Archives

A new internal ethos of delivering first class customer service will ensure that South African Airways (SAA) is revived to its former glory.

This is according to the airline’s interim CEO Thomas Kgokolo.

SAA is set to take to the skies next week following a turbulent 16 months wherein the airline was grounded, put under business rescue and then exited that business rescue.

“While it’s impossible to ignore the recent difficult history of SAA, this is also a proud brand that celebrates its eighty seventh anniversary this year and one that is respected the world over. Our jobs as custodians of this brand is to build on the goodwill gathered over so many years and to reshape and recast a business that all South Africans can be proud of,” Kgokolo said.

In a statement, SAA explained that a “new business and operating philosophy” of placing customers first is being imbued into the airline.

“Managers and staff…have been working collegially on a new philosophy of customer excellence. Some of the attributes that airline staff will be striving to build are, creating real connections with each other and customers; adopting an internal culture of collaboration; living by the principles of total accountability; being aspirational in terms of future growth and development; and containing costs,” the statement said.

Adding to that, Kgokolo said regaining the trust that was lost in the airline is a work in progress.

“We know it’s going to take time. Trust and respect are not won overnight, but with the confidence and the enthusiasm our staff is showing ahead of our take off…I’m confident we will achieve those goals quickly. We know these are lofty goals but it’s only through striving for them, that we are going to put SAA back in a place where it belongs,” he said.

The airline has announced the following schedule ahead of its take off:

• Three daily flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
• From 27 September, daily return flights to Harare in Zimbabwe, Lusaka in Zambia and Maputo in Mozambique.
• Also from September 27, three weekly flights to Accra in Ghana and Kinshasa in Congo.

KwaZulu-Natal province is set to host the 2nd Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC from 15 – 21 November 2021.

A high-powered delegation, led by the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, will on Thursday descend on the province for a signing ceremony. The ceremony will be preceded by roadshows in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

These will be held as follows:

•             14 September 2021 – Johannesburg Roadshow at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliffe from 09h00.

•             15 September 2021 Cape Town Roadshow – at The Radisson, Waterfront from 09h00.

•             16 September 2021 Signing Ceremony at Durban ICC from 14h00 followed by the Roadshow at 16h00.

Obasanjo is the chairperson of the Advisory Council of the IATF2021.

He will be joined by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala; the President of Afreximbank Prof. Benedict Oramah; African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining, Albert Muchanga; Secretary General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene; KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay and Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda in the signing ceremony.

The Advisory Council will discuss preparatory arrangements and review progress made thus far.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been identified as one of the major factors that will determine how the event is held this year.

The IATF2021 is positioned as a unique and valuable platform for businesses to explore an integrated African market of over 1.2 billion people, with a combined GDP of over US$2.5 trillion created under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

As such, the theme for this year’s event is ‘Building bridges for a successful AfCFTA: A clear focus on a single market for goods and services across 55 countries which is aimed at boosting trade and investment’.

The KwaZulu-Natal IAFT2021 event is expected to generate over $40 billion in trade and investment deals, attended by over 5 000 conference participants, 10 000 visitors and buyers and over 1 100 exhibitors.

The event is organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and hosted by Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The start date for the National Senior Certificate examination has been moved to 27 October 2021 from the initial starting date of 1 November 2021, to accommodate the upcoming local government elections.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Basic Education said that the English Paper 1, Business Studies Paper 1 and the non-official languages Paper 1, which were originally scheduled for 1 and 2 November, will now be written on 27 and 28 October respectively.

The decision comes after the Council of Education Ministers held a special meeting following a series of consultations with key stakeholders in the basic education sector.

“The changes were necessitated by the local government elections which will take place on 1 November 2021. Learners eligible to vote will now be able to cast their ballots,” the department said.

The Council of Education Ministers had approved the 2021 NSC examination timetable in May, however, last week the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, announced that the local government elections would take place on 1 November 2021.

“On Friday, 10th September 2021, consultations took place with key stakeholders that included teacher unions, school governing body associations and professional bodies.

“The purpose of the consultation sessions was to deliberate on what would be the most appropriate option regarding a change to the timetable, given that there are five weeks from the commencement of the examination,” the department said.

The department added that there are 207 question papers to be written over 25 days (5 weeks) and there no vacant sessions in the current timetable. Therefore, the re-scheduling needed to be confined to either prior the commencement date or post the conclusion date.

“The best interest of the learner was a key consideration in addition to ensuring that a minimum change to the current timetable was made to avoid confusion,” the department said.

The department has urged candidates preparing for the examination to keep working hard.

In a bid to offer support and assistance to learners, the department has made available a wide range of resources with support materials on different platforms through the remote and digital learning programme Woza Matrics.

The learning materials will be delivered across these channels DBETV channel 122 on Openview, SABC1, DSTV CatchUp & Showmax, on Mondays and Thursdays from 23h00 to 00h00, Saturdays from 06h00 to 10h00 and Sundays from 07h00 to 08h00.

The Woza Matrics programme also offers learners with some psycho-social support, tutor support and exciting competitions.

To access more information on the Woza Matrics programme go to www.wozamatrics.co.za or https://www.facebook.com/wozamatrics/ or https://twitter.com/wozamatrics or https://www.instagram.com/wozamatrics/ or https://www.youtube.com/wozamatrics or on WhatsApp on 061 505 3023.

In an effort to ensure that all clients are attended to, the Mpumalanga Department of Employment and Labour through its entities led by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will be embarking on a campaign of “Taking services to the people of Secunda.”

The two-day campaign is set to take place from Thursday, 16 September 2021 at the Mall@emba.

In a bid to help mitigate the queues outside labour centres, a number of services will be rendered to the people. These include COVID-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) enquiries, new UIF applications, claims assessment, processing of payments, resolution of UIF enquiries, work-seeker registration and inspection services.

Mpumalanga Chief Director of Provincial Operations (CDPO), Margaret Mazibuko said: “The province will be implementing the integrated services of the department in a single campaign in line with the district service delivery campaign. This requires government departments to work in an integrated manner to deliver service that is responsive, adaptive and brings development to where it is needed most, effectively, efficiently and economically.”

The department has encouraged members of the public who wish to be assisted to bring along the following documents:

• ID Documents/Valid Passport
• Completed UI-19 form & Salary Schedule
• Proof of residence
• Bank stamped UI-2.8 form

The Department of Employment and Labour is encouraged by the high rate of compliance with labour legislation, which stood at 96% in one week of the joint blitz inspection in Sarah Baartman District in the Eastern Cape.

The department on Monday applauded high compliance with labour legislation in the Sunday’s River Valley Local Municipality with some concerns that remain.

The Provincial Head of department, Nomfundo Douw-Jack said that the continued scourge of the employment of illegal immigrants remains a concern, which does not only impacts negatively on law enforcement but also the unemployment rate.

“Employees are encouraged to attend the information session as it will help them to understand their rights and responsibilities and be able to report employers who may be non-compliant,” Jack said.

The joint operation continues this week and will end with an advocacy session meant to empower employees about the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, National Minimum Wage Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, Immigration Act as well as information about COVID-19 and vaccination.

The advocacy sessions will be held on Thursday at Nomathamsanqa Hall in Addo and Mabhida Hall in Kirkwood.

The first week of the operations saw a total of 166 inspections being conducted with 79 in the farm sector, 33 in wholesale and retail sector, 16 in the hospitality sector and 38 in miscellaneous.

The inspections were conducted in the Addo and Kirkwood areas to ensure that employers in these sectors comply with legislation while employees get the protection of the law and being vaccinated at the place of work.

Five compliance orders and one written undertaking were served to non-compliant employers due to underpayment of their employees. A sum of R109 786.77 for underpayment of salaries of employees was recovered from employers who were not paying according to the prescribed rates.

The Acting Provincial Chief Inspector, Patiswa Mbongwana, who is also coordinating the joint operation said it is their collective objective to protect  vulnerable workers whilst assisting employers to comply with the law.

The Department of Health also used the opportunity to conduct a COVID-19 education drive and vaccinated 158 workers in Sitrusoewer, Summerville and some of Farm Packhouses in Addo and Kirkwood.

The 71 alleged illegal immigrants who are Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe nationals were detained and they appeared before court on Wednesday, 8 September 2021.

“All females who were detained got released because of their small children but warned to appear before court. Out of the 68 males, two were juveniles and two produced valid visas which left a total of 64 illegal immigrants detained pending deportation. One farmer paid an admission of guilt amounting to R5000 at Addo Police Station,” the department said.

Widows and the partners of deceased men are still being side lined when it comes to inheritance and succession after their partners pass away.

This is according to the South African Women Lawyers Association’s Chuma Hlengane.

Hlengane was speaking during the Department of Justice’s virtual dialogue marking the commencement of the annual Wills Week campaign.

During this week, members of the public will be assisted to draw up their wills for free at all provincial Masters of the High Court offices, private law firms, private practice attorneys all supported by the department and the Law Society of South Africa.

A will is a legal document which sets out what should happen to a person’s assets and personal belongings when they die.

Hlengane said in the association’s experience, women and sometimes their children, are being left with nothing when their partners die because there is no will to protect them.

“In many parts of the country, women are still fighting the same battle of not being recognised when it comes to succession and inheritance especially in rural areas. You will discover that widows in these areas are still being abused by their in-laws because their right to inherit their husband’s properties, estates or their marital estates is being infringed because they are being sidelined by male family members when their spouses die,” she said.

Hlengane emphasised that it is not only assets that can be declared in a will but succession issues as well.

“Female heirs, as well, in the villages are suffering the same when it comes to leadership positions and chieftancy. When you are a female, you need to fight twice the battle (to succeed your parent) because there are people who will…try to take over merely for the fact that you are a woman.

The Law Society of South Africa’s Ugeshnee Naicker said National Wills Week provides an opportunity for citizens to have legally binding wills which will declare what should happen to their assets when they pass away.

“If you die without leaving a will…your assets may not go to the person of your choice, it can take a longer time to have an executor appointed, there could be extra and unnecessary costs, there could be unhappiness and conflict amongst members of your family because there are no clear instructions on how to distribute assets,” Naicker said.

Documents that you will need when drawing up a will:

• Your identity document
• A list of all your assets and even specific personal items like clothing
• A list of beneficiaries and their Identity numbers

Visit the Law Society of South Africa’s website at www.lssa.org.za for a list of all lawyers and attorneys participating during Will’s Week.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has informed beneficiaries of child maintenance that payments will be delayed due to departmental systems, including MojaPay, not being accessible.

MojaPay is the system the department utilises to administrate maintenance payments.

While the department is not able to determine the exact date when the required systems will be restored, the department will ensure that all child maintenance money is kept secure for payment to the rightful beneficiaries when the systems are back online.

The current system challenges do not affect the receipt of child maintenance money from the maintenance paying parent or employers who deduct these from the paying parent’s salary.

The monthly child maintenance deductions will go ahead as scheduled.

“IT experts from the department, Industry partners and selected organs of the State are working together to urgently restore the systems affected by the ransomware attack, including MojaPay.

“The MojaPay system will be given the utmost priority to ensure that any inconvenience to maintenance beneficiaries is minimised,” the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said in a statement.

“The IT experts have thus far managed to come up with an alternative email system for better coordination of the department’s crisis response plan.

“Staff members at various levels have been migrated into the new email solution. The departmental website had also been restored, so as to be able to publish updates regarding services to the public,” the department said.

The Masters Offices are currently, as interim measure, using a manual process to provide bereaved families, in exceptional cases, where there is a need to access funds from the deceased’s banking account for burial costs. No manual letters of executorship or authority will be issued in this crisis period.

“The department would once again like to extend its profound apologies to all users of justice services who have been negatively affected by the current system challenges. More updates on progress in restoring the IT system will be provided as soon as they’re available,” the department said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele will today receive a full briefing from KwaZulu-Natal SAPS management on a drive-by shooting that claimed the lives of three women in Inanda, in Durban, at the weekend.

In a statement, the Police Ministry expressed shock at the incident. The shooting happened on Saturday.

“A black Opel Corsa bakkie with five occupants, opened fire at a group of people waiting outside a local primary school,” the Ministry said.

The brazen attacked claimed the lives of Ncami Shange, 34, Beatrice Nzama, 60, and Philisiwe Jili, 37. A further five more people were injured and taken to hospital.

The Minister will also visit the site of the incident.

Businesses affected by the devastating public violence and looting that swept across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July have until 30 September 2021 to apply for government financial relief.

This comes after the National Treasury on Monday launched a registration portal for the registration of businesses that suffered losses.

The intervention forms part of the relief package announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 25 July 2021. As part of the package, a range of measures were being implemented by national and provincial governments to assist small and medium businesses that suffered damage or losses to rebuild.

In a statement, Treasury said the registration portal would collect data from affected businesses to better coordinate relief measures as well as to inform future interventions.

“It will provide a single governmental entry point for businesses to indicate the extent of losses they have suffered, and to access available facilities.

“The government calls on all business owners who were affected by the unrest between 9 and 19 July 2021 to register on the portal.”

The portal can be accessed on https://www.relief4sa.co.za .

Alternatively, business owners who experience problems accessing the portal may contact the toll-free call centre on 080 006 00850. With the exception of public holidays, the call centre will operate between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.

Treasury said data collected through the portal will be kept secure and would only be used to improve the delivery of support measures being administered through various national and provincial government entities.

“All businesses affected by the unrest are encouraged to register. The portal and call centre will remain open for affected businesses to register until Thursday, 30 September at 5pm,” it said.

South Africa has received at least $2 billion in financial assistance from the New Development Bank since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New Development Bank is an initiative of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, which seeks to mobilise resources for infrastructure and development in the emerging economies of developing countries.

The financial assistance was revealed by President Cyril Ramaphosa who was reflecting on the importance of the BRICS countries’ collaboration in his weekly newsletter to the country.

President Ramaphosa said the financial injection is being used to fight the pandemic and to support the country’s economic recovery and that during last week’s BRICS summit, countries resolved to do even more to fight the pandemic collaboratively.

“BRICS countries agreed to deepen cooperation to fight COVID-19 and mobilise the political support and financial resources needed to respond to future pandemic preparedness. There has also been substantial cooperation with our BRICS partners in securing personal protective equipment and cooperation around vaccine access and distribution,” he said.

According to President Ramaphosa, the countries also agreed to establish a virtual BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre and a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System to “forecast future outbreaks of infectious diseases”.

The President added that during the summit, countries agreed to further deepen ties in several sectors as countries move towards economic recovery.

“BRICS partners agreed to strengthen collaboration in catalytic sectors such as energy, IT, science, technology and innovation, agriculture and the green economy.

“These are all important sectors identified in our Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan announced last year. Cooperation with other BRICS countries, particularly in the field of innovation research, will help to accelerate our country’s industrialisation and help us meet our Fourth Industrial Revolution aspirations,” he said.

The President reiterated that for the past 11 years, the BRICS bloc has been and remains “of immense strategic importance” for South Africa.

“Being a member of BRICS has enhanced our position as an important emerging economy. It has given us access to policy and technical expertise of larger and established economies, as well as access to the support of the National Development Bank.

“It has strengthened our activism on the global stage, particularly around reform of multilateral institutions. We have benefitted from being part of a collective voice striving to advance a world order based on mutual respect and the equal sovereignty of nations,” President Ramaphosa said.