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President Cyril Ramaphosa says the protection of the Constitution, democracy and state institutions are paramount to the safeguarding of South Africa’s hard won freedom.

President Ramaphosa was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter following an unprecedented two weeks in which a fire engulfed Parliament, the Constitutional Court building was damaged by a lone attacker, the first tranche of the State Capture Commission report was released and the nation buried struggle icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The President said the events had had a profound impact on South African society.

“Apart from the close proximity of St George’s Cathedral and Parliament, what connects these two events is that each reminds us of what brings us together as South Africans: our democracy.

“We mourn Desmond Tutu because he was the spiritual father of our democracy. We despair at the devastation of our Parliamentary buildings because they are the seat of our democracy,” the President said.

He said the fire at Parliament was an important reminder of the need to strengthen and defend democracy.

“We need to protect our Constitution, our democratic state and the electoral process from anyone who wants to weaken our democracy and deny the South African people of their hard-won freedom.

“While the Parliamentary buildings have been damaged beyond use, the institution of Parliament continues its work in the service of the people. This is an important reminder that our democratic institutions are not defined by the buildings that house them, but by the work they do and by the confidence that the people have in them,” he said.

President Ramaphosa assured South Africans that investigations into the fire are underway and Parliamentary work is continuing despite the destruction of some of Parliament’s buildings.

“We need to ensure that these investigations are thorough and concluded without delay. The country needs to know what happened.

“Arrangements are being made to ensure that the work of Parliament can continue even if the buildings cannot be used. It is vital that Parliament continues to consider and pass laws that will transform society and continues to provide oversight and ensure accountability as government works to implement the mandate it received from the people,” he said.

The President reflected that just as the last flames of the fire were being extinguished, a “deeply disturbing picture” of State Capture was laid bare when the Zondo Commission handed its report to him.

He said the report’s findings that key institutions were dismantled and compromised with criminal intent must spur the nation on to protect state institutions.

“The findings and recommendations of the Zondo Commission will help the country to rebuild these institutions and to hold those responsible to account. We must ensure that we use them to safeguard these institutions into the future so that they may never be captured again.

“We must safeguard against any and all efforts to diminish our hard-won democracy – whether these efforts take the form of corruption in state owned enterprises, the subversion of our law enforcement agencies, the sabotage of our economic infrastructure, or attacks on the independence and integrity of our judiciary,” he said.

President Ramaphosa acknowledged that although the country faces many challenges, citizens share a common goal to rebuild the nation.

“As we head into a new year, there are many challenges that we must confront as we work to rebuild and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we do so, let us draw strength and encouragement from our deep dedication to our democracy and our common desire to build a nation that is united, free and equal,” President Ramaphosa said.

South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak.

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the Northern Cape and 122 in Limpopo, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 100 infections.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the latest increase represents a 10.6% positivity rate.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health reported 86 deaths due to the ongoing audit exercise, of which only 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48-hour reporting cycle.

This means the death toll now stands at 93 364 to date, while there has been an increase of 42 hospital admissions.

In addition, the country administered 4 374 vaccine doses since the last reporting cycle, which brings the tally to 28 903 010 jabs.

The department said 16 036 025 or 40.29% adults South Africans are now fully jabbed, while 1 072 280 children between ages 12 and 17 have received their vaccine.

Of the 7 441 people who are currently receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19, 5 413 are unvaccinated, 310 are partially jabbed and 1 718 are fully vaxxed.

Globally, as of 14 January 2022, there have been 318 648 834 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5 518 343 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

State power utility Eskom says it will be switching off Unit Two of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station on Monday for a five-month period for refuelling and maintenance.

The unit generates at least 920MW of power for the country, with its last successful outage successfully completed in October 2020.

Eskom’s Chief Nuclear Officer, Riedewaan Bakardien, said although the outage may put strain on electricity supply, maintenance is an essential task for the nuclear unit.

“This is going to be a long, but needed outage – the first of its kind for Koeberg. Our staff are prepared and committed to make history by ensuring the success of this project. Nuclear safety is the paramount factor. We will progress the outage work diligently, making sure nuclear safety and safety of plant, personnel and public is top of mind,” he said.

In a statement, Eskom explained that the refuelling and maintenance of the power station must be done to ensure that the nuclear unit is safe for use.

“Unlike other types of power stations, where fuel can be added to continue generating power, the fuel at a nuclear power station is sealed inside a reactor vessel, which is opened for refuelling every 15 to 18 months.

“This is also a time when the station will perform certain required inspections on equipment and perform more intrusive maintenance that cannot be performed when the unit is online. The rigorous maintenance, inspection and testing programmes are some of the critical activities that ensures that the plant remains safe and able to deliver this reliable level of performance,” Eskom said.

Furthermore, the power utility said the replacement of critical components at the nuclear power station will add to government’s plan to the extension of the power station’s lifespan.

“The replacement of the reactor pressure vessel head and steam generators has been identified by Eskom as a requirement for life extension.

“The successful replacement of these components is therefore an important element of the safety submission being prepared for submittal to the National Nuclear Regulator in mid-2022, in support of Koeberg’s operation for 20 additional years,” Eskom said.

The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team has launched an investigation into a business burglary, trespassing, malicious damage to property and intimidation case following the arrest of a 27-year-old in the Bloemfontein SABC premises on Sunday morning.

In a statement, the Hawks said it was alleged that at about 4:30am, a security officer at the Bloemfontein SABC building noticed that there was an intruder inside the building and requested backup from his colleagues.

“It is further alleged that the suspect attacked the security officials and one official managed to pull out his official firearm and shot the suspect,” said Hawks spokesperson,Brigadier Thandi Mbambo.

She said the Parkweg SAPS and emergency services were called to the scene and the suspect was taken to the local hospital for treatment where he is currently under police guard.

A separate case of attempted murder will be investigated by Parkweg detectives.

“The suspect will appear in court soon. Investigation continues,” said Mbambo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says acts of terrorism and violent extremism that have led to loss of lives, property and displacement of people, especially women and children, cannot be allowed to continue without a proportionate response.

The President was delivering opening remarks at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit, held together with Personnel Contributing Countries plus the Republic of Mozambique on Tuesday, in Malawi.

President Ramaphosa is convening the summit in his capacity as Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

The summit is meant to review progress of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), which was deployed by SADC until 15 January 2022, to support Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism in the Cabo Delgado Province.

“Since the deployment of SAMIM in Mozambique, significant progress has been made. The security situation in Cabo Delgado is improving, which has allowed for some internally displaced persons to return to their homes and resume their normal lives,” Ramaphosa said.

He said that efforts of the Mission, working in collaboration with the Mozambican Defence Force, has created safe passage to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population affected by terrorist activities.

“I wish to express appreciation and commend the work of SAMIM on the ground. I equally appreciate and commend Member States who have supported this work financially and through the deployment of personnel and equipment,” he said.

The President noted that while there were gains by the missions, there have also been challenges. He said they were saddened by the casualties suffered by SAMIM and the Mozambican Defence Force.

“I wish to extend our deepest condolences to the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania, and my Government, South Africa, for the demise of our brave sons, who were lost in the line of duty.

“SADC will forever cherish their service and contribution to peace and security in the region. We also extend our best wishes for the speedy recovery of those who were wounded in action,” he said.

President Ramaphosa emphasised that terrorism cannot be permitted to continue to thrive in any part of our region as its presence will reverse the stability and progress SADC has achieved in its four decades of existence.

“As we consider the agenda before us, we are cognisant of the magnitude of ground that still needs to be covered in the work of SAMIM. Therefore, we cannot let our guard down.

“Our meeting must indicate a strengthened commitment to defeat and uproot terrorism from our region,” he said.

Today, the President will participate in the SADC Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The Department of Correctional Services says it is on high alert following the death of a Mthatha Correctional Centre inmate during an attack at the centre on Tuesday.

According to department spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, five inmates attacked officials and four other inmates during an exercise session at the centre in the Eastern Cape.

“Unfortunately, one inmate from the five attackers succumbed to his injuries and passed on during the fracas. One official and another inmate remain in hospital due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained,” he said.

Nxumalo said dual investigations into the incident are being conducted by the department and police.

“This is a disturbing incident, as correctional centres had maintained calm during the festive season.

“An internal investigation has been launched, and the SAPS is also attending to the case. The Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) has also been informed and is expected to run its own independent investigation. It is the outcome of the investigation which will share more light on the motive and circumstances that may have triggered this incident,” he said.

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says the department will present a new driver’s licence card machine for approval at the first Cabinet meeting of the year.

“The machine (from Germany) that produces driver’s licenses is… old… No other country in the world is still using that machine… It’s going to be a new… machine that is going to be on par with the developed world.

“Over and above that, [we] are introducing a new card [machine] that doesn’t need to go to Germany to be fixed. Once cabinet approves that, new machines are going to come,” he said.

Mbalula clarified that the breakdown of the current machine came before plans could be finalised to replace it – causing a backlog in the issuing of driver’s licence cards.

“… Whilst we were doing away with that machine, it had an accident and… the machine had to be taken away to be repaired in Germany. It is being fixed as we speak. We have already taken it to Germany but in the interim, we will introduce new measures on what will happen (sic).”

Furthermore on social media, the Minister said an online payment service for motor vehicle licence renewal, driving licence card renewals, learner’s licence tests and driving licence tests are on the cards.

“The interface of live enrolment units with Home Affairs has been completed. This will enable the immediate validation of fingerprints and address. We are working with the HPCSA [Health Professions Council of South Africa] to enable optometrist to upload eye tests on our systems,” he said.

The Department of Health has called on all people who experience any adverse events following immunisation to immediately report to their nearest health facility or vaccination site.

This comes after the department noted with concern a video clip circulating on social media platforms depicting a male patient suffering from what looks like throat cancer, claiming this to be the result of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement on Wednesday, the department said each province and district has allocated persons who are responsible for investigating severe and serious adverse events following immunisation within 48 hours since it has been identified or the health system has been notified thereof. However, there is no time limit to report an event.

“All adverse events following immunisation are taken seriously, and appropriate action can only be taken if they are reported,” the department said.

The department has reiterated that COVID-19 vaccines are very safe and highly effective at preventing hospitalisation and death, and therefore it discourages members of the public from using other people’s health conditions and life experiences to push their personal theories to justify opposition to this life-saving intervention.

“All vaccines and medicines have side effects, with the majority of COVID-19 vaccine side effects being minor and resolving within 2 – 3 days. While individuals respond differently to vaccination and side effects differ slightly among the vaccines, the most common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines include headache, mild fever, chills, pain and/or redness at the injection site, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea and mild diarrhoea,” the department said.

The department said serious adverse events following immunisation are very rarely caused by immunisation. They are most often health events that would have happened regardless of whether a vaccine was received.

“Rare vaccine adverse events can be managed successfully if they are identified early.  Uncommon, severe and serious adverse events should always be reported, so that they are fully investigated, including those that need medical attention or hospitalisation.

“It is important to understand if the vaccine was responsible for the event, or whether it happened coincidentally to vaccination, even those that have improved clinically or resolved spontaneously,” the statement read.

The department has urged the public to report any serious adverse events following immunisation to the available platforms.

Upon reporting the case, the department says the assigned investigators will obtain the medical records of the person who experienced the adverse event, and submit these data to the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee (NISEC) without making any judgement themselves on the cause of the adverse event.

Adverse events following immunisation may be reported using the Med Safety App (https://medsafety.sahpra.org.za/) or by completing a paper ‘Case report form’ which may be accessed at https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/adverse-event-following- immu….

The form should be returned by email to AEFI@health.gov.za. Alternatively, the COVID-19 Public Hotline can be contacted on 0800 0299 99.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, Barbara Creecy, has commended some 300 firefighters, who have been battling the blaze in the Overberg region of the Western Cape since Saturday.

The fire, which is reported to have started in the department’s Pine Plantation in the Kleinmond area, has destroyed more than 4 000ha of vegetation.

Creecy said the Fire Protection Association in Overberg is expected to compile a fire report regarding the facts pertaining to the source or origins of the fire.

“In the interest of public accountability, the Director-General of the department has asked the Acting CEO of SANParks to undertake an assessment of the Kleinmond fire. The services of SANParks have been enlisted since they have internal capabilities to undertake an assessment of this nature.

“The scope of the assessment will include the origins and causes of the fire, whether fire breaks and other preventative measures were in place and any other factor that may have exacerbated the fire,” the Minister said.

Creecy said once the assessment has been received and processed by the department, the findings and recommendations will be made public.

The department’s Working on Fire is still on the ground and aerial resources continue to assist with suppression efforts at the fire.

Working on Fire has deployed 169 firefighters and management, inclusive of pilots and helicopter support staff, five fire trucks, two transport buses, as well as three bakkies to assist fire authorities in Overberg, with continuous fire suppression efforts since Saturday, 8 January 2022.  A total of 116 additional firefighters from local municipalities have been deployed.

“Three spotter planes, two Huey and one Black Hawk Helicopters have been deployed since Saturday to provide additional aerial firefighting capacity. Additional aerial resources remain on standby at Stellenbosch airfield and at Newlands fire base. The helicopters and planes have already made 284 water drops during 65 hours in the air,” the department said.

The department said the team has assisted in fighting and suppressing 22 fires across the province since the summer fire season officially began in the Western Cape on 1 December 2021.

South Africa’s COVID-19 positivity rate continues to show a steady decline, although it is still higher than the 5% suggested by the World Health Organisation.

According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, the country recorded 5 688 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24-hour reporting period, with a 14% positivity rate – far below a high of at least 35% experienced in mid-December.

“The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 14.0%, which is the same as yesterday (14.0%). The 7-day average is 18.3% today, which is lower than yesterday (19.2%).

“The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (1 432), followed by Gauteng (1 310). Western Cape accounted for 1 151, Eastern Cape 582, Free State 330, Limpopo 216, Mpumalanga 232, North West 238 and the Northern Cape 177,” the institute said.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases has now reached 3 534 131, with 119 more fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths related to the virus to 92 649.

Hospital admissions due to the virus have also risen by 255.

Some 86 613 more COVID-19 vaccinations were administered over the past 24-hour reporting period.

In total, at least 28.5 million jabs have been administered since the beginning of the vaccination rollout programme.