Category: Government Opinion Pieces

South Africa is to deploy at least 2 900 members of the South African National Defence Force to assist in the fight against illegal armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the deployment in line with fulfilling South Africa’s international obligation towards the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to support the DRC.

The deployment comes as the DRC battles Tutsi-led M23 rebels whose attacks and advances in recent days, is threatening the North Kivu provincial capital, Goma.

According to media reports, decades of conflicts in eastern Congo between myriad rival armed groups over land and resources have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than seven million.

The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was deployed on 15 December 2023 to support the government of the DRC to restore peace and security in the eastern DRC, which has witnessed an increase in conflicts and instability caused by the resurgence of armed groups.

“The employment will cover the period from 15 December 2023 to 15 December 2024 and it was authorised in accordance with the provisions of section 201(2) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

“The budgeted expenditure to be incurred for the employment amounts to just over R2 billion. This expenditure will not impact provisions for the defence force’s regular maintenance and emergency repairs,” the Presidency said in a statement on Monday.

The obligation to contribute troops to the SADC mission in the DRC is borne by all SADC Member States. SADC is a 16-member group of countries, including the Congo.

The deployment of the SAMIDRC was approved by the Extraordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Windhoek, Republic of Namibia, on 08 May 2023 as a regional response to address the unstable and deteriorating security situation prevailing in the eastern DRC.

As part of the SAMIDRC, a SADC regional force from the Republics of Malawi, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania and elements of the DRC Armed Forces are working with the Congolese Army, the Forces Armees de la Republic Democratique du Congo (FARDC), in fighting armed groups operating in the eastern DRC.

In a statement in January, SADC said the presence of the SAMIDRC demonstrates the commitment of SADC member states to supporting the DRC in its efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and, ultimately, create an enabling environment for sustainable development and prosperity.

Government has procured and connected more 7 000MW of generating capacity onto the grid through its Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP).

This is according to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

The Minister was speaking during the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) held in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The government-driven REIPPP aims to bring much needed additional megawatts onto the grid through private sector investment in renewable energy such as wind, biomass and small hydro.

Mantashe said that since the programme’s launch in 2011, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has procured some 13 266MW from 140 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) whose technologies are based on renewable energy, diesel and battery energy storage.

“From these capacities, 7 362MW was from 95 IPPs, who are currently connected to the grid and supplying the much needed electricity. A combination of [renewables and base load] is required to deal with the challenges facing us. The remaining 45 IPPs, with a combined capacity of 5 904MW, are either in construction or preparing to reach commercial close.

“NERSA [National Energy Regulator of South Africa] has concurred with the Minister of Electricity [Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa] that 2500MW of nuclear capacity has to be connected,” he said.

Under the current administration, some 5 939MW has been procured from 46 IPPs, with some 150MW already connected to the grid and a further 1 587MW expected to supply electricity from September this year.

The Minister said South Africa has the potential to lead the way in the global energy transition.

“We firmly believe that South Africa holds significant quantities of minerals needed for the transition from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions, which informs the view that our mining industry is a sunrise industry,” he said.

Delving deeper into mining, Mantashe said over the past 30 years of democracy, government has done much work in transforming the industry.

“When we did research two years ago… we discovered that at the nine major mining companies that we studied, each one of them didn’t have less than 50% of the management structure being black. We did see that in procurement initiatives created, a lot of business people who are not necessarily seen as part of the mining sector but who have developed on the back of mining.

“If you talk coal, only one major company is white, the majority of them are black. In the manganese sector… black ownership in mining companies is a long list. In gold…ARM is dominant, Harmony is dominant. In the PGMs [platinum group metals] …[there is] black ownership. If you look at all these companies, you can see that there is practical progress being made,” Mantashe said.

He said for the sector to continue growing, exploration is needed.

“Cognisant of the fact that mines are born out of exploration, we have just launched an exploration fund. It is important that we invest in exploration so that the future of this very important sector continues to be bright,” Mantashe said.

The Western Cape provincial government says it is ramping up efforts to step in to support Eskom to fix the electricity outage in the Central Karoo.

This comes after a thunderstorm ravaged the district municipality earlier this month, damaging infrastructure.

According to the Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, the Central Karoo is currently facing hard rock formations, faulty equipment, and Stage 6 load shedding.

“Staff across the Western Cape provincial government have been assisting with all sorts of support that Eskom needs to expedite this issue, from procuring drilling equipment to transporting and moving generators and equipment to the affected areas, they are working tirelessly,” Winde said, thanking all their staff and partners.

“I want to reassure the residents of the Karoo that we are working flat out to help Eskom restore electricity to you.”

Eskom, said the provincial government, reported that a hard rock formation on the site between Touws River and Laingsburg led to the breakdown of its rock drill, which is now preventing the completion of the last four 2.4 metres deep holes that are needed to anchor the remaining temporary poles to support the new electrical lines as part of the outage repair work underway in the Karoo.

Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell, said the provincial government has already at the weekend reached out to equipment and transport contractors to assist Eskom in procuring another drilling rig as well as an additional 20-ton and 35-ton excavator.

“The faulty rock drill is currently being fixed but we need to do everything in our power to avoid delays on this project. As such we will support Eskom where we can with procurement and logistics,” Bredell said.

However, he said the rapid acceleration of load shedding to level 6 has further compounded matters for the affected Karoo towns, as generator availability in the province is stretched to the limit.

“Many of these generators are from an R88 million allocation that the WCG made to municipalities at the beginning of 2023 when they needed to secure safe drinking water and water treatment as the worst impacts of Eskom’s load shedding were becoming increasingly felt.

“I never anticipated that this intervention would be so deeply needed under circumstances like this where entire Karoo towns have been without Eskom power since Saturday, 3 February,” said Winde.

He said the province is also seeing loan generators being called back from the Karoo towns as they are needed by their owners to cope with the extended load shedding.

“We must allocate generator capacity where it is being utilised optimally at this stage. As such, it was worrying to learn of a large 65kVA loan generator from the Garden Route District Municipality that broke down in Kannaland over the weekend. We will investigate the cause of the breakdown.”

Bredell explained that at least four additional generators are required to provide power to critical infrastructure in Leeu Gamka and Prince Albert Road at this stage.

Meanwhile, the provincial Department of Social Development is providing food relief to indigent households across the Central Karoo.

The department has also enabled three old age facilities in Prince Albert, Laingsburg, and Ladismith, to buy diesel for generators as their diesel supplies have been running low.

Social Development MEC, Sharna Fernandez, said food relief efforts were taking place over the weekend.

“DSD staff have been working around the clock on assessments and vetting processes to ensure food relief goes to the residents who need it most.

“Hundreds of beneficiaries were assisted through this weekend’s efforts, in various towns, and the work continues. Thank you to the incredible staff on the ground, and the municipalities and stakeholders for working with us to help our vulnerable residents for whom these power outages have been especially hard,” Fernandez added.

According to the province, Eskom has indicated the project is still scheduled for completion by Thursday, 15 February.

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) continues to deliver free disposable sanitary pads to indigent/poor girls and women since 2019.

The department has since 2019 been delivering the sanitary products through its sanitary dignity programme.

From 2019 to 2023, the programme has benefited 4.3 million learners.

The department revealed that the current budget for the programme in the 2023/24 financial year is R235 million, which will increase in the 2024/25 financial year as well as into the outer years.

The Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework (SDIF) was developed and approved by Cabinet in 2017 to manage menstruation in a safe, knowledgeable, and dignified manner and to ensure that female learners attend school uninterrupted by the normal process of menstruation.

This therefore addresses menstrual health and sexual reproductive health rights of girl learners.

The provision of such well-needed products has enabled girl learners to reach their fullest potential at school, just like their fellow boy learners – therefore the programme provides equal education opportunities amongst all genders.

The department highlighted that in line with the implementation of the SDIF, provinces receive the allocation through a direct equitable share budget from National Treasury to roll out the programme to quintiles 1, 2, and 3 (no fee paying) schools, special and farm schools.

Another contributor to the programme is the Department of Higher Education, Training and Innovation through ensuring that the National Student Financial Scheme (NSFAS) grant beneficiaries in post-education and training institutions (universities, colleges and technical and vocational education and training colleges) receive monthly stipends of R290 to purchase menstrual products of their choice, amongst other things.

The number of such beneficiaries reached in 2023 is 429,000 female students.

“Although provision is made to ensure that girls and women’s dignity is addressed and that menstrual products poverty is mitigated, many other indigent deserving women and girls cannot be reached due to budgetary constraints,” Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement on Monday.

The Minister added that as the programme matures, the dignity of women and girls will be restored.

“That is why the Cabinet indicated in 2017 that the programme will take an incremental approach as far as budget allocation is concerned. As a result, the allocation was R 157 million in 2019/20 and by 2023/24 it had increased to R235 million,” she said.

Entrepreneurship

Another important development is that through the programme, women, youth, and persons with disabilities enterprises have emerged in the form of manufacturing and distribution of menstrual products through provincial government public procurement processes.

The department said that one of the highlights of this achievement has been assisting a small local brand called Lindiwe Pads to grow and create its own sanitary pads local manufacturing factory in Gauteng.

The company has impressive facilities, state-of-the-art machinery, and raw materials.

Apart from the owner’s bold initiatives, this has been through efforts to give strategic, operational and financial support to Lindiwe Pads provided by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Department of Small Business Development, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the DWYPD.

The role of the DWYPD has been to provide policy clarity, and moral encouragement, introducing the owner to various platforms for publicity as well as engaging with the IDC to vouch for sustainability of the company.

Lindiwe Pads enterprise has been awarded a contract to distribute disposable sanitary pads that are South African Bureau on Standards (SABS) compliant in one of the education districts in the Eastern Cape.

The National Strategic Plan on GBVF (gender-based violence and femicide) calls for the economic empowerment of women and through the economic value chain of the sanitary dignity programme, women, youth and persons with disability-owned enterprises can benefit.

In 2019 a zero VAT rate was pronounced by the Minister of Finance on disposable sanitary pads to make them more accessible for women and girls.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government supports the call for a pledge that men in South Africa are invited to take to demonstrate their personal commitment to ending gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

“Our ultimate goal is to end gender-based violence altogether by mobilising all of society,” President Ramaphosa said during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday night.

Highlighting government’s efforts and achievements to end the scourge, which he described as the second pandemic in the country, the Head of State said together with civil society, government developed the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on gender-based violence as a society-wide response to this pandemic.

“Around R21 billion was dedicated over the medium term to the implementation of the six pillars of the plan, including the economic empowerment of women.

“New laws were introduced to strengthen the response of the criminal justice system gender based violence and provide better support to survivors of such violence,” the President said.

The NSP on GBVF is driven by six pillars, including:
• Extensive legal reform;
• Support for survivors through the provision of evidence toolkits at police stations;
• Psychology and social services;
• The establishment of the GBVF Response Fund which commits both government and the private sector to fund the fight against GBVF;
• Support for Thuthuzela and Khuseleka Care centres, which provide vital services for GBV survivors; and
• The economic empowerment of women.

The President said women are also in the process of developing their own pledge.

As the country celebrates 30 years of freedom, the President noted that government has safeguarded and promoted the basic rights in the Constitution and these include freedom of speech, association, and belief.

“We have defended media freedom and the independence of the judiciary. We have protected and advanced the rights of members of the LGBTQI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex] community, and continue to combat all forms of prejudice and intolerance,” the President said.

President Ramaphosa further reaffirmed government’s commitment to continue to build an inclusive economy, focusing on the empowerment of black and women South Africans, advancing workers’ rights, intensifying land reform, and pursuing a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.

“We will continue to strengthen our law enforcement institutions, tackle gender-based violence and fight corruption to make South Africa a safe place for all. We will continue to strengthen local government, professionalise the public service and ensure that public officials are held accountable for their actions.

“We will continue to position our economy to grow and compete in a fast-changing world, to support small businesses, to give young people economic opportunities and to provide social protection to the vulnerable,” President Ramaphosa said.

This year’s SONA, which was the last one for the sixth administration, was held under the theme: “Following up on our commitments: Making your future work better”.

Government’s “single-minded focus” on implementing plans to urgently address the energy crisis are making gains – with the end of load shedding “finally within reach”.

This according to President Cyril Ramaphosa who delivered the State of the Nation Address at the Cape Town City Hall, on Thursday evening.

The President said government has a clear plan – the Energy Action Plan – which is being implemented with “single-minded focus through the National Energy Crisis Committee”.

“We have delivered on our commitments to bring substantial new power through private investment on to the grid, which is already helping to reduce load shedding. Last year, we implemented a major debt relief package which will enable Eskom to make investments in maintenance and transmission infrastructure and ensure its sustainability going forward.

“Since we revived our renewable energy programme five years ago, we have connected more than 2500 MW of solar and wind power to the grid with three times this amount already in procurement or construction,” he said.

The amount of rooftop solar has also increased since government implemented tax incentives and financial support with regard to this.

Regulatory reforms implemented by government have also enabled private investment in electricity generation enabling the development of more than 120 new private energy projects.

“These are phenomenal developments that are driving the restructuring of our electricity sector in line with what many other economies have done to increase competitiveness and bring down prices.

“Through all of these actions, we are confident that the worst is behind us and the end of load shedding is finally within reach. But we are not stopping there,” President Ramaphosa said.

To further strengthen South Africa’s hand in energy security, some 14 000km of new transmission lines are to be built in South Africa to connect renewable energy projects.

“To ensure that we never face a similar crisis ever again, we are reforming our energy system to make it more competitive, sustainable and reliable into the future. We are going to build more than 14 000km of new transmission lines to accommodate renewable energy over the coming years,” he said.

President Ramaphosa explained that to fast track the building of the transmission lines private investment in transmission infrastructure will be roped in “through a variety of innovative investment models”.

Following the State of the Nation Address on Thursday, Social Development Deputy Minister, Dr Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, in partnership with USAID, will on Saturday launch ChommY at the Silverstream Primary School in Manenberg, in the Western Cape.

ChommY is a social and behavioural change programme for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 14 years.

Manenberg is largely a coloured community on the Cape Flats that has been characterised as an area plagued by gang-related violent crimes and drug abuse.

ChommY, a colloquial term for “friend”, seeks to build a positive friendship among children and encourages young boys and girls to motivate one another to minimise risky behaviour and social ills, including, bullying.

“The programme gives children the opportunity to develop a personal plan for their lives and emphasises the importance of support from parents and communities to enable young people to make informed decisions. The programme forms part of a basket of social and behavioural change programmes offered by the Department of Social Development,” the department said in a statement.

Observed under the theme: “Invest in my Future…Protect me Today”, ChommY aims to generate knowledge, develop skills, and empower young people to make informed choices and contribute on reducing high prevalence of HIV infections, substance abuse and prevention of teenage pregnancy.

Bogopane-Zulu will facilitate dialogues with the children as they share their social experiences and solutions.

Bokamoso – the programme’s mascot – will interact with the children as they participate in indigenous games.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) is satisfied that all deployments are in place to ensure the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2024 takes place in a peaceful, safe and secure environment.

The NATJOINTS structure responsible for coordinating all security and law enforcement operations throughout the country is led by the South African Police Service (SAPS), State Security Agency (SSA) and South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

In a statement on Wednesday, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the structure has been meeting regularly in the build-up to SONA to ensure that the plans that are in place are adequate for the safety and security of participants, spectators, communities living near the Cape Town City Hall and businesses operating in this vicinity.

“The operational plan is in place and all critical role players are ready to execute their various responsibilities, as per their mandate.

“All law enforcement agencies led by the SAPS have mobilised resources to heighten police visibility with the aim of preventing and combatting any form of opportunistic crimes before, during and post the planned address,” Mathe said.

Residents of Cape Town, spectators and those who are operating businesses in the vicinity of the Cape Town City Hall are also advised about road closures by the City of Cape Town Traffic Services ahead of the delivery of the President’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday.

READ | Public advised of road closures ahead of SONA 2024

“It is important to emphasise that those who are not accredited or authorised to be in attendance should avoid the area around the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, 8 February 2024.

“It is on that score that we urge the cooperation of those who will be in and around the vicinity of the Cape Town City Hall on the day.

“Any lawlessness and any form of criminality and any behaviour that contravenes the law will be dealt with accordingly. No disruptions will be allowed and tolerated by law enforcement,” Mathe said.

She said all law enforcement agencies securing the SONA are expected to execute their duties according to their constitutional mandate and within relevant prescripts before, during and after the main address.

Mathe said NATJOINTS is also policing build-up activities to the SONA and the four-day Investing in African Mining Indaba that is currently underway. Thus far, these events have been incident-free, with no incidents of disruption and criminality reported.

“The NATJOINTS is thus satisfied and confident that like all other State of the Nation Addresses, this one will also take place in a safe and secure environment,” she said.

Acting regional manager of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) in the Western Cape, Raymond Maseko, says the agency has done much work to recover the province’s network following a series of challenges.

Maseko was speaking on the sidelines of a blitz activation at the Cape Town train station ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to be held at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening.

“We had a reset. Post-COVID when we started, there were only 14 stations in the Western Cape that had train access…out of 125 stations.

“Last year when we were here, the community of the central line did not have access to trains. As we speak today, we have access to trains up to Nyanga. There are only 11 stations  in the Western Cape out of 125 that do not have train access.

“If you go currently to Phillipi station, there are people working there. If you go to Mandalay station, there are people working there and Kapteinsklip, there are people working there. We are on the cusp of actually recovering the Western Cape network in its entirety,” he said.

Maseko highlighted that despite all the progress made, criminality – specifically copper cable theft – is hampering the agency’s work.

“In South Africa, we have a scourge of cable theft. This is affecting our business [seriously]. Most of the lines that are not available today [is due to] the copper theft that has happened. This morning, we had cable theft at Tygerberg and this… affected the entire system from after 3am. We were only [set] to recover it moments ago. The impact is so severe.

“We need South Africans to partner with us. There is nothing like ‘government infrastructure’. In essence, there is just South African infrastructure because all of our taxes are what is creating this infrastructure. It is for South Africans to actually protect the infrastructure. You see something, say something. Do not just keep quiet,” he said.

Maseko said the agency has also completed building student accommodation that will accommodate thousands of students in the city.

“There is student accommodation that we started building just before lockdown… up until now… [some] 3 200 beds. There are already 1 500 students enjoying the benefits that we have put up. The idea from PRASA is densification and its also transport-orientated development.

“That means that we are asking the cities – we are asking that any development that happens – make it around transport hubs. Think about what we have done here. Students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology can be here… that is somewhere around Belville, and UCT that is around town, they can always live here.

“They get off here, get into a train, get off at the nearest station… and then they go off into their places of higher institutions,” Maseko said.