Category: News

The Gauteng Provincial Government is set to release R1.2 billion towards resolving the energy crisis in the province.

“In a few weeks, we will appoint six developers who will commence the construction of an 800 megawatts solar farm in Merafong. This will be followed by the installation of roof top solar panels in government buildings especially hospitals, clinics and schools,” Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday in Johannesburg.

Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, he said the electricity deficit is focused at 4058 mega volt-ampermps (MVA) in 2025.

“…This is slightly high given Eskom’s inability to generate more from its current fleet. As Gauteng, we have been working on finding solutions to the energy crisis. We have established an energy crisis response team that engages with the National Energy Committee and working with local government and energy experts,” Lesufi said.

Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on for the past few months, leading to increased stages of load shedding and a devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and businesses.

“We will engage with Johannesburg Municipality’s City Power as well as Tshwane’s Rooiwal facility with an intention of supporting them to expand and generate more power. We will meet with owners of Kelvin Power Station to establish how we can partner with them to limit load shedding in Gauteng. From next week, we will advertise a call for proposals for alternative suppliers of energy that can contribute to a solution of the energy crisis and the reindustrialization of Gauteng,” he said.

The Premier welcomed the declaration on a National State of Disaster, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month.

The President explained that the declaration will enable government to “provide practical measures” to assist businesses that have been devastated by the effects of load shedding.

Where technically possible, it will also enable government to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding.

It will enable government to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protection as well as procurement principles and technical standards.

Furthermore, a Minister of Energy in the Presidency is expected to be appointed to focus solely on bringing the country out of the current energy deficit.

Prior to the declaration, government had already been working on ending loadshedding as the President announced a plan to address the crisis in July 2022.

The plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.

Since the plan was announced, there has been important progress in implementing the Energy Action Plan.

Climate change

Lesufi indicated that the province’s air quality continues to deteriorate.

“The water quality and now quantity is on a decline. This places vulnerable sectors more at risk. As government, we are making efforts to mitigate against the factors, which contribute to climate change. Among other efforts in combating climate change, we are investing in green technology and planting trees,” he said.

With the country experiencing natural disasters, the Premier assured citizens that the provincial government is ready to deal with them.

“For the reasons above, we are establishing a combat ready Disaster Management Centre with state-of-the-art disaster management equipment. It will also house helicopters, drones, and highly skilled personnel that can respond within the shortest possible time.

“Areas prone to disasters such as Jukskei River in Alexandra Township will receive additional support to relocate within the shortest possible time when the disaster centre is in full force,” he said.

North West Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC, Nono Maloyi, has urged communities throughout the province, especially those in low-lying areas, to exercise caution as the province continues to experience above normal rains.

“The North West province, like many other parts of the country, has been receiving heavy rains in the past days, causing flooding in areas such as Tswaing, Mahikeng, Rustenburg, Moretele, Matlosana, JB Marks and Lekwa Teemane Local Municipalities.

“The most affected communities are those staying in flood prone areas, such as below flood lines, wetlands and those staying in residential areas surrounded by water dams,” Maloyi said.

Maloyi said the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC), has activated a team of disaster management officials across all local and district municipalities to respond to incidents throughout the season, and to assist communities affected by the floods.

He said officials from the disaster management centres in the affected municipalities have been on the ground to conduct assessments to determine the extent of damage and to coordinate various interventions from stakeholders, which include the South African Red Cross Society, South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), Gift of the Givers, government departments and other social partners.

“In Lekwa Teemane in Dr Ruth Segmotsi Mompati District, all the residents, mainly business owners, have been evacuated after the Bloemhof Dam sluice gates were opened. Some residents in JB Marks Local Municipality and in Orkney Vaal in Matlosana Local Municipality were evacuated and are currently staying with friends and relatives,” Maloyi said.

In Deelpan, Tswaing Local Municipality, more than 20 people agreed to be evacuated and they will be accommodated at a local community hall.

With more rains predicted, Maloyi said the department through the PDMC, continues to monitor and coordinate interventions and recovery measures in order to avoid life-threatening and emergency cases.

He said disaster management officials remain on high alert as the heavy downpours continue.

“We would like to let communities know that our officials are on high alert and continue to monitor the situation. The roads are slippery and we therefore urge road users to drive carefully.

“Those in [close] proximity of rivers or dams must monitor water levels and must evacuate as soon as the water level rises.

“Although no major incidents have been reported since the start of heavy downpours, members of the public are urged to contact their municipal disaster management centres in case of flooding or any other incidents,” the MEC said.

A National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) assistant director and her son (28), have been convicted by the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court for unlawfully being in possession of top-secret information.

Jacobeth Lepinka (52) and her son, Kedifentse (28), were convicted on Friday and will be sentenced on 16 May.

National Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo said: “In 2014, NPA discovered that Lepinka took the laptop with classified information to her place of residence without authorisation.

“A case of theft was registered and the incident reported to the Hawks’ Head Office based Serious Corruption Investigation team for further handling. The investigation commenced and led the team to the laptop that was utilised by Lepinka’s son who claimed to own the device.”

Mbambo said subsequent to a lengthy investigation, the accused were summoned to court where they were tried.

“Jacobeth was found guilty on charges of fraud, unauthorised access to information and unauthorised disclosure of information whereas Kedifentse was convicted for unauthorised access to information,” she said.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Deputy Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng, will this week assess the extent of damage caused by rains that ravaged parts Mpumalanga.

The province, like other parts of the country, over the past week experienced persistent heavy rains that left a trail of destruction.

In a statement, the department said inclement weather destroyed properties and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and other crossings in a number of areas.

“The Deputy Minister will join disaster management teams that are providing the much needed assistance to the affected communities.”

With the national state of disaster declared, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) continues to coordinate with all Provincial Disaster Teams to mitigate the impact.

This as government declared a National State of Disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods that have affected Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West provinces.

The declaration, made in terms of the Disaster Management Act of 2002, was gazetted by CoGTA Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

The Deputy Minister will assess the extent and impact of the damages and further reinforce relief measures for affected communities.

“As a caring government, we are continually calling for the heightening of the risk caused by floods,” said the department.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has urged all communities along the Vaal Dam and Orange River to consider evacuating and move to high lying areas as water levels rise.

This as 12 flood gates were opened at the Vaal Dam, and outflow at the Bloemhof Dam has been increased to 3000 cubic metres per second.

“All residents of settlements (and in towns) along the banks of the Lower Vaal and Lower Orange Rivers should consider evacuating or moving to higher places that are at least above the 1 in 20- year flood line (a level at which people would likely be safer to be reached by water emanating from the releases).

“These communities should refer to municipal development plans, Local Authorities and Disaster Management Agencies for locations of these flood lines. The water release increases are necessitated by the continuous and intense rainfall that is causing rivers to overflow and dams to spill,” said the department in a statement.

The department appealed to all communities along the Vaal and Orange Rivers, especially those along the banks of lower Vaal and Lower Orange Rivers to remain vigilant of possible flooding and to consider evacuating and moving to high lying areas as water levels rise.

The department also urged farmers to remove livestock, movable properties and equipment out and away from the riverbanks. It further urged the general community to avoid any activity that may put their lives in harm.

“The Vaal and Orange River System is experiencing rapid rising water levels due to the heavy rains and the department continues to assess and implement measures to mitigate effects of these floods on its infrastructure and guarantee full capacity on its storage reservoirs after the rainfall season.”

To acquire reliable information about prevailing flooding status, the department said it has put in place flood monitoring and forecasting systems that provides real-time data on rainfall, river and dam levels.

“These data are analysed continuously to enable the department to determine the appropriate releases from each dam”.

Since rainfall and floods are a natural phenomenon and therefore control of the events may be limited, the department advises against putting essential services and human settlements within parts of the floodplains where there is likelihood of frequent flooding that is within a 1 in 100-year flood line.

Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi says despite challenges including the mounting backlog, government remains “unshaken” in its determination to provide decent housing for the poor, the elderly and the vulnerable.

Kubayi was delivering her speech at the debate of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Wednesday.

“Our guiding principle is our belief that all of us regardless of race, gender and creed, deserve a decent shelter and comfort. It is this principle, together with the constitutional injunction on Section 26 that informs the housing policies of the ANC-led government.

“The poor, the elderly and the vulnerable are the priority target of our subsidized housing programme. The housing backlog is huge and the pace of provision of new houses can be greatly improved. However, our determination to provide decent houses remains unshaken,” she said.

Kubayi said one of the “serious” challenges the department is facing is the housing for the missing middle who “earn too much to qualify for fully subsidised homes” but also do not qualify for financing.

“A revised First-Home-Finance scheme, formerly known as the Help-Me-Buy-A-Home program was revised in this financial year, amongst others, to allow for the funding of households who hold “Permission-To-Occupy” certificates in communal land.

“This is particularly important in relation to the extension of credit and funding to households in rural areas. It will allow the ‘missing middle’ to start acquiring economic assets without which they struggle to meaningfully participate in the economy,” she said.

The Minister emphasised that added to this, the department has acquired buildings in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kimberley for social housing with sites in the latter two having a potential of at least 1200 units.

Other social housing projects that are expected to be launched in the coming weeks include:

• The Tshwane-Marabastad project which has a total of 1200 units.
• The Mohlakeng Project with a total of 1020 units in Gauteng’s West Rand.
• The Hope City Project which has 114 units located in Mpumalanga’s Nkangala Municipality.
• The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality based John Street Project with 385 units.
• The Maitland Project Cape Town with a total of 204 units that will be completed by the end of March 2023.

Furthermore, she said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has already earmarked some 14 000 hectares (ha) of land and 32 land parcels measuring some 10 350ha for human settlements.

The land parcels are expected to bring some 64 000 housing opportunities.

Kubayi highlighted that government’s efforts to bring housing to those who are in need are being undermined by “serious pushback and resistance”.

“I am speaking here of a group in the urban rich that we can call ‘not-in-my-neighbourhood’. These are well-resourced groups whose sole purpose is to ensure that the poor and the working class families remain in the outskirts of our cities. This group is motivated by a mixture of racism and a disdain for the poor and the working class.

“They utilise all sorts of tricks to resist, including the courts causing long delays for these families to receive shelter. All freedom loving South Africans irrespective of race and class need to stand up to these bullies.

“Ours is a determination and commitment to ensure that there is housing, security and comfort for all. We shall not fail our people,” she said.

Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi says government is fast tracking the release of title deeds for subsidised houses “as an important instrument of economic empowerment”.

Kubayi was speaking during Parliament’s debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week.

Currently, the backlog stands at some one million houses – an estimated R242 billion in assets.

“Working together with Operation Vulindlela, the Department of Human Settlements will expedite the provision of title deeds for subsidized houses.

“Over and above this, we are working around the clock to unblock the title deeds issuing across provinces. We are working with the communities of Mawiga in Gauteng to unlock 14 000 title deeds of houses that they were never allowed to own by the Apartheid government.

“We have established a steering committee with the community to ensure accountability and transparency of the work done,” she said at Wednesday’s debate.

In relation to tittle deeds for informal settlements, the Minister said the department is working to upgrade and bring much needed services to South Africa’s 2700 informal settlements through the provision of water, electricity and sanitation.

“When an informal settlement is upgraded, it means it has gone through the process of formalisation, such that title deeds can be issued for individual stands. In the last financial year, about 24 671 stands were created through the informal upgrading process,” she said.

Kubayi explained that upgrading these informal settlements also allows government to respond more efficiently to disasters in those areas.

“With climate change, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and most of our infrastructure was not designed to be resilient. In the past five days, our country has experienced devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

“In the past few days, we have also seen numerous fires here in the Western Cape, especially in informal settlements.

“For an effective response to these disasters, we need land, we need South Africans to embrace each other in integrated communities and political parties that don’t play politics at a time when families are homeless, vulnerable and distressed.

“Going forward, we also have begun to reconceptualise how we develop human settlements so that we can incorporate climate change resilience in the infrastructure we provide,” said the Minister.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the quality of education can only be achieved if learners and teachers are safe and healthy and if schools are free of violence, abuse and harm.

The Minster reflected on President Ramaphosa’s call during the Basic Education Lekgotla for the sector to institutionalise Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) as a tool to improve learner outcomes.

The Minister was speaking during a Parliamentary Debate of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday.

Addressing the social ills in schools, such as bullying, gender-based violence (GBV), child pregnancy, alcohol, and drug peddling, Minister Motshekga said that the National School Safety Framework remains as a strategic response.

“Our schools must be safe, weapons-free, substance-free spaces for learners and teachers, where corporal punishment, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, homophobia, racism, substance abuse and bullying are not tolerated.

“The National School Safety Framework remains our strategic response to violence, bullying and abuse in schools,” she said.

The Framework calls on all stakeholders in schools – management, teachers, unions, parents, learners, and communities to work together to make schools safe and drug-free spaces, where all learners can learn and thrive.

The Minister said the department will continue to work closely with the South African Police Services and community organisations to improve safety in all schools.

She highlighted that adolescent girls and young women remain the most vulnerable cohort in our schools and in society.

Motshekga added that girls face complex and serious challenges, including HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, rape, abuse, and early and unintended pregnancy.

“Whilst we have significantly reduced adolescent fertility rates over the last few decades, the numbers of early and unintended pregnancies amongst adolescent girls and young women, remain unacceptably high.

“The consequences of early pregnancy to society, and the lives of young women and girls, are often devastating. About a third of girls, who fall pregnant, do not return to school; and are then vulnerable to further pregnancies; they have compromised health outcomes and higher mortality rates during childbirth; and their lack of access to education, leads to the creation of poverty traps for families and communities,” the Minister said.

She emphasised that the DBE, working with other government departments and partners, will continue to work and support young women and girls in schools.

The department will also continue to strengthen the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in all schools across the country.

The Minister said it was clear that the education system cannot survive without the direct involvement of all communities of trust, not only those who are part of the Sector, but everyone.

“There is no doubt that the Basic Education system has begun to reach the desired stability; which is healthy for a large and important system as ours. The unquestionable resilience our school community has shown, against such a devastating pandemic, the persistent loadshedding, and sporadic service delivery protests, cannot go by unnoticed,” she said.

Motshekga added that the Class of 2022 has clearly demonstrated that with all requisite support and intervention programmes, they can make it.

Closing the infrastructure gap – Progress and Challenges

Minister Mothsekga said the upgrading and maintenance of school infrastructure remain a key priority.

“For this reason, we are looking at different ways of dealing with this serious challenge which amongst others, includes changing the framework for the Education Infrastructure Grant, the delivery model for different types of structures, among others.

“We will be giving a dedicated report back on infrustructure in education, because infrastructure delivery has become one of our most seriously challenging area,” she said.

The DBE, working together with its provincial counterparts, has built 315 new schools; completed water supply projects at 1 259 schools and electricity supply projects at 373 schools.

With regard to sanitation, 2 500 schools, have been supplied with age-appropriate sanitation facilities through the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) programme.

“But despite all these activities, just to deal with overcrowding only and not maintenance, repairs, renovations required in our schools, by last December we had estimated an urgent need for additional classrooms.

“We would also agree that class size is another important determent for quality teaching and learning; and overcrowding just simply undermines this process,” the Minister said.

The design of a Basic Income Support should resonate with the fiscal space while supporting its intended social outcomes and future-targeted policy objectives, says Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Speaking during a Parliamentary debate of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday, Zulu said that the Social Development portfolio is in the process of devising a Basic Income Support.

During his State of the Nation Address last week, President Ramaphosa announced that work is underway to develop a mechanism for a targeted Basic Income Support (BIS) for the most vulnerable, within the country’s fiscal constraints.

“Owing to the rising cost of living, and with the view to cushion the most vulnerable among South Africans from the effects of known and novel risks alike, the Social Development portfolio is in the process of devising a Basic Income Support.

“If ours were not a society and economy that were structured to benefit the absolute few, there would be fewer reasons necessitating this intervention,” Zulu said.

Zulu highlighted that last year the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, informed the country that government will be spending R3.33 trillion on the social wage over a period of three years.

“While we are entering the second year of the three, we should particularly be mindful that this allocation is targeted at leaving no one behind by supporting vulnerable populations as well as low-income households,” she said.

This was government’s social wage intervention to ensure that the greatest number of South Africans are receiving public services and that, as much as possible, the cost of living that the vulnerable and needy in particular would have incurred is materially reduced.

R350 SRD Grant

The Minister said that the continued provision of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to a growing number of South Africans on a monthly basis is living proof that government stands ready to protect its citizens against economic, health, social, climate change and similar shocks.

Notwithstanding the sharp economic growth slowdown globally, the Minister said the sixth administration continues to prioritise the provision of all categories of the social wage.

“The responsiveness of our government to novel challenges is courageously and visibly forthcoming while its long-standing commitments to continually pay the nearly 19 million disability, foster care and child support grants to eligible South Africans is unfaltering.

“This government considers the dignity of each South African as indispensable. For this reason, all our efforts are targeted at realising a dignified life,” Zulu said.

The Department of Social Development continues to support over twenty thousand non-profit organisations annually with more than R8.2 billion. In return, these social partners become the extension of the State’s capacity and attend to varied social challenges in communities.

Tackling GBV, substance abuse

The Minister said that added to this coordinated work is the contribution of traditional authorities to targeted programmes such as the fight against gender-based violence and femicide and substance abuse and the promotion of strong family units.

She said that early suggestions from these processes indicate that communities wish for their members to live in a violent-free society wherein they can meaningfully partake in the economy.

“Viewed from the Social Development vantage point, the epicenter of an inclusive and growing economy and common prosperity are resilient families and communities. Therefore, strong families are indispensable to a productive and inclusive South African society.

“In the quest to forge the most formidable defence against social ills and leakages that are caused by a weakened social fabric, the Social Development portfolio continues to invest in resilient families.”

Economic Sectors and Employment

In the current year, the Social Development portfolio will work together with departments that carry out the mandates of Economic Sectors and Employment as well as private sector partners towards defining a framework for the absorption of employable youth who are receiving social grants on behalf of their grant-eligible children.

“This should particularly set these grant-receiving youth on an economically-liberating and dignifying trajectory.

“Noting that nearly all of the young people who receive grants on behalf of children are young women, it is imperative that these be meaningfully empowered to improve their dignity and remove most of the socially constructed vulnerabilities that bedevil women,” Minister Zulu said.

She said that her discussion with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga also entails programmatically devising sustainable solutions to deep-seated social challenges such as child pregnancies, absent fathers, etc.

“In the quest to alleviate the load on the fiscus, part of this population can be gainfully-employed whereas another can be self-employed through entrepreneurship support programmes that are available in the public and private sector.”

Cabinet has sent it condolences to the families of the people who died recently when a bus collided with a cash-in-transit vehicle on the N1 highway in Limpopo.

“Cabinet wished those injured in the accident a speedy recovery,” said Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele on Thursday.

Briefing media following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Gungubele said Cabinet remains concerned at the extent of the road carnage seen across the country.

“Government will be exploring new laws to curb truck crashes, one of which includes moving cargo from road to rail in the hope that this would take pressure off of road freight.

“Cabinet appeals to all road users to obey the rules of the road by being vigilant, considerate and patient towards other road users. Drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs as well as reckless and negligent driving, including speeding, are responsible for most road accidents,” Cabinet said.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa also sent his condolences to the families of those who died in this week’s accident.

“As compatriots, we are deeply saddened when we experience such a loss of life on our roads. Incidents like this impact severely on families who lose loved ones, as well survivors or witnesses who are affected physically or psychologically when such tragedy happens.

“Incidents of this kind also have economic consequences for the people involved and for the businesses they may operate or in which they are employed. We must all do what we can to travel in safety, while we treat our roads as a shared amenity, which they are,” the President said.

It had been reported that 21 people perished and 68 others were injured in the accident.

On Tuesday, the Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, expressed shock and sadness at the news of the bus accident, which happened on the N1-29 stretch, next to the HF Verwoerd Tunnel.