Day: July 16, 2024

The KwaZulu-Natal government is fast-tracking relief efforts in the Kenville informal settlement area, following the fire that destroyed homes, displacing over 400 families.

Over 200 informal units at the Kenville Informal Settlement in Sea Cow Lake, Durban, were razed by fire over the weekend, leaving 431 families displaced, and a pregnant woman dead.

Following a visit to Kenville, KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC, Siboniso Duma, together with eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Cyril Xaba, have agreed to implement immediate relief, while activating a long-term plan to assist the 431 destitute families.

After consultation with Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, the provincial Human Settlements Department and eThekwini Municipality announced that building material would be delivered by Wednesday and Thursday, to rebuild 237 informal dwellings destroyed by fire.

Duma said building material will also be arranged for over 200 families who were affected in the past, but their profiling to
ok long to complete.

He said eThekwini Municipality, together with the NGO Gift of the Givers, have arranged blankets, mattresses, and food for the families, while the Office of the Mayor is assisting the families of the deceased with funeral arrangements.

READ | KZN doubles efforts to build temporary homes for veld fire victims

‘The Department of Education is ensuring that learning for some of the 89 children is not interrupted, [while] the Department of Health is ensuring access to quality healthcare through a mobile clinic.

‘The Department of Social Development is providing relief vouchers and counselling to the families, and Home Affairs is assisting with the issuing of temporary IDs and other enabling documents,’ Duma said.

The MEC emphasised that the long-term plan is to ensure that all families are relocated to a suitable land where government and the city will build decent houses.

‘Some of the informal settlements that have been razed down by fire are inaccessible and have been built in unsuitab
le land without proper planning. We are searching for vacant land in order to build houses for these families.

‘Homes in poor terrains can be easily washed away during heavy rains [and] this applies to those who reside near rivers and waterways. With extreme weather patterns caused by climate change, our main goal is to save innocent lives,’ Duma said.

Xaba has also assured that the municipality, working with all spheres of government, will provide much-needed relief to the families affected by fire to bring their live to normalcy.

The Mayor said fire victims have already been relocated to a temporary shelter and have been provided with food hampers.

‘Social workers and healthcare workers are on site to provide psychosocial and healthcare services to the victims. The Department of Human Settlements has also profiled all affected households with an intention of providing them with building material,’ Xaba said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

With over 80 000 work opportunities created, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment will continue to focus on the creation of work opportunities through the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in carrying out its mandate.

‘Through a range of EPWP projects implemented by the department, the DFFE exceeded its 2023/24 EPWP target of creating 42 302 work opportunities, as the department created a total of 80 918 work opportunities,’ said Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts.

Speaking at the Budget Vote of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the first in the seventh administration for the department, the Deputy Minister said these work opportunities benefited 60% women, 58% youth and 1% of persons with disabilities.

‘Youth employment included the employment of graduates, enabling them to gain critical experience in line with section 24 of the Constitution.

“It is encouraging that some of these graduates were absorbed into the municipalities and other
host organisations.’

The department met its target for full time equivalents (FTEs), meaning that it was able to improve the duration of employment as EPWP participants are paid in accordance with the number of days worked.

Swarts said the implementation of the Municipal Greening and Cleaning Programme through a partnership model with the municipalities created the most work opportunities.

‘The partnership had the department paying for the EPWP stipends and providing the primary project management responsibilities. The municipalities provided personal protective equipment (PPE), tools of trade and medical screening.

‘The Municipal Greening and Cleaning Programme contributed to the waste management service delivery through daily cleaning-up and clearing of illegal hotspots,’ she said.

In this financial year, the department has prioritised the creation of 31 075 EPWP work opportunities and 22 538 full time equivalents through the implementation of the Working for Water, Working on Fire and Working for Wetl
ands and the Municipal Greening and Cleaning programmes.

‘SANParks – one of our entities – also participates in the DFFE funded EPWP which is aimed at creating jobs targeting women, youth and people with disabilities.

‘Under this programme, SANParks exceeded all targets in the previous financial year, having employed 5 150 full-time equivalents, employing 7 098 youth, 6 483 women and 198 people with disabilities.

‘Over the medium term, under this programme, SANParks aims to create over 13 860 jobs targeting women, youth and people with disabilities, mostly from neighbouring communities to national parks.’

The department is implementing the National Greening Programme, which aims to coordinate national, provincial and local government initiatives and those of civil society to plant, care and maintain trees and other vegetation in urban and rural settlement areas.

‘An estimated 1 177 390 trees were planted through DFFE initiatives and other stakeholders in the 2023/24 financial year. This resulted in the c
reation of 4062 work opportunities as it is implemented through the EPWP,’ said Swarts.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, will commemorate Mandela Day by helping to clean up taxi ranks in the City of Johannesburg.

Through the Smart Mobility Campaign, the MEC and senior officials from the department will clean up Bree and Baragwanath Taxi Ranks as advocacy for a sustained clean environment.

The Smart Mobility Campaign primarily aims to ensure that all public roads in the province are kept to acceptable standards, are safe and allow for smart and easy movement of people and goods. Activities include, but are not limited to, grass cutting; patching of potholes; undertaking road markings; installing signage and fixing traffic lights.

Mandela International Day is celebrated on 18 July every year in honour of the first democratically elected President of South Africa, the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

The team will start the cleanup campaign at 9am at the Bree Taxi Rank and Baragwanath Taxi Rank on Thursday.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the State Security Agency is sharpening measures against cyber security threats in the country.

The Minister was tabling the Budget Vote of the agency in Parliament on Monday.

She explained that the nature of threats was evolving with criminals using ‘sophisticated technologies and strategies that require agility and proactive response’.

‘This requires specialised skills and coordination with various parties in and out of government. Honourable members are surely aware and concerned about the exponential increase on attacks to organs of state ICT infrastructure, which pose a threat not only to the individual targets but the economic value chain in the services these entities provide.

‘In our efforts to strengthen cyber security, we are hard at work building and strengthening our capabilities and capacity to proactively combat emerging cyber threats and potential cyber attacks on our communications environment.

‘In this regard, we will be accelerating t
he implementation of the National Cyber Security Framework which incorporates the development of the cyber security legislative framework and the establishment of an integrated cyber capability and capacity,’ she said.

The Minister said with the passing of the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill and the necessary organisational reconfiguration, ‘we will also undertake work to recalibrate and capacitate the National Communications Centre to be more responsive to cyber security threats’.

‘Before the end of this financial year, we will commence with the legislative process to take the Cyber Security Bill for consideration by Parliament,’ she said.

Ntshavheni said government is embarking on partnerships – both internationally and domestically – to sharpen the skills within the intelligence environment.

‘The Intelligence Academy is already working on revising its curricula to focus on more relevant skills of the present day intelligence environment. Some of this will be achieved through partnerships with
reputable academic institutions as we work to ensure that the intelligence academy is SAQA accredited to ensure the portability of skills.

‘In addition, the Intelligence Academy is exploring possibilities of establishing itself as a data institute that will not only serve the intelligence world, but broader society as data is not only the new gold, but an essential part of driving development and decision making.

‘In this regard, investments in collaborations for technology and data sharing with both global and local institutions transcends a strategic imperative. It is a transformative opportunity which can empower the organisation to leverage global expertise, harness the power of technology and data to address local challenges,’ she said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is set to recruit additional members to bolster its ranks over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period in an effort to combat crime in the country.

Presenting the department’s Budget Vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday, newly appointed Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, said the department is committed to expanding its workforce, enhancing police visibility, improving community responsiveness, detection rate, crime intelligence capability, and to building public confidence in the police service.

‘This strategic expansion is crucial for addressing the growing demands of the communities and ensuring that we can effectively combat crime across the country. During the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 budget periods, additional funding allowed us to enlist 10 000 employees, respectively.

‘For the 2024/2025 financial year, this additional funding will enable us to appoint another 10 000 police trainees, covering personnel losses through natural attrition and facilitati
ng workforce growth,’ Mchunu said.

The Minister emphasised the importance of enhancing safety protocols and measures to safeguard police officials in the line of duty for ensuring their well-being and operational effectiveness.

By implementing comprehensive training programs, providing advanced protective equipment, and establishing clear operational guidelines, Mchunu said the police service can significantly reduce risks faced by officers during their duties.

He added that increased focus on mental health support and regular safety assessments will contribute to a safer working environment.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), said Mchunu, is headed towards ensuring it is adequately staffed to conduct its mandate.

‘The department continues to analyse its organisational structure, which resulted in the extensive review of the current functions; re-prioritising and re-grouping of the functions in respective units to ensure the optimal utilisation of the limited resources. IPID has a n
umber of recruitment processes underway in respect of various positions,’ he said.

The SAPS Budget for the 2024/ 25 financial year is R113.597 billion; while the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service has been allocated a budget of R155.964 million and IPID allocated R370.557 million.

Mchunu said the budgets of the departments in the portfolio need to reflect a proper alignment between policing needs and priorities, personnel deployment, upskilling of critical personnel and operations.

‘Strengthening specialised crime detection capabilities is essential for effectively addressing cybercrime, organised crime, commercial crime, and corruption. Enhanced training, advanced investigative tools, and dedicated task forces will empower the SAPS to tackle these complex and high-impact criminal activities more efficiently.

‘By capacitating specialised units, the SAPS can ensure targeted, expert responses to specific crime types, leading to higher detection rates and successful prosecutions. This approach will not
only disrupt criminal networks but also restore public confidence in law enforcement,’ the Minister said.

Funds to fight crimes impacting economic activity

To protect the country’s economy from criminal activities, Mchunu said the economic infrastructure task teams, supported by organised crime investigation capabilities, will focus on combating crimes such as illegal mining, infrastructure-related crimes and extortion in all business sectors, particularly the construction sector.

Specialised capabilities, including the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, forensic services, and crime intelligence, will collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders to address these issues effectively.

‘Efforts to tackle organised crime, money laundering, and terror financing will continue in line with recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force. There is an urgent need for a more strategic and consolidated response to organised crime which imposes a real existential threat to our economy and d
emocracy.

‘These initiatives will be implemented through the Detective Services Programme and the Crime Intelligence Programme, with respective budgets of R71.3 billion and R15.1 billion over the medium term,’ Mchunu said.

The Minister underscored the importance of increasing efforts to identify and remove gangs and criminal groups involved in drug-related crimes and for restoring safety and order in the affected communities.

He maintained that targeting the criminal networks will disrupt the supply chains and operations that fuel violence and instability.

‘Enhanced intelligence gathering, dedicated task forces, and collaborative operations with other law enforcement agencies will strengthen the SAPS’s ability to combat organized crime effectively. By prioritising these efforts, the SAPS can significantly reduce drug-related incidents and protect vulnerable populations,’ Mchunu said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The City of Ekurhuleni has planned various activities to honour former President Nelson Mandela and harness the power of each participant to change the world.

This as the country celebrates Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July.

‘City officials, comprising health practitioners, have already visited patients at Dawn Park Clinic on Friday, 12 July 2024, to lend a hand and show selflessness by giving food to the patients and harvest the food garden at the facility. The facility maintains a food garden to provide vegetables to chronic patients,’ said the city in a statement.

Activities scheduled for Mandela Day include visits to the Tshegofatsa Rona Welfare and Community Organisation in Kempton Park; Tshepong Stimulation Centre in Katlehong; Thembisa High School and KwaThema Old-Age Home.

The activities will mainly include donations, cleaning, repairs and the upkeep of facilities.

This year’s Mandela Day will be celebrated under the theme: ‘It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity’.

Sou
rce: South African Government News Agency