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The Department of Justice and Correctional Services has confirmed the extradition of former Mozambique Finance Minister, Manuel Chang.

Chang will be extradited to his home country where he will face several charges, including abuse of position and function, violation of budget laws, fraud by deception and embezzlement.

According to a statement released by the department, Chang was arrested in 2018 at O.R Tambo International Airport where he was on his way to Dubai.

Following his arrest, both the USA and the Mozambican government applied for his extradition and the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court ruled that he was extraditable to both countries.

“Before the accused’s surrender could be finalised, [Chang] brought an application in the High Court of South Africa against the Minister of Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, seeking his immediate transfer from South Africa to Mozambique,” the statement said.

Following this, Minister Lamola approached the High Court to clarify whether Chang still enjoyed immunity from prosecution as he was still a Member of Mozambican Parliament when then Justice Minister Michael Masutha decided that he be extradited to his home country.

The department said the High Court decided that extradition to Mozambique would “not make sense” as Chang enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

“It was understood that the Mozambican government sought to appeal the judgement, however, after several months, the Mozambican government made representations to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

“The effect of the representations by the Mozambican authorities changed the facts of the matter particularly on the question of immunity from prosecution. As the facts stand now, [Chang] is not immune from prosecution and has been duly indicted by the Mozambican government,” the statement said.

Nkangala District Municipality executive mayor, Thembi Sarah Masilela, and eight others were on Monday each released on R10 000 bail by the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defrauding the council of R215 000.

In a statement, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said the group in September 2019 colluded to ensure that fraudulent documents were processed for payments for services, which were never rendered.  As a result of this, the municipality lost in access of approximately R215 730.

The accomplices were all charged for theft, forgery and Contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PMFA).

Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the accused were granted R10 000 bail each and the case was postponed to 10 September 2021 for the matter to be transfered to the Serious Commercial Crime Court.

Wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane and world record holding track athlete Charl du Toit have been announced as flag bearers for Team South Africa at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony is expected to be held from Tuesday with the closing ceremony on Sunday, September 5.

Montjane is fresh off a first ever appearance for a black South African woman at a Wimbledon singles final and doubles final.

Du Toit is the current T37 100m and 400m Paralympic champion having won both at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

He also holds the world record in the 100m.

Team South Africa will be represented by a 34 member strong Paralympic team competing in at least seven sporting codes at the games.

Last week, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa wished the team well.

“South Africa’s Paralympics team has made us proud in their previous performances and we are confident even this time around that they will continue to fly our flag high. As a proud supporter of Team South Africa, we are looking forward to seeing our sports men and women not only go for glory but to inspire our future generations of Paralympians,” Mthethwa said.

HIGHER HEALTH, through the Department of Higher Education and Training will release a set of instruments that will further strengthen the realisation of the sectoral Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Policy Framework.

Published by Minister Blade Nzimande in July 2020, the Policy Framework intends to assist post-school education and training (PSET) institutions address the occurrence of GBV, and to provide a monitoring instrument to the department to assess the implementation of the Policy Framework.

The Policy Framework aims to:

• Conceptualise GBV and define its manifestation in terms of existing laws and policies;
• Detail the international and national regulatory framework compelling institutional and departmental responses to GBV;
• Provide guidance around the structures, mechanisms and processes that PSET institutions must put in place to address GBV;
• Compel PSET institutions to both create awareness of GBV, related policies and prevent incidents of GBV; and
• Set out a framework for oversight of the Department and PSET institutions’ development and implementation of GBV policy to address GBV in PSET system.

These instruments, which will be released on Friday, were developed by the PSET Gender Based Violence Technical Task Team, which is led by HIGHER HEALTH.

The task team comprises student leadership; vice chancellors of 26 public universities; rectors of 50 Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges; the Commission of Gender Equality, Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities; South African Police Services; SA Medical Research Council; and the executive leadership from the department of Higher Education and Training, amongst others.

Over 50 000 students accessed GBV support services

HIGHER HEATLH Chief Executive Officer,Proffessor  Ramneek Ahluwalia noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21, over 50 000 students accessed GBV support services, including personal risk assessments and referrals to professional health services.

“Over half a million young people have completed a curriculum on GBV prevention and mitigation. About 20 000 mental health crises were handled by HIGHER HEALTH mental health and psychosocial services,” Ahluwalia said.

While he acknowledges significant measures and achievements, Professor Ahluwalia said much more needs to be done in terms of strengthening and promoting the services, in order to avert violence and prevent deaths due to murder and suicide.

“We honour every individual whom we enable to recognise that they are at risk and whom we empower with knowledge and practical interventions so they become more confident, protected and safer in their place of study and residence.

“Improving the mental health and wellness of our students and staff and protecting them from GBV are battles we must win. We will do so by recognising that mental health is a legitimate concern, which must be addressed, and by uniting to condemn and stand up against gender-based violence. We will also persevere with initiatives that ensure the adoption and rollout of youth-friendly, easily accessible services and programmes across our universities and colleges, he added.

Psychologists deployed to Fort Hare University

Meanwhile, HIGHER HEALTH is assisting the University of Fort Hare (UFH), through the deployment of a team of experienced HIGHER HEALTH staff.

This follows the death of two law students last week, Nosicelo Mtebeni, who was brutally murdered, allegedly by her boyfriend, and another student who died after falling from a high-rise building.

“These seven psychologists, social workers and counsellors will provide counselling and care to affected students and staff with immediate effect. We are working closely with Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, the Vice Chancellor of UFH, and with the South African Union of Students and appreciate their support for our involvement,” Ahluwalia said.

Ahluwalia highlighted other existing interventions and services, including the HIGHER HEALTH toll free-24-hour student helpline 0800 36 36 36, have been scaled up to help the UFH community, and the mobile clinic service is on alert and on site to manage health emergencies, including mental health counselling and COVID-19 testing and related referrals.

HIGHER HEALTH conveyed its condolences to the university, families and friends of the deceased.

“We have lost two bright young South Africans who had so much to contribute to the legal profession which they were about to enter, and to the higher education sector and our entire country. We lost Nosicelo to gender-based violence, and it is likely that we lost her peer to unbearable mental strain,” Professor Ahluwalia said.

“This dark hour underscores the fact that GBV and mental health are co-epidemics striking at our youth. It is essential that we continue to build infrastructure in all our universities and colleges so they can provide easy access to services and assistance to all students,” Ahluwalia said.

HIGHER HEALTH is an entity of the Department of Higher Education and Training. HIGHER HEALTH works in seven key areas to promote the health and wellbeing of students across South Africa’s public universities and technical and vocational training colleges.

A manhunt is underway to find the killers of a 62-year-old taxi owner who was shot and killed at the weekend, said Mpumalanga police.

The taxi owner was brutally killed during a business robbery at Vosman near Witbank around 5:30pm on Saturday.

“The said business robbery incident reportedly occurred in the presence of other shoppers. It is said that a group of armed suspects stormed into the supermarket at a Mall in Vosmanof,” said the South African Police Service (SAPS) of the incident where the shoppers were held at gunpoint.

Multiple gunshots were reportedly fired and it was later discovered that the taxi owner was shot and he was certified dead at the scene.

Police have opened a case of business robbery together with an additional charge of murder.

”The investigation is underway and currently nothing seems to have been taken during this robbery.”

Anyone who can assist in the investigation may contact the Branch Commander, Colonel One Thobejane at 082 372 2195 or call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111.

Alternatively, members of the public can send information via the My SAPS APP. All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous.

Parliament has lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal two aspects in the Western Cape High Court judgment on the constitutional validity of the new National Assembly Rules governing the process to be followed in the Section 194 enquiry into the Public Protector’s fitness to hold office.

Last week, National Assembly acting Speaker, Lechesa Tsenoli, filed an urgent application for leave to appeal with the Constitutional Court, while another application was made simultaneously to the Western Cape High Court for a conditional application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the event that the Constitutional Court refuses the application for direct leave to appeal.

In its ruling last month, the Western Cape High Court had expressed reservations on the presence of retired Constitutional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde on an expert panel that was to determine whether the Public Protector has a case to answer to.

The court also found that the Public Protector must be afforded the “right to be heard in his or her defence and be assisted by a legal practitioner or other expert of his or her choice”.

Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, says the appeals were lodged in order to find more clarification from the courts regarding the two rulings.

“The judgment of the High Court is not clear on what the implications are on the process of the Section 194 committee, and the issues under dispute are of a constitutional nature to the extent that they involve an inclusion of a member of the judicial arm of the State, which we believe had no harm on the Public Protector at all.

“We also believe that the head of Chapter Nine institutions are accountable to Parliament personally and should not do so through their legal representatives,” Mothapo said.

The Section 194 committee is expected to consider suspending the enquiry into the Public Protector’s fitness to hold office while the court processes are underway.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said it has finalised the investigation of the 32 people who allegedly died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“To date, investigations for 32 death cases have been completed and causality assessment concluded, of which 28 were coincidental to vaccination,” SAHPRA explained.

According to the drug watchdog, this means these deaths were not related or linked to the vaccination.

“Four cases are unfortunately unclassifiable because there was either no information available about the case or the information was completely inadequate. Hence, causality assessment could not be conducted or concluded,” explained SAHPRA.

SAHPRA defines a coincidental adverse event as one that occurred after or at the same time as exposure to medicine or vaccine, but which is not caused by that exposure.

In the case of a death that occurred after a person receives their jab, certain information should be submitted to conduct a comprehensive causality assessment.

This includes an autopsy or post-mortem examination, full clinical history, including any comorbidities and allergies, and all medicines that are taken before and at the time of the adverse event.

“It may not be possible to accurately determine causality when the information provided is incomplete,” the statement read, adding that timeous reporting is equally important to ensure a thorough investigation.

Adverse events following immunisation

Meanwhile, as of 31 July 2021, SAHPRA said it received 1 473 reports of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) since the start of the national vaccination rollout programme.

According to the drug watchdog, most of these were mild and already listed in the internationally approved product information.

“These reports account for a 0.02% reporting rate of the almost 7.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in South Africa by then.”

SAHPRA said mild and non-serious AEFI usually resolves within a few days after vaccination and without any prolonged negative outcomes.

These may include mild headache, pain and redness at the injection site, and mild fever.

Adverse events of special interest

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated certain unexpected medical problems as adverse events of special interest (AESI), SAHPRA said.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines AESI, serious or not, as an event of scientific and medical concern specific to the sponsor’s product or programme, for which ongoing monitoring and rapid communication by the investigator to the sponsor can be appropriate.

According to SAHPRA, reported serious AEFI, including AESI, is extremely rare for the COVID-19 vaccines.

Serious AEFI is those side effects that require hospitalisation, may be life-threatening, result in a congenital anomaly, birth defect, or even death.

“Serious AEFI should be reported immediately by the healthcare professional responsible for the patient’s care,” SAHPRA said.

In addition, once all the information about the case is available, the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee (NISEC), which is an independent Ministerial Advisory Committee, conducts a causality assessment.

Staff members from SAHPRA and the Health Department’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, will then provide secretarial support to the weekly National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee (NISEC) meetings.

“Once completed, the NISEC assessment is shared with SAHPRA and the department for further action, if necessary.”

The public and health professionals are encouraged to report AEFIs to the health facility delivering the vaccine on the Med Safety App, which can be downloaded or by calling 0800 029 999.

The Northern Cape Department of Education is experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in schools, as the province continues to be hit by rising cases.

According to a statement released on Sunday, the department recorded 526 new COVID-19 infections, which includes 54 educators, 439 learners and 33 support staff.

“There was a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections in schools compared to the previous three weeks,” the provincial department said.

In addition, there are currently eight schools that are closed to allow for contact tracing and disinfection of the school premises.

The department said five of these schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday.

“The pandemic is causing major disruptions in the education sector and the department is deeply concerned about the loss of learning and teaching time.”

The department said the district offices have since developed curriculum recovery plans for those schools directly affected by the pandemic.

The department is also running weekend lock-in and Saturday classes to support the Matric Class of 2021.

“This places an increased strain on our educators, learners, and support staff at schools to ensure that the trimmed curriculum is fully covered and learners are well prepared for the end of year examinations.”

The department said it was doing its utmost best to support all educators and learners during these difficult times.

“We are all in this together, working under tremendous pressure and we will succeed if we continue to work together. Our school communities play a pivotal role to support the schools in their respective communities and we urge all to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations at all times. Let us support the Class of 2021,” the department added.

The province recorded 488 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, which pushes the cumulative infections to 76 726.

The Department of Human Settlements has refuted media reports of a break-in at the department.

This, after the department has noted with concern a media report in one of the publications in which a negative picture has been painted that the department’s security system is compromised.

“We can confirm that the department does have fully operational CCTV cameras and these have not been tampered with. The footage which might be used for further investigation has been handed over to law enforcement agencies.

“We further wish to underline, without jeopardizing the investigation, that there was no forced entry into the department’s building. The two offices of the Deputy Minister and the Director-General are not on the floor in which the two laptops were stolen.

“Therefore, the misinformation that the offices of the Deputy Minister, Pam Tshwete and the Director-General, Mbulelo Tshangana were broken into is a lie and dismissed with contempt it deserves,” the Department of Human Settlement said in a statement.

The department says the two laptops that were stolen were at the offices of officials on the fourth and fifth floor at 240 Justice Mohamed street.

One of those was a brand new laptop and the other one belongs to an official who does not deal with procurement issues as alleged in the article. The two incidents are completely separate and did not take place on the same day.

“It is regrettable that the information peddler/s went on to state that the files were stolen, the DG’s safe was broken into and that no video footage exists of the robbery. We can state without any fear of contradiction that this is not true.

“The department can categorically state it is confident that it’s security services and systems are fully operational and is equally confident that the law enforcement agencies conclude the case as quickly as possible,” the department said.

Law enforcement agencies are on high alert and ready to ensure the safety and security of South Africans, amid threats of a “National Shutdown” on Monday.

National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that law enforcement agencies have, through the NatJOINTS, put measures in place to ensure the safety and security of citizens.

“The NatJOINTS is aware of inflammatory messages on various social media platforms advocating for violence. Those behind these messages are warned that inciting violence is a criminal offence. Members of the public are cautioned against spreading such divisive messages.

“Equally, a different set of messages is also doing the rounds where people are mobilising to respond to the supposed shutdown.  The public is urged not to respond to calls for violence and criminality, and are thus discouraged from participating in activities that seek to defy the rule of law and undermine the authority of the State,” Netshiunda said in a statement.

NatJOINTS also called on Community Police Forums (CPF) and related sub-forums to work with the police and to mobilise the community against any form of lawlessness.

“Law abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the NatJOINTS is not taking these threats lightly. Security forces are on high alert and ready to maintain stability in the country, and ensure the safety and security of South Africans,” Netshiunda said.

The NatJOINTS also reminded the public that South Africa is still on Adjusted Alert Level 3 Lockdown, and called for maximum adherence to the Regulations and COVID-19 health protocols.

Outdoor gatherings are currently limited to 100 persons.