Home Affairs welcomes conviction of former employee
Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, has welcomed the conviction of a dismissed official, Dawn Pieterson, who has been found guilty on nine counts of fraud and two counts of contravening the Births and Deaths Registration Act.
Pieterson was formerly employed at the Department of Home Affairs office in Calvinia in the Northern Cape, where she abused her access to departmental records to commit fraud and corruption between February 2019 and September 2022.
She did this by opening funeral policies on clients’ identity numbers, nominating herself as the beneficiary, then falsely declaring the holders of the ID numbers as deceased in order to access the payouts.
The department said it would continue to monitor the case as Pieterson is scheduled to be sentenced on 26 January 2026.
“This latest successful conviction is another step forward in our ongoing work to clean up Home Affairs. It is the ninth conviction secured through the collaboration between the department and law enforcement agencies. It also follows the dismissal of 37 officials since July 2024.
“I applaud the department’s Counter Corruption unit for this conviction, as well as our partners in the Hawks and other entities.”
The Minister said the modus operandi used in this case confirmed the fundamental importance of the digital transformation agenda.
“By fully automating and digitalising all departmental processes, as we are doing through the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for visas and through Digital ID for civics services, we will eliminate the space for human discretion and interference exploited by criminals like Pieterson.
“We are absolutely determined to both put criminal officials behind bars, while simultaneously using technology to close the loopholes they exploit. This is how we can defeat the scourge of corruption once and for all,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za
The Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, has called for a renewed focus on ethical leadership as the foundation for turning around the decline in municipalities across South Africa.
Speaking at the Local Government Indaba in Gauteng, the MEC said that without ethical leadership, no number of new laws or revised frameworks will improve service delivery.
“South Africa has enough resources in the system to meet the needs of our people. The real problem is corruption, theft and poor management. Ethical leadership is the only way we can restore dignity, trust and delivery in our municipalities,” said Bredell.
The MEC outlined several key interventions to turn local government around in South Africa.
“We need a new financial model that aligns national, provincial and local responsibilities with sustainable funding. If the national government takes a top slice first, other spheres of government will not receive their rightful allocation.”
He said the country needs stronger consequence management, such as automatic intervention when councils fail to pass funded budgets.
“In this manner, we will spend much less time in court fighting with municipalities and more time supporting them at the early onset of challenges. Also, make it a law that municipalities should spend a minimum of 8% of their budget on infrastructure maintenance of critical infrastructure.”
In addition, he is of the view that the creation of independent auditors employed by the National Treasury within municipalities can act as a shield for professional officials subjected to political interference.
“We are struggling to attract and keep qualified and experienced municipal managers and financial officers. We require reform in legislation to enable and attract suitable and qualified senior managers.
“As government, it is our responsibility to support people to have a dignified life. Research we conducted in the Western Cape shows that the current indigent support provided to vulnerable people is not enough.”
According to the MEC, the legislation provides for 6 kilolitres of water and 50 kWh of electricity per household, but this should be at least 10 kilolitres of water and at least 150 kWh of electricity.
“I believe that an investment in dignity will yield positive results. Electricity in a home means children can safely do homework at night, improving our education outcomes.
“Access to clean water will lessen the burden on our clinics and hospitals. The question should not be if we can afford to increase basic services to indigent households. The question should be, can we afford not to invest in our people?”
During a keynote address at the Local Government Indaba, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa said that although significant progress has been made since 2000 in improving democratic governance and service delivery, municipalities still face challenges.
These include institutional weaknesses, poor financial management, governance failures, and a decline in public trust.
He stressed that improved accountability, ethical leadership, professionalisation, and inclusive public participation are central to revitalising municipalities and ensuring that “every municipality must work.”
“The culture of no accountability, lack of transparency, political interference, and no consequence management is a major weakness in our communities, especially the underperforming municipalities. This culture must be stopped,” Hlabisa added. – SAnews.gov.za
Western Cape tackles traffic gridlock as Mobility Month kicks off
With Cape Town now ranked the ninth most congested city in the world, Western Cape MEC for Mobility Isaac Sileku has warned that traffic gridlock is more than an inconvenience – it is undermining livelihoods, businesses, and the environment.
Launching Mobility Month on Wednesday with a panel discussion in Cape Town, Sileku brought together major transport players to confront one of the province’s biggest challenges: easing congestion and improving public transport.
The discussion included representatives from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS), the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), and academics. Together, they stressed that while congestion cannot be eliminated, it can be better managed through coordinated solutions.
Among the issues raised was the heavy reliance on private vehicles, with 60% of cars during peak hours carrying just one passenger.
PRASA Regional Manager Raymond Maseko said rail must once again become the backbone of the system.
“We aim to move one million passengers a day. Passenger rail must anchor public transport, supported by other modes,” he said.
SANTACO Provincial Chairperson Mandla Hermanus said taxi operators are beginning to adopt higher-occupancy vehicles, such as 23- and 25-seaters, which carry more people, while cutting operating costs.
Sileku said the province’s strategy rests on three pillars: strengthening public transport, expanding non-motorised options like cycling and walking, and shifting travel behaviour through carpooling, flexible working, and technology.
“We cannot build our way out of congestion.
“We must manage it with innovative and practical solutions. That means enabling public transport to be the first choice for commuters and ensuring rail, buses, taxis and e-hailing can coexist effectively.”
The Department of Mobility outlined several interventions already underway, including:
Rail recovery: Restoring services on the Central Line, rolling out new trains, expanding park-and-ride facilities and deploying the Rail Enforcement Unit.
Bus services: Golden Arrow carries more than 230 000 passengers daily, alongside the expansion of MyCiTi and the N2 bus lane.
Taxis: with 75% of commuters relying on minibus taxis, initiatives are being rolled out to improve efficiency and safety.
Non-motorised transport: safe cycling and walking projects, as well as the distribution of over 400 bicycles annually.
Sileku said Mobility Month is about more than transport logistics.
“At the heart of Mobility Month is one simple goal – to keep goods and people moving safely and efficiently across the Western Cape. We want to reclaim lost hours, unlock economic growth, and restore dignity in how people move.” – SAnews.gov.za
July Moyo, Minister of Power and Energy Development, Zimbabwe has indicated that Africa’s push for industrial growth will require a balanced energy mix, stressing that renewable sources alone cannot sustain the continent’s heavy industries.
“Recent years have witnessed an increasing trend – the rise of renewable energy technologies,” Minister Moyo stated, adding, “However, steel, mining and manufacturing require constant and high-capacity electricity. Herein lies Africa’s challenge – how to strike the right balance between scaling up renewables and maintain the current baseload,” he said during a keynote speech at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025.
While renewables are expanding rapidly and offer cleaner, locally produced power, the Minister highlighted, conventional baseload generation remains vital. He called for renewable energy to be reframed as complementary rather than replacement technologies. Ensuring this balance, he said, will be key to securing long-term socioeconomic growth
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
Wale Tinubu CON, Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC (https://OandoPLC.com/), has been awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at African Energy Week (AEW) 2025, in recognition of his unwavering commitment to building Oando into one of Africa’s foremost integrated energy companies.
The award, one of the most coveted accolades at AEW, is presented annually to industry leaders whose careers have demonstrated extraordinary vision, resilience, and a lasting impact on Africa’s energy landscape. Past recipients have included trailblazers such as Professor Benedict Okey Oramah GCON, President of Afreximbank, who received the Mohammed S. Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024; H.E. Hage Geingob, Former President of Namibia, and H.E. Macky Sall, Former President of Senegal, awarded in 2023; and H.E. Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Republic of Congo, in 2022.
In conferring the award, the African Energy Chamber cited Tinubu’s “dedication to advancing Africa’s energy security, his bold leadership in navigating Oando through periods of uncertainty and transformation, and his pivotal role in demonstrating the power of indigenous companies in driving industrial growth and energy sovereignty across the continent.”
Throughout his career, Tinubu has been a steadfast champion of Africa, charting its own destiny by harnessing its abundant resources for the benefit of its people. A firm believer that anyone can achieve greatness with vision, determination, and the right team around them, he has led Oando from its modest beginnings as a local downstream operator into a multinational integrated energy player with a robust portfolio spanning exploration and production, power, and renewables. His leadership has not only positioned Oando as a continental leader but also symbolized African ambition, ingenuity, and resilience.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is widely regarded as a benchmark of excellence at AEW, reserved for leaders whose contributions have left an indelible mark on Africa’s energy sector. It recognizes individuals whose sustained, more than decade-long careers embody remarkable achievements and enduring contributions to the oil, gas, and energy industries. Tinubu’s recognition was a fitting and well-deserved tribute to a leader who has consistently inspired others to believe in the promise of Africa and the power of its people.
On the back of its multi-year licensing round launched in 2019, Angola is positioned to award 60 concessions by the end of 2025. Speaking at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025, Alcides Andrade, Executive Administrator at the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG), explained that the country has already reached its target of awarding 50 concessions through its annual licensing drive and direct negotiation program and is now pursuing additional licenses to drive production.
“Since 2024, we have awarded more than 20 blocks. This has amounted to more than 50 blocks. We see the potential to award up to 60 concessions by the end of this year. This has been a result of licensing rounds and direct negotiation,” he explained.
Backed by a six-year licensing strategy and strengthened fiscal policies, the ANPG is steering Angola into a new phase of investment and growth. The regulator has positioned the country as a top African destination for upstream spending, with $70 billion in capital expenditure anticipated over the next five years.
“We have acted to bring additional reforms to incentivize investment in exploration. We are working with the investment community to progress exploration onshore. There are a few operators who have either drilled wells or working towards drilling next year. Over the next five year, Angola is expecting to see up to $70 billion invested in the country,” Andrade stated.
With a goal to sustain production above one million barrels per day, Angola has seen a wave of project milestones in 2025 as operators move to maximize resources across offshore basins. Andrade shared that “Agogo, Begonia and CLOV Phase 3 all started production this year.”
Meanwhile, on the gas front, ANPG is advancing the country’s Gas Master Plan to unlock non-associated reserves. The New Gas Consortium is set to bring Angola’s first non-associated gas project – Quiluma and Maboqueiro – online in late-2025, laying the foundation for a diversified energy mix. A new discovery at Block 1/14 further underscores the potential of Angola’s offshore gas resources, highlighting the growing importance of gas in the country’s energy future.
“We have seen a lot of progress on our first non-associated gas project, set to deliver first gas at the end of the year. We believe that we have more than 38 trillion cubic feet of gas potential in the country. We have a lot of studies ongoing to evaluate that potential. We are also delivering on associated gas. There is a lot of potential in currently producing oil blocks, so we are looking at how can incentivize operators to monetize that gas,” Andrade added.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
« Le Forum Invest in Sénégal 2025 (https://FiiSenegal.sn/) est la scène où le Sénégal démontre comment innovation, durabilité et transparence convergent pour soutenir le modèle de croissance du pays », affirme Bakary Séga Bathily, Directeur général de l’APIX (https://InvestInSenegal.sn/).
Les 7 et 8 octobre prochains, le Centre international de conférences Abdou Diouf (CICAD) de Diamniadio accueillera la deuxième édition du Fii Sénégal. Un rendez-vous stratégique qui confirme l’ambition du pays de s’imposer comme hub régional de l’innovation et du développement durable.
Parmi les moments phares, une session conduite par l’APIX présentera le nouveau Code des investissements 2025. Ce dispositif élargi entend stimuler les projets stratégiques et responsables, avec à la clé des incitations renforcées, une simplification des procédures administratives, un meilleur accès au foncier et un appui accru aux PME.
Ce forum s’inscrit dans le prolongement des avancées majeures de la Vision Sénégal 2050 : une centrale solaire de 500 MW et de nouveaux parcs éoliens renforcent le mix énergétique, tandis que des infrastructures comme le BRT électrique et le TER modernisent la mobilité urbaine. L’agriculture circulaire, l’agri-énergie et les transferts d’eau à grande échelle participent à la sécurité alimentaire, pendant que la Startup Act, le cloud souverain et le centre national de données posent les bases d’une économie numérique compétitive.
Sur le terrain social, des dispositifs tels que la DER/FJ et l’ADEPME soutiennent l’entrepreneuriat féminin et des jeunes grâce au financement, au mentorat et à l’accompagnement technique.
Le programme du forum prévoit plusieurs temps forts : un panel de haut niveau sur l’énergie et les ressources stratégiques, des rencontres sur la cartographie industrielle et les opportunités d’investissement, ainsi qu’une session consacrée aux TIC et à l’intelligence artificielle. À cela s’ajouteront un concours de pitchs pour startups et des débats sur l’impact des technologies dans l’agriculture.
« En mettant en avant des initiatives porteuses de prospérité partagée et d’impact à l’échelle régionale, Fii Sénégal 2025 illustre parfaitement son credo : connecter les opportunités, bâtir l’avenir », conclut M. Bathily.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Cormac Price, Post-doctoral fellow the HerpHealth lab, office 218, Building G23. Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University; University of KwaZulu-Natal
Black mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis) are Africa’s longest, most famous venomous snakes. Despite their fearsome reputation, these misunderstood snakes are vital players in their ecosystems. They keep rodent populations in check and, in turn, help to protect crops and limit disease spread. The species ranges widely across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Somalia and south into South Africa. They can adapt to many environments.
Zoologist Cormac Price, in new research with professors Marc Humphries and Graham Alexander and reptile conservationist Nick Evans, found that black mambas can be indicators of heavy metal pollution. We asked him about it.
How do black mambas indicate toxic pollution?
It’s about bio-accumulation. Bioaccumulation happens when chemicals, like pesticides or heavy metals, build up in an organism’s body. These toxins come from polluted environments, from waste products of human activities like manufacturing. They pollute water or soil and gradually accumulate in plants and animals.
If toxins are present in the environment, they may first be taken in by plants, and then by animals that eat the plants, and animals that eat those animals. Black mambas are quite high up the food chain, so a lot of the toxins would accumulate in their bodies. These poisonous substances can reach dangerous levels, causing health problems for whatever eats them.
We tested the presence of four types of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) in the bodies of black mambas.
All our samples were from the eThekwini Municipality (greater Durban area) in South Africa. Durban is a busy shipping container port and has a large industrial sector that includes chemicals, petrochemicals and automotive manufacturing. Alongside all this industry the municipality also has a network of conservancies and green spaces, known as the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System.
We chose to test for these metals because they are widely used in different industries and can cause drastic negative effects in the body. Mercury primarily damages the nervous system, arsenic can cause cancer and skin lesions, cadmium harms kidneys and bones and lead mainly affects brain development and blood functions. Because these metals accumulate over time and are difficult to break down, even low-level exposure can lead to chronic poisoning and long-term health problems.
Black mamba.Nick Evans KZN Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
Black mambas appear to be doing well in Durban and taking advantage of the abundance of rodents, which they eat. Wherever there is human settlement there will be waste and discarded food which rodents take full advantage of. Black mambas can also be quite site-specific when not disturbed, living in the same refuge for many years, giving a clearer indication of pollution levels at that specific site. This makes the snakes potentially good bioindicator species.
A bioindicator species is one that helps us understand the health of an environment. Because they are sensitive to changes like pollution or habitat damage, their presence, absence or condition can reveal if an ecosystem is in good condition or is experiencing increases of pollution or degradation.
The pollutants can be detected and calculated from a non-invasive, harmless scale clipping. Snake scales are composed mostly of keratin, the same sort of protein that produces human hair and nails. To clip a very thin slice of snake scale is as harmless as clipping a human finger nail.
We collected 31 mambas that had already been killed by vehicles, people or dogs, and tested muscle and liver samples from them for toxins. We also took scale clippings from 61 live snakes.
This was the first time in Africa that a species of snake was tested to see if it could be used as an indicator species of heavy metal pollution.
What did you find?
We found that the heavy metal concentrations in scales correlated with those found in the muscle and liver samples. For three of the four metals, scales were as accurate for testing as muscle and liver samples. So the harmless testing method is as good as the more invasive one.
For arsenic, cadmium and lead, the snakes were accumulating significantly lower concentrations of these toxins in the open, natural sites of the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System compared to more industrial and commercial areas. Mercury was less significantly different due to its more volatile nature and its capacity to travel through the environment.
What made you test mamba scales in the first place?
In 2020, I attended a conference on amphibians and reptiles, where a friend of mine presented his work on heavy metal pollutants in tiger snakes in the city of Perth, Australia.
I’ve also been working with Nick Evans of KZN Amphibian & Reptile Conservation for some years, on urban reptile ecology. Nick began collecting scale clippings, and I began to realise, while looking through the literature, how novel this was on a continental scale. Snakes had never been tested as a potential bioindicator species of heavy metal pollution in Africa previously.
Black mamba.Nick Evans KZN Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
Marc Humphries is a professor of environmental chemistry, and I was aware of his work on lead exposure in Nile crocodiles at St Lucia, a wetland in South Africa. When he expressed interest in examining the scale clippings, we were thrilled. Graham Alexander’s expertise in snake behaviour in general and specifically snakes in Durban was also instrumental in the success of this research.
How can this help fight pollution?
The fight against pollution is in the hands of the municipality and city managers. What the snakes are doing is warning us of the increasing danger these pollutants pose to environmental health and ultimately human health. They are also showing us how important open spaces are to the overall environmental and human health of the city of Durban. The snakes are telling us a story; what people in authority decide to do with this story rests with them.
Nick Evans of KZN Amphibian & Reptile Conservation made valuable contributions to the research and was a co-author on the article.
– Toxic pollution builds up in snake scales: what we learnt from black mambas – https://theconversation.com/toxic-pollution-builds-up-in-snake-scales-what-we-learnt-from-black-mambas-265802
“The Forum Invest in Senegal 2025 (https://FiiSenegal.sn/) is the stage where Senegal demonstrates how innovation, sustainability, and transparency converge to support the country’s growth model,” affirms Bakary Séga Bathily, Director General of APIX (https://InvestInSenegal.sn/).
On October 7 and 8, the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (CICAD) in Diamniadio will host the second edition of Fii Senegal. This strategic event reaffirms the country’s ambition to establish itself as a regional hub for innovation and sustainable development.
Among the key highlights, a session led by APIX will unveil the new 2025 Investment Code. This expanded framework aims to boost strategic and responsible projects through enhanced incentives, streamlined administrative procedures, improved access to land, and increased support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This forum builds on the major milestones of Senegal’s Vision 2050: a 500 MW solar power plant and new wind farms are strengthening the energy mix, while infrastructure projects like the electric BRT and the regional express train (TER) are modernizing urban mobility. Circular agriculture, agri-energy, and large-scale water transfers are contributing to food security, while initiatives such as the Startup Act, the sovereign cloud, and the national data center are laying the foundation for a competitive digital economy.
On the social front, initiatives such as DER/FJ and ADEPME support women and youth entrepreneurship through funding, mentorship, and technical assistance.
The forum’s agenda includes several key highlights: a high-level panel on energy and strategic resources, discussions on industrial mapping and investment opportunities, and a dedicated session on ICT and artificial intelligence. Additional features will include a startup pitch competition and debates on the impact of technology in agriculture.
“By showcasing initiatives that deliver shared prosperity and strategic impact across the region, Fii Senegal is emphasizing its theme of ‘connecting opportunities, building the future’,” added M. Bathily.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of APIX Senegal S.A.
Angolan independent etu energias has finalized a structured disbursement agreement to finance capital expenditure and development activities for its 7.5% participating interest in Block 17/06, home to the Begonia project.
The agreement was signed by Edson Dos Santos, CEO, etu energias; Matthew Thomas, Senior Relationship Manager – Structured Debt, Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB); and Vianney Faucheur de Battisti, Head of Structured Trade Finance, New Ventures, TotalEnergies Trading SA at African Energy Week 2025 in Cape Town on Thursday.
The Begonia project, located in offshore Block 17/06, is Angola’s first inter-block project and began production earlier this year, with an expected output of 30,000 barrels per day. Partners on the block include Sonangol E&P, SSI, etu energias and Falcon Oil, with TotalEnergies serving as operator.
Dos Santos described the agreement as “such an important transaction” for etu energias, which is Angola’s largest privately-owned energy company.
“As a long-time partner of etu energias, we are pleased to continue our collaboration and grow it further with this transaction,” said de Battisti.
“This is a landmark moment for MCB. We have been active in African markets for quite some time, and we are proud to support African E&Ps in driving efficient operations and growth,” added Thomas.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
