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The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has welcomed a Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative (RAAI) survey that ranked the corporation amongst the top 30 global sovereign wealth funds and asset managers for their responsible investment practices. The annual survey acknowledges the PIC’s commitment to incorporate ESG principles – Environmental, Social impact and Governance – into all its investment decisions. The PIC, as a signatory of both the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investments (UNPRI) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), subscribes to the Code for Responsible Investment in South Africa (CRISA) and applies the King IV codes on good governance. In…

Medical experts say it is beneficial to take the COVID-19 vaccine, as they try to address vaccine hesitancy. According to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority’s (SAHPRA) Pharmacovigilance Manager, Mafora Matlala, adverse side effects is one of the leading drivers of vaccine hesitancy. The drug watchdog’s data shows that some of the top adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) for COVID-19 include headache, local reaction, fever and dizziness. “We are not surprised they are minor. So, this is just to alleviate that fear that you do not have to be scared of the AEFI,” she said. “However, people should rather…

The Green Hydrogen Export Special Economic Zone to be developed in the Northern Cape, with Sasol as an anchor investor, is expected to economically benefit the previously marginalised sectors in a province that is one of the poorest in terms of demographics. “The intention is to have a dedicated green grid, electrolizer park and green hydrogen related Special Economic Zone to manufacture green hydrogen industry related goods and services in the Northern Cape,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said on Monday. Addressing the launch of the Northern Cape Green Hydrogen Strategy at the United Nations Framework…

Energy investments will help overcome the debilitating load shedding that the country is currently experiencing, as new electricity generation capacity comes online, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. In his weekly newsletter to the country, the President said that energy continues to be an area of growth in South Africa as the 25 preferred bidders in the fifth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme are together expected to invest around R50 billion into the economy. He said that the increase of the licensing threshold for embedded generation to 100 megawatts is likely to result in substantial private investment…

South Africa has vaccinated 10 930 people on Sunday, of which 2 361 were children between the ages of 12 and 17. According to the Department of Health, this means there is now 23 151 823 distributed doses since the start of the inoculation programme. Data shows that 12 855 692 or 32% adults are now fully vaccinated. In addition, there are 210 149 single Pfizer doses given to teenagers in the country. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa now stands at 2 923 956 with 205…

Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, says the Department of Public Enterprises is working closely with the Board of Eskom and management to ensure that it limits the daily duration of load shedding and the period for which this intervention will be required. The Minister announced this on Thursday during a media briefing on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. “Cabinet acknowledges the disruptions and inconvenience of intermittent load shedding experienced by South Africans in recent days.” Meanwhile, according to the Minister, National Treasury has been roped in to grant Eskom appropriate exemptions to acquire the spare…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on world leaders to take “bold action” in accelerating decarbonisation of energy systems. The President made the call in a message he delivered vitually at the COP26 Energy Session on Thursday. In his message, the President acknowledged that climate change undoubtedly presented a critical and urgent threat to humanity. “This is so because it will have devastating consequences for our economies and societies if we do not take action now. “There is no longer any doubt that climate change presents a critical and urgent threat to humanity.” Accelerating decarbonisation of energy systems, he said, would…

As more results are finalised in the aftermath of Monday’s 2021 Local Government Elections, a picture of coalition local governments has begun to emerge. Vote counting is progressing at the IEC’s Results Operations Centre on Tuesday and the Electoral Commission anticipates tallying 90% of the votes by this evening. With no outright winner in the seven-seat Kannaland Local Municipality, in the Garden Route District Municipality, a coalition government would have to be formed, results show. A breakdown of the total tallied votes show that while the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (ICOSA) secured a majority of the cast ballots,…

Eskom says it plans to add at least 30GW of new generation capacity – mainly from solar and wind energy sources – to the system over the next 10 years. This was revealed in the power utility’s Transmission Development Plan for 2022 to 2031 which was presented to various stakeholders. Eskom said it will be building the required infrastructure to accommodate the envisioned extra capacity. “To provide for an adequate and reliable transmission system, Eskom plans to increase the transmission infrastructure by approximately 8 400 km of extra high-voltage lines and 119 transformers to bring on board 58 970 MVA…

The R350 COVID-19 Grant beneficiaries who opted to use the South African Post Office for the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant payment have been encouraged to collect their R350 only after receiving an SMS informing them that their grant is available. The Post Office said beneficiaries can visit their nearest Pick ‘n Pay or Boxer supermarket or post office to collect their grant. “If you chose a bank account or cash send as your payment method, you will receive the money through the bank you chose. You cannot go to one of the supermarkets. Beneficiaries who have received…

By Oupa Makhalemele, Film and Publication Board Research, Policy and Advocacy Officer  As the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) continues cementing its presence in our everyday life, keeping abreast of the developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is everyone’s responsibility. There is no better time to start thinking of ways in which technology can be harnessed to improve the lot of women, especially when it comes to their safety in a predominantly misogynistic world. The more things change… The abuse of women and children, our woefully inadequate health system and our failure to bring the multitudes of marginalised people on…

Eskom Chief Operating Officer (COO),  Jan Oberholzer, has assured the country that load shedding is not expected to be implemented during the upcoming Local Government Elections. He was speaking during the power utility’s state of the system briefing on Monday. The assurances from the COO come after concerns that the country may face power cuts during this weekend’s elections following two consecutive weekends of load shedding this month. This as special votes are set to be cast on Saturday and Sunday, ahead of Election Day on Monday, 1 November 2021. Oberholzer said he expects that the power utility will have…

As South Africa continues to prepare to migrate to digital broadcasting by 31 March 2022, the South African Post Office has called on qualifying households to apply for their free set-top boxes ahead of the deadline. Homes that apply before 1 November, will receive a decoder before the analogue television signal is switched off. “Those who apply after 1 November 2021 will only receive a decoder later,” the SAPO said in a statement on Thursday. Qualifying households are urged to visit their local Post Office as soon as possible to apply for a free government-subsidised decoder (set-top box).  The set-top…

South Africa has now passed the 21 million mark for total COVID-19 jabs administered since the start of the country’s vaccination rollout programme. This comes after 205 253 doses were distributed in the past 24 hours, pushing the total to 21 011 187 doses administered to 14 568 927 people. The Department of Health’s data show that the Western Cape is leading the race so far, with 45.38% of its adults having received at least one dose of the jab, followed by 42.60% in Free State, 42.16% in Limpopo and 41.88% in the Eastern Cape. In addition, the latest statistics indicate…

Eight foreign nationals, aged between 33 and 52, were on Tuesday morning arrested for their links to an alleged R100 million internet scam during a large-scale operation in Cape Town. The group was arrested in a joint operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United State Secret Service (USSS) Investigations, Interpol and with assistance from the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit. Also assisting in the operation was Crime Intelligence (CI), K9, National Intervention unit, Special Task Force (STF), Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS), Criminal Record Centre and Cape Town Metro police. The suspects are alleged to have…

Since the beginning of lockdown last year, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has disbursed R63 billion, bringing relief to about 5.4 million workers across the country. It has been 17 months since the COVID-19 Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) was introduced to save jobs and ease the financial burden on businesses, and most importantly, their vulnerable workers who lost income during the lockdown. In a statement on Thursday, the Employment and Labour Department said the money paid out is the largest sum that has been paid by government to help workers, businesses and the economy mitigate the impact of the lockdowns. “Considering…

National Treasury has published an updated version of its “Financing a Sustainable Economy” document as part of efforts to encourage more long-term investments in sustainable economic assets, activities and projects. The technical paper was first published in May 2020. In the updated paper published on Friday, Treasury said while financial institutions previously only focused on the return on investment of projects, the focus on sustainable finance encourages them to also be cognisant of how their investment decisions impact the environment. “It is envisaged that this will assist in reducing pressures on the environment, including supporting the transition to a low…

The Department of Health on Friday announced that children aged 12 to 17 years old are next in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from next week. “We are now ready to start vaccinations for this group of young people from the age of 12 to 17 years,” said Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, during a media briefing on the national vaccination rollout programme. He told journalists that this follows a recommendation received from the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on COVID-19 Vaccines this week. “This recommendation was also supported by Health MECs when we met on Tuesday afternoon during our…

South Africa is home to over 10 million adults who are now fully vaccinated as of Monday. This comes after 139 899 either received the one dose of the Johnson & Johnson or two-dose Pfizer vaccine. This means there are now 10 059 118 eligible citizens who are fully jabbed, which translates to 25.28% of the country’s adult population. According to the Department of Health, the country distributed 189 528 new COVID-19 doses in the past 24 hours, pushing the total to 19 242 116. Meanwhile, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa is 2 912 346…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country must urgently reduce its carbon and greenhouse gas emissions or risk experiencing negative social and economic consequences. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter. Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are a product of the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which contribute to global warming and changes in the Earth’s climate patterns (climate change). President Ramaphosa said the impact of climate change is already felt in some South Africans’ quality of life through drought and flooding. “Several communities in Mpumalanga, for example, are affected by high levels of…

South Africans can now download their digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate following the official launch by the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla. Addressing a media briefing on government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and the national vaccination rollout programme on Friday, the Minister said the certificate could be used for travel and tourism, sport and recreation events, music festivals, shops that are providing discounts and prizes for people who are vaccinated. “Our role is to make this tool available to the nation to provide people with the proof of vaccination so they can have access to many the amenities and…

A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report has identified significant weaknesses in parts of the anti-money laundering, counter financing of terrorism and counter financing of proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF) systems. Released on Thursday, the National Treasury and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)  said in a joint statement that the Mutual Evaluation Report was an assessment of South Africa’s AML/CFT/CPF systems. They said the mutual evaluation of South Africa was conducted by an assessment team led by the International Monetary Fund and included officials from the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group and the FATF member countries. According to the statement, South…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says one of the key drivers of infrastructure development is green energy, which has the potential not only to drive industrialisation but to establish a whole new industrial reality. The President was delivering the keynote address on the second day of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) hosted by the Presidency on Thursday. President Ramaphosa said the Green Hydrogen Export special economic zone to be developed at Boegoebaai in the Northern Cape, with Sasol as an anchor investor, is a major step towards realising South Africa’s potential to be a global leader in green hydrogen.…

The South African Revenue Services (SARS) has welcomed an eight year sentence handed to a Bloemfontein businessman for fraud. MJ Ntabe of Ntabe Trading & Projects CC was recently found to have used false tax invoices in the calculations of VAT Output and Input tax. The Bloemfontein Regional Court this week sentenced Ntabe to five years direct imprisonment for the crime. The court heard that Ntabe and his company provided the revenue collector auditors with false supporting documents to substantiate the VAT calculations. It said: “SARS Audit raised additional assessments, which resulted in a total prejudice of R1-million to SARS.…

The Department of Health has confirmed that its currently testing South Africa’s digital COVID-19 vaccine certificate to “troubleshoot” all possible glitches ahead of the official launch. This comes after the South African COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate System portal went live on Tuesday. The system will allow users to create a QR code showing their COVID-19 inoculation status and will be available to adults who are fully vaccinated. However, the department explained that the system is not officially functional in a live environment, which will enable vaccinated individuals to access and download certificates. “We had to build a lot of security into…