Month: April 2024

Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa says the achievement of 30 years of freedom in South Africa belongs to each and every South African.

The Minister was speaking during the National Dialogue on 30 Years of Democracy held at Freedom Park on Tuesday evening.

The celebration commemorates the eclipsing of the separatist agenda driven by the apartheid government and the ushering in of democracy and unity in the country.

Kodwa said democracy does not belong to any government or political party, but the entire population.

‘Thirty years must be a celebration not of government, not of a governing party but of all South Africans because it is… South Africans who brought about this freedom. A South African who is in the villages, who is in town, who is in urban areas must feel part of the 30 years and must be given a voice,’ he said.

The Minister said the dialogue is the beginning of a series of debates that will be held in the country to stimulate conversation around not only democracy but what defines
a nation.

‘One notion that we must always remind ourselves… is the notion of a nation. It’s only in our Constitution of 1996, which calls upon us to build a nation of all South Africans and the idea of a nation had never existed before.

‘There are significant moments that define a nation, from a Sports, Arts and Culture perspective… we have seen what our national teams have done recently. We must celebrate significant moments that define us as a nation; one of which is the national flag.

‘We are united around the flag. We are united around the national anthem. These are the important milestones that define this notion of a nation,’ he said.

Turning to the upcoming National and Provincial Elections, the Minister emphasised the importance of the right to vote and the responsibility it bears.

‘A right to vote is not just enough. It’s important that you must understand the manifesto of a party because… any party and leader that wins any election must give expression to the Constitution.

‘Failure to give exp
ression to the Constitution will result in issues… [of] people protesting, people just electing leaders on the basis of emotions, people electing leaders on the basis of populism and rhetoric. But it’s important that people must elect leaders who give expression to the Constitution…which states ‘building a non-racial South Africa, which is united and all peoples belong to it’.

‘People deciding not to vote must never be an option because an option to vote is a right that was denied for many years. I call upon all South Africans to exercise their right to vote and elect people that will give expression to the will and aspirations of the community,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, has advised the uMhlathuze Local Municipality Executive Council to implement stringent measures to improve security and control firearm access within the municipality’s premises.

The MEC’s call follows an incident where two bodyguards responsible for the Mayor and City Manager of uMhlathuze Municipality in Richards Bay died during a shooting at the municipal office two weeks ago.

According to reports, the shooting took place at the municipal office, where the two bodyguards were scheduled to attend a meeting in the office of Deputy City Manager for Community Services, Mathews Oliphant.

Sithole-Moloi convened a meeting with uMhlathuze Municipality’s Executive Council on Tuesday to discuss the recent developments.

During the meeting, uMhlathuze Municipality Mayor, Xolani Ngwezi, and his team provided the MEC with updates on security measures and other necessary steps that have been taken to ensure officials’ sa
fety, and the public within the municipality’s premises.

Sithole-Moloi described the incident as unprecedented and condemned it in the strongest possible terms.

Sithole-Moloi also raised concerns about the state of security within the council and advised the council to implement stringent security measures.

“As the KZN CoGTA, we would like to assure the residents of uMhlathuze Municipality that we are investigating the matter, and stringent measures will be implemented to ensure the safety of councillors, staff, and the community,” Sithole-Moloi said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

By the end of this week, Gauteng road users will no longer be charged for the use of the e-toll network.

This comes after Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga published in the Government Gazette a notice concerning the withdrawal of the toll declaration of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), popularly known as e- tolls.

‘This declaration will be effective on 11 April 2024 at 23h59, which means that from 12 April 2024, road users will no longer be charged for the use of the e-toll network.

‘It is important to note that, while these roads are no longer going to be tolled, the benefits of improved roads remain and that the gantries that have been installed for use on this scheme will continue to be used for other functions, such as fighting crime,’ Chikunga said on Wednesday in Centurion.

The Minister explained that the obligation to pay e-toll remains until midnight on 11 April 2024.

‘Road users will not be required to do anything when e-tolling is cancelled. Importantly, ‘current valid accou
nts’ can still be used for payments at toll plazas and other value-added services (i.e. parking). This is critical for the ongoing, long-term benefit of interoperability.

‘The tag beeps will stop after midnight on 11 April 2024. The gantry lights and cameras will remain on for road safety purposes. The e-toll website will be updated with respect to the cancellation, including Mobility/Tag account functionality for services, i.e. interoperability and parking, etc.

‘The e-toll stores will remain open as the tag can still be used for interoperability, account queries and other potential transport related services that will be determined in due course. The e-toll branding will be removed in phases,’ the Minister said.

E-toll invoices will be rolled up until the last day and issued up until this period.

Due to potential delays in the postal system, invoices will still be received some time after 12 April 2024. However, no transactions post-midnight on 11 April 2024 will appear on the invoice or statement.

Alt
hough, the system of e-tolling was implemented after some consultation had taken place, it aggravated a lot of the public and concerned Cabinet.

‘It is a concern that led to the formation of a three-member committee – made up of the Minister of Transport, Minister of Finance and Gauteng Premier – charged by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2019 to find a solution to the impasse.

‘Between myself, as Minister of Transport, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, we finally reached agreement towards the end of March on how to conclusively deal with the debt resulting from e-tolls.

‘…As a result, we were able to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to formalise alternative funding solutions for the GFIP debt repayment and deal with the backlog of maintenance and rehabilitation costs.

‘We agreed that the MoA would also regulate the financial and funding contribution towards the SANRAL liability in compliance with the policy objectives and institutional framework for road infrast
ructure management in South Africa,’ the Minister said.

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has resolved its long outstanding application for increased borrowing limits from Treasury.

This will allow the Agency to approach the market to unlock funding from the private sector to fund its existing pipeline of capital expenditure projects.

‘We hope that the resolution of the GFIP funding and the resultant withdrawal of e-tolls will give Gauteng motorists and South Africans in general certainty after a long period of uncertainty.

‘We understand that the resolution of this issue might have taken longer than some people wanted, but it involved complex negotiations, which were handled in a mature and professional manner by all concerned,’ Chikunga said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Botswana counterpart, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, will on Thursday visit the site of a bus accident in Limpopo that claimed the lives of 45 people.

A bus travelling from Molepolole in Botswana to Moria in Limpopo, to celebrate Easter, plunged off the bridge along the Mmamatlakala Pass on 28 March 2024.

The tragic crash claimed 45 Botswana Easter pilgrims, with an eight-year-old being the sole survivor.

According to the Presidency, the Heads of State and Government will commence the visit in Limpopo with a closed briefing by officials in Mokopane before visiting the accident scene along the R518.

‘President Ramaphosa conveyed condolences on behalf of the government of South Africa to Botswana following the tragic accident of a bus transporting Easter pilgrims to Moria,’ the statement read.

The closed session briefing by expert officials will take place in Mokopane at 10:30am, followed by a bus accident site visit by the two Presidents at Mmamatlakale Bridge in the after
noon.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has invited public comments and written submissions on draft amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations.

‘The draft amendments aim to strengthen South Africa’s system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing by enhancing the reporting of the conveyance of cash or bearer negotiable instruments into or out of the Republic,’ National Treasury said on Tuesday.

The invitation for comments was published on 8 April 2024 via Gazette Notice 50450 no 4712.

The draft amendments are in terms of section 77(5)(a) of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act No. 38 of 2001 – ‘the FIC Act’).

‘The draft amendments are proposed to be made in terms of section 77(1) of the FIC Act, read with section 30 of the FIC Act, to the Money Laundering and Terror Financing Control Regulations.

‘Section 30 of the FIC Act provides for a requirement to report the conveyance of cash or bearer negotiable instruments into or out of the Republic to the FI
C,’ National Treasury said.

The objective of section 30 of the FIC Act is to ensure that information relating to the cross-border movement of cash and bearer negotiable instruments is made available to the FIC.

The FIC currently receives reports on cross-border electronic funds transfers (section 31 of the FIC Act).

In addition, the FIC receives reports on large cash transactions (section 28 of the FIC Act), suspicious or unusual transactions (section 29 of the FIC Act) and property that is linked to persons or entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions (section 28A of the FIC Act).

‘The proposed draft amendments are aimed at strengthening the country’s financial system and improve its resilience against abuse by money launderers and terrorist financiers. It is critical to the effectiveness of the FIC’s operational capabilities that the information it receives concerning cross border financial flows be expanded to include cross-border movement of cash and bearer negotiable instruments.

‘Thi
s is envisaged to strengthen the FIC’s ability to detect possible suspicious or unusual activity and to disseminate the relevant information to investigating and prosecuting authorities. Section 30 of the FIC Act empowers the Minister to prescribe a threshold amount that will trigger reporting under this section.

‘The Minister sets this amount through regulations that will support the implementation of reporting under section 30 of the FIC Act. The Minister proposes that the threshold for reporting under section 30 of the FIC Act be set at R24 999.99,’ National Treasury said.

This means that persons who convey R25 000 or more into or out of the Republic will be required to report this under section 30 of the FIC Act.

Section 30 of the FIC Act also empowers the Minister to prescribe the information that must be included in a report on the conveyance of cash or bearer negotiable instruments.

‘This information must be sufficient to provide the FIC with the necessary transparency and traceability information
concerning the cross-border movements of cash and bearer negotiable instruments.

‘A report under section 30 of the FIC Act must be made to a person who is authorised by the Minister to receive such a report. The Minister, after consulting with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), has determined that reports under section 30 can be integrated in reporting under the Customs and Excise Act of 1964,’ National Treasury said.

To this end, the Minister intends to authorise Customs Officers to receive reports on the conveyance of cash or bearer negotiable instruments, either physically at ports of entry and exit, or electronically through the traveller declarations system that SARS has developed for this purpose.

The proposed Regulations:

(a) prescribe a threshold amount that will trigger reporting under section 30 of the Act;

(b) prescribe the information that must be included in a report on the conveyance of cash or bearer

negotiable instruments; and

(c) specify the person who is authorised by the Minis
ter to receive a report under section 30 of the Act.

A copy of the Regulations and the Explanatory Memorandum are available on the National Treasury website: www.treasury.gov.za.

Written comments and submissions may be submitted to: [email protected] no later than 19 April 2024.

Source: South African Government News Agency

SmallSmall, a Property technology company, has partnered The Elevation Church, to provide housing for displaced families affected by the demolition exercise at Jakande Lekki, in Lagos.

Mr Tunde Balogun, the Chief Executive Officer, Small Small Technology, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Balogun described the strategic collaboration as a beacon of hope in addressing the pressing housing needs of displaced families.

He said that it marked a significant stride towards ensuring secured, comfortable, and accessible housing for affected families.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the demolition was done by the Lagos State Government to recover the coastal road path for the Lagos-Calabar Highway project, under the Federal Government, to promote the urban renewal of the affected areas.

He said The Elevation Church spearheaded the resettlement plan after receiving over 100 requests for support from affected families, left homeless by the demolition.

Balogun said the partnership with Sm
allSmall ensured that the properties needed to resettle the affected families were swiftly provided and the rent for the families was covered.

He emphasised that the collaboration signified a transformative impact on Nigeria’s housing landscape.

‘Our mission to revolutionise affordable housing in Nigeria is fueled by an unwavering dedication to serve those in need,’ Balogun said.

Also, Naomi Olaghere, Co-founder, SmallSmall, said the partnership underscored the company’s unwavering commitment to foster positive change within the communities it served.

‘We are thrilled to embark on this journey alongside The Elevation Church, as we translate our shared vision into tangible solutions,’ Olaghere said.

Also, the Global Lead Pastor, The Elevation Church, Godman Akinlabi, said the church was committed to providing relief and necessary support to meet the diverse needs of its members and the community at large.

Akinlabi said the gospel being preached must transform both the souls of people and improve their qu
ality of life.

‘Our response to the housing emergency occasioned by Jakande Estate demolition is a testament to this commitment.

‘Through this partnership with SmallSmall, we have been able to provide critical housing assistance to many families displaced by the demolition exercise.

‘We are grateful for their willingness to collaborate with us, to support those in need,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria