South African map in the heart of one of the great, remote, wildernesses of Africa – the Karoo. It will be built near Majtiesfontein, in South Africa’s Western Cape, 195 kilometres from Cape Town. Remote areas, with little pollution, apparently make it easier to connect clearly with the stars.

The tiny town nestles into a vast expanse of largely untouched land and has a population just over 400. As yet, it is more famous for mohair farming and the castle turrets of the 120-year-old Lord Milner Hotel, where nearly one-in-five people in Majtiesfontein work , than it is for its future role in the space race.

The hotel, built in 1899 by the town’s Scottish railwayman founder James Logan, once played host to the Sultan of Zanzibar, Lord Randolph Churchill – the father of Winston Churchill – and the author of the Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling. Two months ago it closed its doors, because of COIVD-19, for the first time since the days of Rudyard and Randolph in the 19^th century.

 “We don’t actually see a lot of people, they tend to stay in their houses,” says Werner Smit, the general manager of the Lord Milner Hotel in a recent interview with Cape Talk FM.

Work at the Deep Earth Station is likely to see the biggest influx of people and equipment into Majtiesfontein since the Anglo-Boer War when it was home to British 12,000 troops. By contrast, the scientists and engineers of the Deep Earth Station come in peace and in the hope that the Lord Milner Hotel will be open with enough beds to accommodate them.

As the cold front arrived in many parts of South Africa, the Western Cape was one of the first provinces to experience the freezing temperatures with parts of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape reaching a maximum of 12°C on Tuesday.

The South African Weather Service issued out an advisory late on Monday of expected snowfall on the mountains of the Western Cape, the high ground of the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, and the southern high ground of the Northern Cape.

An advisory was also issued of severe frost expected over the Free State, eastern and southern Northern Cape, and the northern interior of the Eastern Cape on Tuesday morning.

The cold front is expected to last until Wednesday, with the Western Cape expected to have good rainfall.

Below are some of the beautiful pictures shared on social media:

More snow photos from the Little Karoo (Swartberg Mountains). Source: Willie loves De Rust. pic.twitter.com/DjtVDUN3AP

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

?????From Jannie Ellis in Klaarstroom area (northern side of the Swartberg mountain in the Western Cape). Thanks Jannie. pic.twitter.com/Cb7Ul8CaI9

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

From SnowReportSA. Beautiful snow on the Swartberg Mountains (near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape). pic.twitter.com/90ojIlwv5N

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

Some snow falling in Sutherland this morning ? https://t.co/O8wHnvR5fk

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

?????Snow in Sutherland (Northern Cape) this morning. https://t.co/UgW8IoLsMQ

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

Some more snow photos. Koue Bokkeveld. Source: SnowReportSA pic.twitter.com/8aCQCU2Uac

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

Some snow at Sutherland Observatory this morning???? pic.twitter.com/DRvRqd1zd1

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 26, 2020

What a peaceful and beautiful video sent in by Helaine du Plessis in Sutherland pic.twitter.com/r2j8ZSEakO

— Storm Report SA (@StormReportSA1) May 26, 2020

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There will be gale force north-westerly to westerly winds (65-80km/h) between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas in the early morning, spreading eastwards to Plettenberg Bay by late morning and to Port St Johns in the afternoon as well as the Central Karoo of the Western Cape.

The South African Weather Service also warns of high seas, with wave heights between 6 and 9m expected between Cape Columbine and Port St Johns.

Other warnings

• A storm surge is expected along the coast between Cape Agulhas and East London as well as the False Bay region.
• Heavy rain leading to localised flooding is expected in places in the Cape Metro as well as the mountainous regions of the Cape Winelands and Overberg.
• Disruptive snowfalls leading to temporary closure of mountain passes can be expected in the Cape Winelands District of the Western Cape on Monday evening, spreading to the Little Karoo overnight.
• Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Central Karoo of the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, eastern parts of the Northern Cape, the western parts of both the North West and Free State as well as the north-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

Special weather advisories

• Light snowfalls are expected over the western high ground of the Western Cape from Monday late afternoon, spreading to the eastern high ground of the Western Cape and the southern high ground of the Northern Cape by evening, and to the high ground of the Eastern Cape overnight into Tuesday morning.
• Strong interior winds of 50 to 65km/h are expected over the interior of the Western Cape, southern interior of the Northern Cape, southern parts of the Free State, and the interior of the Eastern Cape.
• Very cold conditions are expected over the interior of the Western Cape, southern interior of the Northern Cape, northern interior of the Eastern Cape and southern parts of the Free State on Tuesday.
• Frost is expected over the northern interior of the Eastern Cape, the Free State and the southern and eastern parts of the Northern Cape on Wednesday morning.

The weather in your province

Gauteng will be fine, windy and cool.

The expected UVB sunburn index is high.

It will be fine, windy and cool in Mpumalanga, but warm to hot in the Lowveld.

Limpopo will be fine and warm.

Fine, windy and cool to warm conditions can be expected in the North West.

In the Free State it will be fine, windy and cool.

It will be cloudy, windy and cold to cool in the Northern Cape, with isolated showers and rain in the west and south, but scattered in the extreme south-west.

It will be fine and cool in the east, where it will become partly cloudy from afternoon.

Light to moderate snow can be expected over the southern high ground from the evening, where it will be very cold.

The wind along the coast will be light to moderate north-westerly, becoming fresh south-westerly in the afternoon.

The Western Cape will be cloudy and cold to cool, with scattered showers and rain in the west, spreading to the east from late morning, but widespread in the south-west.

Light snow can be expected over the western high ground in the afternoon, spreading to the eastern high ground in the evening.

It will be very windy.

The wind along the coast will be strong to gale north-westerly south of Cape Columbine, becoming strong to gale westerly to south-westerly in the afternoon, otherwise light to moderate north-westerly, becoming fresh to strong south-westerly in the afternoon.

The expected UVB sunburn index is low.

The western part of the Eastern Cape will be fine, cool and windy, becoming cloudy from the south-west, with isolated showers and rain spreading eastwards, but scattered along the coast.

Snowfall is expected in the evening and overnight on the mountains.

The wind along the coast will be strong to gale force westerly to south-westerly.

Fine, warm and windy conditions can be expected in the eastern part.

It will become cloudy from the west in the evening, with isolated showers, spreading to the Lesotho border overnight.

Light evening snowfall is expected over the northern mountains.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north-westerly, becoming strong south-westerly, but gale force late in the day west of Kei River.

KwaZulu-Natal will be fine and warm, but cool on the western high ground.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north-easterly, becoming moderate to fresh south-westerly in the evening from the south.

The expected UVB sunburn index is high.

– Compiled by Maxine Becket

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

By Mwangi Githahu May 22, 2020

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ShareTweetShareShareShareEmailShareCape Town – The national weather service has predicted above-average rainfall from May to August over the south-western parts of the country, but South Africans still need to conserve water.

Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa, the Western Cape province’s director for planning and information/water sector support at the Department of Water and Sanitation, said: “As everyone is aware, climate change has impacted on rainfall patterns in South Africa. For this reason, the department calls upon all water users to continue with water savings initiatives.

“Our main concern is the Gouritz River Catchment system which covers the Klein Karoo and Greater Karoo. In May 2019, the catchment area stood at 23.03% and a year later, it is only at 24.23%.

“This is due to the lower-than normal rainfall in the area that has persisted for several years.

“The major dams storage system supplying the city of Cape Town and surroundings is currently at 53.28% of capacity. This is an increase from last year’s capacity of 45.44% and the 20.65% seen during the height of the drought in 2018.

“Theewaterskloof Dam, which is the largest dam in this system, is at 49.95%, which is a definite improvement on the 20% seen in 2018.

“The Breede River Catchment, which is at 33.77%, is better than last year’s reading of 28.24%.

“At the same time, the Olifants/Doorn Catchment on the western side is at 6.54% compared to 11.87% last year. This catchment is part of the winter rainfall region,” said Bila-Mupariwa.

@MwangiGithahu

[email protected]

Cape Argus

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** If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za 

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The characters in ‘Die Boekklub’ lose themselves in fiction and travel the world through their books, whether it be while baking cake for the next church fair or while the sheep are being vaccinated. But the most important lesson we learnt was that communicating one’s feelings are paramount.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, these last few weeks I have been bonding with my wife, Nicky, in front of the television, getting completely lost in a small Karoo town called Merweville. Thanks to Quenton Krog and Louis Pretorius, we were able to stop over at Bettie se Gastehuis and decided to stay a few nights. 

Unlike Nicky, my English-speaking wife with Scottish blood, who grew up in Johannesburg and whom I met there in 1995, I was very comfortable here, with Afrikaans being my mother tongue. I was reminded of the soft-spoken and beautiful vocabulary of the Afrikaans language, its idioms and poetry, and how it can simply slide off your tongue effortlessly. Such a beautiful language.

The hospitality of Sofia and Tom Niemandt was par excellence, but what struck me the most about the quiet little dorp was the fact that they have a Boekklub, a tradition they had been enjoying for 25 years, thanks to the late Bettie, or Beth, as she preferred to be called. Their collective love for books and reading brings together such a wonderful story, filled with everyday sagas and adventures. They read widely, whether it be Ingrid Winterbach, JK Rowling or Jane Austen.

Nicky and I were gripped from day one. We soon discovered that there’s so much going on in this small dorpie. The farmer, Herman, “coming out” and accepting his homosexuality and all that goes with such. From his father disowning him at first, to his discovery of true love in the form of Altus, vannie Kaap. Their frightening and at times courageous journey together in wanting to adopt a child and become parents.

Lillie who came to seek some refuge from the harsh reality of men who are trash, and wanting to blame herself for what had happened in Rome after a night that went awry and ended in some predator taking advantage of her. The healing she underwent by spending time with her grandparents, Anna and Jan, as well as the caring and loving attitudes she got from the people of this small town. Both Nicky and I were happy to see that she is yet again spreading her wings in faraway countries, having found her innocence again.

I’m gonna miss Merweville and die Boekklub members. It is certainly a dorpie with its own pace and rules. But one thing is for sure, I’m glad we took that wrong turn in the Karoo and spent some time in a small town called Merweville. It is apparent to me that people will come and go, but the 25-year-old Boekklub will remain.

When I spoke to Anna, she struck me as a very complex person. A herbalist and local white sangoma type to many, but more importantly a solid rock for this group of people. She was Bettie’s best friend. And in her being a foundation to all, she finds her comfort in her soulmate and husband, Jan. A loving husband who gives her the space to dream, garden and smoke her dagga, but when she lost him to the heavens, her world collapsed. She ran away and for the next three months she was searching for Jan, at all their favourite places over the years, but to no avail. When she returned, the Boekklub members were at peace again, the matriarch had returned and all will be well again.

The times I had to push back a tear while observing Nicky sobbing away, were innumerate. Damn, Quinton and Louis just know how to direct and produce this marvellous series, “Die Boekklub”.

Bettie’s ghost occasionally appeared in the garden of the gastehuis, simply to welcome me and Nicky to Merweville and to wish us Godspeed on our travels. I couldn’t help but appreciate Gerwin, the local school principal on the other side of the railway line, and her passion for wanting to ensure that the poor children of this dorp dream big and make something of themselves. Such dedication is rarely seen in our teachers and school administrators these days. Her compassion also led her to adopt precocious little André, (a white boy who came from a battered past), an abusive father and a mother now in jail. Gerwin spoke so fondly of her love for her new son. At first, he did not want anyone to touch him because of the abuse of his father, but over time, with him receiving so much love from his new coloured mother, they hug and even kiss at times, which I can observe André appreciates.

And just when you think you’ve seen it all in Merweville, Kara, a young beautiful first-year university student and daughter of Hanli, attempts suicide. It came as such a shock to us all. Fortunately, the local detective, Lourens (the only one in die streek), equally had a brush with wanting to end his life a few years earlier, and comes to Kara’s rescue in a very big way, and makes her understand that we all run from our shadows and sometimes they catch up with some of us. She finds solace in his words and advice, and voila, they find true love and marry each other. Tears roll again uncontrollably.

Another glass of wine, dear? I inquire as we acquiesce to another episode before calling it a night.

Tom Niemandt, a central figure in this high-minded affair, is perhaps one of my favourite characters. Maybe it’s because I too see myself as a prospective author, or perhaps it’s because as we converse late into the evenings, his intellect is refreshing and surprisingly satisfactory to me. We also reminisce of our times spent in England, at different times, of course. Our love for books of such varied genres are also a source of endless entertainment. Nicky and I love books and so too do our twins, and a variety of genres go a long way in shaping one’s imagination, travelling to distant worlds and encountering so many different peoples. Reading is a must. At least that’s what I loved about Merweville and its quaint Boekklub. As for Tom, I guess we will keep contact after this encounter. And I can but hope that he finds true love in Pretoria with Isabel, the doctor. All the best with that Tom, and your next book, pal.

Now, imagine a small, relatively conservative group of people, set in their various ways and God-fearing, of course, though there is a healthy dose of my atheist types too, when Tom introduces the book, Fifty Shades of Grey. I’m sure he simply wanted to throw a cat among the pigeons and boy, did he? Well, I tell you, it had me and Nicky in stitches to see how different people in the Boekklub dealt with its overtly sexual content. After all, sadomasochism is not everybody’s cup of tea and certainly not in Merweville. It certainly ignited Sofia’s love life with her husband, Tobias. Who every now and again encouraged her to read another chapter before the evening sets in.

I have been travelling with my family every year-end by road to both Knysna and Cape Town to visit the families and enjoy a well-deserved rest. Every year, when we get to Laingsburg or Beaufort West, I cannot wait to buy some skaapstertjies at the local butchery. I share this story with the local butcher in Merweville, Gert, who lost his wife to cancer a year prior, but is now experiencing love again with the local nurse, Petro. He insists that his skaapstertjies are far better than the ones I have been purchasing over the years. I inform him that Woolworths also now have them on offer and they’re not too bad, actually. He looks at me with some suspicion.

I loved my time in Merweville, though it was far too short. Nicky and I don’t really know what we will do now, but hopefully Quinton and Louis might take us on another journey soon.

Merweville, a microcosm of South African life. They speak fondly of the day Mandela was released; how they as different race groups have coexisted so beautifully and how farmers passionately boer, to provide the nation with skaapvleis, mielies for maize and so much more. In effect, feeding us as a people. They do it selflessly and with great assiduousness. They lose themselves in fiction and travel the world through their books, whether it be while baking cake for the next church fair or while the sheep are being vaccinated. But the most important lesson my wife and I learned was that communicating one’s feelings are paramount. Talk to each other and a father will realise that he loves his gay son; that a misunderstanding between mother and daughter is why they have not been talking for years; and that you can rediscover lost family you never knew you had.

I’m gonna miss Merweville and die Boekklub members. It is certainly a dorpie with its own pace and rules. But one thing is for sure, I’m glad we took that wrong turn in the Karoo and spent some time in a small town called Merweville. It is apparent to me that people will come and go, but the 25-year-old Boekklub will remain.

As they say in Afrikaans, wederom tot wedersiens – till later and until we see you again. DM

Oscar Van Heerden

Oscar van Heerden is a scholar of International Relations (IR), where he focuses on International Political Economy, with an emphasis on Africa, and SADC in particular. He completed his PhD and Masters studies at the University of Cambridge (UK). His undergraduate studies were at Turfloop and Wits. He is an active fellow of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflections (MISTRA) and is a trustee for the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation.

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Al Mawashi South Africa, an exporter of live animals, accused the NSPCA of “peddling fake news”.

In a previous report, the NSPCA stated that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) had advised the Eastern Cape Veterinary Services against any live animal exportation to the Middle East from May to September 2020.

The NSPCA applauded this decision and reiterated its opposition of live animal exportation. In its recent statement, the NSPCA referred to its Australian counterpart, Animals Australia, which has been lobbying against the practice for years. In 2011, they managed to persuade their government to briefly suspend the export of live animals.

The statement referred to Al Mawashi, a feedlot in the Eastern Cape, stating: “There are approximately 72 000 sheep (at the feedlot).”

According to the NSPCA, these animals were destined for a voyage to the Middle East. This concerned the animal welfare society, which has crossed swords with Al Mawashi previously, both in and out of South Africa’s courts.

In response to the press release, Meropa Communications’ JP Roodt, Al Mawashi South Africa’s spokesperson, argued that animals being exported from South Africa would not be subjected to life-threatening conditions. He also said that Al Mawashi’s exports are compliant with all South African laws.

“The South African government has already vetted our ships for safety,” he said. In considering the DALRRD’s reported advice, Roodt stressed that live export had not been banned by South Africa’s government.

Also read: South Africa’s ‘Frog Lady’ wins 2020 Whitley Award

The NEWS has broached the issue with the DALRRD and has not received any feedback yet.

In its statement, the NSPCA indicated that the temperatures on the Persian Gulf (where the exported livestock are set to travel) are climbing towards 40 degrees Celsius and that Al Mawashi’s vessels were not fitted with air conditioning. The NSPCA alleged that the combination of heat and humidity inherent to these voyages could be lethal to animals.

“Many will die and those that survive will endure unimaginable suffering,” the society stated. Roodt denied these allegations.

He proceeded to label the NSPCA as peddlers of fake news. The society, in turn, denied this broad statement.

Roodt then elaborated on the differences between exporting live animals from South Africa and doing so from Australia and questioned whether the comparison was scientifically sound.

“First, the South Africa Middle East corridor is safer because of a shorter voyage duration.

“The journey between SA and the Middle East is seven days shorter with an average duration of 14 days, where the voyage from Fremantle in Australia to the Middle East is 21 days,” he said.

Roodt stated that South African Karoo temperatures are warm and argued that the Persian Gulf’s heat should, therefore, not pose such a serious risk to the animals, whereas Australia’s livestock export port has cold, wet winters, South Africa’s more moderate climate was also mentioned by Roodt, who said, “Thus, animals do not go from extreme cold to extreme heat.”

Also read: Patel unpacks regulations for finance, food, transport and mining sectors

“Scientific literature also points that the Merino sheep is well adapted to cope with heat, and that shearing animals before the voyage reduces heat stress,” he added.

Al Mawashi is a division of the Livestock Transport and Trading Company (KLTT). KLTT’s Australian subsidiary is Rural Export and Trading WA (Retwa). In a press statement issued in October 2019, Retwa, Al Mawashi’s sister company, expressed its support of the industry-led moratorium for June, July and August, as well as the science behind it.

“We continue to work with the industry on research into the best animal welfare and well-being measures to help deliver and verify good welfare outcomes on voyages,” the statement reads.

Although the statement does not address the South African position, the NSPCA referred the media to the above statement in response to Roodt questioning the science behind the NSPCA’s arguments.

“Al Mawashi and its global subsidiaries are committed to good corporate citizenship in the various global territories in which it operates. It respects the rule of law. We could not establish the authenticity of the document,” said Roodt when the NEWS inquired whether Al Mawashi South Africa agrees with the comment made by Australian subsidiary, Retwa.

“The statement that the NSPCA is peddling a misinformation war is also a broad and unsubstantiated statement,” said Grace de Lange, manager of the NSPCA Farm Animal Protection Unit.

#LockdownLessons: Adapting to the ‘new normal’ will remain a priority for the foreseeable future

By Robin Fredericks