Minister Dion George, DFFE Team Nab Suspected Cape Town Abalone Poachers

Posted on July 28, 2025July 30, 2025 by

In a proactive effort to combat abalone poaching, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, joined a routine marine patrol led by the department’s enforcement unit on 27 July 2025.

During the patrol, the team intercepted a group of suspected abalone poachers en route to Hout Bay. When approached, the suspects abandoned their vessel in rocky waters and fled the scene.

The DFFE team seized and towed the abandoned vessel to Cape Town Harbour. A criminal case was opened with Hout Bay SAPS (case number 13/278/2025), and seizure proceedings are underway.

The vessel, a Gemini 5.5m rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) fitted with a Yamaha 200HP outboard motor and Garmin Fishfinder, contained items consistent with abalone poaching. These included approximately 15 abalone extraction tools, three dive cylinders, and three abalone bags.

Minister George commended the successful interception, stating “This operation underscores our department’s commitment to safeguarding South Africa’s marine biodiversity. Poaching threatens the sustainability of our resources and the livelihoods that depend on them. When you steal abalone, you are stealing from everyone. By acting swiftly and decisively, we send a clear message: environmental crime will not be tolerated in our waters.”

He further praised the enforcement officers, “I want to thank our fisheries control officers and environmental management inspectors for their vigilance and tireless efforts to protect our oceans.

Their work on the frontline is vital to upholding the rule of law and stopping the scourge of abalone poaching.”

The DFFE continues to strengthen patrol operations and inter-agency collaborations to protect South Africa’s coastal ecosystems. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Three suspected poachers arrested with firearms and a rhino horn

Posted on July 28, 2025July 30, 2025 by

DURBAN - In the early hours of Saturday Morning, 26 July 2025, police in KwaZulu-Natal working together with private security, arrested three suspected rhino poachers aged between 34 and 50 years in Paulpietersburg who were found in possession of two unlicensed rifles and a rhino horn.

It is reported that in the early hours of Friday morning, the three suspects, who were wearing face concealing masks, entered a game reserve, and accosted two security guards, tied them up and robbed them of a shotgun, an R5 assault rifle, as well as their cellphones.

They then proceeded to shoot a rhino and removed its horn. Whilst busy with their criminal activity, they were distracted by the sound of an alarm which had been activated. They fled the scene, leaving behind the shotgun next to the rhino carcass.

Police officers were alerted of the incident, and they responded swiftly. Upon their arrival at the scene, the suspects had already fled the game reserve. Police members, together with private security personnel, worked tirelessly throughout the day looking for the suspects.

With assistance from community members, the suspects were eventually arrested as they took refuge in the bush. In their possession was an R5 rifle, a 303 rifle, and a rhino horn. The vehicle in which they were traveling in was was sized by the police.

The suspects were charged with armed robbery, rhino poaching, and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. They will appear at the Vryheid Magistrates Court today (Monday, 28 July 2025).

Concerns over ineffective measures to curb prison overcrowding

Posted on July 28, 2025July 28, 2025 by

The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has expressed concern over the low success rate of the current legislation aimed at reducing overcrowding in the country's correctional facilities.

This comes after the committee received a briefing from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) regarding the implementation of Section 49G of the Correctional Services Act (CSA) and Section 62F of the Criminal Procedures Act (CPA) applications.

Both sections aimed to alleviate pressure on the country’s overburdened correctional facilities.
Section 49G of the Act determines that a remand detainee may not be detained for a period exceeding two years without such matter having been brought to the attention of the court concerned.

The referral of the remand detainee by the head of the remand detention centre must be done three months prior to the completion of two years in detention. This will provide sufficient time for the courts to apply their minds.

If a remand detainee remains in detention after the first consideration, further submissions must be made annually.

Section 62(f) makes provision for the placement of awaiting trial detainees under the supervision of a correctional official as a condition of bail.

During a briefing on Friday, the committee heard that the success rate under Section 49G of the CSA for the 2022/23 financial year is 1.25% of 12 283 court referrals nationally, with the Eastern Cape and Western Cape both indicating a 0% success rate.

In terms of 2023/24, the Eastern Cape once again showed a 0% success rate.

In the 2024/25 financial year the province had 142 court referrals and only one was successful and in the current financial year it has had two successful court referrals.

“The committee also heard that approximately 40% of the total sentenced offender population are serving sentences above 15 years, inclusive of those serving life sentences.

Lifers will typically remain incarcerated for longer periods of time and are sentenced/ convicted of serious crimes. This means that bed spaces will not become readily available, which places more pressure on already overcrowded correctional facilities,” Committee Chairperson, Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng said.

FlySafair strike enters second week

Posted on July 28, 2025July 30, 2025 by

The ongoing standoff between FlySafair and its striking pilots will continue into a second week after pilots voted on Sunday to reject a revised offer on wages and working conditions put forward by the airline on Saturday.

Despite the airline's attempt to reach a compromise, Solidarity, the union representing the majority of FlySafair’s pilots, said the proposal failed to address key concerns - particularly around scheduling and the breakdown of trust between staff and management.

FlySafair, meanwhile, says it is maintaining a reduced but steady flight schedule as more pilots begin returning to work. According to the airline’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon, operations remain reliable, though seat availability is limited due to the scaled-back schedule.

Conflicting reports have emerged about the number of pilots still participating in the strike. The airline claims nearly two-thirds of its pilot workforce have resumed duties - suggesting a significant portion of Solidarity members have crossed the picket line. However, Solidarity disputes this, stating that 190 of its approximately 220 members remain on strike.

At the heart of the dispute is a change in how pilot schedules are determined. Pilots currently receive their monthly rosters on the 20th of each month, based on an automated system. Solidarity argues this system leaves pilots with little control over their personal time, particularly family commitments. The union is calling for more predictable rosters and a guaranteed weekend off each month.

FlySafair has pushed back, saying rigid scheduling would undermine its operational flexibility. In an attempt to find middle ground, the airline proposed creating a joint scheduling committee chaired by an independent party. However, Solidarity says the proposed committee would be merely advisory, with the airline retaining final authority - a clause that undermines any meaningful input from pilots.

With the strike and company lockout still in place, Solidarity says it will approach the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) again today in the hopes of restarting talks.

Power system continues to meet winter demand

Posted on July 28, 2025July 28, 2025 by

Eskom says the power system continues to operate reliably, showing ongoing resilience in effectively meeting winter electricity demand.

“When occasional system constraints arise, they are effectively managed through the strategic deployment of emergency reserves during morning and evening peak periods,” the power utility said on Friday.

Since 15 May 2025, there has been no loadshedding, with only 26 hours recorded between 1 April and 24 July 2025.

With 37 days of Eskom’s Winter Outlook period still remaining, Eskom said the system remains well-positioned to maintain stability and meet demand effectively.

“As of today [Friday], unplanned outages are at 11 695MW and the available generation capacity is 30 236MW. Tonight’s electricity demand is expected to reach 27 715MW. The current capacity is sufficient to meet both today’s demand and anticipated requirements over the weekend.

“During the week of 18 to 24 July 2025, planned maintenance averaged 5 050MW. Over the same period, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) ranged between 62% and 66%, with the month-to-date average further increasing to 63.11%,” Eskom said.

To further strengthen grid stability, Eskom is planning to return a total of 3 960MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 28 July 2025, and throughout this week.

Between 1 April and 24 July 2025, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF), which measures the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unplanned outages, decreased to 28.99%.

This marks a reduction of an ~0.5% compared to the previous week but remains about 2.4% higher than the 26.60% recorded during the same period last year.

“As of Thursday, the UCLF stood at 23.79%, consistently indicating a notable improvement in performance. The open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) load factor decreased this week, reaching 1.86%, down from the 8.6% recorded during the previous week (11 to 17 July 2025). This indicates less reliance on OCGTs,” Eskom said.

From 1 April to 24 July 2025, diesel spend remains within the budget allocated for 1 April to 31 July 2025.

“The Winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, covering the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid. It indicates that loadshedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. If outages rise to 15 000MW, loadshedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2,” Eskom said.

The power utility has encouraged all South Africans to use electricity efficiently throughout the winter season.

To help manage household electricity consumption, Eskom customers are encouraged to use the Eskom Residential Calculator, a convenient tool for tracking and optimising energy usage:
https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/residential-calculator/

Correction on diesel spend
Meanwhile, Eskom has corrected the diesel spend figure published in the Power Alert for the week ending 17 July 2025.

“We identified a discrepancy in the reported diesel amount. The actual diesel spend should have been R5.554 billion, not R5.897 billion as stated. The figure 5 897 was in fact the R/MWh and was mistakenly captured as spend instead of R/MWh.

This regretfully resulted in an inadvertent overstatement of the diesel spend, which we hereby correct. Eskom continuously reviews its diesel spend and energy output figures as part of its monthly reporting and reconciliation processes,” Eskom said.