Category: Key Issues

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will today brief members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on a range of issues related to government efforts to implement rapid response interventions in municipalities and plans to tackle crime.

“As part of his delegated responsibilities, Deputy President Mashatile has been leading the implementation of rapid response interventions on service delivery, trouble-shooting service delivery hotspots, and monitoring the implementation of the District Development Model, which is an integrated planning model that government has adopted to fast-tracking service delivery,” said the Presidency in a statement.

Following the successful National Dialogue on Coalitions convened by the Deputy President, which took place in August at the University of the Western Cape, he will also brief members of the NCOP on emerging proposals aimed at stabilising coalitions within municipalities.

“In light of the persisting levels of violent crime in the country, Deputy President Mashatile will apprise members on government’s rapid response plans to tackle crime.”

He is also expected to update members of the NCOP on the country’s commitment and continued efforts to play a key role in the realisation of peace and stability in the region and the continent.

The Postbank has advised South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant beneficiaries that it is experiencing intermittent technical issues which are affecting some beneficiaries’ ability to withdraw their funds from ATMs and retailers.

The technical challenges also affect some SASSA Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 withdrawals within the retailers.

SASSA grants beneficiaries are assured that Postbank’s technical teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue.

“Postbank deeply understands the inconvenience and challenges that this technical issue poses to our valued SASSA grants customers. We apologise unreservedly to all our customers. Postbank will advise as soon as the technical issue is resolved,” Postbank said in a statement.

Postbank said social grants payments transactions via SASSA Gold Cards within the Post Office branches are processing normally and not affected by the issue.

An explosion from a gas pipeline in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, has left at least five people injured, while a truck and a building close to the Nelson Mandela Bridge caught fire.

According to a statement released on the City of Johannesburg’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account, Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda explained that the incident occurred while maintenance was being carried out on an Egoli Gas pipeline.

“The explosion is confirmed to be a gas explosion from an Egoli Gas pipeline that was undergoing maintenance.

“Following the Bree Street incident, the City has placed pressure on eGoli and other service providers to test and maintain their systems to prevent future accidents and minimise the risk to leaks and explosions. Sadly, this explosion occurred during the course of such maintenance.

“Residents in the area are advised that they may experience a strong gas scent and mustn’t be concerned as the gas is being released into the atmosphere and poses no risk to health and life,” Gwamanda said.

Since July, at least two major incidents have rocked the area, namely, a methane gas pipeline explosion at Lillian Ngoyi (Bree) Street, which killed one person and caused serious infrastructure damage, and last week’s Usindiso Building fire, which claimed at least 74 lives.

Gwamanda warned residents to stay clear of disaster areas for their own safety.

“We must, however, also decry a growing tendency where people converge around a scene of disaster, taking pictures and videos, as opposed to evacuating and moving away from such scenes. The Boksburg explosion must be a lesson that scenes of disaster must be cleared immediately by all,” said Gwamanda.

In a statement, Egoli Gas confirmed that the pipeline belongs to it and said the fire was “contained within 15 minutes”.

The company said it has been working closely with the City of Johannesburg since the Lillian Ngoyi Street explosion in July “to make the city safe”.

“This involves exposing sections of pipeline and sleeving to ensure integrity of the network. This process of making the city safe is being rolled out in phases, following the explosion in Bree Street in July and possible damages to the Egoli infrastructure due to that incident.

“A root cause analysis will be concluded and agreement has been reached with the executive team of Johannesburg that JMPD [Johannesburg Metro Police Department] and EMS [Emergency Medical Services] will be informed of future work to assist with the management of traffic and public movement in areas where work is planned,” Egoli gas concluded.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated his condemnation of the attacks on the judiciary.

“All the citizens of South Africa are enjoined to respect, protect and promote our Constitution and the rule of law by respecting and protecting the judicial authority of our courts.

“This is important to ensure that our constitutional democracy continues to thrive,” President Ramaphosa said on Tuesday in Cape Town.

Participating in a Questions for Oral Reply session in the National Assembly, the President explained that the judiciary is an essential part of the democratic order.

“The Constitution clearly states that the courts are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they must apply impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice.

“I have often spoken out publicly against attacks on our judiciary. Unless supported by evidence, such claims undermine confidence in our courts and weaken our Constitutional order,” he said.

The President acknowledged that the Constitution guarantees of freedom of expression and opinion. However, he reminded South Africans that these freedoms should not undermine the Constitutional order, as this may lead to the erosion of trust in the judiciary.

Section 165(3) of the Constitution states: “No person or organ of State may interfere with the functioning of the courts”.

President Ramaphosa encouraged anyone who feels aggrieved by the conduct of any member of the judiciary to approach any of the relevant bodies to lodge a complaint.

“In the case of judges, this body is the Judicial Service Commission and in the case of magistrates, it is the Magistrates Commission. If the grievance is about a court’s decision, there are processes of review and appeal available.

“The Chief Justice is tasked with the development, implementation and monitoring of the norms and standards applicable to the Judiciary and therefore the Chief Justice can also be approached to ensure that the norms and standards are adhered to,” the President said.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has appointed a commission of inquiry — led by Justice Sisi Khampepe — into the Usindiso Building fire in Johannesburg, which claimed the lives of at least 76 people and left scores others injured and homeless.

Justice Khampepe will be joined on the commission by Advocate Thulani Makhubela and Vuyelwa Mathilda Mabena.

“The commission will investigate the prevalence of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg, what caused the deadly blaze in Marshalltown, and who must shoulder total responsibility for this tragedy.

“In Johannesburg, the issue of stolen buildings is becoming a crisis, necessitating drastic action. A thorough intervention is required to ensure that disasters like the Marshalltown fire, one of the deadliest in recent memory, never happen again,” Lesufi said.

The commission’s terms of reference are expected to be gazetted soon, with a report to be produced for the Premier.

Lesufi urged affected residents to come forward and assist the commission in its work.

“The Gauteng government seeks a comprehensive overhaul of all the underlying issues that put the lives of the residents of the province in danger and the commission is the initial step in achieving this objective.

“We urge all affected communities and organisations to make submissions and work with the commission to get to the bottom of this intractable problem of hijacked buildings,” Lesufi said.

Survivors of a fire that engulfed a Johannesburg building in the early hours of the morning, are to be placed in alternative accommodation in nearby buildings.

The fire has claimed 73 lives with several others injured; while at least some 141 families have been displaced.

At the scene of the tragedy in inner city Johannesburg, Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, said humanitarian relief is already on site.

“There will be social relief. We have already identified three buildings that the surviving victims will be allocated to and we have agreed that we are not going to deal with people on the basis of their nationality. At this point, anybody who’s affected, we are going to give humanitarian assistance. This is a tragedy that affects people, irrespective of their nationality.

“We must convey our condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. This is a tragedy of monumental proportions and it is unfortunate that today we are here. This, for us, demonstrates a chronic problem of housing in our province as we have previously said, there’s at least 1.2 million people who need housing,” Maile said.

The MEC slammed what he called a “cartel” of people hijacking buildings in the inner city with no running water and limited services.

He added, however, that “if there is an official of the city found to have neglected their responsibilities…heads will definitely roll”.

“There are cartels who prey on poor vulnerable people. Some of these buildings, if not most of them, are actually in the hands of cartels who collect rental from our people. Some of these people who are in these buildings can afford to pay, therefore government must create stock for rental…that is affordable.

“There’s about 23 buildings that the Johannesburg Housing Company owns that are like [that building] that they have a plan but they don’t have money for. There’s a 100 buildings that are owned by the private sector and they are neglected. We have to be decisive in how we deal with that and one of the things might be to expropriate those buildings so that we can be able to house people,” he said.

Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, confirmed that the building belongs to the city but was overrun by illegal occupation.

“The building does belong to the city. It was…leased to an NGO to run a non-profit organisation to house women that needed to be given relief of some sort. That’s when things escalated out of control. When the city leases a building, whoever is taking responsibility needs to make sure that the building is well kept that they can return it to the city in the condition in which they found it in.

“But I cannot project and predict how the business would then find itself in a situation where it’s abandoning its operation,” he said.

Responding to questions on what the city is doing to address the issue of hijacked buildings, the mayor said the city is taking a cautious approach in order to avoid being litigated against.

“There are quite a number of non-profit organisations that have a keen interest in the city’s approach towards evicting buildings. So…we are taking a more prudent approach and we are not going there with brute force. We are trying to apply a maximum sensitive strategy.

“The MEC as well as the Minister [of Human Settlements], we had a conversation alluding to the fact that…[there are] quite a number of buildings that we can…activate in terms of providing alternative and social housing. The issue of…implementing the strategy of providing alternative accommodation so that we can repurpose these buildings for social housing is what we are particularly dealing with,” Gwamanda said.

The death toll from a fire which engulfed a five story building in the Johannesburg inner city in the early hours of Thursday morning has risen to 73, with some 43 people injured.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Addressing the media outside the building, City of Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, described how residents inside the building battled to escape the blaze.

“There are burnt bodies beyond recognition, I have never seen that sight before. Seventy three of them have been confirmed to be dead. One of the things that was an issue was that inside the building, it looks as if there was a gate which was closed so they could not go out. The main reason here that there’s a high death toll is that there are a lot of partitions and gates [inside the building].

“They said people were screaming and wanted to get out but they couldn’t. Many burnt bodies were found actually [stuck] at that gate. On the bottom floor, they had an informal settlement sort of. There were a lot of people who had built using highly flammable material,” he said.

The MMC said officials from the city’s disaster management have been dispatched to begin relief efforts.

“On our side, we’ve got the team which is coming in. The disaster [team] is here. We are going to give them the matrasses and all of that. The housing [department] is here as well meaning that we are going to get them alternative accommodation at this point in time.

“It is very traumatic. I have never seen bodies like that – burnt beyond recognition. There were also kids that were there. There’s a 12 month old kid that got burnt. It’s a very sad scene,” he said.

Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo has called for a culture of work, service and professionalism within the public sector and key stakeholders.

Mahlobo made the remarks during the Emfuleni Section 63 Support Stakeholder Meeting held at Vereeniging, Gauteng, on Friday.

The meeting, which was attended by Emfuleni Local Municipality Mayor Sipho Radebe and stakeholders from various structures representing business and civil society within the Sedibeng District Municipality, aimed to provide an update on the progress made on the Emfuleni Section 63 Interventions, and the planned work leading up to the commissioning of pump station 5, which has a capacity of 150 mega litres a day.

In 2021, Minister Senzo Mchunu invoked and placed Emfuleni Local Municipality under Section 63 of the Water Services Act and took over water and sanitation services following the municipality’s failure to manage its water and sanitation services, which resulted in sewer spillages in communities and into the Vaal River, polluting the raw water source.

The objective of the Section 63 interventions is to address sewerage spillage in the Sedibeng District’s Emfuleni and Midvaal, as a result of lack of maintenance and aging infrastructure, and demand that is higher than waste water treatment capacity.

Rand Water was appointed as an implementing agent to deliver an effective solution that will eradicate pollution in the river and its tributaries, and address water and sanitation service delivery challenges, inhibiting both social and economic development in the region.

Mahlobo was appointed by Mchunu to chair the Political Stakeholder Committee of the project in the region to keep all stakeholders abreast of the progress in the implementation of the intervention.

Mahlobo noted the overwhelming progress on the work that has been done to address spillages, and urged the department and other water sector stakeholders to improve their work ethic, service delivery, and professionalism, stressing the significance of regular information sharing to demonstrate the progress being made, and to foster patience among the public.

He said this approach will ensure that stakeholders are well-informed about the ongoing developments, and can collaboratively address any challenges that arise.

The Deputy Minister also emphasised the importance of transparency in water management.

“The sharing of information plays a crucial role in informing the public about the measures implemented to enhance the provision of adequate water services. It also allows for clarification on the progress made in various water projects.

“This, in turn, helps to build trust and confidence within the public. Additionally, transparency holds all stakeholders accountable for their actions, thus enhancing good governance within the water sector,” Mahlobo said.

The Deputy Minister also highlighted a need for collaborative efforts with the private sector to succeed.

He said, it is through the collective efforts of the department, including stakeholders, and the public, that meaningful change can occur.

“By cultivating a culture of work, service, and professionalism, the water and sanitation sector can address existing challenges and pave the way for a future marked by sustainable and equitable access to water resources,” the Deputy Minister said.

A number of stakeholders also expressed their gratitude towards progress made by the intervention, adding that it has been evident that the Emfuleni Section 63 worked extremely well and that more opportunities must be availed for women.

Significant progress in water-related projects

The Rand Water, which is responsible for supplying potable water to the Gauteng Province, highlighted significant progress in various water-related projects.

In its reports, the utility noted that the refurbishment of pump station 2 is currently at 80% completion with pump station 9, which has reached 50% completion.

The utility also highlighted that the gravity main to pump station 2 is halfway through its renovation, while pump station 10 is nearing completion at 95%.

Another progress noted was the successful completion of the collapsed sewer pipeline at Union Street in Vereeniging, which is 100% completed.

Mahlobo concluded the meeting by directing the Department of Water and Sanitation Provincial Head for Gauteng, Justice Maluleke and his team to ensure that real issues are captured and site visits take place at the specific areas and feedback given.

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy has called on developed countries to meet their commitments to fund the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which seeks to address climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

“South Africa calls on developed countries to meet their commitments to this fund in accordance with the Rio Principles, in particular the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) and Article 20 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),” Creecy said on Wednesday.

The Minister made these remarks as she has travelled to Vancouver, Canada, to participate in the 7th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly.

“The 7th GEF Assembly takes place as the world tackles the triple environmental challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The assembly provides the international community with an opportunity to discuss the key issue of funding required to meet these challenges through the GEF,” Creecy said.

Taking place from Wednesday until Friday, South Africa will assume a dual role in the GEF as both a recipient as well as a contributor.

“During the Assembly, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund will be launched. The GEF Council has approved the establishment and the programming direction of this new fund,” the Minister said.

The assembly will feature high-level sessions, roundtables, side events, workshops, and networking opportunities.

The Minister will participate in a panel discussion titled “Solutions for a Healthy Planet: Responsible, Inclusive and Transformative Governance”.

Established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the GEF is a partnership for international cooperation where 185 countries work together with international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, to address global environmental issues.

The GEF Assembly is composed of all 185 member countries and meets every three to four years at a ministerial level to review general policies as well as review and evaluate the GEF’s operation based on reports submitted to Council.

They also review the membership of the facility and consider, for approval by consensus, amendments to the Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured GEF on the basis of recommendations by the Council.

Efforts against the proliferation of illegal and unlicensed firearms, are paying off with Gauteng police having recovered over 400 firearms and other ammunition in the past two weeks.

The recoveries said the South African Police Service (SAPS), are as a result of daily crime prevention actions conducted by police members and intelligence driven operations including the weekly Operation Shanela.

On Wednesday last week, members of the Ekurhuleni District Crime Intelligence, Ekurhuleni District Trio Task Team, Bad Boys Security and Blue Hawk Tactical, operationalised information regarding illegal miners who were allegedly in possession of an unlicensed firearm in the Primrose area.

The information led the team to four suspects who were found in possession of a rifle with ammunition and 13 bags of gold bearing soil.

All four suspects were arrested and charged with the possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of gold bearing material, including bribery as one of them tried to bribe the police for his freedom.

In another incident, still in the Ekurhuleni district, members of Putfontein recovered a firearm with a filed off serial number after they followed up on information. Two suspects were arrested and charged with the possession of an unlicensed firearm.

In the Johannesburg District, a team consisting of the Soweto Crime Intelligence and Soweto Flying Squad operationalised information about individuals planning a business robbery in the Diepkloof area.

The identified vehicle to be used by the suspects was spotted and stopped. Three occupants were inside and when searched, police discovered a revolver with a filed off serial number and ammunition.

The suspects were all arrested for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition and the police also seized the vehicle which is suspected to have been used in the commission of crime.

The SAPS said most of the firearms are recovered during routine patrols, vehicle check points and during crime prevention operations conducted throughout the province.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela applauded the law enforcement members and private security companies through the Eyes and Ears E(2) project for their prompt response to tip-offs and intelligence information given to them by community members.

“Recoveries of these firearms and ammunition is ascribed to partnership policing and these proves that together we can fight against crime and make our province a safe place to be,” said Mawela.