Day: October 4, 2023

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has welcomed the imprisonment sentence imposed on a provincial traffic officer in Limpopo in connection with bribery of an undercover agent.

The Mokopane Magistrate court on Monday, 2 October 2023, found the traffic officer guilty on charges relating to accepting a bribe of R200 from an undercover anti-corruption agent from RTMC.

The court sentenced Vincent Madiga (53) to three year’s direct imprisonment without the option of a fine.

“The arrest took place during a joint operation, named Operation Siyabangena, by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit of the RTMC and the Hawks in 2018. The RTMC believes that the conviction of this officer will send a message to others that are still hell bent on committing such crimes, that crime does not pay.

“The officer now no longer qualifies to work as a traffic officer because of his criminal record and this means that we have succeeded in removing a bad element from the ranks of our traffic officers,” the RTMC said on Tuesday.

A total of 13 traffic officers were arrested as part of Operation “Siyabangena” and their cases are continuing in different courts in the province. Some have already been imprisoned for their offence.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of heatwave conditions resulting in persistently high temperatures from Wednesday until Friday.

These conditions are expected over the eastern parts of both the North-West and Free State, southern parts of Gauteng as well as Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo District Municipality of the Eastern Cape from 04-06/10/2023.

“Under these conditions a prolonged exposure to the midday sun poses health risks, hence it’s advisable to seek shades and keep hydrated. Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over Northern Cape, western and northern parts of North-West, Western Bushveld of Limpopo, Amajuba Local Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal as well as Joe Gqabi District Municipality and Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality of Eastern Cape,” SAWS said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday preside over the launch of the Border Management Authority (BMA) in Musina, Limpopo.

The launch of the BMA follows its formal establishment and assumption of its status as a schedule 3 (A) public entity on 1 April 2023.

The establishment of the BMA means that South Africa now has an integrated border management platform, with a single command and control with which to support the attainment of secure borders, safe travel and trade.

As part of the launch, President Ramaphosa will receive President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the Republic of Zimbabwe to hold official talks and undertake a guided tour of the Beitbridge border, supported by members of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) on the BMA.

The President will then proceed to officiate the launch of the BMA at the Musina Show Grounds and also handover a Sword to the Commissioner of the BMA to delegate the powers to lead the third law enforcement authority in the Republic.

The BMA has, since its inception, recorded successes, amongst them intercepting stolen vehicles.

In June 2013, Cabinet made the decision to establish a Border Management Agency under the guidance of the DHA.

The decision was taken in recognition of the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) 2012 Feasibility Study, which had highlighted weaknesses in border management.

The authority will be responsible for the execution of frontline border law enforcement functions related to, inter alia, port health, immigration control, access control, biosecurity, food safety and phyto-sanitary control, land border infrastructure development and maintenance, and border information and risk management.

It is intended that the BMA will adapt and respond effectively to the challenges, threats and opportunities that exist in the border environment whilst safe-guarding South Africa’s borders and meeting the country’s national, regional and global developmental responsibilities and human rights imperatives.

Source: South African Government News Agency

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube–Ncube has unveiled 55 new trucks, which will be used to improve the turnaround time in addressing pothole patching in the province.

The procurement of the trucks, which were unveiled at the launch of the 2023 October Transport Month campaign, is part of the commitment made by the Premier in her State of the Province Address, where she committed government to improving the provincial road network conditions.

The trucks — fitted with the latest pothole patching technology — will be distributed to all Department of Transports’ District Offices, in a “fast and effective operation”.

The trucks will comprise a team of nine people, who will be responsible for routine and safety maintenance, including pothole patching, blacktop patching, drain cleaning and verge maintenance, among other duties.

Unveiling the trucks, Dube-Ncube emphasised that the transport sector is the heartbeat of the province’s economy, and crucial in the stimulation of socio-economic development of the nation.

She said during October Transport Month, the province will advance road safety initiatives and highlight several economic empowerment initiatives.

“Under the Department of Transport, over the coming months, the province will ensure that employment intensive road maintenance programmes are increased to provide employment opportunities for more women and the vulnerable in our province. The Zibambele Maintenance Programme will create 41 000 job opportunities,” Dube-Ncube said.

This year’s October Transport Month Campaign is being rolled out under the theme, ‘Siyakha – We are building better infrastructure to grow South Africa together!’.

During this month, the Department of Transport and its entities will showcase transport infrastructure services in aviation, maritime, public transport and roads.

This month will also be used to further advance the country’s road safety initiatives, while creating awareness of the economic benefits of the sector.

Source: South African Government News Agency

While the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) has provided job opportunities for close to two decades, work is underway to ensure that its footprint reaches more people.

By March 2023, the programme had steadily created over 14 million work opportunities since its inception in April 2004.

“The EPWP has been a good programme from its inception 19 years ago. The main focus of the programme is to alleviate poverty by providing job opportunities. This is important because it is not just a job opportunity, it is an opportunity that must provide a skill to participants,” said Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts.

The EPWP is a medium-to long-term government-funded programme that promotes the use of labour-intensive methods to create work opportunities for poor and unemployed South Africans.

In addition to gaining skills and earning an income, the work opportunities also allow participants to gain valuable work experience that make them employable.

Through its various five-year phases, which have been improved upon over the years, the programme has granted work opportunities to many across the length and breadth of the country.

In an interview with SAnews at her office in central Pretoria, Swarts said various research reports and mid-term review reports of the different phases of the EPWP show that the income participants earn from the programme is having a positive impact in terms of poverty alleviation.

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is the custodian of the programme, which is being implemented by over 300 public bodies across the three spheres of government.

Training for the future

The programme has morphed with each subsequent phase it has undergone and the current five-year Phase IV comes to an end in 2024.

The current phase has created 3.9 million work opportunities against the five million target.

Swarts revealed that in the current phase, the EPWP has been strengthening its partnerships with the private sector in getting placements for youth that have been trained in artisan programmes to gain work experience.

This includes the placement and absorption of young people by contractors on projects implemented by the DPWI. Some young people trained in the mechanical engineering field have been absorbed by mining and car repair companies as part of the partnership.

Participants in the programme obtain various skills such as painting, brick laying and carpentry, home community-based care skills and fire-fighting among others. Training is funded through the National Skills Fund and budgets of projects in different public bodies.

Changing lives

The EPWP also contributes to household incomes, with over R12 billion having been transferred to participants as wages in 2022/23.

“The final figure, according to our records, was R13.2 billion being paid in wages,” she added.

While creating a livelihoods for participants, the EPWP also contributes towards service delivery. Projects include road maintenance, construction of schools and clinics, environmental greening, cleaning and removing alien vegetation.

Participation

In order to increase the participation of vulnerable groups in society, the current phase of the programme has put demographic targets in place.

For women participation this is set at 60% while the targets for the youth has been pegged at 55%.

According to the Deputy Minister the targets relating to women are being met while that of young people are yet to be met.

“For the 2022/23 financial year, the achievement for women was at 69% while that of youth was at 40%. Interventions are being put in place through better targeting during recruitment and having youth-focused programmes to improve the achievement of targets for youth,” explained the Deputy Minister.

She attributed this to the fact that some young people view wearing orange overalls as “not cool” while others believe that they cannot take part in the EPWP because of the qualifications they hold.

“[This] is a wrong mind-set because if you have a degree in administration and have been at home for five years, surely you must be able [to come to a point where you] say ‘let me deviate and participate in a programme that is going to give me a skill’,” she said.

The programme also caters for people living with disability by making provision for them to form their own companies. The Deputy Minister noted that more needs to be done to accommodate people living with disabilities.

“We need to bring in people with disabilities and we can bring them in as project managers on site to oversee the work that is being done.”

Policy

In 2022, the DPWI developed the EPWP Policy, which has been approved by Cabinet for public consultation and is expected to be finalised by March 2024.

On what the future holds for the programme that continues to evolve, Swarts says the DPWI and its stakeholders are developing proposals for the next phase of the programme, which is scheduled to start in April 2024, if approved by Cabinet.

Expanding the reach of the programme, improving training and skills development, and improving on exit strategies for participants are some the different proposals being considered for the next phase.

“[The] EPWP must and will be the backbone of creating employment in the country. After 19 years [and] as we prepare for the 20 years celebrations, which we are doing as DPWI at the end of this November, we are going to start showcasing and celebrating the EPWP.

“It must just not be about celebrating, it must be about us bringing all participants and stakeholders on board.”

The Deputy Minister is confident that those who complete the programme are capable of becoming entrepreneurs who can contribute to the country’s economic development.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy has welcomed the adoption of a framework that calls for the phasing out of highly hazardous pesticides in the agriculture sector where the risks have not been managed.

The framework also advocates for safer alternatives that are available, and further seeks to strengthen links between the new instrument and the climate, biodiversity, human rights and health agendas.

The framework was adopted after intense negotiations at the 5th session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5), which was convened from 25-29 September 2023 in Bonn, Germany.

The main objective of the Conference was to adopt a “Beyond 2020” chemicals and waste global policy framework instrument.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Minister congratulated and welcomed the success of the South African negotiating team for working tirelessly as part of the Africa Group of Negotiators.

The Global Framework on Chemicals Fund is aimed at benefiting stakeholders in developing countries on the implementation of priority targets to manage chemicals and waste.

“It provides a vision for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste, for a safe, healthy and sustainable future, and is operationalised through concrete targets and guidelines for key sectors across the entire lifecycle of chemicals that aim to improve the sound management of chemicals and waste.

“The poor and other vulnerable groups who are the most adversely affected by the impact of chemicals and waste, would benefit positively from environmentally sound management of chemicals,” the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said.

The Global Framework on Chemicals Fund will be financed from contributions from all stakeholders including the private sector. Host country, Germany, announced that it would pledge EUR 20 million to the new fund envisaged under the framework. France announced that it would contribute EUR 400,000 in 2024.

The department said governments have committed to creating, by 2030, the regulatory environment to reduce chemical pollution and implement policies to promote safer alternatives.

The industry has also committed to managing chemicals in a way that reduces chemical pollution and adverse impacts.

Source: South African Government News Agency