Category: News

Hundreds of vehicles have been impounded and scores of drivers arrested as traffic authorities intensified their national crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles transporting learners to school.

These arrests are part of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) back-to-school campaign, which started when schools re-opened this month. The campaign has so far resulted in 37 548 vehicles stopped and check in 484 law enforcement operations in different provinces.

The provinces with the highest number of vehicles stopped and checked are KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

“A total of 167 drivers were arrested for, among others, drunken driving, driving while having no driving licence and operating a public transport vehicle in violation of operating permit regulations.

“The campaign has highlighted that many scholar transport drivers were driving without fastening seatbelts, some do not have professional drivers’ permits, their vehicles were not licensed, while other vehicles had defects such as cracked windscreens, smooth tyres and faulty brakes.

“More than 6 240 were given fines for these vehicles, while 965 vehicles were impounded and 291 were suspended from operating,” the RTMC said on Thursday.

The RTMC has maintained that the safety of children remains priority and law enforcement authorities will remain vigilant throughout the year to deal with non-compliant operators.

However, parents also have a responsibility to ensure that the transport operators they choose are fit for purpose and licensed to transport their children safely to school.

Meanwhile, the RTMC has warned members of the public about a fake traffic officer learnership recruitment circulating on various social media platforms.

“The RTMC is currently not recruiting any traffic officer learners for the 2024 financial year. When positions become available, the corporation will advertise its traffic officer learnership posts through reputable online platforms, which include our website, mainstream media and our social media platforms.

“As a public institution, we do not charge applicants for any employment opportunities within the organisation. Members of the public are warned not to fall prey to any scams doing rounds online.

“We urge the public to verify the legitimacy of any recruitment drive purported to be from the RTMC by contacting our Human Capital Division on 012 999 5200. Alternatively, visit our website: www.rtmc.co.za,” the corporation said.

The RTMC said any scams seeking to take advantage of desperate unemployed youth should be reported to law enforcement agencies immediately.

Over 18 469 South African citizens living in 101 countries around the world have started registering to vote using the Electoral Commission’s newly launched online registration portal system.

“The Electoral Commission has enabled an online registration facility for the first time to allow South Africans outside the country to easily register for the 2024 National Elections,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission Sy Mamabolo said.

Addressing the media in Pretoria on Thursday, Mamabolo said the commission hoped that the introduction of an online registration system will attract citizens from abroad.

Citizens living abroad must register as voters either online or in person at their nearest South African mission. South African high commissions, embassies and consulates will be open during working hours.

“Eligible voters are encouraged to check with their nearest mission on the registration dates and times. Registration requires a South African identity document as well as a South African passport.

“A special two-day voter registration event for South African citizens abroad will take place between 26 and 28 January 2024, depending on the configuration of weekend days.

“In countries where Friday and Saturday are weekends, the two special days designated will be Friday 26 January, and Saturday 27 January 2024,” Mamabolo said.

The countries with the most people registering online include the United Kingdom (5938), the Netherlands (1844), Germany (746), the United States (821), Ireland (675), United Arab Emirates (1068), China (515), Australia (588), New Zealand (314), Cuba (293), Portugal (284) and Belgium (280).

In the African continent, South Africans have begun to register in 28 countries, including Mauritius (316), Lesotho (224) Namibia (148), Botswana (170), Zambia (96), Zimbabwe (77), Kenya (73), Ghana (45) and Tanzania (40).

A full list of South Africa’s missions is available on the website of DIRCO at https://www.dirco.gov.za/webmissions/index.html.

The commission advised South Africans who are already registered to vote – either on the national or international segment of the voters’ roll – to check their registration status and to update their voters’ roll address if they intend to vote abroad in the 2024 National Elections.

Mamabolo said the commission has put in place all necessary measures to ensure that no one is left behind and that all citizens vote in the 2024 National Election.

“The upcoming 2024 National Elections offer an important opportunity for all South Africans to have their voices heard, regardless of geographic location,” he said.

The commission pleaded with businesses and organisations around the world to encourage their South African employees to register during this registration weekend.

The Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has officially turned the sod, marking the beginning of upgrades on the P122/1 (R57) Road in Irene in the City of Tshwane.

The includes the upgrade of the P122 single carriageway, spanning approximately 9.4km from Olifantsfontein to Solomon Mahlangu Drive.

During the rehabilitation launch on Thursday, Diale-Tlabela said the upgrades that the department is undertaking will not only benefit the people of Gauteng in terms of construction.

“The project will also assist in transforming the lives of the people who reside in Wards 47, 83, 71, 91, and 65, which are the communities that will be affected by the rehabilitation works,” she said.

The scope of work in this project involves the reconstruction of the existing road, construction of paved shoulders, upgrading of intersections along the route, and widening the existing cross-section with broader traffic lanes.

“To ensure fairness and inclusivity, we will prioritise the affected municipal wards when procuring services, giving local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) the chance to actively participate in this transformative initiative.

“If capable service providers cannot be found within these communities, SMMEs from outside the wards, but within the provincial boundary, will also be considered,” the MEC said.

The project also saw three Community Liaison Officers (CLOs) from the affected wards being appointed to ensure that the project is delivered within the allocated time and that the voice of the community is heard throughout the delivery stages of the project.

The MEC called on communities to ensure that the works continue uninterrupted and avoid any actions that may impede the speedy delivery of the project.

“This project will undoubtedly bring about significant changes but it is crucial for all of us to ensure its proper care. In case of grievances against any party involved in the works, we must avoid halting or interrupting the project rollout programme,” said Diale-Tlabela.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, will lead South Africa’s delegation at The Hague on Friday to hear the judgment on the genocide case against Israel.

This is after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced that it will deliver its judgment tomorrow on whether it will grant emergency measures to stop the war in the Gaza Strip.

This comes after South Africa approached the ICJ in December last year, under the Genocide Convention, for alleged attacks committed by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

“On Friday, 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice will deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” the ICJ statement read.

In its application, South Africa also pleaded with the court to indicate provisional measures to “protect against further severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide”.

Public hearings on South Africa’s request were held on 11 and 12 January 2024.

“South Africa is requesting that the ICJ grant interim injunctions, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance,” DIRCO said.

According to the department, the humanitarian assistance includes adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing.

The country also wants the top United Nations (UN) court to take the necessary steps to punish those involved in the genocide and preserve the evidence of genocide.

The Department of Water and Sanitation will next week kick-start a series of public consultations on the amendment of the National Water Act and Water Services Act across the country.

The two legislations were published in the Government Gazette on 17 November 2023 and members of the public were invited to submit written comments on the draft amendment bills within 60 days from the date of publication.

The department said the objective of the consultations is to garner comments from the public and stakeholders, which are necessary to bring about legislation that will benefit the current and future generation of the country by ensuring equitable water allocation for all, and optimise access and use of water and sanitation.

“The amendments of the two legislations will strengthen the role of the department as a regulator of the water and sanitation sector, thus, decisively address socio economic challenges facing the country.

“Furthermore, this will ensure that the country’s water resources are managed, protected, used, and conserved, while promoting equity and redressing past imbalances. The redress of past imbalances will ensure that all citizens of the country have access to water,” the department said.

The amendments of the National Water Act are mainly aimed at strengthening the protection and conservation of water resources, including strategic water source areas; ability of the department to consider and decide on water use applications timeously; and the ability of the department to improve equity in water use allocation.

They are also aimed at strengthening the ability of the department to phase out previous water entitlements in order to achieve the targets for water allocation reform and ensure the efficient use of water, and representivity and governance of water user associations.

In amending the Water Services Act, the department aims to enhance the following regulatory objectives:
•    Expand on the objects of the Act the regulation for safely managed sanitation;
•    Include enforcement and rectification as further object of the Act;
•    Provide for the accountability of water services providers in respect of the management, reporting and financial transparency through requirement of operating licence;
•    Provide for the issuance of operating licence, content of the licence and Regulations for licence procedure;
•    Develop regulations relating to registration of persons who install and operate water service works;
•    Provide for the quality of potable or drinking water;
•    Provide for the establishment and governance structures of water boards, the appointment of the chief executive officer and employees of water boards;
•    Provide for monitoring, enforcement and intervention on poor performance and non-performance of WSPs (Water Safety Plans); and
•    Expand on penalties for non-compliance with the Act

The public consultations will start in Upington, Northern Cape on 30 January 2024, followed by the engagements in all other provinces.

For confirmation to attend the Northern Cape consultation can be sent to cloetes@dws.gov.za

The closing date for written submission is on 01 March 2024 and submissions should be sent to Mapula Khuduga at KhudugaM@dws.gov.za or telephone number 012 336 7835.

The Gazette is available on www.gpwonline.co.za.

The South African – Saudi Arabia Business Council has committed to boosting trade as part of efforts to grow the economies of both countries.

In 2023, South Africa’s exports to Saudi Arabia increased to R7.3 billion from R6.6 billion in 2022, while imports from Saudi Arabia decreased to R54.6 billion in 2023 from R73.6 billion in 2022.

The exported goods include agricultural products, motor vehicles, and basic chemicals, whereas the import items mainly consisted of refined petroleum and related products and crude oil.

Speaking at a press briefing in honour of the visiting Saudi business delegation, Co-Chair of the South African–Saudi Arabia Business Council, Stavros Nicolaou, underscored the need to increase trade and investment.

“From my vantage point, the Saudi Arabia market presents enormous growth opportunities for South African companies looking to expand their businesses in the gulf region as shown by local companies that are slowly establishing a presence in that region,” Nicolaou said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Ebrahim Patel have been leading ongoing engagements between South Africa and Saudi Arabia – which have since resulted in local businesses finding a foothold in the vast Saudi Arabia market.

Also speaking at the same media briefing, Dr Hisham Al Amoudi, Vice-Chairman of the Saudi–South Africa Business Council, reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to investing in South Africa.

Al Amoudi said the South Africa and Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission and the Business Council was a good platform to further progress and boost inward investments between the two respective countries.

He said Saudi Arabia is committed to increasing investment across various sectors in South Africa.

“We are committed to increasing investments for mutual benefits and supporting South Africa’s economic growth. Our current investments contribute to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product,” Al Amoudi said.

The visit by the Saudi business delegation aims to not only strengthen current trade relations but also to explore opportunities for South African companies to increase market access with products that have high export potential to Saudi Arabia.

These products include motor vehicles for the transport of persons, fruits, mineral resources, chemicals, machinery and electrical equipment.

Additionally, the Saudi delegation seeks to boost investment from Saudi Arabia in sectors beyond South Africa’s renewable energy industry. Currently, Saudi is the largest investor in South Africa’s local renewable energy sector and ACWA Power has a leading role in this area.

Overall, it is estimated that Saudi investment into South Africa amounts to $1.62 billion.

The Business Council focuses on five main workstreams – energy and renewable energy, tourism, hospitality and entertainment, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, mining and commodities, and food and agro-processing. These areas aim to utilise investment capital from Saudi Arabia while tapping into the opportunities that South Africa offers in these sectors.

The health of South Africa’s electricity system is continuing to show improvement despite the continued implementation of load shedding.

This according to Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who was the media on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan on Tuesday.

“We have really turned the corner and I’m not suggesting that we have ended load shedding. I’m simply saying that we can see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and this is not an oncoming train but it’s a system who’s health continues to improve and improve at levels that even exceeded our projections and expectations.

“With the average unplanned capacity loss factor [generating unit breakdowns], we were sitting at about 14 100MW and then it went to 13 000MW the past week but what is important is that it’s only on the 16th of January where were above 15 000MW…now today, we are at 12 700MW. That shows an area…that the team has invested in and we are beginning to see those returns,” he said.

The minister revealed that over the past two weeks, available capacity has “consistently” exceeded peak demand.

However, there are reasons that load shedding continues to be implemented.

The first of those is that at least 3000MW of available capacity is drawn from open cycle gas turbines “which are burning on diesel so we have reduced our consumption of diesel…so essentially it’s the true health of the system”.

“The second one is that…planned maintenance still is significantly high. We are hitting about 8000 to 9000MW of planned maintenance.

“Even with that scale of planned maintenance we still have a situation where we are able to keep load shedding at the levels of the worst, Stage 3 [or] oscillating between no load shedding to Stage 3 at the worst moment,” he said.

The Minister emphasised that work continues to be done in the area of partial load losses – that is, when generating units do not produce the full capacity they were intended to.

“The area that is receiving attention is the partial load losses of 6700MW. It is our collective view…that we can do much better here. Of course some of it is a function of us exceeding our license parameters, those are areas that require attention.

“So…the net message that I am conveying is that the system continues to improve. It has exceeded our expectation if the unit measure of the expectation is the unplanned capacity loss factor of 14 500MW…we are way below that by about 1000MW despite the fact that planned maintenance is sitting at 8337MW,” Ramokgopa said.

Several flood-stricken parts of KwaZulu-Natal have been classified disaster areas by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng.

The move will enable government to access additional funding from provincial and national departments to start repairs as soon as possible.

According to the SABC, the disaster areas include Ilembe, Ugu and UMzinyathi municipalities and the hardest-hit eThekwini Metro and uThukela District, which suffered about R2 billion worth of damage.

“Nkadimeng says the classification is done while processing for the declaration is underway,” the public broadcaster explained.

Heavy rains have ravaged KwaZulu-Natal since mid-December, spilling over to the new year.

Ladysmith, which falls under UThukela District, has recorded 26 fatalities due to inclement weather during the festive season.

Meanwhile, the Minister also emphasised the need to find a lasting solution for the flooding of the Ladysmith Central Business District (CBD) by channelling water towards preservation dams or catchment areas to avoid flooding.

Nkadimeng led a multidisciplinary intergovernmental team on a visit to the uThukela District Municipality, specifically in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality on Friday.

The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Minister Parks Tau and KZN CoGTA MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi.

The leaders engaged various stakeholders from across all sectors of society representing a wide range of communities.

“The engagements and the assessment showed the devastation caused by flooding, especially on lives and livelihoods which has resulted in extensive damages to properties and critical infrastructure collapse leaving affected families homeless.”

The department believes that the impact of natural disasters is made worse by the ongoing impact of climate change, which has brought unprecedented weather patterns.

“The Minister emphasised the need for all role players including communities to ensure better-integrated planning to mitigate the impact of such adverse natural disasters.

“She made it clear that disaster risk reduction and adaptability are the only way to reduce the impact of climate change,” CoGTA said.

Nkadimeng also appreciated the ongoing work and urged that other additional planned interventions in the municipality geared to improving mitigation against floods be accelerated.

The visit by the Minister, the department said, is an expression of government’s commitment to elevating integrated disaster management and the promotion of risk-averse behaviour among communities in keeping with the ethos of a caring government.

“She advised that government through the Disaster Management Centre, will assist to mobilise resources to rebuild and rehabilitate the damages to infrastructure.”

The Minister also conveyed her sincere condolences to all who lost their loved ones as a result of the recent heavy rains.

She also took the time to thank communities who assisted those who were displaced by floods.

“The selfless and compassionate actions by ordinary members of our communities and civil society organisations in support of humanitarian aid efforts including search and rescue as well as search and recovery symbolises the true meaning of a caring nation that South African is. We are immensely grateful to everyone for pulling together and showing Ubuntu,” Nkadimeng said.

The South African delegation to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting has returned back to SA, having driven home the message that the country remains a “top destination for growth and investment”.

This is according to a media statement released by National Treasury on Monday.

Team South Africa’s delegation was led by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and comprised the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel; Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande; Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele, and Health, Dr Joe Phaahla.

Godongwana said the message to investors, civil society, businesses and governments is that despite the many challenges it faces, South Africa is making progress.

“We took the opportunity of the WEF Davos gathering to remind our partners around the world that South Africa has made tremendous progress in the past 30 years since we achieved democracy.

“Yes, we face a number of obstacles to achieving policy that balances fiscal sustainability, growth-accelerating reforms, and targeted spending on social services and infrastructure. However, we are forging ahead and making good progress,” he said.

According to National Treasury, the annual meeting – held last week in Davos, Switzerland – offered an opportunity for South Africa to engage world leaders on a number of issues.

“[It] offered South Africa’s policymakers a genuine and rare opportunity to speak directly with a cross spectrum of stakeholders in global affairs, exchanging views on how to weather the rise in geopolitical and economic tensions that are shaping today’s world.

“Climate, technology, trade and multilateral cooperation were high on the agenda, as was South Africa’s upcoming presidency of the G20 in 2025.

“In addition to its participation in the G20, the country is playing a key part in the expansion of the BRICS group, as well as the deepening of intercontinental economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area,” the department said.