Human trafficking is on the rise in Kuruman in the Northern Cape. The Hawks say syndicates are targeting vulnerable rural girls, who are looking for better opportunities in cities like Johannesburg.
The crime-fighting unit has embarked on an awareness campaign, cautioning parents and traditional leaders about the growing trend.
A 21-year-old girl from Kuruman is the latest victim of human trafficking. The mother of the young woman, who refused to be identified or interviewed, says she was abducted when she was just 13.
The emotional mother says her daughter returned as a broken person.
The young woman, addicted to drugs, is a school dropout and lives in fear of her abductors.
Agri-Kuruman wil hiermee net die volgende persone en instansies bedank vir die wonderlike voorreg wat ons gehad het om soveel bydraes te kon ontvang. Donateurs, wat die geld beskikbaar gestel het –
Agri SA en Agri Noordkaap met sy personeel en dagbestuur wat die verdeling en logistiek behartig het. Wat die aankoop van die mielies betref dankie aan Andrew Bothma van Cargill Agriculture Supply Chain wat die beste transaksie met GWK vir ons beding het. GWK het die mielies ook kosteloos vir ons vervoer vanaf Jan Kempdorp na Kuruman. Adri van Flo-Tank het die vervoer gereël, dit het seepglad verloop. Dankie ook aan Gerrit Bruwer en Alewyn Schlebush vir mieliereste wat aan ons geskenk is.
Wees verseker elke blaar en pit word opreg waardeer. Ons bid elkeen seën toe.
Kalahari Groete
Deon Hoon
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane did on Friday, 21 October, turn the sod for the construction of the R18bn Vaal Gamagara Water Project in the Northern Cape.
Phase one of the project, which is an 82km pipeline, will stretch from Roscoe in Kathu to Black Rock.
“The maximum capacity of the current scheme is 2,500m3/h, and the new scheme will be able to supply a peak demand of 5200m3/h, including future water supply to Botswana. The system will be upgraded by replacing the existing pipeline with a larger diameter pipeline,” the department said.
The original scheme was built 56 years ago and is beyond its lifespan. It no longer has the capacity to supply sufficient water to satisfy the increased demand brought about by mines, municipalities and agricultural production.
On completion, beneficiaries of phase one will include 14 livestock farms, 12 mines, solar parks and the communities of Kathu, Olifantshoek and Hotazel, benefiting a population of 23,499.
Die grootste sonplaas in die land en een van die grootstes in Afrika, is die Jasper-sonplaas net buite Postmasburg in die Noord-Kaap. Dit is deur SolarReserve, ’n wêreldwye ontwikkelaar van grootskaalse sonenergieprojekte, opgerig.
Die naam, Jasper, is Engels vir jaspis, ’n soort klip wat algemeen in die Noord-Kaap voorkom en maklik op die sonplaas uitgeken kan word. Jasper-sonplaas is 150 hektaar groot en sy meer as 325 000 fotovoltaïese modules lewer 96 megawatt DC (gelykstroom), wat na 75 megawatt wisselstroom omgeskakel word. Dit beteken dat die sonplaas jaarliks 180 000 megawatt-uur lewer, wat genoeg is om 80 000 huishoudings van elektrisiteit te voorsien.
Kevin Smith, die wêreldwye besturende direkteur van SolarReserve, sê hulle het op die Noord-Kaap besluit omdat die son daagliks helder skyn en die lug suiwer is. “SolarReserve kies sy projekte versigtig in markte met ’n sterk onderliggende ekonomiese beweegrede in hulle guns. Die Jasper-projek, soos alle SolarReserve-projekte, is so ontwikkel dat die projek finansiering kan bekom,” voeg Kevin by.
The Northern Cape is facing its worst drought in 95 years, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation in the province.
The drought has seen water levels drop between 8 and 20% in six of the province’s dams. This has left water storage in the province standing at a low 56%.
Water levels have dropped to near crisis levels in the Northern Cape leaving taps on the brink of runn
ing dry. The levels of the Vaal River system supporting the interior of the province have dropped by 20% in the past year alone.
The drought has pushed the department to impose water restrictions on the province’s Sol Plaatje Municipality, for the first time in about 25 years.
Some of the country’s biggest export products, including citrus and avocados, are likely to suffer under the latest water restrictions. The Department of Water and Sanitation has gazetted further water consumption restrictions in the Western Cape and Limpopo.
Willem van Jaarsveld, the chief of Agri Limpopo, said farmers in the area were extremely worried, especially about the citrus production.
“We are the biggest citrus producer in South Africa. We’re worried about it because the orchards are flowering, meaning the fruit is in the process of growing.”
“It is a crucial time in the life of a citrus tree or any tree produce. There must be enough water to keep up the healthy growth of the producing tree,” he said.
Restrictions had been placed on some water supply systems and dams in Limpopo, with more stringent restrictions for mining and irrigation usage.
