CAPTION: King Goodwill Zwelithini Zulu’s wife Queen Mantfombi Zulu, Eastern Mpondoland King Mpondombini Sigcau’s widow Queen Lombekoso MaSobhuza Sigcau, Western Mpondoland Queen Mother Bhongolethu Ndamase and Nkosikazi Nombethe Sigcau during the funeral of King Mpondombini Sigcau at Qawukeni Great Place in Lusikisiki @Pictures: JOHN COSTELLO

This statement is a response to the media article on Monday the 13th of May 2013 released by the so called ‘Chiefs of Mpondoland”. During the relevant Constitutional Court case it was agreed that the status quo regarding monarchy in Pondoland remains up until the Constitutional Court makes judgement on the matter. Until such time, ‘Chief’ Zanozuko cannot be considered in any way the ‘King of Mpondoland’ as reported by certain media. It has to be noted also that on the 14th of April the Royal family at Qaukeni mandated Queen Masobhuza Sigcau, wife of the late King, to take over the leadership of Mpondoland up until the time the Constitutional Court releases judgement on this matter. Zanozuko is not, and has never been, a ‘King of AmaMpondo’ as he claims.

 It should also be noted that Minister Gugile Nkwinti did not bother to consult Qaukeni about the said meeting that took place at Flagstaff. The tradition of AmaMpondo is that all meetings that discuss matters that pertain to the welfair of AmaMpondo must be discussed at Qaukeni, the Royal Palace and Regional Authority of AmaMpondo. The Kings Council at Qaukeni was neither invited nor informed of that meeting. It is therefore completely without substance for that meeting to claim to represent AmaMpondo. The meeting has served only one purpose, to divide and bring conflict among AmaMpondo. it is very unfortunate that the Government has chosen this path. It should also be put on record that the Kings Council has not been consulted but sidelined about the proposed N2 Toll Road. In any such development proposals, it is crucial that the Traditional Leadership in the region is properly consulted before any decisions are taken. Should there be agreement on the proposals, then issues such as relocation and compensation of people who’s homesteads will be affected by the proposed development, and such consultation will have to take place at the Regional Authority, Qaukeni.

For more information and questions please call Nkosi Cinani: 0826150529

On Wednesday, 8 May 2013 the Electricity Governance Initiative South Africa (EGI-SA) launches its latest report:  “Smart Electricity Planning”. The aim is to strengthen and to build on the South African government’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to fast-track our nation’s transition to a smarter and more equitable electricity future.

The Smart Electricity Planning report is a contribution of civil society to the critical discussion about energy choices in South Africa. There is a pressing need to re-assess how both electricity and energy planning are undertaken in South Africa. A pro-poor approach must address multiple social and environmental objectives. The report is a result of detailed research using a robust modelling tool developed by UCT’s Energy Research Centre. The Smart Electricity Planning report, when compared to the IRP2010, would enhance environmental quality, provide more jobs, address energy poverty and reduce capital expenditure.

The report’s main chapters focus on Demand and Supply. The potential of energy conservation and energy efficiency of all economic sectors point to a lower electricity demand as compared to the IRP2010. Together with future scenarios focusing on renewable energy – including a supportive institutional framework – a healthy, modern and affordable electricity sector is envisioned in the Smart Electricity Plan– without constraining just economic development.

Download the Smart Electricity Planning report from: http://irp2.wordpress.com/

Additional enquiries can be directed to the content editor:

Brenda Martin, brenda@90×2030.org.za

Or the project manager:

Yvette Abrahams, yvettea1@telkomsa.net

By Melanie Gosling

RELIGIOUS leaders have hit out at the Department of Energy’s statement to Parliament that nuclear energy was “non-negotiable”.

The Department of Energy’s director-general Nelisiwe Magubane told the energy portfolio committee that “South Africa’s nuclear plan is non-negotiable” and that the programme was supported by the National Development Plan (NDP).

The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute said its board had “expressed horror” at the statement.

Anglican archbishop Thabo Makgobo said the government could not be serious about overcoming inequality, poverty and unemployment if it followed the nuclear route.

Eskom has budgeted R300 billion for the nuclear project, but others have said R1 trillion is more realistic .

“Nuclear energy is not going to touch the two million rural households who are without electricity. It is for the benefit of the extractive industries, the energy intensive industries and the already rich,” he said.

The Anglican Church and Catholic Church in Japan, where the Fukushima nuclear disaster happened in March 2011, had called on their government to end nuclear power, he said.

Bishop Geoff Davies said the government ought to have learned from the E-tolling issue, that it must consult the public.

“We cannot understand why the government would knowingly go into another conflict situation, which will be the case if South Africa continues on the nuclear path. We, in the faith communities, clearly see that nuclear energy is not right on economic, social and environmental grounds.

In March last year The Economist magazine published a report showing nuclear energy had priced itself out of contention,” Davies said.

The Quaker community said in a democracy everything was negotiable.

“What is needed is a cabinet decision to rescind the 2008 support of nuclear power. Nuclear power is extremely expensive when all costs, including subsidies and dismantling costs are included. We believe the funds would be far more effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if used for energy efficiency, conservation and renewable power,” it said.

Expensive

The National Development Plan, published last year, said it was vital South Africa investigated whether nuclear energy was financially viable, and if it was too expensive, the country must develop a “plan B” for electricity generation.

The NDP said the government plan to build several new nuclear power stations was the most expensive project South Africa had considered, and would require a “level of investment unprecedented in South Africa”.

It said although nuclear power would give South Africa a low-carbon alternative to coal, the implications of the plan needed “thorough investigation”, including the cost, financing options, institutional arrangements, safety, employment opportunities and environmental costs and benefits.

The possibilities of uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication must also be investigated.

 WE INVITE YOU TO SAFCEI’s ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Keynote speaker – Sarah Ward

Keynote speaker   Sarah Ward – Cape Town’s Energy Hopes and Obstacles 

(Sarah is the Head of Energy and Climate Change at the City of Cape Town)

Date and time         Tuesday 16^th April 2013 at 19:00, with light snacks from 18:00. We hope to close our proceedings at 21:00.

Place                              Erin Hall, 8 Erin Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town.  Click here for directions        

Agenda Summary

• Welcome
• Opening Devotions
• Register of Attendance, Apologies, Proxies and Quorum
• Keynote Address by Sarah Ward: “Cape Town’s Energy Hopes and Obstacles”
• Minutes of Previous AGM
• Presentation of Reports
• Presentation of Accounts
• Appointment of Auditors
• New Motions
• Election of Board Members
• Closing

Documents

SAFCEI Annual Report 2012

AGM Minutes June 2012

SAFCEI Audited Financial Statement 2012

SAFCEI Membership Form

We look forward to welcoming you to our AGM!

Please RSVP to juanita@safcei.org.za or phone our office: (021) 7018145.

North Rand Methodist Church, Johannesburg

Anne van Vliet wrote to us about their special event:

“During that time we shared stories about how nature had inspired, helped and nurtured us in our lives; someone read out a poem he had written; someone else played and sang a song she had written and we prayed together for healing, eyes and hearts to be opened to what we’re doing to our world and to give thanks to the many people around the world who DO care for the environment and the rest of Creation and work so hard to protect and heal the destruction.”

Thank you for sharing your story with us! If your faith community is organizing a special event about the environment, please send your photos, videos and stories to info@safcei.org.za 

We are keen to promote your ‘green initiatives’ and inspire other faith communities.

photo: Africa by africa/ freedigitalphoto.net

The Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) joined hands with faith groups and civil society on World Water Day to stress viable access to clean water and sanitation facilities, still a luxury to millions around the world.

World Water Day, initiated by the United Nations in 1993, is celebrated each year on 22 March to promote activities addressing water issues.

The EWN of the World Council of Churches (WCC) engaged in the World Water Day celebrations and High Level Forum, organized by the UN and the Netherlands government, from 20 to 22 March in The Hague, Netherlands.

In a side event on “Living Water: Towards a Water-Secure World” at the forum, along with other religious leaders, EWN coordinator Dinesh Suna spoke about the role of faith-based networks in promoting water justice.

“Water is the cradle of life, an expression of God’s grace in perpetuity for the whole creation. This is why it should be preserved and shared for the benefit of the wider creation,” said Suna, quoting from the WCC statement on “water for life.”

In his presentation, Suna brought attention to the fact that more than 780 million people are living without adequate access to safe drinking water, along with 2.5 billion people without access to proper sanitation facilities.

Despite  human rights to water and sanitation being recognized by the UN and the Millennium Development Goals, he said, this reality continues to exist.

Issues related to inequality often serve as impediments to realization of the human right to water and sanitation, he noted. “Therefore the EWN encourages the churches on World Water Day to address discrimination based on casteism, racism, ethnic identity,  HIV and AIDS and other factors that perpetrate inequality,” said Suna.

These efforts are particularly relevant since the UN has declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation, he added.

One of the ways in which the EWN attempts to raise awareness of water issues around World Water Day is through its Lenten initiative, the Seven Weeks for Water.

This initiative has launched online theological and biblical reflections promoting water justice in local communities. More than a thousand people have signed up to receive these reflections, around the world.

 Among other stakeholders of the EWN celebrating World Water Day, the Council of Churches in the Netherlands on 22 March affirmed a statement on the “right to water and sanitation” issued by the WCC Central Committee in 2011 and pledged to promote water justice among their congregation members.

Seven weeks for water

World Council of Churches statement on the Right to Water and Sanitation

More information on the Ecumenical Water Network

World Water Day website

26th March 2013

 The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (Safcei) on Tuesday said the development of a nuclear industry in South Africa would not provide a boost for society, the economy, job creation or the environment.

Safcei executive director Bishop Geoff Davies said nuclear development could end up costing several times more than renewable energy – which was currently declining in cost – while producing fewer jobs than other energy sources.

Davies further noted that nuclear energy could cause fuel prices to continue escalating and the industry might be exposed to financial risks, such as exchange rate fluctuations. He also pointed to the “massive” costs of decommissioning nuclear plants and disposing of nuclear waste.

“This is why private banks – and the World Bank – have always refused to fund nuclear power stations. It is left to governments and their taxpayers,” he stated.

Davies was responding to the Department of Energy director-general Nelisiwe Magubane’s comments last month that South Africa’s proposed new nuclear energy build programme was likely to reach a “point of no return” by June.

Engineering News at the time quoted Magubane as saying that South Africa was progressing through the various milestones endorsed by Cabinet ahead of any nuclear decision.

A wide cross-section of faith community leaders were calling for an urgent meeting with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who was ultimately responsible for the decision on nuclear, as he chaired the National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordination Committee, to address their concerns after several failed attempts at securing a response from President Jacob Zuma.

Motlanthe earlier this month stated that the country could not achieve its social and economic development aims without energy, indicating that nuclear power would play a leading role in driving this.

South African Nuclear Energy Corporation CEO Phumzile Tshelane agreed, stating that the country’s proposed new nuclear power station construction programme would deliver a number of significant benefits.

“A successful new build programme would develop skills, create sustainable jobs, create wealth – especially at a regional level – and develop entrepreneurial skills, especially of the youth,” he said at the Nuclear Africa 2013 conference in Midrand last week.

However, Davies quoted the results of a 2012 study by civil society forum of energy experts, the Electricity Governance Initiative, which found that South Africa could meet its energy needs at a lower cost and with a far higher employment potential with energy efficiency and renewable-energy initiatives, than government’s current nuclear and further coal-fired power plans.

The cost of electricity from the new coal stations of Medupi and Kusile would be higher than that of renewable energy, while the cost of nuclear would be double that of wind- and photovoltaics-generated power and it would take “at least 12 years to generate electricity” with nuclear.

The capital cost of the coal-fired power-plant projects would reach about R385-billion and the proposed “six-pack” of nuclear plants would cost about R940-billion, Davies explained.

“It is also a myth that nuclear energy will assist in reducing South Africa’s carbon footprint. The costs of [carbon-intensive] mining for uranium ore are increasing with the diminishing availability of high-grade uranium, as are the costs for transport and construction,” he said.

“Natural gas off the coast of Mozambique … could be brought to South Africa’s coastal cities within two or three years where, combined with renewables, it would provide a robust base load capacity and save the 30% energy loss of bringing electricity from Mpumalanga.”

Davies added that South Africa’s proposed energy mix was also based on outdated information.

The Integrated Resources Plan was due for review last year, with most energy-sector observers having noted that it is no longer aligned with changes in the global electricity sector, notably in the low proportion of generation capacity allocated to natural gas.

Davies also pointed out that energy demand predictions were found to be significantly inflated compared with the reality and government should not make a decision on nuclear based on outdated information.

Edited by: Chanel de Bruyn

Dr Nigel Crawhall, IUCN Commissioner and TILCEPA Chairperson (WCPA – CEESP)

The Brazilian Amazonian woman nods as the Nepali Sherpa man explains that the problem for his people is not the text of the adaptation policy at the United Nations; it is the challenge of getting it implemented at home. The Chadian activist representing nomadic herders uses her hands to underline her point that pastoralists in different parts of Africa have similar approaches to water management in drylands – we must work together to bring this knowledge to the attention of decision makers. The Baha’i woman lights up while speaking to the religious leaders about how faith gives us a language to express the ethical challenges of responding to this man-made crisis. The Buddhist and the Catholic delegates nod as they compare the sermon on the Noble Truth of suffering with Christ’s crucifixion – our faiths provide an idiom for showing how suffering should not disempower us but should lead us to compassionate action, salvation and enlightenment. Two marine biologists and an ornithologist look for the right wording on the how ocean acidification and climate change combine to make artisanal fishing so vulnerable to sudden shocks and slow recovery.

Arabic, Tagalog, French, Khoekhoe, Chinese, Spanish – the halls of the Qatar National Conference Center are awash with hundreds of human tongues. Everyone is looking for the right words to bring about that moment of insight, understanding, inspiration and transformation. The world is here in Doha to find a common language for an agreement to save our planet from further climatic instability and loss of life.

A COP can be a place where you lose your faith in human beings. Or, in the thousands of stories, the effort and perseverance, you can find what is best in humanity – our wisdom, our diversity, our compassion and our ability to reach across languages and borders to do what is best for the planet – to articulate and defend the global good over our short-term interests.

The Hindu woman captures it well: Climate change is not some curse upon the planet; it is a well-polished mirror that is held up in front of us. We are staring at our own face, but we do not want to recognise that the problem comes from inside of us. The Nigerien camel herder from the Sahara and the Bahraini Qur’anic expert find a common language in the teachings of the Prophet – blessings be upon him –Allah the Sustainer has given us such abundance and the human challenge is to recognise that we are the temporary custodians with a duty to pass this intact to future generations.

Climate Justice March at COP18, Doha. Photo: Lutheran World Federation

Negotiations in Doha have achieved little in the way of a fair and binding treaty that could reverse the current trends in climate change. This was the observation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegates at the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 18.

At the conference in Qatar, concluding on 7 December, the WCC delegates stressed that governments of the industrialized countries and emerging economies are not ready to reduce their CO2 emissions drastically. This has become obvious, as there has been no agreement on concrete pledges for the Climate Fund, established at COP 16 two years ago in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In Doha the WCC delegation joined other ecumenical actors and civil society groups to advocate for clear steps towards a climate treaty in 2015 which should be fair and acceptable to all countries.

“Time is running short. Extreme weather conditions this year in various parts of the world and recent reports, such as Turn down the heat by the World Bank and the Emissions Gap Report by United Nations Environment Programme, show that negotiators need to agree on effective measures to address climate change”, said the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

“Populations in various parts of the world are already suffering the consequences of climate change,” said Dr Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive on Care for Creation and Climate Justice.

He said that to achieve the treaty by 2015, concrete steps should be made in Doha. Among those, he said, are, “the ratification of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, an inclusion of adaptation, climate finance and loss and damage to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP).”

Kerber said that while we advocate for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to be adopted in 2015, “scaling up climate finance for developing countries and a strong agreement is the only way forward towards climate justice.”

“Moral, theological and spiritual” implications of the climate crisis were raised by the WCC along with other faith communities in Doha. At a side event on 3 December, on “Environmental protection: religious perspectives” organized by the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue, representatives of Muslims, Christians and representatives of Brahma Kumaris issued a joint call for the protection of the whole creation.

The WCC will also deliver a statement to a high level segment of the conference. On Friday, 7 December, the WCC will organize a side event on “ethical and religious insights on climate change” at the conference in Doha.