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Five suspects arrested in connection to Phoenix murders

Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says five suspects have been arrested in relation to the murders in Phoenix, in KwaZulu-Natal following incidents of unrest in the area a week ago.

Ntshavheni said this when she briefed the media to provide an update on the security situation after a week of violence and looting as well as outline government’s interventions to rebuild the economy.

“In terms of arrests that are related to the murders, five additional people were arrested for the unrest-related murders in KwaZulu-Natal, and bringing the total arrests for the murders to 20. The 5 additional arrests are in connection to the murders in Phoenix,” she said.

She said there were no new updates on the arrest of instigators and key roleplayers in the unrest.

Also, given that the security situation has stabilised, security updates will now be done once a week to allow law enforcement to focus on their investigations.

Ntshavheni said the SA Police Service has not revised the death toll in Gauteng since her last media briefing, which remains at 79. However, in KwaZulu-Natal, the death toll figures have been revised downwards from 258 to 251, as some deaths that were previously included were not related to the unrest.

Giving a breakdown of murders recorded per district in Gauteng, Ntshavheni said to date, there were 4 murders in Sedebeng, 11 in Johannesburg and 27 in Ekurhuleni, bringing the total number of murders in the province to 42.

In terms of inquest dockets that have been opened, three were from Sedibeng, 12 from Johannesburg, and 22 were from Ekurhuleni, bringing to total number of inquest dockets in the province to 37.

Ntshavheni said to date, there are no deaths reported in Tshwane and in the West Rand.

Giving a breakdown of murders recorded per district in KwaZulu-Natal, Ntshavheni said of the 251 murders that were reported, 1 was from Amajuba, 3 from Harry Gwala, 3 were from Umzinyathi, 3 from Umkhanyakude, 6 from King Cetshwayo, 8 from ILembe, 9 from Ugu, 20 from UmGungundlovu and 110 came from eThekwini. This brings the total number of murder cases to 163.

Ntshavheni said in terms of the number of inquest dockets that were opened in KwaZulu-Natal, 3 were opened in Amajuba, 7 in Harry Gwala, 3 in Umzinyathi, 1 in Umkhanyakude, 2 were from King Cetshwayo, 8 were in ILembe, 4 in Ugu, 15 in UmGungundlovu and 52 came from eThekwini.

This brings the total number of inquest dockets opened in the province to 87.

To date, there are no deaths reported in Uthukela and Zululand.

Ntshavheni said a case of culpable homicide was opened after a person was run over during looting incidents in the province.

She said after President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation on Sunday, Ministers in the Economic Cluster will hold a media briefing to update the nation on the package of interventions that have been put together to help businesses affected by the unrest.

Meanwhile, Acting Minister of Health, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, is currently in KwaZulu-Natal to assess the impact of the unrest on both the vaccination programme and the healthcare services in general to enable the department to support the province on a catch-up programme.

Following the looting of medicines, Ntshavheni said government continues to remind South Africans not to buy stolen medicines as they may be contaminated and dangerous.

Source: South Africa Government News Agency

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UL Collaborates with WIZZIT Digital to Advance Retail Payments in Sub-Saharan Africa with Launch of a SoftPOS with PIN Mobile Payment Solution

UL and WIZZIT Digital help speed deployment of contactless payments to help drive financial inclusion and empower merchants of all sizes realize their ambitions.

JOHANNESBURG, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — UL, the global safety science leader, has announced that WIZZIT Digital, a digital payments company, has launched a Tap2Pay software point-of-sale (SoftPOS) solution with personal identification number (PIN) entry support. This solution transforms commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices into point-of-sale (POS) payment terminals. Tap2Pay is the first SoftPOS solution developed in South Africa that supports PIN entry and is recognized by Visa and Mastercard. WIZZIT Digital has now gone live with an initial launch customer, one of the largest Pan-African commercial banks.

UL has announced that WIZZIT Digital has launched a Tap2Pay software point-of-sale (SoftPOS) solution with personal identification number (PIN) entry support. This solution transforms commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices into point-of-sale (POS) payment terminals. Tap2Pay is the first SoftPOS solution developed in South Africa that supports PIN entry and is recognized by Visa and Mastercard.

To navigate the complexities of bringing a SoftPOS solution to market, UL supported the Tap2Pay solution from development to marketplace entry. In the initial stages, UL provided advisory services to help WIZZIT Digital navigate the payments regulatory landscape and meet the payment schemes’ requirements. When Tap2Pay was ready for functional testing, UL tested it with a range of scheme-accredited tools to provide feedback on potential issues. Following debugging and troubleshooting, UL provided functional testing services and helped WIZZIT Digital gain Visa pilot type approval. After functional approval, UL’s security laboratories evaluated the solution for Mastercard’s and Visa’s security pilot programs. These tests and evaluations against scheme requirements allowed WIZZIT to bring the solution to market.

UL evaluation confirmed that the Tap2Pay solution met key security requirements before entering the marketplace. This included helping to affirm the security of payment data obtained through a near-field communications (NFC) interface and a contactless kernel of the COTS device. The solution’s security mechanisms, controls and mitigations protect the consumer’s account data and other assets.

Tap2Pay enters the market at a time when demand for contactless payment solutions is increasing. According to Deloitte, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for digitizing payments more critical than ever. However, many emerging markets are facing card acceptance challenges. Deloitte also noted that in South Africa approximately 90% of the 100,000 nationwide shops in the informal sector only accept cash. To meet customer demand and increase card acceptance by the smaller business market, including merchants in rural areas, needs an affordable solution.

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Jako Fritz, principal security adviser at UL, said, “SoftPOS is an entirely new approach to digital payments lowering the barrier of entry for merchants to accept contactless card transactions. Cloud computing, as well as the Europay, MasterCard and Visa protocol, allows the shift from traditional physically secure POS to software-based COTS transaction processing. These solutions will help micro and small business owners and merchants around the world meet the demands of an increasingly cashless society more securely with minimal investment.”

Explaining how Tap2Pay addresses an unmet market need, Brian Richardson, CEO and co-founder of WIZZIT Digital, said, “For almost two decades, we have been working with banks and financial institutions in emerging markets, including many countries in Africa. Our experience has taught us two things. Firstly, consumers and banks want the protection of a PIN when conducting contactless transactions. With cyberfraud on the rise, a PIN offers a universally accepted layer of security that people trust. Secondly, traditional cashless payment solutions are too expensive for micro and small merchants.

“For smaller merchants, the initial investment in terminals and the ongoing maintenance costs are simply too high. Tap2Pay SoftPos with PIN removes this barrier, enabling merchants of any size to accept cashless payments. This will ultimately help them attract more customers, including those who don’t want to pay cash for goods and services, for a fraction of the cost,” said Richardson.

About UL
UL is the global safety science leader. We deliver testing, inspection and certification (TIC), training and advisory services, risk management solutions and essential business insights to help our customers, based in more than 100 countries, achieve their safety, security and sustainability goals. Our deep knowledge of products and intelligence across supply chains make us the partner of choice for customers with complex challenges. Discover more at UL.com.

For information about Standards development and other nonprofit activities, visit UL.org.

Press contacts:
Steven Brewster
UL
[email protected]
+1.847.664.8425

Christina Bostock
IHC
[email protected]
971.55.887.3054

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Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/325015/ul_enterprise_logo.jpg

 

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Unrest death toll rises to 337

Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says the death toll related to the recent unrest has risen to 337 in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Briefing media in Pretoria on Thursday, Ntshavheni said the revision of the death toll, which stood at 276 on Wednesday, comes after people who were injured subsequently succumbed to their injuries.

“The SA Police Service has revised the total number of deaths in Gauteng to 79 and KwaZulu-Natal to 258, as related to the unrest. The revision of the records happens when those who were injured ultimately succumb to their injuries.

“Of the reported deaths in Gauteng to date, 42 cases of murder have been opened and 37 inquest dockets have been opened. In KZN, 171 cases of murder have been opened and 87 inquest dockets have been opened.

“In addition, the SAPS has to date opened 132 cases of arson in KwaZulu-Natal.”

Ntshavheni said law enforcement agencies are continuing with their investigations to ensure that instigators and key participants in the unrest are brought to book.

Ntshavheni said there were no new incidents of destabilisation that have been reported across the two provinces or any other province. She said claims that there have been incidents along the N1 was fake news.

She said law enforcement agencies have verified that both the N2 and the N3 are fully secured and operating smoothly.

Government welcomes decision to keep repo rate at 3.5%

Ntshavheni said government welcomes the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank to keep the repo rate unchanged at 3.5%, allaying fears around the inflation of food and non-alcoholic beverages by some analysts.

Ntshavheni said the Department of Trade and Industry and Competition continues to take action to prevent inflated food prices.

In their engagements with President Cyril Ramaphosa, businesses committed themselves to prioritise the rebuilding of SA, and the eradication of hunger and poverty.

“The decision to keep the repo rate unchanged goes a long way for all stakeholders to play their part,” she said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Inequalities in property ownership under the spotlight

KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements and Public Works MEC, Jomo Sibiya, says despite legislative and policy interventions to eradicate inequalities in ownership of property, in practice, skewed patterns of ownership, participation and benefit remain.

“Black people continue to be significantly under-represented in ownership of property, whilst administrative, legal and financial constraints restrict the ability of black people to participate in the property market,” Sibiya said.

The MEC was presenting a progress report on the department’s Programme of Action focusing on transformation of the property sector on Thursday.

Sibiya noted that commercially, direct property ownership is dominated by institutional investors; large private owners; collective investment schemes; property loan stocks; and listed property entities, with government being the largest commercial player.

“The commercially driven activities surrounding property, including development, management and sales, rests largely in white-owned hand….we are here today to proclaim our determination to change the status quo,” Sibiya said.

Sibiya said for the next 365 days, transformation of the property sector will be on top of activities and focus for him and the provincial department.

“In discharging our responsibilities regarding the management of immovable assets, we will use our procurement spend/budget to fast-track the entry of those who have been previously marginalised into this sector.”

According to the figures of the landlord out of 178 leases, there are 79 Indian leases; 37 Whites; 15 Black Africans; 08 Whites/Blacks (partnership); 08 Whites/Blacks/Asians (partnership); 01 other organs of states; 05 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs); 01 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college; and 24 municipalities.

“The 15 Black Africans who have leases with government – 14 are males and only one female. We are saying as South Africans and the people of KwaZulu-Natal, this is not what we see continuing. If we fail to work collectively to change these figures, we will be accused of prolonging the suffering of the people of this province, especially those who have endured the impact of the apartheid policies,” he said.

Property Transformation Task Team

As part of changing these figures, the department has established a dedicated Property Transformation Task Team, including members drawn from government departments such as the Office of the Premier, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, as well as the Provincial Treasury.

The MEC said the Head of Department has been mandated to ensure representation of stakeholders, including NGOs; civil society; youth formations; people with disabilities; Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs); co-operatives; community property associations; industry bodies; and the private sector at large.

“We are planning ongoing consultations with all spheres of government [including] national and municipalities because we want a clear development trajectory for taking our province to a better future. My message to the task team is based on the principle of ‘One Strategy and Plan for All.’

“We are aiming at ensuring an agreed set of objectives and targets, [and] want to ensure that there is a common platform for all. We want to see the resource commitments of departments, municipalities and public entities in order to achieve true transformation of the property sector,” he said.

The department wants to reach agreements on a monitoring, evaluation, reporting and review framework which will track its performance, and be hold accountable to deliver on the commitment.

Enterprise development

Sibiya said the department is also determined to increase the number of SMMEs and co-operatives in the property sector, and undertakes to ensure sustained support for entrepreneurial development in the sector.

“We will work with the private sector in this regard and other industry bodies. We are already exploring ways and means of working with companies in the private sector to ensure that a certain percentage of their net profit before taxation is used for [the] development of small players.”

The development of small players may include any or all of the following:

• Management, business development and technical skills transfer;

• Technology transfer, establishment of administrative systems,

• Cost control systems and infrastructure support;

• Development of entity credit resources with suppliers; and

• Development of entity financial capacity and/or financial assistance.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Repo rate unchanged at 3.5%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided against changing the repo rate, opting to keep it at the current 3.5% per annum.

This was announced by South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago on Thursday following Wednesday’s MPC meeting.

Speaking during a virtual media briefing, Kganyago said the decision had been unanimous.

Despite steady improvements in vaccination rates, stronger confidence and better global economic growth, the COVID-19 virus continues to weigh on global prospects.

“Vaccination rates are lagging in many emerging markets and developing countries. Until populations develop sufficient immunity to curb virus transmission, waves of infection are likely to continue.

“As indicated by South Africa’s public health authorities, a third wave of virus infection is currently peaking. Additionally, by raising uncertainty and reducing investor confidence, the recent unrest in parts of the country is likely to slow our ongoing recovery.”

The Governor said while domestic economy grew by 4.6% in the first quarter of 2021, the MPC estimated the unrest to have fully negated the better growth results from the first quarter, resulting in an unchanged estimate of 4.2% for growth in 2021.

Commodity prices have remained high, sustaining income gains despite higher oil prices. However, the recent unrest and economic damage could have lasting effects on investor confidence and job creation.

Kganyago said better anchored expectations of future inflation could keep interest rates lower for longer.

He said this could be realised by achieving a stable public debt level, increasing the supply of energy, moderating administered price inflation and keeping wage inflation low into the recovery.

“Such steps will enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy and its transmission to the broader economy,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Stage 2 load shedding from 4pm

Eskom says it will implement Stage 2 load shedding from 4pm to 9pm this evening.

According to the State-owned entity, this is due to a shortage of generation capacity coupled with the severe cold weather.

It comes after the entity issued a warning about possible power cuts earlier today because of a severely constrained system.

“Unfortunately, a generation unit each at Tutuka and Medupi power stations were forced offline this afternoon, increasing the capacity constraints on the power system.

“Further, a unit each at Medupi and Tutuka, that were expected to return to service this afternoon has now been delayed, further contributing to the shortages,” Eskom explained.

According to the power utility, breakdowns currently total 14 137MW while planned maintenance is sitting at 2 924MW.

“Eskom regrets the inconvenience caused by these power constraints and would like to urge the public to reduce the usage of electricity to help ease the pressure on the power system,” the utility said, adding that it will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the performance of the system.

Source: South African Government News Agency