Day: March 13, 2024

It is all systems go in the construction of more police stations in areas experiencing high crime volumes in the Western Cape.

The Ministry of Police says it is encouraged by the progress made by contractors who are currently building two police stations which are set to bolster policing and increase the footprint of the police in communities grappling with violent crime and gangsterism in Cape Town.

On Tuesday, the management of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Ministry of Police led by Minister General Bheki Cele, conducted monitoring and evaluation visits to the Makhaza and Tafelsig police stations which are currently under construction.

Progress is being made in the clearing of the site earmarked for the construction of the Tafelsig station which will bring police services closer to residents of Michelle’s Plain.

While there have been some delays in the commencement of construction at the Tafelsig police station due to the community’s demands to form part of the construction project, th
is has been resolved and contractors have agreed to source labour from the local community.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has welcomed the quick turn-around time in the building of the Makhaza police station which is now 97% complete. Upon completion, the station will better service the community of Khayelitsha.

‘It has taken six months to complete the Makhaza police station and this is commendable and encourages us to do more to ensure policing services are not a ‘nice to have’ but are accessible to all.’

‘We have been assured by contractors that the outstanding electricity and water connections on the site will be completed with[in] the coming weeks and the station can fully operate and service the community,’ he said.

The Tafelsig and Makhaza stations alongside stations in Browns Farm and in Samora Machel, also in the Cape Flats of the Cape Town metropole, are expected to be completed and service communities by 2026.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Employment and Labour, working with other law enforcement agencies, have issued over 50 contravention notices and compliance orders against non-compliant employers in Rustenburg in the North West.

Nine undocumented foreign nationals were also arrested during a joint blitz inspection by the department and other law enforcement agencies.

The three-day blitz inspection that started in Rustenburg on Monday was led by the Inspection and Enforcement Services unit of the Department of Employment and Labour in the North West in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs, the Liquor Board and the South African Police Services (SAPS).

‘The first blitz inspection has led to 18 contravention notices, three prohibition notices, three improvement notices, and 31 compliance orders being issued to non-complying employers and to the arrest of nine undocumented foreign national workers,’ the department said in a statement.

The inspections are part of an ongoing national programme by the department wi
th the aim to gather all relevant law-enforcing government institutions to conduct inspections around major towns and cities in the country.

Its main purpose is to test the level of compliance in terms of the labour laws such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS), Compensation of Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COIDA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA), Unemployment Insurance Contribution Act (UICA) and the Employment Act.

It also focuses on other consumer-related legislations in the wholesale and retail sector and the employment of undocumented foreign nationals.

According to the provincial chief inspector for the North West Province, Chris Sithole, the blitz inspections are unannounced visits.

‘We (were) in the Bojanala District on an unannounced visit, and… on day one we managed to issue so many notices and orders to non-complying employers … we are not here to intimidate anyone; we are here to ensure that labour laws are upheld as it is our manda
te to ensure that the country’s workforce is protected,’ Sithole said.

The department said the undocumented foreign nationals who are working without the relevant work permits will be handled by the Department of Home Affairs and the SAPS.

‘The employer will also be charged accordingly for contravening the Employment Services Act of the Department of Employment and Labour, which demands an employer to make sure that a person employed in South Africa from a foreign country should have the relevant work permit and a certain skill that is not found in the country,’ the department said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Mosa Chabane, has welcomed the swift action by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in investigating the leaking of candidate lists.

The implicated staff member has since been fired.

READ | Electoral Commission terminates employment of employee

Chabane stressed that the integrity of the electoral process must be protected, and that the swift investigation and decision to terminate the employee’s contract demonstrates the integrity of the institution.

‘We remain of the view that the IEC is a credible institution to run a free and fair process and that anything that endangers this process will be quickly investigated and concomitant action taken,’ Chabane said.

Beyond contravening the Protection of Personal Information Act, the unauthorised circulation of the lists undermined the clearly set out election timetable and processes of the 2024 provincial and national elections.

Meanwhile, the chairperson has called on the IEC to st
rengthen its internal controls and to imprint on its staff members the need to conduct themselves ethically to protect the institution’s integrity.

Despite the leak, Chabane said the IEC’s processes remain credible and that it has a proven track record of delivering on its mandate and promoting South Africa’s democratic order.

The committee will receive an update on the investigation that is still ongoing and the processes in place for the elections.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The University of Pretoria (UP) has fully paid the R400 million that is due to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in unallocated funds.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Special Investigating Unit said the money paid by the university was in unallocated funds from 2016 to 2021.

SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, said the money was paid in four instalments of R100 000 into the SIU’s Trust account, bringing the total recoveries to R 937 926 351 received from institutions of higher learning, since the investigating unit’s NSFAS investigation launched in September 2022.

Kganyago said the unallocated funds are monies for students who qualified for funding but either changed institutions or deregistered.

The funds stay in the possession of the institution for a year.

‘The unallocated funds are due to poor control systems and a lack of reconciliation processes by the NSFAS and were not collected from institutions of higher learning. When approached by the SIU, the institutions cooperated, which led
to a quick recovery process,’ Kganyago explained.

Kganyago said the SIU has so far recovered the funds from institutions of higher learning, including the West Coast College which has repaid R5 057 679; NorthLink College R33 369 404.97; Walter Sisulu University R 19 900 174; Nkangala TVET College R342 672.50 and the University of Johannesburg R311 892 088.94, among others.

Kganyago said the SIU has also signed an acknowledgement of the debt agreement of R38 707 884.10 with Motheo TVET College in the Free State, as well as debt agreement of R10 997 855.50 with parents and students who did not meet the NSFAS funding criteria.

According to the SIU investigation, NSFAS failed to design and implement controls to ensure there is an annual reconciliation between the funds disbursed to the institutions and the allocation of those funds to the students.

The control weaknesses have led to overpayments and underpayments of funds to the different institutions over the period 2017 to date.

Kganyago said the NSFAS has
recently appointed a service provider to assist them in performing the reconciliation via a process called ‘close-out reporting’ which is ongoing.

The SIU has also found that Celbux – the e-wallet/voucher payment system- had many ‘dormant’ accounts lying active on the Celbux system dating back to 2018 amounting to an estimated value of R320 million.

Celbux is a financial technology provider that facilitates the disbursement of money, on behalf of customers to anyone with a cell phone in a digital form.

On NSFAS-funded accommodation, the SIU discovered that details of the accommodation, including physical addresses and details of the landlord or owner of the accommodation were not captured on the NSFAS system.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy President Paul Mashatile emphasised the need to strengthen multi-sectoral partnerships to increase opportunities for youth empowerment and participation in the labour market.

‘Together, we can contribute to national efforts to create employment and get South Africans working,’ he said on Tuesday.

Deputy President Mashatile was speaking at the National Council of Provinces during a question and answer session.

In 2020, he said Cabinet approved the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2030, which is a cross-sectoral policy intended to redress the injustices of the past and deal decisively with new challenges affecting the youth.

To reduce youth unemployment, the Deputy President said the Minister of Finance set aside R7.4 billion for the Presidential Employment Initiative for the 2024/25 financial year.

‘Thus far, the Presidential Employment Initiative has assisted over 1.7 million people through a combination of job creation, job retention and income and skills support interventions,” Mashatile said.

He al
so touched on the South African Employment Services System, which serves over seven million job seekers, and provides nationwide platforms for youth to register for employment, match with employment opportunities, and receive placement counselling.

Through public-private partnerships, government supports various internships, learnerships, and apprenticeship programmes across various government departments to provide experiential learning and facilitate entry into the labour market for young people.

By supporting the growth of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), he stated that government is playing a critical role in addressing South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis.

‘Government is also implementing the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act to promote SMMEs that are key to job creation, and economic growth,’ he added.

Agricultural land

Shifting his focus to agricultural land, he said government is accelerating land redistribution through a variety of instruments, such as land restitutio
n and expropriation of land, to boost agricultural output.

In 2023, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure announced that 221 land parcels measuring 148 796 hectares have been released to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development for transfer to the approved land claimants.

‘Approximately 1 576 hectares of land is earmarked to be released before the end of this financial year,’ he announced.

In addition, he said 125 land parcels, measuring 25 549 hectares of agricultural land were released to support subsistence farming and food security.

‘This is in keeping with what we have been doing over the last 30 years,’ he explained.

Meanwhile, the government is transferring State agricultural land, through Financial Assistance Land (FALA) properties, where there has been compliance with the rent-to-buy agreements.

On top of that, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, he said, is developing criteria for category 3 and commercial farmers as part of the
rollout plan for the release of state land.

‘Category 3 includes medium to large-scale commercial farmers who have already been, or intend to farm commercially at various scales, but are disadvantaged by location, size of land, and other resource constraints limiting their growth,’ the Deputy President explained.

As per the country’s second-in-command, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure holds national State-owned land. It receives requests from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development for releasing land to settle claims for restitution and agricultural purposes as part of the land reform programme.

‘As a government, we will prioritise providing extension and technical support to ensure that we distribute properties that are productive and contribute to South Africa’s food security,’ Mashatile said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

WINDHOEK: The Namibian Police in the Khomas Region are investigating a case of robbery with aggravating circumstances, after suspected robbers stole N.dollars 789 707 from the Monte Christo service station in Windhoek on Tuesday.

According to police spokesperson Chief Inspector Elifas Kuwinga, three suspects entered the service station and pointed a firearm at the cashiers before proceeding to enter the manager’s office and grabbing three cash boxes. The boxes, he said, were prepared for pick up by the G4S security company, for banking purposes.

‘The suspects got into a blue Mazda Demio vehicle and sped off with the cash in the amount of N.dollars 789 707. The fourth suspect is the driver who remained in the car,’ Kuwinga said.

No arrests have been made yet as the suspects are unknown. Investigations into the matter are ongoing and no recoveries are made.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has called for the elimination of red tape to facilitate cross-border trade for African entrepreneurs.

‘Countries on our continent typically perform poorly in various categories related to corporate performance and competitiveness due to an unfriendly environment, particularly in terms of intra-continental trade,’ the Deputy President said on Wednesday.

This is the reason he believes that countries should take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which seeks to eliminate barriers to trade in Africa.

READ | Africa is an oyster for young entrepreneurs

‘The AfCFTA will significantly boost intra-African trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy,’ Mashatile said.

The country’s second-in-command was delivering a keynote address at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC+ Africa) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

GEC+ Africa is a gathering of entrepreneurs and leaders
from more than 50 African nations committed to advancing entrepreneurial activity throughout their own countries in Africa.

Hosted by the Department of Small Business Development, the two-day event includes other international leaders who have become a part of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) movement that advances entrepreneurship as a means of building economies and expanding human welfare.

‘As policymakers, we have to create an enabling environment for our entrepreneurs,’ Mashatile said.

He told delegates that leaders should ensure that the core foundations of the digital economy are in place, including digital infrastructure, digital skills, cybersecurity capabilities, and affordable and accessible data.

Mashatile said nations need to do more to implement the African Union’s Digital Transformation Agenda, adopted at its Summit of Heads of State in 2019.

‘We must ensure that by 2030, every individual, business, and government on the continent will be digitally enabled and ready to support a g
rowing digital economy.’

He emphasised the need to enhance governance systems, such as combating corruption, improving macroeconomic management, and resolving disputes through negotiation rather than violent conflict.

‘We must do more to shift the narrative that Africa is a difficult place to do business.’

SMMEs

Mashatile said it was crucial to address the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) and start-up credit gap.

‘Africa has 18% of the world’s population but attracts only 2% of global capital, and even less global venture capital for start-ups.

‘In South Africa, Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has proposed a SMME and Cooperative Funding Policy, which was recently gazetted for public comment,’ he announced.

The policy requires that the Business Development Service providers in South Africa institutionalise the practice of assisting SMMEs and cooperatives with pre-funding support.

‘Without funding, our best start-ups are leaving for tech hubs abroad,’ Mashatile s
aid.

Skilled labour force

The Deputy President believes it is crucial to retain skilled professionals within the continent’s borders.

‘The loss of skilled professionals, also known as ‘brain-drain’ is one of the major reasons for the unsteady growth in our respective countries.

‘To prevent this, we need to make it easier for skills to move across the continent and increase the number of people who can learn new skills, especially in areas that are important to the digital economy.’

However, he said South Africa was making inroads in reforming visa requirements, which allows high-tech expertise to work in the country and develop the economy.

‘This move is supported by the underpinning principles of the AfCFTA, and propels us towards the integrated Africa that we want.’

In addition, the Deputy President called on the continent to work together to achieve socio-economic transformation that benefits everyone and one way to start is by assisting small businesses.

‘Together, this and the AfCFTA are importan
t steps towards the Africa we want. I am confident that this inaugural GEC+ Africa Congress will provide the appropriate policy advice and partnerships to take us there.’

Trade

The Deputy President has described Africa as a continent overflowing with untapped potential, a hub of innovation and invention waiting to be re-awakened.

‘However, Africa still plays a subordinate role in global value chains, and is confronted by deeply established structural constraints that stem from our previous position as an exporter of unprocessed raw commodities.’

South Africa, like the rest of the continent, according to the Deputy President, needs to be strategic in increasing its competitiveness in higher-productivity trade-able commodities and services, as well as in becoming ready for a digital and environmentally friendly future.

‘We must recognise that there is a link between the environment, economy, and agriculture. All economic activities either affect or are affected by natural and environmental resources.’

He
also called on farmers to adapt to current farming methods that increase production efficiency.

‘African innovators and entrepreneurs have the power to transform our economy, which will eventually allow us to participate in the global economy as players with equal status.’

Source: South African Government News Agency