Author: Agency
Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has hinted that the department has decided to overhaul its immigration system and that details of this will soon be announced. Motsoaledi said this when he tabled the department’s Budget Vote priorities during a mini plenary of the National Assembly on Tuesday. “…Another elephant in the room is the problem of immigration. I don’t have to outline what is taking place in our country about this problem. It is a crisis we are all well aware of,” he said. This following a recent rise in tensions between South African citizens and foreign nationals in several communities,…
Revamping government’s internet network, increasing the department’s internet capacity and roping in specialist network engineers from banks are some of the interventions that the Department of Home Affairs is implementing to deal with long queues caused by system downtime. Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, said this when he led the debate on the department’s budget vote on Tuesday. Motsoaledi said while there were various reasons that have led to long, winding queues at Home Affairs offices, “the main one that sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest is the issue of system downtime”. “It is painful and…
Although 15 countries have collectively reported more than 140 monkeypox cases, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed that there are currently no cases of the virus in South Africa. In a statement on Monday, the NICD reported that on 13 May 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was notified of two laboratory-confirmed cases and one probable case of monkeypox, from the same household, in the United Kingdom. “On 15th May, four additional laboratory-confirmed cases were reported amongst sexual health services attendees presenting with a vesicular rash illness in men practising sex with men. Since then, 15 countries…
Government has welcomed rating agency Standard &Poor’s (S&P) decision to revise South Africa’s credit rating outlook to positive from stable, while affirming the long term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB-’ and ‘BB’, respectively. According to S&P, recent favourable terms of trade in South Africa have improved the external and fiscal trajectory, while the country’s reasonably large net external asset position, flexible currency and deep domestic capital markets provide strong buffers against shifts in external financing. In addition, the agency expects South Africa to post a current account surplus in 2022 for the third consecutive year, as prices…
The world’s largest airline, Emirates, and South African Tourism have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote tourism and boost visitor arrivals and inbound traffic to South Africa from key markets across the airline’s network. The MoU was signed on the side-lines of Arabian Travel Market by Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa, and The South Africa Tourism’s Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo. Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu and Dubai Consul General, David Magabe, were also at the signing. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said the airline, which had more than 25 years invested in…
Eskom Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberholzer, says Eskom may be forced to increase load shedding from Stage 3 load shedding to Stage 4 if the power utility fails to gather enough generation capacity to feed national peak demand. According to Oberholzer, Eskom suffered at least eight major breakdowns at its power stations – exacerbating strain on the already fragile and constrained power system. Only one of those units has, so far, been returned to service. The expected return of some of those units to service this week may not be enough to suspend load shedding. “If we look at the…
The Higher Education, Science and Innovation Ministry has established entrepreneurship hubs at TVET colleges to support students to move into self-employment after completion of programmes. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, revealed this in Parliament on Thursday while delivering the department’s 2022 Budget Vote. In the current financial year, the Minister said the department projected that the skills levy would increase to R20.6 billion from last year’s R18.9 billion. Nzimande said the department had also taken the decision to prioritise the sector by re-allocating additional funds from the National Skills Fund. “We have begun a process of crafting…
The (NPA) says over the next six months, it will be giving “razor sharp focus” to corruption and state capture related cases. This was revealed by NPA National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi. She was briefing the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the prosecuting authority’s annual performance plan and budget for the 2022/23 financial year. “Right now, our response to the findings and recommendations of the [State Capture Commission] is what will really be defining for the NPA and for South Africa. The recent release of the Zondo Reports have highlighted how…
Gauteng Hawks’ head, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, has commended the investigation team for successfully apprehending the additional alleged fraudsters involved in unauthorised debit order transactions where bank clients have lost approximately R18 million, collectively. This as two additional accused, Ravenda Singh (50), and his son Andrew (26), Directors of a Durban based call-centre, Sub User, were nabbed on 4 May 2022, in Johannesburg. In a statement, the Hawks said the duo handed themselves in at the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Johannesburg and were subsequently charged with fraud. “On the same day, the pair appeared in the Palm Ridge…
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the achievements by Operation Vulindlela demonstrates the commitment of government to implementing reforms that are necessary to inject growth into the economy and gain investor confidence. The President said this in his weekly newsletter to the country as government is today set to release an update report on the work of Operation Vulindlela for the first quarter of 2022. The report will outline the progress made by Operation Vulindlela and the departments responsible for these reforms. The President encouraged those who continue to raise concerns about the slow pace of reform to read the latest report.…
Eskom says stage two load shedding was implemented due to depleted capacity caused by generator breakdowns, power station trips, the slow return to service of units, as well as higher demand for electricity as the colder weather starts to settle in. As a result of these factors, the power utility was unable to feed the entire demand for electricity on Tuesday. Eskom Chief Executive Andre de Ruyter told a media briefing on Wednesday that the electricity supplier is working to ensure that load shedding is suspended as soon as it is possible to do so. He explained that the power…
The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) have signed a new unlisted developmental investment mandate. The GEPF is the largest pension fund in Africa, with assets in excess of R2.1 trillion, which are managed by the PIC. The GEPF first introduced the unlisted developmental investment mandate in 1997 under the name Isibaya Fund and subsequently renewed it over the years. The developmental investment funds are aimed at generating financial and socio-economic benefits by addressing structural imbalances in the economy to facilitate transformation, economic growth, job creation, and environmental and financial returns. The developmental mandates focus…
President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is doing everything in its means to ensure that the current load shedding experienced by the country becomes a thing of the past. In his weekly newsletter to the nation, the President empathised with South Africans experiencing constant blackouts saying government is determined that this should not continue to be a part of their lives into the future. “It is difficult and unacceptable for South Africans to endure load shedding. But we are doing everything in our means to ensure that, like state capture, it soon becomes a thing of the past,” the President said.…
The South African Post Office (Sapo) has warned customers of fraudulent emails that are designed to make the receiver pay money into a scam account. The emails, which appear to originate from the post office, are titled: “Your package could not be delivered” and states that a package can only be released once a clearance fee has been paid and include a link. “Should the receiver click on the link, a page called Bureau de Poste d’Afrique du Sud opens, requesting payment to ‘release’ the fictitious parcel. The official language of communication for the Sapo is English and no communication…
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported at least 3 222 new COVID-19 cases in the country over the past 24 hour reporting period. The new cases represent a positivity rate of some 16.7% – bringing the cumulative number of cases in the country to more than 3.7 million since the outbreak of the pandemic. The provincial breakdown for new cases is as follows: Gauteng leads the pack with 1727 new cases KwaZulu-Natal follows with at least 818 new cases In the Western Cape, 333 new cases were recorded Some 83 new cases were recorded in Mpumalanga In…
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says he is pleased with the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) interventions within the post school education and training sector. This follows recorded partnerships and progress by universities, colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) in advancing 4IR interventions within the sector. He said the Department of Higher Education and Training has collaborated with CISCO and Huawei to align the existing Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges’ curriculum with industry demands in the digital skills area. “Under the CISCO agreement, at least 300 lecturers are being trained…
Eskom says after making some ground in recovering generation capacity, it may lift all stages of load shedding on Friday evening. The power utility has been battling generation unit failures throughout the past week, which have tipped the country into the more stringent stage four load shedding – dropping down to stage three on Wednesday evening. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said the power utility is recovering some of the lost capacity back into the system. “We were sitting way in excess of 16 000MW of unplanned losses earlier in the week, so the system is recovering. We are seeing some…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has used his weekly newsletter to condemn anti-foreigner sentiments, and acts of vigilantism and assure citizens that the government is dealing with illegal migration in the country. This in the wake of recent protests in Diepsloot against alleged deficiencies in policing following several murders in the area. The protest turned violent and culminated in the murder of an alleged illegal migrant. “The events in the Gauteng township of Diepsloot last week were a tragedy. In the course of a single weekend, seven people were killed, sparking protests. This loss of life is deplorable, as is the killing…
South Africa has a “tremendous opportunity” to take the global lead in hydrogen and fuel cell production. This is according to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, who was speaking at the Platinum Group Metals Industry Day held at the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park on Wednesday. “The new global dispensation of green energy offers South Africa a rare and tremendous opportunity to become a global leader in the production of hydrogen, as well as fuel cells. This is primarily because South Africa holds nearly 80% of the world’s platinum reserves. It is the leading global supplier of…
Director-General, Dondo Mogajane, will leave the National Treasury in June after opting not to have his contract extended. “The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, hereby announces that the Director-General (DG) Dondo Mogajane, whose contract comes to an end on 7 June 2022, has elected not to extend his contract. The DG will leave the National Treasury on the expiry of his current contract to pursue new opportunities outside of the public sector,” said the Ministry of Finance on Thursday. Mogajane has served the National Treasury for 23 years of which the last five years have been as the Director-General. “Under…
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says there is a need for intensive campaigning for more people to vaccinate against COVID-19, despite the lifting of the National State of Disaster (NSD). SAMA welcomed the lifting of the National State of Disaster by President Cyril Ramaphosa, describing it as a positive step for South Africa and the correct move forward for the country’s beleaguered economy. “Considering the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, ending the National State of Disaster is the appropriate step in government’s response to the pandemic. “SAMA supports the decision in the same way that it…
Operating hours at Home Affairs offices will extend to 18:30 this evening, after the department’s systems went offline nationwide on Friday. “The Department of Home Affairs wishes to inform members of the public that services at the department have been restored. The department and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) have been able to fix the cable breakage that impacted service delivery on Friday,” said the department in a statement. Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, instructed the department to extend Monday’s operating hours in order to ensure that all clients that visited the offices on Friday are served. According…
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the turnaround of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) – from an inefficient revenue collector to hitting its highest margins in years – is proof that efficient and well-run state institutions can bolster trust between government and citizens. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter. Last week, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter announced that the revenue collector had recorded a 25% increase in collections – reaching at least R1.5 trillion in revenue collection between April 2021 and March this year. “As we forge ahead with efforts to strengthen the capacity of the state and…
The government has noted and welcomed Moody’s decision to affirm South Africa’s long term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘Ba2’ and revise the outlook to stable from negative. The National Treasury on Friday said according to Moody’s, the key driver behind the decision to change the outlook to stable is the improved fiscal outlook that raises the likelihood of government’s debt burden stabilising over the medium term. “In addition, over the last two fiscal years, government has shown it was able to reprioritise its spending while staying committed to fiscal consolidation, which Moody’s expects will remain the case…
The Department of Transport has again extended the grace period for renewing expired driving licences to 15 April 2021. This comes as the deadline for the renewal of expired driving licences ended on 31 March 2022. In August 2021, Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, announced the extension of learner’s licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences, and professional driving permits for a grace period ending on 31 March 2022. This was part of government measures in response to the lockdown in the management of COVID-19. Updating the media on the deadline for the extension of licence validity in Midrand on Friday,…