Month: September 2023

The five men found guilty of the rape and attempted rape of an 18-year-old female in Strydenburg have been sentenced to 10 and 15 years respectively by the Hopetown Regional Court.

The incident took place at a house in Strydenburg, Northern Cape, on 27 November 2010, where the five accused were drinking with the female victim.

Four of the males took turns raping and assaulting the victim. The victim managed to fight off the fifth accused who had assaulted and attempted to rape her.

The victim escaped and alerted neighbours who called the police. The men were arrested the following day and received bail 11 months later.

Joseph Kasper (32), Pieter Visser (21), Elcardo Demas (22) and Kobus Daniels (32) all received 15 years for rape, while Elton Van Rooyen (30) was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for attempted rape.

Police management have lauded Detective Sergeant Recardo Kock and all other assisting members from the Hopetown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit for their relentless efforts in the lengthy investigation that ensured no impunity is granted to the perpetrators of this crime. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

Law enforcement agencies have set their sights on arresting the kingpins which perpetuate illegal mining in South Africa.

This is according to Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who was addressing the media on Thursday the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.

“In the first quarter of 2023 the Hawks arrested 611 suspects and seized various items including precious metals and diamonds, endangered species, vehicles, cash, firearms, ammunition, counterfeit goods, explosives and electronic devices worth R6 112 768 985.

“In addition, law enforcement arrested nine zama zama [illegal mining] kingpins and were granted preservation orders against their assets that include luxury vehicles such as a Lamborghini and precious metals and cash to the value of R34 million.

“This goes against the narrative that says in our fight against zama zamas we are only targeting runners. We are targeting the kingpins,” she said.

Ntshavheni said Cabinet had commended law enforcement agencies on “their fight to dismantle crime syndicates”.

“The successful actions in dealing with a heavily armed gang linked to a series of cash in transit heists in Limpopo is commendable. Cabinet reiterates that law enforcement should leave no stone unturned in dealing with those who seek to undermine South Africa’s national security and the laws of the Republic,” she said.

Turning to issues related to personal protective equipment (PPE) corruption, the Minister explained that although it is taking some time, progress is being made to bring wrongdoers to book.

“Cabinet welcomed the arrest of nine Northern Cape Department of Health officials for PPE corruption. The suspects are accused of fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravening the Public Finance Management Act.

“We know the impatience of our people in terms of the arrests of PPE corrupt officials and their business partners, but we are gradually making progress,” she said.

Regarding Operation Bring Back – which seeks to identify and recover illegally occupied buildings owned by the state – Minister Ntshavheni said Cabinet commended efforts to wrestle back control of hijacked buildings.

“As part of this initiative, the national government is providing support to municipalities to ensure the enforcement of by-laws to eradicate hijacking of buildings, their effective management and utilisation, and ability to account for the utilisation of government’s immovable assets,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

Despite the prevailing difficult global economic conditions, South Africa’s economy continues to demonstrate its resilience, with multiple gains being achieved towards the country’s economy, investment and trade.

These include the 0.6% expansion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023, a R5 billion investment pledge by auto component manufacturers, job creation at the Rainbow Chickens facility in Hammarsdale and an investment by Stellantis to develop a greenfield manufacturing facility.

“Cabinet is pleased with the resilience of the South African economy as shown by South Africa’s GDP second quarter data, as released by StatsSA. This is despite the prevailing difficult global economic conditions and the persistence of the electricity situation in the country,” Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday.

According to Stats SA, six industries on the supply side of the economy grew in the second quarter, with manufacturing and finance driving much of the upward momentum.

“The manufacturing industry increased by 2.2% in the second quarter, contributing 0.3 of a percentage point to GDP growth. The continued improvements in manufacturing data indicates improvements in the production capacity, which in turn contributes to an increase in total manufacturing employment.

“The petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products division made the largest contribution to the increase in the second quarter. The basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery division also made a significant contribution to the growth in this industry,” the Minister said.

The finance, real estate and business services industry increased by 0.7% in the second quarter, contributing 0.2 of a percentage point to GDP growth while the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry increased by 4.2%, contributing 0.1 of a percentage point to GDP growth.

The personal services industry increased by 0.7% in the second quarter, contributing 0.1% of a percentage point to GDP growth.

The Minister made these remarks during a media briefing in Pretoria on the outcomes a Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday.

Cabinet had at the meeting also welcomed a pledge for an investment worth approximately R5 billion by auto component manufacturers made at the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) show recently.

“These pledges by companies operating in South Africa show the confidence of the industry in the South African market and the opportunities to localise the production of components, providing auto assemblers with a more resilient supply base.

“Shortly after the announcement, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition officially opened the Benteler plant extension in the Eastern Cape, producing components for local car assemblers. The expansion of production is estimated to replace imports worth R1 billion and the workforce grew to 743 workers,” Ntshavheni said.

Gains in poultry sector

Cabinet said the recent job creation for 750 people at the Rainbow Chickens facility in Hammarsdale demonstrates the success of the implementation of the Poultry Masterplan.

“During 2017, Rainbow Chickens had retrenched more than 1 000 workers and closed operations. After adoption of the masterplan, government implemented a variety of measures to safeguard the local poultry industry including placing anti-dumping duties on poultry imported from producers in five countries.

“This, together with increased investment and measures to transform the industry and bring more black-owned firms into the market, has seen real successes,” Ntshavheni said.

Rainbow Chickens has since re-opened and invested R220 million.

In addition, the overall employment within the poultry industry has been reported to have increased by 2 780 jobs and more than R2 billion in fresh investment has been implemented.

Meanwhile, Cabinet welcomed the confirmation by Stellantis of its intention to develop a greenfield manufacturing facility in Coega, South Africa. The greenfield manufacturing project is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.

“The first launch, planned for early 2026, is for a 1 T pick-up truck, with volumes expected to reach up to 50 000 annually, including for export, in line with the industry masterplan, known as the Automotive Production Development Program (APDP).

“Direct employment to support the first capacity step is expected at 1 000 jobs. Stellantis will be massively investing in over 500 000 hours in training and skills to develop and support the local teams to the level of global standards. We are targeting a localisation rate over 30%,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cabinet is forging ahead with “its firm commitment for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI)”.

This according to Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who held a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday.

Ntshavheni explained that the NHI represents a way to ensure that all South Africans have access to quality healthcare.

“The commitment to NHI is premised on the fact that both public and private health sectors are not sustainable. The current parallel and fragmented systems must be integrated into a national system so that all resources are accessible to all people.

“The implementation of the NHI is premised on the implementation of a comprehensive approach to accelerating infrastructure improvement in the public sector. This is not something that should be contemplated separately from the reforms in the NHI Bill,” she said.

Ntshavheni explained that through the NHI, the pressure on “congested public facilities” will be lifted.

“Focusing narrowly on the intended reforms of private financing of healthcare has detracted from the Bill’s intended reforms of public and private provision of services. It is in reforming the service platform that space will be created for decongesting public facilities.

“When the NHI Fund is able to purchase services from both public and private providers, we will begin to see the pressure lifted from highly pressured public facilities,” she said.

The Minister emphasised that during every phase of implementation of the NHI, progress is monitored.

“The intentional distortion that the passage of the Bill will reform everything overnight is mischievous at best. The transitional provisions are clear that the implementation will take time and that the reforms will be implemented in phases.

“At each and every phase there will be evaluation of the impact and the necessary gaps and corrective measures will be taken,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says Cabinet has been updated on Eskom’s current planned maintenance plan which has resulted in higher stages of load shedding.

The increased maintenance is aimed at ensuring the sustainability of Eskom’s plants.

“The concerted implementation of the planned fleet maintenance programme has resulted in increased stages of load shedding in recent days.

“The implementation of Stage 6 load shedding in the last week was a regress from the trends that prevailed in the previous weeks of lower stages of load shedding,” she remarked.

The Minister was briefing the media following this week’s Cabinet meeting.

She said “the current implementation of increased stages of load shedding is a short-term phase as Eskom prepares for more sustained and lessened stages of load shedding in the not-so-distant future”.

“The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, will continue to update the nation on the progress being made to address the current electricity challenges and the steps being taken to ultimately end load shedding,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cabinet has approved the publication of various draft bills for public comment, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday.

She was addressing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.

The draft bills include the Draft Aquaculture Development Bill and the Draft National State Enterprises Bill.

“The purpose of the [Draft Aquaculture Development] Bill is to promote the development of a responsible Aquaculture sector for meaningful contribution to food security and economic development for the country; support greater participation of small businesses, especially those owned by women and youth; and promote the transformation of the aquaculture sector.

“The Draft [National State Enterprises] Bill proposes the consolidation of State’s shareholdings in strategic state-owned enterprises [and the] establishment of the State’s Asset Management SOC Ltd as a holding company for state shareholding of strategic SOEs, with the State as a sole shareholder,” she said.

The Repeal of the South African Airways Bill has also been approved for publication for public comment.

“The Repeal of the SAA Act is aimed at giving effect to the changes of government no longer being a majority stakeholder of SAA. The repeal of the SAA Act does not change the continued corporate existence of the company under Companies Act; and [the] rights attached to government shares in SAA will be exercised by the designated shareholder representative on behalf of the State,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Draft Public Service Commission (PSC) Bill has been approved by Cabinet for submission to Parliament.

“Cabinet approved the submission of the Public Service Commission Bill to Parliament, which amends the PSC Act, no. 46 of 1997. The amendments will enable the PSC to operate as an independent and impartial constitutional body with the view to improve its effectiveness and efficiency within the public service.

“The Bill also extends the mandate of the PSC to municipalities and public entities and provides a legislative framework for the PSC’s oversight role in the implementation of the National Framework on the Professionalisation of the Public Sector,” Ntshavheni said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency