Day: February 29, 2024

Cabinet has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proclamation of 29 May 2024 as the date for the General Elections, following his consultations with the Electoral Commission of South Africa and all nine provincial Premiers on the state of readiness for the national and provincial elections.

Briefing media on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni emphasised that Cabinet has called on everyone, especially the youth, to exercise their right to vote.

‘Years of untold sacrifice and struggle for our freedom culminated in the right to vote for the majority of South Africans in 1994. Our struggle for freedom secured the right for every South African to be active participants in our democratic system.

‘This year’s elections coincide with the celebration of 30 Years of Freedom, which is a significant milestone for South Africa, as it provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our successes and also look for solutions to address our surmountable challenges,’ the Minister said.

READ | Landmark
election marks 30 years of electoral democracy

Presidential eThekwini Working Group

Cabinet has also noted President Ramaphosa’s meeting, which was held last Friday with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss various initiatives, led by national government, to assist the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to address the current water, electricity and infrastructure challenges.

‘The President also established the Presidential eThekwini Working Group to accelerate the speedy resolution of issues affecting the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The group – comprising Ministers, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and business officials – will regularly present progress reports to the President,’ Cabinet said.

14th Policy Dialogue Forum (PDF) of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education

Cabinet has further noted the country’s successful hosting of the 14th PDF of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Monday, 26 February.

The event
brought together education stakeholders from across the globe to foster advocacy, knowledge exchange and the monitoring of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.

The Policy Dialogue Forum released a High-Level Panel Report on the Teaching Profession and also launched the Global Report on teacher shortages.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cabinet has called on residents of the Nkangala District Municipality and surrounding areas to attend the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo and engage their public representatives on issues affecting them.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on 7 March 2024 hosts the 12th DDM Presidential Imbizo in Mpumalanga.

The imbizo brings together leaders from all three spheres of government to interact with residents on service delivery challenges and sets out plans for service delivery improvements and community development in the area.

Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Thursday the DDM Presidential Imbizo and oversight visits have occurred in all nine provinces as part of efforts to reinforce on-going work of improving the lives of citizens.

All systems go for SIDSSA

Cabinet also announced that it is all systems go for the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) 2024 scheduled to take place in Cape Town from 17 to 19 March 2024.

The three-day
meeting brings together critical roleplayers in the infrastructure sector who are key to accelerating the pace of infrastructure investments in the country.

Ntshavheni said infrastructure development has been the key priority of government and the sixth Administration, as it contributes to economic growth and job creation.

‘The SIDSSA will showcase some of the progress in the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment Plan that was approved by Cabinet in May 2020,’ she said.

Black industrialists and exporters conference

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), will also host the second Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference at the Sandton International Convention Centre on 20 March 2024.

Ntshavheni said the long-day conference will recognise business excellence and honour enterprises that embody the spirit of success and innovation, and demonstrate job creation, good busi
ness ethics and quality.

‘More than 600 Black industrial firms supported by the Department of Trade and Industry showed a turnover of about R80 billion during the 2023/24 financial year illustrating the tangible results in drawing more Black entrepreneurs into the industrial economy,’ the Minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cabinet has expressed its confidence in South Africa’s ability to host a successful G20 Summit, drawing upon its track record of successfully organising major events such as the BRICS Summit and the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum (AGOA).

This is according to Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who addressed a post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday in Pretoria.

The Minister told the media that Cabinet received and considered a report on the preparations for South Africa’s hosting of the G20 Summit in 2025 as well as taking over the Presidency.

‘This is a momentous event for South Africa as it will be the first country in Africa to host such a gathering; not only unique because of the anticipated numbers but also of the enduring impact it is envisaged to make.

‘Cabinet is confident that South Africa will deliver a successful G20 Summit, as it has done with previous major events such as the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa Summit and the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum.

‘The G20 Presidency presents South Africa with an opportunity to champion the aspirations of emerging markets,’ the Minister said.

As it hosts the G20, Ntshavheni said South Africa’s participation in the forum will continue to be guided by the country’s commitment to advance national interests as well as those of the African continent.

37th African Union (AU) Summit

Cabinet has also expressed appreciation on the progress made at the 37th AU Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 17 and 18 February 2024, which outlined Africa’s priorities for 2024 and beyond.

President Cyril Ramaphosa joined other African leaders in discussing key continental priorities including peace and security, climate change, economic development and Africa’s role in the wider global multilateral context.

The summit adopted the Second 10-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063, which will see the acceleration of flagship projects such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, in which South Africa is playing a leading role.

Pres
ident Ramaphosa also presented a report on the continent’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of readiness against future health threats, in his capacity as the Champion of the AU’s COVID-19 response.

The summit also emphasised the importance of socio-economic recovery post-COVID-19 and lessons from the pandemic preparedness and response and continental security.

‘The President called on African leaders to continue improving the levels of alertness of their countries against future pandemics and urged for the adoption of a strong Common Africa Position on Pandemic Preparedness and Response,’ Cabinet said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Health has welcomed a decision by the Gauteng High Court to dismiss a legal attempt by trade union Solidarity to halt the department’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the public health system.

In a statement on Thursday, the department said Solidarity sought to stop the filing of critical posts under the National Health Insurance (NHI) branch.

According to the department, the trade union approached the court last year to challenge a decision taken by the department to advertise and fill 44 vacancies, including five Chief Directors and competent technical specialists to assist with the preparation for the National Health Insurance Fund for the country to achieve universal health coverage.

‘The union argued that the NHI should be established only after the NHI Bill has been signed into law by the President. However, Section 85(2) of the Constitution empowers the Minister of Health to develop and implement national policies deemed critical to improve healthcare delivery to achieve a long and h
ealthy life for all South Africans.

‘Further, the National Health Act of 2003 (Act 61 of 2003), Section 3(1) provides that the Minister must, within the limit of available resources, determine the policies and measures necessary to protect, promote, improve, and maintain the health and wellbeing of the population,’ the department said.

The court found that the establishment of the NHI branch, as part of the department’s organisational structure, does not amount to the implementation of a Bill. The functions of the branch remain relevant for any health system in the world, public or private.

Thus, the creation of these critical posts responsible for, amongst others, health products procurement, health care benefits and provider management, health system digital information, risk and fraud management, and user and service provider management, are part of broader health system strengthening.

‘The court ruling paves way for the department to prepare for the rollout of NHI once it is signed into law.

‘The jud
gment simply means the department has the right to continue with the work to strengthen the public health system of the country to respond to the health care needs and demands of the population.

‘We hope the applicant will abide by the ruling and allow the department space to execute its mandate of improving health by preventing illness and disease, and promoting healthy lifestyles without interference,’ the department said.

Source: South African Government News Agency