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South African police hunts for killers of Limpopo councillor

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South African police has launched a nationwide manhunt for killers of a Limpopo councillor, Jonas Lebitsi Mpe, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his home in Ga-Botha village outside Marble Hall.

The Limpopo police spokesperson, Col Malesela Ledwaba, who announced the manhunt while addressing newsmen at a press conference, said 46-year-old Mpe was shot dead on Thursday evening.

“Mpe was shot dead on Thursday evening at his home and his body was discovered the following day at about 7am.

“Police were alerted about the incident by community members and on arrival, they found the deceased lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to his neck. According to reports, a gunshot was heard on Thursday night at about 9pm but nobody saw what happened,” Ledwaba said.

He said a high-level task team comprising members of a provincial tracking team, murder and robbery unit, together with Sekhukhune district detectives, was established to track down and apprehend those responsible for the murder.

Also speaking on the murder of the local politician, the Limpopo provincial chairperson for Mpe’s EFF party, Tshilidzi Maraga, said the party had been thrown into mourning following the murder.

“Fighter Mpe was sworn in as a proportional representative councillor in the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality in the Sekhukhune District after attaining the second position during the 2021 local government elections.

“Mpe was very much active in the community. He was the real ground force and used to transport pensioners to their pay points, especially during grants. Today (Saturday) he was supposed to have transported learners without IDs to Home Affairs in Marble Hall.

“He was more involved in his community and had good working relationship with the local tribal authorities.

“As the EFF we would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the Mpe family, relatives, friends and the ground forces of our movement.

“We would also like to thank the dedication shown by the SAPS Limpopo and we hope and trust that soon the murderers will be apprehended and brought to book,” said Maraga.

Metro

Nigerians plunged into darkness as national grid collapses again

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The hopes of many Nigerians celebrating the Easter period in the comfort of their homes may be truncated after the national electricity grid collapsed again on Thursday.

The national grid’s collapse was the fourth time
in the first three months of the year, despite assurances from the Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, that everything had been put in place to curb the incessant collapse of the grid.

This recent blackout occured when the national electricity grid centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.

According to a statement from several distribution companies (DisCos) across the country, the collapse caused their feeders to become inactive resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN’s) further showed that the grid collapse had left to power dropping from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero in an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on the situation, said the power outage was due to a system failure from the national grid.

“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” the AEDC said in a statement.

“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” it added.

In a notice to its customers, the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the system collapse resulted in a loss of power supply across its network.

“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.

Major power generation plants which were affected by the grid collapse included th Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among others, which remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.

Over the past 10 years since the privatisation of the electricity industry, the grid has experienced collapses a staggering 141 times, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the sector.

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Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

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Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades in 2023, at 1.4%.

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, saying the country’s budget and services are being overburdened by the country’s high birth rate.

 

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, blaming the country’s budget and services for being overburdened by the country’s recent high birth rate. The population is currently estimated by Egypt’s official statistics office to be just over 106 million.

 

It is believed that 60% of the population lives below or near the poverty line in a nation plagued by a shortage of water, a dearth of employment possibilities, and congested hospitals and schools.

 

World Bank data from 1961 indicates that Egypt’s population growth peaked in 1984–85 at 2.8%, declined to 1.9% in 2006, and then increased to 2.3% in 2014. It has progressively decreased since then, reaching 1.6% in 2022.

 

Sisi has started many massive projects that critics claim waste money and add to Egypt’s debt load, but he claims will create jobs and infrastructure for the country’s expanding population.

 

Egypt started a family-planning campaign called “Two Is Enough” in 2019 intending to question the customs of large families in rural areas.

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