• South Africa’s 2025/26 summer crop came in at a record 21.49 million tonnes, with maize production up 4% on the year before.

• Experts say this stockpile could help cushion food prices if the expected El Niño drought hits as feared, unlike the severe droughts of 2014/16.

South Africa is heading into a possible serious drought with something it didn’t have the last time this happened: a record harvest already in the bank.

The Crop Estimates Committee’s most recent figures put the 2025/26 summer grain and oilseed harvest, which includes maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts, sorghum and dry beans, at 21.49 million tonnes, the largest ever recorded in South Africa. 

Maize alone came in at around 17.4 million tonnes, up 4% on the year before, with about 9.4 million tonnes being white maize, the type mostly eaten by people, and 7.9 million tonnes yellow maize, mostly used for animal feed.

That matters because the Weather Service has already warned this summer could bring a very strong El Niño, a weather pattern that typically means less rain and more heat for South Africa, potentially lasting until February 2027. In the last severe El Niño droughts, in 2014/15 and 2015/16, South Africa’s maize harvest crashed to around 8.9 million tonnes, well below what the country actually needs to eat, forcing government to import maize and pushing food prices up sharply.

This time, agriculture officials say the country is in a much stronger position to absorb the shock. 

Ikalafeng Kgakatsi, director of Disaster Management and Climate Change at the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, said good rains over the past two summers filled dams and boosted soil moisture, helping produce this record supply. 

“At this stage, El Niño must be regarded as a significant production and price risk rather than confirmation of crop losses or food price increases,” he said.

Still, nobody can say yet exactly how severe this El Niño will actually turn out to be, or how much of an impact it will have on the crops still to be planted for the coming season. 

Analysts note that a mild drought in 2023/24 still caused South Africa’s maize harvest to fall 22% in a single year, showing even a less extreme event can do real damage. 

For now, though, South Africa enters this uncertain season with more grain in storage than it’s ever had before, which experts say should help soften food prices even if the rains do fail.

By Palesa Matlala

• Soweto resident Lethabo Mosela says her family grew up eating spekboom and her 94-year-old grandmother still uses the indigenous plant.

• University of the Free State researchers say spekboom is nutritious, survives drought and could create new opportunities for small-scale farmers.

For Lethabo Mosela, spekboom is nothing new. Her family has been eating it for years.

The 27-year-old was among Moletsane community members who attended a South African National Parks event in Soweto, where residents received peach trees and spekboom plants.

Mosela told Scrolla.Africa that she grew up knowing spekboom as a plant people ate for its health benefits.

She said her grandmother returned to eating the plant after being diagnosed with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes at the age of 79.

“My grandmother was never sick after she was introduced to the plant,” said Mosela.

“She remembered that this is what they used to eat a lot and therefore began looking for the plant.”

Mosela said her grandmother is turning 94 and that her doctor at the local clinic later took her off medication.

Now researchers at the University of the Free State want more South Africans to consider spekboom as food.

Researchers Alba du Toit and Maryna Boshoff believe the indigenous plant could become an everyday vegetable.

Spekboom can survive drought and grow in poor soil without irrigation or fertiliser.

It also helps protect soil from erosion and removes carbon dioxide from the air as it grows.

Research by Du Toit and Boshoff found that spekboom is high in vitamin C and contains fibre.

It also contains minerals including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium.

Researchers found that it remains high in vitamin C even after cooking.

Boshoff said spekboom has similar nutritional value to dark green vegetables such as spinach, although it contains less iron.

The leaves have a sour taste.

Du Toit said people can add spekboom to salads, sandwiches, wraps and smoothies.

It can also be used in chakalaka, atchar, chutney, curries, soups and stews.

And many people appear willing to give it a try.

A survey of 120 University of the Free State students and staff found that almost 80% would consider adding spekboom to their diets.

Another 75% said they would buy it if supermarkets sold it.

Researchers believe growing demand could also create opportunities for small-scale farmers, informal traders and community food producers.

Farmers could sell fresh spekboom while businesses could turn it into products such as spices and drinks.

Mariam Mayet, executive director of the African Centre for Biodiversity, warned that growing commercial interest could change who benefits from the plant.

“Commercial success can also change who controls a resource and who captures the value it generates,” she said.

Mayet said communities and small farmers should benefit as interest in spekboom grows.

For families like Mosela’s, however, spekboom is not a new food waiting to be discovered.

It is already part of their story.

Now researchers want it to become part of South Africa’s dinner table too.

Pictured above:Spekboom plant at a South African National Parks event in Soweto.

Image source: File.

By Palesa Matlala

• Twenty small-scale fishers from Saldanha Bay and surrounding communities completed skipper and business training and received equipment to improve their fishing operations.

• South African National Parks is expanding support for coastal communities through a R10.8-million programme covering fishing communities near seven marine protected areas.

For generations, fishing has helped put food on tables and money in pockets along the Cape West Coast.

Now 20 small-scale fishers from Saldanha Bay and nearby communities have been given new skills to help them make safer trips to sea and stronger businesses on land.

The fishers have completed training in skipper competency and business planning through a South African National Parks programme supporting communities living around protected areas.

They have also received fishing equipment to help improve their operations.

South African National Parks spokesperson JP Louw said the project was about giving communities practical ways to build sustainable livelihoods.

“The training forms part of SANParks’ commitment to equipping neighbouring communities with practical skills, strengthening local enterprises and expanding access to sustainable economic opportunities,” Louw said.

“SANParks has also provided fishing equipment to the cooperatives and continues to support their participation in the fishing value chain.”

For small-scale fishers, knowing how to catch fish is only one part of earning a living.

They also have to run their operations safely and build businesses that can survive.

Skipper training can help fishers meet safety requirements and operate vessels more confidently, while business planning can help cooperatives manage their operations and look for new opportunities.

Louw said support was also being provided to local micro, small and medium enterprises to strengthen their businesses and help them reach procurement and wider market opportunities.

The Saldanha Bay training forms part of a much bigger push by South African National Parks to connect conservation with the livelihoods of people living near national parks and protected waters.

In February 2026, the organisation launched a R10.8-million Marine Economy Small-Scale Fisheries Support Programme in Hondeklip Bay in the Northern Cape.

The three-year programme is aimed at fishing communities near seven South African National Parks marine protected areas.

It is designed to improve access to the marine economy while encouraging responsible fishing and protecting marine ecosystems.

The programme has been growing for years.

It started as a pilot project in the Wilderness section of Garden Route National Park in 2018 before expanding to other coastal parks.

In April 2025, more than 370 fishers from communities neighbouring Table Mountain National Park received support through an initial R800,000 investment.

That included workshops on safe and sustainable fishing, business management and marketing.

Fishers also received fishing gear and protective equipment.

A later phase brought together 40 people representing 20 primary cooperatives linked to Table Mountain National Park, West Coast National Park, Agulhas National Park and the Cape Town metro.

The latest Saldanha Bay training therefore forms part of a wider effort rather than a once-off project.

It also ties directly into South African National Parks’ Vision 2040.

The strategy aims to change the relationship between protected areas and neighbouring communities by linking conservation to jobs, skills, businesses and other economic opportunities.

South African National Parks says national parks should not operate as isolated areas while communities living around them struggle with poverty and unemployment.

That approach is particularly important on the West Coast, where fishing and conservation exist side by side.

Plans for the West Coast National Park marine protected areas include continued support for local fishing communities.

South African National Parks documents say the organisation supports historical net fishers with equipment and legal access to marine resources, while the national environment department remains responsible for fishing rights and permits.

The plans also identify Saldanha and Langebaan fishing cooperatives as communities that should benefit from projects linked to the area’s marine resources.

There is another challenge hanging over the future of West Coast fishing: changes in the ocean itself.

South African National Parks has identified climate change as a threat to fishing communities around the West Coast National Park.

Its planning documents warn that changing ocean conditions could affect important species and ultimately threaten fishing livelihoods.

The organisation says helping communities find additional ways to earn money could make them less vulnerable if fish stocks and marine conditions change.

That makes programmes teaching both practical fishing skills and business skills increasingly important.

For the 20 fishers who have completed their latest training, the immediate benefit is much simpler.

They leave with new qualifications, equipment and business knowledge that could help turn generations of fishing experience into safer and more sustainable livelihoods.

And for South African National Parks, that is part of a much larger goal: protecting the country’s natural resources while making sure communities living alongside them can also benefit.

This is a developing story.

Pictured above: Small-scale fishers from Saldanha Bay and surrounding West Coast communities.

Image source: File.

By Palesa Matlala

• Petrol motorists with a 60-litre tank could pay about R526 more for a fill-up by October compared with what they paid in March.

• Rising diesel costs are squeezing trucking companies and taxi operators, raising fears that households could eventually pay more for transport and everyday goods.

South Africans are being hammered at the pumps, and the pain could soon spread far beyond petrol stations.

Motorists are already paying hundreds of rands more to fill their tanks following repeated fuel increases.

Taxi passengers are also facing higher fares.

And trucking companies that transport food and other goods across the country are being squeezed by rising diesel costs.

The latest increase comes after a painful September hike, when both grades of petrol jumped by R1.34 a litre.

Diesel increased by between R2.94 and R3.15 a litre.

Those numbers may look small when measured by the litre.

But filling an entire tank tells a very different story.

Hundreds more for a tank

When the September increase and projected October increase are combined, a motorist filling a 40-litre petrol tank would pay at least R139 more for a full tank.

Someone with a bigger 60-litre tank would need about R209 extra.

Diesel drivers face an even bigger blow.

The combined September and projected October increase for 50 parts per million diesel comes to R5.20 a litre.

That means filling a 40-litre diesel tank would cost R208 more than it did before the September increase.

A motorist or business filling a 70-litre tank would need an extra R364.

But the real shock comes when current prices are compared with March, before the first major fuel increase.

By October, a 40-litre petrol fill-up would cost around R350 more than it did in March.

For someone with a 60-litre petrol tank, the difference would be about R526.

Diesel motorists would be hit even harder.

A 40-litre tank of 50 parts per million diesel would cost around R550 more to fill.

Someone filling a 70-litre diesel tank would have to find about R963 extra.

Taxi passengers also feel the squeeze

The fuel pain does not stop with people who own cars.

Millions of South Africans depend on minibus taxis to get to work, school and shops.

Taxi passengers have already faced fare increases this year as operators battle higher fuel and other running costs.

The increases depend on the route and area.

Some city routes have gone up by around R3 to R6 per trip.

Some long-distance passengers have faced increases of between R10 and R30.

Even a R3 increase can hurt someone who travels every day.

A commuter taking two taxi trips a day for 20 working days would spend an extra R120 a month if each trip became R3 more expensive.

If each trip increased by R6, that same commuter would need another R240 a month.

And further fare increases could follow if operators pass the latest fuel costs on to passengers.

Truckers take a diesel beating

The diesel increases are also putting pressure on the trucks that keep South Africa moving.

Trucks carry food, clothing and other goods between farms, factories, warehouses and shops.

According to the Road Freight Association, diesel can account for between R35 and R55 of every R100 some road freight businesses spend on running their operations.

That makes a big diesel increase difficult to absorb.

The latest increase could add roughly R4 to R6 to every R100 in total operating costs.

For a company with R1,000 in comparable operating costs, that would mean roughly another R40 to R60.

At R10,000, the increase would be around R400 to R600.

And at R100,000, the extra cost could reach roughly R4,000 to R6,000.

The exact impact will depend on the type of business, its trucks, routes and operating conditions.

Your grocery bill could feel it too

Higher trucking costs do not automatically mean shops will immediately put up their prices.

Some transport companies may absorb part of the increase.

Others may recover the extra money from customers through fuel charges included in their contracts.

But rising transport costs can eventually work their way through the economy.

A loaf of bread, bag of potatoes or bottle of milk does not magically appear on a supermarket shelf.

Those goods have to be transported.

And transporting them becomes more expensive when diesel prices rise.

That means the fuel-price headache can eventually reach households even if they do not own a car.

For families already counting every rand, the pressure is coming from several directions.

Motorists are paying more at the pump.

Taxi passengers could pay more to get around.

Truckers are spending more to move goods.

And businesses may eventually pass some of those costs on to shoppers.

The numbers may start with a few extra rands per litre.

But by the time the impact reaches a family’s monthly budget, it can add up to hundreds of rands.

Pictured above: South Africans face rising transport costs following repeated fuel price increases. 

Image source: File.

By Tulani Ngwenya for Oxpeckers

For decades residents of eMbalenhle, a large township in Govan Mbeki Municipality in Mpumalanga, have lived and died in the plumes of Sasol’s Secunda plant. 

At the heart of the Secunda complex is a process that turns coal into synthetic oil. Professor Harro von Blottnitz at the University of Cape Town’s department of chemical engineering explained to #PowerTracker that every year about 35‑million tonnes of coal are fed into massive gasifiers, which break the coal down into gas. This gas is cleaned with some of the carbon removed as carbon dioxide, and then converted into liquid fuels using a chemical process called Fischer‑Tropsch.

The plant also produces by‑products like ammonia, but it releases harmful pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide, the gas that smells like rotten eggs.

“Every now and then, when the unit dealing with this is not working and the wind blows from the east, this can be smelt in Johannesburg” Von Blottnitz said.

In the end, Secunda refines about eight billion litres of fuel each year, meeting nearly a third of South Africa’s demand, while its coal boilers generate enough steam and electricity to power a medium‑sized city.

A new report released on September 7 2026 by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a global independent research organisation, estimates that the air pollution from the Sasol Secunda complex causes about 1,000 premature deaths every year, corresponding to 23,800 years of life lost annually.

“Air pollution from the complex is estimated to have imposed a substantial public health burden over the 2024/2025 financial year,” CREA states in the report, titled The hidden cost of coal-to-liquids in South Africa: Health impacts of air pollution from Sasol Secunda. 

CREA estimates that Secunda’s pollution results in people living with serious illnesses every year. In total, it adds up to about 2,600 years lived with disability annually – including 600 years from chronic lung disease (COPD), 1,600 years from diabetes and 400 years from stroke.

These figures show how the plant’s emissions don’t just cause deaths, but also long‑term illnesses that reduce quality of life, the report states. It estimates there are 260 new cases of childhood asthma annually, with 1,300 children living with asthma due to exposure, alongside 820 low-birthweight births and 1,100 pre-term births each year. 

Acute impacts are visible in healthcare data: 2,030 asthma emergency room visits annually, including 930 among children aged 0-17.  “The facility’s [Sasol Secunda] emissions contribute to a health burden that begins early in life and can have consequences beyond the immediate period of exposure,” CREA warns. 

The report calculates 468,000 sick-leave days are taken each year due to pollution-related illness, costing the South African economy approximately US$1-billion (R19-billion) a year.  “The health and economic costs of this pollution are borne largely by society rather than the polluter,” CREA states in the report.

#PowerTracker spoke to residents of eMbalenhle for whom Secunda’s emissions are a daily reality. 

“The emissions are harmful to our health and for everyone in this community. It is a common occurrence that children will constantly miss school days due to respiratory sickness,” said Khehla Mahlangu, chairperson of MS Environmental Projects, a local non-profit organisation. 

Another member of the organisation, Fana Sibanyoni, said: “People have to undergo medical examinations before they can be employed in Sasol, and this becomes a drawback for them because they fail those medical tests, so it affects their daily lives and source of living, and most of them are unemployed.” 

“Most of the education and awareness campaigns that have been done by the corporates are just ticking-box exercises,” Sibanyoni added.

For Martha Nkosi, the toll is written on her body and that of her child. “We have challenges with breathing, smells, headaches and sinus. I am partially blind because of air pollution. You swell up, you vomit, develop headaches, shortness of breath… We have also learnt that this air pollution causes miscarriages,” she said.  

“Hospitals and clinics do not have medication; they just give you painkillers… My child could not eat for two weeks, and they said he has fungi inside his intestines and the skin, and even now, he is not eating properly, and it was all caused by the air pollution,” Nkosi said. “If you plant anything in the ground, it dies. Even if the spinach grows, it has no taste and takes a long time to be cooked… I am afraid and scared because my death is close; I can pass on any time,” she said.

Oxpeckers sent detailed questions to Sasol and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, but neither had responded at the time of publication.

This story was produced by Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism and shared with Scrolla.Africa as part of a content partnership. Read the full investigation on Oxpeckers.org.

Pictured above: A dark plume rises from the ash dumps beside Secunda’s cooling towers, leaving the air thick with the impact of coal‑to‑liquids power. 

Image source: Tulani Ngwenya

By Palesa Matlala

• Dr Jacob Modumoh was placed on precautionary suspension after claims of serious misconduct involving foot-and-mouth disease vaccine prices during the outbreak.

• Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp says the state-owned vaccine company should not make excessive profits while farmers battle the country’s biggest foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

The acting head of a state-owned vaccine company has been suspended as questions swirl around the price of crucial foot-and-mouth disease vaccines.

Onderstepoort Biological Products Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Jacob Modumoh has been placed on precautionary suspension.

The move follows claims of serious misconduct linked to the pricing of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines.

Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp confirmed the suspension after calling an urgent meeting with the Onderstepoort Biological Products board on Friday, 4 September.

Aucamp presented information about the claims against Modumoh to the board.

The board then informed Modumoh that it intended to suspend him.

Under company policy, he was given five days to explain why he should not be suspended.

Aucamp said the suspension would remain in place pending an independent investigation if Modumoh’s reasons were not enough to change the decision.

The minister stressed that the suspension does not mean Modumoh has been found guilty of any wrongdoing.

The claims have not yet been independently investigated.

Vaccine prices under the spotlight

The case comes at a critical time for South Africa’s livestock industry.

Aucamp has described the current foot-and-mouth disease outbreak as the biggest in the country’s history.

Farmers are already carrying a heavy financial burden as they try to protect their animals and businesses.

Aucamp said Onderstepoort Biological Products, as a government entity, must serve the public interest.

He said it should not make excessive profits from vaccines needed to fight the outbreak.

“There should therefore be no exorbitant markup on the sale of FMD vaccines, particularly at a time when farmers are already carrying the significant financial burden of this outbreak,” Aucamp said.

Government has a responsibility to make sure vaccines are bought and supplied as cheaply and efficiently as possible, he said.

Aucamp also promised tough oversight of public entities under his department.

“It is important that the department as well as all public entities and Boards under my watch perform their duties ethically and with the highest standards,” he said.

“Nothing less will be tolerated.”

Taxpayer money at centre of row

FMD Response SA welcomed Aucamp’s intervention.

The organisation said an important point was being missed in the debate over vaccine pricing.

It said the vaccines at the centre of the claims were bought for the national response using public money.

“This was not farmers being overcharged. This was the Department of Agriculture paying the State’s own company with taxpayer money,” spokesperson Andrew Morphew said.

“The Minister has now done what oversight is supposed to do, and we welcome it.”

The organisation said vaccine supply previously operated through a single channel.

An agreement reached in July, however, opened the way for farmers and veterinarians to buy vaccines directly.

Now FMD Response SA wants the scrutiny to go further.

It is calling for an independent check on South Africa’s foot-and-mouth disease testing system.

Calls for independent testing

FMD Response SA said Onderstepoort Biological Products and the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute are separate organisations.

But it raised concerns about several important parts of the country’s disease response remaining concentrated in one channel.

According to the organisation, the institute confirms outbreaks, conducts testing, advises government on which vaccines should be used and manufactures its own vaccine for the response.

“No institution should wear all of those hats,” Morphew said.

The organisation wants some South African foot-and-mouth disease samples routinely sent to the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease at Pirbright in the United Kingdom.

It says this would provide independent verification of local testing results.

“That is not a criticism of anyone. It is how confidence is built,” Morphew said.

FMD Response SA said it was not accusing any institution of acting in bad faith.

Its concern is whether South Africa has a strong enough independent system to check important parts of the response.

“No institution should be the sole judge of a response it also supplies,” the organisation said.

Minister warns against speculation

Aucamp has urged the public and media not to jump to conclusions about Modumoh.

“This matter will not be resolved through the media,” he said.

“We therefore urge the media and the public to refrain from speculation and to allow the appropriate processes to run their course until the matter has been concluded.”

The minister said the case remains at an early stage.

Modumoh still has an opportunity to make representations and the claims have not yet been independently investigated.

No further comment will be made until it is appropriate and lawful to provide more information, Aucamp and Onderstepoort Biological Products said.

Vaccination drive will continue

Aucamp assured farmers that the suspension will not stop the country’s foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign.

He urged farmers not to lose confidence in the response.

Instead, he said, they should see the action against Modumoh as a sign that government is serious about accountability and protecting the integrity of the vaccination programme.

Aucamp also encouraged farmers to continue applying to become authorised persons.

This would allow approved farmers to vaccinate their own animals while following the required rules and protocols.

FMD Response SA said it would continue working with government, public and private veterinarians, vaccine suppliers, industry groups and livestock farmers to control the outbreak and restore South Africa’s animal health status.

For now, Modumoh’s suspension remains precautionary.

The independent investigation will be key to establishing whether there was any wrongdoing over the pricing of vaccines being used to fight South Africa’s biggest foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Pictured above: Herd of cows.

Image source: File.

By Barry Christianson for Oxpeckers

Every year as spring approaches, the annual Fynbos Show held in Hopefield draws thousands of tourists to this critically biodiverse region in the Western Cape. 

Local hotel owner Jacques van der Westhuisen says the festival draws up to 8,000 visitors and is a source of pride for residents. He collects as many species as he can find in the surrounding veld for an exhibition that forms part of the annual Hopefield Fynbos show. 

But this year his attention has been drawn to a different kind of development on the edge of the town situated about 120km north of Cape Town. Phelan Green Group, a global renewable energy supplier owned by the Phelan family, from Ireland, has proposed a R47-billion green hydrogen (GH2) and electro-sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) project that would place a 1.6GW solar farm and an industrial fuel plant on agricultural land beginning roughly a kilometre from Hopefield. 

At full capacity, the project is expected to produce 140,000 tonnes of eSAF a year, for export to Europe. It will be developed in three phases, with the final phase expected to be completed in 2032. 

The project’s footprint is significant: the solar component alone is expected to cover more than 3,000ha.

Residents are now asking whether Phelan’s promise of a green energy future comes at the expense of the region’s most valuable assets.

The small town of roughly 6,000 inhabitants is close to the West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay’s Freeport Industrial Development Zone. It is a protected pocket surrounded by agricultural land. The only evidence of outside development are the slowly turning turbines of the nearby Umoya Wind Farm, which feeds renewable energy into the national grid.

Hopefield is part of the Saldanha Bay Municipality, identified in the West Coast Green Hydrogen Master Plan as a potential GH2 hub because of its renewable resources, existing industrial infrastructure and proximity to the Saldanha Bay Special Economic Zone. 

The Western Cape government has ambitious plans for GH2, including facilitating up to 15GW of renewable energy for projects. 

According to Oxpeckers #PowerTracker data, there are 16 GH2 projects, in various stages, throughout South Africa. Four of these, including Phelan’s solar/GH2 /eSAF project, are concentrated in the Western Cape. The combined estimated production output capacity of these, where quantified, is roughly 190,000 to 195,000 tonnes of GH2 (or its direct fuel derivatives) per year. 

While smaller proof-of-concept projects have been demonstrated, commercial output of GH2 is not yet active in the Western Cape.

A related concern is the rise in mining applications for phosphate in the region. In early 2025, non-profit organisation Protect the West Coast raised environmental concerns about an application to mine phosphates on a farm near Langebaan, which is just 35km from Hopefield. The project received environmental authorisation from the Western Cape Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources on July 24 2026. 

There is also the Kropz Elandsfontein phosphate mine, right outside the town. It has the overall capacity to produce between one million and 1.5-million tonnes of phosphate rock concentrate each year. 

These activities are directly linked to GH2: nitrogen can be combined with GH2 to produce green ammonia, which is then used as an energy carrier and fuel. 

This story was produced by Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism and shared with Scrolla.Africa as part of a content partnership. Read the full investigation on Oxpeckers.org.

Pictured above: Hopefield hotel owner Jacques van der Westhuisen points to fynbos growing in the veld around the town, where he has collected species for an exhibition at the annual Fynbos Show. 

Image source: Barry Christianson

By Palesa Matlala

• Scientists found pilchard herpesvirus in dead West Coast sardines, but say environmental conditions may also have played a role in the deaths.

• Authorities say healthy commercially caught sardines and canned products remain safe, with no evidence that the virus can infect people or animals.

Scientists have found a virus never before reported in South African sardines after large numbers of the fish died along the West Coast.

But there is still a mystery to solve.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment says tests found pilchard herpesvirus in dead sardines collected along the coast.

Lower levels of the virus were also found in some fish that appeared healthy.

This means scientists cannot yet say the virus alone killed the sardines.

They are now looking at whether problems in the ocean may have triggered or worsened the mass deaths.

These could include harmful algae, low oxygen levels or unusual ocean conditions.

The department stressed that this remains a theory and more evidence is needed.

Laboratory sequencing confirmed genetic material from the virus in the sardines.

An apparently healthy sample from St Helena Bay was also tested as part of the investigation.

Scientists also looked for toxins linked to harmful algae.

None of the paralytic toxins linked to a harmful algal bloom in Saldanha Bay were found.

Two other algal toxins, domoic acid and yessotoxin, were found at low levels.

But the highest levels were found in the apparently healthy comparison sample.

“No other toxins included in the screening were detected,” the department said.

The results suggest the toxins tested were unlikely to have been the main cause of the sardine deaths.

However, scientists have not completely ruled out harmful algae or other environmental conditions.

The discovery of pilchard herpesvirus is significant because it has never before been reported in South African sardines.

The virus has been linked to sardine deaths elsewhere.

It was associated with two large mass mortality events involving sardines in Australasia during the 1990s.

But it was later found in apparently healthy Australian sardines without causing continuous deaths.

The department is now increasing disease monitoring along South Africa’s West, South and East coasts.

It has also called an urgent briefing with the small pelagic fishing industry.

A task team involving the department, fishing industry and other stakeholders will be formed to coordinate the response.

Scientists will continue studying the disease, the dead fish and environmental conditions.

A routine survey planned for October and November will give scientists their first opportunity to assess what effect the deaths may have had on South Africa’s sardine population.

For people who eat sardines, authorities say there is currently no reason to panic.

There is no evidence that pilchard herpesvirus infects people or other animals.

The discovery also does not mean healthy sardines caught commercially or canned sardine products are unsafe.

“The finding does not currently justify a general suspension of fishing or canning,” the department said.

The toxin test results were also described as reassuring.

But authorities warned that these results should not be seen as a blanket safety clearance for every commercial catch.

Normal food safety checks and monitoring must continue.

People have also been warned not to pick up or eat sardines that are already dead or dying.

They should not feed the fish to their pets either.

The department says it will release more information as scientists receive further results.

For now, the virus is an important clue in the West Coast sardine deaths, but scientists are still trying to establish exactly what caused so many fish to die.

Pictured above: Sardines along the West Coast, where scientists have detected pilchard herpesvirus following recent mass fish deaths. 

Image source: supplied.

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By Palesa Matlala

• At least 44 people died after a ferry carrying passengers on Lake Kariba overturned after hitting strong waves on Tuesday.

• Zimbabwe has declared a state of disaster as search teams continue working, while 77 people have so far been rescued.

A routine ferry journey across Lake Kariba turned into tragedy when a boat overturned, leaving 44 people dead and Zimbabwe in mourning.

The ferry capsized on Tuesday, 11 August, after hitting strong waves on the lake.

Seventy seven people have so far been rescued, while search and recovery teams continue looking for others.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has joined Zimbabwe in mourning those who died.

The Presidency issued a statement on Thursday saying South Africa stood with its neighbour during the tragedy.

“As South Africans, we stand in solidarity today with the nation of Zimbabwe as we mourn this extensive loss of life,” Ramaphosa said.

He offered his sympathies to the families of those who died and to survivors.

His thoughts were also with families still waiting for news as search operations continued.

“We wish survivors a speedy recovery and we pay tribute to the emergency services who are working tirelessly to support and bring closure to affected families and communities,” Ramaphosa said.

The ferry provides transport between the northern Zimbabwean town of Kariba and several islands and fishing camps.

It overturned after hitting strong waves.

Lake Kariba lies on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, more than 300km north east of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

It is the world’s largest man made lake by volume.

The tragedy has also raised serious questions about Zimbabwe’s ability to deal with emergencies on its waterways.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa sent his condolences to the families of those who died on Wednesday.

He described the accident as a tragedy that had exposed serious problems with the country’s maritime capabilities.

Mnangagwa called on government agencies responsible for safety and emergency operations to urgently deal with those shortcomings.

He wants steps taken to prevent another disaster of this kind.

The Zimbabwean president has since declared a state of disaster following the deaths.

The declaration comes as emergency teams continue their work on Lake Kariba.

For families still waiting for news, the search is not over.

Ramaphosa praised the emergency workers who are continuing to support survivors and affected communities while recovery efforts carry on.

The disaster has brought fresh attention to the safety of people who depend on boats to move between Kariba, islands and fishing communities around the massive lake.

While questions about exactly what went wrong and what safety failures may have contributed to the tragedy remain, authorities are continuing with search and recovery operations.

For now, Zimbabwe is mourning 44 lives lost in the water, while dozens of survivors and their families begin dealing with the devastating aftermath.

Pictured above: Search and recovery operations continue after a ferry overturned on Lake Kariba, killing 44 people and leaving Zimbabwe in mourning. 

Image source: Supplied.

By Buziwe Nocuze

• Sivuyile Mapayi started with 2,000 cabbage and spinach seedlings during lockdown before growing his farming operation to 50,000 seedlings.

• Mapayi has created three jobs and hopes his growing vegetable business can provide more work for people struggling with unemployment in Cala.

What started as a way to put food on the table during lockdown has turned into a growing farming business for Sivuyile Mapayi.

Mapayi, who works as a technical employee at a security company in Cala in the Eastern Cape, started planting cabbage and spinach at his home in 2020.

South Africa was under the national Covid 19 lockdown and Mapayi suddenly had much more time at home.

Instead of sitting around, he decided to get his hands dirty.

“During the lockdown, I had many days spent at home, so I decided to use the time wisely by planting cabbage and spinach because I didn’t want to go hungry,” he said.

His sister soon joined him.

At first, they were growing vegetables mainly to make sure they had food.

But their garden produced something much bigger than they expected.

Community members became interested in buying their vegetables.

Local businesspeople also started buying from them.

“My sister joined me, and before we knew it, we were selling to community members and business people around our community,” Mapayi said.

The small garden slowly developed into a small-scale commercial farming operation.

Mapayi said they started by planting about 2,000 seedlings.

Those seedlings cost between R950 and R1,000.

Today, the operation plants as many as 50,000 seedlings.

But growing the business has also meant dealing with rising costs.

Mapayi said 50,000 seedlings now cost about R4,300.

As his farming costs increased, he had to increase the price of his vegetables.

Cabbages that once sold for R10 now cost R20.

But Mapayi said he remains aware that many people in his community are struggling financially.

“When pricing, we keep prices affordable for a community under economic strain,” he said.

His biggest achievement is not only the number of vegetables he can now grow.

The business has also created jobs.

Mapayi currently employs three people.

He knows three jobs will not solve South Africa’s unemployment crisis, but for the families receiving those salaries, the jobs matter.

“Our country has a big problem with high unemployment,” he said.

“Yes, to some people, employing three people might not be a big deal, but I am happy that the people we employed can take care of their families and don’t go to bed hungry.”

One of those workers is 54 year old Mntomnintshi Pololo.

Pololo said finding employment at his age can be difficult because many employers prefer younger workers.

He was grateful Mapayi gave him an opportunity.

“Having people like him in our communities is a blessing because no one wants to hire older people anymore,” Pololo said.

“He had younger applicants, but he never had a problem with hiring me. Now I can take care of my family with the money I make.”

The farming operation still faces challenges.

Mapayi said fertiliser is expensive and farmers also need products to protect cabbage and spinach from insects.

Those expenses add to the cost of producing vegetables.

Despite the difficulties, he said support from residents and local businesses has helped keep the operation going.

He also tries to give something back to the community when he can.

One of his regular customers, Lungiswa Dyonta, has been buying vegetables from Mapayi for four years.

She said freshness and quality keep bringing her back.

“I like his service, and his cabbages are big, just what customers like,” Dyonta said.

“He sells fresh vegetables. As a vendor, it is important to always make sure that you buy fresh vegetables.”

Mapayi now wants to take what started during one of the country’s most difficult periods and grow it even further.

His dream is to expand the farming operation and create more jobs for people in Cala.

“I pray that our business keeps growing so that we can employ more people,” he said.

For Mapayi, those first cabbage and spinach seedlings planted during lockdown were simply about making sure there was food available.

Six years later, the garden that started as a survival plan is feeding customers, supplying vendors and putting money into the pockets of three workers.

And Mapayi hopes 50,000 seedlings are only the beginning.

Pictured above: Sivuyile Mapayi from Cala, whose lockdown cabbage and spinach garden grew into a farming business that now provides three jobs. 

Image source: Sivuyile Mapayi.