Month: February 2024

Eskom says its electricity supply recovery plans for towns in the Karoo, which lost power due to severe damage to infrastructure during inclement weather, are progressing well.

The damage cut electricity supply to Sutherland, Roggeveld, Laingsburg, Ladismith, Leeu Gamka, Swartberg, Merweville, Matjiesfontein, Prince Albert, Fraserburg and the surrounding areas.

‘Eskom’s recovery plan to repair the infrastructure… is making significant progress with the electricity restoration date (ETR) in sight. The ETR remains this Thursday, even though teams are pushing to secure an earlier date and time to bring back electricity supply to the affected towns in the Karoo,’ the power utility said.

Eskom assured customers that repairs are ‘near completion’.

‘To date, the intermediate structures have been planted. Two conductors, with one phase each, are running along the intermediate structures as part of the stringing process. The remaining four conductors will be run today, with stringing to commence.

‘Eskom understan
ds the frustration of these customers that must endure such a prolonged period without electricity and can assure them that the multiple teams onsite are working around the clock to bring back supply as soon as possible.

‘Eskom thanks all its stakeholders for their continued support and the affected customers for their patience and understanding,’ Eskom said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The South African Police Service (SAPS) will on Thursday celebrate its annual National Police Day by promoting fitness and wellness within its ranks.

The day will entail sporting codes and fitness activities to encourage members’ participation in sport and to institutionalise health and wellness culture in the organisation.

Last year, the SAPS signed a memorandum of understating (MOU) with Virgin Active and Planet Fitness to ensure that members remain physically fit and healthy.

The day’s festivities will start with a fun run at 05:30 and as well as an aerobics session. Members will participate in various sporting activities such as netball and soccer.

Police Minister Police General Bheki Cele, the Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale and the National Commissioner of SAPS, General Fannie Masemola will take part in exercise activities.

Cabinet approved 27 January as National Police Day in 2005.

On National Police Day, the South African Police Service (SAPS) remembers the sacrifices that the men and w
omen in blue have made and continue to make as they provide safety for all who live in South Africa.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest and appearance in court of two former Eskom officials on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.

The two employees, Thandi Magagula and Nontuthubo Mahweliri, were employed at the Hendrina Power Station and were arrested by the Hawks last week and have appeared in different courts.

‘The court appearance is part of the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption strategy by law enforcement agencies to strengthen its fight against corruption, especially when such crimes are committed by state employees in positions of trust to deliver services for the benefit of the public and the economy, but instead, steal from the most vulnerable to enrich themselves and fund their opulent lifestyles,’ the SIU said.

Magagula allegedly conducted business with the electricity supplier while employed there.

‘An SIU investigation revealed that Magagula held a private investment in a company called Montoza Engineering. Montoza Engineering had one or mor
e contracts with Eskom and according to Eskom records during the period of approximately October 2015 to November 2015, had rendered services and provided work or goods to Eskom to the value of approximately R58 888.76.

‘Magagula as an employee of Eskom was not supposed to conduct any business with the entity as this is against Eskom’s policy on conflict of interest,’ the SIU said.

She also underwent a disciplinary hearing at Eskom, was found guilty and was given a seven-day suspension.

Mahweliri also allegedly operated under the same modus operandi.

‘The investigation by the SIU found that Mahweliri failed to declare that she is a member of a company called NKG Trading investments, which had a contract with Eskom and failed to apply for permission to perform private work. Her company received payments to the value of R1 082 884 for the period 2017 and 2018.

‘The SIU also referred Mahweliri for disciplinary action. Eskom held a hearing, and she was found guilty of all charges of misconduct and suspended
for 7 days without pay,’ the SIU said.

Both cases were postponed and they are expected to appear in the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Efforts to fight crime in Gauteng have received a much-needed boost through a partnership with Vuma Cam, which will allow the province to have access to an additional 6 000 CCTV cameras to keep an eye on the province’s streets.

CCTV cameras are part of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s strategy to utilise technology in the fight against crime. The CCTV cameras are being placed in townships, business districts, areas with high crime, roads, schools and other public places.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lusufi said at the launch event held on Tuesday that this was a big milestone for the campaign and that the cameras will go a long way to realising a crime-free Gauteng.

‘I am excited that this partnership finally took place. It has been a long time coming. I am tired of crime. We cannot be held hostage by criminals. We cannot be scared and be scared even of our own shadows because of criminals.

‘Crime is a big problem and it is even halting investment interests in our province. We are signing this agreement to
protect our people,’ he said.

The campaign to fight crime using technology is an intergovernmental collaboration between the Department of e-Government, Community Safety and the South African Police Services (SAPS).

The collaboration is meant to boost all other available crime-fighting initiatives, through providing CCTV cameras, high-quality drones for surveillance, issuing of panic buttons to improve access to help from law enforcement officers during distress, and installation of tracking devises on cars.

The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and e-Government, Mzi Khumalo, said government collaboration with the policing, security and technology sectors resulted in this agreement coming to fruition.

‘Today’s occasion also marks the coming to fruition of a partnership with Vuma Cam to building safer communities. This partnership strengthens the collaboration between the private and public sector, using technology to fight crime and build safer communities.

‘The signing of th
is agreement is a demonstration of commitment by Vuma Cam,’ he said.

Vuma Cam have committed to extending camera coverage to underserved areas, particularly within the TISH (townships, informal settlements and hostels) areas.

Vuma Cam CEO Ricky Croock said through the agreement, Vuma Cam is also offering an additional 5 000 partner cameras across South Africa, which would ensure that any known vehicle, involved in a criminal activity in another province, would trigger an immediate alert if seen by the cameras within Gauteng.

‘We believe that the alerts from our extensive network, delivered through our world-class software platform and verified by expertly trained operators, will result in a ‘new normal’ in the fight against crime in South Africa’s economic heartland,’ Crook said.

‘The launch of our partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government builds on the success of Vuma Cam’s partnerships with public entities, as we deploy our advanced technology to make the people of Gauteng safer,’ he said.

Act
ing Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Gauteng, Major General Tommy Mthombeni, said that this programme is a step closer to the realisation of e-policing, and it is important to also look after this infrastructure.

‘We are collaborating with the Department of Community Safety on several initiatives, one of which includes the involvement of our communities. They will also be critical in this campaign as they will ensure that these cameras are safe,’ Mthombeni said.’

In continuing with its mission of combatting crime using technology, the Gauteng Provincial Government will be launching 6 000 additional CCTV cameras in due course.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says despite ‘obstacles, uncertainties and temporary setbacks’, the end of load shedding is in sight.

He was addressing the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate held at the Cape Town City Hall on Tuesday.

‘[The] path to achieving a stable and sustainable energy landscape has been fraught with obstacles, uncertainties, and temporary setbacks and yet, with each passing day, we continue to register progress as we chart the path to energy security.

‘The end of load shedding is indeed in sight; the future is bright,’ he said.

Eskom power stations

The Minister explained the steps government, in cooperation with Eskom, has taken to urgently address the energy challenge in the country including returning units to service on time or earlier and bolstering new generation capacity.

‘Units 1 to 3 of Kusile [Power Station], which had been out of service since October of 2022, were successfully returned ahead of schedule. As planned, Unit 5 wa
s synchronised to the grid in December 2023, contributing 800MW. The four Kusile Units collectively injected 3200MW of capacity into the grid.

‘Medupi [Power Station] Unit 4 will return to service this year in September, a year ahead of schedule. Kusile Unit 6 will be synchronised in late November 2024. These units will add 1600MW to the grid. In addition, Unit 2 of Koeberg [Power Station] will return to service in September 2024, giving us 980MW following a planned outage. These interventions will collectively add 2580MW to the grid in 2024. The end of load shedding is indeed within sight,’ he said.

Added to this, Eskom’s rigorous maintenance plan for power stations has been implemented, which Ramokgopa said is expected to ensure that ‘going into the winter of 2024, the fleet’s reliability will have been significantly strengthened’.

‘This also means that heading into the winter peak demand period, we can claw back up to 2 000MW by tapering planned maintenance and strengthening available capacity.

‘From M
arch of 2024, we will begin reducing planned maintenance from the current 6 000MW to 5 000MW in April 2024 and to around 3 500MW in May 2024, a threshold that will be sustained during the winter demand period,’ he said.

New generation capacity

Ramokgopa revealed that to further bolster future energy security, Eskom is in the process of appointing a team which is expected to ‘undertake a procurement process for partners to develop the Richards Bay Closed Cycle Gas Turbine’.

This is a plan to yield a further 3 000MW for the grid.

Furthermore, the procurement of nuclear energy is also on the table.

‘Gas will increasingly feature prominently in our short- to medium-term base load requirements. Eskom is working on converting Gourikwa and Ankerlig [power stations] to gas from diesel on the Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) technology. This initiative is anticipated to yield an additional 2 000MW, with a further 1 000MW expected from the conversion to Closed Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT).

‘[Government] will commence t
he procurement process of an additional 2 500MW of new nuclear capacity this year on an affordable scale and pace basis, as well as 1 500MW of pump storage facility at Tubatse in Limpopo,’ Ramokgopa said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has completed 90% of the second phase in its three-phased National Lotteries Commission (NLC) investigation.

The unit said in a statement on Wednesday the investigation in its totality is worth approximately R1.4 billion which the state and the NLC have allegedly lost due to corruption at the organisation.

The value of each phase is:

Phase 1 – R279 710 409.

Phase 2 -R246 659 310.

Phase 3 – R905 901.910.04

The SIU appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on Wednesday to give an update on the investigation. In the presentation, SIU revealed new investigation findings.

One of the findings is related to award-winning actress, Moiteri Pheto, who unduly benefitted once again from the NLC grant funding.

The NLC approved grant funding of R5 million to Zibisibix Non-Profit Company for a chicken farm in December 2018. After receiving the R5 million, money moved from the account and the following payments were made:

Black Planet Trading (Dir
ector: Thula Sindi) of an amount of R140 000.00

Tsoseletso (Director: Moitheri Pheto) – R253 000.00

Pheto Safe and Cleaning (Director: Dimakatso Pheto) – R124 000.00

Sunguti projects (Director: Moitheri Pheto) – R2 800 000.00

Moitheri Pheto’s personal bank account – R182 000.00

Dimakatso Pheto (Moitheri’s sister) – R315 500.00

Vehicle dealership- R252 400

Agricultural Supplies- R209 500

The farm was purchased for R850 000, and the SIU found that the former chairperson of the NLC board Professor Alfred Nevhutanda signed the offer to purchase the farm in the Vaal area.

‘Furthermore, the evidence that SIU gathered revealed that the farm was purchased for the benefit of Dimakatso Pheto. The case has been referred for civil litigation for recovery and criminal referrals are being prepared,’ it said.

The SIU also presented to Parliament how the South African Youth Movement (SAYM) applied for grant funding on behalf of the Presley Chweneyagae Foundation, which belong to award winning actor, Presley
Chweneyagae.

The main purpose of the application was for the Take Back the Future Musical, Documentary and Poetry Arts programme. The NLC approved a grant funding of an amount of R15 million.

From the R15 million, R2 999 967.00 was transferred to Iron Bridge Travelling Agency and Events in August 2016. Iron Bridge Travelling Agency and Events is owned by the former NLC Chief Operating Officer, Phillemon Letwaba’s wife, Rebotile Malomane.

In May 2017, a further R950 190.00 was transferred to VNMM Consulting Engineers CC. VNMM Consulting Engineers is owned by Prof Nevhutanda’s son-in-law, Meshack Makhubela. On 25 May 2017, an amount of R500 000 with a reference plot purchase was transferred to conveyancing attorneys.

From the balance of R 450 190, Prof Nevhutanda received R100 000 for a bus purchase and a further R60 000 for a funeral and debit orders for a car finance account.

The SIU investigation revealed how a non-profit organisation (NPO) was hijacked and funds that were meant to uplift poor women in
Marikana and the surrounding areas in the North West province on a chicken farming project were misused.

The application was adjudicated and the grant funding for the value of R13 million was awarded to an NPO and was to be paid in two tranches of R7 million and R6 million. In November 2020, the hijacked NPO made an application for additional funding and received a further R3.5 million.

The SIU’s investigation revealed that a shelf company named Silverlite Trading bought the land in Marikana for this project for R400 000. Advocate William Huma, a former NLC board member is the current sole director of Silverlight.

The SIU went on a site visit and found that the farm was well-built and completed. The chicken farm contains a workers’ house, guard house, egg packaging and storehouse and chicken egg production house and there is a borehole.

However, since the chicken farm is not in operation. It is being vandalised, and some of the electric cables and solar panels were stolen from the farm.

The SIU has so fa
r made eight criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Unit and 11 disciplinary referrals to NLC officials.

The SIU was, in terms of Proclamation R32 of 2020, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of NLC and the conduct of NLC officials and to recover any financial losses suffered by the State.

In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996 (SIU Act), the SIU will refer any evidence pointing to criminal conduct it uncovers during its investigations to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action.

The SIU is empowered by the SIU Act to institute civil action in the High Court or a Special Tribunal in its name to correct any wrongdoing uncovered during its investigation caused by acts of corruption, fraud, or maladministration.

Source: South African Government News Agency