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The Department of Basic Education says that it will abide by the North Gauteng High Court ruling regarding the release of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results on media platforms.

“This means that the department will make available the results to stakeholders who requested access,” the department said on Tuesday.

This after AfriForum, Maroela Media and a Grade 12 learner made an urgent application for the court to reverse the department’s decision to no longer release matric results on public platforms, which cited the violation of the Protection of Personal Information Act or POPI Act.

However, according to the department, the conditions of the court ruling must be taken into account in line with the provisions of the POPI Act.

In addition to accessing results from media such as newspapers, the department has urged candidates to register on the website to view the results when they become available on Thursday, 20 January 2022.

Registration is now open and more than 10 000 people had successfully signed up by lunchtime today.

According to the department, candidates will have to go through a two-step verification process before receiving confirmation of their registration.

In addition, a 13-digit ID number and exam number will be required for registration.

The department said its website is zero-rated, which means it can be accessed whether you have data or not.

“It is in the public interest that this information is shared on public platforms and that is one of the reasons why we brought this application. We are delighted that the court agreed with us in this argument,” said AfriForum’s Education Rights Manager, Natasha Venter.

The North West Health MEC, Madoda Sambatha, has congratulated the nurses and doctors at Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital (JMMH) who delivered quadruplets at the weekend.

The quadruplets were born in the early hours of Saturday, 15 January 2022.

The MEC also expressed well wishes to the 39-year-old mother, Lettie Sewedi, from Monoto Mosweu in Vryburg on her new bundles of joy.

“Well done to our doctors and nurses for a successful operation that delivered the babies. More importantly, congratulations to the mother who gave birth to these quadruplets,” Sambatha said.

The department said the mother had been booked to attend antenatal care at Coleridge Clinic and was later referred to JMMH where a successful operation was undertaken by the well-experienced medical team.

Of the four newborns, three are boys and all weighed reasonably as anticipated by the team.

“Currently, all the boys are being fed while the girl is receiving close monitoring on ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit after doctors discovered that she has apnoeic attacks and was given a blood transfusion.”

Sewedi, who is now a mother of nine, is said to be ecstatic at the professional service she received from JMMH.

“She further indicates that she cannot wait to go home and enjoy life with her new bundles of joy.”

Newly appointed JMMH CEO, Portia Tlou, applauded the team that delivered the healthy babies to the nation.

She stressed the long-standing assignment of the department of impeccably delivering health services to all, at all times. “Ours is only to serve our patients with distinctive love,” she added.

According to experts, quadruplets are formed when a single fertilised egg splits into four different embryos and genetically identical quadruplets. Four eggs are then released and are each fertilised by a different sperm.

A total of 82 people have been lost to drowning or lightning across the country as the heavy torrential rains continue to batter South Africa, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has revealed.

On Tuesday, the department said the threatening conditions required all of society and government to work together to promote risk reduction measures and implement a coordinated response.

“In the same vein, our communities are key to ensuring the success of the response efforts by acting in a manner that reduces their exposure to risks of the prevailing flooding incidents,” the department said.

CoGTA Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in a statement urged communities to exercise caution as the rain had brought about dangerous conditions.

“Rain is most welcomed as it assists to address the challenges of water shortages in some parts of our country. Unfortunately, the heavy downpours have caused considerable damage to large parts of the country, thus limiting movement of people and causing flooding in some areas.”

The department said rains had disrupted lives, damaging properties and infrastructure.

In response to the disaster, National, Provincial and Municipal Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs) have been activated in all affected areas.

This was in line with the 2021/22 National Summer Seasonal Contingency Plan as well as seasonal contingency plans of sectors, provinces and municipalities that have also been activated to coordinate multi-sectoral response efforts.

Disaster teams across the country have been dispatched to various parts of the country and are working around the clock to assist communities, said the department.

CoGTA spokesperson Lungi Mtshali said the department would work with all stakeholders to assist communities that are affected by the current rains.

Relevant authorities will assess the situation and provide the necessary support to affected communities.

“In an effort to protect lives and livelihoods, we urge communities to be cautious whilst walking or driving on the roads as some bridges have been eroded by heavy water and devastating floods.

“We call upon all communities affected by the torrential rains to remain vigilant and take the necessary precautions in line with disaster risk reduction principles.”

He said this included:

– Listen to and monitor special warnings on the radio, TV and social media;

– Where possible, stay indoors during the heavy rains.

– Avoid walking in flooded areas.

– Avoid swimming or crossing flooded rivers or streams.

– Avoid crossing roads and bridges covered by water.

– Those staying in low lying areas which often experience flooding should move to higher areas.

– Avoid flooded areas, even where water looks weak, it can still pose a threat.

– Look out for washed-out roads, earth slides, and fallen trees or power lines.

– Protect children and ensure that they don’t end up in flooded rivers and streams.

The department urged parents, caregivers and teachers to help in emphasising precautionary measures at home and at school.

“To this end, we urge all our communities to avoid building dwellings in flood-prone or low lying areas, regularly observe weather safety messages and contact their local councillors, traditional leaders and emergency services should the need arise.

“The National Emergency Call Centre number is 112 to request emergency assistance and report emergencies.

“We further caution against making false calls to the call centres. False calls divert emergency services away from people who are truly in need and in life-threatening situations, thus requiring immediate emergency assistance.”

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) continuously issues updated early warning alerts to the public through all platforms and channels.

“We convey condolences to those who lost loved ones due to the current torrential rains. We also share in the pain of those who unfortunately lost properties,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to join Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder of the multinational conglomerate NantWorks, LLC, in launching the NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus in Brackenfell, Cape Town, on Wednesday.

The President and Dr Soon-Shiong will also launch the Coalition to Accelerate Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (The AAAH Coalition).

This launch comes after an announcement made by Dr Soon-Shiong in September last year of an ambitious initiative to build capacity for advanced health care in Africa.

NantSA, a division of NantWorks, and The AAAH Coalition aim to accelerate domestic production of pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines that will reach patients across the African continent.

In a statement on Monday, The Presidency said that through the synergistic efforts of  members of The AAAH Coalition, self-reliance will be accelerated around next-generation vaccines manufactured in South Africa for Africa, innovative therapeutics and pandemic preparedness.

“With the support of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, institutes for infectious disease and cancer centres of excellence will be established at the universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand and the Chan Soon-Shiong Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CSS CERI) at the University of Stellenbosch,” the Presidency said.

President Ramaphosa and Dr Soon-Shiong will perform a ribbon-cutting for the official launch of the NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus at Brackengate and also present the vision and mission of The AAAH Coalitions.

The event will be attended by a select group of invitees including representatives of government, academia and the biotech industry.

Former Eskom senior manager for Coal Operations, Petrus Mazibuko, has lost his leave to appeal application to have a R11.5 million forfeiture order against him set aside by the Special Tribunal.

This after it was found that Mazibuko unlawfully benefitted from an Eskom coal transporting contract awarded to a company linked to his company and that of his brother.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was subsequently granted an order to seize at least R11.5 million held in accounts belonging to the two.

According to Tribunal spokesperson, Advocate Selby Makgotho, Mazibuko, his brother Shadrack and their companies sought to appeal the forfeiture order on several grounds at a higher court.

“Mazibuko, his brother Shadrack, and Thephunokheja Projects (Pty) Ltd…contend that in granting the final relief, the Special Tribunal erred in its assessment of the facts and application of the law.

“They alleged that the Special Tribunal exercised its discretion on incorrect facts,” Makgotho said.

According to Makgotho, the tribunal dismissed the application with costs as their case had “no merit”.

“Judge Thina Siwendu found that there were no prospects of success and that there were no compelling reasons why the matter must be heard by a Full Court as Mazibuko had prayed for. Judge Siwendu found no merit in the complaint and that the orders were competent in the context of civil forfeiture orders before the Special Tribunal,” he said.

There were 1 691 new COVID-19 cases detected in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, 87 people succumbed to the respiratory disease, of which 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

This means the country is now home to 3 560 921 laboratory-confirmed infections since the outbreak, while the death toll stands at 93 451.

Of the latest infections reported, Gauteng was the hardest-hit after 456 people tested positive in the province, followed by 316 in the Western Cape, 285 in KwaZulu-Natal, 185 in Mpumalanga, 119 in Limpopo and 110 in the North West.

According to the NICD, hospital admissions increased by 114 in the past 24 hours.

In addition, the Department of Health distributed 86 119 vaccine doses, bringing the number of jabs to 28 993 654 of which 1 086 295 were given to children since the rollout programme.

Meanwhile, there are now 16 080 352 or 40.40% adults who are fully vaccinated in South Africa.

The department said that of the 7 249 that are receiving COVID-19 hospital treatment, 5 310 are unvaccinated, 298 are partially jabbed and 1 641 are fully jabbed.

Globally, as of 17 January 2022, there have been 326 279 424 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5 536 609 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

Meanwhile, 9 395 059 118 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) says it has registered notable progress in the payments of the once-off gratuity to eligible non-returning councillors following the 2021 Local Government Elections.

The payment of the gratuity followed the recommendation made by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers in August 2021 for non-returning councillors to receive a once-off gratuity payment.

On Monday, the department said the gratuity was based on the last basic salary earned, excluding travel and housing allowances, municipal contributions to a pension fund, and a medical aid scheme.

CoGTA spokesperson Lungi Mtshali said the payments to qualifying beneficiaries were done after completing a number of checks and verifications, including getting tax directives from the South African Revenue Service.

“Thus far, as of 16 January 2022, a total of 1 630 applications have been verified and paid from across the 257 municipalities in the country,” he said.

Mtshali said the department remained committed to ensuring that these payments are expeditiously processed.

“To this end, additional human resources has been sourced to assist in expediting the payments in order to ensure that payments are completed by no later than 28 February 2022, well ahead of the set deadline of 31 March 2022 set out in the circular sent to all municipalities last year (2021) in October and notwithstanding the fact that most municipalities only submitted complete documents required between 20 December 2021 and now.”

The Department and Water and Sanitation on Monday opened two sluice gates at the Vaal Dam due to increased inflows from feeding catchments.

In a statement, the department said three gates from the five that had been opened previously had been closed.

It said this was due to the continued rain in the catchments feeding the Vaal-Orange River System and the Integrated Vaal River System. There has been an increased in inflows.

One gate was opened at 10am with the second one opening at midday.

To manage and protect infrastructure, the department said it took the decision to keep a total of four gates open for now.

The dam – which supplies most of Gauteng – stood at 108.5% on Monday morning.

The Bloemhof Dam was at 109.0% full and the dam level increased over the past 24 hours.

Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau warned downstream communities of the imminent increase of outflow from the dams and a rise in the Vaal River.

“Farmers are asked to remove equipment that may be damaged due to the outflow. This is also a warning for communities to ensure that children are not swimming near the stream.

“The department will continue to monitor the volumes, but the sluice gates will remain open until further notice,” Ratau said.

Following the decision to stop the practice of publishing National Senior Certificate results on media platforms, the Department of Basic Education says it has received representations from a vast array of organisations and individuals as well as an urgent court application on the matter.

In a statement on Sunday, the department said it was guided by the need to comply with all the legal obligations but in the final analysis the Constitution commands the DBE to act in the best interest of the learner.

“In a quest to strike this delicate balance of complying with POPIA and act in the best interest of the learner, the Department has been engaged with a number of role players including the Information Regulator and the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF),” the department said.

The department said that in view of the latest developments with regards to the release of the 2021 Matric Results and the impending litigation, the Department has decided that it will abide by the decision of the Court.

The Department has communicated its position to stakeholders it has engaged including SANEF and other parties.

“Meanwhile the Department urges candidates to register on the DBE website to view their results when they become available. Candidates will have to go through a two-step verification process before receiving confirmation of their registration. A 13-digit ID number and the examination number will be required for registration,” the department said.

The DBE website is zero-rated, which means learners can access it whether they have data or not.

The department said that more than 10 000 people had successfully registered by noon on Sunday.

Matric results are expected to be released on 21 January.

A Department of Correctional Services official has been arrested together with another person after attempting to smuggle a large consignment of contraband into the Durban Correctional Centre.

According to the department, the two were caught separately during the early hours of Saturday morning.

“When a motor-vehicle with two occupants was stopped by the patrolling officials at about 01h18 on [Saturday] at the Durban Correctional Centre Premises, one person opted to flee evading the officials who were closing in.

“The driver of the vehicle; a private citizen; was eventually apprehended. He disclosed the identity of his associate as a Department of Correctional Services official,” the department said.

On inspection, the following contraband was found in the vehicle:

• A cellphone and charger
• There parcels of dagga
• 924 white and blue capsules of the drug whoonga
• 50 white round tablets.

The official was caught hours later – hiding at the facility.

“At around 07h50, DCS day shift officials were alerted to screams for help inside the storm water drainage at the centre. Upon inspection, the Emergency Support Team of DCS and SAPS, found a correctional services official trapped inside the storm water drainage which he had used as a hideout spot.

“The official was arrested and a consignment containing mandrax capsules, mobile phones with earphones, cellphone chargers, 34 sim cards, 669 woonga stopes, 1.180kg dagga and other illegal items was also discovered,” the department said.

The department warned that officials caught attempting to smuggle contraband into correctional facilities will “never be spared any mercy”.

“DCS is leaving nothing to chance as its commitment towards contraband free centres is in full swing. It is a 360-degree focussed intervention as attention is given to every inmate, official, service providers, visitors and residences within our premises.

“Safe and secure correctional centres are possible to achieve, and we expect nothing but strict adherence to safety standards from all those who interface with DCS. Hence, visitors, inmates, officials and private citizens caught contravening our regulations shall be dealt with through the criminal justice system,” the department said.