Category: News

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has expressed shock and anger following the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, West of Johannesburg.

The incident took place on Thursday, when a group of young women were shooting a music video and were approached by a group of men who raped and robbed them of their belongings, including clothes and other valuables.

Nkoana-Mashabane said the war declared by men against women in the country must be met with the harshest response and sentences.

“We cannot continue as normal when women in their diversity are statistics and live in constant fear in a free country. Unemployment is high and to hear that these young women were shooting a music video when they were approached by a group of men who raped and robbed them of their belongings is despicable,” Nkoana-Mashabane said.

She said the department is coordinating its response to support the women violated in this despicable manner.

“As more details come to light, I am angered by the depravity displayed by these vile perpetrators. We plead with SAPS to continue to search for the perpetrators and bring those responsible to book. The eight women must have justice served.

“The law must take its course, but in cases of this nature the justice system must show no mercy when sentencing these perpetrators. These perpetrators must receive harsh punishment for their crimes, as there is no place in society for them,” the Minister said.

Disregard of women’s rights will never be normalised

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Director-General Phumla Williams said the news of the incident is devastating.

Williams warned that the disregard of women’s rights and safety will never be normalised in South Africa.

“Government and society are working hard to turn the tide of gender-based violence (GBV), and we will not accept such crimes against women. The rape of one woman is a degradation and limitation to all women.

“Rape is the most intimate of crimes, and it is disturbing that this incident occurs at a time when the country will be entering Women’s Month. Government is confident that the judicial system will ensure that justice is served for these women, with the perpetrators receiving the harshest sentences,” Williams said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the law enforcement agencies to ensure that the culprits are apprehended.

According to police, the deployment of drone technology to assist officers on the ground to track suspects in the mining area has resulted in the arrest of at least 84 people. Two suspects died during a shoot-out with police and while another wounded suspect is recovering in hospital.

All suspects are expected to appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 1 August. They face charges of contravention of the Immigration Act and possession of suspected stolen goods.

Police Minister, General Bheki Cele, met with six of the eight survivors of the gang rape in Krugersdorp, along with their families on Sunday at the Alexandra police station.

Eight women were gang raped during an alleged attack during a video production in West Village, Krugersdorp, last Thursday. Some of the survivors are singers, models, presenters, and professional make-up artists.

At the meeting, it was revealed that some of the survivors were as young as 19-years-old and Minister Cele assured them and their families that police were leaving no stone unturned in the quest to find their attackers.

“These young women are traumatised and are not in a good shape, mentally or otherwise. This is why the Gauteng MEC of community safety, Faith Mazibuko, has sent psychologists and councillors to provide mental healthcare to them.

“I have also requested Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, to offer more support and immediately initiate restorative efforts for these young women whose only goal was to earn a living, only to be met with such brutality,” Cele said.

Police said while investigations into the alleged robbery and rape are underway to find the suspects, police operations to crack down on illegal activities and arrest undocumented persons as well as wanted criminals in the West Village area continue.

These operations consist of multi-disciplinary teams from Crime Intelligence, the Special Task Force, the National Intervention Unit, the Tactical Response Team, K9 units, Flying Squad, Highway Patrol, SAPS Airwing as well as Department of Home Affairs and other private security stakeholders.

The deployment of drone technology to assist officers on the ground to track suspects in the mining area has resulted in the arrest of at least 84 people. Two suspects died during a shoot-out with police and while another wounded suspect is recovering in hospital.

All suspects are expected to appear at the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court today. They face charges of contravention of the Immigration Act and possession of suspected stolen goods.

Cele welcomed the mass arrests. “Police are in the air and on the ground, squeezing out criminals regardless of whichever hole they are hiding in.

“We know this community has been vocal about criminals making their lives a hell there and we are turning the tide. I am also satisfied with the briefing by the detective teams about the progress to fast-track biological evidence processing to link some of the arrested suspects to the rape of the young women,” Cele said.

The Police Ministry said it remains encouraged by the tireless efforts by the SAPS detectives to ensure a breakthrough.

However, the Ministry remains concerned that the gang rape survivors are allegedly harassed by some media houses demanding interviews.

The Ministry said it discourages these actions “which families deem intrusive and insensitive during a traumatic ordeal”.

The National Treasury has called on the public to comment in writing on the 2022 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill and all other draft tax bills.

This as the National Treasury published for public comment the 2022 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, which contains key amendments on retirement reform to move towards a “two-pot” retirement system.

“The amendments enable South Africans to also save for non-retirement purposes (e.g. emergencies) via their retirement funds, whilst preserving more of their savings for retirement,” the National Treasury said on Sunday.

The National Treasury released the set of four draft Tax Bills for public comment, which give effect to the 2022 Budget tax proposals.

These include the 2022 Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill (2022 Draft Rates Bill), the 2022 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, the 2022 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (2022 Draft TLAB) and the 2022 Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (2022 Draft TALAB).

They were published on 29 July 2022.

“These amendments aim to encourage members to preserve their retirement savings by making it more flexible to accommodate unforeseen pressures that members face during the span of their working life.

“It makes it possible for workers not to resign from their employment merely to access their retirement funds and would have assisted members during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, when many employees faced reduced salaries or were not paid at all during that time,” National Treasury said.

The legislative proposals follow an intensive process of consultations, where various risks, challenges and possible perverse outcomes were identified.

“These amendments are the culmination of several years of consultations and engagements that took place between National Treasury, Labour, and Business stakeholders, and reflects input received from the public after the release of the discussion paper Encouraging households to save more for retirement in December 2021.

“The amendments are technically complex, as they attempt to fit a pre-retirement withdrawal scheme into existing retirement savings vehicles primarily meant to cater for long term savings,” National Treasury said.

Process to enact Bills following public comments

The process for enacting any amendments following publication involves taking public comments.

“After receipt of written comments, National Treasury normally engages with stakeholders through public workshops to discuss the written comments on the draft bill.

“The Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF) and the Select Committee on Finance (SeCoF) in Parliament are expected to make a similar call for public comment and convene public hearings on the 2022 draft bills before their formal introduction in Parliament,” National Treasury said.

Thereafter, a response document on the comments received will be presented at the Parliamentary committee hearings, after which the bills will then be revised, taking into account public comments and recommendations made during committee hearings, before they are introduced formally in Parliament for its consideration.

The public has been encouraged to submit written comments to the National Treasury’s tax policy depository at 2022AnnexCProp@treasury.gov.za and SARS at acollins@sars.gov.za by close of business on 29 August 2022.

Comments and queries on the proposed two-pot system should also be sent to retirement.reform@treasury.gov.za.

The death toll in the latest KwaZulu-Natal mass shooting has risen to seven, as police are on the manhunt for the suspects responsible for the shooting at Marianhill Tuckshop on Saturday evening.

The seventh victim who sustained gunshot wounds succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Sunday.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has mobilised all available police resources to hunt down the “heartless killers” who initially murdered six people on the scene.

At approximately 19:30 on Saturday, it is alleged that a group of unknown men opened fire at people who were at a tuckshop in Marianhill killing six men aged between the 30 and 65 years old.

One other man who sustained gunshot wounds was transported to hospital for medical attention.

Police said that initial investigations revealed that three of the deceased were the tuckshop owner as well as his two sons and one of the deceased who was waiting at the tuckshop to see a traditional healer, might have been the actual target of the hit.

“This incident once again demonstrates our concern that firearms are contributing to the high levels of crime in the province and we are advocating for stricter regulations regarding the management of legal firearms as many of them end up being used by criminals. We will do everything within our control to bring these killers to book,” Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi said.

Consumers are in for some relief this month as the Department of Minerals and Energy has announced a decrease in all grades of fuel starting from Wednesday.

The department also announced a reduction in the price of illuminating paraffin and an increase in the price of gas.

The price adjustments are as follows:

• Both grades of petrol will decrease by R1.32.
• Diesel 0.05% Sulphur will cost 88c less while the price of diesel 0.005% Sulphur will decrease by 91c.
• Wholesale illuminating paraffin will cost R1.44 less with the retail price going down by at least R1.92.
• The maximum retail price for gas will increase by 57c.

The department said one of the main factors for the reduction is the decrease in the price of Brent crude oil.

“The main contributing factors are: Less demand for crude oil due to recession concerns and a resurgence of COVID-19 in China. The decision by OPEC  (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and Non-OPEC members to increase oil production.  In the absence of supply constraints, crude oil prices might have decreased further.

“The average international product prices of petrol, diesel, Illuminating Paraffin and LPG have decreased during the period under review. LPG prices have increased due higher freight rate during the period under review,” the department said.

The temporary reduction in government’s fuel levy will fall away this month.

The Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) will no longer issue the daily numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths due to a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 levels.

This comes after the department and the NICD has been reporting COVID-19 surveillance data on a daily basis since 2020 to keep the South African public abreast about the pandemic situation.

“However, due to the reduced severity and transmissibility of the disease at the current moment, coupled with declining COVID-19 case numbers, the department together with the NICD has reassessed the existing reporting structures and agreed that it is justifiable to allow the majority of members of the reporting structures return to their permanent jobs on a full-time basis,” the department explained.

This means the department will, from 1 August 2022, publish the COVID-19 surveillance data weekly.

However, the department will continue to closely monitor the situation.

“The department would also like to thank all individuals, teams and stakeholders whose sacrifices, commitment and contribution made it possible for government to keep the public up to date with crucial information required to enable people and organisations to make informed health and safety decisions.”

Meanwhile, the department said this does mean the pandemic is over and that the vaccination services will remain accessible at designated sites, including at some public health facilities.

“Until such time that the World Health Organisation announce that the pandemic is over, we urge people to vaccinate and continue to do everything possible to keep themselves safe against the current and future variants of concern.”

The NICD, according to the department, supports the decision and concurs that the current phase of the pandemic no longer requires daily COVID-19 updates.

“The public should be mindful that disease trends and weekly surveillance data largely inform health policies.”

Meanwhile, the NICD said it remains committed to its surveillance activities and will continue reporting COVID-19 surveillance data as per normal, which will be published in the existing weekly surveillance reports.

Eskom has met with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and top leadership from at least 70 businesses n a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA)-led session.

The session is part of the state power utility’s efforts to find solutions to its ailing power generation issues.

During the session Eskom CEO André de Ruyter mapped out the strategies currently in place to ensure that there is enough power supply on the grid.

“The purpose of the discussions was to identify initiatives where the parties can collaborate and plant the seeds of opportunity to leverage private sector investment capacity and harvest the low hanging fruit in the electricity industry,” de Ruyter said.

The Eskom CEO called on the business leaders to support the power utility’s electricity strategy by “pursuing opportunities to make investments and realising savings benefits from the reforms of the electricity industry” that were announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa recently.

Group CEO of the JSE, Leila Fourie, highlighted the importance of private business and government working together to make sure that the electricity crisis is addressed.

“We are at a very important inflection point as a country and today we took the opportunity to unpack some of the proposed solutions for business-to-business partnerships in the generation of electricity. President Ramaphosa’s plan literally opens the door for investors and entrepreneurs to provide solutions that can have many other indirect and positive consequences for our country, especially when it comes to creating jobs.

“We need to work together to address the energy generation challenge to the benefit of all South Africans,” Fourie said.

According to Eskom, the session identified four areas where private business can make an impact including:

• Opportunities to invest in own-generation projects and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through land leasing and wheeling arrangements
• Encourage the use of electricity sparingly to safeguard the national grid through co-ordinated energy efficiency campaigns
• Provide support for security interventions to protect the electricity infrastructure from vandalism and theft
• Contribute to the development and alignment of enabling policies related to the fiscus and environmental, energy and industrial sectors

“During a robust Question-and-Answer session, company CEOs expressed their appreciation of Eskom’s transparency on the key issues, offered practical solutions to unlock generation capacity and pledged their support of the public utility’s plan in partnership with the relevant government role players. Through BLSA, a framework for delivery will be tabled with companies to ensure traction on the agreed initiatives.

“The parties have committed to extending the discussions to stakeholders based in both Cape Town and Durban, where some of the large electricity users and potential electricity investors are based,” Eskom said.

The Department of Transport has assured tour operators in the tourism industry that it is racing against time to process all operating licences for tour operators.

This follows delays caused mainly by the pandemic, which led to the capacity challenges within the National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) – which resulted in a backlog in processing operating licences.

As part of addressing the backlog in renewal applications, now drastically reduced, the department has achieved progress in administrative processes that include, among others:

• Increased capacity of the NPTR Support staff with an additional complement of personnel, adding 17 positions to the establishment of the NPTR support staff to urgently deal with public transport issues relating to the issuing of operating licences for the transportation of tourists and interprovincial services. Further recruitment is underway with some processes at an advanced stage.
• Redesigning and implementing the National Land Transport Information System (NLTIS) to enable online applications and electronically communicate the real-time status and progress of applications with applicants. The designs and proposals that are in the NPTR module on the redesigned NLTIS are aligned to some of the proposed solutions presented by the National Red Tape Reduction Task Team and the tourism industry.

This is intended to improve efficiency and the turn-around times to finalise applications.

“The pro-longed absence of an NPTR Committee and the ambiguities of interpretation as well as the implementation of the National Land Transport Act, Act 05 of 2009 (NLTA) will now be a thing of the past for many operators. An interim NPTR Committee has been appointed to deal with the backlog of applications.

“Following the appointment of the Committee, the Department is happy to announce that with effect from the beginning of July 2022, the Regulator has been printing licences and contacting operators to submit correctly completed and outstanding documentation to enable the smooth flow of application processing. To date, 227 renewals have been processed,” the department said on Sunday.

The newly appointed Committee has also committed to engage stakeholders to deal with the challenges and grievances of the industry.

Scheduled stakeholder engagements will sit to create a common understanding and interpretation of the NLTA and its regulations as well as to deal with specific matters raised to date by stakeholders.

The Department has also assured the industry that it is on course to bring major benefits in the 2022/23 financial year, including among others:

• Transport Appeal Tribunal (TAT) Amendment Bill to be approved by Parliament,
• Full capacitation and operational capability of the NPTR to be achieved, and
• The effective standardisation of Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE) business processes, which have required review and amendments for compliance with proposed legislative improvements.

The department has acknowledged the critical role of the tourism sector in the country’s economy as an important contributor to government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan and therefore an important conduit for the creation of jobs.

“Tourism remains an important building block among others for the growth of rural and township economies, which must in turn be driven by efficient and integrated transport systems as enablers for the development of the industry, growing the economy and reversing the impacts of the COVID pandemic which makes tourism amongst the hardest hit.

“The department has therefore ensured it remains an enabler rather than a barrier in the growth path of the tourism industry by improving regulatory and administrative practices for inclusive participation and sector growth. The department also continues to work together with the Department of Tourism and the industry in this regard,” the department said.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has reiterated its commitment to resolving the ongoing industrial action with organised labour.

SARS staff have been on strike since May over a wage negotiation impasse.

In May, SARS said it did not have the resources to meet the labour demand of CPI plus 7%.

After engaging with organised labour, SARS made a proposal to reach a final settlement.

This included an across-the-board increase of 1.5% for permanent employees in the bargaining unit, backdated to 1 April 2022.

In a statement on Wednesday, SARS said this was on condition that should the broader public sector negotiations be resolved at an increase of higher than the 1.5%, National Treasury will accordingly make additional funding available towards the settlement agreement.

“SARS will be guided by this, and adjust its offer to its employees to be on equal terms,” it said.

Beyond this was a commitment to engage and conclude the broader Employee Value Proposition, which will include financial and non-financial elements; and other items tabled by the unions during the negotiations at the SARS National Bargaining Forum (NBF).

SARS said: “The slight adjustment to the across-the-board proposal is possible due to projected savings from a delay in recruitment against an initial plan. In the spirit of transparency and a commitment to resolving the dispute, SARS management has decided to allocate the savings towards the increased salary proposal.

“Parties agreed that the unions embark on a mandate-seeking process on this offer. Strike action was suspended by the Public Servants Association (PSA) during this mandate-seeking process, while NEHAWU [National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union] has not formally communicated its intentions to SARS.”

The revenue collector said it had noted with concern various isolated incidents of intimidation and violence committed by some strikers.

In this regard, SARS said it would will take necessary action against the strikers that are violating its Code of Conduct, and/or those who have broken the law.

“SARS reaffirms its commitment to respect the right of employees to strike. The strikers are enjoined by labour law provisions to exercise this right peacefully, and respect the rights of employees who choose to work, as well as taxpayers who seek to fulfil their obligations in law.

“SARS has put contingency measures in place to mitigate the negative impact on services as far as possible. We thank taxpayers for their patience during this challenging period, and apologise unreservedly for any delayed response to service requests. We request taxpayers and traders, as far as possible, to avoid coming to SARS branches, but to instead continue to interact with SARS through our self-help digital channels.

The movement of cargo from the land and sea ports of entry have continued without any hindrance.”

The revenue collector said it remains empathetic to the plight of many South Africans, including its own employees, who face economic hardships and rising prices of food and fuel.

“We remain sincerely appreciative to those SARS employees who, through this period, contribute to our success, and for their continued commitment to deliver the essential service in support of our mandate,” read the statement.

South Africa has logged 381 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday.

Gauteng remains the hardest-hit province after 135 were confirmed to have contracted the virus, followed by 106 in the Western Cape, 48 in KwaZulu-Natal and 24 each in Mpumalanga and the North West. This is while the rest of the provinces reported less than 20 cases.

According to the latest data, this means South Africa has 4 003 883 laboratory-confirmed cases since the outbreak.

Meanwhile, data shows that the death toll now stands at 101 976 after five more people lost their lives to COVID-19, of which three occurred in the past 48 hours.

“There has been an increase of eight hospital admissions in the past 24 hours,” the NICD said, adding that 1 024 patients are currently receiving hospital treatment for Coronavirus.

In addition, the Department of Health has now administered 37 162 754 COVID-19 jabs, of which 2 628 428 were given to children aged between 12 and 17.

According to the department, South Africa has 20 247 318 vaccinated adults and 18 461 433 who are fully jabbed.

Globally, as of 27 July 2022, there have been 570 005 017 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6 384 128 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Global view

Globally, the number of weekly cases reported during the week of 18 to 24 July 2022 was similar to the number reported last week, with over 6.6 million new cases.

Likewise, according to the WHO, the number of new weekly deaths was similar to the number reported during the previous week, with over 12 600 fatalities.

At the regional level, the number of new weekly cases increased in the Western Pacific region, the Eastern Mediterranean region and the South-East Asia region, while it decreased in Africa, Europe and America.

The number of new weekly deaths peaked in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific region and the South East Asia region, while it dropped in Africa and Europe. Meanwhile, the region of the Americas was similar to the figure reported during the previous week.

“Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths should be interpreted with caution as several countries have been progressively changing COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected. Additionally, data are continuously updated to incorporate regular changes made by countries retrospectively,” the WHO said.

At the country level, the highest numbers of new weekly cases were reported from Japan (969 068), the United States (860 097), Germany (565 518), Italy (531 327), and France (508 620).

The highest numbers of new weekly deaths were reported from the United States (2 637), Brazil (1 396), Italy (952), Spain (810), and France (737).