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Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has commended the partnership between the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) and the City of Cape Town to upgrade and maintain the city’s housing rental stock, estimated at 57 000 units.

Sisulu said she believes the partnership will go a long way in providing decent, secure and affordable accommodation to the people who live and have come to work in the City of Cape Town.

The Minister said the main responsibility of the NHFC in this partnership is to provide finance; manage the database of contractors and suppliers, and provide business and technical support to them.

The NHFC has committed R150 million to the initiative.

It is estimated that by July 2021, over 200 units will be completed, providing decent and affordable accommodation to over 400 families.

“What the NHFC is doing in the Cape Town Metro must be extended to other metros. Our development finance institutions must commit their resources towards the revitalisation of our inner cities and towards funding a mix of developmental projects to scale up social housing and affordable housing, as well as student accommodation.

“Our sector plays a key role in stimulating the economy to produce much needed jobs and opportunities in our delivery value chains, especially for the designated groups. This project will assist us to achieve urban restructuring, meet housing demand, create jobs and transform our communities,” Sisulu said.

Over the past few months, Sisulu has launched several social housing projects in Gauteng and the Western Cape, with the latest being Anchorage in the City of Cape Town and Kempton Village in the City of Ekurhuleni.

The Minister has also challenged the NHCF, an agency of the Department of Human Settlements and funder of government national priority projects, to reach out to qualifying households in the low-to-middle income market through their Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP).

The once-off financial assistance for qualifying beneficiaries ranges between R27 960 to R121 626.

Over the past 12 months, the NHFC has processed 2 815 applications and of these, 2 120 were approved.

To date, over R60 million has been disbursed to 1 136 beneficiaries and this has triggered over R1 billion worth of home loans approved by banking institutions.

The country recorded 1 372 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, along with 18 deaths.

A total of 1 562 931 infections have been logged in the country since the pandemic began in March last year, with 53 571 deaths.

Of the latest fatalities, 20 were reported in KwaZulu-Natal, 16 in Gauteng, 13 in the Eastern Cape, eight in Limpopo, six in the Free State, five in the Western Cape, four in Mpumalanga and one in the Northern Cape.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

The recovery rate is still holding steady at 95% after 1 488 060 people beat COVID-19, while there are currently 21 300 active cases.

The information is based on 10 259 664 tests conducted of which 43 550 were performed in the last 24 hours.

More vaccines

South Africa is working with various drug makers to procure COVID-19 vaccines.

This as the country suspended the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) paused the rollout of the vaccine following reports of a rare clotting condition in six people out of 6.8 million doses administered.

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who addressed the media during a tour of the Durban Port yesterday, government is in talks with China, Russia, Cuba and European countries.

“We’re not the only country that is encountering setbacks when it comes to vaccines. Our objective as government has always been to protect the lives of South Africans and we will continue to do so.

“As it is now, we’re procuring vaccines from a number of areas.”

President Ramaphosa said he hopes that the halt in the J&J rollout will not be for too long, as scientists look at the efficacy of the vaccine.

“Already Pfizer will be arriving. Sputnik will also be arriving, as well as Sinopharm. We procure vaccines from all over but the important thing is to protect the lives of South Africans.”

Addressing the media this week, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said he believes that the matter will be cleared in a few days.

However, if there are delays, there would be no significant impact on the entire rollout programme after the country secured an additional 10 million doses from Pfizer, which increases the number to 30 million.

The first batch is expected to arrive next month.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are now 137 866 311 global confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 965 707 deaths, 734 121 870 vaccine doses have been administered.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has announced the commencement of training of over 2000 reservists and security officers at its academies nationwide.

The cohort previously served as reservists in the SAPS.

In a statement on Thursday, the SAPS said the reservists and security officers, who were appointed as constables as of 1 December 2020, officially commenced their training as constables on Monday.

“The move to appoint and subsequently train these reservists as permanent members of the SAPS aims to bolster capacity and ensure more boots on the ground to service communities,” police spokesperson, Colonel Athlenda Mathe, in the statement.

Reservists are individuals who in their respective communities voluntarily offer their services to the SAPS by assisting officers on the ground in crime-fighting initiatives.

“Prior to their appointment as reservists, they undergo a selection process that requires them to submit themselves to psychological assessments as well as physical and medical examinations as determined by the National Commissioner,” said Mathe.

She said successful applicants are then subjected to an in-service training programme called the Reservists Development Learning Programme. This is a three-phase training programme inclusive of theory, practical and tactical and firearm training.

“This training provides the reservist with the necessary skills to ensure that the reservist is developed in the policing field to safely and effectively perform his or her duties.”

Their roles and responsibilities include performing duties within the Community Service Centre, patrols, security guard duties as well as administrative work under the supervision of a SAPS official.

Health and safety protocols

The SAPS said, in line with its health and safety protocols and adhering to regulations for the containment, management and prevention of the spread of COVID-19, only 2 469 reservists out of 2 504 reported to the eight training academies nationwide.

“A variety of reasons including health related matters led to some of them being turned away. To minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, reservists were expected to produce a medical certificate confirming that they had tested negative, 48 hours before they were expected to report for training.

“As a result, 14 reservists whose tests came back positive were not able to report for training and are currently self-isolating,” said Mathe.

Three streams of recruitment

The decision to capacitate service points and units with reservists was taken during a Recruitment Indaba in July 2019 in Pretoria.

The Indaba saw the introduction of three streams of recruitment for the organisation.  These streams are inclusive of the Basic Police Learning Development Programme and the Introductory Police Learning Development Programme.

Stream 1 (Normal) consists of applicants in possession of a Senior Certificate / National Senior Certificate / National Certificate (Vocational); and or applicants who successfully completed the Military Skills Cadet Development Programme with the South African National Defence Force; and current serving Public Service Act Personnel within the SAPS.

Stream 2 (Graduate) consists of applicants who have fully completed a three-year National Diploma / Degree recorded on the National Learner Record Database (NLRD) on at least a NQF 6 or higher level in Law / Policing / Criminology / Law Enforcement / Forensic Investigation.

Stream 3 (Reservist) consists of permanent enlistment of current active serving Reservists (to be employed as constables with permanent service benefits)

“The posts to appoint these reservists was advertised internally in the SAPS while stream 1 and stream 2 posts were advertised externally on 22 September 2019.”

From this, she said, 4 682 reservists applied. Among these were security officials who had undergone the prescribed Reservists Development Learning Programme.

Selection process

Mathe said applicants were subjected to the various selection processes.

These were inclusive of psychometric, integrity and physical fitness assessments and interviews, where after the Provincial Police and Community Recruitment Boards finalised the recommendation and or selection of applicants.

She said with the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, the SAPS reviewed the training plan and deemed it fit to commence with the selection processes and subsequent training of stream 3 applicants.

“It is worth noting that the selection process for stream 1 and 2 is still on hold and applicants will be informed when this process will resume,” she said.

The SAPS also consulted extensively with external role-players including organised labour.

The newly appointed constables are expected to undergo a four-month training programme which will see them developed in several fields to enable them to serve as men and women in blue.

Upon successful completion of the programme, members will be deployed to serve at stations, service points and units in their respective communities.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has received over 88 000 applications for over 500 skilled specialist and graduate vacancies in its recent recruitment drive.

“[We are] pleased with the response to the call for applications for various vacancies that will be filled to enhance our capacity to improve our service to taxpayers and improve levels of compliance,” said SARS in a statement.

The vacancies that were advertised span many areas of SARS’ operations, including information technology specialists, data management specialists, audit and risk specialists, investigations specialists and auditors with a specific focus on tax evasion and related matters, as well as many other areas.

SARS said it was overwhelmed by the 88 009 applications received. “Of these, 15 092 were internal applications,” said the revenue collector.

SARS said the state of unemployment in South Africa amply demonstrates the challenges the country faces.

“It is a daunting challenge that all South Africans must act determinedly and diligently to overcome. SARS will play its role, and regrettably absorb only 500 of these applicants as nation builders in our organisation.”

The revenue collector said it believes government alone cannot create jobs and it hoped that others, particularly in the private sector, will do what they can to give opportunities, especially to young graduates.

On average, there were 468 applications (internal and external) per job category. Of the total number of applications, there were 7 946 applications from external graduates, while there were 755 applications from Chartered Accountants out of the total number of applications. There was also a substantial pool of applicants at Masters and PhD level.

“As can be seen from the numbers, our country has a large pool of expertise in various fields from which prospective employers can draw to help the country fight the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. We must all rise to this challenge,” said SARS.

The closing date for applications was 11 April 2021. SARS will only contact shortlisted candidates.

“There are a few vacancies where not enough applicants applied. Consequently, these vacancies are being re-advertised through our jobs portal on the SARS website.

“Interested persons are encouraged to visit the careers link on www.sars.gov.za,” SARS said.

South Africa performed 34 971 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours, with 1 599 new cases, representing a 4.6% positivity rate.

Meanwhile, according to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 75 more people succumbed to COVID-19 related complications.

This means the country now has 1 561 559 confirmed Coronavirus infections, while the death toll stands at 53 498 to date.

Gauteng recorded 26 deaths, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 24 fatalities, while 14 occurred in the Eastern Cape.

Also, nine fatalities were recorded in Free State, two in the Western Cape, while the rest of the provinces had zero deaths.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased,” said Mkhize.

Meanwhile, the recovery rate remains at 95% after 1 486 873 beat COVID-19, while the country has 21 188 has active cases.

The information is based on the 10 216 114 tests since the outbreak.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there have been 136 996 364 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 951 832 deaths, with 733 287 398 administered vaccine doses as of 14 April 2021.

Global view

The WHO said the new COVID-19 cases rose for a seventh consecutive week, with over 4.5 million new infections reported in the last week.

In addition, the number of additional deaths increased for the fourth consecutive week, peaking by 7% compared to last week, with over 76 000 new deaths reported.

The largest increases in case incidence were observed in South-East Asia, most notably in India, and the Eastern Mediterranean regions.

“All regions, except for the African region and the Americas, reported increases in the number of deaths, with the largest increase of 189% from the Western Pacific region, largely driven by a steep increase in new deaths in the Philippines, followed by 47% in South-East Asia.”

The highest numbers of new cases were reported from India (873 296 new cases, 70% increase), the United States (468 395 new cases, 5% increase), Brazil (463 092 new cases, 8% decrease), Turkey (353 281 new cases, 33% increase), and France (265 444 new cases, 9% increase).

According to WHO, since the last update on 30 March, the 501Y.V2 variant, first discovered in South Africa, has been reported from two additional countries – totalling 82 countries across all six WHO regions.

The Department of Basic Education has disputed a media report about the shortage of 24 000 teachers in the country.

Responding to an article published by Businesstech.co.za, which incorrectly reported that there was a shortage of 24 000 teachers, the department said that the reporter misunderstood Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s reply to a parliamentary question regarding the vacancy rate in the Basic Education sector.

During a parliamentary question and answer session, Democratic Alliance and Member of Parliament, Chantel King, asked the Minister, amongst other things, the national vacancy rate of teachers in the Republic, and the total breakdown of the number of posts that have remained vacant in each province.

In her reply, the Minister said 5.8% as at the end of February 2021, and the vacancy rate reported is in terms of the actual vacancies at schools, in relation to posts that each school was allocated for 2021.

Motshekga said that Provincial Education Departments are currently redeploying educators that are additional to the allocated post establishments at some schools, to schools that have vacancies.

“Once this process has been finalised and the residual vacant posts have been filled through the appointment of educators from outside the system, the actual number of vacancies will be lower than the current rate,” Motshekga responded at the time.

The Minister also presented a table with a written response, which showed a total of 24 556 vacant posts.

However, the department said this does not mean there is an actual shortage of teachers, nor does it mean learners are being left unattended.

“It simply means the process of finalising the appointment of the people currently in the posts is ongoing,” the department noted.

The department said it has various teacher recruitment strategies, which include:

• A register of qualified, yet unemployed graduates.
• The national recruitment base which is a register of qualified teachers who are not in the teaching profession.
• The district and community based teacher recruitment strategy for the Funza Lushaka bursary programme.

“These databases have thousands of teachers who are requested to apply for jobs as and when they become available. In addition to this, universities produce an estimated total of 25 000 teachers a year, who are not able to get employment in the system due to the lack of capacity to absorb all of them.

“This means there are more teachers in the country than the system can accommodate. The reported shortage is therefore inaccurate and misleading,” the department said.

The department added that it worked with the 24 universities offering initial teacher education programmes during 2020/21 to compile information on all initial teacher education students.

The consolidated 2020 awards list also shows that 13 085 Funza Lushaka bursaries were awarded for initial teacher education by 31 March 2021.

A 30-year-old man is to appear in the Simon’s Town Magistrate Court on Friday in connection with the murder of an off-duty police officer.

The man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the death of Sergeant Malose Percival Libelo (38) who was stationed at Steenberg Police Station.

Libelo was found lying in the street, shot in the head in front of Basmillian shop in Disa Street, Capricorn.

“The Hawks National Priority Violent Crime team, together with National Intervention Unit, acted promptly on information relating to the murder of Sergeant Libelo.

“Upon their search, they then discovered the official firearm belonging to the deceased. Subsequently, the 30-year-old suspect linked through information received, arrested and charged with murder,” said the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Thursday.

Although South Africa is beginning to see a slight decline in dam levels, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has assured that the country has sufficient water to see it through the dry winter season.

“Although the overall average of South Africa’s dams has begun a slight decline, figures show that most of the dams have sufficient water to see the country through the looming dry winter until the next summer rains, provided water users stick to their water-saving practices in the next six months,” the department said.

According to the latest weekly report on dam levels issued by the department on Wednesday, the overall average for South African dams this week stands at 86%, slightly down from last week’s 86.1%.

On a year-on-year perspective, the average is still higher than the 67.4% during the same period in 2020.

The report showed that most dams have between average to full capacity of water in reserve for use in the next coming months, thanks to heavy downpours that fell over large parts of the country from the beginning of February this year.

The rains helped the Free State to surpass its last year’s dam level record by 20% when it reached a whopping 99.7% this week. The province is home to some of the biggest dams in the country and has a bigger capacity to store water for longer periods than that of other water facilities.

Dam levels in the Northern Cape and Gauteng are currently overflowing at 101.5% and 100.3%, respectively, this week.

Mpumalanga dams, supplemented by the Inkomati-Usuthu Management Area (IUMA) in the Lowveld, is at 88.7% this week, surpassing last year’s levels by 13%.

In KwaZulu-Natal, dam levels have increased by at least 13% from 60.9% last year to 73.2% this week. According to the report, the Pongola-Mtavuna Management Area in Zululand also rose from the same figure last year.

However, certain towns in Umkhanyakude District are reportedly battling to access potable water. The Umgeni Water supply System is currently at 85.4%, an improvement from 71.7% in the same period in 2020.

Despite water challenges in some areas of Madibeng and Bojanala districts, North West dam levels have also increased from 69.9% last year to 83.1% this week.

The department noted that poor access to potable water by residents of Brits townships is mainly due to poor infrastructure that was vandalised, as well as poor operational and maintenance by the municipality over time.

“Some local residents have resorted to drilling boreholes, while others rely on water that is tankered by Madibeng District Municipality,” the department said.

Although Western Cape dams have improved by 12% compared to the same period last year, levels in the province have also been on the decline, with 51.6% recorded this week. The Breede-Gouritz Water Management Area currently stands at 49.8%, as opposed to 34.9% in the same period last year.

However, the department said the province’s dams are expected to increase when the winter rains start coming down at the end of May.

The Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) is at 70.9%, compared to the 56.1% at this time last year.

Water restrictions implemented in Nelson Mandela Bay

The water situation, particularly in the Nelson Mandela Bay region in the Eastern Cape, has been reported to be in dire straits, as dams have dropped to an all-time low.

As a result, the municipality has introduced water restrictions to save the little water that is left in the area.

“There is a need for urgent measures to be taken to rescue the situation and ensure that water users continue to receive this very necessary resource,” the department said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday announced Lieutenant-General Rudzani Maphwanya as the new Chief of the South African National Defence Force and the Military Command.

Lieutenant-General Maphwanya replaces General Solly Shoke who retires at the end of this month.

He will assume his new responsibilities on 1 June 2021 where he will be promoted from Lieutenant-General to General.

Announcing the new Chief of the South African National Defence Force and the Military Command, President Ramaphosa said since its formation nearly 27 years ago, the SANDF has been vital to the preservation of peace and stability in the land.

The SANDF has as its central mission the protection of the South African nation and the defence of the democratic constitutional order.

“It has made a valuable contribution to the country’s development, and to strengthening the bonds of friendship and solidarity with other countries in our region and on our continent. It has given effect to our determination to be a nation at peace with itself and the world,” President Ramaphosa said.

Thanking the outgoing Chief of the SANDF, President Ramaphosa said General Shoke retires after years of distinguished service to the people of South Africa.

“He has led the Military Command of the SANDF over the years with distinction, and especially as the principal policy adviser to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.

“A young activist of the 1976 generation, General Shoke became a combatant of Umkhonto we Sizwe and commander in various roles, ultimately serving in the SANDF after the integration process in April 1994.

“He distinguished himself in the early days of integration as Major General and Chief Human Resources Support. He took over the reins as Lieutenant General and Chief of the South African Army, a responsibility he held until his appointment as Chief of the SANDF 2011,” President Ramaphosa said.

Since becoming President and Commander-in-Chief in 2018, President Ramaphosa said he has admired and appreciated General Shoke’s professionalism, diligence and wise counsel.

The appointment of a new head of South Africa’s armed forces is accompanied by the following appointments to the Military Command – Major-General Wiseman Simo Mbambo is appointed as Chief of the South African Air Force; Major-General Siphiwe Sangweni as Chief of Joint Operations as of 1 June 2021 and Major-General Ntshavheni Maphaha is appointed as Surgeon General with effect from 1 November 2021.

The President also announced the appointment of Major-General Thalita Mxakato as Chief of Defence Intelligence as of 1 June 2021.

“Once she assumes her position as the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General Mxakato will become the first woman to be appointed to the Military Command of the SANDF,” President Ramaphosa said.

The KwaZulu-Natal Social Development Department has undertaken to ramp up service delivery to communities in that province.

KZN Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza made the commitment at the launch of Operation Sigalelekile (“We’ve arrived”) held at eMathafeni, in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Operation Sigalelekile is aimed at bringing integrated government services to the people, in response to a number of challenges facing communities who struggle to access services.

At the launch on Tuesday, the department, in collaboration with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and National Development Agency, joined other departments in rendering services to the people.

Services rendered included processing grant applications, and doctors who were brought in to provide medical examinations as one of the prerequisites for disability grants.

Social workers also had an opportunity to process the registration of foster care grants and on-site registration of non-profit organisations (NPOs).

Khoza said Operation Sigalelekile will go a long way in restoring public confidence in government.

“We have been receiving a lot of complaints from members of the public about grant applications, which often take longer to be finalised due to a number of documents that are required. Therefore, having SASSA, social workers and doctors in one space has helped to [cut down] the process,” Khoza said.

The MEC said she was very pleased with the community response to the initiative.

“We have also conducted household visits to get first-hand experience on the living conditions of our people in the area. In some households we visited, we realised that their living conditions are unpleasant. Our social workers and municipality will make the necessary interventions to address the challenges we discovered.”

Khoza stressed that officials must spend more time reaching out to communities.

“Government officials should not relax when people are unhappy about the quality of services they receive. We were taken aback when some people told us that they can’t apply for child support grants because their children have no birth certificates and parents themselves have no identity documents,” she said.

Khoza said the department will criss-cross the province to ensure that people receive services close to their homes.

“In some areas, our people are unable to travel to our offices to get services. Ours is to get closer to where the people reside. As we go to communities, we will travel with many departments, including Health, Home Affairs and our agencies like SASSA, and the National Development Agency.

“We also have concerns about the lack of development among our youth and women, and we want to ensure that they get help from all government agencies,” Khoza said.