Day: August 20, 2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday preside over the signing of the second Presidential Health Compact at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

The Presidential Health Compact is an initiative established by President Ramaphosa in 2019.

It is a framework of cooperation between critical sectors in South Africa that significantly influences good health outcomes.

According to the Presidency, it also monitors and evaluates components where roles and responsibilities are assigned to various stakeholders to support the strengthening of health systems and preparation for implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI).

READ | President Ramaphosa to officiate signing of the Presidential Health Compact

The second compact follows the 2023 Presidential Health Summit, which built on the inaugural summit of 2018 and brought together several stakeholders.

These include government, business, labour, civil society, health professionals, unions, service users, statutory councils, academia, and researchers to develop
sustainable and inclusive solutions to challenges in the national health system.

The stakeholders involved in this framework are integral to supporting the Department of Health in improving the health system.

It initially consisted of nine pillars, with the 10th pillar added during last year’s summit.

These include the development of human resources, improving access to medicine, vaccines and health products, upgrading infrastructure, private sector engagement, quality healthcare, public sector financial management improvements, governance and leadership, community engagements, information systems and pandemic preparedness.

The signatories to the health compact are:

The President of the Republic of South Africa

The Minister of Health

The Minister of Science and Innovation

Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA)

South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)

South African Medical Association Trade Union

Democratic Nurses of South Africa

Congress of South African Trade Unions

Campai
gning for Cancer- Patient User Groups

South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC)

National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners of South Africa (NUPAATHPSA)

Traditional Knowledge Systems and Allied Health

The signing of the second Presidential Health Compact will take place at the Union Buildings Courtyard, West Wing, Pretoria at 12:30 pm.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa, is visiting Durban to assess the progress of the eThekwini Working Group’s implementation, a key initiative aimed at addressing critical challenges in the region.

Today’s meeting follows the establishment of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group, which is tasked with implementing the eThekwini turnaround strategy.

The working group is also looking into coordinating efforts to position eThekwini as a leading investment and tourism hub and leveraging insights and outcomes from previous interventions.

They are also monitoring progress and providing recommendations for continuous improvement.

‘Various working groups have been actively addressing service delivery challenges and working to restore business confidence through coordinated efforts involving all three spheres of government, civil society, and the private sector,’ the statement read.

Hlabisa is accompanied by the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for CoGTA Thulasizwe Buthelez
i and eThekwini metro Mayor Cyril Xaba.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Employment and Labour is taking the 2024 annual National Employment Equity workshops/roadshows to Limpopo today.

The workshops will be held at Moche Grace Land in Thohoyandou today and at the Bolivia Lodge in Polokwane on Wednesday.

The workshops, which are run in collaboration with the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), are designed to improve racial, gender and disability equality in the workplace under the theme: ‘Bridging the Equity Gap Through Diversity and Inclusion’.

‘The EE workshops are targeting employers or heads of organisations, academics, assigned senior managers, consultative forum members, human resource practitioners, trade unions, employees and interested stakeholders,’ the department said in a statement.

The workshops will focus on the following topics:

The EE status of the labour market as per 24th CEE Annual Report;

An update on the EE amendments, in particular the proposed draft regulations on proposed sector EE targets; An update o
n the 2024 EE reporting season;

Key insights from the CCMA on topical cases related to unfair discrimination in terms of harassment, disability and discrimination based on arbitrary grounds.

The Employment Equity Act (EEA) of 1998 aims to, among others, achieve equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through elimination of unfair discrimination and implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups.

Moreover, the act aims to ensure equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Prof Blade Nzimande, has expressed his shock and great sadness at the news of the passing away of Professor Muxe Nkondo.

Nkondo, who passed away at the age of 83 on Sunday, has been described as a friend, colleague, and fellow intellectual in the struggle against apartheid and the development of the democratic order in the post-1994 period.

‘Prof Nkondo has a special place in the history of both the struggles leading up to the fall of apartheid and the emergence of a democratic order in the early 1990s.

‘I remember him as a radical scholar, organic intellectual, activist, and a leading figure amongst the first generation of Vice-Chancellors who led our higher education system through its difficult first decades of transformation,’ the Minister’s statement read.

According to Nzimande, Nkondo placed great importance on the recognition of African liberation as a process of not only overcoming the legacies of political disempowerment but one of cultural, social, e
conomic and intellectual emancipation.

‘In other words, for him, attainment of formal, political rights must be matched by transformations in all other aspects of human life.’

The Professor was said to be deeply influenced by radical post-independence and liberation thinkers such as Walter Rodney, Franz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, CLR James and Steve Biko.

‘He framed the importance of cultural and intellectual freedom at the centre of his work – an orientation that perhaps explains his lifelong commitment to higher education and intellectual work which spanned a wide range of fronts, from higher education, arts and culture, public administration, rural development civil society and economic development.’

The late academic occupied senior roles as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of the North and Vice-Chancellor of Venda University.

He was also a leading figure in the association of historically Black universities and campaigned relentlessly for recognition of their distinctive role and place within th
e higher education landscape, and redress and equity.

At the University of Venda, according to the department, Nkondo pioneered a vision emphasising the rural development mission of the university, rooted in its social context.

He also promoted a science, technology and innovation agenda of the university that tackled pressing development issues such as water security, food production, sanitation, small business development and cultural production, working closely with local communities.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

The Professor also served as Chairperson of the technical team and reference group that drafted the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) National Policy for the Department of Science and Technology (DSI).

‘It is hard to pigeon-hole the intellectual contribution of Prof Nkondo as he was truly a polymath, whose contributions spanned a stunning range of areas including science and technology, higher education, arts and culture, public administration, human settlements, tourism, and rural developme
nt.’

According to the Minister, he was not only an African intellectual focusing on the local and national questions of development in South Africa but was also, par excellence, a pan-African intellectual who worked actively across the continent to advance a new African agenda for the African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

He was among 500 African scholars invited by the AU in 2004 to Dakar, Senegal, to speak on the role of intellectuals in Africa’s development.

‘The Department of Science and Innovation will surely miss his seminal contributions to our understanding of the role of science and technology in the emancipation of South Africa’s most marginalised communities.’

Nzimande stated that his contributions to IKS continue to resonate in the DSI’s White Paper on Science and Innovation and Decadal Plan.

READ | President Ramaphosa mourns passing of Prof Muxe Nkondo

‘I wish to join our President, Cyril Ramaphosa, in expressing my heartfelt condolences to the wife of Pro
fessor Nkondo, Professor Olga Nyondo and their children and extended family,’ he added.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Constitutional Court is expected to hold a special ceremonial sitting for outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Wednesday morning.

Chief Justice Zondo is expected to leave the bench at the end of August following 27 years of service to the judiciary.

He will hand down his final judgement on the day.

‘Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, Justices of the Constitutional Court, Judicial Officers as well as representatives of the Executive, Parliament and the legal profession will participate in this event,’ the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) said in a statement.

Long serving

Chief Justice Zondo’s foray into practicing law began when he served articles under anti-Apartheid activist Victoria Mxenge before her assassination at the hands of Apartheid South Africa operatives.

Following that, he was a practising attorney in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, before his first approach to the bench just three years after the dawn of democracy.

‘Justice Zondo…was appointed as a Judge of the Labour Court in 1997. In Apr
il 1999 he was appointed as a Judge of the then Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court. He served for close to eleven years as Judge-President of the Labour Appeal Court and Labour Court. His ten-year term of office as Judge-President ended in April 2010,’ the OCJ said.

Following 15 years on the lower benches, Chief Justice Zondo was then appointed as a Constitutional Court Justice in 2012.

‘In June 2017 he was appointed as Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa. In January 2018 he was appointed as the Chairperson of the State Capture Commission, also known as the Zondo Commission.

‘With effect from 1 April 2022 he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Republic. For the past two and a half years he has led the Judiciary of this country with great success. His term of office comes to an end on 31 August 2024,’ the statement said.

READ | President Ramaphosa to attend farewell dinner in honour of Chief Justice Zondo

Source: South African Government News Agency

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Professor Blade Nzimande, will address the prestigious National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards at the Sun City Resort, North West, on Thursday.

The NRF, an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), funds research and the development of high-end human capacity and critical research infrastructure to promote knowledge production across all disciplinary fields.

This year’s event is significant as it marks 25 years of the NRF promoting research, innovation and partnerships that contribute to building an inclusive, knowledge-based society in South Africa.

The annual awards are a highlight of the academic calendar, drawing together the leading lights of local and international academia.

The ceremony recognises the scientists behind groundbreaking research conducted at South Africa’s higher education institutions.

The awards are presented in two categories, these include the special awards that recognise extraordinary contributions to the South Afr
ican knowledge base.

The finalists in this category include three DSI-NRF Centres of Excellence – Human Development, Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis, and Biomedical TB Research.

The second category is the NRF ratings-based awards, which are based on a rigorous peer review system that evaluates the research impact of nominees over the past five years.

‘Each year several researchers have their research output peer-reviewed and are given ratings by the NRF,’ a statement by the department read.

These ratings fall under the categories of A (leading international researchers), B (internationally acclaimed researchers), C (established researchers), P (prestigious awards) or Y (promising young researchers).

‘These ratings recognise these researchers’ standing in their fields as well as the world-leading nature of their work. To obtain an A rating, a researcher must be recognised by their peers as a leading international scholar in their field.’

In addition, an A-rated researcher must be based on the high
quality and high impact of their recent research output.

Meanwhile, the P rating is awarded to researchers who, based on exceptional potential demonstrated in research performance and output during doctoral and/or early post-doctoral careers, are considered likely to become future international leaders in their respective fields.

‘Researchers who have received A and P ratings will be acknowledged at the NRF Awards.’

Source: South African Government News Agency