Author: Staff Writer

African private sector has a major part to play in supporting governments to defeat COVID-19 in Africa. That is one of the main messages from an emergency session of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa’s partnership initiative, African Influencers for Development (AI4Dev). Some of Africa’s top business leaders joined UNDP Africa to focus on the actions needed for a coordinated continent-wide response to the COVID-19 crisis. The AI4Dev initiative is at the heart of UNDP’s new partnership strategy for Africa, engaging with African champions who are already working to drive sustainable development across the continent. It is a powerful coalition…

The Solidarity Fund has started delivering food parcels to more than 250 000 families across South Africa. The Solidarity Fund, which receives donations from corporates, citizens and foundations, has made R120 million available for food relief for distressed families. The Fund is working with the Department of Social Development (DSD), four major non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the food security sector, and with faith and community-based organisations across the country to ensure maximum reach, especially in rural areas. The Fund will act as a coordinator for the distribution efforts to maximise reach and scale. Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Solidarity…

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has postponed the May/June amended Senior Certificate and National Senior Certificate Examination due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 350 000 part-time candidates were to sit for the matric examination. Those who were meant to sit for the exams include candidates who did not meet the pass requirements in the 2019 final exams, as well as those who sought to rewrite to improve their marks. DBE Director-General Mathanzima Mweli wrote a letter to the heads of the provincial Education Departments, confirming the changes to the plan for the examinations. The outbreak of COVID-19 led…

The Presidency says it has declined the request of the Gauteng Liquor Forum for its members to sell alcohol during the declared National State of Disaster and lockdown. “The restriction on the sale of liquor will remain,” said the Presidency on Friday. The decision was communicated to the forum’s attorneys on Friday via the offices of the State Attorney. “The President [Cyril Ramaphosa] and government as a whole remain committed to financially supporting businesses in distress during this period. The President has carefully considered the representations made by the Gauteng Liquor Forum. “These, however, have had to be weighed up…

South Africa has confirmed a total of 2 783 COVID-19 cases, having conducted 100 827 tests to date. Gauteng has the highest number of cases with 1 018 people testing positive for the virus, followed by the Western Cape at 717 cases, KwaZulu-Natal at 591 cases, Eastern Cape at 246 cases, Free State at 100 cases, Limpopo has 26 cases, the North West has 24 cases, Mpumalanga has 23 cases and the Northern Cape has 16 cases. There are 22 unallocated cases. “Today we regrettably report two new COVID-19 related deaths. Both deceased are from the Western Cape,” Minister of…

The JSE inaugural #Trade4Solidarity campaign has raised R34.4 million to be donated to the Solidarity Fund. The #Trade4Solidarity campaign was held over two days on Wednesday and Thursday this week, all revenues that the bourse earned across all asset classes were donated to the Solidarity Fund. The fundraising effort was launched in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appeal to the country for donations to the Solidarity Fund. The Solidarity Fund is a special vehicle set up to help government and civil society fund South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent further transmission and support those affected by it. JSE…

Vodacom has welcomed ICASA’s approval of its application for temporary spectrum in all of the 700, 800, 2300, 2600 and 3500 bands. In addition to the accelerated R500 million in network infrastructure investment announced on Wednesday by Vodacom, the mobile phone operator said the temporary assignment of the spectrum will help alleviate network congestion during the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. In recent weeks, mobile network traffic has increased by circa 40% as more people work from home and turn to online services for entertainment. This additional spectrum will be made available from the date which the temporary license is…

The Pan African Chamber of Commerce, today, announced the appointment of Phumza Dyani as Chief Innovation Officer and leader for the Africa Innovation Centre. Dyani’s appointment is effective today. Currently, the chief marketing & sales officer for Broadband Infraco, Dyani will be part of the digital economy and digital inclusion committee which seeks to bring together innovators, leading thinkers and actors from industry, Government, Academia and Non-Governmental Organisations, to advise African Governments through the AU and other regional economic communities on how to best meet their objectives to build the digital economy and eliminate digital divides. As Chief Innovation Officer…

As the country takes steps to address the fight against the spread of COVID-19, BMW South Africa is stepping up to help the cause. Last week, the company responded the call for help from the Gauteng Department of Health for donations of face masks and other protective gear for emergency services personnel. Recently the company handed over 40 000 high-quality protective respiratory (FFP2) face masks to the department in order to help protect health services workers. Many essential services use BMW vehicles and it is critical to the success of the national lockdown that these people remain mobile. 15 BMW…

Two South African entrepreneurs have developed a ground-breaking testing kit that promises to significantly speed up the process of identifying positive COVID-19 cases. Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellows Daniel Ndima and Dineo Lioma have developed a testing kit that provides results in just 65 minutes, through their company CapeBio. Testing is a pillar of any campaign against coronavirus, not only because it identifies infected individuals but because it also provides an idea of how the virus may be developing within the country. Once scientists potentially understand its spread, the government can plan resources accordingly. This is why the qCPR kits…