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Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, says government is working on addressing load shedding.

Patel said once a solution has been found, an announcement will be made through the Minister of Energy.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference, Patel admitted that load shedding is not good for business.

In his keynote address at the conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa also spoke of the country’s energy challenge, saying this is being addressed.

“In particular, we need to act decisively and urgently to end the load shedding that is causing such damage to our economy and such disruption to our society. Like every other actor in the economy, black industrialists can simply not grow without a reliable supply of affordable energy.

“Much has been done over the last four years to transform the country’s energy landscape and bring new generation capacity online.

“But that is not enough, and we need to move faster. That is why I have brought together all relevant departments and entities to work on an integrated set of measures to add additional power to the grid in the shortest possible time.

“We are currently engaged in consultations with social partners on these measures, and will soon be able to announce a package of measures that provides an effective response to our energy crisis,” he said.

On the funding of businesses, Patel explained that government does not fund businesses but businesses are offered loans that they repay at a later stage.

Patel explained that the Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference is a platform for black businesses to showcase their experiences.

“As government, we are getting black businesses talking to one another and networking,” Patel said.

Patel said government welcomed small businesses who provide important services to the community and medium-sized businesses who employ people in productive labour, as well as trade union leaders who represent the workers.

WATCH | Black Industrialists & Exporters Conference  |  Media briefing   |  Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner 

“We welcome a number of representatives of workers’ trusts, who hold shares in the firms they are working in, with hundreds of thousands of workers now owning such shares.

“We have small panel beater shops that are now on the panels of large insurers after the Competition Commission investigation into restrictive practices and ways to broaden access for small businesses.

“We have industrialists who have invested their money to build new factories, expand mines, develop more agricultural lands, obtain machinery and employ young South Africans,” Patel said.

Patel said SA last year achieved a record performance, exporting R1.8 trillion, representing almost one third of the country’s GDP.

“Some of the exports came from black-owned firms present here today. We are now working with a black exporters’ network to be launched today to increase the volume of exports and create local jobs.

“These are businesses who in many cases have showed resilience; and they are the productive engines that create jobs,” Patel said.

Patel said these are businesses that in many cases have showed resilience and they are the productive engines that create jobs.

“We welcome 18 funding entities who are in the business of financing small and medium sized businesses, including commercial banks, DFIs [development finance institutions] like the IDC [Industrial Development Corporation] and NEF [National Empowerment Fund], and other funders,” Patel said.

Championed by the President since its inception in 2015, the inaugural Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference showcased progress of government measures in promoting access and transformation to more black industrialists in the economy and the opportunities that the Africa Free Continental Trade Area (AfCTA) offers.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, says it is only when communities are prepared to expose those within their own families, who are involved in criminal activities, that the scourge of crime in the country can finally be dealt with.

Zikalala made the remarks during the memorial service of 13 people, who were from UMzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal. The 13 were among 16 people who were shot and killed at Mdlalose’s Tavern in Nomzamo informal settlement, Soweto, two weeks ago.

The memorial service followed several deadly incidents that took place at taverns, including Enyobeni in East London, where 21 young people died. Almost two weeks ago, a mass shooting occurred at Samukelisiwe Tavern in Sweetwaters, Pietermaritzburg, where 12 patrons were shot at randomly, leading to the death of four people.

According to Police Minister, Bheki Cele, at least 130 AK47 cartridges were discovered after the tragic shooting at Mdlalose’s Tavern.

Speaking at the memorial service held in UMzimkhulu Hall on Wednesday, Zikalala warned that violence in society has the potential to derail the programme of delivering a better life for all, and undermines the achievements made by the democratic government since 1994.

“As we gather here at this memorial service, we are called on to be vigilant and to jealously guard our hard won peace. KwaZulu-Natal and indeed our country simply cannot afford the violence and murders. We must give peace and development a chance,” Zikalala said.

Zikalala emphasised that citizens must work side by side to eradicate the culture of violence and bloodshed, and create a new “model man and woman who frown upon violence and intimidation”.

He said that now is the moment to seize the day to create safer, stable and thriving communities, where young people have an array of choices for recreational activities.

More importantly, Zikalala said, efforts must be doubled transform and deracialise the economy to ensure that black people in general and Africans in particular also have meaningful participation in the country of their birth.

“This means that we must create opportunities for the rural youth of KwaZulu-Natal in the villages and townships where they are raised. It is clear that lack of opportunities and rural poverty continue to push poor youth to move to bigger cities, like Durban and Johannesburg, in search of economic opportunities.

“Nearly three decades into freedom and democracy, it is clear that our country still has to overcome apartheid spatial planning, rural poverty, and exploitative labour migration that has been the backbone of the colonial and apartheid economy,” Zikalala said.

Youth urged to take full advantage of opportunities

Meanwhile, Zikalala urged young people to take full advantage of the opportunities that the democratic State is providing to educate and skill them from grade R, all the way to institutions of higher learning.

He said the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has identified youth skilling, youth economic empowerment, as well as youth employment as an urgent priority.

“Education and skills are fundamental to self-development, and we urge all young people of UMzimkhulu and the Harry Gwala District to make use of them,” the Premier said.

He said government will continue to support initiatives to grow youth employment in KwaZulu-Natal and support youth entrepreneurs through initiatives including Operation Vula, KwaZulu-Natal Youth Development Fund, support for the township and rural economy, the Black Industrialist Programme, set-asides for women and youth and 30% of public procurement going to young people.

“We appeal to all the youth of this province to stand up and look for these opportunities. We also implore the private sector in KwaZulu-Natal to do more to support youth development and economic empowerment.”

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest of six government officials in Mpumalanga for fraud and theft of over R60 million.

The six government officials were arrested by the Hawks in Mpumalanga for various charges including fraud, theft, money laundering and contravention of section 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA Act).

In a statement, SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, said five of the accused were employed at the Mbombela Traffic Department (MTD), and one at Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM). The accused appeared in the Mbombela Magistrate Court on Monday.

“The officials were involved in over 10 000 illicit transactions and cost the Department of Transport a combined loss of approximately R60 million,” said Kganyago.

The arrested officials are Thembi Milicent Zulu-Motlohi, Agnes Nozipho Ndzinisa, Xoliswa Ngcelwane, Nompumelelo Winny Nxumalo, Allman Masuku and Nkosinathi Gumede.

Kganyago said charges that the six suspects face emanate from a SIU investigation, which was authorised in terms of Proclamation R.37 of 2017.

“The SIU was authorised to investigate, amongst others, unlawful or improper conduct by employees, officials or agents of the Institutions or any other person, which relate to the – (a) registration and licensing of motor vehicles; (b) registration of motor vehicle ownership or licensing details; (c) issuing of driving licenses, learner’s licenses or professional driving permits.

“The SIU probe uncovered that the accused officials manipulated the eNaTIS system in what is known as ‘money dumping of fees’. They would recruit companies or individuals whose Motor Vehicles (M/V) are heavily in arrears in terms of M/V licensing and penalties incurred due to failure to pay licensing,” he said.

Kganyago said the suspects would then dump those fees by changing the ownership of the affected M/V to unsuspecting individuals, deceased individuals or dormant companies.

“Some fees are also dumped on government vehicles using a GG authority code. Only government vehicles are licensed using the GG authority code.

“In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU referred evidence pointing to criminal conduct that was uncovered during the investigation to the attention of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action,” he said.

South Africa detected 550 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 4 001 444 laboratory-confirmed cases.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), most cases were recorded in Gauteng after 262 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Meanwhile, 121 cases were recorded in the Western Cape, 59 in KwaZulu-Natal, 28 in the Eastern Cape, 27 in Mpumalanga and 23 in Free State, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 20 infections.

The Department of Health said four people lost their lives to COVID-19, of which three occurred in the past 48 hours.

This means the country now has a death toll of 101 939 to date.

The latest data also show that there are currently 1 038 patients who are receiving hospital treatment, with 11 admitted since the last reporting cycle.

The department administered 13 941 COVID-19 vaccine doses of which 1 656 were given to children in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 37 077 459.

Global view

Globally, during the week of 11 to 17 July 2022, the number of weekly cases plateaued, with just under 6.3 million new cases after an increasing trend for the past five weeks.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the reported number of new weekly deaths increased by 11 000.

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

Meanwhile, the number of new weekly cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region 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,” the agency explained, adding that data is continuously updated to incorporate regular changes made by countries retrospectively.

At the country level, the highest numbers of new weekly cases were reported from the United States (866 479), France (757 830), Italy (718 925), Germany (602 930), and Japan (559 111).

The highest numbers of new weekly deaths were recorded in the United States (2 345), Brazil (1 751), Italy (784), Spain (610), and China (576).

As of 17 July 2022, over 559 million confirmed cases and over 6.3 million deaths have been reported globally.

A former acting head of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly fraudulently receiving R7 million payments from a supplier in the Free State government asbestos project.

This was on Wednesday announced by the Hawks in a statement.

Captain Christopher Singo said the 56-year-old suspect was arrested in Alberton Gauteng by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein.

He said: “It is alleged that during the period of 2014 and 2017 an irregular contract was awarded to a service provider for the eradication of asbestos roofs by the department of Human Settlement, Free State.

“The suspect who was the Acting HOD of the department of Human Settlement in Gauteng also authorised the same service provider irregularly in Gauteng. She then fraudulently received an amount of more than R7 million from the service provider.”

He said the matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team for further investigation, which culminated to the arrest of the suspect.

“Twelve other accused including five companies have already been arrested regarding the asbestos case. The suspect is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 21 July 2022 whilst the other twelve are expected to appear before the Bloemfontein High Court on the 23 September 2022,” he said.

Government has rejected what it termed as malicious allegations made by Independent Media Group’s head, Iqbal Surve, about President Cyril Ramaphosa and Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan.

In a video, Surve alleged that President Ramaphosa and the Minister had applied political pressure and were using the banks to silence the media.

“The Independent Group’s allegations are devoid of truth and seek to bring the President and the Minister into disrepute. Furthermore, the country has a formal banking system, which is highly regulated and accountable to regulators and industry bodies,” said Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Director-General, Phumla Williams.

Williams said the Constitution entrenches the right to freedom of expression, including media freedom, which is an integral part of democracy.

“Since 1994, government has been resolute in the belief that an independent and free media are vital partners in strengthening any democracy.

“Government on an annual basis joins the media industry in commemorating Media Freedom Day, which resulted in legislative guarantees of press freedom and editorial independence,” she said.

Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said: “This is not the first time that the Independent Group has cast aspersions on Cabinet Ministers. The media has been free of State control since the advent of democracy.

“Government enjoys a cordial relationship with media in the country through structures such as SANEF and the Press Club. The media is an important partner and stakeholder of government, and we confirm our commitment to upholding media freedom in South Africa”.

South Africa’s annual consumer price inflation (CPI) reached 7.4% in June 2022, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says.

This is a 0.9% increase from the 6.5% recorded in May 2022.

Statistician General Risenga Maluleke on Wednesday said this was the highest rate since May 2009 when the rate was 8.0%.

“The consumer price index increased by 1.1% month-on-month in June 2022. The main contributors to the 7.4% annual inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing and utilities; transport; and miscellaneous goods and services,” he said.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 8.6% year-on-year, and contributed 1.5 percentage points to the total CPI annual rate of 7.4%, said Stats SA.

“Housing and utilities increased by 5.1% year-on-year, and contributed 1.2 percentage points. Transport increased by 20.0% year-on-year, and contributed 2.7 percentage points. Miscellaneous goods and services increased by 4.0% year-on-year, and contributed 0.6 of a percentage point. In June, the annual inflation rate for goods was 11.0%, up from 9.5% in May; and for services it was 3.9%, up from 3.6% in May,” it said.

The number of consumer units receiving services from municipalities increased between 2019 and 2020, says Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).

Releasing the 2020 Non-Financial Census of Municipalities on Tuesday, Stats SA said for the period under review, sewerage and sanitation showed the highest percentage increase (4.3%), followed by water (3.9%), then electricity and solid waste management (both with 2.3%).

It said: “With the exception of electricity services, the free basic services (FBS) provided to consumer units decreased in all other services between the 2019 and 2020 financial years.

“According to 2020 estimates, there were 3.6 million indigent households as identified by municipalities, an increase of 6.4% from the 2019 financial year.”

Of the 3.6 million identified indigents, 2.7 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system for water, while 2.1 million benefited from free basic electricity provided by municipalities.

Stats SA said: “Furthermore, 2.0 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system for sewerage and sanitation and 2.4 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system for solid waste management.”

The census revealed that bucket toilets provided by municipalities to households increased by 4 696 (11.1%) consumer units from 42 434 to 47 130 between 2019 and 2020 financial years.

“The number of people employed by municipalities decreased by 6.6%, from 333 412 in 2019 to 311 364 in 2020 (inclusive of funded vacancies),” reads the report.

South Africa now has 4 000 894 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases since the outbreak, of which 263 were added on Tuesday.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Gauteng recorded the most cases after 102 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

The province is followed by 77 infections in the Western Cape, 30 in KwaZulu-Natal, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 20 cases.

Meanwhile, the latest data reveals that the country lost 13 more patients to COVID-19, one in the past 48 hours.

This means the country now has a death toll of 101 935 since the first case was reported on 5 March 2020.

Meanwhile, nine more people were admitted to hospital in the past 24 hours, pushing the number of hospital admissions to 1 034.

The information is based on the 25 893 612 tests in both the public and private sectors.

In addition, the Department of Health said 13 435 vaccine doses were administered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 37 060 820 since the rollout programme began last year.

Data also show that 20 214 165 adults have now received the COVID-19 vaccines in South Africa, while 2 614 505 vaccine doses have been given to children between the ages of 12 and 17.

Globally, as of 19 July 2022, there have been 561 156 416 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6 365 510 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the dismissal of former SABC Chief Operations Officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s application for leave to appeal an order compelling him to pay back at least R11.5 million to the SABC.

In December last year, Motsoeneng was ordered to pay back at least R11.5 million in a “success fee” paid to him by the SABC in 2016.

SIU Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago explained that Motsoeneng will have to pay back the money with interest backdated to 2016.

“In December 2021, the court declared that the 19 August 2016 decision by the then SABC Board to pay Motsoeneng a success fee amounting to over R11.5 million for clinching a Multi Choice deal was unlawful and invalid. The Multi Choice deal gave the pay television service provider access to the SABC’s archives.

“The SIU together with the SABC approached the High Court to review and set aside a decision by the former SABC Board to pay Motsoeneng a success fee and recover financial losses suffered by the SABC. The court action was informed by the SIU investigation in the affairs of the SABC, which revealed that the SABC irregularly paid monies to individuals and entered into contracts to the detriment of the public broadcaster,” Kganyago said.

He said the investigation into the public broadcaster was authorised following a proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The SIU investigated the SABC in terms of Proclamation R29 of 2017, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to investigate allegations of corruption, maladministration, malpractice and payments made by the SABC together with the conduct of its employees.

“Where required, the SIU was authorised to institute civil proceedings, refer evidence pointing to criminality to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for prosecution in line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996,” Kganyago said.