Day: March 22, 2024

Residents of Ekurhuleni will have an opportunity to engage President Cyril Ramaphosa on the pressing matter of service delivery during the upcoming Presidential Imbizo.

The President will lead government’s interaction with communities and stakeholders in Tsakane Township in Gauteng on 11 April 2024 as part of the District Development Model Presidential Imbizo.

This visit will also allow the President and other leaders in government to assess progress made by government initiatives.

Themed “Leave No One Behind’, the Presidential Imbizo promotes participatory democracy and inclusive development by allowing community members and stakeholders to voice proposals and express any concerns or dissatisfaction they may have about conditions in the district or province.

The Imbizo is directed at enabling successful implementation of the ‘One District, One Plan’ District Development Model in which residents, traditional leaders, business formations, organised labour and faith- and community-based organisations work
with government across all phases of planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Government Ministers, MECs and the Mayors in the Ekurhuleni municipality are expected to conduct several community outreach activities ahead of the Presidential Imbizo.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has requested the Department of Transport to fast-track the raising of a concrete barrier wall along the South Africa and Mozambique border to curb the theft of vehicles and movement of illicit goods.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, conducted an oversight visit to the border between Mozambique and South Africa in Manguzi, in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, under the auspices of Operation Siyahlola, to assess progress on the construction of jersey barrier walls.

The project, which covers about 25km of the vulnerable border line, was initiated by the KwaZulu-Natal government in 2018 as part of a basket of interventions to fight crime in the area.

The project was mainly conceived to prevent an easy egress for stolen vehicles and livestock and is being implemented in three phases.

Speaking during the site inspection on Thursday, Dube-Ncube noted good progress in the construction of the phase that cuts through Gate 6 – one of the hotspot segments of th
e border line.

‘The concrete slab foundation to conclude this phase has been laid and we are confident that the construction will move quicker. We have directed the Department of Transport to fast track the raising of the walls,’ Dube-Ncube said.

The Premier, who was accompanied by Umkhanyakude District Municipality Mayor, Siphile Mdaka, police and senior government officials, said the provincial government is working with its social partners to break the back of criminal syndicates that terrorise the communities along the borderline.

‘As we announced during the State of the Province Address, government is also pursuing diplomatic channels to coordinate strategic efforts to fight cross border crime. We are working closely with the newly established Border Management Authority, the SAPS [South African Police Service] Specialized KZN Stabilising Team, Amakhosi and other crime fighting structures to address issues of criminality in the area.’

Dube-Ncube noted that interventions are already yielding positive
results as several high-profile criminals have been arrested and are facing prosecution.

‘Already several cars have been found stuck and abandoned, some hanging on the jersey barriers because syndicates could not take them across to Mozambique because of the high border walls,’ the Premier said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Members of the South African Police Service’s border policing unit have arrested a 43-year-old truck driver from the Kingdom of Eswatini for allegedly attempting to smuggle dagga into South Africa.

In a statement on Friday, the SAPS said the male suspect was apprehended at the Oshoek Port of Entry in the early hours of Thursday morning.

According to police, at around 00:30am, the suspect was searched by members of the SAPS on the arrivals side of the port of entry.

‘It was during this search that the astute members discovered the dagga concealed under a load of timber. As a result, the driver was detained and charged accordingly,’ the statement said.

A total of 150kgs of dagga with an estimated street value of R630 840 was seized.

The truck, with number plates from the Kingdom of Eswatini, was confiscated together with the seized dagga for further investigation.

The suspect is expected to appear at the Elukwatini Magistrate’s Court today.

Mpumalanga Provincial Commissioner of the Police, Lieutenant Ge
neral Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, has applauded the members for their dedication.

“The continuous arrests and successes witnessed at the borders prove that indeed the members are working with diligence. They are doing an excellent work on daily basis,’ General Manamela said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Today South Africa joins the globe in marking World Water Day which is celebrated annually on 22 March.

South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chairperson, Professor Bongani Ncube has underscored the need to improve access to productive water across South Africa’s disadvantaged communities.

‘I’m talking about water for productivity, water for agriculture, [and] water that will take people out of poverty,’ Professor Ncube said.

The SARChI was established in 2006 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

The main goal of the Research Chairs initiative is to strengthen and improve research and innovation capacity of public universities for producing high quality postgraduate students and research and innovation outputs.

Ncube is based at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Centre for Water and Sanitation Research, under the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

She is a Chairperson under the Department of Science and Innov
ation and the NRF (DSI-NRF) SARChI, established by the Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 2006.

Ncube said the country still has issues in these areas because the licensing process has not worked for many communities for a long time.

‘The compulsory licensing, validation and verification processes, which were supposed to enable the release of excess water to communities, has not worked very well. The process has improved but we still have many communities that do not have access to productive water.

‘At the household level, there are municipalities where access to basic water and sanitation services has become a challenge. That is why you see these water protests in South Africa,’ Ncube said.

This year’s World Water Day is observed under the theme, ‘Leveraging Water for Peace’, which encourages communities and countries to use water as a tool for peace, when cooperating over this precious shared resource.

READ | DWS kick-starts National Water Month

Ncube said South Afri
ca relates to the 2024 global theme at both household and broader community levels because of its historical past, and also in terms of economic advancement, which brings under the spotlight policy shifts required to redress past access patterns.

‘South Africa has a very complicated history when it comes to access to resources, including water. The historical access [which] dates back centuries when water access mechanisms favoured the more privileged white communities, remains a challenged,’ said Ncube.

After 1994, policies, legislation, and strategies were developed to make water equitably accessible to everyone.

Ncube noted that access to productive water in some communities has improved following the enactment of the National Water Act of 1998, which aims to reform the laws related to water, including redress of past racial and gender discrimination; promotion of equitable access to water; and facilitation of social and economic development.

Draft National Water Amendment Bill

Ncube commended the Dra
ft National Water Amendment Bill, which was published in the Government Gazette for public comment on 17 November 2023.

‘One of the intentions of that Bill is to redress the past inequity and to achieve equitable access for all communities. There are efforts that are taking place at the moment. The Bill is being revised to ensure that those water allocation issues that were not addressed by the National Water Act of 1998 are addressed.’

Provision of basic water to households has vastly improved since 1994.

According to Statistics South Africa data, 88.7% of the country’s households had access to water by 2021.

‘Climate change and drought add a further layer of complication when it comes to water access. But it is important for government to realise that, while situations like that occur, it is the poor that are the most affected and it is important that measures are put in place in terms of providing access,’ Ncube said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong on Friday called on communities to guard schools against vandalism.

‘As government we are calling on our communities to take care of their schools,’ Morolong said.

He was speaking during a hand over of books donated by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) to Mosikare Secondary School in Mantsa village in Mahikeng on Friday.

Morolong said it was important to encourage learners to study so that they can realise their full potential. ‘There is a need to tell our learners to read,’ he said.

Government, said the Deputy Minister, will encourage the private sector to get involved in the donation of books to schools.

‘We will also encourage the GCIS to continue to donate more books to schools and encourage learners to take their studies more seriously,’ Morolong said.

Morolong said government has seen the need to foster a culture of learning and promote South African Library Week.

South African Library Week (SALW) 2024 is being held under
the theme: ‘Libraries Foster Social Cohesion’. It underscores the crucial role libraries play in uniting communities as they serve as hubs where people from diverse backgrounds can come together to exchange ideas, and to learn and engage in cultural and intellectual activities.

In his welcoming address, School Principal Tebogo Selomane said he was excited to have books donated to the school. ‘The books will assist and encourage our learners to study,’ he said.

Selomane used to occasion to call on government officials and departments to support the school.

Mosikare Secondary School was established on 19 May 2007. The school is a Section 21 school meaning it is allocated finances by the department and is responsible for ordering stationery, textbooks, paying water and lights accounts and undertaking its own maintenance. It is classified under Quintile 1.

Selomane’s appeal for assistance did not fall on deaf ears as the Mayor of the Ngaka Modiri District offered to donate 50 school shoes to the school.

Duri
ng the 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa made a call for the country to improve literacy levels which starts with improving reading capabilities.

As part of the Presidential reading initiative to encourage all South Africans to be part of the reading drive, the GCIS’ donation of books to identified beneficiaries is a contribution towards the empowerment of communities.

As part of its annual stock taking process, GCIS identified a collection of books which can be donated to community libraries.

Reading is the foundational skill which enables life-long learning. Through reading we acquire new skills that are essential for our development, making literacy the cornerstone for building sustainable livelihoods.

Source: South African Government News Agency