Author: Agency
The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, through its Youth and After School Programme, is calling for unemployed youth, aged between 18 and 25, to apply to be part of the Year Beyond Youth Service Programme for 2024. Applications for the education programmes are now open for youth living in the Western and Eastern Cape who meet the criteria. All the education programmes require a matric certificate and some require minimum marks for language or maths. The Year Beyond platform offers young people the opportunity to get a year of hands on working experience and build their work…
Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated that while Eskom is working hard on improving its generation system, citizens can still expect load shedding. Providing an outlook on Eskom’s generation capabilities during a media briefing on Tuesday in Pretoria, the Minister explained that the majority of units remain unreliable and this is being addressed through the planned maintenance that Eskom is conducting routinely. Due to legacy issues including under investment at Eskom and the entity not having sufficiently planned for maintenance, South Africa’s grid is unreliable. “We will have periods of days of no load shedding and there will be…
The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) has cautioned members of the public and stakeholders of a fake TikTok account impersonating Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana. The TikTok account “Pinky_Kekana3” has been fraudulently using the Deputy Minister’s name and photos while disseminating untrue promises of teaching clients to trade and quickly make amounts ranging from R56 000 to R67 000. The department said this is false and “intended to swindle and scam innocent citizens”. “For the record, Deputy Minister Kekana does not have a TikTok account and the Ministry and DPME do not offer any educational trading programmes about making…
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says a decision taken by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) on 24 November 2023 to place inmate Oscar Pistorius on parole remains valid and is to be enforced. Pistorius’s parole will be effective from 5 January 2024. “… Pistorius shall be admitted into the system of Community Corrections and will be monitored until the expiry date of his sentence in 2029,” said the department in a statement. Pistorius was convicted of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeal sentenced the former Paralympian…
The Ministry of Small Business Development has warned members of the public about a number of fake Facebook accounts, which purport to belong to the Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. The ministry has strongly condemned the fraudulent use of the Minister’s name, profile and pictures to create fake accounts, whose sole intention is to defraud and scam innocent citizens, especially small business owners. “We would like to remind and advise all law-abiding citizens that neither the Minister nor the department will ever request ‘upfront fees’ from members of the public in exchange for accessing funding or business opportunities.…
The South African Police Service (SAPS) have arrested more than 90 undocumented foreign nationals who are suspected to be illegal miners. The police are conducting integrated operations against illegal mining, focusing on affected districts such as Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and the West Rand. These operations continue to yield positive results, the SAPS said. “During the operations the police seized illegal mining tools that included, pendukas, penduka stands, generators, gas cylinders, jack hammers, steel balls, gold bearing material, a welding machine, water pump motors and two live ammunition of a rifle. Illegal mining sites were also disrupted and dismantled. “The law enforcement…
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it has received several reports of individuals purporting to be Head of the SIU, Advocate Andy Mothibi, or his representatives. The scammers are reportedly going around soliciting money from public representatives, office bearers, and members of the judiciary. The reports have been received in the North West and Free State provinces this week, prompting the SIU to issue a public warning. “The SIU conducts its investigations with integrity and professionalism. “We never ask for money from subjects of investigations or anyone linked to our work. Members of the public are urged to be vigilant,…
A man has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for defrauding the Unemployment Insurance Fund and unduly benefitting from the COVID-19 Temporary Employer/ Employee Relief Scheme (TERS). The man, Dennis Patrick Lerato Modika, was sentenced in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, after being found guilty on eight counts. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Modika submitted some 1 358 fictitious employee claims over a period of two years to the Department of Labour to benefit from the fund. “The accused and his company did not have the declared employees in their employ and were therefore not entitled to…
SA Cabinet has approved state-owned company Petro SA’s recommendation of GazpromBank Africa as an investment partner for the reinstatement of the Mossel Bay Gas to Liquids (GTL) refinery plant and production. This according to Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who was speaking during a post-cabinet media briefing on Monday. Ntshavheni highlighted that the refinery is one of the “critical components of PetroSA’s turnaround strategy”. “Cabinet was updated about the process followed by CEF to source partners with requisite technical and financial resources to support PetroSA in bringing the refinery back to full operation. The preferred partner would share in…
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) for South Africa that will allow the unit to have direct access to Interpol’s information system. “The MoU will strengthen the SIU’s investigating tools of trade and access to data systems to combat cybercrimes. Interpol NCB will provide the SIU with up-to-date training resources. The Interpol NCB has a network of data systems in 195 countries that the SIU can tap into,” the SIU said in a statement. The agreement was signed by SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi and Interpol NCB’s…
The Freight Logistics Roadmap – aimed at addressing the serious challenges in that industry – has been approved for publication by Cabinet. The roadmap also sets out to reform the logistics system in the long run. Over the past few weeks, Transnet – South Africa’s government owned freight rail, ports and logistics company – has been hard at work to resolve severe truck congestion challenges at its Richard’s Bay port, including ramping up the number of locomotives available on its lines servicing the port. Speaking during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Monday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the…
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has urged the public to engage with the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023, which has been approved by Cabinet. IRP 2023 is now set to be published by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. The Minister urged communities, stakeholders and interest groups to engage with the IRP 2023 and send their submissions, as part of determining the country’s “energy future”. “This will underpin our responses in relation to how we are going to address the energy situation in the country. “What is significant about this is that… the IRP 2023…
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel has released a White Paper that outlines a comprehensive electric vehicle (EV) roadmap for South Africa and the structure of a suite of policy interventions tailored to the automotive industry. “It is a product of constructive engagement with stakeholders, including within government, industry and labour, to chart a viable and sustainable transition path for the industry,” Patel said on Monday. At a media briefing in Pretoria, Patel said the primary goal of the White Paper is to set a course to transition the auto industry from primarily producing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles…
South Africa has made progress in addressing the 20 technical compliance difficulties in its anti-money laundering system. This is according to the National Treasury following the release of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) technical compliance re-rating follow up report. “On 27 October 2023, the FATF Plenary formally re-rated 18 of the 20 deficiencies, based on the progress made by the South African authorities in the two-year period following the 2021 mutual evaluation (MER). Of these, fifteen were upgraded to be no longer deficient, as 14 recommendations were now fully or largely compliant, and one recommendation was rated as not…
The announcement of the four preferred bidders under the first bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Procurement (BESIPPP) Programme marks a “significant development” in South Africa’s pursuit for energy security. This is according to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s written remarks at the announcement of the bidders on Thursday. The preferred bidders were selected following an independent evaluation of the bid submissions process held between August and October this year. “This first grid-scale energy storage programme in South Africa marks yet another important step towards the development of adequate electricity generation capacity to meet the…
The first consignment of energy equipment donated by the People’s Republic of China is expected to be received by Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa. The consignment handover is expected to be held in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday. “The donation forms part of the Technical Assistance Programme that was entered into in August 2023 during China’s Head of State Visit to South Africa. The first consignment which has arrived in South Africa consists of 450 gasoline generators which will be distributed to public service facilities across the country. “The generators will be used as backup to alleviate the…
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) unit has, in collaboration with the USA Department of Homelands Security, arrested three child online sexual predators in Gauteng. The trio was arrested in a simultaneous takedown operation in the past week, relating to a number of suspects who were identified as South African users who are involved in the possession, distribution, manufacturing, accessing and downloading of child pornography. Members of the SECI at Head Office and in Gauteng conducted the preliminary investigations on the users, and various provinces were identified where the suspects reside. After several months…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised that South Africa remains one of the preferred investment destinations and is an important gateway for markets and other business opportunities throughout the continent. The President was delivering remarks at the Procter & Gamble Plant launch in Kempton Park, in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. “As a clear demonstration of the value of trade between African countries, Procter & Gamble currently exports from South Africa to Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Botswana. We understand that the company is set to supply the African continent from South Africa through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. “The African…
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reiterated President Joe Biden’s commitment to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beyond 2025 when it expires. “President Biden fully supports the reauthorisation of AGOA. But we don’t just want to extend AGOA – we want to work with the United States Congress to make it better. And that’s what this week’s dialogue is about,” he said on Friday. Blinken was addressing delegates through a video speech at the three-day AGOA Forum at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg. Launched in 2000, AGOA grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free…
An extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for a longer period of time can act as an instrument to entice investors to pour more resources into the African continent. “We would like you to look at the extension or renewal of AGOA for a sufficiently lengthy period for it to act as an incentive for investors to build new factories on the African continent. “As we were going around talking to a number of product producers, the recurring message and word I heard is ‘we can do more…if this opportunity is extended and we can build more…
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum creates a significant opportunity to elevate issues associated with labour standards and social justice. This is according to Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi who delivered opening remarks at the Organised Labour and Civil Society AGOA Forum on Thursday. “We exist within complex social and economic environments that are ever changing. But our goals should be to achieve social justice and decent work for all people through a focus on decreasing unpaid labour, increasing social protection, doing away with employment discrimination, increasing wages, and improving job security. “Through these efforts we could…
Work is underway to reconfigure the structure and size of the State as part of government’s efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending. “This Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) supports measures to lift our growth prospects over the medium term and restructures the State to become more effective,” Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday while delivering the MTBPS in Parliament. Government is preparing a joint plan to rationalise departments, entities and programmes over the next three years The Presidency, National Treasury, Department of Public Service and Administration and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation…
SA’s Government has extended the COVID-19 Social Grant (SRD Grant) until March 2025 while it considers social security policy reforms and a funding model. The grant was introduced to support low-income individuals affected by the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivering the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to Parliament on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said R34 billion has been allocated to extend the grant by another year. “Over the medium term, a provisional allocation is retained while a comprehensive review of the entire social grant system is finalised. The 2023 Budget indicated that the COVID-19 Social Relief…
The servicing of government’s rising debt is “crowding out” social spending in the country, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. The Minister on Wednesday delivered the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament, where he explained the challenge posed to spending on social services. “It is important… to point out that our debt levels and rising debt service costs are not problems in and of themselves. “Our challenge is that rising debt service costs are crowding out important social spending, and our economy has not grown fast enough to support increasing expenditure or our current debt levels. Therefore, this policy statement…
SA’s revenue collection is expected to fall by some R56 billion below the 2023 Budget predictions, according to the National Treasury Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The MTBPS notes that slowing commodity exports, slower growth, downward revisions of the tax base growth, slowing corporate tax collections and lower net VAT collections have all impacted tax revenue. The 2023 Budget had projected collections would reach some R1.78 trillion but that has now been revised down to R1.73 trillion. “In recent years, revenue collection has benefited from a pattern of high prices for South Africa’s commodity exports. In the current year,…