SUMMER 2023
LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO STOP CRIME
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Inside
this issue
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Breaking the Chains GBV
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Home power back up systems
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12 of the worst areas for home break-ins & robberies in SA
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Final Word
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BREAKING THE CHAINS:
A CALL TO ACTION AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BY ZAYAAN SARLIE
“I don’t want to die with my hands up or legs open”
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hese words by activist and feminist Koleka Putuma are a sentiment that women throughout South Africa hold - as the daunting realisation of being raped, assaulted, or dying at the hands of a man is no longer only a possibility, but a matter of time. Gender – Based Violence (GBV) is a prominent and prevalent issue that occurs in both private and public sectors by intimate partners, family, or community members. This term is used to describe the violence that occurs because of the normative gender role expectations that are associated with the sex assigned to an individual, along with the unequal power relations amongst genders. Forms of GBV include physical, verbal, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse along with threats or acts of
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abuse that may cause deprivations of liberty and harm. It is found in all social classes, cultural groups and societies and is described as a global pandemic of which females are the main victims. The violence against women is not a new phenomenon in South Africa. South Africa is characterised as one of the most unsafe countries, with statistics from Statistics SA showing that sexual violence and rape have become a hyperendemic. Although accurate statistics are difficult to obtain for many reasons, it is evident South Africa has particularly high rates of GBV, with the violence against females being labelled as a crisis and as a betrayal of the constitutional order.
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To effectively combat GBV in South Africa, the government needs to adopt a multi – faceted approach that includes numerous dimensions. When exploring the legislative dimension, it is imperative to note the steps and techniques that have been implemented thus far. As a result of mobilization efforts of women in South Africa, the first presidential summit on GBV and Femicide was held in 2018 as a response to the 24 demands submitted by the #TheTotalShutdown occurred. This saw the South African
government beginning to budget towards the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP). The NSP is multi-sectoral in nature and outlines 6 pillars, namely: Accountability, Coordination and Leadership, Prevention and Rebuilding Social Cohesion, Justice, Safety and Protection, Response, Care, Support and Healing, Economic Power and Research and Information Management. With these pillars, the NSP aims to promote equality of all gender groupings and strategically sets out specific plans to decrease GBV in South Africa. Since the first Presidential summit, progress has been made but the National Strategic Plan in GBV and Femicide was only officially signed into effect in April 2020. However, the high levels of GBV and the brutal violence against women across all demographics still occurs and is still a serious threat to women’s human rights. As of January 2022, three new GBV laws were signed into the legislation with the aim to strengthen efforts to end GBV. This includes The Amendment of Criminal Law (Sexual offences and related matters) act – which introduces sexual intimidation as an offence, increases the period that sex offenders need to remain registered and expands both the range of the National Register for Sex Offenders and the list of who is considered vulnerable. The Criminal and Related Matters Act also made changes to the Magistrates Courts Act (1994) - which now sees the provision for the appointment of intermediaries, The Criminal Procedure Act (1997) – that regulates the granting and cancelling of bail and lastly The Superior Courts Act (2013). Lastly, The Domestic Violence Amendment Bill was introduced to amend the Domestic Violence Act
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(1998) to address the practical gaps and challenges that were faced. The 1st and 2nd of November 2022, marked the second Presidential summit of GBV and Femicide (GBVF) and was held under the theme of “Accountability, Acceleration and Amplification Now!” The main purpose of this summit was to report on work done since the first summit in 2018 along with the successes and challenges that surround GBVF. Despite the steps taken, women in South Africa are still experiencing high levels of violence, thus numerous promises that were made in both 2018 and 2022 remain unfulfilled. When referring to the statistics it is clear to see that more steps need to be taken as there is still work to be done. Within the 2nd summit, funding was identified as a key challenge in the fight against GBV - however, it should be noted that it is the government that has the primary obligation to tackle GBV. Clear steps to implement the NSP was not outlined nor was there a commitment to transparency, accountability, and fund allocation. The summit highlighted the need to address masculinity and reiterated the importance of education and awareness but concrete ways to do so were not expressed. Although there has been some intervention, both the 1st and 2nd Presidential Summits of GBVF has failed to fully indicate a clear timeline and various strategies on how to combat the epidemic that is GBV in South Africa, thus still leaving women with no resolution and the lingering question of “Am I Next?”
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HOME POWER BACKUP SYSTEMS – ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
Deciding on the best system isn’t a simple matter. There’s a bewildering array of jargon to sift through and many elements to consider.
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outh Africa’s electricity utility Eskom has made it clear that “load shedding” – rolling scheduled power cuts – isn’t going to end any time soon. This reality, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during his annual state of the nation speech on 9 February 2023 that tax incentives for solar power use are imminent, mean that many people are considering alternative electricity supply systems for their homes. But deciding on the best home power backup system isn’t a simple matter. There’s a bewildering array of jargon to sift through and many elements to consider, from the right kind of inverter to the size of your solar panels. We are electrical engineers who are working on a standalone charger for small electric vehicles with the South African National Energy Development Institute as part of the Long-Term Joint European Union – African Union Research and Innovation Partnership on Renewable Energy. The way the charger is designed resembles the sort of system needed for domestic power cut solutions. So, we’re able to answer a few questions for those who feel overwhelmed by the options.
To reduce both the upfront capital cost and operational expenditure, you need to decide what is essential. Lights? Your washing machine? The stove and electric kettle? Then you need to make sure they are as energy efficient as possible before you size the backup system. For example, old incandescent lights use ten times more energy than LED lights do. This table lists a few typical household items and their power consumption.
WHAT IS AN INVERTER? This is a key component of any alternative power system. It’s an electronic device that changes direct current (like energy stored in a battery) into alternating current (power for your home). There are a few kinds of inverters. Some are grid-tied (synchronous) with Eskom’s power grid. They are typically used with solar systems that augment the Eskom supply. But they are not suitable for load shedding solutions. You also get off-grid (grid-forming) inverters, which form their own mini-grid and can operate during power cuts. We recommend a hybrid inverter, which can be grid-tied to augment supply and seamlessly continue operation as an offgrid solution during load shedding. You want a hybrid inverter that can connect to the grid, battery backup, and to solar panels. To extract the maximum power from the solar panels, be sure to get one that has maximum power point tracking (MPPT). WHAT SIZE SHOULD THE SYSTEM BE? This purchase should be a long-term investment. The inverter must be able to carry the sum of all the loads that are drawing power at any instant in time and the battery must be able to supply the energy required.
This table lists a few typical household items and their power consumption. Table: MJ Booysen. Source: MJ Booysen. Created with Datawrapper
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WHY DO I NEED BATTERIES FOR MY SYSTEM? It is theoretically possible for an inverter to generate electricity for household use directly from solar panels. But the supply from panels is intermittent and often not powerful enough to reliably supply power to the varying loads in the house. To overcome this problem, energy is stored in the batteries. This provides a more stable source of power which responds to demand during load shedding. Battery capacity is specified as kWh (kilowatt hours) or Ah (ampere hours). This determines the amount of energy it can supply. A battery with a capacity of 5kWh can theoretically supply 5kW for an hour. But if a lithium battery is discharged beyond 20% of its capacity, it loses capacity and ages faster. A 5kWh battery therefore has an effective capacity of only 4kWh. It can supply 4kW for one hour, or 1kW for four hours.
Solar panels tend to range from R8,000 to R10,000 per kWp (a measure of how high the panels’ power output is). Again, they’re not crucial, but are necessary if you want the system to pay for itself over time. CAN I INSTALL THIS SYSTEM MYSELF? No, unless you’re a certified electrician. The inverter needs to be installed into the distribution board and the cost will depend on how many of your circuit breakers need to be moved to the backup as well as how easy the solution is to install; installation typically ranges from R10,000 to R20,000. The inverter must be approved by the municipality if you want to feed back into the grid. Installing the solar panels is separate, and costs vary widely. DM/ML MJ (Thinus) Booysen is a Professor in Engineering and Chair in the Internet of Things at Stellenbosch University. Arnold Rix is a Senior Lecturer in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Stellenbosch University.
As a practical example, if you want to power only 20 10W LED lights and a medium-sized LED TV, drawing a total of 0.5kW, a 3.5kWh battery will suffice for four hours. ARE SOLAR PANELS CRUCIAL FOR A BACKUP SYSTEM? No. The batteries store energy to provide a stable supply to the inverter when needed. Technically, you can use the mains power to charge the batteries, rather than rely on solar panels. Solar panels are merely there to augment the supply of electricity and could give you a bit more range during load shedding if the sun is shining. But if everyone installs backup systems without solar panels, we are just using batteries to carry us through power cuts. That increases the load on Eskom outside load shedding periods, as the batteries must be replenished. This will neuter Eskom’s ability to use load shedding as a grid management tool. It could destabilise the grid and lead to a complete blackout. And if, as is expected, the finance minister introduces tax breaks for solar generation expenses in the budget speech on 22 February, solar panels will have to be part of your setup if you want to benefit from these incentives. No matter what Enoch Godongwana announces, we think this is a good time to make the switch to a solar-powered backup system, for your peace of mind and future savings. HOW MUCH DOES IT ALL COST? Inverter prices are falling as the market grows, and vary across suppliers. Inverters cost about R3,000 per kW for bottom of the range, and closer to R7,000 per kW for top of the range. Most households will get by with a 3kW to 5kW inverter, if its loads are managed well, costing between R9,000 and R35,000. Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries also vary in cost but normally retail for about R5,000 to R7,000 per kWh. Most households will get by with a 5kWh to 10kWh battery if the loads are optimised and managed well. So you’re looking at a cost of between R25,000 and R70,000 for the batteries. Page 8
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A battery back-up inverter system in a residential building in the Hout Bay district of Cape Town, South Africa, on Friday, April 22, 2022. Image: Dwayne Senior / Bloomberg via Getty Images
12
OF THE WORST AREAS FOR
HOME BREAK-INS & ROBBERIES IN SOUTH AFRICA
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/732339/12-of-the-worst-areas-in-south-africa-for-home-break-ins-and-robberies/
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he South African Police Service (SAPS) has published the latest crime statistics for the second quarter of 2023/24, which covers July to September 2023 – showing that while burglaries have declined over the past year, residential robberies with aggravated circumstances have increased in South Africa. According to the SAPS’ data, burglaries at residential premises decreased by 5.9% year-on-year. However, compared to the first quarter of 2023, burglaries at residential premises increased by 3.6%. Robberies at houses were up by almost 4%.
This is also seen with the Northern Cape, the most scarcely populated province in the country, and thus has the lowest number of reported burglaries (3.7%). However, almost every province in South Africa is represented in the ‘top 12 worst areas’ list, and it is Mankweng in Limpopo which has drawn the most cases of break-ins, followed by Cambridge in Eastern Cape and Plessislaer in KZN.
While similar in nature (criminal trespassing and theft), burglaries and robberies are differentiated by the presence of the victim. Burglaries occur when a thief enters a home intending to steal while the victim is absent, while robberies happen when the victim is present and threatened during the theft. Despite decreasing year-on-year, burglaries still far outstrip robberies in South Africa in number, and – after drug-related crime and assault – is the biggest crime subcategory in the country. Data captured at police stations across the country recorded 38,151 cases of home burglaries between July and September 2023 – roughly 424 incidents a day. Meanwhile, the SAPS recorded 6,045 house robberies over the same period – or 67 every day. BURGLARY AT A RESIDENTIAL PREMISES Nationally, Gauteng accounts for most of the burglaries across the nine provinces, with just under a quarter (21.9%) of home burglaries in South Africa taking place in the province. This is unsurprising as it is the most populous province in South Africa and thus has a proportional amount of crime. Page 13
10.8% from the first quarter (149,802). This is of grave concern, as contact crime refers to crimes in which the victims are the targets of violence or instances where the victims are in the vicinity of property that criminals target and are subjected to the use of/or threats of violence by perpetrators, said the SAPS.
ROBBERY AT A RESIDENTIAL PREMISES According to the SAPS report, contact crimes, including common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances, among other things, made up the biggest crime category, with 165,909 cases reported between July and September 2023 – increasing by 2.1% compared to the same period in 2022, and a notable
A subcategory of contact crimes is robbery with aggravating circumstances, which includes robbery at residential premises, listed under ‘Trio crimes’ – including carjacking and robbery at non-residential premises. The report showed that while these trio crimes decreased by 1.8% year-on-year, robbery at residential premises increased by 3.8% – with 6,045 reported over the second quarter of 2023/24. Concerningly, This is also an increase of 7.4% compared to the first quarter of this year, which recorded 5,631 incidences of robbery at residential premises. As with burglaries, Gauteng has the highest number of home robberies (37.3%). However, this is followed by KZN (22.7%), and its areas take up half of the places in the ‘top 12 worst areas’ list. Tembisa in Gauteng ranks as the worst area for home robberies. This is followed by two KZN precincts – Plessislaer in second place and Inanda in third.
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FINAL WORD WHAT A MOMENT IN TIME WE LIVE IN. The Springboks won the rugby world cup again and we congratulate them on their unique achievement. That however is the only good news to come out of the month. The crime stats are in and KZN are a leading darkness in the area of robberies and violent crime. Gender based violence is on the increase and the murder rate is soaring. 6945 people were murdered between July and September 2023, or roughly 77 people every single day. Further to this, 13 090 people suffered sexual assault while 42 297 others were seriously assaulted. This is a blight on our society and sadly, as much as we try we are unable to curb it. We must ask ourselves why? Are we as South Africans naturally aggressive? Or is it that punishments do not fit the crime.
Gender based violence is an area that is out of control. Even if the police do catch the culprits they get very little prison time and they are out on the streets and committing the same crime again. We need harsher laws and punishments to protect our women. As we move into the festive season criminals are out in force. Hijackings, home invasions, muggings and robberies will increase so please be aware of your surroundings when driving, make sure your alarm-both car and home-is working. Stay safe After all possessions can be replaced you can’t be. MARTYN SMITHERS
PICS CREDIT: By: BRANDAN REYNOLDS
Our police force is hopelessly understaffed. In 2012 we had 122000 police officers and this year 106000 and as a result the police are overwhelmed with cases. The police have had good results in catching criminals but for the most part criminals get away with the crime they are committing.
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