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Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has expressed disappointment in the manner in which a proposal on polyandry, which is among several proposals contained in the Green Paper on the Marriage Act, has been debated in a misleading and destructive way.

The Minister said this when he tabled the department’s budget vote at a mini-plenary of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“It is with very deep disappointment that the national dialogue descended into a war of words and cynicism about… [an] issue raised from the Ministerial Dialogue – the issue of polyandry – which… was raised by some of the participants at the Ministerial Dialogues.

“My deepest disappointment was when media houses… worse still, Honourable Members of this Parliament, entered this dialogue in a completely destructive and misleading way. One respected media outlet even spoke of a Bill having been placed in Parliament.”

This comes after the department recently released the Green Paper on the Marriage Act, aimed at making the country’s marriage policy anchored on the three pillars of the Constitution – equality, non-discrimination and human dignity.

Among the proposals contained in the green paper, which Motsoaledi clarified that they are not government policy, is a proposal to allow polyandry – where women will be allowed to marry more than one man; proposals to recognise Muslim marriages, Hindu marriages and marriages conducted according to Jewish rites, and a proposal to review who can solemnise marriages, among others.

“From the debates I listened to, it became clear to me that many of such commentators did not even bother to read a copy of the Green Paper we provided.

“Right at the beginning of the Green Paper, the following words are written: ‘The Green Paper is not the official policy position of government. It only articulates possible policy options or proposals that are based on inputs received from stakeholders during Ministerial Dialogues. These proposals will be subjected to public scrutiny.’”

Motsoaledi said while a Green Paper basically contains proposals or ideas aimed at stimulating debate around the review of the marriage policy, a white paper, on the other hand, is issued by government as a statement of policy, and often set out proposals for legislative changes or the introduction of new laws. Proposals often emerge from a Green Paper process.

“I am pleading that the national dialogue on this Green Paper be conducted responsibly and in the true spirit of nation building.

“Please let us lower the excitement and deal with the very important issues mentioned by our people who experience serious hardships in their everyday existence in their endeavor to build viable families – which every nation on earth strives for – for there is no nation without families.”

Progress made in implementing strategic plan on GBV

Meanwhile, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has made progress in implementing the strategic plan on gender-based violence, Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said during a separate mini-plenary.

“Since the launch of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF in April last year, the department is working tirelessly to coordinate and monitor the implementation of this plan,” she said.

She said progress has been made, and this includes:

–        Monthly progress reports on the implementation of the NSP were submitted to the President;

–        National departments have integrated the NSP priorities in their Departmental Annual Plans and have been reporting against their annual targets;

–        Multi-stakeholder collaboratives supported by UN Women, are fully functional and meet regularly to support implementation of the NSP;

–        The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is working with provinces and districts to integrate the NSP into their provincial departmental plans, district development plan and establishment of District Rapid Response Teams, and

–        The Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF continues to oversee the implementation of NSP by playing a key facilitation role.

“We have developed a Draft Bill to establish a National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide that will coordinate the implementation of the NSP to ensure that as a nation, we eradicate Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in this decade. We will be consulting on this Bill soon,” said Nkoana-Mashabane.

Voter registration will be held this weekend for nine municipal ward by-elections scheduled to take place in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces on 30 June 2021.

“Voting stations in the wards will be open this Saturday, 22 May, and Sunday, 23 May, from 8am to 5pm to allow all eligible voters to register and for current voters to check their registration details and to provide/update address details where necessary,” the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said on Thursday.

Voters should take their identity document (ID) with them – either a green barcoded ID book, a smartcard ID, or a valid Temporary ID Certificate.

They will also need to complete their physical home address on registration or provide sufficient particularities of their place of residence. Documented proof of address such as municipal account is not required.

“Voters may also check and update their details at their local (municipal) IEC office weekdays during office hours. Voters are reminded that it is a criminal offence to register and vote in a ward in which they are not ordinarily a resident,” the IEC said.

The by-elections will be held under strict new COVID-19 protocols aimed at ensuring the safety of voters, election staff, party agents, observers and other stakeholders.

These include implementing strict social distancing practices outside, inside voting stations along with the use of hand sanitisers as voters enter, and exit the voting station.

“Voters, election staff and all those entering the voting station will be required to wear a mask at all times. Voters are also encouraged to bring their own pens to mark their ballot papers, although pens will be provided and sanitized after each use,” the IEC said.

Special voting will take place at voting stations as well as through home visits on 29 June 2021 between 8am and 5pm.

“Voters wishing to apply to cast a special vote can apply at their local IEC office during office hours between 14 June to 18 June 2021. Applications for special votes can also be made online via the IEC’s website, www.election s.org.za.

“Once voters have applied online, they will receive an SMS notifying them of the outcome when their application has been processed. They can also check the status of their special vote application online at www.elections.org.za,” the IEC said.

Voters can also apply for special votes via cellphone by SMSing their identity number to 32249 (Charged at R1).

The SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special vote at their voting station and not for home visits.

For more information on by-elections, citizens are encouraged to contact their local (municipal) IEC office weekdays during office hours.

Contact details for all IEC offices are available on the IEC website at www.elections.org.za under Contact Us.

A 47-year-old man has appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court on charges of kidnapping and the murder of his two-year-old daughter.

The man from Alabama appeared in court after the lifeless body of the toddler was found inside the ceiling of his residential home.

In a statement on Wednesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the matter was postponed to 26 May for further investigations and bail application.

The state will oppose bail.

“It is alleged that on Thursday 13 May, the man went to his girlfriend’s home at extension 20 in Jouberton and took their daughter without the consent of the mother who was in hospital at the time. The family members who were taking care of the child, did not mind when the father was taking the child as he usually did when he passed by the mother’s house. Upon inquiry, he denied taking the child,” said NPA North West spokesperson, Henry Mamothame.

The next day when the mother was discharged from hospital, she went on a search for the baby with the help of family members but they could not find her.

The following day, she went to Jouberton Police Station where a case of a missing person was opened.

Mamothane said further investigations by the police led to the arrest of the father on Sunday.

He was charged with kidnapping after failing to tell the police where the child was.

“It is alleged that on Monday, following a bad smell coming from the suspect’s house, the neighbours investigated and discovered the lifeless body of the child hidden inside the ceiling. The police were called and a murder charge was added. The man was remanded in custody until his next court appearance,” he said.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Mpumalanga is expected to conduct a social grant awareness campaign at the Mbombela Taxi rank.

The campaign aims to educate, assist clients and beneficiaries on challenges they experience with social grants services.

In a statement on Thursday, SASSA said the drive will include attending to enquiries, requirements for application, and combating fraud and corruption.

“This initiative will contribute towards speedy application process to achieve the one day turn-around time. This will also minimise the long congested queues in local offices,” the agency said.

All COVID-19 regulations will be adhered to during the event that will get underway at 9 am.

Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, has condemned a mob justice incident that claimed the lives of four people and injured five others at Plot 52 in the Zandspruit informal settlement.

Preliminary reports indicate that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) attached to the Honeydew police station were alerted of the mob justice incident, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday.

Upon arrival at the scene, members found a group of more than 200 people gathering at an open space and started throwing stones at police.

“The police immediately called for backup. When re-enforcement arrived, police dispersed the group of people. The police found nine persons, aged between 20 and 30 years old, lying on the ground, badly assaulted and set alight by the angry mob,” the provincial department of community safety said.

Four people were confirmed dead by the team of paramedics, while the five who were critically injured were taken to the Chris Hani Baragwanath and Helen Joseph hospitals to receive medical attention.

The MEC said gruesome acts often leave communities traumatised and have long-term devastating effects.

“We urge the community to remain calm and exercise restraint as we await the full report from the police and look for solutions to their problems. While we understand that communities at times feel let down by law enforcement, we urge them to avoid taking the law into their own hands and being in conflict with the law,” Mazibuko said.

Meanwhile, Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela condemned the incident wherein a group of people went out to search for boys who were allegedly robbing people in the area.

“It is alleged that about nine boys were forcefully taken to the sport ground where they were assaulted, four died and five were taken to hospital,” said Captain Kay Makhubele.

Police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder.

Struggle stalwart Sophie Williams-de Bruyn on Wednesday received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Johannesburg’s Alexandra Community Health Care Centre.

The last surviving organiser of the 1956 Women’s March has since pleaded with communities not to drop their guard now that the COVID-19 vaccination rollout programme is underway.

The 83-year-old is among several leaders who have agreed to take the vaccine publicly as part of mobilising the rest of society to participate in the mass vaccination programme.

According to the Gauteng Health Department, leaders from various sectors of society have been publicly receiving their vaccinations as part of efforts to address vaccine hesitancy and concerns around its safety.

“People shouldn’t oppose but come and have their vaccine because it is to protect ourselves. It does not mean that you won’t catch COVID-19. All that it means is that it’s just another protection against COVID-19,” said Williams-de Bruyn.

She has also called on citizens to continue to observe the non-pharmaceutical protocols by keeping to the protocols of social distancing, the washing of hands and wearing the masks.

“People should wear their masks properly because sometimes when we wear the mask, we don’t wear it properly.”

She has urged citizens to be disciplined when it comes to hygiene.

“I would encourage everybody to have their vaccination. We see what is happening in the world. It’s not only our country. In fact, in some of the countries, it’s even worse.”

Meanwhile, human rights activist, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, were also among the first to receive their shots in Cape Town on the launch day of phase two of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Monday.

“All my life I have tried to do the right thing and, today, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is definitely the right thing to do. That is why Leah and I took this step, to do our part to start the national healing process so we can end this pandemic. We have to do this together,” the Archbishop said.

“Believe me, when you get to our age, little needles worry you far less than bending over does.”

He said it was wonderful to get out of the house and meet the dedicated healthcare workers who immunised them.

“Leah and I signed up to be vaccinated a while ago because we know this will help save our loved ones from worry and heartbreak, and ourselves from this terrible disease.”

He also paid tribute to healthcare workers.

“I salute you. God bless all of you for your selfless service to our citizens and our country.”

On Tuesday, Health Minister, Dr Mkhize Mkhize, announced that the total number of those vaccinated in phase two to date stands at 39 371.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has ordered a full-scale forensic investigation into the financial administration at the Compensation Fund (CF).

The directive came during a briefing held on Wednesday in the form of a hearing with the CF on the entity’s annual report and financial statements, as well as irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure for the 2019/20 financial year.

The committee told Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, who led the delegation that the CF has in the last 10 financial years received worse and unacceptable audit findings that included disclaimers.

The committee also told the Minister and the delegation that the appearance of the CF before it on irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure has become a permanent feature.

“This indicates a total collapse of internal controls, no audit action plan and the situation is untenable. The entity has been on the red in spite of the fact that its senior managers have been there for more than five years, yet the situation is worsening under their watch,” Committee chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa said.

Nxesi acknowledged that there are challenges at the fund and the reason for that arises from a combination of many factors, including deepening corruption and deep structural challenges.

The Minister said the only thing that can save the entity from the current quagmire, is the institution of forensic investigations and organisational review.

He also assured the committee about the application of consequence management to the responsible officials.

The committee also noted that only seven officials, out of more than 80 officials who underwent disciplinary action for corruption that has placed the entity to the appalling situation it is in.

“The system is a resource that is used and managed by people, it is the people who have failed to manage it or manipulated it for deliberate nefarious reasons. Tolerance of the disastrous audit findings for the period of 10 years indicates clearly that the problem is with the people, not the system at the CF,” Hlengwa said.

The committee has ordered the Minister to institute a full-scale forensic investigation at the CF and that all the audit findings-related matters should be central points of reference.

It added that the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) should be part of the investigations.

The committee has also directed the Minister to assess the performance of the department’s Director-General and the Commissioner of the CF.

It has also asked the Minister to present to it in a period of 30 days, a road map regarding how the investigations are going to unfold.

A new study published in Lancet Global Health has revealed asymptomatic individuals were also able to spread flu, transmitting it to about 6% of household contacts.

“For this reason, authors of the study believe asymptomatic infections to be an important driver of flu transmission,” the statement read on Wednesday.

The study was conducted by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU), and WITS Agincourt HDSS, in partnership with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also funded the study.

The study evaluated the community burden and transmission of influenza (flu) from 2017 to 2018 in a rural and an urban South Africa community.

The NICD stated that approximately 100 randomly selected households were enrolled each year and observed for a period of 10 months.

A total of 81 430 samples were collected from 1 116 participants in 225 households, of which 79% (178 out of 225 households) had at least one person who tested flu positive.

“In each year, three out of four households have at least one person infected with flu each year. Therefore, flu is very common.”

Meanwhile, according to the findings, over half of the flu infections were symptomatic, indicating that a high number of asymptomatic flu infections were present.

Children and flu

The study has also shown that the burden of laboratory-confirmed flu was high in both the rural and urban African setting, with over three-quarters of households and more than one in three individuals experiencing at least one flu infection each year.

“It is important to note that the flu incidence risk was similar between the rural and urban areas who participated in the study.”

Meanwhile, repeated flu infections within the same annual flu epidemic, particularly in children, were a common occurrence in more than 15% of those infected.

“With young children also experiencing the highest-burden of flu infection and symptomatic illness, this group was more likely to spread the flu to others in their household, in comparison to other age groups.”

Influenza-associated influenza-like illness

Medically attended influenza-associated influenza-like illness (ILI), defined as fever and cough, suggest that the flu disease burden in the community may be substantially higher than that observed through facility-based surveillance.

“Understanding the community burden and transmission of seasonal influenza is critical to guide vaccination programmes and non-pharmaceutical interventions, not to mention informing pandemic preparedness.”

The statement said a similar study to examine the burden and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the same communities, including the role of asymptomatic infections, in the spread of COVID-19, was initiated in July 2020.

The results of this study are expected in the coming months.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has released a green paper on the advancement of new energy vehicles in South Africa.

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, said the purpose of the Green Paper is to establish a clear policy foundation that will enable the country to coordinate a long-term strategy that will position South Africa at the forefront of advanced vehicle and vehicle component manufacturing.

“The strategy is complemented by a consumption leg, and a focus on increasing competitiveness in the global race to transition from the internal combustion engine era, into electro-mobility solutions and technologies,” Patel said on Tuesday.

In August 2019, the Minister set the large automakers in South Africa a challenge to help develop a roadmap for the local production of electric vehicles.

The various work streams of the auto industry’s Master Plan were launched shortly thereafter, which included one focussed on technology changes and on deeper localisation.

In 2020, the importance of this work was emphasised and more recently, a number of developments in key export markets has helped to step up the pace of work.

The Draft Green Paper seeks to develop a framework upon which a comprehensive and long-term automotive industry transformation plan on new energy vehicles can emerge, with specific focus on:

• Creation of a high-yielding business environment, including an appropriate fiscal and regulatory framework, that makes South Africa a leading and a highly competitive location, not only within the African continent but globally, for electric vehicle production;
• Support and investment in the expansion and development of new and existing manufacturing plants to support the production of new energy vehicles and components within South Africa and to grow the level of employment in the sector;
• Development and investment in new energy vehicle component technology and expansion of the fledgling electric supply chain, by increasing support and investment in a set of unique NEV components;
• Reinvestment and support towards reskilling and upskilling of the workforce to ensure the right skills are available for the design, engineering and manufacturing of electric vehicles and related components and systems;
• The transition of South Africa towards cleaner fuel technologies available globally;
• Adoption of new and sustainable manufacturing processes to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve our environmental wealth; and
• Ensuring that that Research and Development investment is strategically targeted at activities that are likely to give South Africa a competitive advantage.

“We must step up efforts to build electric vehicles in South Africa, to keep our auto industry at the cutting edge of new market developments, and to maintain our export capacity for key markets such as the EU and UK. They have both set new targets and deadlines to reduce the number of fossil fuel reliant vehicles on their roads.

“We need charging infrastructure – and must expand the existing 200 charging points for electric vehicles in South Africa using the agreed SABS [South African Bureau of Standards] standard,” Patel said during his Budget Vote address to Parliament.

He added that government is seeing some progress in its efforts to green the economy and to position South Africa as a centre for advanced green manufacturing.

“For example, in November, the first units of the new Toyota Corolla hybrid vehicle are planned to roll off the production line in South Africa,” Patel said.

He said the green paper is released to invite substantive comments from all stakeholders, including members of the public.

“This is the beginning of a crucial public discourse that will define electro-mobility in South Africa.”

The roadmap to implementing the new energy vehicle policy will entail the following steps:

• Gazetting the draft policy for public comments by the end of May 2021; and
• Submitting the policy proposals to Cabinet for consideration by October 2021

The Green Paper may be found on the dtic’s website http://www.thedtic.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/EV_Green_Paper.pdf

Comments on the draft Green Paper may be forwarded to electricvehicle@thedtic.gov.za by no later than 4 June 2021.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the prosecution of four senior Eastern Cape Education Department officials and a businessman on charges of fraud and corruption.

The five are linked to the 2014 procurement of learner/ teacher supplementary resource material worth R59 million from Siegesmund Trust.

They businessman Johannes Smith, former Department head Mthunywa Ngonzo, former Chief Education Specialist Noxolo Gwarube, together with current department officials appeared before the East London Magistrates Court on Monday on charges of corruption, fraud, attempted fraud, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.

The current Department officials and suspects in the matter are Deputy Director General Raymond Tywakadi (Acting Superintendent-General/head of Department at the time), and IT services Deputy Director Tyronne Fourie also appeared in court.

They were released on R5000 bail each and the matter was postponed to 8 July 2021 for copies of the docket and to allow for Tywakadi’s legal representative to be confirmed.

“The prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) follows an intensive investigation conducted by the SIU in the Eastern Cape Education Department which uncovered evidence pointing to criminal action and in particular corruption against the five accused,” said the SIU in a statement.

The evidence, as required by the SIU Act, was referred to the NPA and also to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) for further attention.

“The SIU is working closely with the NPA and Hawks in this regard and we will continue to work together to ensure that all role players identified through our investigations in the alleged crimes are held accountable.

“The SIU also made six disciplinary referrals against education department officials, including the Acting Head of Department at the time. The Department confirmed to the SIU that disciplinary action against four officials has commenced,” the Unit said.

In 2015, the SIU was directed in terms of Proclamation R598 of 2015, to investigate the procurement of or contracting for services by the education department and payments that were made in respect thereof.

The SIU investigation uncovered that the goods were procured unlawfully and/or irregularly, in contravention of the provisions of the SCM policy, Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act No.5 of 2000, and section 217(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

The SIU investigation further revealed that the Siegesmund Trust had delivered the resource material as per the terms of the irregular contract which has since been reviewed and set aside.

As result, the SIU calculated the profit earned from the procurement contract and demanded it be paid back. Civil litigation was instituted by the SIU in the Grahamstown High Court to recover the monies.

The trustees of Siegesmund Trust agreed to pay back R3 million in three instalments plus interest and the agreement was made an order of the Grahamstown High Court in March this year.