Category: News

Eastern Cape Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Nomthetheleli Mene, has condemned the wanton attack on an off duty police Sergeant in Zwide on Tuesday evening.

Provincial spokesperson, Col Priscilla Naidu, said the Sergeant is from the SAPS Mounted Unit.

She said: “[He] returned home at about 9.45pm and after parking his vehicle in his yard in Scheepers Road, he went to lock his gate. He was met by two unknown males who enquired from him about a certain person.

“When the police officer replied in the negative, one of the males forced open the gate while the other fired a shot at the member. Member returned fire and chased after them down the street. One suspect fell in the street and the other one jumped into a white bakkie that was waiting around the corner and they drove off. A pistol was also found”.

Naidu said the deceased person was unknown at this stage.

She said SAPS Kwazakele detectives were investigating an inquest as well as cases of murder, possession of a prohibited firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

Lt Gen Mene has called on the communities to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest of the second suspect.

“Any attack on a police officer is a direct attack on the authority of the State. Police members are an asset to our communities and their safety is a priority. Such attacks is a grave concern and the perpetrators of these attacks on police must be arrested and brought to book,” said Lt Gen Mene.

Eskom says the wage agreement reached with unions on Tuesday will not immediately alleviate the burden of load shedding on the power system.

The power utility reached an agreement with unions of a 7% pay hike, following more than a week of intense strike action, which plunged the country into stage six load shedding.

“[The agreement] brings the Central Bargaining Forum (CBF) talks and the damaging, disruptive and costly wage dispute to an end, paving the way for a full return to work of all employees.

“Following this agreement, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and Solidarity have urged their members to return to work immediately.

“It is important to note that while the workforce is returning to work, the system will still take some time to recover. As a result of the strike, maintenance work has had to be postponed, and this backlog will take time to clear,” Eskom said.

The power utility called on workers to return to power stations and begin work to stabilise the system.

“Eskom also wishes to urge all employees to return to their workstations immediately to relieve the pressure on the system and to deliver the service the people of South Africa expect from Eskom, and to assist in restoring generation performance negatively impacted by the unlawful strike.

“Eskom would like to pay tribute to and thank those many employees who keep going beyond the call of duty and continue to make personal sacrifices to help keep the lights on during this very challenging time,” the power producer said.

Meanwhile, the power utility has announced that load shedding will be reduced to stage five from 4pm to 10pm on Wednesday and Thursday.

The revised schedule is as follows on Wednesday:

• Stage 4 from 5am to 4pm
• Stage 5 from 4pm to 10pm
• Stage 4 from 10pm to midnight

and on Thursday:

• Stage 2 from midnight to 5am
• Stage 4 from 5am to 4pm
• Stage 5 from 4pm to 10pm
• Stage 4 from 10pm to midnight

South Africa and Switzerland have concluded a $3.5 million Sustainable Long-Term Finance Facility (SFF), with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the World Bank.

In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the purpose of the facility is to leverage private finance to address South Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate-linked energy transition.

Ministry spokesperson, Mfuneko Toyana, said the chief aim of the SFF will be to develop sustainable and scalable financing solutions in strategic sectors for development linked to climate change, and will particularly support the implementation of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.

Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, on Tuesday hosted a Swiss delegation, led by the Switzerland’s head of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin.

Toyana said the discussion explored how to deepen long-standing cooperation between the two nations, which culminated in the first SECO South Africa Cooperation Programme launched in 2009.

He said the programme has since expanded to the areas of financial sector development, technology and innovation, skills exchange and climate finance and mitigation.

Godongwana thanked Parmelin and his delegation for their continued support of South Africa’s economic development agenda. In particular, the Minister underlined the importance of collaboration, in relation to preparing South Africa’s policies in addressing physical and transitional risks associated with climate change.

“The big challenge confronting us now is climate change. It has become a reality we cannot ignore. This new facility will go a long way in supporting our efforts to address this challenge.”

The Ministry said the SFF builds on the successful completion of the Capital Markets Strengthening Facility.

“The chief aim of the SFF will be to develop sustainable and scalable financing solutions in strategic sectors for development linked to climate change, and will particularly support the implementation of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. The Swiss mission to South Africa runs from 5 to 8 July,” said Toyana.

Both the heads of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) have vowed to work together to ensure that the architects and foot soldiers of State Capture are brought to book and face the full might of the law.

This is according to a joint statement by the two bodies in the wake of the release of the final tranche of the State Capture Commission report by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

“The final Zondo report provides additional impetus for increased cooperation and urgency in execution of respective NPA/DPCI mandates. Important progress has already been made: 86 investigations have been declared by the ID, 21 matters enrolled in court, and 65 accused persons are appearing in court on alleged state capture crimes.

“The NPA and DPCI recognise the damaging impact of corruption on the rule of law and South Africa’s development prospects. They recommit to enhancing collaboration and sharing of resources and expertise, to ensure the most effective prosecution-guided approach to these complex matters,” the statement read.

The NPA and the Hawks have formed a joint task team to tackle the 150 recommendations and reports pertaining to the two units.

Some of these are already receiving attention with 86 investigations declared by the NPA’s Investigative Directorate (ID), 21 matters enrolled in court.

Some 65 accused persons have appeared in court on alleged state capture crimes.

“Additional seminal matters will be enrolled before the end of September 2022. Seminal matters refer to cases involving the alleged architects of state capture, including influential persons and private sector actors, and/or large sums of money. These cases will be handled by a dedicated teams of investigators and prosecutors who have the necessary expertise in prosecution-guided processes involving complex matters.

“The teams will be sufficiently resourced and co-located either in the NPA or the DPCI offices. The NPA and DPCI are harnessing all their resources and expertise, reprioritising matters to ensure that state capture cases proceed as a matter of urgency in our commitment to ensure accountability and uphold the rule of law,” the statement read.

Pension funds will from next year be permitted to invest 45% of their capital in infrastructure projects, the National Treasury has announced.

This comes after the Department on Tuesday published the final amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act.

Regulation 28, issued in terms of section 36(1)(bB) of the Pension Funds Act, protects retirement fund member savings by limiting the extent to which funds may invest in a particular asset or in particular asset classes, and prevents excessive concentration risk.

The Treasury said the regulations widen the scope of potential investments for retirement funds but continues to leave the final decision on any investment to the trustees of each fund, who determine the investment policy for any fund.

“These amendments follow two rounds of public comments in 2021. The aim of the amendment is to explicitly enable and reference longer term infrastructure investment by retirement funds, by increasing maximum limits that funds may invest in.

“To this extent, the amendments introduce a definition of infrastructure, and sets a limit of 45% for exposure in infrastructure investment. To further facilitate the investment in infrastructure and economic development, the limit between hedge funds and private equity has been split. There will now be a separate and higher allocation to private equity assets, which is 15% increased from 10%,” said the department.

Retirement funds will continue to be prohibited from investing in crypto assets. The excessive volatility and unregulated nature of crypto assets require a prudent approach, as recent market volatility in such assets demonstrates.

Treasury said a limit of 25% has been imposed, across all asset classes to limit exposure of retirement funds to any one entity (company), not just infrastructure. However, it said, one exception to the per entity limit, is debt instruments issued by, and loans to, the Government of the Republic and any debt or loan guaranteed by the Republic.

“The asset allocation to housing loans granted to retirement fund members will be reduced from 95% to 65% in respect of new loans only. This is meant to curb abuse of the housing loan scheme by fund members. The National Treasury is mindful of the important role played by housing ownership in wealth creation and in retirement and will continuously monitor this area of investment.

“As part of aligning various regulatory approaches and achieving consistency, only investments in CISCA approved hedge funds will be permitted. The reporting exclusion on look-through of CIS and insurance policies has been removed to enable the regulators to collect important statistics on underlying exposures, as part of understanding and monitoring linkages in the financial system and for proactive supervision.”

The department said amendments will take effect on 3 January 2023, to enable regulators and fund managers to comply with the new regulations. FSCA is in the process of finalising the standard on reporting requirements aligned to the revised Regulation 28 and will issue it for public comment soon.

Communities in the eThekwini Municipal area will have to brace for the start of load shedding after Eskom announced that it plans to implement the power cuts as soon as possible.

Some areas in the municipality have thus far been exempt from load shedding following damage to electricity infrastructure during flooding in the area in April.

The two entities released a joint statement clarifying the steps to be taken in the implementation of load shedding.

“The municipality has agreed on the process for the soonest implementation of load shedding to assist Eskom to mitigate the risk of a national grid collapse. The municipality has further assessed the long term strategy to implement load shedding as soon as possible to the equivalent load as was the case prior to the [flooding] disaster,” the joint statement read.

According to the statement, following several meetings, the power utility and the municipality have agreed on the following:

• The eThekwini Municipality’s electrical network and water infrastructure is in an extremely vulnerable state and additional risk needs to be managed very carefully.
• The municipality is committed to implement load shedding in a safe and sustainable manner in consultation with Eskom when the national grid is at risk.
• If for any reason, after load-shedding in the first few instances, a negative impact on the electrical and water infrastructure is deemed to be unacceptably high, the municipality will engage with Eskom immediately.
• The municipality has already begun to perform all the required planning to ensure that the above can be executed.
• The Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) will be kept informed of the status of the eThekwini Municipality network.

Studies have shown that the municipality lost between 700 to 800MW of power on their electrical infrastructure during the floods which continues to be unavailable until extensive repairs can be conducted.

“[There] is agreement that the integrity of the electrical infrastructure was so severely compromised that if parts of the infrastructure and loads were to trip either through a manual intervention (load shedding) or an electrical fault, it is possible and likely that the Municipality grid could be even more damaged, thus further lengthening the duration of the outage.

“Both Eskom and eThekwini Municipality are mindful that further electrical damage would severely compromise the Municipality’s current water rationing program. [However], as a responsible organ of state, the municipality agrees on the need to implement load shedding for the purposes of grid stability.

“Both Eskom and the municipality commit to assess the progress regularly and to work closely to minimise risk to the municipality and the grid,” the statement read.

In its ongoing clean-up operations, the Department of Home Affairs has dismissed two employees for fraud relating to the selling of South African identities to foreign nationals who do not deserve such documents.

Another four officials have been suspended for similar offences.

Phathisani Outshiki, from the Benoni office, was found guilty of gross misconduct for processing 111 documents for undeserving foreign nationals using particulars of South African citizens for a fee of R1 000 per application.

Ninety-eight of these documents were passports and 13 were IDs.

Outshiki pleaded guilty and he was subsequently dismissed. However, he is appealing his dismissal.

Morena David Motsamai, from the Germiston office, was found guilty of gross misconduct in that he processed 13 passport applications for undeserving foreign nationals using particulars of South Africans. He was paid between R2 500 and R5 000 per application.

Motsamai pleaded guilty and did not appeal the sanction. He was subsequently dismissed.

The police are pursuing criminal charges against both Outshiki and Motsamai.

In addition, the police are tracking the South Africans who sold their identities and the foreign nationals who wanted to buy South African documents they do not deserve.

Fortunately, all the fraudulently processed IDs and passports were flagged as fraudulent and were removed from Home Affairs records thus rendering them useless and unusable by the people who acquired them. None of these documents were ever used.

On Friday, 1 July, the department suspended four officials at the Tzaneen office who were allegedly processing fraudulent documents. Their disciplinary hearings are scheduled to take place within 10 working days.

All six officials have been on the radar of the Home Affairs Counter Corruption Branch without their knowledge and them suspecting anything hence it was easy to catch them.

“We shall fearlessly and ruthlessly root out corruption wherever it rears its ugly head. I have no doubt that with support from members of the public who are patriotic enough to report these corrupt practices, we dare not fail but win this battle,” said Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.

Motsoaledi added that his department is on the trails of more Home Affairs officials who are involved in these shameful acts and will continue to arrest them.

In the same vein, the Minister commended those extraordinary majority of Home Affairs officials who still serve with honesty and integrity despite the lucrative temptations which a few others, who are now being arrested, have fallen into.

The Minister has once again urged South Africans to stop selling their identities to foreign nationals.

“If you sell your identity, you are replaced by a foreign national on our database which means that you will not be able to access services in country,” Motsoaledi said.

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has urged society to unite against the continued murder of women in the province.

“It is imperative for the communities not to be silent, but isolate all those involved in gender-based violence (GBV) cases,” Khoza said.

Khoza made the call outside the Camperdown Magistrate’s Court, where police officer Mthokozisi Nene made a brief appearance in connection with the death of his wife.

Nene, 44, allegedly shot and killed his wife Thobeka MaMsomi Nene during an argument at their family home in Inchanga, west of Durban, two weeks ago.

Khoza, including Member of the Provincial Legislature James Nxumalo, the deceased’s two daughters and community members, were among the people who attended the court case on Monday.

The MEC said men should lead from the front in all campaigns aimed at curbing the scourge of GBV.

Nene was denied bail and the case was postponed to 13 July 2022.

Khoza applauded the court for denying bail to Nene, saying that such people should remain in custody for the duration of the hearing of their court cases.

“We were pleased that they considered a lot of aspects in this case. It is clear that the murder was premeditated. We are saddened by this situation, where children lost their mother at the hands of their father,” Khoza said.

She added that it was unthinkable that anyone would consider taking the life of their partner, especially a person who is supposed to provide support to the family.

“A police officer also has a responsibility to protect the community, but this one was heartless. He took the law into his own hands and allegedly shot dead an innocent woman in full view of her children,” the MEC said.

She expressed concern at Nene’s lack of remorse in court, as he had not surrendered the firearm he allegedly used to murder his wife to the police.

“We are disturbed that our children have been robbed of a teacher, but our social workers will provide school children, the deceased’s biological children and the family with psycho-social support. We are pleased that the community has come together to oppose bail for this man. We will continue to monitor this case until it comes to an end,” she said.

Nxumalo urged law enforcement agencies to do everything within their powers to ensure that the perpetrator of this heinous crime remains in prison.

“He has to face the full might of the law,” Nxumalo said, adding that she wants men who commit GBV to be held responsible and the killing of women and children avoided.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday attend the mass funeral service for the 21 young people who died last week in East London in the Eastern Cape.

The teenagers – some as young as 13 – passed away at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London in the early hours of Sunday, 26 June 2022.

According to the Presidency, the President will be joined by Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and provincial and local government leaders in comforting the families of the deceased youth.

The service will take place at Scenery Park Sports Field, East London from 09:00.

In his weekly letter to the nation on Monday, President Ramaphosa called on civil society, government and communities to come together to fight the scourge of underage drinking in South Africa.

The President said the growing trend of underage drinking is not only illegal but also psychologically and physically detrimental.

“The increased social acceptability of young people drinking alcohol has become a serious problem in a country where the majority of the drinking population are already classified by the World Health Organisation as binge drinkers.

“Alcohol use amongst adolescents is associated with impaired function, absenteeism from learning, alcohol-related injuries, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and risky behaviour,” he said.

The Police Ministry has welcomed the arrest of an alleged criminal mastermind who is believed to have played a central role in the multiple killings in Khayelitsha, in Cape Town.

Yanga Endrey Nyalara, also known as ‘Bara’, has been on the run from police for a few months and is wanted for a string of serious and violent crimes in the province.

The 30-year-old was arrested during an intelligence driven operation on Friday and made his first court appearance on Monday. Police Minister General Bheki Cele and Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile attended the court proceedings.

Minister Cele praised the investigative work and police operations that led to the high profile arrest.

“Police have done a good job putting this man – who thought he could live without impunity – behind bars. This arrest will gain us some ground in our efforts to fight crime in the province. We believe the arrest of ‘Bara’ will solve many other cases going forward, especially in the Khayelitsha area that has been torn by various scenes of multiple murders.”

Over and above the six murder charges, Nyalara has also been charged with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, attempted murder, robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition as well as dealing in drugs.

The Ministry said it was encouraged that the SAPS in the province expected to make more arrests for crimes linked to Nyalara and that communities continue to come forward with valuable information that assists police investigations to deal decisively with crime.