Day: January 25, 2024

The Department of Water and Sanitation will next week kick-start a series of public consultations on the amendment of the National Water Act and Water Services Act across the country.

The two legislations were published in the Government Gazette on 17 November 2023 and members of the public were invited to submit written comments on the draft amendment bills within 60 days from the date of publication.

The department said the objective of the consultations is to garner comments from the public and stakeholders, which are necessary to bring about legislation that will benefit the current and future generation of the country by ensuring equitable water allocation for all, and optimise access and use of water and sanitation.

‘The amendments of the two legislations will strengthen the role of the department as a regulator of the water and sanitation sector, thus, decisively address socio economic challenges facing the country.

‘Furthermore, this will ensure that the country’s water resources are managed, pr
otected, used, and conserved, while promoting equity and redressing past imbalances. The redress of past imbalances will ensure that all citizens of the country have access to water,’ the department said.

The amendments of the National Water Act are mainly aimed at strengthening the protection and conservation of water resources, including strategic water source areas; ability of the department to consider and decide on water use applications timeously; and the ability of the department to improve equity in water use allocation.

They are also aimed at strengthening the ability of the department to phase out previous water entitlements in order to achieve the targets for water allocation reform and ensure the efficient use of water, and representivity and governance of water user associations.

In amending the Water Services Act, the department aims to enhance the following regulatory objectives:

Expand on the objects of the Act the regulation for safely managed sanitation;

Include enforcement and recti
fication as further object of the Act;

Provide for the accountability of water services providers in respect of the management, reporting and financial transparency through requirement of operating licence;

Provide for the issuance of operating licence, content of the licence and Regulations for licence procedure;

Develop regulations relating to registration of persons who install and operate water service works;

Provide for the quality of potable or drinking water;

Provide for the establishment and governance structures of water boards, the appointment of the chief executive officer and employees of water boards;

Provide for monitoring, enforcement and intervention on poor performance and non-performance of WSPs (Water Safety Plans); and

Expand on penalties for non-compliance with the Act

The public consultations will start in Upington, Northern Cape on 30 January 2024, followed by the engagements in all other provinces.

For confirmation to attend the Northern Cape consultation can be sent
to [email protected]

The closing date for written submission is on 01 March 2024 and submissions should be sent to Mapula Khuduga at [email protected] or telephone number 012 336 7835.

The Gazette is available on www.gpwonline.co.za.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says township and village tourism have much to offer in terms of boosting the economy.

‘I firmly believe that township and village tourism has so much to offer and so much untapped potential and we must place more focus on this area to showcase our hidden gems and the true magic of our villages and townships,’ de Lille said.

Addressing the inaugural Township and Village Tourism Expo hosted by the SA Township and Village Tourism Organisation (SATOVITO) at the Cradle of Humankind, in Morapeng on Thursday, de Lille said the expo aims to shine a light on tourism products in villages and townships where people from disadvantaged backgrounds are breaking through barriers to take their claim in the tourism sector.

‘I have found only warm, kind and committed people in tourism in every part of this country and I look forward to exploring even more hidden gems this year and pushing harder with all partners to take the entire tourism sector to the next level,’ De Lille said.

De Li
lle commended the organisers of expo for their objective to foster strong community engagement by involving local residents, community leaders, and stakeholders in the planning and execution of the expo.

‘Promoting township and village tourism is an integral part of diversifying our tourism offerings so that we can grow the economy, the sector and the number of jobs created by this sector.

‘I am therefore pleased that the South African National Convention Bureau has provided financial support to this expo and that SA Tourism has also supported it through marketing it at global events such as World Travel Market London.

‘I have often said that we must place more on emphasising township and village tourism, especially in the annual Sho’t Left campaign and later today there will be workshop on this annual campaign by SA Tourism,’ the Minister said.

De Lille said her department wanted to help the organisers to achieve their vision to develop townships and villages into smart residential and business hubs that
foster job creation, social cohesion and market indigenous tourism experiences.

‘We are your partner to transform the tourism industry and expand the value chain to be more inclusive and attract tourism investment to townships and villages.

‘We need to showcase our culture, history, indigenous cultures and people to visitors from all over the world because I am certain that those are the experiences that will leave them with memories they will treasure forever and stories that will captivate them for years to come.

‘We need to do better at marketing our history and cultures and show more people places like what is known as ‘Nobel Street’ where we showcase Vilikazi Street in Soweto as being the homes of two Nobel Peace Laureates, our dear Tata Madiba and Archbishop Desmond Tutu,’ de Lille said.

De Lille said history has helped transform the area around Vilikazi Street into a thriving business community but there are many more spaces and places like these all over South Africa which can be showcased.

The T
ourism Incentive Programme is a package of support programmes aimed at stimulating the growth, development and transformation of the South African Tourism sector.

‘Through these incentives, the department aims to transform and achieve accelerated growth in the tourism sector. This in turn contributes to the achievement of the department’s objectives to stimulate enterprise growth, job creation, revenue growth and an enhanced visitor experience,’ the Minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

With South Africa deepening its efforts towards shifting freight from road to rail, the Department of Transport (DOT) Freight Logistics Specialist, Mihlali Gqada, says there needs to be a balance in investments that are made in rail and road infrastructure.

Addressing the colloquium on the Freight Road to Rail Migration Plan (FRRMP), Gqada said the amount of rail infrastructure investment pales in comparison to road.

According to National Treasury and the Minister of Transport’s Budget Vote Speech (2023/24), the allocation for roads (transfers and subsidies) is R42.4 billion, and for 2024/25, the estimate is R42.4 billion. This figure excludes the equitable share grant that provinces and municipalities get for infrastructure development.

‘Rail infrastructure investment is limited to the allocation for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) from the DOT (+/-R7 billion), whilst freight rail relies on Transnet investment and competes with Ports and Pipelines. It is therefore imperative that a bala
nce in investment be fostered so that the shift can be realised.

‘Historically, public sector investment has largely been skewed towards road infrastructure investments, and going forward, there is a need to leverage a wide range of public and private investment tools to finance the construction and operation of rail freight infrastructure.

‘The national freight transportation system requires investment to maintain performance at high levels, upon which the country’s economic growth depends,’ Gqada said on Thursday in Pretoria.

She said private sector and private investments must find expression in the railway sector.

‘These investments must be in the form of infrastructure and operations as Transnet would not be in a position to meet all the investment required to get the railways competitive and responsive to the country’s growth needs and demand.

‘Historically the public and private sectors have collaborated clearly, and both played divided roles in relation to freight transport whereby the public sec
tor has built, owned, and operated transport infrastructure on behalf of government, predominantly railways and highways. Furthermore, the private sector has used that infrastructure to conduct freight operations.

‘This division of roles provides opportunities for government to leverage private sector efficiencies and expertise in the construction and operation of freight infrastructure,’ Gqada said.

She said South Africa holds immense potential to become the gateway to the African market, boasting a well-developed network of ports and a robust logistics infrastructure.

‘The country’s transportation system offers several advantages compared to other African nations. Despite its potential, South Africa’s freight transport system faces significant challenges in meeting the growing demand for freight movement, especially on rail. These challenges stem from operational and infrastructure deficiencies in the road, rail and port sectors, which hinder the competitiveness of the South African economy,’ Gqada said.

She said poor rail performance has rendered the country unable to fully participate in the recent commodity boom.

As the country tries to deal with the lack of investment in rail, Gqada said it must not stop investment in road infrastructure, as this is currently the backbone of South Africa’s trade success.

‘We, however, need to be cautious of the role that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) is being given by several provinces to manage their road network as this may overburden SANRAL.

‘This gradual migration of provincial networks onto the portfolio of SANRAL must be managed very well and must not undermine the effectiveness of SANRAL in infrastructure development and maintenance,’ she said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

GROOT AUB: The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has approved plans for the construction of an additional primary school at the Groot Aub settlement in the Khomas Region.

The Director of Education in the region, Paulus Nghikembua, told Nampa in a recent interview that the primary school is expected to be operational by 2030.

The rapidly expanding settlement, situated about 60 kilometres south of Windhoek, currently has only one primary school and one secondary school, catering to a population exceeding 24 000 residents.

The surge in population has led to the overcrowding of classrooms at both Groot Aub Primary School and Groot Aub Secondary School.

Isak de Groot, the principal of Groot Aub Secondary School, told Nampa in a recent interview that last year, the school had three Grade 8 classes, and there is a possibility of that number increasing in the current academic year.

‘We have admitted 181 Grade 8 learners this year, and there is a possibility that that number will increase, so we might need
an additional class,’ De Groot stated.

Additionally, the school accommodates learners from Farm Primary School in Dordabis, Nicolas Witbooi Memorial School, and Bloukrans Primary School.

Last year, De Groot said, the school made use of a church building and library on the premises as additional classrooms.

‘We have asked the Directorate of Education to provide us with extra classrooms and we now have four newly built classrooms. We are also privileged this year to have two extra teaching posts allocated to our school. I want to commend our regional directorate in that regard. When we ask, they provide,’ he added.

He also said that to curb the high failure rate at the secondary school, the ministry has constructed a hostel to accommodate learners. The facility, although complete, has no running water and electricity and learners have not moved in yet.

Nghikembua confirmed that the hostel was constructed to mitigate issues such as failure rates.

‘The structure is already approved in terms of personnel. Th
e issue now is electricity. We paid NamPower for the connection. As soon as they’re ready, they will put a transformer. We are also busy with water connection through the City of Windhoek. Some of these issues are not in our hands, but the hostel needs its water connection or a pipe from the reservoir,’ Nghikembua explained.

He said once the new primary school is complete, they will start working on plans for another secondary school.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has announced that the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously agreed to keep repurchase rate (repo rate) at 8.25%.

Kganyago announced this at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon.

‘At the current repurchase rate level, policy is restrictive, consistent with the inflation outlook and the need to address rising inflation expectations. Serious upside risks to the inflation trajectory from global and domestic sources are evident and… the economic outlook is highly uncertain.

‘The inflation and repo rate projections from the updated QPM [Quarterly Projection Model] remain a broad policy guide, changing from meeting to meeting in response to new data. Future committee decisions will be data dependent and sensitive to the balance of risks to the outlook,’ he said.

Kganyago said that ‘guiding the inflation rate to the mid-point’ of about 3 to 6% is imperative.

The current inflation rate stands at 5.1%.

‘Guiding inflation back towards
the mid-point of the target band will improve the economic outlook and reduce borrowing costs.

‘Since early 2020, the committee has recommended additional means of strengthening economic conditions, including achieving a prudent public debt level, increasing the supply of energy, keeping administered price inflation low and real wage growth in line with productivity gains. Such steps would also strengthen monetary policy effectiveness and its transmission to the broader economy.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has welcomed the multimillion-rand donation of mobile health clinics from the German Development Bank (KfW) in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.

The Minister said the donation supports efforts by the South African government to strengthen the public health system.

‘Today is one of the most exciting days for the National Department of Health and the provincial departments as we formally acknowledge the support we received from the German government, through the German Development Bank and the DG Murray Trust.

‘The governments of Germany and South Africa have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship across several departments for a while now,’ he said on Thursday.

Phaahla was speaking at the official hand over of the equipment at the Town Hill Hospital.

The Minister was joined by the German Ambassador to South Africa, Andreas Peschke, Deputy Health Minister Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health, Nomagugu Simelane, leaders from local government and DG Murray Tr
ust.

The donated assets, valued at R500 million, include specialised vaccine fridges, vaccine carriers, temperature monitoring devices, notebooks, tablets and mobile health clinics.

Phaahla said the 46 mobile clinics have contributed to changing people’s lives and that they have reached 1.9 million individuals with direct interpersonal interactions.

‘I will work with the MECs to sustain and maintain these assets when the funding ends in September this year.’

Phaahla said the mobile units operate in four provinces including Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and are operated by professional nurses, communicators and local mobilisers supported by the #KeReady youthful doctors.

‘These units are serving as the bedrock of our campaign to get closer to the youth community and highlight the challenges that face youth life,’ said the Minister.

‘We consider the Ambassador and his team as friends; friends who did not abandon us at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but stayed with us and provided suppor
t for specific vulnerable communities in the informal settlements.

‘We thank you for the precise, strategic and tailored programmes you brought into our primary healthcare ecosystem,’ he said.

He told the attendees that today’s gathering was not just a celebration but an occasion to showcase the countries’ bilateral relationship and to demonstrate that their relationship was beneficial to both nations.

‘Our vision and objectives for the health sector have been expressed in many documents and on many other platforms.’

The Universal Health Access through the National Health Insurance (NHI), he said, was a vision South Africa strives towards, working with the private sector.

‘We are committed to this vision and the outcomes we envisage despite the huge setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic.’

He noted German’s specific targeted programmes, which are evidence-based and believes that will have an impact.

The focus includes children who are reached through the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme, y
oung people in hard-to-reach areas, community-led social mobilisation campaigns, strong monitoring and evaluation systems and cost-effective approaches.

‘Ambassador, we recognise that you give our people a hand to uplift them out of poverty, instead of once-off hand-outs which are not sustainable,” said Phaahla.

He acknowledged the German government for its support during the COVID-19 response.

Phaahla expressed his gratitude for German’s forward-thinking approach, which he described as ‘precise and impactful’.

‘We will scale it up as we move forward and apply lessons learned to our programmes.’

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, will lead South Africa’s delegation at The Hague on Friday to hear the judgment on the genocide case against Israel.

This is after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced that it will deliver its judgment tomorrow on whether it will grant emergency measures to stop the war in the Gaza Strip.

This comes after South Africa approached the ICJ in December last year, under the Genocide Convention, for alleged attacks committed by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

‘On Friday, 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice will deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,’ the ICJ statement read.

In its application, South Africa also pleaded with the court to indicate provisional measures to ‘protect against further seve
re and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention’ and ‘to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide”.

Public hearings on South Africa’s request were held on 11 and 12 January 2024.

‘South Africa is requesting that the ICJ grant interim injunctions, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance,’ DIRCO said.

According to the department, the humanitarian assistance includes adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing.

The country also wants the top United Nations (UN) court to take the necessary steps to punish those involved in the genocide and preserve the evidence of genocide.

Source: South African Government News Agency