ANC Youth League leader Collen Malatji accuses SAPS of incompetence and criminal ties:

ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji has slammed the South African Police Service, accusing some officers of incompetence and of working in cahoots with criminals.

Addressing residents of Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, after the youth league marched to the local police station to protest against crime on Wednesday, Malatji said police were criminals in uniform.

Speaking in the presence of Police Minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, he said officers in the area could not deal effectively with crime because they were friends with the criminals.

The youth league handed over a memorandum of demands during the march, which came in the wake of the recent killing of five-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane by hijackers outside his home.

Speaking outside the police station, Malatji said all the Soshanguve police officers knew was to eat, work with criminals and demand salaries.

“We have called Minister Bheki Cele to see these criminals in uniform. We want to ask these criminals in uniform to take off the uniform because the youth are ready to work and protect their community,” he said. “We are not going to allow criminals to wear our uniform to protect the residents. The youth must take charge of their own communities.” 

Opposition parties have in the past urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to axe Cele, accusing him of being incompetent. 

On Saturday, the Democratic Alliance accused Cele of shelving the release of crime statistics for the fourth quarter in a “blatant attempt to avoid embarrassment before the election on the 29th of May and an unacceptable politicisation of statistics which are in the public interest”.

In 2023, Pretoria ranked first in the crime index among African cities, scoring about 82 index points. The five most dangerous areas on the continent were all South African cities.

On Wednesday Malatji said police had very little training, making them unfit for the job.

“Our mothers are having a hard time in their houses, drugs are all over the streets, children are being murdered, women are being raped and mugging is at an all-time high and they are just relaxing here at the police station,” he said. 

“We can’t have a high level of unemployment of young people in South Africa, when you have lazy police who just want to eat fat cakes, sleep at the office and when you open the case, they act like the police station belongs to their families. We heard that when you open cases here, they are questioned like you are the criminal.”

ANC national executive committee member Mdu Manana, who participated in the march, said the youth league was not protesting against the governing party.

“This is not a march against the ANC, it’s a march against crime and we can only come to the police to ask them to protect us from criminals who are killing us everyday,” Manana said.

Masemola said police have been making headway in arresting criminals linked to the violent crimes in the area, and had arrested 20 people linked to 29 crimes since 9 May.

He promised residents that the police were going to clean up Soshanguve.

Cele said the police service was trying to strengthen its selection process to ensure that the right people were on the ground, and was looking for candidates who wanted to serve the people rather than those merely looking for employment.

“If you want a job, go to Coca Cola or Toyota. The police are a service, you must like it here when you want to come and serve. This is not a place for desperate people,” he said.

– The Mail & Guardian

Cleaner cooking fuels are a critical step towards health and sustainability in Africa:

Clean cooking fuels are finally being taken seriously, gaining airtime at last year’s UN climate change conference, COP28. Recently, global leaders convened a summit to ensure clean cooking access for all.

For those of us with privileged access, clean cooking means using fuels that are not polluting or harmful. They are safer because they don’t use poisonous fuels, open fires, dung or other harmful substances.

Surprisingly, in this modern age, four out of five people in Africa still cook using open fires or harmful fuels. This affects people unequally, particularly women and girls, and has severe environmental and health implications.

Around 80% of households in sub-Saharan Africa rely on biomass, such as wood, for cooking. 

For context, Power Shift Africa reported: “In 2022, approximately 3.2 million people died from complications resulting from household air pollution caused by polluting and inefficient cooking fuels and technologies. Women and children constitute the bulk of these fatalities, underscoring the disproportionate burden on the most vulnerable in our society.”

This is a serious problem. The International Energy Agency, which collaborates globally on energy policies, recently held a summit to address this issue. However, despite good intentions, the talks took place in Paris with little representation from African women.

The Global Strategic Communications Council, an international network of communications professionals in the climate, energy and nature fields, analysed the summit’s attendance. 

It found that women made up 26% of the attendees and that “only 38% of the attendees were from Africa, with just 14 African women included among 84 participants (17%). For a problem that predominantly affects African women, this is problematic for many reasons.”

Despite the focus on an important issue, the world is on a trajectory where, by 2030, around 60% of the global population will still lack access to clean cooking energy. This needs urgent rectification, as more than 3 million lives are at stake.

Holding the summit outside the continent does not inspire confidence. It suggests that the issue is beyond Africa’s control, reinforcing the “white saviour” narrative. France, for instance, contributes to energy poverty in Africa through its search for oil and gas.

Another issue with the summit was its promotion of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) as a solution. While LPG is a short-term fix, renewables offer long-term solutions and broader benefits. There is potential for renewables to play a larger role in electrification, given adequate commitment and financial support.

The Global Strategic Communications Council reported that TotalEnergies had pledged $ 400 million for LPG development. Given Total’s controversial history in Africa, this is concerning. Similarly, Shell pledged $ 200 million for cleaner cooking energies, which raises further doubts about fossil fuel companies’ involvement.

LPG has limitations, particularly in rural areas where access and affordability are issues, making it an unsustainable long-term solution.

The summit also suggested carbon credits as a solution. According to The Guardian, carbon credits are tradable “allowances” that supposedly compensate for carbon emissions by investing in environmental projects. However, these schemes often fail to offset the harms of carbon production and exaggerate their environmental benefits. Pushing renewable solutions would better serve those in need of clean cooking fuels.

Solving this problem requires grants, concessional loans and private sector involvement with regulations. More importantly, solutions must include input from African women, who are most affected.

In his critique of the summit, Mohammed Adow, founder and director of Power Shift Africa, said: “You can tell this statement has been created by a bunch of largely rich men, many of whom are from the Global North. There’s no mention of the absolute poverty and disempowerment of the women who are currently forced to use dirty fuels for cooking. 

“There is also no mention of developing a local economy in clean cooking technology that would be sustainable over the long term. What we need is a woman-centred approach that puts their needs first, not those of a greedy private sector looking to make profits. 

“There is a growing argument that most of the women who could afford and access gas for cooking could also afford and access electric cooking, which can be powered by renewable energy.”

It is essential that future summits avoid being captured by the fossil fuel industry and Western nations. African solutions are needed for African problems, with necessary support from those responsible for the energy crisis.

On a positive note, leaders such as Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, played a key role in discussions and negotiations on this critical issue.

– The Mail & Guardian

Consumer inflation eases in April, but interest rate cut still unlikely this month: The central bank has maintained the key repo rate at 8.25% since hiking it by 50 basis points in May 2023

– The Mail & Guardian

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