Category: Industry

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza, has announced the opening of the application process for the second phase of the Presidential Employment Stimulus.

The second phase commenced on 30 November and will close on 14 December 2021.

The department has invited selected subsistence producers to submit their applications through the USSD Code *134*4536#.

All those subsistence producers that applied during the 2020 Presidential Employment Stimulus as well as the recipients of the Solidarity Fund support need not apply as they have been prioritised for this Second Phase support.

The PESI programme continues to address the current unemployment challenge and sustain self-employment for subsistence producers.

No less than 50 000 subsistence producers are targeted for this Second Phase.

This figure is over and above the current 88 251 subsistence producers being targeted for support – consisting of 51 559 subsistence producers supported by the DALRRD under first phase of PESI and 36 692 subsistence producers who received Solidarity Fund support.

“The implementation of the Second Phase of PESI coincides with the recruitment and employment of 5 000 Assistant Agricultural Practitioners (extension personnel) that will further facilitate the successful implementation of the project. These will work closely with the over 1 000 already appointed NARYSEC and Unemployed Youth that are working on First Phase of PESI.”

Applicants are advised to use their cell phones and logon to the USSD code* 134*4536#, irrespective of the cell phone network. This is a free application process and application forms will be accessible from one’s cell phone once the USSD code has been entered. The principle of first come first serve per province will apply.

Qualifying criteria

The following minimum qualifying criteria will apply: Applicants should be 18 years old or older; have a valid South African ID; must not be employed in the public service or by a State Owned Entity; currently actively involved in the agricultural production and must have not received DALRRD support in the current financial year.

Applicants should note that only one application per household will be permitted and processed.

Specific targeted commodities that will be supported include: vegetables, grains (maize and soybean), sugarcane, cotton, poultry and livestock.

Target audience

The support targets vulnerable individuals and groups, and aims to support 50% women, 40% youth and 6% people with disabilities. Child-headed households, farm dwellers, farmworkers and military veterans will also be prioritised for support through this initiative and are encouraged to apply. Group applicants should approach their local offices for registration in the survey 123, Extension personnel shall confirm farming activities of these group community applications.

Subsistence producers must note that the type and quantities of support provided will be limited to the commodity applied for, and the size of the current operation physically verified on site. The amount of support will range between R1 000 and R12 000. Consideration of group applicants under a village will have a farming-area-based funding, as these will be supported by business profiles.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Departing South Africa for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in high spirits earlier on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was excited to embark on a week-long, four-nation visit to West Africa.

Flanked by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel and the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, the President will visit Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal over the coming days.

The visit, which concludes on 7 December, serves to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with the countries concerned and will strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation on multilateral forums.

Speaking to SAnews and other media houses, the President said that this is a very exciting journey that South Africa is embarking on as part of the country’s economic diplomacy efforts.

“We are all very enthused and excited to be embarking on this journey…We are going on this epic journey to the heart of our continent.

“We are visiting four important countries, these are countries that we are hoping to cut deals [with] and renew good diplomatic work at a political level and also do commercial and economic work to advance our own interest but also to prosper the integration of our continent on an economic level,” the President said.

On what can be expected out of the visit to the four countries, the President said that deals, agreements, memoranda of understating that cut across a number of areas will be finalised and channels of trade and investment will be opened.

“At the business forum we are going to hold, a number of our own companies are in place, state-owned companies as well. Some are in infrastructure, some are in agriculture and some are in trade, these are the deals that we want to finalise with those countries,” President Ramaphosa said.

While South Africa has a number of companies in Nigeria and Ghana, the President said that he wants to see more and more of that happening in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire.

“This is much of a mixed type of a journey for us, political and diplomatic and economic and trade. This is going to be beneficial to our country,” he said.

The President emphasised that they are putting into effect the Africa-Continental Free Trade area, and will be demonstrating that this should be a “live document and an agreement that we should eject life into and remove all those colonial barriers that were set up, where the North couldn’t trade with the South and where even travel can be opened up. Trading routes that existed in the past that were closed by colonialism should be reignited.”

“I see this as a way of opening up trade and investment into the continent, we want even those countries to come and invest in South Africa so that it’s no longer a one-way type of process where South African companies invest in their countries,” he said.

The President noted that the ministers who are part of the delegation will give a clear indication that “we want to open South Africa and Africa for trade and investment.”

Source: South African Government News Agency

The number of unemployed South Africans rose by 0.5% in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke has announced.

The rise saw the country’s unemployment reach 34.9%.

Releasing the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the last quarter, Maluleke said during this period the number of employed persons decreased by 660 000.

Between July and September, 14.3 million people were in employment.

He said: “The number of unemployed persons decreased by 183 000 to 7.6 million compared to the second quarter of 2021. The number of discouraged work seekers increased by 545 000 (16.4%).”

The number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 443 000 (3.3%) between the two quarters resulting in a net increase of 988 000 in the not economically active population, the QLFS shows.

Maluleke said the changes resulted in the official unemployment rate increasing by 0.5 of a percentage point from 34.4% in the second quarter of 2021 to 34.9% in the third quarter of 2021.

This was the highest since the start of the QLFS in 2008.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said the unemployment rate, according to the expanded definition of unemployment, increased by 2.2 percentage points to 46.6% in Q3, 2021, compared to Q2, 2021.

The statistics agency said the results indicate that the South African labour market was more favourable to men than it was to women.

“The proportion of men in employment is higher than that of women; more men than women are participating in the labour market as the labour force participation rate of men is higher than that of women; and the unemployment rate among men is lower than among women.

“The unemployment rate among women was 37.3% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 32.9% among men according to the official definition of unemployment. The official unemployment rate among black African women was 41.5% during this period compared to 9.9% among white women, 25.2% among Indian/ Asian women and 29.1 among coloured women.”

Stats SA said employment decreased by 571 000 (5.6%) in the formal sector, by 65 000 (5.4%) in private households and by 32 000 (3.8%) in Agriculture in Q3, 2021, compared to Q2, 2021. Informal sector employment increased by 9 000 (0.3%) in the same period.

Maluleke said all industries experienced job losses between the last two quarters of 2021 except the finance industry which gained 138 000 jobs. The largest employment decrease was observed in Trade (309 000), followed by community and social services (210 000).

Source: South African Government News Agency

South Africa should be applauded for having alerted the world about the Omicron variant that is now beginning to spread around the world, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The President has criticised countries who have imposed travel bans on South Africa, following the identification of the COVID-19 variant last week.

“We reject that in the strongest terms because to us it amounts to discrimination against a country like ours and some countries in Southern Africa, in fact we should be applauded as South Africa for having alerted the world about this variant that is now beginning to spreads around the world.”

Speaking just before taking off to Nigeria, ahead of a four-nation visit to West Africa, the President said South Africa has proven that it has got the scientific capability that is able to identify a very threatening variant of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have shown the world that we are transparent, it is our responsibility to the world to demonstrate and show that we have found this variant and the least we expected is to be punished by various countries.

“That to us is most concerning, that is why we have come out in total rejection of these bans that have been imposed on Southern Africa and we are also insisting that these bans must be removed and lifted, because you do not try and contain a virus through imposing bans unscientifically and indiscriminately,” he said.

The President added that the world has advanced to a point where we now know that when people travel they should be tested on departure and arrival.

“We have got the tools and means to be able to deal with this, this also goes against the G20 roam spirit where the G20 countries agreed that we must open travel because the tourism industry around the world has really been devastated – and for us the tourism industry is one of the key industries and for Southern Africa as well.

“This is unfair and discriminatory against us and they are imposing an unfair punishment and we reject it and we call on them to lift it with immediate effect,” the President said.

Speaking on travel bans by fellow African countries, President Ramaphosa said that he was deeply concerned and would like to have a discussion with them.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, has assured stakeholders of government’s commitment to resolve challenges related to the Clanwilliam Dam project.

During the stakeholders’ engagement on Sunday with local business leaders, Water and Sanitation Forums as well as the farmers of West Coast, an impassioned plea to the Minister to unblock challenges relating to the raising of the dam wall was raised.

“The raising of the Clanwilliam Dam wall is the second biggest infrastructure project being undertaken in the Western Cape and is part of the Olifants River Water Resources Project, valued at about R4-billion,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said.

The project entails raising the dam wall by 13 metres. The accrued benefits of the project include:

Creation of much-needed jobs for residents, especially during the construction phase.

Increased water yields for West Coast resource-poor farmers.

Developing skills that will enhance the abilities of locals beyond the project.

The Minister said the project team will also look for ways to reduce project time without compromising project integrity.

“The department is acutely aware of the inconvenience caused by delays in this project and will work hard to speed up construction.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Dikeledi Magadzi, engaged the traditional chiefs and the communities at the two villages of Maswanganyi and Homu, in Giyani Limpopo.

She led a series of community engagements as part of government’s continued effort in mobilizing community involvement and support in the implementation of the Giyani Bulk Water Supply Project.

The water pipe projects will bring bulk water to the Mopani District Municipality and Greater Giyani Local Municipality.

Water will be sourced from Nandoni Water Treatment Works to Nsami. The R971 million project is expected to be finished by end of June 2022.

The Deputy Minister called on Lepelle Northern Water and the department’s Construction North unit, as the implementing agents who will be responsible for the construction of the pipeline to engage with the community continually and update them of the progress of the projects.

“It is our responsibility as the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure that bulk water supply is provided to Municipalities who will in turn ensure that there is reticulation of water to the communities they serve. Let us all work together as three spheres of government to ensure that there is water to our communities of Giyani. The Giyani Bulk Water Supply Project is now in full swing and will ensure that there is water in the area,” Magadzi said.

Hosi Khayizeni Maswanganyi of Maswanganyi Villages acknowledged the Deputy Minister’s swift handling of water challenges in their area.

“Deputy Minister Magadzi has promised to come back to us and she is here. This shows her Ministry’s commitment to resolve water challenges that have been going on in Giyani for a very long time. We really would like to thank Deputy Minister Magadzi, both local and district municipalities, including all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the Giyani Bulk Water Supply Project is completed to address our water problems,” Hosi Maswanganyi said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

South African Airways has cancelled all of its flights to and from Mauritius following the imposition of a travel ban on South Africa by the Mauritian government.

Restrictions were also placed on at least five other Southern African countries after the Omicron variant was identified by South African scientists last week.

SAA interim CEO Thomas Kgokolo said despite efforts to help passengers – who were still allowed to travel to the island by Sunday – the airline was forced to cancel the inbound flight.

“After long planning with the team in ensuring that we dispatch a bigger aircraft to and from Mauritius to ensure that we serve as many customers as possible…we’ve received notification from the Mauritian government imposing further restrictions prohibiting all incoming travellers from South Africa.

“The SAA team remains committed in fulfilling travel plans. We have made flexible changes to accommodate all our customers who have been affected by all these unforeseen travel restrictions,” Kgokolo said.

The CEO added that customers who were scheduled to travel to the island country will be assisted by the airline.

“Our customers are allowed one free change on their alternate future travel date. We regret the inconvenience caused to you and your loved ones. We hope to be able to revert to normal operations.

“It has been a long two days in the airline industry and it’s been no different for South African Airways,” he said.

The airline assured customers travelling to other countries that it will offer vouchers and refund to customers should any new travel restrictions be implemented on the country.

“We are mindful that change is our new normal, and we need to be as agile as possible to meet our customer needs and keep travellers informed of changes in regulations pertaining to travel restrictions as and when imposed by countries that SAA flies to,” Kgokolo said.

Source: South African Government News Agency