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Students and young professionals around the world have converged to take part in the Wetskills Water Challenge.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in conjunction with the Wetskills Foundation, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dutch Water Authorities Africa and Blue Deal programme are hosting the 5th Wetskills Water Challenge in South Africa.

The programme aims to enhance innovative thinking in the water sector.

The two-week programme held virtually, started on Thursday 25 February, is a pressure-cooker programme for students and young professionals with a passion for water.

The participants join the programme, coming from all over the world and work in transdisciplinary and transcultural teams on challenging water cases.

Diploma, Bachelor, Master, PhD students and recent graduates, including young professionals with a maximum of five years working experience, were invited to participate in the challenge.

Some of the case studies which will be tackled include sustainable empowerment of local community for cleaning rivers, swamp-friendly water hyacinth harvesting and virtual reality experience for capacitating staff which will be focusing on infrastructure maintenance, lack of investment and inadequate technical skills and its impact thereof.

Geologist and Geographer at DWS, and Wetskills SA programme officer and Supervisor, Odwa Ntsika Mtembu, said that it is a privilege that the country is hosting the challenge with the most brilliant young minds.

“The two-week challenge comes amid the persistent unpredictable weather patterns resulting in drought and the recent heavy flooding as experienced in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The water topic should be on everyone’s agenda, especially as the country [is currently] ranked the 30th driest country in the world,” Mtembu said.

The 2021 Wetskills Water Challenge is held under the theme “valuing future water leaders, shaking the water-energy-food cocktail with their inclusive and catalytic capacity.”

It will conclude on 9 March 2021.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says 52 647 health care workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19 under the Sisonke Protocol.

This comes as 1 676 new cases were reported in the country, as of Thursday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases to 1 509 124.

The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 999 322 with 31 862 new tests recorded since the last report.

“Regrettably, 144 deaths have been reported. We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated the deceased patients,” said the Minister.

Seven deaths were reported in the Eastern Cape, the Free State had 25, Gauteng reported 14, KwaZulu Natal reported 10, Limpopo reported 22, Mpumalanga reported 10, North West 41, Northern Cape 2 and Western Cape 13.

The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 is now 49 667.

Recoveries now stand at 1 424 401, representing a recovery rate of 94%.

Global view

The number of global new cases reported continues to fall for the sixth consecutive week, with 2.4 million new cases last week, an 11% decline compared to the previous week.

The number of new deaths also continues to fall for the previous three weeks, with nearly 66 000 new deaths reported last week, a 20% decline as compared to the previous week.

This brings the global cumulative numbers to 110.7 million cases and over 2.4 million deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on KwaZulu-Natal communities to assist the South African Police Service track the killers of four officers murdered across the province in the past week.

The Minister visited the province on Thursday following the brutal murders of Sergeant Makhosaze Mdlangathi, Sergeant Mfikelwa Mtolo, Constable Royal Mfihloyakhe Ndlovu and Constable Mbuso Nzimela.

Mdlangathi and Mtolo, who were stationed at the Plessislar and Richmond stations, were gunned down in an ambush by unknown gunmen in Taylors Halt in the Umngungundlovu District over the weekend.

Ndlovu was shot dead in Chatsworth while responding to a domestic violence complaint.

“Upon entering the house of the complainant, 44- year- old Ndlovu was shot in the chest, and died on the scene,” police said in a statement.

Nzimela died after he was assault and stabbed.

Cele, who believes police officers were under siege in KZN, said while no arrests have been made, the motives for the murders are being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.

He said: “We can’t have four of our officers in a mortuary and that is treated as normal, whether they are on or off duty, it is clear they are targeted by criminals who are hell-bent on terrorising society. It is also very worrying that these attacks occur mostly in Kwa Zulu-Natal and the Western Cape provinces and we want to appeal to communities to continue to assist police with any information that can track down these killers and bring them to book.”

Meanwhile, Cele visited the scene of the family massacre in Eshowe. It is alleged that on Saturday, a suspect armed with a pistol killed six family members aged between 8 and 70.

Cele in the statement praised the speedy arrest of a suspect in connection with the multiple murders.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has approved the issuing of a generation licence to GFI Joint Venture Holdings Proprietary Limited and Gold Fields Operations Limited (South Deep Joint Venture) to operate a 40MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant.

The generation facility will be constructed in Westonaria, south-west of Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province.

On 1 February 2020, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy issued approval for deviation from the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for self-generation projects of any capacity.

Following this approval, South Deep Joint Venture submitted a compliant application on 18 June 2020.

“The application could not be processed within the required timelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the application was subjected to public participation process with a virtual public hearing conducted on 3 December 2021.

“The 40MW solar PV plant will be constructed on the same site as the South Deep Gold Mine and all power generated by the plant will be consumed by the mine,” NERSA said on Thursday.

The energy regulator has noted unverified and misleading media reports that NERSA has delayed processing this application since 2017.

“It must be indicated that South Deep Gold Mine submitted its first application for a generation licence of a 40MW solar plant in 2017. However, this application could not be processed because it was not compliant with the requirements of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006.

“The application did not have Ministerial approval to deviate from the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), as was required by section 10(2)(g) of the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006,” NERSA said.

South Deep Gold Mine also did not have environmental authorisation as required by the National Environmental Management Act, 1998.

“NERSA engaged with and guided South Deep Gold Mine on how to ensure that the application is compliant with the legal requirements to enable NERSA to process the application. In this regard, several consultation meetings were held between NERSA and South Deep Gold Mine,” the energy regulator said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Department of Basic Education is making headway in the national roll out of the new Coding and Robotics Curriculum for schools.

“The draft coding and robotics curriculum has been submitted to Umalusi for evaluation and quality assurance, and a draft curriculum will soon be gazetted. During the course of this year, 200 schools will be piloting the draft curriculum from Grades R to 3 and 1 000 schools will be piloting the Grade 7 curriculum,” President Ramaphosa said.

President Ramaphosa was speaking at the 2021 Virtual Basic Education Lekgotla on Thursday.

Held under the theme “Equipping Learners with Knowledge and Skills for a Changing World”, the annual event aims to address key challenges facing the education sector and to plan for the year, in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), Medium Term Strategic Framework of government and the State of the Nation Address.

The three-day engagement will place emphasis on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and the need to ensure that learners have the best possible chance at succeeding in a fast-changing global environment.

In his address, President Ramaphosa emphasised that not only must the country adapt to new ways of learning but the education curricula has to respond to the changes in the world of work.

In addition to having the right content, technologies and a safe learning environment, young people should be grounded in an ethos of learning and industry.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the digital divide in society, particularly with regards to the adoption of technologies for learning and teaching. It underscores the need to intensify efforts to ensure connectivity and equitable access to data.

“This calls for stronger public-private partnerships to ensure that we mobilise the necessary resources to help our learners. One of the key focus areas of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan is boosting education and skills development,” President Ramaphosa said.

Commenting on concerns raised by the higher education sector recently regarding the large numbers of learners in subjects that has less demand in the economy, the President said the challenge begins in the early years with subject choices that limit future opportunities for learners, and the poor performance of learners in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“As we review the matric results, one of the prominent indicators of quality is how the country is doing in these STEM subjects. If we are to seize the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), our education system must be reoriented towards its development in our country.”

President Ramaphosa said studies show that the country lags behind in the information technology skills needed for the digital revolution.

“It will not be possible for us to build an e-skilled economy as envisaged in the National Development Plan if we do not pay attention to subject areas at basic education level,” President Ramaphosa said.

Invest in early childhood development

Meanwhile, the President reiterated the need to continue investing in early childhood development as the foundation for cognitive development, and create policy certainty where it is lacking.

“Knowledge and skills for a changing world also include emotional stability, intelligence and an environment where learners are safe from abuse. We need to build stronger social compacts that put learners and their education first.

“The past year has been extremely difficult, but the people of this country have shown great resilience and resolve. The year ahead will also be challenging, but we now have a clear path to recovery. And with our focus on developing the skills that children need for a changing world, we also have a clear path towards a better future,” the President said.

Second Chance Programme

While congratulating the Class of 2020 for the overall pass rate of 76.2% in the National Senior Certificate examinations, the President encouraged those who did not make it to take advantage of the opportunities provided through the Second Chance Programme.

“Do not see this as a failure, but as a setback from which you can learn, and from which you can recover,” he said.

North West Premier Job Mokgoro says the vaccination of close to 42 000 frontline health care workers in the province is well underway.

Mokgoro said the province received its first batch of 3 900 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing the Hybrid Sitting of the North West Provincial Legislature on Thursday, Mokgoro said the province will be receiving vaccination doses incrementally every two weeks.

“We will announce the details surrounding the second phase of the vaccination roll out in due course,” Mokgoro said.

Mokgoro said the province has managed to put in place 995 COVID-19 related beds across the province in both public and private sector health facilities and have also established quarantine sites by making use of state-owned, mining and private facilities.

“We have increased community access to Primary Health Care services by increasing operating hours at health facilities and embarking on infrastructure improvements to four provincial hospitals and 14 primary health care facilities,” Premier Mokgoro said.

Mokgoro said the province has installed new boilers at the Klerksdorp-Tshepong, Mahikeng Provincial, Gelukspan and Schweizer-Reneke Hospitals.

“We have increased access to life saving procedures and operations at the five largest hospitals in the North West,” Mokgoro said.

He said the province has decreased the vacancy rate at the Department of Health from 20% to 14,8% by the end of January 2021.

“Accruals are still a problem, but the Department of Health has managed to process 88% of all accruals to date, and we believe that we can do better going forward,” he said.

Mokgoro said the North West government will be opening the Sekhing and Jouberton Community Health Centres in August this year to render comprehensive health care services to the Ga- Mothibi and Jouberton communities.

“We are providing back-up supply of water and electricity at health facilities that have water shortage due to drought and regular electricity interruptions.

“We will rollout pre-exposure prophylaxis and promotion to two institutions of higher learning in the province, for the prevention of HIV infections to reduce the burden of the disease in the province, and improve life expectancy,” Mokgoro said.

Mokgoro commended the province’s health professionals who put their lives on the line in order to save others.

He also thanked President Cyril Ramaphosa who remained steadfast in his resolute and firm stewardship of the country’s risk adjusted strategy since March 2020.

“As shaken as we are as a nation, we take comfort in the knowledge that we have a President who genuinely cares about his country and people, and has shown this through myriad of difficult but necessary decisions he has guided cabinet to take over the last eleven months,” Mokgoro said.

“No correctional centre should ever breed hardened criminals who, upon their release, terrorise communities with their newly acquired sophisticated and most brutal acts of criminality.

“Our centres should not be breeding grounds for criminals but rehabilitated inmates who can be boilermakers, plumbers, carpenters and farmers,” Lamola said.

Announcing the inmates 2020 Matric results on Thursday, Lamola said education is an effective rehabilitation tool.

The Minister said the department has created a conducive environment for learning in all correctional centres.

“Education is a fundamental pillar of our correctional system. In our centres, education must always be structured and used to equip inmates to build social capital so as to improve their well-being whilst incarcerated, and post-incarceration in order to realise a second chance in life,” Lamola said.

The Minister said they have accepted that COVID-19 has changed the way of life and introduced a new normal in daily routines, and that his department has adapted to the new normal.

“One of the approaches we implemented and intensified was access to online tutoring and learning by inmates. Most of the inmates responded positively to this approach.

“They confronted significant challenges and COVID-19 could not hinder their desire to do well in their studies.

“The education of inmates was also affected and faced various challenges when our country was placed under lockdown in March 2020. This disrupted our educational programmes,” Lamola said.

In preparation for the 2020 school year, the department ensured that each correctional centre school drew up a curriculum recovery plan to make up for the lost time.

“This also meant that inmates needed to complete the majority of related activities in their cells. What also assisted us were the educational programmes that the Department of Basic Education broadcasted on television and radio stations, which inmates had access to.

“As DCS, we are gearing our systems towards online education offerings as classroom teaching and learning continue to experience disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Relevant equipment and other tools are being procured in order for inmates to be able to access online digital content. These resources will be used by offenders to access curriculum content, as well as to view lessons on relevant platforms,” Lamola said.

Results

For two years in succession, Correctional Services has registered 160 students.

For the past five years, the inmate matric pass rate has been as follows:

In 2015 – 72.9% pass rate; 2016 – 72.1%; 2017 – 76.7%; 2018 – 77.3% and in 2019 – 82.6%.

For the 2020 academic year, full-time learners achieved a pass rate of 86.3%.

When inclusive of part-time learners, the pass rate at correctional centre schools is 81.3%.

The best performing learner is Lwazi Chamane from Usethubeni Youth under the Durban Management Area in Kwa-Zulu Natal, with an average of 80.6% and four distinctions in IsiZulu, Life Orientation, History and Tourism.

USethubeni registered 19 inmates and all 19 achieved Bachelor passes.

Government is working tirelessly to deal with the danger of fake news in the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccination plan.

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, believes that while social media is beneficial for communicating, it can be easily hijacked to spread false claims about inoculation.

“What complicates the fight against COVID-19 is that while people are facing the real threat of losing their lives, fake news and misinformation are causing them to be paranoid, and to doubt the usefulness of vaccines and other public health interventions,” the Minister said.

Speaking during a virtual conference aimed at dispelling myths about vaccines and Coronavirus variants earlier this week, Nzimande said the discussion underscores the urgency with which government is responding to the pandemic.

“The current environment is fraught with all manner of conspiracy theories that often result in poor decision-making at both individual and group level.”

Among these are the 5G myths that have led to cell phone towers being destroyed in some parts of the country, Nzimande said.

“The public must be informed that the COVID-19 virus is purely biological and has no roots in any Fourth Industrial Revolution technology like 5G.”

Vaccines

The Minister bemoaned how vaccines are being branded as another “pandemic” that should be avoided at all costs.

“Yet, vaccines have been providing immunity against infectious diseases for over 200 years, in the process saving millions of lives across the globe.”

Nzimande assured citizens that there is nothing to worry about, as vaccines are backed by science, along with peer-reviewed research and multiple and independent trials.

“This is to ensure that vaccines administered to the public are safe and efficacious.”

The Minister cited Edward Jenner, who used cowpox material to create immunity against smallpox more than 200 years ago.

“This point is made to remind the public that vaccines and vaccination did not arise with the outbreak of COVID-19. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that there will be other pandemics that will need appropriate vaccines in future.”

Nzimande said government is working towards collaboration with China, Russia and Cuba in the areas of lifesaving shots and vaccine development.

The Minister is also advocating for African traditional medicine to be recognised at the highest level in the fight against COVID-19.

Social impact

A Professor at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Priscilla Reddy, said the pandemic has had a profound social impact on all South Africans and people across the globe.

“If the myths are not dealt with, we will find that vaccination coverage will fall short of the 67% that is targeted, and the virus will be widely transmitted as we move forward.

“Lockdown fatigue will ensue with reduced adherence to the social behavioural interventions.”

Reddy said this could lead to further mutation of the new variant and reluctance from citizens to accept the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Professor said vaccination is an important method of preventing infectious disease and second only to clean water in terms of its public health impact.

“Myths concerning vaccines are damaging. Even as the availability of vaccines increases, if people don’t accept the vaccine because of these myths, you’re not going to win the battle.”

Reddy said the negative aspects of vaccines tend to get more publicity compared to factual information.

The Professor believes that issues of public confidence and trust must be looked into.

“This is a devastating and scary pandemic, and it shouldn’t be aggravated by the types, methods and styles of information that the public are exposed to.”

Reddy said the public should be convinced that the conveyers of information have their best interests at heart, rather than personal gains and self-interest.

“Controversies and arguments [among officials] concerning the science [behind the vaccine]… should be handled discreetly, as they can further increase confusion and breach trust.”

She warned that unclear messages from government or any healthcare organisation will adversely weaken adherence to lockdown measures.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa has published a number of name changes for towns, cities and airports in the Eastern Cape, in the Government Gazette.

“The transformation of the naming landscape is a critical component of the heritage landscape as a whole. The most notable change in the Eastern Cape Province is that of Port Elizabeth, which is now known as Gqeberha,” said the department of Sport, Arts and Culture in a statement on Thursday.

The changes which include the name change for Port Elizabeth, were published in Tuesday’s Government Gazette.

“The Port Elizabeth International Airport is now known as the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport. East London Airport is now the King Phalo Airport. Uitenhage is now Kariega. King William’s Town is now Qonce. Maclear is now Nqanqa Rhu.

“There was a need for the name changes as this is part of a government programme to transform South Africa’s heritage landscape. The names of places we live in reflect the identity and cultural heritage of the people of South Africa,” the Minister said.

The Gazette also includes a number of spelling corrections for existing geographical names, as well as official registrations of new names.

The South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) Act 118 of 1998 provides for the transformation of South Africa’s naming landscape.

As such, more name changes will be submitted to the SAGNC and the Minister in the future, provided that public consultations are conducted by the Provincial Geographical Names Committee before such name changes are submitted to the Minister for his consideration.

All the gazetted names come from the Eastern Cape and were submitted to the South African Geographical Names Committee from the Eastern Cape.

“Prior to the changes, the Provincial Geographical Names Committee conducted public consultations on all the names that were changed. The South African Geographical Names Act provides for objections within 30 days from members of the public in instances that they are not happy with the Gazette name changes,” the department said.

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says the Post-School Education and Training sector is ready to receive a new cohort of first-time entrants in all institutions of higher education and training in the country.

“As we head into a new academic year, it is important to remember that admissions’ decisions are made by individual universities and colleges and that institutions have staggered registrations for continuing and new students,” Nzimande said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Minister also announced that admissions decisions will be processed this week following the release of the matric results.

He noted that some continuing students have already commenced with the 2021 academic year, particularly in medicine and other health sciences, whilst others will be commencing between March and April 2021.

TVET colleges

On Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, Nzimande said first-time enrolments will be offered to two qualification types, namely the National Certificates (Vocational) for those without matric, and the National N Diploma (made up of the N4, N5 and N6 certificates and work experience).

“Those students who need strengthening of their learning foundations can be enrolled in the Foundational Learning Programme (FLP) for one year, and then proceed into a qualification offered in our colleges. Applicants are also encouraged to check for placement opportunities at the college closest to them,” the Minister advised.

A full list of colleges can be accessed on the homepage of the department’s website: www.dhet.gov.za

Submit all required documents

The Minister also urged applicants to ensure that they submit all the required documentation for the processing of their applications, in order to avoid processing delays.

“Due to the limited spaces in universities and colleges, meeting the minimum requirements does not mean a space for everyone who applies. The department has therefore made available the Central Application Clearing House (CACH) for students who have applied for a space but were declined,” Nzimande said.

CACH is a referral system. Sign up by sending an SMS with your name and ID number to 31629, visit cach.dhet.gov.za   or e-mail CACH@dhet.gov.za (link sends e-mail).

CACH handles applications and not admissions as these are handled by individual institutions.

Second Chance Matric Programme

Meanwhile, Nzimande has encouraged matriculants who did not achieve their desired 2020 results to take advantage of support initiatives, including the Second Chance Matric Programme offered by the Department of Basic Education.

“Adults and out-of-school youth who want to improve their marks are also encouraged to register for examinations by 21 March 2021 for the May/June 2021 senior certificate examinations at Community Education and Training (CET) Colleges. A list of CET colleges is on the homepage of www.dhet.gov.za,” the Minister said.

He also congratulated the class of 2020 on the outstanding achievement of a 76.2% pass rate.

“These results illustrates the resilience of the South African youth and our schooling system, despite the unprecedented challenges brought by COVID-19.”